fados Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox run for their lives as Michael Bay's giant robots trample onto the home video scene on DVD (single-disc or two-disc special edition) and Blu-ray (two-disc special edition). The special editions includes audio commentary by Bay and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, deleted / alternate scenes, a music video, and additional features, such as "A Day With Bay: Tokyo," "Giant Effing Movie," and "The Matrix of Marketing." To approximate the theatrical experience, play really, really loud, and sit as far back from the screen as you possibly can. Resistance is futile. Rent it.

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Blood: The Last Vampire
Chris Nahon's live-action adaptation of an anime series features a half-human, half-vampire samurai battling an infestation of demons. "the result is so laughably awful that it easily qualifies for so-bad-it's-good status," wrote Jeffrey M. Anderson. "As you may expect, the English-language dialogue is ultra-serious and absurd, the action is inept and shaky, and the visual effects look like they might have been generated on an old Atari video game." Also on Blu-ray. Skip it.

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Chéri
Michelle Pfeiffer's reunites with her Dangerous Liaisons director (Stephen Frears) and scripter (Christopher Hampton) for a movie based on a novel by French writer Colette about a passionate affair. "For some reason," Jeffrey M. Anderson wrote, "Chéri is dead on arrival, a cold fish. It just lies there, too lethargic to be funny and too timid to be sexy, but not deep enough for any real drama." Skip it.

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After the jump: Indies on DVD, Blu-ray Picks, and Collector's Corner!

400 Screens, 400 Blows is a weekly column that takes an in-depth look at the films playing below the radar, beneath the top ten, and on 400 screens or less.

This week I was thinking of two very different movies, both in need of a boost. One of my favorites of 2009 so far is Fados (1 screen), which I saw last year, but has happily received a theatrical release this year. Director Carlos Saura generally makes movies with music and dancing as a main theme, such as in his Oscar nominated films Carmen (1983) and Tango (1998). He's not mentioned very often with the names of the world's greatest filmmakers, but his films have recently earned the distinction of a Criterion DVD release (Cría cuervos) and a Criterion Eclipse DVD box set. Fados is more or less a collection of music videos, all performed in the Portuguese fado style. The music is very sentimental, passionate and sad, very often about poverty and lost loves.

The arrival of Watchmen this weekend has caused the other studios to flee in terror, but not the indies! There are several smaller films opening in limited release today, and the Indie Spotlight is here to round 'em up for you. Make a note of the ones that sound good and watch for when they come to your city (or to cable, or to DVD, etc.).

• Everlasting Moments (pictured) is a Swedish drama, based on a true story, about a young female photographer in the early 1900s. It was on the shortlist for the foreign-language category at the Oscars this year, but was not nominated. Cinematical's Kim Voynar lurved it at Telluride last September, calling it "that rare cinematic experience that you settle back, bite into, and then savor as the subtle richness of the film cleanses the palate and fills the soul." Mmm... Swedish palate cleanser.... At Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of the reviews agree with Kim.

• Phoebe in Wonderland delighted many of us at Sundance last year (including Cinematical's Kim Voynar) with its imaginative, funny depiction of a smart little girl who has trouble conforming to society's rules. I'm a little surprised by the mixed reviews (about half and half) at Rotten Tomatoes; I thought the general consensus was a lot more positive. Oh well. Don't listen to them, listen to Kim and me. It's a sweet movie. Look for it on about a dozen screens around the country.

• 12, from Russia, was nominated for an Oscar last year. That makes sense, considering it's a remake of 12 Angry Men, which was nominated for three Oscars itself back in 1957. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 89%, with critics using words like "riveting," "aggressively entertaining," and "intense." It's playing in L.A. and New York now, and it will tour the country in the coming weeks.

Here's one of my dirty little secrets: I love lists and I keep track of my year's ten best movies all year long. Most other critics hastily assemble their lists at the last second, which is partly why so many December movies dominate; critics can't remember what they've seen earlier in the year. My list shows that 2008 has had a pretty poor first half, but I do have some contenders for listhood. Two movies are currently competing for the top spot, though I need to see them both again to be sure. Hou Hsiao-hsien's Flight of the Red Balloon (6 screens) is one; it has a lovely, laid-back, observant quality and feels less severe than some of Hou's other recent films. But I haven't yet decided if the film is a comedy or a tragedy. It all feels pretty light and insignificant, except for the saddest thing: no one seems to notice the red balloon of the title, drifting around Paris, unable to find a boy like Pascal to love it. The film also contains the year's most vibrant performance: Juliette Binoche playing a frenzied single mom working with a puppet troupe.