Released late in 2015, This crossover Western/Horror film was shot right about the same time as Quentin Tarantino's "Hateful Eight", and Kurt Russel sports the same wonderful mustache in both to wonderful effect.
I heard about this film from the crew at the "F! This Movie" Podcast in their 2015 movie roundup. It clearly had an impact on the host, Patrick Bromely, but was so well spoken about that I knew I would have to track it down. It appeared on Netflix sometime later, and I took advantage of the break over Christmas this year to watch.
I knew that there was one scene in there that was of particular noteworthiness. A scene that was so graphically intense, the phrase "I can never un-see that" had been used about it more than once.
Now, I'm not a big horror fan. The classic slasher films (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St. etc) have no appeal to me. Buy there's something about the crossover of genres that makes me take a look. I have had wonderful fun watching "Shawn of the Dead" and "Cabin in the Woods". I had more fun in "CABIN" than I really should have, since I hadn't seen any of the referenced films, but I knew enough about them to get much of the referenced material. (And now my wife and I attend the occasional "Horror and Tequila" nights with friends of our, where we screen some campy horror movie and make jokes as the screen so prolifically that between the rewinding to hear dialogue we talked over and stopping to get more tequila, a 90 minute movie takes about 3 hours.)
So, Bone Tomahawk was a Horror/Western crossover, and with Kurt Russel heading up the cast, AND with strong recommendations from F! This Movie, I had to check it out. It is a surprisingly good western: Good characters, good dialogue, good acting, good cinematography. But overlaid with a very graphic, bloody, violent story element that it's not for the easily queasy.
AND... that scene you can never un-see? Yup. never unseeable. Pretty much the most horriffic death-at-the-hands-of-cannibals scene ever. It shows up on several "10 most brutal death/most violent death/most horriffic death scene" lists on the internet. A quick google will let you see one minute you may never forget.
All that said, If that's your thing, I recommend this film.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
#13 - Independence Day: Resurgence
Ah, Lucky number 13.
I have no problem with the number 13. I was born on the 13th. As luck a number for me as any other. (Probability & Statistics not withstanding).
I remember seeing Independence Day back in 1996. My wife and I had just moved to Calgary that weekend. We hadn't even moved in to our house yet. And She was 6 months pregnant with our first child. But here's this big blockbuster Roland Emmerich. So we went. Besides, there's the added bonus of the actors Jeff Goldblum AND Brent Spiner. What's not to like?
Cinemasins frequently puts out their "everything wrong with..." series of YouTube videos (most enjoyable: check them out) and Independence Day was as guilty of plot-holes and general goofiness as any Hollywood film, but it was fun, and I liked it. Will Smith is also a "take-him-or-leave-him" actor, but his on my "like him" list, so it make for a good time.
20 years later, the creative team decided that this was a milk-able franchise. At least, that's the way it feels. The followup story is weak, the writing was unmemorable, and lead actors mostly wasted. Jeff Goldblum drops some cheeky one-liners here and there, which he;s good at, but they're not particularly good, and mostly given away in the trailers. Brent Spiner's Dr. Okun, a wacky scientist at the Area 51 lab, who was given up for dead in the original film, reappears freshly awoken from a long coma, and within hours is leading the revitalized research program, still wearing his open-back hospital gown. Stuff like this stretches the suspension of disbelief to its breaking point.
Ugh. Bill Pullman: wasted. Judd Hirsch: wasted. Jeff Goldblum and Brent Spiner: Wasted.
Two Hours: Wasted.
I have no problem with the number 13. I was born on the 13th. As luck a number for me as any other. (Probability & Statistics not withstanding).
I remember seeing Independence Day back in 1996. My wife and I had just moved to Calgary that weekend. We hadn't even moved in to our house yet. And She was 6 months pregnant with our first child. But here's this big blockbuster Roland Emmerich. So we went. Besides, there's the added bonus of the actors Jeff Goldblum AND Brent Spiner. What's not to like?
Cinemasins frequently puts out their "everything wrong with..." series of YouTube videos (most enjoyable: check them out) and Independence Day was as guilty of plot-holes and general goofiness as any Hollywood film, but it was fun, and I liked it. Will Smith is also a "take-him-or-leave-him" actor, but his on my "like him" list, so it make for a good time.
20 years later, the creative team decided that this was a milk-able franchise. At least, that's the way it feels. The followup story is weak, the writing was unmemorable, and lead actors mostly wasted. Jeff Goldblum drops some cheeky one-liners here and there, which he;s good at, but they're not particularly good, and mostly given away in the trailers. Brent Spiner's Dr. Okun, a wacky scientist at the Area 51 lab, who was given up for dead in the original film, reappears freshly awoken from a long coma, and within hours is leading the revitalized research program, still wearing his open-back hospital gown. Stuff like this stretches the suspension of disbelief to its breaking point.
Ugh. Bill Pullman: wasted. Judd Hirsch: wasted. Jeff Goldblum and Brent Spiner: Wasted.
Two Hours: Wasted.
#12 - Pleasantville
My daughter writes her provincial English test soon. As part of the curriculum, she got to screen 1998's Pleasantville.
One of those movies I knew of, but had not yet seen. . Sometimes better than watching a movie for fun is watching a movie WITH A PURPOSE. So, we sat down and screened it
It was rental via iTunes, for $5.
The story is about a couple of high school teenagers, dealing with the trappings of life: High school popularity angst, a miserable divorced mom, dating, sex. But coming up this weekend is the "Pleasantville" TV marathon and trivia contest. Pleasantville is a 1950's era black and white TV show, with all the stereotypciality of Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith, Danny Thomas, and Donna Reed all rolled into one.
Through a magical plot device, Don Knotts shows up as the mysterious tv repair man (Wink wink, Andy Griffith show...) and the teens, David and Jennifer, get zapped from 1998 California into Pleasantville, taking on the personas of Bud and MarySue.
Most notably, their entire existence is now in black and white. The world of Pleasantville is indeed pleasant, but stiflingly idyllic, to point of puritanical and repetitive. Just like 1950's tv, there is no sex, the fire department never actually puts out fires, and even the bathrooms have no toilets. The outside-world knowledge that David and Jennifer bring with them begins to alter the ideas and norms of Pleasantville life. And as each resident reach a new level of enlightened change, they themselves change from black and white to colour. And those who have not changed, fearing the differences that have arise, start on their own little Sneeches-like journey. When the "No Coloreds" sign goes up in the department store window, the metaphor hits home like a ton of bricks.
The movie is full of fun throwback references, humour, and meaningful parallels to the journey we all take as we adapt to changes of many kinds.
The 1998 scenes are dated, but so much of the film takes place in the 1950/out-of-time Pleasantville, that it becomes timeless.
I recommend it.
One of those movies I knew of, but had not yet seen. . Sometimes better than watching a movie for fun is watching a movie WITH A PURPOSE. So, we sat down and screened it
It was rental via iTunes, for $5.
The story is about a couple of high school teenagers, dealing with the trappings of life: High school popularity angst, a miserable divorced mom, dating, sex. But coming up this weekend is the "Pleasantville" TV marathon and trivia contest. Pleasantville is a 1950's era black and white TV show, with all the stereotypciality of Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith, Danny Thomas, and Donna Reed all rolled into one.
Through a magical plot device, Don Knotts shows up as the mysterious tv repair man (Wink wink, Andy Griffith show...) and the teens, David and Jennifer, get zapped from 1998 California into Pleasantville, taking on the personas of Bud and MarySue.
Most notably, their entire existence is now in black and white. The world of Pleasantville is indeed pleasant, but stiflingly idyllic, to point of puritanical and repetitive. Just like 1950's tv, there is no sex, the fire department never actually puts out fires, and even the bathrooms have no toilets. The outside-world knowledge that David and Jennifer bring with them begins to alter the ideas and norms of Pleasantville life. And as each resident reach a new level of enlightened change, they themselves change from black and white to colour. And those who have not changed, fearing the differences that have arise, start on their own little Sneeches-like journey. When the "No Coloreds" sign goes up in the department store window, the metaphor hits home like a ton of bricks.
The movie is full of fun throwback references, humour, and meaningful parallels to the journey we all take as we adapt to changes of many kinds.
The 1998 scenes are dated, but so much of the film takes place in the 1950/out-of-time Pleasantville, that it becomes timeless.
I recommend it.
Friday, January 22, 2016
#10 Pride + Prejudice + Zombies
Oh, now I get how the other 99% feel.
I have a friend who is a member of the JASNA, The Jane Austen Society of North America. And she invited me to a sneak preview of the new film, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Its in wide release on Feb 5th, but we got to see it two weeks early.
Based on the constant stream of snickers, guffaws and belly laughs that went completely over my head, this film was clearly rife with references and inside jokes that made the JASNA folks giddy. Case in point: midway through the picture, Mr. Darcy is working out some frustrations, and dives, fully clothed, into a lake for a swim.
The Audience: Gales of laughter!
Me: "Hunh?"
So, it was later explained to me about the famous/infamous scene in the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice Mini-series with Colin Firth, who goes for a swim, and the shot is accurately reproduced. If you don't have this background, the scene makes no real story sense at all, except that "main character needs a swim".
And so it went for the entire film. Name dropping, visual references, excerpts of dialogue. Hilarious. Apparently.
As a zombie movie, it's average fare. Stereotypical characters, hackneyed, if not era-specific, dialogue. Inconsistent but convenient manifestations of zombie transformations. Blood, brains, death, exploding heads. Just what you expect.
The leads were endearing enough. Elizabeth Bennet was played by Lily James, who I only recognized from her role as Lady Rose in Downton Abbey, and she's good. Mr. Darcy is played by Sam Riley, who I am not familiar with, but whose voice was trying so hard to be a young but gruff John Hurt, it was distracting. And if I'd been more up on my Doctor Who, I would have reveled in Matt Smith playing Mr. Collins aka Parson Collins.
There ware some nice moments, which balanced out the film, so overall it was enjoyable. In a scene where the dashing hero offends the good lady with his words, and normally the lady would slap said man on the face, she delivers a solid middle front snap kick and knocks him over a table. Because she can, and she should. Bravo.
So, Now I get how the other 99% feel. When I sit in a movie that's made JUST for me, and I am tickled by the little inside jokes that most people will miss, but have a very specific meaning, that's the 1%. And I know that just about everyone else missed it completely, and I feel lucky to be in on the joke. This time, I was on the outside. But clearly, those who were on the inside had a whale of a time!
Recommend? Sure, if you like Zombie movies, or just love Jane Austen.
#9 Predestination
I love time travel movies. OK, let me qualify that. I love GOOD travel movies. NO, I'll change that again. I love time travel movies, but I loathe BAD time travel movies.
Best time travel movie? No question: Back to the Future.
Good ones? BTTF 2 & 3, Star Trek IV, Terminator I and II, Primer, Star Trek First Contact, Looper, Groundhog Day, Planet of the Apes,
Many others arrive in the middle of the pack. And bad ones: Let's just say there's a reason that Terminator Genisys is on the "Movies I wish I could un-see" list.
So there's this little sleeper of a movie out there called Predestination. I did happen across the trailer for it on iTunes trailer page many months ago, but I don't ever remember it coming to local theatres, and if it did, it was gone in a jiffy. Happily, FthisMovie's year end roundup reminded me about it, as well as recommended it. So when I had the cance last week, I watched it.
Based on a short story by Robert Heinlein, the movie explores the temporal adventures of our main character, whose name is complicated. (Not to pronounce. Just, complicated) We are introduced to him as a barkeeper, who hears the life story of a down-and-out bar patron, but clearly something's going on that we're not being told about.
And then time travel steps in to complicate things, resolve things, and move the plot along. I didn't know where the story was going at the outset, and a few of the plot points were telegraphed a little earlier than they could have been, but it is a neat story, and treats time travel with respect. And that's what makes it good. (Terminator Genisys does NOT treat time travel with respect, so it deserves the derision I feel for it).
I'm guessing it'll be out on Netflix soon enough, so catch it if you can.
Recommend: Yes
Best time travel movie? No question: Back to the Future.
Good ones? BTTF 2 & 3, Star Trek IV, Terminator I and II, Primer, Star Trek First Contact, Looper, Groundhog Day, Planet of the Apes,
Many others arrive in the middle of the pack. And bad ones: Let's just say there's a reason that Terminator Genisys is on the "Movies I wish I could un-see" list.
So there's this little sleeper of a movie out there called Predestination. I did happen across the trailer for it on iTunes trailer page many months ago, but I don't ever remember it coming to local theatres, and if it did, it was gone in a jiffy. Happily, FthisMovie's year end roundup reminded me about it, as well as recommended it. So when I had the cance last week, I watched it.
Based on a short story by Robert Heinlein, the movie explores the temporal adventures of our main character, whose name is complicated. (Not to pronounce. Just, complicated) We are introduced to him as a barkeeper, who hears the life story of a down-and-out bar patron, but clearly something's going on that we're not being told about.
And then time travel steps in to complicate things, resolve things, and move the plot along. I didn't know where the story was going at the outset, and a few of the plot points were telegraphed a little earlier than they could have been, but it is a neat story, and treats time travel with respect. And that's what makes it good. (Terminator Genisys does NOT treat time travel with respect, so it deserves the derision I feel for it).
I'm guessing it'll be out on Netflix soon enough, so catch it if you can.
Recommend: Yes
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
#8 The Revenant
Holy Shit.
So, when you're having a bad day, just consider the day that Hugh Glass had.
This film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu is beautifully and cleverly made. I will not be at all surprised if he wins best director for this piece of work. His cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubizki, shot the whole film with natural light, and several interesting and intricate techniques, including his now familiar long takes (see Birdman, a cinematic technique also known as the plan-séquence) and tight tracking shots of characters.
Best picture territory? Not sure. I have only seen 4 of the 8 nominations so far. I'll make a prediction on that later in February.
The opening scene reminds me of a 1820s version of the Omaha Beach scene from Saving Private Ryan. Relentless, bloody, visceral, which starts in the calm, take you all the way through the carnage and out the other side. And don't be surprised if you forget to breathe in the middle.
And in the spectrum of bear-attach scenes, this one is right up there. It was SO intense, so in-your-face, that it made me wonder about how it was made. Which is too bad, because I was watching to see how it was done, not watching the scene any more.
It's a long haul through the snowy back country, to get from the bear attack to the relative safety of the fort. And walking a long way in the cold has remarkable restorative effects on broken bones and slashed skin. Did it stretch believability? Just a bit.
Recommend? Yes, but be warned.
So, when you're having a bad day, just consider the day that Hugh Glass had.
This film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu is beautifully and cleverly made. I will not be at all surprised if he wins best director for this piece of work. His cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubizki, shot the whole film with natural light, and several interesting and intricate techniques, including his now familiar long takes (see Birdman, a cinematic technique also known as the plan-séquence) and tight tracking shots of characters.
Best picture territory? Not sure. I have only seen 4 of the 8 nominations so far. I'll make a prediction on that later in February.
The opening scene reminds me of a 1820s version of the Omaha Beach scene from Saving Private Ryan. Relentless, bloody, visceral, which starts in the calm, take you all the way through the carnage and out the other side. And don't be surprised if you forget to breathe in the middle.
And in the spectrum of bear-attach scenes, this one is right up there. It was SO intense, so in-your-face, that it made me wonder about how it was made. Which is too bad, because I was watching to see how it was done, not watching the scene any more.
It's a long haul through the snowy back country, to get from the bear attack to the relative safety of the fort. And walking a long way in the cold has remarkable restorative effects on broken bones and slashed skin. Did it stretch believability? Just a bit.
Recommend? Yes, but be warned.
#7 Selma
Another of the 2014 films that was really good. Set in 1964, the story has a special resonance with me, since this was the year I was born. These things happened in my life time.
I don't remember seeing Martin Luther King on TV; he was assassinated when I was very young. But I've seen replay of the footage that does exist. I would suggest that the portrayal was very good. The actor, and the man, gave impassioned speeches, Moving speeches, that work on the screen very effectively.
The events that took place in Selma, Alabama were terrible. Even watching the reenactment of them in this film wrenches my gut. I'm saddened and appalled that people were, and are, so intolerant of their fellow passengers on the planet.
Great performances by many actors I'm not familiar with. Oprah Winfrey plays a small role, but otherwise, the actors became those characters for me, and inhabited them well. Although Giovanni Ribisi was distracting as the Whitehouse advisor Lee White. I kept seeing the idiot company man from Avatar all the time.
Recommend? Yes
I don't remember seeing Martin Luther King on TV; he was assassinated when I was very young. But I've seen replay of the footage that does exist. I would suggest that the portrayal was very good. The actor, and the man, gave impassioned speeches, Moving speeches, that work on the screen very effectively.
The events that took place in Selma, Alabama were terrible. Even watching the reenactment of them in this film wrenches my gut. I'm saddened and appalled that people were, and are, so intolerant of their fellow passengers on the planet.
Great performances by many actors I'm not familiar with. Oprah Winfrey plays a small role, but otherwise, the actors became those characters for me, and inhabited them well. Although Giovanni Ribisi was distracting as the Whitehouse advisor Lee White. I kept seeing the idiot company man from Avatar all the time.
Recommend? Yes
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