Film and television

M. Night Shyamalan is smart. He knows people don’t want to see a movie about Mel Gibson struggling with his faith if it doesn’t somehow involve, you know, aliens and crop circles and shit. The slogan in the Signs commercials encourages you, “Don’t see it alone,” but I would shorten it to “Don’t see it.”

This month’s Exhumed Films event (which was last night) featured two films from Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna, the director/producer team behind 1985’s fantastic Re-Animator. For that reason, I had kind of high hopes for Dagon and From Beyond. And for that reason, I was doomed to even greater disappointment.

Like Re-Animator, both films were based on short stories by H.P. Lovecraft. Now, it’s only fair to mention that I’ve never actually read any Lovecraft,… See more →

Mary and I were all set to go see Tuatara last night before we discovered that they cancelled the show in favor of a second stage opening slot for The Who. Rather than pay $35 to see them do a shorter set on an enormous stage from seven miles away, I was talked into renting The Mothman Prophecies, which turned out to be just the snore of a two hour “X-Files” episode I expected it… See more →

Friday night was a rewarding but ultimately forgettable show at the Troc with The Shins, Beachwood Sparks, and some horrible band whose name I didn’t bother to remember. (I should probably look into it so as to avoid accidentally seeing them play in the future.)

Saturday night I went with some friends to see Road to Perdition. I gave Sam Mendes top marks for American Beauty, but he doesn’t seem to have much respect for… See more →

I was very pleased today to discover that the lineup on the new Skeleton Key album Obtainium is identical to their original lineup, with the apparent exception of the drummer. There was cause for alarm when I saw them in NYC last year with a new stripped-down lineup that did not include junk player Rick Lee or guitarist Chris Maxwell, but apparently they have returned and brought the rock back with them (which isn’t to… See more →

Volumes 1 and 2 of the Lost Film Fest DVD compilations are now available. I’m not sure if they’ve actually been released yet, but they’re definitely available for pre-order. Included in the first volume is the LEGO Trilogy, directed by yours truly, which comprises my first three (and so far only three) animated LEGO films, the last of which was completed about three and a half years ago (a stern reminder that I should really… See more →

Just got back from a weekend in New York, primarily for two nights’ worth of sold out shows at North Six in Brooklyn.

Saturday night was The Fucking Champs, Rye Coalition, and Drunk Horse, the denser of the two shows in terms of quality. The Fucking Champs were excellent as usual, Rye Coalition was significantly more entertaining than the last time I saw them (insane energy, plus the singer put on some weight and has… See more →

There are still a couple days left to check out the Lost Film Festival 7.0 in West Philly; it is certain to satisfy any uber-DIY anarchist film cravings you may have been having. I’ll be there tomorrow and Friday.

I finally saw Miller’s Crossing this weekend; it was the last of the Coen brothers’ films I hadn’t seen. It is now nearly my favorite (Fargo still refuses to give up the title).

It’s a three movie week.

Spiderman was pretty fun; it’s rare these days for a movie to have an acceptable excuse to be that hokey. Bruce Campbell and Randy “Macho Man” Savage cameos were the highlights for me. I do think people are getting a little too worked up over the movie, though.

Y Tu Mama Tambien was very well-done. Strong characters, interesting commentary on Mexico’s socio-economic innards, and a commendably frank and honest sexuality.… See more →

Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer’s fantastic Conspirators of Pleasure screened tonight at the International House. This is the first Švankmajer feature I’ve seen (though I’ve seen plenty of his shorts) and I’m pleased to report that it was well worth another 85 minutes in the theater’s notoriously uncomfortable seats. The International House’s Post-Communism Film Series (which this film was a part of) continues through the weekend and I nearly shit myself when I noticed they’ll be… See more →

Should I go see Trouble Every Day on Thursday or should I go see The Locust? I don’t think I’ll have another chance to see Trouble Every Day in theaters in Philly, whereas The Locust will likely be coming around again within a year. Hmm. Tonight is A Chronicle of Corpses, which I’ve been looking forward to seeing for awhile now.

This past weekend I made some reasonable progress on the BREDSTIK redesign; it is… See more →

I survived the trip home, and apparently spring arrived while I was gone. The ice cream man is in full effect. Since I missed the first half of the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, I’m diving in tomorrow night with a late screening of the U.S. premeire of Versus. Looks delicious.

My generous hosts and I got back a couple hours ago from seeing a gorgeous digitally remastered 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Music Box Theatre. Wow.

This afternoon I paid my inaugural visit to the inside of The Art Institute of Chicago (I took some fabulous photos of my sock monkey around the exterior last spring). Lots of cool stuff in there, including a number of Lautrec and Renoir paintings I’ve… See more →