A History of Violence

A History of Violence (2005): Many will tell you that history is written by the victors. I think the victors missed this one because the screenplay seems to have been written by a bunch of losers and that is what you will turn out to be if you watch this over-hyped ‘A’ list movie that was loved by most of the main stream critics. The movie stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall, a mild-mannered owner of a mild-mannered restaurant in a mild-mannered town. He becomes the local hero when he dispatches with great efficiency, two killers who invade his restaurant and threaten everyone with rape and pillage. The media descend on the town, his house and his restaurant for all those human interest story angles. It turns out, he is a crack shot and a Kung—fuifier as well, as he dismantled the two armed men with several moves Jackie Chan would be proud to call his own. Now this is a David Cronenberg movie so you will see many detailed graphic injuries and old Viggo tends to terminate people with lots of spillage throughout the film. Then the really bad guys from Philadelphia show up.

People in this movie just don’t behave like people do. Viggo may have a past where he was a crazy vicious murderer and the bad boys from Philly are looking for a little catch up in the injury department. However, we never get any idea of how or why he made the transition other than the local ‘family’ was out to get him. His loving wife becomes nauseous and irrational after learning she might have married under false pretenses. It was hard to tell if her character was overreacting or if the actress (Maria Bello) was just over acting. They have been together for over 15 years since their son is in high school so you would think she would have been used to his eccentricities by now. Their son is a shy, non-confrontational type who must have Viggo’s genes because he eventually flattens two bullies in a similar fashion to dear old dad’s methods. His preschool daughter is ugly enough to be played by a 35 year old midget in a fright wig and couldn’t have been related genetically to either parent.

There are many more holes in the movie’s logic (as well as in the cast) such as; he became a celebrity after his first two kills but when he dispatches the three bad boys from Philly on his front lawn, no one seems to take notice save for the sheriff. Then there is his brother (William Hurt) who also wants him dead. Old Viggo must have been a real charmer in his younger days which also begs the question, how did he become so square for so long if he was so bad earlier. After his brother’s goons fail to garrote Viggo on the first try at the brother’s home in Philly, Hurt starts kicking the wounded thug who failed to off Viggo rather than chase after the source of all his problems. He then shoots the thug in an angry rage that was so over the top it was the high point of the comedic portion of the movie. The movie ends with Viggo returning home (after offing just about everyone in Philly) where the family is eating dinner and one is given the idea that all will be well since his son hands him the platter of meat loaf when he sits down at the table and we get a fade to black. I might have passed out at this point but I think this is where the movie ended. The movie is rated R for: graphic violence, multiple exit wounds, buns de Viggo, gratuitous pubic hair, hot marital sex, mashed noses, smushed throats, and for the large amounts of blood spray from bullet wounds.

Sin City

Sin City (2005): I have never been able to really enjoy most movies based on comic books. They tend to be thin on story and short on character but usually have lots of semi-meaningful special effects. Sin City goes beyond most comic book movies by trying to enhance the ‘comic-ness’ of the movie rather than minimize the comic book look. Shot almost entirely using green screen projections, this multiple storied flick from director Robert Rodriguez (Dusk to Dawn, El Mariachi) hits the mark by making you feel you are actually in a comic book. The background is almost always in stark black and white giving the feel of the original graphic novels on which they are based with minimal use of color. You have to watch closely because some of it is subtle such as a character’s eyes turning a color as they are focused on by the camera.

Populated by an excellent cast including Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen and Rosario Dawson to name but a few, the movie is somewhat typical for pulp type comic stories. Heroes can absorb about 20 bullets and still live to tell about it (just barely), the bad guys are really evil and everything in the movie is noirish and grimy. The stories are quite unlikely but are about sacrifice and doing the right thing in the face of insurmountable odds. The heroes are a mixed bunch, one a retiring honest cop, another, a marginally legal fellow who hangs about with the professional ladies and the last is a semi-delusional near homicidal maniac trying to solve the murder of the 1st lady to be nice to him. With lots of action and lengthy narration, this translates from the graphic novel to a movie better than anything I’ve seen. Be prepared to enter a world designed to interest the male adolescent before video games took over their minds. The deluxe DVD comes with a copy of the comic novel. The movie is rated R for: nakidity, rampant torture, excessive nad removals, one very hot parole officer, massive bullet wounds, multiple breastulations, multiple murders, massive mayhem, multiple madams, multiple molls, a double electrocution and even a garnish of Irish terrorists!

The Shaft

The Shaft (2001) Those of you expecting to see a movie about a cool black detective are in for a big disappointment. After watching the trailer, I was expecting a dull grade C haunted elevator movie but was pleasantly surprised at getting a professionally done B movie. There was actually an attempt to be true to its internal logic which is always appreciated in these types of movies. However, there were several gaping holes in the plot’s logic that you could drive an elevator through, but at least they tried.

Are people dying in the elevator system of a major New York City building because of shoddy construction, poor design, or could it be mad scientists at work or perhaps ghosts in the machine…..or could it be the devil? Is there a cover up by the building owner or the elevator company? Who is doing what to whom? At least they try to throw in some red herrings before you learn what is really going on. The movie comes with standard Mark I, B-movie dialogue and Mark II, B-movie acting. However there are some decent scenes that show some wit such as a bunch of pregnant women getting stuck in the elevator and all delivering by the time they get to the bottom floor. Dan Hedaya (Blood Simple) plays a police captain whose role should have been expanded. There are also several other veteran B movie character actors on hand to keep things rolling along. The movie has its ups and downs (sorry I couldn’t resist) and its share of interesting deaths by elevator and there is enough grue to keep most horror fans sated. This was shot before 9/11 and there are several shots of the twin towers and a reference to terrorists trying to blow it up that are a bit unnerving. The movie is rated R for: death by elevator falling, death by elevator rising, death by elevator ramming, death by elevator floor falling out, elevator decapitation, elevator sucking, elevator blowing, and for the general disrespect for authority by all the elevators in the movie.

Wes Craven Presents: They

Wes Craven Presents: They (2002) I’m always a little suspicious when I see someone’s name in front of a title. Does this mean the famous director really left his mark on the film or does it mean the producers figured the movie would sink on its own merits without a big name in the title? In this case it’s probably the sinkage theory at work here. Starring the anorexic looking Laura Regan, this is a movie that is really about those things that go bump in the night. And speaking of the night, it seems that the wiring in the unnamed city it is shot in is defective everywhere the heroine goes coincidentally keeping things dark at key moments. To be fair, the movie does generate a bit of suspense and excitement and can raise a few goose bumps on the non-jaded viewer. The story concerns children’s night terrors and whether they might be more than they seem. Maybe there really is a monster in that dark closet. And speaking of monsters, these appear to have come from the same group that was made for the movie ‘Pitch Black’ and they have the same operational restrictions to the dark of night. Enough excitement is generated by having the chief protagonists confront their worst nightmares to make this a rentable item in spite of it being shot in Canada. The DVD comes with an alternate ending that puts a completely different spin on what everything means and the movie also has some decent surround sound effects. The movie is rated PG-13 for: Excessive Canadian subways, blood drippings, wholesome boyfriend, general creepiness, poor wiring, and for the kid that really disappears under his bed.

Spun

Spun (2003) Holy white powder Batman, it’s another drug movie! However this is a good one with lots of funny scenes in which drug fogged characters try to deal with reality or at least to recognize it once in a while. It also has lots of sadness in it as you can see the character’s lives being ruined by drugs and they can’t even see it coming. In fact, rational behavior for these folks is a rarity. Starring Brittany Murphy (before she became well known), Mickey Roarke (finally doing a good job in a good role) and John Leguizamo (wearing the oddest costume yet in a movie), it concerns a tweaker (Jason Schwartzman) who buys drugs from Leguizamo who gets them from the meth lab cook Roarke wholesale. Murphy and co-ingénue Mena Suvari really took a chance with this movie because the two young hotties really look bad as two tweakers who are not up on the latest personal hygiene techniques, nicely showing some of the more subtle consequences of drug use.
This is a pretty hard hitting drama with lots of comic episodes to keep you from getting too depressed. Leguizamo is a howler in one scene wearing only a sock on his _____ (like clock without so many letters) while attempting to shoot another tweaker wired by the police to collect evidence. Heck, even the police inhale on occasion in this flick. Overall, a good movie about the tragedy of drug abuse but is not for everyone. The movie is not rated but would probably get an R for: sexual situations, extreme drug abuse, nasal passage abuse, bad teeth, bad cops, meth lab explosions, drug infused illogic, toilet scenes and for the wearin o’ the sock scene.