Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 11th, 2009
Welcome to 1972, when the sexual revolution is simultaneously in full swing, yet also showing signs of exhaustion (all that swinging can wear a body down, don’t you know). Barbi (Anna Biller) is a model housewife who is awakening to the feeling that there is a world outside her four walls. When she and her husband have a falling out, she hooks up with her more extroverted neighbour Sheila (Bridget Brno), who is also in the midst of a marriage crisis, and the two of them seek new love by taking work at an escort agency. What follows is a picaresque series of encounters, with nary a sexploitation angle ignored.
This film is a textbook definition of “labour of love.” Anna Biller no only stars, she directed, scripted, co-produced, edited, and took care of production and costume design. The latter took ages, since she wanted the costumes to match the decor, but the result was worth it – no small part of the film’s humour comes from its rigorous fidelity to the worst of seventies’ sense of aesthetics. Biller has recreated the classic sexploitation film down to the smallest detail. There are just enough winks to the audience to acknowledge the passage of time (and there is one address to the camera, describing the era as a fleeting utopia for the male of the species, that is as incisive as it is hilarious). The performances perfectly nail their models, capturing stilted, unnatural expressions and their forced enthusiasm. But no matter how much fun is poked at those bygone films, Viva also radiates an enormous love for them. As funny as the movie is, though, at 120 minutes, it is simply too long, and the pace is too measured. Lost of fun, all the same.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 9th, 2009
My place of birth was in Jamaica, NY in the summer of 1975. However, my parents decided to move me around a bit and where I grew up was actually a lot more south than that. Many times in my youth I visited New York to see my grandmother and wondered (often aloud) what it would be grow up in New York rather the suburbs of a southern state. My grandparents would tell me stories, my dad would tell me stories as well as people within earshot of my curiosity. Films helped in this respect too and another fine film about that experience ended up in my hands.
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints was released in 2006 and is based on the true story of Dito Montiel.
Dito (played by Robert Downey Jr) is a successful writer and lives in California. His book speaks of his youth, living in the heart of New York. After all of these years, his mother Flori (played by Dianne Wiest) calls Dito up and tells him that his father, Monty (played by Chazz Palminteri) is ill and will not go to the hospital. After calls from friends and family, Dito decides to make the journey to New York. In the film and his mind, he really travels back to 1986 when he was just a teenager struggling to get by.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 9th, 2009
Woody Allen lands a terrific cast with his latest attempt at comedy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but there is something very off about the way these characters are written. Annoying pretentious dialogue renders a whimsical, fairy-tale-like backdrop ineffectual, causing each moment of silence to come all too slowly.Rebecca Hall is Vicky. Scarlett Johansson is Cristina. They are two differently wired friends enjoying an extended vacation in Barcelona, where they meet up with ruggedly handsome artist Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem), whom both girls can’t seem to resist. Juan Antonio asks both girls to join him in bed the first time he meets them. Vicky is offended, while Cristina finds his approach radically interesting – enough so to decide she’ll take him up on the offer. Unfortunately for Cristina, food poisoning cuts her plans short, and in steps the combative Vicky to fill the empty slot.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2009
Christopher Titus lands in stores just in time for Valentine’s Day with his most recent concert tour Love Is Evol. “Tonight could fix your relationship, or end it,” he says at the opening of the performance. “Either way, you’re welcome.”After discussing the recent developments of his life with tongue planted firmly in cheek, he backs this opening promise up with nearly an hour and a half of comedy that is equal parts storytelling, punchline, and attitude.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 3rd, 2009
In America, he is wanted. In France, he is desired. Worldwide, his films are praised for their ethereal, disturbing, and sometimes humorous qualities. But his life overshadows his accomplishments. He survived a concentration camp. His parents did not. He found Hollywood success with films such as Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant, Repulsion, and The Fearless Vampire Killers. His marriage to wife Sharon Tate ended in a brutal homicide that took both her life and the life of their unborn child.The case would later introduce the world to Charles Manson, a crazy-eyed charismatic with a thirst for blood, and his murderous followers. It would also create a disdain in Polanski for the media, one that grew in the wake of an underage sex scandal several years later.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2009
It’s 1980. The Reagan Years are upon you. The country is hopeful it will soon come out of the toilet bowl it was in for the last four years, and while things may seem bleak, you’re one of the lucky ones that still have a job, a girl, and a reason to live. As April becomes May and the days grow considerably hotter a little at a time, what better way to take a break from it all than driving you and your sweetie down to the local movie house for opening night of a new horror film you really haven’t heard all that much about entitled Friday the 13th?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2009
Humboldt County, the new independent comedy-drama from writers/directors Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs, sneaks on to shelves this month with a quietude as serene as its iZLER-composed musical score. Despite apt writing and direction, this slice-of-life piece simply fails to assert itself and leaves viewers with an indifference to the material.That’s not to say Humboldt County lacks competence. There isn’t a bad performance in the film. Two performances, in fact, are absolute dynamite. The always dependable Brad Dourif does what he does best, playing the crazy eccentric type, but this time he has a very human twist that endears him to the audience like never before. And Madison Davenport, a stunningly talented child actress, marks her debut with a strong performance that captures every scene she’s in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2009
Imagine waking up in the morning and opening your eyes only to be greeted by more darkness. You feel your way out of bed. Scoot your feet slowly across the floor to make sure you’re not bumping in to anything. You make it to the kitchen and feel around for cabinets. Based on the shape of the objects you find inside them, the sounds those objects make (if any), the texture of their contents, you manage to make breakfast. The rest of the day consists of listening to the TV or radio and more feeling and sensing your way through life. Now imagine having such an affliction while living in abject poverty and being looked upon by the dominant culture as demon-possessed and deserving of your state.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 14th, 2009
Male bonding deep in the heart of the Oregon wilderness is the order of the day in Without a Paddle: Nature’s Calling, a direct-to-video sequel to the Seth Green-Dax Shepard-Matthew Lillard comedy of 2004. Unfortunately, it’s more of a training ground for actors and crew than an actual film. Before I move in to the heart of this catastrophe, I should first forbid myself from attacking the practice of dressing up a cheap, low-budget remake and calling it a sequel. It’s too easy of a criticism, so nothing will be said of it, except to point out the fact that’s exactly what this is.
A flawed movie from the opening frame, WAP: NC has the production qualities of a bad Nickelodeon TV show with acting and script to match. It borrows heavily from the first film with two young friends growing up and growing apart, only to rejuvenate their friendship with a wild outdoor adventure that is partly gross, partly outlandish, and 100 percent ridiculous. What separates the two is the original had three solid performers and a talented supporting cast to convince viewers it was a better film than it actually was. Its “sequel” has none of this, and thus, fails miserably.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 18th, 2008
Comedy movies can often bring together two or more separate groups of people. This can be groups among the races, culture, and even nations that have been feuding for years. It brings these groups a chance to laugh together, a chance to perhaps look over stereotypes and realize that people aren’t so different at all. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan while not meant to be taken seriously does bring together Israelis and Arabs into one picture. A picture where they can have a good time and hopefully everybody regardless of their race or creed can laugh right along with them.
Zohan Dvir (played by Adam Sandler) is loved in his nation of Israel. He is on vacation in Tel Aviv and is the attraction of every man and woman whether he is showing his Hacky Sack poweress or his bulging biceps. However, Zohan has a very important job, he is the top Mossad agent. His vacation is cut short when Israeli helicopters arrive and whisk away Zohan back to the base.
