Dead or Alive Begins and Ends With A Bang...Literally

Takashi Miike's Dead or Alive certainly begins with a bang, doesn't it? That iconic opening sequence is like the love-child of Edgar Wright & the Safdie Brothers on a hundred Red Bull's and also a healthy dose of bath salts. Said opening sequence depicts a bevy of human beings being taken out in violent ways by a group of criminals. The editing used to cut between individual locations is Road Runner-fast and none of the deaths are subtle. Noodles explode from one dying person's body instead of blood and the presence of drugs and sex is similarly pervasive in this stretch of bravura filmmaking. To watch this opening scene of Dead or Alive is to feel like you've just gone on the world's faster rollercoaster, your head is spinning, your mind is in shambles yet you kind of want to do it again?

Oak Cliff Film Festival 2019: American Movie Humorously Captures The Grueling Independent Filmmaking Process

The Oak Cliff Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Dallas, Texas across multiple movie theaters, including the iconic Texas Theater.

The 1990s were the decade that redefined the American cinema scene through homegrown indie productions directed by the likes of Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino that provided an overhaul to the very concept of American indie movies. Suddenly, these rags-to-riches stories made it seem possible for anyone to make a movie. It’s fitting then that the decade would end with a documentary exploring how, even in this blossoming age of homegrown cinema, it’s still immensely difficult to make a movie. This documentary was American Movie, a Chris Smith directorial effort that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and was screened in 35mm at the Oak Cliff Film Festival yesterday.