The Hole (2009)

At a glance:
Veteran horror director Joe Dante brings his blend of scares and humor to The Hole, a modest and fun film

Our review (with spoilers):
Two brothers (Dane, played by Chris Massoglia, and Lucas, played by Nathan Gamble) discover a trap door hiding a bottomless hole in the basement of their home. Teaming up with the teenage girl next door (Haley Bennett), they attempt to discover who or what is lurking down there. But when each of them is attacked by the embodiment of their worst fear, they start to wish they had never opened that trap door in the first place.

The Hole is fun entertainment, with good performances by the three leads, and good supporting work from Teri Polo as the mom. There is even a quick cameo from Bruce Dern and an even quicker cameo from veteran horror star Dick Miller.

The Hole also has one of the cleverest reveals I have ever seen in a film: the three kids drop a video camera down the hole, then view the footage on their TV. They see a blob shape – just a shape – and are discussing that when the mom comes in. The kids turn away from the screen and explain that they are just watching TV. Meanwhile, on the screen, the blob turns to reveal a malevolent, non-human eye. The mom sees this (as does the viewer) but thinks it is just a TV program, and the kids don’t know it is there!

Veteran horror director Joe Dante laces The Hole with his classic sense of humor amid the shocks. This is a scary film, but it has a jovial mood. We are pretty sure that the three leads are not going to get killed. This is also a small film lacking big ambitions, and I mean that in a nice way. There are elements that reminded me of the expansive Poltergeist, but The Hole has no such aspirations. It is about three friends and a hole that is somehow linked to your worst fear – and that’s that. And for the most part, it is a success - except for some of the shoddy stop-motion used when various things are crawling back into the hole.

Rating:  2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Enjoyably old-fashioned horror from genre veteran Joe Dante, with a strong script, some suitably creepy sequences and superb performances from its young cast."
- Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)

 

Winnebago Man (2009)

Movie quotes:
"I don’t want any more bullshit anytime during the day from anyone… And that includes me."
- Jack Rebney as the Winnebago Man

At a glance:
The backstory of a man whose five minutes of swear-laced out-takes from a Winnebago sales video became a YouTube phenomenon

Our review (with spoilers):
I came into this film as (apparently) one of the few people who had never heard of Winnebago Man, the angry corporate sales video star whose out-takes became one of the most famous and popular viral videos on YouTube. Some of the footage of this frustrated, cursing man is shown at the beginning of the doco, and it did nothing for me. Jack Rebney seemed like a bombastic, angry, threatening, unfunny guy who would have been hell to work with. I was unsure if it would be worth my time to continue watching his story.

Was I ever wrong. By making this film, director Ben Steinbauer changed the public perception of Jack Rebney. Without this film, he is just a man whose five minutes of over the top anger out-takes, watched to infinity, defined him narrowly. For those fortunate enough to see this documentary (or to attend the Found Film Festival on the fateful night when Jack was a special guest), Jack Rebney becomes a real man, a complex man, a man balancing the conflicting desires of audience and isolation. He is a man infuriated by his unwanted celebrity, and angered by his belief that the USA is going downhill. Yet, despite his over the top anger, he is also a man who can laugh and keep things in perspective. And although unwilling at times, he is also a natural performer. By the end of the film, Jack has changed his opinion about his YouTube fans. He now sees them as clever, intelligent people. Likewise, his fans see him as a sweet angry grandpa, and not a movie star and a caricature.

In 1988, a powerful documentary called The Thin Blue Line made me believe that there could be no greater purpose for film than to shed light on a personal story or situation. Winnebago Man has that same feel and purpose. Perhaps the story is not as important this time, although both subjects were, in a way, in prisons of sorts. But this film has its own niche of importance. As well as fleshing out Jack Rebney, it also stands as a chronicle of these strange YouTube Viral Video times we live in. Even this shall change: there will be acceptance, or so many people will purposefully create goofy videos in an attempt to gain celebrity status that these innocent, truly random videos will be a thing of the past. The documentary Winnebago Man will not let that happen. So ‘do me a kindness’, and make sure you catch it.

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"...a terrific character study. It also airs provocative meditations on the ramifications of living our lives via media. Steinbauer accomplishes both in this thoroughly entertaining feature debut."
- Laura Clifford (Reeling Reviews)

 

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

Movie quotes:
Nick: [handing her the ring] This is for you.
Gina: Holy crap.
Gina: Did you get it from the store in Honolulu?
Nick: eBay.
Gina: How long have you had it?
Nick: Year and a half.
Gina: A year and a half? Well what were you waitin' for you dumb bastard!
Nick: The right moment...
Gina: Baby, you are a man in full.

At a glance:
Maui locations, clever twists, and a sense of humor elevate this thriller about a newlywed couple threatened by killers on their honeymoon

Our review (with spoilers):
Hawaii is so beautiful that you could enjoy your honeymoon there, even if you were being stalked by a killer couple at the same time.

This is what is happening to Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich). Their jungle overnight hike is populated with weird couples, some friendly, some threatening. Things get tense when news reaches them that a honeymooning couple was murdered in Oahu. Cliff and Cydney seem to suspect eccentric Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez), but there are others as well who seem to be even more likely suspects. There is some squeamish but cartoonish violence, and it’s obvious that the creators have a kind of morality that is old-fashioned and appealing.

A Perfect Getaway never takes itself too seriously, yet it has plenty of tension and action. The Maui locations are fantastic, the more so for me, as I was just recently in Hawaii and it was great to go back, even under these circumstances. The acting is great, right across the board, which is a sure sign of good direction. Lovely to look at and fun to watch, this is not a great film: just a very good and entertaining one.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It works because it's smart, knows it's smart, announces to us that it's smart - then backs off and lets the suspense and dark comedy mix."
- David Cornelius (eFilmCritic.com)

Cropsey (2009)

At a glance:
A compact, focused documentary about a string of child murders on Staten Island in the 1980s

Our review (with spoilers):
Staten Island, New York, the dumping ground the city’s garbage (and for corpses from mob hits) also was somewhat of a dumping ground for deviates, perhaps – or maybe they just had their fair share. In the mid 1980s, one or more of these crazed people was kidnapping and killing children. Their preference was for kids with mental handicaps. If the killer was Andre Rand, the man arrested and convicted of two of the murders, then the reason was that he felt that the children were not wanted and that they were better off dead. Rand’s crazed ideas were formed because he worked for a time at a horrific mental institution and saw this first hand. Rand may or may not have been the killer; he never admitted to it, and the body of the second girl (and of the other murdered children) was never found.

Directors Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman capture the sense of community on the island by using new and archival footage. Their vigilant efforts to interview Rand showcase their dogged documentarian pursuit of facts.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Brancaccio and Zeman don't offer any easy answers, merely throwing all of the many issues of the story of Cropsey into a melting pot of danger, terror, and secrecy."
- Brian Tallerico (Movie Retriever)

Solitary Man (2009)

Movie quotes:
Ben Kalmen: You got your little jokes, you know, the Spanish thing, interests are the same, and the studying. But, um, are you getting it, you know, where it counts?
Maureen: Oh, Ben. Cheston thinks you care about him.
Ben Kalmen: This has nothing to do with him. He's never gonna know about this. Never.
Maureen: Aren't you a little old for all this?
Ben Kalmen: You're still standing here, aren't you?
Maureen: Yeah, 'cause I'm contemplating throwing this drink in your face. But I'm not going to, because I don't want Cheston to know what you just tried. So you can just walk away. Please.
Ben Kalmen: Nothing personal.
Maureen: Hey. That is it, actually. Since you asked, that's what I get from him. Something personal. Besides getting it done where it counts, which he does. Cheston and I reach each other. He's tender and sweet and smart and funny and a million things that you aren't.
Ben Kalmen: I was once, honey. It doesn't last.

At a glance:
Michael Douglas is captivating as a morality-challenged middle aged man in this solid drama

Our review (with spoilers):
Nobody plays self-centered better than Michael Douglas, and in this tour-de-force performance, he’s at the top of his game. He plays serial womanizer Ben, who was once a big player in car sales, with a string of successful dealerships and cover shots on Time Magazine and Forbes. But when middle age is in full bloom, he is unable to deal with thoughts of aging or death, and instead embarks on a quest to bed as many 19 year old girls as possible, despite being married to Nancy (Susan Sarandon). Other morals go out the window as well, and when he is caught in a business fraud, his life spirals downward.

A talented cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Danny DeVito, Jenna Fischer, and Imogen Poots bring depth to this story, but Douglas, who is in every scene, is captivating. Despite his age, he has an amazing presence and strength; it is still believable that he could seduce women one-third his age (although this may be the last movie of this kind he can make).

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"You'd think Michael Douglas has played the charming cad on screen once too often, but damned if he doesn't pull it off once more in grand style."
- Moira MacDonald (Seattle Times)

Ballad (2009)

At a glance:
A young boy is transported back from modern day Japan to feudal times where he is befriended by a brave Samuai

Our review (with spoilers):
In modern day Japan, a young boy named Shinichi (Akashi Takei) is transported back to feudal times. Befriended by brave Samurai Iriri (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi), he is soon embroiled in a war between rival houses. At stage is the beautiful Princess Ren (Yui Aragaki), who loves Ijiri but may have to end up with a brutal warlord Takagora (Mitsuru Fukikoshi). Ballad has limited production values, but it hides these behind a strong story and dedicated acting.

From what I can tell, Ballad is/was a TV movie in Japan. It is geared toward a family audience, and although that is evident, it does not condescend. At a little over two hours, it perhaps overstays its welcome slightly; the final one-third contains a lot of posturing and is glacially paced, but part of this may be a cultural thing – there is, I believe, a need for all this posturing, and this film is not made for an international audience.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"I liked the way the past meets the future in "Ballad" — with lively curiosity, but otherwise not a lot of fuss."
- Mark Schilling (The Japan Times)

After.Life (2009)

Movie quotes:
Eliot Deacon: It's only a hole in the ground. It's for...
Jack: Miss Taylor.
Eliot Deacon: Exactly. For Anna. She belongs here.
Eliot Deacon: Because she's dead?
Jack: No, because there's no life left in her.

At a glance:
There’s a great concept (about life and afterlife) and a stellar cast buried within this plodding, illogical film

Our review (with spoilers):
Anna (Christina Ricci) is a detached young woman who is unhappy for an unexplained reason. Her attitude is negatively affecting her relationship with her boyfriend Paul (Justin Long). After an argument, Anna drives at night while crying and wakes up in the morgue. Although she seems to be breathing, speaking, and walking around wearing a lovely little satin undergarment, the undertaker (Liam Neeson) keeps assuring her that she is dead, and he is there to ease her from life into death.

The bottom line is that this is all boring. We don’t know anything about Anna’s backstory other than she is depressed. And she’s frustrating to watch, because every time she has a chance to do something, she backs down. Stab the undertaker with scissors? Talked out of it. About to escape out the door (twice!)? Changes her mind. She yells often in the film, but the one time she does not say anything: when Paul is just outside the door, banging on it after just having yelled her name a few times. All of this behavior is trying to fool the audience into thinking she is dead, but (and yes, don’t read ahead) she is actually alive, so it’s all a big joke and her behavior makes no sense. She does not pee or poo or get hungry or thirsty. All of these would have been proof that she was alive. So the scriptwriter simply leaves them out.

After.Life is another one of those films that would end in five minutes if any one of the characters did anything rational. For example, at a conciliatory dinner with her boyfriend, Anna storms out in anger when she finds out he is being transferred to Chicago. Paul is trying to tell her that he wants her to come with – this is obvious to everyone but Anna not only from his body language but also from his tone of voice – but the movie conspires to make it impossible for him to impart that vital piece of information. Of course, if he did, she wouldn’t get into the car accident, and they had to get her to the morgue (while blaming her temper and her boyfriend for putting her there, I suppose). In another laugh-producing scene, Anna steals the mortician’s keys. When he leaves in his van, she begins cycling through them, trying to get out. Instead of systematically trying each key, she tries to force them and manages to break one in half. Even given this ridiculous behavior, how long does it take to try 20 keys in a door? As she tries, it is intercut with Eliot at a graveyard, then driving to get gas, and paying the attendant. She had time to calmly try 100 keys during this period.

On the positive side, there’s no denying that director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo is technically exquisite. Each scene is filmed with careful attention to detail. And of course I applaud her for getting Ricci to take all her clothes and spend much of the movie that way.

Rating: 1 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"But toward the end, when we realize that the entire reality of the film is problematical, there is a certain impatience. It's as if our chain is being yanked."
- Roger Ebert

Passenger Side (2009)

At a glance:
Quiet, gentle, and rewarding, Passenger Side is a character study of two brother who share little more than blood

Our review (with spoilers):
Passenger Side cruises along the roads of the greater LA area, as two brothers, a study in contrasts, go on an all day tour. Toby (Joel Bissonette) is looking for Linda, a former girlfriend who wants to get back together. Michael (Adam Scott) is driving him from acquaintance to acquaintance. As is often the way with family, these are two guys that we’re pretty sure would not be in the same car together if they were not related. Toby likes to live on the edge; he’s a recovering alcoholic who has a few weird friends – like the tranny who gets into Michael’s car and proceeds to get off. Toby has a serenity that is fully lacking from Michael’s personality. Michael is almost depressed, troubled, almost catatonic. He doesn’t hate life but the most you could say is that he is tolerating it. His low self-esteem is masked but evident. Occasionally, Michael stops to leave a message for his girlfriend, who never answers the phone.

This severely naturalistic buddy movie is unique in that it is a pure character study, driven totally by a need to slowly reveal who these two people are and what they mean to each other. Scott has a relaxed charm in his acting that always masks suppressed anger and perhaps confusion. Bissonette, for his part, feels even more relaxed. These guys almost transcend acting. They are simply living, and, like real life, complications sometimes ensue. It’s a quiet, minimalist film that nonetheless has the ability to touch with its sparseness and heartfelt emotion.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"An intriguing and funny ride that doesn't hit you over the head trying to be one thing or another."
- Jim Slotek (Jam! Movies)

Four Boxes (2009)

At a glance:
This low-budget film squeezes heaps of suspense and intrigue from live action combined with a voyeuristic website

Our review (with spoilers):
Trevor (Justin Kirk) is a privacy fence salesman during the week. His weekends are spent rummaging through stuff belonging to the recently dead. On this particular weekend, he and his partner Rob (Sam Rosen) rummage through a house that presents mysteries. There are scrawled notes from a depressed soul, intriguing collections of nuts and bolts, and weird line patterns that might be coded clues. Meanwhile, Rob is into this cool website called Four Boxes – four hidden camera views of an apartment that used to belong to a young, often nude girl, and that now seems to be populated by two very suspicious terrorist types. Rob hooks Trevor into watching too, and soon Trevor is starting to formulate his own theories about what is going on in Four Boxes. Meanwhile, complications ensue when Rob brings Amber (Terryn Westbrook) into the house. Amber used to go out with Trevor and the awkward factor ramps up when she is there, along with the sexual tension.

I won’t ruin anything with Four Boxes so that you can enjoy it as much as I did, but let me say that writer/director Wyatt McDill proves that he can make an effective thriller with little more than a one-house setting, a few clues, and a love triangle dynamic – and that’s impressive. The only drawback to such effective tension building is that it is almost impossible for the resolution to avoid being a letdown – and through some careful morality, this is just avoided here.

Rating:  2.75 of 4

Collapse (2009)

At a glance:
Michael Ruppert’s theories on the wayward path of the human race are a prescient warning of things to come, and a fascinating look at a man obsessed

Our review (with spoilers):
The simple way to define Michael Ruppert with a sound bite is as a ‘conspiracy theorist’. But this is the simple way out. He is an intelligent, emotional man who feels passionately that the human race is way off course. Agribusiness, back-ended home loan, reliance on oil – all of this, he reasons, will come crashing down unless we quickly clear our minds and find solutions to the problems. It’s a tribute to his passion and gift of speech that this film survives as one long interview. Ruppert is almost completely negative about the future of the human race until the last few minutes, when he posits the changes that need to occur to keep us from ending in total self-inflicted holocaust. Perhaps things will not be as bad as his soliloquy makes them out to be, but he makes a compelling case, especially since we have already witnessed the global crash of 2007. Either way, it is a fascinating study of a man obsessed with convincing 100 monkeys of his version of the truth.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Whether you consider Ruppert prophetic or paranoid, hearing his sobering thoughts on the collapse of industrialized civilization is a thought-provoking experience. Thought-provoking and scary."
- Liz Braun (Jam! Movies)

The Wild Hunt (2009)

At a glance:
A role-playing game turns from sincere acting to deadly bloodletting in first time director Alexandre Franchi’s amazing low-budget tale

Our review (with spoilers):
In a universe of cookie cutter genre pics, The Wild Hunt, small budget and all, stands out. It tells a tale of Evelyn (Kaniehtiio Horn), a young woman who breaks up with her boyfriend Eric (Ricky Mabe) and takes part in a LARP (Live Action Role Playing) game with a bunch of guys who seem to be rougher than usual of these sorts of people. She is a Viking queen, the captured wench of Murtagh (Trevor Hayes), a powerful sorcerer. She’s enjoying herself but is also spurning his advances. It’s like a little mini-holiday for her from her more serious, aborted relationship. When Eric goes in search of her and enters the role-playing world in contemporary clothing, he is surrounded by game players and pelted with unending shouts of "decorum!" until he returns to the entrance and dons the proper gear. He’s not exactly an enthusiastic game player still, but he is singularly dedicated to his rescue mission, and he has the help of his enthusiastic LARPer brother, Bjorn (Mark Antony Krupa).

This could have been a light-hearted look at relationships framed within a tame LARP world, but the disruption of the game, combined with a darker side of some of the players, causes the stakes to escalate into life and death. Recited oaths of blood and courage suddenly become real, and the film turns to dark, claustrophobic horror.

I wish I had not known in advance that this film was going to morph from an intense but harmless drama into dark and sporadically violent nightmare. The shock of the change would have been even more intense. As it is, the story at the heart of this tale feels ancient, like a Nordic war fable, and the resolution, though violent, just feels so right. It’s been a long time since pure eye-for-an-eye has made me feel so good inside. The film is far from perfect – Krupa, although good, is sometimes just a bit over the top – but the acting generally is at an extremely high level for a low budget film (partial credit for this must go to director Alexandre Franchi - whenever you see an entire cast of newcomer actors performing at a high level, that usually means someone is helping to ensure this) and this superior acting made the personal stories stay with me long after the credits rolled. Franchi, please do more!

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"First-time feature filmmaker Alexandre Franchi shoots the outdoors amazingly claustrophobically — an almost-oxymoric effect that contributes to the unsettling atmosphere of The Wild Hunt."
- Jim Slotek (Jam! Movies)

The Joneses (2009)

At a glance:
Consumer culture is skewered in this fabled love story about an unusual family dedicated to getting their acquaintances to buy

Our review (with spoilers):
An affluent suburb in Somewhere, America, has just received a new resident family moving in. Steve and Kate Jones (David Duchovny and Demi Moore) and their two high school aged kids are comely, happy, friendly, and have all the latest clothes, accessories, furnishings, gadgets, and cars – and don’t mind showing them off. They seem to get just a little more chuffed when people they mix with buy the same items they are flaunting. What’s going on here? Is this just normal viral consumerism, or is it something more?

The Joneses’ script relies on one big important secret, and the reveal used to hint at the secret involves the daughter and is quite ingenious – and perverse. And the Joneses success or failure as a film relies on the acquired taste of Duchovny’s underplayed desire for love and family. It works for me, especially when it is balanced by Moore’s similarly underplayed desires. On the surface, she’s all – or mostly – business. But her eyes tell a different story. Both of these people can act. And Duchovny’s easygoing charm perfectly offsets Moore’s slowly eroding ambition.

This latter day Duchovny reminds me more and more of a good friend of mine from my bowling days, Ron Wagner. Ron has the same easygoing charm and nonchalant attitude about almost everything, punctuated by bursts of enthusiasm. Like Duchovny’s Steve Jones, Ron also would have found his enthusiasm stoked by Demi Moore, whose looks and confidence are appealing.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Moore looks fabulous in a role that plays to her strengths as a feisty, independent woman, and she generates on-screen heat with Duchovny to make the conventional happy ending easier to swallow."
- Catherine Jones (Liverpool Echo)

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call: New Orleans (2009)

Movie quotes:
"Right now, I’m working on about an hour and a half sleep over the past three days, and I’m still trying to remain courteous, but I’m beginning to think that that’s getting in the way of my being effective."
- McDonagh

Chavez: Are you all right?
McDonagh: Sometimes I have bad days.

At a glance:
Werner Herzog is the perfect man to direct Nicolas Cage’s gratuitous bad cop wallow in depravity and excess

Our review (with spoilers):
Nicolas Cage is about as bad a lieutenant as humanly possible. We see him briefly in the opening scene – he talks tough, but at least he is willing to dive into snake-infested water to rescue a drowning convict. But that dive causes a life-long back problem that spirals him into a world of prescription and non-prescription drugs. He has no qualms about using the power of his badge and gun to steal drugs from anyone who is in possession, and have sex with their girlfriend, too. Absolute powe corrupts absolutely, and perhaps he could have gone on with this depraved lifestyle forever, but he makes two mistakes. First, he threatens and harasses an old woman whose son is a senator. And second, he steals drugs from a guy who is close with the mafia. Soon, he is being blackmailed for 50 large, while at the same time, his gun is taken away and he is under investigation. Perhaps worse than that, his girlfriend Frankie (Eva Mendez) has been talking to his father, a reforming alcoholic, and now she has started going to AA meetings with him. Yet despite all his side trips into self-gratification, he’s still a good detective dedicated to solving the murder of a Senegalese immigrant family – even if it means he’s doing drug deals with the guys who did it.

Cage, who has recently been looking increasing haggard as various action heroes with much younger girlfriends, finally gets to play a part that both suits his current look, and allows him to chew scenery, something he does so well. He’s still got a young girlfriend, except this time it makes sense, as they are both addicts and he’s more of her pimp/protector, anyway. And who better to direct Cage in this role than a man who loves to document and live extremes, Werner Herzog?

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Becomes bizarrely comical as it gets increasingly depraved. But Herzog's deliberately bonkers approach, matched by Cage's hammy performance, is strangely entertaining."
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

At a glance:
Jim Carrey throws his all at playing famous con man Steven Russell in this lighthearted, sometimes hilarious romp through scams, prison, and love

Our review (with MAJOR spoilers):
Note: Please watch the movie first before reading any further!

Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) presents a compelling argument for nurture versus nature. Abandoned as a child, his life is shaped by deception and lies. He seems to be happily, passionately married to Debbie (Leslie Mann), but he’s living a double life. Some of his hidden moves are on the other side of the law. When he is arrested and incarcerated, he meets and falls in love with fellow inmate Phillip (Ewan McGregor), a sweet man whose naive nature has been taken advantage of before. Steven swears to protect him, but the only way he knows how is with money made from scams. Of course, that ends up having the opposite effect.

The film’s first 20 minutes are absolutely hilarious, especially if you have not been spoiled by a review like this one. Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa set a buoyant, lighthearted tone, deviate from it when required, and return to it, making for a true start-to-finish film experience. There are a couple of moments that may offend some people by making light of illness – but comedy does that sometimes – and it’s worth it for the surprise. Plus it’s based on a true story.

This is a wondrous starring role for Carrey, who gets to combine his gift for comedy (and, occasionally, his talent for bending his body into amusing shapes) with his latter day ability to create a sincere character. McGregor, one of my favorite actors, gets to play gay ‘straight’ here – not taking part in the comic side of things at all. Carrey’s character is based on a true person/story – check out the Steven Jay Russell wiki article for more information.

Rating:  3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It's the comic role of a lifetime for Jim Carrey, who apparently worked for union rates in order to help the film get made."
- Catherine Bray (Film4)

Defendor (2009)

Movie quotes:
"When you break the law, you’re a punk. When you break the law with a badge, you’re a punk with a badge. I don’t strike officers. Punks…different story."
- Defendor

At a glance:
Woody Harrelson’s Forrest Gump like performance as a mentally challenged superhero has some amusing moments, but the emotional impact just isn’t there

Our review (with spoilers):
Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) is a simple-minded man named who lives on the fringes of society and believes that when he dons his moniker (Defendor), his black eye makeup mask and elaborate hand-made costume, he’s a better man – and a superhero. He fights crime, corruption, and bullying wherever he finds it in the big city, and in this fictional big city amalgamation of all big cities, it’s easy to find.

Defendor’s powers are somewhat limited (marbles, an ancient bully club, and swarms of hornets) ; his crime-fighting forays often earn him a beating – but there’s no doubt he has the heart and the morals of a superhero. His simple-minded quest to find and defeat ‘Captain Industry’ is not some comic-fueled fantasy, however: it is a deep need within him based on facts from his childhood. And Captain Industry is a real, dangerous drug dealer and cold-blooded killer; it seems like Defendor is in way over his head this time.

During his quest, he is adopted (or vice versa) by Kat (Kat Denning) a young hooker who alternates between doing drugs and dealing with some rough johns. Kat moves in with him for a fee – she provides info on Captain Industry - and their symbiotic relationship slowly grows into a deeper friendship.

Defendor the movie isn’t wholly successful, perhaps because it can’t seem to decide if it wants to poke fun at or sanctify its hero. Through glimpses of Arthur’s childhood, we see a truly sad story of a boy who is neglected and never nurtured. But then, the film itself treats him in a similar manner. Likewise, undercover narc Chuck Dooney (Elias Koteas) is treated similarly – his character is written to be s stupid as to be completely unbelievable. I enjoyed Harrelson’s performance, but the emotional punch just wasn’t there for me. I connected more with Michael Kelly’s supporting work as Arthur’s concerned, brotherly employer.

Rating:  2.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The low-budget movie continually shifts from comic-book spoof to gritty crime story to mental-health drama, the inconsistent tone preventing it from ever fully working as one or another."
- David Germain (Associated Press)

In the Electric Mist (2009)

Movie quotes:
"That’s a beautiful child, Dave. By the time she’s 18 years old, your hair gonna be solid white – if there’s any of it left."
- Batist

"I came to accept that the general, as Bootsie had said, was only a figment of my imagination, there to remind me out of the distant past that the contest is never quite over; the field never quite ours."
- Dave Robicheaux

At a glance:
Local sheriff Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones) steadfastly pursues justice in the present and the past as he trudges through his Louisiana backwater attempting to unravel twin mysteries in this moody, deliberate, effective thriller

Our review (with spoilers):
If you lived in a small southern town in Louisiana, you would want Dave Robicheaux  (Tommy Lee Jones) to be your local sheriff. Seasoned, smart, compassionate, incorruptible, and tough as nails, he treats each crime as a personal challenge to get to the truth and find the culprit – no matter who objects. He puts just as much effort into solving the current spate of grisly serial murders of young women as he does into solving the long-standing mystery of why a black man was gunned down in a bayou swamp. You might not want to be this guy’s wife and family, however – long-suffering wife Bootsie (Mary Steenburgen) begins to worry more and more as Dave’s obsession grows, his nights get longer, and the danger he places himself in multiplies.

In this unabashed starring role for Jones, he limps through every scene like a gimpy bloodhound, his sad eyes and sharp nose for crime leading him slowly and deliberately into a deeper swamp of cover-ups and lies. The film is atypically directed by Bernard Tavernier, who brings a welcome, unrushed, non-Hollywood approach to the storytelling. There’s nothing flashy here to distract from Jones’ ultra solid performance, allowing him to carry the film (with help from John Goodman, in another effective supporting role).

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Even though the film meanders a bit, the skilful direction and camerawork combine with strong acting to create an engaging, insinuating thriller"
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

Dread (2009)

Movie quotes:
"Someone once wrote that no man can know his own death, but to know the death of others…intimately – to watch the tricks the mind would surely perform to avoid the bitter truth – that was a clue to death’s nature…wasn’t it?"
- Quaid

At a glance:
Good performances, writing, and direction combine to make Dread a winning combination of psychological drama and sadistic gore

Our review (with spoilers):
Quaid (Shaun Evans) has been hiding from his past – when he was six, his parents were killed by an axe murderer - as he watched. Now he has inspired Stephen (Jackson Rathbone) to undertake an unusual film project –interviewing people about their greatest fears, about what they truly dread. Driven by Quaid, the film stops being something light to fulfill Stephen’s school assignment, and instead bares the souls of those who are interviewed, and of those making the film. Quaid also wants to deal with his own fears – the film project is part of it, and flushing his copious medications accelerates the unpredictable results of his ramped up aggression.

There’s much to think about and beautiful prose to provoke us in the Dread script – kudos to writer/director Anthony DiBlasi, who adapted a short story of the same name by horror guru Clive Barker. The interesting character interplay is punctuated by quick moments of sheer nightmare gore, fostered by Quaid’s dark past and nurtured in his future.

Now, those of you who know me know I don’t really like the more sadistic and gory aspects of horror films, nor do I particularly like getting cheap scares caused by noise combined with clever editing. So why am I watching (and reviewing) horror films? Good question, one that will especially be asked by those of you who love them, and particularly by those of you who love this one. Well, this one IS good – I give you that. I love these films in their ‘suspense’ modes, when we are waiting for something really bad to happen, but we don’t know if or when. When those really bad things happen, however, I don’t like to watch. I think about copycats during these moments. I don’t mind nightmare images, but I do mind people being sadistic. Dread has some heavy sadism, but I watched, because it was attached to  interesting characters with back stories. And it was still intriguing to see just how far they would go. And they do go far. Unfortunately, some horror critics felt the film meandered. They don’t enjoy the buildup of suspense as much as I do. Go figure.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Directed in an un-showy, controlled fashion with understated use of music and a total absence of contrived shock effects, Dread is a very impressive piece of work."
- Steven West (The Horror Review)

A Serious Man (2009)

Movie quotes:
Clive Park: Very difficult... very difficult...
Larry Gopnik: Well, I... I'm sorry, but I... what do you propose?
Clive Park: Passing grade.
Larry Gopnik: No no, I...
Clive Park: Or perhaps I can take the mid-term again. Now I know it covers mathematics.
Larry Gopnik: Well, the other students wouldn't like that, would they, if one student gets to retake the test till he gets a grade he likes?
Clive Park: Secret test.
Larry Gopnik: No, I'm afraid...
Clive Park: Hush-hush.

"That's right, things aren't so bad. Look at the parking lot, Larry. Just look at that parking lot."
- Rabbi Scott

At a glance:
A Serious Man, another original entry in the Coen Brother’s oeuvre, uses black humor to prove the futility of contemplating the meaning of your life

Our review (with spoilers):
Larry (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a serious man, and his life is about to unravel, much to his surprise. His tenure is jeopardized by a student who offers him a bribe, and by anonymous letters written to the tenure committee. His wife informs him that things have not been good for some time, and, of course, she has developed a friendship and a bit more with Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). It’s only logical that Larry move out so as not to disrupt the lives of the two children, one of whom, Danny (Aaron Wolff) is about to be barmitzvahed. Normally, it would be fortunate to be having these kinds of problems and to be Jewish as well, for the Jews can turn to their strong communal faith, and to the shared wisdoms of their rabbis, for guidance (although in this case, the only help Larry receives from his rabbis is in the form of obscure metaphors about parking lots, or unrelated anecdotes about goy teeth.

The Coen brothers have created a wonderful anti-Hollywood movie. Unconcerned with the narrative or with any kind of standard, expected beginning, middle or end, they instead lead you on a journey through a slice of life / collection of vignettes. Some of the best parts of the journey are populated by the lovely, softly deep, mesmerizing voice of Melamed. And, as usual, the Coens have assembled an unusual looking and unusually talented cast of actors (another standout is Sari Lennick as Larry’s wife Judith).

There’s a higher level of accessibility to this Coen Brothers' offering. We can all relate to how that unpredictable thing called life throws random events at us and tasks us to deal with them as best we can – which sometimes is not very well.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"If there is a moral to this story, it is that trying to make sense of life is a foolish endeavor doomed to failure."
- Robert Roten (Laramie Movie Scope)

The Vicious Kind (2009)

Movie quotes:
Donald: Trespass on my property again, and I will shoot you.
Caleb: Better work on your aim, then.

"I swear to god, if you fuck him up, I will dig a hole, and I will put you in it!"
- Caleb to Emma

"You alright, Caleb? Never seen you throw a hammer like that."
- J.T. (Vittorio Brahm)

"I just wish I could get over this…strange compulsion to protect Peter, you know, because…the only way I know how to do that is to…to hurt him."
- Caleb

At a glance:
The Vicious Kind is an intriguing character study of two brothers: one a bitter misogynist, and the other a naïve, puppy-dog virgin – and of the woman who is a love interest to both of them

Our review (with spoilers):
Caleb (Adam Scott) plays the brutal, dominant big brother to his virgin sibling Peter (Alex Frost). Caleb isn’t very happy about anything; but mostly, he’s angry at all women, since his girlfriend just cheated on him. Now Peter has a new girlfriend, Emma (Brittany Snow) who looks just like Caleb’s old one. Caleb sees it as his mission to save Peter from getting hurt like he did, but he’s also intensely attracted to Emma. His moods range from bitingly sarcastic to weeping to adoring to threatening and aggressive. It isn’t helping that he hasn’t slept in over a week.

The Vicious Kind is all about studying Caleb’s character, wondering what kind of a man he is, wondering what is going on inside his head and what he is capable of. For a while, Caleb’s character is intriguing shades of gray and black. Then it appears that he’s just psychotic. Then he seems to get a better grasp of reality for awhile. As his obsession with Emma becomes more transparent, we can see his appeal. He’s the wild, crazy brother, the big risk, the outlaw. Emma can see it too, and although she maintains her disgust on the outside, we know she finds Caleb very appealing.

Finally, without giving too much away, I’m not completely convinced at the plausibility in the path on which the Vicious Kind leads its characters. But then, it’s all about the journey anyway, and the journey is intriguing. Writer/Director Lee Toland Krieger makes it so by wringing sincere, stirring performances from his cast.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"What lifts this trenchant dramedy out of the ordinary are Krieger's ear for dialogue and Adam Scott's breakthrough performance as a family's black sheep seemingly intent on earning that bad rap."
- Pam Grady (Boxoffice Magazine)

Avatar (2009)

Movie quotes:

"Just relax and let your mind go blank. That shouldn't be too hard for you."
- Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver)

At a glance:
Avatar creates a stunningly original and beautiful 3-D paradise, then sadly destroys it with fire, noise, and cardboard caricatures

Our review (with spoilers):
At 175 minutes, Avatar is lengthy enough to be two movies. In fact, it basically is two movies. In this imaginative universe, a mining company is tasked to take what they need from a pristine land and to eliminate any indigenous people that get in their way. The first two hours, although burdened with a script that fires off every movie cliché and classic situation one after the other, still is a triumph of 3-D visuals over substance. This beautiful world is populated by computer-generated indigenous tribes and visited by humans (inside indigenous-lookalike shells called Avatars). One man, Sully (Sam Worthington) seems the least likely to infiltrate this simpler, spiritual culture – after all, he’s a former marine. But his warrior skills come in handy, and he slowly warms to the parts of the culture that worship the forest and the trees. But Sully is conflicted. Even as he is falling in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and the Na’vi culture, he is also delivering intelligence to General Quaritch (Stephen Lang, in a strikingly effective role), the no-nonsense former jarhead in charge of strong-armed military operations for the mining company.

There are emotional hooks galore in the first two-thirds of Avatar. Sully in the human world is confined to a wheelchair; there is great joy in seeing him within his Avatar body for the first time, running, jumping, unencumbered. His slow transformation into one of the indigenous people is somewhat less effective. The concept of creating lab-hatched indigenous bodies and then controlling them via mind links has many more possibilities than were realized here. This film would have benefited from a bit more juxtaposition. Rather than spending the last hour in a long, loud, fire fight, mostly between outmatched tribes bouncing poison arrows off armored helicopters, what if some of the baddies, like Quaritch, were forced to live as an Avatar? Could Quaritch have reached an understanding of the Na’vi culture? And if not, wouldn’t it have been satisfying to see the people whom he devastated deliver his just desserts? The emotional punch from a redemption story like that would have been much stronger than from all guns blazing. Still, this is the price we pay for the way movies are made in Hollywood today. With an estimated budget of 280 million dollars, director James Cameron would not be allowed to take any risks. He has to create a product that will have action, action, action (this ensures strong overseas box office) and he must play it safe, or he would never be able to get that kind of backing. To his credit, he did achieve the goal of beating all existing box office records (besting his own Titanic). No matter what else you think, this guy knows how to make an epic blockbuster.

Avatar could have been a much quieter masterpiece. But let’s take it for what it is. It is still a landmark film for its visuals. And most people will ignore the script deficiencies and just enjoy the epic scale. It’s easier to do so when you get more of an appreciation for the technological leaps that were made to make this groundbreaking film. Check out this link for more information on the making of
Avatar.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"As superbly rendered as his 3D world is, Cameron has populated it with characters who are strictly 2D. And sometimes not even that."
- Jim Schembri (The Age [Australia])