DAILY FILM DOSE: A Daily Film Appreciation and Review Blog

• Five Minutes OF Heaven

  Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) dir. Oliver HirschbiegelStarring: James Nesbitt, Liam Neeson**** By Reece CrothersOliver Hirschbiegel, director of "Downfall", once again blends fact and fiction to great effect in one of the year's most overlooked films. Working on a smaller canvas here than on the Oscar nominated Hitler picture, German [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 11:03am EST
  

• White Christmas

  White Christmas (1954) dir. Michael CurtizStarring; Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen**By Alan BacchusIrving Berlin’s song ‘White Christmas’ is an endearing classic – cited by many music sources as the best selling single of all time. The song was recorded by Bing Crosby and released in 1941 and even [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2009, 8:00am EST
  

• Red Cliff (North American Version)

  Red Cliff (2009) dir. John WooStarring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen and Zhao Wei***1/2By Greg KlymkiwI know absolutely nothing about Chinese history. Well, not absolutely nothing. I have a vague notion that there was a period during the first few centuries of the previous millennium where [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 7:11am EST
  

• Deconstructing the Cinema of the 00's: Part 4 - The New Auteurs

  The following is part of a continuing series of features breaking down the trends of cinema in the 2000's. Click below for parts 1-3:Part 1: Tentpole Franchisees Part 2: Social RealismPart 3: DocumentaryThe creative process doesn’t acknowledge breaks in years or decades, and so compartmentalizing and passing judgment on ten' [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 7:20am EST
  

• Gone With the Wind

  Gone With the Wind (1939) dir. Victor FlemingStarring: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel, Leslie Howard, Olivia De Havilland****By Alan BacchusThe event picture of all time gets everything it’s due from Warner Bros’ pimped out Blu-Ray box set. It’s been 70 years and most of us weren’t around during the [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 7:23am EST
  

• Heat

  Heat (1995) dir. Michael MannStarring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora****By Alan BacchusRemember when Michael Mann made good movies? It’s been a bad decade for him - a drought which has been clouded by huge disappointments which should have been cinematic sure things. After all, [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 7:20am EST
  

• Sex, Lies, and Videotape

  Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989) dir. Steven SoderberghStarring: Andie McDowell, James Spader, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo****By Alan BacchusMuch like the same anointed crown ‘Easy Rider’ has been given as the spearhead for the generation of 70’s auteur filmmakers, Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature, in general, has become has been agreed [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 7:34am EST
  

• Tales from the Golden Age

  Tales from the Golden Age (2009) dir. by Uricara, Hofer, Popescu, Marculescu, MunguiStarring: Diana Cavallioti, Vlad Ivanov and Alexandru Potocean***1/2By Blair StewartOne of the more memorable comedies to arrive in recent memory comes from an unexpected but sizable wellspring, life under a flailing Dictatorship. Returning to the same period as [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 10:58am EST
  

• Kobe Doin' Work

  Kobe Doin’ Work (2009) dir. Spike LeeDocumentary**By Alan BacchusIt’s an extremely literal title for this odd sports film directed by cine-master Spike Lee. Produced under the ESPN Films banner, ‘Kobe Doin’ Work’ is just about that, capturing an ordinary day of work of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant– that is, playing [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 11:23am EST
  

• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

  Miracle on 34th Street (1947) dir. George SeatonStarring: Maureen O’Hara, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, John Payne*** The title of this picture is a bit of a misnomer. The film is certainly no miracle, nor are there any profound miracles in the story. The story of the real Santa who inadvertently [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 7:30am EST
  

• Monsters Inc

  Monsters Inc. (2001) dir. Pete DocterVoices by: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi,***1/2Alan BacchusSure “Wall-E” is good, so is “Up”. I’m probably alone in the opinion that ‘Ratatouille’ was just OK, and that ‘Monsters Inc’ at least in my personal opinion is the best of the Pixar films.Pete Docter’s alternate [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 7:22am EST
  

• In the Loop

  In the Loop (2009) dir. Armando IannucciStarring: Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, Mimi Kennedy, Anna Clumsky****By Alan BacchusOne of the best films of the year is Armando Iannucci’s uproariously funny political satire – “In the Loop”. Inevitable comparisons to “Dr. Stangelove” have been already made, and it would not [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 7:49am EST
  

• Sauna

  Sauna (2008) dir. AJ AnnilaStarring: Ville Virtanen, Tommi Eronen, Viktor Klimenko, Sonja Petäjäjärvi***1/2“Sauna” is a truly wonderful cinema experience – a dark gothic horror near-masterpiece which mashes the existential atmosphere of Andrei Tarkovsky with the mindbending terror of J-Horror and a dash of the Spanish films of Guillermo Del Toro.As [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:17am EST
  

• Brüno

  Brüno (2009) dir. Larry CharlesStarring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Bañagale, Chibundu Orukwowu***1/2It comes as no surprise the ‘Bruno’ wasn’t as successful as ‘Borat’. While Borat cleverly poked fun at America's ignorance and hospitality, “Bruno” puts the country’s own conservative homophobic fears in their faces like a big ol'' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 8:06am EST
  

• Rome

  Rome (2005-2007) created by John Milius, Willam J. Macdonald, Bruno HellerStarring: Ciaron Hinds, James Purefoy, Kevin McKiddThis posting doesn’t really serve as a review but an admonition of excitement about getting to work on watching the lauded television series ‘Rome’. The series, created by muscular 70's/80's writer/director John Milius 'Apocalypse [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 9:36am EST
  

• Godzilla (1998)

  Godzilla (1998) dir. Roland EmmerichStarring: Matthew Broderick, Maria Pitillo, Michael Lerner, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria*By Alan BacchusHowever silly and cornball “Independence Day”, there was a thrill in bringing back the simple earth vs. aliens b-movie plotting. And certainly watching major landmarks in New York and Washington get destroyed in such [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 8:57am EST
  

• Il Divo

  Il Divo (2009) dir. Paolo SorrentinoStarring: Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, Giulio Bosetti, Flavio Bucci, Carlo Buccirosso**By Alan BacchusThe story of seven-time Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti's controversial leadership in the latter stages of his 50-year service, which saw him accused and tried for having an alliance with the mafia, as [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 7:59am EST
  

• Cars

  Cars (2006) dir. John LasseterVoices by: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Cheech Marin, Tony Shaloub**1/2By Alan BacchusAs creative director of the company, over most of the decade John Lasseter had served as a supervisory Walt Disney-like role in the Pixar family. “Cars” was Lasseter’s first feature since 1999’s ‘Toy [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:42am EST
  

• White Material

  White Material (2009) dir. Claire DenisStarring: Isabelle Huppert, Isaach De Bankole, Christopher Lambert***By Blair StewartA bitter, brittle remark on colonial Africa just before the whites all fled, Claire Denis revisits her childhood days in the great Continent. Isabelle Huppert is Maria, a prime mover, the workhorse behind a desperate coffee [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:35am EST
  

• The Exiles

  The Exiles (1961) dir, Kent McKenzieStarring: Mary Donahue, Homer Nish, Clydean Parker, Tom Reynolds, Rico Rodriguez***1/2By Alan BacchusThe reputation of Kent McKenzie’s “The Exiles” precedes it. The famous USC student film about aboriginal youths living in Los Angeles was often discussed as a landmark film in American independent film, yet [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 7:04am EST
  

• Deconstructing the Cinema of the 2000’s – Part 3: Documentary

  By Alan BacchusThe following is part of a continuing series of features breaking down the trends of cinema in the 2000's. Click below for parts 1 and 2:Part 1: Tentpole Franchisees Part 2: Social RealismIt’s not hard to pinpoint the exact moment when documentaries became more than just an art' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:20am EST
  

• Up

  Up (2009) dir. Pete DocterVoices by: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Delroy Lindo***1/2By Alan BacchusThough I admired “Wall-E” and “Ratatouille” the two recent and arguably best received Pixar films since “Toy Story”, I felt a sense these films wrang out every morsel of cuteness from the little robot and [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 8:48am EST
  

• Thirst

  Thirst (2009) dir. by Park Chan-WookStarring: Song Kang-Ho, Kim Ok-Bin***By Blair StewartA Korean vampire priest is tormented by Catholic Sin in his lust for sex and fineropes of arterial spray in "Thirst", the latest from Chan Wook-Park of "Oldboy" fame.You already had me at 'Korean Vampire Priest', you sick puppy [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 9:34am EST
  

• Rocky IV

  Rocky IV (1985) dir. Sylvestor StalloneStarring: Sylvestor Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Brigitte Nielsen, Talia Shire, Burt Young*** By Alan Bacchus'Rocky IV' has so much going wrong with it, it’s an easy film to pick apart, chew up and spit it out as film criticism, which make it so difficult to do [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:48am EST
  

• Passion of Joan of Arc

  Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) dir. Carl DreyerStarring: Maria Falconetti, Eugène Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz**** By Alan BacchusThe legend and mystique around Dreyer’s landmark film certainly helps its appreciation – the original version of the silent masterpiece was appeared to have been lost after a number of fires [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 7:53am EST
  

• Full Metal Jacket

  Full Metal Jacket (1987) dir. Stanley KubrickStarring: Matthew Modine, Arliss Howard, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio****By Alan BacchusWith each successive viewing “Full Metal Jacket” seems to rise the ranks of the Kubrick oeuvre. For me it sits in his top three just below “Dr. Strangelove” and “2001” A Space Odyssey”. [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 8:20am EST
  

• North By Northwest

  North By Northwest (1959) dir. Alfred HitchcockStarring: Cary Grant, Eve Marie Saint, James Mason, Martin Landau***½By Alan BacchusDespite its sterling reputation, Hitch’s sprawling cross country epic adventure was never one of my favourites. Perhaps it was the overly-preposterous maguffin plotting, or the extensive and often distracting overuse of his rear [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 7:51am EST
  

• Where The Wild Things Are

  Where The Wild Things Are (2009) dir. Spike JonzeStarring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark RuffaloVoices: James Gandolfini, Maureen O’Hara, Chris Cooper***½By Alan BacchusAfter 3 years of publicized production and post-production difficulties bringing this picture to the screen which caused much gossip as to the quality of film it was all [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 8:41am EST
  

• Rocky

  Rocky (1976) dir. John G. AvildsenStarring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith***1/2By Alan BacchusThe formulaic nature of the multiple sequels of this film might suggest that 'Rocky' itself is a formula film - that is, chronciling the journey of a down and out boxer from the rough streets [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 9:44am EST
  

• The Buttercup Chain

  The Buttercup Chain (1970) Dir. Robert Ellis MillerStarring: Hywel Bennett, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jane Asher and Sven-Bertil Taube*By Greg KlymkiwThis dull, idiotic, pretentious bit of soft-core is not especially sexy and lacks even the tiniest shred of entertainment value. It is, however, one of the most sumptuously photographed bad movies I [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:14am EST
  

• Fantastic Mr. Fox

  Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) dir. Wes AndersonStarring George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray****By Blair StewartJoining Tim Burton and Spike Jonze on their forays into youthful material, Wes Anderson raids the farm with Roald Dahl's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". Featuring a knock-out cast of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 7:45am EST
  

• Anna Karenina - 2009 Version

  Anna Karenina (2009) dir. Sergei SolovyovStarring: Tatyana Drubich, Oleg Yankovskiy and Yaroslav Boyko**1/2By Greg KlymkiwHailed as one of the great novels of all-time, Lev Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” has been adapted into so many film and television versions, one wonders if we will ever get the ultimate cinematic rendering of this [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 5:12pm EST
  

• Taras Bulba - 2009 version

  Taras Bulba (2009) dir. Wolodymyr BortkoStarring: Bohdan Stupka, Ihor Petrenko, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Magdalena Mielcarz and Sergei Dryden**By Greg KlymkiwVia the Kino/Art Film Festival in Toronto this weekend, audiences will be subjected to one of the vilest displays of cinematic propaganda I have seen in a long time and oddly, the [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 8:42am EST
  

• Taking of Pelham 123

  Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) dir. Tony ScottStarring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro**1/2The original film is left untarnished and unscathed from competition from this pseudo remake. Just about the only aspect which remains from the original other than the name and the subway locale is the core relationship of [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:54am EST
  

• Prince of Darkness

  Prince of Darkness (1987) dir. John CarpenterStarring: Jameson Parker, Dennis Dun, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount, Donald Pleasance****By Alan Bacchus“Say goodbye to classical reality, because our logic collapses on the subatomic level... into ghosts and shadows”That's a great line from one of the great underrated horror pictures...“Prince of Darkness”, according to [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 7:10am EST
  

• Natural Born Killers - Director's Cut

  Natural Born Killers (1995) dir. Oliver StoneStarring; Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr. Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones**** By Alan BacchusIt's about time this disc arrived. In fact, why Warner decided to release the now irrelevant and obsolete theatrical version of this film on Blu-Ray last year remains a' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 7:40am EST
  

• Law Abiding Citizen

  Law Abiding Citizen (2009) dir. F. Gary GrayStarring: Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx and Colm Meaney*1/2By Greg KlymkiwGreat vigilante movies are driven by a hero or anti-hero that we connect with on a personal level and where ultimately, there are few, if no shades of grey in the quest for retribution. [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 9:31am EST
  

• Night of the Creeps

  Night of the Creeps (1986) dir. Fred DekkerStarring: Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow*** By Greg KlymkiwFred Dekker is a genre director who, with his first two features, “The Monster Squad” and “Night of the Creeps”, displayed so much promise, that even the toilet-bowl-plunge of his third feature, [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2009, 10:56am EDT
  

• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

  Frankenstein (1994) dir., Kenneth BranaghStarring: Kenneth Branagh, Robert de Niro, Tom Hulce, John Cleese** By Alan BacchusLike another attempted monster staple resurrection in 1994, Wolf, which I reviewed last week, Kenneth Branagh’s take on ‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’ is a big ol cinematic mess and an eyesore on Branagh's filmography. By' [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 7:56am EDT
  

• Summertree

  Summertree (1970) dir, Anthony NewleyStarring: Michael Douglas, Jack Warden, Barbara Bel Geddes, Brenda Vaccaro*½ By Alan BacchusSummertree, this hippie-era drama based on a play by Ron Cowen, tells the tender and thoughtful story of a typical young man in the 60's, resentful of his father’s expectations, determined to go his' [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 7:45am EDT
  

• Paranormal Activity

  Paranormal Activity (2009) dir. Oren PeliStarring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs****By Alan BacchusI love these types of success stories - a low budget, truly independent film getting picked up for a six-figure advance, released nationally to what could be a $100million dollar film - success derived simply from good [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 7:59am EDT
  

• The Room

  The Room (2003) dir. Tommy WiseauStarring: Tommy Wiseau, Juliette Danielle and Gregory Sistero* or **** (see for yourself why)By Blair StewartWhen I first started working in film I befriended a nice, honest, dedicated and extremely milquetoast co-worker. Forging a minor alliance that I would refer to as an "acquaintanceship" and [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 7:52am EDT
  

• War of the Worlds (1953)

  The War of the Worlds (1953) dir. Byron HaskinStarring: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Lewis Martin, Les Tremayne, Bob Cornthwaite****By Alan BacchusBased on the famed H.G. Wells 1898 novel which told the story of a Victorian town overrun by alien ‘tripods’ which advanced weaponry, the 1953 George Pal-produced sprawling epic is [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 9:19am EDT
  

• Paranormal Activity

  Paranormal Activity (2007/2009) dir. Oren PeliStarring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat and Mark Fredrichs****By Greg KlymkiwAny and all clichés one could utilize to describe the overall effect of this magnificently directed, utterly extraordinary and near-perfect no-budget horror movie would be apt – it’s heart-stopping, nerve-jangling and pulse-pounding. More than suitable descriptions, [...]
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  Posted: October 25, 2009, 7:37am EDT
  

• Black Dynamite

  Black Lightning (2009) dir. Scott SandersStarring: Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman, Richard Edson***1/2In the tradition of “Grindhouse” Scott Sanders delivers his own timecapsule of 1970’s Blaxsploitation. Action and self-reflexive camp provide us of absurd post-modern instant classic.For those unfamiliar with ‘Blaxsploitation’, it refers to a decade [...]
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  Posted: October 24, 2009, 8:18am EDT
  

• The September Issue

  The September Issue (2009) dir. R.J. CutlerDocumentary**By Reece CrothersThe September Issue is a satisfying bit of fluff, a light, digestible entertainment. It is not the behind the scenes expose one hopes for considering the poster's promises that this movie "does for fashion what The War Room did for politics". There [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 7:50am EDT
  

• The September Issue

  The September Issue (2009) dir. R.J. CutlerDocumentary***1/2By Alan BacchusNote: Here's another take on The September Issue...Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, has been a formidable and intimidating figure in fashion for 25 years. Industry followers know her reputation as the “ice queen” of fashion, but it wasn’t until her persona [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 7:44am EDT
  

• Wolf

  Wolf (1994) dir. Mike NicholsStarring: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfieffer, James Spader, Christopher Plummer*1/2By Alan BacchusAs evidenced by the general ambivalence of audiences at the time of its release, never mind that few people talk about ‘Wolf’ in either Jack Nicholson’s career or Mike Nichols’, its no surprise there are no [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2009, 8:04am EDT
  

• Cape Fear (1962)

  Cape Fear (1962) dir. J Lee ThompsonStarring: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam, Telly Savalas****By Alan BacchusIt came as no surprise that Martin Scorsese’s version of J. Lee Thompson's original classic ‘Cape Fear’ was as closely aligned to the original as it was. Considering his integrity for the [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2009, 8:13am EDT
  

• The Ruins

  The Ruins (2008) dir. Carter SmithStarring: Jena Malone, Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Shawn Ashmore***1/2 By Alan Bacchus “The Ruins’ released last year earned a modest $17million domestically, but against its meager $8million budget it’s proven to be fine successes in low budget horror. Like its closest cousin “The Descent” it’s [...]
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  Posted: October 20, 2009, 10:00am EDT