tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40703782011-11-27T18:03:16.812-08:00A Personal Journal of Filmchas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.comBlogger771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-75242418241439575192011-10-03T02:49:00.000-07:002011-10-03T02:50:38.416-07:00

WPRK threw a party and invited me ... and, by proxy, you ... to a celebration of 20 years since the first episode of what would become Chas’ Crusty Old Wave. I returned to Florida for the first time in nearly two years, and we did not one but two two-hour shows featuring the music we all love so much -- the red-headed stepkids of the 80s! Today, three months after the event, we present the

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-3676317212882556532011-06-12T14:29:00.001-07:002011-06-12T14:30:33.329-07:00

Like the relief felt at the completion of the end of the Lord of the Rings, I have managed to split a massive six-hour (well, five after editing) show into two parts, including artwork and for the most part very high audio quality into two great new episodes of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave (actually, its predecessor Chas n Gwen’s Pop Pajama Party), both parts of which you can now download directly from

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-83304942288938043782011-05-02T00:32:00.000-07:002011-05-02T00:33:08.116-07:00

With the flowers and warmer weather comes a great new episode of Chas' Crusty Old Wave (actually, its predecessor Chas n Gwen's Pop Pajama Party, part one of which you can now download directly from the website or via iTunes. Part two of this (originally) six-hour funfest will arrive next month, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new somewhat-monthly-ish episodes are automatically

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-28044109735244732462011-03-06T20:12:00.001-08:002011-03-06T20:13:35.899-08:00

A new review coming soon, and it will be (as if the title wasn’t enough of a giveaway) of The King’s Speech. Stay tuned.

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-64315943308360788342011-03-03T13:48:00.000-08:002011-03-03T13:49:17.224-08:00

(Click for larger)

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-1482792485355501992010-11-21T05:09:00.000-08:002010-11-21T05:21:16.177-08:00

Written by: Steve Kloves (screenplay) Directed by: David Yates Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint Running time: 146 minutes It’s a bad sign when your mind wanders during a film. It happened a couple of times during this one, which is not to say I didn’t like it. Overall, I liked it quite a lot -- in part because after six of these films they finally figured out how to make

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-3897291649689533392010-11-02T14:06:00.000-07:002010-11-21T03:07:36.585-08:00

The (ahem) October episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new more-or-less monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer. I want to particularly highlight Liz Langley’s contribution to this (and other)

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-74662093504529175282010-08-29T16:11:00.000-07:002010-08-29T16:11:45.924-07:00

Back on schedule, or at least my schedule ... the August episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer. Not many shows have the cahones to play The Fabulous

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-61776813843981629292010-08-22T08:05:00.000-07:002010-08-23T02:53:35.087-07:00

Written by: Norman R. Raine & Seton I. Miller Directed by: Michael Curtiz & William Keighley Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains Running time: 102 minutes The short version: this is an absolute classic of a movie, so good that I don’t even mind that a number of the cast are obvious Americans. This is a beautifully-executed amalgamation of various legends of

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-69470601390973198562010-08-01T14:12:00.001-07:002010-08-01T14:19:31.338-07:00

So yeah, took a little bit of an unexpected break in June there -- sorry about that -- but the now-renamed “June/July” episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-47203978534862034032010-06-05T02:06:00.000-07:002010-06-05T02:08:40.476-07:00

Written and directed by: Floria Sigismondi Starring: Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon Running time: 109 minutes The Runaways is a decidedly lopsided film about the hugely influential all-girl rock band who roared into life just on the crest of punk and combusted, as all legendary bands tend to do, before they ever reached their full potential. The background of the film is that

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-80470633134297685982010-04-06T04:29:00.000-07:002010-04-06T04:30:49.887-07:00

Director: Guy Ritchie Stars: Robert Downie Jr., Jude Law Running Time: 129 minutes When I was a boy, I devoured the Sherlock Holmes stories -- and still credit my reasonable powers of observation and fair ability to “read” people to my studied enthusiasm for those imaginative tales. Every few years, I get the itch to re-immerse myself in that wonderful world of Victorian crime and intrigue,

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-28795739092564279532010-04-02T23:56:00.001-07:002010-04-06T02:44:23.302-07:00

Before we get started, I have to get this out of the way: the March episode of my award-winnable podcast, Chas' Crusty Old Wave, was in fact available in March. As in “the 31st of March.” However, as the next day was April Fools, I didn’t want to say much about it lest I be accused of participating in that most insipid of holidays. Now, however, the coast is clear -- and I’m particularly keen on

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-91854501946246344742010-03-25T18:41:00.000-07:002010-04-06T02:43:16.073-07:00

Director: Wes Anderson Stars: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray Running Time: 87 minutes Wes Anderson’s films are very hit-and-miss with me, in part because he tries very hard not to make the same movie over and over, for which I thank him. I’m always a little amazed at how generally well his films do considering they have a distinctly “indie/art house” air to them; he’s the

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-76449123611626136812010-03-07T04:28:00.000-08:002010-03-08T11:31:28.290-08:00

POST-AWARDS UPDATE: Well that went well ... I finished the evening with a 12-4 record, my best ever score. Turns out you can predict the Oscars by just watching the machinations of the hype machine! And here I’ve been wasting all this time actually watching the films. Lesson learned! :) I’m actually shocked at how few films I’ve seen this year, but my usual film employer spent the last few

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-13149172594038051652010-02-11T19:32:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:33:13.258-08:00

(This guest article I wrote is reprinted with permission from Liz Langley’s “Lust Never Sleeps,” an excellent but NSFW blog on all things erotic. Highly recommended.) The films you saw at the early stages of your romantic life can have an enormous impact on your perceptions of love, the opposite sex, and life in general. Further, because most people tend to see movies on the big screen only once

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-80704669254451577662010-02-05T07:09:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:29:05.478-08:00

Director: George Cukor Starring: Leslie Howard, Norma Shearer, John Barrymore Running time: 126 minutes One of my favourite movies of all time is the 1968 Franco Zefferelli version of Romeo & Juliet. Today on TCM (February is always a great month to watch, it's all Oscar winners all month long), they ran the 1936 version of the classic story. Having not seen it, and being interested in some of

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-88040759520958758872010-02-02T05:03:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:30:17.380-08:00

Director: John Huston Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet Written By: Dashiell Hammett and John Huston I recently got to see this film again for the first time in many years at the CineCenta theatre with a near-capacity crowd. Watching old movies -- particularly familiar classics -- takes on a lot of new meaning when you have a crowd, a fine print, excellent sound

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-61587440737063600762010-01-10T02:41:00.001-08:002010-02-11T20:32:27.734-08:00

January’s episode of my new-to-you podcast, Chas' Crusty Old Wave, is now available either via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your iTunes. This particular episode features a short interview with Orlando band

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-69452025360171011992010-01-06T00:09:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:30:17.381-08:00

Director: Terry Gilliam Stars: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Lily Cole Written By: Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown Despite the rich visual imagination of Terry Gilliam and an all-star cast that mostly turns in good work, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus collapses a lot like the rag-tag stage show the doctor puts on, mainly due to some pretty woeful character development -- or

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-59436738449622754772009-12-17T07:37:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:31:41.126-08:00

An item cross-posted to the Music blog ... ooh we’re efficient today! My pal Noel Clarke is, in addition to being a brilliantly gritty actor and filmmaker, a man who has good taste in picking his projects. He has many irons in the fire right now, but a new one will be of particular interest to those who follow this blog. Its a biopic about Ian Dury played by Andy Serkis (uncanny, btw), and it

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-37421584458978330012009-11-17T05:54:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:32:27.734-08:00

By an odd quirk of fate, this month’s epsisode of Chas' Crusty Old Wave! is another ALL-NEW episode, born from my recent trip to Florida and an invitation to appear on one of their regular shows, The Bum Magnet’s UnHappy Hour, normally hosted by Miss Badkitty Herself but this one was co-hosted by myself and DJ Phantom Third Channel (the kids today, they use the aliases). Between us we cooked up

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-1369176531559955632009-11-15T23:27:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:32:56.682-08:00

Harnessing the power of the omnimind (and perhaps a little groupthink), the Internet Movie Database compiled ratings on films made this century. Since their userbase is far more massive than the sample size used in most polls (and contains entirely self-selected film lovers), I do in fact give more weight to their choices than I would a poll produced using the usual methods, so I was happy to see

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-89422094719311974132009-11-10T13:31:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:32:56.682-08:00

A hat tip to Roger Ebert, who pointed me to this delicious find on YouTube: a 10-minute colour (sort of) film of London from 1927, yes, 1927. They didn’t have sound, but at least one man had invented a process called BioColour (straining B&W film through red and green filters) to produce a painted colour look. You might wish to pair this with some music (some have suggested that Stephen Baystead

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-39193213092301208902009-11-08T14:45:00.000-08:002010-02-11T20:37:19.705-08:00

Running Time: 107 min. Directors: Bill Jones, Ben Timlett, Alan Parker Stars: Cleese, Idle, Palin, Gilliam, Jones and Chapman (in absentia) Most people will see this ambitious documentary in its DVD or television formats, but in addition to that it was also offered as a two-hour “special event” beamed into cinemas around the world shortly after the New York premiere. I watched this version, then

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-59284621879367959242009-10-27T08:59:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:33:34.741-08:00

October's episode of my award-eligible podcast, Chas' Crusty Old Wave, is now available either via the website or directly from iTunes. This marks almost exactly two years since the first podcast version of the show, and it's an opportunity to thank iTunes for their participation. This particular episode is a very old one, the oldest we've put up so far, from September 1991. Back then the show

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-19051892910562937652009-10-15T04:12:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:40:53.223-08:00

Running Time: 180 min. (approx) Director: John Lasseter (TS), John Lasseter and Lee Unkrich (TS2) Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen Roger Ebert has been leading an online discussion among film buffs about the recent spate of 3-D movies. Is it just a gimmick to get people into the cinemas, or are films actually benefiting from the process? Ebert’s position, which I broadly agreed with, was that it's

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-36961927098081356532009-10-12T01:34:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:41:45.668-08:00

Running Time: 120 min. Director: Michael Moore Stars: Michael Moore and a cast of crooks Michael Moore (and his films) are believed to be a “known commodity,” mostly by his enemies rather than his fans. In other words, people who don’t actually watch his movies think they know exactly what they’re going to get from all/any of them, so they don’t bother watching. Conservative circular logic at

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-30599932097179284212009-09-25T04:17:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:43:18.409-08:00

Running Time: 97 min. Director: Duncan JonesStars: Sam rockwellIf you’re like me, you’ve probably seen a fair few (if not all, repeatedly) of the Great Science Fiction Movies. I’m not talking about your capitalist fluff like Star Wars and Star Trek*, I’m talking about the serious SF movies. Alien. Brazil. Metropolis. 2001. Silent Running. Blade Runner. and most important of them all (

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-64715268879194580892009-09-19T01:04:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:43:51.238-08:00

Whenever we talk about the things we miss from our lives in Florida, our first breath on the subject is always devoted to the great people there: not just family and the smaller circles of close friends, but the many, many fascinating/insane/beautiful folks we knew on one level or another. But after that, you’ll often hear us talk about the great places of the metro Orlando area. Right at the top

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-6194826502784765602009-09-17T05:28:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:44:21.119-08:00

Running Time: 93 min. Director: Vittorio Di Sica Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staidla An old friend is apparently tromping around the art-house circuit in celebration of its 60th anniversary. Vittorio De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief (as I always knew it, but since corrected to its proper title) played here last night and I could not miss an opportunity to revisit it in a theatre for the first

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-87516366126294407942009-09-07T23:56:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:33:34.741-08:00

The August episode of Crusty Old Wave is up and available from either COW Central or directly from iTunes (where you can subscribe for free if you haven't already, and thus get every new episode automatically!). We’re celebrating the show’s 18th anniversary by replaying the show’s 18-month anniversary back in 1993. This one -- even more so than usual -- hit the "obscure" bin extra hard and

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-73734319492012420242009-08-26T07:07:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:34:04.524-08:00

Torchwood writer and Twitterpal James Moran turned me on to this righteous trailer that brings back that coffee-black blaxsploitation groove you know we were all hurtin’ for ever since The Man took it all away from us. Set in the early 70’s, if this thing is half as good as the trailer makes it look, we may be in serious need of some new Dolemite action in the not-too-distant future!

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-11414747954781931392009-08-19T07:57:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:34:04.524-08:00

I have seen, in my life so far, at least 1500 movies. That’s not an idle boast: I have supporting documentation from the film festivals I’ve covered, the reviews I’ve written and other sources to confirm at least that number. On the AFI’s list of the 100 Greatest (American) Films (2007 Edition), I’ve seen 73 of them. I would guess that there are a handful of movies I’ve seen more than 50 times,

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-33545767775836950462009-08-18T20:35:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:34:04.525-08:00

What follows is, rather unusually for this site, not a film review of a movie shown in cinemas, but a video on the inter-tubes. I don’t plan to make a habit of this, but this one is extraordinary enough on various levels to warrant the same kind of attention given to traditional movies. You can find out more about the young man who made the video via his website (currently overloaded) if his

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-80451136957258995072009-07-22T06:48:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:30:17.382-08:00

Running Time: 153 min. Director: David Yates Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon It’s the beginning of the end for the Harry Potter franchise, and you can definitely feel it. Before we get too far into this, I should caution readers that, unlike apparently 90% of the moviegoing audience, I don’t read the books. I know, I know -- “blasphemer!” -- but

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-47240091251437131112009-07-08T04:19:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:34:04.525-08:00

Now this is a clever idea, and really the way it should be done. BoxOfficeMojo.com has crunched the numbers and given us the real skinny: Gone With the Wind is still the all-time-so-far* box office champion. *I really hate the use of the term “all time” without qualifiers, as though Time is officially coming to an end this Thursday and we can finally settle the score. Even worse, most of the

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-36286079699295488522009-07-03T07:05:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:34:36.845-08:00

Hollywood plans to make a movie of the videogame “Asteroids.” I think that’s it, we can officially now say that they have hit bottom. EDIT: I knew when I wrote that I’d be eating my words, but I didn’t think it would only take a day. A movie based on ViewMaster. Oy vey.

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-67273317907929876112009-06-30T00:14:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:34:04.525-08:00

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-54324464661753080632009-06-27T16:11:00.000-07:002010-02-11T20:34:47.192-08:00

The June episode of Crusty Old Wave is up and available from either COW Central or directly from iTunes (where you can subscribe for free if you haven't already, and thus get every new episode automatically!). We’re doing something a little different this summer ... sequential episodes! Normally we pick which show tape we’re going to edit/remaster/upload at random, but June’s is episode #73,

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-89591264803685523532009-06-10T07:34:00.001-07:002009-06-10T07:48:49.405-07:00

Just a note for non-Facebook fans ... the May episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave came out on June 2nd, and is available for free streaming or downloading from either the COW website or iTunes itself. This is one of the later episodes and I think the variety of music on it is just great. Man I love that guy!

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-162045400372761652009-06-05T06:55:00.001-07:002009-06-10T07:48:14.543-07:00

Where no marketing has gone before: No, your eyes do not deceive you -- the chevron logo and the Kirk and Spock figures (among others in the package) are printed directly on the food. Part of a complete (-ly nerdtastic) breakfast.

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-7973590867822726682009-05-19T16:46:00.001-07:002009-05-19T16:57:42.451-07:00

While we wait for the May episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave, a special treat ... last month Chas and his buddy Liz were live on WPRK once again, sitting in with DJ Maggie on her Punk Rock in Your PJs show. We chatted about radio days, about Florida and mostly about Canada, and we also listened to some fun, poppy powerpunk (plus a few surreptitious selections from Chas). Great fun, but rather

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-2780854669919307562009-05-11T00:43:00.000-07:002009-05-16T23:11:57.573-07:00

Running Time: 127 min. Director: J.J. Abrams Stars: Christopher Pine, Zachary Quinto, et al So I did in fact go to see the new Star Trek film on opening weekend after all, thanks to an invite from some friends (I had planned on catching a matinee after the hype died down a bit). As a long-time “Star Trek” (the original and animated series only) fan and a former professional movie critic, I tried

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-15080817661875219352009-05-05T02:19:00.001-07:002009-05-05T02:19:34.183-07:00

... by The Onion. Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-91157538032365112422009-04-28T02:09:00.001-07:002009-04-28T02:12:27.092-07:00

The April edition of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or iTunes. It’s a very early episode from 1992 BC -- Before Clinton -- and predates the modern Internet, DVDs and The X-Files. It was a whole different world back then. We also are pleased to announce that we now have a fan page on Facebook which we hope you’ll join. With a little luck we may have a “special episode”

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-3950387447716406122009-04-22T02:37:00.000-07:002009-04-22T02:40:32.339-07:00

We don’t normally cover short films on this blog, and are even less inclined to cover or promote web-only films, but for this one -- Responsible Relationships and You: Facebook Manners -- we’ll gladly make an exception. First of all, as a parody this short is note-perfect. Not since the days of Night Flight on the USA Network in those bygone early days of cable has their been such a beautifully

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-47169717481576679262009-04-07T05:11:00.000-07:002009-04-22T02:21:24.419-07:00

96 Min. Writer/Director: Charles Martin Smith Stars: Charlie Cox, Billy Boyd, Robert Carlyle Here’s a story you don’t see all that often: a true account of a daring raid for national pride and glory that’s set after WWII. Charles Martin Smith (best known for his role in “American Graffiti” but like his co-star Ron Howard more of a writer/director these days) has fashioned a stylish-looking,

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-59842447939993039932009-03-30T19:27:00.000-07:002009-03-30T19:29:39.458-07:00

Just in the nick of time, the March episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is available for download either via the website or directly from iTunes. This episode features a focus on Elvis Costello’s “Brutal Youth” album, some rants against the then-new teen curfew in downtown Orlando, and best of all, Liz Langley's hi-larious Horror-scopes. Not to mention a ton of good old-fashioned alterna-rock back

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-57688692255049945562009-03-20T20:22:00.000-07:002009-03-30T19:28:47.047-07:00

After a short fubar-esque delay caused by a bug in iWeb 09, I'm pleased to report that Chas' Crusty Old Wave - The Podcast! is now available again on iTunes. Subscribers should finally be getting February's episode (#63). If you are not already a listener, and think you would enjoy a rather smart-alecky tour of the best in obscure New Wave Music as only college radio can provide, you can easily

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-82313761659566273552009-03-10T03:44:00.000-07:002009-03-10T03:45:24.592-07:00

Running Time: 102 Min.Canada 2008Director/Writer/Star: Michael StadtländerOne of the world’s top chefs decides to take a unique summer vacation  -- driving from Ontario to the obscure islands of British Columbia in a biodiesel bus-cum-mobile-kitchen, preparing exquisite outdoor dinners using local ingredients, local themes and local farmers. He calls it “The Islands Project.”From the start, we

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-19368475972674492422009-02-27T15:28:00.001-08:002009-02-27T15:29:30.054-08:00

Those of you who are subscribed to my podcast -- Chas’ Crusty Old Wave -- via iTunes will have to wait a bit for the February episode to show up. Apple made some changes in how iWeb interacts with the iTunes store, so while all the old episodes are still available, the new one (#63 from 30-Oct-92) is not yet there. They are aware of the problem, and presumably will take a break from working on

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-86663180986349606932009-02-22T19:51:00.000-08:002009-02-22T19:55:29.346-08:00

Running time: 92 Min. Directors: Zach Shaffer, Steve Saporito Stars: Michael Schmidt, Mistress Formika, Debbie Harry, Rudy GiulianiThere was this really great party, it went on every Friday for seven years throughout the 90s, it was very rock-n-roll and very ambi-sexual (with an accent on the sexual), and if you missed it you really missed out.That’s the premise (strongly supported by the

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-41193239129804025452009-02-19T00:55:00.000-08:002009-03-10T03:47:18.872-07:00

Running Time: 93 Min.Directors: Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq IvaluStars: Madeline Ivalu, Paul-Dylan IvaluAs the tall man behind the desk at the BBC might say, “and now for something completely different.” Before Tomorrow is not the sort of film you routinely run across, even amongst the cognoscenti of the film-fest circuit. It’s an all-Inuit (“Eskimo” in American) cast, shot in Nunavut

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-41707227634245397252009-02-14T17:05:00.000-08:002009-03-10T03:50:55.126-07:00

Running Time: 80 Min. USA 2008Director: James WestbyStars: Ian Schrager, Debbie Harry, Paris Hilton, Julian Schnabel Hotel Gramercy Park is about the passing of one era and the starting of another in the life of a lesser-known New York institution. Death-and-rebirth is a common theme in films, but less so in documentaries, and with this one’s fixation mostly on the “death” part, it delivers as a

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-73255707987873636872009-02-12T04:59:00.001-08:002009-02-19T01:04:54.826-08:00

Running Time: 79 Min. Directors: Michael Afendakis, Laura Bernieri Stars: Morgan Freeman, Willie Nelson, James Johnson There are almost as many “birth of the blues” documentaries as Holocaust movies. By now, I’m beginning to suspect that each and every black man in Mississippi has been interviewed at least once on this topic. That said, “Delta Rising” takes a reasonably fresh approach to this

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-78105990112019916872009-02-10T04:32:00.000-08:002009-02-14T17:07:05.972-08:00

Running time: 80 Min. USA 2008 Director/Writer: James Westby Stars: Melik Malkasian, John Breen Comedy and porn can actually work very well together, provided that the emphasis is on the comedy. Writer/Director James Westby has re-worked a short film he did in 2002 into a full-length feature, and The Auteur has been reborn as a sublime satire on sex and cinema, a Spinal Tap-esque documentary, a

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-43098244426316835262009-02-07T23:55:00.000-08:002009-02-08T00:09:26.376-08:00

Running Time: 90 Min. Ontario, Canada 2009 Director: Larry Weinstein Writer: Thomas Wallner, based on the book by Karen Levine Once in a great while, a film comes along that is so moving and soul-stirring, so emotionally powerful, so filled with the magic of what makes cinema a living art, that you want to run from the theatre, grab the first stranger you meet by the lapels and yell at them like

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-70949622753112902282009-02-06T23:36:00.000-08:002009-02-06T23:53:52.404-08:00

Running Time: 89 Min. Ontario, Canada 2008 Directors/Writers: Sook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver, Aaron Woodley The Victoria Film Festival’s program book description for Toronto Stories ends with this line: Even Toronto-haters are going to have a hard time getting their knives out for this one. Wanna bet? I don’t hate Toronto; I’ve never been there. But considering that this anthology

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-81693118937681932962009-02-05T02:52:00.000-08:002009-02-05T03:37:45.291-08:00

Running time: 87 Min. USADirector/Writer: Helen Hood ScheerFrom 2002’s Spellbound, a documentary that followed eight kids from around the US as they worked their way to the ultimate sudden-death playoff of the National Spelling Bee, through 2004’s Word Wars (Scrabble’s dry-witted champions), 2006’s Air Guitar Nation (extreme!) and 2007’s The King of Kong (Donkey Kong players in a life-or-death

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-16388649463700954622009-02-03T02:31:00.001-08:002009-02-05T03:37:11.799-08:00

Running time: 95 Min. Canada/Germany Director/Writer: Bruce La Bruce Imagine a young John Waters, only with no sense of urgency, more militantly queer, and tone-deaf to the subtleties of satire. There you have Bruce La Bruce, writer/director of Otto, or Up With Dead People. You would think a “gay zombie political porno movie” would be a lot of laughs, or at least creepily arousing (if you’re into

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-62124746467183982032009-02-02T07:14:00.000-08:002009-02-05T03:35:00.758-08:00

Victoria is the historic “Little Britain” capital of the province of British Columbia, even though it’s actually located on an island off the coast – so close to the United States that Washington’s Olympic Mountains loom large across its southern skyline. Yet America has less of an influence here than the Commonwealth – the member countries of what once was the British Empire. When you notice

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-70388465806076622912009-02-01T02:13:00.001-08:002009-02-05T03:40:41.160-08:00

I am pleased to announce that I have been engaged once again by my friends at Film Threat to cover the Victoria Film Festival .Articles I write for them will also appear here in due course. This may, however, cause interruptions of service on my other blogs .Your patience and support is, as always, appreciated.

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-17869829687552639212009-01-24T10:49:00.000-08:002009-02-05T03:43:57.014-08:00

A toast to Charles H. Schneer, who died on January 21st at the approximate age of 88 (nobody seems to know his precise birthday) in Boca Raton, Florida. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Schneer seems to have always been a film producer -- or at least that’s the only role listed for him in the movie business. He’s the fellow in the dark suit in the middle of the photo to your left, standing next to Dr.

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-13053364884929995462009-01-14T03:09:00.000-08:002009-02-05T03:45:01.009-08:00

Another episode of my award-winnable podcast, Chas’ Crusty Old Wave, is now available for download either via iTunes or straight from my website . To make up for the fact that I have, for the second time, failed to produce one of these for the month of December, I’m pursuing the notion of a special episode to appear later in the year. In the meantime, enjoy this new one, which features a little

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-33586377586035168662009-01-01T03:52:00.000-08:002009-02-05T03:48:12.818-08:00

Two questions I know you are dying to ask: 1. Why did this blog suddenly stop in February 2005? 2. Why are you bringing it back almost four years later? The answer to #1 is simple: I became a paid film reviewer for various publications back in Dec of 2004, and was contractually obligated to only write film reviews for my employers for a period of about three years. Then, in October of 2007, I

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-1107482437880876272005-02-03T18:00:00.001-08:002009-01-01T03:51:45.951-08:00

The 10 Best Films of 2004 (and Five of the Worst)Let's start off by being honest: I haven't seen every movie that's come out this year, so I can't possibly tell you exactly which were the ten best. Moreover, many of the films being hailed by critics in LA, NY and overseas as "the year's best" haven't even gotten around to Orlando yet. But even if I had somehow seen them all, it would still only

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-1078823806147537582004-03-09T01:16:00.001-08:002008-08-17T01:14:31.781-07:00

FFF 2004 Diary - Days One and Two, Part 1For what is I believe the 10th year running, I am attending and covering the Florida Film Festival for a variety of publications. This year I am primarily doing reviews for OrlandoCityBeat.com and FilmThreat.com, though I may also be contributing to other publications. As always, I maintain that the FFF is in the first rank of great film festivals of the

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-1058687438678326602003-07-20T00:50:00.003-07:002008-08-17T01:17:39.260-07:00

Russkij kovcheg (2002)Running Time: 96 minutesWriters: Boris Khaimsky, Anatoli Nikiforov, Svetlana Proskurina, Aleksandr SokurovDirector: Aleksandr SokurovIt's rare to see a film that almost perfectly embodies the dream-like experience of floating without restraint through time and memory, but Aleksandr Sokurov appears to have hit his creative peak with his latest and most groundbreaking film,

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-939143622003-05-07T00:31:00.001-07:002008-08-17T01:19:13.742-07:00

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)Running time: 179 minutesDirector: Peter JacksonGracious, has this film actually been out for more than six months?I recently completed what I think is my 10th viewing of the film, and was pleased to say that it's still as exciting and lovely as the first nine (most of which were done in rapid succession). I can't tell you how nice it is to go to a cinema

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-918354362003-04-02T02:40:00.001-08:002008-08-17T01:21:52.223-07:00

The Sweatbox (2003)Running time: 86 minutesDirectors: John-Paul Davidson and Trudie StylerThis is the first time a documentary crew have been allowed inside the workings of an animated Disney film, and it will probably be the last -- and therein lies a lot of the problem. As this film clearly illustrates, Disney desperately needs to open up it's film process to people with some actual artistic/

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-910469942003-03-20T00:10:00.001-08:002008-08-17T01:26:11.374-07:00

Robot Stories (2002)Running time: 85 minutesWriter/Director: Greg PakThe true beauty of independent film is that you can create something that is almost completely your vision as you originally imagined it, or at least create something that complements your original vision but is contributed to by the crew and players. Independent films convey a spirit of the creator's vision far better than most

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-903495932003-03-08T01:48:00.001-08:002008-08-17T01:23:25.669-07:00

Beer Goggles (2002) and Pornographic Apathetic (2003)Running time: approx. 5 minutes eachWritten and Directed by T. Arthur CottamKind of an unusual move, but in celebration of the opening of the Florida Film Festival (from which these pages will immensely benefit over the next week or so) I thought I'd take a look at the entire professional output and comedic genius of hit-and-run filmmaker T.

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-898855512003-02-27T21:48:00.000-08:002003-05-20T22:37:53.000-07:00

The Black Cat (1934)Running time: 01:04:00 Writers: Edgar Allen Poe (not really), Edgar G. Ulmer and Peter Ruric Director: Edgar G. Ulmer A shout out to Turner Classic Movies for giving me an opportunity to see this flick after harumph years, uncut and commercial-free. I remembered it as disturbing and stilted, but maturity (I think I last saw this film when I was about 12) has given me new

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-894461802003-02-20T10:34:00.000-08:002003-02-27T20:30:17.000-08:00

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)Running time: 01:03:00 Writers: Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson Director: Wes Anderson Finally got a chance to see this movie, one of the few times I've ever looked forward to an "all-star" vehicle. At the time of this writing, I have seen Anderson's Bottle Rockets but I haven't yet seen the one film of his my friends keep commending to me, Rushmore. Normally when you get

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-889409052003-02-11T16:07:00.000-08:002003-05-08T13:58:03.000-07:00

Il Mi Viaggio in Italia (My Voyage to Italy) (1999)Running time: 4:06:00 Director/Narrator: Martin Scorsese Producer: Turner Classic Movies I've chosen a documentary to kick off Film Moi because it is my favourite form of film, particularly when you get something that either takes you to a place you've never been before, or when it sheds new light on something you thought you knew. Being a film

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4070378.post-885746632003-02-04T21:33:00.000-08:002003-02-27T20:30:49.000-08:00

Welcome to Film Moi!Hi, I'm Chas, your host of American Movie Cla-- wait a minute, that's not right -- anyway, I'm this guy who watches a lot of movies. I don't get paid to do this blog, but I do get paid to watch movies. At least some of the time. Welcome to Film Moi, my personal journal of films. What you will find here is frequently-updated reviews of films I've seen (very few "mainstream"

chas_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10365057094888352212noreply@blogger.com0