A Gang Story
Netflix
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Olivier Marchal
Starring Gérard Lanvin, Tchéky Karyo, Daniel Duval, Laurent Fernandez, Lionnel Astier, Dimitri Storoge, Patrick Catalifo, François Levantal
The Weinstein Company
Originally Released: November 10, 2011

One part Godfather, one part Mesrine, A Gang Story is honestly one of the most magnetizing films I’ve been engrossed with. The plot is detailed, but solid – cleverly paced, and strategically told in a manner that will keep you guessing and deliver surprises throughout.

The Lyons Gang, historically a real group of organized criminals in France, is attributed with a number of famous robberies – though the core membership never acknowledged guilt, following a mafia-like code of silence when facing law enforcement authorities. A Gang Story, while it takes some substantial artistic license with the history, is the long-term history of the fellows of the Lyons Gang – a compelling movie that is told across two major plots.

The Iceman
Netflix | Amazon | HitBliss | iTunes | SEN | Vudu | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Ariel Vromen
Starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, James Franco, David Schwimmer, Stephen Dorff, Robert Davi
Millennium Films
Originally Released: August 30, 2012

Don’t call him a hitman, contract killer, or mass murderer – Richard Kuklinski will forever be known to history as The Iceman; a mob enforcer named as such for freezing his victims to confuse the authorities as to the time of death. Portrayed by Michael Shannon in the Ariel Vromen-directed biopic, The Iceman is a crime drama worth your attention.

Spanning several decades, The Iceman starts in the 1960s, first depicting Kuklinski’s first date with future wife Deborah (Winona Ryder). Coming from a tortured and abusive background, Kuklinski and his brother Joseph (Stephen Dorff) fall into lives of delinquency, and eventually murder. While Joseph is caught and imprisoned, Richard ends up becoming a mob enforcer for Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta) as he attempts to also have a normal family life with his wife and daughters.

Disney/Marvel is not wasting any time finding writers to pen the scripts for the four superhero series that will air exclusively on Netflix. Yesterday we reported that Cabin In The Woods writer/director Drew Goddard would pen DareDevil. Goddard had worked on the Cabin script with Joss Whedon, so the hiring seemed fitting.

Now it is being reported that Dexter (up until season 4) and all of the Twilight film adaptations writer Melissa Rosenberg will pen Marvel’s Jessica Jones for Netflix.

Maniac
Netflix | Amazon | iTunes | SEN | Vudu | Xbox | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Franck Khalfoun
Starring Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, Jan Broberg
IFC Midnight
Originally Released: May 26, 2012

In 1980, a little horror film following the slasher-motif was broadly panned by critics – but it was the horror fans who saw the true value of the original Maniac! The short-sightedness of the critics was discounted as the movie developed a strong cult following among horror fans, and while it was no box office success, it served as an extremely important part in horror history, with groundbreaking effects work from Tom Savini, and a psychological depth in the script by initial Maniac, Joe Spinell.

32 years later, and we have a new Maniac on the scene in the form of Elijah Wood in a performance that shatters his previous “nice boy Frodo” image and reputation. A remake in structure, but tribute at heart, Maniac follows the tale of a tormented young man named Frank, indulging in serial killing activities.

As we journey through the story, the tale is shown in the first-person observation, immersing us in the psychological torment of the main character – and see that it is only through killing that Frank begins to feel free from the mental and emotional scars bestowed by his dead mother.

Gingitsune: Messenger Fox of the Gods
Directed by: Shin Misawa
Series Composition by: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Voice cast: Hisako Kanemoto, Shinichiro Miki, Ami Koshimizu, Ayumi Fujimura, Chinatsu Akasaki, Hirofumi Nojima, Kazuhiko Inoue, Kensho Ono, Tomokazu Seki, Tomokazu Sugita, Toshihiko Seki
Diomedea
Air Dates: Sundays, 12:30 p.m. CST
Currently streaming on Crunchyroll

Okay, confession time: I love slice-of-life anime. I have a big soft spot for this particular sub-genre, and when I first started watching Gingitsune: Messenger Fox of the Gods, I fell in love right away. Currently simulcasting on Crunchyroll every Sunday afternoon, the series is directed by Shin Misawa, whose previous work includes such series as 801 T.T.S. Airbats and the television version of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The series is produced by anime studio Diomedea, whose diverse list of production chores include Hidamari Sketch, Aria the Scarlet Ammo, and Fairy Tail, among many others.

The series is based on a manga created by artist Sayori Ochiai and tells the story of the day-to-day life of Makoto Saeki, who is the fifteenth successor of her family’s Inari shrine. The shrine has been in existence since the early years of the Edo period, roughly dating from the early 17th century. Makoto’s mother died while she was still a little girl, and it is at her mother’s funeral that she first meets the series’ other main protagonist, the shrine’s guardian “kitsune,” or fox herald, Gintaro.