Monthly Archives: April 2012

Seeking Justice
Apr 30 2012

Seeking Justice (2011)

After a brief prologue sequence that will factor into the story much later, Seeking Justice opens with an example of two happy people living good lives in New Orleans. Will Gerard (Nicolas Cage) is a high school English teacher. Although it’s the type of school in which the students must pass through a metal detector before attending class, he seems capable of handling it. His wife, Laura (January Jones), is a successful cellist for an orchestra. The two are indisputably in love. Will is good friends with the school principal, Jimmy (Harold Perrineau), and the two regularly convene at a local chess club. It’s not a glamorous life, but it’s fulfilling. When things go this well for characters at the beginning of a film, Murphy’s Law inevitably rears its ugly head, and it can only go downhill from there.

And so it does. One night, quite unexpectedly, Laura is approached at gunpoint. Although we don’t actually see it, we learn later, as she lies in a hospital bed, that she was beaten and raped by an unknown man in snakeskin boots. Will is understandably devastated and furious. As he worriedly sit in the waiting room, a mysterious man approaches him like a heaven-sent deus ex machina. He says his name is Simon (Guy Pearce). He has heard about Laura’s unfortunate situation, and he would like to help. He’s not affiliated with the police. Despite this, he and his organization are very much interested in bringing justice to the city’s worst offenders, like the man who raped Laura. They could take care of him. It would be much quicker and less emotionally trying than if they relied on the legitimate justice system. It would not cost Will anything financially, although he may be called upon for a favour at some point. Will initially refuses, but quickly changes his mind.

And so six months pass. Will is back teaching. Laura is recovering, although she has resorted to getting a gun, and she has become a stickler for keeping the front door of their apartment locked at all times. Things seem to be back to normal. But then Simon pays Will a visit, and the situation becomes complicated and dangerous. As part of the agreement Will made at the hospital, he’s to track down a man Simon claims to be a paedophile. At the opportune time, Will must find a way to kill him off. That’s how Simon’s system works: They do you a favour for a crime committed against you, and you reciprocate by eliminating one dreg of human society at their behest. This is more than Will bargained for. He wants no part of it. But this is not something you can easily back out of. When Simon says … well, you know how it goes.

Seeking Justice is a technically competent action thriller, although when it comes to plot, characterization, and theme, it lacks the spark of imagination that would have allowed it to rise about the rest. Had it tried just a little harder, its increasingly preposterous twists and turns would be far less noticeable. By the final forty minutes or so, Will has transformed himself from a paranoid wreck to an intrepid detective, whose mission is multifaceted: (1) Find out Simon’s true identity; (2) determine how deeply rooted his band of vigilantes are in positions of authority, including press and law enforcement; (3) dig into local records for information gathered by a half-crazed investigative journalist; (4) clear his name after a turn of events I won’t reveal. It all seems rather convenient, outlandish, and rather conventional.

Having said that, there are moments that are genuinely exciting, and its handful of action sequences are visually engaging without going over the top. And I have no complaints in the performance department. This is good for Cage, especially after a disastrous turn in his previous film, the God-awful Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Here, he washes off the stink of forced camp and allows himself to actually act. Pearce plays a certifiable lunatic without having to ham it up, which would have been fatal for this material. Jones is not given all that much to do, although she’s convincing nonetheless; director Roger Donaldson even gives her a coveted moment in the climactic final sequence, which makes her more important to the story that it might first appear.

In spite of Pearce’s decent performance, I couldn’t help but be somewhat disappointed by his character’s rationale, which he explains to Will – or, more accurately, to the audience – at just the right moment. Apart from not being very original, it’s also a bit overwrought given the kind of movie this is. You’d expect such a simple, heavy handed explanation from a James Bond villain. This character is also pivotal to a plot twist that’s visible from a mile away; if you can’t see it coming, you’re probably better off, because it means you haven’t seen as many action thrillers as I have. Does any of this make Seeking Justice not worth the time and money on your part? Not necessarily. It may not have all the necessary ingredients, but there’s just enough to make it palatable.

Written by Chris Pandolfi

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the deep blue sea
Apr 26 2012

The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

As well made as I found The Deep Blue Sea, I’m amazed that it took ninety-four minutes to say what could easily have been said in as little as fifteen or twenty. Adapted from the stage play by Terence Rattigan, it tells the incredibly simple story of a woman who leaves behind a secure but sexless marriage for a passionate but reckless affair. With neither relationship able to give her all of what she wants, she must make a choice between going on living or dying alone. Plot wise, there really is nothing more to the film than that. I have not seen or read the original play, although on the basis of what I’ve read about it, it seems like one of the characters, an ex-doctor, had a much more prominent role than he had in the film. I can’t help but wonder if his inclusion would have made the story seem more substantive and less dragged out.

Taking place in London just after World War II (an opening title card gives us the vague timeline of “around 1950”), the central character is a woman named Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz), whose story is told as a combination of flashback sequences and present moments, the latter of which unfold over the course of roughly one day. At the start, she attempts suicide by downing several aspirins and letting her apartment flood with gas fumes from the furnace. She’s rescued in time. Left alone to reflect, we get glimpses of the events leading up to her attempt. She was married to an older, well-respected High Court judge named William (Simon Russell Beale). Despite his wealth, his status, and his highly proper behaviour, Hester fell out of love with him for his lack of infatuation.

She soon begins an affair with a seemingly high-spirited former RAF pilot named Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston). At last, she finds the physical passion she so desired. William soon catches on, and although he never raises his voice or his hand to her, he decrees that he will never grant her a divorce. Hester moves into Freddie’s inner city apartment, which is an obvious step down from the upscale luxury of William’s estate. What started off so well between Hester and Freddie soon begins to decline. Despite the physical attention he gives her, it doesn’t seem he’s capable of financial or emotional stability. He forgets important events, like Hester’s birthday. He isn’t as cultured as she is, a fact she finds bothersome. It also seems he hasn’t been truly happy since the war ended, and so he drinks in excess.

William will reappear several times throughout the film. After the initial shock of learning of her affair, he finds he’s much more willing to give her the divorce she wants. All the same, he’s genuinely baffled by her rejection of him. Perhaps he wasn’t as physically inclined as Freddie, but did feel genuine affection for Hester. He still does. Why is this not enough for her? She tries to explain it to him, although it comes off as little more than excuse-making – which is to say, she makes everything sound much more complicated than it actually is. This isn’t to say that emotions aren’t complicated, because they very much are, especially in matters of love. However, every conversation she has with William is an exercise in padded dialogue. If she would just trim away the fat and make her point, things would go much more smoothly.

Despite her verbal predilections, the film does feature some exquisitely written passages. The best are reserved for two scenes between Hester and William’s puritanical mother (Barbara Jefford). I will not quote any specific lines for want of you hearing them firsthand. Just know this: Mrs. Collyer repeatedly makes it clear, in her own prim and proper way, that Hester does absolutely nothing right and is not good enough for her son. There’s also one great scene with the ex-doctor, whose name escapes me at the moment; when he checks on Hester after her suicide attempt, he delivers to William a zinger so deliciously witty that he could have easily been quoting Oscar Wilde.

Perhaps it’s because of the story’s innate simplicity that it speaks so fluently in the language of melodrama. One of the most noticeable elements is Samuel Barber’s “Violin Concerto, Op. 14” (the film does not contain original score material). Here is a piece of music that oozes solemnity from every pore, sounding more like tonal weeping than like an orchestral piece. Long, slow solo sections are played vibrato at the high end of the scale; they’re so strategically placed that they’re obviously intended to represent Hester’s emotional state. There’s no rule stating that movies like The Deep Blue Sea need to be complicated or multilayered in order to work. All the same, filmmakers should give you more of a reason to see something apart from an easily understood relationship problem.

Written by Chris Pandolfi

Green Lantern Vol 1 Sinestro
Apr 25 2012

Green Lantern Vol 1: Sinestro

When DC re-launched all their titles in September last year the aim was to get rid of all that pesky continuity building up with their characters and get some new readers into comics, as well as revitalising long term fans. This is mostly what DC stuck to, however Green Lantern is the one series that must have missed the memo about the whole thing, sure it started at issue 1 again however the story is a direct continuation of the old Green Lantern series before the reboot. Granted a big reason for the title not changing is the big shake up a few years ago when Hal Jordan returned to life, which was a natural jumping on point for new readers too. The Graphic Novels from ‘Rebirth’ onwards are still in print and easy to get a hold of, meaning any new Green Lantern readers already had an easy access point and didn’t need another one in the reboot, especially considering it would have just rehashed stories from just a few years ago. With this in mind the (new) first volume of Green Lantern is not a good place to start for new readers, however for existing readers it’s quite a ride.

The story picks up right after War of the Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan has been stripped of his Green Lantern ring for his reckless behaviour and former Lantern turned Corps enemy Sinestro has taken his place as the protector of Sector 2814. It’s an enjoyable twist seeing Sinestro returned to the role of a Green Lantern and it does seem like Geoff Johns has been hinting at this ever since Rebirth when Sinestro was adamant everything he did was for the benefit of the Corps. Obviously Sinestro’s old Corps are not happy about this change, they see it as a betrayal, and the feeling is mutual as the Sinestro Corps have taken over Korugar and enslaved its population. Obviously Sinestro isn’t happy about his home world being enslaved and he vows to launch an attack on his former allies, however he’s going to need a little help, help from a certain ex-green lantern.

At the beginning of the story we get to see Hal Jordan trying to get used to civilian life back on Earth and failing spectacularly, he’s way behind on his rent, his relationship with Carol Ferris is on thin ice and to top it all off he’s sent to jail after trying to break up a fight that turned out to be a script part of a film. With this in mind how could Hal refuse a temporary Green Lantern ring from Sinestro in exchange for his help in the attack against Korugar. After all the recent Green Lantern stories where Hal has been the centre of attention with an insane amount of power behind him it’s strange to see him at rock bottom having to team up with his old nemesis just to be able to fly again, but things go back to their usual form once the duo are on Korugar.

Once the story picks up its the usual Geoff Johns affair, there’s a lot of action, a few revelations and the hint of what’s to come in future issues to keep readers coming back for more. John’s is really building up Sinestro as the main star of the Green Lantern comics at the moment and the character slips back into the role of Hal’s mentor, albeit an unwanted one, with great ease. Sinestro also comes across as someone who has a great deal of knowledge about the universe, and especially the Green Lantern rings, teaching Hal how to make his suit ‘go dark’ when they’re needed to be stealthy. There’s also a lot of building up of Sinestro’s back-story when he runs into and subsequently rescues one of the first people on Korugar to accept and support him as the Green Lantern of their world. It’s obvious that Sinestro is here to stay for quite some time.

The battle for Korugar is over fairly quickly and frankly it’s a little underwhelming after the usual big fights we’ve become accustomed to in the Green Lantern series, there’s a slight surprise in the middle of the battle but once Sinestro does his ring creating trick a few more times the battle is pretty predictable. Geoff Johns can’t help but skip back to the guardians, who are fast becoming the villains in a series about a group of heroes they created, and their plans for the future, they’ve deemed the Green Lantern corps a failure just as their first attempt at bringing peace to the galaxy, the manhunters, were before them, therefore they agree to make a new army to replace the lanterns. Obviously the most emotional of the guardians, Ganthet, doesn’t agree with this conclusion especially when it is deemed the lantern corps must be destroyed to make way for this new army so the other guardians use their powers to make Ganthet like them, emotionless. It’s a little disappointing to see Ganthet ripped apart like this, his character has been getting built up for a while now, making his own blue lantern corps, leading the charge in blackest night and even becoming the star of his own series (Emerald warriors) and he’s been the unique voice amongst the guardians who readers could really root for, now he’s identical to the other guardians.

The story ends on a bittersweet note as we see Hal Jordan back on Earth sans Green Lantern ring actually starting to get used to normal life and making headway with his relationship with Carol Ferris, and still managing to be a hero in his own way all at the same time! However Hals happiness is not destined to last, at the same time as this Sinestro is still tracking down the members of his old corps and after failing to bring out the hero in an old enemy Starstorm Sinestro decides that Hal is the only one capable of being his sidekick and flies back to Earth to re-recruit the former Green Lantern. It’s such a shame that Hals time without powers is so short in this story, there was real potential to build upon that and show that he doesn’t have to depend on the ring to be happy, though it does throw out the question can Hal and Carol ever be happy together as long as he has a Green Lantern ring?

Doug Mahnke does a brilliant job on the artwork during the whole story, with a little help from guest artist Mike Choi at the end, and the Green Lantern series is somewhere where artists can really show off their imagination creating constructs and colourist really shine being able to add an extra dimension to the contracts, especially since Johns introduced the other coloured corps too. The only problem with Mahnke’s art is characters can seem a little bit stoic when they’re meant to be thinking or reacting and there did seem to be a few bare backgrounds during the series, however I suspect that is due to DCs strict deadline policies for the monthly comics after the new 52, which would explain the guest artist near the end of the arc too. Choi’s artwork was a pleasant surprise however, and definitely fits the more mundane storyline in the last issue.

Verdict

A strong continuation of the Green Lantern mythos that is not intended for new readers, though it does add a lot for existing Green Lantern fans. As always there are some strong hints from Geoff Johns at the future of the Green Lanterns, and Doug Mahnke shines on art duties.

3/5

Written by Paul Lightfoot

kaboom
Apr 23 2012

Kaboom (2010)

For fans of such mind-numbingly incoherent films wrapped up in the guise of the deep and philosophical, such as Donnie Darko, Mr. Nobody, Southland Tales comes Kaboom from writer and director George Araki (Totally Fucked Up, Mysterious Skin) and while we are at it, Araki sure as shit has established himself as an auteur of the film industry. However this film quashes such negative views on such a plethora of previous attempts and flukes triumphantly. Continue reading →

Reuniting the Rubins
Apr 22 2012

Reuniting the Rubins (2011)

The fascinating thing about Reuniting the Rubins is that it goes through a myriad of unexpected twists and turns before arriving at the ending we expect. Even more fascinating is the fact that the happy ending comes after a sequence of events that run the gamut from absurd to serious, both of which are the result of circumstances many would call exasperating, unwarranted, and even unpleasant. I’m not saying this to suggest that the film is confused or meandering; it’s simply unique in its approach to sentiment. After what we watch, which is at times mentally and emotionally exhausting, the ending comes at us like a cool, refreshing drink at the end of brisk jog. Who gives a hang how likely or unlikely it happens to be? Endings like the one in Reuniting the Rubins are half the reason we go to the movies in the first place.

It is, in short, a bittersweet comedy with a heart-warming finale. It tells the story of a family reunion – or, more accurately, the immense frustration and agony that goes into making the reunion possible. At the film’s heart is Lenny Rubins (Timothy Spall), a burnt-out lawyer whose dream of retirement is to take a relaxing cruise. His mother, known only as Gran (Honor Blackman), has a weakening heart and would like nothing more than for her family to get back together for the Jewish celebration of Pesach. Lenny is repeatedly forced into delaying his cruise, sometimes out of what appears to be an emergency situation, at other times out of guilt. As much as he wants to appease his mother, he doesn’t believe a reunion of any kind, let alone for a holiday, is possible.

Here enters his four grown children, who are so diametrically opposite from each other that it’s a wonder they haven’t killed anyone. His son, Clarity (Asier Newman), has become a Buddhist monk. His other son, Yona (Hugh O’Conor), has given up his career as a lawyer to become a devout rabbi, much to Lenny’s chagrin. His third son, Danny (James Callis), is an uptight, controlling, perpetually angry, fast-paced businessman – a staunch, greedy capitalist tycoon who’s pitching a new holographic computer screen to foreign investors. His daughter, Andie (Rhona Mitra), is a militant eco-warrior fighting to stop slave mining in Africa, the kind that yields the raw materials needed for products like cell phones, computers, and holographic projectors. She and Danny are the most argumentative of the four, and are constantly at each other’s throats.

Gran realizes that her grandchildren are a handful, but she insists on going through with the reunion, and even sees to it that their childhood home is restored for the occasion. The plot synopsis on the film’s official website refers to her actions as emotional blackmail, which I believe is a cruel misreading of her character. As a resident of a retirement home – and, more compellingly, as a holocaust survivor – she has seen her fair share of suffering and death. All she wants is to be surrounded by the people she loves, preferably while she’s still alive. This is not emotional blackmail. It’s a request that, quite frankly, would benefit not only her but also her family. Lenny initially doesn’t see things the same way she does, but that doesn’t make him a bad father. It just means that he has some maturing to do.

The film occasionally goes too far with its depictions of Lenny’s children, who for the most part are reduced to caricatureish simplifications, as if the intention was to parody them. Rather than try for something more compelling, we initially see them at their worst and/or most ridiculous. There’s Yona with his constant quoting from the Torah, Clarity with his exaggerated new age proverbs, Danny with his cold professionalism, and Andie with her confrontational liberal agenda. As the film progresses, however, a few of the layers are finally peeled back. The single best scene takes place between Danny and his young son, Jake (Theo Stevenson). Danny, at last beginning to realize he doesn’t spend enough time with his son, tries to buy his affections by giving him a wrapped digital watch. Jake solemnly asks how much his father makes per hour. “Around 300,” Danny replies. Jake then empties the contents of his piggy bank on his bed and does some quick mental math. “Can you give me eight minutes?” he asks.

And then there’s the ending – which, strangely enough, is what I started this review with. Without giving anything away, I will say that it involves two emotional contrivances that are polar opposites. In this case, this isn’t a criticism so much as it is a simple observation. As much as some of us might complain about lack of plausibility or psychological manipulation in the movies, the truth is that they make endings like this because we enjoy them. Filmmakers understand that they appeal to our need for resolution, hope, and yes, even happiness. And besides, who’s to say life doesn’t work this way? That’s a pretty broad generalization, if you ask me. If there’s anything to take away from Reuniting the Rubins, it’s that sometimes, it does work out.

Written by Chris Pandolfi

intruders
Apr 19 2012

Intruders (2011)

The perpetually frightening atmosphere of Intruders is continuously challenged and ultimately defeated by a confusing structure, gaps in logic, and a twist ending that raises more questions than it answers. Before we know the real secret of the film, we must blindly work our way through a plot that repeatedly blurs the line between reality, dreamscape, and pure fantasy. When the secret is revealed, we’re somewhat disillusioned, as it forces us to reprocess the entire film and come to the conclusion that it could not have unfolded the way it did. That’s assuming, of course, that I didn’t miss something along the way, which is certainly possible given the difficulty I had sorting through facts, characters, and events. What really eats away at me is that, short of me issuing a spoiler warning, I can’t be any more specific than that.

The film intercuts between two separate stories that will dramatically converge into one during the final act. What links them together during the first two acts is a shared brush with what appears to be a supernatural presence – a hooded, shadowy figure known as Hollowface, so named because he quite literally has no face. He can also “tear away” someone else’s facial features so that the person is left with a head that looks like a blank flesh canvas. Even before the twist, we’re left to wonder if such a physical mutilation is literal or figurative, but I’ll get into that later. He’s noticed by two characters, both young. One is a boy from Spain named Juan (Izan Corchero), who can’t be any older than six or seven. The other is a twelve-year-old girl from England named Mia (Ella Purnell).

Hollowface enters their lives in rather perplexing ways. In Juan’s case, Hollowface slips in through an open window in the middle of a rainstorm; he tries to strangle Juan’s mother, Luisa (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), only to stop when Juan enters the room and try to, I don’t know, consume him. This leads to a physical altercation between all three, which then leads to a confrontation on the scaffolding just outside the bedroom window. After that, I’m not really sure what the logistics are. Hollowface continuously reappears in Juan’s bedroom in the most ghostly of ways, although most of the time, the scenes end with Juan waking up screaming. Complicating matters further is the fact that all this started with Juan writing a story for a school assignment, one that didn’t yet have an ending.

Mia’s situation is even more baffling. Whilst visiting her grandparents’ secluded countryside estate, she reaches into a hole at the top of a tree and discovers an old matchbox. Within this box is a folded piece of paper, one that tells the fairytale-like story of Hollowface. After returning home, she claims it as her own for a school assignment, although she’s not sure how it ends, as that part of it was smudged out after years of sitting within the tree. She will repeatedly write things down, as if, I don’t know, willing Hollowface into being. Sure enough, he continuously manifests himself from within her bedroom closet. At one point, he attacks her and appears to “rip off” her lips. And yet her lips remain. She does, however, lose the ability to speak. She then cryptically tells – or, more accurately, writes down – to her therapist that she knows Hollowface doesn’t exist, but he thinks he does.

The only other person who can see Hollowface is Mia’s father, John (Clive Owen), a construction worker. The bond between father and daughter is strong, which comes into question as the film enters its final act. Indeed, we also question the bond between Juan and his mother, who’s perpetually frightened. We don’t know why until the end, and even then, it doesn’t make much sense given the sequence of events that take place. The single most bizarre inclusion is that of Father Antonio (Daniel Bruhl), who keeps re-entering mother and son’s life, presumably because he’s attracted to Luisa. She requests something of him, something that, given what we learn at the end, doesn’t seem all that likely. What did she think she would gain?

I understand how maddeningly vague this review has been, but the plot is constructed in such a way that I can’t get into detail. Not that the details matter all that much; they only make figuring this movie out more difficult. To give credit where credit is due, Intruders successfully establishes mood and, initially, keeps you on the edge of your seat in suspense. I would have appreciated it, however, if the story had a better grasp of an understandable plot and more easily defined characters. It might seem like the ending provides you with an explanation, but in reality, it only makes the waters murkier. It’s one of those resolutions that isn’t a resolution at all – a starting point for who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. The more explaining it does, the less sense it makes.

Written by Chris Pandolfi

the cabin in the woods large
Apr 15 2012

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

“I love being scared.” So said Joss Whedon in an interview with Total Film regarding The Cabin in the Woods, which he produced and co-wrote with director Drew Goddard. “The things that I don’t like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had sung a little too far in that direction.” When I first read that quote a few weeks ago, I wished Whedon had been there with me, for I wanted to shake him by the hand and thank him for publically reaffirming what I’ve felt about horror movies for quite some time. But then I actually saw The Cabin in the Woods, and I couldn’t help but wonder why I wasn’t seeing things as he saw them. Something wasn’t quite right.

The film, promoted by Whedon himself as a “very loving hate letter” and “a serious critique of what we love and what we don’t about horror movies,” is nowhere near as clever or insightful as it has been made to seem. Whedon and Goddard clearly have fun with a number of threadbare horror clichés, but never once do they actually say anything relevant about them. All these men really do is confirm that they exist, which is short-sighted considering the fact that most horror audiences are already well aware of this. They think they’re letting us in on the joke when in fact we were in on it all along. What I was promised was satire; what I got was a confusing, ridiculous, and surprisingly depressing film in which archetypes and conventions are addressed but barely improved.

Central to the story are five college kids who were clearly intended to be one-dimensional caricatures. But pointing out their shallowness and actually commenting on it are two entirely different matters, and frankly, I would have preferred the filmmakers to go in the latter direction. There’s Dana, the reluctant virgin (Kristen Connolly). There’s her best friend, Jules, the perpetually horny sexpot (Anna Hutchison), who just dyed her hair blonde; although she can’t pronounce one of the words on Dana’s math book, it’s declared that she’s premed. There’s Jules’ boyfriend, Curt, the hunky jock (Chris Hemsworth). There’s Holden, the scholarly gentleman (Jesse Williams), who will inevitably fall for Dana. Finally, there’s Marty, the goofy pothead (Fran Kranz), who sounds like he knows more than he initially lets on.

They leave campus and take an RV to a remote part of the woods, where they vacation in a strangely decorated and certifiably creepy cabin. Little do they know that beneath the cabin lies a subterranean office superstructure, where a bureaucratic team of workers in suits, ties, and lab coats watch their every move via surveillance cameras. Two scientists, Hadley (Richard Jenkins) and Sitterson (Bradley Whitford), use a force field to seal the college kids into the wooded area and subject them to a scenario of their own design. They manipulate the circumstances as much as possible, mostly by the release of airborne chemicals that can change a person’s ability to think. They eventually open the cellar, where, amidst an eclectic mix of creepy Victorian paraphernalia, Dana finds an old diary. Upon reading a Latin incantation, zombies emerge from the ground and descend on the cabin.

At this point, I’m going to stop describing the plot in detail, as there are numerous twists and turns that most will not want spoiled. I will say that the film is intended to be both frightening and funny, and to an extent, it succeeds at both. In the humour department, we have more than the antics of the college kids; we have the working environment of the subterranean office. Just as it would be in an urban skyrise, we see division of labour and the formation of cliques. We see money pools and office partying, and there’s even enough time to work in the playful ribbing of the nerdy intern. When they’re not working, the scientists will gab about their personal lives; in the opening scene, Sitterson spends a great deal of time complain about his wife and her new cabinets.

There’s an extremely bloody confrontation involving every imaginable monster from the annals of horror, from wispy spirits to werewolves to giant cobras to robotic slicing machines to zombies to carnivorous mermen. All leads to a Lovecraftian ending that was not only lame-brained and inappropriate but also needlessly upsetting. Was that the point of The Cabin in the Woods? To espouse a nihilistic viewpoint of humanity? If this is Whedon’s idea of sticking it to the makers of slasher films and gore fests, he might want to steer clear of the horror genre altogether. I hate to think that there are other genres he feels have been corrupted. If he were to write another very loving hate letter, say for a romantic comedy or a musical, would it too end in the same way?

Written by Chris Pandolfi

we have a pope
Apr 12 2012

We Have A Pope (2011)

No matter how capable we are in life, there are some responsibilities we’re simply not able to assume. We Have a Pope tells the story of a man who comes to this realization after several days of soul searching. His name is Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli), who’s part of a conclave gathering in Rome following the death of John Paul II. Continue reading →

Top Cat
Apr 11 2012

Top Cat Returns!

Benny the Ball, Fancy Fancy, Choo Choo, Spook and Brains, and the indisputable leader of the gang T.C. are back at war with the long arm of the law when the menacing Police Chief Strickland moves to town, ousting the bumbling Officer Dibble. 

Determined to put a stop to the feline antics in Hoagy’s Alley with the help of a bullying robot police force, the tech-savvy Stickland threatens to be the most dastardly enemy the gang has ever faced. 

With their wise-guy lifestyle hanging in the balance T.C. and friends are forced to cash in on another of their 9 lives to curtail Strickland’s reign of terror and claw their way back to the top!

That’s right, Vertigo Films are proud to announce the UK release of Top Cat: The Movie for Friday June 1, 2012 in 3D. Top Cat, or T.C. as he’s known to his close friends has been a hit with children and adults alike since his first appearance way back in the 1960′s. I do have to admit I was rather sad when they stopped showing T.C. and the gang. But now he’s back, and bigger than ever!

Vertigo Film’s Rupert Preston and Allan Niblo said: “Top Cat is an iconic and much-loved character known by nearly every parent in the UK. We are thrilled to be bringing Top Cat, his mischievous gang and Officer Dibble to a whole new generation.”   

The movie is set to bring the vibrancy, colour and retro-charm which we loved from the original and bring it to a new generation. After more than a 50-year hiatus, T.C. and the gang return with ‘the most tip-top’ adventure of them all.

Written by Oliver Willis

american reunion
Apr 8 2012

American reunion

What I appreciate about the American Pie films is that, beneath the raunchiness and juvenile slapstick humour, there rests a kernel of truth. American Reunion continues in that tradition. Although it utilizes the kind of crude sexual humour that I don’t find particularly funny, there is evident a compelling examination of friendship, love, and the general ups and downs of relationships at an adult life stage. In this case, that would be thirteen years after graduating high school; this is the point in time at which we find Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs), Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Chris “Oz” Ostreicher (Chris Klein), Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott). Now around thirty, they each have their own lives and have had their fair share of success and failure.

Jim and his wife, Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), now have a two-year-old son named Evan, which is in large part why they have fallen into a sexual rut. Kevin is now a work-from-home architect and is happily married to a woman named Ellie (Charlene Amoia). After moving to Los Angeles and competing in a celebrity dance show (which he’s now deeply embarrassed by), Oz has become an NFL sports announcer. He lives with his girlfriend, a supermodel and wild party girl named Mia (Katrina Bowden). Stifler, still an obnoxious and vulgar sex maniac, now works as a temp at an investment firm, where he undergoes daily abuse from his boss (Vik Sahay). Finch, after a period in which he went missing, suddenly returns on a motorcycle. He has not yet found the love of his life, but according to what he tells his friends, he has extensively travelled the world.

The entire gang comes back together when it’s announced that a thirteen-year high school reunion would take place in their home town. Jim reunites with his father (Eugene Levy), who’s eager to get back into the dating scene following the death of his wife three years earlier. Oz reunites with his former high school sweetheart, Heather (Mena Suvari), who’s now dating a cardiologist named Ron (Jay Harrington). It immediately becomes apparent that Oz has more in common with Heather – and likewise, Ron with Mia. Kevin reunites with his old flame, Vicky (Tara Reid), and it seems that old feelings begin to resurface. Finch finds himself attracted to Michelle’s former band mate, a bartender named Selena (Dania Ramirez), who since her homely high school days has blossomed into a beautiful woman. For obvious reasons, the guys decide not to invite Stifler. But you know how it is with twists of fate; he just happens to see them hanging out at a bar, everyone has a few shots, and the next thing you know, he’s tagging along.

Jim, who still has an eye for hot teenage girls, is unwittingly reintroduced to Kara (Ali Corbin), the girl he used to babysit. Now on the verge of turning eighteen, she’s certainly easy on the eyes. Initially, she flirts with him coyly. But on the night of her birthday, she gets drunk out of her mind; this paves the way for a series of comedic misadventures that make Jim look a lot guiltier than he actually is. Kara’s jealous and immature boyfriend, A.J. (Chuck Hittinger), will have a few well-placed antagonistic run-ins with Jim and his friends. It culminates with a party at the home of Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge), where just about everything goes wrong. Surprisingly, it goes well for Jim’s dad, who reluctantly joins in. After getting certifiably drunk, he meets Stifler’s mom and has … well, let’s just say that he has a lot of fun. The two have a lot in common, not the least of which is having walked in on their children during a sexual encounter.

While I generally don’t laugh at something as juvenile as defecating into a cooler filled with beer bottles, or hurriedly slamming down a laptop onto an erection, causing it to bleed, it’s obvious to me that underneath is a story that has something to say about people. There’s a moment, for example, when the guys observe the adolescent antics of the high schoolers partying at a lake; Kevin wonders aloud if they were ever as annoying back when they were in high school, and Finch responds that their generation was more mature. Naturally, Stifler is the exception. Indeed, there was a time when we would look at him and think he wouldn’t grow up. Now that he has entered his thirties, it’s looking more and more like he truly can’t grow up. You know what the difference is.

Everything ends pretty much as we expect it to end, which in this case isn’t a criticism so much as a simple observation. Sometimes, it’s nice when a screenplay is formatted like a sitcom, even if it happens to be a really, really raunchy one. For me, the appeal of American Reunion has less to do with vulgar lines and sight gags and more to do with character development and theme. The first three films were fairly narrow in scope, their plots built on foundations as solid yet limited as losing your virginity, finding that special someone, and making a commitment to marriage. This new film is much broader, addressing the very relatable notion of settling down and living the rest of your life. The message, it seems, is that you can get through anything so long as you have friends at your side.

Written by Chris Pandolfi