ACID HOUSE PROFILE
MOVIE: Blueberry
DIRECTOR: Jan Kounen
YEAR: 2004
DRUG INVOLVED: Peyote
No folks do not attempt to adjust your computer screens, those pictures above are all from the very same film. "Blueberry" draws its source material from a very lesser known Franco Belgian comic book of the same name. Since lots of popular movies today are based in comic books why not this one right? The story revolves around Mike Donovan who is young when the movie starts and loses his first love in a violent shootout and fire. After this tragic event, nearly dying from his wounds Mike is revived by a tribe of natives. Years later Mike Donovan is a U.S. Marshall and an unofficial member of the tribe who saved his life, he keeps an uneasy balance between the citizens he protects and the tribe who he owes his life and after the man who murdered his girl and nearly killed him years ago things get complicated quickly.
Now its hard to say that this is the weirdest thing I have ever seen since strange movie quirks are commonplace in movies like this but I would be impressed if someone topped this one as far as strange drug trips go. Much like "The Anniversary Party" this is mainly a tale of two movies. While interesting at the beginning it loses the audience through the bulk of the film but manages to finish strong. The plotline does not revolve specifically around drugs, in this case peyote, but the drug use and the after effects are largely featured in the end of the film. The story is a pretty standard western with guns, girls, and buried treasure however I was not terribly impressed with the acting (Vincent Cassel of "Oceans 12 and 13" and Michael Marsden of "Reservoir Dogs") and there were a few characters and plot devices I think this movie could have done without. The final act, essentially a shamanic battle between the protagonist and antagonist was visually stunning and to be honest quite disturbing. I think its tantamount to the cyberspace battle in "Lawnmower Man" just a little more strange and eye popping. With only half decent acting, story, and above average visuals this movie will be given a mediocre score but will win it's place in the acid house.
SUMMARY:
ACID HOUSE APPROVED: Yes
WHEN WAS APPROVAL CONFIRMED: Mikes first "spirit walk"
FAVORITE SCENE: Has to be the final battle between Cassel and Marsden
ACID SCORE: A middle of the road 6 hits out of 10
ACID HOUSE PROFILE
MOVIE: Blue Velvet
DIRECTOR: "The" David Lynch
YEAR: 1986
DRUG INVOLVED: Nitrous Oxide
This piece of Lynch art film is brough to you by a 1963 song by Bobby Vinton of the same name, and you guessed it the title song of the film happens to be "Blue Velvet". The story goes a little something like this: Jeffery Beaumont, a returning college student, comes home to visit his father who just suffered a stroke. Upon returning home from the hospital he finds a severed ear in a field and takes it to a detective at the police station. Too curious to walk away from a case that his evidence started he enlists the help of the detectives daughter Sandy and together they spy on the lead suspect in the case. What ensues is a strange trip into the darkness that is man's obsession with dominance and destruction.
Love him or hate him David Lynch makes cult films like no bodies business, this movie is no different. Like "Blueberry" had many elements of classic westerns this film has many elements of classic film noir, a mystery case, a private eye, and a complex romance. The story is nothing short of brilliant, I happen to be a noir fan and this has to be high on your list in that category too. The editing and shot choices can only be classified as slightly eccentric but I think it all works very well, and is placed over the foundation of an excellent dark and ethereal soundtrack. The visual effects are pretty nice too, using light and shadow, the dark "blue velvet" color, and an excellent period piece polish. The acting by lesser known folks like Kyle McLaughlin and Laura Dern, with cult favorite Dennis Hopper as Frank the antagonist and Isabella Rossellini as the films pseudo femme fatal was quite good. Now while not a true drug film the drug use was enough and obviously the stylizing was more then enough to qualify this movie for the acid house, unlike some Lynch films where you need a road map to find the ending this one is fairly straight forward.
SUMMARY:
ACID HOUSE APPROVED: Yes
WHEN WAS APPROVAL CONFIRMED: The super zoom into the ants at the beginning of the film
FAVORITE SCENE: The Dennis Hopper sex scene was both creepy and effective
ACID SCORE: a decent 8 hits out of 10
ACID HOUSE PROFILE
MOVIE: Boiler Room
DIRECTOR: Ben Younger
YEAR: 2000
DRUG INVOLVED: Cocaine/Money
I accept all types of drugs in my house, including a drug stronger then any opiate out there that has claimed more lives then all other illegal drugs combined... Greed. Our storytelling weaves a tale of college dropout Seth Davis who in order to make some scratch runs an underground and illegal casino. His father, a New York City judge, highly disapproves and thanks to a chance meeting with two stock brokers Seth is inducted into the world of J.P. Martin which is a high gain brokerage firm whose office happens to strangely be far away from the financial district of Manhattan.
Drugs come in all shapes and sizes and though there is some cocaine usage in the very beginning of the film I think this movies main drug is money. This very lesser known film has an obscure but surprising cast, tell me if any of these names mean anything to you: Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel, Jamie Kennedy, Ron Rifkin, and Tom Everett Scott. An interesting cast who on their own are slightly lackluster (actually Affleck just plain sucks) but when they came together here in an act of pure synergy actually manage to pull some decent work off. The brokers in the movie are big fans of the movies "Wall Street" and "Glengary Glenross" and this film clearly draws on plot line and theme from these two films. The story, visuals, and audio are all pretty mediocre which only makes this movie sub par in my mind but worth a watch. Now when you bring up the conversation of acid house approved or not I have to give this one a no, though money is a good drug substitute the film does not play much like a drug film on screen.
SUMMARY:
ACID HOUSE APPROVED: No
WHY WAS APPROVAL DENIED: does not visually play like a drug film
FAVORITE SCENE: Seth's first closer
ACID SCORE: a decent 6 hits out of 10
Join us tomorrow for 3 more movie reviews.
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