Noticias

Craig Lines Nov 1, 2017

Every now and then, martial arts movies go, er, a 'little leftfield', Here are some examples...

There are few feelings I enjoy as much as watching a movie that shakes me out of my complacency, wakes me up from my jaded quasi-slumber and makes me go “I’ve not seen that before!” I watch way too many films and it can take a lot to genuinely shock or surprise me, but there are few genres that manage it as often as martial arts.

Now, I appreciate there’s a lot of base level ‘weirdness’ to the genre if you’re not used to it. There’s curious dubbing, an emphasis on physicality over plotting, some eastern cultural touchpoints that baffle unfamiliar western audiences… but fans get used to all that. I’m talking about something slightly different.

To clarify, it might seem strange to new viewers when...

Aharon Ipalé, the Morocco-born actor whose 50-year career stretched from early 1960s soap operas to Ray Donovan but is perhaps best remembered as the Pharaoh in the Brendan Fraser-starring Mummy franchise, has died at his home in Israel. The 74-year-old actor’s death was confirmed by his manager Susan Ferris. With 1960s appearances on Search for Tomorrow and General Hospital, Ipalé later had roles in 1971’s Fiddler on the Roof and the 1974 mini-series Moses the Lawgiver…...

Aharon Ipalé, the Morocco-born actor whose 50-year career stretched from early 1960s soap operas to Ray Donovan but is perhaps best remembered as the Pharaoh in the Brendan Fraser-starring Mummy franchise, has died at his home in Israel. The 74-year-old actor’s death was confirmed by his manager Susan Ferris. With 1960s appearances on Search for Tomorrow and General Hospital, Ipalé later had roles in 1971’s Fiddler on the Roof and the 1974 mini-series Moses the Lawgiver…...

Discover the stuff that dreams are made of. Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three. Take a day off with Ferris Bueller. Survive a winter in the Overlook Hotel. Movie lovers will be able to do all of this and more in 2016 as Fathom Events partners with Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for the biggest-ever “TCM Big Screen Classics” series.

The not-to-miss lineup begins in January and continues monthly throughout the year as Fathom Events and TCM bring some of the greatest titles ever back into movie theaters, each for just four showings. These classics will each be accompanied by specially produced commentary from TCM hosts Robert Osborne or Ben Mankiewicz.

The series will include “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Planet of the Apes” and “The King and I” from Twentieth Century Fox; “The Maltese Falcon,” “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and “The Shining” from Warner Bros.; “The Ten Commandments,...

We move into the top 20 now, where the films become incredibly spiritual. One major component seen in many of these religious films: the overtones meant to instill a sense of mystery and wonder. You see it in films set in both sweeping landscapes and intimate settings. Whether or not any of the films on this list are condoning the acceptance or rejection of faith and religion is almost beside the point. The real point is that it is so influential on our culture that movies will always be made about it.

courtesy of lassothemovies.com

20. Babette’s Feast (1987)

Directed by Gabriel Axel

The 1987 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner (beating Au Revoir Les Enfants), Babette’s Feast is the story of two devout Christian sisters whose father – the leader of a small Christian sect in Denmark – has died. Unfortunately, Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodjil Kjer) find they have no way to gain new members,...

As we are full-on in the Lent season, our definitive list will focus on films about religion or some aspect of it. The #1 qualification to be on this list is to deliberately focus on religion, a religious figure, or have the presence of a religion/faith as an integral plot point. For example, most of Luis Bunuel’s films can be viewed as attacks on the church, but they aren’t literally about Christianity; therefore, they won’t be included. So, on this list, we’ll look at as many different faiths as possible (though, there are obviously a lot more movies about Christianity than any other religion). We’ll even dabble into cults and sects that don’t really exist. Final rule: no documentaries. We’re keeping this fictional.

courtesy of salon.com

50. Sound of My Voice (2011)

Directed by Zal Batmanglij

Sound of My Voice stars Brit Marling (also co-writer) as Maggie,...

Charlton Heston movies: ‘A Man for All Seasons’ remake, ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ (photo: Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur) (See previous post: “Charlton Heston: Moses Minus Staff Plus Chariot Equals Ben-Hur.”) I’ve yet to watch Irving Rapper’s melo Bad for Each Other (1954), co-starring the sultry Lizabeth Scott — always a good enough reason to check out any movie, regardless of plot or leading man. A major curiosity is the 1988 made-for-tv version of A Man for All Seasons, with Charlton Heston in the Oscar-winning Paul Scofield role (Sir Thomas More) and on Fred Zinnemann’s director’s chair. Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Thomas More’s wife in the TV movie (Wendy Hiller in the original) had a cameo as Anne Boleyn in the 1966 film. According to the IMDb, Robert Bolt, who wrote the Oscar-winning 1966 movie (and the original play), is credited for the 1988 version’s screenplay as well. Also of note,...

Marzette Watts: Marzette Watts & Company (Esp-Disk')

In the brief period when I did a little work for Esp-Disk', this was the album the most people (especially record store owners and musicians) enthusiastically nominated for reissue. And now, here it is!

This album is distinguished by a number of factors, not least the fact that this is its first issue on CD in the U.S. (a few European reissues are in inferior sound). Recorded on December 8, 1966, it was Watts's first session as a leader (though, not released until 1971, it was his second album to appear, following a now-rare Savoy LP). Watts (1938-1998) never made any more albums after those two, alas, nor did he record as a sideman, though he appears in the credits on some albums from the free jazz scene as the engineer.

Watts is heard here on tenor and soprano saxophones and on bass clarinet; Byard Lancaster (b.

Who are the great American film directors? More to the point, who do we think are the great American film directors? Well, there’s Ford, of course, the Zeus of the American pantheon, by turns comic, epic, maudlin and humane. Then there’s Welles, the ill-fated genius, abused by producers but beloved of critics. Spielberg, even in his seventh decade, is still the boy wonder; Scorsese the mad scientist. Griffith is the wise forefather, deeply flawed but idolized nonetheless, while Hawks is ageless, just as sly and self-assured as he was at the time of “The Big Sleep” (1946).

Kubrick, however, beats them all.

Is there anyone more respected or, with the possible exception of Hitchcock, recognizable? Turn on any Stanley Kubrick movie and you should know instantly, whether you’ve seen it before or not, who the film’s director is. The peerless, pristine images; the long, empty corridors; the upturned,...

.Follow Charlton Heston on a journey through the Holy Land as he recounts the greatest Bible stories ever told!. recounts the sticker on the cover of this release. As it is written so shall it be done. Charlton Heston.s appearance as the liberator of the Israelites (Moses for those that didn.t guess) as well as Judah Ben-Hur forever typecast him as the sort for biblical epics. I.d always heard that Heston was an atheist, but I.m unsure. I know Heston never blanched at appearing in biblical films. The same was not true of Burt Lancaster as he was up for the role of Ben-Hur and his atheism had him turn it down, as he didn.t want to...