Recently Seen, Part 26 (April 2019)

[sitenoise]

The House That Jack Built [2018] • Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden
Directed by Lars
This is a niner

This really is Lars assuming the role of a serial killer to make an argument about, and a defense of, what he does. Matt Dillon is superb. Uma Thurman is bad, but short lived.

Evil, murder, and cringe-worthiness can be/are artful. Death and decomposition is as artful as Life and growing. Disagree or not, Lars does a great job of making his argument artfully. This is an extremely 'heady' flick, but on a very simple level. When you add up all the context and contexty stuff: Glenn Gould (wow, btw), rotting grapes (makes 'em sweeter), the way shadows appear and disappear as you walk between lamp posts. It's thoughtful as fuck. No denying it.

It's not particularly gory gross, but I think the theatrical (cut) version would suffice. It's only a couple minutes shorter and it appears to just remove some visually cringe-worthy shots. Like, we know Jack is planning to cut off this bound and gagged woman's breasts. He draws cut lines on them, after having her choose a knife. At one point, by the look on her face and the decibel level of her scream, we know that he is cutting off her breasts. We see said breasts later in the film unattached to the girl. We know he cut them off. Did he have to show us Jack cutting off her breasts (well, he just shows the initial incision)? I dunno, and don't really care.

This flick is miles and miles and miles beyond a flick like Asako I&II in terms of depth and execution, so how do I give Asako a 10 and this a 9?

Because my ratings are based on enjoyment not admiration.

The Japanese women's volleyball team has beaten China ONE time in 20 years. I enjoy the Japanese team a LOT more than the Chinese team.

I prefer the woods to the beach.

etc

 

[clayton-12]

The House That Jack Built [2018] • Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden
Directed by Lars
This is a niner

This one's pricked my interest, and I've thought about giving it a shot.
In terms of directors whose works I admire but can't actually watch, Lars probably tops the list. The first series of Riget was cool af, and Dancer in the Dark really got under my skin - it's very rare for me to watch a film twice within a ten year period, but I saw that twice at the cinema in the one week. But since then, I've never managed to dredge up the emotional energy to watch any of his other films.
I think I'll think about watching this one some more.

 

[sitenoise]

I know that feeling. I've only seen a handful of his films and don't really think of him as someone I follow with much interest. I define him by AntiChrist more than Breaking the Waves when I think of what The House that Jack Built is about.

A good portion of the film is footage of Glenn Gould and/or various artworks on display while Jack and Verge have a Dante's Inferno discussion. So there's a lot of telling, but you can't say it lacks showing. It's mostly clever. And Matt Dillon is really good (I think). I say give it a whirl if the opportunity presents itself

 

[clayton-12]

Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971) Two well-heeled siblings are driven into the desert by their father who then, for unexplained reasons, attempts to kill them before committing suicide. The children head off across the desert in search of civilisation, and are saved by an aboriginal boy. Their meanderings across the desert are punctuated by several surreal and/or bizarre scenes as they pass nearby to other societal incursions into the landscape, and their journey ends like it began - in an unexplained tragedy.

My patience with this type of arthouse film has diminished as I’ve got older, and I disliked this one when I watched it years ago. But this time around, I found it a lot more engaging. On the one hand, this is a gorgeously photographed film, dreamy and hypnotic. But on the other hand, it’s maddeningly obscure and ambiguous. There’s no real explanation for many of the events, even the non-English dialogue of David Gulpilil remains untranslated. There is frequent cross-cutting between images; sometimes these juxtapositions are obvious, sometimes not so. The first night the children spend in the desert, the sun sets in a most spectacular rendering of the Aboriginal Flag – although that flag had yet to be unfurled in 1971. Was this a premonition from Roeg? The last night the children spend with Gulpilil, he dances through the night with cassia flowers. But that cassia tree isn’t native to that region – is Roeg trying to say something deep here, or was it just that there was this tree handy on location, and the flowers looked good?

Ultimately, the film begs the question “What does it all mean?” Depending on your perspective, there won’t be any answers to that question, or there will be an infinite number of answers.

 

[clayton-12]

Letter to Brezhnev (Chris Bernard, 1985) At the beginning of the 1980’s, Liverpool is grey and full of despair, and the only realistic dream for a young girl is to be lucky enough to have a job on a factory line, earning enough money to be able to out to the same dingy pub every Friday night and get plastered. That’s the life for Tracy and Elaine, and on one of their Friday nights, they meet a couple of Soviet sailors, in town for a whistlestop goodwill tour. Romance blossoms between Elaine and Pieter, and after he departs, she starts dreaming about whether life would really be much worse behind the iron curtain.

I remember this being hugely popular back in the day, a sleeper hit that played for months on end at the theatre. As a film, it’s all really quite slight, an amiable feelgood fairytale, with characters that are relatable and not complex, and requiring a good deal of suspension of disbelief. But it’s also kind of fascinating as a political timecapsule.

 

[plsletitrain]

Sigh I'm so unproductive I wish I'll be out of this movie funk very soon. I've been re-watching Lost and I can't seem to watch a movie until I get to finish the last episode.

 

[sitenoise]

The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion (Manyeo) [2018] • South Korea
Directed by Park Hoon-jung (New World, and the repulsive V.I.P.)
Both a 3.877 and a 8.12/10

Kim Da-mi is beyond super fabulous as the witch girl. Fantastic!
Go Min-si is charming and makes the most of her un-charming sidekick role.
Park Hee-soon, as the big bad guy, can't act, chews gum the whole time because he believes it makes him look menacing. He implored the director to give him a bad eating-acting scene so he could drive home the point. "Watch me chew"!
Choi Woo-shik is an over-moisturized hairdo hired as fan service. Da-Eun, a k-popper, as his sidekick employs both gum chewing and sucking lollipops to give her character depth. Fuck. She does look good cutting people up with a knife, though.

The ultra-uber-hyper violence is great. It's doubly entertaining because a large percentage of it is carried out by a school girl. Koreans do violence well, but you gotta wait over an hour for it.

The construction of the film is tedious. It starts off with some historical spooky bloody bits that scream "We'll explain this later. We need to give you something now to tide you through our mundane section". Cheap, chickenshit film making. And explain it later they do, in a long boring interrogation speech. As if story matters here. The scenes that transition the film from mundane to action are clumsy, at best, as if stuff that doesn't make sense creates mystery. Fuck.

This flick is a 2, but the carnage of the second half, and Kim Da-mi's performance are so entertaining it lifts the film to a 4/5.

 

[divemaster13]

Strange Circus (2005)

This DVD showed up in my mailbox this week. I never know what those red envelopes will be bringing because I've got so many movies I put in my queue months or years ago, and just now getting aound to. Even ones like Strange Circus, which must have been based on a recommendation from one of y'all here, by the time I watch it, I have no recollection of the discussion surrounding the film.

Which is my convoluted way of saying I had no idea what the movie was about, or even who the director was when I popped the DVD into the player. I like to go into these things cold, with no preconceived ideas.

So imagine my surprise.

What a disturbing movie. I figured pretty quickly it must have been a Sion Sono film, based on my limited exposure to his works. What sets up the plot is truly disturbing. After I got over the initial shocking elements, I figured my review score at about a "2." The parts that made sense were disturbing, and the parts that were not making sense, while well-shot, seemed pretentious. Like "let's make it more fantasy/dream-state to get some nods from the art-house crowd." I wasn't actively disliking it--just not really responding to either the "normal plot" or the "weird" stuff either. But it was growing on me a bit, and I was thinking, ehhh, maybe bump up to a "3" just for the gall of the subject matter.

Then, about an hour in, when the movie starts focusing on the lady author in the wheelchair and the group of editors. I kept wondering what the point was. A lot of things were not making sense and I was mentally picking apart the plot. Uh, uh, back down to 2 stars...and dropping.

But then...well...the last 30 minutes or so. Holy cow. Didn't see THAT coming! Ot that. Or that! I was completely blindsided. I love it when a movie can do that to me. And unlike Audition, I feel that the directior earned every bit of the hoops I was falling through. Bravo! New interpretations of previous scenes--so delicious. I'm still not clear on a few things (and don't really care), and I do think the director overplayed and overstayed his welcome a bit with what (to me) seemed to be forced ambiguities and fantasy sequences. But that aside, all in all I really enjoyed the ride. 4 stars. And if I were to ever watch it again, I'm guessing I'd add another half star, since I could settle in and focus on some of the ephemeral parts a little more.

 

[plsletitrain]

Re: Strange Circus. Yeah man I love this film! Oh well, I sort of, well, I really forgot already what it was about so I think its time I give it a rewatch but I remember being blown away when I first watched it. This is one of the movies that got me hooked to Asian thrillers. I remember calling this one a masterpiece. I think it really is.

 

[sitenoise]

Okay, so I just re-watched Strange Circus. Because.

I thought I might have liked it back when, and it wouldn't hold up now. It seems like a film deep in the pocket of 2000s Japanese intense movies. Sono understood that milieu, and shaped it in a way, I guess. I'll bet he made the film in a few weeks. It sort of rambles around for the first two acts and then story pops up in the third.

The dad/principle dude is one creepy actor. I couldn't watch him caressing his daughter and almost punted. Tomoro Taguchi always manages to show up in creepy perv roles wherever he goes. Pretty strong (gutsy, courageous--festival speak for 'does nude scenes') 3 role performance by Masumi Miyazaki.

I apologize that the ugly food scenes disgusted me more, and felt cheaper, than the incest and child molestation and amputations and bloodletting.

The third act takes everything to another level. I think that's where Sono started. He had the twisty idea first and threw a bunch of bizarre opaque improvised stuff around for Acts I & II, and then hits a home run at the end. I gave it a 4/5 back then and give it the same today.

 

[ebossert]

Strange Circus is awesome!

 

[ebossert]

Highly Recommended

Dragged Across Concrete (2018) (American Crime Drama/Thriller) – Once two overzealous cops get suspended from the force, they must delve into the criminal underworld to get their proper compensation. Meanwhile, a mysterious man goes on a robbery/murder spree. At this point in S. Craig Zahler’s directorial career, I expect quality – and that’s exactly what we get here. The bad guys are scary, cold-blood killers, which means that the violence here is more disturbing (like “Bone Tomahawk”) instead of blackly humorous (like “Brawl on Cell Block 99”). There’s a sense of danger that makes you feel like any character could die, even the main protagonists. There’s also an effective splash of humor. Runtime of 159 minutes is slightly questionable. A few of side protagonists are given lengthy scenes to help their development, but one wonders if it could have been done in a shorter, more efficient, way. Still, this is good stuff.

Recommended

Microhabitat (2017) (Korean Drama) – A 31-year-old woman decides to move out of her residence in an attempt to cut costs, choosing to stay with acquaintances for short periods of time. But she discovers that these people have their own problems. Here we have a likeable, almost honorable, lead protagonist who is faced with financial dilemmas that are relatable. Dynamics between the characters is interesting. Esom gives a very good performance.

Death Sentence (2007) (American Thriller) – Transformed by grief after witnessing an armed robbery, a mild-mannered executive (Kevin Bacon) is targeted by a vicious street gang. After a fairly generic setup, this film really comes alive during the very impressive footchase sequence, which has a lot of tension and some sweet camerawork. Sure, there are cliches and unrealistic elements present, but this is a good flick with some intense moments regardless. Directed by James Wan.

Nightshooters (2018) (British Action/Thriller/Comedy) – Set in a large building that is set for demolition in the morning, a group of filmmakers tangle with a violent horde of criminals after witnessing a brutal gangland execution. This begins with a fun “fake” zombie action scene, but Jean Paul Ly is the showcase here with four legit good fight scenes, one of which features the best throat slit in years. The humor comes from vulgar language by people who get really mad, and it does work at times. There is some bloody violence and serious stretches as well.

Accident Man (2018) (British Action) – A killer for hire (Scott Adkins) makes things personal when one of his crew murders someone he knows. The plot is nothing special and the language is rather crude, but the fights are surprisingly good. There are two highlights: (1) a two-vs-one fight scene in a private gym; and (2) a one-on-one fight against a lady assassin; both of which are lengthy and have some very nice choreography. Certainly worth watching for the action.

Sister Street Fighter (1974) (Japanese Action) – When her brother disappears in an undercover operation, Tina Long decides to help authorities locate and free him. This involves kicking the crap out of boatloads of bad guys. This movie has lots of fights and they are of a pretty good quality despite some obvious moments where the hits do not land. There’s a cool “climbing” scene in a narrow alleyway too. Pretty good “old school” martial arts flick.

Not Recommended

Mile 22 (2018) (American Action) – An elite American intelligence officer, aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer (Iko Uwais) with sensitive information out of Indonesia. The opening house infiltration shootout is pretty good, but then we are subjected to atrocious dialogue and characters who constantly whine and complain. Mark Wahlberg’s character, in particular, is obnoxious and continually grating on the nerves. These characters are unwatchable and could give you a headache. Iko gets a decent fight in a medical bay, but the editing during the fights is atrocious overall (way too many cuts per second). Also, how is there no additional police or military support when the bad guys are blowing up buildings in highly populated, urban areas? Bleh.

Europe Raiders (2018) (Chinese Action) – Tony Leung returns in this sequel to “Tokyo Raiders” and “Seoul Raiders.” Two bounty hunters attempt to track down a destructive device known as the “Hand of God.” This installment goes for a hyper glossy, high tech vibe, but it loses all of the charm of its predecessors. The action scenes are forgettable and too short-lived to be memorable. The lack of a charismatic co-lead leaves Tony Leung with no one who is fun to interact with. It tries to get melodramatic at the end, which is just embarrassing. This movie is bad.

Bottom of the Barrel

Iceman 2: The Time Traveler (2018) (Chinese Action/Comedy) – Donnie Yen goes back in time in this sequel that is notorious for its atrocious overall quality. It begins with a backstory that its predecessor never bothered to establish, which is fine. However, the fight scenes are pathetic, with the train fist fight being one of the laziest attempts at “choreography” in recent memory. Also, the setting shift away from contemporary urban environments takes away a lot of amusement and makes the non-action scenes even more boring. Finally, the scriptwriting is essentially crap, and that is a problem here because the film tries to be soooo dramatic. The reports are true. This movie is a mess.

 

[sitenoise]

Mile 22 (2018)

How about when Iko Uwais dragged that guy's neck over the broken glass of a car window? Damn.

Yeah, the editing was bad, but I liked the use of women in the flick, and although Wahlberg was typically douchey, I watched this about the same time as MI:F and found Tom Cruise more douchey, and Cruise had fewer witty lines.

I liked Bone Tomahawk so will probably check out Dragged Across Concrete. Waiting on subs for Microhabitat.

 

[divemaster13]

Secretly, Greatly (2013)

Oh, good lord, no. Totally lame movie about super select spies in a DPRK elite squadron (only 1 in 20,000 qualify) sent to the ROK, only to act like retards with no mission, puropose, or objective. Ha Ha. Not. They are eventually told to commit suicide (WTF?) , and then other spies come to make sure they do so. But then those spies act stupid, and then another set of spies comes to the ROK to set things straight.

Nothing in this movie made sense. I think the first part was supposed to be light and funny. However, I did not even crack a smile. Then, when the espionage intrigue started, it was so fucking stupid there was no way to even engage with the plot or the action. Finally, when you think the movie must mercifully be over...there's still an hour left! Ths spy fighing that spy! This group of spies fighting that group of spies! Why? Who knows! The first main retard spy kept getting accused of betraying the Fatherland and being traitor scum, but every action he took was completely dedicated to his DPRK mission.

A total waste. 1 star.

Note: I see like 10 of the 15 reviews on IMDb giving this 8/10 or 10/10, and saying it's the best, most moving film ever. But they all describe the plot in the exact same ESL way. Almost like the same person wrote all 10 reviews. Hmmm....

 

[divemaster13]

Transsiberian (2008)

Ok, I guess this is an American (not "international") movie, but it is set almost exclusively in Siberia and one of the main actors is a Spaniard, and Ben Kingsley plays a Russian, so I guess I'll count it for inclusion here.

The second act of this movie is awesome. Very Hitchcockian. Working backwards, that forgives the slow first act. I'm fine with the setup being a slow burn, with misdirection and the director playing with your assumptions. Like Hitchcock's Frenzy--you know the main character is innocent, but circumstances all point to guilt. With NO WAY OUT. The walls of guilt and justice (or, "Russian justice") are closing in. Closing in...closer and closer. No where to turn... What to do? Frantic. Get rid of the evidence. You wash and wash but the blood doesn't come out...

And then the third act is mudane, by the numbers, no surprises, no twists. And you realize that the second act was a tease for nothing. Which makes the first act pretty much a waste of time. Boy, I wish Hitchcock was still alive and the director came to him and said "I've got most of a good idea here--can you fix it for me?"

All in all, I'm glad I watched it. The cinematography was great and the second act was just about perfect. But too many flaws otherwise for me to really recommend it. 3 stars.