(2001) dirs. Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky – w/ Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla, and so on. Synopsis: The meaning of life is contemplated, mail is delivered, the circus comes to town. Angry mobs and bonfires, some are driven mad. There Is A Whale. Review: It’s only a slight exaggeration to say this film […]
Werckmeister Harmonies (****1/2)
Posted by Ben on January 12, 2008
https://www.swordbilled.com/werckmeister-harmonies-12/
Fido (****)
(2006) dir. Andrew Currie – w/ Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly as a boy’s best friend, Dylan Baker as a man who has problems with zombies, K’Sun Ray as a zombie’s best friend, and others, in roles such as: Zombie Grandpa, Zombie Paperboy, Human Milkman, Dr. Hrothgar Geiger, and Poacher Driver (Zombie Poaching apparently being a […]
Posted by Ben on November 6, 2007
https://www.swordbilled.com/fido/
Hot Fuzz (****)
(2007) dir. Edgar Wright – w/ Simon Pegg as the dutifully over-efficient constable, Nick Frost as his bumbling partner in the country, and a slew of other notables: Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, Edward Woodward–the Equalizer, folks!–, Timothy Dalton as the unctuously murderous supermarket magnate, Cate Blanchett with a mask over her face, and Peter Jackson […]
Posted by Ben on May 21, 2007
https://www.swordbilled.com/hot-fuzz/
Das Leben der Anderen (****1/2)
(2006) unter der Regie von Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck – mit Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, und Volkmar Kleinert. English title: “The Lives of Others”. Synopsis: It’s before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and East Germany’s Stasi has its hands plenty full keeping track of the thoughts and actions not just of the […]
Posted by Ben on March 6, 2007
https://www.swordbilled.com/das-leben-der-anderen-12/
Movies, Best Of, 2006
More than any other year in recent memory (recent memory being about five years, give or take), I’ve managed to see an outstanding line-up of movies. (Don’t get me wrong–there were massive duds, too; like The Punisher, and Primer, and Dogville.) Some of them were actually released this year, but most of them have been […]
Posted by Ben on December 31, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/movies-best-of-2006/
The Science of Sleep (*****)
(2006) dir. Michel Gondry – w/ Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, plus also Alain Chabat, Miou-Miou, Emma de Caunes, Aurélia Petit, Sacha Bourdo, Pierre Vaneck, Stéphane Metzger, Alain de Moyencourt, and so on. Synopsis: Any ‘plot summary’ you get is going to be deficient in some way; this is a movie that veers back and […]
Posted by Ben on October 5, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/the-science-of-sleep/
Dellamorte Dellamore (****1/2)
(1994) – AKA “Cemetery Man” – dir. Michele Soavi – w/ Rupert Everett as the keeper of the cemetery, Francois Hadji-Lazaro as his faithful assistant, and Anna Falchi as approximately 37 different people. Synopsis: Rupert Everett is Francesco Dellamorte, the keeper of a cemetery in a small town in Italy. He has a steady job, […]
Posted by Ben on September 13, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/dellamorte-dellamore-12/
The Proposition [Review]
(2005) dir. John Hillcoat – w/ Guy Pearce, Emily Watson, Ray Winstone, David Wenham, Richard Wilson, and Danny Huston; and let’s not forget John Hurt as an ornery bounty hunter (as opposed to what, indeed) – written by Nick Cave Synopsis: Set at the end of the 1800s, The Proposition, as it might be expected, […]
Posted by Ben on June 3, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/proposition/
Watching, Reading, Learning
Saw and read lots of things. Same old story. Here, let’s think. Watched Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, which I thoroughly enjoyed; was at times an uncomfortable enjoyment, but that’s I think what Cronenberg was going for, mood-wise. Excellent performances all around, with what you might call a tightly-crafted script. This is a movie that […]
Posted by Ben on October 13, 2005
https://www.swordbilled.com/watching-reading-learning/
Hellboy (***1/2)
(2004) Guillermo del Toro – w/ Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, and Doug Jones, Brian Steele & Ladislav Berain in roles as characters you’d never ever recognize in any other film, ever Synopsis: You’ve got yer evil, last ditch Nazi plot to unleash demons, etc., which is oh-so-fortuitiously interrupted before too much […]
Posted by Ben on October 2, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/hellboy/