Category Archives: Saturday Matinee

Saturday Matinee: The Last Minute

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“The Last Minute” (2001) is a visually striking and one-of-a-kind film directed by Stephen Norrington, best known as the director of The Blade. The film follows the downward spiral of Billy Byrne (Max Beesley) an artist obsessed with time whose career, just on the verge of exploding, instead implodes leading him to an underworld of robbery, murder, drugs and talent agents. Features eclectic performances from Beesley, Kate Ashfield, Udo Kier, and Stephen Dorff and eclectic electronica soundtrack featuring Aphex Twin, DJ Krush, and Richie Hawtin.

Watch “The Last Minute” here.

Saturday Matinee: The Chocolate War

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“The Chocolate War” (1988) is the film version of the classic YA novel by Robert Cormier. It was the debut feature film from actor Keith Gordon (The Legend of Billie Jean) who directed as well as wrote the screenplay. The film depicts the rebellion of new student Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) against his school’s official and unofficial structures of power while coming to terms with his mother’s death. The Chocolate War features solid acting from the entire cast, especially John Glover and Wallace Langham as the main antagonists and Bud Cort (Harold and Maude) in a memorable cameo appearance. The film also features a fine soundtrack of 80s artists such as Yaz, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel.

Watch the The Chocolate War here.

Saturday Matinee: In the Year of the Pig

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“In the Year of the Pig” (1968) by Emile De Antonio (Point of Order, Underground, Rush to Judgement) was one of the earliest Vietnam War documentaries and was often greeted with hostility during its run in theaters by pro-war audiences. It combines interviews with a wide range of journalists, politicians, activists and key military personnel (including Harry Ashmore, Daniel Berrigan, Philippe Devillers, David Halberstam, Roger Hilsman, Jean Lacouture, Kenneth P. Landon, Paul Mus, Charlton Osburn, Harrison Salisbury, Ilya Todd, John Toller, David K. Tuck, David Werfel and John White), international newsreels and archival footage to create a scathing portrait of America’ escalating involvement in Vietnam. Horrific images speak for themselves in the most controversial film of de Antonio’s career.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm7wme_in-the-year-of-the-pig_shortfilms

Saturday Matinee: League of Gods

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“League of Gods” (2016) is a Hong Kong/Chinese production directed by Koan Hui (co-screenwriter of The Blade) and starring Jet Li, Tony Leung, Fan Bingbing, Louis Koo, Huang Xiaoming, Angelababy, Wen Zhang, and Jacky Heung. It’s an adaptation of Fengshen Yanyi, a 16th century novel by Xu Zhonglin widely viewed as one of the great works of Chinese literature. The story is a mythologized retelling of the fall of the Shang dynasty combining elements of history, folklore and fantasy and has previously been adapted as a manga, anime, TV series and video game.

Saturday Matinee: VR Short Double Feature

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“Uncanny Valley” (2015, dir. Federico Heller) uses a documentary format and virtual reality scenarios to depict a frightening world in which damaged individuals rely on VR as a means to escape their depressing social reality while being used by the state.

“Hyper-Reality” (2016, dir. Keiichi Matsuda) depicts an average day in the life of a struggling precariat woman, that is, until she’s gang stalked by virtual and physical predators.

Saturday Matinee: Attack the Block

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“Attack the Block” (2011) is a British  sci-fi/horror/comedy written and directed by Joe Cornish. The plot takes place in London on Guy Fawkes night following a teenage street gang who, with the help of neighbors, drug dealers, a nurse and college student, hatch a scheme to save their city from an alien invasion. The film was produced from the creators of Shaun of the Dead and features a cameo by Nick Frost as well as a stand-out lead performance (and film debut) by John Boyega who later played Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Watch the full movie here.

Saturday Matinee: Mars Attacks!

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“Mars Attacks!” (1996) is a satirical alien invasion film directed by Tim Burton and starring a surprisingly large cast of familiar actors. It’s easy to forget that Burton, now a friend of the establishment, once made films with a misanthropic subversive element. This is in full view in Mars Attacks! which (similar to Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers) embraces its inherently xenophobic premise and pushes it over-the-top to skewer society’s most cherished institutions (ie. government, media, religion, and business). The movie bombed when first released but perhaps it was just a little ahead of its time?
Watch the full film here.

Saturday Matinee: Carnival of Souls

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Synopsis from Wikipedia:

Carnival of Souls is a 1962 American independent horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. The film was produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000. Carnival of Souls did not gain widespread attention when originally released as a double feature with The Devil’s Messenger. Today, however, it is regarded as a cult classic. Its plot follows a young woman whose life is disturbed after a car accident, finding herself drawn to the pavilion of an abandoned carnival.

Set to an organ score by Gene Moore, Carnival of Souls relies more on atmosphere than on special effects to create a mood of unease and foreboding. The film has a large cult following and is occasionally screened at film and Halloween festivals. It has been cited as an important influence on the films of both David Lynch and George A. Romero.