Director Taika Waititi has a keen and admirable understanding of humanity as well as the relationship with death and loss we have every waking moment of our life. Whether it’s a gory horror comedy like “What We Do in the Shadows” or a family drama like “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” Waititi is never above examining our everlasting relationship with death that begins when we’re very young. “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” is destined to be a classic drama comedy that pits two men against the wilderness in their efforts to make sense of life and come to terms with death.
Tag Archives: Drama
Geist (2016)
From Giant Animation Studios comes “Geist,” a magnificent and eerie animated film that explores the fall out from a tragic event and how one man comes to terms with it. Brought to life with amazing computer animation and marvelous visuals, “Geist” centers on a lone sailor who, after a ship wreck, finds himself lost in a vicious storm. When he finally finds a small cottage on a hill he seeks refuge for the night, hoping to regain his senses and warm up.
But all is not what it seems within the cottage, as someone or something else lurks in the dark crevices of the house, prompting the sailor to go looking for his watcher before it’s too late. Before long, he begins remembering his ill fated ship wreck and what brought him to the island initially. Directors Alex Sherwood, Ben Harper, and Sean Mullen create a vivid and very eerie short film that doesn’t rely on jump scares or shocks. It’s instead very reliant on the mood and blankets of darkness to keep the mystery of the unknown the most terrifying aspect of “Geist.”
The trio of directors relies on the unseen and unknown until the very end where our true view of what’s unfolded is a tragic glimpse at the concepts of fate, and destiny. I can’t say enough about the wonderful animation pulled off by Giant Animation Studios who build a very vivid world and dreamlike landscapes surrounding our character that may or may not be natural at all. Whoever says animation is only for kids and families really has never seen what indie filmmakers can do with bold ideas and complex themes about loss and death.
Slasher: Season One [Blu-Ray]
When last we saw Katie McGrath, she was suffering a cruel and unnecessary death in “Jurassic World,” and has now entered the sub-genre of the slasher film. A skosh more entertaining and engrossing than “Scream,” Chiller TV’s “Slasher” is a very entertaining, and tense slasher film that mixes in elements of a murder mystery in the process. I had no expectations for “Slasher,” and surely enough it won me over after two episodes, working within the confines of the slasher sub-genre, while also side stepping some of the more common clichés here and there. Much like “Scream,” main character Sarah comes from a small town where everyone has skeletons in their closets.
Saving Mr. Wu (2015) [New York Asian Film Festival 2016]
In 2004, actor Ruofu Wu was kidnapped and held for ransom in China. With his blessing (he has a prominent part in the film), director Ding Sheng adapted his story into film for Saving Mr. Wu. The cinematic version of the events follows Mr. Wu as he is kidnapped by Zhang Hua and three accomplices as he comes out of a karaoke bar. The kidnappers pretend to be cops to get him to cooperate but it becomes clear very quickly that they are taking him to pocket a ransom.
The actual police catch Zhang Hua while he’s gone to retrieve the ransom. As the police interrogate him, Mr. Wu attempts to use his skills to survive and help the other kidnapping victim survive as long as possible and not lose hope. Director Ding Sheng co-wrote the film with Alex Jia. Their script is an adaptation and fictionalization of the real kidnapping case most likely to make it more entertaining.
As with most adaptations if this kind, not all parties involved have the more exciting or exciting at all side of the story or even want to share it, so they add to fill in some gaps and spruce up some parts to make it more captivating. The characters are based on real people but also have been tweaked to make them all interesting.
The cast of Saving Mr. Wu is composed of the original Mr. Wu, Ruofu Wu, who here has the part of one of the men charged with saving Mr. Wu, cop Cao Gang. Wu does great work here and shows much interest in saving the movie version of himself. As the character of Mr. Wu, Andy Lau gives a layered performance of a man who is scared, worried, wants to fight, tries to help is co-kidnapped. His performance is one of the center pieces of the film, having the whole story revolve around him. Lau’s acting is superb here. The other very important performance is that of lead kidnapper Zhang Hua who spends a good part of the film gleefully being interrogated.
Qianyuan Wang plays this part to the fullest, not holding back and just going for it with the madness of the criminal he is representing. His presence on screen is captivating. His main interrogators are played by the aforementioned Ruofu Wu and Ye Liu as Xing Feng, an overworked father with a sick son he needs to get to. The film rests on the strength of its cast mainly as the majority of the scenes are a lot of dialogue including the scenes between Mr. Wu and his kidnappers, Mr. Wu and the other kidnapping victim, the interrogation of Zhang Hua, et al.
There are a few actions scenes but they are not the main focus of the film, however they are very well done nonetheless. The filmmakers gave these scenes plenty of attention, even hiring a car stunt coordinator, Bruce Law, who has close to 200 credits. The car sequences here are great and slightly reminiscent of the low-shot car scenes in Luc Besson written films. The other stunts are coordinated by Jun He and very well done as well. The camera does not shy away from the action and shows the cars, the hits, the whole thing without constantly cutting away or over-editing.
Saving Mr. Wu is a tense crime thriller with a true story background that keeps the viewer interested and connected to the story with good characters and great performances. The film is not build in a straight-forward manner, having its story skip forward and backwards in the timeline of the kidnapping which may require more attention but is absolutely worth it in the end.
Alone (Hongmin) (2015) [New York Asian Film Festival 2016]
Sumin is a photographer documenting the gentrification and changes of his neighborhood. One day, as he’s taking more photos, he witnesses the murder of a woman. The killers come after him and he wakes up naked on what looks to be a gazebo in his neighborhood. Odd things happen; Sumin is rendered unconscious and wakes up in odd places over and over again. Alone, or Hongmin in its original language, was directed by Hong-min Park who co-wrote it with Hye-jin Cha.
The film is built in a way where the lead character of Sumin lives many events and those events may or may not be connected to each other. The story built with these does bring up questions but answers few of them. The film moves at a good pace, but with no established goal or point to it, it all feels a bit useless. Why is Sumin going through this? Is he alive? Is he dead and this is his purgatory? Was something lost in translation? The proceedings are somewhat interesting but not captivating which makes the film feel long even with its pace moving things along nicely.
The cast for this film is fairly small and everything revolves around Sumin who is played by Lee Ju-won. His performance is good with some nuances but with nothing really standing out which makes his presence a bit monotone through the film. However, it does feel like it may have been the point as his character seems to lead a bit of a humdrum life leasing to a less than exciting personality.
There is one scene with a major special effect and it’s quite good. However, to not spot it, details will not be discussed. The effect is, well, effective and well done. The sound accompanying it is a bit cringe-inducing, in a good way. A few other bloody bits are found here and there and they all look realistic as well, even when how they happen feels out of context for their scene.
As is the case with a lot of middle of the road films, neither great nor horrendous, Alone is hard to review without making it sound worse than it is. Alone is not a bad film and it has some good ideas, it’s just that the execution comes off as rather bland and that despite all of its efforts, it fails at really captivating the attention of its viewer. It may very well be a case of a film that is just not for everyone, so feel free to give it a try.
On the Beach (1959)
“On the Beach” is not so much about the end of the world, as it is about a large group of people who have to come to terms with the fact that they will die very soon. As most of the world has been destroyed by nuclear radiation, survivors have huddled in a small town in Australia far away from the fallout. But they soon learn it’s headed their way thanks to wind currents, and there’s no stopping it. We then view the requiem of mankind, as government officials continue to struggle to find a way to solve the problem, and then face that there’s simply no solution.
From there on, we follow a small group or characters that have managed to find a temporary safe haven from the radiation and rather than submit to panic and terror, they use their last days of sealing old scars, confronting old conflicts, and saying goodbye to the ones they love dear. Among a brilliant cast of performers like Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, and more, Kramer visits various ideas about life’s regrets and unfulfilled potential we never reach thanks to death.
Most tragic of the dilemmas involves Peter Holmes who has a beautiful newborn daughter, and knows that she won’t be able to see it through a year. He and his wife Mary are constantly embroiled in the lingering reminder of apparent death, while Mary is in pure denial and is certain all is not lost, especially when a crew journeys into the city in a submarine to answer the Morse code SOS from an apparent survivor. The most interesting element of “On the Beach” is the idea of the inevitability of death, and how one must accept it as a phase of life whether it approaches sooner or later.
“On the Beach” is one of the few thrillers that never attempts to sugar coat what is inescapable, and Stanley Kramer further induces that theme as he features desolate cityscapes of the highly radiated San Diego void of any human life or corpses, as well as droves of people lining up at hospitals to receive their cyanide pills. Even moments of happiness like fishing and romance are blanketed with sheer dread. Director Kramer’s drama is a bleak and heart wrenching tale of the end of the world, and a beautiful masterpiece about humanity’s last days for better and for worse.
Pig Pen (2015)
Thirteen year old Rick lives in less than ideal conditions but social services don’t seem all that worried. After things go from bad to worse, he runs away and becomes one of many street kids. When he witnesses a brutal murder, Rick ends up going back home where a gruesome scene awaits him.
Pig Pen is directed by Jason M. Koch who co-wrote it with Mark Leake. The film is unrelentingly dark and creates an oppressive atmosphere that should put viewers in an uncomfortable place. The entire film is built on negativity and what little light or positivity there is gets snuffed very quickly every time. The feeling and atmosphere created are oppressive and depressing. The whole film is very very effective at this. The characters that live in this environment are sad, desperate, or evil. These people are almost all negative people, human beings anyone wouldn’t necessarily want to be around ever. They are damaged souls who do damage onto others.
The dialogue is basic but fits the characters and advances the story without cluttering the film with long conversations or monologues. The people involved are unhappy and living hard lives, so their language and conversations reflect that. The cast here is fairly small, most scenes involving Rick (Pig Pen), his mother Sandy, her boyfriend Wayne, or a combination of them. Rick is played by much older than 13 years old actor Josh Davidson who plays the early teen part very well, especially considering his age (born in 1975 per IMDB), his interpretation is sad and desperate, and making the viewer feel for him. Sandy is played by actress Nicolette le Faye who also gives a sad turn as her character, adding sheer fear which makes the viewer worry for her, her safety, and well-being.
As her boyfriend Wayne is Vito Trigo who brings menace and violence with all his being. His character comes off as flat out nasty and scary as the abusive asshole who makes Rick lose it. He brings out a visceral reaction to his character, enough to make the viewer hate him as he is just evil. The characters all do come off as unhappy people with little to live for. Pig Pen being a very independent film made with the help of an Indie Go Go campaign, the few effects there are have to be expected to be on the inexpensive side but they also look great. The central piece of effect, which will not be spoiled here to keep its surprise as big as can be, is very well done, looking real and painful, hitting a nerve as soon as it’s revealed.
Kaleigh Brown did fantastic work with that scene and the others where her special effects talents were needed. She shows that she can work in little time, with a small budget to deliver big budget shock and horror.Pig Pen is not only an independent film made on a tight budget, it was also made with a small crew with a lot of that crew having worked with Jason M. Koch on his previous film 7th Day. Having not seen that film, it cannot be compared here. Solely based on Pig Pen however, let’s hope Koch keeps making films as he has a style that works and is a talented story teller. Pig Pen is depressing and dark, a slice of desperation from one kid’s life, almost completely devoid of any light or hope.
It’s very violent in spots, with its violence not all being physical. Thankfully it has some moments to breathe or it would have become too much or completely lost its impact. This is not a feel good film and it should and probably will, make most viewers uncomfortable, a sign of a successful dark film.