Anniversary/Supernatural Celluloid- Candyman (1992)

Helen Lyle was married to a University of Illinois professor.  They shared an affinity for urban legends.  She was writing her thesis about this subject but was focused on local serial killings.  One name kept appearing all over town for decades.  The name was Candyman.  Was he real or just a ghost story?  How far would she go to find out?

Candyman was based on Clive Barker’s short story,“The Forbidden”.  Bernard Rose carefully directed and adapted this into film.  His pot-boiling suspense and blood splatter was accented by Philip Glass’ organ rich score.  Virginia Madsen was beautiful and inquisitive as Helen.  She captured brilliantly how curiosity could cause an unexpected decent into madness.  However, one can’t have Beauty without a Beast.  Tony Todd was mesmerizing and seductive as Candyman.  His stature and unexpected charisma brought an extra dimension of terror to this morality play.

Twenty five years later, viewers will still be left in shock and awe.  It proves that some mysteries are best left unsolved.  Before, we feared speaking Bloody Mary three times into a mirror.  After this release, we’ve added Candyman just in case.  Be mindful of a mysterious hooked man in the shadows.  If one doesn’t now him, don’t dare speak that name…CANDYMAN!

MCM From Another World Celluloid- Jeremy Renner in Arrival (2016)

The alien vessels appeared across the globe. It created panic and terror without the visitors materializing.

The militaries of Earth were uncertain about communication with them.
Dr. Louise Banks, a linguistics professor, was invited by Col. Weber to assist the United States military in this Top Secret mission.

She would be assisted by Ian Donnelly, a physics professor.
What did the aliens want? Would we stay lost in translation? Will the Earth be destroyed?

Arrival was based on Ted Chiang’s story, “Story of Your Life”.   The film was masterfully crafted by Dennis Villeneuve. He found the right balance with mind bending visuals and raw emotion.

Amy Adams was terrific as Louise. Jeremy Renner was great as Ian. The two share some of what will be 2016’s most talked about cinematic moments.

Forest Whitaker provided subtle leadership as Col. Weber.

The film has 2016’s best and most unexpected surprise ending. It is a great balance of Contact & Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  The adaptation was written by Eric Heisserer (Lights Out).  He tapped into the current geopolitical struggles and fear mongering by the media.

We would like to think that an alien race would ease the global uncertainty. However, his plot structuring and dialogue suggested otherwise.  The realism of martial law seemed eerie and more unsettling than the visiting Heptapods.  The monsters in this film have mostly human faces.   The international military leaders are fearful of the unknown visitors for the most part.

However, the exceptions included Dr. Banks, Col. Weber, and Ian Donnelly.   Dr. Banks & Ian Donnelly nicknamed their Heptapods, “Abbott and Costello”.  It seems fitting that the two scientists would’ve brought that type of positive spin to an impending crisis.

They showed the same optimism of Richard Dreyfuss’ Roy Meary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Jodie Foster’s Dr. “Ellie” Arroway in Contact.

The film has the Best Surprise Ending of 2016.  The complex characters, exotic cinematography, and atypical visitors make it One of 2016’s Ten Best Films.

Viewers will be hearing more about this film when the 2017 Oscar Nominations are revealed.  The nominations should include Best Actress (Amy Adams), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, Best Director, & Best Picture to name a few categories.

Don’t miss this sci-fi epic. The film will leave you talking long after the end credits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Renner

Twisted Celluloid- Dead Tongues (2016)

Tony Germaine has just returned from exploring the Nazca Lines on October 18, 2015.  He’s greeted by his girlfriend, Stacie.  She was glad to see that he’s back from Peru.  However, Tony’s psyched about the potential of discovering a new language in some unknown part of the lines.  She is distraught because he forgot their anniversary.  Yet, he’s already begun a new journey despite being home.  The alien lines have begun to be his new love/obsession.  She saw him alive this day for the last time.  Two weeks later, he was dead.

Stacie headed back to Tony’s apartment to box his belongings.  However, she was unexpectedly frightened.  A familiar face greeted her in the apartment but it wasn’t him.  Tony had a twin and his name is Travis.  She’s perplexed because his twin brother was never mentioned.  Also, the study contained encrypted zip drives and other research material.

Who is Travis?  What’s on the zip drives?  What drove Tony to an early grave?

Dead Tongues was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family”.  The film was co-directed by Roberto Drilea & Brianna Dorn.

Tongues slithered stealthfully due to the dual role played by Robert Justin Dresner. Dresner portrayed Tony & Travis without missing a beat.  He found the right nuances to make each brother chill and thrill.  Phoebe Fox was mesmerizing as Stacy.  She had the innocence and strength that comparable with Ashley Laurence’s Kirsty in Hellraiser.

Drilea and Dorn have directed a debut film that is on par with Hellraiser and Psycho.  The film is nonstop thrills and chills with twists that will leave audiences mesmerized.  Also, this is a micro-budget independent film and cost only $2,000 to make.  The film was the 2015-16 Applause for the Cause feature film project by Northwestern University.

On October 9, 2016, Dead Tongues was awarded Best Feature at the 21st Annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon.  It deserves this honor and is worth seeking out.

Dead Tongues is one of 2016’s Best Films and will be making the rounds of horror film festivals for many years to come.

http://hplfilmfestival.com/films/dead-tongues

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertodrilea

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-dorn-593492103?authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=Csoz&locale=en_US&trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Amynetwork%2CclickedEntityId%3A440125887%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH%2Cidx%3A1-3-3%2CtarId%3A1476241033180%2Ctas%3Abrianna%20dorn%20

We Need A Decision, Now! Celluloid- Eye in the Sky (2016)

Col. Catherine Powell (Helen Mirren) wakes up in her U.K. home.  She checks her secured laptop for the daily briefing.  Then, she makes her way to the command center.  When she arrives, the target is established to be an Al-Shabaab safe house in Nairobi.

Meanwhile in Nevada, Lt. Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) wakes up at the same time as Col. Powell.  He is a drone pilot for the U.S. Air Force.  When he arrives on base, he awaits the mission brief.  The mission brief will be delivered by an Air Force Lt. Col.  However, it is overseen by Col. Powell.

The goal is to bomb a safe house containing two former British nationals and one former American national.  However, they are considered three of the top five terrorists in Kenya by British and U.S. intelligence.  The man calling the shots for the British military is Lt. Gen. Frank Benson (Alan Rickman).

Yet, they have a covert officer in Kenya.  His name is Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi).  However, he’s at the greatest risk of all.  Farah’s assignment requires him to operate small drones within the terrorist safe house.  The drones resemble a hummingbird and a beetle.  However, the beetle is the key.  It is the eyes and ears within.  Without this drone, the mission could be compromised.

It sounds easy enough.  Target the terrorists and blow them up.  What could possibly go wrong?

Wait, what’s the young girl doing?  She is setting a bread stand.  Oh, okay.  No wait; it’s right behind the target.  Take the shot and risk an innocent life or make a compromise.

Will the U.K. and the U.S. make the right call?  Will the terrorists be stopped in time?  What about the young girl?

Eye in the Sky is skillfully directed by Gavin Hood.  Hood is best known for the 2006 Oscar winning film Tsotsi.  His direction is beautifully complimented by Guy Hibbert’s pretzel logic screenplay.  Haris Zambarloukos’ cinematography takes viewers from inside the terrorist safe house to the international skies above Kenya.

Mirren commands the screen as Powell.  Paul is brilliant as Watts.  Abdi thrills and is in danger as Abdah.  However, Alan Rickman gives us a heartfelt and occasionally hilarious performance as Lt. Gen. Benson.  His final role will be the feather in the cap of a stellar career.

Rickman, Mirren, and Paul should be considered as acting nominees at the 2017 Oscars.

Eye in the Sky is the reason that we seek out smaller films.  It gives us a bird’s eye view into the war room of one mission.  Although, we have no idea how many times this scenario happens daily.  Yet,  we go on reading US Weekly, kind of ignoring The Kardashians, and flipping past the real headlines to get to the sport scores.

Hood should be proud for directing one of 2016’s best and potentially most talked about films.  He gave viewers an opportunity to question how they would address & handle the situation.  I overheard film goers questioning the on-screen actions of the war room during the screening.  It is an atypical and provocative film when such reactions occur.

 

 

 

Super Hero Celluloid- Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Captain America:  Civil War opens with a flashback to 1991 and The Winter Soldier being prepped in Russia for a mission.  The mission is go to the United States and retrieve a case containing serums.

Now, present day; we find Captain America, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow in Lagos, Nigeria.  They are on the trail of Crossbones.  He’s scoping out a financial institution but his gang eyes something further down the blocks.  The real prize is a super virus.  His plan is thwarted but with a cost.  The cost is innocent civilians.  The story goes out online and on-air.  The fallout is immediate calling for The Avengers to reigned in.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark is speaking at M.I.T. and announces that all the students’ projects will be funded.  The response is amazing and he walks off stage.  However, he is confronted by Miriam, a grieving mother.  Her son was on a mission trip in Sokovia and was killed while The Avengers were battling Ultron.  Stark is at a loss for words.

General Ross, now Secretary of State, calls a meeting with The Avengers.  In the aftermath of Lagos, The United Nations has proposed The Sokovia Accords.  The Avengers have operated for far too long without oversight.  The Accords would require them to attain permission to take action in a hostile situation.

Tony Stark takes the side of Gen. Ross after Miriam spoke with him.  However, Steve Rogers wants The Avengers to keep operating as they have been.  Choose a side:  Team Stark or Team Rogers.

Captain America:  Civil War is the most intriguing Marvel Film to date.  It makes us question the real consequences of heroic actions.  The Russo brothers have a directed an action packed, psychological thriller.  They still bring the real time, jaw dropping fights as featured in The Winter Soldier.  However, the tension between Stark and Rogers has never been higher.

However, the comedic aspects of this film come courtesy of The Avengers and Spiderman (Tom Holland).  Spidey provides the comic relief of the film.

Viewers will also be introduced to Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman).  Boseman brings an intensity and integrity never before seen in the Marvel Universe.

There will be some unexpected moments that will leave audiences in laughter and tears.

Civil War is a must see and will leave film goers cheering for more.  Stay before and after the credits: the extra scenes are worth it.

True Resolve Celluloid- Bridge of Spies (2015)

“To keep a Russian spy alive in case an American gets captured…”

Bridge of Spies revolved around a captured Soviet spy who is accused of spying on the U.S. during the Cold War.  Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) was brought to trial and defended by an insurance attorney?  Yes, James B. Donovan was handed a D.O.A. defendant in Abel.  Donovan informed Judge Byers that we may need Abel for a potential prisoner swap.  Byers was baffled by this notion.  However, he reluctantly sentenced Abel to a 30 year prison sentence.

Donovan’s plan was about to play out in real life.  Lt. Francis Powers, a U-2 spy plane pilot, was on a Top Secret mission over Russia.  He was shot down and sentenced to 10 years in a Russian prison.  Meanwhile, Frederic Pryor, an associate Yale Economics professor, was studying in Berlin and was captured in East Berlin. He was trying to leave before the West was sealed off.

Donovan wanted to swap Abel for Powers and Pryor with the C.I.A.’s assistance.  However, the C.I.A. just wanted Powers.  Jim had his heart set on both.  The C.I.A. let him pursue this on one condition.  He must go to East Berlin and negotiate the swap with the Russians.  His family wouldn’t be aware of this.  Would Jim Donovan survive East Berlin?  What about Pryor and Evans would they be returned to the U.S.?

Bridge of Spies reunites Tom Hanks with Spielberg and The Coen Brothers for this potboiler. He is brilliantly directed by Steven Spielberg.  The true story is scripted masterfully by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, & Matt Sharman. Hanks is joined by a great ensemble including Oscar-nominee Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Daikin Matthews, and Alan Alda.  Janusz Kaminski captures every taut moment. He makes viewers feel beautiful clarity from the U.S. courtrooms to the subzero East Berlin.

Bridge of Spies is one of 2015’s Ten Best Films. It has been nominated for six 2016 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Mark Rylance).  Mark Rylance won Best Supporting Actor for his role as Rudolf Abel.

Hanks brings humor, warmth, and subtle life to James Donovan.  Spielberg has captured the Cold War as himself and a certain generation remembered.  My generation won’t know “Duck and Cover Drills” in case of a nuclear attack or be able to find a fallout shelter.

However, we now know the story of insurance attorney, James B. Donovan.  He took a doomed Russian spy and set a unexpected precedent for future prisoner swaps.  Here’s to Jim Donovan, a real American hero.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._Donovan

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Celluloid- Krampus (2015)

Krampus takes place at the Engel household several days before Xmas.  This household is more Hell House than Little House.  The visiting family includes two masculine nieces, a baby boy, a NRA gun nut of an uncle, an Egg Nog loving aunt, and a regular aunt.  The extended family makes Cousin Eddie’s family look like Merchant-Ivory film festival.

However, the real struggle lies with Max Engel, son of Tom and Sarah Engel.  He’s transitioning from boyhood to manhood and this could be his last Xmas with Santa.  The only person that understands him is Omi, his grandmother. Everything is tolerable until the masculine nieces take and read his Santa letter.  It was the last straw.  He tears up the letter and tosses it out the window.

What bad could result from a cancelled Santa letter?  You don’t know Krampus.

Krampus is directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty.  He brings this German legend to existence thanks to visual effects company WETA , Jules Cook (production designer), and Allstair Kay (art direction).  The diverse ensemble includes Toni Collette (Sarah), Adam Scott (Tom), David Koechner (Larry), and Conchata Ferrell (Aunt Dorothy).  However, the two standout roles are Emjay Anthony (Max) and Krista Stadler (Omi).  Emjay and Krista have great grace in midst the fray.  Also, the grandmother is mostly lost in German translation except for Max and Tom.  Her Krampus story is one the most somber and beautifully haunting in the film.  It is told in beautiful, stop motion animation.

Behave this Xmas season, mail that Santa letter, and don’t miss this cautionary tale.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus

 

MCM Ensemble Celluloid- Foxcatcher (2014)

Foxcatcher is the true story of Olympic wrestlers, Dave and Mark Schultz. Dave and Mark’s relationship was strained in the mid-1980s following their Gold Medal wins. However, Mark (Channing Tatum) received a random call from an assistant of John Du Pont. Mr. du Pont expressed interest in hiring Mark and Dave as wrestling coaches. Mark accepted but Dave (Mark Ruffalo) had prior commitments. Upon arrival, John (Steve Carell) accepted Mark with open arms. This is the beginning of a beautifully, estranged arrangement.

Bennett Miller has directed a potboiler of a sports film. Steve Carell’s portrayal of du Pont is a sinister revelation. His askew appearance is courtesy of Oscar nominated makeup artists, Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard. Channing Tatum shows us a great, dramatic side as Mark. Mark Ruffalo subtly shines as Dave Schultz.  The film earned 5 Oscar nominations including Best Actor for Steve Carell and Best Supporting Actor for Mark Ruffalo.  Viewers familiar/unfamiliar with wrestling will be drawn into this tangled relationship between The Schultz brothers and John du Pont.

Viewers may notice some parallels with John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”.  Dave Schultz and Mark Schultz are equal parts George Milton and Lennie Small.  Both men are smart but limited in their own business ventures like George Milton.  However, John Du Pont’s temptation made both brothers as gullible as Lennie Small.  Yet, John Du Pont is a strong businessman but mentally perplexed. He is possessed with jealousy and rage similar to Curley,  the Boss’ son.  In Foxcatcher, Jean du Pont, John’s mother, is parallel to the Boss. I have attached Wikipedia links on du Pont, The Schultz brothers, and “Of Mice and Men”for further reading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men#Cinema

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Schultz_(wrestling)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Schultz_(wrestler)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eleuth%C3%A8re_du_Pont

(This review contains some material written on June 3, 2015)

WCW Space Opera/Anti Heroine Celluloid- Sigourney Weaver in Alien (1979)

“In space, no one can hear you scream.”

Alien revolves around the crew of The Nostromo sometime in the future.  They are returning from a mining expedition with 20,000,000 tons of ore.  The crew consists of five men and two women.  Their destination is Earth.  However, they receive a distress signal and transmission of unknown origin.  Dallas (Tom Skerritt) logs into the ship’s mainframe, accesses Interface 2037, and types in “What’s the story, Mother?”.  He, along with the crew, try to alter the course with no such luck.

Sometime later, they arrive at the mysterious signal source and the ship’s damaged due to a bad landing.  After landing, they spot a mysterious spaceship.  They are still receiving that mystery signal and Dallas decides to split the crew up into two teams: ship repair and exploration.  Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Parker (Yaphet Kotto), and Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) stay onboard to repair the vessel.  The exploration crew is Dallas, Kane (John Hurt), and Lambert (Veronica Cartwright).  They begin a journey outside to explore the alien vessel.

Once outside, Dallas and crew explore the vessel and decide on going further.  They come across a dead, giant creature with a huge, abdominal hole.  The hole looks as though something burst out of it.  Meanwhile inside Nostromo, Ripley has found an anomaly and wants to warn the crew.  However, Ash (Ian Holm), the ship’s resource officer, discourages her from doing so.

Inside the alien craft, they come across an egg layer.  Kane decides to explore it and finds a live specimen.  He decides to get a closer look inside (BIG MISTAKE).  Then, the hugger (not cuddly by the way) ruptures the helmet.  They return to the ship and bring Kane back aboard for treatment (much to Ripley’s reluctance).  What is this hugger?  Who/what being sent the signal?  Get ready for a dinner party like no other (Take that Dr. Frank-N-Furter).

Alien broke boundaries in visuals and fright thanks to director Ridley Scott.  The film won Best Visual Effects at the 1980 Oscars for H.R. Giger (Alien designer), Carlos Rambaldi (E.T.), Brian Johnson (The Never Ending Story), Nick Allder (The Empire Strikes Back), and Dennis Ayling. He guided a diverse ensemble including a former Bond villain (Kotto), future Navy Officer (Skerritt), and John Merrick (Hurt).  Viewers that reminds us of the most important member, Sigourney Weaver.  She set a new standard in cinema as anti-heroine, Ellen Ripley.  20th Century Fox wanted a male actor to portray Ripley but Scott fought them and won out.  Thanks to Ridley, a new generation of Sci-Fi fans were born.

Sigourney Weaver became a household name thanks to the success of Alien.  She would reprise her role  as Ellen Ripley in Aliens (Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 1987), Alien 3, and Alien:Resurrection.  However, her star would broaden into comedy with the success of Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, and Working Girl (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1989).  She is one of eleven actors/actresses to be a double Oscar nominee  (the other film in 1989 was Gorillas in the Mist, Best Actress).  Her reprise in Aliens lead her to another strong director, James Cameron.  Cameron featured her in Avatar (2009) and she is slated to appear in the upcoming sequels as well.  Here’s to Sigourney for continuing to inspire fans new and acquired.

MCM Role Reversal Celluloid- Antonio Banderas in The Skin I Live In (2011)

Remember hearing about doctors that do revolutionary surgery.  He is one and even more.

Le Piel Que Habito or The Skin That I Live In revolves around Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a gifted, plastic surgeon.  His work is renowned along with the humanitarian work that he performs.  However, he’s revolutionized a process called transgenesis transferring pig cells to human cells.  It is nicknamed Gal after his late wife who was tragically burned.  He lives in a beautiful mansion with a maid named Marilia (Marisa Paredes) and an alluring woman named Vera Cruz (Elena Anaya).  The alluring woman is being held captive as an amoral test subject for transgenesis.

Everything seems okay until one day a man named Zeca shows up.  He is the son of Marilia and is in need of refuge because of a jewelry heist.  Also, Zeca is seeking to have his face reconstructed to avoid prosecution and escape.  He decides to hold the maid hostage but is obsessed by the beautiful Vera on the television monitors.  Then, he begins to proceed through the house in search of her.  When she’s found, he begins to sexually assault her.  The maid is unable to stop him until Dr. Ledgard returns home.  Ledgard goes into the room and kills Zeca much to the dismay of Marilia, who wanted them both killed.

Dr. Ledgard’s life wasn’t always this complicated.  It was once simpler than it is now.  He once had a loving wife named Gal and a daughter named Norma (Blanca Suarez).  However, nothing is as it seems here. Who is Vera really?  What happened to Norma?

The Skin I Live In is a thrilling departure for Pedro Almodovar.  The film is a based on the novel Tarantula by Thierry Jonquet.  Pedro’s films are usually lighter fare but Agustin Almodovar collaborated on this darker script.  His lighter films include Bad Education, Volver, and Talk to Her.  He has earned two Oscars, one for All About My Mother (1999 Oscar for Best Foreign Film) and the other for Talk to Her (2002 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay).  He knows how to take a decade or more long tela novela and make it into an enjoyable film.  Oh, he’s openly gay and his characters have neurotic tendencies similar to Woody Allen’s scripts.

Skin crawls creepily in thanks to Antonio Banderas.  Banderas steps out of his usual romantic persona and shines in this atypical thriller.  His breakthrough Spanish role was in Almodovar’s Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down as a mentally challenged man holding a woman hostage.  However, American audiences met him in this film and his first English language film, The Mambo Kings.  He didn’t breakout in American cinema until his role in Desperado as El Mariachi.  Then, he drew bigger acclaim as Che in Evita and Zorro in The Mask of Zorro.  His largest claim to fame is as Puss in Boots in the Shrek films.  However, he has found time to appear on Broadway in Nine (2003) as Guido Contini and Zorba (2012) as the title character.

Fans should yearn to see more villainous roles from Banderas in the future.