William Friedkin
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Recommended Reading: Rape of Thrones, Future of FIlm, Fx’s Fargo, William Friedkin on ‘Sorcerer’ and more
A Couple of Heirs of Travis Bickle: “A 34-year-old messenger still living at home, Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) dreams of becoming a stand-up comedy star. To force fate’s hand, he stalks and kidnaps his idol, the TV talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). Martin Scorsese’s 1983 movie “The King of Comedy” not […] More
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The Definitive Religious Movies: 20-11
We move into the top 20 now, where the films become incredibly spiritual. One major component seen in many of these religious films: the overtones meant to instill a sense of mystery and wonder. You see it in films set in both sweeping landscapes and intimate settings. Whether or not any of the films on […] More
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Horror Cinema’s Greatest Savants
In the world of horror cinema, the best way to fight a monster-be it a supernatural, human or natural one-is with a character that possesses special knowledge and skills. These experts-recruited into battle by other characters or colliding with the conflict intentionally-are the Savants of the horror world. Examples of Savant characters include David Warner’s […] More
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‘Bug’ a ferocious, satirical and brilliant character piece
A couple of years ago, a rather controversial and divisive pitch black comedy/murderous drama called Killer Joe rocked the Kasbah in critical terms, sharing the adulation of some and the damnation of others. It was grimy, grotty and often deliberately gratuitous (to the point that its most shocking scene earned a subtle nod on its DVD cover) and did a number of things apart from splitting a bemused audience right up the middle. More
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Staff List: The 40 Best Films of 2012
#20: Cosmopolis (50 points) Directed by David Cronenberg Written by David Cronenberg Canada / France, 2012 Every time Cronenberg answers the prayers of his fans with a new movie, it seems that the first reflex is to attempt to categorize it. Is this new film more like the old Cronenberg, in which very strange, very […] More
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Ricky D’s 50 Favourite Films of 2012 (Part Two)
25: The Dark Knight Rises Directed by Christopher Nolan Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan 2012, USA The Dark Knight Rises feels as if it was made up of two equal halves, with the most critical moment of the film breaking the movie in half, almost literally. While the second half may have […] More
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Ricky D’s 50 Favourite Films of 2012 (Part One)
2012 wasn’t a bad year for movies. It was actually a great year. The problem is, the movies we were most anticipating, specifically the Hollywood blockbusters like Prometheus and The Hobbit, didn’t live up to our expectations. With that said I still managed to make a list of 50 films I loved. Maybe I just […] More
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Wide World of Horror: ‘Bug’
Bug Written by Tracy Letts Directed by William Friedkin USA/Germany, 2006 Most people upon watching William Friedkin’s 2006 effort will undoubtedly want to talk about the insanity or claustrophobia of the film. Those are rabbit holes that are well worth chasing, but they are secondary to the greatest strength of the picture. Bug is a […] More
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100 + Greatest Horror Movies (pt.6) 25-1
Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of what he considers the greatest horror films of all time. More
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2012’s Great Movie Moments: September
Spring Breakers – Opening Sequence Having been at TIFF this month, attempting to select favorite scenes without going entirely overboard– well, it may not exactly be as drastic as Sophie’s choice, but that is the first label that comes to mind. Spring Breakers is one of many very strong showings from Toronto this year, and […] More
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‘Killer Joe’ is a mad, lurid, and excellent neo-noir
Killer Joe Directed by William Friedkin Written by Tracy Letts USA, 2012 Nudity doesn’t often serve as a statement of purpose for an American filmmaker, but Killer Joe delights in going against the grain. In the first scene, one of the lead characters opens the door to her trailer, naked from the waist down. In […] More
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‘Killer Joe’ plays close to a more gratuitous, sweatier version of ‘Blood Simple’
Killer Joe Directed by William Friedkin United States, 2011 Director William Friedkin makes no bones about the inevitable (NC-17) rating of his film with Sharla Smith’s (Gina Gershon) first appearance on-screen: shirt and no pants, and nothing hidden. This tone-setter, in the first five minutes of Killer Joe, accurately predicts a grimy, graphic film, where […] More
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