MikeEverleth

Under discussion:

Straw Dogs  (1971)

No Through Road  (2008)

No Through Road is an extremely tense little thriller-slash-horror movie that's at turns scary, suspenseful and pretty gory and disturbing. It's kind of like a low-budget Australian update of Straw Dogs.

However, this time the nerdy guy who needs to find his inner barbarian is a mousy, reclusive amateur photographer who needs to protect a strange girl hiding in his bedroom closet. She claims she's just been raped, but the three thugs outside who want to have a "chat" with her claim she's involved in a drug plot. Of course, the outside creeps eventually find their way inside for a cat-and-mouse game that involves several sharp objects.

The film has a nice script that slowly builds the tension and deftly explains away all of the nagging implausibilities, such as giving the hero a good, solid reason to not automatically call the cops when he finds the girl. But the film really shines with giving us terrific characters to care about, especially in developing the villains who are grounded and realistic and not just cartoonish ruffians.

Read my full review at Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.

Under discussion:

Wonderland  (1997)

I guess this is a hard-to-see film since it was never released on DVD, which is a real shame because it's a fun, quirky little documentary.

Director John O'Hagan does a nice job spotlighting the eccentric characters living in America's first suburb, Levittown, NY, without poking fun at them. The residents proudly discuss their quirky hobbies and obsessions while O'Hagan mixes in nice archival footage of the suburb's ambitious beginnings. We also get to meet a few of Levittown's more famous former residents, like musician Eddie Money and Bill Griffith, the creator of Zippy the Pinhead.

It's a real shame more people can't get to see this as this is a very charming documentary.

Under discussion:

Circulation  (2008)

Ryan Harper's debut feature is a nice twist on the desert thriller genre. A young Mexican woman is helped by a crusty, but kind, stranger as she escapes from her abusive ex-husband. While it may look like she's still in the same desert community where she grew up, she eventually realizes she's trapped in a nighmarish mirror world.

Her journey is kind of like Dorothy's in The Wizard of Oz, except the Munchkins here are normal-sized and like to vomit bile on and eat people; and instead of a dancing scarecrow, she's accompanied by a cranky bald guy in a rundown truck.

Read my full review on Bad Lit.

Under discussion:

The Strangers  (2008)

The mood and character set-up are pretty good here and there are certainly some nice scary parts. However, what I think totally sinks the film is that director Bertino never sets up a good sense of space. About halfway through the film I realized I had no idea where the characters were in relation to the house from one scene to the next. They seemed like they were in this very big house, but we only get to see like two or three rooms in it. Then, a barn is introduced halfway into the film that it's not clear how far it is from the house. I lost track of where Tyler and Speedman were in each scene and thus lost interest in their predicament. But, still didn't totally dislike it. More like a missed opportunity.

Under discussion:

Jack Smith & The Destruction of Atlantis  (2007)

This was a pretty thorough profile of underground filmmaker and performance artist Jack Smith. Although most well-known for the groundbreaking film Flaming Creatures, his experience with the film's distribution led him to never complete another film ever again. Instead, he devoted his life to putting on avant-garde plays in his studio loft to bewildered art crowds.

Smith spent his life fighting his fame and drove most people who knew him away. So, he's probably the most mysterious of the underground film crowd who came to prominence in the '60s. This documentary finally sheds some light on his life and career. Featuring great archival footage, we get to see Smith's humble small-town beginnings, the successful photography career he abandoned, clips from his never-completed films and some performace video. There's also interviews with Smith's contemporaries and admirers, so it's a good all-around profile.

You can read my full review at Bad Lit.

Under discussion:

Vacancy  (2007)

Vacancy starts out kind of sluggishly and uninterestingly. The opening scenes with Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale in the car features fairly pedestrian dialogue and a cliche set-up that eventually leads them to the murder motel. It all feels kind of padded to make the film come up to a feature-length runtime.

But once the unhappy couple gets stuck in their room and are hunted by the killers, the action becomes pretty intense. There's not much to get invested in these characters on an emotional level, but at least the cat-and-mouse game becomes fun to watch.

Doesn't nearly live up to the premise, but it's not a total wreck of a film either.

Under discussion:

Body of Lies  (2008)

Body of Lies feels like the kind of movie Ridley Scott can direct with his eyes closed. it's like an old-time espionage film gussied up with hi-tech gizmos and made "relevant" by partially being set during the current Iraq conflict -- even though it could have been re-set just about anywhere or any time.

Leonardo DiCaprio is just kind of there in the movie without really carrying the action and a drinking game can be made out of the film based on the times Russell Crowe peers over the top of his glasses. Mark Strong is good, smarmy fun as the head of the Jordanian secret service.

But the real star here is the goofy, convoluted script for William Monahan, who should be the go-to guy now for over-the-top movies about professional backstabbers.

Under discussion:

What Would Jesus Buy?  (2007)

Rev. Billy is on a mission to reduce mindless consumerism, which is a noble and probably impossible goal. He's a very charismatic figure and even though his reverend persona is meant to be humorous, one can't doubt his absolute sincerity and dedication to his cause.

He's a great character and he comes across as exuding a terrific natural charm on screen. He's a man made for the media if anyone wants to heed his call.

The film veers a little off track, though, when it sets up its story as a road movie about Billy and his choir traveling across the country to prevent the Shopocalypse. But rather than follow the road movie format, the film's broken up by traditional documentary title cards that halt the flow of fun. At times it even gets confusing what city and state Billy is even in.

It's a fun documentary, though, through the sheer force of Billy's personality.

Under discussion:

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead  (2007)

Troma head-honcho Lloyd Kaufman is back at the top of his game with Poultrygeist. Yes, it's funny , over-the-top disgusting and has lots of gratuitous nudity like Troma movies are known for, but Kaufman actually made this film a musical. And the musical numbers ain't bad! Actually, they're downright catchy.

Everything is, of course, pushed to the extremes. The graphic and frequent disembowelings and mutilations are too sick to be believed; politically-incorrect humor is in abundance; the dialogue is spewed by the actors rather than delivered and Troma's recent obsession with feces humor and gross-out set-pieces is in full display.

In all: A fun time.

Read my full review at Bad Lit.

Under discussion:

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions  (2004)

FAQ is the first feature film by Spanish filmmaker Carlos Atanes and it's his most ambitious and successful work so far.

Carlos' real strength is the way he can film slightly unordinary locations and transport the viewer into a totally believable, yet fantastic world. This film concerns a future where a fascist matriarchal government forces women to pledge their ovaries and has outlawed all touching.

The lead character Nono leads us through this world without commentary since he's a mute. So, the viewer is basically on his own to make sense of this nightmare scenario.

Read my full review on Bad Lit.

Under discussion:

Elevator Movie  (2008)

Elevator Movie is the ultimate "meet cute" movie. What do you get when a perverted virgin and a Born Again ex-slut walk into an elevator? A sick, twisted epic of surrealistic extremes. This is a Twilight Zone episode as directed by David Lynch.

They say opposites attract, but these two lonely souls on opposite sides of the great sexual divide are like opposing magnets, alternately attracting and repelling each other as the hours they're stuck together drags on into days, months and maybe even years.

It's an outlandish premise, but director Zeb Haradon really makes the situation work by ratcheting up the sexual tension to unbearable levels. And if the idea of two people stuck in an elevator for years on end isn't extreme enough, it gets even odder when one of them starts becoming something that isn't quite human.

Read my original review on Bad Lit.

Under discussion:

Frozen River  (2008)

You could throw Frozen River in the category of straight-up drama, but I'd consider it a very low-key thriller. It's not too tense, but enough that kept me on edge, particularly the second half when the plot really started to pay off.

Terrific acting by both female leads. Melissa Leo seems to be getting the most attention, but Misty Upham comes across so natural she almost seems like she was just grabbed from the local area and isn't a professionally trained actress. Also, I'm always a sucker for Michael O'Keefe.

Great script, too. Not cliche at all, which I kept being afraid it was going to veer off into, but it never did.

Under discussion:

Nomads and No-Zones  Production Year

Vanessa Renwick and Greta Snider are two of my favorite filmmakers. I saw most of these films years ago at the New York Underground Film Festival and they always stayed with me, so I was thrilled to see Other Cinema put out their Nomads and No-Zones collection. The only disappointment is that Snider's documentary The Magic of Radio wasn't included.

These are two extremely insightful directors, looking into what it means to be slightly out of sync with the rest of the world. Whether they're profiling themselves, their friends or random quirky people they meet, this DVD is like going on a fun, long road trip with the two greatest story spinners you could ever hope to have in the car with you.

Read my full review at Bad Lit.

Under discussion:

Escape from New York  (1981)

Halloween  (1978)

Having re-watched Escape From New York after not having seen it all the way through in years, I was really struck how similar in tone this is to Halloween, particularly in how from when Snake first lands to the end there's that great sense of Carpenterian dread that death is lurking just outside of the frame, due to the figures dashing around in the shadows and the quick zinger music cues.

I was also struck by how much good-natured fun the movie is. It's a fairly dark film, but filled with some really corny jokes, e.g. the recurring "I heard you were dead" line that almost make it a light-hearted romp.

Under discussion:

Strange Invaders  (1983)

I watched Strange Invaders about 500 times when I was a kid and it was a cable TV staple. (Prism, anyone?) I'm glad IFC has been showing it and it's where I caught it again recently. I think the movie still holds up although I can understand how the low-key style would turn some people off. But I think it does a great job of nailing the style of old-fashioned sci-fi flicks with some modern special effects. Great '80s cast, too.

Under discussion:

The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah  (2006)

This film has really stuck with me since I saw it a few years ago. I think that director Chris Hanson and star Dustin Olson really created a classic character in their false messiah Brian. He's disturbing to look at, uncomfortable to listen to and a complete raging jerkoff. Yet, you also feel a strange sympathy towards him that he's so clueless. There are some really great, classic funny scenes in the film, but what really holds the piece together is Brian. One of the stronger indie film characters of the past few years.

You can read my full review at Bad Lit.