Winter’s Bone Review

I can’t call myself a film officionado; I just know I love them. I can’t call myself an expert on what independent films are sure to shine; I just walk away from some with a gut feeling knowing that I either just saw a gem or a total dud. By the time I walked out of the theater the other night, I knew for certain I’d just seen a diamond in Winter’s Bone.

The premise of Winter’s Bone is simple: Ree Dolly is a 17 year old taking care of her younger brother and sister, as well as a mentally ill mother, when the local sheriff shows up on her doorstep with grave news. Her deadbeat father (a crystal meth maker and dealer) is out on bond, and has failed to show up for his appointed court date. The problem? Dear old dad has put the house up for his bond money, and if he fails to appear, Ree’s family is out in the cold, literally. What follows is one of the best films I’ve seen all year, hands down. … Continue Reading

KAFFNY Urban November 3-7, 2010

Korean American Film Festival New York (KAFFNY) recently announced KAFFNY Urban, a film festival that has them partnered with The Big Screen Project, a 30′ x 16.5′ outdoor LED screen being constructed in the public plaza located behind the Eventi Hotel on 6th Ave between 29th and 30th Streets. The event will take place November 3-7, 2010.

According to the press release the area features a 15,000-square-foot mix-use outdoor plaza to highlight innovators in film, animation, art, and to raise awareness for humanitarian and environmental issues. JD Carlisle Development is the plaza’s developer and the space will have tables and chairs for film viewing and snacking on food (I recommend Kyochon chicken only a few blocks away).

“We are excited to be partnering with KAFFNY Urban to bring their festival to our outdoor public screen for all of New York to experience,” said Stuart Rentzler, senior director of the Big Screen Project. “The proximity to Koreatown, one of New York’s vibrant neighborhoods, along with KAFFNY’s unique and diverse content is an example of the type of opportunity we like to bring to the community.”

There will be 15 hours of programming taking place 8 to 11PM each day, and a reception on Friday November 5, with details to be determined. “Most people know KAFFNY for our annual film festival in February. But we wanted to connect with our audience more regularly and thought this smaller screening was a great way to showcase Korean and Korean-American films using technology and a unique public space. We’re honored to be the Big Screen Project’s debut art event,” said Dave Kim, KAFFNY’s co-founder and director of the annual film festival held in February. “We’re calling this project KAFFNY ‘Urban’ because we have a commitment to showcasing NYC-based, homegrown film talent as Korean film projects also continue to attract international audiences and markets.”

They are also partnering with IndieStory and Amuse Film to provide some independent Korean cinema for the event. There will be two  documentaires about the 1992 LA Riots (Sa-i-gu and Wet Sand). Other non-narrative work will include My Daddy Called Me a Snake by Sun Young Kim,  red; state by Sun Young Kim, and both Symphony and Way Home by Erick Oh

Narrative programming will feature Chemical Fiction by Thomas Kim, Crippled by Len Chi, The 8th Samurai by Justin Ambrosino, The Last Mermaids by Liz Chae, The Last Vacation by Jae-Ho Chang, Love Is Worth It by Sung-Min Yi, Passing by Esther Chung, The Postcard by Josh Kim, Texas Girl by Hyung Hyup Kim, Une Vie Merveilleuse a Paris by Sungmi Park, and Within Limits by Eubin Ki.

This looks to be a rather interesting project and I hope KAFFNY Urban find success in their endeavor. Any outlet for independent media is going to be supported by cineAWESOME! and you can look forward to more coverage in the future.

American Grindhouse

If there’s one genre of film that very few expected to make a comeback, it’s the exploitation film.  Long thought to have died in the grindhouses of the ’70s which were themselves paved over for mainstream multiplexes, exploitation secretly stayed around via direct to video and overseas fare.  Then, faster than you could say “Quentin Tarantino”, exploitation stormed back onto North American screens under a different guise, “grindhouse”, the name of the seedy theaters that these films once called home. … Continue Reading

New York Korean Film Festival Is Here!

The New York Korean Film Festival starts this week! I personally will be going to see Im Sang-soo’s remake of The Housemaid. I am also trying to see both Boo Ji-young’s Sisters on the Road and Roh Gyeong-tae’s Land of Scarecrows. This year’s lineup is quite strong with a variety of interesting films. There are  eight films this year and the film is a collaborative effort between The Korean Society, Brooklyn Academy of Music Rose Cinema, and Museum of Modern Art. I urge everyone in the New York area to check it out!

The opening reception is at The Korean Society (950 3rd Ave and 57th St) on Thursday September 23 from 5-7PM featuring both Im Sang-soo and Boo Ji-young. They will both be available after the screenings of their films (The Housemaid and Sisters on the Road respectively) for Q&A sessions as well. Boo Ji-young is also visiting a local high school film program with the help of The Korean Society. Roh Gyeong-tae will also be at The Korean Society on the 28th to discuss his film Land of Scarecrows. Following is the release from The Korean Society detailing the films and their screening times.

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J-Pop Summit Week

New People and VIZ cinema are at it again with their late Summer celebration of everything Japanese pop culture.  Whereas last year’s J-Pop Summit Festival was a one day event whose focal point was the grand opening of the New People building located in San Francisco’s Japantown, this year’s is a whole week’s worth of events from September 13th to the 17th leading up to Summit day, September 18th. … Continue Reading

Starman: A Sci-fi Review

Starman (1984), a movie that feels like a middle road between The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and Thelma and Louise (1991), is John Carpenter’s attempt at a love story, John Carpenter style.  It’s a science-fiction film in the same way that Phenomenon (1996) is sci-fi.  Both take sci-fi premises and shift the focus to that of feel-good character-based dramas.  This isn’t to knock Starman (or feel-good character-based dramas in general); it’s just to say that you can’t approach Starman in the same way that you’d approach a movie like–say–Independence Day (1996).  Featuring the talents of Jeff Bridges (as Starman) and Karen Allen (as Jenny Hayden), this movie got a fair amount of critical applause in a time when science fiction wasn’t necessarily taken seriously.  Bridges was even nominated for an Oscar (Best Actor in a Leading Role) for his inhuman portrayal of the extraterrestrial visitor.  … Continue Reading

NYAFF ’10: A Little Pond Review

Lee Sang-woo’s Little Pond may have been the most controversial film to play at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival. At long last I finally review it. It explores the No Gun Ri massacre which took place between July 26 and 29, 1950, when US troops killed Korean civilians fleeing south as the North Korean army advanced. Official Korean numbers place it at 218 dead, and the incident sparked a long round of debate when it was released as a story by the AP in 1999 after it was found that it was partially based off of falsified reports. The US claims only 50 were killed while the North Koreans reported only three weeks after the incident that 400 were slaughtered. The film takes a more human look at the incident and for the most part succeeds. … Continue Reading

Abel Ferrara’s Jekyll and Hyde on Hold

Remember when that was making the rounds in the film blog world? The news of a Jekyll and Hyde film, written and directed by none other than crazy ol’ Abel Ferrara. The man who made such films as The Driller Killer, Ms. 45, Bad Lietenant and King of New York was going to put his stamp on the Robert Louis Stevenson story. But he was going to do it with Forrest Whitaker and 50 Cent.

Huh??!

He spoke to the Guardian and showed why he’s always a great conversationalist.

“He could be an awesome Ed Hyde. He’s the real deal. But it’s not gonna get made,” he says. “Warner Brothers have put up about one fifth of what the film should cost and want about one third of what it’s gonna make, and I’m supposed to kiss the feet of whoever made that deal. They never made Jekyll & Hyde the way it was written. It’s a guy and his creation. Having one actor play both parts is an abomination, a distortion of Stevenson’s story. It’s a masterpiece. I’m gonna make it one day.”

Rob Zombie Taking Over Universal

Well, it’s not like that at all. He’s only taking over Universal Studios Hollywood in their “Halloween Horror Nights” department, with a House of 1000 Corpses attraction, “Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters and Madmen”, which will be presented in 3D. I wish it was a Devil’s Rejects attraction, but that would be hard to replicate that experience.

Universal and Zombie are also having a short film competition to coincide with the event and they are asking horror film directors, young and old, to submit their films, between 90 seconds and 3 minutes. To learn more about that, go right here.

Look below the break for a press release that I know most people wouldn’t care to read. Thanks to /Film for the info.

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I Spit On Your Grave Remake Trailer

Here’s a film that I wasn’t sure what to think about when I first heard they were remaking it. Such a film, with its exploitative roots; would it work in today’s society? Also, the film still haunts me with its rape scenes. The violence I can easily deal with, but the repeated rape of a woman… it always destroys me emotionally.

Enough of that, I did get to see a screening of it but that’s all I can say right now. I will be writing a review a week before it comes out but for now, all I can say is that I saw the film already.

After the break, watch the full trailer which premiered on Yahoo. Thanks to Shock Til You Drop for bringing it to my attention.

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