The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence

There has been a lot of news for The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence released in the past few days. The first Human Centipede was one of my favorite horror films of the past several years. Granted, that film was terribly acted and had some serious logic flaws, but Dr. Heiter was a great character and the whole concept of the film was totally bonkers. It was the highlight of my annual horror movie festival that I host for my friends every year. It was a ton of fun to get my buddies together to watch them squirm for an hour and a half.

The director, Tom Six, promised a sequel that would make the first seem like a Saturday morning cartoon. We'll find out soon if he succeeded. News came a few months ago that the film would be banned in the United Kingdom and would require edits to get rated for release here in the United States. But, the promotion machine has started up, and we'll be seeing more about the sequel soon.

The first of the new information about The Human Centipede 2 comes in the form of an Australian trailer that takes the two-girls-one-cup approach of showing reactions of people as they watch the film. It's kindof obvious that these are actors and that their shock and discomfort have been paid for. Still, the amount of screaming in the background makes it an effective teaser. You know some bad stuff is going down. It also makes me really want to travel to Australia for a weekend to catch the real, uncut film.

The next bit of news is an official trailer that shows a little actual footage from the sequel.

I will say that Martin is a seriously creepy guy, and the thought of him recreating the events from the first film is very disturbing. Those bug eyes and tubby body are the exact opposite of the cool and refined Dr. Heiter. This guy ‘looks’ totally off his rocker. Also, I hope the whole film is presented in black and white. That's a cool look.

The final bit of news is that The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence will be premiering at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX during the last week of September.  Reviews will be following soon, so we’ll know if Tom Six succeeded in creating one of the wildest and most disturbing movies of all time.

Who wants to come with me to Texas to see a movie in which this is the bad guy?

The Debt Review

From Yahoo!

The Good – Jessica Chastain. Jesper Christensen. A solid, twisting, turning spy story.

The Bad – A little trouble with the Israeli accents here and there.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a good spy thriller in theaters, and I’m glad to say that The Debt fits the bill nicely.

The Debt concerns a Mossad cell’s operation to capture a notorious Nazi war criminal, the Surgeon of Birkenau, and return him to Israel for trial. The story is split into two timeframes, 1966, when the operation to capture the doctor takes place, and 1997, when the agents experience fallout from their actions during the mission.

Both time periods feature excellent groups of actors with Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas as the younger group and Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds as the older group. It’s a real treat to watch the Mossad agents work together as they plan for and execute the kidnapping. The script by Matthew Vaughn and direction by John Madden (not the football John Madden, though I bet he would make an insane spy thriller) keeps the action moving along nicely in the 1966 portion of the film. Things slow down and get a bit talky when the film jumps to 1997, but the conclusion is satisfying.

Chastain and Christensen give especially noteworthy performances. Chastain is mesmerizing as the young Mossad operative who ropes in the doctor at his clinic. She does a great job portraying a young, vulnerable woman who is doing dangerous work because of her great sense of patriotism for Israel and loyalty to her family. This is a breakout role for her. Christensen handles the role of the Nazi doctor with a wonderful amount of menace and seems to be enjoying himself immensely as he battles wits with the Mossad agents.

Jessica Chastain
From Yahoo!

The Debt is a solid piece of cinema that should fill the need for a political, spy thriller in your life. It touches on aspects of national identity, family loss, and the extents to which people go to try to make a difference.

3.5 out of 5

Apollo 18 Review

From IGN

The Good – The mission procedures make it feel like an authentic Apollo mission.

The Bad – Distracting use of filters to make the footage look older. Sloppy editing. Threadbare story.

Walking out of the theater after Apollo 18, I overheard a girl tell her group of friends, “I’m sorry guys. I had no idea it would be like that.” That pretty much sums up everyone’s thoughts after the movie. Apollo 18 is terrible movie-going experience.

In my Movies of the Month piece for September, I stated that the “found footage” genre might have a bit of life left in it if filmmakers can continue to come up with fresh ideas built around the concept. I thought that a found footage movie set on the moon had potential. Fifteen minutes into Apollo 18, I changed my mind. It didn’t take long for me to wish that the filmmakers had just shot a movie and abandoned the restrictions imposed by the found footage gimmick.

One of the biggest offenses lies in the treatment of the footage. In an effort to make the footage seem period for 1972, the filmmakers have applied all sorts of filters to make it look grainy, wash out the colors, even give some stuttering and warping effects to make it look like we’re watching it on an old projector. This is very distracting. Combine this with choppy editing, a real no-no when the whole concept is that the movie was whittled down from 84 hours of raw footage, and watching the movie takes away from the story.

The story itself could have been so much better. There is inherent risk in space travel, and none of that really comes through during the first half of the film. The filmmakers spend most of the first half of the film making the movie feel like a real Apollo mission. There’s a lot of attention to detail with the mission, the capsule, NASA procedures, etc. But, that means the movie isn’t exactly scary for the first hour. Everything goes according to plan until the creatures show up and start monkeying around with the crew. Even when things start to get spooky, the found footage conventions limit the effectiveness of the scares. At this point in the found footage genre, it’s not very frightening when we hear a loud noise outside and the crew responds,  “What was that? What’s going on out there?” You’ve got to do more than that to really scare an audience these days.

From IGN

There are a number of other things going on outside of the mission that could have been useful to add weight to the paper-thin characters and tension to a paper-thin horror film. References to family, arguments with Houston and Department of Defense, contact with the Russians. All this peripheral stuff is so glossed over that it doesn’t really mean anything. There’s a good concept for a movie here, but the execution of it all is terrible. I mostly blame the filmmakers for sticking with the found footage because it severely limits what they can do.

Ultimately, Apollo 18 has convinced me that the found footage genre needs to go away. The conventions imposed by this genre prevent filmmakers from telling interesting, fully fleshed-out stories. It seems like it should be easy to make a horror movie set in space, but Apollo 18 proves otherwise. There just aren’t enough scares in here to make it worthwhile. 

1.5 out of 5

Weekend Box Office for Sep. 2-4, 2011

The Help can boast about being the #1 film in America for the third week running. It’s apparent that The Help has hit its market. Part of the reason for its longevity at the top is that this is the type of film that caters to an older audience, and the older folk tend to take their sweet time getting around to things. The film is building buzz slowly, much like the novel. The weekend returns have dropped less than 25% in each of the past three weeks; it only dropped 2.3% from last week. This is an indication that its audience is responding well, that there’s a steady stream of people coming out to see the film. There are still a few more weeks like this in line for The Help, but eventually the well will dry up. Still, The Help has banked $118 million so far and could get to $150. Could get to $200. It’s hard to predict exactly where a slow burning film like this will end up.

The other part of The Help’s success is a weak box office at this time of year. There were three major releases this week, none of which broke $10 million. Even the 3D bump couldn’t propel Shark Night 3D beyond fourth, though it and Apollo 18 are too close to call until the actuals come out later. Rise of the Planet of the Apes crossed $160, and we’re all but assured to get a sequel out of this, which is a very good thing. Elsewhere, Transformers: Dark of the Moon crossed $350 million, and, despite a big marketing push by Disney and Pixar to get Cars 2 over the $200 million hump, it only brought in $1.1 million for the weekend and will end at $190. That lemon’s been squeezed.

Next week brings us Contagion, a new action/thriller from Soderbergh with an all-star cast. And a few other new wide releases to mix things up too. Let's see if one of them can knock off The Help.

Melancholia Trailer

After posting the trailer for The Muppets yesterday, I thought I would share another from one of my most anticipated films of the year: Melancholia by Lars von Trier.

Lars von Trier has been called a genius by many for his filmmaking, and it’s easy to see why. He tells interesting stories through beautifully shot films. Are they a bit too artsy, pretentious, self-indulgent and overly important? Sure. The critics eat his stuff up though. Melancholia was in the running for the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, and Kirsten Dunst won best actress for her role in the film. Watching a von Trier film is an experience you won’t be able to forget. This one hits on November 11, 2011.

The Muppets Trailer

Here's the trailer for one of my most anticipated films of the year: The Muppets, coming November 23rd.

As an added bonus, here's the gang in one of my favorite videos performing Bohemian Rhapsody.

Enjoy!

Movies of the Month: September 2011

Each month, I will discuss the major movie releases, and maybe a few smaller ones, if I find them noteworthy, to give you guys an idea about what to expect at your local Cineplex. I’ll also tell you which movies I’ll check out and which ones I’ll be avoiding at all costs.

September 2, 2011

Shark Night 3D

The plot: A group of very attractive young people from Abercrombie and Fitch go on holiday to a lake house for fun and games. Sharks are there. In 3D. You know if you want to see this one based solely on the title. It’s meant for the same crowd that enjoyed Piranha. See it if you want to see beautiful people terrorized by giant sharks while they try to figure out how the sharks got there and how they’re supposed to stay alive for the 91 minute runtime.

Who’s in it: Nobody important enough to name on the one-sheet. The sharks are the stars here. It’s directed by the same guy who did Final Destination, so it should be a sloppy good time.

Ultimate fate: This could be a fun night out with the gang. Probably best seen after splitting a case of Natural Light, although the 3D might get you.

Apollo 18

The plot: This is a found-footage film documenting the top-secret Apollo 18 mission, a mission that never officially happened. It follows two American astronauts as they uncover the mystery of a Russian moon mission and show us why the U.S. never went back to the moon.

Who’s in it: A couple of NASA-looking dudes.

Ultimate fate: The found-footage trend hasn’t quite played itself out yet with fresh ideas coming out all along. The premise of this movie seems intriguing with the political backdrop of the space race and (maybe) an alien encounter or two. The moon is a pretty bad place to run into trouble and lends itself to lots of promising horror setups. This could wind up being a solid horror movie.

The Debt

The plot: A spy thriller set in 1997 about the long-term consequences faced by three Mossad agents who tracked down a notorious Nazi war criminal in 1966. Did they accomplish their mission or not?

Who’s in it: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Worthington.

Ultimate fate: It’s been a while since there has been a good spy thriller on the big screen, and this might just be the one to quench that thirst. This is a solid cast who from early reviews all put forth great performances. Good acting, an interesting script and solid direction should make this a winner.

Where I’ll be: The Debt for sure and maybe Apollo 18.

September 9, 2011

Contagion

The plot: A virus outbreak threatens humanity. The medical community sets out to get ahead of the virus and find a cure before it becomes a global catastrophe.

Who’s in it: Matt Damon, Marion Collitard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet. Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Ultimate fate: An action-thriller that combines an amazing cast (4 Oscar winners and 3 Oscar nominees!) and Soderbergh with a script that screams tension and drama. Yeah, this will probably be good.

Warrior

The plot: Two estranged brothers face off in a MMA battle royale drawn in for very different reasons. One is a former marine, the other is trying to support his family, both are dealing with a fractured home life.

Who’s in it: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte

Ultimate fate: We’ve had The Wrestler, we’ve had The Fighter, now it’s time for Warrior. It’s hard to imagine that these fighters-with-motives movies can continue to turn out good films, but all indications that this one is a solid family drama set in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Apparently, all three leads put in solid performances, and the direction is solid. Might be worth a look.

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star

The plot: When oddball Bucky learns his parents were porn stars in the 1970s, he leaves home to follow in their footsteps. He’s given a shot based on his parent’s reputation, but can he make it?

Who’s in it: Nick Swardson, Don Johnson, and, hey look, Christina Ricci

Ultimate fate: This movie reads like a reject from Rob Schneider’s filmography, directed by the braintrust behind many of Rob’s atrocious films. There’s no way this can be funny.

Where I’ll be: Contagion all the way. Maybe Warrior. I’d rather set my testicles on fire than watch Bucky Larson.

September 16, 2011

Drive (limited)

The plot: A Hollywood stunt driver moonlights as a getaway driver for the criminal underworld. He’ll give you five minutes of his time to get you away from trouble. Unfortunately, he finds himself on the wrong side of some bad people when a job goes off the rails.

Who’s in it: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston

Ultimate fate: Epic car chases and tense action. Actually, this film forgoes total chaos and aims for a more realistic approach to the car chases and action. Think more along the lines of Bourne trilogy than Fast and Furious. The director, Nicolas Winding Refn, made a name for himself directing the solid action Pusher trilogy.

Straw Dogs

The plot: When a new couple moves into the neighborhood, the locals take a shine to the wife and stage a home invasion. The low-key man of the house has to step up to meet the threat to his family. This is a remake of the provocative 1971 film that was an examination of man’s role in the family.

Who’s in it: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard

Ultimate fate: Remaking Straw Dogs seems risky. The original was a harsh introspective on the male identity, and was very well executed. It seems almost impossible to capture that electric atmosphere twice. Hopefully, it can come close to the original.

I Don’t Know How She Does It

The plot: A finance executive must juggle a complicated life packed with a busy job, two kids, managing the homefront, and resist the temptations of a suave business associate.

Who’s in it: Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Kelsey Grammer

Ultimate fate: It will have been a few weeks since a romantic comedy has been in theaters, so this might appeal to the date crowd. Sarah Jessica Parker is trying to distance herself from her Sex and the City days, but this doesn’t sound like a huge departure from that.

Where I’ll be: Drive if it’s playing anywhere near me. Otherwise, catching up on last week’s offerings.

September 23, 2011

Moneyball

The plot: The story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane who threw out decades of old-school baseball management practices to build his team. He was one of the first to rely heavily on computers and statistics to guide his player selections, and faced quite a bit of backlash from the owners, players and media for his style. 

Who’s in it: An earnest looking Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill as the plucky sidekick, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Ultimate fate: Sports movie fans everywhere will flock to this one. The book was a critical and commercial success, and, given the people involved, there’s no reason this movie won’t be as well.

Abduction

The plot: Some guy finds out he was kidnapped as a child and sets off to find out what happened. There’s some conspiracy stuff, gunfights, and, I’m just guessing, a totally awesome car chase.

Who’s in it: Taylor Lautner

Ultimate fate: Twilight fans might be interested to see how one of their leading men fares in an action film. The rest of us won’t care. John Singleton is the director, and he can sometimes pull some great performances out of unexpected actors. Plus the script landed on the 2010 Black List, the list of the best unproduced scripts. I have serious reservations about Lautner as a big-time action movie star.

Killer Elite

The plot: An ex-special forces tough guy has to take down three assassins to save his mentor.

Who’s in it: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert DiNero

Ultimate fate: Jason Statham has been making the same type of action film for the past decade. Clive Owen feels awkward as an action movie guy. Give Children of Men reluctant hero Clive over the Shoot ‘Em Up total badass Clive any day. DeNero still pretends he’s an action star. Plus, there’s a first time director and screenwriter. All signs point to this one being a mediocre action film that you’ll forget the instant you leave the theater. That said, there could be some fun moments here and there.

Dolphin Tale

The plot: An injured dolphin is taken to a marine center where an innovative doctor helps her recover. This is based on the true story of a dolphin named Winter who’s damaged tail was replaced with a prosthetic.

Who’s in it: Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Winter

Ultimate fate: This will be a heartwarming story of dedicated, caring people who come together to help a friend in need. The real story that inspired this film was pretty impressive. Plus, much of the film was shot at the Clearwater Marine Hospital, and the real Winter gets to play in the movie as herself. Sounds like a great family film to me. 

Where I’ll be: Killer Elite. I just can’t resist a Statham film, no matter how mediocre I fear it might be.

September 30, 2011

50/50

The plot: A young man is diagnosed with cancer, and his best friend tries to keep his spirits up.

Who’s in it: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen

Ultimate fate: JGL is a fantastic actor who shines in everything he does. Seth Rogen is perfect for the sidekick role. This should bring both quality comedy and drama. Should be good.

Dream House

The plot: A publisher and his family relocates to a new house in New England only to find that their perfect home was the scene of a grisly murder of the previous occupants. As the husband and wife try to unravel the mystery surrounding the murders, they uncover some disturbing truths about the house and those who live in it.

Who’s in it: Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz

Ultimate fate: This seems like a pretty decent thriller. The trailer shows some creepy images and indicates a twisting and turning story. Plus, I like Daniel Craig and adore Naomi Watts. We’re getting close to October, so it’s about time for some spookiness and some scares.

Where I’ll be: Dream House. The two leads will draw me in like a moth to flame. I’ll probably catch 50/50 too.

Pick of the month: Contagion. Too much pedigree for this movie to fail.

There you go! Those are the major releases for September 2011. I hope you can find something in there that strikes your fancy.