Get Back Jack!

A film that seems to be passed up and ignore, Remarkable Power is a low key genius piece of comedy. This film caught my eye at the local pawn shop and I couldn't seem to ignore it, even though I kept telling myself it looked like junk. However, with a stunning cast that features one of the best stand-up comedians, Christopher Tidus, and up and coming, rising American Horror Story star, Evan Peters, this is not a piece of junk. The film has a variety of scenarios and plots, each character has an obstacle to overcome and each has a not so responsible solution. Even though the other actors seem to have more credit as the film's main stars, Peters certainly is the most focused on and prominent character as the stoner nobody with a dream of remarkable power. He gets caught in a situation where he is going to be killed by an infomercial star he admires when he becomes the killer in a freak accident. It all unwinds from there with two wannabe sleuths (one of which an actress I recall from a favorite of mine, Brick), some Jewish mafia (?), and Christopher Tidus as the angel/devil over the shoulder role through Peter's imagination. The supposed "main" plot that acts as a side plot is that of a television anchor man, Tom Arnold, of whom has been given evidence of his wife's affair with a famous sportsman. He spends most of the film coming up with a way to get his revenge. The stories do intertwine and the ending is quite clever. Dark, witty, and with quirky characters, this film really is worth seeing.

I was really surprised how good this movie was when I watched it on Amazon. For a couple bucks it was well worth it. Not sure why some of the reviews are hating so much. It was funny! Had good actors and the plot was really cool. I was not expecting an oscar winner and it really surprised me. Great movie.

I can't believe I almost passed on this gem because of its pathetic IMDb rating (5.2), but something about the plot sounded interesting so I had to see for myself.

Popped it in the DVD player figuring I'd let it play in the background while I had a workout. I only got as far as 4 sit-ups before finding myself riveted to the screen (and it's not just because my sorry ass can do only 4 sit-ups). In the first 5 minutes, the movie teases us with a celebrity murder, a hot blonde caught on videotape doing nasty things, a hilariously bad self-help infomercial, and a stoner/loser kid who is obsessed with the aforementioned infomercial.

How do these seemingly random events come together? That, my friends, is why you must see this movie.

Told in a quirky non-linear way (jumping back & forth in time, place and narrator's perspective), the film immediately presents itself as a puzzle that we're supposed to solve. It's extremely economical; not a single minute is wasted, just like a good whodunnit should be. You'd think this would sacrifice character development, but on the contrary, the acting is so excellent that you immediately know & understand each character from their first minute on screen. Relying on this, the director doesn't need to bore us with unnecessary backstories and contrived dialogue. Instead we are thrown right into the mix and forced to figure out who's who & what's what (just like our hero in the movie, the stoner/loser kid from Milwaukee who is suddenly thrown into the most bizarre string of events ever imaginable, including, but not limited to: coked-up knife salesmen, cute porn stars, Jewish mobsters, kosher fried chicken, cops in Batman/Robin suits, and maybe even a zombie visitation or two).

If it sounds weird, you better strap on your crazy hat, sister, cos it gets WEIRDER.

The brand of humour is low-key but hilarious. It reminded me of director Jim Jarmusch ("Coffee & Cigaretters", "Night on Earth", "Ghost Dog") and the funny side of Wim Wenders ("Million Dollar Hotel") with maybe a little bit of Vincent Gallo's bizarre sarcasm ("Buffalo 66").

The presentation made me think of the classics "Pulp Fiction", "Suicide Kings" and an obscure yet awesome Japanese film "Summer Time Machine Blues". These films are told in cryptic fragments, seemingly unrelated, but if you're paying attention you'll be rewarded with a grand epiphany at the end when everything comes together. It's downright symphonic.

Which brings me to my next bit of praise: amazing soundtrack! We get bits of the old school stuff from Judas Priest, Depeche Mode, Winger, and the recurring themesong: that classic groove from 1970, "Look-Ka Py Py" by The Meters (go to YouTube & check it out if you don't recognize the title).

If you like quirky, cleverly-written, dark comedies with lovable oddball characters, you definitely need to check this out. As always, don't put too much stock in IMDb's ratings. See for yourself.

Well I'd better get back to doing my sit-ups. Where was I? Oh yeah... 97...98...99...

A lot of notable performers took part in this black comedy, and overall I'd say it worked. I especially liked Tom Arnold's character. For the most part the story moved along nicely and there were a couple of surprises. Not a big budget production, but it didn't pretend to be. I loved that the movie ended with a song by Public Image Limited, and I enjoyed the film.

Remarkable Power is an interesting indie film that brings together several very disparate stories and neatly ties them together for the climax. Through most of the film it felt like I was watching two movies, most of the stories come together in two separate arcs early on but do not intersect until the end. In retrospect I really should have figured out what was happening sooner, but I was a little slow on this one.

Kevin Nealon plays an aging late night talk show host who is about to be canned by the network, his wife is having an affair, and he knows about it because he has hired a Private Investigator (Tom Arnold) to follow her around. The second storyline involves a burnout loser (Evan Peters) who meets a failed actor (Kip Pardue) that happens to be in a self help video he purchased while stoned late at night. There is a fight, someone dies, a girl shows up, drug dealers are looking for money, and Russian mafia are looking for a body. As I said, several stories that are seemingly independent come together in a clever way. If you have a free space in your Netflix queue fill it with Remarkable Power, it's a good wast of time.