"The Master"

After seeing all 137 minutes of The Master, I did not feel that I had seen a movie. I guess that's probably Paul Thomas Anderson's intention, as the traditional story arch is all but absent, much like his 2007 film There Will Be Blood. However, the "glimpses-into-the-life" structure aside, this film is quite beautiful and filled with fascinating character portraits.

The Master
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Amy Adams
My Opinion: It's like committing to a road trip from
Colorado to Idaho: the journey is better
than the destination.

The cinematography is astounding, as is always expected of Anderson's films. Shot in 65 mm, each frame takes full advantage of the extra space. Lonely, static shots of Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) flood the first segment of the film. One absorbing image to note is a long, dragging shot of Freddie sprinting across a barren field.

As a speaker explains to a group of seamen including Freddie, life at sea has caused mental instability. This becomes apparent as we follow Freddie after. The prospect of holding a job becomes impossible with Freddie's erratic behavior: fighting a mall-photography subject and poisoning a cabbage-harvesting coworker. But Freddie is good at concocting batches of highly intoxicating serums. Eventually, this binds him to the master himself.

Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the next specimen in the plethora of intricate characters, is the leader of The Cause: a strange, cult-like religious organization that believes that the soul's past physical lives cause emotional pain in the present. Lancaster becomes devoted to fixing Freddie, and the master-servant relationship solidifies.

Yet, what seems at times to be a devoted bromance is tensed by Freddie's inability to stop his violent ways. He can't be fixed, as Lancaster's wife points out. She is played by Amy Adams, appearing much older and sterner than we're used to seeing her. Freddie sees through the bullshit religion and though he tries for his master, he can't quite commit to the cause.

The story examines the potentials and downfalls of a radical religious group such as this one. It brings about an important question: is a bullshit religion worth it if it seems to help people? This is very intriguing to ponder, but the film gives you quite the time to ponder it. The acting is phenomenal and likely caused Joaquin Phoenix quite a bit of physical pain with the starvation and deformity of his stature. However, I wasn't completely blown away by this film. It's not the type of movie you can say that you enjoyed, but it was well worth it, lovely, absolutely absorbing, and also moderately abhorrent.

Local Shit: Cult Shock Theater

Cinema Minima is a monthly event during which films are screened by local guest curators at Logan Square's Cole's Bar. Yesterday I had the pleasure of curating a program with an organization I work for, The Cinema Culture.

I organized the line-up around a theme of death and grotesquery: a celebration of October, which is my favorite month of the year. The program was diverse, with films arriving from three separate continents. The playlist was as follows:

Sink Hole
A man is seduced by a sultry kitchen appliance. Directed by Greg Hanson. Greth Productions 2012. America.

Carny
A nightmarish glimpse into the trials of a circus performer and her downfall. Directed by Kevin Lonano. !Robot Hand! Productions 2011. America. https://vimeo.com/19642935

Zombin Laden: The Axis of Evil Dead
A pseudo-theatrical trailer for a zombie thriller in which Osama bin Laden returns from the dead to declare jihad.
Directed by Clément Deneux. 2011. France. https://vimeo.com/29442326

The Killing Joke
A young woman's curiosity overpowers her when she finds a red balloon tied to a little box on an eery derelict street. Classic elements of suspense tell this thrilling, action packed tale.
Directed by Sebastian Lopez. Ioioma Films 2011. Argentina.

Dumb Dumbs
Three young girls are vanquished by sweet temptations in a colorful but grotesquely disturbing underworld.
Directed by Greg Hanson. Greth Productions 2012. America. https://vimeo.com/29169111

Leperfuck
A young married woman clings to love among the impending loss of her missionary husband and their unborn child. A grueling tale set in pre-war 1940's America.
Directed by Drew Tobia. Mommy Kamikaze Secretions 2009. America

Thy Kill Be Done
When the Monsignor priest of an inner city church is killed by a gang of hoodlums and their drug lord leader, the nuns in the church's clergy vow bloody revenge.
Directed by Greg Hanson & Casey Regan. Greth Productions 2011. America.

Death of a Pigeon
New York City through the eyes of a dead pigeon Directed by Burns Luciano. 537 Films 2012. America. https://vimeo.com/42906046

I See A Light
A brief glimpse into the final moments of a lifetime. Directed by Aaron Zeghers. 2011. America. https://vimeo.com/26564793

Prayers of Death
Documentary meets horror when the cameras shrink to the size of the mantis's prey. This film is an exploration into the micro-world just beneath the surface of our human experience. Directed by Ben Nissen. 2011. America.

Death Rattle
A hauntingly beautiful tribute to the masters of bone-chilling horror. A mash-up of classics set to eery house beats.
Directed by Nick Bedidt. 2010. America. 


The films were offensively appropriate and the turnout was plentiful. We even ran out of chairs, and several viewers stood the lengthy two hours, beers in hand. Every film was followed by applause and some even garnered cheers. The program started about a half hour late and ran to almost eleven. The order was a bit off: a welcome and introduction occurred after the first film, "Thy Kill Be Done". Given the chance to do it again, I would put the introductions and pseudo-trailer for "Zombin Laden" first.  Aside from that, the audience really responded to the array of offensive images and beautiful camera work. The only misstep was likely the techno-classic-horror mash-up "Death Rattle" which ran about 15 minutes too long. Those are the critiques I have about my own program, but you live and learn.

Overall, I think this program was an excellant initiation both for the Autumn month and for my role as a co-curator. It may have been a little early for a Halloween themed show, but who cares? People came for the movies.

"The Cabin in the Woods" Review

It's new, it's great. If you love horror, it's a must see.

The Cabin in the Woods
Starring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchison
Directed by Drew Goddard
My Opinion: Watch it now.

I WILL NOT RISK SPOILING THIS!

Review of "God Bless America"

The superficiality of modern society has become too much for middle aged Frank. When he discovers that he is terminally ill due to a tumor in his brain, he decides to take out his frustrations on the rude, inconsiderate and worthless people around him, with the help of his accomplice: a quirky, teenaged loner named Roxy.

God Bless America
Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr
Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait
My Opinion: A fun, but fanciful ride

This movie is not unlike a comedic, action- driven version of Saw with grindhouse-y undertones. However, instead of immoral acts feeding the Jigsaw in this metaphor, it's reality television. The movie presents spoofs of much-loved reality classics such as My Super Sweet Sixteen, Bad Girls Club and American Idol. The events in the fake shows are incredibly accurate. For example, on Tuff Gurls a girl plucks a tampon out of her vagina and throws the bloody cotton in the face of her housemate. I will admit that I really wish this happened on the actual Bad Girls Club, but the film makes a pungent point with this wildly entertaining moment: a television show on a network that claims itself as "for women" is doing a whole lot of damage to the feminist movement. This is what drives Frank crazy.
The story is framed by the season of American Superstars, the alias for Idol. When we are first introduced to Frank, he is in an insomniac state partly brought on by his incredibly immature and inconsiderate neighbors. He habitually alleviates the sleeplessness with television where he watches the auditions for Superstarz, which, like its real-life counterpart, resembles a freak show. Rather than William Hung, Steven Clark is the grossly incompetent singer who becomes both ridiculed and glamorized. Steven occasionally haunts the screen, reminding us of the driving force behind the terror Frank wreaks.
God Bless America holds a lot of water in its criticisms of our nation. We are superficial and filled with mind-numbing pop culture talks about LiLo and TomKat, but Frank's interpretation of the world is what's killing him. The film does a decent job of connoting that as well, especially in regards to his broken family and disjointed life in Syracuse. However, the film lacks some solidity in its story. What turns Frank from suicidal to homicidal is merely a redundancy. Furthermore, the film sheds only a dim light on what drives his partner in crime, Roxy. Other than the fact that she feels like an outsider, we don't know what makes this young girl hate the world so much. She's incredibly intelligent, very opinionated and a wonderful character, but she comes close to the cookie-cutter angsty teen that is so lovable in comedies of today.
My final criticism is the believability. Normally, I don't consider this, but for a film that maintains such stark criticism and wit, I think it matters that the law enforcement was all but absent. Roxy and Frank kill four different people in a movie theater, and they walk out easily. Their faces are on the news, yet there is never a chase. The media would be an even better antagonist had it provided more conflict for the heroines of the tale. Had it been an entire character, one that was pursuing the protagonists' demise, the stakes would have been higher and any of the dragging present in the film, no matter how slight, would have vanished. The film donated its final moment to a respectful homage to the classic Bonnie and Clyde, but it would have worked better modeling its plot after the film also.
Over all, this is a pretty good film. It's hilarious and highly entertaining with golden dialogue and a fun premise. Yet, in the end, it's another black comedy that just doesn't aspire to greatness. Whatever, I liked it.

Review of "A Separation"

If you're looking to watch a movie that will provide an enigmatic glimpse into another culture all while utterly deflating any happiness that you were feeling, stop by your local RedBox today and pick up A Separation. This academy award winning film is rich, fulfilling and completely melancholic.

A Separation
Starring: Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
My Opinion: Absolutely excellant. 

The story focuses entirely on the religion-fueled culture of Iran. The actual plot is very simple: A woman leaves her family out of her own best interest and her husband must find day help to care for his father, who is in a very late stage of alzheimer's disease. The woman he hires is pregnant and working without the knowledge or consent of her husband. Eventually, a dispute between employer and employee grows heated and the man tosses the woman from his home. Her unborn child is later found dead. As the movie runs on, details surface that change everything. There is no clear cut answer in this situation, but the cause of the conflict continually boils back down to the separation.
I got the feeling that this movie was for those outside of the culture. It seemed that an Iranian would see this film with some disinterest, as it was centered around how religion intersects with the judicial system. However, the cyclone of emotion and morality in the story was harrowing. True human turmoil is depicted in this film with some of the most honest acting I've ever seen. The children in the film deserve a special mention for making their eyes look so pitiful and evoking so much with what few years they had. The cinematography was grim but exhaustingly beautiful. The direction was perfect, so much so that I have very little to say about it. I felt as if I had been drawn into the situation, as if I had to testify in court. If you have the attention span for 123 minutes of subtitles, I'd say this is a must-see.

Review of "The Dictator"

When I found out that Sacha Baron Cohen was no longer making his disarmingly improvisational films, I was moderately disappointed. The vulgarity and shock value of his previous endeavors were entertaining, both in the actually humor contained in the films and the controversy they stirred up. So, yes, his newest addition to his collage of characters couldn't have been more than a relative letdown. In fact, I found it astonishingly tame and very mediocre.

The Dictator
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Alec Berg
Directed by Larry Charles
My Opinion: You'll get some laughs out, but that's about it.

The plot line was promising: Aladeen, the goofy dictator of the Republic of Wadiya, comes to America to ensure that Democracy doesn't spread to his oppressed nation. His body double is mistaken for himself, and Aladeen is forced to make it in the big apple. He gets a job at an organic food market that employs refugees and even gets a lesbian to fall in love with him.
The culture clash lent itself to plentiful humor, most of which was predictable but still worth it. The rest of the laughs stem from Aladeen's eccentricity and utter boldness: shooting competitors to win a race and changing words in the dictionary to his name. However, as the film wore on I found myself losing sight of Aladeen's character. I felt that the vegan culture he had surrounded himself with had tamed too quickly. It didn't seem that Aladeen was strong enough to withstand the demands of a structured plot and he fell flat, into a predictable, sympathetic human. This was fine for the plot and perhaps necessary, but I have to admit it was kind of .
Had it been an unscripted film, the impact would have been heavier and the laughs riskier, but more pungent. Naturally, the plentiful famous faces would have been absent and the safety of the entire cast and crew would be in danger. I'm not saying it would have been a better choice, but it would have made a better movie. It was still really funny at points, but the truth is we'll only remember Cohen's crazy promotional hijinks rather than the film itself.

Review of "Bernie"

Oh death. My favorite subject in all of the world. Whether it's a philosophical argument, an art installation or a film, I'm down, balls to the wall. Jack Black's new, and surprisingly serious role as the village-loved mortician, Bernie, is an impressive feat for the comedian. Not only does the film tackle a solemn and contentious story of murder and friendship, but it also straddles the line between fictional storytelling and documentary filmmaking. I've never seen dramatic reenactments quite like this.

Bernie follows the story of a fluffy and lovable mortician in a little village in East Texas. The man seems a saint: leading the church choir and bringing gifts to the local widowers all while attending to his passion, the care and preparing of bodies for funeral services. Bernie becomes quite the elderly ladies' man, until he encounters an obstacle: the very wealthy and recently widowed Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine). Marjorie is a very unpleasant woman who only recognizes the misery in life. Somehow Bernie shows her the brighter side of life and the two embark on leisurely vacations around the world. Eventually, the keen friendship turns into a possessive pet and master relationship, with Marjorie holding the leash. As nature has it, the beloved mongrel turns on his mistress, and Bernie murders his former friend. The rest of the film depicts how Bernie attempts to cover up the murder as well as his eventual arrest and trial.

Bernie
Starring: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey
Directed by Richard Linklater
My Opinion: Worth the watch, but the experience
will differ for everyone.

The comedy in Bernie is specifically tongue in cheek. The laughter seems like it should come from the loud and stylized characters so excellently executed by Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black, however their pairing as a couple is tragic. One cannot dismiss that this story is true and the events, emotions and people are grim instead of comedic. Matthew McConaughey's portrayal of the local district attorney, Danny Buck Davidson, provides some relief, however, the tale hits the heart instead of the gut.

Of course since the story is based on a true event, I'm sure some details were exaggerated and others omitted (although the Wikipedia page begs to differ, claiming the film depicts the story "pretty much how it happened.") I know some critics took issue with the lack of comedy in the film, but I think that the few scattered and subtle laughs were appropriate for the content. I'm not sure how comfortable I'd feel if I were made to laugh hysterically at such a serious matter. I also don't feel that the reportorial style of the film takes away from the entertainment value, but rather provides a tone of realism. Bernie takes us into the depths of the hurricane of swirling human emotion that is involved in a crime of passion story. It's a psychological portrait of desperate people and the actual village that knew them.