Category Archives: Filmsmith Faves

“The Last Exorcism” delivers August terrors

Posted on September 1, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 1 comment

There are plenty of horror directors I would call outright hacks: an over-reliance on atmospheric music, silly jump scares, and tracing the footsteps of horror film giants are some common hack tropes. I therefore appreciate the fact that The Last Exorcism shies away from these amateur tactics and delivers a weaving, apprehensive paranormal package. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Ashley Bell, Documentary, Eli Roth, Faux Documentary, Horror, Paranormal, Patrick Fabian, Supernatural, The Blair Witch Project, The Last Exorcism, The Last Exorcism ending

Why you should be reading “Under the Dome”

Posted on August 22, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 1 comment

Though this blog is titled The Filmsmith, my motto is similar to Rolling Stone: all the news that fits. So I want to talk about Stephen King’s most recent novel, Under the Dome.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Apt Pupil, Carrie, Christianity, Cujo, Different Seasons, Firestarter, George Bush, Hitler, Pet Sematary, Politics, Rage, Stand By Me, Stephen King, subtext, The Bachman Books, The Dark Knight, The Dead Zone, The Long Walk, The Running Man, The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, The Stand, Under the Dome, War of the Worlds

“Inception” is one of the most cerebral, kick-ass, poignant blockbusters you will ever see. Period.

Posted on July 19, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 8 comments

The main maxim of big budget Hollywood filmmaking is “Make it Safe.” Don’t stray from basic storytelling tropes and structures, and don’t be too smart in case you go over the audience’s head. In the end, you want to ensure that you will get a return on your investment. Thus, the prospect of losing hundreds of millions of dollars makes a lot of mainstream films ride along in the mediocrity lane of the film freeway. Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Action, Blade Runner, Christopher Nolan, Drama, Dreams, Ellen Page, Hans Zimmer, Inception, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cortillard, Replicant, Sci-Fi, Subconsciousness

“Predators” is a damn fine sequel to the original

Posted on July 18, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 2 comments

The original Predator (1987) is one of those films that is a defining moment for masculinity. I saw Predator when I was 8 years old and the mixture of mass muscled men, “bad” words, bullets, and bravado introduced me to what it meant to be male. The film is not a traditional work of art, but like director John McTiernan’s Die Hard, Predator is a quintessential action/sci-fi film. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Action, Adrien Brody, Aliens, Aliens vs predator, CGI, Clash of the Titans, Danny trejo, Daybreakers, Laurence Fishburn, Nimrod Antal, Practical effects, Predator, Predators, R Rated, Repo Men, Robert Rodriguez, Sci-Fi, Topher Grace

Sundance favorite”Winter’s Bone” Cuts Deep

Posted on June 22, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 6 comments

There is an oft-lamented dearth of strong female characters in cinema. Lt. Ripley and Sarah Connor are the characters that receive the most citation, but I’ll be damned if we can’t add Ree Dolly to the roster – this is not a girl to be trifled with. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in Edinburgh International Film Festival, Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Appalachia, Cinema, Debra Granik, Documentary, Drama, Edinburgh International Film Festival, EIFF, female, feminism, Film, Jennifer Lawrence, Kentucky, Movie, patriarchy, poor, poverty, Ree Dolly, strong, strong female character, Sundance, Winter's Bone

Lost Gem: Ginger Snaps Unleashed (part 2)

Posted on May 29, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 3 comments

:you can read part 1 here:

Trying to compare Ginger Snaps to Ginger Snaps Unleashed (released in the U.S. as Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed) is like trying to decide between Alien or Aliens: they are both good, but different. Ginger Snaps Unleashed picks up where the first left off. And no, there are no silly gimmicks, there really is continuity between the two (even the same actresses return). Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Articles, Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged canada, Cinema, Comedy, Drama, Drugs, Emily Perkins, Evil Dead 2, feminism, feminist, Fright Night 2, Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps 2, Ginger Snaps 2 Unleashed, Ginger Snaps II, Girls, Hollywood, Horror, Katharine Isabelle, menstruation, Monkshood, Sex, Trilogy, violence, Werewolf, werewolves

Lost Gem: Ginger Snaps (part 1)

Posted on May 28, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 4 comments

Teenage girls battling werewolves. Nope, it’s not Twilight: it’s another horror gem like The Descent and Carriers.

Katharine Isabelle as Ginger (left) and Emily Perkins as Brigitte (right)

While I was working at a video store, Ginger Snaps was just another straight to DVD horror film: attractive girl, catchy title, some ominous background music, BOOM, you have a cover just like all the other straight to DVD features (right next to Lord of the G-Strings and Santa’s Slay). But as I’ve been working on my dissertation detailing “unsafe” horrors, Ginger Snaps came up enough times to merit a screening. Results? The best werewolf film since Landis’ An American Werewolf in London. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Articles, Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged An American Werewolf in London, canada, Carriers, Cinema, Comedy, Drama, Emily Perkins, feminism, feminist, Ginger Snaps, Girls, Hollywood, Horror, John Fawcett, John Landis, Katharine Isabelle, menstruation, Sex, Teeth, The Descent, Trilogy, vagina teeth, violence, Werewolf, werewolves

Three You Missed: Robert Downey Jr. and others

Posted on May 7, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 3 comments

Given this weekend’s U.S. release of Iron Man 2 I wanted to bring to attention another Robert Downey Jr. film you’ll love and two others.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Alfonso Cuaron, Bringing Out the Dead, Comedy, Darren Aronofsky, Detroit Rock City, Drama, EMT, Gay Perry, Iron Man 2, KISS, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lethal Weapon, Martin Scorsese, Nicolas Cage, Raging Bull, Shane Black, Taxi Driver, The Monster Squad, Val Kilmer

Go see the “Repo Men”

Posted on April 28, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 7 comments

The trailers for Repo Men hinted at two possible paths for the film: interesting dystopian setting for an unmemorable action flick–or something more special. I am glad to say it’s the latter.

Repo Men, as the title suggests, is about repo man Remy (Jude Law), who reclaims organs from customers who have fallen behind on their payments for artificial livers, spleens, hearts, etc. Victims (or “clients”) are tased, read their rights while unconscious, and then Remy goes to work collecting. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Action, Battlestar Galactica, blood, Civil War, Crash, David Cronenberg, Daybreakers, dystopian, Forest Whitaker, healthcare, I Am Legend, John Carpenter, Jude Law, Lost, Marvel, Oldboy, repo, Repo Men, repossession, Repossession Mambo, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Sex, sex and violence, They Live, Vanilla Sky, violence, Y: the Last Man

Daybreakers: I Am Legend II, Even Lengendarier (I mean that in a good way)

Posted on January 7, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 4 comments

Daybreakers teaser poster.

When my friend Jesse and I saw the initial ads for Daybreakers, he commented, “This looks like a sequel to I Am Legend [the book, not the movie].” There are plenty of reasons for this: I Am Legend left us with a world of vampire-like beings and a minority of humans–and that’s where Daybreakers picks up. Society has adapted to serve the needs of the new vampire majority, as cars warn drivers of UV light, coffee/blood stands are in the subways, humans are “farmed” for their blood, and there is even a vampire army. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Action, Adventure, Bill Paxton, Daybreakers, Ethan Hawke, Film, Fright Night, From Dusk Till Dawn, Gore, Horror, Movie, Near Dark, Positive, Review, Sam Neill, The Lost Boys, Vampires, Willem Dafoe