FIVE FILMS - FEAR TOWN USA, HI-8, BILLY CLUB, AFTER SCHOOL MASSACRE, DIE DIE DELTA PI

FEAR TOWN USA

Very funny horror comedy (usually those two elements don’t go too well together).  The song in the middle made me burst out laughing.  Very clever in places and is chockful moments of invention as if the writer(s) couldn't get the ideas out fast enough.

HI – 8

V/H/S rip-off with eight stories plus a wraparound.  First story was excellent and could have been its own movie. Second story was not bad either.  The rest ran the gamut from okay to terrible and the wraparound story made no sense whatsoever.

BILLY CLUB, AFTER SCHOOL MASSACRE, DIE DIE DELTA PI

The other three films I am going to review together as they were mostly too rubbishy to talk about.  There were things I liked (BILLY CLUB’S ending and AFTER SCHOOL MASSACRE’s murderous main character are the two that come to mind) but overall low budgets, attempts at humor, gory killings (some laughably bad) - The movie posters are better and more professionally put together than the films!

CITIZENFOUR

I am naturally sympathetic to the story told in this documentary. I consider Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald not to mention Laura Poitras the director of this film to be heroes. I consider an over intrusive government to be a real threat to freedom and perhaps the beginning of future losses of freedom – the last stage of America’s long slow slide into complete dictatorship. However, this is not a fawning Snowden fanboy (or girl) film. Rather it’s the thrilling real time story of how Snowden first made contact with Poitras and Greenwald, initial interviews in a Hong Kong hotel room where Snowden reveals the extent and the mechanics of US worldwide surveillance, and then Snowden going public. This is intercut with other stories such as Poitras’s being harassed by the US government, as well as the stories of NSA whistleblower William Binney and the company Lavabit as well as a primer on US law enforcement info gathering using Occupy Wall Street as an example.

I really liked the way the story was told – Poitras, other than as a participant and with the occasional caption to explain what was happening, kept out of it always the sign of a good documentary filmmaker not getting in the way of the story. I also liked how they broke down complex technical issues into easy to understand “how to’s” for a layperson audience (me included). My only complaint is the soundtrack which is taken from Nine Nails Ghosts I-IV. I dig Trent Reznor but the music is a distraction. Not every film needs a soundtrack.

In regards to substance, there's no shortage of jolting information here (the notion of linkability is scary which is why I never link my various Internet ID's together) but I’m especially struck by the story of Poitras a filmmaker who ran afoul of the National Security Agency after she made a film on the Iraq War in the mid 2000’s. Not only did they detain her and confiscate her film every time she tried to enter the US (She’s a US citizen who lives abroad), one of the first documents Snowden shows her is reports on her movements –She was being followed and her phone bugged due to her films (long before she ever met Snowden). That is what dictatorships do and is a representative of the many other similar scenes in the film. I'm also especially struck by the notion that we now use the word "privacy" to describe what used to be called "liberty and freedom" - A notion advanced in the film. This is an urgent entertaining doc that is also easy to follow.

THE SCAREHOUSE

Very much enjoyed this horror film which unlike many horror films these days did not promise more than it could deliver.  In fact, I was continually surprised by the sheer amount of nasty scenes in this film – One woman is squeezed until her ribs and internal organs explode, another woman has her nails and eyelashes pulled out then her breast implants cut out and finally is forced to eat one of the breast implants, two other women get powdered acid on their skin which of course burns it away,  another victim is electrocuted.

The  protagonists are two young ladies who have just completed a two year stint in prison the result of a prank gone wrong during their initiation into a sorority (which we see in flashback scenes alternated with present day action scenes) .  The other sorority members refused to cover for them despite assigning them the task that went wrong and now they are seeking revenge using a Halloween haunted house as a cover.

Everything about this film is well done.  As I noted the murders are gruesome, they also are well paced and come on continuously throughout.  There are several twists including one I didn’t see coming at the very end.  It also helps that the two vengeful girls are themselves not very sympathetic characters (which we understand more of once we see what happened in the past).  

Each character represents a certain archetype we associate with college girls - popular girls specially.  The two protagonists are a bit more complex.  The nicer one has gone completely mad from losing everything she had.  The more manly one is the more cold blooded (hence the twist at the end).

Good acting helps rivet the viewer to the intriguing plot and the no nonsense gore and violence is a treat for the true horror fan.  Good mix – Well laid out plot, nasty horror fates for the film’s characters. 

  

TWO FILMS - KILL THE MESSENGER, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

KILL THE MESSENGER

The first half which involves Gary Webb's investigation into the CIA distributing drugs to fund the Contras is tight like ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, a riveting story told well. I was pleasantly surprised how equivocal and supportive the film was of his investigation and what he found out. The second half about how they came after Webb and tried to discredit him is a bit looser but still thrilling. Good, believable performance by Jeremy Renner and also some nice soundtrack choices - Mott the Hoople and the Clash. I've read Webb's book DARK ALLIANCE and its interesting to note that most if not all of what he wrote about the CIA drug conspiracy was eventually admitted by the government. It's why I never trust the immediate news about an incident. The US government does terrible things and creates false or exaggerated threats. In 50 years, the JFK and MLK assassinations as well as possibly things like the Paris shooting the other day will be revealed as very different as what the official line is now. I am willing to bet on that.

  

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

Sort of an anti-Godfather in which the main character works out his heating oil business problems without resorting to violence (mostly).  The closest he gets is creative bookkeeping and the sacrifice of one innocent character which reminds us in the end that this is evolutionary – representing the growth from corruption and crime to business conducted with at least the pretence of honesty in the 1970's.  What worked - Excellent use of locales and an intelligent story that doesn’t resort to bloody mayhem.  The chase scene towards the end reminded me of THE FRENCH CONNECTION and was a brilliantly shot sequence.  What I didn’t like – A bit dull in spots, could have been paced better.  Oscar Isaacs is a bit too earnest in the main role – we get it he’s honest.  I wish they could have had the audience guessing more about the character.  Ditto on Jessica Chastain as his hot-headed mob princess wife.  An unrecognizable Albert Brooks is underutilized.

FOUR FILMS - THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE, PULP: A FILM ABOUT LIFE, DEATH, & SUPERMARKETS, PRESERVATION, FEED THE GODS

THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE

First and foremost what worked for me with this exorcism related horror movie was the documentary format.  Much better than irritating found footage.  It’s a good framing device for a story that breaks no new ground but is suitably creepy enough to make me feel like looking over my shoulder when it was done.  The director made good choices in how much to show and what not to show.  The ending was predictable but I still liked it and it still hit hard.  A good horror film.

  

PULP: A FILM ABOUT LIFE, DEATH, & SUPERMARKETS

Less a ”behind the music” documentary about Pulp and more about how music reflects where people live and what they go through – shared experiences. Something British music does a better job of having as a subject than American music IMO.  A fascinating cross section of fans and other everyday people expound on different Pulp topics and Pulp frontman/ founder Jarvis Cocker is his usual witty self.  Quite insightful on a sociological level about a band whose music I really enjoy.

PRESERVATION

When you are stuck with only three main characters (of whom at least one or more will die) in a horror film that is going to involve a chase, some degree of cat and mouse, the challenge of the director is to make the film interesting enough that you’ll stick around for the conversation and character development bits in between the action.  Mostly, that works in this tale of three campers menaced by people who hunt human beings for fun.  The female lead’s development into a vengeful killing machine was perhaps too quick but the rest of it was competent with effective scenes of fighting and violence.  Also liked the way they slipped in an anti-video game message into the proceedings.  Nothing new but a decent thriller.

FEED THE GODS

A textbook example of how not to make a decent movie.  Hardly anything happens.  A lot of the story occurs at night and the movie is not shot well so we can’t see anything.  Generally speaking there’s a lot of confusion and a low budget stops them from doing much.  The plot is something about two adopted brothers searching for their birth parents and a town that sacrifices people to Bigfoot who by the way looks like one of those masks people buy in K Mart for Halloween.  Don’t waste your time on this film.

TWO FILMS - BIRDMAN, FORCE MAJEURE

BIRDMAN

Good bordering on great film, very deep. Always liked Michael Keaton but felt he was squandered in the move roles he did. Here, he not only makes a successful comeback but turns in one of the better performances I've seen in recent years - Unpredictable and multi-layered.  This movie was sort of a play within a play – I wasn’t sure by the end what was real and what was hallucination.  At times, the large distinguished cast playing mostly lunatic characters threatens to steal the show (especially Edward Norton) but they never do.  Also fabulous dialogue.

FORCE MAJEURE

This film has an intriguing premise – Man does something very cowardly in front of his loved ones. Will they be able to continue to see him the same way? What happens next? This Swedish film unfortunately does not live up to its premise and ends up being wildly uneven filled with important well put together scenes like the dinner party where the wife finally breaks down or the ending or the eerie presence of the housekeeping guy watching everything going on silently but for every one of these scenes is another long dragged out scene of silence or something else that has no meaning. Could have lost 20 minutes and been a better tighter movie. The scene where the husband breaks down and cries is overwrought and ruins the mood.

Also as SELMA is as much a discussion of history as as a review of this very bad film I've written about it on my general topics blog.... http://www.rgdinmalaysia.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-problem-with-selma.html