Films I Saw In October

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (Werner Herzog, 2010)

The second Werner Herzog film to appear in UK cinemas this year suffers only in comparison to the rest of his oeuvre, which has been particularly strong as of late. In 'My Son...' he subverts the hostage genre as a crazed Mummy's boy (the ever excellent Michael Shannon slowly becoming his generations' Brad Douriff) takes some individuals hostage in his home after murdering his mother. We then view his mental descent through a series of flashbacks. The film has some great performances by all (including...Brad Douriff!) but the plot is a little standard, quite surprising for Herzog, and it just feels like he's on autopilot here.


Exit Through The Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010)
A surprisingly good documentary from reclusive and slightly crap graffiti artist Banksy, helped probably because the film isn't about him. Thierry Guetta is a Frenchman living in LA who comes into contact with several graffiti artists and documents their own on his video camera, as this goes on he follows Banksy around, captures some of his work in progress and eventually becomes an 'artist' himself. A lot has been written about whether or not the film is 'real' or if Guetta is somehow a 'creation' of Banksy's. I'm inclined to believe that it's all real, it's simply too convoluted to be anything other and to fake the story would serve no purpose. Also, like 'I'm Still Here', it doesn't really matter; like all good documentaries, the film focuses on an interesting story with a likable guide to take you through in the form of Guetta, and it keeps your attention throughout. Even if you don't like Banksy, put it behind you, it isn't really about him particularly and it's a worthwhile sit though.


Enter The Void (Gaspar Noe, 2010)
I actually saw this last year in it's longer rough cut, but I saw it again in the cinema this month and it's worth revisiting. Enter The Void is a long, dark, difficult trip into the nether regions of the brain both literally and cinematically. The 'plot' involved an American living in Tokyo who is shot in the head while tripping on DMT and his soul floats around the past, present and future watching over his sister who he has an unhealthy (to put it mildly) interest in. Enter The Void, can be excruciating at times and does not improve on repeated viewings (for some reason the longer version didn't drag as much) and is certainly not for everyone. Nevertheless, Gaspar Noe has managed to make a film that is really like nothing else I've ever seen before, featuring some masterful special effects, realistic performances and basically throwing everything (sex, drugs, violence) into the kitchen sink. For me, this is the film of the year...it's not perfect, but like the best films it takes risks and Noe puts a lot on the line and delivers as good a directors performance as I've seen in a very long time. Challenging, but if you're into it, there's very little better nowadays.


Despicable Me (Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud, 2010)
Enjoyable enough computer animated film that nicely shows off the vocal and comedic talents of Steve Carrell as a supervillain who uses a group of orphan cookie sellers so he can break into his rivals’ lair and steal a shrink ray. The film is well paced and quite good fun for adults and kids both, but pales in comparison to the Pixar output. Nevertheless, as far as all non-Pixar cartoons go, this is definitely near the top of the pile.


Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989)
A film that seemed to pass me by during my younger days, an oversight now thankfully corrected. Seeing as anyone who is reading this has probably seen the film long before me, there's probably nothing more I can tell you other than its great fun in a cheesy 1980's kind of way, has some funny historical jokes and is great fun even if you didn't see it first time round.


Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Peter Hewitt, 1991)
A bit more un-even than the first film, which doesn't have the structure of the first and loses it's way when the Wyld Stallyns play their gigs at the end but William Sadler as Death is great in it, and it's still a lot of fun. But you probably knew that already...


Cemetery Junction (Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant, 2010)
The first writing/directing collaboration between Gervais and Merchant since Extras; 'Cemetery Junction' is a coming of age story set in 1970's Reading, and is a little less 'comedy' oriented than their previous work. Three friends Freddie (Christian Cooke), Bruce (Tom Hughes) and Snork (Jack Doolan) hang around getting drunk and getting into fights until Freddie gets a job as an insurance salesman for a local businessman (Ralph Feinnes) and decides to try and make something of his life. There is a lot of text book 'soul searching' going on in the film, particularly as he develops a crush for the boss' free spirited daughter (Felicity Jones) but the film is fairly likable as a whole and has some good, low-key comic performances. Not a great film, but perfectly watchable.


The Invention Of Lying (Ricky Gervias & Matthew Robinson, 2010)
Ricky Gervais' proper cinematic directorial debut, released last year to polarizing reviews, and from the look of this, it's easy to see why. Although the concept is initially interesting (in a world where everyone tells the truth an everyman discovers how to lie and uses it to his advantage because nobody questions him), it quickly becomes annoying as the constant bland 'truth bombs' start to wear a bit thin. After he tells his dying mother about the existence of heaven (in so many terms) he quickly becomes a Moses like figure with people believing he holds the secret to the afterlife. From this point on it becomes a ham handed religious satire that never comes close to missing the mark and occasionally wallows in terrible sentimentality as he tries to win the girl of his dreams (Jennifer Garner). The Garner subplot is particularly poor; as her truth telling reveals her to be desperately self centred and shallow, it seems Gervais pretty much only loves her for her looks. Some people may find this clever and insightful; I thought it was a muddled and missed opportunity. Gervais is likable enough in the main role, but he never quite carries the film as he should. As I said, the film seemed to polarize opinions so although I didn't like it, you may.


Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Oliver Stone, 2010)
Boring sequel to Oliver Stone's brilliant 1980's original. The plot stutters along, is loaded with (to me) incomprehensible financial jargon and Shia LeBoeuf is bland, dull and unlikable as always. Carey Mulligan is slightly better as LaBoeuf's fiancé, Josh Brolin and the 95-year-old Eli Wallach are also good in supporting roles but anything positive about this film comes from Michael Douglas who is always at his best when administering put-downs, smoking cigars or generally being a smarmy prick. Sadly, Gorgon Gekko has softened with age, and his attempts at 'redemption' make you squirm a little bit. A dull, dreary and unworthy sequel...if you were a fan of the original, avoid.


Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)
I missed watching this during my University years due to a particularly bad hangover, but more fool me as this is a superb film that deserves far more recognition, and may well get it in the wake of Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar success earlier this year. Set on the eve of the new Millennium, Ralph Fiennes is a low-life ex-cop who deals in memories of people but refuses to sell 'black-jacks' (ones where people die). A girl dies, and he gets caught up with his ex-girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) and the cops as the new year approaches. It's a long film (140 minutes) but goes by very quickly; it looks great, has decent performances by all and has a terrific screenplay from a then credible James Cameron. Very good indeed. Is also the source of the main sample of Fatboy Slim's "right here, right now".


Love Is Colder Than Death (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1969)
The first of several Fassbinder films I'll review over the next few months as I have two boxsets of his films to get through. This, his debut proper, is an ultra low budget affair (to the extent you can't see any flashes from the guns fired) about a pimp and a hitman who befriend each other and decide to rob a bank. Clearly influenced by 'Breathless' and French New Wave in general, it's not particularly original, but it looks great with lots of cool posturing from the actors and as a low budget debut, it's quite assured.


The Human Centipede (Tom Six, 2010)
Arriving billed as "the most disturbing film of all time", The Human Centipede does come with a concept (mad scientist joins three people together ass-to-mouth to make a 'human centipede' and it's "all scientifically possible"!) to satisfy the most depraved gore/torture porn lovers out there. While it's certainly unpleasant in parts, the end result (in both film and experiment) is actually quite dull, and the film is nothing more than a typical ho-hum kind of exercise that is neither tense enough to frighten and is surprisingly not as gory or graphic as you might expect. At times it's really quite stupid and ridiculous, and Dieter Laser hams it up ludicrously as the crazed doctor; but it's not very good and likely to disappoint any horror fans who watch it.


Date Night (Shawn Levy, 2010)
Tina Fey from '30 Rock' and Steve Carrell from 'The Office' team up in this fun, if lightweight action/comedy as a married couple who get chased around Manhattan by crooked cops after taking the wrong table at a restaurant while on a date to spruce up their marriage. Despite a couple of high speed car chases, it's very much grounded in a Cary Grant style tradition and never delves too far into risqué style humour. Again, it's very lightweight and forgettable, but it's fun to watch, Carrell and Fey are likeable as always and Mark Whalberg puts in a great supporting performance as a permanently de-shirted client of Fey's who helps the couple. A good film to rent.


Let The Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
A superb off-beat horror film from Sweden that completely passed me by when released in the UK last year. A 12-year-old boy (Kare Hedebrant), bullied at school befriends a vampire (Lina Leandersson) with the appearance of a 12-year-old girl and they begin a sweet but clearly unusual childhood romance. With almost the entire film taking place in dark rooms or the snow and the generally arctic features of the two actors the film is very atmospheric and alternates between being very sweet, very sad and very unsettling with considerable finesse. The main actors are all excellent, the direction is superb and the story very engaging. Only the 'cat attack' scene with its poor visual effects fails to satisfy completely. This film has already established itself as a modern horror classic and justifiably so.


Somewhere (Sofia Coppola, 2010) *LONDON FILM FESTIVAL REPORT*
After releasing Marie Antoinette to a mixed reception in 2006 (I liked it), Sofia Coppola returns with something a little closer to her breakthrough success 'Lost in Translation'. This time, instead of making a pseudo allegorical film about her relationship with her then husband, she has made one loosely about her father. Stephen Dorff plays a successful actor who goes from a series of soulless Hollywood encounters (junkets, makeup tests, and willing groupies) and has to look after his young child (Elle Fanning). Although the film is perfectly watchable despite its slow pace, and I was never bored and Fanning and Dorff (in his best performance in years) are both very good, it seems like Coppola has decided she hit upon a willing formula with 'Lost...' and has tried to duplicate it. Dorff's encounters while in Rome with Italian interviewers and press conferences seem to be a repeat of similar scenes in Tokyo. Still, the main problem is that nothing much happens in 'Somewhere' and there is little or no sense of drama and conflict and there is no sense of the relationship developing in any direction throughout the film. 'Somewhere' also lacks the charm of Coppola's earlier film and Dorff's character seems to be a near mute cipher for various encounters. In the final analysis, while 'Somewhere' does have it's plus points, it can't help but feel like an unsatisfying rehash.


Biutiful (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2010) *LONDON FILM FESTIVAL REPORT*
New film from Iñárritu, director of Amores Perros, 21 Grams and the lacklustre Babel, told in his native Spanish. If you thought those pictures were bleak, wait until you get a load of this one. Javier Bardem plays a small time criminal running trafficked African and Chinese workers in Barcelona who decides to settle his affairs best he can after learning he is terminally ill. At nearly two-and-a-half hours this is a very tough film, relentlessly bleak with little sign of hope or redemption. Bardem acts his heart and soul out in the film and delivers a powerful performance and Iñárritu’s direction is tough to say the least. The main problem, is that the film is far too long and sustains an uncomfortable bleakness throughout to the point where I’m unsure whether I’d actually recommend it to anybody. I’m glad I saw that, but I won’t watch it again.


Smash His Camera (Leon Gast, 2010) *LONDON FILM FESTIVAL REPORT*
A light-hearted and breezy documentary from the director of 'When We Where Kings' about notorious paparazzi photographer Ron Galella. Despite what you may think about his trade (I'm no fan personally), Galella's passion about his trade is undeniable and he comes across as being very likable, if a tad eccentric given his obsession with keeping rabbits. The film touches on his most notorious encounters including getting punched by Marlon Brando and getting a restraining order from Jackie-O. Not a revolutionary piece of documentary filmmaking of course, but its great fun and very watchable and definitely worth a look.


Tabloid (Errol Morris, 2010) *LONDON FILM FESTIVAL REPORT*
An extraordinary film from Errol Morris, arguably America's best living documentarian. This superb film focuses on Joyce McKinney and the so called 'manacled Mormon' case from the late 70's, where McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming, allegedly kidnapped a Mormon she had fallen in love with on a retreat in the UK and kept him tied up and had sex with him for three days. That is just the beginning of a truly bizarre series of events that have to be seen to be believed, and I'm amazed I never heard about the story before. McKinney emerges as the 'star' of the film and makes for a great interviewee with her folksy charm and unique view of the world, but the two journalists from the Mirror and the Times also make for great supporting characters. A superb addition to an already excellent filmography from Morris.


Upside Down: The Creation Records Story: (Danny O’Connor, 2010) *LONDON FILM FESTIVAL REPORT*
An entertaining documentary about Alan McGee’s legendary record label who, despite astronomical drug taking managed to release classic albums from My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain, Teenage Fanclub and Oasis in the 80’s and 90’s. All of the major players from the bands are present and correct as well as McGee himself, and O’Connor’s film manages to perfectly balance the artists’ and label’s musical accomplishments as well as their chemical ones. McGee makes for an arrogant, but entertaining interviewee as does Noel Gallagher as ever and overall the film is great fun. As with most documentaries of this like, it’s essential for fans of the label and its bands as well as anyone interested in the music business but not for anyone else.


Strange Powers: Stephen Merritt & The Magnetic Fields (Kerthy Fix & Gail O'Hara, 2010) *LONDON FILM FESTIVAL REPORT*
Low-budget documentary focusing on the cult US group The Magnetic Fields. Although the group does not have the classic rock n roll story arcs and attempts to provide some drama with some half hearted accusations of racism against songwriter Stephin Merritt the film, which focuses mainly on the music, is perfectly watchable even if you are only partly aware of their discography (I'm only familiar with their outstanding 1999 opus '69 Love Songs'). The films' main asset if the offbeat Merritt who emerges as a grouchy yet talented songwriter possessed with a savage wit. Worth a look for fans of music docs and definitely for fans of the band.


A Nightmare On Elm Street Sequel Special:
After owning the box set for several years I decided this month to finally make my way through all of the original Nightmare On Elm Street sequels. I've missed out on the original and New Nightmare (both pretty good) and Freddy Vs Jason (which is ok) and the remake, which I have not yet seen.


A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (Jack Sholder, 1985)
Oh dear, this doesn't bode well! Fortunately, I started at the bottom; Freddy's Revenge is easily the worst in the series. The filmmakers try and do something different by having Freddy possess a sexually repressed high schooler and have him murder some of his friends while Freddy commits various murders in the real world. The film fails for several reasons: it abandons its original concept, has a total lack of any dread or suspense, features some terrible acting, is devoid of any memorable death scenes and features blatant, awkward and hilarious attempts to introduce homoerotic undercurrents. This film is so bad, it made me wonder what I'd let myself in for, but although it comes close, it never gets as bad as this again.


A Nighmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Chuck Russel, 1987)
This is a bit more like it. Dream Warriors is easily the best in the series after the original film. Featuring a more interesting cast of teens in a mental asylum haunted by dreams of Freddy, and the return of Wes Craven as a scriptwriter and Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson, this is definitely a cut above the rest. Freddy, although in possession of some great one liners ("Welcome to prime time bitch!") never lapses into camp comedy and orchestrates some of the scenes most inventive and impressive death scenes. Featuring an unusually star studded cast in their early films (Larry Fishburne and a debuting Patricia Arquette) as well as some great cameos (Dick Cavett and Zsa Zsa Gabor), and an above average script (co written by Shawshank director Frank Darabont) ANOES3 is a fine slasher/horror film...only from here it really is downhill.


A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (Renny Harlin, 1988)
ANOES4 is planted straight in the middle spectrum in the series. Nothing about it is particularly dreadful (at least in comparison to some of the other films) but there isn't much to recommend about it either. After being resurrected by flaming dog urine (don't ask), Freddy kills off the survivors from Dream Warriors and goes after a new set of teens, one of whom (Lisa Wilcox) starts gaining the powers of her vanquished friends. Featuring a rather dull screenplay from Brian Helgland (later to win an Oscar for LA Confidential) and a completely unmemorable selection of characters (I watched the film two weeks ago and I've forgotten them already!) but still benefitting from some good special effects and as ever inventive kills, this film is better only in comparison to some of its neighbours.


A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Probably the most forgettable in the series, the heroine from the previous film is now pregnant and Freddy somehow manages to possess her child and use him as a cipher to kill more teens in some increasingly dull ways. The film hits a notable low point with Kreuger stalking a kid on a skateboard and tries to delve further into his background which always makes things worse. Also, Freddy has by now ceased to be a horror character and relies heavily on wisecracks and comes across as more of a prankster than a mass murderer. The selection of teens is even less memorable than before not helped by a lacklustre screenplay from another Hollywood luminaries and turgid direction. Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickenson's theme song 'Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter' would later become a hit for his own band.


A Nightmare On Elm Street 6: Freddy's Dead - The Final Nightmare
Finally the series it put out of its misery. Freddy's Dead is probably the worst entry in the series after Freddy's Revenge. Nothing much happens for the first thirty minutes as the last surviving Elm Street kid falls in with a bunch of teens in a care centre until finally it is revealed that Freddy has a child and only they (with the help of Yaphett Kotto severely lowering his standards) can bring him back into the real world and finish him off. While Freddy has now lost total menace and the human characters are as bad as ever the film is far more memorable than the previous two thanks to some truly ludicrous moments. The series hits it's all time low as Freddy kills off a stoner kid after luring him into a video game (with the help of a cameo-ing Johnny Depp) and finishing him off in the computer world while making him jump cartoonishly around as he sleeps. At the end it goes into 3D, or at least it would if the DVD had provided any glasses to watch that scene on the special features, seen normally there are a lot of shots of objects being pushed in front of the camera lens. Along with cameos from Alice Cooper, Rosanne Barr as well as Depp this is a more memorable film...but not necessarily in a good way.

Thankfully this was the end of the proper sequels, and Craven would return for the post-modern New Nightmare until Freddy Vs Jason would mark the final outing of Robert Englund as Freddy. This is one of the more unpleasant cinematic voyages I've had...maybe one day I'll attempt the Friday 13th and Halloween sequels.


Film Of The Month: Strange Days (of the old), Enter The Void (of the new).