Not a whole lot of films come out this month that I’m interested in checking out. In fact, one whole week goes by with nothing that even registers on my radar at all.
Jan. 4
“Catfish”
In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.
*There are a lot of films out there that are mostly one-trick ponies, like “Sixth Sense,” “Usual Suspects,” et cetera. And everything about this one hollers “twist ending,” from reviews to various synopses that I’ve read, especially when I’m not expecting it, like when this film gets mention in write-ups on that Joaquin Phoenix abomination “I’m Still Here,” or “I’m Not Here,” or whatever it’s called. When your movie is mentioned in the same breaths as a “mockumentary” or whatever, how can you expect anyone to take it seriously? On the fence with this one…
“Last Exorcism”
When he arrives on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer, the Reverend Cotton Marcus expects to perform just another routine "exorcism" on a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his teenage daughter Nell is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy. Buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers from their money, Cotton and his crew plan to film a confessionary documentary of this, his last exorcism. But upon his arrival at the already blood-drenched family farm, it is soon clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus' own beliefs are shaken to the core as he and his crew must find a way to save Nell - and themselves - before it is too late.
*Produced by Eli Roth, he of the pseudo-snuffs “Hostel 1 & 2,” this has great press behind it, but if the Roth lineage isn’t enough to make me skeptical, it’s that this is yet the latest in a batch of “found footage” films, like “Cloverfield,” “Paranormal Activity,” “Paranormal Activity 2,” the “REC” films (which are quite unparalleled, actually), so my “shaky cam” fix is pretty well met. Another film that might be a considerable purchase down the road, maybe even as far as the $5 bin at Wal-Mart.
“Machete”
From director Robert Rodriguez (Grindhouse, Sin City) comes an action- packed, cutting-edge serving of carnage asada...with killer deleted scenes that deliver more guns, more girls and more Machete action! Set up, double-crossed and left for dead, Machete (Danny Trejo) is an ass-kicking ex-Federale who lays waste to anything that gets in his path. As he takes on hitmen, vigilantes and a ruthless drug cartel, bullets fly, blades clash and the body count rises. Any way you slice it, vengeance has a new name--Machete.
*Oh, yeah. Definitely getting this one. “Carnage asada?” Did I actually read that? I can only shake my head … but yeah, a feature length focus that basically focuses on Trejo’s character (more or less) from “Desperado?” Sign me up, dude! I understand that there’s not one PC bone in the body of this flick, and that’s perfectly fine.
Jan. 11
- nothing -
I guess, if one’s so inclined, “The Social Network” might be worth looking at. And maybe this feature length edit of the Green Hornet serials would catch a person’s eye that’s interested in the movie coming out this month. Otherwise, today’s release batch is full of television series seasons and volumes.
Jan. 18
“Roger Corman’s Sci-Fi Classics”
(Attack of the Crab Monsters/ War of the Satellites/ Not of This Earth)
In ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, a group of scientists become marooned on an island while investigating the disappearance of researchers who were looking into atomic activity in the Pacific. They quickly fall prey to giant, mutant crustaceans that have the ability to absorb the minds of their prey. Starring Russell Johnson (Gilligan’s Island), Richard Garland and Mel Welles (Little Shop Of Horrors). ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS is a Roger Corman Production. Produced and directed by Roger Corman; screenplay by Charles B. Griffith. (Allied Artists Picture)
An alien (Paul Birch) comes to Earth, masquerading as a human, to scout our planet for a new blood source in NOT OF THIS EARTH (1957). He needs the blood of humans to take back to his planet of Davana for his dying race. Starring Paul Birch, Beverly Garland (It Conquered The World), Morgan Jones (McMillan & Wife) and Jonathan Haze (Little Shop Of Horrors). NOT OF THIS EARTH (1957) is a Roger Corman Production. Produced and directed by Roger Corman; screenplay by Charles B. Griffith. (Allied Artists Picture)
In WAR OF THE SATELLITES, an “unknown force” declares war against planet Earth when the United Nations disobeys warnings to cease and desist in its attempts at assembling the first satellite in the atmosphere. Starring Dick Miller (Bucket Of Blood), Richard Devon (Blood Of Dracula), Susan Cabot (The Wasp Woman) and a cameo by Roger Corman. WAR OF THE SATELLITES is a Roger Corman Production. Produced and directed by Roger Corman; screenplay by Lawrence Louis Goldman; co-producers, Jack Rabin and Irving Block. (Allied Artists Release)
*I’m all about getting this one for the film “Attack of the Crab Monsters.” The Corman science fiction films are known not for their spectacular special effects, but for the ambition behind said effects. In later years, a lot more could and would be done with a lot less, but something about Corman’s canon proves, like the Troma films since Corman, that anyone could make a movie of their own, whether it be great, good, poor, or some combination thereof.
“Shock Corridor”
In Shock Corridor, the great American writer-director-producer Samuel Fuller (The Naked Kiss, The Big Red One) masterfully charts the uneasy terrain between sanity and dementia. Seeking a Pulitzer Prize, reporter Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck) has himself committed to a mental hospital to investigate a murder. As he closes in on the killer, madness closes in on him. Constance Towers (The Naked Kiss) costars as Johnny's coolheaded stripper girlfriend. With its startling commentary on race in sixties America and daring photography by Stanley Cortez (The Night of the Hunter), Shock Corridor is now recognized for its far-reaching influence.
*I’m not a geek for my profession, but I love the feel of older films that focus on mental health. I’ve caught only bits and pieces of this one on Turner Classic Movies, so it’s time to see the full thing. There’s a lot about the making of this film I’d love to learn more about, particularly the prevalence of electroconvulsive therapy and the public fears of it.
Jan. 25
“Red”
Frank (Willis) is a former black-ops CIA agent living a quiet life alone...until the day a hit squad shows up to kill him. With his identity compromised, Frank reassembles his old team - Joe (Freeman), Marvin (Malkovich) and Victoria (Mirren) - and sets out to prove that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Stand back and watch the bullets fly in this explosive action-comedy that critics call "a rip-roaring good time."
*Golly gee, a “rip-roaring good time!” I was more optimistic about this movie before I started hearing more about how far the story would deviate from Warren Ellis’ original graphic mini-series. That’s the story to chase down; this is another “wait until the Wal-Mart bin” release, since there’s nothing in this film that seems to make it any better than “Operation: Endgame.”
“Santa Sangre”
In the 1970s, his legendary films El Topo and The Holy Mountain redefined movies as both art and entertainment while changing the face of cinema forever. And in 1989, visionary writer/director Alejandro Jodorowsky returned with his modern masterpiece: It is the story of a young circus performer, the crime of passion that shatters his soul, and the macabre journey back to the world of his armless mother, deaf-mute lover, and murder. It is an odyssey of ecstasy and anguish, belief and blasphemy, beauty and madness. It is unlike any movie you have ever seen before; or ever will. Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra and Guy Stockwell star in this epic of surreal genius, now fully restored and featuring more than five hours of exclusive Extras that reveal the mind behind one of the most provocative and unforgettable motion picture experiences of our time.
*This movie ended up in the Fangoria book, “101 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen,” and I’ve made it to eighty-seven, so this just adds another victim to the challenge. Besides, every single image I’ve seen from this thing paints it to be one gigantic surreal experience, and I’m down for that, anytime.
“Saw: The Final Chapter”
Witness the last diabolical act of a legend as the final pieces of Jigsaw's puzzles are revealed! As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen. But Dagen hides his own dark secrets, ones that will unleash a wave of unrelenting terror and suffering in this heart-stopping finale to the most successful horror movie series of all time.
*I don’t pretend to watch the best movies ever made, and I don’t pretend to want to own all the movies ever released, but … good lord, I have all the other films in the “Saw” series, and this one seems at least on the surface to be interesting if only for the return of Cary Elwes as Dr. Lawrence Gordon from the first “Saw.” And once you’re six films deep into a series, in for a penny, in for a pound.
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