Screening Log
This new site feature is a collective effort to summarize our viewing habits. Occasionally, you will find titles here that are coming to a theater near you, in addition to films viewed on television, and even films viewed in piecemeal. The screening log is archived each month; to view past entries select a month in the menu below.
August 2007 activity
Total Log Entries: 52
- Adam (9)
- Chet (0)
- Chiranjit (1)
- Cullen (0)
- David (0)
- Eva (0)
- Evan (0)
- Ian (5)
- Jenny (3)
- Katherine (0)
- Leo (5)
- Megan (2)
- Rumsey (4)
- Teddy (3)
- Thomas (5)
- Victoria (0)
Total Comments: 35
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1)
- Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy (2)
- When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts (0)
- Eastern Promises (0)
- The Departed (0)
- Knocked Up (5)
- Little Children (0)
- Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (0)
- The Bourne Ultimatum (0)
- Transformers (0)
- Being Michael Madsen (2)
- The GoodTimesKid (0)
- Carefree (0)
- Music and Lyrics (0)
- Inland Empire (0)
- Why We Fight (1)
- Paths of Glory (0)
- Hannah Takes the Stairs (0)
- Superbad (2)
- Jesus Camp (0)
- Titicut Follies (0)
- Ultraviolet (2)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1)
- Seraphim Falls (0)
- The Puffy Chair (1)
- Red Dawn (1)
- Robot Monster (0)
- Touch of Evil (1)
- A Clockwork Orange (7)
- Les Misérables (0)
- The Magnificent Seven (0)
- Nighthawks (0)
- Slaughterhouse Five (0)
- Hot Fuzz (2)
- Sunshine (0)
- Rescue Dawn (0)
- The Wild Blue Yonder (0)
- The Bourne Ultimatum (0)
- The 11th Hour (0)
- Shanghai Express (0)
- Trasgredire (0)
- Faces (0)
- The Bourne Ultimatum (0)
- Viva Baseball! (0)
- Holiday (0)
- Cloak & Dagger (6)
- Oepidus Rex (0)
- Dead Man’s Shoes (0)
- Sunshine (0)
- This Is England (0)
- Sweet Smell of Success (1)
- Once (0)
Full Archive
Eastern Promises / UK/ Canada / 2007
As a longtime Cronenberg fan, but also someone deeply skeptical of A History Of Violence and it’s glowing critical reception, I went into Eastern Promises with mixed expectations. The trailer had been underwhelming, looking like another gritty Lahndan crime drama with arty pretensions. I should have had more faith- this is terrific, completely ludicrous but utterly enthralling, taking the pseudo-subversive preoccupations of it’s predecessor and running with them. The inherent clichés of the crime thriller are still present and correct (there’s a third act twist which you can see coming a mile off), but this time the whole thing feels better integrated, less calculated and infinitely more human.
And the cast is just phenomenal, particularly Viggo Mortensen in what could be his first genuinely convincing acting performance, as a steely-eyed psycho with a heart of gold. It also features what could be a first for mainstream cinema, as Viggo beats the hell out of two evil thugs clad only in a large number of intricate tattoos. Sure, we’ve all seen it before, but never quite so active.
by Tom Huddleston | Source: Focus Features 35mm print
30 Aug 2007 12:51 PM | Submit Comment
