One of the films which was only starting to get a bit of attention when it made its stop at VIFF was Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy.
Reichardt’s Old Joy made quite a splash when it premiered at Rotterdam in 2006, eventually making its way through the festival circuit and onto DVD (care of the good folks at Kino) and with the release of her new film, Reichardt is behing heralded as a “master” of the American independent scene.
I was curious about the film mostly because of Michelle Williams who has, over the years, shown she has great talent and what better way to showcase that talent than to act alongside, mostly, a dog? Wendy and Lucy features Williams as Wendy, a young woman traveling to Alaska and a possibly lucrative job but when her car breaks down in Oregon, Wendy is faced with one stumbing block after another. The film’s limited website goes on to say that the film “addresses issues of sympathy and generosity at the edges of American life, revealing the limits and depths of people’s duty to each other in tough times.”
Taking a look at the female performaces that I’ve seen so far this year, there aren’t many that stand out as having possible award potential and if Williams’ turn here is as strong as the trailer and reviews suggest, I would not be surprised to see her get a nomination. It’s a bit of a reach but one never knows, especially when there have been minor rumblings of another American indie (Ballast) possibly making a run at the awards.
Wendy and Lucy will play at the Film Forum in New York City beginning December 10th and will be followed by a national expansion in early 2009. Here’s hoping we get another chance to see it.
Directors:
Banjong Pisanthanakun (segment director)
Paween Purikitpanya (segment “Tit for Tat”)
Youngyooth Thongkonthun (segment “Happiness”)
Parkpoom Wongpoom (segment “In the Middle” and “Last Fright”) Writers:
Banjong Pisanthanakun (segment “In the Middle”)
Paween Purikitpanya (segment “Tit for Tat”)
Youngyooth Thongkonthun (segment “Happiness”)
Parkpoom Wongpoom (segment “Last Fright”) Starring: Laila Boonyasak, Maneerat Kham-uan, Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, Witawat Singlampong, Pongsatorn Jongwilat, Chon Wachananon Producer: Jira Maligool MPAA Rating: NR Running time: 110 min Country of Origin: Thailand
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Last year’s undeniable front runner for audience favorite at Toronto After Dark was Alone. These same film makers (who also brought you Shutter and Body #19) are bringing more of that same tradition to Toronto After Dark once again with their anthology piece, 4Bia (Phobia), which does toy a bit with the conventional Asian horror themes, but still manages to deliver some good scares as well as bringing about huge laughs and quality film making. Difficult and pointless to review the film as a whole, here’s a taste of what one can expect from each of the four segments in 4Bia… » Read the rest of the entry..
Sorry for the delay in getting the past few 31 Days of Horror out. I’ll be posting all the back dated ones as quickly as possible over the next couple of days.
Imagine waking up to find your father ranting about being an agent of God and that he has been charged with murdering sinners. This is the basic premise behind Bill Paxton’s 2001 horror Frailty.
The movie opens up with Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) wanting to speak to FBI Agent Doyle (Powers Boothe). Meiks believes that his brother Adam (Levi Kreis) is the notorious “God’s Hand” serial killer. He continues to explain that he needs to tell the story of his father and brother now that his brother has committed suicide because he was unable to stop all the “demons”. He explains how he took his brother’s body and buried it in a rose garden as he had promised to do when they were children. The boy’s father explained to them that he was given the power by and angel to know when someone is truly evil. If he touches them he will know and has to act. The angel gave him three objects to help with his quest. He was given gloves to wear so that he can interact with people without always seeing, a lead pipe to knock them unconscious, and an axe to kill them with. The two brothers reacted to this news in completely opposite ways. Adam accepted what his father has to say and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Fenton refused to believe in his father.
The story of the brothers and father is told in flashbacks during the conversation between the older Fenton and Agent Doyle. Both Fenton and Adam are pushed by their father to first witness the killings of these evil beings. Their father tells them that what he is doing is not murder because they are not truly human. By the time the boys have witnessed and participated in a few of the killings Fenton has had enough and he calls the Sheriff in to stop his family. His father kills the Sheriff and blames Fenton and says that it is actual murder because the Sheriff was a good man and that Fenton himself is actually a devil. His Father then tells Fenton that he was told by the angel to destroy Fenton but after Fenton begs for mercy he is locked into the cellar by his father to starve.
A fair amount more happens as the brother’s grow up and Frailty has a fair amount more to say than one would initially believe. It touches on the themes of good versus evil, father and sons and the relationship between brothers. It is a smart classy horror movie that did fairly well in the box office and ended up with pretty positive reviews but for some reason it just fell off the radar once it ended up on DVD. For me it is one of those great WalMart bargain bin finds. It has a strong compelling story with enough scare factor to be a really good horror movie. Plus it does not hurt to have Bill Paxton as a lunatic father waking his kids up in the middle of the night in order to tell them about murdering evil people. I can just imagine my son screaming and running under the bed if I ever woke him up in the middle of the night like that. He would never sleep again.
The latest Movie Club Podcast is now online. Omar “Swarez” Hauksson from Twitch, Sean, Jay and special guest Reed Farrington from Filmjunk and myself (the lone Row Three’r with Andrew prepping for Toronto After Dark and Marina recovering from VIFF) discuss Richard Fleisher‘s post apocalyptic science fiction classic Soylent Green and Michael Mann‘s whistle-blower drama The Insider.
Also, to get started early for the upcoming episode #11 (hey, they are both great Halloween flicks) we will be looking at Fred Dekker‘s slightly difficult to find 80′s genre-bender Night of the Creeps and the rapidly gaining cult-status Gremlins 2: The New Batch, in which Joe Dante throws the sappy Chris Columbus writing style of the first one out the window and does whatever the fuck he feels like doing. Be sure to vote at the site for Episode #11′s films in the poll at the sidebar. (Note comments are closed on this post, please post comments and discussion over at The Movie Club Podcast website).
Directors: Trygve Allister Diesen, Lucky McKee Novel: Jack Ketchum Screenplay: Stephen Susco Producers: Steve Blair, Trygve Allister Diesen, Norman Dreyfuss Starring: Brian Cox, Noel Fisher, Tom Sizemore, Kyle Gallner, Shiloh Fernandez, Robert Englund, Amanda Plummer MPAA Rating: R Running time: 98 min Country of Origin: USA
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
If there’s one film that doesn’t quite snap into place as easily as the others in this year’s After Dark festival, it’s most certainly Red. With little violence, no sci-fi or fantasy aspect involved and completely devoid of ghouls, goblins or vampires it is a bit of a head scratcher as to why this film was chosen as part of this year’s line-up. That is not to say the movie isn’t good or worthy of a watch, but maybe not the right crowd here.
The story is simple enough. Judging from the trailer, one might assume that Red is a traditional revenge picture chock full of audience cheering blood letting and impalements. It really couldn’t be much further from the truth. All Avery Ludlow (Cox) wants to do is enjoy a quiet day of fishing. His peaceful day by the lake takes a harsh turn however when a group of three rowdy teens show up, attempt to rob Avery and then when they don’t get what they want, shoot the man’s dog with a shotgun before leaving in laughter. Avery is able to track the boys down and confronts their father (Sizemore) hoping to, at the very least, get an apology and maybe some parental punishment. But as we see the apple usual doesn’t fall from the tree and the father is even less sympathetic and equally as morally repugnant as his boys. The tale then leads Avery to seek out justice but failing at every turn; from lawyers, friends, media and police, he just seems to be getting closer and closer to nowhere. As his frustration escalates, so do the consequences of his actions until the situation reaches critical mass.
What works best in this film is the sympathy and damn near empathy we can feel for Avery. He’s not out to cut anyone’s throat or have some stupid kids put away for life. All he wants is for the kids to admit their guilt, understand that what they did was wrong and apologize. When they refuse and things get worse and worse for Avery, it might be easy for an outsider to tell him to just let it go. But putting oneself in his shoes, you can understand why he can’t. Despite the harsher and harsher consequences to his actions, he continues to pursue justice with no avail. And it is easy to understand why. » Read the rest of the entry..
A few years ago I took a film class which required a presentation. Basically, you’d show a scene of a film and then talk about it for 5 minutes. Looking through my DVD shelf, I decided to show the class a short clip from Géla Babluani’s first feature, a crime thriller titled 13 Tzameti. At the time, it was a fairly low-key film but I can tell you that the scene peaked a whole lot of interest and for weeks after the fact, my DVD made the rounds to a whole lot of my fellow students.
Babluani’s film is about a young man who finds some cryptic instructions and heads out on an adventure that will likely make him a whole lot of money but he doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into until he arrives at a delapedated house and discovers that he’s become involved in a game of Russian roulette. The film makes some observations on the lengths people will go to for entertainment, the lengths some will take to survive and the dire situation of immigrants and though some of these themes are handled better than others, the film’s magnetic scene of round one is a crowning achievement in tension.
It was only a matter of time before it happened but the wait is over. Screen Daily reports that Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Sam Riley and 50 Cent will all be appearing in the remake, simply titled 13, that will also be directed by Babluani (another director reamking his own film for an American audience). I can’t quite figure out what roles Rourke (the organizer?), Statham (the master of the game?) and 50 Cent (??) will play but I have a nagging feeling that Sam Riley (who was brilliant in last year’s Control) will play the lead role which was orinigally filled by the director’s brother.
Considering the original wasn’t exactly a box office success, it doens’t appear to have played outside of the festival circuit in the US, chances are most people will be coming to it fresh. Though on the one hand I think the original trailer, which featured the film’s best scene, was a brilliant way to capture the audience’s attention, I’m hopefull that the Americanized version avoids using it in the trailer and saves it as a savoury surprise for film goers. I doubt it but a girl can hope.
As for those looking to catch up with the original, the film was released on DVD by Palm Pictures. To see what I’m talking about, be sure to check out the trailer under the seat.
Basically, the last of the good. Click on the film’s title to jump directly to the review.
Hunger
The list of “must sees” at this year’s VIFF was slightly longer than last year’s. As I discover more festivals and track more films, the list of those to keep on the to see pile seems to get longer and Steve McQueen’s Hunger had been on my list for a few months. A trailer which surfaced in May suggested that this was going to be spectacular and I’m thankful to report, the film does not disappoint but not in the way I originally anticipated.
Focusing specifically on Irish Republican Army volunteer Bobby Sands, the film retells the events of the 1981 hunger strike at HM Prison Maze in which Irish Republican prisoners sought to regain Special Category Status. From the opening credits, it’s clear that McQueen isn’t interested in holding back and we’re immediately painted a picture of the flyblown conditions. In the opening few minutes we see a very thin man cowering in a corner of a room with a small window; the walls covered in brown muck, garbage in the corner. A short time later it becomes clear that the brown muck on the walls is feces and that these men have put it there on purpose – their method of strike. It’s evident that this isn’t going to be an easy watch and with every passing minute it’s clear that this isn’t going to end well, something which may not come as a surprise for those familiar with the strike but something which I wasn’t prepared for.
McQueen moves the story along at an intense pace and with every new scene we see more degradation. The conditions are unsanitary, the prisoners badly cared for and among all of this, we meet and see Sands in action. Regardless of political beliefs and affiliations, it’s clear to see why Sands garnered so much support among his brethren. In a brilliant 20 minute, single take conversation with Father Moran, we see the intensity of Sands’ belief and his dedication to “the cause”. Even those unfamiliar with the history and events that led to the hunger strike will quickly come to understand, however vaguely, the constant battle between the IRA and those who didn’t support the cause. Though McQueen gives us this great scene, the other 60 minutes of the film are an exercise in strength of stomach as the audience is subjected to scene after scene of physical abuse and squalor.
Although a harrowing to watch, there is much grace and power in McQueen’s film which interlaces moments of serenity and violence with ease, never letting go the audience’s attention. The intensity of the film is heightened by Michael Fassbender’s performance as Bobby Sands and though Fassbender plays Sands with seriousness and lucidity, I felt a sense of madness just beyond the surface and walking away, I was reminded of Michael Shannon’s brilliant performance in Bug.
Not an easy watch, one distraught woman attempted to leave the theatre 60 minutes in and didn’t quite make it (which added an additional layer to the already disturbing film), Hunger is none the less a film that deserves the big screen treatment for its gorgeously disturbing images and although it’s not recommended for those with weak stomachs, it’s a stunning first feature. McQueen is a director to watch.
Director: Steven Goldmann Writer: Timothy Dolan Producer: Jonathan Bogner Starring: Nichole Hiltz, Lew Temple, Myk Watford, Matthew Del Negro, Michelle Lee MPAA Rating: R Running time: 91 min Country of Origin: USA
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Sometimes some of the least likely to entertain do the exact opposite. Of course when it comes to crazed out zombies I’m truly biassed; but with Trailer Park of Terror, what we have aren’t exactly zombies, not exactly vampires and certainly not werewolves or ghosts. Just horrifically scarred humanoids that like nothing better than to terrorize and kill anyone who ventures into their realm. They certainly are among the un-dead variety though.
The movie starts off pretty typical for this type of film. A bus full of troubled teenagers on retreat, along with their pastor, breaks down in the middle of nowhere and they seek refuge in an out-of-the-way trailer park. What starts out as fairly hospitable company, quickly devolves into a hellish nightmare of torture and depravity. » Read the rest of the entry..
Director: Kevin Tenney Writer: Dale Gelineau Producers: Dennis Michael Tenney, Daniel Duncan, Kevin Tenney Starring: Joshua Benton, Sarah Grant Brendecke, David Crane, Andy Forrest, Chad Guerrero, Elizabeth Lambert MPAA Rating: NR Running time: 95 min Country of Origin: USA
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Slither meets Cabin Fever might not sound fairly original or provocative. And you know what? You’d be right. Brain Dead is really nothing but a throw-back to 80′s horror. Boobs, blood and cheesy comedy. While simplistic and not always well put together, I gotta admit that a lot of it was just good, campy fun.
After a meteor lands in a rural area and a space slug somehow manages to transform the humans it encounters into brain-eating “zombies,” a small, diverse group of people somehow all manage to end up hiding out together in a deserted log cabin in the middle of nowhere while crazy beasts attempt to get in and eat their brains.
It is the eclectic group of survivors that really power the story. A preacher, two sorority sisters, two escaped convicts and an innocent virgin of course quickly begin to figuratively tear each other apart, making it that much easier for the beasties outside to do the same thing, literally. » Read the rest of the entry..
Besides all of the great feature films at Toronto After Dark, hundreds of short films are also submitted for contention to be screened in the coveted opening shorts that screen just before the feature films or the two hour long shorts program that took place yesterday. Because I’m already a bit behind with posts and still want to get out and check out the city, I don’t have time to review all of the fantastic shorts that appear.
But short film programming manager Peter Kuplowsky and others take hours and hours of their time to slog through the hundreds of submissions to uncover little gems that deserve to be taken notice of. Hence we get The Flower. Imagine a packed theater of half-drunk, leather clad cinemaniacs about to hopefully enjoy a screening of Repo! The Genetic Opera, when this 2-minute piece of cinema hits the screen. Needless to say, joy ensued…
Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza Writer: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza Producer: Derek Rundell Starring: Marko Zaror, María Elena Swett, Ariel Mateluna MPAA Rating: NR Running time: 85 min Country of Origin: Chile
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Problems with bullies at school? Too many old ladies having their purses snatched in your city? Never fear. Just send a quick email to local super hero, MiargeMan, and if he has some time he’ll stop by the next day to beat the shit out of any perps hassling you. Yes friends, here is a superhero movie I can finally get behind with enthusiasm and recommend highly. And it’s from Chile!
“Mirageman” is a crime-fighting superhero brought to life accidentally by Maco; a young man who stumbles upon a burglarly late one night and decides to take justice in his own hands. Donning a ski-mask, Maco takes out several criminals at once, rescues all of the valuables and most importantly saves two women tied up within the apartment in danger of being raped and/or murdered. As it turns out, one of the rescued ladies is actually a fairly high-profile news anchor and her subsequent broadcast publicly thanks the masked man and pleads with him to show himself once again so she can personally thank him. This prompts Maco to rethink his life and realizes that he is exactly what his city needs most.
A side story whch also contributes to Maco’s decision to continue masked crime-fighting revolves around his mentally unstable, younger brother; committed to a sanitarium. The sudden emergence of someone he can really look up to and believe in seems to improve his health and encourages Maco to press forward in his endeavor. » Read the rest of the entry..
Director: Bill Plympton Writers: Bill Plympton Producers: Bill Plympton, Biljana Labovic MPAA Rating: PG Running time: 78 min Country of Origin: USA
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Does the phrase ‘delightful cynicism’ make sense? It is nevertheless appropriate for master animator Bill Plympton‘s latest feature film. An independent filmmaker in the truest sense of the word with the claim to fame that he personally draws his feature films in their entirety, his ever increasing library of short films (with the 1990s and 2000s now peppered with full length features) are instantly recognizable. Idiots and Angels takes a smokey gray palette of dive-bars and car exhaust in an effort to display the raw human experience wordlessly in 78 minutes: Guilt, joy, desire, sex, spirituality, greed, routine, mercy, disappointment, love and alarm clocks without snooze buttons are all thrown up on screen in a singular and compelling fashion.
The story follows Angel, a middle aged man sketched noir-ish, 1940s tones, who goes through his daily routine in a mixture of despondency and rage. Living by himself in an anonymous suburban home, he fires indignation (and his time-piece) at the native wildlife chirping at his window in the morning and continues his assault on nature with his chain smoking in his exhaust belching vehicle during his morning commute into the city. His vitriol violently erupts on his fellow man when his parking space is taken, leading Angel to sadistically murder the other guy in a way that would do Anton Chigurh proud. After work (did I mention his deals in hand guns?) he caps off his daily routine at the bar, a sparse and seedy joint, for some passive-aggressive co-mingling with the locals. A curious incident of beauty occurs in the bar, and the bar tender, his waitress wife and the local prostitute all have a personal reaction (animated in thought bubbles) before Angel crushes it mightily. The first third of Idiots and Angels is quite circular and repetitive. It is episodic and rhythmic as if it came about from a collection of short-shorts about the intersection of beauty and vulgarity in the world that were strung together. Angel himself is a curious amalgam of the aggrieved and angry Johnny in Mike Leigh‘s Naked and the deeply wounded and suffocated Yuri Olov in Andrew Niccol‘s Lord of War. He is the devil and yet also the curiously innocent hero of the story. It is not at all surprising that Kiss Me Deadly is also referenced at one point in the film.
The film goes in a substantial variety of different directions when Angel mysteriously sprouts wings. The battle of morality that ensues with Angel, visualized literally by him trying to cut the annoying things off, and those who are curious, envious, and baffled by the sudden appendages takes the picture to dizzying heights. While the inferences the picture comes up with may be simple, even cliche, they are also the primordial myths and gloopy essence of story telling. The scratchy, jerky (not 24 fps) style adds to the shadow puppets around the fire, even as it draws attention to rich detail. Full advantage is taken of the animated form to highlight and exaggerate point-of-view and transition shots. The drinking of a cocktail is shown from the vantage point of the gullet. The stream of water from brushing his teeth transforms to the milk being poured on his cereal. Things are pretty clear that judging anyone or anything at first glance is bound to be wrong. The movement from the moral to the spiritual to even economic-system considerations is equally efficient. Subtle storytelling is replaced big images and the constant element of surprise. What may look like a growth of a conscience, A Christmas Carol if you will, is something much, much more. Idiots and Angels is bolstered by the complete absence of dialogue; music and image are melded as one to lift all the storytelling. The line between comedy and tragedy (or mundane and transcendent) has never been penciled so thin. And Plympton is more than content to flash a bare ass at the whole ‘animation is for kids’ assumption, at one point quite literally. The only thing missing here is in fact the kids. So, without the little goobers in tow, run, don’t walk (and it probably is not safe to fly) to any place this is showing.
One of the films which was only starting to get a bit of attention when it made its stop at VIFF was Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy.
The story is simple enough. Judging from the trailer, one might assume that 
The list of “must sees” at this year’s VIFF was slightly longer than last year’s. As I discover more festivals and track more films, the list of those to keep on the to see pile seems to get longer and Steve McQueen’s 
