Among the meager geek selections, Netflix offers a few gems: the latest complete seasons of the perpetually popular 30 Rock and The Office and the climatic chapter of the excellent Friday Noght Lights. Movie highlights include the John Hughes classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Others, and F/X. Without a doubt, the oddest selection of the month is William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet.

* denotes streaming for the first time via Netflix.

Premiering October 1:
*30 Rock: Season 5
*The Cape
Case 39
*Children of the Corn 7: Revelation
*Close Your Eyes (Doctor Sleep)
Curse of the Pink Panther
*Frasier Seasons 1-11
*Friday Night Lights: Season 5
The Great Train Robbery (1978)
*The Office: Season 7
*Parks and Recreation: Season 3
Pirates of Tortuga: Under the Black Flag
*Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The Russia House
The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming
Super Troopers
To Live and Die in L.A.
Vampire’s Kiss From long ago when Nicholas Cage still gave a damn…

Premiering October 2:
*Dark Fields

Premiering October 8:
*The Last Exorcism My review.

Premiering October 15:

*Dachimawa Lee
*Dream (2008)
*Meatball Machine
*The Others (2001)
Paranormal Activity 2
*The Ward

Premiering October 19:

*William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet

Premiering October 21:

*F/X
F/X 2

Info courtesy of

Impending Geekgasm on Netflix Instant Watch – Oct edition was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Making its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, the entertaining 3D bloodbath Julia X featured the beloved geek icon Kevin Sorbo playing against type as a serial killer. Sorbo’s aw shucks charm lends a surprising strength and credence to the role. The never named killer finds through Internet dating serves. His latest potential victim Julia (the beautiful Valerie Azlynn) reacts unlike his previous hunts, leading to a ballet of violence, bizarre twists, and (intentionally) humorous bits. First time director P.J. Pettiette competently plays with the expectations of the genre, at times delivering some unique aspects and tense moments. The extremely well done 3D, as it is in most movies, appears as an affectation rather than an essential aspect to the picture. I suspect the film would screen just as well in 2D. Weakening the cataclysmic ending, Pettiette, who also wrote the screenplay, tacked on an unnecessary epilogue to set up the inevitable sequel Julia Y.

Sorbo, Pettiette, and Producer Claudie Viguerie revealed some interesting tidbits during the post-screening q&a. The movie was originally shot in September/October 2004 pre-Avatar, using many of the same techniques. According to Pettiette, Julia X offers the first 3D scene shot in a swamp. Sorbo performed many of his own stunts and his extensive experience with fight scenes helped the neophyte action actors. Though it didn’t stop him from being smashed in the noggin by a vase in one scene.

Similar to the festival’s other super hero-inspired flick Calibre 9, Haunters introduces a first time director with an interesting, yet flawed film. A huge hit in its native South Korea, the film centers around the battle between two beings with super powers. A silver-haired, one-legged mystery man controls the minds of all he meets. Until during a foiled robbery, the unassuming Kyu-Nam manages to resist. With heighten reflexes and superhuman healing, Kyu-Nam challenges the power hungry telepath in a game of cat-and-mouse throughout the streets of Seoul. Director/writer Kim Min-Suk display a creative use of the powers and engaging fights. The likable characters in the oft told tale of good versus evil lack any real depth. With a similar vibe to Unbreakable, Haunters offers a fun entertainment.

Based on Shohei Manabe’s popular manga, the ultra-violent, cruel-at-times Smuggler marks the return of legendary director Katsuhito Ishii to the over-the-top, goofy action movie. Failed actor Kinuta must take odd jobs to pay off his debt to a loan shark. He joins a team of smugglers. They become embroiled with the colorful assassins Vertebrae and Visceral. High octane, comedic, improbable action fuels the story. Despite the gratuitous, graphically intense torture scenes, Smuggler proves to be an above average, bug-nutty, Japanese action thriller.

Fantastic Fest Day Five: Zombies over Havana

Fantastic Fest Days Seven and Eight: A Finale of Sorts

Fantastic Fest Day Six: Murder and Mayhem was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
!!!!!SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!

We here at the Roundtable are pleased to announce that Roundtable will be introducing a bookclub! Yes, we read books and want to share them with you.

Our first bookclub will be taping the week of December 26. Our host and discussion leader is our man in Japan, Dave Farnell. Dave will lead a merry band of readers through a discussion of the book he has hand chosen for this event.

And what book is that, you may ask?

<drumroll>

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik.

Yes, it’s Napoleonic war fiction, with dragons!! The first book of this epic fantasy series that has been optioned by Peter Jackson for a movie. If you haven’t read it, now is the time. If you have read it, why not read it again? Send your questions and observations to revcast@revolutionsf.com.

We are also looking for one special listener and or special guest to join us. So if you think you can talk about dragons, sailing ships and black powder, send a quick email to revcast@revolutionsf.com as to why we should pick you. Who knows? You may end up talking on the Roundtable.

Promoted as the first Cuban-made horror film, Juan of the Dead delivered a creative, zombie/comedy on the level of Shaun of The Dead (which despite the title bears little resemblance) and Zombietown. After Havana descends into chaos following the zombie outbreak, Juan, the procrastinating title hero, must overcome his lackadaisical nature to defend his friends and estranged daughter. First time writer/director Alejandro Brugués, who currently lives in his native Cuba, bravely crafted this pro-Cuba, anti-Castro film. News reports punctuate the movie relating the official government position that these incidents are the results of “American-backed dissidents” so the characters throughout refer to the undead as dissidents. According to Brugués, who participated in a q&a following the feature, many of the weird occurrences actually happened. And there was plenty of strange. Juan of the Dead, easily the best and most original zombie film of the year, offered loving nods to classic Romero zombiefests, Dead Alive, and even Ghostbusters (“Juan of the Dead, we kills your loved ones.”).

Brief side note: During the Juan of the Dead introduction, Brugués challenged Timecrimes/Extraterrestrial creator Nacho Vigalondo, who was in attendance, to a Fantastic Fest Debate for an explanation about what the hell is going on it Timecrimes and to prove the superiority of Cuban filmmakers over Spaniards. Something to look forward to in ’12.

Prepared especially for the festival, Drawn and Quartered collects 12 animated shorts from around the world. Bedtime for Timmy, The Last Norwegian Troll, and The Holy Chicken Of Life And Music offered the most memorable contributions. Most of the other selections ranged from just forgettable to outright terrible.

Fantastic Fest Day Four: The Absurdity of Headhunters

Fantastic Fest Day Six: Murder and Mayhem

Fantastic Fest Day Five: Zombies over Havana was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Despite an interesting premise, The Corridor delivered a mediocre horror experience with a scant few shocks. After spending several years in a mental institution following the death of his unbalanced mother, Tyler invites four childhood friends to the family cabin in the Canadian wilderness for a wake. After scattering his mother’s ashes, Tyler begins to have visions of a room in the forest surrounded by shimmering walls. In an attempt to prove he’s not insane, Tyler shares his experience with his friends. This time the it appears as a long corridor. Soon after the men start acting strangely then eventually psychotic even homicidal. The performances ranged from average to of the film, nothing memorable. While not a terrible script, it exhibits nothing particularly original or exemplary. The boring film feels very much like a first movie, full of potential that ultimately fails in its boredom.

Based on Jo Nesbo’s bestselling book, the taut, intelligent Headhunters reveals the secret art thief identity of successful corporate headhunter Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie). Initially just a well crafted caper film, unexpected plot twists morph the story into something completely different yet equally fascinating, culminating in a creative, surprising, and satisfying conclusion. Hennie delivers a pitch perfect performance, perhaps the best of the festival, as the unlikable lead, replete with inferiority complexes and disgusting displays of arrogance. Director Morten Tyldum superior handling of scene and action produces a top flight, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Ripe for a remake, see Headhunters before the inferior American remake hits theaters.

For his first feature Carre Blanc, director/screenwriter Jean-Baptiste Léonetti chose an Orwellian near future with absurdist views on totalitarianism. The mercifully brief (77 minute), bleak, and beautiful film opens with a series of seemingly unrelated non-sequiturs before delving into a more conventionally structured story. After watching his mother jump to her death, Phillipe attends a school with other orphans where he soon attempts suicide. Flash to the adult Phillipe as a ruthless businessman, putting applicants through strange, sometimes painful tests. His marriage to Marie, who saved him as child, is now estranged. The government supplies the soundtrack to everyone’s live through a series of continuous audio loops promoting childbirth (“Under 12? You can be inseminated. Even without your parent permission.”), an unexplained sequence of numbers, and coverage of croquet tournaments. In the nearly brainwashed society, the upper classes literally eat the poor. The tragic, richly emotional tale is particularly telling in light of the current EU economic crises. No matter what else, Carre Blanc promises you’ll never look at croquet the same way again.

Fantastic Fest Day Three: Of Superheroes and Gangsters

Fantastic Fest Day Five: Zombies over Havana

Fantastic Fest Day Four: The Absurdity of Headhunters was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Light day largely due to me getting a very high number (527) in the ticketing queue. Most movies were full, but I did manage to catch two that I was looking forward to seeing.

A well done, by-the-numbers gangster epic set in modern day Mexico, El Narco (released in Mexico as the far more evocative El Infierno) failed to live up to its promise. After 20 years in the United States, Benny returns home to find his brother dead. Assuming the role of lover/caretaker to his brother’s widow and teen son, Benny does whatever necessary to protect his new family while avenging his brother’s death. Beginning as an innocent, Benny eventually becomes the kind of man he loathes. Light, often not fully realized, comedic touches create a weird undertone throughout. Even with the excellent portrayals and a potentially interesting perspective of the drug trade, Luis Estrada’s standard direction and predictable script created a good, yet ultimately forgettable movie.

The French Calibre 9, uber-violent, highly stylized comic book movie, warns of the stereotypical evils of government corruption. City planner Yann, a pretty typical mid-level government drone, acquires, through contrived means, a magical gun. The weapon, possessed by the soul of dead hooker Sarah, grants Yann nearly superhuman abilities to kill people while avoiding bullets. Sarah talks to Yann and can even exert limited control over him. The very derivative tale sees Yann meting out justice against evil government officials. In this almost a parody of action and super hero movies, director/screenwriter Jean-Christian Tassy offers scant explanations, but things blow up pretty and the action is intense. With a look and edits inspired by Crank, the interesting Calibre 9 primarily teases of the future potential for first time director Tassy.

Fantastic Fest Day Two: Extraterrestrial Cometh or Free Beer

Fantastic Fest Day Four: The Absurdity of Headhunters

Fantastic Fest Day Three: Of Superheroes and Gangsters was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

The balls-to-walls Korean crime drama The Yellow Sea electrifies with creative bloody combat using a machete, kitchen knives, and even a dog leg, intense chase sequences, and a riveting story. Cab driver Gu-nam, living in Yanji City, a Chinese region between North Korea and Russia dominated mostly by Joseonjok (Chinese citizens of Korean ancestry), goes deeply into debt to send his wife to Korea for work. After not hearing from her in six month, he fears she has left him. When largely due to his gambling problem, Gu-nam begins missing repayments to local thugs, he accepts an opportunity from powerful crime boss Myung-ga to wipe the slate clean. He must journey to South Korea and kill a man! While there, Gu-nam searches for his wife. Things goes horribly wrong and Gu-nam must escape the police and gangsters. The Yellow Sea is sure to thrill even the most jaded crime film fan.

Invasion of Alien Bikini opens when Young Gun, dressed in blue shorts, a yellow slicker, and perhaps the worst fake mustache to ever appear on screen, saves Ha Monica, a beautiful young woman, from the attacks of several men. Back at his place, Monica attempts to seduce the chaste hero. Turns out she is an alien that needs human sperm to propagate her species. Fun lunacy ensues with her trying a variety of methods to extract the fluid. A fake ad and “experts” explaining some of the more obscure aspects, cleverly interrupt the narrative. About 2/3 in, a sudden, massive tonal shift occurs that completely derails what up to then was an intelligent and light-hearted story. Then even more jarring, the movie attempts to return to the original light hearted feel. It fails.

Nacho Vigalondo, director of the lauded Timecrimes, returns for his second feature film Extraterrestrial. The hungover Julio wakes up in a strange bed. After re-acquainting with his hook up from the previous evening Julia, the pair realizes that the TV, phone, and Internet do not work. The streets are oddly deserted. Then they discover the giant spaceship hovering high above the city. Julia’s creepy next door neighbor brings news of an alien invasion. Her live-in boyfriend Carlos comes home, further complicating matters. The quartet begin to adjust to the strangeness of their lives while attempting to uncover exactly what happened.

One of the most anticipated premieres of the festival, founder Tim League revealed Extraterrestrial was the single most requested screening. An extra row of folding chairs were brought into the theater to accommodate some of the demand. Even with that I heard of many people who couldn’t get tickets. To further excite the crowd, free Shiner Bock was available (one pint per customer).

Vigalondo did not disappoint the crowd either with the movie or his post-feature interview.

During the interview, Producer Nahikari Ipiña said the movie only took 3 weeks to shoot! Vigalondo confided that he was drunk after drinking a bottle of wine while watching the world premiere of his newest film. Extraterrestrial is so different from Timecrimes in story and tone largely because he feared being typecast as a director ala M. Night Shyamalan. On the metaphors that occur throughout the movie, Vigalondo laughingly reveled that most of them were accidents but prefers people to “pretend I had my metaphors in mind… that I’m so clever.”

The complex romantic comedy offers plenty of laughs and mystery. Vigalondo expertly combined superior direction with his intelligent, witty script replete with shocking ending. The odd yet familiar tale features unusual props such as a tennis ball cannon, a large jar of peaches, and a giant coffee cup. Alongside Let the Bullets Fly and The Yellow Sea, Extraterrestrial delivers one of the early highlights of Fantastic Fest ’11.

Day One highlights

Fantastic Fest Day Three: Of Superheroes and Gangsters

Fantastic Fest Day Two: Extraterrestrial Cometh or Free Beer was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

At last the 2011 Fantastic Fest begins.

I managed to score tickets to all three movies I wanted to see today. Despite worries of a meltdown due to the potential of some 1500 people accessing the system at once, the online ticketing service worked perfectly. When I logged on I was 147 I in the queue and 15 minutes later I was good to go.

I could go on about the two t-shirts I got at the Festival, but let’s get on with the reason you are here: the movies.

My initial FF film, Let The Bullets Fly quickly establishes the picture’s exquisite tone from the opening sequence. A lone train car–steam spewing from it spout—being pulled by a team of horses along railroad tracks. After gunshots are exchanges, events quickly lead to an exaggerated comedic train derailment in the finest Chinese movie slapstick fashion. With 1920s China as the backdrop, screen legends Chow Yun Fat and Jiang Wen (who also directs and wrote the screenplay) deliver virtuoso performances as the power hungry, greedy gangster and the Robin Hood style bandit, respectively. The thinly veiled pro-Chinese Revolution story abounds with fun fight scenes, intriguing interactions, and as the title promises, abundant gunplay, all wrapped within the epic feel of a Sergio Leone western. The perfect beginning to this years festival.

Kill Me Please, a comedy centered around a Swiss euthanasia clinic, offers some fascinating and often humorous insights in the bleak world of assisted suicide, but ultimately falls short of greatness thanks to some inexplicable character actions late in the film. Director Olias Barco, who spoke after the movie, cites the Japanese attitude toward suicide as his inspiration and even visited an actual Swiss suicide clinic. Barco does an excellent job of demonstrating the absurdity of people who protest against assisted suicide actually killing those who run the place ala anti-abortion (“pro-life”) terrorists. Shot in b & w, Barco wrote only 45 page script, encouraging the actors (all excellent headlined by Aurélien Recoing and Saul Rubinek of Warehouse 13 fame) to improvise their scenes. Many of the revelations are surprisingly true.

This Brazilian import fails on the most essential aspect of the low budget movie: the script. While the inferior quality of the film stock, special effects, settings, and even the acting may all be forgiven, Pólvora Negra delivers a story littered with abundant plot hole and illogical character reactions—primarily framed to allow for stereotypical fight sequences. The magnetic star Nicolas Trevijano recalls favorably a younger and slimmer Hugh Jackman. While not a terrible movie, Pólvora Negra offers nothing new or better than its many revenge film predecessors.

Fantastic Fest Day Two: Extraterrestrial Cometh or Free Beer

Fantastic Fest Day One was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world, starts here in Austin tomorrow.

As a lead up, I’m previewing the movies that I’m planning on attending and blogging about over the course of the week long festival.

Thursday, September 29th

THE LOVED ONES
Sean Byrne 2009 | Feature, Guest in attendance, Horror, Thriller | 84 min.

There are always certain films that you catch that unexpectedly stick with you for days, weeks, and often, months. You can’t stop thinking about them because their contents are so powerful and they touched you in some way or another. If you could drill a hole in your head and let those film bleed out, you wouldn’t; it becomes a happy burden. This year at Fantastic Fest, one of those films (maybe the film) will be Sean Byrne’s THE LOVED ONES.

Brent (Xavier Samuel) is a lost cause. In the first scene of the film, he kills his father in a car accident. It wasn’t his fault, there was a young man covered in blood walking in the middle of the road. Months later, Brent descends on a downward spiral of self-inflicted wounds to still feel something – to still feel alive.

Our protagonist then becomes a victim of torture – first figuratively, then literally – when he kindly rejects classmate Lola’s (the very excellent Robin McLeavy) proposal to the school prom. We soon find out Lola isn’t nearly as naive as she appears, but sick and sadistic – when she and her daddy (John Brumpton) kidnap Brent and take him to their own prom – a “prom” much more terrifying than anything you can possibly imagine.

In his feature film debut, writer and director Sean Byrne perfectly synthesizes graphic violence with genuine dialogue and honest teenage emotions to tell a great horror story. THE LOVED ONES could have turned gross for the sake of being gross, but Byrne assures the audience that the violence used was necessary to push the narrative forward. In Byrne I trust. (Chase Whale)

THE STOKER
Alexey Balabanov 2010 | Drama, Feature | 87 min.

screens with…
PROFILE | Timo Pierre Rositzki 2011

The work of Russian director Aleksei Balabanov has become a constant at Fantastic Fest. The reason is simple. Balabanov’s past films — CARGO 200 and MORPHIA — provide a window into the ugliest aspects of humanity with skill and morbid wit. THE STOKER (Kochegar) continues this fine tradition of nihilistic feel-bad cinema.

A shell-shocked Afghanistan war hero named Ivan Skryabin (Mikhail Skryabin) spends his days stoking the fire in a giant coal furnace. When he isn’t tending the flames, he keeps busy with other activities. He works on a historical novel. His adult daughter Sasha (Aida Tumutova) comes to visit. Local kids come to gaze at the flames. Gangsters, including a former Army sergeant (Aleksandr Mosin) and a sniper known as Bison (Yuri Matveyev), drop by to add special kindling to the fire.

THE STOKER, which is set against the backdrop of the Russia’s transition from a command economy, presents a series of interlocking stories that revolve around the life of Ivan Skryabin. Russia is presented as a cut-throat environment where only the strongest survive. War vets whose specialized skills are no longer needed by the government find new opportunities with the mafia. A world of opportunity is opened up for the younger generation, yet the path to prosperity is paved with jealousy and greed. The lives of the characters eventually intersect in an ironic — and brutal — fashion. (Rodney Perkins)

COMIC-CON EPISODE FOUR: A FAN’S HOPE
Morgan Spurlock 2011 | Documentary, Feature, Guest in attendance | 88 min.

Producer Harry Knowles, James Darling (lead role) and Se Young (lead role) live in person!

One of the most potentially traumatic situations in my position is having a friend submit a film they have either produced, written or directed. At first you are thrilled for the person for even completing such an epic task. That thrill is quickly tempered, however, by the dread of having to let them down gently if it doesn’t quite measure up. With such dread in my heart did I drive up to festival co-founder Harry Knowles’ house last month to check out a screening of COMIC-CON EPISODE FOUR: A FAN’S HOPE in his living room. Harry is a producer on Comic-Con and helped Morgan Spurlock navigate some of the more hard-core corners of the epic convention.

I had a sinking feeling that Spurlock himself would be in front of the camera snarking around the festival in a stormtrooper outfit taking low-blow potshots at our nerd family like some sort of schoolyard bully. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Instead of a SUPER SIZE ME deconstruction, Morgan Spurlock chooses to show us the magical journey that is Comic-Con. Seven disparate individuals are all planning to attend, each with their own hopes, dreams and aspirations. A soldier wants to become a comic artist; a San Bernardino goth girl makes animatronic monsters in her garage; an oldguard comic-book vendor is concerned about the changing marketplace of the convention; a twenty-something movie geek is looking for romance; and a bartender at perhaps the nerdiest bar in the known universe aspires to be a graphic illustrator. We are along for the ride from beginning to riveting conclusion.

In the end, Morgan Spurlock has respectfully captured the magic and wonder of nerddom better than any other filmmaker. Harry was reticent to suggest playing the film at Fantastic Fest, but I forced the issue. No other film I have seen this year captures the spirit of the Fantastic Fest audience like COMIC-CON EPISODE FOUR: A FAN’S HOPE, and I am proud to select it as our 2011 Closing Night fi lm. (Tim League)

My reviews and coverage of events begin tomorrow (or maybe Friday morning depending on my energy/time).

Preview Day 6

Fantastic Fest preview Day 7 was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Over the weekend two new Klaw-crafted works premiered.

First my latest piece for Blastr, “8 great sci-fi movie car chases guaranteed to get your pulse racing.”

And then there’s my monthly Nexus Graphica column.

Twice the Klaw… was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon