“In a Dream,” the documentary on Philadelphia mural artist Isaiah Zagar, will screen for free today at the Brooklyn Museum.  A unique study of a near-outsider artist and a profound personal history, this film is not one to be missed.  Isaiah and the filmmakers will be in attendance at the free screening.  If you are out of [...]...

For those following along with the progress of the new Butcher Brothers film “The Violent Kind” who wondered what the hell happened once we wrapped, I apologize. Basically, there’s not a whole lot of exciting news. We all took a much need seven day or so detox….err….break from the film, [...]...

I cannot even review this for fear that it will haunt me.  If formula can kill a piece of celluloid, it has done it here.  The story of a college grad not getting all she wants in profession and love is barely existent, and hence the film stuffs itself with kooky side characters.  Weird little [...]...

Hooray! We were able to recover much of the previously thought lost Tarantino show. Listen to Rick, Al and Mariko debate, sometimes heatedly, the work of everyone’s “favorite” ex-video store geek: Sound on Sight Episode 147: Pulp Fiction Next week: Francis Ford Coppola & enviro-docs “The Cove” and “Sharkwater”. Bookmark to:      ...

Hey everybody! This week’s podcast is a look at two of the films playing at this year’s Toronto After Dark film festival and Neil Blomkamp’s impressive “District 9″. Episode #146: Toronto After Dark/District 9 - Simon, Mariko, Ricky and Al talk about “Black,” “Trick ‘r Treat” & “District 9″ And I know I promised everyone a Tarantino show, [...]...

A last minute programming change meant that our Toronto After Dark coverage will be pushed to next week (when the fest actually starts) so that we could take a moment a remember a director that had a profound influence on folks of, well, my generation: Episode 144: Remembering John Hughes - Mariko makes her debut as [...]...

Why John Hughes? Why the tremendous outpouring of remembrance and grief for a director who directed only eight movies in not even a decade (1984-1991), and of those eight, only three (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles) are truly beloved. The list balloons to five if you count Pretty In Pink [...]...

What day is it, Thursday? I seriously have no clue. I do know “The Violent Kind” wrapped on Sunday morning at around 10:00 a.m. after a literally whirlwind 18 day shooting schedule. Seeing as this is my first time producing, I didn’t realize 18 days is like, really short. It is. And as I noted [...]...

Long in hiding, Peter Jackson unveils the first sighting of his chronicle of a death in retrospect, his adaptation of Alice Sebold’s ”The Lovely Bones.”  The visual master appears to revisit his tragedy-cum-fantasy technique in “Heavenly Creatures,” post “Lord of the Rings” wizardry, to present a dead girl’s look back to her life.  The story is widely [...]...

This week’s podcasts: Episode 142 - Documentaries from the edge: Simon, Al & special guest Derek Gladu discuss the documentary offerings from this year’s Fantasia Film Festival. Films discussed include “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia,” a portrait of an unhinged Southern clan, “Playing Columbine,” a look at videogame violence, fringe game developers, and [...]...

Most times, when an entertainer announces their retirement, they really mean, “Press please. PS: I am already planning my comeback.” But Dave Chappelle was never anything but sincere. So, unfortunately, after he revealed that he wouldn’t be returning to “Chappelle’s Show” and needed a break from the business of show, he all but disappeared. Sure, he’s [...]...

Sorry the podcasts are a little late again, but there’s a bunch of them, plus a couple of bonus interviews, a preview of tonight’s show & a special announcement involving yours truly… Sound on Sight 139 - Fantasia 2009, Best of Korean Cinema: Al and Simon take a quick look at four of the South Korean [...]...

We’re in the home stretch on shooting “The Violent Kind” and man, what a ride. Since this is my maiden voyage into producing a film, I’ve been really staying back and trying to learn as much as I can from executive producers Jeffery Allard (Executive Producer of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remakes!) and [...]...

Editor’s Note: I acquired the screener for the film “Vote Jesus” from the film’s editor, Greg Sucharew, on the set of “Living Will” starring Ryan Dunn and April Scott (my interview with the two actors is forthcoming).  Greg appeared to be a cultured and friendly guy…little did I know his film featured a festering sore of a leading man — [...]...

The headline is a little disingenuous, since I haven’t actually seen The Hangover yet (someone decided not to nap yesterday… or today for that matter).  But since the box office estimates are shaky enough to wait for the finals tomorrow, I’ll instead take a moment to highlight a little-known gem that shares the same basic concept as The Hangover.  It’s a 1988 Keanu Reeves vehicle that just came out on DVD via Lionsgate a couple months ago.  It’s a mediocre full-...

Here’s a couple random thoughts as I noticed this pic grabbed from an AICN spy from a recent licensing show.  First of all, perusing over to Box Office Mojo’s film release schedule page, it’s already apparent that summer 2011 will be an absolute monster of a season.  Already on tap are such surefire heavyweights as Spider-Man 4, Thor, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, Green Lantern, Cars 2, Transformers 3, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part II, and The First Avenger: ...

Here’s a couple random thoughts as I noticed this pic grabbed from an AICN spy from a recent licensing show.  First of all, perusing over to Box Office Mojo’s film release schedule page, it’s already apparent that summer 2011 will be an absolute monster of a season.  Already on tap are such surefire heavyweights as Spider-Man 4, Thor, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, Green Lantern, Cars 2, Transformers 3, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part II, and The First Avenger: ...

This week the Sound on Sight crew takes a look at two very different American auteurs: Episode 122: Jim Jarmusch & The Limits of Control Rick, Simon and returning guest Chrystina Benyo discuss Jarmusch’s latest, “The Limits of Control,” as well as two of his most popular older films, “Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai” and “Dead Man.” Episode 123: The Genius of Sam Raimi Rick, Simon & resident misanthrope Al takes a look at Sam Raimi’s new horror film, “Drag Me to Hell...

This week the Sound on Sight crew takes a look at two very different American auteurs: Episode 122: Jim Jarmusch & The Limits of Control Rick, Simon and returning guest Chrystina Benyo discuss Jarmusch’s latest, “The Limits of Control,” as well as two of his most popular older films, “Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai” and “Dead Man.” Episode 123: The Genius of Sam Raimi Rick, Simon & resident misanthrope Al takes a look at Sam Raimi’s new horror film, “Drag Me to Hell...

Drag Me to Hell is a throwback to a time, in the mid-1980s, when horror films were fun first and scary second.  Before the genre became a battle of the franchise bogeymen, before the advent of English adaptations of Asian fright fests, before the onslaught of gorier, more drawn out violence (itself a theoretical callback to the 1970s), there was a time when horror films just plain fun.  This new Sam Raimi picture is not terribly frightening, as the nature of its premise all but states that th...