Blue Valentine (2010)

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

Director Derek Cianfrance ‘s romance works on the premise that subtlety is everything. That quirks and facial expression can do more than actual dialogue can achieve. But it also helps if you tell a story that’s actually involving and engrossing. “Blue Valentine” is a film we’ve seen a thousand times around Oscar season. It’s the experimental drama about a couple in turmoil struggling to regain that spark. We saw it with “American Beauty” to some regard, we saw it with “Revolutionary Road,” we saw it with “The Good Girl” and lord almighty we’re seeing it again. This time, “Blue Valentine” is about the choices in our lives and how sometimes we can make the wrong ones and not have any idea how to get out of the perpetual rut we’re in. The characters of Dean and Cindy are a couple whose strengths are based around habit and routine.

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Arcade (1993)

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

“Kiss reality goodbye.”

Boy I love “Arcade.” I just want to hug it tightly until it pops. It’s such a bad movie that it’s actually damn good when you overcome the absurdity. Maybe it’s because a plump Ralphie Parker plays a strong supporting role. Maybe it’s because Seth Green co-stars with a grungy nineties doo. Maybe it’s because the movie is just a rip-off of “Tron” and “Lawnmower Man”; either way it’s quite ridiculous, but for whatever reason Albert Pyun’s Full Moon Entertainment science fiction horror film is one of the finest pieces of schlock I’ve ever seen.

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Mega Man (2010)

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

Director Eddie Lebron is essentially the definition of the modern independent filmmaker. He’s a man who is a fanboy at heart who is currently devoting himself to making video game adaptations of his favorite video games that he would want to see. What began as a thirty minute fan film turned in to a ninety minute feature length film and he has devoted most of his time to garnering donations. Not for himself. Not for his merchandise, but for the film’s benefit. And as such he’s screened the film for free on the basis that he could fund his next project and inevitably be discovered. Basically he’s riding on a hope and skill, and he really should be given a fair shot at a Hollywood film.

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Last Train Home (2009) (DVD)

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

“You have not tasted the bitterness of life.”

Director Lixin Fang has observed with his deeply moving portrait of a working class family at the brink of destruction that often times life can presents itself a cruel irony that can sting even the kindest and well meaning of individuals, all of whom strive for something that they’ll likely never be able to grasp. Not prone to manipulating his scenery, director Lixin Fang stands back and seemingly lets a story unfold in the midst of chronicling migrant workers in China where he happens upon a small family of workers the Zhangs, all of whom are comprised of five people who struggle to be close to one another, but are hopelessly stuck in a vicious circle that will grant them misery and sadness no matter how much they may reach for a dream.

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The Sinister Eyes Of Dr. Orloff (Los ojos siniestros del doctor Orloff) (1973)

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

Normally I’m a big fan of Jesus Franco’s work as they often border on the delightfully sadoerotic where reality and fantasy are often blurred and dissolve in to bouts of acid like dreams and flashbacks. “The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff” is sadly one of the bigger bores from the Franco library and one that feels like a thirty minute premise stretched in to almost ninety minutes. Factor that in with a goofy villain relaying a hopelessly convoluted devious plot, and you have what is essentially just a glorified Spanish novella that is a take on Svengali.

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Absentia (2011)

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

It is a very rare, almost non-existent trait these days in directors who are capable of knowing their limits. Even in indie directors, it’s almost impossible to find a director who knows their limits and can properly test theirs without going over board or not fully realizing their personal boundaries. Director Mike Flanagan’s slow boil and utterly unnerving horror film “Absentia” is a consistent test of limits. Director Flanagan is a man who almost seems aware of what he is capable of doing and what he simply can not do on-screen and it shows in what is a very artistically self-aware indie gem that works as an enduring yet complex character study and a truly harrowing horror film. “Absentia” provides so many layers of subtle characterization, gentle exposition, and gripping back story that affords just enough depth for our protagonists to earn our sympathy without seeming as if we’re being manipulated in to caring for them.

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Two-Faced Woman (1941)

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

Following up “Ninotchka” is something of a task, especially since Ernest Lubitch’s cinematic masterpiece went on to immortality. For Melvyn Douglas and Greta Garbo, “The Two Faced Woman” is a disappointing follow-up but I’m shocked it was so poorly received by literally everyone during its initial release. “The Two-Faced Woman” is reportedly the film that ended Greta Garbo’s career when she quit show business after the poor reviews during the film’s run destroyed her enthusiasm for acting. As for George Cukor’s film itself, “The Two Faced Woman” is not the disaster I expected, but it’s certainly no masterpiece.

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