Blogcritics Author: Joshua Wiebe

DVD Review: Encounters at the End of the World

Joshua Wiebe — Sun, 7 Dec 2008 18:00:26 EST

Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World is enhanced by an excellent DVD package.
Before I get to the meat of my review, I have an anecdote I should get off my chest. When Werner Herzog's latest picture, Encounters At the End of the World, came to theaters, I was ecstatic. I loved his last documentary, Grizzly Man, and the previews seemed incredibly promising. Being in Vancouver, it was hard to find a theater that was...

Book Review: The Clash by The Clash

Joshua Wiebe — Sun, 7 Dec 2008 17:08:31 EST

A fascinating autobiography told in minuscule detail.
The Clash is an antithetical coffee-table biography, in that it serves neither the function nor the purpose of the common variety of the genre. The traditional coffee-table book is churned out around this time of year in order to entertain; it's a brief excursion from the dry and fact-oriented biographies, with a keen eye focused on the shallow and...

Music Review: Wu: The Story of the Wu Tang Clan Soundtrack

Joshua Wiebe — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 08:54:26 EST

Another enjoyable collection of Wu Tang's hits in the form of a documentary soundtrack.
The Wu Tang Clan is alternatively both nothing to f*** with as well as unpredictable. Seeing as how there is no debating, at least in my mind, their place in the upper echelon of hip hop history, in particular seated right next to the Notorious B.I.G. at the top of the East Coast hierarchy, I figure that this review is less about whether the songs...

These Films Sleep Well: The Auteurs Website and Riviera (2005, Villaceque)

Joshua Wiebe — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:35:33 EST

The new Auteurs website is tested with the little known French drama, Riviera.
The local cinematheque is, to some, a church. Through the heavy glass doors, past the volunteer ticket takers and the small independently run concession stand, down the narrow corridor lined with crumpled waste and popcorn kernels, is an altar, so to speak, a place of worship where one can find their fill of artistic oddities and classical...

Movie Review: Captives

Joshua Wiebe — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:50:20 EST

An independent thriller with promise.
In 2003, an ambitious yet altogether lacking film called Party Monster was released to little fanfare (although it would later gain something of a cult following), but within it lay a piece of advice the makers of the independent thriller Captives were sure to take, even if they'd never seen it before. “I think it's so important to...

These Films Sleep Well: Crash (1996, David Cronenberg)

Joshua Wiebe — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 08:56:05 EST

Cronenberg's darkly sexual psychodrama, Crash, summarized.
Charged does not begin to describe the sexuality rampant in David Cronenberg's 1997 Crash, not to be confused with Paul Haggis' Oscar winning atrocity. A psychodrama determined to mine the bizarre sexual tendencies and amorous confusion of a half dozen characters, Crash is one of Cronenberg's most accomplished productions, certainly the...

DVD Review: A Colbert Christmas - The Greatest Gift of All

Joshua Wiebe — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 11:09:49 EST

A surreal attempt at a traditional holiday special by Stephen Colbert.
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All is a suitably bewildering, self-referential holiday special from the prince of fake news television. Clad in an extra wholesome Christmas outfit, the titular Stephen Colbert spouts Christmas cheer with appearances by his good friend and former Daily Show associate, Jon Stewart, and musicians Toby...

These Films Sleep Well: Spare Parts (2003, Damjan Kozole)

Joshua Wiebe — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:08:04 EDT

Spare Parts is an excellent bare-bones exploration of the darker side of the human psyche.
Warranting the dubious honor of becoming Joshua Wiebe's favorite Slovenian film of all time is not a particularly daunting task. I am largely ignorant of Slovenian cinema -- the sum of my Slovenian film-going experience stands at two: Bostjan Hladnik's superb and artfully presented Dance in the Rain, and Spare Parts, the film I seek to...

These Films Sleep Well: The Happening (2008, M. Night Shyamalan)

Joshua Wiebe — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:35:17 EDT

In defense of The Happening.
Note: I've sort of changed my mission statement with regards to this series, whereas I initially set out to write a definitive list of misplaced and disregarded films, I now am reacting to whatever films I deem to be suffering critical injustices. I'm also ignoring the cap of seventeen I placed on this list as I have a list of about forty...

These Films Sleep Well: Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier (1959, Jean Renoir)

Joshua Wiebe — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:42:20 EDT

One of Renoir's lesser known works examined.
When the average cinephile thinks of Jean Renoir, several films come to mind. La Grande Illusion, The River, Le Bete Humaine, and The Rules of the Game, all rightfully considered masterpieces, have prevented the intrusion of other lesser-known Renoir films upon his canon. Films such as Whirlpool of Fate, La Marseillaise, The Little Matchstick...