sampotter25 Reviews

Man Bites Dog (1992)

I Get It, Well Made, But Too Disturbing For Me

[5/10 · 13 December 2010]

***WARNING: MILD SPOILERS***

I'll forgo any plot synopsis as you've probably read a million of them in the 100+ reviews here. I'll just give my personal opinion of the movie.

The premise is ingenious. A fake documentary following a serial killer, which causes the crew to get caught up in the killing and debauchery. Performances were great and believable, and the dialog and some scenes were funny.

But this film was too disturbing for me. Once it hit the rape scene, I had to turn it off. The killing was tough too, but I have a hard time with rape scenes in movies and this one was just too gleefully unapologetic.

I understand that satires are supposed to make us cry and laugh at the same time, teaching us in disturbing and unflinching ways. This hit all the right marks, but the NC-17 (on unrated) rating is well deserved. If you have a hard time with violence and cruelty directed toward innocent people, even with an understanding that it is fictional, I recommend not seeing this film.

The Box (I) (2009)

Worth Seeing if you like The Twilight Zone

[8/10 · 11 December 2009]

I believe that the critics were overly harsh on "The Box". Director Richard Kelly, who made his name with the creepy cult hit "Donnie Darko", isn't afraid to follow his heart, and "The Box" shows. It's nice to see a filmmaker that does whatever he wants and isn't constantly attempting to kowtow to audiences. The nice thing is, despite following his obsessions very doggedly, Kelly was able to craft a very entertaining and creepy film with "The Box".

I won't go too far into plot details here, you can find those elsewhere. Needless to say, "The Box" is like an extended, well-made "Twilight Zone" episode. It presents a moral dilemma, things get weird, and we realize that the original dilemma has a lot more to it than originally thought. A financially desperate couple is presented with a box with a button on it by a strange old man. They're given a simple decision: if they push the button, they receive one million dollars, but someone they don't know will die. Or they can simply refuse.

Some critics have complained that this film was hard to follow or didn't make any sense. I thought it explained itself well. There were a few elements that remained ambiguous, but these were minor details that honestly were neither here nor there. It's a morality play, and it's a lot of fun. And as for the criticism of the special effects, I think people misunderstood Kelly's intentions. This is a loving homage to old school sci-fi. There are moments in here that are intentionally corny, but I think some people were taking it as a flaw. Richard Kelly never is one to completely take himself seriously, if you're not sure, rewatch "Donnie Darko", it's full of silly, yet hilarious non-sequitur conversations.

It's well shot, effectively scored, and contains nice performances all across the board, especially from the leads. Definitely worth your time.

The Women of Brukman (2007)

Unbelievable Story

[10/10 · 25 January 2008]

I recently read that Forbes magazine named Salt Lake City the #1 city in America for jobs. Apparently, we have an abundance of well-paying jobs in a variety of fields, particularly in tech-based industries. Honestly, besides a few cities that suffer from unemployment, is there any country that offers more opportunity for a decent way of life than The U.S.? Yet somehow, many U.S. citizens still find a way to grumble and wallow in self-pity about our job market.

The gripping new documentary "The Women of Brukman" tells the incredible story of a group of die-hard women (and a few men) working for a suit manufacturer in Argentina who are abandoned by their employers. The owners of the Brukman Clothing Company, facing bills, deficits and wages they can't possibly pay, ship all of the management out without mentioning a word to the laborers. In America, these laborers would more than likely walk out too and start scanning the want ads.

But in Argentina good work is scarce. These workers take pride in what they do, and have devoted years to the company. Spurred on by devotion to their craft, families and each other, the workers of Brukman decide to keep the factory running themselves, and make a startling discovery: when they are forced to do the books and are privy to just how much money can be made on each suit, they realize that their bosses were skimming off and pocketing quite a chunk of change.

The workers form a co-op: everyone does their fair share and gets paid equally. They don't simply stop when their specific duty is fulfilled. They work together to cross-train on all the factory duties to maximize production.

When the business shows signs of prospering, the owners come knocking, attempting to seize control. The workers retaliate, stating that the factory was abandoned and that it now belongs to them. Soon the government intervenes. The complex series of crises and struggles the workers of Brukman face is unbelievable, but so is their tenacity.

Probably the most amazing part, however, is the spirit that surrounds the workers. These are no sobbing martyrs. These women carry with them a gaiety and happiness that can only be derived out of a communal effort for a worthy cause. What they do gives them a tremendous sense of purpose and why not? Not only do they enjoy putting in a hard day's work, they're getting paid fairly for it.

Gee, what a novel concept.

The worker's foresight and intelligence about their market belies their plebeian appearances. It's soon apparent that they can run the place better than the big wig investors who started it. They understand what makes good business work: they don't merely cater to department stores, but make goods for government and municipal workers. They understand the need a goods-based industry like theirs has for government cooperation.

The film could have easily fallen into a campaign for communism. While it touches on the benefits of a communal government, the film is more concerned with celebrating the respectability of doing hard work, being honest, and making sensible use out of a society's resources. One woman walks past a number of mammoth, abandoned warehouses. Then she comes across one that, like the Brukman place, was put back into operation by desperate workers who refused to give up. These people have great ideas, but face even greater opposition from their bullheaded governments.

Director Issac Isitan remarkably captures the entire sequence of conflict on video, from the initial desertion of the factory by the owners to the workers' protest and riots in the streets, to the court battles that the Brukman employees continue to face up to the present day. It's not merely talked about in hindsight, you see everything. This film should be mandatory viewing for any child approaching the legal working age just so they see how valuable a job is to people in struggling countries. One of the most important films I've seen in years.

Baghead (2008)

Funny Jab At Art House Films And Clichéd Indie Concepts

[6/10 · 25 January 2008]

Ask any filmmaker why they attend film festivals, and they'll probably tell you that it stirs their creative spirits. Though they may abhor certain films, it instills in them confidence that they can do just as well or better than the film they saw. Such is the case of the four actors that drive "Baghead", a funny, genre-bending movie about stupid people with stupid ideas and even stupider actions.

Chad, Katherine, Matt and Michelle are all extras who attend the screening of a hilariously pretentious indie film. Determined they can make something twice as good, they decide to retreat to Matt's uncle's cabin in Big Bear for the weekend for an alcohol-soaked brainstorming session. Chad is tubby, balding and insecure, and is experiencing difficulty in making Michelle transition their relationship from friendly to romantic. Michelle has no interest in him beyond a brother-meets-best-friend hybrid, and really wants to hit the sheets with Matt. Matt, meanwhile, is on the verge of a mature, adult commitment with Katherine, whom he has dated intermittently for eleven years.

The four of them toss around a number of tepid plot ideas, but retire when nothing really substantial surfaces. That night, Michelle has a nightmare where she sees a man with a paper bag on his head snooping around the cabin at night. Matt soon parlays this into a ridiculously clichéd serial killer script concept, and sets off writing it. But when an actual "baghead" shows up and nobody confesses to playing any practical jokes, the film quickly turns into a satire of the same lame film these four have dreamt up.

The movie adeptly balances the comedy of the situation with the dramatic complexity that comes when friendships and lust collide. The performances are endearing and believable, with each character drawn distinct from the other: Chad is chubby, funny and sincere. Matt is classically attractive, spontaneous and a bit dim-witted, yet doesn't want to hurt his friend. Katherine is the grown-up who's partying days are over and is looking for a stable relationship. Michelle is the bubbly party girl with serious communication problems.

If there's anything that weakens this film, it's a few dead moments and the atrocious hand-held camera-work, which puzzlingly zoomed in and out with an ADD-like attention span. Still, the script and performances were fun and engrossing.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2008)

Lifeless Lead Character Drives A Pointless and Obtuse Story

[3/10 · 25 January 2008]

I am quite a fan of novelist/screenwriter Michael Chabon. His novel "Wonder Boys" became a fantastic movie by Curtis Hanson. His masterful novel "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" won the Pulitzer Prize a few years back, and he had a hand in the script of "Spider Man 2", arguably the greatest comic book movie of all time.

Director Rawson Marshall Thurber has also directed wonderful comedic pieces, such as the gut-busting "Dodgeball" and the genius short film series "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker". And with a cast including Peter Saarsgard, Sienna Miller, Nick Nolte and Mena Suvari, this seems like a no-brainer.

It is. Literally.

Jon Foster stars as Art Bechstein, the son of a mobster (Nolte) who recently graduated with a degree in Economics. Jon is in a state of arrested development: he works a minimum wage job at Book Barn, has a vapid relationship with his girlfriend/boss, Phlox (Suvari), which amounts to little more than copious amounts of sex, with no plans other than to chip away at a career for which he has zero passion.

One night at a party, an ex-roommate introduces Jon to Jane (Miller), a beautiful, smart violinist. Later that night they go out for pie, and she asks Jon a question that begins to shake him from his catatonic state of existence, "I want you to tell me something that you have never told a single soul. If you do, it will make this night indelible." Jon then tells her a reoccurring dream of his in which he wanders about town looking at the faces of strangers passing him by, yet none of them look him in the eye. "I imagine it must be what death feels like," he says.

The next day Jane's wild boyfriend Cleveland (Saarsgard) kidnaps Jon from work and takes him out to a hulking abandoned steel mill, and soon Jon, Cleveland and Jane are spending every waking moment together going to punk rock concerts, doing drugs and drinking lots of alcohol. This doesn't sit well with Phlox, who pushes Jon for a more personal relationship, namely letting her meet his new friends and his father. The film then attempts to take us on Jon's journey as he shakes off the shackles imposed on him by his father, Phlox and his dead-end job as he finds freedom and expression through his relationships with Cleveland and Jane.

There is a problem having us follow Jon throughout the film: he's completely uninteresting. He has no ambitions, passions or goals. He walks through life like the invisible wraith he described to Jane the night they met. At the outset this isn't a problem. But he never gets any more interesting. He's a completely passive character. He simply follows along the bohemian Cleveland and Jane, but he never once gives us any inkling as to what he cares about or wants to to do with himself.

Consequently, the film and its supporting characters have nowhere to go and little to do other than party, have sex and get in arguments. In other words, much ado about nothing. What we have here is the shallow skin of a good movie without anything on the inside. Sweeping cinematography, ponderous voice-over with characters staring off into the distance, lots of sex scenes both straight and gay, big arguments, more angry sex, a chase scene and a tragic death... but it doesn't seem to matter. Ironically, at one point Jane, confused at a number of Jon's aimless actions, asks him, "What's going on, Jon? What is this all about?" Yes, Jon, do tell. We in the audience are dying to know, too.

The title "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" must refer to the characters themselves, because that's what they are. They are all facades, one-dimensional stand-ins for actual people. The film never lets us in. We never know what makes any of them tick. We see them do lots of things, but we don't know why. And the absence of "why" is one of the worst things a movie can have.

The Wave (2008)

Fascism is Only A Few Missteps Away

[8/10 · 19 January 2008]

An amiable German social sciences teacher has to teach his children about an autocratic government. The children at first seem bored, not wanting to hear any more about The Third Reich and Nazism. The teacher is surprised. "We're too knowledgeable to ever fall into something like that again," say the students. The teacher then decides to show the children what it's like to live in an autocracy, and sets up a simple experiment in class. They elect a leader (him) and he begins to instill in them (merely as an example) the virtues and practices that accompany an autocracy ("Strength through discipline", "Work as one"). The students take to it, and become obsessed with it. Soon, what was a simple classroom experiment grows to a social entity all it's own, with the teacher not sure if he can reverse the effects.

The film was very well acted and written, and was seriously creepy. It showed how - easily a society could fall into fascism, if presented to the society in the correct way. Watching the film, I understood why the students enjoyed the new system, but was also privy to the horrors that come with it. A shocking and powerful film. The way the different children reacted and how such a seemingly innocent experiment profoundly affected their lives was incredible and horrifying. Vogel gives a powerful performance as an idealistic teacher who isn't aware of the influence he has on others. Worth seeing.

Frozen River (2008)

A Solid Story with, Great Characters and Performances

[7/10 · 19 January 2008]

A tight little drama about a poor mother living in upstate New York (Leo) whose louse husband has run off with their savings. She works a crappy job at an All A Dollar and can't get a promotion due to ageism in her workplace. When she goes to look for her husband on the nearby Mohawk reservation, she comes across her car, which was stolen by a Mohawk woman (Upham). The Mohawk woman forces her at gunpoint to go across the frozen river from New York to Canada and bring some illegal immigrants over the border for cash. Though she doesn't want to break the law, the mother realizes this may be her ticket out of the misery she's in. Little does she know that the Mohawk woman has her own legitimate reasons for needing to break the law for some cash.

The story was solid, and the acting was, for the most part, spot on. Leo, Upham, and McDermott as the oldest son are extremely capable leads and give passionate performances. The whole thing felt very believable, and Hunt's writing shines in crafting sympathetic and desperate characters.

The main complaints I had were a few awkward directorial choices (a few shots seemed a little silly) and the medium on which it was shot: I'm a fan of shooting on high definition video, but this looked a bit amateurish. Still, the story and acting were so compelling that I wasn't bothered much. Hunt's writing talents are so strong, all she needs are a good cinematographer and art director to really take things over the edge. I hope to see more from her.

Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)

Bad Direction, Script, Supporting Performances Ruined It

[2/10 · 14 November 2007]

"Love in the Time of Cholera" is a crashing disappointment. Having heard many good things about the novel, I was intrigued, particularly when I heard it starred Javier Bardem.

The story is a bit ridiculous. A young man loves a girl to whom he proposes, but she marries a rich doctor whom she doesn't love at the insistence of her greedy father. The young man then copes with this by having sex with hundreds of women, all the while waiting for his true love's husband to die.

The first thing I was thinking was, "Dude, get over it. I've been rejected by a girl, and honestly, there are lots of fish in the sea." But this guy just can't let go.

If anything, this film is a good testament that nothing is stronger than love. Sex may drive us to an extent, but it's an empty substitute for real, lasting love. It's just a shame the main character didn't have the moral fortitude to say chaste and find a girl who loved him rather than have rampant sex with whomever he could.

But, moral opinions notwithstanding, this film has a lot in it that didn't work. The pacing felt choppy and rushed. We see a lot of people doing things, but don't really know how they feel about it or get any insight as to their motivations. For example, the main girl hates the doctor. We have scene after scene of her detesting him. Then in the next scene, she's married to him. What the...? And I have to say, John Leguizamo gives one of the WORST performances in recent memory as the girl's father. I honestly thought it was supposed to be comical. It's embarrassing. The guy really should stick to something more like his own personality, something more contemporary.

The tone was also very odd, combining gravely serious and passionate drama with goofy and near slapstick-esquire comedy. It felt off, never felt natural. It bothered me.

Bardem's performance was good, but not great. The real problems here are with the awful script and Mike Newell's misguided direction. What happened, Newell? Where's the consistency? You gave us "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Donnie Brasco", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", and now this? Here's a hint: take your time with the script. Just because some "name" writer like the dude who wrote "The Pianist" writes you something doesn't guarantee that it's good. This film is a prime example of that.

11:14 (2003)

Gimmicky plot, shallow characters, meatless story with little to say

[3/10 · 30 May 2007]

11:14 sets up a good, if not contrived moral dilemma. A young man who has had a little to drink has a body dropped on his car from a bridge he passes under. Soon the authorities show up, and he's arrested for a murder he didn't commit. Ridiculous, but interesting.

That's basically how I can sum up "11:14": ridiculous, but somewhat interesting. The film is concerned with 10 or so characters and what happens to them at the stroke of "11:14", one fateful night in which a million ludicrous coincidences occur in the town of Middletown. It cross-cuts between various story lines which involve characters all doing very selfish and stupid things, just so we can see how their actions all affect one another and connect.

That's it. The film is concerned with plot mechanics and how the dots all connect, but not with developing any really compelling characters. The film also has little to say other than "your fate can change in an instant", which is something almost every movie says. But the characters are all so despicable, you don't really want to know what happens to them.

I love movies like "Crash" and "Magnolia", because while they do have lots of story lines that are crosscut across each other, they connect on a thematic level. "Crash" was all about racism and how it alters peoples' perceptions of each other. It had a message of encouraging empathy and understanding. "Magnolia" was about how children are affected by their parents' decisions. In these movies, characters face huge moral dilemmas and come to grips with their own flaws.

"11:14" is NOT that kind of movie. It's a lot like "Run Lola Run": it's all about the gimmicky structure, and little more.

The music was goofy and awful. The acting was alright, though none of it really mattered. the cinematography was decent, and the editing fine. But the contrived plot and vapid, empty story proved to me one thing: character matters.