Cinema is Dope

[ View Image (1024×678) ]

[ View Image (1024×678) ]

[ View Image (1024×678) ]

[ View Image (1024×678) ]

New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Sunday, August 31, 2008

I missed seeing Miki Satoshi’s, Adrift In Tokyo (Tenten) at the 8th NIFFF (Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival) as I was interviewing Jaume Balagueró on REC 1 & 2 at the time. I’m doing what I can to hopefully bring it to Austin someday, but no telling when that might be. I’ve lost track on when this is coming out on DVD with English subtitles, though Evokative Films from Canada seems poised to release it soon.

Related Coverage:
::: Adrift in Ever Morphing Tokyo - Jason Gray
::: Review by Mark Schilling
::: Udine Report: ADRIFT IN TOKYO Review (Todd @ Twitch)
::: Vampire Queen meets Miki Satoshi
::: Are You Having A Laugh? An Interview With Miki Satoshi - Interview by Mark Schilling
::: Miki Satoshi Pictures from Udine 10

Japanese Cinema:
::: Jason Gray
::: Mark Schilling’s Tokyo Ramen
::: Midnight Eye
::: Nippon Cinema
::: Outcast Cinema
::: Ryuganji
::: Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow

(Read more…)

[ View Image (1024×685) ]

[ View Image (1024×686) ]

[ View Image (1024×685) ]

I love this picture of George Clooney and Frances McDormand in a movie theater in Burn After Reading. The most important question for those that prefer their Coen Brothers cinema to be more No Country serious is when will they return to a film like that? At the moment there really isn’t such a film in their pipeline until Hail Caesar (2009 or more likely 2010 after they make dark comedy A Serious Man), which is a 1920’s period piece centered around a William Shakespeare stage play, Julius Caesar (wiki). stage play. As for me, the film of theirs that I most look forward to is their take on one of my all-time favorite films, Gambit. I discovered Gambit at one of the Tarantino film festivals and mark the poster I have for it as one of the most cleverly conceived - you can spoil the ending, just don’t spoil the beginning.

Burn After Reading recently screened at the 65th Venice Film Festival and upcoming will be at the Toronto International Film Festival. The US release follows shortly thereafter.

(Read more…)

[ View Image (1024×769) ]

Vintage Movie Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, August 30, 2008

I don’t know if it’s the best WWI film ever made, but it certainly is one of the most haunting. With Kirk Douglas as Col. Dax and Stanley Kubrick behind the helm, this film takes patriotic grit and the hell of war and asks the timeless question on the sanity of mankind always waging wars with itself. At least that is my take on the film and it certainly is a work that is open to multiple interpretations.

Amazon.com Link:
::: Buy the Paths of Glory DVD
(Read more…)

Being a programmer at Fantastic Fest has its perks and getting to write up films for its official program is certainly one of them! While I didn’t get to write about all the films I loved (we divide everything up very democratically), I did get a chance to write about several. Below are 3 such write ups with another one on the way once the official lineup is announced on September 4th. While writing everything for the official program this year, I certainly felt like I had the masters of the film festival program film write ups in Mitch Davis (Fantasia) and Colin Geddes (TIFF Midnight Madness) hovering over me making Obi-Wan like suggestions, “Blaaaake do not write like Gaspar Noe reviewing a Sigur Ros album.” Colin and Mitch are masters of the known universes at powerfully and succinctly discussing a film in a festival program guide.

I would say of these write ups that Tokyo! was by far the most challenging as it was like writing 4 reviews in one. When I originally saw this film at NIFFF, I had no idea Tim League had also seen it and upon finding this out we launched into some shouts in unison of, “MERDE! MERDE! MERDE!” It should be interesting if that phrase catches on as a buzz/catchphrase at this years festival. This is certainly one of the best films this year and I couldn’t be happier that we are showing it.

The Substitute is a real fun sci-fi film from Denmark that just when you think it might be a bit too kid friendly it oozes out the blood and seriously twisted moments in rapid session.

How to Get Rid of the Others is a film I originally saw at BIFFF last year and it seemed like the kind of dark political satire that would go over well in Austin. The film feels much more topical now than it did a year ago. Its director Anders Ronnow Klarlund is most known for the rich puppet compelling fantasy drama, Strings.

Tokyo! (2008)
::: Fantastic Fest Official Program Write up
::: Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)

The Substitute (2007)
::: Fantastic Fest Official Program Write up

How to Get Rid of the Others (2007)
::: Fantastic Fest Official Program Write up

[ View Image (1024×819) ]
[ View Image (1280×1024) ]

[ View Image (1024×819) ]
[ View Image (1280×1024) ]

[ View Image (1024×819) ]
[ View Image (1280×680) ]

New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, August 30, 2008

Fresh on the heals of the news IFC Films has snatched up US distribution rights (read here), here are three more images to wet your appetite for Flame & Citron (Flammen & Citronen) and I must say, these three certainly sell the film. The artwork with Mads Mikkelsen and Thure Lindhardt looks particularly strong. The battle scene with Thure Lindhardt looks very compelling and the still of Stine Stengade makes her look as lovely as I’ve ever seen her!

This film will be screening at the 35th Telluride Film Festival and at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Twitch Coverage:
::: First Teaser For Madsen’s FLAME AND CITRON Stuns! (Todd)

(Read more…)