The Neon Demon (R)
"..treats objects like women, man."
It's a story as old as Los Angeles itself, a young girl looking for fame and fortune, innocent to the world, runs into the dark belly of the entertainment industry (LITERALLY!) in Director Nicholas Winding Refn's (Drive) gorgeously weird film, The Neon Demon.
Stunning cinematography, beautifully dangerous hellcat women, electro-smoky pulsing soundtrack, stilted Kubrick-like dialog, strange symbols and visions, and that one scene: Oh, that show stopping Scene! They all make up the brunt of Refn's attack on the fashion industry, that it exists and how it cannibalizes (heh) the female form. Early on, Elle Fanning's Jesse, the young lovely but impressionable youth who is the star of the film, is told "to always say she is 19. 18 is too on the nose." This is shorthand for her situation, shorthand for the entire enterprise of film and subject. She is quickly embraced by the industry's entrepreneurs, drunk in by the male gaze, and vilified by it's older, less natural looking models. Even her new friend Ruby (Jena Malone) seems to have a strange fascination with Jesse, who soon gets caught up in her own hype and gets led down a dark walkway of doom.
Special attention must be made to the soundtrack by Cliff Martinez, once again joining Refn after scoring Drive. Easily half of this film's enjoyment can be derived from the musical landscape of electronic moods, from 80s synth to edgy Pop Diva. It matches all the gore and glitter perfectly and the film uses it extremely effectively. Many will rewatch the film just as a means to experience the sweet dark marriage of visuals and sound. The use of light, the shadowy early hours, the flash bulbs and mirrors, the cinematography is just as nuanced and beautiful as the audio and constructs a nightmare world of gloss and reflection for us to watch Jesse lose herself in.
ND will be too slow for many, too little viscera for others, the third act too toe-curling intense for anyone sane. But for some the experience of wallowing through this blood bath will be sublime. Slow, brooding and methodical, The Neon Demon mystifies for a long period and then suddenly drives it's point home with a pair scissors. It's almost a twisted giallo mashup, like Diana Ross' Mahogany remixed by Dario Argento. This is Refn at his most feminist, the men in the film treat women as mere meat puppets for their cameras, and the ones that don't the women themselves push away (Keanu Reeves himself has a small yet significant part). The expected fashion cat fights, the women infighting by snidely brutalizing each other, these eye rolling cliches all happen. But there is a deeper layer to it, and once that layer gets scratched and bleeds all hell breaks loose. It's Refn's interest in not exploiting the women on screen who are being exploited that makes his intentions very clear, so beautifully on the nose it cuts it off to spite it face artistically.
8.5 You'll Never Look at Funeral Homes the Same Way Again out of 10 (GREAT)
Showing posts with label SeeToBelieve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SeeToBelieve. Show all posts
The Lobster (2016)
The Lobster (R)
"Love is Blind"
A man, recently divorced, and his dog, recently his brother, are sent to a coastal hideaway resort where the inmates must find love or be themselves turned into animals in director Giorgos Lanthimos' (Dog Tooth) newest oddity, The Lobster.
Colin Ferrell (In Bruges) plays the saggy down trodden man forced to look for love (in all the wrong places), and does it without his normal bravado and grimace to his character. He meets all kinds of interesting fellow love seekers (the most likeable being A-list character actor John C. Reilly as a lisping animal bound hopeless case), for it is the Universe, and not just the people inhabiting it, that makes this film so fascinating.
Whether to take it literally or figuratively, a world that not only looks down socially upon a single uncoupled person but oppresses them and forces them into relationships (via a Nazi-like Police force asking for papers) or be animialified is fantastically unique! Then to expound on that Universe, show quick insights into how this system works (the singles who rebel are hunted, but are themselves revolutionaries who reject all human copulation and actively attempt to break up the couplehoods) is rich and fulfilling. Then add friendships, children and society to that mix and you have something to talk about.
Go into this movie knowing as little as you can, let it tell it's story organically (it is all there if you let it talk and you listen), enjoy the harrowing little moments of terror and pain, embrace the surrealist reality, the absurdist gravitas and the moral ambiguity. After all, all's fair in war and love, especially if love can turn you into a shellfish.
8 Dead Rabbits of Love out of 10 (GREAT)
"Love is Blind"
A man, recently divorced, and his dog, recently his brother, are sent to a coastal hideaway resort where the inmates must find love or be themselves turned into animals in director Giorgos Lanthimos' (Dog Tooth) newest oddity, The Lobster.
Colin Ferrell (In Bruges) plays the saggy down trodden man forced to look for love (in all the wrong places), and does it without his normal bravado and grimace to his character. He meets all kinds of interesting fellow love seekers (the most likeable being A-list character actor John C. Reilly as a lisping animal bound hopeless case), for it is the Universe, and not just the people inhabiting it, that makes this film so fascinating.
Whether to take it literally or figuratively, a world that not only looks down socially upon a single uncoupled person but oppresses them and forces them into relationships (via a Nazi-like Police force asking for papers) or be animialified is fantastically unique! Then to expound on that Universe, show quick insights into how this system works (the singles who rebel are hunted, but are themselves revolutionaries who reject all human copulation and actively attempt to break up the couplehoods) is rich and fulfilling. Then add friendships, children and society to that mix and you have something to talk about.
Go into this movie knowing as little as you can, let it tell it's story organically (it is all there if you let it talk and you listen), enjoy the harrowing little moments of terror and pain, embrace the surrealist reality, the absurdist gravitas and the moral ambiguity. After all, all's fair in war and love, especially if love can turn you into a shellfish.
8 Dead Rabbits of Love out of 10 (GREAT)
Hardcore Henry (2016)
Hardcore Henry - R
An augmented man with no memory chases after his wife who is kidnapped out of the Russian lab he was created in, rushing through the buildings, streets and rails in a nonstop barrage of violence and first person camera work in the very video-game like Hardcore Henry.
Hardcore Henry is basically the longest (and worst acted) GoPro camera commercial in existence. Yet the footage doesn't have the visual definition usually seen on the big screen for a big release, it can be an unpleasant blurry mess (especially in low light). The acting is atrocious, the main villain has followed the "bad movie actor playbook" as close as possible, shouting lines and gritting teeth and flipping his hair while avoiding actually killing the protagonist at all times. The other extras and leads limp along in his wake.
Hardcore Henry is original in being the first movie to pull this genre off, and yet is wholly unoriginal by not only aping most First Person video games but also not matching them. With high end PCs and PS4s now most games look better than Henry's scummy sunlit scenes. The film's finale is the worst kind of final video game level, with terrible video graphics, long time coming plot twist, easily disposed cannon fodder and hammy acting from your cackling final Boss. But considering how low budget H. Henry must be, how much seat of the pants filmmaking it must have used, you can't help but gain a grudging respect for the project (and quite a bit of fun).
For instance, Sharlto Copley's role as a scientist who has invented Henry's technology is a breath of fresh air from all the mind numbing punching and jumping. Despite a severely underwhelming lead role in Eleysium and being a possible albatross on this production, here his comedic antics make him the only visible actor who has a grasp of how to behave on camera. And he takes it to extremes (much to the filmmakers credit) by playing a plethora of characters ala Peter Sellers, each with their own costumes and funny accents. It is the only part of Henry that took any balls to put to screen, after all the action stunt work and parkour sequences are what we would expect. Add that to a seldom seen peek into the suburban sprawl of life in Russia and it's satellite states, some outstanding action and death defying stunts makes Hardcore Henry not a bad movie, it's just not as violent as the title promised, not as original as it's poster promised, and not as revolutionary as it is entertaining.
5.5 Steel Knuckles out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
An augmented man with no memory chases after his wife who is kidnapped out of the Russian lab he was created in, rushing through the buildings, streets and rails in a nonstop barrage of violence and first person camera work in the very video-game like Hardcore Henry.
Hardcore Henry is basically the longest (and worst acted) GoPro camera commercial in existence. Yet the footage doesn't have the visual definition usually seen on the big screen for a big release, it can be an unpleasant blurry mess (especially in low light). The acting is atrocious, the main villain has followed the "bad movie actor playbook" as close as possible, shouting lines and gritting teeth and flipping his hair while avoiding actually killing the protagonist at all times. The other extras and leads limp along in his wake.
Hardcore Henry is original in being the first movie to pull this genre off, and yet is wholly unoriginal by not only aping most First Person video games but also not matching them. With high end PCs and PS4s now most games look better than Henry's scummy sunlit scenes. The film's finale is the worst kind of final video game level, with terrible video graphics, long time coming plot twist, easily disposed cannon fodder and hammy acting from your cackling final Boss. But considering how low budget H. Henry must be, how much seat of the pants filmmaking it must have used, you can't help but gain a grudging respect for the project (and quite a bit of fun).
For instance, Sharlto Copley's role as a scientist who has invented Henry's technology is a breath of fresh air from all the mind numbing punching and jumping. Despite a severely underwhelming lead role in Eleysium and being a possible albatross on this production, here his comedic antics make him the only visible actor who has a grasp of how to behave on camera. And he takes it to extremes (much to the filmmakers credit) by playing a plethora of characters ala Peter Sellers, each with their own costumes and funny accents. It is the only part of Henry that took any balls to put to screen, after all the action stunt work and parkour sequences are what we would expect. Add that to a seldom seen peek into the suburban sprawl of life in Russia and it's satellite states, some outstanding action and death defying stunts makes Hardcore Henry not a bad movie, it's just not as violent as the title promised, not as original as it's poster promised, and not as revolutionary as it is entertaining.
5.5 Steel Knuckles out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
Noah (2014)
Noah (PG-13)
"When it rains it pours"
Director Darren Aaronofsky's (Requiem For A Dream) life long ambition of putting the Bible parable Noah on screen comes to fruition, but comes through quite waterlogged with modern ideas and structure. While not as atheist-centric as some had feared, the tale of Noah is filled with fantasy sci fi trappings along with the strongly mythical ones.
For an epic the story feels quite small, with just a few sets (ash land, rock land, grassy mountain, ark). For an epic there are very few characters, just Noah and his family and the evil Tubal-Cain (played by Ray Winstone), whose armies are just nameless background cannon(golem)fodder. The lack of racial diversity is an eerie throwback to Ten Commandments whitewashing, the fantastical rock giants evoke the LOTR trilogy more than the Holy Bible, the CGI driven time lapse photography that is quite jarring as it promotes evolutionary creationism, human bad guys shoot rocket launchers at those giant golems, and the fauna of the Earth that are saved two by two are strangely unevolved (dogs with armadillo scales?). The casting too lacks a certain finesse, with no performances besides Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah generating much interest. The choices are odd, and when considering the market for a straight laced Bible story is probably dwindling, the cynical might scream that these add-ons are mere tricks to spice up the potential box office gloom.
Yet when the movie plays upon and toys with the themes of this ancient mythology it actually hits some strong (if too modernized) philosophical chords and proves it's artistic forethought. The nature of the relationship between Creator and creations, the fight of good vs evil, sinful human nature versus his wished for ideals, these are inborn to the story of the flood. Stepping then as it does into the sciences of ecology, environmentalism, and conservationism makes the movie more palatable to modern audiences while still keeping its morals, or most of them, intact. When the Earth is being wiped out due to humanity's strip mining and pollution (the evil king is very unPC and therefore very pro-Earth exploitation) it skews it more towards self righteous liberalism. Add that to the mix the freakish rock-creatures and rough old testament miracles, Noah survives the flood of new and old. The added action scenes and family strife pad the overlong runtime to over 2 hours, but really could it be that entertaining of a story without them? Putting at its forefront the idea that mankind was once so technologically advanced and neglectful of the Earth and had to be completely wiped-out doomsday style is a side of the story often unexplored, and is probably just what 9 year old Aaronofsky was attracted to in the first place. Noah then has to wrestle with letting all of humanity die or let it begin again, which does the Creator want and what is it saying about us, the descendants of these men? Interesting ideas, but Noah just interests more than flat out entertains. However if you can forgive the deluge of eccentricity there are worse ways to spend an rainy afternoon.
5 Noah the Hatchet Man out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
"When it rains it pours"
Director Darren Aaronofsky's (Requiem For A Dream) life long ambition of putting the Bible parable Noah on screen comes to fruition, but comes through quite waterlogged with modern ideas and structure. While not as atheist-centric as some had feared, the tale of Noah is filled with fantasy sci fi trappings along with the strongly mythical ones.
For an epic the story feels quite small, with just a few sets (ash land, rock land, grassy mountain, ark). For an epic there are very few characters, just Noah and his family and the evil Tubal-Cain (played by Ray Winstone), whose armies are just nameless background cannon(golem)fodder. The lack of racial diversity is an eerie throwback to Ten Commandments whitewashing, the fantastical rock giants evoke the LOTR trilogy more than the Holy Bible, the CGI driven time lapse photography that is quite jarring as it promotes evolutionary creationism, human bad guys shoot rocket launchers at those giant golems, and the fauna of the Earth that are saved two by two are strangely unevolved (dogs with armadillo scales?). The casting too lacks a certain finesse, with no performances besides Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah generating much interest. The choices are odd, and when considering the market for a straight laced Bible story is probably dwindling, the cynical might scream that these add-ons are mere tricks to spice up the potential box office gloom.
Yet when the movie plays upon and toys with the themes of this ancient mythology it actually hits some strong (if too modernized) philosophical chords and proves it's artistic forethought. The nature of the relationship between Creator and creations, the fight of good vs evil, sinful human nature versus his wished for ideals, these are inborn to the story of the flood. Stepping then as it does into the sciences of ecology, environmentalism, and conservationism makes the movie more palatable to modern audiences while still keeping its morals, or most of them, intact. When the Earth is being wiped out due to humanity's strip mining and pollution (the evil king is very unPC and therefore very pro-Earth exploitation) it skews it more towards self righteous liberalism. Add that to the mix the freakish rock-creatures and rough old testament miracles, Noah survives the flood of new and old. The added action scenes and family strife pad the overlong runtime to over 2 hours, but really could it be that entertaining of a story without them? Putting at its forefront the idea that mankind was once so technologically advanced and neglectful of the Earth and had to be completely wiped-out doomsday style is a side of the story often unexplored, and is probably just what 9 year old Aaronofsky was attracted to in the first place. Noah then has to wrestle with letting all of humanity die or let it begin again, which does the Creator want and what is it saying about us, the descendants of these men? Interesting ideas, but Noah just interests more than flat out entertains. However if you can forgive the deluge of eccentricity there are worse ways to spend an rainy afternoon.
5 Noah the Hatchet Man out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
Birdman (2014)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (R)
"What are we doing here? This place smells like balls..."
An actor famous for a Superhero film-series he abandoned decades ago is attempting to reclaim his artistry by staging a Broadway play he writes, directs and stars in. When the inevitable financial/personal/critical/midlife/familial crises hit(s), will his gravely blockbuster past help or hinder his efforts at an artistic reawakening? Or will the wings of fame and infamy be a drag on his endeavors (and mental stability) as he navigates a reality filled with unfulfillment and social-media, in director Alejandro Gonzalles Iñárritu's (Babel) dazzling masterpiece of technical skill and artistic identity.
Michael Keaton plays former Birdman star Riggan Thomson, a role both written for him and could-only-star him. The entire film is a mise en scène of Art-Reflecting-Life, as Keaton gets the role of a lifetime just as his character strives for the same on stage (on screen). Keaton is fantastic, reminding us just how funny and energetically charismatic he can be, even as he chews the scenery with new found beak of savagery. The voice of Batman, er, Birdman, echoes through Riggan's life as he tries to spread his wings and regain his self-worth. The other characters surrounding him fit naturally, sometimes dominating other times merely complimenting his story. His daughter just out of rehab is Emma Stone, his glory-hogging co-star is played by a very naked Ed Norton, his best friend and over-fawning producer Zack Galifnackis, his exwife, his current lover, his critic, his adoring fans, his stage hands, they form a wonderful small world on Broadway in the big world of New York that they live and breathe in.
Meanwhile, the camera and soundtrack cannot be ignored as the windowless entry into this world. The lens itself is very subjective, the film is mostly strung-out to appear as one long continuous shot. While this isn't a new idea, the amount of digital compositing and the amount of movement involved is to tremendous effect. As the camera swoops around, through and in the space with the actors as their long takes roll on, it builds a visual pattern that you fall in love with immediately,even as they break it to great effect. Unlike the film cameras used in Orson Welle's day as in Touch Of Evil's historic opening long take, digital can run on longer than the 8 minutes or so a reel of physical film does. And while it might be a tiny bit distracting looking for those long-intervaled seams (and they do exist), the technical know-how and skill to pull it off is astonishing and drives the play-like quality of the film. As is the jazzy beatnick score; it has been a long time since a musical soundtrack both complimented dialogue and driven emotional impact of scenes this flawlessly. Switching between a bebop staccato drum beat and pieces of classical loveliness, the sounds intertwine with the floating camera to create a hiphop-hypnotic effect that Birdman will long be famous for.
The entire film is showpiece after showpiece. While showcasing dynamic acting with heart-felt performances from all the principles actors on stage and onscreen, it is simultaneously showcasing camera technique and CG integration to an ungodly level, directed with sincerity and obtaining greatness. Technology complimenting art, Art imitating life, This is Life on the wing of Birdman,
9.5 Curtain Calls out of 10 (OUTSTANDING)
"What are we doing here? This place smells like balls..."
An actor famous for a Superhero film-series he abandoned decades ago is attempting to reclaim his artistry by staging a Broadway play he writes, directs and stars in. When the inevitable financial/personal/critical/midlife/familial crises hit(s), will his gravely blockbuster past help or hinder his efforts at an artistic reawakening? Or will the wings of fame and infamy be a drag on his endeavors (and mental stability) as he navigates a reality filled with unfulfillment and social-media, in director Alejandro Gonzalles Iñárritu's (Babel) dazzling masterpiece of technical skill and artistic identity.
Michael Keaton plays former Birdman star Riggan Thomson, a role both written for him and could-only-star him. The entire film is a mise en scène of Art-Reflecting-Life, as Keaton gets the role of a lifetime just as his character strives for the same on stage (on screen). Keaton is fantastic, reminding us just how funny and energetically charismatic he can be, even as he chews the scenery with new found beak of savagery. The voice of Batman, er, Birdman, echoes through Riggan's life as he tries to spread his wings and regain his self-worth. The other characters surrounding him fit naturally, sometimes dominating other times merely complimenting his story. His daughter just out of rehab is Emma Stone, his glory-hogging co-star is played by a very naked Ed Norton, his best friend and over-fawning producer Zack Galifnackis, his exwife, his current lover, his critic, his adoring fans, his stage hands, they form a wonderful small world on Broadway in the big world of New York that they live and breathe in.
Meanwhile, the camera and soundtrack cannot be ignored as the windowless entry into this world. The lens itself is very subjective, the film is mostly strung-out to appear as one long continuous shot. While this isn't a new idea, the amount of digital compositing and the amount of movement involved is to tremendous effect. As the camera swoops around, through and in the space with the actors as their long takes roll on, it builds a visual pattern that you fall in love with immediately,even as they break it to great effect. Unlike the film cameras used in Orson Welle's day as in Touch Of Evil's historic opening long take, digital can run on longer than the 8 minutes or so a reel of physical film does. And while it might be a tiny bit distracting looking for those long-intervaled seams (and they do exist), the technical know-how and skill to pull it off is astonishing and drives the play-like quality of the film. As is the jazzy beatnick score; it has been a long time since a musical soundtrack both complimented dialogue and driven emotional impact of scenes this flawlessly. Switching between a bebop staccato drum beat and pieces of classical loveliness, the sounds intertwine with the floating camera to create a hiphop-hypnotic effect that Birdman will long be famous for.
The entire film is showpiece after showpiece. While showcasing dynamic acting with heart-felt performances from all the principles actors on stage and onscreen, it is simultaneously showcasing camera technique and CG integration to an ungodly level, directed with sincerity and obtaining greatness. Technology complimenting art, Art imitating life, This is Life on the wing of Birdman,
9.5 Curtain Calls out of 10 (OUTSTANDING)
Wolfcop (2014)
Wolfcop (R)
"Hair of the Dog that bit ya"
An small town alcoholic Deputy in Canada's Great White North is terrible at his job. He drinks, he's late, he's lazy, he's hungover, ...he drinks. But when he gets cursed one night by a cult of shape shifters in the woods he becomes one hairy, scary, extraordinary law enforcement officer!
Granted Wolfcop has a slow start, and until the movie's first transformation kicks in there is a lot of heel dragging and iffy acting (but it's only 78 minutes so hang in there!). Once he transforms (and wait till you see WHAT transforms first), the movie's gore and humor kick it way past its cheapo one-idea script. The make up is dollar store wigs and makeup with some rubber hands so you'll never confuse this with an American Werewolf in London remake (its more along the lines of Canadian WereWolf in Saskatchewan with Strange Brew thrown in for good measure). Fueled by whiskey, driven to serve and protect (or is it sever and project?), Wolfcop is lewd, rude and in the nude with a tasty 1980's horror style and soundtrack (and love scene, ick). Much rougher and ghetto-er than it's Canadian cousin "Hobo With A Shotgun," Wolfcop nonetheless attains coolness as he wolfs down donuts and booze in his tricked out squad car on the icy roads of justice.
Next time team him up with BioCop!
6.5 Hip Hop Theme Songs over Credits out of 10 (GOOD)
"Hair of the Dog that bit ya"
An small town alcoholic Deputy in Canada's Great White North is terrible at his job. He drinks, he's late, he's lazy, he's hungover, ...he drinks. But when he gets cursed one night by a cult of shape shifters in the woods he becomes one hairy, scary, extraordinary law enforcement officer!
Granted Wolfcop has a slow start, and until the movie's first transformation kicks in there is a lot of heel dragging and iffy acting (but it's only 78 minutes so hang in there!). Once he transforms (and wait till you see WHAT transforms first), the movie's gore and humor kick it way past its cheapo one-idea script. The make up is dollar store wigs and makeup with some rubber hands so you'll never confuse this with an American Werewolf in London remake (its more along the lines of Canadian WereWolf in Saskatchewan with Strange Brew thrown in for good measure). Fueled by whiskey, driven to serve and protect (or is it sever and project?), Wolfcop is lewd, rude and in the nude with a tasty 1980's horror style and soundtrack (and love scene, ick). Much rougher and ghetto-er than it's Canadian cousin "Hobo With A Shotgun," Wolfcop nonetheless attains coolness as he wolfs down donuts and booze in his tricked out squad car on the icy roads of justice.
Next time team him up with BioCop!
6.5 Hip Hop Theme Songs over Credits out of 10 (GOOD)
The Raid 2 (2014)
The Raid 2 (R) - Review
"Kung Fu Napoleon Complex X100"
When the film The Raid: Redemption hit US shores in 2011, many felt that Hollywood would have to "sit up and take notice", for here was a director, here was a star, here was a movie that finally showed the industry what people want in an action movie. Just pure, non-stop bloody-white-knuckle action. Now, 3 years later and the industry certainly hadn't noticed (they still believe in the older mummified action stars will lead the way back to genre gold), so here comes Welsh Director Gareth Evans and his stunt/fighting troupe of Malaysian daredevil martial artists to again put the record straight. Evans and Co. even provide an overly complex script along with a more refined cinematic technique and beautifully boiled down fighting aesthetic to make up for the first film's short comings (and subsequent critical backlashes).
Rookie Supercop Rama just survived The Raid, and now is immediately drawn into a world of higher stakes and bigger criminals. He goes deep undercover to a local prison to infiltrate the organization that had corrupted his brother and climb the ladder to the bigger bosses. There he will rise from street level crime to find a rich corruption and thick grey area between law and justice and enough opponents and plot points to fill three Hollywood blockbusters, without the phony wire work that mars so many Asian epics.
The Raid 2 is first and foremost a sequel done correctly (according to Evans this was the movie he would have made first if the budget could have been scraped together). It has elements and ideas taken from the first, expanded and improved. It just doesn't do the same things over yet BIGGER, add more explosions and call it a day. No, the fights here are less numerous (a testament to the first's enormous amount of combat not this one's lack), and yet more significant due to the precise build up. In fact the first half hour is almost entirely a buildup of tension without release, and when it starts to finally let off steam it does so carefully. They add in a spectacular car chase, subplots galore and new villains that aren't just paper-thin caricatures waiting to get kick-punched.
Some of it may be a bit excessive (the squeamish for one will choke on their popcorn at the amount of realistic ultraviolence and gore). Hollywood producers would have likely cut out the entire subplot of the Hobo Assassin for he plays almost no part in the main characters lives (and is basically a footnote to the overall plot). Therein lies the problem with films now, the Hobo is introduced suddenly and without explanation as an incredibly dangerous and efficient killer, then has a long dinner scene with his estranged wife where they discuss their son, and just as suddenly is used as a pawn to ignite the gangs to war. It makes little sense conventionally and that dinner scene almost feels like it belongs in a different film, and yet this is what Hollywood should be paying attention to. The Hobo (played by Yayan Ruhian) is director Evan's fight coordinator for both films, and the dangerous look in his eye pairs with the sadness on his face solidifies the ennui of the entire film: most of us are the pawns who are pushed and sacrificed around the board as the Kings sit back and gloat. This small, fragile part of a rock-hard action movie structure is indicative of the intelligence behind Raid 2 and spotlights the leaps and bounds it has made beyond the first entry, succeeding in showing up everything Hollywood has done in the past 10 years. As our hero Rama battles foe after foe, goes through revelations and meets various martial arts archetypes and plot twists while giving up his young family in the name of justice, the fights get better and better and more frequent and more poignant with each knuckle crack. Add to that a superb cinematic scope with slick photography, fight choreography that never feels rushed or unpolished (which was a problem in the first Raid), and you have a genuine Martial Arts Masterpiece starring a troupe of sincere Malaysian men with huge amounts of talents and guts all pulled together by a Welsh action fan.
The Raid 2 is a brutal truth, for it delivers quality AND quantity, and it's going to make it awful hard to sit through the average pap coming out at the corner Cineplex.
9 Aluminum Baseball Bats vs Hammers out of 10 (OUTSTANDING).
"Kung Fu Napoleon Complex X100"
When the film The Raid: Redemption hit US shores in 2011, many felt that Hollywood would have to "sit up and take notice", for here was a director, here was a star, here was a movie that finally showed the industry what people want in an action movie. Just pure, non-stop bloody-white-knuckle action. Now, 3 years later and the industry certainly hadn't noticed (they still believe in the older mummified action stars will lead the way back to genre gold), so here comes Welsh Director Gareth Evans and his stunt/fighting troupe of Malaysian daredevil martial artists to again put the record straight. Evans and Co. even provide an overly complex script along with a more refined cinematic technique and beautifully boiled down fighting aesthetic to make up for the first film's short comings (and subsequent critical backlashes).
Rookie Supercop Rama just survived The Raid, and now is immediately drawn into a world of higher stakes and bigger criminals. He goes deep undercover to a local prison to infiltrate the organization that had corrupted his brother and climb the ladder to the bigger bosses. There he will rise from street level crime to find a rich corruption and thick grey area between law and justice and enough opponents and plot points to fill three Hollywood blockbusters, without the phony wire work that mars so many Asian epics.
The Raid 2 is first and foremost a sequel done correctly (according to Evans this was the movie he would have made first if the budget could have been scraped together). It has elements and ideas taken from the first, expanded and improved. It just doesn't do the same things over yet BIGGER, add more explosions and call it a day. No, the fights here are less numerous (a testament to the first's enormous amount of combat not this one's lack), and yet more significant due to the precise build up. In fact the first half hour is almost entirely a buildup of tension without release, and when it starts to finally let off steam it does so carefully. They add in a spectacular car chase, subplots galore and new villains that aren't just paper-thin caricatures waiting to get kick-punched.
Some of it may be a bit excessive (the squeamish for one will choke on their popcorn at the amount of realistic ultraviolence and gore). Hollywood producers would have likely cut out the entire subplot of the Hobo Assassin for he plays almost no part in the main characters lives (and is basically a footnote to the overall plot). Therein lies the problem with films now, the Hobo is introduced suddenly and without explanation as an incredibly dangerous and efficient killer, then has a long dinner scene with his estranged wife where they discuss their son, and just as suddenly is used as a pawn to ignite the gangs to war. It makes little sense conventionally and that dinner scene almost feels like it belongs in a different film, and yet this is what Hollywood should be paying attention to. The Hobo (played by Yayan Ruhian) is director Evan's fight coordinator for both films, and the dangerous look in his eye pairs with the sadness on his face solidifies the ennui of the entire film: most of us are the pawns who are pushed and sacrificed around the board as the Kings sit back and gloat. This small, fragile part of a rock-hard action movie structure is indicative of the intelligence behind Raid 2 and spotlights the leaps and bounds it has made beyond the first entry, succeeding in showing up everything Hollywood has done in the past 10 years. As our hero Rama battles foe after foe, goes through revelations and meets various martial arts archetypes and plot twists while giving up his young family in the name of justice, the fights get better and better and more frequent and more poignant with each knuckle crack. Add to that a superb cinematic scope with slick photography, fight choreography that never feels rushed or unpolished (which was a problem in the first Raid), and you have a genuine Martial Arts Masterpiece starring a troupe of sincere Malaysian men with huge amounts of talents and guts all pulled together by a Welsh action fan.
The Raid 2 is a brutal truth, for it delivers quality AND quantity, and it's going to make it awful hard to sit through the average pap coming out at the corner Cineplex.
9 Aluminum Baseball Bats vs Hammers out of 10 (OUTSTANDING).
Under The Skin (2013)
Under The Skin (R)
A mysterious woman drives around Scotland luring strange men into her van and into certain doom in director Jonathan Glazer's newest film, Under The Skin.
The woman is played by blockbuster stunner Scarlet Johansen (Lost in Translation), and in a nice twist she drives about luring men to their visually splendid, yet weirdly ambiguous, demise using her sexuality. It's not the first Horror genre pic to play the "most dangerous gender" card, but it works. However when she flees the situation after meeting a disfigured man and her motorcycle male handlers start combing the countryside for her, the movie takes a sharp turn towards "meh."
Glazer is a master of unsettling visuals (Sexy Beast was his first feature film after excelling in creeping out MTV for years). The abduction scenes were spellbinding, they take place in a dark space that her victims slowly sink through the floor. The music in these scenes is also fantastic and drives home an otherworldy creepy mood that pervades the WTF. And yet the film throws all that mystery away just to begin a drawn out run-away, is she human? plot that centers on rainy cold Scottish scenery and little to no dialog. In the end, the hypnotic visuals and sounds can't overcome the very simple plot. The ending moments elevate it back into watchable, but only by the skin of it's teeth.
4.5 ScarJo's In and Out of Her Lingerie out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
A mysterious woman drives around Scotland luring strange men into her van and into certain doom in director Jonathan Glazer's newest film, Under The Skin.
The woman is played by blockbuster stunner Scarlet Johansen (Lost in Translation), and in a nice twist she drives about luring men to their visually splendid, yet weirdly ambiguous, demise using her sexuality. It's not the first Horror genre pic to play the "most dangerous gender" card, but it works. However when she flees the situation after meeting a disfigured man and her motorcycle male handlers start combing the countryside for her, the movie takes a sharp turn towards "meh."
Glazer is a master of unsettling visuals (Sexy Beast was his first feature film after excelling in creeping out MTV for years). The abduction scenes were spellbinding, they take place in a dark space that her victims slowly sink through the floor. The music in these scenes is also fantastic and drives home an otherworldy creepy mood that pervades the WTF. And yet the film throws all that mystery away just to begin a drawn out run-away, is she human? plot that centers on rainy cold Scottish scenery and little to no dialog. In the end, the hypnotic visuals and sounds can't overcome the very simple plot. The ending moments elevate it back into watchable, but only by the skin of it's teeth.
4.5 ScarJo's In and Out of Her Lingerie out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
Upstream Color (2013)
Upstream Color (NR) - Review
"Each drink is better than the last"
A woman forced to take a parasitic worm finds herself under the physical and mental control of a robber who takes her for all she is worth. Years later, after surviving the ordeal she still finds her life in pieces, but upon meeting a mutual survivor a relationship is created with him that both contributes to and solves the mystery of what they have lived through in this year's most devestatingly enrapting yet intellectually difficult film.
Written, Directed and Starring Shane Carruth, the creator of the even more challenging and diamond in the rough film "Primer (2004), Upstream Color is engrossing in its sounds, visuals and philosophies. It does not shy from human compassion, human violence, Earthly beauty and natural savageness. There are flavors of Terrance Mallick here, of Croenenberg or Lynch, yet with a scientifically analytical mind so present in his films and yet with a clarity of structure that was lacking in Primer which made that film both more mysterious and harder to follow for lay people.
But make no mistake, Color is also mind dredging, with its musical and sonic landscapes milking your psyche for moods and superbly lowbudget use of a short field of focus cinematography creating a dreamscape and juxtoposition of both our natural lives and proclivities and the ones that society has yoked us with. Luckily the film is highly subjective, and an enriching experience can be had by all viewers. Perhaps the more you think about UC the more you get out of it, much like Primer before it; except without the dry science fiction, but real human (and inter species) relationships.
8.5 Huggable Pigs out of 10 (GREAT)
"Each drink is better than the last"
A woman forced to take a parasitic worm finds herself under the physical and mental control of a robber who takes her for all she is worth. Years later, after surviving the ordeal she still finds her life in pieces, but upon meeting a mutual survivor a relationship is created with him that both contributes to and solves the mystery of what they have lived through in this year's most devestatingly enrapting yet intellectually difficult film.
Written, Directed and Starring Shane Carruth, the creator of the even more challenging and diamond in the rough film "Primer (2004), Upstream Color is engrossing in its sounds, visuals and philosophies. It does not shy from human compassion, human violence, Earthly beauty and natural savageness. There are flavors of Terrance Mallick here, of Croenenberg or Lynch, yet with a scientifically analytical mind so present in his films and yet with a clarity of structure that was lacking in Primer which made that film both more mysterious and harder to follow for lay people.
But make no mistake, Color is also mind dredging, with its musical and sonic landscapes milking your psyche for moods and superbly lowbudget use of a short field of focus cinematography creating a dreamscape and juxtoposition of both our natural lives and proclivities and the ones that society has yoked us with. Luckily the film is highly subjective, and an enriching experience can be had by all viewers. Perhaps the more you think about UC the more you get out of it, much like Primer before it; except without the dry science fiction, but real human (and inter species) relationships.
8.5 Huggable Pigs out of 10 (GREAT)
The Act of Killing (2012)
The Act of Killing (NR)
"When In Jakarta"
Chilling documentary that doubles as surreal window into the cold blooded heart of humanity. Peeking into the ramifications of the wholesale murder of a half million minorities and political in 1960-65 Indonesia, an act that is still celebrated to this day. Their leaders, the executors and their children dance in the streets as their military dictatorship upholds them as heroes and legends. When a director and film crew begin to peel back the layers and ask the propagators of violence to document their heroic deeds, one among them begins to emerge as a man possessed of tremendous guilt.
The reenactments are beautiful, outsider-art affairs, shot with delicate beauty and supreme craftsmanship. This is in stark contrast to the words, their descriptions of the massacres are in the spirit of the winners make the rules. However talking on camera is Anwar, one of those revered heroes, is obviously filled with deep seated regret and horror at his supposed accomplishments. He breaks down as he simulates how the murders took place, becomes distraught as he puts himself in the literal shoes of his victims. This is a man of such extreme guilt in the face of nationwide praise that his struggle towards confession is remarkable. Partnered with the phantasmic cross-dressing musical-dance troupe recreations, this trek down the dark alleys of human psyche is a shadowed one way street.
If the Nazis had triumphed in World War II, and if a film crew had asked an elderly Eichmann to discuss the "wonderous" slaying of 6 millions Jews and recreate the victories using musical theater, and who then began to have pangs of conscience about the blood on his hands on camera, this is that documentary, giving us a one-in-a-kind opportunity into the mind of a ennobled mass-killer.
7.5 Glorious Rallies out of 10 (GOOD)
"When In Jakarta"
Chilling documentary that doubles as surreal window into the cold blooded heart of humanity. Peeking into the ramifications of the wholesale murder of a half million minorities and political in 1960-65 Indonesia, an act that is still celebrated to this day. Their leaders, the executors and their children dance in the streets as their military dictatorship upholds them as heroes and legends. When a director and film crew begin to peel back the layers and ask the propagators of violence to document their heroic deeds, one among them begins to emerge as a man possessed of tremendous guilt.
The reenactments are beautiful, outsider-art affairs, shot with delicate beauty and supreme craftsmanship. This is in stark contrast to the words, their descriptions of the massacres are in the spirit of the winners make the rules. However talking on camera is Anwar, one of those revered heroes, is obviously filled with deep seated regret and horror at his supposed accomplishments. He breaks down as he simulates how the murders took place, becomes distraught as he puts himself in the literal shoes of his victims. This is a man of such extreme guilt in the face of nationwide praise that his struggle towards confession is remarkable. Partnered with the phantasmic cross-dressing musical-dance troupe recreations, this trek down the dark alleys of human psyche is a shadowed one way street.
If the Nazis had triumphed in World War II, and if a film crew had asked an elderly Eichmann to discuss the "wonderous" slaying of 6 millions Jews and recreate the victories using musical theater, and who then began to have pangs of conscience about the blood on his hands on camera, this is that documentary, giving us a one-in-a-kind opportunity into the mind of a ennobled mass-killer.
7.5 Glorious Rallies out of 10 (GOOD)
Holy Motors (2012)
Holy Motors (NR) - Review
"Holy *#@$&"
A chameleon like man must keep 9 bizarre appointments in and around Paris ranging from sexualized motion capture performing and sewer trolling for fashion models. You'll never know what will happen next, and you won't know if you care about it or not. The make up is impressive and the camera shows an unblinking love of France. When a filmmaker sets out to make a weird, strange flick like this, the only review I can offer is that it was worth the effort of making it. The pleasure of experiencing the oddity unfettered by spoilers or impressions is a must. The pretentions may over analyze and dissect, and director may have higher pretentions for his work beyond a simple freak show. Perhaps it all has some deeper meaning about life and the act of acting your role. Or it's just a bearded lady who'll take your two-bits for a peek.
7 Full Grown Leprechauns out of 10 (GOOD)
"Holy *#@$&"
A chameleon like man must keep 9 bizarre appointments in and around Paris ranging from sexualized motion capture performing and sewer trolling for fashion models. You'll never know what will happen next, and you won't know if you care about it or not. The make up is impressive and the camera shows an unblinking love of France. When a filmmaker sets out to make a weird, strange flick like this, the only review I can offer is that it was worth the effort of making it. The pleasure of experiencing the oddity unfettered by spoilers or impressions is a must. The pretentions may over analyze and dissect, and director may have higher pretentions for his work beyond a simple freak show. Perhaps it all has some deeper meaning about life and the act of acting your role. Or it's just a bearded lady who'll take your two-bits for a peek.
7 Full Grown Leprechauns out of 10 (GOOD)
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012)
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (R) Review
"The Bonfire of the Absurdities"
Tim and Eric bring their basic cable grade bizarro comedy stylings to the bigscreen with T&EB$M, a profoundly stupid yet questionably funny film about the duo losing a billion dollars to an evil corporation that funded their movie within a movie and then who try to recoup their losses by running a derelict mall filled with degenerates and social outcasts before the evil corp takes it out on them and their mothers. The results is a circus of depravity and truly macabre that would make any fetish convention organizer flinch with a smirk.
This isn't winking at the camera, this is rapidly flipping the bare light bulbs on an off as they chew off your firmly planted tongue in cheek. An entire film is for sure beyond the scope of their comedy M.O., they excel at short strangely produced/edited clips that repetitiously hook your brain and torture you with awkward laughter. Not much of that carries over here (since it was a completely separate property and devoid of those licenses) except the Cable-Access TV Show/InnerCorporate Video aesthetic shines though. There is a forecast for the possibility of chortles, chuckles and maybe even laughs but your mileage, and ability to withstand shrim, may vary.
The cast is actually filled with A-listers hamming it up to an almost unacceptable degree which does add to the fun. The story line has been much derided in the press, but how can you point out the plot is bad when Tim and Eric's whole shtick is being able to consistently create skits feverishly "so bad its good, on purpose", one of the rarest and hardest kinds of comedy to pull off. Somehow pulling it off is what Tim and Eric were made for.
5.5 Fish Hook No No's out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
"The Bonfire of the Absurdities"
Tim and Eric bring their basic cable grade bizarro comedy stylings to the bigscreen with T&EB$M, a profoundly stupid yet questionably funny film about the duo losing a billion dollars to an evil corporation that funded their movie within a movie and then who try to recoup their losses by running a derelict mall filled with degenerates and social outcasts before the evil corp takes it out on them and their mothers. The results is a circus of depravity and truly macabre that would make any fetish convention organizer flinch with a smirk.
This isn't winking at the camera, this is rapidly flipping the bare light bulbs on an off as they chew off your firmly planted tongue in cheek. An entire film is for sure beyond the scope of their comedy M.O., they excel at short strangely produced/edited clips that repetitiously hook your brain and torture you with awkward laughter. Not much of that carries over here (since it was a completely separate property and devoid of those licenses) except the Cable-Access TV Show/InnerCorporate Video aesthetic shines though. There is a forecast for the possibility of chortles, chuckles and maybe even laughs but your mileage, and ability to withstand shrim, may vary.
The cast is actually filled with A-listers hamming it up to an almost unacceptable degree which does add to the fun. The story line has been much derided in the press, but how can you point out the plot is bad when Tim and Eric's whole shtick is being able to consistently create skits feverishly "so bad its good, on purpose", one of the rarest and hardest kinds of comedy to pull off. Somehow pulling it off is what Tim and Eric were made for.
5.5 Fish Hook No No's out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)
The FP (2011)
The FP (R) - Review
"What's a town with no ducks?"
Delightfully silly parody of the "dance off" movie genre, this ultra low budget farce makes up for its shortcomings with exuberance and dry humor. The FP is short for Frazier Park, and is a city under control of a gang of thugs since local champion BTRO was killed by his rival L Double E a year ago. Killed by playing BEAT BEAT REVOLUTION, a DDR clone with lethal after effects that the youths use to settle conflicts and estrablish the pecking order. When JTRO returns to town looking to avenge his brother, he find The FP has become a shell of its former self, a town where L Double E is in control of the liqour supply, causing a shortage of food for ducks in the park. After some montages and warm up matches, JTRO is finally able to try for revenge, and for love.
The entire movie has a dialect all its own, a sort of surburban white ebonics that is at first intentionally jarring but one soon adjusts and finds it adds to the overall fun and ambience to the film. It takes work to enjoy this, just like all the practicing and teenaged boy sweat one must wade through to get a perfect score on DDR in an arcade, the cost of which is probably pretty close to the overall budget of the film. Tiring, yet with warm glow of energy (and quarters) well spent.
6.5 Eyepatch Heros out of 10 (GOOD)
"What's a town with no ducks?"
Delightfully silly parody of the "dance off" movie genre, this ultra low budget farce makes up for its shortcomings with exuberance and dry humor. The FP is short for Frazier Park, and is a city under control of a gang of thugs since local champion BTRO was killed by his rival L Double E a year ago. Killed by playing BEAT BEAT REVOLUTION, a DDR clone with lethal after effects that the youths use to settle conflicts and estrablish the pecking order. When JTRO returns to town looking to avenge his brother, he find The FP has become a shell of its former self, a town where L Double E is in control of the liqour supply, causing a shortage of food for ducks in the park. After some montages and warm up matches, JTRO is finally able to try for revenge, and for love.
The entire movie has a dialect all its own, a sort of surburban white ebonics that is at first intentionally jarring but one soon adjusts and finds it adds to the overall fun and ambience to the film. It takes work to enjoy this, just like all the practicing and teenaged boy sweat one must wade through to get a perfect score on DDR in an arcade, the cost of which is probably pretty close to the overall budget of the film. Tiring, yet with warm glow of energy (and quarters) well spent.
6.5 Eyepatch Heros out of 10 (GOOD)
Amer (2009)
Amer (NR) - Review
"Threw the Looking Glass"
In the tradition of classical giallo films comes Amer, a french retro throwback to the violent psychological Italian thrillers of the 1970s. A young girl is traumatized and the memory haunts and shapes the rest of her life as she attempts to avoid the jagged edges of her subconscious mind.
Trippy visuals combined with a lack of dialogue and LCD laced music cues create a deliciously heavy mood as our heroine moves from erotic fantasy to estranged reality in the wink of an eye. Don't expect a rational story, don't demand a narrative or plot and just let your mind's eye absorb. This is a film for watching, experience and experiment, to attempt to answer your own questions when the smoking caterpillar offers you the pipe.
7.5 Eyeball Closeups out of 10 (GOOD)
"Threw the Looking Glass"
In the tradition of classical giallo films comes Amer, a french retro throwback to the violent psychological Italian thrillers of the 1970s. A young girl is traumatized and the memory haunts and shapes the rest of her life as she attempts to avoid the jagged edges of her subconscious mind.
Trippy visuals combined with a lack of dialogue and LCD laced music cues create a deliciously heavy mood as our heroine moves from erotic fantasy to estranged reality in the wink of an eye. Don't expect a rational story, don't demand a narrative or plot and just let your mind's eye absorb. This is a film for watching, experience and experiment, to attempt to answer your own questions when the smoking caterpillar offers you the pipe.
7.5 Eyeball Closeups out of 10 (GOOD)
Trash Humpers (2009)
Trash Humpers (NR) - Review
"Yes, they do."
Never has the title of a movie been so accurate. Harmony Korine, strange filmologist extraordinaire, brings us this mockumentary about strange elderly creatures who patrol the night looking for Trash to, yes... hump. Depravity amidst shaky handheld homevideo is the motif and it will go beyond your appetite for bizarre buffet. It is presented and intended to be like a found VHS tape you discovered in the gutter of a thrift store. You gather your friends, pop it in dad's VCR and experience the unknown. Only for the interested and the experienced, Trash Humpers has too few of the expected genuinely odd Korine moments that might lead to a recommendation, the film is made to outtrash Jack Ass (boy does it ever) and is as memorable as a stumbled upon crime scene. Sometimes its ok to look away.
3.5 Rubber Masks out of 10 (BAD)
"Yes, they do."
Never has the title of a movie been so accurate. Harmony Korine, strange filmologist extraordinaire, brings us this mockumentary about strange elderly creatures who patrol the night looking for Trash to, yes... hump. Depravity amidst shaky handheld homevideo is the motif and it will go beyond your appetite for bizarre buffet. It is presented and intended to be like a found VHS tape you discovered in the gutter of a thrift store. You gather your friends, pop it in dad's VCR and experience the unknown. Only for the interested and the experienced, Trash Humpers has too few of the expected genuinely odd Korine moments that might lead to a recommendation, the film is made to outtrash Jack Ass (boy does it ever) and is as memorable as a stumbled upon crime scene. Sometimes its ok to look away.
3.5 Rubber Masks out of 10 (BAD)
Bad Biology (2008)
Bad Biology (UR)
"Sick and Violence"
Director Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case) once again jumps feet first into the horror-comedy genre, this time about two mutant freaky-freaks whose genetic-anomaly-genitals can kill. Tinted with hip-hop, bizarre laughs and truly twisted sexual violence (the male member stalking women ala Jaws-the-inch-worm was quite memorable), Bad Biology is neither standard fare nor palatable. It has some of that good ol' Henenlotter charm but the 2000's is a hard millennium for Frank's chosen field of bloody gut churning laughter. Ejaculating blood and other bodily fluids into the eye of Political Correctness Police may squeeze a giggle out of Frank but the rest of us are outside the joke.
4.5 Wheres the Killer Condom when you need it? Out of 10 (BAD)
"Sick and Violence"
Director Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case) once again jumps feet first into the horror-comedy genre, this time about two mutant freaky-freaks whose genetic-anomaly-genitals can kill. Tinted with hip-hop, bizarre laughs and truly twisted sexual violence (the male member stalking women ala Jaws-the-inch-worm was quite memorable), Bad Biology is neither standard fare nor palatable. It has some of that good ol' Henenlotter charm but the 2000's is a hard millennium for Frank's chosen field of bloody gut churning laughter. Ejaculating blood and other bodily fluids into the eye of Political Correctness Police may squeeze a giggle out of Frank but the rest of us are outside the joke.
4.5 Wheres the Killer Condom when you need it? Out of 10 (BAD)
Sin City (2005)
Sin City (R) - Review
"Family Values"
A city populated by criminals, victims, prostitutes and macho men. A neo-noir slugfest of questionable morals exploding onto the screen in black and white (and red and yellow).
Brought to life from the pages of comic-book legend Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror) directs the maniacs and femme-fatales into a whirlwind of bloody knuckles and smoking barrels. Based mostly on The Hard Kill and That Yellow Bastard, the film is almost a panel for panel, shot for shot translation instead of adaptation. The dedication to the look and feel works tremendously, especially with Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis fleshing out the iconic roles of Marv and Hartigan. Mickey's role is the linchpin as Marv, a pyscho with a hell of a jaw. Rourke is perfect for the tremendous tough guy, and the prosthesis bring out his jawline and his brow wonderfully, much like Perlman's make up on Hellboy brought the character to true life. Meanwhile Bruce is the prototypical sacrificial good cop Hartigan, chasing a demonic politically-protected pervert (one of the most unique villains ever put to paper and somehow brought to screen perfectly by actor Nick Stall and a lot of yellow tinting). The rest of the cast supports them to a great degree, Elijah Wood playing against type as an unstoppable killer, Rosario Dawson as a S&M leather clad enforcer, Rutger Hauer as a sinful bishop, Benicio Del Toro as a dead sleezeball, the cast really is terrific. Even Quentin Tarrantino got in on the fun, stepping in to direct a scene or two without breaking style.
A couple of duds should be mentioned however. Sometimes the green screen limits the action and creates some awkward compositing, and not every member of the cast sparkles. There can be a wish for more of an intercutting between the stories than the existing one-at-a-time framework. Having to wait through the half-slog of Clive Owen's Dwight to see the conclusion of Hartigan is a bit of a drag, slipping through the series' true star Marv so early on is a bit of a let down. As direct of a translation as it is most of the mysoginy and strange femme-power from the book makes it onscreen and won't be everyone's cup of teeth. Still, the rapid highs overshadow it's lows, and Sin City has no place for grey area. Either you are all in or you are out, and damn the consequences.
8 Hatchet Noses out of 10 (GREAT)
"Family Values"
A city populated by criminals, victims, prostitutes and macho men. A neo-noir slugfest of questionable morals exploding onto the screen in black and white (and red and yellow).
Brought to life from the pages of comic-book legend Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror) directs the maniacs and femme-fatales into a whirlwind of bloody knuckles and smoking barrels. Based mostly on The Hard Kill and That Yellow Bastard, the film is almost a panel for panel, shot for shot translation instead of adaptation. The dedication to the look and feel works tremendously, especially with Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis fleshing out the iconic roles of Marv and Hartigan. Mickey's role is the linchpin as Marv, a pyscho with a hell of a jaw. Rourke is perfect for the tremendous tough guy, and the prosthesis bring out his jawline and his brow wonderfully, much like Perlman's make up on Hellboy brought the character to true life. Meanwhile Bruce is the prototypical sacrificial good cop Hartigan, chasing a demonic politically-protected pervert (one of the most unique villains ever put to paper and somehow brought to screen perfectly by actor Nick Stall and a lot of yellow tinting). The rest of the cast supports them to a great degree, Elijah Wood playing against type as an unstoppable killer, Rosario Dawson as a S&M leather clad enforcer, Rutger Hauer as a sinful bishop, Benicio Del Toro as a dead sleezeball, the cast really is terrific. Even Quentin Tarrantino got in on the fun, stepping in to direct a scene or two without breaking style.
A couple of duds should be mentioned however. Sometimes the green screen limits the action and creates some awkward compositing, and not every member of the cast sparkles. There can be a wish for more of an intercutting between the stories than the existing one-at-a-time framework. Having to wait through the half-slog of Clive Owen's Dwight to see the conclusion of Hartigan is a bit of a drag, slipping through the series' true star Marv so early on is a bit of a let down. As direct of a translation as it is most of the mysoginy and strange femme-power from the book makes it onscreen and won't be everyone's cup of teeth. Still, the rapid highs overshadow it's lows, and Sin City has no place for grey area. Either you are all in or you are out, and damn the consequences.
8 Hatchet Noses out of 10 (GREAT)
The Calimari Wrestler (2005)
The Calamari Wrestler (NR) - Review
"8 Tentacles, 1 Heart"
Strange Japanese cinema is alive and squirming. This buffet of the bizarre serves up deliciously zany costumes, plot points and characterizations. It's all played extremely straight faced which is most of the fun. Where else can you see a 8 foot tall squid pro wrestle and then explain his personal problems dramatically to his beautiful girlfriend? What is the mystery of the Calamari, and who are all these outlandish opponents that our hero must defeat? One joke movie that works the whole way through, just don't expect anything beyond deep fried junk and you'll be satisfied.
6 Squid Kisses out of 10 (GOOD)
"8 Tentacles, 1 Heart"
Strange Japanese cinema is alive and squirming. This buffet of the bizarre serves up deliciously zany costumes, plot points and characterizations. It's all played extremely straight faced which is most of the fun. Where else can you see a 8 foot tall squid pro wrestle and then explain his personal problems dramatically to his beautiful girlfriend? What is the mystery of the Calamari, and who are all these outlandish opponents that our hero must defeat? One joke movie that works the whole way through, just don't expect anything beyond deep fried junk and you'll be satisfied.
6 Squid Kisses out of 10 (GOOD)
Primer (2004)
Primer (R) - Review
"See Jack Time Travel"
When the lack of audible audio in your film contributes to the palpable tension already causing your viewers to shred their fingernails you have the paradox that is Primer. When a garage startup of engineers stumble upon the confusing probability of time travel, they quickly begin to self implode as the crisscrossing timelines and power plays lead to stress induced head aches for the home viewer. Complicated doesn't begin to explain the plot that is purposely left vague by the filmmakers to not only lead to audience self-discovery but to plug holes left by its enormously small budget. You certainly won't be "talked down to" by the filmmakers, in fact many will feel like they've missed the conversation entirely! You have to strive to understand what is happening just as your ears have to strain to hear what is being said, leading to a movie that is equally frustrating as it is satisfying when you feel you "get it", even if its a couple days after viewin. This is a daunting math problem of a film that has achieved a deeply cult status through an understanding that something can be more than the sum of it's parts, especially when there are unknown variables involved.
6 Menacing Storage Units out of 10 (GOOD)
"See Jack Time Travel"
When the lack of audible audio in your film contributes to the palpable tension already causing your viewers to shred their fingernails you have the paradox that is Primer. When a garage startup of engineers stumble upon the confusing probability of time travel, they quickly begin to self implode as the crisscrossing timelines and power plays lead to stress induced head aches for the home viewer. Complicated doesn't begin to explain the plot that is purposely left vague by the filmmakers to not only lead to audience self-discovery but to plug holes left by its enormously small budget. You certainly won't be "talked down to" by the filmmakers, in fact many will feel like they've missed the conversation entirely! You have to strive to understand what is happening just as your ears have to strain to hear what is being said, leading to a movie that is equally frustrating as it is satisfying when you feel you "get it", even if its a couple days after viewin. This is a daunting math problem of a film that has achieved a deeply cult status through an understanding that something can be more than the sum of it's parts, especially when there are unknown variables involved.
6 Menacing Storage Units out of 10 (GOOD)
Fear X (2003)
Fear X (PG-13) - Review
"X marks the Spot"
Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn's (Drive) first foray into American cinema was the 2003 mystery film Fear X, a brooding yet unsatisfying tale of obsession and blood told with a truly terse style and steady hand yet rejected by the majority of the public as it showcased two of Refn's favorite genres, surrealism and the art house film's nihilism towards standard plotting.
Leading the cast is the ramrod mall cop Harry (John Turtorro), who's wife murder he is slavishly investigating. Harry watches the surveillance tapes obsessively, looking for every possible clue in the low-resolution vhs dubs, scans the halls of commerce for familiar faces and motivations, and ultimately leads him (maybe) to the conspiracy of his wife's death. The overwhelming sense of dread and discovery to the film is wonderful, tracking Harry through this adventure is a nail pulling experience, and many who lived through that tale are put off by its art-house vagueness of its ending, where it is up to the home viewer to decide what happened and why. It does come as a shock since much of it's first hour is delivered as a fairly standard detective story, but the severe surrealism, dream sequences and shock lighting schemes should serve as a clue to it's eventual arty crash of traditional narrative.
Showing signs of the genius and unconventional voice of Refn's style (X is an obvious precursor to his later Only God Forgives, both in construction and audience acceptance), the director borrows liberally from Kubrick's The Shining and Lynch's Blue Velvet mixed with Coen's Fargo to carve out his own niche in film oddities for his US debut. It works, it gets under your skin and rattles your cage, but perhaps it being neutered with a lukewarm PG-13 and a unnaturally vague ending (further frustrating the viewer is that the surrounding characters are discussing what happened and what it means and yet we cannot hear them), Fear X is more of a film-theory than a full-fledged film experiment. Results will vary, but the side effects may be worth it.
6 "Undecipherable visual montages to transition your film ending are soooo 2001:ASO, Refn" out of 10 (GOOD)
"X marks the Spot"
Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn's (Drive) first foray into American cinema was the 2003 mystery film Fear X, a brooding yet unsatisfying tale of obsession and blood told with a truly terse style and steady hand yet rejected by the majority of the public as it showcased two of Refn's favorite genres, surrealism and the art house film's nihilism towards standard plotting.
Leading the cast is the ramrod mall cop Harry (John Turtorro), who's wife murder he is slavishly investigating. Harry watches the surveillance tapes obsessively, looking for every possible clue in the low-resolution vhs dubs, scans the halls of commerce for familiar faces and motivations, and ultimately leads him (maybe) to the conspiracy of his wife's death. The overwhelming sense of dread and discovery to the film is wonderful, tracking Harry through this adventure is a nail pulling experience, and many who lived through that tale are put off by its art-house vagueness of its ending, where it is up to the home viewer to decide what happened and why. It does come as a shock since much of it's first hour is delivered as a fairly standard detective story, but the severe surrealism, dream sequences and shock lighting schemes should serve as a clue to it's eventual arty crash of traditional narrative.
Showing signs of the genius and unconventional voice of Refn's style (X is an obvious precursor to his later Only God Forgives, both in construction and audience acceptance), the director borrows liberally from Kubrick's The Shining and Lynch's Blue Velvet mixed with Coen's Fargo to carve out his own niche in film oddities for his US debut. It works, it gets under your skin and rattles your cage, but perhaps it being neutered with a lukewarm PG-13 and a unnaturally vague ending (further frustrating the viewer is that the surrounding characters are discussing what happened and what it means and yet we cannot hear them), Fear X is more of a film-theory than a full-fledged film experiment. Results will vary, but the side effects may be worth it.
6 "Undecipherable visual montages to transition your film ending are soooo 2001:ASO, Refn" out of 10 (GOOD)
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About Me
- Kevin Gasaway via HardDrawn
- Turlock, California, United States
- Media and Reviews by Kevin Gasaway