If you have been even slightly cognizant of cinema through the past couple decades, you are undoubtedly as aware of and literate in Quentin Tarantino‘s works as the rest of us are. He is a dominant voice in modern cinema, and perhaps the most closely watched and anticipated American filmmaker by the American public, not to mention those outside of the United States.

After exiting the theatre, a friend of mine commented, “Now he just has to pick another historical time and he can make a trilogy!” Whilst considering which other historical period and its dominant nemesis he could skewer (Roman occupation of Jerusalem and American occupation of Japan were two – be prepared to share royalties Mr. Tarantino!), implications of this statement seemed to become clear. The film is certainly a Tarantino film – it contains all of his characteristic style, his majestic control of the visuals and understanding of the language of cinema. However, ever since Kill Bill, his films seem to be little but blood-soaked, tongue-in-cheek genre films with absurd body counts. Read More…

Image from Spike Jonze’s Her

Let’s just get this out of the way right now, movies such as The Hangover part 3, The Fast & The Furious part 6, Scary Movie 5, the next Hunger Games movie or the next Hobbit movie will not be on this list.

What will be on this list are films being released by today’s auetuers, and potential classics in the making – I hope.

I listed the films in alphabetical order, because choosing my favorite was just too damn tough.  Click the jump to see what 2013 has to offer Read More…

March 2nd: Freaks/Island of Lost Souls (Roxie Theatre)

As part of Roxie’s week long pre-code Hollywood movie marathon, the Mission theatre will be flying its freak flag with an omnibus caravan of classic horror.  First up, I plan on reacquainting myself with that repugnant feeling of fear I felt as a kid when my boyhood friend’s father took us to the local circus and ushered me into the “freak tent” with Todd Browning‘s Freaks.  “We accept you, one of us!  Gobble Gobble!“

Next up is Eric C. Kenton‘s Island of Lost Souls, a film I have yet to see, which, like Browning‘s Freaks, was released the same year.  The star power in this film boasts Bela Lugosi, Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, and a bunch of mutated half human/half animal freaks.  I wonder if in 1932, when these two films were released, if people got confused between these two movies much the same way that, to this day, I still get confused between the two films that deal with magic from 2006, The Illusionist and The Prestige.

March 4th: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Castro Theatre)

David Fincher‘s reworking of the already hugely popular Swedish film certainly has its detractors, fortunately for me, I’m not one of them.  In a strange way, I like to think of this film as a flavorful stew of Zodiac and Se7en with a hint of Enya garnished on top for good measure.  Leave it to David Fincher to get good use out of an Enya song.

March 9th: Let The Bullets Fly (4-Star Theatre)

An action/comedy/western set in China during the 1920s starring Chow Yun-Fat and featuring a preview that conjures up similarities to Jee-woon Kim‘s fantastic The Good, the Bad, the Weird.  If this film is even half of what Kim‘s movie was, then I’ll be one happy cinegoer, but, truth be told, I have very high hopes for this, especially after reading a press release where it describes the film as “an escalating series of hyper-violent (and hilarious)”. Read More…

Filmbalaya wholeheartedly wishes you a happy new year. No matter what you offered to give up in your New Years’ Resolution, the people at the movie theatre won’t betray your conscience. To keep your potentially rainy month dry, we’ll tell you what good (or, failing that, perhaps worthwhile) movies to see to fill up many of your days.  Fortunately for us all, there are plenty of films to watch, including some that you may have missed in the past couple of months.

See the list after the jump! Read More…

This is a list of some of our most anticipated movies of 2011. These films have the potential to knock a cinephiles socks off and hopefully most of them will. I must admit, after making this list, this could be a truly fantastic year for movie fans.

Before I get started, a disclaimer: this is not a list for those of you who think that Transformers, The Green Lantern, Harry Potter, or Twilight are going to be the best films of the year. If you made a funny face and almost spewed just from thinking about the aforementioned films, this is your list.  Maybe.

Feel free to leave comments down below.  I was pretty thorough with my list, but I could have forgotten something. To see the list click the link below.

Read More…