Silent House Mini Review

Chris Kentis and Laura Lau’s horror film, Silent House, failed at evoking any emotion in me besides boredom and confusion. Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen) goes to her family’s lakeside retreat house with her dad and uncle to help get the house ready to sell. They thought the house had been long abandoned, but Sarah quickly realizes they are not alone. The majority of the movie consists of a drawn out game of cat and mouse, with Sarah desperately trying to escape the taunting strangers trapping her inside. If the unrealistic acting and poor cinematography aren’t enough, a bizarre plot twist occurs at the end of the film, touching on issues of child sexual abuse and multiple personalities, that makes the first 80 minutes of the 90-minute film completely pointless. The film ends without going into enough detail or explanation of the abrupt twist, leaving the audience confused and unsatisfied.

Cast & Credits:

Elizabeth Olsen

Adam Trese

Eric Sheffer Stevens

Elle Driver and Tazora Films present a film directed by Chris Kentis and Laura Lau. Written by Gustavo Hernandez and Laura Lau. Total running time: 90 minutes.

Killing Them Softly Review

            Director Andrew Dominik knows how to convey a message and does so in a witty and brutal way in Killing Them Softly, a captivating and compellingly performed thriller about recession-hit criminals doing what they have to do in order to survive. The film is a loose adaptation of novelist George V. Higgins’s 1974 thriller “Cogan’s Trade,” updated to the 2008 presidential campaign and relocated from Boston to post-Katrina New Orleans. The film takes place during a time of financial crisis, which Dominik creatively links to the world of crime using political overtones.

            Brad Pitt plays Jackie Cogan, a professional hit man hired to investigate and kill those responsible for robbing a mob-protected poker game. The economy on a downward spiral, Mobster Jonny Amato comes up with what he thinks is a no-risk plan to make fast money. He hires two lowlife, crimester wannabes, Frankie and Russell (played brilliantly by Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn), to rob the regular card night run by Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta). Trattman robbed his own game once and got away with it, so they knew if it were ever robbed again, he would be the first to blame.

Everything goes as planned until Russell brags about his recent success to the wrong person. Cogan is brought in to take care of everyone involved, including Markie because even though he is innocent, his name is still involved and the streets won’t get back to normal until he is gone. Cogan prefers carrying out his job from a distance in order to avoid the pleading and crying of his victims as they beg for their lives, something he calls, “killing them softly.” So when he realizes he knows one of the men he is supposed to kill, he calls in another hit man to do the job.  Played excellently by James Gandolfini, Mickey is a drunk, sex-obsessed, washed up hit man who no longer has the drive or mental capability of completing the task. This leaves Cogan to carry out the murders on his own and he does so with ease. The parallel between politics and the mobster way of living is brought together with a bang by a riveting monologue from Cogan to end the film.

            The theme of the film is thrown at the audience as blatantly as a slap in the face. The message is delivered quick and direct; America is a business and we have to treat it that way in order to survive. We live in an individualistic world where the government only looks out for the government and we need to look out for ourselves. This way of thinking is nothing new, but Dominik finds a way to demonstrate it in an electrifying and artistic way. The film pulls you in the moment it begins, contrasting Obama’s powerful campaign speech with silent credits on the screen. Speeches made by the current and incoming president are heard throughout the film, addressing the state of the economy and promising change. 

            Dominik manages the scenario and the cast very well, from the slow motion hit scenes accompanied by ironically romantic music to the comical banter between the robbers. Names are thrown around and some characters are hard to follow, but like other similar crime stories, this doesn’t matter because it is pretty obvious that everyone involved is guilty of some wrongdoing, making their executions less emotional. More important is style and attitude, which the film delivers to its audience on a silver platter. For example, as Russell realizes he has royally screwed up, his drug-enforced stupefaction is shown through several distortions of time, visual perception and sound. Mickey’s execution is delivered from many angels in a slow-motion explosion of breaking glass and penetrating bullets, so sophisticated and prolonged with the romantic music that it’s almost like an artistic demonstration.

            The film consists of basically an all-male cast and each performance is brilliant from start to finish. Pitt’s character is first introduced with the accompaniment of Johnny Cash’s “The Man Comes Around,” which is more than fitting for the complex and (for lack of a better word) badass man he portrays. His electrifying final speech alone makes the film worth seeing. The dialogue between Cogan and Mickey is captivating; with Gandolfini playing the part of the drunken has been to a tee. When it becomes obvious to Cogan that Mickey is incapable and unwilling to do his job, he sets him up to get arrested in order to get him out of the way. This further demonstrates the individualist mentality of the film through classic mob betrayal.

While the film’s message is overly blatant and unoriginal to say the least, it is overshadowed by excellent performances and thought provoking parallels between the dysfunction of the government and the dysfunction of the mob.

Cast & Credits:

Brad Pitt

Ray Liotta

Richard Jenkins

Plan B Entertainment, 1984 Private Defense Contractors, and Annapurna Pictures present a film directed by Andrew Dominik. Written by Andrew Dominik and George V. Higgins (novel). Total running time: 104 minutes. 

The Hunt Review

Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt is his best film since Festen, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 14 years ago. The Danish director proves that he’s still got it with this unsettling psychological drama about one child’s lie that threatens to destroy an innocent man’s life.

Screenwriters Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm collaborated to create an extremely powerful, frustrating, and riveting script that keeps the audience guessing from beginning to end. The fundamental theme of the film is about how easily the opinions of others can sway your own and how the power of group mentality can cause community and even family to turn on each other. Mads Mikkelsen plays Lucas, a teacher who is temporarily working as a Kindergarten assistant. He lives in a close-knit community and has many good friends with whom he partakes in annual deer hunts and many rowdy gatherings. Things are looking up for Lucas after his recent divorce: he begins a new relationship with a coworker (Alexandra Rapaport) and his teenage son Marcus (Lasse Fogelstron) can finally come live with him after an exhausting battle with his ex for custody.

However, Lucas’s good fortune is quickly shattered when his best friend’s young daughter develops an innocent crush on him. When she displays her affection for him with a kiss on the lips during playtime at school, Lucas kindly draws the line and unintentionally hurts her feelings. Combining her recent brief exposure to pornographic material by her immature adolescent brother and her distain for her feelings of rejection, Klara (Annika Wedderkopp) offhandedly makes up a story about how Lucas “showed her his Willy,” to the Kindergarten supervisor. Although it is extremely difficult for her to believe that Lucas could do such a thing, the supervisor can’t fathom that a child would make something like that up and feels she has no choice but to report the incident to Klara’s parents and the authorities. Lucas is completely shocked by the accusation and despite his track record as an upstanding and well-loved family man, all of his once-loyal friends and co-workers quickly turn on him. As more and more children are “encouraged” to come forward, their imaginations run wild, illustrating Lucas as a sick, pedophilic monster, and he is completely exiled before getting the chance to defend himself. Only his son and a few close friends stand by him during the most horrific time in his life. The film embodies the frightening reality of how lies and gossip can quickly appear to be fact and the disturbing strength of the power of suggestion upon young minds.  

Vinterberg does a brilliant job depicting Lucas’s purity and innocence. In the beginning of the film, we see Lucas interacting with the children and it is apparent that he truly loves his job and the children. His continued kindness to Klara, even after her lie begins destroying his life, shows just how good of a man he is. This obvious show of character makes the later chain of events that much more heart wrenching and causes the audience to develop a deep empathy for his detrimental, unfair circumstances. It is frustrating that Lucas doesn’t get more upset or try harder to defend himself in his impossible situation, but his feelings of intense shock and pain are clear. Instead of bursting out in rage, he calmly tries to deal with the situation, making his innocence all the more well-known to the audience throughout the film, and eventually, to his friends.

Vinterberg executes his vision perfectly but it is very much a character-driven film. Mikkelsen’s performance is completely convincing and frighteningly realistic. His portrayal of Lucas is so devastatingly raw that it makes you want to jump through the screen and defend him against the ruthless townspeople. His incredible performance was recognized at the Cannes Film Festival, where he won the Best Actor Award. The entire cast is spot on in their performances, never missing a beat in creating the allusion of a story that is chillingly believable.

Wedderkopp perfectly portrays Klara’s young innocence and confusion throughout the film. It is difficult not to be angry with her but Wedderkopp’s performance forces the audience to remember that she is merely a child, unaware of the meaning and the consequences behind her lie. She truly cares for Lucas and doesn’t understand why everyone is so mad at him. Adding to the frustration, she realizes what she did was wrong and tries to tell her mother that she made the whole thing up. But her mother dismisses her confession and convinces Klara that it did happen and that her mind is trying to forget it, confusing the little girl even more.

The movie is filled with intense scenes and gripping moments. The most memorable are the heart-breaking interaction in the supermarket and at the poignant Christmas Eve Church service where Lucas’s best friend finally comes to the realization that his daughter made the accusations up. When it seems as though Lucas’s innocence has been proven and his life is back on track, the final scene makes it apparent that the child’s lie will haunt him forever. While hunting, he barely dodges a bullet by an anonymous hunter, leaving us wondering whether or not the shot was intentional, much like the accusations made by Klara and the rest of the town.  Overall, The Hunt masterfully shows how easy it is to go with crowd instead of standing up for the truth, and the devastating consequences that can result from doing so.

Cast & Credits:

Mads Mikkelsen

Thomas Bo Larsen

Annika Wedderkopp

Lasse Fogelstrom

Film i Vast and Zentropa Entertainment present a film directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Written by Tobias Lindholm and Thomas Vinterberg. Total running time: 111 min.

            

Love and Honor Mini Review

First time director Danny Moody made the right choice casting “The Hunger Games” actor, Liam Hemsworth in his film Love and Honor. Along the lines of traditional films like The Notebook and The Lucky One, but not up to par, it is a love story about a soldier who secretly leaves the Vietnam War and returns home in the hopes of winning back his girlfriend before anyone finds out. His carefree best friend (Hemsworth) accompanies him for the journey and ends up finding a love of his own. The two soldiers are unable to make it back to the war unnoticed and have to pay the price of being deserters of war. The film is filled with many cheesy one-liners and predictable circumstances. It tells a merely decent love story about finding yourself while finding love during difficult times, but Hemsworth’s loyal followers won’t be disappointed by his performance.

Cast & Credits:

Liam Hemsworth

Aimee Teegarden

Teresa Palmer

Lighting Entertainment presents a film directed by Danny Mooney. Written by Jim Burnstein and Garrett K. Schiff. Total running time: 96 min.  

Amour Review

Amour tells the story of Georges and Anne, an old married couple whose love is put to the test when Anne falls victim to a stroke. Director Michael Haneke shows the horrors of growing old and the fears and frustrations that come along with it. While the film tells a beautiful story that everyone can emotionally connect to, it could have told the same story in half the amount of time. Scenes drags on much longer than necessary and caused me to lose interest throughout the movie.  However the love and commitment portrayed beautifully by Emmanuelle Riva to his dying wife makes this touching movie one worth seeing.

Cast & Credits:

Jean-Louis Trintignant

Emmanuelle Riva

Isabelle Huppert

Les Films du Losange, X Filme Creative Pool, and Wega Film present a film directed and written by Michael Haneke. Running time: 126 minutes.

Black Rock Review

What is supposed to be a fun camping trip for three women quickly turns into a vicious game of cat and mouse in Katie Aselton’s Black Rock. The storyline had potential but Aselton fails to make it interesting or original in any way.

Three lifelong friends, Abby (Aselton), Lou (Lake Bell), and Sarah (Kate Bosworth) go on a camping trip to a remote island known as Black Rock. Abby and Lou are no longer friends because of a rift in the past so Sarah makes them come on the trip in an effort to fix their friendship. She brings along a map of the island they made when they were kids of the spot where they buried some of their possessions. Shortly after arriving, they run into three former army men who are hunting for deer (illegally, the girls presume). Lou recognizes one of the men as the brother of an old high school friend so they all join each other for drinks around a fire. 

What begins as awkward conversation quickly turns into drunken flirting between Abby and one of the guys. She playfully lures him into the woods and the innocent gathering goes horribly wrong. The man tries to rape Abby and she fights back, accidently killing him by hitting him in the head with a rock. When the other two men see that their friend is dead they capture the women and beat them in rage. They decide they have to avenge their fallen comrade and cruelly let the women go so they can hunt them down and kill them. The women are forced to put away their differences and work together in order to get off the island alive.

            While Aselton had a good idea, her movie falls extremely short. The beginning is very slow and full of catty dialogue that doesn’t teach us anything important about the characters except that Abby is still angry with Lou for sleeping with her boyfriend in high school, and Sarah is trying to be the peacemaker. The movie begins to pick up pace when they run into the three ex army men. The situation is very realistic in that the women let the men join them for food and drinks around the fire but keep their guard up as most women would around strangers. When they find out they were let go after each received a dishonorable discharge, the women are quickly aware that these are not men they can trust.

          The story itself is realistic and frightening but what Aselton creates is a generic hunter/stalker movie with very few impressive qualities. There is nothing professional about the two hillbillies hunting the women and one is so over the top he is almost cartoonish in the way he preys on the women. They don’t appear to be trained, ex army men whatsoever.

            When they should be fighting for their lives, the women stop to dig up the box they buried when they were children and have a nostalgic moment together. They start to try reconciling their personal issues instead of focusing on surviving, which completely breaks the reality of the situation. The movie is much more bloody and gory than it needs to be. The elaborate makeup used to make the girls look bloody and disfigured throughout the movie is distracting and unnecessary.

            The acting and dialogue during their fight for survival is very good. Bell and Aselton do an excellent job portraying fear and strength at the same time and their dialogue as they try to pump each other up to fight back against the men is very realistic. They decide the only way they are going to get off the island alive is if they stop being the hunted and become the hunter. They quickly switch into survival mode and shut out all emotion in order to do what is necessary. The issue here is that their good acting is masked by violence and gore that goes a little too far.

            All in all, Aselton does a poor job executing a good idea. Parts of the film keep you at the edge of your seat, due in large part to great music by The Kills, but the majority of the film seems unoriginal and unrealistic.

Cast & Credits:

Kate Bosworth

Katie Aselton

Lake Bell

Submarine Entertainment presents a film directed by Katie Aselton. Written by Mark Duplass. Running time: 83 minutes.

            

28 Hotel Rooms Review

It is a risky move to create a film involving only two actors and one room, but director Matt Ross pulls this off perfectly in his first feature film, 28 Hotel Rooms. Longtime character actor Ross proves his talent as a writer and director, creating a perfect blend of comedy and drama in his film that explores a long-distance affair that begins as casual sex and develops into much more.

As the title would suggest, the film consists of a series of 28 sequences, each taking place in a different hotel room.  The film opens with two strangers meeting in a hotel bar while traveling for work. He is a New York novelist (Chris Messina) and she is a Seattle corporate accountant (Marin Ireland). Without introduction, their sexual chemistry is evident immediately and they partake in what they think is only a one-night stand. Both characters are in relationships and think they will never see each other again but something brings her to call him (even though she told him she wouldn’t) and their affair begins. The next time they meet she is married and he eventually gets a serious girlfriend, but they continue to meet regularly in different hotels over the span of a few years. 

What begins as just sex quickly turns into a serious emotional connection. Each time they meet we are shown a different aspect of their relationship, from silly jokes to serious fights and passionate love scenes.  It is hard to remember that they are in other real relationships because we are only shown the moments when they are together. From this perspective, we see their struggle of wanting to be together but being unable to commit and leave their spouses.

Ross brilliantly demonstrates the difficulties and emotional struggles that come with an affair from a unique perspective. Because the entire movie takes place in different hotel rooms, we never get to see their spouses or their outside lives. We only learn about them from what Ross reveals in their conversations with each other. The only relationship we are shown is their relationship together, which makes us feel for them and want their relationship to work even though what they are doing is wrong. 

The only sense of time the audience is given is by the change of hotel rooms.  We never know how much time has passed between visits except for clues from the changes in their appearances or what they tell each other about their outside lives. However, when they are together it seems as if no time has passed at all. For his first feature film, Ross does an excellent job of exploring the complications that come with relationships from the point of view of the affair.  While it is obvious that what they are doing is wrong, it is hard to judge them for what they are doing because we never get a glimpse of their outside lives.

Ross chose two unrecognized actors who played their parts perfectly. The chemistry between Messina and Ireland is electric throughout the film. Both actors portray a vulnerability and emotional honesty that allow the audience to completely connect with their characters and every moment they spend together. The interaction between the two actors is so raw that we forget they are performing. Messina completely takes over the screen and draws the audience in, showing a full range of emotions and proving he can play diverse roles. His character is more willing to dive into the relationship and make it work than Ireland’s. He displays his character’s exasperation and frustration perfectly when all he wants to do is leave their tiny hotel room and the fantasy world they have been living in.

The camerawork in the contained settings of the hotel rooms is skilled and creative, especially the scenes when they are in bed together and we completely feel their vulnerability. Some people may not like the film’s claustrophobic arrogance in which we learn nothing about the character’s lives except for what they choose to tell each other, but Ross’s approach creates additional benefits in that it generates suspense within the audience, allowing us to peer into their relationship while still leaving out major information about their characters. 

In the end it is up to the audience to decide whether their love is strong enough to bring them together for good or if their affair will remain just that. What could easily have been a flop turns out to be a smart, insightful way to show how every love affair comes with complications and attachments.

Cast & Credits:

Chris Messina

Marin Ireland

Mott Street Pictures, OneZero Productions and Silverwood Films present a film directed and written by Matt Ross. Running time: 82 minutes.