willson_x

It's not everyday I venture out of my comfort zone when it comes to film- I'm happy watching The Wedding Singer, a good psychological thriller, a cop thriller, the sort of thing Harrison ford would've appeared in in the 90s, you know, standard movie-going fare- but once in a while you come across a peculiar film that you just stumble across and you give it your full attention, and if you hang on, there is a reward at the end. I've read the other reviews for this film on this website, and they say things like it's "hypnotic" or "surreal", the bad reviews are mainly by pretentious types that use musty words like "Lynchian", or say "I wish I could give this a zero!" words that should end up on a tissue, but somehow end up here. The point is, I gave it a go, and I can safely say its a belter, the "hypnotic" and "surreal" quotes definitely apply. Firstly, is it entertaining?: Yes, that would definitely be a yes. It's got a shed-load of big actors on board doing unconventional performances, there many quirky, messed up moments, a lot of dark humour and a floaty script that fleshes out a distinct dreamy, lost atmosphere, accentuated by the incredible cinematography and music choices that are not typical of any film I've ever seen.

Secondly, the cultural merit: It starts off like a pragmatic cop drama, you get Willem Dafoe and his understudy, chatting chit, doing what cops in films do, shooting the breeze and driving to the crime scene like any other day on the job, but then they arrive and the mystery starts to unravel and the story's told in a series of flashbacks told by witnesses, and cutbacks to the "present" where the police are negotiating Michael Shannon's surrender. Like Sherlock Holmes said "Everything becomes commonplace by explanation", and though I've laid out the formula, and reading my own explanation back to myself, I make it sound like an episode of Columbo, the truth is, it's closer to something Rod Serling would've come up with, and then some. What's interesting about this film is that unlike a lot of other killer/cop dramas, they don't really try and make sense of the crime, the crime itself is solved within the first 5 minutes, what this film does is try and legitimately explain *WHY* this guy committed a murder, and then through secondary storytelling methods, the Killer's clouded mind becomes the primary focus of the whole thing, and the voices of his friends and family kind of become ghostly and fading as you start to understand more about the fantasy he lives in and how certain events drove him to do it. The mystery is an unsolvable one, but granted by the end of the film you will have some sort of self-made answer, and I think, lame as it sounds, that's the joy of this film-

The sun bleached camera, the hazy L.A. suburban Americana, the unique characters and mini- stories all come together and it just sort of washes over you. It's a quirky indie film like you've never seen, not quite as good as "Paris, Texas", or "Romeo is Bleeding", but it's in the same vein, and whatever it tries to do, whatever that is, it succeeds on all fronts. It's worth a watch, it's sharp, it's clever in the right places, and stupid in others, but that absurdity gives it genuine character, which is rare in films with such big Hollywood actors involved. Really, when a film like this comes out, and it's the closest thing to art you've seen for a long time in modern cinema, believe me when I say it's worth a watch. Don't take my word for it, read up on the true story, it's based on a real case, 1979, murder by sword, Oedipus and all that good stuff, The calibre of actors speak for itself, and the collective interpretation of all involved is worth the price of admission alone. I read somewhere that this was supposed to be a "horror" story, well it's not quite that, and it's not quite a psychological drama, it's definitely speculative fiction, and lies somewhere on the periphery of explanation, between all those genres, a little to the left and then up a bit, then forward a bit more, then left again, then right, then left....

Usually I float over titles I see on this website and let it be as karma to the film, or whatever, but this one seems to have a bad rep that I intend on redeeming. This film is worth me putting my foot in the door and saying something, I can't physically change your mind, but I can try and push the bad reviewers out of sight (by finding out where they live, kidnapping them with 3 rolls of duct tape per body, some heavy duty garden rope, and dropping them off the shortest peak of Mt Everest.) Some reviews say it's just a film that panders to gore hounds, where others say the story makes not a blip of sense. I recently watched another Italian horror director's (Lucio Fulci)film "House By The Cemetery", and I realised something about the whole genre of Italian Horror, whether it be very grounded Giallo types, or the supernaturally dream like horrors that feel like a hallucination. They're films that go for a "definite feeling", how they get there at the end, however unorthodox or off the wall they are, they achieve dread through little quirks and symbols, artistic motifs, camera shots, music that is genuinely saddening and horrifying. But whatever criticisms you might have about the acting, the strange, unrealistic script, the gore... you get "there". It creeps up your skin. It goes for a densely packed experience, filled with all kinds of dreams, fashion, themes and nightmares. On a documentary about Italian Horror films, it said something very important about the cultural significance of them and it is something that Fulci said: "Violence is an Italian art". There's something about their overbearing, bloody, Roman past, and their highly emotional society, and how even today it is so constricted by religion and class orders, and how this is represented in their horror output as a kind of rebellion. Sure there is worthy Italian comedy, but it's the horror that is done artistically and poignantly, and always in anything gruesome, there is a sense of humour anyway. It seems what they want us to believe is that it comes naturally to them and we should understand that their understanding serves a purpose in the universe.

With "Opera", the setting is that familiar scene of paparazzi, false love, real pain, celebrities, the fans, that cold world where talent, and love for what you do, takes you. Least of all, it's about Guiseppe Verdi's opera- "Macbeth". Actors at odds with their fans, A dark celebration of youth, life imitating art, it could be interpreted many ways, but ultimately I think what's clearest about it is its disdain for celebrity worshiping culture. It's fantastically cynical and has a seething hatred running through it. It's shot like a dream, which is not uncommon for Argento films, but a dream which turns sour for the unsuspecting protagonist who is unsure about the power of her singing talent, but coerced into taking the role of Lady Macbeth. The art direction in this is grey and futuristic looking, everything is the colour of granite, splashed with blue. Every element of the movie is densely layered, the cinematography, the music, the pacing is so tightly packed it's like watching someone get stuck in a black hole where no man has gone before. And that's my last point about this movie and why you should see it... it's a completely original film, an artistic accomplishment in its own right. It's a rebellious statement, it's brutal, it's seductive, it's confidently done, I just hope you read this review before the others and at least give it a chance. Saying it's rebellious has made me realise something: modern horror films are done for the enjoyment of watching them, it's like the makers enjoy it and that carries on, whereas the old films were made by men and women who were fighting in their own small ways, an oppressive society, who enjoyed fear above all else because the horror makes you think, they used their dream like horror as an intellectual and educational tool. This film is still a part of that "Old School". I don't know what to say, maybe my love for this movie is as irrational as the whole Italian horror canon, as the dream-like way in which they shot the films, but as far as going on pure feeling goes, my gut tells me to follow this one, and you should too. Get a creep under your skin, get a view of the world you've not seen, watch this!!

Not a 10 star title, but to its credit, certainly there is much effort involved. It's not a movie marked for greatness, however, it is not a schlock effort either. It is a serious science-fictional tale which, like any good science fiction, draws parallels with our humanity and analogises our own possible fates.

I LOVE science fiction. It is my 2nd favourite genre (Next to ancient history) of any medium because of the endless possibilities, the greatness it can make us feel, and perhaps because the brightest talents of the 20th/21st Century have been dedicated to harnessing the power science fiction holds. It takes us out of our planet and into realms we do not have the means to get to without the help and inspiration of these people. I say this film ticks all those boxes. It's based on a brief 20/30 minute Twilight zone episode, the second generation series from the 80s. The episode itself is a small, neatly little packaged story, it's very simple: A man comes to an ordinary couple's house and offers them a boat load of money IF... and then he produces a box with a button... they DO NOT press the button in the allotted time limit. A tense, darkly comical episode. In the context of the show it is just another fun episode dealing with human conflicts and possible outcomes, however, out of context, the idea can be related to something larger and more universal. I'm really glad the director Richard Kelley saw this opportunity to do so. The film itself is a mad, tragic film with a great ending and one that gives you a push into the unknown. I can't think of another film like it. The lengths it goes to prove a point about humankind is astounding. The choice of having box office babes Cameron Diaz and James Marsden was a tad gimmicky and definitely didn't help the films final overall vibe and hence why it isn't a classic, but that aside, the rest of the movie's story, cast, atmosphere was dead on. I've tried not to say too much about the movie as I respect it and think that if you enjoy science fiction this is definitely one for you. It's a movie worth a watch because it has heart, it has depth and it has a uniqueness that is hard to find in a film. I hope you get something out of it.