Lars Von Trier is never one to shy away from controversy. In 1998, Zentropa was the first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornography. Guess who it belongs to? Despite that highly interesting fact, that’s the closest you’ll ever see Von Trier’s name associated with the word “mainstream,” because nothing this man creates can ever be …
Mystery Team Directed by Dan Eckman After Derrick Comedy won America’s heart a few years back with their breakout youtube sensation, Bro Rape: A Newsline Investigative Report, the troupe could have easily faded into obscurity. They didn’t, as fans of funny online videos can attest, and instead they convinced somebody to bankroll a film in which they …
Extract Directed by Mike Judge As both a cult hero and a criminally under-beloved comedic auteur, Mike Judge has had an interesting career. Both Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill have secured an incredibly loyal fanbase, with the latter managing to air for 13 seasons on Fox despite being endlessly clever and funny. …
Trick ‘r Treat Directed by Michael Dougherty In an era of toothless, multiplex horror, being a fun, teen-friendly horror film almost seems like a dirty word. But that’s exactly what Michael Dougherty’s done with his feature debut, “Trick ‘r Treat”, and it’s really not such a bad thing. In fact, it’s a very good thing …
Embodiment Of Evil Directed by Jose Mojica Marins *** 1/2 José Mojica Marins’ demonically anticipated Zé do Caixão (Coffin Joe) comeback film is everything you could hope for. Embodiment cleverly explains Zé ‘s absence over the years by opening with the character being released from prison after serving decades of time for the crimes depicted …
Coffin Joe. For Brazil, nothing personified horror quite like him. He’s a deceptively simple villain. He’s doesn’t drink blood, he’s not undead, he has no magic powers. There is absolutely nothing supernatural about him. Nothing. He is just an undertaker in a top hat and cape with extremely long fingernails. What strikes fear into the …
Angels and Demons Directed by Ron Howard There’s a nebulous threat looming on the horizon in director Ron Howard’s latest Dan Brown adaptation, and it’s not the antimatter that powers the film’s obnoxiously rigid ticking-clock device. Rather, it’s the needless exposition and mannered overplotting (much of it courtesy of frequently awful screenwriter Akiva Goldsman) that …
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 …
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); …
Dear Zachary Directed by Kurt Kuenne Dear Zachary, at various points throughout its 93-minute runtime, acts as home movie, eulogy, horror film, crime procedural, and a naked call for activism. Ultimately, however, it emerges as an emotional atom bomb, a film tightly constructed to provide a series of sharp, painful shocks, carefully doled out at …
Despite its apparent complexity, 3D is actually a deceptively simple process. Two images are filmed, one offset from the other by a same measurement that separates your two eyes, and then one is projected in red, the other in blue. The glasses that are handed out in the cinema, or in a copy of TV …
The International 2009, USA Directed by: Tom Tykwer Written by: Eric Singer Produced by: Lloyd Philips, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle Starring: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen Filmed all over Europe and the US, The International aims to be a slick action thriller in the vein of the Bourne films, with a bit …