Mini Review: Snowpiercer

Bong Joo-ho's Snowpiercer - based on a French graphic novel - has some not-so-subtle things to say about class warfare, but that's an article to be written by someone much smarter than me.  An attempt to reverse the effects of global warming have backfired, leaving the sole survivors of Earth to circle the frozen globe in a self-sustaining train, powered by a Sacred Engine.  There's a cautionary tale in that, but I'm not the man to unravel it.

Instead, I'll just talk about how much fun this movie was.  Curtis (Chris Evans) is leading a rebellion against the powers-that-be.  To do this, he must lead his ragtag group from the filthy rear car to the posh front car.  It was almost like a video game, with each car presenting its own challenges.  Some of them contain puzzles to be solved, with new truths being presented that may disrupt their quest.  Others may be a car full of hatchet wielding maniacs who cut open fish to intimidate their attackers.  Others may contain exposition dumps.

It's a dark action movie, all taking place inside a train barreling through snow-covered landscapes.  It's a post-apocalyptic movie unlike any I've seen.  And, while it's bleak, there is a small glimmer of hope.  It's also a lot of fun to watch.

The acting is terrific.  Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt and Allison Pill are the highlights, but everyone here is great.

I've seen nothing but praise for this, and, while I loved it, I'll preach a little bit of caution.  I don't think it's quite as amazing as the rest of the world seems to think it is.  It’s a bit long and can drag at times, drawing out small scenes to be longer than they have any reason to be.  When I saw this, the hype level was still pretty low.  If I had seen it with sky-high expectations, I would have walked out disappointed.  As it was, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even if I had some minor issues with it.

It’s not perfect, but it’s still really good.  Keep your expectations reasonable, and you’ll love it.

Rating: 4.5/5

What Comes Next: Best Friends Forever

In case you’re not familiar with the concept of this series, take a look at my initial post.  And beware of spoilers.  Because there will be spoilers.

Before I get into the meat of the post, I’d like to point out that Harriet pushing a flaming book cart and screaming “Get away from my friend!” was the best scene of the movie, and one of my favorite scenes in any movie I’ve seen this year (although it’s not as good as the elbow-thruster scene in Pacific Rim.  Because that was insanely amazing).

When we leave Harriet and Reba in this movie, Harriet has her left arm bandaged up and in a sling, on account of the gunshot she took while saving Reba.  The only reason she survived at all was due to the knowledge (and, therefore, power) gleaned from books. 

They step out of the library, and we’re treated to comic book scenes of Harriet and Reba in various moments of badassery.  It’s a terrific ending to a beautiful little film.  But what would really happen?

Awesome comic book scenes aside, they don’t really seem like fighters.  Sure, Harriet pushed a cart of flaming books at a group of would-be-rapists and Reba ran over a hipster, but who among us hasn’t done something like that?  I call those days “Wednesdays”.

It took them two attempts to take down a group of three hipsters, when only one of them really seemed ruthless in the first place.  And yet,  after running him over, she felt terrible about it.  She cried and kept asking how she could do such a thing.  Hardly the mark of a survivor in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

And Harriet wasn’t much better.  She pushed a flaming book cart at some guys, but what would’ve happened if they didn’t scatter?  She had no back-up plan.  And, even if she did, she didn’t have the skills to do anything about it.

Beyond all that, the group of rape-minded rednecks were local law enforcement.  Law enforcement that had a mandate on checking any person on the streets for a passport (which, as far as we know, neither Harriett or Reba is carrying).  That was likely not the last band of police officers the girls would come across, and they were highly unlikely to have a cart of flaming books at their disposal the next time they crossed paths with Johnny Law.

But perhaps they have a chance.  After all, among the books (again, books = knowledge = power) scattered in the library was one titled “How to Survive a Nuclear Apocalypse”.  Perhaps they picked up some helpful hints within those pages.

And maybe their lack of a killer instinct won’t hurt them too much.  After all, it took the murder of his wife and child to turn Max into The Road Warrior.  Maybe the loss of their loved ones in the nuclear blasts flipped an internal switch.  Would Reba have dreamed of running someone over a few days before?  Absolutely not.  If she’s capable of that, maybe she is capable of doing what needs to be done to survive in the post-apocalyptic age.  Ditto for Harriet.

Still, there are a lot of “maybes” in that last paragraph.  I can’t shake the feeling that this story does not end well.  What happens when Harriet and Reba come up against a group of grizzled survivors with weapons in their hands and malice in their hearts?  They have shown that they can be crafty in dealing with enemies when they have time to plan.  What happens when they have no time for planning?

I hope they make it.  I really do.  However, I have a feeling that the image of Harriet and Reba heading off into the world at the end of the film – a scene that is supposed to be seen as two best friends heading off to make it in this new world – is more than likely the start of a very short death march.

[If, by some miracle, Brea Grant, Vera Miao or Stacey Storey is actually reading this, I want you to know that I would absolutely throw some money at Kickstarter for a Road Warrior-esque sequel to this, and would be more than willing to contribute some music to the soundtrack/score.]

Best Friends Forever

Short synopsis:

Harriet and Reba – the titular “best friends forever” – embark on a road trip from Los Angeles to Austin.  Unbeknownst to our heroines, nuclear bombs detonate in 4 major cities while they’re on the road.

Notable actors: Brea Grant, Sean Maher

My thoughts:

I’m kind of cheating here, since this isn’t really a traditional horror movie.  But it’s set during an apocalypse, so I figure it counts.  Also, I make the rules around here.

 I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this film.  I knew it was an apocalyptic road trip movie.  And I knew that I liked Brea Grant (on top of her appearances in Heroes, Dexter and Midnight Movie, I was a big fan of her love-story/zombie comic We Will Bury You).  But that was about it.

As it turns out, I really loved this movie.  Easily the best, most unique road trip movie since Wristcutters: A Love Story (I’m not sure if I’ve ever proclaimed my love of Wristcutters in this space before, so let me take care of that right now: I love Wristcutters more than I probably should.  I credit Tom Waits’ involvement).  The premise is terrific, but it’s the two leads (Brea Grant & Vera Miao) that sell it.  They really seem like best friends.  They know each other inside-and-out, and yet there’s an underlying tension in every interaction they have. 

 But, in spite of that tension, there’s an obvious love they have for each other.  And that’s really what drew me in.  They were such opposites (Harriet is quirky, book-loving, reserved individual who just got out of a psych ward after trying to commit suicide, while Reba is a fun-loving, impulsive girl), yet they love each other so much.  Just watching their interactions was enough to keep me invested.  Through most of the movie, I knew that Harriet was harboring some pretty big secrets that would eventually drive a rift between them.  Even though that normally stresses me out, I was really looking forward to how they would resolve the conflict.  I knew that it would be hard to watch, but I also knew that they would eventually work it out.  Beyond that, I wanted them to work it out.  I’ve seen too many movies where I don’t care what happens between the characters.  In this film, I desperately wanted to see them work it out, because I knew their friendship truly meant something.  The world may be ending, but I knew they would be okay as long as they stuck together.  Nothing else really mattered.

Here are a handful of scenes I really, REALLY loved:

1. The scene where they get carjacked.  It’s amazing.  And hilarious.  To me, it’s the second funniest scene of the movie (I can’t talk about my favorite scene of the movie without getting into spoilers, so that might have to wait until a What Comes Next post).  Without giving too much away, they end up meeting up with the carjackers a little later in the movie as well.  And that scene absolutely killed me.  If they made an entire movie of the interactions between the girls and these carjackers, I would absolutely watch that.

2. The scene where they dress up like badass, post-apocalyptic chicks.  I love it.  First of all, it’s a mini-montage.  As a child of the 80s, I’m obligated to love montages.  Second of all, Reba’s outfit is very similar to Alice’s in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (the fact that Milla Jovovich is referenced before that scene is no coincidence), and I adore that movie.  Lastly, it’s exactly the kind of outfit that is to be expected in a movie about an apocalypse.  The fact that they pay homage to that scene is kind of amazing. It’s a definite nod toward the look of Mad Max.  I love everything about this scene, short though it may be.

3. The end of the movie.  There are a couple of moments to love about this.  They show a handful of recognizable scenes from the movie, sans Harriet and Reba.  It’s reminiscent of the end of the original Hallowee.  It’s beautiful.  After that, during the credits, we see the glorified adventures of our heroines after the events of the movie in comic book form.  I truly hope that they release an actual comic book for this.  (The comic scenes are courtesy of the incredibly talented Stacie Ponder at Final Girl.  If you haven’t checked out her horror movie blog/artwork, you really need to.  She’s amazing.)

There’s also a scene with Harriet running out of the library that is absolutely incredible, but I don’t really want to get into it here.  Spoiler territory and all that.

 There are times when it’s a bit cheesy, but I really loved this film.  It looks great.  It has a terrific soundtrack.  Great characters.  Great actors.  I’ve watched it twice now, and it seems like one of those movies that will only get better each time you watch it.  I’ll definitely be going back to it a few more times before the year is over. 

This is Brea Grant’s directorial debut.  I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Rating: 5/5

Stake Land

With my baseball team (the Tigers) playing game 6 of the ALCS tonight, I wasn't planning on watching a horror movie.  But a 9 run third inning by the Rangers is probably going to change that.
For now, I'll review a movie I watched a couple nights ago.

Stake Land

This showed up as a "you might like this movie" on Netflix.  So I grabbed it.
You know what?  They were right.  They usually are.
This is a vampire movie that feels more like a post-apocalyptic zombie movie...all scorched earth and undead things roaming around.  The big difference, of course, is that vampires can't come out during the day.
I don't remember them ever saying what caused it, but the movie begins with the world being overrun with vampires.  We follow Martin as he is getting ready to leave with his family, only to watch his family get killed, and himself only surviving because a man (simply known as Mister) comes by and saves him.  Martin begins traveling with Mister, and Mister shows him how to kill a vampire, and how to survive in general.
They pick up a couple of people along the way: a nun (Sister), a pregnant country singer (Belle), and a Marine (Willie).  They are trying to make their way to New Eden, a place in Canada that is supposed to be vampire-free.
But vampires aren't the only thing they need to worry about.  There is a fanatical religious group that calls themselves The Brotherhood, and is fronted by the sadistic Jebedia Loven, who believe that the vampires are a plague brought down by God.

The vampire behave more like zombies than vampires.  They have one goal: to feed.  They don't think.  They don't feel.  They can be killed in the standard vampire ways: stake through the heart, decapitation, and sunlight (although the only one we really see is the stake through the heart).

The movie moves a little slow in parts, but I think it works well.  It sets a good mood overall.  The music works really well for that mood, as well.  Lots of piano.  Pretty stark.  It fits the feeling and mood of the movie perfectly.

Overall, I really liked it.  It was a little different for a vampire movie, but it worked really well.  There were some parts that seemed a little clumsy, but, overall, it worked.
There was one thing that threw me off.  One of the cowriters of the movie was Nick Damici, who also played Mister.  Mister is great at killing vampires, and he's always cool, calm and collected.  So, basically, he's supposed to be a really cool character.  And that character was played by the guy who wrote him.  That just seemed a little cheap to me.  But it doesn't distract from the movie too much.  Just seemed a little odd.  Then again, Sylvester Stallone co-wrote for the Rambo and Rocky series...but Damici is no Stallone.

There were a few people in the movie that I recognized.  Danielle Harris (Rob Zombie's Halloween series, Hatchet II) played Belle, Kelly McGillis (Top Gun, Witness) played Sister, and Michael Cerveris (one of The Observers from Fringe) played Jebedia Loven.

Rating: 4.5/5

The Rangers are now up 12-4.  Guh.  Guess it's horror movie time.