Ghost Story

Samurai, sensuality and spirits haunt Criterion’s new Blu-ray, Kuroneko

by Tony Dayoub

Feudal Japan: A tracking shot through the woods carefully follows a pale woman wearing a kimono that glows ghostly white as she seemingly skims almost inches above a muddy path. A lascivious samurai follows on a horse trotting close behind her, accompanying her home to “keep her safe” from road agents while mentally working out the best method of having his way with her. When she comes to a puddle, she hops above it in a manner that approximates… flying? Or so the samurai imagines. He shakes off the hallucination. But then, she’s gone. The camera has lost her, too. As it slowly dollies up the path where she once walked, her voice comes from offscreen. Cut to the woman now standing at the side of the samurai astride on his horse. The silence is deafening when the wind isn’t blowing through the trees...

CONTINUE READING AT NOMAD EDITIONS: WIDE SCREEN

Movie Review: Drive Angry (2011)

by Tony Dayoub

It's extremely rare for me to go into a movie and have next to no idea what it's about. It's kind of fun, actually. It makes me realize how many plot points are given away by today's trailers; often to the film's detriment I should add. So the only thing I knew about Drive Angry going into it was what I had seen on the poster at a quick glance: Nicolas Cage, hot "girl du jour," fast cars. It looks like a fun, shallow riff on Gone in Sixty Seconds, I thought. Whoa, was I wrong! Watching the trailer post-movie confirmed what I suspected; anyone going into Drive Angry after seeing its preview can't possibly be surprised by any of its plot machinations, which is sad, really.