Cinema is Dope

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There was a peak of this cult Richard Franklin film at Fantastic Fest a couple of months back in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood (Q&A via TexasGeek.tv here). It has been an incredibly long time since I’ve seen this film but I remember it packed in quite a few jolts and sly touches.

Franklin’s surprisingly good sequel to Psycho is worth seeking out.

Caption:
Stacy Keach portrays a freewheeling, poetry-quoting truck driver and Jamie Lee Curtis a beautiful young hitchhiker he encounters in “ROAD GAMES.” The suspense thriller, filmed entirely on location in Australia, is directed and co-produced by Richard Franklin from a screenplay by Everett De Roche. Barbi Taylor is co-producer with Franklin of the Quest Films drama which Avco Embassy Pictures is releasing.

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Vintage Movie Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, November 8, 2008

How about a classic kick ass image of Steve McQueen to start your weekend!?!!!?!

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

This dark turn the tables horror film from down under strikes Fantastic Fest 2008 (film listing) in the coming days (Saturday, September 20th - 9:10 pm; Wednesday, September 24th - 6:25 pm). I think it would be a mistake to walk into this film expecting to see the most original horror film ever made. Some of the initial reviews seem to go overboard in making it seem this is the first horror film ever to feature the turn the tables on the bad guys/killer motif. You need to look no further than films like Eyes of a Stranger (1981) or to some degree The Last House on the Left (1972) to be reminded this entry is one among many. Exceptional production values, well placed scares, resonating moments illuminating life and an engaging battle of wits makes this one a nice entry into that pantheon of horror thrillers. Several of the songs interspersed throughout beat with a nice sonic fusion that give the film an added eloquence of trying to be more than just popcorn entertainment. If anything the many moments highlighting the fragile nature of life and its sinister dwellings might permanently scar any viewers watching it far past any of its twists and turns. This artistic emphasis over formula should give the film added legs as it hits the film festival circuit. The scares I should also are a mixture of devices that thankfully aren’t the cliche loud noise after loud noise. Acolytes deals with a trio of teens who want to get rid of a relentless bully by pitting them against a serial killer that they blackmail. Once it gets going a spiraling chain of events ensue where everyone tries to stay two steps ahead of each other and as we know in all horror films at the end there can only be one person standing. Who will make it out alive… if anyone at all? Come find out at the festival, I’m certainly not going to give away its very creepy as hell ending.

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I remember talking to Shusuke Kaneko the day news broke that Hideo Nakata would be taking on this film. At the time it seemed hard to exactly fathom how they would approach the material but little doubt that as successful of hits as the Death Note films were that it was inevitable that there would be infinite numbers of knock off related feature films and anime. L: Change the World turned out to be one very strange action movie where it seemed the lifted the character of L into more of a routine save the world studio action film. It felt like a really strange fusion of James Bond and Death Note with a killer and hilarious final airplane sequence (more from Mark Schilling and Rodney Perkins).

I met Hideo Nakata at the recent NIFFF film festival. I mainly talked to him and his wife, as well as compared notes on the Nobuo Nakagawa (Lady Vampire was my favorite of his shown) retrospective going on as well as we all wanted to greatly see Adrift in Tokyo.

Related Coverage:
::: Interview I did with Hideo Nakata on L: Change the World
::: Interview I did with Hideo Nakata (Part 1) - Twitch
::: Interview I did with Hideo Nakata (Part 2) - Twitch
::: Interviewing Xavier Gens, Hideo Nakata & Jesus Franco on Remakes - Twitch
::: L: Change the World Movie Wallpaper #1 (Cinema is Dope)
::: Detroit Metal City Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)
::: Death Note: The Last Name Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)
::: Death Note Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)

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

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Viz Pictures will be screening this film in the US in October (more info).

This sequel to the great cat and mouse thriller Death Note, was too uneven for my tastes (too much story and too little time to cram it all in nice and near seamlessly meshed), though I definitely dig that last act of the film where a great battle of wits ensue.

Related Coverage:
::: Detroit Metal City Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)
::: Previous Death Note: The Last Name Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)
::: Death Note Movie Wallpaper #1 (Cinema is Dope)
::: Death Note Movie Wallpaper #2 (Cinema is Dope)
::: Death Note: The Last Name Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)
::: Interview I did with Shusuke Kaneko

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

(Read more…)

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Viz Pictures will be screening the sequel to this film in the US in October (more info). Images and wallpaper for actor Ken’ichi Matsuyama remain one of the hottest items here at Cinema is Dope. I will be taking out some time today to post the remaining images I have from both Death Note films and L: Change the World. Be sure to also check out the images I posted earlier today of him in Detroit Metal City (view here).

Related Coverage:
::: Movie Wallpaper #1 (Cinema is Dope)
::: Death Note: The Last Name Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)
::: Interview I did with Shusuke Kaneko

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

(Read more…)