Heathers: A phenomenal black comedy / teen movie satire

Heathers, A

What a phenomenal hilarious satire of teen comedies! I find it to be especially pleasing since I'll be watching a John Hughes movie tomorrow night at Northeastern University Film Enthusiasts' Club!! This film is potentially taking shots at John Hughes movies and others of similar nature. At first I wrote unmistakably (rather than "potentially") however I'm not sure the Hughes films fall prey to the specific things criticized in Heathers. My favorite is the general premise during which the lead character, your typical angsty high school girl (played hilariously by Winona Ryder), falls for the bad boy who makes her lose control. Normally this means that he convinces her into sex and the punishment is she gets pregnant. In Heathers, it means she murders people. Yeah, the film is pretty damn extreme. The costumes are hilarious and ridiculous, as is the dialogue. My favorite moment at the beginning sums up the experience of the film: the bad boy, played by Christian Slater, seems to be about to fight two jock assholes who are insulting him. Instead of pulling out his fists he pulls out a gun and shoots... we find out moments later that they were blanks. This movie is shocking, funny, and completely out of its mind. However, it's still overwhelmingly intelligent.

Should you see it?
Would you want to see a movie in which all your high school exaggerations are acted out?
The motto of the film: Death to the popular kids!

RED STATE: An ambivalently fun and terrifying horror flick

Red State, A-

Disclaimer: This is a review exclusively of the on-screen material and not the off-screen matters all of which are discussed in my previous post "alsdjflafsjd." I've spoken a lot about why this film is revolutionary but all of those have nothing to do with the content of the film.

See anticipatory musings here

ALSO, I will try my hardest to keep this free of plot spoilers.

Red State is perceived by many (rightfully so from the title and teaser) as an anti-conservative horror movie that's a progression in filmmaking ability for Kevin Smith but nothing too special. I was happy to discover that this film is in no way an attack on conservative America... it shows most characters (most importantly the religious fanatics and the cops) as morally questionable human beings. This aspect of the film kind of unfolds into one of the things that makes Red State special in the current marketplace (however it's nothing new as far as film history is concerned). Red State is brutally honest in its portrayal of many things. My favorite aspect is the coldness with which people die (okay so I guess it's a spoiler that there is in fact multiple deaths in a HORROR movie, I hope that doesn't suprise anyone). There are moments where people die and there's no grand significance. We don't focus in on the character and watch them fall in slo-mo as they cry and say their last words. It's just a moment of boom, gone, moving on. Sometimes you don't even mention them for the rest of it, and that's not because they're meaningless side characters. This quality of the film is one of its most disturbing. It stems from older horror films (the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre comes to mind) where the movies were about a crazy out of this world person/group of people...which is my way of saying Kevin Smith is NOT trying to show anyone as being this terrible. I'm not sure why else but it really makes me think about that Texas Chainsaw. That being said, I'm not putting them on equal ground (saying something isn't one of the greatest all time isn't an insult imo).

On the note of disturbing, I'd like to mention that I did not find it so (in not ridiculous language, the movie didn't disturb me). Unsettling a little but definitely not disturbing. This movie is a serious intelligent well-made horror film, but not like Black Swan or Antichrist. In fact (and I DO NOT mean this insultingly), I wouldn't call it a film. This is a straight up movie. It's a fun horror movie that is fun because of the content not because of how crappy it's made (like most wide release horror movies today). The entire crowd laughed many times throughout this film, it really does have Smith's usual humor. This is kind of shocking to think about at first, but the film is seriously a well-made horror movie that is clearly made by Kevin Smith in the respect that it is deifnitely infused with his personality.

I'll finish off with some more direct specific stuff:

My friend Jonny Glassman said it best: while the acting was excellent, the casting was superb. WELL DONE KEVIN. I personally think the acting was superb also. The film doesn't really have a lead it jumps around a lot of different characters but if there was any it'd be Michael Parks as Abin Cooper. Parks did such a great job not being over the top but having many subtle "moments of crazy" as he plays a pretty out of this world nuts character. John Goodman is good as always. Melissa Leo is also excellent as always. My favorite acting (aside from Parks) came from the 3 characters the film starts with, Travis, Jarod and Billy-Ray. In fact the film opens on a slightly unsettling shot of Michael Angarano (Travis). He's sitting in the passenger seat of his mom's car as she drives him to school. Something about his facial hair and the way DP David Klein (his best work I've ever seen) shot the moment/scene really affected me. I could feel the impending chaos that was to follow --> awesome job by Smith here. So yeah stellar jobs especially by Angarano and Kyle Gallner (Jarod). There's a scene I'd love to talk about but don't want to spoil. It's the scene when Gallner "wakes up." That's all I'll say. Angarano's final scene is really amazing too. The last performance I have to mention is Kerry Bishe as Cheyenne. Can't say anything without spoilers... JERSEYIANS, she's from Montclair!

This movie has a lot of action. He does these really awesome handheld (I guess... I've never held a camera so what do I know) chase sequences. I loved the way they were filmed and even more I loved the editing. It's funny that since Smith edited so quickly I'd expect that to be a weak aspect of the film... upon seeing the end product, that's one of the absolutely strongest parts of the film, especially those chases. I think he did a better job than his buddy Affleck did with action in The Town. 

So in conclusion: Red State is an excellent MOVIE. It's riveting because it doesn't pull any punches. The writing AND directing are high quality, and I will say again the ensemble acting is brilliant. 

In theaters October 19th! 

Paper Heart: An underrated film

Paper Heart, B+

I was scared going into this but I loved it. Cera’s awkward act is just annoying now however most other people in this film were excellent. Charlyne wasn’t very charming at first however by the end you really felt for her, I was overcome by sadness watching her I connected with her a lot. The actor playing Jasenovec did a fantastic job he and Charlyne had amazing chemistry. This film wasn’t cinematic, it didn’t follow a structure, it didn’t please you in the way other recent similar films did (Away We Go, (500) Days of Summer). The faux-documentary style made it feel completely and totally real. The film wasn’t as powerful as the other two quirky indie comedies I mentioned above as a whole however it had extremely powerful moments that have the potential to put you in tears.

That was more general, so my little commentary on the actual subjects of the film. I think the documentary crew and the way they reacted to it very successfully embodied the relationship between our personal relationships and society. Many lines of dialogue about how hard it is to always have people watching what you do and trying to force you along the typical path. There’s a part in the trailer that really brought this out in the film when fake Jasenovec runs over and tells Cera to put his arm around her.

Antichrist: The best horror film I've ever seen

Antichrist, A+

This is one of the most powerful and engaging films I’ve ever seen. I think it’s a film about depression. The story begins with the death of a man and a woman’s son, and then as a way to try and heal her grief they go to this woods area called “eden.” Essentially, the majority of the movie (the eden part) is a dreamy intensified view of depression, showing visually how one feels internally when they’re going through the roughest stages of grief. The whole Eden part is Trier exploring what “she,” Charlotte Gainsborgh’s character, was actually feeling at the very beginning. The film explicitly and disturbingly states the phases and results of depression. The fear, the feelings of helplessness. Most importantly, it discusses what depression does to those who try and help the grieving person. For the sake of not ruining the film for those who haven’t seen it I won’t substantiate my claims… Charlotte Gainsbourg gives possibly the best acting performance I’ve ever seen. If you’re not intrigued by this and don’t feel like you have to see it, then don’t. This is not for most people, and it is very hard to get through. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it because I’m sure it’ll run through my mind for the next month minimum but right now I’m ready to say it’s a near masterpiece that is a little too mysterious for its own good.

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire - one of the best movies I've ever seen, and I thought I'd hate it

11/22/09

Precious, A+


I was expecting this film to be the typical urban mtv oprah movie type like Freedom Writers or any of that stuff. It absolutely wasn’t; this film runs much deeper than those because it’s really not THAT focused on the urban community. It’s more about personal strength. The film is very aware of all the stereotypical things it does and is more commenting on that than just following the mold. For example the teacher has some dialogue about unrelenting plots with unrelenting problems. By adding something like this it seems to me that the writers weren’t trying to show how awful things are in urban communities, they were using this fictitious backdrop (more over-exaggerated version of reality perhaps) to comment on personal strength. I think the reason I love the film so much is the writing… The writers really acknowledge everything, often times they sort of find little ways to give you guidance and talk to the audience directly. Like when Precious and her mom are having a conversation with the counselor, the counselor sort of functions as the audience, just listening and asking the questions we want to ask. Her emotions given every situation she’s in in the film mimic those that the writers probably expected from the audience. I feel like I’m just rambling… This film was written extremely well with pretty good directing and outstanding acting, I highly recommend it (which says a lot, I came in with a pretty negative attitude towards the film).

Obselidia: A Sundance gem sadly not coming to a theater near you

1/28/10

Obselidia, A-

Absolutely loved this film. It’s a really sweet film with that indie road movie feel that has a realistically optimistic view on the world. The film acknowledges that everyone’s life and the world itself will eventually die but it remains positive by appreciating everyday love and beauty (like sunrises in a beautifully shot sunrise scene). If you believe in positivity but also need things to be realistic, you will love this. Side note: AMAZING cinematography. 

Abel: Diego Luna's poignant debut

1/28/10

Abel, A

Surprisingly incredible! Everything about this was of the highest quality. The acting by children and adults is stellar (propelled by years of stage acting together), the cinematography is great, and even Diego Luna does an excellent excellent job. I’m not even sure why this all gelled together so way but it did. This film makes you feel and emote uncontrollably, I was among many wiping tears off their face in the end. The film is about family and abandonment. Definitely recommend seeing this one.

Here is a conversation via comments between a reader and I that I thought added a lot to the review: 

Eliza said: 

I loved this film at Sundance, and especially enjoyed the characteristics of Luna's direction that seem to include him in the pantheon of great Latin American filmmakers working right now (Innaritu, both Cuarons). The comedic elements seem to enhance the effectiveness of the story's tragedies rather than subverting them, and I think the cinematography coming out of Latin America right now is incredible.

I replied: 

Very interesting that you compare the film to Innaritu and the Cuarons. I personally like the way it diverges from them. I found Abel to be significantly more down to earth, and (I mean this in a positive way) less cinematic. Movies like 21 Grams, Babel, and Rudo y Cursi keep you at a distance, creating a feeling that you're been shown something. What Abel does which many of its fellow Sundance films often do so well, is invite you into its world in a very unpretentious fashion. Luna's greatest accomplishment that so many first time directors have trouble with, is letting the audience love the characters and be a part of their lives (not just watch them).