Brooklyn Rail. June 09.

By David Hudson on 06/07/2009

"Nobuhiko Obayashi's 'Hausu' (1977) is one of the most coveted cult films to emerge from the fantastic realm of Asian cinema," writes David Wilentz. "Those who've seen their fair share of flying guillotines, lysergic Thai spaghetti westerns, and schoolgirl-with-machine-gun movies understand this is no easy feat. 'Hausu' (phonetization of the word 'house') is a haunted house movie (surprise!). It's also a comic teen romp about seven preternaturally happy and charming high school girls on summer vacation." And: "Now there's a chance to see it on the big screen: Subway Cinema will feature a special screening of Hausu in this year's imminent edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (June 19th - July 5th)."

Also: "For all its naturalistic innovation, 'The House of the Devil' is built on time-honored tropes. There is something strangely invigorating about a film that tries to scare our pants off the old fashioned way, instead of relying on the very nature of the media itself to do so (think 'Blair Witch'). Director Ti West exhibits a fascinating affinity with what we might call the neo-exploitation film. The look and tone is a spot-on homage to the genre 30 years ago.... But don't even dare whisper Tarantino."

And also in the new issue of the Brooklyn Rail: "For a viewer who doesn't mind forgoing entertainment for some intellectual resituation," writes Malcolm Wyer, "[Atom] Egoyan's films are rarely less than watchable and often lend elegant and expansive insights on cultural diaspora and ethnic intolerance. But even a viewer interested in these ideas might tire quickly of Egoyan's masturbatory obsession with his own brilliance. 'Adoration' is for those not only willing to be compliant with Egoyan's theoretical exercises but also to accept his specific lesson in political correctness. In a final attempt to bridge the lives of the characters in the vein of 'Crash' and 'Magnolia,' 'Adoration' ends with multiple, unbelievable plot twists designed to add sweeping cinematic closure and leave the viewer with a 'wow.' In fact, the effect is facile, silly, and empty."

Cassandra Neyenesch on new work from Sadie Benning: "There is nothing wrong with 'Play Pause,' but coming after her earlier work, it seems merely respectable. Reaffirming her spot on the Whitney's contemporary hit parade, Benning has made the full transition from riot grrrl to serious artist - an adult, distanced from her rage and confusion, able to hide herself in plain sight. Too bad for the rest of us." On view through September 20.

"Why wait forever for one weepy orange dribble in a Callum Innes to hit the bottom of the canvas if one could watch seven colors slosh in succession over two video screens and take their real time - or seem to - to dry." Joseph Masheck: "I speak of 'Seven Leftover Monochromes,' a video installation of and about paint, mounted by Tumi Magnússon at Sleeper, in Edinburgh, in April and May."

"'Merrily We Go to Hell' should have been a starmaking turn for Sylvia Sidney ('Ladies of the Big House,' 'Mars Attacks!'), but the film sat in the vaults since its release in 1932 and she became a lesser known cult icon," writes Sarahjane Blum. "Only now available [as part of Universal's "Pre-Code Hollywood Collection"], it remains singular for its bleary-eyed hauntingness."

"What burns in the heart of a woman?" asks Lisa Moricoli-Latham. "Interviewed by the Rail about her film 'Sita Sings the Blues,' an update on Valmiki's traditional Indian epic the 'Ramayana,' Nina Paley answers, 'Feelings, man. They burn your ass.' Joy? Paley's protagonist Sita's got it. Pain? She suffers, big time. World-weariness? None. Not at first, anyway."

Oren Shai offers a collection of capsule reviews from this year's Tribeca Film Festival: "Among the remarkably many promising directorial debuts featured were few stereotypical indies - a description no longer fitting a mode-of-production but instead now referencing a popular genre produced by the studios. Another worthy trend was the more or less 90-minute running time for most films. It seems that 90 is the new 140, which is a hugely welcome change."

[Photo: "Hausu," Toho Company, 1977]

Tags: Atom Egoyan, Brooklyn Rail, Nina Paley, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Sadie Benning, Sylvia Sidney, Ti West, Tribeca 2009, Tumi Magnússon