Minister for Digital & Culture Matt Hancock re-elected.
The UK has woken up to a hung parliament with the Conservatives as the largest party, after the general election produced no overall winner.
With nearly all results in, prime minister Theresa May faces ending up with 12 fewer seats than when she called the election.
The Tories are set to get 319, Labour 261, the Snp 35 and the Lib Dems 12.
The result has created considerable uncertainty over the makeup of a future government and its mandate to pursue the hard Brexit for which May had been campaigning.
Among key issues for the film industry this election were the UK’s divorce from the EU and the Conservatives’ policies on National Insurance Contributions, digital infrastructure rollout and skills investment.
While most major film and TV organisations declined to comment on the result, the UK’s Creative Industries Federation has responded with caution and some optimism.
Brexit
John Kampfner, chief executive...
The UK has woken up to a hung parliament with the Conservatives as the largest party, after the general election produced no overall winner.
With nearly all results in, prime minister Theresa May faces ending up with 12 fewer seats than when she called the election.
The Tories are set to get 319, Labour 261, the Snp 35 and the Lib Dems 12.
The result has created considerable uncertainty over the makeup of a future government and its mandate to pursue the hard Brexit for which May had been campaigning.
Among key issues for the film industry this election were the UK’s divorce from the EU and the Conservatives’ policies on National Insurance Contributions, digital infrastructure rollout and skills investment.
While most major film and TV organisations declined to comment on the result, the UK’s Creative Industries Federation has responded with caution and some optimism.
Brexit
John Kampfner, chief executive...
- 6/9/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The European Union contributes large sums to help keep the UK’s film sector healthy – what does the future hold if this funding disappears?
Within hours of the referendum result, film industry leaders in the UK were predicting disaster, with Michael Ryan, the chairman of the Independent Film and Television Alliance, saying the vote had “just blown up our foundation”. “We no longer know how our relationships with co-producers, financiers and distributors will work,” he said. “This is likely to be devastating for us.”
It’s far too early, of course, to know how things will pan out, and British film is as reliant on Hollywood backing and National Lottery funding as it is on EU support. Nonetheless, here are five ways in which the British film industry may change when the UK leaves the EU.
Continue reading...
Within hours of the referendum result, film industry leaders in the UK were predicting disaster, with Michael Ryan, the chairman of the Independent Film and Television Alliance, saying the vote had “just blown up our foundation”. “We no longer know how our relationships with co-producers, financiers and distributors will work,” he said. “This is likely to be devastating for us.”
It’s far too early, of course, to know how things will pan out, and British film is as reliant on Hollywood backing and National Lottery funding as it is on EU support. Nonetheless, here are five ways in which the British film industry may change when the UK leaves the EU.
Continue reading...
- 6/24/2016
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
The entertainment industry is reeling following the result of the historic Brexit vote, warning that Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU) could have disastrous consequences. Film and television producers worry the Brexit will create uncertainty and could unravel much of the financial infrastructure the independent industry relies on. "The decision to exit the European Union is a major blow to the U.K. film and TV industry," said Michael Ryan, chairman of the Independent Film & Television Alliance in a statement. “This decision has just blown up our foundation – as of today, we no longer know
read more...
read more...
- 6/24/2016
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For Your Eyes Only
Written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, based on Ian Fleming’s short stories “For Your Eyes only” and “Risico”
Directed by John Glen
UK, 1981,
You probably have never heard this before, but my favourite James Bond film of all time, For Your Eyes Only, was the first 007 film I ever saw. (Spookily, this is exactly the same reason that my Huffington Post doppelgänger likes the film.)
But I don’t love Roger Moore’s fourth Bond film for nostalgic reasons, or at least not completely. Every so often, the 007 franchise strips Bond of his gadgets and gives us a back to basics story where a more ruthless secret agent has only his wits to fall back on: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Living Daylights, Casino Royale and For Your Eyes Only are the best examples. Of these, For Your Eyes Only stands...
Written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, based on Ian Fleming’s short stories “For Your Eyes only” and “Risico”
Directed by John Glen
UK, 1981,
You probably have never heard this before, but my favourite James Bond film of all time, For Your Eyes Only, was the first 007 film I ever saw. (Spookily, this is exactly the same reason that my Huffington Post doppelgänger likes the film.)
But I don’t love Roger Moore’s fourth Bond film for nostalgic reasons, or at least not completely. Every so often, the 007 franchise strips Bond of his gadgets and gives us a back to basics story where a more ruthless secret agent has only his wits to fall back on: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Living Daylights, Casino Royale and For Your Eyes Only are the best examples. Of these, For Your Eyes Only stands...
- 11/3/2015
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
A while back, when we released the 400th episode of the Sound On Sight podcast, a few close friends and longtime listeners requested we compile a list of our favorite shows we recorded over the years. Now that the podcast has officially come to an end, I decided to finally set aside some time in my schedule and give them what they want. Initially, I set out to pick ten, but after 500 recordings and 8 long years, it was simply too hard to choose so few, so I opted for 20 instead. In selecting these episodes, I tried to show the wide range of genres we covered over the years, including Spaghetti Westerns, Italian Horror, Southern Gothic, underground cult, family friendly, foreign language and even Hollywood classics. We’ve been blessed with several guest hosts and interviews with many filmmakers including genre legends George A. Romero and John Landis, to name a few.
- 8/23/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Broadway got an influx of fresh new talent last night! Fifty-two musical theater hopefuls made their Broadway debut at the Minskoff Theatre June 29 at the seventh annual Jimmy Awards. Hosted by two-time Tony winner Michael Cerveris (“Fun Home”), the National High School Musical Theatre Awards named New York native Marla Louissaint, who played Caroline in “Caroline, or Change,” and Anthony Skillman, who played the titular wild man in “Tarzan,” the competition’s winners in the actress and actor categories. Both took home checks for $10,000, among other prizes that include a role in an upcoming Wyndham Rewards commercial. The four runners-up—Alec Michael Ryan (Laurence, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”), Drayton Maclean Mayers (Edward Bloom, “Big Fish”), Morgan Higgins (Eponine, “Les Misérables”), and Marnie Quick (Orange, “Shout! The Mod Musical”)—all received $2,500 scholarships courtesy of the Barry and Fran Weissler Foundation. The panel of judges included noted casting directors Bernie Telsey and Tara Rubin...
- 6/30/2015
- backstage.com
My name is Simon Howell and I’m the co-founder of Sound on Sight. My old friend and fellow co-founder (and true site originator) Rick da Conceicao, better known as Ricky D, asked me to write something in celebration of the site’s seventh anniversary.
Way back in 2007, Ricky D started a radio show called The Naked Lunch. It was broadcast in Montreal from Cjlo, Concordia University’s campus radio station, then repurposed as a podcast, back in the days when you could count the number of popular film ‘casts on one hand. A couple of months into the show’s existence, Ricky put out a Craigslist call for a co-host. I was already hosting a music program at the station, and the opportunity to gab about movies for two hours at a time seemed impossible to pass up. Ricky and I quickly established an easy on-air chemistry and the...
Way back in 2007, Ricky D started a radio show called The Naked Lunch. It was broadcast in Montreal from Cjlo, Concordia University’s campus radio station, then repurposed as a podcast, back in the days when you could count the number of popular film ‘casts on one hand. A couple of months into the show’s existence, Ricky put out a Craigslist call for a co-host. I was already hosting a music program at the station, and the opportunity to gab about movies for two hours at a time seemed impossible to pass up. Ricky and I quickly established an easy on-air chemistry and the...
- 9/27/2014
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Always with one eye on the past and the other on the present, FrightFest ensure an enduring celebration of genre cinema. After supporting director Jake West and producer Marc Morris’ Moral Panic, Video Nasties and Videotape, FrightFest have once again leant their support to the follow-up documentary Video Nasties: Draconian Days, which picks up where Moral Panic left off to look at the fallout of the 1984 Video Recordings Act.
To celebrate the home entertainment release of Draconian Days that continues a comprehensive discussion of a compelling chapter in British film spectatorship and censorship, HeyUGuys turned the tables on West and Morris as they shared their thoughts on censorship past, present and future, the advantages of notoriety and the positive side to the Draconian Days amongst other points of discussion.
What was the genesis of Video Nasties: Draconian Days? Was it your original intention to do a follow-up?
Jake West:...
To celebrate the home entertainment release of Draconian Days that continues a comprehensive discussion of a compelling chapter in British film spectatorship and censorship, HeyUGuys turned the tables on West and Morris as they shared their thoughts on censorship past, present and future, the advantages of notoriety and the positive side to the Draconian Days amongst other points of discussion.
What was the genesis of Video Nasties: Draconian Days? Was it your original intention to do a follow-up?
Jake West:...
- 8/18/2014
- by Paul Risker
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: London-based company to handle international sales on Thorsten Schmidt’s modern fairytale.
Just before Berlin, London-based production, financing and sales outfit Gfm has announced it is to handle international sales on Thorsten Schmidt’s new $6m feature Hear My Voice, produced by Nils Dunker of Lailaps Pictures.
The film comes billed as an Israeli “Slumdog Millionaire“-story, a modern fairytale about a brave young Palestinian girl who overcomes political and cultural barriers in order to live her dream. She has a beautiful voice. Her ticket to stardom is competing in a TV talent show.
Hear My Voice is English-language and is due to shoot later this year for delivery in the summer of 2015. Casting is underway.
At the Efm, Gfm, the company run by industry veterans Guy Collins, Michael Ryan and Fred Hedman, is also continuing sales on big budget Japanese sci-fi animated adventure Harlock: Space Pirate.
Italian distributor Lucky Red released on Jan 1 and, according...
Just before Berlin, London-based production, financing and sales outfit Gfm has announced it is to handle international sales on Thorsten Schmidt’s new $6m feature Hear My Voice, produced by Nils Dunker of Lailaps Pictures.
The film comes billed as an Israeli “Slumdog Millionaire“-story, a modern fairytale about a brave young Palestinian girl who overcomes political and cultural barriers in order to live her dream. She has a beautiful voice. Her ticket to stardom is competing in a TV talent show.
Hear My Voice is English-language and is due to shoot later this year for delivery in the summer of 2015. Casting is underway.
At the Efm, Gfm, the company run by industry veterans Guy Collins, Michael Ryan and Fred Hedman, is also continuing sales on big budget Japanese sci-fi animated adventure Harlock: Space Pirate.
Italian distributor Lucky Red released on Jan 1 and, according...
- 2/8/2014
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Washington, Nov. 30: Hugh Jackman's personal trainer has revealed that the star was so driven to get into shape for 'The Wolverine' that he refused to drink any alcohol during the movie's filming.
Michael Ryan told French website Eurosport.com that the Hollywood star has a strong competitive nature and is very demanding with himself, Contactmusic reported.
Ryan recalled that one day he told the 45-year-old actor that he could have just one beer, but he refused and made fun of him when he ordered one.
Ryan added that Jackman is the most dedicated and hardworking student he has ever had who is constantly trying to better himself. (Ani)...
Michael Ryan told French website Eurosport.com that the Hollywood star has a strong competitive nature and is very demanding with himself, Contactmusic reported.
Ryan recalled that one day he told the 45-year-old actor that he could have just one beer, but he refused and made fun of him when he ordered one.
Ryan added that Jackman is the most dedicated and hardworking student he has ever had who is constantly trying to better himself. (Ani)...
- 11/30/2013
- by Lohit Reddy
- RealBollywood.com
Ifta has elected its new executive committee and board of directors.
Ifta chairperson Paul Hertzberg will lead the 2013-14 executive committee and is joined by general vice-chairperson Kirk D’Amico and vice-chairperson/secretary Lise Romanoff.
Continuing on the executive committee for the second year of their two-year terms are: Clay Epstein, chairperson, Ifta Export Alliance; Nicolas Chartier, vice-chairperson; Brian O’Shea vice-chairperson/finance; and Michael Ryan, vice-chairperson.
Elected to this year’s board are: Glen Basner, Shaked Berenson, Roger Corman, Pierre David, Ennis Hensley, Andrew Kramer, Albert Lee, Avi Lerner, Charlotte Mickie and Thorsten Schumacher. Mathilde Epstein, Camela Galano and Brad Krevoy serve as alternates.
Continuing in the second year of their two-year board terms are: David Garrett, Gene George, Tatyana Joffe, Jay Joyce, Robbie Little, Nicole Mackey, Barbara Mudge, Almira Ravil, Mimi Steinbauer and Lisa Wilson.
Ifta chairperson Paul Hertzberg will lead the 2013-14 executive committee and is joined by general vice-chairperson Kirk D’Amico and vice-chairperson/secretary Lise Romanoff.
Continuing on the executive committee for the second year of their two-year terms are: Clay Epstein, chairperson, Ifta Export Alliance; Nicolas Chartier, vice-chairperson; Brian O’Shea vice-chairperson/finance; and Michael Ryan, vice-chairperson.
Elected to this year’s board are: Glen Basner, Shaked Berenson, Roger Corman, Pierre David, Ennis Hensley, Andrew Kramer, Albert Lee, Avi Lerner, Charlotte Mickie and Thorsten Schumacher. Mathilde Epstein, Camela Galano and Brad Krevoy serve as alternates.
Continuing in the second year of their two-year board terms are: David Garrett, Gene George, Tatyana Joffe, Jay Joyce, Robbie Little, Nicole Mackey, Barbara Mudge, Almira Ravil, Mimi Steinbauer and Lisa Wilson.
- 9/27/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Hey, friends! It’s time for another b-b-b-bonus episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, going along with the show having recently hit 300 Likes on Facebook. And per an old challenge laid out by our good friend Michael Ryan, Gabe and Josh are tackling the high and low of the Lucasfilm enterprise, now owned by Disney. First up, it’s the 1986 disaster known as Howard the Duck; Gabe’s seen it before, but Josh has not. Would you be surprised to learn that neither of the hosts was impressed with the misguided story of an anthropomorphic talking duck in 80s-era Cleveland? They were, of course, thrilled as usual by the other movie on the docket this week: Steven Spielberg’s adventure classic Raiders of the Lost Ark. Come for the Lucasfilm discussion, stay for Josh’s dramatic reading from the Star Wars Holiday Special!
iTunes
The post Mousterpiece Cinema, Lucasfilm Bonus Episode: ‘Howard the Duck...
iTunes
The post Mousterpiece Cinema, Lucasfilm Bonus Episode: ‘Howard the Duck...
- 7/18/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
If you've ever attended the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, you know what a stellar event it is. The 2013 edition of the fest will be primarily held in a new venue this year, which is actually its old venue! Read on for the details along with a look at the official poster.
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival’s 17th edition will take place in the heart of Montreal from July 18 to August 6, 2013. As the Concordia Hall Theatre - Fantasia’s home base since 2003 - is undergoing extensive renovations during our dates (which will include the installation of luxurious new seating and the acquisition of a new screen and digital projector), we had to secure a different venue for our flagship screenings. We are happy to announce that for our 2013 edition, Fantasia will be returning to the theatre in which it was born - The Imperial Cinema (Centre Sandra & Leo Kolber,...
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival’s 17th edition will take place in the heart of Montreal from July 18 to August 6, 2013. As the Concordia Hall Theatre - Fantasia’s home base since 2003 - is undergoing extensive renovations during our dates (which will include the installation of luxurious new seating and the acquisition of a new screen and digital projector), we had to secure a different venue for our flagship screenings. We are happy to announce that for our 2013 edition, Fantasia will be returning to the theatre in which it was born - The Imperial Cinema (Centre Sandra & Leo Kolber,...
- 5/30/2013
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Today brings some exciting news from Sound On Sight’s favourite film festival. The Fantasia International Film Festival’s 17th edition will take place in the heart of Montreal from July 18 to August 6, 2013, and this year the event will return to the theatre in which it was born – The Imperial Cinema. As much as I like the Concordia location, I have always preferred The Imperial Cinema, a heritage house of dreams that seats over 800 ticket holders. Built in 1913, the Imperial Cinema is one of the most beautiful single-screen theatres in the country, and features an incredible balcony with a fabulous view. The festival will also have screenings and events at Concordia’s J.A. de Sève Theatre and the Cinémathèque québécoise, along with special outdoor projections at the Place de la Paix.
Furthermore, the concept-art for the design of the official 2013 poster, was chosen during a special contest held last winter.
Furthermore, the concept-art for the design of the official 2013 poster, was chosen during a special contest held last winter.
- 5/30/2013
- by Kyle Reese
- SoundOnSight
Welcome back, friends, to the second part of this special two-part show. As you saw from the first part of the podcast, Mousterpiece Cinema co-host and friend Michael Ryan passed away just over a week ago, so Josh and Gabe have been spending a bit of time reminiscing about their cohort. In the second part, Josh and Gabe highlight some memorable moments from having worked with Mike, both in another clip package, and in an extended discussion segment. Plus, you’ll get to hear voicemails from some past guests and fellow listeners, as well as a conversation at the end of the show about the future of the podcast going forward. You don’t want to miss it.
Note: As you’ll hear, this episode eschews the typical Mousterpiece Cinema theme music, instead using snatches of familiar, fitting pieces of Disney music, all of which are owned by Disney, and...
Note: As you’ll hear, this episode eschews the typical Mousterpiece Cinema theme music, instead using snatches of familiar, fitting pieces of Disney music, all of which are owned by Disney, and...
- 5/4/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
Friends, by now you may have heard, but if not, Josh and Gabe recently got some tragic news from Montreal: their Mousterpiece Cinema co-host Michael Ryan passed away just over a week ago. As such, today doesn’t bring a typical episode of the podcast. Instead, Josh and Gabe have a two-part memorial show in honor of Mike, with this being Part One. For the centerpiece segment, Josh and Gabe are joined by past guest and co-host of The Televerse, Kate Kulzick, to reminisce about Mike on a general level, discussing what he meant to them and how Mike first got involved with the show. This first of two parts also includes a clip package bursting with the best of our duck-loving friend. Make sure to listen to the whole show, and stick around for part two.
Note: As you’ll hear, this episode eschews the typical Mousterpiece Cinema theme music,...
Note: As you’ll hear, this episode eschews the typical Mousterpiece Cinema theme music,...
- 5/4/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
I have never met a person as boundlessly enthusiastic as my Quebecois co-host Michael Ryan. We all have a reserve of positivity residing within us; some are smaller than others, but Mike’s was infinite. Upon seeing the news, posted to his Facebook page from his parents, Michele and Terry, that Mike had passed away, I was (and remain) heartbroken. In some small way, I feel as if I’ve lost a close family member, someone with whom I could heartily disagree on a weekly basis without worrying that I’d irreparably damaged our relationship.
I remember when Ricky D pointed me in Mike’s direction, after joining Sound on Sight as I began searching for my first co-host. I was stumped at first as to who could or would want to join me, but when Ricky mentioned Mike, he did so with a tone of “Oh, how could I have forgotten about him?...
I remember when Ricky D pointed me in Mike’s direction, after joining Sound on Sight as I began searching for my first co-host. I was stumped at first as to who could or would want to join me, but when Ricky mentioned Mike, he did so with a tone of “Oh, how could I have forgotten about him?...
- 4/25/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
I am devastated to hear about the loss of our beloved friend Michael Ryan, cohost of the Mousterpiece Cinema podcast and one of our most valuable, not to mention, most talented contributors. Mike Ryan, known in many circles (digitally and Irl) as Llakor, was the most pleasant cinephile you could ever spend time with. His enthusiasm and love for the arts is unmatched here at Sound On Sight. He could put a positive spin on just about any movie or television show despite its flaws and as the founder of the Young Cuts Film Festival, he was one of the great champions of independent filmmaking here in Montreal. His personal passion for cinema was boundless, and I am deeply saddened by this news.
My condolences go out to his friends and family and anyone who was touched by his love of all things geek. I’ve known Mike for only...
My condolences go out to his friends and family and anyone who was touched by his love of all things geek. I’ve known Mike for only...
- 4/25/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The Human Race
Written and Directed by Paul Hough
USA 2012 imdb Fantasia
The Human Race is a grindhouse drive-in classic that happens to have been made years after the drive-in heyday; at least it follows the maxim of legendary drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, “the first rule of great drive-in movie-making: Anyone can die at any moment.”
The set-up of The Human Race is that everyone on one city block, 80 souls in total, are snatched from their lives by a white light, dropped into a strange obstacle course and told, “The school, the house and the prison are safe. Follow the arrows or you will die. Stay on the path or you will die. If you are lapped twice, you will die. Do not touch the grass or you will die. Race or die.”
And naturally, there can only be one winner. To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, “Anybody want to see second prize?...
Written and Directed by Paul Hough
USA 2012 imdb Fantasia
The Human Race is a grindhouse drive-in classic that happens to have been made years after the drive-in heyday; at least it follows the maxim of legendary drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, “the first rule of great drive-in movie-making: Anyone can die at any moment.”
The set-up of The Human Race is that everyone on one city block, 80 souls in total, are snatched from their lives by a white light, dropped into a strange obstacle course and told, “The school, the house and the prison are safe. Follow the arrows or you will die. Stay on the path or you will die. If you are lapped twice, you will die. Do not touch the grass or you will die. Race or die.”
And naturally, there can only be one winner. To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, “Anybody want to see second prize?...
- 3/25/2013
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
#30: Cloud Atlas
Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
Written by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
Cloud Atlas is essentially a patchwork of narratives thematically linked with minor coincidences and recurring symbolism. With six stories spanning several centuries, Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. As a parable of how we are all connected, each protagonist in Cloud Atlas wrestles with some form of oppression, based on either gender, age, race, sexual orientation, genetics and so on. In 1850, a young American lawyer sailing on a ship through the South Pacific is slowly being poisoned by a doctor who wants the treasure of gold he is hiding. In the 1930s, an inspiring composer follows his dreams while recounting his journey via love letters to his gay lover. A journalistic potboiler set...
Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
Written by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
Cloud Atlas is essentially a patchwork of narratives thematically linked with minor coincidences and recurring symbolism. With six stories spanning several centuries, Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. As a parable of how we are all connected, each protagonist in Cloud Atlas wrestles with some form of oppression, based on either gender, age, race, sexual orientation, genetics and so on. In 1850, a young American lawyer sailing on a ship through the South Pacific is slowly being poisoned by a doctor who wants the treasure of gold he is hiding. In the 1930s, an inspiring composer follows his dreams while recounting his journey via love letters to his gay lover. A journalistic potboiler set...
- 12/29/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The Imposter
Directed by Bart Layton
Your mind play tricks on you all the time. You’re presented with a clear-cut fact, something that is immutably true, and you doubt it. You wake up in the middle of the night, but your mind convinces you that you’ve had a full night’s sleep or it’s actually mid-morning and you’re running late. Someone you care about hasn’t answered your call, so your mind tells you something terrible—a car accident, maybe—has happened to them, even if the real answer is they just didn’t pick up their phone. Why does anyone—and we all do it–play these games on their psyches? What compels us to believe a convenient lie as opposed to accepting the cold, harsh truth? Such heady questions are at the center of The Imposter, a high-intensity and thrilling new documentary… (read the...
Directed by Bart Layton
Your mind play tricks on you all the time. You’re presented with a clear-cut fact, something that is immutably true, and you doubt it. You wake up in the middle of the night, but your mind convinces you that you’ve had a full night’s sleep or it’s actually mid-morning and you’re running late. Someone you care about hasn’t answered your call, so your mind tells you something terrible—a car accident, maybe—has happened to them, even if the real answer is they just didn’t pick up their phone. Why does anyone—and we all do it–play these games on their psyches? What compels us to believe a convenient lie as opposed to accepting the cold, harsh truth? Such heady questions are at the center of The Imposter, a high-intensity and thrilling new documentary… (read the...
- 12/6/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Dragon aka Wu Xia aka The Swordsmen
Written by Oi Wah Lam
Directed by Peter Chan
2011 Hong Kong/China
In a strange way, Dragon is a perfect companion film for the Shaw Brothers classic The Fists of the White Lotus that Fantasia presented this year. (Expect Edgar Chaput to review that film as part of his Shaw Brothers Saturday series soon.) Both films are about the never-ending cycle of violence and revenge, the corruption of Imperial China, and the strange effectiveness of martial arts acupuncture. Both films also feature a climax built around a fight with strangely difficult to kill old men and martial arts masters who are not afraid to appear to be clowns.
How difficult is it to pretend to be terrible at martial arts when you are actually really good at it? How difficult is it to play the buffoon when you are actually a World Class expert?...
Written by Oi Wah Lam
Directed by Peter Chan
2011 Hong Kong/China
In a strange way, Dragon is a perfect companion film for the Shaw Brothers classic The Fists of the White Lotus that Fantasia presented this year. (Expect Edgar Chaput to review that film as part of his Shaw Brothers Saturday series soon.) Both films are about the never-ending cycle of violence and revenge, the corruption of Imperial China, and the strange effectiveness of martial arts acupuncture. Both films also feature a climax built around a fight with strangely difficult to kill old men and martial arts masters who are not afraid to appear to be clowns.
How difficult is it to pretend to be terrible at martial arts when you are actually really good at it? How difficult is it to play the buffoon when you are actually a World Class expert?...
- 12/2/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
For Your Eyes Only
Written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, based on Ian Fleming’s short stories “For Your Eyes only” and “Risico”
Directed by John Glen
UK, 1981, imdb
You probably have never heard this before, but my favourite James Bond film of all time, For Your Eyes Only, was the first 007 film I ever saw. (Spookily, this is exactly the same reason that my Huffington Post doppelgänger likes the film.)
But I don’t love Roger Moore’s fourth Bond film for nostalgic reasons, or at least not completely. Every so often, the 007 franchise strips Bond of his gadgets and gives us a back to basics story where a more ruthless secret agent has only his wits to fall back on: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Living Daylights, Casino Royale and For Your Eyes Only are the best examples. Of these, For Your Eyes Only...
Written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, based on Ian Fleming’s short stories “For Your Eyes only” and “Risico”
Directed by John Glen
UK, 1981, imdb
You probably have never heard this before, but my favourite James Bond film of all time, For Your Eyes Only, was the first 007 film I ever saw. (Spookily, this is exactly the same reason that my Huffington Post doppelgänger likes the film.)
But I don’t love Roger Moore’s fourth Bond film for nostalgic reasons, or at least not completely. Every so often, the 007 franchise strips Bond of his gadgets and gives us a back to basics story where a more ruthless secret agent has only his wits to fall back on: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Living Daylights, Casino Royale and For Your Eyes Only are the best examples. Of these, For Your Eyes Only...
- 11/16/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Smashed
Written by James Ponsoldt and Susan Burke
Directed by James Ponsoldt
USA 2012 imdb
Simon Howell’s Tiff review
The reason to see Smashed is an amazing performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an alcoholic 1st grade teacher, married to an equally alcoholic music critic. Winstead’s Kate is walking a tightrope made of broken bottles, teetering somewhere between comedy and tragedy like a drunken Hexadecimal. Kate and Charlie (Aaron Paul) are the life of the party, any party, every party. It is only when a hungover Kate throws up in front of her 1st grade class (after taking a few nips from the flask in her car to fortify her for the day) and her students come to the conclusion that she’s pregnant, that Kate begins to believe that she has a problem. For a teacher, Kate is a very slow learner and it takes even more disturbing...
Written by James Ponsoldt and Susan Burke
Directed by James Ponsoldt
USA 2012 imdb
Simon Howell’s Tiff review
The reason to see Smashed is an amazing performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an alcoholic 1st grade teacher, married to an equally alcoholic music critic. Winstead’s Kate is walking a tightrope made of broken bottles, teetering somewhere between comedy and tragedy like a drunken Hexadecimal. Kate and Charlie (Aaron Paul) are the life of the party, any party, every party. It is only when a hungover Kate throws up in front of her 1st grade class (after taking a few nips from the flask in her car to fortify her for the day) and her students come to the conclusion that she’s pregnant, that Kate begins to believe that she has a problem. For a teacher, Kate is a very slow learner and it takes even more disturbing...
- 11/2/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
You may have seen recently that Joss Whedon “endorsed“ Mitt Romney for President saying, “You know, like a lot of liberal Americans, I was excited when Barack Obama took office four years ago. But it’s a very different world now. And Mitt Romney is a very different candidate. One with the vision and determination to cut through business-as-usual politics and finally put this country back on the path to the zombie apocalypse.”
Joss Whedon is absolutely right to invoke zombies in a political discussion, because zombies are the most political of monsters. Or to put it another way, Zombie films are the most political of all horror films.
…
…
…
Wait. What?
Let me explain.
Roger Ebert, in his review of Zombieland, wrote about Zombies:
Vampires make a certain amount of sense to me, but zombies not so much. What’s their purpose? Why do they always look so bad? Can...
Joss Whedon is absolutely right to invoke zombies in a political discussion, because zombies are the most political of monsters. Or to put it another way, Zombie films are the most political of all horror films.
…
…
…
Wait. What?
Let me explain.
Roger Ebert, in his review of Zombieland, wrote about Zombies:
Vampires make a certain amount of sense to me, but zombies not so much. What’s their purpose? Why do they always look so bad? Can...
- 10/30/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Richard Bates Jr. found quite a bit of acclaim with his short film Excision in 2008, going so far as to garner special mention from the horror jury at Austin Fantastic Fest. Four years later, Bates Jr. is making his feature film writing and directing debut by expanding the story of Excision. AnnaLynne McCord takes over the lead role from Tessa Ferrer, with Ariel Winter, Traci Lords, and Roger Bart filling out the main cast, and cameos from Matthew Gray Gubler, Marlee Matlin, Matthew Fahey, Malcolm McDowell, Jeremy Sumpter, Ray Wise, and John Waters. Two new clips highlighting the roles of the latter two have now been released, and can be seen below.For those further interested in the film, Sos contributor Michael Ryan and Sos editor Ricky were able to see the movie at Fantasia 2012; Michael Ryan’s review can be read here, and Ricky’s review can be read here.
- 9/29/2012
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
Justine Smith
Bright Star, Jane Campion
Orlando, Sally Potter
Trouble Every Day, Claire Denis
Cleo 5 a 7, Agnes Varda
A New Leaf, Elaine May
The Night Porter, Liliana Cavani
American Psycho, Mary Harron
Anatomy of Hell, Catherine Breillat
Point Break, Kathryn Bigelow
Everyone Else, Maren Ade
Ricky D
Connection, Shirley Clarke
Wuthering Heights, Andrea Arnold
35 Shots of Rhum, Claire Denis
Meshes of the Afternoon, Maya Derin
Seven Beauties, Lina Wertmuller
The Hitch-Hiker, Ida Lupino
Lina Wertmuller- Swept Away
Meek’s Cutoff, Kelly Reichardt
Headless Woman, Lucrecia Martel
Xxy, Lucía Puenzo
Special mention:
Skyscraper – Shirley Clarke
Wasp – Andrea Arnold
On Dangerous Ground – Ida Lupino (uncredited)
Wanda
Chris Clemente
Little Miss Sunshine, Valerie Faris
American Psycho, Mary Harron
Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola
We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay
Fish Tank, Andrea Arnold
Monster, Patty Jenkins
A League of Their Own, Penny Marshall
Wayne’s World, Penelope Spheeris
Clueless, Amy Heckerling
Point Break,...
Bright Star, Jane Campion
Orlando, Sally Potter
Trouble Every Day, Claire Denis
Cleo 5 a 7, Agnes Varda
A New Leaf, Elaine May
The Night Porter, Liliana Cavani
American Psycho, Mary Harron
Anatomy of Hell, Catherine Breillat
Point Break, Kathryn Bigelow
Everyone Else, Maren Ade
Ricky D
Connection, Shirley Clarke
Wuthering Heights, Andrea Arnold
35 Shots of Rhum, Claire Denis
Meshes of the Afternoon, Maya Derin
Seven Beauties, Lina Wertmuller
The Hitch-Hiker, Ida Lupino
Lina Wertmuller- Swept Away
Meek’s Cutoff, Kelly Reichardt
Headless Woman, Lucrecia Martel
Xxy, Lucía Puenzo
Special mention:
Skyscraper – Shirley Clarke
Wasp – Andrea Arnold
On Dangerous Ground – Ida Lupino (uncredited)
Wanda
Chris Clemente
Little Miss Sunshine, Valerie Faris
American Psycho, Mary Harron
Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola
We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay
Fish Tank, Andrea Arnold
Monster, Patty Jenkins
A League of Their Own, Penny Marshall
Wayne’s World, Penelope Spheeris
Clueless, Amy Heckerling
Point Break,...
- 9/26/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Not too long ago I asked the Sound On Sight staff to choose their ten favourite films of all time. The result led to mixed reactions (both by staff and readers), and some angry feedback. But how could any of us select only ten films from the thousands we’ve seen and walk away happy with the results. The fact is, of all the films which received a vote, it was those more widely available who made the cut. In other words, films such as The Godfather and Pulp Fiction stood a greater chance of receiving more ballots than say, obscure foreign gems.
My biggest disappointment with the picks, although only ten films were spotlighted, was the lack of votes for films directed by women. Could it be that none of us here at Sound On Sight valued great directors such as Claire Denis, Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman or Lina Wertmüller?...
My biggest disappointment with the picks, although only ten films were spotlighted, was the lack of votes for films directed by women. Could it be that none of us here at Sound On Sight valued great directors such as Claire Denis, Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman or Lina Wertmüller?...
- 9/26/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
In 2008, Richard Bates Jr. made a short film about a teenager’s harrowing journey into madness via extreme medical procedures. The short was well-received in the film circuit, propelling Bates Jr. to adapt the story of the teen and her overbearing mother into a feature length film, titled Excision. 90210‘s AnnaLynne McCord takes on the lead role this time, with Modern Family‘s Ariel Winter playing her sister, and Traci Lords, Malcolm McDowell, Ray Wise, John Waters, Matthew Fahey, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Marlee Matlin rounding out the cast. The first clip from the movie has now been released, and can be seen below. For those further interested in the film, Sos contributor Michael Ryan’s review can be read here, and Sos editor Ricky’s thoughts on the film can be read here.
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-...
- 9/18/2012
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
While initially recognised for being the daughter of noted offbeat auteur David Lynch, director Jennifer Lynch has been working on building a reputation of her own amongst the film community. While her most well-known effort, 2010′s Hisss, gained more publicity for the myriad production issues rather than the finished product, her newest effort, titled Chained, has been turning heads for all the right reasons. Following the twisted relationship between a serial killer and the captive he treats as his successor, the movie stars Eamon Farren and Vincent D’Onofrio in the lead roles, alongside Julia Ormond, Evan Bird, Gina Philips, and Conor Leslie. Two new clips from the movie have now been released, and can be seen below. For those interested further in the film, Sos correspondent Michael Ryan was able to view this film at Fantasia 2012, and his review can be read here.
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-...
- 9/18/2012
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
Brawler
Directed by Chris Sivertson
Written by Chris Sivertson, based on a story by Nathan Grubbs
USA, 2011
“As a kid, I had a record with the story of Cain and Abel on it. I used to play that record all the time – it really creeped me out.” – Chris Sivertson
Brawler is a ferociously original film built on the bones of very old stories – some of the oldest in literary history. It is a part of a new sub-genre of films including Bellflower and Another Earth that are “a complicated dance between what I guess you could call the traditionally more masculine [genre] storytelling and this more feminine, intimate human drama” as Brit Marling, writer and star of Another Earth explains it.
Or to put it another way, all three films are narratives about the most twisted, fucked-up relationships humanly possible, framed in the context of a genre narrative.
In the case of Brawler,...
Directed by Chris Sivertson
Written by Chris Sivertson, based on a story by Nathan Grubbs
USA, 2011
“As a kid, I had a record with the story of Cain and Abel on it. I used to play that record all the time – it really creeped me out.” – Chris Sivertson
Brawler is a ferociously original film built on the bones of very old stories – some of the oldest in literary history. It is a part of a new sub-genre of films including Bellflower and Another Earth that are “a complicated dance between what I guess you could call the traditionally more masculine [genre] storytelling and this more feminine, intimate human drama” as Brit Marling, writer and star of Another Earth explains it.
Or to put it another way, all three films are narratives about the most twisted, fucked-up relationships humanly possible, framed in the context of a genre narrative.
In the case of Brawler,...
- 9/6/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
It’s a good time to be a Blu-ray and Disney buff. Of course, this has been true ever since Blu-ray became the format of choice, beating HD-DVD in the format wars from a few years ago. (Who doesn’t have fond memories of the format wars? Oh, sure, there were casualties, but we had fun, didn’t we? Of course, it’s not as memorable as the Rock ‘n’ Roller Cola Wars Billy Joel sang about it, but what is?) The last few months, in particular, have been fruitful for Disney fans who own Blu-ray players. In fact, it’s come to a point where such fans’ wallets are getting too light. If you haven’t reached this point yet, you may get there this week, because Disney is releasing six—count ‘em, six—films on the HD format: The Aristocats, Chimpanzee, Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure,...
- 8/21/2012
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
Ricky D, Michael Ryan and Edgar Chaput are quite familiar with the Fantasia Film Festival, having attended the event for years (some of us since the very beginning); so we thought it would be wise to list our favorite films from the 2012 line up. Enjoy!
Edgar Chaput’s Top 3
3-Game of Werewolves (2012, Juan Martinez Moreno)
A review for this film has already has already been published (link here), but the short version is that director Martinez Moreno and his stellar cast deliver one of the most engaging, hysterical, action packed and wonderfully shot werewolf movies in years. Not this Wolf has a film involving these nightmarish hunters been so entertaining. Its greatest flaw is the script, which makes some bizarre decisions as to character motivations, yet any qualms about why certain people are doing what are squashed by the joy out of seeing Moreno’s interpretation of the universe of lycanthropy…...
Edgar Chaput’s Top 3
3-Game of Werewolves (2012, Juan Martinez Moreno)
A review for this film has already has already been published (link here), but the short version is that director Martinez Moreno and his stellar cast deliver one of the most engaging, hysterical, action packed and wonderfully shot werewolf movies in years. Not this Wolf has a film involving these nightmarish hunters been so entertaining. Its greatest flaw is the script, which makes some bizarre decisions as to character motivations, yet any qualms about why certain people are doing what are squashed by the joy out of seeing Moreno’s interpretation of the universe of lycanthropy…...
- 8/13/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Excision
Written and Directed by Richard Bates Jr.
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
There were two films at Fantasia this year that took me on trips that I didn’t want to go on. The first was the winner of Fantasia’s Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation The King of Pigs. The second was Excision. Both films are about outsiders in high school, bullying and school as hell. The difference is that The King of Pigs announces almost from its opening frames that this will not be a pleasant journey, while Excision promises a disturbing dream of a journey, only truly turning nightmarish in the final twenty minutes.
To put it another way, I quite enjoyed the trip that Excision was taking me on, until I reached its destination and I hated that arrival so much that it made me hate the journey – made me reevaluate and hate the entire film.
Written and Directed by Richard Bates Jr.
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
There were two films at Fantasia this year that took me on trips that I didn’t want to go on. The first was the winner of Fantasia’s Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation The King of Pigs. The second was Excision. Both films are about outsiders in high school, bullying and school as hell. The difference is that The King of Pigs announces almost from its opening frames that this will not be a pleasant journey, while Excision promises a disturbing dream of a journey, only truly turning nightmarish in the final twenty minutes.
To put it another way, I quite enjoyed the trip that Excision was taking me on, until I reached its destination and I hated that arrival so much that it made me hate the journey – made me reevaluate and hate the entire film.
- 8/11/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Hidden In the Woods
Directed by Patricio Valladares
Written by Patricio Valladares and Andrea Cavaletto
Chile, 2012
What exactly consists of a good groundhouse picture? Which conceivable, perceptible elements are sufficient for one movie fan, presumably one owing some familiarity in the genre, to conclude that groundhouse movie ‘a’ was swell, whereas movie grondhouse ‘b’ was not. Is the genre itself not supposed to give birth to films that, if assessed along the typically recognized guidelines (good acting, good story, good directing, good special effects provided said effects are present), are by and large bad? That is partly their charm, a charm virtually no other genre can claim. This year’s Fantasia International Film Festival lineup reserved some special projects for such fans. One was Michael Biehn’s directorial debut, The Victim, a film this movie reviewer found dreadful (for an altogether different take, here is Michael Ryan’s review and...
Directed by Patricio Valladares
Written by Patricio Valladares and Andrea Cavaletto
Chile, 2012
What exactly consists of a good groundhouse picture? Which conceivable, perceptible elements are sufficient for one movie fan, presumably one owing some familiarity in the genre, to conclude that groundhouse movie ‘a’ was swell, whereas movie grondhouse ‘b’ was not. Is the genre itself not supposed to give birth to films that, if assessed along the typically recognized guidelines (good acting, good story, good directing, good special effects provided said effects are present), are by and large bad? That is partly their charm, a charm virtually no other genre can claim. This year’s Fantasia International Film Festival lineup reserved some special projects for such fans. One was Michael Biehn’s directorial debut, The Victim, a film this movie reviewer found dreadful (for an altogether different take, here is Michael Ryan’s review and...
- 8/9/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
The Kick
Written by Jong-suk Lee, based on a story by Prachya Pinkaew
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew
Thailand/South Korea 2011 Fantasia imdb
Traditionally, films that pit one country’s martial arts against the martial arts from other countries are blood-soaked chauvinistic affairs like One Armed Boxer and its sequel Master of the Flying Guillotine. Both great films, they up the ante on the Kung Fu bragging rights by having the hero Tien Lung (Jimmy Wang Yu) beat the champions of Japan, Korea, Thailand, India and Tibet with literally one arm tied behind his back – or chopped off, depending on how you look at it.
The Kick is a much more gentle film, turning the battle between Korea’s Tae Kwan Do and Thailand’s Muay Thai into a family comedy and adding Thai star Jeeja Yanin to the winning Korean side to salve any hurt Thai feelings. (Almost deliberately, halfway...
Written by Jong-suk Lee, based on a story by Prachya Pinkaew
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew
Thailand/South Korea 2011 Fantasia imdb
Traditionally, films that pit one country’s martial arts against the martial arts from other countries are blood-soaked chauvinistic affairs like One Armed Boxer and its sequel Master of the Flying Guillotine. Both great films, they up the ante on the Kung Fu bragging rights by having the hero Tien Lung (Jimmy Wang Yu) beat the champions of Japan, Korea, Thailand, India and Tibet with literally one arm tied behind his back – or chopped off, depending on how you look at it.
The Kick is a much more gentle film, turning the battle between Korea’s Tae Kwan Do and Thailand’s Muay Thai into a family comedy and adding Thai star Jeeja Yanin to the winning Korean side to salve any hurt Thai feelings. (Almost deliberately, halfway...
- 8/5/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Smuggler aka Sumagurâ: Omae no mirai o hakobe
Written by Katsuhito Ishii, Masatoshi Yamaguchi and Kensuke Yamamoto, based on the manga Sumagurâ by Shôhei Manabe
Directed by Katsuhito Ishii
Japan 2011 Fantasia imdb
The writers and director of Smuggler clearly watched Ichi the Killer a lot – A Lot – as kids. It’s all there: the yakuza setting, the gang war, the eccentric characters, the torture, the weird unsettling pacing, the killer who feels like he infiltrated the film from some other cinematic universe.
The difference is that nothing works as well as Ichi. Every time the film quotes Ichi, we are reminded that this film isn’t quite as good as the original. The eccentricities come across as forced, the pacing feels like a car repeatedly back-firing rather than a dangerous roller-coaster, the killer just seems out of place rather than being transgressive, and the torture becomes irritating rather than unsettling.
Written by Katsuhito Ishii, Masatoshi Yamaguchi and Kensuke Yamamoto, based on the manga Sumagurâ by Shôhei Manabe
Directed by Katsuhito Ishii
Japan 2011 Fantasia imdb
The writers and director of Smuggler clearly watched Ichi the Killer a lot – A Lot – as kids. It’s all there: the yakuza setting, the gang war, the eccentric characters, the torture, the weird unsettling pacing, the killer who feels like he infiltrated the film from some other cinematic universe.
The difference is that nothing works as well as Ichi. Every time the film quotes Ichi, we are reminded that this film isn’t quite as good as the original. The eccentricities come across as forced, the pacing feels like a car repeatedly back-firing rather than a dangerous roller-coaster, the killer just seems out of place rather than being transgressive, and the torture becomes irritating rather than unsettling.
- 8/5/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Dragon aka Wu Xia aka The Swordsmen
Written by Oi Wah Lam
Directed by Peter Chan
2011 Hong Kong/China Fantasia imdb
In a strange way, Dragon is a perfect companion film for the Shaw Brothers classic The Fists of the White Lotus that Fantasia presented this year. (Expect Edgar Chaput to review that film as part of his Shaw Brothers Saturday series soon.) Both films are about the never-ending cycle of violence and revenge, the corruption of Imperial China, and the strange effectiveness of martial arts acupuncture. Both films also feature a climax built around a fight with strangely difficult to kill old men and martial arts masters who are not afraid to appear to be clowns.
How difficult is it to pretend to be terrible at martial arts when you are actually really good at it? How difficult is it to play the buffoon when you are actually a World Class expert?...
Written by Oi Wah Lam
Directed by Peter Chan
2011 Hong Kong/China Fantasia imdb
In a strange way, Dragon is a perfect companion film for the Shaw Brothers classic The Fists of the White Lotus that Fantasia presented this year. (Expect Edgar Chaput to review that film as part of his Shaw Brothers Saturday series soon.) Both films are about the never-ending cycle of violence and revenge, the corruption of Imperial China, and the strange effectiveness of martial arts acupuncture. Both films also feature a climax built around a fight with strangely difficult to kill old men and martial arts masters who are not afraid to appear to be clowns.
How difficult is it to pretend to be terrible at martial arts when you are actually really good at it? How difficult is it to play the buffoon when you are actually a World Class expert?...
- 8/5/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
The Victim
Written by Michael Biehn, based on a story by Reed Lackey
Directed by Michael Biehn
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
For years, Michael Biehn has been of the most interesting and versatile actors in genre cinema, while paradoxically one of the most misused. Capable of playing the hero, anti-hero or stone cold villain, Biehn has the charism and acting chops of a character actor with the chiseled good lucks of a star. Why this hasn’t translated into Biehn being one of the biggest action heroes of all time is an enduring mystery.
“I’m a working actor, and I’m always working, but there is a difference between a part and a great part. Mickey in The Divide was a great part. Johnny Ringo in Tombstone was a great part, but there is almost a twenty year gap there.”
-Michael Biehn
It is almost a relief to see...
Written by Michael Biehn, based on a story by Reed Lackey
Directed by Michael Biehn
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
For years, Michael Biehn has been of the most interesting and versatile actors in genre cinema, while paradoxically one of the most misused. Capable of playing the hero, anti-hero or stone cold villain, Biehn has the charism and acting chops of a character actor with the chiseled good lucks of a star. Why this hasn’t translated into Biehn being one of the biggest action heroes of all time is an enduring mystery.
“I’m a working actor, and I’m always working, but there is a difference between a part and a great part. Mickey in The Divide was a great part. Johnny Ringo in Tombstone was a great part, but there is almost a twenty year gap there.”
-Michael Biehn
It is almost a relief to see...
- 8/2/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Resolution
Written by Justin Benson
Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
It would be easy to compare Resolution to The Cabin in the Woods, both films tackle the horror tropes surrounding the titular isolated cabin in the woods, digging into the meta-narrative that informs the trope, but they come at the text from completely opposite directions. The comparison that felt more apt to me, while I was watching one of the best films at Fantasia this year, is linking Resolution to the H. P. Lovecraft film adaptation The Whisperer in Darkness. Lovingly recreated by fans,The Whisperer in Darkness tries to faithfully adapt Lovecraft’s work by using the media, tropes, and especially film style, that dominated when Lovercraft penned the original short story. In the case of Resolution, Benson and Moorhead tell a Lovecraftian tale, but instead of focusing on one media and style,...
Written by Justin Benson
Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
It would be easy to compare Resolution to The Cabin in the Woods, both films tackle the horror tropes surrounding the titular isolated cabin in the woods, digging into the meta-narrative that informs the trope, but they come at the text from completely opposite directions. The comparison that felt more apt to me, while I was watching one of the best films at Fantasia this year, is linking Resolution to the H. P. Lovecraft film adaptation The Whisperer in Darkness. Lovingly recreated by fans,The Whisperer in Darkness tries to faithfully adapt Lovecraft’s work by using the media, tropes, and especially film style, that dominated when Lovercraft penned the original short story. In the case of Resolution, Benson and Moorhead tell a Lovecraftian tale, but instead of focusing on one media and style,...
- 8/2/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
The Human Race
Written and Directed by Paul Hough
USA 2012 imdb Fantasia
The Human Race is a grindhouse drive-in classic that happens to have been made years after the drive-in heyday; at least it follows the maxim of legendary drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, “the first rule of great drive-in movie-making: Anyone can die at any moment.”
The set-up of The Human Race is that everyone on one city block, 80 souls in total, are snatched from their lives by a white light, dropped into a strange obstacle course and told, “The school, the house and the prison are safe. Follow the arrows or you will die. Stay on the path or you will die. If you are lapped twice, you will die. Do not touch the grass or you will die. Race or die.”
And naturally, there can only be one winner. To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, “Anybody want to see second prize?...
Written and Directed by Paul Hough
USA 2012 imdb Fantasia
The Human Race is a grindhouse drive-in classic that happens to have been made years after the drive-in heyday; at least it follows the maxim of legendary drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, “the first rule of great drive-in movie-making: Anyone can die at any moment.”
The set-up of The Human Race is that everyone on one city block, 80 souls in total, are snatched from their lives by a white light, dropped into a strange obstacle course and told, “The school, the house and the prison are safe. Follow the arrows or you will die. Stay on the path or you will die. If you are lapped twice, you will die. Do not touch the grass or you will die. Race or die.”
And naturally, there can only be one winner. To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, “Anybody want to see second prize?...
- 8/1/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
The Human Race
Written and Directed by Paul Hough
USA 2012 imdb Fantasia
The Human Race is a grindhouse drive-in classic that happens to have been made years after the drive-in heyday; at least it follows the maxims of legendary drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, “the first rule of great drive-in movie-making: Anyone can die at any moment.”
The set-up of The Human Race is that everyone on one city block, 80 souls in total, are snatched from their lives by a white light, dropped into a strange obstacle course and told, “The school, the house and the prison are safe. Follow the arrows or you will die. Stay on the path or you will die. If you are lapped twice, you will die. Do not touch the grass or you will die. Race or die.”
And naturally, there can only be one winner. To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, “Anybody want to see second prize?...
Written and Directed by Paul Hough
USA 2012 imdb Fantasia
The Human Race is a grindhouse drive-in classic that happens to have been made years after the drive-in heyday; at least it follows the maxims of legendary drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, “the first rule of great drive-in movie-making: Anyone can die at any moment.”
The set-up of The Human Race is that everyone on one city block, 80 souls in total, are snatched from their lives by a white light, dropped into a strange obstacle course and told, “The school, the house and the prison are safe. Follow the arrows or you will die. Stay on the path or you will die. If you are lapped twice, you will die. Do not touch the grass or you will die. Race or die.”
And naturally, there can only be one winner. To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, “Anybody want to see second prize?...
- 8/1/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Resolution
Written by Justin Benson
Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
It would be easy to compare Resolution to The Cabin in the Woods, both films tackle the horror tropes surrounding the titular isolated cabin in the woods, digging into the meta-narrative that informs the trope, but they come at the text from completely opposite directions. The comparison that felt more apt to me, while I was watching one of the best films at Fantasia this year, is linking Resolution to the H. P. Lovecraft film adaptation The Whisperer in Darkness. Lovingly recreated by fans, The Whisperer in Darkness tries to faithfully adapt Lovecraft’s work by using the media, tropes, and especially film style, that dominated when Lovercraft penned the original short story. In the case of Resolution, Benson and Moorhead tell a Lovecraftian tale, but instead of focusing on one media and style,...
Written by Justin Benson
Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead
USA 2012 Fantasia imdb
It would be easy to compare Resolution to The Cabin in the Woods, both films tackle the horror tropes surrounding the titular isolated cabin in the woods, digging into the meta-narrative that informs the trope, but they come at the text from completely opposite directions. The comparison that felt more apt to me, while I was watching one of the best films at Fantasia this year, is linking Resolution to the H. P. Lovecraft film adaptation The Whisperer in Darkness. Lovingly recreated by fans, The Whisperer in Darkness tries to faithfully adapt Lovecraft’s work by using the media, tropes, and especially film style, that dominated when Lovercraft penned the original short story. In the case of Resolution, Benson and Moorhead tell a Lovecraftian tale, but instead of focusing on one media and style,...
- 7/29/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Fists of the White Lotus (aka: Clan of the White Lotus)
Directed by Lo Lieh
Written by Tien Huang
Hong Kong, 1980
*This week’s film was viewed at the 2012 Fantasia International film festival on a 35mm print, hence its inclusion in both the Shaw Brothers Saturdays and Fantasia 2012 columns.
The old, evil martial arts master who can still pack a thunderous punch, often demolishing anyone who stands in his path with precise, near-effortless movements. He dresses in white, laughs a powerful laugh and frequently strokes his white beard when in thought. The image is fond one among many a martial arts movie fan. For many, their first ever exposure to the character was in Quentin Tarantino’s 2004 feature, Kill Bill: Vol. 2. the truth of the matter is that the old kung fu master has made numerous appearances in much older action films. In fact, not so long ago in this very column,...
Directed by Lo Lieh
Written by Tien Huang
Hong Kong, 1980
*This week’s film was viewed at the 2012 Fantasia International film festival on a 35mm print, hence its inclusion in both the Shaw Brothers Saturdays and Fantasia 2012 columns.
The old, evil martial arts master who can still pack a thunderous punch, often demolishing anyone who stands in his path with precise, near-effortless movements. He dresses in white, laughs a powerful laugh and frequently strokes his white beard when in thought. The image is fond one among many a martial arts movie fan. For many, their first ever exposure to the character was in Quentin Tarantino’s 2004 feature, Kill Bill: Vol. 2. the truth of the matter is that the old kung fu master has made numerous appearances in much older action films. In fact, not so long ago in this very column,...
- 7/28/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Not long ago, Sound on Sight’s editor Ricky D emailed myself and fellow contributor Michael Ryan for the purpose of compiling some of our individual favourite martial arts pictures to celebrate The Raid‘s theatrical release across North American this Easter weekend. I would never consider myself to be a scholar of the genre, but it is true that I do tend to go back to martial arts films on a consistent basis when I have I craving for high-octane action. I think it has to do with the fact that what the performers pull off actually can be done if one practices long and hard enough. You can round-house kick someone in the face or brutally beat up a group of thugs with nunchucks but you could never levitate off the ground on bend metal with your mind, fun as it may be to watch movies in which characters perform those acts.
- 4/6/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
The Raid: Redemption aka Serbuan maut
Written and Directed by Gareth Evans
Indonesia, 2011, imdb
For the martial arts aficianados out there, don’t even bother reading this review, just go to the theatre now. The Raid: Redemption is everything that you have heard it is and more. Offering a rare glimpse of the Indonesian martial art style Pentjak Silat, the film is one long, almost continuous combat sequence, with all the fights performed at mach speed by a stunt team that make Tony Jaa’s unit look like conservative wimps. Many of the fights are done with one or both fighters holding knives, but if anything they fight faster with knives than with empty hands.
Don’t ask, just go.
*****
Ok. Everyone else, let’s talk about Roger Ebert, who has eviscerated this film not once, but twice, first giving it one star and then expanding his original review in...
Written and Directed by Gareth Evans
Indonesia, 2011, imdb
For the martial arts aficianados out there, don’t even bother reading this review, just go to the theatre now. The Raid: Redemption is everything that you have heard it is and more. Offering a rare glimpse of the Indonesian martial art style Pentjak Silat, the film is one long, almost continuous combat sequence, with all the fights performed at mach speed by a stunt team that make Tony Jaa’s unit look like conservative wimps. Many of the fights are done with one or both fighters holding knives, but if anything they fight faster with knives than with empty hands.
Don’t ask, just go.
*****
Ok. Everyone else, let’s talk about Roger Ebert, who has eviscerated this film not once, but twice, first giving it one star and then expanding his original review in...
- 4/5/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Written By Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed By Vincent McEveety
USA, 1977, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
From the time that “Disney’s Folly” paid off and the first-ever animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, became a hit, Disney (the company that Walt created) has been in the business of telling fairy tales. What we sometimes forget is that fairy tales can be stories that reassure children, but also stories that scare the bejeezus out of them. Case in point, the first film that I ever saw: Walt Disney’s Bambi, a film that also terrified Stephen King as a child.
The Herbie series is much more on the reassuring side of the spectrum than the scary side,...
Written By Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed By Vincent McEveety
USA, 1977, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
From the time that “Disney’s Folly” paid off and the first-ever animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, became a hit, Disney (the company that Walt created) has been in the business of telling fairy tales. What we sometimes forget is that fairy tales can be stories that reassure children, but also stories that scare the bejeezus out of them. Case in point, the first film that I ever saw: Walt Disney’s Bambi, a film that also terrified Stephen King as a child.
The Herbie series is much more on the reassuring side of the spectrum than the scary side,...
- 4/2/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
D2: The Mighty Ducks
Written by Steven Brill
Directed by Sam Weisman
USA, 1994, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema D2:
The Mighy Ducks podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
For any critic, opinions about a particular piece of art are influenced by your life experiences.
I grew up loving hockey in general and the Montreal Canadians in particular. The first hockey game that I ever saw was “The New Year’s Eve Classic” on December 31, 1975 between the Red Army and the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens out-shot the Red Army 38-13, but every Soviet shot was a planned dagger designed to confuse and destroy Montreal goaltender Ken Dryden, while Vladislav Tretiak batted away shots from every conceivable angle. The game, which many considered at the time to be the unofficial World Championship ended in a 3-3 tie.
Some call it “The Greatest Tie Game Ever Played...
Written by Steven Brill
Directed by Sam Weisman
USA, 1994, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema D2:
The Mighy Ducks podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
For any critic, opinions about a particular piece of art are influenced by your life experiences.
I grew up loving hockey in general and the Montreal Canadians in particular. The first hockey game that I ever saw was “The New Year’s Eve Classic” on December 31, 1975 between the Red Army and the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens out-shot the Red Army 38-13, but every Soviet shot was a planned dagger designed to confuse and destroy Montreal goaltender Ken Dryden, while Vladislav Tretiak batted away shots from every conceivable angle. The game, which many considered at the time to be the unofficial World Championship ended in a 3-3 tie.
Some call it “The Greatest Tie Game Ever Played...
- 4/1/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Directed by Vincent McEveety
Written by Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson
Starring Dean Jones, Don Knotts, Julie Sommars
The foundation of any solid relationship is communication. Two people may look like they should fit—they have the same interests, the same friends, they’re both good-looking, and so on—but if they can’t communicate with each other, the relationship is dead before it lifts off the ground. In any form of entertainment or media, it’s up to the author or authors to make an audience care about a relationship in whatever story they tell, whether it’s a successful or unsuccessful relationship. We need to care and be invested in these characters either becoming a couple or breaking away from each other, but we can’t just do that automatically. It’s up to the people behind that story to make us care.
Directed by Vincent McEveety
Written by Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson
Starring Dean Jones, Don Knotts, Julie Sommars
The foundation of any solid relationship is communication. Two people may look like they should fit—they have the same interests, the same friends, they’re both good-looking, and so on—but if they can’t communicate with each other, the relationship is dead before it lifts off the ground. In any form of entertainment or media, it’s up to the author or authors to make an audience care about a relationship in whatever story they tell, whether it’s a successful or unsuccessful relationship. We need to care and be invested in these characters either becoming a couple or breaking away from each other, but we can’t just do that automatically. It’s up to the people behind that story to make us care.
- 3/24/2012
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
John Carter
Written by Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon, based on the novel A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema John Carter podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
John Carter and the Princesses of Mars
The one thing that John Carter does better than anything else is understand who John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is, what his journey needs to be and how to properly illustrate that journey.
The start of John Carter’s journey (as told to Edgar Rice Burroughs through Carter’s diaries) finds him in the Arizona territory on a quixotic and near-suicidal quest for a treasure that may not even exist. It seems like Carter, perhaps unhinged by his personal losses, has devoted his life to an all or nothing pursuit: either Carter finds enough gold to achieve the best kind...
Written by Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon, based on the novel A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema John Carter podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
John Carter and the Princesses of Mars
The one thing that John Carter does better than anything else is understand who John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is, what his journey needs to be and how to properly illustrate that journey.
The start of John Carter’s journey (as told to Edgar Rice Burroughs through Carter’s diaries) finds him in the Arizona territory on a quixotic and near-suicidal quest for a treasure that may not even exist. It seems like Carter, perhaps unhinged by his personal losses, has devoted his life to an all or nothing pursuit: either Carter finds enough gold to achieve the best kind...
- 3/20/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
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