In my area of the world, along with other people’s areas, we’re suffering through a SNOWPOCOLYPSE. Just snow and Ice and freezing and Ice and snow and the last three weeks have been like the last segment of the Shining. Instead of reading stories of people found freezing in their cars, I am waiting for a story of someone chasing their annoying sounding girlfriend through a maze because they went crazy from being locked inside for days on end. Anyway, here’s some stuff to watch.

Netflix:

“Bomb It”

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Bomb-It/70069047?trkid=438403#height1282

A documentary about graffiti that is reasonably interesting in content but really fun to look at. It covers graffiti all around the world, with stories from the taggers themselves about why they do what they do. If you want a more character driven doc about graffiti go for “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” but this one is cool too for the pretty pictures.

“Ichi the Killer”

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Ichi_the_Killer/60032644?trkid=496624#height1629

A very very insane, twisted, gory, probably offensive movie from Japan. When a mob boss disappears, Heath Ledger’s Joker template Kakihara vows to find out who is responsible. He does this by cutting a bloody swath throughout Tokyo, while also perversely attracted to the idea of a young man named Ichi who can inflict immense amounts of pain, which is Kakihara’s fetish.

The movie is shot beautifully, with immense colors and scenes used throughout. Visually it is stunning if you remove yourself from the gore and with a soundtrack from the Boredoms the movie comes off as what Oliver Stone wishes he could have done with Natural Born Killers. Not for the faint of heart.

Gunnin for That #1 Spot

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Gunnin-for-That-1-Spot/70100117?trkid=438403#height1765

A documentary shot by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch about eight high school basketball players preparing for the first ever Elite 24 all star game in New York’s Mecca of streetball, Rucker Park.

What’s really interesting is the fact that since this was shot in 2007/08, the movie stars guys such as Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans, who are now making names for themselves in the NBA. Since you know how they turned out, you get to see the guys in a “before they were famous” setting, which makes things like say, Beasley’s weed bust and attitude issues so much more understanding when you see how he handled being a famous sigh school prodigy. It is missing out on one or two players (Derrick Rose and OJ Mayo especially would have been interesting), but if you like the NBA and want to see how these guys handled stardom at 18 you will dig this. “Gunnin” also briefly touches on the somewhat creepy obsession that shoe companies, leagues and agents have for recruiting these young kids, and how a kid that age would handle something like everyone descending on them all at once.

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