celluloid consommé

Daniel Stisen stars in this action homage from director Brad Watson. Box and disc art image courtesy of Well Go USA. From the outset a movie like  The Siege  can clue you in on what kind of experience to prepare for. In its cold open, a bus transporting a prisoner runs into something blocking the road. Action cinema veterans and neophytes can tell you what will happen next, and they would be absolutely correct. But the path this movie takes is like playing with a very enthusiastic poker player in possession of a good hand, but that someone has obvious tells that ruin any potential strategy. Predictability in action movies isn’t altogether a bad thing, but there’s not a lot else to confidently fall back on in  The Siege’s  case besides its action. And while it’s certainly inspired by the old-school action flicks of yore (let’s say solidly 80s through 90s for simplicity) its other elements can’t hold up the rest of the film. The director, Brad Watson, cites  Assau...

Ernesto Díaz Espinoza and Marko Zaror’s latest film is finally available on disc courtesy of Well Go USA. Box art shots courtesy of Well Go USA. Rising martial arts star Marko Zaror reteams with Ernesto Díaz Espinoza for an original story chronicling the life of a lone warrior known as Guerrero. Following a brotherly feud in which a sacred manual containing the secrets of the titular Fist of the Condor style is stolen from a mountaintop dojo, Guerrero faces challengers who mistake him for his brother believing him to be the one who carries the manual in attempts to win it with a duel. The combination of  Fist of the Condor’s  old-school style and minimalist approach create something altogether fresh and awe-inspiring. Students of martial arts and kung fu cinema have a slew of references to draw from across the film’s runtime but  Condor  stands independent even in portraying its influences on screen. Espinoza and Zaror have always made action and martial arts movies ...

The buzzed-about Mexican folk body horror film is now on Shudder. Michelle Garza’s body horror film focuses on a specific mindset attributed to the traditional family unit, when Valeria (Natalia Solián) becomes pregnant with her husband Raul (Alfonso Dosal). They’ve been trying for some time and following the good news they prepare as any expecting parents would. But Valeria has started to see strange things she can’t explain and her mind starts to become affected by an unknown force. In an astonishing feature-length debut, Michelle Garza Cervera weaves a light folk horror layer over the very real fears of becoming a mother in a life Valerie has made for herself but doesn’t feel like it’s the right one for her. She grapples with the impending finality of passing a milestone most would never look back from, but her past looks somewhat brighter in the rear view the further she becomes entrenched in familial obligation. Press enter or click to view image in full size There’s an incongruit...

By focusing on wuxia films this year, the NYC theater has helped to celebrate one of the greatest filmmakers in the world, legendary director King Hu. Subway Cinema, founders of the New York Asian Film Festival and the Old School Kung Fu Fest, present their 10th consecutive lineup of retrospective programming this year. This time around we’re treated to a reasonable chunk of wuxia action films — stories centered around martial arts warriors of ancient times who possess superhuman abilities righting wrongs and cleaning up communities rife with corruption. Subway Cinema’s programming is proudly housed at New York City’s Metrograph Theater, and the theme of wuxia is paid in specific homage to the filmmaker that made a name for himself with  Come Drink With Me  (his first directorial success with the Shaw Brothers Studio in 1966), an influence we’re still seeing to this day. The indisputable king of wuxia films is Hu Jinquan, otherwise known as King Hu. Two of the biggest highligh...