The Film Connoisseur

Chronicle (2012)

2012-02-13T10:00:00.001-08:00

Title: Chronicle (2012)

Director: Josh Trank

Cast: DaneDehaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan

Review:

Chronicle is one of the best telekinesis movie I have seen to date and trust me; I have seen a lot of them! Okay, maybe it aint better then David Cronenberg's Scanners (1981), but it definitely ranks way up there in my list of best telekinesis movies ever. If you want to know a bit more about films dealing with telekinesis, check out this article I wrote a while back called ‘A Mind is A Powerful Thing to Waste (Telekinesis Movies)’ where I list a bunch of telekinesis movies, amongst them the great Japanese animation classic Akira (1988). But seriously, they should’ve just called Chronicle Akira (1988)! Chronicle has so many similarities with Akira that I honestly felt like I was watching an Americanized version of it. True, Chronicle borrows quite a lot from Akira, but it does it so well and with such pizzazz that I’m not complaining. In fact, Chronicle gave me hope for the kind of things we might be seeing in the proposed Akira film, which has been in development hell for quite some time. Directors for the proposed film adaptation of Akira have come and gone, writers have changed, actors have been attached and detached, but the film never seems to actually take off. Last time I checked, it was Jaume Collet Serra, the director behind Orphan (2009) and House of Wax (2005). This is all understandable, after all, Akira is an epic and complex tale requiring a skilled filmmaker to do it, this film shouldn’t be handed to just anyone.

Chronicle plays like a simpler version of Akira, it takes place in our time, without the post-apocalyptic background, the political turmoil or the motorcycle gangs.. Story focuses on three teenagers who stumble upon an alien rock that suddenly gives them telekinetic powers. One day they are normal teenagers, the other they can move cars with the power of their minds. At first it’s all pranks, fun and games but things turn ugly when one of the three suddenly decides to use his powers to get back at anybody who ever messed with him. Suddenly, the worm has turned and there is going to be hell to pay!

So yeah, first off this is a “found footage film” which means we see the film through the footage that somebody shot with a hand held camera. I recently reviewed Apollo 18 (2012); a found footage film about a lunar mission gone horribly wrong and in that review I talked a bit about how much I enjoy a well made found footage film. To me they bring me that much more closer to the action, they feel that much more in your face. Not to mention that when done right, realism levels can sky rocket, which is what happened with Chronicle, a film in which some situations and events are way more intense simply because of the documentary style. It also plays around with camera angles. Instead of always having the shaky cam jumping about, at some points the camera hovers around the characters because they make the camera float with the power of their minds, which I thought was a pretty nifty idea. It also gives viewers a breather from the “shaky cam” which some viewers can get exhausted with.

Some don’t seem to like this kind of film, or have grown tired of them (there’s so many of them out there) but I say we better get used to them because this is simply another way to tell stories, another style and apparently it’s here to stay. One reason why found footage films are proliferating so much is because they are cheaper to make and at times like these, when the economy has affected even Hollywood, well, even Hollywood is cutting back in expenses. These films are usually shot on digital, with new actors that don’t cost producers a lot of money. A well made found footage film can cost anywhere from 11,000 dollars like Paranormal Activity (2007) to 5 million dollars like Apollo 18 (2012). Either way, these are cheaper films, certainly less then your regular Hollywood film. This is the reason why found footage films have proliferated so much these days. But anyways, I don’t really care why they are making them so much, I enjoy the “in your face” aspect of these films a whole lot. They got a bit more adrenaline infused into them.

Thematically, the film plays with exactly the same themes that Akira addresses, mainly, the abuse of power. Once we have incredible amounts of power (as do the kids in this movie) should we succumb to abusing it? Should we allow ourselves to be corrupted by it? Or should we learn to harness it? Spiderman said that with great power comes great responsibility, which is true, but what happens when you give all that power to a nerd that was always picked on before? To a boy who suffers from physical abuse from his drunken father? Will this new found power fuel his desires for revenge? This is to me where the film was most similar to Akira, because on Akira we have the same exact situation, Tetsuo is a young kid who gets picked on all the time, so when he gets his powers all he wants is to seek out the respect he was due. Other similarities involve the main character running around in hospital robes destroying everything in his path with his new found telekinetic powers; the visual alone should be enough to spark any anime fans memory. If you ask me, the director of this film, 26 year old Josh Trank should be given the chance to direct the Akira film! But alas, apparently he’s already been offered the opportunity to direct the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot for Marvel. Lucky dude! He’s already moving on up! And Chronicle was his first film! He’s got the makings of a promising director; I’m looking forward to whatever he’s making next.

What Chronicle does right is that it truly exploits the telekinesis angle to full extent. It really plays with the ideas of moving things with the power of your mind. While some films only do it in a half assed way, like for example PUSH (2009), which to me was a horrible film, Chronicle takes it all the way! It gets epic in scale and goes further than I expected it to go with its ideas. While watching it I felt like when I watched Superman II (1981) for the first time. When I first saw Superman II as a kid, that epic battle between Superman, Zod and his cronies was the epitome of ‘epicness’ for me. It was the ultimate superhero battle. Keep in mind this was way before the onslaught of superhero movies we have today, this was during the 80’s when superhero movies were rare. Watching Zod and Supes playing catch with buses and hurling billboards at each other was the ultimate rush for me! Watching Chronicle reminded me of that kind of feeling you get when you watch an epic battle between two ultra powerful beings wrecking the city, done absolutely right. The effects were quite good on this one!

Another positive aspect of the film is that it takes its time in developing its characters. Before things get blown out of proportion, we slowly get to know these three fellows and how they come upon such fantastical powers. We get to see how they first learn to deal with their new found powers and how they learn to master them, to control them. Basically for a wile the film turns into an origin story; that first film you watch where they lay down all the rules of the game and show us how everything started. But after that introductory phase, the movie picks up and never let’s down, in fact, it gets completely out of control and jumps straight into “freaking awesome” territory. Highly recommend it! The last half of the movie is well worth the price of admission. It was a fast paced jolt of excitement, looking forward to seeing what Josh Trank will be directing next!

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

Memorable Moments In Zombie Zinema Part II

2012-02-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

So I promised you guys more Memorable Moments In Zombie Zinema and here they are! I hope you guys enjoyed both of these articles! I’m sure a third one could be written up as well, since there are many memorable moments I’ve obviously left out. But no matter, enjoy the ones I’ve posted! They were hand picked for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

Memorable Zombie Moment: SLOW MOTION OPENING SEQUENCE

Title: Zombieland (2009)

Zynopsis: Talahasee and Columbus are two strangers who meet in this post-apocalyptic wasteland America. Columbus has a survival system, a couple of rules he lives by that have allowed him to survive the ongoing zombie threat. Talahasee is a loner who cares about no one but himself, but he is a tough as nails hombre who wont think about it twice if he should ever have the need for knocking a zombies head off with a bat! On their travels they come upon a pair of girls who have a plan to lock themselves up inside of an amusement park, will their plan work?

Comments: Zombieland was an entertaining zombie flick with some nifty ideas, but above all lots of style. The opening sequence which opens up with the zombie apocalypse in full force and in slow motion, is nothing short of amazing and a memorable zombie moment on it’s own. True-blue zombie fans were jizzing in their pants during this opening sequences, I know I did! But of course, what we all wanted to see were zombies in an amusement park, and that you get. Theres many gags and pranks that take full advantage of the “zombies in an amusement park” premise, this was a highly enjoyable sequence as well. A sequel is currently in the works supposedly for a 2013 release, I hope it eventually gets made because Zombieland was a fun ride that I wouldn’t mind getting in line to experience again.

Quote: “You see? You just can’t trust anyone! The first girl I let into my life and she tries to eat me”

Memorable Zombie Moment: SHAUN AND CREW WALK AMONGST ZOMBIES PRETENDING TO BE ZOMBIES

Title: Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Zynopsis: Shaun works selling electrical doo-dads in some convenience store, his life is going nowhere. His roommate and best bud has his priorities straight: smoking weed and playing Playstation all day. Shaun’s life is so redundant, that he doesn’t even notice when zombies begin to take over his town! To him everyone’s a zombie! It’s during this zombie apocalypse that Shaun and Co. learn to take the reins of their life and become heroes.

Comments: Shaun of the Dead is one of the finest zombie comedies out there, it’s funny, it’s got it’s social commentary and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost proved to be a successful comedic duo; a duo that’s gone on to make a string of successful films together. There are a lot of memorable moments on this one, like the scene where Shaun and Ed kill zombies by hurling old LP’s at them, or the scene where Shaun and Ed take pictures with a zombie, but my favorite was the one where they walk amongst zombies pretending to be zombies themselves. I found it amusing because I always though I’d do the same thing if I was ever in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.

Quote: “Who died and made you fucking king of the zombies?”

Memorable Zombie Moment: TOO MANY TO MENTION! THE WHOLE DAMN FILM IS A MEMORABLE ZOMBIE MOMENT!

Title: Dead Alive (1992)

Zynopsis: Lionel’s mother is bitten by a Samarian Rat Monkey while visiting the zoo. Problem is that the Rat Monkey’s bite turns anyone into a zombie, so, slowly but surely Lionel’s ‘mum’ begins to become one of the undead! She’s not alive…but she’s not dead either! Unfortunately for Lionel, his undead mom is the one responsible for spreading the zombie infection around, until pretty soon the whole house is filled with zombies! How will Lionel keep this situation under control?

Comments: It’s interesting to see a directors first films, especially those that started from scratch like Peter Jackson who started his career with such low budget films as Bad Taste (1987) and Meet the Feebles (1989), Dead Alive was part of his first batch of films that had incredible amounts of originality and creativity, these early films showed promise that’s for sure! Dead Alive showed everyone how crazy and over the top Jackson could go with his imagination; this is one crazy zombie movie! It really gets totally nuts! The film is literally overloaded with memorable zombie moments! A priest that kicks ass for the lord! A zombie nun and a zombie priest procreate a zombie baby! I mean, the list goes on and on…if you haven’t experienced it yet, get ready for one of the goriest, goofiest, slimiest zombie films you’ll ever seen in your life.

Quote: “Your mother ate my dog!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: FIRST ZOMBIES ON FILM

Title: White Zombie (1932)

Zynopsis: Monsieur Beaumont is a rich land owner, he has a plantation in the island of Haiti. When Beaumont meets Madeline and Neil -a couple of young kids soon to be married- he invites them over to the plantation, offering it as an ideal place for their wedding. Truth is Monsieur Beaumont has fallen rampantly in love with Madelline, and he wants her for himself! His plan? To ask Mr. Legendre (a local voodoo specialist) to perform a ritual that will allow Beaumont to control Madelines every move. Essentially, he turns her into a zombie! Will Neil ever get to rescue his fiancé from the clutches of death?

Comments: Is there a zombie film made before White Zombie? That’s the big question. I have done my research, and many agree that this in fact is the first zombie flick ever made. Some say the first zombie was ‘the somnambulist’ seen in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), but I don’t think that character was a zombie in the true sense of the word. It is never said that Caligari’s somnambulist was dead or undead for that matter. So to me, White Zombie was the first zombie film and it’s a really good one. Some films from the past tend to come off as goofy or funny when compared to today’s horror films (Universal’s Dracula for example) but White Zombie remains extremely watchable after all these years. It’s still an effectively spooky, eerie and atmospheric film. The kind of zombies we see on White Zombie are the kind that were enslaved and used to work the sugar mills. Before Romero’s Night of the Living Dead came along, zombies didn’t eat flesh! There was a time when zombies were only depicted as slave workers being controlled by voodoo, an allegory for the mindless working class. The same kind of zombies can be found in films like I Walked With A Zombie (1943) and Plague of the Zombies (1966).

Quote: “They are not men Madame! They are dead bodies!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: BLIND ZOMBIES FIND A VICTIM BY LISTENING TO THE BEATS OF HER HEART

Title: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972)

Zynopsis: A group of friends have to go to an old abandoned monastery to rescue their friend, who has gone missing. Problem is the monastery is inhabited by a group of evil knights who worshipped the devil and drank the blood of innocents so they could live forever! Will the group manage to rescue their friend and escape the clutches of the blind dead?

Comments: So first off, the idea that these are BLIND zombies is what really makes this one original. You see, these knights where so evil that when they were discovered sacrificing people and drinking their blood they were crucified and left out for the crows to eat their eyes out! They still live forever as zombies, but they are also blind! Interesting thing is that even though they are blind, they are still pretty dangerous! The most memorable sequence in the film for me is the one where the zombies find their next victim by listening to the frenetic panicked beats of her heart!

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIE TRIES TO BREAK THE WINDOW OF A CAR WITH A ROCK / FIRST FLESH EATING ZOMBIES

Title: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Zynopsis: Suddenly and without any apparent explanation, the dead are coming out of their graves and attacking the living, eating their flesh. A group of people lock themselves up in a farmhouse, but after doing so don’t know what else to do. Should they lock themselves up in the basement? Should they board the house and hold the fort? Should they make a run for it somewhere?

Comments: Initially, Romero had envisioned the film to be about aliens, which is why there’s talks about a satellite returning from Venus, but as time went by the project morphed into what it is today, the first film about zombie fleash eaters. One of the many working titles was ‘Night of the Flesh Eaters’, you see, when the time came to conceptualize this film, the filmmakers tried to think of the worst thing that the zombies could do, and low and behold, flesh eating popped into their heads. And ever since Night of the Living Dead, zombies are all about eating flesh, which is why this film is so influential. That classic scene where we see zombies walking about in the darkness eating arms and legs is extremely effective! The opening scenes in that eerie cemetery, with the zombie trying to break Barbara’s car window as she tries to turn it on, exhilarating. The scene with the little girl zombie, wow, still a shocker! This is without a doubt one of the most important zombie films ever made, even after all these years, the film retains that chill, that horror, yes my friends, Night of the Living Dead is a film that has aged extremely well, its horror is timeless.

Quote: “They’re coming to get you Barbara! ”

Memorable Zombie Moment: NAZI ZOMBIES EMERGE FROM THE SEA

Title: Shock Waves (1977)

Zynopsis: A group of vacationers find themselves stranded in an island when they crash upon a boat that passes them by. The island is apparently empty and deserted…or is it? It isn’t long before an army of undead Nazi zombies starts emerging from the ocean! Will the group of vacationers survive?

Comments: So basically, even though this movie is extremely slow at times I find myself enjoying it immensely, why you may ask?? Well, I love the images, the Nazi zombies emerging from the ocean look awesome. The nazi zombies themselves? Simple, yet effective! This film owes a lot to Romero’s Night of the Living Dead since it is basically about a group of people who debate between locking themselves up in a room or making a run for it in the zombie infested island. What makes the film different is the island setting and the Nazi zombie element which is always a nifty idea, I mean; it’s my opinion that Nazi zombies have not been exploited in a good way in Hollywood yet. I’m still waiting for a filmmaker to make the best Nazi Zombie movie ever? Shockwaves is the best so far, Dead Snow the other heavy contender, but a truly great Hollywood Nazi Zombie Film hasn’t been made yet.

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIES GET SMARTER AND REVOLT

Title: Land of the Dead (2005)

Zynopsis: Zombies have completely taken over the world! Only a couple of human colonies exist in the world. A group of humans attempts to make it to Canada, where supposedly a human colony exist, and the zombie threat is minimal. Their plan is to steal a war tank called ‘Dead Reckoning’ (the films original title by the way) for their journey. Is this paradise real? Will the group of humans make it past the hoards of zombies?

Comments: Romero has always been the trend setter when it comes to zombie films. He made zombies flesh eaters; he made the first “smart” zombie. With Day of the Dead (1985) Romero introduced us to ‘Bub the Zombie’ the first zombie to listen to a walkman, enjoy classical music, clean his teeth with a toothbrush and hold a gun up to his oppressors! With Land of the Dead (2005) what Romero did was he made the zombies the good guys. The villains of the piece are again, same as all of Romero’s films, the greedy, selfish humans who just cant seem to get along. What is new about Land of the Dead is that Romero the zombie known as “Big Daddy” a revolutionary leader. That’s right Big Daddy is leading the zombie revolution! He teaches them to pick up guns and go up against the greedy humans!

Quote: “Zombies…they freak me out man!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: GNAGI FALLS IN LOVE WITH A ZOMBIE HEAD

Title: Cemetary Man (1994)

Zynopsis: Francesco Dellamorte is a caretaker at the local cemetery, he buries the dead and kills the undead! To Francesco, killing zombies is as natural as breathing. But he wants out, he is tired of the same o same o life he’s been living, he wants to see the world, to fall in love, to live his life. Will Gnagi and Francesco ever find a better world?

Comments: What I enjoy most about this movie is that it’s a little bit artsier than your regular zombie film. It is deeper, more poetic, which is of course something really strange in a zombie film; most of them only concern themselves with action and gore. Cemetery Man even has some romance in it! This film is not meant to be taken literally, it’s has many symbolisms and allegories, and it plays with a lot of themes, again something you wouldn’t expect from a zombie film. But don’t worry, what this film does well is that it never forgets that it’s a zombie film! One of the main characters falls in love with a dead girls zombie head! This film comes to us from Italian Horror directi Michele Soavi, the director responsible for Stage Fright (1987) and The Church (1989) two Italian Horror films I enjoy very much, but Cemetery Man is his masterpiece as far as I’m concerned.

Quote: “Hell, at a certain point in life, you realize you know more dead people than living”

Memorable Zombie Moment: FIRST ZOMBIE TELEPORTATION

Title: City of the Living Dead (a.k.a. The Gates of Hell) (1980)

Zynopsis: A priest commits suicide and this somehow triggers one of the seven gates of hell to blast open! Now the dead are coming out of their graves and attacking the living and if a reporter and a psychic don’t slam the doors of hell shut again, the dead will rise all over the world and take over the planet! Will they make it in time to shut the gates of hell and save the world?

Comments: So yeah, this is a zombie movie Fulci style which of course means at times you’ll be completely lost and confused as to what exactly is going on in the screen. But that’s how the Fulci school of filmmakin g goes: shoot the film, forget explanations, let the audience sort it out in their own way. For example, it is never really explained why zombies in this film seem to teleport from place to place. One moment the zombie is steps away from you, then suddenly ZAP! It disappears! And seconds later ZAP! It re-appears! Closer to you this time! Are these zombie ghosts? Why do they teleport? Who knows! It’s Fulci, get on for the ride and enjoy! This movie is crazy gory! Fulci really went crazy with the gore on this one. Just ask yourself one question before seeing this one: are you ready to see a girl puke out her innards for minutes on end? If your answer is yes, then by all means indulge in this great zombie film. One of Fulci’s best, right behind The Beyond which is my personal favorite Fulci flick.

Quote: “The night of the dead begins. If the portholes of hell aren’t shut before, no dead body will ever rest in peace. The dead will rise up all over the world and take over the earth! You must get to Dunwich! You must close the gates!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIE EXPLAINS WHY THEY EAT BRAINS

Title: Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Zynopsis: The military misplaces a group of canisters filled with experimental toxic gas that can bring the dead back to life. When the dead start to rise, a group of people got no better place to hide than the local mortuary. Will they make it through the night? Things go from bad to worse when all the dead people buried in the cemetery next door to them begin to come out of their graves! Meanwhile, the military begins to evacuate the town and place it under quarantine; will the military come rescue these poor souls? Or will they be considered expendable?

Comments: Return of the Living Dead is one of the seminal zombie movies, it’s a ‘gotta watch’ if you are a lover of zombie films. Was this the first film to introduce fast moving zombies? On this one zombies don’t walk slowly towards you, nope, on this one zombies are rabid and fast! They’ll chomp on your neck in the blink of an eye, so you better watch it! This film is extremely fast paced and entertaining. It also has a very punk rock attitude about it, which I loved. There are many memorable zombie moments on this one including zombies picking up a walkie-talkie and telling the people at the hospital to “send more paramedics”. Also, it gives us one of the most memorable moments on any zombie movie ever! I’m speaking of the moment in which the good guys capture a zombie and ask it why it has to feed on human brains. The zombies answer? “It takes away the pain of being dead!”

Quote: “Listen, there’s a bunch of people from the cemetery who are stark raving mad and they’ll kill you and eat you if they catch you. It’s like a disease, like rabies, only faster, a lot faster! That’s why you’ve got to come and get us out of here now…right now!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: CHOPPED OFF ZOMBIE HEAD TALKS!

Title: Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)

Zynopsis: In Return of the Living Dead Part II, the government misplaces yet another canister of their deadly toxic gas, unfortunately, this time the toxic canister falls in the towns’ water supply! Soon, the town is crawling with zombies left and right. A group of neighbors must work together to stay alive. It is their hope that the army will come in and save them from the brain hungry zombies.

Comments: So this movie I love because it has a lot of zombies in it, and I mean a lot! The make up effects work is excellent, top notch stuff. My only real gripe with it is the soundtrack they chose to put on the dvd release of this film. You see, originally, this film had a real rock and roll soundtrack. Lot’s of heavy metal in there by bands such as Anthrax and Leatherwolf, unfortunately the rights to a lot of these songs where never squared out, so they were taken out of the film. To make matters worse, the soundtrack they replaced these songs with on the dvd sounds like some mentally impaired kid is playing with a synthesizer. So, so, bad! But the film itself is still fun times, I always get a kick out of James Karen and Thom Mathew’s grave robbers, their exchanges are always a howl. The film was directed by Ken Wiederhorn, the guy responsible for Shock Waves (1977), supposedly he had no real passion for making this film, but in my opinion you wouldn’t even know it because the film is fast paced, has some great make up effects, and is a respectable sequel to the original. If only they could get that original soundtrack back! There are many memorable moments on this one, like the talking zombie head, or the zombie hand that gives everyone a hard time when it slips inside of a car!

Quote: “Get that damned screwdriver out of my head!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIE GETS THE TOP OF HIS NOGGIN’ CHOPPED OFF BY THE BLADES OF A HELICOPTER

Title: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Zynopsis: In Dawn of the Dead the zombie apocalypse has just reached a fever pitch! The world is going insane because the dead are coming out of their graves, suddenly nobody gives a crap about anything or anybody, it’s every man for himself as they say. But a group of strangers decides to steal a police helicopter and make a run for it to a nearby island, which they hope will be zombie free. But for the time being, they make a pit stop in a local mall and lock themselves up good inside of it. They begin to get comfortable, they figure they have everything they need to survive inside of it, so why leave?

Comments: Without a doubt, Dawn of the Dead is one of the most important zombie movies ever made. Along with the Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Day of the Dead (1985), Romero has constructed a trio of films that every one will look up to when they try and make a zombie film. Like most of Romero’s zombie flicks, Romero talks about human behaviour, how we are a consumerist culture, buying things out of habit, or like we are programmed to. We walk to the mall to buy, buy, buy! Ever been to a mall jam packed with people and felt they were all zombies? Also it comments on how easy humanity can fall apart and become chaotic and ravenous. One moment everyone is playing by the rules, the other, its total pandemonium! The first few moments of this film are extremely chaotic, a dreadful vibe is absorbed, you’ll feel like there’s no tomorrow. The re-make of this film Dawn of the Dead (2004) was a good one. Highly recommend it as well. Kudos to Romero for making such an important film on only 650,000.00!

Quote: “I have given them the last rites. Now, you do what you will. You are stronger than us, but soon, I think they be stronger than you”

Memorable Zombie Moment: FIRST AND ONLY HAMMER ZOMBIE FILM

Title: Plague of the Zombies (1966)

Zynopsis: On Plague of the Zombies the story revolves around a plague that’s causing people to die, and then coming back as zombies. A doctor investigates the mysterious events only to come to the conclusion that there’s voodoo magic at work here! Who’s at the root of all evil? Who is the zombie master?

Comments: So yeah, Hammer films made about 10 Dracula movies, about 10 Frankenstein films, but only one zombie film, and that was Plague of the Zombies. This one has many similarities with White Zombie (1931), Bela Lugosi’s zombie masterpiece. The similarities begin with the witchcraft/voodoo angle, and with the idea of using zombies as slaves to run a sugar mill. Also, I’ve always said that this film inspired Sam Raimi a bit for the Evil Dead. It’s no secret that Raimi loves updating ideas from older horror classics, he did it with Drag Me To Hell which was a re-working of some ideas presented in Jack Tourneur’s Night of the Demon (1957). The scene that got me to think Raimi had seen this film is the dream sequence in which a girl comes out of her grave, and her boyfriend has to chop of her head, then her body falls on him just like in Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987). The zombie on this film doesn’t really appear all that much, but when he does appear it’s quite the visual.

Quote: “Someone in this village is practicing witchcraft. That corpse wondering on the moors is an undead, a zombie.”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIES WITH RED EYES IN THE DARK!

Title: Horror Express (1972)

Zynopsis: A train travels across the snowy mountains of Siberia, in it, the body of a monster that was found in the mountains of Manchuria. The scientists who found it believe it to be missing link between man and prehistoric man. The creature is sealed inside of a cargo box, but curious minds want to know what is inside! What they soon discover is a creature that hypnotizes it's victims, sucks the knowledge from their brains and turns them into zombies!

Comments: Horror Express is a nifty little movie that could almost be mistaken for being a Hammer film, hell; it even stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee! But this isn’t a Hammer flick at all. Still, it’s an excellent and often times underrated horror film, more horror fans should give this one a try. Interesting thing about this movie is the atmosphere it has. 95% of the film takes place on the claustrophobic confines of a train, and there’s a snow storm raging on outside! It’s a very spooky setting! Then we have a mad monk on board that could rival Rasputin! He’s spreading rumors around that Satan is with them on the train! The real horror comes when people start believing that the monster in the train could be the devil, or the antichrist! In some ways it was similar to The Mist (2007) because of this. The debate; is it Satan? Is it a monster? Is it big foot? What is it? But, the film this one is really emulating is The Thing From Another World (1951). So many similarities between this film and that one. Still, some elements make this one unique, like the red eyed zombies that bleed out of their eyes! A very effective horror film that shouldn’t be ignored.

Quote: “You think evil can be killed with a bullet? Satan lives. The Unholy One is amongst us!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIE HEAD GIVES HEAD!

Title: Re-Animator (1985)

Zynopsis: Dr. Herbert West is conducting experiments dealing with the re-animation of dead tissue. Can a person be successfully brought back from the dead? Dr. Herbert West intends to find out! His invented a serum that revives the body, but does it also revive a persons soul? The real problem is that West’s test subjects keep piling up! Soon, they are too many to control and as a result, things spiral into chaos. The ending is a full blast zombie Armageddon. Can anybody stop this mad scientist? Will his experiments ever get anywhere?

Comments: So this is one of Stuart Gordon’s finest horror films. He has an interesting bunch of films under his belt, many of which are memorable horror films, but this is the one that started it all for him. Herbert West is played by the always interesting Jeffrey Combs, who went on to become a horror icon himself. The formula for this movie was obviously to go as over the top and crazy as possible. As a result we have the infamous zombie head giving head scene. It is said that David Gale lost his then girlfriend after she saw this scene. But the zaniness doesn’t stop there, this movie is gory as hell and totally, totally nuts in a way that only horror movies from the 80’s could. Barbara Crampton, Jeffrey Combs and director Stuart Gordon would reunite once again for more films like Gordon’s From Beyond (1986) (my own personal favorite Stuart Gordon film), Fortress (1992) and Castle Freak (1995).

Quote: “Who’s going to believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: PETER CUSHING ZOMBIE

Title: Tales from the Crypt (1972)

Zynopsis: On this anthology film, Peter Cushing participates in the third segment entitled “Poetic Justice” in which he played an old man who loves making toys for little kids. Unfortunately, his neighbors think he is creepy and they want him out of the neighborhood so they decide to play a nasty prank on him.

Comments: So yeah, Tales from the Crypt is more than the HBO series or the two movies it spawned. The very first Tales from the Crypt film ever made was made by the guys at Amicus Productions and it just so happens to be a good one. On this film we get various horror stories woven into one film, so it’s an anthology film which was Amicus Productions modus operandi. They would always make anthology films, it was their speciality. Amicus making a film based on the old Tales from the Crypt was a perfect because each issue of the Tales from the Crypt comics was always composed of many short stories in one issue. But Peter Cushing participates in one of the best stories in the whole thing. Highly recommend this movie, every story is actually pretty decent, and it was a film directed by the great Freddie Francis who was one of Hammer Studios finest directors.

Well, that’s it boys and girls, hope you enjoyed the article. If you want to see the first part of this article check it out over here: Memorable Moments In Zombie Zinema Part I

Apollo 18 (2011)

2012-02-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

Title: Apollo 18 (2011)

Director: Gonzalo Lopez Gallego

Cast: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins

Review:

I’ve always been a fan of what is commonly referred to as “found footage” films; these are films that are shot documentary style. The idea being that the movie we are watching is part of film footage that was found, after the facts. I like these films because if done right, the resulting film will have an augmented level of realism to it, more so then your regular film. Things don’t feel so ‘Hollywood’ or fake in these types of films. Apollo 18 is one of the latest examples of the found footage genre, and I have to say that the filmmakers behind Apollo 18 were, in my book, quite successful with what they achieved with this film.

In Apollo 18 we follow the crew of the last American mission to the moon. In real life, the Apollo 17 was the last manned flight to the moon, but for reasons of entertainment this film asks the question: what if there was one mission we never knew about? A mission hidden to us by the government? A mission called Apollo 18?! Ever wonder why NASA has never gone back to the moon? This found footage film, which is supposed to be decades old, reveals to us the ‘true’ reasons why. Everything on this Apollo 18 mission was documented because the whole ship was equipped with cameras everywhere. On top of that, the astronauts themselves have cameras with which they record everything. Through their footage we see that strange things begin to occur on the lunar surface. For example, the electronic equipment on their spaceship begins to malfunction for some reason. Upon further exploration of the moon, the astronauts find an abandoned Russian spaceship and some dead cosmonauts. What the hell has happened here?

I enjoyed Apollo 18 for many reasons, one of them being that it’s a well made found footage film. I felt so close to the film; like I was right there with these astronauts, landing on a strange, alien satellite, which is great because honestly, how many of you feel that the universe is one of the greatest mysteries in life? I mean, entire planets, just floating out there. Galaxies, stars, black holes, comets…I find it all fascinating and mysterious. To me, one of humanities biggest priorities should be exploring that great, ominous unknown out there. Just send a spaceship out there and explore the hell out all that vastness! Star Trek style! But the closest man has ever gotten to exploring space is the moon, we haven’t ventured further then that. Not personally anyway. We’ve had satellites go as far as Mars, but a manned mission to mars seems further and further away, especially when we take in consideration that NASA’s funds were cut short this year and that they damn nearly shut down all kinds of space exploration, or so they say. Last time I checked, we still have two space stations in orbit, one Chinese, one International. At least there’s that.

But going to the moon in 69? That was a big deal back in the day, still is in my book. That is if it really happened; there’s that conspiracy theory always hovering about that says that we never truly went to the moon, that it was an elaborate hoax to distract the common American from the horrors perpetrated in the collective consciousness by Nixon and the Vietnam War. Did we go to the moon or not? I lean towards the idea that we did, and that it’s all true. Number one because I love the freaking idea, and number two because there’s just so much footage of the whole thing. Don’t know if you guys have seen it, but there’s a documentary called For All Man Kind (1989); I reviewed it a while back and was blown away by it. On this documentary we can see astronauts bouncing on the lunar surface! We see them actually venturing out into space for the first time! We see footage of them inside of their shuttle moving about in zero gravity! Can you imagine what it must have felt like to have nothing but stars beneath your feet? Seeing the universe down there below you? Those astronauts had one hell of an experience! Strange how many of them have died in mysterious circumstances though…which can lead one to think it was a hoax and the government killed them all to hide the truth? But who knows….the worst is usually the true.

But as I watched it, Apollo 18 brought all these themes and questions to my mind and it added the element of horror into the mix! Quite effectively I might add. I loved that the film wasn’t in such a hurry to tell it’s tale, it goes at just the perfect pace if you ask me, revealing more and more at just the right time. Loved that about it! But trust me, when the film decides to turn up the juice, things get intense alright! Very intense! And since we’re so up close and personal, even more intense! The premise of these two guys alone in the surface of the moon, with not a human in sight makes everything kind of spookier. All that terrain up there in the lunar surface, and it’s so empty, so dark and alone, the perfect setting for a horror movie!

I also enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t an empty movie. It addresses some important themes. For example, one of the characters get’s all paranoid at one point because he feels he is being watched all the time. That “they know” and that “they are watching us” and that we are “guinea pigs” and that he doesn’t want to be watched anymore. I mean, how many of you out there ever get just a little paranoid at how many cameras are filming us on a day to day basis? On the train, on the supermarket, while you are driving in your car, when your walking down the mall, when a cop stops you, hell, for all you know, somebody is zooming in on you from a satellite in space. I like how the film addressed this issue, the constant surveillance issue. When I walk on the streets, I’m always conscious of how many cameras are filming me. Everyday. There it is. That camera. Looking at me. Sometimes I try and avoid the cameras, because I hate that idea that someone somewhere is watching me, studying my behavior, as if I’m some sort of social experiment?

The performances and situations were all very convincing and I applaud the filmmakers for convincingly bringing the 60’s back to life. I mean, the footage truly does look old and decrepit, scratched, aged, yellowed. This effect was achieved because for some scenes they actually used old cameras from the 70’s! All the space gear looks real, as do the spaceships and the electrical equipment. Makes you think if they pulled this off so convincingly for this film, maybe they pulled off something similar back in the day and fooled an entire nation? This lunar hoax thing makes me think of a Barry Levinson’s Wag the Dog (1997), a film in which the U.S. government pays a filmmaker to shoot a fake war to distract the people from a sexual scandal involving the president. I applaud this director, a Spanish guy by the name of Gonzalo Lopez Gallego for making this film look more expensive then it is. I’ve never seen any of his previous work, but I hear good things about a film he made called Nomadas (2001) which I’ll hopefully be checking out soon. But if you can believe it, they made this movie for 5 million dollars, which is pocket change for Hollywood. This film shows once again that you don’t need kajillions of dollars to make a good film. You just need a good crew, good actors, writers, directors. The artistic side is the one that needs to be of quality. Then, even with a little money, the resulting film should be something worth while. Like Apollo 18.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Film Connoisseur celebrates its 400th post! Plus: Memorable Moments in Zombie Zinema Part I

2012-02-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Hello gals and pals, today we celebrate The Film Connoisseur’s 400^th Blog Post! That’s right my friends, so far, I’ve written 400 reviews and articles for your reading pleasure. I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride, I know I have. As some of you many know, whenever I celebrate anything on this here blog, I tend to do special articles…and since I don’t want to loose that tradition just yet, I’ve decided to do a blog post on Memorable Moments in Zombie Cinema.

I’d like to thank all those of you who’ve subscribed to the blog (all 238 of you as of this article) and stuck around. I know not all of you comment, but I do know that a lot of you out there are reading because The Film Connoisseur gets more than 1,300 clicks per day! Not too shabby! These figures let me know that somebody out there’s reading right? Also, thanks to all those who comment on a regular basis, your support is appreciated people, you know who you are!

So to the business at hand: Memorable Moments in Zombie Cinema! As some of you may know, I’m a real zombie nut! I mean I’ve watched quite a huge amount of these films…hell; I’ve even made two zombie movies myself! And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from a zombie movie it’s that they LOVE to impress with their gory moments and totally zany situations! Usually with zombie films, the crazier the scenario the better!

So, before I get all sentimental on you guys, I offer you some grizzly madness instead. Here’s my list of some of the most memorable zombie characters and scenarios I’ve come across, along with some of the grizzliest, goriest and the downright nastiest moments in a Zombie Cinema! Of course, not everything is on this list because….there’s so damn many zombie movies out there! Still, I think I’ve managed to work up an interesting list. This list of zombie moments has turned out long, so I’ve decided to split this article in half, expect part II sometime next week. In the mean time, enjoy!

Memorable Zombie Moment: BUB THE ZOMBIE LEARNS TO SHOOT A GUN

Title: Day of the Dead (1979)

Zynopsis: Zombies have taken over the world! A group of humans is surviving in an abandoned military bunker, but the question always lingers in the air, how long before the zombies get into the base? And can the humans live amongst themselves in peace, or will their violent natures make them kill each other first?

Comments: So yeah, this is the first film as far as I’m concerned where a zombie is ‘domesticated’ though that sounds like a complete contradiction because zombies by nature eat flesh, and there’s nothing domesticated about that! But still, on this film, a mad scientist thinks that he is capable of getting a zombie to be more human, to remember the pleasures of listening to music, or to remember how to brush its teeth. Unfortunately, he has to learn the bad way that zombies only care about one thing: eating live flesh! This film offers us some of the goriest moments on any zombie movie ever! Like the scene in which a group of zombies tear apart a character called Col. Rhodes! Also, the film has some truly gory nightmare sequences. Day of the Dead is my favorite of Romero’s quadrilogy for more than one reason. Gore, lot’s of zombies (the most on any Romero flick) and a decidedly serious tone. To me this is Romero at his darkest and most nihilistic.

Quote: “We don’t have enough ammunition to shoot them all in the head. The time to have done that would have been in the beginning. No. We let them overrun us. We are in the minority now, something like 400,000 to one by my calculations”

Memorable Zombie Moment: BIRTH OF A ZOMBIE BABY

Title: Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Zynopsis: A group of humans decide to hide inside of a shopping mall as the zombie apocalypse rages on in the outside world. Will the world ever return to normal? Is this happening all over the world? As they ponder these questions, they also have to decide if they are going to stay or if they are going to make a run for it towards an island in the sea where they think they might be safe.

Comments: So yeah, this is a remake of the George Romero classic, but it offers up so many new moments and situations that at times it feels like a completely different movie all together and not a remake, which is a good thing in my book. A couple of things caught my attention about this one, for example, we see so many more zombies than we ever did in Romero’s film! There’s literally thousands of zombies on screen at times! And another thing that blew me away: the birth of a zombie baby! Not that it’s something that we haven’t seen before. There was a zombie baby in Dead Alive (1992) and in a Spanish zombie film called The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (1974). But still, a zombie baby is always shocking and is not an easy gag to pull off convincingly. As evidenced in Dead Alive, it can come off as comedic as well. But on this film it was pulled off in an effectively creepy manner. Plus, there’s that amazing sequence in which the good guys use a chainsaw to chop a bunch of zombies in half that’s so freaking memorable!

Quote: “Hell is overflowing and Satan is sending his dead to us. Why? Because you have sex out of wedlock, you kill unborn children; you have man on man relations, same sex marriage. How do you think your god will judge you? Well friends, now we know. When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”

Memorable Zombie Moment: JASON VOORHEES SHOWS US HIS UGLY FACE

Title: Friday the 13^th Part 7: The New Blood (1988)

Zynopsis: On this one a girl with psychic abilities named Tina is trying to cope with her fathers death; apparently she’s having a real hard time getting over it. Her psychologist decides it’s a good idea to take her out into the woods, to the place where her father died so she can confront her fears and move on. Unfortunately all this does is trigger her telekinetic abilities so much that she resurrects Jason Voorhees, who was liying dormant at the bottom of Crystal Lake, where he died on the last film. Will Tina be strong enough to confront Jason Voorhees mano a mano?

Comments: So this one was special because it introduced the element of telekinesis into a Friday the 13^th film, and I’m a huge fan of telekinesis. But also because it’s the first film in which we actually get to see Jason’s face after he’d become a permanent member of the undead. Before Friday the 13^th part VII: The New Blood, we had never seen his face as a zombie. The show off between Tina and Jason is a highlight of the film, director John Carl Buechler makes sure that Jason looks really putrid and zombified on this one. On this one Jason really looks like a rotting walking corpse, more so then on any other Friday the 13^th film.

Quote: “There’s a legend around here…a killer buried, but NOT dead. A curse on Crystal Lake, a death curse. Jason Voorhees curse. They say he died as a boy, but he keeps coming back”

Memorable Zombie Moment: HOT CHICK GETS TURNED INTO A ZOMBIE

Title: Return of the Living Dead Part 3 (1993)

Zynopsis: Question: Your girlfriend is curious about the secret military base your father works in and she wants you to break in and see what’s going on in there, what do you? Well, you break in so she can see it of course! Both teens soon discover that what goes on inside are military experiments in re-animating the dead! They seem to be using a gas to bring the dead back to life! So what to do you do when your girlfriend dies in a motorcycle accident? You bring her in and revive her of course!

Comments: This film marks the beginning of a downward spiral for the Return of the Living Dead franchise as far as I’m concerned, but this third installment does offer up a couple of cool gory moments. Like for example, when Julie starts to turn into a zombie and rigor mortis begins to set it, she starts introducing pieces of glass into her flesh so that she doesn’t loose sensibility! This one was directed by Brian Yuzna the director behind Bride of Re-Animator, Society and Beyond Re-Animator.

Quote: “Julie, are you eating him? You should stop it.”

Memorable Zombie Moment: BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR RIPS OUT HER HEART

Title: Bride of Re-Aniator (1990)

Zynopsis: Dr. Herbert West’s interest in conducting experiments involving the resurrection of the dead has no end! On this film he attempts to resurrect Dr. Cains girlfriend by placing her heart in a corpse that he plans to re-animate. Sounds crazy right? Oh, wait, did I mention that the corpse they will use in the experiment is made up of a bunch of different people sewn together!? Trust me, this isn’t the end of the craziness on this movie…on this one you’ll see things that would make the freaks in a freak show pale in comparison. Will they succeed in their experiments? Can Dr. Herbert West re-animate someone’s soul as well?

Comments: This one was directed by Brian Yuzna, a director/producer who often times collaborates with Stuart Gordon, the director behind the first Re-Animator film. Consequently, Yuzna also ended up directing Beyond Re-Animator (2003), the third installment in the franchise. This second one isn’t a bad sequel, in fact out of the three Re-Animator films, this is the one that incorporates the most ideas from H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘Dr. Herbert West’ stories. Want some more craziness? How about a zombie head that flies! With bat wings?!

Quote: “I’ve created what no mans mind nor woman’s womb could ever hope to achieve!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: BRUCE WILLIS AND QUENTIN TARANTINO GET TURNED INTO ZOMBIES

Title: Planet Terror (2007)

Zynopsis: Thanks to a mistake by the Government (like always) zombies have now started to spread across the land! A motley crew of individuals try to stay alive during the whole ordeal. Apparently, there’s no way to stop this madness from happening! People are turning into bubbling, slimy, melting zombies left and right!

Comments: This is one of my favorite zombie movies period. I mean, it has everything and anything you could ever want in a zombie movie! Toxic Gas that turns people into zombies! The zombies in this movie melt and explode! They are gooey, slimy and disgusting! The cast is freaking amazing, so many good actors on this one makes it all the more fun. It’s the kind of movie that has many different characters in it, each going through their own ordeal. Planet Terror is a b-movie and it freaking knows it. It succeeds thanks in no small part to Robert Rodriguez’s complete grasp of what makes this kind of movie fun and entertaining. This film is a fast paced ride every step of the way. Highly recommend it!

Quote: “I’m going to eat your brain and gain your knowledge”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIES GET CHOPPED TO SMITHEREENS BY THE BLADES OF A HELICOPTER

Title: 28 Weeks Later (2007)

Zynopsis: The U.S. military helps the people in Great Britain deal with the zombie plague. In the middle of the madness, a family tries to survive.

Comments: The sequel to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002), had me a bit worried at first for one reason and one reason alone: Danny Boyle wasn’t directing and Alex Garland wasn’t writing. For me, it was the combination of those two great minds at work that made the first film so effective. On this second one we Juan Carlos Fresnadillo both writes and directs. To be quite honest I’d never heard of this Spanish director before, which is why I was skeptical about this sequel at first, but once I watched it I realized the film was in the hands of a competent director. The films most amazing moment is that sequence where they chop hundreds of zombies with the blades of a helicopter. This is an idea that was first used by Romero on a smaller scale in Dawn of the Dead (1979) where a zombie gets the top of his head chopped off by the blades of a chopper. Robert Rodriguez has a similar scene in Planet Terror (2007) which was released a couple of months after 28 Weeks Later, but it was 28 Weeks Later who did it first! This is an extremely effective sequence and one that I can honestly say completely surprised me and blew me away.

Quote: “They’re executing code red. Step one: kill the infected, Step two: Containment. If containment fails, then Step Three: Extermination”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ANACONDA EMERGES FROM ZOMBIE BRIDES MOUTH

Title: The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

Zynopsis: Dr. Dennis Allan travels to Haiti to investigate a drug that is made there that has medical capabilities. Supposedly the drug paralyzes you, you appear to be dead, yet you are completely conscious! When Dr. Allan arrives to Haiti and starts asking questions about the drug, he realizes he’s getting into something he doesn’t fully comprehend! He enters a world of dirty politics, voodoo and yes, zombies!

Comments: So I love this movie and consider it to be one of Wes Cravens best films ever. Is there a better Wes Craven movie out there? A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) could be it, but The Serpent and the Rainbow is in a close second place that’s for sure! This film is filled with many nightmarish images and dream sequences, some of the best in Craven’s nightmare filled career and it’s a film filled with many eerie moments, like the scene where Dr. Allan encounters a zombie that’s aimlessly walking about inside of a cemetery. Want to feel what it’s like to be buried while still alive? Watch this movie!

Quote: “Don’t let them bury me! I’m not dead!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: RESURRECTION OF THE ARMY OF DARKNESS

Title: Army of Darkness (1992)

Zynopsis: Ash, the demon slayer from Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (1987) travels through a vortex and ends up stuck in medieval times where he has to help the people there fight the terrors of the deadites and recover the ‘Necronomicon Ex Mortis’, loosely translated….The Book of the Dead! It is in Medieval Times where Ash must learn to stop thinking only about himself and start learning about helping others, and becoming a hero. Will he ever find a way to return to his own time?

Comments: Though the deadites are really ‘demons’ who come to torture humans and “swallow their souls”, the titular Army of Darkness that is resurrected in this film are bonafide zombies. They are dead, and they walk! And they kill! This movie is pure cartoonish fun. These where the days when Raimi was still having fun with his films instead of churning out studio films like the despicable Spider Man 3 (2007). Hell, even Drag Me to Hell (2009) was lackluster when compared to Raimi’s Evil Dead days. Army of Darkness isn’t as gory as Evil Dead I and II and it’s even more inclined towards comedy then part II ever was. But still, Army of Darkness is one hell of a fun ride. In typical Raimi fashion this film moves pretty quickly, with visual gags and jokes every five minutes, one thing is guaranteed in early Raimi films: you wont get bored! Stand out zombie sequence is when the titular Army of Darkness emerges from their tombs and joins the land of the living.

Quote: “Dig Damn You! Dig Faster! I shall command every worm infested son of a bitch that ever died in battle!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: FIRST ZOMBIE COP EVER

Title: Dead Heat (1988)

Zynopsis: A pair of cops (Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo) investigate a company that is performing experiments in re-animating the dead. Their ultimate goal? To achieve immortality! But first the bad guys need money, so they send out zombie burglars (you read that right!) to perform robberies across the city! The real problem comes when the bad guys decide to teach these nosy cops a lesson, so they send out a three faced zombie to fight them. Treat Williams ends up dead…only to be resurrected by the bad guys resurrection machine! Now, Treat Williams has to try and solve this caper before he rots away!

Comments: Okay, the premise I typed above sounds nuts right? But trust me; there is more craziness than that on this movie! One scene has the cops enter a Chinese restaurant to ask a few questions only to have the owner of the restaurant turn on a resurrection machine that makes all the dead animals in the kitchen come to life! As it turns out, the cops end up fighting zombie ducks, zombie cows, and zombie fish! Zany right?! Dead Heat is without a doubt one of the craziest zombie movies you will ever see. I mean, who ever thought of a zombie cop having to solve a crime before he rots away? Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams cheesy dialog will also keep you entertained. And Vincent Price plays the bad guy!

Quote: “Hi Doug, welcome to zombieland!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: FIRST ZOMBIE CAT AND DOG

Title: Night of the Creeps (1986)

Zynopsis: A midget alien scientist (I know!) gets rid of an illegal experiment and sends it hurling out into space, only to have it land on our planet! The experiment? Oh nothing, just alien slugs that reproduce inside of the human brain! When they get into your head, you get turned into a zombie! Then after they’ve reproduced, they make your head explode and all the little alien slugs scurry about looking for new brains to reproduce in! Can Chris and J.C. stop the aliens from taking over their college campus?

Comments: So this one is special for me for various reasons: number one, it was directed by Fred Dekker, a director whom I respect very much because he made two of my favorite movies ever, this one and Monster Squad (1987)! Two movies that didn’t connect with audiences when they first came out, but have found their audience and become genuine cult classics. Second, I love everything about it! It has alien slugs! Zombies! Bad ass cops! Lonely science labs with frozen corpses! Hell, we even get insane killers who’ve just escaped from the insane asylum! This movie packs a wallop and its fun as hell. Tom Atkins plays detective Ray Cameron, his attitude and one liners alone should keep you giggling every five seconds. Night of the Creeps is an endearing ode to 50’s science fiction films.

Quote: “Thrill Me!”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ALICE FIGHTS ZOMBIES WITH TELEKINETIC ABILITIES!

Title: Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Zynopsis: Alice and a group of survivors must travel across the Nevada Dessert in order to make it to Canada where supposedly a camp of human survivors resides. On their way their they encounter everything from cannibalistic motorcycle gangs (straight out of Mad Max!) and zombie birds! Will they make it?

Comments: I was so disappointed with Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse (2004) that I wasn’t expecting much from this one. In my book, Apocalypse is atrociously bad! Still, I decided to give Extinction a chance anyways, just because it was entirely different creative team behind it. Glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. One of the best things that happened to this third film was that Russell Mulcahy directed it. He is the director behind Highlander (1986), one of my favorite fantasy films ever. And it’s no surprise that this film has various elements borrowed from the Highlander films. When Alice uses her telekinetic ability to blow everything up, you cant help but think of similar sequences from the Highlander films. But to me that was a good thing. The film also has some elements borrowed directly from other films, for example Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and George Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985). Actually, if I remember correctly, when I watched this film, it felt as if P.W. Anderson (who wrote and produced this one) read George Romero’s original script for Day and the Dead (which was more ambitious then the film Romero ended up making) and tried to do his own version of it, with way more money then Romero ever had, which is kind of cool, a nice homage to the maestro of zombie films. Most original part of the film? Alice kicking zombie ass with her telekinetic powers!

Quote: “The Umbrella Corporation thought they’d contained the infection. Well, they were wrong. Raccoon City was just the beginning. ”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIE VS SHARK (OF COURSE)

Title: Zombie (1979)

Zynopsis: A seemingly abandoned boat suddenly appears on the New York coast. Upon closer inspection, the police learn that the boat isn’t empty, it’s actually inhabited by zombies! Further investigation let’s them know that the boat belonged to a Dr. Bernard, a scientist who is supposed to be in the Antilles, conducting a series of experiments with which he hopes to find a cure for a deadly decease that is turning islanders into zombies and bringing the dead back to life!

Comments:

This film is a seminal zombie classic, which means if you truly want to see the best of the best within the zombie genre, then this is one of the first ones you need to watch. A couple of things make a Lucio Fulci movie a Lucio Fulci movie and all these elements are present in Zombie. Let’s see, maggots? Check! Close Up of Eyes? Check! Animals going crazy? Check! A nonsensical plot? Check! Even with it’s insane plot and its flaws this is still one of Fulci’s best films, it has some of the best zombies on any zombie film and lots and lots of gore! Some images are truly creepy as well, like those scenes of zombies walking down a bridge in New York City. Or of course, the memorable Zombie vs. Shark scene which has to be seen to be believed, that scene alone is worth the price of admission for me. Another famous sequence is the resurrection of the Conquistador Zombie, one of the most memorable zombies ever in zombie cinema.

Memorable Zombie Moment: EMPTY STREETS OF ENGLAND, ZOMBIE BURSTING IN FLAMES CHASES JIM DOWN THE STREETS

Title: 28 Days Later (2002)

Zynopsis: When Jim wakes up from a comma, he wakes up to a lonely world, with apparently no humans to be seen anywhere! Where did everybody go? Where are all the people? After walking around the city searching for a sign of human life, he suddenly realizes that the reason why no one is around is because they’ve all been devoured by zombies! And zombies are running rampant and hungry through the streets! Will Jim make it to a safe haven before the zombies get to them?

Comments: Along with Resident Evil (2002), 28 Days Later was responsible for reigniting interest in zombie films. As a result, a “new wave” of zombie movies came after their release. But out of the two, 28 Days Later is the superior picture because it is not as comic bookish as the Resident Evil films. 28 Days Later has that deadly serious tone that usually is only reserved for a George Romero film. But Danny Boyle harnessed that feeling of dread quite well. The film has an excellent score, great performances and a truly post-apocalyptic look and feel. Same as many other zombie films, it’s the humans who end up being the bigger threat in the film. The quality of this film (one of the best in the genre by the way!) is due to the creative team behind it: Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland.

Quote: “And then I wake up today in a hospital…I wake up and I’m hallucinating…or I’m…”

Memorable Zombie Moment: ZOMBIES FALL IN LOVE AND KISS

Title: Wild Zero (2000)

Zynopsis: In the japanese zombie movie Wild Zero the earth is being invaded by aliens! Huge ships hover on the horizon, the effect these ships are having on humanity? Oh nothing, they are just bringing the dead back to life that’s all! Rock and Roller and all around rebel without a clue ‘Ace’ must try and protect his girlfriend from the zombies! Will they find a way to stop the creatures before they take over all of Japan?

Comments: This is probably one of the most original times you’ll have watching a zombie film. What I love about this film is how it mixes punk music with the zombie film. You see, the film starts out in a club with real life Japanese Punk Band Guitar Wolf playing on stage. Now this isnt just any punk band were talking about here, these guys sing from microphones that spit fire out of them! These guys sound like the Japanese version of the Ramones and the Misfits fused together! Coolest part? Guitar Wolf are the heroes of the film! So they kill zombies with electrified guitar picks and turn their guitars into swords that cut entire spaceships in half! Watch it experiences, if only to watch two zombies falling in love. It’s similar to Return of the Living Dead in the sense that they have that Rock and Roll attitude about them. Ace, the main character in Wild Zero lives and breathes rock and roll. If Rock and Roll where a physical entity, he’d make love to it!

Quote: “Rock and Roll is not over baby! Rock and Roll never dies! ”

Well, that's it boys and ghouls. Dont forget to come back next week for part two of this article! It will be grizzly gory fun, dont miss it!

A zombie gets electro-cooked on Return of the Living Dead Part II

Purple Rain (1984)

2012-01-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Title: Purple Rain (1984)

Director: Albert Magnoli

Cast: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Clarence Williams III

Purple Rain is one of those movies that completely captures what it was like to live in the 80’s. I lived in the big apple during the time this film was made and watching it brought back so many memories about the over all experience of living during 1984, a day and age in which people break danced on the streets and break dancing battles erupted during lunch time amongst students. This was also the time when Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cindy Lauper and Prince’s careers were starting to really take of. Purple Rain came during those years in Prince’s career when fame was beginning to engulf him. The film was a brilliant career move for Prince because it mixed the selling of box office tickets with the selling of the films soundtrack, which of course made Prince’s career and assured him as a main stay in popular culture. Plus, he’s just so damn eccentric! How could he be ignored? The dude was born to be on stage. I loved every second of this Rock and Roll film! When it was first released, I was just a kid; a pre-teen, what the hell did I know about Prince and how awesome this movie was? All I knew about Prince back in those days was how much I kept hearing “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” over the radio, and that I liked these songs. Little did I know that this awesome movie was attached to them!

Purple Rain is all about a character called ‘The Kid’. He has a band called ‘The Revolution’ and they are currently pretty popular in this music club they play in called First Avenue and 7^th Street Entry, which by the way is a real life music club in Minneapolis. According to the manager the club is the hottest place in town to play if you want to start your career. The Kid is enjoying his trip to popularity, but he soon confronts a couple of problems on his way to stardom. Number one, there is a competing act called ‘The Time’ that is trying to muscle ‘The Kid’ and his band ‘The Revolution’ out of the stage. At the same time, there’s a new girl on the block called Apollonia who’s looking for fame and fortune and everything that goes with it. She wants to get her career started, and this club looks like it’s the place to do it. Apollonia is immediately attracted to ‘The Kid’ whom she sees performing up on stage, doing his thing. But Morris, the lead singer for ‘The Time’ thinks this new chick is hot too, so he offers her a position as lead dancer on his band. In the midst of this love triangle, ‘The Kid’ is trying to stay focused on his craft because you know, the dude wants to really make it. Will his ego get in the way? Will Apollonia end up with Morris Day or with Prince?

So first off, this is a rock and roll movie through and through. These are films that examine the Rock and Roll lifestyle from every angle, they glorify it, demonize it, explore it, make fun of it, the whole shebang. Good examples of films of this nature are Almost Famous (200), Still Crazy (1998), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny (2005), The Doors (1991), Sid and Nancy (1986) and Light of Day (1987) with Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox. These are films about characters that live and breathe Rock and Roll, and die by it as well. They’d give anything for it. In Purple Rain ‘The Kid’ as portrayed by Prince himself is the epitome of a rock star. He is self centered, focused on his career and kind of a pompous prick. But when he gets up on stage, there’s no doubt he is the best at what he does.

An interesting element about Purple Rain is that the whole film is sprinkled with songs from the album. Actually, let me make this clear, this film IS the album. The songs tell the story. During various points in the film, it’s all about The Kid getting up on stage and performing a song. If I’m correct, every single song of the album was played in the film. I don’t know if I should consider this a unique film because of this or if it was just a slick marketing move. It’s probably a mix of both cause I actually enjoyed hearing this songs I’ve heard hundreds of times before through out the whole film. I thought it was cool how the songs actually help to tell the story. It is also a romantic film, Prince falls for Apollonia, but so does Morris Day, so there’s this battle over Apollonia’s affections, yet we all know who’s going to win it right? This reminds me, Purple Rain is sprinkled with lots of sensuality, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows a thing or two about Prince. How sexy is this film? Well, when Purple Rain was first submitted to the MPAA, they gave it an X rating for a sex scene between The Kid and Apollonia, which is quite understandable. I mean, as it is, that sex scene is steamy enough already! So they trimmed it down and got an R. There’s another sex scene that was considered way to over the top which never saw the light of day. Another element that distinguishes the film is the comedy. Morris Day is one of the funniest things about the movie. Actually many of the characters in the film all have a great sense of humor to them. They had me laughing out loud, this is a very lively film. But the film isn’t all happiness, The Kid has an abusive father who beats him and his mother. At the same time, some of The Kid’s band members hate him because he doesn’t want to hear their ideas for new songs. He only cares about his own music. Will he ever learn to collaborate creatively with others?

This movie was a smashing success for everyone involved. In fact, it was a triple edged success for Prince because at the time he had the #1 film, #1 single and #1 album in the nation, a feat never achieved before by anyone! The film made 80 million at the box office, which I guess was a lot for a film like this one back in those days. Prince actually won an Oscar for the music to the film. And while we are on the subject of film and Prince, Prince has tried his hand in filmmaking more than once! He didn’t direct Purple Rain, but I think it was a stroke of genius to pare the film with the album. This was a formula that Prince tried again and again through out his career. For example he mixed mediums again in one of his world tours where he would sell the ticket to the concert with a copy of his new album included in the price of admission, in this way ensuring that both his tour and his new album were successes! He tried duplicating the album/movie formula with a film called Sign of the Times (1987), unfortunately it didn’t work as well, the concert film flopped only to find some popularity when it was released on VHS. He tried the album/movie formula yet again with a film called Graffiti Bridge (1990), sadly, another flop, which surprised many considering that it was a direct sequel to Purple Rain. Even with this to it’s advantage, the film flopped. I guess it was too little too late, the times had changed. The truth is that outside of Purple Rain, Prince’s films have always flopped or received Razzies. Even when he is paying homage to Federico Fellini he does badly. His homage to 81/2 called Under the Cherry Moon (1986) was panned by critics, because audiences where expecting a sequel to Purple Rain and what they got was a black and white movie about two guys trying to swindle a rich girl out of her 50 million trust account. But forget all about Prince’s other cinematic experiments, Purple Rain is solid entertainment and well worth the watch, this is a time capsule of a movie that will send you directly back to 1984 without the need of a DeLorean!

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Prophecy Films

2012-01-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

So I finally got around to watching The Prophecy films. I bought them in this nifty dvd which collected all three films in one disk, so I ended up watching them back to back. I know that these films have gone past their third installment, I believe they are currently on their fourth sequel, but I don’t even count the ones after part 3 because they don’t have Christopher Walken in them, they feel more like a cash in, a last desperate attempt to milk the franchise for all it’s worth. I just don’t have any interest in them. But if anyone out there thinks that Prophecy: Forsaken (2005) and Prophecy: Uprising (2005) are worth a damn, let me know, I just might give them a shot at some point. But for now, they don’t even register on my radar. This review will cover only the first three films. So it’s a three for one deal, enjoy!

The thing about these movies is that they started out with a decent theatrical release, which was the first film, the sequels after that all went straight to dvd which always raises a red flag for me because they make me think that if they went straight to dvd, then they weren’t considered good enough by the producers, at least not good enough to bother with a theatrical release. So maybe this is the reason why I had never bothered seeing these straight to dvd sequels that followed the original. But curiosity always gets the best of me and I found this dvd with all three so cheap that I went for it. I’m glad I did, the first three films are fairly decent on their own right.

The interesting thing about these first three Prophecy films is that they all had a decent cast. I mean, take a look at the first one where we have the always entertaining Christopher Walken as the human hating angel, Gabriel. You see on these series of films, some angels hate humans because they are jealous of them. They feel that God loves humans more then angels, so some angels have decided to completely annihilate the human race, just so they could be number one again. They want to make it like before, when God loved them best. In order to achieve this, Gabriel wants to find the soul of the most evil human on the planet, who just so happens to be a military leader for the U.S. army. Just watching Walken playing an angel is great, he has such fun with the character; who by the way gets funnier as the series progresses. He spews lines like “I’m an angel, I kill firstborns while their mamas watch!” These movies are that much enjoyable simple because Walken is in them. So anyways we also get Elias Koteas, the guy who always plays secondary characters in every single movie he’s been in except this one, where he plays detective Thomas Daggett, a priest wannabe who every now and then gets horrific visions from god. The whole thing makes you wonder why God would send someone such horrible images! But whatever, Daggett is investigating the appearance of dead angels, which keep popping up across the city. Along for the ride is Virginia Madsen who plays a grade school teacher and the always underused Eric Stoltz who plays the good angel that’s trying to stop Gabriel. But the avalanche of talent isn’t over my friends! The amazing cast continues with Amanda Plummer as a zombie/ghoul who helps Gabriel move around and Viggo Mortensen playing Satan himself! So we got an amazing cast rounding up this horror film! Was the film worth it?

Well yeah. The story is all about humans, it preaches on about how we are capable of a lot of good, but unfortunately, a lot of evil as well. The idea that an angel needs the soul of an evil human to help him destroy humanity itself says a lot about how the filmmakers see humanity. We are creatures capable of such violence, that our violent capabilities rival even that of God’s own angels! We are the experts on the subject; so much so that they need US to destroy humanity; as Lucifer himself puts it: “Humans -and how I love talking monkeys for this- know more about war and treachery of the spirit than any angel” The film unfolds in a very dark and eerie manner, with angels running around the city killing each other as lightning strikes the skies. Somehow American Indian folklore works its way into the film! Same as in many horror films, Indians always have the best connection with anything supernatural, which really is something of a cliché in horror films. There’s always an Indian burial ground, or an Indian spirit, or an Indian shaman to help out. The thing about these Prophecy movies is that they are always on the verge of some big apocalyptic event happening, but nothing ever does. The big war between angels and humans, or good angels vs. rebel angels never really consummates. But whatever, the in between was also fun.

These films are all filled with angels crouching on top of furniture or on top of buildings like birds; problem is they never really fly! I never got his about these movies, these guys are angels but they don’t seem to ever use their wings for flying. We do get to see a five second sequence of angels flying in the clouds, but we see it from afar, and briefly. And they re-use that same stock footage on a couple of these films, which I hated. I guess it had something to do with budgetary limitations, but we never really get to take a good look at the angels spreading their wings and flying. If an angel opens its wings, we only see the shadow of that, or someone’s reaction to it, but we never see the freaking angels taking flight. They do skip around a lot and jump around a lot though. I found it funnyt that since angels don’t know how to handle human machinery, they have to resort to having humans doing things for them like driving them around town or showing them how to use a computer or a walkie talkie. Why don’t they just fly where they need to go instead of using a car?

So, in comes Prophecy II (1998) which was the most difficult to watch of these three films. I found it extremely boring, and disappointing for various reasons. Number one, I didn’t like the fact that the film resorted to using so much stock footage from the first film. To me this is a lame ass, lazy move from any filmmaker. You are showing us the same images from the first film! Don’t do this! We as an audience feel cheated as hell! Still, the director felt the need to show us the same sequence of angels flying far up in the sky, and these flashbacks of angels fighting that we already saw on the first film. Laaazy! On this second chapter of the Prophecy series Jennifer Beals has a one night stand with an angel. The angel is looking for the right girl to father his child. You see, the angels want to conceive a half breed, a half human, half angel child. This half breed is the one destined to stop the rebel angels from committing genocide. So Jennifer Beals character functions as a “Virgin Mary” of sorts on this film.

Even Satan doesnt want this guy in hell!

Now here's where things dont stick to bible lore: in the bible the sons of angels are called ‘The Nephilim’. According to the bible angels actually looked down the from heavens at the eartlhy women and foudn them incredibly hot. Cant say I blame them, I'm merely a human and I find them irresistible. Yet, this idea of angels having sexual desires makes no sense because according to the bible, angels are supposed to be asexual! So anyhows, they found earth girls hot and materialized so they could get a taste of female flesh! So any way, they ended up having babies, and these sons of angels ended up being evil giants who terrorized the land. That’s right my friends, according to the bible giants once walked the earth! And they were evil! Yet on this movie the Nephilim is supposed to be some sort of savior! Humanities last hope for survival. See what I mean? No sense whatsoever. On top of this, the angel that screws Jessica Beals doesn’t even care for her, he just uses her! The bastard! Point is that this angel ends up committing what the bible refers to as fornication, which is just a big word for having sex before getting married. According to the bible, this is one of the biggest sins you could commit against god! But this angel doesnt care, he sins in order to defeat the bad angels? And these are supposed to be the good guys! So anyhow, this second chapter in the series has a cool cast, again Christopher Walken returns as Gabriel, we get Jennifer Beals as Rosario, we get Eric Roberts and Danzig as angels. And as an added bonus Brittany Murphy played the ghoul who does Gabriel’s beading! But in spite of this film having a great cast, this second chapter in the series feels like an in-between chapter in a much larger story. It feels like they were setting everything up for something bigger. And that’s exactly what they were doing with this second film. The third film was far more entertaining and fulfilling. It wanted to end the series with a big bang! I think it achieved it.

Brittany Murphy in one of her earliest roles

The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000) surprised the hell out of me. Having seen the past two films and finding them only mildly entertaining, I went in to this third chapter with very low expectations, yet I’m happy to inform that I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, it’s the one that I enjoyed the most out of all three! One thing I like about these first three films is that they have continuity to them. Characters return and reappear; problem is that sometimes it’s difficult to realize this because they keep changing actors. In spite of this, you do get a sense of continuity, and Walken’s Gabriel is the one character that holds all three films together. One element I enjoyed about this one is that Gabriel is human on this one, and so he is kind of getting used to being human. He likes living on earth, he’s dropped the short black hair and trench coat for long white hair and living like a bum on the streets. On this film he is slowly learning to actually like humans. With this film they pulled a Terminator 2 (1992) on us and went and made the villain a good guy this time around. Walken is no longer hell bent on destroying humanity, he’s lightened up. One hilarious scene has him just enjoying a drive down the dessert on this beat up old car trying to play a trumpet as he drives, cause you know, according to the bible, angels play trumpets in heaven all the time, which kind of makes you think about who gives angels music classes, and who makes these holy musical instruments?

But who cares seeing Christopher Walken playing a trumpet as he drives is hilarious right?! In Gabriel’s place we now have a villain called Pyriel who is still very much interested in destroying all humans and proclaiming himself the “next god”. The Nephilim Danyael (who was introduced in the second film) is now all grown up and has lost all faith in God. In fact he runs a church that preaches against god! I thought this was so interesting! But across the film he learns to accept his true destiny which is going up against the Pyriel, the leader of the rebel angels.

This third film distinguishes itself for various reasons, first, it was directed by one Patrick Lussier. Now this is a director whom you can either love or hate, depending on how much cheese you can take. Lussier is the guy behind Drive Angry (2011), a film I enjoyed hating. He also made My Bloody Valentine (2009) and is currently hard at work putting the finishing touches on Halloween III (2012). He’s also the guy behind all those Dracula 2000 movies. All of these films are high in octane and cheese, unapologetic about their b-movie nature. I guess this is the reason why this Prophecy film was so fun to watch. The previous two films feel dreary and boring when compared to this one which is filled with chase sequences and matrix-style fighting. Also, it has this awesome showdown during its last sequences between two angels that is the most exciting thing in the whole trilogy. The film even has a happy ending to it!

Another thing that made this one cool: it has Brad Dourif playing a gun totting religious fanatic who walks around with the bible in one hand and a gun to shoot any infidels on the other! This is yet another crazy character to add to Brad Dourif long list of freaky characters he's portrayed on film.Well, I guess I’ve run out of things to say about these movies. Not a bad trilogy of films, the third film offers up a nice wrap up to the trilogy and has finality to it. At least this series isn’t as bad as the Children of the Corn movies which by the way I will comment on soon. But these Prophecy films prove one thing to me once again: God hates to appear in horror films, while Satan loves them. For proof of that check out one of my most popular blog posts: God and Satan inFilms. And another thing, if you freeze frame the last image in Prophecy II, just before the ending credits you can see a face forming in the clouds, while thunder and lightning crackle…don’t know if that qualifies as an appearance by God or not, what do you guys think?

Rating: The Prophecy (1995) 3 out of 5

Rating: The Prophecy II (1998) 2 out of 5

Rating: The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000) 3 1/2 out of 5

The Artist (2011)

2012-01-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

Title: The Artist (2011)

Director: Michael Hazanavicius

Cast: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Malcolm McDowell

Review:

The Artist has gotten 10 Academy Award nominations this year, it is second only to Martin Scorcece’s Hugo (2011), which I placed on the number one spot on my Top Films of 2011 list a while back. But it’s easy to see why The Artist would be the second most nominated film of the year. It is a happy, lighthearted, ‘feel good’ movie and it does this while being an almost entirely silent film. Yes my friends, only one line of dialog is spoken through out the whole film! And it’s in black and white!

The story is all about an actor called George Valentin who when the movie begins is enjoying being at the top of his cinematic career. He has fame, money and everything that goes with it. If he tells the producers he wants that actress in the film, then that actress is in the film! He has one preoccupation though: the silent era of filmmaking is coming to an end and filmmakers and producers want to start using dialog and sound effects in film, something that Mr. Valentin doesn’t want to accept. You see he is of the mind that if a movie is to be good, it’s to be silent. He considers sound vulgar somehow. Because of his reluctance to accept this change, he’s career is starting to plummet. Will Mr. Valentin ever adapt? Or will his career come to a screeching halt? And who is the beautiful bomb shell dancer/actress who he’s just met?

I imagine that French director Michael Hazanavicius must have had a difficult time getting this movie green lit. I mean, telling producers you want your next film to be not only silent but also in black and white is like telling them you want your film to be a hard R! These aren’t exactly words producers love to hear. But the success of Hazanavicius’s French films gave him the leverage he needed to convince them he knew what he was doing and so The Artist got made. And it’s gotten 10 Oscar Nominations, so Hazanavicius knew what he was doing after all.

You ever see a silent film? Granted, watching a silent film can take some adjustment, you have to get in a certain mindset to watch them. You won’t hear sound effects or dialog, the dialog is transmitted through title cards and the constant classical score might get on your nerves after a while, but this Film Connoisseur says that watching a silent film can be just as rewarding as watching a ‘talkie’. Ever had the pleasure of watching F.W. Murnau’s Faust (1926)? Now there’s an awesome silent film; every bit as spectacular and fantastic as any modern special effect film. How’s about Friz Lang’s Metropolis (1927)? That film left me speechless, so many themes, such rich visuals, so symbolic, such a work of art! The art direction on some of these silent films is still mind blowing in my book. I mention Faust and Metropolis because to me they are the finest examples of silent cinema; I still revisit both of these films on a regular basis because there is always something new to see in them. Silent films can still be enjoyed, if you bring your sugar rush levels down to normal levels. Sad to hear that some theaters have had to do refunds because people walked out of The Artist because they didn’t know it was a silent film. That’s just wrong. Silent films are a whole different experience, and a valid for of storytelling. They shouldn’t be shunned like that. Silent films are simply different, they rely more on images, on the visuals, on facial expressions and performances to tell your story. Plus it’s not like every single film is going to be a silent film now. The Artist is retro, it’s a look back at how things were, and it should be enjoyed for paying respects to the origins of cinema.

The film benefits from having a fantastic supporting cast, including the great John Goodman!

The best thing about The Artist is that it will more than likely leave a smile on your face. It has that charm and happy go lucky feeling that movies from that era had. Characters are smiling most of the time, the whole film has a good sense of humor to it. I couldn’t help having a huge smile on my face during the films final dance sequence. These characters won me over with their charm and charisma. Jean Dujardin, the actor who plays George Valentin is an accomplished French actor who’d work with Michael Hazanavicius in the past on Hazanavicius’s successful spy spoofs OSS 17: Cario, Nest of Spies (2006) and OSS 17: Lost in Rio (2009) two films that spoof James Bond films and spy films in general. I guess now Jean Dujardin’s career will really blast off, he’s just earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor! Berenice Bejo, the actress who plays Peppy Miller is actually Michael Hazanavicius’s wife! In this way, Hazanavicius reminds me of Fellini, who also used his wife in a lot of his films. Bejo has also received a nomination for best supporting actress, which means we will also be seeing more of her in the movies. Both actors exceeded in their roles, they have a happiness to them that’s infectious. You almost feel like that happiness is fake sometimes, which is probably true. Back in the days of silent cinema, actors always exaggerated their emotions for the screen. They always gave that dashing spectacular smile whenever cameras where rolling. Hazanavicius cought that very well on his film as well. But also, there is that kind of innocence that older films always exude, loved how the director managed to capture that era of filmmaking so well. The Artist achieved what it was going for, capturing an era.

The film plays with themes of change. About how we need to adapt to changes, or die, the world is ever changing and so should we. The Artist plays with the idea that we can’t be stubborn and try and live in the past, the past dies and we must move on. A lot of actors back in those days were stubborn and didn’t want to accept the fact that films were now going to talk. The best example was Charles Chaplin himself! Chaplin really didn’t want to talk in his films at all! This is most obvious in Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) a silent film (Chaplin’s last silent film by the way) that was made during the time when films already talked; yet Chaplin refused to talk on it. Other actors talked, but he didn’t. Sound effects were heard, but we never heard Chaplin talking English. In fact, the one scene in which we do hear Chaplin’s voice in Modern Times is in a scene in which he made up his own language that sounds like Italian, but isn’t! I guess that was his way of telling us that we didn’t need words to understand him, he could talk gibberish and we could still laugh and even understand what he was trying to convey. You watch that scene in Modern Times and you do get the feeling that you understand him! But Chaplin’s stubbornness to talk shows just what an issue this was at the time for actors who were used to transmitting their performance through performance and emotion alone. This is what The Artist is about.

Chaplin eventually adapted and talked in his movies, and when he talked he really talked! The Great Dictator (1940) is a powerful film not only because of Chaplin’s amazing performance, but also because of the amazing script, the dialog is really astonishing on that film! It’s as if Chaplin said “so you want to hear me talk? Fine! Here it is, let’s see if you can take what I have to say about the world!” The Great Dictator remains one of Chaplin's most controversial films. As for The Artist, I will say that it isn’t the deepest film in the world, which is kind of odd, because films chosen for “Best Picture of the Year” are usually deep, heavy stuff. But I guess The Artist has charm to spare, and sometimes charm can take you a long way. This is a rather simple film, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do, it looks beautiful and has charismatic characters. It entertains and charms the hell out of you, what’s not to like?

Rating: 4 out of 5

Religion Bashing Films (Part 2)

2012-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

So here’s part two of my Religion Bashing Films monster blog post as promised! The first one was a hit, so I'm hoping you guys will dig this one as well. I’ve enjoyed doing the research for these articles and watching all these movies. This article focuses on a group of films that talk about that moment when you first get a glimpse of that blinding flash of light of truth. It presents us with a group of films that ask questions like: What impulses religion? Can humanity live without it? Are we ready for that big change? And finally: "What does God need with a starship?" Hope you guys enjoy it and as always, I’m expecting replies galore and suggestions of films that can be added to this list so dont hold back on your comments! Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, go to this link for the first part of the article.

Title: The Village (2004)

Synopsis: The Village is all about this group of people who live in a town that thrives on fear. You see, the towns leaders decided that in order to run a successful society, they must run it on just that, fear. Their purpose? To keep society in line, to make sure that everyone behaves. Again, we are presented with the idea that humanity doesn’t trust itself enough to run without religion. Can we be good people without believing in the bible and that God and his angels are watching us all the time? I’d like to think we can. In fact, I’m sure we can. The Village presents us with a faux society created by M. Night Shyamalan, but it kind of reminds me of the real world, with people being afraid of invisible beings that they’ve never even really seen. Also, I love the symbolisms on this film, for example, the main character in the film is a blind girl whose been brought up in this society, but she wants to venture out. She is an inquisitive being and so she wants to go further then she was led to believe she could go, which is what happens when someone wants to break with the ideas of religion and wants to venture into new ideas and ways of thinking, new ways of seeing the world. At first you are blind, but upon further research and knowledge you soon discover that many things in this world are not what you’ve been lead to believe.

Religion Bashing Quote: “I see the world Lucius Hunt, not as you see it”

Title: The Island (2005)

Synopsis: In The Island we meet Lincon Six Echo and Jordan Two Delta, two clones that live in a contained utopian society. On this society, everyone dresses the same and follows the rules. In this society everyone participates in a lottery, whoever wins it gets a free ticket to a place everyone calls ‘The Island’. Supposedly this island is a place where all your troubles vanish, and you can finally be completely happy. This idea reminds me of the Loto that we all hope we will one day win but also of the paradise that many religions promise their followers. Some religions have you think that when you die, you are going to a “better life” up in heaven, others have you believe that you will become a god yourself (Mormons) or that you can become an angel and reunite with all your loved ones in heaven. Other Christian factions would have you think that god is going to swipe you away to heaven in some sort of rapture. Or that God is going to destroy all evil in the world, and that only the faithful will remain to rebuild earth and turn it back to the paradise it once was. These are just some examples of how each religion has its own paradise. But are they all real? On The Island, Lincoln Echo Six and Jordan Two Delta learn that ‘The Island’ is a lie, an illusion that they have been fed. And now that they’ve discovered this truth, they want out! They want to live in the real world! This is quite possibly Michael Bay’s most thought provoking film, and that’s saying a lot since most of the time he concerns himself with action and special effects rather then deep themes. Thankfully, The Island offers up all of those qualities in one film. See? I guess I do believe in miracles after all.

Religion Bashing Quote: “I want to know answers, and I wish that there was more; more than just waiting to go to The Island ”

Title: The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Synopsis: It’s always amazed me how Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz could have so many deep and important themes in it, but of course, that has a lot to do with the fact that its based on L. Frank Baum’s famous Oz novels. Baum’s books where children’s books with some truly awesome themes hidden within them. Interesting how sometimes children’s books and films are the ones with the deepest themes. Take for example Pans Labyrinth (2006), The Harry Potter Franchise and Alice in Wonderland, all films and books that explore everything from religion and the idea of god to politics and education. The Wizard of Oz has four characters searching for the all powerful God like Oz. They’ve been told that he can solve all of their problems with his powerful magic! They end up discovering that the ‘All Powerful Oz’ was really just a man, with no powers at all. He’d been lying to everyone all the time! Thankfully, they discover the solution to all their problems was always within them to begin with; which is what I hope humanity will one day learn. That we don’t need to rely on invisible beings that we can never see or hear; that all we need to believe in and rely on is in ourselves and our ability to make our dreams a reality.

Religion Bashing Quote: The Guardian of the Emerald City says: “The Wizard?! But nobody can see the Great Oz! Nobody’s even seen The Great Oz! Even I’ve never seen him!” Dorothy replies: “Well, then how do you know there is one?”

Title: Agora (2009)

Synopsis: Agora is all about the clash between Christianity, which was quickly growing at the time, and the older schools of thought. This film takes place during the time when the Romans tried their best to spread Christianity amongst the masses in a very violent way. This meant that if you didn’t believe in Jesus, you’d most likely get your throat cut, which is kind of ironic because the bible is supposed to be all about love? But anyways, back then, if you worshipped some god in a temple that wasn’t Christian, your temple would get taken down and if denied Christ you were dead. This film focuses on that era when saying you were an unbeliever wasn’t the best thing to do; back then, saying something like that could have meant your life. Nowadays you say you don’t believe in Jesus and you’ll get judged, rejected or marginalized, hell, you’ll even be called ‘crazy’ but you wont loose your head over it or get burned at the stake like they did during the days depicted in Agora. This film shows how Christianity was practically forced down people’s throats, back then you either believed or you died! Fear is a powerful tool in deed. Agora is all about knowledge vs. religion, and let me tell you my friends, this film is vastly underrated! The production is so lavish; it reminded me of those old bible based movies from the past, like The Ten Commandments (1956) or Cleopatra (1963) with huge sets and hundreds of extras. Highly recommend this film from acclaimed filmmaker Alejandro Amenobar, the director behind The Others (2001), another film with anti-religious themes in it. Agora explores vividly and accurately the way in which Christianity spread its roots across humanities psyche; by way of the sword!

Religion Bashing Quote: “Synesius, you don’t question what you believe, or cannot. I must!”

Title: Doubt (2008)

Synopsis: This film doesn’t necessarily bash religion, rather, it kind of respectfully slaps it lightly on the face. This film is told from the point of view of a couple of nuns, one is old fashioned and very zealous, the other is new and just starting out in her nun way of life. The nuns start noticing something kind of sexual going on between a boy and the priest of the church. No surprise there, priests of the Catholic Church have now become synonymous with child molestation. These events truly disturb the two nuns and cause them to doubt their faiths. They wonder why God doesn’t do anything about it. I ask myself the very same question. It’s sickening when you learn just how many millions of dollars the Catholic Church has to spend every year to legally protect its priests from child molestation charges. This film would make a good double bill with the documentary Deliver Us From Evil, though in all honesty, this double bill might prove to be too much for one night.

Religion Bashing Quote: “I will step outside of the church if that’s what needs to be done, till the door should shut behind me! I will do what needs to be done, though I’m damned to hell! You should understand that, or you will mistake me. ”

Title: At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul

Synopsis: At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul is one of the first Brazilian horror movies, and it’s about this grave digger named Ze Do Caixao (Coffin Joe for the American Audiences) who is kind of nuts and extremely intense. He hates religion and talk of the afterlife because to him it is all a lie. The supernatural is just silly superstition to him. To him, the only way we can live forever is by having offspring. So he goes through out the whole film looking for a woman to bare him a son. The filmmaker behind this film, the same actor who plays Ze (Jose Mojica Marins) used a technique that many filmmakers use, they have their villain say how they really feel about things, and boy can this Ze character spew some hatred towards religion! One scene has people walking down the street on a religious procession as Ze stands by his window laughing and eating meat while he makes fun of the Christians and their rituals, which he considers stupid. Another scene has him walking through a graveyard defying supernatural beings to come out and show themselves. This film was made for next to nothing, it is in black and white, and it has a lot of old school camera tricks. The sets are claustrophobic and half assed. Many times, scenes that take place in exteriors are obviously not. But ultimately, the end result was the creation of one of Brazil’s and horrordoms most anti-religious characters ever. The villain is the star of the film, and it’s so easy to hate him because he is so selfish, and so evil. Weird thing is that sometimes what he says makes all the sense in the world!

Religion Bashing Quote: “What is life? It’s the beginning of death! What is death? It is the end of life! What is existence? It’s the continuity of blood. What is blood? It is the reason to exist!”

Title: The Matrix (1999)

Synopsis: So I’m not gonna go deep into what The Matrix is all about because I’m sure most of you know it by heart. But this film does need to be included on this list because this is exactly what it’s about. No matter how confusing the sequels became, the first Matrix film was always crystal clear to me. We all live under the assumption that life is one way, when in fact, the reality is another. Most people are asleep, never truly awake. But Neo is inquisitive; he wants to know just what The Matrix is. Asking a question like “What is The Matrix?”” is the equivalent of asking the big questions in life. Where did we come from? Where did we begin? And it’s that questioning that we must never loose, that curiosity to always ask why? “It’s the question that drives us Neo” is one my favorite quotes from that movie because it’s so true, the mystery keeps life interesting. Like a good movie. Neo’s curiosity eventually leads to his awakening. But just what happens when someone awakens from the slumber? What happens when we take the red pill of truth? When we wake up and finally see this world for what it really is? It’s a shock, and again, same as with many films on this list, we are presented with the idea of adjustment to this shock of how the world really is. But the question arises in that pivotal scene with the traitorous Cypher. Do you want to eat that fake yet delicious stake that you can eat inside of the Matrix, however fake it maybe? Or do you want to live in the real world, no matter how bitter it maybe? I love how the film also teaches the idea of believing in ourselves and reaching your maximum potential as a human being; that idea of not relying in a lie, but in you and your abilities to confront the problems in life. Sadly, many choose to live in the fantasy world that religion offers us. I love it how the film is so truthful, it presents you with that choice. Truth? Or fantasy? The filmmakers leave it up to you.

Religion Bashing Quote: “The answer is out there Neo. And it’s looking for you, and it will find you, if you want it to” “You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. Many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependant of the system, that they will fight to protect it”

Title: Apocalypto (2006)

Synopsis: Including Apocalypto on this list is a bit of a stretch, but I decided to include it for various reasons. Number one, I found it really interesting that this was Mel Gibson’s follow up to The Passion of the Christ (2004), a film that for all intents and purposes served to fire up people’s faith, and to fatten up Mel Gibson’s wallet too. If you ask me, he wasn’t really making The Passion of the Christ because he is a devout Christian zealot. In my opinion, same as a television evangelist, Gibson saw an opportunity to make cash, and lots of it! And that he did. Then he went and made Apocalypto, and I find it curious that he did this film because it presents us with a peaceful tribe that is being hunted down by another violent Mayan tribe in order to use them as sacrifices for their Gods. One of the members of the peaceful tribe, a young native by the name of Jaguar Paw decides to run away and protect his pregnant wife. So basically, Mel Gibson first does a film that fires up people’s faith (to the point where people fainted and even crucified themselves after seeing the film) and then goes and does a film that shows religion as a tool used by the ruling class to control the masses. In the film, the Mayan ruling class used their keen knowledge of astrology to make the masses think that their Gods where causing a solar eclipse. And that they needed to sacrifice humans to these gods to appease them by chopping off their heads and ripping out their hearts! The big question that all those who watch this film must ask themselves is: who cares about these Gods now? Nobody, that’s who. These gods disappeared with this bygone civilization, and now, does anyone care about the Gods that these Mayans worshipped and sacrificed humans to? No, because they were never real. This should make viewers questions if the gods we worship today are just as ephemeral as well.

Religion Bashing Quote: “Fear, deep rotting fear. They were infected by it. Did you see it? Fear is a sickness. It will crawl into the soul of anyone who engages it. It has tainted your peace already. I did not raise you to see you live in fear. Strike it from your heart!”

Title: The Others (2001)

Synopsis: The Others is a film whose blueprint comes from Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961). Both films take place in an old dark house, both films are about a woman taking care of children. Both films are extremely dark and eerie. But while The Innocents addresses issues of sexual abuse and repression, The Others explores the nature of religion. In The Others Nicole Kidman plays Grace, a woman whose only concern is taking care of her two children, and teaching them about the bible. One of the most interesting parts of the film is how the kids are so inquisitive about the bible and its teachings, letting us know exactly what the film is about. Another indicative of this films religious themes is the fact that Grace is a woman who doesn’t accept death, so she turns to the comfort brought on by religion. The problem with these kids is that according to their mother, they suffer from a decease which makes them sensitive to sunlight. She doesn’t want them exposed to it because she believes it might kill them, so she has all the windows in the house closed and all the doors shut. The children live in a perpetual darkness. But, the idea that the film presents us with is, maybe the children can be exposed to the light? Maybe it won’t kill them? Maybe they are ready to be exposed to the real world! Religion is created to comfort our fears of death; the powers that be think that we can’t take the truth; that we can’t live NOT knowing; that reality is too harsh of a truth, so they’d rather keep the masses in the dark, shielded from the ‘blinding’ truth. My take on it is that while the truth of the world and how things really are might come as a bit of a shock at first, with time we can adjust to the realities of the world we live in, and move forward with our lives; we can learn to accept the big mysteries. Same way that our eyes can adjust to a blinding flash of light, adjusting to reality takes some time, but it can be done. Other wise, we’d be living in darkness all our lives, like the children in The Others.

Religion Bashing Quote: “There are things your mother doesn’t want to hear. She only believes in what she was taught. But don’t worry, sooner or later, she’ll see them and everything will be different. You’ll see, there are going to be some big surprises. There are going to be changes.”

Title: Leap of Faith (1992)

Synopsis: On this film we meet reverend Jonas Nigthingale a phony preacher who goes around town using every trick he can muster to get people to believe he has magical powers given to him by God. When he becomes stranded in a small town, he sees an opportunity to scam a couple more people, but he soon finds out he cant fool everyone all the time. Here’s another pitfall of religion: that any crazy bastard out there can use it and the teachings of the bible to take advantage of people. And since there are lot of people out there who are sad and miserable (thanks to the wonderful conditions the world is in) well, these preachers always find someone who’s willing to listen. Now, I’m not going to deny the fact that some preachers out there truly do care about people and are selfless and caring, but they are an exception. Many of them are simply out there to take your money. It’s so sickening when you know that they know religion is a lie and that they are simply using it to their advantage. Preachers such as these don’t believe in the bible themselves, they simply use it to make moolah, and lot’s of it. Ever seen a preacher asking for 10,000 dollars on television? I have and it makes me sick to the stomach. This film explores the dangers of falling for these low lives and their tricks.

Religion Bashing Quote: “A town this deep in the crapper’s got nowhere to turn to BUT God!”

Title: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Synopsis: Spock’s brother, a Vulcan by the name of Sybok has taken the starship enterprise and it’s crew hostage in order to use the ship to get to ‘Shangri-la’, a.k.a. the Center of the Universe. His purpose? To have a one on one with the head honcho himself: God. When I saw this movie upon its first release in theaters, I was shocked beyond belief because the film was about meeting God. I went in with no expectations, and came out with my mind blown. I was shocked to see the Star Trek guys attacking the idea of religion because Sybok is a religious leader. He goes around trying to convert everyone into his way of seeing things, and he actually succeeds! Uhuru actually falls for his ideas! Some of the ideas explored in this film are the need we have to learn from our pain and our mistakes. That we actually need to make mistakes in order to learn and grow as human beings; that mistakes actually help us become better people, as opposed to the idea that many religions try to impose on their followers: the idea of trying to be perfect. As some of you might have already discovered, perfection is something that is quite unachievable in this world we live in. If you think otherwise you’ll only come face to face with frustration. Life isn’t perfect, and that’s part of what makes it so unique, such a learning experience. It also explores the idea of God, and how we sometimes choose to appoint the title of ‘God’ to something that really isn’t. Some people don’t like this Star Trek film at all, in fact, I believe trekkies loath this one, but I found it interesting because of it’s themes. Obviously Shatner (the films writer and director) had a thing or two to say about religion. Since Shatner directed the film himself, this ended up being one the funniest of all Star Trek’s.

Religion Bashing Quote: “Damn it Bones! You’re a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can’t be taken away by the wave of a magic wand. They are the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we loose them, we loose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken”

Title: The Mist (2007)

Synopsis: The Mist was one of my favorite horror films of 2007. It’s the kind of horror film that rekindles your faith in good horror films. But of course, a lot of that had to do with the talent behind it. First it was based on a Stephen King novel, and secondly, it was directed by Frank Darabont, the director behind such great films as The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999). This is the kind of horror film I miss, because it reminds me of the time when great directors made horror films, like Stanley Kubrick doing The Shinning (1980) or Robert Wise doing The Haunting (1963). So what we have here with The Mist is one of the best anti-religion films ever! A group of people are trapped inside a supermarket as a strange and dangerous Mist engulfs their town. Some people think the mist is harmless, some think it’s deadly. Who to believe? I loved how the film explores the idea of how confusing the world is; the supermarket serves as a microcosm for humanity. To me the mist symbolizes the confusion in the world and the creatures behind the mist represent all the problems out there, some are big, some are small, some are gargantuan! In other words, things are pretty messed up out there in the world; and these problems make people react in different ways. Some take a more realistic approach towards things, while others appoint religious significance to the events, like the character of Mrs. Carmody, masterfully played by Marcia Gay Harden. This character decides that the mist and the creatures within it are a punishment from God! Her ideas and preaching begin to work in the minds of everyone trapped in the supermarket, until she pretty much has everyone believe they are being attacked by demons. The film explores how fear and confusion makes us see things that aren’t there, and how easily religion can take advantage of our fears because religion runs on fear and feeds off of it. It also explores the bleakness of the non-believer, whose outlook on life is usually a bit grimmer and sadder than the hopefulness of religion. How should we react when things seem hopeless? Should we end it all? Should we wait and see if things will get better? The symbolisms run high on this film, and while the film proves to be extremely thought provoking, at the same time it’s very entertaining. Highest possible recommendation!

Religion Bashing Quote: “As a species, we’re fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion?”

Title: The Holy Mountain (1973)

Synopsis: Writing up a synopsis for any Alejandro Jodorowsky film is not an easy thing, but I'll give it my best. On this one we meet a character simply called 'The Thief' who comes upon a holy temple. Once in it, he meets what I can only described as a religious leader (pictured above) called 'The Alchemist'. He's called The Alchemist because he can transform excrement into gold! Trust me, that will make sense when you see the film. So anyhows, this mystical religious leader takes TheThief through nine dimensions or worlds, each representing some sort of evil in the world. Jodorowsky takes these nine different worlds and uses them to criticize and comment on the world we live. He talks about everything from war, to religion, to politics, to merchandising...you name it, the film covers it. But at it's center is the message of religion and how it's not at all what it seems...that it's all an illusion! If you are ever in the mood for watching a film thats non-linear with its story telling, that is extremely surreal with it's imagery and at the same time will stun you and shock you...look no further than The Holy Mountain, in my opinion Jodorowsky's masterpiece. It's not a film you will absorb upon your first viewing, no my friends, The Holy Mountain is a film that you can experience over and over again because you will not get it all on one viewing. Experience it, take it in, and hope that upon a second viewing you will understand it a little better. Jodorowsky's films are a challenge, but they are rewarding one in the end.

Religion Bashing Films (Part I)

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Along with politics, religion is without a doubt one of the most powerful divisive forces in all of humanity. Religion and politics are such touchy subjects that talking about them in the workplace is forbidden. Teachers in secular schools are not supposed to talk about the subject to their students. People have killed, and continue killing to this day because another doesn’t have their same religious beliefs; Catholicism, I’m looking at you kid! Truth is everyone has a different idea about what religion to follow, and everyone believes they are right. Problem is that what we end up believing in is sometimes determined by trivial things like what our parents believe in, or what country we happened to be born in. Think about it! What if you’d been born in India, you think you'd believe in Jesus? No, you’d believe in Elephant Gods with four hands! So many gods to choose from, so little time. Which one to believe in? Should you believe in any of them? Why exactly are their so many Gods in the world? If you ask me, the simple fact that there are so many of them let’s you know that there is no real one. That all these gods have been made up by man to fill that void, that void of not knowing, but that's just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

Personally, I don’t subscribe to any religious dogma because I believe that no one on this planet truly knows anything. No one knows where humans truly came from, no one knows how we got started. No one knows how the universe came to be, religions offer answers to these questions, problem is the answers are all made up. All these questions -the big questions as they are often called- are just one gigantic mystery. THE big mystery, which is what keeps life interesting. To quote the character of Trinity from The Matrix (1999): “It’s the question that drives us Neo”. I believe religions are a bunch of fairy tales designed to give us perfectly packaged answers to some of life’s most unanswerable questions. Religion is a way of soothing your psyche if you can’t take the idea that we really don’t know where humanity came from, or what truly happens after we die. But that’s my take on life, we each believe in what we want to believe. Ultimately, if you’re happy believing in throne rooms in the sky, then far be it from me to stop your happiness!

But me? I happen to think religion is nothing but an emotional and psychological crutch, designed to bring us some sort of emotional support, after all, life has a way of bringing us down at times. Religion gives us a fake comfort. It makes us think some magical guy up there gives a damn about us. That some guardian angel is watching over us and will make everything alright. My answer to that is: Why not teach people to believe in themselves? To get things done because they will it? Why not teach people that they can achieve anything they want to achieve, if they put their mind to it? You want to make your life better? Stop believing that an invisible old man in the sky is going to fix everything for you and take matters into your own hands! Live your life! Make your choices! Do your thing! You might make a couple of mistakes along the way, but that’s life. It’s a learning process. It’s a game we have to learn to play as we go along. Why live it ridden by lies and guilt? I say, wake up from the slumber! Disconnect yourself from The Matrix and live in the real world! And so, here I offer you guys 15 Religion Bashing Films, these are a group of films and documentaries that expose religions many flaws and show it for what it is: a big confusing mess that should be left behind. So without further ado I leave you guys with 15 Religion Bashing Films! And don’t forget, this is only part one of this article, for part 2 go here!

Title: Religulous (2008)

Synopsis: On this one comedian Bill Maher goes from religion to religion, from parishioner to parishioner questioning their beliefs, trying to figure out what makes them tick. Many people don’t like this film because it takes a funny route, but in all honesty I think it was great that Maher infused a bit of comedy into the whole thing, after all, religion is one touchy subject. There are some truly hilarious moments on this documentary. I find it funny that almost every one of these religious places he visits has their own little army that ends up kicking Maher out. Some religious institutions don’t even want to be confronted with the questions that Maher’s has for them, so they don’t even bother opening the doors to the filmmakers: Vatican, I’m looking at you kid! Either way, there is no denying that Maher asks some very interesting questions that will more than likely make you think. This documentary is a real eye opener as far as exposing some of the silly beliefs that some religions have…like the Mormons having to wear special underwear (sold at their church) so they can have sex? What. The. Hell!

Religion Bashing Quote: “Rational people, anti-religionists must end their timidity and come out of the closet and assert themselves. And those who consider them only moderately religious need to look themselves in the mirror and realize that the solace and comfort that religion brings you actually comes at a terrible price”

Title: There Will Be Blood (2007)

Synopsis: This film speaks about two great evils devouring our world today: greed and religion. But the real main objective in this film is to unmask religion, to show that it’s all a façade, that religious leaders are fooling the people and using them to their benefit. This is a film that pits the realist vs. the superstitious individual. Daniel Plainview is a realist; all he cares about is business, making money, being successful and not letting anyone get in his way. His god is the dollar bill. He is not a wholesome individual because greed proves to be his downfall as well. But the other great evil in the film is the religious leader, Eli Sunday. He paints himself as a holy man leading his people down a god fearing path, yet in reality all he cares about is power and money, same as Daniel Plainview, only Plainview is honest about what he wants. The preacher in There Will Be Blood even goes as far as denying god in order to get a deal made! There are some really shocking moments on this film, and I have to say its one of the strongest anti-religious films out there. It’s no surprise coming from a director like Paul Thomas Anderson, who is currently attempting to unmask Scientology with his next film.

Religion Bashing Quote: “I’d like for you to tell me that you are and have always been a false prophet and that God is a superstition”

Title: Golden Compass (2007)

Synopsis: The Golden Compass was an interesting film because it received so much heat upon its release. Basically, the movie presents us with the idea that we can live in a world without religion, an idea that I personally agree wholeheartedly with. Do we really need to believe in fairies and godfathers? Especially when there is no way to prove their existence? Why not live in a more realistic world, where we admit we simply don’t have all the answers to everything? These ideas and themes where targeted by the Catholic Church (and many other Christian religions) and basically marked the film as the antichrist because it was teaching children ideas about “killing God”. Truth be told, the book is way more open with its anti-religious ideas than the movie ever was. The film went with using euphemisms for religion. The film chose not to mention religion directly for fear of loosing box office tickets; yet this didn’t stop the film from making kajillions, it made its money back. Strangest thing about this film is that in the U.S. it only made 70 million, while the rest of the world embraced it and brought the final box office receipts to well over 300 million dollars. The fact that this film made more money in foreign countries than

U.S.

, speaks volumes about how the rest of the world sees the idea of living in a religion less world. Still, I’m thinking it would have made a whole lot more money without the

Vatican

warning all its followers not to watch it. I guess having a film that gives its back to faith and teaches us to believe in ourselves rather than imaginary beings is too much for society.

Religion Bashing Quote: “In my world, scholars invented an elithiometer, a golden compass that showed them all that was hidden; but the ruling power, fearing any truth but their own decided to destroy these devices and forbade the very mention of dust. One compass remains however, and only one who can read it ”

Title: The Wicker Man (1973)

Synopsis: The Wicker Man is a film that helped me understand that sometimes your belief system depends on where you are born. Had you been born in

India

, maybe you’d be worshipping Shiva or Kahli and not Jesus. The people of Summer Isle were born into a society that worships the Sun as their God and once a year they must sacrifice! Another thing this movie taught me is, any whacko can come up and say that a sacrifice must be made to some God because he says so, and somebody is going to say “sure!” and follow, no matter how crazy the idea. The idea of how easy it is to get the masses to believe in something, no matter how insane it is. This is also a film that shows a Christian asking to his god for help, and apparently, his pleas fall on depth ears! Why isnt god helping his loyal servent from certain death? Could it be because there’s nobody there? The Wicker Man is a film that is a bit unorthodox, and definitely “weird” but man, when it all hits you in the end, its soooo worth it! Called by many as the “Citizen Kane of Horror Movies” this is definitely a must watch for any true horror fan. Don’t bother with the laughable remake though, it’s a stinker.

Religion Bashing Quote: “Don’t you see that killing me isn’t going to bring back your apples?”

Title: The Name of the Rose (1986)

Synopsis: This film was so interesting; I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I tells the story of two monks, one young (Christian Slater) and one old (Sean Connery) who are sent to an old monastery up in the mountains, their mission is to investigate a series of mysterious murders that have occured. For some reason that nobody appears to understand, someone is murdering monks! The film plays out like a Sherlock Holmes film, with Slater playing Watson to Connery’s Sherlock Holmes. A hint that this is what filmmakers were going for is that Connery’s character is called William of Baskersville. This film speaks volumes about the tension between trying to live up to the expectations and requirements of being a man of the cloth, and being a flesh and bone man, with lust and desires. Also, it speaks about the one thing that many would like to hide from “the people” and that my friends is knowledge. This films ultimate message is that knowledge shall set us free! In the Name of the Rose is a very symbolic film that comments on religion on so many levels! It speaks of collective fear, and how it can make us see things that aren’t there. But most important of all it shows us the importance of educating ourselves as to how things really are in this world. One awesome scene has Slater and Connery lost in a gigantic labyrinthine library! Literally getting lost trying to find the truth, same way we should all struggle to find it!.

Religion Bashing Quote: “The only evidence I see of the Antichrist here is everyone’s desire to see him at work”

Title: Jonestown: The Life and Death of the Peoples Temple (2006)

Synopsis: This documentary is a truly heartbreaking experience. You look at it and you wont believe it happened. It expertly explains the way Reverend Jim Jones convinced many of his followers not only to sell all their homes and properties and move with him to

Guyana

, but he also convinced more than 900 of them to commit suicide by drinking Cyanide! This documentary, more than any other film on this list will show you just how powerful the grip of a religious leader can be on the mind of his parishioners. The religious leader says it and it can and probably will be done. It shows how people who finally understand the true nature of religion can abuse its power, and how horrible and dark the consequences can be. It is amazing how much footage, how much video and how many pictures are available of this whole event. It’s as if Jim Jones knew exactly what he was doing and wanted to document it for future generations. Did he want to teach a lesson on how powerful religion can be? Or was he simply thirsting for power? Was he in the end suffering from a God complex? I dare you not to cry while watching this one!

Religion Bashing Quote: “Nobody joins a cult. Nobody joins something they think’s gonna hurt them. You join a religious organization, you join a political movement, and you join with people you really, really like”

Title: Deliver Us From Evil (2006)

Synopsis: One of the ugliest aspects of the Catholic Church is how they ignore the child molestation that goes on within their ranks. It’s really sick when you learn just how many millions they have to spend every year to legally protect all the priests that have sexually abused little kids. On this documentary we meet an old priest named Father Oliver O Grady who abused a bunch of kids when he was a young priest, funny how he is STILL a priest even after the Church knows how many kids he abused! Now that his dick has gone limp, he decides it’s time to ask for forgiveness to all those kids whose lives he messed up. The act of the priest wanting to say “I’m sorry” feels totally insincere; it feels like he is doing it to make himself feel better for all of his past sins. This is a really touching documentary because you actually get to know a lot of the kids that the priest abused of and how their lives have turned out. You meet their parents, and they all tell you their side of the story. This documentary even takes us to the walls of the Vatican, but, same as in Religulous (2008), the

Vatican

, and all it’s cardinals and priests never answer. Where’s the pope when you need him? Funny how the church simply turns a blind eye to these victims, to the people that their own priests sexually abused off when they were children. Where is the compassion and understanding that the bible speaks of? Where is the righteousness? Where is the caring?

Religion Bashing Quote: (Said by one of the victims) “I made up my mind. There is no God. I do not believe in God, all right? All these rules, everything….they’re made up by man you know?”

Title: The Meaning of Life (1983)

Synopsis: The Monty Python guys have never been ones to shy away from bashing on religion, I mean, they’d already done it in Life of Brian, a 100% politics and religion bashing film every step of the way. On Meaning of Life, the Python guys criticize and make fun of everything from Catholicism’s rules about NOT using condoms, to the idea of a magical guy up there in heaven watching over us. Hell, God is the only character that appears in all three Monty Python films! These guys are definitely concerned with the idea of God. And they do get quite philosophical at times. But in all honesty, the film really makes fun of life itself; they make parodies of everything on this movie! Even of the moment when we are born, all the way down to when we die, and even what happens after that. This is an all encompassing film in terms of themes, but they do reserve a huge chunk of their time on the silliness of the church and religious tradition.

Religion Bashing Quote: “Look at them. Bloody Catholics, filling the bloody world up with bloody people they cant bloody feed”

Title: Life of Brian (1979)

Synopsis: This is the ultimate comment on religion by the Monty Python guys. Not surprisingly, the film also comments heavily on politics and government, and that makes perfect sense to me since religion and politics go hand in hand. This one is a bit different than Meaning of Life because it is almost entirely about religion as opposed to Meaning of Life which comments on everything. On Life of Brian we follow Brian, a character who has been mistaken for Jesus. Suddenly, people decide to follow him around and live by every word that he says, but Brian wants none of it. Brian just wants to be Brian, he doesn’t want zombie zealots following him around, repeating everything he says like some mantra! This film is considered by many to be one of the best comedies of all time, and one of the most important ones, I think that the importance that is given to this film comes from the fact that it lambasts the idea of religion so powerfully.

Religion Bashing Quote: “Look! You got it all wrong! You don’t need to follow me! You don’t need to follow anybody! You’ve got to think for yourselves! You’re all individuals!”

Title: Jesus Camp (2006)

Synopsis: Jesus Camp is all about a group of kids who attend a summer camp that will help them “cleanse their souls” and become good preachers. This one feels like a horror film, when you watch it, you wont believe your eyes and ears. It really goes deep into the heart of the Evangelical way of teaching their kids the ways of the bible. Basically, they torture them psychologically, make them feel guilty for their ‘sins’ (these are kids for christs sake!) and hammer ideas into their heads about hating things like Harry Potter. Man, it’s really sad to see these kids crying their hearts out because they feel like sinners. And it is frightening to see the adults who do it to them. Saddest part of the whole affair is that this summer camp had been doing this for years and years before this documentary came along! After the documentary they had to close down shop because of all the hate they got from everyone in the world. This one is a real eye opener not only about religion and how it can wipe your mind clean, but also about the way that the government takes advantages of Christian churches to promote their political agendas and make their parishioners vote for certain candidates. These people actually believed that BUSH was chosen by god to lead the nation! Strangest part is that the events captured by these documentarians unfolded naturally before the lenses of their cameras, these are Evangelical Christians just doing and acting the way they do every day. And it is truly frightening. This documentary will make you feel sick to the stomach with religion and politics. In other words, it has the highest possible recommendation from me.

Religion Bashing Quote: (Spoken by Becky Fisher, the woman who ran the Evangelical Summer Camp) “I can go into a playground of kids that don’t know anything about Christianity, lead them to the Lord in a matter of, just no time at all and just moments later they will be seeing visions and hearing the voice of God, because they are so open. They are so usable in Christianity”

Title: Conan The Barbarian (1982)

Synopsis: This is my favorite of all the religion bashing movies because it’s also a great fantasy film. But at it’s core, this is a film hitting brutally on the dangers of fanatism and cults. In the film we are presented with a group of religious folk who are spreading across the land…they worship snakes as if they were gods. They put up their snake worshipping temples across the land, brainwashing people into becoming their acolytes. They have been so successful with their cult, that even the daughter of a king has escaped her father and is now a fervent acolyte of the snake worshippers. Conan is offered the opportunity to rescue the Kings daughter, which is really a sweet deal because at the same time Conan will exact revenge upon the leader of this cult, for he was the one responsible for killing Conan’s parents as well! This film is so well written, it really goes into what religion is all about. The brainwashing; the blind devotion. One scene has the religious leader of the cult (called Thulsa Doom) tell one of his female followers to jump into the void, which she immediately does, sacrificing herself simply because her religious leader told her so. Conan The Barbarian really makes an effort to show how powerful a grip a religious leader has over the minds of his followers. I like how Conan isnt portrayed as a godless man, he actually believes in his god CROM, and talks to him asking him for help, but Conan says to Crom “I never pray to you, but I know you like valor. So grant me REVENGE! And if you don’t help me, than SCREW YOU!” I love it, he doesn’t deny god, but if his god doesn’t help him, he’ll do it on his own. I like that idea, that mentality that you don’t have to rely on Gods to do things for you, what matters is that you do things for yourself, through your own will. You know how in normal movies, the good guy saves the day and gets the girl? By the time you are done with this Conan movie he will have infiltrated the cult, killed a couple of their snakes, burned down their temple and chopped off of the head of Thulsa Doom, the religious leader. Anti-religious in deed.

Religion Bashing Quote: “To the hell fires with Thulsa Doom! He’s evil, a sorcerer who can summon demons. His followers’ only purpose is to die in his service; thousands of them.”

Title: Martyrs (2008)

Synopsis: Out of all the films on this list, this is the one most likely to shock the hell out of you. This amazing film comes to us from French filmmaker Pascal Laugier, the director behind the direct to video horror film House of Voices (2004). On this one we meet a girl who actually manages to escape the clutches of an evil cult hell bent no discovering the secrets of the afterlife. This is a very graphic film, make no doubts about it, you will see lots of gore, lots of blood. But it’s also a very symbolic film about the results of becoming a prisoner to a bunch of religious fanatics. This film really focuses on how once you are inside of a belief system, you are fed lies, you are promised paradise, you are even promised the secrets of the universe, but in the end, all you are left with is a negatively affected life with emotional scars that will last a lifetime. It also speaks about how religions simply take advantage of the suffering in our lives, the suffering that ‘the system’ puts most people through in order to make you one of them. It speaks of how after a while of hearing about angels and demons, you’re mind will make start seeing and hearing them, even if they are not there. Highly recommend this one!

Religion Bashing Quote: “It’s so easy to create a victim young lady, so easy. You lock someone in a dark room, they begin to suffer; you feed that suffering. Methodically, systematically and coldly. And make it last. Your subject goes through a number of states. After a while, their trauma, that small, easily opened crack makes them see things that don’t exist”

Title: Bad Dreams (1988)

Synopsis: Bad Dreams tells the story of Cynthia, a young woman who’s spent most of her life sleeping in a comma. You see Cynthia was the only survivor of a religious group called ‘Unity’, a group that commited mass suicide 13 years ago. They all burned themselves down because their religious leader told them so! And Cynthia was the only survivor of that ordeal. Now she’s awakened, and she’s in psychological therapy, trying to deal with the whole mess. Unfortunately, Harris, the religious leader, keeps visiting her in her dreams! And not only that, apparently he can also kill people from the great beyond! The thing about this movie is that it’s a great premise, but it feels just a little bit too much like A Nightmare on Elm Street, so much so that the actress who plays Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin) actually starred in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1987) where she played the role of Taryn, the girl who loves to be “beautiful….and BAD!” This film also stars Bruce Abbott of Re-Animator fame, and Richard Lynch playing Harris, the crazy religious leader. Watching Harris playing the crazy religious leader is one of the best things about this one. The film explores the hive like mentality that permeates religion and it analyzes how difficult it can be to deprogram yourself from the ideas implanted in our brains by religion.

Title: Silent Hill (2006)

Synopsis: This one is interesting because like Martyrs and Bad Dreams it analyzes how religion can scar us, and the psychological scars can last a life time. On this film, a little girl has gone missing. She’s apparently lost somewhere within the bowls of the spooky little town called Silent Hill. Her mother, a woman called Rose, decides to go into the spooky town to find her daughter….but why do things in this town keep changing? Soon, the mother discovers that there is a strange cult in this town, and that they all think they got god on their side! But do they? The film analyzes the idea of how every Christian religion believes that God is on their particular side. That He favors their Christian beliefs over the other Christian church across the street. It also speaks about the horrors committed in the name of religion, like sacrifices. And it also explores the psychological implications of always feeling guilty because of a little thing called ‘sin’. Why are religious leaders so hell bent on making their parishioners feel guilty? And what happens when one of the scarred decides to fight back and get revenge for all the damage that was done to her? You don’t want to miss this films grand finale, it’s a gory show stopper.

Religion Bashing Quote: “When you’re hurt and scared for so long, the fear and pain turn to hate and the hate starts to change the world”

Title: Saved! (2004)

Synopsis: Mary is a Christian girl living in a Christian town where everything and everyone is “Jesus-centric”, meaning that everything revolves around Jesus. The go to Christian school and listen to Christian music. Everything seems squeaky clean and perfect in the beginning. But problems start when Mary tries to cure her boyfriend of his gayness by having sex with him. She rationalizes having sex with him before marriage, she thinks it’s her mission from God to cure her boyfriend of his homosexuality. The real problem starts when she becomes pregnant with a baby from her gay boyfriend! Aha! I love this movie because it really shows what it is to live amidst a Christian society. How everyone is mentioning Jesus every five seconds and always seem to be happy, almost to the point where its fake. You know, that fake happiness? The film also speaks about how Christianity can make you negate your instinctive human desires and emotions. How some Christians are complete and utter hypocrites, preaching one thing but really feeling and doing another. I love how the film speaks about the Christians obsession with trying to be perfect, which is really an impossibility in this life. We all make mistakes and learn from them, this is how life goes. But Christians try to walk this perfect path, and this film shows that life has a way of showing us that things aren’t all that predictable, that life isnt squeaky clean perfect and that shit can hit the fan no matter who many times you went to church that week.

Religion Bashing Quote: “So everything that doesn’t fit into some stupid idea of what you think God wants, you just try to hide, or fix or get rid of? It’s all just too much to live up to. No one fits in one hundred percent of the time, not even you. ”

If you enjoyed this article dont forget to check out the sequel: Religion Bashing Films Part II!

The Innocents (1961)

2012-01-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

Title: The Innocents (1961)

Director: Jack Clayton

Cast: Deborah Kerr, Martin Stephens, Pamela Fraklin, Clytie Jessop, Michael Redgrave

Review:

A rich man is looking for the perfect “Governess” (which is just a big word for a live-in Nanny) to take care of his two adopted kids, whom he has no time for. The man is so rich and powerful that he has no time to raise kids; he is too busy conducting business trips and closing deals. But he wants a Governess who will take care of the kids and not bother him about anything…ever! He soon finds the perfect Governess in Mrs. Giddens, the lady who ends up getting the job. Mrs. Giddens soon moves to the rich mans castle, where she will be living and taking care of the children. She is impressed at how beautiful and majestic the castle is. Apparently, things are looking up for Mrs. Giddens! She meets the children...who seem bright and cheerful, but are they what they seem? She soon discovers that there’s something not quite right about them. Why are they so damn smart? And why is the little boy hitting on her all the time?

I love it when I see a good film and it blows me out of the water, and I love it even more when said film is and old one. It let’s me know that no matter how many years have passed by, if a film is good, it will retain its original impact. I love it when no matter how many years have gone by since a film was first made, when it’s good, there is just no denying it. Some films are simply forever good. The Innocents is one of these films. It’s one old school, eerie affair. I imagine that way back in 1961, audience members must have been spooked when they saw this one! The Innocents has an intensity to it and a decidedly serious vibe that many horror films from that era lacked. It’s one of those old school horror films where the wind blows in the middle of the night, where castles are filled with dark, shadowy hallways, the window curtains caress the night air…this is an old fashion horror film alright and such a damn good one! I personally compare it to Robert Wise’s wonderfully spooky The Haunting (1963) in terms of tone and atmosphere, but more on that later.

There are many scenes enshrouded in darkness on The Innoncents; the color palette is filled with sharp blacks and contrasting whites. The beautifully dark and gothic look of this film can be attributed in large part to Freddie Francis, the master cinematographer who lends his abilities on The Innocents. This is the man behind the cinematography for many Hammer Horror films, he even directed some of them, like Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), one of the most beautiful looking of the Hammer Dracula films. Freddie Francis’s cinematic magic worked great in color films, but he worked his magic on black and white films as well, The Innocents is a good example of that. The black and whites are as sharp as can be and used to maximum effect. When you watch this one, you feel as though you are being engulfed by darkness! It reminded me of a similar looking film that Freddie Francis directed called Nightmare (1964). By the way, Nightmare comes highly recommended as one of the better Psycho (1960) rip offs and same as The Innocents, Nightmare was a very dark looking black and white film, which consequently also starred an unreliable female protagonist.

Why is Mrs. Giddens, the female lead in The Innocents considered an unreliable protagonist? It’s because she’s the kind of protagonist that we don’t really trust, she doesn’t seem to be all there. In this way it reminded me yet again of Robert Wise’s The Haunting, but also of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968), both psychological thriller in which the female protagonist looses it. Actually, now that I look at it, the horror films of the 60’s were all about unreliable female protagonists, I guess this had a lot to do with the success of Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). These are all films filled with females suffering from depression, paranoia and psychosis. The film protagonist in The Innocents fits nicely with these type of films because Mrs. Giddens seems like a competent lady; unfortunately, we are here to witness her crumble psychologically.

There’s various ways of looking at this picture, it’s a film open to interpretation. The Innocents is a very ambiguous horror film. Is it a ghost story or isn’t it? Is the house haunted? Are the kids possessed? Is Mrs. Giddens crazy? This is the kind of film where it’s never really clear exactly what is going on. Some will see this film one way, some will see it another. At the root of it all are the children, the titular “Innocents” who really aren’t as innocent as they should be at their age, which is really the spookiest part of this film. Little Miles and Flora speak and behave like adults! They kind of reminded me of the kids in Frank Herbert’s Dune novels, where a religious order of witches breed children who are born with the knowledge of their fore fathers, so they are born super intelligent, with all this knowledge about life. Children such as these are intimidating because normally of course, kids are innocent and naïve, when they aren’t, it totally freaks you out. On The Innocents there seems to be some sort of dark purpose behind these kids’ words and actions. This is a film about corrupted youth. It plays with the idea that a child’s mind is a clean slate and that whatever we put into their minds and hearts, that whatever experiences we put them through will influence immensely on who they become. Interesting note, Martin Stephens, the child actor who played Miles on The Innocents also played one of the leads in Village of the Damned (1960), another excellent film about evil little kids.

What I liked the most about The Innocents was that feeling of not knowing exactly what’s going on. I loved how the film manages to keep us lulled in to the mystery behind the kids’ strange behavior. It is a very effective film in that sense. I personally consider The Innocents one of the best horror films ever made because really, the best type of horror film is the kind that suggests the horror; it suggests what is behind that curtain and leaves the rest to your imagination. Again, this is another similarity that TheHaunting shares with The Innocents and since The Haunting was filmed a couple of years after The Innocents, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Robert Wise and crew where at least a bit influenced by The Innocents. In turn, I believe that The Innocents was Alejandro Amenobar’s blueprint for making TheOthers (2001). There is so much of The Innocents in that film! Last Halloween I did a blog post about 21 Haunted House Flicks, this one would have fit so perfectly well in there. It would have also fit nicely on my Evil Tots! MoviesWith Evil Little Kids in Them blog post. Final words? This is a true horror classic that every dignified horror fan should see. Everything about it is perfect, the suspense, the performances, the look of the film, the atmosphere. If you are disappointed with what is being passed as a horror film these days, then watch The Innocents; it’s the kind of film that will make you regain your faith in horror films.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Straw Dogs (1971)

2012-01-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Title: Straw Dogs (1971)

Director: Sam Peckinpah

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, David Werner

Review:

As a warning, I’ll let you guys know that this review is more of an analysis of Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, so if you don’t want to read any spoilers…your welcome to skip this review, otherwise, read on my friends because today we’ll be talking about Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs! Peckinpah was known for making violent, sexually charged films that spoke about that animal/violent side that is dormant within most of us; and that was definitely the vibe that I felt while watching Straw Dogs, a film about mild mannered mathematician David Summer (Dustin Hoffman) and his beautiful wife Amy Summer (Susan George), who have just relocated to England to escape the violent political climate permeating in the United States during the early 70’s. I guess they figure things will be quieter in another country, far away from all the turmoil. And for a while, things seem fine. They are staying in a secluded house amongst mountains and green pastures. How can evil crawl up into this beautiful and seemingly peaceful landscape?

This is the premise for Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs a film regarded by many as the directors’ masterpiece. I haven’t seen Peckinpah’s entire repertoire, but Straw Dogs does feel like it could definitely be amongst his top films. It is a very powerful film, with some scenes that will definitely make some of you squirm. Some audience members were so shocked with this film that in test screenings, some actually got up and left half way through the film. They couldn’t take the violence and the sexual assaults that the film presented. At the time not many theatrically released films ventured this far into sex and violence, and so virgins to Peckinpah’s particular style of film, audiences reacted accordingly. The film was banned in some countries and edited down in others.

The scenes that shocked the most were the famous scenes where Susan George’s character gets raped and another scene in which Dustin Hoffman’s character goes nuts and smashes some dudes face to a bloody pulp. And though I’ve seen far more graphic films than Straw Dogs, this was one of the first to go as far and as graphic as it did. I mean off the top of my head I can mention Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible (2002) as a film that was obviously influenced by Straw Dogs, but decided to push the envelope a bit further by being even more graphic with its sex/rape scenes and its violence. But Straw Dogs did it first; it was one of the first to really shock people. So much so that some reviewers went as far as to accuse Peckinpah of being misogynistic, misanthropic and even fascist. But was he any of these things he was accused of because of making this film? Or was he simply exploring mans natural capacity for violence? Is the way women are portrayed on this film misogynistic?

In my book, Peckinpah was doing what he came to this world to do. He was a filmmaker commenting on human nature and he did it without any filters, without anything to hold him back, which in many cases means we’re in for an honest movie, one that tries to tell things the way they really are. Nothing that is portrayed in this film can be labeled as fake or unrealistic. Situations like these do happen in the world everyday. Peckinpah was simply exploring why events such as these occur; what is at the root of it all? This is why I don’t really attack Straw Dogs the way some people do. But hey, I’m not going to deny that Straw Dog’s rape scene was not an easy scene to watch. I felt Susan George’s ambiguity; she wanted to be with the first rapist because her husband was cold and harsh with her at times. He ignored her because of his obsession with math. But at the same time, she didn’t want to get raped, of course she didn’t, no woman would want such a thing. Plus, she knew she was married, and she loved her husband. That scene is amazing because of the incredible range of emotions that Susan George puts across through her performance. Her characters divided self shined through and through, praises to her and that scene. To the films credit, the rape scene isn’t even graphic in nature, most of the pain and anguish is transmitted through Susan George’s facial expressions, yet the scene still manages to shock, a testament to the way the film was directed and acted.

In Straw Dogs, Amy Summer is the ultimate provocateur, she walks around town bra-less, with mini-skirts. She doesn’t mind flashing people every once in a while either. Does this mean that she is asking to be raped? Should the fact that a woman dresses and behaves in a sexually provocative manner give rapists and excuse to do what they do? These are the questions that Peckinpah asks with this film. This film is about rape, no doubt about that, but also, it asks the question of what makes a man a man? Does a man have to be tough? Does he have to treat women roughly? Or lovingly? Should every man have a capacity for violence in reserve, just in case he needs it? In the film, Dustin Hoffman’s character David Summer is a mild mannered man; a bookworm, a cerebral man, the furthest thing away from the macho type. But what happens when the mild mannered, peace loving man clashes with the alpha male? Will David have what it takes to stand up to these bullies? And how much will he stand before he actually takes a stand? David Summer is the kind of character (like most of us I guess) who avoids violent confrontations as much as possible. Yet the people he has to deal with are the complete opposite; they solve everything through violence. In this town, if a man is denied a beer at the local bar for being too drunk, he breaks a couple of glasses until he finally gets it! What’s a peaceful individual like David going to do in such a violent environment? I guess Peckinpah is commenting on how no matter where you go, humanities violent nature will follow you. Straw Dogs is the kind of film that makes you think about how you would react if you would ever face such a situation.

Some (even Peckinpah himself) have called David Summer the villain of the film not because of how violently he reacts, but because of his unwillingness to do something about the situation that presents itself. He fails to take action. The idea behind David being the villain is that everything that happens to him is his fault because he didn’t have the guts to stand up to the rapists when he first had the chance. That his cowardice and naïveté made everything else happen, that he brought it all onto himself, which I agree with. This is a story of a man who learns that things need to be dealt with before they get out of hand. At the same time, I sympathize with David because he is a peaceful guy who’d be happiest educating himself and learning new things, not smashing peoples faces up. During the whole film he is portrayed as a character that is afraid of any type of confrontation. His reason for moving to England was to get away from all the violence and rebellion going on in the U.S.; in fact, it is mentioned that David didn’t even have the guts to form a part of the revolutionary movement, this is a fact that his wife Amy never liked about him. But hey, can you really blame a guy for wanting to be peaceful? I guess the films big question is what is a peaceful man to do in a violent world? What’s a peaceful man to do when his life, or that of his family is threatened? Some might say that Peckinpah’s answer is “grow some fucking balls and kick the living shit out of anyone who messes with you”, I say it's deal with things before they get out of proportion. Deal with things when they first show their ugly face. David Summer is definitely a character that cannot be described in terms of good or bad, of black and white, there are definitely a lot of grey areas with David Summer. He essentially became that which he hated the most. But then again, this isn’t a black and white world we live in either. What was he supposed to do? Stand back and let those men kill him and rape his wife? Was his violence justified? I kind of lean towards hell yes it was; but you my dear reader can be the judge there.

Straw Dogs is a moving film, I can’t tell you how much I got into it. It’s the kind of film that makes you scream “Do It!” to the screen. It is beautifully shot and acted. To me, it's a great revenge film that I wish I had included in my "Top 16 Revengiest Films Ever Made" post I did a while back; though some argue that this isnt a revenge film, I argue that it is, because he is avenging the violence thats being brought onto his household, he just executes his revenge at a lightning fast pace. I finally had the chance to catch up with this classic, and of course, Im glad I did. Straw Dogs gives us one of Dustin Hoffman's best performances. He portrays the quiet bookworm effectively; a worm that eventually turns and kicks some ass. In the end, Straw Dogs talks about how we are all capable of incredible amounts of violence, if we are pushed far enough. It speaks about the hypocrisy in society. In scene has all the pivotal characters going together to church for a social event and even the rapists are there, sharing with the rest of society in a “sacred place” when in fact they are the lowest of the low. Hypocrisy is further explored when the rapists attempt to kill a rapist, when in fact they are rapists themselves. These characters makes you think these evil men were only out to kill, maim and destroy just for the sake of it, not because they have a reason for it like David Summer did, after all, David was simply protecting his home, cant blame a guy for that.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Peckinpah and Hoffman talk it out

Melancholia (2011)

2012-01-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Title: Melancholia (2011)

Director: Lars Von Trier

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, John Hurt, Alexander Skarsgard, Stellan Skarsgard, Udo Kier

Review:

Director Lars Von Trier’s films always have this acid, depressive, sad outlook on life. Ever seen Antichrist (2009)? If you haven’t seen it yet, let me tell you, it’s an overdose of sadness and despair. I mean look at Von Trier’s latest film: Melancholia; the title says it all actually. The word melancholia refers to a form of abnormal sadness, sadness so deep that it can become a form of insanity. And Melancholia is just that; two hours of pure unadulterated sadness, and that’s fine by me because when you really stop to think about it, how sad is life on this planet? How truly sad are the conditions under which our society lives in? I mean, yes, many things can cause us happiness, many moments can bring us joy, but when we look at the big picture, when we look at how the world is being run, it is a sad, depressive state of affairs.

In Melancholia we meet two sisters: Justine and Claire. Justine has just gotten married and she is on her way to her wedding reception. On the surface, she seems happy, the way every bride should be. At first it seems that nothing can destroy the happiness between the happy couple. But as the evening progresses, it becomes quite evident that Justine isn’t happy at all, in fact she is the opposite, depressed beyond belief. Will she be able to go through with this night? With the responsibilities expected of her after marriage? What is really bringing Justine down so much? Claire, Justine’s older sister is trying to keep Justine’s emotions under control, but it seems nothing can control Justine’s gloom and doom. At the same time, a giant planet called Melancholia is headed straight towards us, and apparently will completely obliterate Planet Earth. Will Melancholia destroy us, or will it pass us by?

So yeah, I was blown away by this movie, yeah its constant sadness can be a bit overwhelming at times, but I have to admit there’s a meaning behind the sadness, a reason for it. And when we analyze the root of the sadness, it is completely merited. Let’s see, greed is swallowing humanity whole, children die of hunger every day. There is such a thing as child slavery in our modern world. Most of us think we aren’t slaves, that slavery is something of the past, but is it? The masses are being lied to, and really, when we get down to it, how much of what we hold to be true, really isn’t? How many people live under the assumption that everything they’ve been taught is true, when in fact it isn’t? How unfair and selfish are governments? How selfish are the rich and powerful? How much more could humanity be doing to improve life on this planet so that everyone can be happy? Why must one class rule over the other? Why can’t we all just live happily in this world? Why do we give such importance to trivial things that don’t really matter? How sad is it that we are being programmed to consume by the media? How much of what we see and read on the news is a lie? I mean…so many things can make it sad to live on this planet. The ideas that this film transmits are very true, in general, things on this planet can make anyone extremely sad. Melancholia really explores the idea that when we “wake up”, that when we get to know how this world is really being run, when we truly open our eyes and see how things really are, the truth of it all can make you bitter and sad.

This film sends a big “fuck you” to all the bullshit; and excuse my French, but this is exactly what the film does. This is exactly what Von Trier is saying. The film does this by using marriage as a starting point to analyze humanity and the things we choose to give importance to. In the film, during Justine’s wedding reception, when everyone has to say something nice to the Bride and Groom, Justine’s mother stands up and says “I don’t believe in marriage, so enjoy it while it lasts, which won’t be long”, which is a brutally honest comment on marriage. Why do you need to sign a piece of paper to be in love with someone? Do you really need to go through this whole legal process to bind your life to another especially when it’s supposed to be “forever”? I’ve always thought marriage can be a huge farce because most of the time, five years later, people can’t stand each other. I've always thought that life is so mutable, so ever changing that committing to something "forever" is really saying a lie. Most of the time what happens is that couples get bored with each other. So then they have kids and complicate the inevitable break up that will come anyways. I’ve recorded a couple of weddings (something I do on the side) and every time they get to the part where they promise themselves forever, I think “yeah right”. I mean, yeah it’s a beautiful thought to be able to live through life with the same person forever, and kudos to those who achieve it and are truly happy, but it’s almost a fairy tale like idea, and fairytales are far from reality. The reality is that most couples will end up getting divorced in less than five years. And what about all the rituals you go through during the actual marriage? At one point, Justine’s mother gets away from the reception and when someone tries to find her she tells them to “fuck off with your stupid traditions!” What the film is trying to say is that it’s all insignificant and pointless when we take in consideration the issues that should really matter in life; the bigger issues that we should all be aiming to improve on collectively, instead of worrying about old traditions and trivial things that really don’t matter in the end.

The question the film asks is, would it matter if humanity was suddenly obliterated from existence? Doesn’t humanities evil warrant its destruction? I’m a realist when it comes to things of this nature. I know how evil man can be. I know how evil man is being right now as I type this, but I choose to be hopeful. I choose to be of the ones who holds on to the idea that humanity will one day get past all these age old hang ups and mature. That one day, after all these lessons we’ve learned through the ages, that we will all want the best for all of us. That greed will one day dissipate, that we will find a way for all of us to be happy on this huge spaceship called earth. Wishful thinking? I hope not, because if these ideas are all just wishful thinking, if humanity will stay stuck in a never ending circle of evil, then I will have to be just as sad and melancholic as Kirsten Dunst’s character on this film. Her sadness reaches such lengths that she cant even move her legs to walk, it is so powerful that even her favorite food tastes bad. Her sadness totally engulfs her; melancholic is the perfect way to describe her. Justine, her sister, is the opposite. She tries to see everything in a positive way. She tries to help her sister, aiding her through her despair. I thought it was interesting how both sisters represented different ways of seeing the world. Justine sees things for what they are, and Claire represents the more idealistic way of looking at things, which isn’t always the most realistic way of seeing things.

The cast is a superb one; I was amazed at how much talent was up there on the screen. Kirsten Dunst looks absolutely stunning on this film. I think most guys out there will agree after seeing this film that Kirsten Dunst has one of the most amazing bodies in Hollywood, a true beauty. Her performance bares all, it is a very vulnerable and sincere performance, I loved it. Deep down inside she hates humanity and everything it has come to represent. She feels a greater connection with the universe, which she loves to gaze at, and nature. At one point she simply chooses to sit naked in the middle of the forest and look at the stars. The symbolisms being that she wants to disconnect from everything and just be totally free. Charlote Gainsbourg, who can now be considered a Von Trier regular (she also starred in Von Trier’s Antichrist) plays the idealist, the polar opposite of Justine. In many ways, she’s the kind of person who wants to turn a blind eye to the way things really are and chooses to see things in an idealistic, albeit unrealistic way. Though the are sisters and care for each other, they are really very different people. Kiefer Sutherland also plays the idealist. I was glad to see him in a film that is actually good; and not in crap like Mirrors (2008). John Hurt plays Justine’s father, a playful and happy man who laughs at life and enjoys not taking things too seriously, which I felt a connection with. Udo Kier made me laugh as the wedding planner, a small role, yet Kier is one of the few “funny” things about the film. All in all, an amazing cast.

Some might find this film to be a bit difficult to sit through because of its constant sadness, but hey, what can you expect from a film called Melancholia or for that matter, a film from director Lars Von Trier? True, the film is filled with gloom and doom, but Von Trier balances it all out with gorgeous visuals, beautiful cinematography and settings. I also enjoyed the fact that even though this is a film about “the end of the world” so to speak, it focuses on a more personal story. If this film had been directed by say Michael Bay, it would have been all about meteorites destroying buildings and cars exploding and chaos on the city streets, but on Von Trier’s hands, this film is about a rich family who lives in an isolated mansion, far away from the masses. The last moments of this film are truly gripping, and the film has one of the best endings I’ve ever seen on any movie, truly gripping. You’ll feel that you got front row sits to the end of the world! Kudos to Von Trier, that ending left me gasping. This film would have certainly been on my “Best of 2011” list had I seen it when I wrote the list, but alas, I saw it after. Still, just make believe I put it on there because it truly was one of the best of the year.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Fall (2006)

2012-01-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

Title: The Fall (2006)

Director: Tarsem Singh

Cast: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru

Review:

So I take it you guys have noticed how big a Tarsem fan I am, but what can I say? His films are so beautiful to look at I just can’t help myself. Actually, I’m kind of angry at myself for not having seen The Fall before, when the film was first released way back in 2006. I guess the film didn’t get much of a promotional push upon its initial release, and quite honestly, I cant imagine why! This movie has so many redeeming qualities! There are so many good things about it! It seems to me like the only way The Fall gets the recognition it deserves is by word of mouth. Sooooo, let me be another one of those reviewers to spread the love around: The Fall is an amazing movie! It is without a doubt in my mind Tarsem’s best film to date. I recently had a chance to watch and enjoy Tarsem’s Immortals which I loved and was impressed by, but after having seen The Fall I can safely say that it’s the best film in Tarsem’s repertoire. Why? Read on my friends…read on.

The Fall tells the story of a Alexandria, a little girl who is secluded in a hospital in L.A. recovering from a broken arm. Alexandria ends up befriending another patient in the hospital, a young actor by the name of Roy Walker. Roy is trying to recover from a bad back, you see, he is a stunt man for the movies and his latest stunt (jumping off a moving train and onto a horse) went horribly wrong, and so he hurt his back so badly he is now paraplegic and bed ridden. Good thing Alexandria is here to lighten up his day! They meet by happenstance, yet they develop a deep and profound friendship. To entertain Alexandria, Roy begins telling her a series of stories that he makes up as he goes along, sadly, even though he enjoys Alexandria’s company, Roy wants nothing more than to end his life. He feels he is half the man he was and he doesn’t want to live like this. Will he do it? Or will Alexandria save Roy’s soul?

To me Tarsem Singh is one of the great fantasy directors of our time. He reminds me of other directors entirely devoted to fantasy like Terry Gilliam for example, who I am absolutely sure has influenced Tarsem in one way or another. In fact, while watching The Fall, it reminded of one of Terry Gilliam’s fantasy masterpieces: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). Let’s mention the similarities shall we? The main character is a little girl, she escapes into a fantasy land where the good guys each have a special ability, one is a scientist, one is an explosives expert, one is a bandit…and so forth. In fact, the five characters that Alexandria meets in her fantasy world are like superheroes in many ways, same as the good guys in Adventures of Baron Munchausen and same as in that movie, the little girl is trying to save an older mans soul, and older man who becomes a father figure to her. Though The Fall is reportedly inspired by a Bulgarian film called Yo Ho Ho (1981), I would say that Gilliam’s film was also highly influential here.

But don’t go on thinking The Fall is simply a rip off of any other film because in many, many ways, The Fall is actually a very unique film unlike anything you will ever see.

One of the most interesting aspects of this film is the way in which it was made. Tarsem funded most of this film himself so he could make it his way, which makes The Fall a film totally void of studio intervention. This is Tarsem doing exactly the kind of film that he wants to make. That’s right my friends, this isn’t just any old film, this is a special film. How special you ask? Well, for example, The Fall was filmed in 18 different countries! But you wouldn’t know it by watching the film, because it all looks like it’s part of a cohesive universe that exists in little Alexandria’s head. The way in which The Fall was made reminded me of the way German director Werner Herzog makes his films. A lot of Herzog’s films are shot in such outlandish locations that one could easily mistake them for some fantasy world, or alien planet, when in fact Herzog makes his films right here on Planet Earth. It’s just that he knows how to exploit exotic locations to the max. The same thing can be said about Tarsem’s The Fall, the exotic locations chosen whisk us away to Alexandria and Roy’s fantasy world.

Tarsem’s films are often times accused of being style over substance, which is a fair assessment. It’s true, Tarsem loves conjuring up beautiful visuals and it’s true that he sometimes does this at the expense of story and character development, in some ways Immortals is a good example of that. But this was not the case with The Fall a film that kept me engaged, and a lot of that had to do with Catinca Untaru’s performance. Catican Untaru is the young actress who plays Alexandria. She’s such a cute little girl, so lovable, so innocent. She conveys the innocence of childhood to perfection. I hadn’t fallen in love with a young actresses’ performance so much since I saw Amelie (2001). I am wondering why she hasn’t been used in films again? The friendship that Roy and Alexandria develop during the course of the film feels so genuine and true. Roy is an adult who is depressed with his life; Alexandria is there to remind him how beautiful life can be. In many ways she functions like Roy’s guardian angel, coming to “save his soul”. The film took me by surprise because by its third half, the film had me in an emotional turmoil! I was sad…then seconds later I was happy, then seconds later I am devastated again! I’m not at liberty to say if a couple of my tears escaped or not, I’ll just say that heart strings where pulled; and the last director to do that to me with one of his films was Fellini with his Nights of Cabiria (1957). Very few directors manage to actually make a film that truly stirs my emotions, but dammit, Tarsem did it with The Fall. And speaking of Tarsem, if you want to see him direct the hell out of this film, watch the dvd extras where you can see how this amazing film came to be. On it you can see how passionate Tarsem is when he directs. You can actually see him squeeze tears from the little actress for some of the more emotional scenes, making a movie this movie was one big emotional journey for this young actress and I salute her for pulling it off.

Like many of Terry Gilliam’s films, Tarsem’s films are highly influenced by art. This is something that I also talked a bit about in my review for Tarsem’s The Cell (2000). The Fall is no different. This one has a little bit of Dahli in it. You know how Dahli made these paintings that look one way from up close and totally different when you look at them from afar? Tarsem pulls this off in The Fall with some of its images. In fact, the poster for The Fall was inspired by Dahli’s “Face of Mae West Which May Be Used as an Apartment” So we have a film with lots of artistic influences in it, which of course explains why it’s so rich visually. Not only that, but The Fall also manages to pay its respects to older films, and to stunt men and woman who risked their lives in the past to entertain us. In this way it reminded me of films like Scorcese’s Hugo (2011), films that pay homage to all those filmmakers from the past.

Dahli’s “Face of Mae West Which May Be Used as an Apartment”, which influenced the poster for The Fall

In conclusion, this is in my opinion Tarsem’s best film. You know how some of the best directors in the world have made films that are completely ignored upon their first release, and it’s only years later that people discover them and give them the respect they deserve? I think this will happen with The Fall. It’s an amazing film that failed to connect with audiences or fire up the box office when it was first released to the world. Hopefully, as time goes by people will finally discover this amazing film and give it the credit that it is due. It has many similarities with films like The Wizard of Oz (1939), Labyrinth (1986), Mirrormask (2005) and Pans Labyrinth (2006), films about a little girl escaping her harsh reality by going into a fantasy world in her mind. Do yourself a favor and check out this beautiful and emotional film by one of the finest fantasy directors working today.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Best Films of 2011 According to The Film Connoisseur

2012-01-04T06:27:00.000-08:00

Now that 2011 is over and done with I’ve gone over some of the films that I’ve watched through the year and came up with this top, fifteen best. This is the cream of the crop of 2011 according to The Film Connoisseur! Keep in mind that this list is made up of films that I’ve actually watched; sadly I didn’t get to watch all the films that I wanted to.

For example, I’ve yet to watch the following films: Gore Verbinski’s Rango, Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo all of which sound amazing. I’m sure a couple of these would’ve made it on to my list had I seen them. I also missed Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris…*sigh* so many movies, so little time. I’ll eventually get to them, which means you, my dear reader will eventually get to read reviews for them as well.

Hope you’ll get an idea of what films to see next time you go to the cinema (go watch Hugo now!) or on your next trip to the video club. So, without further ado, I leave you with The Film Connoisseur’s top films of 2011!

Title: Attack the Block

Director: Joe Cornish

Synopsis: Attack the Block is all about a group of hoodlums who suddenly find themselves face to face with an alien invasion! They have to learn to work as a team and care about others in order to survive. Why do the deadly aliens follow them everywhere they go?

What I liked about it: This is a very simple film that is also lots of fun. It’s basic premise is that of a group of kids trying to survive the alien invasion, but what I liked most about it where the characters; a lively bunch of teenagers who played out like the potty mouth version of The Goonies (1985) or Explorers (1985). These aren’t exactly squeaky clean teenagers, in fact, they are the complete opposite of that, yet they still manage to come off as likable. Another cool thing about the film were the alien creatures; they have a really original looking design to them, I hadnt seen creatures like these before. Another thing I really enjoyed about the film was how much it felt like a film from the 80’s, with a bunch of teenagers going on an adventure, which leads me to the next film on our list that paid tribute to the 80s...

Title: Super 8

Director: J.J. Abrahams

Synopsis: A group of teens are filming their own DIY (that’s Do It Yourself for those not in the know) zombie film. While filming a scene that takes place at a train station, the train crashes right before their eyes and their camera! As a result of this crash, the military over takes their town searching for something that was lost in the train crash. What is it?

What I Liked About It: Again, same as with Attack the Block, it’s the chemistry between the main characters that works wonders for the film. The children are all very likable and funny. The film was also J.J. Abrahams homage to Spielberg films, this is probably the main reason why the film felt like at times a lot like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982).

Title: Hanna

Director: Joe Wright

Synopsis: Hanna is a young girl who lives out in the woods with her dad. Her dad has raised her in a technology free environment, teaching her to survive in the world on her own. She’s good with hand to hand combat, with guns, and she’s a great hunter. Here’s a girl who won’t die of hunger if she gets lost in the woods one day. But what happens when Hanna wants to venture to the outside world filled with cars, pollution, evil people and technology? Will she be able to adapt? And why is the government after Hanna?

What I Liked About It: I liked many things about this film, number one; I loved how Joe Wright’s stylish visuals and the music by the Chemical Bros. matched to perfection. This is one of those movies in which every cut, every camera movement perfectly synchronizes with the images we see. I also enjoyed the films subversive nature, how it urges younger generations to wake up from the stupor, disconnect from technology, take control of their lives and stand up to the evil. Hanna represents what young people should be like in this cruel new world we live in, where the powers that be want nothing more than to control our every breath and movement. In this film, Hanna is fighting for her right to freedom, something that should be a priority in all our lives.

Title: Limitless

Director: Neil Burger

Synopsis: Eddie Morras is a writer who for all intents and purposes is you’re a-typical looser, a fuck up of gargantuan proportions. He wants write the great American novel but he is so disorganized and out of it, that he gets nowhere. Fortunately, he stumbles upon a friend of his that presents him with a new designer drug called NZT. This drug allows humans to use 100% of their brain as opposed to the 10% that we normally use. Suddenly Eddie writes his masterpiece in no time flat! He has acute understanding of the money market, his brain moves so fast that he soon rises to the top of the financial world! But, does the drug have any secondary effects? Can Eddie make it to the top on his own, without NZT to help him out?

What I Liked About It: My favorite thing about this movie was how it presents us with the idea that if we focus, and get our thoughts straight, we can accomplish anything. I liked the idea of the looser suddenly getting a laser sharp brain and achieving more than he’d ever achieved before. It’s something we all hope we can accomplish. On the other hand, the film also criticizes drug abuse, and explores the after effects of abusing them. The films stylish visuals and direction pulled me in as well.

Title: 13 Assassins

Director: Takashi Miike

Synopsis: 13 Samurais gather to bring down an evil politician that is slowly rising to power. Will they allow him to become Shogun so that he can rule over the land with his murderous mentality? Or will they take matters into their own hands and stop him?

What I Liked About It: It seems that every other Samurai film ever made is about toppling over an evil government, and 13 Assassins is no exception. This is a theme that never seems to go away, apparently people are never happy with their governments. Apparently, they have always abused and stolen from their people. The film takes the evil ruler and places him face to face with a representative of the people, and tells him exactly what he is doing wrong. It’s the kind of film where a worthy representative of the people takes a stand against the evil by organizing a revolution. The final scene is an hour long battle between the Samurais and the evil government. Who will win at the end of the day? And will it all have been worth it?

Title: Shaolin

Director: Benny Chan

Synopsis: The Monks of the Shaolin temple suddenly find their way of life threatened when an evil war lord decides to make them pay for helping the enemy. This war lord is your basic tyrannical douche bag. But what happens when the evil war lord suddenly finds himself without power? When he suddenly finds that it is he who needs the help of the Shaolin Monks? Will this evil warlord ever learn humility and love for his fellow man?

What I Liked About It: I’ve always loved films about the mystical Shaolin Temple. The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) and it’s sequels are some of my favorite Kung Fu movies. The idea about a mystical temple where you can lead a beautiful clean life, learn about love and humility and at the same time train yourself to protect your way of life with KUNG FU always caught my imagination. This was a very expensive Chinese movie that broke all kinds of box office records in China and Japan. The money spent on the film is on the screen, they built a whole temple just to make this film! As an added bonus, Jackie Chan appears in the film as a cook who mixes his cooking techniques with Kung Fu! But the coolest aspect of the film is how grand it is, and the kung fu action is nothing short of spectacular. I also enjoyed the fact that the evil politician has a change of heart…something I wish would happen more often in the world.

Title: Captain America: The First Avenger

Director: Joe Johnston

Synopsis: Steve Rogers is a skinny kid with a lot of heart, his biggest dream is to be able to join the U.S. Military so he can defend his country. Unfortunately, he is so skinny that he is continuously picked on and made fun of. He’s even rejected by the military for being so thin. But kids got a lot of heart, which is why he is chosen for a top secret military experiment that turns him into the super strong, ultra muscular, Captain America! Now he doesn’t only have super strength, he’s also a nice guy! As soon as he is transformed, he immediately gets involved in the war, and fights for the United States of America against the Red Skull, a power hungry mad man looking to destroy the world.

What I Liked About It: At times Captain America: The First Avenger felt like part of an ad campaign paid by the U.S. Military, and this is really the only aspect of the film that I didn’t like, because I despise the idea of killing other human beings over political ideologies, as far as I’m concerned, we’re all in this planet together, and we’re all brothers. But aside from the films “Go Army!” mentality and nauseating nationalism, the film also happens to be a great superhero film, with some awesome action set pieces and special effects. So if you can ignore the fanatical nationalism, you should be able to enjoy a fine superhero film.

Title: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Synopsis: Caesar is a test lab chimpanzee who is being treated with an experimental drug which makes him smarter. Caesar becomes domesticated and learns to read and write. Unfortunately, he ends up being incarcerated with other test lab chimpanzees’ because he is considered a danger to society. But Caesar isnt just any old monkey, this monkeys got a brain on him and he aims to use it! Soon, Caesar begins to organize all the chimps and orchestrates an escape. Can he organize the other chimps in order to escape their prison? Will they ever be truly free?

What I Liked About It: I liked this movie because it speaks about a lot of things that are happening in the world today. For example, the attack on education. The powers that be in many countries do not want their people getting smarter, they want people dumb, so they can do whatever they want with them. Therefore education is being made difficult to get for the underprivileged. It’s as if the people have gotten too smart for their own good, so the powers that be take that away from them by making skyrocketing tuition prices to ridiculous heights. It’s getting to the point where only the rich can get themselves educated, it’s either that or start your life out with a huge ass loan on your back, take your pick. This film addresses these issues through Caesar, a chimpanzee who gets incarcerated for being too smart. Though his superiors refer to him as a “damn dirty ape”, he knows he is much more than that. In the film, Caesar gets tortured and mistreated by his superiors when he acts independently or stands up for himself, same as some powerful governments do with their people when they start to speak up. The symbolisms are quite clear on this film, this film speaks about standing up for our true freedom and fighting for a better world! It is no surprise that the films tagline is “Evolution becomes Revolution!” To Caesar’s credit, he doesn’t give up in spite of the abuse! He actually teaches his fellow chimps to get smarter; he organizes them, arms them and then leads them to the revolution!

Title: Immortals

Director: Tarsem Singh

Synopsis: Evil King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) wants to wake up “The Titans” so they can bring havoc and destruction to the world, in revenge for the death of his family and the fact that the gods never did anything to save them. Good thing Theseus is ready to fight him! Will the gods intervene and stop Hyperion? Or will humanity have to learn to sort out their own dirty laundry?

Why I Liked It: I liked it because of director Tarsem Singh’s strong visuals; I mean I personally couldn’t take my eyes off of the screen the whole time. The 3-D was rather excellent in my book, and the action and effects where well executed. Immortals isn’t a deep film per se, a lot of the enjoyment comes from simply taking in the visuals. Immortals is a good example of style over substance, but so be it, I love stylish visuals and indulging in them from time to time! To me, this film felt like what that cheesy Clash of the Titans remake should have been more like.

Title: The Adventures of Tin Tin

Director: Steven Spielberg

Synopsis: Tin Tin must try and find four scrolls that will lead the way to a secret sunken treasure. This treasure belongs to the Haddock family, and the last member of the Haddock family should get it, unfortunately, he is an absent minded drunkard. At the same time, this evil douche bag called Sakharine whose family has always been at war with the Haddock family also wants the scrolls and he’ll stop at nothing to get them! So of course, a race across the world ensues to see who finds the treasure first!

Why I Liked It: The excellent animation feels so vivid and real that I think this film has set new standards for realism in computer animation. It gets kind of scary when you think of the things that they can do nowadays in computers. I also loved this film because it is everything that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) should have been; it was non stop spectacular action from beginning to end. It’s as if Spielberg wanted to compensate for that awful Indiana Jones picture with Tin Tin, and if you ask me, he achieved it. This movie goes from one amazing action packed sequence to the next. The only negative point for me is that it plays out a lot like Spielberg’s own Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), but that’s about as negative as I can get about it.

Title: The Skin I Live

Director: Pedro Almodovar

Synopsis: In this one, we meet Dr. Robert Ledgard, a plastic surgeon who is attempting to create the perfect skin. You see he is performing a series of experiments that are considered illegal by the scientific community; but he goes ahead with them because he has his own agenda behind his experiments, like revenge!

What I Liked About It: I loved this one because it felt as if Almodovar was directing a horror movie at times. We got the mad scientist, the spooky dungeon…the illegal experiments. The Skin I Live In had many of the elements you’d find in a Frankenstein or a Re-Animator film, but with that special Almodovar touch. This film is filled with twists upon twists upon twists, plus, Almodovar’s lush beautiful visuals don’t hurt the retinas either. It’s a pleasure seeing Almodovar cranking out great film after great film, the guy hasn’t disappointed me yet.

Title: Drive

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Synopsis: A stunt driver moonlights as a driver for criminals and he is the best at what he does. He is punctual, focused and one hell of a driver! He falls for his next door neighbor, a beautiful humble blonde, with a son. Unfortunately, this beautiful neighbor is involved with a man who’s just gotten out of jail and his past crimes are now threatening his family. Will the driver get involved and help them out?

Why I Liked It: Drive thrives in its simplicity. It’s a movie whose main character is the strong silent type, he doesn’t say much, but he gets things done. It’s as if the film was commenting, through its main character on how actions are more important than words. What I really liked about Drive was the way the story is told. Refn chooses not to drown the movie with explanations and a lot of dialog; instead, he chooses to tell his story through visuals and emotions, emotions that come to us through the actors’ facial expressions and eyes. The awesome soundtrack makes everything all the more pleasurable to watch. One of my favorites of the year no doubt; this is my friends is a film that oozes lots and lots of cool.

Title: Tree of Life

Director: Terrence Malick

Synopsis: Sean Penn plays Jack, an aging man who is living his adult life in the middle of the suffocating big bad city. The buildings, the glass, the iron and the cement he lives amongst makes him yearn and remember those simpler days when he was a child, living with his family in the country. The film is all about Jack remembering how life was with his parents, and all the things he loved and hated about growing up. We follow Jack from birth, to childhood, to adulthood, it’s one of those films that spans a life time.

What I Liked About It: This film was so powerful, it really got to me. It says so much with so few words. Rather, the film speaks in emotions, and visual poetry. Tree of Life comments on so many truths and addresses so many relevant themes that I left the theater truly impacted. Malick captures some moments that feel so genuine, that they could only come from real life experiences. You’ll truly remember what it was to be a child. It’s one of these films that encompasses so much, it’s like watching a poet speak about all that he knows about life and the world he lives in. To me these are the best kind of films, the ones that truly say something about those really meaningful themes we usually don’t have the answers to. Themes that range from God, to death, to the afterlife…to the universe. If you like your movies with a heavy dose of emotion and philosophy or films that address themes and ideas that few other films would, then look no further.

Title: Hugo

Director: Martin Scorcese

Synopsis: Hugo is an orphan child who lives behind the clocks of a train station in France. No one knows that he’s been living there for years. Apparently as long as the giant clocks in the train station work, nobody cares. When not fixing the clocks, Hugo works feverishly to bring back to life a toy robot that his dead father was working on before he died, he seems to think the robot will give him a message from his dead father. Will he ever find the key that will make the toy robot work like it should? Will he ever discover the true mystery behind the automaton?

What I Liked About It: I loved this movie, and it is my number one pick for 2011 because it reminded me why I love movies. Same as The Adventures of Tin Tin, this is a film that has a lot of magic and wonderment to it. It seems that only the old directors, the master filmmakers truly know what it means to infuse a film with magic; with that sense of mystery and excitement. Scorcese has truly carved a masterpiece with Hugo; it is a beautiful film to look at filled with amazing colors and vistas. The 3-D was astounding on Hugo, this is a film meant to be enjoyed on 3-D! This is Scorcese squeezing 3-D for all its worth, and doing it well! On top of that, it is also a film that expresses true love for books and films. At times, you’ll feel like Scorcese is giving you a film history lesson. Scorcese also explores why films are “our great escape”. To me this film was the perfect Christmas gift from a master storyteller.

Well, that’s it boys and girls, the best of 2011 according to The Film Connoisseur, hope you liked the list and find it useful!

Hugo (2011)

2011-12-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

Title: Hugo (2011)

Director: Martin Scorcese

Cast: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, , Christopher Lee, Emily Mortimer

Review:

Georges Melies was a genius back in his day; the guy was not only an accomplished illusionist, he was also one of the first film directors to use special effects in films. He is the filmmaker responsible for such important films as The Impossible Voyage (1904) and A Trip to the Moon (1902), the short film in which men travel to the moon on a bullet like rocket, and land on the moons eye. His films where filled with wizards, mermaids and adventurers; he was one of the first filmmakers to fall in love with the childlike wonderment of illusion and magic. He is also the focus of Martin Scorcese’s latest masterpiece, Hugo. And yeah, that’s right I used the ‘m’ word which is a status I reserve for those movies that are works of art, films that I enjoyed on every level, films that really ‘get to me’. Hugo was made by an extremely experienced director fully in control of the filmmaking tools at his disposal, ladies and gentlemen I speak of course of the great Martin Scorcese; who like the best filmmakers of the world, continues making amazing films even through his old age, and thank the film gods for that! Hugo is a beautiful film!

Hugo tells the tale of one Hugo Cabret, an orphan who’s really had a difficult time in life. He lives behind the giant clocks on a train station in France. No one knows that it’s a child that gives maintenance to the clocks on the train station, but it's Hugo behind it. When he isnt fixing clocks, he's working on a mechanical toy called an ‘automaton’. This automaton was a toy that he inherited from his father, when he died. Unfortunately, Hugo's dad never really finished working on it, and so, he never got it to work properly. It can write words on paper, and so Hugo believes that if he finishes fixing it, that it will write him a message from his dead father. Will Hugo ever discover the automaton’s message?

As you can see, Hugo is a film about an orphan, living on his own in the world, trying to survive as best as he can. The premise of the film brings to mind similar films like Oliver (1968) and Annie (1982); you know films about kids who’s parents have died and have to either be brought up by the government in an orphanage or live on the streets, eating whatever food they can steal; scurrying through the city, running away from authority figures. Hugo is also one of those films that is about film itself.; it focuses a lot of its running time on the life of French filmmaker Georges Melies. In this way, by exploring the life of Melies, Martin Scorcese takes the opportunity to explore the nature of films and why we love them so much. Hugo is a film that is about cinema and the whole creative process behind making films. It’s about how much fun is had making a movie and the joy of having others see, enjoy and remember your work. It’s about why we enjoy going to the movies, why it’s our great escape. Why films are the stuff that dreams are made of, which is why it brought to mind an Italian film called Cinema Paradiso (1988) a film about a little kid who works in a movie theater, and falls in love with films so much that he eventually becomes a famous director. He also befriends and older man, same as in Hugo. By the way I highly recommend Cinema Paradiso to all film lovers out there, if you haven’t seen it, do yourselves a favor!

Hugo is a very layered film, it’s not simplistic. Aside from commenting on all the things mentioned, it is also a film that speaks about humanity and how we are each essential parts of a big machine, the world. And how we all serve a purpose in this world; all we need to do is discover what that purpose is. If we don’t, we remain broken, incomplete. It’s a film that instills hope in ones heart to achieve our goals, and become everything we always wanted to become. One awesome moment has Hugo looking directly at the automaton and saying that the robot is waiting “to do what he came to do”, in this way Scorcese urges us to do the same. I love films like Hugo; family films that don’t treat you or the children watching it like idiots. The themes Hugo addresses are relevant and important, it does a good job of placing beautiful and important ideas out there in the world and in childrens minds. And that’s really the best thing a director can do, use his story telling abilities to spread positive, life changing ideas out there in the world through their films. Scorcese is a filmmaker that's had his time in this world, and the film has that weight of a filmmaker who knows about life and so it’s not a film with paper thin themes, this is a film with something to say, a film filled with ideas picked up through a life time of experiences. I mean, the whole film is about trying to fix a toy robot that looks like a man, and what we need to fix is his heart. Hugo needs to fix the internal machinery of the automaton and find the key that will get it to work properly. “It isn’t going to be easy” one character says, but it can be done! Hugo is a film filled with hope for humanity and the idea that man can improve and become something better, that we can change, that we can evolve.

At one moment in the film, Isabelle (the girl who befriends Hugo) takes him to a bookstore. When she sees that he is not as excited as she is to be there she asks him “Don’t you LIKE books?” In this way, Scorcese takes the opportunity to praise the greatness of books, and the value he has for them. I love this about the film because in today’s IPad and IPhone filled world, where people aren’t even holding real books in their hands anymore, I appreciated the fact that Hugo was about enjoying going into a book store or library and searching for that perfect book to read, possibly with a loved one before going to bed. The kids in this film have questions about something and together, they go into this giant library, looking at books with wonderment in their eyes. Kudos to Scorcese for putting these ideas across, in my opinion, the importance of the printed word should not be taken for granted and this movie does a good job of placing an emphasis on this.

The visuals are nothing short of amazing, every scene is jam packed with details and color. It’s one of those films where France looks magical and vivid! Some scenes reminded me of a Fellini film, with its buoyant streets filled with life, love, food and music. And speaking of the visuals, Scorcese really took advantage of 3-D on this one; this is one of those films best experienced on 3-D, this is in my opinion some of the best 3-D I’ve seen since Cameron’s Avatar (2009), there is some real depth to these images, at times you really feel as if you’re walking through all those giant gears. You’ll feel like Charlie Chaplin rolling through the machinery in Modern Times (1936). This is a film that uses 3-D the way it's meant to be used. I’ve already seen Hugo twice in theaters because number one, I loved it and I felt the need to take in these beautiful visuals and moving story one more time, and two, because I wanted to share this film with someone I loved, which is the same you should do.

Rating: 5 out of 5

13 Questions with Director Dante Tomaselli

2011-12-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

For a while now, we’ve been chronicling the production of a film here on The Film Connoisseur, I’m talking about Dante Tomaselli’s fourth feature film Torture Chamber which is just about ready to be released onto the world. Mr. Tomaselli is the director behind Desecration (1999), Horror (2002) and Satans Playground (2006). He has just finished post-production on Torture Chamber and I was curious as to how he felt about the finished film, he was kind enough to grant an interview for The Film Connoisseur.

This is our third Dante Tomaselli interview, on the first one, we he was just getting ready to start shooting Torture Chamber, on the second interview he’d just finished principal photography and was getting ready to start editing, and now, finally I offer you the third interview in which Dante Tomaselli reminisces about the shoot and tells us a little bit about how he feels with the final cut of the film, from sound and music, to editing, to the over all final product. He even tells us how he feels about Torture Chamber when compared to his previous films!

So, as a X-Mas present from The Film Connoisseur, I leave you guys with horror director on the rise, Mr. Dante Tomaselli ladies and gentlemen!

The Film Connoisseur - What motivated you to write a film like Torture Chamber? What was the seed of the idea?

Dante Tomaselli- I was supposed to direct a horror picture called The Ocean, it was all ready to happen, but didn't. So I was feeling angry; I was hurt and well, tortured. I wanted to conjure a Euro-horror-like experience on a low budget. Something very different. Something weird and frightening. Of course scary is subjective, but a movie that was at the very least very creepy and dark and out-there. A serious horror movie...with surrealistic tendencies. My mind kept going to visual metaphor. What do I want to symbolize? There's always been a torture chamber in every one of my films. In Desecration, it was in that nightmare childhood room with the cage, the heart and soul of the movie. In Horror, there was a religious family's home...and deep inside a torture chamber hidden behind a mysterious door. Even in Satan's Playground, the Leeds family had a backroom where there was a ramshackle torture chamber.

TFC- You are a filmmaker with your very own unique vision, but were you inspired by any films or directors for Torture Chamber? For example, Satan’s Playground was obviously inspired by Evil Dead (1981) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). What were your influences this time around? To me, the film seems to have a real 70’s vibe to it, at least visually.

DT- Thanks. I think this film was about me being myself. It really is an explosion of my earlier films. I like to replicate my childhood nightmares. Torture Chamber definitely has a 70's vibe, it could even be 60's. I made sure there were no cell phones...There are even records, LP's in the background... little things to help put you in that mind set. I really don't like modern, corporate horror films with teenagers looking all trendy and hip. I strive for a kind of 60's, 70's design. Torture Chamber is nothing if not different. If I had to cite some influences that were floating around in the back of my mind, I'd say Halloween, Black Sabbath, Suspiria, The Beyond, The Pit and the Pendulum, Alice Sweet Alice, Don't Look Now, The Brood, The House With Laughing Windows, Carrie, Tourist Trap, Bloody Pit of Horror, This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse, The Fog...and The Exorcist.

TFC- Was shooting this film a smoother experience, considering this is your fourth film and you are now more experienced?

DT- It was a lesson in tenacity...getting Torture Chamber made. I had almost given up after not shooting The Ocean, so it felt very much like my first film all over again. I felt raw, awake.

Tomaselli Directs!

TFC- Now that it's finished, how do feel about Torture Chamber when compared to your previous films?

DT- I value this film most. I can watch it and...for the most part...not feel uncomfortable. I know that it was the next step. Torture Chamber needed to be created, maybe more urgently than anything I've ever pulled out of the pit of my psyche. These bubbling images needed to be unlocked. The glowing soundscapes too. It's a journey through the halls of hell. An interior journey...It's the furthest down into hell that I've reached. The budget was $200, 000. That's actually less than Satan's Playground and Horror. Somehow, though, this film appears more polished and expensive than anything I've done. If I had a higher budget, I'd be able to deliver much more, expand upon everything, but, you know, you have to work with what you have.

TFC- How was that experience of turning the images you’d written into moving images? Seeing your words come to life?

DT- That's the best part about it all but it's also tricky because things pop up on the day of shooting that you never planned...and I've learned to be flexible. It can be frustrating. I get disappointed in myself when I can't pull it off. It feels magical when it's working. We're all creators. It's a human instinct. When I was a little boy, I used to dream about having my own funhouse in my backyard. Dante's Inferno. Now in a sense, that's what I'm striving for. Maybe these films are psychedelic funhouses.

TFC- Last time we spoke you had just finished filming and had not edited yet. Now that the editing is done, what challenges did you face during the editing process? What was the approach with it?

DT- After I shot Torture Chamber, I spent three months getting to know the footage. The first cut that I made was too long. Close to 2 hours. It was a challenge trimming it down, very painful. All the while, I was constantly changing the music or tweaking it. In the beginning, the sound design is a sketch...and then it becomes more and more fleshed out. John Carpenter once said it's like laying down carpet and it's so true. The movie is like a sculpture. I needed to trim the beginning and ending of many shots. After I did that, all of a sudden, it moved faster, like an acid trip. It's shadowy and tactile...hallucinogenic. You won't need drugs. Or maybe that's exactly what's needed (laughs). At times it should feel like an out-of-body-experience.

TFC- You mentioned in your last interview that though Torture Chamber does have its gory moments; it’s not really a gore fest; that you were aiming for suggestive scares and unconscious dread. Taking a look at your finished film, do you think you achieved it?

DT- I think so. It's a mixture, definitely both. Mostly it's a kind of under-the-skin feeling...the accumulation of the pictures and sounds...telling the tale of a religious family that wants to kill itself. The film is really about peeling back layers of pain and guilt buried in the unconscious mind. From beginning to end, it's a trance movie. I try to pack each shot with as much detail as possible. I want the viewer lost, not knowing what to expect next. Torture Chamber is a psychological horror film that is a bit of a mind-fuck.

TFC- How would you describe Torture Chamber?

DT- Hopefully a step above...It definitely appears to be the most watchable out of my works but I'm sure some people will still like my earlier stuff. I understand that. I always tend to like the oldest works of filmmakers or musicians. Definitely the strange world of Torture Chamber intrigues me the most right now. It feels like Desecration and Horror in a blender.

TFC- Can you speak to us about the benefits of making a film like Torture Chamber independently?

DT- I only make films independently. To me, it's the only way to go. Why spend years of your life working on a film and then someone else has the power to change it? You want creative control.

Dante in the set of Torture Chamber

TFC- Have you seen the film with an audience yet? What’s the experience of watching your finished films with an audience like?

DT- I've been having private screenings since Halloween. Michael Gingold from Fangoria was over a few weeks ago. I've watched it with complete strangers...friends of friends that are not even into horror. The feedback has been generally good. It's a low budget $200, 000 film. The visuals and soundtrack are its strengths. Torture Chamber is really about family sickness, being trapped in childhood and the confusion of being alive.

TFC- What was it like to work with Lynn Lowry?

DT- I really loved working with Lynn. She didn't realize it but her scenes had some unconscious nods to Mario Bava's Black Sabbath...the mood and feel. She's trapped in a lush, colorful world that is turning itself on her. I really enjoyed her behind-the-scenes stories about working with Cronenberg and Romero. Lynn's so pleasant and good natured. A really nice lady. She's a doll. In Torture Chamber, she's an art therapist at a Juvenile Detention Center for the clinically insane. She's like a wounded angel. Her story is told through a series of dreams, flashbacks and hallucinations.

TFC- Any lessons learned while making Torture Chamber? Do you feel you’ve grown as a filmmaker after this fourth entry?

DT- I've learned...Never ever ever give up. Hold on. It's so important. It's everything. You have to go through the darkness to get to the light. I think I've grown...but weirdly I feel like I'm at the beginning all over again.

TFC- What can we expect in near future from Dante Tomaselli? Is the remake to Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) still in the cards?The Ocean? Salem? I was really curious about Salem. I’d love to see what you’d do with a film about witchcraft.

DT- Thanks. I completed four features so far. I'm grateful that I got the opportunity to make them, especially Torture Chamber. What's next? Alice, Sweet Alice, a re-imagining of my cousin, Alfred Sole's film. The Ocean is somewhere in the future. It's just a matter of financing. I never really moved forward with Salem and now with hearing about Rob Zombie's film, Lords of Salem...I definitely wouldn't call it Salem. I do want to set a future picture there and explore witchcraft. I've purposely set all my movies in a kind of New England gothic atmosphere. I'm interested in locations that reverberate pain and suffering...a state of torment...you can feel the psychic footprints.

Well that's it ladies and gents, 13 Questions with Dante Tomaselli. I want to thank Dante Tomaselli for giving us this interview, it's been fun and educational following the production of Torture Chamber, all that was missing was a set visit! Who knows, maybe we'll have one of those for Dante's next film! In the meanwhile remember kids, Torture Chamber will be released sometime soon, so expect an announcement for it as soon as it happens!

The Flying Guillotine (1975)

2011-12-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

Title: The Flying Guillotine (1975)

Director: Meng Hua Ho

Review:

In the world of Kung Fu movies, there is no more infamous a weapon then the deadly Flying Guillotine. For those who don’t know what the hell a Flying Guillotine is, it is this ancient Chinese weapon that you throw through the air like a Frisbee; it falls over your victims head like a hat, then you pull the chain and the blades inside of the contraption decapitate your opponent. When you pull the chain towards you, it brings back your enemies head inside. The interesting thing about the Flying Guillotine is that its origins are firmly rooted in reality! I always thought that the Flying Guillotine was a made up weapon for the movies, but no, as it turns out this weapon was used by a Chinese emperor called Yongzheng during the Qing Dynasty. There are no pictures or artistic representations of the weapon, but the weapon is described in ancient manuscripts, and from these descriptions comes the weapon we see in the film, which has gone on to become one of the most recognizable weapons in the Kung Fu Movie world. The Flying Guillotine was the first film to bring this ancient weapon to life. How was it?

On this film we meet Emperor Yung Cheng, a political leader who is systematically eliminating any one who opposes the government. You don’t like what the government is doing? You think they are abusing the people? Stealing money from them? Well, if you say even one word against the Emperor, he will have you killed. That’s how he rolls. But he is presented by a conundrum: won’t the government look bad if everyone knows that they are killing people left and right? Shouldn’t these killings be done in a more discreet manner? So in order to avoid being seen in a bad light by his people, the Emperor decides he will instead send assassins to kill the opposing rebels. He has one of his men design a new weapon for the assassins to use called The Flying Guillotine! With it, you can decapitate an enemy from 100 feet away! But learning how to master this new weapon takes time, so the Emperor has 12 of his best men trained in the use of the Flying Guillotine. He wants them to master the weapon so they can serve as assassins for him. Will they go forward with the Emperors wishes of killing innocent people simply because they think differently than he does?

Interesting thing about this movie is that even though it was the first Flying Guillotine movie, it is not as well known as others that came after it, like Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) for example, which is a more renowned film. I guess the limited availability on DVD is what hindered folks from knowing more about the first Flying Guillotine film. But, anyways, thanks to the folks at Celestial Films and their “Dragon Dynasty” label, we are finally getting all these old Kung Fu movies on dvd and I’m having a blast finally getting to see all these Shaw Bros. Kung Fu Classics. The cool thing about this film is that it presents us with the origin of the weapon. We get to see how it was conceived by its creator, how he came up with the idea. We see the weapons first prototype, and we see the first batch of soldiers that were especially trained to become masters of this weapon. I thought this was the most interesting aspect of the film because in other movies, they don’t show any of this, the weapon simply exists and that’s it, but not on this one.

By the way, this movie is very much centered on the weapon itself; you kind of get the feeling that the weapon is the star of the show, almost like a character! In fact, this film is a little different than most Shaw Brothers Kung Fu Films because it doesn’t focus so much on elaborately choreographed Kung Fu fights, in fact, the fights are rather slow when compared to other Shaw Brothers Kung Fu flicks. Though we do get a couple of Kung Fu fights on this film, they don’t take center stage, which is left for the Flying Guillotine and its wielders. Whenever this film is on, it’s because somebody is decapitating somebody with the Flying Guillotine, these are the scenes that really make this film special. I mean, I kept rewinding the film whenever there was some Flying Guillotine action going on! So just be ready for a film that isn’t as action packed as other Shaw Bros. movies; you won’t see that many Kung Fu fights, instead the film focuses more on character development and story, which was actually interesting.

Speaking of the films themes, this one was very subversive, as are many Chinese period films. The Emperor creates a small army of soldiers who become masters of the flying guillotine, but they don’t exactly know why they are being trained. They simply know they must master this weapon because the Emperor commands it. But when they receive their first mission, and they see that they were trained to become killers for the Emperor, some of them confront an emotional conundrum. Should we kill innocents for the government? I thought this was so interesting, because I ask myself the same questions whenever I see brainwashed cops hitting university students. Don’t these cops have any humanity in them? I’m sure they question themselves and the orders they are given, but they simply ignore these thoughts, because they are programmed to do so. And so, this is where our rebel hero emerges in The Flying Guillotine. The hero of the film has to deal with this moral dilemma, yet decides he wants out! So then the film turns into the government hunting down Ma Teng, the rebel. It reminded me in some ways of Shogun Assassin (1980) because that one is also about a soldier of the government who is deemed too dangerous to let live. It also reminded me of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992) and even The Return of the One Armed Swordsman (1969), both films about ex gunslingers/sword masters that decide to retire so they can live the quiet, simple life in the country; only to be asked to use their abilities one last time. On The Flying Guillotine the hero has to turn his back on the country life and his family so he can face the evil Emperor and his gang of assassins.

All in all, I’d say that The Flying Guillotine is a well made film. It has one really good thing about it, many of the scenes where shot in actual locations. In other words: fake looking claustrophobic sets where kept to a minimum. This is something I greatly appreciated because if there is something I absolutely hate about some Shaw Brothers movies is seeing that fake sky in the background, which is obviously a painting. But not on The Flying Guillotine, which as it turns out is one of the most beautifully shot Shaw Brothers movies, at least in my opinion. It isn’t as action packed and it’s a film that is more story oriented than most Kung Fu flicks, but it more than makes up for it whenever the flying guillotine comes into play! A total of 25 heads are decapitated on this film alone! The last 20 minutes of this film are pure DYNO-mite! After having seen this one, I have to say that Jimmy Wang’s Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) is still my favorite of these Flying Guillotine movies simply because it has a bit more entertainment value. I’m looking forward to seeing The Flying Guillotine II (1978) from what I hear about that one, it’s supposed to be more action packed then the first one. Expect a review for that one soon!

Rating: 4 out of 5