Berberian Sound Studio isn’t directed by Italian horror maestro Dario Argento, but it may as well be. His influence is draped lovingly all over the British film: • A projectionist seen only by his hands dons black gloves — the requisite accessory for many a murderer in the director’s giallo efforts. • The movie within […]
italian
Posted inArts & Culture
Love Is All You Need
Luckily, the film is smarter than the average adult-oriented romantic dramedy, and not just because it speaks in three tongues. The main reason for its ultimate (if unspectacular) success is its director and co-writer, Susanne Bier, who won an Academy Award for the Danish drama In a Better World, deservedly named 2010’s Best Foreign Language […]
Posted inMusic
Grand Duel
As Clayton, a former sheriff, Van Cleef traverses the desert by stagecoach, looking to score a $3,000 bounty for bringing in the bandit Wermeer (Peter O’Brien, né Alberto Dentice, who never acted before or since). Wermeer is wanted for murder by the three Saxon brothers who seek revenge for them killing their dad (Horst Frank, […]
Posted inFood & Drink
I dream of Gabriella’s
Credit: Shannon Cornman Psst. Hey. Hey, you. C’mere Hey, man. You like Italian food? Yeah, I’ll bet you do. Everybody does. You like big portions? You like tasty sauces? Did you like the old County Line building, with the stables and the high ceilings? Then let me introduce you to Gabriella’s Italian Grill & Pizzeria. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Box it up
“Most people who have worked downtown remember The Lunch Box,” Elder said. “When I heard it was closed, I asked Ed Strawn, the owner and chef, to come help us out.” Strawn has taken over managing the back of house operations, including cooking. Elder said the experience Strawn brings already has brought additional quality and […]
Posted inMusic
The Five Man Army
The multiculti cast is led by Peter Graves as The Dutchman. For someone who grew up on multiple viewings of Airplane!, seeing Graves as a badass outlaw is something of a trip. At the time, he was about midway through his run on TV’s Mission: Impossible, and like that long-running series, Five Man Army finds […]
Posted inMusic
Django, Kill! (If You Live Shoot!)
After helping steal a trunkful of Wells Fargo gold, half-breed Django (Tomas Milian, Traffic) and his fellow minorities are not only denied their share by Oaks (Piero Lulli, My Name Is Nobody) and his evil white bandits, but gunned down and dumped in a mass grave they were forced to dig. Being the hero of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Salt of Life
What a drag it is getting old. Mick Jagger surely didn’t realize his own prescience when he wrote those words back in his 20s. In The Salt of Life, aging is certainly a drag for Gianni, a 60-year-old Italian forced into early retirement and who now spends his days walking his dog and watching helplessly […]
Posted inNews
Love and meatballs
If you answered “yes” to both of these questions — for the record, CFN hopes you didn’t — then tomorrow is your lucky day. We’ll let Fazoli’s Italian restaurant PR guy take it from here: “Fazoli’s is offering any couple that gets engaged in the restaurant on Tuesday, February 14 two certificates for a year’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Night Train Murders
It’s not, but the comparison to Wes Craven’s 1972 debut is hardly unwarranted, because director Aldo Lado’s Italian film is practically a remake, right down to the lead ugly-mugged thug, but with an added mode of transportation. Heck, a poster in the disc’s advertising gallery even reveals an alternate title of “Last House — Part […]