White Chapel Movie Club

Five Foreign Horror Films for Halloween

2009-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Rather than do a regular single movie this week, I'm going to re-highlight 5 horror films that have previously been recommended here. Of course, none of these are Hollywood films. The title links for each movie, go to the full writeup I did for it previously. Those also contain links of places to get the movie.

Night Watch
This Russian Film from 2004 is a dark modern fantasy, think Underworld. It's the first film in a trilogy. The second one, Day Watch, is also on DVD in R1. The third film has not yet been filmed.

Gwoemul
Also called The Host, this is a Korean monster film from 2006. This had one of the best looking monster's I've seen on film.

Let the Right One In
This one is from Sweden, and is a downright disturbing film. It may be a love story between a vampire and a human, but it is not like a few things to come out of Hollywood recently. It has also won a lot of awards while it was on the festival circuit.

Dante 01
This is a French film by the same Director as The City of Lost Children. It came out in 2008. It's a space thriller, and has had pretty mixed reviews.

¿Quién puede matar a un niño?
This 1976 Spanish film translates to Who Can Kill a Child? An English couple visit an island and find that there are only crazed children on it.

The Call of Cthulhu

2009-10-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

With Halloween coming up, I wanted to highlight the best film adaptation of an H. P. Lovecraft film out there.

The Call of Cthulhu is a silent film from 2005. It was filmed as a silent film to mimic the films of the 1920's (when the story was written). It was produced by Sean Brannery and Andrew Leman (who also directed). The film was well received at the many Film Festivals that it attended. The official site has a full list of awards.

Official Synopses:

The Call of Cthulhu is HP Lovecraft's most famous story. It is the only story to feature the celebrated monster Cthulhu and in many ways it encapsulates the ideas that went on to permeated Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The film follows the story's three-part narrative construction, and it moves from the 1920s to 1908 to the1870s and back, as the story does. The story embodies HPL's nihilistic world view, his cosmic perspective, and his sense that mankind is doomed by its own insignificance. And it's a pretty good globe-trotting adventure story.

Spoiler Warning) In the story, a dying professor leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew begins to learn why the study of the cult so fascinated his grandfather. Bit-by-bit he begins piecing together the dread implications of his grandfather's inquiries, and soon he takes on investigating the Cthulhu cult as a crusade of his own. As he pieces together the dreadful and disturbing reality of the situation, his own sanity begins to crumble. In the end, he passes the torch to his psychiatrist, who in turn hears Cthulhu's call.

Official Site
imdb
Wikipedia
Youtube
Amazon.com
Netflix

So, I missed a Couple Weeks.

2009-10-18T18:33:00.001-07:00

I've been a little bit slack on updates these last 2 weeks because my wife had a baby. A little one named Ivy entered the world on October 8th of 2009. So, I've been pretty distracted lately.

I'm going to go back to the voting mechanic in November. With Halloween coming up, I'm going to do something special for these next two weeks.

No Recommendation Monday October 5th

2009-10-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

There won't be a movie recommendation this week. Personal life intervenes. Again, if you want to be a regular contributor where you pick the movie, let me know.

Flammen & Citronen

2009-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Flammen & Citronen is a Danish movie from 2008. It was written and directed by Ole Christian Madsen. Lars Anderson also shares writing credit. At a production cost of roughly 46 million kroner, this is one of the most expensive danish movies to be made so far. In addition to winning Best Film at the Zulu Awards, this film won 8 other awards and had 15 nominations on the festival circuit.

Synopsis lifted from official site:

Copenhagen 1944. While the Danish population hopes for a swift end to the war, freedom fighters Bent Faurschou-Hviid (23), a.k.a. Flame and Jorgen Haagen Schmith (33), a.k.a. Citron, secretly put their lives at stake fighting for the Holger Danske resistance group.

The fearless and uncompromising Flame is a confirmed anti-fascist and dreams of the day when the group will assemble and openly launch an armed counterattack at the occupying power. The more sensitive family man, Citron, used to work primarily as a driver for Flame, but now finds himself becoming more deeply involved in the group's work.

When their immediate superior, Aksel Winther, orders them into action against two German Abwehr officers, events start to get out of hand. Flame engages in conversation with the talented and intelligent Colonel Gilbert and for first time, Flame calls the soundness of the order he is about to execute into question. Something feels terribly wrong.

Furthermore, when suspicion turns to his girlfriend, the beautiful and mysterious courier, Ketty, Flame begins to spot the outline of a different and mostly hidden agenda. Can Ketty be trusted? Can Winther? And who really works for whom? While their doubts gnaw at them, Flame and Citron come to feel that they are on shaky ground. Desperate, disillusioned and with a sense of having been betrayed by their superiors, they decide only to trust each other and concentrate their efforts on getting to the much hated and feared chief of the Gestapo, Hoffmann.

The film is based on actual events and eyewitness accounts from some of the people who experienced Bent Faurschou-Hviid ("Flame") and Jorgen Haagen Schmith ("Citron") at very close range.

The DVD for this movie has not yet been released in Region 1. It is out there if you want to try the more nefarious ways to obtain it.

imdb
Wikipedia
official site (has trailer with subtitles)
Netflix

Something New

2009-09-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

I think the big flaw of having polls for this site, is that to really vote, a person has to watch four or five trailers and select the best one based on that. It is also entirely possible that people are picking based on the Title of the movie, or voting for ones they've seen before. I think this committee process is a bit flawed and doesn't serve well the purpose of the site.

Here's what we're going to try. Each week, the movie selection will be turned over to one person. I'll rotate through contributors so that everyone who is interested gets a chance. If you're interested in contributing, then shoot me an email with your email address. If you have submitted a movie in the past that you think was overlooked in the voting process, and really should be seen, then let me know, and I'll put you in the rotation.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2004)

2009-09-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week, we're featuring I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. It's a British film from 2004 that was directed by Mike Hodges. For those of you unfamiliar, Mike Hodges also directed Croupier and Get Carter.

Plot Description lifted from Wikipedia:

Academy Award nominee Clive Owen stars as Will Graham, a former London crime boss who has left his former life to live as a recluse in the forest. Haunted by the blood of those he has murdered, Will wishes never to return. But when his brother (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) commits suicide, following a sexual assault at the hands of a volatile car dealer (Malcolm McDowell), Will returns to London to discover the cause of his brother's death and administer justice to those responsible. There he must also face old enemies and a former love, Helen (Charlotte Rampling).

Just a quick warning, this movie does depict a scene of rape. If you're sensitive to that, you may want to skip this one.

imdb
Wikipedia
Trailer Addict
Amazon.com with unbox option
Netflix

No Poll for Sept 28th

2009-09-20T06:07:00.001-07:00

There is no poll for the movie choice for Sept 28th. I have something else in mind.

Banilieu 13

2009-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week's recommendation was recommended by Draug. He actually recommended a whole pile of them back in June, I just missed getting them in until recently. This film is a French action film called Banilieu 13 (or District B13). It was Directed by Pierre Morel, and was written/produced by Luc Besson. This isn't really an award winning movie. It's trailer did win a Golden Trailer award for Best Foreign Action Trailer. Don't expect fantastic plot, watch this movie for the stunts and the action. Some critics have compared it to Tony Jaa's Ong Bak.

Synopsis lifted from Rotten Tomatoes:

Both of the leads in the French action flick DISTRICT B13 practice parkour, a kind of urban gymnastics that looks a little like skateboarding without the skateboard, and the pleasure of this short... Both of the leads in the French action flick DISTRICT B13 practice parkour, a kind of urban gymnastics that looks a little like skateboarding without the skateboard, and the pleasure of this short frenetic film is watching the two lithe heroes leap through windows, run up walls, and jump off buildings. Like Jackie Chan, Cyril Raffaelli, and David Belle, both stuntmen-turned-leading-men perform their own acrobatic martial arts sans special effects or invisible wires, and the lo-fi fight sequences pack a gritty punch that is often missing in slick Hollywood fare. The plot involves a futuristic France where the worst ghettos have been walled off from the rest of society, their schools shut down, and the police force evacuated. The people in power simply want to ignore the plight of the disenfranchised, but this becomes difficult to do when the most notorious gang, led by the wild-eyed Taha (Bibi Naceri), gets its hands on a nuclear warhead and proceeds to demand a 20-million-Euro ransom, with the city of Paris as its hostage. Enter Damien (Raffaelli), a one-man police strike force, who has 24 hours to disarm the missile. To help him navigate the war zone of District B13, he springs a vigilante antihero, Leito (Belle), from jail. Leito has personal reasons for taking down the crime lord: Taha has turned Leito's adolescent sister into his junkie pet. As the ultra-athletic duo go up against Taha's gangster army, they repeatedly (and conveniently) lose their guns, and are forced to improvise, thrashing goons with steering wheels, cinder blocks, and their foreheads. The screenplay (written by Luc Besson, director of LA FEMME NIKITA) and the blunt political critique are a bit heavy-handed, but obviously that's beside the point. Lovers of action flicks could ignore the English subtitles completely and still relish the hyperkinetic beauty of the whip-quick combat.

imdb
Wikipedia
Trailer on Youtube
Rotten Tomatoes 80%
Netflix (with instant)
Amazon.com (with on demand)

2009-09-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

My Winnipeg [trailer]
Flammen & Citronen [trailer]
Tesis [trailer]
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead [trailer]
Mýrin [trailer]

Nói Albinói

2009-09-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'll let Iceland Bob introduce this movie:

Nói Albinói (eng: Noi the Albino) Directed by Dagur Kári and Starring Tómas Lemarquis. the film is about Nói (Le Marquis) a 17 year old who lives with his Dad and Grandmother in a remote fishing village in Iceland. He is different form the others in that he is both albino and Bald. He is also very intelligent but bored out of his skull. All Nói wants to do is escape the village to see the world but can´t seem to get out of a Rut. that is until a young girl arrives from Reykjavik. Can Nói get both the girl and the freedom he craves?...

The film was released in Iceland in February of 2003. It recieved 20 awards and 12 nominations at various film festivals. The full list is on imdb.

imdb
Wikipedia
trailer
Netflix
Amazon

Movie Selection for Sept 14th

2009-09-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Banlieue 13 [trailer]
Kidô Keisatsu Patorebâ: The Movie [trailer]
Repo the Genetic Opera [trailer]
The Queit Earth [trailer]

Time After Time (1979)

2009-08-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

"H.G. Wells Races Through Time To Catch Jack The Ripper!"

Time After Time is a 1979 American Sci-Fi film. Written and directed by Nicholas Meyer, it stars Malcom McDowell as H.G. Wells, and David Warner as Jack the Ripper. Nicolas Meyer also directed what are arguably the two best Star Trek Films (II and VI).

Time After Time won 5 awards and was nominated for an additional 7. (full list) The day that this post goes live is the 30th anniversary of it's release to American Cinema.

imdb
Wikipedia
NY Times review from 1979
Netflix (includes instant watch)
Amazon.com

Poll for September 6th

2009-08-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

Tesis [trailer]
El Día de la Bestia [trailer]
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead [trailer]
Nói Albinói [trailer]
Leningrad Cowboys Go America [clip]

Diva (1981)

2009-08-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Our movie this week is a French film, Diva. It was directed by Jean-Jaques Beineix, and is based on a novel of the same name by Daniel Odier. The film did not do well, when it was released in France, but the American release saw success. The film eventually won four awards at the César Awards (national film award of France.)

It was re-released to American theaters in November 2007, and has been touring the country ever since. I could not find a listing online of when and where it is showing, so you'll have to keep an eye on your local indie movie theater. You might even try calling the box office to see if it's coming any time soon before renting/purchasing this.

I lifted the summary for this one from IMDB.

Young Parisian mail courier is content with his bohemian lifestyle, his circle of friends and listening to opera, particularly one exceptional American diva who refuses to be recorded. So enamored with her, he makes an illegal tape of her at a concert. But when the tape is confused with one implicating a police chief with the mob, he must use all his ingenuity to survive. Particularly notable for its stylish New-Wave production values and extended motorcycle chase scene. Written by Stewart M. Clamen {clamen@cs.cmu.edu}

imdb
Wikipedia
official site
trailer on Rialto Pictures' site
Amazon.com
(not available on Netflix)

Movie for August 31st

2009-08-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

The Queit Earth [trailer]
Dororo [trailer]
Chrysalis [trailer]
Eden Log [Trailer]
Time after Time [trailer]

I'm trying out poll daddy for polls for a little bit. It gives me a bit more flexibility than using the side bar widget for polls.

Night Watch

2009-08-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week we are recommending Night Watch, or Nochnoy Dozor. It's a 2004 film from Russia. The film is a dark modern fantasy involving vampires and other supernatural creatures. It's the first part of a trilogy which is based on a series of book of the same names. The second is Day Watch and the third is Twilight Watch. The third has not yet been made into a movie.

Night Watch won the Silver Raven Award at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film, and it won a Golden Eagle for Best Sound at the Golden Eagle Awards in Russia. It also had nominations at the European Film Awards and at the Young Artist Awards.

Here is the official summary from the Fox Searchlight Website.

For as long as humanity has existed, there have been "Others" among us; Witches, Vampires and Shape-Shifters who are soldiers in the eternal war between Light and Dark.

Light Others protect mankind from Dark Others, who plague and torture humans.

Over 1000-years ago a truce was struck between Gesser, Lord of the Light, and Zavulon, General of Darkness. They agreed that no one could be forced to good or evil, people must choose freely for themselves. To uphold this truce, each side established underground forces; the soldiers of the Light would be called Night Watch, making sure Dark Others obeyed the truce. And the soldiers of Darkness would be called Day Watch, to do the same.

Ancient prophecy foretells that one day the Great One will arrive who can end the threat of an apocalyptic battle between Light and Dark Others. That day has come, and the Great One, once he or she is identified, must choose whether to destroy the light within or battle the surrounding darkness. This choice will reveal mankind's destiny.

imdb

Wikipedia
Official American Site
Apple Trailers
Netflix
Amazon.com

Choices for August 24th

2009-08-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Devil at 4 O'Clock
Chocolate [trailer]
Farväl Falkenberg [trailer]
Diva [trailer]

The Ramen Girl

2009-08-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week's movie is The Ramen Girl. It's an American independent film directed by Robert Ackerman. One must be careful to not dismiss this movie just because it stars Brittany Murphy. The easy movie to compare this one to is Lost in Translation. While they are both about Americans being lost in Japan, they are quite different movies.

Official Synopsis:

Abruptly abandoned by her boyfriend, a young American woman (Murphy) finds herself suddenly alone and adrift in Tokyo. Lost in the shuffle of a foreign culture, and seeking to console herself, Abby winds up hanging out in her neighborhood ramen shop. After observing the magical effects of the shop's ramen on the customers, Abby convinces herself that her true path in life is to become a ramen chef. Abby persuades the shop's tyrannical, temperamental Japanese master chef to teach her the art of making ramen. And although their relationship is contentious and rocky, they both discover the most important ingredient of all - that each ramen bowl must contain a universe of feeling and truly be a gift from the heart.

Again we'll be watching this movie together on Sunday the 16th at 6:00 PM Pacific Time. Keen your eyes on twitter for details when it starts.

imdb
Media 8 Entertainment
Wikipedia
Youtube
Amazon.com also has download options
Netflix includes streaming options

Movie Choices for August 17th

2009-08-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

Repo the Genetic Opera [trailer]
Les Revenants [trailer]
Dororo [trailer]
Nightwatch [trailer]
Casshern [trailer]

Big Man Japan

2009-08-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Big Man Japan, or Dai-Nipponjin, is our movie of the week. It was just released on DVD in the United States this last week. I've been wanting to get this movie on here since I started the site. I've just been waiting for it to be available. It's a mockumentary following a giant man that defends Japan from monsters. It was written and directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto. This is, of course, a Japanese film.

Official Description:

BIG MAN JAPAN is an outrageous portrayal of an original superhero. As Big Man Japan, Daisato inherited the role of defending Japan against a host of bizarre monsters. He receives high-voltage electroshocks which transform him into a stocky, stick-wielding giant several stories high. However, where his predecessors were revered as national heroes, he is an outcast among the citizens he protects.

We'll be doing a synchronized viewing on Sunday for this movie. Which is part of the reason for pushing back new film announcements to Monday. We'll do it at 6:00 PM Pacific time.

imdb
trailer
Rotten Tomatoes 74%
Amazon
Netflix

Poll for August 10th

2009-08-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

The Ramen Girl [trailer]
Diva [trailer]
Punishment Park [excerpt 1] [excerpt 2]
Sur Mes Lèvres [sample]
The Man in the White Suit [trailer]

Just a reminder, this week's movie will not be posted until Monday morning. Trying something new.

Site Update & Poll for August 3rd

2009-07-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start holding back the winning movie posts until Monday morning. I'll also start doing the viewings of the movies on Sunday evenings. I think Sunday's will be a good day for the viewings, but I want to have them before the next movie is posted. Polls will still go approximately the same time frame.

Again this week there is no movie. Use it as a chance to watch something you missed.

Big Man Japan [Trailer] - releases on DVD in USA this week!
The Ugly Swans [Trailer]
Time after Time [trailer]
Sukai Kurora [trailer]
Saibogujiman Kwenchana [trailer]

Old Boy (2003)

2009-07-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

This week we're suggesting the Korean thriller Old Boy. It was directed by Park Chan-wook, and was based of a Japanese Manga by the same name. I'm not going to list the awards this movie has won, because it would be a very long list. It probably would have won more if it hadn't been making the film festival rounds the same times as Fahrenheit 9/11.

An average man is kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that not only his kidnapper has still plans for him, but that those plans will serve as the even worse finale to 15 years of imprisonment. Written by Jacksrevenge

We'll be doing a synchronized viewing of this one. We're going to try for a Thursday night this time instead. So, at 7:00 pm Pacific Time on Thursday check out our twitter and see what the plan is.

imdb
Wikipedia
trailer
Rotten Tomatoes 81%
Amazon.com (DVD)
Amazon.com (Blu-Ray)
Netflix

No voting for July 26th

2009-07-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Next week will not have a movie suggestion. Use this as a chance to watch that movie that we suggested a while ago, but you never got the chance to watch.

The poll for the movie for August 2nd will go up next weekend.