Category: Film Focus
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In absentia
You may or may not have noticed a conspicuous lack of blog entries since I took former film-master Ridley Scott to task for his dreadful Prometheus. There are a number of reasons (or excuses) for this. In the end, I think I grew weary of writing how woefully inadequate movies have become. This summer’s disappointing… Read more
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Score Card: A River Runs Through It
Score Card is devoted to an unseen but pivotal force behind the best (and worst) movies: the motion picture score. An ethereal veil of ambiance, its absence can be as powerful as its presence, and its misuse can bring down a single scene or an entire film. This column will be something of a journey… Read more
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Trophy strife
Much has been made of a possible Oscar nomination for Andy Serkis’ astonishing performance(s) in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. If there has ever been the nagging question of whether or not it was his performance or the work of the animators that brought the simian Caesar to life, the following video should… Read more
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Ten for ’11
Any honest annual top ten list would have to stipulate that they are the foremost movies the writer was actually able to see. It is improbable, if not impossible, to attend every release in a given year. There are a dozen or so films that I didn’t have the opportunity to assess, either because they… Read more
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Second wind
I found it nearly impossible to watch David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo without the spectre of Niels Adren Oplev’s adaptation prodding my expectations. Objectivity became even more strained as events inched ever closer to that scene. The traumatizing effect of its Swedish predecessor clouded the entire first act of the film (a… Read more
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Guns, guts and gadgetry
Brad Bird loves James Bond. This was evident in the Sean Connery-era 007 touches he infused into his Pixar hit The Incredibles. It is even more evident in the director’s recent Mission: Impossible episode (gone is the numerical increment, instead we’re given an honest-to-god subtitle, Ghost Protocol), an enjoyably absurd spectacle that hearkens back to… Read more
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Rainespots: Bille August
Filmmaker Spotlight When most people think of Danish cinema, the controversial work of Lars von Trier usually comes to mind. August on the other hand has been making quietly powerful and personal cinema for years. Influenced by the early realist films of Fellini (La Strada) and Ken Loach (Family Life), his works often concentrate on… Read more
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Horrible Imaginings returns to frighten and delight San Diego audiences
Local film festival scares up a respectable following. Last year saw the inception of San Diego’s first film festival dedicated to macabre cinema and art. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that a second year was a certainty. On November 4th and 5th, Horrible Imaginings Film Festival expands to two days of film and art,… Read more
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Son of 31 Nights, 31 Frights: Wrap-up
It’s been another fantastic Halloween month. I hope you enjoyed the daily selection of films chosen for this year’s fright film fest. Special thanks to guest blogger, Miguel Rodriguez, for his contributions. Below is a listing of all the films highlighted this year. Have a Happy Halloween… II! Read more
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Son of 31 Nights, 31 Frights: Halloween II
Nowhere near as good as the original but still manages to keep the same tension and dread, even as it amps up the creative carnage. Michael Myers stalks survivor Laurie Strode through the bizarrely dark and deserted Haddonfield Hospital where she seems to be the only patient. Read more
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