Hey you. Yeah you. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “I want to watch a documentary, and I want to watch one about a musician, and/or music, particularly one that was reviewed by Filmbalaya within the last three years.” You’re even probably asking yourself, “But where do I start?” Am I right? No? C’mon, you can admit it. You know I’m right.

Okay, even if I’m not right in my omniscient interweb predictions, let’s assume for the sake of this post that I am. With that being said, I have gone through great mediocre lengths to gather 5 reviews of music-focused documentaries from the past three years that might have been overlooked by the mainstream, and deserves its chance to shine. So, without further ado, I give you five criminally misdemeanorly overlooked musician-based documentaries. Read More…

Director, Joel Edgerton is at it again. This is his follow-up to the darkly comedic short film Spider, where one man’s prank on his girlfriend took a turn for the worse. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that if you loved Spider, you’ll especially love Bear. You can see both his short films after the jump
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Welcome to another entry of our feature “Eclipse Series Reviews”.  Every first Thursday of every month we will take a film from the Criterion Collection’s Eclipse Series and give you our two cents worth on it.  What is The Eclipse Series? It’s “a selection of lost, forgotten or overshadowed classics.” Why have this feature every first Thursday of each month?  Well, why not?!  So, without further ado, on with the review of The Warped Ones from the Eclipse Series 28: The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara. Read More…

They say the best things in life are free, and for once I can say they’re right. We at Filmbalaya are giving away 10 2-month trial subscriptions to a new online streaming service that offers a slew of independent films, ones in which you would be hard pressed to find on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, or any other streaming platform out there.

So what does IndieFlix offer that others cannot? You don’t have to offer up any credit card info in order to start your 2-month trial and you can watch as many movies as you like, knowing that once you join your money will be distributed to the independent filmmakers themselves. So what do you have to lose?

To have your name entered in the giveaway e-mail us at filmbalaya@gmail.com with the word “IndieFlix” as the subject. Winners will be chosen at random from a virtual fedora by a magical entity.

For more info on what IndiFlix is all about check out the video below or follow the following links: Indieflix.com, facebook

Welcome to our newest feature in where we pay respects to the recent passings of some of our favorite fictional characters. Even though these characters may not have died in their fictional world, their real world “puppet masters” have. In this edition I have collected photographs, video clips, and formulated some brief epitaphs as a way of paying my respects to the contribution these characters have added to the cinematic landscape

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Whether it’s fair criticism or not, ever since his first penned script, Kids (1995) and his directorial debut, Gummo (1997), Harmony Korine has gained notoriety for being a filmmaker not afraid to shock audiences while exploring the depths of this thing called “normality”. Most recently Mr. Korine’s attack of the status quo can be seen in Spring Breakers (2013), a movie made on the exploitation of pop culture casting (heart throb of the moment, James Franco, and a couple of Mickey Mouse club kids) and marketed as a sexy non-stop party to the teen and college demographic. Those in on Korine’s joke though know better and will most likely revel in its sleeziness.

In celebration of Harmony Korine’s latest work, Spring Breakers, I’ve collected four of his short films that are each tiny little masterpieces in their own right. Which of these poetry in motion shorts, if any, is your favorite? Read More…

Welcome to the first of soon to be many entries into our new feature “Eclipse Series Reviews”.  Every first Thursday of every month we will take a film from the Criterion Collection’s Eclipse Series and give you our two cents worth on it.  What is The Eclipse Series? It’s “a selection of lost, forgotten or overshadowed classics.” Why have this feature every first Thursday of each month?  Well, why not?!  So, without further ado, on with the review of Intimidation from the Eclipse Series 28: The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara.

I can’t think of a better way to get the ball rolling on this new feature than with the movie wikipedia claims to be the first ever Japanese film noir, Intimidation. I’m still quite skeptical of this “fact”, but if it’s on wikipedia than it must be true, right? Read More…

Jurassic Park was released twenty years ago and many movie goers remember this film as a breakthrough in effects for movies. Jurassic Park raised the bar for the production of action/adventure film winning three Academy Awards in sound effects, sound mixing, and visual effects. The characters in the film spanned stereotypes of humanity and the plot has elements of betrayal, sacrifice, healing, and survival. The theme of the film is human intellect versus nature; the quest for science and reason to overcome nature and chaos.

For me to write a review or opinion piece that has already been written on the 20th anniversary of Jurassic Park could only demonstrate my lack of writing credibility. Instead, I used some connections I have from college and found myself deep in the Nevada desert to speak with a critic like none other. Self-named Georgia is a three year-old, fully conscious Tyrannosaurus rex. Georgia lives in a bunker beneath the Nevada desert. She is part of an overly elaborate experiment proving theories on consciousness, genetics, and physical pain. She spends most of her time reading and watching film when not being subjected to horrifying examinations. I was granted exclusive rights to her critique of Jurassic Park.

Follow the jump for this exclusive interview Read More…