Collect and Critique

The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola - 1974) - 8/10

2010-02-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

The Conversation - 8/10

During Francis Ford Coppola's winning streak behind the camera in the 70's, he decided to diligently craft his time wisely between his first two Godfather masterpieces by writing, producing, and directing 'The Conversation' in 1974. In conjunction with his acclaim and success from playing the lead in William Freidkin's 'The French Connection', it seems Gene Hackman was also at his winning streak. 'The Conversation' is one hell of a subtle film in comparison with its peer politically-driven thrillers of that particular decade, like John Schlesinger's 'Marathon Man', Alan Pakula's 'All The President's Men', Bernardo Bertolucci's 'The Conformist', Sydney Lumet's 'Network', and Michealangelo Antonioini's 'The Passenger', to name a few. Our protagonist, played by a strategic, calculating, and highly secretive Gene Hackman, is a freelance wire-tapper whose morality is at stake when he's offered $15,000 to tap into a top-dog executive's (played by Robert Duvall in minimal screen time) wife and her conversations with a man who she may or may not be having an affair with. The morality plays in through feeling responsible for the death of a politician's family after uncovering dirty secrets by his own hired wire-tapping. More individuals become increasingly threatening to his secrecy, heightening his paranoia in a way that would give Roman Polanski a few creative ideas. We experience this centrally through his interactions with women; how words are misshapen into intrusions to his secrecy, which runs him off from relationships altogether. Coppola's slow-boiling thriller is the summary of an alienated man, completely alone in the world as a result of the line of work he chose to pursue - and it's more than just the financial stability of a paycheck, but more his passion and artistry of being breakthrough in up-to-date wire-tapping technology, and creating new methods of intrusion. 'The Conversation' is an absolute predecessor to the recent Academy Award-winning German film 'The Lives of Others' - both coldly attempting to examine the impenetrable man of secrecy at arm's length. Coppola's film doesn't exactly live up to its peer films of its decade, playing the more conventional card against considerably unorthodox approaches to films with politically-driven plots , yet that's saying very little considering the bar being set at a maximum by directors of more artistically paralyzing, more liberal background (a la Antonioni, Bertolucci, and Schlesinger).

The Red Riding Trilogy (2009-2010 - Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, Anand Tucker) - 8/10

2010-02-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

David Peace created a series of books based on a series of murders and abductions in Yorkshire, Britain through-out the 70's and 80's. Dubbed "the Yorkshire Ripper", the killer struck at young children, where the name of the series obviously alludes to a Big Bad Wolf preying on many Little Red Riding Hoods. The films, like the books, are divided by years of importance: '1974', '1980', and '1983', and took British television by storm initially, only to be officially released as films in 2010:

'1974' (Julian Jarrold) - 9.5/10
'1980' (James Marsh) - 5/10
'1983' (Anand Tucker) - 8/10

'1974' is clearly the most dominant by avenue of art, definition of genre, sense of time and setting, bold characterization, and damn good mystery. As an opener to the trilogy, it's undoubtedly the most involved, despite its same running time as the following two installments. We investigate through a young rookie journalist named Eddie Dunford, attempting to solve a missing child case, protruding the forces against him in a portrayal which immediately recalls Lars Von Trier's trilogy - 'Element of Crime', 'Europa', and 'Zentropa' - of idealists swimming against the waves of foreign policy to change the wrongs into rights yet leave completely empty-handed. '1974' gives a less daring attempt at film noir, yet it knows what it wants to be, and wears its derivatives intelligently. Conventional, it may be, but we're given all the elements of film noir - the lead gum-shoe, the femme fatale (the mother of the missing child Eddie falls for), and the corrupt world that descends upon our gum-shoe. This corrupt world takes a menacing increase through-out the story - a corrupt world by way of Yorkshire's dirty-handed law enforcement, which makes suspicious ins and outs within the trilogy's entirety. Filmed delicately with enticingly lush cinematography and moving, orchestral score, 'Red Riding: 1974' may be one of the finest things to happen to all things neo-noir. Its attention paid to detail forces us to live and breathe the 1970's, while maintaining the dark, dreary belly of a crime-ridden Britain. Think 'Blue Velvet' and 'Zodiac' for a starting point of comparison, though less monumental. With a carnage-fueled ending of fire-fights, we're left with fingers pointing to few people outside of the law enforcement. '1980' is less an art film, and more an extended episode of 'Law and Order'. Peter Hunter is a detective hired into the already-running case of the 'Yorkshire Ripper', yet finds himself entangled in the fruitlessness of the corruption surrounding him. It proves obviously the least entertaining of the three, yet also proves a vital role to the trilogy solely by revisit of a key character from '1974' who was seemingly unimportant at first, but then takes on a person of central focus. Despite its small pay-off, this film is bland - reminding me of the banal detective moments from the 'Saw' films, unfortunately. There's relatively little action, but a great deal of evidence "hoo-hah" discussion in the crime labs. '1983' resurrects the trilogy with some life - a lawyer sets out to investigate through the interviewing of a mentally-challenged man who was forced to take the fall for being the murderer despite his innocence. The increasing invincibility of the corrupt West Yorkshire police department interferes more and more with finding the true killer, and Maurice Jobson, a copper dealing with the guilt, struggles with setting himself apart from the rest for the common good of the investigation. This installment returns to the artistic, character-driven seeds planted by the nearly flawless '1974', yet still jumbles in meandering copper dialogue less extreme than '1980'. For the first time, the trilogy begins to boldly take on the emotional loss of missing children, whereas the first two barely touched on it. Perhaps when viewed as a trilogy, this sharp suddenness proves effective, and somehow tasteful. Finally, we're presented with the missing emotional intensity through brave character reflection and the best, most magnetic ending imaginable. Where the 'Red Riding Trilogy' may not fit the shoes of the 'Godfather' saga, it definitely embarks on stimulating and challenging territory, especially for independent cinema - as indie directors take on conventional ideas. However, in accord with David Peace's series of novels, I would have loved to see an expansion on the case of 1977, which is barely grazed upon at the beginning of the '1983' film. If there's a novel for it, there damn sure could have been another appetizing film for it. Beware though, it looks like Ridley Scott is already entitled to the rights for a US remake. Don't expect much from it - instead, get your hands on this at all costs.

Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese - 2010) - 6/10

2010-02-21T21:40:00.000-08:00

Martin Scorsese has made his profound mark in just about every defined genre of film: drama, crime drama, action, period piece, biopic, comedy, romance, musical, documentary; one can assume that after nearly 50 years of being well-respected behind the lens, that he could (and would) finally grace our thirsty eyes for a good, sinister horror film, right? 'Shutter Island' is his moment of truth. Based on a Dennis Lehane novel, it tells of two men of U.S. Marshall rank - Teddy Daniels (played by a pitch-perfect Bostonian Leonardo Dicaprio) and Chuck Aule (played by a genuinely slick, and effortless Mark Ruffalo) - ordered to investigate an escape patient/prisoner at an almost Alcatraz-esque, psychiatric- ward-slash-prison on a rocky, remote island off the Massachusetts coast. They slowly discover some strange, dubious activity going on with the psychiatrists and their methods of "respectful" treatment - throwing Teddy in a psychological shark pool, where the torments of his past as a World War II soldier who took the lives of several Nazi officials, and the death of his wife make ins and outs through a hallucinatory revolving door of the mind; you begin to question: is this all real? Teddy undergoes a great deal of well-pronounced instances of paranoia-driven fear, which recalls some of the more classic, more perfect moments of horror cinema from the likes of 'The Shining' and 'Jacob's Ladder'. This may be the one film where Scorsese plays his Tarantino card - is this neo-noir? horror? Hitchcock-ian mystery? drama? It's certainly not as heavy-handed - in fact, the genre-bending is performed to perfection. In a sense of Hitchcock, we spiral downward to our protagonist's center, where his fears and his past become one - but by the time 'Shutter Island' achieves its conclusive realization, I began to question if the sharp emphasis on these recollections even serve a purpose? His time as a World War II soldier shows little importance aside from his lack of desire to ever kill another human being and the fact that the unsettling atmosphere of the island itself is a similar revisiting of something like the Nazi concentration camps he once embarked - but Mr. Scorsese, why all the World War II emphasis? Though I haven't read Dennis Lehane's novel, I can only assume this to be a poor choice in adaptation - where it normally bothers me when film-goers will swear up and down how "THE BOOK IS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE GODDAMNIT!" - well, of course! Being that films have production restrictions to how much they can cram into a two-hour screentime, whereas books can devote chapter after chapter into description to visually guide the mind. Scorsese's adaptation choices in emphasis, though magnificent in articulation, were slightly poor, unless I'm completely misunderstanding the significance. What should have been a masterpiece starts to take on many undesirable faults. We are traced through a brilliant developmental stage about two-thirds of the way through, decorated with lavish, exquisite detail in beautifully melancholy setting and environment, marvelously delicate cinematography, bravo acting, and careful pacing which whiplashes back and forth from mental paranoia to reality; but then, the film results in formulating another film inside the film to explain the film. Basically, we're presented with four endings too many, with elementary explanation mechanisms completely unexpected from the likes of Martin Scorsese's cinematic brainwork. There are also a couple of nightmarish, hallucinatory recollections Teddy endures where the crew had a bit too much fun with CGI technology: most recognizably a scene in which Teddy holds his wife in a deteriorating room of fire, where she crumbles into ash - If you ever watched Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones', you will understand what I mean when I declare that such fascination with advances in cinemasturbatory magic should by no means be a substitute for the organic conveying of simple human emotion, unless your name is Darren Aronofsky, and you directed a film called 'The Fountain'. This particular dream sequence ruined any possible emotional magnetism by the heavy hand of digital play. The "Wow" factor wore off quick. This brings to mind how Scorsese was truly never known for repeat cinematic moments of raw, gut-wrenching emotion. He wouldn't be one to bring tears to your eyes, aside from maybe 'Raging Bull' or 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'. He usually just delivers a damn good story with a damn good script, with an abundance in damn good memorable moments, and that's damn fine with me. Read any review on 'Shutter Island' and you may find it nearly impossible for the critic to refrain from mentioning Scorsese's near-perfect body of work, which may provide leeway for some of this film's faults and imperfections, and I must admit that it's difficult for me to disregard. I went into this in complete faith of it bearing the revival of Oscar caliber in horror films such as 'The Exorcist' and 'The Silence of the Lambs'; and while, yes, the production is one to adore, and the suspense had me captivated, but the directorial presentation and handling of its conclusion made me strongly question everything I just sat through. It's good horror, but certainly not great horror. Sorry, Mr. Scorsese, you may be summoned back to the dugout once again at the 2011 Academy Awards, as much as it pains me to say.

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold - 2009) - 9/10

2010-01-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to a hopeless and unforgiving underbelly within the newly-formed boundaries of British cinema dubbed "miserablism". Andrea Arnold writes and directs her latest 'Fish Tank' with an empathetic voice, about a 15-year old girl named Mia (played by newcomer Katie Jarvis in an intense, staggering debut) who aspires to become a hip-hop dancer, yet faces the dregs of her broken, apathetic upbringing alongside a younger sister by a single drunk slut of a mother. Mia, her mother, and her younger sister all dwell in this socially callous and abusive household environment. Her mother brings home a new boyfriend Connor, seductively played by Michael Fassbender, and things begin to complicate even further, as sexual tensions build between Mia and Connor. We eventually witness the anchors of living in a confined, nearly impoverished society getting the best of a young girl striving for ambition. Katie Jarvis gives Mia an undoubted "hardass" Brit character, harshly referring to everyone in her downtrodden path as the "C" word, picking fights with other girls who think they can dance hip hop, yet executing the kind of naivety you would expect from a 15-year old. She's a tough girl, taking matters into her own hands, and getting out of a situation almost as easily as she gets in; however, even the toughest gals succumb to social slavery, as dreams become unattainable. The film turns to what's most important: making a strong attempt to adjust and make things better before chasing dreams. I feel that the film's title instantly refers to the encased, and often ignored lower-class society - a sort of a "sub-home" from what would be considered "ideal living standards" - analogous to a fish being enclosed in a fish tank as opposed to the sea, and although the film takes a similar shape as many of the recent indie film highlights released by IFC Films within the past 3 years, it plays uniquely like a more optimistic Catherine Breillat coming-of-age tale, believe it or not, much like how last year's 'Ballast' concluded with an ending which may have still been considered "depressing", yet it in all reality was a sign of some kind of hope through a time of hardship. 'Fish Tank' is a paralyzing, and interestingly slow-burning suspenseful coming-of-age portrayal worthy of recent praise.

IFC releases Gaspar Noe's 'Enter The Void'!!

2010-01-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

taken from IFC.com:

IFC Films, one of the leading American distributors of independent and foreign films, announced today it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Gaspar Noé’s ENTER THE VOID in advance of its upcoming U.S. premiere at Sundance in the Spotlight section. A surrealist drama about a drug-dealing teen killed in Japan, after which he reappears as a ghost to watch over his sister, ENTER THE VOID is a provocative yet contemplative exploration of life, death and sexuality

Noé’s follow-up to the 2002 award-winning and controversial film IRREVERSIBLE, ENTER THE VOID premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was also featured at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival. The film stars newcomers Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta (THE LIMITS OF CONTROL) and Cyril Roy.

IFC Films will release ENTER THE VOID in 2010 via its IFC in Theaters platform which brings critically-acclaimed independent movies to on-demand viewers at home the same day they premiere in theaters.

The deal for ENTER THE VOID was negotiated by Arianna Bocco from IFC Films with Carole Baraton of Wild Bunch.

Loosely inspired by the TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, ENTER THE VOID centers on Oscar and his sister Linda, recent arrivals in Tokyo. Oscar is a small time drug dealer, and Linda works as a nightclub stripper. One night, Oscar is caught up in a police bust and shot. As he lies dying, his spirit, faithful to the promise he made his sister - that he would never abandon her - refuses to abandon the world of the living. His spirit wanders through the city, his visions growing evermore distorted, evermore nightmarish. Past, present and future merge in a hallucinatory maelstrom.

Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment said, “ENTER THE VOID is an experience that is almost impossible to describe. Gaspar Noe is at the peak of his filmmaking powers with this film that is destined to become a cult classic. The entire team is thrilled to be working on this film and with Gaspar. It’s the perfect film for all of our platforms.”

Franco-Argentine filmmaker Gaspar Noé made his first film in 1991 with the short CARNE, an introduction to the character of the Butcher, played by Philippe Nahon. An angry man, the Butcher seeks revenge on whoever hurt his disabled daughter. After working as an actor, cinematographer, writer, and director on some other projects, Noé made his first feature film, I STAND ALONE, continuing the story of the Butcher after he does time in jail and abandons his daughter. In 2002, he made IRREVERSIBLE starring real-life married couple Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.

This is exciting news - though I am fairly certain this release may only consist of a heavily cut theatrical version as opposed to Gaspar Noe's 2 hour and 43 minute director's cut. 'Enter the Void' sounds like it'll be just as provocative and tastefully shocking as 'Irreversible'.

The Invasion (Oliver Hirschbiegel - 2007) - 7/10

2010-01-09T23:24:00.000-08:00

Outerspace microbes infecting the human population by the hundreds - Walter Wanger's classic sci-fi story 'The Invasion of the Body Snatchers' has been revisited time and time again, first in 1956 with Don Siegel's visual capture against Communism during Cold War tension, in 1978 with Phillip Kaufman's swing against the wave of hippie cult followings, in 1993 with Abel Ferrera's horrific observation of the widespread of the AIDs virus, and the latest from German director Oliver Hirschbiegel, simply titled 'The Invasion', which loudly and clearly stands against the war in Iraq - but this is where things become unclear. Nicole Kidman plays Carol Bennell, a divorced therapist with a young child who slowly watches the world around her become host to a contagiously zombifying microbe derived from a fallen space shuttle named 'The Patriot'. It is a virus which consumes your brain functions during REM sleep, and you soon become a nonchalant droid void of emotion or grasp on being "human". Carol Bennell becomes infected by her already-infected ex-husband, and has to stay awake with the aid of Mountain Dew (product placement), adrenaline shots, and uppers (pills), while saving her son from becoming one of them. Oh yeah, and there's also Daniel Craig as a doctor-slash-love interest of Carol Bennell - a character whose purpose is to be a medically-knowledgeable link to understanding this virus. Hirschbiegel's gritty, intense direction serves up an experience certainly worth watching, with an ending which suffers from unbelievable abruptness. Supposedly, the producers had issues with Hirschbiegel's original vision of the film, and had hired on someone else for re-shoots and script rewrites. Makes me wonder what we really missed out on, especially from a director who was behind an intelligently dark and complex nihilistic like 'Das Experiment' and a critically-acclaimed WWII piece like 'Downfall'. 'The Invasion' drops one too many obvious snippets of Iraq War references, as well as use of droiding pharmaceutical medication, centering our theme of de-humanization over those two aspects. The problem here is that there's a lack of a bridge between story and allegory. From the looks of it, we're supposed to protagonize the infected - if we were like them, as if we were medicated, we would be rid of war and crime, we would supposedly have nothing tragic to read about in the newspaper, and essentially, we would have no emotional extremes - especially hatred. It's quite baffling to thematically make heroes of the villains by subtext, but be completely different by context. Confusion aside, we are graced with grade "A" thrills and some potentially convincing shots of disturbing realism enveloped in traditional science fiction novelty.

Paris (Cedric Klapisch - 2008) - 8/10

2009-12-16T21:24:00.000-08:00

"An enormous city... with incalculable interconnections.."

This is how the city of 'Paris' is described within the film. Cedric Klapisch's moving study of desperation and the linking of inhabitants of such a large city. Last year's 'Paris Je'Taime' easily comes to mind - as it plays as an artful Parisian tour guide composed by several short films. 'Paris Je'Taime' explores the romantic side of Paris, France that we commercially know and daydream of. Klapisch's 'Paris' is the honest romanticism of the city - exploring what people take for granted and what people desire. Parisian love is still a struggle. This mosaic centers around Pierre - a former professional dancer who learns he is in need of a heart transplant at such a young age. He longs to experience love once more, as he feels that this could be the last of his remaining years of life. He is comforted and cared for by his older sister Elise (played by the elegant Juliette Binoche), who is newly divorced and looking for someone to fill a romantic void in her life. Along the way, we're taken into separate journeys involving a man from Africa making the move to Paris to meet back with a girl he loves, a famous historian and college professor who devilishly falls for an attractively student, the historian's brother who is an architect and his becoming a father for the first time, and then a fruit stand vendor recovering from a divorce who falls in love with Elise. In a way that recalls Paul Thomas Anderon's 'Magnolia' - each character hardly realize what they have and their gift of life, especially when Pierre's possibility of dying is put in perspective. The film's brilliant focus is on the different roles within society; detailed by teachers, small-business owners, entertainers, social workers, students, food vendors, etc - each a vital member of big-city society. A stunning study in characters accompanied by a sharp musical soundtrack make this a comforting film experience.

Tokyo Sonata (Kiyoshi Kurosawa - 2009) - 5/10

2009-12-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

Japanese cinema is a culture signified by strong visual poetry - certainly minimalist in dialogue, heavy in physical expression. Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a director with international and cultic praise from creating some of the decade's most valuable forays into the horror genre, and not to mention having a couple of his films re-made for American audiences. He tones the stage down considerably for his latest 'Tokyo Sonata' - a melodramatic take on perilous familial strife within the middle-to-upper class. Takashi is a businessman who loses his job, but tries to hide it from his family - living off unemployment checks and free food lined up for the homeless. His secrets begin to deteriorate his household of a wife and two sons - his wife becomes increasingly suspicious of Takashi's peculiar behavior, his youngest becomes a bully to his teacher and secretly uses his lunch money to pay for piano lessons behind his family's back, and his oldest son moves to America to join the military and deploy to Iraq. The chain reaction of events are miserably contrived and heavy-handed, and each person's departure is forced with very little screen time, barricading from much emotional magnetism. Each outcome is painfully more predictable than the last, and moments in despair are painfully expressed in elementary means - like Takashi walking down the street falling over one pile of trash after another crying his eyes out, for instance; much a pathetic attempt at expression! Eventually, each member of the family is either forced to transform or forces themselves to transform, all as a result of one vital loss in their environment: the father's career. You're granted an interesting benchmark for a film, but you constantly watch the film feeling as if there were too many lessons to be learned, instead of handling the plot cycle with delicate subtlety, and this is the greatest fault. The written dialogue in conjunction with the actors' on-screen delivery also suffer from the dullest of knives. However, where the film lacks in content, it is visually abundant in setting. The film does also end with a marvelously moving sequence, which orchestrally alludes to the film's title. If I were to express one culturally defining opinion - I would say that it's safe to infer that American and French cinema will have a promisingly leading hand in filming a dysfunctional family, and the worlds crumbling around them - especially after viewing such gems as Noah Baumbach's 'The Squid and the Whale' and Arnaud Desplehin's 'A Christmas Tale'.

Precious (Lee Daniels - 2009) - 9/10

2009-12-16T21:21:00.000-08:00

I somehow did not expect to see what I saw prior to watching this film when I read that this film was endorsed by Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. The automatic reaction I received was that this will be an overly-reserved Lifetime Original Movie. The public response I had heard from Sapphire's novel 'Push' was that of shocking realism that will haunt you each and every time you hear of a broken home. I will flat-out say that sitting through Lee Daniels' adaptation 'Precious' easily stands as one of the most harrowing and depressing experiences since maybe Darren Aronofsky's 'Requiem For A Dream' or Lars von Trier's 'Dancer in the Dark'. Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe plays our lead Claireece 'Precious' Jones, an obese and illiterate 16 year old who is pregnant with her second child (both children birthed as an act of incest from her abusive father, the first one born with Down's Syndrome) who suffers abhorrent verbal and physical abuse from her hateful and negligent mother played in a sure-shot Oscar-worthy role from R&B superstar Mo'Nique. She is sent to an alternative school where she finds her first group of classmates she can almost bond with, and a teacher who comes closest to wanting to understand and help her situations. Conditions progressively worsen for Precious, being dealt one seriously critical card after another. Lee Daniels' handicam direction aggressively follows her every move, thundering the dark and disturbing moments with incredible sharpness, while knowing when to set the tone for beautifully still moments. 'Precious' proves to be a landmark African American achievement - where everyone involved (director and actors/actresses) represent genuine brilliance. I've never seen such a preachy film hold very little back, and truly pull at the heartstrings with realism only expressed nowadays by the spirit of independent film. I despise that it may take a film this startlingly bona fide to open the eyes and turn the heads of today's audience. It's no wonder why this was so compassionately well-praised at this year's Sundance, as it deserves every gallon of recognition and attention.

The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke - 2009) - 10/10

2009-12-08T18:21:00.001-08:00

Watching a Michael Haneke film is like forcing your mind at one of those tricky art posters where you encode the hidden image by staring into the image without knowing what to stare at ('The Mystic Eye' I think was the name of this horribly annoying phenomenon). Haneke makes thin-plotted thrillers with thick meaning, while proving to the cinema world he has a refreshing hand in creating blood-boiling suspense like no other. Behind some of the most profound and shocking films of the decade ('Funny Games', 'Cache (Hidden)', and 'The Piano Teacher'), he graces the festival circuit this year with 'The White Ribbon'. It is traditional Haneke - elements of shock, slow-boiling moments, pronounced mystery - yet a period piece examining a strict, near-Puritan, isolationist German village in pre-World War I; just roughly a year prior to the wake of war, to be more exact. There is strong focus on order, justice, and religious dominance, everything is seemingly peaceful, and everyone knows everyone perhaps a little too well. Strange happenings begin to occur all within a few months: a horse is tripped by thin, barely-visible wire, the Baron's cabbage field is brutally destroyed, one of the Baron's sons disappears briefly and is severely whipped, a barn is set on fire, a farmer is found hanged to death, the midwife's mentally-challenged son is tortured and tied to a tree. All the children of the village act bizarrely, and a respectable schoolteacher (who also plays as the narrator reflecting on the events) automatically thinks to accuse them. Through the film's duration, we develop a tender attachment to each and every role in the village - much the same as in Lars von Trier's 'Dogville'. Elusively, as Michael Haneke would prefer it to be, we are left with a question mark - where the viewer is responsible for filling in the blanks and conjuring an answer to the film. It is widely mentioned and accepted that this film is a study on what lead to World War II extremism in Nazi Germany. I was not intelligent enough to jump to that conclusion, since my knowledge of history probably doesn't exceed 1999, yet this film expresses that with undeniable perfection from start to finish - how a community of strict order takes one small strand of events to erupt into violent disorder, which further digresses into socio-shock into the polar opposite within time. The children are often compared to the first signals of what would become the Nazis - with the stark nonchalance and passion for involvement (much like 'The Children of the Damned' - they are always eavesdropping, most of them rebel against the older, wiser figures in subtle ways, and all seem to have the same mindset). 'The White Ribbon' is one of 2009's actual masterpieces - as well as a beautifully stagnant meditation on what could be the birthing of evil.

Control (Anton Corbijn - 2007) - 8/10

2009-12-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

There couldn't possibly be a better director for the job filming a biopic on the late and well-respected Ian Curtis and the developmental stages of his band Joy Division in the late 1970's / early 1980's than a guy who was a photographer for the actual band during their prime: Anton Corbijn. His filmography only contains collective music videos from the likes of Metallica, Depeche Mode, and U2 - but his debut feature film Control boasts him as a cinema-naturale. Newcomer Sam Riley plays the seemingly soulless Ian Curtis, portraying his early passion for music, then his entrance to an unexpected full force of fame and musical stardom which quickly lead to his suicide at the age of 23. Samantha Morton (one of my absolute favorite actresses of this decade) plays the role of his dearly-devoted girlfriend-turned-wife Deborah Curtis, who would later author the autobiography in which the film was based from. Control deeply explores teenaged musical passion - then grabbing that passion by the balls to create somewhat of a musical revolution. Joy Division's tasteful, yet somewhat effortless guitar and bass lines are easily mimicked accurately in the actors' playability (they learned the songs themselves) and stage stance - and Sam Riley perfects Ian Curtis' stage entity of flailing arms and tantrums. The black and white was actually a post-production move, which made the 35 mm film look timelessly grainy. The look and feel truly captures the youthful breath behind England's punk rock music scene, while forming a visual outlet for the luridly magnetic sounds of what Joy Division delivered to what we know as New Wave. As the film progresses, it penetrates more of Ian Curtis' soul, and further explores the true division of himself: how he became less and less predicated by art and poetry, how he felt less and less moved by the success of what he helped create, and what dragged him away from the constance of his relationship with Deborah - and what further lead him to have a loveless affair with an attractive journalist. While the film explores the sensation of the band itself and its supposed mark on music, as well as an innocent portrait of the excitement of artistic success, it fails to really pull the viewer into the poetic and troubled mind behind the art (aside from maybe two instances of obvious song-lyric inspirations), and we also aren't given the opportunity to witness his relationship with his infant son; as if the child weren't much of a key role in Curtis' life. Either way, Control is a real-to-the-core depiction of rise and fall - in which the icon is flawed with chains of realism.

first news about Paul Thomas Anderson's newest film: "Masters"

2009-12-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

from comingsoon.net

There Will Be Blood writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson will next helm a Universal Pictures period drama to star Philip Seymour Hoffman as a founder of a new religious organization in the 1950s, says Variety.

Hoffman would play "the Master," as in "master of ceremonies," a charismatic intellectual who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952. The core is the relationship between the Master and Freddie, a twentysomething drifter who becomes the leader's lieutenant. As the faith begins to gain a fervent following, Freddie finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

Hoffman made his breakthrough in the cast of Anderson's Boogie Nights and has also appeared in the Anderson-directed Hard Eight, Punch-Drunk Love and Magnolia.

I am personally tickled to death - being Paul Thomas Anderson is easily my favorite film director of modern American cinema, as I am thrilled to see him go back to his old-faithful almost-trademark casting of Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the lead role. It looks like it shall compete with There Will Be Blood in intensity. Now, all we need is a time frame.

Boy A (John Crowley - 2008) - 8/10

2009-12-03T22:09:00.001-08:00

Alienation-themed films could be what made the 1970s so goddamn memorable in American film - 'Easy Rider', 'Last Tango in Paris', 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest', 'Five Easy Pieces', 'Chinatown', 'Taxi Driver, 'A Woman Under The Influence' - all timeless films declaring focus on isolation, second chances, and unclear futures. We were graced last year with a British picture 'Boy A', directed by John Crowley. The immediate British alienation-themed film that comes to mind for me is Mike Leigh's 'Naked' - a socio-political dive into the mind of what we consider a villain in the dregs of the urban underbelly. 'Boy A' is nothing like any of the aforementioned films in style, look, and feel - yet deals with the isolation, second chances, and a puzzling future. Jack Burridge is this "Boy A" - put away for ten years of his youth and adolescence for murder at a very young age. Let out in his early 20's, he is given a chance to get back on his feet with a somewhat new and protected identity, under the roof of a kind-hearted, understanding father-figure named Terry. He is granted a steady job, a social life, and even a shot at dating an exciting woman. However - none of these attainable desires are protected from instability, as old fears always have a chance of coming back to haunt him. We learn the actual situations of what lead to the tragic childhood crime through a series of flashbacks: Jack is constantly bullied as a child, growing up with a negligent father; He befriends Philip Craig - or "Boy B" - a young foul-mouthed, violently-inclined lad who appears to be what Jack needed in his life: companionship and someone to outweigh his cowardice and encourage him to stand up for himself. What Jack eventually learns is Philip's disturbing upbringing, involving abuse and molestation - an obvious catalyst for his unsettling behavior. The story sympathizes with Jack from a distance - making damn sure you understand that there's a reason for absurd behavior, yet allows you to question whether or not a second chance is deserved, without completely glorifying our protagonist. Andrew Garfield's sweet, innocent portrayal of the present-day Jack Burridge messes with your head - it's perhaps the greatest trickery (and perhaps a sympathy tactic relative to a possible sway in the author's personal opinion) of the film. It's a brilliant deception of character, as every move he makes is that of downright Godliness; it's also that brilliant deception of character that makes this film crush the soul. The film's direction is in beautiful whites and brights - perhaps spotlighting hope; a second chance (artfully akin to last year's 'The Kite Runner'). The camera is intimate when it needs be, while distancing in focus of isolation, with offset focus on negative space. 'Boy A' is sharp realism with a delicate touch.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson - 2009) - 9/10

2009-12-03T22:08:00.001-08:00

I've never been graced with the chance to read Roald Dahl's original childrens' book 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' - yet I'm more than positive that Wes Anderson's film translation is excitingly wordier and wittier (obviously with the proper help of Noah Baumbach, the literary genius behind 2005's 'The Squid and the Whale'). This magnetically primitive reconstruction of the regarded classic book grants Wes Anderson a refreshing outlet for what was becoming an over-exhausted direction in writing and filming his indie-strict, quirky style - a style which turned heads and brought new life to hands-on independent film making in the late 90's / early 2000's with such hits as 'Rushmore' and my personal favorite 'The Royal Tenenbaums'; yet a style which began to overstay its heaping welcome by the time we reached last year's disappointingly overzealous international road film to nowhere 'The Darjeeling Limited' (but hey, wasn't it nice to see Natalie Portman in the nude??! Answer: YES, yet almost not worth sitting through Jim Jarmusch-ian realms of pretentious self-realization and familial qualms). Anyways - 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' could almost be considered a reinvention for Wes Anderson, and will regain faith of the tiresome half of his fanbase, giving the finger to all things Pixar in present-day peak of technologically-advanced toddler entertainment, as it utilizes the nearly hundred-year-old stop-frame animation method used in the original 'King Kong' film. The story is almost in line with the tradition of an ex-con falling into his old ways - one more risky game of con-art (see also: 'The Brothers Bloom'). It tells of Mr. Fox (appropriately voiced by George Clooney strangely at his most heartfelt) - a fox who has retired from being a chicken-stealing bandit and con-artist and is currently writing a column in a local newspaper that no one apparently reads. Tired of his trade, and looking to provide more for his family, he seeks to steal from the three notorious, rich farmers of the local land, with the aid of his friend, a Possum. When the farmers catch on, they use every machination and device possible to lure the animals from underneath. With a destroyed home, and new plots to ponder, Mr. Fox must get himself, his family, and his team of critters out of harm's way. The dialogue is incredibly charming and witty - and the cameos from Owen Wilson as a Whack-bat coach and Willem Defoe as the 'West-Side Story'-like, knife-toting rat are brilliant touches. Wes Anderson has a knack for exploring primitive, antiquely-retro solutions to set design and art direction - much like Michel Gondry and even Spike Jonez. This is something Wes Anderson boasts on in recent interviews concerning 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' - how he wants to be in touch with the primitive, hands-on side of visuals, yet, it is made public that he "directed" the majority of the film via iPhone. How's THAT for irony? Its target audience may sit comfortably for young adult indie-loving nostalgianeers, but it should dazzle the eyes of youngsters with no problem; making this a far less-confused effort than 'Where The Wild Things Are'. This shall sit somewhere in this year's top 10 undoubtedly.

Funny People (Judd Apatow - 2009) - 5/10

2009-12-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

I foresee a trembling, rocky future for all things Apatow - his trademark cast have ventured off into some very mediocre comedies ('I Love You man', 'Observe and Report'), and maybe wearing out the same welcome Will Ferrel has fallen from with his past two years of shameful disappointments (fuck you, 'Step Brothers' was not really that funny). Not to mention, his latest, 'Funny People' certainly didn't do too well in the box office as predicted. Let's hope Judd Apatow isn't throwing in the Apa-TOWEL! (this is why i don't write comedy). Anywho - I firmly believe that Judd Apatow desperately wanted 'Funny People' to be helmed and remembered as the 'Citizen Kane' of all comedies. It tells of George Simmons, played in an almost-biographical sense by none other than Adam Sandler. George Simmons is a stand-up comic who rose to fame as an actor in some terrible crowd-pleaser comedies. All alone in his multi-million dollar house, with his garage of dozens of pricey vehicles, and his multitude of flat-screen tv sets, he discovers that he is dying from a sudden type of leukemia. This is all within the film's 15-minute introduction - and each and every viewer who's ever seen a Judd Apatow film will scratching their heads saying 'WTF?!' at this very moment, as this film starts on a completely miserable and depressing note. Well, then you start to hate the cold-hearted fucker George Simmons (and something tells me this is definitely an autobiographical meaning to Adam Sandler - I always pictured the guy being a complete douche). He tags along a deadbeat, struggling comedian Ira, played by Seth Rogen, to write his stand-up comedy, for him to make a refreshing return; his one last chance for spotlight before his life ends. Further down the road, there's an old flame, played by Apatow's wife Leslie Mann. I personally think she has one of the most entertainingly hilarious comedic personalities in a female, yet her lengthy screen-time proves her lustrous as only a side-kick or a cameo, instead of a central character. 'Funny People' may be a bold experiment - assuming the drama genre acutely over comedy, instead of the vice versa of past ventures. It feels as the direction was a complete unnecessary mimic of David Gordon Green (most notable for 'Pineapple Express', but well-regarded in indie cinema for such greats as 'All the Real Girls' and 'George Washington') - and these intimate camera-welding techniques felt completely out of place for such a film. It also attempts to take an in-depth look at the lives of comics without intelligently exploring the minds of comics, as all parties involved are really just exposed as 2-bit characters with little to relate to, and very little to inspire them. '40 Year Old Virgin' and 'Knocked Up' are quite honestly two of the best comedies I've ever seen, and 'Knocked Up' had a brilliant intertwining of heartfelt drama with some of the most hilarious moments in movie history! The bits of laced stand-up comedy through-out 'Funny People' was sincerely one embarrassing attempt at cheap laughs after another at its most dulling and awkward - where for George Simmons' case of being a washed up comedian, this could maybe work. Wait, there's that one funny Middle-Eastern guy from 'Observe and Report' that really made me laugh. Aside from him, James Taylor shouting "FUCK FACEBOOK", Seth Rogen's two hilarious comedian roommates played by Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman, the few movie/tv show bits starring the two roommates, the bar scene of Comedy Central greats interacting with each other, and a few scattered scenes here and there, most of the film's jokes were cheap references with recycled ideas, certainly lacking anything memorable. Adam Sandler has the capability to be a very note-worthy actor - we've seen him light up the screen in 'Punch-Drunk Love', at least. In 'Funny People', he just plays drama in the same criminally nervous way he treats his "serious" moments in his long list of romantic comedies, which is exhausting to watch for over 2 hours (2.5 hours if you sat through the grueling Director's Cut). To some, 'Funny People' may be a refreshing comedic experience, in which I could personally understand completely - but I left this one feel like utter shit, and not in the creatively invigorating way. This one is sure to divide the crowds in half.

500 Days of Summer (Marc Webb - 2009) - 9/10

2009-11-30T21:24:00.000-08:00

We are introduced with a token of sarcasm from our film's author:

"The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Especially you Jenny Beckman.

Bitch."

Marc Webb truly masters one of 2009's finest, most commercially artful anti-romantic comedy - 500 Days of Summer.Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom Hansen, a greeting card concept-thinker-upper (what do you call these workers anyway?) who lives a pretty simple life looking for love and aspires to be an architect, yet gave up on that dream long long ago; and in comes Zooey Deschanel's sensational character with the titular name Summer, as a new employee at his line of work who feels zero need for dependence on another man, and who doesn't believe in actual "love". Summer turns heads everywhere she goes, and Tom immediately accepts his defeat as having just a fantastical attraction to her that would no further elevate to anything past just that. To his surprise - they hit it off, they date, they have sex, and he's the happiest man on Earth - so happy that he is accompanied by animated birds and a large back-up dance group singing and dancing down the street to Hall and Oates. Sadly, it does indeed end on less than civil terms; Don't fret, I did not ruin much for you, the viewer, as the film's ping-pongy narrative of numbered days unleashes this saddening outcome early-on within the film. The back-n-forth narrative would've been a little contrived and convoluted if not for masterfully pairing the couples' times pre-breakup and post-breakup with moments of similar themes. Each numbered day is separated by a vivid interlude of graphically-designed perfection, with a sketchiness alluding to Tom Hansen's love for penciled architecture. There is a poorly-randomized narrator whose existence in the film is quite pointless, and only there to immaturely point the audience in the obvious directions. Those who find this wave of hip, indie romance a little exhausting may find a thing or two more to relate to with 500 Days of Summer, along with a very down-to-Earth non-Diablo Cody dialogue sans monologued moments of pretentious self-realization. Comedically the film throws out unexpected laughs, and incredible nerd-references (including smart nods to Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal and Persona). 500 Days of Summer is a summarization of how one should just simply 'get over it' and don't waste a drop of time, yet told in a visually and verbally appealing display. This is easily lurking somewhere in my top 10 for 2009.

Ballast (Lance Hammer - 2008) - 10/10

2009-11-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

'Ballast' is one of the most hidden, sincere American independent gems of the decade - so hidden, I could not find a single copy of it during last week's long-anticipated DVD release through Kino. It may have something to do with funding - not sure. This film, shot in exquisite 35mm non-steadicam, captures small-town, impoverished America at its most honest, organic advent; and just because its central characters are black, this isn't an outlandishly stereotypical study. If this were a black film, then it'd be the Robert Bresson's take on a Tyler Perry feature - where you morally focus on poverty-faced struggle with the need for melodrama or musical score to intensify the events, and not to mention a cast of impressive nobodies. In the Mississippi Delta, the suicide suicide of a man named Darius tragically effects three lives - Darius's son James, his wife Marlee, and his twin brother Lawrence, who, too, becomes a soulless suicidal being. Prior to the death there were major family feuds, leading to a separation between Marlee and Darius, which further leads to a dispute and question as to who owns what part of Darius's lasting property, which consists of two run-down houses and a closed convenience store. Meanwhile, James is caught up in threatening drug deals from some of the town's most shady hoodlums. Marlee's inner hatred for Lawrence is alleviated by when he offers her help with the convenience store, giving this family some financial hope, and most importantly, introducing some soul into Lawrence's tranquil presence. Mind you - this film deals with impoverished struggle, yet this group of characters aren't exactly poor - they're just pushing to make ends barely meet. They may panic in the face of minimal debt, they may dash with food from a closed convenient store, and they may not have the most affordable belongings. 'Ballast' is also one of the few films that open with depressing mystery, but blossoms into something more hopeful - especially as each nonchalant, expressionless character begins to step into their own. You realize that these are all decent, humanistic, yet flawed individuals who will help each other out when it comes down crashing. This late decade has been laced with radiant depictions of small-town, economically-depressed living - especially with such memorables as last year's 'Frozen River', 'Shotgun Stories', 'Wendy and Lucy', and this year's 'Adoration'. These are films that are not to be condescended on, but are there for viewers to help appreciate life, and appreciate the beautiful minimalisms we take for granted. Vittorio de Sica and Robert Bresson would most genuinely be proud of this newer movement of independent story-telling.

Adoration (Atom Egoyan - 2009) - 8/10

2009-11-23T17:16:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I have not yet been introduced to the heartfelt world of Atom Egoyan until I watched his latest 'Adoration'. The only other film of his I own is 1998's 'The Sweet Hereafter', which I know deals with one of my favorite cinematic subjects: the moral study of small-town America. Between watching this and 'Ballast', I don't think I could feel more human. The characters in 'Adoration' are most definitely well-off, with minimal struggle, but it carries the slice-of-life state-of-mind, full of heart and soul, though a little preachy and contrived perhaps. It tells of a single, occupationally-passionless man who is taking care of his nephew, Simon, a high-school student (perhaps in a classroom of students who are a little too creatively philosophical and existential for their own good) who, with the aid of his French/drama teacher, fabricates his family history for a class creative-writing assignment, which predicates ugly controversy in his small-town. This fabrication involves his Middle-Eastern father controlling his mother into an attempted terroristic bombing on a plane. The far-fetched story does come from an honest place: the prejudice carried on from the kid's dying grandfather, who had always had a nationalism-stamped contempt for "those people". 'Adoration' morphs through potentially brilliant story-telling and an interweaving of key characters to explain the true events that really lead to the death of Simon's parents - a scripting formula very akin to Guillermo Arriaga (the writer for '21 Grams', 'Babel', and 'Amores Perros', and writer/director for this year's 'Burning Plain') and his more decadently emotional moments. 'Adoration' is all about links, and what drive people to find each other, and a moral rejection of prejudice.

Revanche (Götz Spielmann - 2009) - 8/10

2009-11-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

France's 2009 'Foreign Film' entry for last February's Academy Awards, 'Revanche', is a slow-boiling, thrilling drama wearing some alluring neo-noir traits. In Vienna, a con-man named Alex carries a secret affair with a highly-valued prostitute, Tamara. After promising her a bright future - he robs a bank to decay her large debts. A modest-living policeman, with a sweet, yet unfaithful wife and an inability to carry children, intervenes tragically with this event. Alex seeks refuge at his grandfather's farm in the outskirts, and finds himself plotting and contemplating revenge at the policeman. Sadly, I cannot go into anymore detail, for the film's formula of escalating and departing sequences would be somewhat ruined. 'Revanche' is a difficult experience to attach to character-wise. Each person is flawed (except Alex's work-hardened grandfather) and each person is set out to question their flaws, maybe in hopes of redemption or understanding. This simple crime story leaves a few intelligent, open ends, but its abandoned, still atmosphere is where the film shines. The film's style is uncannily similar to that of another philosophical art-mystery film - Bruno Dumont's hauntingly grim French drama 'Humanite' from 2001. Fortunately, 'Revanche' has a lot more actually going on rather than sitting on blank character expressions, yet they both have the same feel and both include passionlessly random acts of compulsive sexual nature. The film has its minor flaws in character appreciation and eye-tugging pace, but it's purely a fine viewing experience. I do believe Criterion Collection will be releasing this one early 2010.

No more wide release for The Road???

2009-11-22T13:39:00.000-08:00

Read about it here

Looks like John Hillcoat's highly-anticipated (and almost defunct because of economic hardships) adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road has been victim of more ping-ponging with its release. Firstly, the film almost wasn't completed, secondly the film was pressed for a limited October release, then further pressed back for a November limited release; THEN was granted a wide release for November 25th. Well, now it's back to a limited November 25th release. This is bad news for my Bummerfuck, AR location, for I may be looking at a 2+ hour commute just to see whether or not this film is truly as great as fortunate early viewers say it is. Perhaps if The Twilight Saga: New Moon weren't taking up 3-4 goddamn theaters per movie outlet, then maybe I would have one thing less to blog about.

Antichrist (Lars Von Trier - 2009) - 9/10

2009-11-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

Here, we have symbolism at its most Bergman-blatant - a couple retreats to Eden after the irresponsible death of their young child in order to attempt overcoming a haunting loss. Lars Von Trier claims to have directed 'Antichrist' in hopes of coping with his long-term depression - the result? The audience takes in some of the most mesmerizing camera-play, mixing beautifully intoxicating slow-motion sequences with jittery and intimate documentary-like camera-focus in telling a damaging story of possession through fear, the crumbling of oneself, and the crumbling of a relationship. "Nature is Satan's playground," utters Willem Dafoe's arrogant therapist role to his wife, in a controversially delectable performance from Charlotte Gainsbourg (one who's not shy to highly-exposed disturbing roles, as one could tell from "The Cement Garden"). Lars von Trier has made a career of pushing actors to their fullest potential - forcing them to act within strict physical boundaries and settings, but forcing them to express beyond those boundaries and settings. He does this with a minimal cast, as well - as one can tell from Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves, Dogville, etc. With his films - you're taken into an intimate mind-fuck of a journey. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Defoe are forced to act within these same guidelines - and what we witness is some of the very most gut-wrenching, demonic, and unforgiving performances independent art-house cinema has ever offered. Gainsbourg possession is ironically akin to Isabelle Adjani's role in Andrzej Zulawski's 1981 sleeper-horror cult favorite, 'Possession'. What makes this film disturbing has been flooding online message boards for the following months after its divided and vomit-worthy Cannes premier - but if a serious dose of "sexual torture" in the right context doesn't make you hurt for these characters, then I'm not sure what will. This one isn't for everybody, but if you've got a stomach for destroyed genitalia in the name of stunning art, watch this.

Ponyo (Hayao Miyazaki - 2009) - 3/10

2009-11-22T11:28:00.001-08:00

If i were to guess correctly, I'd say Hayao Miyazaki was just passing time. After releasing a filmography of forever-cherished animated gems - 'Spirited Away', 'Howl's Moving Castle', 'My Neighbor Totoro', to name a few - i guess it's certainly redeemable to release a dud from time to time. 'Ponyo' is his forgivable flaw - an obvious chud-baby from 'The Little Mermaid' meets 'The Abyss'. In the imaginatively cute world of 'Ponyo', we are taken to a dreamlike ocean town, as if Matt Groening were the guest-animator. Five-year-olds are left unattended, mothers drive like ignorant maniacs, tidal waves look like large jumping fish (a wonderfully imaginative touch, i may add), there's magic controlling the sea, there's a sea God that looks like Rod Stewart but talks like Liam Neeson (wait.. it IS ol' Liam! yes!), and love apparently matters enough at the age of 5 to make their parents say "HEY! LET'S STOP THE WORLD FOR A SECOND! OUR 5 YEAR OLD IS IN LOVE! YAY!". If my 5-year-old is in love, i'd say "how cute", then continue my day. 'Ponyo' has very little substance with no lesson to be learned, but focusses on the kind of innocence that only Miyazaki can bring to life - and yes, this film is full of life.. it's a celebration of life, and that's what the Western World certainly succeeds in (just watch Edward Yang's 'Yi Yi' and you'll thank me later), but this was not an important enough film for Disney to risk bringing into mainstream American theaters. Hah, he should've done this years ago with 'Spirited Away'.

Possession (Andrzej Zulawski - 1981) - 10/10

2009-11-22T11:27:00.002-08:00

It's enjoyable knowing that foreign film directors even back in early 80's tried to truly STICK IT to Hollywood producers. Andrej Zulawski's 1981 underdog cult film "Possession" is a true result of just that. After his wide acclaim in the Polish and European film circuit, producers supposedly wanted Zulawski to film an American horror film. Zulawski proposed his idea simply as "a girl gets fucked by an octopus" - an idea they excitingly bought into. Don't be disappointed - the said event does take place, but the film was way too deep for the good of a major audience. What you find in 'Possession' is true avant-garde horror. Imagine the slow-boiled pacing of Kubrick's interpretation of "The Shining", but with a much more disturbing focus on character behavior. The film tells of an international secret agent who comes home to find his family life in peril. His wife wants to leave him, and their young son is caught amidst the shouting, fighting, and throwing of many objects. She is leaving him for someone - but who? We first think it's a German art weirdo, but after an hour or so into the film you discover that it's truly a demonic creature - and when combined with the film's ongoing emotionally harrowing tone, the film takes on a deeply unsettling entity. Its theme is clearly to dissect problematic relationships, creating a way out - a relationship's end conducive to the end of the world. Too bad this film is out of print, or i'd highly recommend this to any true horror film. This is undoubtedly an original masterpiece.

KIller of Sheep (Charles Burnett - 1977) - 8/10

2009-11-22T11:27:00.001-08:00

A cinematic forefather breaking in the path for such vivid slice-of-life films as Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing' and David Gordon Green's 'George Washington' - Charles Burnett's lost film classic 'Killer of Sheep' is a brilliant reflection of content-to-unsatisfied, impoverished suburban Negro life. Since this was a bare-bones indie film, independently funded by Burnett himself - this film almost continued its whispered legacy without any official release until the UCLA film division raised tens of thousands of dollars to buy the soundtrack rights for the film, as it included pitch-perfect timeless tunes from the likes of Marvin Gaye, Etta James, and other soul artists. 'Killer of Sheep' tells of a hard-working, insomniac black man that rarely sees more than a dime of his hard-earned cash working at a slaughterhouse, killing sheep all day. He experiences an internal tug-a-war with life-long satisfaction, supporting a wife and two kids. The film's title could most certainly allude to what we kill for a living, and how time is the killer of the living, not to mention something allegorical to his lack of sleep, killing sheep at work, then killing sheep from lack of sleep. Charles Burnett paints a timeless, broke-down landscape with the integration of African American counter-culture of country life into big-city-suburbia and the loss of an era, where people - not just African Americans - take things one day at a time. This is a dramatically-paced portrait of American honesty at its purest.

The Third Part of the Night (Andrzej Zulawski - 1971) - 9/10

2009-11-22T11:26:00.001-08:00

A war film - not to be confused with a war epic. In Andrzej Zulawski's left-of-center ambitious debut 'The Third Part of the Night', we - the audience - do not see war, but instead experience an apocalypse greater than any depiction of actual war itself. Set during World War II - during the Nazi-occupation of Poland - this is a story adapted from a novel written by Zulawski's father about a man who escapes the gunning down of his family, further joining a resistance group where he feeds leeches in order to test and create plague vaccines, and its title stems from Biblical verses revolving around the 7 angels and the 7 plagues. This psychological mind-fuck can grimly contend with such psyche-war films as 'Come and See' and 'Jacob's Ladder' with its harrowing, unforgiving atmosphere. Its pacing is magnificently rapid-fire, blending subtlety with intimately-choreographed, low-key action sequences. For its obvious short budget, it's just as thrilling, if not more thriller, than what we know of a typical action film (mind you, this is absolutely not an action film, but more a thrilling drama). Expect a release in 2010 by Mondovision with an immaculate deluxe edition packaging!

Know1ng (Alex Proyas - 2009) - 9/10

2009-11-22T11:25:00.001-08:00

Even though I had heard nothing but completely miserable things about this film - I couldn't help but remind myself that Alex Proyas was responsible for such near-perfect films as 'Dark City' and 'The Crow', and maybe I should trust his creative vision. The plot even seemed interesting to me, even though it slightly makes itself out to be the smart-man's 'Final Destination'. 'Know1ng' turned out to be one of the absolute best sci-fi mainstream films I have probably ever seen - decorated with some absolutely PISSED-OFF scenes of mass destruction and global hellfire. Its storyline consists of a boy receiving from his school's time capsule a 50-year-old paper full of random numbers written which appear to be not too random when his father (Nicholas Cage, in the first unbothersome performance since maybe.. 'Matchstick Men') uncodes these numbers in conjunction with several decades of massive population deaths (like the Oklahoma City bombing, the World Trade Center destruction, etc). The film then unfolds into the paranormal. One of the film's most marvelously artful sequences is where the young boy stares into a prophetic, imaginary apocalypse - a scene of a fiery forest with blazing deer and moose running around frantically with a haunting Argento-esque musical score playing in the background. The film's ending will easily piss off easily offended Christians probably as much as the 'Da Vinci Code' phenomenon, yet you have to realize that this sort of thing makes for brilliant sci-fi entertainment. Its ending suggests a global cleansing is necessary to do away with man-made technological advances which destroys human civilization by thousands upon thousands. Not something I agree with, but a brilliant element nonetheless.

Panic Room (David Fincher - 2003) 8/10

2009-11-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

'Panic Room' is David Lynch's approach at extending a simple cat-n-mouse game, with some interesting villain-twists and reversals of roles. Basically, I felt this was way more exciting than it should have been, and that's why I seemed to have enjoyed this far more than anyone else I really know. It's simply about a mother and a daughter who get a sweet deal on this 4-story house, when really - they don't need something that huge. There's a safe panic room, and three thieves are wanting what's inside of it - some kind of monetary treasure. Technologically, this is a damn sweet-looking achievement - but seriously, what David Fincher film isn't? 'Se7en' and 'Fight Club' were two of the best-looking thrillers ever made, and 'Alien 3' is my favorite Alien film (I know I'm getting hate for that one). The protagonists of 'Panic Room' - Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart - are heroic and typical, and the storyline itself really doesn't exceed the common man's action/thriller - though seriously, what other time do you get to witness a Jared Leto decorated in Corn Rows, a scummy Dwight Yoakam (okay, maybe 'Sling Blade' lent him a greater performance), and a diabetic Kristen Stewart? Jodie Foster will probably be the same in every film except for her fugliness in 'Nell', but that goes without saying. Yoakam, Whitaker, and Leto make up the Three Stooges of modern henchmen, and I found that to be pure entertainment at the very least.

The Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami - 1998)

2009-11-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

I suppose I truly understand that when an Iranian makes a film centering around the concept of a man's struggle for suicide, it's a very controversial subject to pursue in a homeland of strict enforcements on moral code. I'm certain that this very reason is why you don't see a vulgar Bollywood film. To my main point - Abbas Kiarostami has attempted to create a strikingly poignant journey into the heart of a realist - an Iranian man drives his vehicle through a mountainous worksite, running into one kind sir after another; all in hopes of finding that perfect kind sir to pay a generous amount of currency in order to perform an assisted suicide and burial. The end result is one of the most nauseatingly dull, immobile films I have ever sat through with certainly no emotional pay-off - where you get to listen to a nonchalant man basically repeat himself to 4 or 5 different passengers (I do not remember exactly - i was too busy trying not to fall asleep) without embracing a reason or a past. You can take a classic marvel of an existential road film - Bergman's "Wild Strawberries", for instance - we have self-reflection, loss, regret, and a vividly unforgettable character change. With 'Taste of Cherry' - we start with nothing, and end with very little more.

Garage Days (Alex Proyas - 2003) - 4/10

2009-11-22T11:21:00.002-08:00

Not sure why I spent the time on this. Oh, wait - it was only $1.99 at a dvd clearance, and I had Alex Proyas-fever after watching 'The Know1ng' and also reminiscing how marvelous 'The Crow' and 'Dark City' were! Well, it's easy to see that 'Garage Days' was Proyas' outcast film, as it's a complete recess from sci-fi and thriller. Being a struggling musician in my time, I found it endearing that he made this departure Aussie film about 4 friends struggling to make it in the glam'd-out punk rock scene. However - the elitist asshole in me wants to say "Alex Proyas... do you even know a fucking thing about punk rock or any underground music scene?!". The kind of punk rock portrayed in this goofball flick is one of a complete bastardization - the kind where you play dress-up and play shitty music... instead of the 'real' punk rock... where you look dirty and play shitty music. Well, it turns out that this film begins to unfold into something completely endearing, actually - in that near-lovable '7th Heaven / Dawson's Creek' way - the kind of entertainment where the film realizes its own idiocies and embraces it. In a turn for the better. The band even realizes the music they make is shitty. Hooray. I'm not alone on this! Plus, to top it off - Limp Bizkit makes a live music cameo. Yeah, the director has to know this is a shitty film laced with cheesy sleazy love stories, bad drug trips, and a laughable, over-the-top script - but it's a shitty film that kind of stole my heart at the end, honestly. With all ingredients combined, we're watching 'SLC Punk' meets a piss-poor 'Trainspotting'.

The Haunting in Connecticut (Peter Cornwell - 2009) - 3/10

2009-11-22T11:21:00.001-08:00

I suppose the result of a seance leads to CGI lava lamp-material creeping out of your mouth: this is the one amusing study I received from 'The Haunting in Connecticut'. There's no use in me asking Hollywood - "WHEN WILL THIS ALL BE OVER?!". It's either a remake, a 3D remake, a piss-poor sequel, or a bad film "based on actual events". I feel bad for the family whose lives were actually haunted by these actual events - because Hollywood done gave you an ass-raping of an entertainment outlet after the horrors they went through. Gee thanks! Anyways - there's this family who move into a house where seances take place, and the evils which center around a kid who becomes seanced too hard come back to haunt the family via predictably cheap scares and jumps, with an ending that tries to make you think but fails. Thanks for wasting my time.

The Last House on the Left (Dennis Iliadis - 2009) - 6/10

2009-11-22T11:20:00.001-08:00

Females - when will you learn in movies to not be tempted by reefer from strangers?! We all know this legendary tale, indirectly adapted from Ingmar Bergman's classic 1950's medievel drama 'The Virgin Spring'. I was not entirely a fan of Wes Craven's original, though I would honestly give them both the same rating most likely. The earlier film had an annoyingly campy feel, while this new one takes itself impressively serious. Controversially, there's an extended scene of rape and torture which is supposed to "ooooh, ahhhh" the audience... or downright make them squeamish. I think after sitting through Gaspar Noe's 'Irreversible', and watching Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' at a very young age - I am now pathetically desensitized to anything shocking about cinematic rape. This remake pays very little tribute to its predecessor, and is relatively unimportant, yet stands decently on its own as one of the few newer Hollywood horror films that may be worth watching. The suspense is there, the revenge is sickeningly sweet, and the acting is more convincing than not. Shocking? It depends on what you've seen - this is not a film worth viewing solely on shock value, but you'll be rewarded with a grisly death or two.

Hell Ride (Larry Bishop - 2008) - 1/10

2009-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

I think I know when I should be able to appreciate "silly", especially in the tradition of Quentin Tarantino's genre-bending antics, however, I couldn't even believe Tarantino would stamp his name on Larry Bishop's 'Hell Ride' as "executive producer" - he oughtta be ashamed. 'Hell Ride' reminds me of the result of staying home sick from school or work in the 90's, being forced with the horrible option of either watching televised sportscasters, boring soap operas, or... something really bad on the USA Channel - bad like 'Silk Stockings', 'The Big Easy', or... most reminiscent - 'Renegade' with Lorenzo Lamas. So yes, 'Hell Ride' is like 'Renegade' with tits, blood, confused comaraderie, an introduction of a gazillion characters with little or no relevance, some potentially badass cameos that prove to be weak, horridly jocular symbolism, time dizzyingly jumping back and forth, and well... an hour and 20 minutes of cinematic bullshit which could very well be one of the worst films I've ever sat through in my life. I thought this would at least achieve somewhat at being the "good" kind of bad - but far from it. Think 'Easy Rider' without the existentialism or power of the traditional road film (oh yeah, it can't be a road film when it really goes NOWHERE) meets 'Natural Born Killer' without the substance or message... or even the creativity.

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles - 1941) - 10/10

2009-11-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

I can finally breathe now that I've witnessed what's heavily regarded as "The Best Film of All Time!". Orson Welles's timeless, play on a biopic is far from my favorite film of all time, nor do I consider it the best - but this certainly does live up to a great deal of the hype. What I saw that moved me in some of my favorite films, such as 'The Last Emperor', 'Before Night Falls', and even 'There Will Be Blood', were clearly derived from an overpowering influence from 'Citizen Kane'. Its story revolves around the last uttered word, "Rosebud", from the country's most powerful newspaper tycoon before his death. These journalists are trying to research what drove him to speak this word - and we're brought to a journey through his past loves and acquaintances, which unfolds from Charles Kane's poverty-stricken childhood, to his future of wealth, power, coldness, and greed. 'Citizen Kane' reminds us of the core in humanity - to never forget yourself and your past.

Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata - 1988) - 10/10

2009-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Not only does 'Grave of the Fireflies' rank among the very best animated features - it also stands among the very best of all war films ever made, impressively without depicting much of actual war fare aside from the tragedy and societal turbulence of military air raids. 'Grave of the Fireflies' is a genuinely compassionate cry against what war inflicts on families and businesses. War transforms its innocent victims, bringing out the greed, the thievery, and the heartlessness of human beings - all out of fear. Through the film's beautifully depressing venture, we follow a young man looking after his young sister - protecting her from the fact that her mother is dead from an air raid, and protecting her from all disturbing reality of war. They are forced to stay with an unkind family, who carelessly make implications of wanting them both to leave in order for their own lives to be more convenient with more food and space, which then forces them to create their own place to live in an abandoned shelter. Even though they are left with money in their dead mother's bank account - the war causes a food shortage with farmers, which further causes mal-nutritional illnesses, which further leads to compassionless medical workers, which further leads to poverty and more starvation, which further descends to a hell like no other. This film makes the statement of how natives are encouraged to blindly support troops in times of warfare, even if it means neglecting the fibers of the society which we live, and the morals we should attain.

Moon (Duncan Jones - 2009) - 7/10

2009-11-22T11:14:00.001-08:00

It's difficult to truly review the nature of Duncan Jones' debut film 'Moon' without spoiling a thing or two of its content. Besides, I could say it's safe to assume that most people who've seen a trailer to this sci-fi film knows that we're dealing with clones, right? Anyways - when we consider the film's title - the moon is a poetic description for isolation, loneliness, and solace... as is Siberia or Alaska perhaps. Like Robert Zemeckis' 'Cast Away' - 'Moon' is primarily about isolation. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell - an astronaut isolated for a 3-year contract in outer space to work on the collecting of Helium-3 - a powerful energy resource for nuclear fusion (or fission? fuck, i'm no scientist!) for Earth's alternative energy plans in the unstated not-too-distant future. He is becoming less patient with his loneliness and is completely ready to be shot back to Earth to be with his wife and child again, both of whom he is only in contact with through a series of video messages he clings dear to. His only on-station companion is Gerty - a very pleasant sci-fi robo-sidekick voiced by Kevin Spacey whose robo-mannerisms are far more entertaining than 'Cast Away's "Wilson", the volleyball, and far less menacing than '2001: A Space Odyssey's "HAL". Firstly - it does seem slightly strange that such a massive project is manned by one man, am I right? Well, that's where we have clones. Sam Bell thinks he's being sent back to Earth after his contact is up - until he crashes his moon-rover and becomes unconscious for a bit of time. He wakes up to find a direct clone of himself walking around, and going about daily tasks. He thinks he's dizzy at first, just seeing things - until finally Gerty discloses the info that he's a clone with implanted memories of his wife and child. His clone seems to be more oddly self-realized and self-assured of the cloning than well, the main clone. The film's gorgeous planetary and in-station atmosphere/architecture pairs resemblance with the likes of Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' (a very obvious comparison), and perhaps a less electrifying/dazzling 'Sunshine' - with some primitive landscape special effects pioneered by sci-fi art classics like Andrei Tarkovsky's 'Solyaris'. 'Moon' isn't quite the existentially/philosophically wealthy sci-fi mark like the three previous gems, yet it makes for a moderately well-conjured mystery movie. Clint Mansell's haunting score continues the desolate feel he carried through Darren Aronofsky's films. The film simply asks - If you are a clone, then what in the hell is your purpose? What do you have to come home to? What's your reason for being? It's an age where science is beginning to penetrate human emotion in experimentation, and this film is an expression of these questions. 'Moon' ends up terribly predictable, yet makes for slow-burning eye-candy.

Dogville (Lars von Trier - 2003) - 7/10

2009-11-19T23:22:00.001-08:00

Politically, as a bitter American myself - I can truly appreciate Lars von Trier's anti-American poetry. However, it is widely known that von Trier has never once visited America (for some certain political resentment I'm certain), and the characteristics he is demonizing in 'Dogville' as part of America are the same characteristics we all know as common history of human beings internationally; not just America. But I get it - capitalism and pride is what he's probably aiming at. 'Dogville' is a von Trier-esque experimentation in film - using a near-empty soundstage with simple lighting and a few props to give a 1950's Great Depression-era feel to tell a story about a compassionate and somewhat innocent young woman escaping from an unknown problem into a small, isolated town of primitively colonial-type people who are basically self-governed by morals and philosophical tongues. They agree to help her hide there if she performs daily tasks for little money - and eventually her mystery and marvelous beauty leads to the corruption of the community, introducing the worst demons of each man, and the complicating jealousies of each woman. 'Dogville' is almost a horror film in a sense! Its near 3-hour length may seem a little much to the common audience, yet I felt it was almost necessary to introduce and become acquainted with the 15 members of the community - to witness each of their rises and falls morally, and to feel the power of the film's violently startling end. My personal strife with the film lies on the necessity of the soundstage - it was a strikingly creative venture, and I'm sure there's staunch symbolism upon America within this decision - but there's a great deal of monotony in limiting your characters to a Broadway play on film as opposed to creating some sort of convincing atmosphere.

Jules and Jim (Francois Truffaut - 1962) - 10/10

2009-11-19T23:21:00.001-08:00

Francois Truffaut's 'Jules and Jim' drags the viewer through the course of 25 or so years of a very interesting and emotionally poetic love triangle - through youth, war, child-bearing, post-marriage qualms - it's quite the emotional drag. Jim helps Jules find a Parisian woman of his dreams - and after several set-ups, they come across Catherine, a confusing, yet excitingly beautiful and adventurous complex woman. Long after Jules and Catherine get married and have a daughter, Catherine becomes bored and shows interest in Jim. Jules, in favor of friendship, comfortably accepts his marriage's end and gives Jim permission to receive her. We soon find out that nothing satisfies a complex woman. Watching this wonderfully quirky approach on a love triangle was much like watching a romantically philosophical Godard film (Truffaut's partner in crime in launching the French New Wave movement in film during the 50's), though more perfected and well-pronounced, and less experimental. These are all characters easy to relate to for all runs of relationships, and this may be one of the very best love stories ever told.

Zombieland (Reuben Fleischer - 2009) - 9/10

2009-11-19T23:18:00.000-08:00

I think Hollywood determined Woody Harrelson's concrete character for the remainder of his career when executives got together and pitched the idea for 'The Cowboy Way' in the 90's. He's essentially the same guy in every movie after, whether he's going on a media-fueled cross-country shooting spree in 'Natural Born Killers', or getting shot in the ass-cheek during war-time in 'The Thin Red Line'. 'Zombieland' embraces his southern badass persona like no other - and he is most likely the film's core of comic relief with his multi-weapon-wielding fierceness, his zombie-destroying antics, and not letting ANYone get between him and his Twinkies. 'Zombieland' actually focusses on a Diablo Cody-written youngster who goes by the name 'Columbus' (named after the Ohio city he's migrating in hopes of finding his family if they haven't been torn to pieces by zombies) - who at first comes off as a far more interesting Micheal Cera that can play more than just one nerdy character over and over. After running into Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) in a near-altercation - they team up and take on the road to find their destinations together. They then get trickster'd by two girls who look innocent but are true badass grifters. Comedy aside, 'Zombieland' initially bears the charm of a 70's road film (a la 'Two-Lane Blacktop', 'Easy Rider', etc) - with four alienated individuals who learn more about each other and themselves while realistically having no destination; and not to mention - it bears the technical eye-candy of a David Fincher film, with its random RULES OF ZOMBIELAND pop-ups and dazzling camera shots. Sure, some of the sequences are just excuses to kill off zombies in the most hilarious and adventurous ways possible - but this reigns far over the sensationalism of 'Shaun of the Dead'.

Horsemen (Jonas Akerlund - 2009) - 7/10

2009-11-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

It's upsetting that once you've seen modern thriller classics like 'Se7en' and 'The Silence of the Lambs' - you ask yourself "is it truly worth watching another serial killer film?" Of course there are more notables and potentials like 'The Cell', 'The Killing Gene', 'Zodiac' and 'In Dreams'. Our latest seemingly ambitious attempt is Jonas Akerlund's 'The Horsemen'. If you know the name Jonas Akerlund, you may be a worm of 90's pop culture, seeing his controversial MTV music videos for The Prodigy's 'Smack My Bitch Up' and The Cardigans' 'My Favorite Game', which entail how daring of an up-and-coming auteur he was making a name to be. He then pulled his pants down and spread his cheeks in the name of his debut 'Spun' - which his impressive style carried a rather typical and idiotic drug tale. With 'Horsemen' - he seemed to have abandoned a little from his non-linear style to carry a potential serial killer story: four individuals are to be brutally murdered in a pattern representing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The film starts to unfold through some of the most ridiculously cliche patterns of a serial killer film - a detective who neglects his single-father-raising-two-children life at home to pursue his workaholic nature of solving mysteries. But then, the story gets good - real good. It hooks you with some borderline disturbing twists and unsettling imagery, then at the very end - falls incredibly flat on its face with a laughable result. Still, i feel the film is certainly more than worth sitting through solely on the intenseness of the film's more suspensefully dark moments. A shitty ending doesn't naturally tend to "ruin" a film for me if there's much enjoyment leading up to it.

The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow - 2009) - 5/10

2009-11-19T23:14:00.000-08:00

I do realize the tediousness of filming about the war in Iraq, and I certainly applaud Kathryn Bigelow's ambitious and documentary-felt intimacy, as it's the most appropriate directorial medium imaginable - in fact, I see 'The Hurt Locker' being a front-runner at the 2010 Academy Awards, maybe for Best Director and Best Picture (unless the end of the year unloads some astonishing work, like the normal Oscar trends). In this Iraq - we have a couple alpha-males, and a few cowardly combatants (i'm not slandering - I would probably fit this role in times of pant-shitting, slow-boiling warfare), who fit the camo-wear of the normal everyday Iraqie war participant we know, hate, or love. They booze it up and spar fights with each other, talk about their hopes, loves, and desires in poorly-written dialogue, and are passionate about their work. The film's goal most likely was not to deliver up anything new or intrinsic to the cinematic table - just to portray suspense in its most blood-boiling and realistic with some artfully-jazzed slow-motion explosion shots and time to kill in between. Thankfully, this doesn't glorify the soldiers like a GoArmy.com commercial, yet there's some shit-grinning, goofy nu-metal rock riffs playing here and there that are truly laughable. Then again - I think I've only met a couple Iraq troops who don't listen to Disturbed or Godsmack. Anyways - my review: this film is visually sharp as a knife, yet lacks in character value where it shines in male brute. The film's lack of linear story (face it, at face value, this film's about this guy's thrill for disarming bombs and what he goes through, yet we learn little about him other than the fact that he loves his job and has a wife and kid) would've been justified by characters playing off each other existentially or in a more heartfelt manner instead of just one sensitive guy feeling weak at the face of war. Its duration would've been dreadful without a realistic pay-off in tasteful action and suspense. The film's ending? Just plain disappointing. **SPOILER** I highly doubt that even the most passionate of individuals would jump at the opportunity to leave their wives and children to go back to disarming bombs.

Donkey Punch (Oliver Blackburn - 2008) - 7/10

2009-11-19T23:13:00.000-08:00

I may never really know why I tripped upon this film, but from time to time, I do like to take a recess from my pretentious art-film viewings to pick up something campy and obscene. Let's just say that 'Donkey Punch' does to "UrbanDictionary.com" what 'Scream' did to horror films, though absolutely not as classic and definitely more campy in every sense of the word. This is a true guilty pleasure - pleasurable because you have hot girls and hot dudes naked, you have a few stand-out shocking bursts of violence, and you actually do have quite the interesting cat-and-mouse game that challenges the instincts of guys and gals during extreme measures. It all begins in a normal teen-movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer" fashion: girls wanna party with guys because the guys have drugs, so they party it up on a boat and share an orgy. Well, the orgy goes wrong when one of the guys actually 'Donkey-Punches" a girl to death after jokingly alluding to the phrase earlier. Sure enough - it was caught on tape.. and of course, the surviving girls want out, yet they're stranded on a yacht. Smells like trouble. When you read through all the nasty-fun sex maneuvers like "The Gorilla Mask", "Dirty Sanchez", "Chili Dog", "The Screaming Seagull" - you really are guilty of asking yourself "who the fuck really performs this shit?!". Yes, this movie goes there - and quite unexpectedly with a few strokes of near-genius.

Taxidermia (Gyorgy Palfi - 2006) - 9/10

2009-11-19T23:12:00.002-08:00

After the film school success of his lightly-funded experimental 2003 orchestra of the senses film 'Hukkle' dominated film festival critics' minds and eyes, Gyorgy Palfi's first feature full-length 'Taxidermia' continues to rape the minds and eyes of viewers who think they really do have what it takes to take on some of the most grotesque artistry ever filmed. The story follows three bastardized generations of men - bastardized in a sense because each mother had a child with a man they each cheated on their husbands with. The product - firstly, a military leuitenant in time of war who is in charge of a man who enjoys masturbation through a hole in the wall; secondly, a fat competitive eater whose cross-swallowing methods won him worldwide fame and an enlarged immobile body; lastly, a young geek taxidermist with an obsession with science who is tired of being forever ridiculed by his fat, immobile father. Perhaps this bastardization is in metaphor to the history of Hungarian society - but quite honestly, I have very little clue. Ignorance aside, I feel compelled to this film's artistic worth - where there's beauty in the grotesque, as well as a truly unique vision (even though Palfi seems quite borrowsome of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's artistic direction). Like Palfi's experimental 'Hukkle', we are graced with an extreme artistic focusses on every human sense, decorated with passionately-placed scenes of violent carnage few and far-between. What we have is a more than memorable tale of self-control - whether it be sex, food, or science - and the limits they neglect. I must add - this one is not for the weak-stomached. I am incredibly excited that this is seeing a US release this year, after being released in Europe 3 years ago.

Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze - 2009) - 6/10

2009-11-19T23:12:00.001-08:00

I'm assuming we all figured this would be the fun film event of the year... maybe the decade even. However - it's more than apparent that this production/writing team truly struggled in stretching Maurice Sendak's 33-page illustration-filed children's book into a 90-minute film cluttered with tediously-extended sequences of Max and the Wild Things playing, wrestling, and having dirt-fights. It's nobody's fault - not even Spike Jonze. In fact, I could not imagine a better director for the task maybe aside from Michel Gondry, whose style is similar yet more retro. Spike Jonze and the production team really invested the time well on bringing such a vivid world of imagination and nature to life - with some of the most pristine landscape shots ever filmed - whether it is a stroll through a buttery-gold desert, a beautiful decaying forest, or a gigantic fort built from bound twigs and trees. Jim Henson's puppetteering crew also brought the monsters to life, with some subtle and perfected CGI facial expressions. Max Records plays a marvelous Max - the kind we'd expect to see on the big-screen adaptation, and all the monsters interact entertainingly even though the film carries a dialogue capacity of a special education class of mentally-challenged individuals. The comedic moments were solid, no-brainer laughs, but very few and far between, and I felt there was more emotional pull from the film's teaser/trailer than there was from the movie in its entirely - which saddened me.. I assumed I'd be in tears by the end of this one. Also, the more I think about it, the more I question what exactly the target market would be for this film: there's a bit strong suggestion of disturbed child-psyche and physical abuse signs to be a childrens' film (mind you, I would definitely take my child to see this without minding that), and the nostalgic 20-somethings and adults may find this just as cluttered as I did... perhaps even be bored to death through-out the film's middle. This is not so much a flawed film as much as it is a flawed idea for a full-length feature film - very enjoyable at times, but certainly not for repeat viewings.

The Return / Vozvrashcheniye (Andrei Zvyagintsev - 2003) - 10/10

2009-11-19T23:10:00.000-08:00

'The Return' is one of this decade's best-kept secrets - I'm dumbfounded that this one did not obtain much standing power to be still talked-about or held in higher regard. It's a very low-budget (rumored at a baffling $500,000 production cost) Russian film which allows the mood to do the talking. Not to mention, it's mostly a road film - not one of American roots where the road is their key to finding true freedom, but more in the way which Ingmar Bergman pioneered in the mood of his 'Wild Strawberries'. Quite different though, this one speaks very few words. We follow two brothers who are mysteriously reunited with their father who left them 10 years prior. The father persists on a road trip to go camping and fishing - and quite more mysteriously, the father is a completely near-evil son of a bitch. His "tough-love" approach on fatherhood and his physical abusive nature starts to unfold more and more, and this road trip becomes dreadful to the two children. There's a major subplot about the younger brother's cowardice transforming into courage - and the film's heart-shattering end magnifies this. 'The Return' is beautifully-paced ("slow" to some people I would assume), with tastefully dreary road scenery to absorb quite the slow-boiling, defeating mood.

The Mirror / Zerkalo (Andrei Tarkovsky - 1975) - 6/10

2009-11-19T23:09:00.000-08:00

Andrei Tarkovsky is a genius beyond my understanding - quite the intimidating one, at that. 'The Mirror' proves him to stand alongside Bergman, Antonioni, Bresson, and other transcendental greats in some of the most unorthodox, beautiful, and head-spinning approaches in cinematic art. The film discreetly portrays the history of Russian societal/political progress through the fuzzy memories and recollection of a dying man. It reflects World War II in dreamlike and non-fictional flashback in a damn-near impossible way to decipher, and makes me question: can an art film be TOO abstract? What's the point of a linear story if it becomes too distorted beyond recognition? Well, Tarkovsky obviously and respectively wants to challenge the viewer to solve the puzzle, using little societal glimpses, the same actress playing two separate support roles, haunting and supernatural imagery to interweave fact from dreamt fiction, the muddied jumping from time period to time period, and a definite lack of an actual 'ending'. It's beautifully confusing, yet also too goddamn confusing. Some confusing films encourage research and investment of thought, yet Tarkovsky's 'The Mirror' leaves you scratching your head wondering where to actually start. It's a gorgeously unique film far beyond worth peeling your eyes to, yet it's definitely due for multiple viewings to lend a fair opinion. Till then, I can only account and rate due to my enjoyment of the film - and that's a rating which frustratingly met half way.

Observe and Report (Jody Hill - 2009) - 5/10

2009-11-19T23:05:00.002-08:00

It's truly nice and well out of the ordinary to hear of a ridiculous comedy that draws comparison with Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'. Beneath the script for Jody Hill's mall rent-a-cop saga, there is indeed quite the hint of manic nature, derangement fueled from alienation, and societal heroic disillusionment you may find in Paul Schrader's personal drunken, depressed, and very memorable 'Taxi Driver' script. Seth Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt is one funny bastard - in fact, if you've ever been to a mall, you really see where this film is nearly pitch-perfect in its exaggerated caricature: power-trippy mall security constantly flirting with attractive mall store employees, Middle-Eastern vitamin/mineral kiosk guys, annoying skaters in the parking lots... the only thing they're missing are Insane Clown Posse-worshiping packs of juggalos. Ronnie Barnhardt thinks he can get to the bottom of this situation: a hilariously-portrayed flasher flashes a dumb hot blond (Anna Faris) who works at the make-up counter of a department store. He wants to catch this guy and win her heart over. Predictably, Anna Faris plays the same ditz blond she plays in every single movie - whether it's 'House Bunny', 'Scary Movie', or 'Smiley Face', though it's a role she should have perfected by now, and certainly does. However, the film's actual laughable moments are few and far between - and those moments act like a racy 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' perhaps. Hell, the Scorsese reference is even more apparent when the Ray Liotta cameo kicks in - a fine fine touch I might add. 'Observe and Report' drags a bit, but is fine for at least one viewing.

Mishima: A LIfe in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader - 1985) - 7/10

2009-11-19T23:05:00.001-08:00

No wonder why Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters was a box office dud in America (only grossing in around $500k, out of the $10 million invested with assurance they weren't making the money back) - Paul Schrader's majestically unorthodox as FUCK biopic would lead the common viewer astray quite easily. Mishima is a notorious name in the studies of literary and political works - and this film follows his life as an ambitious, non-stop writer who discovered how words can change the world, then soon chased this idea while leading an army to retain Japan's ancient Bushido code, to overthrow all leftist democracy, and restore all praise and following toward the emperor (and even the Emperor himself disagreed with Mishima's approach). With the film's jumpy, artful intertwining of staged play and fictionalized accounts through four meaningful chapters, I certainly found it easy to get lost - though with the help of a simple Wikipedia search, Mishima's past made sense... as did the film. Schrader's fantastical use of exquisitely bright colors and backdrops for the play sequences certainly make this one of a kind - only Julian Schnabel can encompass such originally captivating emotion in a biopic. However - as interesting the story finds itself to be, and as sweet and crisp this piece of eye-candy unfolds to be - I found the film itself to lack a great sense of emotion. I completed the film unmoved, untouched. One ruiner of this was most likely Phillip Glass' nerve-searing, overly-triumphant score that's near reminiscent of an Olympics game - oh wait, that's how ALL Phillip Glass scores sound. ugh. 'Mishima' is worth the watch - especially to see the screenwriter for such legendary personal character films as 'Raging Bull' and 'Taxi Driver' take a massive artistic gamble into the mainstream and create a vividly unique experience.

Adventureland (Greg Mottola - 2009) - 5/10

2009-11-19T23:04:00.001-08:00

Let's face it - Jesse Eisenberg plays Michael Cera than Michael Cera himself; at least, that's the reaction I received after being entertained by his naturally hysterical and nerdy delivery. If he's going to play one character for the rest of his life, at least it's a damn talented one. Kristen Stewart, on the other hand, will always play the same down-tempo gloom Bella from 'Twilight' no matter what role she's given. Gee, I wonder how badly she's going to butcher the Joan Jett biopic? Anywho - 'Adventureland' had the fluid enjoyable potential towards achieving a similar status of teen movie as 'Dazed and Confused' and 'Juno' accomplished in being deep and meaningful. Instead - it stuck to the contrived and horribly predictable weed pop-culture, no-brainer laughs few and far between, and cheap slapstick. The story itself is believable and enthralling for a teen movie - a college grad is forced to get a job at an amusement park to afford grad school and falls in love with an odd girl with what the audience knows as some kind of dark secret, and this girl sets him free of his uptightness and concern for an uptight future. 'Adventureland' is poorly and unnecessarily set in the 80's - the only way we're reminded is by a typical 80's soundtrack. The fashion isn't consistent either. Most importantly - what was the importance for this time setting? I have little clue. Also, I might add - for a group of kids apparently old enough to enter a bar and drink, the cast play immaturely - not just toilet humor immature, but you'd have to really watch this to understand where I'm getting at. I'm thinking high school mannerisms at best. Mindlessly, this is a worthwhile puppy-love story dealing with some tough relationship bridges to cross; yet, as a comedy, or for those looking for the next 'Superbad' - you may look elsewhere.

The Burning Plain (Guillermo Arriaga - 2009) - 6/10

2009-11-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know, Guillermo Arriaga is the pen-smarts behind Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu's hyperlink dramas which boosted both of them into near-mainstream status with '21 Grams', 'Amores Perros', and the more recent 'Babel'. 'The Burning Plain' is Arriaga's full control - at helm for being the writer and director; and it's loud and clear. This, too, is a hyperlink drama mysteriously intersecting the lives of separate individuals who are emotionally scarred and longing for an answer to something. However, instead of playing just with chronology of events, Arriaga is dealing with a larger time gap of past and present. If I were to explain the story without being incredibly vague, then I'd be ruining a few surprises here and there - but let's say 'The Burning Plain' is a thematic exercise in familial feud - how parental mistakes spawn a generation of mistake. Sylvia, the lead character played by Charlize Theron (who undeservingly won an Oscar for her atrocious physical change in 'Monster'), is a girl retracing to the most defining moment in her life (as the Flixster plot description entails). Theron's 'Sylvia' certainly recalls Naomi Watts' downtrodden, freakish, and masterful role in '21 Grams', yet suffers in staleness of execution most of the time. I would hate to see her be nominated for her work in this, as it's undeserved in my humble opinion. The film is easy to follow, yet just like in '21 Grams', there's such little reasoning that I could figure out for such forced scrambling of time and chronology of events within a time period JUST to give the audience a little mindfuck. It's cheaper than playing with the audience in a mystery film or a thriller - it's sacrificing the artistic punch of having the events invoke more of a powerful sting. I left the film with very little emotional magnetism, unlike 'Amores Perros'; unlike '21 Grams'; and unlike the masterpiece 'Babel'. I was disappointed to witness such a mesmerizing story have little momentum and predictable surprises. I do, however, recommend a strong viewing of this for the sake of an engaging intertwining of characters, a delectable cinematic eye for breath-taking scenery and setting, and a heartfelt challenging of humanity and substance.

The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel - 1967) - 9/10

2009-11-19T23:01:00.000-08:00

Most may automatically respond to Luis Bunuel's surrealism trip 'The Exterminating Angel' as a demented jab at upper-class bourgeoisie a la Jean Renoir's 'The Rules of the Game'. This is the automatic assumption I made about this art-house approach on rich dinner guests trapped in a room not knowing why or how to get out. However - the sacrificing of lambs, the Catholic and masonic symbols scattered, and not to mention, the film's apocalyptic ending all point fingers at something masterfully deep. After some minor research (ahem, imdb.com message boards, ahem), more of the film's subtle religious symbolism hint at a deep existential and religious meaning. After all, the film's title is taken from a line in the Bible. The guests are stuck in a room - allegorically stuck in a cycle of death and rebirth, where their only outside access are three closets - a closet in literary allusion may hint at a part of the body, mind, or soul that one finds his/her true self or origin, but may not be physically apparent and more self-kept (like homosexuality is referred to 'coming out of the closet'). Each of these closets lead to a suicide. Eventually, the only way out of the room for these guests is to figure out what position they were originally before they realized they were trapped inside the room - alluding to self-realization maybe? In a more obvious sense which brings to mind the recent film 'Blindness' - these rich pricks expose their true grotesque colors in times of panic and extremity. I'm really no good at this existentialist way of cinematic writing or thinking, but I'm astonishingly drawn to it and mystified by it - in the way that makes me look forward to sitting through a Bergman or Tarkovsky film, knowing it'll frustrate me till no end. What I witnessed in my first dive into a Bunuel film is something completely unforgettable, and a mystery that left a harrowing effect.

Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard - 1965) - 7/10

2009-11-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

'Pierrot Le Fou' is puppy-love nihilism at its most "cool". Me and everyone else swear by the fact that Quentin Tarantino will borrow from Jean Luc Godard until there's nothing left to borrow - this seems to even include this stylish French caper when Tarantino penned 'Natural Born Killers'. Ferdinand becomes sick with his pretentious lifestyle so he runs off with his baby-sitter Marianne. Together they kill, steal, and violate cross-country. Their rebellion is expressed through random chatter of poetry, song, and pop-culture-referenced ranting. Eventually, Marianne isn't really adding up - there's something about her beyond her beauty - perhaps a bad past that may catch up to her, or a misleading character that'll bite Ferdinand in the ass. 'Pierrot Le Fou' is what Godard does best, though it certainly doesn't amount to his best that I've seen. It's a continuation of nihism and Marxism, exploding with life and whimsical nature, as well as poetic ideas which would now be characterized by wearing a French berret, dressing mime-like, busting out the shades, and having a long cigarette hanging out of your mouth while sipping espresso. Sure, this is quite pretentious at times - but the portrayal of passion and youth of puppy-love, and letting go of life and routine for excitement is more than charming. Not to mention, Godard's primitively artful eye for expressionism and story-telling.

The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson - 2009) - 9/10

2009-11-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

Rian Johnson bored me to tears with his foot-in-the-door sleeper debut 'Brick' with his tribute to classic film noir anachronistic to modern high school kids. It was a hardly believable vision that was very original - I'll give him that. However - I did not have the time to follow the film's jumbled dialogue as I couldn't sift through my gumshoe dictionary fast enough to keep up. Anyways, Rian Johnson is guarantee to make some new fans with his energized and exciting take on the con-man comedy - 'The Brothers Bloom'. We have two brothers/con-men who grow up together through numerous foster homes after being kicked out time and time again. When they take on one last job of conning an eccentric, almost idiot-savant woman who is an heiress of millions of dollars, one of them falls in love with her, and they are lead into a comedic thrill-ride of con-art and double-cross. Both brothers, played very well by Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo (both have very little trouble in perfecting their roles), are also accompanied by the shining star of 2007's 'Babel' - Rinko Kikuchi - and she's a silent, mysterious tag-along with an obsession with explosive devices. The role in this film that truly deserves recognition is Rachel Weisz as the quirky and adorably sheltered heiress who is taken out of her shell by the two brothers. 'The Brothers Bloom' borrows heavily from Jean-Luc Godard's legendary 'Band of Outsiders', with a less pretentious/indie-centric Wes Anderson feel, and also with a certain Chaplin-esque charm. To put it bluntly - I could not imagine a more feel-good film to come out this year, and it disappoints me to see this film go as unnoticed as it has been.

End of the Line (Maurice Devereaux - 2006) - 6/10

2009-11-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

Normally I wouldn't let a B-movie horror film with the same standards as a Sci-Fi Channel original movie slip through the cracks with anything above a 2/5 star rating - but goddamn, 'End of the Line' had such the potential despite its trainwreck acting, foolish script and dialogue, and criminally elusive ending for the sake of throwing the audience off. I'm sure the pen pressed against the paper with marvelous intentions - and this is certainly a B-movie that horror snobs of all races can appreciate. In fact - I can't recall a scene that made me jump like the first 3 minutes of this film - VERY shocking it was! The rest of the film has a few jumpy moments, a great deal of impressive blood'n'guts, and some well-achieved suspense. 'End of the Line' tells of a creepy religious cult who believe they are sent to brutally massacre those who are not "saved" - all centering around a creepy subway system of mechanics and passengers. Definitely worth watching with a group of friends with a taste for the squeamish and corny a la 'Night of the Creeps'.

The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles - 2004) - 10/10

2009-11-19T22:57:00.000-08:00

'The Motorcycle Diaries' is a film I had dodged for quite some time, and I'm regretting it now that I realize the marvel it truly is. One of my favorite sub-genres of film is the 'road film' - popularized by such classics as 'Easy Rider' and 'Two-Lane Blacktop', where our primary, sometimes alienated characters find out what true 'freedom' really is by living by the rules of the road. 'The Motorcycle Diaries' is an exploration of life and compassion, as told through the young, pre-political revolutionist diaries of the late, great Che Guevara. We explore how societal and political decisions strain the lower and lower-middle class with un-faceable hardships, which is what fueled Che Guevara's socialized push on South American establishment. After a long time invested into medical school, he travels on a clunker motorcycle with one other companion. Through his journeys, he is faced with young-love and fallen society. He compassionately gives free medical help, as well as what little money he has in his pocket to a family in need. The story itself is stunningly inspiring, and in film-form it truly opens your eyes as a human being. This is as poetic as it is enjoyable.

2012 (Roland Emmerich - 2009) - 5/10

2009-11-19T22:56:00.000-08:00

Let me clarify that this review WILL have "spoilers" - and if you are at all concerned about someone "spoiling" this movie for you, thennnnn... I don't really know what to tell you, except maybe to ask "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU EXPECTING?! IT'S A GODDAMN HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER WHERE SHIT BLOWS UP!"

anywho - Anyone with access to Google knows a little about the 2012 Mayan predictions, etc etc. John Cusack plays a somewhat "struggling" author - and aside from paying the $8.50 to see 'splosions and mass destruction galore (i normally choose to skip all things Micheal Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer, and get my special effects fill with post-apocalyptic blockbusters), I was really hoping to see John Cusack die... for once. Basically, the story is mind-dumbingly square - Cusack is competing with his childrens' step-father, and he's gotta rely on saving them from the end of the world to redeem himself. He finds a map to this super secret government ship that'll only hold those rich and successful folks who paid 1 billion euros per seat. We have some more cliches of the WORLD END genre: Progressive black people in leadership to show off Hollywood's fabricated leftism - yet by the end of the film, ONLY the rich and the successful survive. If it were based on true liberal feelings - then perhaps there'd be some middle class folks on board maybe? Call me crazy. Anyways - the special effects in this film DO truly prevail over any other natural disaster films: well-touched, and highly concentrated.. and quite frankly, worth watching on the big screen JUST for that. I expected a lack of substance, but everyone deserves a guilty pleasure or four. Tidal waves kick ass.

Last Year At Marienbad (Alain Resnais - 1961) - 9/10

2009-11-19T22:55:00.000-08:00

Alain Resnais' beloved art-house follow-up to his French New Wave seed 'Hiroshima, Mon Amour' is what those funny black and white, high society fragrance commercials are mocking - you know - where there's a man and woman wearing formal dinner party attire who never really face one another, they both take turns speaking or perhaps finishing each others' sentences, and speaking the same sentence while the camera cuts and changes position every two seconds. Anyone with their pop culture checklist knows the scenario all too well - in fact, SNL even mocked it hilariously. 'Last Year at Marienbad' is concretely about a man trying to convince a woman he met her and had a passionate love affair at the same luxurious hotel a year prior, while she presents zero sign of memory or belief of it. With its haunting, almost vampyric organ score, and elegantly concentrated pacing - we are given a luscious, damn-near immaculate tour of the hotel's beautiful architecture, while hazily following the man and the woman (only credited as "X" and "A"), and an additional grim-looking character who may or may not be the woman's true lover or husband. The film is entirely open-ended and gives no answer - yet, the several possibilities you may conjure are what make this film the landmark it was. It still haunts art-house film geeks to this day, apparently.

Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli - 2008) - 4/10

2009-11-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

I truly do admire low budget film-making and the art of making ends meet with minimal costs. However, admiration for a concept does not constitute enjoyment necessarily. I knew I'd hate 'Paranormal Activity', and well - I just kind of hated it. Shot with the funding of just under $15,000 inside the director's own home, it does jump through a creative hoop or two, and at least makes an attempt to tastefully inch some suspense that would work for an accessible viewing or mass-appeal. Despite its novel, indie approach, the execution of the "scares" and "shocks" fell horrendously short - but that's completely subjective to what you have seen or haven't seen. To the normal movie-goer (also given that I watched this illegally through the comfort of a dvd screener on a computer with the original ending), I can see why the test audience in the film trailer nearly jumped outta their seats in terror (a completely recycled marketing tool from 'The Blair Witch Project"). 'Paranormal Activity' tells of a girl who is haunted by demonic activity only in the middle of the night - doors slamming, hard knocking, sheets thrown around, etc etc - and her co-habitant boyfriend purchases an expensive film camera in hopes of documenting the nightly movements. This film would've been finer with any sort of explanation of Katie's past, and probably without Micah's "COME AND GET ME YOU MOTHERFUCKER" frat-boy stand-offing. The only sequence that came off as potentially disturbing was the re-hashed 'The Exorcist' scene of the girl chewing off her own arm; this was slightly convincing... but then right after that we're returned to this snooze-fest episode of The Real World. My bar is set real high with these POV shockers after the intense viewing of the Spanish film '.REC' - which was pretty goddamn perfect in a horrific sense, and I'm almost saddened to say that this profitable sensation, 'Paranormal Activity' bored me to death. Save yourself the time and just watch old 'Unsolved Mysteries' episodes with Robert Stack - the theme song should creep you out enough I imagine.

The Hit (Stephen Frears - 1984) - 8/10

2009-11-19T22:53:00.000-08:00

'The Hit' most likely slipped through a few film radars, and most certainly would've slipped through mine if I hadn't recalled the enjoyment of growing up watching Stephen Frears' other 80's sensation 'Prick Up Your Ears' - a film which starred a homosexual Gary Oldman at his refreshing career jumpstart. What I notice about Stephen Frears' earlier films is that it is indeed very easy to misidentify the film's central character; 'The Hit' actually centers around John Hurt's 'Mr. Braddock', a character further explored through who may be confused as the main character, Terence Stamp's 'Willie Parker'. Willie Parker is the ex-gangster who exposed some very notorious mob activity in court then fled to Spain in hiding. Mr. Braddock, alongside a very young and electrifyingly gun-mad Tim Roth, is the man sent to execute him. What begins as a smooth crime flick further takes on the shape of an incredibly interesting road film - where we are given a long detained car ride back to Paris to discover the true nature of our characters. We learn that the very nonchalant Willie Parker is seemingly unafraid to die, but he may or may not have a few tricks in sleeves as he makes attempts to turn Tim Roth's 'Myron' against Mr. Braddock - accusing him of being sluggish and careless at his 'hit' job at his old age.. and may have some second thoughts about continuing his hit-man career; but a very good question is - IS Mr. Braddock having second thoughts? 'The Hit' gives us quite the pastel landscape accompanied by a soothing Mariachi-esque guitar score - all which push the visual mystery of characters and the desolation they all conceal. This is a near-masterwork of character complexity and study, as well as a damn enjoyable mob film that breaks out of the box.

Thirst (Park Chan-Wook - 2009) - 9/10

2009-11-19T22:52:00.000-08:00

If anyone ever saw the 3-part collective of horror shorts called 'Three.. Extremes' back in 2004, you would've noticed a small precursor at the beginning of Park Chan-wook's 'Cut' segment - how it starts out with a set production for a vampire film. This fantasy has come to life with this year's 'Thirst' - Chan-wook's ode to a vampiric romance tale. Allow me to expand here - the creative process for 'Thirst' began before the 'Twilight' boom, so there's none of this "reaping from the success of Stephanie Meyer" bullshit. Anyways,a priest volunteers to be injected with a deadly vaccine in hopes of helping find a cure - when he gets the wrong side effects, his body begins rejecting blood and he starts dying rapidly. He is saved by a blood transfusion with vampire blood - in which case, well, he develops a taste for human blood. After swearing into a life of chastity, he falls in love and lust with a young girl whose family he sought after during his avid priesthood. After an awkward, yet whimsically endearing and bizarre phase of sex and lust, he turns her into a vampire. Through-out his vampire-hood, the priest still makes a conscious effort to only feed his appetite for blood through hospital overstock instead of taking blood from actual victims - but how long can he continue his morality when the woman he transformed into a vampire has a non-stop thrill of playing a predatory murderess? 'Thirst' is a trial of moral obligation - how you transform into an opposite; very much akin to the primary theme of mirrored opposites in another artfully stunning modern vampire tale, 'Let The Right One In'. The priest makes a strong attempt, but loses all reason for living other than the consumption of human blood. Like Park Chan-wook's worldly-acclaimed cult-favorite 'Vengeance Trilogy' (Oldboy, LadyVengeance, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), 'Thirst' invites you into a dizzyingly dark and desolate atmosphere, with a concentration on magnificent symmetry in set design a la Peter Greenaway. The coloration is richly glum, and the actors are directed as if it were theater or a musical. 'Thirst' truly delivers some unforgettable moments, and though while completely un-scary, it does pack some gruesome punches into a hellish world of the grotesque, laced with heavy-hearted romance.

The House of the Devil (Ti West - 2009) - 8/10

2009-11-19T22:49:00.001-08:00

'The House of the Devil' has to be one of the most pleasant horror surprises I've seen in quite some time, along with being a pitch-perfect tribute to the campy slasher/horror sensation of the 80's. Well, maybe not "pitch-perfect" - as this horror gem has no nudity; but in terms of style (80s fashion, camera/film quality, the hilariously dead-on 80's synth score, the camera techniques, the innocent young college student dance around to herself listening to an 80's one-hit-wonder), we are practically given the best goddamn 80's horror film ever! Director Ti West has already developed quite the love-hate relationship with underground horror fans, though this is the first time I've ever heard of the guy's name. 'The House of the Devil' is about a college student looking to make some cash by doing a very upscale baby-sitting job - however, the unveils the clients' true objective of wanting to use her young, innocent body for a satanic ritual. Ti West uses the first 30 minutes or so to show off his knowledge of mimicking the 80's slasher film - and then things start to shake in a blood-spattering, violent suspense thrill. What I admire about this film the most is how this is supposed to be laughably ridiculous and campy, yet it completely takes itself seriously when it comes to harvesting all the extreme acts of violence into a few powerful moments few and far between. This is what I've always preferred in the horror genre, personally. The dialogue and acting isn't exactly the best, but I do think making this an 80's tribute was quite a brilliant cop-out for a low-budget - think about it: lowered quality is cheap, sub-par acting is cheap. This could damn well be a very profitable experience for Ti West in financing some higher-budget scaries while carrying along the same film smarts. I recommend this to each and every horror fan out there.

uhhhh?

2009-11-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

let's give this a try. i'll be posting a shit-ton of film reviews here and there, as well as a top 50 list for this decade in films. fun? yeah, thought so.