Brad Bird’s fabulous re-launching of the Mission: Impossible series, Ghost Protocol, comes out on Blu-ray/DVD tomorrow. Hopefully some of you got the chance to see that in an IMAX theater – it was quite spectacular. Feel free to order Ghost Protocol below through the LFM Store.
In related spy news, this fall brings the release of Bond 50, the new Blu-ray set commemorating the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series – which launched in 1962 with the release of Dr. No. This new Bond 50 set (see the trailer above) features all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray disc in one set for the first time, including nine 007 films never before available on Blu-ray: The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, A View to a Kill, Octopussy, The Living Daylights, Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Needless to say, the Sean Connery and Roger Moore films will be the best.
The set also includes more than 130 hours of bonus features – so it should be quite comprehensive. You can pre-order the set above.
By Joe Bendel. Ray Bradbury is cool. His story of infant paranoia first hit the pulps in 1946, decades before Rosemary’s Baby and the subsequent raft of rip-offs. Though mostly likely not supernatural per se, it is definitely a tale of ominous dread, nicely captured in Chris Charles’ faithful short film adaptation of The Small Assassin (trailer here), which screens Monday as part of the 2012 Soho International Film Festival.
Alice Leiber had a rough delivery, culminating with a caesarian section. Exhausted, she is convinced her baby was deliberately trying to kill her. Dr. Jeffers warns her husband David she is still a bit overwrought, but assures him it will pass. Of course, her obsessive terror gets progressively worse instead. Yet there are signs her fears just might be justified. Again, it is important to emphasize Bradbury staked out this territory first – because the smaller, more intimate scale of the Grand Master’s story is arguably more disconcerting than the satanic horror cranked out by Polanski’s imitators. Charles and cinematographer Kevin Moss give it an appropriately moody, noir treatment that is also rather stylish. Indeed, it is quite a handsome production, well appointed with rich post-war, pre-Mad Men period detail. While there might be more is-he-or-isn’t-he ambiguity in the original story, Charles still builds the suspense skillfully. Most importantly, he has a shrewd sense of what to show and what to leave unseen.
A festival circuit road warrior finally arriving in the City, Small Assassin is a well crafted short-form dark thriller that effectively demonstrates the talents of Charles and his filmmaking collaborators, while highlighting the depth and diversity of Bradbury’s literary oeuvre. Recommended without reservation for genre audiences, Assassin screens before a feature tonight (4/16) during the Soho Film Festival (at the Landmark Sunshine) and will be available to a wider national audience later this year through the Shorts International and IndieFlix distribution platforms.
Some good new promotional teasers are appearing for the forthcoming season of Steven Spielberg’s Falling Skies on TNT. Check out this new one above. Hopefully the new show will actually be as good as the promos. Falling Skies has its two-hour, season 2 premiere on Sunday, June 17th.
By Joe Bendel. The Communists loved their paperwork and with good reason. It was one of their most effective tools for controlling people. Yet, Vacek’s mother seems to have a talent for it, navigating the red tape required for immigration while writing four scores of undeliverable missives to his defector father in Václav Kadrnka’s Eighty Letters, which appropriately screens at Bohemia National Hall as part Disappearing Act IV, the annual showcase of films unjustly overlooked after their well received festival runs, co-presented by the Czech Center.
Alarmed to find himself home alone one morning, Vanek catches up with his mother at the tram stop, essentially forcing her to take him with her on her mysterious errands. They do not talk much during the day, but they are not visiting places conducive to conversation. Confused and a bit withdrawn, Vanek whiles away the time in series doctor’s waiting rooms and government lobbies. It is not until we hear his mother’s voiceover composing another letter to his father that we appreciate how close she is to completing the deliberately arduous application process. Of course, that begs the question: then what?
Eighty is a film that refuses to look the audience in the eyes, which might be understandably off-putting for some viewers. Indeed, we watch most of Kadrnka’s pseudo-autobiographical story from sidewalk level, but there is a reason for that. The last time I was in Prague I asked my Czech friends why everyone identified me as an American before I ever spoke a word of awful Czech. My nondescript wardrobe was hardly a giveaway. They said it was because of the way I held my head up when I walked. Seeing this film helps explain that answer.
From "Eighty Letters."
Unfolding from Vanek’s POV, Eighty is a quiet film with quite a bit of running through the streets of Prague. It could almost be considered The Red Balloon’s Kafkaesque cousin. Unfortunately, Zuzana Lapcikova and Martin Pavlus are strangely cold screen presences. However, they certainly look and feel convincing as mother and son.
Kadrnka masterfully sets the mood and frames his shots. Despite the emotional aloofness of the cast, it is an interesting film to watch purely for its craftsmanship. It is certainly worth a look, particularly this Sunday (4/15) when it screens free at BNH as Disappearing Act IV continues in New York. It is also a great opportunity to catch up with Jaak Kilmi and Kiur Aarma’s wonderfully sly and illuminating documentary Disco and Atomic War (see here and here), which also screens for free on Sunday, right before Eighty Letters.
