Screen Anarchy

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Toronto 2024 Review: THE BRUTALIST, Grand and Unexpected Cinematic Epic

Out of the gate with its Vista-Vision logo and overture, The Brutalist promises the kind of grand Hollywood epic, and old-school cinematic hubris, that more or less went away 40 years ago with Micheal Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America.   In recent years, it felt as if that might be forever, although there have been signs of its revival in recents times; particularly with a pair of P.T. Anderson films, There Will Be Blood and The Master. Do three films over the last 15 years make an emerging trend?
In our world of the digital and the overly fixed-in-post, these are rare birds to be cherished.  Director Brady Corbet, whose previous film, Vox Lux turned some heads a few…

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Vlissingen 2024: The FILM BY THE SEA Festival Starts Today

Today marks the start of the 26th Film By The Sea film festival, held in the harbor city of Vlissingen (or Flushing as some English-speakers call it), which is in the Southwest of the Netherlands. It is one of the largest Dutch festivals with over a hundred films being shown and more than 40,000 tickets sold each year. It features a mix of local and international films, with a heavy slant towards literary adaptations. The festival is a remarkably glossy affair, with red carpets and glamour, and it often features a number of interesting world premières. This year, one of its world premierès is a bit of all: A Beautiful Imperfection is a sumptuous Dutch international co-production, and an adaptation of Arthur Japin’s acclaimed novel…

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DEATH MARCH: Scott Adkins WWII Action Flick Picked up by Well GO USA

Variety has reported that Well GO USA have picked up the North American rights for Death March, a WWII action film starring Scott Adkins, directed by Louis Mandylor and scripted by Marc Clebanoff.   A British airman washes ashore after being ejected from his plane and becomes a prisoner in a Japanese-run POW camp. While waiting to join the infamous Bataan death march, the airman is tortured by the camp commander and is forced to fight for his life against an array of skilled Japanese warriors.    Adkins portrays the airman. Peter Shinkoda (I, Robot and Daredevil) plays the camp commander. They are joined by Michael Copon, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Michael Rene Walton, Gary Cairns, Shane Kosugi, Masanori Mimoto and Gabbi Garcia.   “Scott’s prowess…

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Hawaii 2024 Announces First Wave

Notable as “the only statewide film festival in the U.S. across an archipelago” (?!), the 44th Hawai’I International Film Festival presented by Halekulani (HIFF44), is scheduled for October 2-November 10 in the State of Hawai’i. They are announcing their full lineup today at their official site, and we were provided an advance peek. All I can say is: it’s a whopper, so allow me to quote liberally from the official release. “Now entering its 44th year, HIFF is the premiere cinematic event in the Pacific and annually attracts more than 50,000 film enthusiasts from around the state, the nation and throughout the world. Heralded as ‘one of the Top 50 Film Festivals around the world,’ according to Variety, HIFF is an Academy AwardsⓇ qualifying film…

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ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE Video Interview: Severin’s David Gregory Talks the History of Bruceploitation

I’ve been blessed to have several conversations with Severin founder David Gregory over the years. He always leaves me feeling that the history of horror and exploitation film is in good hands. It would be enough if he were simply well spoken and knowledgable. But he’s also a filmmaker with an acute understanding of what makes genre film so compelling for fans. His newest documentary, Enter The Clones of Bruce takes on a subject that many would consider throw-away and shows exactly why would-be critics need to take a harder look. The proliferation of Bruce Lee imitators following the icons death has been easy to smirk at, especially in light of the awful transfers of most of those films via public domain home entertainment releases….

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THE FRONT ROOM Review: An Explosive Kathryn Hunter Nearly Saves Frustrating Hagsploitation, But Not Quite

A very pregnant woman battles an overbearing stepmother-in-law in The Front Room, the directorial debut of Sam and Max Eggers. Belinda (Brandy Norwood) is with child and about ready to pop when her husband’s father passes away. At the funeral, her husband Norman (Andrew Burnap) is informed that his dad’s dying wish was for his son to take care of the elderly and ailing Solange (Kathryn Hunter), the late father’s wife and Norman’s estranged stepmother. Norman and Solange had a strained relationship, so he is dubious, but Belinda, ever the dutiful wife, convinces her husband that it’s the right thing to do and Solange moves in, setting in motion a series of unfortunate events and revelations that threaten not only the family’s sanity, but also…

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Friday One Sheet: HARD TRUTHS

Faces go a long way in poster; there is a wonderful paring here. The design for Mike Leigh’s latest film (premiering today at TIFF) uses text, both the soft yellow of the title, as well as above the line and credit block, to separate the visage of Marianne Jean-Baptiste from Michele Austin. The sight-lines show both of whom are looking into different middle distances, each lost in their own private thoughts, but leaning on each other for support. Challenges? Grief? A high grain also complements skin tones and a soft bokeh background to further put all emphasis and pull the eye of any observer to consider these. No Photoshop here, just simple, clear photography, which is very fitting with the filmography of Mike Leigh. Hard…

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OFF RAMP Exclusive Clip: Corrupt Cops And Snarky Best Friends Are a Bad Mix

Nathan Tape’s Off Ramp, starring Jon Oswald, Scott Turner Schofield, Ashley Smith, Jared Bankens, Reed Diamond, and Miles Dolea hits theaters and digital on September 6th. We have an exclusive clip from the Juggalo genre-bender to share with you today. You will find it down below.   Trey, an ex-con and Juggalo, embarks on a wild journey with his devoted best friend, Silas, to the Gathering of the Juggalos. Armed with drugs and dreams of horrorcore rap stardom, they are presented with a chance to perform at the event, and a shot at becoming Jugga-famous. Their plans take a dark turn when they clash with a corrupt sheriff and get caught in a dangerous scheme orchestrated by a fellow Juggalo turned sadistic criminal. As they…

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