Raging Phoenix
I loved Chocolate; the first film starring martial arts actress Jeeja Yanin, and I’ve been enthusiastically aniticpating the arrival of Raging Phoenix for some time. On the evidence of Chocolate Yanin has all the power and flexibility of Tony Jaa, but also much more on screen magnetism and even a smattering of acting talent. This ought to be lots of fun.
Henri Georges Clouzot’s Inferno
Clouzot’s Inferno, about the jealousy that drives a husband out of his mind when he suspects his beautiful wife is having an affair, was never finished. A version of the film (an excellent version, which I imagine would make a great double bill with this film) was eventually made by Claude Chabrol, but this documentary tells the story of the original shoot (abandoned three weeks in) and features fragments of the footage Clouzot shot. It should be a fascinating unmaking of.
US DVD [13/4]
The Daisy Chain
It’s a shame that this excellent British horror film, which I saw at its world premiere at the Raindance film Festival more than two years ago, is only now seeing a release, and that it is direct to DVD and, at least for the time being, only in the US. It’s a creepy little film, boasting strong performances from Steven Mackintosh, Samantha Morton and especially young Mhairi Anderson. It’s perhaps closest in tone to The Wicker Man (the original version, that is). Also, the cover art (shown above) has less than nothing to do with the movie.
UK THEATRICAL RELEASE [16/4]
The City of Life and Death
Lu Chuan’s film about the Nanjing massacre has attracted some of the most admiring reviews of the year so far. It is, apparently, an extremely challenging film to watch (though not because, as with say Philososphy of a Knife and Men Behind the Sun, it revels in the violence of its times), but that’s to be expected of any film taking on these events. I’ve not seen any of director Lu Chuan’s previous work, but if what I hear about this film turns out to be true I think I may be seeking it out soon.
US THEATRICAL RELEASE [16/4]
Kick Ass
As previously discussed, it’s better than the hype. No, really, I’ve seen it twice now, and I’ll see it again before it leaves cinemas. It’s just brilliant, make sure you see it so that in two years I can write about how amazing Kick Ass 2: Balls to the Wall is.
LINK OF THE WEEK
Movie-Censorship.com
This is a German site, so sometimes you’ll have to excuse their English (though, lets be fair, it’s better than my German, and probably yours too), but the content here is fantastic, and updated almost daily. The focus is side by side comparisons (including screencaps and running time info) of the different versions that many movies exist in, from official director’s cuts to never released workprints to (as the name implies) censored versions. There’s a huge amount of useful information here it you are a film fanatic.
24FPS NEXT WEEK
Back to normal service, with all your favourite features returning. The big news though is that on Thursday last week I recorded a guest spot with the lovely and movie crazy Super Marcey (of Supermarcey.com) for her Superpodcast. Our subject, which she graciously allowed me to pick, as the guest, was “Why haven’t you seen these movies?” and we discussed ten great movies that you (probably) haven’t seen. There should be a youtube trailer out soon and the full, roughly hour long, show ought to be out on Friday morning. Look out for it, either here or at Marcey’s site.
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