It wasn’t the show we were expecting to do, but here we are anyway: in the wake of the murders in Colorado, we discuss Christopher Nolan’s final Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.
To download this episode, use this URL: http://rowthree.com/audio/mamo/mamo262.mp3
This review has been a week coming and I will start it off with what I have said to all the movie geeks that I have met. Rampage is a good movie and when I say that I am not qualifying it by saying it is good for a Uwe Boll movie. In the past I have argued with many people who complain about Boll’s movies without having seen them. I am fine if you want to say that House of the Dead is a bad movie after you have seen it but do not come to me with a big rant about how he just makes bad video game rip off movies unless you are willing to put the time in to watch them. I have seen a lot of Boll’s movies because I do no not want to be a hypocrite. I have not watched his past few movies. The last one I saw was Postal and just like Rampage I watched it because I had heard good things.
Rampage tells the tale of Bill Williamson (Brendon Fletcher) and his rampage against society. If you have seen Falling Down you know the basic idea. Disillusioned with everything a lone gunman takes up weapons and starts to take down society by shooting random people he sees on the street. To just call Rampage a clone or rip off of Falling Down does not do it justice and given the choice I’d rather watch Boll’s newest movie again over the Michael Douglas one.
I do not want to get too much into who he goes after or why but I do want to talk a bit about why I enjoyed Rampage. Boll has created a fairly compelling character with Bill. He comes across as the slacker who is still living at his parents (Matt Frewer and Linda Boyd) but is dealing with them wanting him to grow up and get a real job, move out or go to college. Bill on the other hand looks content to just hang out with his friend Evan (Shaun Sipos). Shaun is a bit of a revolutionary who posts videos and likes to talk about what is wrong with the world. Bill on the other hand seems more laid back. We see that Bill isn’t as laid back as he seems and that he has been saving his money and ordering weapons and body armour and having it shipped to Evan’s house. Evan has no idea what Bill is shipping but is told that Bill just doesn’t want his parents to know about it.
The first third to a half is Bill interacting with a few of the locals, Evan and his parents. The second part of the movie is the “rampage”. Bill strategically takes out the majority of the police with a surprise attack and then moves throughout the small town gunning people down. During this point the movie could have been felt very repetitive and could have just riffed on the same points that falling down does but the interactions between Bill and his victims are all interesting and take different twists.
The finale of the movie is Bill heading out of town to meet up with Evan who believes that they are going to have a paintball match. Much of Bill’s explanation for why he is doing what he is doing is given in hints throughout the movie and also with his showdown with his wanna be revolutionary friend.
The acting is good throughout the entire movie with my only minor beef of being Sipos who seems to be channeling a bit too much of Brad Pitt for my tastes. Fletcher is quite good and really keeps from going over the top with his portrayal which could have been very easy to do. The story overall has enough twists, turns and developments that I found myself glued to the screen.
I was not the biggest fan of Postal but with Rampage Boll has won me over. I will continue to take his movies one at a time and gauge whether or not I want to see it. Rampage really is a successful movie and one that I will continue to recommend to everyone. It is a tight well thought out movie with generally good acting and enough twists, humor and action to keep me enthralled with what is going on.
I don’t discriminate against film length but in a festival setting, when by 4 PM you’re on film number four of the day, a two and a half hour film could be a daunting challenge but when a film captures your attention as strongly (and quickly) as Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet, 2 ½ hours doesn’t seem long enough.
The film stars relative newcomer Tahar Rahim as Malik El Djebena. A youth offender, Malik’s latest lawbreaking is the first as an adult and he’s sentenced to six years of hard time. A pretty face with no one on the inside, he’s alone in a world of allegiances where looking at someone the wrong way is enough to get you killed but Malik isn’t stupid. He reluctantly takes on a job that aligns him with the Corsicans who rule the prison and instantly goes from no-one to protected guy. Over the years, he builds alliances and relationships while always being on the lookout for his next opportunity and when a deal leaves Luciani, the most powerful and influential of the inmates and the man who essentially saved Malik, alone, Malik becomes his right hand man until a series of events leaves Malik fending for himself.
What we’ve been reading – August 18th through August 20th:
Anyone who takes the history or social significance of Quentin Tarantino on a liter level is utterly missing the forest for the trees. Love or hate Inglourious Basterds, Rosenbaum clearly dropped the ball on this one.
The history, the difficulty in casting, the production, the cult, etc.
An overview of the 44-film series of British Noir running New York's Film Forum this month. Sounds like a great series, with a lot of hidden gems that aren't as well known as their American counterparts, but perhaps ought to be.
I was asked a couple of times at work what my plans were for this weekend and I told everyone that I was seeing Up tonight and Drag me to Hell tomorrow. What I did not mention was that I plan on continuing my Unseen Movie Marathon with a 3d screening (in honor of Up which I’ll be seeing in 3d also) of The Stewardesses. Its not that I’m embarrassed by the fact that I’m going to watch an old 3d X-Rated movie but I was worried that I might offend someone at work or that it might lower their opinion of me and since I have to work with them I don’t want to deal with that.
The thing is though I would not have a problem with telling them I was going to go watch some ultra violent gorefest but as soon as sex and nudity come into the equation I feel that I need to be careful what I say. I really hate it. I’d love to recommend movies like The Isle, Silip, In the Realm of the Senses, Intimacy, and The Dreamers just to name a few.
There is really something messed up in our society when violence is just accepted, ignored and almost welcomed. How many movies would be considered boring if it weren’t for the huge explosions and people getting killed. I know this is nothing new to consider but my own “covering up” of watching an X-rated movie is bothering me somewhat. I’m curious, would you talk about “sex” movies with people who are not close friends.
It was only a matter of time before the powers that be move on from John Carpenter , Wes Craven and George Romero and into the works of David Cronenberg. While there have been rumours of remakes for Scanners and Shivers for some time; today added the iconic Videodrome onto the fast track with The Ring (US remake) writer Ehren Kruger landing a very interesting challenge. While normally I feel similarly to the rest of you about the remaking of classic horror pictures, but due to the media/biology nature of Videodrome, this one is ripe for a re-envisioning of viral media circa the 21st century. It has been 26 years. I am not sure if Kruger has the chops to equal the cerebral and visceral nature of the original; yet oddly enough, I am actually looking forward to see what comes of this.
The only details we have are this “The remake will be a large-scale sci-fi action thriller, updated to include the possibilities of nanotechnology.”
Sound off if you’ve got a pair.
I spotted a trailer for Sin Nombre yesterday but nothing about the film’s description caught my attention but when Kurt sent the link over this morning, I though I’d better give it a look.
A winner at Sundance, taking home cinematography and directing awards, Cary Fukunaga’s first full length feature film has certainly seen it’s share of attention so far and with the names of Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna to help it along, it’s likely to do well with some audiences. It’s the story of a Honduran teenager who finds her salvation, her was into the US, via an ex-gang member on the run.
Kurt mentioned how watching the trailer without sound reminded him of a vérité
version of Slumdog Millionaire but the first film that came to mind for me was Maria Full of Grace. However you cut it, I love some of the visuals of this trailer, particularly the look of the gangsters who look like soldiers of satan.
Sin Nombre is scheduled to open in limited release on March 20th.
Trailer is tucked under the seat!
Perhaps I was confused in thinking that Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds was a remake of Enzo G. Castellari’s schlocky 1978 Inglorious Bastards but looking at the descriptions for the two films, the only things that seem to jive are the titles and the settings.
Though the initial script reviews seemed overwhelmingly positive, I’ve not been following the film all that closely – likely because of the war setting, something which does very little for me. Yet, with a cast that includes Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender and Maggie Cheung, it’s hard not to get a little excited.
The trailer didn’t start off particularly well but it does save itself nicely thanks in part to the awesome inter cards (seriously awesome) and Martin Wuttke’s Hitler throwing a tantrum. And expect violence, lots of violence. We are talking Tarantino and the scalping of Nazis. This could be awesome or not. At the moment, I’m leaning toward awesome.
See the trailer below!
If there is one upcoming movie we talk about around here more than any other, it is probably Thomas Alfredson’s Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In. This may be a function of the recent resurgence of vampire properties (from Twilight to True Blood), but really, it is because this film is an certainty for ‘instant classic.’ While there is the inevitable US remake scheduled for 2010, Magnolia pictures genre arm Magnet are putting the original out into the theatres; meaning the chance of catching this one outside of a festival on a big screen is a very real possibility.
I was (justifiably) upset that Magnet went a long way towards spoiling Timecrimes with their super-explicit trailer; and in selling Let The Right One In stateside there are a lot of ‘money shots’ on display. But you have to hand it to them for capturing the dangerous innocence/corruption/love tone which the movie so delicately balances. For those who want the really pure experience, I still suggest avoiding this (excellent) trailer; however for those who want to start salivating now: See Below.
Further note that the Toronto After Dark film festival has this one as their opening night feature on October 17th, 2008. Hope to see the locals there.
Both the trailer (High Res version recommended) and my Fantasia capsule review are tucked under the seat.
Not so long ago I posted the trailer for Brick director Rian Johnson’s upcoming caper flick The Brothers Bloom. While I’ve already gushed over Brick and how great his new films looks, I now have another reason to get all excited. You see, it looks like Johnson’s interests are as diverse as the rest of ours and the director is unwilling to be painted into a genre so for his next film, he’s tackling science fiction.
According to the folks at IGN, Johnson’s next film is a dark, violent, time travel, sci-fi story titled Looper which Johnson suggests is in the vain of a Philip K. Dick story. Johnson goes on to say that “To me, it’s a lot more like the first The Terminator. It’s very sci-fi, but it’s very character-based and very concentrated. It’s very different from the Terminator movies, but it’s like the first Terminator in that time travel is involved with it, but only as a plot device.”
So let me get this straight. It’s dark, kind of like The Terminator but directed by the guy behind Brick? This is either a very unfunny practical joke or I must be in a very deep sleep, dreaming the most amazing dreams. If that’s the case, please don’t wake me up until sometime in 2010. I want to be sure to catch Johnson’s film before I’m dragged back into this reality.
My first thought at the opening scenes of the Red trailer was something along the lines of “Ugh, another revenge movie” but somewhere along the one-and-a-half minute mark, the tone changed and suddenly, this was no longer a simple or average revenge picture. Perhaps it’s the apparently escalating violence or the suggested character motivation but something about the trailer is really appealing.
Directed by Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee, the film is an adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s novel about a reclusive man who sets out for justice when three teens kill his dog. Brian Cox has never stopped working but he seems to be gaining a lot more steam lately (see his other great looking film coming later this year The Escapist) and he doesn’t seem to be stopping with this one.
Though initial indication is that this is fairly forgettable fare, checking over the Sundance reviews at Green Cine Daily, it seems that my reaction to the trailer isn’t without merit. Though it may seem like there’s little at play here, the few reviews suggest that the film is worth seeking out.
Red will hopefully make a theatrical run but Magnolia, the North American distributor, has not posted a release date. We’ll let you know when one is announced.
Check out the trailer after the jump!
One of the movies that had a lot of buzz coming out of Sundance was Larry Bishop’s second feature, a biker drama called Hell Ride starring Bishop, Dennis Hopper and Michael Madsen. I didn’t really know much about the film other than it looked like it could be bad ass and it had a fantastic poster that we all drooled over.
The film is scheduled to open in limited release on August 8th and in preparation, we’ve been given a pretty bad ass trailer. I hope it’s an indication that the rest of the flick will be this good.
Completely agree with the long-term strategy point. Now that J.J. has left the building and I hope all his...
