Review – Page 210 – We Are Movie Geeks

MISSISSIPPI GRIND – The Review

By Cate Marquis

MISSISSIPPI GRIND is a low-budget, indie-style road trip movie about two down-on-their-luck fellows, a gambler and his smooth-talking financier, as they make their way down the Mississippi River to a big poker game in New Orleans. With beautifully shot scenes in St. Louis, as well as other river town locations, this rambling, gambling road trip features a fine performance by Ben Mendelsohn and possibly the best-ever performance by Ryan Reynolds, who play a pair of losers looking for redemption and a final jackpot.

Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) is a middle-aged addictive gambler who has some skill at poker but no little judgment on when to walk away. Gerry is eking out a living in a dead-end job in a small upper Midwestern town when he meets Curtis (Ryan Reynolds), a younger man looking for a “talent” to back. The set-up has echoes of Paul Newman’s “The Hustler” but Gerry is no Eddie Felton. He is one step ahead of loan sharks when he leaves town with Curtis for a road trip to New Orleans, despite a nagging feeling that Curtis is just a con man playing him as Jerry has played so many others in his own life. Part of the appeal of this film is this persistent tension between Gerry and Curtis, and our uncertainty where they are friends or not, and who is conning who at any given moment.

Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, and also starring Sienna Miller, Analeigh Tipton, Robin Weigert and Alfre Woodard, the major appeal of “Mississippi Grind” is in its fine performances and the characters’ believable quirky relationship. We are never sure, until the end, if these men are conning each other or just themselves. Both have histories of deceit and self-delusion, and are hardly reliable in any sense. Yet each has an unwavering hope in the next big score, the next second chance, or a redeeming love just on the horizon.

The other appeal for St. Louis audiences are the scenes filmed here, which present the city as an exciting and attractive place.

Despite the shady, outsider world that both Gerry and Curtis live in, the photography is often bright and colorfully appealing, making the various location sparkle like Las Vegas lights. The photographer is a kind of visual metaphor for the gamblers’ unreasoning optimism. There is a thrill in seeing St. Louis shown as a romantic city with lively nightlife, even if the riverboat gambling cruise that the tuxedo-suited pair take is probably fiction. Even driving down the highway, “Mississippi Grind” is filled with bright, hopeful light and pretty vistas. The film’s title comes from a horse in one of the races at a track, one of many gambling stops Gerry and Curtis make as they follow the river down to New Orleans.

The affection and appealing treatment of locations in the middle of the country is refreshing and one of many things that make this film different from the usual Hollywood film. The characters are the other appeal, not just the fine performances of Mendelsohn, who is amazing in this film, and Ryan Reynolds, doing his best dramatic work ever, as they con or confide in each other, but the whole cast. Sienna Miller gives a touching performance as a prostitute with whom Curtis has an on-and-off relationship. The weaker side of this film is its rambling plot, which gives it an unfocused quality that may cause viewer interest to wander as well. However, the story has enough twists and surprises to bring that attention back.

While it has its flaws, MISSISSIPPI GRIND is worth the trip, thanks in large part to Mendelsohn’s remarkable performance and to the nice St. Louis sequence.

MISSISSIPPI GRIND OPENS IN ST. LOUIS AT THE CHASE THEATER
ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015

OVERALL RATING: 2 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

SICARIO – The Review

By Cate Marquis

“Sicario” means “hitman” in Mexico, as the audience learns at the start of the film of the same name. Although there is indeed a hitman in Mexico, little is straightforward in this mysterious thriller from Denis Villeneuve, the director of “Prisoners” and “Incendies.”

Those films are filled with shades of gray and uncertainties, and pivot on unexpected twists. Those who saw his previous films will know what to expect in pacing and tone, and that this Canadian director has a taste for murky, unsettling almost-horror film-like suspense. However, people who have seen the movie trailers for SICARIO and are expecting a straightforward action film with Emily Blunt kicking butt likely will be surprised. Blunt does play the central character, and she is indeed tough stuff, but the film she is in may not be the one you expect.

Blunt plays Kate, a fast-rising young Arizona policewoman who has been leading SWAT teams specializing in rescuing hostages. She lives for her job, and is idealistic about her work. When a rescue at a modest suburban house near the Mexican border reveals multiple bodies and a bomb, pointing to a sinister larger operation with links to Mexican drug cartels, federal authorities come in. Kate’s boss Dave Jennings (Victor Garber) suggests Kate as the local police officer to assist with a federal operation targeting Mexican drug lords. Heading up the operation is a federal official, Matt Graver (Josh Brolin). He says he is from the Department of Defense, or DoD as he puts it, but there is little that says military about the flip-flop wearing Graver. Although Kate is unhappy that her partner and best friend Reggie (British actor Daniel Kaluuya) is not included on the team, she goes in ready for action. But after meeting team members that include a mysterious man named Alejandro (Benicio del Toro) and a bunch of uniformed military specialists, Kate is frustrated to find herself being constantly told to just observe and given little information about the operation. What they are doing, and even who these guys are, is not at all clear – yet.

Both Kate and the audience are in the dark as to what is really going on, more like a mystery film, well into the story. The shades of gray and sinister, murky doings are more typical of taut international gangster/crime thrillers like “A Prophet” or “Gormorrah” than American action films. The extended uncertainty and unsettled, suspenseful nature of the film may not be what most American audiences expect, given how the film is being promoted. Nothing is given, and viewers are forced to figure out for themselves what is really going on, although Villeneuve eventually spells it out. There is plenty of action and violence but the suspenseful tone of the film is less action film than horror. This emotional tone is boosted by the film’s soundtrack, often little more than a low, uncomfortable rumbling suggesting a threat lurking just under the surface, one that occasionally explodes along with on-screen violence. Visually, shadows and eerie landscapes, sometimes dotted with scenes of violence, fill the screen.

The director builds tension with a sure hand. The acting is strong in this film, with powerful performances by Blunt and Del Toro in particular. We do not learn a lot about their backgrounds, but the essential character of each is clear.

Audiences looking for the typical non-stop chases and action are better off with “Mad Max: Fury Road” or “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” “Sicario” has long stretches of dark, mysterious, dangerous doings that leave audience members on the edge of their seats, with ominous gunfire in the distance and occasional gut-wrenching violence. Viewers who appreciate the darker, murkier suspense thriller tone of European crime thrillers are more likely to enjoy SICARIO than those who want straightforward good guys and bad guys with plenty of car chases and explosions.

SICARIO is a good suspense-filled crime thriller, with an intelligent story, but the film’s departure from the image created by its ad campaign might create different expectations

SICARIO OPENS IN ST. LOUIS
ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015

OVERALL RATING: 3 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

THE MARTIAN – The Review

We’re almost a week into the Fall, a time for serious stuff at the cinema, not saucers and BEMs (bug-eyed monsters). Well, hold on to your ray-guns, this isn’t a Summertime sci-fi staple with a much delayed release date. You see, the title character is actually an Earthman, but he’s also an alien since he’s not on his home planet. Huh? And this isn’t a tale set hundreds of years in the future, or is it set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” (gotta’ wait another ten weeks or so for that). No, this is set in the very near future (unlike that other star franchise), plus it’s rooted pretty much in the realities of space travel. No warp drives or matter transporters here, so star hopping takes a long, l-o-n-g time. Oh, and this flick’s main setting has been making headlines lately (that loud sigh of relief you may be hearing comes from the Fox marketing gurus). For you see, although Mark Watney wasn’t born on the angry red planet, during this story he is THE MARTIAN.

Excuse me if I sound like a famous beagle author, but…it was a dark and stormy night…on the planet Mars. Said storm is bearing down on the intrepid crew of the Ares 3, the pride of NASA’s exploration mission. As those brave astronauts struggle to return to the ship, the violent wind propels a satellite dish into one of the crewmen with the force of a cannonball. Mark Watney is swallowed up into the dust and darkness. His suit is not transmitting any vital signs. Captain Lewis (Jessica Chastain) must make a very tough decision. Those strong winds threaten to topple the rocket which would strand them there (rescue would take months , perhaps over a year). The only option is to blast off and leave behind their fallen comrade. Back on Earth, mission control gets the bad news. The head of NASA, Sanders (Jeff Daniels), makes the formal announcement at a press conference overseen by public relations director Montrose (Kristen Wiig): the Ares crew has left Mars after the death of Mark Watney. But Watney pulls a Mark Twain and awakes after the storm has past. The dish knocked out his vital sign emitter. Dazed and injured he makes his way to the enclosed lab (the Martian Habitat or HAB) the crew had constructed. He’s got his work cut out for him. The supplies will run out long before Ares 4 arrives, so he’s got to grow some food in the reddish clay-like Martian soil. And he’s got to contact Earth. Thanks to his pluck and some old tech, Watney contacts mission control. Now Sanders has a new set of decisions. Tell the still traveling Lewis and her crewmates (Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie) of Watney’s survival? Hurriedly construct another rocket? As plans are made on Earth, Watney embarks on a long, lonely quest for survival.

The element that helps this makes this mainly Mars-bound epic soar is the winning performance of Matt Damon. I mean, if you’re going to be stuck on a big red rock then you’d be very fortunate to have him as company. In other films I’ve been struck by the great chemistry Damon has displayed with his co-stars, particularly the actresses (Emily Blunt in THE APPOINTMENT BUREAU, Dallas Bryce-Howard in THE HEREAFTER), so I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining and engaging he is when he’s, just by himself ,usually talking straight to us as Watney, leaving a detailed video diary. He’s a unique screen hero who uses his intelligence rather than his brawn (or transports or weaponry) to triumph. We believe that he will, as he remarks, “Science the s*#t out of it!”. And despite his obstacles and setbacks never gives in to despair (although he does choke back a few tears). The film could easily get too wrapped up in space jargon, but Damon’s always ready to give this tech heavy story a smile along with a warm, beating heart. It’s a remarkable acting achievement worthy of all the accolades sure to come his way (and isn’t it about time that his screenplay Oscar got a playmate?).

But, despite its title, this flick isn’t a one man show. Damon is ably supported in space and on Earth. On the Ares 3, Chastain plays a decisive leader, although she lets us see Lewis’s agony over having to make the most difficult choice ever. Pena’s does a very entertaining riff on the affable space jockey, the wheel man always quick with a joke to take the edge off a dangerous situation. Mara bounces back nicely from some cinema setbacks as the computer whiz (just as her role in the FANTAST…never mind). Stan is a very courageous tethered retriever while the stoic Hennie surprises with hidden talents. Back on the “big, blue marble” Daniels injects a sardonic wit into the role of the big boss, and verbally spars with the energetic Chiwetel Ejiofor as the new guy who’s not afraid to ruffle some feathers. Just as she proved in DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, screen comedy queen Wiig can be a great dramatic co-star. Sean Bean gives the team’s NASA rep, a strong, stubborn sense of purpose. And the great Donald Glover brings a manic, child-hood sense of joy as the brain that’s always thinking outside the box.

But the big talent that shoots this story past the stratosphere is the great Ridley Scott, who’s doing his best work in years, perhaps decades. This is a worthy companion to his futurist hat-trick begun with ALIEN and continued with BLADE RUNNER. This space saga never lags, never goes into free fall. And after making his name in lots of terrific TV from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to “Lost”, Drew Goddard establishes himself as a major screenwriting talent with this adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Andy Weir. The science never overwhelms the very human elements of this tale. It tells us to use our head, but never ignore your heart. Although it may often play as a modern re-staging of the 60’s cult classic ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS (minus the fantasy beasties), this feels like a truly fresh and original movie experience. Its sense of optimism and wonder soars where the recent TOMORROWLAND, and ,to an extent, last year’s INTERSTELLAR stumbled. Bravo to Harry Gregson-Williams for a subtle music score and to cinematographer Dariusz Wolski for making that alien soil a place of wonder, tranquility, and unexpected danger. Everyone involved are to be lauded for helping to make THE MARTIAN an adventurous, exploration cinema classic that will inspire generations to come.

5 Out of 5 Stars

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE – The Review

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE is a forgettable, by-the-numbers romantic comedy that relies on tiresome clichés and unfunny sex jokes. The newest from writer/director Leslye Headland opens at Columbia University in 2002 where students Jake (Jason Sudeikis) and Lainey (Alison Brie) lose their virginity to each other one night. Jump ahead 13 years and horndog Jake is reintroduced having an angry confrontation with his current girlfriend over his serial inability to stay committed. Meanwhile, Lainey is having an affair with Matt Sovochek (Adam Scott), now a gynecologist married to pregnant Emma (Katherine Waterston). After over a decade of not having contact with one another, Jake and Lainey reconnect at a sex addiction support group meetings. They suddenly become platonic best friends, venting their frustrations over their sexual and romantic lives while falling for each other in the process.

I suppose the audience is expected to laugh at the assumed outrageousness of all the explicit dialog about sex, but just talking about sexual preferences, sexual hang-ups, favorite sexual positions, etc, doesn’t translate to laughs without some wit behind the writing. SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE goes nowhere unexpected and its basic plot only reminds viewers how good a movie WHEN HARRY MET SALLY is. There’s the standard misunderstood move by one of them that ends up separating the pair to different cities, leaving the audience to wonder whether or not the two will ever get back together again. Well, it leaves those who have never seen a romantic-comedy in their entire life wondering whether or not the two will ever get back together again. We wait for the pair to realize their silly mistakes but by the end, when everyone should be rooting for Sudekis and Brie, the whole enterprise has long since soured. You don’t really care what they do—get married, break up, join the Peace Corps and a nunnery—as long as they don’t change their minds again and keeps this lousy movie going. If it had been a little funnier or less predictable (or had thrown in some nudity), perhaps it could have been salvaged but SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE is full of terrible scenes. A masturbation lesson where Jake uses the opening of a milk bottle to teach Lainey how to touch herself is just icky and the film really lost me when when the pair show up at a child’s birthday party high on ecstasy so Lainey can strip down to her underwear and dance for the kiddies.

One major problem with SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE is that the tepid Sudeikis and full-on sexy Brie seem woefully mismatched. She’s adorable and feisty – full of energy and emotion. Sudeikis, not so much, and that’s disappointing. He has been hilarious in ensemble comedies but in a lead, especially one in which he should be doing more than just comedy, he comes off a smug presence who delivers every line in the same aggressive stand-up tone. No one in the supporting cast stands out. Adam Scott is an unpleasant twerp, while Katherine Waterston, so good and so sexy in INHERENT VICE, is wasted in a small role as is Amanda Peet in a larger one as Jake’s boss who’s not as hard to seduce as she thinks she is. I did enjoy seeing Natasha Lyonne as Lainey’s ubiquitous gay best friend (every lame comedy must have one), but more because she’s a likable actress I hadn’t seen onscreen in a while.

Lainey and Jake are self-declared sex addicts, yet unlike other films on that subject such as CHOKE and THANKS FOR SHARING, the screenplay never addresses the thorny seriousness of sexual compulsion. These characters don’t seem to have a problem with it and the 12-step meetings are simply used as a cute place for our leads to get reacquainted. It’s frankly exhausting to keep up with these two neurotic over-sharers, who are neither serious enough to care about nor humorous enough to laugh at.

1 of 5 Stars

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE opens in St. Louis October 2nd exclusively at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater

COMING HOME (2014) – The Review

Let’s get this out-of-the-way. This new film from China has nothing to do with the Oscar-winning 1970’s classic COMING HOME from director Hal Ashby. Mind you, there have been Asian remakes of English language films such as the BLOOD SIMPLE (the Coen brothers’ first flick) inspiring A WOMAN, A GUN, AND A NOODLE SHOP. This cinematic adaptation of a celebrated novel begins during the most repressive era of the Mao regime (perhaps when “Red China” was the most crimson), when the country had cut almost all ties with the West. It looks back at how the political climate was tearing families apart as the trio at this story’s center learns that all their problems do not end after the reunion in COMING HOME.

The film begins sometime during those turbulent 1960’s. Teenager Dan Dan (Huiwen Zhang) is focused on rehearsing for the upcoming auditions for the ballet celebrating the military, “The Red Detachment of Women”. She’s pulled out of the dance hall and told to report to the school administration office. There she is surprised to find her mother, “Yu” (Li Gong). They are told by law enforcement agents that the family patriarch Lu (Daoming Chen) has escaped from a re-education camp (a prison really) where he has been held for nearly a decade as a political dissident (a “rightist”). Yu and DanDan are told to contact the authorities if Lu approaches them. That night, in the hallway of her apartment building, DanDan encounters her father. The frightened girl tells him to leave, then rushes downstairs to see the agent stationed outside the building. Before he flees, Lu pushes a note under Yu’s door telling her to meet him at the train station the next morning. That next day, he is re-captured before they meet. Many years pass and the cultural revolution sweeps through the country. This prompts the release of all political prisoners including Lu. As he walks down the platform Lu is surprised to see DanDan waiting for him, but no sign of Yu. She takes him to her dormitory at the textile factory (she’s given up dance after her father’s past cost her the lead in the ballet). She tells him that they will go to see Yu after her shift is over, but Lu cannot wait. When he encounters his wife, she seems confused and distant. Later she thinks that Lu is a past tormentor named Fang. When DanDan arrives with some state officials they explains that Yu suffers from a form of trauma-induced amnesia. While he adjusts, they offer him a place to live in a vacant storefront across from there. A doctor tells him that something may trigger her old memories which inspires Lu to devote all his time and energies toward attempts (old photos, letter, food, music) to rekindle their love.

The three actors that form this family unit give strong, nuanced performances. The most famous of the trio, Gong takes on the far less showy, but very pivotal role as the mentally damaged mother. Her tightly withdrawn body language and soft eyes reflect how the cruelties of life that have almost worn her down while pushing her towards the confused fog that envelops her. But many times that fragile outer shell is used to protect her inner strengths as a survivor. The same may be said of Chen as the more proactive half of the couple. In the film’s more action-oriented first half, he’s trying to blend into those shadows, determined to be with his loved ones once more. Briefly Chen shows us Lu’s joy as he sees his love across the way at the station, however briefly. After his release he becomes a man on another mission with the mysteries of the mind rather than the law blocking him from Yu. Chen conveys those frustrations along with the delights of small victories that present a glimmer of hope. Zhang is pure razor-focused energy as the lead ballet role becomes her only goal, one that cost her dearly. In the film’s second act she shows us how time has smothered that inner fire. And there’s her despair over her damaged relationship with her mother who can only recall DanDan’s mistakes. The cast’s expert work completely draws us into this intimate story.

Director Yimou Zhang (HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS treats this script adaptation by Jingzhi Zou from Geling Yan’s novel with a strong steady, subtle hand, never going in for showy storytelling gimmicks. It unfolds at a natural, leisurely pace allowing us to drink in the period atmosphere and to appreciate the cast’s fine work. This is quite a balancing act, since the film’s first half almost plays as a thriller, capped off by a real nail-biting chase at the train station. Then it shifts gears into this slower quest into a deeply buried past with elements that may remind viewers of themes from STILL ALICE and THE NOTEBOOK. All this is shot with a soft brown glow that evokes a sense of nostalgia and regret. Lu is an unlikely hero who will not give up as he tries to rescue his wife from a mental monster that separates them. Despite the unfamiliar settings, COMING HOME is a quiet, intimate love story that will touch audiences around the globe.

3.5 Out of 5

COMING HOME opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas

Fantastic Fest 2015: THE WITCH – The Review

When the title of a film basically tells you what to expect, it’s sometimes hard to be surprised or shocked by the content of a film. This is both an advantage and disadvantage in THE WITCH. Yes, there’s a witch(es) but how they function in the story is different than what you would expect. THE WITCH is less interested in showcasing occult rituals and cackling hags – though a few scenes brilliantly showcase this. It’s more interested in using the fear of a witch to illustrate paranoia and mistrust within a family. Robert Eggers strives for more than just straight-up horror in his directorial debut. Therein lies a minor problem for genre fans. Yes, as the title states, there is a witch(es). You just might be surprised that THE WITCH isn’t necessarily a terrifying tale of she-devils on the prowl. Than again… that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes less shocks can be a pleasant surprise.

William (Ralph Ineson), his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie), his daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), his son Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), his twins Mercy and Jonas (Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson) and baby Sam, are all banished from New England as the film begins. They start their own farm on the outskirts, but sadly, they fail to produce corn. Even worse, baby Sam is taken one afternoon right from under the nose of Thomasin. Their initial thoughts lead them to believe a wolf snatched the newborn and took him into the woods. However, fear of a witch in the woods nearby quickly takes hold of the family, which then transforms into Thomasin being accused of signing the devil’s contract.

It’s hard to just say that THE WITCH feels authentic. The efforts put forth to make this film feel accurate is exceptional. From the ragged costumes, to the cobbled together barns, to the language spoken, Eggers goes to great lengths to live up to the subtitle of the film – “A New-England folktale.” So much so that viewers might find it hard to understand the tense conversations between the family. The words are so deeply rooted in old-world phrases and sentence structure that it is often a struggle to decipher exactly what they are saying. Considering film is a visual medium, of course it’s easy to follow the story – it’s a simple enough plot. However, some of the themes and deeper meanings may have been lost in translation.

Eggers draws stellar performances from his entire cast as he builds a subtle tale of isolation and fear. Each actor develops a fully formed character that is dealing with demons. Eggers is quick to point out that many of these personal fears stem from the Puritan, God-fearing, religion that has been ingrained in them. This is especially true of the father figure played by Ralph Ineson. The heavy heart he carries and the responsibility he has for his family weigh considerably on him. Deep wrinkles are etched into his face and his eyes are filled with despair. He delivers each line with a deep guttural groan as he plays a ringleader of sorts to this talented cast.

Kid actors are hard to cast. Often their inexperience hampers a film and makes it feel like they are acting on camera – not necessarily telling a story. All four children here feel like they were raised during this period. Anya Taylor-Joy carries the largest burden in the bunch. Aside from having the most screen-time, she’s given the difficult task to make the audience speculate whether some of her families’ suspicions of witchy behavior is validated.

When THE WITCH conjures up the spooky imagery, it does so with such a pure and classic horror style. Without delving into too many specifics, some of the images in the film seem like prints of old wood carvings straight out of that book you weren’t supposed to look at when you were 10 yrs. old. Once again, Eggers gives the hair-raising images a look that is rooted in the time period without relying on modern horror cliches. The finale alone delivers sights that will haunt your dreams for a very long time.

THE WITCH drips with dread. What it lacks in scares, it makes up for in genuine fear. It’s the fear of the unknown; the fear of losing your family’s trust; and the fear of living in a world where religious rule is just as terrifying as what’s lurking deep in the woods.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

THE WALK – The Review

By Cate Marquis

In 1974, a high-wire walker strung a line between the twin towers of the newly-built World Trade Center and the walked to distance between the 110 story buildings. More than once.

THE WALK portrays the dramatic, audacious and illegal one-time event when a young French street performer named Philippe Petit walked between the World Trade Towers at dawn. This story has been told in the excellent documentary “Man on Wire,” with Petit recalling his amazing stunt and with the film showing recreations of his preparations for his remarkable stunt. THE WALK covers generally the same story as the documentary, of how Petit became obsessed with the World Trade Center towers and how he worked out how to do this inconceivable stunt, but THE WALK increases the dramatic effect by immersing us in the story by presenting it in amazing 3D images.

This is the kind of story that 3D films were born to tell. THE WALK is creative, imaginative, and gripping, but the 3D effects take us out on the wire with Petit, with mind-blowing results.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays high-wire walker Philippe Petit, who became obsessed with the idea of walking between the twin towers upon seeing an photo in an article promoting the new buildings. At the time, Petit had just wire-walked between the two towers of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Robert Zemeckis directs this thrilling film which also stars Ben Kingsley as Petit’s mentor, and Charlotte Le Bon and James Badge Dale as his accomplices.

Gordon-Levitt does an outstanding job as Petit, by turns charming and outrageous, a man of relentless confidence and determination. In reoccurring segments, the Frenchman narrates his story, as the real Petit does in the award-winning documentary, but with a twist – he does so from the torch on the Statue of Liberty. The location is visually appealing but also appropriate – a high perch on an iconic New York landmark, one that was a gift from France to the U.S. That clever touch is typical of this wonderfully entertaining thriller, and the director’s skillful use of 3D to enhance his storytelling.

All the performances are good, but Gordon-Levitt and Ben Kingsley, as Petit’s mentor Papa Rudy, a member of a legendary family of circus high-wire performers, are particular stand-outs. Petit prefers street performance to circuses but works with Papa Rudy to learn the rigging and other secrets of the world’s best high-wire acts. Petit and Papa Rudy are both strong willed, stubborn, big personalities, and inevitably sparks fly. In fact, Petit’s combination of equal parts charm and unreasoning obsession draw people to him and also make working with him a challenging proposition. Petit has exacting standards, a bracing fearlessness and an unshakeable determination.

As the film’s notes point out, 12 people have walked on the Moon but Petit is the only one to walk between the WTC towers. The film notes that New Yorkers were ambiguous about the new towers at the time they were built in the 1970s, with many feeling they were too big. Petit’s stunt helped endear the towers to New Yorkers and also cement their place as iconic elements of the city. The documentary featured the real Petit commenting on his emotional reaction to the twin towers’ fate in 9/11 but THE WALK stays in the 1970s time period, leaving this unspoken.

With breathtaking 3D images, Zemeckis’ skillful direction and a strong performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, THE WALK is a big-screen real-life thriller you don’t want to miss.

THE WALK opens in IMAX 3D and large format screens on Sept. 30 and everywhere October 8.

OVERALL RATING: 4 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

COOTIES – The Review

If recess has taught us anything, you do not want to be the kid with COOTIES!

In this endearingly grotesque black comedy, Elijah Wood goes to work as a substitute teacher after a failed novel attempt. What he doesn’t know is that he picked the wrong day to head back to school. The children have suddenly been infected by a zombie-like virus after eating tainted chicken nuggets, and now they want blood!

You really have to give it to directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott for bringing this dark humor to life. With a cast that includes Wood, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson and Jack McBrayer, there is no way they could have failed. The actors feed off of each other with bits of improv during the entire film, and what we are left with is a disgusting mix of incredible humor.

The film itself is colorfully shot. If you think they won’t show an infected child getting whacked in the head by a baseball bat, you are completely wrong! This film doesn’t hold back, and is a refreshing change from all of the summer blockbusters. If you’re in the mood for some twisted fun, then this is the film for you!

Overall Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Fest 2015: REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF – The Review

Before the title is even shown, two directors/producers are shown arguing over how many types of films can be made. The average between the two is somewhere between 30-37. There’s a formula to film. Well, at least if you were working in the Turkish film industry between the early 1960’s to the late 1970’s. Films were practically released on an assembly line, one after another. Actors are interviewed stating how many films they performed in. Some say 200, others tout how they starred in 1,000. It becomes clear very quickly that the type of cinema that was being turned-out during this time period was a product. REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF delves deep into this product. It is an informative document of a period of time that is often overlooked in world cinema. Although, I prefer to think of cinema as more than just a formula or a product, this well-intentioned documentary treats its subject rather seriously – perhaps even more seriously than the actors and directors treated the films they’re discussing.

Considering that the actors and directors are so obscure – even for the most seasoned film aficionado – most of the film consists of clips snappily pieces together. It’s an effective tool that gives you a taste of Turkish cinema, without having to endure an entire film. Having seen THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD aka “The Turkish Star Wars” and being a huge fan of the universe created by George Lucas, I still found it a chore to get through. So watching these films as part of a highlight reel will likely make you appreciate these films more than if you sat down and watched each of them start to finish. Even though I think of a film like THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD as a cheap novelty, I also recognize that films such as that exist in a time-capsule and represent a point in film history that should not be ignored.

REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF shows that every genre and famous film was fair game. How is this possible, you may wonder. Because there were no copyright laws in Turkey back then. As a result you will see clips from the Turkish version of FIRST BLOOD, THE GODFATHER, even the TV show The Golden Girls. My favorite though might be the short clip from THE EXORCIST rip-off (SEYTAN aka THE DEVIL, 1974).

All that being said, there’s something to be said for having very little money and making something out of nothing. When the film dives head first into the stunts and spectacle that these films incorporated, you will find your mouth agape. These actors risked life and limb for their art. “A film has to have six brawls,” states an adamant producer in one of the interviews. Each of these scenes featured death defying stunts that would make Buster Keaton nervously sweat.

REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF has a passion that is infectious as you watch it. I’m a sucker for film history, so learning more about a cinematic movement that was relatively unfamiliar to me was interesting even if I question the subject from a “film purist” standpoint. Even though I don’t like to think of “cinema as a business,” I can’t ignore the passion that director Cem Kaya shows for his subject in this admirable documentary.

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

Fantastic Fest 2015: HIGH-RISE – The Review

What if the party never ends? More importantly, what if the guests actually want to drive themselves to the point of no return? This is one of many ideas that takes up occupancy in Ben Wheatley’s masterful new work. HIGH-RISE is about excess to a crazy level. The characters, situated in their little microcosms on each floor are practically begging for the apocalypse. They are boozing and pushing themselves past the point of depravity because… well… what else is there.? No one wants to return to reality the next morning. When the drinks run dry and the record plays its last tune, do we really want to go back to a sense of normality?

Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) has just moved into a new building designed by architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons) – a wealthy hermit who takes up residence on the top floor of the multi-story building. In fact, the building is situated as such that each floor is a class of their own, going from the lower class on the bottom to the wealthy at the top. As Laing adjusts to life in the high-rise, he becomes more aware of tension between the classes, which ultimately leads to all-out chaos.

HIGH-RISE presents an unpredictable world. Even though there’s an obvious structure that’s inherent to the building, Ben Wheatley shows that everyone is essentially the same. The base needs and desires of humans are all the same regardless of their social or financial status. Wheatley shows how each class uses sex and alcohol and “the party” as a way to escape the harsh reality of life. What gets darkly funny is how “the party” becomes a status symbol and a way to create a rivalry among groups. Life is a competition, even if it’s something that seems as trivial on the surface as a night of excess. But that is what’s most interesting about J.G. Ballard’s novel and Amy Jump’s script that Ben Wheatley understands: happiness is equated with overindulgence.

Tom Hiddleston delivers a subtly nuance performance. Even when he doesn’t appear to be doing anything, his line delivery or shifts in posture create a character that carries this ensemble film. Elisabeth Moss creates a fragile character that you hope will escape the struggling marriage and lonely life she lives, even though you know that this is a hopeless wish. Who delivers a star-making performance is Luke Evans. His career has consisted of background or supporting characters, and although he plays another supporting character here, he finds a way to stand-out in a considerable way. His journey from the start of the film to the anarchic finale is more moving and tragic than any character in the film. It’s a character that you love to hate, but Evans gives it just enough humanity that Academy voters will be hard-pressed to avoid acknowledging.

Ben Wheatley has a knack for placing the perfect song with a particular scene. This is especially evident in his exceptional prior film SIGHTSEERS. HIGH-RISE is no exception. Pop music from the 1970’s and classical compositions breathe life into the film. But Portishead’s cover of Abba’s “S.O.S” is one of the most memorable musical moments I have seen in a theater this year.

HIGH-RISE can be looked at as a spirtual cousin to Fellini’s LA DOLCE VITA. The elite appear to be asleep in both films in a dream world that is foreign to many. However, Wheatley’s film continues the conversation past the dream state. It shows what happens when they awake from their night of champagne and caviar and how they are supposed to live when the champagne runs out. HIGH-RISE is a masterful satire of society’s instinctual lust for depravity. Made with Kubrick-like precision, HIGH-RISE is an uncompromising look at an apocalyptic dystopia that might be the most relevant and important film of the year.

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

OVERALL RATING: 2 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

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OVERALL RATING: 3 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

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OVERALL RATING: 4 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS

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