A blog by Tim George. Follow my other work at http://www.tewahanui.nz/by/tim.george, http://www.denofgeek.com/authors/tim-george, and theatrescenes.co.nz.
Written and directed by Sion Sono, the current enfant terrible of Japanese genre cinema.
At its heart, this movie is a love letter to independent filmmaking. I'm not talking Juno and Little Miss Sunshine, I'm talking get-out-a-camcorder-and-filming-your-friends-in-your-backyard level.
The main characters are fuck-ups. Dreaming of becoming the next blockbuster directors, they are well past the age where getting a normal job is an option. Thanks to an insanely intricate series of circumstances, they get a chance at fulfilling their celluloid dreams.
I don't want to blow the third act, but it involves a lot of yakuza.
This movie is the equivalent of a joke. However, the setup takes over an hour. While this might feel a tad tedious, when the punchline comes, the laughs come hard and fast. As do the bullets, swords and geysers of viscera.
There is so much goodness here and I do not want to spoil it. If you have the chance, please grab a bunch of your more unhinged friends and feast your eyes!
Been a minute since I posted anything so I thought I'd drop a quick word about Deadpool. Saw it a couple days ago, so certain details are a bit foggy.
Overall thought? It's really good. Just a good, fun time. Lots of jokes, good action, interesting characters and a strangely affecting love story all wrapped up into one supremely entertaining package.
Best movie of all time? Nah, but it's good fun, and a heck of a lot more involving than most of the comic book movies I've seen recently.
Maybe it speaks to the darkness in my soul, but the blood-splattered schadenfreude on show here is just perfect.
Ryan Reynolds is terrific. he's finally found a showcase that fits him like a glove. While I have nothing against the guy, he's never done anything that I found that impressive. This is the first role where it feels like no one else could play the part.
He hits all of Wade Wilson's contradictions and makes it feel like one supremely unstable individual.
Morena Baccarin is also terrific as Wilson's love, Vanessa. Their dynamic and chemistry make the movie what it is. The jokes are great, but they would all fall flat if there was not a little heart to it all.
Like Dredd, this is a comic book movie on a low budget but one done right. The story is very small, with a small cast and a limited set of locations. Thanks to strong scripting from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and inventive direction from Tim Miller, Deadpool works as a solid one-shot of Deadpool awesomeness.
Biggest surprise: The cost-cutting appearance by the 'X-Men' is almost as good as the Big Cameo from Reese and Wernick's Zombieland.
The re-vamped Colossus is a delight. A big boy scout with a heart as big as he is, the Russian behemoth is the perfect foil for Deadpool's anarchy. And Negasonic Teenage Warhead is just cool. Dig the name, dig the buzzcut.
Everything about these two made me laugh. Even that eyebrow. See? Bahahahahahahaha.
Anyway, it's a fun movie. If you're keen for some good laughs, blood and a Stan Lee cameo, Deadpool is right up your alley.
I watched this movie when I was a kid and promptly forgot about it. A year ago, I discovered the podcast How Did This Get Made? which discusses bad movies. After listening their episode on Fair Game, I was curious to re-visit it.
I did. And it sucked.
This movie is the acting debut of Cindy Crawford. She plays a lawyer who wants a boat as part of a divorce settlement. The ex-KGB guys using the boat as their base don't like this and try to kill her. The only man who can stand in their way is William Baldwin.
One of the Baldwin brothers, Billy is not a good actor. But he is frickin' Olivier compared with the dead tree stump he's acting opposite.
Cindy Crawford cannot act. Her delivery is so flat it just sucks all the energy out of the room. The scene where she tries to be 'sexy' to get information out of a computer nerd is one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever seen.
This clip is all cut up to hell, but you get the general idea. I mean, 'sexy' is the only reason she's in this movie, and she can't even do that. If it is not obvious, her chemistry with Baldwin is zero. There is a pot plant sitting on the table in front of me as I write this. We have more chemistry than Crawford and Baldwin do in this movie.
There's a super-90s sex scene that happens midway through this movie (lots of shots of hands and disgusting wet mouths gnawing each other). It's gross, and most of the reasons why I became a Trappist monk. I ship out next week. I never want to see another supermodel ever again (I'll probably go back on that in three days).
Salma Hayek turns up as Baldwin's ex-girlfriend. She plays a hot headed Latina. She displays a range of emotions, from barely repressed rage to homicidal rage. Those hot blooded Latinas!
Steven Berkoff turns up as the bad guy. If you've seen one Berkoff performance, you've seen them all.
Christopher McDonald, he ofTerminal Velocity and Happy Gilmore fame, turns up as Baldwin's boss -- he's basically Shooter McGavin in suspenders.
Ugh, writing this review is almost as draining as the movie. What else can I talk about?
This movie feels about a decade out of date. For a supposed techno-thriller, the way that people interact with technology is baffling. There's a point where Baldwin doesn't understand how a fax machine works.
The action in this movie is so poorly done it comes off as parody -- the bit where Crawford's house blows up and she flies out into the canal is hilarious. You have to see it to believe it.
Is there anything good in it? I really liked the music over the main titles -- cheesy 'sexy' synths in that late 80s/early 90s way.
In summation: The movie is really bad -- hilariously so. If you are going to see it, make sure it is with a group of open-minded friends with a lot of beer.
This movie is based on the same book that inspired Stallone's Cobra. If you have the time, read the book, watch both movies and write a more in-depth review than this one.
When one thinks of New Zealand filmmakers, a few names spring to mind: Peter Jackson, Jane Campion, Vincent Ward and Roger Donaldson. In terms of directors who have made the jump to big budget Hollywood and made a career, Jackson and Donaldson are seen as the ones who made it. One name you rarely hear mentioned is Martin Cambell. One of the most underrated action filmmakers of the last 20 years, Campbell has been handicapped by long spaces between projects and a few high profile duds (Green Lantern).
Background
Considering where his career went, Campbell's eclectic early moves make sense: he started out in the early 70s with British sex comedies, developed his action chops working on The Professionals, and solidified his dramatic credentials with his work for the BBC during the watershed years of the 1980s.
Style & influences
There is not a lot of material out there on Campbell's influences, but a few things can be gleaned from what sources are available. During the commentary track for GoldenEye, Campbell repeatedly refers to the influence Sam Peckinpah had on his action staging (especially during Bond's escape from the Russian archives). In an article from Empire magazine from a few years back, he refers specifically to Sergio Leone as a primary influence on the way he conveys character through action.
Rise to prominence
Campbell's rise to respectability began when he directed the well-regarded BBC miniseries Edge of Darkness, which won multiple awards and led to his move to Hollywood (Campbell would later remake it as a movie in 2010 with Mel Gibson). After several years of toiling away at the lower end of the Hollywood machine, working on a variety of minor thrillers and action films, Campbell gained attention with his successful reboot of the Bond franchise in GoldenEye. This gave him the clout to land the job directing one of the best adventure films of the last 20 years, The Mask of Zorro.
Apart from his work on Edge of Darkness, Campbell has made three truly great films:
GoldenEye (1995)
Campbell was against the wall with this movie. The series had been on ice for 6 years, the action landscape had completely changed with the release of Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and True Lies, the Cold War had ended... If it had not worked, this movie could have put the last nail in the franchise's coffin.
GoldenEye is not perfect. The story lags at points, 006 is more of an idea than a fully realised character and Brosnan has not quite got the measure of the part just yet, and Eric Serra's score is absolutely terrible. Yet the movie manages to work in a way that Brosnan's other entries never did.
A lot of why GoldenEye works so well is down to Campbell's direction. Phil Meheux's photography replicates the lush style established by longtime series DOP Ted Moore, Terry Rawling's editing is tight in a style that approximates contemporary tastes, and Campbell combines both elements in such a way that feels both mindful of the series's aesthetic, yet more visceral and dynamic -- if John McTiernan made a Bond movie, it would probably look a lot like GoldenEye.
Many have praised and criticised Casino Royale for breaking from the established style, but most of what Campbell does in that film is already present in GoldenEye. The way Meheux's camera is choreographed perfectly with Brosnan's movements as he slips into the Russian facility in the pre-title sequence is subtle yet striking. Like Leone, Campbell makes sure that his anti-heroes do, not talk, and while Daniel Craig benefits from this parred down approach, the same is true of Brosnan in his debut.
Brosnan is far less flippant than in the rest of his tenure, and his best comedic moment isn't even verbal: sneaking onto the yacht where Xenia Onatopp is staying, Bond runs into a sailor who he subdues with the aid of a handy towel. In only a few seconds, Brosnan goes from Mr. Smooth to professional killer -- locking the towel around the sailor's neck and throwing him down a stairwell. One beat to take in his handiwork, then a quick wipe of the brow with the towel and then he's back on task.
Brosnan's more subdued and athletic performance is a clear foreshadowing of the physicality Campbell would lend Craig's portrayal over a decade later. Just check out that final close quarters brawl between 007 and 006. You could swap out Brosnan for Craig and it would feel exactly the same.
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Written by the same team as Pirates of the Caribbean, Campbell's first stab at Zorro remains one of the best old school adventure movies ever made. The cast are on form, the script is fast and funny, and the action is excellent.
And like his Bond flicks, Mask of Zorro manages to feel contemporary without losing that old-school flair. Campbell does not go for unusual camera speeds or lighting effects -- he just pares everything down to the essentials. It always feels like the camera is in the right place, the cut to another angle well timed, the camera move seamless and un-showy.
It's a story-driven approach that works well for the films highlighted here, but works less well when the material Campbell is working with is not so strong. There are a few strong directorial moments in his other works, but Campbell's style and approach cannot make up for a good script. It would take him almost another decade to find another strong showcase for his talents.
Casino Royale (2006)
One of the best action films of the last 15 years. I've written way too much about how great Casino Royale is, so I'll try to keep this short and sweet. This movie has everything a great action movie should have: Great action. Believable characters. A genuinely affecting love story. Granted, the movie feels like 3 movies stapled together, yet Campbell's sure hand pulls the whole thing together.
Final thoughts
I recently wrote an article on underrated action directors and I included Campbell. I'm hoping he puts a few more notches on his belt so that he can get away from the 'underrated tag'. Now in his 70s, that hope is probably a bit of a pipe dream. At the moment, he is in the middle of shooting The Foreigner with Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, and he is set to re-team with Brosnan on an adaptation of Ernst Hemingway's Across the River and Into the Trees.
I've seen a few articles ridiculing the choice of Campbell, but I feel like his approach might be a good match up with Hemingway's economical style. Granted, it is not an action film, and the only real success Campbell has had with non-action material was his work on Edge of Darkness, and that was back in the 80s. However, maybe it will work out. The script is written by some fairly notable people, and when Campbell has a solid foundation story-wise, he is on form.
And if things don't work out, hopefully he has Eon on speed dial so he can jump onto Bond 25/26!
This movie is Stuart Lancaster's vehicle. Sure, we get a return from Alaina Capri, who provides many chuckles as the wife from hell, but there is something so... I don't know if I could call it human, but there is something so open and vulnerable about Lancaster's sad mug here that he cannot help but dominate proceedings.
The story is another re-run of Meyer's favourite scenario: Lancaster's impotent schlub Burt cannot get it up with Angel (Capri), his much younger wife. In turn Angel satisfies her desires with Stone (Patrick Wright), a neanderthal who is a sure thing when it comes to sex and nothing else. Angel rubs her infidelity in Burt's face, who takes it on the chin. He is finally snapped out of his stupor by an encounter with a mysterious forest nymph played by Haji. Rejuvenated by this mystical intervention, Burt goes back home to take down Stone and re-claim his bride.
This synopsis does not really simplify anything. Like last week's film, Good Morning and... Goodbye! (who came up with that title?!?) is short and sweet. The characters are pure archetypes, only their purity comes from Meyer's skewed view of gender relations -- Burt is good, which translates as a bad lay. Angel is bad, which means she needs a good lay. Stone is frankly evil, but he's great in the sack, so... you get the drift.
This is Alaina Capri's last film for Meyer, and after her moment in the sun she would go back to her original profession: teaching at primary school. All lust and malice, her performance is deliciously camp. Angel does not get the same kudos as Vixen or Varla (Faster, Pussycat!), but she is a prime example of the Meyer Superwoman, and has some of the funniest dialogue and scenes in the Meyer canon (at one point, she drives to a construction site and blares her horn until one of the workers heads her way).
In the batshit corner, Haji's performance as the Sorceress is... kind of hard to put into words. She meows, she snarls, she plays with snakes, she appears and disappears at will. It's definitely Haji's most out-there role, and considering her past work, that's saying something.
As Stone, the sociopathic ladies man, Patrick Wright is all shit-eating grins and sunburned pecs. Like Angel, he's a pretty typical Meyer character that lacks that little something to make him stand out.
Ultimately, that description fits the movie as a whole. It's pretty entertaining, with good performances and Meyer's technical expertise in evidence, but, apart from the title, the movie is not as out there as his other works of this period.
Still, it's fun, and makes for a good double bill with last week's Common Law Cabin.
This movie is great. It's just over an hour long, which is about right for a Meyer movie. It has a pretty simple, melodramatic plot, a collection of out-sized characters who either hate or lust after each other, and a great sense of humour. If you are a neophyte to Meyer and his work, Common Law Cabin is the perfect introduction.
A funny thing about this movie. Originally, it was supposed to be shot in Hawaii. Well, that plan went the way of the dodo and Meyer moved production to a slice of backwater hell that feels like it's just downriver from Lorna's locale. This change in location adds a dark meta-irony to the movie, as we watch a bunch of hapless dupes in Hawaiian shirts and bikinis slog through swamps and deserts.
Meyer gets things started with a bang: Opening with sweeping shots of the Colorado River, John Furlong returns as narrator to offer a series of pompous soundbites about its significance ('leaves like a woman, but a name like a man!'). Signalling Meyer's shift toward outright parody, the main credits are physical signs along the beach.
The story is simple: Dewey Hoople (screenwriter Jack Moran) is the owner of a broken down ranch on the bank of the Colorado river. It's a hellhole surrounded by desert, yet Dewey has, with the help of local boatman Cracker (Franklin Bolger), turned it into an unlikely tourist attraction -- Cracker hangs around a local resort and entices unwary tourists on a day trip to Dewey's place, vaguely described as a hidden treasure.
The saps on this occasion are Dr. Martin Ross (John Furlong, who also performs the opening narration), his wife Sheila (Alaina Capri) and mysterious stranger Barney Rickert (Ken Swofford), who has a gun, a bag full of money and an eye for the good doctor's wife.
It's like a cartoon remake of Knife in the Water, with characters trading barbs like drag queens. Alaina Capri is catty to the extreme, but the real find is Babette Bardot, one of the 'stars' of Mondo Topless!, who plays Dewey's girlfriend. Thank god for closed captioning because her dialogue is almost impenetrable. It does not help that Dewey's daughter is played by German stripper Adele Rein. Between their respective accents, dialogue is almost pointless.
In terms of the male side of the cast, Moran does well as sad sack Dewey, and John Furlong is equal parts hilarious and sad as ultimate chump Dr. Ross. The best performer overall is Ken Swofford. He is terrific as a psychotic cop who hijacks the expedition -- he's another in Meyer's collection of evil he-men, and Swofford gives him a diabolical charm that is both funny and scary. He seems to be completely in tune with the tone of this picture, and it is a pity Meyer didn't put him in more pictures -- he would have been great in Supervixens.
Of the Meyer films I have not seen before, Common Law Cabin is definitely one of the highlights. As an entry point into Meyer's comedic output, it is note perfect.
Though Jason Statham stepped into Charles Bronson's shoes for his remake of The Mechanic, Safe is a better evocation of the style of action picture Bronson, Lee Marvin and Walter Hill turned out in their 70s heyday. This is a tight, brutal action thriller in the mould of the work of Walter Hill. Everything in this movie is pared down to the absolute essentials. Written and directed by the inconsistent Boaz Yakin, Safe may be his best film. It is also Statham's best, most unapologetic action flick.
A homeless drifter tormented by his past, Statham is thrown together with a hyper-intelligent child on the run from her unsavoury guardian, a mob boss who does not trust computers and uses her talents to keep track of his holdings.
Marked by short, brutal bursts of violence and leavened by a sense of black humour and invention, Safe deserves to stand alongside the likes of John Wick and Dredd as a terse, violent throwback to the action films of the 70s and 80s.
