It’s not often that filmmakers strive to set themselves apart from what’s been widely embraced by the horror community and manage to properly redefine a subgenre. Before “Return of the Living Dead” fans accepted the walking dead shambled slowly toward you and ate flesh, but Dan O’Bannon transformed his zombies in to undead crack heads. Said undead crack heads bolted toward their prey like lightning, were devilishly clever, and craved human brains as a source of nourishment. Though “Return of the Living Dead” has a remarkable sense of humor and will inspire a lot of uneasy laughs from the audience, it’s through and through a creepy horror thriller about groups of people fending off undead monsters from every corner while trying to escape Kentucky as it’s ravaged by brain eating ghouls.
Tag Archives: Action
The Pack (2015) [Blu-Ray]
Once again, “The Pack” is another in a long line of modern horror films that feel as if they were once written for the late seventies. Nick Robertson’s horror thriller is a very stripped down and simplistic survival thriller that packs in enough excitement and suspense to compensate for the lack of plot. “The Pack” is a combination of a home invasion thriller, and a nature run amok movie, where a seemingly normal family of four is attacked by a pack of large black wolves that arrive out of the wilderness of the Australian outback one night. The wolves are large and powerful as well as relentless, making the fight for survival absolutely intense.
The Wilson family are going through their troubles, as dad Adam finds out their farm is about to be foreclosed on. This creates familial tension, especially with daughter Sophie who wants to move to the city and be among actual people for once. Suddenly the pack of wild wolves burst from the woods and begin terrorizing the family, causing them to look for a way out of their farm and in to civilization. This proves to be more difficult than they could ever imagine, since they have no radio contact with the outside world, and any efforts from local authorities to rescue them results in the wolves literally tearing apart anyone that enters the threshold. A good amount of “The Pack” is built around the family spread apart and looking for a way to outwit and outmatch the wolves.
Their hunger is insatiable making them vicious and powerful in their pursuit. Robertson films some really tight and intense moments of evasion, as the characters hide in corners and small rooms trying to stay as quiet as possible while they devise a route out of the farm without being mauled. Though the budget obviously keeps us from seeing a full on attack by the wolves every minute, director Robertson works well with the limitations, making the wolves feel almost supernatural at times. Many of the best moments feature our characters making wise moves while the deck is stacked against them with these fierce clever monsters, and I was rooting for this family until the very end.
Though the final scene is a bit goofy for its blatant way of leaving the door open for a follow up, “The Pack” is a very good survival thriller and one I could definitely re-watch. The blu-ray from Scream Factory and IFC Midnight features an eight minute “Making Of” focusing on the dogs in the film, and how they worked with them, along with typical interviews about working with the director. There’s also the original theatrical trailer.
Batman v Superman: Extended Cut or Why You Can’t Pour Perfume on a Pig
Pearls. Again. Bruce Wayne’s origin. Again. Joe Chill. I’m presuming. Again. I can still hear the echoes of fan boys rejoicing that “Batman v Superman” wouldn’t be another origin story, and yet director Zack Snyder allows us the thirtieth origin of Bruce Wayne, all for the purpose of squeezing in Bruce muttering “Martha.” Which is his mother. And so a thousand memes were born.
Director Zack Snyder doesn’t allow us the benefit of young Superman or Clark Kent with his mother, also curiously named Martha, because that would make sense. Plus, Snyder never worked with Diane Lane or Kevin Costner. It would be funny though to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan playing John and Martha Kent.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Joseph Sargent’s action thriller is one of the best New York centered works of cinema ever produced. “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” has maintained its powerful suspense and wonderful sense of humor forty two years after its release. It works so well thanks to its very diverse cast, all of whom offer up a very unique variety that works in favor of the film. You wouldn’t think Walter Matthau would be a solid protagonist in such a stern action film, but Matthau holds his own against the vicious and cold turns by Robert Shaw and Hector Elizondo.
Set over the course of one Summer day in New York City, four armed gunmen wearing disguises enter a 6 train headed Downtown. With the codenames Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Brown, the four men are picked up t various stops and proceed to take the train hostage. Packed with loaded submachine guns, they seize the train filled with seventeen passengers, and pack them in to one cart, taking control of the lone cart. Matthau plays Lieutenant Zachary Garber, a New York Transit Authority officer who is contacted by the leader Mr. Blue that they’ve taken the train hostage and are demanding a million dollars within one hour.
The catch is after an hour if the money fails to show up, they will begin murdering passengers every minute after. Robert Shaw is a scene stealer as the dead set and cold killer Blue, who makes it his mission to show how relentless he is, and how much control he holds over every element of the situation. Shaw works beautifully off of co-star Hector Elizondo as Grey, who is the group’s resident hot head, and begins clashing with Blue when he finds he isn’t working up to his satisfaction. Along the way there are a slew of interesting plot twists and dramatic turns, including the mention of an undercover officer hidden on the train among the passengers.
As well there’s the city working to come up with a million dollars before Blue begins murdering passengers left and right. Sargent’s “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” is an absolute masterpiece; it’s briskly paced and kept on high energy, allowing a sense of urgency that will keep you hoping for the best, despite teeth clenching obstacles occasionally introducing themselves. Despite its real time narrative and fast pace, Sargent draws some truly engaging characters both heroes and villains alike, making the film a work of substance and an exciting experience.
Carnage Park (2016)
Two bank robbers take a hostage in rural California after their botched robbery attempt. They take her on the road where they run afoul of an armed man who likes to go hunting for a special kind of game. “Carnage Park” is written and directed by Mickey Keating, who also did the very good “Pod,” as well as “Ultra Violence,” “Ritual,” and “Darling” which have all been on this reviewer’s radar, alas victims to the classic situation of too many movies, too little time. Keating knows his craft and how to build an effective film. This one being well written and directed, however for all its violence, it is not as effective as it should be.
The movie starts with a bang and maintains its violence and tension for a while, however, once the character of Vivian finds herself on the mad man’s property, the whole thing becomes routine cat and mouse and fizzles out which is unfortunate as her character, up to that point, was built as someone the viewers can care about. The story here, once it finds its groove doesn’t go off course which means there are no real twists and turns to it and it becomes unfortunately predictable. The characters created by Keating are interesting but not given much of an arc or evolution except for Vivian who gets a more to work with. These characters are brought to life by a competent cast, including the very charming (and adorable) Ashley Bell as Vivian.
Bell has some experience, however this is the first performance seen by this reviewer that brought her to the front and added her to a pack of newer actresses to be watched. As almost the entire movie rests on her performance, she did very well with only a couple of lesser moments. Playing opposite her are James Landry Hebert as Scorpion Joe, one of the bank robbers who take her hostage, and Pat Healy as Wyatt Moss, the gun happy mad man who’s made her his game for the day. Both turn in good performances, Hebert gives off a crazed desperation type of vibe, while Moss gives off a more calculated, calm performance. In a small cameo, viewers should recognize Ferris Bueller’s best friend, actor Alan Ruck, stealing a few scenes.
The setting here is its own character. In the sun-bleached desert of California in what looks like the 1970s, everything is perfect for the time period. From the décor, to the buildings, to the cars, to the clothes, et al., the production design by Angel Herrera and the art direction by Priscilla Watson are on point. Their work is highlighted by cinematographer Mac Fisker, a regular of Keating’s films, which shows the locations as perfectly deserted with well selected framing and focus on details most would not notice. Also worth noting is the music by Giona Ostinelli which works with the scenes and adds mood to the sometimes over-exposed images. The piece at the end of the film is very reminiscent of films like “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” perhaps even a bit too much as the film is already packed with homages to other films and art pieces.
“Carnage Park” is a violent, grimy piece of cinema with good performances. The story, based on a real crime, starts off very interesting but unfortunately becomes routine once the lead character starts being chased by the big baddie. The violence is well done and brutal, making the film an experience in itself; however it’s not enough to be fully engrossing. The first part of the film moves at a good pace, but it eventually starts to feel slow with a dew overly long sequences in complete darkness which are hard to follow and consequently hard to care about. The film seems to want to be a western, a horror film, a drama, etc but can’t seem to settle on a main focus.
For all its violence, Carnage Park brings a question: Can a film be both brutal and boring at the same time?
As with IFC’s other recent release, “Intruder,” “Carnage Park” has a mid-credit scene which feels out of place for this style of film.
On VOD and in select theaters on July 1st, 2016; it is slated for a limited run at San Diego’s Digital Gym Cinema starting on July 8th, 2016.
The Shallows (2016)
Jaume Collet-Serra‘s survival thriller feels like a movie that was written in 1980 and just now saw the light of day as a vehicle for Blake Lively. It doesn’t have any of the beaming self importance of “Open Water” or “127 Hours,” which makes it a lot more fun than it has any right to be. Lively is gorgeous and charming as American tourist Nancy Adams, a medical student still reeling from the death of her mother after a long losing battle with cancer. Taking a hiatus from work and all of her responsibilities, she travels to Mexico to relax and surf on the beach. While waiting for some waves, she’s attacked by a massive shark that knocks her off of her board, and leaves her to plunge in to the tide where she cuts her leg open, hobbling any and all efforts to swim back to shore.
Warcraft (2016)
Boy it’s been a bad year for fantasy cinema in America. Time and time again fantasy films have failed for the most part, and “Warcraft” is one of those casualties. I admittedly have no experience with “Warcraft,” but for those unaware, it’s based on a massive multiplayer role playing game that’s become so popular it’s almost a way of life for most people. It’s a game so terrifyingly addictive, that a cousin of mine even pulled me aside once warning me not to play lest I be sucked in. Now that their Orc world has died, the orc shaman Gul’dan has used dark magic to open up a portal to the human realm of Azeroth.
Once a peaceful land ruled by man, the Orc army known as The Horde, now plan to populate the world and rule over it as their new home led by the noble Orc warrior Durotan. Teamed with a female half Orc named Garona, the human army of Azeroth plan to go to war with them, led by fierce warrior Lothar, their King Llane, and two wizards. Events spiral out of control though when Durotan begins rethinking the invasion and their leader Gul’dan, while Garona is torn between her loyalties to the noble humans and her people. While I’m still convinced video games just won’t translate in to a good movie, “Warcraft” is still a very good time and a nice bit of escapism.
It’s a mess narrative wise, and is painfully convoluted, but often times I found myself very entertained and intrigued by the conflict of the Orc breed struggling to fight for a new world against a human race. There’s also the themes of religious corruption embedded within the giant walking statues and graphic war scenes, which probably also helped enhance the experience. I won’t argue “Warcraft” is a masterpiece, since it tries and often fails to reach “Game of Thrones” levels of drama and intrigue. In the attempts to be just as adult in its character dynamic and ideas about xenophobia, and warfare, it becomes tough to follow.
The first half hour has a lot of information to disperse to the general broader audience, and I literally had to sit at attention to hopefully absorb what exposition the writers were trying to relay to people that have never been in to the digital world of Azeroth. Much to my surprise I cared about the characters and conflicts. I wanted to see sword wielding hero Lothar stop the impending Orc invasion, all the while uncovering the rising evil tide of his kingdom’s powerful mage. Director Duncan Jones splits the time of the film between the Orcs and humans and turns Durotan in to a very complex hero with his own ideas about what can be gained by invading Azeroth.
All the while Jones stages some fun battle sequences, including a showdown between Lothar and a murderous general in the climax. While not everyone’s performances are top notch, Travis Fimmel is great as Lothar, while Toby Kebbell does a bang up job with his motion capture performance as Durotan. It’s up in the air at the moment if “Warcraft” will continue in to a second part of its epic tale; I’m not ashamed to admit I had a good time, and should we be granted a follow up, I just may return to see how the humans win back Azeroth.