AFTER LAST SEASON on DVD
Your jaw will drop...
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
ANTICHRIST or PUNK'D AGAIN with Lars Von Trier
So I finally get to see this, after a couple of months of various discussion amongst critics and bloggers... scheduled to open in the U.S. in late October by IFC Films, and possibly shorn of its more outrageous imagery made me take matters into hand - not to mention that it might not make it anywhere near me that doesn't entail an hour's drive.
Let's just say that if you want to see this in the version that the Cannes audience saw, and not wait several months for discs to arrive in stores, opportunity is knocking.
First of all, it's not quite as lurid as the reviews have made it sound, although there's strong stuff here. Second, this is the most exciting thing in the world of film in ages... for some reason, only European directors seem to be able to deliver the goods (only Werner Herzog has stepped up and done TWO films to get people buzzed about film again); David Lynch was about the only recent American director to generate buzz this big.
ANTICHRIST is basically a combination of a Strindberg play with the aesthetics of Bergman and 'torture porn', whipped into frenzy with that touch of Von Trier (equal parts of wonder and contempt). I don't think that he's joking; but I do think that he did have some fun tweaking some of the conventions of the horror film -- and still making it way more disturbing than any recent 'straight horror' film.
Von Trier has trucked with horror before - if you've seen THE KINGDOM, then you know what he's capable of (and that was a miniseries for TV); and I'd even say that his second feature, EPIDEMIC, also fall under that heading (think of ADAPTATION done as a horror film). In both those instances, the horror coexists with a somewhat self-aware attitude - sort of 'What can I get away with?', prime example being the end of THE KINGDOM.
In ANTICHRIST, these moments are littered throughout the film, starting with the title and the opening prologue. But the big moment occurs roughly about an hour into the film, and one's reaction to it is the litmus test. At that point, you either ride it out to the end, or you abandon all hope, ye who have entered, to paraphrase a bit.
To call it 'horror' is rather unfair - it certainly doesn't fit comfortably within the confines of what most consider a horror film, though it does use the tropes of horror pretty well, and does manage to subvert several of them with a smirk (such as Willem Defoe being the Final Girl figure, as well as a whiff of his Jesus from LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST.) It's 'art-horror' which puts it in the same class as another Cannes shocker from earlier, Andrzej Zulawski's POSSESSION.
Get out to see this when you can (or seize on that opportunity knocking). You may like it or absolutely hate it... you won't be bored either way.
So I finally get to see this, after a couple of months of various discussion amongst critics and bloggers... scheduled to open in the U.S. in late October by IFC Films, and possibly shorn of its more outrageous imagery made me take matters into hand - not to mention that it might not make it anywhere near me that doesn't entail an hour's drive.
Let's just say that if you want to see this in the version that the Cannes audience saw, and not wait several months for discs to arrive in stores, opportunity is knocking.
First of all, it's not quite as lurid as the reviews have made it sound, although there's strong stuff here. Second, this is the most exciting thing in the world of film in ages... for some reason, only European directors seem to be able to deliver the goods (only Werner Herzog has stepped up and done TWO films to get people buzzed about film again); David Lynch was about the only recent American director to generate buzz this big.
ANTICHRIST is basically a combination of a Strindberg play with the aesthetics of Bergman and 'torture porn', whipped into frenzy with that touch of Von Trier (equal parts of wonder and contempt). I don't think that he's joking; but I do think that he did have some fun tweaking some of the conventions of the horror film -- and still making it way more disturbing than any recent 'straight horror' film.
Von Trier has trucked with horror before - if you've seen THE KINGDOM, then you know what he's capable of (and that was a miniseries for TV); and I'd even say that his second feature, EPIDEMIC, also fall under that heading (think of ADAPTATION done as a horror film). In both those instances, the horror coexists with a somewhat self-aware attitude - sort of 'What can I get away with?', prime example being the end of THE KINGDOM.
In ANTICHRIST, these moments are littered throughout the film, starting with the title and the opening prologue. But the big moment occurs roughly about an hour into the film, and one's reaction to it is the litmus test. At that point, you either ride it out to the end, or you abandon all hope, ye who have entered, to paraphrase a bit.
To call it 'horror' is rather unfair - it certainly doesn't fit comfortably within the confines of what most consider a horror film, though it does use the tropes of horror pretty well, and does manage to subvert several of them with a smirk (such as Willem Defoe being the Final Girl figure, as well as a whiff of his Jesus from LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST.) It's 'art-horror' which puts it in the same class as another Cannes shocker from earlier, Andrzej Zulawski's POSSESSION.
Get out to see this when you can (or seize on that opportunity knocking). You may like it or absolutely hate it... you won't be bored either way.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Dog Days of August
Back from the blur of a busy summer...
Another feature down - well, mostly. There's still some more work to be done involving floor (physical) effects that's about another 2 weeks of shooting, but 80 - 85% is 'in the can'. And it was one of the best production experiences that I've had as of late. Now that it's over, it's time to troll around again for more of the same. In this economic climate... oh, to be an Iowan, or at least have some contacts there -- Iowa as of late is practically crawling with film work, with companies taking advantage of those tax breaks. Some friends are currently at work on the first of 4 horror films shooting up in Iowa... the movie is called HUSK. I wonder if there's a sequel to be called SHUCK.
I have taken up a form of the 'work from home' type of job -- since I do like to type things of this nature, I should find some way for it to make some coin. So, as of this week, I am a writer for Examiner.com; specifically, the 'Topeka DVD Examiner', where I'll be doing DVD reviews, with some emphasis on things that have been shot in the area... and as much film related area news that I can get away with -- which may mean I'll become the Topeka Film Examiner at some point. The more people come to the site, the more money I make, as these things go. I do promise to make it worth the effort.
I suppose I should be all excited about the new Tarantino film and the AVATAR trailer -- I don't give a shit about either -- Tarantino, I gave up on some time ago, and as to AVATAR, nothing that's been revealed is anything to go nuts about. And having learned that Disney is getting ready to remake YELLOW SUBMARINE in that same shitty motion capture that Bob Zemekis (sic, I know) has been fooling around with for the past decade or so -- there's very little reason to get excited about anything coming out of the studios. If it's not a remake, or based on a toy of some kind, no one apparently knows how to sell that type of a film anymore. It either sits on a shelf for years, or it gets released on home video with little to no fanfare.
If you're lucky, it may even play in a theater near you for a week.
I love what I do, but from all evidence, there's no money to be made in making quality films.
That's just a lesson I'm having a big problem learning, I guess.
Enough whining... here's some on-set hijinks for you to enjoy!
Back from the blur of a busy summer...
Another feature down - well, mostly. There's still some more work to be done involving floor (physical) effects that's about another 2 weeks of shooting, but 80 - 85% is 'in the can'. And it was one of the best production experiences that I've had as of late. Now that it's over, it's time to troll around again for more of the same. In this economic climate... oh, to be an Iowan, or at least have some contacts there -- Iowa as of late is practically crawling with film work, with companies taking advantage of those tax breaks. Some friends are currently at work on the first of 4 horror films shooting up in Iowa... the movie is called HUSK. I wonder if there's a sequel to be called SHUCK.
I have taken up a form of the 'work from home' type of job -- since I do like to type things of this nature, I should find some way for it to make some coin. So, as of this week, I am a writer for Examiner.com; specifically, the 'Topeka DVD Examiner', where I'll be doing DVD reviews, with some emphasis on things that have been shot in the area... and as much film related area news that I can get away with -- which may mean I'll become the Topeka Film Examiner at some point. The more people come to the site, the more money I make, as these things go. I do promise to make it worth the effort.
I suppose I should be all excited about the new Tarantino film and the AVATAR trailer -- I don't give a shit about either -- Tarantino, I gave up on some time ago, and as to AVATAR, nothing that's been revealed is anything to go nuts about. And having learned that Disney is getting ready to remake YELLOW SUBMARINE in that same shitty motion capture that Bob Zemekis (sic, I know) has been fooling around with for the past decade or so -- there's very little reason to get excited about anything coming out of the studios. If it's not a remake, or based on a toy of some kind, no one apparently knows how to sell that type of a film anymore. It either sits on a shelf for years, or it gets released on home video with little to no fanfare.
If you're lucky, it may even play in a theater near you for a week.
I love what I do, but from all evidence, there's no money to be made in making quality films.
That's just a lesson I'm having a big problem learning, I guess.
Enough whining... here's some on-set hijinks for you to enjoy!
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)