Reviews

Saw this at a festival last year, looking forward to its DVD release in '07. It's all about the struggle, really, and if you're an in-the-trenches, do it yourself indie filmmaker you'll absolutely appreciate it. But it's worth checking out even if you are NOT making films. The struggle to push through the odds and reach a goal is one every viewer can relate to, and the group of artists focused on is always entertaining to watch.

The director focuses on several people in various stages of production in their low or lower-budgeted horror films, and speaks to some key industry folk(Tony Timpone from Fangoria, Sid Haig, Joe Bob Briggs, HG Lewis and others) for perspective. What's cool about this documentary is it has its own distinct personality, it tells its story clearly but with its own visual flourish that most docs don't even attempt. It's got a central vision and a warm heart that shines through it, it never goes off on tangents. I was into it from the great opening sequence where a young boy puts on his monster makeup and joins his friends in making their first creature epic in the backyard, with their little film cameras.

American Movie fans will get to check out what Mark Borchardt has been up to since "Coven", and you'll see up and coming directors like Dave Gebroe sweat through a grueling day of shooting on "Zombie Honeymoon"(which turned out great). Very inspiring and worth checking out, looking forward to part II.

Steve Zissou: A legendary oceanographer past his prime with a shot at redemption. The (possible) son of his he never knew he had appears. A mission of revenge against the shark who killed Steve's best friend. Trouble between Steve and a popular rival, as well as a love triangle. An attack by 'pirates' and hostages taken. A chance to rescue said hostages, prove his quality, and save his marriage and career all at once.

THIS is a Wes Anderson film? Proudly, yes.

THIS fits into the idiosyncratic world and style he's created in his previous three films? Perfectly.

Director Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) manages to do his work one better by combining a more 'traditional'/mainstream plot line with the unique characterizations, original, out-there dialogue, unique comic timing, and stylized use of color and music(David Bowie tunes in Portuguese! Yes!) that he's known for. Anderson knocks another one out of the park. If you're a fan and settle easily into the worlds he shows us, it's another fine, if slightly distant at first, chapter in his career book. What about if you're not into his films or haven't been exposed to his method? Not sure what to say…give it a shot like the rest of us did a few films ago and enjoy the ride.

Continuing his repertoire of melancholic, well-meaning visionaries who affect all around them, Anderson (and first-time collaborator, writer/director Noah Baumbach) tells the tale of Steve Zissou, a Cousteau-esque explorer whose endless deadpan docudramas (used to) enthrall the public and wealthy benefactors.

Steve's new film, The Life Aquatic part one, ends with the death of his best friend Esteban(eaten!). After its mixed reception he is determined to take his aging boat to sea again with his ragtag crew (and a handful of unpaid college interns) to chronicle part two: where he will encounter and destroy the 'jaguar shark' who killed his friend. Ned Plympton (Owen Wilson) arrives at the post-show benefit to meet Zissou, and mentions the possibility of being his son.

Despite the mutual uncertainty they bond, with Ned becoming a part of Team Zissou; much to the chagrin of Klaus(Willem Dafoe), the whiny yet big-hearted third-in-command.

Dragging along a pregnant, snippy yet admiring reporter(Cate Blanchett), the perpetually stoned Zissou's mission becomes more about soul-searching instead of simple revenge...after raiding his rival's radar station for supplies and non-malfunctioning equipment(Steve's ship, the Belafonte, is art-directed right out of an alternate-universe 1970's), the boat is attacked by scavengers, and Steve and crew must step up and do the right thing.

Bill Murray, as Zissou, wins in another understated, subtly downbeat performance. The entire cast is enjoyable and game for the strangeness, even if the style and offbeat humor may distance some viewers from having any immediate identification with the characters.

A proud-to-be-weird Moby Dick as only Wes Anderson does them, THE LIFE AQUATIC takes some time for one to settle in but does just that as the story gets increasingly strange-plot discussions are useless since they don't effectively convey HOW it's staged here. Some years ago, indie filmmaker Hal Hartley directed a film titled AMATEUR which reflected, supposedly, how he felt directing an action/thriller plot. Known for his deadpan comedies, Hartley didn't alter his approach one bit despite a plot line you'd expect an action/suspense director to tackle. Anderson goes for a similar take here.

When events take a turn for the James Bond-ish in The Life Aquatic, it will be jarring for those who go in expecting the standard storytelling you would usually get from this plot. Can a Glock really hold 40+ bullets? Can someone have an deep yet casual conversation with three slugs in the heart? It's obvious that Anderson doesn't even care, and that's what's REALLY funny. He cares about his characters and wants to get them through their journey. (wait for the hilarious scene where Steve gets his rage on and turns the tables on his captors..priceless)

Anderson also nicely leaves out the standard heart-tugging or adrenaline-laced scores when tragedy strikes or the pace quickens. Kudos to the decision to use retro special effects and deliberately fake seascapes, somehow it helps you buy this world. Most of the colorful sea critters they enounter are stop-motion throwbacks lovingly rendered by Henry Selick(Nightmare before Christmas).

If you're an Anderson junkie you know exactly what you're getting yourself into. Others? Take a chance. Explore the deep with Team Zissou.

If you want Scream or anything like the big-studio horror product that we get forced on us these days don't bother. This well-written film kept me up thinking about all it had to say. Importance of myth in our lives to make it make sense, how children interpret the world (and the violence in it), our ransacking of the environment and ignorance of its history and legends.. all here, but not flatly on the surface. You could technically call it a "monster movie" even though the Wendigo does not take physical form until the end, and then it's even up to you and your beliefs as to what's happening with the legendary spirit/beast. Some standard thriller elements for those looking just for the basics and the film never bores, though in fact the less you see of the creature, the better. Fessenden successfully continues George Romero's tradition of using the genre as parable and as a discussion forum while still keeping us creeped out.

I saw a screener of the first cut of this film 2-3 years back. The performances are a blast, my former roomie and I have been quoting pieces of this film since then! I heard it was going to be reedited drastically, which I hope was only a rumor. The story? We follow six wannabe criminals on their respective missions, which they naturally tend not to succeed at..considering the fact that they allow themselves to be filmed should show you how masterminding and secretive they are.

Hopefully this will surface as Frank John Hughes and the other actors' stars rise..each criminal is a hoot, utterly inept in their abilities to succeed at..well, anything. And look for Jason Voorhees himself, Kane Hodder as a biker thief in the chase scenes. Anyway let's hope it gets seen, and that the music selections I heard in this edit remain.

"What are you talking about? This is a lap job computer!"

Saw this in a theater screening in New York..if you can see this in a theater (you may have that chance, as Anchor Bay is putting it out in theatrical markets this fall!), do so. It's a good one to view in a crowded theater, where many will be freaking out.

Essentially it is a slasher film, with a few exceptions. None of the characters are intensely irritating or stupid(kudos to one who finds a weapon when the killer drops it and KEEPS it), nobody stops to have sex during the terror, no silly stoner characters for "comic relief"..indeed there aren't any laughs in this film and there is no need. It's a HORROR film, and Stevan Mena knows it. The film has no objective other than to make audiences nervous and jump out of their seats. Which I did many, many times. Damn! It's done in the style of horror from 1973-83, and works just fine for modern audiences. A nice twist at the end and doesn't rely on gore to keep you scared.

Does it deliver? Yes. Is it what the fans would expect? Possibly not, and yet they will walk away satisfied as well. It's safe to say we haven't seen a film like this before. And we probably won't again. At least not in theaters!

Don Coscarelli(the PHANTASM series, BEASTMASTER) takes a story whose logline sounds straight from the supermarket tabloids and manages to please the fanbase that would automatically embrace this film, and yet open it to a wider audience who might enjoy it for one incredibly offbeat and touching character study. It's not Grumpy Old Men. It's not Evil Dead 2. Even the story's author concedes it can't be easily described.

BH-T, a genre-blender based on the Joe R. Lansdale story of the same name, concerns two forgotten relics and their clash in an East Texas rest home. One is the reanimated remains of an Egyptian royal, lost during a transfer to a museum and freed of a curse to roam and devour human souls. The other forgotten relic is married to a bed or a walker, depending on time of day, has a cancerous growth in areas men don't want to think about and answers to Sebastian Haff or Elvis Presley depending on who believes him.

This aged Elvis can no longer leave the building, (had to say it), having switched with an impersonator many, many years ago and later having broken his hip during a stage accident. Pushing 70, he now watches the last of his life pass him by and painfully ruminates on his lost family and fame. The only resident who'll listen to the former King happens to be another national icon- John F. Kennedy, so he says(Ossie Davis). Who just happens to now be black (the CIA dyed him this color-`That's how clever they are') and have had his brain replaced with a bag of sand.

Mr. Presley finds a purpose again when more of the sadly neglected residents of the rest home pass on than usual- due to the soul-sucking mummy who finds a steady supply of easy prey. Teaming up with the former president, Elvis resolves to make the twilight of his life go right and take care of business, King-style.

Every bit as strange as it sounds and yet possessing a dignity and respect that many wouldn't know to impart on the material, Coscarelli manages to scare you, make you laugh out loud many many times(this is one of the year's funniest films) and yet be about something more- many things to say here about burdens of the past, dying alone and our casual discarding of the elderly once they become an inconvenience. Yet it's never saddled with `message' as it effortlessly hopscotches between genres, sometimes within the same scene. This is a film that would be firmly on the list of `sounds great, it'll never get made'. and yet it has. For that reason it deserves to be seen.

Bruce Campbell could play this for complete camp value and still walk away with admirers, but the fact is, he IS Elvis in this. What might have seemed intended as gimmick just shows Coscarelli's casting savvy. Bruce gets his best dramatic role, ever. Ossie Davis lends some added grace to a role that's even more out-there than Campbell's.

While at first the confrontation the film builds to seemed a bit abrupt or rushed, now looking back I see it needed the understated, moving climax it has. Perhaps I'm too used to endless genre formula that it takes a film like Bubba Ho-Tep to shake my perceptions loose and hope that more offbeat films like this will find financing.

Directors Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou outdo themselves with their tale which is about much more than the sum of its parts. Excellent performances from professionals and non-professionals highlight this story of one young immigrant's struggle to survive in a country that doesn't care what state he is in, they just want their deliveries on time. Please seek this out and see what can be done with no money and a lot of talent. This story could be done 'Hollywood' style, with its crucial deadlines and world pressing in on Ming Ding(the lead), but it doesn't need to rely on overmanipulative scores, frenetic editing or artificial suspense..the way it's laid out will keep you on edge as it is.

This film is more about how children make sense of the world around them, and how they (and we) use myth to make sense of it all. I think it's been misperceived, everyone going in expecting a stalkfest won't enjoy it but if you want a deeper story, it's here.......

why don't they make them like this anymore? Great, creepy, compelling horror film, old-school with a twist you won't forget(which was original back then.) Can't wait for the special edition DVD. I wish more of the people involved were working more often. Apparently this isn't a preferred cut from the director, which makes me wonder how they could top this one..

Director Dante Tomaselli tops himself for atmosphere, mystery,and simply putting an audience into an unsafe space where nothing and nobody can be trusted. This is what horror films USED to do, before the PC police infected the planet... Several standout performances, including Lizzy Mahon as Grace (who you actually care about, rare in a horror flick), and returning players Vincent Lamberti, Christie Sanford, and Danny Lopes as Luck, irony noted. Incredibly creepy and quite suspensful at times, HORROR is a confident nightmarish near-sequel to Tomaselli's first film with the best cinematography I've seen in a film of its budget. And I'm never going near a goat for the rest of my life.

My favorite aspect of this film? With a title like that and it's actually released in theaters, no hip hop soundtrack shoehorned in that has no relation to the film, no concern that the mainstream audiences will be offended. It's not for them! People of today's world have been numbed to do their best not to FEEL anything. "You're disturbed by this scene? Protest! Whine! Make the MPAA cut it out!" So it's nice to have a ripsnorting freakshow of a film that makes you cringe here and there... where was I? Oh yes. See the film! The old days are back, if only temporarily.

If you're thinking this is a rehash of Clerks or any slacker comedy, think again; while some parts are funny this is the movie that takes place AFTER the slackers have had their fun and start revealing their true selves; in essence it feels like if Cassavettes was in his 20s, making films with Gen X casts. It's more of a look at the young suburban male psyche and while all the people in the film hold your interest, there's few that I'd want to spend time with; it's dead on in its depiction of certain personalities without ever going the by-the numbers route. Great perfs and a touch of pleasant-times-faded-away.. Definitely different, not the generic three-act 'main character overcomes it all" film. Closer to a documentary at times while never looking cheap or home-made. Check out the DVD, as there's more supplemental material than I've seen on any independent DVDs. Good stuff.