TIFF 2013 Review: Brazilian Western
Published on September 9th, 2013 in: Current Faves, Film Festivals, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |“Rich people design it; poor people build it.”
—João in Brazilian Western
If you’ve heard the song “Faroeste Caboclo” by Legião Urbana, the storyline of Brazilian Western will be familiar to you. For those who haven’t, it follows the song’s same storyline: a poor young man named João moves to the city for a better life, becomes a drug dealer, and falls in love, only for his life to end in tragedy.
Revealing this information won’t ruin your enjoyment of the film. From the opening scenes—which are very much in the style of a Western—we already know the ending is a sad one. Watching the events unfold is what makes Brazilian Western worth seeing.
TIFF 2013: My Top 20 Picks
Published on September 4th, 2013 in: Film Festivals, Movies, Top Twenty Lists |
A Field in England
This year’s Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 5 – September 15. Rather than focus on some of the highest-profile films in the Festival (a few of which are already on my Top Ten Movies To Watch In 2013 list), I thought I’d pick 20 that are a little different.
Assemblog: August 2, 2013
Published on August 2nd, 2013 in: Assemblog, Conventions/Expos, Critics/Criticism, Feminism, Film Festivals, Horror, Movies, The Internets, TV |
Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori in Pacific Rim
New this week on Popshifter: Brad reviews yet another Scream Factory reissue, this time it’s The Burning; Jeff finishes up this month’s Waxing Nostalgic Cover Albums series with Replicants’ eponymous album; Paul informs critics that being average is not worse than being bad; John pays tribute to The Olivia Tremor Control’s Bill Doss; I embrace the post-punk transvestite stylings of The Garden on their new album The Life And Times Of A Paperclip; and enjoy a lot of good movies new on home video and in theaters: Trance, Kiss of the Damned, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, and Berberian Sound Studio.
Assemblog: July 26, 2013
Published on July 26th, 2013 in: Assemblog, Conventions/Expos, DVD, Feminism, Film Festivals, Movies, Science Fiction, Trailers, TV |
Idris Elba in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
New this week on Popshifter: Brad is a big fan of two new Scream Factory Blu-Ray releases: Ninja III: The Domination and The Howling; Jeff rethinks not having given Bulletboys a chance before and urges others to give the 2006 version of The Wicker Man another chance; I review the vinyl reissue of White Fence‘s self-titled debut as well as the splendid Lenses from Soft Metals, and marvel at the brilliant, hilarious Computer Chess.
Assemblog: July 12, 2013
Published on July 12th, 2013 in: Assemblog, Feminism, Film Festivals, Horror, Movies, Music, Over the Gadfly's Nest, Trailers, Video |
The Heat
New this week on Popshifter: Paul has some surprising but apt suggestions in his two-part series on Horror Movies For Kids; Melissa loves bands with tuba players and as a result, raves about That’s It! from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band; Jeff will crack you up with his review of the probably unnecessary Thank You from Duran Duran; Chelsea enjoyed the “irresistible prose” and vast wealth of stories in Curtis Harrington’s memoir Nice Guys Don’t Work In Hollywood; I strongly recommend Desperation, the latest album from the Oblivians and share my thoughts (and a couple of photos) from last week’s IO Echo/CSS show at The Mod Club.
Assemblog: July 5, 2013
Published on July 5th, 2013 in: Art, Assemblog, Film Festivals, Horror, Movies, Trailers, Upcoming Events |
Big Bad Wolves
New this week on Popshifter: Ann celebrated Pride Month with a review of Hirsute Pursuit’s Tighten That Muscle Ring; Julie thinks that Dave Davies’s I Will Be Me is mostly excellent; Cait takes umbrage to the word “twee” in her rapturous review of The Three O’Clock rarities compilation The Hidden World Revealed; Lisa has some offbeat suggestions for Fourth of July movies; Jeff time travels with Tesla’s Real to Reel; I recommend Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me for fans and not-yet-fans; Paul gifts us with a beautiful, touching article on the significance of music; and an anonymous contributor has some stern words for convention (non)attendees.
Assemblog: June 28, 2013
Published on June 28th, 2013 in: Assemblog, Conventions/Expos, Film Festivals, Horror, Movies, Music, Science Fiction, Trailers, Upcoming Events |
Among The Living (image from Twitch)
New this week on Popshifter: Chelsea reviews new albums from Dessa and Bosnian Rainbows; Julie puts the music of Dream Affair into a musical context; Paul explains why Christy Moore’s “Delirium Tremens” has multiple meanings; Jeff lifts up his lighter for Styx’s Big Bang Theory; Cait reminisces on Big Star and their soundtrack for the movie Nothing Can Hurt Me; and I try to describe the somewhat indescribable film The Rambler.
Movie Review: Nightmare Factory
Published on June 21st, 2013 in: Canadian Content, Current Faves, Documentaries, Feminism, Film Festivals, Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |
There’s a fantastic quote from the mother of special effects wizard Greg Nicotero in Nightmare Factory, a new documentary from filmmaker Donna Davies. When she was pregnant with her son, Mrs. Nicotero says, she read a lot of “blood-curdling” novels, all the ones she could find. “It was fun and exciting to be scared,” she adds. This is why horror junkies are horror junkies. The obsession with the craft of special effects is what’s explored in Nightmare Factory, but it’s clear that the fear factor is the spark that ignites the flame.
Assemblog: May 31, 2013 – Critiquing The Role Of Women in Hollywood
Published on May 31st, 2013 in: Assemblog, Critics/Criticism, Feminism, Film Festivals, Movies, TV |
Lynn Ramsay on the set of We Need To Talk About Kevin
New this week on Popshifter: Jeff presents the last days of Metal Mayhem with Iron Maiden and Spinal Tap; Chelsea describes the “smart, talented trio” known as Hot Club of Cowtown in her review of their new Rendezvous in Rhythm album; Lisa praises Elementary as “the abomination that wasn’t”; I share 15 hilarious minutes with Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick of The Venture Bros., have a dance party with King Tuff’s reissued Was Dead album, and fall in love with Charles Bradley: Soul of America.
Assemblog: May 17, 2013
Published on May 17th, 2013 in: Assemblog, Feminism, Film Festivals, Horror, Movies, Trailers, TV |
James Spader, from NBC’s The Blacklist
New this week on Popshifter: Chelsea thinks Xenia Rubinos’s Magic Trix is a “thrilling listen”; Metal Mayhem continues with Jeff’s take on Dangerous Toys and Judas Priest; Jeff also says that Big Country’s The Journey is the best new album he’s heard this year; Melissa B. parties traditional style with the new album from Kermit Ruffins and gets transported to the past with the reissue of Marty Robbins’s El Paso City and Adios Amigo; I recommend both the glam psychedelia of Burnt Ones’ You’ll Never Walk Alone and the party music of Dead Ghosts’ Can’t Get No, and revisit 2002’s excellent, unsettling One Hour Photo, recently released on Blu-Ray.