Movie Review: “Starbuck”

See it before the Vince Vaughn remake heads your way.

**** out of 5
109 minutes
Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material
Entertainment One

Article first published as Movie Review: Starbuck on Blogcritics.

Nobody does farce quite like the French, right? Well, in the case of the new film Starbuck, co-writer/director Ken Scott’s comedy may sound and look French, but is actually Québécois. After being released back in 2011 in its homeland, the film is finally making its way to the U.S. After reading the film’s synopsis, men may find themselves watching a celluloid nightmare. Even Family Guy has touched on the issue when Quagmire ran into several familiar looking children. If there was ever a testimony for not donating sperm, Starbuck is it.

When you’re $80,000 in debt, probably the worst news you want to hear is that you’ve fathered 533 children. Such is the case of hard luck dealt to a man anonymously calling himself “Starbuck” after donating 693 times. Turns out that man is actually David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) and he’s also down on his luck. His girlfriend Valérie (Julie LeBreton) wants nothing to do with him even though she’s pregnant and is the worst meat delivery man in all of Montreal’s. Everything comes to a head when a lawyer informs him that 142 of his biological children have issued a paternity suit for him to reveal his identity. All this causes David to decide he needs to get some order in his life, even if life events are spiraling out of control.

Scott, and co-writer Martin Petit, keep the mood light enough it never strains your suspension of disbelief making the central conflict of the legal issues easier to bare. With the film already announced to be remade by DreamWorks, thankfully Scott is returning to write and direct. The only problem I see is that Vince Vaughn has been cast as the lead, and we all know he hasn’t been funny in years. Having Steven Spielberg producing could help Scott rein Vaughn in and give the performance we hope he still has in him, but we shall see. Watching Starbuck, I couldn’t help but mentally replace some of the actors on screen with their already cast American counterparts. I don’t see Jon Favreau’s name in the credits yet, but there’s no one more perfect to play David’s best friend/lawyer Avocat (Antoine Bertrand). As for Starbuck, it’s a heartfelt comedy that pushes the right buttons and is certainly worth making your own monetary donation.

Photo courtesy Entertainment One

Movie Review: “Fists of Legend”

A brutal crowd pleaser with a welcome sense of humor.

**** out of 5

154 minutes

Not rated

CJ Entertainment

Article first published as Movie Review: Fists of Legend (2013) on Blogcritics.

For years, my best friend has been badgering me to watch Warrior. At his behest, I added it to my Netflix queue, but it wasn’t until a few months ago (thanks to my wife’s obsession with Tom Hardy) that I finally watched it. The reason I put off watching it was because the story centered on MMA fighting, and that has never interested me.

My friends find it extremely odd since I usually love action movies, particularly of the martial arts variety. Although I may find myself more drawn to the stylized Wuxia variety, director Kang Woo-Suk brings something of a companion piece to Warrior from South Korea with his tale of friendship and honor, Fists of Legend.

Starting with the introduction of a fake TV show called “Legendary Punch,” Ms. Hong (Lee Yo-won) runs the show with the first Asian International Fighting Championships winner Jason providing color commentary. Each bout earns the winner $20,000 continuing upwards to $100,000 ,and now Ms. Hong has come up with the idea of pitting older contestants against each other after she catches wind of how badass Lim Deok-kyu (Hwang Jung-min) was back in high school. Back then they were known as “legends” and Ms. Hong knows he needs the money after his daughter gets into a fight at school.

The film then begins to flashback to his glory days (played by Park Jung-min) where he meet-cutes his then best friend Lee Sang-hoon (Goo Won playing the young counterpart to Yoo Jun-sang portraying him in the present) and Shin Jae-seok (Yoon Je-moon and Park Doo-sik). It’s after Lim gets cheated out of participating in the 1988 Olympics that his life spirals out of control leading him to a life as a poor noodle shop owner and an outcast daughter after his wife dies. Now Ms. Hong is propositioning Lim to fight on her new show, “Match of Legends,” against Lee with a grand prize of $200,000.

The only concern regarding Fists of Legend is in the editing department. I screened an unfinished print, and the flashback sequences take a while to make it clear that it’s not a parallel plotline. These scenes are never clear cut, and at first I thought the younger versions were children of their present counterparts. Aside from that, the film may run two and a half hours in length, but it flies by pretty quick. Like I said, it reminds me of a Korean version of Warrior, except this film has better action and a sense of humor.

Writer Jang Min-seok adapts the webtoon Legend Punch with some fleshed out characters bringing the necessary drama to the situation of best friends being pitted against each other to win a lot of money. Hwang and Yoo bring a sense of honor and humility to the adult roles while Park, Goo Won, and Yoon are having a blast playing the younger versions.

I still may not be sold on the whole UFC/IFC/MMA culture, but at least the films about them are being made with integrity. Fists of Legend may be filled with some truly brutal, yet fantastic fight scenes, but still comes out on top as a true crowd pleaser and is worth seeking out during its stateside release.

Movie Review: “42”

A timely film, but not just because it's about baseball.

**** out of 5

128 minutes

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including language

Warner Bros. Pictures

Article first published as Movie Review: 42 on Blogcritics.

Biopics aren’t generally known as crowd-pleasers. But the ones that need to incorporate this important element the most are sports movies. Even when a sports film is not a biopic, it still needs to keep this in mind. There haven’t been too many of them lately, but writer/director Brian Helgeland definitely knows how to do it right. While Helgeland’s films have never been known for being bright and lively – having written things like Nightmare on Elm Street 4, L.A. Confidential, Payback, Mystic River, and Man on Fire — he still infuses 42 with a palpable sense of tension. Albeit of the racial kind.

42 brings to life the trials and tribulations of Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) from his early days on the all-black International League’s Kansas City Monarch’s to his first year playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) has decided he’s had enough of the game being exclusively white — and wants to bank on the financial benefits an African American player would bring. Things aren’t helped by the fact that segregation is, of course, running rampant in the late 1940s following World War II. Rickey gives Robinson the opportunity to play for the Montreal Royals even with the rest of the players signing petitions or asking to be traded. Jackie marries Rachel (Nicole Beharie) and they’re off to the races. Everyone knows Rickey has ulterior motives, but he thinks Jackie is exactly the kind of man he needs to break the barrier and pave the way for all African American players — even if just in the world of baseball.

42 certainly is timely, even if it’s not really trying to be. I said the same thing about Lincoln just a few months ago. And my wife summed it up perfectly when she said, “new generation, new issue.” While everyone may not be putting the two together, just take a look at what’s going on right now with the gay and lesbian rights, and try telling me they’re different? Helgeland sheds just as much light on our Nation’s dirty past as Spielberg and Tarantino have over the last few months. It seems like it’s time to rub our noses in the past, and why not? It’s not like it’s any kind of secret.

Of course this has nothing to do with the film’s quality itself and that’s what you’re here for. Helgeland works wonders with his cast here. Boseman knocks it out of the park in his portrayal of the young up-and-coming Robinson, while Beharie brings a sense of humor to the doting wife role. Alan Tudyk (from Helgeland’s A Knight’s Tale) plays the sleezeball redneck to a T, while Ford shows he’s still mighty capable of delivering a full performance and nearly steals the show. Helgeland does himself a huge favor by not extending his film to Robinson’s full career as it runs two hours in length and already feels a little padded in places. The racial tension keeps the fireworks erupting while Mark Isham makes John Williams proud with his swelling score. Baseball may be called the national pastime, and in other ways, so is going to the movies. Is it any wonder the two work together so magically, and 42 is no exception.

Photos courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Review: “Trance” (2013)

Danny Boyle seems to be reveling in the past. Not his best, but still good.

**** out of 5

101 minutes

Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, some grisly images, and language

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Article first published as Movie Review: Trance (2013) on Blogcritics.

For anyone who ever thought Inception needed to be sexier, Danny Boyle’s new film, Trance, is for you. While this shrewd connection is far from all the film is about, it’s certainly a defining characteristic separating the two. Right down to the last scene, you’ll feel more than a sense of déjà vu as a robbery goes awry and someone calls upon the help of a hypnotherapist to find a missing painting. By bringing back his old partner in crime, screenwriter John Hodge who wrote Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, and The Beach for him, the two are up to their old tricks again with Trance, a remake of co-writer Joe Ahearne’s original TV movie from 2001.

Simon (James McAvoy) works security for Delancy’s Auctions, specializing in classic paintings. They have strict procedures to help them beat whatever plans the thugs of nowadays may come up with to make sure the expensive artwork doesn’t go missing. Before you know it, a gang of thugs has just attempted to steal Francisco Goya’s Witches in the Air, but leader Franck (Vincent Cassel) soon finds out that the painting doesn’t make it back to their hideout. During the robbery, Franck knocks Simon unconscious after he Tasers him. It turns out that Simon has hidden the painting but after the hard blow to the head, he can’t remember what he did with it. Now Franck makes Simon pick a hypnotherapist to jog his memory, bringing him to the office of Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), who quickly realizes that something isn’t right about her new client. A mental game of cat-and-mouse begins.

To delve any deeper into the plot would ruin any chance of fun lined up for you, so that’s all I’m willing to spill. But Boyle and Hodge have a lot of fun tricks up their sleeves, even if it’s all a little familiar and never strays too far from Christopher Nolan’s brilliant masterpiece. Boyle’s cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle is no stranger to bringing Boyle’s worlds to life after lensing 28 Days Later, Millions, Slumdog Millionaire, and 127 Hours for him. Their reliance of Dutch angles is far over. There are some amazing shots scattered throughout the film, with an abundance of reflections keeping the viewer questioning what they’re really seeing. Rick Smith also contributes immaculately, matching Jon Harris’s sharp editing step-for-step with his almost hypnotic score.

Hats off to Rosario Dawson for being one of few actresses nowadays willing to bare it all. It’s getting pretty annoying to see actresses taking these kinds of parts in movies while having no nudity clauses. McAvoy and Cassel make for worthy adversaries in their game of bait-and-switch, but by the film’s end, Boyle, Hodge, and Ahearne are nearly in over their heads. The crap hits the fan, as it always does in a Boyle film. The more I think about the film’s events, the more it makes sense, helping the last scene be far from a cheat. It makes Trance a film that deserves to be seen more than once. Or at least thought about a little harder than most and from Danny Boyle we wouldn’t expect anything less.

Photos courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures

Movie Review: “Thale”

A “tail” worth checking out if it's in your area.

**** out of 5
78 minutes
Not rated
XLrator Media

Article first published as Movie Review: Thale on Blogcritics.

One of the fun things about watching foreign-language horror films is their use of folklore. While a lot of it may have worked its way into Hollywood, there’s just something extra special about watching a film from its homeland brought to life. I am in the minority who found Troll Hunter a complete bore, but the way it brought the story to life was far more interesting than what was just another found footage flick. This weekend sees the opening of another folklore-heavy film – this time from Norway involving forest nymphs or huldras – and while there may not be a lot of action or bloodshed, Thale is far more intriguing.

Elvis (Erlend Nervold) and Leo (Jon Sigve Skard) are crime scene cleaners, even if Elvis is just helping out and throws up every time he catches a rotten smell or spies something nasty. They get called out to a cabin in the woods to find the rest of a body that another crew only found half of. While investigating, Elvis discovers an entry down into a cellar. Inside the cellar they find an encyclopedia, expired canned goods, a tape recorder, and a bathtub filled to the brim with milky water. Inside another entry they discover a bedroom; turns out this room belongs to “Thale” (Silje Reinamo), a nude beauty who was hiding out in the water using a gas mask to breathe. Upon listening to the recordings, Elvis and Leo discover that someone “saved” Thale from her own kind but someone or something has come looking for her and can’t help but wonder if the cut-off tail in the freezer belongs to her.

Writer/director Aleksander Nordaas allows Thale to slow-burn. Things are discovered naturally either through listening to the recordings or using telepathy between Thale and her two guests. The climax may leave some wishing for a little more, seeing how there’s been nudity throughout the course of the film, but all the violence happens off screen. No real gore elements on display here, but with Evil Dead opening this weekend, there’s already more than enough of that to go around. Thale isn’t even really a horror movie anyway even if it resembles one on the surface. Instead it’s really the story of two friends trying to make it through horrible circumstances together. Something rather uncommon in most horror/thriller/suspense films these days and is more than welcome.

Thale is being presented by XLrator Media and opens today in the following areas: Seattle, Boston/Cambridge, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Denver, and Portland. Thale is also available on VOD with a DVD/Blu-ray release later this month.

Movie Review: “Evil Dead” (2013)

Another franchise rises from the dead as one of the best horror films in years! Be sure to stay through the credits too.


***** out of 5
91 minutes
Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and language
TriStar Pictures

Article first published as Movie Review: Evil Dead (2013) on Blogcritics.

When it was first announced that a remake of Sam Raimi’s original gore-filled classic The Evil Dead was headed for theaters, it was met with much scoffing. Once it was revealed that Raimi, along with Bruce Campbell and Robert Tapert, were producing and fully endorsed director/co-writer Fede Alvarez’s vision, things quieted down. Then word started floating around that Oscar-winner Diablo Cody was brought in to touch up the screenplay and people feared that Evil Dead was potentially headed for Juno territory. Things perked up again once the redband trailer surfaced online. And then, after the phenomenal response to the SXSW screenings, the hype reached a fever pitch. Does the new Evil Dead live up to all this? Let’s just say it drowns all expectations in (reportedly) 50,000 gallons of gleeful gore.

A group of friends have gathered at a cabin in the woods. David (Shiloh Fernandez) is meeting with his estranged friends to conduct an intervention for his younger sister, Mia (Jane Levy). Sitting atop Raimi’s own “Classic,” David assures Mia that he is here to help her and will follow through to the end. Even crossing his heart and hoping to die. Also joining the siblings are token-blonde Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore), hipster Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), and registered nurse Olivia (Jessica Lucas). It doesn’t take long for Mia’s cold turkey to take its toll on everyone, with Mia complaining of revolting smells coming from the cabin. The dog Grandpa (Inca) begins sniffing a rug, which is covering a cellar door. Downstairs they discover a room containing more than just dead animals hanging from the ceiling — the Necronomicon itself — bound in human flesh, shrinkrapped in a garbage bag and sealed with barbed wire. Once Eric opens the book and begins to translate, things go from bad to absolute worst — ever — and the five friends must face the cabin’s (literal) demons and try to survive their night amongst the Evil Dead.

Director Alvarez is a true force to be reckoned with. Raimi may undisputedly be one of the masters of gore, but you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Here is a film destined to take charge of a new direction for the beloved series and it’s about time. Raimi has been talking about a possible Evil Dead 4 but has now been rumoring about an Army of Darkness 2 which is also fantastic news. Having two alternate versions playing in theaters is a dream come true. As for Alvarez’s version, don’t think that he’s going to skimp on the gore. This has to be one of the bloodiest film’s ever committed to the R-rating. No evisceration goes left unturned. The special effects team earns some kind of award for sure. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, things just keep steamrolling ahead surely making the most highly respected gorehounds blush. If a film could visually drown you in gore, this is it. It never gets repulsive enough to deflate the fun and Alvarez’s Evil Dead is destined to become the most talked about and respected horror film of the year.

Photo courtesy TriStar Pictures

Blu-ray Review: “Stitches”

Hilarious and extremely gory.


Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Stitches on Blogcritics.

A good horror comedy is becoming hard to find. The best over the past few years have definitely been Scream, Shaun of the Dead, Piranha 3D, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, and The Cabin in the Woods. They are about as good as they get right now. It sure seems as if horror has lost its nerve in the comedy department. Yes, most horror movies are basically comedies anyway — just look at any of the Final Destination films. But there do seem to be a few sparks left; even if they’re mostly coming from overseas. Shrooms and Grabbers are a nice warm up to what director/co-writer Conor McMahon delivers in Stitches with an onslaught of gore of zingers that would make Freddy Krueger proud.

Our titular character (played by comedian Ross Noble) is your average boozing, smoking, expletive-slinging clown no one would ever really invite to their child’s birthday party. Poor little Tom (Ryan Burke) has your typical group of obnoxious schoolmates who like to ruin Stitches tricks and decide to play Stitches fate after they tie his shoelaces together. Stitches winds up on the wrong side of a kitchen knife and buried at the local cemetery where a group of fellow clowns submit his egg to a moratorium. Six years later, Tom’s (Tommy Knight) friends are still as obnoxious as ever, but his mom is going out of town and he hasn’t had a real birthday party in years. Probably due to his reliance on anxiety medication — and that all of his friends are a bunch of assholes. Nevertheless, Tom decides to have a party anyway, and the last person he’d expect to show up from beyond the grave is Stitches himself to help Tom throw a party he’ll never forget.

If you’re looking for a film that brings back the fun of practical effects, look no further. McMahon has crafted some of the most outrageous death scenes filmed in years. While people may have grown accustomed to the demented torture porn ways of the Saw films, here’s a movie that has its cake and eats it too. Noble truly relishes his killer role, gleefully spewing pun after pun no matter how corny they get. McMahon is having the time of his life directing the blood spattered shenanigans, never skimping on the red stuff, coming up with some ingenious dispatch methods, along with the help of co-writer David O’Brien. The duo is never afraid to take a kill to the next level.

Stitches slices its way to Blu-ray framed at 1.78:1 with a 5.1 DTS-Master Audio. I’d read another review that complained about the picture quality looking rather drab, but after watching it myself, it sounds like someone needs to have their picture calibrated. McMahon clearly filmed Stitches with HD cameras with no grain field to speak of but bringing incredible clarity to every scene. Whether it be hair, gore, or clothing, there’s no aliasing to be found — one character’s shirt could have been a breeding ground for shimmer but never did. Even noise never becomes a factor (blacks are nice and inky). While banding is a blink and you’ll miss it affair. The sound makes decent use of LFE here and there with the surrounds adding some life to the birthday party scenes. Only on occasion do they seem to be using natural sound where the dialogue sounds quieter than it should.

The special features offer more than you’d expect, with a 20 minute “Making of” and a commentary featuring Noble and McMahon being the highlights. The only other features are a trailer for the film and a “Bloopers” reel that is nowhere near as funny as the film itself. However, consider yourself warned, do not watch any of the special features before the film itself or you’ll have just about every single kill spoiled before seeing any of them in their finished stage. There’s also a collection of trailers for films already available including Sleep Tight and Hypothermia.

Some may not find this kind of film funny, but if you’re not that person then why are you watching it in the first place? A buddy joined me and we laughed throughout with our mouths agape as each kill set out to one-up the last. Of course not every joke works, but the cast seems to be having a blast getting drenched with fake blood and McMahon certainly seems intent on making sure the film lives up to Stitches signature line, “Everybody happy?” So if the gore’s your thing, then I assure you, everybody is definitely happy.

Cover art and photo courtesy MPI Media Group