Man is this good for a laugh. All I will say is that it involves Will Farrell and his landord. It's a must see and doesn't take up much of your time clocking in at just over 2 minutes. Enjoy!

Why does this always happen. I wait years and years for the US to distribute a film and then finally give in and by the imported release. What happens next you say....the US finally releases the film. It as if they wait for me to spend my money elsewhere...bastards. So here is the most recent occurrence:

Yep that's Duck, You Sucker also known as Fistful of Dynamite in a nice cool looking collectors case not unlike The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from a few years back. Good news is that they will also have the same editions for Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More, two titles I have been holding of on for a while in hopes of this very occasion. Duck, You Sucker is awesome. One of Sergio Leone best, in my opinion, right behind the great Once Upon a Time in the West. Here is the special features, which I believe are the same as my recently purchased (well recently gifted I should say) UK release:

• Fully Restored and Remastered 157-Minute Feature Not Originally Released in U.S. Theaters
• 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
• English DD5.1 Surround
• French and Spanish Dolby Surround
• English, French and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Sir Christopher Frayling
• The Myth Of Revolution Featurette - Frayling on Leone’s political leanings and his
  maturing method and style
• Sergio Donati Remembers Duck You Sucker Featurette
• Once Upon A Time In Italy Featurette - Behind-the-scenes of putting together an exhibit on Leone
• Sorting Out The Versions Featurette - A look at the different versions of the film including the originally released 100-minute version and the 157-minute version included on this disc, the long flashback scene and United Artists’ decision to rename the film
• Restoration Italian Style Featurette - John Kirk discusses restoring the original Italian version for the first time on DVD
• Location Comparisons: Intercutting Film Clips with Current Footage Of Locations Used Featurette
• Six Radio Spots
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Eight-page booklet

I reccomend you all by this baby come June 5th!

Okay, so my neck of the woods has never really been known as a entertainment mecca. Yeah, Marilyn Manson is originally from here, alot of celebs like Halle Berry, Dave Chappelle, even Steven Spielberg comes from Ohio but still a movie has never been filmed outside of Cleveland ...until now that is. Good ol' Canton, Ohio just 10 minutes away is going to be the home of a film entitled Finding Sonny come June. That's right, a biopic of boxer Sonny Liston. And who will play the fine young lad...

That honor would go to the man, Ving Rhames. How cool is that. Ving Rhames kickin' it in Canton for 21 days (95 % of the shoot...the rest I am assume on some sound stage somewhere). Apparently Rhames and the director, Michael Watkins (who has won two Emmys and is making his feature film directorial debut), were in town yesterday scouting for places to shoot. They said they want to shoot up and down Cleveland Avenue and want to shoot in front of the Canton Palace Theatre. Yeah, you heard it right, the Palace where I am on the Art Film Committee. And this 2.5 million dollar movie seems to fit that Art Film bill. I have a feeling we will have some stuff to do with the shoot if all goes well. Pretty exciting stuff. I will clue you all end as more info comes along but my ass will try to get involved in this project, in some shape or form. The film will also star Will Patton, William Baldwin, Chazz Palminteri, Jim Brown, Vincent Pastore and Frank Vincent (the latter two of Sopranos fame). Both the star and the director loved the architecture of the city and and the Watkins' exact words were that he got more than he bargained for when he got here.

Pretty cool news, I think.

As I promised, here is my review of the First Run Features recent release The Bridesmaid.

I will be honest with you all and admit a dirty little secret. I have never seen a Claude Chabrol film. There I said it. Yeah I call myself a film fascist, a big fan of the French New Wave, but was a Chabrol film viewing virgin. Until now.

So what did I think of my first experience with his work - I loved it. Laura Smet is a revelation in this film. I was in awe nearly ever minute she is on screen. But the film has alot more going for it than that. From the opening scene Chabrol had me hook mostly from his introduction of the family and their interactions with one another. He truly knows how to capture the in-and-outs of a relationships and is a pleasure to watch.

The obvious comparison that the director always seems to get thrown in the mix with is how his films often times shadows that of Hitchcock's work. However, in my opinion (at least from this particular fil,), I found Chabrol to be a bit more subtle in both style and form with this successful stab at articulately creating a very quiet yet inspiring thriller which at first glance seems more like a story of romance and how far it can take you.

This film should not be missed. Many directors that have been around this long (he has been making films for nearly 40 years) often times lose their touch in the later stages of their career but that doesn't seem to be a problem with Chabrol. If his latter films are this impressive I can't wait to get my hands on the films he created at his peak.

As always, I am not big on explaining plot details in hopes you are surprised when it seems to head in a different direction. Come on now, doesnt everyone hate to be the guy that ruins the film for everyone. But if you must here is the synopsis from First Run Features, I believe it does the film justice:

"It's love at first sight when bridesmaid Senta falls into the life of handsome young Philippe at the wedding of his younger sister. As their passion for one another intensifies, Philippe slowly discovers that Senta is shrouded in mystery. When one day she asks Philippe to perform a terrible deed as proof of his love for her, Philippe must come to terms with who his lover might really be."

So what I am trying to say is this. Go out and by this damn movie. Actually if you are lazy just click here and pick it up at Amazon. Nuff said.

On with the rest of my rants.

At this time I must take the time to give a shout out to my boy Daniel Lee who was kind enough to put some links to clips of the classic The Monster Squad on his blogspot. It really brings back from memories. These clips forced me to dig deeper and this is what I found:

- the dvd is scheduled for October 2007 as a 20th Anniversary edition
- a cast and crew commentary

- a bunch of extras such as dailies of deleted scenes (tentative), documentary footage of events this year and on-camera interviews with cast members as well as director/writer Fred Dekker.

All this from the star himself, Andre Gower, who has more news poster at his official site. Check it out.

So the Cannes Film Festival schedule has been released and their is some cool stuff in competition this year. For starters, the English language debut of Wong Kar Wai, My Blueberry Nights, will open the fest, also of interest is Secret Sunshine (from the director of Oasis), Kim Ki-duk's latest Breath, the Christopher Doyle lensed Paranoid Park from Gus Van Sant, the longer cut of Death Proof, along with new films from the Coen Brothers and Bela Tarr. Michael Moore latest medical doc Sicko is playing out of competition and so is Olivier Assayas's Boarding Gate starring the always lovely and amazing Asia Argento. All in all good stuff. Can't wait for the festivities with many clips and information about the films constantly popping up via the the official Cannes Film Festival website. Also can't wait to hear more about the films I know zero about, cause who know one may be the best film of the year. I love me some surprises.

Lastly, I am ecstatic for two reasons: next month there will be a Asian film fest in Pittsburgh, PA entitled Silk Screen Film Festival which is soon to be a favorite of mine and on June 1st and 2nd John Ewing will be screening the latest film from Tsai Ming Liang, I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, at his wonderful Cleveland Cinematheque. The anticipation is killing me.

I will be back in a few days with the film schedule for the Silk Screen festival (it has yet to be released) and some more exciting goodness.

Above is two reasons why Death Proof, the Tarantino half of Grindhouse, works so damn well. Don't get me wrong, Rodriguez's Planet Terror is one hell of a ride too. I just a kind of a bummer that alot of people didn't quite full appreciate Death Proof. Planet Terror was so fast paced and over abundantly violent that by the time Tarantino came around to add alittle bit of character development, people were a bit bored, which is a damn shame really. At least everyone I ask did enjoy Zoe Bell and her scene stealing performance in the last 20 minutes of the film. I, myself, was also deeply impressed with Mr. Kurt Russell, who I have always been a big fan of. I loved him in this film. There has been alot of talk in the last few days about it's poor box office and the possibility of splitting the two films up, like what is planned for overseas. Part of me thinks that is a bad idea but the other half would love to see Tarantino's longer cut Death Proof sooner than later. After all he has already mentioned several weeks ago that he plans to play a longer edit of his film at Cannes this May and I truly would love to see what else he has to offer.

So I forgot to mention I picked up handful of things lately. For 10 bucks a week or so ago I got Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue starring the one and only Jason Robards and Jonathan Glazer's Sexy Beast for 10 bucks at a local video store. pretty damn cool for 5 bucks a piece. I also picked up the Spanish film The Sea Inside (2004 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film) for three bucks. I am pretty pumped. The only one out of the bunch I have seen is Sexy Beast (which I am a big fan of, as you all know). I also have gotten some films recently for review here or there. I will fill you in on that a little bit later.

Also picked up the new Panthers record and the latest from Bright Eyes. Both are good but need more listens to get a more better understanding. I really need to listen to the Panthers record more. I only gave it one full listen thus far so it is due for some more lovin'.

Well it is midnight here and I am tired so I will hit the sack. I will be back either tomorrow or Friday with my review of The Bridesmaid, courtesy of the fine folks at First Run Features.

So the US division of Paramount Vantage can suck on my left nut. Look what the UK is getting.


Yeah, thats right, a two-disc Babel dvd. Granted the second disc on contains a documentary but the doc is a 90 minute feature length making-of video diary from director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. Thanks America.

My boy Sebastien Grainger (previously of DFA) put a new track up on his page entitled i'm all rage and its so damn tight everyone must take a listen. imagine old school Sonic Youth but dancable. its tight trust me and just take a listen.

Look at this, back the next day. Imagine that.

I forgot to mention the coolness that is Cinema Wasteland I attended on Saturday. As always it was a good time. Always a fun time seeing b-movie celebs that mean so much to a select group of people like myself and so little to the rest of the world. Good times.


One of the highlights was that Camille Keaton of What Have They Done to Solange? and I Spit on your Grave. Pretty damn cool. We were a little sadden when we went to talk to her and she didn't even know what Suspiria was (my buddy Aaron was wearing a Suspiria shirt). Nonetheless Aaron got an autographed picture and also picked up a copy of the UK dvd release of Severance. What a killer flick. Speaking of which, you all must see it when it comes out here in a few months. I myself ended up picking up a Alain Delon film from Xploited Cinema, a killer dvd distro out of Cleveland. The film is called The Sicilian Clan and also costars Jean Gabin and the great Lino Ventura. Top that off with a score by score by Ennio Morricone and you can't really pass that up. I can't wait to watch it.

Also got a chance to talk to the fine folks over at Synapse Films , who are based out of Michigan. If you read this blog often, you know how big of fan of theirs I am. Talked to Jerry Chandler, one of the co-owners of the company, and he's one hell of a guy. Don May Jr, the other half of Synapse Films, is known for his amazing film restorations and has recently remastered the classic that is Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the cool one in the collector's tin). I believe, if my memory serves me correct, they were also working on restoring the first Halloween film after getting their hands on the original negatives, which even contained some unseen footage. Pretty damn awesome. They have some killer upcoming releases which I plan on promoting the hell out of in the not so distant future.

So has anyone else heard the horrible news that the director of The Last Castle and The Contender is planning on a remake of Peckinpah's Straw Dogs. What the hell is that shit. Seriously. Something is wrong with that. No one should ever touch this masterpiece.

Well I am off for now, but do yourself a favor and check out the new Die Hard trailer. I am a big fan of the series and I think this one looks pretty damn cool. May be up there with the first one if the film lives up to the trailer. I just figured it would be a piece of crap since it was directed by the guy who made Underworld and its craptastic sequel. I guess I might be wrong. Check it out.


On a final note, I just found out Bob Clark, the director of everyone's favorite A Christmas Story, the horror classic Black Christmas (the original of course), not to mention Porky's, was killed in a car crash by a drunk driver (who also had no driver's license). It was said that Clark's 22-year old son also died in the collision. Man, so depressing. Rest in peace, Bob.

Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel shitty. Today's one of those days. Suffice to say, I am here for all 4 of you guys to read.



By the end of tonight a few good things did cone out of the day. I did get a response back from director Stephane Gauger about a screener copy of his film The Owl and the Sparrow. Gauger is a Vietnamese-American filmmaker whose first film is currently make the rounds on the film festival circuit. I will review the film and interview him for my current gig over at the wonderful KFC Cinema. I am pretty excited about that.

I also was in a bit of a shock just minutes ago as I lay on the couch watching television. As the commercials were rolling, Shia LaBeouf came on the screen. Now let me tell you. I think this kid is pretty cool. I really which the rumor was true about him playing the son of Indiana Jones in the new film (unfortunately the information is false). Now back to the commercial. I assumed that as soon as I started watching the television spot I figured it was an advertisement for his latest film Distrubia, which oddly enough looks quite interesting. I continued to watch the trailer and to my surprise the car he had just bought comes to life and starts chasing people! What the hell is going on I thought to myself!? Then it hit me. It was actually a spot for this summer's Transformers. That darn Michael Bay tricked me again. Do I want to see this film? No not really never was a big fan of the toy line, honestly I think I instead was a bigger "Gobots" fan. But I figured it was a pretty funny story so I thought I would bring it up.

Is anyone else out there dying to see Grindhouse. Man, I sure as hell am. Three more days. I will try to report back before them and write a more legitimate blog entry cause man was this one lame. Until then...

Check out this link to Thanksgiving, Eli Roth's fake trailer from Grindhouse. Genius!