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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...
Those lovely people at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse came up trumps again this past weekend by running a one-off showing of the now-infamous Tarantino-Rodriguez double-header from last year, Grindhouse. The film, a loving tribute to the cheap exploitation trash that was churned out in the 60s, 70s and 80s to make quick bucks for American theaters...
THE ARK 12-05-2008 20:32
I know what you mean about Andrews; much as I enjoy 'Canyon Passage', for example, I can't help but feel he was more at home in a noir environment. Mind you, he was very effective, not to mention affecting, in 'The Ox-Bow Incident'....
Posted by Livius 12-05-2008 20:55
This post does not support the use of illegal pharmaceuticals and frowns sternly in your direction if you have ever done so. Two cinema visits this week, marked with a *. Tell No One (2006) Why can't more bestselling authors be like Harlan Coben? Not allowing Hollywood to ruin his novel, but giving a young, relatively untried French director ...
Nobody Knows Anything 12-05-2008 19:48
In these days of widescreen, hi-def, Blu-ray video pictures, cast a thought back to the late 1920’s and early 1930’s – even then they had widescreen, large format film presentations. The release of Fox’s “The Big Trail” in both normal (35mm) and widescreen (70mm) editions on a 2 disc Region 1 DVD set is a welcome addi...
THE RANDOM JOTTINGS OF SIRIAMI 12-05-2008 08:20
1997 | Curtis Hanson | 132 mins | DVD | 18 / R Once again I'm watching an adaptation shortly after plowing through the source novel, a situation that has so far proved awkward for giving films a fair assessment. L.A. Confidential is an especially tricky one: how does a 480-page, densely written, intricately plotted crime novel, spanning seven ye...
100 Films in a Year 12-05-2008 00:43
Directed by: Jay Roach The career of Mike Myers has been strangely sporadic, with peaks of popularity exploding him back into the public consciousness before he slinks away again to consider his next move. As one of the more successful Saturday Night Live graduates, it was a character from that very show which brought him to the big screen in...
Slate Scrawl 11-05-2008 23:58
Director: Yeung Shu-Hei Cast: Tang Ching; Lee Kwan; Margaret Tu Chuan Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Shaw Brothers There’s an international money counterfeiting gang in town, and Interpol agent 009, Chen Tianhong (Tang Ching) is sent to investigate. Like Lo Wei’s Golden Buddha from 1966, Interpol 009 attempts to bring a Chin...
Heroes of the East 11-05-2008 19:52
It's dated yesterday, but I don't think it ever made it into the printed version of the Guardian, which is why I didn't spot it until now. Anyway, here's an excellent interview with Jiří Menzel as his latest film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2007) finally gets a belated and brief British cinema run....
Kinoblog 10-05-2008 13:17
Neil Burnside, the lead character in this classic ITV series, lets the viewer know early on that this isn’t going to be a series full of 007-style outlandish plots and over the top action –“If you want James Bond go to a library” he informs a colleague in the first episode. The Sandbaggers is more interested in the backroom boys than with t...
Mine Was Taller 10-05-2008 11:46
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
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
Ian, if you enjoyed 'Seven Men fron Now' then I think you would have a great time with the other movies as, in many ways, it is maybe one of their lesser collaborations. That's not to take anything away from what is a high quality western, rather it's meant to emphasise the excellence of the rest of the Boetticher & Scott movies....
Posted by Livius 12-05-2008 20:50
This is my favourite of the Mann/Stewart westerns, even allowing for Rock Hudson as an Indian. Stephen McNally and Dan Duryea are great villains and Stewart's performance is one of his best. Like John (and no doubt many others) I'd love to see more of the Boetticher/Scott westerns on DVD. I've only seen Seven Men from Now (and that only recentl...
Posted by Ian W 12-05-2008 15:01
I would like to see a couple of Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald films, notably Rose Marie and Maytime. They were the top box office draw in the 1930's....
Posted by Elsa Dik Glass 12-05-2008 14:51
I'm with you on Victor Mature, Colin. He's a good actor but some actors just don't seem quite right for certain genres and Mature always looks out of place in horse operas (Dana Andrews is another actor who doesn’t do it for me in westerns)....
Posted by Ian W 12-05-2008 14:46
I’d never heard of this before reading your review, Colin, but it sounds intriguing, if more for the cast than the actual quality of the film. A pity it’s only available with My Darling Clementine as I’ve already got the old Studio Classics release....
Posted by Ian W 12-05-2008 14:36
Thanks for your kind thoughts; the collection is fine, but it's been a bit of a mess otherwise and has put a spanner in the works as far as the blog goes - hopefully I can get my head and my act together soon, once things are sorted....
Posted by John Hodson 12-05-2008 12:07
John, I do so commiserate with you re your sad loss - hopefully, they left your DVD collection alone? Thanks for the comments re the above post, your blog is always a regular stop on my Internet travels.... Alistair...
Posted by siriami 12-05-2008 08:49
Thanks James, for the info on the "lost" parts of the film. I've read conflicting reports on what is missing and what is myth, and it's sometimes hard to make sense of it all! I would have thought a Mandarin audio version wouldn't be too much of a problem to achieve in this day and age, but until then, I may do the unthinkable and stick with the ...
Posted by Cal 11-05-2008 19:58
Sounds great, Colin, especially if you spell it out in simple terms and great detail! Anything too technical and I'll be lost immediately......
Posted by Phil Quail 11-05-2008 17:55
Before intruders broke into my home and removed the means of watching 'Land of Promise' as part of their haul (though not the DVDs themselves; odd that), I'd watched the first four documentaries and while it can get said that the first two - particularly Rotha's 'Shipyard' - are considerably more lyrical than the next pair, as alluded to in the acc...
Posted by John Hodson 11-05-2008 11:24
