Release date is October 1, 2008. It looks scary enough. But I think Diary of the Dead already did something like this. Cool Trailer though.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Masters of Horror: SICK GIRL
My pechant for the macabre knows no bounds. I am a big fan of Showtime Tv's Masters of Horror series. Each one hour film is directed by a known master of the craft. The show (created by Mick Garris) has featured John Carpenter (Halloween), John McNaughton (Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer), Dario Argento (Suspiria), Joe Dante (The Howling), Brad Anderson (Session 9), Ernest Dickerson (Tales from the Crypt's Demon Night), etc.
This is a film series not to be missed. Show creator Mick Garris (The Shining, the Stand)has developed a wonderful escape from the usual and each guest director brings his own feel to the fearful with each film. Brilliant!
Lucky McKee, director of MAY, is reunited with his leading lady Angela Bettis in the Master's of Horror movie SICK GIRL. (costarring Erin Brown aka Misty Mundae) Sick Girl is the story of an unlucky in love entomologist named Ida whose life is suddenly changed by the arrival of a mysterious package.
Ida collects, studies and lives her life surrounded by bugs. She keeps a collection of them in her bedroom (which genuinely puts off anyone who sleeps with her). Ida is lonely and sad, but that all changes when she meets Misty and the package arrives.
Inside of the package is a strange, large, aggressive bug that Ida takes to immediately, and brings into her home.
With the arrival of this new bug and her love life in full swing, everything seems in order. Ida and Misty hit it off almost instantly and begin a torrid affair. The Bug escapes from its box, kills a neighbor's dog and then in an unlikely plot twist begins to feed on Misty to survive.
Misty's attitude and demeanor (as well as her physical body) begin to change and she succumbs to the bug's influences. Ida is dumbfounded even more so when she receives a letter from Brazil apologizing for sending the bug to her in the first place. The sender is Misty's homophobic father and Ida's old entomology professor.
So do they eventually live happily ever after? Well, happily ever after ain't all its cracked up to be, but after Misty murders two people, they do live.
Director Lucky McKee co wrote this babes and bugs story. It is a funny and fascinating tale. Angela Bettis and Erin Brown do have genuine chemistry on screen and because they make such a cute couple, you find yourself actually rooting for them.
The Bug might symbolize to some the male patriarchal ego intruding on the Sapphic love fest, and that is cool. Because it does basically do that, but the threesome does make for an interestingly creepy film.
The skin factor is minute which for Showtime is a plus. I don't look at Masters of Horror for soft core porn. I like to be scared. When the plot of the movie has a sexual basis, then the extra skin is necessary. McKee maintains that balance and thus tells an effective story on screen.
If you haven't seen the Masters of Horror series, go to your local video story and rent a couple of films. visit www.mastersofhorror.net for the full low down on the series.
This is a film series not to be missed. Show creator Mick Garris (The Shining, the Stand)has developed a wonderful escape from the usual and each guest director brings his own feel to the fearful with each film. Brilliant!
Lucky McKee, director of MAY, is reunited with his leading lady Angela Bettis in the Master's of Horror movie SICK GIRL. (costarring Erin Brown aka Misty Mundae) Sick Girl is the story of an unlucky in love entomologist named Ida whose life is suddenly changed by the arrival of a mysterious package.
Ida collects, studies and lives her life surrounded by bugs. She keeps a collection of them in her bedroom (which genuinely puts off anyone who sleeps with her). Ida is lonely and sad, but that all changes when she meets Misty and the package arrives.
Inside of the package is a strange, large, aggressive bug that Ida takes to immediately, and brings into her home.
With the arrival of this new bug and her love life in full swing, everything seems in order. Ida and Misty hit it off almost instantly and begin a torrid affair. The Bug escapes from its box, kills a neighbor's dog and then in an unlikely plot twist begins to feed on Misty to survive.
Misty's attitude and demeanor (as well as her physical body) begin to change and she succumbs to the bug's influences. Ida is dumbfounded even more so when she receives a letter from Brazil apologizing for sending the bug to her in the first place. The sender is Misty's homophobic father and Ida's old entomology professor.
So do they eventually live happily ever after? Well, happily ever after ain't all its cracked up to be, but after Misty murders two people, they do live.
Director Lucky McKee co wrote this babes and bugs story. It is a funny and fascinating tale. Angela Bettis and Erin Brown do have genuine chemistry on screen and because they make such a cute couple, you find yourself actually rooting for them.
The Bug might symbolize to some the male patriarchal ego intruding on the Sapphic love fest, and that is cool. Because it does basically do that, but the threesome does make for an interestingly creepy film.
The skin factor is minute which for Showtime is a plus. I don't look at Masters of Horror for soft core porn. I like to be scared. When the plot of the movie has a sexual basis, then the extra skin is necessary. McKee maintains that balance and thus tells an effective story on screen.
If you haven't seen the Masters of Horror series, go to your local video story and rent a couple of films. visit www.mastersofhorror.net for the full low down on the series.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Bad-Ass Battle, round 1
I'm behind in the curve, so I just recently saw There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men and liked both immensely. Daniel Day Lewis and Javier Bardem both played knock-out characters who were total bad-asses, which explains why they both won Oscars this year. But whose character was more bad-ass?
Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview
He's a cut-throat oil tycoon who doesn't care about the men who die along the way to the top.
When you double-cross him, he beats you to death with a bowling pin or he just shoots you.
He'll disown you if you decide to become his competition, regardless of familial relations.
He'll profess his love to God just to expand the business.
He makes a shooting range in his own house.
He owns a Great Dane (normally not making you bad-ass, but big dogs do carry some worth).
Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead fame does the soundtrack, which really has nothing to do with Mr. Plainview, but his excellent compositions play over some great scenes involving him.
He breaks his leg, and doesn't even give a shit and just pulls himself out of his pre-oil well.
Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh
He uses a air-gun to not only unlock doors, but also to kill people.
He has no sense of morality whatsoever, and pulls a Two-Face move and uses a quarter to decide fate.
Killing is a sense of honor, not for sport or pleasure.
His shotgun with silencer attachment is the scariest thing I've seen, other than his air-gun thing.
He brings back the pageboy haircut in a huge way.
He breaks his arm, pays a boy for his shirt, and then just walks away, arm still broken.
He's the present-day T-1000. He doesn't stop until the job is done.
Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel PlainviewHe's a cut-throat oil tycoon who doesn't care about the men who die along the way to the top.
When you double-cross him, he beats you to death with a bowling pin or he just shoots you.
He'll disown you if you decide to become his competition, regardless of familial relations.
He'll profess his love to God just to expand the business.
He makes a shooting range in his own house.
He owns a Great Dane (normally not making you bad-ass, but big dogs do carry some worth).
Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead fame does the soundtrack, which really has nothing to do with Mr. Plainview, but his excellent compositions play over some great scenes involving him.
He breaks his leg, and doesn't even give a shit and just pulls himself out of his pre-oil well.
Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh
He uses a air-gun to not only unlock doors, but also to kill people.
He has no sense of morality whatsoever, and pulls a Two-Face move and uses a quarter to decide fate.
Killing is a sense of honor, not for sport or pleasure.
His shotgun with silencer attachment is the scariest thing I've seen, other than his air-gun thing.
He brings back the pageboy haircut in a huge way.
He breaks his arm, pays a boy for his shirt, and then just walks away, arm still broken.
He's the present-day T-1000. He doesn't stop until the job is done.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Review: "Wristcutters: A Love Story"
A few months ago, I posted my top 20 films of last year. When discussing my top ten with friends, acquaintances and the occasional annoying cinema employee, many were extremely surprised that ranked third on my list, only behind "Into The Wild" and "No Country For Old Men", was an indie movie that made the film festival rounds in 2006, only to have its release repeatedly delayed and was eventually dumped into theaters for a week before disappearing. This was "Wristcutters: A Love Story", and though 2007 was a great year for films, I did not see one more heartwarming or life-affirming all year, and now that it has reached video, I feel I need to revisit it for the sake of persuading a few more people to see it.
The film starts off with Zia (Patrick Fugit, "Almost Famous") staring numbly into space. After cleaning his incredibly messy room, until not an object lies out of place, he calmly walks into his bathroom, slits his wrists and dies. Most comedies don't start like this; in fact, most dramas don't either, but this is not your average movie. We then follow Zia to what is presumably Purgatory, but looks more like New Jersey. Upon committing suicide, he discovers something incredibly ironic: "Everything here is just like it was before, it's all just a little bit worse." The only real differences between this world and the afterlife Zia resides in are that nobody in his world is able to smile, and everybody looks like they did when they died, the latter of which is used just enough to lend another dimension to characters without being gratuitous. Like on Earth, Zia falls into a routine: Lie in bed, go drinking with his friend Eugene (Shea Whigham), remember and miss his beloved Desiree (Leslie Bibb), repeat. We learn that Zia killed himself after Desiree left him, and when he finds out that Desiree too killed herself, Zia and Eugene set out on a road trip through the afterlife to find her. Along the way, they pick up Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), a quirky young woman convinced she's there by mistake. From there, we follow the trio as they negotiate a strange host of characters, a black hole beneath a car's passenger seat, a camp run by a scatterbrained old man (Tom Waits) where miracles can happen as long as they're completely insignificant and a cult leader obsessed with separating his soul from his body; I will not spoil who that is, as it's one of the film's biggest laughs.
With a story like this (based on the short story "Kneller's Happy Campers", by author Etgar Keret) and a budget this low, the film is made or broken by its cast, and to that end, I can't think of a better one. Fugit, Whigham and Sossamon light the screen up with their chemistry, and as they travel along this wasteland, they become more endearing with every single scene. Whigham in particular is fantastic as the cynical ex-musician (his music played in the film is done by Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello) who cares enough about Zia to travel with him but has trouble leaving his family, all of whom live together in the next life as well. The film is just long enough to make us care, and ends in the most satisfying, undeniably romantic ending to any film I've seen in years.
I can't speak highly enough of this film, and were I to go on any longer, I would spoil too much, so I'll just say that for all the "important" films I saw last year, few were even a sliver as meaningful as "Wristcutters", or possessed nearly as much heart.
The film starts off with Zia (Patrick Fugit, "Almost Famous") staring numbly into space. After cleaning his incredibly messy room, until not an object lies out of place, he calmly walks into his bathroom, slits his wrists and dies. Most comedies don't start like this; in fact, most dramas don't either, but this is not your average movie. We then follow Zia to what is presumably Purgatory, but looks more like New Jersey. Upon committing suicide, he discovers something incredibly ironic: "Everything here is just like it was before, it's all just a little bit worse." The only real differences between this world and the afterlife Zia resides in are that nobody in his world is able to smile, and everybody looks like they did when they died, the latter of which is used just enough to lend another dimension to characters without being gratuitous. Like on Earth, Zia falls into a routine: Lie in bed, go drinking with his friend Eugene (Shea Whigham), remember and miss his beloved Desiree (Leslie Bibb), repeat. We learn that Zia killed himself after Desiree left him, and when he finds out that Desiree too killed herself, Zia and Eugene set out on a road trip through the afterlife to find her. Along the way, they pick up Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), a quirky young woman convinced she's there by mistake. From there, we follow the trio as they negotiate a strange host of characters, a black hole beneath a car's passenger seat, a camp run by a scatterbrained old man (Tom Waits) where miracles can happen as long as they're completely insignificant and a cult leader obsessed with separating his soul from his body; I will not spoil who that is, as it's one of the film's biggest laughs.
With a story like this (based on the short story "Kneller's Happy Campers", by author Etgar Keret) and a budget this low, the film is made or broken by its cast, and to that end, I can't think of a better one. Fugit, Whigham and Sossamon light the screen up with their chemistry, and as they travel along this wasteland, they become more endearing with every single scene. Whigham in particular is fantastic as the cynical ex-musician (his music played in the film is done by Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello) who cares enough about Zia to travel with him but has trouble leaving his family, all of whom live together in the next life as well. The film is just long enough to make us care, and ends in the most satisfying, undeniably romantic ending to any film I've seen in years.
I can't speak highly enough of this film, and were I to go on any longer, I would spoil too much, so I'll just say that for all the "important" films I saw last year, few were even a sliver as meaningful as "Wristcutters", or possessed nearly as much heart.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
SWEENEY TODD: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Fabulous.
Extraordinary.
Bloody.
Romantic.
I never thought I would get this far into a musical, but Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd lit a fire under me so red hot that I can still hear the singing in my head.
This is a great, wondrous film. Johnny Depp was amazing, as was Helena Bonham Carter and the rest of the cast.
The Story of Sweeney Todd is a tale of revenge and justice, and of love. Sweeney was not always the Demon Barber of his fame. He had a life and a wife and a beautiful child. He also had an enemy in Judge Turpin (played by Alan Rickman) who coveted his wife. So much so, that he used his influence to have Sweeney locked away for fifteen years, rapes his wife (who swallows arsenic and goes mad) and then has the nerve to raise their child as a prisoner locked away until she is old enough to marry. Time passes as time does.
Sweeney is haunted by the ghosts of his past. He wants revenge.
Ghosts seem to be a theme in this movie. Not apparitions or poltergeists, but the longings of the head and the heart. When you know the story of the Barber's fall from grace, you as the audience, are allowed to sympathize and even cheer him on as he dispatches the rich to feed the needy and his needs.
Helena Bonham Carter plays "MS. Lovett" who covets a place in the heart and by the side of Mr. Todd. So much so, that she devises a plan: He kills and she serves them up as pies. Ms. Lovett longed for Sweeney in her youth. And truthfully, as there mischief continues, you may actually think them unstoppable.
They are not. They are instead undone by their own wickedness.
The music in this film (not unlike Tim Burtons Nightmare Before Chirstmas) is absorbing and contagious. I don't like musicals, but I loved this film.
Its Satirical take on morality was refreshing. "And now those above shall serve those below." they sing as they look out onto the busy London streets and wonder over who will taste like what.
A gross thought, that is presented beautifully by, Steven Sodheim's musical score.
This musical is not for everyone, bloody as it is, but the blood looks remarkably like something from a Justin Hammer movie. A nice touch, I think.
The visuals are typical Tim Burton style, dark and shadowy. But, full of life. He plays with alot of blacks and grays in the setting, which suits the type of city Sweeney believes London to be:
"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit.
And the vermin of the world inhabit it--
and it's moral aren't worth what a pig could spit!
..... and its London."
Poetic.
Triumphant.
Marvelous.
This was Johnny Depp's and Helena Bonham Carter's first singing role, and hers was the hardest. There are parts where the woman barely breaths in this picture. But, they made it.
The perfect couple, the perfect crime, and the perfect musical/movie.
Extraordinary.
Bloody.
Romantic.
I never thought I would get this far into a musical, but Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd lit a fire under me so red hot that I can still hear the singing in my head.
This is a great, wondrous film. Johnny Depp was amazing, as was Helena Bonham Carter and the rest of the cast.
The Story of Sweeney Todd is a tale of revenge and justice, and of love. Sweeney was not always the Demon Barber of his fame. He had a life and a wife and a beautiful child. He also had an enemy in Judge Turpin (played by Alan Rickman) who coveted his wife. So much so, that he used his influence to have Sweeney locked away for fifteen years, rapes his wife (who swallows arsenic and goes mad) and then has the nerve to raise their child as a prisoner locked away until she is old enough to marry. Time passes as time does.
Sweeney is haunted by the ghosts of his past. He wants revenge.
Ghosts seem to be a theme in this movie. Not apparitions or poltergeists, but the longings of the head and the heart. When you know the story of the Barber's fall from grace, you as the audience, are allowed to sympathize and even cheer him on as he dispatches the rich to feed the needy and his needs.
Helena Bonham Carter plays "MS. Lovett" who covets a place in the heart and by the side of Mr. Todd. So much so, that she devises a plan: He kills and she serves them up as pies. Ms. Lovett longed for Sweeney in her youth. And truthfully, as there mischief continues, you may actually think them unstoppable.
They are not. They are instead undone by their own wickedness.
The music in this film (not unlike Tim Burtons Nightmare Before Chirstmas) is absorbing and contagious. I don't like musicals, but I loved this film.
Its Satirical take on morality was refreshing. "And now those above shall serve those below." they sing as they look out onto the busy London streets and wonder over who will taste like what.
A gross thought, that is presented beautifully by, Steven Sodheim's musical score.
This musical is not for everyone, bloody as it is, but the blood looks remarkably like something from a Justin Hammer movie. A nice touch, I think.
The visuals are typical Tim Burton style, dark and shadowy. But, full of life. He plays with alot of blacks and grays in the setting, which suits the type of city Sweeney believes London to be:
"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit.
And the vermin of the world inhabit it--
and it's moral aren't worth what a pig could spit!
..... and its London."
Poetic.
Triumphant.
Marvelous.
This was Johnny Depp's and Helena Bonham Carter's first singing role, and hers was the hardest. There are parts where the woman barely breaths in this picture. But, they made it.
The perfect couple, the perfect crime, and the perfect musical/movie.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Oh the Places You'll Go: Illinois
Illinois rocks, in my personal opinion, and some great films have been set or made in this fair state. Here are the top 10 best films set in Illinois, most of which are set in Chicago:
-- Field of Dreams - Although not set in Illinois, is does feature Chicago's best baseball team the White Soxs.
-- Batman Begins - Yes, it's called Gotham, but he's standing on top of the Water Tower!
-- Risky Business - Kudos to Tom Cruise for having sex on the El. He probably has ten venereal diseases now just from that moment alone...and all his clothes smell like piss.
-- Mean Girls - Just because Tina Fey is awesome, and I miss pre-coke Lindsey Lohan. But if you didn't know, it's supposedly set in Evanston even though it was mostly shot in Canada.
- High Fidelity (Chicago) - How can anyone deny the greatness of this film? John Cusack gives the performance of his life as a middle-age record freak living in Wicker Park who loses his girlfriend. It shows the cool spots in Chicago, such as the Music Box and the Double Door, showcases Reckless Records, and features the cleanest El train ever to exist in Chicago.
- The Breakfast Club (The fictitious town of Sherman) - John Hughes loves the town of Sherman. Too bad it doesn't exist, but to the group of five detention-bound high schoolers it's a very real place. The interiors of The Breakfast Club were shot at the now torn down Maine North High School, while the exteriors were shot at Glenbrook North High School, Hughes alma mater. Both are in the suburbs of Chicago, about 30 minutes away. Even though you can't jam out in the cool library to some 80s tunes, you can go to Glenbrook's football field and re-enact Bender fist-in-the-air moment.
- The Untouchables (Chicago) - I've never been prouder to live in Chicago than the moment after I saw this movie. Brian De Palma does a wonderful job of showing the Al Capone era of Chicago history through his Prohibition film starring Kevin Costner and Sean Connery. Many of the exterior shots were filmed in Chicago by blocking off the streets and recreating the 1920s all over again.
- The Blues Brothers (Chicago) - What can I say? There wouldn't be a Blues Brothers if there wasn't a city named Chicago.
- Wayne's World (Aurora) - Aurora is not a cool place to live, but Wayne and Garth make it cool. The two host a late-night public access show that takes off when people actually start watching it. One plus of this film, you can actually go out towards O'Hare, sit on the hood of your car, and see the planes fly over you. Just don't freak out like Wayne and Garth do.
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Chicago/Sherman) - John Hughes just loves Sherman. Yet again, a bored youth of Sherman ventures off. Ferris Bueller and his friends decide to ditch school and visit Chicago for the day, much to the chagrin of the principal. Now, I'm not sure if it's actually possible to do everything that Ferris does in a day (go see the Sears Tower, Wrigley, the Art Institute, and participate in the German Pride Parade), but I will give $20 to whoever can.
- Home Alone (Chicago/Winnetka) - What ten year old kid doesn't want to be left behind in a huge house like that? You can actually go visit the house in Winnetka where they shot the film at, but I would suggest going around Christmas time. It's much prettier. And, I have to admit, I am guilty of re-enacting the running scene in O'Hare, even when I wasn't late for my flight.
- Proof (Evanston) - This play to screen film is set in Evanston, which is right outside of Chicago. Most of the college scenes are at the University of Chicago, not Northwestern as many believe. But can you believe it, some of it was shot in the UK! But there is an amazing shot of Gweneth Paltrow looking over the skyline by the lake up north.
- Chicago (Fake Chicago) - Ok, none of this film was shot in Chicago. But it's a great adaptation of the musical and it does showcase the outside of the Chicago Theater.
- My Best Friend's Wedding (Chicago) - Julia Roberts, you stop that wedding! And go to a Soxs game while you're at it and get into a fight in the bathroom!
-- Field of Dreams - Although not set in Illinois, is does feature Chicago's best baseball team the White Soxs.
-- Batman Begins - Yes, it's called Gotham, but he's standing on top of the Water Tower!
-- Risky Business - Kudos to Tom Cruise for having sex on the El. He probably has ten venereal diseases now just from that moment alone...and all his clothes smell like piss.
-- Mean Girls - Just because Tina Fey is awesome, and I miss pre-coke Lindsey Lohan. But if you didn't know, it's supposedly set in Evanston even though it was mostly shot in Canada.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Livewire