Short of the DayA stylistic fever dream of frustration.
Anyone who’s ever had it knows that writer’s block is more than a mere malady, it’s a mental frustration that keeps you hovering between the fantasy you’re trying to create and the reality of not being able to create it. It’s like pushing against a massive wall that yields a little but never gives.
Writer’s block has been captured on film many times in everything from Naked Lunch to Adaptation to The Shining, but I’ve never seen it captured quite like it is in Writer’s Block, a short film from writer-director Brandon Polanco that blends one writer’s frustration with fever dream hallucinations of his block, here manifested as a lovely and mysterious woman.
The short stars Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston as the writer and it was made a few years ago while Cranston was shooting Cold Comes the Night, on...
Anyone who’s ever had it knows that writer’s block is more than a mere malady, it’s a mental frustration that keeps you hovering between the fantasy you’re trying to create and the reality of not being able to create it. It’s like pushing against a massive wall that yields a little but never gives.
Writer’s block has been captured on film many times in everything from Naked Lunch to Adaptation to The Shining, but I’ve never seen it captured quite like it is in Writer’s Block, a short film from writer-director Brandon Polanco that blends one writer’s frustration with fever dream hallucinations of his block, here manifested as a lovely and mysterious woman.
The short stars Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston as the writer and it was made a few years ago while Cranston was shooting Cold Comes the Night, on...
- 4/19/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
When the Stooges split up in 1974, they had every reason to think they'd be completely forgotten by history. Their debut LP peaked at Number 106 in 1969 – and that was their best seller. They spent their final shows dodging beer bottles hurtled by angry bikers that had little interest in seeing a wild, shirtless singer named Iggy Pop screaming out songs like "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" and "Open Up and Bleed." Soon after splitting, guitarist Ron Asheton and his brother, drummer Scott Asheton, moved back in with their parents.
- 10/17/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Seattle’s cultural scene may still linger in the shadow of grunge rock, but it’s also a moviegoing town, and hosts one of the biggest film festivals in the country. Now, the person responsible for that celebrated gathering has decided to move on.
Longtime Seattle International Film Festival head Carl Spence is leaving the festival after more than 20 years. He is transitioning out of his role as Chief Curator and Festival Director today and will continue to serve in an advisory capacity at Siff through spring 2017. During his time at Siff, Spence led the launch of its year-round film center, Siff Cinema, in addition to the programming and operations of two other theaters, the Siff Uptown and the Egyptian.
Read More: Dan Ireland: ‘Whole Wide World’ Director Who Co-Founded Seattle International Film Festival Dies at 57
“I like creating things,” Spence told IndieWire in a phone conversation last week.
Longtime Seattle International Film Festival head Carl Spence is leaving the festival after more than 20 years. He is transitioning out of his role as Chief Curator and Festival Director today and will continue to serve in an advisory capacity at Siff through spring 2017. During his time at Siff, Spence led the launch of its year-round film center, Siff Cinema, in addition to the programming and operations of two other theaters, the Siff Uptown and the Egyptian.
Read More: Dan Ireland: ‘Whole Wide World’ Director Who Co-Founded Seattle International Film Festival Dies at 57
“I like creating things,” Spence told IndieWire in a phone conversation last week.
- 10/4/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
It’s no exaggeration to say that after Ben Wheatley’s exhilarating High-Rise made its long-awaited debut at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, audiences staggered out of the theater in a daze. While some may have found the experience overwhelming, just as many emerged with a feeling of real exhilaration. Yes, Wheatley’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s 1975 novel is that kind of film. This story of life becoming unhinged in an imposing, endlessly fascinating tower block is violent, oozing with sex and littered with chaos. And while clearly not for all tastes, it’s almost impossible not to be impressed with Wheatley’s filmmaking prowess.
With a starry-cast — a never-better Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss — music from Clint Mansell and Portishead (the band contributes a stunning cover of Abba’s “S.O.S.”), High-Rise is the latest uncompromising visual and sonic explosion from Wheatley.
With a starry-cast — a never-better Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss — music from Clint Mansell and Portishead (the band contributes a stunning cover of Abba’s “S.O.S.”), High-Rise is the latest uncompromising visual and sonic explosion from Wheatley.
- 5/10/2016
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
Emmy-winning Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal and Emmy-nominated writer David Wild are launching Naked Lunch, a new online Fandango talk series that is inspired by the duo’s lunches with celebrities. Naked Lunch marks Rosenthal’s foray into original online entertainment. In a statement the duo exclaimed, "This show is being created with Fandango so we can share our lunchtime fun with the world — and more importantly write off our meals as legitimate business…...
- 9/22/2015
- Deadline TV
Emmy-winning Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal and Emmy-nominated writer David Wild are launching Naked Lunch, a new online Fandango talk series that is inspired by the duo’s lunches with celebrities. Naked Lunch marks Rosenthal’s foray into original online entertainment. In a statement the duo exclaimed, "This show is being created with Fandango so we can share our lunchtime fun with the world — and more importantly write off our meals as legitimate business…...
- 9/22/2015
- Deadline
International release dates have been announced for over 17 countries for Zach Lipovsky's Dead Rising: Watchtower. Also: details on The Walking Dead and battle app, Winnin, joining forces, as well as a full image gallery for Appetites.
Dead Rising: Watchtower: Press Release: "Content Media is set to release the highly anticipated Dead Rising: Watchtower internationally, presented by Legendary Digital, available to rent or own on all major digital platforms on selected dates worldwide across Europe, Asia, Australasia, South America and Africa from July 1st 2015. The international release follows its Us release through Sony’s Crackle streaming service in March.
Legendary Digital presents Dead Rising: Watchtower, a Dead Rising/Contradiction Films Production- directed by Zach Lipovsky (Leprechaun: Origins), written and produced by Tim Carter (Mortal Kombat: Legacy), and executive produced by Tomas Harlan (Mortal Kombat: Legacy) and Lorenzo di Bonaventura (the Transformers franchise). Based on the widely popular Capcom video...
Dead Rising: Watchtower: Press Release: "Content Media is set to release the highly anticipated Dead Rising: Watchtower internationally, presented by Legendary Digital, available to rent or own on all major digital platforms on selected dates worldwide across Europe, Asia, Australasia, South America and Africa from July 1st 2015. The international release follows its Us release through Sony’s Crackle streaming service in March.
Legendary Digital presents Dead Rising: Watchtower, a Dead Rising/Contradiction Films Production- directed by Zach Lipovsky (Leprechaun: Origins), written and produced by Tim Carter (Mortal Kombat: Legacy), and executive produced by Tomas Harlan (Mortal Kombat: Legacy) and Lorenzo di Bonaventura (the Transformers franchise). Based on the widely popular Capcom video...
- 7/10/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
My name is Simon Howell and I’m the co-founder of Sound on Sight. My old friend and fellow co-founder (and true site originator) Rick da Conceicao, better known as Ricky D, asked me to write something in celebration of the site’s seventh anniversary.
Way back in 2007, Ricky D started a radio show called The Naked Lunch. It was broadcast in Montreal from Cjlo, Concordia University’s campus radio station, then repurposed as a podcast, back in the days when you could count the number of popular film ‘casts on one hand. A couple of months into the show’s existence, Ricky put out a Craigslist call for a co-host. I was already hosting a music program at the station, and the opportunity to gab about movies for two hours at a time seemed impossible to pass up. Ricky and I quickly established an easy on-air chemistry and the...
Way back in 2007, Ricky D started a radio show called The Naked Lunch. It was broadcast in Montreal from Cjlo, Concordia University’s campus radio station, then repurposed as a podcast, back in the days when you could count the number of popular film ‘casts on one hand. A couple of months into the show’s existence, Ricky put out a Craigslist call for a co-host. I was already hosting a music program at the station, and the opportunity to gab about movies for two hours at a time seemed impossible to pass up. Ricky and I quickly established an easy on-air chemistry and the...
- 9/27/2014
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
It was seven years ago today that I recorded our very first Sound On Sight radio show discussing the career of John Waters. Back than, we used to broadcast our show from Cjlo, a local University radio station here in Montreal. Since we had an early lunch time slot, most of my friends couldn’t listen to us live, and so I needed a place to archive our episodes so my friends could listen when it was most convenient. So I created a blog…
Little did I know that our simple blog would grow into what it is now, a world-wide collective with writers contributing from five continents, seven countries and far too many cities to name. Originally the blog titled “The Naked Lunch”, transformed into “Sound On Sight” on December 17, 2007. With a slick new design, along with the addition of several new contributors, and our very own hosting domain,...
Little did I know that our simple blog would grow into what it is now, a world-wide collective with writers contributing from five continents, seven countries and far too many cities to name. Originally the blog titled “The Naked Lunch”, transformed into “Sound On Sight” on December 17, 2007. With a slick new design, along with the addition of several new contributors, and our very own hosting domain,...
- 9/27/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Robin Wright gives a superb performance in Ari Folman's sci-fi dystopia, The Congress. Here's Cameron's review...
“How do I know if I’m dreaming?” asks actress Robin Wright, played, somewhat surprisingly, by actress Robin Wright, in a moment towards the denouement of this part live action, part animated film examining the meaning of existence and the potentiality of a digital future.
Sadly, by this point, you may not care if the House Of Cards star is dreaming or not as any semblance of reality and cohesive story-telling have been abandoned in this brave, challenging but ultimately problematic piece of work from the man behind the notable Waltz With Bashir (2008), Ari Folman.
The Congress begins with Wright facing the fact that the studios don’t want to work with her; her character here is notoriously difficult and forges her own way in the ‘biz, making her own choices. She is offered,...
“How do I know if I’m dreaming?” asks actress Robin Wright, played, somewhat surprisingly, by actress Robin Wright, in a moment towards the denouement of this part live action, part animated film examining the meaning of existence and the potentiality of a digital future.
Sadly, by this point, you may not care if the House Of Cards star is dreaming or not as any semblance of reality and cohesive story-telling have been abandoned in this brave, challenging but ultimately problematic piece of work from the man behind the notable Waltz With Bashir (2008), Ari Folman.
The Congress begins with Wright facing the fact that the studios don’t want to work with her; her character here is notoriously difficult and forges her own way in the ‘biz, making her own choices. She is offered,...
- 8/14/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Release Date: 7/22/14 on Blu-ray and DVD
Written By: Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson
Directed By: Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson
Starring: Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Tom Williamson
Review by Daniel Xiii.
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge…and Zombies?
Based soley on the title of Lucky McKee’s (May, The Woods) All Cheerleaders Die, I had a kind of preternatural premonition that I would be enjoyin’ this one. Hell, based on that title, I can’t believe ol’ Lucky himself didn’t call yours cruelly and have him introduce the film like some sort of sexy William Castle (which totally could have happened if I was available, but of course my duties to the House that Fearsome Forry built have kept me too busy to make cameos).
So was my uncanny ability to completely judge whether I’ll like a movie or not based solely on its title still the stuff of legend,...
Written By: Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson
Directed By: Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson
Starring: Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Tom Williamson
Review by Daniel Xiii.
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge…and Zombies?
Based soley on the title of Lucky McKee’s (May, The Woods) All Cheerleaders Die, I had a kind of preternatural premonition that I would be enjoyin’ this one. Hell, based on that title, I can’t believe ol’ Lucky himself didn’t call yours cruelly and have him introduce the film like some sort of sexy William Castle (which totally could have happened if I was available, but of course my duties to the House that Fearsome Forry built have kept me too busy to make cameos).
So was my uncanny ability to completely judge whether I’ll like a movie or not based solely on its title still the stuff of legend,...
- 8/11/2014
- by Holly Interlandi
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
"Transfixing. Fascinating. Spellbending." Take a look at this outstanding new poster for Denis Villeneuve's film Enemy, the other one with Jake Gyllenhaal that he directed, that's not Prisoners. We've been featuring this one for a while awaiting the trailer with some excellent posters in the past, including this repetitious red one and the original design from festivals. Now we have another, as A24 Films has released the latest poster that's all yellow, along with some vacant, drifting away faces. Eerie. Remind anyone of Cronenberg's Naked Lunch? It's just an impressive poster to start off 2014 right. Still waiting for a trailer, but I'm fine with this. Here's the latest official poster for Denis Villeneuve's Enemy, direct from A24 via Facebook or on Twitter: Brilliantly adapted from the late Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago's 2002 novel The Double, the latest from Denis Villeneuve (Incendies, Prisoners) breathes new life into the doppelgänger tradition,...
- 1/30/2014
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
I think that 2013 will be seen as a massive turning point in terms of how media is delivered into your home and how it is consumed. More than any other year, 2013 signified the decline of traditional cinema and release patterns. The multiplex seems more dominated than ever by the big blockbuster and sequels with no place for the films that fit in between. The mid-tier thriller or drama without prestige or huge explosions doesn’t seem to exist anymore as far as cinemas go and these films head straight to DVD or a streaming subscription service.
General audiences seem to not quite understand the business model for distribution and so anything that didn’t appear on cinema screens or was advertised in a newspaper or on TV and appears on DVD shelves or on streaming, is sadly being ignored.
In the UK we are somewhere in between the process at...
General audiences seem to not quite understand the business model for distribution and so anything that didn’t appear on cinema screens or was advertised in a newspaper or on TV and appears on DVD shelves or on streaming, is sadly being ignored.
In the UK we are somewhere in between the process at...
- 12/31/2013
- by Chris Holt
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
News Glen Chapman 30 Aug 2013 - 06:37
An adaptation of Jg Ballard's 1975 novel High-Rise has been added to director Ben Wheatley's list of projects...
After the unique release experiment for his latest film, A Field in England, Ben Wheatley has lined up his next project and it's an adaptation of Jg Ballard's High-Rise. The book looks at an affluent community isolated in the titular high rise who soon form violent tribes, and normal society events such as cocktail parties turn to chaos as the factions do battle.
Wheatley said of the project, when chatting to Screen Daily, that "I love Ballard's work. This project started out with me looking at my bookcase, seeing the book, and thinking: 'that would make a great film'". He continued adding that "I started to look into the who had the rights for the book and that led me to Jeremy [Thomas], who has made some of my favourite films.
An adaptation of Jg Ballard's 1975 novel High-Rise has been added to director Ben Wheatley's list of projects...
After the unique release experiment for his latest film, A Field in England, Ben Wheatley has lined up his next project and it's an adaptation of Jg Ballard's High-Rise. The book looks at an affluent community isolated in the titular high rise who soon form violent tribes, and normal society events such as cocktail parties turn to chaos as the factions do battle.
Wheatley said of the project, when chatting to Screen Daily, that "I love Ballard's work. This project started out with me looking at my bookcase, seeing the book, and thinking: 'that would make a great film'". He continued adding that "I started to look into the who had the rights for the book and that led me to Jeremy [Thomas], who has made some of my favourite films.
- 8/29/2013
- by glenchapman
- Den of Geek
★★★★★ Nowhere (1997) follows Totally F***ed Up (1993) and The Doom Generation (1995) as the third and final instalment in renegade filmmaker Gregg Araki's Teenage Apocalypse trilogy. Jam-packed full of rampant, libidinous teens that exist in a multicultural, pop art, dystopian fantasy, watching Nowhere is what might happen were you to read Naked Lunch before bed. Araki's muse James Duval is at the centre of the action, his character Dark Smith the embodiment of the apocalypse. He edits tapes in an attempt to control his life, whilst his bisexual girlfriend, Mel (Rachel True), simply can't commit to him.
This lack of commitment sees Dark's mind become a mass of bubbling confusion, especially after meeting Montgomery (Nathan Bexton). The theme of alienation follows Dark like a heavy cloud, eventually taking on literal form in a scene involving a ghastly explosion that would make undoubtedly have made Franz Kafka proud. Various interconnected sup-plots...
This lack of commitment sees Dark's mind become a mass of bubbling confusion, especially after meeting Montgomery (Nathan Bexton). The theme of alienation follows Dark like a heavy cloud, eventually taking on literal form in a scene involving a ghastly explosion that would make undoubtedly have made Franz Kafka proud. Various interconnected sup-plots...
- 8/13/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The sheer amount of Hollywood films which started life as books or short stories is absolutely staggering. Even the onset of CGI, HD and Jason Statham has done nothing to alter the extent of cross-medium borrowing, basing and plain old adapting. Indeed, Some of Hollywood’s most memorable offerings ;-Gone with the Wind, Jaws, The Godfather, The English Patient, The Shining, Schindler’s List- are actually great improvement upon the original novels.
But is there a certain type of book which lends itself to adaptation? And, by extension, are some books inherently ‘unfilmable’?
What of those books so firmly rooted in their medium that any adaptation would feel reckless, heretical even? What of those mischievous, unreliable narrators that some novels use? What of those wallowing, nebulous inner monologues? How to handle those broken streams of consciousness? How to convey all those invisible, cerebral themes?
In short, the challenges of...
But is there a certain type of book which lends itself to adaptation? And, by extension, are some books inherently ‘unfilmable’?
What of those books so firmly rooted in their medium that any adaptation would feel reckless, heretical even? What of those mischievous, unreliable narrators that some novels use? What of those wallowing, nebulous inner monologues? How to handle those broken streams of consciousness? How to convey all those invisible, cerebral themes?
In short, the challenges of...
- 6/27/2013
- by David Hynes
- Obsessed with Film
Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.
- 6/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.
- 6/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
In the near future, a company called the Lucas Clinic has begun providing celebrity obsessed fans the ability to be infected with the diseases of their favourite celebrity for a price. Employee Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) infects patients during the day, but infects himself during the night as a means of selling the diseases on the black market. One day, after infecting himself with a disease that later kills film star Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon), Syd quickly find himself racing to save his own life.
My fear going into Antiviral was that Brandon Cronenberg’s unique oddity of a film would be too similar to his father, David’s, own work. Its intriguing premise sounded ripe for satire and sickening visuals. And while there are plenty of shocking and nauseating images at play right from the start of the film, my initial fears were sadly realized all too well.
My fear going into Antiviral was that Brandon Cronenberg’s unique oddity of a film would be too similar to his father, David’s, own work. Its intriguing premise sounded ripe for satire and sickening visuals. And while there are plenty of shocking and nauseating images at play right from the start of the film, my initial fears were sadly realized all too well.
- 9/27/2012
- by David Baldwin
- We Got This Covered
There's a certain magical quality to modern day drugs. The tiniest prescribed pill can cure a multitude of medical problems, whilst the tiniest illegally-purchased pill can create the illusion you have cured a multitude of non-medical problems. So it's no wonder Hollywood loves injecting cool ideas about what sorts of human ailments — both physical and spiritual — fictional drugs might be able to treat.
In "Dredd 3D," the latest redux of comic book hero and one-man-justice-system, Judge Dredd, a narcotic named Slo-Mo has hit the streets, allowing its users to experience reality in slow motion (in the future, drug names are very literal). And this got us jonesing for a list of our favorite movie pharmaceuticals we dare you to "just say no" to.
Nzt-48 in 'Limitless' (2011)
This pricey and rare drug for the one-percenters allows the imbiber to utilize 100 percent of their brain power — in other words, it's akin to drinking three Red Bulls.
In "Dredd 3D," the latest redux of comic book hero and one-man-justice-system, Judge Dredd, a narcotic named Slo-Mo has hit the streets, allowing its users to experience reality in slow motion (in the future, drug names are very literal). And this got us jonesing for a list of our favorite movie pharmaceuticals we dare you to "just say no" to.
Nzt-48 in 'Limitless' (2011)
This pricey and rare drug for the one-percenters allows the imbiber to utilize 100 percent of their brain power — in other words, it's akin to drinking three Red Bulls.
- 9/24/2012
- by Ben Freiburger
- NextMovie
Skewering celebrity culture, mass consumption and uncontrolled corporate greed with a heavy dose of queasy horror movie elements and plenty of blood, the first trailer for Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral gets under your skin...and then unleashes a virus into your system.
Directed and written by Cronenberg, son of David, the man behind The Fly and Naked Lunch, Antiviral follows Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) an employee at a medical company called The Lucas Clinic where those needful souls who are desperate to get as close as possible to the rich and famous can become afflicted with whatever diseases, infections and live viruses have plagued their favourite stars. Sound sick? It is.
And in the just-released trailer we see poster girl Sarah Gadon (a frequent collaborator of Cronenberg Senior) looking airbrushed and perfect until she starts bleeding from her mouth and when Syd starts showing the same symptoms, he has...
Directed and written by Cronenberg, son of David, the man behind The Fly and Naked Lunch, Antiviral follows Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) an employee at a medical company called The Lucas Clinic where those needful souls who are desperate to get as close as possible to the rich and famous can become afflicted with whatever diseases, infections and live viruses have plagued their favourite stars. Sound sick? It is.
And in the just-released trailer we see poster girl Sarah Gadon (a frequent collaborator of Cronenberg Senior) looking airbrushed and perfect until she starts bleeding from her mouth and when Syd starts showing the same symptoms, he has...
- 8/9/2012
- by Andrea Miller
- Cineplex
Director: Evan Kelly. Writer: Josh MacDonald. Cast: Stephen Chambers, James Gilbert, David Patrick Flemming, Matthew Amyotte, Glen Matthews and Mary-Colin Chisholm. It is always surprising to remember that Canada has only created approximately 1500 films since 1911. This is surprising because there have been so many great Canadian films created over this time such as David Cronenburg's Naked Lunch or Allan King's The Last Season. Now, director Evan Kelly and Josh MacDonald's can add their Nova Scotian shot feature, The Corridor, to this excellent cadre of films. The Corridor begins as a thriller which transitions into a science fiction film. Along the way, five friends must confront a force that alters their minds. The corridor also changes their behaviours as friend turns on friend in a murderous fashion. The Corridor creates enough tension and enough mystery to leave viewers with questions and interpretations. The abstract elements are what stayed with this.
- 8/7/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Men in Black return for a third outing or is it the 13th?
For reasons probably best explained with legal files and financial spreadsheets, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in black, doing what they always did: battling illegal aliens, saving the planet in an enormous special-effects splurge, then erasing everyone's memory, us included. Does anyone really recall Men in Black II, after all? Perhaps this is actually part 12 – how would we know? Still, the flatlining franchise is revived with some pretty strong jolts here. First, the agents-vs-aliens shtick is transposed to a different era; secondly, for much of the running time, it replaces tired-looking Lee Jones with Josh Brolin, playing his younger self. Brolin does a better rendition of Jones' drawled, Texan deadpan than Jones himself, and he brings the movie to life after a sluggish set-up.
Jones' Agent K, you see, is tracked down by a growly,...
For reasons probably best explained with legal files and financial spreadsheets, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in black, doing what they always did: battling illegal aliens, saving the planet in an enormous special-effects splurge, then erasing everyone's memory, us included. Does anyone really recall Men in Black II, after all? Perhaps this is actually part 12 – how would we know? Still, the flatlining franchise is revived with some pretty strong jolts here. First, the agents-vs-aliens shtick is transposed to a different era; secondly, for much of the running time, it replaces tired-looking Lee Jones with Josh Brolin, playing his younger self. Brolin does a better rendition of Jones' drawled, Texan deadpan than Jones himself, and he brings the movie to life after a sluggish set-up.
Jones' Agent K, you see, is tracked down by a growly,...
- 5/24/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Dear Robert Pattinson,
I must say I never thought I'd see the day. Let me just start things off by saying until now, I've only known you as the twinkly Edward Cullen, who made me put my foot down and wipe the Twilight movie from my memory with a simple "Hang on tight spider monkey". It was you that put me to sleep as my girlfriend nearly wept at your performance in Water For Elephants, and has since continued to pressure me to watch Remember Me. Perhaps the final straw came at the very start though, when you played the same bastard who collapsed the possibility of Harry Potter ever bagging Cho Chang. You may not know me Mr. Pattinson, but rest assured, I know you.
Despite my grievances, anger, and blind rage at my woman's lust for you...dammit I respect you. I just saw the trailer for Cosmopolis...
I must say I never thought I'd see the day. Let me just start things off by saying until now, I've only known you as the twinkly Edward Cullen, who made me put my foot down and wipe the Twilight movie from my memory with a simple "Hang on tight spider monkey". It was you that put me to sleep as my girlfriend nearly wept at your performance in Water For Elephants, and has since continued to pressure me to watch Remember Me. Perhaps the final straw came at the very start though, when you played the same bastard who collapsed the possibility of Harry Potter ever bagging Cho Chang. You may not know me Mr. Pattinson, but rest assured, I know you.
Despite my grievances, anger, and blind rage at my woman's lust for you...dammit I respect you. I just saw the trailer for Cosmopolis...
- 4/20/2012
- by Robot Reagan
- GeekTyrant
Paul Newman is without a doubt my favorite actor of all time. Today is his birthday and so I figured it would be fun to spotlight one of our older podcasts. In episode 63 of the Sound On Sight podcast (then called The Naked Lunch), we took a look back at three of his most outstanding performances from Hud, Cool Hand Luke, and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
“He was an electric Mt. Rushmore with a thousand twinklers behind his bright blue eyes”.
Download the show in a new window
- Listen on iTunes RSS feeds Twitter Facebook Tumblr...
“He was an electric Mt. Rushmore with a thousand twinklers behind his bright blue eyes”.
Download the show in a new window
- Listen on iTunes RSS feeds Twitter Facebook Tumblr...
- 1/27/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
A snippet of an article in a Google News alert this weekend caught my attention: For those who follow politics and Hollywood, 2011 has been a year of misleading movie titles. And I thought: Bingo! There’s a question of the day. The rest of the passage -- at Reason Magazine -- reveals that that first line is just setting up a joke: For those who follow politics and Hollywood, 2011 has been a year of misleading movie titles. The Debt wasn't about the federal debt. Contagion wasn't about the Eurozone crisis. And The Muppets isn't about Congress. Instead, it's about a gang of singing, dancing puppets with much better approval ratings. Ah: not actually misleading titles at all, then. But it still makes for a good Qotd. We’ve talked in the past about best movie titles and worst movie titles and the best movie with the most title. Today: What...
- 11/28/2011
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
by Steve Dollar
Vampires have held pop culture's center stage long enough. The zombies are lurching back! True Blood and Twilight and Let Me/the Right One In have cast their spell over the zeitgeist in recent years, notably playing up themes of teen angst and subversive sexuality to tap a perennial romantic vein. With rare exceptions, there isn't much romance in a zombie. If fangdom clings to a certain gothic giddiness, a fantasy of eternal love or jugular abandon, the undead are simply a problem that won't go away. Ravenous and ragged, they are the perfect metaphor for a failed economy, a stagnant government, the retrograde rhetoric of the Gop presidential field, the all too real apocalypse of abandoned mortgages and unemployment lines. Brother, can you spare some brains?
Everything runs in a cycle, of course. So fresh meat like AMC's hit series The Walking Dead, which uses the...
Vampires have held pop culture's center stage long enough. The zombies are lurching back! True Blood and Twilight and Let Me/the Right One In have cast their spell over the zeitgeist in recent years, notably playing up themes of teen angst and subversive sexuality to tap a perennial romantic vein. With rare exceptions, there isn't much romance in a zombie. If fangdom clings to a certain gothic giddiness, a fantasy of eternal love or jugular abandon, the undead are simply a problem that won't go away. Ravenous and ragged, they are the perfect metaphor for a failed economy, a stagnant government, the retrograde rhetoric of the Gop presidential field, the all too real apocalypse of abandoned mortgages and unemployment lines. Brother, can you spare some brains?
Everything runs in a cycle, of course. So fresh meat like AMC's hit series The Walking Dead, which uses the...
- 10/31/2011
- GreenCine Daily
After years of trying unsuccessfully to put together a sequel to his cult hit Bubba Ho-Tep, director Don Coscarelli is back with his first feature film in almost decade, John Dies at the End. Based on a book by Jason Pargin (under the pseudonym David Wong), the story revolves around two slackers who begin to dabble in a dangerous drug known as Soy Sauce. The drug allows them to travel through time and alternate dimensions, where they realize that evil forces are starting to invade their small town. Although the movie looks pretty low budget, there are some intriguing creature effects showcased in the trailer and I can definitely see why this story might be of interest to the man who directed Phantasm. It looks like a strange and trippy paranoid tale reminiscent of films like Naked Lunch and A Scanner Darkly. The cast also includes Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown and Doug Jones,...
- 9/26/2011
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Taking the stage in front of a highly anticipated crowd last night, Don Coscarelli, a man who last made an impression on audiences with the Elvis meets the Mummy movie Bubba Ho-Tep, revealed our first look at his adaptation of the online story turned novel John Dies at the End. Yet, before the footage was revealed, another surprise was waiting for his behind the curtain: Actor Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy). First up was a bizarre clip that featured our hero John sitting shotgun in a car to Dave. Out of nowhere, a mysterious man emerges from the back seat (played by Jones) who precedes to stick a bug/parasite on Dave’s chest. The new stranger, Roger North, spouts some otherworldly banter that doesn’t make much sense out of context. Getting thrown into a scene like this is jarring and hard to be a proper way to judge a film.
- 9/26/2011
- by Michael Haffner
- Destroy the Brain
For the most part, the highly respected, top-tier home video house The Criterion Collection has steered clear of cult and genre movies. Oh sure, they've occasionally dipped their toes in the water ("Naked Lunch," "Hausu," The Nikkatsu Noir box, Monsters & Madmen box, among some others) but their staple releases have been auteur-driven, arthouse or foreign film releases. But monster movie buffs take note--the granddaddy of them all is getting stamped with the wacky C. First, a bit of background. As blogger August Ragone noted on his blog recently, the clues to the Criterion Collection's release of "Godzilla" have been…...
- 8/26/2011
- The Playlist
Filed under: Movie News
Three years after the release of Andy and Lana Wachowski's 'Speed Racer,' the big return for the brains behind 'The Matrix' comes in the form of an near-impossible epic. THR reports that the Wachowskis will be teaming up with director Tom Tykwer ('Run, Lola, Run') to adapt 'Cloud Atlas' for the big screen.
Based on the novel by David Mitchell, 'Cloud Atlas' revolves around the six roughly intertwining stories of six different people that span from the 19th Century to the post-apocalypse. According to producer Stefan Ardnt, "Many have called the novel unfilmable, but Tom [Tykwer] and the Wachowskis have found a way to tell these stories in an amazing, linear and very cinematic way."
In regards to the techniques that they'll use to bring the novel to life, Tykwer and the Wachowskis will film together with two...
Three years after the release of Andy and Lana Wachowski's 'Speed Racer,' the big return for the brains behind 'The Matrix' comes in the form of an near-impossible epic. THR reports that the Wachowskis will be teaming up with director Tom Tykwer ('Run, Lola, Run') to adapt 'Cloud Atlas' for the big screen.
Based on the novel by David Mitchell, 'Cloud Atlas' revolves around the six roughly intertwining stories of six different people that span from the 19th Century to the post-apocalypse. According to producer Stefan Ardnt, "Many have called the novel unfilmable, but Tom [Tykwer] and the Wachowskis have found a way to tell these stories in an amazing, linear and very cinematic way."
In regards to the techniques that they'll use to bring the novel to life, Tykwer and the Wachowskis will film together with two...
- 8/22/2011
- by Aiden Redmond
- Moviefone
The Duchess of Cambridge looked dewy and fresh as always at the Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday service at St. George’s Chapel.
Get Kate Middleton‘s makeup look from her eyes to her lips from celebrity makeup artist and hairstylist Alma, of the Alma G Salon in NYC.
Alma used Mac cosmetics to describe how to get the look. Read each step and shop the products!
Face:
Start off using Prep +Prime Skin face primer. Using your fingertips, smooth it onto the skin’s surface and elongate the wear of your make up. Apply Pro Longwear Spf 10 Foundation in shade of your choice using the 190 Foundation Brush (starting in center of the face and working your way out towards jaw line). Apply Pro Longwear Concealer under eyes and top with Photo-Op Under Eye Brightener to smooth and illuminate. Set face using 195 Concealer Brush and Magically Cool Liquid Powder,...
Get Kate Middleton‘s makeup look from her eyes to her lips from celebrity makeup artist and hairstylist Alma, of the Alma G Salon in NYC.
Alma used Mac cosmetics to describe how to get the look. Read each step and shop the products!
Face:
Start off using Prep +Prime Skin face primer. Using your fingertips, smooth it onto the skin’s surface and elongate the wear of your make up. Apply Pro Longwear Spf 10 Foundation in shade of your choice using the 190 Foundation Brush (starting in center of the face and working your way out towards jaw line). Apply Pro Longwear Concealer under eyes and top with Photo-Op Under Eye Brightener to smooth and illuminate. Set face using 195 Concealer Brush and Magically Cool Liquid Powder,...
- 6/13/2011
- by edenuniver
- HollywoodLife
Now that's effective - ahem - Viral Marketing. TheCW's use of the initialism "Vd" (not an acronym as it does not form a word from the initials) in their marketing for the return of The Vampire Diaries is full of win, as it turns out. The ads kicked off a mild case of outrage in the entertainment press, suggesting that TheCW was somehow glamorizing venereal disease. I realize with mid-season coming into full swing that the last couple of weeks have been completely lacking in news items worthy of writing about (</sarcasm>), but seriously - could we all just get a sense of humor about this ... please? Personally, I think for all the tackiness that might percolate from this unfortunate association between The Vampire Diaries title and its' initialism, it is - at the end of the day - merely accurate. Vd does indeed equal Vampire Diairies.
Personally, I think the...
Personally, I think the...
- 1/26/2011
- by Jon Lachonis
- TVovermind.com
A while back we announced a contest in which you could win 52 DVD’s courtesy of yours truly. All you had to do was either follow us on Twitter of become a fan of us on Facebook. I was pleased to announce the winner after our 250th episode of Sound On Sight Radio. Congratulations to “Fivedollardare” who won, simply by following us on Twitter. Be sure to do the same and join us on facebook to receive details on our upcoming contests. Here is just some of the DVD’s and Blu-rays that he won:
1- 13 Tzameti
2- Inglourious Basterds
3-a Nos Amours (Criterion)
4- Cecil B. Demented
5- Jules and Jim
6- Do The Right Thing
7- Dr. Seuss’ – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
8- Delicatessen
9- Event Horizon
10- Armageddon (Criterion DVD)
11- Reservoir Dogs
12- Suspiria
13- Paranormal Activity
14- Drag Me To Hell
15- Watchmen
16-...
1- 13 Tzameti
2- Inglourious Basterds
3-a Nos Amours (Criterion)
4- Cecil B. Demented
5- Jules and Jim
6- Do The Right Thing
7- Dr. Seuss’ – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
8- Delicatessen
9- Event Horizon
10- Armageddon (Criterion DVD)
11- Reservoir Dogs
12- Suspiria
13- Paranormal Activity
14- Drag Me To Hell
15- Watchmen
16-...
- 12/26/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Leaving; Sex and the City 2; The A-Team; Splice
"French cinema," points out the electrifying Kristin Scott Thomas wryly, "represents a lot of women of my age who are still living – not just sighing and thinking about how beautiful they once were." It's an astute observation, for proof of which one need look no further than Leaving, a tragic romance that begins and ends with a bang and centres upon a woman in the throes of the kind of midlife crisis more usually reserved for male leads.
Scott Thomas plays Suzanne, a quietly frustrated, fortysomething mother with unfulfilled personal and professional aspirations, shaken out of her (un)comfortably complacent marriage by an overwhelming infatuation with Sergi López's burly handyman, Ivan. Having devoted herself to building a bourgeois home with husband, Samuel (Yvan Attal), Suzanne promptly abandons all to pursue a "passionate teen-like relationship" with predictably explosive consequences. "It's a conventional story about adultery,...
"French cinema," points out the electrifying Kristin Scott Thomas wryly, "represents a lot of women of my age who are still living – not just sighing and thinking about how beautiful they once were." It's an astute observation, for proof of which one need look no further than Leaving, a tragic romance that begins and ends with a bang and centres upon a woman in the throes of the kind of midlife crisis more usually reserved for male leads.
Scott Thomas plays Suzanne, a quietly frustrated, fortysomething mother with unfulfilled personal and professional aspirations, shaken out of her (un)comfortably complacent marriage by an overwhelming infatuation with Sergi López's burly handyman, Ivan. Having devoted herself to building a bourgeois home with husband, Samuel (Yvan Attal), Suzanne promptly abandons all to pursue a "passionate teen-like relationship" with predictably explosive consequences. "It's a conventional story about adultery,...
- 11/28/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Allen Ginsberg and William S Burroughs are two writers whose names will forever be inextricably linked to one another. Alongside Jack Kerouac, they are credited as the godfathers of the "beat generation," a group of writers who radicalized American literature by tackling subjects that their elders felt improper. Ginsberg kicked off the movement in 1956 when he published Howl and Other Poems, while Burroughs delivered his landmark novel Naked Lunch in 1959. Both depicted gay sex and drug taking and subsequently became the focus of obscenity trials. More than fifty years later, the writers are celebrated in two movies at this month's London Film Festival. Starring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, Howl explores the events which led the poet to write his seminal work and documents the aftermath, including the book's obscenity trial. Through a collage of courtroom scenes, flashbacks...
- 10/18/2010
- by Charles Thomson
- Huffington Post
Anyone who follows me on Twitter might guess from my icon that I’m a bit of a Dirk Bogarde fan. I featured him in The Servant last year but until last week I had never seen this amazing poster for Fassbinder’s 1978 Despair, one of the many films that Bogarde made outside the UK (the greatest of course being Visconti’s Death in Venice). The Despair poster, with its sunburst of striped light and surreal collage, reminds me of the posters of the great Japanese artist Tadanori Yokoo, but is in fact by a German designer named Uwe Wandrey. It would go very nicely on my wall in a fedora diptych with another of my all-time favorite posters: Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch.
- 10/8/2010
- MUBI
This past weekend saw the All Tomorrow’s Parties music and film festival head up to Monticello, New York. Criterion alum, Jim Jarmusch, curated the music for the festival, which saw the likes of Sonic Youth, Iggy and the Stooges, and Explosions In The Sky take the various stages. If you had some down time between bands, you could spend some time watching 22 films that Criterion brought with them for the festival.
As we’ve previously highlighted, Criterion commissioned several independent comic book artists to create movie posters for all of the films. We’ve already shown you the posters for Brute Force, Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, and Night of the Hunter, and have been eagerly awaiting some images of the various other posters.
Today on their Facebook page, Criterion took a snapshot of the entire line-up, which I’m embedding below:
In the comments for the image, Criterion named all of the contributing artists,...
As we’ve previously highlighted, Criterion commissioned several independent comic book artists to create movie posters for all of the films. We’ve already shown you the posters for Brute Force, Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, and Night of the Hunter, and have been eagerly awaiting some images of the various other posters.
Today on their Facebook page, Criterion took a snapshot of the entire line-up, which I’m embedding below:
In the comments for the image, Criterion named all of the contributing artists,...
- 9/7/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Kristen Stewart will be traveling On the Road with some high-profile company. The Twilight beauty, who's currently filming the movie adaptation of Jack Kerouac's classic novel in Canada, has just been joined by two new co-stars. (Sadly, no, neither of them are named Robert Pattinson—though her Twilight co-star did pay Stewart a sexy visit on set yesterday.) The Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen and Enchanted actress Amy Adams have both signed on for the Walter Salles-directed adaptation, which is slated for release next year. Mortensen will portray Old Bull Lee, a character inspired by Naked Lunch author William S....
- 8/13/2010
- by Celebuzz
- Celebuzz.com
Jean‑Luc Godard's masterpiece remains a startling example of the French new wave and marked the arrival of one of cinema's most influential directors
Two trailers bookend my half-a-century of writing professionally about the cinema and bracket the career of the man who is arguably the most influential moviemaker of my lifetime. Fifty years ago this month I dropped into an Oslo cinema while waiting for a midnight train and saw an unforgettable trailer for a French picture. It cut abruptly between a handsome, broken-nosed actor I'd never come across before, giant posters of Humphrey Bogart, and the familiar features of Jean Seberg, whom I knew to be an idol of French cinéastes as the protegee of Otto Preminger. Shot in high contrast monochrome, rapidly edited, interspersed with puzzling statements in white-on-black and black-on-white lettering, it was like no other trailer I'd seen, and I was captivated. Not until my...
Two trailers bookend my half-a-century of writing professionally about the cinema and bracket the career of the man who is arguably the most influential moviemaker of my lifetime. Fifty years ago this month I dropped into an Oslo cinema while waiting for a midnight train and saw an unforgettable trailer for a French picture. It cut abruptly between a handsome, broken-nosed actor I'd never come across before, giant posters of Humphrey Bogart, and the familiar features of Jean Seberg, whom I knew to be an idol of French cinéastes as the protegee of Otto Preminger. Shot in high contrast monochrome, rapidly edited, interspersed with puzzling statements in white-on-black and black-on-white lettering, it was like no other trailer I'd seen, and I was captivated. Not until my...
- 6/9/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Oscilloscope has picked up North American rights to Yony Leyser's doc "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within." The 2010 Slamdance Film Festival debut is a portrait of the Beat figure featuring never-before-seen archival footage of the author of Naked Lunch. Oscilloscope will release the film theatrically in the Autumn of 2010 followed by a DVD and digital release, ad the feature will also have a broadcast premiere as part of the ...
- 6/2/2010
- Indiewire
Edward D. Wood Jr. lives! 1. In the soul of underground filmmaker Andre Perkowski; and 2. On this DVD release of Devil Girls, Perkowski’s adaptation of one of Wood’s lurid paperback novels. The film is now available for purchase on Amazon.
While Wood is mostly known for directing low budget — and low quality — sci-fi and horror films, like the classic Plan 9 From Outer Space and Bride of the Monster, he turned to churning out sleazy exploitation paperbacks after his filmmaking career never took off. Writing these books is how he primarily made his living from the early 1960s until his death in 1978.
In the mid-’90s, Perkowski planned to make a trilogy of films based on three different Wood books, but only finished two before “realizing this would be a silly way of starting a career.” It would be close to another 10 years before Perkowski would start to send...
While Wood is mostly known for directing low budget — and low quality — sci-fi and horror films, like the classic Plan 9 From Outer Space and Bride of the Monster, he turned to churning out sleazy exploitation paperbacks after his filmmaking career never took off. Writing these books is how he primarily made his living from the early 1960s until his death in 1978.
In the mid-’90s, Perkowski planned to make a trilogy of films based on three different Wood books, but only finished two before “realizing this would be a silly way of starting a career.” It would be close to another 10 years before Perkowski would start to send...
- 1/5/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Have you had your fill of turkey and pie? Are you hungry for fun? This week's Price of a Movie serves you up a full plate of entertainment. Laugh For Toys This is comedy with a cause. Naked Lunch Lounge and Coalition of the Homeless invite you to enjoy free food, comedy and music - all you need to bring is a toy. You'll be happy, you'll make someone else happy, cue the snowflakes and festive lights and we might even get a little misty-eyed. Warm, tingling feelings are highly likely. Where: Naked Lunch Lounge, 17 Thompson Street When: Thursday, December 3, 8:00 pm Price: A New Toy or $10.00 Syzygy New Music Collective If you think Classical Music is on its way out - watch out. Here comes the New Music Collective, determined to bring the best new, young, fresh classical music instrumentalists and composers together, and put them out there for the world to hear.
- 12/2/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
Here is the second half to our special on zombies in pop culture from way back when Sound On Sight was known as The Naked Lunch. Unfortunately half the episode has forever been lost, but we still feel the first twenty minutes is worth a listen. Join Jason Martineau and myself as we discuss The Evil Dead and other horror favourites. Listen now! listen now [1] Listen on I-Tunes [2] RSS feeds [3] Sound On Sight Forum [4] Twitter [5] Facebook [6] Now get 35 free download through Sound On Sight. Just click the banner below. [7] [1] http://www.soundonsight.org/SoundReviews/Episode22B.mp3 [2] http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=301023002 [3] http://www.soundonsight.org../feed/ [4] http://www.popsyndicate.com/forums/viewforum/94/ [5] http://twitter.com/sound_on_sight [6] http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/group.php?gid=38526697477 [7] http://www.emusic.com/sound...
- 10/6/2009
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
With our recent podcast review of Zombieland (and other zom-com faves), I thought it might be nice publish an older episode of Sound On Sight (then called The Naked Lunch) when we discussed zombies in pop culture. Here it is! Episode 20 hosted by myself and my former co host, Jason Martineau. Listen now! listen now [1] Movies Reviewed: White Zombie [2] Thriller [3] Cemetery Man [4] Dawn of the Dead [5] The Beyond [6] Listen on I-Tunes [7] RSS feeds [8] Sound On Sight Forum [9] Twitter [10] Facebook [11] Now get 35 free download through Sound On Sight. Just click the banner below. [12] [1] http://www.soundonsight.org/SoundReviews/Episode20-a.mp3 [2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023694/ [3] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088263/ [4] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109592/ [5] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077402/ [6] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082307/ [7] http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=301023002 [8] http://www.soundonsight.org../feed/ [9] http://www.popsyndicate.com/forums/viewforum/94/ [10] http://twitter.
- 10/6/2009
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
September marks the two year anniversary of Sound On Sight Radio. After 150 episodes we've reviewed an estimated 900 films and covered several film festivals, including our personal favorite, Fantasia. As well, we have had the chance to do press work for the Festival Nouveau Cinema, Toronto After Dark and most recently added to our list is the Toronto International Film Festival. It's safe to say that in the history of film review shows, S.O.S. is most likely the unluckiest of them all. From the first day we have had nothing but a string of bad luck. It started with a changeover in program directors over at Cjlo creating a miscommunication that resulted in Sound On Sight (than called The Naked Lunch) without an actual simeslot.We were than offered a slot on a different day but unfortunately my co-host-to-be (Dan Maxham) was not available at the time, thus leaving...
- 9/2/2009
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Year: 2009
Directors: Kanji Nakajima
Writers: Kiyoshi Inoue
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Bob Doto
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
The Clone Returns Home is a measured take on a complex subject: the self and its identity in the world. This isn’t, however, a film about race, class, or sexuality (although of course all the above can be read into any narrative), but rather Tcrh is a film about twins, clones, and the memories of the dead, and how the enormity of all that, becomes one.
When we think of a film dealing with clones, it seems natural to expect that film to also deal with technology and space. Outer space. Clones are of course the marker of all things futuristic, along with flying cars and bots that clean your house. Although Tcrh does involve space (lead character, Kohei, played by Mitsuhiro Oikawa is an astronaut after all) Tcrh handles the...
Directors: Kanji Nakajima
Writers: Kiyoshi Inoue
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Bob Doto
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
The Clone Returns Home is a measured take on a complex subject: the self and its identity in the world. This isn’t, however, a film about race, class, or sexuality (although of course all the above can be read into any narrative), but rather Tcrh is a film about twins, clones, and the memories of the dead, and how the enormity of all that, becomes one.
When we think of a film dealing with clones, it seems natural to expect that film to also deal with technology and space. Outer space. Clones are of course the marker of all things futuristic, along with flying cars and bots that clean your house. Although Tcrh does involve space (lead character, Kohei, played by Mitsuhiro Oikawa is an astronaut after all) Tcrh handles the...
- 6/26/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Since he emerged out of the psychotronica closet of his first potent but crude features, there have been two fairly distinct David Cronenbergs -- the extremist/obsessive who's been happy to exploit the fleshier anxieties of science fiction and surrealism, and the critic's darling that sprung up around the time of the still-underrated "Crash" (1996), all the easier to laud for having left the icky aspects of genre behind him. Relative to the psychosexual force on exhibition in "Videodrome" (1983), "The Dead Zone" (1983), "The Fly" (1986), "Dead Ringers" (1988) and "Naked Lunch" (1991), it seems to me that "eXistenZ" (1999), "Spider" (2002), "A History of Violence" (2005) and "Eastern Promises" (2007) are both fairly prosaic and predictable, especially in light of the critical handstands they inspired. It's not all as cut and dried as that, of course, but it still leaves "M. Butterfly" (1993) lingering, coyly and enigmatically, right in the middle. Cronenberg fans never warmed to this unsensationalized Broadway adaptation,...
- 6/9/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
What can be said, post-Oscar-fuggup, about this sick-hearted anti-American Dream that hasn't already been said, and kudoed: Darren Aronofsky's channeling of the Dardennes' immediacy, Mickey Rourke's Herculean self-deprecation, both of which currents combining to prove the script's essential conventionality to be irrelevant, just at a moment in American film in which we had all good reason to think the Industry was completely bankrupt of balls, curiosity, respect and a sense of America itself. (Let's consider in this broad formulation that 2007 was a modern aberration, unleashing a wave of nation-autopsying megaworks -- "There Will Be Blood," "The Assassination of Jesse James," "No Country for Old Men," "Zodiac," etc. -- the likes of which have not been seen since at least 1991; as in, "My Own Private Idaho," "The Rapture," "Slacker," "Tribulation 99," "Naked Lunch," et al.)
However you cube it, "The Wrestler" is a gift, for the most part because Rourke...
However you cube it, "The Wrestler" is a gift, for the most part because Rourke...
- 4/21/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
Recently I found myself in a small room, wearing paper pajamas, and kinda doped again. I was in yet another institution, this time for running out of my home and attacking the garbage men with a rubber pepper from Taco Bell. It’s weird, I know, but apparently the boa I was wearing matched the coloration of the pepper, so at least I know I looked good. Anyway, while I was in there I met these guys from Canada. They looked kinda weird -but it may have just been the Thorazine --and said they’re in a band. Apparently, the story goes, they got in trouble for the things coming out of their mouths and the ‘Authorities’ automatically assumed they’re crazy. When you speak out about change, about escaping from the brutal technocratic society of Governmental controlled idiocy that we labor under, people tend to look at you strangely.
- 4/19/2009
- Fangoria
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