Archive for July, 2005

The Devil’s Rejects

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted July 23, 2005 at 2:28 am

A Film Review By The Mike

Rating:R for Graphic Violence and More Tits and Ass than you can Shake a Stick at.
Starring: Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe
Directed By: Rob Zombie

Final Grade:

I really hope this isn’t the future of horror.

I mean, I’m all for a bit of violence. I’m all for gratuitous nudity, and I’m all for psychopathic murderers. But when those things are all a movie’s basing itself on, I get a little put off. Is our society that desensitized? Is there nothing that can scare us but a lot of random and senseless acts that are strung together as entertainment? This movie’s absolutely gruesome, shocking, and aggressive…but is that a good thing?

These are the kind of questions that came to my mind while viewing Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects, a horror film in the true sense of the word. It’s a film in which three people with some marbles loose get attacked by a vengeful cop, hide out in a motel, where they’re free to torture people for fun, and then meet up with that cop again. It’s simple in its attack, and it never lets up. In fact, I think I’m safe in saying that this movie exists only as an exercise in pushing the envelope.

Now, I will agree that the movie pushes that envelope well. You’ve probably noticed the string of adjectives in my previous paragraphs, and there aren’t many descriptors of pain and suffering that don’t apply. If you go in looking for a film in which a killer is sadistic enough to leave a survivor bound and wearing her dead husband’s peeled face as a mask, it’ll definitely be a hoot.

There’s a lot to like, and even love if you’re a genre fan, in The Devil’s Rejects. The Rejects are colorful and lively psychopaths, and their pursuer (played by William Forsythe with an astounding scowl and a vile temper) is one of the more memorable characters in horror in some time. Plus, Zombie’s direction is pretty impressive, capturing the 70’s horror feel he wanted to replicate with ease.

Despite all of this, Devil’s Rejects is nothing more than what it appears to be. It’ll make the viewer squirm and squeal, and tint the screen red with blood while showing off how brutal it can be. But it’s all so simple and unambitious in plot, even ending with a final act that dumbs all the characters down to a point of idiocy that makes the thinking viewer become quite edgy.

A quick commentary on that final act – I don’t know if Mr. Zombie reads the news, but there are these great new inventions called guns and bullets. Now, I know he knew what they were when he made the film, but I don’t think he knew one thing. You see, if you want someone dead really badly, you put the gun to his or her head and pull the trigger. It’s that simple. You don’t however, keep them alive and taunt them, especially when they are homicidal maniacs, and they out number you, and they are in their own dungeon (which you just happened to think was a good place to take them).

This is a main example of how Zombie’s film, in pushing the envelope at all times, fails to provide the essentials of a smart film that’s more than a showcase for lunacy. And I surely hope that filmmakers out there don’t take Zombie’s lead and decide to make all their horror movies so focused on carnage that they ignore the use of logic and elementary thought. I will commend Zombie for doing what he wanted to do, and doing it well. But I cannot give his film a full recommendation, because I do not agree with his disregard for these things.

That said, The Devil’s Rejects is an enjoyable piece of horror fluff, despite its flaws. But I assure you one thing. If you have any scruples with violence on-screen, an extremely strong regard for the construction of an intelligent plot, or some sort of aversion to an utter disdain for the sanctity of human life – You should not see this movie.

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Filed under: Horror, Movies

Fantastic Four

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted July 8, 2005 at 2:47 am

A Somewhat Biased Film Review By The Mike

Rating:RATED PG-13 for Action Sequences, Sexual References, and a Lot of People Getting Naked to Use Powers.
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon
Directed By: Tim Story

Final Grade:

Finally, I get a chance to be a fanboy. Ever since I was 10 years old and got a library card, I’ve wanted to see one movie exist. Now, that movie is in theaters and the quartet I grew up loving is making their mark on the summer movie market.

They are the crown jewel of Marvel Comics – The Fantastic Four. Before Spider-Man, The Hulk, or X-Men, they put Stan Lee and the boys on the map, and gave comics a new look. Unfortunately, that look doesn’t fit into today’s world of cinematic superheroes very well.

Director Tim Story does an admirable job juggling the four heroes and their villain, the diabolical Dr. Doom, but it’s evident the film needed more time with each. It manages to highlight the key aspects of the F4, from the dysfunctional family dynamics to The Thing’s insecurities, but is a bit too short at a mere 106 minutes. Particularly lacking is the subplot involving Alicia Masters, The Thing’s muse, who becomes more of a random prophet in her two scenes than an actual character. There’s also a lack of reasoning in Dr. Doom’s ways, and he could have used a few calmer scenes in which his madness was explained in ways that didn’t involve choking or electrocuting people.

The depth the film lacks is replaced by fantastic performances, some perfectly corny dialogue, and some excellent visual effects, all of which make the film much easier to digest. Particularly impressive in all the above categories is The Thing, the beast that’s really the heart of the group. He’s played by Michael Chiklis with a ferociously gruff voice that’s incredibly effective when he’s lamenting the loss of his wife or the fact that he’s been transformed into an earless mass of orange rock. Chris Evans (as The Human Torch) and Julian McMahon (as Doc Doom) also shine, with Evans getting a lot of great Wolverine-ish bits and McMahon getting to brood and snarl as much as possible. Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba are the least interesting of the stars, but they’re both very serviceable in their roles, completing the surprisingly effective cast.

The most fantastic asset that I listed above is the film’s script and dialogue, a joyous recreation of the type of one-liners and jokes amongst the family that made these relationships (particularly between The Thing and The Torch) so enjoyable in print. Chiklis and Evans get to banter back and forth (and with everyone else) with great success, and Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom’s rivalry is perfectly stated through all the things they learned in Chemistry 101. OK, it’s a little cheesy. But it’s also a comic book movie.

I’ve realized for sometime that this movie would end up a scapegoat in the summer movie season. Unlike other Marvel flicks, this one didn’t discard the cheesiness that was essential to the comic. It didn’t put all its faith in a big name cast or director, and it didn’t try to be anything more than a representation of the Fantastic Four as they were created. Hence, it’s a movie that plays out as a corny soap opera with some effect filled set pieces, instead of the big-budget spectacle today’s audiences have come to expect.

But for those (like myself) that remember the Fantastic Four more for its lighthearted family nature than its action, this is a film that will be treasured for a long time. When all is said and done, it will live long as a cult film, as I think it does justice to the source and its fans. And, despite a critical backlash from those looking for something more conventional, I think it could gain success as a summer diversion for those looking for a couple hours of entertainment.

I certainly hope it will, as I had far too much fun watching this movie to even come close to considering its faults as anything more than speedbumps in the road. Here’s hoping the sequel irons that road out even more.

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Filed under: Action, Comic Book, Movies, Science Fiction
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