zulus88 Reviews

Stoic (2009)

Uwe Boll does drama.

[4/10 · 10 April 2011]

Perhaps with childish naivety, I used to believe that Uwe Boll's trademark reputation is actually an effect of a very conscious manipulation. I hoped that one day he would emerge, like a stunning butterfly, from a cocoon of abysmal effort that did nothing but ruined countless video game franchises for their fans across the globe. Stoic and following it Rampage and Darfur (all three made in 2009) were to change prevailing opinion about Boll's lack of talent and test his skill in a more serious context. The first of them- a gritty prison drama, is far from the lows set by i.e. Alone in the Dark (2005) but is it sufficiently competent to redeem Boll? Supposedly based on facts- but in fact difficult to verify, Stoic is restricted to the space of one cell and a tragedy that plays out within it, between four cell-mates. Film is divided into interviews with three of them in the aftermath of their cell-mate's suicide death and footage that leads to this incident. Both unfold together, slowly revealing the true nature of the tragedy and each prisoner's role in it.

Although structure allows for interesting escalation of both guilt and violence it is in no way reminiscent of Rashomon (1950) and Boll remains objective as to what we see leaving no questions about intentions of the violators. Extended from merely a treatment, film is filled with improvised rant that fails to capture the true essence of this story. All three aggressors come across unnaturally and their solid performances are wasted on an aimless direction that resorts to their monologue every time the narrative runs out of steam.

In the end 80 minutes long feature is carried forward by several acts of brutality that turn to be disturbingly engrossing beats sustaining the collapsing tension. Stoic aims to be gritty and realist but lacks focus and talent to achieve these qualities. What materialises on the screen is a bore- repetitive and at times moronic dialogue and an apparent agenda that packs a punch but misses its target by miles. It fails to shock because it lacks any competently realised context for its content.

Verdict: It's better than any of the countless video-game adaptations that Boll unleashed in his fury upon the world. But even still it is stagy, amateurish film-making that makes a point by showing brutal, animalistic behaviour but lacks either will or talent to turn it into anything relevant. There is simply no reward in enduring the violence for its sake and no interesting insight into why it was committed, beyond the obvious capacity for it that we all share. We come already equipped in that knowledge, Stoic does nothing that we wouldn't already know.

Hardware (1990)

Obscure cult classic.

[7/10 · 10 April 2011]

Hardware is a quintessential cult film. Project of a young, troublesome director that was soon to vanish from the movie-making horizon. An ambitious but low budget science fiction that taps into a particular zeitgeist. An overwrought, philosophical flick that is fascinating even if it fails to deliver any real thrills.

Based on a short 2000 AD comic strip Shock!, Hardware is low on narrative content but it exploits its post-apocalyptic setting with a confidence and fidelity. Stanley manages to work around the budget restraints and turns all London based, indoor locations into a believably devastated landscape of a civilization in retreat. Flesh is consumed by overwhelming rusting metal and slowly decays amidst the ubiquitous pollution. It's a bleak even if not entirely original vision that here is pushed to the limit of being almost unpleasantly nihilistic.

Together with work of cyberpunk literature- Gibson's Neuromancer and some defining achievements of Japanese animé like Otomo's Akira (1988) and Fukutomi's Battle Angel Alita (1993) Stanley's film is a product of its times- anxious about the state of the environment and our place in the technological civilization on the threshold of the new millennium. It perhaps couldn't be made with the same infectious desperation pouring out of the screen at any other time in the history.

What it also shares with defining it literate and cinematic contexts is the same tendency towards gratuitous symbolism. Religious connotations (both Christian and Buddhist) between characters of Moses Baxter and deadly M.A.R.K.-13 are at times heavy handed but rewarding in the scale of the whole because of the consistency with which they are used and, at times, their detailed intricacy.

Exactly because philosophical rather than the narrative layer of Hardware comes to dominate the entire feature, Stanley's film becomes so dense, impenetrable and therefore intriguing. Film's colour palette, dominated by oligochromatic browns and reds adds to the overwhelming sense of endangerment even if the script, time and time again postpones the actual danger and fails to build up any tension. Added, voyeuristic sub-plot is appropriately disturbing and intense but serves little dramatic purpose.

Film delivers gore and sex, as expected but it's nowhere near as captivating or resonant as the overarching art style. In the last third, Stanley without any moderation delivers hypnotic and grotesque imagery that leaves the viewer confused but with a dominant sense of being a witness to a wonderful and bedazzling vision.

Verdict: Hardware is best approached not as it was advertised- a sci-fi action movie but rather a complex mantra; film of unified stylistic and philosophical vision that comes close to encapsulating both entertaining and intellectual properties of a masterful sci-fi. It is too aware of its real intentions too be fully appreciated by the mainstream audience but nevertheless remains a work of an intriguing and skillful director. If you fall for its depressing tone and appreciate cyberpunk influenced issues that it tackles you might find yourself coming back to it several times, despite its shortcomings.

P2 (2007)

Predictable but enjoyable.

[6/10 · 10 April 2011]

P2 reunites a trio of filmmakers- Aja, Levasseur and Khalfoun in another after Haute Tension (AKA Switchblade Romance, 2003) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006) entry into a horror genre. It comes with a mixed bag of expectations- inclined both spectacularly gruesome violence and a twist on a worn out set-up. It delivers neither in excessive amount but just enough to fool you, yet again, into the same old game.

Every element of the plot is a spectacular cliché. Setting, villain, victim and the suspension of our belief in her impaired logic and instincts all reek of thorough overuse. In the few opening scenes however, Khalfoun packs enough careful editing and visual flair to hold our interest beyond the painstakingly dull premise.

P2 is never exciting because it flexes the muscle of originality but because enough consideration went into the smooth execution of the usual, run of the mill slasher routine. Focused, intelligent direction turns this much average horror into a welcomed change of pace after dour exploitative achievements of the Saw franchise and Michael Bay certified remakes (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 2003 ; Friday the 13th, 2009). Sense of humour injected into the film proves life behind the camera- a talent that puts all elements of P2 in the right, balanced order.

Unlike Aja's own directorial efforts, Khalfoun's film with restraint doses violence. Provoking only a couple of excessively gory scenes, film builds up to them slowly, aware of their shock value. When it comes, violence in P2 is grizzly but understated throughout, film instead finds enough mileage in its villain.

Wes Bentley's performance as Thomas borders on being unbearably grotesque and truly inspired. His killer is manic and unpredictable in effective, natural way and more suspense comes from his surprising outbursts of anger rather than the usual chase in the dark. Half of the pleasure of watching P2 is contained in decoding his erratic, conflicting intentions and although the dynamic of the cat and mouse game is partially stale, clever characterization of the cat rewards predictability of the plot.

Verdict: It's a welcome treat for genre enthusiasts and solid, if unsurprising, venture for everybody else. The most P2's got going for it is that it understands just as much fun a horror can be. Effectively creepy and to good extent utilizing its urban, concrete hell of a setting, this is a competent debut for Khalfoun and a terrifyingly natural turn for Bentley.

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Classic post-war epic.

[9/10 · 10 April 2011]

A huge commercial success of Wyler's film upon its release right after the war and a spectacular critical reception (9 Oscars including Best Picture) are surprisingly conflicting (and somewhat symptomatic of the film's value) when one determines his expectations towards a picture that suggests post-war revisionism encapsulated within the spirit of the Classical Hollywood melodrama. The Best Years of Our Lives is a complex film in a sense that it is intricately honest about its political restraints and yet applies the same careful consideration to both the entertaining dramatic facade and underlying it social context.

Running time of over 170 minutes turns The Best Years of Our Lives into a 'domestic epic'- film of subtle pleasures and intervening relationships focused on the mundane but extended into the proportions usually reserved for stories of much more grandiose scale. Yet initially balanced perspectives shift dangerously and for lengthy periods of time character of Homer is pushed into the background. Played by an actual disabled veteran, Homer adds a level of harsh realism that is unexpected for a Hollywood film of that period. All three veterans, levelled only briefly by a shared anxiety of returning to their families are constantly challenged by their different economical positioning, but strangely disproportionated by the narrative's momentum.

Wyler's film reveals itself to be a melodrama, in most natural way evolving from the struggle for readjustment into a love affair and it thrives on sentimentality. This notion dominates the tone of the whole with a pleasurable alas predictable manner, leading to an ending that seems to be entirely satisfied with its shmalzy quality. Film is simply most comfortable in this familiar territory, once the obstacle of the controversy- Al's contradictory intentions at work, Fred's unemployment and Homer's disability become merely a set up.

At one point Homer's sacrifice comes under blunt questioning but the villainous gentleman who dares to display his doubt is brutally dispatched- questionable necessity of war dismissed in favour of the future prosperity; an optimism of blindfolded conformity. This suspension of criticism is film's dominant mode.

Staged and executed with precision, film utilizes, infamously, deep focus to achieve a level of undeniable verity. It is hard to dismiss it as only a technical nuisance and although one should be extremely careful to seek Bazinian inclinations of dominance in this particular form, The Best Years of Our Lives is a thoroughly impressive achievement. Depth of every shot provokes a curiosity that is often rewarded through reoccurring use of reflections and significant details that would otherwise require editing, disturbing film's considerate pace.

Verdict: It's a classic that is as enjoyable a movie now as it might have been in 1946 but even more interesting as a story of a significant compromise. One between the urge for reassessment in a mass medium not quite ready for this kind of impact and a story that could support the interest of a broad audience- disillusionment and patriotism. More a mark of its times than perhaps any other Classical Hollywood venture, The Best Years of Our Lives is an example of a film that lost none of its excellence and purely emotional impact even if it intellectually resonates in a rather underwhelming way.

A Bloody Aria (2006)

Unsurprising Korean drama.

[5/10 · 10 April 2011]

One might think that soon a time will come for Asian cinema to reassess its trademark Extreme label. Or that a new approximation of this quality will emerge on the receiving it, critical end. A Bloody Aria is not yet at this stage, it applies violence with straightforward honesty and typical for the Korean cinema consideration of social themes. And it never really discusses implications that emerge.

It basks in social relevance that sadly remains restricted to its Korean context. And despite handling some more general themes- cyclical violence, bullying etc. it never unveils itself as a film with a broader appeal. Most likely then, it will connect with enthusiasts of the Korean cinema that will find some stimuli in observing how portrayal of youth degenerated since seminal Attack the Gas Station (Kim Sang-Jin, 1999). This particular film makes for a disturbing comparison of how the violence has escalated in Korea's national cinema, to accommodate both the expectations of the market and relevant changes in the society.

To equal extent A Bloody Aria can be dissected together with British Eden Lake (Watkins, 2008) or French They (Moreau, Palud, 2006). It emerges as a film less entertaining and more restrained but ultimately more wholeheartedly committed to the comment it makes. Tempo is interrupted by lengthy conversations that intentionally build up the threat but ultimately fail to do so. No sustained suspense ever emerges, consumed by the ambiguity of the film's villains. It collapses as a thriller as it struggles to maintain its, overriding genre schematics, devotion to keen observation of the intensifying power struggle. It consistently reminds the audience to look past the physical facades and our expectations build upon impeccable acting of the entire cast.

Unfortunately, unlike many Korean efforts from the recent past Won Shin-yeon's film fails to captivate the audience with any particular sense of style. Mobile, quasi documentary camera is dull and where one would expect some visual flair it serves images that are unimpressive and (perhaps deliberately) annoyingly overexposed. Disconnection of imagery, themes and musical inclinations contained in the title are disappointing since more grounded sense of style could reward the audience for awkward pacing.

Verdict: Korean Funny Games it isn't. Neither is it a particularly explicit example of Asian extreme. It's a slow burning amalgam of familiar social and cinematic motifs that manages however to radiate with some unique identity. Not as relevant outside of its national targets of critique it is still interesting to watch for Won Shin-yeon's own take on material recognizable from both Haneke and realist horror in the spirit of Deliverance.

Closure (2007)

Skin deep penetration.

[2/10 · 3 July 2010]

Dan Reed, an award winning documentary director, débuts with a thriller that will only be watched for its self proclaimed shock value and soon forgotten for the lack of this and, quite frankly, any value whatsoever.

Alice's (Gillian Anderson) and Adam's (Danny Dyer) meeting is one of a chance. After he installs an alarm system in her upper class apartment, she invites him to a dull house warming party in a countryside in the unlike role of a sex toy. Their accident is one of a chance too. Alice hits a deer and they are both forced to pull over to remove the suffering animal from the road. There, they are attacked by three men they passed by earlier on. Adam is brutally beat up and Alice's raped. After one month recovery, she manages to return to work and Adam, with one eye blind and his face scarred stays locked at her home, struggling to overcome his accident inflicted impotence. When Alice learns of her father's death she drives to the countryside again where she encounters one of the rapists. She persuades Adam to take revenge they supposedly deserve.

Reed, with a brief 76 minutes running time, skips any unnecessary expositions but unfortunately in the process, looses most of the motivation for both the characters and the audience. What's left is paper thin. Dyer is his own, low class, laddish caricature and Anderson's middle aged, sexy businesswoman is played on a hysterical autopilot. Even their unlikely affair is played out with no true interest in an inevitable contrast they create. It seems that they both serve a foolish, deus ex machina plot where Reed's main moral concern is whether the revenge is not even more dehumanizing than animalistic behaviour that provokes it. He's bend on making a statement but with no interest in the process, he jumps right to the end far to quickly and makes the whole experience unconvincing and uninteresting.

Straightheads, for the most part, plays out like a character film but the little emotional intimacy that the characters actually share, is blown away by the outbursts of violence and sex. They do little more but emphasize the growing brutalization of Adam and Alice-something so painfully obvious and insubstantial that it's difficult to find any justification for the grim tones that film hits. In its attempt on deep, structured emotional insight into the life post trauma, it seems to be too brief and relies too strongly on in-your-face violence to awake any serious afterthought.

And even despite its length, Straightheads is a drag. With 20 minutes of deleted footage available on the DVD, it looks like it wasn't really sure of its narration's rhythm. It ultimately emphasizes little of the tension and drama that first rate thriller should provide and instead it dwells on cheap, worn out psychology. The metamorphosis of Adam and Alice is foreseeable and because of that disengaging. As the film, unbearably slowly, drifts towards its conclusion, Dyer's restrained pansy regresses into a violent psycho and the film reaches its feeble ending with no constructive point. It all ends too abruptly with ambiguity that is usually reserved for films of explicit intellectual strength. But Adam's stare on the audience remains empty- a worthless gesture, a last failed stunt committed by a film of a stunning, obscure numbness.

Verdict: Straightheads seems like a challenging attempt but comes across as to scared of any serious commitment to its brutal, provocative subject. Instead it will try to shock you with relentless, gruesome images but it's all just a sombre bore. It recalls visceral, nauseating power of Straw Dogs and Irreversible but is nowhere near as engaging, original or graphic.

1.5/5

Zoo (2007)

Impenetrable glimpse on the complexities of human nature.

[5/10 · 3 July 2010]

How should one approach a film that ostensibly cracks open, one of the last, shameful taboos of a modern society? Most likely reason for anyone's interest in Zoo will be its daring theme. But it's neither a study of bestiality nor one man's fascination with it. Zoo tries to reach deeper, beyond a single event. It's attempt is admirable but film itself lapses into deep uncertainty about its intentions.

Zoo follows the tragic death of Kenneth Pinyan, who in July of 2005 bled to death after suffering a perforated colon due to an anal penetration by a full-sized stallion. Pinyan's death, led to a legal prohibition of sexual intercourse with animals in the state of Washington and enraged the authorities, seeking for the responsible of an assumed animal abuse.

It's a film of uncanny, spellbinding beauty. But each skilfully composed frame, actually takes us further away from a problem that is essentially, less philosophical and more academic. Its controversy escalates on the grounds of state and social conduct and although is touched upon in the film, through numerous fragments of radio commentaries, it is never truly pursued. Devor instead, seems to be fascinated by a mythical connection of a man and an animal and the emotional substitute it becomes for otherwise desolate human relationships. The idea seems forced upon the unclear events leading to Pinyan's death and with the lack of any substantial reasoning, simply very silly.

In his inversion of Jungian animus into the conscious and an attempt on spiritual rationalization, film, ironically, looses most of its humane values. Exploration of Pinyan's motives only comes from people who are unable to closely relate to him and therefore consist a relevant source. And because the subject matter will seem vulgar, disturbing or for some deeply inappropriate, viewer is left with no real understanding of his actions and no real clue as to who Pinyan was. Haunting visuals are bedazzling but without any true narrator it is easy to quickly lose track of the numerous characters and the order of the events. This leaves little interest in the event itself as we have to constantly struggle to separate dreamy fiction from the truth and often, make out our own sense of what Devor is showing.

Because of its oniric form, as a microscopic exploration of a single event on its spiritual plain Zoo might emerge as deeply meaningful, even nuisansical but it inevitably delivers too little of a wider context, for its documentary zest. Its greatest fault is how insubstantial it is. At the end we are left more confused than enlightened.

Verdict: It's more tender and restrained than its controversial content might suggest. But it's also convoluted, hard to follow, and ultimately, not thorough enough, to provide a relevant spectrum of Pinyan's fascination. But its stunning imagery is bedazzling and unforgettable. More of a provocative meditation than intellectual clash, Zoo is an art-house documentary that for many will be hard to swallow rather for its nebulous form, than the bold theme.

2.5/5

Whip It (2009)

Teenage girls can kick-ass too.

[8/10 · 3 July 2010]

Every entry in an already tired indie formula, brings us closer to actually returning to the age of teenage-hood. Reverting mentally to the point where we were desperately seeking of our own, repressed inner-selves. Whip It does something differently though. It sparks a frightening nostalgia for that flaming youth that actually, might be still buried deep within and provokes a thought: why I don't remember my teenage years as being so much fun?

It might be a rite of passage, coming of age story in its purest form and Bliss (Ellen Page) is, inevitably, a troubled and too often embarrassed, teen stuck in Boden, Texas. She struggles between satisfying her demanding mother (Gay Harden) and managing a straight face in a pink apron of a diner where she works. It all changes when, god given, she attends a women's roller derby and joins the worst team in the league. Beauty peagents, she is forced to attend are replaced with bruises, sweat and, well...tight, green uniforms. But only until Bliss' parents learn of her daughter's new hobby.

Ellen Page, as you would expect, channels a lot of her Juno stamina here. And it's definitely a kind of a cocky and bright performance you would expect. But with Bliss, Page manages some new depths. This time around script allows her not to outwit everybody: 'Are you alternative now?' asks her bitchy, school nemesis. 'Alternative to what?'. This wonderful disillusionment and total confusion about one's place in life makes Whip It so special and so darn cute. Bliss is forced into her cynicism by her ambiguous habitat but she manages a believable vitality. Page's charisma grinds on both her skill and script's natural humour. Whip It's greatest strength lies perhaps in the way all of the characters come together. Juliette Lewis, Zoe Bell (of a Death Proof fame), Eve and Drew Barrymore herself in supporting roles, make this film feel like a genuine fun. Girl-power chemistry they spark, create a ground for unbelievably enjoyable story where nothing can really go wrong. Barrymore's début might often be formulaic but it never loses its charm. She firmly holds all the strings together and its difficult not to cheer those lousy skaters on. Once the competition reaches its climax it is your purest, edge of the seat, nail-biting drama.

It's ultimately a shame that Whip It never aspires to anything bigger and bolder. It's so good in its own game and Barrymore such a promising new-coming director, that you'll regret that she never tries anything more adventurous. Ultimately, the only other complaint is purely technical and if you're already planning to skip on the sports-induced excitement in favour of the spiritual journey, even irrelevant. But camera work way too often seems to stay well behind Page and other skating girls in the derby sequences and you might find yourself lost.

True, a lot of Whip It will sound like a broken, old record and parts of it reek of clichés. Bliss' strongly polarized family often balances on the edge of a ridiculous emotional mess that's just a tad too stereotypical even for an indie taste. And a rock-band singer love affair could be skipped altogether, without any harm to the film's outcome. But Barrymore approaches Cross's script (adapted from her semi-autobiographical novel) with a tenderness and adolescent wit. In the end it sounds real and is warm-hearted but is also pulsing with a rock'n'roll energy.

Verdict: Whip It might be of small proportions but highly substantial and thoroughly entertaining. Even if it won't make you grab your old skates and go embarrass yourself, it will definitely provoke a smile of deeply grounded satisfaction. Barrymore's follow up to this début is now much anticipated. Whip It in a tagline? Juno on skates. With a kick-ass boost.

4/5

V for Vendetta (2005)

Good movie, but bad comic filming

[8/10 · 2 May 2006]

First, I thought: My God, why did they do it to this amazing story, why did they turn great graphic novel into this. But when the end credits appeared on the screen I've changed my mind. There's's a place for both: movie and graphic novel. The first one is a great fun, second one remains this "uncompromising vision of the future" which movie turned into few dynamic sequences. They surely have their extraordinary power (like in the "domino falls" scene) but they're not what "V for Vendetta" supposed to be. Even the main character turned into some clown alike. V is not this intelligent madman anymore, he is like any other Hollywood movie character. Sad...But still it's great fun to watch. And if you haven't read the comic, after watching the movie its the first thing you should do.