2012 #110 - Crossing The Line

I’m very interested in North Korea and any documentary that is made about or around the country. This is one I’ve been wanting to watch for years, about a former U.S. citizen and soldier who left his post during the Korean War and went to the North Korean side. And has lived there ever since. Intriguing, scary and emotional, it gives an even handed look at  James J. Dresnok and the few that also joined him in living there. A great doc where you get a peak at daily life in the country that is a mystery to most.

2012 #109 - Doctor Who: Snakedance

I’m backed up on my Tumblr, but I’m going to plow through the ton of things I’ve watched since pneumonia almost killed me and my better half.

This was one of the many Doctor Who discs I got for Christmas, a first time watch for me. It was enjoyable, the second appearance of the villainous Mara from  previous episode (Kinda), which I also got for the holidays. It’s an enjoyable 5th Doctor adventure. The more I watch of Peter Davison, the more I fall in love and see exactly where Tennant got a lot of his style of Doctor from. Also, it was the first TV appearance of Martin Clunes, who went on to do the popular Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin series in England. Check it out if you can, especially if you’re a Whovian like me.

2012 #108 - The Night Porter

Because of my sickness this past week, I sadly had to miss what was one of my most anticipated episodes of The Criterion Cast. Mainly because this film is the epitome of controversy. A love story like no other (unless you look into the darker canals of Nazisploitation), The Night Porter shows a Nazi SS officer (played by Dick Bogarde) and a concentration camp prisoner (played by the stunning Charlotte Rampling) and their relationship together, in flashback mode and in present day. It’s dark as can be, yet still doesn’t necessarily exploit anybody like future films of this ilk would. Which is why I’m sad I couldn’t wax poetically about this one. I like Cavani’s film but feel bad that this is the one she’s most famous for and that some people hate it just because of the initial topic on display here. 

2012 #107 - Battle Beyond The Stars

Here’s one I haven’t seen in years. All I remembered was it was a semi-remake to Seven Samurai, but in space instead. A Corman production, it actually feels a bit meatier than some of the later sci-fi fare that followed. A great little cast (with Robert Vaughn, John Saxon, Sybil Danning, George Peppard and many others) that pushes the strange story along. A bunch of great (and a bit tedious) space battles round out a fun time. Would be better if about 15 minutes were cut from the film to tighten it a bit. Definitely owes a lot to Star Wars, but it’s one of the better poor man’s versions. On Netflix Instant Watch now.

2012 #106 - The Interrupters

Wow. That’s what I said during and after this amazing Steve James documentary. Showing what the Violence Interrupters, three that they focus on, deal with over a year’s time on the violent gang infested streets of Chicago, we learn about them and what they go through with situations that most others would balk at if confronted by. Just a relevant piece of film that should be up for the Oscar. Amazing stuff and you can check it out right now on PBS.com in 9 parts, I believe. 

2012 #105 - My Bloody Valentine

One of my top 5 slasher films of all time, the original My Bloody Valentine is just a fun ride that many other people have gushed over already. Watched it with someone who had never seen it and they enjoyed it a lot, which is always a joyous occasion for me to share with someone. Has the right amount of character development, a killer with a cool look and some of the best gore in 80’s slashers (which is sad that a majority of it was stripped from the original theatrical run). Luckily for us, on the latest release those scenes, while not as clean as the rest of the film, are to be seen in their bloody glory. If you’re a slasher fan and haven’t viewed this one, watch it pronto. It’s not just for the holiday. 

2012 #104 - Modus Operandi

One film I had been wanting to watch for quite some time was this one, a nod to 70’s style film, one that had probably been tape traded for a decade before it got to you which is why the quality is a bit off key. I liked this film and is a better representation of that era of film than Machete. I think with all of these ‘nostalgic’ looks to genre films of yesteryear, the problem is that they feel the need to dirty it up and have bad acting because, well, that’s how it used to be. But sometimes those old films didn’t have horrible acting because it was intended. I feel I have to point that out more often than not. But this one was more fun than I expected so there’s that. It’s on Netflix Instant Watch, so check it out if you have 80 minutes to kill. 

2012 #103 - How Beer Saved the World

A Discovery Channel documentary (also on Netflix Instant), it basically shows how beer was at every huge point of history and how it brought great scientific merits to humanity. A fun hour that packs a lot of info in that time. Still intrigued to try that zero gravity beer one day.

2012 #102 - Pulling John

Another Netflix Instant documentary, this time about the greatest arm wrestler of all time, John Brzenk and where he is in his career a quarter a century later. We also get the stories of two powerful up and comers, Russian Alexy Voevoda and American Travis Bagent. Alexy is in tune with his body, training nonstop and becoming an unstoppable powerhouse. And Travis has a big mouth but he backs it up with his ability as well. A really fun doc that also, happily, shows where Over The Top places in the history of the sport.