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One I have gone through life thinking I'd seen but turns out, I hadn't!
This is a very odd film.
Not massively long, or epic really, which is surprising, given that this is essentially an art-house movie by Francis Ford Coppola, rather a more intimate tale centred around Matt Dillon's "Rusty James" character, a gang leader wannabe, living mainly off the reputation of his strange, soft spoken and sensitive (flaky) older brother's reputation as some kind of local legend: "The Motorcycle Boy" (Rourke), but who has long since dropped out of this gang world, and gone awol, as has Rusty James' dad (Hopper) - a ten-bob barfly, and local drunkard "philosopher" type.
Rusty's trying to live up to the hype, of a life his brother left behind, and both his brother and father seem to have a perspective on life he can't understand.
What's weird about this movie is that it has a note of the woozy unsettling tone that is induced in the viewer by Apocalypse Now, through the stark contrasting black and white giving the visuals (accompanied by the shot set up) a hyper natural emphasis... and punctuated by the odd moment of colour in the fish...
(You have to see this to understand it, but it amounts to a device to say there's a world we an see, but those characters cannot, even if it's right before their eyes - Rourke's character even says: "I wish I could see the Colours" while they're right before the audience's eyes.)
In addition to this. the assembled cast of brilliant accomplished actors, give almost caricature performances, - over emphasised, and almost hammy, like Coppola asked them deliberately to act badly, or slightly worse than we all know they can... and bizarrely, the most subdued performances comes from Nicholas Cage, and a cameo from Tom Waits!.
So to begin with, I just wasn't buying into it, as it felt like a monochrome, music-less West-Side Story affair, done by a local am-dram society, but as these are great actors, it feels almost like they're taking the piss out of the audience... But by degrees, I found the story more engaging, and was drawing me in, so by the end, it turns out to be not such a bad film after all... even a good one.
For this reason my rating began from a low point of about a 3, or 4,and gradually crept up as the film went on, landing finally on a 7. Had, perhaps, I'd known what this was going in, I might have stared a bit higher to begin with, or maybe if this was a bit better made, it might have a higher overall score.
So in terms of ratings, this film feels like a 6 or 7 out of 10 movie, with an 8, 9, or even a 10 out of 10 movie trapped inside it, trying to get out. I t might possibly be one of those that grows on you over time, but first viewing leaves you only barely whelmed.
1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
To me, this is a near perfect love story movie, in being more than just about love, it's a grief story too.
We join Nina (Stevenson) at the beginning of the movie, having already lost Jamie (Rickman), and finding it impossible to get over the loss... she goes about her daily routine as usual, barring the massive gap his absence has created in her life, a chasm which she is constantly, acutely aware of, and she is not doing well, in spite of her friends and family's efforts to keep moving her along.
But then, one day...
...He's back.
Without going into the metaphysical, or Hollywood style shmalz of afterlifery...
(Ghost did come out at almost the same time as this, and effectively stole the show, as you'd expect - not that that's a bad movie, just too Hollywood compared to this, more simply told, everyday, direct examination of ghost-ness)
...No reason why, no real explanation, he's just there again!
So Nina, the only one who can see or touch him, has a second chance of a life with Jamie in their house / apartment, while all around are bemused at the sudden upturn in her demeanour.
But really, this is a study of life, death, grief, and ultimately about letting go, and how these things affect our memories of the person we lost.
It is (was?) a stage play style that would at least, be perfect for a theatrical production, and I've got to say, it gets me every time.
And as if you couldn't love Alan Rickman any more than you already did, this break out role for him is still among his best, with, not only the personal relationship between his character's and Stevenson's at the centre of the movie, of course, but the lightly handled surreal and absurd comedic element of when he brings some other ghosts back to the house to watch movies all night.
It's better than Ghost, and more personally devastating , but in a way that leaves you feeling, not depressed, but warm, and even elevated by the end.
I rank it as a must see, small slice of perfection.
1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
I vaguely remember this being released alongside Planet Terror as part of that Grindhouse double bill, and it struck me at the time as being a "side-project" for Tarantino...
(I remember distinctly feeling this was a self indulgence for both him and Rodriguez given as a reward by the studios for having done so well for them with previous works, and that these chums decided to relax a little, and make the crappy films of their respective adolescent fantasy dreams)
...And so it is, as I only finally got around to watching it the other day, having found the DVD cheap, and so thought I could cross that final Tarantino movie off my "to watch" list.
Basically, it's a homage (more like a creepy love letter from an overly obsessive fan!) to those bizarre, cheap horror / thrillers of the seventies, and perhaps eighties... the Hitcher, and that Stephen King "monster-lorry" affair (the one with the green goblin face on the front of the truck)...
..With Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike driving around in his creepy death machine - a suped up stunt car modified to become supposedly "Death proof", as you can survive any impact or crash in it and walk away... a fact he tests for inexplicable motiveless reasons against a couple of groups of fantastically annoying young women as a death wish / death defying weapon.
The problem is, firstly, Kurt Russell is just too charming, charismatic, and likeable to play such a character type, so well defined by other movies, their anonymity of person as well as backstory, making them so effective (like a Terminator type), then the girls / women are not sympathetic characters, and you don't really care about them...
(Obviously, designed around the old horror trope of the stupid, virginal victim fodder that gets you screaming in frustration at them)
...But they are horrible people, nasty, and vindictive, so I assume that the idea was to make you root for Russell instead, which doesn't come off, as the idea that Kurt Russell is "Such nice man" doesn't chime with what he is doing, or what he is... a nutcase killer.
...And also, it gives you, the audience member, the very uncomfortable feeling this is coming from a place of misogyny... almost a blueprint for some kind of incel manifesto.
(This effect is even more troubling as it's a Weinstein production, featuring Rose McGowan... yikes!)
But anyway, moving swiftly on....
... The film is divided basically into two parts, each focusing on one of two groups of women he is targeting, with the vast majority of each piece of time devoted to each following these girls in their social environment, meaning that around two thirds of the film is devoted to the chit-chat / dialogue of these characters, and this is the major failing of the film, as uncharacteristically, Tarantino's dialogue is boring, tedious, pointless, and bland... and so lacking in the fundamental reasons his other films work, in being able to sell otherwise unpalatable ideas, scenes, characters, and action (at least they are funny, interesting, intriguing, or arresting)...
...No, this leaves a rather sour taste in the mouth, unusually for a movie of his, to the extent that you might well believe these first two thirds of the film were written by Weinstein himself, with only Tarantino coming in the last third for what is, admittedly, an enjoyable car chase finale... But an hour of shit to get to half hour of fun is a long way to go, in my book... too long.
Additionally, Tarantino has over-indulged in the "make it look like a crappy cheap movie" aesthetic by covering the screen with snow and other cheap film stock effects, bad jerky editing with a lack of continuity in the camera changes and all the rest of it... except this joke doesn't sell for the simple reason that Tarantino is too good a movie maker to be so bad (And those movies he loves, which are so "bad they are good" are so, unconsciously and unintentionally - bad movie makers who thought they were better than they were, and trying to be brilliant... and failing - whereas he is a master movie maker knowingly, and intentionally trying to be less than he is, and it wears thin very quick, to the point that he even gives up the joke part way in, in favour of more competent practices.
(Oh, and the actors are all too good at acting, which jars against this aesthetic and idea, and so fails to sell it).
Well, at least he got this one out of his system, and moved on to bigger and better things!
(Except Hateful Eight, which also largely sucks...ahem).
✔︎ Helpful Review?
Too close to the release of Joker to say that this is probably the film that won Joaquin Phoenix the part, but this is every bit the towering performance the equal of that one.
A grim, dark, grimy movie set in a grim, dark, and grimy world of the darkest extra-curricular activities of grim, dark, grimy politicians... child sexual exploitation to be exact.
Until one senator's own daughter goes missing, Phoenix's despondent, broken, and menacing hit-man type is called in, off the books, to find her.
Quote:
"I hear you're brutal?"
..."I can be".
Very much like a "scandi-noir" but extremely violent, grim, and graphic in places, it's a slow burner, and as much a character study of a guy who is never really all there, as it is a modern film-noir private investigator type of movie.
Tone wise, both in story, feel, and look, probably sits alongside the likes of Se7ven, but without the reliance on twists and big set pieces... more a mood piece version of something like that...
...A grim mood piece, a dark mood piece, and indeed, a grimy mood piece.
Seems to be becoming a forgotten minor masterpiece too, as it doesn't seem to pop up much in film chatter anymore, even though it's only been a couple of years since release, but well worth seeking out.
1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
... I mean, it's good, but after all the hype following the (In my opinion, unmerited) derision of the first attempt at Suicide squad-ery, where this was hyped to be the saviour of this sub-franchise;
Helmed by that Gunn dude, as it is, and therefore correcting one of history's great DC movie mistakes with some miraculous redemption in the shape of this movie...
...But actually I found this rather tedious, even boring, in spite of it's over the top level of ridiculousness (A giant sodding starfish for God's sake!?!!).
It tries the Deadpool formula, of being very graphically violent, nudge-nudge, wink-wink, knowing self deprecation and self cynicism, in a very renegade film making style, but frankly, the humour is predictable and juvenile, as is the plot, and a couple of the gags it relies on fell a bit flat for me (A long a way to go for a cheap laugh).
The production design is spectacular though, very colourful and well shot, but this doesn't cover the fat that the action feels dull, and pedestrian, and is little more than an excuse to dress Margot Robbie in some colourful outfits once again for the indulgence of a bunch of Harley Quinn / Robbie fanboy fetishists, and at the risk of some kind of movie fan blasphemy, I've never been convinced by Idris Elba as a leading man actor, or seen the appeal of him beyond some kind of eye candy for the ladies.
But, I suppose it's just another walk through of an original concept first, and best laid out in The Dirty Dozen, but for comic book fans.
(I'd save myself some time, and just watch that instead if I were you).
You've got to feel sorry for Margot Robbie though, this is, what, her third attempt to make this character work, mostly at the behest of, or to appease horny male DC fans, but probably just best to call it quits, and admit defeat.
Blasphemy number two comes from the fact actually, the first / earlier Suicide Squad is a better made film, in my opinion, as well as a better watch... But then not being a mega DC nerd, I have no expectations of what film for this franchise should be, or look like.
Given the state of DC movies, and their intergalactic prezel mess clusterf%*k of a brand industry, the idea that Mr Gunn is at the helm to save the day (And probably the Warner / DC studio enterprise on the strength of it's success or failure) doesn't inspire me with confidence, on the strength of this movie.
So basically, an overhyped, and over done movie here which people probably wish to believe succeeded more than it actually did. Too violent and graphic for kids, too moronic in it's "wit" and humour for anyone over the age of twenty, who has seen better elsewhere, and so perhaps, best suited to the sweet spot of gangs of horny male teenagers with low expectations and are easily pleased.
1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
To be honest I missed the finer point of the plot. In an unnamed Austrian village the townsfolk are struck down by what appears to be the plague and some of the villagers summon the devil in a ritual.
The film is not sex heavy with not much other than a bit of topless nudity happening for 20 minutes. The sex on offer is hardcore with explicit oral sex, penetration and money shots. We've seen it all before in La Bête (1979) and the masturbating with a crucificx would be shocking if it wasn't done better in The Exorcist and the uncut version of The Devils.
The gore on offer is also very graphic with tongues being ripped out, skin peeling and heads being chopped off. Definitely wouldn't be out of place in the slew of straight to video horror put out in the last decade.
The acting is straight out of a LARPING or amateur dramatics society. Despite German not being my native language you can tell it is straight up bad for the most part; coupled with a dry script it makes the dialogue scenes a chore to sit through, but I suspect most viewers will fast forward them. This film would have been shocking about 40 years ago, but with mainstream films featuring explicit sex and a ton of much more disturbing and equally gory horror films like The Terriffier coming out this is a largely tedious, two hour endurance test.
I can't recommend it, but it is a strange curio and gains an extra point for a surprisingly dour ending.
1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Perhaps among the most visually impressive movies ever made...
...What with the gradual transition from black and white to colour... element by element, and especially considering it was created in an age before CGI; There is nothing, even by today's technological standards, that looks like it, feels like it, or will make your jaw drop and make you go: "Wow! ... how the hell did they do that?!!!"
But this visual extravaganza is not simply there to dazzle, it is a vital story telling device, which makes a point in a way like no other movie does...
...For it tells the story of David (Maguire), an awkward high school teen geek, who's a little on the outside of things, and in escaping the world of his contemporary 90s teen zeitgeist, for which he feels no affinity, spends his free time watching an old black and white TV series from wholesome 50s America: Pleasantville, where he finds the model nuclear family he so sorely feels the absence of in his real life; A fact further compounded by his polar opposite super "popular" sister Jennifer constantly antagonising him in the classic sibling rivalry dynamic.
That is, until one day, while having a bust up over who gets to use the TV for the evening, they break it and a mysterious TV repairman shows up (oddly), and gives them a rather unusual remote control...
...Both of them being promptly zapped into Pleasantville, and black and white, where their modern nineties attitudes may not be entirely compatible with fifties American life (or this, idealised version of it, at least).
By degrees, their presence (Jennifer's in particular) upsets the quiet and tranquil life of this small, and pleasant land, and much to the horror and amazement of the locals (characters) a little colour starts to get introduced into their existence, and things threaten to never be the same again.
But does the influence of the world they have invaded begin to affect them, as much as they have influenced it?
What would seem a simple, perhaps superficial movie hanging on one great idea for a visual plot device, is actually rather profound, well considered, socially razor sharp in it's observations, and I stand by my previous comment, of it being up there with 12 Angry Men, as being a movie everybody should watch.
1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Overweight, teenage butcher and hunter, Sara (played by Laura Galán) is bullied by her seemingly more attractive and popular classmates. She is nicknamed Piggy. After a chance encounter with an almost mute maleweirdo at the swimming pool her classmates start to go missing.
This isn't a film for the ages like Halloween or Dawn of the Dead. It is a violent slasher film bordering on the torture porn subgenre of films like Wolf Creek and Calvaire (The Ordeal). The film captures the mentality of small town gossip. The film is helped immensely by some effective cinematography that captures the Spanish countryside and convincing acting. Laura Galán could be one to watch for the future, but how many times have we said that? Jamie Bell, anyone?
Well worth a watch as a shocking, effective horror, but doesn't innovate.
2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
...As it's subject has never been more relevant to the times in which we live, nor more difficult to watch, because of it.
It hits hard.
I had it marked down in my brain as one I'd like to watch when it came out, mostly thinking it was a social satire / commentary, but it is more than this... it's a deeply tragic, yet rousing story of a widowed man who gets tangled in the Kafkaesque limbo land of the benefits system, after suffering heart attack, and cannot work.
Caught between two stools of having been signed off from work based on medical advice on the one hand, for which he applies for disability benefit (and for which he awaits the outcome of the dreaded assessment of undefined (bogus) "Health service professionals" and their sterling "professional" opinion and judgement) on the one hand, but also applies for job seekers allowance / universal credit... the apathetic and indifferent system of course, sees a contradiction for which he is to blame, or is responsible for resolving.
Having a limited understanding of the modern bullshit system after a lifetime of working, he of course, struggles and strives against the machine...additionally burdened (and indeed disabled, in this context) by his rather antiquated expectations of common sense, common decency, and morality in this vacuous meat grinder, all the while, he still needs money to live.
There are some good souls about though, an enterprising neighbour, a kind and sympathetic job centre worker, among a couple of others... but mostly it is the friendship he strikes up with a young mother and her two children, equally caught within the quagmire of the unforgiving slough of despond, that defines the rest of the story... After an incident in the job centre, causes him to step forward and attempt to intervene on their behalf... getting them ejected from the building as a result.
There is perhaps, too much here that will be too true, and so too raw for many, and even I find myself churned up inside and tearing up at a social commentary movie...
(Usually I'm hard as nails, and reserve my tears only for soppy rom-coms, beacuse I'm tough like that! :)
...Overall, a sublime and brilliant portrait of an unsung, everyday hero as he battles Bureaucratic Dragons.
2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
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