This is a great film featuring stellar performances from Stephen Rea and Mena Suvari and sardonic wit and direction by Stuart Gordon best known for 80’s cult flicks like Re-Animator and From Beyond. Lately Gordon has tried his hand at less supernaturally based material. But his adaptation of David Mamets Edmund, as well acted as it was, wasn’t anywhere near as inspired as this often funny, gruesomely pointed film commentary on modern selfishness and societal indifference.
Brandi is a party girl desperately trying to get promoted at the assisted living center where she works as a caregiver. After some hard clubbing, she hits a man with her car while driving home. Thomas is only recently homeless but now he’s stuck in Brandi’s windshield. Brandi now does what anyone would do at this point- she drives home, locks the car in the garage and in terror of not getting her desired promotion leaves nature to take its course. Of course she should have been more concerned about human nature. needless to say the best laid plains of mice and men…
This is all based on a true story.
Gordon Rea and Suvari are smart enough not to play this for big laughs counting on the central absurdity of the situation to cue the audience in on the irony. Instead we feel a little bit for everyone here. Brandi’s boss is insufferably insensitive, her boyfriend a philandering cowardly blow hard. Thomas too is surrounded by people that have written him off. Gordons point about the essential isolation of all these characters is driven as much by the poor choices they make as by anything else. In short in a society we are responsible for one another unless we want to live in a world where the dogs eat dogs (or runs dogs over) to survive.
This should have had a commentary by Gordon and cast as well as a featurette on the real-life 2001 incident it was inspired by but alas we get no extras.
Just a reminder that Hellboy II is glorious. If you are fan of Ray Harryhausen, or any of del Toros movies or even Barry Manilow then you owe it to yourself to go out and get this thing. It’s exactly the kind of film fans will watch over and over again and it will bring a smile to your face every time. It’s also likely to, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, move you. del Toro deconstructs myth here even as he lays it on thick blending elements of martial arts cinema and even anime into the already familiar genre bending style that makes the Hellboy films so funny, so thrilling and so wondrous. There are monsters and creatures galore and intensely detailed worlds on display that almost take the bad taste out my mouth when I say the phrase cinematic spectacle. del Toro does a lot of things for show but his movies always have the depth to justify the extra icing on the cake. Fans hoping for a bigger part for “the fishstick” get it in spades. Doug Jones makes the most of his creature appearances and gets to stretch his acting muscles in a romantic subplot and even a little singing.
The extras here are great and include two commentaries, one by del Toro and the other by cast members Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor and Luke Goss. Why no Perlman or Doug Jones? It’s hard to imagine. But of course we get a lot of everyone in the literally hours of featurettes, behind the set visits and deleted scenes. The third disc is simply a digital copy that can be downloaded onto your laptop, phone or whatever other device you want to use to destroy the experience of watching something that was clearly created to be watched in a large format.
In many ways Transsiberian is Brad Andersons quiet little break into the mainstream. Too bad not many people noticed. Anyone wondering if this is just another forgettable suspense thriller I would suggest a peak back at both The Machinist and Session 9. This is a movie with scads to say and was easily one of the better more complex thrillers out this year and as different as it is it clearly springs from the same fertile morally vested imagination. Like all of Andersons films the basic building block of the story lies in the unfolding of secrets and the tragedies that are rooted in them. Supporting Andersons great screenplay are Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer as a couple returning home from a short term mission who find themselves befriended by a dubious young couple and pursued by Ben Kingsley who may or may not be a Russian Police Officer. The only secret left at the end of this DVD is why no extras were included.
This is too good to pass up. It seems that Lionsgate is going the low key effort when it comes to releasing the much anticipated and highly heralded Repo: The Genetic Opera. So much so, in fact, that most people won’t even have the option of seeing it as it was intended- in a real theater.
At the risk of sounding a bit grumpy “What the !@#$% is the matter with Lionsgate?” First we get no release at all of Midnight Meat Train (which was easily the best American horror film I’ve seen in a long time) and now…
For the lucky few of us in big cities the screenings that will take place are just that much more important to get to. Especially since director Darren Lynn Bousman himself is going to be there for Q &A along with (at least in Chicago) a mystery cast member.
The screening in question will be at the Music Box Theater on Nov 12 at 10:30 pm. Tickets are a measly $15. This is definitely one of the horror events of the year and I am sooooo psyched about attending. I’m also psyched that Bousman has agreed to do a podcast interview with yours truly in support. More on that later.
Whoo doggy I d loves me some torture device history. This is a riot but it’s also kind of sobering. What I believe is a practical FX outfit was asked by someone at the History Chanell to reproduce and demonstrate a series of ancient weapons and torture devices. So if, like me, you’ve ever wanted to know a bit more about the Iron maiden or the Gibbet you have the chance here to see them in action on dummies, watermelons, and even the odd volunteer or two. For the squeemish they even deactivate the devices prior to “trying them out.” The good news is Surviving History does provide some historical oversight and commentary by experts, the down side is I have friends who’ve actually toured torture museums in Europe and all of them walked away prety shaken by what they thought would be a simple lark. People (more often than not- women) actually died and suffered unbelievable agony using these devices and relatively little is said about that. Of ocurse in one sense that’s the whole point isn’t it But what seems like ancient history isn’t really all that ancient- as Abu garib and other recent examples prove. My advice is to go ahead ad watch but try to temper your curiosity with a little reflection and maybe even a little extra curricular reading on the subject.
A little bit offbeat for Twitch but sill worthy of a Halloween viewing.
Hulk smash box office records!! Actually, I don’t know if he did or not but I know this movie was a lot of fun. True the CGI is still pretty noticeable- I should remark I watched this at 1080 dpi on a 32 inch LG HDTV. But even in all his cartoony glory the green guy was plenty threatening and Abomination just plain rocked. I got a lot of satisfaction out of watching Universal and Marvel reboot this franchise. It proves that some stories and characters are worth the trouble of experimentation and that fans will come out in droves once the powers that be get it just right. A big surprise was the collection of performances from Hurt, Roth, Tyler, and Norton. I’ve never been all that partial to Norton. His baby-face just gets in the way of accepting him in certain roles. But he is such a good actor and he brings it all to the table here.
This DVD release is fine but I do wish the studios would stop saying “3 disc set!” when that third disc is simply a digital copy. A bunch of featurettes and a commentary as well as deleted scenes round out special features and are all pretty good although the history of the Hulk character was pretty well covered on the special features of Ang Lees Hulk DVD. These featurettes are mainly about the process of rebooting and filming. It might have been nice to see a more in depth historical overview of the middling reviews the first Hulk film received and the internal conversations regarding the reboot at Marvel and Universal.
Here’s an easy contest. Want a copy of Brad Andersons Transsiberian? Tell us your worst road trip story. Keep it work safe and don’t describe anything illegal or use anyones name but lay all the sleep deprived, vomitous, accident prone details on us baby. Best sob story (that we think is probably true) wins. Contest ends on November 6. We’ll publish the winner.
Okay Chicagoans you decide- Is it a confession to say I’ve never seen Faster Pussycat Kill Kill? Event organizer Rusty Nails thought so. He’s probably right but HEY I’ve just been waiting for the right opportunity. To clarify I’m not a big Russ Meyer fan (or of tittie flicks in general) but there is a point where I can ignore the cheesecake content of his stuff enough to appreciate the all out twonk factor. The trailer for Faster Pussycat alone had me rolling around in my office lazyboy. Whether he knew it at the time, and it’s hard to believe he didn’t- remember this is the guy who went on to work with Roger Ebert on Beyond The Valley of The Dolls- the element of self parody is really what makes his better movies work. In that regard I think the guy was a genius. He’s also pretty tame barely edging up past Youtube in his use of skin. Meyer once said “Nothing is obscene providing it is done in bad taste.” I’m not sure I entirely buy that but somehow it also makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside and it definitely gives the uninitiated a good idea of what they’re in for with a Meyer film. Guilty pleasure? Not guilty enough to keep me away from this screening.
Especially since they’re having star Tura Satana there to meet greet and Q & A for a mere $1!!!! .
Screening is Wednesday October 27 at 8 p.m. Music Box Theater 3733 Southport Ave. here in Chicago.
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Hows this for a prediction. Blu-Ray is anything but here to stay. Dismiss it if you like but the age of the hard-drive is looming and beyond that look for internet distribution. And so the idea of hi-def software of any format has been looking old fashioned even before Blu-Ray was a glint in the consumers eye. I predict that within 5-10 years Blu Ray will go the way of the video. DVD? I think it just might survive for a good long while. Maybe even indefinitely unless fans are going to be willing to trade in those large collections en masse for something else. They sure haven’t done it for Blu Ray whose sales are steadily evening out or even declining. The bottom line for many is this. Do I really need copies of most movies in a hi-def format? I already have correct aspect ratios and a wealth of irreplaceable research material in the extras on many DVD discs. And with upconverter DVD players the jump in quality is fairly negligible anyway at this point.
LOTR on Blu-Ray? Sure, okay, ya got me. Even some of the all time grainy classics like Texas Chainsaw are worth it. But as a person managing a five thousand DVD disc library I just can’t see the point in the upgrade for my copy of Meet The Parents or even the Universal Classic Monster flicks. You get the idea. Jaws? Sure. Pirhana? Not so sure. Orca? Don’t think so. James Bond?
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People are pretty divided on whether they like this film or not. I thought it was really well shot even if its style made the true to life elements of its ending seem out of place. But in a sea of really awful remakes and direct to dvd garbage I was just glad for a little honest suspense. Is this itself a remake of Funny Games US? Not really, at least not anymore than any home invasion scenario film is. But I do think, after watching and rewatching it, that The Strangers does more than try to tack on a socially relevant ending to make up for the guilt of being little more than a better than average (by current standard anyway) horror effort. First the performances are there to support the idea that these are people not just character types being terrorized. Good performances from Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman definitely elevate the written material. Second the horror film conventions are awfully effective here for many of us who thought we were long lost on any attempt to scare us with them. Finally the thrills we feel in the film are nicely balanced against the complete indifference of the masked strangers. The film reveals to us that ultimately it doesn’t matter who these masked people are just that they are and that as a society we have no real way to physically protect ourselves from them.
No commentary here which is kind of a drag considering how well made this film is. Included are rated and unrated versions of the film, deleted scenes and a short featurette The Elements of Terror.
This is an empty presentation of derivative stuff which is sad considering the great reviews the video game it’s based on has been getting. Take part Event Horizon, part Alien franchise and throw in whatever modern sci-fi horror cliches you want and you could still probably write a better prequel to the game yourself. The real problem here is the writing which falls back on all of the above as woodenly as well....a lot of video games. Apparently nobody explained the difference between the two mediums to those involved here. I have to ask did the creators of this have any ambitions at all beyond ending up with a bad commercial for their real product- the game itself? Animation aside, it’s reasonably good resembling an amalgam of anime and american styles, one still has to wonder at the crassness that practically bleeds off the screen. I’ll give everyone here 1 star out of ten for cool creature design.
The story concerns the crew of a spaceship falling under the noxious influence of a supposedely religious artifact which seemingly has the power to drive men mad and transform them into monstrous minions of mayhem. Lots of blood, badly written vulgar dialogue and barely an ounce of even bad movie enjoyability rounded out my viewing experience.
I’m reviewing this because I’m warning all of you. The DVD....it’s not a distress signal.... it’s a warning....stay away.....stay away!!!
But if you don’t stay away then you get an extra deleted cene, isolated music score and photo gallery and cheat codes. I can only imagine the cheat codes here refer to filmmaking and have nothing to do with the game itself
Few images of the robot, perhaps none, better showcase technology as monster than the Terminator T-800 series Endoskeleton. Fascinating mythic tie-ins include the connection to the Frankenstein myth, the Jewish Golem legend, even robots as extensions of self or the other. This is rich rich stuff and of interest to a wide variety of people interested in pop culture iconography. Stripped of almost all his human accoutrements- except a nasty pair of all too human looking dentures, the Endo is impossible not to marvel at and yet fear as something more than the sum of his parts. He is what we fear technology will become, a better us, an artificial self-interest lost to human concerns.
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A complete set of every LOTR Sideshow/WETA piece must exist somewhere. I can’t imagine being that devoted to any single pop culture property myself but do confess to owning a lot of the LOTR pieces I consider signature storytelling archetypes. In the end I’m less interested in the film or even the novel but the characters and character types and what they represent symbolically. Perhaps its the way they cry out to have their meaning recognized, “Here is bravery, cowardice, nobility, innocence, evil etc.” But with so many pieces and lines to choose from it can be difficult to get started. The obvious thing is to stick with one line and hope that they do your favorites justice. But as someone who has had pieces from all of the lines I highly recommend mixing and matching them. Really large characters like the trolls and the Balrog have made spectacular Legendary Scale Busts and so far the Premium Format line has been generally great. I have issues with the statue like appearance of Galadriel- she’s a little mannequin like. But every other piece has been amazing. I know, I know. Some of you were unhappy with Frodo but for me virtually every piece in this line has bridged the gap between stylized approach and film likeness dead on.
Aragorn is a case in point. Like Gandalf he is remembered as two fairly distinct (perhaps even three) characters. The first and most debatable is as the hooded lurker in the shadows early in the first book. Then as the guide and warrior Strider. Finally as the King. As individually and symbolically compelling as they are I can’t imagine, even if Sideshow rendered them perfectly, ever purchasing three separate Aragorns. And forced to choose between them I would say that in many ways Aragorn as Strider seems the most resonant. The protector, sullied but not lost to the world, still able to rise up and do battle for a righteous cause. Here we get him mid-stride as he swings his battlesword. The exclusive version features an extra hand with knife. And I love the facial sculpt. Instead of absolutely spot on Viggo we get a more stylized look that captures a broader idea of human bravery and nobility and battle weary fierceness. The costuming is as lush as everyone has said with unbelievable detailing especially on the shoes, belt and weaponry. And everything including Aragorn himself bears the dust of travel and life on the road.
When unwrapping this thing you’ll want to be very careful ot to snag the hair strands that hang in front of Aragorns face. The are very thin and in the future the value of your piece will probably be determined, at least part, by whether or not that strand is intact as it is liable to be the first thing broken by careless collectors. The next danger area would be the feet and base. Only one foot attaches to the base so whenever moving it make sure the figure and base and held static so that no chips result. I can’t imagine this figure ever doing anything but appreciate in value and for fans of the film I like it even better than the far more expensive ($1200!!) Cinemaquette figure.
Chi-towners I have no idea how this slipped thru the radar. But needless to say if you live in Chicago then you should know that freaking Clive Barker and Lucky McKee are in town this Saturday night (as in THIS Saturday Oct 25!) as part of the Music Box Massacre. This is the fourth installment of the mass (as I like to call it) and has become a Halloween tradition for many. In addition to the screenings of May and Midnight Meat Train (which of course are followed by Q and A with the aforementioned VIPs) there’s a dynamite lineup of other screenings, dealer tables, a charity auction by event organizer Rusty Nails and also an appearance/Q &A by Joseph Zito in conjunction with a screening of Friday the 13th The Final Chapter. The whole thing is MC’d by Aaron “Dr. AC” Christensen author of Horror 101: The A List of Horror Films and Monster Movies Vol. One. For a complete schedule visit the event myspace page.
And if tht’s not enough Clive Barker for ya be sure to head over to the Packer Schopf Gallery (942 W. Lake, Chicago, 312.226.8984) on Sunday, October 26th where original concept paintings from the film MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, along with other artwork, will be on display.Tickets for MM4 are $27 in advance, $33 at the door. Pay once and come and go as you like! Advance tickets are available now at the theatre box office, Laurie’s Planet of Sound, or through Ticketweb
The upcoming Region One DVD release of Sukiyaki Western Django would be exciting enough without contest exclusive clips and such. But we’ve been offered some exclusive Steelbook DVD sets for giveaway (contest details later) and this exclusive Featurette clip which you can enjoy now in the Twitch Player below the break.
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