The Double is a pitch-black comedy written and directed by Richard Ayoade, whom you might remember as Moss from The IT Crowd. The film stars Jessie Eisenberg in a dual role as a timid office drone and his exact physical doppelganger who has all the charisma and daring he lacks. While the presentation is delightfully surreal and often campy, the film packs some pretty heavy themes of isolation, paranoia and depression that give it a powerful dramatic core. Continue reading
Miami Connection is about Tae Kwon Do blackbelt orphans who play in a rock band called Dragon Sound and fight a motorcycle gang of drug-dealing ninjas. I don’t think a feature film could physically contain more awesomeness than that. Of course, the execution could not possibly live up to that premise. The film is a bizarre hodgepodge of half-baked ideas, regrettable attempts at drama, clumsy stabs at comedy, terrible synth rock music and graphic ninja violence. It’s amazing. Continue reading
Streets of Fire is a unique action movie written and directed by the underappreciated Walter Hill. Billed as a “Rock ‘n Roll Fable,” it’s set in an alternate-reality 1980s where the styles and culture of the 1950s never died. This is a world of hot rods, greasers, diners and rockabilly. With its focus on a gritty but fantastical setting, the film can be easily seen a spiritual successor to Hill’s previous film The Warriors, which also dealt with street crime in a brutal but oddly fanciful world. Continue reading
It’s Such a Beautiful Day is an animated film by writer/director Don Hertzfeldt, whom you might know as the guy behind the cult animated short “Rejected.” This is Hertzfeldt’s first feature-length film, though it’s actually a combination of three associated shorts. All three chapters of the film center on a man named Bill, whose life, body and mind are coming apart. Continue reading
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