The Purge 2 takes a good idea and wrecks the development of it with lazy screenwriting. The shallow script and paint by numbers class warfare make it nothing more than a cool poster and missed opportunities. It is not smart enough to be good satire and not dumb enough to be a grindhouse film. The iconic imagery of violent purgers are wrecked as the movie is explained away via expository dialogue and a group of people who have no problem speaking loudly whilst being hunted my murderers.
The original Purge didn’t annoy me. It was rich on rich violence that kept it simple. Ethan Hawke made money on the Purge and he had to battle the rich entitled murderers who grew up in that world. It was simple low-budget cinema that established an interesting world. I liked the idea of the sequels expanded scope. However, the limited budget kept the set pieces from being able to deliver the shock and awe. The expanded scope hurt the film because it wanted to be all things. Also, world building is pointless when the characters are two-dimensional plot devices who inhabit a black and white political world. It will obviously get another sequel so why not expand the scope little by little? For instance, how did these guys become hunters? Why do they ride around on dirt bikes in a city full of snipers? Wouldn’t the cool masks hinder their ability to hunt?
The film is loaded with ideas and imagery yet never knows what it wants to be. It starts off well enough by introducing us to Frank Grillo’s vigilante. I could have watched him light up little punks for 90 minutes and been fine with it. However, he ends up saving four people and has to protect them for the rest of the film. The four people do him no favors by lying, yelling and always falling down at the worst moments. The cast is solid and they’ve all done better work in better films. However, they are nothing more than scared people annoying Frank Grillo. They are also responsible for getting his badass Mad Max car blown up.
The plot of the movie centers around a night where all crime is legal. Rich people have mercenaries collect innocent bystanders so they can kill them in the comfort of their own homes. Gangs transform vehicles into death machines in order to murder anybody. The government/regime randomly kills people to lower the crime and unemployment rates. It is wholesale slaughter than constantly gets interrupted by whiny people who talk to much.
I would love to see what John Carpenter could have done with The Purge. They Live is a wonderful example of consumerism and government. He could have added intelligence to a great idea. The Purge: Anarchy is too clean and glossy. There is no personality and that is a shame. Films like Escape from New York, Mad Max, The Warriors and They Live had bumps and bruises that made them iconic. Purge 2 feels like a remake of all of these films. It reminded me of the current crop of remakes that are all good-looking actors and no grime. I did like this guy though. Total jerk but you understand how he could have become a baby mask wearing maniac.
I did enjoy moments of the film and there are some very cool shots. There is a scene in the film where the heroes drive past a girl covered in blood. Is it a trap? What did she go through? Why couldn’t we have watched that movie? Her nightmare seems much more primal than the plight of the main characters.
The Purge: Anarchy was ambitious to a fault. The expanded scope didn’t have the budget or vision required and it suffered because of that. Hopefully, the next film goes back to its roots and consolidates the carnage. We shall see next year when the inevitable Purge: Armageddon is released
Share this post:
The Raid 2: Gareth Evans and His Action Opus
The Raid 2 numbs you with awesomeness and proves that Gareth Evans is a director to watch. His ambition is seemingly endless and in Indonesia he has the resources to do what he wants. The Raid 2 is a sprawling crime epic that relishes in blood and leaves you exhausted. It is 148 minutes of stylized action that never lets up. Ancillary characters get their own showpieces, cars are crashed and the stunt crew must have been happy when the movie wrapped.
What I love most about the The Raid films are the characters. Among all the carnage they stand out and become memorably likable/despicable. Their personalities shine through and they give you something to cheer for.
Many films feature massive action scenes that don’t matter because you don’t care about or like the characters (I’m looking at you Die Hard 5). When you like or despise the characters the action is more important because you know who they are and what is at stake (Saving Private Ryan did this perfectly). Sure, Raid 2 is too long and some of the fighting lacks urgency but Evans has earned the right to do what he wants with characters he has created. My favorite of the bunch is Eka. He is just a badass dude who knows the drill and has worked his way up via blue-collar face punching.
The Raid 2 tells the story of Iko Uwais going undercover to pull out the roots of the violent organizations splitting up the city. What he doesn’t know is that it will be a three-year long process that has him battling gangs, cops and a woman with a hammer. The plot gets intricate as the son of a crime boss teams up with a nefarious yet slightly hipsterish gangster. This causes a problem with the Japanese and the plot becomes slightly muddled but never out of reach. Basically, things happen so people can beat the snot out of each other.
Iko Uwais once again proves to be a choreography genius and the set pieces he and Evans create hurt to watch. Over the years the two have developed an understanding that has created great bone crunching mayhem. For instance, the opening scene features Iko in a small bathroom stall that is about to be infiltrated by annoyed prisoners. The fight is a marvel of close quartered brutality that uses the small location perfectly for one on one fighting. You actually feel bad for the prisoners who get singled out and crunched.
Evans showcases Uwais while Uwais brings the cinematic pain. You can tell they are friends too.
The Raid was a small-scale action film that hit really big. The Raid 2 is action on a grand scale that was done much cheaper than any other Hollywood blockbuster. It is non-Hollywood filmmaking that should be appreciated (Much like the beautiful Snowpiercer). Evans is wonderful to have around and with each film (his segment in V/H/S 2 was amazing) he is getting better and better. I just hope he never loses the side of him that created the economy and urgency of The Raid.
The Raid 2 is a sprawling action saga that hits hard and often. Watch it. Love it. Hope that you never find yourself in a muddy prison riot.
If you get a chance check out Gareth Evans five favorite fights.
Share this post:
Begin Again: A Refreshing Blast of Nice
Begin Again will put a smile on your face and keep it there until well after the movie has ended. However, the biggest problem that Begin Again is facing is that it is John Carney’s follow-up to Once. The expectations were so high that Begin Again would inevitably pale in comparison. The similarities are there but the comparisons are unfair because Carney’s latest film is a completely different beast. Once is one of my favorite films that features Oscar-winning music, unexpected depth and a mature relationship at its core. Begin Again is a breezy experience that puts a smile on your face via likable characters, engaging relationships and nice music.
Begin Again tells the story of Mark Ruffalo’s shaggy producer meeting a broken-hearted Kiera Knightley. He is incredibly drunk after a terrible day and she is performing her music in front of an indifferent crowd. He sees something the bar patrons do not and he convinces her to record a demo in the streets of NYC. They gather a rag-tag group of musicians and proceed to make wonderful music.
I loved the unabashed musical romanticism and the central relationship between Ruffalo and Knightley. It is a platonic friendship that doesn’t need to be anything else. The two play well off of each other and the improvisational nature of the film created a natural vibe that the two flourish in. Mark Ruffalo has perfected the fast talking huckster who is still talented. His musical wooing of Knightley is a marvel of drunk speak and free beer. Knightley holds her own musically and does a good job improvising and singing alongside the great supporting cast made up of Adam Levine, James Corden, Ceelo Greene, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), Hailee Steinfeld and Catherine Keener.
Begin Again will put a smile on your face and provide a breezy time in the cinema. I appreciated the mature decisions made by the main characters and John Carney’s ability to avoid the obvious. In a summer of sequels, remakes, prequels and reboots it is nice to have an original film that features original music. Movies are meant to entertain and Begin Again does that perfectly. It doesn’t aim to reinvent the wheel or light the music industry on fire. It simply wants to tell a nice story featuring nice people navigating life.
Enjoy Begin Again. Appreciate the Music. Watch Once. Be happy. Make a playlist. Listen to more music. Watch Once again.
Share this post:
Enemy: Multiplicity, Chaos and Spiders
Chaos is order undeciphered
Enemy is a headscratcher in all the right ways and leaves you stuck in your chair while you absorb the previous 90 minutes. The slow-burning film reminded me of Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color and Primer in their resolve to not pander to the audience. The answers are there (maybe) and you are left to piece the films together. They require multiple viewings and it is a pleasure to have them around. The Enemy experience reminded me of my 2002 viewing of Donnie Darko. When the movie ended I sat dazed in my room thirsting for knowledge while cursing my dial-up modem (The first thing I read was Ebert’s review).
Enemy is an adaptation of Jose Saramagos’s The Double and tells the story of a professor who realizes he has a double/twin/doppelganger. The two meet and it all gets weird. The film is loaded with dreams, clues, nightmares, sex and a refusal to pander. The ending punches you in the gut and leaves you feeling like you enjoyed the film but didn’t fully understand it.
Denis Villeneuve and Jake Gyllenhaal worked together on the underappreciated Prisoners and have developed a nice director/actor shorthand. There is a trust that has allowed Gyllenhaal to thrive while his director is able to trust the performance. The two roles he plays in Enemy couldn’t be more different. One of the characters dislikes confrontation while the other feels compelled to it. One drives a motorcycle and wears leather jackets while the other drives a Volvo and wears corduroy. They have the same chest scar, beard and hair yet their tactics vary wildly. They both have beautiful women in their lives whom they mistreat in different ways.
Gyllenhaal’s quiet brooding and ability to be confident while brimming with insecurity is perfect for his Enemy roles. You can’t read his characters and never know what is going on beneath the watchful eyes. The stark contrast in character allows you to look back and analyze why he stalks, cowers or cheats. Is there really two people? Is it one man with two lives? Are they in a Twilight Zone of Body Snatchers?
Enemy is not an easy film and won’t be widely appreciated because of that. However, people who enjoy carefully crafted films that raise questions will applaud. I can’t say that I’ve put the pieces together but my wife and I have had a fun time talking about it.
Enemy is a confounding tale that doesn’t stick to its source material (Spiders?) or give easy answers. However, at 90 minutes it is easy to be confused all over again. Enjoy!
Share this post:
Snowpiercer: Controlled Chaos at its Finest
Snowpiercer is a daring piece of work. It is controlled chaos that proves Bong Joon-ho (The Host– you need to see it) is a fantastic director. He has a mastery of character, plot and combining the absurd with the practical.
The graphic novel adaptation is startlingly violent, unpredictable and doesn’t shy away from class dissatisfaction. The tonal shifts work seamlessly and the brutal odyssey leaves you breathless. I sat in the theater with my jaw agape staring at all the carnage unfolding in front of me. You will not forget the visuals in the film.
Snowpiercer is an odyssey through the cars of a massive train holding the only survivors left on earth. The train has been circling the globe for 18 years and has been rife with crushed insurrection. The rich inhabit the front in lavish clubs, saunas and gardens. The poor stay in the back eating gross protein bars while living in abysmally dirty conditions. The current revolt is led by the formidable Chris Evans (in his best role since Sunshine) who has been groomed by his mentor played by John Hurt. To get to the front there will be bludgeoning, stabbing and freeing a drugged out prisoner played by the amazing Song Kang-ho (The Host, Thirst, The Good, the bad & the Weird). It won’t be pretty and will never be predictable. To give away more would wreck the experience. Movies like Snowpiercer don’t come around often so you should embrace the unknown and enjoy the ride unsullied of spoilers.
The biggest problem surrounding the film is the lack of support. The Weinstein Company dumped it into a limited theatrical release (due to a directors cut deal) and set it up for failure. It was released a year ago in Korea (made tons of money) and the biggest hope for the film is eventual cult movie status. I do think it will grow in popularity much like Sunshine and Blade Runner. However, it is a shame that such a unique vision won’t be appreciated. I understand it is asking a lot of the general public to endure two hours of bleak. However, to see films like this fail is never a good thing because it reinforces the sequel, remake and prequel aesthetic.
Snowpiercer is unforgettably bizarre and confidently made. It is a daring film that allows you to think while blasting you with bloodshed. Embrace the different and open the door to a great South Korean director. Bong Joon-ho and fellow South Korean directors have proven adept at finding beauty in the macabre while maintaining humor, awe and character.
Watch Snowpiercer. Then, watch The Host and Sunshine. Support great science fiction.
Share this post:
Ravenous: A Quirky and Darkly Hilarious Horror Film About Cannibalism That Has Become a Cult Classic
Ravenous is an odd little film. Dismissed upon initial release in 1999 it has picked up a cult following that has made the recent Blu-ray release an event. The film is characterized by a quirky soundtrack, bonkers performances and the famous line “he was licking me!” It is clear to see why this film is so adored. Like most cult classics it has an off-kilter vibe that features performances with personality. Ravenous has a personality all its own and can stand alongside films like Evil Dead, The Warriors and Donnie Darko. Roger Ebert was one of the few critics to appreciate the film and he understood the vibe it was going for.
Ravenous” is clever in the way it avoids most of the clichés of the vampire movie by using cannibalism, and most of the clichés of the cannibal movie by using vampirism. It serves both dishes with new sauces.
Ravenous can be called a lot of things but predictable is not one of them. It most certainly provides “new sauces” to the mix and those new ingredients are certainly not for the mainstream. From the unique score, rugged locations and A-list cast this historical horror film brings us something new. The film is helped by the cast who fully commit to their roles and it is a blast watching them fight, eat and fight more.
The director Antonia Bird jumped into the directors chair two weeks into production when the prior director quit. That maybe explains why it feels like two films. Bird wasn’t happy with the final cut (Studio interference etc..). However, she delivered a film full of memorable imagery and fantastic performances. I’m sure there is a message in there somewhere (Preying on ambition, westward expansion) but what mattered to me was the neat moments. From the opening scene when cowardice is rewarded to the final line “That was very…..sneaky” Ravenous follows the beat of its own drum.
Set during the Mexican/American War Ravenous centers around a small outpost in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. One night a starving Robert Carlyle stumbles upon them and proceeds to tell them a story about cannibalism. He tells them there is a woman left alive in the mountains and a motley crew ventures off to save her. Of course, things go awry, people are eaten and it all builds to a massive bear trap.
Ravenous is a fun film for genre fans and adds another entry to the cult-classic canon. The material is unique, the cast (Jeremy Davis, David Arquette, Neil McDonough, Jeffrey Jones and John Spencer) fantastic and scenes memorable. It is a under-watched pleasure that you can watch on Netflix and add another cult-classic to your arsenal.
Share this post:
Grand Piano: A Fun Thriller That Needs a Larger Audience
Grand Piano tells the age-old story of a man playing piano while another man is pointing a gun at his head. This thriller is a fun experiment that is executed to perfection. It is an original idea that uses its locations well and never looks back. It is fun cinema that gets why people watch movies (to be entertained!). Telling a story about a concert pianist being threatened by a ornery voice is a massive risk. That is why I like Grand Piano.
Grand Piano does a lot with a tiny budget and manages to look better than the average thriller. The camera sneaks through the corridors of the concert venue like a snake and becomes a character all its own. The long takes show us that Elijah Wood has studied the piano and his playing blends seamlessly into the soundtrack. The usage of crane shots and split screens feel organic to the proceedings and not shoehorned in. You feel like everyone was on the same page and that is why it is so fun. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly Wood discussed the ease of process.
The difficulty of the structure was largely in Eugenio’s hands, and by the time we started shooting all of that had been predetermined. So, the music, the time code that we were adhering to with the music as it related to the imagery, all of that was done in an animatic form. By the time we were shooting there was a sort of ease of process. It was technical and we had all these elements working together in tandem but it had a very clear structure. But the piano-playing was extremely complicated and stressful.
Grand Piano is a singular story that looks great and wears its preposterous narrative on its sleeve (something about a key). The heist is improbable yet you don’t care because the film is told so assuredly. Don’t think. Enjoy. Be excited that Alex Winter from Bill & Ted is in the film. Be excited that John Cusack seems to be trying again. Be happy that people are telling stories like this. Grand Piano doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it certainly makes the wheel look great.
Watch Grand Piano. Enjoy the insanity. Hope that John Cusack does Grosse Pointe Blank 2.
Share this post:
Awe is lacking in cinema. Very rarely do you watch a film and feel your jaw drop. How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a visual marvel that brings the awe and immerses you in beauty. There are so many “Whoa” moments you feel spoiled to be watching something so good. I found myself muttering “holy sh**” as things I didn’t even think could happen on-screen happened. HTTYD2 breaks new ground and adds another impressive chapter to the story of Hiccup and Toothless.
Dragon 2 takes you back to the village of Berk where the vikings and winged creatures have learned to coexist. They play games, work together and engage in all forms of hi-jinks. Their peaceful existence seems too good to be true. Before the dragons the Vikings lived a simple existence of surviving and dealing with the dragons. Now, their world has expanded and with that comes more discoveries and attention from the outside world. Some of the discoveries are great while others will result in massive battles.
What I love most about Dragon 2 is it expands the world and stays lean. Everything ties together and isn’t bigger for bigger sake. The world expands because of the ease of travel on-board the dragons. There is a logical progression to the proceedings that feels organic and well thought out. Along his journeys Hiccup finds out that his mom is still alive and has been living in a dragon sanctuary that is protected by a massive alpha. The dragons are being hunted by a madman who wants to control the world via a dragon army. What follows is a whole lot of “whoa” moments and genuine emotions in an animated land of cheeky characters and winged beasts.
Sidenote: I very rarely go so heavy on pictures. However, this film is so beautiful I had to show them to get the point across.
I’m not sure why the film has been under performing. It may be dragon fatigue due to the television show or that adults like it more than kids. However, it should be watched on the biggest screen possible and appreciated for its mastery of story and animation. Films like this are absolute treasures that solely want to entertain audiences and give them a pure experience. Joy abounds and creativity is aplenty and hopefully it will be appreciated.
Watch HTTYD2. Enjoy the sights and sounds. Hope for another sequel.
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: Smothered (2014), an honest, campy, bad, fun horror comedy featuring murder by breast smothering.
MY CALL: This film doesn’t masquerade as anything it isn’t. It’s honest, campy, bad, fun…and breasty. MOVIES LIKE Smothered: While tasteless and much more raunchy, I’d consider films like The Killer Eye (1999), Breeders (1986), Chillerama (2011), Head of the Family (1996) and Hideous! (1997) for a combination of boobs, gore and giggles.
Golden Eye‘sXenia Onatopp gave viewers an unexpected sexual thrill when she killed a man with a leg scissorhold mid-coitus. And that was just PG-13. John Schneider has stepped it up a notch and brought us a big-breasted temptress who commits mammary-assisted murder! That’s right. She smothers people to death with her breasts.
Probably inspired by recent news of the near death of a suffocating German lawyer to his amply-endowed girlfriend and the trailer park murder of a redneck who was “boobed” to death by his plus-sized wife, it seems that fatal breast smothering has become something of a new fad and John Schneider has playfully capitalized on this gimmick in bringing us Smothered.
In this horror comedy, we find Kane Hodder (Chillerama, Hatchet, Wishmaster), R. A. Mihailoff (Hatchet II, Texas Chainsaw Massacre III: Leatherface), Don Shanks (I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legends: Bloody Mary) and Bill Mosely (The Devil’s Rejects, Texas Chainsaw 3D) play themselves for the most part at a Louisiana horror convention.
A glimpse into the horror con scene.
The cast is accompanied by a few others including Trixie (Shanna Forrestall; The Last Exorcism, Feral) and the murderess DeeDee (Brea Grant; Halloween II, Dexter, Heroes)…aptly named given her ummmmm virtues.
Embittered with a weak turnout in autograph sales (largely due to a cameo by John Schneider stealing the show), Kane accepts a gig to “haunt” a trailer park as Jason Voorhees. So he recruits his fellow unpopular horror icon friends to help him with this task. Upon arriving to the site of the RV park, they start dying one by one under strange accidental circumstances…and, of course given the title, a few breast smotherings for the sake of comedic T’n’A.
What’s odd is that the title and the opening breasticide set a standard that the rest of the movie doesn’t at all follow. We’d expect several more breasty assaults picking off our victims–making the title and opening scene more of a marketing strategy than a premise. Of course, a bunch of smothering cleavage murders would result in about zero gore and that obviously would leave the audience wanting more. That said, this film remained entertaining in a deliberately goofy way and those femme fatale weapons do enough appearances to rile up randy viewers. I had a lot of fun watching this cheeky horror comedy and the occasional non-breast-based murder turned out to be most welcome.
R. A. Mihailoff awkwardly attempting to be scary and Leatherface-y to scare the locals.
There were some solid efforts in the gore department. Some of the more fun gory scenes involve a razor wire snare trap producing some floppy flesh-rending gore, someone self-mutilating themselves to death basically by accident, and a slapstick “face peel” scene followed by an improvised first aid treatment that had me howling. Another effect I was especially fond of was the CGI ants–they actually looked kind of cute in one of the scenes.
This film was written and directed by John Schneider. Yes, the very same John Schneider you knew as Bo (The Dukes of Hazard) and Jonathan Kent (Smallville)! I guess his more recent work in Snow Beast, Return of the Killer Shrews and Super Shark give him a taste of playfully “bad” horror. I’m glad he’s taken this step in his career. I was certainly entertained.
This film doesn’t masquerade as anything it isn’t. It’s honest, campy, bad and fun.
Share this post:
Edge of Tomorrow: The Blockbuster of Summer
Edge of Tomorrow is an incredibly fun summer blockbuster that juggles humor, action and character. It brings an intelligent boom to a crowded science fiction genre and sets itself apart through actual excitement. On the surface the novel adaptation could easily be described as Groundhog Day with aliens. However, it becomes its own beast and features the best Tom Cruise performance in years.
Doug Liman has developed an interesting on-set reputation throughout the years. However, the Swingers, Go, Jumper, Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith director has a knack for infusing action with humor and bringing out the best in his actors. Liman redefined action with Bourne, helped facilitate enormous chemistry between Jolie/Pitt and allowed swing music to make a brief comeback. That is why I had faith he could take a familiar premise and spin it into gold.
Edge of Tomorrow stays fresh even as Cruise’s character keeps expiring. Liman and his writers did a great job of flipping the Cruise persona by turning him into an a-hole advertising executive. The opening scene is perfect as Tom Cruise uses his big smile and cocky demeanor in an attempt to blackmail his way out of a massive air/land battle in France. Things go bad, he gets arrested, Bill Paxton’s Master Sergeant rips him a new one and he proceeds to die a lot. It was fun watching a bratty Cruise act like a weasel after his “toughest man on the planet” performance in Jack Reacher. Cruise’s follies in training and figuring out the time loop are genuinely funny and unexpected.
Who is Cruise battling on the beach? They are called mimics and they are spreading their way through Europe in an effort to kill humanity. They are sneaky and murderous jerks who have no problem dismantling a platoon in seconds. Of course, there is an alpha who controls them all and it becomes Cruise’s mission to kill it. He eventually joins up with a famed soldier played by Emily Blunt. She also got stuck in a time loop and she uses him to finish what she started.
Liman finally uses Blunt’s talents appropriately and she makes a fine foil and believable Full Metal B*tch. It made me happy that Blunt wasn’t just playing another “lady” role. Cruises last two films Oblivion and Reacher squandered the talents of Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko and Rosamund Pike. In Edge of Tomorrow Blunt isn’t the love interest or random woman in need of help. She is a badass who has been there and done that. Also, she is in cobra pose a lot……
The two develop a believable chemistry and navigate the tricky world of destroying a race of deadly aliens together. The training montages are fantastic and allow Tom Cruise to be goofy and fallible. Bill Paxton gets some great lines and is clearly having a blast with his character (No, I am from Kentucky). Most importantly, you become invested in the story. When you like the characters the action means something. You are able to forget that Tom Cruise is running around a Groundhog Day scenario whilst in an exo-suit.
Doug Liman has managed to make an intelligent video game that brings the action and laughs. Edge of Tomorrow is a perfect summer film that will eventually find an audience. Watch it. Recommend it. Watch it again.
Movies, Films & Flix 