Matthew Heineman's Cartel Land is a raw, and unflinching portrait of two modern day vigilante groups, the Autodefensas and the Arizona Border Recon, each sharing the same enemy in the Mexican cartels, who leave a trail of death wherever they go. The Autodefensas are headed up by Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician, a man who decided enough was enough, leading a citizen uprising against the violent Mexican cartels that sees everyday citizens taking up arms in order to protect their lives and families. On the other side of the border is Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American War Veteran, who heads up the Arizona Border Recon, a small paramilitary group that aims to keep Mexico's drug war on the southern side of the border. Using an intricate, on-the-ground approach, Mattew Heineman's Cartel Land provides one of the most in-depth looks at terror, despair, and bloodshed brought by the Mexican Cartels and how little the respective governments in the United States and Mexico can do to stop it. Constantly evolving, Cartel Land is a film that begins as an ode to the power of the people, showing what happens in both countries when the government does little-to-nothing to protect its people. The film doesn't hold back in showing the violent brutality of the Mexican cartels, painting a harrowing portrait of everyday citizens living in constant fear. We see the good caused by both the Autodefensas and the Arizona Border Recon, who attempt to wage a war against the Cartels when their governments will not, but as Cartel Land progresses, the film's deeper truths are revealed, capturing how making a difference through violence may be necessary at times but it's never clean. Cartel Land is a film about the horrendous cycle of violence, a hopeless and unstoppable force that can only be subdued, never vanquished. This is a film that doesn't demonize nor romanticize vigilante violence, only offering up the idea that it is only a stopgap not a solution. Lines become further blurred when we begin to see criminal activity and violence from within the ranks of the Autodefensa itself, as this vigilante group eventually becomes a part of the Mexican government's task force. Never focused on the political aspect, Cartel Land does reveal a lackadaisical government, when it comes to fighting the drug war, suggesting that the government itself is full of corruption, that eventually infiltrates the Autodefensa. Extremely well photographed, the film feels more like a haunting narrative at times, with Cartel Land always taking a neutral approach in examining this hostile environment, never judging or jumping to conclusions about its characters, factions, and causes, simply exposing the cruel reality and gray areas that exist in a region plagued by extreme violence. The film captures the complexities of this whole mess, even making sure to never ignore the effect poverty has on being the driving force behind cartel recruitment. A harrowing portrait of the entangled mess the drug war has bred, Mattew Heineman's Cartel Land exposes how corruption, greed, and violence has created a world where good and evil almost become completely blurred.
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Susan Cooper, a CIA analyst who couldn't be further from what one would picture when they think CIA Agent, plays an important part in the success of the agency. Deskbound, Susan plays an intregal role in supplying intel to her partner, field agent Bradley Fine, a handsome and deadly agent who Susan has developed a crush on. When Bradley is presumed dead and other field agents find their own cover compromised, Susan soon becomes the the CIAs only hope, going deep undercover in order to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, Rayna Boyanov, and save the day. Paul Feig's Spy is an entertaining action comedy that luckily doesn't rely completely on Melissa McCarthy's brand of humor to supply its laughs. Simultaneously spoofing the espionage genre while also delivering a surprising amount of genuine action and thrills, Spy is a film with a talented cast of characters, including memorable performances by Rose Byre and Jason Statham in particular. The plot of the film is engaging early on, but as the film progresses Spy's narrative begins to fall a bit off the rails, becoming contrived and a tad convoluted, as it attempts to live up to the many twists and turns expected in the espionage genre. Many audience members probably won't mind the confusion, given the film's raunchy brand of humor and comedic tone, but the film genuinely seems to care about the action and suspense of its story, making the plots shortcomings more noticeable. While not the funniest movie, Spy's humor isn't based solely around physical humor, providing a steady-stream of laughs that are diverse in style. While, Spy aims to get a little too much mileage out of espionage movie tropes and its fish-out-of-water conceit, the film's feminist subtext and lack of reliance on McCarthy alone, make it a funny and enjoyable experience overall. Djibril Diop Mambéty's Touki Bouki is a stunning and complex film about two Senegal youth, a boy and a girl, who attempt to liberate themselves from a country and environment they perceive to be lesser and backwards. Wanting to escape to Paris, France, the two youngsters attempt to gather the funds necessary, traveling all over the country on their motorcycle, performing criminal type acts. A film with stylistic flourishes and a fractured narrative, Touki Bouki is almost best described as an experimental film. The narrative is very hard to follow and never streamlined in the way it is edited, blending naturalism and surrealism to create a fantasy drama that is hard to deny. Through striking imagery and impressive filmmaking, Touki Bouki examines the devastating effect colonialism can have, focusing on monetary obsession, consuming these two young individuals. Around maybe late teens, early 20s, watching these two young character idolize money and success captures the effect France has on the culture of Senegal, using these two individuals to express it. The juxtaposition and use of symbolism in Touki Bouki really stands out, with Djbril Diop Mambety creating the most experimental film I've ever seen from African cinema. Djbril Diop Mambety delivers a unique film that uses youthful idealism and rebellion to explore more complex issues and challenging the environment he himself is from. Less adventurous film watchers will probably be turned off by Touki Bouki's hard to follow narrative, but for viewers willing to give it a chance, Touki Bouki is an enchanting exploration of a host of political, social, and humanistic ideas. Joe Lynch's Everly is an over-the-top action film that apologizes for nothing, delivering an off-the-wall, self-aware, violence piece of filmmaking that is a lot of fun. The film itself is centered around Everly, a high-priced prostitute, who has essentially been a sex-slave for the past decade of her life. Holed up in her apartment, Evelyn is in for the fight of her life, forced to violently defend herself against a host of Hitmen who are sent by her Pimp to extinguish her life after she demands to be released from his grip. Joe Lynch's Everly is a film that doesn't waste anytime throwing the viewer into the action, spending very little time with exposition, as its main protagonist is forced to defend herself from a host of attackers. Taking place entirely in one location, Everly is a simple but exciting action film with visual flair, having no qualms at delivering stylistic touches similar to other great filmmakers in the genre including Tarantino, Leone, etc. The film itself feels like a thinly veiled allegory about female empowerment, as Everly, a lowly prostitute, is literally fighting not only for her life, but for her identity as a single-mother and her personal freedom. While the allegory is fun, its a little disconcerting how much the direction and cinematography end up objectifying the main protagonist throughout the film. If one can get past that double-standard, one can enjoy the best aspect of Everly, its stylistic violence and penchant for the absurdity. This is a film that is very self-aware of its own absurdity, introducing situations, characters, and action sequences that are absurd, violent, and highly entertaining. It may make some viewers a little uncomfortable with how gleefully it plays with violence and torture, but given the film's tongue and cheek approach, Everly worked just fine for me as a film that never apologizes for its desire to deliver a ultra-violent action film full of excess. Similar to other recent horror films like John Wick, Joe Lynch's Everly is a violent action film that creates a strange and often absurd crime world around its main protagonist, making it a unique and fun little action film that never apologizes for what it wants to be. Looking for camerawork, or more importantly a source of income, Aaron comes across an online ad offering a thousand dollars for a day of filming service. Somewhat desperate for cash, Aaron responds to the ad, which finds him driving to a cabin in the mountains. On arrival he meets Joseph, the man responsible for the ad, who explains to Aaron that he simply wants help in creating a video diary for his son. With a seemingly Heartfelt and sincere reasoning behind the filming, Aaron begins to film, but as the day progresses it becomes clear that there is something a little off about Joseph and also something a little dangerous. Patrick Brice's Creep is a very simple yet effective horror film that doesn't rely on its found-footage style online to create tension. A film that takes its time, Creep slowly amps up the tension and danger in its story, slowly revealing that Joseph is a man that may be very, very dangerous. While the found footage aspect is a bit gimmicky, the film doesn't rely on it for its tension, helped out greatly by Mark Duplass' performance as Joseph, the creep. Effective in its horror elements, the film even surprises in its conclusion by creating a film with a rather powerful message about good and evil. Through Aaron's naivety and positive demeanor, Creep is a film that truly believes that there is sometimes true evil in this world, as in a twist cruel of fate, Aaron's eventual demise is completely linked to his inability to 100% accept that some people are past the point of no return when it comes to violence and death. Patrick Brice's Creep is far from a profound film, but it's an effective one, being a fun and creepy little horror thriller that carries an interesting message. Bill Fishman's Tapeheads is a silly and slight satire on Hollywood, marketing and specifically the music video industry, being a film that is funny and full of energy, but never as seething or interesting as it could have been. The film is centered around Ivan Alexov (John Cusack) and Josh Tager (Tim Robbins), two rather directionless twenty-somethings who work as security guards. When they lose their jobs as security guards, they decide to start their own video production company, Video Aces, with Josh's talent serving as the artistic catalyst while Ivan tackles the business side of their new endeavor. Working on some less than inspiring projects at first, including a truly memorable rap-fueled commercial for Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, the two fight tooth and nail for their big break, soon crossing paths with Norman Mart, a presidential candidate whose got a private videotape that must not be seen by the public. While Tapeheads is a film that is hard to not appreciate due to the energetic performances by Tim Robins and John Cusack, the film's plot is rather banal, becoming far less interesting when the political candidate is introduced into the equation. The film's slight commentary on video production is the film's funniest and most engaging attribute, commenting on the objectification of woman, and "do something for nothing" mentality that runs rampant in the entertainment industry. This commentary is far from seething, being playful, but Tapeheads begins to lose my interest when it introduces the presidential candidate with the private videotape, something which Ivan and Josh had no idea was in their possession to begin with. The film touches on the vampirical nature of the music industry and Hollywood as a whole, this desire to have newcomers prove themselves by working for nothing, but Tapeheads is simply more concerned with its light, silly tone. This is a film that reeks of self-infatuation, almost as if the filmmakers felt they were making something far smarter and sharper than the end product. Featuring two earlier comedic performances by Tim Robbins and John Cusack, Tapeheads is a silly albeit slight film about the music industry that relies too heavily on exhausted cliches and tropes to be anything above serviceable. Meeting under some less than ideal circumstances in a restaurant bathroom, Jude and Mina, two twenty-somethings living in New York City, quickly fall in love and get married. Seemingly having the perfect relationship, where Jude and Mina each balance each other out perfectly, the couples' relationship takes a startling and drastic turn with the birth of their son. Always concerned about the well-being of her child, Mina begins to develop an unhealthy obsession with keeping their child away from all contaminants, introducing their young son to a "pure" lifestyle that may in fact be slowly killing him due to malnutrition. Saverio Costanzo's Hungry Hearts is a startling psychological drama that works better as a schlock-y b-movie than a profound exploration of maternity and mental illness. This is a film that encapsulates the dangers associated with loving too much, as Mina becomes a character obsessed with protecting her baby boy to such a degree that it may end up killing him. The film doesn't have much of an explanation as to why Mina becomes so mentally unstable, but it does offer subtle hints about her unwinding psychosis. While Mina losing her mother at such a young age suggests she is overprotective of her young child, the film also provides surrealistic nightmare sequences, where Mina witnesses the death of a deer. These dreams are very ambiguous, but it becomes apparent that Mina's overprotective nature has led her to not trust her husband and his family, viewing them as people whose in-pure practices could lead to the death of her child. The film requires a lead of faith to a degree, as Mina's destructive obsession feels a tad too cartoonish to be believable, but i'd be lying if I didn't say I highly enjoyed this stylish, exaggerated psychological thriller. The visual style of Hungry Hearts is impressive, transporting the viewer into the psyche of this character, using handheld tracking shots, meditative framing, and sharp high/low angles to create a sense of tension. As the film progresses, it slowly descends into a horror movie, with the cinematography taking on an even more free-flowing photography reminiscent of Andrzej Zulawski's films, perfectly escalating the film to another level as Mina becomes more unhinged. The film always is compelling and intriguing, due in large part to Alba Rohrwacher's performance, which manages to make the character somewhat sympathetic as a mother who desperately loves her son. Part horror movie, part cautionary tale, Saverio Costanzo's Hungry Hearts is a haunting evocation on the darker aspects of maternal instinct, showcasing how unconditional love could lead to dangerous consequences. Ian Gabriel's Four Corners is an ensemble crime story set in South Africa's Cape Flats, a volatile area that is completely dominated by two gangs, the 26s and 28s. Having just been released from prison after serving 13 years behind bars, Farakahn, a general in the 28, is fed-up with the violent lifestyle, wishing nothing more than to settle down in his home and find his son, a 13-year-old boy he has never met. His son, Ricardo, is completely unaware of his father's existence, a childhood chess protege whose future is threatened by his growing interest in the 26 gang, as he is groomed to be a member by one of the local leaders. Four Corners is a powerful crime ensemble story that uses three primary characters in Farakahn, Ricardo, and Leila, a long-based doctor who returns home to Cape Flats for her father's funeral, to capture the dehumanizing quality of gang culture, where the individual is weak and basically worthless, with enemies viewed as nothing more than something standing in the way of the group's interests. Farakahn and his son Ricardo grew up on the same streets, in the same neighborhood, but while Farakahn is a member of the 28s, his son is slowly becoming indoctrinated into the 26s, the gang that now controls the neighborhood. In an area that has been in conflict for the better half of century, perhaps Four Corners greatest attributed is its ability to capture the lack of community and lack of individuality this type of environment breeds, as neighborhoods become nothing more but land for various gangs to fight over. Four Corners can be a raw and brutally violent film, but what stands out is the speed and quickness of the violence, where life can turn to death in the blink of an eye. Touching, intense, and true, Ian Gabriel's Four Corners encapsulates the essence of gang culture, exhibiting how gangs tend to prey on the directionless and weak, those who turn to this culture for a sense of purpose and strength. |
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June 2023
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