A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT

Throughout the history of cinema, many great actors have personified death on film. First time directory Ana Lily Amirpour gives audiences one of the best of recent memory in her quasi-Spaghetti Western homage, if David Lynch and David Cronenberg could have a daughter, this would be the film that she would direct. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night takes its time to get to know the characters, unnerve its audience, and uses its black and white color palette to get under the audience’s skin. Sheila Vand plays a vampire closer to Bela Lugosi’s Dracula than today’s more charming take on vampiric characters.

Taking place in the fictional Iranian town of Bad City, the film follows Arash (played by Arash Marandi) as he copes with his father’s drug addiction. Hossein (Marshall Manesh), a once charming man, has been reduced to a hunched over heroin addict who heckles local prostitute Atti (Mozhan Marnó) and owes money to Saeed (Dominic Raines), the local pimp. An unnamed girl (Vand) comes into everyone’s lives, as sudden and mysterious as the shadows haunting the night.

Every inch of frame is utilized across the film’s 99-minute runtime. Filmed in and around Bakersfield and Taft, California, there is a beautiful shot where the Girl is following Atti home against a white wall, patterned by pillars in the façade of the building. This film features some of the best cinematography of the past year, particularly in scenes in which the Girl seems to materialize from nowhere or follows people around at night. Her black burqa-like shawl enveloping her just like darkness does to the world come sundown.

If Amirpour’s film is guilty of anything, it is being too sincere. The cast of relative unknowns does wonders for the story, never once breaking the spell of watching characters on screen as opposed to actors on screen. Sheila Vand’s take on the vampiric Girl character is hypnotizing. Her quasi-hipster, punk, goth, place of residence is clad with posters of bands and artists from the 80s. She has little dialogue, but a powerful presence on screen. The Girl is a force. We never find out where she comes from, why she is in Bad City, or what her ultimate fate is. She is there and the characters must accept and live with her, much like the idea of mortality and death, something the film does explore, particularly with the scenes between Arash and Hossein, as the relationship between father and son ultimately dies.

The film has a lot to say about the image of masculinity, giving us two sides of a coin with Saeed the drug dealing pimp and Arash, the honest and hard working boy who had to save up to buy the car of his dreams. Though ultimately resistant to both, the Girl takes an eventual liking to Arash after she encounters him (dressed as Count Dracula for that matter) one night after a party. His curiosity is sparked, leading to many questions and an interest in her, beyond her looks. Saeed on the other hand pulls out every masculine cliché possible in one of the film’s most memorable and humorous moments. She keeps an eye over the men in the town, particularly the bad ones. Be it a young boy with questionable habits or drugged out Hossein’s decline from fatherhood. The Girl serves as a summation of the dark side of humanity in naivety, loneliness, temptation, and of course, death.

First time directory Ana Lily Amirpour has made a film that will have you thinking about it long after viewing it. Whether it is the Ennio Morricone influenced score or the fact that the dialogue is in Persian. This film challenges its audiences from the long opening scene to the sparse dialogue. In that respect, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night has more in common with the Italian Western films of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci than contemporary its contemporary sparkly vampire romance pictures. Not easy to swallow, but an experience unlike any other horror film out last year, do what you can to see this film.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is now available on VOD, DVD & Blu-Ray, and Netflix Instant Stream.

THE BABADOOK

I've seen many horror films in theaters. At this point, going to see one means keeping my guard up almost unwillingly. I watch the corners of frames for things lurking in the shadows, potential scares to be set up through tight angles, and things of that nature. Today's audiences have been treated to crappy horror movie after crappy horror movie in an endless string of films that write off their audiences as young or stupid. Perhaps the tides are starting to turn as The Conjuring was a massive success and did not write off its audience as dumb, however it relied on cheap scares.

The Babadook, the first film from writer director Jennifer Kent, does not think of its audience as stupid and as a matter of fact, the film can be interpreted one of two ways: literal and figurative. As if the styles of John Carpenter, David Lynch, and Tim Burton could have an offspring, the film is extremely visually interesting. Frankly, no one in their right minds would ever live in a house the way that actors Essie Davies and Noah Wiseman do. A perfect combination of all aspects of filmmaking and perhaps the most visually creepy monster in years create the perfect storm of terror, confusion, and emotion. The Babadook is one of the few genuinely frightening films I've ever seen and one of the best horror films ever made.

Amelia is a single mother living with her son Samuel. Her husband passed away 6 years earlier in a car accident that occurred on the way to the hospital when Amelia was to give birth to her only son. In the present day, her son's birthday serves only to bring her reminders of that terrible day. Samuel one day finds a book on his shelf he asks her to read. The book is titled "Mister Babadook." After reading the story to the boy, he begins to prepare for an imminent encounter with  Mr. B. Amelia tries to talk some sense into her son, but soon begins to notice strange appearances and sounds that would suggest otherwise. A psychological and physical battle ensues between the mother and son and an enemy attacking them at their most vulnerable moment in their lives.

There is an old saying amongst filmmakers that you should never work with animals or children. Noah Wiseman as Samuel delivers an extremely powerful performance. At times, he is sensitive, vulnerable, and fearful, then turns in the opposite direction. Essie Davis is also spectacular as Amelia, showing a woman who is weathered and haunted by the constant memory of the death of her husband and birth of her child.

But perhaps the greatest strength of Dook is the quality that will divide viewers. The film greatly eschews the sense of reality being seen by the audience. Are we dealing with literal occurrences happening on screen or is there something deeper happening. The films ending will certainly have people talking for a while afterwards as to what they've just watched. But this is a good thing. Going back to my thoughts on studio horror pictures, all events in those types of films must be spelled out, dumbed down and conclude on a positive note. Babadook in many ways does not resolve, at least not in the way that we want it to.

As a horror fan, I will be the first to say that modern, big studio horror films suck. They flat out suck. It pains me to think that studios like Fox, Universal, and MGM were producing the best horror films ever made have been reduced to remakes. The Babadook proves that there is still hope in the world of cinematic terror and holy crap is it frightening. The film doesn’t rely on a single jump scare to frighten its audience and instead chooses to toy with them psychologically, just as it does with its protagonists. Beyond that terror, the film is about living with a memory that can haunt us every single day of our lives. Jennifer Kent’s film is dark, expressionist, and at times downright weird. It blurs the line between reality and fantasy to create not only one of the best films of the year, but one of the best horror films ever made.

The Babadook is now available on VOD, Blu-Ray & DVD (courtesy of the great folks at Scream Factory), and streaming on Netflix

FURIOUS 7

The Fast and the Furious movies have always been about family for those involved, both on and off the set. Not just blood relatives, but friends who become so close that they become more than just a friendship. The unthinkable happened when the F&F family lost actor Paul Walker in a tragic car accident during the production of Furious 7. What do you do when one of the stars of the series is down and out? As they say, the show must go on and the final result is a fitting tribute and if need be, an end to the series.

The film takes place immediately following the events of Fast & Furious 6. In retaliation for the death of one of his own, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) assembles his “quasi-A-Team” of drivers to take down Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the brother of the previous movie’s big bad, Owen. Receiving help from a mysterious man with all of the answers (played by a very underused Kurt Russell), the team must recoup a tracking device known as “God’s Eye.” Using it, they will be able to find Shaw and keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

Diesel mumbles his way through this film, irritating me to a level I didn’t think possible, but he exudes the tough guy presence needed for a film about fast cars and stealing stuff. Toretto is the star of this film, reducing Walker’s Brian O’Connor to a supporting role. Being that this is a continuation of the previous movie, the terrible amnesia story line with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still taking place in this installment. I repeat, what bogged down the last film is still happening in this one. However, part of the salvation of Furious 7 is that the best characters make a return and are the central focus of the film.

Statham’s Shaw is under-developed and evil enough to fit right at home with the rest of the brainless action. Frankly, we don’t need a backstory or good reason for him to do what he’s doing. In a movie that has cars falling out of the back of a plane, does a good motive really matter? The action sequences are truly something to behold. A chase sequence across a two-lane road throws everything including the “kitchen sink” into what’s likely to be one of the best car chases of the year. Every character is utilized perfectly but the movie doesn’t quite get up to that level again. Once you have cars flying out of a plane, it’s hard to do something that’s more spectacular.

The big question on everyone’s mind is how were the filmmakers able to work around the death of one of their lead actors? Given the cards they were dealt, the crew did an admirable job of trying to make a good movie while honoring Walker’s memory. The “smoke and mirrors” used to achieve this become very obvious during the film’s climax and in scenes involving Jordana Brewster. Most of her work was done at the end of production and had to use Walker’s siblings as stand-ins. 

As fun as this film is, it takes itself far too seriously. Dwayne Johnson gets a small amount of screen time and Kurt Russell’s Mr. Nobody is contained within act II of the film. Both actors clearly understand the subject matter and they are arguably the most fun to watch on screen. Ironically enough, they are also the two most underused characters in the cast. Luckily enough, Mr. Nobody steals the show with his very vocal love for Belgian Ale.

I fear that the magic captured in Fast 5 simply can’t be repeated again. The series’ new direction of high-octane heist movie was a thrilling and novel idea but seems to have been played out by stories that take themselves, for the most part, too seriously. How much larger can these movies get before they are ridiculous, even by their own genre’s standards?

THE IMITATION GAME

Alan Turing was a man not many had heard of prior to director Mortin Tyldum’s film The Imitation Game. A team of code breakers, lead by the aforementioned mathematician, attempt to break a Nazi code machine during World War II using their knowledge of numbers, symbols, and patterns. However, it is Turing that realizes that technology is at a cusp in which man cannot fight a machine. Instead, another piece of technology must fight the battle.

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing delivers one of the best performances of recent memory in what’s one of the best scripts made in the last 10 years. A nearly two-hour runtime flies by thanks to the tight and masterful script from 33-year-old scribe Graham Morton (who took home an Oscar for his work).

Frequent flashbacks cut back to Turing’s time at a boarding school in which he befriends a boy by the name of Christopher. As the flashbacks reveal more and more about Turing, he inches closer and closer to building a device that will help break a Nazi machine called “Enigma,” he faces opposition from his team. Keira Knightly plays Joan Clarke, Turing’s go to confidante for all information both professional and personal. The chemistry between the two is so rich at times, you can cut tension with a knife and then turn right around and bask in the warmth of their friendship.

In the past, we’ve seen the scenario of man vs. machine play out in very physical ways with massive set pieces and explosions thanks to action movies that give us material ways of seeing these scenarios play out. The Imitation Game pits man vs. machine in an extremely intellectual fashion, yet never makes the audience feel stupid by over simplifying what the team of code breakers is doing.

Composer Alexander Desplat adds a layer to the film that won’t most notice. The score uses arpeggiating strings and rhythmic patterns that are, quite frankly, machine-like more so than they are romantic. Each note feels calculated during scenes of great technological achievement then turns to a more “heart felt” approach when the Turing deals with his inner demons and trials within his team.

The films cinematography has a classic, timeless look thanks to Oscar Faura. 35mm film gives the outdoor scenes shot on location in Bletchley Park a distinct look that can’t be replicated digitally and adds to the overall timelessness of the film. The Imitation Game is going to play well into the future come 20 or 80 years from now. Not only does the film deal with the onslaught of powerful technology, but also a social issue that many who are unfamiliar with Turing’s story will be taken aback.

Ultimately, his story is one that ended tragically, but the film chooses not to focus on that, but instead to celebrate his legacy created by a specific moment in time. Where fellow Best Picture biopic American Sniper stumbles in it’s unfocused and meandering story, The Imitation Game is a pointed, tight, and extremely well done film. The film is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.