Gangsters, Trains and Henry Rollins

The Station Agent - I loved this movie! The story was well told and funny, the characters are well developed and interesting. The Station Agent is character driven and you can't ask more from a film. From the very beginning of the film I wanted to know more about the characters, their history and their motivations. At the end of the movie I still wanted to know what happens with the rest of their lives. Great cast, great story, great movie!

Love, Honor and Obey - This movie is a British gangster film in the same style of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Gangster No. 1. I like British movies and humor so this was right up my alley. Love, Honor and Obey has a Pulp Fiction-esque feel to it, which appeals to me. There is some graphic violence, but it is intercut with humor and in some cases the violence is humorous. I really enjoyed the film and the performances of the mostly male cast that included Jude Law, Johnny Lee Miller and my favorite, Sean Pertwee. The accents are pretty thick at times, but if you understood the dialogue in Snatch, you won't have a problem with understanding it in this film.

Henry Rollins: Shock and Awe - Henry Rollins is difficult to explain. He is a post-punk rock icon from the the hard-core band Black Flag, and he had a song that got heavy rotation on MTV in the early 90's, Liar. He's a writer, an actor, and he is a talker. I've seen him in movies and heard some of his music, but my favorite way to see Henry Rollins is when he is doing a spoken word tour. I caught one of these performances in February of 1996 at Numbers in Houston. He talked for hours, and in spite of how dull that may sound, he is one of the most entertaining people to ever tell a story.

Shock and Awe is a filmed performance of one of the talks he gave in Seattle last year. If you don't know Rollins' work, his close cropped hair, muscles, and numerous tattoos might be misleading. His rants are intelligent, funny, and liberal. He is vocal in his anti-drug stance (although this did not come across in Shock and Awe), and he has dead on insight into national and world politics. He also tells hilarious stories about working in the entertainment industry. On this DVD, his story of working with William Shatner, Ben Folds, and Adrian Ballou is hystercally funny. If you are in the mood for something out of the ordinary, try Shock and Awe.