City of God (2002) 130 Minutes

With the weather threatening to force us off our night, the Movienight Gods

smiled down on the Crew and provided a dry, if freezing cold, night.

For the first time in our history we screened a film in true 5.1 Surround

Sound, and our new system performed flawlessly.

Speaking of flawless, MOMO Eric Coolbaugh provided us with the first

snafu free presentation in the history of Movienight. The show went off

without a hitch, and everyone seemed energized despite the notable

absence of Wiener.

‘City of God’ represents our first film in Portuguese, and our third subtitled selection. It is also the most recent theatrical release in our canon other than Nubs’s controversial pick of ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ which bowed in 2004.

Pat Towne’s presence for an entire presentation was another first, and along with his company the Crew was pleasantly surprised by the late arrival of the recently displaced Scott Rabinowitz.

“Hoods never stop, they just take a break.”

Written by: Bráulio Mantovani

Directed by: Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund

BBD Comments:
‘City of God’ is an incredible film. I was delighted to finally see a Movienight Selection (other than ‘Kung Fu Hustle’) I had never seen before.
What strikes me most about this film is it’s verisimilitude. As the story careens from era to era the production design moves with it. The City evolves, grows and changes colors over the years with total legitimacy. It feels almost like a documentary. The characters are so finely drawn, and the actors playing the children match exactly with the actors playing their older counterparts, adding to the sensation that it all must be true.
This fact makes the violence all the more affecting. There is nothing elegant or cartoonish about the deadly moments of this film. People die, and it isn’t pretty. The execution of the Runt still haunts the back of my mind, as does Lil Dice’s murderous rampage through the hotel.
‘City of God’ is like many films I have seen before, and yet the directors find a way to create something completely unique. The narrative is less focused on our Narrator and his journey, but more on a community in total. The resolution of the film isn’t that Rocket has escaped the City of God, but that the City itself can now have its story told. The City itself is our protagonist, and its journey is remarkable.
Coolbaugh made a wonderful selection not just because he finally broke our Surround Sound cherry, but because ‘City of God’ follows ‘Yojimbo’ beautifully. Viewed in sequence we have a tale of two cities, one an elegant product of the imagination, the other a painfully real and unforgettable destination.

Nubs Comments:
Last night Coolbaugh brought us "City of God" which I think has to be recorded as his best pick yet. After the pressure he put upon himself following ‘Yojimbo,’ Coolbaugh stepped up to the plate in the 9th and served up a monstrous dunk straight through the uprights. The choice was perfect to follow ‘Yojimbo’ in terms of content (2 gangs fighting over control of the slums) and because the movie incorporates an eclectic modern style from Kurosawa to Scorcese to Grand Theft Auto and much more than even QuentinTarantino could hope to bag in a one-parter. Whether Coolbaugh chose this because it was to follow ‘Yojimbo,’ or it was dumb luck, we'll never know.
I hesitate to call Coolbaugh's night ingenious only because he, like a good host should, drugged our experience heavily. With a movie that takes place in Rio during the Sixties and Seventies, was it unfair for our host to announce we should "doob up" each time the characters do? I don't know, but that movie sure fuckin' rocked dude! Seriously! ...What was I saying? Oh, and then when the munchies hit he broke out the chips and queso(when he remembered he brought them).
Aside from the experience of a perfect night (sorry wiener) ‘City of God’ was my favorite movie of 2002 and holds up in it's second viewing. The movie is a rare magical marriage of an emotionally compelling story told with wondrous style, and disturbingly real acting. It's a triple threat. If there is one flaw, and I think there is, is that the movie loses track of it's central hero, “Rocket.” It's true he is a photographer and just the passive viewer, but his story does interest us. His simple quest to leave the slums and also to get laid is palpable, but gets pushed to the back while the dazzling war and bloodshed dominates the narrative. I'm definitely willing to forgive.
Well done, Coolbaugh, I don't think I can top that next week. Is there any queso and smoke left? 
Wiener Comments:
[Editor’s Note: Although Mr. Wiener was unable to attend, as covered in this blog entry he enjoyed a private Movienight in his Phoenix hotel room.]

Porking With Pride (2006) 154 Minutes
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Selector: Wiener

Watch these squealing sluts go hog wild as they shove their holes full of seasoned sausage. Nothing’s too extreme, too raw, too nasty in this meltdown that’ll raise your temp and cholesterol," said the professional review of ‘Porking with Pride,’ and boy were they right. I thought about going with ‘Untamed Cheerleaders’ as my personal Movienight selection, but when I got a load of the DP action in ‘Porking with Pride,’ I knew I made the right choice. ‘Porking with Pride’ opens with a chick getting drilled, then moves on to show chicks getting nailed, tapped, slammed, boned, and cornholed in various combinations, configurations, and mutations. In a formula that's a little tiresome and predictable, every scene ended with a cum bath, and in the absence of a plot, chicks getting spooged upon provided the only real narrative continuity. Both Renee Pornero and Katrina Kraven did admirable jobs in the film, but I was somewhat disappointed by Rick Masters's performance. He seemed a little confused about his character and whether the ass pounding he delivered to the candy striper in scene 4 was meant to be a tender, loving buttfuck, or a hole-stretching ass reaming. Without understanding his motivation, I really didn't know how to feel.
Overall, Porking with Pride was pretty good. But at 154 minutes, too long to ever be an official Movie Night selection.

SELECTOR Comments:
I really look forward to my selections. In fact, I’ve got a short list of titles prepared, so all I need to do is simply pick one when it’s my turn. My list is so deep that, assuming we stick with the 5-person rotation, I won’t have to go searching for a selection for years. Smooth sailing - just sit back, feel the vibe, and let the “game come to me,” so to speak.

But when Wiener exited the stage last week, he left it violated. From my vantage point, there was nothing but a gaping hole that I, quite honestly, did not think I could fill. It was as if he fucked your girlfriend in the ass with a 4” thick cock about 20 minutes before you fell in love with her sweet smile.

It’s obvious that Movienight selections have evolved. They’ve gotten more and more challenging as the weeks go by. It’s not unlike a game of Jenga, really.

I was fucked, and I knew it. I simply did not have a film. My list was supposed to grant me smooth sailing all the way through to 2009, baby – that’s why I put it together in the first place. Sure - I knew that I would bring nachos, and that was going to be grand, but I still had no film. Having nachos with no film is akin to having bullets but no gun. It was obvious to me that, unless I dug deeper, I was going to be responsible for THE let down we all know is coming, but have never outwardly acknowledged. To put it in Jenga terms: I was at serious risk of knocking over the tower.

So I did what I had to do. I flicked my list and went back to work. I scoured over thousands of movie titles. Nothing hit me. I searched every movie list out there. Nothing. But I reached down, found another gear, and kept going. And eventually I saw it. I saw it and then I knew I had only choice.

‘City of God.’ Pop. This was the perfect – and only - follow up to ‘Yojimbo.’ I won’t go into the film’s details. I’ll leave that to my colleagues. But I will say that I believe it was my finest selection to date, on the most challenging stage I’ve had to take. The opening title came on, and Nubs was very quick to ID it. It was, after all, his favorite movie of 2002. With a glee in his voice, he blurted (everybody wants to be the first to call out a movie) out, “City of God.” I knew Nubs had seen it, but I didn’t know about the others. I went around the room. “Tooda, you seen this?” No. “Justine, you seen this?” No. (Special guest) Pat Towne, “Pat, you seen this?” No. Holy shit. I hit the jackpot. I pulled off a coup. La junta grande.

I, obviously, recommend this film to everybody…it’s one of my top 10 favorites of all time. But ‘City of God’ is now a Movienight memory, and we have only to look forward. But one thing is for certain: thanks to ‘City of God,’ Nubs will have a much easier time than I did.

Onward.

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