So as promised I am back with yet another film review. This time courtesy of an amazing Australian company called Madman Entertainment. The fine folks at Madman were gracious enough to supply me with a copy of the Danish film Princess, which actually played at the Cleveland International Film Festival last year but I was not able to attend. So here it goes, I present to you my review of Princess.

I must admit. I am not really much of a fan of anime. Sure I dabble in the films of Pixar and seemed to get alot of enjoyment out of the work of Hayao Miyazaki but that is pretty much where I draw the line. Princess, however, interested the hell of me when I first read about it last year. For starters the story is just plain fucked up.

The title character is a drug abused young porn star named Christina (known in the adult film world as The Princess) who is now dead and has left behind her 5-year old daughter. Raised in a life of porn, Mia knows nothing else but what she watched take place in her mother's daily life. Her perception of what is right and wrong is just completely fubared. 32-year old August has just given up on his life as a priest in an desperate attempt to take care of his niece, Mia, he has just met for the first time.

What better to do than to avenge the death of his sister by taking out everyone person who had contributed to her rather short yet destructive life. What follows is a bloodbath of epic proportion which, at least as far as I know, has ever been captured in the history of animation.

What essentially is your basic revenge picture, takes on a whole new level when creating this overused genre into a whole new light thanks to the brillant animation found in the film. Another factor which sets this apart from others is its use of live action material to represent a window to the past. Each live action piece is used as a video capture of Christina before her death. Director Anders Morgenthanler brings us an amazing film which leaps boundaries above anything I have ever seen in the genre of animation. Sure, any anime freak may be left wanting more but as a admirer of international cinema I found Princess to be one hell of a ride and was truly in league of its own.

So how do you get your hands on this lovely piece of filmmaking, you say. Well, as I mentioned before, this great film can be purchased from a stellar company out of Australia entitled Madman Entertainment. Be for warned that the release is a Region 4 PAL disc so make sure your player is compatible before ordering.

Pick up Princess now by clicking here.

It seems a whole two weeks have gone by without a single post. Let us just face the facts...I am a slacker. Needless to say, I am hear and I am writing. Within two more weeks, the Cleveland International Film Festival will be upon us. Within days, I should be receiving my Media Pass and I have already planned out a weeks worth of film viewing. Somewhere between 15-20 films actually. So what do I have up my sleeve you ask.

Here is a breakdown:

Ben X - Belgium

Big Man Japan (aka Dai Nipponjin) - Japan

Blind - Netherlands

Dead Time - Indonesia

Deficit (Gael García Bernal's directorial debut) - Mexico

Flash Point - Hong Kong

Flight of the Red Balloon - France

Gone With the Woman - Norway

Jar City - Icelandic

Jellyfish - Israel

Love Songs (aka Les Chansons d Amour) - France

Mongol - Kazakhstan

Otis - United States

Priceless - France

The Substitute - Denmark

The Teeth of Love - China

Timecrimes - Spain

The Trap - Serbia

What We Do is Secret - United States

You, the Living - Sweden

Okay, so I guess that is alot. 20 to be exact. I may or not see all them though. Probably about a good 11 or so are definite. But I would really like to make it to all of the above. My sidekick from last year, Aaron H, is only catching a a few this year. A few other friends as well plan to see a handful. I hope to drag Chiaki along to a some too. If you would like to attend something let me know. You will be more than welcome to join me. As with last year, I will report back during the fest with a little feedback on the flicks. I can't freakin' wait.

So I sat down the other day and watched 3:10 to Yuma on Blu-Ray the other night. Damn, was it a beaut. There is always one will each year that I see after I make my Top 10 list and this is it. I will admit a guilty confession. I haven't seen Unforgiven. Yes, I own it on HD DVD (my first purchase on the format actually). And yes I admit I am a very big fan of spaghetti westerns. 3:10 to Yuma has been marketed as the best western since Unforgiven which I sorta of took offense to. Have these people not seen the brilliant The Proposition or The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada not to mention this years The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men. But yeah, okay. As far as rough and tough cowboys, the film definitely fits the true feel of a western. 3:10 to Yuma is nothing short of brilliant. I absolutely loved everything about it. Crowe's performance even brought me back to liking him as an actor again (it has been a while....um....The Quick and the Dead was the last I believe). Ben Foster though steals the f'n show. Amazing. Add Foster to the list of actors robbed from this year's Oscar nominations.

So I will be back in a day or two with my reaction to this year's Academy Award winners along with a review of the fantastic film Princess which has recently been distributed by the fine folks at Madman Entertainment.

Finally the time has come. I squeezed in my last film I really wanted to catch from last year. Yes, there were a handful of films I would have liked to see before I made my list but lets face it - it is now February 5th and a Best of 2007 is long overdue.

I am going to start things off this year with the 'just missed' list. Those films I loved this year but just didn't quite make my Top 10. Films like Ratatouille, Grindhouse, Exiled, The Ten, Fay Grim, I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, Diggers, and The Aura were just a pleasure to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed the blockbuster Transformers too which is something I really wasn't expecting. Nothing, however, touched a nerve like these 10 films. So lets cut to the chase.

10. The Lives of Others

What can be said about this film, that I haven't stated already. Fantastic film.

9. Eastern Promises

I really wasn't a fan of David Cronenberg's early horror films but Eastern Promises and A History of Violence honestly changed all that. More of a slow burn piece than A History of Violence but equally as riveting. Viggo and Naomi are stellar throughout.

8. Invisible Waves

I really love this film. From the same crew that made the insanely memorable Last Life in the Universe. I actually saw the film orginially in 2006 but was able to catch it theatrcially at the Cleveland International Film Festival last year. Christopher Doyle's cinematography is graceful, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's direction perfect, and Tadanobu Asano's actiing is as elegant as ever.

7. Dans Paris

Romain Duris and Louis Garrel are a true pleasure to watch. I just loved the French New Wave feel it had going for it. I am dying to see director Christophe Honore's musical follow up film, Les Chansons d'amour.

6. Big Bang Love, Juvenille A

Takashi Miike's experimental masterpiece. Hands down one of his best films, if not the best. An important film in contemporary cinema.

5. The Darjeeling Limited

Poor Wes Anderson. Chiaki and I thought this thing was darling. The critics thought otherwise. I am really looking forward to watching this one again once it hits dvd. Chiaki wanted to see it again in theaters and she never wants to see things twice theatrcially. I found it to be his best work since Rushmore. Oh and by the way Adrien Brody is so so Wes Anderson material.

4. Transylvania

Well, you already recently heard my rant on this film earlier so I won't repeat myself. I love everything about this film. Asia Argento most impressive performance.

3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

This was the reason I had to wait for my list until now. I wanted to fit it in because I waited so long for this picture. Glad I did. The thing is a treasure to watch. I loved every little thing about it. Pitt, Rockwell, Affleck, Parker. Andrew Dominik could do no wrong with the film. Deakin's camerawork is just a beaut. Alot of complaints about the film has stated that it is just a bit too long. I beg to differ. Usually if a film has the feeling of being too long it is because the ending is a little too drawn out. However, with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the end seems like the final chapter of the story and honestly needed to be told. Matter of fact I love the ending.

Speaking of endings, my top two films have also been criticized by moviegoers because of their final scenes. I myself thought both had perfect and well-needed endings.

2. No Country for Old Men

What can you say about this film that hasn't already been said. Quite possibly the best thing that the Coen Brothers have ever done. Their most serious work since Miller's Crossing. May even be my favorite of the Coens right next to Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski but it is in a whole other league than those two pictures. I really think Josh Brolin should have been recognized for his work here. Amazing.

1. There Will Be Blood

Did you really think anything less. Man is this one a whopper. Nothing like anything PTA has ever attempted. This thing is a powerhouse. All the obvious influences are oh so true. Yes, it looks like early Malick. Yes, it seems like a staple of 70's American Cinema. And Yes, dammit, Daniel Day-Lewis delivers an iconic performance. Love Love Love this film. I just love how it takes awhile to seep into your brain. Not one person I know walked out of this film and could form an immediate opinion. That is what makes this so brilliant. I will be a bit sadden if PTA doesn't take home the Oscar for directing this puppy.

Okay so lots to talk about today. For starters I will break down my trip to Japan for you.

Things started off on December 27th when we made our way to the Cleveland International Airport to fly to Detroit then straight to Nagoya, Japan. Our flight to Detroit was quick and easy and even left us enough of a layover to grab a bite to eat. What else would you eat before head off two Japan for 16 days....er, Japanese. I know we should have had our last taste of American food but instead stopped into the only Japanese restruant in the rather large Detroit airport.

Arriving in Nagoya, Japan 13 hours later brought a bit of trouble. Apperently the Nagoya airport wasnt connected to the Nagoya train station which made it difficult as hell to simply jump on a train Himeji where Chiaki's parents were set to pick us up. Usually when flying to Japan we go to Osaka's airport which has its own train station and is only a hop skip and a jump to Himeji. Our choices instead were to take a long bus ride to the Nagoya station or take two seperate trains there. Matters became worse when we decided to take the two train route. Apperently their had been a accident (a death actually...suicide, perhaps) and the train did not move for over an hour. Finally afters hours of arriving in Nagoya we finally made it to Himeji at around 10:30 at night, gracefully greeted by my wonderful inlaws.

This years trip came with many pleasures. Meeting Chiaki's other brother Makoto(who Chiaki had seen in over 7 years), seeing Chiaki's best friend and her beatiful children all grown up, being introduced to Chiaki's other brother Shun's new girlfriend, hooking up with our good friend Miho in Hiroshima, and of course eating great food and shopping like crazy.

I will try to post some pictures on here very soon of both people we met and things we picked up while there. I was going to break the whole trip down for everyone but then realized as I began to write that this could take forever. I instead have decided to break down bits and pieces of the trip throughout my next few posts or so.

I will mention probably my favorite new place to visit was Nakano Broadway when we were in the great city of Tokyo for two days. Nakano Broadway is a geek's cluster of stores (also known as an otaku's wet dream) in a 4 floor shopping complex. While alot of the crazy and unique toys were a pleasure to view and take part in purchasing, my favorite store was a little poster store buried in the corner of the 2nd or 3rd floor. My new favorite place sold Japanese posters for ridcuously low prices, most as low as 1000 yen (between 8-10 US dollars). One of my several gems I found was this poster for a Meiko Kaji film, Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2 - The She Cat Gambler.

Or how about this killer Meiko Kaji 7 inch of her theme song from the series Female Convict Scorpion. Chiaki found this little treasure.

I know your jealous, aren't you. I love it and I have several others just as cool. I will try to put them online as soon as I can.

For now lets move on to another subject...the Academy Award nominations. You are probably wondering what I thought of them. Well, I happen to really like their choices this year. Anytime two of your favorite films of the year are up for most of the categories then I am pretty happy. This year's nods came with that very scenario with both No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood rounding out most of the categories. It will be a tough year I believe for the Oscar voters and I will be really happy if either take home the big awards. Two things that are certain are that of course Javier Bardem will take home Best Supporting Actor and Daniel Day-Lewis will bring home the Best Actor statue. While a few other categories such as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actess have clear front runners, nothing much else is for certain. I will be a bit sadden if at the end of the night Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't walk away with Best Director. The man deserves the damn thing. As always, I am also looking forward to the Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography categories. Kazakhstan's selection Mongol happens to star Tadanobu Asano, one of my favorite actors working in international cinema today. All in all some good picks, though as with most years I believe a handful of people got snubbed recognition. Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men was a revelation and I could honestly not picture anyone else in the role.

Alright well, I suppose that is all for now. I will be back in a day or two with more of a breakdown of our trip to Japan along with a possible film review. Also look for my Top 10 films of 2007 list to spring up by Tuesday or Wednesday.

So it has been over a month, I know. But I have an excuse. For the last 16 days, I have been in Japan visiting family. It was a blast and I even got a chance to finally meet Chiaki's other brother, Makoto, who is just one hell of a guy. I absolutely adore my Japanese family. More on my trip in the next week or so. I will try to post some pictures soon too.

For now I will start things off with a review of one of my favorite films of the year, Transylvania. An amazing amount of gratitude must be given to Canadian distributor Mongrel Media for releasing an English friendly dvd of the film and supplying me with a review copy of the film. I caught this film last March at the Cleveland International Film Festival and was floored and I have once again remained speechless upon second viewing of the film.

The film is a revelation, quite honestly. I must say, the only work of director Tony Gatlif I was even familiar with was his last effort Exiles which I had not seen prior to this film. I must say my main draw to the film was Asia Argento who I have always been a fan of and this time around she did not disappoint. Her performance in this film is, by far, her most mature and complex work I have ever seen from her. She is a sensation in this film. Naysayers of her work should really give this film a chance because, in my opinion, no one has ever seen her on this level before. Each film she does seems to outshine the next, however, it is really going to be hard to top this. Actor Birol Ünel brings one a hell of a performance to endure in this film.

The film is essentially a road movie with Argento's Zingarina in search of Milan Agustin a musician who in her mind is her one true love and the father of her unborn child. Milan (played by Marco Castoldi), however, wants nothing to do with her. Heartbroken and distant from everyone who care for her, she resorts to becoming an unlikely traveling companion with a drifter named Tchangalo (Birol Ünel).

Really, that's all you need to know. The chemistry or rather lack there of between Zingarina and Tchangalo is just a pleasure to watch. Director Gatlif, is less concern with structure in this film, which many critics have bashed him for, and instead relies on the companionship of the two leads. For me, this tactic really worked wonders. I am not the type of viewer who really needs closure and connection from A to B. If a film holds my attention with the performance and direction that is all I need, really. In that prospect Argento and Ünel drive this thing home for me. Along with Gatlif superb direction and some amazing cinematography from Céline Bozon, the film represents everything I need to make a film truly brilliant, which is the case with Transylvania. It is a true shame that this film has yet to be distributed in US. I actually have yet to find information on whether or no there even is an American distributor for the film. Please, do yourself a favor and get your hands on Mongrel Media's dvd release as soon as you can. You will not regret it.

You know what I would love to do one time or another? It's become the guy who chooses/supervises the cover art for dvd covers. I mean seriously, countless brilliant films have been ruined by horrible cover art. Isn't the cover supposed to be what draws you, the consumer, in. I mean what were they thinking with this:



That thing just hurts to look at. That has to be one of the lamest covers to a great film I have seen in a long time. Luckily some jewels come along from time to time and really come up with something truly special and quite easy on the eyes. Case in point this Bonnie and Clyde Ultimate Edition which streets in March 2008:

Even the High Def package is cool as hell:

The Ultimate Edition is set to have the following features:

Disc 1

• Teaser Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2

• The History Channel® Documentary – Love and Death: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde
  • (newsreel footage, period accounts, and interviews with biographers to bring the story of the notorious outlaws to life)
• Revolution! The Making of Bonnie and Clyde
  • Bonnie and Clyde’s Gang (The challenges of bringing together the right creative forces to adapt the true story into a glamorous tale)
  • The Reality and Myth of Bonnie and Clyde (Blending old and new Hollywood crews to bring about the style and look of a film which impacted more than just the fashion industry during the era)
  • Releasing Bonnie and Clyde (From production to the final edited cut, a look at the struggles and joys of making a film that became a worldwide phenomenon and an Oscar winner)
• Warren Beatty Wardrobe Tests
• Deleted Scenes
  • The Road to Mineloa
  • Outlaws

Thank the lord for the smart few that really know how to make a film appealing.

Speaking of film, it looks like the first of many year end awards were handed out yesterday this time around from the National Board of Reviews. Among the winners were:

Best Film: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best Director: TIM BURTON, Sweeney Todd
Best Actor: GEORGE CLOONEY, Michael Clayton
Best Actress: JULIE CHRISTIE, Away From Her
Best Supporting Actor: CASEY AFFLECK, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Best Supporting Actress: AMY RYAN, Gone Baby Gone
Best Foreign Film: THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Best Documentary: BODY OF WAR
Best Animated Feature: RATATOUILLE
Best Ensemble Cast: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: EMILE HIRSCH, Into The Wild
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: ELLEN PAGE, Juno
Best Directorial Debut: BEN AFFLECK, Gone Baby Gone
Best Original Screenplay (tie): JUNO and LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
Best Adapted Screenplay: JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN, No Country For Old Men

Top Ten Films:
(In alphabetical order)
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
ATONEMENT
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
THE BUCKET LIST
INTO THE WILD
JUNO
THE KITE RUNNER
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
MICHAEL CLAYTON
SWEENEY TODD

Top Five Foreign Films:
(In alphabetical order)
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
THE BAND’S VISIT
THE COUNTERFEITERS
LA VIE EN ROSE
LUST, CAUTION

Top Independent Films
(In alphabetical order)
AWAY FROM HER
GREAT WORLD OF SOUND
HONEYDRIPPER
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
A MIGHT HEART
THE NAMESAKE
ONCE
THE SAVAGES
STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING
WAITRESS

Quite an interesting list, I must say. Great to see No Country for Old Men take home Best Film along with others and Mr. Burton as a surprising Best Director for Sweeney Todd. Biggest surprise for me though was the win for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford not to mention its position on the Top Ten Films of the Year list. The biggest disappointment for me though was that PTA's There Will Be Blood was nowhere to be found not even a recognition for Daniel Day Lewis. Here's hoping it makes every other list this year including the most important ones.

So as I write this I am missing the last performance I would ever see of Planes Mistaken For Stars, one of my favorite bands. It's a shame they will be no more. Gared, the lead singer, luckily has two other projects going on right now. One is called Hexes, which apparently a continuation of the direction PMFS was headed for (and also contains two PMFS band members) and the other is Hawks and Doves, an obvious homage to the Neil Young album title, and is I am assuming a much mellower Gared like that of the amazing last track, Penitence, from the Planes last record Mercy. Here's hope some of each projects tunes will hit the net in the not so distant future.

So on to film talk. I caught the latest from the Coen Brothers, No Country for Old Men, the other day and can safely say it will be fighting for the number one spot on my best of 2007 list. Unfortunately this list may not be completed until February 5th. Why you ask? Why that is the first time I will more than likely be able to catch my much hyped The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford. Yes, my dumb ass missed my chance to catch the flick around and now much wait for hit dvd.

In the next few weeks I hope to make a trip or two both Columbus and Cleveland to catch some flicks. What films, you say? Well, I hope to catch La Chinoise and Pierrot Le Fou both by Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos, and Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point. I own both of the Godard flicks and love them but how can you really pass up his flicks on the big screen. The other two films I have been dying to see for a long time. If nothing else I will make an effort to catch Zabriskie Point because I have passed it up about three time now and a widescreen copy on dvd is nearly non-existent (the film has never been released in the States on disc and only widescreen elsewhere).

So I guess the unthinkable happened. Well, okay lets not be so drastic. I will just come out and say it. I was too big on the new Takeshi Kitano film, Glory to the Filmmaker!. It's a shame really, cause I really loved his last 3 films, which have been very hit or miss with most people. Come to think of it there has been only one other Kitano film I was extremely disappointed with and that was his stab at American film, Brother. I love for his films started where most people's admiration had with his film Sonatine, which was released in Japan in in '93, but not until '98 in the US, courtesy of Quentin Tarantino defunct distribution label Rolling Thunder Pictures. Immediately after watching and loving the film ,I went on a search for his previous film and one of his most well known pictures, Hana-Bi also known as Fireworks. My personal favorite lies in his more quieter piece, Kikujiro, but I still had alot of love for is insanely abstract Takeshis'.

The latest, however, I just didn't get. The first half was pure Kitano genius to me. He represented a film full of filmmaking homages to some of the true greats of Japanese cinema and still managed to outdo himself. However, the second half just simply didn't seem to go nowhere. Maybe I need to give it more of a chance though, I just really which the rest of the film continued with the pattern he led it with. He instead ops for his comedy roots which don't always come out on the funny side. Oh, well. You win some you lose some, I guess. Nonetheless, I will be ready for what else he has in store in the future. What can I say, I love the guy.

Let's start things off with a nice little review of Eureka! Entertainment's Masters of Cinema release of the definitive version of the 1922 horror classic Nosferatu in a very satisfying 2-disc set.

Quite honestly, where do I start with this one. The thing is a true wonder. I am sure everyone is familiar with the story of Nosferatu but allow me to elaborate a bit. Countless interpretation of the writings of Bram Stoker have been representative on film but F.W. Murnau is the first and in the eyes of many, the best. The story follows just has many have over and over a man and his run in with a very un-human being who is not only out for his blood but also the blood of his loved one. Possibly one of the most terrifying performance of the great blood sucking vampire ever contained on film, Murnau's Nosferatu set the bar pretty high when he created this legendary film.

Now on to Eureka! Entertainment's release of the film. This thing is the most, and probably will stay the most, pristine transfer of the film ever released. For starters, the cover art is one of the coolest damn images I have ever seen gracing the front of a dvd box. The transfer and restoration of the film is in a whole other league all its own. A few US companies whom will remain nameless have attempted to do the film justice but have never reached this level of purity. The tinted print has been remastered to created, in my mind, hands down the best look of the film to ever see the light of day. This Masters of Cinema release even managed to not only add the original German intertitles (with English subtitles, of course), instead of newly created English language ones but they also were able to dig up the original Hans Erdmann score, which many release before it has instead chosen to reconstructed it by a more recent composer. The Erdmann original has not been heard for over 85 years until now.

Finally, there is the great extra features found on this disc. To start things off on disc 1 we are fortunate enough to have the pleasure of hearing silent film historian Dixon Smith along with film critic Brad Stevens talk exclusively about the film and silent films in general. Disc 2 sheds more light on the film with a the nearly hour long documentary The Language of Shadows which gives us even more information on the making of Nosferatu and the work of director F.W. Murnau. Finally the disc treats us to a mini restoration of this fantastic edition of the film. But that's not all, also found in the set is a 80 page booklet which is just a absolute pleasure to read after watching the film.

So what are you waiting for. Go and buy this baby right now. Where can I get this, you say? For your easy and comforted, I have listed a handful of links below:

HMV

Play

SendIt

All the online shops are highly reliable UK based sites.

Okay, so I went from 'wicked pissed' to 'not really mad just unlucky' in a matter of minutes. Why you ask? Well, I just checked my emails and saw that the Cedar Lee (for all you non Ohio people, it is Cleveland's only all indie theater) was giving away an autographed poster of The Darjeeling Limited which it claims was signed at last weekend's Q & A with Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman and Waris Ahluwalia! What?!? So I do a little internet searching and found out that last Saturday The Cedar Lee hosted a free screening of the film with the above three in attendance. Thing was though that it took place at 4pm which would have been right around the time I was doing the whole shorts screening for the Canton Palace Film Fest. So the thing was I would have been more pissed if I knew about it before hand and couldn't go as relation to now. As I said before, I guess I am just unlucky. Would have been so freakin' cool, especially figuring Wes was supposed to be at an advance screening of Life Aquatic a few years back when I lived near Los Angeles and new never came. I guess that's to strikes for me. Oh well, nonetheless, Chiaki and I plan to see The Darjeeling Limited on Saturday. I will be back with my reaction soon.

Surprise! So I decided to change my blog design. I was really getting tired of the old one. It was a bit boring. This one looks more hip. does it? Okay, maybe not but I wanted a change. Do you feel me?

Okay so it is a day away from the Canton Palace Theatre's 6th Annual Film Festival and I am pretty excited. Sure, it didn't turn out exactly as I planned but we still have some nice films playing. Here is the line-up:

Thursday, October 11th - Ping Pong
Friday, October 12th - Once
Saturday, October 13th - Paris, Je T'aime
Sunday, October 14th - No End in Sight

Nice range, don't you say. Saturday afternoon we are also screening some short films from local directors which should be a lot of fun too. It starts at 1:30pm and will run til about 3pm at the 2nd April Gallerie right near by the Canton Palace Theatre. I am going to highlight the festival with my friend Bo's awesome short Miles Wynberry of Glendale Lane which I helped him with last year.

So all with my ramblings. Yesterday was a movie day for me. In the afternoon (after work), I caught Transformers and at night (after my film committee meeting) I watched Eastern Promises. Transformers is a hell of a ride. I really loved watching it. Eastern Promises is slow but good. Really good actually. Even though it wasn't Cronenberg's best work, I thought it was a great effort.

I just found out that Cleveland should be getting The Darjeeling Limited on October 19th and I really can not wait. I am really excited for the film that it is driving me crazy. I am so pumped for the film that I was prone to pick up The Kinks 'Lola vs. Powerman' record (which features two excellent songs - This Time Tomorrow and Strangers - featured prominently in the film's trailer).

My buddy Bo made a really cool fall film listing on his myspace blog with summaries and trailers and all that good stuff. Very cool and I think everyone should go check it out right now. The list is pretty damn close to my most anticipated films of the season also.

Alright well lots more to say but I forget so far now I am done. Expect a review or two shortly, I promise. Really.

Alright with further ado, here is my review of Eureka! Entertainment's newly released dvd of Bellissima. Hope you take a minute to read it.

I must admit it – I have never seen a Luchino Visconti film until now. The man is responsible for a lot of well respective films of Italian cinema such as Le Notti Bianche, The Leopard, Rocco and His Brothers, and Death in Venice. The great UK based company Eureka! Entertainment was smart enough to release Visconti’s third feature film Bellissima through their amazing Masters of Cinema line (think a UK version of Criterion Collection) and I am none the prouder.

Bellissima is really a charming and enduring film. An obsessed mother wants nothing but the best for her child who she believes to be a bonafide star. A big time film director is in town auditioning children for his latest feature film and what better to make her daughter the new sensation.

At first I was a bit annoyed by Anna Magnani’s performance of the anxious mother Maddalena and her aspirations to make her daughter a shining star, the pearl among these sea shells. However, the more the film goes along the more you realize how real this character truly is. Yeah at times she pushy and seems a little stuck up among the other mothers and those around her attempting to shoot down her hopes and dreams. As the film progress, however, you really see her strengths and weakness and her true inter beauty really shines through. By films end, I was highly impressed with Magnani acting and honestly cared for her character. I should also note that Tina Apicella as her daughter Maria is so adorable that she steals nearly every scene from the rest of the cast just through her charm.

The film’s end will break you down emotionally and, in my opinion, perfectly embodies what showbiz and fame is really about. If you have a love for the Italian film industry or international cinema for that matter you should really check this film out. You wont be disappointed.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I keep on getting worse with this whole thing. I guess things have been busy as of late, but then again when is it not. So I am back with a quick little post before I unfortunately head off to work.

Let's see. I am really try hard to think of all the things I wanted to talk about these last two weeks but everything has slipped my mind at the moment. The Toronto Film Festival has since past without my attendance and not far behind is Chicago International Film Festival in the beginning of October which really is not going to fit into my schedule, which is a shame. Last time we went there (about three or four years) we had a crappy experience (which is strange cause I really enjoy Chicago) and witnessed a not so great film, which we actually walked out of because it was insanely boring and repetitive. I apparently the running time was over 3 hours and we saw about an hour and 30 minutes. Let me tell you I never walk out of films. Maybe once or twice in my whole life of film viewing. So bad experience to say the least. Nonetheless, no trip to the fest this year. Oh well.

My plans this weekend our to catch Eastern Promises and oddly enough Resident Evil: Extinction. I know I have never seen the others and never cared to but this one seems like it has a whole Spaghetti Western/Mad Max/Dust Devil kinda feel to it which is very appealing as is the current tv spots. First in line though is Eastern Promises though. A History of Violence really impressed me 2 years ago (although I know some people did not think the same...yeah I'm talking to you, Bo). I will fill you guys in after my viewing which will most likely be tomorrow sometime.

Also in the next day or two will be a review of the Italian classic, Bellissima.

Alright so it has been awhile but here is another review. Today's dvd comes from the fine folks over at Tartan films and his entitled The Perfect Crime.


In my opinion, director Alex de la Iglesia is a touch sell in the US. I say this because he usually doesn't stick to one particular genre. When he first received international claim it was because of his earlier horror work (which included the amazing Day of the Beast), however, has his film career began to take off he took flight in all sorts of directions still at all times staying close to his strongest love - humor.


The Perfect Crime takes a horrific incident and creative a very funny and heartwarming film. Rafael (played to perfection by Guillermo Toledo) is one hell of a salesmen not to mention a bonafide ladies man. The thing is when it comes time for a promotion he has to best out his rival, Don Antonio, for the job of floor manager. After Don Antonio unfairly wins the postion, a simple spat turned to murder. Rafael hopes to get off clean but discovers that their is one witness to the unfortunate crime. Loudres (performed to the 'T' by actress Monica Cervera) is her name and her unfortunate looks have failed to grab his attention. She decides to blackmail him to cover up the crime and all hell breaks loose with hilarity along for the ride.


What makes The Perfect Crime so entertaining is its acting and how both the actors and the director has a knack for delivering humor in spades. Actors Guillermo Toledo and Monica Cervera bring the right touch of laughs and emotion to make this a fun and fast ride. Director Alex de la Iglesia really shows that he is one of the most inventive and adventurous directors working in Spain today.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a good laugh and a great time.

So recently I stumbled upon the coolest thing ever. IFC First Take. Okay so it wasn't just recently. For a while now I have known that IFC started this off shoot which would release films in lmited theaters (aka New York and LA) and on cable the same day. Well not normal cable, just certain cable providers 'on demand; services and Directv. I just didn't follow it all that much and didn't really know anyone had Directv (Nate you should have told me...) until my brother whiched from Dish to Direct a month or so ago.

Flash to Sunday night. Kevin and I watched our first (in a long line) of films on Directv on demand service called 'IFC in Theatres.' You pay just $6.99 and you have yourself a brand new indie/foreign film on your television. Our first viewing was a french film called Dans Paris, which I have been dying to see.
While it wasn't what I had envisioned I still really dug it. I am a big fan on the two leads (Louis Garrel and Roman Duris) and the directed did a great job creating a modern day French New Wave film. I really dug a little singing scene late in the film which would normally seem out of place in any other film but seemed to fit just fine in this one. This also explains why director Christophe Honore chose a musical as his latest film, Les Chansons d'amour (a film I rambled on and on about in May). I think the more I watch it the more I will dig it more. He has it until October 1st (when they apparently erase it from your DVR) so I might take a gander at it in the not so distant future.

Next Up is a film written, directed, and starring Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiam fame called I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. It also stars Sarah Silverman and a handful of other cool little actors/comedians and I have heard some really good things about. Also laying in about a week or two is a new horror film called The Last Winter starring Ron Perlman and James LeGros. I heard it is amazing and is very reminiscent of John Carpenter's The Thing. I can't wait! I really wish I had access to this earlier cause I could have watch such awesome films like a recent favorite of mine The Aura, which also aired on IFC in Theatres.' On the other hand, I am glad I have a chance now to catch things in the not so distant future like Hsiao-Hsien Hou's Flight of the Red Balloon and at the same time as LA and New York folk, no less.

Sad news in the music biz for me at least. One of my favorite bands Planes Mistaken For Stars have called it quits. They plan on doing one last tour in the following months with the closest venue being Detroit. Looks like I will have to take a road trip to see them one last time. It's a damn shame. If you recall their latest record, which is absolutely amazing, was one of my favs from last year. At least a some good news is coming out of all this. Singer Gared O'Donnell has two bands in the works - a solo of sorts project entitled Hawks and Doves and a more band like project called Hexes. Let's hope at least one of them rips as hardcore as Planes did. We'll see. Speaking of my favorite bands, my boys from Japan, Envy have both a dvd (Transfovista) and a four track cd ep (Abyssal) hitting Japanese shelves in mid November. Good thing Chiaki and I are hitting Japan for New Years.

Yeah, you heard it right. Chiaki and I are back to Japan (it has been nearly 4 freaking years) at the end of the year for a whopping 16 days. I can not wait. Not only do I get to see my amazing Japanese family but I get to see a amazing beautiful country. We are planning some mini trips like a trek to tokyo for 2 or 3 days and maybe even a trek to Hiroshima to see our friend Miho (depending on where she will be living at at the time). And then there is my favorite thing - shopping. Lets face it. Unless I am shopping for music or films I get bored. American malls. Boring! Outdoor Promenades. Boring! Shopping in Japan. Amazing! I love everything whether it is a 7/11 or a huge Tokyo store. Either way I am in heaven. I am counting the days. I am also getting to meet my other brother in law (the middle child) Makoto who Chiaki herself hasn't seen in over 7 years. Shun-chan (Chiaki's youngest brother) will also be around so I am exciting to hang with him again also. And then there's Japanese New Years. Man will it be awesome. More on this as we begin to plan everything out.

Alright I suppose I will shut up for now. I felt like I should make a nice size post since it has been a few weeks since my last good one. I also have a zillion dvd reviews to do too soon. I don't want to upset anyone so next time return I will have a review or two in hand. Promise (for real, this time!).

The new trailer for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and man is a beauty. The film is the highly anticipated follow up to Andrew Dominik's amazing 2000 debut Chopper. I think 7 years is long enough to wait so this thing needs to come out now. It's set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in a few weeks. Really wish I could go. If you can't make it feast your eyes on the trailer below instead.

Kristen Bell cast in Heroes. Oh, so cool.

Couldn't resist posting this...another brilliant Old Spice commercial starring the one and only Bruce Campbell:

(love this poster design)

So, in case you are wondering, I am still sadden by the passing of the great Michelangelo Antonioni and I have been watching a handful of his films recently. Yesterday was Blow-Up and L'Avventura. I will have to honest. Don't get me wrong I love black and white films. love them. Something like Mike Nichol's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I couldn't even picture in color. And while I love his trilogy of L'Avventura, La Notte, and L'Eclisse, you some how wonder how they would look in color. Antonioni was similar to someone like Seijun Suzuki, in the sense that his knack for color created a whole other character to his films and made my love for them even stronger. Look at Antonioni's brilliant Il Deserto rosso (Red Desert). The colors are amazing. He actually made his crew paint most things over to make the colors more vibrant. And when I say most things I mean even blades of grasses which his crew painted to look greener. Nonetheless I love all his work I have seen (and own in one shape or form) including the films mentioned above and of course the beautiful The Passenger. I have been dying to see the much criticized Zabriskie Point so that I could form my own opinion of it but I seems to be very hard to find a widescreen copy of it (most things out there are on a full screen transfer...I mean why bother with a film shot 2.35...I can wait).

So I miss the guy. I really hope positivity comes out of his passing such as more of his films to hit the dvd shelves. That would be nice. We will see.

So I really do plan to catch up on my film reviews. Next post, promise.

Okay, definitely diggin' the Death Proof dvd cover art.