Quick! Name the last truly great Italian horror film! Even tougher, name the last time a new face emerged on the Italian horror scene worth getting excited over? The decline of the Italian genre film industry - once so very, very strong - was a shocking thing to behold but there are signs that things are brewing over in the land of Argento and Federico Zampaglione is the one drawing most of the attention. The writer-director is just putting the finishing touches on is film Shadow, a film that’s already turning heads behind the scenes on the genre circuit with a world premiere lined up at the Film4 Frightfest in London and rumors of a couple other high profile fests already locking the film down. Here’s how Frightfest describes it:
Writer/director Federico Zampaglione’s stunning genre debut is a genuine FrightFest discovery. When David (Jake Muxworthy), a young soldier returning from Iraq, goes on a mountain biking adventure in Europe he has no conception of the terrors that lie in store when a mystifying local legend forces him to face something more terrifying than any wartime tour of duty. Interestingly, Zampaglione is the frontman of ‘Tiromancino’, a successful pop rock band.
A bit of a tease in that write-up, to be sure, buit no worries: we’ve got your first look at the trailer below the break plus stills linked below.
Continue Reading "Italy Gets Back Into The Horror Game With SHADOW"...
Once again, Michael Hawley helps the Twitch readership keep abreast of one film festival after the other in the San Francisco / Bay Area. Thanks, Michael!
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF) turns a ripe young age of 29 this year, continuing its reign as the oldest and largest festival of its kind in the world. Over the course of 18 days (July 23 to August 10) SFJFF will present 71 films from 18 countries—showcasing the best Israeli and Jewish Diasporan cinema to emerge in the past year. Although I missed last week’s press conference announcing the line-up, I’ve poured over the catalog and compiled this list of ten programs I don’t want to miss.
Continue Reading "SFJFF09—Michael Hawley Anticipates the Line-Up"...
The San Francisco Film Society’s longstanding working relationship with Film Movement ensures the theatrical exhibition of several festival-lauded films on the Sundance Kabuki’s SFFS Screen. For this, Bay Area audiences should be especially grateful. Recently, Film Movement’s collaboration with SFFS provided Munyurangabo; this week they’re providing Eldorado (July 3-9); and in future weeks they’ll be providing encore screenings of both La Ventana (July 17-23) and Lake Tahoe (July 24-30), which were featured at the 52nd edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival.
This week’s entry, Belgian director Bouli Lanners’ Eldorado—a “small but damn-near perfectly formed serio-comedy” (Leslie Felperin, Variety)—was selected for the 40th anniversary of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Directors’ Fortnight) at the 2008 61st Cannes Film Festival where it won Best European Film. Eldorado was likewise the official entry from Belgium for the 81st Annual Academy Awards (Oscars®), received a special mention at Italy’s Pesaro Film Festival, and was nominated for a César for Best Foreign Feature.
Continue Reading "REVIEW of ELDORADO"...
With the announcement that [REC]2 will be opening Sitges 2009 the PR train is getting rolling with the first in a planned series of behind the scenes videos. It’s in SPanish only but it does provide a good look on set of the sequel to the hit Spanish horror picture and directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza hard at work.
Oh, I should have seen this coming. I really should have. A new Jean-Pierre Jeunet film is a big, big deal in France and I should have known that the folks behind the scenes would not have been content with just the one brief teaser for the film that appeared a few days ago. No, that would not nearly be enough. And so now there are more. Lots more. As in seven brand new teasers, each of them dedicated to a different character for the film. And all of them look like gold.
Is it better to live with a bullet lodged in your brain, even if it means you might drop dead any time? Or would you rather have the bullet taken out and live the rest of your life as a vegetable? Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? Is scrap metal worth more than landmines? Can you get drunk from eating waffles? Can a woman fit inside a refrigerator? What’s the human cannonball world record? Find out answers to these questions and more. A comedy in the vein of Delicatessen and Amélie.
You’ll find all eight teasers below the break! And, for fans, the Dominique Pinon one is number seven.
Continue Reading "More Of Jeunet’s MICMACS! Lots More!"...
[Udated with fresh trailers]
It aint just America making throwbacks to the blaxploitation era right now, a point well made by French effort Black, a more modern spin on the genre that we’ve been covering here for quite some time. Starring French musician MC Jean Gab’1 - also featured prominently in Banlieue 13 Ultimatum - as a Senegalese-French thief travelling to Africa for a heist where he’ll not only have to deal with local law enforcement but also Russian mercenaries and a flamboyant arms dealer who seems to be slowly turning into a snake, Black had its premiere at SXSW earlier this year. And with the French release right around the corner - July 15th in France for those keeping track, August for Canada - the PR train is rolling full speed. The first proper French teaser was released in mid-June and has since been followed by a second teaser and - just now - a full theatrical trailer.. You’ll find them all along with the earlier sales trailer - English subtitled, no less - below the break.
Continue Reading "No Dynamite, Just BLACK *UPDATE*"...
To the surprise of pretty much nobody [REC]2 - the sequel to the Spanish zombie hit that spawned Quarantine as an English language remake - has just been announced as the opening night film for the 2009 edition of Sitges. Sitges was the launching site for the original so expectations have always been that the sequel would take its bow there as well but just because a piece of news is expected doesn’t mean it’s not good.
Check the trailer and clips from [REC]2 below the break!
Continue Reading "[REC]2 To Open Sitges 2009!"...
Once again, Michael Hawley privileges the Twitch readership with his preview of YBCA’s upcoming calendar. Thanks, Michael!
Norwegian Black Metal, Graphic Sexual Horror and a Headless Woman. Jeez, is it Halloween already? No, it’s just this summer’s insouciant film/video line-up at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. But before we dig into what curator Joel Shepard has in store through September, here’s exciting news for YBCA filmgoers. Starting July 6, ticket holders will be allowed FREE admittance into YBCA’s exhibition galleries, whose days and hours of operation have been adjusted to align with evening film and video screenings.
Continue Reading "Michael Hawley Previews YBCA’s Summer 2009 Lineup"...
You can do little wrong when you decide to go to Montreal for the Fantasia International Film Festival and this year’s lineup proves to be no exception. Want a taste? David Morley’s MUTANTS, Adam Mason’s BLOOD RIVER, José Mojica Marins’ EMBODIMENT OF EVIL, Tom Shankland’s THE CHILDREN, Park Chan-wook’s THIRST and Satoshi Miki’s INSTANT SWAMP are just some of the titles at this year’s festival.
There is a lengthy announcement after the break. Take your time and we are sure you’ll find some must-sees. Then we’ll see you in Montreal between July 9th and 27th.
Continue Reading "FANTASIA 2009 announces lineup. She be a doozy!!!"...
Is it better to live with a bullet lodged in your brain, even if it means you might drop dead any time? Or would you rather have the bullet taken out and live the rest of your life as a vegetable? Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? Is scrap metal worth more than landmines? Can you get drunk from eating waffles? Can a woman fit inside a refrigerator? What’s the human cannonball world record?
Find out answers to these questions and more.
A comedy in the vein of Delicatessen and Amélie.
Yes, kids, after a foray into the world of epic spectacle with his war-themed A Very Long Engagement, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is not only back with a new film but very much back on form. Those references to Delicatessen and Amelie in the official synopsis? Very much earned as the just released teaser for Jeunet’s Micmacs A Tire-Larigot looks to very much hit the sweet spot between the two. Good lord, I want to see more ... check the teaser below the break!
Continue Reading "Jeunet Returns And Returns To Form! The First MICMACS Teaser Arrives!"...
[UPDATE: More artwork from a year ago at Catsuka.com. Thanks to Tsuka for the tip!]
As an animation buff, I try to keep a lookout for little known gems from around the world and perhaps I have hit the jackpot on a potentially cool thriller from France. Its called The Prodigies (aka in french: La Nuit des enfants rois), a motion-capture animated film by director Antoine Charreyron and Aton Soumache, the producer of the CG sci-fi noir film Renaissance. Based on Bernard Lenteric’s bestselling French novel, the budget is estimated at E40 million ($54 million). Character designer Humberto Ramos has offer the first glimpse of the production art at his blog site.
NYC, Central Park, 2010. Five young teenagers are violently assaulted. But they’re not your average teenagers… they’re prodigies. The trauma of the assault incites them to lash out against the world in a cold and calculating way. The five chillingly brilliant minds come together to concoct a perfect revenge. The only person aware of the pending doom is Jimbo Farrar, a sixth prodigy, who has gathered them. As long as he fights against his five counterparts with all his might, there’s hope for the world. But should he turn over to their side, it’s only a matter of time before a disaster of apocalyptic proportions ensues…
The theatrical release in France is slated for next year. More details as we get it.
Concept artist Alexandre Tuis who worked on Dragonball: Evolution and Frontière(s) has posted some artwork for Blood: The Last Vampire at his official site. The concept art include transformation effects and various creature designs of the Chiroptera. Its worth a look for those interested to see what designs could of been used in the film.
When I first saw the trailer for Francois Ozon’s latest film I laughed out loud at the seemingly preposterous premise. An ordinary couple have a baby that sprouts wings and flies around their living room – and seemingly this was meant to be a serious drama. As with his previous films such as SWIMMING POOL and UNDER THE SAND, however, things are never so clear cut and the lines between fantasy and reality in RICKY quickly become blurred, both for Ozon’s characters and his audience.
Continue Reading "RICKY Review"...
Well, well. It seems Mads isn’t the only acting Mikkelsen. Though Lars Mikkelsen has yet to develop the same sort of international profile as has his brother Mads the word is that home in Denmark Lars has long been known as one of the nation’s finest character actors. It’s just that those of us outside of Denmark haven’t had the chance to see him in action. But now we can. Mikkelsen takes a rare lead in Headhunter, a new thriller from director Rumle Hammerich.
A thriller set in the upper echelons of the business world. Martin Vinge, a former hardcore reporter, now a successful headhunter with a complicated personal life, lands a confidential assignment to locate a new heir to Denmark’s biggest shipping and oil empire. As Martin starts searching for potential candidates, he soon realises that he is becoming entangled in a far-reaching, impenetrable power game for the corporation’s future, a brutal ploy that brings excruciating pressure to bear on Martin and the people he loves.
The trailer for this one has just arrived online and it looks like yet another entry in the long and growing list of stellar noir-oriented thrillers to come out of Denmark. Check it out below the break!
Continue Reading "Apparently It Runs In The Family. Lars Mikkelsen Stars In HEADHUNTER"...
It was more than a year ago now hat Twitch first broke news of upcoming Russian scifi-action hybrid Smersh XXI. Details - beyond the fact that it took its title from a Russian WWII military security organization - were sketchy at best and getting any sort of read on the project was beyond difficult thanks to the trio of in-progress teasers that each showcased a completely different aspect of the film. These were so different, in fact, that they could easily have been from three entirely different films.
Well, those original teasers are gone now as is the film’s original title. Now re-branded Запрещённая реальность, which translates roughly to Forbidden Reality, the film is nearing completion and a Russian release and that can only mean one thing: a proper trailer. The temp effects are gone, replaced by a very slick package that still appears to veer pretty wildly between its different elements but there is clearly some sort of alien or parallel universe force at play here which the heroes are drawn into battle with using a variety of means. This could be fun.
Check the new trailer out below the break!
Continue Reading "Russian SciFi Action Flick SMERSH XXI Gets A Whole Lot Slicker And a Brand New Name."...
