Top Ten Lists

Top Ten Favorite Villains

villains

One of the ways that you can gauge the success of a story is in the strength of it’s villain, or more specifically it’s antagonist.  A successful and memorable villain is something that can always make or break a good narrative, because when we follow a story-line, there has to be someone or something driving the tension.  A lot of the greatest villains that we’ve ever seen have not only effectively filled their role in a story-line, but have also become the thing we’ll enjoy and remember the most in them.  Cinema has given us a great variety of memorable villains over the years, and some of the best ones have not only stood out in their own films, but have transcended out into our pop culture in general.  I guarantee that the majority of Halloween costumes that are going to be worn in the next week are going to be based off famous movie villains.  Take a count next time at a Halloween party and see how many Draculas, or Darth Vaders, or Jason Voorhees you can spot in the room.  And it’s understandable; we as an audience love villains.  They are usually the most interesting characters and, depending on how diabolical they are, the most entertaining.  Actors often say that they enjoy playing the villain more than the hero, because it allows them to indulge in some of the baser aspects of the humanity.  In other words, it feels good to act evil.
So, as part of this Halloween season, I would like to share my own list of favorite villains.  Interestingly, after looking through them all, I noticed that not all of them are particularly scary characters or overtly mean-spirited.  The reason why I chose these characters is because they were the ones that left the biggest impression on me, and were part of the reason why I enjoy their individual films so much.  Mainly, these are the villains that I just love to hate.  Some are pretty obvious choices, while others might surprise you.  I’m was also surprised how so many of the characters on this list also start off seeming so normal at first, until you start to peel the layers back.  I think that’s a character development that I enjoy seeing the most; darkness hiding in plain sight.
But before I delve into the list itself, I want to share some of the villains that didn’t make the list that are still worth mentioning:  The Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz), Darth Vader (Star Wars), Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs), John Doe (Seven), Reverand Powell (The Night of the Hunter), Cruella deVil (101 Dalmatians), Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Saruman (The Lord of the Rings), Max Cady (Cape Fear, both versions), Hans Gruber (Die Hard), Voldemort (Harry Potter series), Annie Wilkes (Misery), and Frank Booth (Blue Velvet).  Now, here’s my list for you to read and rip apart if you wish.
10.
molaram
MOLA RAM from INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984)
Played by Amrish Puri
Here’s the first choice that may surprise some of you.  Of all of the villainous characters in the George Lucas stable, how can I choose this character over Darth Vader?  The truth is that Darth Vader may be a great villain and a great character in general, but he never scared me as a child.  Mola Ram did.  Because of that, he left a much bigger impression on me and to this day, I still enjoy seeing this character every time I watch the movie.  Unarguably the best villain in the entire Indiana Jones franchise, Mola Ram stands out because he seems to be the very personification of unchecked evil.  His evil nature is shown most clearly in how he holds power over his cult of followers and in how he has exploited everyone towards his dark ambitions; including enslaving children.  He even turns Dr. Jones evil at one point, which is quite an accomplishment in itself.  Surprisingly, for such a memorable villain, he actually has very little onscreen time.  His first appearance doesn’t happen until halfway through the movie, but man what an entrance.  Indian actor Amrish Puri makes the most of his limited scenes and steals every moment he’s in.  Plus, no one has looked more badass pulling a living heart out of someone’s chest.
“Kali Ma. Kali Ma.”
9.
NoahCross
NOAH CROSS from CHINATOWN (1974)
Played by John Huston
Here’s an example of a villain whose true evil nature is hidden below the surface.  Chinatown is a great throwback to classic noir mysteries, and for the majority of the film, we follow along as Detective Jake Gittes starts to believe that energy supply tycoon Noah Cross isn’t the fine upstanding businessman that he pretends to be.  But, when the film reaches the final act, we learn that Mr. Cross has done far more horrible things than just illegal business practices.  We discover that he had raped his own daughter in the past and that a child out of incest was born as a result.  Jake confronts Noah about it, and it turns out he feels no shame about what he’s done.  In one of the greatest villainous lines ever delivered, Noah Cross explains the way he sees the world by saying, “Most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they’re capable of ANYTHING.”  The scary thing about the character though is that he’s become so powerful and influential, that he’s now untouchable, and will probably go on doing his deprave things unimpeded until he dies comfortably at an old age.  A lot of credit goes to director turned actor John Huston for portraying that aspect of the character so chillingly.  Huston was an imposing figure both on and off the screen, and he makes Noah Cross one of the cinemas great villains in a terrifying yet subtle way.
“It’s not worth it Mr. Gittes.  It’s really not worth it.”
8.
HansLanda
COLONEL HANS LANDA from INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (2009)
Played by Christoph Waltz
You know you’re a memorable antagonist when you appear in the same film as Adolf Hitler, and you’re still considered the main villain.  That’s the case with Hans Landa, aka the “Jew Hunter”, in Quentin Tarantino’s WWII epic.  Brilliantly portrayed by Christoph Waltz in an Oscar-winning performance, Col. Landa is one of the greatest examples of portraying a character in the opposite way than what is usual.  The majority of time, Nazis are appropriately portrayed as sadistic monsters; best example being Amon Gothe in Schindler’s List, played brilliantly by Ralph Finnes.  What defines Hans Landa, however, is his pleasantness.  He’s polite and courteous, even when he’s committing the most evil of acts.  Behind that beaming smile we know there lies the mind of a true monster.  He lures you in with his pleasant personality, but the moment he turns silent and the smile disappears, that’s when you know you’re in trouble.  The only time he reveals his true nature in the movie is the scene where he chokes the double agent actress to death after returning her shoe, and of course once the deed is done, he smiles again like nothing has happened.  Both Christoph Waltz and Quentin Taratino deserve a lot of credit for creating a villain like this that changes around character archetypes, and as a result, created a true original in Hans Landa.
“Ooooo, that’s a BINGO.  Is that how you say it?”
7.
Maleficent
MALIFICENT from SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959)
Voiced by Elanor Audley
Disney Animation can be credited with creating many of the most memorable villains in cinema history, and it’s mainly due to the fact that their dark villains stand out a lot more in comparison to the usual light-heartedness commonly found in a Disney film.  In many cases, that contrast has led to some notably sinister villains and villainesses; some of whom have inspired some of our darkest nightmares in our childhood.  And if there was a Disney villain that you could pick out as the gold standard of the bunch, it would be Malificent.  The evil fairy from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty has not only become a memorable villain in her own right, but she has gone on to influence many other villains in animated films in the years since.  Anytime when you see an animated film’s villain transform into a giant monster at the film’s climax, it calls back to Malificent’s own transformation into a fire-breathing dragon in the finale of Sleeping Beauty.  That’s an impact that few other villains have had, and Malificent deservedly continues to be popular to this day.  Outside of her film appearance, Malificent has gone on to become the unofficial arch-nemesis of the whole Disney universe, thanks to highlighted roles in things like the Fantasmic show at Disneyland and in video games like Kingdom Hearts.  To be considered the top dog in a rogues gallery as impressive as Disney Animation’s, it’s understandable to see how impactful Malificent has been.
“Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise.  I set my trap for a peasant, an lo, I catch a prince.”
6.
Longshanks
KING EDWARD I (LONGSHANKS) from BRAVEHEART (1995)
Played by Patrick McGoohan
Some of the villains on this list have made it here because they scared me as a child while other have made it because I find them so fascinating.  In terms of Longshanks, however, he made this list just because I find him so entertaining.  The movie Braveheart undoubtedly takes a lot of liberties with history in service of the story, and the portrayal real historical figure King Edward I is no different.  The reason why the film works is that it is unashamed about being a romanticized account of history, through both the writing of the story and the portrayal of it’s characters.  Longshanks, as he’s called frequently in the film, is probably the most transparent, mustache-twirling villain on this list, but he earns his place for just being so overt and over-the-top in his evilness that he becomes entertaining.  Actor Patrick McGoohan is a delight to watch in the role, and he takes such pleasure in being so diabolical.  A lot of the character comes out in the writing as well.  Every line that Longshanks delivers is a snarky put-down to someone else, whether it’s directed at William Wallace or to his own king’s council.  One of the reasons why I hold the film Braveheart in such high regard is because well Longshanks works as a villain.  And only the greatest villains are the ones that command repeat viewings.
“The trouble with Scotland, is that it’s full of Scots.”
5.
 hal9000
HAL 9000 from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
Voiced by Douglas Rain
HAL 9000 is one of the most unusual villains to have ever been conceived for a film.  What makes him such a frightening villain is the fact that he is all intelligence and no emotion, which as it turns out leads to the impulse to murder in this film.  HAL 9000 was created by scientists to perform all of the higher functions of a space shuttle while it’s crew hibernates on the way to their mission near the orbit of Jupiter.  Unfortunately, he was programmed to make sure that nothing got in the way of completing the mission.  With out much wiggle room or clarity in that order, HAL saw the crew itself as a threat to the mission’s success, and he begins killing them off one by one by cutting their life supports.  Only Astronaut Dave Bowman survives and he promptly shuts down HAL before he can do any more damage.  It’s amazing how director Stanley Kubrick could turn such a featureless and zero personality character into such a compelling villain, but the trick works to perfection here.  HAL 9000’s cold, emotionless voice helps in selling the chill factor, as does the omni-presence of the unblinking red eye.  And given our increasing reliance today on electronic devices in our everyday lives, the concept of a dangerous computer mind like HAL’s doesn’t seem that far fetched nowadays.
“I’m sorry Dave.  I cannot do that.”
4.
Mrs_JohnIselin
MRS. ELEANOR ISELIN from THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
Played by Angela Lansbury
It’s a chilling thought to think that you greatest enemy in the world could be your own mother.  But that’s the case in the brilliant John Frankenheimer film, The Manchurian Candidate.  The film centers around a multi-layered conspiracy to assassinate a Presidential candidate that includes brainwashed POW soldiers, Chinese communists spies, a firebrand Senator that’s obviously inspired by Joseph McCarthy, and the Queen of Diamonds.  At the center of the conspiracy is Golden Boy war hero Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), who has been displaying unusual behavior since his return home.  When the mystery starts to unravel, we soon learn that the one pulling all the strings is non other than Raymond’s mother, Elanor, who is married to the fiercely anti-communist Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate John Iselin.  In one of the greatest casting against types ever, Angela Lansbury portrays a truly terrifying mother-figure in Elanor Iselin.  She creates a truly nasty character by balancing the motherly aspects of the character with the more vitriolic aspects.  She also portrays the Oedipal aspects of the relationship with her son in very fearless, and ultimately grotesque ways.  In a political thriller where political games leads to a lot of people doing bad things, Elanor Iselin stands out as a truly dangerous and ruthless manipulator.
“I wanted a killer from a world filled with killers and they chose you.”
3.
Joker
THE JOKER from BATMAN (1989) and THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Played by Jack Nicholson (Batman) and Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
I’m cheating a little bit here, by selecting two different versions of the same character.  It was hard to pick just one, so I thought it was better to put the them together.  The Joker is not only one of the greatest cinematic villains, but also arguably the greatest comic book villain of all times.  A brilliant counter-point figure to the caped crusader, Batman, The Joker has that special ability to be laugh-out-loud funny one minute and then horrifically frightening in the next.  There have been 4 cinematic takes on the character (special mention to Cesar Romero in the 1966 film, and Mark Hamill in the 1993 animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.)  But the two most notable version are the ones played by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger.  Jack Nicholson seemed to be born to play the part, and his performance in the Tim Burton directed feature proves that to be true.  Albeit, he plays up the funnier aspects of the character a little more, but when the movie calls for it, he can be truly terrifying in the role.  Heath Ledger, however, was not the choice people had expected when director Christopher Nolan cast him in the role for The Dark Knight, and he had to overcome a lot of doubt in the audience’s eyes.  Not only did he prove us all wrong, he set the bar even higher with his performance, creating one of the most terrifying villains to ever appear on screen.  Both versions have their merits, but I might rank Heath Ledger’s a little higher, just because of the impact he made.  That’s not to say that Jack’s version is any less fun to watch.  The great thing about the Joker is that like Batman, he will continue to be remade and reinterpreted in both films and comics for years to come.
“Wait until they get a load of me.”
“You want to know how I got these scars?”
2.
NormanBates
NORMAN BATES from PSYCHO (1960)
Played by Anthony Perkins
Like many of the other villains on this list, Norman Bates doesn’t come across as purely evil, until you start to look deeper.  Taking the term Mama’s boy to the ultimate extreme, Norman has become one the greatest villains in cinema history mainly because of how compelling his character is.  He seems so normal and harmless at first, which helps the audience to identify with him right away; that is until we see what he’s really capable of.  Director Alfred Hitchcock always enjoyed subverting conventional wisdom and Hollywood archetypes, and here he transforms the boy next door into a homicidal killer.  We don’t see Norman do a lot of killing in the movie, but that’s not what makes him terrifying.  It’s the psychosis behind the character that makes him a chilling villain.  Anthony Perkins pulls of that balancing act to perfection.  His charming personality in the first half of the film fools us into believing that he is no where near capable of committing murder and that the homicidal one is really his mother.  That notion proves wrong once we see his mothers rotting corpse in the basement and him in his mother’s dress with a butcher knife.  The most terrifying aspect though is that Norman has progressively been loosing more of himself to his psychosis and that he’s developing a split personality based on his mom.  The idea that he sits alone all day having a two way conversation with a rotting corpse is definitely enough to make anyone’s skin crawl and it definitely certifies his place among the most memorable villains ever.
“A boy’s best friend is his mother.”
1.
 alexdelarge
ALEX DELARGE from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
Played by Malcolm McDowell
In most films, a villain will sometimes be a more compelling character than the main protagonist.  In Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, the main protagonist just happens to be the villain.  In this classic film, we are presented with probably the most compelling and memorable portrayal of a true psychopath, and the journey that his life takes.  Alex is an unapologetic violent thug who terrorizes the streets of his hometown along with his gang of followers, whom he calls his Droogies.  Much like the Joker, he also takes delight in doing the most horrible things, and never once feels guilty about it.  He is just pure unchecked evil, which makes his villainy all the more unsettling to watch, especially considering how young he is; in the original novel, Alex is only a teenager.  What makes Alex even more fascinating, however, is what happens to him once he becomes reformed in the latter half of the film.  After being arrested, Alex volunteers for a new experimental treatment, which leaves him docile and unable to give in to his more baser instincts.  As a result of this, he is unable to fight back, and all the people he has wronged start to take out their revenge in ever more increasingly violent ways.  It’s as if Alex is a lightning rod for all evil actions in the world, and if he’s not the one doing it, then he’ll bring it out in even the most good-natured people around him.  Malcolm McDowell plays both aspects of the character brilliantly and unlike most other villains, he makes Alex a villain we want to root for.  I wonder what that says about humanity; that we value even the most extreme of anti-heroes, or that there’s evil instincts in every one of us that we enjoy seeing others act out.  All of this is what makes Alex what I believe to be the best villain in movie history.
“I was cured alright.”
So, these are my choices for the greatest movie villains of all time. I hope that some of these picks are among yours as well.  Out of all this, it’s clear that a great villain has to come from a great story, but that’s not always the case.  Some mediocre story-lines can be improved upon if the villain is memorable enough.  The worst thing that a movie can do is to make their antagonist weak and insignificant, even if their hero is a compelling one.  Villains drive the tension of the film, so it’s essential to make them a worthwhile character. For me, the best villains are the ones that are unexpected and multi-layered.  Overtly evil characters can work some of the time, but the ones that will frighten us more are the ones that are the most like us, which shows the thin line that we all walk between right and wrong.  That’s what makes villainous characters such an integral part of our movie-going experience.  We just enjoy watching characters being bad and loving it.
Focus on a Franchise

Focus on a Franchise – Friday the 13th

jason

After complaining last week about horror franchises that never end, I decided to actually examine one such franchise that has been going on now for over 30 years and still has managed to remain relevant in audience’s eyes.  I’m speaking, of course, about the Friday the 13th franchise, and it’s seemingly unstoppable central villain, Jason Voorhees.  Few other characters have spawned as many movies as Jason has, especially in the horror genre.  For a total of 10 feature films, 2 spin-off crossovers, and one forgettable remake, Jason has earned a place in the pantheon of iconic movie monsters.  Truth be told, I was familiar with the Jason character in general, through cultural osmosis, but I’ve been unfamiliar with many of his films.  Also, the ones that I have seen, I hadn’t seen all the way through.  So, this week, I set out to watch all 10 of the canonical Jason movies (thanks to AMC Network’s movie marathon for the Halloween season).  Albeit, these films were in the edited form, but I was still able to take away from them how the character has been built up over the years and how each movie made an impact on one another.  And watching the series the whole way through led me to some interesting observations.
First of all, what is my take on the series as a whole, before I delve into each one individually?  For the most part, I think the character of Jason himself stands up much better than the movies that feature him.  I actually began to like him more the further I went into the series.  I love the fact that, for the most part, Jason never changes.  He’s an unstoppable killing machine put on this earth to brutally murder randy teenagers who cross his path.  What also surprised me was how every film in the franchise actually followed that same formula through every entry; with mixed results.  The best parts in each movie are when Jason takes out his victims and the unique ways in which he does it. The low points are when the plots slow down to explain away what makes Jason tick.  In the end, who cares.  Jason just is; enough said.  Overall he makes for one memorable character that deserves a long running series; even when not all of the movies are up to the same standard.  Now, let’s take a look at the Friday the 13th series in more detail.
 Friday1
FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
The one that started it all, and a movie that you wouldn’t have expected to have started such a long running series.  Set around the fictional Camp Crystal Lake in New Jersey, a group of camp counselors begin to fall prey to a sadistic serial killer who picks each one of them off, one by one.  Many believe that the killer could be a former camp attendee named Jason Voorhees, who they thought had drowned in the lake years before and has now been resurrected to exact his revenge.  Eventually, only one survivor named Alice (Adrienne King) seeks refuge with Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) in the hopes that she may have answers regarding her murderous son.  But as it turns out, mild-mannered Mrs. Voorhees has been the killer all along, hoping to avenge her son and keep the camp closed.  Alice soon escapes and fights back against Mrs. Voorhees, eventually decapitating her with a wood ax.  The film ends with Alice taking a boat across the lake to safety, but before she can reach the other side, she is attacked from behind by the decaying remains of Jason.
Friday the 13th was highly criticized when it was first released, but I think time has helped to give this film the strong reputation it deserves.  It’s a well-crafted movie that does represent the best qualities of the horror genre.  It’s shocking without being too exploitative and it’s story-line actually offers up some nice surprises.  Betsy Palmer in particular gives an effectively chilling performance as Mrs. Voorhees, where she is able to balance the motherly aspects of the character well with the psychotic aspects, making her a well-rounded villain.  What pleased me most about seeing this film is that all of the traits of a Friday the 13th movie are used here to their full potential, even when the iconic character isn’t present.
Friday2
FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART 2(1981)Directed by Steve Miner
Released only a year after the first movie, which started off the short release pattern seen between the movies in the 80’s, Jason Voorhees made his full-fledged debut in this sequel.  How he went from a child to a full-grown adult between films is never explained fully, but you’ll quickly forget about that once the killing starts.  And Jason’s first victim turns out to be Alice (one again played by Adrienne King), which sets off the feeling right away that this was a new beginning for the franchise.  Again, camp counselors are murdered one by one leaving just one survivor in the end to face Jason in a final showdown.  She manages to outsmart the killer by finding the shrine Jason has set up in his old home with his mother’s rotting remains.  Ginny, the final survivor, puts on Mrs. Voorhees sweater and makes Jason think that she is his mother, which manages to work, leading Ginny to subdue the monster by stabbing him in the back with an ax.  The movie does an effective job of introducing Jason into the series as the killer, but the film suffers a bit by just following the same story-line as the first, more or less.  Albeit, there’s not much more you can build upon in the first place, but it just felt like the film didn’t take enough chances apart from adding Jason, and just felt like more of the same, something that’ll plague most of the films yet to come.
Friday3
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)Directed by Steve Miner
Perhaps the most gimmicky of the Jason films, at least up to this point, this film became the first one to be shot in 3D.  So, pretty much you’ll be seeing a lot of things pointing straight at the camera while watching this movie.  That works well enough when you see someone’s eye get poked out with an arrow as it shots right off the screen, but when you start to see someone holding a shovel out in front of them for no reason other than to take advantage of the 3D gimmick, then it begins to take you out of the film all together.  That’s part of the problem with Part 3; it just seemed to be made solely for the purpose of producing 3D gore.  The story-line is exactly the same as the others and even steals some of the better scares out of the first two, including the body coming out of the lake scare.  What is noteworthy in this film however is that it introduces one of the most iconic elements of the Jason character; the hockey mask.  Surprisingly, for something that has become so synonymous with the character, it is given very little importance in this film.  Jason just casually picks it up in a garage and puts it on and that’s that.  But I guess like everything else in this series, the small things gain significance over time.
Friday4
FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984)Directed by Joseph Zito
Obviously with a title like that, you would think that this was meant to be the final Jason film, as parent studio Paramount Pictures wanted to put the series to rest after the previous movie had under-performed.  Of course, this wouldn’t be the end of Jason Voorhees by a long shot; and in fact this movie would be the start of what would be known as the “Tommy Jarvis Trilogy” in the series.  Jason once again begins murdering teenagers around Camp Crystal Lake, until he runs into the Jarvis family.  Trish Jarvis (Kimberly Beck) holds up her family in the lakeside cabin they call home, including her younger brother Tommy (a pre-Goonies Corey Feldman).  Eventually Jason follows them to their final refuge and is about to kill Trish when he is suddenly distracted by a quick thinking Tommy.  In a weird finale to the film, Tommy distracts the monster by shaving his own head and making himself look like a young Jason without his mask.  Once subdued, Jason is soon brutally killed by a crazed Tommy, to Trish’s horror.  You heard that right, Jason meets his match, and it’s Corey Feldman.  The ending to this film is a strange one, but it certainly left a much better impression on the series than the previous two films had.
Friday5
FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING (1985)    Directed by Danny Steinmann
Set several years after the previous film, we find Tommy Jarvis (now played as a teenager by John Sheppard) still haunted by the ordeal he went through as he recovers in a halfway house for troubled youths.  One of his fellow residents named Joey is murdered in cold blood by another resident, and this incident suddenly begins a string of other murders.  No one knows who is doing it until Tommy and a younger resident named Reggie spot the masked man in the act.  This leaves Tommy powerless as he is still deeply haunted by Jason, but eventually he gets the courage to face his fears and subdue the murderer.  Once the masked man is killed, we find out that it wasn’t Jason after all, but the father of the murdered Joey, seeking vengeance on the halfway house and its residents.  This is the best of the Tommy Jarvis films and probably the best entry since the first Friday the 13th.  It manages to give the story some depth when it needs it, but still keep the gory aspects as ridiculous and gruesome as ever.  I liked the twist at the end that the killer was only posing as Jason, which was an interesting change of pace.  The only aspect I didn’t like though was actually Tommy Jarvis himself.  Actor John Sheppard just kind of sleepwalks through the film and makes Tommy a rather passive protagonist.  Honestly, when you’re making Corey Feldman look like the better actor, then you’ve got a problem.  The film does close on an interesting note, however, when Tommy dons the mask and looks as if he may become the next Jason himself.
Friday6
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (1986)     Directed By Tom McLoughlin
Unfortunately, the follow-up film drops that interesting idea from Part 5 in favor of more of the same.  The film finds Tommy Jarvis (now played by Thom Mathews) digging up the body of Jason in the hopes that he can destroy him once and for all, just in case he might come back.  To his dismay, the body of Jason is reanimated once the coffin is open by a sudden bolt of lightning.  And, like a hornet returning to it’s nest, Jason goes right back to Crystal Lake and begins killing teenage camp counselors once again.  Tommy follows him there and manages to get Jason back into the lake by tying a huge boulder to the monster and drowning him once again.  There’s not much to this plot and it rather weakly ties up the Tommy Jarvis story-line.  What’s interesting about this film is that it introduces more self-referential humor into the series, much like what we’ve seen in the Scream films; for good and for bad.  There’s a hilarious bit where Jason takes out a bunch of paint-ball shooters in the woods and Jason’s first victim is none other than Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter, or more specifically actor Ron Pallilo.  But some of the other bits of humor seem either too forced or out of place.  Overall, the story-line felt like a step backwards after the interesting turns it had taken in the previous installments.
Friday7
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD (1988)    Directed by Joel Carl Buechler
This film could be considered Jason meets Carrie, although the title character from Stephen King’s famous novel plays no part in this story-line.  In this movie, we are introduced to Tina Shepard (Lar Park Lincoln) who has telekinetic powers that she struggles to control.  She is being brought back to Crystal Lake for treatment after an incident years ago with her powers had killed her father and left her in a mental institution.  While at the lake, she attempts to bring her father back to life, but unintentionally she resurrects Jason, still anchored by the stone at the bottom.  Once free, Jason begins attacking a group of vacationing teenagers housed at the lake, some of whom Tina has befriended.  Tina soon learns that her powers are an asset rather than a curse, as she uses them to combat Jason and protect herself.  Eventually she manages to return Jason back to the lake and hopefully has him destroyed for good.  This film adds a lot of new things in the series and does them right.  This is by far one of the better entries in the franchise, even if it has some of the same flaws as some of the other films.  I like the injection of another supernatural element into the story-line, which could have been problematic if done poorly, but here it actually works.   Lar Park Lincoln’s performance is much better than it needs to be and she manages to create a compelling protagonist in Tina.  Also, we finally get to see what lies under the mask and a lot of credit goes to the make-up crew for creating a truly terrifying look for Jason.  We see that he is now more creature than man, helping to make this both a terrifying and enriching entry into the series.
Friday8
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN (1989) Directed by Rob Hedden
The title for this film is misleading because Jason doesn’t make it to New York until the final act.  A better title would’ve been Jason’s Final Voyage, because the majority of the movie takes place on a ship travelling up the Jersey Shore; which looks an awful lot like Vancouver, BC.  This film is much weaker mainly because it is one of the more gimmicky Jason movies.  Mainly we just watch how many ways Jason can kill his victims on a boat, and that’s the movie.  There’s some character development around a teenage girl named Rennie and her fear of water at play in this movie, but that’s about it.  The film does gain some steam towards the end once Jason and the survivors reach dry land on Manhattan Island, mainly because they exploit the locals pretty effectively.  When Jason chases down Rennie and her boyfriend down a subway, it’s effectively harrowing.  Most of the rest of the movie is far less terrifying and oftentimes more unintentionally silly.  I usually find that when a film series has to start injecting gimmicks into it’s story-lines, its a sign that the series is losing it’s way, and Jason Takes Manhattan is a clear example of that.  That being said, Jason is still the best element in the movie, and he gets one really great moment when he faces down a champion boxer and takes his head off in one blow.
Friday9
JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (1993)Directed by Adam Marcus
After a decade long run and 8 total films, Paramount was done with Jason and they sold the rights to the character over to New Line Cinema, the home of another horror icon: Freddy Kruger.  Out of this deal, New Line started off their Jason “era” with this entry, the ninth in the series. Unfortunately this is the worst one by far.  Here’s a “clever” idea for you; Jason dies in the first scene in the movie, but then transforms into a parasite that invades human bodies and turns them into monstrous killers.  This lame idea somehow made it passed the development stage and became the basis of this really stupid movie.  The Jason parasite makes no sense whatsoever, not even in the convoluted logic that has been built up in this series over the years, and sadly reduces the effectiveness of the character as a whole.  Not only that, the plot and the supporting characters are also laughably bad.  Even an attempt to create a bad-ass supernatural bounty hunter named Creighton Duke (Steven Williams) falls flat.  For a while, this movie was so notoriously toxic that it killed the franchise for many years; not a good start for New Line Cinema.  It’s a reaction that I totally understand.  After watching all the films in succession, this was the film that nearly made me give up on the marathon.  Yes, even Jason going to Manhattan didn’t make me want to stop watching the series.  One particular interesting note about the film though is that after Jason is dragged down to Hell at the end, his mask is left behind, only to be dragged away by the claw-like glove of Freddy Kruger; a sign of things to come, but not for a long time after.
Friday10
JASON X (2002)Directed by James Isaac
Nearly ten years after Jason Goes to Hell sank the franchise, New Line tried once again to make another Jason film, and this time they attempted probably the biggest and most outlandish gimmick of them all; taking Jason into Outer Space.  Now a premise like that would lead you to believe that the series was getting desperate and that anything that made Jason a viable character before was now gone; but you would be wrong.  Jason X fits squarely in that “so bad it’s good” category that you usually see happen to a lot of the SyFy channel brand of films.  In fact, the movie does have the same look and feel of one of those notorious SyFy movies, like Sharknado.  I think that has a lot to do with the execution done by director Isaac and his crew.  The movie is reverential towards the Jason character and all of the common elements that make up a classic “slasher” movie, but it also plays out everything with it’s tongue firmly planted in its cheek.  The characters are thinly drawn stereotypes on purpose, the CGI effects are atrociously awful, and the murders are so outlandish that you can’t help but laugh through it all.  That helps to make Jason X not only tolerable, but probably the most thoroughly entertaining film in the series.  Credit goes to the filmmakers for finding the right balance in this film.  Unlike Part VI, every gag works here.  And not only that, but it goes a long way towards enhancing the Jason character even further; especially when he becomes part cyborg towards the end.  It’s great to see a film series actually change pace and tone 10 movies in and make it work.  It’s no masterpiece, but I’m glad I stuck in there long enough to make it to Jason X, especially after the garbage that was Jason Goes to Hell.
And so, that’s my look at the Friday the 13th franchise.  After seeing all ten films, I can appreciate the fact that people hold up Jason Voorhees as one of the icons of horror.  I like that what started off as a small scale murder mystery in the first film has grown more outlandish over time, eventually leading to Jason being the first mass-murderer in space.  While about half of the series is fairly forgettable (Parts 2, 3, 6, and 8) to just downright awful (Jason Goes to Hell), there are a couple films that do stand out as effective, like the memorable first entry and Part 7.  Also, the series did create one gonzo of a finale with Jason X, which kind of falls into a category all it’s own.  I didn’t look at the Freddy vs. Jason crossover because I felt that’s a separate franchise set apart from this, other than the tease in Jason Goes to Hell.  Also, I’m ignoring the bland 2009 remake, mainly because it reinforces my initial complaint about how remakes are diminishing the horror genre as a whole by completely missing the point about what made these horror classics work in the first place.  Jason’s rampage in cinemas may be over for now, but his legacy is still ongoing and it’s one that has left an impact on the genre for the better.
Editorials

Not So Scary – Modern Horror Movies and the Lack of Genuine Scares

 

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Horror movies have been around since the very beginning of cinema.  From F.W. Murnau’s classic vampire flick Nosferatu (1922) to Universal Studio’s monster movies like Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931), audiences have made watching scary films a long standing tradition.  And, like most other genres, horror has grown and evolved with the times, satisfying the changing tastes of it’s audiences.  In the 50’s, we saw the rise of the Sci-fi monster movies and in the 60’s and 70’s, “schlock” horror began to become popular, thanks to relaxed restraints over acceptable on-screen violence.  It is a genre that has more or less stayed strong in every decade and is much more adaptable than any other genre of film.  But, in recent years, I have noticed that there has been a severe drop off in horror movies that actually leave a mark.  It seems that today, studios are more interested in quantity over quality and its a trend that is having a negative effect on the genre as a whole.  My belief is that studios are using the horror genre as a way to generate a quick influx of cash, knowing that there is a built in audience of people who watch horror movies no matter what it is.  That’s why you see so many horror films quickly drop off after their opening weekend.  There seems to be the belief nowadays that you can pass off something as a horror movie if it has one or two big scares; but the reality is that the best horror films don’t always rely on things that make us jump out of our seats.
What makes a great Horror movie is the use of atmosphere.  This has been the case since the very beginning; back when cinema was still silent.  F.W. Murnau’s silent masterpiece Nosferatu shows exactly how atmosphere can be used to signify terror.  In the movie, we see how simple staging and effective use of shadows can be used to terrifying effect.  The vampire Count Orlok, played by actor Max Schreck, is able to strike at his victims using just his shadow, an image in the film that is made simply with the movie’s use of lighting, but still done with chilling effectiveness.  Early Hollywood horror films likewise made great use of atmosphere.  If you look at a movie like Dracula, there is actually very little on-screen violence present.  Instead, the film presents a feeling of dread through the gloomy atmosphere of the vampire’s castle.  Thanks to that, and Bela Lugosi’s iconic performance, you don’t need to see the bloodletting of Dracula’s victims in order to be scared.  This has helped to give these movies lasting power over so many years.  It’s amazing that movies made in the early days of cinema can still be scary, given all the limitations they had.  And given all the bad things we’ve seen happen to movie vampires in recent years (I’m looking at you Twilight), I’m glad that Lugosi’s version of the Count still can create a chill.
Understandably, the horror genre has had to grow and evolve with the times in order to survive, but for many years there was still an emphasis on atmosphere at play.  The more rebellious era of the 70’s allowed for more use of onscreen violence, and while many filmmakers perhaps went a little overboard in this period, there were a few that actually made an impact.  Dario Argento created films that were not only gory but also artistically staged like The Cat of Nine Tales (1971), Deep Red (1975) and the very twisted Suspiria (1977), which showed off how atmosphere could still be used to enhance the gore on film.  Director George A. Romero likewise used atmosphere effectively in a sub-genre of horror that he helped create; the zombie flick.  Despite the fact that these directors were given more leeway to do what they wanted, what made their early work so effective was in how they showed restraint.  You can show a lot more in horror movies nowadays, but sometimes what remains unseen becomes the scariest element, and that’s why films of this era managed to be effective.  The filmmakers knew when to be shocking and when to show restraint, based on what the horror movies that inspired them had done in the past.  But, as generations of filmmakers become more desensitized to what can be allowed in a horror movie, that sense of restraint also goes away.
The problem that I see in most modern horror movies today is that there is no self-restraint left in them.  For the most part, the filmmakers chose to throw atmosphere out the window in favor of “jump scares.”  A “jump scare” is when something suddenly pops onto screen out of nowhere in an attempt to make the audience scream and jump all at the same time, usually accompanied with a loud music cue to maximize effect.  A “jump scare” can work, when it is used sparingly, but too many films today are overusing it, which diminishes it’s effectiveness over time.  One of the best examples of a jump scare is actually in a film that you would consider more of a thriller than a horror movie; Jaws (1975).  The scene in question is when scientist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) is investigating a shark attack on a fishing boat at night.  While examining the hole in the bottom of the boat, a severed head pops out suddenly, creating a genuine scare for both him and the audience.  This scene is effective because it is unexpected and is built up thanks to the atmosphere of the moment.  Also, it is one of the few times that director Steven Spielberg actually uses a “jump scare” in the movie.  The  fewer times it happens, the more effective it is, and unfortunately that’s a technique that few horror filmmakers today understand.  When you use a technique too many times, it becomes tiresome and the audiences become more aware of it.  Unfortunately, too many filmmakers get carried away and have too much fun creating these kinds of “jump scares.”
One other problem I have noticed with modern horror films is the over-abundance of CGI.  While computer effects can sometimes be helpful in a horror film, like making it look like a character has lost a limp or manipulating an environment in a way that defies physics, there is a larger problem of effects work making moments that should be scary less so.  The problem is that most computer effects look too artificial.  Of course, when you see puppetry and prosthetic work used in horror movies, they are far from realistic too, but those effects are at least are physical in nature and actors can still interact with them.  When you see a horror movie use CGI too much, you just know that the actors are reacting to nothing else but a green screen effect.  A recent movie like Mama (2013), loses all effective chills when you see the digital apparition in it appear.  This is more apparent in smaller budget horror films, which you can kinda excuse due to limitations in budgets.  But when a bigger budget horror film, like the upcoming Carrie remake, looks so pathetic because of the overdone CGI effects, then you begin to see how digital imagery has a negative effect on the genre.  Even a good horror film like World War Z suffered from some unnecessary CGI work, which had the unfortunate affect of making the zombies less frightening.  If ever there was a place where I wish horror filmmakers would show more restraint, it would be here.
One other problem that I see plaguing the horror genre is the lack of original ideas.  Today we are seeing an overabundance of the same kinds of ideas used over and over again.  Seriously, how many haunted house movies do we need?  Not only that, there are far too many remakes and sequels in the horror genre.  Do we really need seven Saw movies and four Paranormal Activities?  Horror sequels have become so absurdly common, that we have ridiculous titles like The Last Exorcism 2 and A Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia appear as a result; and yes that second title is real.  I see it as commerce taking precedence over artistic vision, and the fact that film studios are more likely to invest in something already established than in something new.  Every now and then, you do see a movie with a fresh idea come about, like Paranormal Activity in 2007, but even that was driven into ground with too many follow ups with diminishing returns.
Remakes are also a negative factor in horror movies today.  What you usually see in these horror remakes are films that get rid of all the atmosphere from the originals in favor of upping the gore factor and the scary bits; just because filmmakers have the ability to do now what could only be implied at in the past.  The problem with this is that it completely misses the point of what made the original films so effective in the first place.  A particular example is the terrible remake of John Carpenter’s The Thing, which loses all of the substance of the original in favor of just making the film as gory as possible.  Gore does not equal scary.  Filmmakers like Carpenter knew that, and that’s why they used gore sparingly.  The sad thing is that remakes try to one up these originals because the tools today are so much better; but it fails miserably every time.
Thankfully, despite the attempts by Hollywood to try to push the Horror genre into more exploitative territories, the classics still hold up all these years later.  Even a 90 year old film like Nosferatu still gives audiences chills to this day.  And I think that it all comes down to atmosphere.  It’s like how people tell ghost stories around a campfire.  Would you rather listen to the story that builds up to a chilling ending that’ll leave you with nightmares, or would you rather listen to someone’s story that gets caught up in the gory details and then just ends without a payoff?  That’s what’s being lost in horror movies today.  The classics knew how to build their stories around scary ideas, and not just the imagery.  The Twilight Zone became popular on television because it presented us with unsettling scenarios that made us anxious the longer we thought about them.  Not once did we see the monster on the wing of a plane attack William Shatner in the famous episode; it was the frightening possibilities that could have come about that made the episode scary and also Shatner’s paranoia in his performance.  The best horror movies have staying power because they knew that their audiences had the imaginations capable of filling in the gory details that remained unseen.
So, is horror a dying genre?  Of course not.  There is an abundance of terrible horror movies out there, but that’s only because the market has been flooded.  Every now and then, a fresh new idea comes along and not only makes an impact, but it will also go on to influence the genre as a whole.  One thing that I would like to see an end to in the horror genre is the over-abundance of terrible remakes.  Just looking at the new Carrie remake trailer makes me laugh, because it’s taking everything that worked in the original and makes it less subtle.  I believe it strongly; CGI, and shaky-cam for that matter, are making horror films less frightening.  They are showy techniques that ruin atmosphere needed for a good horror movie and I wish more filmmakers would show more restraint.  I’ve stayed away from horror films generally because of this, and the horror movies that I gravitate towards are ones that have been around a long time.  If you’re wondering which one I consider my favorite, it would be Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980).  Talk about a film that makes the most out of it’s atmosphere.  I hope that other horror filmmakers take a look at what makes the classics as scary as they are, and learn the effectiveness of restraint.  You’d be surprised how much a little scare can go when it’s built up well enough.
Movie Reviews

Gravity – Review

 

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A realization of someones worst nightmare or a rousing adventure into the outer limits.  Either way you look at it, there’s no denying that director Alfonso Cuaron’s new space-set thriller Gravity is one unforgettable cinematic experience.  I was looking forward to this film ever since the first heart-pounding trailer made it to screens months ago.  I was worried a bit that the film would be a let down, because the marketing was so strong and the trailers were so intense, but thankfully my fears were moot once I saw the final product.  Gravity is a film unlike anything I have ever seen before and may very well stand as one of my picks for the best of the year.  It comes with my highest recommendation, though I should also stress that this film probably won’t be for everyone.  This movie is essentially a survival film set in the most unforgiving environment that mankind has ever ventured into; outer space.  And while this is something we have seen before in other sci-fi films (parts of Alien (1979) comes to mind), none of them have ever been done on this scale and with this kind of authenticity.  Harrowing would be the best word to describe the film’s benchmark action scenes, and believe me, they will be agonizing to some people out there.
The plot is beautifully simplistic; keeping everything focused on the situation at hand without any outside distractions.  In fact, the movie begins with the inciting incident in the very first shot, and the rest of the film just follows through to the very end as if it’s making things up as it goes along.  The story follows a couple of astronauts repairing a satellite in Earth’s orbit when suddenly their shuttle is struck by space debris from an exploded Russian satellite.  This incident leaves only two survivors, Astronauts Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), both of whom are left drifting in orbit without any way to get down.  Their only means of escape is to get to another space station within a reasonable distance.  This is not without peril considering that their oxygen supply is low and the debris field is headed back their way within 90 minutes.  This is essentially the plot to the film, and without spoiling what happens next, I will say that the film deftly handles this premise perfectly; letting things play out logically and keeping the main thrust of the plot in focus throughout the whole of the run time.
What is remarkable about the movie, and what helps to make it feel so real, is the way that Alfonso Cuaron has edited it together.  If you know anything about Cuaron’s work, you’d know that he is a fan of the extended tracking shot.  This technique is when the camera continues to roll and follow the action on-screen without ever cutting, sometimes for minutes on end.  This was prominent in Cuaron’s 2006 film Children of Men, which featured two such shots, both of which ran continuously for about 6 minutes in length.  That’s like an eternity in film editing and to pull one of these off requires a lot of pre-planned staging.  If one actor messes up the shot, it means that everything has to go back to where it started in order to get everything right in one take.  This is why the technique is rarely used, because of the extra effort involved, but it’s a challenge that Cuaron has gotten so good at doing, that it’s become a staple in his films.  Gravity is no exception. The opening shot alone runs continuously for 12 minutes before the first cut appears.  Now, of course, I’m sure the staging of this shot was helped greatly by the aid of CGI enhancement, but still it requires a lot of faith in the audience to stay involved.  And the shot is a remarkable way to introduce us into the film.  We see the Earth from space at first and then slowly, a space shuttle comes into view and we begin to hear the com chat of the astronauts, introducing them individually to us, all before the debris begins to rain down.
It’s a remarkable beginning to the film and I can’t think of anyone who won’t be hooked after watching this opening take place.  Cuaron has certainly mastered the art of the tracking shot and best of all, it actually goes a long way towards establishing everything we need to know in this movie, regarding the story, the characters and the setting.  The rest of the film continues to follow along in this style of story-telling, and I don’t think there is more than 20-30 shots in the entire movie.  You would think that a movie wouldn’t be able to sustain it’s tension over a long period of time if it didn’t cut to other things once in a while, but in this movie, it’s an essential element.  It adds to the claustrophobia felt in the characters predicament.  I don’t think any other film has done this good of a job portraying what it actually feels like to be in outer space.  As the characters are drifting around in space, you are right there with them, experiencing the emptiness of the setting. There is no external sound except what we hear from the astronauts’ transmissions.  When something big happens, it builds and builds the longer the shot goes on, which makes the tension even stronger.  Overall, you get that feeling of being un-tethered to existence and being consumed by the nothingness of space, which in the end is a very terrifying thing.
That’s why I think this film will put of some viewers.  I think that everyone will agree it is a good movie in the end, but for some people it will be a one and done experience.  This movie will test you; no doubt about it, and I think that’s a testament to the film’s authenticity.  This movie must have been very well researched because the atmosphere in this film is so fully realized.  Again, the editing has a lot to do with that, but the design and camera teams have likewise done a commendable job here.  I almost guarantee that cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki will win an Oscar for his work, not only for the amazing tracking shots, but for the way he utilizes the effects work in this film as well.  This is an outer space that is not stylized or minimized; it looks about as real as actual NASA footage.  The way that the earth fills the screen in many shots is also a chief design element, and it really helps to establish the immensity of the setting.  And by making it all feel real, it all gives the viewer a “you are there” feeling, which only enhances the feeling of anxiety when something goes wrong.  Believe me, the audience I watched the film with was so tensed up by what they were watching that you could have heard a pin drop in the theater.  It’s rare to see a movie do that nowadays, when so many films are geared towards making an audience laugh and cheer at every turn, whether it succeeds or not.  For a movie to leave an audience silent throughout the whole showing is quite an accomplishment itself, so the filmmakers should be pleased in having done that.
And while there’s a lot of great work done with the style and staging in this film, I am pleased to see that the actors involved didn’t get lost in the thick of it all.  The cast is minimal to an extreme degree; meaning there are only two actors in the entire film that have any face time.  I should especially single out Sandra Bullock, since she is onscreen for pretty much the entire film, and she makes the most of it.  I believe this is the most impressive work she has done to date.  She captures both the vulnerability and the strength of the character in a very believable way, and makes Ryan Stone a character that we want to see make it out of this ordeal alive.  She is effectively our guide through this adventure.  We see everything through her eyes and every mishap she encounters is given a personal resonance that the audience will surely feel along with her.  Sandra Bullock manages to embody this character without a single inauthentic note in her performance, and that’s a pleasing thing to see in a challenging movie like this.  George Clooney’s performance may not be as nuanced as Sandra Bullock’s, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be either.  He’s supposed to be the handsome and charming astronaut character in this film, and that’s exactly what Clooney is good at. He provides the film with some much needed levity, and his inclusion is a good balance for the movie.  It’s rare when you get a film with a cast this small, but I’m certainly happy that the two actors involved made it work.
Any flaw you may find in this film may come from the different attempts the filmmakers made in extending the film’s run time, which is a surprisingly compact 91 minutes.  Admittedly, the film hits it’s lowest points when things start to settle down, but that is a rare occurrence.  Also, the authenticity feels as real as it possibly can be, but I don’t know if everything is scientifically sound. Some people may nitpick and say that some moments could never happen in reality, particularly towards the end, but I doubt that anyone will make much of a fuss over this film.  This movie is a standout and rightfully earns it’s place among other sci-fi classics.  Alfonso Cuaron crafted this movie as both an experience and an inspiring portrayal of man’s ingenuity in the face of nature’s extremes.  I can see this film inspiring a lot of other people to take an interest in space exploration, even when it turns just as many people off that kind of idea.  There are even some subtle loving nods to other sci-fi classics, like 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Alien (1979), which shows where Cuaron had clearly drawn some of his inspiration.  Also, it makes sense that the voice of the unseen Mission Control commander in this movie is none other than actor Ed Harris, who played the same kind of role in Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 (1995).
This movie succeeds on every level, and I’m glad to see a film actually live up to it’s potential and deliver on what it promises.  The trailers for the film did a good job of conveying the intensity of the film, but the entire experience is something that everyone should take in, even though it will push a lot of people harder than they would like to.  I should also mention that I watched this movie in IMAX 3D, and if there was ever a film that was justified for this format, this was it.  The IMAX screen does a lot towards enhancing the vastness of the outer space setting, which made all of those heart-pounding scenes even more of an experience.  The 3D also was used effectively, if not entirely un-noticeable.  Sometimes you’d see a piece of debris shoot past the camera or a drop of liquid floating in mid-air, but otherwise everything else was subtly done in three-dimensions. Overall, one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve had so far this year, and I’m sure that many will share that same feeling.  I’m pleased to see a director like Alfonso Cuaron pushing his cinematic styles into new places, because it leads to unforgettable experiences like this one.  Hopefully, whatever project he chooses next will be as engaging as this one.  It’s rare to see a movie be “out-of-this-world” and so grounded at the same time; something all audiences must see just for the experience alone.
Rating: 9/10
Top Ten Lists

Top Ten Movie Endings That Left Us Stunned

 

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This weekend we say goodbye to one of the most unforgettable and cinematic television shows of all time; Breaking Bad.  But, like all great TV shows, there is enormous pressure on this one to deliver on what will be the final 60 minutes of the series, given how every episode before has led up to this.  So many great TV shows try to go out big and even take some risks with their finales, in order to put a final stamp on everything.  What is interesting is that while TV shows benefit from having multiple episodes available to build their story-lines over time towards a big, shocking conclusion, movies on the other hand have very little room to give us a similar unexpected ending. Movies deviate little from the standard three act structure and it’s almost inevitable that everything in them leads to a nice clean ending where good triumphs over evil.  But, every now and then, there are movies that decide not to play it safe and throw out all audiences’ expectations in favor of an ending that challenges the very idea of happy endings all together.
It’s a risky thing for filmmakers to pull of, given that you have to set everything in motion in the story towards a finish that may anger people.  Not only that, movies have only a two hour limit to make us invested enough in what’s going on in order for the ending to have any impact.  For an movie ending to leave an audience stunned, it usually ends up doing one of a handful of things:  it let’s evil win in the end, or has the main hero suddenly killed, or has a deus-ex-machina interference steer the story in an entirely different direction.  While many films have tried this over the years, I have chosen ten here that I think represent the best stunning endings to a movie ever.  These are the endings that left a chilling impact once the credits started rolling and while some came at me like a punch to the gut, there were others that took their time and still surprised.  But what they all have in common is that they took major risks and still ultimately satisfied.
10.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007) – “I’M FINISHED”

You could say that this scene delivers on what the title promises.  But what’s surprising about it is the fact that it’s the note on which we leave this film.  Director Paul Thomas Anderson is known for his ability to throw in some way out-there endings to his movies, but this scene in particular is his most perfectly constructed and ultimately his most satisfying.  The movie There Will Be Blood follows the rise of an oil baron named Daniel Plainview (brilliantly played by Daniel Day-Lewis) who uses his intelligence and cunning to build a successful drilling operation, while at the same time running at odds with a local small town preacher named Eli Sunday (Paul Dano).  The ending finds Mr. Plainview old and alone in his opulent mansion and being visited by Eli who’s looking to start up a business deal with him.  Most other films would have Daniel Plainview see the error of his ways and repentant to the underdog Eli; but not this film.  Instead, the atheistic Plainview turns the tables on false prophet Eli and he takes out his revenge, beating him to death with a bowling pin.  It’s an inevitable conclusion given that it’s what happens when you put two horrible people in the same room together, but the surprising thing is the joy that we take in seeing this scene play out.  A bad guy learns nothing and commits murder in the movie’s final moments, and that makes for a happy finish to this film.
9.
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) – “STAR CHILD”

Stanley Kubrick’s grand opus has so many big things going on throughout it’s 148 minute running time.  So, how does he end it all?  By confusing the hell out of all of us.  And as a result, it became one of the most unforgettable and most debated endings of all time.  The film concludes with astronaut Dave Bowman finding a mysterious Monolith floating in orbit around Jupiter which then leads him into a Star Gate and on an unforgettable, trippy ride.  He soon finds himself in an eerie white room where he ages rapidly; ultimately revisited once again by the monolith and then transformed into a “star child,” a supposedly next step in human evolution.  The whole of 2001 is a mind trip, but it’s these last few ponderous scenes that leaves audiences bewildered all these years later.  It’s a genius move by Kubrick to leave things unexplained; instead letting the journey there be the thing on which to conclude the film.  It’s both awe-inspiring and a little unsettling, as we see the evolved Dave floating down to Earth.  Is this new being going to be a gift to human kind, or a harbinger of the end.  Kubrick didn’t need to answer that question.  The other-worldly image is enough to go out on.  And a little help from Richard Strauss doesn’t hurt either.
8.

SEVEN (1995) – “WHAT’S IN THE BOX?”

Some of the most shocking endings come about when the filmmakers make the decision to have the villain become the victor in the end.  That was definitely the case in David Fincher’s crime thriller Seven.  At the end of the film, a serial killer who’s been choosing his victims based off of the biblical Seven Deadly Sins willingly turns himself in.  The detectives on the case (played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) make John Doe (Kevin Spacey) lead them to the location of his last murder.  What happens next is both shocking and unexpected; John Doe has planned this moment all along, having a package delivered to their very location containing the head of Pitt’s girlfriend inside.  John Doe wants the distraught cop to kill him as a fulfillment of his whole plan, which ends up happening.  It’s a challenging finale, because even though the villain is slain, he still got what he wanted.  The ending is one of the bleakest ever put on screen, defying most Hollywood conventions.  Few filmmakers would ever dare make audiences sit through a disturbing and often grim crime thriller only to deliver no peaceful resolution in the end; but Seven took that risk and gave us an unforgettable conclusion.  Given the right actor and a good build up, audiences can willingly accept an unforgiving ending like this.
7.

THE GODFATHER PART II (1974) – “FREDO SLEEPS WITH THE FISHES”

On the other end of the spectrum, here’s a case where the villain gets what he wants, and it destroys him.  Director Francis Ford Coppola concluded the first Godfather with another montage of slaughter, but this one has more of a sting based on who gets whacked in it.  In this one, we find Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) ordering his men to take his older brother Fredo (John Cazale) out into the lake to go “fishing.”  Inter-cut with the assassination of Corleone rival Hyman Roth (Lee Strasburg) and the suicide of turn-coat informer Frankie Pentangeli (Michael Gazzo), our final image of Fredo is of him quietly reciting the Hail Mary, which then cuts back to Michael staring out from his porch, lowering his head when the gunshot is heard.  This ending marks the complete disintegration of Michael’s soul and it’s a notorious conclusion to such an epic story.  While inevitable, it was still no less shocking to audiences to see a big movie end on such a grim note.  But that’s what makes the Godfather movies so memorable.  The fact that the once noble Michael became so ruthless that he would order the death of his own brother ruined any notion of redemption by film’s end and the final image of Michael sitting alone in his garden is a sad but suitable conclusion to the movie.  It’s a rare case where a bleak finish becomes the most satisfying.
6.

THE BIRDS (1963) – “LEAVING TOWN”

Alfred Hitchcock was no stranger to making his films dark.  Three years earlier he shocked the world with the murder thriller Psycho (1960).  But his bleakest ending would actually come in this follow-up.  While most Hitchcock movies have shocker endings, they almost always finish with the villain getting their comeuppance.  In The Birds, the antagonist is Mother Nature herself, so how does our cast of characters overcome this.  In the end, they don’t.  The final scene of the movie finds our main character Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) scarred both physically and emotionally after an attack from a flock of birds in her lover’s (Rod Taylor) safe house.  The survivors in the house must quietly flee and leave the bird infested town behind in order to get Melanie the help she needs.  The helplessness of this scene is what makes it so chilling.  At this point in the movie, the main characters have no options left but to leave everything behind, effectively giving up.  Few movies in this period of time would let a movie end with it’s heroes defeated so thoroughly; even a Hitchcock movie.  But the master director had the confidence to pull it off and as a result gave audiences an effectively bleak conclusion.  You  can still see the impact this film has had to this day in the way that modern disaster films have tried to copy the resonance of this ending; albeit with less successful results.
5.

BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) – “LOVERS AMBUSHED”

This ending isn’t surprising for anyone who knows the history behind the true life story.  Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) are gunned down after a long string of notorious bank robberies that garnered them national attention.  What makes this scene so shockingly memorable is the unflinching carnage of the moment.  We feel the characters’ pain as they look into each other’s eyes the moment before the bullets begin to rain out, knowing that there is no hope left for them.  The gunfire is loud and impactful, just further enhancing the brutality of it all.  Audiences had never seen this level of violence in a movie before, and this also led to a backlash from critics, many of whom claimed that the film was reveling too much in the onscreen violence.  Director Arthur Penn never meant for this scene to be exploitative at all.  The extended slaughter was meant to be impactful, making the conclusion more true to life than what movies had done before.  The scene continues to be memorable to this day, even after modern movie violence has diminished the shock value of this scene.  Bonnie and Clyde may have not been shocking as a historical retelling, but it did stun audiences enough to leave an impression on cinema as a whole.
4.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995) – “KEYSER SOZE REVEALED”

Once again, a shocking ending featuring Kevin Spacey.  Released in the same year as Seven, this became one of the most talked about movie twists ever.  Kevin Spacey’s character, Verbal Kint, tells his side of a story to Det. Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) about how he was the only survivor in his group of crooks who were ambushed by a master criminal named Keyser Soze.  The whole film, we are left wondering who Keyser Soze is and if he will reveal himself by the end of the movie.  The answer comes at the end when Det. Kujan lets Verbal Kint out of his custody, confident that he’s gotten all he can out of him.  But moments later, Kujan realizes that everything he has been told was actually a lie, pieced together from things and names right there in his office. Verbal Kint, who’s been seen as a cripple for the whole movie is seen dropping his limp and we soon realize that he was Keyser Soze the whole time.  This ending takes the incredible risk of making the audience accept the fact that everything they have watched so far was a lie, which can put off an audience if executed poorly.  The scene manages to work on the strength of Spacey’s performance and the confidence in the story that director Bryan Singer had.  Audiences were stunned by this lie pulled on them, but it made learning the truth all the more satisfying.
3.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) – “LUKE…I AM YOUR FATHER”

You rarely see a big franchise picture take a big risk and end one of their films on a shocking and downbeat note.  But that’s what George Lucas and company did in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.  In this movie, it seems like none of our main characters can catch a break in the unforgettable final act.  After being betrayed by his friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is frozen in carbonite and taken off by Boba Fett as a reward for helping Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones).  On top of that, young Jedi Luke Skywalker loses his right hand in a duel with Vader himself and is cornered and defeated.  But the moment that left audiences more stunned than any else was the moment when Darth Vader reveals that he didn’t in fact kill Luke’s father in the past; he is Luke’s father.  This was a bombshell to drop on audiences who had thought they knew where the story was going.  After this ending, anything was possible in the Star Wars universe.  It was risky for Team Lucas to make their characters suffer so much in what was effectively the middle film of a trilogy.  Thankfully for them, it was a risk that paid off and it solidified the Star Wars franchise as one of the greatest story lines ever put on the big screen.
2.
PLANET OF THE APES (1968) – “DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL”

One of the most famous twist endings of all time, this finale’s impact is still seen in Hollywood today.  This action thriller starring Charlton Heston was a bizarre ride when it was first released in the late 60’s, and while the ending fits well with the apocalyptic nature of the story-line, most audiences were still taken back by how impactful the final image was.  After crash landing on a strange planet run by intelligent, human-like apes, Astronaut George Taylor (Heston) escapes imprisonment from his militaristic captors and their leader, Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans), only to discover that he can never go back to his home planet; he’s already there.  His trip through space has sent him thousand of years into the future and in that time, mankind has destroyed civilization through war, leaving only ruins behind.  One ruin in particular, the Statue of Liberty, is found by Taylor and his realization of what has happened leads to an unforgettable breakdown, which Heston milks perfectly.  The screenplay was co-written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, and it shows.  This ending would feel right at home with any Twilight Zone episode given it’s bleak message and the hopeless state it leaves the character in.  Like most twist endings, it relies on the goodwill of the audience to work, and audiences accepted this ending as an appropriate conclusion to such a dark and weird film.  In many ways, it has gone on to become what most other twist endings strive to be, but few actually end up being.
1.
CHINATOWN (1974) – “FORGET IT, JAKE”
 
This ending may be one of the bleakest scenes in movie history, if not the most.  Private Detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) discovers some shocking truths about the case he’s studying; that not only has wealthy tycoon Noah Cross (a chilling John Huston) been illegally manipulating water supplies in Depression-era Los Angeles, but he’s also hunting down a daughter born out of an incestuous rape of his own legitimate daughter (Faye Dunaway).  Finding himself captive by the ruthless Cross, Gittes follows Dunaway’s Evelyn to the titular neighborhood, where lawlessness is rampant.  Evelyn tries to escape with her sister/daughter, but Cross’ men fire at her and the film concludes with Evelyn dead behind the wheel, Cross with possession of the girl she was trying to save, and Jake left helpless to stop all of this chaos.  Roman Polanski, the director, is a survivor of the Holocaust, so he knew too well how cruel life could be, but this was something few audience members were prepared for.  In a matter of minutes, this film goes from a loving homage of film noir to a Greek tragedy, and it’s a gut punch for anyone who expected things to be tied up all neat by the end.  It’s amazing to think that a Hollywood studio (Paramount) would give the okay to a film with this unforgiving of an ending, but in the end, it’s a commendable commitment that pays off. Jack plays the moment perfectly, looking as if he’s lost all hope in humanity, and I’m sure it’s a feeling likewise shared by many in the audience.  No other ending has really ever given an audience a shock to the system like this one, and there’s no other statement the film can say other than, “It’s Chinatown.”  Forget it?  No one ever will after seeing it.
And that’s my list of movie endings that left audiences stunned.  Some are definitive conclusions that can’t be topped (Chinatown, Bonnie and Clyde), while others blew open so many other possibilities that broke away from convention (Empire, 2001).  But, overall, these are endings that still resonate with us after the credits started rolling and have gone on to be influential as well as impactful.  Going out with a bang is something you can get away with more often in television, but it’s also pleasing to see a film take that big step as well.  Hopefully more films take a risk in the endings of their stories and break away from tradition in order to deliver something memorable.  It may not always be pleasant, but it will surely be memorable.
Focus on a Franchise

Focus on a Franchise – Indiana Jones

 

IndianaJones
New ideas come about and change the course of cinema on occasion, but what usually drives the engines of the film industry is their reliance on sturdy film franchises.  You’ll find within a given year that most of the movies hitting the market are either sequels or a sequel to a sequel.  Now while many films don’t necessarily lend themselves well to a becoming a franchise, there are some that have kicked off a series that continues on long after their initial start.  For good or bad, we see film studios invest a lot of money into building up a franchise, mainly because they are great at generating revenue from a devoted fanbase and are easy to replicate with each new installment. Some  franchises have become so popular that they’ve been more defined by their whole than by just any individual film.  The most memorable franchises usually revolve around one of two things; an iconic character whose exploits become grander in each new series installment, or a richly detailed world that builds its cast and geography the longer that its story can go on.  These franchises have become such a major part of the legacies of Hollywood studios that I want to focus on them individually in a new series of articles.  In these posts, I’ll look at each entry of a franchise and examine how they work individually and as part of the whole of their series; as well as the histories and the interesting aspects of each film.
Appropriately enough, the franchise that I plan to look at first is also one of my absolute favorites:  The Indiana Jones Series.  Following the adventures of Dr. Henry Jones Jr. (aka Indiana Jones), the films in this franchise have become some of the most beloved in the last half-century.  The brain child of Star Wars creator George Lucas, Indiana Jones was meant to be a throwback to the action serials of the 1930’s and 40’s; a long forgotten genre in cinema.  Star Wars was a similar throwback to the sci-fi serials of the 50’s, so George Lucas naturally saw the potential of the character as a central figure to build a franchise around this idea.  To help him realize it, George Lucas approached his colleague and friend Steven Spielberg to direct the introductory film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).  Spielberg, coming off the disastrous premiere of his WWII comedy 1941 (1979), gladly accepted the project, given that he had the same kind of enthusiasm for old serials that Lucas did.  The casting of Harrison Ford as Dr. Jones seems like a no-brainer today, but would you believe that Harrison Ford stepped into the role only after Magnum P.I.‘s Tom Selleck turned it down.  This collaborative team up is both exceptional and unique, mainly because it has never changed over 30 years and 4 films.  Only the screenwriters and the supporting cast changes. Mr. Spielberg directed every entry, with George Lucas producing and Harrison Ford being the one and only Indiana Jones.  Knowing these details behind the films, lets now look at each one individually.
raidersofthelostark
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
 
The introductory film of the franchise is also the one that people regard as the best.  Everything that makes an Indiana Jones movie what it is can be seen laid out in this film.  The swagger and resourcefulness of the main character; the mystery surrounding the central artifact; the international conspiracies and villains that Indiana Jones must battle against; and most importantly, the franchise’s sense of fun.  The story finds Indiana Jones on a quest to seek out the biblical Ark of the Covenant before a group of Nazis can get to it and unleash the God-given power it holds.  Making matters worse, Dr. Jones arch-rival, French archaeologist Belloq (Paul Freeman) is aiding the Nazis in their search.  With the help of an old flame, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), and an Egyptian handyman named Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), Indiana Jones finds himself in a globe-trotting adventure to keep the Ark safe from evil forces.  It’s a straight-forward adventure that keeps things simple, and that’s the film’s greatest strength.  It’s an escapist adventure that relies upon the strength of it’s characters and the excitement in it’s action scenes.  It’s that timelessness that makes the film resonate 30 years after it was made.
There are so many iconic moments in this film; the most famous probably being the scene where Indy is chased by a giant boulder.  Spielberg’s direction plays a large part in making the film so memorable, because few other directors can make extra-ordinary moments like that one feel so believable; he’s also very good at creating iconic moments.  The writing, done by Lucas and Phillip Kaufman, is also well balanced; earnest when it needs to be and tougne-in-cheek silly at just the right times, much like the serials it’s trying to emulate.  It’s no surprise that Harrison Ford owns the role he plays.  From the first moment he steps into frame to the final scene, he is Indiana Jones.  He manages to keep the character intimidating and rugged all throughout the story, even in the lighter moments; I especially like the way he freaks out when he finds a snake in his lap (“I HATE SNAKES.  I HATE THEM”).  The rest of the cast is also just as strong.  Karen Allen makes Marion Ravenwood one of the strongest heroines in any action film.  She is no damsel in distress (though she does need saving in some instances) and is Indiana’s equal in almost every way.  Paul Freeman’s Belloq, while not too intimidating, is still an effective villain for this film and his ability to outsmart Indiana Jones does provide the movie with some extra tension.  Also, there is a memorable turn by actor Ronald Lacey as the creepy Nazi agent Toht; a character that has little to do with the overall plot, but is a welcome addition nonetheless.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a perfect example of how to kick start a franchise.  It stands on it’s own as a great adventure, but it also leaves room to continue the adventures of Indiana Jones beyond it’s running time.  Raiders is briskly paced and very satisfying, which helps to give the audience an appetite for more.  It was a huge success upon it’s initial release, grossing $212 million (which is over $600 million in today’s money), and it even received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. I’m sure that Lucas and Spielberg had a sequel in mind long before they had the success of the first film, but it would prove to be a shakier road than they realized.
templeofdoom
INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984)
 
Three years after Raiders, Spielberg and Lucas released what is definitely the darkest entry in the Indiana Jones series.  Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom first finds Dr. Jones escaping a Shanghai crime lord, accompanied by a pampered night-club singer named Willie (future Mrs. Spielberg, Kate Capshaw) and an orphaned Chinese pick-pocket named Short Round (Ke Huy-Quan).  After escaping a sabotaged plane in the Himalayan mountains, they find themselves in an impoverished Indian village, which has had a mystical stone stolen from them, along with many of their children.  Dr. Jones agrees to help the village find the stone and the children, which they track down to Pangkot Palace, home of the titular Temple of Doom; where a Thuggee cult hold their secret ceremonies.  Their leader, Mola Ram (Amrish Puri), is amassing more sacred stones in an attempt to gain mystical power and he holds Dr. Jones and his companions captive; even brainwashing Indiana in the process.  All of this makes Temple of Doom a very dark and sometimes disturbing film, especially when the villain has the power to rip a still beating heart out of a living person.
The movie had a mixed reception in it’s first release.  Both Spielberg and George Lucas also have misgivings about their finished film.  According to the making-of documentary on the film’s DVD, George Lucas blames the darker tone of the film on the fact that he was going through a nasty divorce at the time.  The film also made a lot of people angry because it received a PG rating despite the graphic violence on display.  The backlash actually led the MPAA to create a brand new rating (PG-13) in direct response to this movie; a legacy that I’m sure the filmmakers didn’t expect or want.  Also, feminists were outraged at the way the character Willie Scott was portrayed, saying that she was an ugly stereotype of a “kept” woman and “damsel in distress.”  The controversies surrounding the film ended up overshadowing the movie itself, and while it still made a lot at the box office, it was still seen as a fall-off from Raiders.
Despite all of this, it might surprise you that this is actually my favorite film in the series.  Temple of Doom was the first Indiana Jones film that I saw as a kid, so it’s probably why I have such a strong attachment to it.  Harrison Ford is in top form here and he takes the character to new levels of awesomeness.  While Willie Scott as a character is obnoxious, and a big step down from Marion, I don’t think that it’s Kate Capshaw’s fault and she tries her best to make the character entertaining. Some people hate Short Round, but I think he makes a wonderful character and he works well in the movie.  But what I love best in this movie is the villain, Mola Ram.  He is the best antagonist in the series and actor Amrish Puri steals every scene he is in.  The film also features one of John Williams’ best and most complete scores, which is saying a lot.  One particular track called “Slave Children’s Crusade” is probably one of my all time favorite musical themes.  And the final 30 minutes of the film is what I believe to be the best continuous action scene in movie history.  While Spielberg and Lucas have reservations about the movie, I for one love this film completely and it remains my favorite one to this day.
LastCrusade
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)
 
After the backlash from Temple of Doom, it would take a few years for Lucas and Spielberg to return to the franchise.  In 1989, they decided to return the series back to it’s basics with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.   In this film, Indiana Jones once again finds himself racing against time to beat the Nazis to a religious artifact; this time, the Holy Grail.  Also on the trail, we find, is Indy’s own father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr. (played by 007 himself, Sean Connery).  Their search leads them through the catacombs of Venice, the mountains of Bavaria, to the heart of Nazi-led Berlin, and then finally the Turkish deserts.  Along the way, the two Joneses are betrayed and blackmailed by both a former colleague named Donovan (Julian Glover) and a sexy Austrian double agent named Elsa (Alison Doody).  The movie feels more like Raiders in tone and structure, but not in a way that it makes it feel like it’s ripping the former film off.
While I do like the film a lot, to me it feels weak in comparison to the previous two movies.  The film is just too uneven in tone and suffers greatly in it’s characterizations.  The most problematic problem for me is the villain, Donovan.  He is by far the weakest antagonist in the series, and that is mainly due to the way he is written.  There is no depth to the character; he’s merely there to service the plot whenever it needs a bad guy present to foul things up.  Julian Glover is a fine actor (check out his great work on Game of Thrones), but he’s completely wasted here.  Alison Doody brings a little bit of sizzle to her duplicitous Elsa, but the character is likewise underwritten.  Also, the film shamefully takes the character of Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), Dr. Jones’ intelligent and loyal fellow professor from Raiders, and turns him into a absent minded cartoon simpleton.  So, what’s good in the movie?  Pretty much every scene with Indy and his Dad.  The pairing of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery works so well in this film, and their on-screen chemistry is a delight to watch. The movie also features some excellent action set-pieces, especially a show-down with a German tank in the desert.  While it is flawed, the movie does stand on it’s own as an action film, and I can see why so many other people consider this as one of their favorites.
crystalskull
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008)
 
Despite the success of Last Crusade, it would take 19 years before we saw another Indiana Jones film on the big screen.  With a gap in time like that, it’s almost inevitable that a film would fall short of expectations, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull certainly fell victim to this.  The movie is derided as the weakest in the series, to the point where some critics have called it the “franchise killer.”  The film finds an older Indiana Jones living in a post-war world where the Nazis have now been replaced by the Soviets, and old-age archaeological discoveries have been replaced with space age inquiries.  The film has Dr. Jones investigating the mystery surrounding the discovery of a Crystal Skull in the jungles of the Amazon.  At the same time, he runs afoul of Soviet agents, led by clairvoyant Agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), who hopes to use the Crystal Skull’s powers for mind-control programs against the Americans.  Indy is assisted in his search by a cocky young student named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), who we soon learn is the offspring of both Indiana and Marion Ravenwood, who makes her return to the series.  The movie is probably the most self-aware of the franchise due to all the references to Indy’s past adventures; the opening scene reveals that Area 51 is the location of the warehouse from Raiders.  The more over-the-top nature of the movie is also what probably turns a lot of people away from this film, and it is undeniably flawed.
So, it may surprise more people that I actually like this one.  After hearing from a lot of other fans of the series, I think I might be one of the few people who does support this film.  I recognize that it is flawed, but like I said, so is Last Crusade.  Probably the fact that my favorite film in the franchise is the similarly divisive Temple of Doom has played a factor in my less critical opinion of the movie.  One thing that I like in this film is Cate Blanchett’s performance as Agent Spalko; a significant upgrade of a villain compared to Donovan.  Also, Harrison Ford, even in his advanced years, is still in top form as Indiana Jones.  I also love the return of Karen Allen as Marion; let’s face it, she’s the only woman in Indy’s life that matters.  While the film has a lot that I do like, there are things that still weaken it.  Mainly, the character of Mutt Williams, who is not believable in any way as the son of Indiana Jones.  Also, the action scenes are a mixed bag.  We get some great scenes like a motorcycle chase through Dr. Jones’ college and a fight around an army of killer ants, but they are book-ended by weaker action scenes, like a heavily CGI-ed chase through the Amazon jungle.  But the sum of the whole works for me as a movie.  I even don’t mind the much derided “Nuking the Fridge” scene.  I also like the fact that the series moved forward to reflect the time period.  While some people hate the inclusion of aliens and UFO’s in the Indiana Jones series, I understand that by placing a throwback to classic serials in the Sci-Fi driven 1950’s, it seems natural to have them included in this story-line.  I’m an unapologetic defender of this film, and I believe that it has a deserved place with the others in the series.
The future is uncertain for the Indiana Jones franchise, due partially to the mixed results of Crystal Skull, and also due to the fact that the principal people involved are getting older.  Despite this, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg eventually want to make another one, and Harrison Ford has expressed interest in putting on the fedora for at least one more time.  Whether or not it will happen remains to be seen, but for right now, this appears to be it for the Indiana Jones film franchise.  The series is still one of the most successful of the last half-century and has left a lasting legacy over the years.  Long before the Disney Company bought Lucasfilm from George Lucas, you could easily find the character at home in the company’s theme parks all over the world; including a popular ride in Disneyland and a stunt show in Disney World.  Also, there was a successful series called the The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles that aired on TV from 1992-93, which helped to flesh out the character’s back-story.  To this day, Indiana Jones is still considered one of the most beloved action heroes in movie history, and he definitely stands as one of my favorites.  Interesting enough, as far as a George Lucas film series goes, I actually hold this one up higher than Star Wars.  I enjoy each film, warts and all, and I never get tired of them. I still regard Temple of Doom as one of my absolute favorite action films, and that will probably never change.  In the end, that’s what marks a great franchise; where you enjoy it so much that you’re willing to return to it over and over again as it continues to grow.
Editorials

The Best of the Worst – Why We Have a Good Time Watching Bad Movies

 

manos
If there was ever a place where the word “bad” could be considered a relative term, it would be in the movies.  Over the course of film history, we have seen Hollywood and the film industry at large put out an astounding variety of movies, and not all of them have hit their targets the way that the filmmakers had intended.  If you produce hundreds of products within a given year, the odds are that some, if not most of them are not going to be good.  But like most things, one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure, and that has led to a fascinating occurrence in the film community.  Some “bad movies” have actually earned a fanbase all on their own, finding an audience in some unexpected ways.  This has been the case with films that have built a reputation over time, but nowadays, we are actually seeing intentionally bad movies become phenomenally successful upon their initial releases, as was the case with the premiere of Sharknado on the SyFy Channel earlier this summer.  How and why “bad movies” find their audiences is still a mystery to many, but what I love about this trend is that it shakes up our preconceived notions about the film industry, and makes us reconsider what we find entertaining in the first place.
So, what is it about these “bad” movies that makes them so entertaining to us?  The truth is that there is no “one thing” that defines the success behind these films, and usually it’s all relative to each individual movie.  Sometimes it’s the incompetency behind the making of the film that we find so entertaining.  Sometimes it’s because the film is so out-of-date that it becomes hilarious.  Sometimes it’s the lack of self-awareness and ego behind the director’s vision.  And sometimes it’s the filmmakers just not giving a damn what other people think and just going all out with their material. The formula has no consistency, and yet we see many film’s fall into these many different categories of “bad” films.  Usually the best of the these are the ones that fulfill the criteria of a “bad” movie so perfectly, that it becomes memorable and re-watchable.  Only in rare cases does this work intentionally, and usually the best “bad” films arise from an unexpected accident.
Some of the best “bad’ movies have come out of turmoil, which makes their existence all the more fascinating.  Usually this is attributed to movies that were made despite the fact that their filmmakers didn’t know what they were doing.  One of the most notorious examples of this was the 1966 cult classic, Manos: The Hands of Fate.  Manos was the creation of Hal Warren, a fertilizer salesman from El Paso, Texas who made a bet with a screenwriter friend of his that he could make his own movie without any help from Hollywood.  Making good on his wager, Mr. Warren wrote and directed this schlocky horror film centered around a cult leader named the Master (pictured above) who holds a family hostage in his compound, which is watched over by a lecherous caretaker named Torgo.  Hal Warren shot the film with a camera that could only shot 30 seconds of film at a time with no recorded sound, and most of the movie was shot at night with set lighting attracting moths in almost every shot.  The finished film is a convoluted mess and it ended any shot for Hal Warren to pursue a career in filmmaking.  However, many years later, the film was rediscovered by the producers of the show Mystery Science Theater, who then featured it on their show and created a renewed interest in this odd little film that no one outside of Texas knew about.  Manos became a hit afterwards because people were fascinated by how silly this poorly made film was, something that the MST crew had a hand in.  Since then, Manos has earned a reputation for being among the worst films ever made, and that in itself has made it a favorite for people who gravitate towards that.
While Manos represents an example of a disaster turned into a success, there are other bad films that have become fan favorites just out of being incredibly dated.  These movies usually make up the majority of what people consider good “bad” films, since most films are a product of their times.  Whether people are entertained by these because of their “out-of-date” nature or merely because of shear nostalgia, there’s no denying that time has a way of changing how we view these kinds of movies.  The 1950’s has become an era that many film fans find to be full of some good trash, mainly due to the rise of the B-movie in this period of time.  Some cult hits like The Blob (1958), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Attack of the 50 ft. Woman (1958), and The Thing from Another World (1951) all rode the surge of a sci-fi craze of the post-war years, and while everything from these films, like the visual effects and the acting, feels antiquated today, they still have a camp value that makes them watchable all these years later.  The “cheese factor” plays a big role in keeping these films entertaining long after their relevance has diminished.  You can see this also in the beach party movies of the early 60’s, which are charming despite their paper-thin plots. The one other era that has produced it’s own distinctive set of dated films would be the 1980’s, with it’s collection of dated fantasy pictures and culturally infused fluff, like He-Man inspired Masters of the Universe (1987) or the E.T. wannabe Mac and Me (1988).  By all accounts, these films would have long been forgotten outside of their era, and yet they have lived on with audiences who still find something entertaining in them.
One of my favorite types of “bad” film is the kind that comes from a complete lack of control from either the director or the performer.  There have been some directors that have actually gained their reputation as an filmmaker by staying within the B-Movie community.  The most famous of these filmmakers has become Ed Wood Jr.; a person who some have claimed to be the worst director in history.  Ed Wood’s notable contributions to cinema have been the cross-dressing comedy Glen or Glenda (1953), the Bela Lugosi-starring Bride of the Monster (1955), and what many consider the director’s “masterpiece,” Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959).  Whether or not Ed Wood was earnest in his vision or whether he made his film’s intentionally bad is still debated, but there is no doubt that Plan 9 is a special kind of “bad;” a movie so aggressively cheesy, that it is hard not to be entertained by it.
Other filmmakers who were more aware of their B-Movie status have still gained an honored reputation with audiences.  Roger Corman, a man who prided himself in making movies both fast and cheap, has actually become influential to a who generation of blockbuster filmmakers.  His Little Shop of Horrors (1962) even inspired a Broadway musical.  Also, sometimes a way out there performance can often make a “bad” movie worth watching.  I would argue that this is the case with most Nicolas Cage films, like Vampire’s Kiss (1988) or Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012).  One film that has become a cult classic mainly due to one “out-of-control” performance was 1981’s Mommie Dearest, where Faye Dunaway chews the scenery in a good way as a way over-the-top Joan Crawford.  Usually a lack of restraint by the filmmakers can sink a film, but these movies actually prove that it’s not always the case.
While many films usually become a cult hit over time, there a select few that attempt to achieve cult status right away by being intentionally bad.  Like I stated earlier, Sharknado became an instant hit when it premiered on cable, and having seen the film myself, it’s clear that the filmmakers behind it knew what kind of movie they were making.  Rarely do you see filmmakers try to aim for that intentionally “bad” gimmick for their movies, because obviously if audiences don’t accept it, then you’ve just made a bad movie.  Director Tim Burton tried to create a homage to B-Movie sci-fi with his 1996 film Mars Attacks, but the film was an odd blend of tounge-in-cheek mockery with earnest storytelling, and the end result doesn’t achieve what it set out to do.
But, one example of an intentionally bad film that did click with audiences is the campy musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975); a movie that pays homage to campy horror and sci-fi, while mixing in 50’s rock music and trans-sexual humor.  Rocky Horror tries so hard to be so bad, you would think that the whole thing would be a mess; and yet, it remains entertaining and it has one of the most dedicated fanbases in  the world.  I think the reason why a movie like Rocky Horror works is because of the fact that it just doesn’t care what people will think about it.  It is what it is, and that’s why people gravitate to it.  It’s a one of a kind.  A movie like Mars Attacks didn’t click as a throwback, because it didn’t have that same kind of assured belief in itself, and that shows why it is hard to make a bad movie feel good.
When it comes down to it, “bad” movies are usually determined by the tastes of the people who watch them.  We have made some of these “bad” movies our favorites because of the value we find in their chessy-ness, or by our fascination with how badly it gets things wrong.  For a movie to be all around bad, it has to lack any kind of entertainment value in the end.  For those who are wondering, the worst movie that I have ever seen, and one I see no redeeming value in, is the 1996 film Space Jam.  To me, it was the worst experience I have ever had watching a movie, mainly because I saw it as a blatant self-serving production piece for a sports super star (Michael Jordan) and it ruined three things on film that I love dearly: NIKE, Looney Tunes, and Bill Murray.  But, I do recognize that the film does have its fans, so in the end it all comes down to taste.  But, it is fascinating how our tastes leave room for something as poorly made as a Manos or even the more recent Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010), a movie that needs to be seen to be believed.  There is certainly value in seeing something that we find entertaining, and perhaps that is why these films live on the way they do.
Collecting Criterion

Collecting Criterion – Seven Samurai (1954)

 

SevenSamurai
The Criterion Collection has many selections of classic Stateside films, but what I like is that Criterion is the go to place for home video releases of movies from across the world.  This is helpful if your favorite filmmakers are international and have limited access to the American film markets.  Famed directors like Jean Renoir, Ingmar Bergman, Sergei Eisenstein, and the like are found almost exclusively within the Criterion Collection here in America, which makes it likely that any discerning film buff will have one or more Criterion title on their shelf.  As a fan of certain directors, I am among those who collects movies according to someone’s distinctive body of work. While it is easy to collect the films of say Spielberg or Scorsese here in America, foreign filmmakers’ movies aren’t exactly published for the mass market here in the same way, unless they are an internationally successful filmmaker like Hayao Miyazaki or Lars von Trier.  Hence why I gravitate towards the Criterion Collection when I want to include foreign classics in my film collection, particularly when they come from a one of my favorite directors.
In this article, I want to highlight one such filmmaker who stands out as one of my favorites, and whose films have become staples within the Criterion Collection.  I am speaking of legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, a filmmaker whose influence is without comparison in world cinematic history.  Kurosawa, over the span of his career, directed 32 films from 1943’s Sanshiro Sugata to 1993’s Madadayo.  Some of his films have become world renowned classics and in some cases, considered among the best ever made.  Some of his most influential films would be his movies depicting the era of the Samurais in Japan’s cultural history.  Two of these, Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962) would go on to be remade as Westerns by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone in his A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965).  Given that Akira Kurosawa was heavily influenced by John Ford westerns in his youth, I’m sure he would have found these remakes appropriate.  Yojimbo and Sanjuro are available in the Criterion Collection, but the title that I wish to focus on is one considered to be Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece, and one of Criterion’s best titles to date.  That film is 1954’s Seven Samurai (Criterion Collection #2).
The story of Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) is set in the 1600’s, during the Feudal period in Japan.  The start of the film finds a small village of farmers tormented by a group of bandits who raid their food supplies and kidnap their women nearly every year.  The fed-up farmers make the decision to hire Samurai to protect their village, which is a plan made with some reservations because of the fact that some Samurais are just as bad as the bandits that are attacking them.  Still, a group of farmers set out for the city where they run across a veteran Samurai named Kambei (Takashi Shimura), who sympathizes with their plight and agrees to help the farmers in their search for more Samurai.  In the end, Kambei finds Seven warriors willing to fight on behalf of the farmers, even for the limited offerings that the peasant farmers can give them.  Among the Seven is a hot-head with a giant sword named Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune), whose Samurai lineage is questionable and who’s more likely to start trouble than prevent it.  The remainder of the film follows the Samurai as they fortify the village and help train the farmers to protect themselves for the bandits return. Once the battles begin, it becomes a memorable fight for survival for both the Samurai and the farmers.
If the story sounds familiar, it is because it was remade a few years later by director John Sturges as the Western The Magnificent Seven (1960), a rare example of a respectful Hollywood remake of an international classic.  Thankfully, the original has stood the test of time and still works just as well today as when it was first released.  I should state that Seven Samurai actually stands as one of my absolute favorite movies.  To me, it represents the absolute pinnacle of cinematic storytelling. The film’s narrative is very basic, and yet is executed to absolute perfection in both the writing as well as in the pacing.  The movie runs 3 hours and 27 minutes, but you would never tell because it holds your attention so completely.  The cinematography is both stunning and influential.  Many people have often called this the first modern action film, because of Kurosawa’s use of slow-motion and hand-held photography to heighten some of the action scenes; techniques that are still being used today.  You also see some of the most iconic uses of Kurosawa’s trademarks in this film; in-particular, the use of rain.  The downpour seen in the movie’s legendary final battle is a sight that needs to be seen, and will often leave the viewer wondering how it was all accomplished.
The performances are also what makes this film so beloved, even all these years later.  Toshiro Mifune was already a popular actor in Japan when Seven Samurai was released, but this film is what turned him into an international movie star and put him on the radar of many Hollywood filmmakers as well.  Mifune is simply magnetic in the role of Kikuchiyo, and steals pretty much every scene he is in.  He balances both the humorous moments in the film with some of the heavier ones, and makes the character feel wholly three-dimensional in the process.  Mifune and Kurosawa would make 16 films together; a partnership unmatched in all of film-making.  Takashi Shimura also lends considerable weight to the role of Kambei, the Samurai leader.  The remainder of the cast too are also strong.  One of the things that I love so much about the movie is the surprising depth that you find in each character, both large and small.  Even the many farmers get special treatment in the film’s screen time.  It all contributes to one of the most enriching and complex screen stories ever brought to life.
The Criterion Collection’s edition of Seven Samurai is also nothing short of a masterpiece.  The film comes in a special two-disc blu-ray set, with the film taking up the entire first disc.  The film’s restoration is a perfect upgrade for the film; bringing out every little detail in the nearly 60 year old picture, while still maintaining it’s intended look.  The black and white photography is razor sharp and the sound is appropriately mixed to retain the film’s original sound design.  For a movie as old as this one, Criterion’s restoration makes it feel both consistent and revelatory to longtime fans of the movie.
The extras are also top-notch and worth delving into if you’re a fan of the movie.  First there is a trio of documentaries, related to both the film and Kurosawa himself.  The first one is titled, My Life in Cinema, and it is a two-hour interview with Kurosawa himself, done in 1993 with fellow filmmaker Nagisa Oshima.  The documentary has Kurosawa looking over the works of his career as he films one of his final movies, Rhapsody in August (1991).  The second documentary is It is Wonderful to Create, which is part of a Japanese TV series documenting Kurosawa’s filmography, movie by movie.  This 50-minute entry of course documents the making of Seven Samurai, and remaining episodes of the series can be found on Criterion editions of each corresponding Kurosawa film.  The last documentary, Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences, details both the inspirations in Japanese culture behind the film as well as the influences it made on pop-culture after its release.  A gallery of production stills and poster art round out the extras, helping to make this a well rounded special edition.
Seven Samurai has earned it’s place in cinema history, and that makes it a no-brainer entry into the Criterion Collection.  There are many more Kurosawa classics in the collection, but this is the one that I believe deserves special consideration for any fan of cinema.  Criterion’s edition of the film is appropriately top-notch and no one would expect less.  It is worth revisiting again if you have seen the film before, just so you can take in the remarkable restoration.  And if you’re a first-timer, you’ll be in for a treat.  It’s a movie that really transcends cultural and language barriers and can be appreciated by just about everyone.  Kurosawa had that special gift as a filmmaker to make films that were undeniably Japanese, and yet universally appealing.  This is a worthy addition to your collection of Criterion films and it certainly holds a sacred place in my own collection.
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Movie Previews

The Movies of Fall 2013

 

Movietheater
With the closing of the tumultuous Summer movie season upon us this Labor Day weekend, we look ahead now to an entirely different beast that carries its own kind of significance.  Summer is when Hollywood releases their big tentpole crowd-pleasers, which usually becomes the domain of action movies and broad slapstick comedies, and while you’ll find some of those in the final quarter of the year, the fall season usually puts more of an emphasis on dramas.  This is commonly know as Oscar season, and this year is no exception with regards to the ambitious slate of Oscar-baiting films coming up.  While some certainly look intriguing and will be certain award-winners, other films come off looking like they’re trying too hard.  Like I did at the beginning of the summer season, I am going to highlight the films that I am most psyched about, which ones have me a little worried, and which ones I am sure will be a failure.
Keep in mind, these are just my opinions and I’m fully aware that I am not the best handicapper. This summer I predicted that World War Z was going to be a colossal critical and box office bomb and that The Lone Ranger was going to be a must-see success.  It’s safe to say that I missed the mark. (World War Z was actually pretty good by the way.)  And I’m sure with a serving of films as varied as in this season, it will still be hard to predict the winners from the losers.  Sometimes a complete surprise may come out of nowhere and capture everyone’s attention with little advanced hype.  The Toronto Film Festival has yet to happen, and the Venice festival begins within a couple of days, so there’s the potential of some unseen underdog coming through to become awards favorite in the weeks ahead.  My choices mainly focus on the films that already have set release dates and how I think they will both perform critically and at the box office.
Must Sees:
GRAVITY (OCTOBER 4)

Most films at this time of the year usually play it safe when it comes to the stories they tell.  You usually see a lot historical pics, biopics, and/or book adaptations because studios know that they have a better chance of reaching their audience based on the familiarity with the subject matter in the films already being present.  Director Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity stands apart from this pattern by being wholly original.  After seeing the nail-biting trailers for this movie, I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this before, which makes it the must see movie of the season in my opinion.  Cuaron already has a reputation for having extraordinary camerawork in his films, as evidenced by the stunning tracking shots in 2006’s Children of Men, and it looks like he’s bringing the same kind of ingenuity to Gravity, only on a much grander scale.  There are several trailers already online for this film, and each one is like a stunning short movie on their own.  The film has only two credited stars, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, and both of them look to be capable enough to stand out amid all of the flashy effects on display.  What excites me about this movie is that it has the potential to be a one-of-a-kind experience, which is something that I want every movie to be.
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (NOVEMBER 15)

Martin Scorsese has had a strong track record as of late, even when he’s dabbling in unfamiliar territory, like the family-friendly Hugo (2011).  Here he once again is teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio for the fifth time, but in what seems to be a more comical feature.  The last time Scorsese tried a more comical tone in one of his movies, it was the criminally underrated The King of Comedy (1983), so I have high hopes that this film will be similar in execution.  Hopefully DiCaprio is able to perform the role in this film well enough to distinguish it from the other work he has done for Mr. Scorsese, and it appears that Leo is up to that challenge.  The remainder of the cast also looks impressive, especially Matthew McConaughey in what looks like a very eccentric performance.  Most of all, I’m interested in seeing how Scorsese treats the material here.  I’m certain that it will be a largely black comedy, and of course Scorsese knows how to tackle the seedy underbelly of American culture with ease.  What I’m wondering is who the bigger scene-stealer is in the trailer; McConaughey or McConaughey’s teeth?
THE HOBBIT:  THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (DECEMBER 13)

The unplanned second film in Peter Jackson’s fantasy trilogy will be a must see film for most people, but what has me curious is how the movie will work on it’s own.  When Peter Jackson made the controversial decision to spread his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit over three films instead of two, it made a lot of people worried that the new film series would feel too bloated for its own good.  When the first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released last Christmas season, it had a mostly positive response from both fans and critics; though there were still quite a few that believed that it was still too much movie.  I was extremely happy with the first film and I even put it in my top ten movies of 2012.  The Desolation of Smaug has the unfortunate position now of being the middle child in Jackson’s trilogy, which can be problematic given that it has no beginning or end.  I have confidence that Peter Jackson can make it work and I’m more than willing to dive right back into the world of Middle Earth once again.  On top of that, this film features the titular dragon prominently (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), and it’s a character that I have long wanted to see come to life on screen ever since I first read the book.
OLDBOY (NOVEMBER 27)

Remakes are always a difficult sell to audiences, especially when they come from a foreign source like Oldboy.  This remake is of a now classic Korean thriller from director Park Chan-wook, which gained notoriety for its brutal onscreen violence and controversial subject matter.  The film is beloved by many cine-philes, but there is the danger of some things getting lost in the translation now that the film is being Americanized.  That is why the choice of Spike Lee as the director couldn’t be more perfect.  He’s a director known for taking on challenging material, and I believe that he will treat the source film with a lot of reverence.  The trailer certainly gives a good taste of what we have in store for us, and star Josh Brolin looks like he’ll be giving an appropriately intense performance.  Whether or not it all works in the end remains to be seen, but it is a rare example of a remake worth getting excited for.
ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES (DECEMBER 20)

Not really an awards contender, but I am still anxious to see this film nontheless.  The first Anchorman (2004) was an incredibly absurd send up of local news networks that served as a launching point for Will Farrell’s career as a comedic leading man.  While sequels to classic comedies are almost always hard to pull off, Anchorman 2 looks to be hitting the right tone already based off the trailers.  The inclusion of some high profile new faces to the cast (Jim Carrey and Harrison Ford) should also help this sequel live up to the high standards of its predecessor.  Again, not awards material, but sometimes we do need a good laugh around the holidays.
Movies that have me worried:
SAVING MR. BANKS (DECEMBER 20)

This film doesn’t have me worried because of the production itself or by my own reaction to the trailer.  I’m worried mainly because I grew up a big Disney fan, and this is the first time ever that Walt Disney Pictures is making a movie about it’s own storied history.  I believe that they can pull it off, but I worry a bit that it could all go horribly wrong as well, ruining what I think could be a wonderful story-line.  What worries me most is the tone.  The film could come off as too sugarcoated to be believable, mainly due to the fact that the Disney company is dramatizing their own history in this one. If the tone doesn’t feel right, it could spoil the drama and make it feel unauthentic.  That being said, the look of the movie is spectacular and the performances feel genuine enough.  I like the fact that Tom Hanks isn’t buried under a lot of makeup in order to play Walt Disney.  From what I’ve heard, the screenplay is supposed to be very good and I hope it does deliver in the end.  Don’t be afraid to go all in with this one Disney Pictures.  It’s a story well worth getting right.
THOR: THE DARK WORLD (NOVEMBER 8)

This is another film that I am looking forward to, but with some reservations.  This is mainly due to my disappointment with this summer’s Iron Man 3, and my worry that Phase 2 of Marvel’s Avengers Initiative is loosing steam just as it’s getting started.  The film trailer looks appropriately epic in scale, but nothing has really stood out so far for me.  My worry is that the Thor sequel is going to just play it safe and give us more of the same, when it should be doing more to expand the world it has created.  I’ll hold my judgement until I see it, and I have confidence in new director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones).  My only wish is that it avoids the pitfalls that brought down Iron Man and hopefully stands on it’s own as a worthy edition to Marvel’s collection of films.
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (OCTOBER 11)

With this film, I like the casting, I like the style, and I like the choice in director.  But like Saving Mr. Banks, what worries me is the tone of the film.  This is a true life story that’s still very fresh in people’s minds, and the film runs the risk of trying to dramatize the story too heavily to make it feel authentic.  Paul Greengrass, the director, has a strong record of creating gritty films that put you right in the middle of the action, though with sometimes with mixed results; his style worked very well in the Bourne films, but felt very intrusive in a movie like Green Zone (2010).  Here it seems like a good fit, but it also could run the risk of overusing the shaky cam technique that Mr. Greengrass loves so much.  Hopefully the distracting camera work will be kept at a minimum so that the story can establish itself better.  Also, the film has the star magnetism of Tom Hanks in it’s favor, so that’s one thing to look forward to.
FROZEN (NOVEMBER 27)

This is an example where the trailer has become the source of my worries for a particular film.  I don’t like this trailer at all; it’s clearly aiming for the youngest demographics in the audience and no one else; and it tells us absolutely nothing about the film itself.  I’m holding my judgment on the movie until I see it, and the foreign trailers do a much better job of selling this film than the American one.  Truth be told, I still strongly prefer hand-drawn animation, but some of the pre-production artwork for this film is really beautiful and it give me hope.  It’s another fairy tale addition to the Disney canon, based off the story of “The Snow Queen,” so a lot is riding on this one.  I just wish they had highlighted the story in this trailer instead of the comical sidekick characters.  Is it an indication that Disney doesn’t have confidence in the film’s story-line as a selling point?  I’ll say this, they’re not going to get me to watch the film with a talking snowman alone.
Movies to Skip:
ENDER’S GAME (NOVEMBER 1)

I’ll admit that I have not read the books, so I can’t judge this one on an adaptation standpoint.  And I’m also going to ignore the fact that the original novel’s author is a homophobic bigot with regards to judging this film as well.  What makes me so uninterested in this movie is the fact that it feels completely unoriginal.  Looking at this trailer, I feel like I have seen this movie before and disliked it.  The director, Gavin Hood, seems to be copying his visuals from many other Science Fiction films and hasn’t bothered to put his own unique spin on it.  The performances in the trailer also feel wooden, which is surprising given the impressive cast on board; especially Harrison Ford.  The look of the alien invaders feels a bit too close to similar types like Transformers, and I don’t think it’s a good sign when your film invokes a Michael Bay aesthetic.  But, I could be wrong, given that I predicted World War Z would follow a similar fate.  Still, this movie so far has left me cold based on the way it’s being sold, and I don’t have much hope that it will surprise me.
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DECEMBER 25)

One of the most typical movies you will find around the end of the year is the Oscar-Bait film.  While some Oscar-baiting movies can work and achieve what they set out to do, there are others that try too hard and come up empty.  August: Osage County feels like that type of movie.  It’s got Oscar pedigree stars acting up a storm (Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts), it’s got a critically acclaimed source material (the Tony-winning play), and a tear-jerking scenario that’s meant to convince the viewer that what they’re watching is important.  But, based of this trailer, it looks to me like it’s another Hollywood film trying to hard to be emotional, and that could make everything ring very false in the final product.  Sometimes an Oscar-bait film can surprise with how well it delivers the goods, but August: Osage County feels like yet another movie that misses the mark.
47 RONIN (DECEMBER 25)

Not by any means an awards contender.  I just wanted to included this one on the list because it just looks so bad.  It’s another Crouching Tiger wannabe that’s trying too hard and relying too heavily on CGI effects in its action scenes.  I can’t see anybody really getting excited for this one; other than die-hard Keanu Reeves fans, if they’re still out there.  The trailer feels very paint-by-numbers, emphasizing the effects work over everything else, which doesn’t bode well for the effectiveness of the story-line.  I can see this film being an almost certain failure, and I highly doubt that it will surprise me at all in that regard.
So, this is my outlook of the Fall 2013 season.  Some of the films look really exciting and hopefully the upcoming slate of movies helps to make up for the really weak summer season that we had. My picks reveal how I feel about these films at this moment and it could all change in the upcoming months.  Also, I know I left out quite a few more movies worth mentioning, which just proves how competitive the end of the year is for the film industry.  Hopefully, there will be a few surprises coming our way in the months ahead.
Movie Reviews

Elysium – Review

 

elysium
Pollution is bad. Overpopulation is bad.  Economic disparity is bad.  I’m not making any political statements here in this review.  I’m just sharing with you the complexity of the political messages made in the new film Elysium.  From the director of 2009’s Oscar-nominated District 9, Neill Blomkamp, Elysium arrived into theaters amid a lot of anticipation from Science Fiction fans who were looking for a smart, well crafted thriller that would be a worthy addition to the genre.  Blomkamp made an impressive and unique sci-fi adventure with District 9, which was done on a small indie budget, with no known stars in the cast and it touched upon issues that you usually don’t see in many mainstream films.  Given that his follw-up film Elysium has been given a more substantial budget and features a few notable actors like Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, you’d think that Blomkamp would’ve delivered amazing based on how well he did the first time around. Unfortunately Elysium is a misfire on every level, and probably stands as the worst movie I’ve seen all summer, if not this year.  It’s clunky, boring, ugly to look at, and worst of all insulting.  Not just insulting on the level of its political subtext, but insulting in it’s storytelling as well.  There’s so much wrong with this movie that it’s astounding to see so many talented people involved.
The story is paper thin, and is essentially a race against the clock narrative.  Matt Damon’s character, named Max DeCosta, is a blue-collar factory worker in Los Angeles in the year 2154.  He trudges through his daily life, dreaming of earning enough money to reach Elysium, a massive satellite colony orbiting around the earth.  Elysium is where all the wealthy people have migrated to, after pollution and overpopulation has made Earth a horrible place to live.  Citizenship on Elysium is extended only to those who can afford it, and everyone else is left to live on earth, policed by an army of robotic officers.  Max suffers an accident at work which leaves him only five days to live and the only cure for him is on Elysium.  This leads to him joining up with a band of underground smugglers, who have been sending up ships filled with people to Elysium in an attempt to get them the health care they need.  Max offers to assist the smugglers in their attempt to hack into Elysium’s security system; even putting a body-enhancement armor wired into his brain as a way to keep him functional as his body deteriorates.  At the same time, the security manager on board Elysium, Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster), is taking desperate measures to prevent any more illegal immigrants from entering the colony, to the point of staging a coup against the leaders of Elysium and hiring a deadly mercenary named Kruger (Sharlto Copley) to hunt down the smugglers.
Now, there’s nothing really wrong with the premise itself; it’s the execution.  Elysium feels disjointed and lackluster from the opening prologue all the way to the anti-climatic finale.  It’s as if Blomkamp just crafted the idea of the story and then never bothered to flesh it out.  The film feels like it was stitched together from a bunch of different action set-pieces, with plot conveniences acting as the glue.  There’s a scene about halfway through the film that just left me stunned at how incompetently it was staged.  First off, Max finds himself in the home of a childhood friend, who works as a nurse, and who helped to heal a wound of his in secret.  Max learns that his friend’s daughter is also sick and needs to be healed on Elysium too.  The dialogue in this scene between Max and the little girl is so on the nose that it’s maddening, and you just know that it will come up again later once Max has his “heroic” moment in the finale.  Also, once Max exits the house, almost immediately he’s spotted by a drone spy camera sent by the mercenary Kruger; a plot development so convenient it’s laughable.  It’s scenes like this that illustrate just how phony the film feels.  There’s no logical progression in the character’s motives and actions; it’s all telegraphed beforehand by the necessities of the plot.
Character development is also kept to a minimum, and any attempt to add any is quickly brushed over in favor of more action scenes.  Max makes for a very obnoxious protagonist as he continually does one selfish thing after another.  It seems like he was meant to be representative of the average blue-collar guy who always gets short-handed in life, which in turn will make us want to root for him.  But I found Max to be a selfish and cynical wise-ass, and I felt no connection to him at all. Max isn’t some noble crusader for justice; he’s just a selfish guy who doesn’t want to die.  His quest would be more noble if he wasn’t dragging other people into it, many of whom sacrifice their lives to help him succeed, including his neighborhood buddy.  You can make a cynical character work out sometimes in a story like this, as long as there’s some depth to him.  Max unfortunately doesn’t change throughout the whole movie; he’s just a man on a mission and that’s all there is to him.  Any attempts to flesh his character out is usually sidetracked or just plain dropped within seconds in the movie; including an attempt at a romantic connection with the childhood friend, which went absolutely nowhere.
The same is true with some of the other characters.  The Elysium inhabitants have absolutely nothing that distinguishes them apart from one another.  Many of them aren’t even named.  Only Secretary Delacourt is given any amount of substantial screen-time, and even she has nothing special to add to the story.  She’s probably the blandest villain I’ve seen in a movie in a long time. We’re supposed to see her as this tough-as-nails overlord, but the film does nothing more than to show her sitting in her commander’s chair looking stern as she barks out her orders to her security team.  We learn that she wants to take command away from the governing body of Elysium, but that’s it.  Again, Blomkamp is trying to make us feel one way about a character without ever explaining what motivates her characteristics.  Every character in this story is just one cardboard cut-out after another.  The one standout, and the film’s only saving grace, is Sharlto Copley’s Kruger.  His character is still archetypal, but done in such an extreme way that it actually becomes entertaining.  I credit this more to Copley’s performance than to the way the character is written. When Kruger starts to wreck havoc in the film, it’s the only time that the movie comes alive, because here you have a character that is actually doing something unpredictable and actually throws a few twists into plot.  If only the other characters could have been given this type of treatment; then I would have overlooked some of the film’s other shortcomings.
The politics of the film are also problematic; not in the fact that they’re there, but rather in the way they are delivered.  Blomkamp’s political allegories are about as subtle as a bag of rocks to the head, and they’re delivered in the most ham-fisted, patronizing way possible.  Now, it can be said that District 9 lacked subtlety too, and I wouldn’t argue that point.  But what District 9 did so well was to get audiences invested in the personal story of it’s characters while using the political issues as the subtext for what was going on; in this case, the arrival and quarantine of an extraterrestrial race acting as an allegory for Apartheid policies in South Africa.  That film kept the politics and the story balanced well enough to make the film resonate both as a narrative and as a social studies lesson.  In Elysium, that balance is gone, and you can’t help but feel like you’re being lectured to in the most gratingly obvious ways.
Not only that, but I feel like Blomkamp is trying to inject too many political ideas into his film, some which lead to a number of contradictions.  For instance, the movie states that overpopulation is a plaguing problem for people on Earth, while at the same time also saying that one of the unfair inequalities between the rich and the poor is that the wealthy inhabitants on Elysium have amazing health care that cures them of all diseases and age flaws.  Not to sound horribly unsympathetic, but wouldn’t technology like this make overpopulation even worse if everyone had access to it, making it so no one would ever die.  I know Blomkamp is trying to make a case for universal healthcare, but it seems like he undercuts his own statement in the film by trying to mix it with another, completely different issue.  And while I don’t want to fault Blomkamp for wanting to make a politically-conscious film, I just wish he would have at least thought through how all the statements could have worked together as a whole.  I go to the movies to be entertained, not to be preached to, and Elysium just feels like one empty pontification after another.
The film also has many faults in it’s design, as well as it’s pacing.  The film has the unfortunate timing of being at the tail-end of a summer full of post-apocalyptic sci-fi movies.  With films like Oblivion, After Earth, and Pacific Rim already reaching theaters before it, audiences can’t help but feel fatigued by all these similarly themed films.  Pacific Rim was able to distinguish itself because of its playful nature, but Elysium just doesn’t have the same kind of confidence in itself.  The art design feels like a mixture of Blomkamp’s own District 9 with a bit of Kubrick’s 2001, a bit of George Miller’s Road Warrior, and even some oddly-placed Anime inspired visual motifs are thrown about. (Seriously, what the hell was with those blossom trees in a factory during the film’s climax?) For the most part, the film has a grimy and dirty visual look, which would have worked had it not felt so heavy-handed and artificial.  Not helping much is the awkward pacing of the movie.  It runs 109 minutes, but it will feel much longer mainly because the story-line is so predictable.  You’re left impatiently waiting there for the film to reach the conclusions that you already know are going to happen and the fact that no scene in the movie ever concludes on a satisfying note will also leave many people as bored as I was.
Elysium is a colossal disappointment from beginning to end.  There are so many other good Science Fiction films that touch upon political issues out there, including Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, and I recommend everyone should see that film instead of this piece of junk.  The film’s reception has been a tepid one, but it has received some mild reviews from the critical community.  Sorry to be a little cynical about other critic’s opinions, but I feel like some of them are glossing over the film’s narrative shortcomings because they agree so heavily with the politics behind it.  Again, it’s not the political messages that I have a problem with here; it’s the execution of the story.  I can excuse some cases where a film has an agenda driven message as long as it functions well enough within the story-line.  Elysium just felt like such a shallow attempt to make an action movie with a “brain,” so to speak.  If it weren’t so lazy and blatant, I would have probably reacted a little differently to the film.  Elysium set out to make me feel many different things over the course of it’s run time and in that case, it succeeded; it made me feel bitter, apathetic, and wondering why I wasted my money to see it.
Rating:   3/10

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