Movies And Poetry

Wow, I have missed this. I’ve been scared to write a review for so long, because lets face it; it’s the easiest thing in the world to be a critic. You just have to watch a film.

In the past I have only been critical once when writing a review. I’m not going to lie, it felt gooood.

This time however is a little different. This time is a bit of a strange one.

This, well, for want of a better word, offering is a Jake Gyllenhaal classic, up there with Jarhead (2005), Prisoners (2013), and of course Donnie Darko (2001). If you haven’t seen the latter;

A: What rock have you been hiding under?

B: Show me because I want it as my holiday home!

Lets get going by saying this reviewer is biased. What can I say Donnie Darko changed my entire cinematographic experience.

Focus.

Back to the job in hand.

Night crawler in my humble opinion was made for Gyllenhaal.

Whomever did the research on the lead characters sociopathic tenancies, has done their research very well, and Gyllenhaal has played this role to perfection.

From the very beginning of the film you are drawn to this man, he is not evil, just clueless to the morality of the system we live in.

Gyllenhaal presents this man as a naïve child, you have a watch, I want it, I’ll take it. The fact that stealing is wrong never enters this characters mind, not for a second.

At this point I’d like to doff my cap to the director for both his choice of location and his choice of sound track.

Thank you Dan Gilroy. Because with out this we would not have the subversive offering you see before you.

What makes this increasing more creepy is this is the same director responsible for a family favourite of mine Real Steal (2011)

So why the subversion?

Sweeping generalisation time! This film is a dystopian look at the extremes of capitalism, especially calling into question the American Dream concept. Allow me to elaborate:

Here is a man down on his luck. He has been forced to steal to make ends meet. He has no moral compass. One day he sees a man filming someone else’s anguish on the free-way, the ultimate in rubber necking. He decides he can do this job better. Soon he is very successful.

It is here that the lines between blame and judgement are blurred. Whose fault is it this man has become so successful? Him for doing anything for a good story? Or the media companies happy to buy his illegally taken footage?

It is here that the cleverly worked soundtrack comes in, With most of these types of films, Drive (2011), Fight Club (1999) and even to certain extent Blade Runner (1982) that have a dystopian present or future in them, there is a suitably lacklustre and depressing soundtrack to show us where our sinful ways are taking us.

Not with this film, the soundtrack is up beat to the point of Disney, leaving you all warm about this characters accomplishments.

Supporting cast, is also key in this film and weirdly I ended up hating them more as characters than I did the Sociopath.

Rene Russo, The Thomas Crown Affair 1999, does the role of powerful, cut throat, media editor. In a way it is her character that is far scarier, because unlike Gylenhaal her character is aware of the lines they are crossing and crosses them anyway.

Also we have Bill Paxton; Twister 1996, one of my favourites for pizza and Ice cream, what can I say it has a love story and storm chasing, how could you go wrong!!!

I digress.

His role as the competition is alas quickly snuffed out before it has a chance to bloom, but in retrospect that was kind of the point.

Yes or no to this offering?

For me its a definite yes.

If you have only seen some of the films mentioned in this review then start with Donnie Darko or Fight Club, if they’re too much leave this one alone, its very dark in places. Also don’t feel guilty that you’re rooting for Gyllenhaal’s character by the end. If you are it just means soundtracks are vital to you when you watch a Film and you didn’t even know it!

Lets jump straight in here, so I have a 7 hour gap between lectures and I’m tired, but due to lack of comfortable sofas, napping in a convenient corner is out! I need something to keep me awake, shot of adrenaline would do but unfortunately epinephrine isn’t wildly available.

So film it is, selected randomly, it’s not often people choose without thinking but choice for purely aesthetic value is always fun.

Picture the scene; bland cover after bland cover melting into the shelves  stuff I’ve already seen, or stuff I don’t want to see, then all of a sudden out of the gloom block red capitals screaming cheap 80’s thriller at me! YES MATE! With any luck it will be just the right balance of existential exploration of the human condition mixed with slightly blurry sex scenes, bad special effects and trance music.

I am happy to report I was not wrong with this film, starring William Hurt (into the wild; 2007 and The Incredible Hulk; 2008) as eccentric neurologist Eddie Jessup who experiments with LSD, with aim of unlocking the key to genetic memory within the human brain. Needlessly complex plot for B movie; CHECK!

The film then quickly descends into crazy imagery irrelevant to the films storyline when Eddie discovers a new drug in the Mexican countryside. This mysterious cocktail causes him to devolve both physically and mentally until he is unrecognisable as human. Bad special effects to distract from the enormity of what the film is saying; CHECK!

End result; after watching you either end up having a heated discussion about the intricacies of the human brain or, laugh your tits off at the hilariously bad special effects. Perfect! God knows the world these days is far too serious!

No trailer for this one you’ll just have to trust me!

Trawling through the holy bible of all things film that is IMDB, I realised I’d been missing the dulcet tones of Liam Neeson. So what to choose? Go old school? Watch Rob Roy (1995), or Schindler’s List (1993). Both good films; if you ignore Steven Spielberg’s uncanny knack to make everyone feel guilty about the holocaust.  Or try something a little newer, say Taken (2008) or Unknown (2011). having seen both and with a little thumb flicking I stumbled across the movie Grey (2011).

Directed by Joe Carnahan responsible for The A-team remake and 2006 film Smokin’ Aces, The Grey is a survival story following a group of men lost somewhere in or around the Arctic Circle. With little hope of rescue the injured, broken band set off in hope of finding civilisation.

Lead by ‘Ottway’ (Liam Neeson); a hunter hired by an oil company to protect their workers from wolfs. A plane crash lands him and his motely misfits in the middle of a giant freakishly, CGI mutated, wolf packs hunting ground. Characters quickly start falling by the wayside in a film that is as lost in its direction as the doomed cast are in the arctic tundra.

Disappointment is the feeling here; the acting is good and there are some real moments where the film pushes the veil between life and death, exploring the idea of hope and faith, that shows real skill with both the camerawork and characterisation. However this simple beauty is ruined by an overeager sound director with a wolf fetish. Every time you see human struggle it is overlaid with howls that sound like a stag due at a titty bar.

This film suffers from a serious case of schizophrenia; an artsy masterpiece about the frailty of the human condition with a Hollywood gore horror trying to claw its way out. Don’t bother with this one if its survival you want, watch Touching the Void (2003) that story is real! If you want wolf driven mutilation; Dog Soldiers (2002).

American comedy has been at war for as long as I can remember. Divided into two camps; the ultra-real mocumentary, with writers such as Michael McKean and Christopher Guest – This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting for Guffman (1996), and the Slapstick misadventure of writers such as Adam Herz and Alec Berg – American Pie (1999), EuroTrip (2004).Both styles have merit but extremes in style have a tendency to die quickly.

In the last decade the middle has become the place to be. With writer/actors such as Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell – Zoolander (2001), Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004) forming a new brand of comedic genius that balances slapstick and realism to portray a more honest yet uplifting view on life. It is in this genre that we find the film Goon.

Directed by Michael Dowse – It’s All Gone Pete Tong (2004) – this film leaves little to viewer interpretation, choosing instead to conform to the typical sporting underdog story. The attention to detail to fit to this stereotype is almost painful at times; from the young talented upstart played by Marc-André Grondin, to the quirky but attractive love interest played by Alison Pill, the result leaves a bitter taste of ‘Water Boy on Ice’ in the back of the throat. That being said there is a small sliver of light in actor Seann William Scott’s performance.

Scoring the lead as Doug Glatt, Seann, has finally begun to shake the shackles of the ‘stifmiester’ showing a vulnerability and loyalty that in past roles felt forced. This thread of continuity both glues the cast together and lends weight to the generic storyline and script.

This film is neither good nor bad. It is a classic example of the Sunday night movie that can be summed up in one line: never give up and you’ll be successful.

If you like hockey and violence this film is definitely worth a punt, but rent don’t buy, once is enough.