The Last House On The Left (1972) *

Last House On The Left is an example of early 1970's exploitation cinema that deals with Mari (Sandra Cassell) and her friend Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) as they indulge on the eve of Mari becoming a woman ie. turning seventeen years old. They go to a concert in the big, bad city and wind up in the hands of Krug (David Hess) and his gang of fugitives. In the process of heading for Canada both girls are tortured, raped, and eventually killed. Ironically, their car breaks down in front of the home of Mari's parents (Gaylord St. James and Cynthia Carr). The group spends the night at their house posing as traveling insurance salesmen, but what happens when Mari's parents find out who they really are and what they did.


So what is Last House On The Left? Is it an early work of genius from Wes Craven? A masterpiece that showed a man that was well on his way to create films like The Hills Have Eyes and Nightmare On Elm Street? Is this effect doubled because it was produced by Sean "Friday The 13th" Cunningham? This is why the legend of this movie has grown as much as it has- because of the folks involved in it. This film is no different than the hundreds of other drive-in exploitation films that were being pumped out of various producers garages in the early 1970's. It's no better and no worse. A bad script, bad acting, a lack of money, and an inexperienced director makes this film almost laughable if it wasn't for the violence on the screen. That's the key to a film like this and I Spit On Your Grave. A quote comes to mind when thinking about these two films. One comes from Roger Ebert's original review of Spit in which he discusses a fellow patron at the theater he was watching the film at saying "that was a good one" at the end of one of the numerous rapes scenes in that film. There's an audiences for stuff like this. It's like porn. Screw the plot, as long as it has that stuff and an unsatisfying conclusion.


Just look at this like a rough draft for some of the films that Wes Craven would make later. It's his first one so we can't be to hard on the guy. it was the genre in 1972. But a classic of horror cinema? If that's the case then you can call a used piece of toilet paper a classic too.

Beauty Shop (2005) *1/2

OK, so what's the plot? A hair stylist (Queen Latifah) walks out on her boss (Kevin Bacon). Boss doesn't think she'll make it. She makes it while stealing all of his customers in a comedic process. Meets hot guy (Dimon Hounsou). Boss tries to get revenge. 


Yes, you have seen this movie before.


It has a few funny moments, some of them not intentional, but Beauty Shop really is your standard, predictable, recycled film. File this one under "Been there, done that".

Limitless (2011) ***

Limitless opens with the Hollywood stereotype of writer Edward Morra (Bradley Cooper) sitting in front of a blank screen with nothing on it. You know there's a deadline or advance riding on this. His girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) has dumped him. He's a guy on the ropes with a knockout punch waiting to knock his jaw loose. By a chance meeting in the street Eddie stumbles upon something that could change the world that isn't an everlasting gob stopper. It's a pill that can be described as steroids for your brain where you use more than twenty percent of your available brainpower, holding and recalling vast amounts of data that you thought you forgot. Our hero Eddie is obviously going to use this wonder drug to his advantage, but with something to good to be true there's going to be somebody else out there that wants it. The film basically follows Eddie as he balances his gifts, the people who want to take them away, and his own sanity.


I have to say that Limitless is an amazing concept that is very intriguing on the surface. I thought it was a cool idea, the whole pill to the brain thing. The thing is that the film is a bit contrived and very predictable in nature. There will be no surprises because they don't leap out at you, they call before they come for a visit. Considering the trailer ruins what could have been a great plot twist also lowers the rating of the film for me (blame the studio). I know this is a movie about a noggin drug, but moments even exceed those plot points- killers that will run through 70+ people in a park, Scarface's apartment building. Over the top all the way.


This is an entertaining film, but nothing earth shattering. I'm sure in a few weeks it will be forgotten until the DVD comes out and then it will gain a slight freshness to people who don't go to a theater. And then you'll never hear about it again. A great plot poorly executed. Entertaining for the time being, but out of your system in a matter of days.

The Fighter (2010) ****

The only way to start explaining The Fighter is to say "Imagine Rocky if he had his family lumbering around running his career." Mark Wahlberg plays Mickey Ward, a boxer on the verge of being over the hill. Mickey's considered a stepping stone for other fighters to pummel on their way to fortune and glory. Mickey's brother Dickie (Christian Bale) is a local legend who acts as a trainer for his brother. Dickie has also developed a crack addiction that is spiraling out of control. The family controls Mickey's career, but it soon seems that he's just a piece of meat while Dickie still rides on past glories. The eventual crash is set up almost from the beginning.


Did Bale deserve the Oscar? Of course he did. There's no screaming "Hey, it's Patrick Bateman!" or "Hey, it's Batman!" while watching this film. Bale morphs into the role of Dickie Ecklund. It's an amazing performance that should be highlighted as one of the best from the last decade, let alone the last year. 


The funny thing is that art imitates life in that Bale's performance has overshadowed Mark Wahlbergs outstanding performance. He's a man torn between his family and what he wants. Props also go to Amy Adams as Mickey's girlfriend, going from the bubble gum films of yesteryear to deliver a gritty performance of a bar maid from the streets of Lowell, Massachusetts.


It's not really a perfect film, but the performances out do the issues with the story. The acting acts like an eraser. A good movie with terrific performances.

Hereafter (2010) ***1/2

What happens when we die? Do we go to the light like Carol Anne said or do we just snuff out like a candle in a hurricane. Hereafter doesn't examine whether or not we all shine on, it examines how the idea of life after death affects three people in different parts of the world. Marie Lelay (Ceclile De France) is an in depth news reporter on a holiday. When a tsunami hits she is pulled away in the rising tide, dying for several minutes in the process. She sees a light. She sees people in the light. The few minutes she travels to the other side end up having a profound affect on her life and her career. Marcus (Frankie and George McLaren) is forced to deal with the loss of his twin brother, the death equating almost to the point of half of his being dying along with him. Then there's George (Matt Damon) a gosh darn real psychic who can see and talk to lost loved ones. George's problem is that his "gift" has left him isolated because everyone either A) wants something from him or B) his gift teaches him too much about other people, making them skittish.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, Hereafter is a film that delves into the other worlds we know nothing about, but doesn't rely on parlor tricks like Paranormal Activity and its kin. It's a thought provoking film, one that will have you discussing with others what the hell is on the other side of this life. The movie is wonderfully acted, though it drags a bit in parts. This isn't Eastwood's best work, but it does deliver the goods.

Let Me In (2010) ****

Everyone wants to do a vampire movie. It's the hip thing to do like disaster movies were the hip thing to do a few years back. And superhero movies. If money can be made it will be rammed down your throat until you vomit dollars back at the wonderful studios giving you quality product. We even have parody vampire movies now, which are horrid, horrid films to have to sit through.


The thing about the vampire today is that he's not some creepy guy in a cape anymore, he's the Abercrombie model spewing cheesy lines with an even cheesier look on his face. It's sad that this is popular, but so was disco so I'll move along to the real point. When investing time in Let Me In I was paranoid that I was going to go on an A) vampire cheese filled ride or B) another girl psycho killer ride. So I sat down, watched the thing, and had by expectations exceeded on all levels.


Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is the kid that lives with his mother, gets picked on at school, and has death fantasies in the courtyard of his apartment building. This is the kind of kid that will be bringing firearms to school in a few years. One night while threatening an imaginary girl with his knife he meets real girl Abby (Chloe Moretz) who can't be friends with him, which means they'll become friends later in the film. As the film slowly ticks away we learn about the nightly excursions of Abby's "father" (Richard Jenkins) and the changes that develop throughout the film, particularly in Abby's relationship with Owen.


Let's get this out of the way to start- Let Me In is the film that the Twilight series wants to be. This is a well acted, well produced film that doesn't make the viewer cringe with every piece of harlequin dialogue. It's gory without making you ill. It's scary while keeping you at ease. And the main difference between this and the other franchise is that this film has a heart whereas Twilight films have neither heart nor soul. It's a shell. Let Me In fills that shell and delivers a film that is worthy of the praise it receives.

Winter's Bone (2010) ****1/2

 

Even though it's set in the Ozark Mountains, Winter's Bone isn't an intimate look at Branson and the Japanese violinist or Bald Knobbers. The film cuts deep into the soul of people scraping by in the wilderness on the Missouri-Arkansas border. The film follows Ree Dolley (Jennifer Lawrence), a 17 year old girl saddled with the responsibility of caring for a household populated by her two young siblings and a borderline catatonic mother. When her father vanishes after making bail Ree has to find him or his carcass to keep the bail bondsman from taking away the little sliver of mountains they call home. The problem Ree encounters, and is a constant in movies with an isolated population is the "code" that everyone is expected to follow. From stills to meth, the crime culture of the area stands in the way of Ree saving her family. 

The thing about the way Jennifer Lawrence portrays Ree is in a way that contradicts itself. At times she is a confident young women that is focused on her mission at hand; at others she seems to be wandering aimlessly, wondering where her 17 year old head and heart should go. It's a sad tale in that the only way the father can help his family is by showing up somewhere as a corpse. It soon becomes apparent that Ree doesn't care if he shows up dead or alive. Hell, he was only half alive in their lives to begin with.

A finely made film by director Debra Granik, the key to Winter's Bone beyond Ree's story is the Ozark Mountain culture that you don't see in brochures for Silver Dollar City. For lack of a better term it's almost like a hillbilly mafia with cops in the pockets and beatings for the nosey. Granik reveals this world, a world beyond what we saw in Deliverance. This film redefines mountain people as more than the inbred hillbillies we city folk see. The woodsman has gotten smart.

 
This film is a great little gem that delivers a meaningful story filled with angst, but not the typical 17 year old angst we're usually treated to. You can't call it a coming of age story because Ree came of age a long time ago and is far beyond her odometer reading. Winter's Bone represents one obstacle in a life that's had plenty before it and will probably have many more after it. And we all know it.