The Girl Cut in Two

Claude Chabrol's latest film The Girl Cut in Two (IFC Films)

Technically you could call Claude Chabrol a senior citizen. At 78 the French New Waver can no longer be called a rebellious young upstart. But he has become a rebellious old one, and one who's remained quite prolificl. He's been making almost a film a year for the past decade, not bad someone whose almost an octogenarian. Chabrol's latest film is The Girl Cut in Two (opened October 17 at Landmark's Ken Cinema), which, like his earlier films, goes after the French bourgeoisie with biting humor.

Teen Critic Says Nothing Beats the Original

Look familiar? The Spanish film [REC] was the inspiration for the Hollywood film Quarantine (Filmax)

By Jason Lacsamana

The movie Quarantine (opened October 10 throughout San Diego) was one bad excuse of a remake of the original Spanish film [REC]. The viewer sees the events through the lens of a TV cameraman throughout the film. In the film a news reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott accompany a squad of firefighters to expose the life of a firefighter at night. The firefighters are called upon to respond to a report of an elderly woman in distress in her apartment. Once they arrive on the scene events take a turn for the worse. Angela, her cameraman, the firefighters, and all the residents of the apartment are suddenly quarantined in the building by the CDC (Center for Disease Control). They are trapped without any information as to why. They are only told that they could not leave. It is clear to them that something is seriously wrong and if they plan to survive then escape would be their only hope.

To all those who haven't seen the original version of this film, [REC], this movie might seem pretty good. Its shaky camerawork makes the viewer feel like they are actually in the movie as it intensifies certain scenes. The intense scenes in the film keeps viewers biting their their lip in suspense. Although compared to the original, it was a poor excuse. I found that the original had more suspenseful moments than the remake. I was really upset that some original scenes were cut out to be replaced by some less gruesome scenes. The original also explained more of the background information while the remake cut out this vital information for scenes that really lacked any meaning besides showing gore and violence.

If you want to see a good suspenseful thriller Quarantine (rated R for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language) is the movie for you, but if you are able to, I highly suggest you watch [REC].

--Jason Lacsamana is a senior at Mount Miguel High School. He says he wants to be a Teen Critic because he loves watching movies and loves to critique them but never really had a way of sharing his critiques.He cites zombie movies as his favorites of all time.

Spy Games: Body of Lies and Eagle Eye

Watching from above. Body of Lies (pictured above) and Eagle Eye deal with both the power and limitations of US technology (Warner Brothers)

I'm not sure what it says about the state of Hollywood movies - or the taste of audiences -- when a talking Chihuahua film holds the top spot for two weeks in a row, beating out even Ridley Scott's new action thriller. So while alpha males Leo and Russell may command multi-million dollar salaries, they took a back seat to the bitch in Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Body of Lies (opened October 10 throughout San Diego) serves up Leonardo DiCaprio as a CIA operative working on the ground in the Middle East and Russell Crowe as his stateside boss who watches from above with spy satellites, moving people around like chess pieces. The film arrives on the heels of the more mindless pseudo spy flick Eagle Eye (opened October 3 throughout San Diego). But both films reveal a U.S. government with a ton of technology at its fingertips and an apparent inability to put it to good use.

Teen Critic Says Quarantine Will Have You Jumping Out of Your Seat

Jennifer Carpenter in Quarantine (Screen Gems)

By Darrin Buchanan

The film Quarantine (opens October 10 throughout San Diego) is a thriller! The movie is about a Los Angeles reporter who does a report on firefighters. The movie begins inside a fire station where she interviews firefighters and videotapes what their life is like. While in the station the firefighters get a call from a local apartment building because neighbors hear a scream in one of the apartments. As the firefighters enter the room were the scream came from they see a woman foaming at the mouth. They ask the woman what's wrong and it's all chaos from there on out as all the characters try to escape after one of the police officers is badly injured and they notice that they have been locked in the building. apparently, there was a report of an unknown virus coming from this building so the government has quarantined the building. If you get bitten, the virus gets into your system and you get all the signs of rabies. Normally rabies takes months to show signs, but in this case it only takes minutes. So the people trapped inside have to try and avoid the other infected people so they don't get bitten. HA! HA! Good luck because the people who are infected seem stronger then they normally would be, and desperate for blood!
 
If you like films such as The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield then you will love this film. And even if you didn't like those films I'm sure you will love this film. I saw it with a lot of my peers from high school, which was okay because it was really cool cheering at some parts. But some people laughed at serious parts that would kill the mood. Besides all that, Quarantine (R for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language) is a really good thriller! I would recommend it to anyone except elderly folk. Because I have never jumped out of my seat so much at any movie.

--Darrin Buchanan is a seventeen-year-old senior at Mount Miguel High School. His main hobbies are theater and speech. He's also a member of the varsity speech team and a part of all the theater productions at school. He loves going to movies and is looking forward to sharing his views with others.

The Ninth Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival

Jimmy Tsai is hilarious in Ping Pong Playa, SDAFF's opening night film (IFC Films)

The San Diego Asian Film Festival kicks off its 9th year tonight with the opening night feature Ping Pong Playa by Jessica Yu. The film boasts a hilarious performance by Jimmy Tsai as a young Asian man obsessed with being a basketball player and taking on the name of C-Dub. The film taps into a similar vibe as the Filipino comedy The Flip Side that screened back in 2001. But since opening night films are often sold out, I have two alternate recommendations: Assembly from Mainland China and Public Enemy Returns from South Korea. Although the festival is strongly committed to showcasing Asian American films, I have always been more satisfied by the international titles where the emphasis is less on exploring identity and delivering a message, and more on pushing the envelope in creativity and storytelling.

Righteous Kill

Robert DeNiro and AL Pacino are New York cops in Righteous Kill (Overture Films)

Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are two of my favorite actors. They both appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II (1974) and it was tantalizing  because each one's scenes brushed up against the other although the two actors never shared screen time. (DeNiro played the young Vito Corleone in flashbacks and Pacino his adult son Michael.) So close and yet so far! Then came Michael Mann's crime thriller Heat (1995) in which Pacino and DeNiro played cop and thief. But again it was mostly a tease because the two only acted together in one scene. So the potential fireworks from having these two acting dynamos perform together still felt untapped. Now Righteous Kill (opening September 12 throughout San Diego) comes along and promises to have them onscreen together for most of the film. Could this finally be the movie I've been waiting for? Building my hopes is that writer Russell Gewirtz penned the twisty Inside Man, but raising a red flag is director Jon Avnet, the man behind the disastrous 88 Minutes.

You can also listen to our discussion of Righteous Kill from the KPBS Film Club of the Air.

Transsiberian

Emily Mortimer is an American abroad in Transsiberian (First Look International)

Transsiberian (opening August 29 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) is a kindred spirit to the recent Tell No One (still playing at Landmark's La Jolla Village Cinemas). Both films present themselves as thrillers with crimes, cops, deceit, and innocent victims fueling their tense and occasionally violent narratives. But the real and somewhat disguised core of both films is the marital relationship of the main characters. Tell No One was an obsessed love story dressed up as a thriller about murder and deception while Transsiberian is a film about a marriage under pressure despite its trappings as a tale of drug trafficking and international intrigue.

The X-Files Teaser

Together again! David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson in The X-Files 2 (20th Century Fox)

With the new X-Files movie opening in the midst of Comic-Con, I fear I may not get to my review up until Monday. So here's a little teaser. This Friday,The X-Files proves you can go home again... or at least you can return to a cancelled TV series on the big screen. Six years after the Fox TV show was cancelled and ten years after the first X-Files movie, creator Chris Carter is bringing the characters of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully back in a feature film. Arriving in theaters on July 25, the second film takes its title from the slogan on the poster that adorned Mulder’s office: "I Want to Believe." That title holds particular significance for series creator Chris Carter.

“I always thought of The X Files as a search for god,” Carter said, “and that was a big part of the inspiration. As for a particular religion? There is no particular religion. It was really, ‘the truth is out there’ is for me, is the mantra, but “I want to believe,” that poster on Mulder’s wall, says it all.”

Tell No One

Francois Cluzet finds himself a suspect in his wife's murder in Tell No One (Music Box Films)

I don't envy any film opening against The Dark Knight. That's tough. But I hope the new French thriller Tell No One (opening July 18 at Landmark's Hillcrest and La Jolla Village Theaters) doesn't get completely over shadowed by the Batman. Based on American writer Harlan Coben's novel, Tell No One serves up an obsessive love story wrapped up in a thriller about murder and deception.

Roman de Gare

Dominique Pinon and Audrey Dana in Roman de Gare (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Roman de Gare (opening May 23 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) concerns a popular novelist and her ghostwriter. So in keeping with the spirit of the film, director-writer Claude Lelouch initiated the project under the pseudonym of Herve Picard. He only revealed the true authorship of the film when it screened at Cannes last year. This sense of playful deception manifests itself in the Roman de Gare and keeps you engaged through a plot piled high with twists and turns. [You can also listen to the discussion about the film on the KPBS Film Club of the Air by clicking on the player icon above.]