Shorts, 9/24.

A BAMcinématek series of films directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirô Mifune has PopMatters film critic Josh Jones writing up a sort of primer on their collaboration. The film-by-film run-down may be well-traveled ground for some, but many who may not know that "all moviegoers have felt [Kurosawa's] influence whether they know it or not" ought to find it handy.

Frederick Schroeder "caught a brand new print of Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress in a packed theater tonight. On one hand, it was great to see so many people out to see a classic film but on the other hand, it was awful because people are hell." But he's able to overcome his inner Sartre and enjoy the film: "[W]hen the climax finally comes it is such a joyous release that you want to stand up and cheer... I wish someone made movies like this today." Two Kurosawa sites via Masters of Cinema: 1, 2.

Yi Yi tops the "Unofficial Milk Plus Canon: 2000 - September 2003." By a long shot.

Ian Whitney points to Katie Dean's story in Wired News on the enormous and consistent popularity of Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer on P2P networks. And once again, Ian hits the nail directly on the head:

[W]hen US companies actively block the importing of DVDs in the US - as Miramax has tried to do with Shaolin Soccer - I figure you're own your own, ethically speaking. If Miramax doesn't want you to give them your money, and they won't let you give money to the HK companies behind the film, then perhaps you should save that $10 for a pizza to eat while watching your downloaded copy.

By now, you've probably seen that Tarantino rant Empire's snipped and run to promote its upcoming November issue: "This CGI bullshit is the death knell of cinema." Then, it gets spicy. I saw it first at Gothamist, where there's also a bit on Sam Mendes's advertising debut, a couple of spots for eBay.

J. Hoberman in the Village Voice: "This has been an outstanding month for male comic performances - Bill Murray, of course, but also Nicolas Cage's manic turn in the otherwise bogus Matchstick Men, and Bruce Campbell's sustained impression of a geriatric Elvis in the midnight wannabe Bubba Ho-Tep." Since he's mentioned that one, let's note that Roger Avary caught Bubba director Don Coscarelli on NPR yesterday: "Listen to the webcast here, and rejoice in the possibilities of Bubba Sasquatch or Bubba Nosferatu!"

But that's not what Hoberman's writing about. He's writing about School of Rock. Good news: "Jack Black is consistently hilarious" and the movie may be Richard Linklater's "most commercial" (obviously) but it is also his "funniest." Also in the Voice:

Yossi & Jagger, an Israeli gay romance set at an army outpost near the Lebanonese border, has been well-received in Europe, but would it play in Israel? Richard Goldstein reports that the reception has been better than it could have been; Hoberman reviews.

Melissa Anderson on "New French Connection," another BAMcinématek series.

And Jessica Winter handles the Voice's Michael Winterbottom interview.

In the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Robert Avila previews the local 7th annual Arab Film Festival, "now one of the largest of its kind in the country... The results are always surprising and - given the recent expansion of conflict in Iraq and Palestine and the deterioration of civil rights in the United States - have rarely seemed more urgent."

Also in the SFBG: Chuck Stephens on Jacques Becker's Touchez pas au grisbi, a "forerunner of Jean-Pierre Melville's Bob le flambeur and Jules Dassin's Rififi," Johnny Ray Huston on Matteo Garrone's Embalmer and David Fear on István Szabó's Taking Sides.

Dan Fainaru's Screen Daily reviews from San Sebastian today: Grimm ("The way Dutch director [Alex van] Warmerdam applies his wicked touch to what could vaguely be defined as a modern take on Hansel And Gretel will not be to everyone's taste," but there's potential cult material here, he says) and La Pelota Vasca, the Julio Medem film we noted yesterday was rousing such a ruckus.

"Twin Peaks could afford to be as strange as it pleased because at its heart it was a simple whodunit," writes Dennis Cass in Slate, but Carnivàle "groans under the weight of too much weird."

For Movie City News, Leonard Klady lays out the nuts and bolts of focus groups and market research.

Ever heard of Luminal? "Sounds like it could be cool," notes "sh" at Coudal Partners, "but if it never gets a distribution deal, we may never find out."

Today's online viewing tip comes via MCN and with mixed feelings. If Linklater's venture into unabashed commercialism pays off as well as it looks like it will, in terms of both dollars and laughs, based on a viewing of the trailer, I fear the same may not hold true for Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl. Let's just hope that's just one really poorly cut trailer.

Posted by dwhudson at September 24, 2003 8:09 AM