The Jacob Javitz Convention Center, a modern marvel. This gargantuan facility is a few blocks wide and filled with huge chambers and many, many rooms. There is a ton of space for whatever you want. For the purposes of New York Comic Con, that space holds geeks, geeks and the paraphernalia they so adore. This is the seventh year of NYCC and it seems that with every year, the crowd grows bigger. Thousands of pop culture enthusiasts congregate here for what is one of the biggest entertainment events of the year.
Holy Motors
French cinema has a tendency to be a little strange from time to time. The classy European country releases films that are visually striking, thought-provoking and downright good. Holy Motors is one such film and the results from writer/director Leos Carax’s (Boy Meets Girl, The Lovers on the Bridge) bizarre work of art are very captivating. One must go into the film with an open mind because the story is rather surreal and the characters, truly unique. It is a French film that doesn’t really address any important issues. It is like true art. It simply exists to be marveled at.
Wake in Fright
The Australian Outback is known to be tough, rugged and inhospitable. This is a harsh reality made very clear in Director Ted Kotcheff’s gritty 1971 drama Wake in Fright, a strange film recently restored in a new 35mm print. The film takes an average Joe and puts him through a crazy ordeal of alcoholism, violence and mild homoeroticism. The story follows young and dashing schoolteacher John Grant (Gary Bond) who has taken a post in the Australian Outback. He plans to go to Sydney to visit his girlfriend but in order to do that, he must catch a flight from the middle-of-nowhere mining town Bundanyabba or known by the locals simply as “The Yabba”. Once there, John encounters a slew of colorful characters, most of whom find a passion for drinking copious amounts of beer, gambling and brawling.
The Do-Deca-Pentathlon
Sibling rivalry is very common in families. Brothers and sisters play, fight or both to try and best one another to declare absolute superiority. This age-old phenomenon of kids competing to eventually be declared “better” is a truly fascinating thing and in Jay and Mark Duplass’ independent dramedy The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, actors Mark Kelly and Steve Zissis battle 20 years after they finished competing which ended in a tie. On September 27, The Museum of the Moving Image held a very special screening of the film followed by a Q&A session with Kelly, Zissis and one of the writers/directors Jay Duplass.
Dark Shadows
In the last decade, renowned auteur Tim Burton has sort of dropped the ball creatively. After 2003’s Big Fish, the goth filmmaker sadly stopped making quality films. It seems he has sold his soul to Disney and now only makes kid-friendly dark comedies with the exception of Sweeney Todd. He puts Johnny Depp in everything because the Burton/Depp collaboration is one which warrants great commercial success but offers nothing new in terms of artistic innovation. Dark Shadows is the eighth collaboration between Burton and Depp and unlike a fine wine, their team-ups don’t get better with age.
Touched by an Angel: The Sixth Season
In 1994, CBS premiered the spiritually-themed drama Touched by an Angel, a show about troubled souls guided by three angels on Earth. Roma Downey, Della Reese and John Dye are the angels and in each episode they help someone in need. The sixth season is now out on DVD and it is jam-packed with Godly goodness.
The Tall Man
Jessica Biel is one of today’s hottest young actresses. She started out on the soap opera 7th Heaven and eventually transitioned to feature films. Her latest film The Tall Man is a little-known thriller which sadly doesn’t really show her true talent and range as an actress. She showed lots of promise in the horror/thriller genre with the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but unfortunately, The Tall Man is just a scattered and confusing mess.
Jeepers Creepers
“Jeepers creepers, where’d you get those peepers?” This song was originally cute and playful once but when it was used in the 2001 horror film Jeepers Creepers, all that changed. The film came out in a time between the Scream franchise and the Saw franchise. Masked serial killers and torture porn were the pieces of bread holding the Jeepers Creepers sandwich together, and with this interesting and entertaining entry in the horror film genre came a unique and terrifying creature, one which audiences both feared and enjoyed.
Doctored
The medical profession is something of a mystery. Its goal and continuing mission is to help people but unfortunately at times, it may cause more harm than good. The absorbing documentary Doctored focuses on the United States healthcare system and the many flaws it has. People who get sick and seek treatment are often faced with obstacles and frankly, lots of B.S. Doctored acknowledges the plight of many healthcare consumers and sheds light on the troubles they face.
America’s Book of Secrets
Throughout the history of the United States, there have been many secrets hidden from the public, secrets which contain information on the nation’s most sensitive issues, people and buildings. These secrets have been explored in The History Channel’s fascinating documentary America’s Book of Secrets. The program consists of 10 engaging episodes spread out over three discs.
Unger the Radar 