So its been a few days since my last post because Chiaki and I were out of town. I had a few days off work so we took a drive to Hershey, PA. The real treasure however, was when Chiaki read about something entirely different in our tour book. It turned out to be the greatest thing ever. Now before I get into it let me tell you a little something. If I had to pick my favorite actors of all time, living or dead, the list would go like this: 3) Tom Cruise 2) Gary Oldman and finally, drum roll please.....1) James Stewart. So you can imagine my excitement when we stumble upon The Jimmy Stewart Museum.

The museum was housed on the 3rd floor of the public library in Indiana, PA, which was Stewart's hometown. To Chiaki and I this was like finding the Golden Ticket. I mean seriously when I walked in Chiaki said I couldn't stop smiling. I loved it. They also packed a little 50 seat movie theater in their which would play Jimmy Stewart documentaries. This month they were even screen several of his films each weekend. There was even a gift store inside which consisted of a lot of his films along with other cool little movie memorabilia. While there we had to pick up a few things: a Harvey mug, which when filled with a hot liquid makes Harvey appear on the mug, and a Harvey movie poster.

To the less fortuate who may not know what Harvey is, I supposed I can fill you in. Arguably Stewart greatest film, he plays a drunk, named Elwood, who's best friend just so happens to be a a 6-foot rabbit name Harvey , which of course no one else can see. Sounds kinda familiar doesn't. I am sure Richard Kelly aimed for an homage to the film with his own Donnie Darko's Frank. Anyways back to the film you really need to check it out even if you're not a fan of films made before you were born. I know there are a lot of you like that out there. Please give it a try. As far as the museum goes we really want to go back in a few years to see it again. Hopefully by that time they will add even more stuff.

So while that was our happy accident on the way home, our trip to Hershey also contained a little treat. While I was driving through Pittsburgh I saw a sign for Monroeville mall. Now, I myself, am not a mall guy. But this mall is no ordinary mall. Any horror film fan will know actually what mall this is. For all the rest of you out there I guess I will film you in. Monroeville mall is where George Romero filmed the original Dawn of the Dead. I had to stop just to say I was there. Yeah its 2006 and that was almost 20 years ago but still it was cool just to stop on by. Now that I know how to get there I may have to drag Chiaki to the horror convention I hear they have every year there with Romero normally in attendance. So yeah it turned out to be more of a movie trip (I didn't even mention that we passed Puxatuney where Groundhog Day takes place). To be honest, it was one of our best trips right behind our trips to New York and Japan of course.

So not only are the great films rolling in at the Cleveland Cinematheque with The Passenger, The Conformist, Once Upon a Time in the West, Fistful of Dynamite aka Duck, You Sucker, Three...Extremes, Once Upon a Time in America and the list goes on but else where other great films are in the mix. Another great place to go around these parts is the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Rarely do I get a chance to see a film there but they always play some great films. Not only do they play the films but they always seem to have a different visiting filmmaker ever several months. In February, the visiting filmmaker is Hong Sang-Soo, one of the new wave directors out of Korea. Now I have yet to see any of his films (even though I have copies of two of them sitting at our house), I have heard he is amazing director. Wexner Center was lucky enough to get there hands on all of his films and even get a hold of his latest film straight from last year's Cannes film festival entitled A Tale of Cinema, which Hong Sang-Soo will be there to introduce. I can't wait to watch some or all of them and I will most likely be finally sitting down to watch Woman is the Future of Man and The Day a Pig Fell into the Well the two Hong Sang-Soo films I have on dvd and let you know what I think.

Doesn't this photo make you want to learn more. The still is from a new film entitled The Science of Sleep. Its the new film by Michel Gondry, the mad man behind countless Bjork and White Stripes videos along with the truly amazing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. If you don't know, the film stars Gael Garcia Bernal (of Amores Perros, Bad Education, Y Tu Mama Tambien) and is another trip into Gondry crazy head which seems to hard to describe. All I know is that it involves a mans dreams mixing with his reality. I am sure it is going to be even more insane than his previous film. Warner Independent Pictures is supposedly releasing it in October. Did I mention it rumored to be mostly in French. Man, I can't wait for this one.

So I watched The Aristocrats tonight. Pretty funny stuff. At first I thought it wasn't going to be funny. It seemed very hit or miss and Chiaki didn't even want to watch it. However, after it got rolling by the end we both were laughing pretty hard. I guess its a bit overrated but I would recommend it for a good laugh as long was your not easily offended. Or even mildly offended. Cause its pretty damn vulgar! We also rented Lord of War. We haven't watched it all yet but I like what I seen so far. Its been a good film month. Haven't really seem much crap recently. I hope I didn't open my mouth too soon.

We are going to see The Conformist some time this weekend and I am pretty psyched.

Finally, I was pretty depressed today when I read that Chris Penn was found dead in his home. I really enjoyed him. He was far too young to die. He will be sadly missed. I'll miss ya man.

So I couldn't resist. I had to watch the trailer for Bandidas. Its a new western lead by Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz and co-starring Dwight Yoaka, (who I believe is a pretty damn good part-time actor). You would at least think that it would be at least a fun movie, right? Man was I wrong. This trailer is awful. It really has to be seen to believe. I am sorry I wasted to minutes of your life but I figure since I did, you may as well too.

I was so excited when I looked in my mailbox today. I saw a package! I knew it was one of two things. Either my copy of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance or the new Death of Anna Karina cd I ordered from Italy. Well it is "New Liberalistic Pleasures" the new album from a crazy new band out of Italy and it is soo freakin' good. These guys are not for all taste but if you are pretty open to new and original music as don't mind a little yelling and out of tune vocals, man is it awesome. Probably the closest comparisons would be Song of Zarathustra, JR Ewing and Refused. Great stuff if you ask me and it was only 12 euros with shipping (that translates to a little under 15 bucks). Hopefully my Sympathy for Lady Vengeance will arrive in a few days. I am dying to watch the other version of the film. In Korea, it was released two ways: one in all color while another cut consisted of the ending slowly fading to black and white. The version I saw was all in color.

My buddy Nate asked me today if I ever watch any American films anymore. I got a kick out of that. I guess everything I seem to review on here is foreign lately. So I will try to watch a variety this week. One of which will most likely be The Aristocrats, a film I have been dying to see but never got a chance to. It comes out on dvd tomorrow so that will definitely be a renter.

Speaking of renting, I Netflixed Switchblade Sisters the other day and the dvd was full of Jack Hill trailers. If you don't know, Jack Hill was the king of exploitation films and more importantly blaxploitation. He is the man behind the Pam Grier classics Coffy and Foxy Brown along with a hand full of others usually featuring Grier or Sid Haig (Captain Spaulding of House of 1000 corpse and The Devil's Rejects). The trailers were great! They make me want to by the Fox in a Box collectors set featuring a trio of Grier movies (two of which are the films I just mentioned).

Well I guess I will getting going for now. By the way I think I need to bring back my films recommendations I started at my other blog. I promise I will do that on my next post.

So we didn't see Match Point. We opted for the Great Lakes Science Center instead. Pretty cool place to go actually. I still fit a film in anyways today...sorta. At the Science Center we caught an IMAX film which, while it made me half sick from watching, was quite interesting.

I just got done watching the second to last episode of Masters of Horror. The concept of the episode is great however, like most of the episodes, it could have been executed alot better. Not unlike most viewers out there, I have found the series to be pretty disappointing. I guess we (as in all horror fans) were expecting too much out of the show. Look at Tales from the Crypt, lets not kid ourselves the show wasn't the greatest but we watch it week after week because for some reason we were still compelled to. However, with the new series people figure that with a name like Masters of Horror it would be one hell of a ride. Oh well, I still like it nonetheless. Hell, it even made me gain respect for John Carpenter (who's episode I just loved) again. Best of all, the show gives me a great way to hang out with my brother, Kevin, every weekend.

Oh yeah, one final thing I am pretty pumped about. This new great dvd company named Discotek, who previously released the great exploitation film Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs, are putting out one of my favorite bizarro films from the last five years, Electric Dragon 80,000 volts. Its this great crazy Japanese film directed by one of my favorites Sogo Ishii and stars my two favorite Japanese actors Tadanobu Asano and Mashatoshi Nagase. Great, great stuff. It comes out on June 27th (finally...another company was supposed to release it here in the states last june), which just so happens to be the release date for their dvd of Burst City and earlier Sogo Ishii film. Man, am I pumped. Mark your calendars cause I sure am hell markin' mine.

Chiaki and I are might go see Match Point later today. Even though I love Annie Hall, I have never been a fan of Woody Allen. His latest film, however, I have heard is alot different from most of his stuff and it is even supposed to have a dark side to it. I don't really know what to expect from it, so I guess thats a good thing.

I will fill everyone in on my opinion after I check it out.

"To tell you the truth, I was not surprised to hear that Imprint would not air. Through the experience of directing this episode, I have discovered that while humor can have its limits, fear has no limits. I could not suppress the volume of terror that this film conveys."

This comes from the mouth of Miike Takashi. What can I say? He is a mad genius. Fear has no limits. Thats great. Anchor Bay has also announced that they will release the dvd in the fall. Along way to wait, however, by the sounds of it, it should be worth it.

So I really don't know if I should be happy or sad. The New york Times have released what all Miike Takashi fans have been dreading. Yes, Showtime felt that his episode of their Masters of Horror series, Imprint, was not something they felt comfortable airing. Mick Garris, the creator of the series, has even gone as far as saying its the most disturbing thing he has ever seen. The good news is that Anchor Bay will release it complete and uncut on dvd eventually (although no official release date has been set, the first two episodes are set for release in March).

Here is some excerpts from the rest of the New York Times article:

Originally scheduled to have its premiere on Jan. 27, "Imprint," directed by the renegade Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, will be replaced by "Haeckel's Tale," an adaptation of a short story by Clive Barker directed by John McNaughton ("Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer").

Imprint may go even further, and clearly represents something more than Showtime bargained for. "I think it's amazing, but it's even hard for me to watch," said Mick Garris, the creator and executive producer of the series. "It's definitely the most disturbing film I've ever seen." It will now be released directly to the DVD market through IDT's home video subsidiary, Anchor Bay Entertainment, along with the rest of the episodes in the series. No date has been announced.

Imprint plays like an infernal variation on "Memoirs of a Geisha." In mid-19th-century Japan, an American journalist (the genre stalwart Billy Drago) goes in search of the prostitute he has fallen in love with but was forced to abandon. The American's quest leads him to a mysterious island zoned exclusively for dimly lighted brothels, where one procurer, a syphilitic midget, introduces him to a relatively sympathetic prostitute (Youki Kudoh, who also appears in "Memoirs of a Geisha"). Hideously deformed, the right side of her face pulled into a permanent rictus, the nameless woman tells the American the terrible story of what happened to his lover, throwing in at no extra charge the story of her own hideous childhood as the daughter of impoverished outcasts. As the woman's story continues, her revelations, scrupulously visualized, become more and more outlandish, and her descriptions of the violence done to the missing prostitute, who was suspected of stealing a ring from the brothel's madam, become more cruelly imaginative and difficult to stomach. But the most shocking imagery is yet to come, as the nameless woman describes her collaboration in her mother's work as an abortionist.

Imprint was filmed in Japan under the aegis of Mr. Miike's regular production company, rather than in Vancouver, where the series is based and most of its other episodes were shot. "Definitely, at the script stage we made comments about the aborted fetuses," Mr. Garris said. "We made it clear that we were going on American pay cable television, and even though there wasn't as much control over content, there still were concerns. And then when we got the first cut, it was very, very strong stuff, and we made some suggestions on what might help before we showed it to Showtime. The Japanese made the changes they were comfortable with, and eventually we arrived at a film that he was happy with and we're all happy with. But Showtime felt it was not something they were comfortable putting out on the airwaves."

Imprint, Mr. Garris suggested, was not the sort of film that could be trimmed a bit here and there to make it more acceptable. "It is what it is," he said. "It really was, let's try and not hack this up," Mr. Garris concluded. "Let's all just agree to release it in its complete form on the DVD, and hopefully its audience will be able to find it that way."

As long as they live up to their word, I am happy with an uncut dvd. I will let it slide this time...

There will be Blood.

That is the name of the next Paul Thomas Anderson film. PT Anderson has to be one of the best directors out their right now. And to top it off the film is going to star Daniel Day Lewis. Man, is this going to be something special. Apparently it is loosely based on Uptown Sinclair's novel Oil! I had heard about this a while back on Anderson's now defunct site Coffee and Cigarettes, but nothing was 100%. I am sure I will be discussing this more as things come together.

So Chiaki kinda talked me into watching this Korean film tonight called Oasis about a relationship between a woman with cerebal palsy and a three time felon just released from jail. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It is a truly great film. It has to be one of the most beautiful love stories I have seen in recent history. The acting in this film is just simply amazing. I am dying to see more work from the two lead actors. The great thing about the film is that even though the relationship seems doomed from the start, the ending leaves a sign of hope. Its not typically my type of film but it really is something that needs to be seen by a larger audience. The film was released on dvd here in the states last year so if you want to try something different and original I recommend you check it out.

Now on to the next film...

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. What can I say? I often times say too much about a film. Sometimes I just ramble on and on and maybe it hurts the film. I don't know. I don't want to do that with this film. It's amazing. It's the best Park Chan-Wook film, in my opinion, and I adore Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Park give us so much style in this film. Its like a kid in a candy store. You love every minute of it. Is it as dark as the other films? Oh yes. Like I said, I don't want to ruin the film by blabbing too much about it. I will just let you know, I loved it. If I saw it last year, it definitely would have been my movie of the year. I am dying to see it in theatres this April. God, will it look beautiful on the big screen. I can't wait.

Okay, I will shut up now. I am sure I already said too much...

So I finally got around to watching Sha Po Lang (SPL) tonight. From what I have read about this film, from people who seen it, is that it is more than a re-emergence of great filmmaking out of Hong Kong. Probably for the last 10 years , fans along with critics have said film is dead in Hong Kong. The criticism of SPL has been so positive about this film that some even say that it may be one of the best films to ever come out of Hong Kong. So your wondering what I thought of it, huh.

Is it one of the best films ever to come out of Hong Kong? No. Is it one of the best to come from them in the last decade? Hell yeah! I am sure the great people over at Twitch will argue with me, but I have to admit, it is not as great as Infernal Affairs. To me that film is untouchable. But man is SPL entertaining! And Donnie Yen. Wow, this is by far his best work as both an actor and martial artist. When you watch Donnie Yen in this film you immediately think of how damn cool Chow Yun-Fat always looks on film. SPL does indeed live up to alot of the hype surrounding it. Is it flawed? Yeah...slightly. However, this is a film that really has to be seen. I am glad it is getting a North American release sometime soon. Still before going into it, don't aim for the heavens, you may slightly be disappointed. If you go in with a free mind and a love for great film, you will love it.

So I also got my hands on a copy of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. I am inviting some friends over tomorrow for the ceremonial first screening of the film on my nice little 37 inch Plasma Widescreen TV. I know you guys are jealous. I am dying of anticipation. Talk about hype, man. I hope I will not be disappointed.

My reaction to the film will come tomorrow. Until then...

I stopped at Borders today because I had to return a dvd I got doubles of for Christmas. No receipt so I had to exchange it for something else. That's fine with me. Guess what I picked up??

Kamikaze Girls, of course!!!


I know you are probably thinking shut up already about this film, Aaron. But I can't. It is so freakin' good. The film is so brilliantly over-the-top. And the color scheme in this film, Wow! In my opinion, this film is right up there with recent Japanese fare Ping Pong and Survive Style 5, two films I speak highly of. Just a genuinely fun, fast paced film. Great stuff! Check it out, please.

Okay, well, I am off to watch Sha Po Lang (SPL), a new film out of Hong Kong, which is supposed to be amazing. I can't wait!

So Chiaki and I just got back from seeing a film at the Cleveland Cinematheque. For starters, if you live in or near North-Eastern Ohio this is the place to go. It's a great place for independent films, foreign films or even some great classics. Granted when I lived in California, I had the all-mighty Egyptian Theatre home of the American Cinematheque, but for the midwest the Cleveland Cinematheque is a great substitute. In the next few weeks they are playing one of Bernardo Bertolucci first films The Conformist which I am looking forward to see along with another film I am dying to see Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger. In February, they are playing a handful of Sergio Leone films including one of my favorite films of all-time, Once Upon a Time in the West. You can check out their schedule for January and February on their website located at www.cia.edu/cinematheque.

So what did we catch tonight you ask?

Kamikaze Girls!

What a great film! A great Japanese comedy from 2004 about an unlikely friendship among to very different girls. At times it had us almost laughing on the floor. I never expected this film to be that good. I just figured we would check it out since it was playing at the Cinematheque and they usually play some really good films. Man, was I wrong. Kamikaze Girls is really out there, but in a good way. Their are even some great animated sequence that reminding me of the Invader Zim animation. The great thing is that it was just released on dvd here in the states this past tuesday, so do yourself a favor and go buy it or even rent it. I am sure Hollywood Video has it since they seem to be the only cultural friendly video chain out there. If you don't want to take my word for it, at least check out the website at www.kamikazegirls.net where you can view the trailer.

Alright I am out for now. More posts soon...

They just keep on getting better and better.

I just got done watching Criminal Woman: Killing Melody the second film from my Pinky Violence Collection box set. Man, its some great stuff. More violence and less sex than the previous entry I viewed Girl Boss Guerilla. To be totally honest, the sex always seems like a distraction anyways in exploitation films. I tell you this is really shaping up to be a great boxset for fans of '70s exploitation. The coolest damn character in the film is actually a member of the yakuza that the woman are trying to take down. This highly orginal character chews a stick of gum and then spits it out of his mouth with as much force and speed as a bullet. Its freakin' priceless, really. Two more films are left in my boxset and they have alot to live up to.

Anyways, do yourself a favor and check these films out. Not for all tastes but definitely worth your time if you have an open mind.

The Clerks 2 teaser trailer was released on the web today. Not bad. I know you and I alike was thinking, Come on! Kevin Smith as gone soft .Kevin Smith has sold out. Yeah maybe, but I still kinda want to know what the hell Dante and Randal have been up to lately. The teaser is pretty much a montage of clips but its cool to see some Viewaskew cameos and a female lead by Rosario Dawson. So give it a view and judge it as you will. As unexcited as I was to see this film made, the trailer kinda makes me want to check it out now. If you choose to check out the trailer here is where to go: http://blockofstores.com/teaser

Still anxiously waiting for my copy of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance on dvd. Every damn online site is out of stock on it and I even pre-ordered it. I emailed the site I ordered it from and they said it should be shipped out this week. I can't believe how many people want this movie. A few friends of mine are ebaying in search of copies, which is what I should have done.


If you haven't heard anything about this film, it is the lastest film by Chan-Wook Park the mad genius behind JSA, Oldboy, and my personal favorite Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. If you haven't seen these films you should really check them out. They are all available at your local Borders or Best Buy.

Enough for now...

Hostel was #1 at the box office with $20.1 million. How cool is that? It was made for about $5 million. It's already a huge success. Go see it. I think I might go again this week sometime.

So I am pretty pumped The Constant Gardener comes out on dvd this tuesday. I think I might have to bust out my Best Buy gift card.

I finished watching Girl Boss Guerilla, one of the films in The Pinky Violence Collection boxset I got for Christmas.



Man, this is some really entertaining stuff. Very stylistic. In my opinion this female biker gang film had just as much style and enjoyment as something like Easy Rider. Imagine a trashier version of Easy Rider with girls in the lead and you got Girl Boss Guerilla.

Some people overlook exploitation films because of their content (which usually involves a fair share of sex and violence) and thats a shame. There is some great filmmaking there. I tell you, this box set contains some lost treasures in film and some great companys like Panik House (www.panikhouse.com) are giving audience a way to check this stuff out for the first time.

Well I am off. Sorry the the shorter post. Tommorrow will be bigger.

So this is my first post on my new blog address. My other blog was kinda making me mad and my buddy Doug recommended Blogger. So I am here. Enjoy.