(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/
Movies to watch out for
Not necessarily in order. Thundercats! The Equalizer, 2009, with a screenplay being co-written by Michael Connelly Get Smart, 2008, with Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart Two movies based on Chuck Palahniuk books: Survivor (planned but with no timetable for the near future), and Choke (premiering this coming year). (Incidentally, I’m not sure if the Thundercats […]
Posted by Ben on December 5, 2007
https://www.swordbilled.com/movies-to-watch-out-for/
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/
Another kind of claymation
A music video by Jan Svankmajer, the fellow who brought us people-eating tree stumps and animated skeletons with Santa hats. What’s not to love? (via MeFi)
Posted by Ben on September 21, 2007
https://www.swordbilled.com/another-kind-of-claymation/
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/
Rats for a cause
As it turns out, David Lynch directs public service announcements much the same way he directs feature-length films. Which is to say, strangely. Look at Lynch’s anti-littering PSA over at WFMU (as well as some others). (via WFMU’s Beware of the Blog)
Posted by Ben on May 4, 2007
https://www.swordbilled.com/rats-for-a-cause/
The Dark Side of movie trivia
Dark side, or alternate reality, or something: NotStarring, the searchable database of actors who were almost cast in the movie roles you know and love. Like: David Bowie and Sean Connery in Lord of the Rings. Or: John Candy as Louis in Ghostbusters? And Eddie Murphy as Winston? Hours of totally useless movie trivia await […]
Posted by Ben on March 24, 2007
https://www.swordbilled.com/the-dark-side-of-movie-trivia/
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/
Everyone in this room is now dumber
A Billy Madison reference, from a judge. (And no, the previous sentence isn’t really intended as any kind of statement. It simply follows the rule of: the unexpected is funny. Ha ha.) (via The Smoking Gun)
Posted by Ben on October 26, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/everyone-in-this-room-is-now-dumber/