Lessons of Darkness

Ready to Rumble

Over at IFC News, I investigate the cinema's attempts to mimic video games' rumbling-controller effects. And in the review department, I take a look at fiction and non-fiction portraits of fighters, a nature doc culled from the BBC's Planet Earth, a racially charged Fatal Attraction clone, and a wretched Greek import.

The Sandbox: Shake Your Money Maker (IFC News)

Out Now:
Tyson (The Screengrab)
Fighting (Slant magazine)
Obsessed (Slant magazine)
Earth (Slant magazine)
A Touch of Spice (Slant magazine)

Be sure to check back next week for my thoughts on the summer's first real would-be blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Jim Jarmusch's latest The Limits of Control, and oh-so-much more...

Crank It Up

Crank: High Voltage offers up just what its predecessor did - frenzied, outrageous, R-rated cartoon sex and violence, as well as heavy doses of racism, sexism and homophobia. Though always going at 100 mph, it's far more dull than the comparably restrained, refined State of Play.

Now Playing:
Crank: High Voltage (Slant magazine)
State of Play (The Screengrab)
Sleep Dealer (The Screengrab)
Is Anybody There? (Slant magazine)

Observing and Reporting

Thanks to a busy holiday weekend, this new link post is a bit late. But, rest assured, it's still oh-so-very relevant.

My latest Sandbox Column:
The Sandbox: Blockbusteritis (IFC News)

Out Now:
Observe and Report (Slant magazine)
Hannah Montana: The Movie (Cinematical)
Lymelife (The Screengrab)
An Unlikely Weapon (The Screengrab)

My latest "Letdowns" column at The Screengrab:
Ghostbusters II (The Screengrab)

Eight Track

Eight new reviews for this Friday morning, all for films that open today.

In Theaters:
Fast & Furious (Slant magazine)
Sugar (The Screengrab)
Gigantic (The Screengrab)
Paris 36 (Slant magazine)
The Escapist (Slant magazine)
Forbidden Lie$ (Slant magazine)
The Song of Sparrows (The Screengrab)
Alien Trespass (The Screengrab)

And coming next week - a new Sandbox column, as well as my thoughts on Observe and Report.