June 22, 2004

FRESH FROM THE THEATERS

Bad Santa (2003). Terry Zwigoff directs Billy Bob Thornton in one of last year's naughtier flicks. And the DVD's even naughtier. "I think it's going to be the most hilariously bitter, misanthropic, and just gleefully wrong Christmas-themed movie ever made until Takashi Miike makes a holiday film of some kind, and one of the first comedies released by a major studio to make me bust a gut in a long time." In other words, ColonelKong likes it. In the same discussion, oldkingcole added, "Saw it. Liked it. It's just so out-and-out wrong that it easily acheives that nervous tension upon which much great humor rests. Zwigoff is now added to my short-list of new-ish directors to keep an eye on." And Sisyphus: "I was still chuckling about scenes in this film days after seeing it. This is the first Zwigoff film to crack my annual top ten list." [Rent]

Greendale (2003). Neil Young spent pretty much most of last year in Greendale, the fictional town he dreamed up and populated with characters whose stories became a CD, an elaborate Web site, a live tour, and of course, a film, which is "is nothing if not a pure Neil Young experience," writes the Toronto Star: "Uncompromisingly amateurish, alternately naive and spooky, Greendale revels in the rough-textured images of Super-8 in the same way that Young and Crazy Horse have always exalted in the tumult of electrified guitar noise. It's a way of being heard in a world filled with meaningless noise. In this sense it is a uniquely and even inspirationally personal work - particularly if you're down with the movie's message that personal expression is mass culture's Public Enemy No. 1." [Rent]

Secret Window (2004). The highlights of this adaptation of Stephen King's novella Secret Garden, Secret Window are clearly the performances: Johnny Depp as the writer who loses control over one of his stories and John Turturro clearly enjoying his turn as an eerily hostile presence in a big round black hat. [Rent]

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2004). "What Far From Heaven was to Douglas Sirk, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is to those lovable Grade-Z monster movies of the 1950s," writes Jeremiah Kipp in Slant. "Told with poker-faced glee, Lost Skeleton is an 'it came from another world' saga featuring a rubber suit mutant, a skeleton intent on conquering Earth (pulled along on a not-so-invisible string), a cat-woman (the lovely Jennifer Blaire, whose sensual hypnotic dance number that lures the hero to near-death is a showstopper), and formal-speaking alien visitors dressed in coveralls and glitter.... It may be a one-gag premise, but it's told with affection and an 'aw, shucks' reverence." [Rent]

FOREIGN

A Woman is a Woman (1960). "Une Femme est une femme is the most joyful of Godard's films, indeed perhaps his only joyful film," writes Colin MacCabe in his recent book, Godard: A Portrait of the Artist at 70. It didn't hurt that he was wildly in love with his star, Anna Karina, and she with him. Plus, even if you're critiquing Hollywood conventions by coopting one of its beloved genres, making a musical has got to be fun. Besides a new high definition transfer, this Criterion edition includes clips from interviews conducted in 1966, a trailer, poster and stills and, as antionedoinel reminds us, it also includes "the Godard-directed, Rohmer-scripted short "All Boys are Called Patrick" which is well worth seeing, although more indicative of Rohmer's skill as a screenwriter than Godard's filmmaking style." [Rent]

The Lower Depths (Criterion Collection) (1936) [Rent] and The Lower Depths (Criterion Collection) (1957) [Rent]. A fascinating double package from Criterion (though, of course, you can rent each individually). Perhaps the best introduction comes from Criterion itself: "Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa, two of cinema's greatest directors, transform Maxim Gorky's classic proletariat play The Lower Depths in their own ways for their own times. Renoir, working amidst the rise of Hitler and the Popular front in France, had need to take license with the dark nature of Gorky's source material, softening its bleak outlook. Kurosawa, firmly situated in the postwar world, found little reason for hope.... Working with their most celebrated actors (Gabin with Renoir; Mifune with Kurosawa), each film offers a unique look at cinematic adaptation - where social conditions and filmmaking styles converge to create unique masterpieces." And both discs, naturally, are loaded with extras.

Mamma Roma (1962). "Pasolini's document of an aging prostitute's love for her teenage son and her misguided attempts to control him is a punchy, gorgeous masterpiece, filled to bursting with the director's trademark dialogue, early neo-realism, and enough beautiful cinematography to bring most any lover of films to his or her knees," writes Marc Savlov in the Austin Chronicle. Another loaded package from Criterion: Three interviews: Bernardo Bertolucci, Pasolini's cinematographer, Tonino Delli Colli, and biographer, Enzo Siciliano; a 58-minute doc on Pasolini; La ricotta, a 35-minute film by Pasolini starring Orson Welles as a director who aims to make a film about the Passion of the Christ; and more. Discs 1 [Rent] and 2 [Rent].

Bloody Territories (1969). It's Yakuza vs Yakuza vs Cops in this 1969 tag-team bloodbath from Yasuharu Hasebe, the cult director of Female Convict Scorpion. [Rent]

Close To Leo (2003). The Leo of this made-for-French television drama is HIV positive and the family tries to keep the news from his younger, 12-year-old brother, Marcel. "Director Christoph Honoré employs tight, almost claustrophobic framing to great effect, getting us inside the family dynamic," writes the Chicago Reader. [Rent]

DRAMA

Antony and Cleopatra (1974). Jon Scoffield directs the Royal Shakespeare Company, which at the time included Patrick Stewart, who plays Enobarbus here. This version's scoring very high at the IMDb and at Amazon, case you're wondering. [Rent]

Two from director James Ivory and Ismail Merchant: Savages (1972) [Rent] is widely regarded as Merchant and Ivory's strangest film. You got these savages, see, the Mud People, doing their savage ritual thing when they're interrupted by a croquet ball that seems to fall from nowhere. They snoop around, investigate and discover that it's come from an Edwardian country manor. They dress up in the clothes they find and take on upper class manners... until their true nature gets the better of them. Frequent collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala wrote the story of two art collectors scheming to whisk away a collection of miniature paintings from the Indian royal couple, nicknamed George and Bonnie, resulting in the Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978) [Rent]

HORROR

Deathwatch (2002). World War I. Nine British soldiers, among them, two played by Jamie "Billy Elliot" Bell and Andy "Gollum" Serkis, are caught behind enemy lines. So they're going to have to spend the night in a trench populated by corpses and rats. And that trench, writes the Observer, is the film's "most impressive feature... the work of production designer Aleksandar Denic, who was responsible for the striking appearance of Emir Kusturica's Underground." [Rent]

SCIENCE FICTION

Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986). Peter Cushing's last film wasn't his best, but this tale of a fellow whiplashing between New York in the 80s and WWI battlefields is pleasant enough for family viewing. [Rent]

ANIME

Miami Guns Vol. 1 (2004). A pair of young ladies with opposite personalities join the Miami police force, launching a new anime series. AN Entertainment promises: "Slapstick comedy, risqué action, and outrageous parody ensue featuring side-splitting parodies of pop culture icons including Jean Reno's Leon: The Professional, Detective Conan, Speed Racer, Evangelion, Wacky Races, and a world famous extended homage to the hit anime series Initial D." World-famous? [Rent]

Yu Yu Hakusho. Vol. 24: Ghost Files - Old Rivals, New Problems (2002). The latest in the series butterflydreaming calls an "easy entertainment." SHoyle says, "This is my favorite action manga and anime." [Rent]

Angelic Layer. Vol. 7: Seventh Heaven (2003). "CLAMP's answer to Pokemon and Yugioh!" exclaims hamano. "Players control tiny robot gladiators to compete in fighting tournaments. Doesn't hurt that they're really cool or cute looking." [Rent]

Gad Guard Vol. 1: Lightning (2003). A new series debuts! [Rent]

Saiyuki. Vol. 7: The Gods of War (2000). "A fun series," says butterflydreaming."It's obvious that they're having fun making it, too." [Rent]

Kaleido Star Vol. 2: All Things Great & Small. "Since everything seems to be getting the anime treatment nowadays, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Cirque du Soleil went 2D," writes the Anime News Network. "Enter Kaleido Star, yet another Gonzo production that drips with gorgeous animation and bold artistry." [Rent]

ANIMATION

Level 13.Net: Around the World (2003). An international collection of 24 animated shorts. [Rent]

FOR THE KIDS

Master Q: Incredible Pet Detective (2003). For 40 years, the animated characters featured here - Master Q, Potato and Mr. Chin - have been delighting comix readers in Hong Kong. Here, in their efforts to save children from a nasty game, they find themselves parodying Star Wars and The Matrix along the way. [Rent]

Browse the New Releases Archive for more recent arrivals.