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.
February 2008 activity
Total Log Entries: 38
- Adam (6)
- Chet (0)
- Chiranjit (1)
- Cullen (0)
- David (3)
- Eva (4)
- Evan (0)
- Ian (0)
- Jenny (0)
- Katherine (0)
- Leo (4)
- Megan (0)
- Rumsey (4)
- Teddy (0)
- Thomas (5)
- Victoria (1)
Total Comments: 22
- Juno (8)
- Electroma (1)
- The Room (0)
- Grave Robbers (0)
- The Roost (0)
- The Power of Nightmares (0)
- Axe (0)
- The Room (0)
- How She Move (2)
- Step Up 2 the Streets (0)
- The Phynx (0)
- The Oh in Ohio (0)
- Chicago 10 (0)
- Billy the Kid (0)
- The Visitor (0)
- Kisses For My President (0)
- Re-Animator (0)
- There Will Be Blood (3)
- The Ten (3)
- Atonement (0)
- Shoot ‘Em UP (0)
- Beach Girls (0)
- The Satanic Rites of Dracula (0)
- Fried Green Tomatoes (0)
- How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (0)
- The King Of Kong (1)
- Duck Soup (0)
- The Golden Compass (0)
- Cloverfield (0)
- The Cremator (0)
- Great World Of Sound (0)
- Sweeney Todd (2)
- Throne Of Blood (2)
- Zodiac (0)
- Away From Her (0)
- Reeker (0)
- 27 Dresses (0)
- Subway (0)
Full Archive
Axe / California Axe Massacre / Lisa, Lisa / The Virgin Slaughter / USA / 1977
Unencumbered by superfluous dialogue, confusing side plots, or an unnecessarily extended run time, Axe introduces us to a trio of ruthless criminals, dumps them at a desolate farmhouse, and lets the simple story unfold.
Lisa, the young lady of the farm, spends her days killing livestock and caring for her paralyzed grandfather. She doesn’t say much, but goes about her tasks with a creepy lifelessness, as if spoon-feeding her grandfather tomato soup and beheading a chicken were one and the same. When the criminals get the idea of taking advantage both of Lisa’s hospitality and her body, she doesn’t panic, but calmly views the situation as just something else she must deal with to get through the day.
The uncomplicated quality of this tale, coupled with the austere farm backdrop and the meager amount of spoken words, create an captivating, dreamlike atmosphere of unease. Even the well-chosen moments of graphic violence—though shocking and gruesome—are oddly restrained, incapable of substantively disrupting the omnipresent languor of Lisa’s world.
Generally, a 68-minute film leaves me wanting more, as if something vital to my understanding had been omitted. Here, the story arc feels just right, nearly every moment a welcome addition to this quiet, disturbing, and engrossing film.
by Thomas Scalzo | Source: Something Weird DVD
23 Feb 2008 2:58 PM | Submit Comment
