Men at Work Review

For whatever reason when someone suggested I watch the Iranian film Men at Work, I assumed it would be a serious, brooding drama. 

This is the beauty of not doing your homework before taking the test: you end up being delightfully surprised by a satirical allegorical comedy. Even though I was prepared for the opposite, subtle and clever humor tasted pretty delicious instead.

Four old friends are driving back from a skiing trip when they randomly come across a bizarre, impossibly positioned rock at the edge of a cliff. They try to push it off for no other reason but for their own entertainment and yet it will not budge no matter what. It must be connected to something, they assume, and yet after further research that isn't the case. 

These men can't give it up. They can't move on. Finding a way to move it becomes an obsession.

The rock sure is phallic looking and watching these four men furiously try to push it around is a lot more fascinating than it sounds like on paper, as I can imagine telling people to watch a movie about dudes trying to push a rock over doesn't scream with entertainment appeal. I was reminded of the recent Oscar nominated feature Wild Tales, more specifically of just one of the segments of that work involving two men in a road rage encounter, an example of the absurdity of male testosterone leading to reckless and irrational decision making. Men at Work is absolutely similar thematically, as I kept thinking, just move on with your lives. Just drive home and forget about this rock, yet the men absolutely could not. How idiotic is it to have to prove your physical strength in order to be considered a man?

A gigantic rock penis ascends from seemingly nowhere and these four men are intimidated by it. They must find a way to knock it down, even when it wastes all of their time and risks their safety to do so. 

Overall I still felt Men at Work was a bit light in material, even for a mere 75 minutes, as it felt like a concept that would have been brilliant for a short 30 to 45 minutes rather than at feature length, but I was still amused by the extremely clever yet simplistic concept and I admire a film from a culture that isn't used to portraying their characters in this way breaking through the typical stereotypes.

3.5/5

Phantom of the Paradise Review

There is a scene in the film Phantom of the Paradise in which a crowd of people all are chanting "BEEF! BEEF! BEEF!". At this point I had already realized I was going to enjoy the hell out of this film, but in that moment I fell in love.

A buddy of mine asked me to watch and review this one and he provided me a Blu-ray copy in order to do so. I literally read nothing prior to pressing the play and the only indication I had of the strangeness that was to ensue came from the colorful and odd cover of the case. Never expected what I saw, and I mean that in a terrific sort of way.

You have to understand, I only recently experienced Scarface for the first time so I am still bathing in the glow of Brian De Palma and his brilliant camera work, which is again on display here, but tonally Phantom of the Paradise took me in a strange, unsettling yet joyous direction that I never could have anticipated. It's weird, it's ridiculous, it's a rock opera horror comedic drama that tickled me in every way I am eager to be touched. Cinematic speaking, of course.

Winslow Leach (William Finley) is a composer and singer who has his music stolen by the mysterious producer Swan (Paul Williams), and when Leach arrives at Swan's record label to find out what happened he is abruptly and oh so rudely thrown out. He attempts to sneak in and he sees a group of women performing his music, one of which is the beautiful and talented Phoenix (Jessica Harper). Winslow knows she is perfect for it. Anyone listening would hear it too. Their connection is more than that though, it's deeper than just her voice and his melody, but before anything can truly develop again Swan has him removed and beat up and framed for a drug crime.

I don't want to spell out every detail of this wacky and wonderful piece of cinema, but Winslow winds up getting a life sentence and he is sent to Sing Sing prison where they pull out all his teeth, some crazy shit happens and he ends up being disfigured and out for revenge. He also is literally walled in by bricks and concrete at one point. 

It's completely absurd and yet here I am, embracing the absurdity. It's something that must be done with surreal and strange cinema and Phantom of the Paradise fits into that category. De Palma has a vision and he brings it to life beautifully, 

Watch this film and don't complain about it being "weird". Embrace the absurdity. Let the Phantom into your heart.

4.5/5

Project Almanac Review

Why do they film everything?

Perhaps at the ripe old age of 31 I just don't understand. Perhaps the current crop of high school students actually film every damn moment throughout the day as if something important or meaningful will be worthy of documentation. If this is the case, if by some chance Project Almanac is a realistic representation of what it is like to be an adolescent in 2015, then I have some advice for you young folk out there: put the fucking camera down and live your life. Why? Because it's really annoying and ridiculous even in the realm of fictional cinema. I can't even imagine someone not putting the damn camera down in reality.

This isn't an awful film, but it's impossible to like because of the found footage aspect. Project Almanac has some interesting ideas and a few decent performances, but the entire way it is presented, with this frustrating, jittery and completely phony camera work that ironically tries to portray these events as "real" because of the illusion it is being filmed by one of them, this is a movie that never had a chance. I did my best to push aside the fact that I totally hated the every stylistic decision by filmmaker Dean Israelite, and the occasional scene is mildly entertaining and compelling, but as a whole I couldn't ignore the festering turd that is found footage haunting every frame.

It seems unfair to declare the entire sub-genre dead, because every time I wrote it off in the past a surprising movie seems to pop up that makes me rethink my stance. The Blair Witch Project is still a go to must watch every October for me, a film that was ground breaking upon its release and scared the living shit out of me the first time I witnessed it. The original Paranormal Activity didn't wow me the way it did so many others but it was a pretty decent picture, certainly good enough. Chronicle was one I judged too early based on the trailer, I assumed the worst and ended up really enjoying it. 

Project Almanac suffers from everything I loathe about the ones that don't work, that feeling that everything I am seeing is total horseshit from start to finish. Why do they film everything? Why? I mean, I get why someone would film major events like testing a time machine for the first time, but every lunch? Every banal conversation? Every class? 

Put the damn camera down, and no, I don't just mean the teenagers depicted in the movie. That goes for all the directors who think movies like this are still a good idea.

1.5/5

The Station Agent Review

A lot of people are lonely, but that doesn't mean they have to be alone.

I can't quite put my finger on it. The Station Agent feels like a film that shouldn't work. It feels like the type of story that will end up being saccharine, a narrative pandering for a forced emotional response. It tells the story of a man named Fin afflicted with dwarfism (Peter Dinklage) with a passion for railroads who loses his only friend in the world. In the will he is left a property in rural New Jersey and on the land is an abandoned train station.

He leaves his world behind in order to occupy this land and live in this station, hoping for solitude. Hoping for peace and quiet, away from the mean spirited comments and looks regarding his appearance. Hoping to be left alone.

Soon after he arrives, he encounters a man named Joe (Bobby Cannavale) and a woman named Olivia (Patricia Clarkson). One clearly wants to befriend him, much to the chagrin of Fin. One very nearly literally runs him over twice while driving in the road. Not exactly what he had hoped for when he inherited a place seemingly perfect for the lonely who only mean to stay that way. 

What follows is a story of three people who really need someone to talk to and count on and they find it in each other. They all have their troubles, their pain, their stories, and the screenplay written by Thomas McCarthy (in his filmmaking debut) is absolutely top notch in its ability to be kind and gentle and honest and so damn real with the characters, who feel like actual people. 

McCarthy, who has redeemed himself for The Cobbler which, inexplicable, was the first of his work I had seen and I now forgive him, does nothing flashy with the craft of The Station Agent. He doesn't have to. This is a film with a pulse and its heart was beating through me the entire time as I cared deeply for the plight of these people and their simple but profound connection. 

When I said earlier that I couldn't quite put my finger on it, what I meant is how the hell McCarthy took what sounds like pure sap on paper and made me melt with its authenticity instead of roll my eyes. Not all credit should go to him though, because while his words came across like pure magic, they had to be delivered by talented people in order to completely sell it. Dinklage just naturally exudes an honesty to his pain and vulnerability, and even when he was keeping his poise and demeanor level when faced with mean spirited comments, you could see a hint of sadness behind his eyes. Cannavale is spot on for the role of an annoying neighbor but only because he could really use a friend, someone to walk with, someone to talk with. A part of me watching wanted to close the door on him just like Fin did early in the film, but the rest wanted to open it wider and let him in. Clarkson, who is always great, plays Olivia in a way that is very similar to Fin in that when she lets people in, it's begrudgingly rather than with enthusiasm. When they eat together she verbally declares that it's okay for them to enjoy the food without speaking, but it doesn't come across as rude. They seem like people who have little to say but are genuinely happy to have someone to sit next to.

A lot of people are lonely, but that doesn't mean they have to be alone. I was left with this thought after watching The Station Agent. Too often the concept of loneliness is tied directly to a lack of romance in life, and those that are afraid of rejection would rather hide in the shadows than open themselves up to be hurt. This is a picture that doesn't force in a perfectly happy everyone finds their soulmate and lives happily ever after type of ending. That's not what it is about. The Station Agent is about those people who try to leave the world behind them, but an open door or even a meal without talking can bust down their walls.

4.5/5

The Conversation Review

It's fascinating how little I hear about The Conversation. I would imagine it being released during the very same year as The Godfather Part II is at least somewhat responsible for this lack of deserved attention. The two films aren't similar, with The Godfather Part II being a grand, sweeping epic and The Conversation being a much smaller in scope film about a man hired to run surveillance on two people. The amazing thing that both of these pictures have in common is that they are both directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 

Released in the same damn year. 1974. That's ridiculous, especially when you consider one of them is considered to be one of the finest films of all time, and the other is pretty damn great itself.

Oh, and The Godfather and Apocalypse Now were also both released during the 70's. A pretty iconic decade from Coppola.

Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a man who is paranoid of the very thing he does for a living. He lives in fear of his privacy being violated, his personal space being visited. Is it a direct fear of simply someone listening in, or is it a reflection of the guilt he feels for the work he does and what has happened as a result of it? He locks his doors and he won't take any calls. Harry puts walls up around his life, only living through the tape recorders and the sounds that flow through them.

Everything changes, the fear deepens and an obsession flourishes when they capture evidence of a potential murder on the recordings, and thus a dramatic picture littered with ethical questions and deep rooted paranoia also becomes a wonderfully tense thriller, It's remarkable how relevant The Conversation remains today as even 40 plus years later our world is filled with discussion on the morality of eavesdropping and the dangers of our security being a little too secure. Upon its release it was dripping with the suspicious residue of Watergate. Today it will bring about the name Edward Snowden and the fear that when we send a private email, the intended recipient may not be the only person reading it.

While obviously immense credit goes out to Coppola and the entire crew for making The Conversation such a wonderfully crafted film, the most memorable aspect I am left with when looking back at it is the outstanding performance from Hackman. The way his character felt resonated through the screen throughout, as every aspect down to the slightest mannerisms portrayed an honesty and authenticity that was needed to make the material sink its teeth into the audience.

I think I am going to go have a conversation about The Conversation. More people need to see this terrific film.

4.5/5

The Last House on the Left Review

"We don't wanna off someone first night out. I mean, it'd be a shame to get this floor all messed up with blood."

Even in this desensitized cinematic world we live in today, a world where franchises like the Saw or Hostel films are financially successful and widely appreciated by audiences, The Last House on the Left is shocking and totally fucking brutal. Frankly, it's hard to watch at times and the content is not for the faint of heart, which to be honest is kinda the group I belong in. I don't watch the Saw films beyond the original, and even that one doesn't exactly resonate with me in a way that makes me want to relive it. I have not and will not visit a Hostel, you can hang a big sign on those movies that simply reads "Not Interested" on my behalf. 

I like to enjoy watching a film, not dread every passing minute and lose my appetite over senseless, horrifying violence. It seemed I was destined to loathe rather than love my journey to The Last House on the Left.

I kinda did loathe it. I kinda loved it too though.

Totally fucking brutal, but that is basically the point of this work by the late great Wes Craven. Released in 1972, Wes was known for being a bit of an anti-war activist at a time when combat was the front and center story in the news every single day. As Vietnam raged on, Craven came up with a concept that would shock and repulse an audience with ease and I have to wonder if anyone watching at the time laid awake that night with the realization that rape and murder weren't to be tolerated regardless of the setting or their political allegiances. Perhaps witnessing such atrocities first hand was more damaging than beneficial for the progress of humanity, and those people fighting would never be the same again. Perhaps no one actually "wins" a war.

Where The Last House on the Left loses me a bit is with the strangely imbalanced tone of the entire experience, as one minute we are watching the follies of a couple of idiotic police officers with absurdly silly music playing, and the next we are witnessing innocent people be horrifically attacked by evil personified in the form of deranged human beings. It's hard to gauge whether I should be laughing at characters that feel lifted from Smokey and the Bandit or be terrified and nauseous due to senseless violence.

I probably will never watch The Last House on the Left again, but I don't think it is a grotesque perversion that deserves to be ignored either. I believe Craven had a point and he made it, albeit via some pretty poor performances and a painfully cheap aesthetic that feels extraordinarily dated. It does look and feel dirty though, which is appropriate and at least in terms of setting the right mood, an audio and visual upgrade would actually detract from the experience rather than enhance it. 

I kinda loathed it. I kinda loved it. I don't really know where I stand. All I really know is, I will remember my one trip to The Last House on the Left for more right reasons than wrong. 

3.5/5

Queen of Earth Review

On paper it doesn't sound very exciting, does it? A film about two women visiting a lake house, a means to get away from it all. Two best friends escaping the world only to realize what they really need to escape is each other. The destruction of a deeply personal and formerly meaningful relationship before our eyes. Sounds exhausting.

Yet somehow, through all the anguish and the tears and the hatred, I wasn't exhausted at all by the time Queen of Earth came to an end. It's a picture that is small in scope yet enormous and heavy thanks to the emotionally charged, outstanding performances from Katherine Waterston and especially Elisabeth Moss. I couldn't take my eyes off of them even as the dialogue became harder and harder to listen to. When the psychological nightmares were playing out in the frame, I was still marveling in the glow of actors working at the top of their game. 

While I am floored by Elisabeth Moss and her difficult-yet-delightful to watch turn here, raving about her isn't meant to discredit the outstanding work by the film's director, Alex Ross Perry. It isn't a sign of a lack of talent that he created cinema that thrives due to its performances, quite the opposite actually. It's a sign that a man had a vision for the kind of film he wanted to make and he knew exactly how to execute it, filming and framing these damaged characters with such confidence and finesse that it allowed them to shine even brighter. 

Queen of Earth is so masterfully done from start to finish, I actually watched it over a week ago and yet just having the opportunity to put a few words down is allowing me to relive the tension and the palpable uneasiness that lingers over scene after scene after scene. 

Just two women in a lake house, a means to get away from it all.

Sounds exhausting. Perhaps it is, but that doesn't mean you won't be glad you saw it.

4.5/5