MMA fighter and indie film fight choreographer gets Olympic shot

The mixed martial arts sport of San Shou, which combines American Boxing, Chinese Kickboxing, and Mongolian Wrestling, has struggled for years to gain mainstream acceptance despite a large international following and the long-time support of MMA fighting icons such as Cung Le. Now, the sport has been given its greatest opportunity for exposure yet, the ….

Stargate gets a Universe

Stargate fans must just be ecstatic right now. First, the release of Stargate: Continuum at San Diego Comic-Con, which reunites the whole SG-1 crew, including Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, Beau Bridges, Richard Dean Anderson and Don S. Davis – and, while Stargate: Atlantis will not renew as a series, and shift ….

Beowulf and Grendel

Year: 2005 A 9th Century Anglo-Saxon poem brought to the big screen in 2006. In today’s MTV-dosed world, the subject matter might seem irrelevant. Which is really sad since friendship, loyalty and revenge are struggles we all face everyday. Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf & Grendel is probably more relevant today than ever, and proves itself organically, ….

The Big Animal film review

DVD Release: 2000 The Big Animal is a charming and hilarious feat of Polish filmmaking. Director and co-star Jerzy Stuhr, has created a true gem, working from a script by the late Krzysztof Kieslowski (Three Colors Trilogy). I may be biased as an avid B&W fan, but it’s beautifully shot by cinematographer Pawel Edelman (an ….

Blood and Oil: The Middle East in World War One

Year: 2006 Blood and Oil, a new documentary from Inecom Entertainment, was utterly impressive. Director Marty Callaghan, whose previous work includes writing and producing a TV mini-series called The 20th Century: A Moving Visual History, clearly has a strong personal interest in his subject, and conveys a sense of immersive passion as he pursues the ….

Bride and Prejudice film review

Bride and Prejudice, a new film by the director of the hit Bend It Like Beckham, tries to speak to a global audience by refracting an iconic English novel through the realities of the Indian diaspora. The movie by director Gurinder Chadha takes novelist Jane Austen’s 1813 classic Pride and Prejudice and sets it in ….

Cocaine Cowboys film review

Year: 2006 Billy Corben’s exuberant documentary Cocaine Cowboys not only refrains from the type of overly preachy commentary that we usually see in drug-related documentaries, but it almost comically recounts the bloodbath that was Miami’s cocaine heyday, while delivering more solid reporting and facts than most of its predecessors. Part of the nirvana of the ….

Killer of Sheep film review

Year: 1977 Killer of Sheep was so far ahead of its time 30 years ago when it was made, and it’s just as stunning and relevant today. This simple film presents a realistic portrayal of African American urban living, at a time when most images of African Americans on screen were defined by sex and ….

Into the Wild film review

Year: 2007 Who is Alexander Supertramp? He is a mythological figure who brought enlightenment to all he touched. Who is Alexander Supertramp? He walked among us and synthesized his pain into energy. Who is Alexander Supertramp? Christopher McCandless asked himself that same question everyday. The film Into the Wild is so amazingly brilliant, I left ….