ACID HOUSE PROFILE
MOVIE: Bug
DIRECTOR: William Freidkin
YEAR: 2006
DRUGS INVOLVED: Cannabis, Crack Cocaine, Cocaine
Agnes is a waitress in a small Oklahoma town living out of a motel and barely scraping a living by. As the movie begins her ex-husband Jerry has just gotten out of prison and she had been receiving strange phone calls with no voice on the other line. At the bar she works at she is introduced to Peter a strange and quiet man that Agnes is very taken by. He eventually tells her that he spent most of his life in the Army and recently at an army hospital in Groom Lake (better known as Area 51) and he went AWOL. Peter believes that the army doctors experimented on him and placed bugs in his blood stream and eventually convinces Agnes that she is infected too, what follows is a trip down the rabbit hole into the insanity of a paranoid schizophrenic.
Most of the movies I watch for this blog are strange, some are I would even characterize as really weird but this one takes the taco for disturbing. I am not one for horror films, and I wouldn't really characterize this as a horror film but more of a psychological thriller, however there is lots of blood. Ashley Judd, and Michael Shannon headline with support by the venerable Harry Connick Jr. who all play their parts extremely well. The visual design of this film in a word is raw, raw and in your face with drugs, blood, and lots of nudity. This film isn't really all that scary but if you are squeamish you might want to pass on it. I am not sure if I like it or not, partly because it may not be my type of film, but I have to respect the acting and very disturbing storyline which all plays out well. I don't think I would be honoring the code of the acid house film if I gave this one a pass into the club but if you really want to watch a "what the fuck" type of movie this is your thing.
SUMMARY:
ACID HOUSE APPROVED: NO
WHY WAS APPROVAL DENIED: Not the right type of film but it was close
FAVORITE SCENE: The conspiracy theory rant (bildiburg)
ACID SCORE: More like a 7.5 out of 10, the beginning was slightly dull
ACID HOUSE PROFILE
MOVIE: Bullet
DIRECTOR: Julien Temple
YEAR: 1996
DURG INVOLVED: Heroin
The story of Butch "Bullet" Stein after he leave prison serving an 8 year term to protect a friend of his. It doesn't take long for him to fall back to his old ways, as he rips off a heroin dealer shortly after his release and starts using again. One of the problems facing him after his release is the vengeful Tank, a drug lord who lost his eye during a fight with Bullet while they were serving time together. All this happens while Bullet tries to keep his highly dysfunctional family from falling apart all around him.
With a cast like this you would think that this film would be a slam dunk: Micky Rourke, Adrien Brody, Ted Levine, and repping the west side Tupac Shakur as Tank. You would think, but you would be wrong. From the first fram to the last this film is dull, dull, dull, and the story seems to bounce and ramble around with no real purpose or definite end in sight. The cinematography, script, and execution for a movie like this is relatively poor. Its a shame to waste such a great bunch of guys on a poor piece like this but the one bright spot in the movie was just that. Excellent performances from Tupac and Ted Levine the paranoid war veteran brother to Micky Rourke were both excellent but that in no way bails this movie out.
SUMMARY:
ACID HOUSE APPROVED: No way
REASON APPROVAL WAS DENIED: Not an interesting film
FAVORITE SCENE: Ted Levine instructing a bunch of elementary school students how to kill a person with a buck knife
ACID SCORE: An even 5 hits out of 10
ACID HOUSE PROFILE
MOVIE: Bully
DIRECTOR: Larry Clark
YEAR: 2001
DRUGS INVOLVED: LSD, Meth, Cannabis
We finish the letter B with a true story! Bully is the story of So Cal Vally kids Bobby and Marty who hook up with 2 girls Ali and Lisa, decide to take them out, and eventually end up having sex with them. On the surface Bobby and Marty are friends but Bobby like pushing Marty around and has an intensely violent nature. After Bobby rapes Ali the other three kick around the idea of putting an end to Bobby's life. At first it starts as a joke but after they decide to hire a gangbanger to help them take Bobby out there is no turning back. Plagued with the guilt of what they did the group of people that aided in the murder of Bobby begin to turn on each other as the well thought out plan quickly disintegrates.
Knowing that this is a true story makes me happy that I am a nice guy. The screenplay is based on the book "Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge" and is quite a tale. Starting out with an excellent cast including my boy Nick Sthal as the titular bully with Brad Renfro, Rachel Miner, Michael Pitt, and Bijou Phillips doing what she does best and slutting it up with some very fetching outfits. Director Larry Clark knows something about acid house films as he directed two others that will be up for contention later in the series. The camera work was great, almost entirely hand held giving you a real fly on the wall feel. The valley slang and great story progression all tie this one together nicely and let you remember that crime really does not pay.
SUMMARY:
ACID HOUSE APPROVED: Yes
WHEN WAS APPROVAL CONFIRMED: Before killing their friend they all decide to drop acid, who the hell does that
FAVORITE SCENE: The very "That 70's Show" esque rotating pan of the group as they decide exactly how they are going to kill Bobby
ACID SCORE: a solid 8 hits out of 10
Soon and very soon the letter C begins!!
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