The Fear of God: The Raven
21 Mar
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The Sacred and the Profane, by Reed Lackey
18 Mar
For decades, a notorious film by director Ken Russell provoked debate, controversy, and sometimes disgust in audiences who had the rare privilege to see it. Banned in several countries around the world, and lacking formal distribution in any others, The Devils was one of film connoisseurs’ most heavily sought lost treasures. Warner Brothers began a rocky distribution in the early 2000s, releasing the film in limited printings, with sub-par video quality, on DVD. It appeared on iTunes in 2010, only to be removed again without explanation after only 3 days. Even these few releases removed the more severely controversial moments of the film, and a complete version remains extremely elusive, if not entirely lost.
The Fear of God: Re-Animator
28 Feb
Endless Possibilities, by Reed Lackey
25 Feb
The best science fiction operates on two levels: limitations and possibilities. Mostly the limitations are human ones while the possibilities are scientific ones. Coherence is a film that has a strong handle on both. It largely takes place in one room… sort of… and yet, seemingly points to nearly endless differences between reality and understanding.
The Madness of Belief, by Reed Lackey
22 Feb
William Peter Blatty, the legendary author of The Exorcist, directed exactly two films. The most popular of those is The Exorcist III, but before that, he helmed the bizarre, reflective, often hysterical and often alarming oddity called “The Ninth Configuration”. Starring Stacy Keach and Scott Wilson, the story tells of an insane asylum which has just received a new director named Kane. What begins as an apparent adjustment period as director and patients get to know one another eventually shifts into unusually heavy and thought-provoking territory.
The Danger of Trust, by Reed Lackey
18 Feb
I must confess that the style of the genre known as “mumblecore” is still something to which I’m adjusting. The sparse settings, the mostly improvised dialogue, and the naturalistic performances seem to be striving towards a deliberate reality, and as a result have their virtues and their detriments.
Blistering, by Reed Lackey
15 Feb
In turbulent and uncertain times, heightened anxieties and tensions are often described by four metaphorical words: “Things are heating up.” Blind Sun, a recent French film from director Joyce Nashawati takes those words to heart and crafts a story around them that is challenging, reflective, and, at times, quite troubling.
