Tom Leins’ DVDs of AWESOME
Words by Tom Leins
As any self-respecting horror fan will attest, the visceral new strain of horror movies being churned out in France are among the most brutal, unrelenting movies currently being produced anywhere in the world. Hot on the heels of Switchblade Romance, Frontier(s) et al comes Martyrs (Optimum). Pascal Laugier’s harrowing meditation on violence and suffering may have been a blood-soaked success on the festival circuit, but frankly, its charms are lost on me… It begins impressively enough, recalling a nasty 70s revenge flick given a post-modern makeover. Unfortunately, its slick, stylish poise evaporates halfway through leaving us with a queasy, amoral husk of a movie. Laugier (the man behind the forthcoming Hellraiser remake) clearly has ideas above his station, but his grotesque attempts at profundity are sorely misjudged, and the movie collapses in on itself. Contrary to tabloid opinion, Martyrs biggest sin isn’t that it is so provocatively unpleasant, it’s that it is so fucking boring…
Far more compelling is Timecrimes (Optimum), a cryptic, low-budget chiller about a middle-aged Spaniard who gets tormented by a bandaged freak at his rural holiday home! Rather than fall back on well-worn slasher movie clichés, Timecrimes boldly grasps at a more unusual narrative, flipping a brazen sci-fi plot device into the melting pot. What it lacks in tension it makes up for in subdued menace, and the grotesque, bandage-clad figure at the movie’s twisted heart is an intriguing villain. The persistent rumour that David Cronenberg hopes to get his grubby, gore-soaked hands on it for a Hollywood remake hints at the movie’s charms, and although it disappears up its own arse during the final third, we are left with a memorably strange slice of straight-to-DVD freakiness. Although the prospect of a Spanish arthouse sci-fi movie won’t excite everyone, Timecrimes is a disquieting mood-piece well worthy of attention.
Less successful is The Spirit (Lionsgate), the new comic book caper helmed by Sin City creator Frank Miller. Despite an enviable A-list cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johannsson, Eva Mendes) and a lush visual palette, the movie feels curiously half-baked, and jolts between absurdist set-pieces with scant regard for narrative coherence. Scenes stretch on interminably, and Miller’s knack for blistering noir dialogue is strangely absent. After The Dark Knight, comic book morality tales about masked vigilantes prowling gloomy cityscapes in search of bloody retribution are going to come under even greater scrutiny, and inevitably The Spirit suffers in comparison, resembling a zany, illogical mess. In mitigation, the movie does look truly stunning – easily as impressive as Sin City – and considering its narrative limitations, Miller’s madcap, hyper-stylised universe is a agreeably strange place to spend an evening.
Thanks to his work with Quentin Tarantino, the aforementioned Samuel L. Jackson has enjoyed more than a few iconic cinematic profanities over the years, and it would be interesting to see what he makes of Fuck (ICA Films) - an exhaustive examination of the F-word in popular culture. An eclectic array of talking heads (including Hunter S. Thompson, Ice-T, and Kevin Smith) are on hand to wax lyrical about the world’s favourite expletive, but their collective involvement can’t conceal the inevitable lack of insight. Despite an interesting array of guests and some neat archive clips the documentary is a strangely wearying experience, derailed by a cloudy sense of purpose. It’s not big, and it’s not clever, but there are enough worthwhile nuggets of information to keep you going.
Last, but not least comes Tokyo! (Optimum), an uneven collaboration courtesy of three of contemporary cinema’s edgiest hipsters. Michel Gondry leads the way with ‘Interior Design’, a typically quirky short film about a naïve filmmaker trying to find his way in Tokyo, much to the exasperation of his uninspired (and underappreciated) girlfriend. Despite a few flashes of Gondry’s surreal genius, his contribution pales in comparison to his celebrated music videos and movies. Next up, French auteur Leos Carax weighs in with ‘Merde’, an offbeat post-Godzilla yarn about a milky-eyed hobo who wreaks havoc across the city after emerging from the sewers. It begins promisingly, before descending into tiresome gibberish. Arguably the best segment of this three-pronged collaboration is ‘Shaking Tokyo’, Joon-Ho Bong’s bittersweet tale about a romance between a recluse and a pizza delivery girl. Ironically enough, Joon-Ho’s contribution recalls the work of Michel Gondry, which should please fans no end!
All DVDs released on or before May 25th.
Posted Thu, May 14, 2009