"Good For Nothing" Review: A Refreshing Gallop Into The West

To simply say this film is about a Clint Eastwoodesque cowboy on the other side of the law who forcibly captures a seemingly naive English woman and hurls her over the back of his horse hoping to have his way with her, doesn't really do it justice. Good For Nothing is not your typical spaghetti western, there is a lot more sauce and much less cheese than you would think. You're watching the vulnerability of the most grizzled of outlaws being melted into a tenderfoot at the hands of a curvaceous fair skinned city slicker. His manhood is literally and figuratively taken away from him when he can't perform during his attempt to "poke" his newly acquired female treasure.

Good For Nothing glides across the scenic landscapes of New Zealand where it was filmed, painting a stunning sun stroked canvas in which the typical wild west stereotypes are turned on it's ear. The moment Inge Rademeyer steps off the train as the soon to be captive Isabella she steals the show. She takes her lumps as the damsel in distress but the dirt and grime doesn't take away from her sex appeal as you wonder if she is ever going make it to her Uncle's house after her father's death. Cohen Holloway plays it straight as The Man, and although he is gruff and thick skinned he grows as an actor on screen along with his character.

Director Mike Wallis has crafted a most unorthodox medley of action, romance, and comedy, against the backdrop of a straight forward frontier Western. There is plenty of violence for fans of the genre, guns are fired and blood is spilled. One of the bodies that is left behind causes an good ole' posse to tail the lady thief and the lady herself, who is mistaken as whore. The pursuit adds the right amount of suspense as The Man attempts to figure out why can’t function below the belt by visiting medicine men of Asian and Native American descent. It’s not as if Wallis is reinventing the wheel but his knowledge of the genre is apparent and you seems like his time working closely with the likes of James Cameron and Peter Jackson have paid off.

The dialogue is sparse but relevant giving the actors a chance to actually harness their craft on screen before you.  When The Man storms into a doctor’s office under the guise of a serious sequence and utters the phrase “My dick is broke.” you can’t help but chuckle. The methodical exchanges and well planned visuals are accompanied by some impressive melodic sounds courtesy John Psathas and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The music only adds to the illusion that you are hiding in the brush watching these interesting characters in this most curious predicament.

Good For Nothing is not going to break box office records and may not be the best Western you’ll ever see, but any fan of Westerns can easily note the appreciation that Wallis has for the genre. He understands what is required of of taking on a Western and also knows how far you can push it without upsetting the nostalgia fans are accustomed to. Interested to see what Wallis is going to dig his spurs into next, and whatever it is I hope that his companion Inge Rademeyer is attached to it. Good For Nothing opens March 9^th in select theaters.  

"Project X" Review: Your Fondest Teenage Memories On Steroids

Like any story worth telling, this story is about a girl. Not just any girl, every girl. Or at least the hottest ones that every delusional adolescent male dreamed of impressing or undressing in high school.  Project X is the party you always were hoping you would be invited to and the one you always dreamed of throwing.  It's about our incessant need to feel accepted and the pains our insecure and awkward selves go through in order to achieve such a lofty goal. It's the one night you'll remember forever, when you couldn't believe their were topless girls in the pool and wondered drunkenly aloud how you survived that insane leap from the roof.

Project X takes you on a found footage journey with three unknown high school students who have little to no impact on the social scene, yet. Costa (Oliver Cooper), a character straight out of The Bronx Tale, is foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to throw a "game-changer" of a birthday party for his unnaturally shy friend Thomas (Thomas Mann) when his parents sneak away for their anniversary. Along with the Fudgie The Whale like JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown), Costa takes to word of mouth, email, radio, and Craiglist to ensure the guest list is overflowing with willing and able teenage partygoers.

Director Nima Nourizadeh somehow seemlessly transitions back and forth from what plays like a pulse pounding music video featuring gyrating adolescents engaging in every parents worst nightmare to suprisingly meaningful yet lighthearted character moments. The jokes seem familiar since we've probably seen them before in some past on screen comedic incarnation or another but they hit at the right time and they hit it hard. The party hard mind of Producer Todd Phillips of The Hangover fame almost oozes from the shaky cam footage. It's your fondest teenage memories on steroids as penned by Matt Drake and Michael Bacall.

The visuals are raw as Nourizadeh emerges you right into the sweaty alcohol soaked orgy making you feel just as blissfully disoriented as the party attendees themselves. You smash cut from the main cameraman Dax to the cell phones of partygoers providing a myriad of viewpoints in which to absorb the large amount of visual euphoria. When Thomas, Costa, and JB are standing on the roof looking down on the mass hysteria they somehow managed to orchestrate Thomas asks Costa, "Is this big enough to be cool?" You want it to be bigger and boy does it get there and more.

Although Project X hits you over the head again and again with escalating party mayhem at it's raunchiest, you still route for the characters. I wanted Thomas to score with Alexis, the hottest girl in school. I even hoped there might be something more than friendship brewing with the girl next door Kirby. At it's bare minimum the movie does what it was made to do, it makes you laugh. For 88 minutes you are sitting right smack dab in the middle of complete and utter chaos and loving every minute of it. You may even reminisce a little, about the one that got away, or that night that completely got out of hand. We've all been there, sometimes we just need a little reminder.

Film Review: Contraband

A lot of people were surprised yesterday when the official box office estimates were released showing the new Mark Wahlberg film, Contraband, winning the 4-day MLK weekend with close to $30 million.

While many experts had pegged it to win the weekend box office title, few expected it to reach the heights it did it terms of revenue.  I for one saw the film over the weekend and have to say it turned out to be a solid action flick, set in a world that hasn't been shown much on the big screen recently, that of international smuggling.

I'm not one to spoil an entire movie in a review so the layout I'll give here is the barebones of the film and what I mostly liked and didn't like so much about it.

The premise of the film revolves around Mark Wahlberg's character, Chris Farraday (who use to smuggle goods through international customs for a living), coming back into the game to settle a debt for his young and stupid brother-in-law, Andy (played by X-Men: First Class' Caleb Landry Jones).  Andy has just thrown away a shipment of cocaine he was smuggling into the country for the sole purpose of not getting caught, only the man he was working for, Tim Briggs (played by the always exceptional Giovanni Ribisi), doesn't see it that way.  He wants his drugs or the money it's worth, otherwise, Andy is dead.  Chris is forced to get his old team back together to settle the debt with the help of his longtime friend, Sebastian (an underused Ben Foster) and against the wishes of his wife, Kate (the bland as hell Kate Beckinsale).

While the film follows a generic action plot and and succumbs to a few Hollywood clichés, the story is definitely engaging and doesn't waste any time in getting to ball rolling.  All the action was practically done (which is refreshing in this day and age) and the whole film looked to be shot on-location (as opposed to studio work or cheap fill-in environments).

The acting is mainly solid with Wahlberg once again proving himself as being capable lead while the underrated Giovanni Ribisi looks like he's having a blast playing the main bad guy.  Lukas Haas and J.K. Simmons fit nicely into their supporting roles, with Haas playing Wahlberg's sidekick, Danny, and Simmons once again playing an hilarious asshole as a ship sea captain.

My only real complaint is the fact that Ben Foster was incredibly underused and Kate Beckinsale is still getting roles in Hollywood.  I'm sorry but Foster deserves better than this and Beckinsale couldn't act her way out of a paper bag.  To me, she's nothing more than a pretty face in Hollywood and I found myself rolling my eyes when her name was credited with Wahlberg's above the film title.  Completely undeserving.  Foster, on the other hand, is tremendously talented and I'm really not sure why he picked such a prototypical role where he's the best friend but you know he's hiding something else.

Overall, I gave the film a solid B as being both a good action flick and refreshing take on what could have been a generic premise.

Well done Wahlberg.

Gainsbourg (Vie Heroique)

Gainsbourg (vie heroique) gained much attention for not only becoming the first film ever to tell the story of France’s legendary rebel named Serge Gainsbourg on the big screen, but also accomplishing it in such unconventional manner that it appears questionable whether the film can be categorized as anything that matches the standards of a biopic.

The cinematic debut of Joan Sfar, a famous comics creator from Europe, may split its audience in two parties by his venture to approach the long-existing idea of a movie about the French cult of the last century through a rather risky exposure of the protagonist’s inner world and personal life, rather than going the traditional route of aiming at exploration of his career’s rises and falls and the public image his persona represented in society.

Those, who are looking forward to the thorough examining of the true events in the tumultuous life of a rowdy celebrity, will be left unsatisfied from the opening scene to the final credits of an over-two-hour observation of Serge’s continuous love affairs and interactions with his illusions from childhood imagination.

Nevertheless, the film apparently doesn’t lose much from its inconsistency with the real life of Gainsbourg, as it still succeeds to build connection between Gainsbourg and us, between his reality and ours, thus it is not surprising if you find yourself wondering what turn the story will take after the first fifteen minutes.

Sfar’s choice to focus his entire film on personal concerns of Gainsbourg may be applauded by ones and criticized by others. The man, whose name is behind some of the most controversial songs of the last century, was notorious for his outrageous attitude on stage and inadmissible statements addressed to those in power.

Aside from the scene involving Gainsbourg’s dispute with the right-wing war veterans in the last act, all this is barely even mentioned in Sfar’s movie. Although it would be certainly delightful to have a whole movie about the thrilling conflict between Gainsbourg and society and between his songs and publicity, Sfar’s movie proves that the personal life of the rowdy, yet talented and clever artist is also tremendously fascinating to watch.

Without any doubt, the movie strongly stands on the phenomenal acting, which quickly sells the story and convinces in its credibility. The lead actor, Eric Elmosnino, precisely implements every peculiar movement, every eccentric gesture and every unique face expression of Serge Gainsbourg to the degree, at which it becomes impossible to discern the actor in his role and question the embodiment of Gainsbourg on the screen.

Elmosnino completely disappears, giving the breath to the iconic figure in French music to have just one leap from the past to the present days and take advantage over another chance to sing seducing songs to his gorgeous women and handle queer conversations with the surreal La Guele, well-performed by the common man behind the mask, Doug Jones. The grandiose acting of the cast splendidly balances with Sfar’s surreal visuals and transiently flowing narrative.

However, the film’s title Gainsbourg (vie heroique), translated as Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, may cause confusion among many. Such title would be appropriate to the film about an artist, who was fighting for the truths he believed in, which was well-depicted in Gainsbourg’s argument with veterans of the war in Algeria regarding the actual meaning of the lyrics of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. On the contrary, Sfar’s vie heroique implies the story of an unattractive man, whose talent is personified by his own hyperbole and whose dirty songs about lollipops have brought such beautiful and elegant ladies as Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin to his bed.

The question that may be whirling in one’s mind throughout the whole movie is “What was so great about this guy that turned him into a national idol?”. Every French person knows the answer to this question even prior to the beginning of the film, while every foreigner will leave theatre still asking this question until he looks up in the Internet or encyclopedia. A Heroic Life runs for over two hours, but never really reveals what was so heroic about Serge Gainsbourg.

Joan Sfar’s movie is ingenious in its delivery of the story, similarly to Francesco Rosi’s Salvatore Giuliano and Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There. Its charming and unusual visual style and excellent acting contribute to the film’s distinction from others in its genre. The film is far from being anything like a detailed and reliable guide in exploring Serge Gainsbourg’s biography and the answer that would explain the prominence of his role in French culture and music.

Nonetheless, it is an entertaining journey throughout his private life, which discloses some truths of Gainsbourg’s nature and the way he was when not on stage. Gainsbourg (vie heroique) represents a sea one should cautiously swim in when discovering the deepness of Gainsbourg’s inner world, not a surface to confidently walk upon while investigating the reality that surrounded the protagonist.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger is the story of Steve Rogers, a scrawny young man with a heart full of determination who has been rejected on several occasions by the U.S. military. His life changes when Dr. Abraham Erskine realizes the great potential residing within, and offers him a chance to be the subject of a "super-soldier" serum injection which transformers him into Captain America.

Before entering the theatre I had such a strong feeling that Captain America would be the must see film in the superhero genre this year. Unfortunately I walked out feeling under whelmed and disappointed. It doesn't rank among the worst by any means just somewhere along with the mediocre.

The positives brought with this film include the seamless integration of Chris Evans head onto the body of a 90lb weakling, the set pieces, and a movie that you can take your entire family to without worry of it being too much for the young ones. Director Joe Johnston does a fantastic job of making the time period very believable. Other than these few things, I can't find much with the movie that kept my attention.

The movie starts off at a slow pace, giving some insight into Steve Rogers' personality. He obviously is not a fan of bullys and never backs down from a situation where the person is bigger or stronger than he is. His eventual sidekick, James "Bucky" Barnes, is introduced early on as he comes to save Steve from an alleyway beating. They go out with two ladies on a date and Dr. Erskine overhears the buddies talking, realizing he has found the perfect subject for his experiment in Steve Rogers.

It is quite a while before we are thrust into any action and the first scene comes after the transformation of Rogers. Immediately after being injected and gawked at by everyone in the room, one of Johann Schmidt's (The Red Skull) Hydra agents is revealed, Erskine is shot and killed, then off goes Roger after him. As the agent flees in a vehicle, Steve chases him on foot while leaping over tall chain linked fences and crashing through shop windows.

After that Rogers is put on display in a sort of side show act, speaking to crowds in theatres and military men stationed elsewhere, wearing a crude version of the Captain America costume. He finally tires of doing this and goes on his own to save some captured U.S soldiers and gets the famous moniker. A team assembles and an important person parishes, but its hard to care for it because everything moves so quickly. I couldn't believe that I was watching the climax when it happened. The final showdown with Cap and Skull was anticlimactic. The dialogue was sprinkled with cheese while the two engaged in a very short and sloppy fisticuffs battle while the Red Skull's air carrier flew wildly in the sky.

The last scene was so forced by the upcoming Avenger movie that I have no problem in saying it is the worst ending of these tie-in films until the big team up happens. Iron Man 2 and Thor both suffered a bit as well with being too focused on what lies ahead rather than what is happening now.

The movie was slow to start off and once Steve Rogers became Captain America it felt like everything was rushed into the ending. I am still a bit unsure of what exactly the Red Skull's scheme was and all that action the TV spots and trailers promised ended up being mainly what was shown in them. I didn't go in just wanting to see action but the previews I've seen feel very misleading now.

Chris Evans was believable as Captain America. The problem with this character is there was never a true threat for him to face. He was never down and out with his back against the wall other than before his transformation. As soon as he became Cap, he plowed over enemies and performed super feats that I didn't feel like he would have any trouble saving the day.

Hayley Atwell handled the role of Peggy Carter well enough with what she was given. She never became that "damsel in distress" mainly because there was never a situation for her to be such a victim. She and Steve share an attraction towards one another that develops as well as it should but never gets to it's ending point.

The biggest disappointment has to be Hugo Weaving's Red Skull. He generally commands the roles he chooses, leaving a stellar performance. I thought he would steal the movie away from everyone else but I ended up feeling like he had been ripped from an episode of Adam West's Batman show. Hokey, cheesy, over the top, whatever you want to call it, he never felt menacing enough at any point to be a problem for Cap.

As the most uninteresting comic to film property this year, the First Avenger tries valiantly to pay tribute to classic action of the past with wholesome entertainment but fails to offer any true threat for the hero. The movie market has become overloaded with "superhero" films and at a time when they need to demand our attention, Captain America doesn't do so for me.