Weekly Film Update :: 04.30.2008
April 30, 2008
In preparation of the soon-to-be
National Holiday of Emilio Festivez,
may I present a handful of his bestevez work.
(There’s some non-Emilio works included as well,
mercifully separated from the master’s work.)
What is Emilio Festevez?
THIS is Emilio Festevez!
Greet the Light.
+++++ Non Emilio +++++
| Gleaming The Cube | |
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A hold-over from last week’s skate-fest. To 16-year-old Brian, life is an empty pool and a skateboard, until his brother is found dead and it’s declared a suicide. Determined to uncover the truth, Brian risks all as he crosses into a world of deceit, contraband, and murder. Christian Slater (and Tony Hawk) skates to impress in one of his first leading roles. |
| Heavyweights | |
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In honor of the Cincinnati Dopplegangers spotted on last weekend’s rooftop.
The first American movie to explore the link between processed cheese and the need for love. |
| Le Temps Du Loup (Time of the Wolf) | |
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Liked FUNNY GAMES & need more Michael Haneke? TIME OF THE WOLF is an emotionally riveting film that takes place in post-apocalyptic rural France. Keeping the film at a constantly tense level even though the characters are for the most part calm and logical, Haneke has mastered the art of controlling his audience. Viewers will find it hard to look away from the screen–or even move in their seats–as they sit frozen by the powerful performances of Isabelle Huppert and Anais Demoustier. The story follows a family of four who load up their supplies and retreat from Paris after a disaster leaves the water contaminated and livestock sickened, causing the government to put sanctions of food and fuel. Arriving at their country house, the family is attacked, their patriarch is murdered, and their supplies are stolen, leaving Anne (Huppert), Eva (Demoustier) and the fragile young Ben (Lucas Biscombe) to wander the bleak countryside in a fervent search for justice and protection. Settling into a makeshift commune in a railroad station, the threesome struggle to make it through each day among chaos, prostitution and rape, competitive barter for food and water, and long episodes of their companions screaming or sobbing. Depressing and frightening, yet totally compelling, TIME OF THE WOLF is a myth with epic feeling. Most of the action takes place off-screen as the protagonists react, and this method of storytelling infuses the film with natural suspense. The result is one great big deep and eerie shiver. |
| The Sandlot | |
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Forever. |
| Teeth | |
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Writer-director-actor (and son of Roy) Mitchell Lichtenstein’s feature debut is a horror comedy combining elements of atom-age 1950s horror films with mythology and feminist theory. The result is a smart, sassy B-movie satire–funny, gross, and with a high squirm factor. A risky idea that could well have turned into a lower-tier Troma production, TEETH is a unique and surprising creation. Dawn (Jess Weixler) lives the life of a normal suburban teenager, except for the two nuclear reactors looming over her house. A goody two-shoes by any measure, she leads the local chapter of a chastity group, lecturing younger children on saving themselves for marriage. She finds herself stirred in unexpected ways, however, by new member Tobey (Hale Appleman). Dawn lets herself get closer to him than she has to anyone else, but when he rapes her, she discovers—in the most grisly way—that she is a true incarnation of the vagina dentata myth. As Dawn attempts to come to terms with her emerging sexuality and her second set of choppers, more men with bad intentions fall victim to their worst nightmare. Lichtenstein reportedly first heard of the vagina dentata myth while studying under Camille Paglia, and his take on it proves to be as frightening (and bloody) as one would expect. As Dawn, Weixler is winning, and watching her transformation from meek to empowered is a blast to watch. A handful of wincingly gory sequences will have horror fans howling, but there are layers to the film for those willing to peel them back. |
| Wladyslaw Starewicz - Seven Short Films | |
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Wladyslaw Starewicz’ childhood passion for entomology led his career: he began producing short documentaries in Moscow around 1909-1910, beginning with a documentary about insects in Lithuania. In his spare time, he experimented with stop-action films using beetles, which he articulated by wiring the legs to the thorax with sealing wax. This, of course, led to his big breakthrough, released by the Van Kanjonkov Studio of Moscow: “The Battle of the Stag Beetles”, the first puppet-animated film.Starewicz’ popularity grew quickly… his third film, “The Ant & The Grasshopper”, earned him an honor from the Tsar himself. He produced dozens of works during this period, including “Insects Aviation Week” (1912), “Four Devils” (1913) and “Voyage To the Moon” (1913).
The Russian Revolution caused Wladyslaw to emigrate. He fled to Paris, France, arriving in 1920, where he became known as Ladislas Starevich. He settled in a villa in Fontenay-sous-Bois, where he spent the rest of his life producing surreal, lyrical animation. With great patience and attention to detail, he wrote or adapted the stories; designed and built the puppets, sets and costumes; articulated every movement; and shot each film frame-by-frame, often without continuity notes. After 1924, his daughter, Irene (aka Nina Starr), assisted with and appeared in many of his films. Fiercely independent, Starewicz rejected lucrative offers from American animation studios, rather than relinquish creative control. Although “The Mascot” is his best known film in America, his best film is probably “The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard,” a film which took over ten years to make, and is considered to be one of the very best stop-motion films ever made. At his death in 1965, he left one unfinished work: “Like Dog and Cat”. Included here are: Cameraman’s Revenge (1913), Fetiche en voyage de noce (1936), The Frogs Who Wanted A King (1923), The Insect’s Christmas (1913), The Town Rat and the Country Rat (1927), Voice of the Nightingale (1923), Winter Carousel (1958). |
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| +++++ Emilio Festevez +++++ | |
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| Breakfast Club | |
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| Men At Work | |
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| Mighty Ducks (& D2, D3) | |
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| Repo Man | |
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| St. Elmo’s Fire | |
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| Stakeout | |
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| The Outsiders | |
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| Young Guns (I & II) | |
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