Italian Horror Blogathon: Links (UPDATED 10/31)

Hello, all!

Use the comments section to link to your pieces. Keep checking this space for updates. I’ll keep this post on top throughout the blogathon for convenience; my daily posts will appear beneath the daily link update. I look forward to reading everyone’s entries! And remember, you have until Halloween night to contribute something.

UPDATE (4:45): I will be out of the house for most of the night (which means I'll be away from my computer), but continue sending those links if ya got 'em. I'll try to post them from my phone. There's still time! Thanks so much for the contributions, all!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Sadly, today is the last day of the blogathon. I'll be updating the links page throughout the day; I'll also be posting my contributions for today a little bit later. 


10/31:

- Simon sneaks one more review in...and it's an Umberto Lenzi TV movie, to boot. Consider me intrigued.

- Tim wraps up his contributions to this year's 'thon with a look at one of my personal favorites (obviously saving the best for last!).

- As I continue to read  Simon's blog, Creatures of Light and Darkness, I found more Italian horror related goodness that he covered in September.

- Goregirl covered her 10 favorite Lucio Fulci movies.

- Tim is back with his look at Lucio Fulci's A Lizard in a Woman's Skin.

- Simon finishes his three part look a greats and gems of Italian horror with a look at two of my favorites, Shock and The House by the Cemetery.

- James is back with a look Fulci's 8 1/2-esque A Cat in the Brain.

- Hans A., of the fantastic blog Quiet Cool, takes a look at  Lamberto Bava's oddball Deliria: Photos of Gioia.


10/30:

- Tim is back with his Masters of Italian Horror series, he's already done entries for Argento and Bava, this time looking at Riccardo Freda's The Horrible Secret of Dr. Hichcock.

- Simon continues his Halloween Hootenanny with part two in a series that looks at greats and gems of Italian horror, this time it's Lady Frankenstein and Baron Blood.

10/29: 

- Erich Kuersten, author of one my favorite daily stops Acidemic, chimes in with a look at one of my favorite Italian horror films, Michel Soavi's StageFright: Aquarius (aka Deliria).

- Tim returns with a review of the Mario Bava classic Black Sunday.

- Simon's Halloween Hootenanny continues with what looks to be the first in a series of posts covering Italian horror.

- And Dick returns with another review, this time with a look at the The Embalmer.


10/28:

- Aaron Fenwick, of the blog Tomorrow's Sound for Today's Swinging Generation, checks in with a review of one of Argentio's more popular efforts, Phenomena.

- Brennan, of the blog Popcorn Culture, offers up his first contribution to the blogathon with a look at Argento's first film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

- Finally, James returns with two more capsule reviews. First, a surprisingly good Joe D'Amato film, and then he looks at one of my favorite so-bad-it's-good zombie movies.


10/27:

- James returns with a look at the disappointing Baby Yaga and the late-era Bava Lisa and the Devil/The House of Exorcism, covering both versions of the much maligned film extremely well.

- Neil Fulwood returns with a look at Massimo Dallamano’s What Have They Done to Your Daughters?; a sequel to the great giallo What Have You Done to Solange?


10/25:

- One of the things I love about hosting this blogathon every year is that it gives me a chance to be introduced to new blogs that I get to add to my daily reading list. Dick's The Oak Drive-In is just such a blog. His contribution is on 1971's Lady Frankenstein (which has one of my favorite posters with its line, "only the monster she made could satisfy her strange desires!").

- Neil Fulwood has always been a big supporter of this blogathon, and if you aren't reading his blog The Agitation of the Mind on a regular basis...well I just feel bad for you. Neil stops by this year with a look at Michel Soavi's Dellamorte Dellamore (aka Cemetery Man).

- Simon Wright returns with a look at Dario Argento's cut of Dawn of the Dead.


10/24:

- Stacia, of the great blog She Blogged By Night, has been a longtime supporter of this blogathon and has promised to do an entry on Umberto Lenzi's Orgasmo for two years running now. However, the fates conspired against her every time she'd tried to watch the film, but in year four she finally checks in with a fantastic essay on Lenzi's 1969 film. Thanks, Stacia!

- Lee, of the Hougly Film Journal, has been commenting around here for a couple of years, but now offers up his first contribution to the blogathon with a look at Argento's first film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

- James, of The Cameraman's Revenge, was quite prolific during last year's blogathon, and he's off and running once again this year with a look at the film that started it all, I Vampiri, and the film that is considered one of Bava's least interesting efforts (although he makes a case for it), Baron Blood.

- Peter, who authors one of my very favorite blogs Coffee, Coffee, and More Coffee, has contributed from the onset of this humble project. And this year, he doesn't disappoint with a look at the 1971 giallo Slaughter Hotel...wait, you're telling me there's a giallo starring Klaus Kinski! I'm there.

- How fortuitous, Tim, proprietor of my favorite blog on the interwebs, Antagony & Ecstasy, has a review of Dario Argento's Dracula 3D, which was recently screened at the Chicago International Film Festival (which Tim has been reporting on here) and conveniently coincides with the first day of this-here blogathon.

- Simon Wright, author of the blog Creatures of Light and Darkness, checks in with a look at two of my favorite zombie movies: Burial Ground (aka The Nights of Terror) and Cemetery Man; the former because it's so wacky, and the latter because it's just really damn nice to look at. He also checked out a few Italian horror flicks prior to the blogathon, so explore Simon's blog and check those out.

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In the spirit of "friending"...

There's no doubt what the movie of the moment is right now: the Fincher/Sorkin (accredited in the trailer the same way Welles and Toland were in Citizen Kane, suggesting, perhaps that the film wouldn't be what people are calling it if Fincher didn't have Sorkin) collaboration, The Social Network. It will be a looooong while before I see this (okay, not really, but at least a few months), so in the spirit of online friends and community and such, (and living vicariously through other people's ability to get out there and see the film...not to mention their talents in writing about it) here are some of my favorite bloggers and critics discussing the film. Enjoy.

• Jason Bellamy of The Cooler writes a piece entitled "He Drinks Your Milkshake" (great title!)
• Jake Cole of Not Just Movies looks at the evolution of Fincher (and gives the film a 5/5 rating, to boot).
• Craig -- The Man from Porlock -- looks at the film in conjunction with Solitary Man, another Jesse Eisenberg movie.
• Bill of The Kind of Face You Hate discusses the film through the lens of Sorkin and his writing style, and doesn't have gushing praise for it.
• Jim Emerson writes a brilliant piece about a specific tete-a-tete between two lead characters that kicks off the film, and how it offers insights into the film's major themes and motifs.
• Tony of Cinema Viewfinder reviewed the film last week as part of the opening night for the New York Film Festival.
• And finally last, but certainly not least, one of my favorite bloggers (and all around nice guy), Tim Brayton  has his usual exhaustive and brilliant review up at Antagony & Ecstasy.

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In Lieu of Slash How 'Bout Some Links?

I'm slow on content right now because my computer blew up the other night, and I'm waiting for my tech savvy brother to help me put a new hard drive in it. So, even though I have a review that's been in the can for awhile (I'll post it later today, maybe) I felt like I should point everyone to something much better: Tim Brayton's "Summer of Blood" series on the Video Nasties.  Now, most of my readers will already be familiar with Tim's writing.  He's one of the best out there, and I implore all of you to check out his latest entry on the infamous Nasty film Island of Death.  If you know of Tim's writing, and you know of the infamy of that nasty little Greek POS, then you know that the combo of both is going to be gold, Jerry, gold!  So, do yourself a favor and head on over to Tim's site and read through his archives for some great horror reading. Make sure you keep following his series this summer, horror fans, as the best is yet to come, I'm sure.

On a more serious note: Tim also has asked his readers to partake in a little donation for the Carry on Campaign.  Just click on the link to find out what that's all about.  I usually don't pitch for others when they're asking for donations, and I usually don't donate to online causes; however, Tim's personal story is a powerful one, and I know he's on the up-and-up, therefore I didn't hesitate for a second to do something I rarely do: donate to a cause I know very little about.  Tim explains it all in the aforementioned hyperlink, and I was moved enough to feel compelled to donate a small amount of money to a great cause.  Check it out and help Tim reach his donation goal.

One final, non-horror related, link for you all: don't forget that Bryce's Christopher Nolan blog-a-thon has started (we're in day two now) over at his blog Things That Don't Suck.  Check it out!

Okay...enough shilling from me...I'll be back later with a review of Tobe Hooper's Funhouse.

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Mosey on Over to Decisions at Sundown...

Yup...that's the western blog I've mentioned in the past. It hasn't been updated by me in a long while, but thankfully the incredibly smart people I share blog duties with over there have picked up the slack. The most recent entry being Ed Howard -- of the deeply rich and resplendent movie blog Only the Cinema -- and his take on the classic Hawkes helmed El Dorado. Check it out. Also, check out Jon Lanthier's (the creator of Decisions at Sundown) essay on one of my very favorite films of the year, The Limits of Control. Ed's take on this fine Jarmusch film can be found at his site, here. I'll be chiming in with some western reviews soon enough...but first I need to take care of my daunting must-see list of 2009 films. Until then acquaint yourself with these fine pieces.

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Don't forget about the De Palma Blog-a-Thon!

The oft debated auteur (whose name I just realized I entered in as DePalma instead of De Palma throughout my entry for this blog-a-thon...oops) is being showcased at Tony Dayoub's wonderful blog Cinema Viewfinder (it's a daily stop for me, you should check it out too if you don't already) in an aptly named blog-a-thon: De Palma Blog-a-Thon. Entries will be posted throughout the week at Tony's blog. Entries will be accepted all week, but try to get them in as soon as possible to Tony. Should be a wonderful gathering of thoughts and essays from some of the blogosphere's best writers. I can't wait. I wrote a piece on the underrated Raising Cain so look for that while you're perusing the other entries. See ya over there tomorrow.

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Initial Thoughts on Inglourious Basterds

I don't want to get into a big thing about it now because I am only about 5 hours removed from seeing it. But, the movie was effing fantastic. It reminded me of Red Dawn. Wolverines!!!! Anyway (obviously it's better than the Milius film, but that was my initial reaction to the film as varying scenes of visceral fantasy unfolded) . The Hugo Stiglitz moment made me smile...obviously, and my God that tavern scene is one of the most tense things I have seen in a movie. When the credits finally rolled I just let out a deep sigh and finally sat back in my seat. That's not an exaggeration. Like the end of Kill Bill Vol.2 Tarantino has created scenes of dialogue that are more intense than any kind of action scene could hope to be. I read somewhere that he describes it as a rubber band...and you just keep stretching it and stretching it and the tension is whether or not it will snap. And with the tavern scene he stretches that rubber band for about 20 minutes until it breaks in rapid burst of bloody violence that's over before you know it.

Anyway, tomorrow I plan on posting something more substantial about the film. Which leads me to this post. There are a lot of great conversations going on right now about the film and its many subtexts. I, however, do not wish to talk about those in my write up for the movie. Why? Well, because so many others are doing it better already and I don't want to be yet another voice saying the same things as these other fine bloggers. I'm coming to the party too late with this one. The other reason is that I really just want to talk about the film...because that's what Tarantino has made: a masterpiece of film. Not a historically accurate retelling of WWII...but a film -- films that take place in historical times don't have to be literal/factual retellings people! There's this thing called mythology -- and somehow people have taken myth and metaphor out of stories about "the way things were" because we've become a movie-going audience that is so concerned with credibility and realism. I mean how many times do you hear people complain about movies because "that would never happen" or "It's so fake".

The film even opens with the words "Once upon a time..." and is divided into chapters like the rest of Tarantino's films (his attempt at mythology, no doubt). So...after the jump there will be links. Please click on them and join the conversations. There are some great one's out there. I'll be back tomorrow with more thoughts. Onto the links...



Bill R. and Dennis Cozzalio have a brilliant three part series on the film. Many interesting things being discussed in those threads. Check it out. It's essential reading if you've seen the movie.

Ryan Kelly has a great write-up at his blog.

Andrew of the always fantastic Gateway Cinephiles gives the film an "A".

Greg of Cinema Styles shares the same sentiments as me in regards to reviewing a movie that EVERYONE will be talking about...which is why I just want to talk about what was on the screen.

Craig over at The Man From Porlock has a great review up.

As always Jim Emerson puts to shame what I could ever hope to say about the picture (or any movie for that matter).

Tim's review is up.

Tony of the superb Cinema Viewfinder has a great, great review of the film.

I'll be back tomorrow with thoughts on the film. Until then...

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A Brief Intermission

The picture above is my fiance and me last year at the coast. If you're wondering why we're at the beach and all bundled up it's because it's Oregon, and the beach doesn't get warmer than 70 degrees here. Oh, and I'm the one with the pseudo-beard. So, why the picture? I'm getting married this Friday so there will be a short sabbatical from the blog starting today and lasting until I return August 24 where I will be posting the first entry for my top 10 films of 1999 for my Revisiting 1999 project. I didn't just put a picture of myself up here for fun...I don't like myself that much, hehe. But as you can tell, despite the wind almost blowing us off the patio where we took that picture, I am quite happy about this new journey in my life (ugh...journey, sounds so lame, plus it makes me think of Steven Perry), but I suppose that's what it is, and I am really excited for this. And since I consider all of you who read this blog friends (despite being faceless, still...friends I hope), I didn't mind exposing my identity and posting the reason behind why I'm going to be gone for a few weeks. Oh, and I wanted to prove that my fiance was real and not created by a computer.

Here's some links to keep ya busy while I'm gone:

Judd Apatow's Funny People is now out...and to lukewarm reactions, too. I will still see the film of course, but for now here are two great reviews of the film. The first review is courtesy of Ed Howard of the brilliant Only the Cinema. He talks about the film getting derailed in its final, long (which is typical Apatow...despite my love for the man he doesn't know how to edit his movies) act. The second review comes from one of my favorite blogs that I don't pimp enough: Ryan Kelly's Medfly Quarantine. His reaction was little more negative than Ed's. Great reads. Check 'em out.

Bill at the infectious (well...infectious in a good way) The Kind of Face You Hate has a great post up about background movies. Check it out and see if you agree with Bill on what constitutes a background. I usually go with any action channel that can offer me up an array qualities that range from being so-bad-it's-good (but not too bad, as Bill explains in his post) like Tango and Cash or Road House, or great action movies that I've seen a million times that are really violent like Robocop or The Rock or Aliens. If this hasn't been enough to entice you...then let me just say...he does mention Krull. And away you go...seriously it's one of the best blogs out there. Check it out.

Sadly, due to wedding plans, I haven't had the opportunity to comment the way I would like on one of the best pieces written over at The House Next Door. Jason Bellamy and Ed Howard have this great series called The Conversations, and this month they really hit out of the park with their discussion on Mann's oeuvre. Frequenters of this blog know my love for Mann's films and where I place him on the list of best American directors, so it saddens me that I haven't the time to properly respond to all of the great work Jason and Ed put into that piece. It's long, and like a fine dessert, better digested and appreciated in sections. It's really worth the time to read it. Sorry guys...someday I may get to commenting on it.

TOERIFC is in a few days, and entry this month looks to be a good one: Fassbinder's The Merchant of the Four Seasons. I have only seen a few Fassbinder films (the most recognizable title probably being Ali: Fear Eats the Soul), and I was really looking forward to this one, but I'll be out of town for the discussion. Google Fassbinder if you're unfamiliar with his work...he was an interesting figure in Germany's version of the French New Wave...I think it was called The New German Cinema...but I could be wrong about that. Anyway...watch the movie, or if you've seen it recently and think you can contribute something to the discussion, then by all means this film club is open to anyone and everyone. Just head over to Tractor Facts where our gracious host Fox will be getting things started August 17. It usually gets going early for us West Coast people, so get yourself amply prepared and enjoy what is sure to be a great film discussion.

Jason Bellamy of The Cooler has written a wonderfully entertaining piece called Falling Out of Love at the Movies. It's about the things we talk about when we talk about movies with those that we love...or are trying to like at least (and yes I blatantly ripped of Raymond Carver, there). It's a fun read. Check it out, I'm sure we've all had instances where we were shocked by what a female or male date said about a movie we absolutely loved.

Finally I would like to point everyone to Wonders in the Dark. I did so in the post below me, but I wanted to do it again. The fine film blog ran by Sam Juliano and Allan Fish ask all bloggers to submit their top 25 films for each decade, and this month we're onto the 80's. My list is here. Check out the other lists here. As I said in my post below, I always walk away from these things with 30 or more ideas for DVD rentals. Just a lot of fun, too. Participate if you haven't before...the threads are incredibly addicting and will wipe away about half of your work day, hehe.

I hope everyone has a great couple of weeks. See ya then.

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Quick DVD Reviews and a Couple of 'Shotgun' Links

I've been super busy lately and unable to get on this blog post-Oscar's to get some material up. Well, after a dismal showing once again in the prediction department (and the unfortunate events of Slumdog Millionaire winning Best Picture) let's just forget this years Oscar's even happened. With the 'official' movie season starting next week with Watchmen (no offense to Paul Blart: Mall Cop or Madea Goes to Jail) there hasn't been a whole lot to write about as far as new movies go, so I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on some 2008 films I missed. I caught W. and Body of Lies this past week, and next week I plan on watching Swing Vote and I've Loved You So Long. Reviews and links after the jump...


W.

Oliver Stone's film is a fascinating look at a subject that is all too familiar to us. Instead of lampooning the president (which is like shooting fish in a barrel), Stone wisely observes -- this is what it must be like to have a father you'll never please. It's an interesting take on the 'legacy' of Dubya, and Josh Brolin is incredible as the man who must close out each important meeting with a word of prayer. What I liked most about Stone's film was that there didn't seem to be a bit of condescension in Stone's tone; everything here seems neutral enough, besides the viewer has lived through this, we don't need Stone's revisionist history running amok, here. Toby Jones is absolutely fantastic as the always annoying Karl Rove, and even though the film already confirms what we know (based on books written by the likes of Bob Woodrow) about Dick Chaney, it's still quite amazing how Richard Dreyfus embodies the man (or, I guess he could be called a character). The film doesn't feel flat, even though, as I mentioned earlier, that the viewer essentially knows how things go, and that's to Stone's credit. There are two scenes that I think make this movie great: the first is after Bush has been told that there are no WMD's in Iraq, and that the CIA messed up. The shot of Rusmfeld (Scott Glenn) not even missing a beat, supping up his noodles without looking at the President or the head of the CIA, is one of the films great moments. The other scene I'm thinking of is the way Stone ends his film. He wisely sidesteps any obvious railing against the Bush Administration (wisely avoiding text at the end of his film to inform us what happened after the film is over....again, we already know what happened) and shows Bush in the outfield of his baseball stadium in Arlington (he was the owner of the Rangers), throughout the film Bush is seen in the outfield (a dream, perhaps), and Stone bookends his film with this shot. Throughout the film Bush goes from hearing the roaring of the crowd as he stands on the pitchers mound (he's in control, throwing things, 'pitching' his destiny, etc.), to being in the outfield catching fly balls, until in the last shot of the film, he goes back to catch the pop-up, but the ball never comes down. Stone then cuts to a title card that reads: "The End." We already know how this thing ends, it's not necessary to show us the ball falling on the ground, or again, the easy joke of Bush dropping the ball. It's a great way to end a great film. W. is a fascinating, fascinating picture, and would gladly (retroactively) place it in my top 10 of 2008.


Body of Lies

Ridley Scott's spy thriller begins harmlessly enough, but as the film progresses, and the cliches of the spy thriller begin to pop up, the films banality becomes more apparent and kills any momentum this thing had at being a unique spy thriller. Scott is to be commended: his film looks great. But, when is that never the case with a Ridley Scott film....no, the problem I had with Body of Lies is the fact that no matter how good Leonardo DiCaprio is, when he's relegated to yelling into a Blue Tooth the entire film, you're really misusing one of the best actors we have in film today. Russell Crowe plays DiCaprio's boss in a complete throw away roll, as he drives his kids to school and plays stay-at-home dad all while talking DiCaprio throughout some pretty important and intense international terrorist affairs. Silliness aside, I liked the way the film moved with a certain ease and swagger in its first half; actually sidestepping the convoluted plots that so often bog down these spy films. There are no double crosses or moles in this thriller, but the film loses a lot of that goodwill with the way the filmmakers have DiCaprio's agent be more like a Bond/Bourne type of spy, rather than what your 'normal' CIA agent probably is. As usual in these kinds of movies, the agent crows too big of a conscience for his line of work, and when he befriends an Iranian nurse, well, you can pretty much write the rest of the movie from stock thriller cliches. But whatever, it's not like I was expecting much from this movie. All I wanted was something that was entertaining for two hours, that contained authentic locals (they seemed to have shot this thing on location), and some good performances, and I got that. The film almost falters because of how average it is -- reminding of another spy thriller Spy Game, directed by Ridley's brother Tony; it too had two good performances from Brad Pitt and Robert Redford and beautiful, on-location cinematography. If you have a couple of hours to kill, Body of Lies isn't a complete waste of your time, despite how paint-by-numbers it is.


A couple of Shotgun Stories-related links:

Alexander Coleman writes-up a masterful review on my favorite film of last year, Shotgun Stories. Check it out.

Jim Emerson mentions the poetry and simplicity of the opening scene with is Opening Shots feature on the Jeff Nichols film. It's amazing how much Nichols gets across in this film by saying so little. It's rare to find a filmmaker these days who will let the audience infer bu organically letting elements of the characters past come out through the nuances of storytelling.

I've been preparing to teach a class on the American Short Story, and one of the stories we'll be reading is Hemingway's "Cat in the Rain", as succinct a story as you will find, which, in typical Hemingway fashion, makes the reader read between the lines of terse dialogue and exposition in order to fully understand the stories buried themes. Nichol's film reminds me of that. It recently played on Sundance (I made sure to Tivo it), and because of the two links above, I plan on taking a look at the film a third time. My hope is that I can give a more detailed response to why I loved the film so much, since my initial reactions to the film were more about my emotional response to the film.

That's all for now. I'll try to be back later with some new stuff, as this weekend is looking like an Argento fest all day today for me, followed by date night with my fiance and a showing of He's Just Not That Into You (ugh), and then the countdown to Watchmen begins. Be back later with more....stuff.

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Survey Says...

Dennis Cozzalio over at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule (one of the best blogs out there) offered up this quiz way back in December. I am just now responding to it. Here are my answers to some of the questions (some good videos below, too!):

Way late to the party on this one, but I'll give it a go, sadly I have to omit some questions due to lack of knowledge:

1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?

Theatrically: Revolutionary Road
Blue Ray: The Fall

2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?

Nice. Like Die Hard 2: Die Harder.

3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?

Lupino. She was a hell of a brave director.

4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks?

I'm ashamed to say that I never watched the show...

5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.

The most recent examples I can think of would be Atonement or, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Step Brothers.

6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.

Crooklyn

7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?

Tierney, especially for the time he did a voice spot on The Simpson's.

8) Are most movies too long?

Not if they're good. But comedies are getting harder and harder to sit through.

9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.

Philip Baker Hall as Nixon

10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.

Emo/Goth-throb Johnny Depp vs Shirtless-Frat Boy Matthew Mcconaughey.

12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?

Truly great films only get better. You can never have stop learning something about a movie; or yourself in relation to the movie.

13) Favorite road movie.

Stranger Than Paradise. But I also love Road House...


15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?

Mike Markee. Film teacher from high school. That man LOVED him some dutch angles.

16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)

David Gordon Green's Undertow.


Click here to watch video


I love how green is so unapologetic about throwing every effect at you within the first five minutes of the film. The score by Philip Glass is pretty great, too.

18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.

Cranky! Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, The Silence of the Lambs, etc.

19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.

Something Wild.

20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?

Tatum, because I just saw her in an amazing Lifetime original movie about corrupt cheerleaders. She played the principle who did nothing to stop them. Riveting stuff.

21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)

Not in a movie, but this has been discussed already on Emerson's site...but I have to use it: Kate Winslet's performance on Extra's stating that there are too many Holocaust films, and they exist for the sake of raking in the easy Oscar. I hope she mentions this in her acceptance speech (if she wins).

23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.

Shotgun Stories.

24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?

Christopher. "Do it for the cutters!"

25) Favorite movie about journalism.

Hands down, The Insider.

27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.

High Plains Drifter

28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?

Kurtwood Smith, of course! And here's why:


Click here to watch video


29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.

To everyone's dismay The Reader will win Best Picture.

30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.

Keep 'em coming...

31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)

My top 10:

Pineapple Express
Redbelt
The Fall
Frozen River
Let the Right One In
The Edge of Heaven
Rachel Getting Married
Wendy and Lucy
In Bruges
Shotgun Stories


BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):

32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?

Sadly no film related gifts this year. I will buy myself Ebert's book on Scorsese, though.

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Link time! Death to Super-Serious Superheros!

Here's a good blog write up on the death of the superhero movie by Ali Arikan over at Cerebral Mastication, a great film blog. Check it out. As someone who knows little to nothing about comic books, I enjoyed it thoroughly. My two cents about the death of the genre after the jump...


I agree about the "seriousness" of comic book movies these days kind of tarnishing the genre. Of course, I was a fan of the The Dark Knight, but not for the same reasons that the emo thirteen year-olds were. I would over hear conversations in the lobby about what a profound movie it was, and how "sweet" the movie was, because "it was totally like a metaphor for terrorism". I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old, but the majority of the films fans (teenagers) wanted to claim the film held up metaphors and social commentary for the audience to ponder, which the film clearly couldn't support.

However, the film is great for taking the superhero movie out of the superhero realm and moving it to an noirish setting. I am not much of a comic book guy, so when movies are really comic booky (ie required inside knowledge to know what the hell is going on), I just don't get it, but hey as long as it's aesthetically pleasing and well made (like Dick Tracy) then I'm down. But what I can't stand is the kind of superhero film that wants me to know how serious and brooding its hero is (ahem, Superman Returns), those movies just plain suck. Superman Returns may have been one of the most boring suckfests I have ever sat through, and was more of an insult to Christians (we get it, Superman is like Jesus) than Bill Maher's Religulous.


The not-so-serious tone is what I actually kind of liked about Spider-Man 3, even though the film was flawed, and way to long, the emo Peter Parker was hilarious; especially the 'strut' scene. It was an example of a film not taking itself too seriously and having a little fun, which hey, isn't that what comic books are all about? I still haven't seen Iron Man I understand that the film kind of does the same thing with being a great comic book movie; just simple fun. I mean yes, some of them try to tackle bigger ideas and themes, but like Ali talks about with X-Men do we have to actually make the film about those ideas? Can a superhero film really stand up to the same themes as a more serious, contemplative drama? I don't know, but it's what kind of turned me off of X-Men 3. The second film was a wonderfully executed action film, but the third film tried way too hard to cram way too much into less than two hours.

And maybe that's the problem these days: length. Every superhero film tries to either cram too much of a story in (seriously, there are about six different two-hour films that could be made about the X-Men members; that's excluding Wolverine) to too short of a running time (like the aforementioned X-Men films) or they try to prove their mettle by overstaying their welcome and making their films the length of a Terrence Malick or Paul Thomas Anderson picture. Maybe these directors think that if their film is as long as these serious dramas, then maybe audiences will take them seriously. Serious or not, audiences are still going to pay money to see Spidey, Superman, Batman, and Wolverine; no need to make us sit through epic lengths for us to get our fix.

Anyway, that's a lot of rambling from me. Great write up by Ali, though. The superhero film does seem to be on the decline in quality. I attribute this to an over satiated audience, who, no matter what kind of superhero film is released, they'll gladly plop down the 10 bucks to go see it. As long as there is a demand for it, there will be more good, sometimes flawed, but always overly long superhero movies like Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight. I just don't know which I prefer, the comic book films that are cheesy and clearly drawing upon a more classic aesthetic, ala The Phantom, Dick Tracy, The Shadow, etc., or the more 'serious' darker films like Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, Spawn, Hellboy, etc.

Both styles of comic book film clearly draw upon postmodern elements; the first group draws upon the nostalgia that Frederic Jameson so eloquently talks about in his book Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, but wait....I'm doing what those that praise The Dark Knight are doing....I'm attaching something this deep to a film like The Phantom? Seriously? Well, you can't deny that films like it use that nostalgia to create a a more clear cut comic book world, whereas the darker films like the second group I listed above like to place their characters in seedy cities with noirish art direction surrounding them; this placement allows the audience the opportunity to ponder these more serious metaphors because the characters exist in tangible and recognizable cities like Chicago and New York. By taking the characters out of this fantasy world they are trying to pull something off that is impossible, because no matter how serious they want their comic book movie to be, it's still about a guy wearing a bat suit, or about mutants who control the weather.

Okay, wow. I wasn't planning on rambling on and on about this topic that much. Hopefully what I said makes a little bit of sense, but what do you all think? Is the superhero film dying? Head over to Ali's blog and read his piece and comment. Throw your comments in here too. I'd love to hear what you all think.

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