Ronny James Dio (1942-2010)

"So live for today, tomorrow never comes" (Dio-Die Young)

Coming Attractions

A human centipede, a man going near a cat with hedgetrimmers, horrific meldings of sex & violence and trash humping...if this is what's in store for us in this year alone I can't even fathom what the rest of the bizarre films that will be released this decade.

DOGTOOTH


THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE



A SERBIAN FILM


TRASH HUMPERS

A Serious Man (2009)

The book of Job centers around a man who suffers torments bestowed upon him by God as a test. The Coen Brothers 14th film centers around another Job like character. This time his name is Larry Gopnik. Larry is a university professor who is about to be granted tenure. His son is coming closer to having his bar mitzvah. Things take a turn for a worse and in true Coen Brothers fashion, they snowball into disaster.

First, his wife tells him that she wants a divorce and that she has been seeing his best friend Sy Abelman, played with pompous charm by Fred Melamad. At the university, a South Korean student gives Larry an envelope filled with money as an attempt to bribe Larry in order to give him a passing grade.

His son Danny's life isn't any easier. He faces a bully who he owes money to. His daughter Sarah is too self-involved to help. His brother has to drain a cyst on his neck and is a bigger wreck than Larry is. Things outside the Gopnik household are not so pleasant either. He a neighbor who is encrochaing on his property and another one, Mrs. Samsky, who sunbathes in the nude. Much to Gopnik's temptation.

As everything is slowly crumbling around Larry he questions the meaning of it all. The heart of the film is based around 3 rabbis. Larry goes to each to ask what does it all mean. Has Hashem cursed him? What has he done wrong to receive such torment?
One visit to a rabbi leads him to hearing a story about a goy's teeth. What he discovers is that it is not always easy to figure out what God is trying to tell us.











The setting is a suburb in Minnesota during 1967. A time where F troop played on the TV and Jefferson Airplane could be heard through the radio. The Coens grew up in this area and this could be considered their most personal film. Like the Coens best works (No Country For Old Men and Fargo) we are faced with themes about the lack of goodness in humanity.

Some might look at such a synopsis of a story and wonder why one would bother with such a morbid piece of suffering. But it’s the Coen Brothers incredibly artistic and delicate approach to the story that really involves the audience into this downward spiral that is uniquely comical as it is realistically depressing. This balance between comedy and tragedy is so well put together that the film moves at a sensible and enjoyable pace that doesn’t alienate nor push the audience away.

One clue to the whole theme of the film can be found in the middle. Gopnik is teaching his students the Uncertainty Principle. It's the only thing that Larry is certain of. A Serious Man is as dark a comedy the Coens have made. The interpretations of the ending of the film are many and they depend on your outlook in life. It will leave some scratching their head and others really moved. It is a film that not only speaks to the troubled Larry Gopnik but to all who suffer hard times. It is a critique on the quest for answers on why bad things happen to good people. When sometimes all we can is just accept the mystery.

Martyrs (2008)

Martyrs is a French film released in 2008 by Pascale Laugier and picked up for distribution by the Weinstein Company. The French don't screw around when it comes to horror. Gallons of gore and bleak views on the human condition. This film in particular rides on the last wave of French horror and offers up distressing tone shifts, unexpected turns and a powerful narrative.


The plot synopsis is going to be short because it's hard to describe it without giving away the film. The film is broken down into three plotlines. The first plot thread deals with a girl who was tortured. She ends up going to an orphanage and making a friend. Fairly linear so far. The film then takes a left turn and we are introduced to a family seated at a table talking about what is going on in their lives. Then, the doorbell rings. After that, everything goes to hell. The last plot thread is for you find out. The key to a good viewing of Martyrs is this: the less you know the more effective the impact will be.

Director Pascale Laugnier brings out really good performances out of the actors. He also knows how to play with audience expectation. Right when you think you know where the film is going it takes a sharp turn into the unexpected. The gore and brutality the film has to offer is important in telling this type of story. It uses it to make a more intellectual statement than films that use it to shock its audiences.

The last act in particular and the concept around it is as disturbing as the visuals we are presented with. Martyrs will get under your skin and shake you to your core.
It's one of those rare film that transcends the genre it is apart of.

4.5/5

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

Platinum Dunes is a company known for remaking horror films. We all know this. It is also a company known for being bashed left and right for their remakes. The problem with the remakes is that they are forgettable. They fail to capture the atmosphere of what made the original so great. A Nightmare On Elm Street falls into this category and while it's got decent direction it's lack of originality on what could have been a brilliant re-imagining falls flat.

The concept of the original Nightmare On Elm Street is one of the best in horror cinema: a man that invades your dreams, hunts you down and takes you out. It's the ultimate version of the boogeyman under the bed. Another concept that is born out of that is your parents not believing you are being attacked in your dreams cause let's be honest, who would? Add to that the back story of the parents chasing down a child murderer named Freddy Kreuger, burning him alive in a boiler room and you have a great concept for a horror film.

The failure of the remake lay in its lack of originality and deviation from the ideas that the original Nightmare presented. Director Samuel Bayer has worked on nothing but music videos previous to this film and he doesn't bring much to the film in terms of creativity. You have the classic scenes all remade here: Tina being dragged across the walls, Freddy making an imprint through the walls, the glove popping out of the soapy bathtub while Nancy is sleeping. This film even manages to screw some of those scenes up. The imprint in the wall was terrifying in the original, here its completely overdone.

The characters here are just bland. I will say Jackie Earle Haley pulls off a good Kreuger. Another big component the film uses is the worst kind of scare a horror film can use: the jump scare. It's effective in the first couple scenes of the film but after a while it just gets annoying. A question one reviewer has raised is interesting: If there's a video of yourself getting killed, how would you upload it? Do we upload videos from the grave now?

The movie introduces the idea of micronaps. It basically uses it as an excuse for more jump scares. You know the character is having a micronap because it uses a visual cue. There was such an opportunity to run with this concept. The fact that it hits its spots on mediocre levels is just not good enough.


Hopefully in another 20 years, there will be another filmmaker out there who will realize the full potential of the concept of A Nightmare On Elm Street and make a film just as scary, or maybe even scarier than the original. Until then, stick with the original film.



1.5/5

Have A BAD Day.

Bad Day from Max Kyburz on Vimeo.

May (2002)

In the realm of indie horror flicks, there are ALOT of stinkers and a few winners. May is one of those winners. Directed by Lucky Kee, May follows the story of a girl named...May who has a lazy eye. She wore a patch for this growing up but became a loner whose only friend was a doll that was given to her for her birthday. She moves to L.A. and winds up working at a vet. She becomes attracted to a filmmaker played by Jeremy Sisto. The relationship begins to sour quickly. May winds up starts blaming her oddball quirks on her doll. She then befriends an alluring lesbian colleague played by Anna Faris, but even that crumbles apart.

The lack of connection May feels throughout the movie is really effective. In essence, it's a character study that plays along the lines of Roman Polanski's Repulsion. In that film we see Catherine Deneuve's descent into madness. Here we see May's descent, but it pushes the lines much further.

Angela Bettis gives an amazing performance as May. We feel her cracking more and more throughout the film and it comes across well. Anna Faris is really fun as her colleague. Jeremy Sisto of Six Feet Under fame turns in a nice performance as well. What's also impressive is that May is Lucky McKee's first film. Here is a director with a big future ahead of him. He has made a couple of episodes for the Masters of Horror series that were pretty interesting entries.

The film is haunting, quirky and downright twisted. It's one of those films that's going to be remembered down the road. For those looking for good indie horror, check out May. You will be quite impressed.