Bad Movie Tuesday: The Lose/Lose Remake of Oldboy
There is a momentum changing moment in Oldboy when Brolin is released from captivity after twenty years. He emerges from a large box and chases down a mysterious woman. He stops her violently in front of some football players and it all goes wrong. The players react to the male/female violence and immediately get the living sh** kicked out of them. The scene is brutal, unnecessary and likely results in one persons death. The fight establishes the toughness of the title character but also proves how unnecessary the film is.
I won’t make this an original vs. remake write-up. However, in the original the recently released main character finds some street punks and gives them a good beating. The moment is funny, unexpected and you don’t mind that some hoods got their face punched. The moment worked because the film is so cartoonish and you didn’t feel like innocent bystanders got destroyed. The remake features total stereotypes receiving WAY too much punishment for trying to do something good. I think Spike Lee tried to do something good but ended up like the bloodied folk. He fought an uphill battle that was bound to disappoint due to directing choices and studio meddling. The A.V. Club’s A.A. Dowd sums it up well:
Park’s film was wildly irreverent, grinning manically in the face of torture, suicide, incest, and other taboos. Lee’s Oldboy is a more somber affair. That said, maybe straight-faced isn’t the right approach for such an over-the-top narrative, pulled from a Japanese manga and built around one of the most elaborate revenge schemes in recent movie history. Park knew he was making pulp, and directed accordingly.
Oldboy does not feel like a completed film. It is overly edited and doesn’t come close to the slow burn of the original. It starts off well enough as it expands the prison sentence to twenty years and gives us more time in the hotel room. However, once he is loose the movie plows forward and loses any creative nuance that was created. My biggest problem with the film is the director’s cut excuse used by Spike Lee. The film had many hurdles to clear (insane fanboys, incest, hammer fights) and that wasn’t helped by a mythical three-hour cut.
Both Spike Lee and Brolin commented on how the three-hour cut is much better than what was dumped into the cinemas. However, the remake shouldn’t have been three hours. Park Chan-Wook told the story in two hours and it was a beautifully insane cult classic. Thus, why make a longer remake of a two-hour movie? Did Spike really think audiences would sit through a 180 minute remake of an incredibly violent cult classic?
There was bound to be cuts and the film suffered. The original fight scene which was filmed in a single take is now chopped up and features bad guys who only want to get beat up. It is poorly set up, sped up and sacharine compared to the original. Lee wanted it to be bigger (three floors) and Brolin was pushed to his physical limit (five weeks of prep) but it was hindered by cheekily dressed villains, brutality and a studio edit.
Brutality is not a substitute for quality. Oldboy’s brutality felt organic to the story. However, the violence in the remake feels shoehorned in. It never feels right. The original set a cornball/bonkers atmosphere that felt like a parallel world which made the violence palatable. The remake feels grounded in realism with the occasional sped up action scene. There are moments when Brolin literally throws men on their heads and you wonder how he acquired such brutal techniques.
The other problem with the film is Sharlto Copley’s questionable villain.
His accent is odd, motivation wonky and scenes were cut down (thank you three-hour cut). He is not a threat and pales in comparison to Ji-Tae Yu who owned the screen as the twisted baddie of the original. His character was sleek, suave, petty and believably diabolical. A good hero needs a good villain and Lee Woo-jin was a great bad guy. Copley is nothing but facial hair, scars and a weak back story. The bad guy barely registers and that is terrible thing when the movie is all about a man getting revenge.
The Oldboy remake fought a losing battle. I’m sure the three-hour cut is better but I think Spike Lee should have focused more on character and plot instead of making things bigger and better. More can sometimes be less and that is evident in the Oldboy remake.
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John’s Horror Corner: Chopping Mall (1986), a crazy melee of killer robots that shoot frickin’ laser beams from their eyes
MY CALL: There’s nothing iconic about this bad 80s sci-fi/horror and I’m not saying it should be on your “must see list.” But this has everything I miss about the 80s; it’s so awful and cheesy and cheap and campy, and that’s what makes it so sweet to the refined horror connoisseur. MORE MOVIES LIKE Chopping Mall: The Outing (1987), The Initiation (1984) and Dawn of the Dead (1978) deliver more “mall horror” in the classic style we know and love. SIDEBAR: This was originally titled Killbots. That title would have made more sense since the present title makes me think of a slasher movie.
“Eight teenagers are trapped after hours in a high tech shopping mall and pursued by three murderous security robots out of control.” –IMDB
The very first night that a mall breaks in its new security team of three robots, lightning strikes the control center and somehow short circuits them…into killer robots. That same night eight 20-somethings decide to have an overnight sex party in the mall…because that’s what kids did in the 80s, they had overnight sex parties. I struggle to envision that any teenagers or 20-somthings would have died in any 80s horror movies if there were no overnight sex parties.
Well after one of the security robots detonates one of their hotties’ heads with its laser vision, and thus ruins their overnight sex party, the men furiously hit the sporting goods store, load up on guns and propane tanks and fight back! What ensues is a lot of fun, bad nonsense. In fact, everything leading up to that was a lot of fun, bad nonsense, too.
Let’s talk about these robots for a second. They look like mini-Johnny-5’s complete with videogame laser gun vision and what are called “sleep darts.” I wonder how much these robots cost to make. If AI-robotic security sounds a little excessive for your average mall in Ohio, please note the obviously moderately priced time-locked Star Wars doors which are sealed shut over night. What’s with this mall? It’s like a military tech experiment!
The overnight party crew of 20-somethings include a lot of familiar faces: Allison (Kelli Maroney; Night of the Comet, Not of this Earth), Suzie (Barbara Crampton; You’re Next, Lords of Salem, The Re-Animator), Rick (Russell Todd; Friday the 13th Part 2), Linda (Karrie Emerson; Evils of the Night), Ferdy (Tony O’Dell; Evils of the Night), Leslie and Mike (John Terlesky; Deathstalker II). Also look for Mr. Bud the CHUD himself Gerrit Graham (Child’s Play 2, It’s Alive III, TerrorVision) and Gremlins‘ Dick Miller (Piranha, The Howling, The Twilight Zone: The Movie).
Dick Miller’s brief cameo getting electrocuted by a killbot.
To call the writing a bit stale would almost be a compliment. The poor attempts at humor in this movie succeed at little more than securing the bad name earned by 80s horror writers. Thankfully, we find our humor in some of the kills.
Following the most ancient horror axiom, if a woman in her panties runs, she WILL trip and fall.
Director Jim Wynorski used the success of this film to pole vault his career into the big leagues. He later went on to helm such bare breast-rich film as Deathstalker II (1987), Not of this Earth (1988), Return of Swamp Thing (1989), The Haunting of Morella (1990), 976-EVIL II (1992), Ghoulies IV (1994) and many more.
If you enjoy the 80s, the cheap, the campy, the cheesy and the awful, then you should enjoy this.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Stuff (1985), a social commentary told by a mind-controlling dessert food
This movie cover reminds me of the scene when the parents come home in The Gate (1987)…but they’re not really the parents.
MY CALL: Unintentionally hilarious and lush with social commentary, this story about a delicious mind-controlling ooze is sure to entertain despite tragic writing and direction. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Stuff: More amorphous enmities may be found in The Blob (1988), The Raft (segment from Creepshow 2; 1987) and Street Trash (1987). The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Live (1988) and The Thing (1982, 2011) all provide stories in which trust and conspiracy are tested during surreptitious alien takeovers. SIDEBAR: The DVD includes commentary from writer/director Larry Cohen. It’s pretty great.
A man stumbles across a delicious, pulsating gooey substance bubbling out of the ground at an industrial mining site, which he immediately touches, sniffs and tastes. WHAT!?! Now I’m no geologist, but when I encounter mysterious STD-like, sticky, gobbledy-gook discharges oozing from Mother Earth’s orifices I tend to keep a safe distance. I mean, why was it bubbling? Was something alive under the surface? Was it super hot? Is it loaded with some dangerous bacteria or fungus or virus? I doubt I’d touch it…let alone taste it! Did this guy not see The Blob (1958, 1988)? If he had seen The Blob I bet he’d of thought twice.
But low and behold it turns out to be a sweet, tasty treat which is readily–basically overnight–mass manufactured as a domestic dessert staple. This film is cleverly complete with television commercials for “The Stuff,” marketing it as an adult snack with the tagline “enough is never enough.” This tongue-in-cheek propagandist approach reminds me of They Live (1988) as we observe so much social commentary on the American practices of consumerism, advertising, and corporate and FDA ethics.
Like in so many other stories, a young boy (Jason) discovers something just isn’t right when he sees The Stuff crawling around in his refrigerator. Jason won’t eat The Stuff after seeing it meandering around the some Tupperwared leftovers, but his parents do and they’ve been acting weird. Like buying a year’s supply of The Stuff and throwing away all of their other food in the trash weird.
Luckily, an investigator (Mo) for a competing snack food company is also going around trying to figure out what The Stuff is made out of–and he’s not getting answers. It seems that all of the FDA folks who so suspiciously and swiftly approved the product have all left the country. Hmmmm…nothing strange going on here. Just regular everyday FDA stuff, right?
A theme song plays “one lick is never enough of The Stuff” and Models lasciviously lick spoonfuls of this homicidal yogurt; Jason’s mother testifies that she lost 5 pounds on a Stuff-only diet; and Jason’s father attests that it “kills all the bad stuff inside us”… just drink the Kool-Aid and the allegory cranks on. The satire is so blatant that it’s never obscured by the clumsy storytelling, which make the movie all the more entertaining.
The Stuff functions like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). You come into contact with it (via ingestion), and it gradually “replaces” you with a Stuff-replicant that’s like you, but not quite right. Once infected, the goal simply becomes to get everyone else infected…but not by force. When Jason refuses to eat The Stuff his parents angrily ground him, sending him to his room until he conforms. When Jason “fakes” eating it, his family is pleased.
Just try it, they said. What could go wrong, they said.
The effects include evil stop-motion marshmallow fluff and the gore and facial prosthetics are pretty good for the 80s and remain most entertaining today. At times, The Stuff oozes around like The Blob. But I was quite impressed with the pacing, however schizophrenically haphazard (LOL). Much of the movie (most of the middle) was without interesting effects, yet the utterly brash satire and senselessly incohesive scene transitions of it all keep me laughing.
Here’s something that’s never explained. At times The Stuff expels itself from its host, killing them. This never seems to serve any purpose.
Characters seem to come out of nowhere without ever having been established, then they may never be seen again regardless of the rapport they may have built. The randomness is major! For example, a conspiracy-theory-toting general leading a resistance to The Stuff happens to own two radio stations to spread his message. Oh, and his “army” takes taxi cabs when travelling in military convoys. WTF!?! Oh, and an infected guy just strolls past this army security by making a scene. Oh, and a cookie industry mogul has some ancient kung fu fists of steel. Oh, and this one Stuff-infected dog was his Stuff-infected owner’s boss. Huh? Just bonkers!
This is the face of frustration I had when trying to make sense of the plot.
Curiously, we never really find out where the stuff came from. Did it well up from deep beneath the Earth’s surface, did it crash land on a meteor like The Blob (1988), or did it come in a spaceship like The Thing (1982, 2011)? We also never learn its purpose. It’s clearly smarter than the mindless consuming machine of The Blob. But was it “trying” to take over the world like in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) or peaceful domination like in The Live (1988)? No motive is ever revealed.
The Stuff attacks in various ways.
This movie (or, AHEM, it’s writer/director) may have exhibited all of the smooth storytelling of an over-excited 5-year old trying to explain something he didn’t really understand in the first place. But like a child fumbling over his thoughts in a word-salad of excitement, The Stuff is not without its own special brand of charm. This movie and its franticly forced social commentary are hilarious and it is well worth a watch.
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John’s Horror Corner: Grabbers (2012), evil blood-chugging space tentacles with a sense of humor like Shaun of the Dead
MY CALL: More fun than a drunk panty raid full of tentacles…okay, that probably didn’t make any sense. It has evil blood-chugging space tentacles and a sense of humor like Shaun of the Dead. So just watch this and enjoy. MORE MOVIES LIKE Grabbers: Shaun of the Dead (2004), Trollhunter (2010).
In this unexpectedly charming movie, a likable alcoholic is challenged with saving an Irish community of fishermen from a blood-sucking alien invasion through reckless inebriation. Now I understand that this plot may leave you pondering “just how good could this movie really be?” Just take my word for it and give this film a chance. Think Shaun of the Dead.
Our unlikely hero is local drunkard Ciarán O’Shea (Richard Coyle; BBC’s Coupling) and, of course, he of all people makes the discovery that the tentacular aliens are allergic (even deadly so) to the local lushes’ high blood-alcohol content. Nice choice to begin your invasion, aliens. You’re deathly allergic to alcohol and you crash-landed off the coast of Ireland. Smart choice!
Good call on the rolled up magazine. Definitely my weapon of choice.
Grabbers come in different sizes.
Because we can’t have a proper hero without some romantic tension, the local bar wench exerts some uncomfortable yet cute pressure in coupling Lisa (Ruth Bradley; Beauty and the Beast, Primeval) with O’Shea. Ruth Bradley and Richard Coyle fair splendidly as a dainty prude who is drunk for the first time (in order to survive) flirting with a drunk who is trying to sober up to impress her. The warm fuzzy levity is abundant and their flirtatious relationship comes off as shockingly convincing. And by the way, Ruth Bradley really rises to the challenge of acting drunk.
They had some fun with the gore effects. This movie isn’t exactly “gory” but it still has its fun with rolling severed heads. The CGI alien monsters look a lot like the giant facehugger that brings down the engineer towards the end of Prometheus (2012). In fact, you’ll delight in the cephalopodic mayhem when it actually “facehugs” a victim. They look great! Oh, and the hatchling grabbers make adorable squeaky sounds like a Pomeranian chew toy–they’re so cute…until they attack.
The dialogue is nothing short of charming and excellent throughout the movie. Almost any time I wasn’t laughing out loud, I was grinning at the marriage of the silliness of these scenes coupled with oft-alcohol-induced dialogue. The characters all play off of each other splendidly and the chemistry between O’Shea and his flirtatious rookie drinker Lisa is a much slurred splendor.
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MY CALL: 20 great gory good-versus-evil minutes numbed by a stagnant 75 minute middle. See this flick, but exercise your fast forward function. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Unholy: Want to see the unholy done well? Then I’d instead turn you to Stigmata (1999), Angel Heart (1987), Constantine (2005), The Seventh Sign (1988), The Prophecy (1995) or The Last Exorcism (2010).
The tone for this classy flick is set in the opening scene as a redhead in a completely transparent negligee seduces a Catholic priest mid-prayer. This had me very worried that I was in for a smutty horror movie. Thankfully, after a quick kiss (probably denoting the priest succumbing to temptation), she slashes his throat and leaves a gore-slathered gash that made the horrorhound in me gleefully “SQUEEEE” with joy.
So, to clarify, that’s both babes and blood’n guts in the first five minutes. This should be good! I’ll repeat a key word here…should be good.
Recently and unexpectedly appointed, Father Michael (Ben Cross; Exorcist: The Beginning, Star Trek) joins and re-opens Saint Agnes Church after he miraculously survives a fall from a building without injury. Saint Agnes was closed after its two former priests died at the hand of a demon referred to as “The Unholy.” Okay, could be cool, right? Right…?
Unfortunately it seems to take this movie forever to get back to the fun. We had boobs and blood in the first few minutes, then nothing but boredom for the next 75–during which the most Satanic thing we see is a possessed stirring rod, a windy bedroom and a crotch full of snakes. I get that a crotch full of snakes sounds awesome, but they found a way to make it lame just for this movie. Unlike so much other 80s horror, this film takes itself 100% seriously. There are no tongue-in-cheek lines or deliberately ironic death scenes.
No, instead of filling screen time with fun, this film attempts to spin a thick web of drama…and fails! This movie even managed to make call girls, insane asylums and Satanic cults come off as boring. Now, I must admit I laughed during a stupid scene when Father Michael’s dead predecessor calls him on the phone from Hell. But overall this is numbingly dull.
So after a good five-minute opener followed by an unwarrantedly boring 75 minutes, our movie is finally reignited by a good old-fashioned gory disembowelment, some burning corpses, a dude vomiting a couple gallons of blood…oh, and the seductress from the opening scene is back. You now have my attention!
It turns out our naked seductress is the demon Desidarius and, with the help of a fog machine, she transforms into a monstrous infernal quadruped assisted by some little toddler demons. The finale is loaded with fun, weird, gory, sexual and disturbing imagery, and we get to see a lot of our demon monster.
How about a kiss?
These little guys remind me of when Craig T. Nelson vomits a whole dude in Poltergeist II.
Wait a minute! Is that little guy dancing?
My best advice to you would be to watch this movie for 5 minutes, then fast forward through the next 75 to the closing sequence. That will turn a largely boring movie into a way-fun 20 minute gore romp.
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Hours: Paul Walker’s Finest Moment
Kurt Russell recently did an interview with Collider where he had this to say about Paul Walker:
I sensed that this was a guy who enjoyed many things in his life and was very appreciative, but was also getting to a point where he wanted to begin to seriously, in an artistic sense, explore what would excite him and find out where he might go. He was literally just turning that page and just saying that he wanted to peak onto the other side, and then he was out.
Hours is Paul Walker wanting to see where he could go. There are no fast cars, sharks, or scantily clad women to distract from his acting. In Hours he can’t fade into the background because the camera is always in front of him. Because of this he gives his best performance since Running Scared and is able to hold the camera for 90 minutes. Most importantly, the film builds to a powerful climax that may be Walker’s finest moment on screen.
Hours is the story of a man trying to keep his baby alive during Hurricane Katrina. His wife died delivering the premature baby and due to underdeveloped lungs the infant is forced to stay on a ventilator for 48 hours. The problem is the hurricane wipes out the power and leaves Walker alone in the hospital with a hand-cranked generator that only keeps a three minute charge.
The three minute charge doesn’t allow Walker to sleep and forces him to stay close to the baby while waiting out the storm. The set up is inventive and I like how Katrina isn’t used gratuitously. Many of the people who worked on the film suffered through Katrina and because of this Walker felt he had to bring his best. I like knowing that he wanted more and put himself in situations where he had to act and get out of his comfort zone.
There are several problems with the film. The quiet moments are interrupted by underwritten bad guys who are cartoonishly villainous. I understand a hospital would be a prime target to pilfer during a natural disaster. However, introducing new people into the story hurt the flow and felt like manicured interruptions. You wish the director would have simply allowed Walker to do his thing. There is an earnestness to his performance that showcases his ability to relax and make his dialogue fresh. He is believable as he tells his baby daughter about her mom and how they first met (they stopped a bank robber).
I wanted it to be more like the fantastic 2013 film All is Lost. All is a harrowing story of survival that let Robert Redford own the screen while staying almost silent. He didn’t need to explain everything whilst talking to himself. You figured out his character by actions. I understand that out of sheer grief and delirium Walker would be talking to his baby. However, he didn’t have to say “I need batteries” as the charge is going down. I wish they would have let Walker perform silently as opposed to giving us a running narrative.
Hours is a neat little film that proves Walker was capable of more. His relaxed presence and the moving finale make this a film worth watching. If you are a Walker fan I totally recommend checking out Hours.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: Pompeii and the Explosion of Dumb
Spoilers Abound!
Pompeii tells the age old story of love in the time of ash and lava. This sweeping love story from the director of Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil and Three Musketeers is as subtle as Vesuvius and as intelligent as the rocks spewing from it. Pompeii is a dumbed down Titanic that totally redeems itself via odd directing choices and accidental hilarity.
Pompeii is a quirky little thing that is loaded with unintentional laughs, wonky accents (British? Irish? Italian? I think Sutherland made up an accent) and the greatest bro-hug ever. Imagine if 2012, Gladiator, Bloodrayne, Titanic, Romeo & Juliet, Tristan & Isolde, Centurion, In the Name of the King and The Three Musketeers were mixed together then rewritten by Paul W.S. Anderson. Pompeii is an amalgamation of illogical weirdness and irrelevant fluff.
The plot is all happenstance and features a meet cute via horse neck snapping. The two lovers rarely spend time together and the only moment they are alone results in painful yet quick healing lashes. Eventually, things go boom, revenge is had, peasants get crunched and only Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje seems to know he is in a bad movie.
Take a look at the above poster. The two leads are having a smooching session amid chaos. I understand they are a tragic couple. However, I 100% believe they could’ve survived had they not sauntered so much. If they would have jogged away we could have enjoyed Pompeii 2: Why did we vacation near Mount St. Helens? Other characters in similar films survived by hightailing it to safety. In the photos for Dante’s Peak and Volcano the characters are running or looking concerned while walking away from the deadly fire.
Now, take another look at Pompeii’s couple as they look relaxed in the chaos.
These people survived by running!
These two weren’t lucky enough to have running in the script.
Paul W.S. Anderson has had a fruitful career in Hollywood by directing money making hokum (I’ve watched them all and keep coming back). His highest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes is the 43% Death Race. His other films The Three Musketeers, Resident Evil, Event Horizon, Mortal Kombat, Soldier, AVP and now Pompeii have all felt like other better films. There are moments of creative talent (Horizon hell scenes, Orlando Bloom’s hair in Musketeers, light grid scene in Resident) but for the most part Anderson has simultaneously annoyed and captured the nerd zeitgeist.
Sidenote: Gotta love Bloom’s hair.
Pompeii feels like a step in the wrong direction. Never before have Anderson’s films felt so unintelligible or unintentionally hilarious. It felt more like In the Name of the King (Never a good thing to be compared to a Uwe Boll film) then Tristan & Isolde. I am going out on a limb here but I’d wager Kit Harrington wins the hair battle between he and James Franco.
Pompeii is pure dumb that is punctuated by really bad decisions. It is an enjoyable romp that will make perfect FX foder for insomniacs and college students for years to come. It was never meant to be good. It was only meant to entertain. It may be a step back for Anderson but at least we now have the visual of peasants being clunked on the heads by tiny rocks in the canon of film.
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Hello all. Mark here.
The Oscars are upon us and I’ve decided to share my predictions. They are all fairly stock but I’ve decided to pick with logic and not my heart. It is an interesting field this year with several close races (Editing, Picture, Director, Short live action film, Doc) which make the Oscars fairly intriguing.
Here are the predictions! Enjoy.
If you bet big and win I get 7%. However, if you lose big…….My bad.
1. Best Picture – 12.36 Years a Slave
2. Best Actress – Cate “Makes losing your mind dignified” Blanchett
3. Best Actor – McC Wooderson
4. Best Supporting Actress – Lupita (I regret being in Non-Stop) N’yong’o
5. Best Supporting Actor – Jordan Catalano
6. Best Director – Steve “Don’t call me Great Escape” McQueen
7. Best Adapted Screenplay – 12 Years A Slave
8. Best Original Screenplay and Mustache – Her
9. Best Animated Feature and Song – Frozen
10. Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, Editing, Sound Mixing, Score and Cinematography – Gravity
11. Best High Waisted Pants – Her
12. Best Documentary – 20 Feet From Stardom (Should be Act of Killing)
13. Best Voice Acting – ScarJo in Don Jon and Her
14. Best Costumes and Production Design – Great Gatsby
15. Best Makeup – Dallas Buyers Club
16. Best Performance That Gets No Love – Jake Gyllenhaal – Prisoners
17. Best Dad – Bill Nighy – About Time
18 Best Short Stuff – Get A Horse, The Lady in 6, Helium
19. Best Foreign Film – The Great Beauty
There you have it!
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The Family: Luc Besson’s Live Action Cartoon
Now that The Family has settled into domestication on Blu-ray I think the film will find an audience. Shakespeare it ain’t but I think the tonally odd film will find a cult audience. Viewers will be drawn to the live action cartoon that is punctuated by ultra-violence, irresponsible murder and cheeky humor.
Critics and audiences had a hard time figuring out what this little hybrid was all about. The premise is simple. Mafia family in witness protection has to deal with French culture and constant hunting from vengeful mob hitmen. However, they still murder people, have little patience and occasionally blow up French convenience stores. It doesn’t fit any genre and cannot be summarized because of all the combating elements. You have the familiar fish out of water element but you also have a subplot about DeNiro fixing the town’s brown water problem by brutally hurting government officials and plumbers.
The Family treats suicide, cold blooded murder, romance, torture, student/teacher sex, blood, explosions and more cold blooded murder with humor and it gets weird. It is like Dianna Agron’s character. Seemingly normal, super violent and sorta insane.
Stephen Holden of NYT summed up the film with this quote:
It doesn’t even try for basic credibility. But buoyed by hot performances, it sustains a zapping electrical energy. It might be described as screwball noir. If there aren’t a lot of belly laughs, The Family stirs up an appalled amusement at its gleeful amorality. Some of the heartiest laughs come from the grisly scenes of Giovanni triumphantly venting his rage when he doesn’t get instant gratification or feels disrespected.
When I used the phrase “tonally odd” I mean that it is never structured. The progression of the movie flips between appalling casual violence, coincidences (the newspaper scene is insane), family dinners, flashbacks, daydreams, Goodfellas screenings and a grumpy Tommy Lee Jones. You could throw boulders through the plot holes but that would be too easy. The film is likable because you realize it is a cartoon from the guy who made Leon and The Fifth Element. His movies have always had an odd edge and The Family is no different.
The Family seemed like a mainstream film but surprised many with its quirks and violence. The stunt casting of mafia film vets DeNiro and Pfeiffer felt lazy to some but I didn’t mind seeing them in such an offbeat affair. The Family will not be for everyone but I was able to go along for the ride. Change your expectations, revel in the eccentricity and watch out for tennis rackets.
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MY CALL: AMAZING acting and crushingly real character transformations make Lovelace a great film worthy of a bigger release than it received. MOVIES LIKE Lovelace: The People versus Larry Flint (1996), Boogie Nights (1997) and 54 (1998).
This is the story of Linda “Lovelace” Boreman, her 17 day career in the porn industry making Deep Throat, and her painful before and after.
Rising from prudish origins in 1970 Florida, Linda (Amanda Seyfried; Epic, Les Miserables) is discovered go-go dancing at a skating rink by a deliciously sleazy Chuck (Peter Sarsgaard; Green Lantern, Rendition). Chuck is charming and cleverly manipulative as he caters to Linda’s insecurity and emotional shortcomings. In no time at all he moves her into his home, “teaches” her the oral techniques that brought her fame, and infuses her with a sense of confidence and belonging that she clearly never before felt living with her abrasive parents (Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick).
Sorry, guys, if I’m throwing you under the bus here. But, women, NEVER trust a man with facial hair like this. NEVER!
Swiftly after their wedding, Linda learns of Chuck’s (now “their”) financial problems. So they meet with pornographers Butchie (Bobby Cannavale; Parker, Win Win) and Gerry (Hank Azaria; Hop, Love and Other Drugs), impressed by her oral gifts.
The characters of Gerry and Butchie were both performed superbly. They are such nice guys you just want to invite them to your grandmother’s 90th birthday.
All of the characters we meet in the adult film industry are charming. Not just smooth, silver-tongued devils wooing Linda into the industry, but properly kind, sweet individuals who are grateful to be working with her. Butchie and Gerry are nothing if not endearingly played. Porn star Harry (Adam Brody; Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Scream 4) is immediately likable. Her promo photographer (Wes Bentley; The Hunger Games) teaches her to feel beautiful and comfortable in front of the camera. And Hugh Hefner (James Franco; This is the End, Oz the Great and Powerful) candidly impresses on her that she is more than simply a porn star.
James Franco as Hugh Hefner. This just made sense! Good casting.
As Linda is transitioning into porn stardom, and with every invitingly kind pornographer we meet, we find Chuck becoming increasingly jealous and abusive. He slowly becomes all of the things (and so much worse) that she was fleeing when she ran into his arms.
The hangover of her manipulated path to stardom–the revelation of the frailty hiding behind the illusions and the sadness behind the glamour–is all too familiar. The People versus Larry Flint (1996), Boogie Nights (1997) and 54 (1998) find their characters fragmented and their souls disarticulated before our eyes in crushing reality much as we find with Linda’s transformation.
All of the actors embraced their characters and did an amazing job; AMAZING. This film received little attention or advertising regarding its release and this is a shame. I hope more people eventually find their way to this excellent film.
SAD FACT: Deep throat made $600 million. Linda made $1,250.
Movies, Films & Flix 