Even though their a re a ton of new DVD releases that are worth owning that will be released this upcoming Tuesday, my selection was a fairly easy one. Though, to be fair, I have not yet watched Up the Yangtze, which I have heard from numerous people to be a fantastic film. And even though I loved WALL-E and Tropic Thunder, and even with an under seen Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson, and even my latest copy of Wholphin being shipped my choice was an easy one. Werner Herzog’sEncounters at the End of the World is simply one of the best films I have seen this year, and and it continues his recent string of outstanding films that he has made the past few years. I will be adding it to my collection, and hopefully you will add it to yours.
As for theatrical releases, that was yet another easy choice. While I have mild interest in the latest Bond film, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas might be interesting, my choice is a film I recommended several weeks ago, as it is finally getting released here in Minneapolis. Fears of the Dark is now playing at the Lagoon Cinema, and most likely only for a one week run, so please get out and see this film while you have the chance.
P.S. - Interesting bit of meta for those of you into that sort of thing; Poe (the singer not the writer) also appears in the film. She just so happens to be the sister of Mark Z. Danielewski (the writer not the singer) who wrote Christian’s favorite book House of Leaves. You might have heard him mention it once or twice.
Next week’s film is one I have wanted to see for some time, only its limited release and subsequently falling out of print made this film incredibly difficult to find. But why do I want to see this film? Well, because it is the second film in history (the first being Alfred Hitchcock’sRope) to attempt shooting the entire film in one continuous shot. Not only that, it stars the immortal Bruce Campbell. That’s right, next week’s movie is the elusive, immortal, Running Time.
I am totally a day late and a dollar short. I had to work early yesterday and I also wanted to finally swing by the comic book shop to pick up my comics for the past month. I really just wanted to pick up a trade from Top Shelf called Veeps, but evidently it isn’t coming out until next week.
For the second week in a row the theaters are flooded with 50,000 new releases, all of the potentially crappy. That being said, I am still interested in seeing Clint Eastwood’s latest effort Changeling, even though his last film was so awful it almost put me off his movies for good.
DVD releases are even tougher as they are limited AND crappy. I don’t care what buzz you heard about Transsiberian, it is truly terrible. Avoid it like the plague. Thus my DVD recommendation is for When Did You Last See Your Father, a film that I heard was good, but looks far too sappy for me to ever watch it for fear of crying like a 32 year old me tends to cry, in bunches.
The Most Dangerous Game is an outstanding film, not only because of how good the actual movie is, but because it presented a theme that has been rehashed again and again in various films ever since. That theme being class warfare. And not just metaphorically, but the actual hunting of the poor by rich individuals with simply too much time on their hands. The Most Dangerous Game has been remade so many times I’d challenge anyone to try and keep count. But rather then do that, I’ve done my best to try and find the worst remake of The Most Dangerous Game. It seemed more sporting that way. That’s why next week I am reviewing Escape 2000. Though our international readers might know it better by its original title, Turkey Shoot.
Every so often I run across a film that is garnering very little buzz, but looks like it has enormous potential. So, in an effort to help bring these smaller, obscure films a bit more buzz I plan on posting the occasional plug for the film. My inaugural pick is an upcoming animated horror film that looks absolutely amazing. Animated entirely in gorgeous black and white, the film is actually six animated shorts from the likes of Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard Maguire. I’d say more but I think the trailer speaks for itself.
Fears of the Dark opens at the Landmark Lagoon Cinema on November 14.
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