Wad’s Movie Shouts

I See Films
Hugh Jackman and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are the subjects of the latest review by freelance writer and friend of GritFX Adam “The Faystar” Fay at I See Films (So You Don’t Have To). Now don’t expect Faystar to actually let you in on what the films he discusses are all about. His frequently hilarious, opinionated ‘reviews’ veer toward critique of the people involved and Hollywood in general rather than to any standard, run-of-the-mill film review (like, um, Wadrick’s Thirty Second Film Reviews…). So if you happen to be a film fanatic like Faystar (and myself), you’d do well to visit I See Films.

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Movie Guys
Quentin Tarantino fans are waiting with pistols cocked for the release of the director’s latest film, Inglourious Basterds – a Second World War epic concerning a bunch of Yanks assigned to instill fear into the Germans by viciously executing Nazi soldiers (or something like that). The film stars Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger and apparently Mike Myers! Very cool promotional posters for the film have been released and Jon over at Movie Guys has been sharing them with readers – below is one featuring Eli Roth (best known as director of Hostel) looking murderously hip. To see all the posters - visit Movie Guys. While you’re there, check out the latest info on upcoming films including the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. And remember, they’re not critics, they’re movie guys!




by Wadrick Jones

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS (the 1990’s)

Se7en (1995)
Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey, John C. McGinley, Richard Roundtree and Kevin Spacey.
Written by Andrew Kevin Walker.
Directed by David Fincher.

A maniac is murdering people in accordance with the seven deadly sins. Somerset (Freeman) is a jaded detective on the brink of retirement who is joined by Mills (Pitt), a rookie eager to “do some good”. The two form an uneasy alliance to track down the murderer – a sinister soul known only as John Doe (a marvellous Spacey). When I walked out of the cinema after seeing Fincher’s Se7en, I can recall being shrouded in a black cloud. What the hell had I just witnessed? In hindsight, it’s easy to understand the power of this film and its subsequent influence. From the skin-crawling effect of the opening credits (which have since become almost a pre-requisite for any film of similar nature) to the uncompromising finale, the film managed to elicit a graphically violent motif without ever having to reveal much at all. Se7en is one dour film, but this production design and the accompanying incessant rainfall gave the film a look that felt far more noir than any noir could. Aside from all of this, the film afforded director Fincher (a) the attention he so obviously deserved; and (b) respect for standing up to the studio execs who wished for a happy Hollywood ending to this unforgiving tale.

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Face/Off (1997)
Nicholas Cage, John Travolta, Alessandro Nivola, Colm Feore, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon, Nick Cassavettes and Harve Presnell.
Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary.
Directed by John Woo.

An FBI agent named Sean Archer (Travolta) has his face surgically altered to be a dead ringer for a heinous terrorist named Castor Troy (Cage). The plan to infiltrate the terrorists’ gang of cronies goes swimmingly, until Troy decides to have his face altered as well, assuming the identity of Archer and threatening the lives of his family. This laughable film was a substantial hit, sucking in an audience drunk on the Pulp Fiction-inspired resurrection of Travolta. But they were soon sobering up to the fact that Travolta, like his previously faltered career, was grounding his new-found fame in this trash and others like Broken Arrow and Battlefield Earth. The ridiculous style of Asian golden boy John Woo was never more evident than in this unintentionally funny ‘action’ film. Woo’s unbearable penchant for slow-motion reduces the final reel of Face/Off to a truly horrendous ‘opera’ of gunfire (now referred to as “Gun-Fu”). It’s no wonder his career has been conspicuously minor since the mid-90s. Two years after his Academy Award-winning performance in Leaving Las Vegas, Face-Off also signified the initial decline in the quality of Cage’s work (the exception being Spike Jonze’s Adaptation in 2002). You’ll have more fun peeling your own face off than watching this crud.

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GoodFellas (1990)
Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino.
Written by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese.
Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Ever since he could remember, Henry Hill (Liotta) wanted to be a gangster. Based on true events, GoodFellas charts the rise of Hill from teenage courier for local mafia captains to his eventual downfall at the hands of the FBI. Accompanying Hill on his violent journey are his psychotic friend, Tommy (Pesci) and Hill’s somewhat mentor, Jimmy (DeNiro). One of Scorsese’s finest films, GoodFellas ripped into the new decade with a bold statement on lives of crime. Powerfully acted (Pesci won an Oscar for his role) and directed (by a filmmaker in his prime), the film resonates with a voyeur quality that has rarely been matched (and perhaps only superseded by Scorsese’s own Raging Bull). From it’s graphically violent opening to its almost iconic final frame, GoodFellas is akin to a kick in the guts (or a cap in the ass), reinventing itself as the story progresses through each sensational act. Employing all the tricks of the trade that he had been honing since Mean Streets, Scorsese’s GoodFellas still remains the yardstick for all subsequent films on organised crime. One of the decades’ best.

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(Wadrick Jones is a freelance writer for GritFX and will post weekly thirty second film reviews on this blog.)

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Burn After Reading (2008)
George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton & Brad Pitt.
Written & Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

For the last twenty-five years, the Coen Brothers have created some of the most unique films in American cinema history. From Blood Simple to No Country For Old Men, the Coens have consistently displayed highly individual techniques and superior writing. Burn After Reading is another addition to their long line of quality work with crazy performances from all involved. On the surface, not much happens in this short and sweet black comedy, but at it’s deepest it is a brilliant study of the power of perception. When the financial records of a former intelligence analyst fall into the hands of a pair of nitwits, they mistakenly assume the numbers and codes are of extreme national security importance. When their blackmail of the analyst goes awry, they decide to sell the ‘secrets’ to the Russians, setting off a string of events that involves multiple fools and horses. This is one of those films that depends on the viewer’s ability to conform to its’ style from the outset – those unaccustomed to the Brothers’ work may find themselves floundering in the material, just like the characters in the film itself.

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Cloverfield (2008)
Michael Stahl-David, TJ Miller, Jessica Lucas, Odette Yustman & Lizzy Caplan.
Written by Drew Goddard.
Directed by Matt Reeves.

I love a good ‘creature feature’, but the decent one’s are few and far between. In an update of the classic Godzilla-style monster rampage, Cloverfield is an original and entertaining take on the creature flick. Seen through the lens of the video camera of one of the characters, the film begins simply enough, introducing us to its cast via a farewell surprise party. Amid the drama of the party, an event occurs. Something is happening in Manhattan – and it is not entirely clear what the hell is going on. Until we catch sight of a massive creature tearing up the city that appears to be ejecting smaller creatures from it’s body into the streets. The military arrives, but soon find that their asses are gonna get kicked hard. From there, we follow the actions of a small group of characters attempting to flee the path of destruction. This is the best faux-documentary film since the granddaddy of this sub-genre The Blair Witch Project. Whilst the handheld camera technique may annoy some viewers, it is handled deftly, presenting an incredibly intense and believable (fictional) record of events.

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The Strangers (2008)
Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton.
Written & Directed by Bryan Bertino.

A young couple arrive at a remote country house in the middle of the night following a wedding reception. There is tension between them – he has proposed and she has rejected him. The tension escalates when it becomes apparent that there are some nefarious masked dudes outside stalking them. This moody, well-shot film was marketed as being based on a true story, but this is simply not the case, prompting one to ask if it’s a story that is worth telling. What purpose does a film such as this serve? It could hardly be described as entertainment and borders on voyeurism. For the recent surge in films of this nature (ie; Hostel) present a sadistic approach to what is considered ‘entertainment’. Unlike the similar Vacancy, The Strangers leaves a bad taste in the mouth due to the visceral representation of its cruelty and lack of morality.

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(Wadrick Jones is a freelance writer for GritFX and will post weekly thirty second film reviews on this blog.)

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

10,000 BC (2008)
Steven Strait, Camilla Belle & Cliff Curtis. Narrated by Omar Sharif.
Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser.
Directed by Roland Emmerich.

Roland Emmerich is the master of big budget Hollywood garbage and his latest film is no exception - an absurd tale combining woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and pyramid building. There are primitive men and women with manicured dreadlocks and immaculate teeth, an extraterrestrial ‘god’ figure and illusions to Atlantis. What Emmerich and his co-writer lack in character development and competent dialogue, they make up for with impressive CGI. But this doesn’t make for an entertaining experience, for what audiences really crave is a damn good story and that is something Emmerich and his cronies never deliver. Watch Quest for Fire instead.

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker & Sam Shepard.
Written & Directed by Andrew Dominik.

Australian director Dominik’s second film is an outstanding achievement – a deliberately-paced examination of the cult of celebrity. Detailing the events proceeding the death of Jesse James by the man who claimed to be his biggest fan, Dominik’s film is a class act in every department. Monumental production design and costumes, wonderfully nuanced performances from Pitt, Affleck and the entire cast, and a raw emotive score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. One of the greatest films of this genre ever made, and certainly one of the greatest American films of the last decade.

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Rendition (2007)
Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard & Meryl Streep.
Written by Kelley Sane.
Directed by Gavin Hood.

When an Egyptian-born American is suspected of having links to a terrorist organisation, he is detained at a US airport and eventually flown to an undisclosed location abroad. There he is put into the hands of a nasty interrogator, overseen by CIA operative Gyllenhaal. Meanwhile, the man’s pregnant wife (Witherspoon) grows increasingly frantic as the search for her missing husband is blocked at every turn. Well-acted drama is a frightening indictment of the abuse of power and the radical degradation of civil liberties due to the so-called ‘War on Terror’.

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(Wadrick Jones is a freelance writer for GritFX and will post weekly thirty second film reviews on this blog.)