Posts by Al Kratina
Weekly Round-Table: Avatar
Three weeks. That’s all it took for director James Cameron’s 3D spectacle Avatar to become the second-highest grossing film in worldwide box-office history. And we didn’t really like it all that much. Clearly, we’re in the minority. But regardless of … [Read the Rest]
Whip It
Whip It 2009, USA Directed by Drew Barrymore Written by Shauna Cross (also novel) Starring Ellen Page, Alia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig Whip It is not for me. And I mean that literally: it wasn’t made for me. … [Read the Rest]
2012 Cliffhanger on Canadian Television
Tonight, Canadian viewers will have a chance to watch a two-minute, ‘cliffhanger’ scene from director Roland Emmerich’s upcoming disaster epic 2012. The scene will be broadcast between 22:50 and 23:00 on pretty much every channel we get up here, and … [Read the Rest]
Take Out (2004)
Take Out 2004, USA Directed by Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou Written by Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou Starring Charles Jang, Jeng-Hua Yu, Wang-Thye Lee, Justin Wan English/Mandarin In the context of film reviews, ‘hypnotic’ often means the critic fell asleep, but … [Read the Rest]
Surrogates
Surrogates 2009, USA Directed by Jonathan Mostow Written by Michael Ferris, John D. Brancato, Robert Venditti (graphic novel), Brett Weldele (graphic novel) Starring Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Ving Rhames The idea of creating an imaginary persona as a … [Read the Rest]
Post Grad
Post Grad 2009, USA Directed by Vicky Jensen Written by Kelly Fremon Starring Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch 89 minutes, English When it comes to a critic’s personal biases and preferences, transparency is crucial. So, I’ll admit … [Read the Rest]
Review: District 9
District 9 2009, South Africa/New Zealand Directed by Neill Blomkamp Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Thatchell Starring Sharlto Copley, Vanessa Haywood, William Allen Young, Andre Odendaal 112 minutes Generally speaking, I don’t like to be lectured. It brings back … [Read the Rest]
Toronto After Dark 2009: The Warlords
The Warlords 2007, Hong Kong/China Directed by Peter Chan Written by Xu Lan, Chun Tin-Nam, Aubery Lam, Huang Jian Xin, Jojo Hui, He Jiping, Guo Jun Li, James Yuen Starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Xu Jinglei 127 minutes, … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2009: Black
Sound on Sight co-host Al Kratina is covering Fantasia for the Montreal Gazette’s Cine Files blog. Read an excerpt below. Black Directed by Pierre Laffargue It must be difficult to do anything original with the urban crime drama, since most … [Read the Rest]
Fantasia 2009: Buddy Giovinazzo Interview
For a man whose films make me want to shower for three days and then kill myself, Buddy Giovinazzo is a remarkably pleasant fellow. His 1986 debut, Combat Shock, took all the desolation, desperation, and devastation of Taxi Driver, gave … [Read the Rest]
An Open Letter to the Internet: I’m Sorry We Don’t Like The Same Movies
Cult Cinema: Volume 13: Dear Internet, I’m sorry that we don’t like the same movies. I’ve let you down. After all that you’ve given me, from the questionably legal pornography, to the gory photos of car crash victims and dead … [Read the Rest]
Methamphysical Society for Research, Development, and Tweaking
Cult Cinema: Volume 12 It’s tough to be straight-edge. By virtue of being drug- and alcohol-free, the whole world thinks you’re some Christian hardcore kid from Boston who only speaks in Minor Threat lyrics. But on the other hand, you … [Read the Rest]
The Ancient Mystic Order of Homeroom
Cult Cinema:- Article #11 Cult of the Week: Volume 11 Art imitates life. Until art gets so thoroughly processed by focus groups and marketing departments that it wins an MTV Movie Award. Then, art turns into product, which is imitated … [Read the Rest]
Italian Institute of Stupidity Science and Philosophy
Cult Cinema: Volume 10 Horror fans are a mysterious, cultish bunch. Or at least, they like to think they are, imagining themselves the vanguard of the underground; Morlocks feeding off pampered, mainstream Eloi dandies with D&G sunglasses and designer perfume. … [Read the Rest]
The Star Trek Mystic Awareness School
Cult Cinema: Volume 9 It’s common geek knowledge that Star Trek is a smarter version of Star Wars. However, this should not be the badge of honour that so many Trekkies wear with pride, since Star Wars is essentially what idiot kids … [Read the Rest]
Al Kratina is a writer and filmmaker. He makes movies about hammers, and writes about film, music, and his perpetual state of mild irritation. 
