CriterionCast

Ozu Returns To The Big Screen This Weekend At New York IFC Center With I Was Born But…

Having finally gotten a chance to see the latest Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz action/romance/whatever the hell it is vehicle, Knight and Day, I can honestly say, that amongst this rather lackluster season that has been summer 2010, it’s one of the more fun, and ultimately forgettable pieces of popcorn cinema that I’ve seen in a very long time.

Lacking a compelling or interesting narrative, and featuring haphazard effects and a really awful score, a film with such promise, featuring the direction of one James Mangold, and based off of a really top notch screenplay known as Wichita, there must have been something lost in the translation from page to screen.

Sure, Cruise and Diaz are a blast to watch on screen, and in this horrible season, it’s a better film than much of what you’ll see at your local megaplex, but then again, why not just skip the megaplex this weekend?

Opening this weekend, albeit in super limited release, is the beloved Cannes winner, Dogtooth. While I haven’t had a chance to see the film yet, the trailer alone has be hooked, and both the premise, and the buzz behind it, have me fully invested in seeing this thing in the very near future. If you are feeling a bit more like an older piece of celluloid, you could always either fire up the old Netflix Watch Instantly, or, if you live in New York, you can head out to the IFC Center, and see one of Yasujiro Ozu‘s most beloved films, his silent comedy, I Was Born But’¦ (From the Silent Ozu Eclipse Box Set). The film features an Ozu short prior to it, called A Straightforward Boy, so if that fits your fancy, by all means, Ozu it up.

Personally, with this being one of the more mediocre summers in recent memory, I would make the most out of the air conditioning and your Netflix enabled device, and check out some of the classics that are currently on there. Or, if you are feeling so inclined, there is more than enough for you to go chew on, if you are like me, and find popcorn films like the food they are named after. Completely empty.

Source: IndieWire

Joshua Brunsting

Josh is a critic, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, a wrestling nerd, a hip-hop head, a father, a cinephile and a man looking to make his stamp on the world, one word at a time.