Reviews

Revenge is hardly a fresh concept in film-making. This basic theme, however, here takes a backseat to the styled execution of "Out of the Furnace." Told through an all-star cast, the story unfolds slowly, but powerfully. Set in a rural, present-day America, the cinematography captures a beautiful country and glory that is seemingly fading under the weight of war and the economy. The cast skillfully fleshes out the various characters, establishing believability and giving them a rare level of depth. This makes the atmosphere tangible and arguably makes the element of human drama the actual star of the film. The entire cast is excellent and essential, however Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson absolutely steal the show. As the bad-to-the-bone "villain" of the script, Harrelson is awesomely despicable, his mere presence on the screen inciting anxiety. Alternately, Bale plays a good but troubled man, condemned to watch his life disintegrate one piece at a time. I caught the director, Scott Cooper, in an interview segment on Carson Daly. He mentioned a desire to impact and "immerse" the audience in his movies. In that regard, I would judge this effort to be an undeniable success. During certain scenes, I found myself echoing the actions and emotions depicted on screen, such as dread, liberation, uneasiness, tension, and particularly, a relieved breath of serenity. More drama than action, the tone for me was reminiscent of "The Place Beyond the Pines", another well-executed drama with a definite crime flavoring. Also, I felt that the Pearl Jam number that opens and closes the film was a perfect choice for the intended vibe, and deserves a special mention. Overall, this movie is very well done, despite lacking the glamour and flash of an action flick. As a drama, I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.

Only God Forgives... a foreboding name to match an epic, hyper-violent revenge saga set in Bangkok's criminal underworld. Actually, God is deliberately nonexistent in this movie, and this is for the best, as its characters are nearly entirely unworthy of redemption. I have recently come to appreciate Ryan Gosling, especially his recent efforts in Drive & Gangster Squad. However, his character in this movie is strangely devoid of personality. There is basically no character development, whatsoever, making the ugly twists of the plot almost laughably overbearing. The movie is brutal & extremely violent, but the violence carries no emotional weight and mostly feels unnecessary. The sexual overtones are also ugly and try too hard to be "edgy", resulting in a few unpleasantly weird scenes that cross the boundaries of good taste. As unappealing as the story is, you might find it hard to look away: the cinematography is amazing (where did they film this?) and gives the film a fevered, hypnotic vibe. I also liked the accompanying music (??karaoke?? segments aside), it enhanced the atmosphere and intensified key sequences. Arguments could be made for the abstract style of storytelling, but I personally found it too disconnected to be meaningful. Overall, there are some positive notes here, but I don't know if they are worth the grotesque elements and nonsensical plot you must stomach to enjoy them.

I'm pretty much a fan of Johnny Depp, as I usually appreciate his performance regardless of my ultimate opinion of the movie itself. Sleepy Hollow was a masterful re-envisioning of the classic story of Ichabod Crane, featuring a nice blend of mystery & horror. From Hell seemed like a natural extension of this character archetype, with a loosely-based historical inspiration, adding weight to the horrific scenarios that it depicts. With that in mind, I decided to check it out.

There are many things that are done right in this movie, number one being the atmosphere. London is gray, rainy, & dark, and its desperate citizens reflect this foreboding setting well. The women whore themselves out for an extra cent, while the men retain control through intimidation & violence. Racial tensions, corrupt officials, and secret societies complicate the picture, and the actors in their elaborate costumes capture the unrest perfectly. As the film is a work of historical fiction, it takes liberties in the portrayal of certain events/facts, but only for the purpose of increasing the dramatic potential of the plot. In fact, these little deviations in historical accuracy felt very creative, and mostly fit in with the ambiguous nature of one the most infamous unsolved mysteries.

The faults, while noticeable, are not disqualifying. The characters are played well, despite being mostly unremarkable to begin with. Depp's Inspector Abberline is likable, though his behavior is inconsistent. As an opium addict, he seems content to waste away his life in an altered state, yet jumps into action without hesitation, and utterly dedicates himself to risk life and limb tracking down a vicious serial killer & sifting through the lies that keep him so elusive. This also serves to make his relationship with Heather Graham, as the female lead, seem slightly artificial. The visionary, opium-induced haze that enables him to keep pace with the killer was an interesting touch, but wasn't utilized to its full potential, in my opinion. Also, the killer's character is not developed enough, and so comes across as "cartoonishly" scary, lacking in realism.

Ultimately, this is a tense thriller that will captivate your attention, with a unique interpretation of the Jack the Ripper mythos.

Ridley Scott is an awesome director and Cormac McCarthy is a skilled writer, even if the subject matter is usually unpleasant. The story here is told with style, and the layered details imply much while directly stating little. Not a "happy" story, as the subject matter deals with many of the ugly realities of the illegal drugs trade, but mesmerizing, regardless. The main characters are played perfectly, especially with their character flaws. The tone was reminiscent of previous works, such as No Country for Old Men. Again, the story isn't a crowd-pleaser, and I believe that's actually the point. In that regard, the narrative techniques are very effective. You, as the audience, very much empathize with the protagonist, the Counselor, at the film's premise: you are strapped-in, and along for "the ride." In short, it's very well done, and definitely worth a watch, but you probably won't want to watch it more than once.

Wow. This movie was surprisingly good. I was intrigued by the theatrical trailers, which had marketed it as a crazy comedy caper about a bunch of dog-kidnappers and their hilarious misadventures. The movie itself, however, cannot be summed up so simply or easily. The cast is excellent. Even the minor/cameo roles are done skillfully and are integral to the way the story plays out. The character development is awesome, as the story really is about seven "psychopaths." Each is certainly "crazy", but retains redeeming qualities. As the story unfolds, you begin to understand the characters reasons for their behavior(s), even if you don't understand them. In particular, my favorites were Sam Rockwell & Christopher Walken, but no one's performance is lacking in any way. Also, Woody Harrelson does a great job as what is arguably the film's villain. The plot develops in a manner that will shock you with the unexpected, and humor is constantly present to lighten the tone. The ending is very satisfying & almost alarmingly deep. Overall, very interesting and entertaining, & make sure to catch the final epilogue twist after the first round of credits.

I arrived at the theater with HIGH expectations. I had boycotted the original (Kick-Ass) at the box-office, only to be blown-away when I reluctantly rented it on DVD. The theatrical trailers had billed it as a crude comedy, in the vein of Superbad & The Pineapple Express, but with a comic-book twist. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was so much more than that. It was unexpectedly deep, almost like a "thought-experiment." The core concept (ordinary people as "super" heroes) was hardly innovative, but the style and gritty tone were fresh and exciting. It was brutally violent, and emotionally jarring. However, this was balanced with powerful universal themes and disarming humor. Watching it felt like flipping through an "adult" comic, not because it was loaded with nudity, profanity, etc., but because the story was not as simple as the costumed hero defeating the villain to save the day once again.

Well, instead of further developing the "magic" of the first movie, the sequel reverts to immaturity and chases mindless laughs with over-the-top & almost "slapstick" antics. It feels like an unlikeable "Family Guy" episode where taking a joke, drawing it out, and making it more & more offensive doesn't actually make you laugh harder, or make it funnier. Instead of an intimate cast of meaningful characters, we get a massive gallery of unmemorable ones. The inspired, deep, almost philosophical tone of the original is nearly entirely absent. Even the main characters and their internal conflicts seem artificial and hollow.

The movie does have it's moments, though. There are definitely several "laugh-out-loud" scenes. Although the vast array of characters are mostly seen vs. developed, you can appreciate how much thought went into designing the various heroes and villains. Colonel Stars & Stripes in particular was a standout that I would have loved to have seen developed more. Also Garrett M. Brown plays an essential role to convey one of the movie's key themes. Overall, it wasn't an absolute waste of time as it certainly has entertainment value. I was disappointed mostly by the waste of potential, & the decidedly different overall direction & tone of the story.