Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death. 2003. An International co-production between Belgium, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, and the UK. 92 min. Written and directed by Peter Bate. “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than …
Cult Cinema: Volume 9 It’s common geek knowledge that Star Trek is a smarter version of Star Wars. However, this should not be the badge of honour that so many Trekkies wear with pride, since Star Wars is essentially what idiot kids dream about when they’ve eaten cotton candy instead of their Ritalin. Here’s the thing: musing …
Dom DeLuise, the iconic character actor, died this week at the age of 75. Whilst perusing his many obituaries, I was struck by Reuters opening paragraph: “Dom DeLuise, the U.S. comic actor who gained fame on television and in movies such as “Blazing Saddles” and “Smokey and the Bandit II,” has died…” The first is …
Star Trek Directed by J.J. Abrams The greatest challenge of taking on any known cultural property in the world of film is that of fulfilling the “fan-service” requirements held by the stalwart fans of said property. Take too many liberties in pursuit of making a more interesting film, and you’ll attract ire (Ang Lee’s Hulk); …
Body Count: Volume 6 I bought a region free DVD player nearly ten years ago when I decided that I had had enough reading about particularly sweet editions of movies being released in foreign markets. These days it seems like just about everything released everywhere finds its way to Region 1 DVD but it wasn’t …
Auteur Theory: Volume 1 New York horror filmmaker Frank Henenlotter has managed to remain in relative obscurity thus far in his career, despite the notoriety his films have achieved. But for those who know his work, it feels as if his filmography is far more massive than just six films. His films are definitively schlock …
Courtesy of: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090501/entertainment/centertainment_us_carrey/ “Jim Carrey has emerged as a leading candidate to star in “The Beaver,” an offbeat comedy-drama that centers on the relationship between a man and a beaver puppet he wears on his arm. Kyle Killen’s script has generated enormous interest in film development circles, drawing comparisons to “Being John Malkovich” and “Lars …
Billed as a horror film, The Hunger is anything but. What it is, however, is a credible first effort by Tony Scott (Déjà vu, Domino, Man on fire), Ridley’s younger brother. Immediately after watching I came to the conclusion that this film is one of either two things: an incredibly good 80s vampire movie or …
28 Days Later… 2002, UK Directed by Danny Boyle Written by Alex Garland Starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Noah Huntley, Christopher Eccleston, Brendan Gleeson The more times I see this film, the better it gets. This may, however, be because it’s made up of three better movies, The Omega Man, Dawn of the Dead, and …
Body Count: Volume 5 . There are certain directors whose represent absolutely pivotal moments in filmmaking. People like Griffith, Welles, Coppola and Scorcese have contributed to film in a way that has shaped the entire medium and changed the game. But there are also directors who represent pivotal moments of genre evolution: George Lucas and …
Hard Target For 20 years Hong Kong director John Woo was the driving force in film on the Pacific Rim. Following the success of The Killer, Woo’s 1989 masterpiece of operatic violence, he made out to Hollywood with his chop-socky. Hard Target. Woo’s American debut took the Belgium-born Jean-Claude Van Damme to new lows of …
Sugar Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Miguel “Sugar” Santos (Algenis Perez Soto), aspiring Dominican baseball star, is the focus of the sophomore effort from Half Nelson writer-director team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, a film long on empathy but short on revelation. Santos is eventually picked to play for a minor-league team in …
Cult Cinema: Volume 8 At their best, horror films hold society up to a funhouse mirror, providing a grotesque yet revealing reflection of cultural concerns, values, and above all, fears. And then there’s torture porn, in which the only insights are gained from peering deep into the vivisected ruins of a woman’s genitals. The term …
Although he was born in Berchem-Sainte Agathe, Belgium, with the name of Jean-Claude Van Varenbeerg, Van Damme once called himself “Frank Cujo” when he first moved to Hollywood in 1981. When he couldn’t find work as an actor the former European Professional Karate Association’s middleweight champion decided to take English classes while working as a …
Body Count: Volume 4 . If two things go together like chocolate and peanut butter, it’s Satan and horror movies. Satan, by himself, is the ultimate adversary and boogeyman so it just makes sense that the genre falls back on the devil from time to time. Seemed like in the 70’s you couldn’t throw a …
Cult Cinema: Volume 7 Good comedy is a mix of the familiar, the unexpected, and the shocking. Which is an elaborate way of saying that ending a knock-knock joke with a line about killing a baby is a sure way to get a laugh. Try it some time. At work. So, it’s no surprise that …
16 Blocks 2006, USA Directed by Richard Donner Written by Richard Wenk Starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse, Jenna Stern I broke a promise today. Long ago, I swore that should I ever again stumble upon a film that uses a hand-held tape recorded as a deus ex machina plot device, I would douse …
Body Count: Volume 3 Vampires are starting to make a come back, in case you haven’t noticed. Teenage girls seem to be swooning at the thought of gentlemanly “vegetarian” vampires that sparkle in the sunlight that should be burning their wretched husks to a crisp. A little while back, I did an article studying the …
Upon viewing Begotten for the first time, one could easily mistake it for an archaic silent film made by a seriously deranged director on crack (or whatever popular drug they used a hundred years ago). Low and behold, this is a movie from 1991 by 45-year old Edmund Elias Merhige (Suspect Zero, Shadow of the …
Cult Cinema: Volume 6 In the 1980s, author Clive Barker was dubbed the new face of horror. And what a face it was, one that looked like it should be fellating both Lord Byron and Aleister Crowley during a sex magic ritual, all arched eyebrows and smooth cheeks and smoky eyes. Barker’s 1985 short story …
Body Count: Volume 2 I was recently asked to write a horror script that would be produced by a local group that’s trying the Sam Raimi/Robert Rodriguez means of raising money for real features by making schlocky b-pictures as a revenue source. They’re hell bent on producing a zombie picture because everyone seems to have …
Although Brad Anderson’s career as a feature-film director spans less than a decade, the American director has consistently satisfied audiences with his own peculiar brand of supernatural tales. Happy Accidents, Session 9, The Machinist and Transsiberian all have their own following by people who enjoy an alternative to the mainstream “thrillers” we’ve been inundated with …
1. The Shining Jack Torrance only kills one person yet he is the monster of the film. No one ever questions Wendy, who not only repeatedly hits Jack over the head with a baseball bat, but also lashes after him with a knife, finally leaving him to die of hypothermia. Clearly the so-called “victim” in …