Nightcrawler (2014)

One of my favorite films of 2014, it’s a true neo-noir masterpiece. The film isn’t afraid to go against the mainstream film conventions and will leave you horrified, yet oddly intrigued. The music and visuals are superb, similar to Michael Mann’s work. Also, it serves as a dark critique of the news media and features Jake Gyllenhaal at his best playing one of the most memorable cinematic sociopaths of recent memory.

Gyllenhall plays Louis Bloom, a true loner & criminal who makes his living in LA by stealing valuable items and negotiating what he sees is a fair price to the buyer. He becomes morbidly intrigued by the accidents and crime in LA and begins shooting footage of them to sell to a local news station, effectively becoming a stringer. His skills and work attract the attention of the station’s morning news director, Nina Romina (Rene Russo). He also hires on an assistant, Rick (Riz Ahmed), a young man who’s financially desperate and struggles to keep himself on the same wavelength as Louis. As Louis advances his way towards a genuine career, the morality and ethics of his actions leave us feeling disgusted and questionable of the news media as a whole.

This film is a truly remarkable dark character study. You find yourself relating to Louis if you consider yourself an outsider or detached from humanity like he is. He’s a smart guy no doubt, but isn’t quite able to fit in with normal society. It’s through being a video stringer (aka “nightcrawler”) does he discover that he has a true opportunity to establish a career. It’s perfectly fitting for him because he’s so detached from humanity and lacking in emotion that he sees each horrific scene or accident as merely a transaction or a sale. He’s also very manipulative and stubborn in terms of his business conduct; he wants all negotiations to be in his favor and uses any leverage he can to get what he wants. When Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), a rival video stinger proves to be tough competition, he’s not above resorting to sabotage. Towards the end when Rick really begins to question and defy him, Louis shows his true colors. Rick is easily the most likeable character in the film and represents the “common person”, someone who’s just not cut out for such a grueling and unsettling profession.

Also, it’s fascinating to see Louis try to develop a romantic relationship with Nina. His inability to realize that threatening a womab won’t win your way into her heart gives him that dark edge. Nina herself isn’t a righteous character and represents the news media in a very dark manner. She sees the horrific and graphic footage Louis shoots and sells her as merely an opportunity to give her station an advantage rating’s wise. Her approval of the home invasion footage in particular leaves you feeling uneasy and cynical. Louis sitting on the footage, especially that parts that he could have (and should have) turned over to the police really demonstrates his lack of empathy.

It’s great and different to see a recent film with such an intriguing and reprehensible protagonist. Director & writer Dan Gilroy isn’t afraid to take us on a dark cinematic journey and portray the news media in a negative light, leaving you cynical and questionable of it. It just as well leaves you thinking that maybe you do need to be detached from humanity like Louis to be a “nightcrawler”.

The Hidden (1987)

A perfect mash up of horror, sci-fi, action, this film is so fun & action packed. It’s a true 80’s gem that demands a viewing. Roger Ebert described it as: “A cross between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Terminator,” which is an accurate statement I think.

The film’s essentially a creative reworking of the buddy cop formula that was popular in the 80’s. The premise is really cool and involves an alien parasite in LA body hopping and committing violent crimes with each new human host it infects. Our two main protagonists are:  Beck, a human cop (Michael Nouri) and Gallagher, an alien posing as an FBI agent (Kyle MacLachlan). They have to work together to stop the alien menace and learn more about each other in the process. Both protagonists are well developed and bond quite well over the course of the film despite some ahem, “differences”. They manage to keep Gallagher’s true alien identity a secret for a good chunk of the film and let it slowly come to light through his quirks and odd behavior. For example, his awkward behavior when invited over to Beck’s house for dinner hints that he might just be too odd for this world. The conflict that develops between the two is inevitable because Gallagher has all the knowledge and his own motivations, but how can he explain it and expect Beck to understand and believe him? There’s a real sense of urgency and exhilaration with each new human the evil alien parasite infects because it too has its own sinister intentions. You find yourself having so much fun watching and hope that the two protagonists succeed.

Thanks to taut directing from Jack Sholder, a great script, and great performances from the two leads, the film works. It’s a perfect mash up of genres with the right touch of humor and is entertaining for its entire running time. Also, you can’t get more 80’s with its awesome soundtrack!

Clownhouse (1989)

Don’t watch this back to back with It (1990) unless you want to be terrified of clowns for the rest of your life! It’s no classic, but it’s a fun, obscure horror flick with great atmosphere.

The film follows three brothers, Casey (Nathan Forrest Winters), Geoff (Brian McHugh), and Randy (Sam Rockwell) who are stalked and menaced by three escaped mental patients who have taken on the identities of clowns they killed at the town circus. Seeing as how it’s a film about brothers, there’s constant arguing and bickering between them and some interesting sibling dynamics. Rockwell in his film debut is an asshole as the oldest brother and plays it so well. He’s especially mean to his youngest brother Casey, who happens to be terrified of clowns. Geoff is the middle brother and is more kind to and protective of Casey. The film becomes a lot of fun once the clowns really start to menace the brothers in their house. The house itself is rather creepy and very spacious, allowing for some genuine scares.

Overall, it’s a solid horror film that makes the most of its premise. Unfortunately, there was controversy surrounding the film when it was discovered the director, Victor Salva was sexually abusing actor Nathan Forrest Winters during filming. This has no doubt given the film a bad reputation and made it fall into obscurity. If you can look past that however, you just might enjoy it.

Jaws Series

Now that summer is upon us, it’s the perfect time to watch the Jaws films…at least the first two. Unfortunately, this is a series where each sequel decreases in quality. Here are my thoughts (potential spoilers ahead):

Jaws (1975)

It remains the best killer shark film after 40 years and the release of countless other killer shark films. Despite the trouble production, it ended up being a commercial and critical success and is often considered to be the first summer blockbuster. It’s flawless and remains Steven Spielberg’s best film to date as well. The basic premise: A killer shark terrorizes the beachfront of Amity Island and a trio of men set out to stop it. It’s s the kind of premise that provides a lot of fun and thrills. The use of John Williams’s suspenseful score and keeping the appearance of the shark to a minimum is what makes the film work. For instance: That opening scene with the girl being pulled underwater by the shark, talk about bone chilling. The three principal actors, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss are all excellent. Scheider plays the town’s police chief, Chief Brody, who’s the common man type we can all relate to. We sympathize with his struggle to do the right thing and close the beach, only to be told to do the opposite by the Amity Island’s mayor (Murray Hamilton) because it will hurt the “tourism”. Only when Brody’s son narrowly avoids becoming lunch for the shark does the mayor come to his senses. Dreyfuss is great as Hooper, the marine biologist who specializes in the study of sharks. He’s smart, snarky and very convincing in the role. Shaw is the standout as Quint, the deranged but oddly alluring shark hunter. The contrast between him and Hooper is amusing and gives them an interesting relationship character wise. The whole last act with the trio hunting the shark is just perfect. They’re out matched and we’re left at the edge of our seats the entire time wondering if they’re going to succeed. Quint telling the war story about the killer sharks that attacked his unit when they were trapped at sea also sets an eerie and bleak tone for the shark’s final attack. While Brody doesn’t dispose of the shark in the most realistic way possible at the end, it’s still awesome and that one liner is classic!

Jaws II (1978)

Sure Jaws wasn’t in need of a sequel, but this is better than a lot are willing to give it credit for. Is it on the same level as the first? No, but it has the fun factor going for it and also features an intense and awesome climax. Roy Scheider also returns as Chief Brody and doesn’t just phone it in; he gives it his all. They don’t really explain how the shark survived what was a clear death at the end of the first film, but at least it’s made to appear like it’s been through quite a scuffle by giving the shark model scars. It basically does what it does in the first film and kills off various Amity Island folks. Brody is the only one who believes the shark is back and struggles to get the city council to believe him. There’s proper screen time given to develop his son, Mike (Mark Gruner), and we can sympathize with the conflict he faces: He wants to live it up during the summer, but his dad insists that he get a job, which means he will not be able to live it up. Mike defying his father’s words and going out sailing with his friends makes for a believable and high tense finale. The method Brody uses to dispose of the shark once against seems implausible, but it’s just so awesome that you can give it a pass.

Jaws 3-D (1983)

Yep, this is in 3D like the title suggests because was released during the height of the craze in the 80’s. Unfortunately, the 3D hasn’t aged well (or just wasn’t good in the first place) and it looks terrible on the DVD release. That aside, the film is rather lackluster. It’s not horrible, but is lacking none the less. In this sequel, a great white shark gets trapped in a Sea World theme park and Mike Brody (Dennis Quad) must do what he can to stop it. The main problem with the film is that it’s missing the fun factor and tension that the previous two Jaws films had. A shark terrorizing a water theme park like Sea World could’ve made for a fun film, but it just wasn’t executed well. Instead, it’s cheesy and for the most part, dull.

Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

This one has quite the reputation. It’s often considered to be one of the worst sequels of all time. While I think that claim is exaggerated, I can’t say I’m a fan either. It’s still bad and watching it, it’s pretty obvious they had run out of ideas (good ideas, anyway). This time around, a killer shark that’s related to the shark from the first two Jaws films seeks revenge against the Brody family and manages to follow them all the way down to the Bahamas. That’s totally believable, right? Also, Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gray) has a psychic connection with the shark for reasons unknown and unexplained. At the request of her son, Michael (Lance Guest), she comes down to the Bahamas with him and his family where he is conducting some kind of research in the ocean. She also finds a new love interest, Hoagie (Michael Caine), an airplane pilot. Caine’s a great actor and I’ve always been a big fan, but he feels out of place in the film. You just feel like you’re missing Roy Scheider all the more. The worst part of the film is easily the ending where the shark effects are terrible, the shark roars (no joke, it does), and the shark is killed off in a ridiculous manner. It’s for the best that they didn’t make any further sequels after this film feeling forced and devoid of creativity.

Back to the Future Trilogy

When it comes to trilogies, they don’t get more entertaining than this. Every entry is both charming and fun. It’s a comedic take on time travel, a common science fiction trope. We follow Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), the creator/inventor of the time traveling DeLorean and his teenage companion, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as they struggle with the negative consequences of time travel and attempt to restore order to the space time continuum all throughout the trilogy. It’s quite an adventure and here are my brief thoughts on it:

Back to the Future (1985)

The first film in the trilogy and it remains the best. We’re given a great introduction to Marty and his family. He and his siblings are held down by their underachieving and wimpy father, George (Cripsin Glover) and their strict and overbearing mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson). You feel sorry for them, especially Marty, who actually has ambitions. Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) also proves to be quite the bully to George both in 1985 and back in 1955. He’s the quintessential film bully thanks to Wilson’s top notch acting. Christopher Lloyd is at his best as the goofy and quirky Doc Brown. This is the role he was born to play. After the initial test of the time machine is sabotaged by terrorists (thanks to Doc Brown conning them), Marty ends up stuck back in 1955, and that’s when the film becomes a lot of fun. The film captures the look of the 50’s quite well thanks to great set design and wardrobe. Due to not being aware of the consequences of his interactions, Marty screws up the timeline by not allowing his mom and dad to meet and fall in love the way they were supposed to and he must correct it with the help of a younger Doc Brown or else he’ll cease to exist! What’s so great about the film is that it handles it with just the right balance of humor and seriousness. Lorraine falling in love with Marty is creepy when you really think about it, but they approach it in a humorous way so it doesn’t necessarily feel creepy. It’s also satisfying to see George change from being a wimp to a man able to stand up for himself and win the love and affection of Lorraine. The ending does a great job of setting up the sequel too.

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

It’s almost as brilliant as the first, but not quite. Doc Brown and Marty actually go into the future this time to prevent Marty’s son from getting himself thrown into jail. It’s none other than Biff’s grandson, Griff (played again by Thomas F. Wilson) who’s responsible. Marty yet again screws up the space-time continuum when he buys a sports almanac in the future for the purpose of financial gain. When it falls into the hands of an old Biff and he’s able to sneak away to the past via the DeLorean, an alternate, scummy 1985 is created. The film once again explores the negative consequences of time travel and does so with a sense of humor and urgency. The film also skips around a lot which is cool, although it feels like it’s trying to do a little too much. It’s essentially three parts: the future, 2015, the present, the alternate 1985, and the past, 1955. It also happens to be the only film in the series that gives us a glimpse into the actual future, the year 2015. Sure, it might not have predicted the future perfectly (still no flying cars or reliable, working hoverboards yet), but it’s just a film, m’kay? The second part in the alternate 1985 is cool to see, even though it’s dark and a little depressing. Doc Brown explains all the possible paradoxes and changes in the timeline that have occurred in layman terms, so it’s not lost on the viewer. The third part with the Doc and Marty going back to 1955 to retrieve the sport’s almanac is what really makes the film. It’s so tense and funny to see them trying to avoid running into themselves and avoid screwing up what they did in the first film. It’s also great that it expands on Marty’s character flaw of feeling the need to do stupid, risky things just because people say he’s a “chicken” for not doing them. Fox is also believable playing multiple roles mainly due to some great makeup. The cliffhanger ending with Marty running into the 1955 Doc Brown saying he’s back from the future (and looking to travel back to 1885 to save the present day Doc Brown) is just perfect.

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Not as stellar as the first two, but still has the fun factor going for it. It picks up right where the second left off with Marty going back to 1885 to rescue the Doc. What’s cool about the film is that it’s basically a sci-fi western and features all the conventions that are typical of the genre. Marty using “Clint Eastwood” as his name is both funny and a nice homage to Eastwood’s early spaghetti westerns. Thomas F. Wilson returns once again to play the outlaw “Mad Dog” Tannen, showing that the Tannen’s have always been trouble for the McFly’s. The duel between him and Marty towards the end is funny and a great spoof of the classic duel scene from A Fistful of Dollars (1964). The main highlight of the film is the romance that develops between Doc Brown and Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen). It’s satisfying to see the Doc find someone, but also unfortunate that she happens to be from another period in time. This causes conflict, but in the end, the Doc decides to stay with her in 1885 and create a new life for himself. Everything also ends up well with Marty and his girlfriend because Marty finally learns that it’s foolish to risk putting himself in a terrible situation just because somebody calls him “chicken”. The end also happens to feature one of Doc Brown’s best remembered quotes: “Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one, both of you.” Well-spoken and inspirational words to end one hell of a crazy ride for Marty and us viewers.

Blue Ruin (2013)

Jeremy Saulnier’s sophomore effort just so happens to be one of the best revenge thrillers of recent years. This guy really came out of nowhere and has a great career ahead of him! As with Murder Party (2007), it's low budget (was successfully crowdfunded!), and a competently made film. It takes a grounded, serious approach to its subject matter, which is all for the best.

The film follows Dwight Evans (Macon Blair), a quiet vagrant who lives out of his car. When he’s informed by police that the killer of his parents, Wade Cleland is being released from prison, he returns to his hometown in Virginia to seek revenge. He kills Wade and must face the grim consequences of his actions when the rest of the Cleland family seeks revenge of their own.

What’s great about the film is the harsh reality of revenge it depicts. Dwight’s motivations for wanting revenge are understandable and he’s initially depicted as a guy who has nothing to lose, but he finds himself completely unprepared and makes crucial mistakes when murdering Wade. The consequences affect not only him, but his sister, Sam (Amy Hargreaves), and her two daughters, whom he must send away in order to protect them. The fact that the police aren’t present in the film other than to inform Dwight of Wade’s release is terrifying and makes for a more tense film. The scene in particular where Wade’s surviving brother’s break into Sam’s house is brilliant and shows that the rules no longer apply when seeking retribution. Dwight finds himself suffering both physically and mentally from the consequences of his actions and we as viewers feel just as uncertain and uneasy as he does by everything that’s happening.

As for the cinematography, it’s flawless and demonstrates Saulnier’s previous background as a cinematographer. The acting, especially from Macon Blair is also top notch. He’s very believable in his role as Dwight and one can’t help but sympathize with him even though he sets the grim events into motion. The only “big” actor in the film happens to be Devin Ratray (Buzz from the Home Alone flicks!) as Ben, an old friend of Dwight’s who assists him despite knowing better. I say the lack of big names or experienced talent works in the film’s favor because it demonstrates that they aren’t a necessity to make a great film. The music also fits the mood of the film, especially the song that plays over the end credits.

In this day and age when a lot of revenge films are basically overblown and over the top action films, it’s great that a film like this comes along and gives them more credibility. Its focus on character and story first is what makes it a brilliant film.

Jurassic Park Series Ranked

This summer marks the release of Jurassic World, a sequel in a franchise thought to be ahem, “extinct” for 14 years. Here’s how I rank them from favorite to least favorite (potential spoilers ahead!):

Jurassic Park (1993)

A whole generation of kids grew up with this flick and I was part of it. It was the film that made dinosaurs cool after all. I’ve watched it more times than I can count and it never ceases to entertain me. It’s the perfect summer blockbuster: It has phenomenal special effects (courtesy of the late, great Stan Winston), great characters, a great story, and is all around fun. The film and novel are essentially a reworking of Michael Crichton’s previous film, Westworld (1973), which focused on the risk and negative consequences of man using science and technology to become creators, or “god” in a sense. In that film, it was androids they created as the park’s attraction and in this film, dinosaurs. As Dr. Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum) points out, life finds a way, and chaos erupts. Once things start to go wrong, it’s a tense and fun ride for the rest of the film. When that T-Rex first appears on screen, talk about a great cinematic moment. Overall, it’s a high point in Steven Spielberg’s career and it’s held up remarkably well over 20 years later.

Jurassic World (2015)

It took 22 years, and we finally got one hell of an awesome, worthwhile sequel. You can ignore 2 & 3 because this film doesn’t acknowledge them and feels like a straight follow up to the first. It manages to recapture the awe and excitement of the first while expanding upon the theme park concept. This time we see the park up and running and when the company in charge decides to create a new super dinosaur, disaster inevitably ensues. There’s a lot more comedy in this one than the previous installments, and it doesn’t feel forced thanks to some great writing. The cast is great too, Chris Pratt especially as Owen Grady, the protagonist who trains raptors. He’s quite the badass! Vincent D’Onofrio is also a standout as Vic Hoskins, the ominous head of security for InGen. He’s phenomenal at playing bad guys and is just a great, under-appreciated actor in general. Jake Johnson is also great comic relief as Lowery, the tech operator of the park. There are some great nods to the first film too and the climactic battle between the super dinosaur and the T-Rex certainly makes it worth the price of admission.

The Lost World Jurassic Park (1997)

I really enjoyed this as a kid, but not as much as I’ve gotten older. It’s a disappointing follow up that has its flaws, but it’s not terrible. For the most part it’s entertaining, but has pacing issues, especially in the second half of the film. The last chunk in San Diego in particular just seems to pad out the run time. It also doesn’t really make any sense how the crew of the ship transporting the T-Rex got devoured. Did the T-Rex do it? If so, how the hell was that possible? It’s a plot hole and if you spend too much time thinking of a logical explanation for it, you’ll give yourself a headache. Another flaw is that it has a bunch of dumb characters that are only in it just to be picked off by the raptors or T-Rex. And speaking of the raptors, that whole gymnastics move Malcolm’s daughter uses to kill one of them…pretty dumb. The film can also be a little over preachy with its message of “corporations are evil and unethical”. Jeff Goldblum returning as Ian Malcolm is the highlight of the film as is Pete Postlethwaite as Roland, a big game hunter out to hunt the T-Rex.

Jurassic Park III (2001)

A lot were excited this one back in the summer of 2001 — I sure was. Unfortunately, we got a poorly written sequel that was even more of a disappointment than The Lost World. It’s not boring or super long (only clocks in at about 90 minutes), but we deserved better. Sam Neil returns again as Dr. Alan Grant to help the Kirby’s, a divorced couple played by William H. Macy and Tea Leoni find their son who’s lost on Isla Sorna, the island of dinosaurs from the previous film. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize the island Dr. Grant was on was actually Isla Nublar. That’s just one of the many reasons why the film’s dumb. What’s really the main disappointment about the film is that it doesn’t have that same sense of awe or excitement; it’s pretty much everything we’ve seen already from the two previous films. Sam Neil returning is a nice touch, even if he only did it for the paycheck. His love interest from the first, Dr. Ellie Sattler, played by Laura Dern also returns, but is married to some other dude? The fuck was up with that? And that dream sequence Dr. Grant has on the plane with the raptor, it’s just…ugh!

Murder Party (2007)

A low budget horror comedy film that’s set on Halloween (is there any better time of year to set a horror film?), that also happens to be a real gem. Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, it’s a clever mix of horror and comedy with a butt ton of Halloween imagery and critiques the pretentious urban artists and hipster types.

The film opens with various shots of Halloween decorations, jack-o-lanterns, and trick or treaters to establish the atmosphere and setting. We’re then introduced to our main character, Christopher (Chris Sharp), a lonely man who works for the NYPD and gives people parking tickets. He doesn’t live a very exciting life and by chance, he stumbles upon an invitation to a “Murder Party” on the street. Instead of spending Halloween night staying in and watching horror flicks with his cat, he decides to attend the party. He constructs a shitty knight costume out of cardboard & duct tape, bakes a loaf of pumpkin bread (with non-organic raisins), and ventures out to attend the party. Once he arrives, he’s horrified to discover that the hosts of the party, pretentious art students intend to murder him for the sake of art by doing so in a profound way.

What makes the film so great is that the art students take themselves too seriously; we as viewers can’t help but find it humorous. They’re condescending towards Christopher and consider themselves to be “important artists” and aren’t above criticizing and mocking each other. Alexander (Alex Barnett) is the leader and happens to be the biggest self-absorbed douche of all. The rest of the group includes: Macon (Macon Blair), dressed as a werewolf, Lexi (Stacy Rock), dressed as the Darryl Hannah replicant from Blade Runner, Sky (Skei Saulnier), dressed as a female zombie cheerleader, Paul (Paul Goldblatt), dressed as goth/vampire, and Bill (William Lacey), dressed as Baseball Fury from The Warriors. Alexander also brings his friend, Zycho (Bill Tangrandi), a drug dealer who loves fish and chips just because he does. As the film progresses, their insecurities get the better of them and when some dark & comedic mishaps occur, the film to really lives up to its title.

Also, you can’t help but feel bad for Christopher as he witnesses the horror. You’re rooting for him to survive the whole ordeal, a tense and bloody climatic chase scene in particular. He just wanted to get out for once and have a little fun and unfortunately for him, he ended up attending the wrong party. The moral of the film: If you happen to stumble upon an invite to a mysterious party, just ignore it, stay home and watch some damn horror flicks instead!

Overall, it’s a fun low budget horror comedy film with excellent cinematography and surprisingly great acting. I highly recommend it if you’re looking to watch a film that’s set on Halloween.