THE GRUDGE Review

Andrea Riseborough is the kind of actor who, even in a movie like 2020's re-make/sequel(?) of The Grudge, goes to the extent of having her character sport certain tattoos that are never brought up, but that she probably knows the backstories of which undoubtedly inform some of the character choices she makes even if those tattoos only make it into a handful of shots in the final film. This is kind of the perfect distillation for the ratio of talent involved versus the quality of the final product for this new take on Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On property. Meaning, there is a depth to the writing, directing and acting here (or at least a certain level of credibility) that is lost in the final edit; glimpses of what could have been only showing up in a handful of moments in the final cut. If you've seen writer/director Nicolas Pesce's 2016 feature debut, The Eyes of My Mother then you know the filmmaker is adept at tackling the unsettling and framing it within such an atmosphere that it truly becomes one of those situations where you want desperately to look away, but can't help but to continue to watch for fear of the unknown. Unfortunately, with his latest all one really wants to do is look away and not for fear of missing out on what happens to the film's characters, but because we largely don't care about what's happening to them in the first place. As stated, there are hints at reasons as to why we might be inclined to care about any one of the recognizable faces on screen and the peril they're facing whether it be John Cho and Betty Gilpin's plight as new parents, Frankie Faison and Lin Shaye grappling with mortality or Riseborough and Demián Bichir coming face to face with their fears, but the screenplay spreads these scenarios and characters so thin with such disparate connections to one another that it's difficult to become invested in any of them and easier to simply give up on all of them. Besides the fact no one was necessarily asking for another installment from this franchise there seems to be no particular motivation even from Pesce's script to try and tap into the core idea of what the curse at the heart of The Grudge is really about; a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of extreme rage. Shimizu's original short films, like this new version, operated as seemingly unconnected vignettes that are pulled together by police investigating the various, strange events, but whatever it was that made those original films launch the franchise The Grudge has become today has been lost in translation in this latest iteration.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT Review

At this point in his career writer/director Quentin Tarantino runs the risk of being a parody of himself. Playing up the most obvious and popular aspects of the kinds of films he tends to make his latest, The Hateful Eight, tends to skirt that line more than a few times, but dammit if overall this is an experience like no other. What is being said? What is the objective? What is the point, if you will, of collecting eight or more disparate souls in a single confined space and allowing them to exhaust each of their personal vendettas against the world on one another? It would seem Tarantino would need to have some type of idea or some larger theme he intends to tackle when setting out to write a project that concerns the relations of a variety of characters shortly after the end of the Civil War. As with his two previous efforts that have addressed history and it's inconsistencies in equality, The Hateful Eight looks to bring up old wounds and address them freely. Unlike his previous two efforts though, The Hateful Eight is not a revenge tale in the larger sense of the genre, but more it is a contained mystery that asks whodunit and has the audience play a guessing game as it holds the answers just out of arms reach until the inevitable bloody end. Of course, the similarities to playing a game of Clue don't detract from the quality of the film as Tarantino goes back to more fully relying on what made his initial films all the more engaging and distinct: the talking. At ten minutes shy of three hours The Hateful Eight is certainly something of a journey, but it never feels like an endeavor. More, the film is an exercise in detailing a portrait of this point in time and the varying perspectives that contributed to the climate of America. By confining these eight very different, very volatile individuals into a single location Tarantino is able to make many statements, but mainly the guy seems to offer the idea that the state this country was founded on and how it came to fruition after we finished fighting ourselves is that of an unstable one-with qualities seeming to still echo into today's society.

Teaser Trailer for Quentin Tarantino's THE HATEFUL EIGHT

The Weinstein Company has released the first teaser trailer for Quentin Tarantino's eight film, The Hateful Eight. The film features bounty hunger John Ruth aka “The Hangman” (Kurt Russell) escorting criminal Daisy Domergue aka “The Prisoner” (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to her death when they get holed up during a snowstorm in post-Civil War Wyoming. Relegated to the close quarters of Minnie’s Habberdashery the two come to find a fair amount of tension between themselves and the six other folks who've become trapped by mother nature. The other titular characters include Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), General Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern) and Bob (Demian Bichir) who’s taken over innkeeper duties from Minnie while she is away visiting her mother. It has been three years since we caught our first glimpse of Tarantino's venture into Western territory, but it seems he has settled comfortably into the genre now with his latest. That isn't to say Django Unchained felt like the director was testing the waters (I loved the film), but the first impression I get from this trailer offers a distinctly more traditional vibe. Whether this is due to the intimate setting, the crisp dialogue or simply the fact the performances seem to be front and center, I can't really tell, but I do know the film looks gorgeous and I can't wait to unwrap this gift come Christmas day. The Hateful Eight also stars Channing Tatum and opens in 70mm on December 25th.

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE Review

Jim Jarmusch is a filmmaker I admittedly know little about. The only one of his previous films I have seen is his 2005 effort Broken Flowers which I only rented once it hit video store shelves because it featured a Bill Murray performance that was receiving grand reviews. I'd like to see more, sometime at least, as Jarmusch seems a stubborn yet eclectic artist willing to try his hand not only in different kinds of stories, but films that share a kinship with his overwhelmingly high standard of influences. I don't know this for a fact and I can't tell you any visual clues I picked up on in the composition of certain shots in Only Lovers Left Alive, but what I can see through the writing of these characters alone is that our writer/director is not simply attempting to make a statement on his perception of what has become the quickly deteriorating society of our modern world, but also the way in which art progresses, innovation is scary yet necessary and how almost nothing besides ideas, creation, expression and any other words used to describe the essence of being artistic are really worth anything when the sun goes down on ones life. Jarmusch intends to teach his audience this lesson and re-assure his targeted hipster audience that there is nothing wrong with remaining spiteful of everything that is popular while he parades around one of the more popular actors in the world at the moment to somewhat hypocritically say that as long as they still have credibility, the fame doesn't count. The fame shouldn't count, I agree, but you can only feel fully vindicated in your plight of pursuing a life, not simply a career, in the arts if you become noticeable enough to make a living off of your talent. It is understandable and to be of the line of thinking in which our main character Adam (Tom Hiddleston) is here where he consistently downplays or demeans the merit of what one naturally wants under the construction of today's society is only saved by his rare, mythic condition. This suggestion one should rather not have their work recognized, but simply remain underground so it never loses that edge of credibility impossible to re-gain once deemed a sell-out. I doubt Jarmusch will ever "sell-out" in the way he likes to defend his independence by never taking a big-budget studio movie on, but his characters who simply trade pretentious dialogue to prove how credible he still is are nothing if not a bunch of jaded, cynical beings waiting for an end that will never come.

DOM HEMINGWAY Review

Sometimes, knowing someone and their aptitude for integrating themselves (no matter with good or bad results, as both can be equally entertaining) into society and the world around them is an exhilarating and interesting enough reason to hang out with them, to spend time with them. Despite the fact these tendencies may or may not become annoying or too much to look past when actually having to deal with the repercussions these actions provide they almost always give way to a few good stories to tell your actual set of friends when you sit down to share a drink and a meal with them where that time spent together is about the conversation and not about the presumed antics you'll encounter because of the domineering traits that make each encounter an adventure with the friend of another set. Some will classify this as simply being two different kinds of people: the thinkers and the doers. The thinkers sitting around watching, speculating while the actions of the doers provide content for those conversations. Much of watching film and critiquing or dissecting it makes the world feel like it squarely fits into these categories, but there are no absolutes and every person, no matter their domineering traits or tendencies will always have experiences in both of these types of situations and yet with Dom Hemingway we get as close as we probably ever will to both processing the antics of our titular character as we take them in while also feeling a part of the excursion because of how much was clearly put into the development of Hemingway, not only in the script and the way he was written, but of course and likely more critically in the way he was brought to life by Jude Law. Law, as the boozed out, drug-addled Englishman has seemingly subdued his classic good looks in every possible way to bring as much grit and grime to the presence of Hemingway to the point we don't doubt the man has dirt under his nails that's been there the entire time he kept his mouth shut in prison. It is a shame the actual film can't keep up with the character, because the energy that flows through Law's blood-shot eyes and out of his saliva-slinging mouth is pure electric.

MACHETE KILLS Review

Remember six years ago when Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino decided to team-up and create an epic production that once and for all would pay obvious tribute to their love of exploitation films? It was awesome, right? Both Planet Terror and Death Proof had their own style and story while effectively re-creating the tone and look of those seedy, unrestrained 1970's flicks that weren't mainstream enough for big studios. While the combination of the two features were released under the banner, Grindhouse, the mainstream still didn't seem to take as much of a liking to the project as it ultimately wasn't the box office hit the directors had become accustomed to. Still, no one lost any credibility on the project as it catered exactly to the kind of high concept work the two directors were known for innovating. One of the many highlights of Grindhouse though turned out to be the fake movie trailers that played before and inbetween the features and thus the world was introduced to Machete. I went back and re-watched that original trailer that played before Planet Terror as well as watching a good portion of that Rodriguez film which only came to re-enforce the overly-negative opinion I have concerning the follow-up to the 2010 full length version of Machete, Machete Kills. One of the bigger issues of the first Machete was the fact it frequently became exactly the thing it was parodying while the sequel does so in even bigger strides while no longer even looking like or seeming to attempt to actually become a part of the genre Rodriguez was originally so intent on paying tribute to. There is a fine line though between showing affection and making fun of, and while both Planet Terror and Death Proof were able to play up the elements of these exploitation flicks to modern audiences in the form of laughs they at least had the craft and quality down pat. Machete Kills is little more than a parody, a rushed job with a nonsensical script and stunt casting that is clearly intended to fulfill the entertainment quota. The base purpose of these homages is to have fun watching the ridiculousness unfold while laughing at the countless references and cinematic commentary, but unfortunately there is no such fun to be had here.

First Trailer for DOM HEMINGWAY

Having just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and receiving a wave of positive reviews it is nice to see some of what all the fuss concerning Dom Hemingway is about. Though this opens in the UK this November we here in the States will have to wait until next spring to see the final result, but if the festival reviews and debut poster weren't enough to get you interested, this debut trailer certainly should. Jude Law plays the titular hero of the story as a guy who has just been released from prison and is determined to recover the hush money that was stolen from him. While the trailer does a fine job of conveying this simple premise what it really sells is Law's performance. They guy is hell on wheels with a drink always in his hand and with mutton chops worthy of hard bragging. It's been a while since Law has taken on a project that he could really sink his teeth into (though he was easily the best part of last years Anna Karenina), but this looks to turn things around for him both commercially (maybe) and artistically. The guy is a talented and charismatic actor and I wouldn't be surprised if this spurred the kind of change The Lincoln Lawyer did for Matthew McConaughey's career renaissance. Here's hoping that it does and that someone decides to move the release date of this up stateside, otherwise I'll just have to watch this trailer over and over again, which isn't all bad as it has plenty of laughs to hold one over. Dom Hemingway also stars Richard E. Grant, Emilia Clarke, Jumayn Hunter, Madalina Diana Ghena, Demian Bichir and opens in the U.S. on April 4, 2014.

THE HEAT Review

Much has been made of the fact it has taken this long to get a buddy cop film with two female leads made. There is certainly merit to this argument as The Heat is a ridiculously fun time at the movies even if the premise has been worn out for a good twenty years now. The plot is hardly what matters here as the real story is who's finally filled the roles of those two lead women and the chemistry between co-stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy is so strong it will surely convince anyone doubting the power of women at the box office. The film will no doubt be a hit as well as officially confirming McCarthy's status as a certifiable draw. She did well with the average (though some would say downright terrible) Identity Thief co-starring Jason Bateman who is a fine comic actor, but not necessarily a big box office draw on his own. Next to American sweetheart Sandra Bullock and under the direction of Bridesmaids helmer Paul Feig, it is almost a guarantee that if there were a chance for women to get their fair share of summer blockbusters then this would more than be the way to go. There is plenty to complain about when it comes to The Heat as it doesn't possess the effortless balance of comedy and heart that the directors previous, female-powered, film so easily conveyed. Instead, The Heat doesn't need or even try to be anything more than a raunchy, no holds-barred action comedy that is more that able to be held up against any number of buddy cop movies that feature two male leads. I've never taken issue with the idea of women getting the short end of the stick when it comes to having the responsibility of a big budget studio comedy or any other genre on their shoulders, but I'm also a white male which puts me in the most favored demographic and therefore I don't really have much room to speak. What I will say is that I had a consistently good time throughout this well-intentioned if not mean-spirited piece of fluff that isn't here to say anything new or break any ground, but simply to make us laugh and in that regard it succeeds with comedy to spare.