http://mondomagazine.net We're not geeks! Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:39:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 http://mondomagazine.net/2010/hidden-gems-kenneth-branaghs-hamlet/ http://mondomagazine.net/2010/hidden-gems-kenneth-branaghs-hamlet/#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:38:05 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=10580 http://mondomagazine.net/2010/hidden-gems-kenneth-branaghs-hamlet/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2009/julie-julia-reviewed/ http://mondomagazine.net/2009/julie-julia-reviewed/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:12:00 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=7015 http://mondomagazine.net/2009/julie-julia-reviewed/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2008/hidden-gems-interim/ http://mondomagazine.net/2008/hidden-gems-interim/#comments Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:00:02 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=1252 Interim by Jaclyn L. Katz Stan Brakhage speaks a bold dialect of film language in his directorial debut, Interim (1952). The experimental yet romantic narrative is expressed without a word of spoken dialogue between the two main characters, a nameless teenage boy and girl. In lieu of a traditional script, the filmmaker chooses to convey his ideas on adolescent emotion through camera movement, editing, sound, and softly expressive acting. Like the film’s title - which means ‘temporary’ or ‘in between’ - the film is short and bittersweet for both the viewer and the inhabitants of the on-screen world. The quality of the film is shy and understated, its naivety making it a charming piece, void of pretension. It oozes realism as a result of its simple form and authentic nature.]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2008/hidden-gems-interim/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2008/tales-of-earthsea-hidden-gemd-kinda/ http://mondomagazine.net/2008/tales-of-earthsea-hidden-gemd-kinda/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:00:41 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=1238 Tales of Earthsea Directed By Goro Miyazaki Studio Ghibli, 2006 It's amazing that Hayao Miyazaki's son somehow acquired rights to Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea trilogy (now in five parts). I'm not sure how this happened, since the last movie made from it was so bad that Le Guin disowned it entirely. Ghibli must have wooed her with the most scenic clips from Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro. That said, if there is one thing this movie accomplishes effortlessly, it is the pure magic of the landscape, and the character designs look like the work of someone who had at least skimmed the books, and key details that stood out to me as a reader manifest on screen. If you haven't read the books, you will find it easy to tell characters apart, if not much else about them, but you will still be confused because none of the wizards look like Gandalf. You will also be confused by the hundreds of little references throughout the film to concepts, places, and people that are explained thoroughly in the novels but are given almost no context in the film. This is because, for some reason or another, Miyazaki has chosen to adapt the third book in the series, not the first [...]]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2008/tales-of-earthsea-hidden-gemd-kinda/feed/ 1 http://mondomagazine.net/2008/hidden-gems-woody-allen/ http://mondomagazine.net/2008/hidden-gems-woody-allen/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 05:00:25 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=988 http://mondomagazine.net/2008/hidden-gems-woody-allen/feed/ 3 http://mondomagazine.net/2008/bug-a-hidden-gem/ http://mondomagazine.net/2008/bug-a-hidden-gem/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:00:06 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=487 Bug Directed by William Friedkin Lions Gate, 2007 By Jess Skinner There is no great sense of ambiguity in most horror movies. The audience, in the end, wants to see what is supposed to be frightening them, unobstructed. How many went to Cloverfield just to see the monster? Exactly. The monster in William Friedkin's Bug (2007) is more concept than visible creature; it is forever under the skin of the two main characters, who claim to see an invasion of aphids but find no support among those in their immediate social perimeters. It is a story about the abandonment of reality, of two people falling apart, seemingly of their own accord. We begin with Agnes (Ashley Judd), living in a motel room on the eve of her husband Jerry (Harry Connick Jr.) returning from jail. That night, her only friend (Lynn Collins) introduces her to Peter (Michael Shannon), a stoic drifter who claims to be seeking nothing but companionship [...]]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2008/bug-a-hidden-gem/feed/ 1 http://mondomagazine.net/2007/my-holiday-favourite/ http://mondomagazine.net/2007/my-holiday-favourite/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2007 02:24:40 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=132 Gremlins (1984) By Jess Skinner Ponder on whatever supremely unfortunate Christmas gift you’ve received in your life, and take pleasure in the probable truth that it never tried to claw your face off. This cannot be said for Zach Galligan’s holiday, circa 1984, which resulted in nothing less than vicious monsters running amok in his once-idyllic town. This is Gremlins, a movie beloved by many but analysed probably only by me. I find it one of the most curious of movies, one of those pop-culture artefacts that seem designed for nobody; in this case too grotesque for children, too cartoonish for adults. I love it for precisely this reason; it is a self-conscious middle finger to any potential mass market. But it was successful anyway, proving once again that moviegoers are sometimes smarter than I think they are[...]]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2007/my-holiday-favourite/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2007/review-%e2%80%94-310-to-yuma/ http://mondomagazine.net/2007/review-%e2%80%94-310-to-yuma/#comments Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:58:47 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=82 3:10 to Yuma Directed by James Mangold Lionsgate Films 2007 By Doug Nayler Johnny Cash is completely responsible for 3:10 to Yuma. For many years, director James Mangold had been toting a script from production company to production company to remake a 1957 western based on a short story by Elmore Leonard. Nobody wanted it. "Are you crazy?" the studios said. "We're going to lose so much money on a western. Nobody goes to westerns!" And, with no contrary examples more recent than 1994, Mangold had no other option than to give up and move onto some other projects. However, one of those projects Mangold ended up doing was the Academy-Award winning Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. After that, suddenly anything Mangold wanted to do was a great idea. And those exact same studios were suddenly lining up to throw money at 3:10 to Yuma. So the legend goes, anyway, such is the business. The 3:10 to Yuma is the train murder and bandit Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is to be sent off on to Yuma prison. Following a big, flashy robbery of his twenty-somethingth stagecoach Ben decides to push his luck by[...]]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2007/review-%e2%80%94-310-to-yuma/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-in-the-mood-for-love/ http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-in-the-mood-for-love/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:05:59 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=70 Fa yeung nin ma (In the Mood for Love) Directed by Wong Kar Wai Block 2 Pictures, 2000 By Miles Baker There is really only one word to describe this movie: Pretty. Sure, I could talk about how the movie is sexy and heart-felt and sad, but I'm going to go with pretty. The combination of cinematographers Christopher Doyle and Pin Bing Lee, with the production design by William Chang, with the beautiful actors, with Wong Kar Wai's guiding influence, results in a film that is so beautiful it's impossible to criticize. Set in 1950s Hong Kong, In the Mood for Love is about the relationship that grows between Mrs. Chen (Maggie Cheung) and Mr. Chan (Tony Leung), neighbours who realize that their respective spouses are cheating on them. What follows is a series of conversations about marriage, slow motion walking shots, and dresses — Maggie Cheung wears about 40 different, completely beautiful dresses.]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-in-the-mood-for-love/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-sexy-beast/ http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-sexy-beast/#comments Mon, 07 May 2007 07:18:40 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=73 Sexy Beast Directed by Jonathan Glazer FilmFour, 2000 By Jessie Skinner The scene most important to appreciating Sexy Beast involves a report from Don (Ben Kingsley) to Gal (Ray Winstone) about Teddy (Ian McShane) and his happening upon a lucrative opportunity. The event is shown in flashback, but has already been delivered to several different people beforehand. Gal is just the last in a long line. The anecdote is relayed several times over, giving the impression that those making the film must know they tread over cliches. At this point, the flashback is a somewhat banal narrative device. The joy and value of the film is that it is smart enough to walk the line between faithfulness to the crime genre and self-parody; Glazer adopts the device, but uses it with a sense of irony. The limey heist picture of old is mixed with the imagination of the modern independents; the figure of Gal's nightmares is a rabbit with a machine gun, after all. But really his nightmare is Don Logan, a monstrous character who sweats unhappiness and agitation; spews hostility at the world[...]]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-sexy-beast/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-laker-cake/ http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-laker-cake/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2007 07:15:50 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=72 Layer Cake Directed by Matthew Vaughn Sony Pictures, 2004 By Miles Baker Posted March 12th, 2007 Last Tuesday I watched Layer Cake. Rachel bought it for me to foster the affection induced by Casino Royale and the hunky-ness of Daniel Craig. This seemed like the next logical progression in my man-crush — and it was. Layer Cake follows Craig as Mr. X, the never-named drug dealer at the centre of a lot of shit. That shit is pretty complicated — Layer Cake is an intricate gangster story loaded with double-crosses and secret plans, as any good crime story should be. Essentially, Mr. X is brought into a bad drug deal and now has to get out of it while keeping his head and shoulders —both literally and figuratively. It’s a solid crime story that should have most viewers engaged from beginning to end. There are twists, but not so many that you’re tired, angry, and frustrated with the story by the end. ]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2007/hidden-gem-%e2%80%94-laker-cake/feed/ 0 http://mondomagazine.net/2007/review-%e2%80%94-the-good-german/ http://mondomagazine.net/2007/review-%e2%80%94-the-good-german/#comments Sun, 18 Feb 2007 22:00:46 +0000 film http://mondomagazine.net/?p=98 The Good German Directed by Steven Soderbergh Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006 By Johanna Craig There are two ways to bring a novel successfully to the screen. One method is to remain true to the novel, thus pleasing the fans of the book. Alternatively, filmmakers can go in a completely new direction in order to bring in new fans. The Good German, based on Joseph Kanon’s mystery novel of the same name, accomplishes neither of these goals. Kanon’s novel is a portrait of a broken city. He portrays a place that has become a microcosm of conflict on both an individual and global scale. He grapples with the cost of survival in war, the question of accountability for the Holocaust, and the Allied powers’ imminent descent into the Cold War, by presenting the reader with characters who are struggling with each of these issues themselves. The mystery provides an intriguing storyline that gradually brings everything together and leaves the reader in a constant state of suspense. The result is an entertaining story, but more importantly, a rare perspective on the aftermath of war from the losing side[...]]]> http://mondomagazine.net/2007/review-%e2%80%94-the-good-german/feed/ 1