What is “4:44 Last Day on Earth” writer-director Abel Ferrara doing in a silent Italian film? Only filmmaker Davide Manuli can say for sure.
Read More »If you generally like depraved movies and you love temperamental and mercurial curmudgeons, it's pretty much mandatory that you adore Bronx-born filmmaker Abel Ferrara. Maybe you don't think all his films are successful ("Dangerous Game", "Body Snatchers"), maybe you think some of them are near Big Apple sleaze-masterpieces ("King of New York," "Bad Lieutenant") and very possibly you haven't seen the ones that have had trouble finding proper distribution ("Mary," "Go Go Tales," "Chelsea On The Rocks"), but in theory, you love his no holds barred approach, his refusal to sugarcoat anything in an interview, and his general cantankerous mien. Th...
Read More »The idea of the end of the world is an endless mine for filmmakers. Principally, of course, they're big-budget action fests, whether showing the disaster in progress, like the many, many examples in Roland Emmerich's career, or showing the aftermath, like "Mad Max" and his plentiful rip-offs. But sometimes, you get lower-key takes on the same subject matter, which are inevitably infinitely more insightful about an idea that, let's be honest, hangs around the back of most of our minds. From Don McKellar's "Last Night" to the upcoming Steve Carell/Keira Knightley drama "Seeking A Friend At The End of the World," it's surprisingly easy to make t...
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