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Posted on 11.30.05 by David @ 8:41 am
To me, the failure was one of casting and scripting, rather than plotting or effects. The characters played by John Leguizamo, Simon Baker, and Asia Argento were simply not interesting, entertaining or human enough to anchor the plot, and I found myself much more interested in minor characters like the female driver of Dead Reckoning and the paramilitary man with the sumo physique. Not to mention Eugene Clark’s performance as Big Daddy which, perhaps intentionally, overshadowed that of all the “human” players. Given that, I’m a little concerned by the plan to have the sequel pick up where the last left off, with the same characters. I hope Romero carefully considers a shake-up, or at least giving Baker and Argento’s characters some dimensions beyond “tough” and “caring.” Regardless, any Romero-helmed zombie film will be worth seeing. ::: Romero says new Dead film on the way Filed under: Movie News and Movie News: USA and Movies: Land of the Dead (2005) and Studios: Universal Pictures and People: George A. Romero and People: Asia Argento Comments: 6 Comments |
Land of the Dead was a solid but not stellar follow-up to George Romero’s classic trilogy. It was still light years better than the shrill, no-frills Day of the Dead, but failed to live up to the standards of the original Dawn (inevitably), or even to some of the more innovative homages like Return of the Living Dead, Dellamore Dellamorte, Wild Zero, or Shaun of the Dead. |
Posted on 11.30.05 by David @ 8:15 am
::: Big B to stay in hospital Filed under: General and Movie News and Movie News: Bollywood and Movie News: India and People: Amitabh Bachchan Comments: 2 Comments |
Here’s hoping that Amitabh Bachchan, brightest star of the Indian screen, and hero of countless classics, like Sholay, Don, Mard, and Amar Akbar Anthony (not to mention many great recent films, like Sarkar), gets well soon.|
Posted on 11.28.05 by Blake @ 9:13 am
Guess the Movie? This one should be slightly easier than last week. Post your answers in the comments. Last week the movie was “Detective Story” (1951) (view). The image of Lee Grant as a shoplifter threw everyone for a spin and no one was able to guess the movie. Filed under: Contests: Guess The Movie? Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 11.28.05 by David @ 7:53 am
Country and Year: Japan (1971-73) Review By: David Austin
The Pinky Violence Collection is a fantastic entry-point to a genre that, until very recently, was almost completely inaccessible to the Western viewer. In the 1970s, facing stiff competition from television, the Japanese film industry fought back by providing viewers with what television couldn’t – excessive sex and violence. Nikkatsu started with its Roman-Porno line of bizarre soft-core films, and Toei, in response, chose to follow a more action-oriented route. The resulting Pinky Violence films featured female heroines, and unprecedented levels of on-screen sex and violence. The closest parallel would be the blaxploitation films of the U.S., which created a similarly heady mix of eroticism, action, and social justice. Similarly, the Pinky Violence films blur the line between empowerment and exploitation. Just as blaxploitation films were among the first to star strong African-American protagonists but simultaneously traded in the crudest stereotypes possible, the Pinky Violence films depicted strong, independent female characters, while subjecting them to intensely degrading situations, and filling the screen with gratuitous nudity.
Panik House has selected four different movies from four different series, in an attempt to present the cream of Toei’s crop. The films are Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless To Confess, Girl Boss Guerrilla, Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom, and Criminal Woman: Killing Melody. All share certain characteristics – a gang of tough outlaw girls, who have only their camaraderie and their fists (knives, grenades) to protect them from a harsh male world of gangsters and officials. Within the confines of that basic premise, the four films run the gamut from biker gang roughies, to schoolgirl sadism, to revenge sagas. They also vary in tone from the relatively light-hearted and more traditional DGB, to the absolutely vicious TGHS, to the brutal but slapstick-filled GBG. The sleaze factor is considerable, though not overwhelming, ranging from the somewhat chaste DGB to soft-core content in TGHS, and most films feature an underlying S&M theme (which will come as no surprise to frequent viewers of Japanese genre cinema). Following is my comprehensive review of the set and all four movies included in it. (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and DVD News and DVD News: Japan and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: Japan and Contributors: David and Rating: Average ★★ and Rating: Good ★★★ and Rating: Great ★★★★ and DVD Companies: Panik House Comments: 3 Comments |
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Posted on 11.23.05 by David @ 12:04 pm
 Harmesh Malhotra, the director of many fine (and fun) Indian films has died at the age of 66. Personally, I will remember him for two enjoyable films he shot during the ’80s starring Sridevi - Nagina and Sherni. Anyone who has seen Rajni’s recent Chandramukhi will realize the debt that Jyotika’s possession scenes owe to the fantastically shot, lit and performed snake-dance number in Malhotra’s Nagina (not to be confused with Nagin, an amusing, similarly-themed film). This story of the supernatural featured the bewitching Sridevi as a female snake creature whose true nature is ultimately revealed by the compulsion of enchanted music. Malhotra also directed Sridevi in Sherni, the tale of a wronged woman’s descent into whip-wielding, black leather-wearing, shotgun-toting banditry. Thanks for the memories, H.M. ::: Nagina director passes away Thanks to Jeff M. for drawing this to our attention. Filed under: Movie News and Movie News: Bollywood and Contributors: David and Movie News: India and Movie News: Obituaries Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.20.05 by David @ 10:21 pm
AKA: Tarkan Viking Kani Review By: David Austin
Tarkan Versus the Vikings, Turkey’s answer to the Italian sword and sandal films, is more fun than the proverbial barrel of monkeys and just as crazed. Everything in this movie is energetic, outsized, colorful and wacky, from Tarkan’s mighty moustache to the Vikings’ red and blue fuzzy underoos. Tarkan doesn’t just walk around, like Hercules - he runs, he leaps, he literally bounces from place to place. The gigantic melees capture the frenetic flavor of old Errol Flynn movies, but up the ante of sex and violence to please ‘70s moviegoers. It’s like Conan the Barbarian done on $10,000 and amphetamines. (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie Reviews and DVD News and DVD Reviews and Contributors: David and Rating: Great ★★★★ and Movie Reviews: Turkey and DVD Reviews: Turkey and DVD News: Turkey and DVD Companies: Mondo Macabro Comments: 28 Comments |
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Posted on 11.18.05 by David @ 2:00 pm
Looks like the Arrested Development team is at least going to have a chance to say something about the cancellation, instead of simply disappearing. From TVGuide.com, by way of Variety. Thanks to Tammy for drawing this to our attention. ::: Hysterical Development Filed under: General and Movie News and TV and Cable News: US and International and TV Shows: Arrested Development Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 11.15.05 by David @ 8:35 am
Oh well, it was one of those things that was just too good to last. Tim Goodman of the SF Chronicle suggests that Showtime might get into the act, and pick it up. That would be a smart move for a network that perennially fields also-rans against HBO, and great for the show, which already borders on pay-cable levels of adult humor. Here’s hoping. ::: ‘Arrested Development’ gets the ax ::: Die-hard ‘Arrested Development’ fans already feeling sting of loss Click here to buy the Arrested Development Season 1 DVD from Click here to buy the Arrested Development Season 2 DVD from Filed under: General and Movie News and DVD News and DVD News: USA and TV and Cable News: US and International and TV Shows: Arrested Development Comments: 4 Comments |
Fox, notorious for pulling the plug on such brilliant shows as Undeclared (created by 40 Year Old Virgin’s Judd Apatow), has now done it again. CNN reports that the third season of Arrested Development has been cut to 13 episodes and that Fox will not be ordering any more. This is quite a shame as Arrested Development is one of the funniest shows on the air, and also one of the most cinematic, exercising the freedom of the newly popular single-camera sitcom style to the utmost. The show followed the adventures of a rich, nasty family in the process of being investigated by the government, and their attempts to cope with their new lifestyle. The humor was twisted and brilliant, and frequently much raunchier than one would expect on broadcast television, including, for example, a character claiming to be the world’s first Analyst-Therapist with business cards that say “anal-rapist.” Movie homages were frequent, including a scene where one of the main characters named Buster replicates Buster Keaton’s famous stunt where he survives a falling building facade by standing where the window lands, and most recently a Godzilla-style smackdown between a giant mole and a man in a jetpack. 
To be fair, Fox did give the show a chance this time. Despite consistently poor ratings, Fox maintained the show into its third season. The show was quite insular - no show since Seinfeld has built so successfully on subtle running jokes and character traits, which added to the fun for regular viewers, but made it a difficult horse to mount midstream. I strongly suggest that those of you haven’t seen it yet at least seek it out on DVD, where the linear plot can best be appreciated. The first two seasons are available already, and replay value is high - many of the jokes only come out on a second viewing.
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Posted on 11.14.05 by David @ 2:14 pm
DVD Maniacs has had a long, informative chat with ’80s schlockmaster Sam Firstenberg, and shared the fruits of their labors with all of us. Firstenberg directed reels and reels of classic cheese for Cannon Films, the production company of the notorious (some might say infamous) Golan and Globus (responsible for bringing you such masterpieces as The Apple). Chances are that if you watched any bad cable television during the ’80s or early ’90s, you’ve seen your share of Cannon Films, often featuring Michael Dudikoff, Sho Kosugi, Chuck Norris, women with big hair, and rocket-launcher equipped motorcycles. Firstenberg was personally responsible for, among others, several American Ninja films, Revenge of the Ninja, Delta Force 3, and the movie that launched a thousand cheap jokes, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. Enjoy. ::: DVD Maniacs Interview with Sam Firstenberg Filed under: Movie News and Movie News: USA Comments: 3 Comments |
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Posted on 11.10.05 by Blake @ 4:33 pm
Blake here with a short review from Mike G. on Gus Van Sant’s “Psycho.” Many of you are already familiar with Mike from his appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show where he beat Quentin Tarantino in a game show-like contest on Tarantino Trivia (more info here). I understand where Mike is coming from on assigning stars to reviews and such. We put stars in our reviews here for a signpost for viewers/consumers to gauge our thoughts on a film. Of course our opinions can always change, but this at least gives them a basic guide on glance on whether they should buy, rent or avoid something. Many reviews I read these days I can’t make out heads or tails whether someone is recommending the movie, hated the movie or think it’s the best film ever. Note Mike was the one that broke the news that Tarantino’s favorite Hitchcock film was “Torn Curtain.”  Title: Psycho Disclaimer: I am not a critic, nor do I wish to become one. It’s common practice for critics to assign star or grade ratings on reviews. I frown upon that concept because I can’t bring myself to do that. This isn’t a student’s college thesis, it’s cinema. When more established critics do this, I’m always amazed they can feel a certain way about a flick and their opinion at no time wavers. I consider that to be impossible. People do change, even if the movie never does. And should a critic change their outlook, where’s the review telling the masses that their outlook has changed? Nowhere. What I intend to do is make a point about a film at the time I write it. If my judgment changes, I’m sure it’ll come out in the future. THIS IS NOT A HORROR MOVIE. IT’S ALSO NOT A GENUINE REMAKE BASED UPON THE ACCEPTABLE DEFINITION OF THE WORD. I cannot be more emphatic about that. Gus Van Sant did not make this movie for the post-modern horror movie crowd. He made this movie for the people who HAVE seen the original movie. I mean, Universal could have always re-released Psycho (1960), giving it the whole Vertigo treatment, but who would have paid to see that? I’ll tell you — the arthouse crowd. Psycho (1998) could have played the same circuit, I think. But hey, what’re ya gonna do? Studios like to make money. You play on a franchise name like PSYCHO, you’ve got a reasonably nice opening weekend. (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: USA and Contributors: Mike G. Comments: 6 Comments |
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Posted on 11.08.05 by David @ 4:22 pm
 Scene from “Legendary Weapons of China” Grady Hendrix has managed to pry more information about the new Shaw Brothers re-releases out of Image for his Variety.com blog, Kaiju Shakedown. There are 18 newly announced releases, and it’s a pretty good mix of film, heavy on the kung fu, action and horror. ::: Grady Hendrix’s Kaiju Shakedown article with his takes on the prospective releases ::: Our previous announcement of the Image/Shaws releases We discussed Human Lanterns, The Magic Blade and The Shadow Boxer in our previous article. The newly announced releases are as follows: (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie News and Movie News: Hong Kong and DVD News and DVD News: Hong Kong and Studios: Shaw Brothers and DVD Companies: Celestial Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.07.05 by David @ 5:06 pm
AKA: Gamma I Quadrilogy Vol. 2; Polizia dello Spazio contro Ufo - I Diafanoidi vengono da Marte; Diaphanoids, Bringers of Death Review By: David Austin
War of the Planets, the second entry in the so-called Gamma I Quadrilogy of Italian space actioners, starts off with a sonorous voice intoning that “the universe is endless and timeless.” So too are Antonio Margheriti movies. WoP, a lengthy space opera with painted innertubes passing for a space stations, is a perfect example of the species. In addition to the customary slow pace, all the usual accoutrements of the series are present: the space-ship styled cars, ugly uniforms, scary women, children’s toy chest props, and blowtorch guns. WoP does have one thing going for it though, one jaw-dropping, mind-boggling ace up its sleeve – the Super Space Spectacular. Sights like this leave even your hardened reviewer stunned and twitching. Imagine, if you will, an entire platoon of suited spacemen cavorting about on badly-strung wires in front of a cheap “space” backdrop. Now set that to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, while other astronauts use the magic of reverse photography to form human pyramids. Just when the jaded audience might think that they’ve seen everything, the spacemen form a human sign, spelling out Happy New Year. It’s just as amazing as it sounds. Not since the Star Wars Holiday Special has an acrobatics routine left me with such a warm, fuzzy feeling. (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie Reviews and Contributors: David and Rating: Average ★★ and Movie Reviews: Italy and People: Antonio Margheriti Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.06.05 by David @ 11:57 am
Indonesia and the Philippines have a long history of this sort of exploitation film, going back to the Roger Corman and Eddie Romero days, so expect a practiced hand behind the hijinks. Filed under: Movie News and DVD News and DVD Companies: Mondo Macabro Comments: None |
Mondo Macabro, purveyor of the cinematically outlandish and bizarre, has announced their January release. It’s a WIP (women in prison) film called Virgins from Hell (Perawan di sarang sindikat), produced in Indonesia in 1987, directed by Andrew Anwar and starring Enny Beatrice (Blind Warrior) and Henry Capri. The film features the vengeful Sheila and her gang of tough biker chicks facing off against the man who killed her parents, or, as Mondo Macabro describes it, “Machine gun toting biker girls on the rampage trapped in Mr Big’s women’s prison!”|
Posted on 11.04.05 by Charlie @ 3:21 am
 On October 2nd, at a special screening of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (친절한 금자씨) at the New York Film Festival (you can read an in-depth review of the film here), Park Chan Wook participated in a Q&A session with the help of a translator. I copied it all down as fast as I could write, but understand this is a rough transcript, and also note that if you haven’t seen the film, be warned there are SPOILERS in this Q&A:
“Oldboy was visually abundant, more warm than Mr. Vengeance. Lady Vengeance is different from all of my previous films because it has a woman as the protagonist.” Question: “When did you find an actress for the role and did you bring her into script-writing as well?” Park Chan Wook: “[Yeong Ae] Lee was also in JSA. In that film, I regretted that I didn’t have the chance to delve into her possibilities [as an actress]. She wanted to do something more provocative.”  Park Chan Wook said that after bringing her on board for Lady Vengeance “She read each script as it came out, and would discuss things she didn’t understand.” Question: “Were the references to broken glasses in Lady Vengeance a reference to Battleship Potemkin?” Park Chan Wook: “No. There’s only one homage in the film — when she’s taking the teacher to school. They turn left, and in the car the people in the car sway around, similar to Hitchcock’s The Birds, when birds swing in the background.” (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie News and Movie News: South Korea and Contributors: Charlie and Movies: Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) and People: Park Chan-wook and People: Lee Young-ae and Movie News: Q&As Comments: 3 Comments |
Introduction: After noting that Sympathy for Lady Vengeance was the 3rd film in a trilogy on vengeance (with Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), Park Chan Wook said: “Whenever I start off a new film, the first thing I think is how to be different from what I’ve just done. After JSA, I wanted to do something very cold.”|
Posted on 11.04.05 by Charlie @ 2:15 am
::: For more information, go here. Thanks to Jeff for drawing our attention to this. - Charlie Filed under: General and Movie News and Movie News: Japan and Movie News: USA and Contributors: Charlie and TV and Cable News: US and International Comments: 1 Comment |
Good news for fans of Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale, Battles Without Honor and Humanity) — his 1969 Sci-Fi film “The Green Slime” will air today (Friday) at 4:45 pm on Turner Classic Movies in widescreen. Although the film has been released on vhs in the past in the USA and UK, to my knowledge this is the first time it has surfaced in widescreen, and it may be a one-time shot at seeing it, as at least right now there are no additional screenings of the film scheduled. So set your DVRs! | previous posts » |
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