You know, I have to admit I went into Repo Men with low expectations, the trailer is downright terrible and looks completely unsure of what kind of movie it is marketing, and for an hour and a half Repo Men did nothing to convince me that this film was worth my time. In fact, the film was so dull, listless and obvious that I found myself quoting dialogue before the characters could utter it. Yeah, its one of those. But then something magical happened.
The final reel began and everything changed for the better. The pace quickened, and the film finally shook off its rust and began to fly loose with all sense of reality and good taste. Soon eye popping set pieces were in play, an Oldboy style hammer fight smacked me in the face with a freaking hacksaw, and the most disturbing organ transplant/sex scene cropped up out of left field and skull fucked me into sheer cinematic bliss. Oh that’s right, Repo Men skull fucked me.
And it hurt. So. Good.
And that’s right before the film grabbed its balls and swung for the fences with an ending that’s bound to piss off as many people as it pleases. And that’s when I realized, “Holy shit?! I think I love this movie!”
I’ve been touting Ink ever since I watched it last year (read my review here), its a fabulous throwback to the kind of sci-fi/fantasy films that were everywhere in the 80’s yet have seemingly gone out of fashion in the decades since. Its a terrific little film from some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting. If you haven’t checked out the movie yet, let me once again urge you to do so.
Now, I’ve been not so secretly hoping that writer/director Jamin Winans would return to the proverbial well and make another film that would involve the Ink universe, and while his latest short film doesn’t do that exactly, it certainly involves a lot of elements that made Ink such an enjoyable film to watch. Most of the actors in Uncle Jack were involved with Ink (note to self, watch anything with Jeremy Make in it), the plot certainly cribs some elements from Ink and of course Winan’s visual style and flair exists in both films. So sit back and watch this great little short film, and perhaps it will finally convince you to give Ink a try.
Coinciding with the DVD release of Living Arrangements (read my review), Astrix Home Video has released a step-by-step series of videos to help you in preventing werewolves from invading your home. It is safe to say that these videos are freaking fantastic, and I can’t oversell them enough. I’m embedding the first one but be sure to head over and check out all of them. You won’t regret it.
And we’re back! James and I sit down as we attempt to maintain a robust and brisk pace of one episode of High and Low (Brow) each month. Rather than stick to the standard numbering of episodes numerically we’ve decided to go to a seasonal format to hopefully confuse everyone even further. Thankfully, that’s not the only possible change we might have in store for you.
In this episode James and I watch and review two films that are based on legends or fairy tales, those being the 1940 fantasy epic The Thief of Bagdad and the 1972 film The Pied Piper. The first is a multiple Academy Award winner while the second has people in funny hats. Well, more than just funny hats, but you really need to see those things to truly believe them.
Besides the main review we read some viewer mail, plug my recent appearance on the Movie Club Podcast and discuss the possibility of James and I devoting an upcoming podcast to a director who’s films that we both enjoy. Will it become a regular feature? Who knows but it certainly is being considered. Rounding out the show we have our selection process for the next episode and this marks a return to our standard format as I once again pick the theme and films for James to choose from.
If you have any recommendations for films we could watch for the podcast, or want to suggest a potential theme for us to use, feel free to email us and tell us your ideas. If you enjoy the show make sure to subscribe through iTunes or our RSS feed so you can catch every new episode. Also, please friend James on Facebook. Because it will frighten and confuse him.
One more thing, if you enjoy the show feel free to donate to it through PayPal in either a single installment or as a recurring donor. We’d love to upgrade some of our equipment and anything you donate will go directly towards us getting some decent mics and perhaps even pop screens that aren’t made out of cotton balls.
The Heights Theatre along with Take-Up Productions is proudly presenting the British noir classic Peeping Tom from famed director Michael Powell. The film is now known for killing Powell’s illustrious career due to its graphic and disturbing images of a serial killer who films his victims as he kills them. The film was so reviled by critics, that Alfred Hitchcock decided not to screen Psycho for them because he was so worried his film would receive the same treatment and kill any chances it would have to find box office success.
Some time ago I reviewed this now legendary film, and while I found it fascinating, the film is harmed by the fact that nearly every thriller has blatantly cribbed from this rather impressive source material, neutering the film to some degree compared to its modern counterparts, yet the film still is unquestionably a must see film for those who appreciate thrillers. Tickets are just $8 and there will only be one showing this upcoming Monday so make sure to make the time to see this fascinating film.
Peeping Tom
The Heights Theatre
January 25th
7:30 pm | $8
You know, I have to admit I went into Repo Men with low expectations, the trailer is downright terrible and looks completely unsure of what kind of movie it is marketing, and for an hour and a half Repo Men did nothing to convince me that this film was worth my time. In fact, the film was so dull, listless and obvious that I found myself quoting dialogue before the characters could utter it. Yeah, its one of those. But then something magical happened. 
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