This week and the next, I’ve got some screenings to attend at Tribeca (the film festival so esteemed, no need to elaborate on its title). This is the first year that I’m checking anything out at Tribeca. Perhaps it’s the recent affiliation with dbbouroughs and his monster film reviewing machine, Unseen films, which is kicking ass and keeping track of the names. Or perhaps, as some media outlets have suggested, it’s just better this year. There is reportedly less hype, less vanity projects, and more good films.

And in terms of asian films, there is absolutely no slacking there.

There is still an overwhelmingly large selection of films on hand, making the prospect of seeing everything you want next to impossible. I’m taking in a very slight sliver of the action, and leaving some room to add a few more possibilities. 

I’m starting with an Asian mind bending film sandwich. Two blockbusters from China, Detective Dee and Let the Bullets Fly make up the bread, while the gooey flavorful middle comes in the form of out of left field Japanese spectacle Underwater Love. 

As of this post, I’m about a third of the way through my sandwich. Detective Dee, by acclaimed Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, was shown Friday late afternoon to a packed and delighted audience. This serious mystery, complete with clues and red herrings, is wrapped up in a fantasy period piece’s clothes. It is epic, and far beyond the  reproachful reach of cynicism. The panoramic views of the Tang Dynasty city in which the story takes place and the massive Buddha statue under construction create a sense of awe that is sorely missing from much of today’s cinema.

Up next is Underwater Love, from Japanese director Shinji Imaoka and director of photography, Christopher Doyle, infamous for his work with Wong Kar Wai. It promises mermaids, sex, and musical numbers. 

After a bit of a break, I’ll return to the Tribeca scene again for a bit of scifi  weirdness, Beyond the Black Rainbow. This is being presented under the Cinemania flag, which also waves over Underwater Love,  and a few other mischievous works that stray off the beaten path. All are being shown towards the later ends of each evening and most involve a horror angle.  After that, plan to end things with one of the more mainstream, attention garnering affairs:  Detachment, a film ended after most of Tribeca's programming had already been set.  It features Adrien Brody, is directed by Tony Kaye (American History X), and is said to give some insight into America's education system, a topic I deal with intimately on a regular basis.

Somewhere in the middle of the Tribeca action, Subway Cinema is poking its head through for its second annual preview of the New York Asian Film Festival at Japan Society. They will show Hell Driver, with promises of an appearance by director and splatter guru Nishimura Yoshihiro, and a performance by a bona fide death metal band.

Girls girls girls!

Mort Mickler back with ya, taking a look back at the canceled David Lynch sitcom for premium cable, Inland Umpire episode 3.  and it's an extra hot one at that.  After previewing the material for the first 2 episodes, studio execs complained they were gettin plenty of the Twin Peaks feel, but not enough of the Entourage feel.  so this time around, Lynch gave us appearances by lots of cuties.  sometimes studio interference can be a good thing, eh?

i've...enjoyed...this episode quite a few times, hence the long break since the last review. So, what is this episode about?  Our main man behind the mask, Theroux, has a birthday coming up, so his madame (Dern) is planning a surprise bachelor party themed birthday party to prove she does not have any insecurities about the relationship.

the dvd version of the episode includes a bonus music video tacked onto the ending (with more beautiful girls!). The story behind this one is, Lynch and people at the studio put their heads together to think of ways to generate publicity for the show.  He conceived of nothing short of 3 of the pop music world's brightest and most prominent female voices combining their talents to do a cover version of an 80s top 40 staple.  He convinced Pink, Ke$ha, and Katy Perry (Lady Gaga was a first choice but turned the project down) to record the song Loco-motion, which he would then design a video for with scenes from the tv show.

the recording went without a hitch, but people at the record labels started putting the numbers together and realized they were sitting on a potentially HUGE money maker.  They bought out the recording from an irate Lynch, going around him completely and dealing only with Showtime.  Rumor has it, the labels are still sitting on the recording, working out negotiations. It is slated for a possible 2015 release along with a full album's worth of 80's covers by the aforementioned trio.

In an act of defiance, Lynch included the completed video here with the audio replaced by the Kylie Minogue version from the 80s.

well how about that, girls galore, a glimpse into a pretty neat future...all while taking a look back!