A Revolution Is On Its Way!!

First of all, let me wish all my readers out there Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year! It's been an awesome year of movie reviewing and talking. Thanks to all those who regularly check in and read and comment, I hope my reviews and articles have been informative and to your enjoyment.

So, 2011 will be rolling in in just a couple of days and my good friend Neil Fulwood from The Agitation of the Mind  and I The Film Connoisseur have cooked up an interesting way of starting 2011! We have been working on a very special collaboration that will last three days entitled VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

Seeing as how theres all kinds of revolutionary movements across the world and opression seems to be growing exponentially across the globe, we thought we'd take it upon ourselves to talk about films with a revolutionary theme to them. Its going to be a massive collaboration where we will be covering a large amount of films. These articles will be peppered with our own personal observations on revolutions across the world and in our own countries.

So, I urge you guys not to miss it. It will take place on January 3 through 5 2011. I've cooked up a threesome of nifty banners, in case any of you guys would be so kind to promote our events on your respective blogs. Hope to see you guys on January 3rd, I will be looking forward to your thoughts and comments on these articles. They will be quite candid I can assure you that! See you on the 3rd!

Bronson (2008)

Title: Bronson (2008)

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Cast: Tom Hardy

Review:

Bronson is a film that has garnered a huge buzz over the net and amongst film buffs/critics. Critical praise has gone through the roof for this Nicolas Winding Refn film. Thing is, the buzz is not without merits, Bronson is a film that is unique and interesting from many different angles. I keep hearing director Nicolas Winding Refn’s name popping up in film conversations, so right now I’m extremely curious for his work. I want to see what the buzz is all about. I recently saw Valhalla Rising (2009) mainly because of praise it got on the dvd cover which called it “Breathtakingly beautiful…unbearably savage” “A hypnotic acid trip of a Viking movie!” and a “Kinetically exciting and thought provoking film” so of course I rented it. Even though it was not as mind blowing as I was expecting it to be, it did give me a unique film experience. But Bronson was really the Nicolas Winding Refn film every one was buzzing about. How was it?

Bronson tells the real life story of Michael Gordon Peterson, a guy who loves getting in trouble. Every problem he ever had in life he's solved by hitting someone, screaming, yelling, intimidating or destroying something. He got into lots of trouble in school for stealing and getting into brawls with his fellow students. Hell, even his teachers got a beating from this guy. This violent way of dealing with life never stopped, even after he got married and became a family man. it was at this piont that Michael Gordon decided to rob a post office. Things didn’t go very well during the robbery because he didn’t manage to steal much. He did end up getting caught and getting seven years in jail. That’s when his life-long engagement with prison began.

What’s really interesting about this film is that it’s based on the life of Michael Gordon Peterson, Britain’s most notorious/dangerous prisoner. I mean literally, he was the craziest inmate on the planet. He solved everything by hitting everything and anyone that came into his path. As soon as they opened the door to his cell, he’d start pounding on whatever cop happened to walk in first! So dangerous is this guy that he has spent almost his whole life (34 years so far!) in solitary confinement. Apart from the rest of the world. Apart from society. You gotta wonder what that kind of life does to a guy, and well, this movie explores that. He gets out of prison, and ends up getting into the world of underground bare knuckles fighting. He changes his name to Charles Bronson, after the actor. Unfortunately, he only lasts 69 days out in the free world before he is sent right back into prison. Apparently Bronson is the kind of guy who enjoys living in prison, he thinks it’s a freaking hotel. So what we get to explore through this film is a character that is one hundred percent anti-social. He can’t stand people, and has never learned to co-exist with others. If he doesn’t like you he’ll beat the living hell out of you. He wants something; he’ll take it from you or steal it. He intimidates you by screaming and hollering orders. I guess the best description for this guy is that he is a major bully.

Bronson is portrayed by Tom Hardy, an actor that has gotten my respect for his portrayal of this character alone. I’ve never seen the real life Bronson, but if he is anything like Tom Hardy’s portrayal of him, the guy is a real character. While watching this movie, I kept asking myself how does a film reach such a dark place; a dark place that rings so genuine and true? I had no idea the film was based on a real life character, but that's  what gives the film such a genuinely realistic vibe. You don’t feel like you are watching what some screenwriter thinks its like to be in jail. No, this film feels like the real thing. Part of that reality comes from the fact that Tom Hardy met the real life Michael Gordon Preston. Hardy spoke and corresponded with him before playing the character. So he got to know how this guy really behaves and talks, which of course adds to the faithfulness of the portrayal. My hats down to Tom Hardy for achieving such a genuinely mad performance! Jason Statham was asked to play the role at one point, but thank god he wasn’t able to comply because we wouldn’t have gotten such a good performance as the one we got with Tom Hardy. If there’s something Refn can do, it’s direct the hell out of his actors and get the best performance he can from them, kudos to him for that. Tom Hardy turned in an Oscar worthy performance that needs to be recognized. There was definitely some Bravura in display here.

Speaking of Refn, I applaud him for achieving such a unique film experience in what could have otherwise turned into just another prison film. In an interview he mentions that he wanted to do the polar opposite of what one would expect from a prison movie. This wasn’t a film about a prison break, this was a prison film about a guy who actually wants to stay in prison, a guy who enjoys being in there. He made prison his home. But Refn also managed to turn this movie into a commentary about art. You see, Michael Gordon Peterson is a prisoner with an artistic inclination. At one point in the film his superiors introduce him to the world of artistic expression as a means to reconnect with others. So you get the vibe that Refn is commenting on art, and how artists are always looking for that ultimate form of expression, trying to find the best way to say what they have to say. The film starts with Bronson saying that he always wanted to be famous, but he didn’t know how to sing or dance. So how was he to achieve his fame? Through being the baddest motherfucker to walk the face of the earth that’s how. Weird thing is the guy achieved it even while being in prison most of his life. In this way, Refn comments on the artists desire for recognition, to be noticed and appreciated in the world through their art. I found it extremely interesting how Refn managed to turn a prison movie into a commentary on the experience of trying to find our artistic voice. Even more evidence of the films comments on art is the fact that Bronson sees himself on a stage, in clown make up, talking to an audience who applauds and adores him.

But that artistic angle is only part of the film, because it also dives into A Clockwork Orange (1971) territory, commenting on how the system can make sure you behave if it wants to. How if you don’t live life respecting others, then they are going to make you. Same as Alex DeLarge was forced into submission in A Clockwork Orange, Bronson is put through a similar situation when they place him in a mental institution and drug him until he no longer has control over his actions. Other similarities with A Clockwork Orange include the use of classical music in the films soundtrack. Comparisons with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) have also been drawn. Overall, this is an extremely unique film experience, with an amazing performance from Tom Hardy, pitch perfect direction from Nicolas Winding Refn and a really funny, witty script. Not to be missed!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Valhalla Rising (2009)

Title: Valhalla Rising (2009)

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Cast: Mads Mikkelsen

Review:

Within the vast landscape of film, there are many genres and sub-genres. Amongst the many sub-genres that exist there is the type of film known as the “trippy film” or the film that makes you feel like you just ingested large amounts of psychotropic drugs. Amongst these films we can mention Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 (1968), Ken Russell’s Tommy (1975) -or any Ken Russell film for that matter- and Roger Corman’s The Trip (1967). A more recent example would be Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void (2010), a truly hallucinatory film experience. Actually, the best example I can think of for this kind of film is Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). Every time I see that one, I feel like I took a butt load of all the drugs in the world, rolled them up into one big fat joint and smoked it. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Valhalla Rising (2009) definitely falls under this category of film.

"Conan: What is best in life?"

Valhalla Rising tells the story of One Eye, a Viking who is a slave to his masters. His masters make him fight to the death for the entertainment of others and for their own monetary benefit. That is until One Eyed decides he’s had enough of being a slave and finds a way to escape the hands of his oppressors. Once out in the world, One Eye is the master of his destiny. He unwittingly makes friends with a little homeless kid who decides to follow him around. Together they wonder the land, until they stumble upon a crew of Christian Crusaders who invite One Eye and the kid to join their venture of reclaiming Jersulem for Christianity. One Eye and the kid join them. Will they reach Jerusalem? Will One Eye and the kid stay with this pack of Christian Crusaders? What awaits them out there in the world?

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. But I’ll warn you guys and gals out there, the film is kind of slow. I mean, this film is refreshing because it’s not playing by any of hollywood’s rules for filmmaking, but I’m sure it’s not a film that everyone out there will like. There is no happy ending, no action piece at the beginning middle and end. No big special effects. Valhalla Rising is more of an artful film, more interested in blowing you away with its visuals. The film was shot entirely in Scotland, so we get these vast landscapes with snowy mountains and lots and lots of mist. The wind is blowing most of the time, you kind of feel like your going to see Scottish Immortals trying to chop their heads off at any given moment. The first half of the film, which takes place in these cold windy mountains, has this ice cold atmosphere to it, you really get to absorb it because the director makes sure you get the visuals to really transport yourself to this ice cold world filled with Vikings who only care for killing and maiming, even if its just to amuse themselves.

In these ice cold mountains the film begins, with the main character kicking freaking ass all the way! You see when the film starts; One Eye is a prisoner who is forced to fight to the death with different opponents. In these moments, the film turns extremely violent and graphic. There’s this scene in which One Eye crushes this dudes skull with a rock that is just astoundingly violent and graphic. This premise reminded me a bit of Conan The Barbarian (1982), where Conan was in the same kind of situation, a slave/prisoner who is forced to fight opponents in a ring to the death. Only in this film One Eye kills his masters and sets himself free to wonder the world. Another similarity with Conan The Barbarian is that both films deal with the theme of religion.

The film is divided into 5 Chapters, where we see the main character go through different stages of his voyage. From prisoner, to free man, to warrior of God…and onwards all the way to the final chapter: Sacrifice. The film makes an interesting comment on religion because it takes place during the time when Christianity was spreading through the land, trying to obliterate any other kind of religion that existed out there. It was a time when these “holy crusaders” would go across the land slicing and dicing anyone who wasn’t a Christian. If one of these guys walked up to you, sword in hand and asked you: “are you a Christian?” you’d better pray your answer was a resounding “yes!” or else you would get your head chopped off by these holy crusaders. Or get burned alive. Take your pick. I don’t know what’s so holy about killing people who don’t think like you, but whatever, that was Christianity for ya! Another recent film that explores this type of “become a Christian or die!” mentality is Alejandro Amenobar’s excellent Agora (2010); a film that also explores that pressure felt in different parts of the world to become a Christian and leave any other kind of belief system behind. So One Eye kind of joins these crusaders, but you get the feeling that he is just hitching a ride with them, and his not really into their “holy” crusade. It’s without a doubt a film that comments on religion, specifically Christianity and its intent to get everyone to think like them, spreading their teachings to lands where people already have their belief systems set.

Film gets pretty graphic at times, but dont mistake it for a gorefest

Like I mentioned before, this is a film that is playing by its own rules, so it doesn’t care if we should be in the third act and by this time the hero should be getting to that point where everything is going to be okay. No, this is a film where suddenly the character will have a dream sequence, a premonition, or whole sequences where every character is hallucinating and baked out of their mind. It has long stretches of visual poetry and these are the moments where the director plays a lot with images and colors, using the visuals to create a hallucinatory, nightmarish vibe. The director himself said he conceived the film as an acid trip, so be ready for a movie like that.

Aside from that, another good thing the film has going for it is Mads Mikkelsen’s performance which I really dug. Interesting part of his whole performance is that he doesn’t speak a word in the whole film. He plays the silent warrior who says everything he has to say with the look he can give you with his one eye. This is a guy who’s seen so much hell, he sees words as useless. If he has to say anything, he says it with his axe. Another interesting aspect of the film is that the kid who follows him kind of speaks for him through out the whole film, the kid functions as One Eye’s voice. This was a very intense performance, Mikkelsen certainly owns this film, he carries it on his shoulders admirably.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn (extreme right) with his two main actors

Closing words: Valhalla Rising is not for everyone. It’s a trippy affair, with long winding moments of visual poetry. I would definitely say that you’d have to be in the right mood to see this kind of film. But is it a bad film? I don’t think so! I would recommend this film to those people who appreciate visuals over dialog, or if you simply want to watch an interesting looking film. Still, within its ‘simplicity’, Valhalla Rising does speak some truths. This was my first Nicolas Winding Refn’s film, but based on the visual strength of this film alone and the sheer bravura it exerts, I will definitely be seeing more films from this director. Looking forward to exploring the rest of his repertoire.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Holiday Greetings!

Gaspar Noe's I Stand Alone (1998)

Title: I Stand Alone (1998)

Director: Gaspar Noe

Review:

French film director Gaspar Noe always makes films that have this acid bleakness to them; they portray this unfiltered view of the world that is raw, powerful and ugly. He makes his films without any apologies whatsoever. It seems that his moto for making films is: you can’t take i? Then don’t watch it. I find this kind of film refreshing in its rawness when compared to the kinds of films made in America because there are no limitations as to what Noe will talk about. He has the benefit of not having to deal with a restrictive ratings system like the Motion Picture Association of America. And that’s just fine by me because in this way, foreign films can talk about things that don’t often get expressed, but need to be talked about. The themes explored in these kinds of films aren’t necessarily pretty, or uplifting, but then again, life isn’t that way all the time either. There are ugly, nasty things that happen in our world, not everything can have a happy ending, with the main characters riding on their horses, galloping towards the sunset.

I Stand Alone tells the story of an aging working class man (a Butcher to be precise) who has just lost his job. He has been trying non stop to find a new one, but the economy is so bad, and the unemployment rate so high, that he’s had no success. Plus, he isn’t exactly a young pup. Age is catching up with him. On top of that, he has to go back home to a wife and a mother in-law that he absolutely despises. Basically, this guy’s life is a living hell. One day, when he can’t take it anymore, he goes absolutely bonkers and runs away. How will he survive without a job? And just how dangerous will he turn under such strenuous living conditions? Can he retain his humanity, or will his wild savage human nature be set loose?

France looks kind of bleak in this movie

I cant honestly say that watching this movie was an enjoyable experience, because it wasn’t. Much like Noe’s Irreversible (2002) or his most recent film Enter the Void (2010), I Stand Alone is as bleak and as bitter as movies come. We follow a main character that is constantly narrating his acid outlook on life. Through a series of scattershot, lightning fast voice overs, the main character spits his hatred of the world onto us. And honestly, most of the time, the guy is right on the money as to how messed up the world is. He is a product of the system, the way things are set. In a way, the film is saying, our world is so messed up that it can create individuals who ooze hatred for the world out of every pore. What we have through out this whole film, is a guy who one day snaps and decides that it’s him against the world. This goes perfectly in synch with the films original French title: “Alone Against All” And I loved the fact that we could hear the guys thoughts through out the whole film. Normally, this is something that is shunned at in the world of filmmaking, but there are also those films in which a voice over is necessary, and I Stand Alone was one of them. As the butcher walks we hear him complaining, when he takes the train, we hear him talking about the crazy people on the train. When he is about to kill himself, we hear his mental battle not to do it. Noe manage to turn the voice over into a valuable tool to tell his story in a gripping manner.

The butcher tries making connections with old friends, to see if at least one of them has some money they can lend him, but they are as poor as he is, struggling with what little money they do have to survive with. When the butcher sees the world closes one door after another on him, he turns so bitter thatl finally, he contemplates suicide. As you can see, the film just goes deeper and deeper into the sadness of this lonely, mentally unstable and completely desperate man. He tries to remain cool, but when faced with the prospect of being homeless, his actions turn even more desperate. So desperate will his actions turn, that the film actually gives you a 30 second warning near the ending of the film, letting you know that you still have thirty seconds to stop watching the film, because what you are going to be seeing next will be a bit tough to watch. This of course will make you want to do the complete opposite.

"You have 30 seconds to abandon the projection of this film"

Gaspar Noe is a very special director for me because he has a very strong voice, he says what he wants to say through his films, and it’s always going to be something extremely off putting about society. I have to give him respect for that. Aside from his awesome technical abilities as a filmmaker, he exposes the ugliest nastiest themes that nobody wants to talk about. Irreversible for example, explicitly explores rape. I Stand Alone explores the bleakness and desperation in the life of a jobless desperate man. Enter the Void explores the life of a junky, and the pitfalls and dangers of choosing to live this kind of life. To top things off, we also get a good look at the junkies twisted sex life. And speaking of twisted sex lives, I Stand Alone also explores its main characters sexual desires. It seems Noe wants to expose just how crazy us humans can get when it comes to sex. The crazy things that sexual desires will make people do. Bottom line is, if you can’t take movies that deal with incest, then don’t bother with this one. But hey, the way I see it, this kind of thing happens in the world more often then we’d like to think. It’s an ugly part of human behavior that needs to be talked about, openly. Other films that talk about uncomfortable subject matter are Oldboy (2003), which explores incest, Happiness (1998) and Little Children (2006) both of which explore the theme of pedophilia.

This was Gaspar Noe’s first feature film and with it, he demonstrated right from his beginnings that he was going to be a unique filmmaker that would explore themes and situations that are normally kept in taboo or secret, exposing and analyzing them so we can learn from them. Gaspar Noe would go on to make more amazing films after this one. His latest one, which has yet to be officially released, is called Enter the Void (2010). And let me tell you my friends, that is what I call a movie! Enter the Void was one of the most original cinematic experiences I’ve had in quite some time and I urge anyone out there who has a way to get a hold of it to get it as soon as they can! It’s the kind of film that will blow your mind! The innovative camera work Noe uses in all of his films blows me away every time. I Stand Alone has a couple of these innovative ways of telling a story, and it keeps the experience of watching I Stand Alone interesting. Ultimately, I Stand Alone isn’t an easy movie to digest, but it is a rewarding watch in the sense that it moves you, it shocks you and it will undoubtedly make you think. It might be an extremely bleak film, but it will most likely get an emotional response from those who venture to watch it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

TRON:Legacy (2010)

Title: TRON: Legacy (2010)

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde

Review:

TRON:Legacy was one of the most anticipated films of 2010, and most of that anticipation comes from the fact that this film is a sequel to Walt Disney’s groundbreaking science fiction film TRON (1982). Like many people, I don’t think that the original film is anything amazing in terms of storytelling or action adventure (actually me thinks the film is kind of slow) but it did offer up some interesting visuals. Hell, it was also one of the first films to ever use computer animation, along with Disney’s The Black Hole (1979). Computer animation has grown by leaps and bounds since 1982, so this new TRON flick has the task of improving the effects we saw on the original film and if it attempts to be as ground breaking film as its predecessor, then it will try and take computer effects to a whole new level. Did this new film achieve its goals?

TRON: Legacy tells the story of Sam Flynn, son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) the creator of one of the most successful games ever, TRON. Sam, his son has always lived his life plagued by the fact that one day his father said “see you later”, got on his motorcycle and then disappeared from the face of the earth. If you saw the first TRON then you know that Kevin Flynn disappeared because he inserted himself into the TRON program and then was unable to escape. The computer program where Kevin inserts himself into, know as “The Grid” in the film, is a Matrix of sorts where a whole different society exists. It basically is a mirror image of earth. One night, Sam decides to fool around with his fathers old computers and accidently transports himself in The Grid, same as his father all those years ago. Now he must try and adapt and survive in this new world that is apparently being run by a despotic ruler named CLU. Will Sam ever reconnect with his father?

The thing about this new movie is that it’s not the end all be all that a lot of people are expecting. First off, let me warn you guys about the supposed 3-D. It’s yet another scam. It’s not 3-D at all, and that my friends pissed me the hell off. It pulled a Clash of the Titans (2010) on us! I felt cheated, there was no need to “convert” this movie to 3-D because the effect simply does not work. The movie had amazing visuals, but they weren’t 3-D. You’ll enjoy this one just fine without having to pay the extra cash, so do yourself a favor and see this one 2-D. I’m sick and tired of studios doing this to the audience, cheating them out of their hard earned cash. No doubt many people will go see it expecting to see some mind blowing 3-D, and I don’t blame them since Disney has hyped the 3-D angle in all the previews. Sadly, audiences will be disappointed, same as I was. Hell, even Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) had better 3-D effects then this new TRON movie. I blame Disney for hiping this one as the end all be all of 3-D films, when in fact it was anything but that! You just know something is fishy when the film starts out with a disclaimer letting you know that this film was originally intended to be seen in 2-D and not on 3-D.

Aside from that, we have the script which was extremely similar to other films. First of all the movie is kind of, sort of a remake. This movie pulls an Evil Dead 2 on us by offering a bigger budgeted, slightly altered  yet extremely similar version of the original film. It is a sequel because they do reference events from the first film, but when you look at it, the film plays out exactly the same way the original one did. Person gets sent to “the grid”, person gets a new suit, has to participate in some games and win, and then he must travel to a portal where he will finally face off the evil despotic leader. When you look at it, it’s the first film step by step. We have the disk fight, we have the motorcycle race, they even travel on a ship that travels on a beam of light. It was too similar. On top of that, the film has elements from The Dark Knight and The Matrix, right down to having Sam Flynn be the heir to a big company and not wanting to accept responsibility and having to reprogram everyone so they wont continue being slaves to the system and all that. I did like the films themes, I mean, I’m a sucker for a film where the good guys go up against an evil ruler, but even I must admit that that’s been done to death.

It does play with some original themes. Like for example Clu, the films villain is amassing a private army! That’s a sign of an evil ruler if there ever was one! So when Clu learns that the media (run by a guy named Zuse) will be allowing some rebels to get their word out about starting a revolution, Clu decides to wipe out the entertainment mogul. I thought this was an interesting way of talking about the control of the media by governments who want to control the publics opinion. Governments know the power that media and entertainment has. Films are censored because the powers that be know how powerful films are in terms of getting ideas through to people. So I enjoyed how the film commented on the power of the media over peoples opinion. 

Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn comes off as a futuristic version of ‘El Duderino’ from The Big Lebowski (1998). On Tron, Flynn represents the hippies from the 60’s and 70’s who were a hell of a lot more rebellious then the kids nowadays. In a way, the film is telling the younger generation to stand up against the evil, to speak up, to change things. It’s telling them not to stay comfortable at home playing video games and watching movies, go out there and give a damn about what’s going on in the world or the bad guys are going to win. So what we got here ladies and gentlemen is a subversive film from the folks at Disney. Actually, Disney has been making a lot of these types of films recently, which just points at one thing: art is reflecting life. 

One thing the film does get extremely right are its visual effects which as expected, were good. Technically speaking, the film is great. The colors, the cgi, and just the look of the film were entertaining and beautiful to look at. Everything is slick looking and futuristic, the colors are awesome. The red is the bad guys, the blue the good guys. But on thing did let me down about the special effects. I didn’t like how the CLU character looked. He is supposed to look like a younger version of Jeff Bridges, but in my opinion it just didn’t work. I mean, the performance looks stiff somehow. I thought they would be breaking new ground with that effect, but it turned out to be another stiff performance from a CGI character. I guess this movie proves once and for all that real actors will never be replaced by CGI characters, no way no how!

Another thing they got right was the music, by Daft Punk. I’m a huge fan of Daft Punk and have been enjoying their futuristic beats and sounds for years. They even cameo in the movie at one point during a sequence that takes place inside of a disco. Their music sounds so robotic, it fits perfectly in the world of TRON. This is without a doubt a soundtrack to keep.  

Daft Punk make a cameo

So my friends, what we got here is a decent sequel, a film that's extremely subversive in nature. It pays homage to the original while injecting things with new updated ideas. It's like watching the first film with modern effects. It's extremely anti-system all the way. It's against governments that want to control every single little aspect of our lives. It's a film that is firmly about fighting for our freedom to exist in this world. It's stylish to the max with visuals that are a delight to the eyes. TRON: Legacy was obviously designed to perfection by talented individuals; looking forward to other films from Kosinski. 

Rating: 4 out of 5