willson_x Reviews

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009)

Really bizarre indie film... I liked it

[9/10 · 18 March 2016]

It's not everyday I venture out of my comfort zone when it comes to film- I'm happy watching The Wedding Singer, a good psychological thriller, a cop thriller, the sort of thing Harrison ford would've appeared in in the 90s, you know, standard movie-going fare- but once in a while you come across a peculiar film that you just stumble across and you give it your full attention, and if you hang on, there is a reward at the end. I've read the other reviews for this film on this website, and they say things like it's "hypnotic" or "surreal", the bad reviews are mainly by pretentious types that use musty words like "Lynchian", or say "I wish I could give this a zero!" words that should end up on a tissue, but somehow end up here. The point is, I gave it a go, and I can safely say its a belter, the "hypnotic" and "surreal" quotes definitely apply. Firstly, is it entertaining?: Yes, that would definitely be a yes. It's got a shed-load of big actors on board doing unconventional performances, there many quirky, messed up moments, a lot of dark humour and a floaty script that fleshes out a distinct dreamy, lost atmosphere, accentuated by the incredible cinematography and music choices that are not typical of any film I've ever seen.

Secondly, the cultural merit: It starts off like a pragmatic cop drama, you get Willem Dafoe and his understudy, chatting chit, doing what cops in films do, shooting the breeze and driving to the crime scene like any other day on the job, but then they arrive and the mystery starts to unravel and the story's told in a series of flashbacks told by witnesses, and cutbacks to the "present" where the police are negotiating Michael Shannon's surrender. Like Sherlock Holmes said "Everything becomes commonplace by explanation", and though I've laid out the formula, and reading my own explanation back to myself, I make it sound like an episode of Columbo, the truth is, it's closer to something Rod Serling would've come up with, and then some. What's interesting about this film is that unlike a lot of other killer/cop dramas, they don't really try and make sense of the crime, the crime itself is solved within the first 5 minutes, what this film does is try and legitimately explain *WHY* this guy committed a murder, and then through secondary storytelling methods, the Killer's clouded mind becomes the primary focus of the whole thing, and the voices of his friends and family kind of become ghostly and fading as you start to understand more about the fantasy he lives in and how certain events drove him to do it. The mystery is an unsolvable one, but granted by the end of the film you will have some sort of self-made answer, and I think, lame as it sounds, that's the joy of this film-

The sun bleached camera, the hazy L.A. suburban Americana, the unique characters and mini- stories all come together and it just sort of washes over you. It's a quirky indie film like you've never seen, not quite as good as "Paris, Texas", or "Romeo is Bleeding", but it's in the same vein, and whatever it tries to do, whatever that is, it succeeds on all fronts. It's worth a watch, it's sharp, it's clever in the right places, and stupid in others, but that absurdity gives it genuine character, which is rare in films with such big Hollywood actors involved. Really, when a film like this comes out, and it's the closest thing to art you've seen for a long time in modern cinema, believe me when I say it's worth a watch. Don't take my word for it, read up on the true story, it's based on a real case, 1979, murder by sword, Oedipus and all that good stuff, The calibre of actors speak for itself, and the collective interpretation of all involved is worth the price of admission alone. I read somewhere that this was supposed to be a "horror" story, well it's not quite that, and it's not quite a psychological drama, it's definitely speculative fiction, and lies somewhere on the periphery of explanation, between all those genres, a little to the left and then up a bit, then forward a bit more, then left again, then right, then left....

Opera (1987)

I just want to say, I f**king love this film

[9/10 · 11 September 2014]

Usually I float over titles I see on this website and let it be as karma to the film, or whatever, but this one seems to have a bad rep that I intend on redeeming. This film is worth me putting my foot in the door and saying something, I can't physically change your mind, but I can try and push the bad reviewers out of sight (by finding out where they live, kidnapping them with 3 rolls of duct tape per body, some heavy duty garden rope, and dropping them off the shortest peak of Mt Everest.) Some reviews say it's just a film that panders to gore hounds, where others say the story makes not a blip of sense. I recently watched another Italian horror director's (Lucio Fulci)film "House By The Cemetery", and I realised something about the whole genre of Italian Horror, whether it be very grounded Giallo types, or the supernaturally dream like horrors that feel like a hallucination. They're films that go for a "definite feeling", how they get there at the end, however unorthodox or off the wall they are, they achieve dread through little quirks and symbols, artistic motifs, camera shots, music that is genuinely saddening and horrifying. But whatever criticisms you might have about the acting, the strange, unrealistic script, the gore... you get "there". It creeps up your skin. It goes for a densely packed experience, filled with all kinds of dreams, fashion, themes and nightmares. On a documentary about Italian Horror films, it said something very important about the cultural significance of them and it is something that Fulci said: "Violence is an Italian art". There's something about their overbearing, bloody, Roman past, and their highly emotional society, and how even today it is so constricted by religion and class orders, and how this is represented in their horror output as a kind of rebellion. Sure there is worthy Italian comedy, but it's the horror that is done artistically and poignantly, and always in anything gruesome, there is a sense of humour anyway. It seems what they want us to believe is that it comes naturally to them and we should understand that their understanding serves a purpose in the universe.

With "Opera", the setting is that familiar scene of paparazzi, false love, real pain, celebrities, the fans, that cold world where talent, and love for what you do, takes you. Least of all, it's about Guiseppe Verdi's opera- "Macbeth". Actors at odds with their fans, A dark celebration of youth, life imitating art, it could be interpreted many ways, but ultimately I think what's clearest about it is its disdain for celebrity worshiping culture. It's fantastically cynical and has a seething hatred running through it. It's shot like a dream, which is not uncommon for Argento films, but a dream which turns sour for the unsuspecting protagonist who is unsure about the power of her singing talent, but coerced into taking the role of Lady Macbeth. The art direction in this is grey and futuristic looking, everything is the colour of granite, splashed with blue. Every element of the movie is densely layered, the cinematography, the music, the pacing is so tightly packed it's like watching someone get stuck in a black hole where no man has gone before. And that's my last point about this movie and why you should see it... it's a completely original film, an artistic accomplishment in its own right. It's a rebellious statement, it's brutal, it's seductive, it's confidently done, I just hope you read this review before the others and at least give it a chance. Saying it's rebellious has made me realise something: modern horror films are done for the enjoyment of watching them, it's like the makers enjoy it and that carries on, whereas the old films were made by men and women who were fighting in their own small ways, an oppressive society, who enjoyed fear above all else because the horror makes you think, they used their dream like horror as an intellectual and educational tool. This film is still a part of that "Old School". I don't know what to say, maybe my love for this movie is as irrational as the whole Italian horror canon, as the dream-like way in which they shot the films, but as far as going on pure feeling goes, my gut tells me to follow this one, and you should too. Get a creep under your skin, get a view of the world you've not seen, watch this!!

The Box (I) (2009)

One of the most underrated films of the decade?

[9/10 · 14 January 2014]

Not a 10 star title, but to its credit, certainly there is much effort involved. It's not a movie marked for greatness, however, it is not a schlock effort either. It is a serious science-fictional tale which, like any good science fiction, draws parallels with our humanity and analogises our own possible fates.

I LOVE science fiction. It is my 2nd favourite genre (Next to ancient history) of any medium because of the endless possibilities, the greatness it can make us feel, and perhaps because the brightest talents of the 20th/21st Century have been dedicated to harnessing the power science fiction holds. It takes us out of our planet and into realms we do not have the means to get to without the help and inspiration of these people. I say this film ticks all those boxes. It's based on a brief 20/30 minute Twilight zone episode, the second generation series from the 80s. The episode itself is a small, neatly little packaged story, it's very simple: A man comes to an ordinary couple's house and offers them a boat load of money IF... and then he produces a box with a button... they DO NOT press the button in the allotted time limit. A tense, darkly comical episode. In the context of the show it is just another fun episode dealing with human conflicts and possible outcomes, however, out of context, the idea can be related to something larger and more universal. I'm really glad the director Richard Kelley saw this opportunity to do so. The film itself is a mad, tragic film with a great ending and one that gives you a push into the unknown. I can't think of another film like it. The lengths it goes to prove a point about humankind is astounding. The choice of having box office babes Cameron Diaz and James Marsden was a tad gimmicky and definitely didn't help the films final overall vibe and hence why it isn't a classic, but that aside, the rest of the movie's story, cast, atmosphere was dead on. I've tried not to say too much about the movie as I respect it and think that if you enjoy science fiction this is definitely one for you. It's a movie worth a watch because it has heart, it has depth and it has a uniqueness that is hard to find in a film. I hope you get something out of it.

Beyond Outrage (2012)

I write about it, i talk about it, i dream about it... this sequel is the tits

[10/10 · 7 November 2013]

A lot of people seem to be hesitant to put that this is one of the all time great sequels to a movie, ever. It's up there with the Lord Of The Rings, the Toy Story, the Godfather, whatever you consider the best (Alien?) trilogy. What it is, is that it's the perfect sequel to the first film and its complex, meaty character/story web. It compliments it and enhances it in every way, it's not just "Annuva' sequel". It's *BETTER* -Guarantee included.

The story starts like if you're reading the be-all-end-all of crime dramas in bed, and you've turned the page, fueled with adrenaline and no thought for your sleep pattern. OK, so Takeshi Kitano's character died in the last film, right? He's on the cover of the damn box, but let's pretend you can't put 1+1 together: he's dead, the gangsters lost their boss, tensions are high... unfortunately they stay high the whole movie, unfortunately for them, trapped inside the screen. Fortunately for us, the nail biting tension is strung high, like a tightrope, and we are being tickled along. The emptiness of the camera is like the sinking hole below you as you cross this suspended wire. Look, do you want me to say any more? Just go see the movie, if you haven't seen the 1st installment, go see that. You will watch the next one straight away. There is no third chunk to call it a trilogy, so you'll have to make do. Now go watch it before the magic of word of mouth fades off and you watch the next bullshit Hollywood film starring Emma Watson or some pretentious looker that acts as well as a zombie, freshly resurrected from a Haitian cemetery by Baron Samedi. Keep it vanguard, people.

The Canterbury Tales (1972)

The life and times of G. Chaucer

[10/10 · 30 June 2012]

I was hard done by lately, I hadn't felt too good all day, I was getting a little bit wound by the external forces which I tend to deal with as best I can, but there are things left over which accumulate and just bowl you over some days... it turns out all I needed was the flailing nude people, the most incredible energy filled, bowler hat wearing rascal, who just made you smile, the beautiful scenery, the chirpy humour, the lurches of passion!, the threshold of my troubles were far behind me, all thanks to this film. How can something be this joyous to watch? Americans are too serious, their humour is different... I think it is weaker because they are always smiling... smiling at each other, smiling at boring stuff... smiling at us to death! European humour is a lot more used to misery, because it works: when you're miserable you REALLY start laughing, especially at things that are ACTUALLY funny. I've been getting sick to death of American Hollywood blockbusters lately, I came across this on you-tube (where you can watch the whole thing, what cheer!)and I started watching the beginning at first half-interested... but you know when you get that tugging feeling, and you can't help but let yourself be drawn in... there is some sort of magic in this movie, a rich texture of pure magic... and I was spell- cast after the first segment, then I needed to see more... and it paid off. The sheer BALLS this movie has, the pure passion, the way the scenes just keep getting better, it makes you proud to be alive. Oh believe me, this film pays off in more ways than you can think. I've never read the book, although I own a copy... I could never take the time to learn how to read it proper, like. Me not so Crever, like! No, no... the film will do. If you want to learn about love you can ask a weird geezer, if you want to learn if a film's good, you read what a weird geezer has written on IMDb, it's all the same, all year round, so take what you will of this, but this film is terrific, make sure you see it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ6Zcvyl-Tg That's the you-tube link for it, it's in Italian with English subs, which I'm sure isn't how Chaucer envisioned it in his head, but nonetheless, it's free, so don't pass up this chance... while you're still alive!!

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)

if you have life, but fear eats everyone else, this is the movie for you.

[10/10 · 17 May 2012]

After watching a film like this, you will be in a sort of coma of welling tears and lust for life and hatred of all things that hinder life, and a hatred for fear. To quote Yoda: Fear leads to hate, hate leads to anger and anger leads to the dark side. Basically, this film is about a looked-down-upon relationship. A lovely, sweet, but lonely old woman who gives a place of solace to strong and silent, also lonely Ali, a Moroccan immigrant trying to get by, and they find a spark between the two of them, which is love, and they try against all odds to kindle it... Germany, still 30 years after WWII and they're still all racist, but no more than anyone else at the time, still, it's disgusting and unforgivable, and it creates a condition that is unlivable for two human beings to be happy... God, the atmosphere in this film is so miserable. The looming depressing racism is around every corner and happiness is sucked out by the violent, yet typical post-colonial mentality, along with disgusting tricks and mind-games, yet these seem so normal to us in western society, but to a foreigner, or a Moroccan in this case, it is alienating and intensely sad for him to exist in this emotionally cold climate as he is a creature of the flesh, he is just a simple human being not caught up in the complexities of western life, and because of that he is a lonely creature, but he's developed and attitude of shrugging off the sadness and saying: "who cares?", but this, as in life, never works. You must watch this film to see the end, I can't tell you what happens, but it will make the day seem much more immediate to you, and you will want to hug the person next to you just because you are alive! Go see it, now!

Shivers (1975)

Certainly gave me the shivers... and in me' Willy!

[9/10 · 10 May 2012]

Nice erotic horror, although when the horror comes from the eroticism, I got ab-it confused on how I should be feeling: should I be turned on?... Should I be scared? Needless to say by the end of the movie I was scared sh*tells and I had a massive erection. This movie is very smooth, and very philosophical/satirical/etc. It's all about the psychology in this one. There is a scene in a bathtub, needless to say it had me squirming on the sofa, kept poking my erection into me' dinner, but it didn't matter, cause scared or horny, you cannot eat your tea to this one, believe me I tried... it's just all the little things adding up see, by the time enough had happened, I was holding the thoughts of disgust back, but then there was just a scene with one of the women chopping veggies, and I suddenly felt sick... only a good film or a bad dinner can do that, an Im gonna go with the first of the two!!! Overall, just watch it, and expect to get laid afterwards (not during, gotta wait for the terror to die down so you are just left with the horniness), if you are entertaining ladies. Gotta say though, not really *spoiler* as such, but just a warning... there is a lot of rape in this film, so be careful cause its always a touchy thing with that one, my girlfriend was crying at the first rape, but after that she got used to it (In the film of course!! I'm a pacifist!!) Anyway, great great film!!!

9/10

Echoes From a Somber Empire (1990)

A fascinating game of tug-of-war with everything you hold dear: Can you win?

[10/10 · 4 December 2011]

Echos Aus Einem Düsteren Reich.( In English that's)- Echoes From A Sombre Empire

How do people make documentaries like this? it astounds me. First things first, this is beautiful and greatly sad. This documentary, however, only serves as a light dressing to try and anoint a wound long and deep and still bleeding: It cannot heal the scars left behind by the tyranny of what happened in the Central African Republic, but it serves as many things, mainly to aid the goodwill of mankind, to remind the viewer that you must never sympathise with perpetrators of terror in any disguise, shape or form. Jean-Bédel Bokassa was a product of the civilised world which created him, and they had to pay for his actions at great cost to the world. This documentary follows one man, Goldsmith, who was greatly affected by Bokassa, but remained true to his investigative, journalist instincts that put him into a torture chamber for many years, and although being a gentle man, he is a torchbearer for the truth, and he really got to me above all else. He uncovers the two sides of Bokassa, the human and the Cannibal Dictator, through interviewing the people who knew him well before being sentenced to death. Herzog helps him and the viewer on his quest for knowledge of the unknown and closure for what happened in Goldsmith's and the world's heavy past. In conclusion, this is by far the best source you are going to get on an intense period of history that says more to us about who we are than anything else, because it forces us to recognise that which was documented here as the truth, and we are put to the test as to whether we are strong enough to bear witness to the sadness created in the name of our pathetic and lonely civilisation, the cold heart of capitalism is something we must understand. Sometimes the truth does not set you free, sometimes it only reinforces what is already concrete, and that which is concrete cannot be anything more, and the failure of the other reviewer's perceptions is they tried to look for something beyond what is a perfect representation of the truth, they hold certain lies about what a film is very dear to them, but they fell short of the truth and are unsatisfied as a result. This is not a film for action junkies. Another reviewer on this website was talking about this docu having a lack of a 'Hook', which is sad because sometimes it is better to totally except what anguish does, and use your knowledge and your reflections on the sadness that happens to better your own lives so that you don't end up creating this confusing, endless void of ideas where the truth is told to wait while you look for the truth that suits you, but inevitably is created as a lie. Don't deny the Imperfectable, enjoy the freedom you have to watch this film and go on the journey this film will give you if you are warm-hearted.

***** If you liked this film... To be compared with it : "Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait" a documentary by another German film maker Barbet Schroeder who got special permission from crack-pot philosopher, self-proclaimed-economist and sinister dictator idi amin to film him. A seriously good film and comparison piece to Herzog's *****

Him & Her (2010–2013)

A load of bollox

[1/10 · 17 November 2011]

For some reason all new comedies are about awkwardness and imperialist sense of humour, they are badly acted by the main cast and they think they are so funny. What is annoying about this one especially is that the actors are all conscious of the fact they are making a comedy and try too hard to make the emptiness and things that shouldn't be funny in the first place be funny simply by acting like a goon, thereby ruining any chance of it being a good show. The only good actor was the crazy guy from Wayne's world 2 who killed the man and his son with a shoe and he was also in Withnail and i, that's cause he's a legend, the rest of the cast duck monkey ding dongs. This show in general is just really bad and dispiriting to the human race

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)

If you could only imagine...

[10/10 · 4 April 2010]

... Imagine a far off land (asia) and delve into the future (the year 2001 mega laughs). This film kicks off as bad ass as they get... and it only gets more bad ass. Ricky-oh is the most bad ass character to fight evil in the history of cinema, he leaves bullets that were fired into his chest inside him as souvenirs, so you don't get more bad ass than that. Don't you dare blink while watching this film, or you might miss out on some of the most bad ass fight sequences of all time, they are truly exquisite.

Are you also a fan of pure awe-striking cinema, then WATCH THIS FILM ...Get your kids watching this film, your grandma, your grandpa, anyone ALIVE, this film is THE most funny, bad ass film in the world. Possibly the greatest movie of all time. Better than the brick-sh|ting Godfather, man!!!better than Schindler's List!!!!!! this film is THE SH|T!!!!!!!!