MoFo TeeVee – Episodes 6-15

Final episodes of MoFo TeeVee’s coverage of the 2008 San Diego Comic Con.

MoFo TeeVee – Episodes 3 – 5

More episodes of MoFo TeeVee covering the 2008 San Diego Comic Con.

MoFo TeeVee – Episodes 1 and 2

Hey, I’m in Southern California right now. Just got back from the freakshow to end all freakshows—the 2008 San Diego Comic Con. This year I decided to document the event on my new video show MoFo TeeVee. Each episode runs no more than two or three minutes, some are less than a minute. Here is the first of several installments chronicling Comic Con. Look for more in the days to come.

Recasting The DARK KNIGHT

Several critics have called The Dark Knight more of a crime film or a modern noir thriller than a superhero movie, drawing comparisons to contemporary films like The Departed, Heat and L.A. Confidential. To be sure, The Dark Knight is very much a modern-day noir thriller. Released by Warner Brothers, the studio most closely associated with gangster and noir films of the 1930s and 40s, The Dark Knight has much in common with the films of that past era. Drenched in shadows and deftly exploring the nether regions of moral ambiguity, the crime films of Hollywood’s past often featured sociopath criminals going up against two-fisted champions of justice. These forces of good and evil often squared off against each other in the back alleys of cities crumbling under the decay of crime and corruption, while average citizens cowered in fear for their safety.

film review: THE DARK KNIGHT

You might not think it possible for a character that is pushing 80 years-old to have as much energy in his old bones as Batman does in his latest screen epic, The Dark Knight, but that is just not the case. In his follow-up the franchise re-energizing Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan takes the Caped Crusader to places never before explored in film, and seldom touched upon even within the comics. The result is a superhero film unlike most other superhero films—a grim, often unrelenting tale of moral ambiguity about men driven by convictions so intense it compromises their sanity.

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dvd review: ZOMBIE WARS

Here’s the deal with this film: an advanced screener arrived in my mailbox, with no box art and no information about a release date. Searching the web, and it is pretty difficult to find much information other than what is listed on IMDB and some reviews on a handful of websites. In this day and age of seemingly unlimited access to information, when you have any degree of difficulty finding information about a new film, it feels like a bad sign. Don’t get me wrong, because I’m not superstitious, but at some point I started feeling like maybe there was some higher force telling me that I should not watch Zombie Wars. And if that’s the case, I should have listened.

film review: HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

The first Hellboy film, directed by Guillermo del Toro and based on the popular comic book character created by Mike Mignola, was a pleasant cinematic surprise. Hellboy had an incredible visual style, impressive effects, fast pace, undeniable energy and a great performance by Ron Perlman buried underneath a ton of prosthetic makeup, so much so that it was easy to miss the fact the film was rather light on story. The first viewing of the film was filled with a sense of “this is awesome” coolness that upon repeated viewings eventually gave way to the realization of “there ain’t much story here”—ultimately it was little more than an extended chase punctuated with a few fights. With the inevitable sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, del Toro returns with his first follow film since the brilliant Pan’s Labyrinth, and delivers a film that is a shaky mix of comic book fanboy fun and awkward disappointment over a movie that never quite delivers all that it promises.

dvd review: INVISIBLE TARGET

Director John Woo’s 1992 masterpiece Hard Boiled was a significant film for many reasons. First and foremost was that even within the context of Hong Kong action films—films easily recognizable for their hyperbolic, over-the-top action—Hard Boiled seemed to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Woo’s epic tale raised the bar for Hong Kong action cinema, while at the same time serving as a mind-blowing introduction to those unfamiliar with these films. And while many films and many filmmakers have tried to top Hard Boiled, even Woo himself has not been able to emerge from the spectacular shadow cast by him and his movie. The sad truth is that every action film that comes out of Hong Kong that deals with bad guys versus cops will always be compared to Hard Boiled, and even ambitious ones like director Benny Chan’s Invisible Target, with its impressive action pieces, will suffer from comparison.

interview – BAGHEAD creators Jay and Mark Duplass

Sibling filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass made an impressive feature film debut in 2005 with The Puffy Chair. Critically acclaimed, The Puffy Chair possessed a low tech, naturalistic cinema verite style that has since become labeled “mumblecore,” and helped establish the Duplass Brothers as two rising talents in the world of indie filmmaking. Their sophomore film, the oddly titled Baghead, finds the Duplass Brothers returning the same aesthetic that defined The Puffy Chair, with both Jay and Mark serving as directors.