Tag Archives: Mystery

Hard Candy (2005)

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Those upset by the ex-pedophile makes good story of “The Woodsman” may find consolation in “Hard Candy”, which is basically just a film about a pedophile that gets what he had coming to him all this time. While “The Woodsman” is basically about redemption “Hard Candy” is very much a one-sided revenge flick in the vein of “I Spit on Your Grave”, and “Audition”. Incidentally enough, both films with opposite depictions of pedophilia bear the same red riding hood metaphors. “Hard Candy” begins with the glow of a computer screen with two people chatting online and engaging in heavy flirting and finally, after a run around, decides to meet up. The two people in question are a fourteen year old named Hayley, and Jeff, a man in his thirties.

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The Big Lebowski (1998)

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“The Big Lebowski” is probably my favorite Coen brothers film so far, even above “Fargo” in terms of sheer brilliance. “The Big Lebowski” is sort of a celebration of being a man, or in other terms, it’s a celebration of being a dude. Or The Dude. Or duder. Or El Duderino. But the pure fact remains that Bridges is a pure bad ass in anything he’s in and he shows it by being simply “The Dude”. Don’t ever call him Jeff Lebowski, though, it’s the dude. And that’s just the way he likes it. The Dude who lives at the bowling alley, hangs out with his psychotic friends, experiences rivalries with other bowlers, and just has fun finds himself in a humongous crime plot one night after returning home. Upon his return he discovers someone pissing on his carpet and is beaten up in his apartment. It so happens The Dude has been confused with another dude by the name of Jeff Lebowski, a millionaire whose daughter has been kidnapped.

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Mysterious Skin (2004)

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mysterious_skin_2004_1024x7The most frightening tales of the world, regardless of genre, be it horror, or drama, is always childhood trauma and abuse. Childhood trauma stories are always the most universally disturbing such as “A Tale of Two Sisters,” “Radio Flyer,” or “Mystic River,” because they always reach down and connect with us, no matter what occurs to the characters. Stories told through the child’s point of view always manage to bring the audience closer and makes us feel much more capable of relating even if the situation before us isn’t one that’s ever happened to us.

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Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt (2004)

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romasantaI was intrigued by “Romasanta” because while it is horror, it’s not technically horror, and while it is a werewolf film, it’s not really the conventional werewolf film. Simply put, if you’re expected werewolves, full moons, and a big clan of lycanthropes, well you best turn elsewhere. “Romasanta” is a brutally original horror film about the human mind and the sheer atrocities it is capable of when sick and inflicted. “Romasanta” is a rather unique entry that’s a horror film, a werewolf film, a murder mystery, a period piece, and a crime drama all rolled into one. But one of the appeals of this film was that it was original. Originality it a rarity in film these days, and it’s a shame we don’t get much of it in terms of innovative ideas.

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The Final Cut (2004)

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image05I’d like to think of “The Final Cut” as “Memento”-lite. It’s a film based on the basic premise of “Memento” and “Minority Report” about a quasi-future society based on a completely boring plot device. After watching this, I thought to myself “That’s why this didn’t experience wide distribution”. Even with Robin Williams playing it low with another conflicted and mellow performance, “The Final Cut” never lives up to anything it promises. I was never sure what in god’s name the writer was even trying to explain to the audience with the rambling concept and story.

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Whispering Corridors (1998)

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Whispering“Whispering Corridors” was not an awful film, as a matter of fact I’ve yet to see a Japanese horror film that I thought was incredibly awful, but “Whispering Corridors” is in fact, boring. It’s aggressively boring. As a matter of fact, if you or anyone you know has insomnia and you’re attempting to cure it, put on “Whispering Corridors” and you’ll find them asleep within a half hour, for sure. Ki-Hyung Park’s direction is quite possibly the saving grace for “Whispering Corridors.”

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When a Stranger Calls (2006)

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wasc-043Do you know how your little brother or cousin would always pop out from a corner with a mask and yell “boo!” and then you’d be scared. And then amused, he’d continue doing so. Again, and again, and again, until you started to get angry. But he continued doing it until you tore the mask off and kicked him in the nuts? Well, that’s what my experience was like with Simon West’s remake of “When a Stranger Calls”. Now, I haven’t seen the original film just yet, but I imagine it won’t make me want to kick the director in the nuts. Imagine this: I took a camera and filmed myself around the house. You would see me drinking water, taking a dump, cleaning my ears, walking around the hallway… I know you’re saying “That’s stupid, I’d never see that”. Well, then you may want to stay away from this.

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