They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not in Hollywood) - #20

The Big Picture (2010) - Directed by Eric Lartigu

Excellent! It has been ages since I have seen such a good neo-noir. I am really glad I watched this without knowing anything about it. I highly recommend watching it without even reading the rest of my review. I wouldn't say the synopsis below is a spoiler exactly - watching the two minute trailer definitely is, that is why this is the first time I have not included one in this series - but, as I said, this is a film best seen with as little knowledge about it as possible. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Something bad happens. It is not exactly the protagonist's fault, at first. Under the right circumstances - with the right defense lawyer - it could easily be portrayed as just an accident, but that wouldn't be much of a noir, would it? It wouldn't be much of a story at all.

The darkest shadow of suspicion imaginable soon descends on the protagonist and he seals his own fate doing what appears to him as his only choice. However, in classic Chandleresque fashion, every step he takes with purpose to protect himself and his loved ones backfires, making things worse and worse.

At the end, there was a touching and very appropriate moment of redemption, but the atmosphere, score and acting still make this one of most deliciously dark noir films that I have seen in a long time.

Niels Arestrup, the mob boss from A Prophet, plays a non-criminal, yet equally menacing authoritative figure in this film. Fans of this film will also like "The Square," directed by Nash Edgerton.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not in Hollywood) - #19

We do not live in a "litigious society." We live in a world that is afraid to be litigious because of the relentless jokes and talking points paid for by the US Chamber of Commerce and other lobbyist vampire squid groups like them. We need to be more litigious. There is no other way to settle legitimate disputes and redress real grievances. watch this film. it's amazing.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not in Hollywood) - #18

Unfinished Sky



I can't get enough of these Australian crime dramas.

This trailer seems to have a couple of spoilers. I feel bad posting it, but as a caveat I will recommend just jumping right in to the film without doing too much research. You will not regret it.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Still Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - #17

Harakiri is a timeless parable of poverty, charity, family, class, honor, cruelty, ritual disembowelment and, last but most important of all, dimples.

If Dickens himself had been born in Japan, he could not have written a more compelling, anguished story than is told by this film.

I first saw the Takashi Miike remake of this 1962 classic when I randomly chose “Hara-Kiri: Death of aSamurai” on Netflix Streaming the other night. I was instantly captivated. The dread and foreboding in the first few scenes captured so well, it is no wonder that Miike is best known for modern horror classics like “Audition” and “Ichi the Killer.”  But this is no mere horror movie. The horror of it all is the key to a door leading to an infinite number of larger themes, the most elemental of which are listed above. As Alfred Hitchcock knew so well, suspense is much more horrifying than the splatter violence so many of us are desensitized to by now.

Unlike Hitchcock, neither Harakiri (1962) nor Hara-Kire (2011) takes enjoyment in the cruelty which it depicts. It is there, bold and beautiful, but with purpose. No jouissance, as Zizek would say.

I am glad that I saw the remake first. The first act of the remake is superior to the original. The actors in the 1962 film sound almost like they are simply reading lines. The cinematography and the editing – especially Miike’s use of silence – is exquisite. However, it is the second act when the remake begins to veer off course into a muddled, sentimental version of this timeless story. I would not call it bad, but the original was smoothly paced and never left me waiting for a scene to be over.

Ultimately, it is difficult to recommend to anyone else which one to view first. I am glad I saw the remake first and then the original. Although it was not a perfect viewing experience, I got to see the best first scene first and the best last scene last: so yeah, there’s that. But I have not had, and cannot physically have, any other experience to recommend to others: so yeah, there’s that too.

As an American, I do not recall ever seeing a foreign remake of a foreign film from the same country. It is quite interesting. I have been supremely disappointed in the past, enraged even, watching classic films – The Omen comes to mind – being remade into downright trash for purely commercial purposes. If you have seen the original film  and love it, I do not recommend watching the remake without this caveat.

Most remakes, in my experience, are done for commercial exploitation, however I feel like there was more than just commercial exploitation intended here. There was definitely some of that. There is no other way to explain why any film is made in 3D after 2009.

But at the end of the day, I have had one of those film experiences that I cannot stop thinking about long after the credits have rolled. I look forward to repeat viewings of both films.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Still Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - #16

Just saw the German film Antibodies.





Norman Reedus is the very first character in the very first scene. Apparently he understands German, but he has no lines at all. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would think it was some kind of plot to get the attention of Boondock Saints and Walking Dead fans. He is only in that one scene. Anyone looking for more of him will be disappointed, if that's all they are looking for.


The film itself is absolutely incredible. It will not disappoint anyone with any sensible interest in psychological thrillers. Some will compare this film to Silence of the Lambs. A cop questions the most prolific serial killer in "the united Fatherland" for help with an unsolved case.

I will go so far as to say it is an improvement on Anthony Hopkins' masterpiece.

So sayeth the King of Funny Faces.

They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 13

Example #13: Flame and Citron

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 12

Example #12: The Square



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They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 11

Example #11: Animal Kingdom



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They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - #10

My name is Khan.
I am not a terrorist.
I am the Post-9/11 Forrest Gump.



He's also an Aspie.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Still Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - #9

Example #9: Mother



Outsanding Film! Awesome! Bravo!

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 8

Example #8: The Secret In Their Eyes



A Great Combination of Several Genres, this film has it all: Mystery, Romance, Political Intrigue
It doesn't get much better than this.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

The Dissociated Evil Impulse

My friend Ken made this:




"It has always been recognized that if you split Being down the middle, if you insist on grabbing this without that, if you cling to the good without the bad, denying the one for the other, what happens is that the dissociated evil impulses, now evil in a double sense, returns to permeate and possess the good and turn it into itself."
-R.D. Laing

Roger Ebert Reviewed My Video

"There's a lot of love in that video."

- Roger Ebert - The King of All Film Critics - December 10, 2010 8:49 PM (look in the comments section of his blog post)

They Still Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - #7

Example #7: Cropsey

I don't know what is scarier: the images of the mental patients from inside Lakewood State School, the idea that somebody must be responsible for the disappearance of seven children between 1972 and 1987, or the way all the police and family members look like they are lying twenty years later.

Story of My Life

I can relate to the premise that nobody will talk about what is really going on, even in the face of certain death. The perception to the outside world that "everything is fine" and we're all just going along in a nice happy family is more important than the very lives of multiple family members. I can relate to this experience. That is why it is the story of my life.

Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

• Story Of My Life by Social Distortion

More Social Distortion music on iLike

They Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 6

Example #6

Dirty Filthy Love

"I am Mark. I have always been this way, and I probably always will be."
This movie about a guy with Tourette's and OCD starts out like a funny, quirky romantic comedy, but by the third act, it is a deadly serious film about a very serious problem. The problem is not Tourette's Syndrome, or OCD. The problem is what society does to people who have multiple serious mental disorders like Tourette's and OCD.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Make Good Films These Days (Actually, Here's One From Hollywood (Sort Of)) - #5

Example #5 - Greenberg



I can't wait to own this DVD, so I can watch it over and over again. Not for the faint of heart. My librarian heard it was funny. She asked me to tell her if it is funny. I have been avoiding telling her about it, because it's funny - rolling on the floor laughing my ass off funny - but the humor is as dark as it gets. I don't like to discuss the merits of abortion humor near the kids' section of the public library. Maybe I should go and discuss it. Face my fears. I'll probably end up like the lead character. Isolated and alone, and miserable - but wait, I'm like that all the time anyway.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Still Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 4

Example #4 - The Cove

"Never depend upon institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated and seen through by the passion of individuals. "
—Margaret Mead



An awesome documentary about some people, including Flipper's trainer Ric O'Barry, trying to stop the Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji, Japan. That red stuff at the end of the trailer is not a special effect.

The only thing that I didn't understand was the part about Mercury poisoning and how it causes Autism. RFK, Jr. said something about how there are no 30 year old autistics in response to some government study that said something about autism not getting detected until people are in their 30's. I really didn't understand what he was talking about because I am 35 years old and I did not even suspect that I had Asperger's Syndrome until 9 months ago. Everything else in this movie was awesome.

I wish there were more Ric O'Barry's in this world.

Please go to this website to find out more about what you can do:
http://www.takepart.com/thecove

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Still Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 3

The new King of all Movie Gangsters is A Prophet named Malik:



So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

They Still Make Good Films These Days (Just Not In Hollywood) - 2

Example #2 - The White Ribbon
Dir. Michael Haneke



Michael Haneke is a Belgian director. Move over Hitchcock! A new master of suspense has arrived. This German Language film just came out on DVD last month. I saw Caché, a French language film starring Juliette Binoche, at the art-house theatre in Montclair a few years ago. I thought that was the most suspenseful film I had ever seen until I saw The White Ribbon.

So Sayeth the King of Funny Faces!