Describing The Act of Killing as a film unlike any made in the medium’s short lifetime almost feels like the definition of hubris, or at least hyperbole. But Joshua Oppenheimer’s wholly unique exploration of the genocidal horrors lurking in Indonesia’s recent history earns every bit of the praise accorded it since making festival rounds this Spring (notably IFFBoston) and beginning its limited theatrical run in July; if critics describe it as a masterpiece, that’s because it is a masterpiece, an exceptional display of daring that will secure Oppenheimer’s name in the annals of cinema. That The Act of Killing also happens to be one of 2013’s most unsettling and insightful releases should…
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G-S-T Review…Crystal Fairy
If you hate being the one guy at a party who doesn’t dig recreational drug use, you’re probably going to have a rough time with Crystal Fairy. Oscillating between road trip shenanigans and drug-induced catharsis, Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Silva has the makings of a good film lying right out in the open, but the film’s better elements -an absolutely fearless performance by former child actress Gabby Hoffman chief among them – never gel cohesively with the areas where Crystal Fairy ends up failing. For a story that hinges entirely on a journey of personal realization and cactus-derived hallucinogens, the film exhibits a shocking lack of profundity and doesn’t end up…
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Home Grown Texas Talent Interview Series – Writer/Director Derek Presley
For the past month, Summer has been in full swing here in Texas…well, truth be told, Summer really starts in April, but I digress. So while there are many ways to beat the heat this time of year, one of the dependable standbys is retreating to a darkened theater. As part of a new series here at GoSeeTalk, we will start to shine a spotlight on some of the local Texas-born or bred filmmakers making a name for themselves. You may have heard of Shane Carruth, David Lowery or David Gordon Green, but there are similarly talented filmmakers here in the Metroplex right on the cusp of discovery. Not only…
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Sweet Trailer…David O. Russell's 'American Hustle'
Ever since it was announced that awesome David O. Russell was working on not one but two more projects with both Bradley Cooper (with a ridiculously luxuriant perm) and Jennifer Lawrence (in what looks to be a smaller role) we couldn’t wait to hear more. Well today Columbia released the first American Hustle trailer and it is, to use some 70s vernacular, groovy…and a whole lot of other things. So take a gander and enjoy!! Directed by David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) American Hustle is, in short, is about the ABSCAM scandal. It’s a take on the true story of a notorious financial con-artist and his mistress/partner in crime (played…
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Sweet Trailer…Vincenzo Natali's 'Haunter'
From Little Miss Sunshine to The Call we’ve seen Abigail Breslin competently act opposite A-listers and hold her own. Now she looks to stretch her acting muscles a bit further in the latest from Cube director Vincenzo Natali. Haunter is the story about the ghost of a teenager who died years ago and is now reaching out to the land of the living in order to save someone from suffering her same fate. So while thrillers/horror films can be a bit trite these days it’s good to see a slightly new take and entry in the genre. After all, whether you liked Natali’s Splice or not you have to admit…
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Off the Shelf…’Showdown In Little Tokyo’ (Not-So-Secret Santa Edition)
(Note: this Off the Shelf entry is a little bit extra special. That’s because it’s a part of the Cinematic Katzenjammer’s Not-So-Secret Santa Swap blogathon. For my swap, I have the dubious honor of tearing up the Dolph Lundren/Brandon Lee buddy cop film, Showdown in Little Tokyo, which I can’t describe succinctly here except to say that I hated it in the best way possible. Thanks to maestro Nick Powell for setting this whole thing up.) This probably outs me as an apostate of 80’s and 90’s schlock, but I’ve never been a Dolph Lundgren fan. Color me a member of the zeitgeist; he really is the poor man’s Arnold in every…
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“What’s New on Blu?” – Week of 07/29/13
Whether you rent or buy movies, Blu-ray offers the ultimate in sight and sound. Streaming is convenient, but if you plan on watching the movie more than once, you need Blu. So, What’s New On Blu? you ask. Well, good, bad or indifferent, Go,See,Talk offers up a trio of titles that are being released each week. Check out what’s hitting the shelves this Tuesday… ——————————————————————————————————————————— Team G.I. Joe is not only fighting for their lives they are fighting for their very existence. Framed for crimes against the country, they are forced to disband by Presidential order. The surviving team members face off against Zartan, Cobra, and the world leaders he…
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G-S-T Review…The Wolverine
The latest Wolverine adventure, if nothing else, is a return to form. Instead of holding the clawed mutant back, director James Mangold truly unleashes the beast within. We find Logan beaten and withered from his travels and in hiding from his snarling ways. When he finds something to fight for, though, he truly lets it out unlike we’ve seen before. The other nice thing in this adventure is that a change of setting is fully embraced. Fans of the character from the comics will know Frank Miller’s influential comic storyline of Logan’s travels to Japan. The film plays to a lot of the same beats, though it has some clever…
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G-S-T Review…Fruitvale Station
How can anyone review, much less watch, Fruitvale Station without bringing up the 18th Florida circuit court’s verdict in the George Zimmerman trial? The film, which comes courtesy of newcomer Ryan Coogler and marks one of 2013’s most noteworthy debuts, doesn’t reignite national discourse on social justice, race, and the second amendment in the US so much as it reinforces it; to call Fruitvale Station “timely” would be an understatement, though that’s not at all to imply shrewd, heartless planning on Coogler’s or the studio’s behalf. Chalk the picture’s release up to a happy (or unhappy, depending on how you look at it) coincidence, and then gird yourself for a…
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G-S-T Review…Blackfish
Blackfish director Gabriela Cowperthwaite throws a lot of information at us in less than an hour and a half, and it’s all crucial to making sense of the narrative she follows in her searing, heartbreaking, somber film. The good news is that she’s an ace filmmaker, and she knows how to convey everything that we need to know effectively, efficiently, and with clarity, but that knowledge must be served with a simple caveat: you can’t unlearn what Blackfish teaches, and that’s both a blessing and a curse. Cowperthwaite’s picture documents inhuman abuses inflicted upon non-human creatures in stunning enough detail to turn even the most dedicated SeaWorld fanatic into an outraged protester. In…
