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One Must Fall (2018)
Cleanup For the Cleanup Crew...
(This film was featured at the Third Annual Sin City Horror Fest.)
You may remember from some years back, an excellent and very weird little film called CURDLED. In that movie, a woman working on a crime-scene cleaning crew developed a morbid and growing romantic fascination with the serial killer whose messes they were hired to clean up.
ONE MUST FALL puts a very different spin on that scenario. Two down-on-their-luck office drones replace their dead-end jobs by signing up with a crime scene cleaning crew. But a question not asked very often does arise: what if during the process of cleaning up, they discover that the perpetrator of a crime has never left the crime scene?
They soon learn the terrifying answer, as they're preyed upon by the city's first reported serial murderer. And he is one for the books. Practical effects lovers who hate CG embellishments are going to LOVE this, as director Pantoja makes sure that his effects team gets to plumb their budget as much as possible, for some incredibly gory "murder-death-kills" that wouldn't be out of place in many of the major, more extravagantly-budgeted slasher franchises.
The cast is game for all of the grueling paces that director Pantoja puts them through, but you won't walk away from this one without the memory of actor Barry Piacente stained on your brain indefinitely, as the grandiose and remorseless serial murderer who gets off on torture and murder...and those who cross his path will be lucky if he gets right to the 'murder' part!
Unless he returns as a supernatural killer of some kind, ONE MUST FALL doesn't look like it's going to be spun off into yet another franchise. But even if not, it's a great one-off, and a perfect introduction to Pantoja's work, a director whom I hope will become another major name in the genre!
Never Hike Alone (2017)
The Little "Fan Film That Could"...And DOES!
(This film was featured at the Third Annual Sin City Horror Fest.)
Say the phrase "fan film", and usually it's enough to inspire cringing and lots of eye-rolling responses, especially when they're as awful as they can possibly get. But good news! NEVER HIKE ALONE isn't one of them!
A pleasant diversion from the recent legal SNAFUS entangling the FRIDAY franchise, director Di Santi's "love letter to Jason Voorhees" stars DREW LEIGHTY as social media sensation "Kyle McLeod", whose specialty is taking on the Great Outdoors, and photographing his adventures for his fans in real time. His latest hike takes him into uncharted territory, where he decides to cut his traveling time in half, through an area clearly marked with a "NO TRESSPASSING" sign. (There's Red Flag Numero UNO.) It gets really dicey, once he realizes that the actual place he's ventured into is...the spot where a certain camp was once located, and has been attached to some pretty gruesomely legendary stories...stories which he soon discovers were all too true.
With a minimal cast (including a franchise icon whom fans will love seeing), Di Santi manages to keep the suspense taut and gets maximum scares out of the scenario that don't feel cheap or unearned. He also does triple duty here, not just by writing and directing, but also by putting his own spin on Jason, in a way that other "Jason" actors (especially Kane Hodder) would gladly stamp with their 'Seal Of Approval'. And the ending implies a possible sequel...one I personally wouldn't mind seeing one little bit. New Line could do a lot worse than to give Vincente a shot at doing whatever the next installment in the franchise is...he's certainly proven himself with a film that excels beyond what normally passes for a "fan film".
The Head (2019)
John Waters And Lloyd Kaufman Would Completely Approve...
(This film was featured at the Third Annual Sin City Horror Fest in las Vegas)
WHERE do I even begin?
WARHOL. WATERS. WISEAU. Names that you've come to know, and even love, as masters in the area of "outre" cinema. MULTIPLE MANIACS. DESPERATE LIVING. PINK FLAMINGOS. FLESH. TRASH. HEAT. BAD. THE ROOM. Titles that have stood the test of time as some of the most genuinely out-there, notable pieces of 'fringe' filmmaking that people have written dissertations and even their Masters' thesis about. Even that last one, where Wiseau seemed to come in late on being "IN" on the joke.
Well, there's no denying it - writer/director Michael Keene is in on it from the very beginning, and if you're not familiar with any of the cinematic artists I just mentioned, chances are that his new film, THE HEAD, won't be for you. AT ALL. Note I said that in caps. There's a good reason behind that. No matter if you can recite the entire script of FEMALE TROUBLE, you still may not be ready for what Keene has in store for you. But you'll certainly know it within the first few minutes.
Think of a film like Alex Cox's REPO MAN. Slava Tsukerman's cult masterpiece, LIQUID SKY. John McNaughton's trippy, blackly comic sci-fi horror opus THE BORROWER.
Now, try to imagine what any of those films would have looked like, if the filmmakers responsible for them didn't have a dime for a budget. And no, I don't mean barely two pennies to rub together. I mean ZIP, NADA, NYET. Oh, and the only thing they had to shoot their projects on was a VHS camcorder from the Eighties.
If you can envision that, you almost have Keene's film in mind.
And in spite of the fact that the movie on the face of it seems absolutely pointless to the very edge of absurdity, it does have a plot. And that absurdity is the point.
Boy-meets-head. Boy-falls-in-love-with-head. Head-completely-ruins-boy's life. Wash, rinse, repeat.
And that's still oversimplifying the glorious outrageousness of Keene's vision. Besides being a loving tribute to all of the ballsy lensers of the Eighties, who had nothing but a vision and let nothing stop them in the realization of it, THE HEAD pops a big, punked-out middle finger up at big-budget, pretty-to-look-at, completely empty multiplex blockbusters, by daring to be, for lack of a better way of putting it - an "anti-movie" movie.
There isn't anything here that would be out of whack in your average Troma film. Lloyd Kaufman would be happy to have it in his library. Hell, he might even try to ACQUIRE it when he hears about it!
And showcasing some of the best punk thrash cuts that Las Vegas has to offer, it may not have won the Festival award for Best Score, but I sure as hell want that soundtrack!
Straight Edge Kegger (2019)
STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER Explodes With Fierce Indie "Punxploitation" Energy
I was fortunate enough to catch this film at the Third Annual Sin City Horror Fest in Las Vegas. There's nothing I love better than a movie that truly takes me into cultures with their own languages and customs that I've never been aware of...especially when they're right here in our very own country. And STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER does that and then some.
As an MTV-head, I know my punk 'basics'. The Clash, Blondie, The B-52's, The Go-Gos, DEVO, most of the bands that started out punk and eventually went "new wave". I learned more later by seeking out the more hardcore but still well-known groups: The Sex Pistols, The Dead Kennedys, Human Sexual Response, L7, Black Flag, etc.
I'd heard quite a bit about the sub-genres and the sub-genres of those, but I knew nothing about the "straight edge" movement before this film. So I was surprised to learn a few things, especially in the form of a punk 'drama' that takes a turn into "survival thriller" mode.
Brad (CORY KAYS) is the co-founder of a "straight edge" group within the local punk scene. For the uneducated - of which I was one - "straight edgers" are about celebrating the music, without the anarchistic, nihilistic trappings: no booze, no drugs, no white supremacist skinheads, no period. It all seems to be on the up-and-up at first, but the co-founder/now-ringleader James (JULIO MONTENEGRO JR. in a riveting performance) has taken things to a 'zero-tolerance', almost fascist level, even beating up on the lead singer of a band while onstage, when they decline his request not to play a song called "Boozehound."
I recently saw a film whose tagline was "Be careful what you believe in." I think that sentiment would've been more fitting for STRAIGHT EDGE, considering the surprising turn the movie takes.
Increasingly disenchanted with James's growing militancy in actions and attitude, Brad falls in with unrepentant partyers Sean (SEAN JONES, who could be the older, boozier brother of Zach Galifianakis), and Sean's neighbor, "Maybe" (EVEY REIDY), who Brad falls hard for. Seeing his protégé "going over to the dark side" snaps something off in James, and this is where the film takes its most frightening turn, when the straight-edge leader demands proof of loyalty in ways that will turn deadly for a lot of people.
So maybe the line I mentioned needs just one small adjustment: "Be careful who you believe in." STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER turns quickly into a riff on YOU'RE NEXT and GREEN ROOM, but in a more terrifying way. Because the danger and violence comes not from people who you expect it from - home invaders or Nazi skinheads - but from the kind of guys you'd least expect it from, all in the name of 'keeping it clean.' The performances here are great, with Kays, Reidy, Jones and especially Montenegro being the standouts.
Writer/director Zink is surefooted in both his writing and direction, setting up a scenario that is scarily realistic, with a message that couldn't be more relevant than now. And the picture is completely infused with the kind of propulsive, explosive, indie "punxploitation" energy that hasn't been evident on movie screens since such legendary films as BREAKING GLASS, SID AND NANCY or ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL.
I predict that STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER will be one of those films that soon develops a very strong and growing cult following, once it goes into wide release.
Dahas (1995)
"DAHAS" In Tagalog Actually Means "Duel"...
Some women just can't catch a break. Not days before her marriage to the seemingly charming Jake, Luisa is brutally raped by Eric, a police investigator who, staggeringly drunk at the time, thought she was a hooker he'd paid to bang, until she changed her mind at the last minute and fought him off. Luisa goes through with the ceremony, but the wedding night? Still traumatized by the rape, she finds out who and what her husband REALLY is, when he then proceeds to rape her, too!
Convinced that he's being cuckolded by her "secret lover", Jake constantly beats and mistreats her for her absences from work and from home. But what she's really been doing is trying to find her rapist. Eventually, she does find Eric, with every intention of killing him in revenge for ruining her life. But the story THEN takes a left turn you don't expect, and Eric and Luisa end up together. In order to make amends for what he did to her, Eric plans on making sure that Jake never bothers her again...but Luisa never thought that would include murder.
And you'd think that Eric taking out the evil Jake would be the end of the story. WRONG! The thing is, however, if you've seen enough dramas like this, then you won't be at all surprised when you guess what twists the story will take, and you turn out to be 100% correct! For what it is, the performances are pretty good, and Maricel Soriano is a sympathetic, if somewhat wishy-washy heroine as Luisa, but that IS the way the role was written. (Plus, it was the 1990's),
Talk about potboilers, this one definitely blows the lid off. Having lived in the Philippines and gotten used to movies and TV over there, I know how popular Filipino soap operas are, and this could have easily covered several episodes of one. If you're familiar with 'telenovelas', this is very similar in tone and style, so you know about what to expect. Otherwise, you'll probably want to skip it.
Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show (2014)
The Men (And Women) Behind The Curtain Want To Show You Something...
There are plenty of books, DVD's and other filmed documentaries about the goings-on backstage that occur in the process of making television, good, bad or indifferent. SHOWRUNNERS: THE ART OF RUNNING A TV SHOW quite simply deserves the ten out of ten IMDb rating I've bestowed it with, because nothing else I've seen has been as thorough - or as thoroughly entertaining - as this Irish- based production on the subject.
Director Des Doyle and his crew have pulled out all the stops, and as a result, been granted a rare audience with all of the people that the most rabid of us fans would love to have five minutes with, (and you get considerably more time than that here easily). J.J. Abrams (ALIAS, LOST), Joss Whedon, (BUFFY, ANGEL, FIREFLY), Ron Moore (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), Hart Hanson, (BONES, BACKSTROM), Terence Winter (BOARDWALK EMPIRE, THE SOPRANOS), Janet Tamayo (RIZZOLI AND ISLES), Jane Espenson, (BUFFY, HUSBANDS)...and that's hardly a complete list. Everyone who appears offers some revealing aspect of what goes on behind the creation and administration of a show, telling us more than we ever knew - or even cared to know, in some cases.
We get an examination of what makes someone tick, who has to be ready to answer a billion questions, put out about as many bonfires as they crop up on a daily basis; wrangle story ideas, script changes, notes from the network, from show directors and even from the actors themselves...it's the 'BEST and the WORST job you can have', to paraphrase one subject's summation of what it's like.
I have always had an appreciation and admiration for what showrunners do...But this film only strengthens and deepens that feeling. Especially since I could never imagine doing it myself!
Cucumber (2015)
Second Chances...
Back during the long-anticipated, yet ultimately disappointing (for me) debut of RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, Season 7, CUCUMBER AND BANANA were given a sneak preview that my DVR programming had also picked up. I was tremendously underwhelmed by the RPDR debut, and was sorely tempted because of that experience, to delete everything, including the preview. However, because I try not to make snap judgments about the first episodes of shows, I decided to go ahead and give C&B a shot. Maybe I shouldn't have. I found it too loud, frenetic, stereotypical bordering on the insulting and maybe even homophobic, with unlikable characters that I could find nothing in common with. And THAT was just CUCUMBER. Don't even get me started on how I felt about the follow up of BANANA. This was sometime back in March, if I recall correctly.
SO...fast forward to NOW. When my partner asked about watching something for the evening, I suggested that I had taped the 'official' premiere of C&B. I had described it to him before, and not in a very complimentary way, so I was surprised that he agreed to watch it with me. I did qualify beforehand, that if it stunk to high heaven, we could always bail out and watch something else.
Wonder of wonders...we watched both parts, he for the first time and I for the second, and we both actually ENJOYED it (in spite of the ridiculous censoring of certain visuals and dialogue that were very easy to see and/or lip-read what was going on.)
So, what changed for me this time around? What made me give C&B a second chance?
TIME, for one thing. Not being a Doctor Who fan (though I was crazy about TORCHWOOD), I was still somewhat familiar with Russell T. Davies writing style from that and also the original version of QUEER AS FOLK. And here's the thing. Viewers need to recognize that like any other popular nighttime entertainment, C&B presents a stylized, heightened version of what we know to be real life: people, situations, consequences.
Straight people know not to look to television or film for saintly, pristine, accurate depictions of the IDEAL life they imagine they have, or would like to have. Why should the situation be any different for gay men, be they middle-aged or young, living in Manchester? Real life IS complicated, messy, absurd. People make complicated, messy, absurd decisions from motivations that are likewise.
I've had TIME, as I mentioned before, to reflect on all of this. I don't believe that gay men think any more or less of sex than straight guys do. Same with actually engaging in it.
Part of the reason why I didn't respond well to Henry and Lance and their colleagues, was because I wasn't ready to acknowledge the more truthful components of their relationship and the interaction with their mates, co-workers, etc., that resonated sympathetically with what my partner and I go through. RTD has done a brilliant job with that part. And with BANANA, the 'flip side of the album', so to speak, it was easier to identify some of the traits of people I knew when I was in my early teens to twenties, with the exploits of Freddie and mostly, Dean...not to mention a few of those same qualities I saw in myself at that age.
The reviewers that charge these shows with some kind of blatant irresponsibility should take a couple of deep breaths and reexamine their extreme reactions to what they've been watching. Is it the writing or acting they're responding to? Because in my not-so-humble opinion, both are pretty much above reproach. Or is it a nerve being struck with some of the more truthful aspects of the characters and situations being presented?
Personally, I don't need or want a show that paints all gay men as some kind of sexually, morally and fiscally responsible saints, who all have adopted kids or beautifully blended families, with the neat little white picket fenced house, the minivan, the two great jobs, the fully loving and supportive families. Please. We know some of that exists, but if that's all you want to show me, SHOOT ME NOW.
REAL DRAMA COMES FROM REAL LIFE. And vice versa. Gay men think about sex a lot. MEN think about sex a lot. PERIOD. And sometimes, actually more than that, it can affect what decisions they make and what actions they take. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not so much. A quote I heard recently perfectly sums up what is at the core of C&B. And that is taking into account the Three Most Important Keys To Living A Successful Life: TIMING, ADJUSTMENT and CONSISTENCY. The ongoing, engaging scenarios that will continue to unfold in these two shows, will be a lesson on how the characters apply those three principles to their own situations. Or not. And how well they do with the outcomes.
Flickan som lekte med elden (2009)
Mad About "THE GIRL..."
It's difficult to remember the last time I enjoyed watching a movie series this much. Although the depth and breadth of emotional darkness and cruelty is not as intense and pervasive as it was in DRAGON TATTOO, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE still provides more than adequate thrills and entertainment, as "the plot thickens", to dust off the old cliché, and the audience is rewarded with an even closer look at the background of hacker/'researcher' extraordinaire Lisbeth Salander.
If Part One was all about helping a client of Mikael Blomqvist's (Michael Nyqvist) battle the ghosts and demons haunting his family, within the mystery of a decades-old, unsolved murder, then FIRE reveals that Lisabeth (Noomi Rapace, as great in this as she was in the previous film) has enough skeletons in her own closet to populate a couple of dozen families' notorious pasts.
Living a life of luxury abroad, thanks to well-deserved if ill-gotten gains from the previous adventure, Lisbeth is still haunted by vivid memories of the brutal assault perpetrated on her by the odious "administrator" of her legal guardianship, Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson, so magnificently hissable, you want to spritz your screen with Lysol whenever he appears.) Although the revenge on her serial rapist was more than adequate, Lisbeth feels it's worth the risk to return to Sweden, and make sure the old bastard is holding up his end of their "bargain."
And, of course, her efforts will not only find her framed for three murders, but once again teamed with her friend/sometime lover "Micke", her lesbian girlfriend, Miriam Wu (Yasmine Garbi), and the writing team at "Millennium Magazine", whose current expose on human trafficking and the sex trade ties into Lisbeth's turbulent past more than she could have ever realized.
The point has been made that many of the plot points in the two movies are not exactly original, having much in common with many other great mysteries, but the same can be said for other admirable thrillers as well, including the Bourne and Jack Ryan series. But the craft is not just in the story, but how it is told, and though FIRE'S director, Daniel Alfredson, does't bring the same qualities to the table as his predecessor, Niels Arden Oplev, he still does a more than serviceable job of staying true to the spirit of the series.
And it's to his credit, as well as that of the screenwriters and of Rapace and Nyqvist, that the chemistry and the bond between Micke and Lisbeth is as strong as ever this time around, even though they are not physically connected until almost the end of the movie.
Thanks to FIRE, I look forward to reading the Larsson novels now more than ever, and REALLY anticipate seeing the third and final chapter in this exciting series.
Män som hatar kvinnor (2009)
Modern-Day Noir Thriller That Pulls No Punches...
In his study, an elderly man opens a package marked "Hong Kong." Inside is a beautifully framed specimen of a pressed flower. He studies it closely, removes his glasses...then begins to sob uncontrollably. If you didn't know what you were watching, you'd think you stumbled into the wrong movie - a Bergmann film, maybe. But this is the deceptive opening scene to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, a smart, uncompromising thriller that will grab you by your temples, squeeze and not let go until the very end.
The elderly man is Henrik Vanger (Sven Bertil-Taube), whose life is about to intersect with two unlikely protagonists and soon-to-become allies.
Mikael Blomqvist (Michael Nyquist) is a well-known investigative journalist, who has just been sued for libel by a big-time industrialist, and lost. Not only is he disgraced, but facing jail time. So "Kalle" Blomqvist certainly has nothing to lose, when he gets a call from none other than Vanger for the most unlikely of reasons - to help him solve the 40-year old murder case involving his niece, Harriet, whose body disappeared without a trace.
And unknown to Mikael, Vanger has had him thoroughly checked out before hiring him. A security company has been dogging his every move during and after the libel trial, and that includes having every bit of intel gathered on him by one of their most well-known 'specialists'...a master hacker and 'researcher' named Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace, who now can be seen in the latest SHERLOCK HOLMES adventure.) TATTOO is all about the circumstances that bring these three diverse characters together, while exploring a tale of twists and turns that also uncovers the darkest recesses of the human psyche. And as with every good noir thriller, it doesn't skimp on all the adult stuff: sexual assault, blackmail, torture, murder...and even worse.
Not having read a single one of the books, I am now definitely interested, but not before finishing the film series, which should be excellent if this initial entry is any indication. The cinematography is superb; the dark, brooding score complementary but not intrusive, and director Niels Arden Oplev keeps the action tight, tense and captivating in all the right places.
The most remarkable thing of all, though, are the performances of the leads. Nyqvist and Rapace are both outstanding, digging deep into the complexities of their characters (especially Lisbeth, who is not like any heroine you have ever seen in a suspense thriller for quite a while). It's also admirable that they aren't Hollywood-perfect...which has me worried about the David Fincher remake.
Because a gunfight or an explosion doesn't happen every five minutes, and it's in Swedish with English subtitles, a lot of people will probably give this a pass. Which would be a terrible mistake, because the story, direction and performances will definitely reward anyone willing to give it a shot, with one of the best 'whodunnits' to come along in years.
I think enough of this not just to award it a '9', but also to urge you, dear movie fan, to see this version FIRST, before you plunk down your twelve bucks for the big-budget studio 'makeover.' It's two hours well spent, I promise.
Black Dynamite (2009)
You Betta Turn Off Ya Phone...BLACK DYNAMITE Gon' Git Yo' Funny Bone!
It has been a while since a comedy left my stomach AND my sides aching, not to mention my "remote finger", from having to hit "Rewind" so many times. What AIRPLANE! is to the disaster genre, BLACK DYNAMITE does it double for the world of 'blaxploitation' films. And personally, I think that BD completes its mission even more successfully, because there is so much going on in virtually every scene, that this demands several more viewings before you catch all the sight gags, double-entendres and intentionally bad dialogue AND acting.
Hatched from the twisted minds of director Scott Sanders, actor/writer Byron Minns and most significantly, actor/writer/stunt performer Michael Jai White - "BLACK DYNAMITE hizself!" - this is the jam-packed, titty-stacked, pimp-smacked tale of what happens when BD's wayward brother, Reggie, is murdered in cold blood by "Da Man!" It only LOOKS like a hit done by fellow drug dealers, but it's up to Our Hero to find out who is flooding the ghetto streets with junk and malt liquor that makes you go "Woooooooo!", save the kids from a life of drugs and violence, avenge his brother's murder and take down "Da Man" - who, of course, we know is behind it all.
The most remarkable thing about this note-perfect satire is that it gets everything RIGHT. The art direction, period cars, Ruth Carter's incredible costume designs and most especially Adrian Younge's hysterically funny and funky soundtrack...If you are a staunch fan of this genre, you will be able to pick out 'nudge-wink' homages to everything from THE HUMAN TORNADO, BLACK BELT JONES and SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF,to iconic films like SHAFT, SUPERFLY and THE MACK. Like the best parodies, you have to know and deeply love the genre you're spoofing very well to pull it off successfully, and just like Rob Reiner (THIS IS SPINAL TAP), the Monty Python crew and Team ZAZ with the aforementioned AIRPLANE, these cats "know they s***!!"
And very much in the tradition of the movies they are lovingly sending up, the cast is a who's-who of black acting talent of every stripe. Seriously, WHEN was the last time you saw Arsenio Hall and Tommy Davidson? (Who prove here that they can also still be hysterically funny with the right stuff to work with!)
It makes me feel that that there is no cinematic justice that this movie wasn't better promoted and distributed, but like some of the world's best cult films, it will be destined to find a steadily growing and enthusiastic home audience, thanks to the magic of DVD and Blu-Ray. (Which reminds me - this needs a "Special Edition" release ASAP! The Blu-Ray is criminally void of the kind of BTS extras a movie like this deserves.)
If you are in the mood for a really good laugh, BLACK DYNAMITE will deliver the kind of satisfaction that will "put yo' ass in traction!"
The X Factor (2011)
I Was So Ready To HATE This Show...
As it was, with the over-saturation of Simon's smug puss on GAWD-only-knows how many promos about it, I was sharpening up my knives for this, ready to cut a "b" (finish the spelling on that one yourself.) I'd already stuck a fork in American IDOL...I had reached my limit of seeing anyone who had even a remote lick of talent get tossed to the side, while some twit barely out their teens shrieking a cover of some great rock or blues song got to take home the Grand Prize, instead of a "booby prize" they were more than worthy of. (Sorry, but when the greatest agony of your life is running out of ProActiv, you have no business attempting to sing Rod Stewart, Aretha, Al Green or anything that grown-ups SHOULD be singing.)
I was mostly familiar with the Brit version because of the overwhelming successes of both Paul Potts and Susan Boyle, two talents possessed of great voices, but with 'faces for radio,' as the old joke goes. Still, I was intrigued by the idea that it would be a singing competition now open to ALL ages and ALL styles, (unlike AMERICA'S GOT TALENT, the more big-budgeted version of THE GONG SHOW, where anything goes...and I do mean ANYTHING!)
But with Simon involved, I mostly expected an 'American IDOL' clone for much older people. Fancy my shock and surprise when I gave it a chance, and discovered that even though it's just as slickly produced as its ageist counterpart, it actually has something shocking...people who really CAN sing! Now that it's reached the latter stages of the competition, where the judges have been assigned the groups they'll be working with, things are starting to get even more interesting than with the Audition phase, though it was a lot more entertaining to watch than AI, with less of an emphasis on nutjobs and what I like to call the 'granola' contingent (fruits, nuts and flakes of every kind).
The only bone I have to pick with the producers was the pairing of judges to groups. Nicole Scherzinger, she of "Pussycat Dolls" infamy, would have been much better off with the groups, while L.A. Reid got the over-30's, Simon got the boys and Paula Abdul the girls. In fact, having Nicole and Enrique "More Auto-Tune, Please" Iglesias judge and work with the over-30's borders on being downright disrespectful. This category of contestants are old enough to have KIDS their age, not to mention that they probably own SHOES older than him or her.
But enough ranting about my personal biases regarding the show. Overall, do I think it's good, bad or indifferent? The answer is always subjective, and depends on your tolerance level these days for reality shows, competitive or otherwise.
Me? Warts, Simon and all, I don't think I'll be going back to American IDOL anytime soon. And if it weren't for Sharon Osborne and Piers Morgan, I probably would never give AMERICA'S GOT TALENT the time of day, either. Only time will tell, but personally, I believe that FACTOR may have what it needs to take everyone else down both ratings and quality-wise.
American Horror Story (2011)
"AMERICAN BEAUTY" - With A Faceful of Acid...
If we have absorbed the lessons of what independent family dramas have taught us in the past few decades, what have we learned? That Father Has Never "Known Best", that the "Dreams of The Everyday Housewife" can be laced with resentment, disillusionment, fear and madness? That the placid, peaceful, tranquil picture of the all-American family we have believed in (and taught to uphold and emulate) by our own parents, has always been a facade for all kinds of dementia and dysfunction?
If this is true, then what Ryan Murphy has done is taken the clichés of everything from chief competitor Alan Ball's award-winning American BEAUTY and Stephen King's THE SHINING, put them on steroids and blended them together in his word processor. The result? American HORROR STORY, where the only thing more terrifying than a haunted house laden with secrets that rip people to shreds, are the secrets and lies infesting the lives of one family that threaten to rip THEM to shreds.
When a tragic miscarriage and an even more shattering act of infidelity threaten to tear apart their tenuous marriage, Ben Harmon (THE PRACTICE'S Dylan McDermott) and his wife Vivien (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS' Connie Britton) take their teenage daughter, Violet (Taissa Farmiga) and move away from their "house of horrors" to find a new start somewhere...ANYWHERE that they can put the noxious past behind them and at least try to have a go at tending to their gaping emotional wounds.
The place they choose - or maybe that chooses THEM - a run-down manse on the outskirts of L.A., turns out to be a real bargain, and though irredeemably creepy, does have an antiquated charm...if you're into murals that would give even Hieronymous Bosch nightmares.
In no short order, unsettling and strange characters - as much as the house itself is - begin to materialize and insinuate themselves into the Harmons' lives, whether they want them to or not: next-door neighbor Constance (Jessica Lange in a brilliant turn), whose demeanor suggests a deadly combo of Blanche DuBois, Norma Desmond and Gale Sondergaard's Black Widow; Frances Conroy (Ruth Fisher from SIX FEET UNDER) as the mysterious housekeeper, Moira, who appears to the rest of the family as one persona, while tempting Ben's weakness for "a taste of strange" with another more lascivious presence, (played by Alexandra Breckenridge); Larry Harvey (TRUE BLOOD alum Denis O'Hare), a horribly burned man who seems to be stalking Ben, and who has his own deadly history with the house and what lives there, and Constance's daughter, Adelaide, (Jamie Brewer), with Downs' Syndrome, yet who seems to have it more together - and knows more about the house - than anyone else around her.
Even Ben's practice as a psychologist is fraught with peril, with the introduction of a teen patient named Tate Langdon (Evan Peters), who has an easier time picking apart and savaging the weaknesses in Ben's emotional armor than Ben does in probing his inscrutable and infuriating new charge's troubled mind. Not to mention that his growing fascination/infatuation with Violet doesn't help things one little bit.
Many people have cried fowl about the show's penchant for relying heavily on old horror tropes and clichés, without even paying attention to how it has been taking said clichés and twisting them into newer and even more unsettling shapes than today's average hot mess passing itself off as a 'horror film.' Leave it to FX to allow Murphy and his team - much as they did with NIP/TUCK - the freedom to push the boundaries of where a horror-infused series can go, without the constraints that hog-tied many of the like-minded series that came before it, such as the ground-breaking TWIN PEAKS or American Gothic, (which wasn't anywhere near as well-written as this).
Two episodes in and I am already intrigued, grossed-out and frankly spooked by what I have seen so far. I just hope that the quality continues to get even better as plot lines and characters get darker and more deadly secrets are unearthed...
Red State (2011)
Gut-Check Time From The Creator of CLERKS
Unlike some reviewers here, I do not give out 9's and 10's like free coupons to Chili's, so I'd like to believe that when other readers see that I've given such high marks to a film, that it definitely deserves it.
I finally saw RED STATE on VOD last night, based on buzz from friends and on the toned-down trailer for it I saw on YouTube. Other than that, I didn't know much about the film, saved for what I assumed it would be like. In fact, before seeing any kind of promotional material, all I had heard was that Kevin Smith was going to make a "horror movie" for his next film, and being more than familiar with his previous body of work, I couldn't even begin to imagine what that end product might look like. DOGMA was probably the closest thing he'd ever done to a "genre movie" as far as I could tell.
WOW. Looks like great writing and direction travels well, no matter where you're going with it.
No spoilers posted to see here, people - I will let other posters accept that dubious task. What I WILL say is that not a single cast member here 'phones it in.' John Goodman does work as good as (if not better than) things he's done for the Coen Brothers, (and it wouldn't surprise me if they're fans of this flick.) Kevin Pollak, Stephen Root, Kevin Alejandro, Anna Gunn...it doesn't matter how big or small the role is - everybody is "on" here.
But aside from the three "teen" leads (Michael Angarano, Nicholas Braun and Kyle Gallner) who are all amazing, I have to give the lion's share of the kudos to two of the scariest people in the cast.
Melissa Leo, whose portrayal will have even Piper Laurie giving her props, is terrifying as "Sara", the crazed mother/protector of a group whose views are completely twisted by their misguided, misinterpreted faith, and Michael Parks as "the Reverend Abin Cooper," who knew he had a once-in-a-lifetime role and ran with it like Jesse Owens at the Olympics. This is a portrayal no one will soon forget once they've seen it - I only hope that the Academy will feel the same way for his sake.
Some people will call this film "extremist", some will call it 'garbage', and some will have even more choice names for it that can't be repeated here. But NOBODY, I am willing to bet all the money I have in this world, will ever say that "it doesn't go quite far enough." Congrats to Kevin and the cast and crew for turning out what should be one of the most talked-about and viewed films of this year.