¡Qué horror! 2013

The Wrap-Up (Addendum)

And, on the tail end, a couple of titles that I got to see past the ¡Qué horror! cutoff date of September 30, 2013… 

I’ve been with Whitechapel since Series 1 (to use Brit TVspeak), and while they’ve managed to Scooby-Doo any possibly supernatural goings-on in the past, Series 4 sees the show apparently going whole hog supernatural, with the sinister “Louise Iver” (Falling Angel/Angel Heart’s Louis Cyphre not enough for you, eh?) suggested as the Big Bad, who’s (supposedly) been orchestrating all the show’s murderous shenanigans since the get-go.

I have no idea if this has been the Game Plan from the very start, and for all I know, they could attempt to convolutedly Scooby-Doo all this away in Series 5 anyway… As Steve Pemberton’s Ed Buchan says, despite mounting evidence to the contrary: “She’s not immortal! She’s not the Devil! She’s just a very nasty old lady.”

Still, whatever the possibility of a fifth series may hold (and whatever you may think of this narrative development), the tone and atmosphere of the six episodes of Series 4 is commendable and a lot more effective than any number of recent lackluster horror titles. (Plus, Pemberton wrote a pair of them, so “Hurrah!”)

As for another non-horror title (it truly bugs me that Variety describes it as a “dramedy”; ugh, I hate that word), I present Matt Johnson’s The Dirties, about a pair of aspiring filmmakers incessantly bullied in high school, and what they do in reaction.

Kevin Smith (who’s helped its release through his Kevin Smith Movie Club) has gone on the record by saying it’s “The most important movie you will see all year.”

Now, whatever your personal opinion on Smith is, The Dirties is undeniably a powerful look at the dangers of bullying and how personalities can be warped by simply soaking up media content without understanding what it all actually means.

It’s a fascinating tale presented as a faux doc, with a killer last shot, and a killer end credits sequence (by Josh Schonblum), which also took home the Grand Jury Award for Feature Narrative and the Spirit of Slamdance Award from this year’s Slamdance Film Festival.

And if it hasn’t become fairly obvious from the onesheets, this one takes on school violence head on… Fair warning.

With that, we’re all wrapped up on the 2013 edition of ¡Qué horror!

Once again, have a Happy Halloween!

(Whitechapel Series 4 DVD cover art courtesy of amazon.co.uk; The Dirties OS’ courtesy of impawards.com.)

A Rundown of the 13 (plus) Best Horror Movies I’ve Seen in the Past Year
[4 of 13]

RED STATE
(January 2011)


Given that the last Kevin Smith film I enjoyed without having any major issues with it was Chasing Amy, and still holding out the hope that he could once again win me over, it was with a generous amount of curiosity that I looked forward to checking out Red State, considering that it was also going to be his first “horror movie,” something that appeared to be way out of his comfort zone.

(As evidenced below on the final one-sheet, it is billed as “An Unlikely Film From That Kevin Smith.”)
Of course, by the time I finally got around to having the opportunity to see it, the whole “I’ll sell the distribution rights, oh no, let me buy them instead for a negligible fee” auction thing came and went, and it had also just been announced that the film had taken home the Best Motion Picture award at Sitges 2011, where Michael Parks (who plays cult leader Abin Cooper) was also awarded Best Actor.
Regardless of whether I agree or not with its Sitges Best Motion Picture win, I will say that it’s a very good film, quite possibly the most accomplished one of Smith’s career.*

It’s always been evident that Smith has very strong and pointed opinions about everything from geek culture to religion, a characteristic made even more evident from his appearances outside of his own film work, and while I’ve always been fond of his smaller, more intimate films like his debut feature Clerks and Chasing Amy, in Red State, he delivers a caustic tale of (as the headings under which he divides his cast’s names in the end credits roll indicate) sex, religion, and politics.
The fact that the events of Red State kick off with three horny high school kids just looking for some sex should have put me off this one; I think I’ve mentioned it in these parts before, that I have very little sympathy for film characters who wind up in deep doodoo because of sheer stupidity. Instead, Smith succeeds in drawing me into his film and keeps me there for the duration. Sure these kids are dumb and horny, but what happens to them is simply our way into the story, and it’s a grim, disquieting one.

And not only is Red State the best-looking Smith film I’ve seen (Smith on edits; DP, David Klein, who’s shot most of Smith’s films, including the Reaper pilot), it also sports the best cast Smith has ever assembled, with John Goodman; Kevin Pollak; Oscar, SAG, and Independent Spirit Award winner, Melissa Leo; the Sitges winner, Parks; and Stephen Root.
There are also other familiar faces in this like Kevin Alejandro (as with Root, a True Blood alumnus), Buffy alumnus Marc Blucas, and younger, recognizable actors, like Kyle Gallner and Michael Angarano.
In a fun bit of casting, Smith also ropes in noted casting director Deborah Aquila (instrumental in casting shows like Dexter and The Shield, and films like The Mist, One Hour Photo, and Sex, Lies, and Videotape) for a small role.

If you think Smith is only about raunchy, potty-mouthed comedy, then give Red State a look. It’s mean and nasty, but it certainly proves that Smith can step away from his comfort zone and deliver the goods.


* I have yet to see both Jersey Girl and Cop Out, so, for all I know, either of these films could whup Red State’s a$$ from here to Timbuktu and back.
Or not.

(Red State OS’ courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com and impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2012
Candidate # 3

RED STATE
(January 2011)


Given that the last Kevin Smith film I enjoyed without having any major issues with it was Chasing Amy, and still holding out the hope that he could once again win me over, it was with a generous amount of curiosity that I looked forward to checking out Red State, considering that it was also going to be his first “horror movie,” something that appeared to be way out of his comfort zone. (As evidenced below on the final one-sheet, it is billed as “An Unlikely Film From That Kevin Smith.”)
Of course, by the time I finally got around to having the opportunity to see it, the whole “I’ll sell the distribution rights, oh no, let me buy them instead for a negligible fee” auction thing came and went, and it had also just been announced that the film had taken home the Best Motion Picture award at Sitges 2011, where Michael Parks (who plays cult leader Abin Cooper) was also awarded Best Actor.
Well, not having yet seen some of its other Sitges competition, I can’t really say whether I agree with its Best Motion Picture win, but I will say that it’s a very good film, quite possibly the most accomplished one of Smith’s career.*

It’s always been evident that Smith has very strong and pointed opinions about everything from geek culture to religion, a characteristic made even more evident from his appearances outside of his own film work, and while I’ve always been fond of his smaller, more intimate films like his debut feature Clerks and Chasing Amy, in Red State, he delivers a caustic tale of (as the headings under which he divides his cast’s names in the end credits roll indicate) sex, religion, and politics.
The fact that the events of Red State kick off with three horny high school kids just looking for some sex should have put me off this one; I think I’ve mentioned it in these parts before, that I have very little sympathy for film characters who wind up in deep doodoo because of sheer stupidity. Instead, Smith succeeds in drawing me into his film and keeps me there for the duration. Sure these kids are dumb and horny, but what happens to them is simply our way into the story, and it’s a grim, disquieting one.

And not only is Red State the best-looking Smith film I’ve seen (Smith on edits; DP, David Klein, who’s shot most of Smith’s films, including the Reaper pilot), it also sports the best cast Smith has ever assembled, with John Goodman; Kevin Pollak; Oscar, SAG, and Independent Spirit Award winner, Melissa Leo; the Sitges winner, Parks; and Stephen Root. There are also other familiar faces in this like Kevin Alejandro (as with Root, a True Blood alumnus), Buffy alumnus Marc Blucas, and younger, recognizable actors, like Kyle Gallner and Michael Angarano. In a fun bit of casting, Smith also ropes in noted casting director Deborah Aquila (instrumental in casting shows like Dexter and The Shield, and films like The Mist, One Hour Photo, and Sex, Lies, and Videotape) for a small role.

If you think Smith is only about raunchy, potty-mouthed comedy, then give Red State a look. It’s mean and nasty, but it certainly proves that Smith can step away from his comfort zone and deliver the goods.


* I have yet to see both Jersey Girl and Cop Out, so, for all I know, either of these films could whup Red State’s a$$ from here to Timbuktu and back.
Or not.

(Red State OS’ courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com and impawards.com.)

ZACK AND MIRI
MAKE A PORNO
(Review)

Okay. At this point, I honestly don’t know what to do with Kevin Smith* anymore.
For the record, I love Clerks, and Chasing Amy, I feel, is still his most real and honest film to date. I enjoyed Mallrats and Dogma too, but they both have their own sets of problems.
Now, I passed on Jersey Girl, so for all I know, that could be his hidden masterwork, but to say Clerks II disappointed me would be an understatement of enormous proportions.
At least though, Clerks II had Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes’ Buffalo Bill, and Jeff Anderson’s revelatory moments in the film’s final stretch; right now, I’m hard-pressed to think of anything good that came out of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
The Reaper Pilot wasn’t anything particularly spectacular either.
Which brings us to Zack and Miri Make a Porno.


Now let’s be clear. This one has its moments too, including a surprisingly moving bit orchestrated to Live, and capped off by Blondie. Yup, you can always get me with a good Blondie musical moment.
Zack and Miri is also blessed to have Brandon Routh and Justin Long, who manage to hijack the film and take it to some insanely hilarious places. Sadly they’re confined to only one key sequence, when I actually held out hope that they would somehow be worked into the “making Clerks, but as a porno” stretch of the movie.
As it is, they’re just there long enough to inadvertently flick the light bulb over Seth Rogen’s head, and help give him the idea of shooting a porn to pay the bills.


And I don’t think the problem is Rogen and Elizabeth Banks either, who’s as charming a screen presence as she always is. As longtime friends Zack Brown and Miriam Linky, the duo makes the most of the central situation the film revolves around.
When the time comes for the emotional games that result from certain narrative eventualities though, they’re beats we’ve definitely seen before.
There’s also an odd sort of compression that goes on where before you know it, we’re suddenly at that point in the script where the tension catalyzes, and then, just as quickly, we’re at the film’s climax.
Sadly, I’m left with the impression that most of the film’s running time is made up of awkward moments where the humour just doesn’t pop. (And the scatological bits really don’t help, either.)
The script is so anemic, compared to either Clerks’ or Chasing Amy’s, that when we hit the gooey and mushy centre of this apparently hard and raunchy piece of candy, the sentiments ring damnably hollow.
Not even the Monroeville setting, Smith stalwarts Anderson and Jason Mewes, nor brief appearances by make-up master Tom Savini—geddtit? Monroeville?!—and Tyler Labine (from Invasion and Reaper)… nay, not even Traci Lords, can save the ship, which just seems to coast, rudderless (Dutch, or otherwise), through middling comedic territory, complete with montage featuring “funny/goofy” dance moves.
You know the one.


I had high hopes for this one, and I went into it really wanting to like it.
Maybe if it had been Zack and Miri and Bobby and Brandon Make a Porno, this might have been an entirely different review, but as it is…
Tell you what: I’ll head back to my cave and give my Clerks DVD a spin, while I await Smith’s horror movie, Red State, which sounds genuinely interesting, given all that he’s said about it.
First though, it appears he’s about to go all Hollywood big budget buddy cop—are we still in the ‘80’s and someone just forgot to send me the memo?—on I-won’t-be-surprised-at-all-if-it-gets-retitled A Couple of Dicks, with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan…
Which is something, honestly, I have no idea what to do with either.
If I can’t have Red State yet, maybe Smith should just work with Routh and Long again on something truly hilarious.
Maybe then we can start talking.


* The Kevin Smith who writes and directs films, that is. Not the one who acts, or writes comic books.
Those are different discussions entirely.

(Zack and Miri Make a Porno OS courtesy of aintitcool.com; images courtesy of about.com.)

AFTERTHOUGHTS (68)
SUPERMAN FOUND!

The Search For Superman Committee has made its choice, and the official Man of Steel for Metropolis, Illinois’ 2008 Superman Celebration is…
Josh Boultinghouse!
Congratulations, Josh! (You can find out more about Josh here.)
Josh officially debuts as the 2008 Metropolis Superman at the ribbon cutting ceremony which opens this year’s Superman Celebration, on June 12. (For other details, go to the Metropolis Tourism website.)

(All images: Josh Boultinghouse)

SOUTHLAND TALES
(Review)

“I wanna shine on in the hearts of men,
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand…”
-- The Killers
“All These Things That I’ve Done”

When I first laid eyes on Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko just as were entering this brave new millennium, the damned thing simply blew me away; it was a fantastic movie that had brains and a heart, it sported the most excellent Mary McDonnell, featured Jena Malone and October Sky’s Jake Gyllenhaal, and introduced me to his sister, Maggie.
As the dust settled around me, the facts sunk in: not only did Kelly apparently have a keen eye for casting, he was also clearly a vital, imaginative force to be reckoned with and a name to watch out for.
So it was with some excitement that I greeted the news of his follow-up, Southland Tales. Yes, I was a tad dubious; among the cast were names like Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock), Sarah Michelle Gellar (a.k.a. Buffy), and Justin Timberlake (a.k.a. That Dude From That Boy Band).
But this was Richard Kelly, so I took a deep mental breath, and trusted him.
As it turned out, I had quite the wait before Southland Tales finally saw the light of day.
Though the 163-minute cut that screened at Cannes in 2006 was met with some derision, it was subsequently picked up by Sony, on the condition that Kelly return to the editing room for some celluloid surgery.
Now, two years later—and twenty or so minutes less—and Southland Tales is finally with us.

Southland Tales is a sprawling apocalyptic epic set in 2008, on the eve of the Presidential elections, in a totalitarian, post-nuclear attack United States exploring alternative energy sources in light of the Middle Eastern conflict. The ambitious, tentacular narrative follows a diverse band of characters—which include an apparently amnesiac movie star (Johnson), a porn star poised for a complete career make-over (Gellar), and a host of Venice Beach-based Neo-Marxist revolutionaries (played by everyone from Christopher Lambert to SNL alumnae Nora Dunn and Amy Poehler)—all struggling to either topple the government, or maintain the status quo.
And while all that socio-political jockeying is going on, the fate of the cosmos lies in the balance…

If you’ve seen Donnie Darko (and if you haven’t, you really ought to), you’ll know that Kelly loves the heady stuff.
Well, Southland Tales certainly delivers on that score. One could, in fact, argue that there is perhaps, too much of the heady stuff. From time travel to T.S. Eliot to the fourth dimension to a perpetual motion drug called Fluid Karma, there is a blazing surplus of cerebral concepts that are certainly not the staple of your average Hollywood movie. Throw in a healthy dose of New Testament Revelations, as delivered to us courtesy of Timberlake (as movie star/disfigured Iraq war vet, Pilot Abilene), who supplies the film’s narration, and a dance number involving Johnson, Gellar, and co-star Mandy Moore, and this one gets truly, truly wild. This is the drugged-out master's thesis to Donnie Darko’s high school explorations of wormholes and time travel.
Little wonder then, the long delay Southland Tales experienced.

What surprised me though was, no matter how bizarre and convoluted things get in Southland Tales (and they do get noodly, believe me), Kelly always manages to smack me with some amazingly moving bits, sometimes when I least expect it, other times when the emotion is enough to help me get past a bit where my brain isn’t sharp and quick enough to process the narrative tics as they’re unfolding.
Among those amazingly moving bits: Timberlake lip-synching to The Killers’ “All These Things That I’ve Done,” and Rebekah Del Rio (who also appeared in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive) singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Again, if you’ve seen Donnie Darko, you’ll know that Kelly has a flair for the Musical Moment, and though the song choices here are arguably not as strong as those in Darko, Kelly more than makes up for it by roping in Moby for the film score. I honestly think Moby’s music had a lot to do with grounding the loopy on-screen action in a potent emotional context.

But what could very well be the best hook Southland Tales has is its truly insane cast, which also includes Seann William Scott, Miranda Richardson, Kevin Smith, Zelda Rubinstein, Bai Ling, Wallace Shawn, Curtis Armstrong, Donnie Darko alums Holmes Osborne and Beth Grant, and Jon Lovitz. Sadly, Janeane Garofalo’s General Teena MacArthur is virtually cut from the proceedings, though you will see her once or twice as the film winds down.
And if you don’t blink, you’ll see Eli Roth die on the crapper…
It’s also a noteworthy thing that though the ultimate effectiveness of the performances of both Johnson and Gellar are up for debate, they do gamely toy with—and in some instances, skewer—their very own celebrity. (And I’d like to think that’s precisely the reason Kelly cast them in the film.)

In the end, I can safely say, I love Southland Tales. Not as much as I love Donnie Darko, mind you, but I love Kelly’s sophomore effort just the same.
It’s messy and strange and moving, and I may not be able to explain to you exactly what’s going on (particularly in the film’s climax), but it’s a fun, revelatory ride that makes the end of the world look like a party you wouldn’t want to miss.
Yeah, I had a nice apocalypse.
I hope you have one too.

“Over and in, last call for sin,
While everyone’s lost, the battle is won,
With all these things that I’ve done,
All these things that I’ve done…”
-- The Killers
“All These Things That I’ve Done”

Parting shot: Kelly has indicated that he has intentions of releasing a longer cut of Southland Tales (as he did with Donnie Darko) on DVD. Hopefully it’ll be the original 163-minute Cannes cut.
A prequel saga to Southland Tales is also available in comic book form. (And it appears that what’s contained in them could shed some light on the more bizarre—and apparently inexplicable—bits in the film.)
Meanwhile, Kelly’s working on his third movie, The Box. Based on the Richard Matheson short story, “Button, Button,” this one features Cameron Diaz, and Superman Returns co-stars James Marsden and Frank Langella.
Of The Box, Kelly had this to say: “[It] is still in my crazy wheel house, but I’m deliberately trying to see if I can make a film that is very easy for a studio to release on 3,000 screens at once, as opposed to platforming it and waiting to see how the public digests it.”
Looking forward to that one…

(Southland Tales OS courtesy of impawards.com; UK quad courtesy of empireonline.com.)

TV WATCH 2007 (2)
REAPER Pilot

Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison; Grounded For Life and The Loop) is having his 21st birthday, and it’s turning out to be a strange one. Dogs are chasing him, he’s suddenly become telekinetic, and the Devil (genre icon Ray Wise) tried to carjack him.
Well, no, not really. The Devil couldn’t care less about Sam’s ride.
Actually, the Devil shows up in Sam’s life to tell him that even before he was born, his parents sold the soul of their firstborn to the Devil to save Sam’s father’s life. And Sam, being the Olivers’ firstborn, is now indentured to the Devil as the Prince of Darkness’ bounty hunter, whose task on the earthly realm is to hunt down and capture escapees from Hell.
Not bad for a 21st birthday gift.

The biggest draw for me to check out Reaper was to see whether Kevin Smith (who directed the Pilot) had managed to put together something that I might actually enjoy. (The last Smith film that agreed with me was Dogma, which was quite awhile back.)
And on that score, Reaper passes muster. Undoubtedly helped by the writing team of Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas (who’ve written for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Ed), Smith pulls this one off, his triumph being more notable considering this is also an effects-heavy piece, which isn’t normally Smith’s style.

He also manages his cast well, getting some good performances from Harrison and Tyler Labine (who was excellent in the sadly cancelled Invasion) as Bert “Sock” Wysocki, Sam’s partner-in-crime. And Wise clearly appears to be having a lot of fun as Old Scratch.
What’s interesting to note though is that Nikki Reed (who originally played Andi, Sam’s co-worker and erstwhile love interest at The Work Bench) is being replaced with Missy Peregrym (Candice from Heroes). I’m not entirely certain what the reason for the change is, and considering that Reed (who may be remembered by The O.C. viewers as Sadie Campbell) wasn’t horrible in the role, strikes me as a strange casting decision.

Whatever the case though, Reaper is a fun romp, and if it can avoid the pitfalls of becoming an episodic “demonic escapee of the week” show, it may lead to some interesting places.
I also hope the show can explore how something that may appear negative (working for the Man is one thing; working for the Devil… well…) can have positive effects. In the Pilot, they successfully argue how Sam is actually doing a good thing ‘cause he’s putting bad guys away, but down the road, I’d like to see Sam transform from the slacker he is to a motivated individual who sees his calling as far more important than himself.
Now whether they can do that and still keep things funny, I don’t know, but I think it would be good if they tried. Otherwise, the show will reek too much of sitcom.

(Images courtesy of about.com and nymag.com.)