It's been a while...

OK, it has been something of a while since I used this blog thing, and I plan to remedy that. So, keep tuned in here. As I watch a film, I plan to write a review as soon as I possibly can afterward. So, keep watching the skies, true believers.

The Strangers

Rating: **** (out of 5)

WARNING: This review will contain spoilers.

The downfall of many horror films is that they never live up to the trailer. Most trailers for horror films are often more enjoyable than the films themselves, because all a trailer has to provide is some creepy imagery and a few "jolty" moments. Trailers are designed specifically to make the films look enticing enough to make potential viewers plunk down their money for the experience of watching the whole story. The sad reality is that the whole story isn't always as good as the preview. Which could be the reason why so many horror films rely on schtick - "witty" lines from the killer or killers, an unnecessary moment of nudity, or gore that is mostly out of place. Sometimes, the schtick works to the film's advantage. But, most times it doesn't.

Which is why it's very refreshing when schtick doesn't enter the mix. Or when we as audience members aren't spoon-fed tired material and are given works that are fresh, exciting, and either give us something we've never seen before, or use cliches to their advantage. Examples of "The Blair Witch Project," "Saw," "Hostel," and Michael Haneke's original German production of "Funny Games" (and not the shot for shot 2008 American remake) come to mind. They are original works that have given new life to a genre that has otherwise run out of ideas. The unfortunate nature of an original work is that it spawns a copy cat.

"The Strangers," the debut film from writer / director Bryan Bertino is hardly original. It is very much derivative of works like Haneke's "Funny Games." However, Bertino manages to use the material to its advantage and actually makes a truly creepy horror film. A film that manages to live up to and surpass any expectations from one of the creepiest trailers I've seen since "Blair Witch."

The film centers around the couple of Kristen and James, played respectively by Liv Tyler and "Underworld's" Scott Speedman. After a quick flash of the aftermath of horrors to come, we meet the unhappy couple following a disaterous night out that is never fully explained, but the audience is given enough details to work it out. (James has proposed and Kristen turned him down, citing later that she's "just not ready yet.") Now, they are stuck together for the night in James' father's house. The embarrassment and the elephant in the room of their crumbling relationship is the least of their worries.

Their misery is interrupted by a young woman looking for someone who doesn't live there. After she is turned away, James goes out to buy Kristen some cigarettes, in an attempt to drive around and clear his head. As he is absent, Kristen is visited and tormented by another visitor, revealed to be a man in a creepy white mask. When James returns, he finds Kristen locked up in a bedroom, brandishing a knife, and scared out of her wits. The pair search the house, but James is unable to find any proof that someone else is in the house, or even on the property...until he goes to get his cell phone from his car. He then sees that someone has trashed his car. Further torment and exploration reveals that they are not being terrorized by one person, but three - two women, one man, all wearing frightening masks.

"The Strangers" continues the feelings and emotions presented in "Funny Games," while remaining its own separate entity. It isn't a sequel or a follow-up to Haneke's work, nor is it related to it in any way beyond a central theme of people terrorized at home. A major difference between the two films is that, at times, "The Strangers" allows you some reprieve from the tension, but not much, where as "Funny Games" kicks off and never lets up until the credits roll. Another is that Haneke's film is almost bereft of music, with the exception of some that takes place in the story space, where as in Bertino's film, we have digetic music, as well as a score proved by tomandandy, who provided score for Alexandre Aja's remake of "The Hills Have Eyes." It's almost impossible to say if "The Strangers" would have benefited from a lack of score, but the score does work, creating very effective mood music.

I have very few problems with this film, which isn't perfect, but it's one of those films that you know could be tightened up, but not sure where and what to improve. Or, maybe it doesn't need improvement. Remember, this is a debut film. Debut films, even from masters of filmmaking, are ripe with flaws. The flaws in this film are few. This film is truly scary from beginning to end, with a final jolt that will leave you in a state of true disbelief. The film has been left wide open for a sequel, but a sequel would more than likely degrade what Bertino has created, rather than improve upon it. To me, this is a stand alone film that leaves you with no hint of the motivations of the three killers or their identity. Their faces are not completely revealed. You don't even get one of their names. This film is riddled with a mystery that allows it to excel over your standard horror film. The exposition from the inevitable sequel will only take away from the magic of this film. Then again, I could be wrong. Perhaps Bertino will create a sequek that will be just as satisfying as this, his first voyage onto the big screen.

But, my true hope is that he moves onto different territory and crafts a collection of horror films that will allow him to be amongst the brethren of horror greats. Maybe he could even surpass them.

Bryan Bertino is a filmmaker to watch. "The Strangers" is a film that will scare the living hell out of you. Don't wait for DVD, see this in the theaters. You will be spellbound from the beginning of the film and beyond the drive home. This is the best horror film of not only the summer, but the year thus far.

The Evil Genius of Dr. Uwe Boll

Call him a hack. Call him the anti-Christ of cinema. Call him a golden god. Call him what you want. You are now a pawn in the hands of Dr. Uwe Boll. One of the most hated filmmakers in the last twenty years, Uwe Boll is a name notorious with both film fans and gamers throughout the world. He even has an online petition out that he claims if 1,000,000 people sign it, he will quit the film business altogether. He also has a strong cult following with their own pro-Boll petition as well. Whatever you think of his films (and as I write this, I have seen only fifteen minutes of the good doctor's work), it is completely irrelevant. Dr. Uwe Boll is a genius.

How can I say this when I've not watched a complete film that he has made? Or that he hasn't had a film score higher than 3/10 stars, as rated by the users of the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)? Or that he is simply one of the most cocky filmmakers on the planet? Because, all of this attention that he has recieved, good or bad, has come from all of you. The monster is loose and you created it.

I have no opinion of Dr. Boll, a title that he actually earned with a doctorate degree in literature. I have friends that hate the man for who he is and what he stands for. I have friends who think his work is mediocre at best. I've not met a person in real life that thinks he is brilliant as a filmmaker, but I have read many threads on internet forums with people making sound, rational arguments in favor of the man.

This reviled filmmaker, who came to the U.S. from Germany, where his films were equally panned, reminds me a lot of the mad genius that was Edward D. Wood Jr., whose films like Plan 9 From Outer Space, Bride of the Monster, and Glen or Glenda, were also panned by the critics and audiences alike. Boll seems to suffer from the same sunny outlook on life that Wood had back in the 1950s and 60s, when he made his most famous work. If one person said one positive thing about his work, even if it was about costumes, then Wood declared it a success. Now, decades later and thanks to Tim Burton's cult hit Ed Wood with Johnny Depp in the titular role, Wood is celebrated as a misunderstood genius and a maverick filmmaker. Now, Wood's films are a bit shit, but they are a hell of a lot of fun. It is possible that generations from now could be saying the same thing about Boll.

A lot of criticism comes from the gaming community, as he has made a number of films based on video games - House Of The Dead, Alone In The Dark, and most notably BloodRayne and its sequel and the upcoming Postal, the only film to outright challenge this week's definite box office winner, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

More criticism comes from critics who find the premise and content of Postal, which is a satire of the war on terror with numerous references to the 9/11 attacks (which includes a scene of the hijackers discussing the virgins they will meet in the afterlife) and the relationship between President Bush and Osama Bin Laden. He has drawn criticism from PETA due to scenes involving monkeys and Verne Troyer (which is all you need to know) and a creative use of a cat as a silencer for a gun. The piss-take here is that Boll is a member of PETA.

And the other source of criticism is from those who just say his films are simply not good.

Whatever you think of the man, you cannot stop him. First of all, the first amendment to the constitution gives him the right to say and do whatever he wants in his films and in life within the confines of the law. Secondly, as the old saying goes, "There's no such thing as bad press." And that is the truth. Whether or not you like the man is irrelevant. All of your petitions and forum bashings and diatribes (and equally all the praise he gets, which he does get) gets his name out there. He is extremely well known now. Sources like G4 and Fox News are giving him airtime to promote his films. He has YouTube videos that are watched and posted all throughout the net. And it's all because of you. You are literally trying to put out a forest fire by drowning in gasoline.

I have not yet seen Postal, but I know I will. It is not high on my priorities list and it will probably be on DVD when I see it, but I will. And I know full well what I am getting into. I know it's two hours of juvenile, crude humor that's lower than the levels of trash king John Waters (who I love) and Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I know the laughs will come and they will be more unintentional rather than the ones Boll intended. I even know that there is a chance that the film will offend me, which will be an actual refreshing change, cause at least it will be more of a reaction than most of the films I have seen in the last few years.

Regardless of it all, I applaud Dr. Boll for making something like Postal. It is the ultimate "fuck you" to Hollywood and the studio systems, to critics, to the U.S. government, to an un-winnable war, and to those who are unwilling to just sit down and laugh at a dirty, crude, but possible hilarious film.

Now, I understand that few will be swayed over to the pro-Boll side by my words, and that's now why I am writing this. I am not defending the man as a fan. I'm not and probably will never be a fan of his work. I am a fan of the man himself, though. Uwe Boll does what he wants and loves what he does. He goes outside the U.S. studio system and makes the films he wants to make. He is his own key audience member. Which means, he does not bow to studio pressure and has the final word and final cut of what his films will be. Anyone with more than a passing interest in cinema has got to champion the guy for that, cause not even guys like Martin Scorsese can truly say that.

And the more you bitch, the longer Boll will continue to do what he does. There is an old cliche that says, "It is better to burn out than to fade away." Well, I don't know how long it will take Boll to burn out. The man has at least four projects in some form of production right now. He's made four films in the last two years. He's got a stamina that will outlast guys like Spielberg. If you want to hit him where it hurts, and I don't mean not going to see his films, because audiences have been not seeing his films in droves since he made his first film. But, if you really want to hit Uwe Boll where it hurts, then you have to stop talking about him. You have to stop calling him names and bitching about his films and creating petitions and everything else it is you do to spite the man. Just ignore him. Don't try to stop him, don't flame him on the net (all of you armchair directors who will never have a film resume longer than Bolls, even if you started now), and don't create anything against him that will just result in him getting more press time.

He doesn't care if you like him, he just likes people talking about him. You have fallen into his trap and that is the true evil genius of Dr. Uwe Boll.

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

Rating: 4/5

Forgetting Sarah Marshall might just be the most honest film to come out of Judd Apatow's repertoire. The man behind Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin has made his name of bringing forth some of the best unisex and emotional rom-coms to hit the screen since the film adaptation of Nick Horby's seminal novel High Fidelity.

But, his downfall is that rather than delivering a comedy based solely on the emotion of his characters, and thus making them more real, is that he relies too heavily on two things - crowbarring in his friends and the inordinate need to assault the senses with some sort of joke or gag when it seems that if the movie is funny every five seconds it's somehow doomed.

And while this latest production of his is no exception to this downfall, it's the least affected film to have his name slapped on it.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the second Apatow production of 2008, following his poorly recieved attempt at a family comedy, Drillbit Taylor, is the best of his works this year and, honestly, his best since The 40 Year Old Virgin. Some may cry blasphemy at me for not mentioning last year's critical faves Knocked Up and Superbad, but it's true. Knocked Up ran on about 20 minutes too long and Superbad was completely overrated and just not that funny. Forgetting Sarah Marshall combines Apatow's dirty humor with the sentiment that was present in Superbad and is paced to a near perfection.

Written by and starring Jason Segel, who plays the loveable doofus Marshall on TV's How I Met Your Mother, is perfect as the film's protagonist, Peter Bretter, a composer who does the music for his girlfriend's TV show, Crimewatch. His girlfriend is the titular Sarah Marshall, played by former Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell. Once the universe for the film is set up, our story begins promptly. Sarah dumps Peter and leaves him for another guy. This leaves Peter as a broken shell of a man. In an attempt to get over her, he goes on a series of one night stands with the aid of his step-brother, played by SNL's Bill Hader. These one night stands don't help and Peter takes the advice given to him and goes to vacation in Hawaii.

But, within moments of checking in, he is faced with two problems. One, he has no reservation and the only available room is $6,000 a night. And two, he is at the same resort as his ex. An awkward encounter with Sarah and her obnoxious new rock star boyfriend Aldous Snow, played by newcomer Russell Brand, leads hotel receptionist Rachel (Mila Kunis - That 70's Show) to take pity on him and books him in the only available suite, to Marshall's chagrin.

Peter tries to have a good time, but is still miserable, only made worse by his ex's new relationship literally flaunted in front of him. But, his newfound attraction to Rachel becomes the therapy he needs, as she becomes the anti-Sarah Marshall.

One thing Segel gets perfect in his wonderfully crafted screenplay is that he manages to show the faults of both Peter and Sarah. For most of the film, she is played up as a heartless monster for whom Peter stood in the shadows. But, Peter's faults are shown as well and that he was partly to blame for the demise of their relationship.

While it does wallow in some cliches that come with the territory, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is every bit as smart and funny as everyone else says it is. Funniest film of the year, so far. Here's the pun. See this movie, you won't forget it.

The 2008 Academy Awards

It's Oscar time again. (Insert a apathetic "yay" here.) But, unlike the last few years, with the exception of Scorsese's wins last year, this year has been fairly exceptional. For once, all 5 Best Picture nominees I have enjoyed. Here's my breakdown of how I want the evening to go for the major categories, followed by a lazy rundown of my picks for the "lesser" categories.

BEST PICTURE
Nominees:
ATONEMENT
JUNO
MICHAEL CLAYTON
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD

My Pick: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

BEST ACTOR
Nominees:
George Clooney MICHAEL CLAYTON
Daniel Day-Lewis THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Johnny Depp SWEENEY TODD
Tommy Lee Jones IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
Viggo Mortensen EASTERN PROMISES

My Pick: Daniel Day Lewis

BEST ACTRESS
Nominees:
Cate Blanchett ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Julie Christie AWAY FROM HER
Marion Cotillard LA MOME [LA VIE EN ROSE]
Laura Linney THE SAVAGES
Ellen Page JUNO

My Pick: Julie Christie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nominees:
Casey Affleck THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Javier Bardem NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Phillip Seymour Hoffman CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR
Hal Holbrook INTO THE WILD
Tom Wilkinson MICHAEL CLAYTON

My Pick: Javier Bardem

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees:
Cate Blanchett I’M NOT THERE
Ruby Dee AMERICAN GANGSTER
Saoirse Ronan ATONEMENT
Amy Ryan GONE BABY GONE
Tilda Swinton MICHAEL CLAYTON

My Pick: Amy Ryan

BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees:
Paul Thomas Anderson THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Joel Coen / Ethan Coen NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Tony Gilroy MICHAEL CLAYTON
Jason Reitman JUNO
Julian Schnabel LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLION [THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY]

My Pick: Joel Coen / Ethan Coen

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Nominees:
Diablo Cody JUNO
Nancy Oliver LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
Tony Gilroy MICHAEL CLAYTON
Brad Bird / Jan Pinkava /Jim Capobianco RATATOUILLE
Tamara Jenkins THE SAVAGES

My Pick: Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nominees:
Christopher Hampton ATONEMENT
Sarah Polley AWAY FROM HER
Ronald Harwood LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLION
[THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY]
Joel Coen / Ethan Coen NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Paul Thomas Anderson THERE WILL BE BLOOD

My Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nominees:
Roger Deakins THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Seamus McGarvey ATONEMENT
Roger Deakins NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Janusz Kaminski LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLION
[THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY]
Robert Elswit THERE WILL BE BLOOD

My Pick: Seamus McGarvey

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Nominees:
Dario Marianelli ATONEMENT
Alberto Iglesias THE KITE RUNNER
James Newton Howard MICHAEL CLAYTON
Michael Giacchino RATATOUILLE
Marco Beltrami 3:10 TO YUMA

My Pick: Dario Marianelli

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Nominees:
NO END IN SIGHT
OPERATION HOMECOMING
SICKO
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
WAR DANCE

My Pick: SICKO

The Other Categories:

BEST EDITING
My Pick: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
My Pick: “Falling Slowly” (ONCE)

BEST ART DIRECTION
My Pick: SWEENEY TODD

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
My Pick: ATONEMENT

BEST MAKEUP
My Pick: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END

BEST SOUND
My Pick: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

BEST SOUND EDITING
My Pick: TRANSFORMERS

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
My Pick: TRANSFORMERS

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
My Pick: PERSEPOLIS

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
My Pick: KATYN (Poland)