AMIRA & SAM Review- Jonesy's Take

AMIRA & SAM

Director: Sean Mullin

Writer: Sean Mullin

Cast: Martin Starr, Dina Shihabi, Paul Wesley, and Laith Nikli.

Synopsis: A war veteran and an Iraqi immigrant fall in love under unlikely circumstances.

This review originally ran on CentralTrack.com

ABC's OF DEATH 2 Review - Jonesy's Take

ABCs OF DEATH 2

Directed by: a bunch of people

Written by: a bunch of other people

Starring:: So many people

Synopsis: A compilation of shorts each featuring a death starting with letters of the alphabet.

20,000 DAYS ON EARTH Review - Javi's Take

20,000 DAYS ON EARTH

Directed by: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard

Starring: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Ray Winstone, Kylie Minouge

Synopsis:  A look at musician Nick Cave's creative process  while he ramps up a performance at the Sydney Opera House.

THE VISITOR Review - Javi's Take

THE VISITOR

Directed by: Giulio Paradisi

Written by: Giulio Paradisi, Ovidio Assonitis, Luciano Comic, and Robert Mundi

Starring: Paige Conner, Shelley Winters, Lance Henriksen, John Huston and Sam Peckinpah

Synopsis: When an evil entity manifests itself as a young girl, it's up to the Visitor to stop her from spreading evil to the world.

THE VISITOR Trailer Wants You To Know How Crazy The Movie Is

Drafthouse Films has been constantly releasing amazing movies and exposing them to the masses for a couple of years now. Just this year, they've released three of my favorite movies in I DECLARE WAR, THE ACT OF KILLING, and the upcoming THE CONGRESS. Now, they have taken it upon themselves to release THE VISITOR, a trippy sci-fi adventure featuring a girl, her evil hawk, and some sort of Christ
figure. The new trailer courtesy of the Drafthouse Vimeo page is a brand new version cut by HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN director Jason Eisener.

Check it out after the break.

Netflix Instant TV and Movie Picks: Drafthouse Films Edition!

Happy Friday everyone. Hopefully your October days have been filled with classic horror films galore, but if you're looking for something else different to watch this weekend, Drafthouse Films just plopped a few of their titles on Instant for all of us to enjoy.

A BAND CALLED DEATH

A documentary about the a 70's punk band who never was able to make it to the big time when they were together, but have gained notoriety decades after recording their music. I've heard nothing but praise for this film, and even if you're not a music person (like me), the film is a fascinating look at the struggles of this group.

WRONG
Quentin Dupieux is a very, bold director who isn't afraid to make an absurd film. We both loved his surreal feature, RUBBER, and now he's created another semi-existential film about a man who has lost his dog and is in denial about many parts of his life. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're looking for something a little more thought provoking, check this one out.  

GRACELAND
Drafthouse Films has a knack for finding not only obscure but brilliant American films, but outstanding foreign films that would have slipped under everyone's radar otherwise. This film is from the Philippians, and is a gripping thriller a father thrust into the midst trying to save his daughter, who was mistakenly kidnapped by men thinking she a politician's daughter. 

That's all for me this week!


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Fantastic Fest 2013 Wrap Up: Jonesy's Top Films

This year's Fantastic Fest came with much anticipation. The festival was moved to a different location, The Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, because the Lamar location was still under renovation. However, as always, the team of individuals that put together this festival did no disappoint this year. In fact, this may have been the most solid set of programming I've seen in the three years I've gone. Out of all the films, only two were disappointments. It was tough to pick just five favorites, but I finally narrowed it down. But seriously, almost all the films I saw I would recommend.

Now onto my picks!

Fantastic Fest 2013 Review: NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN - Jonesy's Take

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN

Directed by Katrin Gebbe

Written by Katrin Gebbe

Starring: Julius Feldmeier, Sascha Gersak, Annika Kuhl, and Swantje Kohlhof

Synopsis: A young man's faith is tested when he gets caught up with a seemingly normal family.

THE ACT OF KILLING Review- Javi and Jonesy's Take

THE ACT OF KILLING

Directed by: Joshua Oppenheimer with Christine Cynn and Anonymous.

Starring: Anwar Congo and Herman Koto

Synopsis: In the 60s, Anwar and Herman killed thousands of people opposing their new goverment, now with a camera in hand, they recreate those killings.

Netflix Instant: TV and Movie Picks - Scary Edition!

Whew. It is painfully hot outside, and I am looking for almost any excuse not to trek out my door. Now, I've been marathoning the Netflix original series, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. It's quite fabulous, and you should really check it out, but that would be too easy as one of my picks for this week. However, I did come up with a theme!

THE BAY

Don't count this one out just because it is a found footage film. I've heard rumblings spreading throughout the Internet that this film is more effective and thrilling than most in the genre. I'm a sucker for found footage, so I'm in. 

THE ABCs OF DEATH

This little film is the brain child of Tim League of the Alamo Drafthouse and Ant Timpson. It's a series of 26 short films by 26 different directors. Each director was given a letter of the alphabet, a small budget, and complete artistic freedom. The results are quite dynamic. It's an interesting exercise in anthology filmmaking and will introduce you to a variety of filmmakers you may not have heard of before. 

FUNNY GAMES

Director Michael Haneke's film is an unsettling portrayal of the home invasion plot. He eventually directed his own American remake of the film ten years later, which might be a first. However, the original film is tense, creepy, and makes me weary of stranger who requests eggs from me.  

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A FIELD IN ENGLAND Trailer Is Haunting AND Confusing

This seems to be the month to talk about English director Ben Wheatley. His amazing movie, THE KILL LIST just came on to Netflix Watch Instant, his newer movie, SIGHTSEERS is currently out on VOD  and today, thanks to the YouTube page for Picutrehouse Cinemas, we have a new UK trailer for his next movie, A FIELD IN ENGLAND. As to what exactly is going on, I have no clue... The synopsis is just as confusing but all the more intriguing. Check out the trailer below.

Drafthouse Films to Release Fantastic Fest Favorite: I DECLARE WAR

You know, it's a shame I never got around to writing that review of my favorite movie from last year's Fantastic Fest, I DECLARE WAR. The movie has a lot of heart, a great sense of humor, and tells a compelling story about the meaning of friendship. The film follows a group of friends in an innocent game of capture-the-flag and quickly begins exploring the boundaries of loyalty and trust.

It blew us away at Fantastic Fest, ended up being one of this site's favorites, and now, Drafthouse Films has acquired this gem of a film. Thank goodness. Seek this film out later this year. You won't regret it.

Check out all the details after the break.

The Drafthouse Alliance: Get Drafthouse Films Movies Delivered to Your Doorstep!

The Alamo Drafthouse has become a staple stop whenever any of my friends travel down to Austin. And we cannot wait for them to finally open up here in Dallas! Their movie going experience is unbeatable, and almost all of that is attributed to founder Tim League's passion of creating a movie theatre and community for true movie fans.

A couple years ago, League branched out and created Drafthouse Films, the distributing arm of the theatre. Since its inception, Drafthouse Films has distributed FOUR LIONS, MIAMI CONNECTION, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS, KLOWN, THE FP, and the Oscar nominated BULLHEAD.

Now it's time for the next step. An announcement came today that Drafthouse Films placed out a call to action:

Our motto is simple: "share the movies we love with the widest audience possible." Under the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema banner — a progressive institution for movie fans, run by movie fans — we follow the same principles with our brand by curating a distribution label with only the movies we believe in. With this membership, you are joining us in the collective pursuit of diverse visionary and provocative films new and old from around the globe. Join us.

Their new subscription service in which members pay a flat fee of $124.99 and receive loads of perks:

• Receive a current or upcoming Drafthouse Films release of your choice and the next 9 releases on DVD or Blu-ray automatically to your door step

• High-quality 720p HD Digital Download of each film (redeem code included in DVD/Blu-ray packaging)

• Instant download of each film's Soundtrack in 320kbps MP3 (when available)

• Invites to exclusive Drafthouse Films events and screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and venues around the country

All shipping and handling charges are included in the Drafthouse Films Alliance membership.

The last bullet really got my attention. The Alamo Drafthouse always has awesome special events including movie themed dinners, rare 35mm screenings, and summer-long weekly parties. However, unless you're watching twitter or on your computer at the perfect time, a lot of those events can sell out within minutes. So, to be able to be basically on a VIP list for events and screenings is pretty awesome. They always seem to come up with new and unique events every year, and it's always exciting to go.

Now where can I find some extra cash??

For all the details head over HERE!


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BULLHEAD (RUNDSKOP) Review- He Said

BULLHEAD

Directed by: Michael R. Roskam

Written by: Michael R. Roskam

Starring: Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, and Jeanne Dandoy

Synopsis: A look at the "cattle hormone mafia" and a cattle rancher in Belgium after a cop is murdered.