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Reviews
Cashback (2006)
A surprisingly elegant teen comedy
Sean Ellis's feature "Cashback" is a unique film. It blends teenage breakup drama and bits of humor without most of the usual genre dribble. I was thrown off guard and pleasantly surprised although there are a few off place scenes and cliché moments. This is perhaps since the film was directly adapted from Ellis's previous Oscar nominated short of the same name. In fact the feature includes the entire 19 minute short and added scenes were shot with the same actors to build a normal length movie.
Ben is a college art student who just suffered a painful breakup from his long time girlfriend. The film opens with the breakup shot entirely in slow motion POV shots with a voice over by Ben. The whole film is seen very much from the point of view of Ben. He is so sickened by his breakup that he cannot sleep and uses a late shift job at a grocery store as a way to pass the extra hours. He envisions freezing time so he can take off women's cloths to sketch them. There is full frontal nudity in these scenes but it never seemed obscene to me. It was viewed, like the rest of the film, through the eyes of Ben and to him these women were pieces of art themselves and he respected them. Ben then gains interest in a clerk at the store named Sharron. She is a normal looking girl who for some reason as we learn more about her and see her through Ben's perspective becomes more attractive. Guy Hudson's photography of the film is beautiful. Artistic special effects and camera movements are not something I would expect in a teen comedy. But this is no ordinary teen comedy in most ways. It deals respectively with the heartache of breakups rather than glossing over it to get to the sex crazed road trip or whatever other plot elements are overused in most films of this type. The acting is great all around especially the two leads. Sean Biggerstaff plays Ben with the sharpness and observation of an artist and the humor and sensitivity of a heartbroken teenager. "Cashback" does have its faults however. There are several scenes that are filler to the real emotion of the story including a long scene of the main characters getting ready for a party and an out of place soccer match. There is the cliché group of friends at the store a party with a striper and the typical romantic plot twist. All things considered "Cashback" is a surprisingly good movie and I look forward to seeing what Sean Ellis brings to the screen next.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Inside Joke for Slasher fans
If you are a slasher film fan than you will probably get a few kicks out of this movie but thats about it. It tells the story of up and coming serial killer Leslie Vernon and how he plans his next big killing spree that will put him up with the ranks of Freddy, Jason, and Mike Myers. The film actually has these characters exist which is the first problem for me. It tries to be clever and original but lacks the legitimacy to do so. The reason a film like Scream was so effective was because it acknowledged how ridiculous slasher movies are and exploited that. This film is placed in their world and tries to make them genuine people who just happen to plan these elaborate unmotivated massacres before returning home to their normal lives.
"Behind the Mask" is done as a mokumentary which is another big problem for me. A serial killer trying to build his legend would have a camera crew follow his every step and show his joking light hearted human side. Now I'm nitpicking here but come on. Leslie even takes the crew over to see his old retired serial killer friend who lives with his apple pie baking housewife in a nice home. They have a chat over dinner about the techniques of the old boys 'Mike' and 'Fred' and 'Jay' before giving the woman in charge of the documentary her doggy bag. The killers are portrayed as funny normal people who kill people on the side and than chat about it with their buddies.
Now there are a few funny moments in the movie, don't get me wrong and a real slasher fan will find some enjoyment in it but mostly it's just repackaged Scream cleverness that lacks the originality and believability of that film.
The Wrestler (2008)
Simple, Brilliant, and Effective
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke, is an aging professional wrestler holding onto his last thread of fame and worthiness in the bottom ranks of the sport. His struggles however can be translated to most anyone who has passed their prime and can't quite let go. For Randy the only thing left in his life where he feels any sense of pride and meaning is in the ring.
The Ram was a superstar in the wrestling world 20 years ago. He performed in arenas for the championship belt of a top wrestling organization and when the film begins he is in an elementary school classroom recovering from a match. He is right back at the beginning only without the tools of his youth to build back up the ranks. He lives in a trailer and can't afford the rent, hasn't seen his daughter in years, and finds comfort in a stripper named Cassidy, played by Marissa Tomei. He makes money by working in a super market and wrestling small time local matches on weekends. Mickey Rourke is incredibly believable and genuine in his performance. He makes you care for this man when you probably shouldn't. Randy is a weak man who constantly crawls back to the only thing that has never let him down. When things get tough in the real world, Randy can always go to the ring where is still wanted, even if by a few fans who get a nostalgic kick out of seeing the old man take a fall. Rourke has innocence about him. I want to believe him and I want to believe that he has no other choice but is that necessarily true. Wrestling is the only thing he has known and it's living without the thrill of the match and the roar of the crowd that would be the real struggle in his life. That's the brilliance of the character and the performance.
Cassidy the stripper mirrors Randy in many ways. She is also passed her prime and battles through demeaning comments of young customers for a few bucks in tips. Like Randy, her best days were in the 80's when metal bands ruled and her body was in top form. She is shown entering her stage at the strip club in the same way Randy enters the ring. They are shot from behind as they stand behind a curtain and emerge as a character with their 80's rock music blasting.
Darren Aronofsky brilliantly strips down the flashy camera moves and powerful scores of his other films and simply shows this portion of this mans life. The power of the film is its simplicity. So much of what is said is not explicitly told by the filmmakers but subtly and effectively learned throughout the film. Aronofsky directs with an obvious confidence in the performances and the script. It's hard to articulate the strengths of the film without giving too much away about key scenes so I will leave it at this. The story of Randy 'The Ram' Robinson could be that of anyone in the wrestling business, or the professional sports business for that matter. It translates to the story of a stripper and even an aging actor. "The Wrestler" is one of the most effective films of the year because wrestling fan or not you can relate to these characters and genuinely feel for them.
La vita è bella (1997)
Review
It is obvious from the first scenes that Guido played by Roberto Benigni is an over the top far fetched character. He uses his wits and lack of any thought of repercussion to get kicks out of the mundane aspects of life. Guido finds comedy his tool to gain anything he needs. He is the exaggerated personification of optimism never failing to find the best out of any situation. The first half of the film shows Guido win the love of Dora, a beautiful and engaged Italian woman. There is nothing realistic about his methods of gaining her attention. There are just perfectly played out coincidences that Guido takes advantage of. It is almost like an embellished story passed down through the years. Guido pulls one over the top antic after another and eventually runs off with Dora. It is pure fantasy.
5 years later when the film picks up Guido and Dora have a little boy and are suddenly sent off to a Nazi death camp. This is where the film has received a large amount of praise and criticism. A Nazi death camp should not be taken lightly and I don't think it is in this movie. There are moments of over the top far-fetched humor by Benigni but they were not meant to gain laughs at the expense of the holocaust. It is simply Guido using the only thing he has at his disposal to protect his son. Sure he is cheerful and clownish to an unimaginable degree but that's what he needed to do to keep his son alive. Guido's uncle does die in the camp and so do many others. There is mention of children being taken to the showers to die and dead bodies are seen piled up. I don't think this film is a comedy at all. The "jokes" during the second half of the film are not funny to watch but painful to see a man desperately trying to stay strong in an unbearable circumstance. I'm not sure if the film lives up to all the hype to me but it is definitely effective. The performances are great all around and Benigni is convincing in both sections of the film. I don't believe it is disrespectful to the events of the holocaust although at most times obviously improbable. It is a film meant to celebrate the human spirit no matter what the situation is and it does that well.
In the Company of Men (1997)
Review
In the Company of Men is an incredibly disturbing exploration of men, woman, relationships, race, and corporate America. Neil LaBute's debut film as writer and director was billed as an independent dark comedy but may just as well been a Monster Movie. Chad played by Aaron Eckhart is one of the most haunting characters ever put on film. He is no creature or serial killer however but far more frightening. Chad is a good-looking, successful, charismatic, businessman who has absolutely no regard for anything or anyone in his life. Eckhart's portrayal is extremely convincing. You believe him when he is trying to be sincere and are sickened when he reveals his true nature. The film takes place when Chad and his introvert friend and coworker, Howard, have to go away on business to a small town for 6 weeks. Chad having just gone through a break up along with Howard decides the two should simultaneously date an innocent unsuspecting woman while on the trip. After they both win her over they will break her heart and go back to their normal lives with the satisfaction of hurting a woman the way they have been hurt. Chad finds the perfect candidate almost immediately in the quite pretty deaf girl Christine at their temporary office. The plot seems so translucent at this point. The two will obviously start to have real feelings for Christine, she will find out about the game they were playing and leave them before ultimately realizing she really loved one of them and then they will kiss on a beach in the last shot. Sounds like a job for Zack Efron and Hillary Duff. Fortunately this film is not all the way it seems. There is layer after layer of development. The friends and their disgusting plot of misogyny is only the surface of this film and without revealing any details it is far from the happy ending I expected. The film delves into the world of corporate America and the class and racial structure of business. The employees shown on the "big project" are white males and the lone young black businessman is forced into a brutally humiliating act to prove his worth. The women are secretaries or typists. It is also fitting that the company and there actual area of business is never even mentioned. The filmmakers disclose no details on the project or even the locations. This story isn't meant to show a small minority of a certain type of company or employee but a broad depiction of the structure of American business. Neil LaBute is brutally effective in this film and it should not be missed.
Brother's Keeper (1992)
Review
In the documentary Brother's Keeper directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky the filmmakers present the story of Delbert Ward and his brothers in rural upstate New York. The film takes place after one of the Ward brothers, William, dies at home. Delbert is arrested for the murder and goes on trial. The film is supposed to be an unbiased factual presentation of the events as they unfold but is that really possible for the filmmakers to do. They spent a year with these men and this town and gained their trust and confidence. They must have had a feeling and point of view about the Ward's and Munnsville and I would imagine that is why the film is the way it is. The movie makes you feel sorry for these men. It's as sad and twisted and dramatic as any tale of fiction could be. The structure of the documentary builds tension towards the trial and we await the verdict not knowing what to expect. Delbert Ward and his brothers are some of the most emphatetic characters I have seen. Their simplicity is so unusual and un-relatable to most of us that it makes them compelling. There is a scene where a man comes over to the Ward's farm to slaughter a pig. It is extremely graphic and disturbing. The man approaches the animal with a gun and shoots it right in the head. It stammers around bleeding while the man than comes at it with a knife and with no remorse cuts it throat. The shot never cuts and we see the pig stumble while blood pours from it. He then cuts open and guts the pig. It is quite possibly the most graphic and hardest scene to watch in any film I have seen. It certainly gets attention and its definitely there for a reason. Maybe it is to show the brutality of murder. The man was an expressionless cold figure who killed the pig. He contrasts Delbert who always has a half smile and finds joy in watching chickens run around a bus. Perhaps this was the filmmaker's way of showing that Delbert is not the type of person who could murder. It shows that the brothers even had to have someone come over to kill a pig for them because they couldn't do it themselves. It's a documentary but it is still trying to make the audience feel a certain way. Could the directors have made the Ward's look like an evil creepy group of men capable of terrible things? Probably. If Delbert was convicted of murdering his brother would the film have been made the same way? Maybe, maybe not. Can a film really ever be completely truthful and objective when there is a crew interacting with the subjects and a director to decide what we see or hear?
Billy Liar (1963)
Review
Billy Liar directed by John Schlesinger is a great example of a person who desperately wants to escape his meaningless existence but doesn't have the nerve to take action. Billy Fisher is a young man who lives with his parents and works for an undertaker. He constantly lives very vivid fantasies in his head mostly about a country he imagined named Ambrosia. He has ambitions of leaving his boring life behind and becoming a famous screenwriter but never really writes anything or makes an effort to reach that goal. His job as a clerk for an undertaker shows just how dreary and miserable his life really is. Billy is so unhappy in his Yorkshire life that he conjures up all of these very elaborate lies in order to make himself look or feel better. He juggles between two girlfriends who think they are engaged to him. Barbara and Rita are told every excuse in the book by Billy so that he can get the one ring he has to pass between the two of them. He cannot make a decision of which to be with and instead of addressing the situation, Billy uses his imagination to get him out of one jam after another. Whenever things get rough with his girlfriends, parents, or employer he imagines mowing them down with a machine gun. Instead of facing the issues, Billy just slips into his imaginary world where is in control. Billy also has a third woman in his life named Liz. Her first scene in the film tells her whole personality. She is shown slowly strolling through the streets swinging her bag looking as if she hasn't a care in the world. Unlike Billy she is happy in the real world and makes the best of it. She comes and goes as she pleases and when she wants to make a change in her life she gets up and takes action without hesitation. She is also the only person who Billy is really honest to. She accepts him for who he is and actually offers him a real escape from his life by moving to London and starting fresh. He can be with the one girl who truly understands him. Billy could pursue his screen writing ambitions and leave behind the nagging of his parents and girlfriends. Ultimately Billy leaves Liz on the train to London. He is too scared to leave his life behind even though it's all he seems to want. The last scene culminates it all. Billy imagines marching home with the Ambrosia army at his back. He was cowardly and slips back into his comfortable life leaving behind possibly the best thing in his life, Liz. Instead of dealing with those facts and his mistakes he fantasizes about marching home triumphantly. This sums up Billy Fisher perfectly. No matter how bad things are and how much he screws things up he can always drift into his fantasy world where everything is OK. This film is funny and incredibly relatable for me unfortunately. It captures the struggles of young adulthood and the fear of going for what you want.
True Romance (1993)
Review
True Romance is a film that is so well written that you almost forget about its faults and cliché action movie moments. I said almost. Christian Slater plays Clarence, an Elvis loving, Kunfu watching, comic bookstore nerd. He meets a hot blonde hooker named Alabama played by Patricia Arquette and they fall instantly in love. The film is written by Quentin Tarrantino, a former video store nerd himself, and his touch is unmistakable. The plot twists as Clarence kills Alabama's former pimp and steals his drugs causing a chain reaction of events involving the Detroit Mob and the police. It's amazing how many characters Tarrantino writes for in his films and how much depth and complexity they all have. The supporting players such as Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, and Chris Penn offer some of the most memorable moments in the film most notably a discussion on the origins of the Sicilians. The performances are all very solid especially Gary Oldman as the dread locked pimp, Drexl. He transforms into the character with such detail it's hard to recognize any noticeable traits of the actor on screen. So the acting is great and the script is incredible. Where could it go wrong? The direction of the film by Tony Scott for me brought the film down a few notches. The entire movie felt very claustrophobic. There were way to many close ups that had no motivation at all. In the final shootout he cuts from one close up to another of people shooting and guns. It's hard to tell who is who and where anybody is. Its action movie film-making and overdone. That scene is very similar to Tarrantino's first film Reservoir Dogs, which he directed. There is a shootout in one room where basically everyone dies. The difference is how it was shot. Tarrantino shows all the action in one static shot and it is far more effective. I still love this movie because the dialogue is so unique and the characters are so well rounded and performed so strongly. Its entertaining but I wonder what it could have been if Tarrantino also directed it.
Caché (2005)
Cache
Cache, written and directed by Michael Haneke is an incredibly effective exploration of being watched and the effect it has on people. Georges Laurent(Daniel Auteuil) and his wife Anne(Juliette Binoche) are a middle to upper class married couple with a son named Pierrot. The film begins with a long shot of the front of the couples home. It is than revealed that it is videotape that was left on the couple's doorstep. This simple tape and the ones to follow throughout the film will cause a chaotic and disturbing turn of events for the entire family and everyone involved. The film is brilliantly complex for such a simple premise. The depth of each character is explored from Georges troubled past, Anne's seemingly motivated jealousy and Pierrot's deceptiveness. The questions and fears that arrive simply by knowing that someone is watching these characters causes a phycological massacre on them. Haneke's use of wide shots that go on forever, fit perfectly for this film. The whole movie seems like we are watching from a distance just like the mysterious cameraman stalking the family. The plot twists as the family becomes more and more tormented by these videos and more confused as they try to uncover the culprit. There is also a lingering lack of confidence in the police throughout the film, as they will not interfere unless the stalker becomes violent. Hanake uses sudden moments of shock to break up the slowly paced editing and displays perhaps the most haunting and jarring suicide caught on film. The performances are very solid and realistic. Juliette Binoche is especially powerful in her role of the distraught wife Anna. As expected with Hanake don't expect a solid resolution. In this film it is a perfect way to leave the audience. We are left just as confused and tense as the characters themselves. Do pay close attention to the final shot however for an odd encounter that may lead to a few theories of how the story unfolded.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Review
With the upcoming release of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" starring Keanu Reeves, a revisit to the classic Robert Wise film seemed like a good plan. This film is widely regarded as a classic and one of the best science fiction films of all time. No pressure there Neo. It's a film with a very simple but incredibly powerful and still very much relevant message. This world is falling apart and we need to straighten ourselves up and fix it. The film is about a spaceship that lands in the middle of Washington. A humanlike alien named Klaatu and his gigantic robot bodyguard, Gort, emerge from the craft with a message of peace for the entire planet. Michael Rennie portrays Klaatu as an optimistic, charismatic, Jesus like character that audiences are not used to seeing out of an alien. Gort is the "monster" of the movie and posses the power to destroy everything around him if necessary. His menacing presence is felt throughout the movie. The film was released in 1951. The Second World War was a not so distant memory and the cold war was building. The world was in need of a change and it was up to us as a human race to fix it. The films message was of hope and change and possibilities. Unfortunately over 50 years later, not much has changed. After escaping the hospital from the gunshot wound, Klaatu assumes the identity of a human named Mr. Carpenter. Carpenter is just one of the many Jesus references for Klaatu. He goes on to befriend a woman and her son while meeting with the very Einstein like Professor Barnhardt to devise a plan that would gather all of the worlds leaders so that he can deliver his climactic final message. The last scene to this day has all of the power and relevance it did over half a decade ago. Robert Wise crafted a film that stands out among the flock of science fiction films of the era. It's a movie with a strong message but never feels pretentious. From its powerful score, solid acting, and almost film noir cinematography, this is not an average alien/monster flick. The aliens are here to help us, not destroy us like every other movie of the time was about. It's entertaining and thought provoking. The world has only grown in turmoil since the release of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" in 1951. Perhaps the remake can spark our hopes again.
Benny's Video (1992)
Review
Michael Haneke's Benny's Video is a film with a lot to say. It's a commentary on the media, desensitizing youth, and the parental structure. That's quite a lot to swallow in one movie but Haneke attempts it with a raw experience of violence and absurdity. No main character in this film really acts in any way that can be construed of as normal. The film is about a young boy named Benny who has an obsession with videos and violence. From the first shot it's obvious that this boy isn't wrapped to tight. He watches a video that he shot of a pig being slaughtered with a bolt pistol. He rewinds the tape and watches it again in slow motion with fascination. Benny throughout the film continues to watch this video along with news clips of war and violent movies. He video tapes almost everything and even uses the camera to look out the window of his room. This symbolizes how Benny views the world through a camera and the television. He is not in touch with reality and Haneke makes that very evident. The film progresses as Benny meets a young girl at the video store and takes her to his home while his parents are away. He's not trying to get lucky however. Instead Benny takes this as an opportunity to use the bolt pistol that he stole after he filmed the pig slaughter to kill the young girl. This is a long brutal scene that is viewed almost entirely through Benny's video camera. Even though all the violence is off screen it's hard to watch. This is the strongest sequence in the film. It's in fact the only part of the movie where a character is empathetic. That's the young girl by the way not Benny. Benny continues his weekend by going to a club with friends, taking in a movie and getting a new buzz cut. Oh and then he cleans up the dead body in his bedroom. When his parents return he shows them the video of the murder and than a very long and unemotional conversation ensues between the parents deciding what to do with Benny and the corpse. They decide the best course of action is for his mother to take Benny on a vacation to Egypt while his father Georg stays at home and chops up the body to cover it up. Sounds like a plan. Everything seems fine when Benny and his mom return. Georg asks Benny why he did it and then things go back to the good old days back before the family included a homicidal teenager. The film than concludes with Benny at the police station assumedly turning in his parents for the murder. What a special young boy Benny is. This film tries to comment on dehumanization and the effects of the media. It is unrelenting in addressing these issues, maybe a little too much. When Benny's parents find out that he just killed a young girl they are not as much concerned with why there son is so screwed up but how they are going to clean up the mess he has caused. He is taken on vacation and never once reprimanded for the little crime he committed. They never address to him what happened or even take away his camera and television. Kids get in more trouble for not taking out the garbage. They choose to cover for him and he ultimately betrays them with the same amount of remorse he had when he murdered a young girl. These characters are flat and unrelateable. That's Haneke's style. Just like in "Funny Games" he is not concerned with connecting with the audience but with insulting the conventions of modern media and he does that well.