Michael and Mars

I can't think of anything exciting to post today and Jan 3rd is not one of my favorite dates on the calendar, so I'm not too motivated to be creative. So I'll go with an old standard and post a movie review. I know that I normally post reviews of new movies here, but thought I'd take a little departure from that and post a DVD review instead. I finally saw "Poolhall Junkies" this weekend. Now, I know most of you are asking yourself, "What the fuck is "Poolhall Junkies?'" Think "Rounders" with pool players instead of poker players and you'll get the idea. This film never went into wide release. It played a few film festivals and maybe a dozen or so art houses around the country but that was about it. I had to see it because my beloved Michael Rosenbaum is in it :) I adore Michael, but some of the recent theatrical releases he has been involved with have not been the greatest things to ever hit the big screen. (And trust me, he's one of the first to admit that.) Still, he seemed to be pleased with how Junkies turned out so I'd been wanting to see it for awhile now. Although he got 4th billing, Michael's part is fairly small. The script did not give much depth to his character, and as a result, his role didn't seem to be much of stretch for him. (He plays Mars' goofy, misguided brother.) Still, he does a good job with what he has to work with and even gets to sing in one scene. (It is weird to see him with hair though. I'm just too used to him as Lex at this point.) The real standout is writer/director/star, Mars Callahan though. I'd never even heard of this guy before this movie. That's partially why he went out and got this movie made. He wasn't getting any work so he decided to go out and just shoot his own picture. Sure, it's a low-budget indie, but it's actually a pretty good little film. In addition to Michael, the film also has Christopher Walken, Chazz Palminteri, and Alison Eastwood in it. Good performances all around. I was pleasantly surprised. (Although the comparisons to "Rounders" are undeniable, so it loses some points in the creativity column.) I suck at pool (there's math involved) so anyone who can play the game even remotely well tends to impress me, and there's a lot of good pool playing going on in this movie. Mainly it was nice to see Michael in a movie that I actually liked. It's definitely worth checking out if you get the chance.

"You beat them, you take their money, you call them names to their faces... and they love you. I don't know how you do it. I never saw anything like it. Beating a man out of his money, that's easy. Anybody can do that. But beating a man out of his money and making him like it... that's an art. That's the art of a true hustler." - Chazz Palminteri - "Poolhall Junkies"