Tag: sex

BETA TEST – Review

Jim Cummings in BETA TEST. Courtesy of IFC Films

In 1973, Erica Jong wrote FEAR OF FLYING, a wildly popular erotic novel that introduced  us to the term “zipless f**k” – an anonymous, one-time, spur of the moment boink. No names. No thought of repeating the experience. BETA TEST gives a teched-up variation on the concept, raising more questions than answers for those who participate. Each lucky (?) tryster receives an engraved invitation to meet an unknown admirer in a posh hotel. We follow the course of a few who go for it.

The suspenseful drama opens with a woman confessing her recent adventure to her spouse. The disclosure is not at all well-received. We switch quickly to the main story, involving Jordan Hines, a smarmy Hollywood agent (are there other kinds?) played by co-writer and co-director Jim Cummings. He’s scrambling to save his agency in a showbiz era that threatens their relevance. He’s also six weeks away from marrying Caroline (Virginia Newcomb), who seems almost saintly in her patience for his manic, erratic actions. After wrestling with his conscience, Hines meets the mystery lover for a masked roll in the luxury hay, and becomes obsessed with finding out who she was, and why the unknown arranger decided to extend the offer to him.

The rest of the movie focuses on Hines’ quest to find the woman and reasons for what appears to be a large-scale operation with unknown motives. He turns to his agency partner and best bud, PJ (also the other half of the writing/directing tandem, PJ McCabe) to help learn the how and why of this bizarre bit of matchmaking.

Maybe it’s a cult on the order of the masked-and-robed hedonists in EYES WIDE SHUT. Maybe it’s a blackmail scheme. A few references to Harvey Weinstein and the current climate for sexual harassment raise the question of whether it’s the work of one or more grudge holders from perceived peccadilloes past.

The setup is fine, but following its execution is almost exhausting. Director Cummings should have reined in actor Cummings on the level of histrionics deployed to present his character’s growing frustration and paranoia. Actor Cummings should have urged writer Cummings to pay more attention to the coherence of his screenplay. Writer McCabe shortchanged actor McCabe on his share of screen time. The movie is a long way in before some disparate plot lines start fitting into the picture; some never really do. The very attractive cast and upscale sets collectively give us the glamour of Hollywood’s slice of showbiz, complete with the shallowness of everyone’s dreams and tactics for “making it.” What we learn about those whys and wherefores is reasonably satisfying but investment in the characters – especially Hines – may well fade for others as it did for me. Pay attention to teeth. They’re more significant than you’d expect.

BETA TEST opens Nov. 5 in theaters in some locations and streaming on Amazon Prime and other platforms.

RATING: 1.5 out of 4 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: The Best of Michael Fassbender (So Far)

Michael Fassbender is perhaps the most talented, fastest rising international star. Originally born in Germany, Fassbender has grown rapidly from being primarily a television actor into a worldly thespian of staggering proportion, garnering ecstatic praise both in Europe and the United States for his unflinching, intense performances in roles that are often controversial and extraordinarily demanding. Fassbender has received some of his breakout roles in genre films, a cinematic place that only rarely produced tremendous genre-spanning talent.

In honor of this tremendous new acting force, we’ve compiled our list of Top Ten performances from Michael Fassbender. His latest role may prove to be his most stellar, even controversial one yet. Appearing in his second film directed by Steve McQueen, SHAME has Fassbender portraying a sex addict. SHAME is opening soon, with dates varying depending on your location.

Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: The Best of Michael Fassbender (So Far)

Win an Autographed DVD of Mike Pecci’s Grindhouse Shorts

Do you like adrenaline-filled, sexy, violent ’70s-style grindhouse cinema? If so, then you’ll definitely enjoy the stylistic films of writer and director Mike Pecci, who has just released his collected short films for the first time on DVD. As pictured below, the DVD has some wicked original cover art, but the real beef is inside. The DVD collection includes the following:

  • COLD HARD CASH (Uncensored)
  • CAPTURE DEVICE (Remastered)
  • STRAY BULLET
  • Violent Interactive Menus
  • Brand New “Mommentaries” (recorded w/ Mike Pecci & his Mom)
  • All New Director’s Commentaries (w/ Special Guests)
  • Revealing “Set Clips”
  • plus loads more!

Sound cool? We have a Grindhouse Shorts DVD, autographed by writer-director Mike Pecci and co-writer David Lynch, to give away to one lucky fan!

OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO A U.S. ADDRESS.
2. FILL OUT YOUR REAL NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW.
3. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: Tell us the title of your favorite grindhouse movie and why.
WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN THROUGH A RANDOM DRAWING OF QUALIFYING CONTESTANTS. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PRIZES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED.
CONTEST WILL END ON FRIDAY, September 30th at 11:59pm CST.

Find Mike Pecci online at www.MikePecci.com

HORRIBLE BOSSES – The Review

HORRIBLE BOSSES is directed by Seth Gordon, a name to be watching out for in the future. Gordon actually had his big break with the 2007 feature documentary THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS. Since then, he’s been involved with popular TV series including The Office, Community, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family.

Let’s set aside the notion that anyone with a job these days should be grateful, and instead assume we’re all employed, making the bad boss scenario much more relevant. HORRIBLE BOSSES hopes to capitalize on the current economic woes by appealing to the audience’s need for a good laugh. Let me just say, if HORRIBLE BOSSES were an IPO and stock prices were measured in laughs, this would be the best film to invest in since BRIDESMAIDS and THE HANGOVER.

HORRIBLE BOSSES is about three almost middle-aged, middle-class white guys with good jobs, but who all hate their boss. Jason Batman (PAUL, EXTRACT) returns in an all-too-familiar, but still enjoyable, performance as Nick Hendricks. Nick is a smart guy, but he takes more shit from his boss Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) than the average self-respecting human being ever should. Nick does this in hopes that he’ll get a major promotion, until Harken reveals a whole new level of evil that finally sends Nick over the edge. Kevin Spacey once again proves he has an uncanny skill for playing assholes, first evident from his performance as Buddy Ackerman in SWIMMING WITH SHARKS.

Jason Sudeikis (HALL PASS, THE ROCKER) plays Kurt Buckman, the one guy of the three who actually likes his boss (Donald Sutherland) until he dies of a heart attack, leaving his obnoxious cokehead son Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) to run the company into the ground. Kurt is sort of a milder, less annoying and slightly more intelligent Stiffler-type character. Nick and Kurt are the Moe and Larry of these three stooges.

Charlie Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) plays Dale Arbus, the Curly. Dale is a dental assistant. Day’s performance is often like watching a younger Robin Williams stand-up, only not as refined. If this movie was cast with animated animals, Dale Arbus would be the squirrel from ICE AGE on a case of 5-Hour Energy Shots. Then, Dale Arbus inadvertently inhales cocaine.

Jennifer Aniston (THE BOUNTY HUNTER) plays Dale’s boss Dr. Julia Harris. Dr. Harris is hell-bent on getting Dale into bed, to put it very mildly, despite his engagement and commitment to monogamy. In all honesty, I hardly recognized Aniston at first, with her hair dyed dark, but that veil quickly passed. I find it difficult to look past Aniston’s choice to portray a shameless nymphomaniac in an R-rated raunchy comedy, yet still refrain from showing any more skin than a little harmless cleavage. Sure, it’s not about the nudity, but I’d like to see her take some kind of risk in her craft. For now, certain members of the audience will have to make due with Aniston spouting countless passages of pornographic playfulness. Unfortunately, she’s the weakest link in HORRIBLE BOSSES.

Jamie Foxx appears in a relatively small role, serving as a misguided mentor for the stooges as they plan the deaths of their unwelcome employers. Comedian Ron White adds another element of unpleasantness with his cameo as one of two detectives. He has an uncanny lack of talent as an actor, making Aniston look good, as an actress. One surprise cameo saves itself for the end, but falls a little flat compared to the natural flow of the film as a whole.

HORRIBLE BOSSES rewards the audience for their investment, paying dividends in laughs. There’s no better workout than a good, fun comedy that has you red-faced and breathing heavy for the majority of the film’s duration. This isn’t the absolute best comedy of 2011, but it certainly ranks in the top five.

Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

KABOOM – The Review

Who is The Chosen Son and what the f *ck does it all mean?

There is a lot going on in writer/director Gregg Araki’s new film KABOOM. Most of the frantic energy emitted from the film is refreshingly welcome, although often jarring and jaded. Araki, known for his intensely hip indie films such as MYSTERIOUS SKIN and THE DOOM GENERATION, has created a sex comedy for a new generation, but it’s much more than just crude sex humor.

KABOOM is a comical science-fiction story about a group of college students, each experiencing a unique sexual odyssey. Laced with undertones of horror. The title is catchy, but if KABOOM were renamed to describe what the viewer should expect, it may go something like… “Donnie Darko Goes to White Castle While Horny and Tripping on Acid Made by David Lynch.”

Thomas Dekker (HEROES, 7TH HEAVEN) plays Smith, a sexually confused young man and the central character around which the rest of the crazy, hormonal universe of KABOOM revolves. Haley Bennett (THE HOLE, MARLEY & ME) plays Stella, Smith’s lesbian best friend and lover to Lorelei (Roxane Mesquida), a strange, exotic woman with mystical sexual powers. Juno Temple (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, ATONEMENT) plays London, a promiscuous pleasure guru who befriends Smith.

Smith is haunted by visions of a troubled red-haired girl (Nicole LaLiberte, DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS) and violent men in animal masks. KABOOM is a bizarre journey full of plot twists and shocking jolts of abstraction. Araki has employed a nearly over-saturated color palette and stark contrast in lighting to pack punch into the heavy, uncomfortable scenes, while keeping the lighter moments resembling an R-rated TV sitcom version of THE BREAKFAST CLUB.

Araki’s dialogue is sharp and witty, at times nearly too much so. His stock of supporting and bit characters span an array of modern stereotypes, but the humor works well enough to summon laughter, even during the less original moments. While the first third of KABOOM skates by mostly on raunchy humor, sex and nudity, the remainder of the film will have many scratching their heads and others applauding it as a pseudo-psychedelic work of modern art.

Pay attention when watching KABOOM. This is not a leisurely popcorn flick. Those who enjoyed DONNIE DARKO, LOST HIGHWAY, or THE RULES OF ATTRACTION are likely to enjoy this film. Those who prefer a tidy, typical and safe ending to their movies should tread with caution when seeing KABOOM, but I still recommend you tread to see Araki’s imperfect, yet challenging and entertaining film.

In the end, the audience will be split between those who love KABOOM and those who hate it… determined almost exclusively by the viewers’ preconceived notions (if any) of what they were expecting to witness on screen. Some may say Wes Craven’s SCREAM franchise changed the rules for the horror film, but Gregg Araki’s KABOOM takes the rules of the horror film, rolled them up and smoked them, baked the ashes in a batch of brownies and got high again, just for good measure.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Sex Comedies

Sex if funny… and sometimes just plain goofy! What better way to mix the two with a good ol’ fashioned sex comedy. That is exactly what they do in the new WARNER BROS. movie HALL PASS. And since we here at WAMG appreciate a well done sex comedy, we bring you

Honorable Mention: THE SURE THING

In 1985 actor turned director Rob Reiner chose to make his second feature film (after the “mockumentary” THIS IS SPINAL TAP) a more conventional narrative comedy. Specifically the teen sex comedy, but with a twist. He would combine this with a “love on the open road” theme ala IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. This forms the structure of THE SURE THING. ‘ Gib’ (John Cusack) hears from his California based buddy Lance (Anthony Edwards) that his blond neighbor is a “sure thing”. Embarking on this cross-country trek West, Gib acquires the up-tight Alison (Daphne Zuniga) as a traveling companion. She’s headed West to visit her boyfriend. The two bicker as they encounter many strange people (including a very square Tim Robbins) and have lots of wild adventures. They finally arrive in sun-drenched California, but things have changed after this trip. Alison’s reunion with her beau is lacking something. Gib finds that the blond beauty (Nicollette Sheridan) is all that Lance described, but he can’t connect with her. Looks like something happened on the way there between the two travelers. THE SURE THING’s main premise may be the pursuit of wild, carnal fun but the final message is about making that unexpected emotional connection with that special someone.

10. THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH

THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) was written and directed by Billy Wilder, one of the greatest comical filmmakers of all time. The film stars Tom Ewell as Richard Sherman (already a subtle play on the theme), a faithful husband and father staying behind in New York as his family goes away for summer vacation. The story is one of sexual tension, exacerbated by an unbearably hot summer and Sherman without air conditioning. At first, Sherman is ecstatic about his temporary slice of the bachelor life, but he vows not to succumb to the immoral extra-marital trends of his fellow married men… that is, until he meets “The Girl” played by Marilyn Monroe. Between the heat of summer air and the heat of the blond bombshell upstairs, Sherman struggles to maintain his faithfulness, inspiring hilarious antics and many unforgettable scenes.

09. ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO

Written and directed by one of the most controversial directors/producers, and somewhat expert on all things sex, Kevin Smith takes a fairly behind closed doors subject out into the mainstream. Starring Seth Rogen (THE GREEN HORNET, OBSERVE AND REPORT) as Zack and Elizabeth Banks (ROLE MODELS, SLITHER) as Miri, are roommates and best friends that find themselves at a crossroads of their lives between a ten year class reunion looming and impending poverty. Faced with the reality of their situation, they decide that making an adult film together is the only way out of their imminent crisis, an idea that was planted in the mind of Zack at the reunion by an unexpected boyfriend of one of the most popular people in the class.Despite the graphic sexuality and the plot around a porn flick, an inspired romance evolves for the main characters and turns out to have charming moments of friends turned lovers.

08. THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN

Let’s take a trip back to the 1980s. 1982 to be exact. Because of the success of the Porky’s series, teen films were going from the horror/stalker flicks to “hey guys, let’s get lucky” sex comedies. As Siskel and Ebert remarked on their old movie review TV show, ” The dead teenager has been replaced by the horny teenager”. On of the best remembered examples of this genre is THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN directed by Boaz Davidson ( and actually based on the Israeli “Lemon Popsicle film series ). Here we have the popular trio of randy young guys seen earlier in films like SUMMER OF ’42 and MY TUDOR. There’s the sensitive, shy hero ( the title virgin ) Gary, the brooding, worldly tough guy Rick, and the funny, chunky doofus David. Gary yearns for the good girl Karen ( BETTER OFF DEAD’s Diane Franklin ) while she drifts into the arms of Rick. Along the way Gary almost gives in to the charms of the quirky Rose while all three pay a visit to a very friendly mature buxom blond Carmela. By the end of the film the guys learn much about life the pursuit of love. Thanks to it’s 80s music and fashions this prototype “bromance”  comedy can still deliver big laughs.

07. SOME LIKE IT HOT

Not only a great movie sex comedy, but according to some ( particularly the American Film Institute ) the greatest movie comedy ever. Billy Wilder’s SOME LIKE IT HOT centers on two struggling musicians, Joe ( Tony Curtis ) and Jerry ( Jack Lemmon ) who are accidental witnesses to the 1929 Valentine’s Day massacre in Chicago. Fleeing the mobsters ( lead by veteran movie tough guy George Raft ), they find their only way out of town is to dress up as ladies and join an all girl band on a train bound for Florida. Things get even more complicated when the boys encounter the band’s lead singer Sugar Kane ( Marilyn Monroe ). In Florida, Joe decides to go from the drag disguise to a male millionaire persona to woo Sugar ( complete with a Cary Grant impression ), while Jerry attracts the charms of a real tycoon, Osgood Fielding III ( Joe E. Brown ). Hilarity ensues as the boys try not to yield to temptations as the gangsters and a G-man ( Pat O’Brien ) close in on the beach resort. Tony’s super suave, Jack’s a frenetic, leering riot, and Marilyn is at her sexy, voluptuous best. The film ends with perhaps the greatest final line of dialogue ever,”Well, nobody’s perfect!”. In the world of comedy cinema this comes very close to absolute perfection.

06. EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX… *BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK

Just before Woody Allen began his march towards huge critical acclaim with ANNIE HALL and a definite move towards more serious work he put out EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX* BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK. It’s an inconsistent but interesting 7-part anthology film that challenges sexual boundaries in an irreverent manner without ever feeling too outrageous or graphic. Four of the episodes really stand out: Lynn Redgrave as a horny Queen with a chastity belt and Woody Allen as the Fool trying to remove it; Gene Wilder and his affair with a sheep; the ‘What’s My Perversion?’ TV program; and, best of all, the final sketch where Woody is a sperm about to be fired into a woman on a first date. The “rampaging giant boob” segment of the film is a satire of monster movies that I hope is someday turned into a feature film.

05. PORKY’S

PORKY’S (1982) was written and directed by Bob Clark. True, Bob’s the guy who brought us A CHRISTMAS STORY, so it may seem quite a reversal, but in fact it’s not. Bob’s talents often leaned toward the more taboo subjects. PORKY’S is just a different perspective of growing up in the 1950’s following a group of teenagers who set out to lose their virginity. What begins as a grand plan to become men, these high school boys find themselves the butt of the joke, harassed by sleazy strip club owner and his brother, the Sheriff. In an effort to redeem their self-respect, the boys strike out for revenge against their harassers. The film is a modern classic, funny and mildly raunchy, both reminiscent and ridiculous. While the film was cast with mostly unknowns, we are treated to an early — and steamy — performance from SEX AND THE CITY’s Kim Cattrall.

04. RISKY BUSINESS

RISKY BUSINESS is a funny film about your not-so-average teen problems that doesn’t stop short of exploring dark themes. It stars Tom Cruise in one of his best early performances and the role that shot him to stardom. A Chicago teenager, Joel (Cruise), is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand and he gets more than he bargained for. A fun weekend goes south when his father’s prized Porsche accidentally dumps into Lake Michigan and Joel finds himself needing lots of money for the repairs. It’s the creative way he, his friend Miles and prostitute Rebecca De Mornay go about raising the cash that made RISKY BUSINESS one of the best films from 1983.

03. CARNAL KNOWLEDGE

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1971) is an often funny, but mostly sobering drama about the sex lives of two college roommates. Jack Nicholson is Jonathan, who hates women but can’t do without them. Nicholson is charismatic and smart in his role, showing the misery at the heart of a cynic. Art Garfunkel is Sandy, desperate for a chance to cop some action from the opposite sex and unable to stand up to his abusive friend. Ann-Margaret and Candice Bergen are the two central women in their lives. Cartoonist Jules Feiffer wrote the extraordinarily dark script and it was directed by Mike Nichols. CARNAL KNOWLEDGE was kind of a big deal upon its initial release, controversial and groundbreaking in its frank discussions of sex, but somewhat forgotten today. It’s one of the best films from the seventies, and a very realistic film about love, sex, relationships, lust, greed, and backstabbing your friends to get at their women.

02. 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN

After making a name for himself with the critically adored (but low rated) TV shows Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, Judd Apatow made his film directing debut with THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN  based on the script he penned with star Steve Carell. While audiences may have been expecting a wild sex comedy romp they also got a sweet love story and a side plot that would later be dubbed a “bromance”. Carell plays a like-able, nerdy guy name Andy Stitzer. One night at a poker game with his Smart Tech co-workers (Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogan) his secret his revealed. Andy’s gotten close many times, but he’s never “sealed the deal.” He’s mortified, while his pals decide to make it their mission to help him. They try to improve Andy’s chances with the ladies by taking him to get his opulent chest hair waxed (Carell insists this hysterical scene is real) and going to a speed-dating seminar. After many interesting encounters with several ladies (Leslie Mann as a drunken party gal, Elizabeth Banks as a frisky book store pick-up, and Jane Lynch as his very-eager-to help-out supervisor at work), Andy makes a connection with single mom Trish (Catherine Keener). But it turns out that she is in no hurry to rush into the physical stuff. What will Andy do? And what would happen if Trish finds out about his secret? THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN is an ode to the support system that guys will form when a buddy’s down and how finding the right partner can make your spirit sing and cause the clouds to part and “let the sunshine in.”

01. AMERICAN PIE

Ushering in the new millennium with a bang, AMERICAN PIE (written by Adam Herz and directed by Paul Weitz) set off the 1999 summer season with a new type of sex romp. With now recognizable stars such as Jason Biggs, Alyson Hanningan, and Shannon Elizabeth, prom night is quickly approaching for a group of young men and also the end of their high school experience. So, they make a pact to lose their virginity by prom come hell or high water. They explore options from foreign exchange students, friend’s mom’s, and even the unassuming band camp member. This film also has some of the most quotable lines from any movie that decade that one will never forget. It is hilariously shocking at times, funny as hell, and American as apple pie.

In case you missed it … ‘One, Two, Many’

You can go through at most big chain video stores and see about 15 different ‘National Lampoon Presents’ movies and a couple of things you are guaranteed: they are typically really Low Budget, and the comedy will be hit or miss. As of 2007 National Lampoon decided to start putting out its own movies again, and this is one of the first that it has done. I was actually quite surprised by it.

The movie stars John Melendez(who also wrote, and produced) which you probably only know him as Stuttering John from the Howard Stern Show. Well this is his first major gig as an actor and I must say I was pretty impressed with him. Some of the jokes were a little cheesy, but i think they were meant to be.

The story is centered around Thomas(Melendez) who is an out of work actor trying to find the right woman. The only problem is he definition of said woman. He wants to find one that doesnt have a problem bringing other women to bed. As most guys already know, this isnt usually an option. You watch him go on date after date with women and doesnt find the one that fits the mold. He gets a temporary acting gig where he meets Jennifer(played by the sexy Bellamy Young) and he explains what he is looking for to her. She seemed into it, and they launched a relationship. Eventually they try out their first threesome with a high priced prostitute, which goes awry when he has to make several trips to the ATM. Eventually they meet a singer and the threesome was successful, but with anything it was too good to be true. Jennifer’s insecurities come out and things hit the fan.

The movie has its moments, especially scenes with Jefferey Ross, who plays the best friend role. Its definitely worth renting if you are in the mood for a sexy, low budget-ish comedy, I wish it had gotten more press. I guess thats the case with any National Lampoon movie as of late.