Reviews

I actually thought the second season was better than the first; an overkill of unbelievably extravagant murder scenes and an annoyingly clairvoyant Will Graham left the first season feeling cheap and contrived. The second season settles down some and is all the better for it. Graham's plight during the first half of it never quite rings true but it's better than what we saw before, and the show as a whole tightens up as the Vergers arrive on scene. I haven't watched the final season yet but so far, I'd say this show is just OK, watchable but not really must-see. I'll update this review once I've finished the entire series.

I found it kind of tedious; the old routine of setting up cameras and watching bits and pieces of uneventful footage, just waiting for something spooky to occur, has become tired by this point in the series, leading to it being the most unconvincing of the three films to boot. The scares came at a predictable pace, telegraphed by each new round of footage, and none of them were particularly creepy or memorable. Scenes such as the outline of the ghost in dust or the sheet dropping behind the babysitter fell flat for me, feeling forced rather than haunting. That could just be because this is the third time around for these now familiar "activities" but truth be told, I've never found them to be all that effective or convincing. They play like those reenactments on supernatural TV shows rather than legitimate footage; they are, at best, only superficially eerie. A hint of plot finally rears its head during the last sequence (a coven of witches), which made me sit up for the first time during the movie, but it fizzles out with a shock scene for the audience to gasp at rather than something more interesting or satisfying. A shame they didn't do more with that plot line. Anyway, on the plus side, the success of this film should lead to more supernatural and/or hand-held horror, and hopefully better than the likes of what this series has had to offer.

Writer/director/star Michael Fredianelli once again dares to tread where few filmmakers do, bravely melding layers of unsettling racial themes with the current trend of 70's grindhouse throwbacks. In The Minstrel Killer, officer Tex Holland is called to a backwards Texas town to assist with the investigation of a vicious whipping murder, a rarity in those parts beyond the scope of their limited force, namely the local lawman, Pike McGraw (television star Eric Andersen in the part, who brings his considerable experience with such roles to the table). Several more deaths occur shortly after his arrival, involving a hanging and cruel tar-and-feathering. As the slave-orientated murders stack up, additional help arrives with Tyrell Jones (played by the very capable Anthony Spears), a sharp, levelheaded, black officer. All this resonates deeply within Holland, as he deals with a personal problem of his own; he recently discovered his wife (newcomer Vanessa Celso in the demanding role) cheated on him with a black man. And for him, the atrocities of the case have only just begun to unfold…

The Minstrel Killer establishes its suspenseful, gritty roots of post-1960's horror with reverent enthusiasm. Right off the bat, the film opens with a fantastic stalking sequence of a bikini-clad female who is sunning herself in the countryside, a scene that will instantly make any grindhouse fan feel at home, before jumping into effectively crude animation panels that accompany the opening credits. The story does get somewhat sidetracked early on, with a 'left field' subplot involving a family of cannibals (cue Texas Chainsaw Massacre imagery). After it gets there, however, the scene plays out fairly well, with every actor giving convincingly filthy and depraved performances, as if it were second nature to them. Fredianelli's ability to secure and place such talent in these types of roles has always been admirable. For me, though, where the film shines brightest is with the Minstrel Killer himself. In black face, emotionless, complete with suit, white gloves, and top hat, he is a mysterious, striking, and wholly unique cinematic killer. Credited (fittingly) as the Shape, he lurks with chilling menace before swiftly striking at his prey. All his shots are filmed beautifully, whether they are his quickly approaching feet in a victim's background or a simple low-angle close-up, the exposure from the sky making his grotesque face so dark as to only just see the white of his eyes. The part is played by a nearly unrecognizable Michael Nosé and, despite having no dialogue (technically, though his demeanor speaks volumes), it may go down as one of his very finest performances. Whether he's whipping an unfortunate soul or dancing a jig willy-nilly, he owns this character fully.

Fredianelli, an artist who never shies away from controversial themes or graphic content, delivers yet again with The Minstrel Killer, my favorite full-length feature of his so far. The path his troubled character, Tex Holland, leads us down leaves us shaken and provoked, elevated all the more by his powerful portrayal, both emotive and intense. Is Holland consumed by racist rage, or driven to it? Who is the Shape and what is his true motive? Or is he more a metaphorical character, an ironic reflection of prejudice and punishment clashing? Unlike the black and white narrative of 1977's Fight For Your Life, The Minstrel Killer leaves us with complicated questions and, perhaps to a fault, precious few answers but one thing is certain, you won't be the same human after viewing it…par for the course with a Wild Dogs Picture.

On a final note, the original music by Aaron Stielstra (who also has a small part as a scummy, micturating, lowlife hood) must not be forgotten. The extremely moody synth tracks and terrifying stingers, which would've been well suited for any Fulci gut-muncher, fit this film like a greasy glove. I think it is Stielstra's best score work yet.

Oldboy, a Korean action thriller, is one of the best films I watched in 2004! Oh Daesu, on his way home to celebrate his daughter's birthday, finds himself kidnapped and placed in a small apartment-like room. Despite his attempts to find out why, he is never told anything over the 15 years he remains prisoner there! During the time in his cell, he stays busy by attempting suicide, watching TV, trying to escape, and preparing for when he does get out. It is at that time Oh Daesu will begin his violent, disturbing quest for answers. No more needs to be said, as this is a film best left revealed as you watch it for the first time. I will mention one scene for the action fans though. Oh Daesu, on his way out of a building, starts into a hall and encounters a whole gang of punks prepared to stop him. Armed with a mere claw hammer, our hero smashes his way to the other end, realistically dishing out pain (and taking his share of it back!). We witness this awesome scene of action beauty unfold over the course of about three minutes, scrolling from the left to the right, and with absolutely no cuts! Anyway, with its unique and suspenseful plot, great characters and acting, and sharp sense of style and music, Oldboy was an impressive feature. The film was less than a year old and a remake was already in the works! If you get the chance, I definitely recommend watching it. I'm looking forward to now checking out director Chan-wook Park's earlier film, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.

Comment originally submitted on September 5, 2005.

Phenomena, a supernatural giallo, was the last film I needed to see in Dario Argento's smash horror run from 1975's Deep Red to 1987's Opera (my two favorite giallos, incidentally). After the solid opening sequence, the movie moves at a steady but slow pace, intermittently drifting between dreamy (or nightmarish, as it were) and dry segments. A young Jennifer Connelly, fresh off of Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, delivers a very fine performance though, keeping the dryer parts bearable. Donald Pleasence lends his gentlemanly presence to the proceedings as well but unfortunately, his screen time is limited. The plot continues to lay itself out in a slightly confounding way until the third act, which is when Phenomena's gears are dropkicked into place, hard. An intense, head-spinning reel of insanity is what follows; mucus spewing, a foul pool littered with maggot-covered body parts, bloody thumb dislocation, a horrifying child mutant with Patau Syndrome, glorious and grotesque fly swarms, lake fires, decapitation by sheet metal, and a vicious chimp with a damn razor!! The aforementioned pace and artistic set pieces that led up to these sick atrocities only served to double the impact. Powerful, pants-wetting horror. Topping it all off is the soundtrack. Argento experiments with a couple hard rock tunes, which kinda bugged me here...I don't think they worked nearly as well as they did in Opera. Fortunately, however, the fantastic title theme by Claudio Simonetti, as well as the other score pieces, make up for that and more. Simonetti's, and Goblin's, music is always a highlight of an Argento feature.

Odd title, new Wild Dogs logo, not a bad start. As I ventured further into this most recent production from talented director/actor Michael Fredianelli, I checked the length and was rather taken aback at the considerable running time of about 150 minutes. Fortunately, for the most part, the picture was able to fill that time more than well enough to sustain interest. The story, by up and coming screenwriter Todd Jurgess, revolves around Dave, a so-far-under-the-cover cop that his own people have trouble keeping tabs on him. Dave is also a degenerate, homicidal, heroin addict who doubles as a hit-man for the very people he is supposed to be infiltrating and really, this makes up his preferred profession, as well as the crux of the storyline. All of his activities related to that profession (cold assassinations, freeing whores of their painful life, continually seeking out that next shot of smack, etc…) certainly make for an entertaining, albeit dark, journey and even though the story arc never curves too much (at least up until Dave gets re-involved with his ex-partner's girl), I can honestly say I was never bored with the proceedings. I did find the girl's desire to resume the relationship slightly jarring though, and the brave pairing of the unwholesomely romantic drug montage and that famous tune from Midnight Cowboy was just weird. I appreciated the gorno-like torture sequence, an unexpected but welcome twist, and thought reliable character actor Michael Nosé filled the menacing role nicely. The final climax is perhaps a little too heavily influenced by Scarface, even down to the soundtrack, but ultimately feels like an appropriate ending, not to mention the fact that bullet-riddled deaths are almost always highly pleasing. The production values and professionalism on display in Pale Blue Balloons has come a long way since the days of Once Upon a Time in San Jose and definitely could and should hold its own on the indie circuit. The acting was almost uniformly topnotch (the outtakes were a testament of all the effort put into getting these performances) and I believe this was the most diverse ensemble of any Wild Dogs production I've ever seen. If pushed for complaints, I think Pale Blue Balloons could've benefited from a little tightening in the plot and some trimming for length but as it is, it's a powerful picture that remains true to its nihilistic themes from the first frame to the last. Good job, to everyone involved.

Sadly, director David Koepp was not able to achieve the quality of his Stir of Echos with this film. Not that Secret Window is terrible though. The plot is fairly standard; writer Mort Rainey, whose divorce is messily in process, has a creepy Amish-like man called John Shooter approach his cabin, claiming Mort stole his short story. John goes on to terrorize Mort through the rest of the movie, even though Mort is trying to prove his work is original. Mort also has to balance in his divorce, the bodyguard/detective he hired, and his sanity. Johnny Depp, as usual, brings a lot to the film as Mort…his acting here was half the enjoyment. John Turturro did a fine job as well. Still, Secret Window failed to really grab on to the viewer and just comes off as an average-at-best thriller. The ending was cool though, even if it was a bit predictable. You may want to see The Ninth Gate instead.

Crying Freeman is based off a Manga and tells the tale of the Freeman, a tattooed assassin (played by Mark Dacascos) "brainwashed" to kill for a secret Chinese crime syndicate. And kill he does (often in slo-mo); he is skilled with guns, swords, and what have you! Anyway, in the opening double hit, a female (of course) artist is witness to the violent act. He lets her go, for now, but the rule is no one can see his face and live. He is sent back to snuff her out but as he waits in her house, he finds a painting of himself. He realizes that this woman is not a threat and in fact, has some kind of feelings for him. When she finally arrives, he cannot kill her. Now, in addition to the Mafia who want revenge for their two slain men, Freeman's own group decided he broke the rules and must die for it (after one last hit, of course). There are many more ins and outs to the story but I think you get the idea. There is a decent helping of good, violent action and this is probably the film's strong point. Still, the general atmosphere is monotone and the plot drags at times. If you can find a copy, it's worth viewing, I guess, but not for $25. Christophe Gans' Brotherhood of the Wolf (also staring Dacascos) blows this out of the water. By the way, Freeman sheds a tear from time to time, hence the title. I forget what the exact reason was though…it's just his thing.

In this one, the bounty killers (led by an evil but affable Klaus Kinski) are actually the bad guys, as they heartlessly hunt down and kill harmless (and perhaps innocent) men. The wife of one of these men hire Silence, a mute gunman who is against the ruthless ways of the bounty killers (when he was just a child, a group of them destroyed his family). Jean-Louis Trintignant plays Silence and does an excellent job of conveying his emotion through his eyes and facial gestures. One thing that gave this one a unique feeling compared to other SWs was the use of cold, snowy surroundings…some of the photography was stunning. The music by the legendary Ennio Morricone really enhances the desperate tone of each scene. The ending is a real kicker. I won't spoil it but it's definitely effective and unforgettable. The uncut Fantoma DVD release (re-release?) had a clean print and clear sound and included the alternate ending, which was amusing after seeing the original ending. I liked the glove though!

Takeshi Kitano. He's the man. Brother tells the tale of a Yakuza gangster who is forced to leave everything behind in Japan and start anew in America. And boy does he know how to build up his organization! Within a very short time, he assembles and controls the second most powerful group of organized crime in Los Angles, second only to the Italian Mafia, who is not happy about it! Filled with calm moments and explosive violence (a Kitano trademark), Brother is a very cool gangster flick indeed! Mixing the two cultures together worked out well and made for some interesting, and humorous, viewing. If you've yet to see this film, seppuku is an honorable choice…or you could just rent it. I do have two questions, if anybody cares to answer them. What did Takeshi do wrong that he had to leave Japan and whose body is shown near the end lying on gravel?

Over the course of 25 years or so, we are told the (true?) story of several poor youths who grow up in the slums of Brazil, leading to a life of violence, drugs, and organized crime. The focus, though, is usually on Buscapé, a young man who chooses not to dive head first into the grime but to simply try and work his way through it. He also has a penchant for photography, which is just the ticket he needs. City of God is similar, both in style and content, to the likes of Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas. Trendy camera-work, (semi-)hip dialogue and humor, shocking, brutal violence, and a mob-like plot line are all aspects of it and actually done decently. The scene in which a boy must choose to be shot either in his hand or foot is a favorite! That all said, there was something about this movie that I did not like and I can't put my finger on it…I just didn't leave the theater thinking it was THAT great. And a ranking of 16 (48 when I wrote this review back in February of 2004) on IMDb? I just don't see that. It wasn't a bad movie though.