Antichrist(2009)Lars von Trier has been called many things: a nouvelle vogue cinematic genius, a misogynist pig with a camcorder, an emotional sadomasochist, or by Bitter Balcony’s very own JAS, simply a shithead. Personally, I think he’s somewhere between the best filmmaker in the world and Marquis de Sade tormentor, a self-indulgent, but exhilarating film demigod, or like the title of his latest film, a potential “Antichrist.”
The Danish auteur pioneered the Dogma movement, shooting au naturel with a digital camera. He gave us raw, emotionally draining films such as “The Idiots,” “Breaking the Waves,” and the Björk musical-tragedy “Dancer in the Dark.” However, von Trier has ventured into horror in the past, as shown in his two-part miniseries “The Kingdom,” 1987’s“ Epidemic,” and his cult thriller “The Element of Crime.” “Antichrist” brings the mad Dane to a genre that might have be suited for him all along; one where his manipulative instincts can deviate into not just the emotional angst, but physical punishment as well.
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The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day
After a decade on hiatus, Troy Duffy’s avenging Saints Connor and Murphy (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) lock and load for “The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day." Years after cleaning Boston of its criminal underworld, the brothers and their vigilante father Il Duce (Billy Connolly) have gone into hiding in Ireland. Seemingly at peace, the family appears to have put their violent days behind them. But after the Saints are blamed for a priest's murder, Connor and Murphy travel ashore – armed with Berettas and renewed ire – to finish some unfinished business.
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Daybreakers (2009)
"Daybreakers" breaks something, but luckily it’s not our will to see vampire movies. In this land of "Twilight"-obsessed, two-dimensional vampire movies, we get one that actually tries to break the mold by giving us a “What if Blade failed?” movie. Is it all we had nightmares about? Find out inside. “Daybreakers” features a world that has been mostly converted to vampires. They hunt the few remaining humans to place them in giant blood-sucking factories, so the vampires can spike their coffee with a little human vitae (not kidding on this one). Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) works for Charles Bromley (Sam Neill) attempting to make a synthetic blood that can sustain the new vampiric people. Charles fails a number of times then gets kidnapped by people that need his help. Why him? Because he is a human sympathizer. |
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Fantastic Mr. Fox Lookout
Wes Anderson returns to the heist-fumbling that put him on the map in 1996's indie favorite "Bottle Rocket.” This time, instead of a group led by incompetent yet goodhearted robbers, the devious plot is executed by a group of farm animals led by the suave Mr. Fox in the stop-motion animated "Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Based on the Roald Dahl novel by the same name, the clever Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) must formulate a plan to save his family's fur from some mean farmers. |
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To Live and Die in LA After two legendary films, “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” William Friedkin exploded into the early ‘70s Hollywood scene as the hottest upstart not named Coppola. Two Oscar nominations, one of them a win for Best Director for “The French Connection,” not to mention the success and controversy “The Exorcist” gathered, Friedkin was what M. Night Shyamalan was in 1999 after “The Sixth Sense,” a new powerhouse filmmaker with everything going his way. |
