Author Archive for John Petkovic
THE AGE OF REVISION: Spaghetti Westerns
Film/Video Features THE AGE OF REVISION: Spaghetti Westerns By Feb 10, 2009, 07:47 –> There is one ethos to define the decade that concludes the 20th century. And, given the hoopla over the end of the millennium—most hotel rooms are booked New Year’s Eve, 2000, the world over—this defining ethos seems, on the surface, to [...]
The Evil That Men Do DVD review
Film / Video ReviewsThe Evil That Men Do DVD review By Mar 19, 2002, 04:12 THE EVIL THAT MEN DO directed by J. Lee Thompson; Columbia TriStar, 1984 So what gives with this Charles Bronson flick, recently reissued on DVD? The residuals from Death Wish run out? Could be. The production for The Evil That [...]
Invincible FILM review [Warner Herzog]
Film / Video ReviewsInvincible FILM review [Warner Herzog] By Sep 20, 2002, 18:36 Tim Roth as Hanussen in Invincible INVINCIBLE written and directed by Werner Herzog; Fine Line Films, 2002 For more than three decades, Werner Herzog has obsessed over the rise and fall of small men with giant dreams. There were the pint-size reprobates [...]
Kiss of the Dragon FILM review
Film / Video ReviewsKiss of the Dragon FILM review By Jan 22, 2002, 18:48 KISS OF THE DRAGON directed by Chris Nahon, written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen from a story by Jet Li, Sony, 2002 Anti-globalists have long warned of the dangers of a world without borders. Finally, they have their Exhibit [...]
Sanford and Son Season 1 DVD review
Film / Video ReviewsSanford and Son Season 1 DVD review By Aug 6, 2002, 19:32 SANFORD AND SON: The First Season. DVD Set; Sony Pictures, 2002 When Sanford and Son hit the tube in 1972, it was called the black counterpoint to All in the Family. No way, says Demond Wilson, who played Lamont opposite [...]
Trouble Every Day FILM review
Film / Video ReviewsTrouble Every Day FILM review By Mar 1, 2002, 21:04 TROUBLE EVERY DAY directed by Clair Denis; Lot 47 Films, 2002 It's rare. But sometimes art-house horror flicks manage the supernatural: They leave a queasy feeling in the gut while arousing the brain. Trouble Every Day is one of those films. Watching [...]
24 Hour Party People FILM review
Film / Video Reviews24 Hour Party People FILM review By Aug 9, 2002, 21:12 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE directed by Michael Winterbottom; United Artists Films, 2002 “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” Tony Wilson is not only conscious of John Ford's dictum, he's living proof of it. Wilson, the center of attention in [...]
Undercover Brother FILM review
Film / Video ReviewsUndercover Brother FILM review By May 31, 2002, 21:19 Eddie Griffin as Undercover Brother UNDERCOVER BROTHER directed by Malcom D. Lee; Universal Pictures, 2002 It's been a long time coming—after all, it's 30 years since the release of Superfly—but finally, Blaxploitation has gone mainstream. How else do you account for the threads, [...]
Contract Killer DVD review
Film / Video ReviewsContract Killer DVD review By Jul 30, 2002, 22:08 CONTRACT KILLER directed by Wei Tung; Sony, 2002 Some flicks are meant to be funny. Some are existentially funny. Contract Killer is both—so much so that you don't know when you're laughing with it or at it. Reissued on video last year (to [...]
THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE directed by Luis Bunuel
Film / Video ReviewsTHE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE directed by Luis Bunuel By Feb 12, 2002, 06:42 THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE directed by Luis Bunuel; Realto Pictures, 1972 Guess who's coming to dinner? In Luis Bunuel's surrealist comedy The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, everyone and everything is invited: social-climbers and terrorists; [...]