Review: ABDUCTEE Sees Yamaguchi Thinking Outside the Box |
- Review: ABDUCTEE Sees Yamaguchi Thinking Outside the Box
- Jackie Chan Needs a Partner for Action Comedy SKIPTRACE
- Tribeca 2013 Review: STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS Proves A Unique And Lyrical Journey On The Autistic Spectrum
- Tribeca 2013 Review: THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI Lacks Novelty And The Figurative Punch, But Provides Plenty of The Literal Kind
- Win This Limited Edition CAROLINE AND JACKIE Variant Poster by Paul Jeffrey
- Now on Blu-ray: ANY DAY NOW Showcases Alan Cumming, Garret Dillahunt, and the Challenges for Gay Couples
- MSPIFF 2013 Review: THE DEEP Is A Modest, Well-Made Adventure
- Review: ORPHAN BLACK S1E06, VARIATIONS UNDER DOMESTICATION (Or, It's A Party At Alison's And Everyone's Invited Except Max Headroom)
- Watch A Gorilla Blast A Home Run In MR. GO Clip
- Kevin Smith And Phase 4 Films Embrace Slamdance Favorite THE DIRTIES
- Now on DVD: HAPPY PEOPLE - A YEAR IN THE TAIGA Shows What Werner Herzog Can Do
- Review: GAME OF THRONES S3E06, THE CLIMB (Or, Time For A Breather)
- Human Horticulture Leads To Death And Mutation In Ishii's THE FLOWER OF SHANIDAR
- Vicki Zhao's Directorial Debut SO YOUNG Is Breaking Box Office Records in China
- An Incredibly Beautiful Trailer for Korean Animated Feature THE CUSTOMIZED PLAY
- Exclusive Clip From Kitamura's NO ONE LIVES Shows How To Escape From Ruthless Criminals
- Twitchvision: Talking IRON MAN 3 and More HOT DOCS!
- Sci-Fi London 2013 Review: DEAD WEIGHT
- Adkins, Lundgren And Some Really Bad VFX Star In LEGENDARY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON
| Review: ABDUCTEE Sees Yamaguchi Thinking Outside the Box Posted: 07 May 2013 12:20 AM PDT  Japanese director Yamaguchi Yudai shows signs of creative growth and maturity in this taut, well-directed chamber piece that takes place entirely within the confines of a shipping container. When middle-aged security guard Chiba awakes to find himself bound and gagged inside a large metal box, he immediately assumes the debt collectors have lost their patience with him. But as time goes on, he realises that something else entirely is happening, and that their are other captives in neighbouring containers - all with numbers tattooed on their arms, all heading to the same unknown destination. As the film opens, and we first see Chiba, hands and feet bound, plastic bag over his head, there is an immediate sense of fear, not so much for the character's... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Jackie Chan Needs a Partner for Action Comedy SKIPTRACE Posted: 06 May 2013 08:00 PM PDT  Following the baffling success of CZ12 (aka Chinese Zodiac) at the Chinese box office, Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan has clearly found the confidence to take on Hollywood once again. His new project, Skiptrace, is being touted as a buddy action comedy in the vein of his previous hits Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon, and will see him again team up with a mis-matched Western star - a role that has yet to be cast.Exclusive Media has come on board to produce and co-finance the film, which will be an official Chinese co-production with CZ12 production house Talent International. Chan is credited as star and producer, with Academy Award-nominated Sam Fell (Paranorman, Flushed Away) named as director, in what will be his first live action film.The official... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Posted: 06 May 2013 07:30 PM PDT  Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors is one of those rare tone poems that successfully straddles the line between an abstract avalanche of emotions and images and true narrative, complete with arcs, climax, and resolution. It's the story of a young autistic boy who struggles to fit in, both at school and inside of his own family. The added element of Hurricane Sandy lends a ticking clock realism to the proceedings that might otherwise had become mired in tedium. As is, Sam Fleischner's feature about a child who loses himself in the labyrinth of the New York City subway system is an engaging and moving drama that utilizes some rather unorthodox techniques to achieve its emotional goals. First and foremost, the film is about disconnection... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Posted: 06 May 2013 06:30 PM PDT  Muhammad Ali, aka Cassius Clay, is one of the most famous boxers in history, and one of the more recognizable names in all of sports. His legendary strength, speed, power, and his incredible brashness and pride set him apart from his peers. He has long since been immortalized in the American (and global) lexicon, but that didn't stop Hollywood from latching onto his story (Michael Mann's Ali hit in 2001). Bill Siegel's The Trials of Muhammad Ali examines a significant, though often uninspected portion of the boxer's career, or lack thereof. As the civil rights movement of the 1960s swelled, the man who was born as Cassius Clay became more and more outspoken and vitriolic in his criticisms of an America torn apart by racial... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Win This Limited Edition CAROLINE AND JACKIE Variant Poster by Paul Jeffrey Posted: 06 May 2013 05:30 PM PDT  Adam Christian Clark's Tribeca 2012-debuting familial thriller Caroline and Jackie opened last weekend in New York and on VOD from Phase 4 Films (check out the trailer here). To mark the occasion, we've got five of these awesome Limited Edition Variant posters to give away. Designed by Paul Jeffrey, the poster is a beautiful representation of the complex duality at play in the film. Here is a bit more about Jeffrey: "Paul has been designing movie posters, heavy metal albums, and broadway campaigns along with a bunch of other stuff for the past 10 years. His other recent works include designs for Goro Miyazaki's From Up on Poppy Hill, heartfelt horror film Dead Weight, and the indie comedy B-Side. In the past he has worked... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Posted: 06 May 2013 05:00 PM PDT  Sterling performances by Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt help elevate Any Day Now above a premise that may sound quite familiar: a non-traditional couple runs into trouble when they try to adopt a special-needs child. Set in West Hollywood, California, in 1979, the original screenplay by Travis Fine and George Arthur Bloom, inspired by a true story, sets up one stereotype after another, only to topple them gently. Rudy (Cumming) is performing in a nightclub when he locks eyes with Paul (Dillahunt). They adjourn to Paul's car for a quick tryst and the promise of a future meeting. When Rudy returns home, he discovers that next-door neighbor Marco (Isaac Leyva), a teenage boy with Down's syndrome, has been left abandoned by the arrest of his... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| MSPIFF 2013 Review: THE DEEP Is A Modest, Well-Made Adventure Posted: 06 May 2013 04:00 PM PDT  Baltasar Kormakur's The Deep is one of those rare examples of a fictionalized true story that doesn't ooze with exaggerated melodrama for false effect. Kormakur (101 Reykjavík, the excellent Jar City, and Reykjavík-Rotterdam remake Contraband) crafts a plainspoken tale of survival that walks right past unnecessary hyperbole, instead capturing the true grit of a shipwreck and the heavy heart of a unintentional national hero. The story takes place off the southern coast of Iceland on Westman Island in 1984, where eleven years before a volcanic eruption nearly devastated the community. The disaster itself does not directly play into the story of the film, but the remaining population on the island is defined by the recent event, including the crewmembers of the fishing vessel about to... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Posted: 06 May 2013 03:30 PM PDT  Twice now fledgling scifi thriller Orphan Black has turned in what I'd consider a true misfire of an episode. And twice it has followed up that dog with an absolutely sterling example of what the show can do when firing on all cylinders. And given that the most recent fire was last week, well, let's say that the news of the second season pick up was greeted warmly here.What does Orphan Black do so well this week? Well, pick something, really. This week's episode is simply a prime example of the creators having a good bit of efficient fun with the central role swapping conceit while also advancing the progress of a couple key characters and doing so via story and action rather than the... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Watch A Gorilla Blast A Home Run In MR. GO Clip Posted: 06 May 2013 03:15 PM PDT  As a joint co-production between Huayi Brothers of China and Showbox of Korea, its only natural that Kim Yong-hwa's Mr. Go will receive a heavy push as a must-see Pan-Asian summer blockbuster event in both countries. A "superstar" conference was recently held in Beijing, kicking off the first Chinese promotional campaign with the debut of a video that features an extended clip of the loveable baseball-playing gorilla doing what he does best - cracking baseball out of the stadium.The cast include Xu Jiao (Starry Starry Night, CJ7) and Sung Dong-il (Take Off, 200 Pounds Beauty).Wei Wei grew up in the circus with a bat-swinging gorilla named Ling Ling. After her grandfather dies in the Great Sichuan Earthquake, she has only Ling Ling to depend on.... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Kevin Smith And Phase 4 Films Embrace Slamdance Favorite THE DIRTIES Posted: 06 May 2013 01:30 PM PDT  I ain't gonna lie, it's always fun to get in on the ground floor of a movie you just know is gonna be a buzz film all year long and beyond because not only is said film really, really, funny, but incredibly intelligent, and probably very controversial because of the complex and arguably humane way it handles violent subject matter. Matt Johnson's The Dirties is that movie right now. Winning both the Spirit of Slamdance and Grand Jury Prize for Narrative awards back at Slamdance in January, Johnson's geek bromance/school-shooting flick has been picked up by Phase 4 Films for theatrical distribution in the U.S. and Canada later this year. There's the added assist from Phase 4's partnership with Kevin Smith's Movie Club, where the... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Now on DVD: HAPPY PEOPLE - A YEAR IN THE TAIGA Shows What Werner Herzog Can Do Posted: 06 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT  Werner Herzog sharing a director credit with Dmitry Vasyukov? That immediately raises the question: who did what? Our own Jim Tudor saw Happy People - A Year in the Taiga during its U.S. theatrical run earlier this year. He began his review by recapping the inherent appeal of the material: A snowmobile struggles over one frozen bump then another, his trusty dog keeping pace alongside without a problem. For as far as the eye can see, the terrain is snowcapped, wild, yet tranquil. The scraggly driver is a Russian trapper - a survivalist of the purest order, hailing from an existence devoid of electronic connectivity and indoor climate control. As the film points out, his snowmobile and his chainsaw are among the only modern conveniences... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Review: GAME OF THRONES S3E06, THE CLIMB (Or, Time For A Breather) Posted: 06 May 2013 10:30 AM PDT  The big news in this week's episode of Game Of Thrones? There was none, really. In a series with as many plot lines running simultaneously as this one has you will, inevitably, hit the occasional where you simply need to give everyone a bit of a breather and let things progress along the lines already set while preparing to move on to the next phase. This was one of those moments. Which is not to say it was not a strong episode - the character work was very strong across the board - just that this episode is really about tying up loose ends from the rather tumultuous previous episodes and that things end more or less where expected.Examples?When last we saw Jon Snow he... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Human Horticulture Leads To Death And Mutation In Ishii's THE FLOWER OF SHANIDAR Posted: 06 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT  When Japanese director Ishii Gakuryu released indie drama Isn't Anyone Alive in 2012 it was met with a certain degree of confusion. It wasn't the film itself sparking questions, really, but the name of the director. You see, Ishii Gakuryu had - up until that point - built a reputation as one of Japan's finest and most challenging directors but had done it under the name of Ishii Sogo, under which moniker he had released classic titles such as Crazy Thunder Road, Angel Dust, Gojoe and Electric Dragon 80 000 Volts. With a long and successful career already under his belt, why the name change?Well, with the impending release of his second feature as Gakuryu it becomes abundantly clear why. He simply wants to make... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Vicki Zhao's Directorial Debut SO YOUNG Is Breaking Box Office Records in China Posted: 06 May 2013 09:45 AM PDT  Popular Chinese actress Vicki Zhao Wei (Painted Skin 1 & 2, Red Cliff 1 & 2, Shaolin Soccer) is enjoying great success with her directorial debut, So Young. The film surpassed Stephen Chow's Journey to the West in advanced sales, and went on to open powerfully with RMB45 million, beating the opening day record for a 2D film, previously held by last year's local box office champ Lost in Thailand. Having now grossed nearly RMB500 million (US$80 million), it is widely believed that So Young will become the highest grossing local film by a female director in China. The film's English title originates from the song So Young by British band Suede that features in the film, while its Chinese title translates to 'To Our Youth... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| An Incredibly Beautiful Trailer for Korean Animated Feature THE CUSTOMIZED PLAY Posted: 06 May 2013 09:30 AM PDT  The Customized Play is an upcoming animated feature film from South Korean director Brian Jin. Utilizing a combination of 2D and 3D animation techniques and a wonderfully rich color palette, the trailer looks stunning. It also features a beautiful song and is very touching. So please check it out!Synopsis: Chun Jaeyoung and Chun Yusun visit the unusual drama company, which produces the customized play for each client. They ask the boss of troupe to make the play for their father, Chun Jongsik having a 70th birthday. The boss creates the customized play having interviews with their father and his acquaintances. In the play, Chun Jongsik experiences fiction and truth from the past so that he realizes what he has done and what he has been... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Exclusive Clip From Kitamura's NO ONE LIVES Shows How To Escape From Ruthless Criminals Posted: 06 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT  Let's say you're a lovely-looking blonde lady and you happen to be kidnapped by a ruthless gang of criminals. Let's go further and say that your good-looking boyfriend * kidnapper has left you alone for some reason, leaving you to your own devices to escape. Let's say the criminals have guns, but you don't care; you're tired of their shenanigans and just want to go home, take off your torn, bloody clothes, slip into a nice, warm bath, and maybe have an adult beverage before heading to bed. How would you escape? In an exclusive, NSFW clip from Kitamura Ryuhei's No One Lives, we observe the method employed by Adelaide Clemens as the blonde, who's apparently been left behind by her boyfriend * Luke Evans... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Twitchvision: Talking IRON MAN 3 and More HOT DOCS! Posted: 06 May 2013 08:30 AM PDT  With Hot Docs winding down this weekend, was time to highlight a couple more faves, from the Ross Brother's 3-hour-epic River, through Caucus, After Tiller, and 12 O'Clock Boys. Full reviews of these to come, so consider these a video tease.Also had fun with Tony Stark's latest adventure, even if (spoiler!) they couldn't keep a leading actress I don't particularly enjoy dead for very long.Ah, well, maybe they'll cull the cast next go 'round. Check out the video embedded below:... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Sci-Fi London 2013 Review: DEAD WEIGHT Posted: 06 May 2013 08:00 AM PDT  Two things can/have happened with the greater ease of making an indepedent film: One is that newbie filmmakers take no time or care with writing a good story and then take even less time to plan how they will film the story because, you know, they can just shoot a bunch of digital and worry about the results later. Two is that filmmakers do take that time to make sure the story is told well, thinking through how each shot is presented and how it represents the story. Luckily, Dead Weight falls into the latter category. A character-driven horror drama, its emphasis on ordinary, non-heroic people and their actions (both good and bad), this is a solid feature debut from directors/writers Adam Bartlett and John... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
| Adkins, Lundgren And Some Really Bad VFX Star In LEGENDARY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON Posted: 06 May 2013 07:30 AM PDT  Dolph Lundgren wants to kill a dragon. Scott Adkins wants to save it. Some Chinese people are most likely going to be eaten. This is the basic premise of Legendary: Tomb Of The Dragon, an upcoming Chinese / UK co-production starring the action vet (Lundgren) and the up and comer seemingly forever in search of the decent break he deserves (Adkins) with both of them playing second fiddle to some pretty horrid visual effects.You want a taste for yourself? The first teaser appears to have been edited by someone in the midst of a grand mal seizure but you can take a look at it below.... [Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...] |
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