The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

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)

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Emilie Black

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 1^st, 2016; it is slated for a limited run at San Diego’s Digital Gym Cinema starting on July 8^th, 2016.

The Shallows (2016)

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

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.

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Warcraft (2016)

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

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.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (OAV) (1999)

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Shut up, Tails! Granted, I have always liked the “Sonic” movie from 1999 that finds him battling Metal Sonic, but Tails has to be the most grating animated sidekick of all time. True, he’s still a useful superhero, but in the end I hated this character. “Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie” from 1999, originally made in 1996, is the anime continuation of the original animated series from the mid nineties. I speak of the very good animated adventure, not the crappy Looney Tunes knock off that aired almost at the same time. This time around Sonic is relaxing in his world alongside Tails, and finds out that Robotnik aka Eggman is back.

He’s kidnapped the president and his daughter, insisting Sonic and Tails must go to Eggmanland to stop his evil clone. Dark Robotnik is a robotic beast with massive wings who thinks like Robotnik, and Sonic has to travel to the city to stop the generator before it explodes. But things get tough as Sonic and Tails realize the city has a ton of hazards, and they’re hopelessly outnumbered. Plus, they don’t know that Robotnik has Hyper Metal Sonic, a robotic version of Sonic, waiting for him ready to be activated. Thankfully though, Sonic and Tails aren’t completely alone, as they gain the help of their rogue friend Knuckles.

Knuckles, once an anti-hero, is now an adventurous hero who takes it upon himself to make sure Sonic and Tails pull off their mission safely. “Sonic” is a short and sweet animated adventure with some darn good animation, and an excellent cyberpunk aesthetic that anime buffs and followers of the cyberpunk sub-genre will appreciate. Though, admittedly, the movie is slim on narrative, the director makes up for it with some killer action, and picturing Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles doing what they do best, and looking darn cool performing their signature moves we’ve seen in the classic games. This is a movie that still holds up; it was a lot of fun back in 1999, and it’s a good time today.

The Last Heist (2016)

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Emilie Black

As a bank is closing and its clients are emptying their security boxes, a few stragglers are left in the bank when a group of robbers attacks the bank looking for a very particular security box. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them all, one of the clients starts picking the group off one by one.

The Last Heist was written by Guy Stevenson whose previous credits are mostly comedies and cartoons making this thriller a departure from his usual work. The writing here is decent and fairly by the book for this type of movie, however, it feels like two different stories (bank robbery and serial killer) put together which makes it harder to keep everything going on working well. That being said, the proceedings are fairly entertaining even though the killer’s presence is given away quickly, soon followed up by their identity. It must be noted that the dialogue is good and feels realistic for most of the characters.

This script was directed by Mike Mendez whose style gets a bit lost here as he excels at bloody, crazy goodness which this movie has plenty of but yet still does not feel like a Mendez movie. Here he gathers all the elements in one mostly cohesive story with plenty blood (practical effects and unfortunately CGI) and a big group of actors of variable talent levels. The pace of the film is good, giving each group of characters their time of screen, helping bring all the elements that could have become two films together while giving them the time they need to develop.

The cast is big and varied, with only a few ladies but they do get some screen time and are not just there to be cute or to be rescued. Of course, with a cast this big, standouts will happen for good and bad reasons. The main standout here is Henry Rollins who always has a strong presence on screen. Here is a good but not the best he’s been. He seems to give a variation of his character in He Never Died with extra touches of crazy added for good measure.

The other two stand-outs are so for much different reasons. Torrance Coombs as Paul, the lead robber, shows talent and leadership while also showing some restraint when needed. On the opposite side of this is Kristina Klebe who usually gives strong performances but here, her character comes off as grating as she tries to look extra tough, like a badass bitch but just ends up coming off like she is trying too hard. Sadly, a lot of the rest of the cast feels under used, such as Nick Principe who would have been more interesting in a part with a bit more meat on its bones and not just as the hired muscle when those who have seen his work know he can do more than this.

Supporting these are the effects which are uneven in quality. CGI blood is almost never good and visibly fake, unless a scene is very darkly lit or the blood is very scarce. The blood here is no different, which can be an annoyance. The practical effects on the other hand look very good and properly gooey. Also, the eyes in jars do look a bit funny, but disembodied eyes usually do.

The film has its issues but is an easy watch and fairly entertaining. It creates a cat and mouse story within a heist story with hostages that are not so helpless. Some of it, like the ending, becomes a bit much, but Rollins and Coombs presences along with an interesting story with plenty twists and a good pace make it worth checking out.

Steel (1997)

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

If you ever sat down and wondered “Why did it take so long for an Iron Man movie to hit theaters?” then you’d be wise to sit down and watch “Steel.” Not only did studios not invest in loyal adaptations of superheroes in the nineties, but the concept of a man in a metal suit fighting crime was impossible to put on screen. Especially if you have a studio unwilling to invest in committing to the concept and making it feel somewhat realistic with CGI. Steel was originally birthed as a Superman clone with a concept very similar to Iron Man. John Henry Irons was a weapons developer betrayed by his organization.

When Superman died, he took his weapons of mass destruction and used them to build a steel suit to help keep law and order in Metropolis. When Superman came back from the dead to take back his mantle, Steel became his own superhero with dignity and some sense of stature, but was always something of a fourth rate Iron Man clone. Obviously Warner took the concept and premise for this somewhat notable superhero and turned it in to a clunky and campy superhero adventure with zero stakes. Suddenly everything Jon Bogdanove, and Louise Simonson worked toward in making “Steel” somewhat of a hero in his own right was undone by this ridiculous movie. Here, there are only three vague references to Superman, while Shaquille plays an unconvincing military officer who is also developing weapons for combat. Judd

Nelson plays villain Nathaniel Burke whose lust for violence destroys their experiment causing John Henry Irons to be discharged from the military while Annabeth Gish as friend Sparky, is rendered a paraplegic. When John returns home, he learns his weapons are being streamlined for gang combat, and Nathaniel is behind it, making a deal with an arcade game exec to distribute and sell his high tech weapons. And he’s really evil, because they’re recruiting teenagers to test their weapons, booga, booga! “Steel” is a marvel of superhero cinema, mainly because it’s so painful watching Shaquille O’Neal stomping around in a heavy steel suit that looks so ill fitted to his form it gets gradually more embarrassing as the film unfolds. Why even bothering to adapt Steel is mind boggling, but adapting him in to this kids film makes the investment so much more horrendous.

The initial revelation of Shaq’s character John as Steel is supposed to be awe inspiring and cool, but Shaq looks so goofy in costume. It’s bad enough the suit looks heavy and clunky, Shaq can barely run around in it, but the helmet he wears makes him look awfully cross eyed. I’m willing to suspend my disbelief at a man running around in a clunky metal costume, but the police in the movie are so inept, they can barely keep up with the man moving as slow as molasses. Plus, it wouldn’t be too hard to find Steel’s alter ego. Just look for the only man in the city who is seven feet tall. From there, “Steel” is reliant on a heavy formula of repetition and camp that’s more obnoxious than cute.

To make the cruel experience more endurable here’s a good drinking game for you: Take two shots every time Shaq makes a basketball reference. Take a shot every time Shaq mumbles through a line. Take a shot every time Shaq rips something apart or breaks someone’s property. Take two shots every time Judd Nelson flares his nostrils. Your liver will be shot by the time the movie comes to a merciful close. Thankfully, “Steel” didn’t complete destroy the comic book movie, as it took “Blade” only a year later to prove comic book movies could be a bankable property worthy of an audience and franchise. The media usually credits “X-Men” but really, it started with “Blade.”