EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — Alejandro Brugués Director of the Upcoming Zombie Comedy ‘Juan of the Dead’

[Posted by: Eric Raymer]

One of the things that continually amazes me about zombie films is that whenever it seems they’ve been completely played out, an innovative director comes along and puts a new spin on the genre. Still, there’s lots of schlock out there, and most of the time I approach a new zombie film much like I would an actual zombie: cautiously. When news about a forthcoming Cuban zombie film called Juan de los Muertos (Juan of the Dead) broke in May, my skepticism-meter was reading pretty high. Fortunately, any doubts I had were erased when I saw the awesome teaser trailers for the film. I recently spoke with director Alejandro Brugués (who was kind enough to take a break from preparing to shoot the film to exchange some emails), and it’s clear that he’s a huge zombie fan who is really happy to be making this film. Keep reading for some exclusive information about the film as well as the teaser trailers.

Review — The Town

[Reviewed by: Danny Moltrasi]

“We gotta do somethin'. I can't tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it after we're done, and we're gonna hurt some people.”

Bank heist film, The Town, written, starring and directed byBen Affleck, is a very confidently made movie, with someone who is clearly better director than actor at its helm. Despite an overall well-paced film, and confidence enough to take the foot off the pedal at times to just tell the story, the action sequences do drag the film down. Watching cars fly about and bullets skim police officers just doesn’t cut it when compared to the rest of The Town, which in general, is a good film.

Review — I’m Still Here

[Reviewed by: Danny Moltrasi]

“What’s so funny?”

Casey Affleck’s documentary on Joaquin Phoenix’s plan to leave the acting world, and rather enter the rap game, has been in and out of the news ever since it was announced. No one however was completely certain about the legitimacy of these event, with many claiming it was a hoax. Affleck and Phoenix insisted it was the real deal, up until a couple of weeks after its premier when they finally announced it was in fact, all planned. I had the opportunity to watch I’m Still Here with this knowledge, and it still provides a fascinating insight into people’s characters, treatment of others and a whole lot of guts from Phoenix. For the sake of this review, I am going to accept that this has been a hoax, as I still understand there are many suggesting that Casey Affleck has used that idea as a get out clause.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — Dan Hannon Writer/Director of ‘The Pond’

 

[Posted by: Alex Miller]

The Pond is an incredible new short film starring Alicia Witt (88 Minutes, Friday Night Lights) that is currently gaining steam on the film festival circuit. After watching the trailer I knew I had to email director Dan Hannon and see if he would answer a few questions for us. He just won the 2010 Directorial Discovery Grand Prize Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.  Luckily he not only agreed to the interview but afterwards was kind enough to send me a copy of the film! It blew me away. Honestly, everything in it is just fantastic and I sat through the credits wishing it would keep going. After the jump we’ve got the full exclusive interview, pictures from the film, as well as the trailer!

Review — Catfish

[Reviewed by: Eric Raymer]

Don’t listen to the marketing campaign – Catfish isn’t the movie they want you to think it is. The posters ominously warn you to not “let anyone tell you what it is,” and seem to suggest some sort of thriller or horror flick. It’s unfortunate that they resort to making you play guessing games in order to see this film. With a story that’s driven primarily by events occurring on the internet, and a plot that constantly has you questioning the truth from those in front of and behind the camera, Catfish captures life in 2010 in a way that few other movies do. I’ll try to avoid giving away any of the specifics in this review, but it’s impossible to discuss this film without changing the way you’ll perceive it. If you want to go in with no preconceptions at all, stop reading now. Otherwise, read on.

Review — Ultraviolet (2006)

[Reviewed by: Martin Keller]

When reviewing a film it’s easy to get caught up in broad generalizations, to be caught up in your deep love or utter disdain for it. The art of film reviewing is a happy marriage between being subjective and objective. You are charged with the duty of endorsing or condemning this piece of art, and being fair isn’t usually a first response. Rather, we respond from our gut or our heart: shooting from the hip and asking questions later. However, the responsible reviewer will offer a fair opinion: an opinion based on examples from the film, specific analysis of scenes or actors or cinematography or directing or any of the many facets of the film. The responsible reviewer is trying to edify the film, to offer insight or constructive criticism, to be “fair and balanced.” I say all this because, in my review of Ultraviolet, I find being responsible nearly impossible.

Trailer of the Day — Priest

Trailer Review:
[Reviewed by: Alex Miller]

If after watching the brand new trailer for Priest you think to yourself “That reminds me of Legion, that crappy movie about fighting angels.” there is a reason for that. It has the same Director, Scott Stewart, but this time instead of Angels Vs. Angels it’s Priests Vs. Vampire Satanists. If they had titled it “Priest With A Shotgun” I might have been more interested. Vampire movies have lost all their street cred at this point and one more is probably the last thing we need right now. It’s in 3D too, but at least this is the type of silly action movie that might benefit from it. What I liked about the trailer is also what bugged me the most. It steals from good movies. At the beginning I could have sworn I was watching a Blade Runner remake trailer with the way the dystopian city looked and the futuristic outdoor elevator. Later it felt like those crappy Star Wars prequels with the sci-fi bike in a desert and of course the Jedi hood. Then it mixed with The Matrix to do a slow motion bullet-time fight scene on top of a moving vehicle. Plus anytime an action movie starts talking about getting expelled from “THE Order” or “THE Council” (like there’s of course only one of those and we’re all supposed to know what it is) you know you’re in for a cliché tsunami. The movie is loosely based on a Korean graphic novel. When I say loosely I mean like Lindsey Lohan looks tight compared to this. Basically they’ve changed everything. So yeah, maybe we’ll get some cool effects and a mindless but entertaining 2hrs but I wouldn’t put any money on it. At least it’s not Twilight.

Review — Audition (1999)

[Reviewed by: Danny Moltrasi]

Audition, released in 1999, was met with a fairly mixed reception, as people were equally enthralled and disgusted. However, as the previous decade progressed, director’s Takashi Miike film has gained a stronger and stronger following. It initially became renowned for its extremely violent ending, however to purely say the film is just about that ending would not do the rest of the film any justice. It is a film that uses its extreme ending in order to contrast the fairly melancholy pace before, rather than just for pure shock nature that is oh-so-common in much of Hollywood.