Ninja Rain

Ninja Assassin stars the Korean pop star Rain as Raizo, who is an orphan raised by a secret Ninja clan and trained to be an elite assassin. When his girlfriend is murdered for trying to run away from the clan, Raizo breaks free and seeks revenge against the clan. Meanwhile, the European police are hot on the trail of the Ninja clan, trying to put an end to their murder for hire enterprise. That's the bare-bones plot. The rest of the film is filled from beginning to end with decapitated heads and other body parts, blood, martial arts, sword fights, shoot outs, car chases, blood, and more splatter. Normally, this is not my type of flick, and, sadly, the trimmings were slim at the multiplex this Thanksgiving. But I actually liked this movie. The violence was so over-the-top, it was almost funny. Almost. [I really couldn't understand why the couple next to me brought their two small kids. This was NOT as kid-friendly film.] And the constant action made up for the lean plot and had a very European feel to it, taking place in Berlin and featuring an international cast. I also liked Naomi Harris, the female lead, as a "Europol" officer who figures out what the Ninjas have been up to for a thousand years. Harris was great in 28 Days Later and the BBC adaptation of White Teeth. And then there's Rain himself. [Guys, you can stop reading here.] I think he may quite possibly be the most beautiful man I have ever seen. Make no mistake, it is a very masculine beauty--so ladies, you will be most appreciative.

If you like blood, guts, and ninjas, this flick is for you.

Silver Screen Spook Show Today

Today at 1p and 10p, The Silver Scream Spook Show will take place at the Plaza Theatre. Today's feature: Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man.

"THE SILVER SCREAM SPOOK SHOW is a 30 minute live stage show filled with magic tricks, dancing girls, jokes, spectacle and frights! We follow it with a classic horror movie on actual 35mm film!"

$7 for matinee and $10 for 10p show. Kids under 12 get in free.

You're The One That I Want

Ooh Ooh Ooh, Honey! The Strand Theatre is hosting a Grease sing-a-long tonight (7/28) at 7p. Watch the movie and sing along as the words pop up on screen. $8

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Urban Media Makers Anniversary Film Screening Tonight

Urban Media Makers will be celebrating its 8th anniversary tonight at Vino Libro. The celebration will feature a screening of the documentary Still Bill about soul music legend Bill Withers. Event starts at 7p and screening at approximately 8p. Free. RSVP here.

BWHNKQD2F4T4

Shirtless Man-Child and So-So Vamps

I went with some friends of mine on Friday night to see Twilight:New Moon. I don't know if I have ever been in a theater full of so many women. And of all ages too. It was fun hearing the oohs, ahhs, and screams, especially when Taylor Lautner was strutting across the screen sans shirt and rippling abs. This thirty-something chick can and was appreciating that. I'm definitely team Jacob. Plus the werewolves looked pretty realistic. But, overall, I thought the movie was just ok. It was moody, but in a depressing way. Bella was pining way too much for my tastes. There also wasn't enough good versus evil tension for me. I like my vamps to be dark, brooding and bloody. [Think The Hunger, Let the Right One In, and Thirst.] And I prefer vamps that only hang out at night. I can't help but to think this saga would be better told as an episodic tv series. Much of the story could have been told in an hour, and the way they leave you intentionally hanging is just frustrating. But I guess that's how they make the big bucks and reel you in for more.

The Blind Side Opens Today

Shot in and around Atlanta, Sandra Bullock's new film The Blind Side opens today. See my original review here.

Mooning

I have a date with my girls tonight to see #Twilight: New Moon. Got the tix a week or so ago. I think I'm team Jacob because I don't really like vampires who walk around in the daylight. There's something just wrong with that. Stay tuned for my review.

Emory Cinematheque Screening Tonight

Emory Cinematheque will be screening the classic Citizen Cane tonight at 8pm in White Hall 205. FREE and open to the public. This will give you an excuse to murmur "Rosebud" all day long.

Bloody DVD

Thirst is on dvd this week too. Unlike Bruno, it is safe to rent or buy this dvd. Here is my original review for Thirst:

So this past weekend was movie-lite for me. I was only lukewarm about seeing All About Steve and so when the abysmal reviews started to pop up on Thursday and Friday, I decided not to go see it. Normally I don't let reviews get in the way of seeing something I really want to see. In this recession, however, I'm not going to pay my hard-earned money for a movie I'm on the fence about and everyone else says is crap. I'm not that rich, bitch.

But I did scoot over to Landmark Midtown Art Cinema to see Thirst, the latest movie from Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook who also made Oldboy. [In Atlanta you have to move fast to see foreign and art house films because they might not stay in a theater for more than a week.] Thirst is a vampire flick. But it's not like your kitschy True Blood fang-bangers or Twilight vamp-lite wannabes. For one thing, there are only two vampires and neither sports fangs.

The story focuses on Sang-hyun, a Catholic priest, who decides to voluntarily submit to a medical experiment to find a cure for a disease known as the Emmanuel Virus. But no cure is found, and Sang-hyun is the lone survivor out of 500 volunteers. Not only is he a survivor, but he has unwittingly become a vampire. The rest of the film focuses on Sang-hyun's descent into sin--lust, adultery, murder--despite his best efforts to hold onto his previously pious existence. His accomplice into hell is Tae-ju, the daughter-in-law of an old acquaintance. Once Tae-ju learns who and what Sang-hyun is, she hastens his and her own demise, and literally becomes a monster herself. Although the film is more concerned with metaphysical rather than physical transformations, there are still gory moments and strong sexual content. So it's not for the faint of heart or easily offended.

I liked this film, but as with any foreign film, I cannot help but wonder if I am missing some cultural nuance that simply isn't conveyed through the subtitles. Also, I wanted to know more about the virus which we are told only affects Asians and Caucasians. Indeed, all the medical team members trying to find a cure are African. And since there are no other vamps in the movie, it's not really explained why the other infected people died or why other vampires were not made. Any way, I guess I'll just have to ponder that. But if you liked Oldboy and Let the Right One In [a surreal vamp flick from Denmark], you'll probably like Thirst.

Don't Rent or Buy This

Bruno is out on DVD this week and I think it's one of the worst movies of the year. I'm mad at myself for sitting through the whole thing. Here's my original review:

I had the day off and had planned on having lunch with a friend, but he couldn't make it. So I decided to catch a 1:30p showing of Bruno. Oh why, oh why didn't I go to see Harry Potter instead? The best thing about Bruno is the end. I don't necessarily mean the credits, but the sing-a-long Sasha Barron Cohen's over-the-top character has with Bono, Elton John, Snoop Dogg, and Chris Martin. [I may have forgotten someone, but whatever. ] The second best thing about the movie was the little black baby Bruno adopts. That kid is a cutie and was worth every second of his time on screen. The third thing I liked best about seeing Bruno today was the fact that I was able to pick up a Georgia Organics Local Food Guide which has a listing of all the local farms, markets, and restaurants that sell organic and natural foods in metro Atlanta. If you happen to be at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema anytime soon, hopefully to see something other than Bruno, you should pick one up. Finally, I'll just sum up and say that Bruno is like a joke that you think is funny, hilarious even, in your head, but when you go to tell it to your friends, no one gets it and no one thinks its funny.

Pitching It

This chick had a lot of fun last night. I was one of six people invited to participate in the 2009 Atlanta Film Festival 365 Perfect Pitch contest to pitch a screenplay idea and I won! WooHoo. See here. If you a great film lover like me, whether you're in or out of the business, the Atlanta Film Festival 365 is a great organization to become involved in. That is all. Carry on.

Random Movie Poll

Which one is the best?

Mad Max

The Road Warrior

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome

Discuss

Emory Movie Mania Screening Tonight

Movie Mania Series @ Emory featuring discussions on psychoanalytic theories and issues. Screenings are on Fridays at 7:30p in 205 White Hall. Tonight's film is Into the Wild which is based on a true story about an Emory Alum. After the film, there will be a discussion with Dr. Paul Trudeau and Dr. Ed Leader, both from Emory.

A Re-Premiere?

It's the 70th anniversary of the film Gone with the Wind and to celebrate the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum is hosting activities today thrhough Sunday, including a "re-premiere" of the movie at The Strand Theatre. The festivities include meeting and signings by original cast members. Check out the full schedule here. If you're a diehard GWTW fan, this even is for you.

Urban Media Makers Film Screening Tomorrow Night

Urban Media Makers is presenting a free screening of the indie doc OT: Our Town tomorrow night (11/13) at the Urban Grind. Here is a description:

Compton and Grover's Corner (the town in Thornton Wilder's clasic "Our Town") seem a world apart - separated by race, language and lifestyle, but the themes in the play and the movie are universal. This is a credit to the original play as well as to the students and teachers in this documentary. OT: Our Town became one of the most talked about films on the film festival circuit. This is a Film Movement featured documentary. TRT: 77 minutes.

Screening starts at 7p. RSVP here.

On Sale Now

Wow. Word on the street is that MGM is going to the proverbial auction block. (Read here) Seems like no one and nothing is immune from this economy.

Feminist Film Lecture

Tonight at Emory, the theater and women's studies departments will feature a lecture by "feminist film critic"Molly Haskell. The lecture is entitled "From Gone with the Wind to Sex in the City:Feminism and Girl Power, Enemies or Allies?" (Boy, that was a mouthful to write. :]) Haskell will also be signing her books Frankly My Dear: Gone With the Wind Revisited and From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies (1975).

Event starts at 6pm in White Hall, Rm. 205 @ Emory. Free and open to the public.

Happy Veterans' Day

What are some of your favorite war/war vet movies? Here are some of mine:

Glory
Born on the Fourth of July
The Hurt Locker (which I think is the best film this year)
Jarhead
Three Kings

Check out Internet Movie Database (IMDB)'s top rated war movies here. Hug a vet today if you can.

Emory Cinematheque Tonight

Emory Cinematheque presents Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. 8pm, White Hall. FREE

O Joy

Word on the street that Will Smith and Steven Spielberg are no longer remaking the Korean cult fave Oldboy. (See here) Movie fans rejoice.

Splatter Cinema At The Plaza Tonight

Splatter Cinema will present Riki Oh: The Story of Ricky tonight at the Plaza Theatre at 9:30pm. If you like your movies with gore, this one's for you.

Jamie Foxx & Martin Lawrence-What the Hell?

Word on the street is that Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence are planning on doing a movie featuring their 1990s' characters Wanda (In Living Color) and Sheneneh (Martin). My question is WHY? Isn't Tyler Perry in drag as Madea one black man in drag too many for this millennium? Do we really need to go back in time and resurrect these two characters for the big screen? This is a bad bad idea.

Dear Hollywood

Black people and other people like arthouse and indie films featuring black people. Precious is the little indie that could. This weekend, the film only played in 18 theaters and raked in an average of $100,000 per theater. At the theater I was at, which had a mixed audience in attendance, sold out the 4:25 and 5 o'clock shows in a matter of 30 minutes. Much love to Lee Daniels for his success.

On The Blind Side

This week I saw an early screening of The Blind Side. I'm always conflicted about seeing movies like this--"quintessential negro" movies. Basically that's any number of Hollywood movies, fact or fiction, in which white folks come to the rescue of down trodden black folks. And it's not that that's a bad thing, but with the history of race relations in this country, these movies come across to me as somewhat paternalistic. [In fact, stories where black people save themselves typically don't do well at the box office--I'm thinking of Rosewood in particular. But I digress.]

The Blind Side is the true story of NFL athlete Michael Oher who, as a teenager was a homeless ward of the state of Tennessee due to his mother's addiction to drugs and an absent father. Oher (played by Quinton Aaron) was taken in by a wealthy southern couple Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean Touhy (Tim McGraw) who become his legal guardians, help him finish high school, and help him obtain a football scholarship to Ole Miss. It's sort of a fish out of water tale for bothOher and the Touhys. In fact the best line in the movie is when Mr. Touhy comments, "Who knew we'd have a black son before we knew a Democrat?" So its a warm and humorous story that only softly touches on issues of race. Bullock does a pretty good job as Mrs.Touhy, a no nonsense frosted blond who's used to getting what she wants.

The best part of the movie was the fact that it was shot in and around Atlanta. I got a kick out of trying to recognize local sites. For instance, the front exterior of the school building Oher and the Touhy children attend is my alma mater North Fulton High School, or currently the Atlanta International School. Some scenes were also shot at The Shed in Glenwood Park and the City Grill. The movie is worth the site seeing alone. Opens in theaters nationwide on November 20.

Reflections on Precious

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire has swept the festival circuit everywhere, touted as this year's Slumdog Millionaire. To me, Slumdog Millionaire was a fairytale about people in dire circumstances. Precious is a horror story about people in dire circumstances. And when I say horror, I mean something not of "mainstream" consciousness--all the bad things in this world you don't want to think about. It's raw, painful, and real. Precious is a 16 year-old girl who has suffered horribly at the hands of people who should have loved her the most. The victim of sexual abuse, incest, physical and emotional abuse, the mother of two children by her father, and HIV positive, it's a wonder Precious has survived. Seemingly at the brink of hopelessness, Precious gains new perspective when she receives help from a dedicated teacher at an alternative school and begins to create a better life for herself and her children.

I must say Mo'Nique was very brave in taking the role of Precious's mother, and director Lee Daniels equally daring in casting her. The mother is vile and unredeemable. And through her total toxicity, we see how seemingly insurmountable the obstacles are for a child in that circumstance. Mariah Carey does a good job too as a social worker who learns the whole truth about Precious's home life. In addition to drawing out these powerful performances, Daniels uses the film as social commentary on other matters facing the African-American community--namely our relationship with food. I have never seen such unattractive depictions of food. Everything Precious and her mother eat is fried or stewed in a vat of grease. A nurse (played by Lenny Kravitz--the sexiest nurse I've ever seen) tells Precious she should try to eat organic rather than go to McDonald's all the time. There's a lot here to think about.

I cried for what Precious was going through. But I wasn't sad. Precious got up every day, she took steps to educate herself, and she found good people to love and help her. We are all precious.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. [Isaiah 43:4]

What's On Your To View List?

I'm meeting up with friends tomorrow to see Precious. Given the raw subject matter of that film (abuse, poverty, HIV), I probably won't be in a mood to see anything else. I'll probably end up scarfing down ice cream and watching Lifetime. [sigh] What's on your to view list?

Weekend Film Happenings for 11/06 to 11/07

Lots of interesting film events this weekend. Check them out:

Pirate Night--Martinis & IMAX--11/06: The Goonies
Iranian Film Today series at the High Museum of Art--11/06: The Song of Sparrows; 11/07: The Queen and I
International Black Man Film Festival--11/07

International Black Man Film Festival This Saturday

The Auburn Avenue Research Library will be the site of the International Black Man Film Festival taking place this Saturday, 11/14, from noon until the mid-evening. The theme this year is "Creative Fire: The Black Man and His Art and Style." The festival is FREE.

Call For Film Festival Entries

The 6th Annual Woman of Color Arts and Film Festival (WOCAF) will be taking place here in the ATL in March 2010. The festival is currently calling for film entries. (See application here.) At the 2009 festival, I caught a fabulous short film called Akira's Hip Hop Shop. WOCAF is also looking for festival volunteers. This local film festival is definitely a gem and worthy of support.

Emory Cinematheque Screening Tonight

The Emory Cinematheque film series will be screening Olympia II Festival of Beauty. Here's the summary:

Olympia II: Festival of Beauty (Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, black and white, 1938, 90 min. In German with English subtitles.) Part Two of Leni Riefenstahl’s paen to the 1936 Berlin Olympics proved to be a seminal example of sports coverage in the media, but is best remembered for its visual apotheosis of the Aryan body.

8pm in White Hall. Free and open to the public.

Empower Yourself

It's election day, here in Atlanta and our next mayor is stake. If you don't vote, you can't complain later. Get your vote on. Polls are open until 8pm.

Now On Sale

Apparently the rights for the Terminator movie franchise are up for sale. If you have tens of millions of dollars to spend, you might want to jump on that. See here for more info.