Abe is a thirty-something year old who lives at home with his parents. To make a living, he works at his dad's real estate company where he hardly ever contributes. At a wedding he meets Miranda, a woman who is also in arrested development, and though they are extremely different, Abe pursues her affection incessantly. Todd Solondz' Dark Horse is a film about a not so likeable character in Abe. He is extremely confident on the outside, yet he is absolutely terrified of leaving the safety of his shell. Solondz films are always very unique and Dark Horse is no different. The film is very funny, entertaining and ultimately rather devastating which are the typical trademarks of one of his films. Abe is a fascinating character to watch on screen who is both extremely reassured yet awkward. I loved the little subtle character quirks like how he drives a huge bright yellow hummer, for example, as a way of compensating for his insecurities. As the film moves along it becomes more and more surreal really getting into the head space of this shy sad man, as we, the viewer, begin to realize just how mentally devastated Abe is. There are frequent moments where we are put directly into his mind, seeing his thoughts and how he always seems to blame everyone but himself. That is what is so interesting about Abe as a character, his unwillingness to simply admit he is wrong. The film hits an emotionally poignancy towards the end that was fantastic and while it is probably my least favorite of his films, it still has a lot going for it. 8.25/10
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Fresh out of training and on to the streets, Rookie cop Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) witnesses an attempted robbery on her first night. Megan approaches the criminal, a nice little role by Tom Sizemore, and when he aims his gun at her, she opens fire, killing the man. Unbeknownst to her, Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver) an innocent bi-stander of the incident, takes the criminal's gun home leaving Megan with a hard story to explain to her superiors. Eugene, a wealthy stockbroker, becomes obsessed with Megan, having all the traits of an absolute sociopath. Going into Kathryn Bigelow's Blue Steel, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had heard good things but nothing prepared me for what I would consider the best film of her career. While Jamie Lee Curtis is the star of the film, and does an admirable job, this film belongs to Ron Silver, who completely steals every scene he is in. Silver is down right amazing in this role, creating a iconic, creepy, incredibly fun villain who captures the screen with a presence which is rarely seen. There is a scene in this film where Eugene goes into the night, picking up a hooker. We see him on the rough top, the camera angle makes it appear as if he is merely in jubilee from sex, but then the horror hits. The camera shifts revealing that Eugene is getting off on the destruction he has caused to this hookers flesh, rubbing her bloody garments over his body in pure ecstasy. Yea, it's awesome. The film is loaded with interesting themes from the hallucinative, borderline seductive affect of guns, power and violence to stripping down Megan Turner's cop character to sick fetishism. Moody and atmospheric, the visuals have a blue hue to them, with light piercing through the frame creating an expressionistic tone. The cinematography also adds to this, mixing handheld and pow, really putting the viewer directly into the perspective of young Megan Turner. In the end, one could argue that the film is truly about self empowerment, showing a female character in Turner, who is perceived as somewhat weak and fragile, becoming a strong female character who goes toe to toe with Eugene. 9/10 Eager to escape the Midlands and seek out a better life in London, Tomo at 16 years old, leaves his his home behind going out into the unknown. Wandering the streets of Somers Town, Tomo meets Marek, a polish immigrant, who is both sensitive and quiet. Neither boy has anyone they can really confide in, leading to an unlikely bond forming between the two boys. Shane Meadows'' Somers Town is a small-scale intimate story completely told from the perspective of these two boys. Nothing about this film feels manufactured for dramatic purposes, rather giving a completely honest portrait of two boys who don't want to end up aimless like their fathers. Early on, we see the differences between these two, both culturally and socially, in the end making their growing friendship feel even more organic. How the film dealt with the relationship between Marek and his father was masterful. It is clearly secondary to the story of the two boys friendship yet it's subtle and humanistic. It's clear that Marek's father loves his son yet we see how his alcoholism and past relationship failures with Marek's mother have shaped Marek into a boy who feels he has no one he can truly talk too or confide in. Meadows proves that no genre is out of reach for him, and the transitional moment towards the end of the film - from black and white to color photography, provides a perfect bookend to the story, showing how these two boys finally feel truly alive. 8/10 Set during the summer of 1997, Ga Yin and his fellow soldiers who have served in the British army, have lost their jobs because of the impending handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China. Without no real skills, the men feel like they have wasted their time serving in the British army, considering the incoming regime change, leading them to find employment and work any way possible. With little success in his job search, Ga Yin joins his irresponsible brother in working for the Triad. Fruit Chan's The Longest Summer is a tale of disenchanted individuals who see themselves lost in a changing world. The film explores how quickly things can change, showing the dying of old traditions or culture and how this affects people who cannot easily adapt. While I did find the film interesting, I never felt nearly as connected emotionally to Ga Yin as I should have been, leading to an intellectually stimulating, yet ultimately somewhat unsatisfying film. Towards the end of the film, the emotional connection begins to form as we see Ga Yin struggle, but this needed to happen earlier on. For those not familiar with Fruit Chan's style, it may take some getting used too. It can be quite intrusive on the viewer with certain compositions or camera moments which just feel jarring. It also has an odd tone, being extremely serious yet very playful which worked sometimes, but I was not personally a fan of some of the music choices. Chan's style is very kinetic and features some gorgeous compositions and energetic cinematography, leaving me wishing I could have connected more emotionally to the character. I am a huge fan of Fruit Chan's Made in Hong Kong so I am still very interested to see more of this unique filmmakers work. 7/10 |
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June 2023
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