Mini-Review | The Movie Rat

Mini-Review: The Iran Job

Posted on October 11, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

This is a post that is a repurposing of an old-school Mini-Review Round-Up post. As stated here I am essentially done with running multi-film review posts. Each film deserves its own review. Therefore I will repost, and at times add to, old reviews periodically. Enjoy!

The Iran Job

This is a film that very interestingly finds a back door into being a precursor to the Arab Spring movements and a testimonial about how women in the Middle East feel about their current situation. You embark on a film expecting a fish-out-of-water tale about an American basketball player going overseas to earn a living. You get that and the basketball angle, but slowly as he’s there he makes friends. While he wisely tries to stay away from politics as much as he can knowing people starts to bring insights into the state of affairs. There is always a political undercurrent with the election of Barack Obama near the beginning of the film and the controversial Iranian elections coming towards the end.

The Iran Job has a balancing act to pull off and it does so fairly well. It’s a prime example of a documentary going where the footage starts to lead it. Surely, the film may have started out with only aspirations of political undercurrents, ones that may have been shoehorned-in had events not conspired otherwise, alas they did and the film is better for it.

7/10

Mini-Review: Swoopes

Posted on October 9, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Swoopes

Nine for IX continues with the tale of Sheryl Swoopes carer. It’s always great when I don’t know much about the subjects of these films, or as much as I thought I did. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Swoopes as a subject is the fact that she is not easily definable and is an individual. She’s not at all interested in labels of any kind. The only issues I really had with the film itself was that it glossed over what she did in the two-year span between her graduation and the Olympics, and then one interviewees seemed to have responses that made him seem the mandatory contrarian. It would’ve benefitted the film all the more if one subject had varying interpretations of her actions and career choices. However, it’s still a very effective piece that highlights many aspects of the game and the player that would otherwise be overlooked. A job very-well done by director Hannah Storm.

8/10

Mini-Review: Only God Forgives

Posted on October 8, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Only God Forgives

The fairly quick reaction here is that after many months and many reactions heard I was glad to come in fairly down the middle on this film. I understand but don’t agree with the frustrated, negative reviews, and if I take a look at the good ones I’m sure I’d center myself anew. This is a film that is unquestionably beautifully shot, and based on Drive unquestionably Winding Refn just not in as engaging and universally palatable way. One needs to be prepared for the violence, but I didn’t find it to be excessively out-of-place based on the narrative.

6/10

Mini-Review: The Wall

Posted on October 7, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

The Wall

If you’ll forgive the simplistic analogy the way I can best express my feelings and thoughts about this film are via comparison to an analogous title. This film tells the tale of a woman going on a vacation in an alpine cabin who suddenly finds herself surrounded and isolated by an invisible barrier, a wall. In that regard it reminds me of Stephen King’s Under the Dome, more so the book than what I saw of the series. Therefore, it’s a tale not so much about the how and why but what occurs under the “dome,” or inside the wall while it’s up. There’s much exploratory voice over, nearly incessant amounts and not much by way of findings in the report that is being written; subtly surreal additions and interactions with new animals that through a lot of inner-monologue reveal less than something like Bestiaire. A well-acted and shot narrative, but not a very compelling one.

5/10

Mini-Review: Stuck in Love

Posted on October 6, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Stuck in Love

While the cast is talented and the characters are ultimately likable Stuck in Love unfortunately relies a bit too much on convenient plot devices. The kids have been raised to be writers and they all succeed at exceedingly early ages and with seeming ease. The conflicts are there and the characters arcs are there, but the big moments are bit too simply achieved, that and there was a generalized sense of predictability. Despite the characters’ quirks nothing too surprising occurs. Lastly, on the production end the selection of source music is rather invasive, annoying and a bit too on the head more than once.

5/10

Mini-Review: 17 Again

Posted on October 5, 2015 by bernardovillela

As you watch 17 Again you might wonder how often a concept like this can possibly work. This certainly isn’t a Romeo & Juliet type template, but it seems that no matter how many times this, or things like it, come along people will watch, and it will be enjoyable… to an extent. Then I realized it’s like the cinematic equivalent of a sitcom – enjoyable but disposable – use once and destroy.

So, yes, you do laugh, because the father does often forget he looks like Zac Efron and not Matthew Perry, and yes there are flaws. For instance almost no one recognizes him as, at the very least, a reincarnation of Mike O’Donell. What does work in this film’s favor are: Zac Efron, who being given a part where he needs to be more than an archetype delivers, and is rather impressive; Dad dialogue being delivered by a twenty-something that sounds funny when it needs to be and heartfelt when it has to be is no easy feat; and the biggest kudos go to Thomas Lennon who played Mike’s friend Ned to perfection. Lennon provided most of the comedy that put the film over the top and also had the most fully realized character. He was a continuation and expansion of his former self.

Suspension of disbelief occasionally becomes difficult with things like the coach not recognizing Mike, and Ned trying to beat Mike up thinking him an intruder for an overly-extended sequence. However, these flaws are counterbalanced with portions of the film which are told visually, especially in the beginning of the film, a decent editing style in certain scenes, and I did feel Burr Steers’ stamp on the dressing down of the bully scene. It was nice to see a glimmer of authorship in a generally formulaic piece.

If you’re looking to for an enjoyable way to kill time this film is as good as any.

6/10

Mini-Review- The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia

Posted on October 4, 2015 by bernardovillela

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia

I nearly did a commentary on the rise of, and you may even consider it to be a re-emergence; of nonsensical, paradoxical film titles such as this one. Essentially, I made peace with this silly title by likening it to Halloween III. The fact that a disconnected narrative was lumped into a series should not influence my opinion of the title. Sadly, this film is not quite of the caliber of Season of the Witch.

While I can’t knock it entirely, I can’t say I came away from it liking it. What the film does have going for it are the occasional good scare and an interesting mythology and themes it plays upon. Southern gothic tales seem like they’re the latest milieu ripe for the picking in horror, and this film at least starts the conversation. However, the build is a bit staggered such that the climax is drained of some of its tension by flashing back to fill in blanks that have already mostly been filled in by us being allowed time to reflect.

Unnecessary doubt can always be a bothersome aspect in horror and this film eschews most of that and almost reverses it to be too willing to believe visions, but it works. Thus, there’s not quite balance: there’s a doubter you know is in denial, a fairly silent skeptic and a vocal prodder. Ultimately it is the construction of the myth from near the mid-point in act two into act three which cause issues, and could very well be an editing issue as opposed to a writing one.

It’s not a film I would not be averse to revisiting, and it doesn’t feel like a wasted experience, but also doesn’t feel like it’s quite up to what it could’ve achieved. A lot of what does buoy it is the performances of mother and daughter, Abigail Spencer and Emily Alyn Lind.

5/10

Mini-Review: The Ghastly Love of Johnny X

Posted on October 3, 2015 by bernardovillela

The Ghastly Love of Johnny X

There is an odd concoction of elements that the Ghastly Love of Johnny X is trying to blend. Its charms, however, are not enough and the spell it attempts to weave doesn’t have enough staying power to make it a truly successful venture.

What it does well is riff on nuance pretty brilliantly, create some memorable lines, it’s odd and unique and has its moments in terms of cinematography, production design and musically (in terms of arrangement if not always the singing – yes, it’s a musical too).

All that sounds good and the tale of a man exiled from his home planet to earth to wander with a gang of ’50s style hoods and try to earn his way home does have potential. The issues it ends up facing are that it devolves into being what it seeks to emulate in the worst ways as opposed to transcending to it while still making us laugh at its tropes; namely a cheesy ’50s movie except this one plays quite a few genres at once. In short, the pace begins to suffer; there are touches slightly too modern; the plot, goals and motivations of characters become muddled and the comedy starts to click less consistently.

Also, as a musical there are some very long stretches between some of the numbers that are far too big. It’s not an entirely regrettable experience, but one I can’t say I’d recommend.

4/10

Mini-Review: The Moth Diaries

Posted on October 2, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

The Moth Diaries

It’s a bit of a shame when a film that offers a different perspective on a subgenre fails to catch lightning in a bottle. The Moth Diaries is not only subtle vampire tale set at an all girls school, but is also directed by a woman. It’s a slow-burn, which never quite catches fire all the way and it doesn’t really bend convention too much save for the casting and setting. Some of the better parts of the film are the overt allusions to the Gothic literature, from which all vampire tales draw at least some inspiration, which doesn’t bode too well for the piece at hand. The film doesn’t seem to detach itself too much from the source material, and there is an excessive amount of voice over for the story being told. Perhaps the novel is a better vehicle for this tale than the film as constructed.

5/10

Mini-Review: Intruders

Posted on October 1, 2015 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Intruders

I can’t put it right at the top, but when all is said and done, Intruders will likely end up being one of my favorite horror films of the year. It starts almost immediately with a scene that you think will just be a great teaser but instead ends up being the first building block in a parallel storyline (in terms of both time and place). Aside from being a bi-lingual film, the film does a great job mirroring certain themes and elements in the storylines, giving elements different spins in each. The film is very tense but also cloistered in its drama and fear-inducing, which it makes it very effective indeed. To say too much more would be to start giving things away. I think that fans of the horror genre, Spanish horror in particular should see this film.

10/10

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