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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Film / Film Reviews Halloween Countdown: Vampyr
Posted By Matt Brunson on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 2:00 PM
(In anticipation of the coolest day of the year, this month-long series will offer one recommended horror flick a day up through Oct. 31.)
VAMPYR (1932). The notion of cinema as dreamscape has rarely been realized as exquisitely as in Danish writer-director Carl Theodor Dreyer's moody vampire tale. Loosely based on Sheridan Le Fanu's story "Carmilla," the movie carries all the logic of a restless sleep filled with surreal thoughts, many of which tip into pure nightmare. Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, the film's financier, adopted the pseudonym Julian West to portray the movie's leading character of Allan Gray, a young man who shows up in a European village rumored to be housing a vampire. The bloodsucker turns out to be an elderly woman named Marguerite Chopin (Henriette Gerard), and she's aided in her dastardly deeds by the local doctor (Jan Hieronimko). Also figuring into the proceedings are an estate owner (Maurice Schutz) and his two daughters (Sybille Schmitz and Rena Mandel), one of whom has already fallen under the spell of the vampiress. Vampyr was Dreyer's first sound film, yet not surprisingly, it plays like a silent feature, with the emphasis on visuals rather than dialogue. And what visuals! There are images here that are staggering in their artistry: the shadow of a one-legged servant separating from its owner and taking off on its own; a ferryman wielding a scythe next to a fog-encrusted lake; the ultimate fate of the doctor, undone by (spirit-assisted) machinery even more imposing than the wheels and cogs encountered by Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times; and the POV shots that find a prematurely boxed Gray witnessing the activities occurring just above the glass window on his coffin. For all its accomplishments, the movie can't match F.W. Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu (still the greatest of all vampire films), but its atmosphere of pervasive evil retains its power to grip viewers.
News / Opinion In tow at the bridal show
Posted By Graham Odom on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 11:41 AM
"Have you given us all of your information so that we can call you and send you seemingly non-applicable mail thinly related to your upcoming nuptials and for the door prize?" says the kind woman at the bridal-show desk.
At least that's what I hear. I was told there would be beer here. And that we could get chicken wings afterwards.
I'm newly engaged. There were a number of other steps that came before, but this one - the bridal show - is the one I'm at now. This is the step that is built least for me. I'm not sure why I came, honestly. She said I didn't have to go. I have no idea if she means it or if this is one of those things where I'm told I don't have to go if I don't want to, but its very clear to everyone but me that to skip out would be a bad idea. Also, I was told there was a groom's lounge. And that there would be beer there.
News / Opinion Sandy makes climate change hard to ignore
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 11:19 AM
It's a monster, its damage-causing forces unprecedented for the East Coast, and it'll cost an estimated $6 billion. And according to experts, it's only the beginning.
As Hurricane Sandy approached the coast, The New Yorker published the findings of a study conducted by reinsurance firm Munich Re that argues climate change could be the reason for an increase in weather-related disasters.
According to the press release that accompanied the report, “Nowhere in the world is the rising number of natural catastrophes more evident than in North America.” The number of what Munich Re refers to as “weather-related loss events,” and what the rest of us would probably call weather-related disasters, has quintupled over the last three decades. While many factors have contributed to this trend, including an increase in the number of people living in flood-prone areas, the report identified global warming as one of the major culprits: “Climate change particularly affects formation of heat-waves, droughts, intense precipitation events, and in the long run most probably also tropical cyclone intensity.”
If only our politicians could catch up.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Tuesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Oct. 30, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Charlotte Horror Fest, screening The Black Box at EpiCentre Theaters
* 4th Annual Haunted Ball at Whisky River
* David Ramirez at Evening Muse
* Southern Docs, screening The Guestworker at Gaston County Library
* Sultry Silent Trivia at Strike City
Monday, October 29, 2012
Film / Film News / Film Reviews Savannah Film Festival: Chapter 1
Posted By Matt Brunson on Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 9:00 PM
While I’ve managed to avoid spending midnight in the garden of good and evil, my trip to the 15th Annual Savannah Film Festival has found me spending all hours in the theater of good, average and exceptional cinema.
- Photos by Natalie Joy Howard
OK, so a grasping reference to a literary work that’s almost two decades old might not seem like the hippest way to open a piece, but consider that John Berendt’s Savannah-set blockbuster novel still gets a lot of mileage in this Georgia town, as evidenced by this store display (statues, paperbacks, audiobooks, DVDs and CDs) my wife Natalie and I spotted just this afternoon:
In fact, as preparation for our jaunt to this festival — a prestigious and renowned event presented annually by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) — we re-watched Clint Eastwood’s 1997 film version of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil the night before leaving home. Of course, our actual experience has proven to be nothing like the movie: We haven’t been invited into the home of one of the city’s nouveau riche, we haven’t seen any men walking invisible dogs or tying bees to their body, and we haven’t become BFFs with local drag legend The Lady Chablis (although we did spot a poster announcing her upcoming show dates).
No, our experience has actually been better.
Film / Film Reviews Halloween Countdown: The Fly
Posted By Matt Brunson on Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 2:00 PM
(In anticipation of the coolest day of the year, this month-long series will offer one recommended horror flick a day up through Oct. 31.)
THE FLY (1986). For nearly four decades, David Cronenberg has ranked as a maverick filmmaker who marches to his own beat, so it's with no small measure of irony that his best picture also turns out to be his most commercially successful one. The minor 1958 sci-fi classic The Fly is re-imagined by Cronenberg so that it fits more snugly with his favorite themes: the relationship between man and machine, the draw of sexual perversities, and the manner in which our own bodies can betray us without a moment's notice. Yet for all its fetishistic attention to gross-out elements, what primarily distinguishes the film is its love story; I've seen this movie approximately a dozen times, and the tragic romance never fails to choke me up. Jeff Goldblum is sensational as the doomed scientist who notes, "I'm an insect who dreamed he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over and the insect is awake" — an aching, beautiful passage. He's matched by Geena Davis, cast as the journalist who's tormented by what's happening to the man she adores. Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis deservedly earned the Oscar for Best Makeup; Walas then assumed the role of director for 1989's The Fly II, one of those sequels requested by absolutely no one.
Arts Crawl over to these arts openings
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 1:52 PM
As the headline suggests, here are a few picks of exhibit openings and receptions to check out this week in Charlotte and the surrounding area — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
UNC Charlotte Torqued and Twisted: Bentwood Today — Certain types of innovative art-making processes often go unnoticed. Bentwood, with its varying techniques — steaming, laminating or greenwood bending — is one of those processes. That's where Torqued and Twisted: Bentwood Today comes in. The exhibit explains the craft and features a captivating collection of contemporary furnishings and sculptural objects by renowned furniture makers and sculptors. These include the works of Frank Gehry, Matthias Pliessnig, Michael Cooper, Jeremy Holmes, Michael Jarvi, Clifton Monteith, Yuir Kobayashi, Don Miller and Michael Thonet. Opening reception on Oct. 29, from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Exhibit continues through Nov. 28. 9201 University City Blvd. 704-416-0252. www.coaa.uncc.edu.
701 Center for Contemporary Art 701 CCA Prize 2012 Exhibition — When South Carolina artist Tonya Gregg visited a small gallery up at Lake Norman in 2009, I was thoroughly captivated. Not only were her works vibrant and pleasing to the eye, but they brought a sense of diversity and fostered engaging conversations among those who attended the opening reception. Gregg, who continues to paint about race, class, gender and identity issues within African-American culture, is currently getting recognition for her talents at 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia. She's one of three finalists showcasing works in the 701 CCA Prize 2012 Exhibition, opening with a reception on Nov. 1 and culminating in the winning announcement Nov. 29. In Gregg's "Watch Me Shrink" painting, she confronts femininity, sexuality, and body image head-on. It's worth the drive. Other artists featured in the exhibit include Jim Arendt and James Busby. Opens with reception on Nov. 1. Exhibit continues through Dec. 16. 701 Whaley St., Columbia, S.C. 803-779-4571. www.701cca.org.
Gil Gallery Through the Eye of Art: Part 4 Yellow — "Pick a color, any color,” that was somewhat of the mantra behind Gil Gallery’s "Through the Eye of Art" series. In its final exhibit of the four-part series featuring artists from across N.C., you’ll see works of varying mediums that are influenced by the color yellow. Nov. 2, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. 109 West Morehead St., Charlotte. 704-375-7232. www.edwingil.com.
Charlotte Art League Fall into Art — Regional artists have the chance at winning big in this competition, and exhibit, that’s juried by Kimberly Varnadoe, an experimental photographer and associate professor of art at Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C. Opening reception on Nov. 2, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Exhibit continues through Nov. 29. 1517 Camden Road, Charlotte. 704-376-2787. www.charlotteartleague.org.
Film / Film Reviews Halloween Countdown: Week 4 Recommendations
Posted By Matt Brunson on Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 10:00 AM
(In anticipation of the coolest day of the year, this month-long series will offer one recommended horror flick a day up through Oct. 31. Here are the films that were selected Oct. 22-28. Click on the title to be taken to the review.)
Oct. 22: Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1964)
Oct. 23: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Oct. 24: The Descent (2006)
Oct. 25: The Howling (1981)
Oct. 26: Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002)
Oct. 27: The Orphanage (2007)
Oct. 28: Black Sunday (1966)
And here are the Week 1-3 picks:
Oct. 1: Day of the Dead (1985)
Oct. 2: Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
Oct. 3: The Thing from Another World (1951)
Oct. 4: Count Dracula (1970)
Oct. 5: Cat People (1942)
Oct. 6: Homicidal (1961)
Oct. 7: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Oct. 8: Piranha (1978)
Oct. 9: Willard (2003)
Oct. 10: House of Wax (1953)
Oct. 11: Dead Alive (1992)
Oct. 12: "Manos" The Hands of Fate (1966)
Oct. 13: Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Oct. 14: The Body Snatcher (1945)
Oct. 15: The Host (2006)
Oct. 16: I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
Oct. 17: Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
Oct. 18: The Mist (2007)
Oct. 19: Horror Express (1972)
Oct. 20: Phenomena (1985)
Oct. 21: Slither (2006)
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Monday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Oct. 29, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* A Little Bit Zombie at Actors Theatre of Charlotte
* Mayhem Monday at Sanctuary Pub
* Charlotte Horror Fest, screening Unwelcome at Neighborhood Theatre
* Karaoke at Dixie's Tavern
* Monday Night Allstars at Double Door Inn
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Film / Film Reviews Halloween Countdown: Black Sunday
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sun, Oct 28, 2012 at 2:00 PM
(In anticipation of the coolest day of the year, this month-long series will offer one recommended horror flick a day up through Oct. 31.)
BLACK SUNDAY (1966). Italy’s Mario Bava made his official directorial debut — he had worked uncredited on several earlier titles — with Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan), a beautifully composed picture whose moments of genuine shock surely rattled many a patron back in the day (indeed, the movie was banned in England for many years). Barbara Steele, in the role that turned her into a horror film icon, plays Asa, a 17th century witch who swears vengeance as she's burned at the stake. Cut to two centuries later, and a revived Asa schemes to gain immortality by drinking the blood of her descendant (also Steele). Bava and his crew's employment of unique camera angles, heavily atmospheric sets and startling moments of violence combine to create a trendsetting picture that has influenced generations of filmmakers (including Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton).
