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Staff Pick
Chunking Express
“Chungking Express” is very much an arthouse lover’s kind of film, so while the movie may be considered the director’s most mainstream feature (thanks in part to Quentin Tarantino’s U.S. distribution of the film), it’s not for everyone. Those thinking about diving into Wong Kar-Wai’s catalog, however, would be wise to start here. His movies may be similar in tone, but this is his absolute best. (Staff Picks Archive)
DVD QuickTakes
QuickTakes Archive / QuickTakes Archive (pre-May 2008)Resident Evil: Degeneration
Considering the downgrade in quality that the “Resident Evil” film franchise has experienced with each successive installment, it isn’t entirely surprising that the latest movie based on the popular survival horror game has been given the direct-to-DVD treatment. Granted, “Resident Evil: Degeneration” isn’t associated with the live-action films, so it’s probably better not to compare the two. For starters, this “Resident Evil” adventure could very well be considered official canon, as it reunites series favorites Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield to fight back against a terrorist-controlled zombie attack at the Harvardville Airport. When the leader of the terrorist group injects himself with the unstable G-Virus, however, a new monster is unleashed that must be stopped before the infection spreads any more. Filmed entirely in CG with the same methods used for “Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within,” “Resident Evil: Degeneration” looks like one, long video game cutscene – which is fitting, since it’s intended more for fans of the game than the movies. Those same fans will no doubt love “Degeneration” for the same reason they love the games, but while watching Leon and Claire blast through waves of zombies is a nice distraction until the release of “Resident Evil 5,” it’s still not as fun as doing it yourself.
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Jason Zingale
1/8/2009
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The Garment Jungle
Two good directors are not necessarily better than one. This 1957 fact-inspired noirish black and white melodrama about union-busting gangsters in the clothing business was written by producer and veteran scribe Harry Kleiner and credited to classic-era directing mainstay Vincent Sherman, but the initial helmer was one of the most interesting younger mainstream filmmakers of his generation, Robert Aldrich — already a major talent, and with such classics as “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” and “The Dirty Dozen” still in his future. Apparently, Aldrich clashed with the film’s biggest name, Lee J. Cobb (”On the Waterfront”). Those on-set clashes might well explain the erratic quality of the acting from the usually outstanding Cobb as the driven head of a garment firm being undermined by Richard Boone (“Have Gun - Will Travel”) as his mobbed-up underling, while second-string swashbuckler Kerwin Matthews – just a year away from his career zenith in “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” – is actually better than usual in modern garb as Cobb’s idealistic son…while future “Dr. No” Joseph Wiseman gets to do a bit of overacting as a guilt-stricken worker, and a young Robert Loggia (Tom Hanks’ dance partner from “Big”) steals the movie as an idealistic union organizer…and Gia Scala (“The Guns of Navarone”) elicits sympathy and looks beautiful as Loggia’s tragedy-stricken wife. The only problem is, all my run-on fanboyish links of “The Garment Jungle” to far better known films turns out to be somewhat more interesting than this rather overblown, preachy, bit of pro-union agitprop — heavy on speeches (even if I happen to agree with them) and long on hard to swallow deus ex machina plot points.
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Bob Westal
1/5/2009
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Ludwig
Heavy hangs the head of the repressed homosexual and opera fanboy that wears the crown in the final major work from director Luchino Visconti. Featuring an all-star international cast (who, following the usual practice, are all painstakingly dubbed into Italian), this 1973 biopic of the so-called “mad king of Bavaria” successfully mixes 19th century European history and perhaps more than a touch of autobiography from Visconti — himself an openly gay aristocrat with a lifelong attachment to opera. “Ludwig” stars the aging director’s final companion, 28 year-old Helmut Berger, as the sympathetic, self-involved king who winds up spending way too much of his time and his nation’s wealth on an unrequited fantasy female love object (Romy Schneider, “What’s New Pussycat?”), his passion for the music and poetry of Richard Wagner (Trevor Howard), and ridiculously opulent castles to house what may or may not be all-male orgies. Naturally, his reign doesn’t exactly end on a high note.
Considering that Visconti was considered the founder of the real-time loving neorealist movement, and that this director’s cut clocks in at just under four hours, it’s no surprise that “Ludwig” feels at least an hour too long, particularly in the opening and closing sections. Nevertheless, the middle portions amply reward our patience, once Ludwig’s problems begin in earnest as Berger gradually devolves from the perfection of youth to a sadly seedy monarch cursed with teeth that would frighten the most inbred of English nobility. This somber extravaganza requires some patience, but its tragedy, horror, and beauty makes it worth the investment.
Bob Westal
1/3/2009
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Archive
Complete Movie ArchivesAlfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection
Alien Nation: Ultimate Movie Collection
Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore Collection
The Blues Brothers: 25th Anniversary Edition
The Brat Pack Movies & Music Collection
Elvira's Movie Macabre: Volume One
Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan
Ghostbusters: Double Feature Gift Set
John Ford / John Wayne Film Collection
Kermit's 50th Anniversary Collection
Planet of the Apes: Legacy Collection