SeanZachel Reviews

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Sidney Lumet Made His Performers Relearn the Meaning of the Word "Melodrama"

[9/10 · 11 April 2024]

"This is a melodrama", said Sidney Lumet about the script to his final film, 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead'. Even though the entire cast was highly experienced in both theater and film, they still had a very different interpretation of the word "melodrama"; Ethan Hawke was under the impression that it meant phony overacting. No, not in the true sense of the word. In the true sense of the word, "melodrama" is life amped up to 11 and former television director, Sidney Lumet correctly saw this about the script and coached his performers with this in mind which resulted in some of the best performances you'll see from Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney.

In a normal drama, it's the characters that move the story along. In a melodrama, it's the story that moves the characters along. To the uninitiated, a melodrama screenplay may seem like a project that would stifle the creative freedom of an actor. Perhaps a performer may not have much room for improvisation in a melodrama but the limitations of the script and the character's behavior allows the performer to think less about what they are going to do and focus on how they are going to do it.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman in particular gave a phenomenal performance showing his full emotional range. We see him from his most vulnerable and insecure to moments of psychotic murderous rage as well as everything in between.

The cinematographic style with long cuts and slow pans and zooms added to the brilliant performances. Allowing an actor to do and entire scene in one take not only shows an incredible rapport between actor and director but also creates a more intimate understanding between the audience and the performer in ways that rapid cuts and back and forth dialogue cuts would not.

The overall themes of this film involve weakness of character and the deceit of your loved ones which culminates in tragedy after tragedy. Even though this would turn out to be Lumet's final film, you get the feeling that, as a filmmaker, he was still having fun as an artist and trying to make "good movies", not necessarily try and make a final statement as a filmmaker. He was even excited about transitioning to high definition filming and in no way indicated that he was finished with making films even though he was in his 80th decade.

Perhaps 9/10 stars may seem too high a rating but as a total package, this film delivered. On top of the fabulous acting and cinematography, you also have a layered story told non-linearly through 3 different perspectives and the way the story was edited together, you will be able to appreciate the film more the second time you watch it so as an overall film, 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead' does get elevated into an elite class of cinematic genius.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Misanthrope's Magnum Opus

[8/10 · 11 April 2024]

Even though adapted from 'Oil' by Upton Sinclair, 'There Will Be Blood' seems to have taken a deliberate step away from the class-conscious literary style of Sinclair and decided to focus more on the misanthropic inner life of the protagonist, Daniel Plainview.

There's no dialogue for the first 13 minutes of this film and this will be your first indicator that you're supposed to pay more attention to what people do and not what they say. Indeed, most of the dialogue in this film involves people lying for the benefit of their own personal gain and the moments of honest dialogue typically result in hostility and violence. Plainview's entire goal is to make enough money to be able to live in comfortable solitude for the rest of his days and to accomplish this goal he engages in the very behavior that he finds so repulsive in other people.

This film was both beautifully filmed and scored. The hyper-minimal orchestral arrangements were a superb choice to accompany the minimalist scenery and the minimal amount of dialogue and it's a true surprise that this original score didn't receive more critical acclaim.

Sure, this film is an historical drama but what P. T. Anderson seems to be more interested in is displaying the industrialist archetype as a microcosm of what motivates human aggression and greed. Many of the reviewers here would have you think this film intends on criticizing capitalism and greed but that likely has more to do with their feelings about the source material. What P. T. Anderson presents is an amoralistic epic that has no true "ending" with some sort of moral or social message attached to it. He neither criticizes or praises the character of Daniel Plainview; he simply shows his true nature to us and allows us to make up our own mind. And that is what distinguishes a "good" filmmaker from the truly great.

Ministry of Fear (1944)

Melodramatic Paranoia & The Occult

[7/10 · 10 April 2024]

In order to prove his loyalty to the Allied cause, German director, Fritz Lang directed several anti-Nazi propaganda films. 'Ministry of Fear' is one such film and touches on two very important aspects of Nazism; espionage and a fascination with the occult.

After being released from an insane asylum, Stephen Neale (Milland) seeks to have his palm read at a fund raiser for the war effort. Instead of being given his fortune, he's given instructions by the fortune teller to guess the weight of a cake and win it. It would turn out that this was all part of a local Nazi spy ring attempting to get sensitive military intelligence to their superiors within the 3rd Reich.

What stands out about this film is how the femme fatale is a fortune teller and that holding seances and soothsaying are very much part of this Nazi spy ring. The Nazis really did have an obsession with the occult as readily evidenced by Rudolph Hess' seemingly bonkers and ill-fated flight across the English Channel with astrological charts, magical talismans and the like. That German defector, Fritz Lang would make the occult a centerpiece of this anti-Nazi thriller is very telling about how intimately he was familiar with the obsessions and inner workings of the Nazi party.

This film also put on full display the sorts of covert networks that the Nazis employed internationally to the point where they were able to find out detailed information on just about anyone through the use of their espionage networks. Obviously this was the work of fiction but the elaborate measures taken by the characters in this film to conceal their true motives are not very far off from the truth about how fascist and Nazi networks operated in Allied nations during the war.

In addition to these subtle commentaries on Nazism, we are also treated with Fritz Lang's masterful film making style with his signature use of light and physical space to tell the story without dialogue. Some of the techniques and methods used certainly seem a bit antiquated yet fundamentally this is a well made noir film that is well worth watching for those interested in film noir and WW2 thrillers.

Rogue Hostage (2021)

More Like Convoluted Hostage

[2/10 · 21 April 2023]

Everything about 'Rogue Hostage' was convoluted and poorly conceived. We open with a PTSD flashback of an ambush on some Marines and find out it's the protagonist, Kyle Snowden (Tyrese Gibson) who for some inexplicable reason now works for Child Protective Services. He is also the son-in-law of Congressman Sam Nelson (John Malkovich) who is opening a new location for his department store franchise.

Problem is, Sam Nelson has an enemy, Eagan Raize (Chris Backus) who intends on holding the new store hostage and forcing Nelson to "confess his crimes" except Eagan's motivation for doing this in never fully explained and the rational is flimsy at best.

The whole plot is a glaring example of trying to pack too much into a 90 minute story for no particular reason (except possibly to check off "diversity requirements"). The entire plot progression was totally contrived and lacked consistency. Gibson and Malkovich did a good job with what they were given but there was no saving this turkey of a movie.

There were plenty of terrible scenes and dialogue that were laugh-out-loud funny. The only way to make this movie watchable is to give it the MST3K treatment and even that would be a stretch.

Rashomon (1950)

The Demon of Rashomon Fled For Fear of Man

[8/10 · 21 April 2023]

'Rashomon' could easily be described as the first truly great film of Akira Kurosawa. In his previous films, he followed the convention of telling a story with a distinct beginning, middle and end. With 'Rashomon' he became highly experimental with both time and perspective.

The film starts with a woodcutter, priest and commoner seeking refuge from a storm underneath the ruins of Rashomon, a dilapidated gate. This setting is in the aftermath of the events of the film both the commoner and the audience are left with deciding for themselves what the truth is surrounding the rape of a noblewoman and the murder of a samurai.

We're given a total of 5 different versions of the events (two from the woodcutter) each with it's own discrepancies and interpretation inflected by whom gives the testimony. There's even a supernatural element added by the testimony of the slain samurai being given through the use of a spiritual medium.

We're not simply shown the events and told who is lying and who is telling the truth; we're left with making up our own minds. The deeper symbolism in this film (all of Kurosawa's work contains a deeper symbolism) has to do with honesty. It is even stated in the film that man cannot even be honest with himself. Even the priest indulges in a bit of self delusion when he says he refuses to believe in the evils of man. And the ruined gate was once home to a daemon that is said to have left because of it's fear of mans misdeeds. The structure itself is half destroyed pieces of it are being stripped away by the commoner for firewood throughout the film. This setting itself is highly symbolic of the partly corrupt state of man's existence.

Visually, Kurosawa uses his typical style of framing each shot with the placement of the characters and the geometry of the scenery. Much of the film is set in the forest where the crime takes place so in this regard we see a very new filming style from Kurosawa. Instead of having scenery to frame his shots, he experiments with distance and editing to tell the story visually. Much of the visual style can be seen as having influenced the visual and editing style of modern anime.

While the acting was a bit too melodramatic at times and the story does lack the levels of intrigue and action today's audience would expect from a "mystery", this is a very important film from an historical perspective and holds up well as an experiment in non-linear storytelling and creative use of editing.

Parasite (2019)

Basement Of Deceit

[8/10 · 21 April 2023]

You won't see many unique takes on class disparity as given in 'Parasite'. We start with a family living in a slum basement apartment who, through a tutoring opportunity given to the son, successively infiltrate the home of a wealthy family in the capacity of personal servants. They manage to do this through deception and subterfuge against the family's current help staff.

It's easy to see the parasitical nature of this impoverished family yet the wealthy family isn't able to perform normal daily tasks without the help of others implying that they're parasites of the lower classes since their lives would fall apart without them.

The story unfolds in a very unique way starting as something of a comedy and becoming progressively darker with several key plot twists that were an enjoyable surprise. There were serious logical flaws with the ending of the film; it wasn't a believable ending but the overall story was very engaging and interesting.

There was a very distinct visual style to the film, partly created out of necessity of the story. The use of levels of buildings and staircases helps create a visually engaging film and aids in the telling of the story in important ways. You also have a sharp contrast in visual spaces between the impoverished family and wealthy family's apartments with both the spatial dimension and the windows. The basement apartment is cramped with low a ceiling and dirty window people urinate in front of while the wealthy home was custom designed by a famous architect, has wide open spaces and a large wall window looking out at well lit private yard.

What stood out most about this film was the initial set up creating an expectation of a moralistic tale about class struggle that gets shattered fairly quickly and by the end is completely non-existent. There was no moral lesson being preached and instead we're given a raw look at human nature.

Nightcrawler (2014)

A Friend Is A Gift You Give Yourself

[9/10 · 10 April 2023]

Louis Bloom (Gyllenhaal), the main character of 'Nightcrawler' truly reveals himself in the dinner-date scene with Nina Romina (Russo). That scene about halfway through best sums up what this dark character-driven film is really getting at.

The overall plot follows an intelligent yet ruthless sociopath who lies, steals and at times brutalizes his way through life. While trying to make a quick and easy buck, Louis learns he can film car accidents and crime scenes then sell the footage to local news stations. He partners up with the lowest rated news broadcaster in Los Angeles and uses his unscrupulous talents to leverage his position with the news director who herself has more need for ratings than ethics.

We're drawn into a microcosm where empathy means ruin and this gives an insight into the sorts of people and mentality that's prevalent in the media of not only Los Angeles but American media culture as a whole.

This film was brilliantly filmed, acted and edited. The night-time setting and use of locations throughout create a noir-like atmosphere that really heighten Gyllenhaal's sleazy and often disturbing mood swings and complete lack of human empathy. The writing fell short a little bit when it comes to Louis' potential legal violations but this isn't a crime drama; instead we're given an inside look into a despicable human being who manages to avoid being held accountable for his misdeeds which probably happens far too often.

The music was at times highly inappropriate like when Louis is tampering with a car crash so he can get a better shot of the accident while lighthearted and heroic music plays over top of it. But overall the shortcomings of this film didn't detract from the final results and we're given a completely unique experience and very gritty look at Los Angeles that you only see on rare occasion.

The Croods (2013)

Caveman Vs. Fire - Or - Slapstick Metaphor

[5/10 · 10 April 2023]

Expectations were relatively high for 'The Croods' knowing that the script was based on a John Cleese story. Sadly, this movie fell short of anything remotely resembling a Monty Python sketch.

The story itself was thinly veiled metaphor for humanity's progression from simple cave-folk to the age of enlightened reason. The jokes (if you can call them that) relied heavily on physical comedy and there weren't any gags that haven't been done before.

There was a lot of unmet potential in the story to be more of a suspenseful adventure story with a strong female lead. Instead, we're rushed through various fantastic landscapes for reasons that were only vaguely described while the writer beat us over the head with how stubborn and resistant to change the father, Grug was compared to the lively and talented Guy. Never once do we find out where Guy received his knowledge; apparently it all came to him spontaneously including how to make fire.

Sure, it's a "kids movie" but it's always nice to see a little more substance, especially when a legend like John Cleese has his name attached to the project.

The animation was top notch; Dreamworks consistently has better animation (and movies) than Pixar and there's no sign that this will change any time soon. If you have young children then this is a good movie for pure childish entertainment value but noting more than that.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

The Who's Who Of Whodunits

[7/10 · 10 April 2023]

An apt tagline if there ever was one for an Hollywood film, 'Murder on the Orient Express' is as much of an homage to the elegant era of cinema as it is a murder mystery.

By now most people have at least heard about the well known plot twist at the end of Agatha Christie's famous novel featuring her iconic detective, Hercule Poirot. Even if you are aware of the ending, you'll still enjoy watching this story unfold and putting together the pieces along with Poirot.

Cinematically, director Sidney Lumet wanted to emphasize the elegance of the story and the characters with the costuming and score primarily. He had worked with Sean Connery before and by casting him, he was able to put together one of the greatest ensemble casts of the era if not of all time. Yet, even though he wanted this film to look and feel like a film from Hollywood's golden age he maintained a sense of realism while filming, specifically he filmed the bulk of the story in actual passenger cars. This led to complicated and difficult set-ups due to the lack of space to work with but the claustrophobia presented gave the authenticity to the story that made it work so well.

Every performer was working on other projects at the time, either on stage or screen. You had a variety of acting technique that translated very well for each individual character. Ingrid Bergman had chosen the role of Greta which may not have seemed like the best choice for the starlet of so many iconic films yet her performance earned her an Academy Award. There are many complaints about Albert Finney's portrayal of Poirot but it's worth noting that Poirot was intended to be an unlikable oddball for this film so you have to admit that he was very successful in this role considering the intent of the filmmaker.

At one point, legendary composer Bernard Herrmann watched some of the edited footage with Bennett's score and became furious saying that it was a "death train" and the music wasn't appropriate at all. In most cases he'd be correct but this film was supposed to be more lighthearted than grim. In fact, Lumet says if it wasn't for 'Orient Express' he wouldn't have been able to convey the comical material in 'Network' as effectively.

Oldboy (2013)

Vengeance With A Disturbing Twist - American Style

[5/10 · 31 March 2023]

(This reviewer has not watched the original Korean film at the time this review was written).

The premise of 'Oldboy' makes this film worth watching. Joe Doucett (Brolin) undergoes a physical and psychological transformation after being held captive for 20 years then released to enact his vengeance.

Frankly, the way the plot unfolds comes off as very contrived. You'll really have to suspend your disbelief that so many coincidences would happen that leads Joe to the truth about his captivity. You'll also have to suspend your disbelief that the truth about his captivity would be so easily obtained.

The preposterous and unlikely events aside, this film contains good acting in addition to well photographed and directed sequences that help distract from the unlikely events that lead up to the disturbing finale.

Most reviewers say that the original is much better and that seems likely. This film seemed to emphasize action and shock value more than the deep psychological trauma that permeates the story. If you haven't watched the original and you can handle disturbing plot twists then Spike Lee's 'Oldboy' will be a good view but it does fall short of meeting it's full potential as a deep psychological thriller.

Scandal (1950)

Deception, Truth and Christmas

[6/10 · 30 March 2023]

With 'Scandal', we have Kurosawa's most "Americanized" film in both form and substance. He expands on the concepts he worked with in 'Drunken Angel'. He uses the same performers and a similar setting under a different set of circumstances and a different dynamic.

There is a bit of role reversal from 'Drunken Angel' where Ichiro (Toshiro Mifune) is the stable and heroic influence and Otokichi (Takashi Shimura) is the irresponsible and lost soul in need of guidance. This juxtaposition creates an interesting dynamic between the characters and their relationship to one another (lawyer and client).

The overall theme of the film has to do with discerning right from wrong in a society that has lost it's moral compass. This could be seen as critical of materialistic American influence on Japanese culture as represented by the unscrupulous tabloid publication printing lies for the sake of sales. However, it is the older Otokichi who we see caught up in a web of deceit he's created for himself and even when it matters most he can't bring himself to overcome his weaknesses.

Much of the film takes place during Christmas time and even includes a very touching scene of a barroom full of depressed and weary Japanese singing Auld Lang Syne in amidst festive Christmas decorations as they encourage one another to be better people in the new year. This strongly suggests a sense of collective guilt for their actions as a nation in decades past and a desire for a new, better future.

Even though there are some very fine performances and deeper cultural meaning behind this film, it amounts to little more than a simple courtroom drama that pays little attention to the actual scandal that is the namesake for this film. One gets the feeling that this was simply a commercial venture on Kurosawa's part as his truly great films were to come shortly afterwards.

Fire Birds (1990)

The Movie That Has Nick Cage Busier Than A Three-Peckered Goat

[3/10 · 19 March 2023]

'Fire Birds' strives to be 'Top Gun' with helicopters and was partly successful because there are in fact helicopters in this movie.

If you skip to the end credits, you'll see a whole lot of Department of Defense involvement. Fort Hood, Texas was one of the sets and actual Apache pilots were used in this film. Even without knowing how much the U. S. military helped with production, it's fairly obvious that this movie is little more than an action-ganda flick.

The story and the characters were one dimensional, the love scene with Phil Collins' music playing over it was nauseating and you couldn't tell the difference between the flight scenes at the chopper base and the scenes in South America because they were both shot in Arizona.

You had some decent dialogue between Cage, Jones and Young but it wasn't good enough to save the empty plot or bad enough to be funny. There's good editing throughout the movie but that only matters if there's a good story being told which there isn't. There are better films from the genre and better films with the principle actors so there's no need to go out of your way to watch this movie.

Serpico (1973)

Desperation In The Face Of Corruption

[9/10 · 14 March 2023]

Based on a true story, 'Serpico' diverged from the traditional Hollywood cop story and set a new standard for the genre.

This is the film that elevated Al Pacino to stardom and the real Frank Serpico mentored him in pre-production so we get as authentic of a portrayal of the real man as you can. Through the course of the film, we see Serpico at extreme ends of the emotional spectrum from his silliness at a Greenwich Village party to pure rage at being stonewalled by corruption investigators to breaking down in tears at the dramatic climax of the film. Pacino's method acting places him among the elite of performers.

This true story of widespread police corruption and abuse of power rings true to this day. The NYPD of the 60's and early 70's was much like a mafia of it's own, collecting bribe money and shaking down criminals for money and information instead of enforcing the law. The whistle blowing of Frank Serpico resulted in the Knapp Commission. As important as the Knapp Commission was, producer Martin Bregman wanted to tell the story of Serpico's life as a police officer trying to expose mass corruption virtually on his own instead of telling a courtroom drama. He and the initial director parted ways over arguing about what to focus on in the film and this resulted in Sidney Lumet being hired to lead this project.

Director Sidney Lumet had 5 months to shoot this film and had to edit during production to meet his deadline so it's very impressive that he was able to create a film with this level of authenticity given the constraints of the production schedule. The film was shot on location in New York City and Lumet's personal knowledge of the city helped a great deal with locations. Everything you see is New York as it really existed at the time. Lumet also says he lucked out with the scoring; he didn't want music throughout the entire film but the studio had final cut and wanted a score. Greek composer, Mikis Theodorakis had recently been released from prison where he was being held as a political prisoner; when he'd agreed to score 'Serpico', he agreed with Lumet that the film was better without a score. He'd also scheduled an American tour at various Greek festivals and simply didn't have the time to score an entire feature film. There was a total of 14 minutes of music including the title scene much to Lumet's delight.

Even though the events of this film happened long ago, there's still a very poignant message conveyed that will resonate with any generation. Corruption has and will continue to happen and keeping a clean house is something that will always have to be done.

The Hunger (1983)

Blood And Fear

[8/10 · 13 March 2023]

Most people are scared of the idea of growing old and dying. Miriam and John Blaylock are no exception and 'The Hunger' tells the story of the downfall of these vampires.

This film isn't a vampire story in the traditional sense; they walk around in the daylight, don't turn into bats and the woman is in control of the relationship. Instead of biting their victims with fangs, they cut open veins with tiny ankh-shapped daggers worn as pendants around their necks. If this were more like a traditional vampire story, John could possibly be described as Miriam's ghoul since he does not have the full abilities of his immortal lover.

The theme of aging is very prominent in this film; specifically people's fear of growing old and how they attempt to reverse or delay this natural process. In that sense, the vampires of this film are symbolic of our own fears and insecurities about our mortality.

The visual style of this film is exquisite using a very muted color pallet, innovative use of jump cuts and flashbacks, and using the scenery to accentuate the drama. The special effects makeup by Dick Smith is some of the best you'll see in cinema from any era.

More time could have been spent detailing Dr. Sarah Roberts work with disease related to aging and the scientific study of Miriam's blood transfusion and more about Miriam's past lovers would have helped with the film's narrative. The drawbacks to the script are nominal so they didn't hurt one of the most unique vampire films ever made.

The Wilde Wedding (2017)

A Family Surprisingly Okay With Having Screwed Up Sex Lives

[4/10 · 11 March 2023]

We're told this film is about a retired actress who divorced an actor and is going to marry a famous writer. We're also told that her daughter is a famous rock star divorced from her band mate who is also a rock star. In spite of being told all this, it's not conveyed enough in the plot and it's simply not believable.

Oh, and everyone seems to be sleeping with everyone else while staying in Eve's country home before the wedding. Plenty of drug and alcohol use also goes on. Too bad the only substance in this movie is what's being abused for a buzz.

With an A-list cast, you'd hope the content would be better but you can't act your way out of a script devoid of genuine content. Instead you get a sexploitation comedy without any good jokes. And even though there's plenty of scandalous activity, none of the characters seem to have real human emotion and casually accept events that would lead to chairs being thrown if this was the Jerry Springer Show. The only reason to watch this bomb is if you're a fan of any of the stars and to gawk at attractive people.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

The Comedy of Hell

[9/10 · 7 March 2023]

If you pay attention at the beginning of 'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum', you'll see none other than Buster Keaton in the background. No better subtlety to prepare you for what's to come.

In the previous two chapters, the story of John Wick took itself very seriously. In Chapter 3, while John is in his darkest hour, you'd expect things to become very heavy which they do. Instead of giving into the temptation of taking itself far too seriously as often happens with action franchises, this film goes full-on slapstick. Having the eye for the inherent comedy in over-the-top violence helps one appreciate this film even more.

The team that brought us John Wick has nearly perfected their style of film making and managed to not only do a great job with keeping the continuity of the story in order but also with keeping the visual style of the franchise intact. The use of color, set design, music from the environment and of course choreography is better than ever.

We're also given a much bigger picture of this underground society of assassins in Chapter 3 and for every question about John Wick's past that's answered were given at least one more. And the silliness all through the film helps bring the mythos to life; you'd expect people who kill for a living to have a sense of humor about what they do to help with the stress.

Stray Dog (1949)

Western Noir Meets Japanese Naturalism

[6/10 · 1 March 2023]

Kurosawa describes 'Stray Dog' as an easy to understand film. The plot is a fairly straight-forward detective story searching for a stolen police officer's pistol and seems like an attempt to make a commercial "popcorn movie".

The underlying theme of this film is guilt. Murakami has his pistol pick pocketed which leads to a series of crimes that fill him with feelings of guilt for having allowed his pistol to fall into the hands of a desperate criminal. This guilt by a rookie officer is contrasted by the relaxed experience of his superior officers who are already familiar with the day-to-day procedure of police work and criminal investigation.

This story plays out against the backdrop of a Japan still recovering from defeat by the Americans and the oppressive rule of fascist Japan. Many scenes take place in bombed out ruins and cheaply rebuilt black markets where the Japanese people struggle to acquire simple things like rice and clothing.

Toshiro Mifune, an iconic actor of Japanese cinema, overacted this particular role; you could say he "hammed it up". Maybe this was because of intentional direction he was given but his over-enthusiasm as Murakami was a bit much and made for a less believable protagonist.

What stood out most about this film was Kurosawa's experimentation with various film technique. His use of montage in some of the first sequences was very well done and he composed some highly cinematic shots making the absolute best of incorporating the scenery with the performers in the frame. The black market montage was filmed with a hidden camera in the actual black market district of the time so what you see is really how things were at that moment in Tokyo.

The fairly typical story prevents this film from being one of Kurosawa's masterpieces. The value of this film is with it's documentary aspect showing a rebuilding Japan picking itself up from the rule of fascism and the very enthusiastic filming technique of a director coming into his own as an artist.

Pay the Ghost (2015)

Were Parts of This Script Abducted by A Vengeful Hallowen Spirit?

[6/10 · 23 February 2023]

'Pay the Ghost' was a noble effort at putting a new twist on the vengeful spirit archetype. The story was paced well and the sense of creeping horror was maintained throughout the entire film. The original score was very well done and didn't rely on the sort of cheap musical cues to the audience that you typically get with horror films.

There was much room for improvement with the story, however. There seemed to be too many scenes that had no relevance to the story and other important parts or the story, particularly concerning the vengeful spirit, that were missing from the plot. Perhaps there were a few scenes left on the cutting room floor and having access to deleted scenes would have been nice but it seems the shooting script was trimmed down to meet a certain length requirement and this hurt the film in a big way.

What started out as a strong story with an interesting protagonist culminated in a rush to the climax. There were also too many echoes of 'The Ring' in this film specifically with the ghost using technology to communicate with the living. This was more of a curious side note to the story which but it still seemed like it was ripping off of elements of other, better horror films.

Part of the fun was guessing when the jump scares were coming and there were some good jump scares. There was also some genuinely creepy imagery. This film may not be at the top of the list of great horror but it's good enough to enjoy if you're a fan of ghost stories.

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

The Descent To Hell Continues

[9/10 · 23 February 2023]

'John Wick: Chapter 2' is one of those rare sequels that surpasses the original.

The second chapter of John Wick's saga follows much of the same plot points as the first chapter. The big difference is that everything is intensified; he experiences greater loss, the task at hand is more dangerous and he finds himself in a more vulnerable position.

It's not only the increase in action and turmoil that makes this film better, the action sequences are more smoothy choreographed and edited, the sound mixing and score are much more effective at adding to the scenes and we get a much closer look at the secret world of intrigue and organized crime John Wick can't seem to escape.

Much is still left to the imagination; for example we're still left wondering what the impossible task that allowed him to retire in the first place was. Yet again this mystery surrounding John Wicks history only adds to the enjoyment of the film. The small pieces of his history we glean from this film and the previous one begin to make a mosaic of the hell that "death's very emissary" finds himself unable to escape.

The Hill (1965)

A Tame Look at Brutality

[6/10 · 19 February 2023]

Even though 'The Hill' won best screenplay at Cannes, this story fell short of depicting a brutal military prison camp.

The worst form of punishment for thieves, AWOL privates and disobedient soldiers in this desert prison is being forced to run up and down a sandy hill in the hot desert sun. While this probably would be a grueling form of punishment, the way it was depicted didn't convey this hardship in a thoroughly believable way and since this hill is the film's namesake the overall message of the film wasn't conveyed as clearly.

For it's time, this was probably considered a stark depiction of a prison camp especially because it stared "James Bond" in a vulnerable role. The character development was sloppy and point of conflict was dealt with much too delicately to genuinely shock an audience. The highly skilled acting was what saved the mediocre screenplay and Ozzie Davis was especially brilliant with his performance as the resilient Jocko King.

One award this film absolutely deserved was for the cinematography. It was filmed entirely on location in a prison constructed specifically for this film and. Sidney Lumet and Oswald Morris took full opportunity of having this unique environment to create a visually engaging film which certainly helped prop up the tame script.

This film is worth watching if you're a fan of anyone involved but it doesn't completely follow through with what it promises to deliver.

John Wick (2014)

Ballet of Death and Condemnation

[7/10 · 7 February 2023]

In most stories of revenge, the protagonist seeks redemption. With 'John Wick', the protagonist ultimately condemns himself to the hell he worked so hard to escape from.

Overall, this film breaks away from the shoot-em-up genre in highly experimental and refreshing ways. You have a protagonist who has made a living taking the lives of others and managed to escape that world to experience a heavenly existence for a brief time. The spectre of his past returns once this heaven (his best friend and loving wife) is taken away from him and he plunges irreversibly back to the hell that he had attempted to leave behind.

What most stands out about John Wick as a character is his vulnerability. In the first sequence of the film we see him break down crying when he receives the gift of a puppy from his dead wife. Even though he's killed countless people, he's retained his humanity and needs a companion to love in order to be complete. This all gets taken away from him through an act of malice and greed which leads to the death of the gift of love from the dead. As he buries this gift of love and digs up the instruments of death he'd attempted to leave behind, he's also leaving his temporary heaven and returning to the endless hell that he's truly given his life to.

The choreography, editing and set design were all superb. Unlike most action films, there were very few edits in the very long action scenes which required expertise among both the performers and the crew. This film was sorely overlooked by awards ceremonies in all three of those categories as well and rightly deserves more critical acclaim for accomplishing what seldom few action films even attempt.

What else stands out is that even though this film is full of violence and death from beginning to end, very little focus is given to the gore and splatter. At times the death blow isn't even shown. This elevates what could have been another run-of-the-mill shoot-em-up to a graceful ballet where the human emotion involved takes precedent to the base acts of violence.

One area that did lessen the enjoyment of this film was the use of music. Much of the score was too overt which distracted from the telling of the story rather than heighten the drama. Too many times the music was melodramatic and cheesy, even utilizing the sort of ambient sounds you'd only expect in cliched television shows.

As a whole, this film was innovative, cinematic and a refreshing variation of a genre that hasn't seen this type of new approach in a long time. There are many questions about John Wick as a character that are left unanswered as well as about the underground society he's part of and that seems to permeate every aspect of the world he lives in but the imagination of the viewer does a good enough job of filling in the blanks that this aura of mystery enhances the enjoyment of the film.

Drunken Angel (1948)

The Unlikely Angel of the Festering Bog

[7/10 · 6 February 2023]

Akira Kurosawa described 'Drunken Angel' as his "first film" meaning this was the film where he was first allowed to express himself freely as an artist in spite of having to gain approval from American occupying censors.

It would be fair to describe the overall theme of this film as powerlessness; Matsunaga, the well respected lower Yakuza boss privy to taking what he want's due to his status yet powerless over his tuberculosis and the feudal hierarchy of the mafia society he belongs to; Sanada, the doctor located in the slums with a reputation as the best at curing tuberculosis yet powerless over his temper and alcoholism; the whole of Japanese society powerless over their circumstance as a defeated nation and the transformation between the old and new ways of life.

The central setting is around a festering bog filled with garbage and debris overtly intended to represent the decaying influence that organized crime has on society but also symbolic in a greater sense of Japan as a whole after several years of being met with defeat after WW2. In spite of the powerlessness and decay around them, Kurosawa delivers a message of hope for creating a better future; the marketplace is being rebuilt around a disease-ridden cesspool and the central characters attempt to improve their lives through the choices they make even though their circumstances have them feeling powerless.

The use of music was very innovative for it's time; instead of utilizing a typical accompanying score throughout the film music from the environment was incorporated throughout the film. The use of silence was also innovative and scenes of great tension were entirely without musical accompaniment. Kurosawa also made very good use of editing and camera angles using lower and lower angles and faster and faster cuts as the film approached it's violent climax. The production quality was a bit substandard but you have to be forgiving because of the highly limited resources available (the marketplace set itself was recycled from a previous film) so don't let the low-budget aesthetic of this film detract from the excellent content of a brilliant filmmaker finding his voice.

Miller's Crossing (1990)

A Handsome Film About Men In Hats

[9/10 · 2 June 2022]

Most of the Coen Brothers' films could be best described as homages to films from different eras or genres they personally love and 'Miller's Crossing' best exemplifies this.

Unlike most typical homage films, the Coen Brothers do not simply imitate the style of different genres but instead use genre films to create an experience with their own unique screenwriting and cinematic style.

Obviously, this film is firmly placed in the gangster genre. It contains all the usual plot devices a typical gangster film has like gang rivalry, excessive violence, brutal hit-men, double crossing, and a smart-mouthed hard-boiled protagonist. Unlike other gangster films, the Coen Brothers infuse this film with their hallmark surrealism and dark comedy.

Many critics have speculated on the meaning of the opening scene with a hat blowing in the wind and when asked about it, the Coen Brothers simply replied that sometimes a hat blowing in the wind is simply a hat blowing in the wind. When discussing how to photograph the film, the Coen Brothers told cinematographer, Barry Sonnenfeld that visually speaking, they wanted it to be a handsome movie about men in hats. Indeed, Tom's hat could be considered the central character of the film.

The only drawback to the film is the difficulty of following the complex story; much of that has to do with the use of vernacular specific to the era it takes place in. Yet, even though the story can be difficult to follow, this is ultimately a good thing because it gives you a reason to watch this brilliant work of cinema again.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Exeptional Performances For An One Dimentional Script

[6/10 · 22 May 2022]

'Three Billboards' had so much potential yet lacked the depth needed to meet up to that potential.

It was obvious that the filmmaker was trying to make the sort of film that would garner award nominations; too obvious. Most everything about this film from the dialogue to the lighting was overly self-conscious suggesting that the production team was distracted away from the art of storytelling and more concerned with receiving immediate critical acclaim.

The story was very character driven so it was a disappointment to see the lack of character development replaced by one dimensional abstractions of human personalities; especially with Dixon, the hot-headed and dim-witted local police officer. It was disappointing to not be given more context around the murder of Mildred Hayes daughter and the relationship she had with her family as well as disappointing to not be given more context about the inner workings of the small town police force.

The lack of resolution at the end of the film would have been a good thing if more had been explained throughout the story. Instead, the ending raised more questions to answers that were never given about questions the filmmaker failed to ask.

The performances were brilliant and the overall theme was very good subject material for a film but it fell short of being a great film and simply settled for "good enough".

Life During Wartime (2009)

Color Contrast & Old Emotional Scars

[7/10 · 21 May 2022]

It would be fair to describe the films of Todd Solondz as shining a light on the inherent humor of emotional scaring. In 'Life During Wartime', Solondz focuses on the scar more closely than his other films, allowing the humor to be visible only on the periphery.

'Happiness' would be generally accepted as Todd Solondz's most critically acclaimed film yet attempting a sequel would be a daunting task; a huge risk. Solondz achieved great success with 'Life During Wartime' by taking a radically different approach to the same characters and psychological backdrop.

The most obvious change would be the complete re-casting of the characters from 'Happiness'. This would be in complete contravention of the conventional "Hollywood" approach to sequels and such a notion would have likely been dismissed entirely by a major studio; the sorts of people who would like to see Harrison Ford encased in carbonite for all of eternity so he can be stuck in front of a camera on demand. Yet, with 'Life During Wartime' re-casting every character from 'Happiness' proved to be the best approach. The people in the film all have deep emotional scaring that has healed the best it could over time and they've changed psychologically speaking so seeing a different actor portray the same character adds a strong emphasis to their inner lives. This disassociation from 'Happiness' makes confronting the subject matter much easier for the viewer.

Visually, this film was much more plain than the already visually uneventful films of Todd Solondz. The characters are all trying to find stability and their tumultuous emotional lives are sharply contrasted by the stillness of the camera and the scenery. The use of color contrast and available light all the more heightens a naturalistic sense of one grasping for a pleasant reality that can always be seen but maintains it's elusiveness.

This film lacks the absurdist humor that was prevalent in 'Happiness' which makes the film less accessible; it is a sequel in story alone. The presentation focuses your attention on the uncomfortable truths of what has happened and is happening. Even the dream sequences with the ghosts of heart-broken suicide victims maintains a strict realism. This would lead most people to view the film as a drama but, like with all Solondz films, the director intends on making you laugh at the most uncomfortable things in life. Where in 'Happiness' the humor is paraded in front of you, this film tucks the humor in the blurred edges of your consciousness only to be seen by those with the eye for it.