Less output than I'd have liked the past few weeks, but given that I've finally started proper full time employment for the first time in nearly two years (as opposed to multiple part time job employment in excess of 50 or 60 hours a week), I consider this much in the way of published material to be something of a triumph.
The meatiest is by far my coverage of this year's Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which starts today and runs through June 23 (details here). I covered only six of their 20 films this year, and next year hope to go even more expansive; of the six, Camera/Woman (pictured above) was by far my favorite. At Slant Magazine you'll also find reviews of the disappointing The Guillotines as well as the recent DVD release of the complete animated Beetlejuice series. Last and, to these eyes, most certainly least (in terms of the film; as far as the writing goes, I leave that to your eyes) is my Southern Berks News piece on J.J. Abrams' rank Star Trek Into Darkness. Retch.
A few links to catch up on. Though mixed, I'm ultimately in favor of Baz Luhrmann's all-over-the-place adaptation of The Great Gatsby, my review of which can be read online at the Berks-Mont News here. Less favorable was my take on the threadbare indie comedy 3 Geezers! at Slant Magazine, but it was a film I adored compared to the patience-testing experience that was Pilgrim Song (autopsy detailed here). The cream of the crop was my coverage of the Blu-ray release of Kim Jee-woon's The Last Stand, a Schwarzenegger action vehicle I more or less love in spite of some quibbles. More goodies to come.
Not much new over these past few weeks, but some exciting news in that I'll now be contributing to the online (and occasionally the print) edition of The Southern Berks News. My first review for them is for this summer's first mega-release, Iron Man Three, which I rather shamelessly enjoyed (twice, actually; the 3D is ultimately unnecessary, but well rendered, surprisingly so for a post-conversion job). Why did I write out three, you ask? Because that's how the title appears onscreen, and I'm stubborn like that. Less noteworthy is the documentary Free the Mind, which I wished had proven more substantial given how endearing its subjects are, but it's still leagues away from The Big Wedding, which will likely end up on many worst-of-the-year lists.
Time to catch up on my latest critical endeavors: Murph: The Protector came and went and as near as I can tell no one cared. Fists of Legend may still be playing but, despite some energetic fighting sequences and good performances, it's hardly worth a trip to the theater. On the home video front, it's always excited when I get to review a Mystery Science Theater box set, even the tepid collection of episodes in Volume XXVI (in which I manage to read something like subtext). Last and most certainly not least is The Criterion Collection's blu-ray rerelease of Naked Lunch, a sterling package of a sterling film if I've ever seen one.
Three new pieces at Slant Magazine for your reading pleasure: Vanishing Waves (pictured above), the best new film I've seen so far in 2013, is out this week in New York and other privileged locations. Greedy Lying Bastards opened last week but is still lingering and is worth a recommendation for those into the whole angry liberal diatribe thing. Finally, and most relevant (to me at least), is the newly released blu-ray of Buster Keaton's overlooked College, considered here.
Two reviews at Slant Magazine for new releases this week: Pavilion, which was quite good, and The Last Exorcism Part II, which was not.
In other news, as of yesterday, I'm one of the new members of the Online Film Critics Society Governing Committee; over the coming months, I expect to learn more than I can imagine about the intricacies of the film industry and the criticism wing. With some luck (and blood and sweat and tears), I'll have my local renovations completed here before long. Thanks to all for your patience and support in helping this flourish.
It's hard to exhibit anything other than pity toward Escape from Planet Earth, an energetic and well-meaning but thoroughly watered-down and creatively ossified kiddie flick unceremoniously dumped into theaters after languishing in development and production hell for nearly six years.
...a sporadically entertaining, modestly ambitious shoot 'em up that frequently succumbs to spelling out its subtext. At least the fisticuffs and gunfights are skillfully composed and edited, none better than an apartment brawl that ends with our protagonist functioning as an impromptu wrecking ball...
Writer/director/actor Patrick Wang's background in theater and dramaturgy is on high display in his debut feature, In the Family, an acutely felt, altogether devastating family drama as intimate and affecting as it is sprawling and untamed. Nearly three hours in length, the film is characterized by carefully blocked, deeply focused scenes that unfold naturally, if perhaps uncomfortably, beholden only to life's often overlapping, conflicting, and overwhelming emotions.
Here we are again. Four Octobers ago, I bit off far more than I realized needed chewing when I decided to dedicate the month to reviewing one zombie movie per day, and I'm still not quite sure how I pulled it off. This year, I've finally gotten my act together enough to attempt something similar for the Halloween season, and this time, I've done a bit more in the way of prep work before the month actually began. Here goes... something.
Since a youth largely obsessed with anything and everything aired on the Sci-Fi Channel (as it ought to still be spelled), the 1950s have been a favorite period of mine for the genre, and it is my hope to gain an even deeper appreciation for it over the next 31 days. Already I've discovered several treasures I'd never before even heard of (expect much love for Richard and Alex Gordon along the way), and had a change of heart for one movie that struck me as impossibly lame when I first watched it. With any luck, this will help win over some new fans of these frequently overlooked works, which, even at their most unpolished and MST3K worthy, strike me as a kind of beautiful art.
I realize the title of this marathon is a misnomer, as many of these movies had rather substantial budgets and don't quite fit into the B movie category. Too bad. I liked the title enough to stick with it, and hey, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms comes from the ice of the Arctic, not the ocean, so if you're going to split hairs, have at it. If you want the best resource on this topic, look no further than Bill Warren's exhaustively researched book "Keep Watching the Skies!" My efforts will be considerably less comprehensive, but I expect they'll be a blast all the same.
And now that we're done with all of that...superlatives! But first, the question of legacy. The genre of 1950s monster movies (and all sci-fi/horror and the like) is by no means bound by the years of 1950 through 1959. These five are among those that carry on the torch, and all but one gets the official P'Booth stamp of excellence (Mars Attacks! gets the benefit of the doubt for now on account of my having not seen it in a decade).
In some attempt at order of quality, i.e. my opinion.
1. Mission to Mars
2. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
3. Tremors
4. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
5. Mars Attacks!
The there's the question of remakes, something on which I have strong opinions. Here's the deal: plenty of remakes are terrible, but that's no reason to refuse acknowledgement of the fact that plenty of them are good, even great. In fact, you probably like a lot of remakes without knowing it. The Frankenstein most everyone knows is in fact the third filming of that story. And The Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland was by no means the first. This genre has afforded plenty, some of which are superior to their predecessors. (On the basis of it not being a "formal" remake, I've disincluded Alien from this roster, but the real reason is because I refuse to choose a favorite between Ridley Scott's film and John Carpenter's of a very similar nature, in both quality and ass-kicking quality.) There are other worthwhile remakes amongst these (for example, there remains something to be said on the casting choice of Keanu Reeves as an alien), but these are the top contenders.
Most Kubrickian scene: It! The Terror From Beyond Space. This clip is nowhere to be found. Just rent the sucker on iTunes. It's a dollar.
Most Lynchian scene & best musical score: The Atomic Submarine
Best resultant episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000: War of the Colossal Beast
Best movie poster & least convincing monsters: The Killer Shrews; best movie I didn't have time to review: First Man Into Space
And finally, a top ten, which may or may not include only ten titles, and may or may not correlate with star ratings, for what it's worth.
1. The Day the Earth Stood Still
2. Robot Monster
3. The Atomic Submarine (plus Fiend Without a Face and First Man Into Space, by the transitive property of the brothers Gordon)
4. Godzilla
5. It Came from Outer Space
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
7. Forbidden Planet
8. The Blob
9. The Monolith Monsters
10. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Plan 9 from Outer Space (c'mon, they're two sides of the same coin)
That's all, folks!
*Okay, yes, I didn't write something up on this one for this month, and instead subbed an old capsule review. If you knew what my month consisted of besides this self-induced marathon (much as I enjoyed it...wow, how did I ever find the time), particularly this past week and today specifically, you'd be happy I took a break, too. The next time I write about this movie, I want to write the Bible on it, and I just don't have it in me now. Good night. Good luck. The end.
