prvtjoker

Writer/director Mitch Brian manages to deliver the finest, truest adaptation of a James Ellroy work to date. Sure, it's not on the scale of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, but this tight, moody dramatization of a chapter from one of Ellroy's lesser novels, KILLER ON THE ROAD, captures the author's voice with pitch perfection. From the shocker opening sequence to the brilliant double-punchline at the end (including a great moment featuring James Ellroy himself!), this one is definitely worth a look. If Brian can do this much with eleven minutes + one chapter from an Ellroy novel, just imagine what he could do adapting one of the books in its entirity. Hollywood, are you listening? Give Ellroy's AMERICAN TABLOID to this guy.

I had the pleasure of seeing the directorial debut of Robert Schwentke, TATTOO, over the weekend at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. And what a pleasure it was. Imagine the most gruesome horror film you can, conceived and shot with the eye and soul of an artist, and you begin to get the picture of this twisted tale of two cops investigating the trade in tattoo-adorned human skins. While the script occasionally slips into standard genre territory (it is, after all, essentially a "two cops after a killer movie"), the film itself is so riveting, shocking, and massively entertaining that any small flaws can be easily overlooked. I understand it comes out in Europe this spring - let's hope a North American release isn't far behind, because Schwentke is a director to watch, and if his debut is any indication, he is well on his way to becoming a world-class filmmaker.