Categorie archief: Films

Pusher

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Recentelijk verscheen voor het eerst de Pusher trilogie op DVD. Deze films werden al in 1997, 2005 en 2006 vertoond op het International Film Festival Rotterdam, waar ze op veel waardering konden rekenen van de cult/art house crowd.

Het kijken naar een ‘Pusher’ film is een genot voor de zintuigen. Nicolas Winding Refn (recentelijk bekend geworden met ‘Drive’) schetst een schemerige onderwereld waar criminele freaks en losers zich staande moeten zien te houden. De beloning is dat ze leven, maar in de troosteloze milieus waarin ze verkeren is dat nauwelijks een beloning te noemen.

De losjes aan elkaar verbonden films hebben ieder een eigen verhaal. De protagonist is altijd een pusher (drugsdealer) die zijn positie probeert te handhaven in de drugscene van Kopenhagen. Die positie komt dan onder druk te staan door concullega’s of bovenbaasjes, maar bovenal door fouten die de hoofdpersonen maken in hun dagelijkse handelen.

Het geweld is erg gedoseerd waardoor het extra hard binnenkomt wanneer het zich voordoet. In het eerste deel is er een scene met een honkbalknuppel die de kijker lang zal bijblijven en in deel 3 zorgt het wegwerken van een paar lijken voor een grafisch geweldsspectakel.

Ieder deel heeft gemeenschappelijke ‘Pusher’ kwaliteiten die er voor zorgen dat je ze gefascineerd en zonder onderbreking wilt afkijken. Deze kwaliteiten omvatten hypnotiserend camerawerk, montage, geluidsaffecten en een boeiend verhaal. Daarnaast zijn er afzonderlijke elementen die het tot losstaande meesterwerkjes maken. Deel 1 brengt de wanhoop van een crimineel in de penarie geweldig naar voren. Deel 2 is een ijzersterke tragedie met veel psychologische diepgang. Het derde deel combineert keiharde misdaad met zwarte komedie tot een niet te versmaden mix.

De cast verdient ook nog wat woorden van lof. De onbekende hoofdpersoon van deel 1 mist het charismatische van Mads Mikkelsen (deel 2) en Zlatko Buric (deel 3), maar weet de kijker wel in zijn verhaal te zuigen en niet meer los te laten. Mikkelsen, die een paar jaar later internationaal zou doorbreken als bad guy in Bond-film ‘Casino Royale’, is een geweldig acteur die van zijn Tonny een tragisch personage van Shakespeariaanse proporties weet te maken. En Buric is niet minder dan briljant als de Servische gangster Milo.

De ‘Pusher’ trilogie verdient een plek tussen de Europese misdaadmeesterwerken, en de films hebben het in zich als tijdloze klassiekers herkeken te worden.

Where the Buffalo Roam

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Art Linson
Written by: Hunter S. Thompson (stories), John Kaye (screenplay)
Cast: Bill Murray, Peter Boyle, Bruno Kirby, R.G. Armstrong

Year / Country: 1980, USA
Running Time: 95 mins.

‘I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but in my case it worked.’ Where the Buffalo Roam is the first movie adaptation of the work of legendary Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who is portrayed by Bill Murray in the movie.

The story of Where the Buffalo Roam deals with Thompson’s encounters with his equally legendary ‘mutant’ attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta, who is called Carl Lazlo here and is portrayed by Peter Boyle. The movie is based on Thompson’s obituary for his attorney who disappeared in Mexico in 1974, three years after their two trips to Las Vegas that were immortalized in Thompson’s masterpiece ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’.

Screenplay writer John Kaye also drew from other works of Thompson, including ‘Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72’’, ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ and ‘The Great Shark Hunt’. The final result depicts three journalistic adventures of Thompson in which Lazlo shows up. The first one involves San Francisco drug trials in which Lazlo represents wrongfully indicted youngsters. The second story shows Thompson missing the Super Bowl to accompany Lazlo on a failed activist mission. Finally, Thompson is seen on the presidential campaign where he has a one-on-one encounter with his self proclaimed nemesis Richard Nixon.

Most of the people involved, including Thompson himself, didn’t like the final result or even hated the movie. It is easy to see why. Much of Thompson’s razor sharp journalism resorts into a bunch of silliness. The second half is especially very uneven. Still, it is a lot of fun hearing a number of great Thompson quotes being uttered by Bill Murray, who’s excellent in the role of Gonzo journalist. Boyle is also enjoyable as his dope crazed attorney.

As a whole, the movie is indeed too silly to be perceived as a success or an effective movie translation of Thompson’s writing. However, separate parts range from funny to almost great. Especially the sequences in which Thompson has to meet deadlines, but is too preoccupied with weirdness and dope frenzies. Also includes an excellent soundtrack featuring: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Rating:

Biography: Art Linson (1942, Chicago) was born in Chicago, but grew up in Hollywood. He graduated from UCLA Law School in 1967 but never practiced. Linson has distinguished himself in Hollywood by developing scripts and stories that attract the highest caliber talent, resulting in some of the most admired and successful motion pictures of the last two decades, including Heat, Fight Club and The Untouchables. In 1995, Linson published his first book, ‘A Pound of Flesh: Perilous Tales of How to Produce Movies in Hollywood’. His second book, ‘What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales From the Front Line’, was published in 2002.

Filmography: Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) / The Wild Life (1984)

Cult Radar: Part 9

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon is glad to explore the video trenches to find that oddball treasure between the piles of crap out there. Of Course, a treasure in this context can also be a film that’s so shockingly bad it’s worth a look, or something so bizarre that cult fans just have to see it. Join us on our quest and learn what we learn. Hopefully we’ll uncover some well-hidden cult gems.

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

Tormented (UK, 2009)

Directed by: Jon Wright
Written by: Stephen Prentice
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas

Fat schoolboy Darren got bullied to the point where he committed suicide. Tormented opens at his funeral. Not only do Darren’s tormentors don’t have any regrets whatsoever, they even throw a party to celebrate his demise. That’s just too much… Soon after, each member of the group of bullies starts receiving text messages from the dead Darren. They first think that someone is playing a prank on them, but as soon as the first body drops, they know they’re totally screwed. Tormented is a very effective horror flick that is both funny and inventively satisfying. Whether you thought high school was fun or not, this will keep you entertained for an hour and a half easily. Reviewer Kim Newman, who runs a Dungeon over at Empire Magazine gave it four stars also. It’s a recommendation.

Nude Nuns with Big Guns (USA, 2010)

Directed by: Joseph Guzman
Written by: Joseph Guzman, Robert James Hayes II
Cast: Asun Ortega, David Castro, Perry D’Marco

Violence, drugs, guns, boobs and off course lesbian sex. Nude Nuns With Big Guns is an immoral cocktail delivered by Freak Show Entertainment, the team behind the similar Run Bitch Run!. An abused nun has a vision from God. She is told to slay all sinners that are somehow connected to an elaborate heroin network, led by a money hungry padre who uses naked nuns as personnel. Sister Sarah is not supposed to show any mercy and she doesn’t! Is this entertaining? It kind of is in the sense that it is well shot and cut. Your eventual appreciation of Nude Nuns With Big Guns will depend mostly on your tolerance for graphic sex and violence featuring nuns. If this is low, you can easily deduct a star from this rating.

Hobo with a Shotgun (Canada, 2011)

Directed by: Jason Eisener
Written by: John Davies, Jason Eisener, Rob Cotterill
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Gregory Smith, Brian Downey

The awesome film poster promises an exploitation film pur sang and delivers. Hobo With a Shotgun was originally a fake trailer that won a Grindhouse competition organized by Robert Rodriguez. The story is about a homeless guy (Rutger Hauer) that takes on psychopathic scum in a city riddled with crime and depravity. Since it was made on a modest budget and has no Hollywood stars in its cast, it is more convincing than Tarantino’s and Rodriquez’ own Grindhouse pictures Death Proof and Planet Terror. The cheap violence gives you the real sense of watching a cult flick from the seventies. However, the sadistic violence is so excessive and beastly that it is hard to care about the characters at all, even the protagonists. The build-up is also not entirely effective; Hauer changes into a bloodthirsty vigilante in minutes, taking away some of the pleasure when he settles the score. Still, the underlying message about the human condition is well delivered and the exploitation feel is sublime; you can almost hear the exciting screams in the grindhouse theater. This hobo is certainly worth spending some loose change on.

Orcs! (USA, 2011)

Directed by: Andrew Black, James MacPherson
Written by: Anne K. Black, Jason Faller, Kynan Griffin and Justin Partridge
Cast: Adam Johnson, Renny Grames, Maclain Nelson

‘It’s an orc! No, it’s not. There is no such thing.’ A movie in which orcs show up in modern times sounds pretty horrendous. While certainly no masterpiece, Orcs! manages to entertain during its first half, which is basically a comedy about two idiot park rangers. Some jokes and The Lord of the Rings references are pretty funny. The second half is one long and tiresome battle against the orcs. This is the boring part. The costumes and special effects are laughable. All in all, don’t watch Orcs!. Just don’t!

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (USA, 1988)

Directed by: Stephen Chiodo
Written by: Charles Chiodo, Edward Chiodo, Stephen Chiodo
Cast: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson

From the special effects team behind Critters and Team America: World Police comes an original eighties classic. On a Friday night in Cove Crescent, a couple of youngsters witness a shooting star land nearby. At the place of impact, a circus tent appears, but what’s inside aint no funhouse… The acting in Killer Klowns From Outer Space may not be world class, but the production design is very well done and reason enough to check this out. It certainly beats cotton candy.

White Heat (1949)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


James Cagney Is Red Hot In ‘White Heat’!

Directed by:
Raoul Walsh

Written by:
Ivan Goff (screenplay)
Ben Roberts (screenplay)
Virginia Kellogg (story)

Cast:
James Cagney (Cody Jarrett), Virginia Mayo (Verna Jarrett), Edmond O’Brien (Hank Fallon / Vic Pardo), Margaret Wycherley (Ma Jarrett), Steve Cochran (Big Ed Somers), John Archer (Philip Evans), Wally Cassell (Cotton Valletti), Fred Clark (Trader Winston), Marshall Bradford (Chief of Police), Paul Guilfoyle (Roy Parker)

White Heat opens in High Sierra – a nod to the 1941 Humphrey Bogart classic directed by Raoul Walsh – where the Jarrett Mob executes a daring heist on a treasury train, making off with 300,000 dollars in government money. The stage is set for a relentless manhunt as the authorities vow to dismantle the gang and reclaim the stolen fortune.

At the helm of the Jarrett gang is Cody Jarrett, a volatile and psychopathic criminal plagued by deep-seated mother issues. James Cagney delivers a career-defining performance, infusing Jarrett with terrifying intensity and unpredictable rage.

Director Raoul Walsh, who previously collaborated with Cagney on The Roaring Twenties, masterfully guides this explosive portrayal, cementing White Heat as a trendsetter for modern crime thrillers.

The supporting cast shines, particularly Virginia Mayo as Verna Jarrett, the bubblegum-chewing femme fatale, and Margaret Wycherley as the sinister Ma Jarrett – a character whose malevolence rivals the likes of the mother character Livia from I, Claudius and The Sopranos. Cagney’s unhinged outbursts and chilling charisma make Jarrett one of cinema’s most unforgettable villains.

From its gripping opening to its spectacular, thematically resonant finale, White Heat is a relentless and timeless masterpiece. The film’s iconic line – “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” – isn’t just Jarrett’s delusional triumph; it’s a fitting tribute to the film itself. Few movies achieve such enduring power, but White Heat stands tall among the greats.

Rating:

Quote:
CODY JARRETT: “Big Ed, Great… Big… Ed. Know why they call him that? Because his ideas are big. Someday he’s gonna get a really big one, about me. It’ll be his last.”

Trivia:
The unusually close relationship between Cody Jarrett and his domineering mother was inspired by real life bank robbers Kate Barker (aka Ma Barker) and her sons.