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Con Games (2001)
A very entertaining film
Move over, Vin Diesel. Get lost, The Rock. My new favorite action star is Tommy Lee Thomas. Clearly he studied a lot of Clint Eastwood films and he mastered the legendary star's steely-eyed squint and sparse line deliveries. He also seems to have studied numerous fitness magazines, as half of the film finds him running about shirtless (and looking like a million bucks). But he also co-wrote the screenplay and clearly possesses a sense of eccentric humor -- at one point, he and another inmate are engaged in an intense session of Go (the ancient Japanese strategy game) while later in his torture is prefixed with a strange debate that has him advocating "Terminator 2" in favor of Eric Roberts' beloved "Lethal Weapon." This film is very diverting and highly watchable.
A Packing Suburbia (1999)
Dynamite!!!
A prescient, disturbing film that forecast both the rise in teen gun violence of the Columbine variety and the destructive power of the Internet on impressionable young people. This indie production was clearly ahead of its time. Sadly, it did not receive the level of attention it deserved when it was in theatrical release. Hopefully, it can find a new audience via DVD. Stuart Alson, executive director of the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, dubbed "A Packing Suburbia" as "the most controversial film about American youth today since the film 'Kids.'" Mr. Alson also is quoted as saying he thought it was of the best films he has ever seen in his festival. He wasn't half-wrong -- this is a great movie.
Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras (1999)
Brilliant
A true work of brilliant guerrilla cinema. Breaking all rules of linear storytelling, this surreal comedy is a must-see for anyone who likes their movies rude, zany and bizarre. And you haven't lived until you've seen Galileo in this film!
The Drivetime (1995)
Brilliant, eccentric sci-fi
Antero Alli's brilliant, eccentric sci-fi commentary on a society whose obsession with telecommunications is mirrored by its increasing failure to relate on a person-to-person basis. Shot on a micro-budget, the film literally soars with an extraordinary screenplay rich in wit and irony, spiced with a remarkable music score that flavors the visual and intellectual genius depicted on-screen. Clearly one of the best underground films of the 1990s.
Frankenstein (1910)
Long-lost mini-classic
The first film version of "Frankenstein" is celebrated for being unseen. Long considered lost, the sole surviving print belongs to a private collector who has only allowed a few screenings. The film itself is typical of the early cinema: stagy in its production, somewhat campy in its theatrical acting, and totally primitive in its special effects. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, it nonetheless offers a curious first-step into the world of cinematic horror.
Jeannot l'intrépide (1950)
Bizarre French animation
A truly bizarre animated feature from France, "Johnny the Giant Killer" incorporates Disney, Dali, Tex Avery and Hanna-Barbera into a crazy, frenetic adventure. A group of boys stumble upon a giant's castle, get captured and shrunken into miniature, and are then imprisoned. One boy escapes, is given refuge by a kingdom of bees, and then leads an insect invasion of the giant's castle. A weak English-dubbed version robs the film of whatever humor and irony the original Gallic screenplay may have possessed, and the violence in the flick (including decapitation and death via swordplay) is strangely rough considering this was an early 1950s production. The animation varies from eye-popping to banal, however, and none of the characters have any personality. This film is more of a curio than a classic...worth a look, but nothing to champion or savor.