a film community

Zack and Michael!!

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 01:49:46 GMT

hey all

This summer I was a script supervisor on a new web-series called Zack and Michael. It might be the greatest thing you've seen. Ever. Or, at least recently. Here's the link to the first episode:

http://zackandmichael.com/episode1.htm

plus the original teaser trailer:

http://zackandmichael.com/trailer.htm

hope you enjoy- another trailer (with the theme of the Transformers) comes out this weekend, and look out for episode 2 coming soon! Tell your friends!

the press on film

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:31:08 GMT

I'm trying to make a list of movies that deal with the press, reporters, newsrooms, the power of the press... Newspapers.
It's for my roommate. I'm trying to bring him something beyond The Paper or I Love Trouble.
I know there are great movies on the subject and I haven't maybe given the matter much thought or research but below is the list of movies I've come up with.
Do you have any other ideas?

Absence of Malice
Zodiac
The Killing Fields
Gandhi
All the President's Men
His Girl Friday
Three Days of the Condor
Lonelyhearts
Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival)
La dolce vita
The Year of Living Dangerously
Veronica Guerin
Citizen Kane

There are obviously a hundred movies I'm missing. The Insider, maybe?
He's an aspiring newspaper man and I feel like he has an appreciation for realistic depictions of newsrooms and investigative reporters and what-not. We saw Blood Diamond and it evoked from him a very compelling speech about the power to change the world with journalism.
Oh yeah. And I included La dolce vita here but I haven't yet convinced him of the error of his ways regarding his aversion to subtitled films...

Tue, 01 May 2007 16:33:04 GMT

Hello. My name is Annie, and I like movies. I supposed if I didn't, I wouldn't be here in the first place, but I never was very good at introductions.

I'm not going to post a list of my favorite movies, because frankly, I can never narrow it down to less than thirty, and even then, others pop up that I want to add. So instead, I'll just say that I watched Das Experiment the other day. A german film about a group of men who volunteer for a scientific study on the social and psychological effects of incarceration. The men are split into two groups:prisoners, and guards. I was more than pleased with the outcome, and would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind foreign language films and subtitles, which I hope to god is all of you, or I won't be staying long.

Gun Crazy

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:25:44 GMT

I'm not sure how this one escaped me for so many years. Directed in 1949 by Joseph H. Lewis from a screenplay by MacKinlay Kantor (based on his 1940 Saturday Evening Post short story) and blacklisted Dalton Trumbo masquerading as Millard Kaufman, Gun Crazy reset the standard for film noir and paved the way for the attractive, sympathetic -- albeit sometimes psychotic -- antiheroes that showed up two decades later in movies like Bonnie and Clyde (whose real-life characters inspired Gun Crazy's lovin' couple on the run) and The Getaway.

Cinematically, the film's often expressionistic; its startling and (then) innovative use of extended "backseat driver" takes, shot from within the getaway car, and get the viewer caught up not only in the characters' predicament but the sexual excitement their larceny generates. And Russell Harlan's black-and-white cinematography is right up there with his work on Red River, The Thing from Another World, and Blackboard Jungle.

Not again until Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway would the screen see crooks as charismatic as Peggy Cummins and John Dall. Director Lewis told critic Danny Peary in 1981: "I told John, 'Your cock's never been so hard,' and I told Peggy, 'You're a female dog in heat, and you want him. But don't let him have it in a hurry. Keep him waiting.' That's exactly how I talked to them and I turned them loose. I didn't have to give them more directions."

Everything Is an Afterthought

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:26:58 GMT

I recently sold my first book. In conjunction, I've established another LiveJournal to report on the project's progress, occasionally provide links about, and writings by, its subject, the journalist and critic Paul Nelson, and share snippets of information or parts of interviews that may or may not be covered further in the final product.

In addition to being a critic and screenwriter, Nelson co-wrote the fine book: 701 Toughest Movie Trivia Questions of All Time (about which Martin Scorsese said, "Some of the sections were so tough I could only guess at the answers, but the book taught me a lot I was happy to learn").

The new journal shares the book's working title, Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson. Just follow the link.

Anybody interested in learning more about this brilliant writer, whose own life proved just as mysterious and fascinating as the artists' about whom he wrote, is welcome to join. As well, tracking the process of how a book goes from sale to publication should prove interesting. I'm rather curious about that part myself...

Year of the Dog

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:26:26 GMT

For his directorial debut, Mike White chose to make a movie (based on his own original screenplay) that's a treatise about loneliness and people who have love but can't find a place to put it. Like many of the characters in White's previous scripts (to name a notable few: Chuck and Buck, School of Rock, Orange County, three episodes of Freaks and Geeks, and one of my all-time favorite films, The Good Girl), Year of the Dog's Peggy (played by Molly Shannon) doesn't quite have a sense of herself; her strong feelings and opinions locate her a little outside of the mainstream. The thing is, the people in the orbit of her life who don't get her, whose eyebrows and judgment she raises, are no less idiosyncratic.

Following the surprising but inevitable course that Peggy's life takes, Shannon is excellent, as is the rest of the cast, with the ever-dependable John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Pais particularly outstanding.

As exemplified by a user comment at IMDb, the film is far from the chick flick that its plot and advertising suggests: " I thought I was going to see a funny movie. I came home feeling suicidal. If I wanted to see a pathetic over-40 woman who has bad dates and lives alone with the pets she dotes on too much, I woulda stayed home and stared in the mirror!" Year of the Dog -- the chick flick from hell?

Regardless, by movie's end, as in all of White's work, he manages to humanize his offbeat characters so that we, too, can understand and perhaps even identify with them -- if we hadn't already all along.

In Theatres Now

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 12:55:48 GMT

The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006)
****1/2
A fictional look into a stressful week (a week based on factual events) in the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Touching and humourous, light fare not heavy, neither entirely damning of the Queen, nor entirely complimentary (though the rest of the family doesn't get off very easy). Elizabeth comes off as someone who wants to do the right thing, but is stuck in a past that's no longer applicable to the Royal Family of the almost-21st century. The people no longer want codes and conduct and hundreds of years of Royal etiquette and custom, they want to see humanity in their monarchy. Probably not all that far off the mark, with regards the Royal Family. (Probably well off the mark with respect to Tony Blair's relationship to The Queen -- I can't imagine him being quite that fawning or concerned about them.) Well worth the ticket price.

Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
****
Shades of Sean Connery, shades of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and shades of For Your Eyes Only. But darker and grittier than any of those were allowed to be (or wanted to be). I can imagine Pierce Brosnan is a little ticked. This is the sort of Bond he wanted to make, but was never allowed to make. After Goldeneye, they kept pushing him towards the bubblegum Roger Moore style. Pierce had his torture scene, but it was done over the title credits and wasn't nearly as gritty as it should have been. It certainly isn't the torture scene we get in Casino Royale. In terms of filmic torture, it's not particularly shocking, but for a Bond film it's certainly something we haven't seen before. This is the non-continuity story of Bond's beginning. Maybe the filmmakers are rebooting the series (we'll know for sure come Bond 22). A lot of the signature Bond moments aren't here. Q is absent. Moneypenny is absent. The "Bond James Bond" introduction is absent until the end. The shaken not stirred is given its creation. The opening titles lack silhouettes of nude women (though it's an excellent title design) and the song by Chris Cornell is a little lacking (though using one of the forerunners of 90s grunge sets the mood).The dun-duh-duh-dun theme song is absent until the very end (though the music slowly builds to that moment). Thankfully they've stepped away from CGI stunts (which annoyed me to no end in Die Another Day) and gone back to the practical, if you can't accomplish something practically, it's really not worth doing in a Bond film. The most interesting thing about this film is that it contains actual character development. They show us Bond from the moments when he first gets his double-0 status, through to the development of the more suave, sophisticated Bond we're more familiar with. How he turned from simple single-minded thug to someone who thinks before acting. Even the action sequences work in setting up and developing his character. The first Parkour sequence is amazing, but the opposing styles of the bad guy versus Bond throughout the sequence really set-up the type of character Bond began as (as seen through the eyes of the writers). He's brutish and hulkish versus stylish and graceful. This is definitely up there as one of the better Bond films of all time, but only time will decide if it ranks as one of the best within the pantheon.

Go back to July 2004 to read DVD and Film Mini-Reviews #20, my list of ratings for the rest of the Bond films.

My Best Fiend clip- Herzog

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:32:08 GMT

this has been making me (unintentionally) chuckle in my seat for the past several minutes, and I've already seen it once before a couple weeks ago. for some reason, even though Kinski is really out of his fucking gord, I'm reminded of Moe Howard when he played the 'dictator' in that episode of the Three Stooges (moustache falls off, "gimme back my personality!"), and then rattled off in Hitler-esque gibberish.

ah the Germans, when will they learn. Kinski's one of my un-dead heroes, even though I probably would shit my pants if I ever had to direct him. Herzog must have balls the size of, uh...TIMMY!!

The Rules of the Game

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 17:40:24 GMT

"You see, in this world there is one awful thing, and that is that everyone has his reasons."

I've known that quote well for many years, thanks to the writings of Paul Nelson (who referenced it often), just as I've known that the man responsible for originally uttering those words was Jean Renoir. But until last week, when I watched his fine film The Rules of the Game for the first time in over twenty years, I didn't know (or I'd forgotten) that the quote emanated therein. Spoken by the pivotal character Octave, played by Renoir himself, hearing the words spoken aloud, in French, was a surprise and a revelation.

(In writing a biography of Paul Nelson and collecting his best writings into book form, and trying to understand how someone so talented and so loved came to an end that few of his old friends could comprehend -- living a life that was solitary at best, lonely at worst, while no longer writing for publication -- I've been tempted to rely on Renoir's words to explain and excuse what happened. Thus far that strikes me as too easy; but then, I've more than once used Renoir's quote to explain my own actions.)

In the September/October 2006 issue of Film Comment, director Paul Schrader writes an ambitious, lengthy (the longest article the magazine has published in its 42 years), erudite, and sometimes impenetrable piece entitled "The Film Canon" (the introduction to which may currently be found online). Supposedly sans favoritism and "taste, personal and popular," based on "those movies that artistically defined film history," he cites The Rules of the Game as the number one greatest film of all time.

According to Schrader: "For me the artist without whom there could not be a film canon is Jean Renoir, and the film without which a canon is inconceivable is The Rules of the Game."

It is no doubt a great film: funny and poignant and heartbreaking and, ultimately, very moral (thus satisfying Schrader's dictum that "no work that fails to strike moral chords can be canonical"). But even if it were not, if it were only a so-so movie that happened to contain Renoir's memorable quote, which spoke to me last week as if it were Paul Nelson trying to help me understand, there'd be a place in my heart for The Rules of the Game.

From Slate Magazine...

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 22:45:25 GMT

Why I Hate Zach Braff by Josh Levin.

This article puts how I feel about this overrated, no-talent ass clown into words nicely. It brings the funny.

I hope it isn't against the rules to trash something on the blacklist...?

Peliculas!

Tue, 16 May 2006 10:55:37 GMT

I've been part of this community for a while and enjoy reading the posts! I like Ingmar Bergman films, and 3 women. At the risk of sounding annoying, I thought some people might be interested in this little space I created.

We love friends.

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 02:30:46 GMT

“Controversy over the film exists to this day, with many praising the film for its fearlessness and willingness to contemplate the unthinkable, while others condemn it roundly for being little more than a pretentious exploitation movie.”

Do you know what I hate? People who think they are really cool for sitting through movies like Salo and not being affected by it. Someone on IMDB even said they thought SALO was funny? I am sick of people missing the point. It's because of people like that the movie is fucking banned. People with a genuine interest in film are being denied access to an excellent film because of some psychopaths who think it is funny and cool to watch people get raped and tortured. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a lover of controversial film and that I too enjoy the odd tacky horror film with blood and gore. However there is a distinction between a movie such as Salo, and say Hostel. I loved Hostel it was pure gore for the sake of gore, tits for the sake of tits original horror which I also love. Salo however is a completely different film, gore with intent, tits with intent. Everything people find so "shocking" has been used for thematic reason.

I am not complaining about people having an interest in such things, as there is a market out there for it (Guinea Pig, August Underground etc.) I am complaining about the fact that a classic film with a strong message and purpose is being placed in the same category as the fore mentioned films. Salo was not intended to be a "gross out" film, nor was it meant to be lumped in the same category as simulated snuff and exploitative horror. Pasolini was murdered shortly after the making of this film and would probably be so disappointed that his film is being turned into something less than it was intended to be. People miss the political message. Pasolini was an intense Marxist and this movie was made to criticize fascism and to show how absolute power can corrupt.

If you ever see this film, please remember it’s a classic and should be treated as such regardless of how vile and disturbing the content is. As the ultra-vile imagery and dialogue was made to show you the very limits of human depravity.

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 02:28:29 GMT

Hi, My name is Rhiannon (21/Australia) I just joined because Salo was on the list of interests. Right now I am pretty big on controversial and banned film as well as world cinema. I also really love horror and shock. I really like the fact this group has a blacklist because quite frankly, I am sick of hearing about those movies too. I like a few of them but the absolute asslicking that goes on about movies like Garden State and Donnie Darko is ridiculous.

1. Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma
2. Secretary
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. Back to the Future Trilogy
5. Downfall
6. The King
7. American Psycho
8. Last House On The Left
9. Velvet Goldmine
10. La Bete
11. Being John Malkovich
12. Battle Royale
13. Lolita (both versions)
14. Eyes Wide Shut
15. Happiness
16. Fargo
17. Ichi The Killer
18. The Hills Have Eyes
19. Hostel
20. Cabin Fever

Thanks,
Rhiannon.

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:30:51 GMT

I was hoping that the members here could do me a favor and sign this petiton.

It is to get

Finally released as a Region 1 DVD.

Please Click Here to Sign It.

Thank You.

Sun, 08 Jan 2006 21:37:49 GMT

For Fans of Rare, Unavailable, Out of Print, & Unreleased Films.

Exploitation movie shirts and posters coming soon.

We take requests!

eyes without a face

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 00:30:14 GMT

has anyone seen Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face?
Is it any good?
If you like it, mention some other films you like so that I can see if we have similar tastes.

Movies I've Seen In Theaters

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 02:11:49 GMT

1. The 40 Year-Old Virgin - A
2. The Aviator - B
3. Batman: Begins - A-
4. Broken Flowers - A-
5. The Brothers Grimm - B-
6. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory - B+
7. Dear Frankie - B+
8. The Devil's Rejects - D
9. The Dukes Of Hazzard - C
10. Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room - D
11. Four Brothers - C+
12. Frank Miller's Sin City - A
13. Grizzly Man - B
14. In Good Company - B+
15. Kung Fu Hustle - A-
16 March Of The Penguins - B
17. Mr. & Mrs. Smith - B-
18. The Rocky Horror Picture Show - B-
19. Sideways - A-
20. The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants - D-
21. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith - B+
22. War Of The Worlds - C
23. Wedding Crashers - A-

x-posted cuz I'm bored

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 00:35:06 GMT

some how i ended up buying 2 ken park dvd's one from amazon and one from ebay, so if any of you have wanted to see it i can sell or trade you one of my copies which is still sealed. it will play in any PAL/NTSC dvd player or region 2 dvd player

Double Indemnity

Wed, 03 Aug 2005 20:07:53 GMT

I've been interested in buying the Double Indemnity DVD from Image, but I've heard the transfer isn't very good. Does anybody know? Is it still worth getting?

dr. caligari

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 18:53:46 GMT

I just watched this crazy movie that came in the mail yesterday, thought I would share it with you. It's definitly a good one to break the ice...

It's like a combination of Videodrome, Forbidden Zone, Frankenhooker and of course, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. It's about a mad psychiatrist who uses patients for all of these weird sex experiments. You really have to see it! As far as the connection with cabinet of dr. caligari, she is supposed to be his grand daughter, they don't mention that in the movie but i read it in a review. There are two references to the original. In the Opening credits, there are pictures from the original, and another when she's injecting his brain juice in her head, heh...

check on amazon vhs, i'm sure they have some more used copies...

has anyone else seen this?

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:05:59 GMT

hi, I'm new to the group, a few of my favorite movies includes...

*Forbidden Zone
*Twin Peaks: fire walk with me
*Happiness of the Katakuris
*964 Pinocchio
*Videodrome
*Sgt. Kabukiman
*Geek Maggot Bingo
*Pee Wee's Big Adventure
*Opera
*Faust {jan svankmajer}
*Killer Condom
*Battle Royle
*anything bros. quay...

...the list goes on forever

Mon, 06 Jun 2005 17:06:50 GMT

interesting, well-done, and left me depressed once it was over!

the nomi song

Andrew Horn

"Part documentary, part music film, part sci-fi, The Nomi Song is a “non-fiction film”, or maybe even an oral history. It’s not just the tale, it’s the telling. But it is also visual, partly because Klaus himself was so visual, someone who’s main concern was putting forth an image of himself in everything he did - literally illustrated by the photos, films, videos and artworks that go with it and featuring many never before seen live performances. However, there are also the images that the stories conjure up, images that no actual picture could capture, that emerge out of impressions, memories and even exaggerations, fermenting in somebody’s brain for twenty years. It’s like a novel with a whole cast of characters and supporting players - revealing themselves as much as (and sometimes more than) they do Klaus - with subplots, background stories, flashbacks and contradictions."

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 18:08:46 GMT

wow wow wow! this is really a must see for everyone! This is the second Korean film this week that i have fallen in love with. Another recommendation from a friend and this time i had no reservations and it turned out to be great. it is so good to go through such a strange array of emotions, from laughter to disgust to wonder and back.

"Jigureul jikyeora!" aka Save the Green Planet

Jun-hwan Jeong

from Channel 4: "A young man kidnaps a corporate bigwig with the intention of proving he's an alien from Andromeda. Unique horror sci-fi comedy from Korean filmmaker Jun-Hwan Jeong

Energetic, genre-straddling, and dubiously inspired, Save The Green Planet is a remarkable film. However, this story of a genial but troubled killer - who tortures an arrogant businessman so as to prevent an alien invasion - may also confound many.

Byeong-Gu Lee (Shin) is convinced aliens from Andromeda are living among us, holding positions of power which they use to orchestrate the ills of our society. "The alien prince will come from Andromeda at the next eclipse. There's no time to lose - otherwise there will be a terrible disaster," says Byeong-Gu. .

As the eclipse is in a week, he must act fast and so he kidnaps Man-Shik Kang (Baek), the CEO of a chemicals corporation. With the help of his dumpy girlfriend Su-Ni (Hwang), Byeong-Gu takes Kang back to their home in the mountains where he uses torture to soften up his formidable alien defences. His cruel and unusual methods include rubbing skin off various parts of his body before applying household chemicals, high voltage electrocution and worse.

Meanwhile, the cops hurriedly begin an investigation, as Kang is the son-in-law of the chief of police. The team on the case - led by the diminutive yet abrasive Lee (Gi) - don't make much headway. Ex-cop Chu (Jae-Yong Lee) makes some progress, however, assisted by preppy young hotshot Kim (Ju-Hyeon Lee).

Can Byeong-Gu discover the sequence of the Andromedan Kang's "royal genetic DNA code" before it's too late? Or is he just a barking mad psycho?"

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 16:38:57 GMT

I went into this movie with high hopes because of the people that I know that had recommended it but at the last minute I found out that it was a korean film and I generally do not care for their films. So i was unsure what to think.
Within the first few scenes I loved this movie! Old Boy had the few people in the audience laughing, cheering, disgusted, and confused. Great revenge tragedy!

Old Boy

directed by Chan-wook Park

"One day in 1988, an ordinary man named OH Dae-su, who lives with his wife and adorable daughter, is kidnapped and later wakes up to find himself in a private makeshift prison. Dae-su makes numerous attempts to escape and to commit suicide, but they all end up in failure. All the while Dae-su asks himself what made a man hate him so much enough to imprison him without any reason. While suffering from his debacle, Dae-su becomes shocked when he watches the news and hears that his beloved wife was brutally murdered. At this very moment, Dae-su swears to take revenge on the man who destroyed his happy life.

Fifteen years have passed and Dae-su is released with a wallet filled with money and a mobile phone. An unknown man calls Dae-su and asks him to figure out why he was imprisoned."