I have a simple rule of thumb when it comes to discussing and analyzing movies about cancer. Does the film work, is it compelling, if you replace cancer with something else? If the characters still hold your interest, and the situations they find themselves in move us more deeply into the story without the big […]
Fantastic Fest 2011 is under way, and contributor George Hickman is filing his reports each day as the festival and its movie events continue. Here are a couple condensed-reviews of new films at Fantastic Fest this year. We Need to Talk About Kevin (solid rock fist up) “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is the […]
Fantastic Fest 2011 is under way, and contributor George Hickman is filing his reports each day as the festival and its movie events continue. Here are a couple condensed-reviews of new films at Fantastic Fest this year. Headhunters (rock fist way up) The Norwegian crime comedy “Headhunters,” based on a bestselling novel, tells the story […]
The Human Centipede 2 Full Sequence movie review from Fantastic Fest 2011
Fantastic Fest 2011: Reviews of LET THE BULLETS FLY and BOYS ON THE RUN
Eric Melin from KTKA and KSNT reviews Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Coming of age stories often come in two forms. Some explore the expansion and depth of a life just begun. Films like “My Life as a Dog” follow young adolescents as they blossom into a proto-sexual adulthood. The other type of coming of age story deals with the fleeting nature of life. In films like […]
Our bi-weekly movie-reference-happy comic strip here on Scene-Stealers is back. Each week his characters recreate a famous scene from a familiar film. Can you guess which one it is this week? Here’s strip number 15 of the original comic The Chicken and the Egg. The artist is Ben Townsend and he lives in the Southampton, […]
“Drive” is probably gonna piss off a lot of casual movie-goers.
With most films about sickness or contamination, the virus is employed as a socio-political metaphor either for other more emotionally charged illnesses such as HIV or for the fear and distrust surrounding cultural, ethnic or racial lines. In his new film “Contagion,” director Steven Soderbergh understands that a global epidemic is scary enough on its […]
The word “bunraku” refers to form of Japanese puppet theater where the puppeteers, usually dressed in black, are visible on stage. “Bunraku” the film combines elements of classic samurai and cowboy films and sets it in a gunless future that feels more like an alternate past. The aesthetic feels both unique and familiar. While it […]
This review originally appeared on KTKA and KSNT, Kansas First News. Here is a look at two movies new out on DVD and Blu-ray. Is it possible that two movies with similar titles could be any farther apart thematically than these two? “Priest,” starring Paul Bettany as a vampire hunter in an apocalyptic CGI-ed future, is […]
As a mediocre to dismal summer for films marked by remakes, reboots, and revisits comes to a close, “The Debt,” a movie chock full of the familiar – international espionage, maniacal Nazis, and beautiful counteragents – arrives in theaters. Can three Israeli operatives stationed in East Germany to hunt a notorious war criminal save the […]
“The Devil’s Double” takes a healthy production budget and a compelling true story complete with a character in impossible psyche-ravaging situations, and manages to turn a sure win into a dud. Based on the life of Latif Yahia, the double for Saddam Hussein’s psychopathic son Uday, “The Devil’s Double” should have been a fascinating character […]
Sometimes less truly is more, even when it flies under the radar. Such is the case with today’s excellent Overlooked Movie — one that is crying out for a deluxe Blu-ray reissue and a critical re-evaluation. Bill Murray has virtually cornered the market on understated acting, while writer/director Jim Jarmusch (“Dead Man,” “Down by Law”) […]