MAY 2008; HOSTEL PART II - SUPERHERO MOVIE - SMART PEOPLE - IRON MAN - SHEM

Reviews May 2008

HOSTEL PART II

To satisfy my morbid curiousity as well as my fear factor I purchased a copy of HOSTEL PART II in Nassau and forced myself to watch. Well I guess I get what I deserve. Eli Roth loves the set up of characters wandering about and interacting without really much to do. He shows people in their most mundane, trying to relate them to us and only then he comes in for the kill, filming their torment in all its glory. Setting up his victims, as well as their captors, as superficial glossy models and villainous cardboard cut-outs, Roth does not really allow anyone to remotely register beyond the level of pornography before discarding of them in purely awful – even outrageous - outcomes. Gross? Absolutely. Tempting to watch? Without a doubt. A depraved movie that equally condones the murder of children (forget that they are actually thieving gypsies) and the torture of young questionably innocent women, before it has the heroine turn the tables on her tormentors, this upgraded HOSTEL may lack the intensity of its predecessor but in its place offers, even if glossed-over, a glimpse of some much needed commentary over the frenzied mind of men and women who would commit to the destruction of other human lives. Mainly because that is what theses movies are about, killing innocent lives for the sheer thrill of the act. Trying to show life within the world of cold blooded murderers, the movie tries to sell us its conscience by showing us how its antagonists do not have a moral fibre in their body but easily blend as seemingly normal people to the outside world. Wow, how deep for a snuff film. Still, the real mayhem does not come until at least half way through the movie, so expect lots of false exposition, and yet for as little as it is shown in the last half it is, at least to me, quite unbearable. Why I had put myself through this I have no idea but perhaps I was simply testing my threshold and, surprise, survived. By the end, watching Lauren German turn the tables on Roger Bart, normally of the musical comedy variety, is quite the violent act in itself. We see her character lose herself as, in an instinct to survive, she turns into the cold hearted and vicious killer she shunned the entire movie. Is this a trait found in all of us? Can even the kindest of people turn so cruel? The movie begs to question. I beg to differ, even leave it alone.



SUPERHERO MOVIE **

I needed to keep my mind off from the horrors of HOSTEL PART II, so I popped in a really silly comedy called SUPERHERO MOVIE. By silly I do not necessarily mean very funny. In fact, only remotely funny, SUPERHERO MOVIE gets credit for at least trying to patch together a cohesive structured story of Rick Riker, who, much like all superheroes borne out of tragedy, is a young student newspaper photographer by day, whose parents died tragically, he is now living with his uncle and aunt (Leslie Nielson, who is always good for a laugh or two & Marion Ross, of Happy Days), pining for the girl & vying against the boy who’s dad just happens to be the big bad villain. Which comes in handy, as Rick is also Dragonfly by night or at any time of need, which seems to be often the case in this glob of a hybrid of all superhero movies of late. Written & directed by the man responsible for penning SCARY MOVIE 3 & 4, this movie offers up more of the same. I found myself laughing out loud a very few times but did admire the references to other films. Still, I recognize that it is quite difficult to repeat the formula and make it work just as well the nth time around. So watching cheese like this should come without any expectation to be truly appreciated. I, on the other hand, will look forward to a real film this week.

p.s.: The copy I got was filmed on location in a real theatre where silhouettes of audience members getting up, sitting down and tossing popcorn blended in with sounds of chuckles, cellular phones ringing and some serious Spanish conversation. This made for much of the film’s amusement.

SMART PEOPLE *** ½

SMART PEOPLE is a smart movie made for smart people who love their movies smart. While not altogether successful, this very likeable movie despite itself, about people in some kind of emotional rut, is engaging enough. Reminiscent in tone and nature of THE WONDER BOYS, but less refined, Dennis Quaid leads a standout cast that includes an impressive Ellen Page, hot off the heels of her JUNO success. In fact, here Page really fits into her way-too-intellectual-for-her-age character’s skin and steals every scene she’s in. She’s a hoot of complexities. While Sarah Jessica Parker reminds one that she may not be very pretty (and the big screen does her no favours whatsoever) she is at once quite magnetic in personality and full of relatable charm. She’s a treat on screen. Even Thomas Haden Church provides a solid follow up to his Oscar nominated performance from SIDEWAYS (even though it is technically not a follow-up) as a slightly unfocused and lacking direction too-old-to-be-a-child family member. Award winning commercial director Noam Murro helms from an at times witty, cynically-sweet script adapted from a novel by first timer Mark Poirier. It does show that these two are first timers with a feature film, and a hell-of-a-lot of good intentions. Because of this there are
some awkward scene transitions and unclear gaps but otherwise it is a film that owns up to its cynicism with an ultimately optimistic take on life. Like a satisfying class in modern literature, I watched SMART PEOPLE, understanding it fully, grasping at its meaning and relating to its characters. If I surely can relate to a film about angst and still leave the theatre wildly optimistic about its message and my own life it must be a sign, a very good sign. And about Quaid, it has been a very long while since he’s let his hair down, so to speak. Actually he’s let his body go for this one, and although I have been a big fan of his since JAWS 3-D, I must say I have not seen him give this much of himself on screen for as long as I can remember, not even FAR FROM HEAVEN. As a man conflicted with life, and in a self-pity mode with lots of self-motivational work to come he gives perhaps his very best performance in a lifetime of close to fifty films. Surely come Oscar time someone better remember.





IRON MAN ** 1/2
Speaking of WONDER BOYS, in which Jeff Bridges was outstanding, here, too he stands out but for different reasons altogether. From the very start, all decked out in some form of unrecognizable prosthetics, Bridges plays the bald, subtly raving lunatic of a long-bearded villain (can you see it) as if he owned the part, a part he’d surely been waiting to run with all these years. Having done his share of off-kilter roles and, even, baddies on screen, here he fittingly comes across as if he’s owned all the shares of this multi-million dollar movie. A questionable megalomaniac of a character, he plays his meaty, nasty two-dimensional role with all the verve he can muster with a 3-D willingness. And still, like the film itself, he comes across a bit stiff & sedated in all his seriousness.

A Marvel Superhero movie re-imagined from a modern perspective, as directed by actor Jon Favreau, IRON MAN takes on topical current events and uses them as the catalyst to engage in political commentary that is at the heart of this pseudo-entertainment film. A film that will most definitely echo with its young intended urban audiences worldwide, it tends to come off as a preachy, liberal & somewhat anti-American drama with a conscience as a hook. It should do well overseas. And while this a commendable approach in engaging the hipper crowds into theatres today, it also creates a dangerous international perception that may not necessarily fit with the intended big-budget American studio philosophy of turning fantasy action movies into message films, especially of the anti-American variety, and may end up turning off some viewers. Surprisingly, so far the film is a smash hit in its opening weekend and this may be attributed to some impressive special effects hinted from the trailers, luring those seeking such thrills. Setting up the movie in controversy may pay off at first and even get the buy-in from the film critics with ease, especially with their liberal views, but it is not necessarily a responsible approach & IRON MAN may find itself slowly losing viewer-ship. Interestingly enough, Americans should actually be concerned as the film points the large guilty finger at them and blames them for the current so-called war on terror.

From a purely entertainment standpoint, IRON MAN has its share of action sequences – all worthwhile experiencing - but mostly it is filmed with self-involved set-ups showing off its gadgetry and special effects proudly, in case we missed the point of how much money and artistry it took to create such a massive production. Sometimes way too serious for its own good and at other times almost mocking the genre with its self-centred humour Favreau seems unsure of where he wants to take the viewer – most likely to all these places but not altogether successfully. Perhaps due to clout, he also has an impressive all-star line-up but dispenses the talent like very few Superhero movies have ever done and I do not mean of the Marlon Brando eight-minute screen time variety. No, on the contrary, in addition to Bridges, the film also manages to happily, even giddily chew and then spit out the creative likes of Terrence Howard (okay) , Gwyneth Paltrow (weaker) and, of course, its star Robert Downey Jr. In all his eccentricities, Downey Jr sure knows hoe to fit into the role to a tee. He is somewhat repeating his performance from the surreally animated A SCANNER DARKLY where he plays yet another self-involved, half crazed, philosophical anti-hero.

By the end this busy movie starts running out of steam without adding much to neither the superhero franchise nor the present day war cautionary tale that it is trying to sell. Still, if you are in the know you must stay seated until the very end as a surprise awaits, hinting at more of both.


Lost Identity leads to Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
By Eyal Dattel

SHEM [2004] - The British film SHEM, Hebrew for Name, stars handsome newcomer Ash Newman as lost boy Daniel who has discarded his very sense of name & heritage but, as the film begins, is on the search of rediscovering it; the significance in the title which director Caroline Roboh explores in her own personal narrative.

The hedonistic and wildly sexual young Londoner also happens to be a self-absorbed, arrogant and unhappy individual who we first meet in Paris where beds & feeds off an older woman as well as her son, taking advantage of his living arrangements.

Soon enough, Daniel is summoned back to London. His old, dying grandmother sets him on a mission, a convoluted one, may I add. Thereafter Daniel travels is on a wild goose chase, in search of his late grandfather’s grave with very little information other than his name.

Daniel’s objective is not easily accomplished and the search takes him on a train ride through Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade and Sofia where Daniel encounters many kind strangers and unusual characters that help shape his character.

As Daniel has no real identity, as both a secular Jew who is very disinterested in his own religion or heritage or as a detached individual who has very little motivation other than engaging in sexual contact with anyone he encounters, he begins to take on numerous spontaneous identities to suit his anonymity: Alfred, David, Alex, he is not inclined to open up but spends most of his time having sex with a variety of men and women, more often than not putting himself into dangerous situations, while trying to live his momentary zest for life’s kinks to the hilt.

In his road to (self) discovery, Daniel’s introspection develops through many revelations that shape his character and allows him onto a road to redemption and Newman does a fine job in carrying the weight. This travelogue-as-drama is noticeably controlled by the self-assured if uneven hands of its artistic writer-director Roboh who allows us to explore a world literally ruled by gypsies, tramps and thieves. Inasmuch that one can sense that the film is a product of a film scholar, one that can be discovered only at international film festivals and art houses.