Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Episode 18: "Vanishing on 7th Street"/"Blue Valentine"

This week, Mark and Rick present a list of favorite car chases and take on the supernatural thriller "Vanishing on 7th Street" and the somber relationship drama "Blue Valentine".

Sunday, May 29, 2011

A Se7en Vibe for Fincher's Remake?

When it comes to early trailers of films, I'm usually against watching them, but this I have to share. I found out about it through the The Daily Notebook twitter page and even though I have not read any of the books, I am intrigued by David Fincher's vision for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In particular, this footage makes me recall Fincher's early pyschologically gripping masterpiece, Se7en.

However, I'm not sure if the trailer has enough cuts in it? If the goal was to give the viewer a seizure, then the editor of the trailer sadly failed.



As for the atrocious Led Zeppelin cover, I am doing my best to ignore it and simply revel in Fincher's return to the thriller genre.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Episode 17: "Bridesmaids"/"Fast Five"

On a special episode of The Brooklyn Film Theorists, Rick invites his fiancee Jen to talk bridal films and "Bridesmaids" with him. Then, Rick and Mark run circles around "Fast Five".

Episode 16: "Meek's Cutoff"/"I Love You Phillip Morris"

This week on The Brooklyn Film Theorists, Mark and Rick discuss the highs and lows of Kelly Reichardt's "Meek's Cutoff" as well as the controversial romance "I Love You Phillip Morris".

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

"Fast Five" Capsule Review

If a viewer can overcome an implausible story & throwaway one-liners, then that viewer will relish the adrenaline rush that director Justin Lin serves up in Fast Five. Be warned: stereotypes are manipulated and reinforced with the subtlety of a jackhammer at dawn, but the action scenes are intense and the shot selection admirable. ***
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Friday, May 13, 2011

Episode 15: Werner Herzog/"Cave of Forgotten Dreams"

This week, The Brooklyn Film Theorists return with an in-depth discussion of Werner Herzog and his newest film, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams". Featuring the smooth soul vocals of Frank Joseph Baran.

Music: "SideKicks-N-FlyKicks"
Artist: O.I.S.D.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

An Excellent Character Actor

Even though I'm in the middle of watching Werner Herzog's epic tale of a stoic strongman in Germany at the onset of World War II, Invincible (2001), I wanted to take a moment and point out how great Udo Kier is at playing the creepy, mysterious man in films. Despite only uttering a handful of lines in many of the films he appears in, Kier steals every scene he's in with his piercing and disturbing gaze. The speech he delivers in Invincible, where he critiques the Nazi's lack of style to Joseph Goebbels, perfectly captures how many Germans must have felt about the Fascist party. Another of his surprisingly memorable acting turns for me is as the wealthy businessman in one of my favorite films from my youth, Tom Shadyac's ridiculous Jim Carrey vehicle Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). Kier's brief appearance onscreen left a distinct impression with me even though his character served no real purpose to the overarching story line of the film.

This line from, Paul Morrisey's cult 1974 vampire film, Blood for Dracula, exemplifies how Kier delivers the cheesiest lines with the utmost sincerity.


Here is another ridiculous scene from an excellent Gus Van Sant film, 1993's My Own Private Idaho, where Kier forgoes all subtly to create a bizarre moment that has typified his acting career.


Simply put, Kier may never be considered an excellent actor in the vein of young Al Pacino or Marlon Brando, but he is a great character actor who will pop up in the oddest film at the oddest moment.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Television Films

Watching a film on television is so disruptive. The only truly effective movies I watch on television are films that are played on movie specific channels, such as TCM. That is not to say that I cannot appreciate a film on IFC or AMC, but I always feel like I want to buy or netflix the film, if it was good to begin with.
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