THE CLONE RETURNS HOME (2008)
In this 2008 sci-fi film, Executive Producer Wim Wenders & Japanese writer/director Kanji Nakajima create a quiet and introspective film that both intrigues the intellect and touches the soul. The film’s pace is exceedingly slow – much like visual poetry – and there are some stunningly beautiful shots in this. It is a thoughtful examination of love, longing, memory, consciousness and, ultimately, spirituality. Comparisons to Duncan Jones’ MOON, Tarkovsky’s STALKER & SOLARIS, and (believe it or not) Spielberg’s A.I. are not out of line and, in many ways, are quite warranted. Some will find the films slow pace a challenge, but for those who are willing to calm their minds and simply let the story play itself out will be rewarded. The script is carefully arranged. The acting is very subtle, but assured. But this film obviously belongs to Nakajima who both weaves a thoughtful tale, but also uses the screen as a canvas to paint imagery that stays with the viewer long after the credits roll. Recommended to those who like a little intellect with their science fiction (and, to be fair, this film is not the “rocket ships and laser pistols” variety of Sci-fi, but rather the “set in the near future” kind) and for those who enjoy un traditional narrative styles. However, it should also be said that THE CLONE RETURNS HOME is a film in which one must pay a great amount of attention. Narrative clues are not spoon-fed to the audience, but rather set in the frame in the hopes you will pick them up (and thereby make the viewing experience that much better). I liked this one a lot!Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
BUIO OMEGA aka BEYOND THE DARKNESS (1979)
The great Italian exploitation director Aristide Massaccessi aka Joe D’Amato (EMANUELLE AND THE LAST OF THE CANNIBALS, CARIBBEAN PAPAYA, ANTROPOPHAGUS) goes off the rails into grave robbing, murder, and necrophilia with this little classic. Starring a doe-eyed Kieran Canter (THE LONELY LADY), THE BEYOND’s mysterious blind dog-lover Cinzia Monreale as the dead love interest, and Franca Stoppi (GUARDIAN OF HELL, VIOLENCE IN A WOMAN’S PRISON) as one of the weirdest nannies on record, BUIO OMEGA is a cavalcade of creepiness sporting a truly great soundtrack by the inimitable Italian Prog-rock group, Goblin (DAWN OF THE DEAD, SUSPIRIA). After his girlfriend dies (as a result of his nanny’s getting a voodoo witch to kill her), his already fragile psyche shatters sending him spiraling into retrieving her body, stuffing it, and keeping it around for sporadic bouts of sex. This all makes his nanny jealous, but she goes along with his little plan, helping him both kill and slaughter random young girls. The gore is both abundant and well done (especially the taxidermy scenes and the chopping up of a random victim. Sadly, the film simply can’t maintain the pace it establishes and the last act is a bit wonky. But, the film is a classic from the 80s and legendary amongst horror fans. It’s also easily one of the director’s best. If you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about. If not, this is a major chunk missing from your genre knowledge database. This is essential viewing for anyone interested the genre and a must-see for both gore hounds and anyone looking to get a solid foundation in Euro-horror.Rating: 3.5 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
THE LADY PROFESSIONAL (1971)
Directed by Akinori Matsuo (FUGITIVE SAMURAI, THE EAGLE AND THE WOLF) & Chih-Hung Kuei (CORPSE MANIA, THE BOXER’S OMEN) and funded by Shaw Brothers, THE LADY PROFESSIONAL is a “female assassin” films from 1971. You could file this next to things like BLACK CAT, SHIRI, BLACK TIGHT KILLERS, and LADY SNOWBLOOD. The film is cool because of the groovy soundtrack and fashions. People roar around town in little sports cars and wear dark sunglasses at all time. It’s fun and not incredibly violent, perfect for people new to the genre or folks who don’t like a lot of blood. The acting is spot-on. The script is just complicated enough to be fun. Completely rentable and recommended.
Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
EXCISION (2012)
Wow! Director Richard Bates, Jr. comes out of the gate swinging with his first feature, EXCISION, and the results are pretty amazing. AnnaLynne McCord stars as Pauline, a trouble teenager who slowly breaks down emotionally. Think DONNIE DARKO meets MAY. The supporting cast is great (albeit kind of all over the place, casting-wise):, Traci Lords (who is REALLY terrific as the domineering mother!), Roger Bart, Malcolm McDowell, Matthew Gray Gubler, Marlee Matlin, Ray Wise, and John Waters (as a priest!).The film is unflinching in the way we’re introduced to Pauline’s daily life – subjugated by her mother, her dad an emotional void, her sister slowly dying from Cystic Fibrosis… She doesn’t fit in in school, but somehow she’s convinced she is destined to become a surgeon. As things get murkier and murkier for her, a plan is created and the resulting last act of the film is astounding (and visually beautiful). Throughout the film, we have dream sequences that are like high-glossed Stephen Sayadian (aka Rinse Dream) meets Helmut Newton. Visually stunning, thematically brave, and acted with aplomb, EXCISION is a creepy, engaging, and powerful film. Recommended!Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
SNOWPIERCER (2014)
Where to begin? Ok, so… In the past, I’ve very much enjoyed the films of Joon-ho Bong. The majority of them - the fun BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE, the thrilling MEMORIES OF MURDER, the creature feature, THE HOST, and the exemplary MOTHER – are fun, well-made, and enjoyable. So, after months of hearing the internet blowing up about the film (so much so that it insured the foreign-made film a theatrical release), the first few minutes of exposition were, I’ll admit it, challenging. By the time we got through the preface, I was more than skeptical. Then, as the film unfolded, I started hating it… more and more. And by the time our heroes literally STOP FOR SUSHI in the middle of a coup d’état… I hated this film. HATED! Never mind the ludicrous premise. Or the iffy “science.” Never mind the ridiculously contrived plot. Or the whole “we speak two languages” thing… When you hear Captain America say, “You know what I hate about myself? I know what people taste like. I know that babies taste best,” you’re going to want to throw your television out of the window. I guarantee it. The film does have good production values, but… quite honestly, SNOWPIERCER may well be the stupidest film ever made. I mean, dumber than EQUILIBRIUM. More inane than FACE / OFF or BATTLEFIELD EARTH. The question is… why did fandom embrace it so fervently? Yes, the plot is ‘original,’ but… it’s also incredibly stupid. So yeah, SNOWPIERCER is literally all sizzle and no steak. Skip it if you can, but – by all means – see Joon-ho Bong’s other flicks (see above)Rating: 1 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
INTERSTELLAR (2014)
Yes yes yes, Christopher Nolan's latest opus, in it's way an obvious tribute to Kubrick's 2001, has polarized audiences more than any other film I can think of in the past year.The story is fairly simple. Mother Earth is slowly dying, as her food sources dwindle. Massive dust storms blanket the planet, and farming has become the single most important job mankind can aspire to. Cooper, an engineer and ex-NASA pilot, who went unrealized in his dream of becoming an astronaut, is raising two children, his daughter Murph, and his son Tom, on their farm, with the help of their grandfather.
Murph is a chip off the ole' block, and has a predilection towards science, in the film an outdated and supposedly antiquated skill. Soon, she is finding weird markings left in dust on her floor, and with the help of her father, figures out they are coordinates. Deciding to follow up on the mystery, they are led to a NASA base, housing a last ditch operation, hoping to be the salvation of mankind. Before long Cooper is brought back into the fold, and made the pilot of an experimental craft that will travel through a black hole, left there by unseen forces (maybe alien, maybe not) in hopes of finding a hospitable planet, fit for the relocation of humanity, who must flee the dying planet we call home.
We all know this though, right? So I'll stop rehashing things here. My main point in adding my two cents to the conversation is this: I kept hearing about how "joyless" and "dry" and "heartless" this film was. It's a common complaint for the detractors of Nolan's films, which his brother Johnathan usually scripts. I strongly disagree with this sentiment. In the case of INTERSTELLAR in particular, what do people want? It's a film about the end days of humanity for crying out loud. This isn't space opera, bent on making people hoop and holler in glee, it's a cautionary tale, centered around a man who must leave his family for the greater good of all mankind. That's not a pretty picture. Also, the accusations of it being too depressing turn out to be, in my opinion, completely unfounded. As Cooper and his fellow crew members traverse across time and space, it is the clear intent of the writer and director to illustrate that nothing is more important than love. It may even be an emotion that is actually quantifiable by physics, and a major component in our ability as a race to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, and find a way in our collective darkest hour to survive.
INTERSTELLAR, for me, is also a rare film that really does need the element of surprise for the viewer to have the maximum experience, so I'm going to leave it here for now, and try to remain spoiler free for the most part. But as a piece of hard sci-fi that revolves around the rational, and the current scientific information of things like relativity and time/space travel, it completely works. I'm no science geek myself, but even I know this is most likely the single most spot on flick of it's kind, probably since Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke brought us 2001. INTERSTELLAR also works on an emotional level as a family drama. I say, don;t believe that haters. It's quite ride, and well worth your time and money.
To (somewhat redundantly) acknowledge the cast, it's of course full of A-listers, including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, and a criminally little-used Ellen Burstyn, with supporting roles wonderfully supplied by Wes Bentley, Casey Afflek, David Gyasi, William Devane, Mackenzie Foy, and an almsot unrecognizable Topher Grace.
I'll be adding INTERSTELLAR to my private collection so I can revisit it as well. Which for me says a lot.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS (2011)
Writer/director Sean Hogan mashes up the crime/satanic panic genres here with this barbed-tale of two hitmen lurking in the home of their intended target, biding their time until his arrival. As things develop, they begin to understand that things are not what they seem, and that the debt they are there to settle for their boss is about a lot more than money. Soon, the two, one no-nonsense a seasoned vet, the other a greenhorn learning the ropes, are drawn into an occult nightmare, when their seemingly un-killable victim arrives.What are those symbols out in the shed, painted on the floor in what looks like blood? And what are those suspicious chunks lying within that mysterious diagram comprised of? And where the hell did the body of their target go after they shot it straight through the eye?THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS could easily be a stage play, it's two main characters confined to a couple of sets, which are indeed used to great effect, and the dialog that spills from Hogan's pen is cracking and clever. The core cast, featuring Billy Clark (a stalwart of UK television), Jack Gordon (FISH TANK, CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER), Johnathan Hansler (AXED), and Harry Miller (also a UK television regular), help elevate this talk-heavy scary into soemthing that in lesser hands, could have been a little too dry. But with Hogan's sure-handed direction, the man knows how to shoot a dark corridor, let me tell you, and the actors' skill turning a phrase, THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS ranks up with some of the better horror films in recent memory. Factor in an incredibly atmospheric soundtrack from Justin Greaces (CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX) that paints the film with audio accompaniment that drips with minimalist bleakness as well as atmospheric beauty, and it all comes together in a wonderfully creepy package. Not unlike, say, the work of better known UK genre-ish director Ben Wheatley, THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS is an occult film for the thinking person. Hammer Films. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and hell even something like the old British crime film THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, all come to mind. It also doesn't overstay it's welcome, it moves things right along, and get's the job done with economy and ease. I highly recommend THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS. Another horror film that does the genre proud.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
Director Alex de la Iglesia is one of my favorite directors. His 800 BULLETS climbed into my Top 10 Films of All Time the moment I saw it. After a lifetime of making inventive, scary, and hilarious films (ACCION MUTANTE, DAY OF THE BEAST, and THE PERFECT CRIME), he stumbled a bit with the mundane and, well… boring OXFORD MURDERS, but he bounced back with the exemplary THE LAST CIRCUS in 2010. With WITCHING AND BITCHING, we get a return to the wackiness of his past films. While not as broad in scope as LAST CIRCUS, WITCHING is still a terrific time. The story has something to do with a bunch of thieves who, while escaping the police after a robbery, try to hide out in a town known for its witches. The humor is broad, but thankfully never intrudes on the narrative. Yes, there are a few “clunks” plot-wise, but they are quickly forgotten in the deluge of creepy laughs. This is very much de la Iglesia’s take on THE ADDAMS FAMILY. Super fun and damn funny, WITCHING AND BITCHING insures de la Iglesia’s place on my Directors Top Ten! HIGHLY recommended!Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
THE RAID 2: BERANDAL (2014)
Full disclosure: Despite it cribbing liberally from Bruce Lee’s GAME OF DEATH, I genuinely liked the first RAID film. I thought the action was kept brisk and inventive and it never infringed on the audience’s sense of believability. Sadly… the sequel, RAID 2: BERANDAL is none of those things. Overly-long and unduly complicated, the film – at 2.5 hours – overstays its welcome early on and makes the poor decision to “back-load” the film with action (i.e., they put all of the cool shit at the end). Acting is wooden and why anyone thought to convince lead Iko Uwais that he could hold and control a scene is clearly crazy. There are 4 reasons to see RAID 2 (and to avoid spoilers, I’ll be cryptic): the hammer… the kitchen… the car chase... and the hallway with the twins. These scenes crackle with energy and inventive use of environment and martial arts. The real problem with the film though is that it regresses to a point that it trots out “martial arts movie tropes’ by the bunches. Lone hero who needs to infiltrate the mob? Check! Young mobsters son desires his time on the thrown? Check! Potential attackers patiently waiting for their turn to get their asses kicked? Check! A hero that takes unbelievable amounts of damage only to rally at the end? Check! There is also a HUGE problem (for me at least) in one of the aforementioned scenes (in the kitchen). The scene makes use of a traditional curved blade called a Karambit, The weapon is one of the most imposing hand-held weapons this writer has ever seen. And SOMEHOW… they manage to make one of the most boring (and improbable) scenes EVER. Now, I’m still VERY interested in the future work of director Gareth Evans and martial artists Iko Uwais, and Yayan Ruhian. I just think they need to invest in a screenwriter who is every bit as inventive as their action team is.Skip the clichés, boys… and kick some ass.
Rating: 2.75 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003)
Animator Satoshi Kon (MILLENNIUM ACTRESS, PERFECT BLUE, and the hallucinatory PAPRIKA) brings us this heartwarming story about family set on a snowy Christmas Eve in Tokyo. Three disparate homeless people – a wino & gambler, a drag queen, and a runaway – find an abandoned baby in the trash and set out to find the child’s parents. As the film unspools, we slowly get to know this trio and come to genuinely care about them, their past, and come to admire the determination to make things right. Beautifully animated and told with great heart, the film is at times both poignant and comedic with moments that melt the heart. The interactions between the trio show the human side to those who most people fail to see (the homeless) and give them an admirable sense of honor. While not overtly a Christmas film (there are no carols or chestnuts roasting on an open fire), the themes of family and love for one another are universal and applicable to the season. Solid voice acting, superb animation, and a deft and subtle directorial hand makes TOKYO GODFATHERS an absolute delight. TOKYO GODFATHERS would be a terrific film even if it hadn’t been animated. Highly recommended both for the holidays and as an example of how good anime can be.Rating: 5 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
THE DARK HOUR (2006)
When a filmmaker has a minuscule budget, sacrifices must be made… either in scope of story, the amount of names in the cast, or choice of filmmaking locations. In the case of THE DARK HOUR, filmmaker Elio Quiroga (FOTOS, THE HAUNTING from Fangoria’s FrightFest) chooses all three. By gathering together a – for the most part – no-name cast and setting the rather simple story in primarily one location, he hedges his bets and manages to get the most bang for his admittedly limited buck. The story of THE DARK HOUR is indeed simple – a group of survivors scratch out an existence in an underground bunker while “Strangers” (highly infectious zombie-like lepers) and “Invisibles” (freezing temperature exuding energy beings) lurk around every corner. Like say ALIEN, the film focuses not on being a giant shoot-em-up (that would come later in ALIENS), but rather on being a pressure cooker in which the characters are forced to interact and we get to know the back story of what’s happened via their conversations and interplay. The cast, for the most part, are rock solid and the story is told evenly and in an interesting manner. Yes, there are some lapses in narrative judgment (Ana going during The Cold Hour when the Invisibles lurk the desolate corridors, the dispatching of Pablo, the vague justification for Pedro’s mania, etc), but it all still makes for a fun and interesting sci-fi horror tale. Being that it is Spanish-made, the very nature of the film’s storytelling is different than in Western films, but it is in no way less satisfying. But as low-budget movies go, THE DARK HOUR is a solid piece of filmmaking and one I recommend. Just know this is a more character rather than gun-based flick.Rating: 3.5 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR (2011)
The wild and wacky Sushi Typhoon and director Noboru Iguchi (SUKEBAN BOY, THE MACHINE GIRL, ROBOGEISHA, and MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD) jump into the Japanese robot super hero market with this modern spin on a classic genre. The FX (both CG and practical) are just cheesy enough to bring out a smile, but not so bad as to illicit groans. One thing to the film’s detriment… Noboru Iguchi is not exactly known for his subtlety. Anyone who’s seen his other films will vouch for that. And yet, KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR is obviously made for a younger audience. As a result, the bits feel restrained and the audience winds up feeling a bit cheated. Like, “That was fun, but imagine what he would have done without the constraints.” Still, the film is enjoyable and just the right amount of goofy. Little ones may question things like missiles coming out of women’s breasts, but anyone pre-teen or up should be fine. Who knows… it may spark an interest in a young person to investigate things like ULTRAMAN. Again, enjoyable, but be warned that things get a little silly sometimes. Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell|
50 YEARS OF SLIGHTLY SLUTTY BEHAVIOR (2007)
~Thom Carnell|
50 YEARS OF SLIGHTLY SLUTTY BEHAVIOR (2007)
Career retrospective films are always tricky. They are, by default, ego-driven stroke-fests which can strive to sometimes polish the dankest of turds. Once in a while though, you can get a look at a celebrity (whatever that means) you knew, but knew nothing about. With 50 YEARS (based I guess on a book Del Rio did of the same name), we get a rarity: a nearly two and a half hour retrospective/interview featuring abbreviated clips from the films being discussed during the aforementioned interview. The viewing is alternately fascinating (there’s no denying Del Rio has lived quite a life) and a bit sad (her glorification of her time “walking the street” is disturbing), but it is never boring. Be warned… this film features graphic footage (I mean porn kiddies), so if that sort of thing disturbs you… Come on! This is a look at the career of a porn star!! If this were a film about Clint Eastwood, you’d expect them to cut to clips from HIS films, right? Anyway… 50 YEARS is a film fans of Del Rio will love. Fans of 70s-era “big bush porn” will dig the clips. Del Rio herself… comes off a little “Nora Desmond,” but she’s also unapologetic about her past. And what a past it is! Say what you will about porn… Vanessa Del Rio is a legend, a talent, and a goddam national treasure. Non-fans will dig the porn as well. Fun, well-made, and highly rentable.Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH (2013)
RUE MORGUE editor, Rodrigo Gudino, does a laudable job his first time in the director’s chair with LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH. The film drips with an obsessive eye to detail (the set design is pretty amazing) and boy… does this director ever love long, Argento-esque tracking shots. The story is a meandering affair that could very well have benefited from some tightening and the acting is a little weak, but neither of those things are what you come to a “haunted house” story. You come for spooky hallways, light and shadow, and eerie statues that may or may not have just glanced at you. One HUGE plus for the film is the brilliant narration by Vanessa Redgrave (!!!!!) which is reason enough to rent this. Her soliloquys on loss and loneliness… put it this way, having just lost my own mother recently, they are really powerful and delivered well. The nice thing is that Gudino shows a restraint and understanding of the medium in which he is working and acquits himself nicely in his execution. While not the barnburner you’d expect coming from an editor of RUE MORGUE, this film is something even better. It shows a young filmmaker who already understands a) atmosphere, b) pacing, and c) when to steal from The Masters and exactly who to steal from. All of this bodes well for the next film by Gudino. Give him a more focused story and a more solid lead and he could very well deliver something magical. Recommended… with some slight (overlookable) caveats.
BIRDMAN (2014)
Alejandro González Iñárritu has always made powerful films, among them AMORES PERROS, 21 GRAMS, BABEL, and BIUTIFUL. A very serious filmmaker with very serious messages running throughout his filmography. So when the trailers for BIRDMAN first started appearing, there was a lot of head scratching, and even overt confusion as to whether this endeavor was a theatrical version of HARVEY BIRDMAN, a night time satirical cartoon, or just some weird diversion. Nope. Nothing so simple.
BIRDMAN follows the efforts of franchise actor Riggan Thomson, a performer of serious aspirations trapped by a megamillion making character (the titular BIRDMAN) who now haunts him as an ever present voice, his id coming backto prod and poke at him, as Riggan tries to redefine himself as a Broadway auteur. Everything is riding on the struggling production, and in desperation he manipulates an accident into happening to his leading man, an actor he isn't happy with. This may or may not be done through means of telekinesis, we are never sure. Riggan's Quixote like mission may be hampering his perception of reality around him. Soon he has his dream replacement, a method actor named Mike, who invigorates the play, even as he challenges Riggan to the point of psychosis. Surrounded by other characters, like Riggan's assistant/daughter, Sam, in recovery for substance abuse, Mike's lover, Lesley, an actress in the production, and Riggan's paramour, laura, also in the cast, who is carrying their unborn child. Stress and doubt permeate every moment of things, while Riggan's manager, Jake, tries desperately to keep the gears moving, towards opening night, even as the specter of BIRDMAN circles around Riggan's consciousness, creating incessant tumult and doubt.
What's crazy about BIRDMAN, is it's firm, Ouroboros like grasp on art-imitates-life-imitates art. Michael Keaton, our Riggan, is not unlike his character, having been for many fanboys the defining BATMAN in the two Tim Burton films that re-launched the character cinematically, to an insane amount of financial success and media hype. Emma Stone, as Sam, is also tied to another superhero franchise, the recent takes on SPIDER-MAN. BIRDMAN doesn't blithely fly past this, we the viewer are acutely aware of having seen them in those respective films. We also have Zach Galifianakis, still reeking from all those insipid yet insanely popular HANGOVER movies. These are all actors tied to gargantuan tentpole productions, who like their characters, are trying to do something more, something with meaning, in the context of BIRDMAN. It's all very meta, but it is never, ever trite and played up as stunt casting. The closest thing I can compare this amazing film to is another major cinematic achievement, Bob Fosse's ALL THAT JAZZ. Both films share the plight of a legend looking back on their life, and wondering if the legacy they are leaving is enough. they've ignored family, missed out on living in general, something that should actually be the axis of any serious performer, experience, and the fear of living up to unreal expectations. Then there is the need to express true creative expression, valid artistry, after the guilt of pandering has set into the DNA of who they are as "stars".
Ed Norton as the volatile yet invigorating actor Mike damned near steals the show, but the real centerpiece? The writing. Holy shit, this film has some profound and show stopping monologues. The cinematography, courtesy of Emmanuel Lubezki, who performed no small miracle with his magician like work on GRAVITY, creates a seamless, almost constant one take shot in BIRDMAN. The viewer is never contained by it though, it's not overwrought or claustrophobic in any sense, and BIRDMAN is well under way before we even realize what's going on inside the camera and the sets.
BIRDMAN is a film that begs to be seen multiple times, it's structure and technique studied, both for it's technical prowess, it's story design, and it's performances. I'm used to writing about "cool flicks" much more than densely articulated art films, but BIRDMAN walks the line between both, working as a statement with poignant and profound depth, and as a meta-based entertainment. A true achievement, and I fully expect to see this masterpiece sweep up many wards come Oscar time.
Rating: 4.75 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
THE LEGO MOVIE (2014)
I’ll be honest… I don’t particularly “get” the attraction to the Lego line of videogames and such, so it was no surprise that I was willing to let THE LEGO MOVIE slip away unnoticed. Thankfully, I did the opposite. After cutting their teeth on the criminally underrated CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, hit a homerun with the odd, little tale of toys that have a life of their own. The cast is great: Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, and Jonah Hill to name but a few. The acting is top-notch. The story, while inventive and genuinely funny, is a little too complex for its intended audience, but… the animation is so rich and full. I mean, you can watch this film several times and pick up *something* in the background every time. Humorous and eye-popping, THE LEGO MOVIE – much like the early Pixar films – herald a new and imaginative voice in animation.
TO BE TAKEI (2014)
Full disclosure: I love me some George Takei. No one is a better advocate for human rights than he, imo. So, to see an entire documentary based upon his life, well… I already knew I’d enjoy it. Surprisingly though, TO BE TAKEI is a rich tapestry which details not only the life of the actor we all know, but it also illustrates some very private challenges the man faced as he was growing up. The documentary is candid and frank and walks the line between its audience’s “need to know” and having respect for its subject. There’s so much to like here. That said, the film has its moments… I think the coverage of the musical George is in goes on a little long and I think the scenes with William Shatner were spiteful and unnecessary. Small quibbles to be sure, but still salient. All in all though, TO BE TAKEI is a delight (as is its subject matter). Highly recommended!! “Oh, my,” indeed!
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH (2013)
RUE MORGUE editor, Rodrigo Gudino, does a laudable job his first time in the director’s chair with LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH. The film drips with an obsessive eye to detail (the set design is pretty amazing) and boy… does this director ever love long, Argento-esque tracking shots. The story is a meandering affair that could very well have benefited from some tightening and the acting is a little weak, but neither of those things are what you come to a “haunted house” story. You come for spooky hallways, light and shadow, and eerie statues that may or may not have just glanced at you. One HUGE plus for the film is the brilliant narration by Vanessa Redgrave (!!!!!) which is reason enough to rent this. Her soliloquys on loss and loneliness… put it this way, having just lost my own mother recently, they are really powerful and delivered well. The nice thing is that Gudino shows a restraint and understanding of the medium in which he is working and acquits himself nicely in his execution. While not the barnburner you’d expect coming from an editor of RUE MORGUE, this film is something even better. It shows a young filmmaker who already understands a) atmosphere, b) pacing, and c) when to steal from The Masters and exactly who to steal from. All of this bodes well for the next film by Gudino. Give him a more focused story and a more solid lead and he could very well deliver something magical. Recommended… with some slight (overlookable) caveats.Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
BIRDMAN (2014)
Alejandro González Iñárritu has always made powerful films, among them AMORES PERROS, 21 GRAMS, BABEL, and BIUTIFUL. A very serious filmmaker with very serious messages running throughout his filmography. So when the trailers for BIRDMAN first started appearing, there was a lot of head scratching, and even overt confusion as to whether this endeavor was a theatrical version of HARVEY BIRDMAN, a night time satirical cartoon, or just some weird diversion. Nope. Nothing so simple.BIRDMAN follows the efforts of franchise actor Riggan Thomson, a performer of serious aspirations trapped by a megamillion making character (the titular BIRDMAN) who now haunts him as an ever present voice, his id coming backto prod and poke at him, as Riggan tries to redefine himself as a Broadway auteur. Everything is riding on the struggling production, and in desperation he manipulates an accident into happening to his leading man, an actor he isn't happy with. This may or may not be done through means of telekinesis, we are never sure. Riggan's Quixote like mission may be hampering his perception of reality around him. Soon he has his dream replacement, a method actor named Mike, who invigorates the play, even as he challenges Riggan to the point of psychosis. Surrounded by other characters, like Riggan's assistant/daughter, Sam, in recovery for substance abuse, Mike's lover, Lesley, an actress in the production, and Riggan's paramour, laura, also in the cast, who is carrying their unborn child. Stress and doubt permeate every moment of things, while Riggan's manager, Jake, tries desperately to keep the gears moving, towards opening night, even as the specter of BIRDMAN circles around Riggan's consciousness, creating incessant tumult and doubt.
What's crazy about BIRDMAN, is it's firm, Ouroboros like grasp on art-imitates-life-imitates art. Michael Keaton, our Riggan, is not unlike his character, having been for many fanboys the defining BATMAN in the two Tim Burton films that re-launched the character cinematically, to an insane amount of financial success and media hype. Emma Stone, as Sam, is also tied to another superhero franchise, the recent takes on SPIDER-MAN. BIRDMAN doesn't blithely fly past this, we the viewer are acutely aware of having seen them in those respective films. We also have Zach Galifianakis, still reeking from all those insipid yet insanely popular HANGOVER movies. These are all actors tied to gargantuan tentpole productions, who like their characters, are trying to do something more, something with meaning, in the context of BIRDMAN. It's all very meta, but it is never, ever trite and played up as stunt casting. The closest thing I can compare this amazing film to is another major cinematic achievement, Bob Fosse's ALL THAT JAZZ. Both films share the plight of a legend looking back on their life, and wondering if the legacy they are leaving is enough. they've ignored family, missed out on living in general, something that should actually be the axis of any serious performer, experience, and the fear of living up to unreal expectations. Then there is the need to express true creative expression, valid artistry, after the guilt of pandering has set into the DNA of who they are as "stars".
Ed Norton as the volatile yet invigorating actor Mike damned near steals the show, but the real centerpiece? The writing. Holy shit, this film has some profound and show stopping monologues. The cinematography, courtesy of Emmanuel Lubezki, who performed no small miracle with his magician like work on GRAVITY, creates a seamless, almost constant one take shot in BIRDMAN. The viewer is never contained by it though, it's not overwrought or claustrophobic in any sense, and BIRDMAN is well under way before we even realize what's going on inside the camera and the sets.
BIRDMAN is a film that begs to be seen multiple times, it's structure and technique studied, both for it's technical prowess, it's story design, and it's performances. I'm used to writing about "cool flicks" much more than densely articulated art films, but BIRDMAN walks the line between both, working as a statement with poignant and profound depth, and as a meta-based entertainment. A true achievement, and I fully expect to see this masterpiece sweep up many wards come Oscar time.
Rating: 4.75 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
THE LEGO MOVIE (2014)
I’ll be honest… I don’t particularly “get” the attraction to the Lego line of videogames and such, so it was no surprise that I was willing to let THE LEGO MOVIE slip away unnoticed. Thankfully, I did the opposite. After cutting their teeth on the criminally underrated CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, hit a homerun with the odd, little tale of toys that have a life of their own. The cast is great: Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, and Jonah Hill to name but a few. The acting is top-notch. The story, while inventive and genuinely funny, is a little too complex for its intended audience, but… the animation is so rich and full. I mean, you can watch this film several times and pick up *something* in the background every time. Humorous and eye-popping, THE LEGO MOVIE – much like the early Pixar films – herald a new and imaginative voice in animation.Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
TO BE TAKEI (2014)
Full disclosure: I love me some George Takei. No one is a better advocate for human rights than he, imo. So, to see an entire documentary based upon his life, well… I already knew I’d enjoy it. Surprisingly though, TO BE TAKEI is a rich tapestry which details not only the life of the actor we all know, but it also illustrates some very private challenges the man faced as he was growing up. The documentary is candid and frank and walks the line between its audience’s “need to know” and having respect for its subject. There’s so much to like here. That said, the film has its moments… I think the coverage of the musical George is in goes on a little long and I think the scenes with William Shatner were spiteful and unnecessary. Small quibbles to be sure, but still salient. All in all though, TO BE TAKEI is a delight (as is its subject matter). Highly recommended!! “Oh, my,” indeed!Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS (2014)
AMER directors, Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani, continues to show how wide of a spectrum their palate extends with THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS. The film, much like AMER, is a nearly narrative mess, but the visuals… Reminiscent of both Mario Bava and very early Dario Argento, STRANGE COLOR is a psycho-sexual wonderland of imagery and staging. The film feels very much like a modern-day giallo and uses a lot of that sub-genre’s tropes, but with the technological advancements of the last few years, the final result is a visual feast. Acting is fairly wooden, but again… that’s not why you paid your admission fee, now is it? The film is fairly adult in tone, but the sexuality is kept mostly to some nudity and the violence is pretty mundane. But again, these directors’ visual sense is superlative and very much look forward to their next films. Recommended, but with some caveats...
THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS (2014)
AMER directors, Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani, continues to show how wide of a spectrum their palate extends with THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS. The film, much like AMER, is a nearly narrative mess, but the visuals… Reminiscent of both Mario Bava and very early Dario Argento, STRANGE COLOR is a psycho-sexual wonderland of imagery and staging. The film feels very much like a modern-day giallo and uses a lot of that sub-genre’s tropes, but with the technological advancements of the last few years, the final result is a visual feast. Acting is fairly wooden, but again… that’s not why you paid your admission fee, now is it? The film is fairly adult in tone, but the sexuality is kept mostly to some nudity and the violence is pretty mundane. But again, these directors’ visual sense is superlative and very much look forward to their next films. Recommended, but with some caveats...Rating: 2.5 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
AMERICAN SNIPER (2014)
By now, everybody pretty much knows who soldier Chris Kyle is. The US military's legendary sniper, who after 4 tours of duty, racked up the highest body count in the history of the armed forces, is now the subject of one of this seasons most lauded films. Mr. Kyle joined a SEALS training program at age 30, awfully late in life for a career of service, but proved the odds wrong, and was soon known simply as The Legend.
I'm no history major, or political commentator, I'm a movie loving nerd who appreciates a well told tale. So let's dispense with any leanings towards contemplating the rights and wrongs of our countries involvement in the battles Mr. Kyle fought, and speak about AMERICAN SNIPER in cinematic terms only.
Screenwriter Jason Dean Hall (an ex-actor best known for playing Devon MacLeish on the television show BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) and producer/director Clint Eastwood (also an ex-actor known for...well, a million things!) don't muck around in political morality, instead opting to simply show what a man like Mr. Kyle goes through when living behind the scope of a snipers' rifle for over a thousand days in the controversial and confusing Iraqi war. Emotionally, AMERICAN SNIPER gladly never asks the viewer to wave a flag, and never comes off as for or against our government, or the soldiers that serve/served in what I think everyone can agree is a tragic action. We are simply watching a man try to keep his friends and co-soldiers alive, and maintain a semblance of sanity for his family back home. The action oriented scenes never devolve into a "Murica...Fuck yeah!" type of armchair cartoon patriotism, and we are never asked to outright hate the Iraqi insurgents and soldiers they fight. It merely is an "is".
The performances are incredible, layered with depth, true emotional content, and an understanding of the fact that it is real people being portrayed. I'm going to be very surprised if lead Bradley Cooper doesn't win some major awards this season for his sobering portrayal of Kyle. One we should all be talking about just as much is Sienna Miller, who nearly steals the film as Taya Renae Kyle, the wife left at home, to rear their children alone, while fielding phone calls, sometimes literally mid-firefight, from her husband. With her work in AMERICAN SNIPER, and another of this year's most powerful films, FOXCATCHER, it's safe to say she's come a long way from work in movies like G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA. She gives us a lens to see the war through as far as the damage and scars it leaves on those whose loved ones job it is to be warriors, whether in the moral right or wrong. if anything AMERICAN SNIPER is an anti-war film, only once raising an eyebrow at our involvement, and it's on the side of questioning rather than following blindly.
Like I said, I'm no political expert, and I watched AMERICAN SNIPER strictly as an entertainment. I don't have a deep knowledge of Chris Kyle's life, nor of the intricacies of the corridors of power that make the policies that got us involved in the Iraq war. My job is to let you, the reader know, if I feel a film is worth your 10 bucks. In that regard, yes. AMERICAN SNIPER is a rock-solid piece of filmmaking, and one of Mr. Eastwood's finer moments in the directors chair. Recommended as an action oriented drama, and an enthralling biopic, which for me is more a love story than a war film.
Sadly, Kyle's life was ended on a shooting range by a soldier suffering from PTSD named Eddie Ray Routh (still awaiting trial), who Kyle was trying to help through readjusting to civilian life, in February of 2013.
Rating: 4 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
GET ON UP (2014)
Tate Taylor (PRETTY UGLY PEOPLE, THE HELP) directs this James Brown biopic, which follows the music legend from his poverty stricken childhood, born in, literally, a one room shack, to being raised by prostitutes and hustlers after being pawned off by a father with the inability to bring him up.
After an arrest for trying to steal a suit, James ends up in prison, and it's there that the root of his musical ambitions truly take hold, when he meets Bobby Bird, a visiting singer. Soon, the two become friends, and Byrd's family takes the needy James into their family fold. Sooner than you can say "Hit me!" Byrd and James are off to carousing and making waives on the chitlin' circuit, eventually making serious inways to pop music, a form of music almost strictly commandeered by white folks.
GET ON UP chronicles all the big moments, and the rise to fame, fortune, and sometimes infamy, with a deft sure hand, and for the most part unflinching, and accurate eye. It's a period piece rock and roll movie that belongs on the shelf right next to AMERICAN HOT WAX, and THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY.
Amazing, and I mean a-ma-zing performances from Chadwick Boseman (soon to be lost to the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he will become the BLACK PANTHER) as James Brown, Nelsan Ellis as Brown's music partner and kicked-around sidekick Bobby Byrd, Viola Davis as brown's long suffering but supportive wife Susie, and Dan Aykroyd as white manager and long time believer in da funk, Ben Bart, anchor this movie, and elevate it from something that could easily have been tawdry melodrama, given the history of it's subject.
GET ON UP lands in my Top ten of 2014, and if you love James Brown like I do, or even if you don't, this is a film to be not only seen, but felt and most of all, heard!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
CANOPY (2013)
It's a very simple premise. The year is 1942, the world is at war. An Aussie pilot is shot down on a jungle island that is in enemy territory. While trying to survive, and evade Japanese forces, he runs across another soldier, Chinese, also stranded. Together they form a wordless support system, and attempt to make it out alive.
Short/documenatary filmmaker Aaron Wilson writes/directs/produces here, with a very minimal cast mostly consisting of Khan Chittenden as Jim, and Morning Tzu-Yi Mo as Seng. CANOPY is a dialog-free excersise, strictly a show-don't-tell piece. Does it work? Not in this case. What we get is a lot of hiding in the grass, looking at maps, and drinking out of streams. The situations that Jim and seng are put in aren't enough to properly build their characters, and I seriously found myself checking my watch more than anything else. A noble attempt? Yes. terminally boring? Sadly, also yes.
Creator Wilson should have stuck to the short film format for this one as well, which overstays it's welcome by about an hour, which is already a lean 84 minutes. As you can see from the blurb laden poster above this review, I am in the minority. But the best thing about CANOPY for me, was the trailer. For a movie in the same vein, mining the same ideas, go with HELL IN THE PACIFIC.
Rating: 2 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST (1974)
While this is an interesting “nunsploitation” film in that is Japanese, it still holds true to the conventions of the genre - blasphemy, lesbianism, torture, etc. Made in 1974 and directed by “pinku” director, Norifumi Suzuki (GIRL BOSS GUERILLA, TERRIFYING… HIGH SCHOOL), the film is competently made and acted, but fails to being much new to the table. Nunsploitation is a genre where m knowledge-base is a little weak, so I decided to bone up (no pun intended) on it be watching a few. Sadly, with this genre… a little is a lot and once you see half a dozen or so, you’ve pretty much seen them all. If nuns humping and peeing on crosses does it for you (and when doesn’t it?), then SCHOOL - and the entire nunsploitation genre) is for you. If you’re looking for something more… look someplace else. SCHOOL is definitely one of the better entries in the subgenre, but… once you get past the horny nuns, there’s really not much to that. Fun… but flawed.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
JOHN WICK (2014)
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I’ll be honest… I went into JOHN WICK expecting little. First-time directors, David Leitch / Chad Stahelski (formerly MATRIX stuntmen) craft a revenge action thriller starring an action star, Keanu Reeves, whose star as slipped. I’d seen some clips and the action certainly looked intriguing. The cast - Michael Nyquist (GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Trilogy), Adrianne Palicki (AGENTS of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Alfie Allen (GAME OF THRONES), Willem DaFoe (PLATOON), and Ian McShane (DEADWOOD) – are all competent enough. So, in an effort to save time, allow me to “bottom line” it for you. JOHN WICK is a ridiculously simple script (basically, if you’ve seen the trailer, you already get it). The plot is utterly derivative and there are few surprises in its narrative. That all said though… JOHN WICK is also easily one of the best American action films of the last decade. The admittedly familiar plot - retired assassin loses wife to cancer and then is drawn out of retirement by the actions of the son of a Russian mob boss – is simple, direct, and impossible to misconstrue. However, once we get passed that… it’s all guns and ass-kickery from there. And boy… is the action ever eye-popping. Fast, brutal and COMPLETELY effective, Wick is a one man wrecking crew. I did think the ending was a little too pat, but… what’s here is exciting in a way action films haven’t been in a very long time. So yeah… if you’re looking for a film that is going to stimulate your brain… look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a fun, exciting time at the cinema, then JOHN WICK is totally worth checking out.
Rating: 4 out of 5
~ Thom Carnell
THE IGUANA WITH A TONGUE OF FIRE (1971)
The Iguana With The Tongue Of Fire (aka L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco aka Die Bestie Mit Dem Feurigen Atem)
Riccardo Freda (I VAMPIRI, CALTIKI THE UNDYING MONSTER) brings us this rather violent/gory giallo whose impact is blunted by a predictable and unremarkable storyline. Luigi Pistilli (THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, DEATH RIDES A HORSE) stars along with Anton Diffring (FARENHEIT 451, WHERE EAGLES DARE, CIRCUS OF HORRORS) and Dagmar Lassander (THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMON, THE FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION). The story is pretty much standard giallo, but the killer is never really that much of a mystery. What makes this one stand out is its level of bloodshed and gore. Throats are slit, acid is splashed in women’s faces… It’s like a Fulci-esque wet dream. Performances are ok… The look of the film is pure early 70s. Overall, the film is not bad… it’s just that it’s not that good either. Fun for giallo freaks (like me), but others may find themselves bored and/or confused by all the mucking about.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
~ Thom Carnell
MARY AND MAX (2009)
I’m not sure what I expected going into MARY AND MAX. The trailer had a look of a Henry Sellick / Tim Burton kind of film and seemed to possess a quirky sensibility which appealed to me. Thankfully… I was right… sort of. MARY AND MAX is the kind of film, while visually similar, that Sellick and Burton WISHES they could make. The film is quirky, dark, emotionally engaging, cerebral and deeply troubling (all good things in my book). Top notch voice acting (by Toni Collete, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Eric Bana amongst others) raises this already stellar film above the rest. Further, the film never panders are accepts that anyone watching it will understand and go with some of the admittedly adult concepts (alcoholism, depression, death, mental illness, hypocrisy, delusion, etc). That said, it may be slightly rough waters for the very young (even though it looks like a cartoon, this is not PEANUTS by any stretch). Well written and told, MARY AND MAX is a terrific film that is so much more than it looks on the surface. HIGHLY recommended, but bring a tissue or two. Great stuff!
Rating: 4 out of 5
~ Thom Carnell
K-20 LEGEND OF THE MASK (2008)
How did this get by me? Imagine… a world in which Japan and the US came to a peace which avoided WWII. Now, throw in a time when Tesla – not Einstein - is considered the scientific genius of our age and a Steam Punk esthetic is the order of the day. Then, throw in Batman, Indiana Jones, Darkman, some steampunk, and the exuberance of Saturday Matinee serials and you come close to understanding what K-20 sets out to do. Now… is it successful? Well, I’m happy to answer with a resounding YES! Fun, exciting, dramatic, and well-constructed K-20 is an absolute delight! I hit play on this one and had no idea what I was getting, but boy… I REALLY liked this film. Takeshi Kaneshiro (RED CLIFF, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, THE WARLORDS) shines as the imminently likable circus performer, Hekichi Endo, and the rest of the cast is spot-on. Director Shimako Sato (WIZARD OF DARKNESS) writes and directs with an assured hand and she completely gets the construction of those scenes of daring-do of yore. I grew up on these types of films and I absolutely loved K-20! I just hope more of them get made in the future. HIGHLY recommended!!!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
~ Thom Carnell
ALL THAT JAZZ (1979)
One of the greatest, and most disturbing, musicals ever made in which maestro director/choreographer Bob Fosse helms a thinly veiled confessional of his own life, with Roy Schieder in the lead role as Joe Gideon, a bacchanal and troubled "Fosse type", who we see deal with loneliness, obsessive work habits, and one mean monkey of addiction on his back. Struggling to have a relationships with his daughter Michelle, played by the amazing Erzsebet Fold, and his current girlfriend Katie, also both singer/dancers in Gideon's world, the film in large part is at it's heart an incredibly sad family drama. Taking a Fellini-esque approach visually (and sometimes narratively), ALL THAT JAZZ delves into crazy fantasy-laced fever dream sequences, and the song and dance numbers are on a level all their own. not surprising since it is, after all, THE Bob motherfucking Fosse. Factor in Jessica Lange as Angelique, the ironically named Angel Of Death, and a plethora of incredible supporting roles, and it's easy to see how this classic won the Palme d'Or in 1980 at the Cannes Film festival. Even if you hate musicals, you'll love this. Pure cinema. Pure greatness.
Rating: 5 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Full disclosure… I liked the first CAPTAIN AMERICA film. I thought it had a different sensibility from the other Marvel movies. So, I went into THE WINTER SOLDIER hoping for the best. What I got was exactly what I expected: a big, loud, explodey “tent-pole” film which, while a fun ride, is of little significance to anyone outside San Diego ComiCon. The weird thing is that there’s nothing really to outright hate about TWS. The cast is likeable and performs well. The action is big and loud and there are a lot of flames and things falling out of the sky. The intrigue is… well, suitably intriguey. But, as the credits began to roll, I found myself already losing the particulars of the film’s plot. So, Cap is a man out of time… and Black Widow is trying to get him laid? The Horse Whisperer is a bad guy and now has the emotional range of a hat rack? It’s all so confusing. I’m beginning to believe that they really don’t know what they’re doing over there at Marvel. I mean, didn’t they JUST build a better S.H.I.E.L.D. in one of the other movies? And, are we now to suspect that there are HYDRA agents in the TV show? Who knows? I just found THE WINTER SOLDIER to be an overly long and unduly complicated, firey, generic night at the movies that satisfies, but rarely inspires.
Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
FIRST KILL (2001)
Wow! This one caught me by surprise. FIRST KILL is a chilling documentary by Coco Schrijber which details in open and frank language what it means to kill a person for the first time. Using Viet Nam War vets as interview subjects, Schrijber is smart enough to never get in the way of her subjects. She simply points the camera and shoots and the results are pretty amazing. Speaking to a handful of soldiers, the director uses interview footage and archival photographs (some of which were provided by the subjects themselves) to take the viewer not only into the minds of these men, but also into the situation they found themselves in (war). Again, the result is chilling, but always fascinating. Solid stuff and HIGHLY recommended!
Rating: 4 out of 5
~ Thom Carnell
THE LIVING CORPSE aka DRACULA IN PAKISTAN (1967)
What we have here is a Pakistani version of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. The film has a certain reputation as being the first movie in Pakistan to be given an X rating and because a woman reportedly had a heart attack in the movie theater due to the film’s being so provocative. At the time it was made, it was only the second horror movie to be made in Pakistan. The film begins as a sort of riff on DR JECKYL AND MISTER HYDE with Dr. Tabani looking for the “Elixir of Life” which he not only finds, but ingests. Of course, the good doctor drops dead and soon awakes as a creature that is more similar to what we think of as Dracula. From here, we get pretty much what you would expect. As one watches this film, it’s important to remember two things… 1) the film was made in 1967 and 2) as I’ve said, it was made in Pakistan. As a result, yes…. The film’s dance sequences (yes, dance sequences – this is Pakistan… which is right next to India… y’know, Bollywood) are pretty racy given the time and location and – because it’s a vampire film – there’s an aspect of sexuality to it all… which I’m sure the religious factions of Pakistan were not happy about. The music… is pretty groovy by and large, very 60s dance pop. But yeah… other than that, it sticks pretty much to the Stoker playbook. The guy who plays Dracula, Rehan, does his best Christopher Lee impression and is actually not bad in the role. The film ends up – undoubtedly because of the conventions of Pakistani cinema – being very melodramatic and over-wrought, but still kind of endearing (in a really odd way). Soon though… the oddity of the film wears thin and, by the third reel, the whole thing begins to overstay its welcome (the film runs 103 minutes). So, at the end of the day, THE LIVING CORPSE serves more as an anthropological document than an effective horror film. It serves to show how a fledgling film industry and a – let’s admit it – rather repressed country does its own take on a horror archetype. THE LIVING CORPSE has its moments, but…I’d recommended it mostly for “world horror” fans (which I am) and those interested in riffs on the Dracula legend.
Rating: 3 out of 5ell
BLACK POWER MIX-TAPE 1967-1975 (2011)
Many people are uneducated in regards to the black power movement which lasted from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Director Goran Olsson gathers some very interesting footage (Stokeley Carmichael interviewing his mom) from Swedish news sources as well as some great voices (Harry Belafonte, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and Angela Davis, to name a few) to tell a story of a very special – and volatile - time in our history. Thankfully, the filmmaker never dallies too long on any one subject. He gives us just enough information and then moves on which is a double-edged sword. Some events get short shrift while others feel somehow padded. Still… this is crucial viewing for…well, almost everybody. In this time of “Occupy This” and “Occupy That,” it might be helpful to look at how some other people did it first.
Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)
Screenwriter Dan Gilroy (FREEJACK, THE FALL, THE BOURNE LEGACY) comes screaming out of the gate as a first time director with this incredibly solid effort that points a scathingly critical finger at the TMZ generation, where news is no longer news, and it's purveyors have become completely morally bankrupt. He wraps it all in a neo-noir/action infused package, and boy oh boy does it work.
Lou Bloom is a petty thief, whose intelligence and ability to learn almost anything with scary speed, is bellied by his almost psychotic banter. An authority on seemingly everything, Lou pulls over one night on the freeway to observe a terrible car accident, and after watching an independent news gathering cameraman, walks away with the seeds of a new career rolling around in his constantly bubbling brain.
After stealing an expensive bike, and trading it up for an outdated camcorder, he's off cruising the LA night looking for his own footage to capture, and sell. Faster than you can say "Perez Hilton",
he's leveling up, hiring on a destitute young man, Rick, to be his navigator, and together they comb the police band on their scanner, mastering the codes, rushing off to capture images of crime and terror as they happen. His buyer is Nina, an aging female news director at a low rent local station, who needs the tawdry footage to aid her plummeting ratings. Eventually, Lou's nocturnal submissions yield incredibly up close and personal captures of the most heinous of human behavior. He gets Nina what she needs, in her own words something akin to "A screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut". Eventually, he comes upon the aftermath of a home invasion. Arriving before the police, he enters the house with his camera, and returns with content that may or may not be legal. It sure as hell isn't moral. But who cares? It's ratings sweep time, and numbers mean money.
Jake Gyllenhaal, as the increasingly psychotic and psychopathic news gatherer, hits a whole new level of creepy here, and the comparisons of his performance to that of DeNiro as Travis Bickle in the classic TAXI DRIVER are absolutely warranted. The supporting cast of Rizwan Ahmed (BRITZ, FOUR LIONS, also an MC in his native London), Rene Russo as the desperate aging beauty now trying to stay afloat in the ruthless industry that is the nightly news, and Bill Paxton as a competing camera-hawk, all help to make this easily one of the best films of 2014.
NIGHTCRAWLER is heavy on the parable, but damn it works, and while it's shaking that "scathingly critical finger" I talked about earlier, at the characters, as well as us the viewer, it's also providing one hell of an exciting ride, albeit at 80 miles an hour down the crowded downtown streets of Los Angeles. Hang on, NIGHTCRAWLER is going to turn your knuckles white.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
THE SET-UP (1949)
This 1949 noirish fight film shows exactly what a good director can do with a couple of sets, an excellent cast, a great script, and a clear cut vision. Director Robert Wise (THE HAUNTING) makes a boxing film that ranks with some of the best fight films ever made. Shot in real time & exclusively on sets, this little known classic totally surprised me. The viewer comes away feeling the anguish of Robert Ryan as an over the hill boxer looking for one more win. Audrey Totter is his girl and provides an emotional base for the story. Some people - the ones who don't like B&W movies - may not like this, but man... it hooked me out of the box and held my interest throughout its run time. The disc also features a great commentary track with Robert Wise & Martin Scorcese.
Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
DREAM HOME (2010)
Ho-Cheung Pang directs this brutal tale of a young woman whose lifelong dream is to own her own home in the expensive housing market of Hong Kong. While the premise might sound tame, this film is anything but. Extremely gory and featuring a dozen or more visceral kills, DREAM HOME is breathtaking in its bravery and its willingness to quite literally go for the throat. You will not - I repeat, YOU WILL NOT - believe some of this stuff. Solid acting, spot-on direction, and featuring writing that is more than willing to give viewers a kick in the nuts, DREAM HOME is awesome and totally surprising. I HIGHLY recommend this to horror fans, to thriller fans… heck, to anyone with a stomach strong enough for it. The really nice thing is… as crazy as the protagonist is, once you learn her back-story, you sorta kinda empathize with her. You won’t feel good about it because… let’s face her actions are INSANE, but they are kind of understandable. Kind of… In the end, DREAM HOME is a wild ride and one fans who don’t shy away from the red stuff will surely dig.
Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (1959)
A 1959 monster flick that was - on paper - directed by Riccardo Freda. The film is a kind of mashup between a “scientists make weird discovery in Mayan ruins” picture and THE BLOB. What makes this film of note is that Freda himself claims that the great Mario Bava did most of the directing of this film uncredited and it shows. From the subtle use of black and white / light and shadow to the making pennies seem like dollars in the look and feel of the sets, and the ingenuity of the monster, this is a Bava film. The monster itself really is little more than what looks like an oil-covered cloth, but through some creativity and a little back-winding, the thing looks pretty damn creepy. The acting is standard Fifties-era monster movie. For Bava fans, this is a must see. For “monsters from outer space” fans, it is as well. For anyone who is interested in a unique take on a classic monster, this is a fun little ride. Not a lot of blood, but some of the FX are pretty nifty. This film is often hard to find, but if you are able to get your hands on it, it’s worth a viewing.
SABATA (1969)
Lee Van Cleef (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, DEATH RIDES A HORSE) once again proves he’s The Man in this Spaghetti Western from 1969. Directed by Gianfranco Parolini (The Sabata Trilogy, IF YOU MEET SARTANA, PRAY FOR YOUR DEATH) and costarring William Berger (KEOMA, 5 DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON) and Ignazio Spalla (ANY GUN CAN PLAY, DON’T WAIT, DJANGO…SHOOT!), the film tells the story of a group of businessmen who rob an Army safe of $100,000 in order to buy some land which the railroad is planning to build on. Everything goes as planned until a gunslinger named Sabata comes along. From there, the film is basically the businessmen continually trying – unsuccessfully – to kill Sabata. Genuinely fun and completely delightful, SABATA is one of those films many haven’t heard of… and the ones that have, haven’t seen it. More light-hearted than the Leone films, for example, SABATA showcases Van Cleef as a badass of the highest order. Berger plays the guy with the knowledge of the town. Ignazio Spalla is around to play the type of role made popular by Eli Wallach in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY or Rod Steiger in DUCK, YOU SUCKER. What sets SABATA apart is its pervasive sense of humor and Van Cleef’s preternatural ability to set up kill zones. The acting is spot-on. The action is both inventive and exciting. Fans of the genre should immediately add this to their list as should anyone who justy likes a rollicking good time at the movies.
EMERGENCY SQUAD (1974)
A slow & uneventful 1974 poliziotteschi featuring Tomas Milan (Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING) who does his best to channel Serpico or Dirty Harry, but falls WAY short. He mostly just chews on a cigar and threatens to shoot people. The rest of the cast is wholly forgettable. The only reason to see this is for the super funky Stelvio Cipriani score which will have you blissfully overdosing on Wah-Wah pedal.
Rating: 2 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
HUNGER (2008)
Beautifully shot & acted, this very quiet tale of the 1981 hunger strike by Bobby Sands is breathtaking. Fassbender's performance is and should have been Oscar-worthy. It is a story told in 3 acts. The first focuses on a guard & the emotional blowback of the job. Second, is a story of two prisoners and serves as an introduction to prison life. Thirdly, it is the tale of Sands. Fassbender undergoes a physical transformation very much like Christian Bale's in THE MACHINIST. Sadly, an understanding of Ireland's history is paramount to understanding each side's motivations. But... the film itself is nothing short of amazing.
Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
AMERICAN SNIPER (2014)
By now, everybody pretty much knows who soldier Chris Kyle is. The US military's legendary sniper, who after 4 tours of duty, racked up the highest body count in the history of the armed forces, is now the subject of one of this seasons most lauded films. Mr. Kyle joined a SEALS training program at age 30, awfully late in life for a career of service, but proved the odds wrong, and was soon known simply as The Legend.I'm no history major, or political commentator, I'm a movie loving nerd who appreciates a well told tale. So let's dispense with any leanings towards contemplating the rights and wrongs of our countries involvement in the battles Mr. Kyle fought, and speak about AMERICAN SNIPER in cinematic terms only.
Screenwriter Jason Dean Hall (an ex-actor best known for playing Devon MacLeish on the television show BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) and producer/director Clint Eastwood (also an ex-actor known for...well, a million things!) don't muck around in political morality, instead opting to simply show what a man like Mr. Kyle goes through when living behind the scope of a snipers' rifle for over a thousand days in the controversial and confusing Iraqi war. Emotionally, AMERICAN SNIPER gladly never asks the viewer to wave a flag, and never comes off as for or against our government, or the soldiers that serve/served in what I think everyone can agree is a tragic action. We are simply watching a man try to keep his friends and co-soldiers alive, and maintain a semblance of sanity for his family back home. The action oriented scenes never devolve into a "Murica...Fuck yeah!" type of armchair cartoon patriotism, and we are never asked to outright hate the Iraqi insurgents and soldiers they fight. It merely is an "is".
The performances are incredible, layered with depth, true emotional content, and an understanding of the fact that it is real people being portrayed. I'm going to be very surprised if lead Bradley Cooper doesn't win some major awards this season for his sobering portrayal of Kyle. One we should all be talking about just as much is Sienna Miller, who nearly steals the film as Taya Renae Kyle, the wife left at home, to rear their children alone, while fielding phone calls, sometimes literally mid-firefight, from her husband. With her work in AMERICAN SNIPER, and another of this year's most powerful films, FOXCATCHER, it's safe to say she's come a long way from work in movies like G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA. She gives us a lens to see the war through as far as the damage and scars it leaves on those whose loved ones job it is to be warriors, whether in the moral right or wrong. if anything AMERICAN SNIPER is an anti-war film, only once raising an eyebrow at our involvement, and it's on the side of questioning rather than following blindly.
Like I said, I'm no political expert, and I watched AMERICAN SNIPER strictly as an entertainment. I don't have a deep knowledge of Chris Kyle's life, nor of the intricacies of the corridors of power that make the policies that got us involved in the Iraq war. My job is to let you, the reader know, if I feel a film is worth your 10 bucks. In that regard, yes. AMERICAN SNIPER is a rock-solid piece of filmmaking, and one of Mr. Eastwood's finer moments in the directors chair. Recommended as an action oriented drama, and an enthralling biopic, which for me is more a love story than a war film.
Sadly, Kyle's life was ended on a shooting range by a soldier suffering from PTSD named Eddie Ray Routh (still awaiting trial), who Kyle was trying to help through readjusting to civilian life, in February of 2013.
Rating: 4 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
GET ON UP (2014)
Tate Taylor (PRETTY UGLY PEOPLE, THE HELP) directs this James Brown biopic, which follows the music legend from his poverty stricken childhood, born in, literally, a one room shack, to being raised by prostitutes and hustlers after being pawned off by a father with the inability to bring him up.After an arrest for trying to steal a suit, James ends up in prison, and it's there that the root of his musical ambitions truly take hold, when he meets Bobby Bird, a visiting singer. Soon, the two become friends, and Byrd's family takes the needy James into their family fold. Sooner than you can say "Hit me!" Byrd and James are off to carousing and making waives on the chitlin' circuit, eventually making serious inways to pop music, a form of music almost strictly commandeered by white folks.
GET ON UP chronicles all the big moments, and the rise to fame, fortune, and sometimes infamy, with a deft sure hand, and for the most part unflinching, and accurate eye. It's a period piece rock and roll movie that belongs on the shelf right next to AMERICAN HOT WAX, and THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY.
Amazing, and I mean a-ma-zing performances from Chadwick Boseman (soon to be lost to the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he will become the BLACK PANTHER) as James Brown, Nelsan Ellis as Brown's music partner and kicked-around sidekick Bobby Byrd, Viola Davis as brown's long suffering but supportive wife Susie, and Dan Aykroyd as white manager and long time believer in da funk, Ben Bart, anchor this movie, and elevate it from something that could easily have been tawdry melodrama, given the history of it's subject.
GET ON UP lands in my Top ten of 2014, and if you love James Brown like I do, or even if you don't, this is a film to be not only seen, but felt and most of all, heard!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
CANOPY (2013)
It's a very simple premise. The year is 1942, the world is at war. An Aussie pilot is shot down on a jungle island that is in enemy territory. While trying to survive, and evade Japanese forces, he runs across another soldier, Chinese, also stranded. Together they form a wordless support system, and attempt to make it out alive.Short/documenatary filmmaker Aaron Wilson writes/directs/produces here, with a very minimal cast mostly consisting of Khan Chittenden as Jim, and Morning Tzu-Yi Mo as Seng. CANOPY is a dialog-free excersise, strictly a show-don't-tell piece. Does it work? Not in this case. What we get is a lot of hiding in the grass, looking at maps, and drinking out of streams. The situations that Jim and seng are put in aren't enough to properly build their characters, and I seriously found myself checking my watch more than anything else. A noble attempt? Yes. terminally boring? Sadly, also yes.
Creator Wilson should have stuck to the short film format for this one as well, which overstays it's welcome by about an hour, which is already a lean 84 minutes. As you can see from the blurb laden poster above this review, I am in the minority. But the best thing about CANOPY for me, was the trailer. For a movie in the same vein, mining the same ideas, go with HELL IN THE PACIFIC.
Rating: 2 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST (1974)
While this is an interesting “nunsploitation” film in that is Japanese, it still holds true to the conventions of the genre - blasphemy, lesbianism, torture, etc. Made in 1974 and directed by “pinku” director, Norifumi Suzuki (GIRL BOSS GUERILLA, TERRIFYING… HIGH SCHOOL), the film is competently made and acted, but fails to being much new to the table. Nunsploitation is a genre where m knowledge-base is a little weak, so I decided to bone up (no pun intended) on it be watching a few. Sadly, with this genre… a little is a lot and once you see half a dozen or so, you’ve pretty much seen them all. If nuns humping and peeing on crosses does it for you (and when doesn’t it?), then SCHOOL - and the entire nunsploitation genre) is for you. If you’re looking for something more… look someplace else. SCHOOL is definitely one of the better entries in the subgenre, but… once you get past the horny nuns, there’s really not much to that. Fun… but flawed.Rating: 2.5 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
JOHN WICK (2014)
I’ll be honest… I went into JOHN WICK expecting little. First-time directors, David Leitch / Chad Stahelski (formerly MATRIX stuntmen) craft a revenge action thriller starring an action star, Keanu Reeves, whose star as slipped. I’d seen some clips and the action certainly looked intriguing. The cast - Michael Nyquist (GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Trilogy), Adrianne Palicki (AGENTS of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Alfie Allen (GAME OF THRONES), Willem DaFoe (PLATOON), and Ian McShane (DEADWOOD) – are all competent enough. So, in an effort to save time, allow me to “bottom line” it for you. JOHN WICK is a ridiculously simple script (basically, if you’ve seen the trailer, you already get it). The plot is utterly derivative and there are few surprises in its narrative. That all said though… JOHN WICK is also easily one of the best American action films of the last decade. The admittedly familiar plot - retired assassin loses wife to cancer and then is drawn out of retirement by the actions of the son of a Russian mob boss – is simple, direct, and impossible to misconstrue. However, once we get passed that… it’s all guns and ass-kickery from there. And boy… is the action ever eye-popping. Fast, brutal and COMPLETELY effective, Wick is a one man wrecking crew. I did think the ending was a little too pat, but… what’s here is exciting in a way action films haven’t been in a very long time. So yeah… if you’re looking for a film that is going to stimulate your brain… look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a fun, exciting time at the cinema, then JOHN WICK is totally worth checking out.Rating: 4 out of 5
~ Thom Carnell
THE IGUANA WITH A TONGUE OF FIRE (1971)
The Iguana With The Tongue Of Fire (aka L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco aka Die Bestie Mit Dem Feurigen Atem)
Riccardo Freda (I VAMPIRI, CALTIKI THE UNDYING MONSTER) brings us this rather violent/gory giallo whose impact is blunted by a predictable and unremarkable storyline. Luigi Pistilli (THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, DEATH RIDES A HORSE) stars along with Anton Diffring (FARENHEIT 451, WHERE EAGLES DARE, CIRCUS OF HORRORS) and Dagmar Lassander (THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMON, THE FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION). The story is pretty much standard giallo, but the killer is never really that much of a mystery. What makes this one stand out is its level of bloodshed and gore. Throats are slit, acid is splashed in women’s faces… It’s like a Fulci-esque wet dream. Performances are ok… The look of the film is pure early 70s. Overall, the film is not bad… it’s just that it’s not that good either. Fun for giallo freaks (like me), but others may find themselves bored and/or confused by all the mucking about.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
~ Thom Carnell
MARY AND MAX (2009)
I’m not sure what I expected going into MARY AND MAX. The trailer had a look of a Henry Sellick / Tim Burton kind of film and seemed to possess a quirky sensibility which appealed to me. Thankfully… I was right… sort of. MARY AND MAX is the kind of film, while visually similar, that Sellick and Burton WISHES they could make. The film is quirky, dark, emotionally engaging, cerebral and deeply troubling (all good things in my book). Top notch voice acting (by Toni Collete, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Eric Bana amongst others) raises this already stellar film above the rest. Further, the film never panders are accepts that anyone watching it will understand and go with some of the admittedly adult concepts (alcoholism, depression, death, mental illness, hypocrisy, delusion, etc). That said, it may be slightly rough waters for the very young (even though it looks like a cartoon, this is not PEANUTS by any stretch). Well written and told, MARY AND MAX is a terrific film that is so much more than it looks on the surface. HIGHLY recommended, but bring a tissue or two. Great stuff!Rating: 4 out of 5
~ Thom Carnell
K-20 LEGEND OF THE MASK (2008)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
~ Thom Carnell
ALL THAT JAZZ (1979)
One of the greatest, and most disturbing, musicals ever made in which maestro director/choreographer Bob Fosse helms a thinly veiled confessional of his own life, with Roy Schieder in the lead role as Joe Gideon, a bacchanal and troubled "Fosse type", who we see deal with loneliness, obsessive work habits, and one mean monkey of addiction on his back. Struggling to have a relationships with his daughter Michelle, played by the amazing Erzsebet Fold, and his current girlfriend Katie, also both singer/dancers in Gideon's world, the film in large part is at it's heart an incredibly sad family drama. Taking a Fellini-esque approach visually (and sometimes narratively), ALL THAT JAZZ delves into crazy fantasy-laced fever dream sequences, and the song and dance numbers are on a level all their own. not surprising since it is, after all, THE Bob motherfucking Fosse. Factor in Jessica Lange as Angelique, the ironically named Angel Of Death, and a plethora of incredible supporting roles, and it's easy to see how this classic won the Palme d'Or in 1980 at the Cannes Film festival. Even if you hate musicals, you'll love this. Pure cinema. Pure greatness.
Rating: 5 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Full disclosure… I liked the first CAPTAIN AMERICA film. I thought it had a different sensibility from the other Marvel movies. So, I went into THE WINTER SOLDIER hoping for the best. What I got was exactly what I expected: a big, loud, explodey “tent-pole” film which, while a fun ride, is of little significance to anyone outside San Diego ComiCon. The weird thing is that there’s nothing really to outright hate about TWS. The cast is likeable and performs well. The action is big and loud and there are a lot of flames and things falling out of the sky. The intrigue is… well, suitably intriguey. But, as the credits began to roll, I found myself already losing the particulars of the film’s plot. So, Cap is a man out of time… and Black Widow is trying to get him laid? The Horse Whisperer is a bad guy and now has the emotional range of a hat rack? It’s all so confusing. I’m beginning to believe that they really don’t know what they’re doing over there at Marvel. I mean, didn’t they JUST build a better S.H.I.E.L.D. in one of the other movies? And, are we now to suspect that there are HYDRA agents in the TV show? Who knows? I just found THE WINTER SOLDIER to be an overly long and unduly complicated, firey, generic night at the movies that satisfies, but rarely inspires.Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
FIRST KILL (2001)
Wow! This one caught me by surprise. FIRST KILL is a chilling documentary by Coco Schrijber which details in open and frank language what it means to kill a person for the first time. Using Viet Nam War vets as interview subjects, Schrijber is smart enough to never get in the way of her subjects. She simply points the camera and shoots and the results are pretty amazing. Speaking to a handful of soldiers, the director uses interview footage and archival photographs (some of which were provided by the subjects themselves) to take the viewer not only into the minds of these men, but also into the situation they found themselves in (war). Again, the result is chilling, but always fascinating. Solid stuff and HIGHLY recommended!Rating: 4 out of 5
~ Thom Carnell
THE LIVING CORPSE aka DRACULA IN PAKISTAN (1967)
What we have here is a Pakistani version of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. The film has a certain reputation as being the first movie in Pakistan to be given an X rating and because a woman reportedly had a heart attack in the movie theater due to the film’s being so provocative. At the time it was made, it was only the second horror movie to be made in Pakistan. The film begins as a sort of riff on DR JECKYL AND MISTER HYDE with Dr. Tabani looking for the “Elixir of Life” which he not only finds, but ingests. Of course, the good doctor drops dead and soon awakes as a creature that is more similar to what we think of as Dracula. From here, we get pretty much what you would expect. As one watches this film, it’s important to remember two things… 1) the film was made in 1967 and 2) as I’ve said, it was made in Pakistan. As a result, yes…. The film’s dance sequences (yes, dance sequences – this is Pakistan… which is right next to India… y’know, Bollywood) are pretty racy given the time and location and – because it’s a vampire film – there’s an aspect of sexuality to it all… which I’m sure the religious factions of Pakistan were not happy about. The music… is pretty groovy by and large, very 60s dance pop. But yeah… other than that, it sticks pretty much to the Stoker playbook. The guy who plays Dracula, Rehan, does his best Christopher Lee impression and is actually not bad in the role. The film ends up – undoubtedly because of the conventions of Pakistani cinema – being very melodramatic and over-wrought, but still kind of endearing (in a really odd way). Soon though… the oddity of the film wears thin and, by the third reel, the whole thing begins to overstay its welcome (the film runs 103 minutes). So, at the end of the day, THE LIVING CORPSE serves more as an anthropological document than an effective horror film. It serves to show how a fledgling film industry and a – let’s admit it – rather repressed country does its own take on a horror archetype. THE LIVING CORPSE has its moments, but…I’d recommended it mostly for “world horror” fans (which I am) and those interested in riffs on the Dracula legend.Rating: 3 out of 5ell
BLACK POWER MIX-TAPE 1967-1975 (2011)
Many people are uneducated in regards to the black power movement which lasted from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Director Goran Olsson gathers some very interesting footage (Stokeley Carmichael interviewing his mom) from Swedish news sources as well as some great voices (Harry Belafonte, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and Angela Davis, to name a few) to tell a story of a very special – and volatile - time in our history. Thankfully, the filmmaker never dallies too long on any one subject. He gives us just enough information and then moves on which is a double-edged sword. Some events get short shrift while others feel somehow padded. Still… this is crucial viewing for…well, almost everybody. In this time of “Occupy This” and “Occupy That,” it might be helpful to look at how some other people did it first.Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)
Screenwriter Dan Gilroy (FREEJACK, THE FALL, THE BOURNE LEGACY) comes screaming out of the gate as a first time director with this incredibly solid effort that points a scathingly critical finger at the TMZ generation, where news is no longer news, and it's purveyors have become completely morally bankrupt. He wraps it all in a neo-noir/action infused package, and boy oh boy does it work.Lou Bloom is a petty thief, whose intelligence and ability to learn almost anything with scary speed, is bellied by his almost psychotic banter. An authority on seemingly everything, Lou pulls over one night on the freeway to observe a terrible car accident, and after watching an independent news gathering cameraman, walks away with the seeds of a new career rolling around in his constantly bubbling brain.
After stealing an expensive bike, and trading it up for an outdated camcorder, he's off cruising the LA night looking for his own footage to capture, and sell. Faster than you can say "Perez Hilton",
he's leveling up, hiring on a destitute young man, Rick, to be his navigator, and together they comb the police band on their scanner, mastering the codes, rushing off to capture images of crime and terror as they happen. His buyer is Nina, an aging female news director at a low rent local station, who needs the tawdry footage to aid her plummeting ratings. Eventually, Lou's nocturnal submissions yield incredibly up close and personal captures of the most heinous of human behavior. He gets Nina what she needs, in her own words something akin to "A screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut". Eventually, he comes upon the aftermath of a home invasion. Arriving before the police, he enters the house with his camera, and returns with content that may or may not be legal. It sure as hell isn't moral. But who cares? It's ratings sweep time, and numbers mean money.
Jake Gyllenhaal, as the increasingly psychotic and psychopathic news gatherer, hits a whole new level of creepy here, and the comparisons of his performance to that of DeNiro as Travis Bickle in the classic TAXI DRIVER are absolutely warranted. The supporting cast of Rizwan Ahmed (BRITZ, FOUR LIONS, also an MC in his native London), Rene Russo as the desperate aging beauty now trying to stay afloat in the ruthless industry that is the nightly news, and Bill Paxton as a competing camera-hawk, all help to make this easily one of the best films of 2014.
NIGHTCRAWLER is heavy on the parable, but damn it works, and while it's shaking that "scathingly critical finger" I talked about earlier, at the characters, as well as us the viewer, it's also providing one hell of an exciting ride, albeit at 80 miles an hour down the crowded downtown streets of Los Angeles. Hang on, NIGHTCRAWLER is going to turn your knuckles white.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
~Sean Smithson
THE SET-UP (1949)
This 1949 noirish fight film shows exactly what a good director can do with a couple of sets, an excellent cast, a great script, and a clear cut vision. Director Robert Wise (THE HAUNTING) makes a boxing film that ranks with some of the best fight films ever made. Shot in real time & exclusively on sets, this little known classic totally surprised me. The viewer comes away feeling the anguish of Robert Ryan as an over the hill boxer looking for one more win. Audrey Totter is his girl and provides an emotional base for the story. Some people - the ones who don't like B&W movies - may not like this, but man... it hooked me out of the box and held my interest throughout its run time. The disc also features a great commentary track with Robert Wise & Martin Scorcese.Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
DREAM HOME (2010)
Ho-Cheung Pang directs this brutal tale of a young woman whose lifelong dream is to own her own home in the expensive housing market of Hong Kong. While the premise might sound tame, this film is anything but. Extremely gory and featuring a dozen or more visceral kills, DREAM HOME is breathtaking in its bravery and its willingness to quite literally go for the throat. You will not - I repeat, YOU WILL NOT - believe some of this stuff. Solid acting, spot-on direction, and featuring writing that is more than willing to give viewers a kick in the nuts, DREAM HOME is awesome and totally surprising. I HIGHLY recommend this to horror fans, to thriller fans… heck, to anyone with a stomach strong enough for it. The really nice thing is… as crazy as the protagonist is, once you learn her back-story, you sorta kinda empathize with her. You won’t feel good about it because… let’s face her actions are INSANE, but they are kind of understandable. Kind of… In the end, DREAM HOME is a wild ride and one fans who don’t shy away from the red stuff will surely dig.Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (1959)
A 1959 monster flick that was - on paper - directed by Riccardo Freda. The film is a kind of mashup between a “scientists make weird discovery in Mayan ruins” picture and THE BLOB. What makes this film of note is that Freda himself claims that the great Mario Bava did most of the directing of this film uncredited and it shows. From the subtle use of black and white / light and shadow to the making pennies seem like dollars in the look and feel of the sets, and the ingenuity of the monster, this is a Bava film. The monster itself really is little more than what looks like an oil-covered cloth, but through some creativity and a little back-winding, the thing looks pretty damn creepy. The acting is standard Fifties-era monster movie. For Bava fans, this is a must see. For “monsters from outer space” fans, it is as well. For anyone who is interested in a unique take on a classic monster, this is a fun little ride. Not a lot of blood, but some of the FX are pretty nifty. This film is often hard to find, but if you are able to get your hands on it, it’s worth a viewing.Rating: 3 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
SABATA (1969)
Lee Van Cleef (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, DEATH RIDES A HORSE) once again proves he’s The Man in this Spaghetti Western from 1969. Directed by Gianfranco Parolini (The Sabata Trilogy, IF YOU MEET SARTANA, PRAY FOR YOUR DEATH) and costarring William Berger (KEOMA, 5 DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON) and Ignazio Spalla (ANY GUN CAN PLAY, DON’T WAIT, DJANGO…SHOOT!), the film tells the story of a group of businessmen who rob an Army safe of $100,000 in order to buy some land which the railroad is planning to build on. Everything goes as planned until a gunslinger named Sabata comes along. From there, the film is basically the businessmen continually trying – unsuccessfully – to kill Sabata. Genuinely fun and completely delightful, SABATA is one of those films many haven’t heard of… and the ones that have, haven’t seen it. More light-hearted than the Leone films, for example, SABATA showcases Van Cleef as a badass of the highest order. Berger plays the guy with the knowledge of the town. Ignazio Spalla is around to play the type of role made popular by Eli Wallach in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY or Rod Steiger in DUCK, YOU SUCKER. What sets SABATA apart is its pervasive sense of humor and Van Cleef’s preternatural ability to set up kill zones. The acting is spot-on. The action is both inventive and exciting. Fans of the genre should immediately add this to their list as should anyone who justy likes a rollicking good time at the movies.Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
~Thom Carnell
EMERGENCY SQUAD (1974)
A slow & uneventful 1974 poliziotteschi featuring Tomas Milan (Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING) who does his best to channel Serpico or Dirty Harry, but falls WAY short. He mostly just chews on a cigar and threatens to shoot people. The rest of the cast is wholly forgettable. The only reason to see this is for the super funky Stelvio Cipriani score which will have you blissfully overdosing on Wah-Wah pedal.Rating: 2 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
HUNGER (2008)
Beautifully shot & acted, this very quiet tale of the 1981 hunger strike by Bobby Sands is breathtaking. Fassbender's performance is and should have been Oscar-worthy. It is a story told in 3 acts. The first focuses on a guard & the emotional blowback of the job. Second, is a story of two prisoners and serves as an introduction to prison life. Thirdly, it is the tale of Sands. Fassbender undergoes a physical transformation very much like Christian Bale's in THE MACHINIST. Sadly, an understanding of Ireland's history is paramount to understanding each side's motivations. But... the film itself is nothing short of amazing.Rating: 4 out of 5
~Thom Carnell
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