Room (2015) R - 4½ Stars

Here is a little movie that sounded interesting to watch. Its the story of a woman who has been trapped in a small one room shed for over 7 years. In this time she's had a child, a young boy she named Jack, who has never experienced anything outside of the 4 walls. His mother, has created their entire universe inside consisting of games, exercise, stories to tell all while confined to their small captive room. But things cant stay this way forever, Jack is growing up and as mom decides to enlighten his world with the tales of outside which just might be the scariest part of all.

The acting is superb and Brie Larson won the academy award in 2016 for her role along with a numerous list of other awards too long to list. Young Jacob Tremblay was excellent and so believable for such a tiny tot. I was amazed at just how well he adapted to this role. The movie will tug at your heartstrings watching the bond between mother and child in such a horrific situation.

Jack (Jacob Tremblay), wakes up each morning in a 10x10 room saying hello to everything inside of it. The sink, the refrigerator, the plant, even the toilet. His mother, Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) has spent the last seven years locked in this shed raising her small son to the best of her ability. The shed consists of a TV with poor reception and when Jack and she watch it, she explains that everything in the box is make believe and not real as it's the only way to keep this inquisitive boy to his confinements. The two spend their endless days and nights drawing, telling stories and home schooling. The only other person Jack knows of is Old Nick (Sean Bridges), an old man that brings them food and other necessities. Old Nick comes at a specific time some Jack knows he must hide in the wardrobe cabinet until he leaves, never making contact with him.

Joy turns Jack's entire world on end when she decides he is old enough to help her escape from these walls. Now she must convince hi that everything he has taught him up to this point was a lie and there really is a world outside of the four walls. But the enormous outside world is just too scary for Jack
and Joy and with the help of grandma Nancy (Joan Allen) and grandpa Robert (William H. Macy) who can't even look at his innocent face, they must find a way to come together.

Element Pictures, Film 4
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Producers: David Gross, Ed Guiney
Writers: Emma Donoghue

A Fall From Grace (2020) TVMA - 4 Stars

Gosh a lot of people didn't like this movie at all but I found myself wrapped up in it. Yes there are flaws like - Sarah and Grace are friends for 6 years but the new love relationship takes 42 days to set up - The baseball bat to the head and fall from stairs surely must have caused more damage - Jasmine's cop husband witnessed the woman jump from the roof but never makes any association while watching his wife prep for the case. However, the movie has enough strong acting for me to overlook the obvious flaws and get lost in the story line instead. The film focuses on the vulnerability of an older woman's yearning for love and attention.

Grace Waters (Crystal Fox), sits in jail for the murder of her husband Shannon (Mehcad Brooks). She will sign a plea bargain to save her from death row while keeping her son Malcom (Walter Fauntleroy), to take the stand in a trial or be involved with anything to do with her case.

DA Jasmine Bryant (Bresha Webb), shows up to have Grace sign the paperwork and be over and done with it. But after meeting Grace, Jasmine feels compelled to dig deeper into the case to free Grace of the charges against her. But when Jasmine calls Grace's best friends Sarah (Phylicia Rashad), to the stand, things take a turn for the worse.

Netflix
Director: Tyler Perry
Writer: Tyler Perry

The Platform (2019) TVMA - 3½ Stars

This movie originally titled "El Hoyo", starts out like a train wreck, so very weird and wrong but you just can't look away. I instantly felt a familiarity to a similar style of filming like with the first Saw movie. Your first glimpse into this prison is watching a man wake in a poorly lit room where you can almost smelling the stench. There is no rhythm or reason as to why you are which sets up a psychological journey into your own mind of understanding the visual. "There are three kind of people in here. The ones above, the ones below, and the ones who fall." With not a large budget for special effects, the movie sends a huge message. You're instantly drawn in to feeling screwed as you watch human greed and selfishness at it's primeval finest.

Goreng, (Ivan Massagué) wakes up in a tiny small cement room known as "the pit." A vertical prison with two inmates per floor, and a slab of food is lowered per floor giving inmates a two minute window to grab food to eat. As the platform gets lower, less and less food is available for the starving people below. What will this do to Goreng's mind.

Director: Warner Bros Pictures
Writers: David Desola, Pedro Rivero
Producers: Raquel Perea, Carlos Juárez, David Matamoros, Elena Gozalo, Ángeles Hernández

Catfish (2010) PG13 - 2½ Stars

Social networking can be a positive experience for those unable to communicate properly or in a normal fashion. But stuff like this goes on all the time. Who are you really chatting with and think you know? Some people live in a virtual world built solely on fantasy and this story is about one woman who paints a portrait of Nev Sculman, mails it to him and concocts a fantasy world around it. This film documents what he thinks may be the beginning of a love affair. Myself, I didn't feel the documentary was totally true. It gives me the impression that it's made up though I wouldn't accuse anyone of that. But it does go to show you, the influence of social networking has on today's society.

Nev Schulman is a photographer in New York City. He receives an email from Abby, an eight year old girl in Michigan, that wants to paint a portrait of him after she has seen him in the newspaper. Nev develops an on going conversation with this young girl until his painting arrives in the mail. The art work is amazing and he is very intrigued how such a young girl can paint so masterfully. In future conversations, Nev is introduced to more members of the family including Abby's sister, Megan whom Nev finds attractive. They speak on the phone and develop a romantic bond. But as his friends Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, begin to document this love story, things don't add up. The three young men decide to pay a surprise visit to the family to get behind the mystery of who is who.

Rogue Pictures, Focus Features
Directors: Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
Producers: Andrew Jarecki, Henry Joost, Marc Smerling

I viewed 1/11

Downloading Nancy (2008) NR - 2 Stars

When I saw the name of this movie, I had to see it since it had to do with computers, and the main character is named Nancy. However, this is one dark bizarre depressing movie. Based loosely on the true story of Nancy Stockwell, who canvased the Internet to find someone to kill her and end her misery. The film really takes some time to get going and seems confusing at the beginning but I wasn't ready for where it was going.
 
The story... The wife is bored at home, been sexually abused as a child and wants to end it in a violent struggle. She meets an abusive man on line and hooks up with him to be pleased, tortured and eventually killed by him. But this sicko man loves the abuse so much himself and turns up at the Nancy's home in hopes of being tortured by her husband. Yes I do have it in my bizarre category.

Nancy Stockwell (Maria Bello), has lived most of her life with depression. From her early childhood abuse, she's learn to take comfort in self-inflicted pain. She lives with her husband Albert (Rufus Sewell), but is not satisfied in their marriage. While Albert is at work, Nancy leaves him a note saying she is going away to visit an old friend. She never calls her husband and when she doesn't return in a timely manner, Albert learns she's been using the computer to meet men like Louis Farley (Jason Patric). It seems Nancy's has been trying to recruit men on-line to kill her as she's can't take her life on her own. When she meets Louis, their attraction is strong and Albert's discovers this is who Nancy is with to plan her murder.

Tule River Films, World Premiere Entertainment

Director: Johan Renck

Writers: Pamela Cuming, Lee Ross
Producers: Igor Kovacevich, David Moore, Cole Payne

I viewed 4/11

Circle of Eight (2009) NR - 1 Star

Can someone please tell me why movies like this are made? These eight people are all dead and still invade the apartment building they died in due to a fire. All thanks to Jessica, who can't seem to make the right decision to break the cycle of their souls lingering around the hallways. Why make half of the characters a bit on the freaky side and the rest all yuppy's living in a scummy run down building. They all should have been freaks. And just one day after New Years countdown, Jessica is already back moving in. Confused, you're not alone. Almost like a bunch of your friends got together and made a film for a school project.

Jessica (Austin Highsmith), moves into the seemingly fair shaped Dante apartment building where a twenty something crowd resides. She quickly is advised by the manager Ed (John Bishop), of the rules and how to make nice with the other neighbors. Jessica notices one creepy tenant Randal (DJ Qualls), holding a camcorder and filming her every move. Out of the dark halls, appears a very artistic Evan (Ryan Doom) to somewhat save her. She also meets Elaine (Katie Lowes), Bale (Josh Kelly), sexy India (Natashia Williams), and Pretty boy Damon (Jesse Johnson). As Jessica becomes more adjusted to her new home, she finds her neighbors are brutally dying all around her. The more she tries to make sense of it all, the more she discovers her connection to the Dante.

Bronson Avenue, Milchan / Van Eyssen, Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment
Director: Stephen Cragg
Writers: David Brewman, Brian Horiuchi
Producers: David Van Eyssen, Alexandra Milchan

I viewed 4/11

Time (2006) N/R - 3 Stars

Wow, talk about a couple playing games with each other. This is my third Korean subtitled movie and all of them have been pretty good yet so bizarre. Here's one that offers a taste of obsessive love with a lot of crazy thrown in.

"Time" is a totally bizarre look at a woman obsessed with her face. So much so, she mysteriously leaves her boyfriend and reappears with a new face. She works her way back into his life only to find he is not totally into this new woman as he is still in love with his ex. When he finds out what she has done, he is so devastated, he visits the doctor and does the same thing to his face. But he plays around with her now, not revealing himself right away. I don't want to give away the ending, lets just say bizarre. Gripping performances by the three leads. Nice backdrop, someday I want to photograph "Sculpture Bay" where the ocean becomes part of the artwork!

Seh-hee (Park Ji-yeon), is a pretty girl but she constantly thinks her boyfriend Ji-woo (Ha Jeong-woo), is not happy with her and fantasizes about being with other women. Instead of seeing the happiness she brings to him, she turns to a plastic surgeon to become more of the woman she thinks Ji-Woo wants. But it backfires on her as she reappears as See-hee (Seong Hyeon-aah), begins to work her way back into his life and is rejected when she tests him to see if he will stay true to her.

Happinet Pictures Co. Ltd., Kim Ki-duk Film Company, Lifesize Entertainment
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Writer: Kim Ki-duk
Producer: Kim Ki-duk

I viewed 1/11

Cold Storage (2006) R - 2½ Stars

Not the worst horror movie I've ever seen, this one at least has a decent story with some very creepy characters. However, if you rent the movie thinking your going to find a dead body under ice, this box is misleading. Basically, a man finds a girl, thrown from her car in the middle of the road. He takes her home where she dies and now he's in love and can't let her go. The movie is chocked full of "Diane Arbus" characters which add to the freakishness. I'm not sure if they should be proud or not but, the actors who play these back wood freaks, really look natural. Scary to think there may be people deep in the woods who live like this. Luther Spoole, played by Brett Gentile, is just about one of the scariest neighbors I would never want to run into.

Melissa (Casey Leet), has caught her boyfriend Daric (Matt Keeslar), cheating so she needs to get away and take some time to think. She's an actress and there's a gig in a small town Tennessee. As she enters the backwoods, a bird hits her windshield sending her car out of control and throwing her from the car. Barely clinging to life, Clive Mercer (Nick Searcy), drives by, scoops her up in his arms, and takes her back to his cabin in the woods. Clive begins to treat her like a queen, vowing to attend to her every wish. One problem, Melissa is dead. When she doesn't report to her motel or the play, her sister Cathy (Joelle Carter), and Daric set off to find her. When they arrive at the town, the sheriff does nothing to help so they set off in the woods to find her alone. But Clive is not willing to give his new bride up and Cathy and Daric are now held hostage themselves.

Synthetic Fur, Lionsgate
Director: Tony Elwood
Writers: Mark Kimray, Tony Elwood
Producers: Tony Elwood, Paul Barrett

I viewed 1/11

The White Ribbon (2009) R - 2½ Stars

Beautifully filmed in Black & White it's the story of a small village in Protestant northern Germany. The children are excellent little actors and the storyline is full just very confusing and never worked out. In German with subtitles, it's the story of the abused youngsters in the village who seem to be involved in a series of mysterious events. Are these children the future Nazis of the world? The story line shows you how they got this way. Though the movie never proves the children are involved it implies their revolt against authority. I didn't care for the ending as it explains nothing and the movie is extremely slow. The story is narrated by the school teacher many years later.

July of 1913, just before World War I, in a small Protestant village of northern Germany, strange accidents start taking place. In a seemingly peaceful town, but behind closed doors the children are mistreated by authority and the women repressed and treated poorly. All seems almost normal in this repressive fundamentalist society. Starring (Christian Friedel) as the school teacher, Eva (Leonie Benesch), The Baron (Ulrich Tukur), and Baroness Marie-Louise (Ursina Lardi), Martin (Leonard Proxauf), Margarete (Johanna Busse), Klara (Maria-Victoria Dragus) and the Pastor (Burghart Klaußner), to name a few.

Awards include:
2009 - Cannes Film Festival - Palme d'Or
2009 - Toronto Film Critics Association - Best Foreign Language Film
2009 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Cinematography

X-Filme Creative Pool, Les Films du Losange, Lucky Red, WEGA-Film
Director: Michael Haneke
Writer: Michael Haneke
Producers: Veit Heiduschka, Andrea Occhipinti, Margaret Menegoz

I viewed 12/10

Wetherby (1985) R - 2½ Stars

I have to say, this movie lost me so many times, I constantly was wondering what I just saw and what was the relevance to the movie. In fact, the only part of the movie that made 100% sense to me was when Morgan takes out the gun and blows his head open. It does come together, well sort of, at the end but the journey to get there, takes the longest possible route. The movie constantly flashes back to an earlier time, but it was not clear who's lives we were watching. It would have made more sense to me if I knew the lady who witnessed the suicide, was the same lady who watched her lover go to war in the 50's, only to be murdered at a card game there. It got very good ratings on blockbuster.com, but I just have to call this movie bizarre and I didn't like the sound reproduction at all.

Jean Travers (Vanessa Redgrave) has spent her whole life in the quaint small town of Wetherby. In her golden years and unmarried, she teaches school to to pre-teen students. 35 years prior, she had a passionate love affair with young service man that was put on hold when he shipped out to Malaysia for war. In Malaysia, he is murdered at a private card game, along with another young soldier. Her dreams of marriage ended when she heard the news of his tragic death.

To this day, Jean is active in her community and volunteering. She decides to throw a dinner party for a group of her friends. Two other couples join her and also a young man named John Morgan (Tim McInnerny). John had entered the house with one of the couples so Jean just assumed it was them who invited him. The couple just assumes he know Jean and is one of the invitees, so nothing is said and the total stranger fits right in with the crowd. The ceiling tile starts to leak over the dinner table and John graciously offers to help repair it. The night ends after political topics of Nixon and other political concerns of the era.

The next day, John Morgan returns to the home of Jean. He thanks her again for being so kind to him in opening up her home and explains that he was an uninvited guest. While she feels completely baffled in disbelief of his presence at her party, John pulls a gun out of his pocket, stuffs it in his mouth and kills himself. While the police try to uncover the motive behind this senseless loss of life, Jean opens up a whole new can of worms shes had tucked away on her shelf for quite sometime.

1985 - Wetherby - Berlin International Film Festival - Golden Bear

MGM Distribution Company
Director: David Hare
Writer: David Hare
Producer: Simon Relph

I viewed 1/09

Silence Becomes You (2005) NR - 2½ Stars

Here's another one that goes in my bizarre category. Bizarre, because I really have no idea what the movie is trying to say. But yet, it visually and seductively draws you into this pair of sisters behavior, that appear to be up to no good. Most men would think this looks like their fantasy, being taken prisoner by two beautiful women. But the direction of the movie is all over the place. While it holds you sexually captive, it doesn't do a good job at showing you where it wants to take you. I guess the point of the movie is Grace becoming one with child, though it makes no real sense to me. Was she just trying to pass her craziness onto the next generation? What did their parents really do to them as children and how did they die? What do the secret paintings represent? As a matter of fact, the whole movie does little to lead you in any direction and just has to be labeled bizarre. Though I did have to watch it till the end hoping for something more. The colorful visuals and the innocence of Silverstone with her seductively pouty lips, probably makes the movie.

Grace (Sienna Guillory), and Violet (Alicia Silverstone) are two sisters living isolated in an enchanted looking mansion deep in the forest. Their parents are dead but memories of their presence still fill the house. The girls have little contact with the outside world and instead love playing dress up in their mother's old clothing. Violet is in the village one night and makes eye contact with Luke (Joe Anderson) who is with another woman. But something in Violet's smile completely overwhelms Luke and before he knows it, he is leaving with Violet back to the mansion. Luke thinks he's hit the jackpot when the other sister Grace appears and they two tempt and tease him with their seductive movements. Before long, Luke is living in the isolated world with them. But when Violet becomes close with Luke, Grace becomes jealous and tries to break the two apart.

First Look, Sequence
Director: Stephanie Sinclaire
Writer: Stephanie Sinclaire
Producers: Stephanie Sinclaire, Karl Richards

I viewed 4/09

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) - 3 Stars

This is the type of movie you almost need to see twice to pick up all the subtle messages that piece together. Even with subtitles on, there's so much to absorb it's hard to stay with the plot which does finally take shape. The biggest problem though, it takes so long to take shape and the direction is all over the place. Along the way you're at least entertained as you discover another great actor taking center stage. Seriously, for such a nutty plot, I wonder how this movie managed to get such a great list of performers. For me, it's the cast that makes it fun and bearable. I love the part when they hit the rock after cloud bursting. No it's not a laugh out loud movie but if you can stay with it, it's fun and definitely unusual.

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), is trying to discover what he really wants to be in life after his wife dumps him for another man. He's a reporter and desperately wants to get into IRAQ and write a piece that will launch him to fame, proving his worth to the world. Lately his assignments have been interviewing seemingly quaky psychics he considers insane as they tell their stories. Determined to get to the next level in journalism he sets out for IRAQ only to be held up in cheap motels and lying to others about his first hand accounts on the front line. By chance he meets a man named Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a name he remembers from his last physic interview. That interview mentioned Lyn Cassady as the ultimate physic and here he sits in right in front of Bob.

Seemingly more than a coincidence, Bob immediately tries to make contact with Lyn. After he explains how he knows of his name Lyn tells Bob of an experimental U.S. military unit; the New Earth Army. He comes up with preposterous stories of the Jedi force, a legion of "Warrior Monks," who have the ability to kill a goat just by staring at it. Their psychic powers can pass through walls and read the enemy's thoughts. at it. The small legion of men are led by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), who's practice involve winning the war in a nonviolent approach. Bob becomes fascinated by all the secretiveness of the movement and begs Lyn to allow him to tag along into Iraq on his latest mission. It is there he will also meet another top player of the movement Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), whose jealousy of Lyn's abilities will actually cause the group to end.

Smoke House, BBC Films, Overture Films
Director: Grant Heslov
Writer: Peter Straughan
Producers: Paul Lister, George Clooney, Grant Heslov

I viewed 4/10

The Fourth Kind (2009) PG13 - 2½ Stars

The First Kind is when a UFO is sighted. The Second Kind is when there is evidence collected to support the sighting. The Third Kind is when contact is made with an extraterrestrial and The Fourth Kind, well that's the scariest of all and until now, has never been documented. In 1972, this grading scale was started to categorize all UFO reports.

While the movie was a little freaky, it just didn't give me the chills like I expected it to. Since it was based on a true story from the 1960's, along with actual footage documented from Dr. Abigail Tyler, and I do believe we are not alone in this universe, I was hoping for something a little more realistic and believable. Instead, ever time there is an encounter on film, it's distorted to the point of being unrecognizable and therefore not real believable to me. However having said that, the real footage of Dr. Tyler shows a woman who totally looks like she's been abducted. I do like the switching back and forth from the actual footage to the modern day movie.

Psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich), swears she's witnessed someone killing her husband as he lie in bed next to her. Trying to get her life back together for her two kids sake, she continues working, seeing patients. She begins to notice a pattern of patients complaining of the same reoccurring dream. These patients awake unexpectedly and all report a large owl staring at them. As more strange behavior and disappearances start occurring here in her rural home town of Nome Alaska, she's dedicated to uncovering what it all means. Along with the help of a colleague Abel Campos (Elias Koteas), Dr. Tyler begins hypnotizing and video taping her clients, finding some very disturbing evidence of the Fourth Kind. When her daughter vanishes from her home, Sheriff August (Will Patton), begins to think Dr. Tyler is responsible for all the strange disturbances.

Universal Pictures
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Writer: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Producers: Joe Carnahan, Terry Lee Robbins, Paul Brooks

I viewed 3/10

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) R - 3½ Stars

Just looking at the DVD cover you know it's going to be a dark movie. I bought this movie in a 4-$20.00 special at Block Buster. But without reading the box, I thought it was about vampires and just knew it had to be good with Tim Burton at the helm. Well, like a vampire movie, there IS blood and killing and violence but in an awkward way, there's beauty too. Johnny Depp singing in a musical, wow, he's pretty darn good in his role as the master barber. With his partner in crime Helena Bonham Carter, doing a smashing job. I really liked the performance of little Edward Sanders. It's a fun sort of "Little Shop of Horror" type movie, just made me close my eyes through a lot of it.

Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), has been away from town for 15 years and not by his choice. You see, 15 years ago Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), was jealous of Sweeney's wife and wanted her desperately. Along with the aid of Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall), the judge arranged the lock up of Sweeney, sending him far away for a long time. Judge Turpin took Sweeney's wife away and locked his daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener), out of reach of anyone but himself. But revenge will be sweet as Sweeney moves back into town to make the judge pay. Mrs. Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), offers Sweeney the room above her meat pie shop and Sweeney goes to work giving the closest shaves in town. The two help each other become sucessful and befriended by a street boy Toby (Edward Sanders), the family setting seems almost complete. Business if bombing in the eatery, but the beggar woman on the street (Laura Michelle Kelly), keeps an open eye on the customers that go into Sweeney's shop for a shave and never come out.

Awards Include:

2007 - Phoenix Film Critics Association - Best Costume Design
2007 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
2007 - Phoenix Film Critics Association - Best Young Actor
2007 - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association - Best Score
2007 - Washington D.C. Film Critics Association - Best Art Direction

DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures
Director: Tim Burton
Writer: John Logan
Producers: Laurie MacDonald, Walter Parkes, Richard D. Zanuck

I viewed 3/10

Brother's Keeper (1992) NR - 4 Stars

OMG I loved this documentary about the Ward brothers of Munnsville, N.Y.. I have to put this in my bizarre category as it's one of the most bizarre murder trials in U.S. history. The conditions these 4 dairy farmers have been living in for almost 60 years, are pretty much unbearable for most people to imagine. But after viewing the movie, I have mixed feelings about whether he did or did not kill his brother. The way younger brother Lyman freaked out while saying "I won't be here very long if I don't," when the prosecutor asked he he wanted to change his testimony from pointing the finger at Delbert. It appeared that Lyman was too scared of his older brother to stick to what he told the cops that morning of June 6th, that Delbert had smothered Will in his sleep. Then again, Delbert looks like he couldn't harm an ant if he had to and you want to feel he was incapable of such an act. Either way, I'd say there's a lot more to the story that these three surviving brothers will take to their graves. A REALLY entertaining watch.

In the small town of Munnsville with a population of 499 people, an aging dairy farmer will be accused of murdering his older brother. It's the morning of June 6, 1990, when Delbert awakes, he finds his brother Will, not breathing. As the EMC's arrive on scene, prepare and take the body away, it appears Will has died of natural causes. But by the morning of June 7th (coincidentally my birthday), Delbert will be accused of murder in the 2nd degree.

Living on a 99 acre dairy farm, in isolation, without heat or running water, these elderly brothers with limited IQ's, had virtually no contact with anyone outside their farm unless going to town. Most of the other farmers in the village of Munnsville, New York looked down on these brothers mainly because of the odor that hung over the brothers due to their living conditions, usually not changing their clothes or bathing for up to 6 weeks at a time.

At the police station, Delbert Ward would confess to smothering his brother in an act of mercy, just so he could leave and go back home to the security of his brothers. Instead, he was put in jail with bail set at $10,000. When the other farmers of Munnsville found out that Delbert had been arrested, the entire village rallied together to raise money for his bail as they were convinced that Delbert had been framed by the big city lawyers looking down on their type of folk.

Awards include:
1992 - National Board of Review - Best Documentary
1992 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Documentary
1991 - Sundance Film Festival - Audience Award

American Playhouse, IFC Films
Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Writers: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Producers: Bruce Sinofsky, Joe Berlinger

I viewed 3/10

House of 9 (2005) R - 2 Stas

At first, I was going to say what is Dennis Hopper doing in this film? After thinking about it for a moment, of course he's in this bizarre mystery film. This is a movie where you suffer with bad acting and a ridiculous story line, up until the very end of the movie which is the best part, also you cheer because it's over. Maybe the main problem is, these nine people, randomly kidnapped and thrown in a locked mansion together , have nothing to do with each other making it impossible for you to give two cents about any of them. Other than the dancer, the others are all people you yourself would hate to be locked up with. Maybe that's the point. Perhaps it was trying to be a game like "Saw," or "The Cube," but it never shows you anything about the owner of the game and seems so pointless. I did liked the DVD cover, which enticed me to watch the flick but the ending leads one to believe there could be a sequel, ugh, as I hope they avoid this.

Nine Strangers, a priest Father Duffy (Dennis Hopper), the dance Lea (Kelly Brook), the cop Jay (Raffaello Degruttola), husband Francis (Hippolyte Girardot) and wife Cynthia (Julienne Davis), drug addict Shona (Morven Christie), pro tennis player Claire Leevy (Susie Amy), and Max Roy (Peter Capaldi), are kidnapped and all awaken in a small mansion type setting with bricked in windows and steal locked doors. An announcers voice comes over a PA system explaining the nine are in a game of survival where there can be only one winner. The doors will not open until there is one survivor, who can walk through the door with their prize of 5 million dollars.

Bauer Martinez Studios, Deffender Film Fund Production
Director: Steven R. Monroe
Writer: Philippe Vidal
Producers: Philippe Martinez, Alan Latham, Karen Hamilton (II)

I viewed 2/10

Far North (2007) R - 2½ Stars

Wow, this movie looked so awesome in the trailer and had the potential to be so much more but alas, it's far north of a great film. While it does have a visually stunning location, it's a very disturbing look at what one isolated woman will do in the name of her daughter. Well acted for it's lack of dialog but yet another movie for my bizarre category.

Saiva (Michelle Yeoh) and Anja (Michelle Krusiec) live in solitude in the far North Artic tundra. Banished by the local Shaman at birth for being cursed, Saiva has existed in absolute isolation until she rescues Anja as a baby from a brutal attack on the closest village. The soldiers intent for pilfering and killing everyone in site, left Anja for dead. Taking Anja under her arm, Saiva has tried to shelter and instill the traits needed for survival in this frozen solace. The two women have only known to rely upon each other until Saiva encounters an injured soldier, Loki (Sean Bean), passed out on the ice. Hesitant, by lonely, Saiva brings Loki back to the home to nurse him back to health. When Anja sees Saiva and Loki becoming close, she uses her girlish charms to win his affections away from Saiva causing a battle of loneliness seeking out revenge.

Film4, Le Bureau, Bureau (U.K.)
Director: Asif Kapadia
Writers: Tim Miller, Asif Kapadia
Producers: Bertrand Faivre

I viewed 12/09

Re-Cycle (2006) NR - 3 Stars

Re-Cycle engages the controversial subject of abortion while it gives an objective view of it consequences. The one thing I liked most about this movie is the colorful imagination of the sets, I found the movie visually stimulating. So much so I want to credit Visual Effects Creative Director, Ng Yuen-fai. Also because of these sets, and the whole mixture of the journey the story line takes, it has to go in my bizarre category. Featuring almost exclusively one actor, Lee Sin Je, I think she does a great job holding down the show, though not always exciting in her facial expressions. With subtitles, an eerie beginning, and a touching ending, I give credit to the entire production for it's unique contribution to the movie industry.

Angelica Lee Ting-yen (Lee Sin Je), is a young author, working on her latest novel. As she tries to concentrate, strange sounds and visions disturb her work almost causing her to send her novel to the shredder for recycling. Frustrated, she's convinced these interruptions are taking her on a parallel journey of horrifying reality. She'll soon learn the importance of things shes discarded in life that now she holds dearly.

Universe Entertainment, Matching Motion Pictures Company, Magic Head, Luminous Velocity Releasing
Directors: Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun
Writers: Cub Chin, Pak-sing Pang, Oxide Pang Chun
Producers: Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun, Alvin Lam

I viewed 12/09

Killer Condom (1998) NR - 2 Stars

Why Oh Why do we have movies like this and better yet, why do I continue to watch them? Well my neighbor brought this one down and said "Add this to your reviews" and being the devoted viewer I am, all I can say is here's yet another one for my bizarre category. It's almost like a farce on the "B Movie" so for that, I'm giving it a 2. Based on Ralph Konig's German comic book the movie is also in German with subtitles.

Gay Detective Luigi Mackeroni (Udo Samel), secretly visits sleazy motels in search of pleasure. It's no secret that drag Queen Babette (Leonard Lansink), is in love with him as once the two were very close. But now Detective Luigi longs for more manly men. Meanwhile, ladies of the night have been seeing condoms come to life right before their eyes, literally cutting into their action. Luigi is committed to solving this dilemma but needs to be able to investigate one. Be careful for what you wish for as he's about to have a close encounter that might his end his manhood but more importantly redeem him on the force.

Troma Entertainment, Ascot Film and Fernsehproduction, Ecco Films Inc
Director: Martin Walz
Producers: Ralph S. Dietrich, Harald Reichebner, Michael Stricker
Writer: Ralph Honig

I viewed 10/09

Masked and Anonymous (2003) PG13 - 2 Stars

It's really bad when you watch a movie and you are not quite sure what you just watched. Seems I'm on a streak this week of just such movies. Now mind you, this movie has a well supported cast who all do their part with their acting but I still don't get where they are, who's civil war and revolution it is, and how these few eccentric individuals all came to be where they are. Other than Bob Dylan who travels there to perform a benefit concert, I did not absorb the underlying meaning and was basically lost. Gotta put this one in my bizarre collection.

Uncle Sweetheart (John Goodman), is a big shot concert promoter who has found his niche in life in a nation plagued with a revolution of political unrest. But he can't do it alone and hires television producer Nina Veronica (Jessica Lange) to help promote the show. Nina is hoping Sweetheart will find an all star line up to head a benefit fundraiser concert but all Sweetheart can muster up is a has been headliner Jack Fate (Bob Dylan). Fate has been serving a prison sentence but Sweetheart is able to pull some of his last strings in order to get him released. While he is there, he must see his dying father, the President. Fate was never worthy in his father's eyes and instead, the next in line for his empire is (Mickey Rourke).

Investigative journalist (Jeff Bridges) and his girlfriend Pagan Lace (Penélope Cruz), show up but no one wants to talk to them. The concert goes on as planned until the President's death interrupts their broadcast. Also starring Luke Wilson as Bobby Cupid, Angela Bassett, Bruce Dean, Ed Harris and Christian Slater.

Marching Band Productions, Spitfire Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Larry Charles
Writers: Sergei Petrov, Rene Fontaine
Producers: Jeff Rosen, Nigel Sinclair

I viewed 7/09