The Parking Lot Movie

The Parking Lot Movie (2010)

Directed by Meghan Eckman

Trailer

This is a documentary about parking lot attendants at one lot in particular. Doesn’t it already sound amazing? Well you’d be right. London, Lauren, and I watched this one during their recent visit and in my opinion it was just a wonderful lovely entertaining movie about those who hold an underappreciated job that serves to affirm and celebrate those workers’ awesomeness. There are tonnes of little-guy-vs-assholes material, lots of dry humor, and some simply hilarious interactions with drunks. Not a mind-blowing movie by any stretch of the imagination, but a perfect film for a quiet afternoon when what you require is some levity and delight. It has been a month or so, so I cannot remember any specifics, but I would highly recommend it to anyone. It is a documentary though, so that sort of hurts it in my eyes due to my vague and general hatred of documentaries, and thus I give it 4 Maroons out of 5.

ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)

ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980) - Directed by Robert Redford

Greg introduced me to this one, and I wanna get into Robert Redford's directed stuff a lot more.

Basically, the film is about a family trying to cope with the loss of a family member, who died in a tragic boating accident. Tim Hutton plays the lesser-favorite brother who attempted suicide and is racked with guilt, and is seeing a psychiatrist (played by Judd Hirsch). Mary Tyler Moore is the cold, unforgiving mother, incapable of doling out any more love, total bitch. Donald Sutherland plays the father that tries to remain positive and keep everyone together.

It was well done, but it kind of dragged near the end, and then finished abruptly.

But that's okay, because the movie had the few occasional lines that just seemed so out-of-place for this kind of drama, that me and Greg just looked at each other and laughed. Seriously, Tim Hutton barking like a dog was awesome. Plus, Donald Sutherland's goofy face when he laughs, and Mary Tyler Moore's Egyptian Mummy Corpse Face added to the comedic relief throughout the otherwise heavy film.

The psychiatrist scenes with Hutton and Hirsch were good, and looked like they could have been inspiration for Good Will Hunting. I teared up a little bit when they did a "It's not your fault, it's not your fault" sequence. No, this was total inspiration for GWH (Except I like Robin Williams as a psychiatrist more, just because of the "if you talk ill about my wife again, I WILL END YOU, you got that chief?!" line).

As I said, the ending was abrupt (Husband tells wife she's a cold bitch and he doesn't love her; she fucks off to Houston; the son blames himself for her leaving; father consoling kid telling him not to blame himself, and that's it! END.)

SO AWESOME.

The cold ending gives this 6 grim skulls of 10.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone that's ever coped with the loss of a loved one, or anyone who wants to see tomb face. Plus, this movie gets referenced in Party Down, first episode.

Ordinary Fucking People.

- LD



Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZYHe8IAlto&feature=player_embedded

KENNY & COMPANY (1976)

The trailer speaks for itself...

imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074739/

GOOD NEIGHBOURS (2010)

Starting things off with Good Neighbours because I recently saw it and afterwards read this review in the Calgary Herald by a man named Jay Stone who had his head way up his ass.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Good+Neighbours+lacks+thrills+chills+focus/5140575/story.html

Don't go in expecting plot tension and suspense because when there isn't any, you end up writing a negative review for what you wanted the movie to be, instead of what it is. And it's not really that kind of movie. Jay Stone, I just don't get you. What's not to love? It has those dark, uncomfortable perversions that I've come to love from independent canadian films and most of all, it's super fucking funny. Something that Mr. Stone seems to have glaringly omited from his review. He was too busy waiting for the twist to be revealed to realize he was supposed to be having fun.

Speedman is usual Speedman (like, Speakers Corner/Kitchen Party Speedman. Not Underworld/Felicity Speedman.) and Jay Baruchel is his usual soggy paper towel limpy wimpy, but dialed back just a bit to take it from awkward geeky to creepy geeky. He has a beard.





http://http//www.imdb.com/title/tt1576440/