Reassessing beloved genre films is always a touchy subject. Oftentimes, a film is critically acclaimed, a lot of people say they love it, and it enters the public discourse as a “great” film. From that point forward it usually takes on a life of its own. A “great” horror film is something you are supposed to worship at the alter of, regardless of whether or not you like it. This is certainly true for some films, others not so much. Sometimes a movie is released during a time of relative subpar activity and quality. It can turn an “ok” film into a “great” film simply by the lack of quality surrounding it. Once these films enter the “Great” stratosphere, it’s hard to shake that label. It becomes incumbent upon a critic to reassess and reevaluate and say “Wait a minute, maybe we were a little off base with our proclamations of excellence.”

I’m still debating whether or not to see the newly reformed Hammer Films’ first wide release, Let Me In, a remake of Tomas Alfredson’s widely acclaimed 2008 Swedish flick Let the Right One In. Unfortunately for Hammer, their remake absolutely bombed at the box office (doing worse than Case 39, a film that was made in 2006 and was thrown into theaters to try and make a quick buck, capitalizing on the October spirit) but it made me wonder: how good is this movie, really? With that in mind I went back and took a look at the original film which has really gone without any serious critical interpretation. It’s sort of coasted on its “greatness” since its release (even winning 4 Splatcademy Awards including Best Film a couple years back). Let’s see how it holds up…

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Via boingboing. (hat-tip, O)

Famed filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard has thrown a pile of euros into the pot for some French dude’s defense re: downloading mp3s. I’d be lying if I said I knew much about Godard’s work; I only know that he’s considered to be an important filmmaker. I like seeing content creators’ takes on the issue.

boingboing notes, Godard is often credited with having once said, “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”

I am against Hadopi [the French internet-copyright law, or its attendant agency], of course. There is no such thing as intellectual property. I’m against the inheritance [of works], for example. An artist’s children could benefit from the copyright of their parents’ works, say, until they reach the age of majority… But afterward, it’s not clear to me why Ravel’s children should get any income from Bolero… 

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Via bugsy in the forum.

Kind of interesting to read this link about Salo being rated for release in Australia. Note that it would be illegal to screen the film theatrically without also screening the DVD’s special feature materials, as their presence apparently puts the film in a somewhat less distressing context.

A five-member panel of the Classification Review Board (the Review Board) has in a majority decision determined that the film Salo is classified R 18+ (Restricted) with the consumer advice ‘Scenes of torture and degradation, sexual violence and nudity’.

In the Review Board’s majority opinion Salo warrants this classification because the inclusion of additional material on the DVD facilitates wider consideration of the context of the film which results in the impact being no more than high.

…

Screening this film in a cinema without the additional material would constitute a breach of classification laws.

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Splattercast #187 is up, wherein we try to come to terms with A Serbian Film. Please read Mat’s latest post, I’m pretty much in line with everything he’s said there. I also like this review from Cinematical. To quote their conclusion:

I cannot recommend Serbian Film to anyone. It is a movie that hard-core horror fans will be daring each other to endure for years to come. On an intellectual level, I think I can see and appreciate what it’s trying to do. But if I could unsee it, I would.

I have so much I could say; I was thinking about my little girl (she’s 4) and this picture she just drew for me. It’s me, and her and her little sister-to-be (my wife is due in about 2 months). In the picture, we’re all smiling and it’s just a cute little thing, you know? Typical thing a little kid would draw. She draws little cats and bunnies and fairies, etc. I’ve had this thought often: I love that this is what’s in her little head. Her mind is full of good things. Of course, you can’t shelter a kid forever; she’ll learn that sometimes some people are cruel and sometimes bad things happen and all that jazz. But mostly, it’s just bunnies and fairies right now. And that’s wonderful.

Now we, as adults, have a lot of control over what we put into our heads. I’m not saying horror movies are going to influence your behavior, like you’ll head over to the nearest summer camp and start chasing teens with a machete – I don’t really buy that at all. I am saying, though, that it just can’t be very good for your heart, mind or soul to watch some certain things. I mean, how can it be a net positive, in any way, to elect to put this into your head?

I’m not swearing off horror, of course not. However, I may spend the next few weeks reviewing my daughter’s Hello Kitty DVDs on the Splattercast, instead of whatever genre stuff we had on the docket.

I know it’s pretty lame to quote song lyrics on the internet, but the Bad Religion song, Marked, came to my mind:

if I’m a monster,
I am a willing one,
this roller coaster ride is an enticing one,
on the tip of a continuum flowing wavelike
through disorder carry me like a vessel to water

everything you see leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you feel leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you touch leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you make leaves a mark on your soul

if I can touch it,
I can destroy it,
if it’s imaginable to some degree,
I can become it,
like a hungry turning vortex that just flickers to existence,
consuming bits and pieces until I’m finally extinguished

everyone you see leaves a mark on your soul,
everyone you bare leaves a mark on your soul,
everyone you touch leaves a mark on your soul,
everyone you love leaves a mark on your soul

everything you take leaves a mark on your soul,
everything you give leaves a mark on your soul,
and all the fear and loneliness that’s impossible to control,
and every tear you cry leaves a mark on your soul

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I love Fist of the North Star so I hope this game gets released outside of Japan (it comes out there this month). I did a quick search but couldn’t find a confirmation of any American release.

It reminds me of seeing a cool trailer for a PS2 Berserk game a few years ago. Berserk is another of my favorite anime/manga properties and, sadly, I don’t believe the PS2 game has ever been localized for us gaijin. I suppose I could import a Japanese copy and fight through the foreign menus and text but that doesn’t sound very appealing.

Filed under: Foreign, Video Games, Videos | 8 Comments »

New interview with the prolific filmmaker over at AV Club. I like his attitude.

I don’t think I’ve done anything important or magnificent. I’m a worker, and the thing I prefer in my life is cinema. When I’m working in cinema, I’m happy. And that’s all, you know?

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