johnhomicidal

This movie was all right, it wasn't bad but it also wasn't spectacular. I really think that the movie industry needed that one special film to push for awards season and Slumdog was a safe bet. The film wasn't nearly as gritty and dramatic as City of God (and I was told that it would be) and all in all, I expected a little bit more out of Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Shallow Grave). There were more than a few plot holes that I guess every movie critic that saw the film decided to ignore (like how the heck does he actually get onto the show?). Also, Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.'s music is terrible for the film and sounds kind of corny when played in context with some of the scenes. I mean, let's face it: "Paper Planes" was old the minute the first screening of the Pineapple Express trailer was finished; and Slumdog Millionaire plays this particular song like three different times in the film. Also, the dance sequence at the end of the film is just plain dumb (I'm guessing its paying tribute to Bollywood films or something); it really takes away from the dramatic punch and tone that the film had been trying to establish.

T.F. Mous "Men Behind the Sun" will forever be one of those "mythic" films; and by mythic I mean it's probably only really well-known in somes circles--I absolutely don't mean it possess any type of special ethereal quality that makes the viewer feel good on the inside and overall a better person just for watching it. No, in fact it's quite the opposite--"Men Behind the Sun" will make you feel bad, no filthy for watching it. Made independently in 1988, "Men Behind the Sun" has caused controversy wherever it was screened outside of China. The first time I read about this film, I mentally grouped it in the same category as cheesy women-in-prison films like "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS." It wasn't until reading an amazon.com list of the sickest movies of all-time did I decide to check this bizarre little gem out for myself. Essentially the plot examines the experiments performed by the Japanese on Chinese and American POW's during World War II at the infamous bacterial-weapons research facility Camp 731. It tells the story of a group of Japanese children-soldiers forced to work at the camp and who are witness to the grisly experiments that take place therein. But the film isn't really about plot as it devotes more than ample time to the gory, almost unwatchable experiments on the helpless, hapless Chinese prisoners. Notable mutilations include: a man put into a compression chamber until his intestines explode out of his backside; a woman subjected to frostbite until her arms fall off; and finally, the coup de grace--the actually dissection and dismemberment of a dead five-year-old's body on screen (and yes, they actually used the real dead body of a little boy for this sequence and yes it will offend you). Other than the experiments and story of the boys' survival at the camp there really is much in the way of plot. In fact, it really seems like T.F. Mous made the film either as a "we will never forget" statement or a "the Japanese are such jerks" statement. Whatever the case maybe, it's still a relatively entertaining film that kind of has to exist for art's sake. But you will probably wind up wondering whether or not dissecting an actual dead little boy on-screen is art or the ultimate form of exploitation. But for six bucks on e-bay it's kind of worth a look.

I bought this film when I was going through my "douchebag hipster" phase which occurred around my sophomore year of college. I was into anything that was considered subversive or artsy and involved happening young people smoking and delivering profanity-laced dialogue. At the time, I loved this film--it was flashy, violent and angst-ridden, basically everything I wanted to be. After I quit smoking, stopped dressing like a techno-druggie and stopped worrying about who had weed I could buy, I decided to view this film again. Man, this film is pretty flipping retarded. First off--I know that the director was trying to make a surreal road movie and that many of the elements of the film were subject to deus ex machina. However, I kind of had a problem with the fact that these kids were on the road for like two weeks, never really changed their clothes, never exercised, smoked like fiends and ate quick-stop chili dogs for breakfast lunch and dinner yet they all still looked like they just stepped out of a Hot Topic fashion shoot. White teeth, blowed dried hair and great skin adorned all of the "teenagers" in this film. Now, maybe I'm just being a movie snob I don't know. But if this film had been any good, I think I could forgive incongruencies such as the aforemntioned hygiene issues. However, the film itself was pretty much self-indulgent crap that I'm sure symbolized the fleeting nature of youth and innocence and hope or some other goofy avant-garde bull. However, if you can somehow accept this film for what it is--over the top, overly artsy-fartsy and trying to make a myriad of nonsensical "statements," then at least the crap becomes somewhat beautiful. In fact, I think I can only recommend this movie to people who are fans of the stars--it features a pre-Donnie Darko James Duvall and a pre-fame Rose McGowan (both actors are featured in pretty hot sex scenes, for those of you wondering). Jonathon Schaech I couldn't really give a crap about since he was the worst actor in the film He was pretty good in "That Thing You Do" but after that he fell off my radar. The cameos are kind of cool, early ones include Margaret Cho and Perry Farrel of Jane's Addiction. The best however come from Nicky Katt who plays a mentally unstable Burger joint employee who mistakes Rose McGowan's character for his ex-girlfriend.