Category Archives: Saturday Matinee

Saturday Matinee: Chicago 10

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“Chicago 10” (2007) is a lively retelling of the Chicago 8 case in which Bobby Seale, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner were charged with conspiracy to riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention (the Chicago 10 of the title includes defense lawyers William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass). The film’s colorful and fluid animation highlight the surreal and absurd aspects of the trial while interspersed live-action archival footage and a script based on transcripts and rediscovered audio recordings give it a documentary feel. Added realism is given by the excellent voice acting from Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber and Jeffery Wright among others.

Saturday Matinee: Mr. Robot

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“Mr. Robot” is one of the rare shows to make it to mainstream cable television with a perspective which may worry corporate sponsors of cable television. It incorporates elements of hacker and anarchist subcultures within its narrative centering on a network security programmer who moonlights as a cyber-vigilante and hacktivist ringleader. Series such as this are all too rare but much needed for their ability to introduce and/or spread important information through the collective imagination. It’s also one of the first television shows to speak to and reflect segments of contemporary countercultures.

Given the nature of its format, an episodic series on the USA Network (though it is the network that produced Night Flight), it’s vulnerable to censorship and cooptation. However, as it stands now it’s a refreshingly subversive voice in the basic cable wilderness.

(Hulu requires Adobe Flash Player 11.1 to view)
http://www.hulu.com/watch/814104

Pilot episode can also be viewed here.

Saturday Matinee: Funky Forest

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Plot synopsis by VIZ Media:

Meet the Harunos, a rather unconventional, but happy and loving family nonetheless. They live in a small town in the mountains just out of Tokyo where life is good and quiet – but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own little problems.

As 8-year old Sachiko (Maya Banno) tries to get rid of a giant version of herself who seems to pop up everywhere, her older brother Hajime (Takahiro Sato), privately wrestles with his love-struck heart. Meanwhile, their mother Yoshiko (Satomi Tezuka) is working hard, coming out of retirement as an animator, as her husband and professional hypnotist Nobuo (Tomokazu Miura) watches on with slight apprehension. Yoshiko’s brother, Ayano (Tadanobu Asano) is just visiting his hometown and staying with the family, but also has a hidden agenda; he needs to come to terms with a romance that ended years ago. Even Nobuo’s brother and successful manga artist Todoroki has his problems. It’s his birthday soon and he wants to give himself something special. And lastly there’s Grandpa, the most bizarre and perhaps the most perceptive of all, who continues to search for a better way to live life to the full.

Written, directed and edited by Katsuhito ISHII, The Taste of Tea is a unique and gentle family portrait tackling the universal themes of time, people and their lives.

 

Saturday Matinee: Sky High

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“Sky High” (2003) is a supernatural action thriller directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (“Versus” and “Godzilla: Final Wars”). It’s a prequel film for a television series of the same name in which the spirit of murder victim Mina must help her detective fiance catch her killer in order to find peace in the afterlife. It’s an interesting mash-up of genres elevated by above-average cinematography, acting and action set pieces.

Saturday Matinee: Mr. Freedom

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“Mr. Freedom” (1969) is a surreal polemic directed by William Klein skewering patriotism, imperialism and cold war scare-mongering by chronicling the idiotic exploits of an all-American superhero. What it lacks in plot and subtle acting it makes up for in audacious visuals and sadly still relevant yet deserving political jabs. The film is also notable for it’s soundtrack and cameo appearance by the great Serge Gainsbourg.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq8l5g_mr-freedom_shortfilms

Saturday Matinee: King of Devil’s Island

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“King of Devil’s Island” (2010) is a Norwegian drama directed by Marius Holst based on a true story. Benjamin Helstad stars as Erling, a new arrival at Bastøy youth prison who befriends Olav (Trond Nilssen). When Olav witnesses a horrible crime committed by the Housefather against a fellow prisoner the friends must struggle against overwhelming odds for justice. The film combines elements of classic prison/student rebellion films and “Lord of the Flies” and features a memorably atmospheric soundtrack by Johan Söderqvist and Sigur Rós.

(Note: May not work on some portable devices.)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/412440

Saturday Matinee: eXistenZ

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“eXistenZ” (1999) is the last feature film of writer/director David Cronenberg’s to feature his trademark “body horror” imagery (as of this writing). It’s also his film that most overtly displays the influence of the writings of Philip K. Dick and has much to say about the increasing influence of technology on society and cognition.

Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a standout performance as Allegra Gellar, a celebrity programmer of virtual reality games who becomes caught in a complex web of shifting alliances (and realities) involving corporate espionage and a “Realist Underground”. Jude Law and Willem Dafoe are equally outstanding in supporting roles.

Watch the full film here.

Saturday Matinee: The Day the Fish Came Out

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“The Day the Fish Came Out” (1967) is a Greek/British co-production written and directed by Michael Cacoyannis (who also designed the film’s bizarre costumes). The film is a satirical sci-fi take on an actual incident in which two military aircraft collided over Spain causing four hydrogen bombs to rain down amongst the debris. Two of the bombs partly detonated similarly to a dirty bomb creating radioactive contamination in the area that persists to this day. In the film version, when a deadly payload called “Container Q” is dropped over a Greek resort island Americans disguised as tourists and real estate developers race against time to recover it in a dark comedy of errors reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmt7hc_the-day-the-fish-came-out_shortfilms