Exhibition »

Louie Psihoyos's animal rights documentary The Cove (a film we've been championing since Sundance '09 - read our review here) has been opening eyes stateside and in a handful of overseas markets since opening last summer, but the real question was whether or not the people of Japan would hear about the mass dolphin harvesting that had been going on for years under their noses in the small fishing village of Taiji. According to a press release, Japanese audiences will get their chance to watch The Cove come April 2010, when distributor Medallion Media releases the Oscar nominated film.

In the press release (via The Hot Blog), Medallion Media director Norio Okahara stressed that the company was remaining neutral in the highly political dolphin harvesting debate, but that it was an important issue that deserved attention, so as to let the Japanese public decide for themselves. "In distributing The Cove we are not taking sides. Rather, we are presenting the film for the Japanese to decide for themselves about the issues it raises. There is a debate to be had here and this important film – and the Academy Award® nomination only serves to reinforce its importance - offers the opportunity for such a debate."

We know a lot of our readers (and even some of our writers) like to partake in AMC's annual tradition of showing all of the best picture nominees on one day, which is why every year we like to give you the details on it when they become available. Of course, the whole 10 best picture nominees thing has thrown a small wrench in the usual one-day marathon, and, as such, this year AMC has decided to break it up into two days: February 27th and March 6th, both Saturdays.

The exact schedules haven't been announced yet, but AMC is currently asking you to vote on which four movies they should show alongside a 3D version of Avatar on February 27th. (If it was up to me, I'd vote District 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds and Up, this way you start out with fantasy, move toward sci-fi, and then back-to-back war films, capping it all off with a nice, sweet adventure story. The perfect program, in my opinion ... but what do you think?)

Details can be found over on the AMC website. The tickets for this event will run you about $60 for a two-day pass (if purchased online; $50 at the box office), and $30 for a one-day pass. That ticket gets you entry to the theater, as well as a free large popcorn and unlimited refills. Not a bad way to spend your Saturday, no?

So who's going this year?

Back in June, director Clive Barker announced through his Twitter account that lost footage from his original cut of the film Nightbreed had finally turned up, after being assumed missing for more than a decade, "I thought there was 25 minutes missing. I was wrong. Phil and Sarah Stokes called. They possess a video copy of my work print, 44 minutes longer than the theatrical release." You can read his full reaction to finding his long-lost footage here.

The 1990 film has gained a reputation as one of cinema's most notorious Director's Cuts. Nightbreed was intended as a large-scale horror-fantasy, with a much heavier emphasis on the fantasy, but suits at Universal wanted something more akin to Barker's popular Hellraiser franchise. Barker's more fantastical cut was somewhere in the three-hour neighborhood, but it was trimmed down to 102 minutes for theatrical release. You can feel it in the film, for sure. While chock full of unusual ideas and mind-blowing creature design, Nightbreed suffers from choppy pacing and plot points that don't seem to make any sense.

Someone really has to explain this addiction to 3D. Years ago, it was a novelty that no one took seriously. Random images would fly towards viewers eyes, and a squeal or two would escape, but no one wanted to wear those annoying glasses all the time. It was a nice little cinematic trinket used for the random feature. Now, however, it's everywhere. And not just everywhere like everyone is making 3D movies, but everything is getting converted to 3D, whether it be Harry Potter and Clash of the Titans, or Sony's old library.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Sony is looking to sell Blu-rays with 3D versions of its catalogue in the next year. Joe Nakata, a deputy general manager in Sony's 3D unit says: "We'll probably be able to start next fiscal year, if we can convert them into 3D with good effects." Conversion companies are popping up all over the place to process these films into new 3D monsters, and PS3 is looking to get into 3D gaming in the near future.

If you're a fan of martial arts superstar Jackie Chan -- and I don't mean The Spy Next Door Jackie Chan, more like Police Story Jackie Chan -- you've probably been keeping tabs on a little film of his called Shinjuku Incident, about illegal Chinese immigrants and Japanese crime bosses clashing in 1990s Tokyo. Directed by former Shaw Bros. actor-turned-filmmaker Derek Yee, the dramatic crime thriller marks Chan's welcome return to films that aren't, well, silly Hollywood comedies, which is cause enough for celebration.

Need proof? Check out the trailer for Shinjuku Incident after the jump, which begins with Jackie Chan's blood-spattered producer credit and includes:

Guys with knives
Jackie shooting people at point-blank range
Gang brawls
More shooting
Jackie drinking alcohol
Jackie threatening someone with chopsticks
Black Panther-esque power fists

Last year Variety reported that Shinjuku Incident was deemed "too violent" to pass censor in China and was subsequently banned from mainland distribution when Yee refused to edit it down. Thankfully, upstart distributor Barking Cow Distribution is releasing it stateside in limited release this Friday, February 5 (with an R rating), which means American Chan devotees can get a chance to see it on the big screen.

Full theater list and images after the break.

Last year's Aziz Ansari-initiated uproar over digital IMAX versus "real" IMAX did little to stop the spread of the "poor man"'s large format. More and more theaters are charging extra for converted theaters with slightly larger screens and high-end digital projection and sound. As you may know, IMAX is no longer the only player in the game: over the past few months, Cinemark has been rolling out something it calls "XD" or "Extreme Digital Cinema" at theaters across the country. (IMAX and Cinemark have since hit each other with patent and breach of contract lawsuits.) It promises "extra large, extreme entertainment" and an "intense experience in every seat." But intense sensory experiences don't come cheap: a ticket to an XD showing will run you $3 dollars extra. Here in San Francisco, seeing a movie at the only XD theater costs $14.

I went to see Edge of Darkness in XD on Friday. What struck me was how little effort was even made to pitch it as some sort of "sensory experience." Were it not for a brief, flashy intro -- the sort of AV exhibition we used to see for Dolby Digital and THX -- and the hefty price tag, I wouldn't even have known that I was watching anything special. Once the movie started, I got what I would ordinarily expect from a new, high-end movie theater: a big screen, excellent projection, and powerful sound. No one could have mistaken it for a "large format."

Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what's new and upcoming in the world of independent film. This week: a special festival edition. Pictured, clockwise from upper left: One Too Many Mornings, International Film Festival Rotterdam, El Sol, Red White & Blue.

Fest Scene. As our extensive coverage of Sundance 2010 reflects, the festival has kicked off the year in style, inspiring genuine enthusiasm for new American independent films. Sundance is not the only place to discover exciting new work, though, and relatively few of the festival's selections win distribution deals, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves.

Enter The Film Collaborative, a new "non-profit, full-service provider." As reported by indieWIRE, the outfit "aims to provide a range of what it describes as 'affordable' distribution, educational and marketing services to independent filmmakers, but it will not take film rights." The latter is an important point for filmmakers, obviously. The Film Collaborative says it's "opening up a new landscape of distribution opportunities free of extraneous middlemen and unfair contract terms." Hmm, if I'm reading this correctly, The Film Collaborative is a middle man, and most of their services are fee-based, but I guess the idea is that one middle man is better than many middlemen.

Meanwhile, Cinetic Rights Management's FilmBuff, self-described as a "digital movie label," has launched a channel on the Babelgum mobile platform, according to a prepared statement by the company. Babelgum has a downloadable app for phones (if they happen to be smart, like iPhone and Android), and FilmBuff will make available past Sundance titles such as Slacker, The Order of Myths, and The Unforeseen on their channel; 'indies to go,' as it were.

After the jump: The YouTube experiment! Strange cartoons and slacker revenge at Rotterdam!

3D isn't only for the movie theaters and televisions, folks. In commemoration of the first anniversary of their online screening room (yesterday!), the National Film Board of Canada is sending out free 3D glasses and launching two new sections of their site to offer viewers goodies in both 3D and HD. This adds to the 1,400+ titles already available for free viewing on the website.

The 3D section is kicking off with the shorts Falling in Love Again, Drux Flux, Sandde, and Facing Champlain, plus a number of making-of feature for Champlain. On the HD side of things, there's a little more variety. While Cordell Barker got his latest short, Runaway, screening at Sundance (brief review here), his Oscar-nominated 1988 short The Cat Came Back is on the site, along with flicks that include the 1965 short High Steel, Chris Landreth's Oscar-winning Ryan, the 2007 Oscar nominee Madame Tutli-Putli, and The Stratford Adventure, which includes footage of the iconic Alec Guinness.

Best of all, there's none of that darned region-blocking, so everyone should be able to dig into all that the NFB has to offer. Currently, the NFB is offering free Color Code glasses to watch the 3D shorts online. If you live in Canada, the shipping is free, and if you live Stateside, my sources tell me they're still free ... you just have to pay a buck for shipping.

As you all know, alongside Sundance there's Slamdance, and Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, which is part of Slamdance's Documentary Competition. Yony Leyser's doc details Burroughs' life as a Beat author and icon, and includes not only never-before-seen footage, but also a narration by Peter Weller, a soundtrack by Sonic Youth and the Patti Smith Group, and interviews with a whole lot of interesting folks like John Waters, Patti Smith, David Cronenberg, Amiri Baraka, Gus Van Sant... You can see the whole list on the poster in the gallery below, which includes not only the interview list, but of course -- a cat. As fans know: "A cat's rage is beautiful, burning with pure cat flame, all its hair standing up and crackling blue sparks, eyes blazing and sputtering. "

Burroughs at Slamdance + Ginsberg at Sundance ... it's a good, Beat-filled month to be in Utah. The film is screening Friday, January 22, 5:30 PM at the Main Screening Room, and Wednesday, January 27, 7:30 PM at the Gallery Screening Room.

Check out the full synopsis after the jump.

Now that James Cameron can fill a pool with Avatar money and swim in it (careful of the paper cuts, Mr. Cameron), everyone wants to follow in his gamechanging footsteps so they too can have pools of money. Our Christopher Campbell reported on the studio rush to retrofit 3D last week, and according to The Hollywood Reporter , Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans might just be coming to you in 3D as well. Titans wasn't originally shot in 3D, so it would have to be converted by that magical rotoscoping process. But Warner Bros thinks it might just be worth the trouble, and has ordered a 3D test of the film. They'll test screen the converted scenes, and then debate whether to do the whole thing in time for its March 26 release date. Similar rumors have swirled around Ridley Scott's Robin Hood and around Iron Man 2.

I wonder if 3D might not soon become a magical Band-Aid for tepid filmmaking. Regardless of how much you loved Avatar, you know the critical consensus has been that it's a visual experience, and that story and dialogue took a necessary backseat. Will studios rush to put movies through the 3D process and encourage us to ignore the flaws because of the visuals? Will audiences buy it? Will Sam Worthington never be seen in 2D again?

I'm not sure they will. The bloom will be off the rose eventually. I'm still not a big fan of 3D (despite that I'd still like to see a handful of movies retrofitted for my own cheesy curiosity) due to the ticket cost and availability. For many it's still a trek to see them in 3D, and proper IMAX may be even harder to find. The more films that are designed for the format, the more work it may be for moviegoers to see them until their cities catch up. Will they become impatient with being unable to see films as they were "meant" to be seen?