Real Political Face Talk - Movie reviews, interviews and plenty of junk too.

..103109 Happy Halloween! What better way to celebrate than with a little John Carpenter?

. . . . . .I give you a nice little interview with Carpenter from 2002. This was made for the Showtime 'Masters of Horror' series and is hosted by the great Bruce Campbell. I could watch Carpenter stuff until my eyes bleed and if ever there was a day for this would be it. I have to at least mention that Carpenter's return to the cinema is long overdue. The guy has not made a feature length film since 'Ghosts of Mars' I can't believe no one has put up the money for new film. Hell, even if it is super low budget, Carpenter has certainly shown he can work with almost any budget. I was one of the few that saw 'Ghosts of Mars' at a theater (and I remember that my father and I saw 'Vampires' at the theater when that came out.) Carpenter is a living

legend and should be able to make as many films as he can while he is still around. Falling under the “why the hell

not?” category, I have also posted Siskel and Ebert talking about 'Halloween' on their show 'Sneak Previews' (before they started their show 'Siskel & Ebert'.) They like the film and mention that it is not like the other violent horror films of the day (this clips is from 1980.) I'm not sure I agree with everything they are saying but to me the clip is more of a cool bit of nostalgia more than anything else. For what it is worth, growing up in the middle of nowhere meant that before the days of the internet, it was often hard to find out about some of the movies with limited distribution. 'Siskel & Ebert' reviewed a ton of films and even if I didn't agree with their reviews, they still gave some publicity to offbeat films that I may not have otherwise

heard of. Anyway, enjoy your Halloween, eat candy 'till you puke and watch a billion bloody movies! -Nate

..102209 Heaven help me but I want to see this... I give you the trailer for 'The Expendables'.

. . . . . .I liked Stallone's recent update of 'Rambo' and I'll give him this: the guy can direct pretty hard hitting action. If he can manage that again with 'The Expendables' and somehow make the rouges gallery of a cast that he has assembled work than this could be one fun action film. The one liners kind of worry me but hey, this is a pretty early trailer and like I said, I enjoyed 'Rambo' so here's hoping this one works out too. Look for 'The Expendables' in 2010. I don't know how long this trailer will be up because it keeps getting pulled so catch it while you can and remember it is an early one, the film is still in production (or at least post production.) -Nate

..101709 Mel Gibson returns to the screen with 'Edge of Darkness'

. . . . . .Mel Gibson is starring in the upcoming film 'Edge of Darkness'. The movie is a remake of a TV mini series. I've been meaning to check out the series for ages and I have to admit I'm curious about the film. 'Edge of Darkness' is set to be released in early 2010. -Nate

..100709 'Harry Brown Trailer and official site.

. . . . . .Last month I mentioned that I was looking forward to the film 'Harry Brown' starring the great Michael Caine. The film is opening in the UK November 13th and the official trailer and site are now online. You can see the official (UK) site for 'Harry Brown' HERE and the official trailer is embedded above. I'm hoping this is a kick ass revenge flic' and I can't wait to see it! The critical praise that is stuffed in the trailer suspiciously seems like overkill but I am playing the optimist and can't wait to see it! (That is, whenever it makes its way to the US and I'm not exactly sure when that will be.) In the mean time give a look at the 'Harry Brown' trailer (that sounds like a venereal disease) and official site. -Nate

..100209 'Public Enemies' and 'Manhunter' Blu-ray.

. . . . . .DVDtimes has posted some info about the UK Blu-ray of Michael Mann’s excellent film ‘Public Enemies’. Amongst other things, they mention that Mann has recorded a commentary track and that there is at least one featurette that will likely be on the Blu-ray. They also mention that there is more than one cut of the film (with a runtime difference of only 11 seconds between the two versions.) They imply that both cuts will be available but they don’t say in what form.

I am guessing that the US Blu-ray of ‘Public Enemies’ will be similar to the UK one and this makes it likely that there will be at least a few extras. I would really like to see both cuts on Blu-ray (and available through seamless branching) and some extras on the making of the film and maybe some on Dillinger as well. I keep hoping that there will be a special edition of 70s film ‘Dillinger’ to coincide with the buzz surrounding ‘Public Enemies’. You can see the DVDTimes post HERE.
. . . . . .Speaking of Mann, I somehow missed that another favorite film of mine that he directed is out on Blu-ray, ‘Manhunter’. I may have missed Michael Mann’s crime drama coming to high def because it is only available in a 'Hannibal Lecter Anthology' set with ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘Hannibal’. (Amazon link to the left.) Not only is ‘Manhunter’ only available in the set but the film has no extras, save a trailer. I am not sure what version of ‘Manhunter’ has been released (there are 3 or more cuts of the movie) on the disc but I’m hoping to get my hands on it soon and find out. I really only want to buy ‘Manhunter’ so I’m hoping it will get a release as a standalone film (and maybe it will have some of the extras from the Anchor Bay DVDs or at the least some new extras.) In the meantime, I’m hoping to check out the Blu-ray shortly and I am happy to see another Michael Mann film show up on Blu-ray. If you want to know about the different versions

of 'Manhunter' or if you are just a fan of the film, I say you should take the time to check out 'Manhunter' the Complete Resource Site' the one stop website for all things 'Manhunter'. The site is HERE or you can jump to the page about the different versions HERE. If you are like me and like Mann's work I also recommend you check out Michael Mann, a blog dedicated to all things Mann, see it HERE.' -Nate

..100109 Dennis Hopper taken to hospital.

. . . . . .There were a bunch of reports yesterday saying that actor Dennis Hopper is sick and has been rushed to a hospital. The guy is a living legend and he has been a part of many legendary films. I keep waiting for someone to make a documentary about him (and as long as I'm babbling about it, someone needs to make one on Harry Dean Stanton too.) Anyway, while I can't claim to like every film Hopper is a part of, there are a great many that I love. I don't care what anyone says, 'The Hot Spot' is an underrated little neo-noir, that should get a special edition release. Of course, I'm still waiting for a special edition of 'The Last Movie'. If you have the opportunity, I recommend watching it as a double-bill with the documentary 'American Dreamer'. You want to see someone off the wall? Watch that documentary and you can see just what a whirlwind of vice Hopper once was. Watching that film makes it seem amazing that Hopper made it out of the 70s in one piece. Anyway, here's hoping the man pulls through and can find his way to continue working for many days yet to come. Get better sir. You can see a small blurb on CNN.com HERE. -Nate

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