I’ll admit it. This is one of those things that I am quite frankly a sucker for. I’ve always been in love with these settings. Sometimes they’re nuclear wastelands. Sometimes the world was washed away by a natural disaster. And in other films, the origin of the apocalypse is left a mystery. In any case, I will always tend to gravitate towards these films.I think it has something to do with the anarchy of it all. On second thought, I’m sure that’s what it is. If we are truly left to our own devices and really have to fend for ourselves, who would survive? Would we naturally build a new hierarchy or digress further into lawlessness? Rest assured one thing we can all count on: I will be eating people.
Hey remember when Mel Gibson wasn’t spouting drunken racial slurs and verbally abusing his wife’s breast implants? Well, the year was 1981 and the film was Mad Max’s sequel: “The Road Warrior”, directed by George Miller. We’ve probably all seen this one a few times but regardless, it deserves another look. This film contains a lot of action scenes that have proven themselves to stand the test of time. You have and undoubtedly will continue to see homage paid to this film’s chase sequences all over action flicks. It’s more than just a dumb action flick though. It’s a dumb post apocalyptic action flick that’s totally awesome.
Next up we travel to post apocalyptic France. Jean Pierre Juenet and Marc Caro’s Delicatessen (1991) is a black comedy that takes place in a small apartment building above a delicatessen. The residents of the apartment make up a quirky microcosm that uses food for currency and people for food. The main character is a clown that comes to work for the landlord as a handyman, unaware that he is intended as the resident’s next meal. The landlord/butcher’s daughter falls in love with him and has to figure out a way to foil her father’s plan. I absolutely love this film and it turned me on to one of my favorite European filmmakers, Jean Pierre Juenet. He would later collaborate again with Caro on “The City of Lost Children.”
Shakespeare has had many cinematic adaptations. Kenneth Branagh has directed several literal adaptations of various works. Baz Luhrmann’s ”Romeo + Juliet” was a modern day retelling that used the original dialogue and Julie Taymore’s “Titus (Andonicus)” was sort of a semi-modern meta retelling of the classic play. And if you really look at it, “The Taming of the Shrew” is the primary basis for a huge percentage of romantic comedies we see today. So this week, I wanted to take a look at a couple of retellings of one of my favorite plays: Macbeth.
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
--Macbeth, Act V, scene v
Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa is your favorite director’s favorite director. He was very influenced by Shakespeare’s work and has done a couple of adaptations. Probably his best film, “Ran” (1985) is based on “King Lear.” But, I’m actually more of a fan of his Macbeth adaptation titled “Throne of Blood” (1957). Like “Ran”, he transfers the story to medieval Japan. The story follows Lord Washizu’s rise to power after being foretold his fortune by a mysterious old woman he meets in the Cobweb forest. The lead is played perfectly by Kurosawa’s favorite actor, Toshiro Mifune. And his Lady Washizu, played by Isuzu Yamada was quite frankly haunting. I think just behind “High and Low”, this is my 2nd favorite from the truly legendary director. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a huge favor.
Next up we have a truly modern retelling of the same story. This one just happens to be much more on the lighter side. “Scotland, PA” (2001) stars James LeGros, Maura Tierney and Christopher Walken in the early 70’s Scotland, Pennsylvania (Shakespeare’s source for the story was the 11th century King Macbeth of Scotland). Bad Company provides the soundtrack and the tragic tale is used to tell the story of the invention of the drive-through restaurant. I really love this film. Christopher Walken is fantastic as Lieutenant McDuff and Maura Tierney plays the Lady McBeth part very impressively. It’s fun to see how essentially the same story of a rise to power and subsequent fall can be told with a comedic ambiance that Shakespeare was also so well known for. It hits all of the same plot point as the source material, just hilariously.
A brief review of the films I saw at this year’s festival. I didn’t see quite as many as I would have liked to but all in all, I would have to say that this was a good year.
Square Grouper: The Godfathers of Ganja – This was a very well put together documentary about the marijuana smuggling industry in Florida. It tells three separate stories about people who all have been caught and sentenced over the past forty years or so. One thing I found interesting about this film was the lack of traditional narrative. It seemed to allow old news footage of the stories to be in the place that you would expect to hear a voice over. Some of the footage was very old and at times I thought I was watching this on youtube but overall it told three very engaging stories that should perk the interest of anyone. 4 out of 5 stars. This film is available on Netflix soon so keep a look out.
Terri – Here we have a very odd film about an overweight and extremely socially awkward high school student. It’s not a whole lot more than a little slice of life that at times seems to drudge along a bit too slow. The clear savior of this flick is the performance of John C. Reilly. He kept me entertained as the off the wall assistant principal. It was a much more reserved performance than we’ve seen from him before and I think it allowed his delivery to shine through. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil – This was definitely the most fun I had at the festival this year. This is a comedy/horror film about that is centered on the two titular characters trying to have a nice weekend in the woods. They run into a group of college kids that mistake the two for some sort of psycho hillbilly serial killers that kidnapped one of their friends. This cinematic cocktail made up of one part slapstick, one part, slasher film and garnished with a healthy dose of bromance really hit the right spot for me. It also gets major bonus points for starring Firefly’s Alan Tudyk. 5 out of 5 stars.
Kill the Irishman – I actually had some high hopes for this film. It stars Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer, Vincent D’onfrio and Christopher Walken. It’s a Cleveland mob story about a union organizer and his rise through the ranks of the underworld. Unfortunately, I lost interest in this film very early on.Essentially, it’s a long biopic about a relatively interesting character that felt pretty mishandled. You can find every tired old organized crime trope here. And most of the film had very low production value. Flash animation explosions, bad acting (even from good actors) and a predictable screenplay are the primary ingredients that make up this film that will take up more than two hours of your time. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Pablo’s Hippos – So, you know how they always say that pot documentaries are the gateway drug to harder narcotic documentaries? Well, I guess they were right. Once I’d had a taste of that sweet sweet ganja movie, I need something a little more hardcore. How about a documentary that uses animated hippos to tell the story of Columbia’s most notorious cocaine kingpin, Pablo Escobar? This film really captured me. The cartoon hippos serve as the narrator of Columbia’s long struggle with the cocaine industry while the film simultaneously tells us the story of a group of hippos, left over by Escobar’s private zoo. Nobody seems to know what to do with either of them. The juxtaposition of cute cartoon animals and actual footage of carnage on the streets due to the drug wars is often extremely jarring. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Small Town Murder Songs – A sheriff (Peter Stormare) of a small Canadian town is investigating his first murder that may or may not involve his ex-girlfriend. This film was absolutely beautiful to look at. The story was engaging and the acting was spot on. A special mention needs to be made for Bruce Peninsula. This is the band that provided the soundtrack for the film. Their sound is almost indescribable but it works so amazingly well in this film. My only gripe with this film honestly is that it didn’t quite give me enough. I really could have used about another half hour…… even if it would have just been scenery and music. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Rene Goes to Hollywood – I was very intrigued by the synopsis I read of this Georgian film. Rene is a propane salesman by day and a professor of film by night. He keeps footage of his days with a handycam to document the reality he invents. Somewhere along the way, he seems to lose touch with what is real and what he has imagined. Unfortunately, this film seemed to be a bit more than the filmmaker could handle. It very quickly digresses into incoherency. Most of the surreal set pieces were actually very well put together. It’s a shame that the film as a narrative didn’t work very well. 3 out of 5 stars.
Lucky – This is a dark comedy about what happens when your local serial killer wins the big lottery. All of the sudden, the girl he has a crush on stops ignoring him. Colin Hanks stars in this surprisingly good film. Ari Graynor, Mimi Rodgers and Jeffery Tambor also costar. I thought Ari Graynor was actually pitch perfect in this film as the object of the lead’s desire. She was every girl next door that every boy could never help fall in love with. I really had a lot of fun with this film and I hope it gets distribution soon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this get a wide release. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
You don’t hear a lot of in between opinions on this film. It seems that most either fully support this film as a work of cinematic genius. Or they very quickly dismiss it as unoriginal, uninspired, clumsily written and ultimately predictable. Well, I loved it. It was my favorite movie of last year and now that it’s out on DVD and Blu-ray, I can write my review. Again, I warn that this will be spoiler filled so if you have yet to see it, do so then come back.
The score was also pretty impressive. This was basically Clint Mansell doing his best impression of Tchaikovsky. It was important for the music to be telling a slightly different and distorted version of the original “Swan Lake.”Again, we’ll talk about why later. The sound design and editing was incredible. It was this aspect that gave the film most of its horror feel. It seemed to be inspired by some of the best stuff from Cronenberg and Lynch, eerie and unsettling.
This was my favorite shot film of the past year. That gives a lot of reason behind why it was my favorite film outright. The verite handheld feel that we saw with Aronofsky’s last film, “The Wrestler” (also shot by Mathew Libatique) comes back but this time with much more effectiveness and beauty. The way that the actual dancing was shot, especially the final scene really sealed it for me. Typically, a stage production that is filmed will simply show a wide shot, capturing as much in the frame as possible. Then maybe a few close shots. This film actually has the camera dancing with the production. The complexity of the choreography involved in shooting that way is amazing in itself. The fact that this scene was still easy enough to follow and continuously kept it sense of space is so much more impressive. Lest we forget, it also looked flat out beautiful.
I think this is Darren Aronofsky’s best film thus far. I thought “The Wrestler” would have been a perfect film if only the script had been handled better. These films share a lot of similarities. Essentially, we are watching a story about a professional that relies on her body and her youth to succeed. And similarly, the character is aging past her prime and struggling with those challenges. There are also a lot of differences that set this film apart from the latter but I mention the similarities because it makes me curious to see what he makes next. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tackles this theme a third time. Filmmakers love loose trilogies.
So, let’s get into why this film was my favorite of the year. This was one of the best examples of art imitating life imitating art films we’ve had in a long while. The film it reminded me the most of actually was Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games.” Both films for all intents and purposes have the same character. In Haneke’s film, it is the tormenting hostage takers. In this film, it is the Tomas character. They all serve the same purpose, that of a storytelling surrogate. About 20 minutes into “Black Swan” Tomas flat out tells us everything that will happen in this film. At the time, he is speaking of the ballet he is directing, but his words are those of the screenplay, referencing the film that Aronofsky is directing. Foreshadowing is way too subtle a word to describe this and I think a lot of people were put off by this. There’s not a lot of mystery when it comes to what will actually transpire in the rest of the film. The question is how, to what degree and how much of what we are seeing can be taken at face value.
This brings up my next point. One of the more common complaints I’ve heard is in the over the top performances, especially from Cassel and Hershey. I really think this misses the point. It is true that at times Cassel is doing a Snidely Whiplash impersonation and Barbara Hershey is only a few shades away from Carrie’s mom. But, these are only critiques when you are expecting a level of realism that I never thought this film was attempting. As far as I could tell, the vast majority of this story takes place in the Nina’s mind. Either from the pressure of her job or a pre-existing condition that the film doesn’t make clear, she is very quickly digressing into some form of paranoid schizophrenia. Her mind is extremely susceptible to any suggestion and it runs away with it in the form of hallucinations. She has a rash that starts to sprout wings, her reflection in the mirror plays tricks on her and her mom is even invading her sexual fantasies. I tend to be of the impression that this is a portrait of a woman that has had mental issues for a long time. Her mom makes references to a life she gave up to take care of her daughter and as I mentioned before, her room doesn’t really look like that of a grown woman. At one point she actually grabs a handful of stuffed animals and throws them out in a fit, as if to force herself to mature outside of her mind’s own capabilities. This reading is just one of the few that I’ve heard but it seems to me to be the most plausible. It also gives an entirely new meaning to Barbara Hershey’s character. She is portrayed as a monster on the surface of this film. But if you take yourself out of the literal interpretation mindset, she may very well be anything but. This is Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion” meets Powell and Pressburger’s “Red Shoes.” And yes, I’m glad they didn’t put that on the trailer.
This is the week of the 11th Annual Phoenix Film Festival. One of the films I got to catch was a very good Canadian film starring Peter Stormare (Fargo) called “Small Town Murder Songs.” It had a great mood, established and maintained throughout by some amazing music from the band Bruce Peninsula. So I would suggest you keep a lookout for this one. I believe it has already secured distribution and we should see a DVD release at some point. Well in reference to that film, I decided this week would be a good week for a double feature of small town murder films.
'Where is pancake house?'
Our first film is from South Korea’s most famous director, Joon-ho Bong. “Memories of Murder” (2003) is about a small Korean village’s first and only serial killer. The two local detectives are using primarily backwoods techniques and getting no result. A new detective is brought in from Seoul to help but the case proves to be much tougher than anyone had predicted. Joon-ho’s tense direction gives this film a tone of suspense that we have grown accustomed to doing without from Hollywood.At times this film is humorous, even downright silly, but it never fails to come back to its most basic feeling of neo-noir murder mystery.
Our next film is truly a modern classic. Edgar Wright’s “Hot Fuzz” (2007) actually is still my favorite of his three features. “Sean of the Dead” is great and I really enjoyed “Scott Pilgrim” but this one still takes the cake for me. I feel like with any great satire, the humor works best when the author of the joke has respect for what he’s making fun of. This is clearly the case with this film. Make no mistake, “Bad Boys 2” and “Point Break” are poked fun at plenty here. But as we discover in the end, the filmmaker wanted nothing more than to pay homage to the films he has probably watched hundreds of times. If anything, this film proves that over the top, ridiculous action can be intentionally funny….. Not just ironically (Michael Bay) funny.
I’ll admit it. This is one of those things that I am quite frankly a sucker for. I’ve always been in love with these settings. Sometimes they’re nuclear wastelands. Sometimes the world was washed away by a natural disaster. And in other films, the origin of the apocalypse is left a mystery. In any case, I will always tend to gravitate towards these films. I think it has something to do with the anarchy of it all. On second thought, I’m sure that’s what it is. If we are truly left to our own devices and really have to fend for ourselves, who would survive? Would we naturally build a new hierarchy or digress further into lawlessness? Rest assured one thing we can all count on: I will be eating people.
Hey remember when Mel Gibson wasn’t spouting drunken racial slurs and verbally abusing his wife’s breast implants? Well, the year was 1981 and the film was Mad Max’s sequel: “The Road Warrior”, directed by George Miller. We’ve probably all seen this one a few times but regardless, it deserves another look. This film contains a lot of action scenes that have proven themselves to stand the test of time. You have and undoubtedly will continue to see homage paid to this film’s chase sequences all over action flicks. It’s more than just a dumb action flick though. It’s a dumb post apocalyptic action flick that’s totally awesome. 
Next up we travel to post apocalyptic France. Jean Pierre Juenet and Marc Caro’s Delicatessen (1991) is a black comedy that takes place in a small apartment building above a delicatessen. The residents of the apartment make up a quirky microcosm that uses food for currency and people for food. The main character is a clown that comes to work for the landlord as a handyman, unaware that he is intended as the resident’s next meal. The landlord/butcher’s daughter falls in love with him and has to figure out a way to foil her father’s plan. I absolutely love this film and it turned me on to one of my favorite European filmmakers, Jean Pierre Juenet. He would later collaborate again with Caro on “The City of Lost Children.”
