FIrst Rule of Movie Club is: you don't talk about Movie Club. But you do share, because sharing is caring.
File this one under "You Can't Make Movies Like This Anymore." 1933's Murders in the Zoo, directed by Edward Sutherland, is a pre-code, proto-horror story about a sadistic zoologist named Eric Gorman (Lionel Atwill) who seems to have no problem killing any of his wife Evelyn's lovers through some pretty vicious methods. One might have … Continue reading Murders in the Zoo
The fact that Dance Me to My Song is a completely unknown film, and not a major milestone in the independent film world, shouldn't surprise me anymore, and yet... you can't watch this film without wondering what is wrong with our world. Here is a film written by and starring Heather Rose, a woman with … Continue reading Dance Me to My Song
There's a pretty sharp irony in the fact that Iggy Pop and the Stooges- the ones who invented punk rock, who have never sold out, who want no part of the fame and money offered from the corporate nipple, who never played ball with any person in a suit, and who stand against everything that … Continue reading Gimme Danger
At fourteen years of age, Mossane is already the most beautiful girl in the village, the envy of many, and the desire of several local men, ranging in age, class, and education. Who will she choose as her husband? With this simple premise, Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye manages to explore the themes of class, culture, … Continue reading Mossane
Nina Menkes is not a well known filmmaker, unless you're really involved in the world of Art Films, in which case you know how praised she is as someone who pushes the boundaries of narrative cinema. Phantom Love made big splashes in that small, but important world- a story about Lulu, a woman who is … Continue reading Phantom Love
By 1985, Anthony Hopkins was an accomplished British actor in both theater and film, having garnered acclaim in David Lynch's The Elephant Man... but he wasn't so big a star that he could turn down the lead in a CBS Television Movie-of-the-Week about a well-known criminal defense attorney who spends his entire time dreaming up … Continue reading Guilty Conscience
Having chronicled Quentin Tarantino's career as the tragic demise of a talented young'n with lots of promise but no guidance to help him out of his immature, self-made noose, we thought we should end this cinematic analysis by going back to the beginning: Quentin's first, unfinished, and completely amateur "feature" made with his pals during … Continue reading The Demise of Quentin Tarantino, Part 4: My Best Friend’s Birthday
In between Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, a few things happened. First up was an overhyped side-project that completely bombed: Four Rooms, in which four indie darling directors made four short films all taking place in a hotel and starring Tim Roth. Of the four, only Robert Rodriguez' contribution is any good- in fact, it's … Continue reading The Demise of Quentin Tarantino, Part 3: Jackie Brown
When I first read Gustave Flaubert's gorgeously melancholic Sentimental Education, I was struck by how modern it felt for something written in 1869 (and taking place in the 1840's.) His protagonist, Frédéric, feels like the original Emo poster child from which all young, disillusioned and weepy icons have sprung. From Morrissey and the Smiths to … Continue reading L’Éducation Sentimentale (Sentimental Education)
It's not that Kill Bill Vol. 2 is "bad" so much as it contains all the clues and seeds of Quentin's imminent self destruction. All the self-indulgence, all the voyeuristic hard-ons at watching _____ do _____ to each other, the utter lack of characters with any depth... it's all here, waiting to hatch. If QT … Continue reading The Demise of Quentin Tarantino, Part 2: Kill Bill Vol. 2
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