Pour les gens de France:
Comme un garçon en Amérique, je entendu des histoires de mon père à propos de la bravoure de la résistance française. Je me souviens clairement; mon père a lu beaucoup de livres sur la Guerre Mondiale Deux.
Vos amis aux États-Unis savent ce soir que vous allez convoquer à nouveau la même bravoure.
“Circle” (2015) is a particularly dark sci-fi thriller that manages to be pretty good despite its obviously low budget. I’d give it a 7 out of 10.
Fifty strangers awaken in mysterious high-tech room in which they’re forced to vote on who among them will next die, until only one survivor remains. (It’s a setup reminiscent of the “Survivor” reality tv series. Good Lord, has that show really been on for 15 years?!) Other amatuer reviewers have called this a “study in human nature;” I think maybe that’s a bit generous. We see a few obvious stereotypes and some pretty thin characters (even if a couple of unexpected flourishes were very well played). I also think that the vast majority of people who would find themselves in this story’s setting would lack the composure we see from virtually every character on screen.
Still, this movie was different and creative. It kept me in suspense at times, and held my attention. And early on, the talk about awakening “in a red room” appears to be a pretty cool nod to what seems like this movie’s direct inspiration — 1997’s classic “Cube.”
I really disliked the ending, but an explanation about why would be a tremendous spoiler.
Let’s get something out of the way first — “Bone Tomahawk” (2015) isn’t only a western. It’s a genre-busting … “horror-western,” as other review sites have called it. It pits four protagonists against a tribe of monstrous “cave dwellers” who have kidnapped two people from their tiny frontier town of “Bright Hope.” And the results at the movie’s end are pretty damned horrifying.
This was superb — I’d give it a 9 out of 10. “Bone Tomahawk” succeeds in being scary and enjoyable simply because it’s a quality film. The script is outstanding, with nuanced, occasionally funny, and ultimately quite likable characters. The four leads — Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox and Richard Jenkins — play the diverse quartet perfectly. I could honestly watch another one or two movies about these guys, even without the horror-movie plot device that this flick employs — and that is coming from a guy that doesn’t like westerns.
The directing and cinematography are perfect. And the end of the movie is nerve-shattering, smartly written and satisfying. (Although there is one violent sequence that might make your heart stop. Good lord.)
My only criticisms are very subjective. For one, this movie sometimes felt slow. The exciting horror-movie element that drives the plot is introduced early, but briefly. It is then more than an hour before we arrive at it again, as we follow the four protagonists traveling to an uncharted valley just to reach the bad guys’ lair.
For another … this movie got just a little too dour during its lengthy second act (the trek to the valley where the climax takes place). We see a few sad things, including the fates of innocent people and animals. These punctuate what is literally a painful journey for one of our heroes waging a doomed battle against a horribly wounded leg. Throughout its middle, “Bone Tomahawk” isn’t so much of a “scary movie” as it is a slightly depressing movie.
Still, this was fantastic. And if you see it and you really like it, as I did, then spread the word. This flick hasn’t gotten the press it deserves.
Quick postscript: watch for David Arquette and none other than Sid Haig in surprise supporting roles! And … supposedly Sean Young was in this movie, but I’ll be damned if I could spot her.
Well, not really. Just a couple of Halloween decorations to keep the spirit.
Author Will Reichard gives us a nice rundown today of the small-screen adaptation of “The Man in the High Castle” (2015). Check it out over at his blog, right here:
http://plaeroma.com/2015/10/go-watch-the-man-in-the-high-castle/
I’ve been dying to get to this alternate-history dystopia — it looks so much more ambitious and thoughtful than the usual fare, and it depicts a Nazi occupation of the United States! I’ll review it when I get to it. Right now, I’m finding myself tempted by the “Limitless” television adaptation and that new “Tales of Halloween” anthology horror flick.
There is actually a really basic question I’d love to ask about the plot of “The Man in the High Castle,” but I’m afraid an answer would be too spoilerish. (It concerns the films that various characters watch within this show.)
You can’t call “Howl” (2015) a great movie — not all of its acting, screenwriting and directing supports that statement. But this indie British horror flick’s better qualities make it a pretty good one — enough to warrant an 8 out of 10.
There were three things about this film that made me like it.
And did anyone else recognize the train conductor? That’s none other than Sean Pertwee, who starred in the werewolf classic, “Dog Soldiers” (2002). It’s fun imagining “Howl” as a companion film.
There is one special effects sequence in Eli Roth’s “The Green Inferno” (2015) that is technically very well done. I won’t describe it, for fear of spoilers here, but if you know that Greg Nicotero was in charge of effects for this movie, and you know the TV show with which he’s associated, then you have a pretty good idea of what this sequence entails. (Hint: it’s “The Walking Dead.”)
This movie also makes excellent use of its Peruvian location, and the real tribe employed as extras.
Beyond those two things … this really is a rather mediocre horror-thriller, folks. It’s nothing to write home about. In fact, it seems amateurishly made on a few levels, especially considering the creative talent Roth exhibited with films like “Hostel” (2005), “Hostel 2” (2007) and “Cabin Fever” (2002).
This movie held my attention, and it does serve up a disturbing horror film that’s weird and different — which is what I think Roth is known for. But, regrettably, it just wasn’t especially well scripted, performed or directed. I’d give it a 4 out of 10.
Now this looks like a heck of a lot of fun for an Autumn evening — my Mary Washington College Alumna Barbara Pando-Behnke will be performing with Supreme Chord at Aca-toberfest tomorrow night, October 17th, at 7:30 PM at Arlington Temple.
Here are the details:
“ACA-TOBERFEST will be an amazing night of music featuring the debut concert for DC-based co-ed a cappella group Supreme Chord, and will include an additional headlining performance by Boston’s a cappella sensation, Ball in the House.
“The concert will be held at Arlington Temple (1835 N. Nash Street, Arlington, VA), just steps from the Rosslyn Metro Station. Tickets are $17 in advance, and $20 at the door.
“Learn more about both groups at:
www.supremechordsings.com
www.ballinthehouse.com
Oh, well. Orwell’s “1984” did observe that “it was a beautiful thing, the destruction of language.”
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The National Breast Cancer Foundation has two lists of healthcare providers who offer free or low-cost breast cancer screenings. One is for their partners:
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/national-mammography-program
And one is for other national or local referral services or programs:
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/about-breast-cancer/early-detection/early-detection-resources
The first episode of television’s “Minority Report” (2015) has all the bells and whistles of its 2002 cinematic source material, but little of its skilled storytelling. I’d rate it a 6 out of 10, and that probably reflects my positive bias connected with my love for the classic film.
The show looks great — the special effects are well thought out, well rendered, and in abundance. Visually and in terms of its fictional technology, this is terrific way to revisit the future that was painstakingly envisioned for the fantastic movie. The show is an earnest follow-up, too; you can tell that the writers respect the film and were reaching for its unique vibe and its fast-paced suspense.
Regrettably, the pilot here just doesn’t suggest that this will be an unusually good show. The writing and directing are average, at best, and some of the acting is downright poor. A hastily conceived plot features one of the movie’s plot-driving psychic “precogs” rushing to intervene in future murders, which he can still predict, like some kind of lone, nonviolent, pre-emptive vigilante. A cheesy covert partnership develops between him and a tough-and-sassy-but-sexy, single, female cop. And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Cue the bad dialogue. I honestly think my friends and I could have come up with something better than that.
Oh well. It can’t all be “A” material. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling people who bitch about my jokes on Facebook. And this was just the pilot — maybe the show will get better.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 