Main Page
Film Festivals
Alphabetical Menu
Chronological Menu

Film Comment Selects (Feb. 18th - March 4th, 2011) Please click here for the complete Film Program and to purchase tickets. Hobo with a Shotgun Directed by Jason Eisener.       Rutger Hauer stars as the titular hobo who buys a shotgun from a pawn shop to kill all the criminals in town one at a time. What he must do to afford that $49 shotgun won't be spoiled here, but let's just say that you don't want to try anything the angry hobo does at home. Throughout his bloody quest as a vigilante, he teams up with a sexy prostitute (Molly Dunsworth). Anyone going into Hobo with a Gun expecting even an ounce of realism or some interesting character development should look elsewhere because what the film delivers is nothing but sheer, mindless fun with oodles of over-the-top, stylized blood-'n-guts. Fans of grindhouse will laugh at the hobo's hilarious one-liners and at the ludicrous action scenes. Hauer has a lot of fun in his role, and it certainly shows onscreen. Hobo with a Shotgun is destined to become a midnight cult classic. It must be seen on the big screen with a packed audience, otherwise it won't be fun. Just be sure to check your brain at the door before entering the theater. Number of times I checked my watch: 1Released by Magnet Releasing.Opens in select theaters on May 6th, 2011 I Saw the Devil Directed by Jee-woon Kim In Korean with subtitles.       Choi Min-sik, whom you might recognize as the star of Old Boy, returns to the big screen as Kyung-chul, a ruthless, psychotic, relentlessly malevolent serial killer. He kills his first victim, Ju-yeon, after she asks for help in the middle of the night when her car breaks down. Not only does he kill her, but also torture her and chop her corpse into pieces while her blood drains. She happens to be pregnant and the daughter of a retired police chief. Her fiancé, Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun), does everything in he can to hunt the serial killer down and exact revenge on him. Revenge has rarely been so bloody because and long-lasting because Soo-hyun doesn’t plan on merely capturing Kyung-chul and turning him into the authorities. First he wants to make him suffer more than his victims had suffered by tormenting him slowly and inflicting pain on him each time. Director Jee-woon Kim creates an eerie atmosphere through the cinematography and set designs while the unflinching blood-and-guts adds a very high gross-out factor and, of course, shock value. Given the nearly 2-and-a-half-hour running time, you’d think there might be at least a few moments that drag, but guess again. You’ll be at the edge of your seat from start to finish.       Screenwriter Hoon-jung Park knows how to pile on the suspense because he includes surprises at every turn as the cat and mouse chase builds momentum. Choi Min-sik gives such an energetic and convincingly diabolical performance that he can easily be ranked among the classic, memorable villains, i.e. Hannibal Lecter. It’s fascinating to observe the ways in which Soo-hyun torments him psychologically and physically, and the same can be said when the tables turn. Usually plausibility and suspense tend to wane during a thriller’s third act, but, in this case, it’s so riveting and clever that you’ll feel as though you’re watching a classic a la Seven. At running time of 2 hours and 24 minutes, I Saw the Devil is an intelligent, suspenseful and relentlessly terrifying crime thriller with one of the nastiest villains in the history of cinema. Number of times I checked my watch: 0 Opens at the IFC Center on March 4th, 2011.Released by IFC Films. The Silence Directed by Baran Bo Odar. Number of times I checked my watch: 0No U.S. distributor, yet. Main Page Film Festivals Alphabetical Menu Chronological Menu ______________________________________________________

Avi Offer
The NYC Movie Guru
themovieguru101@yahoo.com
Privacy Policy