This week on Screen Grabs: An operatic nursing home the Necronomicon redux a whole new spin on soy sauce and a double dose of Bruce Willis. Yippee ki-yay!
Quartet
One of my more embarrassing guilty pleasures is the period drama / soap opera Downton Abbey . There’s not much I could say to my dude friends to justify watching it each week but hey the snarky scene stealing of Maggie Smith is totally fun. The distinguished Dame takes on a similar role in Quartet as a retired opera singer starring alongside fellow silver foxes Billy Connoly Pauline Collins and Michael Gambon. Clearly the directorial debut of Dustin Hoffman isn’t aimed at my demographic but pop on the kettle and let’s get cozy.
Evil Dead
On the other hand one thing that’s definitely cool with the crew is 1981’s no-budget classic The Evil Dead from the braintrust of bum-chinned heartthrob Bruce Campbell and future Spider Man rebooter Sam Raimi. Following the messy awesomeness of the musical stage adaptation there’s now a slick cinematic remake set to hit theatres with the stamp of approval from its creators. Sadly judging by this squirm-inducing red band trailer the campy self-aware sprit of the original (taken even further in Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness ) has been replaced by modern-day torture-porn tactics. The knife through the tongue is gross enough and I shudder to think what they’ve done with the tree sex scene.
Dangerous Liaisons
For a different kind of remake altogether (and a period piece to boot) this update on 1988’s tale of naughty aristocrats starring Glenn Close John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer shifts the action to 1930s Shanghai. Taking a cue from Ang Lee’s underrated Lust Caution it follows the afterhours activities of sexed-up socialites with Zhang Ziyi in the starring role. RIYL: Waxy moustaches and torn bodices.
Lay the Favorite
Look how nicely the threads are connecting here: Stephen Frears director of the original Dangerous Liaisons now helms this sports betting comedy. Sadly despite its cast of Bruce Willis Catherine Zeta-Jones Rebecca Hall and that guy from Dawson’s Creek Lay The Favorite looks like absolute dog shit. Can’t win ‘em all…
A Good Day to Die Hard
Now we’re talking! The nth sequel in the world’s greatest action series brings good ol’ John McClane to Russia with all the explosions car chases and leather-clad buns you could ask for. Live Free or Die Hard was amazing in a terrible way (or terrible in an amazing way) and this one might even top it. Starting off with an “Ode To Joy” remix you know they’re not shooting for subtle.
Brooklyn Castle
If season four of The Wire (when Prez redeemed himself as a school teacher) was your favourite this might be the documentary for you. Brooklyn Castle shines the spotlight on five students from I.S.I. 318 an inner-city school where the cool kids are the chess team. This one scored rave reviews at Hot Docs and SXSW and while it hasn’t landed a wide release in Canada yet it’s definitely one to watch out for.
John Dies At The End
They had me at “from the director of Phantasm .” Wilder still the connecting threads continue because Don Coscarelli is also the genius behind Bubba Ho Tep that Elvis-vs.-zombies-in-an-old-folk’s-home caper starring who else but Bruce Campbell! This one gets equal points for creativity with its trippy storyline of a magic drug called soy sauce allowing users to travel through time and different dimensions. Your guess is as good as mine as to what actually goes on here but toss Paul Giamatti in the mix and I’m hooked.
Rosemary’s Baby
Finally it wouldn’t be right to post this today without a classic Hollywood horror. Here are three reasons to check out the new Criterion release of Roman Polanski’s hellish infant opus. Happy Halloween!
