Weekly Review 66: MOTIVATION, COPS, FOLLOWS, BELLE, WILD, EXPENDABLES, JOURNEY

December 14, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Belle, It Follows, Let's Be Cops, Reviews, The Expendables 3, The Hundred-Foot Journey, Weekly Review, Wild, Zero Motivation

It’s been a long week – a final homestretch towards officially calling 2014 – that capped off in a very long flight, so this weekly is as stuffed as ever. After screenings of Into the Woods (review to follow) and Top Five, I watched a few films at home that I’d been meaning to get around to and a few that I had only heard of when the studio reached out to see if I wanted to review them. Included in this category is Tayla Lavie‘s excellent Zero Motivation. A 22 hour flight afforded me the chance to take in Expendables 3, Let’s Be Cops and The Hundred-Foot Journey (none of which I’d seen) as well as rewatches of Guardians of the Galaxy and Edge of Tomorrow (both of which I enjoyed almost as much the second time.) So let’s boogie down and Weekly Review.

ZERO MOTIVATION (2014)

An Israeli take on Joseph Conrad‘s seminal novel “Catch 22”, Zero Motivation looks at the hijinks of a female unit inside a Tzahal military base. Directed with zany aplomb by female Israeli director Tayla Lavie, this chaptered saga of woman in uniform vs. ennui is characterized by a soaring sense of voice and sees stars Dana Ivgy and Nelly Tagar face down the clock as they Minesweep their way through their deafeningly dull military assignment – paperwork. A dark comedy with as many barbs as points, Zero Motivation is a delicious and original vision, percolating with purpose. (B+)

LET’S BE COPS (2014)

I was expecting some horrendous abortion of a comedy with Let’s Be Cops after Fox canned our press screening back in August but what I encountered was an earnest, though underwritten, nugget of an idea. Though as untimely as can be – has there ever been a worse time to glorify copwork? – Cops potential is never fully realized even when it’s defined by an almost boundless sense of commitment from its leads. Riffing on the buddy cop subgenre, this perfectly affable comedy throwback may be short of laugh out loud moments but it kept afloat by the goodwill and easy chemistry of stars Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. With a smarter edit. a more joke-heavy script and better timing, this could have actually been something special. (C-)

IT FOLLOWS (2014)

One of 2014’s best horror films, It Follows imagines a STD unlike any other, one that claims the life of its victims not by whacking blood cells but by pathogenic haunting. You see, whomever the curse is passed onto is “followed” by a mysterious supernatural being sans discrimination. Like the leisurely-trotting slasher baddies of yore, the titular “it” is a beast of slow-footed intention, always marching towards its victim with its idle cadence. Director David Robert Mitchell deals in wild abstractions while still managing a very real grip on reality, allowing his characters to live on a plane of existence parallel to ours, rightfully ripe with many of the same headaches. Teenage angst and sexual frustration are equally important to the doubtlessly endeavored antagonist in It Follows making a horror film that’s largely inspired by the genre’s past and yet not quite like anything else before it. (A-)

BELLE (2014)

A pretty costume drama dealing with ugly subject matter, Belle tells the true story of a mixed-race daughter of an aristocrat, with enviable fortunes and unenviable skin tone. Even with wealth beyond measure to her name, Dido Elizabeth Belle deals with upper-class racism like 1.) not being able to dine with her family when guests were present 2.) dealing with a handsy Draco Malfoy 3.) carriage rides. My greatest issue with the film is the territory left unexplored. For instance, the dichotomy of being too “low” to dine with the aristocrats but too “high” to dine with the maid staff. Or further exploring that dynamic between those employees of fellow race and her. Alas, Belle deals its Dark Equality Rising card with cliche, overly perfumed turns between fine performances and brusque costumery. (C)

WILD (2014)

Wild tells the true story of Cheryl Strayed, a wildly unprepared woman who embarks on the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) in search of her salvation. Following her mother passes away, a bout with freebased heroine and a nether-region looseness even a porn star wouldn’t envy, Strayed has alienated her way to middle-class pariah status and seeks a kind of fool’s gold redemption out amongst the wilderness. Her transformation is Kafkaesque in nature, with nightmarish reality checks that make us cringe and an sense of her own evils floating just outside the screen. Busy editing keeps us engaged as does Jean-MarcVallée’s adroit eye for drama, even when the Malicky whisperings almost get out of hand, but it’s a fine performance from Reese Witherspoon that anchors it all together and makes it great. Humming with spirit and sure to leave even the grumpiest humbuggers somewhat inspired, Wild is a powerful tale of reclaiming the soul. (B)

THE EXPENDABLES 3 (2014)

Somewhat entertaining although completely and totally lacking in art, The Expendables 3 represents the most base of PG-13 action fare. With a cast of names that would have been awesome in the 80s, this star-studded third take on New Year’s Eve for dudes is a bloodless, often ball-less affair with weightless violence and fair measures of dumb fun. A committed Wesley Snipes, a batshit Antonio Banderas and a scenery-smacking Mel Gibson try to make matters worthwhile as Sly Stallone grunts and bellows amidst a sea of washed up wash-boarders like Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren. Mindless and frustratingly soulless – though still just the kind of mind-numbing inflight entertainment it purports itself as – at least this third Expendables film shows off Terry Crews‘ absolutely inhuman muscle mass. (D+)

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY (2014)

Lasse Hallström, he of the reckless sentiment, takes on food porn in The Hundred-Foot Journey, a foodie movie more interested in relationships than it is in cuisine. The director of two too many Nicholas Sparks adaptation finds romance amidst good eats as hungry Indian cook Hassan (Manish Dayal) scales the great wall of Michelin stars while courting sous chef compatriot Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), all the while battling off the fervor of rival restaurateur Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren.) It’s hokey, predictable and totally unbelievable – essentially Ratatouille without the rat – but its not without its flavorful perks. As far as comfort food, it’s as easy to consume as mac and cheese, even if it does contain the equivalent artistry and is as easy on the eyes – and just as old fashion – as its headlining British actress. (C)

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Weekly Review 65: DEBORAH, BIRDCAGE, THIN, BEST!, GIRL

December 8, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Reviews, The Birdcage, The Taking of Deborah Logan, The Thin Blue Line, We Are the Best!, Weekly Review

It’s an insanely busy time of year as I’m rushing to see the remainder of 2014 flicks, preparing for a Top Ten Horror Films of the year and bustling to get ready for a trip around the world. Last week in theaters meant two big blockbuster with colons screenings, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Exodus: Gods and Kings. I enjoyed one more than I thought I would and one quite a bit less. This paved the way for our long awaited release of Ranking Ridley where we put the films of Mr. Ridley Scott to list form. At home, a few heavies, a horror and a pair of wonderful new hits made up the heart and soul of this installment of Weekly Review.

THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN (2014)

Adam Robitel‘s found footage horror begins in convincing manner with a graduate’s students dissertation taking her to the home of Alezheimer’s patient Deborah Logan. Logan’s, played by the ably creepy Jill Larson, affliction is causing her to do some unorthodox things but when she starts peeling off her skin and speaking in tongues, those studying her are left to assume that there’s something more than meets the eye going on. Released to almost no fanfare (and unceremoniously dumped on Netflix) Logan may not be all that original but it’s wildly effective at deliciously blending body horror with surprisingly eerie FX. (B-)

THE BIRDCAGE (1996)

With the recent passings of Mike Nichols and Robin Williams, The Birdcage seemed ripe for a watch and what a joy that experience was. Uproarious and tender, this Williams-Nathan Lane starrer is a LGBT film ahead of its time – if you ignore the fact that the son is supposed to be sheepish about his parent’s orientation but comes across as heavily pigheaded. Nonetheless, The Birdcage‘s warm center shines through, offering a poignant piece that’s equally emotionally and explosively funny. (B+)

THE THIN BLUE LINE (1988)

My recent obsession with Sarah Koenig‘s Serial Podcast had me craving some more true crime and The Thin Blue Line is a real doozie. While I’m filled with doubt as to what the ultimate result of Serial may be (I fear, like the rest of the listeners, that it will all have been for naught) Errol Morris‘ groundbreaking film proved a precedent for documentary-style investigative journalism inflicting a real impact on judicial proceedings. Morris’ film is so effective at discrediting the jailing of a man wrongfully convicted of a life sentence for murdering a police officer that he was RELEASED FROM PRISON 12 years after his incarceration. Though dated, Blue Line is a cornerstone for the importance of the documentaries and a must-see for anyone who’s a fan of true crime. (A-)

WE ARE THE BEST! (2014)

A trio of 80’s Stockholm misfit band together to ignite a punk group even though they have no talent to speak of. Lukas Moodysson adapts the story with the help of his wife Coco Moodysson from graphic novel “Never Goodnight” and what is lost in translation is made up for by a seething sense of fun. The young performers are always on their mark, adding pathos to the sense of timeless adolescence captured on film. Screened at last year’s TIFF Special Presentation section, We Are the Best! has won over the hearts of critics and audiences who’ve heard the punk gospel and the reason couldn’t be more clear. It’s wholly lovable. (B)

A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (2014)

Check your expectations at the door, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is some kind of wonderful lightning in a bottle. How Ana Lily Amirpour takes familiar elements from vampire romance and morphs them into something wholly novel is sight unseen. This slow-moving Iranian art film makes way for a non-stop display of impeccably gorgeous celluloid, black-and-white images dancing against a grainy hi-fi score that’s in part Sergio Leone spaghetti Western and equally a rave scene. It’s eerie and beautiful, creepy and delicate, like Winding Refn taking on Jim Jarmusch. Quite unlike anything else you’ll see this year, Girl also holds the honor of being one of the most important, forward-looking flicks of the year. Who would have expected vampires to ever mean so much (B+)

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Weekly Review 64: OCTOBER, HOUSEBOUND, VIRAL, ABCS 2, POINT, RESCUE

December 4, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged ABCs of Death 2, Housebound, Point and Shoot, Rescue Dawn, Reviews, The Houses October Built, VHS: Viral, Weekly Review

It’s been a week or two (ok fine, two and a half) since I’ve updated things ’round these parts after all the holiday hubbub so there’s quite a bit on today’s dockets. In theaters, things have ratcheted down to a much more steady cadence of one or two flicks a week in theaters. Last week, I caught screenings of Horrible Bosses 2 (I found it quite funny), Foxcatcher (review written but embargoed for now) and A Most Violent Year (ditto on the embargo.) I also missed screenings of Tim Burton‘s Big Eyes and Wild which was kind of a bummer but oh well, I’ll catch them later and be spared the pressure of writing up full reviews. At home, I continued to count my way through all 21 of Ridley Scott’s films in preparation for tonight’s screening of Exodus: Gods and Kings (fingers crossed that that’s actually half-way decent) among more horror movies as I build my way towards a Top Ten Horror Movies of 2014 (I can sense your glee from here.) So strap in for another shot to the heart of Weekly Review.

THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT (2014)

What a conversation starter this one could be at the haunted house queue next Halloween. Being a bit of a dedicated haunted house aficionado, the dramatic tension that exists in The Houses October Built is is one any person who’s second-guessed an interactive horror experience can reason with: but what if they actually kill me? I went to one haunt this Halloween season in which I had to sign and fingerprint a waiver that basically said everything was hunky-dory if I, welp, died. This found footage flick is basically what if that basic premise went wrong. I won’t spoil anything beyond that, just know that it’s a rather calamitous and eerie ride. (B-)

HOUSEBOUND (2014)

Keeping in the great tradition of New Zealand horror comedy, Housebound is an irreverent splatter fest with chewy characters living through absurdist situations. When the criminally angsty Kylie Bucknell (Morgana O’Reilly) is put under house arrest with her “delusional” mother, she starts to realize that maybe there is truth to her mum’s belief that the house is indeed haunted. This NZed debut from Gerard Johnstone is stuffed with sardonic wit, mocking the tropes of horror movies past, while offering enough new wacky twists and turns to make it a fiery, often dazzling watch. Fans of Peter Jackson‘s early work and/or Cabin in the Woods will find much to love in this underground horror comedy gem. (B)

V/H/S: VIRAL (2014)

The third edition to this wearing anthological franchise, Viral represents everything wrong with the whole V/H/S brand. First off, they have no idea what they’re doing with their overarching tie-in story – a fact self-evident from the overabundant and incredibly hackneyed use of it here. It’s a utter mess that detracts from the shorts themselves and an artifice that needs to be axed entirely going forward – ABCs of Death doesn’t bother with it and is all the more successful for it. Having said that, the shorts themselves are all fairly effective. Nacho Vigalondo‘s “Parallel Monsters” is an esoteric trip to another dimension, Gregg Bishop‘s “Dante the Great” is like a Skinemax version of an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode and Marchel Sarmineto‘s “Vicious Circles” is a stupidly entertaining zombie gore-fest. But that egg in which it’s all encased in just so unforgivably bad. (C-)

ABCS OF DEATH 2 (2014)

A marked improvement over the original A-to-Z horror anthology, The ABCS Of Death 2 makes great use of more than half of the alphabet. Directors from E.L. Katz to Rodney Ascher each take on a letter and massage them into some half-relevant short and the percentage of hits to duds is super impressive. Amateur, Capital Punishment, Deloused, Falling, Knel, Masticate, Questionnaire, Roullette, Split, Vacation, Xylophone, and Zygote each offer a diverse look at how to approach a short – from mucky animation to grotesque physical horror and violent psychological mind games, making a true collection of weird, offbeat horror shorts definitely worth digesting. (B-)

POINT AND SHOOT (2014)

Marshall Curry was a man without much of a point. He kind of hobbled through his early life before going in search of a sense of himself that lands him smack dab in the middle of the Libyan Revolution. Curry’s doc, Point and Shoot, was the winner of the Best Documentary Award at this year’s Tribeca Film and it’s not hard to see why. You don’t often witness a documentarian insert himself into the action like Curry does and witnessing his struggle with his fluctuating identity is an experience of great unease. Unsure if he’s a filmmaker or a revolutionary, Curry’s command over his camera is shaky at best but he gets shots in and amongst the action unlike those on the sidelines. (B-)

RESCUE DAWN (2005)

Werner Herzog‘s true account of an American pilot shot down over Laos at the onset of the Vietnam War wastes no time getting down to business. In a jiffy, Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) is in the hands of hostile forces, imprisoned in bamboo shackles and forced to work with a selection of other POWs (with excellent performances from fellow inmates Jeremy Davies and Steve Zahn) in order to plan an escape through unforgiving jungles. No one takes on the plight of man amidst nature quite like Herzog and his shot at one man’s survival instinct is unabashed, commanding and unsentimental. Not to mention the absolutely gorgeous cinematography. (A-)

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Weekly Review 62: DEVIL, EVERYONE, PHILIP, FORCE, LOW

November 9, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Force Majeure, Listen Up Philip, Low Down, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Reviews, The Devil's Rejects, Weekly Review

Another fairly lax week at the theater held screenings of Interstellar and Big Hero 6 – both of which I had high hopes for (the former far more than the later) and was fairly disappointed by both. At home, I had some time to catch up with a few new screeners (bringing my cume of 2014 films to a whopping 198), none of which impressed me more than the Swedish avalanche drama currently making the rounds in limited release. As far as films opening this week, it’d probably be the one I’d most recommend. Chris sat down with Michel Hazanavicius and Berenice Bejo to chat The Artist and their upcoming film The Search. It’s a great interview so be sure to give it a look. Otherwise, let’s boogie down with some Weekly Reviews.

DEVIL’S REJECTS (2005)

A mild improvement over Rob Zombie‘s debut effort House of 1,000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects is an unreservedly more cinematic sequel. Moving outside the circle of abject grossness stuffed in leaky caves and dark tool sheds, Zombie moves his marks into the desert to cook up some sun-baked horror the aesthetic likes of Natural Born Killers. There’s a semblance of social commentary churning within Devil’s Rejects but it’s too half-baked to ever truly make heads or tails of. Nevertheless, it signaled the development of a filmmaker that has since descended into lesser material. All in all though, an interesting, if repetitive, watch and one worthy of seeking out (next Halloween) for genre fans that have passed it over. (C+)

ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (2005)

An oddball little indie film ensemble piece, Me and You and Everyone We Know is like a successful version of this year’s Men, Women and Children (overbearingly long title accounted for.) John Hawkes plays a shoe salesman whose wife has just flown the coup and is surrounded by a menagerie of strange cityfolk all with their own quirks, secrets and peculiarities. Miranda July‘s debut showcases comedy consistent in its gentle biting nature – more a thing of misunderstood awkwardness than anything – but it’s got a genial heart to match. July’s strange little piece packs an undeniable heartbeat and isn’t suffocated by its girthy cast of characters, even though it’s all rather weird. (B-)

LISTEN UP PHILIP (2014)

One of the more decisive films of 2014 (many loved it) is also one of the hardest to really feel anything towards. Jason Schwartzman plays a misanthropic writer who rages and alienates his way through New York City until he meets novelist idol Ike Zimmer (Jonathan Pryce). The two swirl in a whirlpool of self-pity, self-importance, intellectual superiority and ultimately regret, eventually driving one another towards that most extreme state of NYC misanthropy. Schwartzman’s Philip may be hard to care for because of how much of a douchebag he is but he’s also not a very interesting character. Wallowing arrogance is only arresting in short bursts and Philip long outstays his chilly welcome. (C)

FORCE MAJEURE (2014)

To call Force Majeure a dramedy would be to misrepresent what it is, but I can’t think of another term to describe the hazy mixture of deeply uncomfortable comedy and shrill, sometimes even heart-breaking, dramatics. Ruben Östlund‘s Swedish vacation film follows a family of four as they holiday in the stunning French Alps until a life-threatening event changes the course of their vacation and their relationships. As the familial tension mounts, you’ll find yourself quietly cackling one moment and alarmingly affected the next. A great display of foreign cinema taking greater risks than we’re used to stateside, Force Majeure studies the effects of a near-miss on the rocky ethos of a nuclear family and does it all while threading a narrow thematic needle. (B)

LOW DOWN (2014)

John Hawkes plays a talented jazz musician who moonlights as a heroine slinger and deadbeat Dad to competent daughter Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning). Like jazz, Low Down wanders almost aimlessly, riffing here and there on the strong father-daughter relationship at its center and amidst themes of the cyclical nature of co-dependence, but is still without a strong narrative center point. If Llewyn Davis is a tone poem about a time and a scene, Low Down is a k-hole of the destructive spiral of musicianship and drugs. Not entirely without worth (the acting from Fanning, Hawkes, Glenn Close and Lena Headey is rock solid), Jeff Preiss‘ biopic of esteemed pianist Joe Albany is a narrative desperately in need of a through line. (C-)

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Weekly Review 61: HORNS, ABCS, BEGIN, CANNIBAL, SNOW

October 31, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Begin Again, Cannibal Holocaust, Horns, Reviews, Snow on Tha Bluff, The ABCs of Death, Weekly Review

Halloween is upon us (and by the time you’re reading this, will have already passed) so the time for horror is taking its spot in the rear view. Sayonara! Nevertheless, I popped on a slew of horrors at home, including a double Nosferatu showing; both the 1922 original and the “what if this was how it was made?” docu-fictionalization Shadow of the Vampire. No Halloween is complete without the obligatory Evil Dead 2 watch, so the wonderful caws and coos of Bruce Campbell graced my household as I turned a pumpkin into Nosferatu. This week had only one (!!!) screening, a rare thing in this rat-racing line of work but thankfully it was one for the books, Nightcrawler. Easily among my favorite of the year, Nightcrawler showcases Jake Gyllenhaal in a role that deserves all the awards. Hopefully he actually gets nommed on. At home, I had the chance to watch one of the worst movies of the entire year, which we’ll get to in just a wee moment. So strap in and let’s Weekly Reviews.

HORNS (2014)

You pretty much just need to learn the name of the lead character of Horns – Ignatius Perrish – to understand the egotistical, sloppy dreck that is this film shit show. Laughably dumb all the way through, Horns is a wildly ill-conceived movie that doesn’t apparently understand what movies are and how they function. Overtly reaching for metaphors and widely missing over and over again, Horns is one long, confused religious parable about who knows what; a masterpiece of allegorical shittiness, a master’s class on how not to make a movie. Daniel Radcliffe gives it his all as a shifty man on trial in the court of public opinion for allegedly murdering his girlfriend but the abortion of a screenplay leaves him very little room to act in any convincing manner or emote without making us want to laugh. All in all, I’ll chalk this one up to a director way, way in over their head, a screenplay dripping with no-no’s and actors confused into thinking that their onscreen work was important and not just a joke, which is all this ghastly film ultimately is. (F)

THE ABCS OF DEATH (2012)

A freakish collection of short entries to the time-honored horror genre, The ABCs of Death is anthology filmmaking epitomized. The good and the bad come mixed, with some absolutely dreadful entries – F for Fart (coming from Japan, naturally) – stirred up with some rather smart and effective ones – D for Dogfight is von Trier-lite, L for Libido is monstrously unsettling, N for Nupitals is worth a laugh, and X for XXL might just be the best of the bunch. Filmmakers at the forefront of the genre like Adam Wingard, Ti West, Ben Wheatley and the always unsettling Srdjan Spasojevic make appearances against newcomers like cartoonist Kaare Andrews and claymation man Lee Hardcastle. There’s segments that’ll have you hanging your head in your hands in disbelief and those that will ramp up the energy and inject enough life to keep at the two-plus hour engagement. Calling it a mixed effort is really the only way to sum it up but, for me personally, there’s enough to enjoy to make the venture somewhat worthwhile. (C+)

BEGIN AGAIN (2014)

Feel good gobbledygook caked in flaky melodrama, Begin Again is essentially an American remake of Once – from the same director – with a little less music, bigger cast names and a larger production budget. It’s fluffy and light and airy, the cinematic equivalent of popcorn, and just about as nourishing. There isn’t much to dislike, so long as you’re willing to swallow hokey, whimsy and the miracle of TRUE LOVE! It sounds as though I hated this film (I didn’t) but I can’t deny the soapiness had me smiling in places. Stupid soapy smiles. HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME SMILE SOAPY SMILES JOHN CARNEY?! Mark Ruffalo is as charming as always as a drunken, down-on-his-luck record guy, Keira Knightley is as effortlessly rapturous as ever as his songwriting savior, and even “rockstar” Adam Levine is tolerable as clean-cut d-bag heartbreaker. It’s just that the combination feels as inorganic, staged and slick as a Maroon 5 song. (C-)

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980)

An effectively horrifying descent into the green inferno, Cannibal Holocaust is a film that’s difficult to recommend on any rational level, and equally as hard to “enjoy,” but it’s an avante garde film who’s unblinking devotion to its contrarian cause I can’t help but respect. It also basically gave birth to the found footage subgenre – later popularized with Blair Witch. Cannibal Holocaust follows a group of sinful documentarians who enter the Amazon to track down some of the last remaining vestiges of untouched civilization in two warring cannibalistic tribes: the Ya̧nomamö and the Shamatari. The violence is shaking and brutally graphic, with accusations at the time of release that actual local tribesmen and women were murdered onscreen. The footage is so convincing, it took a three year examination to prove otherwise. While the film was later vindicated, Ruggero Deodato off the hook for murder and bans on the flick largely lifted, the absolutely stomach-churning cruelty to animals on-screen was never in doubt: it is all staggeringly real. Turtles are flayed, monkeys decapitated, a lemur cruelly stabbed to death. Any animal lover will close their eyes (I did) but their squeals still pierce your mind. At least now I understand the need for PETA. While Cannibal Holocaust enters the realm of film I would hesitate to recommend to even the most seasoned of stomach, it’s nonetheless an extremely well made and entirely thought-provoking film. (B-)

SNOW ON THA BLUFF (2011)

What did I just watch? How much of it is reality, how much is fiction? These are the kinds of questions Snow on Tha Bluff will inspire. The film starts jarringly when a hustler (Curtis Snow) bamboozles a trio of privileged college students, duping them into thinking he’ll sell them “two eight balls and ten rolls” and then robbing them at gunpoint. He snatches the co-ed’s camera and decides to let it roll on to capture his life dealing in Atlanta. The film doesn’t let up from there. Drive by’s, robberies, slinging drugs and the cold-blooded murder of “characters” – clearly stand-ins for real life people – make up just a part of this fascinating look into a cultural on the brink of collapse. Filmed guerrilla style, it’s almost impossible to parse out what is real and what is artifice and you’re left with the sinking feeling that even if nothing is real in the sense we’re thinking of, this is as close to reality as we’re gonna get. After the film’s release, Snow was arrested of charges depicted on camera, if that gives you any sense of the reality of the flick. It’s all one big tragic mess, a peek into a civilization rotting from the inside out. The thug life is as much a cause of self-perpetuation as it is of societal construction and we’re there to witness the cycle first-hand. A scene where Snow splices up crack rocks with a razor blade as his four year old plays with a balloon nearby, detailing how he experienced this exact same scene when he was a child, is perhaps the most real moment of the film. There’s no doubt Snow is a shaken man. Snow on Tha Bluff is that rare piece of cinema that – while occasionally willing to descent to moments that feel operatic and stagey, even in all its lo-fi presentation – is most effective at getting the cogs to churn in your mind, leaving you racing with questions that spill out into the real world. (B-)

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Weekly Review 60: BLIZZARD, STRETCH

October 24, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Reviews, Stretch, Weekly Review, White Bird in a Blizzard 2 Comments

Taking a break from the horror to settle into some 2014 On Demand fare, I looked to make up some ground with a couple new limited release arrivals. Seeing that I did a lot of what is colloquially known as raging this weekend, I didn’t quite get as many down as I had anticipated but with a packed week of screenings, there was no shortage of films to be had. After a public reading from Chuck Palahniuk on Monday (something I would highly recommend), I settled into screenings of the action packed but one-note John Wick followed up by the pitiful Ouija (which also landed with a thud with audiences, who rewarded it a lowly “C” CinemaScore) and unleashed reviews for what may be the year’s best, Birdman, the limited release but worthy of seeking out, The Heart Machine as well as local Seattleite Lynn Shelton‘s ultimately disappointing Laggies. Chris also piped in with his thoughts on the morally confused Dear White People, a film whose heart is in the right place but the execution is just a wide miss. So, all-in-all, a very busy week and time for some Weekly Reviews.

WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD (2014)

Gregg Araki delivers this somber piece of caged domesticity in odd fashion. First off, the piece introduces us to its central conundrum: Kat’s (Shailene Woodley) mom has gone missing. The tension is slow played, the disappearance surprisingly never suspect. But then again, Eve she was always a bit of a drinker, always a bit of a loosey goosey. She’d saunter around the house in provocative lingerie when Kat’s boyfriend would visit. Always with a glass of wine in hand. She was a minx trying to prove her worth through her sexuality, a role that Eva Green has come to embody again and again. And like always, Green absolutely owns it. When she up and disappears, Kat assumes she just picked up and left while others in town suspect more devious misdeeds. Throughout the film, there’s an awkward amount of sexuality energy in the young Kat that’s unleashed upon those that she encounters -as if she herself is growing into her cougarish mother – a metamorphosis from child to sexual being. But her budding sexual symbolism ends up seeming just as weird and unsexy as barely sprouting boobs. White Bird in a Blizzard packs a potent ending and a trio of fine performances but I’m still not convinced that there’s not a superior cut to the picture lying around somewhere, one that would actually piece all the disparate parts together into a more satisfying whole. (C+)

STRETCH (2014)

A bonkers, adrenaline-fueled, nonstop shit show, Stretch has no intention to play it safe. It features gun fights, cocaine baggies, wanksters, hookers, butt plugs (plural) and Jason Mantzoukas. Patrick Wilson plays a down-on-his-luck limo driver who’s up to his eyes in debt with a local mob syndicate claiming they need payment by the end of the night. This lands Stretch (which is both his nickname and the kind of vehicle he drives) in the outlandish arms of client Roger Karos. Karos, played brilliantly by Chris Pine, is an eccentric Richard Branson-meets-Russell Brand billionaire type. Pine’s nonsensical mumbling and shining eyes make him just as much of a pirate as Jack Sparrow and his performance is off-the-walls and absolutely hilarious. To see Pine outside of his regular wheelhouse is to see him thrive. Joe Carnagan broke the mold when he made Stretch and it would of been a thing of beauty to behold in theaters (I’m guessing the multiple butt plugs deemed it theater unfriendly?) and though everything’s a little quirky, a lot oddball and totally full of shit, it’s the kind of shit I’m willing to eat up. With a smile on my face no less. (B)

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Weekly Review 59: AMER, STRANGERS, SNATCHERS, BERBERIAN, CHILD'S

October 19, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Amer, Berberian Sound Studio, Child's Play, Horror, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Strangers, Weekly Review

Last week saw the release of the 13 Most Disturbing Horror Movies of the Last 13 Years (to thunderous applause) but I still had some fuel left in the tank to charge through a few more horror movies in preparation for Hallow’s Eve. In fact, the season has had a particularly strong sway with me this year, as I’ve now sought out a haunted house (Fright Fest in Federal Way), a haunted Seattle tour (Pioneer Square) and am soon to embark on an 18+ horror extravaganza (Real Fear) that will require me to sign and fingerprint a “don’t sue us” waver. Bring it on.

At home, I popped on one of my favorite Halloween flicks, Drag Me To Hell, but since I was mostly cooking eggs and washing dishes while I watched, I didn’t think it got the attention it deserved to be included for closer dissection amongst this week’s batch. I will however admit to loving that film wholeheartedly. In theaters, I caught St. Vincent, White Bird in a Blizzard, Dear White People and the utterly astounding , the last of which I would urge you to see as soon as it comes to a theater near you. But enough about me, let’s get to these Weekly Reviews.

AMER (2009)

A French experimental drama by way of the horror genre dedicated to its own experimentalism, Amer is an slip’n’slide of colors and askew camera angles. Part acid trip, part student film, there isn’t much to say about Amer‘s standstill plot, but in a movie such as this, plot isn’t really even a consideration. Admirably filmed and often gorgeously photographed, Amer is a film I can see some people some finding worth in but was not won over by the over-the-top existentialism of co-directors and writers Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani‘s wandering tendencies. The music is admittedly awesome, it just so happens that everything else is inidellyic. (C-)

THE STRANGERS (2007)

Liv Tyler stars in this taut little home invasion horror, a film that knows how to use sounds and shadows to its each and every advantage. There isn’t too much motion within The Strangers – it mostly unfolds within an isolated wooden cabin in the middle of, you guessed it, nowhere – but sets itself up with some emotional stakes that are never made light of nor ever truly fleshed out. For that fact alone, I had a lot of respect for the restraint and nuance of Bryan Bertino‘s storytelling. His is a movie happy to leave us hanging, waiting for an auditory bang or the appearance of a nefarious invader but not depending upon it. Atmospheric and deliberate spooky, The Strangers is a strong example of frugal horror done right. (B)

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)

A remake of Don Siegel‘s 1956 sci-fi, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a smartly told story of alien invasion. Being a child of the 90’s, my fourth grade year involved learning the cold hard facts about aliens through “Animorphs.” That’s right, I suckled on the nourishing, junky teat of K.A. Applegate. So yeah, I am well versed in the fine art of yerking. Because that’s basically what’s going on here. Except with slugs. Body Snatchers is one of the films that I’ve put off for a long time, expecting something amazing and earth-shattering. And though I rather enjoyed the film, it wasn’t quite the astonishing masterwork I had hoped for. Nonetheless, it’s a pulpy, politically charged (the sheer amount of Red panic is almost excruciating) tale of the terrors of conformity. (B)

BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO (2012)

A lonely foley worker (Tobey Jones) out of his element gets mixed up with an auteur’s quest to make a truly horrifying film. Along the way, slicing up cabbages, yanking on turnips and drowning melons to stimulate stabbings, scalpings and suffocations begins to wear on his uneasy English psyche. The intriguing premise sees Jones wrestle with some heavy and heady material and leaves us an audience as an indirect observer to the horror and violence that is affecting him so deeply. As the lines between reality and film begin to blur, Berberian Sound Studio takes a b-line to a trippy dimension that it never seems to ever make sense of nor get out of. The cold ending leaves us without much closure and unsure of exactly everything that had transpired in the first place. Compelling and worthy of a chance, though I’m not entirely convinced that everything really adds up in the end, Berberian Sound Studio certainly makes its mark by standing out from the rest of the crowd. (C+)

CHILD’S PLAY (1988)

Perhaps imaginative for its time, Child’s Play is a classic example of 80’s horror movies that just don’t really hold up all that well today. The plot is thin, as are the characters and Chucky is creepier asking for a hug than he is wielding a butcher’s knife. The humor beats also come across as a little saggy and dated, the scribe obviously not yet well versed in the fine art of horror-comedy. More seasonal background noise than anything worthy of actually watching, Child’s Play is, as its name implies, play. Had it a little more depth, a little less kid acting and a lot more imagination, it would have fared better in today’s extreme horror climate. (C)

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Weekly Review 58: WOLF, ARMY, CORPSES, EYES

October 12, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Army of Darkness, Eyes Wide Shut, House of 1000 Corpses, Weekly Review, Wolf Creek

If you just saw this short list of at home flicks, you may assume I’ve been taking it fairly easy this week when in reality, it’s been a full blown onslaught of horror here in my Queen Anne abode. In theaters, I caught screenings of Dracula Untold and Fury (review Wednesday) but in preparation for tomorrow’s diligently researched “13 Most Disturbing Horror Movies of the Last 13 Years,” I’ve been charging through some of the most villainous stuff ever set to screen. Considering you’ll hear much more about those tomorrow, any entries that made the cut are not included in this Weekly Review write up. So though four monstrous entries have been omitted, here are those that didn’t qualify or quite made the cut.

ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992)

First of all, let’s talk about how much I love Evil Dead II. In my mind, it’s the pinnacle of campy horror movie. It’s Sam Raimi’s oddball magnum opus. It’s perfect weird and wonderfully original. The first installment doesn’t work nearly as well for me, nor does this third one. Though there’s still a lot of the goofy stuff, like the legion of mini-Ashes, that worked so well for Evil Dead II, the medieval setting just doesn’t really work for me (especially in the somewhat anticlimactic finale) nor did Bruce Campbell‘s trumped up ego. It is responsible for some of the franchise’s best one-liners and it’s certainly a hell of a lot of fun but, nonetheless, it’s just not Raimi’s best. I know it’s a cinephile sin to not praise Army of Darkness to high heavens but, in my humblest of opinions, it just only works occasionally. Now we presumably must do battle. KNIVES OUT! (B-)

WOLF CREEK (2005)

A brutal take on backwoods shenanigans, the Australian Wolf Creek works as well as it does because of the rare narrative perspective it adopts. When the shit goes down – and it definitely goes down hard – we see the endeavor through the eyes of one solitary character with everything serving as a backdrop to the frantic clamber of a freed victim. Scrambling from one desolate set piece to another, Greg McLean uses the desolation of hodunk Australia take focus. Just sanguine-soaked enough to charm bloodbuffs and put off those not won over to the genre, Wolf Creek is one of the better installments to a sub-genre that’s all but gotten out of control. (B-)

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (2003)

Antagonist by design, Rob Zombie‘s debut shows a serious lack of restraint amidst a real penchant for this kind of twisted territory. Skinned bodies, rape shacks and just about a thousand corpses populate this demented shlock shock horror flick and, surprisingly enough, much of the fear Zombie gestates is palpable. His vision is strikingly unpleasant, his House of 1000 Corpses is truly a horror show to behold. True to his film’s namesake, there are a ludicrous amount of bodies, an insane amount of lecherous bloodlust and all kind of revolting freakshow displays. It’s a shame though that Zombie couldn’t divorce his overbearing music video aesthetic from his first film go. It would have fared much better without it. (C)

EYES WIDE SHUT (1999)

Stanley Kubrick submitted his cut of Eyes Wide Shut a mere six days before he passed away. Though not a perfect film, Kubrick’s swan song is symbolic of his absolute technical mastery and his characteristically ruthless command over his cast. Tom Cruise shines in front of Kubrick’s lens, strolling through New York City streets as unsettling as the English canals of Clockwork Orange, but it’s co-star Nicole Kidman who really steals the show. Her deeply affected performance is haunting in its intoxicating candor, her jealousy and rage make her as unpredictable as any feral cat and she eats up her scene like figgy pudding over the holidays. Though Eyes Wide Shut doesn’t quite exist in the same horrifying category as The Shining or Clockwork, it’s a preeminently eerie product that is as unsettling as it is masked in deeper nuance. (A-)

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Out in Theaters: PRIDE

October 10, 2014 by Chris Bunker Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Ben Schnetzner, Bill Nighy, Dominic West, George MacKay, Imelda Staunton, Matthew Warchus, Out in Theaters, Paddy Considine, Pride, Reviews, Weekly Review

I was reluctant to watch Pride. I’m not a huge activist when it comes to anything besides the “No-Poo Movement”, so I’m generally less inclined to endure pandering of any kind. When I read the synopsis for Pride, it seemed a little politically heavy. Perhaps it would be Dallas Buyers Club with parades. Thankfully, it was so much more than that.

Pride starts, expectedly, at a gay-pride parade in the Summer of 1984. On his birthday, Joe (George MacKay) sneaks out of his parents’ house to join in the festivities. Soon, he meets Mark (Ben Schnetzner) and his group of friends. Mark’s an energetic, delicate young activist for everyone’s rights. He’s got a massive “Thatcher Out!” banner hanging outside his apartment window. Joe gets handed a bucket and joins in on the chanting: “Lesbians and Gays for the Miners!”

The film focuses on the British Coal Miners’ strikes in the United KingdomB during Margaret Thatcher’s Prime Ministry. Mark hears about their plight and sees an opportunity to gain sympathy for the “gays’” cause. The police that used to torment the homosexual community have shifted their attention to the miners picketing and rallying. He starts L.G.S.M. — Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (they’ve got a very forthright name) — and calls upon his fellow friends to join the cause. Notably: Joe, Jonathan (Dominic West), and Steph (Faye Marsay, the “L” in LGSM).

The problem is: no one will accept their money. Mark, being the driving force that he is, decides to contact a suffering town directly and offer their help. Dai (Paddy Considine, Hot Fuzz & The Bourne Ultimatum) picks up and is more than willing to accept the money. LGSM goes up to Wales to meet him and the town, but this hardy Welsh miners’ town isn’t as receptive. Soon, a struggle erupts as LGSM refuses to let down in helping them out, while the miners reconcile help from a community that they don’t understand.

The film is one of protest and persistence. Joe’s hiding his homosexuality from his parents. His Dad mockingly calls AIDS “Anally Injected Death Sentence.” His internal struggle matches the one facing LGSM: how do we change a prejudiced perspective. As the town warms up to “The Gays as they call them” and older members like Cliff (Bill Nighy) and Hefina (Imelda Staunton) begin to advocate for them, the town faces the same rift as Joe: how are these people different? LGSM picks up more and more support, but the more vocal opponents continue trying to sabotage their efforts.

Pride is beautifully acted, unimposing and wide open. Really, it’s raucous fun. LGSM puts on a benefit concert, a parade, and constantly brings fun to the tense topics Pride highlights. The juxtaposition of gruff miners and flamboyant LGSM-ers is hilarious, and Pride has fun making fun of itself. Heavy materials are treated with the same lightness as a pride parade. It’s proud without boasting.

Old vets like Considine, Staunton and Nighy deliver soft, tender and often hilarious performances as older town-members quick to accept LGSM. They give what you’d expect from top-bill names. Their interactions are simply gold, as they mine for understanding. These old folks have never met a homosexual in their life, and now they’re surrounded by them. Their reactions are brilliant.

But Pride makes its money from its young cast, who dance and sing and enjoy every moment. They never give up and don’t take “no” for an answer. Their charisma and enthusiasm melts hearts. Ben Schnetzner is revelatory in one of his first on-screen performances. As LGSM’s headstrong leader, he’s the Billy to this film’s Elliot, the Simon to its Garfunkel. He takes the brunt of the criticism, but bounces back unharmed. He’s the group’s anchor, and he’s definitive in his charm. MacKay, Marsay and West too, are sincere, droll and flamboyant.

Ultimately though, praise belongs to director Matthew Warchus (directing his first film since 1999) and writer Stephen Beresford, who have put together something special here. Weaving in so many tales of strife without coming off as overbearing is something difficult to accomplish, but they do so with aplomb. By the end, the triumph isn’t what you’d expect either. Beresford keeps you guessing, and Warchus has you dancing in your seat. This film is based on a true story, but it seemed bigger than that.

Heart-warming, fun and eye-opening, Pride is surprisingly earnest and solid from start to finish. It bypasses prejudice and gifts you with understanding. I’m more than proud to recommend Pride. Be prepared to dance.

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Weekly Review 57: KILL, HOS2EL, SACRAMENT

October 2, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Hostel: Part 2, Kill List, Reviews, The Sacrament, Weekly Review 1 Comment

Three more horror movies at home this week were joined by screening of Gone Girl, Men, Women and Children and Annabelle. With a fair amount of work on my platter and a barrage of visitors, my at home viewing wasn’t what it’s been lately. Nonetheless, I present a short selection of great, good and bad. Let’s get down to some Weekly Review..

KILL LIST (2012)

Part crime thriller, part imploding family drama, all visceral horror, Kill List is an experience in unchecked fear. Perfectly paced and brilliantly directed, what begins as an ambiguous exercise in tension building unfolds into a bloody road trip before exploding into a full blown panic attack. Questions pile up and answers are few and far between but Kill List is a movie that lends itself to deconstruction and theoretical questioning. Is it a religious parable about a modern day angel of vengeance? A commentary on an impending cultural apocalypse? Is it the devil’s coming of age tale? Or is it just threateningly vague to intentionally get you all in a tizzy? With music that is surely the soundtrack of Hell, Kill List burns itself into your subconscious, threatening to strike at the darkest hour. (A-)

HOSTEL: PART 2 (2007)

Sadistic and artless, Hostel: Part 2 is an antagonistic sequel that adds nothing to Eli Roth‘s gorily groundbreaking first installment. Meant to satisfy BDSM perverts, this unnecessary second addition is a xenophobic venture through Eastern Europe; home place of the sexually depraved; a backpackers sadomasochistic nightmare. Character motivations are as thin as “I like to kill” or “I’m annoying, so kill me” and nothing adds up to a satisfying or slightly original conclusion. The obvious red herrings are more noxious than clever, especially with a to-be murderer who has a sudden change of heart before turning on a dime again. Like the deluded fantasy of a sick and twisted rapist, Hostel: Part 2 is the kind of movie that’s made purely to show a guy getting his dong cut off with a rusty pair of scissors. That is, it’s pure snuff. (D)

THE SACRAMENT (2013)

The Sacrament is Ti West‘s stab at revisionist history. He amends the 1970s to now, asking what if VICE had documented the downfall of Jonestown. This time round it’s called Eden’s Parish and Jones is lovingly referred to as “Father”. Their just over 100 population is only a fraction of Jonestowns 918 fatalities and yet I don’t know if I could have stomached another 800 bodies. As much in a particular wheelhouse as West’s two prior efforts, The Sacrament is the horror auteur’s take on found footage. Starring AJ Bowen and Joe Swanberg as a team of VICE documentarians who enter a guarded cult-like commune to bring their story to the world, The Sacrament takes you to the edge of darkness and will bring you to the edge of your seat. Add a haunting performance – down to the saggy jowls and nighttime sun glasses, Gene Jones (coin toss guy from No Country for Old Men) is Jim Jones. He speaks in seduction, his weapon is Christ. – and you have something that feels frighteningly like real life. Witnessing the downfall of Eden is haunting in its realism. It feels like we’re in Jonestown. And what a bummer that is. (B)

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