We’re back this week for Weekly Review in a week that’s admittedly all about TV. Game of Thrones wrapped up with a rather cinematic finale but felt a touch disappointing after the omission of a certain cliffhanger. But the real triumph is found in FX’s Fargo, which for all the many, many ways it could have failed miserably, has turned into perhaps the greatest mini-series event of all time. It’s a dark monument to long-form storytelling; 10 hours of rollicking perfection. If I were to assign a grade to the entire season, it would without a doubt be an A+. The acting from Martin Freeman, Allison Tomlan, Keith Carradine has been simply incredible and Billy Bob Thornton deserves every award there is for his menacing portrayal of the almost Biblical Lorne Malvo. If you haven’t yet seen the show, I implore you to do so.
Aside from that, this week held very few screenings for me aside from Clint Eastwood‘s Jersey Boys, which I thought was mildly amusing but mostly dull. I deliberately skipped out on Think Like a Man Too, probably because I watched About Last Night last week and was totally turned off by the genre. Obvious Child also screened but since I got a chance to catch that at SIFF (and thoroughly enjoyed it, you may recall), I skipped out on a second viewing.
And considering that it was pretty rainy all week, I was in a bit of a horror mood, as you’ll notice from the selection below. So have fun and dive into another installment of Weekly Review. Remember, feel free to add suggestions or requests for me to add to the list.
Memories of Murder (2005)
Through Bong Joon-ho‘s spectacles, the world is a grim canvas for violence, full of painful misgivings and poorly constructed, often faulty systems. Memories of Murder looks back at the dictatorship-defined 1980s of South Korea and an unsolved mass murder case polluted by torture, assumptions, and a corrupt system as a pair of detectives attempt to trudge through the mire and find truth. Murder is about morals going where the sun don’t shine and the corruptive souls of those with a gun and a badge. Though the frays are rarely invisible, Bong’s message shines loud and clear in this captivating, cleanly made sophomore feature. (B)
Day of the Dead (1985)
George Romero‘s third addition to his Dead series is an oddly thoughtful account of the humanity left behind in the apocalypse’s wake. It’s never actually scary and has an unexpectedly slim amount of Z-day encounters, but makes up for frights with some dial-moving FX – including some killer zombie slayings – and smooth monster movie ideology. No less, it’s still a significant addition to the oeuvre of horror movies, even when it does feel slight – especially considering the collective 30 year gap on either sides of other installments. But the domesticated zombie Bub is pretty much enough to glide by on, amiright? (C+)
Stakeland (2010)
After interviewing Jim Mickles for a second time, I thought it pertinent to catch up on some of his earlier filmography and let’s just say the man has made great leaps and bounds since this earlier work. Stakeland – a post-apocalyptic, vampire road trip movie – is not a bad film so much as it is derivative and without much visual personality. It falls in line with the aesthetic palette you see of direct to Redbox projects yet still contains some of the disturbing flair that Mickles has since expanded upon. To get the gist of it, imagine Zombieland without the humor. (C-)
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