Director: Attila Szász
Writer: Attila Szász
Producer: Dalma Hidasi
Starring: Vitéz Ábrahám, Ernõ Fekete, Dóra Létay
Country of Origin: Hungary
Running time: 30 min

 

 

reviewed by Andrew James
     When I received the request to take a look at the screener for this short film and give my thoughts on it, the title intrigued me, but I was even more interested in the cover art. I know, I know; never judge a book (or a DVD) by its cover. But sometimes one just can’t help themselves. The cover is caring and heartfelt, yet at the same time a little bit creepy. A mother and child silhouetted on a back porch in front of what looks to be a warm, inviting home. But just inside the home is a shadowy figure that looks slightly haunting and menacing. Great cover.

     So given the title, imagine my surprise when the DVD arrives and it’s actually a subtitled Hungarian film entitled, Most látszom, most nem látszom (Now You See Me Now You Don’t). It’s not very often I’m asked to screen and review a film out of Hungary. In fact, I’m not even sure if I’ve ever seen any films from that country. So now even more intrigued, I dropped the film in the DVD player. Wow.

     The film takes place all in a single household of a couple who seem to have a struggling relationship. But more than just the usual bickering or silent treatments, there seems to be something deeper to this emotional void - something almost sinister. The man is a scientist or inventor of some sort and on the day the film is set, he brings his work home with him; which appears to be some sort of method of making people invisible. Not soon after, the mother is encountered by her son whom she can’t see. Has the father secretly been conducting experiments on their son? Has the boy been monkeying around with the equipment or has something else happened? The plot twists a bit a leaves us guessing to the end. Not an easy task in 30 minutes.

     What lashes out to the viewer right away is the fantastic directing style. The camera seems to always be in motion and giving us something new to look at. But this isn’t the anoying shakey cam or frantic movement cam that you might expect. The shots are slow and deliberate. Some of the tracking shots seem to go on forever, uncut, and give great emotional impact to the visuals.

     Every angle is different and interesting. At no time are any of the shots typical and it’s apparent that this little indie film must have had some sort of budget behind it. Several camera tracking shots fly right out of a window or smoothly climb stairs. One shot in particular steadies on several characters on the ground as the camera shoots straight upward, while rain falls straight downward all around. It was a very thought out shot and did wonders for the film.

     The entire picture is like this. Everything appears very deliberate and well thought out. The warm colors and tones juxtaposed with harsh whites and bare walls make for, although beautiful, an almost surreal scene. Many lingering shots of just a stove top or a garden hose are made to look interesting in their respective cameos. The film is full of these shots.

     The acting is pretty fantastic too for a short film with only three characters and a 30 minute length. Especially the lead actress: Dóra Létay. She pretty much carries the movie and the scene in which she follows her invisible son throughout the house from his point of view is fascinating.

     Taking a quick left turn with the plot, the movie is more than an acceptable watch at any time. The director has made something here that has me more than intrigued to see more. A full length feature could easily be one of the best of the year should the director choose to do so. The story, although usually essential to a film, would likely be secondary to the stunning cinematography and the directing style of Attila Szász. This is worth the watch and definitely worth a re-watch… and a re-watch. Quite honestly I can’t really think of anything negative to say about the picture (and that’s RARE!). I can’t wait to see more from Szász.

     The great Edward Norton has scared me lately with his decision to play the title role in the Hulk sequel. I guess everyone needs a paycheck, but seriously, someone as terrific as Norton could surely find something better right? Well thankfully, it looks like he might’ve sort of gotten back on track after seeing the recently released trailer for Pride and Glory. Brought to us by the same screenwriters who are sort of hit or miss with the likes of Miracle, NARC and Smokin’ Aces, the movie has potential to be either really good or really bad. With Norton and Colin Farrel on board, as well as Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich (Little Children), I lean more towards really good.

     I couldn’t find an embeddable trailer yet, so head on over to WorstPreviews.com and check out this trailer of fairly decent quality of Pride and Glory. Then come back over and let us know what you think.

Update - thanks to CinemaFusion, I tracked down the YouTube version of the trailer. Enjoy…

     In case you blinked during the Southland Tales trailer (Apple), that IS Kevin Smith in the wheel chair. Here’s a close-up image of that character.

     I can’t believe that is him! As a side note, as I see this trailer more and more, the more I’m looking forward to it. I think the ridiculous cast will actually work in the film’s favor. Plus I like the comedic, quirky, action-filled vision of the future and what is sure to be a real thinker of a movie (ala Donnie Darko). The kind where you have to watch it 16 times to understand what is going on; and even then have to jump on the message boards to confirm your theory.

     Thanks to Kurt and his write-up over at Twitch for the heads up on this one. We seem to be giddy over here lately with the Day Watch (MP review) DVD release yesterday and the discussion on tonight’s Cinecast 66. Well, as fate would have it, the trailer for director Timur Bekmambetov’s newest film, Wanted (IMDb), found its way onto the internet today.

See the streaming trailer at Yahoo! movies as well as some HD streams.

     The signature style of Wanted is all Bekmambetov. It has a lot of the same look and feel of the Watch series; complete with the red sports car and armored truck chase. The slow-mo shots and eerie, yellow, surrealistic landscapes are all present. Unfortunately I’m not all that excited about the film just from the trailer. Yeah it looks kinda cool, but we got Morgan Freeman in his typical, monotone, voice-over narration as well as Angelina Jolie playing Mrs. Smith/Lara Croft all over again. I’m sure it will be better than any of the other crappy SFX/comic book movies next summer, but I have to see more to get really excited.

     Hayden Christiansen evokes a lot of feelings in people. Most know him as the guy who murdered Anakin Skywalker with some sub-par acting. Some hate him for that and others are just indifferent. Very few people actually like him quite a bit. I am one of those in the minority. With terrific performances in titles like Shattered Glass and Life as a House, he is often overlooked because of his larger (poorer) role in Star Wars. Also, while watching the recently released on DVD film, Factory Girl, about he life of Edie Sedgwick, I was surprised to see him steal the show playing the legendary Bob Dylan.

     Anyway, cutting to the chase, here is the latest trailer for his film, Awake. Alongside the always great Terrence Howard and the beautiful Jessica Alba, this does have potential. Potential to be what I’m not sure, but potential none the less. Take a look at this recently released trailer and tell me what you think. I think it is compelling, but it could go either way in terms of quality.

     What do you get when you cross Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman? A lot of people in a theater; that’s what. Today I got my first glimpse of the trailer for Charlie Wilson’s War. What sounds like a political thriller/social commentary film looks to actually be a fun, biting comedy.

     Besides the great Hoffman, we also have another underrated actress by the name of Amy Adams. Although I can’t spot her in the trailer, IMDb claims she’s there. If you’re wondering who she is, let’s just say Rachel Wiesz has a gold trophy on her shelf at home that should be on Ms. Adams’ shelf.

     So anyway, here’s the trailer; unfortunately with some ET commentary, but you get the gist. To see the trailer without the reporter talking in a couple of places, you can head over to Yahoo! movies. And yeah, that’s Julia Roberts looking more than OK in a bikini.

thanks to filmjunk for the heads up.

     As much fun as I have had with Ferrell in the past, I think it’s time he moved on from this juvenile stuff. Maybe this will prove to be funny; and I hope it is. But most likely it will be just as crappy as Taladega Nights was. Although Stranger than Fiction was far from a masterpiece, these are the type of roles Ferrell should be looking for. Just my opinion.

     Non entirely sure what to make of this. A musical, a comedy, a horror thriller and a drama seemingly all rolled into one. To be honest, it doesn’t really strike the fancy of my particular tastes, but judging from the trailer this will be unlike just about anything else we’ve seen. Still, at the same time, it is very Burton-esque and unmistakeable as his work.

     I put a lot of stock in what Burton can do and of course Depp (despite the bad taste still in my mouth from the Pirates debacle) looks as strong as always. Couple that with one of the better villain actors out there in Alan Rickman and I thnk we’re set for a great ride. Oh yes, and then there’s always Carter’s cleavage prominently featured.

     This is old news I know (very old in fact) but I just came across it and just had to do a post about it. It’s the original, sort of ‘teaser’ trailer for what is arguable the best horror film of all time (notice I said arguable), Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. This trailer is almost as creepy as the actual film itself (and it in fact shows a certain scene from the film in extended form). Take a look below and be prepared to be creeped out.

     In an interview I just found from a few days ago that John Cusack gave with The Guardian UK, he claims he’s only made 10 good movies. He doesn’t list what they are, but he says, “I’m sure you know which ones they are. The ones that suck I tend to blank out. It’s like I never even made them.”

     First off, I love John Cusack. Even if the film he’s in sucks, I like him in them. Here’s a list of movies I like that star (or at least co-star) John Cusack. Let’s see if it’s more than 10.

Better off Dead
Eight Men Out
Say Anything
Grosse Pointe Blank
Con-Air (guilty pleasure)
The Thin Red Line
Being John Malkovich
High Fidelity
1408

And these films rocked, but don’t really count because he was barely in them: Stand By Me, Sixteen Candles, Broadcast News and The Journey of Natty Gann.

     So that’s nine on my list, wow. He’s about right with his 10 number! Of course he knows his career better than anyone I suppose. Still, there are a few movies in his filmography I have yet to see (e.g. Bullets Over Broadway or The Grifters, is that any good?). So I’m sure there are some more films that are maybe decent. Plus, I suppose cases could be made for films like City Hall, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or The Road to Wellville. But even so, give or take a couple of films, he pretty much hit the nail on the head with 10 good films (out of about 40 starring roles). “But that’s fine. Ten is a good batting average, don’t you think?” he said.

     Basically the interview is him discussing 1408 (MP review), since that was recently released in he UK. Putting all that info aside, here are some other interesting tid-bits Cusack had in the interview regading his career in general:

“I suppose I have a certain thing I do well that people seem to like. Not everyone likes it, of course. The guy in the Guardian last week certainly didn’t. So there you go,” he smiles. “Some people like it, other people don’t.”

re: Sure Thing, Say Anything, High Fidelity: “I’m aware of the affection those characters inspired. I feel close to Lloyd in Say Anything. He was like a super-interesting version of me. Only I’m not as good as him. Whatever part of me is romantic and optimistic, I reached into that to play Lloyd. Of course, now it’s all gone. Now I’m just bitter.”

“People who offer me work,” he says. “There’s this brand that they think I am, and I get sent stuff that corresponds to that. I have to do it. It’s not like there are 10 projects on offer at any one time, and six of them are brilliant. No one cares. The movies have got more corporate, they’re making fewer movies in general, and those they are making are all $200-$300m tent-pole releases that eat up all the oxygen.”

Then he says seriously, “I think I’m pretty brave, I’ll take risks. I can look at my career and point to the movies that were risky. Being John Malkovich worked out great, so people tend to forget what a risk it was - first-time writer, first-time director and so on. I read that screenplay four years before it got made. I’d said to my agents: ‘Show me scripts that are fantastic and crazy.’ I love getting up on that tightrope. I wish I could do it more, but I have to balance what I want to do with what people want me to do.”

     After all that, there’s another “risk” movie Cusack has coming that should gain him some attention in the actors critics circles out there. It’s called Grace is Gone and not only won the audience choice award at Sundance this year, but looks extremely emotional, heartfelt, beautiful and best of all, Cusack looks to be amazing in it. You can check out the trailer below.

     We’ve mentioned this film before, but it bears repeating now that it has screened for some critics. The Bob Dylan biopic, I’m Not There premiered yesterday at the Venice Film Festival and apparently has critics raving. Consider this on my most anticipated list for fall 2007. It’s got Oscar bait written all over it and most inviting for me, is the unorthodox cast of characters to play Dylan at various stages of his life: Bale, Ledger, Gere, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin.

…a black actor in his early teens, Marcus Carl Franklin, plays the musician as he arrives as an unknown in New York at the age of 20, while 57-year-old Richard Gere represents him at the age of 32. Heath Ledger and British actors Christian Bale and Ben Whishaw take on other periods.

     Most intriguing to me of the six actors to play Dylan in the film, is the spectacular Cate Blanchet. There is some early Oscar talk already about Blanchett’s performance and of that I have no doubt. The director, Todd Haynes, recently did a press interview, and here are a couple things he had to say via The Guardian:

…the representation of Dylan in the mid-60s was always meant to be played by a woman. “I felt it was the only way to resurrect the true strangeness of Dylan’s physical being in 1966, which I felt had lost its historical shock value over the years.

Cate was scared; she told me many times that this was a very scary challenge for her. It took her a long time to commit to it … I told her it’s good to be terrified, that you’re taking a risk and sometimes that’s really when the surprises happen. I guess it at least convinced her to give it a shot.”

     The film mixes black-and-white footage with colour sequences and real news footage of American protests in the 1960s and scenes from the Vietnam war. Richard Gere (57), who is playing Bob Dylan at age 32, describes the script as “bizarre.” Sign me up! Here’s a clip of Blanchet as Dylan (followed by the teaser trailer in the unwrap link):

for the teaser, click here…
UNWRAP TEXT or SHOW **SPOILER**

     I had heard of this film a long time ago but had totally forgotten about it. Then I came across the poster for it (shown below) and decided to see if there was anything else released for it. And sure enough there is already a trailer online (also shown below). I think this looks like a lot of fun, check it out:

     Like I said I think this looks like a lot of fun. Everything about it is just so cute and adorable (I’m guessing that’s what they are aiming for) and the trailer put a big smile on my face. This is now firmly on my most anticipated list, it’s nice to see a film like this every once in a while (I really hope they don’t go too far down the cheesy, “aimed totally at the kids” road). I hope it’s one that all age groups can appreciate in different ways.

On a side note does anyone else think these two things?:

1. This should be directed by Tim Burton.

2. The character Hoffman plays, looks more suited to someone like Christopher Walken.

Anyway I can’t wait for this.

     Stephen King is a guy who writes some masterfully intense stories. The film adaptations of these great stories, on the other hand, can be very hit or miss. And when I say very hit or miss, I mean VERY hit or miss. The films are either completely amazing (Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me, The Shining) or they can be total crapola (Sometimes they Come Back, Langoliers, Secret Window, Needful Things, Thinner).

     I read The Mist as part of a collection of short stories back in high school and remember loving it; but with King’s catalog of films, I’m not holding my breath for anything too great with the film version. Still, it has possibilities. Anyway, the trailer hit the web recently and we’ve got it here for you to check out…

     This looks like it could be okay, but to be honest, I’m MUCH more interested in seeing the film adapation for “The Long Walk.” King’s most intriguing story to date that has yet to be made into a movie - in my opinion.

     At Toronto After Dark, there have been two zombie films announced already to take place as a double bill immediately following the zombie pub crawl. Both look fairly good. Although let’s be honest, any zombie movie is a good zombie movie. So to my delight, a meesage in my inbox tonight from John Allison alerted me to a zombie trifecta!

     The Zombie Diaries looks to be shot totally on hand held, shaky cam (which could be a problem) in sort of a documentary style; much like Blair Witch Project. A virus has engulfed the planet and when people die, they are reanimated as zombies. Sounds like fun to me. In fact, over on facebook, I just joined the group, “The hardest part of a zombie apocalypse is pretending I’m not excited.”

click for hi-res

     I like the poster. With the motion blur, it appears to be a fast paced film (is that Tom Cruise?). If the poster and synopsis doesn’t convince you, have a look at the trailer. It’s pretty intense with a nice visual style…

     I wasn’t able to track down exactly when The Zombie Diaries is due to hit theaters or DVD. My guess is though that it will be difficult to track down as it is fairly independent. Look for it on the festival circuit though - I know it’s playing in Austin at the fest down there and those of you in the UK can already pick up the DVD at amazon.co.uk. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more local screenings. If I learn anything I’ll let you know.

     As a student who went to University for speech therapy, this litle trailer caught my eye and is opening in Minneapolis this weekend. It’s nothing overly special, but it certainly looks cute and charming and probably has a lot to say; especially for someone who is involved in my “un”chosen profession.

     It’s called Rocket Science and is about a teenage kid with a stuttering problem who ends up joining the debate team in an effort to “work things out.” It’s directed by the guy who did a great little documentary that got a lot of people talking back in 2002 called Spellbound. He’s also directed a couple episodes of “The Office.” Anyway, not much else to post about today, so here’s the trailer and official site:

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     Michel Gondry is a genius. No doubt about it. That word gets tossed around a lot these days, but with Gondry, I really believe it to be true. The man truly is a visionary and breaks the mold of how Hollywood traditionally makes a film.

     His newest release, Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black as a video store clerk who’s brain gets somehow magnetized, thereby erasing all of the tapes in the store. Instead of re-buying all the movies, he and his co-worker (Mos Def) decide to just refilm all the movies in the own way. It is frakking brilliant.

     Today the trailer for the movie was released and I gotta tell ya, I cannot WAIT for this movie. It looks to possibly be Gondry’s best work. It gets my ten bucks in a heart beat. Check the streaming version below or head over to Yahoo! for a larger version and hi-def versions and thanks to Marina for the heads up.

Stills…

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     Strolling around the internet a bit today I came across this trailer for King of California; a trailer I had not yet seen, but I guess it’s been out for a while now. Apparently it’s by the same producers that did Sideways - which is easily in my personal top 100 favorite films of all time.

     According to the IMDb profile for this film, this is a first time writer/director by the name of Mike Cahill. And I gotta tell you, judging by this trailer alone, this looks to be a fantastic little film. It looks to be kind of a similar style to Sideways and it stars one of my fav’s, Michael Douglas, in a quirky, untypecast sort of role. I love this trailer from beginning to end and can’t wait for the full feature. It doesn’t hurt that “The Flaming Lips” are on the soundtrack. Check it out:

     There’s another slightly different variation on this trailer (which I actually like a little better) over at Access Hollywood

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     Marina over at Mad About Movies via Obsessed With Film just informed us all that the new red band trailer is up for Shoot ‘Em Up. All I have to say is that this is going to be such a cool over the top movie. I loved Crank and also Smokin’ Aces and from the trailer I think this actually looks more over the top. When your watching it be sure to keep your eye out for the carrot!

     In order to watch the trailer you need to be a grown up and from the United States. Unfortunately some of us do not live in the US. Since this Andrew lives in the US I’m not going to post how to get around the age verification. What I do though is point you to Film Grotto. I’m pretty sure the person who runs that site lives in Canada and doesn’t feel bad at all about posting how to get by it.

     Just a post to let you all see some of the new trailers I have come across over the past few days:

“Things We Lost In The Fire“

Directed by Susanne Bier

Starring Halle Bery and Benicio Del Toro

Trailer verdict - Looks like it could be very heartwarming.

“Lust, Caution”

Directed by Ang Lee

Starring Tony Leung and Joan Chen

Trailer verdict - Looks like it could be “Best Foreign Language Film” material.

“10,000 BC”

Directed by Roland Emmerich

Starring Cliff Curtis and Camilla Belle

Trailer verdict - Looks cool but I have a feeling it is going to be cheesy as hell

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     Earlier today I did a couple of posts about the new site related to The Dark Knight. The countdown finished and a new page came up. Well - again user “Colin” - pointed me back towards that page a little while ago and to my suprise I found that it had changed. On the page is gave you a picture of a Gotham City Police Report saying that the Joker was dead but it was clearly a joke in and of itself to get the police to back down and stop looking for the Joker. Anyway upon browsing the page I saw a little flickering box next to part of the text and decided to click on it and to my surprise and sheer delight it was a teaser trailer. Here is instructions on how to see it:

• Go to www.whysoserious.com
• Click the little flickering box shown next to the arrow in the following picture:

• Enjoy the PERFECT teaser trailer for what is shaping up to be one heck of a movie!

EDIT:

     Or you can watch the smaller, inferior version of the trailer, but I encourage you to watch the bigger on on the site, here: