Movie Review: Green Street Hooligans (2005)

We recently discovered this gem after a moment of violence erupted at a BSSC game. This is a London film, not really a Boston one, but a Harvard storyline is used to bookend the plot. It has the obligatory "rowing on the Charles" B-role, so it's qualifies as a Boston movie.

Matt (played by Elijah Wood) is just about to graduate from Harvard when his roommate frames him and he gets thrown out. He hops a plane to London to stay with his sister, but instead falls in with a "gang" (they call it a "firm", but that would get lost in translation on this side of the pond. Also, I'm going to use the word "soccer" here, so bear with me).

Pete (Sons of Anarchy's very British Charlie Hunnam) leads Matt on the tour through London's seedier side. They drink pints, then throw bricks at rival soccer fans. The film escalates the violence, but also lends a friendly face and logic to hooliganism.

There's a few forced moments in the plot, but overall this was a very well done film. And it's worth stressing to our football-baseball-basketball loving readers, there's barely any soccer in this film at all.

FINAL SCORE = B+

Long time, no post...

Hey readers,
It's been a while, and we apologize.


See, with the MA film tax credit threats taking all non-Kevin James/non-Adam Sandler movies away from the area, there hasn't been a lot of PA work lately. We've had some of our regular contributers quit the business; others are just wallowing in the fetal position waiting for their unemployment to expire.

In a world, where PAs fight for survival... (hey, anybody want to option this?)

Holiday Scoreboard!

We haven't done a Scoreboard posting in a while, so lets do that before we review "The Fighter" and "Locked In" later this week.

We've recently decided to add a "Boston Documentary" category. If they seem to score higher than their fictional counterparts... just remember, we have a lot of PBS fans around here.

Here are the latest rankings. As always, we grade on a curve:

BOSTON MADE MOVIES

A..... The Departed

A..... Jaws

A-.... A Civil Action

A-.... The Friends of Eddie Coyle

A-.... Gone Baby Gone

A-.... Good Will Hunting

A-.... Shutter Island

B+.... Black Irish

B+.... Mystic River

B+.... School Ties

B...... Blown Away

B...... The Boondock Saints

B...... Edge of Darkness

B...... Love Story

B...... Monument Ave

B...... The Thomas Crown Affair

B-..... 21

B-..... The Invention of Lying

B-.... The Proposal

C+.... Surrogates

C...... The Bostonians

C...... The Maiden Heist

C...... Paul Blart: Mall Cop

C-..... Alex & Emma

C-..... The Box

C-..... Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past

C-..... What's The Worst That Could Happen

D+.... Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

D+.... My Best Friend's Girl

D...... What Doesn't Kill You

D-..... Bride Wars

D-..... Furry Vengeance

D-..... The Women

F....... The Pink Panther 2

"DEFINITELY NOT MADE IN BOSTON" BOSTON MOVIES

(you cheap bastards!)

B-.... Daisy Kenyon

B-.... Practical Magic

D-.... Knowing

BOSTON DOCUMENTARIES

A-.... Standard Operating Procedure

B...... High On Crack Street

B...... Overnight

(click the links on the sidebar for our reviews of each film)

The Golden Globes and The State of Massachusett

The Golden Globe nominees were announced yesterday, and several Boston movies had a strong showing. They include multiple nominees for "The Fighter", "The Social Network", and "The Town".

If the Golden Globes serve as major clues to whom might receive Oscars, this is a very good sign. In fact, Boston movies might actually win more Academy Awards than Razzie Awards this season.

So things are looking up for film in New England, right? Wrong. With the threat to the film tax credit back in March, and the recent ousting of Nick Paleologos from the Mass Film Office, we had a terrible year. Other than some small, small budget indie flicks, there was 1 major movie shot here in 2010. That's it. Just 1. It was a rom-com starring Anna Farris... probably not awards material.

The Boston Globe did a nice job recapping the trouble with our state government and the film office in this article. The Boston P.A., and all the other out-of-work crew members are glad that the Globe took this stance. We need to bring the film jobs back to Massachusetts.

Movie Review: High On Crack Street (1995)

In anticipation of tomorrow's release of "The Fighter", it's as good a time as ever to discuss crackheads in Lowell.

In "The Fighter", you'll see Christian Bale playing former boxer Dicky Eklund -- who not-so-coincidentally is the real life star of the HBO documentary, "High On Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell." Dumb movie title, yes. Dumb movie? Absolutely not.

This documentary takes us into the actual crack houses. I watched it with a friend from Lowell, who kept commenting, "I know that street. I know that corner." Oh, nostalgia. The film follows Dicky and two other crack addicts as they try to break the habit. It's compelling, and heartbreaking, and probably way more effective than D.A.R.E.

Filmmakers Maryann DeLeo and Richard Farrall called on the talents of Emerson College professors and interns to film this footage. Image the permission slip on that field trip!

"I, _____, release Emerson College from all liability in the event that I get murdered in a crack den during the filming of this production. In perpetuity, in all medium, worldwide."

"High On Crack Street" is pretty interesting, if you can get your hands on a copy.

Final Score = B

Vegas, Baby, Blah!

Okay, we get it, enough.

"21" tells the story of MIT students counting cards and taking Vegas for millions. It also shows-not-tells that Boston sucks compared to Vegas. Las Vegas is Oz; we're Kansas. There, you get to be anyone, anything. You're throwing money around, wearing designer suits, and banging hot chicks. Here, you're stuck miserably walking alone through "wintery mix".

Or so the juxtaposition of shots in "21" would have you believe.

On behalf of the great city of Boston, I would like to say:

1) Coming home from Vegas sucks, no matter where you live, and,

2) Living in residential Vegas sucks most of all.

Alright, location tirade, over.

Meanwhile, "21" is an okay movie. The underdog hero falls in with a powerful crowd, gets corrupted, redeems himself, etc. It's based on a true story, and the book, "Bringing Down The House." We like Jim Sturgess as the lead, despite his weird accent. There are also some new characters that weren't in the book, namely a blond love interest. Overall, everybody's fine in the acting department. The soundtrack was a little underwhelming. What I really liked, though, were the clothes.

Considering the amount of trouble other Vegas movies delve into, this one stays pretty PG.

Final Score = B-

Creepy PAs

Having just rewatched "Boogie Nights", we would like to award Philip Seymour Hoffman some sort of prize. His portrayal of Scotty J is one of the creepiest PAs we have ever seen.

And we have seen some creepy PAs.