MOTM: "Carlos - The Miniseries" (2010)

There are two versions of Oliver Assayas’s epic, slow-burn, globe-trotting examination of the terrorist Illich Ramirez Sanchez, better known by his nom de guerre, “The Jackal”.

I'm opting for the bigger, badder, meaner cut.

The inspiration for numerous villains in countless spy films and novels, the title character at the center of this 326-minute roadshow version of the French-produced drama (originally aired in 3 parts for the Gallic tube) is at once a producer and product of his times.

Review: "Uncertainty" (2009)

As irresistible as this film appears to be, don’t be thrown by the pretenses of the “indie virus”. Now, you may be unfamiliar with the aforementioned malady but let me be plain: it is no laughing matter.

Beware. The contaminant is subtle but significant. Its deception, of both the makers and the viewers, is tempting and total. It occurs when a fledgling director has taken the necessary steps to acquire a basic knowledge of films and its techniques. Armed with the insularities standard of higher education these starry-eyed kids brimming with ego try out every tool at their disposal, bombarding their audience in an attempt to prove just about anything.

“Uncertainty” is among the infected.

MOTM: "Who Can Kill a Child?" (¿Quién puede matar a un niño?)

An eerie lullaby leads a savage parade of dark black-and-white images depicting kids ravaged by war, abuse and pestilence in the opening scenes of this icy Spanish thriller, the implication being that what is about to unfold in this movie is not entirely without karmic recourse.

Forget the corny international titles plaguing this film. “Isle of the Damned.” “Death is Child’s Play.” “The Killer’s Playground.” “Lucifer’s Curse.” Somehow, the production company American International thought the name “TRAPPED!” sounded good.

Criticature: "Graveyard of Honor" ("Shin ingi no hakaba")

Peek-a-boo.

In honor (heh) of the stateside release of Takashi Miike’s newest film, I felt compelled to immerse myself in his canon beforehand. For those of you unfamiliar with said auteur’s body of work, just know that it is often disturbing, visceral and—more often than not—masterful, surprising and perversely fun.

The character study: after casually foiling an attempted hit on a crime boss, Rikuo—a dead-eyed dishwasher—is inducted into the gang as an honorary strong man. Yet the mobsters get more than they bargained for when they come to learn just how crazy he really is. Whether he’s raping hostesses at karaoke bars or shooting it out with the police in his underwear, there seems to be nothing the man can’t or won't do. And as Rikuo’s penchant for slow-burn sociopathic mayhem spills back onto his masters, it becomes quite clear that Rikuo has no room for friends in his life. Only the bodies of his enemies—real or perceived—which he leaves stacked at his knees.

Review: "Hanna" - 4/25/11

There seems to be a trend emerging here. It’s nothing really definite yet but I can feel it; kind of like how a raccoon or a deer can smell the air and somehow sense an impending cataclysm. And what is my spidey sense is telling me? That action movies can be art films too.

But I’m not referring to just any movie with Nicholas Cage.

I’m talking about actioners getting serious makeovers from the A-list art-house crowd. Take, for instance Paul Greengrass. Before he was seconded to the “Bourne” franchise he was tackling social issues. Before the “Batman” reboots and “Inception”, Nolan was teasing out issues of philosophy in low-tech thrillers. And really, how the heck did Johnnie To (arguably John Woo’s inheritor) go from helming melodramas to this?

Review: "Inception"---7/20/10

I doubt science fiction has ever looked this chic.

Over the course of the weekend, as I’d been tinkering over a few other projects, walking the dog, humoring my dad’s fractured ankle, and ruminating over a second viewing of this summer’s best (not to mention brightest) blockbuster, I came to realize that I was not suffering nearly the same degree of confusion that I had come to expect from Christopher Nolan. And I was a bit sad because of it. At one point during the film,  two women sitting behind me, who seemed to by tripping over the mechanics of “Inception” rather than the story, exclaimed “What’s going on?”

Review: "Knife in the Water" - 5/13/10

"Come on Bishop, do the thing with the knife!"

You know what? Roman Polanski has had his fair share of a life. I think we can all agree with that. But I guess even great directors can’t really escape their personal lives. Especially when one’s extracurricular activities involves underage girls, Quualude and sodomy, am I right? All pedophilia jokes aside, this guy has quite a story though, as a Holocaust survivor and having had his pregnant wife butchered by the Manson family. In light of such darkness, can’t we just give the guy a pass this one time? I hope you don't take that sentiment as any kind of Freudian slip, hmmm?

Criticature: "Play Misty for Me" - 4/25/10

Oh crap.

Who would have thought that Jessica Walter (now 69 years old) could have spun two separate strains of crazy out of the same well of pluckiness? Somehow, though, she does. Except where one is loveably uncouth and spirited, the other is the stuff of Casanova’s nightmares. It's hard to believe. Especially for those of us who saw her as Lucille Bluth first. It’s like going from B to A. And I'm not afraid to say that I would’ve been the last to guess she’d be making whoopie with Clint Eastwood. But here we are.

Review: "Mad Detective" - 3/22/10

Do you remember that scene in Michael Mann’s adaptation of the Harris novel “Red Dragon” in 1986? “Manhunter”? Do ya remember how Will Graham tracks the killer? Well if you don’t then you’ll get a similar crash course into the mind of a criminal when you suit up with Hong Kong actioneers Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai.