One of my favorite films of 2009 seems to have been missed by many mainstream audiences. It is out on DVD in the United States and I strongly recommend you check it out. Nicholas Winding Refn (Pusher, 1996) directs and Tom Hardy (Layer Cake, 2004) stars in the British prison film and quasi-biopic based on [...]
The ageless tale of survival in an unfit environment meets up with classic World War II drama in John Boorman’s Hell in the Pacific (1968) starring legendary international cinema tough guys Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune. This film stands out because there is a slight twist to the standard war movie plot. There are only two [...]
What is it about novelty exploitation cinema that tickles us so? What? You’re not tickled? Well, maybe it’s just me then. A tumbleweed rolls by a stark western street. A buzzard caws and flaps away. A rock tumbles down a stony plateau. Suddenly, in the distance, the thunderous patter of horse hooves on the tough [...]
One of the most iconic, important, groundbreaking, and memorable movie monsters has got to be King Kong. Any way you slice it Kong is king. Unlike the more prolific Godzilla, Kong starred in only one movie. There was only one sequel (the aptly titled Son of Kong which starred his son and wasn’t as good). [...]
a peek into the haunted safari which is the entertainment industry from the point of view of an extra.
As some held their breath in eager anticipation to see what director Tim Burton (Batman 1989, Ed Wood 1994) would do to Lewis Carroll’s much-celebrated—and oft times committed to celluloid—classic novel, I recalled an earlier adaptation: Jan Svankmajer’s Alice (aka Neco z Alenky) (1988). If you are like me and hated the Burton incarnation then [...]
luchador prepares unaware of PJ Man molesting angels. There. I attempted haiku. It may not be a good one, but no shame in trying. Symbol (2009) is 2001: a Space Odyssey on magic pills. As I sit down and make ready to adequately report my findings in this singularly unique film I am confounded by [...]
