the signal Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When we were kicking around ideas for year-end superlative Cinematical Sevens, I was proudly tasked with chronicling the year's finest in big-screen mayhem, violence, destruction and other such shenanigans. When I was kicking around ideas for said feature between me, myself, and I, there were too many titles to leave off the list, so instead of highlighting only a mere couple of movies, I've opted to sort these puppies out by specific manner of cinematic excess.

So there.

1. Most pervasive destruction - The Joker may have terrorized Gotham to the tune of a destroyed hospital, a wrecked helicopter, a sunken SWAT truck, a toasty fire engine, and a golden district attorney, but even he can't top the Cloverfield monster's swath of destruction across the real-life Gotham. Statue of Liberty? Gone. Brooklyn Bridge? History. Central Park? Adios. And that's not including all the Hollister stores that our protagonists might've fled to. (On a smaller scale, though, Inside's lady in black terrorizes a pregnant woman on Christmas Eve to the point of all but painting every last wall in her house with the blood of her victims. Gotta love the French!)

I like naked women, but that's not why I saw Hell Ride. Honestly, I had forgotten that naked women might be featured prominently. It was the motorcycles and the negative reviews from Sundance that hooked me (I'm a contrary fellow). I like 60s biker flicks, and because writer / director / co-star / Quentin Tarantino's friend Larry Bishop had been in some of them, I figured he could make an affectionate homage. Alas, while Bishop can indeed shoot the hell out of the motorcycle footage, it's the other 95% of the movie that's lazy and boring. What I learned: Bare breasts, slit throats, and roaring motorcycles do not a movie make, as I wrote elsewhere (in German). Also, I hate when critics are right.

Hoping to elevate my thinking, I happily joined friends for an afternoon screening of Love and Honor, a stately, well-composed drama that follows the plight of a samurai food-taster who goes blind. I never knew a samurai could be a food-taster, so that was educational, and I appreciated the (presumably) faithful historical depiction of a samurai marriage, which involves -- you guessed it! -- plenty of love and honor. Unfortunately, the combination of a turtle-like pace and too many beers the night before resulted in sonorous slumber (i.e. I was snoring like a Mack truck). What I learned: Don't see any movie described as "deliberately paced" unless you've ingested copious amounts of caffeine.

Later that night, horror flick The Signal definitely kept me awake with its razor-edged jumble of thrills, chills, and laughs. Despite a disappointing final 10 minutes, I really wish I'd listened to Scott and Eric D., who urged seeing this sick puppy in theaters. What I learned: Always keep a huge metal canister of bug spray handy.

This week's marquee indie release is being marketed as a twisted tie-in to the US Open golf championship. At least, that's the conclusion I draw from the DVD cover for Michael Haneke's US remake of his own Funny Games. Naomi Watts and her big tear have been relegated to the back. James Rocchi declared it "a great movie ... cruel, cold and darkly thrilling." DVD features are non-existent, unless you consider a full-screen version to be an extra.

Erik Davis called Zak Penn's poker mockumentary The Grand "one of the best ensemble comedies of the past 20 years." That ensemble includes Woody Harrelson, Michael McKean, Chris Parnell, Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, Dennis Farina, Werner Herzog and David Cross. DVD features include alternate endings, deleted scenes, poker player profiles, and an audio commentary with Penn, writer/executive producer Matt Bierman and actor Michael Karnow.

To round out our trio of enthusiastic recommendations from Cinematical critics, Scott Weinberg was seriously geeked out by The Signal, "one viciously fun little genre flick ... fast-paced, disturbing and slick." The plot? Everyone turns into "raving homicidal lunatics." David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry, and Dan Bush directed. DVD features are generous, including an audio commentary with the directors, deleted scenes, a short film, and six "making of"-type things.

Other releases of interest include The Wayward Cloud, Summer '04, The Ballad of Narayama, Young Yakuza, Human Lanterns, and the smashing Invisible Target, which I reviewed with great enthusiasm.

Here's a hypothetical question: How would you get along with your father if he was bed-ridden ... and a vampire?!! That's part of the premise for Maidenhead, an independent film starring AJ Bowen (The Signal) and the great Michael Parks (a bunch of cool movies, including both installments of Kill Bill). The trailer is up exclusively at Icons of Fright, and it is quite intriguing. It's shot in black and white, has a lovely retro look, and features a big-mouthed narrator with a flat accent.

According to an interview the site conducted with Bowen in the past, Maidenhead is "kind of a counter culture black & white Twilight Zone episode. ... It's really about a creepy guy who finds his soul." Bowen says that writer/director Jim Spanos was influenced by the usual (good) suspects: David Lynch, George A. Romero, David Cronenberg, and Alfred Hitchcock. As I commented above, the trailer has a retro look; Bowen commented: "It's stylistically, aesthetically not of this time. ... [But] we didn't want to try to say specifically what time it is."

Dread Central pointed to the trailer, and is also hosting ten exclusive stills. Like the trailer, they're evocative without being explicit or giving anything away about the story. The official Maidenhead site is no less secretive; all it has is the trailer so far. If nothing else, the film has a different look and feel to it, so count me in as another curious soul. We'll keep an eye out for future details.

[ Via Dread Central ]

(Dan Bush, AJ Bowen, Jacob Gentry, David Bruckner)

The very best part of my job (aside from all the sex with actresses, I mean) is when I get to see a small horror flick early and then spend 14 months reminding the genre fans that, yes, it's still on the way. (Like that freaky French one about the terrorized preggo woman. It's coming, trust me!) It was about 14 months ago when I first saw (and really enjoyed) an Atlanta-made indie genre flick called The Signal -- and then I ran into the Signal gang again a few months later at SXSW. The film was received quite enthusiastically at both festivals.

Directors Jacob Gentry, David Bruckner and Dan Bush were in Philadelphia recently as part of a promotional tour for the film. Along with head baddie AJ Bowen, I took the guys to have their very first Philly Cheese Steak, and then we headed back to the theater for a Q & A session with the audience -- but not before we stopped at the Philadelphia Art Museum and the knucklehead quartet did their Rocky Balboa sprint up the steps. (See photo!)

So yeah: I liked the flick long before I liked all the goofballs who made the movie, so I thought it would be nice to offer a quick little reminder: Magnolia Pictures is releasing The Signal tomorrow (at these theaters), so if you're a serious horror fan who likes to whine and moan at all the studio-backed PG-13 horror crap that hits the screens every month ... here's your chance to support a smaller flick. You'll have a good time and you'll feel good about it, too.

How many times has a film come out and you found yourself saying, "what were they thinking?" This week we're looking at trailers where Hollywood's logic is fairly apparent.

Hancock
As of January 2, I Am Legend has pulled in $209.5 million, so the decision to release this teaser trailer now for Will Smith's Hancock shows some pretty sound reasoning. Smith plays a superhero whose hard living ways have caused the public to lose faith in him. The bit were he drunkenly attempts to save a beached whale is definitely a highlight, and the presence of Jason Bateman as Hancock's PR guy shows promise. Always hard to tell from just a teaser, but I'm looking forward to this one. Jessica mentioned the poster for this one a few days ago.

The Bank Job
While it wasn't my cup of tea, you can't deny the earning power of Ocean's 11 through 13, so you can see why the caper film would seem like a good idea. Jason Statham stars in this bank heist tale based on an actual robbery that took place in England in the early 1970s. The heist goes off successfully, but along with the loot the thieves make off with some incriminating photos linking the royal family to a sex scandal. The trailer moves at a break neck pace and the film looks like it should have box office appeal, although personally I've never been a fan of Statham's work.

It's been almost a year since we got acquainted with the rather excellent indie horror flick The Signal at Sundance, and I bet you kind of forgot all about it. (How irritating is it when a distributor purchases a film you really want to see ... and then that's the last you hear of it for a year?!?!) But I know for a fact that Magnolia Pictures is more than gung-ho about the Atlanta-made and entirely cool movie; I suspect they were just writing for the right time to go theatrical. (As of this very second, February 22 is the release date. Just a little while longer, unless they bump it again.)

Anyway, you know I wouldn't bring the movie up and then not follow up with something juicy, so if you're a fan of the nasty stuff, click your mouse here to enjoy the all-new theatrical trailer for The Signal. Enjoy.

Directed by three different guys in three separate chunks -- but it's NOT an anthology piece -- The Signal tells the story of an electricity-borne infection that causes people to wig the hell out and kill whoever has the misfortune to be within whacking distance. And while you'll be able to see a few differences in each of the three sections (sorry, "transmissions"), I was surprised at how well the segments fit together.

And to the teenagers who only go to see horror movies with big-name actors (like, um, that chick from Buffy?), I can promise that you'll dig this newcomer cast. The Signal boasts two "dreamy" guys (the evil A.J. Bowen and the heroic Justin Welborn), some weirdly excellent comic relief from Scott Poythress and Cheri Christian, and a lead actress who's as surprisingly commanding as she is girl-next-door hot. (Her name is Anessa Ramsey, and she's plenty hot.)

Oh, and the flick's really creepy, grimly amusing, exceedingly violent, and strangely kinda ... touching, too. But I don't want to spoil it...

Since I am hardly an expert on the matter, it's no surprise that I had never heard of the latest comic book to earn the big-screen treatment. Variety reports that rights to the indie-comic The Living Corpse have been secured by Shoreline Entertainment. The series, created by Ken Haeser and Buz Hasson, centers on a zombie who suffers from flashbacks of his former life while staying busy making sure that his fellow "living challenged" friends stay dead and buried.

Haeser provides the illustrations, while Hasson writes the story, but there is no word on whether either of them will be involved with the feature film version. Already slated to write and direct the live-action film is Justin Ritter, who's only other credit is the horror flick KatieBird *Certifiable Crazy Person, about a serial killer who discovers she is part of a long standing family tradition. The film was released back in 2005, but, Ritter has mostly worked in television since.

Recently, Shoreline was behind the Douglas Copeland adaptation Everything's Gone Green, but they also have some experience with the horror genre. Their last, The Signal has been garnering some buzz since its premiere at Sundance back in January. The film was picked up by Magnolia and is set for release this September -- and after reading Scott's review, I'm already hooked. Considering Corpse's indie beginnings, the film version is probably not going to be a big budget affair either. But, the amount of undead the story requires will probably account for a pretty hefty special F/X budget. When you consider the sheer volume of comic book movies on the way, Shoreline is going to have to make sure that Corpse doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

Last night I had the chance to check out night three of this year's Gen Art Film Festival. For those not aware, Gen Art is an organization that promotes emerging talent in film, fashion and music -- and their annual film festival is something I truly look forward to each year. It takes place over the course of one week, and in that time seven films enjoy their New York premieres, followed by seven kick-ass after parties. The film that premiered here last night first made waves when it landed at Sundance (where Magnolia Pictures picked it up for distribution) and, after making a pit-stop at SXSW, The Signal finally arrived in New York City.

If you're the type that likes a little originality with your gory horror flicks, then The Signal is definitely your cup of tea. When a mysterious signal invades every cell phone, TV and radio, the folks on the other end turn to murder as if it's become the normal thing to do. The film was directed by three different guys (David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry), and so it's divided into three completely unique sections, each with its own style, edge and personality. Prior to the screening, I managed to shoot a little video diary from the scene to give you at home a small glimpse into the Gen Art world. Apart from talking to two of the co-stars of The Signal, I also caught up with Gen Art Film Fest alum (and Cinematical friends), Arin Crumley and Susan Buice (co-writers/directors, Four Eyed Monsters), to ask them more about the festival process, as well as to find out what they're working on next. Tickets are still available for the remaining four nights, so head on over to the festival's official website and come join the party.

Note: Music from friends of lizzy.

The greatest thing about the Gen Art Film Festival is its simplicity. 7 nights. 7 premieres. 7 parties. That's it. That's all you need to know. The films are chosen for you; there's no giant slate to flip through and -- perhaps this is the best part -- all of the movies are screened in one venue. Of course, you do need to be in New York City in order to take full advantage of the fest; however, for the first time in its history, the Gen Art Film Festival will be heading to Chicago later this summer where they'll showcase five different films, as well as host five different parties.

Tonight, Gen Art kicks things off with Gary Walkow's Crashing, starring Campbell Scott, Isabella Miko and Lizzy Caplan. Story revolves around a writer whose wife kicks him out of their house, forcing him to crash with two sexy college students. Gosh, what a predicament! Other films screening include: When A Man Falls in the Forest, The Signal (yay!), Sharkwater, Chalk, You Are Here and He Was A Quiet Man. Cinematical will be on hand for a few of these nights, providing you with extensive coverage of the films, the stars and ... um, the open bar. That's right, each film is followed by a swanky after party at some of New York's finest hot spots (not that I'm, like, cool enough to know what's hot and what's not). Tickets are still available through the festival's website, so feel free to head on over there after you're done reading. I'll see you at the after party -- first drink is on me. Oh wait, they're free. Even better.