Left Bank

It's been some time since I've looked to Hollywood, or American Cinema for my horror movie fix. I don't particularly like horror, I'm more of a thriller kind of guy if I'm in the mood to be scared. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly good horror movies still made here, but few and far between, so when I'm in the mood I look over the oceans to places where they still know how to scare.

This film bothered me in a lot of ways, and the easiest comparison to me, and the way it made me feel would be like that of the movie "Being John Malcovich" The ending of that movie as well as this just makes me feel bad, it makes me feel dirty, and makes me so glad that its not a possibility. The story is about a woman in her early 20's named Marie who is a world class runner, they mention she is the 5th best in the world. She spends most of her time training, and thus has little social life. That is until she gets sick, her immune system is crashing, her blood is weak, and she's going to need to take some time off to recuperate. She begins to fill her time with a new boy friend named Bobby.

Things begin to progress very quickly and she basically starts to crash with him for the time that she is trying to rest. The thing is though is that the building he lives in is making her sick, she isn't getting better but worse, shes throwing up and generally getting more and more depressed. When she starts to have some truly disturbing dreams she looks into the history of the area that he lives in with the help of a man named Dirk whose girl friend lived in the building and disappeared a few months earlier. The lines begin to blur for Marie as she starts to become something else, shes got black coarse hair growing out of a wound on her knee, she cant stop throwing up, and the feeling that Bobby isn't what he seems to be is getting stronger.

Ill leave it at that when it comes to the plot and what happens because I don't want to give anything away. There were things that seemed unfinished though, loose ends and things they never explain. Which at first might seem like lazy writing, or lazy story telling, but honestly I think once you have put a certain amount of effort into explanation most of it after that point should be left alone. If everything is explained away then what am I fearing when the film is done? To truly scare me there has to be some mystery when the film ends because that scares me so much more than a nice neat little package where everything has a reason for happening.

Its very creepy, all the way through, they weren't fearing the dark in the way they shot and lit it, which I love to see, lots of it is dark and very drab. None of what you see really looks like a nice place to live, a lot of soft blues, and sickly greens and yellows (a current popular look) with a certain grimness around every corner. There's some black mud that might as well been a man with a knife that it seemed that threatening to me, and to the characters as well.

The acting was fine, I couldn't really say much about it since for a horror there really isn't much screaming, and only some running. In fact most of the terrifying things in this are ignored for as long as they can which just put the tension on steroids waiting for something to happen. If I had watched it at night I think it would have bothered me more, but just thinking about the ending will remind me how upsetting I really found it.

If you like horror that isn't straight forward or even all that blood soaked then this is a good choice, if you've seen "Let the Right One In" and liked it I think this would be up your alley, it takes so many more risks than most American horror films. One of the better and more atmospheric horrors Ive seen recently, enjoyable to the last minute, I mean as much as one could enjoy it. 8/10 stars.

Director: Pieter Van Hees

Starring: Eline Kuppens, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sien Eggers, Tom De Wispelaere

Party Monster

It has got to be hard to write, or act in a movie where the characters are so annoying it makes you want to stab your self in the face, over and over again.

This is the mostly true story of a young man named Michael Alig who in the late 80's and early 90's was the king of an under ground night club culture. He ended up murdering a drug dealer friend of his named Angel in cold blood and the hacked his body up, put it in a box and threw it into the river. The story is told from two peoples points of view, Michael's and James St. James. Both of these "people" are total and utter useless wastes of space. The story gives us some back ground on how at least Michael become the "monster" that he was by the end of his little 15 minutes of fame. If you are interested in that story, how he was molested and mistreated as a child then watch "Party Monster: The Shockumentary" a Documentary about it, not to be confused with this movies that is simply titled "Party Monster"

The documentary isn't a bad film, but its hard to care at all about these people because they are such.....tools. Their lives consist of being paid large sums of money to come to a night club and party, that's all. Hey if someone wants to pay them to do this, then whatever, what do I care. They get dressed up in insane and stupid costumes at these parties and do enough drugs to kill a horse, they even had to tone down the drug use in this for fear that audiences wouldn't believe the amount of drugs they did.

Now I cant stress this enough, there is nothing worth liking or admiring in these people, they really are useless to us and themselves. Instead of trying to do something useful for society they are completely self serving and so into themselves that its no wonder they ended up killing someone. Now did Angel deserve to die, I couldn't say, I'm sure he did some terrible things, but enough to be killed, and simply because he wanted to be paid for the drugs that Alig had consumed? After beating him with a hammer they put hypodermic needles full of Draino into his veins, smothered him and left his body there for days. They eventually cut it up and threw it away. Truly disgusting.

The way its shot isn't great, its decent digital video, but nothing great. There are a few interesting shots, and some lighting that didn't look completely staged, but not much. Its hard to enjoy the movie when I hate the people in it, and even worse when I know they are real people. The way they shot it didn't redeem itself. The acting was okay, but again, the characters are so over the top its hard to mess that up, its like how anyone can do a Christopher Walken impression, but to do a good one you have to pull it back.

Overall as interesting as it is to see his decline and ultimate failure as a person, they don't devote enough time to showing why he did what he did, or how his decline transferred to the point of murder. It was faulty as a story, the script needed work, and its hard for me to stand watching a movie where the people are so so so incredibly annoying. 4/10 stars.

Director: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato

Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Wilmer Valderrama, Wilson Cruz

Same Sex America

Ive watched a few documentaries about gay people getting married in America, I saw this was about to start on TV so I thought I'd check it out. I wasn't disappointed, it follows 6 couples in Massachusetts in 2004 and 2005 dealing with their right to get married.

At first glance all I kept thinking was they seemed like "All American Families" They take their kids to school, they work to make money just like I know they do. They just want to have what straight couples have, and since this is America I think/know they should. One the flip side of the coin are these lunatics who say they don't hate gays, but they are going to ruin everything. People are screaming out saying things such as, "If you allow this then you condone incest, polygamy, beastiality....." Could they be more wrong? They continue with, "One man, one woman, make children, no procreation, then no marriage" So by that wisdom then people who are infertile shouldn't be allowed to wed, or the elderly, is that what we are going to do now?

America is about removing restrictions, not imposing them. The crazies continue with "This is simply legalized perversion" One woman who they focus on who is on that side says, "If this happens then life is going to be a lot harder" Yeah, that makes sense, other people will be allowed to get married, your life is going to be full of hardships now. People like this really make me sick, she honestly thinks that if gays get married our society will collapse, she will be forced to defend her own marriage, just insanity.

Most of the film they focus on the fight in the state over the decision to allow gays to be married, and the couples who are planning their own marriages. One couple we see for a moment in it are gay men who have been together for 49 years, and are now able to get married, its so great for them, but also so sad that we let that right be with held from them for a half century. The women and men we see are normal people, there is no ear mark that screams gay about them, but they are. A man plays catch with his son, a little girl tells her Moms she wants to sing at their wedding, its adorable, and its normal. There is no proof that a kid coming out of a same sex household will be any different, if anything I think they would be more accepting.

Its not an issue of religion or sex, its a civil rights issue, they are trying to with hold rights from a group of tax paying citizens. Same thing with interracial marriage, its not about the race issue its about the right to do as you want in a free country and free society. As much as I hate the KKK or neo-Nazis if they want to have a march they have the right to do that, its wrong, but that's what comes with our freedoms. If hate mongering groups can march through DC or any other city in our country then why cant two people who love each other get married.

I liked how they just followed the people and didn't really ask questions or interfere that much, it was a straight up cultural documentary. Its a snap shot of our country that will be interesting to look at 5 years down the road or 50 years. 7/10 stars.

Director: Henry Corra

An American Werewolf in London

I watched this a few days ago, and knowing that this was made nearly 30 years ago makes it that much more impressive.

Two college ago guys (David and Jack) are backpacking around Europe, they are going to begin in the Moors of Northern England and then move onto the much warmer and nicer Italy. When we first see them they are in the back of truck full of sheep, heading off to the slaughter house (get it) They thank the driver and head off into the countryside. When they get to a pub they are treated like monsters themselves but warned before they head out to stay off the Moors, keep to the road, and beware the Moon.

They of course don't follow the directions and soon realize they are being hunted by something in the darkness, each time it growls its on another side of them, its circling, which way should they run? When Jack is attacked by a large animal David runs, he stops and comes back to help his friend only to find him already dead, and attacked by the animal himself. The men from the pub shoot the creature, and next thing he knows he's waking up in a hospital in London.

He begins to have strange nightmares, and starts to realize that maybe what attacked him wasn't a wolf, or a dog. Jack returns from the grave as a figment that only David can see, if David doesn't kill himself before the next full Moon then he will transform, and as long as he is alive Jack will be forced to walk the earth as the undead (the curse will only be broken when the last werewolf is dead)

The make up was phenomenal, even knowing the kinds of leaps and bounds they've made in make up and effects in the last 30 years this still looks good, and is very effective. When he first transforms its easy to watch a lot of the shots and not be able to find the seams. They smartly show his transformation, but not much of him after he becomes the werewolf, that is until later. The section of the movie where he is out killing is gory and scary, especially when he chases a man through the subway tunnels, and you only see him as the creature for a moment at the very end of it creeping into frame.

Its surprisingly funny, and its actually supposed to be. From Jack returning from the grave and speaking to David as if nothing is abnormal about that to hiding out in a porno theatre before transforming it kept me smiling, and chuckling. The script does waste a lot of time not building enough tension, and with not enough laughs, the last 30 or so minutes are by far the best, I only wish they would have gave some structure to the middle of the story.

Nothing is special about the way its shot, there are some shots that were really cool, but most of it is trying not to crush you with heavy visuals and intense lighting, but trying to keep it light so then you will still laugh. The ending was kind of disappointing, it ended very abruptly.

Its worth a watch to see some really cool effects, and its really enjoyable, if you're a little squeamish with gore and blood then you might want to pass up on this. 7/10 stars.

Director: John Landis

Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne

Open Hearts

I have went to long with out writing anything. I've watched several movies in the last few weeks that I haven't been writing reviews for, so I thought I should really get back to it. This isn't the best movie for me to review right away since I'm a little rusty, but Ill do my best.

Joachim and Cecilie are a young couple in love and engaged to be married, they are happy and energetic, they truly have young love, what could go wrong? He is going on a mountain climbing trip and she drops him off in their car, he steps into the street and is struck by a car. It shatters his spine and breaks his neck. He is left a quadriplegic, he cant move anything below his neck. He is angry, and bitter, understandably, and keeps trying to get rid of Cecilie, he cant stand being around her, he thinks how could she love him now? He is in the hospital, and as she goes to visit him, and receives his verbal abuse, she starts to lean on the husband (Niels) of the woman (Marie) who was driving the car who hit Joachim.

They begin an affair, and they both are so into the other they ignore the crash course they are headed on, several lives have been destroyed, many others damaged and they are going to finish the job of breaking all of them.

Its shot very cheaply, and I mean that in a good way, it was shot on a low grade digital camera giving it a lot of electrical grain in the image. it looks very gritty and more like a documentary that a narrative with the addition that almost all of it is handheld, and it wasn't over done. There seemed to be minimal lighting, even at times just working with available light. The cinematography and writing was successful in making me think about it as being real and then I was just able to watch the acting and feel the raw emotions emitting from the scenes instead of the beauty or ugliness of the image. I would actually prefer they work more on the cinematography, but in this case it worked better for them to play it down.

The dialogue is very European, there is a certain sense of apathy to some of the characters. The acting in it is key to making it work, there is seemingly very little that happens after the accident, of course the affair begins, but most of it is dedicated to just watching the characters trying to cope and live instead of a lot of action moving the story along.

It did a great job of showing every ones situation in it, from the feeling of helplessness and anger that Joachim has to Marie's guilt over doing that to him. We understand Cecilie's dedication and semi-betrayal out of desperation. The one I guess I don't get, or particularly like was Marie's husband Niels, the doctor who begins the affair with Cecile, he thinks only of himself and doesn't seem to care what he does to his family, he thinks he's in love.

Overall it was a great movie to watch and put yourself in their shoes for a few hours, feel what its like to have something occur in a second that changes every aspect of the rest of your life. 7/10 stars.

Director: Susanne Bier

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter, Nikolaj Lie Kass, Paprika Steen, Stine Bjerregaard

The Cove

This is a difficult movie if you care about animals at all. The Japanese are one of the only groups of people left that actively hunt and slaughter whales and dolphins. After 1986 it was pretty much agreed upon that no one would hunt and kill these animals anymore. They have found a few loop holes like killing them in the antarctic, about 1000 a year and claiming its for science. The other is much more brutal and that's what this documentary is about.

In the small fishing town of Taijii in Japan there is a disgusting and dark secret. On average they kill 23,000 dolphins and porpoises every year, but only after they sell off the best of them to be trick animals in captivity like at Sea World.

What the Japanese of this town noticed is that every year there were pods of dolphins swimming by on their normal migratory patterns, combine that with the knowledge that dolphins are very sensitive to sound and you have the set up. They use a line of boats that have metal tubs going into the water, they hit the tubes with hammers, scaring the dolphins towards a cove they use, and then put in nets. People come from all over to pick out the dolphins they want to buy, each going for about 150,000, all the rest are corralled into another smaller cove where they disappear.

The fishermen are very careful about who can see the smaller cove and have done a good job about keeping it under wraps so then no one has any proof of what they are doing. By the way a dead dolphins meat goes for about 600 US dollars, not a huge cash cow. The documentary follows a group of activists as they discuss what they know about dolphins, the history of whaling and the trade of meat.

They come up with a plan to record the slaughters with hidden cameras, and spend most of the film setting that up. When you do see the slaughters it will make you sick, my breath was wavering and I was trying very hard not to cry. Its hard enough watching them stab the dolphins with spears, but seeing them try to escape, or seeing the babies being killed is to much.

The film also touches on over fishing the oceans, degradation of the ecosystems and mercury content and poisoning, all real and serious problems. The main activist of this mission is the man who created the show "Flipper" and trained the dolphins to do tricks, now he works to set them free. He feels responsible for their current incarceration and destruction.

The waters literally run red with the blood of the dolphins, and the fishermen seem to have no shame over what they do. Like I said earlier this is a hard thing to watch and harder to swallow. If this appeals to you to learn about then also see the documentary "Sharkwater" which focuses on the destruction of the shark populations of the world, a very big problem if we kill to many of them. The dolphins are cute and have the smile, but the sharks are just as much at risk if not more so since they aren't protected like the dolphins and whales are, as well as being demonized as man killers (which they aren't)

8/10 stars.

Director: Louie Psihoyos

Shadow Company

This is the first documentary that I've watched that was completely and 100% dedicated to discussing mercenaries. They were pretty even handed and fair to all sides, but there were still things I noticed that they dropped the ball on.

They initially go through a history of how these groups came to exist all the way to its current incarnation specifically with how the government is allowing "private military companies" to come into Iraq. They give an interesting look at the history and smartly don't dawdle on it to long because frankly as interesting as that is, I'd rather know more about whats happening today.

The psychology of the people who do this is interesting, they are willing to put their lives on the line for causes they don't necessarily care about for the sake of money. To me it seems they are destined to fail because an Iraqi will fight so much harder than they will since they have an actual stake in the outcome. The men though are trained and well manicured. They really know what they are doing, just like the military, some of them are actually ex-military. But, and they discuss this in the doc. there is a big disconnect between the two, in the military if your told to do something you do it because you have to, as a private contractor you don't have to do a mission if you don't want to.

They show some rather disturbing footage in this, specifically charred and mutilated bodies of mercenaries in Fallujah, Iraq. They are very grisly, so if you watch this be warned. Now the problem I have with there being mercenaries in Iraq is accountability. The mercenaries can't be charged with any laws they break in Iraq, and the military has no power over them. I'm set to believe that a lot of these men are good people, for the most part, but there are certainly people over there right now who are committing legal murder. Shooting women and children, and civilians as a whole.

The company spokesmen that they have interviewed in this as well as the Lobbyists were just making me laugh, they are trying to justify a business based solely on killing and blunt violent force. These men, and women are really snakes in the grass. As much as they say that they only hire the best and they are very careful just further emphasises my point. They hire the best to kill efficiently and they are careful because they want to stay in business. Iraq is the first American war that has used mercenaries like this and it really makes me sick. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the whole lot of them are responsible for this, of course they would find a way to make this war as profitable for private interests as they could.

Another thing they didn't hit on enough, or at all was that these mercenaries are also hired not only for these body guard missions but also for interrogation. Again though, they exist outside the law and the military. The military doesn't "torture" under their definition of it, but these private companies can do whatever they want. So they interrogate some of these detainees to the point that they kill them with their interrogation "tactics" Its sickening.

It was a very well done documentary, I only wish they had not sugar coated some of it as much as they did, or not bury some of the more upsetting facts of the situation over there. They don't idolize these men, but they also don't ask them the hard questions. 7/10 stars.

Directors: Nick Bicanic, Jason Bourque