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Posted on 05.07.09 by David @ 9:29 pm
The Wrestler
Filed under: General and Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and People: Mickey Rourke and People: Patrice Leconte and Movie Reviews: France and People: Darren Aronofsky and Movie Reviews: Capsule Reviews and DVD Companies: Severin Comments: 1 Comment |
I have long said that the only good wrestling films come from outside the US. Between dramedies like The Foul King and freak-outs like Champions of Justice and The Calamari Wrestler, Japan, Korea and Mexico have put the US film industry to shame (the recent Nacho Libre did nothing to change my mind). With The Wrestler, though, there is finally some competition.|
Posted on 12.16.08 by Charlie @ 11:11 am
The Sky Crawlers  Mamoru Oshii, the animé heavyweight behind the classic film Ghost in the Shell has a new film, The Sky Crawlers, based on a novel by Hiroshi Mori. A startling mix of impressive 3D graphics and low-fi 2D animation, the film just premiered in New York City this past Friday courtesy of New York-Tokyo, the Film Society at Lincoln Center, Sony Pictures, Stage 6 Films and Production IG. Mamoru Oshii recorded a brief introduction for the film’s NY premiere, in which he talked about a phenomenon around the world and, he claimed, particularly in Japan, in which youngsters decide “not to grow up” and continue to act like children right into their adulthood. The idea of child-like adults plays a central role in The Sky Crawlers, which takes place in a futuristic sci-fi society in which genetic research gone awry has resulted in children who don’t age, but only if they so choose not to — they can also choose to grow up normally. But if they do choose to remain children, they become “kildren” (presumably derived from “killer children”) and simply live on forever physically as children (teenagers really), holding jobs and living like adults in other respects. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: Charlie and Movie Reviews: Capsule Reviews Comments: None |
Posted on 05.18.08 by Charlie @ 12:04 pm
 The Guatemalan Handshake Rating: 3 out of 4 stars (good) Think of The Guatemalan Handshake as a love letter to memories of growing up in small town, USA. The film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival, has only just been made available on DVD from Benten Films (more on the label later). The Guatemalan Handshake is loosely centered around Will Oldham’s character, Donald Turnupseed — or rather his disappearance, and as fair warning, it is not structured around a traditional narrative structure of any kind. Rather, it is a collection of moments that come together like a collage to paint a loving picture of small town life, warts and all. For those with the patience for atypical narratives, this one’s a real treat. Filed under: General and Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: Charlie and Rating: Good ★★★ and DVD Companies: Benten Films Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.22.08 by Charlie @ 11:07 pm
Zodiac Review By: Charlie Prince  David Fincher’s triumphant 2007 film Zodiac has finally been released to the public in a pristine HD-DVD format. Based on a true story, this unusual police procedural is riveting - the kind of movie where even if you’re a bit sleepy going into the movie, you will be wide awake 20 minutes in. The plot is fairly straight-forward. After a few minutes of Fincher’s trademark moving camera work, the story gets rocking as we are introduced to the murderer that we will spend the next couple hours studying. His face is never shown, which allows the film to also work as a whodunit to a lesser degree. His target? A young couple that has driven off to a “make out” site. The young man survives the attack but is unable to provide the police with any significant clues. The police are stumped and before long they are embarrassed, because the murderer has written to a local newspaper to drum up attention for himself. He provides details that only the murderer could know and takes credit for multiple murders. The killer is a big media sensation, and yet the police still make little progress. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD News and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: Charlie and People: David Fincher Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.03.07 by David @ 7:15 am
Country and Year: USA and Canada Review By: David Austin  Out of Mind is the third collection of H.P. Lovecraft adaptations from Lurker Films (a fourth volume is coming soon). Lurker has found an interesting niche for itself diligently gathering cinematic odds and ends focusing on several authors of the macabre and the mysterious (Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, and Robert W. Chambers) and presenting them on anthology DVDs. The films themselves range from television specials to student short films, and the budgets and technical quality vary accordingly. However, at least based on my experience with this collection, all treat their subjects in a literary manner rather than an exploitative one - certainly a welcome and atypical trait with regard to Lovecraft at least (not that I don’t enjoy the collected works of Stuart Gordon). Volume 3 has as its centerpiece the fiction/biographical piece “Out of Mind,” and also includes three short films, “The Music of Erich Zann,” “The Outsider,” and “My Necromicon,” two of which are drawn directly from Lovecraft’ short stories. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: David and Movie Reviews: Canada and DVD Companies: Lurker Films and People: H.P. Lovecraft Comments: 5 Comments |
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Posted on 02.01.07 by Jeff @ 5:32 pm
Country: United States/France The Films of Kenneth Anger Vol. 1 is a DVD collection of historically significant short films that are also remarkably fun. Anyone with a fear of underground or experimental films would do well to overcome their phobia by watching this collection of fascinating, witty, enigmatic and surprisingly modern works. FIREWORKS (1947)  Fireworks is a witty, somewhat harrowing film that explores the intersection between sex and danger. The dialogue-free film depicts the feverish sexual fantasies of an unnamed protagonist, as he gets roughed up by some sailors and cruises a men’s room, among other highlights. Interspersed with these adventures are some gruesome Bunuel-style imagery involving milk, water, blood, guts and a flaming Christmas tree, as well as striking shots of Hollywood at night. The titular fireworks provide the film’s spectacular, hilarious climax, which I would not dream of spoiling. Astonishingly, Anger directed Fireworks when he was only 17 years old. Anger’s grasp of technique at that age was as mature as the subject matter of the film. As the frame above makes clear, at this point in time Anger was already adept at dramatic compositions and lighting. Moreover, Fireworks displays a facility with depth and perspective that is also evident in his later works. In particular, Anger makes excellent use of a painted set of a barroom that looks both convincing and slightly surreal. Through these effective production tricks, Anger disguises well the fact that Fireworks was a homemade effort, produced while his parents were away for the weekend. I would not be surprised if Fireworks was a major influence on some of Guy Maddin’s recent sexually charged, silent-style films such as Cowards Bend the Knee and Sissy Boy Slap Party. The Maddin films films combine antiquated filmmaking techniques with contemporary sexual frankness in a way that appears novel to many. However, Fireworks proves that there truly is nothing new under the sun, and that films with such subject matter have been made for decades. Fireworks also shares their surreal milieu and wry sense of humor, and fans of Maddin would be well-advised to give Fireworks a look. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Rating: Good ★★★ and Contributors: Jeff and DVD Companies: Fantoma and People: Kenneth Anger Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.02.07 by David @ 9:12 am
Country and Year: US (2006) Review By: David Austin  Vice Magazine is a hipster rag par excellence with an intelligent skate-punk aesthetic. Subsidized by advertising, the writing ranges from engagingly snarky to cooler-than-thou, with a heavy focus on the traditional – sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, along with a hefty dose of fashion. Though Vice was founded in Montreal, I was introduced to it years ago as a free alternative giveaway in New York. Since then the staff has permanently moved publication to NYC. Vice is a classic mixed bag - some of the writing is essential, like Chris Nieratko’s Skinema column, where reviews of pornography DVDs form a platform for amusing digressions (the ostensible subjects of the column are lucky to even get a mention in the body), or the DOs and DON’Ts photos of random people on the street. Other articles devolve into mock race-baiting and attempts to show off the magazine’s street credibility (the overabundance of American Apparel ads speaks to that). It’s always a mix of the irritating and the brilliant – the recent “Cops” and “Gangs” issues featured some excellent reporting, but other pieces can make you want to smack the editors. Still, there’s always something worth checking out, if only the pictures.  After publishing a few successful books, the Vice brand has branched out into video with The Vice Guide to Travel - a classic piece of gonzo journalism in the Hunter Thompson tradition. With its international orientation, VGT plays out like a mash-up of Robert Young Pelton’s “The World’s Most Dangerous Places” travel guide (check out the chapter on Syria) and 60 Minutes, assuming Mike Wallace had a few too many before going out on assignment. Each segment focuses on a different geographical area, and has a different theme, drawing attention to parts of the world that many will know nothing about. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: David and Rating: Average ★★ Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 10.31.06 by David @ 1:02 am
Country and Year: USA (2005) Review By: David Austin  [Click here for my interview with screenwriter and producer Sean Branney] The Call of Cthulhu is the rare quixotic project that makes good. The film’s creators, Andrew Leman, Sean Branney and the self-styled H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, set themselves a goal simple in conception but fiendishly difficult in execution: to create a film truly faithful to both the spirit and text of H.P. Lovecraft’s work. Working with a budget so low as to be hardly deserving of the name, the filmmakers took the film in an unexpected direction, creating a modern B&W silent adaptation of one of Lovecraft’s most famous tales. The final project succeeds admirably, not despite but rather because of its limitations. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: David and Rating: Good ★★★ and People: H.P. Lovecraft Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 08.25.05 by Charlie @ 4:09 pm
Country: USA (1989) Review by: Charlie Prince Slipstream is an enigma. It’s directed by the same guy who did Tron – a fantastic and creative, if slightly dated, piece of science fiction. Given Tron’s popularity, you’d think it would have launched director Steven Lisberger’s career. But he didn’t come out with another movie until 5 years later, a comedy called Hot Pursuit with John Cusack, and after that he made only one more movie. That movie was Slipstream, a post-apocalyptic, science-fiction film. It was released in 1989, and had a remarkable cast – starring Mark Hamill, Bob Peck, Bill Paxton, the gorgeous Kitty Aldridge and even featured Ben Kingsley (!) and F. Murray Abraham in small roles. Yet it’s virtually a lost film. I was only able to secure a copy as part of a 3-on-1 dvd called “Great Sci-Fi Thrillers” ($6), and despite being a post-apocalyptic movie with a real cast, it’s not even mentioned in Kim Newman’s book Apocalypse Movies: End of the World Cinema – the only book on the subject. How can such a recent, well-financed film, the first sci-fi movie by Lisberger since he made Tron, featuring a significant cast just fall off the face of the cinematic earth? And was it so bad that Lisberger was never allowed to make another movie? (since Slipstream he has only made a videogame of Tron 2.0). (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: Charlie and Rating: Poor ★ Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 07.27.05 by Pete @ 5:28 pm
Criterion Collection DVD: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou by Peter C. Bowen Director: Wes Anderson
Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: USA and Contributors: Pete and Rating: Good ★★★ and DVD Companies: Criterion Collection and People: Wes Anderson and Movies: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) Comments: 2 Comments |
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