I also recall loving the movie, which continues to this day, especially its famous scene of the paddle ball seemingly bursting through the screen and toward our faces. It’s a superb effect lost on previous home-video releases; absent of another theatrical re-release, Warner Bros.’ new Blu-ray of House of Wax is as close as you’re […]
vincent
Posted inArts & Culture
The Monk
Oh, well. Seeing the new film adaptation makes me feel as if I have. Obviously, I can’t speak to how closely it may or may not adhere to the book, but director Dominik Moll’s The Monk definitely is rich in its Gothic trappings. To me, that alone is a huge plus. In 16th-century Madrid, […]
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Renoir
It’s not often we get a biopic about one of the master painters, perhaps because the only thing more boring than watching paint dry may be watching someone apply it. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, however, had a rather bawdy explanation of his brush-stroke method, according to the film Renoir. It’s one we can’t print. Hear for yourself […]
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Trance
Based on a 2001 British made-for-TV movie, Trance casts X-Men: First Class member James McAvoy (presumably standing in for Ewan McGregor) as Simon, an art auctioneer who becomes a media hero for foiling the heist of an über-valuable painting, yet pays the price when the would-be thief, Franck (Vincent Cassel, Black Swan), comes looking for […]
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The Mad Magician
Just as he’s about to hit the big time with his super-secret buzz-saw trick, however, his show gets axed and his boss claims proprietary rights to all of Gallico’s stage tools. As all mad magicians as wont to do, Gallico snaps and kills the guy by — and this fits the theme — decapitation via […]
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Full Metal Jacket: 25th Anniversary Blu-ray Book
Time has a way of restoring balance, however. Platoon’s reputation has decreased along with that of its irascible director, and when’s the last time you heard anyone talk about The Last Emperor? If ever? Meanwhile, love for Full Metal Jacket continues to pile up, and the war epic currently stands tall at No. 81 on […]