NEW YORK FLICKS

New York flicks With Billy Disaster #1. Last nights movie was Manhattan starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton and Mariel Hemingway.

This movie is basically a stage play on screen with an unbelievably killer script delivered by master actors.

The characters: Diane Keaton plays a show off intellectual home wrecker who is dating a married man (duh) named Yale. But then she also falls for his main homie, Woody and relationships get complicated. Keaton’s acting is a nuclear powerhouse in one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. She’s amazing.

Woody Allen is divorced from the SMOKIN hot Meryl Streep who is publishing a book about their failed marriage putting Woody in an embarrassing spot. But the person who really is embarrassing themselves is Woody. BY CASTING HIMSELF AS A PEDOPHILE!! He’s 42 years old dating a 17 year old high school student (Hemingway). I learned that in real life that Allen actually tried to get Hemingway into the sack when the film was finished. What a total creep.

Despite the ethical problems, this flick was genius in its comedy, it’s photography, and every performance was phenomenal. The awkward scene where Woody and Keaton are on a double date with Yale and his wife (Anne Byrne Hoffman) at the cinema was pure gold without a word being said. Just facial expressions saying everything. There are a thousand highlights is this.

I would love to give this flick a perfect score, but the Woody Allen thing just gets in the way. 4 Lady Liberties for Manhattan 🗽🗽🗽🗽. Tonight’s movie will be King Kong (1933). ♥️You Billydisaster.com #MovieReview #moviereviews #moviereviewer #manhattan #dianekeaton

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #2. Last nights movie was King Kong (1933) starring Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong.

Having never seen this, I did know that in order to appreciate it properly, I had to put myself into the mindset of little 7 year old billy disaster. So I sat in front of my TV on the floor, surrounded myself with some toys and a comforting sock monkey, spiked some Kool-Aid and went all in.

From the proper perspective, this flick is terrifying. The situational danger grows thicker with every act with the darkness of every scene coupled with the ominous sound design. The scariest element of this movie is the roar of King Kong. It had little Billy putting his blanket over his head and taking occasional peaks now and then. Also the screaming blended with sirens was a terrific and clever effect.

It’s really cool to break down the intense creativity that goes into making these classic films. The special effects artists that worked on this went all out with stop motion photography, beautiful models of buildings and other various structures, and their 1930’s version of a green screen. I’d much rather watch something like this than a slick CGI video game movie.

An interesting thing about this was how American greed and “civilized” culture were the actual villains. I felt so bad for King Kong and the arrogance of the American filmmaker and maritime characters towards the indigenous people and Fay Wray was troubling. I try not to get too uptight about these types of things but it’s eye opening nonetheless. It was puzzling trying to figure out what kinds of ethical positions these filmmakers were trying to take. Do the remakes address this at all? I doubt I’ll ever find out as I don’t intend on seeing them.

The cool story telling and creative special effects mixed with the mostly asshole characters (except Fay Wray) gives King King a reluctant 4 Lady Liberties 🗽🗽🗽🗽. Little Billy Disaster will sleep with a night light this week. Tonight’s movie will be 25th Hour. ♥️You billydisaster.com #moviereview #moviereviews #moviereviewblog #kingkong

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #3. Last nights movie was 25th Hour starring Edward Norton and Rosario Dawson.

There’s a scene in this flick that was so powerful and well done that I had to watch it twice. Ed Norton is looking at himself in a bathroom mirror and his reflection goes OFF on a “fuck the world” tirade that is reminiscent of Tool’s “AEnema”.

Norton has one day left as a free man. He’s been convicted of drug dealing and is going to prison for 7 years. His homies Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry pepper along with his SMOKIN hot girlfriend (Dawson) are trying to make his last night a good one.

I think that this was my 1st Spike Lee flick. It definitely won’t be my last. (Might have to do an entire ike Lee series). I really loved how this movie felt. It was emotional and engrossing. I actually kind of felt like I was going to prison tomorrow and saying goodbye to everyone. I’m really kind of tearing up as I write this.

I’m always stoked to see Barry Pepper in a movie. A lot of times he’s playing a vulnerable and likable soldier in a war flick. In this film he shows his diversity where he’s a bit more aggressive, but he’s still cool.

Every performance in this was killer, but Norton’s was downright awesome. I’ve never seen him in a bad role and this is one of his best.

Spike Lee did not fuck around with this killer movie. 5 Lady Liberties for 25th Hour 🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽. Tonight’s movie will be The Apartment. ♥️You billdisaster.com #moviereview #moviereviews #moviereviewblog #25hour #spikelee #newyork

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #4. Last nights movie was The Apartment starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.

I learned a new word yesterday…”Sexile”…When one of your roommates wants to bring someone home to get it on and you need to vacate the premises…you just got Sexiled. That’s what this movie might have been called had it been made today instead of 1960.

Lemmon plays an insurance office worker who has these asshole managers that promise him promotions in exchange for use of his apartment where these two timing dickheads can take their side pieces. Lemmon proves to be a pushover and not only lets them use his pad, but provides the booze and cleans up after them.

Well, Lemmon becomes smitten with a hot ass elevator operator played by Shirley MacLaine. Problem is, his main boss (Fred McMurray) has been side piecing her unbeknownst to Lemmon and some awkward comedic and dramatic shit ensues.

How good was this flick? It won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Art Direction, and Editing. In a year that also had Psycho, Spartacus and a shitload of others.

The loneliness of Jack Lemmon is strongly felt because it’s mirrored by his innocent enthusiasm for others. It was nice to see him stand his ground later in the film. The music was perfectly perfect as well as all of the imagery.

The only thing missing from the story was that those douche bag managers never got caught cheating on their wives. But I’m still giving 5 Lady Liberties to The Apartment 🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽. Tonight’s movie will be Dog Day Afternoon. ♥️You #moviereview #moviereviews #theapartment #moviereviewblog

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #5. Last nights movie was Dog Day Afternoon starring Al Pacino and John Cazale.

1st off, I’d like to welcome all of the new readers we’ve gotten recently. And for those of you that don’t know, every flick we review are fresh takes of movies we’ve never seen (because of the rock we live under). A huge thanks to every one of you. Ok, here we go…

You know how Star Wars have been doing side story movies like Solo and Rogue One (the best Star Wars movie of all time)? Well this was kind of like a side story of The Godfather with Michael and Fredo.

Based on a true story, this flick does not mess around and gets right to the action of a bank robbery gone wrong in Brooklynn. It develops each character all throughout the movie in a wonderfully unique way.

You’ve got Pacino and Cazale who mishandle the robbery and have to resort to taking hostages. You’ve got the perfectly cast Charles Durning who plays Moretti the cop who is in charge of negotiating the situation. And you’ve got the various hostages including my favorite, Sylvia played by Penelope Allen. She’s just so great with her no-nonsense demeanor. I loved her.

This was my favorite role of Pacino’s I’ve ever seen. His character, Sonny, gets the idea of robbing a bank to help pay for his husbands sex change operation. (A gay lead character in a 1975 flick…amazing). As imperfect as Sonny is, it’s incredibly endearing how he just really wants to take care of his friends and family and has to resort to bank robbery. He’s particularly caring of Cazale’s character, Sal, who is struggling with the morality of robbing a bank. As fragile as Fredo was in The Godfather, Sal is twice as vulnerable.

During the 14 hour standoff, Sonny negotiates various conditions for releasing One hostage at a time including a getaway plane and even some pizza. As the story unfolds to the general public though TV news, Sonny becomes a bit of a hero, particularly among the gay community.

The killer storytelling and the incredible acting of some great characters give Dog Day Afternoon 5 Lady Liberties 🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽. Tonight‘s movie will be Gangs of New York. ♥️You #moviereview

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #6. Last nights movie was Gangs of New York starring Daniel Day Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz.

Martin Scorsese knows how to light up a screen. Whether it’s the amazing (and probably super expensive) sets, or the captivating beauty of Cameron Diaz, or the sinister smile of Daniel Day Lewis, it’s one stunning shot after another.

As tense as this flick is, (it’s really, REALLY tense), the overwhelming element is the ferocious brutality. I had to hide under the blankets a few times . It wasn’t just the violence, it was the circumstances behind the violence. The story of vengeance was so troubling that it took me a day and a couple (ok..a few) Irish whiskeys to recover.

DiCaprio and Diaz are both sensational actors who are generally the spotlights in their films, however, when Daniel Day Lewis is present, everyone holds his beer.

DDL’s role as Bill the Butcher is one of the greatest villains of all time. Up there with Hannibal Lecter, Hans Landa and Norman Bates. He’s cunning and vicious. He’s philosophical and savage. His rule over the historical Five Points is akin to Fanucci The Black Hand in The Godfather, only way more barbaric. Bill the Butcher will be in my nightmares for years to come.

The story is basically this…Bill kills DiCaprio‘s father (Liam Neeson) when he was a child during a gang battle. 16 years later DiCaprio comes for revenge. He meets Diaz along the way and they fall in love. The environment that all of this takes place in is a chaotic 1840’s New York where groups of immigrants are staking their ground. The law barely exists and it’s a difficult and dangerous place to be as democracy is trying to gain its footing.

This flick was awesome and exhausting. 5 Lady Liberties for Gangs of New York 🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽. Tonight’s movie will be Serpico. ♥️You Billydisaster.com #moviereview #moviereviews #moviereviewblog #gangsofnewyork

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #7. Last nights movie was Serpico starring Al Pacino.

Here’s the thing. I love pretty much every Al Pacino flick. Including this one. And he’s one of the greatest American actors of all time. However, I really hate him when he gets angry and starts yelling. This hatred began when I first saw him yelling at Kate in The Godfather and continued right through Scarface. It’s like nails on a chalkboard or like listening to The Counting Crows. And this movie has too much goddam yelling Pacino.

Now that I’ve got that off of my chest, we can focus on the great things about this flick.

The true story of Frank Serpico being an honest New York cop who sets out to expose the rampant corruption in his department is a story worth telling. Serpico is a counter culture guy who won’t take payoffs from people and businesses in his territory. The trouble is, pretty much every other cop does take the payoffs leaving Serpico in the position of being a rat. The tension is thicker than Biggie Smalls and present throughout 90% if this film.

The sets and the performances are so perfect that it’s easy to forget that we’re not watching real life unfold. It’s extraordinary.

The asshole cops in this aren’t assholes in the same way that present day Seattle cops are assholes. Seattle cops suck because they’re power tripping condescending pricks. In this flick, they’re just like mobster bullies feeding off of their neighbors.

For me, this is a one watch great flick. 4 Lady Liberties for Serpico 🗽🗽🗽🗽. Tonight’s movie will be Breakfast at Tiffany’s. ♥️You. #moviereview #moviereviews #moviereviewblog

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #8. Last nights movie was Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.

Having never seen this flick before, I was left charmed yet conflicted.

Yes, this movie was beautiful to look at, the music (Henry Mancini), the costume design (Edith Head) and the undeniable beauty of Audrey Hepburn. Her mastery of being carefree is infectious and it’s difficult to think that her role was supposed to be occupied by Marilyn Monroe. Although that would have been cool too.

The story is about a couple of borderline prostitutes (Hepburn and Peppard) who spend a lot of their time getting drunk, charming their wealthy beneficiaries and eventually fall in love. Oh, and Hepburn also kind of works for the mob. Sound compelling? Kind of. It’s all pretty vanilla.

This flick is also dated as hell. Turns out that Hepburn is a runaway from her former husband who looks old enough to be her grandfather (Barnaby Jones from The Beverly Hillbillies) who married her WHEN SHE WAS 14! Jeez.

The racism with Mickey Rooney’s character is so shameful that I don’t even want to get into it. It’s embarrassing🤮.

As aesthetically pleasing as this flick was, it left a bad taste in my mouth. But “Moon River” gives it extra credit. 3 Lady Liberties for Breakfast at Tiffany’s 🗽🗽🗽. Tonight’s movie will be The Warriors. ♥️You. billydisaster.com #moviereview #moviereviews #moviereviewblog #breakfastattiffanys

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #9. Last nights movie was The Warriors starring Michael Beck and David Patrick Henry.

I always worry about reviewing “Cult Classics” as it seems that the people that love them saw these flicks at a certain time of their lives where they could be most effected by it. Cult Classics also have a reputation of being kind of “B” movies that don’t appeal to the majority of movie lovers.

The Warriors has a much better reputation than that as almost everyone I’ve talked to loves this flick, but to me it felt like that Cult Classic that I saw at the wrong age.

I did appreciate the overall story and feeling of this flick. The suspense had me nervous throughout and I recognize why a few of the scene were so iconic.

However I couldn’t help feeling like the producers gave a few million dollars to a sophomore film student. The acting was cartoonishly awful and the ensemble scenes were like watching a elementary school play. Every character (except Lynne Thigpen the DJ) was really unlike able. Especially that asshole Luther (David Patrick Kelly).

I’m wish that I could’ve have seen this as a teenager. I probably would have dug it a lot more. But 2 Lady Liberties for The Warriors 🗽🗽. Tonight’s movie will be Escape from New York and will be the final flick in the New York series. ♥️You. billydisaster.com #moviereview #moviereviews #moviereviewblog #thewarriors

New York Flicks With Billy Disaster #10. Last nights movie was Escape from New York starring Kurt Russell and Isaac Hayes.

This flick was a hell of a lot like The Warriors (NYFWBD#9), but done by a much better filmmaker. The whole feel of it was just so much more professional while keeping the same grit and grime as The Warriors.

However, as much as I appreciated the maturity of this, it didn’t hold the suspense as well. It started off bad ass with the set up and the killer presence of Lee Van Cleef. But by the time Snake (Kurt Russell) finally finds The Duke (Isaac Hayes), the whole thing drops off and becomes kind of bland.

I think I’ve actually only seen Kurt Russell in one other movie Death Proof🤘(which was totally awesome) and I am now truly a fan. As cheesy as some of his lines were in this, he delivers them in a way that makes them seem less cheesy and downright necessary.

This flick is actually one that could possibly remade in a cool way if the 2nd half is reconsidered. 3 Lady Liberties for Escape from New York 🗽🗽🗽. That’s it for this New York series. The next series is a BIG GIGANTIC SURPRISE!! I can’t wait to tell you. ♥️You Billydisaster.com #moviereview #moviereviews #moviereviewblog #escapefromnewyork