64th Festival de Cannes – Today’s News

Today organizers announced several additions to the Official Selection and an innovation for the 2011 edition that will become an annual event: A Guest Country. To begin the tradition the first country chosen is Egypt.

The tribute to Egypt will take place on Wednesday May 18 and will include several activities like the screening of 18 jours a work grouping of ten filmmakers short films; a screening in Cannes Classics, another screening at the Cinéma de la Plage and a concert with a group of Egyptian musicians. Egyptian films are or will be in the blog at the Cannes section post.

Also there are two new Special Screenings in the Official Selection, both are documentaries one by Mourad Ben Cheikh and the other by Josh Tickell. Both films are already add to the main Cannes blog post.

In the School Screenings for secondary pupils, two films have been added to the program, but can't find the complete program. As soon as I find it will evaluate if I do a post or not.

To read the official press release go here .

Les Bien-aimés by Christophe Honoré will be the closing film that will be screened after the awards ceremony; with a superb cast, Catherine Deneuve, Ludvine Sagnier, Louis Garrel, Chiara Mastroiani, and Milos Forman, among others, film definitively is a must be seen for me but when I check the film description: “Actors embody characters that draw us into Prague of the sixties, London of the '80s, the world of Sept. 11 and Paris of today in a singular, melancholy and romantic work of art” becomes a lot more appealing and interesting for me.

A while back was announced a new Out of Competition film that was created exclusively for Cannes 2011 produced by Shekhar Kapoor &
UTV Motion Pictures with Ronnie Screwvala and Trishya Screwvala directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Jeff Zimbalist: Bollywood-The Greates Love Story Ever Told a documentary with narrative, sort of a compilation of Bollywood movies that of course will have scenes from Aish movies and definitively becomes must be seen for me.

We only have 12 days to opening ceremony and in about five days (7 days before opening) films information will be up at the site for us to browse and hopefully learn more about each film, as some still have very little info and many no trailers.

64th Festival de Cannes – Cannes Classics Lineup

A few days ago the fest unveiled the films in the Cannes Classics section that showcases heritage cinema, allows re-discovering films and screens restored prints. This year the section has fourteen (14) films, five documentaries, a Masterclass by Malcom McDowell, and some other surprises.

These are the films.

Feature Films
Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick, USA, 1971
La Macchina Ammazzacattivi (The Machine to Kill Bad People), Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1952
A Bronx Tale, Robert De Niro, USA, 1993
Il Conformista (The Conformist), Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy, 1970
Rue Cases-Négres (Sugar Cane Alley), Euzhan Palcy, France, 1983
Puzzle of a Downfall Child, Jerry Schatzberg, USA, 1970
Hudutlarin Kanunu (The Law of the Border), Lufti O. Akad, Turkey, 1966
Niemandsland (No Man’s Land), Victor Trivas, Germany, 1931
Les Enfants du Paradis (The Children of Paradise), Marcel Carné, France, 1945
Despair, Rainier Werner Fassbinder, Germany, 1978
Le Sauvage (The Savage), Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France, 1975
Chronique d’un été (Chronicle of a Summer), Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin, France, 1960
L’Assassino (The Assassin), Elio Petri, Italy, 1961

Short Films
Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon), Georges Méliès, France, 1902, 16’

Documentaries
The Look, Angelica Maccarone, Germany and France, 2011
(*) Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel, Alex Stapleton, USA, 2011
Belmondo … Itineraire, Vincent Perrot and Jeff Domenech, France, 2011
Kurosawa, la Voie (Kurosawa’s Way), Catherine Cadou, France, 2011
Il était une fois… Orange mécanique (Once Upon a Time … A Clockwork Orange), Antoine de Gaudemar and Michel Ciment, France, 2011

(*) First Film, competes for Camera d’Or

Have to admit that this year there are quite a few films in this selection that I haven’t seen with some that call my attention. Of course have seen Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange that fascinated and yes, scared me when I saw it a very long time ago, which reminds me to share that this year there are some Stanley Kubrick activities in France and if you haven’t check the amazing exposition and retrospective at la Cinémathèque Française, I strongly suggest you do at their official site that has many opportunities to explore the exhibitions and different activities; the only thing I’m missing is actually go to Paris and visit la Cinémathèque! Sigh. By the way, Cannes Classics will screen a restored print that celebrates the 40th anniversary of the film.

As find very interesting the info about Georges Méliès’ most famous film I reproduce what the press release says:
Found: A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune)
The color version of Georges Méliès’ most famous film, A Trip to the Moon (1902) is visible again 109 years after its release: having been long considered lost, this version was found in 1993 in Barcelona. In 2010, a full restoration is initiated by Lobster Films, Gan Foundation for Cinema and Technicolor Foundation for Heritage Cinema. The digital tools of today allows them to re-assemble the fragments of 13 375 images from the film and restore them one by one. The premiere of the film will take place in May 2011 with an original soundtrack by AIR.

The 2011 documentaries are all about films and as the press release says: “Films about movies are also films. Like a novelist writing a literary essay on the work of another writer, a filmmaker can tell in pictures the history of cinema. Each year, Cannes Classics focuses on these documentary films, which are also films.” So these documentaries trace Kurosawa’s life and work, Charlotte Rampling career, Roger Corman bio, Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange film, and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Also there is an addition to the Cannes Classics selection that was announced minutes ago and will be screened as part of the event Egypt, guest country.

Al Bostagui (Facteur), Hussein Kamal, Egypt, 1968

To check the official press release go here and here for today's announcement.

Maybe is because haven’t seen many films or maybe because organizers changed the section structure, but I find that this year the section is more interesting than in previous years. Nevertheless now comes the hard task of waiting until I’m able to watch some of the selection films.

Cheers!

THE B-LIST: QUESTIONABLE MUSICAL MOMENTS #7 – TRANSYLVANIA TWIST

It’s that time of the year. Easter has come and gone, and the new Catechumens have finished their initiation rites and become full fledged members of the Church. They’re all excited. It’s time to get going, time to get out there and set the world on fire for Jesus! They’re ready for some action, aren’t they?

Well, yes and no.

Of course the new Christians should be excited and ready to do their part. But according to the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, “The third step of Christian initiation, the celebration of the sacraments, is followed by the final period of postbaptismal catechesis or MYSTAGOGY. This is a time for the community and the neophytes together (we’re not supposed to leave the newbies alone to fend for themselves during this period) to grow in deepening their grasp of the paschal mystery and in making it part of their lives through meditation of the Gospel, sharing in the Eucharist, and doing works of charity... The neophytes are, as the term “mystagogy” suggests, introduced into a fuller and more effective understanding of the mysteries through the Gospel message they have learned and above all through their experience of the sacraments they have received.”

In his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation entitled Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI explains, “In the Church's most ancient tradition, the process of Christian formation always had an experiential character. While not neglecting a systematic understanding of the content of the faith, it centered on a vital and convincing encounter with Christ… A mystagogical catechesis must be concerned with bringing out the significance of the rites for the Christian life in all its dimensions – work and responsibility, thoughts and emotions, activity and repose. Part of the mystagogical process is to demonstrate how the mysteries celebrated in the rite are linked to the missionary responsibility of the faithful. The mature fruit of mystagogy is an awareness that one's life is being progressively transformed by the holy mysteries being celebrated.”

While this may come across like the Church is trying to dampen a new Christian’s enthusiasm for the faith, nothing could be farther from the case. No one should ever try to squelch the emotional high that comes with joining the Church. But as old married folks will tell you, emotions and experience aren’t necessarily the same thing. Sometimes, a marriage can be going through rough times emotionally, and yet be solid as a rock because of the accumulated experience the pair has together. And that’s one of the things mystagogy is preparing the neophytes for, that inevitable time when the ‘honeymoon’ ends, when the explosiveness of the Easter Season gives way to the routines of Ordinary Time and the drudgeries of everyday life renew their assault. It’s during those moments that the time spent during mystagogy experiencing and contemplating the sacramental rites of the Church can really save a person’s faith.

Marie-France Pisier

This was unexpected and in a way, tragic. She was due to travel to Cannes Film Festival for the Jean-Paul Belmondo homage. Truffaut discovered her and he directed her first film... then she became Téchiné regular ... she was so young (1944-2011). Will miss her particular style and performances, but she will always live in her films. R.I.P.

This is like I remember her and will always remember her.

Hævnen (In a Better World)

A very good movie, extremely good indeed as while telling a not so extraordinary story, perhaps even told before, film becomes absolutely out of the ordinary. As a matter of fact have to conclude that film is perfect, yes there is perfection in this Susanne Bier’s carefully crafted movie as there is art, there is drama, there are outstanding performances by adult and children actors, there are magnificent visuals, absolutely amazing illumination, great indoor and outdoor framing and compositions, use of music to enhance the moment (yes I noticed music score), not many words –just the necessary- and a narrative that flows many times like a dream while little by little builds an intense tension that hurts inside and propels to feel many emotions. Exhausting, intense but very gratifying cinematic experience.

Took me a while but the Academy Award winner in the Best Foreign Language Film category absolutely deserves the honor even when I still have one movie to watch from the five nominated I’m positive that this has to be the best, as Bier’s oeuvre is so complete, so well-crafted that not often my eyes have the opportunity to watch such perfection. Truly, truly amazing.

Somehow I feel banality when telling what story is about, as summarizing plot doesn’t give you an idea of what this experience is all about; still will tell that is about school bulling, adult bulling, a boy with deep rage, and people from a very civilized society that at times their behavior seems fantasy, but is real; and there is a parallel story in Africa, a refugee camp with a big bully man. What you imagine, what you expect will not happen, as story will evolve so civilized that again seems fantasy, out of this world that surrounds us, like in a better world, that world that nowadays seems so foreign. Magnificent.

Absolutely must be seen and I just hope that everybody that has the privilege of watching this extraordinary oeuvre will experience all the emotions that crushed me but at the same time absolutely delighted me with an intense and complete cinematic experience. Chapeau Madame Bier. Bravo!!!

BIG ENJOY!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

The Other Woman

Honestly I was not expecting much from this film that decided to watch probably because Natalie Portman was on top of my mind after her honors in this award season. Before her amazing role in Black Swan I did not enjoyed much her performances and since this movie was done before -surely was released to take advantage of all the buzz- I assumed that film was going to be similar to her previous ones. On top Lisa Kudrow whom I also don’t enjoy much was also here. Still, I gave it a try as lately have the need to watch easy-to-watch movies.

With all the above out of my system let me share that you have no idea how wrong I was.

Natalie performance is one of her best –not as good as in Black Swan, but close- in a dramatic role as a troubled woman carrying too much baggage from her far and recent past which makes her today quite sarcastic, especially with her stepson William. Portman has an unattractive character maybe as unattractive as her character in Black Swan, which makes me think that probably she feels more comfortable playing this type of roles thus making them more believable. But Portman shines with this pas de deux between her and Charlie Tartan who plays young William; yes, is her movie but Tartan also shines and makes Portman shine. Then Lisa Kudrow character is awful, loud and even when was a bit overplayed, I did like her performance. Is the husband, Scott Cohen who was on the not good acting spectrum which was a true shame as could have made movie more compelling.

Film tells the story of Emilia (Portman) that recently lost her just born child, trying to make a family with her husband and his very special –and lonely- son; she’s the second wife and is seen as the home wrecker especially by William’s school moms; she’s a disaster with William, with her husband and with herself. You try to understand Emilia, sympathize with her but she will make it hard until slowly, very slowly more details are revealed and then you will be not only inside the story but also very shocked. Still it’s an American movie so yes, has a happy ending.

Does not hurt that story is set in Manhattan and New York City looks quite nice in many scenes; but this is a film to watch because Portman performance and the strong drama in a nice film by Don Roos.

I like the movie, a lot more than what I could expected and I do recommend it to those that enjoy surprisingly good dramas with the plus of a remarkable Natalie Portman performance that makes everything believable.

Enjoy!!

Watch trailer @MOC (please be aware that trailer tells story TOO MUCH and in order, which is not the case with the movie)

Largo Winch II (The Burma Conspiracy)

After my positive entertaining experience with the first Largo Winch I was looking forward to the sequel hoping to have a good escape moment again with this French comic-to-screen character that looks and feels so human which is refreshing for a change from typical Hollywood movies. But this time I did not enjoyed the film that much as in my opinion this film lacks many key entertaining elements that were present in the first installment, including the story, the amazing locations, the cinematography, the action, the car chases with the WOW cars, the “normal” fights, a remarkable evil character -like Kristin Scott Thomas character in the first- and yes, the raw sex scenes typical of French cinema.

Still have to admit that Tomer Sisley again had a good performance which helped me to watch until the end and most surprising was to see Sharon Stone looking good in the big screen and yes, in that scene with the white dress that absolute recalls her most famous film. Have to share that during her scenes I was looking at her lips and to my surprise seems like she was speaking French, but there were some moments where I could tell she was not; still according to Sisley, Sharon Stone speaks good French and that’s news for me (LOL!).

Seems that I was more interested in finding if Stone really speaks French than following the story that starts with Largo being W Group’s CEO and on the very day he announces his intention to sell his corporation and use the proceeds to create a humanitarian foundation, he’s accused by the United Nations of crimes against humanity. To prove his and his deceased adoptive father innocence he will retrace the steps of his past three years, which will take us mainly to the Burmese jungle. According to what I read this time producers decided to create an original story while keeping some of the graphic novels characters; surely because of this decision, story ended up being a lot less interesting and entertaining.

To watch only if you wish to see Sharon Stone speaking (?) French and looking a lot better than in her previous films; but if you skip it won’t be missing much.

Enjoy.

Watch trailer @MOC

Un Giorno Perfetto (A Perfect Day)

Thanks to a my dear photographer friend was able to watch this Ferzan Özpetek film that absolutely blew my mind thanks to a slow buildup (even if you knew the outcome as is the beginning), great style, interesting camera moves and the most outstanding performance by Isabella Ferrari as Emma. Ferrari is truly impressive performing but also her wardrobe and makeup are perfect for the character making the watching her experience quite unique for contemporary Italian cinema, as in a way made me recall great performances by the likes of La Loren and La Magnani from the Italian cinema glory days.

Based on Melania Gaia Mazzucco novel Özpetek’s tells about love; yes love… from kids’ love, to forbidden love, to love for your work and position, to unrequited love and most of all: obsessive love. Main story is about Emma and Antonio (Valerio Mastrandea) who are separated with Emma, her daughter and son living at her mother’s (great Stefania Sandrelli) home; the other stories are satellites that rotate around them and their children. In just 24 hours the life of this broken family will be not the same anymore.

Film premiered in competition at 2008 Venice fest where Isabella Ferrari won the Best Actress award and in 2009 she was nominated for a Nastro d’Argento that after watching the film -and with my almost blind adoration for Giovanna Mezzogiorno- I say that this award should have gone to Ferrari instead of Mezzogiorno’s performance in Vincere. That’s how good Ferrari is in this role; but also Mastrandea and the supporting cast –including the children- give compelling performances.

Strongly suggest not to miss this movie that’s perfect for those that enjoy great films by Özpetek, very good European cinemas and strong performances in strong dramas in films that tend to be noir.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Best "Thor" trailer yet is a VW/Superbowl spoof

Hast thou dawwwww?



Obviously a takeoff on "Little Vader," and a funny one, but part of me hopes the whole "kid loves Thor" bit isn't just wishful thinking on Marvel's part. One thing the early reviews seem to agree on is that this is the "youngest" Marvel-movie yet in terms of likely appeal - i.e. it's more about the straight-up fantasy/heroics than it is about Iron Man's middle-aged ennui or Hulk's anger issues - and it really would be cool to see one of these things take off primarily with kids in a big way.

MovieBob's (other) insane Wii2 Theory (maybe) gets slightly less insane

Oh! And hey, check out my interview on PixelJumpers...

The Escapist has some Reddit pix up, purporting to be design-scans (from developers toolkits?) of Wii2 (aka Project Cafe, aka "The Stream") controllers that - if real - look an awful lot like my "other" guess at the device's format; name that it'd be essentially the "bottom half" of a 3DS in the button/screen setup.

That's certainly what it looks like, and makes me even more curious if one of the "big reveals" of this machine is going to be that you can actually USE a 3DS in place of a controller. "It's made of stuff you already might have!" strikes me as a very Nintendo-esque marketing theme, and it'd go hand-in-hand with the all-but-innevitable confirmation that it's going to be backwards-compatible with the Wii Remote as well. They would, after all, be INSANE to tell people that all of the plastic attachments they bought for Wii Sports aren't "useful" anymore.

And the countdown to "Skyward Sword will be delayed to be a Wii2 launch-title but don't be mad at us because look! OMG! Smash Bros. 3DS and Raccoon Mario is back!" begins...

THE B-LIST: FEED ME

At the start of Lent, I made a few commitments. One, as part of the symbolic fasts we all participate in, was to refrain from drinking anything but water (except on Sundays, of course). And I’ve done just that, although half way through my angry taste buds began suggesting that next year I punch myself in the spleen instead. Another one, as suggested on the blog of Fr. Philip Neri Powell, was to offer up any Lenten sacrifices in reparation for the horrific damage done by the priests and bishops who abused children and covered-up the abuse. And I’ve done that as well. That left the final thing, which was to make three posts a week here (I’m a notoriously slow poster) during the Lenten season to help keep my focus on God. By my count, I’m one short. So here’s a last little something before I go silent for the rest of the Easter Triduum.

Since this is Maundy Thursday, the holy day in which we commemorate the Last Supper, it seems fitting to take a look at that event. Like it or not, probably the first image that comes to mind when we think of the Last Supper is the ubiquitous painting by Leonardo DaVinci.

Everybody knows it. That’s why, not too long ago, Battlestar Galactica ran a popular ad campaign based on DaVinci’s work (so popular in fact that it spawned similar rip-offs promos from Lost and The Sopranos). Because of all the symbolism inherent in the original painting, some people spent literally weeks trying to decipher the hidden meanings in this photo.

But the folks at SyFy were hardly the first to utilize the iconographic image. We’ve seen it co-opted time and time again by films over the years, each to their own purpose. Let’s take a look at a few shall we?

Some, like M.A.S.H., had a tinge of seriousness to them…

..while others, like History Of The World, just played it for laughs.

The Dirty Dozen offered a different perspective, but the general idea is still there.

Now you might think Alien is a bit of a stretch…

…but with just a bit of imagination, you can see what they were going for.

And while we never actually  saw this scene in the Star Wars trilogy, it’s pretty much a guarantee that Lucas will CGI it into the Super Fantastic Amazing Special Editions if he thinks there’s a dime to be made from it.

Just what is it about the Last Supper that inspired DaVinci and so many other artists to try and recapture the moment. What is it that still speaks to us so deeply even now? Well, it’s probably way too big of an event to assign just one simple meaning to, but in this year’s sermon for the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper, Pope Benedict touches on one of its most profound aspects.

According to the Pontiff, it’s during the Last Supper that Jesus “prays that all may be one “as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). Christian unity can exist only if Christians are deeply united to him, to Jesus. Faith and love for Jesus, faith in his being one with the Father and openness to becoming one with him, are essential. This unity, then, is not something purely interior or mystical. It must become visible, so visible as to prove before the world that Jesus was sent by the Father. Consequently, Jesus’ prayer has an underlying Eucharistic meaning which Paul clearly brings out in the First Letter to the Corinthians: “The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:16ff.). WITH THE EUCHARIST, THE CHURCH IS BORN. All of us eat the one bread and receive the one body of the Lord; this means that he opens each of us up to something above and beyond us. He makes all of us one.”

So, in a certain sense, the celebration of Maundy Thursday is the celebration of the beginning of the Church. Or to put it another way, it’s our birthday! A birthday in which we receive the greatest of all gifts in Jesus, and are then instructed to go out and regift Him to others. So happy birthday everyone. And Happy Easter. I’ll see you on the other side.

Little Fockers

MovieBob's Insane Wii2 Theory

(posted to both blogs, because it's relevant)

Okay. By now, everyone is reasonably-certain that "Wii2" gets revealed at E3. And slightly-less-than-everyone is reasonably-certain that it's mystery-controller A.) isn't a Wii-Remote successor but rather can interface with one or something like one (knowing Nintendo this means peripheral backwards-compatibility, which they'd be INSANE not to do after selling everyone's mom a fortune in Wii Sports toolkits) and B.) incorporates a camera and mini-LCD touch screen into it's design - with most rumors suggesting the screen is roughly the size of an iPhone's, which would be HUGE for something that most are assuming is going to be "built-in" to a conventional dual-stick/buttons controller.

I've got a different theory...

I'll say upfront that I'm almost-certainly 100% off-base about this; largely because I have no talent or skillset for engineering. But on the off chance I'm right (or that it's not Nintendo's idea but not a bad one either...) here we go:

What if the touch-screen is an "everycontroller?"

Here's the idea: The screen will "fit" because it isn't there in-addition to action-buttons, but INSTEAD of action buttons. Basically, instead of dedicated action-buttons that every game has to be engineered for, the controller is just one or two analog sticks with NO dedicated action-buttons - instead, the touch-screen generates a set of "buttons" the arrangement and "form" of which are SPECIFIC to each individual game. Arcade-style buttons for a fighter, NES/SNES setup for a platformer, a PC-style stylus-oriented inventory menu for a sim (or an MMO?), something else for whole other genres I'm not thinking of or haven't been invented yet?

So, yeah. Crazy, probably not even close. But I don't think anyone could deny that this sounds EXACTLY like something Nintendo would do, right? Attention-getting, table-upturning, callous disregard for how 3rd party developers will feel about having to be controller-builders as well as game-designers and - this is the important part - it would LOOK ultra-revolutionary and cutting edge but can actually be built entirely out of decades-old technology their tech-teams are already well-versed in from the DS line. (Hmm... slightly-less insane theory: The controler will look like the bottom half of a 3DS, and a 3DS could be used in-place of one.)

So... uh-huh, that's kind of it: A controller that can turn into "any" controller - at least, that's how they'd sell it.

INTERMISSION: INCREDIBLE COOLNESS ALERT!

Just a quick note because I know some of you out there will be interested. A free audiobook of Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson just went live at Librivox. In his article CatholicAuthors.com, Joseph Pearce explains:

Hugh Benson was lauded in his own day as one of the leading figures in English literature, yet today he is almost completely forgotten outside Catholic circles and is sadly neglected even among Catholics. Few stars of the literary firmament, either before or since, have shone quite so brightly in their own time before being eclipsed quite so inexplicably in posterity. Almost a century after his conversion, Benson has become the unsung genius of the Catholic Literary Revival…

The world depicted in Lord of the World is one where creeping secularism and Godless humanism have triumphed over religion and traditional morality. It is a world where philosophical relativism has triumphed over objectivity; a world where, in the name of tolerance, religious doctrine is not tolerated. It is a world where euthanasia is practiced widely and religion hardly practiced at all. The lord of this nightmare world is a benign-looking politician intent on power in the name of "peace," and intent on the destruction of religion in the name of "truth." In such a world, only a small and shrinking Church stands resolutely against the demonic "Lord of the World."

Yeah, I know, sounds like today’s headlines, doesn’t it? But the creepy thing is that Lord of the World was written in 1908. It’s considered one of the first modern dystopias, a genre which is like meat and potatoes around these parts. I mean, come on, in the few short years this blog has been around, I’ve already reviewed the likes of THX-1138, The Blood Of Heroes, Class Of 1999, Cherry 2000, Warrior Of The Lost World, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, The Apple, Surf Nazis Must Die, and of course… ZARDOZ! There’s no way I’m passing up a chance to listen to Lord Of The World.

Let me know if some of you listen to it (or have already read it), I’d love to hear your opinions.

CUTAWAYS: SPINAL TAP (DELETED SCENE)

In these days of on demand movie streaming, there’s not a lot of reason to actually buy DVDs anymore. That’s why extras like commentary tracks and behind the scenes documentaries have become such important marketing tools for film companies. And sometimes, the extras are more than worth the cost of the disc. Take for example the deleted scenes from Spinal Tap like this one…

Now why am I bringing up DVD extras. Well, it actually starts with The Happy Catholic. You see, for all my efforts at plugging her book, Julie D. has decided to reward me by… giving me some work to do.

Nah, it’s not really work. It’s only the Why Do I Love Jesus meme, which asks for those who are tagged to share 5 things they “love” about Jesus/or why they love Jesus. As fate would have it, this is actually a meme I got tagged with by dadwithnoisykids way back in the first year of this blog when only a handful of people had yet to find their way here. And in an appropriate coincidence, what with Julie being the queen of quotes and all, my answers came in the form of movie quotations. It went something like this.

As my close friends already know, and what those who visit here shouldn't be surprised by, is that I can rarely make it through a single sentence without a movie reference. So with that it mind, here are my 5 Things I Love About Jesus.

(1) "Have you found Jesus yet Gump?" "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him sir." - Forrest Gump

I was not raised a Christian (or anything else for that matter). I can count on my fingers the number of times I attended a church service during my pre-adolescent days. But once I finally went looking for God, imagine my surprise to find out that He had been there all along, close by, laying the groundwork for our first official face-to-face meeting. And he did the same thing for each and every member of my family in there own due time. I love Jesus because He's always there, whether we know it or not.

(2) “Dear Lord baby Jesus, we thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Dominos, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell. I just want to take time to say thank you for my family. My two sons, Walker, and Texas Ranger, or TR as we call him. And of course my red hot smokin' wife Carley, who is a stone cold fox." - Talladega Nights

In middle school, when I finally became a Christian and started my journey into the Church, my beginners prayers were not what you would call eloquent. It went something like, "Thank you Lord, for everything." I still trot that old prayer out every now and then, although it has a much deeper meaning to me these days as I've come to understand that "everything" doesn't just include the good stuff I've been given. I love Jesus for teaching me to be thankful for everything.

(3) "O God, ease our suffering in this, our moment of great despair. Yea, admit this kind and decent woman into thy arms of thine heavenly area, up there. And Moab, he lay us upon the band of the Canaanites, and yea, though the Hindus speak of karma, I implore you: give her a break." "Clark..." "Honey, I'm not an ordained minister; I'm doing my best." - National Lampoon's Vacation

I didn't start out very eloquent as a Christian, and I ain't much better now. I love Jesus because He's able to work with what He's got.

(4) "Ahh, Jesus, I like him very much, but He no help with curveball" "Are you trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?" - Major League

The spiritual journey can be bumpy sometimes. I actually jumped ship from the Church in my late teens and didn't come back for almost two decades. My second (and final) time entering the Church was less emotional and much more intellectual than the first time around. I love Jesus because He let's us ask the hard questions. And He has answers.

(5) "Hey Ray. Do you believe in God?" "Never met him." "Yeah, well I do. And I love Jesus's style, you know." – Ghostbusters

Once you're in, and you're open to it, it can be surprising where the Spirit leads you. Especially when it comes to opportunities to share the faith. Back in the late 90s, right before I started to figure out there was something to this whole organized religion thing, I had developed a rather nasty attitude towards the current crop of high schoolers. I thought they were lost, hopeless, spoiled, arrogant, filthy... well, you get the idea. Basically I couldn't stand to be anywhere within earshot of even one of them. A few years ago the head of religious education at my parish told me she wanted me to work with a group she had discerned I was perfect for. Guess which one? I love Jesus because He's smarter than I am.

Well, that's probably more than dadwithnoisykids was expecting. I would imagine he, along with anyone else who hung on till the end of this, may have a movie quote of their own in mind.

"At no point, in your rambling incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul." - Billy Madison

Now I could just let it go at that. After all, that’s more than enough of my blabbering to expect any sane person to read. But, you know, it feels kind of like serving you leftovers. So maybe I can dig up one more quote that went unused last time and throw it in as bonus material. It’s the Why Do I Love Jesus meme, the Extended Cut.

(6)“You're problem is you think you're God.” “Well, I've got to model myself after someone.” – Manhattan

I’m in my fifth year of this blog now, with no plans of shutting my mouth any time soon. (Well, no plans of my own, I can’t vouch for anyone else.) There’s just too many bad movies and too much religion left to talk about. But I would imagine, just like in the real world, there have been times when I’ve come across like I know a lot more than I really do. But the truth is I’m still learning this stuff myself and struggling every day to put what I learn to practice. And if I’m to believe the teachings of the Church, there’s no way I’ll ever comprehend it all because God is so infinitely vast. But Jesus, I can know. I love Jesus because, through the simple acts of love and kindness He inspires me to perform for others, He lets me have a small glimpse into the infinite mystery that is God.

Now, the official rules of the meme are that those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers and  provide a link in the comments section here with their name so that others can read there five reasons. But looking around, I see that most of the bloggers I know have already been tagged. So if there’s anyone out there that hasn’t done this already and feels like taking a stab at it, please feel free to do so.

64th Festival de Cannes Short Film Lineup

The Short Film Competition, composed of previously unreleased works, has in the past led to the discovery of more than one auteur director who has gone on to achieve fame: Jane Campion or Xavier Giannoli, for instance, as well as Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Lynne Ramsay and Catalin Mitulescu, who are in the 2011 Official Selection, all drew notice when they made their debuts with a short film in the Cannes competition.

Completing the list of the Official Selection of the 64th Festival de Cannes, and composed this year of nine films from nine different countries, the 2011 competition brings together a great variety of cinematographic concepts, differing in style, genre, length and national origin.

The Selection

Badpakje 46 (Swimsuit 46), Wannes Destoop, Belgium, 15’
Bear, Nash Edgerton, Australia, 8’
Ce n’est Rien (It Is Nothing), Nicolas Roy, Canada, 14’
Cross (Cross-Country), Maryna Vroda, France and Ukraine, 14’
Ghost, Dahci Ma, Korea, 10’
Kjøttsår (Cold), Lisa Marie Gamlem, Norway, 11’
Meathead, Sam Holst, New Zealand, 10’
Paternal Womb, Megumi Tazaki, Japan, 15’
Soy Tan Feliz, Vladimir Durán, Argentina and Colombia, 14’

Jury (also jury to Cinéfondation competition)
President: Michel Gondry, Director, France
Corneliu Porumboiu, Director, Romania
Jessica Hausner, Director/producer, Austria
João Pedro Rodrigues, Director, Portugal
Juliet Gayet, Actress/producer, France

To check press release go here. To check info, synopsis, photos, etc. go here.

Please remember that in 2011, the Festival has created Cannes Court Métrage, which combines the Short Film Competition and the Short Film Corner, to foster the promotion of short films. Designed as a showcase for films and a meeting place for directors, producers and international buyers, Cannes Short Films will provide professionals with a complete panorama of young creative talent from around the world.

To round out the offering of short films and give the greatest possible number of emerging filmmakers access to the Festival de Cannes, the Short Film Corner was created in 2004 to offer producers and directors the opportunity to present their films and engage in meetings and initiatives that could be decisive for their future careers. Gathered in a single location in the heart of the Palais des Festivals, the Short Film Corner facilitates access to short films and offers an annual programme that can be tailored to individual needs, combining workshops and conferences. This year again, registrations from around the world reveal a growing interest in the short film format, with over 1,900 films registered, representing every continent. To check official site go here.

Watch some trailers, info, photos @MOC

Big Picture: "MovieBob's Junk Drawer"

43rd Quinzaine des Réalisateurs Lineup

A few minutes ago the last selection of Cannes 2011 was announced and this year the Directors’ Fortnight selection has some (in my opinion is very European or shall I say French?) geographic diversity while still being eclectic. There are eight first film -that still have to identify- and from all the films that still was hoping to see in Cannes this year only Ruben Östlund’s Play landed in this parallel section; so yes there are some inexcusable omissions in the complete Cannes selection but will talk about it in another post.

The Quinzaine selection includes some interesting films that surely will be controversial after their screening like for example Sion Sono’s Koi no Tsumi that’s a special screening and was described by Frédéric Boyer, Quinzaine Artistic director, as “kind of a sexual thriller”. The excellent news are that according to Boyer “this is a very good year for France, with some amazing films” as if true this year will also be another year with unbearable waiting time until I’m able to watch those “amazing films” and confirm my true love for French Cinema. Sigh.

These are the twenty-one (21) films in the main selection.

Opening Film: La Fée, Fiona Gordon, Domique Abel and Bruno Romy, France and Belgium
Closing Film: Les Géants, Bouli Lanners, Belgium, France and Luxembourg

(*)Après le sud, Jean-Jacques Jauffret, France
(*)Atmen (Breathing), Karl Markovics, Austria
Blue Bird, Gust Van den Berghe, Belgium
Busong (Palawan Fate), Auraeus Solito, Philippines
Chatrak (Mushrooms), Vimukthi Jayasundara, India and France
Code Blue, Urzula Antoniak, Netherlands and Denmark
(*)Corpo Celeste, Alice Rohrwacher, Italy, Switzerland, and France
(*)Eldfjall (Volcano), Rúnar Rúnarsson, Denmark and Iceland
(*)En Ville (Iris in Bloom), Bertrand Schefer and Valérie Mréjen, France
Impardonnables, André Téchiné, France
Jeanne Captive, Philippe Ramos, France
(*)La Fin du Silence (End of Silence), Roland Edzard, France
O Abismo Prateado, Karim Aïnouz, Brazil
Play, Ruben Östlund, Sweden, France and Denmark
Porfirio, Alejandro Landes, Colombia, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina and France
(*)Return, Liza Johnson, USA
Sur la Plance, Leila Kilani, Morocco, France and Germany
The Island, Kamen Kalev, Bulgaria and Sweden
(*)The Other Side of Sleep, Rebecca Daly, Netherlands, Hungary and Ireland

(*) First Film, competes for Camera d’Or

Special Screenings
Des Jeunes Gens Mödernes, Jérôme de Missolz, France and Belgium
El Velador, Natalia Almada, USA, Mexico and France
Koi no Tsumi (Guilty of Romance), Sion Sono, Japan
La Nuit elles dansent, Isabelle Lavigne and Stéphane Thibault, Canada

Also the selection includes fourteen (14) short films that you can check in the list here that also includes links with information, photos, etc for all films in the selection.

Yesterday was announced that the Carrosse d’Or this year will go to imprisoned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi. There will be an empty chair symbolizing his absence and other activities including the screening of his film Offside.

Most interesting (because opens the festival to "normal" audiences) is La Quinzaine à la Bocca (the The Fortnight in the Bocca's district) a project that aims to try out an original dynamic in cultural activism aimed at an outlying quarter of Cannes that is part of a wider policy of democratization and access to culture. Linked with the Directors’ Fortnight, it aims to extend the reach of the event to the district of la Bocca.

This outreach project consists of screening films from the Directors’ Fortnight in two local cinemas (the Licorne and the Raimu) for the kinds of audiences that are often excluded from the festivities. So these audiences are not only given access to screenings but also an opportunity to meet Fortnight filmmakers and take part in screen education workshops. It is a matter of familiarizing such audiences with challenging cinematic forms, encouraging their appreciation of the films, and getting them more involved throughout the year in following the films.

Watch trailers @MOC

THINGS TO COME: I’M NOT JESUS MOMMY

Well, there seems to be quite a few somewhat Christian themed movies coming out this Summer. There’s Priest on May 13 (Which reminds me, have I pooped on Legion this month?) and Suing The Devil on August 26, but before you can see them, you’ll have to make it through this…

Hey, at least they’re not opening it on Good Friday.

Here’s the official synopsis: The film centers around a human cloning project which takes a turn for the worse with only one cloned pregnancy making it to term, a boy named David. Seven years after David's birth, wars, famine and natural disasters of every kind plague the Earth. As Kimberly struggles to survive, her biggest challenge is raising her son. Strange occurrences surrounding the young boy are only becoming worse and more mysterious. Roger, the head researcher of the cloning project returns to reveal that David was cloned from DNA taken from the Shroud of Turin... from the blood of Christ.

Dom dom dommmmm!

Well, this is hardly the first Jesus cloning movie to come down the pike. Revelation (2001) has the clone being produced from blood taken from the nails used in the crucifixion. Of course, they couldn’t just clone Jesus, they also had to splice his cells together with some DNA from a really eeevil billionaire, thereby creating the antichrist. Oh, and the baby is given to the Vatican who presents it to the world as the second coming. Stupid Catholics.

Oh well, we’ll have to wait and see how the Church fares in this one. Of course, it looks like they’re cribbing notes about the end times from the book of Revelation, so it’s more likely the movie will crap all over Left Behind reading evangelicals if it goes the anti-religious route. But maybe it’ll surprise me and not take that well worn path. And really, there could actually be a benefit from all of these books and movies about cloning Jesus. Maybe they’ll finally convince all of the atheists out there that cloning is a bad idea.

The Church, of course, is against cloning no matter where the cells come from. For one thing, as Sr. Terese Auer points out, “The actual cloning process of dividing the embryo so as to produce a new human being is immoral because it opposes the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal union.” Any technique, the Catechism explains, which dissociates the sexual act from the procreative act “is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that "entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person."

And that kind of domination can only lead to trouble. The simple truth is, cloning would be just another step towards the commoditization of the human person. “A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift.” the Catechism reminds us. “The "supreme gift of marriage" is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged "right to a child" would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right "to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents," and "the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception."

It’d be great if I’m Not Jesus, Mommy managed to slip these issues into the narrative somehow, but I’m not holding my breath. At this point, I’d settle for just about any movie that didn’t depict Christians as raving lunatics. Well except for another one like Legion, which bypassed any depiction of Christians as nutballs and just made God into a homicidal maniac. I poop on Legion yet again.

One more TGO Episode 50 Trailer

Milking it? Probably... but it's not like I can turn around at this point. Below, the ScrewAttack.com Exclusive trailer for "War of The Thinkers;" the humor value (or lack thereof) may depend wholly on how burned-out you are on "Dead Island" spoofs at this point...



The actual episode/mini-move is still set to debut on ScrewAttack a week from tonight, April 25th at 11pm ET.

50th Semaine de la Critique Lineup

This year the infamous parallel section is 50 years old and their motto, 50 years of discoveries, truly describes the many extraordinary directors that made their debut at this section with the likes of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros to Wong Kar-Wai’s As Tears Go By, Erice’s L’Esprit de la ruche, Crialese’s Respiru and so many more that you can read here.

A few hours ago organizers announced the films that this milestone anniversary conform the Selection and even when they are not yet at the site here are the seven (7) films (only first or second film) that made the Selection plus the other films that are Special Screenings and the Short Films.

The Selection

17 Filles, Delphine and Muriel Coulin, France
Avé, Konstantin Bojanov, Bulgaria and France
Las Acacias, Pablo Giorgelli, Argentina and Spain
(*) הנותנת Hanotenet, Hagar Ben Asher, Israel and Germany
Sauna on Moon, Zou Peng, China
(*) Snowtown, Justin Kurzel, Australia
Take Shelter, Jeff Nichols, USA

(*) First Film, competes for Camera d’Or (not sure about the others, so will wait to confirm)

Jury
President: Lee Chang-dong, director, South Korea

Special Screenings
Opening Film: La Guerre est déclarée, Valérie Donzelli, France
Closing Film: Pourquoi tu pleures?, Katia Lewcowicz, France
Walk away Renée, Jonathan Caouette, USA, France and Belgium
(*) My Little Princess, Eva Ionesco, France (with Isabelle Huppert!)
Mourir auprès de toi, Spike Jonze and Simon Cahn, France (short film)

Short Films

Alexis Ivanovitch vous êtes mon héros, Guillaume Gouix, France
Black Moon, Amie Siegel, USA
Blue, Stephan Kang, New Zealand
Boy, Topaz Adizes, USA
Bul-Myul-Ui-Sa-Na-Ie, Moon Byoung-gon, Korea
Dimanches, Valérie Rosier, Belgium
In Front of the House, Lee Tae-ho, Korea
La inviolabilidad del domicilio se basa en el hombre que aparece empunando un hacha, Alex Piperno, Uruguay and Argentina
Junior, Julia Ducournau, France
Permanencias, Ricardo Alves Junior, Brazil

Jury
President: Jerzy Skolimowski, actor, producer, scriptwriter and director, Poland

To check films at official site please go here. Suggest to watch video as has photos from films and also, English subtitles!

Watch Trailers @MOC

I know is extraordinary news but the more I learn about the movies in this year Cannes the more women directors I find; still it’s starting to look as if it was done “on purpose”. I really hope that’s just my twisted imagination and that all selected directors (no matter the genre) truly deserve to be in the many selections. Sigh.

Tribute Series

As we know in May, La Semaine de la Critique will celebrate its 50th year. Since 1962, La Semaine de la Critique has been unwavering in its dedication to discovering new talent through showcasing directors’ first and second feature films from all over the world. This anniversary gives us the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to all of the filmmakers who made their debuts with us.

All around the world, Festivals and Cinemas have agreed to help celebrate our 50 years of discovery, by presenting tribute series or retrospectives of important films originally selected by La Semaine de la Critique.

The tour started on March 18th at Los Angeles County Museum of Art and will travel to Lebanon, Thailand, South Korea, India, Belgium, Peru, USA, Brazil, and many cities in France. But most interesting is that MUBI will be part of the event by programming some films selected at La Semaine de la Critique over the last 20 years. Films will be available from May 12th all over the world at MUBI site. I really hope that “all over the world” means exactly what it says and MUBI has the rights to all countries and not just some.

The Posters

This year for a change I really like the posters with scenes from movies, so the poster that opens the post comes from Barbet Schroeder’s More and the following are from Bernardo Bertolucci’s Prima della Rivolozione, Wong Kar-wai’s Wang jiao ka men (As Tears Go By), Jaques Audiard’s Regarde Les Hommes Tomber and, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Amores Perros. Enjoy!

TGO Episode 50 YouTube exclusive trailer

Below, the exclusive YouTube-exclusive trailer for "War of The Thinkers." A longer ScrewAttack-exclusive trailer will (probably) debut later this evening.

"Thor" reviews coming in largely positive (updated)

"Thor" had it's official premiere yesterday (today?) in Australia, where star Chris Hemsworth got his start as a popular TV actor, in preparation for it's UK rollout on 4/27 and it's U.S./etc debut on May 6th. It was also, apparently, shown to some U.S. critics around the same time. The reviews have started hitting the web and Twitter... and so far the word is good. Hollywood Reporter liked it, so did Variety. On the "geek press" side, Drew McWeeny agrees. There are a bunch more, but these will give you a rough consensus.

UPDATE! Empire's review is another rave.

Those trying to stay 100% spoiler/plot-structure-info free will probably want to just skim those or avoid full-reads altogether (nothing major in them, but you never know) but a few consistent themes run throughout almost every review I've read:

It's bigger than we've been sold. The trailers have been short-selling Asgard and focusing on the Earth scenes. Apparently this doesn't reflect the "ratio" of cosmic-to-earthbound action in the actual film.

It's not a "dark" movie. This intrigues me - almost every all of the reviews that bother mentioning the other Marvel/Avengers films make a point to mention that this is probably the most "kid-friendly" of the cycle so far; in as much as it's more heavily grounded in comic/fantasy business than PG-13 body-horror ("Incredible Hulk") or midlife-crisis and/or corporate politics ("Iron Man 1&2.") I'm MORE than fine with that - I don't want to see a "grownup" movie about a Space Viking looking and his Magical Hammer.

Hemsworth is good. This is the first Marvel/Avengers movie that's being shouldered by a previously-unknown leading man, so it's good to see mostly across-the-board praise for Chris Hemsworth.

The drama works. Another VERY frequent compliment - though often noted as the "upside" to criticisms that the action/fight sequences aren't necessarily the most groundbreaking. Probably the single most-recurring thing in the first crop of reviews is near-univesal agreement that the courtly/family intrigue among The Gods kills; with ample credit being given to the choice of Shakespearean/arcane-bombast specialist Brannagh as director. This is GOOD to hear, if it's true - "Thor" is both the weirdest and least-known of the principal Avengers, and if this film AND its/his part in future continuity is going to work people need to grasp/"buy" the characters and their world. Remember: "Iron Man" worked so well as a superhero character-study that no one cared about (or now remembers) it's awkward, nonexistant 3rd act.

ノルウェイの森 Noruwei no mori (Norwegian Wood)

Maybe is me and my mood, maybe are the movies I’ve choosing lately or maybe there are many movies that start so “normal” that you start to wonder why you decided to watch that much talked about movie; then suddenly out of the blue in the most unexpected moment movie and story becomes intense, takes your breath away with the most magnificent visuals and cuts right inside your self with the most spectacular original music score.

Not often have the opportunity to watch movies that so successfully use music to generate emotions but the outstanding Jonny Greenwood score plus the extraordinary use of music at the right moment by Anh Hung Tran made music score to literally go inside me, grab everything that found inside and squeeze it! That’s how good the music score could be when used at the right moment, truly extraordinary use of music in film.

When movie changes so does story that moves to the country to show the most dramatic beauty in the most outstanding framing compositions that are kept when story comes back to Tokyo making your visual, narrative and score listening very but very intense. Definitively is one of the few movies that really touch me not only from what my eyes are watching, the words and most of all, the music my ears are hearing all merged into one magnificent cinematic moment that continues one moment after the other. Superb.

But the beginning is so normal that if you start to wonder why are you watching the movie please stay as will change when you least expect it.

Outstanding performance by Rinko Kikuchi as Naoko, a role that gave her a nomination for Best Actress at the 2010 Asian Film Awards but also Kenichi Matsuyama gives a splendid performance in his normal university student moments as in his most dramatic instances. It’s not my first Anh Hung Tran film as a long time ago I discovered his magnificent The Scent of Green Papaya and if any of you have watched this movie you will recall his particular narrative rhythm while watching first part of film, but nothing prepares you to when he moves story to the country that perhaps because story happens in Japan, his style absolutely recalls the style of contemporary Japanese directors like for example, Naomi Kawase. Beautiful but very beautiful to watch.

According to what I read story is not the same as the one told in the book that inspired Anh Hung Tran’s screenplay, so maybe it’s better to say that Haruki Murakami’s novel gave Hung Tran an idea to create a different tale. Film tells about three young kids that grew and went to school together; we have Kizuki that knows Naoko since they were 3-years-old, kiss in 6th grade and now older teenagers are in love. The third is Kizuki’s best friend Toru Watanabe and the three do almost everything together. Story is told by Toru and when Kizuki commits suicide Toru leaves town, as far as he could; cut to the sixties, the Vietnam war, Tokyo, with Toru being at university, see his everyday life, the student protests, his love of books, his solitary attitude, and his sex experimenting. Everything is flat, robot-like life until one day he sees Naoko and yes, everything changes in the story and in the movie. Is a love story, a beautiful told not really happy but with a happy ending (maybe?) story.

Movie premiered in competition at 2010 Venice and traveled the fest circuit but surely the most deserved honor is winning Best Cinematography at the 2011 Asian Film Awards. A must be seen film for those that enjoy Japan set beautiful art cinema done by a renown French Vietnamese director and in my opinion seems that film will be more enjoyable if you haven’t read novel by Muramaki as story will be new which will allow to more easily admire the complete package of narrative, visuals and music score.

Big Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Post Mortem

Film started like a story about a deadpan face obsessive stalker-alike neighbor that wanted to “meet” Nancy, his front door neighbor. Continued with all his life little dull life nuances at home and at work, where he was an autopsy recorder of the very old fashion and traditional style. Life was monotonous and Mario found the way to meet Nancy but she literally escapes from his company. A discussion at work, only way to keep what they have is with arms… finally film touches the theme I was waiting for! Yes I knew what film was about and for more than half the film I was impatiently waiting for the film to start. Big mistake!

If you want to enjoy movie first half I strongly suggest you learn nothing about this movie otherwise you will be just like me “waiting for the movie to start”.

Pablo Larraín film will hit you hard probably as much as really hit those that live it and lived to tell. Set a few days before the other September 11th, tells Mario’s story but as you can imagine is only the excuse to tell what was happening before, during and after that fatidic date in 1973 and Larraín chooses to tell it in an unconventional, unique, and unexpected way that will hit you hard while watching but more after when you play the movie again in your head. Still on the surface is a dark non-romantic love story. But after all movie is about the death of a nation, about dead people and about a love that dies; I’m sure it will hit you more than what you imagine and could expect.

With only a few characters and starring incredible Alfredo Castro of Tony Manero’s fame film showcases very interesting visual narrative with high production values that will keep your undivided attention even when movie has slow pace that feels slower in the first half and so fast in the second half even when rhythm is the same the entire picture. But film’s provocation does not only comes from the story, also comes from an astoundingly beautiful framing and composition, especially in many takes with the space off the screen when we cannot see what goes on.

Premiered in competition at 2010Venice and followed with San Sebastian fest at Horizontes Latinos, film continued to collect honors in the fest circuit, including the one I gave it from just watching the trailer that now I absolutely confirm as this is an almost perfect cinema masterpiece. Chapeau Pablo Larraín.

Not for all audiences, you have to enjoy art cinema with strong stories that are not easy to watch and yes, to understand if you’re not familiar with true history; still I believe movie could be interesting even if only you can see is the dark love story. But again, be prepared as film will hit you hard and harder after watching.

Big Enjoy!!!

Watch Trailer @MOC

BMC MOVIE OF THE WEEK: CHILDREN OF THE CORN

Children of the Corn (1984)

• 
• 

• Peter Horton,
• Linda Hamilton,
• R.G. Armstrong

Narrator Job (Robby Kiger) relates the tale of Gatlin, NE, where one day the children, led by a boy preacher named Isaac (John Franklin), rose up and slaughtered all the grown-ups. A few years later, Job and his sister, Sarah (Ammemarie McEvoy), help their friend, Joseph (Jonas Marlowe), try to escape through the cornfields of Gatlin. Meanwhile, Burt Stanton (Peter Horton), a commitment-phobic young doctor, and Vicky Baxter (Linda Hamilton), his frustrated girlfriend, travel through the cornfield-lined roads of Nebraska on their way to Burt's new internship in Omaha. Their car hits Joseph, who appears out of nowhere, but upon examining him, Burt realizes the child's throat was slit before he ever wandered out from the corn. Attempting to locate help, Burt and Vicky turn to gas-station owner Diehl (R.G. Armstrong), who urges the couple to go anywhere but nearby Gatlin to report the murder. Several contradictory street signs later, they arrive in Gatlin anyway, and, befriending Sarah and Joseph, attempt to uncover the mystery behind Isaac's cult and its mysterious deity, known only as He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Stephen King cash-ins flooded the market between the successes of Brian DePalma's Carrie (1976) and Rob Reiner's Misery (1990), many of them, like Children of the Corn, based only loosely on the author's fiction. The original short story appeared in the collection Night Shift. – AllMovie Guide

50% liked it

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Director: Fritz Kiersch

 

April 17, 2011: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion (Year A)

Let me explain. You see, I spent my teenage years in a relatively small town with only two public high schools, which meant that everyone of a similar age was pretty much familiar with each other. So it was no big deal to go to a movie on a Friday night and see 30 or 40 recognizable faces to sit with. That sounds nice, and it was really, but it could also cause problems. Take Children Of The Corn for example. The movie had barely started and it was working hard to amp up the creep factor. There were shots of desolate wind blown corn fields, and you could tell by the camera movements that something awful was in there, and the soundtrack was ratcheting up the volume of its spooky kids choir, and the guy on screen was nearing panic…

And then it showed some poor mutt running out into the fields and a nice girl named Holly who was sitting a few seats down from me yelled out, “Hey look everybody, it’s a corndog!” That was it, game over. For the next hour and a half it was a total pun war. In the years since I’ve sometimes wondered just how many people we ruined the movie for that evening. But in looking at the film again recently, I don’t know, maybe we did them a favor.

Let’s face it, Children Of The Corn is a stupid movie. Oh, it’s certainly entertaining enough, and even a little eerie at times. There’s no denying that the two guys playing the cult leader Isaac (I love it that he went on to play Cousin It in the Addams Family movies) and the sociopathic Malachai are perfect for their roles. And some scenes like the restaurant massacre and the sudden appearance of the dead boy on the highway work pretty well. But mostly it’s just stupid. At the end of the day, we’re still talking about corn. And no matter how many times you wave a stalk of corn in someone’s face, it’s never going to be that scary. Plus it doesn’t help that the special effects for the dreaded He Who Walks Behind The Rows amount to little more than the same ones they used for the gopher in Caddyshack. And even worse than that, when the child preacher Isaac becomes possessed by He Who Walks Behind The Rows, the only outward sign is the fact that the boy grows a Billy Idol hairdo. Stupid.

So why did something so silly spawn six sequels and a remake? Part of it is probably that these movies are so cheap to make. All you need are some unknown child actors (they don’t even have to be good ones), a corn field (one sequel had nothing but a few rows of corn outside an apartment complex), and a handful of butcher knives (if you can’t afford the knives, then just have the kids stare at people till they drop dead, that works too). But the other reason is that religion can sometimes be creepy, especially to those outside of it. Stephen King’s always been one to wet himself over anything that thumps a bible, and his Children Of The Corn does its best to play off of his, and some other people’s, irrational fear of evangelical Christians.

And in a weird way, that’s okay, because it actually points to something true. Religion should be unnerving to people. Not in the freak show sense we see in the caricatures presented onscreen by the Children Of The Corn, of course, and damn sure not in the caricatures we see presented off screen by people like the Phelp’s clan from Westboro Baptist Church. But rather, religious people should be disturbing in the way we see in this week’s reading describing Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. As the Pope details it in his new book Jesus Of Nazareth: Holy Week, “People had heard of the prophet from Nazareth, but he did not appear to have any importance for Jerusalem, and the people there did not know him. The crowd that paid homage to Jesus at the gateway to the city was not the same crowd that later demanded his crucifixion… When he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred… Now the people were ‘quaking’: the word that Matthew uses, eseisthe (seio), describes the vibration caused by an earthquake.” In other words, the one's cheering Jesus’ arrival and waving around those palm leaves are the ones who had already been traveling with him and believed in his messiahship, and their fervor is such that it unnerves the general populace who had little knowledge of the Lord.

It’s an image that should give us cause to examine our own Catholic faith. The Catechism tells us that Jesus, through the Eucharist, “is the sum and summary of our faith: "Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.” Does such a radical way of thinking translate into a real excitement for God once communion is over? And is our faith so passionate that it actually causes tremors in the culture once we walk outside the doors of our churches ? Well, we all know what the answer should be, don’t we? It’s just a matter of making it happen.

Preferably without all the corn and butcher knives.