Nacho Cerdà's shorts III: Genesis (1998)

Life is uncertain

By: JWBM

We often find ourselves in routines, taking for granted the love ones around us: conversing, joining in dinner, and sharing a bed are basic guarantees in our minds. If an accident were to happen, many of us would be unprepared and might end up traveling down a spiral of despair and uncertainty from all the memories and joined moments. If there was a glimmer of hope after the fact, I feel some would go through with it no matter what the consequences would be. Those truly in love often strive for each other's happiness after all.

Apart from dealing with death, the subject matter of Nacho Cerdà's "Genesis" is far removed from his two earlier works "The Awakening" and "Aftermath." The only exception to that is how this film is paced and shot compared to "Aftermath." "Genesis"—sharing the same rich-in-the-eyebrows lead, Pep Tosar—is likewise methodically driven to squeeze every bit of ambiance out of the room. Apart from some nightmarish flashbacks, this feels more a drama and fantasy than it does an outright horror or thriller: deep rooted emotions and some fantastical ideas are at its core rather than shocks or surprises. Instead of having dialogue or a voice over, it's fueled by a haunting classical score, eerie sound effects, and hovering wide-angle camera angles. These seem to slowly chip away and shed light on the inner happenings of a sculptor who lost his wife and now finds a way to bring her back while at the same time slipping away himself.

This was a well put together 30 minute short. It comes with its own unique mood with the artists's studio presenting an escape to a place of sadness and solitude. It creates a certain level of relatability for anyone who's felt powerless after a sudden loss. While not the perfect fantasyland outcome one would ultimately want, it instead delves into what love and sacrifice actually mean and how some of us interpret them when presented with the impossible. The film relies more on how you feel towards it rather than writing in between the lines of every action or motivation for you. With some more length to it, I feel it could have expanded even further on its themes and could have possibly been even more of an emotional force.

Rating: 8/10

Director: Nacho Cerdà (The Awakening, Aftermath)
Actors: Pep Tosar, Trae Houlihan
Info: IMDB link

Nacho Cerdà's shorts II: Aftermath (1994)

Lust at the morgue

By: JWBM

This film is less like your typical cinematic story arc and more like an experience to rattle your senses. Instead of walking away enlightened, you'll end up limping into a corner for a pause or time out from life itself. Stripped away are the usual avenues in a movie to get behind or follow. This has a one-track direction that starts out with an uneasy feeling that eventually escalates into shakes all over and permanently imprinted imagery behind the eyelids of every blink.

Some of us have jobs where we are micromanaged by a supervisor in the same room, or even other co-workers or customers with senses acute to anything out of the ordinary that may be reported. You've probably heard of every possible infraction where the person was caught red handed, or is whistling down the road ever so quietly to their next line of work. Then there are others that have a certain amount of leeway and trust when it comes to their job, whether they work alone or only check in under certain circumstances. I'd wager the temptation or probability of getting away with something comes with a higher average. But that's what separates one person with a steadfast moral framework, and someone else with less scruples provided with just the right opportunity. What's the worst act you can think of? If you guessed cheating the company, you may be jaded but still normal. If you guessed necrophilia, you might have a morbid imagination reserved for the likes of our main star in "Aftermath" who—you guessed it—works in a mortuary practically unsupervised. If you're wondering how something like this got to this point, this is the documentation of just that.

This isn't a film to see twice, at least on your own. It doesn't represent anything or make any statements—minuscule or grand—it mainly attempts to catch you off guard with a sense of shock using credible, life-like effects. One of those, "Wait till this uptight party gets a load of this!" My first experience with "Aftermath" was with a bootleg VHS tape that was dubbed over enough times to look like a real home video. The DVD version is much sharper by comparison and shows that it has a decent enough budget for what they set out to do. Unlike other times when certain films get a cleaned up makeover, you'll rarely second guess the gore effects, or how genuine the sets look like here. It's strange seeing this in widescreen with classical music and a sense of careful, artistic direction while depraved acts are taking place in the background. The idea of not having dialogue was brilliant as it forces your senses to focus on the moment by moment without a break to look away. As unorthodox as it is, it still comes with a purpose, a measured pacing, and a grand finale that'll be hard to top as far as shock value goes.

Overall, this works for what it is. It's not a horror film that's going to beat out, say, "Psycho," or even take its place, it's essentially a sub-genre of taking the medium and seeing the amount of distance over the line it made it. Similar to "Flower of Flesh and Blood," or "Men Behind the Sun," you'll probably do more talking about them, than actual time watching them.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Nacho Cerdà (The Awakening)
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Nacho Cerdà's shorts I: The Awakening (1990)

                                                              Lo, death calls

                                                                 By: JWBM

This is an earlier 8 minute short by the director of the now infamous "Aftermath" film. The tone is a challenge to place as it's so brief that it could have taken multiple directions from the outset: from horror, supernatural, science fiction, to even mystery. Though as it is, it has an otherworldly vibe similar to the look and feel of an earlier Lynch or Cronenberg short with a strange, black and white quality reserved for a rough outline of a dream. 

Essentially a bored student lacking in motivation falls asleep and finds himself traveling past the physical world into something more enlightened on the other side. Time itself freezes and we see a series of surreal imagery while those around him look on. This certainly had potential, though what makes it a challenge to get into is that there is little connection or background to the people in the story. Stuff happens—cool stuff at that—though it's loose enough to feel like a balloon that took off and is now hard to make out in the distance. The farther it gets away, the more your motivation dwindles. It's the difference of being there at the outset of some sudden event, compared to walking past a situation on the streets with complete strangers and a story too far distanced to fully concern yourself. 

"The Awakening" feels like it was going for something along the lines of "Carnival of Souls" meets "Jacob's Ladder" of the same year. Something that makes the mind melt and the senses never settle from out-there, supernatural ideas. I'd mention "Soultaker"—with a similar out-of-body experience—in the same sentence, but fortunately it doesn't have many dated gags to pick at for the year. While in many ways it's unfair to compare an experimental low-budget short just testing out the waters to a worked-through feature length film, however those—while unique and atypical—still had a certain backbone to them that one had more interest and investment to get behind. Possibly with some more time and some more ideas to tap into, this could have been a more worthy addition. 

Rating: 5/10

Director: Nacho Cerdà

Info: IMDB link

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989)

If sacred ground had an opposite

By: JWBM

The uncut version of this is one of the most over-the-top animes I've laid eyes on. It's one of those films that you have to double check not only who's in the room, but who will potentially come home and accidentally walk in on some of the scenes shamelessly displayed. Not only is it incredibly dark and violent, it's also perverted to another level beyond innocent fantasies: being at the far back of the mind of even the most demented person's imagination. Films such as "Violence Jack," and "Wicked City," set this up to knock it out of the park and run the bases two times over just because. One doesn't know whether to stick around, keep one eye open, or run for cover.

A large focus of this tale is of a foretold legend and what's to come from it for the three species of worlds: will better times be ahead, or will darker times swallow up any shred of light? Maybe a mix of both. There's a pull and tug between demons and humans, with the half-breeds to bring together a balance of sorts. Demons bring senseless destruction and chaos: from murder, and rape, to any other form of the heinous acts that go along with it. As far as they are concerned, things are just fine and dandy just the way they are. The more reserved half-breeds—while perverted, and just as capable of danger—are hanging on to a dream that the legendary Chojin will end up stopping the madness.

This is part fantasy, action, erotic, post-apocalyptic, coming of age, and also part horror. The tone shifts are sometimes at complete opposite ends of the spectrum: going from utter carnage and perversion, to light and fluffy teenager stuff. You'll witness scenes that will potentially leave scars for how utterly far they're taken, to then in the next breath have a kind of innocent high school love angle with sparks in the air. But, then again, that's what makes this work: if everything were painted black and red, the contrast would become monotonous despite its rugged edge. Needless to say, this is not for someone with a strict moral code. Take the scene with the nurse, turned demon, turned penis-arms taking every bit of advantage of a poor, innocent student behind closed doors. You'll never look at a nurse's office or even a predatory octopus the same again.

While the experience is one bounds-pushing sensation after the next, the underlying direction is not as linear as one would hope for. In some ways, it's a great collection of some memorably creative, perverse, and horrific ideas stirred up and let loose into the air. Some of the story—as simple as it is—does get a tad muddled at points with everything going on.  Also, a few of the character representations and voice-overs are somewhat awkward and silly, such as the two henchmen from the Makai world. Or the somewhat misplaced, cute, and perverted looking monkey thing that follows around Megumi: a half human, half demon with no sense of how a lady wears a skirt. Though, the first time I saw this, I walked away wide-eyed and with a few more check marks shy from my imaginary list of things I can say I've seen in the world. That seems to be the ultimate point here: to serve up a movie watching experience like no other you can escape into. "Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend" is what you get.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Hideki Takayama (Captain Future, Gu-Gu Ganmo)
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Fist of the North Star (1986)

Hope is not on the horizon

By: JWBM

As the dominant species with intelligence on earth, we often contemplate altering our genetic make-up to transform ourselves into more than our destined path would have been: whether that be holding on to our youth, filling our brain with more knowledge, or making every attempt to further our physical abilities. Now take the world going into a post-apocalyptic age, where those with excessive physical strength and ability become a chiseled symbol of supremacy. Men with immeasurable muscles and the demeanor of true scumbags, are now treated with genuine fear and almost like false gods.

We fight for food and water, we fight for mating rights, we fight for territory, and, at other times, we fight to see who's the best. With a little bit of all of the above, "Fist of the North Star" opens up to a testosterone laden world of sheer savagery with little end, and puts the weight of it on the shoulders of one man: Kenshiro. He's got a tragic past and scars to prove it, he looks like Bruce Lee had a kid with Mad Max, and, ultimately, he's got a certain genuine inner character balanced with an outer strength that might just be the key to saving humanity from the dark and nearly hopeless path it's headed down. 

What's interesting about this story is it's not saturated with drama of what we've become as humans, it mainly hovers around the primal portion of ourselves on either side: whether we've gone full dark and embrace chaos and destruction, or, in a more rare case, embrace trained violence for the sake of righting wrongs in a lawless world. It's essentially the necessary answer to most problems here; it's also unintentionally comical for how doors are opened, or any bit of property is treated, because at this point who cares. Psychologically, it resonates in the same morbid curiosity of not being able to look away from seeing two thugs duke it out on the streets from afar, to a bigger bully being taken out by a hero of sorts that steps in. I feel that connects with our deep-rooted instincts in that we don't want to admit it's there in this day and age of technological advancement and emotional suppression. Take for example, when was the last time you said hello to your neighbor, versus when was the last time you wanted to say something angrily to your neighbor? This uses the bleak and barren backdrop to take several steps back to where it all began.

The animation was fresh, creative, and original for its time. It makes the scenes pop, and the interactions feel that much more powerful. Some detailed painted backdrops are used to show the lifeless and soul-crushed state of the earth: buildings are a vague reminder, along with any shred of green or blue. Other scenes offer up wide-eyed surprises when it comes to the fight choreography and certain character's abilities. One of the coolest characters here is Rei, who has an ability to slice his opponents into a series of pieces in these atmospheric slow motion cut-away shots. An interesting note is the change in picture quality for the extremely gory scenes; apparently the original version was lost and then later spliced together.

This is a simple tale that works due to having an epic feel to it. Being a condensed version of a multi-part manga, there are portions missing in between that would connect the dots better, though it still maintains an emotional connection to the roles, along with manages to steer from being just a black and white approach to good and evil. This takes your typical fantasy story of fate and what's written in stone, and then inverts it from the unexpected and what was "supposed to happen." You'll want to either root for the anti-heroes, or possibly even transform into them yourself to serve up some crude justice.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Toyoo Ashida (Vampire Hunter D)
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Baoh (1989)

An anti-hero with a worm for a brain

By: JWBM

For heroes and anti-heroes alike, the '80s were a breeding ground for one characterization to stand out with something more unique than the next upcoming sensation. Where "cartoons" were once known as an innocent means to bring about comedy or adventure, some were becoming more serious and story oriented. Material hit the shelves with the likes of "Vampire Hunter D" and "Wicked City": stuff so mind-bendingly violent and perverted that you'd have to hide it from your Sunday school teacher in fear that they'd discover the dark truth and deem you a heretic.

"Baoh" is akin to the next level of live action. It's not "Akira" level of sophistication, or what "Guyver" would end up fleshing out further with a guy with sudden abilities, but it's still where animation was learning a creative thing or two, plus taking powers and capabilities to another level of ferocity. Every other scene goes for a wide-eyed, queasy stomach hit to the senses and then some. It's your head in a vice tempting a messy fate with every skull-crushing turn. The story stripped down is fairly simple and pedestrian, though it's the punctuation put after it that gets the pot boiling to a roaring degree at points. Its mode of story-telling is to lunge for the throat, release, and then to offer up an explanation for the surprising outburst. In a nutshell: a government tested human weapon escapes the clutches of its masters and is then hunted down by an assortment of other powerful experiments in a series of bloody showdowns.

In what turns out to be its strength for the first half, also turns out to be its weakness for the last half without any change of formula. It's like a live-action music video: flashy, fastly edited, and somewhat hollow for story, but full of a share of creative angles and emotional impact. One moment its sense of mystery comes with fresh surprises, though there are points where it feels like it makes it up as it goes with more strange powers, and more random characters that pop out of thin air. It could have benefited by some duality to Baoh's or his master's character; even at 48 minutes, it doesn't have much for meat on its bones. In other creatures on the loose type of films you often get some kind of morality or sympathy coming from either side: from the creator with the best intentions that accidentally takes it too far, or from the monster having unparalleled power but not knowing the consequences of its actions. It makes it lack the inner workings to be more than a black versus white tale of I'll attack you, you attack me back, till one of us comes out the victor.

It still has a certain factor of coolness going for it, along with some memorably gory scenes to high five your friends to. Despite its quirks and straightforward nature, it's somewhat entertaining if you let your guard down and know you're only getting exactly what's promised. It's just not up there with other action oriented animes such as "Fist of the North Star" with a little more backbone and characterization to it.

Side note: If you're trying to decide which language version to watch. I'd go with Japanese with English subtitles. The dubbed English feels somewhat rushed and unintentionally eye-rolling at points. Though it's not without its charms if you've got a rowdy, voice-their-opinions group watching this.

Rating: 6/10

Director: Hiroyuki Yokoyama (Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam)
Info: IMDB link

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Abraham Van Lincoln

By: JWBM

When the trailer for this film first came out, I was tightly crossing my arms and thinking this was probably nothing but a silly gimmick solely concocted by Hollywood to sell some tickets and run. Then again, Romanians probably think those odd for using loose elements of the historical figure of Vlad Tepes and transforming him into a fanged dark lord. The premise of "Vampire Hunter" is just as over-the-top and ludicrous as you'd expect, though surprisingly it has a certain level of entertainment and charm to it that manages to keep one's attention throughout. Instead of going the route of historical revisionism with a comedic approach and a vibe like "Bill & Ted" or "Clone High," this blends fantasy, action, and horror into a more serious undertaking of an alternate timeline to Lincoln's life—as serious as throwing popcorn in your mouth, while not cracking a smile from one-liners that is. You can imagine, though, Lincoln's real-life relatives are rolling in their graves.

What I like about the story is it will do something that would question your sense of disbelief, but then in the next scene act more grounded and allow room to breathe. It begins as a simple revenge tale with a formula taken straight out of the textbook of an old kung fu film. You know the one: an all-knowing master that's willing to show the ways of the secret arts in a short amount of time for the ultimate show down with the all-powerful villain who prays on the weak. You get fancy moves that defy physics, philosophical catch phrases, and now a more hardened and determined character with a silver tipped axe that acts as if he has the confidence of a gang of ten men. Lincoln still has a certain calm temperament between slayings: enough that he still doesn't lie, manages to bag the hottest lass in town, and become president of the United States of America no less with the intent to abolish slavery.

The film has a massive budget to show off an array of stylish and slick action scenes that'll make the eyes-wide and your imagination go wild. This is coming from the director of "Night Watch" and "Wanted" if that says anything for how far someone's abilities are going to be taken, or how the aesthetics of the scene will perfectly line up in a smooth fashion. Sometimes so much so that some powers and certain rules are inconsistent over the measured timing of certain parts. If not for some moments to tie in Lincoln's life, the film would be a solid action flick throughout. The horror side of it goes only as far as being mildly surprising, rather than outright terrifying due to only so many limitations from the monsters; plus an odd sense of boosted strength from humans as well. It's more like a neck and neck good versus evil tale, than a total domination creature feature.

We've seen countless vampire stories since Stoker's novel hit the shelves. Some of them tried and true Gothic tales; others more modern to look like they're happening right next door; or as an excuse for amped up sexuality, or violence. Here, we have a whole new creative animal: it's eccentric, it's unconventional, it's a history professor's worst nightmare, though one must accept that before going in. That still doesn't excuse the overall experience. It's a senseless premise that still keeps its senses when played out. It does have a certain flow that doesn't snag, a sense of worked-through plot, the actors overall have a certain refinement and take it as seriously as they can, and, most importantly, it can be down-right fun at times. Put on your horse blinders, don't look back, and enjoy the ride.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch; Wanted)
Actors: (Benjamin Walker; Dominic Cooper; Mary Elizabeth Winstead; Rufus Sewell)
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Deadtime (2012)

Sex, drugs, and murder

By: JWBM

The trailer for this film looks like a promising drama, murder-mystery with a music angle. One could surmise there'll be blood, surprises, some risque scenes, and, of course, attitude—it's a rock 'n' roll story after all. 

A group of English musicians—who look like they don't get along from the get-go—are brought to a large maze of a recording studio till the sparks fly and a groundbreaking album is produced. A slasher premise is hinted at; you know the drill: cell phone reception weak, something terrible happens, and so much is at stake that it becomes a stalemate till those still standing are forced to go into survival mode when a head-cocks-this-way-and-that killer is on the loose. Once the doors are locked behind, the viewer is soon treated to a nauseating soap-opera with back and forth bickering that's neither interesting, or entertaining. The movie then jumps into more tone changes than vegetable varieties at your local supermarket. The plate isn't always set with a smooth-blend, more like, "Hey, now we're a drama; a music video; faux documentary; the romance is on; tongue-in-cheek sarcastic; oh, horror movie, right." Nothing looks back; the momentum is always forward. Though one has to ask themselves, what audience is this tailored to? The only one with that in mind after the fact is the marketer of the trailer who realized the actual movie was all over the place. 

The filmmakers intentions may have been in the right place here, as this feels like something that may have worked on paper, or even as a graphic novel where the rough kinetics of it all would have tied in better. It's over the top, it's different, and attempts to be creative, though it's not a seamless experience. It's not "Demons" or "StageFright" with a purposeful "cheesy" formula going on, but with certain worked through scenes and tones that you can get behind. Instead it dances from one scene to the next, and then manages to fall flat on nearly every one of them. Its idea of exposition is to cut and paste. I mean, it jumps feet first into an escalating drama, then tries to backtrack its motivations related to it. But ultimately drops it to go into other avenues such as some steamy scenes, rock 'n' roll antics, someone getting chased or killed, or even some random offshoot of the dark arts. The villain is weakly motivated enough to feel more uncomfortable than terrifying when this person goes all crazy. 

I'm all for films with zany plots and various twists and turns, though this feels more like an overambitious film that tries desperately to fill space; while successful in doing just that, the scenes that transpire tend to come with a case of the hiccups that only get worse and worse. If it's any consolation, it looks like it was fun for those behind the scenes. I just can't recommend this film for the casual viewer as it's most likely going to be a frustrating experience. 

Rating: 2/10

Director: Tony Jopia

Actors: Laurence Saunders, Carl Coleman 

Info: IMDB link

Trailer: Youtube link

Playback (2012)

Home movies used to be a time of innocence

By: JWBM

This is a horror film that mixes a ghostly tale from the past with video technology of the present. Back in '94, a young man by the name of Harlan Diehl films himself going "Amityville Horror" on his family. Now in 2012, a group of pretty and privileged seniors are making a shoe-string budget horror film to re-enact the murders without actually knowing all that much about the inner details. Julian—the director—digs a little further into this hush-hush story that the town would rather forget, but eventually finds himself neck deep to escape the clutches of something more sinister.

The biggest issue with "Playback" is it's too caught up with little subplots and substanceless filler. The pacing is likened to an everyday high school drama-lite that attempts to evolve into a more serious horror film. The two tones feel separate enough that one could draw a distinguishable line between, rather than providing a smooth overlap that would lure one in. I can see the logic: to get to know the characters and to make a surreal situation feel real, though it also never attempts to make them interesting past what they look like on the outside.

This plays out more as a cut and dry, back and forth experience: one moment things are a fun and promising party, to the next attempting to play investigative journalist, to then actually concentrating on the horror. About two-thirds of the way through, when things should be coming to a heart-racing culmination, it starts to lose its bearings and has trouble gaining momentum. You're left to watch the creepy post-graduate guy drive around town in his kidnapper's looking van in a fit of self-loathing, while the hopeful main star simultaneously attempts to put the pieces together of the mystery surrounding the Diehl murders.

The coolest set-up this movie had going for it was the opening when the murders were taking place. The atmosphere was at an all time high with these nightmare-like first person shots and a scratchy effect layered in. You had no idea what was going on, though it grabbed you by the throat and didn't let go. Sure there's gore and violence sprinkled about, but it's not as effective as, say, building up to it to make the audience feel the impact. The horror formula that follows after feels muddled; your brain works more to connect the dots than to find a way to run and hide. Then there are other awkward side-plots such as the character of Frank Lyons—Christian Slater—being a random pervert who pays for tapes of girls of questionable age.

As many cliches and predictable moments as there are, this isn't an outright terrible film. What saves it in areas, is the acting is mostly natural, the dialogue has a certain smoothness to it, and the direction and editing while the individual scenes are played out have a certain flow. It's just not able to come together as a whole and overcome being an overall average horror experience due to a focus that is either here or there.

Rating: 5/10

Director: Michael A. Nickles (Do You Wanna Dance?; This Is Not a Film)
Actors: Johnny Pacar, Ambyr Childers, Toby Hemingway, Christian Slater
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

The Day After Trinity (documentary - 1981)

The sky was the limit

By: JWBM

Anyone who's seen imagery or heard stories from World War II wouldn't argue that it was anything less than primal, traumatic, gruesome, and life-changing for all involved. Each side—whether they were Axis or Allies—had goals in mind to come out on top. One could say this war was a technological and scientific race: from aeronautics, code breaking, chemical warfare, weaponry, to, here, bomb making. Decisions were often made higher up in the food chain and then carried out by those people handed down their orders to follow. Every attack at that point had a counter; what made the proposition of the atomic bomb different was it would have a total one-sided success rate. Once it was dropped, everyone on the opposing side should start saying their respective prayers.

In the beginning of the war, Albert Einstein proposed to the US government that German physicists were well on their way to developing the atomic bomb. US Major General Leslie Groves appointed Robert Oppenheimer—a highly respected American scientist—to lead teams towards beating Hitler and his physicists to the punch. This led to a remote area in New Mexico that would be not only secretive, but would also be used in case there was fallout if successful. Eventually all walks of the scientific elite came together and formed a community that would make it their set goal despite budget or having a social life outside of the complex. The sky was the limit—literally.

One of the most important points made in this documentary and one that some of the scientists grappled with once the smoke cleared, was what could a bomb of that size do on its own, and what would happen if it was dropped on living, breathing persons? All this manpower, time, and resources poured into this project, and more importantly all those young, countless soldiers' lives lost. Germany was out of the picture now, but Japan would not cease fire despite efforts to come to a deal made by then President Harry S. Truman. It was a decision not for the feint of heart, nor one without a compassionate heart. What took years to develop, now came to fruition and was being used before anyone could think twice about it. The impression was that the American people—who had friends and family involved with the war—could go back to their lives. Oppenheimer felt otherwise about something so quickly and massively destructive.

It's interesting to hear the thought processes that led up to the atomic bomb. Though being made in '81, this is a slower moving documentary than most nowadays might be accustomed to. A share of the people being interviewed are dry and slightly eccentric academics that speak freely and at their own pace. There are no rapid edits or gravitating music to sway the viewer. It takes on one word and point at a time without jumping around. Though, in that regard, one can be assured that these were the direct opinions and viewpoints of those involved. This mixes science and politics; something that looks like oil meeting water. The latter half of this documentary focuses on just that: Oppenheimer's rise and fall from both politics and science due to a series of complexities.

Director: Jon Else
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

White Light, Black Rain (HBO documentary - 2007)

How does one survive after the impossible?

By: JWBM

From the ordinary and mundane, to instant destruction and calamity— flames, death, and horrifying imagary to those still alive—these are the accounts of the fateful days in August 1945 when two atomic bombs were systematically dropped and detonated on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during the tail end of World War II.

One could argue using the bombs was a culmination of events leading up to it: from possible payback for Pearl Harbor, or even what the Japanese military did to Nanking, with senseless rape, destruction, and death tolls estimated to be 200,000. Though, without getting too political—if that's possible for a depiction of war—this HBO documentary hones in on the regular Joes and Janes of Japan and the US, then examines how it impacted them then and in the time since.

"Little Boy" and "Fat Man"—as the bombs were called—caused near obliteration. It was a miracle that anyone survived; many didn't leave in one piece: in body or mind. All that they knew at that time vanished in an instant, like a colony of oblivious ants devastated by a stick of TNT. Except these people had names, personalities, families, and lives to look forward to. The ones that moved on and lived a full life, despite the obstacles, were able to share their thoughts and how it affected them. Some describe it point blank, while others have trouble repeating the words that come with an inseparable feeling of trauma, or with permanent imprinted images in their heads. Many have extensive injuries, such as missing appendages, unexplainable medical issues, and deep scars. The amount of will power and endurance some of these survivors went through—and are still going through—during their recovery period is commendable.

"White Light, Black Rain" is clear, concise, and moving. It gives room to breathe over other documentaries that were held back by time constraints, available resources,  adequate budget, or a lack of focus. It sticks to a dedicated purpose to those who survived without attempting to take on other aspects that can't be changed or that would steer the tone into another direction. There are whys and hows talked about here, though its sights aren't on military history or to dissect blame. It's going for an intimate and compassionate look at these peoples' lives that were blessed enough to have another purpose after something so nightmarishly chaotic. My favorite interview was with Katsuji Yoshida of Nagasaki who goes on to talk about his mother's support and love, along with his gotta-move-on outlook, and ability to smile wide despite people's unfavorable looks and treatment. Others, due to plastic surgery, may look fine from the outside, but may be sole survivors from an extensive family, haven't been able to have children of their own, or seek constant treatment from something that has baffled doctors throughout the years since.

Some of the imagery and spoken descriptions are intense with detailing the aftermath. This isn't a feature to put on for a happy Saturday afternoon, though if you're looking for another perspective to these events at the end of World War II that comes with a message, then this does an excellent job at giving viewpoints with enough emotion to affect one for days.

Director: Steven Okazaki (Living on Tokyo Time; The Lisa Theory)
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

The Hunt for Nazi Scientists (PBS documentary - 2005)

Allies versus Axis: A race for technological advancement

By: JWBM

Towards the latter portion of World War II, technological advances were heating up to a boiling point. More clever and destructive means were being invented and employed to get an upper hand in the war. It was to the point of being a coin toss of who could have come out on top, or who would have been crushed savagely by boots below.

Jewish physicists—that fled from Germany to the United States—warned the American government that Nazi scientists were on the track to inventing the atomic bomb; considering they were the first to split the atom, along with to discover nuclear fission. The US didn't waste time and implemented their own action plan: "The Manhattan Project." A man by the name of Robert Furman was recruited to head a parallel mission to dismantle Hitler's nuclear program with the objective to halt head Nazi physicist Werner Heisenberg in his tracks.

Meanwhile, Germans were simultaneously attacking European targets with neighborhood-flattening self-guided missiles that were near impossible to stop once the course was plotted. It was unlike anything anyone has seen before, or knew how to react fast enough to handle. British intelligence assembled their own team—30 AU—to stop or capture German rocket engineers, including their leader: Werner Von Braun, a Major in the SS; along with Hellmuth Walter, inventor of advanced fighter planes that could put a spin on things to come. Once the dust settled after the war, there was controversy due to their expertise being too tempting not to exploit by the US and Russia.

This uses a combination of interviews with living persons of interest, archive footage, re-enactments, and voice over to tie it all together. There's a high quality and seamlessness to it. For the most part, it keeps a steady momentum by highlighting certain pivotal points. However, it acts more as an overview—you won't get an exact time line, or the means to show everything or everybody behind the scenes. By being a little longer, it could have benefited by showing Russian, Italian, and Japanese points of view. That's where a lengthy history book would end up filling in the gaps to the rest where this medium—PBS' "Secrets of the Dead"—might pose a challenge as a televised event. It seems more to loop you in to a specific window of history that was classified and secretive for decades after the war. I found myself engaged and captivated by all this technological advancement in such a short time; while other portions then showed the grave consequences those led to. It was a mixed time in history, where scientific advancement was at an all time high level, no doubt, though things nearly escalated to a point of no return.

Director: Mark Radice
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link
PBS: Episode link

Night and Fog (documentary - 1956)

One of mankind's darkest chapters

By: JWBM

When one reflects on the rise of Nazism, it's commonly viewed as the extreme of one group of people deciding that other groups are inferior and must be experimented on or extinguished outright. It feels surreal to think it was taken to this level in the 1930s and '40s—a time when technology, sciences, and the arts were all flourishing and attempting to make us more enlightened human beings. While there were specific atrocities and nightmarish realities that led up to and were a cause to intervene with a second World War, this documentary is essentially a haunting reminder and remembrance of people and places. 

This French made film—released in 1956—opens the doors to concentration camps and what they were capable of with earlier archive shots, along with some present footage then. These were ruthless, uncompassionate machines that stripped identities, robbed all hope, and made those cast under its shadow have a sense of worth to that of compost. To me, this was one of the clearest indicators that the bubble we live in can pop at any time. We're all just a thin layer away from being exposed to the darker side of humanity if not checked. 

Reading excerpts and hearing testimonials is one aspect to get the message through as to what happened, though seeing the amount of frail, nearly lifeless people on the verge of death before your eyes is a harrowing experience in itself. What got me after a culmination of scenes, was where people died as mere skin and bones, and were then bulldozed into a ditch of sorts like a soon-to-be-forgotten waste of space and resources. It makes the mind race as to what those people would have become, and how another could so easily crush another if given free reign. 

This documentary is eye-opening and is known for providing the naked truth as to what happened in visuals and commentary. This would be a no frills work if it weren't for the steady background music and poetic tellings of these people and places. It can be harsh and relentless with the amount of suffering and travesty shown, though it's purposeful in its intent and would be a disservice if it held back. This piece isn't necessarily well-rounded as a reporting tool of the surrounding events: there are no interviews, spoken first hand accounts, or even variants in tone. Being only 32 minutes in length, it often gets to the point and moves on; occasionally jumping around and providing some unintentional overlap. There isn't necessarily hope or contrast here either, though, if history took a different turn, things may have been decades of further inhumanity. With that, the message is clear. 

Director: Alain Resnais

Info: IMDB link

Trailer: Youtube link

Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999)

Dia de los rubia

By: JWBM

Direct to video, without Clive Barker involved, and a move to Latin fused neighborhoods of Los Angeles with the Day of the Dead around the corner, what can one expect of the third installment of the Candyman franchise? Well, don't hold your breath.

The daughter of Annie Tarrant—Caroline—finds herself living alone in the heart of Boyle Heights L.A. She's an artist who has an upcoming gallery with original paintings that her grandfather—the Candyman himself—painted before his public execution for loving a woman not of his own race in a time when the white man had an all-time high track record for hate and prejudice. According to some of the L.A. detectives in this story, not much has changed. You guessed it, all this attention and the fact that no one listens and has to test the waters by reciting Candyman's name five times in front of a mirror calls him back in full hook-through-the-back fury. Soon, the towering man in a trench coat and a knack for a stadium-deep voice goes around saying mean-spirited and potentially incestuous things such as, "Be my victim" and "There's no reason to live." Might as well be a Valentine's Day poet for the lonely and depressed.

Literally, the only excitement this movie has going for it is of the sexually tantalizing kind. Or at least it wants to hope so. If it's any indicator, the lead was on "Baywatch" a year earlier and walks around with bountiful blonde hair, and in panties every other chance she gets. There was a point where Caroline came in on a family member in the tub with a slashed neck, and the filmmakers even had to show the attractive relative on display topless. I mean, that's not even a fair shake of your senses. I guess if you know your movie has zero credibility going for it, then you might as well go for gold. Yeah, yeah, hot people die and have murderers come after them—the '70s Spanish/Italian horror features were king of this—though this just doesn't have anything else of worth to show for itself. It then tries to get the gears going mid-way through with a kind of race-against-the-clock feature with weak attempts at romance thrown in, and a failed attempt to include the Mexican culture, including the celebration of Dia de los Muertos. This is a festive and interesting event in real life, though it seems out of place here.

It's a pain to see what the series has been reduced to. One could smell trouble before even throwing this one on. After seeing part three though, it makes you want to put on the first film to show how the story was once brilliant, full of mystery, and included a kind of unshakable and unrivaled atmosphere for a horror film in the '90s. This is nothing of the mentioned, and is not worth the time or investment.

Rating: 3/10

Director: Turi Meyer (Sleepstalker)
Actors: Tony Todd, Donna D'Errico, Jsu Garcia
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

Gumbo, honey, and a pinch of blood

By: JWBM

This is a series known for compounding general fears: from its blind-sided, hook-to-backside attacks; making the sight of an innocent ol' bee a deadly act in itself; and generating additional fear to those lost and dilapidated areas few ventured into before, but now are forced to endure them.

From Cabrini-Green in Chicago to the French Quarter in New Orleans, this film is more of an origin story to interweave past and present characters. Ethan Tarrant—who's father was viciously killed years earlier—is now the prime suspect when an author of the Candyman stories ends up as a gory decoration on the floor of the men's room in a seedy Louisiana bar. His sister, Annie—a middle school teacher—makes a grave mistake by calling upon Candyman in front of her whole class in order to relieve tensions with one of her so called "strange" students with a penchant for dark artwork. Soon, the boy ends up missing and Annie ends up scrambling to find him while also attempting to put the pieces together before any more people meet the end of a meat hook.

There are certain films that still hold up and become rewatchable again and again for particular reasons: whether that be something as simple, though alluring, as the setting the filmmakers put you in, or be it something as gravitating as the story and what transpires from scene to scene. The second installment was actually the first film I saw of the series back in the '90s when it came out on VHS. It seemed like a new concept that got stuck with me over the years. Then I saw the first film that started it all. "Farewell to the Flesh" has most of the same general aspects as the '92 film, along with a return of key players—from main villain, Tony Todd, to composer, Philip Glass—though as far as progressing the momentum forward, I feel like it made some steps backwards.

Instead of being a unique and different take on the slasher genre, this treats it like one of the pack: a by-the-numbers feature that's not terrible by any means, though not always adventurous either outside of its formulaic trappings. This doesn't seem to have the same flow as the first film that—while loose at points—was still an edge-of-your-seat affair that never lost its sense of mystery or terror. The difference is like being cornered against a wall with a lunatic hovering their finger just over the trigger of an AK-47. Whereas the second film is like being held up with a Walther PPK and an aim-this-way-that-way, unfocused attitude from the gunman. "Jaws" taught us that if you make it seem like your villain is anywhere and everywhere, your audience is always with you and searching. Instead, Candyman makes sudden appearances when it suddenly suits the occasionally disjointed plot. You could actually safely take a snack break and return to where you left off without skipping a beat; or, say, being capable of making the hair prematurely white.

The biggest shortcoming of "Farewell to the Flesh" is how it feels less ambiguous to the first—could it be all inside Helen's head, or the real deal?—and more towards a formula of a one-body-down-another-to-go, main-character-must-dodge-the-murder-weapon feature. It does go into different avenues: such as giving sympathy to its monster, having the main actress show some genuine emotion from time to time, and giving an attempt at some personality to the old and festive city of New Orleans with a flavor of its own. Though with all things considered, it never fully steps out of the shadow of the first film to be an equal or greater force.

Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Bill Condon (Sister, Sister; Murder 101)
Actors: Kelly Rowan, Tony Todd, William O'Leary
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Candyman (1992)

Hook and honey: pain and pleasure coalesce

By: JWBM

This film was a dark and intense force when it was released in the early '90s. There are certainly dated attributes of the time going on here, though what separates it from your typical horror of a few years earlier in the '80s, is it's not doing them on purpose, or putting them in your face either. It's not a fun movie, or one you walk away with an invigorating feeling like others that were pure surface entertainment. Like some of Clive Barker's other stories turned films—such as the primal and evil-drenched "Hellraiser"—it's at the complete end of the spectrum of being sinister, violent, sadistic, and engrossing for all the wrong reasons of what we should be watching at the cinema. It's guaranteed you're going to see something that's going to challenge your senses for better or worse—that's for sure.

This is a simple tale of an urban legend. A go-for-glory graduate student: Helen—attempting to make a splash with her thesis—picks a local Chicago tale to stir up the past with a man with hook for a hand and a fondness for bees and murder. She finds herself in a housing project called Cabrini-Green that's outwardly stricken by neglect and inwardly full of graffiti, drugs, and broken dreams. Soon she gets more than she bargained for when she looks to be the prime suspect when a few people's insides end up as a crimson interior paint job gone wrong. Is it her blind and obsessive ambition to get her work to the masses, or the work of some other supernatural horror? The story is both tight and loose in that it can be calculated, and then in the next breath blurry and just out of grasp. In one instance, you'll feel the moment by moment, and then in the next feel a jarring disconnect to this nightmare of an experience. I feel this works for how ambiguous the plot is regarding this establishment that either uses an urban legend as a reasoning for their troubles and woes, or it's the real deal and it's as terrifying as it seems in both regards.

The setting in Chicago is as much a character as anyone else in the story. There are frequent aerial shots to show the bustling traffic and momentum, accompanied with Phillip Glass' organ, choir, and piano-centric score to give an ominous and haunting reminder as to what's to come. It's unlike any other horror music that's out there: both harmonious and hypnotic; minimalistic yet personable; it's everything this film needed to create this heavy-handed ambiance that you can't shake even after the credits. The film has this strange dreamlike atmosphere throughout: a surreal feeling where the air is lighter, shadows and sounds extend past their usual scientific scope, and the dreary possibilities are endless; like looking into a mirror of a mirror of a mirror that's each showing further happenings and events that are interconnected and just as weird and threatening as the next.

This has a heavy, oppressive tone, though it's also mixed with some every day realism. The difference between this and other urban legends is it acts more out in the open compared to your typical mysterious ghost-like figure in the shadows. It's capable of creating an apprehensive presence with one of the characters alone to the dark like any good horror tale, but also be equally unsettling with people around in broad light. It slowly creeps, no doubt, but it also pops out in a glorious feat of blood and gore to show you it's alive and ready for distasteful action. It's the contrast of being in an everyday setting such as a waiting room, or walking to a store, then suddenly finding yourself swimming against the current of a blood filled tidal wave that came crashing down in a place you once found comfortable and non-eventful. What you won't find here is compromise for any of your typical safety barriers.

Tony Todd—as the Candyman himself—pulls off one of the most memorable villains of the '90s with a display that breathes all that is dark and supernatural. His character has a graceful way of dishing out some of the worst pain and torment imaginable, while also being this strangely gravitating force sent from the deep realms of a bleak abyss that you can't wait till he emerges again. His voice has an unmistakable cadence to it that seems to surround you from all sides and pull you in like a predator that enjoys the hunt with a pleasurable chuckle and a smooth grin.

What's great about this film is when it goes for something you can count on it to have a slow build to get under your skin, then suddenly take it even further to make one jump out of their skin and flee with vulnerable terror. There's no higher meaning or purpose here, except cool and intriguing ideas refined to an expert degree. And, well, of course, to scare the living crap out of you. It has an unshakable, foreboding atmosphere that lingers with you after. You know it's not real, but the filmmakers made you think otherwise. That's real magic right there.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Bernard Rose (Paperhouse, Chicago Joe and the Showgirl)
Actors: Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link