R.I.P. Wes Craven

Yesterday, horror icon Wes Craven died after a battle with brain cancer. The 76-year-old filmmaker is renowned for being one of the innovators of the modern horror film, dabbling in 70's exploitation cinemas as well as revolutionizing the slasher genre both in the 80's and then 90's, breathing new life into the genre on both occasions. Despite not branching out into other genres that often, his few efforts that did, including the directorial ensemble film Paris, je t'amie and the Meryl Streep film Music of the Heart were both generally well-received and showcased his talents as more than just a genre director. Within the horror/thriller genre, he created classics such as The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and (his two most well-known films) A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. He had creative input on the first few Nightmare sequels, and directed 1994's New Nightmare, a ten-year anniversary film that is self-aware and features many of the cast and crew of the original playing themselves as Freddy Kreuger finds a way into the real world. The Scream series (all directed by Craven, and three of which were written by Kevin Williamson) followed in the footsteps of New Nightmare by being a self-aware take on the slasher genre, only this time taking it to the extreme by having the main cast constantly interject references to horror films, cliches, characters, etc. He also directed a number of underrated gems, such as Shocker, The People Under the Stairs, Swamp Thing (a campy adaptation of the DC Comics character), The Serpent and the Rainbow (an eerie Bill Pullman film about voodoo), and the thriller Red Eye (starring Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy), which is the best of his newer films. His most recent films, such as My Soul to Take, were not well-received, which is unfortunate, and I would have loved to see him try and pursue work outside the genre more, and apparently, he hoped to do that, too. Craven will always be remembered for his huge impact on not only horror, but film and pop culture in general.

                                                                         Wes Craven
                                                                  1939-2015 (age: 76)

                                             

                                                              (Image: Wikipedia)

Straight Outta Compton: The rise and fall of the World's Most Dangerous Group

Today, I look at the new biopic about rap group N.W.A.

Straight Outta Compton:
Retelling real-life events from the group members' origins to the inception of the group itself, to their quick breakup and solo careers and feuding, the film focuses in on key members Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E.
    First of all, let me compliment this film for exceeding my expectations immensely. I was expecting yet another bland music biopic along the lines of Jersey Boys and Notorious. This is not that film. The main cast of O'Shea Jackson, Jr. (playing his father Ice Cube), Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge (brother of Edwin Hodge), and Neil Brown, Jr. are fantastic, not only resembling most of the band members remarkably, but making me believe they are those characters. Paul Giamatti has an entertaining supporting role as manager Jerry Heller, who is a surprisingly nuanced character. R. Marcus Taylor plays the notorious producer Suge Knight, an imposing figure who is the closest thing the film has to an antagonist. There are numerous cameos by actors portraying every major West Coast rap figure, from Snoop Dogg, to The DOC, to Warren G, to Tupac. Almost every one of them (with the exception of maybe Snoop Dogg) looks and sounds exactly like their real-life counterparts (Tupac was so convincing I thought for sure they had used some sort of previously recorded footage, but no, it's an actor named Marcc Rose coupled with a convincing voice-over actor named Darris Love). One of the better decisions was the choice to show all of the characters, even Heller and Knight, as mostly nuanced, showing the good and bad of each member. I have yet to confirm this, but it seemed from the way the audio sounded that during the rap scenes, they dubbed the main actors over with the original rap tracks, a move I considered unique and probably the best choice the filmmakers could have made.
    The director of this film is F. Gary Gray, known for his work on Friday, The Negotiator, and The Italian Job among other films, does a great job here. He reportedly left work on Captain America: The Winter Soldier to work on this film, and I'm glad he did. I feel in the hands of a lesser director, this could have been a bland mess.
    This film is mostly accurate to true events, with only some altered or removed for time's sake. And, because Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are producers, some incidents involving them were probably left out because they want to leave that stuff in the past. MC Ren was critical of the film due to his character being more of a supporting one than a main star, though this was his reaction to the initial trailer, and he has yet to comment on the actual movie.
    The film was actually very engaging, and parts of the movie made me feel like I might have been at a concert, as whenever the music was played on screen, I got this sense that the entire audience wanted to join in singing along the lyrics.
    Despite the film being a little lengthy, and definitely feeling its' length (two and a half hours), I can't really say I was ever bored. Straight Outta Compton is an entertaining, fun, and occasionally gripping biopic, even if some of the cheesy name-drops and references (like to the film Friday) get a little grating. 7/10 stars.

                                                (Image: Wikipedia)

The Gift: Joel Edgerton's surprising directorial debut

Today, I look at the latest film from Blue Tongue, the production company of the Edgerton brothers.

The Gift:
Successful couple Simon and Robyn move into a new home after trying to start fresh. However, quickly after doing so, Simon runs into an old high school acquaintance of his: Gordon, or "Gordo". While awkward, Gordo seems harmless and friendly so Robyn invites him to dinner. However, after Gordo continually shows up at their home uninvited, presenting various "gifts", and seeming to stalk them around town, Simon seems intent on exposing Gordo for the freak he sees him as to Robyn, who still thinks Gordo is just a nice guy. However, Robyn comes to realize that Gordo is hiding something from them, and that Simon may be hiding something, too, and that these two may be more than just old high school acquaintances.
    Despite being marketed poorly as just a run-of-the-mill thriller, my interest was peaked after hearing good reviews and seeing that this was Joel Edgerton's directorial debut. While it's nothing genre-busting, The Gift is a surprisingly taut psychological thriller with some great performances. Edgerton himself is a star of the film, and delivers a complicated performance as Gordo. While he is technically an antagonist, the film slowly peels back the layers to reveal a pain-stricken and broken man who never really got the quality of life he deserved. Jason Bateman, following in the trend of Vince Vaughn and Adam Sandler, is a comedic actor who has recently been turning to more dramatic roles, and has actually shown he is better in dramas than he is in comedies. Now I actually like Jason Bateman in most stuff he's in, but much like Sandler and Vaughn, he pretty much plays himself in everything, even Arrested Development. Here, I had to remind myself at times that I was watching Jason Bateman, much like how in this past season of True Detective I had to remind myself I was watching Vince Vaughn. I won't give much away about his role, but he's surprising to say the least. Rebecca Hall, who hasn't been in too many movies of note since about 2013, has a definite comeback role in this as well. The supporting cast is made up of Tim Griffin, Allison Tolman, P.J. Byrne, Wendell Pierce, Katie Aselton, Busy Phillips, David Denman, and Beau Knapp, who all do fine jobs but aren't really given enough screen time to really leave an impression other than being recognizable faces, as the film is mainly told from the perspectives of the three leads.
    The music is pretty standard, but the cinematography took me by surprise. The camera angles are smooth and slow-moving, and some of the ways they played with the background and focus were refreshing for a genre that so often forgets that part of the fun of a movie is using the visuals cleverly.
    The Gift may not be much of a game changer, but it certainly knows how to build suspense and keep the audience guessing. It is one of the best films of the year that I've seen, as it defies expectations and does enough different to not get squandered down in mediocrity (something I think is a recurring theme throughout this year's releases). 7/10 stars.

Note: I'm altering the ratings system to "out of 10" from "out of 5", because I feel it's more accurate.


                                              (Image: Wikipedia)

R.I.P. Roddy Piper

On July 31st, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper died of cardiac arrest in his sleep at his home in Hollywood. Despite mostly being known for his wrestling career, Piper also delved into the acting world many times, most notably as the lead in John Carpenter's cult horror-comedy/social satire They Live, and as the recurring wrestler character "Da Maniac" in FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Piper was one of the most prolific entertainers and sports figures of the past fifty years, and has since been honored by many friends, colleagues, and admirers, such as Ronda Rousey, Rob McElhenney, and Vince McMahon. Piper himself correctly predicted in an interview on HBO in 2003 that he would not make it to 65, hence why he returned to wrestling at the time, as he could not collect his penchant until that age. He is survived by his wife, four children and four grandchildren.


                                                                Roddy Piper
                                                          1954-2015 (age: 61)