Hola CineLocos, Father Geek is here one more time along with our guy in the rainforest of Brazil, Coffin Joe, Jr.. pero before I turn you over to him I have a couple of items that came straight to me here at Geek Headquarters....
On February 26, 2002 continuing to focus on its inherent Latin texture, Cinequest 12 in San Jose, California presented its 8th annual Latino Celebration, featuring the West Coast premiere of the provocative "Missing Young Woman" (Senorita Extraviada). The moving documentary, by director Lourdes Portillo was most recently honored with a Special Jury Prize at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Lourdes Portillo’s works also include the Academy Award nominated film, Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, and the Cinequest favorite from a past fest, The Devil Never Sleeps. Following this special screening there was a Q&A with Ms. Portillo, moderated by award-winning journalist and Latino community leader, Ysabel Duron. A very coooooool party hosted by Radio Romantica and Telemundo followed the Q&A. This event was very good, and well worth my trip up from LA. You should try to make it over to next year's fest...
Zorra
Father Geek back... yeah ol' Robogeek was at this a couple of years ago representing AICN and had a great time... Now, here's another interesting bit I received over night...
Hello darlings,
OK, first a super brief introduction. My name is Marina, I'm from somewhere very, very far away, near the ass end of the world, (literally): Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'm a huge film geek, obviously, and a newborn fan of your site.
You probably know this, since from what I've gathered you're quite well informed. Anyway, there's this Argentine film "El Hijo de la Novia" (have no clue what translation they've made un the US out of that) that has been nominated for the Oscars. Of course I don't expect it to win against Amelie, but just wanted to tell you 'go and watch it'.
In a time when everything argentine is in crisis (our economies never sucked this much!) it's a rare pleasure to have a picture nominated for an Oscar no less, specially when it's quite a good picture. Yeah, it's not your blockbuster regular, but it's a well acted drama with lots of irony stuff and argie street smart talk. So, that's it.
Cheers,
Marina (a.k.a. pinkraton)
Now, Here's Coffin Joe...
Hello there you freaking bastards, Coffin Joe Jr. is here for another week of Latin-AICN, despite some e-mail problems.
I got lots of e-mails this last week about "Stage Fright" or "Deliria" or "Bloody Bird" or "Aquarius" or "Sound Stage Massacre" or whatever the fuck you want to call it, which is an Italian slasher, directed by the very gifted Michele Soavi, so I decided to write a review for all the interested fanboys out there. I honestly think this is the best slasher flick I´ve ever seen since "Halloween", and nobody knows about this movie, something I think is just unacceptable. This movie has to be seen. Seriously, it´s that good. Anyways, enjoy this week´s Latin-AICN.
BRAZIL
-Here´s a link to a review (in Portuguese) of the recently released thriller, "Bellini e a Esfinge", based on the novel of the same name: Just Click Here
Thanks to editor Pablo Villaça, of the Cinema em cena website, for the link.
COFFIN JOE JR. MOVIE REVIEWS
"Stage Fright" (1987)
Director: Michele Soavi ("Cemetery Man", "The Church")
Director: Michele Soavi ("Cemetery Man", "The Church")
Let´s get the plot description out of the way: a group of theater students plan to stage a horror musical based on a real-life series of murders which took place around the theater they are using. On the night of the dress rehearsal, the director locks the entire cast inside of the building to perform a run-through of the play, but he has unknowingly sealed their fate when the key goes missing, and they realize that they are locked inside with a killer who has escaped from a mental institution. All sorts of madness ensues.
Oh yes, this movie is a CLASSIC slasher. If you are usually turned off by Italian horror movies, the pacing is too slow for ya, the atmospherics don´t make up for the lack of narrative focus, the acting sucks hard, or whatever other reason bothers you, don´t write this one off just yet. It is not a typical Italian genre flick, so if are not a fan of these types of flicks you will still dig this one I promise you. It is not a giallo, this is a SLASHER movie, we know who the killer is, and all you have to do is sit back relax and enjoy the massacre, without worrying about some stupid revelation of the killer´s identity in the end of the flick.
First thing about this movie that is just plain bizarre is the killer´s mask. IT IS ONE BIG OWL HEAD. It sounds pretty stupid and goofy, but once you see it, believe me it works. It works even more as the movie unfolds, because the mask gets more and more fucked up, making it even scarier. It is one unique visual idea that you will remember for a long, long time.
Do you like your movies gory, soaking in blood? Dig the red stuff, do ya? Well, you´re in for a treat in that department as well. This killer is one mean crazy fella. He inflicts a lot of damage on his victims, and the kooky lunatic ain´t shy either, in one scene he kills a woman in front of the entire cast. Instead of going after the cast one by one, the killer just doesn´t care and goes after them when they are in a group! The man is fearless!
Director Soavi is well aware of the conventions and rules of the genre, plays all the usual notes of a slasher, but also has the brains to try to inject some new twists in the mix, with very good results. The guy had fresh ideas and managed to pull them off within the strict formula of the genre. The DVD released by Anchor Bay Entertainment, the kings of Italian horror, is pretty basic stuff, the only extras are the theatrical trailer and usual biography. What really matters is the movie, and in that department you get a pretty good transfer and an adequate audio mix.
Well, there you go. Do pick up this movie, it is worth your time and money (you can find it for less than fifteen bucks).
"Dagon" (2001)
Director: Stuart Gordon
I saw this one this weekend, the full-frame, region 0 DVD has been released down here recently, so I decided to take a look.
"Dagon" is the best movie out of the Fantastic Factory banner so far. It is better than "Arachnid" and "Faust", but that´s not saying a whole lot, because both of those earlier efforts of the Spanish genre studio weren´t really great movies. I can recommend both as mindless entertainment, grab a beer, shut your brain off and enjoy the silly stuff kind of flicks. "Dagon" can be enjoyed while sober, no numbing of your senses is required.
Stuart Gordon has a stiff for the Lovecraft stuff, so it is no surprise that he decided to tackle this tale, which is actually sort of an amalgamation of both "Dagon" and "Shadow over Innsmouth". The story gets rolling after a boating accident off the coast of Spain, Galicia to be more precise, which sends Paul Marsh and his girlfriend Barbara to the very creepy fishing town of Imboca looking for help. As night falls, folks begin to vanish and things not exactly human start to show up. Paul and Barbara find themselves pursued by the entire town of fish people. Running for his life, he uncovers Imboca's dark secret: that they pray to Dagon, a monstrous god of the sea. All sorts of madness ensues.
This is a really good adaptation of Lovecraft´s stories, it certainly ranks up there with John Carpenter´s "In the Mouth of Madness" for sheer Lovecraftian mood and bizarre stuff. The hardcore Lovecraft fans are still going to bitch and moan about it, so I´m not even going to address the fact that they used bits and pieces from two different tales of the author. The movie is very good, probably the most faithful Lovecraft adaptation ever, in terms of feel and sensibility of the literary works of Lovecraft, so don´t get caught up in the stupid arguments over the fact that they changed stuff. It´s just a movie! The make-up FX is very impressive, plus nudity and gore are plenty! Fun for the whole family. The village in Galicia where they shot the whole bean burrito is pretty spooky, adding a very nice layer of gothic mood visuals to the look of the picture.
Anyways, highly recommended by your pal Coffin Joe Jr. Wait for the region 1 DVD by Lions Gate, which is supposed to be a special edition, coming out in June. The region 0 disc I reviewed was bare-bones and full-screen. Ugh.
