War Horse (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

War Horse is the newest Steven Spielberg film—his first since the disastrous fourth Indiana Jones film—and supposedly his return to artistic form, helming a movie based on a book that was a play. The basic plot is that a young boy befriends a horse that is later sold by his father into war and the ensuing bravery the horse, Joey, faces amongst the horrors of World War I and the people he affects.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

Tilda Swinton stars as the mother of a kid who was not right from the start. He grows up until high school and decides to massacre students with his bow and arrow. Jumping between past (where it shows Swinton’s character trying to raise and relate to this clearly disturbed child) and present (where all of the townspeople hate her because she didn’t do anything sooner), you are given an inside look into how an event like this affects the people responsible for raising these kids. The movie isn’t as predictable as you’d think. This features a more sadistic type of killer who’s insane and depraved from the beginning and has a dad (John C. Reilly) who doesn’t seem to notice.

Melancholia (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

Love him or hate him, you can’t dispute Lars von Trier’s brash brilliance at visual filmmaking. Fresh off his controversial Antichrist, he returned to the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year making statements of Nazi sympathy, wanting to shoot a pornographic film with Kirsten Dunst, and saying other things that made him sound like a dick. If you look past all of these attention-grabbing ploys of his and examine the film he has made, Melancholia, you will see one of the most interesting movies released this year.

The Descendants (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

George Clooney stars as the lone owner of his family’s humongous acreage of land on an island of Hawaii who must deal with the financial burden of selling it against his wishes. This is especially trying amidst a boating accident, which has left his wife on life support. As he deals with the gravity of the situation concerning his wife, he learns of a possible affair she had, so he teams up with his two daughters (one young, one older) he barely has knows to find out who this man is.

Classic Movies: The Quiet Duel (1949)

By Jason Haskins

I have seen many of Kurosawa's films from Madadayo (his swan song) to Red Beard and my personal favorite, Rashomon, but I was very unfamiliar with his earlier efforts from the beginning of his career-from the forties to the early fifties--so I took it upon myself to watch one of his films I've been dying to see: The Quiet Duel (1949).

Another Take: J. Edgar (2011)

By Jason Haskins

J. Edgar is Clint Eastwood’s newest movie and his first with Leonardo DiCaprio. When this was first announced I was more than happy because of not only the daunting task of chronicling the life of perhaps one of the most controversial political figures of our time, but because of how it was going to portray the said figure. After all is said and done, Eastwood has done a fairly good job with the subject matter, but it won’t be garnering any Oscar acceptance speeches.

The Tree of Life (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

Beautiful. Grand. Elegant. Confusing. Subtle. Epic. Enigmatic. Exciting. Scary. These are all words to describe Terrence Malick’s newest film, The Tree of Life.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) Review

By Paco McCullough

Martha Marcy May Marlene is one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen, and certainly one of the most creepy non-horror films I've ever seen. This indie film is nothing short of exceptional, and a movie that everyone should go see.

J. Edgar (2011) Review

By Tanner McCullough

J. Edgar, the latest film from director Clint Eastwood and star Leonardo DiCaprio, could have used a little bit more polish on it's script.

50/50 (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

Ah, another bromance sort of movie has just been released in theatres. This time it stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young man diagnosed with cancer trying to cope with everyday life whilst his friend (Seth Rogen) takes care of him and his illness. The movie sounds a little cliché (and it is to some extent), but these rhythms couldn’t be avoided because of where the story goes. All I can say is that everything about this movie worked.

The Sea Inside (2004) Review

By Jason Haskins

The Sea Inside was released in 2004 and is based on the true story of Ramon Sampedro--a Spaniard who, after a serious lack of judgment, dove into the ocean in too shallow of water and found himself paralyzed. This movie chronicles his last moments throughout the almost 30 years he fought to have assisted suicide implemented into his case and you'll watch as he finds himself completely loathsome of his situation, trying to get assistance in death, and feeling disconnected from the material world.

Contagion (2011) Review

By Paco McCullough

Contagion is one of the best movies I've seen this year. After a summer of brainless movies, it's nice to have a film that actually makes you think. Besides this, I think this is easily one of the most terrifying non-horror movies I have ever seen. And I'm one of the people that make fun of germaphobes. Read more after the jump.

Cult Films: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

By Jason Haskins

Texas native Wes Anderson came onto the scene with his directorial debut, Bottle Rocket, in 1996, which introduced the world to a younger Owen Wilson. His next feature boosted his reputation and is still a cult classic today--you might know it as Rushmore, starring Jason Schwartzman. It was in 2001 that he caught my attention with his magnum opus, The Royal Tenenbaums. All of the quirky qualities of his first two films remained and came together perfectly in this film. With an all-star cast he made one of the best films ever made--this is literally my favorite movie of all time.

Another Take: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) Review

By Jason Haskins

Believe it or not it’s been 10 long years since the last Planet of the Apes movie…remember the one Tim Burton directed starring Mark Wahlberg? Yeah, I wasn’t a big fan, either. After that terrible release I was very skeptical on what direction the series was going to go from there. I mean, the Apes movies have been a fun little science fiction detour for years (none coming close to the finesse of the original, of course). This summer we see the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes—the inevitable prequel to the series. The big question on everyone’s minds is whether it’s good or bad.

Classic Movies: Umberto D. (1952)

By Jason Haskins

Why do you do this to us, Vittorio De Sica?! My first viewing of one of his films was the superb Bicycle Thieves (1948), which blew me away in all regards of the term--displaying a neo-realist perception of post-war Italy. Well, look what he does again. I finally got the courage to watch Umberto D. (1952), which is arguably his second most famous film, which has made the biggest impact on cinema, and I think I've struck gold twice. This is another great piece of work that this man did--and available, of course, on the Criterion Collection.

Cult Films: She's Having a Baby (1988)

By Jason Haskins

This week's cult film is one of the lesser known John Hughes films and yet it’s possibly his best. His directorial follow-up to Plains, Trains, and Automobiles,  She's Having a Baby stars Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth McGovern, and Alec Baldwin.

She's Having a Baby is much different from what you might expect from Hughes who, up to this point, was known tremendously for his work on quintessential teenage flicks like Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club. This movie, which he later named as his most private and intimate film, explores the relationship between two people fraught with life but with so many aspirations.

Bacon plays Jefferson Briggs, who has some last minute doubts about his wedding at the very beginning of the film. He shares these with his best friend, played by a disgustingly handsome Alec Baldwin in the parking lot of the chapel. After leading such a crazy lifestyle, he's settling down and starting a new path for himself--and it scares him. However, he makes the choice despite it all and dives headfirst with his bride, Kristy (McGovern).

Her parents think he's a bum and won't make anything of himself, but he turns things around by finding them a nice house in the suburbs and an even nicer (albeit boring) job as a writer at an ad agency. Life has become boring and all he wants is to write a book. She's Having a Baby may be a title that leads you to think that the movie is all about child-bearing, but it's more about the binding factors between two individuals who have yet to commit to themselves. The theme is very powerful as the film goes on and is one reason why it sets itself apart from other romantic comedies of sorts that have been floating around the genre for so long.

The cast is incredible and while some people thought that the relationship aspect between the two leads wasn't fleshed out enough or that they didn't have enough chemistry...I thought they did a superb job in their performances. The way they look at each other is the way people in love look--and these little nuances help the credibility, as well as how cute they are together. This brings poignancy to the realistic fights and troubles they get into as the movie goes onward. Baldwin's in the movie for only a few scenes, but they stand out because he brings with him some heaviness that's funny, sad, or just plain unbearable.

John Hughes' direction is full of life. While he's more known around town as a gifted scriptwriter, I think his directing ability is one of his strongest points. The movie is about an hour and forty minutes almost and he keeps the viewer engaged the whole time while constantly toying with their emotions. There are many temptations that face Bacon's character and there's a lot of fantasies at work that keep the viewer on their toes--and it leads to one of my favorite parts of the film where Bacon is flirting with this attractive "fantasy" girl when she says, "If you love her so much, then why are you talking to me?". There are tons of sexy moments, but not reasons for nudity or anything like that--it all has to do with how the script takes certain cues from everyday in the mind of an attractive male dealing with it all. Call me crazy, but I related a lot of Bacon's character frequently.

The only thing that might cause you a setback on your viewing pleasure with this movie is if you can't take the cheesiness factor. This was made in the late eighties--that means you can expect the music, the vibe, the clothes, everything to have that late 80s cheeseball factor. This works wonders for me and I dig it--especially when it comes to the heart-wrenching climax when the whole "she's having a baby" thing occurs to the tune of Kate Bush's song, This Woman's Work. Oh, man it kills me just thinking about it.

She's Having a Baby is a terrifically moving movie and one that I can clearly tell meant a lot to John Hughes (and director Kevin Smith, who has stated this is his favorite of Hughes' work and clearly emulated it in Jersey Girl). Some people might not get it whether it is the sentimentality or the bizarre humor at times, but it's most realistic to me. It often gets the "rom/com" label to it, but it offers so much more as a glimpse into the relationship of these two married individuals trying to make it work. There are soul-mates out there and it makes you reflect on the wonderful experiences you've had with your loved one despite some of the heaviness. I think this is an important movie to watch in order to cherish what you care about--as well as grow as a person.

© Jason Haskins, 2011

5 out of 5 Stars

Cult Films: Santa Sangre (1989)

Cult Films is a new feature that will appear every Tuesday. We will be discussing cult films, films that may not have been successful but have gathered a large following after their release.

By Jason Haskins

1989’s Santa Sangre teeters on the edge of pretentiousness and abrupt surrealism, yet is tied together by a tangible storyline. As one of the last directorial efforts of Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Holy Mountain, El Topo) it captures the very essence of Latin America culture through a twisted lens that reminds one of Black Orpheus mixed with a Dario Argento film.

A young man cloistered away in a mental asylum recounts how he got there from his upbringing in the circus and escapes to act out revenge in his mother’s name amongst the chaos of a dirty city that’s lost its way. It plays out like a horror movie after the first half, but amidst the set ups of death there are elegant arrangements of spectacle and bizarre transitions that make it much different from anything you’ve ever seen before. Those of you familiar with his films will understand what I mean.

Jodorowsky thrives in this setting with the tone, shifting between camp towards ambiguous symbology, graphic depictions of violence, and sexuality. This film is actually quite entertaining, but also very rich in artistic merit. It’s not pretentious or experimental to the point that you don’t know what’s happening in the movie despite the confusing nature of some of the sequences because there’s an actual story that’s easy to follow.

Much of the film is bursting value that’s quite timeless, from the gothic sort of set designs to the costumes and demented organ carnival music that plays for a majority of the film. The music definitely makes the movie that much more stunning. Simon Boswell’s score is eerie and playful in the most inappropriate ways that match the film’s complete and utter zaniness just perfectly.

Recently released on DVD (also available on Netflix’s Instant Watch), this is a primetime Cult Classic you might’ve missed—and one that’s certainly deserving of your affection. Throughout the two-hour running time you’ll be constantly entertained by how unpredictable and fresh all of the scenes are as well as the enthusiastic and intriguing performances of the entire cast. Not only is it a great amount of fun to watch, but it’s also bursting with a sense of art and culture that’s not tailor-made for any one audience. Most will probably dislike it (though I don’t know why), but if you like incredibly flexible tattooed women, blood, little people, music, and other things that go bump in the night then you’ll definitely get a kick out of Santa Sangre.

(c) Jason Haskins, 2011

Classic Movies: Harakiri (1962)

By Paco McCullough

Masaki Kobayashi’s (Kwaidan, The Human Condition) Harakiri (1962) is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. In May of 1630, Japan has been at peace for nearly twenty years. For the samurai class that have made warfare their livelihood, this is a disaster. Many houses of samurai have collapsed and the streets are now flooded with ronin, masterless samurai. Desperate ronin have been going from feudal estate to feudal estate, asking to perform harakiri--suicide by disembowelment. The film begins with a ronin (Tatsuya Nakadai) making this request. To elaborate on the plot would detract from your enjoyment of the film, as one of the film’s greatest strength is its unexpected twists.
    Harakiri uses feudal Japan as a backdrop to tell a story about power, honor, and desperation. It skillfully discusses the inability of the successful to empathize with the less fortunate while also entertaining. Though it is a samurai film, there are no action scenes until almost two hours into the film. This film is frequently compared to some of Kurosawa’s work. If so, I would compare this more to Ikiru then Seven Samurai or Yojimbo. Because of this, we get to know the characters and care about them. Just don’t expect a action-filled adventure.
    Every single element of this film was incredibly well done. Tatsuya Nakadai and Akira Ishihama give incredible performances. One of Ishihama’s scenes was devastating to watch and will probably stick with most viewers for years to come. Beyond this, the cinematography is consistently beautiful. The score is also quite incredible. It’s minimalism only heightens its unsettling qualities.
    I cannot praise this film highly enough. It is unquestionably a masterpiece and deserves multiple viewings. Get off your computer and go watch it.

5 out of 5

(c) Tanner McCullough, 2011

Easy Rider (1969)

By Jason Haskins

Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper star as two biker friends travelling cross-country to experience all that America has to offer, be that drugs, the counter-culture, or women as the wind flies through their hair. They encounter some strange people along the way and befriend another travelling man (Jack Nicholson) who they introduce marijuana to for some good times on their way from Los Angeles to New Orleans. In the heat of the sixties, their kind aren’t welcome in the South and while they open their minds to drugs, the outsiders are finding it hard to open their minds to them.

This is a road-trip movie, but more than that it was a defining motion picture in the counter-culture movement when it was released in 1969. While it did garner some attention particularly on the art-house scene, it was very famous for its depictions of the tensions in the time period between the working class and the hippie movement as well as the graphic use of marijuana and nomad lifestyle, which hadn't really been seen in such a new way to this point in cinema. Today, it's still considered a staple of American cinema and one of the most important films of the sixties because of its counterculture properties.

Directed by Dennis Hopper (his first film behind the camera), it was loosely shot without a necessarily finished script and suffered some setbacks because of all the drinking and drug use that was happening around the set. That makes the movie a little weird to watch as you see Peter Fonda occasionally stumbling around and obviously stoned as well as how meandering the plot becomes at some points, which hints at Hopper's tainted sort of psychosis. However, the film holds up extremely well as it chronicles the journey two men take in the outdoors and the results are incredibly satisfying.

All of the performances are extremely well done, which I guess is a no-brainer since they were on drugs most of the time like their characters were supposed to be, but they did it with such finesse. Peter Fonda is remarkably attractive and the more down-to-earth of the two whereas Hopper plays more of a wild card. About halfway through the movie you are introduced to Nicholson's character who steals the whole movie. This was before he was huge star and this was the film that put him on the map (step aside Little House of Horrors). The film itself is worth a watch just for the marijuana sequence where the three men chat around a campfire about UFOs. Nicholson definitely serves as a bit of comic relief, that's for sure (him and his golden football helmet).

Everything is generally really well done. I was blown away by the cinematography for one. Some parts of the movie were shot with a 16mm camera (which includes the great Mardi Gras sequence at the end), but a majority of the film is shot in 35mm--capturing the beautiful landscapes of all our great country has to offer as the boys ride their choppers through.

The editing style is very intrusive as it calls attention to the jarring effect of itself throughout most of the film, and I actually found it quite mesmerizing since it gives you a feeling, almost, of being on drugs yourself. You could say the same thing about the infamous LSD sequence near the end, which takes place in a graveyard (easily one of my favorite moments in the entire film). Hopper definitely shows his directing chops here, which, sadly, I don't think he was able to accomplish with as much attitude and finesse again in the span of his career.

And you can't forget the soundtrack! You'll be listening to Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf, and The Band amongst a few other artists, which make the flick even more fun to watch as they ride their bikes from experience to experience. Aside from the visually oriented good stuff, you have some awesome ear candy to chew on. Overall, this film holds up extremely well as it gives you an authentic look into the counterculture movement.

I dug it immensely and the themes that are conjured. While a few things are pushed down your throat (especially the finale), the entire movie gives you a great slice of life and a diabolically fun little journey to take with these two characters. It's not necessarily the most exciting movie of all time and the drug usage may take a few people out of the movie--that's to be expected. However, it's really worth it to see because of the cinematic historical value and because of how much of a fun watch it is.

5 out of 5 Stars

© Jason Haskins, 2011