Recently Watched Movies

RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE
Trashy, imbecile, and gratuitously violent, yes. But I must say the RESIDENT EVIL series is one of the most mindlessly entertaining series in a long time. Milla Jovovich was born for this role. C-


SHATTERED GLASS
Feels fresh every time. The main character is despicable but pitiable, but is he worthy of our pity? Is his pathology a moral failing, a symptom of the culture, or a mental issue? If all of the above, in which combination? Far from a great movie, it nevertheless delivers what it sets out to deliver. As with GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, the directorial personality is subdued in service to script and characters. A clear case that Auteur Theory is sometimes irrelevant in the making of a good movie. B+


FLOWER
A well-made movie about insipid trashy girls with moronic parents who wreck everything around them for infantile thrills. BLING RING depicted similar kind of soulless personalities, but if Sofia Coppola never pretended her little monsters had souls, FLOWER does. And it is so unconvincing. This is utter trash. D+


BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER
Seen it again. Along with Darren Aronofsky's MOTHER!, a masterpiece that proves cinema is alive. The fact that this film got mixed reviews while stuff like BLACK PANTHER and LAST JEDI got near raves shows the utter decrepitude of our cultural scene. One of the most unsettling films about the nature of evil and the dark mystery of seduction amidst tragedy. A


JOSIE
Another worthless trash like FLOWER though not as scatter-brained. As with FLOWER, it tries to rationalize hedonism and nihilism with pseudo-moralism. In FLOWER, the girls' hi-jinks are supposed to somewhat 'rad' because they prey on weak men given to sexual perversion. The torture porn element of JOSIE is supposed to be morally justified on grounds of its anti-death-penalty message. Selling nihilism with a veneer of moral outrage is all too common in our culture where rappers are promoted as prophets and comedians pose as newsmen. As dishonest as HARD CANDY. Films such as these haven't the courage of BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER that admits to the seductive pull of evil and nihilism. D+


METROPOLITAN
Never gets old even though it's an old-fashioned tale. Perhaps, old-fashioned is synonymous with timeless, the tried and true. The 1980s was the decade of John Hughes cartoonish teen comedies and the Horny Teenager movies. 1990 began with this gem and instant classic, Whit Stillman's first film, a smart tale of young socialites searching for love and meaning. Stillman is no puritan but finds principles invaluable in a world of rising puerility. The lead character Tom Townsend is introduced as a soft-spoken radical who finds the socialite setting silly and frivolous but is later seen snubbing the aristocrat Von Sloneker for dismissing the televised socialite ball as not serious. In the end, a socialist turns chivalrous while the aristocrat is shown wallowing in frat-boy antics. Not that Tom suddenly came around to appreciating elitism, but his critique of the upper class was at least grounded in principles, and principles govern his behavior regardless of his shifting views. In contrast, Von Sleneker's dismissal of the socialite scene owes to his being even less serious than what he sneers at. It's as if one's character counts more than class or ideology. Socialist or Socialite, Townsend has a sense of scruples and honor, even though his righteousness sometimes blinds him to his unintended insensitivity to others. The difference is those with scruples at least make an effort to make amends and rise higher, whereas Von Slonekers of the world think the world revolves around them. A


NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA
Franklin Schaffner made two movies that became highly significant cultural events of the late 60s and early 70s: PLANET OF THE APES and PATTON. Perhaps, Schaffner never got the credit of someone like David Lean or Luchino Visconti because he was deemed an 'impersonal' professional than an auteur with personal vision. One could argue PLANET OF THE APES is essentially the work of the novelist Pierre Boulle and Rod Serling & Michael Wilson as screen-writers. And Schaffner's role in PATTON was regarded much like Victor Fleming's for THE WIZARD OF OZ and GONE WITH THE WIND: Hired Hand who ably carried out the vision of others. For some reason, NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA failed at the box office and got mixed reviews from critics. This is unfortunate because it is one of the best and most thoughtful middlebrow historical epics. By accident, PLANET OF THE APES, PATTON, and NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA became relevant to the Nixon years. The issues of race, class, war, power, and radicalism were colorfully brought to life in them. PATTON was Nixon's favorite movie, and his the fall of the Tsar in NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA anticipated the Watergate troubles that would undo Nixon's presidency. Of course, Nicholas and Nixon couldn't have been more different. Nicholas was a good man of middling intelligence who inherited the management of a vast empire in the most trying of times, whereas Nixon was a man of intelligence and knowledge who turned out to be his own Rasputin. Nicholas' political ills were like his son's condition. Once the regime began bleeding, it was difficult to patch the wound. This being the 100th anniversary of the killing of the Tsar and his family by Bolsheviks, this is worth a look. It's also relevant in our time of intense 'Russophobia' generated by nutty Jews. A-


KINGS OF SUMMER
If ever there was an instant classic, this is it. Must watch every summer. A


JEEPERS CREEPERS 3
Based on his first two JEEPER CREEPER movies, Victor Salva seems like some cuck-fruiter perv. He's a promoter of interracism and was once convicted of pervy-pedo stuff. And his horror trilogy's villain may strike many viewers as essentially Freddy Kruger with wings. Whatever the case, there's no denying Salva is inventive, ingenious, and insanely gifted with an eye as sharp as that of Spielberg, Fincher, and Kevin Reynolds. He's like mondo-trasho Orson Welles, a wizard with shifting frames and composition. And some of his images are mind-blowing. And even though JEEPERS is pretty crude and trashy(like RESIDENT EVIL), there is something genuinely dark and demented about Salva's universe of terror. Unlike Sam Raimi who did EVIL DEAD series for kiddie laughter, the JEEPER series seems the result of someone doing battle with his inner demons. It's a pop-psychological glimpse into the soul of genuine nutjob. Perhaps, JEEPER CREEPER series is most comparable to the ridiculous PHANTASM series, but Salva actually knows how to make a movie. B-


RISKY BUSINESS
I didn't much care for this movie upon release, but watching it again a few times recently I was struck by its romanticism despite the sordid situation its main character Joel(Tom Cruise) descends into. "What the fuc*" is an expression of cynicism but also of freedom, the opportunity to dream. And the twist on the 'hooker with the heart of gold' is convincing given Joel's blend of sheltered privilege, youthful naivete, animal lust, and hope for the future. Tangerine Dream's narcotic score makes it even more dream-like. A


DOUBLE LOVER
Francois Ozon is an estimable director, and DOUBLE LOVER runs like a slick well-oiled machine from start to finish. But it all seems an empty exercise in style. The characters might as well be robots or mannequins. The plot twists that combine Hitchcock with Cronenberg come across as so many tired allusions or homages. Intelligence and ability in service of a blueprint than a script. B-