Question of the Day: Your Favorite FIlms of 2006?

Continuing with the theme of "best of" lists...so what movies stood out to you in 2006?  I'm noticing that this was a relatively weak year considering the years its sandwiched between.  Leave your lists in the comments...here's my list: 20.) Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby 19.) Why We Fight 18.) Jesus Camp 17.) Half Nelson 16.) Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story 15.) Stranger Than Fiction 14.) Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World 13.) The Departed 12.) United 93 11.)...

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Revisiting 1999: The Top Ten Films of the Year, #4 --- Three Kings (David O. Russell)

Sorry this one is so short and more like an outline. I just knew that if I didn't get this posted soon I never would. So here's some brief, and somewhat unorganized, thoughts on one of my very favorite films of the 90's. Here's where I've covered so far in case you've forgotten: The Top 10 Films of 1999: Intro: Introduction: The Best Films of 1999 10 - The Limey (Steven Soderbergh) 9 - Affliction (Paul Schrader) 8- American Movie (Chris Smith) 7- Rosetta (The Dardenne Brothers) 6- Being...

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Question of the Day: Your Favorite Films of 2005?

Today's question continues my inquiry into what you all think are some of the best films of the decade.  Today we cover 2005, a year I had forgotten about.  There were a lot of great films released in 2005, and I think I forgot about it because of how great 2007 was, and how a lot of people think that year is the best of the decade, but 2005 gives it a run for its money.  Leave your lists in the comments.  Here's my list: 20.) The 40 Year-Old Virgin 19.) Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang 18.)...

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DVD Review: Two Lovers

James Gray's Two Lovers may be the closest thing American movies have to a Dardenne Brothers film. Well, Kelly Reichardt may have something to say about that, but my point is this: finally we have an American film that is willing to be a melodrama and be serious all while being based in reality. It's rare for a film that portrays love in the same way a soap opera might to have the ability to pull me in and believe in the characters. Of course the acting has a lot to do with it, but Gray films...

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DVD Review: Breaking and Entering

Breaking and Entering is a very broad premise about how messing up makes you a better person. Philosophically it could have worked, as the late writer/director Anthony Minghella made one of my favorite films The Talented Mr. Ripley. But where that film was masterful at letting editing speak for the characters intentions, Breaking and Entering insists on spelling everything out with its absurd amount of heavy-handed dialogue. ...

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Off for the Holiday...

I'll be away from the blog for the next couple of days, but that's not why I'm posting something...no, I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday.  Whether you celebrate it for religious reasons or for taking-a-break-from-all-the-things-I-hate-about-my-job reasons, I hope that you all enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation.  Anyway, see ya in a few days....

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Question of the Day: Your Favorite Films of 2004?

As we get closer and closer to the end of the year, and all of the inevitable end-of-the-year lists, I thought that I would re-institute the Question of the Day feature by asking everyone to list some of their favorite films for the years leading up to 2009.  I'm also doing this because Ric at Film for the Soul is on sabbatical from his wonderful Counting Down the Zeroes project and the subsequent top ten lists he asked contributors to submit.  So, I thought this would be a good venue...

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DVD Review: Adventureland

What a breath of fresh air this movie is. Finally we have a movie about young people in their 20's who aren't obsessed with getting high, drinking, and having sex; these are things that just happen. Writer/Director Greg Mottola has created a love song to those summer nights where everything seems easier and more romanticized than the other three seasons. This is a rare film about young people who are more concerned about getting a summer job so they can save up for Graduate school than about...

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Revisiting 1999: The Top Ten Films of the Year, #5 --- The Insider (Michael Mann)

When I began thinking about this project last Spring I remember thinking that whenever (and if) I get to the top five films of 1999 I will have a tough time figuring out which films are “better” than the others.  When thinking about this hierarchical dilemma I began to realize that I would have to type out some kind of caveat with this list. Here is the first of five entries that will account for what I think are the five best films of 1999, a year that I have been talking about on this...

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DVD Review: The Prowler (aka Rosemary’s Killer)

Joseph Zito's 1981 slasher The Prowler has a reputation as being one of the better offerings from the tired sub-genre. It boasts an impressive period look in its opening scenes (impressive for an 80's horror flick with little more than a million dollar budget), some of the best gore effects by Tom Savini, and one creepy looking killer. However, these minor pluses never materialize into a shocking or thrilling experience. Instead the film is nothing more than your average hack-and-slash film...

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DVD Review: Funny People

If you look hard enough while watching a Judd Apatow film you will find yourself amazed that there is material that exists – lurking beneath all the penis and fart jokes – that is capable of moving you. I don’t think there has been a writer who has been more polarizing or misunderstood since David Mamet decided to start making movies. Like Mamet, Apatow’s points are often lost on casual audiences who can’t seem to wade their way through the pervasiveness of the vulgarity. Mamet has his “eff...

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Merry Quiz-mas: Time for another SLATIFR quiz.

Well...it's that time again.  Dennis Cozzalio of the fantastic Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule has asked the blogosphere to fill out one of his endlessly entertaining tests.  I usually feel like a dummy after getting through with these things, but that never tempers my enthusiasm in doing them.  Dennis has lobbed a whopping 50 question(!!) exam at us.  I hope I at least get it out of the infield.  Thanks again, Dennis, for such a fantastically...

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...And we're back

Hey everyone...the madness of the past month is over and I'm ready to start posting on here again.  Things will resume this Monday, and there's no telling how many posts I plan on doing in the month I have off from responsibilites.  I plan on doing the following: Listing my answers to Dennis' quiz Re-visiting the underrated and undervalued greatness that is "John From Cincinnati" Catching up with some movies like A Serious Man and last years A Christmas Tale Reviewing stuff like Funny People and The Limits of Control, as well...

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A Brief Sabbatical (Thanks to James Woods)

Okay, so I was all ready to talk about how I love the MGM HD channel because it allows me to revisit movies I haven't seen in years. Films like: Southern Comfort, Coffy, The Burning, and Interiors. And I was all ready to write about how the other night they showed this film called Cop, starring James Woods in one of his best performances, directed by James B. Harris who used to work on Kubrick's films from the 50's and 60's (most notably writing the screenplay and producing Paths of Glory), and...

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DVD Review: Away We Go

Sam Mendes’ Away We Go feels like Jarmusch-lite…and I mean that as a compliment. The filmmakers invoke all the usual indie tropes (I have to admit when I popped the DVD in I was already groaning at the way the menu looked): folk musical score, chapters accompanied by title cards, John Krasiniski with a beard; however, beneath its seemingly rather annoying indie exterior lurks a whole other film filled with interesting meditations on parenting, being in love while having kids, and raising children...

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An Interview with Jeffrey Goodman, director of The Last Lullaby

Yesterday I reviewed a film that I think is one of the best surprises of 2009, The Last Lullaby. The director Jeffrey Goodman has been nice enough to answer some questions about the process of making an independent film, some of the influences on his career, what it was like working with Tom Sizemore, and just the overall experience of making a different kind of thriller. My thanks to Jeffrey for taking the time to answer these random, off-the-top-of-my-head questions. Please check out my review...

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DVD Review: The Last Lullaby

Jeffrey Goodman’s The Last Lullaby is one of those rare debut films that is so assured in its style that it becomes clearer and clearer as we watch the film unfold that we’re dealing with a major up and coming talent. So rare is it these days to find a thriller that is willing to slow things down – to exist in silence and push aside all the needless noise that clutters modern thrillers. Here is a film that understands the essentials of filmmaking, and why we go to see movies like this. The Last...

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"No country, this, for old men." Thoughts on Disgrace

“…A mad old man who sits among the dogs and sings to himself!” That mad old man is David Lurie (John Malkovich) a professor of the Romantics in Cape Town, South Africa. He’s at the center of Steve Jacobs’ film Disgrace, based on the best selling and award winning (and one of my five favorite books) J.M. Coetzee novel. How he becomes mad is only the surface of this story – this isn’t a film about good deeds or bad deeds, or about redemption and rebirth; no, this is a film that asks hard questions...

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Antichrist: Dragging me to Hell

I don’t get Lars von Trier…let’s just get that fact out of the way from the onset. I’ve never liked his amateur style and musings on big ideas. His Dogma rules of filmmaking are a joke, a list of restrictions that act as a cop-out for his stale style. However, I must admit that von Trier’s newest film looks great, something that I never thought I would find myself saying. Another bit of good news: von Trier, it seems, has learned how to make a movie less than two hours. The bad news: it doesn’t...

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Italian Horror Blog-a-thon: Post Script

Well that was fun, wasn't it? I never in my wildest dreams imagined that so many of you would be interested in discussing this kooky little subgenre I love so much. Some of my blogging heroes joined in the discussion (Thanks, Dennis and Tim!), and I got to meet a lot of new bloggers who love Italian horror as much as I do. This was a lot fun, everyone...and I have all of you to thank because of it. So...thanks! Fulci was the most popular subject for the blog-a-thon...which kind of shocked me;...

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Italian Horror Blog-a-thon: Links (Updated 10/31)

[Here's what other people have contributed so far to the Italian Horror Blog-a-thon. Keep 'em coming...you can submit a piece anytime you'd like during the blog-a-thon's run. I will continue to update this on a daily basis so that it will be easy to find who has contributed and where you can find it. Everything will be in this one post organized by date. I will try to keep this updated at the top of the blog. All reviews written by me can be found below this post. Enjoy.]Updated links after...

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Italian Horror Blog-a-thon: The Church (aka Cathedral of Demons, aka Demon Cathedral, aka Demons 3, aka In the Land of the Demons)

[Today we have a review for one of my favorite Italian horror films by my favorite Italian horror filmmaker. Here's another one, like City of the Living Dead, that I kind of dismissed when I initially watched, but subsequent viewings have been much kinder to this film. Oh, and it has what is possibly the best Italian horror soundtrack...Keith Emerson and Goblin doing Philip Glass! Enjoy]Michele Soavi’s The Church is probably the most atmospheric, feast-for-the-eyes type of Italian horror film...

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