Posts Tagged ‘film’
Beyond The Black Rainbow: Review
Written and directed by Panos Cosmatos, Beyond the Black Rainbow takes place in the year 1983 in a mysterious facility called the Arboria Institute. There, Dr. Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers) has a girl named Elena (Eva Allan) under his supervision that over time he becomes obsessed with. She escapes her holding cell and tries to make her way out of the facility but Dr. Nyle won’t let her get away very easily.
This movie is a very interesting Sci-Fi flick to say the least. We’ll just say you’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it. I definitely didn’t hate it. The first thing that came to mind after the first viewing (Yes, I watched it more than once.) was “David Cronenberg”. Cronenberg’s early work was much like this and that’s a definite positive. It of course had its “WTF” moments but that’s what make this film unique. The thing that really impressed me the most was the look of the film. You can look at it and say “What about it? It looks old.” without realizing that this film was filmed in 2009 I believe. It’s one thing to shoot and edit a film in 1983 as opposed to shooting and editing a film 2009 to make it look/feel like it was done in 1983. That takes a great deal of work. They visuals were fantastically psychadelic. They were beautiful but with an added horror element. I was quoted as saying during the movie “It’s like you’re on drugs but without the drugs.” If that won’t explain it then I don’t know what will. There were times that I had to look away for a moment because of bright flashing lights or a lot of quick cuts that made my eyes hurt a bit but it was only few moments. The story I felt could have had a bit more substance to it but it was good for what it was. Kudos to Panos Cosmatos for making this film. Whether or not people thought the film was good or bad it still got people talking about it. In time it will definitely find a proper audience and be adored by the same group of people that love Cronenberg’s Videodrome and Scanners. I say it’s a definite watch if you’re into the strange/artistic/psychadelic type of films.
A thank you to Magnolia Pictures for allowing me to review this film.
Resident Evil Retribution: Review
Directed once again by Paul W.S Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, this movie picks up exactly where Afterlife left off. Alice ends up being captured by the Umbrella Corporation and taken to a secret facility where they intend to do further tests on her. Albert Wesker, who no longer is affiliated with Umbrella after the resurgence of The Red Queen, sends in a special operative named Ada Wong to help Alice escape. Its discovered that the facility that she is being held is underwater in the Antarctic and a special group of soldiers (also sent by Wesker) are being sent in to guide them back to the surface. Their only opportunity to survive is to make their way back to the surface and escape the underwater tomb.
I’ve been a fan of most of the Resident Evil films but this one just didn’t make the cut. The start of this movie showed what happened after the previous film ended……but in reverse and in slow motion. Then they showed the whole sequence again in regular speed. This seemed to be nothing more than a time killer and a waste of 10 minutes of the movie. After that Alice proceeded to retell the whole story of the outbreak from the very beginning again. I think after four movies (and seeing the same thing in each one) we as an audience know how everything began and I felt like this was a waste of another 10 minutes. All it felt like was a recycled film. They pulled everything from the previous movies (and stuff from the games) and pulled them together to make this one. Sounds harsh but it’s entirely true. They’ve taken this franchise and turned it into something different. Sure they include characters from the game to make you feel like it’s Resident Evil but it’s definitely not Resident Evil anymore. I LOVE zombie movies and I was really disappointed that the zombies were really not even the focus. They showed up here and there but were quickly defeated and pushed aside. I think the ultimate bad move was the inclusion of military zombies that drove vehicles, shot guns and rode motorcycles. In my opinion they were trying to capitalize on the whole Call of Duty Zombies craze. Every fight scene was in slow motion and had too much wire work. I mean how many times can you see Alice do a triple back flip then kick a zombie in the head and still say “I totally believe that could happen”. The dialogue was horribly written and extremely cheesy. It just made everyone seem so robotic. Anderson just needs to stop making these movies, wait a few years and let the studio reboot it or something. It’s gone too far. It was entertaining in moments but those moments weren’t enough to make this a hit for me. I say watch it if you must but I would call this a “wait for Redbox or Cable” kind of movie. It’s a shame too.
HBO ACQUIRES U.S. TELEVISION RIGHTS TO DOCUMENTARY FEATURE “LOVE, MARILYN”
NEW YORK NY, Sept. 14, 2012 – HBO Documentary Films has acquired the U.S. television rights to Oscar®-nominated director Liz Garbus’ feature documentary film LOVE, MARILYN, it was announced today. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and a Gala Screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday evening.
Coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death, LOVE, MARILYN features remarkable footage and audiotapes along with Marilyn’s own handwritten letters, diaries, notes, poems, journals and notebooks, which document her private life against the backdrop of her very public life and loves. The film also includes readings and appearances by F. Murray Abraham, Elizabeth Banks, Adrien Brody, Ellen Burstyn, Glenn Close, Hope Davis, Viola Davis, JenniferEhle, Ben Foster, Paul Giamatti, Jack Huston, Stephen Lang, Lindsey Lohan, Janet McTeer, Jeremy Piven, Oliver Platt, David Strathairn, Lili Taylor, Uma Thurman, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Interviews and archival footage features Arthur Miller, Joe DiMaggio, Amy Greene, Molly Haskell, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer and Elia Kazan among many others.
“This film was an incredible journey and I’m so happy to be continuing it with my HBO family who have embraced the film in an extraordinary way,” said Garbus.
Added producer Stanley Buchthal, “My journey began in 1980 when I first met Lee Strasberg, and continued to 2009when I co-edited Marilyn Monroe’s diaries and poems. The tremendous odyssey continued when Liz Garbus and I joined to offer the world a unique new insight into a remarkable 20th-century icon, Marilyn Monroe. I am personally delighted to be in business again with the HBO family.”
The deal was negotiated by David Koh & Josh Braun & Dan Braun of Submarine Entertainment along with Stanley Buchthal of Diamond Girl Production, LLC and Harold Van Lier of Studio Canal on behalf of the producers and director with HBO.
LOVE, MARILYN is written, directed & produced by Liz Garbus; produced by Stanley Buchthal and Amy Hobby; executive produced by Anne Carey, Olivier Courson, Harold Van Lier, Enrique Steiger; edited by Azin Samari; cinematography by Maryse Alberti; music by Philip Sheppard; music supervisor, Bonnie Greenberg.
