“To describe the spectacle, its formation, its functions and the forces which tend to dissolve it, one must artificially distinguish certain inseparable elements. When analyzing the spectacle one speaks, to some extent, the language of the spectacular itself in the sense that one moves through the methodological terrain of the very society which expresses itself …
Your muscles contort. Your skin bubbles and stretches. Your loins throb and your limbs writhe. You thrash in the throes of excruciating pain and agonizing pleasure. Before you even realize your body has betrayed you, like a snake shedding its skin, you are born anew. Perhaps the most visceral of the horror genres, body …
Cinema is a kind of uber-art form that’s made up of a multitude of other forms of art including writing, directing, acting, drawing, design, photography and fashion. As such, film is, as all cinema aficionados know, a highly collaborative venture. One of the most consistently fascinating collaborations in cinema is that of the director and …
Halley Directed by Sebastian Hofmann Mexico, 2012 Flies in a jar, basking in filth: grimy, unclean, and uncaring for the dirt – clamouring for it, even. The scurrying bugs constitute natural life at its base level, most negligent and sickly. Their movements form the opening and closing shots of Halley, forming an opening statement that …
Redemption Directed by Steven Knight Written by Steven Knight United Kingdom, 2013 Jason Statham does not talk much in Redemption, but then, he’s at his best when he’s not talking. Statham is a human bullet, a harsh, rough, staccato force of nature at home in the bleak, shadowy alleys of the night than he is …
2005, judging by the theatrical releases, was an exceptional year for the neonoir sub-genre. Last summer, for the special Friday (neo)Noir series, reviews for Rian Johnson’s breakout independent hit Brick and Robert Rodriguez’s cinematic visualization of Sin City, both from 2005, were written. A couple of weeks ago another neonoir from the same year was put under the microscope, Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. This week features, yes, still another entry from that illustrious year, one from the most lauded director of the bunch, David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence.
There is, one imagines, a breaking point with exactly how infatuated any of us will be with the modern celebrity. We fawn over them in tabloid magazines, keep tabs on their romantic lives, and get angry when they make choices we disagree with, but how far are we willing to go? Would any of us actually want to be infected with a virus or disease simply because a celebrity got it first?
#20: Cosmopolis (50 points) Directed by David Cronenberg Written by David Cronenberg Canada / France, 2012 Every time Cronenberg answers the prayers of his fans with a new movie, it seems that the first reflex is to attempt to categorize it. Is this new film more like the old Cronenberg, in which very strange, very …
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning Directed by John Hyams Written by John Hyams, Doug Magnuson and Jon Greenhalgh USA, 2012 Although it looks like a generic action movie on paper, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is actually a lot messier on screen, both physically and stylistically. Combining Gaspar Noé-style strobe light disorientation and long takes with David …
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning Directed by John Hyams Written by John Hyams, Doug Magnuson and Jon Greenhalgh USA, 2012 Although it looks like a generic action movie on paper, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is actually a lot messier on screen, both physically and stylistically. Combining Gaspar Noé-style strobe light disorientation and long takes …
Demon Seed Directed by Donald Cammell Written by Dean R. Koontz USA, 1977 Donald Cammell’s Demon Seed barely bypasses its routine silliness to become little more than an effective sci-fi-thriller/body-horror entry. Based on a novel of the same name by Dean R. Koontz, the film functions as a close relative to the later works of …
Fantastic Fest is over but that doesn’t mean we should stop promoting the incredible line-up of movies programmed. It has become a Sound on Sight tradition that once the event has finished, we post a festival wrap-up highlighting our favourite films. Here are the top three picks from four of our writers. You can check …
Cosmopolis Directed by David Cronenberg Written by David Cronenberg Canada / France, 2012 ‘I know this’ is a frequent mantra of many of the broadly stricken characters in David Cronenberg’s film Cosmopolis, his new adaptation of the 2003 novella by Dom Delillo, as a statement of fact it is as reliable and secure as this wildly uneven post-millennium study which feels at …
Cosmopolis Written for the screen and directed by David Cronenberg Canada/France/Portugal/Italy, 2012 Though dissimilar in regards to thematic or narrative content, Cosmopolis bears a noticeable similarity to David Cronenberg’s last film, A Dangerous Method, in that both are heavily packed with lengthy, slow-moving conversation sequences that are predominantly free of sound outside of the spoken …
Dead Ringers Written by David Cronenberg and Norman Snider Directed by David Cronenberg Canada/USA, 1988 Director David Cronenberg has no trouble shying away from perversity. Often referred to as the Canadian pioneer of the psycho-sexual “body horror” genre, Cronenberg utilizes visceral special effects such as in The Fly remake, Videodrome and Scanners, while giving us …
Gary Oldman as Jackie Flannery in State Of Grace (Phil Joanou, 1990, USA): Long considered one of the most talented actors in cinema, it’s very strange that his outstanding acting as the younger brother of Ed Harris’ local crime boss in this underrated film doesn’t get talked about nearly enough when discussing Oldman’s body of …
Cosmopolis Directed by David Cronenberg Written by David Cronenberg Canada / France, 2012 A new David Cronenberg movie is a cause for excitement for many a film fanatic. The filmmaker’s oeuvre has earned him the respect and admiration from self described connoisseurs, officially recognized experts and over the past 10 years or so, the mainstream. …
David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method is a fine example of deceptively simple direction, utilizing classic cinematic language in a subtle way so as to direct its audience in a way above and beyond the majority of films of its type. This is probably the director at his technically finest, breezily and classily manipulating the audience through his …
Oliver Reed as Athos in The Three Musketeers & The Four Musketeers (Richard Lester, 1973/1974, UK): These films were actually shot all at once but ultimately released as two separate films telling one long story. As the musketeer with a dark past, Oliver Reed provides a lot of the heart and soul in these very …
(Throughout the month of May, I will be posting Cronenberg’s best movie moments.) Shivers (They Came from Within) (The Parasite Murders) Directed by David Cronenberg Screenplay by David Cronenberg Canada, 1975 Originally released in the United States under the title They Came From Within, David Cronenberg’s debut feature proudly embraced his career long obsession with …
Scanners Directed by David Cronenberg Written by David Cronenberg 1981, Canada In the early stages of Cronenberg’s career, he established himself as a prolific director of horror films by splicing his features with science fiction elements. His efforts in creating a new sub-genre went unnoticed until his seventh film, Scanners. At the time of its …
In some films, particularly of the twists and turns variety, a significant event, moment or even line of dialogue, can be summarized by the phrase “This changes everything”. This is known as a Game Changer, where the established landscape of the movie’s plot is irrevocably and dramatically altered, with no chance of ever going back. …
Every thirty days, I like to post a list of my favorite films I’ve recently watched. Here are the best films I’ve seen throughout the month of September. This list is based on movies theatrically released here in Canada, and I do not include what I have seen at film festivals. **** #1: We Need …