“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster. And when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche Happy Halloween! If you’re looking for a good horror movie, I’ve got a doozy. It’s so bloody, so gory, so violent, so relentlessly, unspeakably horrifying, that […]
Posted on October 31st, 2018 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | Comments Off on EARTHLINGS (SHAUN MONSON, 2005)
Anxious to see Shaun Monson’s new documentary, Unity, a follow-up to his staggering 2007 film, “Earthlings.”
Posted on July 31st, 2018 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | Comments Off on UNITY (SHAUN MONSON, 2018)
Living Things consists of a dinner-table debate between a vegan and a meat-eater. That’s it: just two people sitting down to dinner and debating the morality of eating animals. Never having been a fan of two-handers, I had my doubts about the film, but because its subject matter interests me, I decided to give […]
Posted on July 12th, 2014 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | Comments Off on LIVING THINGS (ERIC SHAPIRO, 2014)
“Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most. For every one person who sees Earthlings, they will tell three.” Joaquin Phoenix If you eat, wear clothes, or use products, then you ought to watch Earthlings. Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, Earthlings brings the viewer face to […]
Posted on April 4th, 2014 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | 3 Comments »
“Honey, I hate to tell you this, but swim or not, we’re going where the current decides.” From cradle to grave, chance exerts a dramatic influence over our lives, however much we pretend to have control of our own destiny. It’s frightening to think that just a moment of dumb luck can, without warning, irrevocably […]
Posted on December 5th, 2011 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | 2 Comments »
The winners of this year’s Beneath the Earth Film Festival were announced on 10/31, and although I didn’t see completely eye to eye with my fellow jurors (or with the audience for that matter), the selections were generally solid. Here, then, are the winners of the 2011 festival: Best Film – Photographs Audience Award – After […]
Posted on November 6th, 2011 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Reviews | Comments Off on Beneath the Earth Film Festival Revisited
Several months ago I was invited to be a member of the Grand Jury on this year’s Beneath the Earth Film Festival. My first reaction was, do I really want to be on a Grand Jury that would have me as a member? I mean, it’s not as if I’m a professional film critic; I’m […]
Posted on October 23rd, 2011 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | 3 Comments »
The Tree of Life begins, fittingly enough, with a quote from the Almighty Himself: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” The reason for the quote, which is from the Book of Job, becomes apparent within […]
Posted on July 30th, 2011 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | 2 Comments »
“You’re a very bad man, Walker, a very destructive man! Why do you run around doing things like this?” Shot and left for dead by a friend and partner in crime (John Vernon), gangster Lee Marvin, as Walker, returns from the brink of death (or is all a fantasy at the point of dying?) seeking […]
Posted on November 1st, 2010 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | 2 Comments »
“Come. It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man.” At once an engrossing mystery thriller and an intelligent study of the ancient clash between Christianity and Paganism, The Wicker Man stars Edward Woodward as a devoutly religious but sexually repressed Protestant cop who travels to a remote Scottish island inhabited by pagans […]
Posted on October 31st, 2010 by Mat Viola
Filed under: Reviews | 1 Comment »