CINEMANIA:

Ahhhhh....now THAT was lovely.

Just in case you were wondering, I didn't die or contract leprosy, I merely took a week off to hang with friends and family. Highly recommended. Unless you don't like yer friends and family, of course, in which case all the usual caveats apply. But, really, if that's the case, stop reading me blog and get on w/ mending those fences and re-building those bridges. Life's too short, and all that.

Onward and upward we go...

The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (Italy, 1964, Pier Paola Pasolini) AKA The Power and the Glory

Ever wonder what sort of Jesus that a gay, Communist, atheist Biblical interpreter would find? Well, if you spend 140m with Pier Paola Pasolini’s The Gospels According to Saint Matthew, you’d have one possible answer.

Hero (Hong Kong, 2002, Yimou Zhang) AKA Da Doo Ran Ran Da Doo Rashomon

We live in extraordinary times. Never has there been a freer flow of movies worldwide, as a global network of filmmakers has the ability to get his/her film seen in just about every corner of the world; conversely, filmmakers get to see just about everything that’s happening around the world as well.

Agent Cody Banks: Destination London (USA, 2004, Kevin Allen) AKA Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Oh my. Where to begin? This film, at once witless, charmless, humourless and pointless, yet simultaneously vapid, tepid, pedestrian and dull, somehow manages to make contemporary London look about as interesting and appealing as Soviet-era Vladivostok.

The Vault: Quick Shots

Ronin (USA, 1998, John Frankenheimer) AKA Le Samourai

John Frankenheimer was a great director in the 60s—Manchurian Candidate and Seconds are two of my very fave films from that decade, and in his best pictures, Frankenheimer’s world is a shady one, full of dark, duplicitous and dangerous people.

Reservoir Dogs (USA, 1992, Quentin Tarantino) AKA The Killing Fields

"Am I the only professional here?"

--Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi)

We all remember the scene. Here we are, more than a decade removed from the film’s release, and I suspect that, if asked, most people who’ve seen the film only once would cite this as the one scene they remember.

Just a quick hit today to link up to my Apollo Guide review of Roman Polanski's The Tenant. If he'd inched this thing a coupla degrees sideways, he'd have had a real campy spoof on his hands. As it is, a failed attempt to recreate the creepy mood he did such a fine job of cultivating in other horror classics like Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion.

Down with Love (USA, 2003, Peyton Reed) AKA Love, American Style

Peyton Reed (Bring it On). Is that a great name for a fella making a retro love letter to the early 60s, or what? Down with Love is a campy, vampy 90m special of Love, American Style, with a little Rat Pack and Pillow Talk/Lover Come Back tossed in for good measure.

Got yer weekend update right here, ladies and gents. Here's my Apollo Review of My Fair Lady, which I mentioned I had viewed awhile back.

Not much else to report, other than that I spent the day at the pool watching my kids competing in a swim meet. Is there anyplace more womb-like than a pool? The smothering heat, the sweltering humidity, the cacophony of indistinct voices that, no matter how hard you strain, remain incomprehensible.

Triplets of Belleville (France/Canada/Belgium, 2003, Sylvain Chomet) AKA Tati-rific

The almost entirely dialogue-free film takes place in some vaguely post-Second World War trans-Atlantic urban setting, with an appropriately retro look and great scat-jazzy-blues music to keep us hopping throughout. Madame Souza, who is in nearly every scene, centres the film. Along with her grandson, she shares a humble house that literally leans over the train tracks.

All righty, before getting on w/ the review du jour, here are some links to reviews that I mentioned I was working on:

Beauty and the Beast

Drole de drame

Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne

Oh, and for good measure, my review of Antonioni's great Blow Up

Now, onto today's main course.