Status of my pantaloons

I really have no way of gauging if anyone reads this blog. I assume no one does, as I have no comments. And I'm sure if anyone was reading it they are gone now as I have neglected my duties as a blogger and let this blog fall to the wayside.
This is due to my near complete absence from the net during the month of November because of a family matter. Not to sound too dramatic or downtrodden but I am still dealing with said matter and do not have ample computer time or access... SO for the time being, this blog will have to be put on hold.

In the mean time, if anyone is reading this, do yourself a favor and see Tomas Alfredson's Let The Right One In. It is my favorite film of the year thus far. Or if it is not playing near you (IE within two hours travel time from your doorstep), why not rent WALL-E, The Visitor, Transsiberian or The Fall?

Needle in a Haystack: FORGOTTEN PEACE

The second feature I'll try to keep up will be this one, currently under the monikier "Needle in a Haystack". I'll try to cover low to no budget indie features and shorts that might not get a lot of love other wise.
We will see how this works... This could feature trailers, posters, reviews or in the case of a short, the actual film itself. The bottom line: it is about spreading the word. I won't pretend to be the source for finding all these films and will give credit where credit is due. So let's get to it!

I'll start with a short film that was made by New Jersey based filmmaker, Michael Casperson. Over the course of a year living in Philadelphia, Mike captured the cultural current of Northern Philly with this short. I think Mike's words speak of it best:

Combining an experimental documentary with narrative storytelling, Forgotten Peace is a harsh and realistic view of society in North Philadelphia. Anger, rebellion, and violence consume many who reside in this troubled area. Seen from the eyes of an outsider, there is an undeniable struggle that exists. Beyond all of the chaos and fear, a hope for peace remains. While it may seem far away, it is buried right in the heart and soul for all those who choose to find it.

Forgotten Peace


For a series of photographs that accompany the film please visit Mike's myspace page.

In the year 2009: 3 to watch

It has become apparent (to no one but me) that perhaps a regular feature or two on here might be good, and since there are some exciting and eclectic films from around the world on the new year's horizon, why not feature them here, show a little love. So today I'll talk about three films that are of particular interest to me... and hopefully that interest will extend to you.

1) Winner of the Un Certain Regard award at this year's Cannes festival, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata is set for a limited release in the U.S. on March 13th through Regent Releasing. I was hoping for the film to make an appearance theatrically this year but it is still making waves at many late year fests. So if you have an opportunity to catch it early, do so.
K. Kurosawa, known for his detective and horror films such as Cure, tackles seemingly different material here, as Tokyo Sonata charts the disintegration of a Japanese family after the father loses his job. Though there are no ghosts or serial killers here, the film still appears to be classic K. Kurosawa as it explores themes of emotional detachment and decline in that of the Japanese male.

And yes, here is the trailer.

2) Austrian director Gotz Spielmann's Revanche made the festival rounds this past year, and is Austria's official entry in the Foreign Language category at the Oscars.
The film, on paper sounds like a typical crime thriller, but through an intimate and isolated rural setting and the collision of different worlds, it looks to be a brooding and meditative piece on the state of revenge and obsession.

Check out the masterfully cut trailer at the official site.

3) Erik Poppe's DeUsynlige currently has no known release dates outside of it's native Norway, but with a possible American remake on the way (shudder) one can only hope that the original will get released, somewhere, somehow next year for more to see.
It promises to be a strikingly original Nordic treat, and I do not throw any of those words around lightly (especially Nordic).
If you don't believe me just go and explore the official website (In Norwegian but easy to navigate).

Writing silly plot synopsis and linking is a lot harder than I thought. But when looking at these films I think it is safe to polish off that old saying - "A picture speaks a thousand words."
Or rather 24 pictures a second...

Nuff' said.

Swedish Vampires, Swedish Singers and the Mississippi Delta, OH MY!

These are the things that occupy my mind at the moment.

Swedish Vampires = the film Let The Right One In

I'll being seeing this soon enough in NYC and can not wait.
The film has been getting a lot of attention this year at fests around the globe including Toronto. It is in limited release right now in the states, expanding by a few cities weekly.

So the story? Oskar, a 12 year old who's a regular target for bullies, befriends the new neighbor girl, Eli only to find out that well... she is a vampire. Blood and mayhem sprinkled with awkward adolescent love in the biting cold of the Swedish winter ensue.

Check out the trailer here.


Apparently the Swedish musician, Lykke Li is very popular. I had no idea who she was and to be frank when I first heard her I was very torn... Liked a lot of the melodies and instrumentation but wasn't crazy about what she was doing vocally. Since a day has passed I've grown more fond of her voice and debut album Youth Novels. Though sometimes lyrically trite, the songs exude an ethereal, atmospheric chamber pop sound mixed with catchy electronic beats and an Ennio Morricone edge.

Take a listen over on her myspace.

Now back to movies. Ballast from director Lance Hammer, won the awards for directing and cinematography at Sundance this year, was pretty much unanimously cited as the best film of the fest and then found no distributor. Bummer, because the trailer knocked me for a loop.
The film centers around a small Mississippi town ship and the aftermath of a suicide.
Luckily the filmmakers took matters into their own hands and the film is slowly making its way around the U.S. Check the official website for screening info and to take a gander at that trailer!

http://ballastfilm.com/

Movie Review: Bashing (2005)

Bashing (2005)

Director: Masahiro Kobayashi
Cast: Fusako Urabe, Nene Otsuka, Ryuzo Tanaka

An aptly titled film, that is for sure.

I humor myself, for what is a heavy, grim film, that leaves your stomach in knots. Almost never has the sound of the phone ringing been so agonizing or the whisper of the cold, ocean air so foreboding.

Masahiro Kobayasji's film based on actual events deals with Yuko (Fusako Urabe) a foreign aid worker who is held hostage in Iraq. Upon returning home to Japan she falls into an ostracized position as her friends, her community, her country view her actions as an aid worker, and position as a hostage, shameful and dishonorable. She is put into a media spot light (which is not focused on in the film) harassed daily and loses her job; the repercussions of all this extending the burden to her working class father and step mother (Ryuzo Tanaka, Nene Otsuka).

If one isn't familiar with Japanese culture the national attitude can seem so bizarre and frustrating. And when one thinks about that and views the positive reception the film received overseas compared to the negative or rather non existent one it received in Japan, well... one is not surprised and I would assume Kobayashi made this for his nation, wanting them to see their prejudice, but knowing full well they would reject it.
It is the power of cinema, the gift of cinema to both criticize and love the country that the film and filmmaker originate from.

Bashing is also a film which presents the Japanese psyche in a fairly accessible palette to Western culture. The reservations, customs, emotional and psychological compartmentalizing of the Japanese based around their rich history (from centuries of self enforced isolation to postwar) is all here in some way, but make no mistake this is a human story, and the film never uses the characters for some grander social or political statement. This is thanks in large part to Urabe's performance which is so earnest, seemingly one note - dejected, depressed... cold. But she is not. Her fear as she states to her stepmother is becoming cold, shut off, like everyone around her. An infinitely universal feeling and one that Kobayashi, as writer and director, quietly sympathizes with and champions.

I've been hit in the head with 30 ROCK(s)

Well someone did something very wrong, which means it is very, very right...

Follow the link below and you'll find the 3rd season premiere of 30 Rock already online (legit on NBC.com) 1 week before its air date.

Since Arrested Development left the air waves and Flight of the Conchords is still on hiatus, 30 Rock is the funniest show on TV right now (Sorry Office), so I do suggest you go and enjoy a laugh or two (or 30).

Taste the strawberry lip gloss, feel the sweet sting of solid gold nunchucks, find out what imperative means!

Sound the Trumpets! BLOG START!

And action...

Hello.

So apparently my blog has been created. This is the message that came up on my screen after I entered some random letters and numbers and decided to type some words in some other blank fields.
This is what one must do to create a blog. A-mazing.

Saying "A-mazing" reminds me of the word maze, which in turn makes me think about Native American's word for corn which is maze isn't it?

So that means this whole blog will be about... CORN! Which has ethanol in it right? And then there is corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup and all sorts of other assorted evil corn syrups.

I. DON'T. LIKE. CORN. SYRUP.

I figure I can say anything I want here since no one will ever read this. EVER!

But... I suppose if anyone does stumble on to my little pixel of the interwebs, they'll ask themselves several things -

1) How did I get here?

2) Why am I here?

3) How can I get out of here?

And maybe, hopefully, with some luck by my side...

4) What is this person, Ben talking about?

To answer question 4 (And only question 4!)... I'm not quite sure. Do you like humor? Yes, of course you do, and there could end up being some here. Do you like movies, *ahem* I mean cinema? Probably... Do you like the ramblings of a twenty something on such matters? Probably not, you've probably had your fill by now, especially if you live in LA or NYC or Seattle or some other hipster city.

One thing I can promise you is this...

Hold on give me a second...

Just wait a moment...

Okay, fine. I'll get back to you all later.

In the mean time, please check out my sister's blurg.

http://erinumstead.blogspot.com/


With a Cornish game hen in hand,

Ben