Movie Review – Body Heat (1981)
by NIR SHALEV
Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat unfolds during a Florida heat wave. Ned Racine (William Hurt) stands in front of his apartment window almost buck naked in the intro to the film. A woman dressing behind him asks about the building that is burning just down the street, and he tells her that it’s still on fire and that the owners themselves are probably the arsonists. Ned is a defense attorney who has seen all kinds of trash from his clients. He wears a sleazy moustache, he’s over 6 feet tall and skinny, and is covered with sweat stains throughout the film. Read more 
Movie Review – Watchmen (2009)
by RISHI AGRAWAL
Zack Snyder’s follow-up to the tremendously popular 300 is an adaptation of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons graphic novel Watchmen. I think, in this particular instance, it would be helpful to give you some context for this review, because I think that opinions on this film will vary widely based on several factors. First of all, I am definitely on record in this very blog for hating 300. You can go through the archives if you want to know the specifics of my hate, as I don’t want to dwell on the subject. Also, I have read the graphic novel Watchmen and liked it. I would not call myself a fan, but I am an admirer of the original work. Finally, I strive to judge films and books on their own merits, rather than making comparisons. But, for Watchmen, especially since so much of the film is so faithful to the original, it will be difficult to avoid. I will try to talk about the film itself first, and then launch into a discussion of the merits of the film versus the comic. Read more
DVD of the Week – Review of Synecdoche, New York (2008)
by RISHI AGRAWAL
I am not going to be so pretentious as to pretend that I fully understand Synecdoche, New York. Nominally, the film is about a playwright in upstate New York, whose wife leaves him, taking their young daughter to Germany. After receiving a Macarthur Genius Grant, he then begins work on an autobiographical play, which spirals out of control. Eventually, after decades, the play contains hundreds of actors and fills a warehouse. As the play becomes increasingly strange, it encompasses his life and eventually becomes one of the main subjects of the play. The director not only has to hire an actor to play himself, but has to hire an actor to play that actor. Read more
Anime Feature Film Review – Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
by HELEN GEIB
Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro is part of the popular Japanese “Lupin the 3rd” franchise. The original 1960s manga series has spawned multiple sequel series, anime television series, and feature film adaptations among other media tie-ins. Castle of Cagliostro is the second of five anime feature films to chronicle one of the continuing adventures of master thief Lupin the 3rd and his confederates and antagonists. Read more
Hollywood Releases Preview – March, 2009
by HELEN GEIB
The theatrical releases currently scheduled for general release in March, 2009 are listed after the break. Title links are to the film’s page in the internet movie database.
March 6
Watchmen – Adaptation of the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons; directed by Zack Snyder (300) and featuring Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, and Matthew Goode. Add a great-looking trailer to the mix and you have a lot of people excited about this one. Read more
DVD of the Week – Ashes of Time Redux (2008) and the Wuxia Genre
by HELEN GEIB
Hong Kong writer-director Wong Kar-Wai’s Ashes of Time is a wuxia film- a martial arts fantasy– for the arthouse. It has a setting, themes, and character types immediately recognizable from its (popular art) genre, but the elliptical storytelling, intense emotionalism, and hauntingly beautiful imagery that are hallmarks of Wong’s idiosyncratic films. Read more
