In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all.
- Ace Rothstein
Martin Scorsese <3's iMovie
Prepare for the cinematographic landscape to change before our eyes, the legend Martin Scorsese has discovered the wonders of iMovie
Top 5 Tuesday - Dr Infinite’s Top 5
First of all, YES, I know it last week might have left our viewers a little empty and absent of our Top 5, but trust us, there was totally a reason why that happened. In between our hectic schedule of 48 hour editing, world cup soccer, audio syncing and red wine tasting, days flew by and before we knew it, it turned out to be Sunday
But fear not, 2 of members of 5th base have come to finish uni, and while the other one is on the other side of the world, I have decided to let you all in in an extra special edition Top 5 Tuesday, that being Dr. Infinites Top 5, which is also in light of my birthday that has just past. So here, I present to you a selection of movies that the majestic man himself digs, and you should defiantly too…
5. Boogie Nights
Paul Thomas Anderson started his career with a simple short called The Dirk Diggler Story which was basically about the rise and fall of a 70’s porn star. Fast forward 7 years, 2 features, and 1 massive script later, Anderson revisits his story of Dirk Diggler strapped with financial backing, a highly credible cast, and one fake prosthetic (dont ask how but yes I have done my research). The film turned out to be a 2 1/2 hour masterpiece that captivated both audiences and critics alike, and if it hadn’t been for that one lame ass ship, it most defiantly would have stolen all of the awards.
4. The Castle of Cagliostro
I didn’t realise how awesome this movie was until I recently revisited it and fell in love with it again. The Castle of Cagliostro was the first ever animatic feature that Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) directed and it takes place in the Lupin the Third universe. Lupin is similar to James Bond in many ways except for the fact that he is a thief, doesn’t get the girls, and works apart of a team (so in post, not very similar to Bond at all). If you haven’t seen it yet, I urge you to check it out and see what Steven Spielberg himself claimed as being ‘one of the greatest adventure movies of all time’
3. Oldboy
So I stumbled across this Korean movie one night and it pretty much changed my perspective on modern cinema, and made me question what values to look for in films. Park Chan-Wook is probably the only film maker who has time and time again proven to be one of the worlds greatest director with his impeccable collection of films (sorry Tarantino, you aint got shit on the Wookster). Oldboy was my first introduction to Park and soon after this, I ventured into the man’s wide variety of films and realised that whatever this man touches, always turns to gold. Without giving any of plot away, Oldboy follows the story of a man who gets kidnapped for fifteen years only to be released with no idea who or why the whole ordeal happened.
2. The Warriors
70’s cheese, Street Gangs, Carpenter-esque soundtrack, jive lingo, and bunch of psychotic baseball bat wielding clowns, what more could you want from a movie? Walter Hill directer this movie which initially got banned from the cinemas due to violence that it sparked and its tagline, ‘These are the armies of the night. They are 100,000 strong. They outnumber the cops five to one. They could run New York City.’ It was a very balls out time for cinema, as film companies were pushing boundaries and this film was no exception. Filmed with basically little to no professional actors and real life street gangs as extras, watch this movie for its corny lingo, its simple clarity, and its time-capsule like effect to an era that may or may have not ever really occured.
So, Walter Hill approached Bobby to ask if he wanted to play Cowboy in The Warriors, but thankfully, Robert turned down the role to appear in my all time favourite movie ever instead, which leads to our number 1 for this weeks Top 5…
1. Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver, in my opinion Scorsese at his finest. Taxi Driver is the movie that made me want to follow a career in film, and I am sure has affected others in many similar ways. If you haven’t seen it yet I am quiet envious of you, and if you have I am sure that you share a similar view. I don’t want to bother getting started on this film so instead I will leave you with a scene that I am sure you are familiar with, just never realising where the actual scene and saying was from
For me, this week’s Top 5 was a very hard and personal one, so here is a list of VERY honourable mentions that almost made it into the cut but unfortunately just missed out:
Easy Rider, Do the Right Thing, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Yojimbo, Fistful of Dollars, Rebel Without a Cause, Chinatown, Dazed and Confused, Akira, Dolemite, Lone Wolf and Cub, Enter the Dragon, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dirty Harry, Control, Trainspotting, Being John Malkovich, The Shining, Sea of Love, Blade Runner
Top 5 Tuesdays: Actor to Musician crossover FAILS
5. Scarlett Johansson - The fact that Johansson’s album is actually quite a good listen means that she almost didn’t make it on to the list. However, the sheer pointlessness of creating an album consisting entirely of Tom Waits covers brings her firmly over the line.
4. Eddie Murphy- Lets face it, the 80s was full of cheese, and for some of it you had the good type of cheese such as Prince singing about Little Red Corvette, but for most of it you had the worst type of cheese such as Bruce Willis mumbling through his pro-life hit Respect Yourself. Eddie Murphy was a whole different scenario. Despite hooking up with the infamous Rick James and the fact that Eddie Murphy himself had real music talent, no one could take him seriously as a musician due to his stand up/comedy career. Eddie Murphy’s Party All The Time was always destined to be that one record you wish had but didn’t end up getting due to the all the other cool shit that was out like Ataris, walkmans, and rainbow suspenders.
3. Joaquin Phoenix - Don’t have much info on this one but the weirdness level of what we do know was enough to push Phoenix all the way up to the number 3 spot! Phoenix began his musical career by winning a Grammy for his production of the soundtrack for Walk The Line. He followed this up with a not so successful announcement in 2008 that he was retiring from acting to follow a career in rapping.
2. William Shatner - The original Captain Kirk was never really able to shake his famous Star Trek title but the closest he came would have to be with his bizarre music career. Shatner has released 6 albums to date which feature him speaking the lyrics of famous songs. His unusual covers which include Pulp’s Common People and The Beatles’ Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds have become underground sensations but my personal favourite has got to be his version of the Bob Dylan song Mr Tambourine Man. Classic.
authors note: the only thing that could make this song any more bizzare would be this video
1. Joe Pesci - Oh yes. Not sure what happened here, clearly Scorcese’s casting of Mr Pesci as a badass gangster went to his head and he had trouble distinguishing real life from movie life. Hopefully De Niro had a nice sit down with Joe after he released this track and helped him sort out his issues. If not, it shouldn’t be too long before he releases his next track about his difficulties catching Mcauley Culkin in a house.
So here it is, the world’s first and only gangster rap song (As opposed to gangsta rap):
