Continue reading »]]>

Close Quarters, Damning Decisions: A tank crew (l-to-r: Oshri Cohen, Zohar Strauss, Yoav Donat, and Itay Tiran) gets its first taste of war in LEBANON.

I went into LEBANON convinced that I really didn’t want to see another examination of the moral quandary that is the Middle East conflict. I came out of it — head and heart racing — convinced that I had seen one of the best films of the year. That’s a considerable achievement, considering that LEBANON takes place primarily on one dark, constricted set, and that that set recreates a place that few of us would care to spend five minutes in, much less the 90 minutes of the film, much less — from the characters point of view — the desperate hours that form the opening day of the Lebanon War in 1982.

Save for the opening and closing shots, LEBANON is set completely within the confines of an tank, observing its crew — four Israeli boys in their twenties — as they get their first taste of war. Whatever we see of the outside world is only what they can see from inside, views limited to what can be observed through tiny windows and (tellingly) a gunsight. Whatever we can divine of the situation is only what they can figure out from those windows, from terse radio communications, and from limited dialogue with whichever superiors or purported allies drop down through their hatchway. In short, info is limited, which does not exempt the crew from making split-second decisions, many of them life-or-death. The experience is tense, claustrophobic, occasionally brutally graphic, and absolutely compelling; gripping drama with a higher goal.

It was a pleasure talking with Maoz about the motives and challenges of this incredible film. Click on the player to hear the interview.

LEBANON
Trailer
[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

www.sonyclassics.com/lebanon

IMDB Listing

Subscribe to MMP on iTunes

Sign Up for E-Mail Updates

Your email:

 

More wartime candor.

Continue reading »]]> In CFQ’s Post-Mortem Podcast (or should that be Podcast Post-Mortem?), Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski offer a free-form follow-up to the regular Cinefantastique Podcast, including further in-depth insights on the minutia of PREDATORS and a look at the week’s other big genre release, DESPICABLE ME, the hilarious 3-D animated film from Universal Pictures. Also included at no extra cost: films that inspired Stendhal Syndrome-like reactions (i.e., mind-blowing) and films that inspired “morning after” regret (i.e., “Why did I ever think that was any good?”).

Continue reading »]]>

An Even Dangerouser Game: Adrien Brody (right) and Alice Braga (center) take point in PREDATORS.

This week, the Cinefantastique Podcast sets its sights on PREDATORS, produced by Robert Rodriguez and directed by Nimrod Antal, from a screenplay by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch. Is this sequel to PREDATOR (1987) a brilliant pop culture mediation on the ability of the human spirit to triumph in dire circumstances, or is it merely a crushing disappointment that fails to deliver on the promise of its trailer? Listen in to find the answers to these and other intriguing questions, along with the usual roundup of news, events, and home video releases in the world of science fiction, fantasy, and horror film.

Continue reading »]]>

Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) takes on mob boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong).

Cinefantastique’s Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Podcast returns with a blow-by-blow knock-down debate regarding the merits (or lack thereof) in the new comic-book superhero fantasy KICK ASS, starring Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, and Nicolas Cage. Does the film kick ass, or does it fall flatter than an empty cape? Also on the agenda, the usual round-up of news, recommendations, and home video releases.

Continue reading »]]>

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of SHUTTER ISLAND

In the second installment of Cinefantastique’s new weekly podcast, Dan Persons, Steve Biodrowski, and Lawrence French look at Martin Scorsese’s new horror-thriller, SHUTTER ISLAND, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, and Max Von Sydow. Also: a look at the SHUTTER ISLAND videogame, and other news and reviews.

Click on the player above to hear the show.

Continue reading »]]> THE ESCAPIST is about as rough, as nasty, as gripping as a prison escape movie can be. Building the story around his lead performer, Brian Cox, director Rupert Wyatt’s feature debut takes the audience into the bowels of hell, while using a daring story structure to play with their expectations. Here’s Wyatt talking about what it took to pull off so elaborate a production under limited time and budget.

TRAILER

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

IMDB Listing

Subscribe on iTunes

Sign Up for E-Mail Updates

Killmainham Jail’s Other Starring Role: