Month: April 2015

INHERENT VICE (2014)

IV POSTER

Set in 1970, private investigator Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello is visited by his ex-girlfriend who asks him to look into a possible sting operation on her current real estate mogul boyfriend by his wife and her lover and so, gets embroiled in a tangled web of secrets, Nazis, crazy dentists and tightly wound police men.

I like Paul Thomas Anderson and he is one of the few directors whose films I will definitely watch and always look forward to them.

Inherent Vice is very enjoyable, as complicated as may be; Anderson steeps us in this L.A. noir world that is unusually bright for a Noir film.

Adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s book of the same name, this is a journey through the complex world of a private detective, his ex-girlfriend, her housing mogul boyfriend and an array of weird and wonderful characters.

I haven’t read the book yet but will be doing so very soon.

The great Joaquin Phoenix plays the P.I., Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello whose penchant for the greener type of smoking infuses the film with a heady haziness that is a lot of fun once you accept it for what it is. The audience is mostly always on the same page as Doc, so the ride is as surprising to him as it is to us.

The cinematography by Robert Elswit (Anderson’s regular lenser) is stunning, filled with beautifully composed shots. He recently shot the fantastic Nightcrawler that is also set in L.A. mostly at night whereas Inherent Vice is filled with the L.A. sunshine.

This has the hallmarks of a cult film; there will be midnight screenings for the fans. It is not a film that gen pop will willingly go to, it’s too convoluted for most viewers who like everything neatly tied up and explained but for the adventurous amongst you, this will be a treat.

Anderson was introduced to me, like most of us via the superb Boogie Nights and he followed this with his opus, Magnolia. I went back and watched Hard Eight (cut to ribbons by the studio) which was an enjoyable mess (director’s cut anytime sooon?) and then Punch Drunk Love followed by There Will be Blood and The Master. All of these contain quality storytelling and although I had problems with There Will Be Blood (Daniel Day-Lewis’ incredible performance overshadowing the narrative) Anderson’s oeuvre is filled with incredible performances and always-interesting film-making.

Katherine Waterson (Sam’s daughter) plays the ethereal, Shasta Fay Hepworth and delivers a performance worthy of note; she literally lays herself bare both physically and emotionally. She is an interesting actor whose choices and skills are given free reign here.

The supporting cast are all excellent; Josh Brolin as the angry policeman, Bigfoot, Joanna Newsom as the film’s earth mother/narrator, Sortilège, Martin Short as the unhinged dentist, Dr Rudy Blatnoyd, Hong Chau as the masseur/prostitute, Jade, Eric Roberts as the real estate mogul and boyfriend of Shasta, Mickey Wolfmann, Serena Scott Thomas as his wife, Sloane, Michael K Williams as Tariq Khalil, Owen Wilson as the musician, Coy Harlingen and Benicio Del Toro as Doc’s lawyer amongst many very talented others.

Paul Thomas Anderson has always loved actors and he is definitely an actor’s director.
Special mention should go to Jonny Greenwood for creating a beautiful soundtrack.

This is a film for cineastes out there, those with an appreciation for all things cinema and I, for one, will be re-watching this at some point.

4/5

BUY THE FILM ON BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD-Død snø 2 (2014)

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‘The sequel you did Nazi coming’

They’re back; the Nazi zombies who still want their gold.

Tommy Wirkola returns to direct the sequel to the bat-shit crazy ‘Dead Snow’.

The budget is slightly larger than the last time and so there is literally no time for the audience to wait for the zombies to appear, they are present from very early on which turns out to be a lot of fun.

Starting with a recap of the first film, a la Evil Dead 2, to which this film, and its prequel, owes a great debt. The homages are wonderful, Wirkola takes Ash’s arm idea and runs with it, giving this sequel a great (Captain) hook.

Vegar Hoel reprises his role as Martin, the lone survivor from the original and really goes for it.
It ain’t easy pretending to be loopy and Hoel does a great job of convincing us he is at the brink of madness. Unfortunately, several of the other cast members act as though they are in a b-movie. They are not wrong but it detracts from the piece by being too knowing. The introduction of the Zombie Squad, three Americans who are ‘experts’ comprising of the very funny Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks/Party Down), Jocelyn DeBoer and Ingrid Haas, is a nice touch, allowing for a multi-lingual cast to show their chops.

Stig Frode Henrickson returns from the original as a new character, Glenn Kenneth, and has a lot of fun with his character, as does Ørjan Gamst returning as the Nazi leader, Colonel Herzog. Hallvard Holmen and Amrita Acharya (Game of Thrones) play the small town police who have to try and deal with the zombie outbreak and have some very funny lines and chemistry. Kristoffer Joner plays the zombie sidekick and the homage to Bub in Day of the Dead is clear in his performace.

The last battle on a playing field has elements of a low budget Lord of the Rings battle but manages to be fun even without the money.

The gore is extreme in a ridiculous comedy style and the story has some fun elements to it, what stops it from becoming a classic is a looseness in the script and story-telling aspect and the shifting tone of the acting. It switches from being a lot of fun to plain ridiculous. Of course, the idea of Nazi zombies is a ridiculous one but one with potential comedic merit, which works well at times and not so much at others.

If you’re a fan of the zombie/horror/comedy style you’ll love this one, but if you love your films with quality control, you may be frustrated.
It must be said, though that this sequel is definitely more Dead than Snow.

3/5

BUY THE BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE