Posts Tagged ‘Religion’

  • 28 Jul

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    Trailer: Red State

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    This trailer gives a fair bit of the feel for Kevin Smith’s Religious ‘thriller’ Red State and the variety of tonal changes in the film by outlining the gist of about 3 of the 5 ‘acts’ in the narrative. But the devil surely is in the details and you get a wonderful flavour of Michael Parks, Melissa Leo and John Goodman here. As I watched this trailer, loaded with Kevin Smith zingers, I suddenly realized that I liked the film more than my review (here) may indicate. Would I pay $60 for that film an a Q&A? Doubtful, as I have seen several of the the directors Q&A videos, but I would happily pay the usual $10 for a regular screening.

    The full trailer is tucked under the seat. *Warning, it is loaded with F-Bombs.
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 10 May

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    Review: Daddy I Do

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    Daddy I Do Poster

    Director: Cassie Jaye
    Producers: Cassie Jaye, Nena Jaye
    MPAA Rating: NR
    Running time: 90 min.

    (4/5)

    Sex. There’s a loaded word. Some want it, others have it but everyone wants a say on it. From parents to politicians, everyone has something to say on the subject and a few even have the opportunity to share their thoughts but the discussion that starts with sex isn’t simply about the act of fornication but rather, what comes afterward. It’s the after effects of that romp in the sac that people in high places are worried about. Things like STDs, single parent families, abortion – these are the issues that degrade our social system and show a culture sliding in moral values (or so “they” fear). At the end of the day, it all goes back to sex and education, two things that should go hand in hand but that often don’t.

    Daddy I Do Movie StillCassie Jaye’s documentary Daddy I Do starts as an exploration of abstinence only sex education in the form of purity balls and silver ring/purity movements which discourage sex not through education but through a push of faith. The film continues from here to explore the fallout that comes from the lack of sexual education and though it never makes a case either for or against abstinence only programs, it provides enough data and rope to let the movement hang itself.

    Yet with all of the talk of sex education and what works and doesn’t work, Jaye’s film does something else that hasn’t really been done in any other films I’ve seen on the subject: it opens the door for discussion on what this sort of education and mentality does to women.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 18 Jan

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    Review: The Book of Eli

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    It was only a matter of time before someone took Denzel Washington’s confident teacher shtick (a recurring trait present in his performances all the way back to 1987′s Cry Freedom) and turned the actor into a bonafide preacher. Although the Hughes Brothers are far more interested in comic book appropriation of Spaghetti Westerns, Samurai films and Post Apocalyptic landscapes. It is a winning combination actually, even if the execution is far more John Carpenter than Sergio Leone or Akira Kurosawa. This is not a complaint, in fact, much like Prince of Darkness, it makes the blunt themes around the power of religion and spirituality play better to the material. There is a dry wit buried in the presentation, from Gary Oldman’s character sending illiterates out into the wilderness to find The Bible (they come back with The DaVinci Code) to a brothel room adorned with a poster for L.Q. Jones’ 1975 cult post-apocalyptic A Boy and His Dog (a film also having a streak of jet-black humour.)

    Thirty years after nuclear war, presumably a holy war, as all the religious texts were torched sometime shortly thereafter, a long-in-the-tooth solitary walker, the proverbial Man With No Name (you can call him Zato… -err- Yojim… -err- just Eli) wanders into a one horse town in the desert to get a little fresh water and recharge his iPod (thank-you Tom Waits!) but gets sucked into a war with the towns tyrant (Gary Oldman – chewing scenery wonderfully.) Carnegie has his sights set on empire expansion (he is introduced reading a biography of Mussolini) but feels that the whip and a monopoly on fresh water can only go so far in building an empire – in short, he needs a more powerful weapon. How about the Bible? (“Hearts and minds and all that.”) When he gets wind that Eli (who kills about half of his men in a bloody bar fight) happens to be carrying a copy (a big old leather bound and locking type, not a pocket sized Gideon issue), he tries several approaches to obtain it before finally setting on heavy artillery. Eli, is reluctant to get involved, like a prophet (or stoic warrior monk), his focus is to stay the course in his journey “west.” But like any good western, he becomes entangled when Carnagie’s prized beauty (Mila Kunis) takes a liking to the good book or the good warrior (or both), and becomes a sort of acolyte slash damsel in distress.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 22 Dec

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    Bookmarks for December 22

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    • God, Gaia, and Avatar
      “The question is whether Nature actually deserves a religious response. Traditional theism has to wrestle with the problem of evil: if God is good, why does he allow suffering and death? But Nature is suffering and death. Its harmonies require violence. Its “circle of life” is really a cycle of mortality. And the human societies that hew closest to the natural order aren’t the shining Edens of James Cameron’s fond imaginings. They’re places where existence tends to be nasty, brutish and short.”
    • Movie Posters of the Decade: A Follow-up
      “Last week [The Auteur's Notebook] posted my selection of the decade’s best movie posters: a post which attracted a remarkable amount of attention, not least from the estimable Roger Ebert, who posted his rival choices on his blog. The Auteurs contributor Andrew Grant, a.k.a. Filmbrain, was also inspired to post his own favorites, many of which are absolute knockouts. We also received a phenomenal and rather humbling response on our forum, enough to convince me that I need to do a follow-up post.”
    • Larry Gross’s Four Most Underreported / Misreported Movie Stories Of 2009
      The Hangover, The Road, Zoe Kazan, Funny People. Have at it; Larry is not shy with his opinion.
    • On Brittany Murphy…
      “One of the first things Brittany Murphy did when she showed up on the Oregon set of her indie thriller “Something Wicked” last June was acknowledge — and apologize for — her weight.”
    • When Critics Fight Critics
      IFC goes over many of the tiffs and tats between critics over the banner-year-of-change in the industry, 2009.
  • 08 Oct

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    VIFF 09 Review: Leslie, My Name is Evil

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    LeslieMyNameIsEvilMovieStill

    While introducing the first screening of his film at VIFF, director Reginald Harkema commented that Leslie, My Name is Evil was a very divisive film. He wasn’t kidding.

    Taken from real accounts and transcripts of the Charles Manson trial, using archival footage and intermingling the entire thing with a wicked sense of humour, this is the type of film that would, by any other director, end as a total disaster. The fact that it not only ends well but that it starts off with a bang is a great credit to director Reg Harkema who manages to create a sometimes serious and sometimes hysterical but always entertaining film which pokes a finger at everything from war to religion.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 11 Sep

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    Polley Takes On Regal Role

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    SarahPolleyA trailblazer often held up as an icon for both lesbian and feminist communities, Queen Christina of Sweden was quite the individual. She began her reign in 1644, a mere 18 years of age, in the midst of a devastating war. During her reign she managed to negotiate an end to the Thirty Year’s War, expressed strong views on femininity, cross dressed and through it all, followed her heart through a string of romantic entanglements that never materialized into marriage. She was eventually abdicated from the throne for what is believed to be her affiliation to the Catholic Church while ruling a Protestant country. Hers was, shall we say, a colorful life.

    Her story has seen numerous incarnations in both stage plays and books along with a few films and it appears as though audiences will revel in her adventures once more. Variety is reporting that Mika Kaurismäki is directing a new rendition of Christina’s story, this one penned by Canadian writer Michel Marc Bouchard.

    In and of itself, this would already be something of interest to me, a girl enamored with all things period, but the fact that Sarah Polley will star in the title role puts this Canadian-Nordic co-production on the tracking list. Polley as a Swedish Queen? Why, yes please!

  • 28 Aug

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    Weisz Speaks in English Trailer for Amenábar’s Beautiful Agora

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    Agora Movie Still

    I thought most of the images in the new English language trailer for Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora looked familiar and that’s perhaps because this new trailer is a near duplicate of the Spanish language teaser we posted in February.

    The film, which takes place in Roman occupied Egypt, still looks gorgeous and amazing though this much talkier trailer suggests this is not so much a romance but much more a drama about a time in history of which we don’t see too many films anymore. Personally, I prefer the less is more approach since the film looks stunning but most folks will want a feeling for what the film is about and this new trailer sets up the stage nicely.

    The only problem now is that the film’s release date seems to be a mystery. The original December date has been removed and no information I can find features the film’s new release date so if not December, we may not see it until next year. It would be disappointing to wait even longer to see it.

    For the lucky few, Agora will be playing at TIFF as for the rest of us, there’s always the great website with loads of information and images to dig through.

    Trailer is tucked under the seat!

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 05 Aug

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    Jackson’s The Lovely Bones Trailer

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    The Lovely Bones Movie Still

    With all this Hobbit talk, I’d almost forgotten that Peter Jackson had made another film. Almost.

    Adapted from Alice Sebold’s novel by regular Jackson writers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, The Love Bones is part part mystery and part drama; a story of a murdered girl who helps her family solve the mystery of her death from “heaven”. Go ahead and read that sentence again if you’d like – I had quite the time putting my head around this one. The casting is excellent: Saoirse Ronan in the lead role as Susie, Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as her parents, Michael Imperioli as the cop investigating the murder, Susan Sarandon as the grandmother and Stanley Tucci as the murderer. If the cast isn’t enough of a sell, the inclusion of Jackson should certainly help but nothing about this trailer is speaking to me. Nothing.

    Susie’s heaven looks strung together, wildly beautiful yet unimaginative, the acting looks stilted and to make matters worse, it looks like we may have to rely on Wahlberg’s performace for a part of the story (not to say he can’t be good but here he sounds more like The Happening Wahlberg than Three Kings Wahlberg). The best parts of these two minutes of video are the retro clothes, Imperioli playing the cop rather than the mobster and Tucci looking nothing like his usual self.

    I’m not ready to completely write this off in hopes that this is Jackson in Heavenly Creatures mode but truth be told, I’m not feeling it.

    The Love Bones opens on December 11th.

    Trailer is tucked under the seat or see it in HD at Apple.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 24 Jul

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    Magdalena Saved by Director Announcement

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    The MagdalenaIt may come as a surprise to a few people around these parts that I’m not a complete noob when it comes to comics (I wonder how many people recognize my comment avatar?). I may not read the popular stuff but that doesn’t mean I’ve never picked up a series and thoroughly enjoyed myself. That was the case with Top Cow’s “The Magdalena” and when, almost exactly a year ago today, it was announced that the production had cast a few characters, including the lead role, I was not a very happy camper.

    I take it back. Every bad word.

    Earlier this week Screen Daily reported that Japanese director Ryûhei Kitamura has signed on to direct the project. Kitamura isn’t exactly a big name but I was thoroughly impressed with the work he did on the highly under seen (and underrated) Midnight Meat Train and though I haven’t seen anything else from his catalog, his work on that project alone is enough for me. Honestly, it’s just reassuring to know that the project won’t be tainted by any of the usual suspects.

    All that’s left to do now is wait for production to begin. Hopefully, sooner rather than later!

  • 28 Apr

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    First Look at Pope Joan

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    Pope Joan Movie Still

    A few years ago writer Donna Woolfolk Cross published a novel titled “Pope Joan” which chronicled the life of Johanna von Ingelheim, a woman who supposedly disguised herself as a man and, in the 850’s, reigned as Pope for approximately three years between the papacies of Leo IV and Benedict III. The story has long been considered legend but Cross weaves a captivating story and I was thrilled to hear that the film was being adapted for the screen. There have been a few setbacks (legal issues with John Goodman and Franka Potente dropping out of the title role) in the production but it looks like things have finally come together and now we have the first trailer for the film.

    So it’s not really much of a trailer but it is a teaser and the first we’ve seen of the film which is being directed by Sönke Wortmann, and though it doesn’t give you much to go on, I’m sure you can figure out who the caped figure is. The film, a German production, stars Johanna Wokalek as Joan, David Wenham (of 300 and Lord of the Rings) as Gerold her confidant and Goodman as Pope Sergius. Let me say this about the casting: I didn’t have any idea what Joan would look like but Wokalek looks perfect in the role.

    I’m hopeful that the casting is enough of a sell for someone to pick this up for North American distribution but I’m not holding by breath; I have a feeling we may not get a chance to see this on the big screen which will be a real shame since it looks gorgeous.

    Pope Joan is scheduled for release in Germany on October 29th.

    Pope Joan Movie Still [ 0:01 | 7.46 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup


    Additional images from the production are tucked under the seat!

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 14 Apr

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    Il Divo Arrives in English

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    I was certain an English trailer for Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo (our review) was on its way and just before the film’s scheduled release at the end of the month, we finally get one.

    Usually, we’d tuck this trailer into the comments section but it’s deserving of another post, even if it is just as a reminder that this is coming. And this new trailer? Exactly what you can expect from the film: crazy, gleeful fun.


  • 14 Apr

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    The Antichrist Has Arrived

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    Lars von Trier is not my cup of tea. I’ve only seen a couple of his films but it was enough to know that his themes were a bit harsh for me and hearing people talk about Dancer in the Dark and Dogville never encouraged further viewing but that may all have changed in one trailer.

    When a still for von Trier’s new film Antichrist was released a few weeks ago, the web went a bit crazy. I couldn’t quite see why (aside from the fact that it’s damned creepy) since I’ve always thought of von Trier as a director who pushes the envelope, but the image did get my attention. Now that I’ve seen the trailer, I want to know when we can expect a North American release.

    To put it quite bluntly, this trailer is awesome. It’s beautiful, dreamlike, gorgeous and equally scary, creepy and down right disturbing. Is von Trier playing at horror? Maybe some of his previous films are too but none of the trailers I’ve seen have suggested any of them are true “horror” films but this one certainly does. The official synopsis explains that a couple, played by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, retreat to a cabin in the woods in an effort to save their troubled marriage but things turn sour when nature “takes it course”. So basically, this is the movie that takes the nature attacks theme of The Happening (our review) and goes full blown horror? Sure looks like it.

    Thanks to The Auteurs for the heads up on the wicked trailer.

     

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