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Reviews
House of Darkness (2022)
Mad Movie Musings: House of Darkness
This is a chamber piece that plays on Gothic horror conventions with darkly amusing results.
If you are familiar with Mr. LaBute's other work (In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors, etc.), then you know a bit of what you're in for, as he is very good at cornering characters (and the audience) with uncomfortable scenes and dialogue.
From a directing standpoint, camera and blocking are mostly restrained, which mirrors the imposing stillness of the "Sisters" (Bosworth and Crovatin), in contrast to the squirmy energy of Justin Long's character. You can really feel who truly holds the power in the room this way.
There are no surprises as to who the sisters "Lucy" and "Mina" are, and I think much of the amusement comes from the audience knowing this and watching a web get slowly spun around Justin Long's unwitting character.
Additionally, LaBute holds back on familiar jump scares in order to lay the groundwork for one big one late in the movie, which I thought was fun and effective.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
Polar (2019)
Mad Movie Musings: Polar
If you're in the right frame of mind, this can feel like a Kandinsky painting with blood and bullets. It's a whirling dervish of violent garishness (I mean that as a compliment, if you're into that sort of thing), anchored by a superbly stoic turn from Mr. Mikkelsen and affecting work by Miss Hudgens. A dab of Dreyfuss makes it pop. Exactly the kind of visual assault you would expect from music video maestro Jonas Akerlund, who keeps it flashy when it needs to be. Maybe it isn't quicker than a Ray of Light, but fast enough for a Saturday night.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968)
Mad Movie Musings: Je t'aime, Je t'aime
Resnais mixes it up again nicely in this time traveling chronicle of a tragic romance. Watching this movie is like dropping a plate from a great height, then trying to make sense of all the broken bits. Fragmented scenes create an arresting mosaic of memory shards, ordered by emotion. In the end, our hero (Claude Rich) finds himself trapped forever inside pieces of the past, just like us all.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
Trance (1998)
Mad Movie Musings: The Eternal
"Coffee or Quaaludes? We've got both!", exclaims an exasperated Jared Harris, who finds himself in the middle of a transmigration struggle between the souls of his wife (Alison Elliott) and a 2000 year old Irish Druid witch. The quote is an apt description of the film itself, which wraps bursts of genre violence inside a beautifully languid art horror packaging. Nice companion piece to writer/director Almereyda's earlier vampire tale Nadja. I recommend a double feature. Wine paired with Nadja, Guinness paired with The Eternal.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
The Beast Within (1982)
Mad Movie Musings: The Beast Within
If you like movies where the emergence of a murderous beast-cicada sex predator every 17 years serves as a metaphor for the recurrence of hidden psychological trauma, then this is the movie for you! Partially bold, partially sleazy, totally 80s. Les Baxter's awesomely colossal score drives things along. Director Mora dealt with the concept of psych trauma again a few years later in Communion.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
Raw Deal (1948)
Mad Movie Musings: Raw Deal
Hard shadows and bleak souls populate this pulpy yarn from director Anthony Mann. A ripping crime movie, sure, but this is really about a woman coming to terms with the devastating fact she is in love with a man who doesn't love her back. Claire Trevor's longing eyes behind a spotted veil and throaty voice-over tell you everything. Who really got the Raw Deal? I think I know.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
Brimstone (2016)
Mad Movie Musings: Brimstone
Guy Pearce plays the most diabolically disturbed deacon west of the Mississippi in this most wicked of westerns from Dutch director Martin Koolhoven. Divided into four Biblically themed chapters (Revelation, Exodus, Genesis and Retribution), the story reveals the history and eventual fate of our heroine (Dakota Fanning), along with her relationship to the malevolent minister. Hell imagery throughout, which is appropriate for a preacher to whom sadism (and a whip) is no stranger. This tale is not for the faint-of-heart, so caution to those who may seek to enter. Moments recall The Night of the Hunter, and the whole thing is centered by a sturdy and expressive performance from Miss Fanning.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
The Outfit (1973)
Mad Movie Musings: The Outfit
Grittier than a box of dirty nails, John Flynn's adaptation of Donald Westlake's novel of the same name is lean, mean and clean. No-nonsense plotting, dialogue and direction. A story of characters on the fringe, with shadowy photography (courtesy Bruce Surtees) to match. Who can resist a movie with Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker discussing ham and eggs? I certainly couldn't.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)
Alexander (2004)
Mad Movie Musings: Alexander (Revisited The Final Cut version)
Stone's fever dream of the Ancient World. If there was ever a Cecil B. DeMille acid trip-fueled epic, it would look like this, and I mean that as a compliment (of course)! A symbolic stew of dust and blood, snakes and eagles, the sun and the moon, Angelina's eyes and Colin's hair, it's all knitted into the kaleidoscopic fabric of this audacious pageant. The depiction of the Battle of the Hydaspes is a psychedelic tour-de-force of majestic grit and gore in and of itself. A tale of messy passions and haunting myths. "Fortune favors the bold". Indeed.
(I'm an enthusiast, not a critic. Thanks for reading.)