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
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
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
Screwball comedies officially began in 1934 with the advent of the Hayes Code- a self-censoring list of things movies could not show, as a response to the rapid increase of both sex and violence in Hollywood (and the big public outcry that came as a result.) Not being able to talk about sex maturely, filmmakers … Continue reading Small Town Girl
When does art turn into propaganda... or, when does propaganda become art? Leon Ichaso's Azucar Amarga is a vibrant and angry Exhibit A in the case of propaganda vs art. Just one look at its IMDB user reviews shows you just how divided people are on the film- it's either a 5-star masterpiece, or a … Continue reading Azucar Amarga (Bitter Sugar)
For some people, The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and the Marx Brothers are all kind of the same thing- cinematic comedy teams from the land before color, mostly interchangeable. But of course, that's wrong. The moronic slapstick of the Three Stooges is as lowbrow as it gets, funny only to those who think comedy … Continue reading The Cocoanuts
David Kaplan's brilliant short film is an oddball retelling of the original Brothers Grimm tale, but made with such gorgeous, twisted brilliance that it deserves to be saved from its obscure lair. A 90's film festival hit, Little Red Riding Hood stars a pubescent Christina Ricci, who was just the right age for Kaplan's exploration … Continue reading Little Red Riding Hood
A cute alien lands on Earth, far from his home, only to be discovered by a kid who hides him from the mean ol' adults. Sounds familiar? Before Speilberg charmed his way into America's collective heart, this little British ditty from 1956 charmed its way into England... or not. It's hard to tell how many … Continue reading Supersonic Saucer
If you're not familiar with the title, then you don't know that this is one of Germany's most famous Children's novels in history, one that launched the Kid Detective Genre all over the globe. It's also author Erich Kästner's best-known work, one that has been adapted into film several times. You probably also don't know that … Continue reading Emil and the Detectives
If the above image makes you think "2001", you're right- except that it's from a movie released five years earlier. Ikarie XB-1 is a fascinating and little-known cinematic artifact, from a time when sci-fi movies were doomed to be silly, quickly-dated flicks. This one holds up; while the effects obviously aren't going to wow anyone … Continue reading Ikarie XB-1
Movie Club 