FilmJournal.net is a new blogging site aimed at film lovers, haters and those that just pop along to the cinema now and again! If you want to share your film-related thoughts, why not set up your own blog here - it's quick and easy and open to anyone. Already a member? LOGIN HERE.
This month's Journal of the Month is The Grim Cellar, Paul W.J. Martin's excellent horror devoted blog. With a focus on horror, amongst other genres, Paul has managed to put together one of FilmJournal.net's most unique and interesting areas...
2005, US, Directed by Steven Spielberg Colour, Running Time: 112 minutes DVD, Region 2, Paramount, Video: Anamorphic 1.85:1, Audio: DTS The first cinematic adaptation of H.G.Wells’ story is obviously considered to be a minor pinnacle of science fiction but being produced in the fifties it was no doubt time a huge budget remake was on the cards...
The Grim Cellar 09-05-2008 18:45
This sounds like a really interesting project, Colin. I've just bought an HD DVD/Blu-ray combo drive myself (an LG "Super Multi Blue"). Unfortunately, the system I'm using at the moment is a Shuttle with only two SATA connectors on its motherboard, both of which are being used for hard drives, so I won't be able to use it until I get a new machine ...
Posted by Michael Mackenzie 09-05-2008 12:14
Digging deep for some picks this week, but nonetheless a collection of interesting movies, I think. I've been enmeshed in DVD Times reviews (a missed attempt at The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Walk Hard, the entirety of the Warner Gangsters Collection Vol. 3). The August schedule is now up on the TCM site and looks to have several interesting ob...
clydefro 09-05-2008 12:38
Sight & Sound's special issue, 'Cinema of the New Europe', was published this week. The coverdate is June 08, though the Andrzej Klimowski-designed cover makes it instantly recognisable from a fair distance. As the title implies, it's an Eastern European special edition, including the following articles: 'Out of the Past' by Shane Dani...
Kinoblog 09-05-2008 11:17
I'm starting a new project for DVDTimes - I am going to build 'The Ultimate Home Cinema PC' using top of the range components and will take you through all of the steps needed to build a system capable of running anything you wish to throw at it. There will be no limitations on format - DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD will all be compatible and regions wo...
Colin's Film Journal 08-05-2008 10:08
Directed by: Jon Favreau It’s the start of May, so it must be summer! Right? Well the sunglasses are out in Hollywood, as the first of the big summer releases hit theatres last weekend, hoping to grab an early share of audience blockbuster spending before the busy school holiday period kicks in. And it may just work. Iron Man reaches u...
Slate Scrawl 07-05-2008 23:51
1983 | Eddy Graham | 67 mins | DVD | U / G Peter O'Toole is Sherlock Holmes (well, his voice) once again in this animated Conan Doyle adaptation from the '80s (see also my reviews of two others, The Sign of Four and A Study in Scarlet). Of course, this is an adaptation of that perennially popular Holmes story, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and ...
100 Films in a Year 07-05-2008 23:28
"Some people say it didn't happen that way....." I want to preface this piece by saying that Wyatt Earp is a film for which I've never had any particular fondness. However, having said that, I've just watched it again after making a conscious decision to try and keep an open mind, and hopefully be as objective as possible. I first saw th...
Riding the High Country 07-05-2008 21:27
Where have I been this last ten days or so you may be wondering and the short answer is offline. Thanks, apparently, to a technical problem that coincided with Virgin Media moving all the old NTL customers to a new server, I’ve been without internet access since the 26th April, as they were unable to sort the problem until the migration was compl...
Mine Was Taller 06-05-2008 23:58
Many met the return of the grand, large-scale historical epic with indifference, but for me it was a good thing. Though I would stop my life for two hours of film noir happily enough, nothing really beats a lush, three-hour marathon with a cast of thousands, vast ornate sets and soundtrack thundering throughout. In the fifties and sixties, the work...
The Big Whatsit 06-05-2008 13:19
One cinema visit this week, marked with a *. More next week. Innocence (2004) A seven year old girl appears barely dressed inside a coffin in a room in a school building in the middle of some woods surrounded by a wall. There are five other buildings in the grounds, each occupied by five girls between the ages of 7 and 12. When the seven year...
Nobody Knows Anything 05-05-2008 17:30
Everything For Sale is out on an excellent Polish DVD, with optional English subtitles (though sadly only on the main feature). I'm compiling a Wajda DVD survey which I hope to have finished before the end of the retrospective. On the other hand, Rough Treatment doesn't appear to be out on a subtitled DVD, so I'm greatly looking forward to the ...
Posted by Michael Brooke 09-05-2008 11:26
Wyatt Earp is somewhat of a wasted opportunity because it aspires to epicness and profundity, and Kasdan doesn't really have the directorial chops to pull it off, imo. It's still an interesting film, and somewhat underappreciated. Tombstone's an entertaining (messy) romp, I grant you, and it's always fun to watch, but it's fairly trashy: it's the...
Posted by anephric 09-05-2008 07:08
I think we're pretty much in agreement on the weaknesses of 'Wyatt Earp', although I'm nowhere near as enamoured of Quaid's performance. I didn't mind that both 'Wyatt Earp' & 'Tombstone' compressed the timeline when they depicted the Cowboys shooting Morgan and Virgil, it was clearly done to help the narrative run smoother and was more effe...
Posted by Livius 08-05-2008 22:38
I wasn't able to attend the talk as I was at a screening of XXY. I missed Everything For Sale, which really annoyed me as I really wanted to see this. I might only be able to see Man of Marble, Man of Iron and Rough Treatment out of the entire run; at least they're the films I definitely want to see....
Posted by Kevin Wilson 08-05-2008 15:55
Jeff Fahey's a fine actor all too often stuck in DTV dreck. He seems to be making a bit of a comeback at the moment, thanks to Robert Rodriguez/Lost and such, but still. I agree he's not as good as Stephen Lang in the same part in Tombstone, but Lang really is an exceptional actor, who's able to transform himself almost unrecognisably with every ...
Posted by anephric 08-05-2008 12:48
The Criterion news means that I'm riveted already Colin; bring it on....
Posted by John Hodson 08-05-2008 11:12
Yes, I should have mentioned that those deleted scenes are on the DVD. I don't know if the extended version contains any more material but, having looked at the deleted scenes, I wouldn't say they added anything much to the film. It's probably clear that I'm no great fan of Costner - I did think 'Open Range' wasn't bad although that was more fo...
Posted by Livius 08-05-2008 11:01
"In general, the cast is filled up with too many nobodies and TV actors, which means too many flat and lifeless performances" I admit the performances were not all top notch, but, if you look at the current movies (and its stars) cranked out by Hollywood, big names do not always equal talent. ;) "Let’s just say it’s never good news when o...
Posted by Hana 08-05-2008 01:30
Far from being bored witless, it's been an interesting series -- and I came to it late, so I read most of them back to back! Embarrassingly I've not seen a single one of them though (though about half were on my long List Of Things To See), but it's been interesting nonetheless -- and added a couple more to that list. Considering Costner, I was ...
Posted by badblokebob 08-05-2008 00:22
Just want to voice my agreement on Children of Men. I went to see it at the cinema on a bit of a whim -- I'd heard very little about it other than vague whisperings that it was quite good -- and it became an instant favourite. It's version of the future was all too believable. The action sequences are fantastic too, especially how they're all do...
Posted by badblokebob 08-05-2008 00:10
