Mixed Reviews

Mixed Reviews: Christian Bale: The Inside Story of the Darkest Batman

Is there a more controversial actor working today than Christian Bale? From his start as an impressive child actor (Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun) to his emergence as a bonafide movie star after taking on the iconic role of Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, Bale has certainly had a whirlwind ride in Hollywood. He’s also had plenty of inner demons to shake, as Harrison Cheung and Nicola Pittam’s new biography, Christian Bale: The Inside Story of the Darkest Batman (BenBella Books, 312 pages, $15.95), details.

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May 23rd, 2012 | Category: Mixed Reviews | By Kyle Rupprecht

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Mixed Reviews: The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Music on Film Series

Nearly 40 years after its initial release, The Rocky Horror Picture Show remains amazingly popular. Still shown at midnight screenings around the world, it has the distinction of being the longest-running theatrical release in film history, having originally opened in 1975. Not bad for a bizarre, low-budget horror-comedy rock musical that introduced “sweet transvestite” Dr. Frank-N-Furter to the general public. The history and influence of this weirdly influential film is recounted in Dave Thompson’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the latest entry in the Music on Film series.

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May 9th, 2012 | Category: Mixed Reviews | By Kyle Rupprecht

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Mixed Reviews: Shoot It!: Hollywood Inc. and the Rising of Independent Film

With Shoot It!: Hollywood Inc. and the Rising of Independent Film (Arsenal Pulp Press, 320 pages, $22.95), author and film critic David Spaner has crafted an engaging, comprehensive history of the highs and lows of independent film, with special attention paid to how it's interacted over the years with its big brother (or evil twin, depending on how you look at it) the studio system. Shoot It!'s two sections—the first on the studio system, the second on independent film—cover a broad range of material, which is both good and bad. First, the good: Spaner's far-reaching approach will introduce readers to film, directors and even independent movements that they might not have been previously familiar with.

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February 15th, 2012 | Category: Mixed Reviews | By Rebecca Pahle

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Mixed Reviews: Shpadoinkle: The Making of Cannibal: The Musical

Right off the bat, I want to say that Jason McHugh's Shpadoinkle: The Making of Cannibal: The Musical is the best low-budget moviemaking journal I’ve read since Robert Rodriguez's Rebel without a Crew, and its definitely a book I wish had existed when I made my own low-budget feature film (which was actually heavily inspired by Cannibal! The Musical). McHugh, a producer/actor on the cult classic Cannibal! The Musical, takes readers through a personal journey that spans his early interest in movies, his experience at film school and how he came to befriend UC-Boulder classmates Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who would later go on to create Orgazmo, Team America: World Police, The Book of Mormon and, of course, "South Park." But before any of that, the three of them were just a bunch of young, like-minded film geeks looking for the next step in their careers.

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January 13th, 2012 | Category: Mixed Reviews | By Andy Young

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