DVD review: Clone HunterOften, sci-fi and low budget indie productions go together about as well as chocolate and onions.... + READ REVIEW
What to make of the ending to Inception?So far, my favorite film this year is Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Not only does it deliver all... + READ REVIEW
DVD Review: The White RibbonThe White Ribbon is a drama starring Christian Freidl, Ulrich Turkl and Burghart Klaussner.... + READ REVIEW
The Hurt Locker is a war drama starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty and Guy Pearce. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
“War is a drug.”
Those words, placed on the screen at the start, effectively synopsize one of the best films of 2009. The Hurt Locker is set in Iraq, but it is not so much an anti-Iraq war film (though the film makes it painfully clear it is no vacation over there). It is instead about a solder, one Sgt. William James, who becomes addicted to war (or more precise, the high of being at the razor’s edge of violent death). Away from this edge, he seems lost. In a painful but honest confession near the end, he makes it clear what his true love is.
Our resident "know-it-all" film critic, Walter Ego, returns to review the movie, "Year One" starring starring Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt and David Cross. Directed by Harold Ramis.
You can now get the Walter Ego Podcast direct to your ipod and Itunes!
While fun, narrowing down the top movie villains in history was quite difficult as well (I was surprised not one Bond villain made my list). Feel free to disagree and send me your own list.
The Wicked Witch of the West-The Wizard of Oz 1938
Maybe this is an obvious choice, but no list of great movie villains would be complete without her. Margaret Hamilton is simply unforgettable as the sadistic witch in both dream world Oz and real world Kansas. Her transformation from the bicycle riding Elmira Gulch to the broom riding witch is still an eye-covering scare. From “Fire Scarecrow?” to “I’ll get you my pretty! And your little dog, too!” there is nothing subtle about her “beautiful wickedness.”
Our resident "know-it-all" film critic, Walter Ego, returns to review the movie, Angels and Demons starring Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, and Stellan Skarsgård. Directed by Ron Howard.
You can now get the Walter Ego Podcast direct to your ipod and Itunes!
The Proposition is a western starring Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Guy Pearce and Emily Watson. Directed by John Hillcoat.
After seeing how fitting the Australian Outback was as a setting for a Western, I am surprised it hasn’t been used more often. Desolate, threatening, untamed, yet beautiful, the Outback works just as well as John Ford’s beloved Monument Valley or Sergio Leone’s fearsome Spain.
Just in Time for Valentine's Day it's the IFC Sexy Movie Quiz! Enter and play the quiz for a chance to win 15, 25 or 50% off any dvd from Indie FIlm Kiosk.com! It's sexy. It's Fun. And it's a chance to win some deals on great independt films!
I am an unapologetic fan of horror films (and sometimes the sleazier the better), yet I admit they are way too often predictable, no matter the subgenre. Jennifer’s Body had a chance to be unique. Not only did it star “babe of the month” Megan Fox, it was produced and written by Diablo Cody, fresh off her Oscar winning work for Juno. Thus, I was hoping the film would deliver the scares, yet be sexy and feature a feminist perspective on the proceedings (something rarely found in horror). Sorry, but Jennifer’s Body simply doesn’t deliver.
The plot, in a small northwest town (which looked WAY too much like the setting for Twilight), bffs Needy (Amanda Seyfried), withdrawn and nerdy, and Jennifer (Megan Fox), head cheerleader and school babe, go to a seedy bar to hear a struggling alt-rock band named Low Shoulder. A fire decimates the club and, upon escaping, Needy is left behind while Jennifer is taken away in a van by the band. Turns out the band has decided to sacrifice a virgin to Satan in order to achieve fame (one of the better lines in the movie “You know how hard it is for an indie band to make it these days?’). Trouble is, Jennifer lied and is no virgin. The unintended consequence: instead of dying, her body is possessed by a demon that needs to feed on human flesh, preferably boys.
Big Fan is a black comedy starring Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan and Michael Rapoport. Directed by Robert Siegel.
I am a fan of college football, in particular the Auburn Tigers. In 2004, the team went undefeated, yet did not get a chance to play for the championship due to the college football selection system (known as the BCS; too complicated to go into here for non-college football fans). What hit me some time later: I lived vicariously through the Auburn Tigers to the point that I took my team’s snub personally. Even though I never played for the team, or even went to Auburn, I identified so strongly with them that their snub hurt and enraged me.
Paul (Patton Oswalt) lives by proxy through the NFL’s New York Giants, in particular star linebacker Quantrell Bishop. Without the Giants or “Q.B.” Paul is basically a nobody-he is chubby, in his mid 30’s, works the night shift as a parking garage attendant and still lives with his mother. There is no girlfriend in his life and perhaps one friend, Sal (Kevin Corrigan).
Oftentimes, the best way for a film (be it an action movie or not) to make its mark is to deliver a memorable fight scene. Trying to narrow down a Top 10 greatest movie fight scenes was much tougher than I thought. This list is wide-ranging, featuring hands (sometimes unattached), weapons and often uneven odds. However, all are amazing and memorable in their own unique way. I’m sure I left off some favorites, so please tell me what I missed.
10. Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago in Rocky IV (Stallone, 1985)
Sure, this movie is shameless propaganda and its image of Iron Curtain Russia has dated badly. Ivan (“If he dies, he dies”) Drago is the quintessential evil Soviet athlete, a soulless machine made superhuman through the use of performance enhancing drugs (good thing American athletes would NEVER do something like that!). Still, the moment when American hero Rocky starts pummeling Drago is thrilling. I will never forget the packed theatre I saw this film in absolutely exploding during this fight.
DAYS OF VENGENCE Label: Lifesize Entertainment
Genre: DRAMA CLICK TO VIEW TRAILER Jake Reid travels to smalltown Covelo, CA to dig up the past and the missing loot from the botched robbery that killed his outlaw father years earlier. But Covelo proves to be a town of many dark secrets, and a strong dislike for nosey outsiders.
CLONE HUNTER Label: Lifesize Entertainment
Genre: SCIFI CLICK TO VIEW TRAILER In a distant future full of intelligent machines, the wealthy and powerful live their lives to the fullest, without limits, without restraint, and seemingly without end. But what happens if the artificial intelligence that makes this “perfect” world possible wants to share in it?
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DVD review: Clone HunterOften, sci-fi and low budget indie productions go together about as well as chocolate and onions....
What to make of the ending to Inception?So far, my favorite film this year is Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Not only does it deliver all...
DVD Review: The White RibbonThe White Ribbon is a drama starring Christian Freidl, Ulrich Turkl and Burghart Klaussner....
The Hurt Locker is a war drama starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty and Guy Pearce. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. 
The Proposition is a western starring Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Guy Pearce and Emily Watson. Directed by John Hillcoat. 
Shoot, I was hoping I’d like this one. 
Big Fan is a black comedy starring Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan and Michael Rapoport. Directed by Robert Siegel. 
SUBSCRIBE to the INDIE FILM KIOSK MINI CATALOG for valuable news, coupons and discounts! Get the pdf catalog downloaded to your computer and into your Itunes or other xml/rss feed reader:
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Black Swan - Trailer