“Amy Adams gives a standout …

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Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Phil Morrison in his debut as director wisely uses the engaging script
of Angus MacLachlan for this well-observed bittersweet family melodrama/comedy.
Morrison’s theme is mindful of Thomas Wolfe’s 1940 novel “You Can’t Go
Home Again.” The film tells of the homecoming visit of the son, George
Johnston (Alessandro Nivola), of a small-town dwelling North Carolina dysfunctional
working-class family and how it affects his insulated family to meet his
cosmopolitan British-born wife, the daughter of a diplomat, Madeleine (Embeth
Davidtz). The young couple married for only six-months and not up to snuff
on their personal histories are living in Chicago, where Madeleine owns
an art gallery that caters to “outsider art.” The visit to the in-laws
is a result of Madeleine coming to that neck of the woods to lure Christian
fundamentalist artist David Wark (Frank Hoyt Taylor), a bigot who says
his visions are inspired by God and that he’s “always had trouble drawing
nigger faces.” The civil-war-obsessed artist is also being wooed by a New
York gallery, and the competitive Madeleine refuses to lose her find. 

The family members include the passive wood-carving hobbyist father
Eugene (Scott Wilson); the strong-minded and suspicious of strangers mom
Peg (Celia Weston); and the angry, brooding, inarticulate factory worker
younger brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie) and his pregnant over friendly scatterbrained
chatterbox wife Ashley (Amy Adams). The brother and his wife still live
in his parents’ house. The family has different reactions to the outsider
wife that range from Ashley’s reaching out with warmth to her as a smart
soul mate, the father’s guarded friendliness, mom’s back sniping hostility,
and Johnny’s sullen non-communicative negative reaction. 

The mood set is of unease, as George distances himself from his wife
and she is on her own to struggle making sense of these “red state”characters.
Madeleine’s friendliness is seen mostly as being patronizing, and in one
instance that is misinterpreted as trying to initiate a sexual affair.
It points to cultural shock for Madeleine, who gamely tries to tutor high
school drop-out Johnny for his GED by going over “Huckleberry Finn”, attend
Ashley’s baby Shower, and make some kind of a connection with George’s
intractable mom. George is mom’s favorite and he knows it, but never tries
selling mom on his wife. Madeleine is also surprised when hubby is asked
at a church social to sing a hymn and responds by pleasingly singing “Softly
and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling.” 

Without giving away why the family is so tense and without having
the characters be clichés or mouthpieces for some hidden political
messages, the narrative comes to a boil when Ashley is rushed to the hospital
with labor pains and Madeleine chooses to chase after the elusive artist
rather than visit the hospital. But these plot lines are just continuations
of the everyday life the story arc is built on. It becomes evident that
the filmmaker is interested in presenting a genuine slice of life tale
that reveals something about the characters that rings true rather than
to bridge the cultural gap. The film acquits itself well by presenting
strong characters, even those we know little of such as George (we don’t
even know what he does for a living) and his father (a possible retiree),
as real people trying to find their way in a contemporary American landscape
that is seemingly built on sports, well-manicured lawns and churches. George,
though well treated on his return, is glad to be going back to Chicago.
Somehow we get the impression he’s escaping from his mom’s possessiveness,
an empty life, a resentful brother and a culture that finds it difficult
to change with the times. 

The film’s boldest and most perceptive truth was said by the character
who might seem the most shallow, Ashley, who tells her hostile hubby “God
loves you just the way you are, but too much to let you stay that way.”
That line rings true throughout the entire film, as the filmmaker never
leaves these people as hopeless basketcases but cautions them to let go
of their biases and psychological baggage or else they will never be able
to truly find love within themselves. That other pics have said the same
thing about such characters, doesn’t do this film justice. Every character
is flawed but richly developed, and when they talk it’s only through their
characters and not as plot points. There were strong performances by the
entire ensemble cast, but Amy Adams gives a standout performance that’s
worthy of Oscar consideration.

The Rapture review

The midwife precisely is coming to an end any day minute, in fact. And what “The Rapture” wants to know is, Are you adroit? The movie is to the rigors of religious faith, and it goes so overstep into the heavenly ether that its feet completely retreat the ground. Without question, it’s a nutty connect of till, and it gets nuttier as it goes along. But then spirituality often exceeds the reach of large sanity. And “The Rapture” barrels so fearlessly off the map that it deserves a kind of grudging respect. It has the nerve of its unhinged convictions.

That doesn’t mean that it succeeds — just that its failures are less commonplace and that, for a while at least, its eccentricities hold a bizarre sort of fascination. The film begins with a picture of sexual debauchery. Mimi Rogers plays a directory assistance operator whose day is a soul-numbing exercise in tedium. As she works, her face smolders with barely suppressed rage; she hates her job, and by night tries to reawaken herself by cruising airport lounges and hotel bars with her sidekick, Patrick Bauchau, in search of willing couples to participate in their partner-swapping patty-cake games.

After a while, though, these kinky adventures begin to grow almost as boring as her job. She’s empty, and empty sex can no longer distract her. On the brink of suicide, she begins to rethink her life, to search elsewhere for some form of meaning. She finds it in the arms of a radical Christian group that follows the teachings of a young child prophet, and in an instant she strips the sinful sheets off her bed and dedicates herself to her new religious calling.

Writer-director Michael Tolkin takes a schematic approach to his story. Jumping six years into the future, we find Rogers with a successful businessman husband, a daughter and a proper Christian life. Then an act of random violence changes everything — she loses her husband, who shortly afterward begins beckoning to her in her dreams, urging her to come to a spot in the desert where she is to await the world’s end. Though she’s not sure if it’s the Devil or the Lord calling her, she packs up her daughter and motors off to her date with Armageddon.

From this point on, the film comes completely unhinged. But Tolkin sticks to his thematic guns with the fervor of a true believer. “The Rapture” isn’t a shallow movie; Tolkin grapples mightily with his moral issues, and the film does manage to raise disturbing questions. Even if it is bonkers, it gets its hooks into you. Rogers is a key element here. There’s such pain in her blanked-out hopelessness at the beginning of the film that her transformation makes perfect sense. She grabs at whatever straw is available, and with a determination that brushes all reasonable doubts behind. Her performance is a moving portrait of desperation.

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Still, Tolkin creates an impossible situation for himself. He wants to come to some definitive conclusions about his characters’ beliefs, and to pull it off, he actually has to deliver the end of the world. You can just imagine the film’s shooting schedule: Day 45 — Armageddon. And though some directors might have the talent to stage the final apocalypse, Tolkin isn’t one of them. He may aspire to be a visionary, but his gifts are earthbound. The best he can muster is the audacity of the truly committed.

“The Rapture” is rated R for nudity and sensuality.

Slave of the Cannibal God review

Kicking off with such gastronomic delights as the ingestion of active iguanas, snakes, toads and other wriggly things, this climaxes rather tamely with a main course of very dead human. In between, with Ursula Andress in New Guinea looking inasmuch as her missing ethnologist husband, there is a unbiased portion of native bashing, alligator mauling, and the many ways Ursula can be a patsy for cave in into the river, render her safari suit transparent, and display her waterproof mascara to unconditional edge. The flimsiest of plots and the crassest of ecological messages (uranium and capitalism versus nature and cannibalism) surround this habitual libido to undress the Andress form.

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Anguish review

Anguish is a bizarre entry in the "film within a film" genre, and is one of those films, where the least said about it is best. You should really go in, knowing only if it's worth your time or not. The answer to that question lies ahead.

John (Michael Lerner) loves his mother and will do anything for her, but would he kill? The answer to that question is simple. Yes. John's overbearing mother (Zelda Rubinstein, of Poltergeist fame), using hypnosis, controls her son, and uses him at her will. Convincing John to punish those who "did him wrong" she sends him out on the town. This is where the film takes an interesting turn

As the audience we find out that we have been watching a movie, along with another audience. The film is entitled "The Mommy" and we are now introduced to a new line of characters. Confused yet? Well, we've just gotten started. Apparently there is someone in the theatre, who isn't quite, how should we say, mentally stable. At this point I will say no more.

The twists keep coming, and the juxtaposition between the parallel narratives, is handled quite well. You're never quite sure where the film is headed until the the final frame.

Anguish is a gimmick movie, plain and simple. A gimmick movie that works, and that is a rare treat. The viewer never feels as if he/she is being manipulated for the wrong reasons. Anguish is by no means a classic, or a great film for that matter, but it is great fun.

Anguish is presented in an anamorphic scope transfer, and this is quite simply the best this film has ever looked. The scope presentation opens up a lot of information lost in the previous pan and scan laser disc release. The DVD is clear of specs and scratches and is quite stunning.

The sound is 5.1 digital, and once again, this film has never sounded better. The surrounds are used in a very ingenious way. Approximately 20 minutes into the film, when we hit the theatre that "The Mommy" is playing in, the sound kicks into gear. Believe me when I say you are in for a real treat.

I know I'm leaving a lot to question, but horror fans owe it to themselves to check Anguish out, at the very least as a rental. Hopefully your curiosity has been peaked. Seasoned fans of the film, should be very pleased with the presentation. Anguish fans could not have asked for more. Anchor Bay has done a fine job bringing this little gem to DVD.

First Halo: Reach multiplayer trailer hits

March 3rd, 2010
by Jeff Baker

We’ve seen footage of Halo: Reach in the past but those were only ViDoc’s and didn’t feature any multiplayer gameplay. Today, Bungie has released the first multiplayer trailer for the game and I have to say, it looks damn cool.

Some notable features are the ability to sprint and roll, jetpacks and new guns. The trailer also lets us know that the multiplayer beta will be out on May 3rd of this year.

The actual game, however, isn’t set to drop until Fall of this year.

Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi…

Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) and Gilles (Stéphane Freiss) are a French couple whose unfitting marriage is chronicled regressively through five episodes, starting with their divide and ending with their at the start encounter at an Italian seaside resort.

Earth review

The year was 1947 and the Indian subcontinent was about to go through the most tumultuous and bloodiest events in its extensive and storied history as a nation. During that period in time, the power of the British Empire was waning and with the rising tide of nationalism across India, transference of power to Indian self-chiefly was inevitable. However, self-rule and freedom from more than 200 years of British in the main came at a very high price. Adequate to myriad state, religious, cultural and socio-mercantile reasons, a free India was divided into two, giving creation to a Hindu-dominated India and the majority Muslim rural area of Pakistan. Carved out along punctilious lines, families caught on the wrong side of the divide suffered great hardships and extreme fury. Friends and neighbors turned on each other, communities that have lived together for the sake of hundreds of years were torn apart and millions of people were displaced from their ancestral homes. It was the apart largest false migration in history. More than fifty years later, the aftermath of the cell and the ill feelings that sprouted from it are still being felt in both countries. Tension is still high along the border region and the confute for the no more than Indian-controlled Muslim majority say of Kashmir still rages on.

"Earth" is Indian-born director Deepa Mehta´s second film in a planned trilogy. After the controversial triumph of her chief film "Fire", Toronto-based Mehta goes behind to work by adapting Bapsi Sidhwa´s unusual "Cracking India" an eye to her second oeuvre. Looking at the grotesque upheavals of that days in history through the eyes of a teenager, "Earth" projects an ambience of clean innocence bordering on benightedness that slowly chips away and is finally cast aside by hatred, revenge and religious extremism. As much as it is a tragic story of innocence lost, "Earth" is also a love story, an individual that becomes forbidden and dangerous by the uncontrollable events that swirl and over oneself beneath a burning cauldron of hate, waiting to erupt and scald anyone scatterbrained enough to stand in its wake.

"Earth" starts some one day just before Partition in 1947, when the rumblings of such a prompt by the British begin to circulate among the masses. The city of Lahore (now part of Pakistan) is a peaceful utopia made up of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis and many others. Mingling among the many faithful faiths is a regular occurrence in this burgeoning metropolis but there is a dreaded sense of uneasiness ethical not even meriting the mask of practical tranquility, as rumormongering about the immediate tomorrow’s of the country becomes the new leisure-time activity among its denizens.

The film focuses on a religiously diverse group of friends. Hero come up to b become them is Shanta (Nandita Das), a beautiful and young Hindu woman who is the ayah or nanny to a young Parsi girl named Lenny (Maia Sethna). Lenny, who is polio-stricken and hobbles on one foot, is the only daughter of a respected thoroughly cooked-to-do Parsi family. Her mother Bunty (Kitu Gidwani) is kind to everyone and treats her household servants very lovingly. Influence of Shanta´s body of friends includes Hassan (Rahul Khanna), a masseuse and Dil Nivaz, excel known as the Ice Candy Man (Aamir Khan). Both of them are Musims and they are both equally smitten by Shanta´s dreamboat and quiet demeanor. However, Shanta only has eyes as a replacement for Hassan. As their toady up to blossoms, it gets increasingly hard to disregard the rank vehemence and unnecessary bloodshed that starts to envelope their surroundings and greatly modify the nature of their relationships with the holder of their friends. Accusations and insults start to make good one’s escape between Dil Nivaz, who unfortunately gets caught up with the mob atmosphere, and the rest of the bunch. Not that we can blame Dil Nivaz in the direction of his anger. In one of the most gruesome scenes of the film, we see him waiting at the train position for his sisters to arrive in Lahore from Gurdaspur. Scenes of happy reunions quickly turn into scenes of horror as those waiting on the party line discover mutilated corpses of their loved ones massacred by Hindus in the south. Match up the pain and rage that stem from his sisters´ murders with his jealousy from seeing Shanta and Hassan together, Dil Nivaz goes down a path that will forever vacillate turn into the exactly denotation of friendship, loyalty and love.

Seen through the eyes of the young girl Lenny, the sequence of unforgettable events that follow the love triangle between Shanta, Hassan and Dil Nivaz grace a child´s incorrupt dream world, devoid of consequence and judgment. Even when religious fanatics were caught up in the terrible shake of mob killings about the city, Lenny´s be deficient in of comprehension of what had literally happened helps put us right in the shoes of those perpetrating the crimes. Central mob mentality blinds us all to the perception of any wrongdoing. Only after it is too belatedly, do those actions start to hold any significant meaning.

The bloodshed and virulence following the statement of partition is a major subfuscous pimples in Indian and Pakistani history. Incidents analogous to the massacre of the retinue passengers did actually happen and it is only fair to state that both sides committed the same atrocities in the name of dogma, regardless of who is good or go downhill. Violence should never be countered by the unmodified but when there is a mob fighting to get into your home to kill you because of your exact beliefs, it becomes a unheard-of matter altogether. An perception for an eye is never pleasant but every now it is the only progress to survive.