Man Bites Dog (1992)

Behaviorists take note; casual viewers be forewarned

By: JWBM

This is a loose combination of satire and comedy that's as dark as they come. Going in, one's skin should be impenetrable to the point of being armor plated. The main character candidly jokes about thievery and murder—kids, elderly, midgets—then goes out to celebrate after over a round of drinks. It's cold, it's savage, it's everything the 99% of the population doesn't want to grow up to be, though one can't pull their eyes and ears away for what mayhem and devastation happens next. I mean, take the title: the phrase was coined over a hundred years ago and still persists to this day as to what's favored on the local news. Death and destruction gives rise, it creates fear, it establishes an odd sensation that can become obsessive and replayed in loops. It begs the question: Is that what we want to see? It's what sells, right? I'm here writing about it and you're here reading about it. Consider this round on me.

"Man Bites Dog" comes as a cross between a mockumentary and reality TV episode before the popularity sunk in. Instead of listening to a pretty and practiced newsperson reporting the heinous crimes after the fact, you get to experience them one ugly moment at a time and with motivations to boot. A crew of three follows around a charming Belgium, French-speaking gentleman, who has a lovable mother and grandparents, but also happens to be a professional thief and remorseless serial killer. Benoit, or Ben, as his friends call him, is an anomaly: a sort of likable jerk that's looking for some relatability in acts that are ultimately unrelatable.

Benoit is openly caring and giving to those held closely to his dark heart, but also ruthless and blindly hateful to anyone else convenient enough to shoot or strangle. He's always dressed to perfection. This allows him to go undetected—going as far as taking out a postman in broad day light, and a lonely elderly women at your everyday apartment building. He's full of a strange wit, grab-your-attention anecdotes, and a certain code to it all. But like a spider who carefully places his web to the wind, he tends to control the situation and express bullying demands once someone gets snared.

A portion of "Man Bites Dog" feels structured, while the rest feels loosely improvised. The main actor—Benoit, who uses his real name like the rest of the actors—gives nuance to the character and truly pulls off the many moods of this dominating personality that envelopes those around him into a whirlwind of his unorthodox lifestyle. The rest of the cast, let's just say, are typically thrown in front of the camera and have their ups and downs. Like any candid feature, you get it all: whether it's being shocking or entertaining one moment, light-hearted the next, or just "is." To help solidify the mood of a documentary, it has this unrefined black and white quality, not to mention a share of the shots seem to be predominately real locations.

Once the lights are turned on you won't believe it happened, but with its strengths and imperfections combined, it has a certain swaying power while it pans out. It goes beyond just a simple gimmick to sell another video tape; it has a developed nature to it, and tends to innovate within itself. This is a truly unique venture that came and went with its black magic, but managed to leave a memorable mark behind still being transcribed to this day. It's depraved, it's eye-opening, it's hilarious, it's everything you shouldn't be admitting to being captivated by. But here we are basking in its dark aura. Another round, please. This one is on you.



Rating: 9/10

Director: Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, Benoit Poelvoorde
Actors: Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

The Exorcist III (1990)

I believe in pain, death, injustice, and inhumanity

By: JWBM

Some come into this world with the intention of making a comfortable place or establishing a name for themselves. Others come into this world with the intention of destroying those same hopes and dreams. Some civilized folk form a fragile life for themselves of family, bond, and love. This thing of the shadows shatters all sense of security and spits on anything resembling value or sensibility. We're dealing with an entity void of emotion, compassion, forgiveness, or any shred of what's conceived as "good." It's the antithesis of holy, and filled with a raging fire to make every action come with a personal brand of hate and loathing. It might take someone who's numb and cynical to it all: someone who hasn't gone weak in the stomach, or isn't shy about seeing the world for what it really is to have a chance to fight back.

A lieutenant, William Kinderman, is investigating a series of meticulous murders that make even the most notorious serial killer look like a sloppy amateur. The crime scenes radiate with an ice cold cruelty; as if there's a higher predatory intellect toying with them. This is a story that's the equivalent of staring evil in the face and having it stare back with tormented, unflinching eyes. If you've ever stayed up late pondering what lurks out there waiting for your guard to be down, you will find it here crawling on the ceiling or standing behind you with razor sharp shears. This is evil of the purist kind. Unabashedly profane and blasphemous in every sense: there is no balance to this kind of wretchedness. It's at the far end of the spectrum where your surroundings are pitch black except for glowing red eyes and a dangerous means to expunge any morals in the world. Grab your cross tightly and don't let go, because this is the stuff people question their faith over, not to mention what the most hellish of nightmares are written about.

This could be looked at as a story of black versus white. Though traditional holy tactics don't always work here, nor do all of the staples that unholy means fall back on. It gives it more dynamic than a you're-only-on-the-left-side, and you're-only-on-the-right-side kind of story. Some of us often wonder what the battle of heaven and hell would look like. Visually it's been occasionally depicted as organized chaos. A busy scene of art that is as glorious as it is eye-opening. Each sword finds its mark and each person knows their place and purpose. One aspect these depictions sometimes lack is that real aspect of fear, grit, and cold-blooded savagery that weighs on the back of someone going to war. This film is entertaining first and foremost, though it's also capable of making you look over your shoulder and clench your teeth from a side never before seen or imagined. It's also chillingly relatable: some may recognize the streets here, the familiar language and mannerisms, or even just everyday mundane aspects now looked at as a little jaded. This is your home town. Where else would the battle of battles take place? But to the familiar places we experience.

"The Exorcist III" found itself in a unique position. It's a sequel for one, that came out after a poor excuse for a second movie at that. The first film was groundbreaking in every sense. The second was a pitiful cash grab that failed in more than one way. The author, William Peter Blatty, however, decided to take back control of his creative work and write a sequel to his 1971 book. "The Exorcist III" is based on the novel "Legion" from 1983, and is the true sequel to the first. Admittedly, when I caught this film after the fact in the 2000s I wasn't sure what to expect, but was then blown away at how effective of a horror experience this was. Especially coming out a good 17 years after the first. I've read both books. The first book is on par with the film. Though, with the second book, I feel the movie ended up being more powerful for its sense of putting you in the moment instead of the constant ramblings from Kinderman that were ultimately distracting. In the film they seem to be more balanced out.

There are certain conveniences here to piece together some scenes. That might be the innocence of author-turned-director William Peter Blatty. Though there are so many scenes that lead up to something memorable, not to mention how effective the overall mood is, that I often overlook them. While the film is no doubt littered with atmosphere and symbolism, there is a certain type of dry humor sprinkled in to lighten up the dark portions. Guess it's to make it so your nightmares are a little more cheery than all-out harsh. Kinderman has a thick skin and a sense of sarcasm from being unshielded to the ugliness of the world on a daily basis. If not for his ability to compartmentalize, it makes you wonder how or why he decided to establish a family in this world.

Another aspect that deserves an award in itself is the use of sound effects and suggestions. It's so effective that I have false memories of this being more violent and visually disturbing than what was actually shown. The direction is also daring in that it's not afraid to go there. I mean, other horror films typically have a certain truce or a pause that gives balance, while this makes it so recognizably safe havens are now filled with looming shadows and memories of terror. Anywhere from a church confessional, a hospital, to even your own kitchen after a day's hard work.

The performances by both George C. Scott and Brad Dourif where simply amazing. Some horror films out there are held together or lopsided by the direction, cinematography, effects, settings, or the soundtrack. While this does the same to enhance the experience and fill in the gaps, it also finds itself in a unique position of having excellent acting by the two leads. Scott, as Lt. Kinderman, isn't spewing line after line, though he brings a certain presence and command to the role each time he's on screen. As if he could turn towards the viewer and be commanding enough for them to get up off the couch and do it. Dourif—as the Gemini killer—on the other hand, is nothing but lines, but delivers them with unique emphasis on syllables and with the tone of his voice that it seems to bypass making the little hairs stick up, and dig deeper to chill your bones.

This is a horror film that I wish I made. It's a film that some other films wish they could have been. It broke down a barrier from some '80s films that had shameless, on-purpose trends and what-was-happening moments, to usher in a wave of horror that felt genuinely horrifying. Recommended in every sense for a truly frightening, enveloping experience that is sure to stick with you afterwards.

Rating: 9.5/10

Director: William Peter Blatty
Actors: George C. Scott, Brad Dourif
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Regression (2015)

Satanic cults and dream-like sequences

By: JWBM

Hoyer, Minnesota: 1990. A father walks into the local police station claiming "he did it" and that "his daughter never lies" to the chief and lead detective. He's not exactly father of the year material, but his memory is a little fuzzy to say the least. His confession is related to an accusation his daughter made recently about being raped. She's shaken up enough to stay at the local church under the wing of the town priest till her dark and disturbing allegations come to light. This makes for a complex story that goes deeper and gets stranger as the more time presses on. It presents an "inspired by real events" scenario of satanic ritual abuse in the modern day that's linked to what happened. What you're about to see and experience took a town and part of a nation by storm reminiscent to the real-life—though controversial—book "Michelle Remembers" from 1980.

I have to admit, describing this movie in a general sense is going to come across as cartoonish. It's a story that's a tough sell in that it needs to be expanded on, rather than briefly summarized. However, talking around spoilers is another feat in itself. If you step back and take an overview, it's essentially what hysteria looks like. It's what separates the rational from the irrational. It's where facts start to fade and gaps are filled with loose interpretations and in-the-moment perceptions. The story has concrete aspects to it, no doubt, but it also has some abstract ideas as well that are better left played out like you were there yourself. That's the power of the direction here from Alejandro Amenábar ("The Others," "Open Your Eyes"). It could have easily fumbled out of the gate, or had your eyes rolling before the timer went off for the popcorn in the microwave. Though it managed to put you in the moment by moment to see what they see, and feel what they feel. Something like this doesn't happen in an instant, but in a series of instances.

This is mainly a crime-mystery with remnants of drama and shreds of horror. It presents itself as a who-dunnit with a snappy pacing: like you slowly pressed a hot poker to step up the heat. The revelations and situations come one after the other, and increasingly more paranoid and helter-skelter as it steps up the level of tension. There's aspects of crime, religion, and psychology that are mixed into a chaotic and ambiguous reality. It uses these unique flash backs and dream sequences that come across as downright chilling and creepy. The funny part is they feel more effective than outright horror movies that are actually trying to be scary. The amount of emotional uproar at times from the cast here concerning the confusing and conflicting circumstances lends credence to it all. From Ethan Hawke's transformation as the lead detective; to the grief-stricken and tormented dad; and even the son and his inexplicable denial and anger.

"Regression" is a tale that causes the mind to spiral out of control from the seemingly impossible and illogical. 'Could this all be happening right under our noses?' Our brain tries to rationalize through bits and pieces of evidence and stimuli: whether that be from the sensationalist media reports on TV; to how someone interpreted a trauma in an interview; to just a simple stare from a stranger in public, or a phone call with no one on the other end of the line. It keeps you on your toes and guessing as a viewer. There's no shortage. However, for a portion of the film, it gets to be a little bewildering and ungrounded at points in how ambiguous the tone is, along with the amount of subjects and circumstances thrown at you. It took me two different viewings to get my review straight. It presents a double-edged sword. You get plenty of grab-you-by-the-collar-of-your-shirt atmosphere and great performances out of the actors as a result, but you're somewhat grasping at the air at times till it decides to suddenly switch gears and wrap up its loose ends in a more stream-lined approach.

If you're looking for something to not only distract your mind but to make the heart race with some memorable, out-there moments, then this might be up your alley.

Rating: 7.5/10

Director: Alejandro Amenábar ("Thesis," "The Sea Inside," "Agora")
Actors: Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Thewlis, David Dencik
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Additional info: The book in this story, "In Satan's Name," feels like an inspiration from the real life book "Michelle Remembers" that details a young woman's account of satanic ritual abuse.

Fallen (1998)

Some things aren't meant to be noticed

By: JWBM

Many of us have seen or heard of some bad things in our time—often dabbling with revolving questions as to the whys or hows. As terrible and backwards as these actions may seem, there is always some kind of motive or basis. However, fewer have encountered pure evil, or outright morally reprehensible actions that defy general reason or logic. The head scratchers: till your head starts to bleed from its nightmarish implications. These actions are predatory and purposeful, and executed by a higher than average intellect than your typical goon. As if a lion grew a conscious outside of basic instincts and started to look at anything beneath him as an object to toy with. When these dark and questionable things occur, we wonder how any human-being could have been behind them. Is that individual actually flesh and blood like you or I? You'd think this was primarily a question for a priest, but many detectives lay witness to scenes that the average person's eyes would come unglued from.

Detective John Hobbes is feeling on top of the world. He's done caught and bagged the infamous serial killer Edgar Reese, and is now about to watch his execution with a smug grin. Except soon afterwards more murders start to crop up that look suspiciously close to Reese's handiwork. At this point, nothing makes logical sense when the connections or evidence doesn't line up. The detective soon finds out that he may be in over his head when it deals with a power far beyond what he's capable of stopping as just a mortal man with a badge and gun.

The film employs a voice over narrative to give some further thoughts from Hobbes. At times it gives perspective, but at other times they should have scaled back and did a little more show than tell. Denzel Washington—as John Hobbes—gives the role some command and a natural flow in how he delivers his lines in real-speak. He's not just going for what's on the page, but brings to the table little subtleties to make the character feel like a real guy with an on-screen presence each time the camera is fixed on him. He portrays him as a man who was on top of the world—ready to take on any challenge—until he's slowly pulled down by its weight. Though not willingly. Elias Koteas gives a short, but memorable role as Edgar Reese: the emotionally disturbed man about to be executed, but has the enthusiasm of someone who just won a weekend trip to Disneyland for serial killers.

"Fallen" is a thriller bordering on horror that mixes a little bit of "The Exorcist III," "The Prophecy," and "Seven" with its own flair. It does a great job at balancing down-to-earth subject matters with others that may be normally looked at as far-fetched or out there. Those into "The X-Files"-like themes, might make a smooth transition into this story likewise from the '90s. "Fallen" takes them in stride and examines them one moment at a time. By keeping it basic, it flows with some finesse even after 20 years of hitting the big screen. The movie does add some dynamic to its pacing by sprinkling in bits of mystery, drama, and suspense. Though there are times where the film plods along; versus keeping your mind searching, or capable of examining deeper ideas beyond the ones shown. Then again, the story doesn't have the intention of being a race to the finish or biting off more than it can chew. Take that for what it's worth.

This makes for a simple tale, but a well-deserving experience due to the natural interactions between the characters, the real life looking settings, the memorable tones of the soundtrack, and the cinematography that gives another perspective besides what would normally be right in front of your eyes.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Gregory Hoblit ("NYPD Blue," "Primal Fear")
Actors: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, James Gandolfini, Elias Koteas
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

Cure (1997)

Who are we really?

By: JWBM

Day to day we see people make mistakes. Their thought process at that moment was off for any number of reasons. Sometimes the advice or suggestions of others comes to mind before we make our next action. What if there comes a time when said suggestion goes against all moral and common-sense judgment, yet you feel compelled to do it anyway? As we often find out, doing something is often easier than dealing with the repercussions. Though if it's grave enough—such as murder—we'll have to live with that short moment for the rest of our lives.

Detectives are baffled. A series of killings are springing up around town that look eerily similar, except for the fact that the person wielding the weapon of choice is different each time. Meanwhile, one of the most unassuming villains blends into crowds in broad daylight and leaves behind little trace. How do you stop a killer who's not your typical killer? Detective Takabe heads up the investigation to put the pieces together and attempts to make sense of something that might never make sense to the general public. Meanwhile his wife suffers from memory problems and possibly other psychological issues. The amount of stress on this man's plate is palpable. Due to his professional position and his unwritten cultural code, emotional outbursts are kept to when he can't take it anymore.

The story dabbles with the deep rooted causes for committing heinous acts, building tension between our day-to-day interactions with each other, along with mental health issues. It's simple in premise, but ultimately relatable. Other films might just use psychology and an overly dark looking mental health hospital as a backdrop to strike fear into the viewer. However, "Cure" takes on all of the mentioned with a different approach than your typical crime-thriller bordering on horror. This is by definition a slow burn. It's reminiscent of a throw back to the early '70s—minus the nostalgic sideburns and splash of colors—but before everything got all fast paced and went straight for the jugular. The director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, has a knack for letting the camera sit and the viewer to ponder about the entire set, story, and characters' interactions. That includes mundane, everyday things that are often overlooked, but now spark memories of terror. As a result, the pacing is hypnotic. It starts out innocent enough, but after a period you may not notice that its influence goes from soothing, to an itch, to alarming pain.

This feels more show than tell at times. They leave you with enough for some explanations and possible angles, though it tends to play out more naturally. For instance, in everyday life we don't always get to see or hear behind every wall or door. Instead we go by the tone of the situation and feel things out. Even the score mostly goes for eerie, droning sounds that linger or grow in intensity in the background. It also includes some less common upbeat music when the atmosphere isn't walking with its head down in the shadows.

This is a film of patience. I can imagine it's not going to be for everyone, or even every situation when considering throwing on a movie. "Cure" presents an intriguing concept, and it delivers when the moment calls for it, that's for sure. Though it's like watching a pass to the touchdown zone in super slow motion. You've had enough time to know that the guy about to catch the ball has mismatched socks on, and the grass he's standing on might need a touch of fertilizer to maintain its bright green hue. The more time that gets stacked on, the more the story grows on you. It makes you that much more involved, and it makes your brain turn over several times to ponder the implications of the situation. By the time it builds up to its climax, this simple tale turns to paramount importance. Not to mention has a tendency to stick with you afterwards.


Rating: 8/10

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Actors: Koji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara
Info: IMDB
Trailer: Youtube

Nightcrawler (2014)

Where there's human misery, there's a camera rolling

Every morning someone is reported as to being shot on the local news. After seeing enough bleak accounts day after day, I start to wonder what kind of affect it has to know of random, one-off incidents that barely scratch the surface. Your filter can only include or exclude so many stories of what feels like your city crumbling around you. Eventually it can get backed up with an unwashable fear that may turn irrational in the way it obscures what was once a clear view. Only to come full circle when one unconsciously watches and waits for a shred of resolve or understanding that they'll never get in the format it's long been in. This film is going to take on some of those messages, though push the tone further than the general movie-watcher may be accustomed or comfortable with. Saddle up, make sure the red light is on and get ready for what could be someone's--or your--last ride.

"Nightcrawler" is a pitch black character study and satire--rightfully exaggerated--about a man's introduction to the caught-in-action videography side of local crime news in L.A. As one well-paid stringer, as they call 'em, says, "If it bleeds, it leads." Depending on how you look at it it can be both refreshing or asphyxiating--eye-opening or eye-clenching--or sometimes both. There's an irony to it--like with "American Psycho"--in how society inadvertently excels a sociopath to greatness. It steers away from the tried-and-true tale of a hero's rise to righting wrongs that you could walk out feeling good about. I mean, some can be aspiring and challenging depending on the give and take of the direction; others can feel like a kind of grasping fantasy in a real world that is as harsh as picking yourself back up off its hardened, weather-worn concrete paved paths.

Instead of centering around a martyr like, say, a "Serpico" that unflinchingly does the right thing despite those around him, you get to watch the actions of its doppelganger Louis Bloom. His brazen confidence and quench for power is something not to take your eyes and ears off of despite his "charming" personality. Well, at least he thinks so. Jake Gyllenhaal transforms himself to be almost unrecognizable in features and mannerisms with the character. With the overall look and pacing being like that of a cramped, overlooked broom closest that reveals an even narrower, darker and darker pathway, it only cements it as he can progressively weigh into you.

For a directorial debut by a seasoned script writer with family connections--Dan Gilroy; also married to the lead actress Rene Russo who plays, Nina, a desperate, green-and-red-in-the-eyes news director who finds something in Louis--this is surprisingly well done by bringing about consistent performances, a sense of tension and mostly developing the plot naturally. There are points that feel single sided to line up to the extreme spectrum of a what-if scenario, though the movie digs its hooks in deep enough to the moment by moment that it can be overlooked. It's not a film that is just going for a "it's good." It's not a neat little package with cute bow and delightful surprise. The difference being that even after the credits rolled it was effective enough to stick with me for getting down and dirty and breaking a share of the usual cinematic rules about an everyday subject that's ingrained and normalized in a portion of us. It can make one wonder what all that chaotic noise of information might actually mean. Is it something we want or need to see, or something we're told we want or need to see? Maybe an ambiguous pull and tug of both.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Dan Gilroy (writer of "Reel Steel" and "The Bourne Legacy")
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed.
Site: IMDB
Trailer: Youtube link

Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)

They picked the wrong Swedish girl to mess with

This controversial Swedish film for its day gets a down and dirty look at the trade of kidnapping and prostitution from the perspective of a teenage girl. It doesn't skip a beat in showing just how perverse and cruel human trafficking can be. There's not just nudity but full on penetration shots. It can't compete with "Forced Entry" from a year earlier where the performers were actually engaging rather than inserting shots but, then again, there's more of a story in between. Despite its candid, insider's look "Thriller" isn't an exemplary showcase on the serious subjects it presents as it has a tendency to reach over the mark to the point where you have to wonder if they're just trying to stimulate and entertain on a base level. It's an exploitation piece that shows more than tells and mostly uses the setup as a means for the over-the-top revenge angle than anything to challenge with social commentary compared to "Straw Dogs" and "The Last House on the Left" of a few years earlier.

Madeleine was molested when she was a little girl, which made her mute from the trauma. Now grown up, she's been secluded to simple farm life until she meets what she thinks is a charming, rich man named Tony at the bus stop who drives her around in a fancy car and takes her out to eat. He gets her back to his place where he waits till she passes out and gets a shady doctor to load her up with heroin. Soon enough she's addicted and has to service strange men and women to get her fix. If that wasn't enough she loses a body part to make sure she complies. With no way out of the rut and with "accidents" happening to her family and friends, she starts to train in martial arts, tactical driving and weaponry for her moment of vengeance to come against the lustful clients that made her do demeaning acts, as well as against her slimy captor who's only concern was ever money. Even if she gets help at a rehabilitation clinic, guess what they want in return? It makes the world go round in an endless cycle with victims only becoming part of the problem.

"Thriller: A Cruel Picture" has influences from westerns, crime dramas to the growing number of revenge features in the '70s, which this apparently even beat out "Death Wish" by a month. The flow and style of the film is a little clunky at times with some pointlessly extended shots, all-too-convenient revelations and off-kilter experimentation. There are ultra slow-mo shots that some viewers are going to be bothered by or be all for as they make them so the audience didn't miss a single millisecond of violence--Peckinpah would be a proud cinematic parent. Some of the effects are hit and miss, such as bullet wounds represented by blood spray on the clothing but no tears underneath, or cars that instantly explode in flames on impact as if everyone's driving an unrecalled Pinto. Though it still gives the film some charm and a rough around the edges quality that enhances the excessive experience. It shows that the filmmakers went beyond their means just to deliver as much of an impactful experience as they possibly could at the sacrifice of quality. You'd have to worry if it looked too good or glamorous: an ugly delivery for an ugly act.

The dialogue is simple and direct, leaving little if anything to read between the lines. Christina Lindberg, known for her roles in erotic films, conveniently doesn't have dialogue or little way to communicate what she's thinking. Lindberg definitely carries the initial look of innocence to then taking on the persona of a dark vigilante with a penchant for cool dress--nowadays she'd have her own graphic novel where "The Punisher" was just getting started. The film carries little concerning emotion or sympathy for its duration as it shows that every other person is a creep or full of hopeless tragedy. There's little lasting subtext to be found here beyond to show there's no turning back once switching to the dark road of violence and revenge. It makes you wonder if she's truly absolved or so far over the edge that there's no way of returning to normal. There's a simple message against any shady individual who wants to mess with someone who they think is weaker, giving the audience something to cheer about when the victim turns anti-hero aggressor and doesn't hold back.

Rating: 7.5/10

Director: Bo Arne Vibenius
Stars: Christina Lindberg
Link: IMDB

Because of the Cats (1973)

Young, rich cats on the prowl for trouble

Well before the shadowy frat club in "The Skulls" there was a little mystery/crime/thriller from Holland in the earlier part of the '70s that shared a number English actors called "Because of the Cats." The story, which was part of a larger series of crime novels from the early '60s, in itself is simple enough, though how it's presented is somewhat elusive and enigmatic--with the audience never sure of where it's going or what's to happen next. In between it gives way to a number of different titillations and shock, to the point of being somewhat edgy for its day for a culture that was still getting used to racy cinematic assaults such as "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection." Our crime fighters weren't always knights in shining armor as the waning flower generation seen.

A gang of young vandals with pantyhose stocking caps surprise a middle aged couple in their upscale home and take turns raping the woman in front of her panic stricken husband. These aren't your normal criminals doing thuggery but instead dress in suit and tie and speak like proper and educated students--as if they're out to a charity dinner instead. An inspector from Amsterdam named Van Der Valk is sent in to investigate the callous crime and from a series of clues gets lead to a click called The Ravens where a share are heirs to wealthy families in the most prosperous area of the Netherlands called Bloemendaal. From there, another group called The Cats are whispered about, along with a rich, well-spoken gentleman who you're never quite sure about under his overly charming demeanor. The inspector is determined to put a stop to them before the crimes escalate beyond control but finds himself with little evidence, oblivious but protective parents and tight mouthed suspects that are bonded to their friends through a secret cause.

The tone is a little jumpy in places: one moment somewhat upbeat and humorous, then in the next atmospheric and serious. The music is somewhat misplaced at times, with a theme song that's akin to a parade marching band with horns and drums. It can be slapped overtop of a scene whether or not the underlying part matches. This is missing some of the heart-racing chase scenes in car or on foot that are a staple to crime thrillers. Though this European film is quite liberal with sex and nudity, whether it be with forceful or consensual, or be it showing full frontal of men and women--more so on the latter. The inspector even drinks on the job and has a good time with a high class prostitute that gives him information that he couldn't have pumped out otherwise--killing two birds with one stone, he's a resourceful guy.

There are a hand full of memorable scenes that make this more than your run-of-the-mill crime story, from a group of women seducing a man in the ocean that includes full body underwater shots, to some scenes of cat carnage where innocent kitties are brutalized for shock value--not for real though! The film has a fairly quick editing style for the '70s when it was common to have more of a looser flow throughout. This is still caught somewhat in between where it has rapid cuts in one area and then becomes unnecessary to carry on with another for so long, especially towards the latter half. Some of the editing is cut so close that it doesn't make this as challenging of a mystery as it could have been. No one wants a picture to hold their hand, but it can dive into the middle of a scene without a sense of direction till sometimes well after the fact. It makes it so the audience are steps behind the detective instead of steadily moving at the same time for more of an engaging experience. This is still largely unpredictable as some of the clues come in the form of red herrings to throw one off.

This came out at a time when traditional religions were questioned and at the same time new factions were forming with experimental ideas and philosophies. This mixes self-awareness practices of body and mind with susceptible, spoiled-rich modern youth in the '70s. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it. They're an anomaly in that they have both responsibility and appear like standup citizens but at the same time are giving in to over-the-top vices at the expense of others. The two require a delicate balance and things can get out of control when it's tipped. In a way it shows how far some youth have lost their morals and scruples when growing up pampered and never having to earn what they were given with blood and sweat. Not to mention the parents have all of the money one could wish but little time to spend with family. The youngsters have no sympathy, regret or perspective to what they're doing. They mindlessly follow their click to be part of something but have no definable future from being stuck in the now. "Because of the Cats" was an interesting take on the crime genre that doesn't include the usual hip, slang spoutin' street thugs.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Fons Rademakers (Village by the River, Mira)
Stars: Byran Marshall
Link: IMDB

Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Crime pays...with a fist to the face

This is still a frustrating experience to when I first seen this in a nearly vacant theater in the month of December while everyone else was watching warm holiday features. "The Punisher" from '04 took a simple approach and had its sights on pre-CGI films and flashy editing techniques, which I thought worked for what it was. I'm also a fan of gory action films like "The Machine Girl" and "Tokyo Gore Police" that came out earlier in 2008. Whatever it is that's put in front of me I'll judge it accordingly since I'm a fan of films in general. I'm all for what this movie is about, but I still can't excuse the final result. "Punisher: War Zone" took far too many liberties with what it wanted to ambitiously do and it doesn't always feel grounded as a result. Flashy, loud, crude--if it pertains to being excessive, you can count on it to deliver in that mindset, which had potential to be a thoroughly entertaining experience for not holding back and letting loose, but it doesn't always clean up the party wagon that it left behind.

Frank Castle, aka "The Punisher," takes out known criminals that continue to beat the rap sheet of the justice system. He brutally kills the head of the Cesare crime syndicate along with the raspy voiced man's family and most of his henchmen during a dinner party, which leaves Billy Russoti and later his brother Loony Bin Jim to move up the crime ladder with their former boss out of the way. Castle shows up at Billy the Beaut's hideout to finish the job but gets cut short--which makes the thug rise out of the rubble as not a phoenix but a worn catcher's mitt--when the FBI is already there doing a sting operation and he accidentally shoots an undercover agent. It throws a bolt in the machinery of his unorthodox system when the government is actually doing their job and Castle wants to call it quits. Big Brother sends a man over to look into The Punisher's practices when a share of the police look the other way.

Agent Budiansky gets partnered up in the basement on the Punisher Task Force. The actor portraying Budiansky feels so out of place with look and performance, it's as if his character motivation was to just stand there excessively tall and read lines without prep or accommodation to tailor the part to himself. It reminded me of "They Live," due to a particular big-dude-vs-big-dude fight scene, but the rest of the performance fell to the wayside. The head guy--and formerly "only" guy--in charge of the Punisher Task Force named Soap was made out to be strange and eccentric as he works by himself on something no one else takes seriously, but doesn't match with an almost positive, nice-guy, somewhat street un-wise quirkiness to the cold and gritty atmosphere. The Punisher wants to get out of the city but sticks around one last time as the FBI agent who got killed by Castle, Donatelli, has a wife and daughter that he has to protect from the two sadistic Russoti brothers. Budiansky gets in the way but realizes The Punisher is on to something after all, as the Russoti brothers keep on finding different ways to rule the city with their terror.

The dialogue here isn't too far off from what Marvel Comics typically had in their captions, apart from the profanities. Though movies are still another medium and should be translated as such to accommodate the new format because a lot of those lines look much better on paper surrounded by more picture than words for the imagination to fill in the blanks. The art direction and atmosphere comes alive as you finally get to see a three dimensional scope of the city that The Punisher does his, well, punishing. Out of all of the characters, Ray Stevenson fits the part with a crude but comely look and readable expressions on his face. Also Julie Benz does an adequate job even with what little she's given. Instead of being a wise-crackin' antihero who always knows his next move, Frank Castle is a loner who's guns speak more words than his mouth and comes with emotional turmoil that drives him on from an incident years earlier. That portion is still kept fairly simple as this is more concerned with style, physicalities and action than the narrative that trails behind. Towards the end he gets a few more lines in to which should have been left silent as they're downright cringe worthy. The one odd thing that doesn't transition too well is him running around in the open in the streets with full gear on just seemed less cinematic than when he's going from rooftop to rooftop or if he had an actual vehicle.

Other than Punisher, it seemed like the performances and line delivery were farther down on the list of priorities to nail down and it makes you wonder if anyone took it seriously on set or were just told to go for broke and stepped over when more fun got in the way of measurement. Either way, it makes the experience distracting. Performances shouldn't always be an issue with these off-kilter genre films as they're usually more about the action and here grit and violence than pulling off something dramatically poetic. But this just felt all over the place and it didn't cohesively come together in the overall experience. I mean "Dick Tracy" had the crime angle with its share of cliches and exaggerated characters but still came together as out of place as any one of them would have been apart from the film--it essentially made you forget that the outside world exists.

This film has some of the worst accents from this many characters I've heard as a whole since watching "The Sicilian." There are so many misplaced ones going on it makes you wonder if they did it on purpose, but then to "what" purpose? You get cartoonish New York mob men that sound like they grew up in all different neighborhoods, an Irish sounding Rasta and even a hokey "The Godfather" impersonation. The humor feels in such contrast to the dark and dirty settings; it's as if they built all these deplorable sets only to fool about when filming on them. The mechanics can go from flashy and stylish to an attempt at trying to be realistically savage and gritty without always connecting the transmission in between; which makes you think they just borrowed mechanics from other films instead of working up from scratch on their own. The gun fights are all over the place with consistency: sometimes dead accurate, other times you think the guys are blind when the target is right in front, even with two guns in hand or high powered weapons.

Ray Stevenson's portrayal, the violence and the art direction are about the only things to see here that worked towards smooth transitions without having to call foul. This is bloody and I don't say that lightly. There are stabbings through every other soft and hard placing on the body that you can imagine and gun shot wounds that show all of the gory bits--unfortunately in CGI at times. Some might be put off by it since there isn't always a solid reason in the moment or build up to it, then again, it translated how much rage is boiling inside our comic book friend and then sends a bloody message that what they're doing isn't to be tolerated. A slap on the wrist gets turned over to an expensive lawyer. That's probably why, for instance, Lex Luther and The Joker keep showing back up as pesky villains because other superheroes get caught up by their own moralistic rules, whereas The Punisher is a self-admitted walking contradiction who visits the church no less. This has dark, cold and dirty sets to show that greed and corruption is everywhere you turn. There is a share of panning to get a lay of the tenebrous and dank land that needs more than a couple of street sweepers, paint jobs and repaving to clean up. There are cool lighting effects that project neons of the city that give a strange contrast. Though what's so frustrating, is it's a shame that the rest frequently missed the mark.

Rating: 4.5/10

Director: Lexi Alexander (Fool Proof, Green Street Hooligans)
Stars: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchison, Colin Salmon, Wayne Knight, Julie Benz, Mark Camacho, Keram Malicki-Sanchez
Link: IMDB

The Machine Girl (2008)

Severed limbs have their uses

This is a nod to ultra violent mangas and even '70s grindhouse pictures with a high school girl named Ami Hyuga who gets her arm severed and replaces it with various weapons to combat bullies. Her mother and father killed themselves over murder allegations and now she only has her younger brother left to look after. Those Japanese and their honor.

Tragedy strikes Ami again as her brother Yu and his friend Takeshi get killed over making the son of a yakuza boss named Sho Kimura lose face in front of his crew. It was only ruled a suicide but she finds a death wish list in Yu's bedroom that points to his killers. Everybody has their own families and friends to worry about and don't want to help her. She heads out on her own and finds one of the lower guys, only to have the thought-to-be-nice parents attempt to kill her. She tries to avoid violence but ends up defending herself and gets a taste for blood and satisfying revenge. Might as well continue the carnage. This leads her to the outrageously sadistic Hatori Hanzo clan residence where the spoiled yakuza son Sho lives. His family is power hungry and looks for any little reason to make their tyrannous mark on others, including just prior forcing the new chef to eat his own fingers from a measly accident. She gets close but then captured and tortured, before getting her left arm severed almost to the elbow with massive amounts of blood spray to show for it. She escapes and ends up at her brother's dead friend's parent's auto repair shop. They held a grudge beforehand directed at Ami, but end up stitching her up, give her armory and form a partnership to get back at those directly responsible for Yu and Takeshi's deaths.

"The Machine Girl" boils down to what people would do for their loved ones, whether they are just regular folks or entirely sadistic to begin with. Ami's rampage is to be a bully's worst nightmare. In the process, this tags on some gore, massive amounts of blood spray, action sequences with various inventive weapons and then who could forget ninjas, yakuza thugs and brainwashed parents turned homicidal maniacs. This hearkens back to the days of "Lady Snowblood" as it tarnishes the stereotypical view of the Japanese lady. If you've seen some of the period piece Japanese films where women tip toe, look down when they walk, speak overly feminine and dress in bright colors. This turns that around and includes some harsh female personalities that come with deeper, rougher voices, and who aren't afraid of getting covered in blood and sometimes outdo their male counterparts with violence.

The martial arts needs a little work on the choreography side, as it comes with more than one obvious punch and kick that misses the mark and doesn't always make the physical contact as cringe worthy or brutal as it projects in that regard. Though sword gashes, machine gun bullet wounds and a chainsaw that rips body parts in half is another story--the film has that part down with stained walls and floors to show for it. With all these Hollywood movies that drown out dialogue with too loud of music, the soundtrack does the opposite here as the volume is often too low, causing it to not always capitalize on impacting the scene its layered over top. The picture quality gives it a certain tone, as it seems purposely washed out with certain dulled colors that give off more grays than anything remotely bright. "The Machine Girl" has comically exaggerated motivations and emotions to the point of jumping back and forth with insane mood swings, whether it be a happy-go-lucky scene with hoops leading to running for someone's life, father and son bonding that leads to dripping blood into mouths, to nice looking parents going all murderous by swinging golf club and dipping battered hands in a tempura fryer. This is a wild movie that needs a little work with its overly ambitious ways, but it's still a pretty entertaining experience just because you can count on it to take everything it does over-the-top and not just meet halfway like many other pictures tend to do.

Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Noboru Iguchi
Stars: Minase Yashiro, Nobuhiro Nishihara, Kentaro Shimazu, Ryosuke Kawamura,
Link: IMDB

From Dusk Till Dawn 2 (1999)

It's as if no one stepped in with both feet

Right off the bat, this was executively produced by Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender, but sent straight to video, came with a third of the budget and was also handled by a different director and writing team. Not the biggest deal, as other horror sequels such as "Hellraiser II," "Aliens," "Psycho 2" and even "Amityville II" had different directors and scriptwriters and worked in their own ways. Though two of the biggest issues here is they didn't take it as seriously as their counterparts and they tried to do a story on its own that's very loosely related to the first to the point of losing context. It doesn't come with any revelations and the plot feels flat and unremarkable to try to carry its own weight. The opening scene sets up the tone of the rest of the picture with purposefully campy acting, inflated music, overextended screaming, gore and a tongue so far in the cheek that it bores a hole out the other side.

Gone are the glue-you-to-the-screen personalities of the first, and present are a bunch of nincompoops from Texas. The characters are inept, run at a slower pace and have few things on their mind but money and having a sleazy time. It makes you watch this from a distance as there aren't any relating points, just a group of guys that are neither cool, smooth or that you want to be in the same room with. One of them is a criminal named Luther (Duane Whitaker) who escaped from custody in Texas. There are news briefs and a Sheriff named Otis Lawson (Bo Hopkins) looking for him. Meanwhile, Luther contacts Buck (Robert Patrick) about a Mexican bank deal for $5 million of laundered drug money. Buck rounds up a team with his old buds C.W., Ray Bob and Jesus, and off they go to Mexico without showing how the known criminals got there.

On an empty road and with the whole barren area to fly a bat charges into Luther's car grill. After shooting the bat, he heads up the road to the Titty Twister and mentions the situation to the barkeep (Danny Trejo), who offers to give him a ride to the hotel where the rest of the crew are meanwhile extensively watching and talking about porn. The barkeep instead heads to Luther's car, gets out and follows the blood trail of the bat. The bat is transformed back into a regular vampire form and after a scuffle, Luther gets turned. He heads over to the hotel, turns one of the others into a vampire and then tells the rest of the crew that they need to do the job tonight. Not being the brightest people, they head over and from one thing leading to another more of the crew gets turned and Buck tries to escape only to get caught up in a heated cops vs vampire shootout.

Some of the characters here don't even make sense. The barkeep returns without explanation as to why he's still alive. Bruce Campbell and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen play lawyers for a pointless opening scene that gave another homage to Hitchcock but otherwise was pointless. White hotel clerks, black security guards, and then Texas Rangers allowed to investigate a crime scene in Mexico where they have no jurisdiction. Some poetic license for entertainment value is fine--the first movie even had some omissions as well--but this just pushed the bar and it makes it look like it's not even trying. As if everyone here treated it as a stepping stone by giving it half an ounce of effort with the intention of moving on as fast as possible. For a viewer, all those little nuances that made the first returnable are lost with the second followup, and that in itself is disappointing.

"From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money" is a movie that does it all on purpose, so how do you fault it for doing nothing but that? Except it feels like it missed the mark completely with very little redeeming value even by those lesser standards. The dialogue doesn't always give separation of character between the performers. There are a few momentary puns and jabs at its own devices that get some chuckles, a nude scene, and a few inventive camera setups, but those areas only carry it so for amusement. There's very little relating points emphasized--not even the money angle; even a 'Got to do it for a cause' line--nothing to learn, not much to see as far as locations and all of the characters you want harm to come their way, but then get upset that it took too long to do so. This has none of the elaborate creature effects of the first, but then again some are made to look cheesy, such as enlarged bats. Though money was spent in the last quarter of the movie. That segment was entertaining to a degree as it turns into an all out action battle with tons of fire power gone off and some gory deaths. Still doesn't make you forget what came before it.

Rating: 3.5/10

Director: Scott Spiegel (Intruder, writer of Evil Dead II)
Stars: Robert Patrick, Duane Whitaker, Bo Hopkins, Raymond Cruz, Danny Trejo
Link: IMDB

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

A series of wrong places at the wrong times

The first peak I had of "From Dusk Till Dawn" was when attempting to sneak into the theater back in '96 and seeing the words "Titty Twister" on a sleazy bar front but then being kicked out right after. Soon enough a kind--or demented--neighbor leant the tape without alluding to the plot or genre. Being just excited that it was a "movie," not to mention with two guys and guns on the cover, I put it on without even reading the back and was surprised to find that not only was the beginning a cursing and violence filled crime adventure but then the latter half switches locales and turns into a kind of action/horror with monsters running amuck. My ignorance doubled when special make-up effects wizard Tom Savini--only known to myself before reading horror mags and dialing up to Internet access as that actor with the crotch gun--came to town to the local hobby shop and signed "my snot rag" (napkin) I had in my pocket--all for free! Good times.

Two men who live by their own rules make a mark on small town middle America by breaking every law in the book when they end up at a rinky-dink gas station in Texas. Fingers get itchy on their triggers and before you know it everyone's dead and a massive explosion ensues. "Low profile. Do you understand the meaning of the words "low profile"? Seth says to his brother Richie who ended up with a bullet hole through his hand. Richie (Quentin Tarantino) is the violence prone, perverted brother who constantly needs an eye looked after him. Actor George Clooney, as Seth, would get somewhat typecast after this as not the criminal, but the confident leader type that he does so well with a dead-set stare and words that command. This builds up to a kind of twisted redemption from a low life that is only out for himself--bank robber, cop killer, escaped felon--to unlikely antihero to protect his fellow man when something greater comes into the picture that jeorpardizes everybody's life.

From hotel rooms with one hostage to an RV with three more--including a former minister named Jacob (Keitel) and his two children Kate and Scott--they make it across the Mexico border and the Gecko brothers await a rendezvous with another criminal to make a score. That place is the Titty Twister: a Mexican bar that houses some of the rowdiest scumbags with neon lights and every vice offered to lure them in. Cheech Marin doubles as the boarder patrol agent and over-the-top host at the door selling prostitutes to bikers and truck drivers that layover in that seedy part of town. He puts a hand up to the Geckos and they return the favor with a beating. The brothers bring their captives inside and find strippers, loud rock 'n' roll, fist fights and hard liquor--their kind of place. Soon enough the incident outside and Richie's hand injury comes full circle to bite him where it counts when the host comes back in and the main table top dancer Satanico Pandemonium (Selma Hayek) can't help herself when it comes to the bloody wound. Within a split second all of the employees turn into something else and the patrons inside either run or fight for their lives by quickly using methods learned from other horror films. Yep, sometimes these things can be survival guides.

What's different about this picture compared to a straight horror film is that there isn't any foreshadowing. Though it's more action than horror by causing the characters to leap into making decisions on the fly, instead of slowly creeping up. Replay value is a blast, since you essentially have two differently toned movies in one with the same cast handling both sides. This is going for the full cinematic experience and escapism rather than truly making the environment authentic. Some of the mechanics are sacrificed for entertainment value over being thoroughly sound, so some things happen at opportune times, such as certain infected people turning faster than others or one monster having one ability and another doesn't. What makes that work is there is a decent amount of purposeful tongue-in-cheek humor, along with room left over for timed out suspense.

The beginning half of the film isn't all flash and fancy talk as they don't always hold back in what's said or done, whether it be racist comments to raping an innocent woman. Savini as "Sex Machine" and Williamson as "Frost" aren't the best actors but they still possess an onscreen tough look. This has some cool special makeup effects by KNB EFX Group that would later go on to do other big pictures; despite when CGI started to rear its head just after 2000 as the norm rather than utilizing it in a few areas. For instance, this uses some CG for transformations from normal to monstrous but the rest is prosthetics, giving it that unmistakable physical presence. There are facial masks, as well as full body casts. Not to mention some grisly gore, with anything from the straightforward brutal to the downright inventive. Most of the music feels more hip and flavorful than scary, apart from some choirs. Time just flies with this movie, from one captivating scene and piece of catchy dialogue to the next, it's hard to take your senses off what the next thing they have in store. It's one of those rare films that you'll wish didn't have to end.

Rating: 9/10

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini
Link: IMDB


Writer's note:

This is the first time I've seen the casual walking away from an explosion in the background. Since, it's been done from here to the moon.