Greetings, film buffs--it's that time of summer again to sum up. Once again this year, we've brought you some more terrific pieces on must-see movies. As always, part of my mission here has been to invite guest reviews by students and non-film specialists. This year we've had some return reviewers as well as fresh voices, each with a movie that might have been off your radar or forgotten, but that needs to be on your watch-list. Among them: screenwriter/stand-up comedian Ryan Peckinpaugh was back with an appreciation of Martin McDonagh's In Bruges, one of the quirkiest and funniest hitman movies ever made.
Actor Troy Whiteley knocked us off balance with his take on Equilibrium, the under-appreciated Kurt Wimmer sci-fi thriller, starring none other than Mr. Batman himself, Christian Bale.
Novelist/memoirist/all-around-bird expert Rebecca O'Connor returned with a terrific medley of movies to see before the Apocalypse--whether rapture, zombie, nuclear, viral or otherwise--from movies to bring you back to the joy of childhood, like Rob Reiner and William Goldman's classic The Princess Bride, to her top choice for go-it-alone, Bruce Willisy toughness (a movie I've seen about two dozen times myself) John McTiernan's Die Hard.
But perhaps the oddest and freshest and most must-see-est of them all was highlighted for us by actor/playwright/teacher Brenda Varda: Yoshihiro Nakamura's mind-bending Fish Story, in which a dysfunctional punk band (is there any other kind) and a Bruce Lee wannabe waiter on a ferryboat restaurant save the world from cosmic catastrophe. You will not find a more surprising or delightful film you never heard of.
With mainstream Hollywood so often a disappointment, as with the spate of not-so-blockbusters this summer, it's a better time than ever to look to the indies, foreign films and classics. With more and more titles becoming available on the net and DVDs, there's more to explore than ever before. Connotation Press will keep you informed on what you might have missed but that you've definitely gotta see.
Once again I give a tip of the hat to our tireless Editor-In-Chief, Ken Robidoux, and to all the other section editors and writers who make Connotation Press this incredible, lively compendium of art, craft and culture. It's an honor to be such company.