Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Australia or Milk?

Two major film openings today...which film do you plan to see first: Australia or Milk? Double feature anyone?

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Monday, November 24, 2008

"The Wrestler" Trailer

I'm sure most of you have seen this trailer by now, but I wanted to post it in case you hadn't. I am also hoping to hear what you all think of it. Having seen the film already, I have some thoughts about what they are showing and what they aren't, but I don't want to go spoiler-tastic here. Just wondering how it looks from a different perspective... What do you think?



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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

"Serbis" Distribution and Trailer

Good news to report! Brilliante Mendoza's Serbis, one of the most provocative films at this year's New York Film Festival and #7 on my Festival Top 10, has been picked up by Regent Releasing. It will open in New York on January 16, 2009 (update) January 30 at Cinema Village, a theater I am all too familiar with. I assume that means it will have a limited release in other major markets as well. A lot of critics dismissed the film rather quickly, but I think there is a lot more to it than most are giving it credit for. Moreover, its playfully experiments with a classically melodramatic structure by placing it in a movie theater and creating ruptures in its melodramatic system by featuring a boisterous atmosphere, real sex, family lawsuits, and, yes, even goats. It won't be everybody's cup of tea, but I think, for any adventurous moviegoer, it is well worth checking out if you have the opportunity. Check out the trailer below.



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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Best Movie Death Scene


My thesis and schedule are eating me alive lately. Sorry for having so few reviews up. There are plenty of films I've seen that I want to review, and hopefully will at some point. But for now...let's just roll with a question of the day.

What do you think is the best movie death scene of all time? Oddly, my selection would be from a movie I think is pretty overrated; nevertheless, its murder scene in the woods near the end is one of the most gorgeously shot and amazing sequences in cinematic history. You got it...I pick (off the top of my head) Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist as the film with the best death sequence. Commence with your opinions in the comments...

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

GB Jones's "The Lollipop Generation" Trailer

Here's a trailer for GB Jones's new film The Lollipop Generation. Jones has been working on the film for over a decade and it is set to make its NY Premiere at The Light Industry on December 16th and 8 PM. More information can be found on Light Industry's site, but, for the sake of clarity, I'll just post the description of the film here so you might have some idea whats going on in the trailer. Maybe it's just because I am currently writing my MA Thesis on pornography (among other things) but this looks fantastic. Hoorah for Super-8!



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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Brandon Colvin's Alphabet Movie Meme


So, I got tagged by Film For The Soul for a new "Alphabet Meme" floating around. Since I just did the Best Picture meme a few weeks ago, I have extended the tag to get Brandon back in the groove and so you all don't hear my same favorite movies over and over. So...yeah...enjoy the list and thanks to Film For The Soul for including us in the action!

Here's the rules...

1. Pick one film to represent each letter of the alphabet.

2. The letter "A" and the word "The" do not count as the beginning of a film's title, unless the film is simply titled A or The, and I don't know of any films with those titles.

3. Return of the Jedi belongs under "R," not "S" as in Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi. This rule applies to all films in the original Star Wars trilogy; all that followed start with "S." Similarly, Raiders of the Lost Ark belongs under "R," not "I" as in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Conversely, all films in the LOTR series belong under "L" and all films in the Chronicles of Narnia series belong under "C," as that's what those filmmakers called their films from the start. In other words, movies are stuck with the titles their owners gave them at the time of their theatrical release. Use your better judgement to apply the above rule to any series/films not mentioned.

4. Films that start with a number are filed under the first letter of their number's word. 12 Monkeys would be filed under "T."

5. Link back to Blog Cabins in your post so that I can eventually type "alphabet meme" into Google and come up #1, then make a post where I declare that I am the King of Google.

Drumroll, please!

A – Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) dir. Robert Bresson
B – Blue Velvet (1986) dir. David Lynch
C – Contempt (1963) dir. Jean-Luc Godard
D – Days of Heaven (1978) dir. Terrence Malick
E – 8 ½ (1963) dir. Federico Fellini
F – Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) dir. Toshio Matsumoto
G – The Godfather (1972) dir. Francis Ford Coppola
H – The Holy Mountain (1973) dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky
I – Inland Empire (2006) dir. David Lynch
J – Juliet of the Spirits (1965) dir. Federico Fellini
K – Killer of Sheep (1977) dir. Charles Burnett
L – Last Year at Marienbad (1961) dir. Alain Resnais
M – The Mirror (1975) dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
N – Naked Lunch (1991) dir. David Cronenberg
O – Out of the Past (1947) dir. Jacques Tourneur
P – The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) dir. Carl Th. Dreyer
Q – The Quiet Man (1952) dir. John Ford
R – Raging Bull (1980) dir. Martin Scorsese
S – Stalker (1979) dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
T – Taxi Driver (1976) dir. Martin Scorsese
U – United 93 (2006) dir. Paul Greengrass
V – Videodrome (1983) dir. David Cronenberg
W – Winter Light (1962) dir. Ingmar Bergman
X – Seriously? I’m just gonna put this here: Magnolia (1999) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Y – Youth of the Beast (1963) dir. Seijun Suzuki
Z – Zodiac (2007) dir. David Fincher

by Brandon Colvin
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Sunday, November 9, 2008

Tex Avery 'Raid' Commercial

This may not be from his heyday, but Tex Avery could even make awesome Raid commercials...awesome. You can also find his controversial Frito Bandito ads online, but I'll avoid posting those here for any "culturally sensitive" folk out there... :)



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Thursday, November 6, 2008

Extended Trailer for Bruce La Bruce's "Otto; Or, Up With Dead People"

Embedded is an extended trailer for Bruce LaBruce's "post gay zombie movie" Otto; Or, Up With Dead People which opens at the IFC Center this weekend in New York. A better quality trailer can be found on the film's website, but I was always like embedding when possible. For a little more on the film, Nathan Lee has blogged about why the film has been on his mind at WNYC.



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Sunday, November 2, 2008

Anticipated Winter Films Poll


Thanks to everyone for voting in our most recent poll regarding which films you are most looking forward to this winter. Its the most votes we have ever had for a poll! Although lots of people are saying this is a weak year for film (and I tend to agree as far as American cinema has gone) but it can turn around very quickly with the release of some of these films this winter, assuming that they don't get pushed back. Now that several other films have popped to prominence, some titles are notably absent, but this covers the bulk of the mainstream fare. I'm not really surprised by the films with the most votes, but was a bit surprised by the lack of votes for several Hollywood films that have some significant buzz. Just says something about our readership...and its something I am quite happy about. Thanks again for voting! On with the results!


Which films that open this winter are you most looking forward to?

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- 31 (54%)

The Wrestler- 30 (52%)

Milk- 24 (42%)

Che- 20 (35%)

Synedoche, New York- 20 (35%)

The Road- 17 (29%)

W.- 16 (28%)

Australia- 14 (24%)

Quantum of Solace- 12 (21%)

Revolutionary Road- 9 (15%)

Changeling- 8 (14%)

Doubt- 6 (10%)

Frost/Nixon- 6 (10%)

Slumdog Millionaire- 5 (8%)

Valkyrie- 5 (8%)

Total number of votes: 57

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