Dxamanda Reviews

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)

Of course it's not for everyone. Does that make it bad? Absolutely not.

[9/10 · 30 March 2007]

The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things is about a young boy dragged into a world of drugs, sex, and child abuse after his demented mother gains custody of him. That brief synopsis there is enough to drive most movie-goers away. I think this film is unfairly criticized by many as being an exploitive piece of garbage. It also gained a lot of controversy because the author of the book, JT Leroy, is a fake and fabricated everything in the book. Does that mean the book or the film are bad? No. It may not be the story of JT Leroy's life, but it's the story of many victims of child abuse and it's a story that needs to be told.

During many parts of this film, it is very hard to watch. The child in this film is mentally and physically abused in one way or another throughout most of it. The film offers no hope or redemption for any of the characters. It is merely a glimpse into what one child's life is like who is constantly abused. And thus, it is utterly depressing. However, if Argento had changed the story to make it an easier to watch, I wouldn't respect the film as much.

One critic called Argento's performance "fearless", which I absolutely agree with. She shifts, from scene to scene, from caring mother (her rarest moment), to crazy drug fiend, to a beautiful but completely uninterested, clueless mother. In scenes when she's not verbally or physically abusing her son, she tries to cheer him up (waving a stuffed bunny in his face) or even, though oblivious in how to treat a child, take care of him. She could have played it down, she could have been less vicious, but then she wouldn't have stayed true to the story. She did and her performance is scary, fearless, and in her best moments, heartbreaking.

This film is NOT for everyone. I think the person going into the film should keep an open mind and, more importantly, have a strong stomach. Getting back to what I said earlier, I really feel some critics and film fans have criticized the film unfairly because of it's subject matter. However unnecessary and excessive some people think this film is, this is what it's like for many children in America and all throughout the world. It's a serious problem that needs to be dealt with. Will this film create anymore psycho parents? I doubt it. Will it raise awareness about the issue? I doubt it; it's a small, independent film shunned by many. It could, it has the possibility of it if people are willing to listen. It certainly does cover the issue enough; depicting child abuse in an unflinching, realistic way.

Asia Argento went all out. She adapted, directed, and played the horrific, starring role of a film she probably knew wouldn't be well-received because of it's content. It's obvious that she cared about this project and I think it really comes through in the film, and I greatly admire her for it. 9/10.

Hostel (2005)

What is there to like?

[1/10 · 26 March 2007]

Ech, where to begin.

I went into my viewing of Hostel with extremely low expectations. I wasn't necessarily expecting to hate it- in fact, I was hoping to like it. But after hating Roth's previous film, Cabin Fever, I decided it was best to lower my expectations. Had I actually expected to love the film and been looking forward to it, it's difficult to imagine how much I would have hated it and how let down I would have been.

I figured there wouldn't be as much torture as the TV spots would like us to believe. I didn't think it would be "shocking" or "disturbing"- an enjoyable gore fest at best. However, because of Roth's own comments about the film, I was very surprised in how little torture there was, and how lame the scenes that did feature it, were. As a horror fan, I must say I was let down with the death sequences. First, there is the blonde college student who gets tortured. Drilled leg, barfs on himself, cut tendon, and that's pretty much it. Hernandez gets a couple fingers cut off and then is able to escape because his torturer accidentally cuts part of his own leg off in a terribly forced and out-of-place homage to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. After this, Hernandez saves a Japanese girl from getting tortured and cuts her half-dangling eyeball out of it's socket. The girl screams, Hernandez screams, pus squirts. Partially comedic, sure. Gross? Eh. Shocking? Yeah, right. And finally, the Japanese girl meets her bloody demise while escaping with Hernandez, by throwing herself in front of a train after catching a glimpse of her now deformed face, in yet another terrible homage to Sono's Jisatsu Saakuru.

Death scenes aside, Roth does not get a free pass from creating an intelligent, atmospheric, or even half-original horror film just because his apparent motto in life is "Gore and boobies- what makes a film great". Just because Hostel is a film about three cocky, annoying frat boys getting tortured, does not mean his film has to be void of any originality or intellect. Most recently, Saw is an incredibly overrated film in the horror genre that gets overpraised for it's use of violence and (self?) torture. However, I am quite fond of it's at least somewhat original story. The film also has a dark atmosphere that makes it fun to watch, even in it's moments of unintentional comedy (the clown on the bicycle? seriously?). Hostel, however, is a film about a few frat boys who mistake a torture chamber for a fun night out and end up getting picked off one by one.

Roth also said Hostel is America's reaction to Miike's Audition. Audition is a slow-burn horror, which starts out a carefree love story, then gradually becomes more disturbing until the final scene, which is pure insanity. Hostel, on the other hand, is 40 minutes of sex and nudity, then after the first friend goes missing, it immediately shifts into a paint-by-numbers thriller until the end. The comparison between the two films ends at their torture scenes. Audition is a genuinely creepy, unsettling, atmospheric, great horror/suspense film. I find it purely idiotic to compare it to generic kitsch like Hostel.

I was originally going to rate Hostel 2/10, only because I don't like giving films a 1. However, the only thing I remotely enjoyed about this film was Jay Hernandez. Not his character, an arrogant ass whom I wanted to die, but because Hernandez isn't bad to look at.

However, I'm not going to rate it higher because it's main star is attractive. What is there to like? I have no idea. 1/10.

9 Souls (2003)

I was expecting a great film.

[10/10 · 22 February 2005]

What I got was something better.

Just like many movies I've commented on as of recently, I'd been looking forward to this one for a while. Especially after I saw one of Toshiaki Toyoda's other films, "Blue Spring" which is easily in my top 20 favorite films. I loved the trailer for "9 Souls", and I thought it sounded very good. I didn't hear anything bad about it. Now I know why.

This movie starts up as sort of a comedy, then during the last half of the film, it quickly becomes something else. It becomes more dramatic as each of the characters face their own tragedies. Each character gets just enough screen time, and you care about what happens to each of them. Even though there are 9 characters we have to learn, and care about, within just two hours, Toshiaki Toyoda pulls it off brilliantly.

After I saw "Blue Spring" I was hoping the soundtrack would be at least a little bit as good, as it was in that film. I got my wish, because the soundtrack to "9 Souls" was also incredible. The music used in each scene, more specifically the more dramatic ones, is just simply wonderful. I loved every second of it.

I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to see another Toshiaki Toyoda film, "Pornostar", but after I saw this, I'm going to. Definitely. Also, because I read the plot for it, and I think it sounds really good. I'm looking forward to it. On the R1 DVD of "9 Souls", there are two interviews with Toyoda. He says he's completed another film, and he wants to start writing the screenplay for his next. I can't wait for both.

I highly recommend this film. You must see it. Now.

Phone (2002)

I almost blind-bought this movie. I'm glad I didn't.

[1/10 · 14 February 2005]

I'd been wanting to see this movie for months, and when I finally saw it at Best Buy, I had plans on picking it up. I decided not to, and went to Hollywood Video later that day. I really didn't think I was going to see Phone there. Then, I saw 9 Souls there. I was shocked. So, I decided "If they have 9 Souls they have to have Phone", and sure enough, they did.

Unfortunately, Phone wasn't a good movie. I'd been looking forward to it for quite a while, but kept my expectations low. I'm glad I did. This movie disappointed me- but not half as much as it could've, if I had been looking forward to it more. Like I said, I'm glad I wasn't.

When this movie starts up, you kind of figure it's going to be about this angry man who keeps calling the main star, since that's what all of the characters are talking about, and are focused on, during the first little bit of the film. Guess what? It's not. No, by the end of the movie, I realized that sometime during the middle the story just became a big mess. And, by the end of the film, who were we supposed to be cheering for? In the fight between Jin-hie, and what's-her-face, especially. In that scene, I was glad that Jin-hie died. But, then wait.. later into the film, are we supposed to be cheering for her when she finally gets her revenge? I wasn't. I also wanted the woman (I forget her name) to die in the scene, where she pushes Jin-hie down the stairs.

I found the movie uninteresting, not entertaining, and not scary at all. I wasn't really expecting it to be scary, but the scare tactics used in this movie, are some of the weakest I've ever seen. Since when did closing in on a dolls face become scary? And, what does Yeong-ju having long black hair in a dream, have to do with the story? It just seemed like a completely random, unneeded thing used in the movie, to try and scare people, since nothing else was happening. I also hated the music.

I found myself hating all of the characters, to be honest. The payoff was weak, and would've been extremely disappointing, had the rest of the film been good. Like I said, I rented this the same time I rented the film 9 Souls. Okay, so the two films absolutely have nothing to do with each other, but I'm glad I rented 9 Souls when I rented this. 9 Souls makes up for Phone in every possible way. At least the Oldboy trailer was on the DVD for Phone. That was worth the $4 I paid for it alone.

I do not recommend this movie.

Versus (II) (2000)

One of my favorite movies!

[10/10 · 15 November 2004]

Spoilers.

I had first heard of the film "Versus" after going to various horror movie message boards, and websites. But, it was only recently when I got into Asian horror movies that I looked more into this one.

Though not horror, it's definitely one of the best action movies of recent years, and one of my favorites. I loved it so much in fact, I watched it 4 times, when I rented it. Which is very unusual for me, since the most I ever watch a movie when renting it was twice, and I only had the movie for 5 days. I watched it that morning, then that night. Then, I watched it the next night. I skipped a day, then watched it the morning after, before it had to be taken back.

The movie has some of the best action scenes I've seen in a while. Or at least, some of my personal favorites. I'm sure a lot of people think they over did it, which I don't blame then for thinking that, but I certainly don't! I thought Tak Sakaguchi was extremely cool as Prisoner KSC2-303, and not bad to look at, either.

Anyway, on a more serious note, I can't think of one thing I didn't like about the movie. So, I'll just have to go on telling you how much I absolutely loved it some more. Well, first there's the plot, which I am obviously quite fond of, since I like everything about the movie. I liked the music, I liked the cast, and I like the little bit of humor they threw into it here, and there. I also liked the end of it, too. I liked that it made way for a sequel, and it made way for plenty of conversations, and theories about the end. I have my own theory, which I don't feel like getting into right now. A theory I thought was sort of made clear, but I can see why there are so many out there.

I guess we'll have to find out when Versus 2 comes out, assuming they're still going to go through with it. Needless to say, I cannot wait.

I highly recommend this movie.