Across the Pond
Across the Pond Double Feature | Denmark’s “Valhalla Rising” and the UK’s “Centurion”
The following two bloody historical epics were both filmed on location in the UK and Scotland, and feature some very violent and rousing action sequences. They also each share the odd similarity of having a lead mute character. Yet, that’s just about all they have in common, which somehow makes them the perfect double feature. Read on to hear more about Nicolas Winding Refn’s Valhalla Rising and Neil Marshall’s Centurion…
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Geek Round Up | Borat: Kazakh’s Strike Back!
Let’s chalk this one up in the FAIL category.
Nearly 5 years after the release of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Kazakh film director Erkin Rakishev is filming an unauthorized sequel to the widely popular Borat film which will be entitled My Brother, Borat…..crickets…
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Across the Pond | United Kingdom’s “49th Parallel”
Canada 1941. A Nazi U-Boat in Hudson Bay sends out a seven man team to capture a nearby depot and bring back fuel and supplies. Shortly after going ashore the team’s U-boat is destroyed by Canadian fighters. The Nazi’s must then make their way, by any means necessary to the 49th Parallel (the U.S. Canadian border) for safe passage in the still neutral United States.
If the plot described above doesn’t sound exciting to you, I suggest you check your pulse, because the film is a fascinating look into the minds of a people in the midst of a terrifying war. Read the rest of this entry »
Across the Pond | United Kingdom’s “Bronson”
Bronson is the true life tale of England’s most violent prisoner, Michael Peterson “aka” Charles Bronson. He took the name of the famous American movie star because it added a little theatricality to what was otherwise a dull persona. Growing up in 1970s England was tough for a middle class man like himself. Jobs and the celebrity Bronson craved were hard to come by, that was until a petty crime landed him a seven year jail sentence. Bronson had found his stage and the rest was history. Read the rest of this entry »
Across the Pond | France’s: Le samouraï
When people think of foreign films they often simply pass them off as being too pretentious and experimental for their liking. Yet, one of the things I’ve discovered about films from oversees is how their main influence is often American. Which makes sense when you think about it, Hollywood is in the U.S. after all. Such is the case with director Jean-Pierre Melville and his 1967 hitman masterpiece Le samouraï. Read the rest of this entry »
Across the Pond | United Kingdom’s “Moon”
Did you hear David Bowie’s son directed a Science Fiction movie? This was the question heard around this time last year as the Duncan Jones film “Moon” began to make it’s way around the festival circuit. We don’t see many quiet Sci-fi movies like “Moon” nowadays. Explosions have replaced ideas as trash like “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen” have continually shown us. Read the rest of this entry »
Across the Pond | Denmark’s “The Pusher Trilogy”
Across the Pond is a new Filmdogs column profiling the most interesting foreign films from today and yesterday. Now, I know what your thinking. Foreign films? …that means a lot of artsy fartsy Parisians sitting around smoking cigarettes and lamenting their miserable lives right? Well, sometimes that is the case, and let me assure you that I hate those movies as much as you do. You might also be thinking that you hate reading subtitles. I don’t enjoy those either, but I do know that I’d be kicking myself if I let a few lines of text keep me from seeing some of the awesome films this column will be profiling. Read the rest of this entry »
