It is a sad day in both the film world and personally. One of my favorite filmmakers of all time and a true icon to the film industry, Michelangelo Antonioni, died yesterday at the age of 94. If you all know me you know some of my favorite films were by the acclaimed director. From The Passenger to Red Desert to Blow-up (my favorite film), the man made masterpiece after masterpiece. The man will be surely missed.

Okay, announcement has finally come through, courtesy of Fangoria, for the separate released Grindhouse films from Tarantino and Rodriguez and to me it is a bit of a mixed bag.

First up, Tarantino's Death Proof on September 18th:

• Finding Quentin’s Gals featurette
• The Guys of DEATH PROOF featurette
• Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike featurette
• Introducing Zoe Bell featurette
• Quentin’s Greatest Collaborator: Editor Sally Menke featurette
• DOUBLE DARE trailer
• International poster gallery

As you can see, not much there. Would have liked a QT commentart track at least. Bonus points for a possible new grindhouse trailer though (I am guessing that is what DOUBLE DARE is?).

Then from Rodriguez's court Planet Terror on October 18th:

• Audio commentary by writer/director Rodriguez
• Deleted scenes
• Cooking School featurette
• 10-Minute Film School featurette
• The Stunts featurette
• The Make-up and Effects featurette
• The Badass Babes featurette
• The Renegade Guys featurette
• The Costumes featurette
• The Production Design featurette
• International trailer

Alot better. More of the usual form the man. I am sure it will be one entertaining as hell commentary track and his film and cooking school featurettes are always a treasure. My question though? No Machete trailer?? or Don't or Thanksgiving? I am a bit disappointed. Unless of course they are easter eggs on the discs. That would be a delight.

Alright. I suppose that is all for now. Back in a little while (which could mean days...ha ha), with a review of two.

Alot of things I want to talk about tonight but I am pretty tired so who knows how long this will be.

I will start things off with some rather sad news. Remember just a short while ago when I said I may have found a new favorite actor with Ulrich Muehe of The Lives of Others and Funny Games.

Well, the brilliant actor passed away just a few short days ago from stomach cancer. Apparently he was planning on working again with the always intriguing Michael Haneke in the not so distant future. He will be missed.

All the happy news department side of film, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, and (one of my personal favs) Gael Garcia Bernal are about to beginning film of the latest from Fernando Meirelles entitled Blindness. You may know this amazing director from his two previous masterpieces The Constant Gardener and City of God. I truly can't wait.

How I which I could go to Venice this year for their annual international film festival. The film slate is insane this year. Check it out:

In Competition

Todd Haynes' I'm Not There
Lee Kang-Sheng's Help Me Eros
Ang Lee's Lust, Caution
Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django
Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited
Andrew Dominik's The Assination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Out of Competition

Claude Chabrol's La Fille Coupee en duex
Takeshi Kitano's Kantoku Banzai!
Shinji Aoyama's Sad Vacation
Jia Zhangke's Useless

And that is just a little taste of the films set for the festival. Not to mention a special tribute to Spaghetti Westerns with over 30 classic films of the genre set to screen. Amazing stuff.

Speaking of amazing stuff comes the announcement of two dvds I am really looking forward to in the coming months. First up is Magnolia Pictures release of Severance one hell of a great horror comedy which really could have gotten a Shaun of the Dead following if it was marketed a tad bit wider. Nonetheless check out the disc and its features coming to shelves on Septemeber 25th:

• Audio commentary by Smith, cast and crew
• Making-of featurette
• Not So Special Effects featurette
• Genesis of SEVERANCE featurette
• Fight Scene Training featurette • Being Danny Dyer featurette
• Deleted scenes
• Outtakes
• Alternate ending
• Storyboards

In October we should welcome the Criterion Collection release of Days of Heaven. With one beauty of a cover this release should be a definite for all film fans. While I have never seen this Terrence Malick classic (I am however a huge fan of his Badlands), I have heard nothing but good thing about it over the years. Below is the cover art and specs:

New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Terrence Malick, editor Billy Weber, and camera operator John Bailey

New Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack

Audio commentary featuring Weber, art director Jack Fisk, costume designer Patricia Norris, and casting director Dianne Crittenden

New video interviews with cinematographers Haskell Wexler and Bailey

PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critic Adrian Martin and director of photography Nestor Almendros

While I am sure there is much more yet to say (including some long overdue film reviews I have discussed several times earlier) I will leave you all with the first poster from Tim Burton latest, his film version of the famed play Sweeney Todd. Tell me this isn't a bad ass poster. Enjoy...

Wait no longer. I bring you The Darjeeling Limited trailer:

If this film lives up to its amazing trailer, it will hand downs be the film of the year (and this is saying alot...especially with the new Paul Thomas Anderson film hitting this year too). Lets hope this will be the year of Wes and PTA.

So have any of you guys ever read my reviews over at KFC Cinema. Probably not (aside from Daniel Lee, of course). Therefore I thought I would post some links for your viewing pleasure. Yeah, I know there not the greatest but I am getting better I think. Some of them I wish I proofread before publishing though. Suffice to say here are a handful...

Flower and the Angry Waves
Black Test Car
Red Angel
Linda, Linda, Linda
Naked Pursuit

Here is one of my earlier ones when I first started writing for the page:

Family

So yeah. Most of the reviews are pretty positive. Then again I try to get my hands on good films to review, hence the positivity. Some times, however, that is not always true. Case in point the last two reviews. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy. If you think they're bad, at least you can get a little laugh.

Back to reality. Apparently the trailer for Darjeeling Limited (the latest from Wes Anderson) hits theaters this weekend either attached to Sunshine or Once (according to several websites). I myself can not wait. Take a gander at the final poster artwork. Looks a bit familiar but I dig it.

I am sure I had alot of great things to say but they have all slipped my mind at the moment. I will be back soon. I promise. Plus next post will have a dvd film review or maybe two...

It's about frickin' time...


Need I say more....wait no longer than October 2007. This is why we love you Criterion Collection.

	New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director of photography Raoul Coutard
	Archival interviews with director Jean-Luc Godard, and actors Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, and Jean-Pierre Melville
	New video interviews with Coutard, assistant director Pierre Rissient, and filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker
	New video essays: filmmaker and critic Mark Rappaport's "Jean Seberg" and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum's "Breathless as Film Criticism"
	Chambre 12, Hotel de suede, an eighty-minute French documentary about the making of Breathless, with members of the cast and crew
	Charlotte et son Jules, a 1959 short film by Godard, starring Belmondo
	French theatrical trailer
	New and improved English subtitle translation
	PLUS: A booklet featuring writings from Godard, film historian Dudley Andrew, Francois Truffaut's original film treatment, and Godard's scenario

So like three friends have informed me it has been another two weeks since we last spoke. Oops. sorry guys. at least I know I have three readers, right.

Where was I....ah, yes Chiaki and I got back from our trip to new york last weekend. It was swell, really. We love that damn city. Spent alot of time in Koreatown this year, oddly enough. Sippin' on some OB beer (hmm..tasty) and hittin' up the karoke rooms (man am I a horrible singer). We explore new parts of the city this year and attempt to get more reacquainted with it. Didn't get a hold of my new york friends, whom seem to have disowned me but oh well what can you do (Dani, Ali, Chris, Brandon...if your out there I miss you guys).

Chiaki and I fell in love with a play in west greenwich village called In a Dark Dark House with Ron Livingston (of Office Space) and Frederick Weller. Both we amazing specially Weller as was the supporting role played by Louisa Krause. Two hour off-broadway play with three acts last roughly 30-40 minutes each. Weller was in all three acts, Livingston in two, and Krause in one. Powerful stuff. Really showed me that Neil LaBute (the playwrite) still had some amazing stuff left in him. LaBute, if you don't know used to be an amazing screenwriting/directing god. He made to jaw-dropping films (In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors), an above average semi-Hollywood flick (Nurse Betty), a full blown Hollywood romance (Possession), back to a great little indie (The Shape of Things) and then a Hollywood remake (The Wicker Man). Throughout that time his original plays came to life throughout the New York and London (Bash, The Shape of Things, Fat Pig, Some Girls). Personally the man works best in film when he is able to direct his own material ala 'Shape', 'Men', and 'Neighbors'. Therefore I look forward to future projects hoping for the best.

Also caught two flicks at the New York Asian Film Festival. Nightmare Detective (the latest from Shinya Tsukamoto) and Freesia; both from Japan. We enjoyed both of them. Currently I am in the process of writing a little article about both for KFC Cinema so I will let you all know when that goes up. I will say, while I really dug Nightmare Detective I still believe that Vital is Tsukamoto's stronger picture. Freesia on the other hand surprised the hell out of me. Went in knowing nothing and came out truly satisfied. More on this soon.

Caught Black Snake Moan last night and really liked it alot. As one review stated elsewhere, an admiration or understanding of southern blues music will really help in your satisfaction of the film. Craig Brewer, the writer/director has a love for music. Just as in his debut Hustle & Flow, music plays a crucial role in the film along side the actors.

Well, I suppose I am off for now. I forget what else I wanted to talk about. I swear I will try to be back in a day or two with the usual sass. Also a review or two will be in order at next post. promise.

So it has been over 2 weeks (I know I suck...) since my last post so I have a lot to talk about.

To start with this weekend, Chiaki and I hit up a double feature and our local multiplex on Friday with a matinee of Ratatouille with my nephew Isaac and then a later showing of Sicko with just the two of us. I must say it was one hell of a film day. Ratatouille surprised the hell out of being and was a highly entertaining animated yarn from the fine folks at Pixar. I know a lot of people may not believe me but I found it to be the best film from the company since Toy Story 2 (yeah I know everyone loves The Incredibles, but oddly enough I was even more impressed with this one). Sicko, on the other hand, is Michael Moore's comeback film for me. I was highly disappointed with his previously way overrated collage known as Fahrenheit 9/11. Important film yada yada yada. I just didn't feel a connection with the last film. Half because I could give to shits about politics and the other half being I didn't feel Moore did enough hands on documentary shooting that I have grown to love from the man and instead relied on long lost footage of political eff ups. I don't know. Sicko, however, was the man back to his good ol' tricks. Covering something we all can connect with. Damn, was it entertaining. Go and see both Ratatouille and Sicko. Please.

So the Cleveland Cinematheque, as usual, as a very cools schedule lined up for the months of July and August. In July comes screenings of grindhouse classics Vanishing Point and Two-Lane Blacktop along with two early Spielberg films Duel and Sugarland Express. Also on the roster is the controversial doc Zoo, about a strange subject matter a bit awkward to discuss, and Allegro the follow up from the director of Reconstruction (a very cool flick from Denmark). August brings Lights in the Dusk from Germany's Aki Kaurismaki, The Boss of it All the latest from Lars Von Trier, Election and its sequel Election 2(renamed Triad Election here in the states) and Day Night Day Night a film which has been getting alot of acclaim and I am dying to see. Last but surely not least is a screening of Cordoba Nights as part of a series of local films from local filmmakers. The above mention film is by the Campbell brothers from Kent, one of which I had a few classes with in my college days at Kent State. They have grown from their days of over-the-top gore films and have settle down with a quirky road film set in Cleveland with this latest film which I hope sends their filmmaking in a whole new direction.

Speaking of up and coming filmmakers, everyone really ought to watch the film competition reality show now airing on Fox Tuesdays called On the Lot. It started off pretty lame but the show is weeding out all the crappy filmmakers and some really great shorts are finely showing through. A highly light from last week was two outstanding films one from director Zach Lipovsky entitled Die Hardly Working (the best of the bunch) and the other from female director Shalini Kantayya (who scores major brownie points from me by exclaiming her favorite filmmakers are Wong Kar Wai and Pedro Almodovar) called Dr. In -Law. Hands down there is something wrong if these two people are not fighting it out in the finale of the show. Please do yourself a favor and check out there shorts below:

Die Hardly Working

Dr. In-Law

Shalini has a knack for visuals and inventive cinematography while Zach is just a well round genius when it comes to clever and innovated film ideas. Big fan of both directors. Can't wait to see the rest of their stuff. They really impress me from film to film.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Chiaki and I are hitting the road for our annual trek to New York next weekend. We plan on catching a few films at the New York Asian Film Festival and hitting up our usual spots while in town. We are also catching a Neil LaBute play called In a Dark Dark House which we are extremely excited about and I plan on going more in depth on it and other things in my next post. Also expect some dvd reviews of the Polish film The Third Part of the Night and The Ear from the Czech Republic courtesy of the amazing UK dvd company Second Run.

One of my favorite bands of all time are making their way to Cleveland on Sunday and I may have to make a lil' trek to the Beachland Tavern to see them. I haven't seen the Panthers since I lived in California which is probably going on close to 3 years now. Matter of fact in the last 4 years I have seen only 5 bands play (Envy, Panthers, Turing Machine, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Pixies). Talk about lame. I used to go ever weekend when I was younger. If I can talk Chiaki into going, this will be my 4th time (or is it 3rd?) seeing them live. They put on one hell of a show. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Check out some of their newer tunes here.

I just had to put this up on the top of the page today. I will admit, I am quite the late bloomer on the western genre. I always thought John Wayne when I thought "western" until I stumbled upon Once Upon a Time in the West westerns arrived. It didn't help that my father-in-law who I first met in dvd release in late 2003 and thus my love of spaghettiJanuary 2004 was also a big spaghetti western (or as Japan calls them macaroni western) fan too my love for the genre just grew. Last year I had the opportunity to all catch Once Upon a Time in the West and Duck, You Sucker (a highly neglected Sergio Leone film here in the states) on the big screen at the wondrous Cleveland Cinematheque. Amazing. One hell of an experience. Now finally last week the Sergio Leone Anthology hit the shelves. The "Dollar" series (Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) and Duck, You Sucker all in one box (and sold separately). All housed in 2 disc sets packed with extras. I can finally part ways with my The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly 2-disc, along with my Duck, You Sucker UK Special Edition. I picked this baby up online for a whopping $49.22 (it retails at some stores for 100 bucks). Awesome. So go out and by this stuff now, please. If your short on cash, at least do yourself a favor and pick up Duck, You Sucker!

Its really hard to believe that is has been 10 years since John Travolta has done a anything worthwhile. Face/Off, a largely underrated film, will celebrate its 10 year anniversary with a special edition dvd. Containing among other things, an alternate ending and John Woo commentary, the disc is planned to hit shelves on September 11th. Count me in on this one (I can replace my barebones laserdisc).

Speaking of dvds, look at this damn thing:

I mean, really come August 7th, who's not gonna want this. Does it really matter that the features are all the same. I mean come one the dvd is wearing an Elvis suit (not to mention it has its own collar). How more genius can you get, honestly. Should be a purchase even for all you Bubba haters out there.

So I have continued my search for a film called The Magicians. From Korean director Song Il-Gon the film was filmed as one continuous shot ala The Russian Ark and a handful of other films. I caught Git (aka Feather in the Wind) which I absolutely loved at last year's New York Asian Film Festival and really regretted missing this film (his most recent work). Funny thing is the film has never shown up on dvd in the last two years since its Korean release. I recently emailed the people who own the print in which the festival played last year. Here is hoping they know how I can locate a dvd copy. If all goes well I will have more information on this later.

I am off...

Man, am I late on my update. But suffice to say I am here so you better listen up. Chiaki and I caught Hostel Part 2 over the weekend. I suppose all you naysayers can stay the same but I will say that it is quite an enjoyable sequel. Where most sequels retread, this film only add more to the first film. I honestly believe if you are a fan of horror you should really give these films a chance. They really impress the hell out of me. With the first Hostel, the ingenious Thanksgiving trailer, and now this - Eli Roth is on one bad ass roll. I am actually dying to see what he does with Stephen King's novel Cell, which is set to be his next film. And I will stop there with Hostel talk cause for some reason everyone hates em.

On to the latest Tsai Ming-Liang film I Dont Want To Sleep Alone, which I oddly enough went to see for myself. Chiaki was deep into Summer classes and the rest of my friends I know would not like the film so I traveled to Cleveland on my own. God, am I so glad I took the trip. The thing is a masterwork. Clearly his strongest film since What Time Is It There?, the film was just spellbinding to watch. If you have never caught a Tsai Ming-Liang film before then it is a damn travesty. His shots are as static and non-moblie as can be but the beauty lies in what takes place with the view. I could not due it justice trying to explain you must simply see it for yourself. His shooting style is all about composition and I really think only a true film buff can really understand the beauty of his craft. As always Lee Kang-Sheng and Chen Siang-Chyi fill the leads with just the right substance to their characters. Just amazing. In the next two months it makes its way around the US from New York to LA and a little in between including Austin, Washington DC, Chicago, and Boston. Please go and see it! Check here for complete schedule of times and places.

So I was skimming a recent issue of the Daily Variety and they were discussing the smaller studios fall/winter hopefuls which got me a little excited. Films I was hoping to see before the year are still scheduled to arrive by Christmas including two of my most anticipated films of the year the latest from Wes Anderson The Darjeeling Limited and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Throw in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution; David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises; and Wong Kar Wai's My Blueberry Nights and you have one hell of a year end film list. Man, I can't wait.

I leave you with a link to the Le Doulos trailer, the latest Jean Pierre Melville film to get the royal reissue treatment here in the US courtesy of the wonderful Rialto Pictures.

So I have to admit, I am not a big kung fu flick kinda guy, that title clearly goes to my brother, Kevin. Matter of fact, the man knows everything there is to know about both martial arts and samurai cinema. If I have a question about either genre he is my go to man. I just recently even borrowed the Shaw Brothers classic Come Drink with Me cause I had yet to see what many call one of the greatest films of China. Which brings me to my main discussion. For the record, if you don't already know, the Shaw Brothers were the gods of Chinese film during the 60s through the 80s and even, I believe, produces films today.

Up until now the best possible transfers of the plethora of Shaw Brothers films was their Hong Kong reissues which have spread over the last 5 years or so. Image Distribution in the US have tried releasing close to 20 titles but most reviewers claim that they seem to each have pretty faulty film transfers. Here's hoping The Weinstein Company's very own Dragon Dynasty can truly do the films justice.

Come June 19th, the company plans on releasing the first for of many Shaw Brother films. 36th Chamber of Shaolin, King Boxer (which if my memory serves me correctly, was a huge inspiration for Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle and would assume The Last Dragon too), The One Armed Swordsman, and My Young Auntie. Each film come in exclusive special editions with some brand new spankin' transfers. After just one viewing of this trailer I plan on picking up all four sight unseen (I believe all four played at the Cleveland Cinematheque a few month back but I failed to catch them). Check it out for yourself, below, right now:

I will be back in a day or two with my reaction to Tsai Ming Liang's I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, Knocked Up, and Hostel: Part II (which I plan on seeing this friday).

And my stupid ass hasn't bought the Peeping Tom record for what reason? No idea. This video is one of the most coolest things ever. Mike Patton on vocals, Rahzel on beatbox, Rob Swift on turntables, and Dan the Automator mixing....great stuff.

So I am so excited. My local indie theatre, the Cedar Lee, is getting Paris, Je, T'aime next week (actually originally scheduled for this weekend, go figure). I have been dying to see this for a while now. I even cheated a bit and watch some of the shorts on YouTube. If you haven't heard about the film it is a collection of 18 shorts running just about 5 minutes a piece from a wide range of world renowned directors. Tom Tywker, Coen Brothers, Christopher Doyle, Alfonso Cuaron, Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Walter Salles, Nobuhiro Sawa just to name a few. To be honest it hasn't gotten the greatest reviews (some love it, others loathe it), but I have been waiting none the less. It has been out on Hong Kong dvd for a little while now but I really wanted to wait til I was able to catch it on the big screen. Typically the international trailers tend to do films justice, but I must say the US trailer is breathtakingly beautiful. Check it out at the official website by click the poster above.

To all you Hostel haters out there, take a few minutes to read the nice review over at Twitch of its follow-up. It seems the sequel is very much influenced by the classic Italian giallo films with several cameos from some the the Italian genre actors (above director Eli Roth rehearses with former giallo scream queen Edwige Fenech of The Case of the Bloody Iris fame) . Please give this Hostel 2 review a read.

Unfortunately when most Americans think musical they immediately think Sound of Music, Grease, South Pacific, Singing in the Rain, West Side Story and such. Sure they are popular and trademarks of the genre, but to be totally honest, the great don't come from the land of the free. Instead, the truly best come from the "language of love." That's right, kids, France. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (starring the lovely Catherine Deneuve), Young Girls of Rochefort, and Jean-Luc Godard's brilliant Woman is a Woman just to name a few. Which brings me to Les Chansons d'amour. What hopes to be the reemergence of the French musical. Feast your eyes on the trailer below and let me know what you think. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the film was a sensation at Cannes this year.

So I am a few days late on posting this but the Cannes Film Festival is over. I was wrong. the Coen Brothers flick didn't win anything but received nothing but raved reviews. A film from Romania one the Palme d'Or, which can sometimes be a kiss of death (did anyone see The Wind That Shakes the Barley?!?) or box office gold (I am sure you have all heard of a little film called Pulp Fiction). A Japanese film entitled The Mourning Forest one the runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, along with Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park taking home a special award and the lead actress of the Korean film Secret Sunshine (which was directed by the man behind the fascinating film Oasis) taking home Best Actress.

There was also some cool film sales. IFC picked up the new film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Millennium Mambo, Three Times) called Looking for the Red Balloon, a remake of the French classic. The also picked up Paranoid Park. The Weinstien Company bought the Joy Division film Control while a yet to be officially announced company purchased the Asia Argento starrer Boarding Gate (I promise to tell you all when everything is said and done....I feel honored to know and not anyone else....).

Well that is all for now I will be back in a day along with a post a few days after that with my reaction to the new Tsai Ming-Liang film I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (which I will catch on Friday).

Alas Aaron has sat down to watch Diggers, so here it goes...

Going into the movie there was really only one things I had on my mind. I know that Ken Marino can write comedy, but can he equal his success from one genre to another, especially something as difficult as drama. Well, the man nails it, with great results. Matter of fact, Marino shines as Frankie, one of the most powerful performances in the film.

Diggers takes place in the mid-to-late 70s in a small New York town right of the shores (near or in Long Island). The only way for a man to live is two fish for clams to pay rent each month. For friends stuggle to stay afloat buddy always seem to be there for each other through the thick and thin. After the sudden death of Hunt's father him and his sister, Gina, must cope with the sudden absense of a father figure. His friend Frankie, on the other hand, is just trying to pull things together in an attempt to keep his marriage and his 5 children alive and well. Their buddy Jack attempts to make his rounds from one girl to the next, while Cons continues to make a living as the town's most prosperous "weed" dealer.

Many reviews including the Variety blurb on the front cover have compared the film to the obvious Diner but a few other films come to mind too. The strongest part of the film is the performance of the four friends which I can't help thinking of such classics as The Big Chill and more recently Beautiful Girls and Good Will Hunting to draw comparison. Ken Marino in a role slightly modeled after his father really shows that he has the chops to tackle more than just comedy. While he often times has some of the best laughs in the film he does an equal job at bringing some of the memorable emotion out of the picture. Paul Rudd, in the lead as Hunt, is equally as impressive as the character destined for much better life than he seems to be living. Ron Eldard and Josh Hamilton are right behind them both with solid performances. Sarah Paulson as Frankie's wife, Julie, and Maura Tierney as, Gina, play some of the most well written female characters I have seen in film for quite some time. Six Feet Under's Lauren Ambrose shows up in a effective supporting role as a big city girl who has an eye for Hunt.

The directing by Katherine Dieckmann, responsible for a handful of R.E.M. videos, does an amazing job at setting up some truly beautiful shots and drawing out some simply great performance from all involved.

I can honestly say I fell in love with this film and was actually really sad when it came to an end after a short 89 minutes. Luckily for me (and hopefully you) Magnolia Pictures has packed the disc full with some great special features. Not only is there an informative commentary track with Dieckmann and Marino (which reveals that David Wain was set to direct the film until Stella was picked up by Comedy Central), but also a 25 minute minute making of/interview, some entertaining and funny deleted scenes, and even a hour long doc on clam diggers entitled Baymen.

So as always get your ass to the local Best Buy or Borders and pick this baby up. It comes with a high recommendation from yours truly and will appeal to any film fan willing to see a honest to god well-written character study of what life is like in a small town. What are you waiting for, get your ass out there an buy it. Now, feast your eyes on the trailer below.

Okay so I am a day late and a dollar short but I promise I will have a Diggers review sometime in the next 24 hours. Until then, I would like to make a comment or two about a novel I just read. Yeah that's right I said "novel I just read." I used to read like a fiend when I was younger especially around the time of my discovery of Chuck Palahniuk which was as far back as the summer of '99. However over time film and music completely began to overpower the literature, which now I find a bit sad. I forgot how great it was to finish a engrossing novel. Which leads me to this...

Man is this a killer book. Ryu Murakami (not to be confused with the more popular Hikaru Murakami) is a underrated and quite unknown Japanese writer here in the states. His most popular novels released and translated in English are Almost Transparent Blue (a brilliant book which reminds you very much of the writings of J.G. Ballard) and Coin Locker Babies (a novel I have owned forever but never have really sat down to read...oddly enough I recently bought it as a birthday gift for one of my best buddies, Nate). People may or may not know him also as the madman behind the book Audition which was turned into a very successful horror film by the almighty Takashi Miike.

Piercing, which I just found out was originally released in Japan over 13 years ago, is one hell of a page turner. It follows a man with a sudden urge to stab his newborn baby night after night and instead plans a trip to the city to hatch a murder to get his mind off things. Enter Chiaki (yes, the same name as my wife), who seems to be the wrong victim for his plans. From there on all hell breaks loose and you won't want to put the novel down.

Yeah, you can say the book is a bit disturbing, but man is it a great read. Go run to Borders and pick it up now, please! Me I am off to find my Coin Locker Babies novel and dig write in. Speaking of dig, I will be back with my Diggers review shortly....promise!