Month: June 2013

By Joe Bendel. Why is Steve Chong so depressed? Maybe it is due to feelings of inadequate facial hair. If so, he probably picked the wrong friends. Nevertheless, the bearded slackers will do their best to prevent their buddy from taking the final exit in Charlie LaVoy’s Steve Chong Finds Out that Suicide is a Bad Idea, which screened this past Friday during Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theatres (where the marquee is long enough to fit that title).

Chong was never really suited to his job as a sushi chef, but getting fired hardly helps his mental outlook. When his extreme shyness sabotages what might have been his last best shot with Alice, the waitress he has long carried a torch for, Chong is pretty much ready to cash in his chips. However, he will first invite over his goofball friends for a weekend at his parents’ lake house. Unable to hold his booze like they can, the stink-faced Chong lets his plans slip during a drinking game. The next morning, he does not seem to remember the episode, but his friends do.

Frankly, some of the cleverest bits of SCFOTSIABI involve their attempts to child-proof the lake house. LaVoy and screenwriter-co-star Owen Hornstein III probably could have mined the suicide prevention efforts for more dark physical humor. One cannot help wondering what Jacques Tati’s evil twin could have done with this premise. Rather, LaVoy and his cast of filmmaking collaborators are more interested with exploring themes of friendship and loyalty. That is all very nice, but it could have been funnier.

Still, there is no question SCFOTSIABI connects with the economic anxiety that has plagued the country (especially recent college graduates) for the last six years or so. Chong may yet find out about suicide, but he understands the reality of a “soft recovery” all too well. Wisely, the film never overplays its hand with fleetingly topical references, focusing instead on perennials bummers – like crummy jobs, difficult bosses, and estranged friends.

Stanley Wong (who also edited SCFOTSIABI) is appropriately awkward and tightly wound as Chong and develops some convincing chemistry with the grizzly trio. Viewers will believe they all have some long, complicated history together. While Hornstein and Tyler Russell’s constant feuding gets a bit tiresome, standout Joe Sökmen has some memorable moments of honesty as John, who passes for the mature one in this Rat Pack.

Speaking of lake houses, if Chong had recently seen the Keanu Reeves-Sandra Bullock remake, it would also explain his suicidal impulses. To the credit of the co-producing cast, they largely avoid such sentimental excesses. While seemingly tailor made for Hangover comparisons, SCFOTSIABI is really more about avoiding a truly awful morning after. A nice, intermittently amusing film about friendship, Steve Chong Finds Out that Suicide is a Bad Idea screened as part of the “Sweet Sixteen” Dances With Films in Hollywood.

LFM GRADE: C+

Posted on June 11th, 2013 at 3:18pm.

By Joe Bendel. Some people are born to curry favor with successive regimes, regardless of changing ideologies. There are also those who are constitutionally incapable of ingratiating themselves with the powers that be. Sushenya is definitely the latter sort, but through a cruel twist, he finds himself suspected of collaboration in Sergei Loznitsa’s WWII drama, In the Fog, which opens this Friday in New York.

When Burov knocks on his door late one night, Sushenya knows the partisan has come to execute him. Burov would have done the deed right there and then, were it not for the presence of the condemned man’s son. Instead, he and his squirrely comrade Voitek march Sushenya out into the Belorussian forest. However, German patrols are out in force this particular night, drastically altering the course of Burov’s score-settling mission.

For the three main characters, backstory is truly destiny. Through extended flashbacks, Loznitsa shows the audience the ironic events that inevitably led the trio into the fateful forest. There is an inescapably absurdist character to In the Fog, as its characters doggedly tramp through the woods, evading the Germans as best they can, despite the awkward circumstances that brought them together.

Yet, In the Fog is also closely akin to Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows. Loznitsa’s adaptation of Vasil Bykov’s novel hardly idolizes the Communist partisans. Frankly, it suggests they are more interested in suspected turncoats like Sushenya than taking the war to the Germans. Neither Sushenya nor Burov are Party people, so to speak. Voitek is not exactly a true believer either, but his craven nature is more compatible with his fellow comrades. Indeed, during Sushenya’s flashback, one of his railroad co-workers observes how their former Communist tormentor had so quickly aligned himself with the new National Socialist occupiers.

Vladimir Svirskiy looks profoundly miserable as Sushenya. It is a performance of striking physicality, perfectly suited to Loznitsa’s taciturn film. As Voitek, Sergei Kolesov also taps into just about every unedifying aspect of human nature, without overplaying any of them. Even with his dramatic origin story, Vladislav Abashin’s Burov remains something of a cipher, but Vlad Ivanov (the abortionist in 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days) casts a long shadow over the film as the deceitful German officer, Grossmeier.

Yes, once night breaks, there will be plenty of fog to represent to moral murkiness facing the film’s characters. There will be no heroics in the wartime USSR, no matter who holds Sushenya’s village. Loznitsa offers viewers little consolation and his purposeful pacing will be problematic for antsy viewers. Yet, his long tracking shots are quite striking (especially the opening hanging sequence). Impressively bracing, In the Fog is recommended rather highly for adult attention spans when it opens this Friday (6/14) in New York at the Village East.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on June 10th, 2013 at 11:41am.

By Joe Bendel. Shall we compare Shakespeare to a superhero? His work transcends time and space, after all. No less an authority than Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers, proves the point once again with his modernized yet still satisfying Much Ado About Nothing, which opened yesterday in New York.

As you really ought to know, Ado is a comic tale involving sibling rivalry, mistaken identity, and of course, love. Don Pedro has just routed an insurrection led by his deceitful brother, Don John. To enjoy the afterglow of victory, Don Pedro and his trusted lieutenants, the roguish Benedick and the earnest young Claudio, accept the hospitality of Leonato, the governor of Messina. Don John also arrives with his brother. They have supposedly buried the hatchet, but their truce is decidedly frosty.

In contrast, Benedick brashly presses his longstanding “merry war” with Beatrice, Leonato’s tart tongued niece. To mix Shakespearean quotations, Leonato and Don Pedro decide the sarcastic couple “doth protest too much” and secretly contrive to bring them together, like practical jokester cupids. Benedick and Beatrice get all the play’s best lines, but the above-board romance between Claudio and Leonato’s daughter Hero supplies all the plot points. As he instructs his remaining retainers, Don John would be quite pleased to see their happy union sabotaged, for the sake of his revenge and general mean spiritedness.

Shot during the twelve days in-between the filming and post-production of Whedon’s Marvel blockbuster, Ado is certainly a laid back affair, but it is still strikingly cinematic. There might have been limited time for pre-production, but Whedon was fortunate to have a pretty polished script from William Shakespeare. Maybe he found it on the “Black List.” Set entirely within Whedon’s real life home, designed by his architect wife and co-producer Kai Cole, this Ado updates the costumes and trappings to modern times, but wisely retains the Bard’s original language. Essentially, Leonato and the Dons are politicians or gangsters. Is there any difference between the two? Either way, the wardrobe largely consists of dark suits, sun glasses, and ear pieces.

While Whedon’s modernization is a bit eccentric, Jay Hunter’s stylish black-and-white cinematography really helps sell it. Frankly, Much Ado is one of Shakespeare’s most bullet-proof comedies, probably ranking just below Twelfth Night. Nonetheless, Whedon’s game cast does not merely get by. They have a genuine flair for the Shakespearean language. Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker make a terrific Benedick and Beatrice. The audience will find themselves laughing at their zingers, which speaks volumes for their zesty delivery.

Clark Gregg (the soon to be reincarnated SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson) also makes a solid Leonato, nicely conveying his mischievous and mature sides, while providing a familiar face for Whedon’s Marvel fans to latch onto. Poor Hero is always the problematic part, but newcomer Jillian Morgese (an extra on The Avengers) gives her a bit of pluck and substance this time around. As for good old Dogberry (here reinvented as the captain of the gated community’s rent-a-cops), Nathan Fillion truly hams it up, but that is exactly what he is supposed to do.

This is a genuinely entertaining movie that withstands comparison to Kenneth Branagh’s wonderfully elegant adaptation. It is a different take, but the time-tested characters and text are the same, so it all works out quite swimmingly. Recommended without reservation for fans of Shakespeare and Whedon, Much Ado About Nothing opened yesterday (6/7) in New York at the Landmark Sunshine.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on June 8th, 2013 at 9:52am.

By Joe Bendel. These two could probably use a serious talking to from Dr. Drew. Despite their very adult job killing people, Violet and her latest teenaged protégé seem stuck in a permanent state of arrested development. However, their latest assignment might lead to a bit of growing-up in Geoffrey Fletcher’s Violet & Daisy, which opened Friday in New York.

When not whacking gangsters, Daisy and her mentor try to live a Spice World lifestyle. Although slightly burned out, they accept another assignment from the hardboiled Russ, because their favorite pop idol has just released a new line of dresses. It will be a strange gig. For one reason, their sad sack target seems relieved when they arrive locked-and-loaded.

Suspicious of Michael’s resignation, the girls do not immediately kill him. Of course, the more they get to know him, the harder it will be to get the job done, especially for Daisy. A rival hit squad and the boss’s sniper-minder further complicate matters. Loyalties will fray and bullets will fly, as V&D coyly subverts gangster genre expectations.

Fletcher was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of Precious, etc, etc, but do not hold that against V&D. This film builds up quite a body count, but it is also rather clever and has some real heart. Somehow, he maintains a fable-like vibe, despite the gritty backdrop and not infrequent on-screen violence. Intriguingly, it can be seen as another dark modern fairy tale starring Saoirse Ronan as the little lost princess, somewhat paralleling Neil Jordan’s accomplished Byzantium and the highly problematic Hanna.

Much like Fletcher, Ronan deftly walks a fine line, portraying Daisy’s wide-eyed innocence, without becoming cloying or saccharine. She also develops some nice chemistry with her co-stars, Alexis Bledel and James Gandolfini. The latter has some particularly fine moments as the world weary but still protective Michael, whereas the former comes across a bit affected at times, looking far less at ease with Fletcher’s genre defying tone. For added seasoning, first rate character actors Danny Trejo and Marianne Jean-Baptiste show up in brief but colorful supporting parts.

V&D is a small film, but for cult cinema fans, it is a pleasant palate cleanser. Frankly, it sounds like a terrible concept in every way, but Fletcher largely pulls it off. Simultaneously violent, wistful, and amusing, Violet and Daisy is recommended for fans of Ronan, Gandolfini, and hitman comedies when it opens this Friday (6/7) in New York at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on June 8th, 2013 at 9:51am.