Tag: cinevegas 2009

CineVegas Review: ‘Asylum Seekers’

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In our contemporary society of living bigger, better, faster — keeping up with the Jones’ and putting on facades and masks to prove we’re someone different, someone more-than or less-than, it’s not difficult to connect a level of insanity to the lives we lead from day to day, slowly trading the lives we have in for the hopes of a life we want someday in the future.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is an extremely creative visual adventure of six individuals seeking to escape this crazy world we live in by checking themselves into an exclusive insane asylum that promises to encourage their full mentally unstable potential. What ensues is a sort of extreme reality TV style competition for the one and only vacancy at the asylum, conducted by Nurse Milly under the supervision of the mysterious Dr. Beard, whose voice echoes throughout the asylum by way of wall-mounted speakers.

The eccentric cast of mental patients is diverse, including Maud (Pepper Brinkley) the trophy mouse-wife obsessed with preparing for having a child that does not exist, Alan (Bill Dawes) the gender-bender rapping stockbroker, Alice (Stella Maeve) the cybernetic Lolita, Miranda (Camille O-Sullivan) the introverted exhibitionist, Paul (Lee Wilkof) the Evangelical nihilist, and Dr. Raby (Daniel Irizarry) the virgin nymphomaniac.

Writer and director Rania Ajami delivers a visually poetic and explosive film that is both mind-boggling and thoughtful. The film serves as a commentary of a world we live in that can seem so crazy that submitting one’s self to an asylum is a relaxing escape. ‘Asylum Seekers’ is rich with a vivid color palette and kinetic cinematic energy that’s in your face and alive with stylistic flair. This contrasts with the white, sterile rooms of the asylum to further emphasize the visual effect.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is an odyssey that evokes the influence of several films. The characters, the style and the structural approach of the film often resonate memories of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with brief musical moments and enigmatically offbeat dialogue. At the same time, the interaction of Nurse Milly and the journey taken by the six potential residents carries a familiar connection to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even The Wizard of Oz emerges as an influence, with the characters seeking something they do not have at the mercy of Dr. Beard’s mysterious authoritative voice.

Given the intense and occasionally slightly perverse style of the film, ‘Asylum Seekers’ is also a hilarious romp of intelligent absurdity. Not all of the humor is successful, whereas certain moments clearly intend to evoke a laughter that is substituted with an awkward silence. These moments however are easily forgotten as most of the humor does work. Irizarry was particularly effective in his performance of Dr. Raby who is the most outrageous character in the film.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is not an easy film to follow, often asking a lot of the viewer in it’s over-the-top production, but with some time to digest the film it does leave a pleasant and rewarding aftertaste that actually invites interpretation and discussion. The film lingers on the brain and the ending especially has a lot to offer. From the costume design to the props, the overall effect of ‘Asylum Seekers’ is to transport the audience into a fantasy world only minimally removed from ours. Pop culture references appear from time to time, but the most obvious is a scene that plays on the popularity of American idol. The story becomes a sort of Aesop’s Fable, leading to a touching end that toys with an idea of the lost innocence of childhood and the playful peace at which it rests.

CineVegas Review: ‘Patriotville’

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Justin Long and Emmanuelle Chriqui (Don’t Mess With the Zohan) star in this movie directed by Talmage Cooley. The story follows young Chase Revere (Long) who runs the small town of Patriotville’s historical museum and battlefield with a passion unshared by the rest of the town. An economic downturn in Patriotville has businesses collapsing daily and the town council is scratching their heads about how to recover.

Chase puts his passion and knowledge of the town’s history to use and develops a plan to save the town from bankruptcy by promoting historical tourism, but the town’s mayor has other plans. With a group of Native Americans planning to build a new casino and hotel in the area, Mayor Cleveland Fishback will do literally anything to ensure Patriotville gets the casino over the rival town across the mountain.

Once Chase discovers the town council’s plan to develop a casino on his beloved battlefield grounds he mobilizes his efforts to stop the plans with the help of Lucy (Chriqui) whom he just met. Lucy is the exact opposite type of personality of Chase, laid back and mischievous. The two of them set out to start a petition but find the town’s residents do not welcome his enthusiasm against the casino and lash back at them with great vengeance.

‘Patriotville’ is a comedy that tries to be funny but perhaps tries to hard. Much of the film centers on the plot of the casino transaction and highlights the quirkiness of the town’s people, but the colorful nature of the town mostly comes off with little success. The majority of the humor in the film falls short, resulting in poorly written dialogue and ridiculous moments of absurdity amongst the town council. The mayor is a jacka** and the rest of the council are the fools by which he exacts his bullying tactics of leadership.

Long and Chriqui feel out of place in ‘Patriotville’ as they’re the only ones who seem “normal” in the town. Their acting isn’t bad, but just didn’t pop due mostly to the script they had to work with. There are moments when Long nearly sparks an ember of realism, but the faint glow quickly fades once the scene cuts to the other characters. Long’s trademark humor does appear just under the surface of his performance, but the sarcasm is overshadowed by the character’s door mat personality.

On the other hand, the film features some interesting visual use of locations and existing architecture in the town. The opening sequence contains a montage of shots from around the rundown town, painting a sort of reverse-Rockwellian image with closed businesses and decrepit vacancies. This was one element of the film that worked well, representing a small town in dire straights and the effects of the modern culture and economy on a community still trying to survive with it’s roots in tact.

I felt the ending of the film was a bit much to swallow. There was an attempt to inject a moral into the story of Chase and his efforts to save the town’s history and the message is delivered, but loses it’s punch as a direct result of the film’s lack of seriousness. Simply put, everything this story had going for it was diminished greatly by the lack of empathy and respect that is conjured by the residents of Patriotville.

The problem with ‘Patriotville’ isn’t the concept or even the story, but rather the execution of the story brings the film down. With the exception of Chase, few characters command any respect and most of them basically break down to being crude, stereotypical representations of what small town folk are like. Given a better script and a revised approach to the characters and the tone of the story, ‘Patriotville’ had potential as a more serious comedy but ultimately proves to mock itself.

CineVegas Review: ‘Sea of Darkness’

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In the 1970s, surfers like Mike Boyum, Martin Daly, Peter McCabe, and Jeff Chitty were always   on the lookout for the next adventure, the next, great wave that crashed on the shore.   They found their adventure in the jungle spots of the South Pacific, in the remote coastline of Indonesia, and in G-Land, the famed surf spot found in East Java.   Director Michael Oblowitz’s new documentary, ‘Sea of Darkness,’ explores this subculture of men.   However, ‘Sea of Darkness’ is anything but your typical movie about surfers.

The early moments of the film may lead you to believe just that, but Oblowitz quickly moves the film into darker territory.   The darkness that followed this group of young surfers wherever they went is what ultimately drives the film.   It is genuinely eye-opening and awe-inspiring as tales of drug smuggling push the story forward with an incredible force.

Oblowitz utilizes all the markings of a first-rate documentary to tell his tale.   There is much in the way of talking heads, interviews Oblowitz conducted with Daly, Chitty, and others who came through the group at this time.   Oblowitz does so in a way, though, that never feels stale or overdone.   Quick editing and Oblowitz’s amazing usage of stock footage keeps the film from ever growing dull.

There is a time or two near the beginning of the film where it feels like it could all fall apart very quickly.   Hearing interviews with older surfers about how unstoppable the young surfers of G-Land were tends to grow quite monotonous.   Even Oblowitz’s stock footage and the film’s intense editing isn’t enough to threaten the audience with a slight case of repetitiveness.   He does do a wonderful job of keeping the audience in the loop at all times, though.   With all the names and scenarios getting thrown at you left and right early on in the film, it could easily have gone lost on the audience who all these men were, what they looked like, and the major accomplishments they were known for.   Yet, Oblowitz’s decision to continuously subtitle the protagonist’s names over stock photographs of them is an ever-helping hand throughout the film’s early moments of complexity.

Of course, the real meat of ‘Sea of Darkness,’ the moments when the film really begins pushing you towards the edge of your seat is when the talking heads begin going over the drug smuggling business men like Mike Boyum were in charge of.   These were clearly troubled men, men who only wanted to surf and have a good time, and their way of bankrolling the whole adventure is what pushes the film into its darker region.

The whole drug smuggling storyline continues to build and build until Oblowitz unleashes his standout moment.   It comes in the form of Jeff Chitty iterating the story of how he served as a mule, smuggling China White inside his own body, and the ensuing tale of police intervention.   It is a detailed story, one Chitty remembers vividly, and his explanation is ferocious.   It is a tale that is almost too ridiculous to be believed.   We know it is factual, but Chitty’s fierceness in the way he tells the story just clinches its genuineness.

‘Sea of Darkness’ is a candid look at a subculture of men who wanted to live on the edge.   They did it in the best way they knew how, and, for many, it cost them dearly.   Remembered fondly was Mike Boyum, and most of the men talk about him as if her were a modern legend.   In fact, Boyum’s story does have a somewhat mysteriously legendary outcome.   Oblowitz goes from one interviewee to another, each one giving their own, different interpretation of what really happened to Mike Boyum.   It’s an amazing way for Oblowitz to cap his picture, and it serves to grow the legend.

CineVegas Review: ‘Daylight’

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I often find that some of the more engaging stories come from the smaller, more intimate productions. This is the case with ‘Daylight’, directed by David Barker, making his feature debut. The story occurs over a two-day period in which a young couple, Irene and Daniel, are driving through the remote woods to a wedding. Along the way, they encounter an obstacle that would put their their lives, and the life of their unborn child at risk.

Alexandra Meierhans plays Irene, daughter of a wealthy Swiss man, wife to Daniel (Aidan Redmond) and soon-to-be mother. Irene is pregnant, but from the beginning of the film while in their bedroom, it is clear that something is bothering Irene, resulting in a bit of a rift between her and her American husband. Irene’s pregnancy is 100% believable, as Meierhans was actually eight months pregnant during the shooting of ‘Daylight’.

As the couple are driving through the remote woods in the expensive Maserati that was a gift from Irene’s father, they encounter a hitchhiker named Renny. Irene convinces Daniel to stop and ask for directions and, despite his cautious reluctance, agrees to give the man a ride in exchange for directions. This would soon prove to be a disastrous mistake as the film quickly evolves into a tense, suspenseful tale of survival and meditation on the concepts of faith and thrust in others.

Daniel is nervous about meeting Irene’s father, while Irene seems to be troubled by something deeper and more personal. Once they become entangled in the plans of Renny (Michael Godere) and his collaborators Leo (Ivan Martin) and Murph, the focus shifts to staying alive and waiting out the plans and outcomes of their captors. With the uneasy vibe between Irene and Daniel now subdued by the events at hand, another uneasy relationship emerges between Leo and Renny as they attempt to stay on track with their plans despite a proposition made by Daniel to save his own life, leading to his relocation from where Irene is being held. The dynamic this creates is an emotionally-charged, dialogue-driven exploration of the inner workings of Irene’s mind and the stability of trust between Renny and Leo.

What I found the most compelling about ‘Daylight’ aside from Alexandra Meierhans’ performance, is the film’s ability to maintain the mystery, revealing pure emotion while keeping the ending well hidden within the story. ‘Daylight’ is not predictable and the suspense builds during each and every minute of the unconventionally short 73 minute running time. ‘Daylight’ allows the viewer to interpret much of it’s potential direction in their own minds. The effect this has on the audience is to set the conclusion up from multiple different angles so that the viewer is never certain where the events will lead.

‘Daylight’ does end with with a “shocking” outcome. Personally, this ending was not one I had expected and isn’t necessarily the ending I felt would have been the most rewarding, but it’s still an effective outcome, playing on subtle clues laid out along the story that fit together with this ending. With that said, the movie truly isn’t about the ending, which is more of a bonus. Rather, the experience leading up to the end is what I feel makes ‘Daylight’ an exceptional cinematic endeavor.

Movie Geeks at CineVegas, Video Blog: Day 1

We’ve been in Vegas for a few days now, but here is the video blog from day one at CineVegas 2009. The video features red-carpet interviews with the cast and director of ‘Saint John of Las Vegas’. Check it out.

CineVegas Review: ‘Black Dynamite’

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Listen up, all you jive turkeys.   It’s time to get your ass to the nearest movie theater, pop down your Lincolns, crack open an Anaconda, and check out ‘Black Dynamite,’ the most badass exploitation movie to come out in years.   It’s mean.   It’s hard.   It’s in your damn face.   ‘Black Dynamite’ delivers all the goods in every department.   Action.   Comedy.   Even a bit of political espionage.   But don’t let the goofy nature of the movie’s more humorous side steer you clear.   This is one, badass ride, and anyone who says otherwise is liable to get a nunchaku upside the cranium.

Okay, Blaxploitation voiceover aside, ‘Black Dynamite’ is a real treat, a balls-to-the-wall action comedy that incorporates everything that made films like ‘Super Fly’ and ‘Shaft’ so memorable.   Loosely inspired by ‘Three the Hard Way,’ screenwriter and star Michael Jai White wanted to make a film that poked fun at as much as embraced all the elements of a quintessential Blaxploitation film.   His narrative follows the title character, a former CIA operative whose brother, an undercover agent, has been gunned down.   Fast kicks, fast dialogue, and fast comedy ensue with a serious verocity.

White and director Scott Sanders really know the genre they are working with.   ‘Black Dynamite’ seems like an effortless collage of everything Blaxploitation, with a few, added elements thrown into the mix.   The camera is completely unstable, sometimes even wandering off to the side.   Sometimes the actors will look directly at the camera, read screenwriters notes out loud as if they were lines of dialogue, and even break character a time or two.   At one point, a character slaps another, and Sanders makes it seem like the really was a connection.   The actor who was slapped starts to call the other a dirty name, there’s a cut, and the shot is redone with a completely new actor in the role of the slapee.   It’s such a minute moment in the overall film, but it’s one of the more memorable bits of fourth-wall comedy found in ‘Black Dynamite.’

The comedy in ‘Black Dynamite’ is all over the top, some jumping way ahead of other parts.   We see the invention of chicken and waffles.   We see an underground meeting of all the major pimps that includes stellar cameos by Arsenio Hall, Bokeem Woodbine, John Salley, and Cedric Yarbrough, whose Chocolate Giddy-up has probably one of the best character names in recent memory.   The “ah-ha” moment when Black Dynamite and his crew figure out the conspiracy behind what is going on is as ludicrous as it is hysterical.   Let’s just say it involves everything from M&Ms to Greek Gods to Little Richard.   It’s really a scene to behold and words cannot do it justice.

The lead character is amazingly written, a juggernaut of martial arts who, evidently, everyone in the world knows about, even the President of the United States.   Every time Jai White’s Black Dynamite enters a room, everyone is effected in various ways.   Some run from him.   Some begin quaking in their boots.   One woman in particular can’t stop from tearing up.   It’s so much fun to watch Jai White play the character he himself has written.   You can just feel it oozing from the screen how much fun everyone had in making this film.

‘Black Dynamite’ isn’t all about the comedy, either.   There is some really nice fight scenes in this film courtesy of Jai White’s martial arts background.   Regardless of how you view these fight scenes, whether through the glasses of comedy or action, you will not be disappointed.   They work so well either way.   And, because of that, ‘Black Dynamite’ really comes out as a brilliant mesh of action and comedy, a la ‘Hot Fuzz.’   It really is to Blaxploitation films what ‘Hot Fuzz’ was to buddy cop movies.

This isn’t to say the film is perfect.   There is a perfect end point to the film that takes plance on a locale known as Kung Fu Island.   This should have been the finale of the movie, but it goes on from there.   The very last action scene is unnecessary, and it really lowers the film’s standards a bit.   I won’t go into detail what the last scene is about or who is revealed to be behind the whole conspiracy.   I will, however, say that Jai White and Sanders’ film doesn’t fall into pure spoof until those last moments, and it is completely unneeded.   The first 9/10 of the film worked perfectly, because it didn’t feel like the filmmakers behind it were trying to be funny.   It truly felt like a serious action movie from the ’70s that just wasn’t working, and, because of that, the majority of this film is brilliant.   It is in those last few moments that Jai White and Sanders feel like they are trying too hard, attempting to inject a brand of comedy that just isn’t necessary.

What more, though, can be said about Jai White’s performance here.   The man is so talented as a screenwriter and as an actor, and his fight scenes are incredible to watch, as well.   Funny when he needs to be, intimidating when he needs to be, and absolutely charming when he needs to be, Michael Jai White is everything in his performance here, and nothing is held back, nor should it have been.

‘Black Dynamite’ is a blast, a hilarious action comedy that delivers everything you would want from a film whose forefathers were the classic Blaxploitation films of the ’70s.   Jai White and Sanders clearly have a lover for that genre, and they show it in the best way imaginable.   They have crafted a picture perfect reenactment of one of those films, and they have made it their very own.   When you have the chance, check out ‘Black Dynamite,’ sucker.   Your ass just might depend on it.

CineVegas Review: ‘It Came From Kuchar’

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You’ve probably never heard of George Kuchar or his twin brother Miek.  Even though they have hundreds of directing credits between them (George has 215 alone), their names are as lost to the general public as a ship that has entered into the Bermuda Triangle.  Yet, despite this unfamiliarity in the minds of general film audiences, the works of the Kuchar brothers have inspired filmmakers like John Waters, Guy Maddin, Atom Egoyan and Buck Henry.

The documentary film ‘It Came From Kuchar’ is a celebration of their life, work and inspiration.  Director Jennifer Kroot works in all the angles spending equal amounts of time on each of these three aspects.  We see interviews she conducted with George and Mike as they discuss their lives, their childhood, and the relationships they each had with their mother.  We see interviews with filmmakers, critics, and film historians alike as they discuss the ways the Kuchar Brothers have influenced the media of film.  These are spliced with actual scenes from various Kuchar films, films that a majority of the public has never seen.  With titles like ‘Hold Me While I’m Naked,’ ‘The Devil’s Cleavage,’ and ‘Sins of the Fleshapoids,’ you can clearly see why the Kuchar Brothers never made it into the big leagues.

But, unlike ‘Anvil!,’ ‘It Came From Kuchar’ is never about George or Mike’s frustrations and inabilities to become mainstream film directors.  They each have a passion for filmmaking, and they have no regrets for the paths they have chosen.  In fact, George, to this day, continues to direct films with the help of the San Francisco Art Institute.  George has taught a film class there since 1971, and he continues to utalize the institute and his students in helping him create his later films.  Kroot’s documentary also follows the production of George’s latest film, ‘The Fury of Frau Frankenstein,’ and hearing his students/crew talk about George’s work ethic is both humorous and heartfelt.

And that, more than anything, is what ‘It Came From Kuchar’ is all about.  It is a heartwarming depiction of twin brother filmmakers whose passion for the medium outweigh their artistic abilities.  Their films don’t look polished.  They hardly look complete.  But none of that matters.  George makes the films he wants to make, and, without a studio backing him or standing in his way, he is able to do just that.

One negative about  Kroot’s documentary is the way Mike seems to be shortchanged, particularly in the directing pair’s later years.  Much of the film follows George.  It stands to reason, seeing as how George, with 215 directing credits to Mike’s 17, is the much more prolific of the two.  However, the moments featuring both George and Mike under one roof are smile-inducing.

There are several stand-out interview moments in ‘It Came From Kuchar.’  So many times Kroot will be speaking with George and Mike at different locales about a similar subject, and she edits the conversations in such a way that it appears each brother is finishing the others sentences.  Whether it is through a gifted level of editing or the two brothers are that finely tuned to each other remains to be seen.  Regardless, these moments serve as emotional backbone to the depiction of the Kuchar Brothers’ life outside of film.

‘It Came From Kuchar’ is a wonderful documentary that brings to light a film movement not seen by many but that influenced hundreds.  The Kuchar Brothers were and still are pioneers in the underground film movement, and Kroot’s documentary is a heartwarming look at everything they have accomplished and everything they stand for.

CineVegas Review: ‘Moon’

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In an age when science-fiction films tend to be more big-budget special effects driven action/horror movies than actual science fiction, ‘Moon’ delivers an outstanding rare slice of what makes true science-fiction great. Duncan Jones makes a phenomenal debut with his first feature directorial outing. ‘Moon’ is an indie film with a relatively modest budget of $5 million, but the result is a priceless cinematic experience that leads us through a more psychological realm of the genre.

‘Moon’ stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, an astronaut working for Lunar Enterprises in the near-future after energy on Earth has become a rare commodity. Sam is stationed alone on the Moon at the company’s HE3 mining operation. HE3 is a clean-burning fuel for producing fusion energy that is abundant in the rocks on the dark side of the Moon, but rare and expensive to process on Earth. Sam’s contract states that he serve three years on the Moon station and in exchange, he would receive a handsome payout upon returning home to his wife and daughter. Sam’s family is the one thing keeping him focused and positive about this long and grueling experience as the film picks up two weeks away from the end of his contractual obligation.

Sam’s only companion during his three-year stint running the mining station is an AI robot named GERTY, featuring the smooth and morally ambiguous voice of Kevin Spacey. GERTY serves as both a light comic relief and as a dramatic catalyst for many of Sam Rockwell’s engaging moments. GERTY’s artificial emotions are inferred by a digital display of the pop culture yellow smiley face, but the face takes on an array of emoticon-like representations depending on how GERTY reacts to Sam’s various inquiries. Directly influenced by HALL from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, Jones created GERTY as both an homage and as an updated, somewhat more complex computer character. It’s difficult to read GERTY at first, as the story develops and it’s true motivations and alliances are revealed.

‘Moon’ is as much a mystery as it is science-fiction, as Sam is abruptly thrown a curve ball at the end of his term, leading him on an existential discovery of his true identity and the secrets that have been withheld from him about his situation. Sam finds both past and future, as well as his mind, crumbling before him as he struggles to cope with the truth of his own place in the world. Rockwell is absolutely brilliant in ‘Moon’ and delivers a performance worthy of Academy recognition. The emotions, the terror an the pain that Bell experiences are painted so vividly by Rockwell that the fact that the movie essentially is a one man show is completely lost in the fray, overshadowed by the intensity of the performance.

Duncan Jones has managed to prove that great storytelling in the science-fiction genre is not a dying art and can be accomplished without a massive budget and loads of special effects. While ‘Moon’ has a relatively minimal use of CGI, primarily found used to touch up, hide and fill in, Jones actually relied on the old school technology of set design and model miniatures a la ‘Star Wars’ with great success. Jones managed to reconstruct the exteriors of the Moon with a haunting realism that nearly becomes its own character.

In the end, ‘Moon’ proves to be one of the most intelligent and emotionally powerful films of the year and even longer within the science-fiction genre. ‘Moon’ places Duncan Jones within the pantheon of talented young directors that are bound to continue amazing audiences with their smart and original films for years to come. ‘Moon’ has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution and opens today in New York and Los Angeles. If you’re looking for something different, something smart and something worth your $10, then you should be in line to see ‘Moon’ and then telling everyone you meet about how you just had your mind blown by one of the coolest sci-fi films in years.

CineVegas Review: ‘In The Loop’

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‘In the Loop,’ the feature film adaption of the BBC series “The Thick of It,” is an aggressively funny, and oftentimes startling, depiction of the current, political structure.   Dividing the time between the US and the UK, it takes just about everything you believed to be true in terms of foreign affairs and political backstabbing, and turns them into a series of verbal sparring where each character tries to get the upper hand in the most lewd and intense way.   The backstabbing is pretty much reiterated, though.

It all starts with one, precise word, “unforeseeable.”   That is how the British Secretary of State for International Development refers to military action by the US.   That word becomes the catalyst for a series of conversations, some halfway civilized, some downright ugly, about whether the UN should or should not vote for the war.   Eccentric and, most of the time, fairly vile characters make for interesting window dressing along the way.

Directed by Armando Iannucci, ‘In the Loop’ is a film about politics, but the director never shows his cards or attempts to sway the audience.   Filmed in a style akin to “The Office,” Iannucci displays the characters and events in the film with ever-moving camera angles, zoom-ins and outs, and a jarring sense of place to bridge the audience into the film.   Every character within the film has their own opinions, and each is, deep down, a rather immoral person who will stop at nothing to get their way.   Iannucci does an incredible job keeping the different characters seperate, never allowing any one of them to get an upper hand in terms of importance to the story.

That story, by the way, grows ever more complex as the deadline grows near and the vulgarities grow ever more crass.   It is a complex story, and, if you aren’t paying very close attention, it is easy to get mixed up in the myriad of opinions and political discourse.   I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is ever convoluted.   The screenwriters at work here, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, and Iannucci, keep the film just entertaining enough throughout to never be on the wrong end of confusion.   The overall idea is very simple.   Some people think war is a good idea.   Others don’t.   The red tape, career threats and reprehensible attitudes are all just part of the show.   These elements add seasoning (and a little gristle) to an already sizable steak.

The film leads you to believe that debates never really go anywhere.   You can never sway a politician’s initial ideaology.   You can only insult his mother and tell him where he can shove his belief system.   The film becomes extremely episodic through the thick, middle scenes.   I almost expected a scoreboard to pop up at the bottom of the screen, counting up insults from either side so that, once the scene was over, we might have a better understanding of who actually won.

Playing the parts of these crass characters are some extremely talented actors.   First and foremost is Peter Capaldi, who reprises his role from the BBC TV series as Malcom Tucker, the main spin-doctor for the Prime Minister.   Capaldi seems like he could insult someone in his sleep and without much thought put into it.   I hate to speculate on whether someone’s scenes are or are not improvised, but Capaldi never stammers over his lines.   I’m not even sure he ever even repeats himself on any of his insults.   Before the film is over, you will definitely have more than a few new ways of telling someone off.   They come from all of the characters, but Capaldi’s Malcom Tucker is the keynote speaker in this film, to put it one way.

Other notable performances come from James Gandolfini as a military general, Tom Hollander as the mush-mouthed, and oftentimes witless, Secretary of State who starts the whole mess, and David Rasche as a US State department official who uses a live hand grenade as a paper weight.   Each of these actors, and others too numerous to name here, gives an outstanding performance, and each brings in their own level of charisma that either turns you on or turns you off to that, specific role.   Steve Coogin pops up about halfway through as a citizen of the private sector who can’t get the UK officials to hear him about his decaying, brick wall.   It’s a fun performance, and the role is pertinent to the underside of the story, but it just seems a bit too heavy-handed in the realm of dry humor the rest of the film creates.

Complex, intelligent, and, most importantly, all-out funny, ‘In the Loop’ is a look at the political system you may have never seen before.   It is intensely comical, and it offers up enough different kinds of humor to just about satisfy anyone.   The lude nature of most of the characters might be a bit much to some people, and hearing Peter Capaldi scream for nearly two hours might not seem all that much fun to some people.   However, ‘In The Loop’ is anything but bland.   On the contrary, it is a riotous film for anyone willing to give it the time.

CineVegas Review: ‘Impolex’

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A young man, wide-eyed, gazes into open flames. Nervous, curious, afraid. The expression on his face encompasses many potential emotions, but only he knows what’s going through his mind at that moment. This is the opening scene of ‘Impolex’. The scene tosses us directly into the moment and sets the tone. Written and directed by Alex Ross Perry, this odd little movie appears frighteningly complex on the surface but given the sincere attention it deserves, the movie becomes insightful in ways that can only be interpreted by each viewer in their own way.

‘Impolex’ follows a young enlisted man at the end of WWII who is assigned the mission of collecting unexploded German explosive remnants. The soldier wanders through a dense forest obsessively seeking out his objectives. He quickly locates the second-to-last V2 rocket made by the Germans, but finds himself compelled to locate the last rocket as well. This journey takes him through an expedition of his mind, reflecting deliriously on past relationships, philosophical ramblings and the meaning of things personal to his own life.

The young military man encounters multiple characters born of fantasy and the subconscious. A bearded hippie wearing an eye patch spouting radical theories, an emotionally bipolar intimate companion from his past and a prisoner recently escaped from his confines and intent on being confrontational with the soldier all add their curious insights to ‘Impolex’. The story itself is unconventionally linear, except for one scene in which we are abruptly thrown into another time and place.

The soldier, presumably after his return from serving overseas, is dressed in a suit and sits on a park bench conversing and reminiscing with a fair-skinned woman with which he had been intimate. The conversation is disproportionately one-sided and the young actress made quite an impression on me with her lengthy monologue. The moment paints a calm intensity, drawn out by the lingering close-up on the actress, who delivers a respectable performance.

Personally, I found his encounters with the talking octopus to be some of the more rewarding portions of the story. I couldn’t help but be reminded by these scenes of Bill Lee conversing with the creatures of ‘Naked Lunch’ as interpreted by David Cronenberg, while at the same time several of the humorous scenes in ‘Impolex’ contain a hint of influence from the dry humor of Monty Python. It’s a peculiar combination to say the least, but one I found strangely enjoyable.

Perhaps I am reading to much into the story, but this is what makes ‘Impolex’ uniquely valuable and worth the effort of viewing. The playwright Samuel Beckett holds a special spot in my heart amongst writers I adore. The young soldier repeatedly draws from his supply of fresh bananas to nourish himself, particularly during his silent wanderings and moments of rest as he stares off into the woods, thoughts running in his mind that we shall never know. These moments in the film reminded me of Beckett’s play Krapp’s Last Tape.

Whether these are the true intentions we can only guess, but it once again illustrates the type of storytelling the director has undertaken. Attempting to understand and convey the meaning of a film like ‘Impolex’ can be equated to the futile effort of trying to explain a work of modern abstract art with definite certainty to another person. One individual’s interpretation will differ immensely from another’s and to argue the point is, by definition pointless.

The movie is clearly shot on a low budget, or perhaps only shot with that appearance in mind. The majority of the story takes place in the forest, following the young soldier around with a hand-held camera, grainy and unsteady, perhaps like the soldier’s state of mind, whom frequently lapses into moments of blank paralysis during his conversations. Despite lacking fanciful camera work or expensive effects, the film succeeds because of it’s content. ‘Impolex’ is a thinking person’s film, a joy ride for the casual philosopher and an ode to the theater of the absurd.