Turtles Can Fly
Directed by Bahman Ghobadi
By Erin Oke

Turtles Can Fly is a bleak yet touching look at a small community on the Turkey/Iran/Iraq border on the eve of the latest U.S. invasion. As a result of the last war, the town is almost exclusively populated by children and old folks.

At the centre of the story is a young boy named Satellite, so named for his ability to hook the remote villages in the area up with television signals so they can find out news of the impending war. Satellite also serves as the leader of a large band of children, orphans and refugees who make their living by recovering landmines from neighbouring fields and selling them to the U.N. peacekeepers in the region. A mysterious girl taking care of her armless brother and a blind toddler captures Satellite’s attention and he enthusiastically begins to woo her.

The film is by turns fascinating, beautiful and horrific, set against the backdrop of this ravaged land, which hasn’t nearly recovered from the horrors of the last war. The focus on a gang of parentless children with their own power structure brings to mind The Lord of the Flies, yet these kids have been through way too much to get mired in petty differences

The acting of these young people is astounding, both lively and haunting. Bahman Ghobadi’s (Time for Drunken Horses) storytelling is simple and direct and his visual command is wonderful. (Seville)
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More than simply a film adaptation of Frank Miller’s noir comic serial Sin City, the latest project from Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon A Time in Mexico) is Sin City brought to life. No wonder the film captures the books’ look so precisely — Miller was so heavily involved in the process, Rodriguez gave him a co-director credit (along with "guest director" Quentin Tarantino). ...Read More
Oldboy - Dir. by Chan-wook Park
Already slated for a Hollywood remake, Oldboy is an elating Korean revenge thriller that takes only minutes to create one of the most psychologically damaging experiences imaginable. ...Read More
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The Music Box
The term "videogame music" is often intended as an insult, deriding electronic beatscapes as rudimentary by comparing them to the 8-bit by necessity, bleep-based soundtracks of early Atari and Nintendo games. (See: Castles, Crystal) That Super Mario's theme music remains embedded in the frontal lobes of anyone under the age of 40 proves the critical weakness of the diss ― but it's also hopelessly archaic considering how much videogame music has evolved over the years.... Read More
Etaoin Shrdlu - Mating Calls
Explosive and precise, Etaoin Shrdlu knowingly wink at the perception that their post-hardcore math rock musical approach might be a throwback while simultaneously contributing something vibrant to punk rock with Mating Calls. Featuring members of significant bands like Blake, I Can Put my Ar... Full Review
Bayonetta [PS3 / Xbox 360]
"I've got a fever and the only cure is dead angels."
-Bayonetta

Ever since the Christmastime gaming deluge ended, I've been killing a lot of angels. Though God's messengers have been bad guys in other pop-cultural products ― His Dark Materials book trilogy, the pas... Full Review
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