 |
| |
"Over these years of war and occupation, [John] Cusack has become one of the most insightful commentators on a far too seldom discussed aspect of the occupation: the corporate dominance of the US war machine," writes Jeremy Scahill for the Nation. Still, critical reaction to War, Inc. has been, shall we say, mixed. And yet, perhaps as a sign of the times, its dark satire has been a hit where it counts most - with audiences. In a new interview now up on GreenCine, Sean Axmaker talks with Cusack about, among other things, his two very different treatments of the ongoing war in Iraq, War, Inc. and Grace Is Gone... Read article >> |
|
|
In This Dispatch:
- John Cusack!
- What's New: Protagonist, Signal, and oh! so much more.
- What We're Watching: Heavy Metal, The Grand and Funny Games.
|
|
|
"The four men who relate their life stories in Protagonist, Jessica Yu's enthralling documentary exploration of people with obsessive needs for control and self-mastery, are all disillusioned (and extremely articulate) true believers," writes Stephen Holden in the New York Times. "In all four men, the loss of certainty has far-reaching consequences." Adds GreenCine's Craig Phillips: " Protagonist reminds me a bit of Errol Morris's Fast, Cheap, Out of Control, as it's an ambitious film with a quartet of subjects that don't always fully connect with each other but fascinate anyway." Read our interview with filmmaker Yu, too.
|
|
|
|
"If you’re tired of zombie films or rabid people films, The Signal is like a cool drink of water on a hot day," mused FilmThreat's Jeremy Knox. "It’s got all the goodness from the best of those genres while creating its own niche at the same time." Adds Scott Weinberg: "[It's] a character-based (and very well-acted) science fiction horror flick that's got a solid sense of humor, an admirable air of dread and a 50-ton vat of ultra-gooey gore: Cool. Admirable enough for simply being a true treat of a genre flick, The Signal is also noteworthy for how it was made. Although it's not an anthology film, [it] is the work of three different directors." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Why a heavy metal band in Baghdad? "Just look outside," says Faisal, the rhythm guitarist in Acrassicauda (the latin term for "black scorpion") as he points to bombed out streets where nobody's saying "mission accomplished" these days. Heavy Metal in Baghdad [ Official Site] tells us that there is only one metal band in Baghdad - or, at least, there was, before the band moved to Damascus... This film, which has been all up and down the festival circuit, deserves a broader audience for its walk into the lives of four would-be heavy metal musicians in country where you would think that nothing coming from their amplifiers could be as threatening as what they encounter when they walk out the door. Let's hope that it gets that audience on television, which seems to be its next stop.... Read more >> |
|
|
| |
The Grand, about a Las Vegas poker championship, starts promisingly by introducing us to its impressive and diverse cast, including Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines ( Curb Your Enthusiasm), David Cross ( Mr Show), Dennis Farina, Richard Kind, Chris Parnell and filmmaker Werner Herzog as the main card players; and Michael McKean (lending some Spinal Tap cred), Shannon Elizabeth, Mike Epps, Judy Greer, Hank Azaria, Gabe Kaplan, Ray Romano and many others appearing on the sidelines. Each character gets an instant personality, and each is ridiculous and endearing...The mockumentary style works well, both ridiculing and copying the television spectacle that poker has become. But when the big card game begins, and -- inevitably -- our seven big stars make it to the final round, the comedy stops and the competition begins... read review >>
|
|
|
|
Michael Haneke's excruciating new Funny Games is a near shot-for-shot remake of his 1997 Austrian film. As with that one, the point of this new English-language film is elusive. Naomi Watts and Tim Roth star as a well-to-do couple that travels with their 12 year-old son (Devon Gearhart) to their summer lake house. Two seemingly polite fellows ( Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet) wearing white gloves, shorts and polo shirts appear on their doorstep, first asking to borrow eggs and to try out some fancy golf clubs. But soon these visitors begin to torment the family, holding them hostage and threatening them... [It] goes without saying that Haneke is an exceptionally skilled filmmaker -- see the suspenseful Caché (2005) -- and his direction here is breathtaking. If you loved Hostel and are in the market for an exceedingly, diabolically well made torture film, you can't do much better than this... read review >>
|
|
| |
Films About Film
|
|
