High-Rise

Title: High-Rise

Director: Ben Wheatley

Released: 2015

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Keely Hawes, Augustus Prew, Peter Ferdinando

Plot: A high-rise tower block on the outskirts of London is the setting for a self-contained collaspse of society as the social classes go to war with each other.

Review: Another novel deemed unfilmable it remained a passion project for producer Jeremy Thomas since he bought the rights to JG Ballard’s novel when it was released in 1975. Since then it has seen both Nicolas Roeg and Vincenzo Natali attached to the project before it finally came to Director Ben Wheatley who for myself is another director much like Steve Mcqueen whose hardly set my world on fire with his films to date, despite being seemingly universally acclaimed by everyone else.

Despite my reservations about Wheatly directing this adaptation here he really delivers something quite different to what we have seen from him previously as here he takes cues from the sterile cityscapes of Cronenberg’s “Shivers” and Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” while maintaing the period setting from the novel’s release even though its not explicitly stated that the film is set in the 70’s from the lack of modern tech, fashions and the fact that everyone is constantly smoking its clear when the film is supposed to be set. This is also a film which opens with Tom Hiddleston’s Physiologist Dr. Robert Laing barbecuing a dog while the world around him in the High-rise has clearly gone straight to hell as the one stylish and modern surroundings have turned into a world of chaos and filth.

From his surprising opening the film flashes back three months previous as following the death of his sister Laing moves into the apartment on the 25^th floor fitting of his current social status as the building has been designed to house people based on their status meaning that those higher up in the society live on the top floors, while the common folks live on the lower floors with the building also containing everything the residents might need from a supermarket and swimming pool through to a school so that the majority of the residents never leave the building apart from the daily mass migration of people going to and returning from work all at the same time with an almost industry feeling to such synchronised movement. Even Laing isn’t free from the allure of this lifestyle especially when he is invited to attend a party in the building’s penthouse occupied by the buildings fittingly named architect Royal (Irons).

While the decline in the social infrastructure starts small with blackouts and blocked trash shoots its safe to say things quickly get out of hand fast, with Wheatly seemingly feeling that those few slight annoyances are enough for him to put the pedal down and lurge the events forward in the tower block so that life inside the High-rise is suddenly thrown into total chaos being spearheaded by lower floor resident Wilder (Evans) who while introduced as perticularly sleazy social climber soon become a full blown revolutionary leader to the point where the higher up residents who’ve descended into Caligula style debauchery attempt to convince Laing to have him lobotomised seemingly for fear that his actions will ruin their partying while seemingly oblivious for the most part about the chaos erupting on the lower floors.

An extremely visual film the beauty here is really in the small details scattered throughout the chaos from aspects of the characters costumes to things happening in the background such as the documentary film crew covering the supermarket riot, meaning there is always something to see of witness here especially with the cast of characters being so numerous, which equally proves to be one of the downfalls here, as many of these characters get lost in the mix, while when they start to get increasingly grotty and disheveled its hard to tell what role they played originally. Others such as Sienna Miller’s Charlotte are just forgettable because of her perfomance...seriously who is still giving her work?

Outside of Miller giving yet another tepid performance the rest of the cast are likeable in their roles even though the performances throughout differ as Tom Hiddleston is engaging throughout as the lead, while his opening and closing narration made me wish that it had been carried throughout. Jeremy Irons meanwhile gives an equally interesting performance as Royal even if his character is hampered by some questionable plot holes, such as why he’s happy to let the building decend in chaos, let alone why he sends away the only two inquiring coppers we see. My personal favourite though was seeing Reece Shearsmith as the orthodontist Nathan whose ultimate fate we actually get to see in the opening and who arguable become more interesting the more the building descends into chaos.

While I might have preferred this film over Wheatley’s other work its still a diversive piece that won’t be for everyone, but for Ballard fan’s or those who can appreciate the vein of pitch black humour which runs through the film especially when this is a truly unique vision and one which justifies the years in development hell, while at the same time leaving me wondering where Wheatly goes from here.

Pretty Persuasion

Title: Pretty Persuasion 
Director: Marcos Siega 

Released: 2005 

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, James Woods, Ron Livingston, Elisabeth Harnois, Adi Schnall, Stark Sands, Jane Krakowski, Michael Hitchcock, Danny Comden, Jaime King, Selma Blair

Plot: Kimberly Joyce (Wood) is a student at a prestigious Beverly Hills school for the wealthy along with her best friend Brittany (Harnois) and Randa (Schnall) who soon find themselves drawn into her scheme to take revenge on her teacher Percy (Livingston) after he humiliates Brittany. 

 

Review: I originally watched this film back when it was first released and while I certainly enjoyed it back then it hardly moved me. Of course returning to it now as an older and arguably wiser movie watcher it was great to see that it had actually improved with age. Essentially a reworking of “Wild Things” as Kimberly and her friends accuse their teacher of sexual assault, its clear from the start that Kimberly clearly has darker intentions than she is first letting on. 
 

Opening to Kimberly auditioning for a role on a generic teen soap which she hopes will finally give her the big acting break she’s been chasing despite living a life of luxury thanks to her wealthy father. Still its clear from these opening moments that she already has her ideas of where she wants to be and possibly how to get there especially when she shows the first hints of her ruthless side early on. Kimberly its clear is not one to hold her opinions as we see her openly verbally abusing her step mother at the dinner table with accusations of “fucking the family dog”, while her father seems more concerned with his dog than what she is doing. 
 

Perhaps because of the free reign she is given from the obvious lack of parental supervision, let alone her privileged background its equally obvious that Kimberly sees no limit to what she can achieve or who she has to use or destroy to get there. The most facinating aspect to her character though is how she can convince both Brittany and Randa to go along with her morally questionable plan to essentially destroy their teacher.

While the film might sound like a reworking of “Wild Things” which it essentially is, here though director Marcos Siega infuses the story with a vein of pitch black humour which brings to mind the films of Todd Solondz such as “Welcome To The Dollhouse” which this film certainly shares a similar tone with. At the same time Siega gleefully plays around with our perceptions of the characters almost as if he is determined to create a world in which all the characters are all flawed with the depth of said flaws being used as to how much the audience can side with them. Case in point being Perry who might be setup as a victim here, yet we see him in his personal life every bit the sexual deviant as he has his fiancée play the naughty school girl, reading out Kimberly’s disciplinary essay in what we discover later is his attempt to re-enact her seductive turn. Of course by the time we reach the court room Kimberly is selling it in a much more innocent light. 
 

This constant twisting of facts and reality is where the strength of the film really lies for while we might feel that we know what is going on, Siega it seems is constantly able to find a way to question a character or the direction the film is going to go especially as the film finds ever darker comedic veins to mine, though its hard to say if this as part of a deliberate attempt to provide further shocks or if he’s attempting to satire the privileged lifestyles of these characters. 
 

The assembled cast here are all great with Evan Rachel Wood giving a surprisingly mature and confident performance here as Rachel, easily able to switch between her various states of manipulation so that you never have any doubts about how she is managing to constantly convince people to follow her or allow themselves to be drawn into her schemes be it through blackmail or sexual manipulation regardless of gender as we see when she seduces the local new anchor Emily (Krakowski) to bring more sympathy for her court case and not even the media is resistant to her charms. 
 

Equally fun here is James Woods as Emily’s father who whole largely a supporting role attacks every scene with all pistons firing, spewing out profanity laced comments and projecting rage on all those who don’t meet with his own vision for the world. His money and status like so many around him only fuelling his own delusions of being untouchable so that he can rant freely about women, Jews and “beaners”.

The wasted member of the cast here though is Adi Schnall whose character with her innocent nature and certainly lack of expose to the lifestyle of her fellow students seemingly has been setup to provide some kind of moral centre to the film. Sadly due to the lack of development we get for her character she ends up becoming a missed opportunity, ultimately falling along the wayside as Siega instead chooses to focus his attentions on the ever more complex game which Kimberly is playing.

While Siega it seems certainly has a lot of things he wishes to cast opinion on from the central theme of false rape claims, he also chooses to give nods to high school shootings, racism, porn, teenage sexuality and the effect on children of being brought up under such privileged circumstances it does however mean that the film can feel like its going off in random directions as Siega attempts to find a way to tie it all togther which might feel alittle too disjointed for some tastes, especially with the ending being almost a sure fireway to ensure that everything that came before it is nicely tied up, even if its at the sacrifice of the original direction for the story and really only works thanks to how he has spent the rest of the film developing Kimberly’s character so that her final actions are easily to believe that she would choose to make them. 
 

While perhaps not as dark as the work of the aforementioned Todd Solondz this film still goes some way to providing that same dark humour fix. Yes a similar tale of student manipulation can be found with both the likes of “Election” and “Wild Things” but unlike those here we have a film which is not afraid to push things further still which while certainly not for all tastes is still a film worth giving a spin.

Harold and Maude

Title: Harold and Maude

Director:  Hal Ashby
Released:  1971
Starring: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, Ellen Geer, Eric Christmas, G.Wood, Judy Engles, Shari Summers, Tom Skerritt

Plot: Harold (Cort) is a privileged young man with a morbid obsession with death who finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Maude (Gordon) an anarchic 79 year old to whom he soon becomes an accomplice to.

Review: This might be one of the those films which has been on the watch list for the longest having first come to my attention on one of the Henry Rollins spoken word albums in which he talked about a project he was working on with Bud Cort. It was Rollins simple personal recommendation without even saying anything about the film which marked this film out to me as one to watch advice which only now finally sees me getting around to watching it I only wished that I hadn’t put it off for so long.

Opening to Harold hanging himself which soon turns out to be another his numerous fake and increasingly elaborate fake suicides which feature throughout the film all which are humorously ignored by his mother who carries on with whatever she is doing and ignoring the fact he son is seemingly hanging from a noose (or whatever cause of suicide he’s imitating). This morbid obsession with death of course isn’t just limited to these fake suicide attempts as Harold also enjoys attending funerals and driving around in a hearse which his mother attempts to curb by buying him a Jaguar which he retaliates by somehow turning into a sports car hearse combo.

Once Harold meets Maude who shares his morbid interest in attending funerals she immediately becomes a source of fascination for him, as he soon becomes her unwitting accomplice as she randomly steals cars and engages in high speed chases with the highway police aswell as seemingly on a whim deciding to uproot and replant a tree from a city street. Why Maude has chosen to live a life filled with such reckless rebellion is never truly clear but at the same time Gordon’s performance comes with such a lust for life that you can understand the unlikely paring of these characters with Maude teaching Harold about music and how to appreciate life in general with the bond between the two only growing stronger the more time they spend together.

While this relationship is certainly engaging and frequently amusing to watch grow at the same time director Ashby also weaves into the film the great subplot involving Harold’s mother’s attempts to save her son by marrying him off a plan which soon sees him finding ever more inventive ways to sabotage these dates as he uses them as an audience for another his fake deaths as one date see’s him appearing to set himself on fire while another he breaks up the tedium by pretending to hack off his own hand. Most amusing of these dates though is with the wannabe actress Sunshine (Geer) who after he performs a fake Seppuku (Japanese ritual disembowelment) only for her to mistake it him performing the final scene from “Romeo and Juliet” and for a change leaves Harold as the one not knowing what to do.

Further to these attempts at marrying Harold off, he has to also deal with being forced to join the army as furthered enforced by his patriotic one armed uncle, who has installed a wire in his uniform to enable his missing arm to still salute in one of the many delightfully dark moments we get from this character who is also one of the few that Maude helps Harold with when it comes to getting out of being drafted as she poses as a war protestor that Harold gets into an argument with, while attempting to freak his uncle out with an unbridled enthusiasm to see combat.

Your enjoyment of the soundtrack wil depend heavily on how much you like Cat Stevens who also puts in a cameo as a funeral goer and here provides a jaunty and upbeat soundtrack which works surprisingly well especially considering the frequent morbid humour at play throughout the film.

Shot with such a darkly comedic vein it’s hard to say if this film is for everyone, though it certainly appealed to my own warped sense of humour. At the same time both Gordon and Cort are so believable as the leads with a great chemistry  which ensures that they are constantly playing off each other, especially in the case of Gordon whose really sells the mischievous nature of Maude, despite her character being almost 80 and making the ending all the more impactful let alone unexpected.  Ultimately this film really is a celebration of embracing life, despite their characters obsession with ending theirs and the only regret I had was that I didn’t see this film sooner.  

Jawbreaker

Title:  Jawbreaker

Director: Darren Stein
Released: 1999
Starring: Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, Judy Greer, Ethan Erickson, Carol Kane, Pam Grier, Charlotte Ayanna, Chad Christ, Marilyn Manson

Plot: The Flawless Four” are the most popular and beautiful girls at Reagan High School, but when their leader Liz (Ayanna) is accidently killed by her fellow group members, the group are forced to recruit outcast Fern (Greer) after she stumbles across their attempts to cover up the murder. However it’s not long before their simple plan soon starts to spiral out of control.

 

Review: Another film from that golden year for cinema 1999, which it seems was also a golden year for teen comedies aswell, with American Pie, Go and South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut all being released the same year as this film which didn’t get a big release on these rain soaked shores, but at the same time watching it now does comes with that lovely wave of nostalgia that 90’s movies tend to come with, while generally reminding me of how badly teen comedies tend to suck these days.

A black comedy in a similar vein as “Heathers” and one whose tone is established within the opening ten minutes as a seemingly harmless kidnapping prank goes horribly wrong, while at the same time making you question if it is possible to actually swallow a jawbreaker which it would seem that director Darren Stein believes to be possible judging by how Liz is left comically looking like a snake trying to swallow an ostrich egg. This dark humour though is truly carried by McGowan who is queen bitch duties as the ruthless Courtney while being constantly supported by her right hand girl Marcie (Benz) who shares Courtney’s believe that power and respect is gained via maintaining via terrorising their fellow students.

While the film would have worked well enough as a dark comedic thriller with the remaining three members of the flawless four covering up their murder of their fourth member. More so when group member Julie (Gayheart) breaks away from the guilt she feels from her part in Liz’s death, an angle which could have been further worked with her being paranoid that Courtney and Marcie might attempt to silence her. However instead we get her trying to change sides and integrating herself into the general student populous when prior to murdering one of her best friends she couldn’t have cared less about them, but hey this is nothing that a new dull as dishwater boyfriend with a Hanson haircut can’t solve, a role played here by Zack (Christ) who would be more forgettable if he wasn’t being forced on us like Stein felt this character was more likable than he is.
 

Stein at the same time clearly felt that the murder cover up plot wasn’t enough to hold the audiences interest and as such attempts to cram in the second plot line of Fern being brought into the group and remodelled in their image as they rebrand her as exchange student Vylette only to soon find their creation going rogue on them as her new found status goes to her head. It’s a plotline which doesn’t really do anything for the most part bar the occasional bit of amusing correction from Courtney and Marcie.

Another aspect which helps the murder cover up part of the story is Pam Grier’s appearance as the investigating detective, even if she randomly disappeared from the film a lot sooner than I would have like. On the positive side she manages to show her usual kickass side with a great monologue about jawbreakers, which she also uses as her weapon of intimidation while trying to extract information from the almost unflappable Courtney, who ultimately provides the downfall moment for Grier’s character who until this point had been shown as a tough and take no nonsense, yet she believes unquestionably the ropey story that Courtney spins her which leads to the arrest of a seemingly innocent man (here played by an unrecognisable Marilyn Manson).

My main gripe though with the film is that we never get any punishment for any member of the guilty party, even though it would seem at the finale that Courtney has been marked to take the fall for the trio, but even she doesn’t get arrested when the school find out what she did in possibly the most cliché way possible. Still the only punishment she seems to receive is to be bombarded with corsages and abuse. That’s right folks she committed murder and her punishment is to have flowers thrown at her! As such this leaves you with the general feeling that getting away with murder is fine as long as you have the right scapegoat.

A flawed film but one that still makes for a fun watch as long as you’re not questioning some of the plot mechanics, while Rose McGowan’s delightfully dark performance alone makes this a worthwhile experience especially when she is seemingly willing to do anything to get away with what she has done regardless of who gets burned in her way and perhaps for that fact alone this makes this film yet another great addition to the golden cinema year of 1999.

Bad Santa

Title: Bad Santa

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Released: 2003

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Bernie Mac, John Ritter

Plot: Conman and safecracker Willie (Thornton) and his dwarf partner Marcus (Cox) seemingly have the perfect con. Posing as a shopping mall Santa the pair case each mall in preparation of Christmas Eve when they rob the stores within. However their plans threaten to come undone when Willie’s numerous vices look set to consume him.

Review: Probably the best known of Zwigoff’s back catalogue no doubt that’s to the controversy which is always surrounds painting Santa in anything but the traditional light and Thronton’s performance as the titular Bad Santa is certainly no exception. Here he gives us a truely morally devoid character who cheats, steals and spends most his time blind drunk, which really is kind of for starters as he constantly seems to find new lows to sink to.

Needless to say Zwigoff here is hardly giving us a film full of Christmas cheer or well much of any kind of cheer to be honest as this is a black comedy in only the darkest shades as here he unleashes a side which even the established fans weren’t expecting as was certainly the case for myself who was left kind of shell shocked by what I had just watched which honestly doesn’t seem to lessen even with repeated viewings, as Zwigoff positively refuses to lighten up the character of Willie and instead plunges him only into lower and often frequently more deprived depths.

Still things are not all doom and gloom as we do get the great scenes of Willie going through the

motions under his Santa guise, sarcastically responding to the lists wheeled off my the children who come to visit him completely unaware of his real intentions, much less his blatant lack of interest in anything they are saying and generally giving foul mouthed and sarcastic responses when he does. True the film could have worked without the hidden criminal intensions and instead just focused on Willie doing the job as bad as he does.

While his actions might question even the most hardened believer it seemingly doesn’t deter Thurman, an overweight kid aswell as hardly the shiniest pebble in the pile judging by his firm belief that Willie is in fact the real Santa. It’s a situation that of course Willie is more than happy to take advantage of as he sets up home in Thurman’s house where he’s lives with his senile grandmother who spends most of the film in a seemingly catatonic state. At the same time he also brings with him his girlfriend of sorts Sue (a highly underrated Lauren Graham) who has her own unique love of Santa. Of course the relationship between Thurman and Willie frequently provides many of the film’s most cringe worthy moments as Thurman makes constant offers of sandwiches while at the same time never showing the slightest hint of emotion to any of Willie’s foul outbursts he unleashes on him, while Thurman’s clear lack of any kind of contact or social interaction makes kind of sad to watch him being treated in such a way, especially when Willie is essentially supposed to be the guy we are supposed to be wanting to pull himself out of his self-destructive slump. However when faced with Willie stealing the chocolate from Thurman’s advent calendar after a particular heavy binge session it’s hard to not despair slightly, especially when it seems that Zwigoff is doing everything possible it seems to challenge the audiences love for this character.

Perhaps it’s only because the other characters in the film are as equally corrupt that we can view Willie as the lesser of the numerous evils on show here, with Marcus clearly only using Willie for his safecracking skills let alone the fact that he holds a certain amount of control over him being his only source of income despite his initial promises to go straight after the heist they pull at the start of the film, only for Willie as Marcus predicts to drink it away by the following Christmas leaving him back in the same position he was before. At the same time the duo now also have to deal with the attentions of security boss Gin (Mac) who despite initially following up on the suspicions of the prudish mall manager Bob (Ritter) soon sees an opportunity to get in on the score as he launches his campaign of blackmail against them.

Unquestionably this is Thornton’s movie who steals every scene he’s in which isn’t too hard when he’s either unleashing some foul mouth tirade (over 300 curse words to be exact while the director’s cut adds an additional 286!) or generally just fowling himself. How much of this was method though remains to be seen, especially when Thornton openly admits to spending most of filming actually drunk. Still considering Bill Murray and Jack Nicolson were also in the running for the role, only to drop out due to commitments to over roles, but now to imagine anyone else in the role. Frustratingly the rest of the cast are more hit and miss with John Ritter in what would sadly be his final performance coming off more awkward thanks to some horrible dialogue seemingly written to highlight his neurotic nature, only for it to frequently prove to be a source of irritation, while Bernie Mac is as funny as you generally find him as he wheels out his usual comedy style.

Honestly though even as a big fan of Zwigoff’s work I found this one hard going, mainly because of how dark a comedy it is and more so when Zwigoff is so unrelenting in how far he takes the film to such dark places that it would make even Todd Solondz question if he’d taken it too far. At the same time when this film works it really does and it’s a shame that the few outstanding moments are so drowned out by the darker ones. As such I would recommend watching it with at least something lighter on standby as chances are you’re going to need it by the end of this one.

Big Bad Wolves

Title: Big Bad Wolves
Director: Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado
Released: 2013
Starring: Tzahi Grad, Rotem Keinan, Lior Ashkenzai, Dvir Benedek, Kais Nashif, Guy Adler, Doval'e Glickman, Nati Kluger, Menashe Noy, Gur Bentvitch

Plot: Following a series of violent murders of young girls, three men soon find their lives on a collision course with each other. Gidi (Grad) the father of the latest victim now fuelled with a lust for revenge, Miki (Ashkenzai) a rouge police detective and Dror (Keinan) a school teacher and main suspect, who despite being arrested once already by Gidi only to be released due to Miki and his teams’ vigilante actions. Now Dror finds himself captured again by Gidi and the now suspended Miki who are determined to get him to confess to the murders they believe he is responsible for.



Review: While Israeli cinema might not be over well renown outside of World Cinema fans, it certainly seems to be something which directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado are trying to change, as having launched their careers by making Israel’s first horror film with their debut “Rabies” they now follow it up by essentially giving the country its second with this film, which also comes with a glowing recommendation from Quentin Tarantino who proclaimed it as being the “Best Film of The Year”.

Opening to the slowed down footage of children playing hide and seek, while one of them is kidnapped, the film is attention grabbing from the start especially when combined with the sinister score provided by Frank llfman, who also provided the soundtrack for “Rabies” and whose score is equally memorable here aswell, as it perfectly sets the mood for the film throughout. From this memorable opening we first meet Miki and his team carrying out their own brand of outlaw justice as they attempt to interrogate Dror in an abandoned building and attempting to beat a confession out of him, only to have the plug pulled before they get the answers they want, while more grudgingly being forced to apologise and release Dror. It is a surprising scene to open with and one only made the more surreal by the rich vein of black humour which flows throughout this scene. This scene though is really a taste of what is to follow as the film balances out scenes of brutal torture with pitch black humour making it a kind of torture porn with jokes.

This of course is the most loosest of descriptions as this film is equally a taut thriller and one which grabs you from its opening moments right down to its final chilling twists. Needless to say it is also a film were its directors choose to play their cards close to their chest throughout giving out small and seemingly unimportant hints, only to pull them all together during the finale as they suddenly become a lot more important than first perceived. Equally the actual guilt of Dror is one left worryingly under a cloud of presumption bringing back memories of Donna Tartt’s second novel “The Little Friend” which told its own tale of revenge against a subject seemingly picked at random, though thankfully this film does finally reveal the answer regarding Dror’s guilt by the closing credit, but certainly not after making the audience question the actions of Gidi and Miki.

While the film works perfectly well with these three main characters, we also get the surprise appearance of Gidi’s father who arrives to drop off soup while staying to weld a blowtorch.  At this point Gidi has already had time to show his dark side as he sets out to seemingly cross off every grisly detail of the police report by re-inacting them on Dror. Gidi’s father however soon reveals his own darker side as he joins in, while also providing numerous darkly comedic moments, such as an impromptu argument with his wife over the phone about taking his medication and a sudden lust for Barbeque after showcasing an alternative use for the blowtorch.

Of course such asides could easily derail the film and its only a further credit to the directing duo that nothing is lost by the frequently random aside, such as a local wandering Arab, a drugged cake or the frequent comical moments such as Miki receiving a dressing down by his superior and their son. These like the frequently interrupting ringtones instead help to relieve some of the tension, especially as certain members of the group begin to doubt their actions, while equally stopping the film from getting too heavy or away from its dark comedy core.

Needless to say the torture is certainly a key element here and while it might not be as voyeuristic as that seen in Eli Roth’s “Hostel” trilogy. The film does however really come with quite a bite in some of these scenes, several of which left me squirming in my seat as I waited for a sudden cut away which never comes.  While these scenes certainly come with an unexpected brutal edge, there is constantly an undertone throughout the film questioning whether such actions are ever truly effective methods of interrogation? Needless to say it is a popular subject of debate as of late something which has been looked at in several films as of late such as “Zero Dark Thirty” and one continued here if abet more subtley and certainly without the preachy edge.

The real strength of this film through lies in the casting in particular the three central characters who for the most part are left to carry the film themselves.  A feat not especially easy to carry out and while none of the cast might not be known outside of their native Israel it only further works to the films advantage as it allows the audience to view these characters with no preconceptions. This especially works to the advantage of Grad who comes off when we first meet him as the kind of slow witted parental figure. Needless to say he perfectly sells Gidi’s turn to the dark side of vigilantism aswell as his single minded determination to get Dror to reveal the location of his murdered daughters head. What is more remarkable though is that no matter how brutal the acts he carries out there is still a part of you which sides with him, even as his actions become frequently more questionable. Ashkenzai meanwhile gets to play things largely for laughs as the rouge detective and helps to stop the mood from getting too dark, especially as he finds himself increasingly deeper than he no doubt would like, even more so when he finds himself becoming an unwilling observer when he also gets chained up in the basement by Gidi. Finally Keinan is through ally convincing as the accused Dror and really keeps you guessing as to if he is the killer or not.

A confident and stylish film, it clearly proves that their debut was no fluke while certainly making me curious to see were they go next, while making me curious to know what other cinematic treats Israel might be hiding. At the same time I wouldn’t exactly agree with Tarantino’s branding this the “Film of The Year” it is still a gripping thriller and unquestionably one of the better films, though for myself the heavier torture scenes really took away from my enjoyment of the film and rating it higher, but unquestionably this is brave and exciting film making at its best.

Super

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Super

Director: James Gunn
Released: 2010
Starring: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker

Plot: Frank (Wilson) is a downtrodden short-order cook, whose wife Sarah (Tyler) has just left him for drug dealer Jacques (Bacon). Sinking into a deep depression he suffers a vision were he is touched by the hand of god, while being advised by the Holy Avenger (Fillion) a Christian public-access TV show superhero to become his own superhero. Now transformed into Crimson Bolt he sets out to clean up the city of crime.

Review: I think the announcement that Director James Gunn had been chosen as the director of “Guardians of the Galaxy” as part of Marvel Studios Phase two, I can safely say I was almost as surprised as when Peter Jackson was announced as the director of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The main reason for this surprise was that both came from a horror background, with Jackson especially notorious for the bad taste splatter of his early films, before moving onto more mainstream but none the less dark fare like the fantastic “Heavenly Creatures”. Gunn’s career path while perhaps not so dark as Jackson’s is still one containing its own amount of splatter, having started off working for Troma and making his directorial debut with the gooey “Sliver” for which this film would be its follow up, while the rest of his career to date has been very much horror influenced. So with this in mind I was curious to see how this would shape his vision of a superhero movie, especially after previously playing with the superhero genre with “The Specials”. Watching this film though only really begs the question again as to what the Marvel exec’s were thinking when they gave Gunn the “Guardians of the Galaxy” gig, especially considering the pitch black vein of humour which runs throughout this film, as Gunn gives us his truly unique take on costume vigilantes.

Bizarrely released at the same time of the more recognised and lighter “Kick-Ass” aswell as the little seen “Defendor” in what seemed to be a mini craze for the subject of costume vigilanties. Gunn here has chosen to take a much more risqué route, seeing how Frank is far from the most instantly likable character, having been so downtrodden for so long we first meet him at essentially his lowest point, especially when he can only think of two happy moments in his life. The first being the day he married Sarah and the other being when he directed a police officer to catch a purse snatcher, both of which he immortalises in childlike drawing and stuck on the otherwise bare walls of his apartment. Needless to say this sort of character is the perfect fit for Wilson who has spent the best part of his career playing such social outcasts, with Wilson’s performance as Frank seemingly building on his role as Arthur on “Six Feet Under”.

Much like his costume vigilante contempories, Frank has no super powers to speak off and after a failed attempt at busting a drug dealer, soon controversially arms himself with a pipe wrench, which soon has him marked on the police radar for all the wrong reasons, especially when his superhero antics usually end up putting the criminals in the intensive care unit. Still this doesn’t deter him, especially as he is so convinced of his mission, seeming sent from god himself in a scene were he is not so much touched by god but rather scalped and poked in the brain by god in a scene I can’t help but feel was inspired by the Channard Cenobite from “Hellraiser 2”, in a scene which only further marks out Gunn’s love of the horror genre.

While previous entries in the costume vigilant genre (if that’s what this can be classed as?) have focused on the wannabe superhero and their journey to being a true hero, “Super” instead seems to be about one man setting out on the path of trying to make a difference, while slowly becoming more unhinged as his journey progresses, here seen from the comical first attempts at busting crime by lurking around empty alleyways through to him finally stocking up on firepower and explosives for his suicidal final assault on Jacques stronghold. Also unlike the other films Frank gets (if unwillingly) a sidekick in the form of the hyperactive and foul mouthed comic book store clerk Libby, who starts off first as his comic book guru, helping Frank find the identity of the Crimson Bolt by studying comic book hero and soon joins Frank on patrol as his sidekick Boltie. It’s an unusual approach and one which really sinks or swims depending on if you get Gunn’s warped sense of humour. Still it is really a tribute to the cast (all who worked to scale) who commit to their roles so fully that the film works so well with Page especially unhinged and a far cry from her usual roles, while Bacon once again shows his usual fearlessness as he harnesses his inner sleazebag, to make Jacques a truly disgusting individual even to the point where he disgusts even his own henchmen with his actions.

What was most surprising here though was the gore quota, which is in many ways is unsurprising when you consider the amount of Pipe wrench clubbing being dished out to drug dealers right through to people cutting in line. So while cracked skulls are mainly the order of the day, while Gunn also finds a number of opportunities to surprise the audience with these sporadic moments of gore, which frequently come without warning and often creating a double punch thanks to the already frequently out there nature of the material. Needless to say like with the rest of the film Gunn is none the less creative with his splatter with Frank’s visions / Brain poke certainly proving memorable, much like the finale were deaths are shown in slow motion complete with crudely drawn Batman esq pow bubbles.  

Managing shock at the same time it amuses, Gunn walks a tricky tightrope and one which won’t work for everyone. Still there is enough originality here to make for an interesting trip at the least, especially as it will no doubt leave you wondering what the hell you’ve just watched.

Sightseers

Title: Sightseers

Director: Ben Wheatly
Released: 2012
Starring: Steve Oram, Alice Lowe, Eileen Davis, Richard Glover, Monica Dolan, Jonathan Aris, Richard Lumsden

Plot: A decidedly British black comedy, which finally fills the space for a Natural Born Killers meets Caravan holiday crossover (for anyone who’s been holding out for such a thing) as caravan enthusiast Chris (Oram) takes his shy and retiring girlfriend Tina (Alice Lowe) on what they hope will be a dream sightseeing holiday in his caravan, only to end up on an impromptus killing spree.

Review: For myself and my fellow brits here on this rain soaked isle, there are few things which seem so British as the idea of the caravanning holiday, were you forgo the comfort and luxury of a hotel room, to sit in the middle of a field while generally doing your business into a chemical toilet. This is of course after you have finished being the bane of every motorist you cut off or delay with the monstrosity you have chosen to tow behind your car. No doubt the people who enjoy these sorts of holidays being viewed as the least likely inspiration for a pair of serial killers, but here it is an idea which works surprisingly well, as the leather cladded “Natural Born Killers” Mickey and Mallory are exchanged for out knitware loving duo, which even extends in Tina’s case to a lovely pair of knitted crotch less panties (no sure how that would work out in real life, much less how well knitware lends itself to lingerie).

I would say to start that the best way to view this film is really to go in as blind as possible, which having said that it is far from the easiest thing I know in these times were information on any film is ever only a mouse click away. Equally problematic is the trailer, which while it does a great job of selling the film, perhaps gives away a little too much of the potential surprises the film could have delivered and something which frequently proved to be a real frustration when watching the film and knowing that so many moments could had been a lot more effective had I not know they were coming. Perhaps with this in mind you should just bookmark this review and come back when you have seen this film to avoid any potential spoilers I may leak throughout, while ensuring the maximum amount of surprise from this truly original film.

Both Chris and Tina are far from your text book serial killers with their love of knitwear and genuine desire to visit the frequently twee tourist attractions such Crich Tramway Museum and Keswick Pencil Museum, with their desire to kill usually being triggered by those who don’t fit into their world view or more frequently anyone who they believe has disrespected them, be it a litterbug or upper class snobs, one way or another the duo soon find a way to settle the score and in their mind restore the balance. Still when we first meet them, you would never think that either of these two would be capable of such random acts of violence. Tina in particular though is the most interesting, seeing how when we meet her she introduced as an awkward soul who is shown living a sheltered life, still living at home with her hypochondriac mother, a situation which has seemingly resulted in her withdrawing into herself, with her relationship with Chris being an attempt to break out of this rut, especially since her mother has never forgiven her for accidently killing the family dog in a bizarre knitting needle accident.

While initially it is Chris who does the killing, covering for his murderous tendencies by making his murders look like accidents, as he hides this side of his world from Tina only for her to soon become drawn into this side of things, as she finally explores her own murderous side which is frequently hinted at before she reveals it, though as the duo embrace this new world view based on Chris’s theories of each death helping to restore the balance, it is only a matter of time before things soon start to spiral out of control, which soon becomes one of the main focuses of the film as director Wheatly unflinchingly charts the deterioration of their relationship as you wonder how it will all end, while ensuring that this pitch black comedy is only painted in the darkest shades.

Due to their killing spree antics It is impossible to view this film without drawing comparisons to “Natural Born Killers” and perhaps to a lesser extent the controversial French thriller “Base-Moi”, both of which seem to have been a key influence in the creation of this film, but while Chris and Tina might be getting the same arousal from their killing, with each one usually followed by enthusiastic sex scenes, but the key difference here though is that they don’t have to kill to fill some unquenchable thirst for violence and death like their counterparts, but instead it truly is about restoring the balance for them. The deaths though  are certainly as original as they frequently are brutal with bludgeoning’s and even the caravan itself being used as the means of despatch for their victims, with some great special effects on show even though Wheatly doesn’t take the film into slasher territory by giving it a high body count, he does however ensure that when someone dies they do in it is suitably memorable, especially as he teases out each kill by slowly cranking up the anticipation until the inevitable conclusion.

“Sightseers” is certainly an interesting film and Wheatly here really surprises us with this surprise change of style, especially after the pitch black thrillers “Down Terrace” and the cinematic marmite “Kill List” which truly proved to be the sort of film which divides audiences, which is no doubt what will happen with this film, even more so when Wheatly’s brand of black humour is so dark that it won’t be to everyone’s tastes while the humour being more incidental than the trailer would you have you believe it is no doubt making it far from the easiest watch for most movie goers, especially those without a slightly warped sense of humour, which is essentially who this film will most appeal to, making it certainly what you would call a niche film. Seeing how so much the of the film is based on British culture, I am especially curious to see how this film translates to audiences outside of the UK and whether it will manage the same appeal that Edger Wright’s (who appears here as executive producer) equally British culture influenced projects like ”Spaced”, “Hot Fuzz” and “Shawn of The Dead” have managed. For now it remains a darkly comedic curiosity, but one which you will likely only watch once as it holds little to reward repeat viewings.

Boxset Binges #3 - Breaking Bad (Season One)

Opening with the sight of a pair of discarded trousers flying in slow motion through the desert air, we quickly cut to Walter (Bryan Cranston) frantically driving his AV slash mobile drug lab through the desert, wearing nothing bar his underwear and a gas mask and from this moment it’s safe to say that this is one series which really knows how to hit the ground running, as these frantic opening moments are soon followed by a quick video confession, before Walter steps out into the road pistol drawn as the approaching sirens grow ever closer, as he looks set to go out in a blaze of glory, before suddenly cutting back to the beginning of his story, for Walter isn’t just another drug dealer, but a downtrodden high school chemistry teacher, who is struggling to pay the bills and subsidising the money he earns teaching, by working a second job at a car wash for his abusive (and wacky eye browed) Russian boss. Still when Walt finds out he is suffering from terminal lung cancer things seem to be only getting worse for him. Still it’s only after going on a ride along with his brother in Law and DEA officer Hank (Dean Norris) as Hank's team raid a local Meth lab, that Walt suddenly realises there might be a way to solve all his problems.
Soon it’s not long before he’s hooked up with his former students turned Meth dealer Jesse (Aaron Paul), using his extensive chemistry knowledge for a slightly less than legal means.

Created by Vince Gilligan, who fans of “The X files” might recognise, especially as was responsible for not only writing some of the more memorable one shoot / monster of the week episodes across the nine seasons the show ran, but for also helping to wrap up both “The Lone Gunmen” and “Millennium” offshoots with their final episodes disguised as X files episodes and it’s nice to see that rather than retread over similar ground on another sci-fi show, that he has instead taken the natural humour of “The X Files” and transferred it into this first attempt at an original project of his own.

Bryan Cranston who plays Walter is probably best known for playing the hen pecked Hal in “Malcom in the Middle” and to an extent it’s a role he reprises here, to great effect as the downtrodden Walter, who after giving up a promising career to teach high school chemistry is just a guy who seriously can’t get a break and although it’s familiar material for Cranston, it’s his gradual slide to the darker side of his personality, were he truly shines and it’s only later in this first season when these darker moments become more frequent, that it become clearer why the shows creator Vince Gilligan lays on Walters trouble so thickly, for it’s discovering that he has cancer that like Lester's midlife crisis in “American Beauty” (1999), that it creates the trigger point needed to induce a radical switch in personality and Cranston truly sells this role, as he more than convincingly switches between mild mannered Walter the science teacher, while verging on becoming a psycho as he Meth cooking alter ego especially in the final couple of episodes, which is only added to by his newly shaved head.

While watching this first season I found the constant urge to draw comparisons between this show and “Six Feet Under” due to both having a streak of pitch black humour throughout, while being set in a profession not exactly known for being the greatest source of humour, though the majority of this humour like “Six Feet Under” comes from both Walter and Jesse trying to muddle their way into the big leagues of the Meth trade, based more on the quality of the Meth that Walters chemical expertise creates, rather than any kind of “Scarface” (1983) style rise through the ranks, especially when they frequently find themselves out of their depth, while towards the end of this first season soon coming to release exactly how much they need each other.

Something which might raise a gripe with some of you, especially for the more detail orientated is the lack of focus on the addictive nature and effects of meth addiction, which in this world see’s it as the casual drug of choice and no doubt could easily have been replaced with the production of Marijuana and with Walter being a Biologist instead of a chemist, but seeing how “Weeds” cornered that market, the other drug choices are limited with Heroin being still far too taboo and Cocaine too predictable, it seem that Meth was pretty much the only workable option remaining. Still the lack of concern which Walter shows in regards to the people he supplies, is something which is strangely over looked, even when Walter is at his most Naive and straight edged, with Walters only real concerns being the money they are making from the product and hiding this secret double life from his wife.

The other main gripe that comes with this series is all to do with the pacing which is only all the more evident when Walt and Jesse don’t really start cooking Meth seriously until the final episode of the seven episode season, with the other six episodes being looking instead at their misguided beginnings and general clashes of personality, until their grand realisation of how much they need each other, but this still amounts to what seems like a lot of running around, for only the smallest amount of progress, which makes it clear that Gilligan is in no hurry to rush this story along, preferring to concentrate on characterisation than spectacle.

Despite a few gripes, this is overly a great first season and definatly worth giving a look, especially if you’re like me and like a healthy dose of black humour in your drama, while Cranston is riveting as Walter and truly sells the role, while by the end of this first season I was already eager to hunt out season 2 and seeing were the series goes next, especially after the strong foundation setup by this first seasons

Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Title: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Director: Scott Glosserman
Released: 2006
Staring: Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Robert Englund, Scott Wilson, Zelda Rubinstein, Bridgett Newton, Kate Lang Johnson, Ben Pace, Britain Spellings, Kane Hodder

Rating: 4 / 5

Plot: Leslie Vernon (Baesel) is an aspiring serial killer who models his murders using Horror film conventions, inviting a documentary crew to follow him as he prepares to stage his masterpiece.



Review: Since the release of “Man Bites Dog” (1992) there have been numerous attempts to recreate the idea, which featured a documentary crew following a serial killer as he goes about his chosen profession, with the most note worthy to date being the dire “The Last Horror Movie” (2003), which is interestingly enough also the film being stolen in the UK video piracy advert, which in all honesty is a much better idea than actually wasting your money on it, but here Director Glosserman has instead thrown us a curve ball, no doubt realising that he couldn’t top “Man Bites Dog”, he has instead set the film with in the same fantasy film within a film world which Quentin Tarantino more recently has preferred to set his films, creating a film which is not only darkly comic but also gives the occasional clever nod to it’s source material.

Setting the film within a film, certainly helps to not only give the film a new spin, but also throws the viewer off step, for this is world that they are certainly not used to, but in doing so it has allowed Glosserman to have his characters reference slasher legends, such as Freddy, Jason and even Michael Myers, as the film opens on the streets of Elm St, were we also get a fun cameo from Kane Hodder as Freddy Krugers neighbour, before the film then moves onto the banks of crystal lake, with these fiction killers being viewed with a sense of almost awe, in particular when we are introduced to Leslie’s mentor, who has long since retired, commenting how he was practically forced out by the aforementioned mentioned slashers “Raising the game to a whole new level”. Still it’s the conversations between Leslie and his mentor, that provide the most insight into this world, as we see his mentor still practicing yoga style breathing techniques, which despite either character explaining the reason, will be clear to those familiar with the genre as being an effective way of faking your death.

Still not content to keep the film within the film world, Glosserman throws us a further curve ball, by stepping out of this world and letting the viewer, watch the film as an actual slasher film and all with a simple change of film stock from handheld cameras for the documentary world to cinefilm for when Glosserman steps back and allows us to view it as a slasher film, which was confusing to begin with until it hit home what he was trying to achieve, but then Glosserman isn’t a director who feels he constantly needs to hold the audiences hand or constantly dumb things down with continual explanation, preferring it would seem to allow them work things out for themselves.

Much like “Man Bites Dog”, there is a heavy focus on the preparation, which goes into what he does with majority of the running time being dedicated to the setup for the final stalk and slash sequence, as Leslie walks the documentary crew through the setup of the location and how he intends for the action to play out, even clearing up some horror clichés, as he explains almost why so many stupid things which happen in slasher films, like windows failing to open actually happen, which if we are to believe what Leslie tells us, is largely down to the forward planning of the slasher. Still it’s this deconstruction of the genre, which provides several of the films highlights, including Leslies own personal training regime, as he shown having to train daily to keep his fitness levels up, while his house is filled with medical textbooks, ensuring that he is hitting all the right spots on his intended victims and only highlighting the thought which has been put into the character, while bringing a sense of realism to the film, rather than leaving the audience to believe that he was born a natural slasher.

The cast are all likeable enough, with the documentary crew coming across more curious than Naive to what Leslie does and while they don’t become as involved as the crew in “Man Bites Dog”, they still sell the reason that they are filming the documentary well, while the teens making up the intended targets of the slaughter Leslie are planning coming off more stereotypical, though I suspected this was the intention of Glosserman, especially with some of the twists he pulls out during the finale, while he also handles the use of his horror icons well, as rather than have them upfront and centre, he instead keeps them squarely in supporting if still memorable roles, with Poltergeist's Zelda Rubinstein appearing as a libarian, while Robert Englund here embodies Halloween’s “Dr. Loomis” as Doc Halloran, a character who is underused here, no doubt due to the glaring similarities and serves more as another horror nod, rather than a character with any importance, despite Leslie’s mentor declaring him “Leslie’s Ahab” which only makes it more of a shame that Glosserman chose to not expand on this character, much like his decision to make the finale, a straightforward slasher and almost feels like he attempting to redeem the documentary crew, for their earlier actions and in particular their bizarre willingness to go along with Leslie plotting.

In the end it might fail to reach the same level as “Man Bites Dog” especially in terms of Leslie chosen profession, which Leslie instead shows a much more restrained demeanour and despite the earlier mentioned flaws it’s still a film worthy of being compared to “Man Bites Dog”, if only for attempting to do something different, rather than a straight adaptation and while it might have it’s moments of plagiarism, but still has a lot of original ideas to balance things out, including some great character design work especially with Leslie, who is a potential horror icon in the making and it’s this raw potential on show here, which alone makes it worth a look.

Heathers

Title: Heathers
Director: Michael Lehmann
Released: 1989

Staring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, Glenn Shadix, Lance Fenton, Patrick Labyorteaux, Carrie Lynn

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot: The Heathers are the most popular social clique at their high school, spending their time making fun of Martha “Dumptruck” Dunnstock (Lynn) and the other social outcasts, or running stupid polls with their fellow students. Veronica (Ryder) is sick of being part of this group and longs to break free, finding her opportunity to strike back with the mysterious new boy and rebel JD (Slater).



Review: It’s funny how often to find the most interesting work of an establish actor, you have to go back to their early films, when they were more willing to task risks with their art and certainly before, they moulded themselves to fit in with the Hollywood studio system and this is especially true here for the two leads, Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, whose later years would fail repeatedly to produce anything as interesting, as they sacrificed what raw talent might be seen here, in a haze of drink, drugs, shoplifting and Uwe Boll movies, which makes you forget that either of them, had such a movie in them. Still interestingly enough the lead roles were at one point associated with both Brad Pitt (who was turned down for being too nice) and Jennifer Connolly (who just turned it down), making for an more intriguing version of the film, but still both Ryder and Slater suit their respective roles well, with Ryder portraying Veronica as kind of a lost soul, who doesn’t see herself belonging to any of the various cliques and would rather everyone just get along, while Slater as the rebellious and later utterly homicidal JD, gives us his best Jack Nicolson impression while clearly playing by his own rules, with some truly creepy scenes in which Veronica meets his dad and witnesses their role reversal style relationship, which also includes the slightest of hints to the true colours of JD.

The humour throughout is strictly dark, which is kind of unsurprising when you consider that the main focus, is on Veronica and JD killing various popular kids and making their deaths look like suicides, which might not make for the most comfortable viewing for some people, especially if you prefer you comedies a little more light hearted, than frequent musings on teenage suicide, making it in many ways a forerunner to the likes of John Waters “Serial Mom” (1994) Todd Solondz’s “Welcome to the Dollhouse” (1995). Still despite being dark, it never quite pushes the boundaries in the same way that later films would and at times, seems to be playing more with the dark humour, than fully committing itself whole heartedly to this style of humour, which becomes increasingly more evident towards the end, as Veronicas doubts increase. Still when comparing the film to the original script and the tales of failed test viewings which lead to the ending being dramatically changed, it only further eludes to the darker version we could have seen, had director Lehmann gone with his instincts, as these darker parts are definatly the stronger parts of the film, while I felt my interest waning the lighter the film got.

Throughout the film I found myself constantly questioning just how Naïve Veronica really is, seeing how she buys pretty much any bullshit that JD can spin, even after she watches him deliberately poison the ring leader of the Heathers (Doherty) by having her drink drain cleaner. Still no matter how many of the popular kids they kill, she still seems to get convinced each time that it’s all a prank, only changing her mind around the third quarter, when JD starts to really show his true colours. It is also worth questioning her amazing ability of copying other people’s handwriting, when her own writing style is so frenzied, that she might as well hold the pen between her fist to write.

It was only really while revisiting this film, that I wondered why this film is never referenced as being an influence whenever some high school kid decides to bring a gun to school, or performs some equally shocking act of violence, with the media usually targeting the music of Marilyn Manson and the more obvious film titles such as “The Matrix” (1999), with only the occasional more well watched journalist perhaps naming “The Basketball Diaries” (1995) which features it’s own school shooting daydream. Yet with “Heathers” it’s almost like a troubled youth revenge fantasy placed on the screen, as it is essentially about the bullied kids striking back at their tormentors and eventually the school, this being especially potent with it’s climax involving a plot to blow up the school along with the majority of the student body, it only makes it all the more surprising that it never receives even the slightest of mentions.

Despite Ryder constantly hinting at a sequel being made, no doubt to prop up her flagging career, it’s a film which doesn’t need a half baked sequel and says all that it needs to say with this film and certainly doesn’t need a half baked sequel to add anything to it as a film, as it’s fun but slightly disposable piece of film making, for as fun as some of the characters might be, they aren’t the kind your pretty much through being with by the time the credits roll, while at the same time hinting at what could have possibly been, with the performances given by both Slater and Ryder, for both of them it still remains a career high point.