Spin-Kicking Hitman

MANDRILL

Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Writer: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Starring: Marko Zaror, Celine Reymond, Alejandro Castillo

2009 | Chile | Not Rated | 90 mins

★★

Action films used to involve well choreographed fight scenes that relied little on cutting and showed the action as it happened, not quick-cutting to every swing, hit, and blow as it is in the majority of mainstream cinema today. Understanding the action through properly rehearsed, discussed, and executed visuals is just as important as a telling a well-plotted story, it takes skill and understanding. And when this can be achieved by actors or stunt performers with no added special effects, green screen, quick cutting, or wire work, the action can become an unbelievable and exciting ballet of violence.

Mandrill (Marko Zaror) is a hitman who's only goal has been to discover and take out the real Cyclops, a mysterious man who killed his parents when he was just a boy. Living and learning through his womanizing Uncle Chone (Alejandro Costillo) since this incident, Mandrill is slick, suave, and tries to be just like a character his father played in a sleazy James Bond-esque series about a agent named John Colt. When he sees an opportunity to get his vengeance through Cyclops' own daughter (Celine Reymond) Mandrill finds himself falling in love and getting into a heap of trouble, fist-fights, and one-liners that are getting him no where with the girl.

Mandrill is a campy and stylized homage, and slight spoof, on the James Bond films. Marko Zaror, who uses absolutely no wire-work during the fight scenes, spin kicks and flip kicks his way through the movie pretending he really is a womanizer just like John Colt. Blending comedy and action can be a tough game and, while some of the gags work, a lot of the film's comic relief becomes repetitious as his character's limited development doesn't provide a lot to expand on. The fight scenes however are well choreographed, are not quick-cut, and Zaror has a very unique style that has not been seen in other films of this genre.

Ultimately though the film suffers from being nothing more than a showcase for Zaror's martial arts skills. The writing and direction are fairly amateurish, the characters are cut and paste, and the film runs out of steam quickly and becomes repetitious going from fight scene to flashback to one-liners and back again. It's not really funny or as exciting as it should be and runs a touch longer than it should. Mandrill is no John Colt.

All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist

Yeeeeeoooooowwwww!

BEAUTY DAY

Director: Jay Cheel

Writer: Jay Cheel

Starring: Ralph Zavadil

2011 | Canada | Not Rated | 92 mins

★★★★★

Local public-access television has evolved over the years into its current state of begin safe and informative emulating that of normal network programming. But back in the glory days public-access was a Roman bath of local insanity. The eccentrics, the loonies, and anyone with a creative idea could have a shot at having their own show. From off-kilter cooking shows, to metal-heads with a sock puppet band, to landscape painting these were shows of cathode ray tube myth and legend. Way before YouTube and way before digital, public-access was an outlet for some of the craziest stuff that you could only discover by a) Living in the region the program was broadcast or b) Coming across someone's personal VCR recordings via underground VHS trading.

St. Catherines, Ontario. 1995. A camera rolls as Ralph Zavadil jumps off an extension ladder towards a tarp-covered pool but instead of hitting the target he falls head-first to the ground and breaks his neck. This is Cap'n Video, a man with a S-VHS camera and his own public-access TV show. And if the neighbour kid next door was not home when this happened Ralph would have died and we would not know his story. Before YouTube, before Jackass, The Cap'n Video Show was providing the people of St. Catherines with the wacky, wild, and dangerous tour de force of stunt comedy. From drinking raw egg through his nose to jumping into sheds from telephone poles to his trademark slogan "It's going to be a beauty day! Yeeooowww!", Cap'n Video was clearly a madman with one mission: to, pure and simply, entertain. The odyssey of discovering the story behind Ralph Zavadil may end up being just as weird, wild, and wonderful as any Cap'n Video show. 

Beauty Day is a documentary film that has to be seen to really be believed. An incredible story filled with ambition, heartbreak, insanity, inhibition, and above all: joy. Jay Cheel, one of the founders of FilmJunk.com and TheDocumentaryBlog.com, originally planned this as a 15-minute short piece that was just going to go up on the web but when he started interviewing more people about Cap'n Video he discovered a greater story than just a man who started stunt comedy as we know it today. Ralph Zavadil is one-of-a-kind. A man, who upon beating cancer when he was quite young, decided to live life to his idea of the fullest and this drive and disabling of his own internal off-switch is endlessly endearing, fascinating, off-kilter, and more complex than any fictional character. Only in real life do we get stories this bizarre and unbelievably good.

Jay Cheel and producer Roman Pizzacalla craft a documentary that is as compelling and human as it is insane and gut-bustingly hilarious. Discovering a world unfold with the zest and character that Ralph Zavadil encompasses, Beauty Day is a gem that shows us that Cap'n Video is not an alter-ego of Ralph's but they are really one and the same. And this life is really stranger than fiction. After the disbelief of the opening into this tale you'll be smiling throughout the entire film, both manically shocked and gloriously entertained just like Cap'n Video would have wanted. Beauty Day is pure joy. Pure cinematic joy.

All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist

Shut Up, Crime

SUPER

Director: James Gunn

Writer: James Gunn

Starring: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon

2010 | United States | R | 96 mins

★★★

They walk around in tights, some have capes, most wear masks, and they either use a weapon or have some kind of super-power that allows them to thwart evil. Superheroes are the avenging force of justice that stand up for what is good and don't have to abide by a code of conduct or reasoning decided by the law books. But they are fiction, stuff of fantasy, and if someone were to actually suit up in a ridiculous outfit and take on crime they'd clearly have to be a mental case.

Frank D'Arbo (Rainn Wilson), a fry cook at a burger joint, has a beautiful wife Sarah (Liv Tyler) whom is only one of two things in his life which reminds him to be happy in life. But when she starts getting back into drugs and leaves Frank for the local drug kingpin Jacques (Kevin Bacon) Frank, through visions and signs he believes from God, decides to save her and take her back. After a choice line of dialogue taken from a Holy Avenger comic book Frank decides the only way to fight crime is to become a superhero himself. Donning a homemade costume, mask, and a pipe wrench, Frank becomes the Crimson Bolt. With the help of a local comic aficionado and Crimson Bolt groupie, Libby (Ellen Page) becomes his sidekick Boltie and together they bash in skulls and murder anyone who commits any foul deed, from molesting children to butting in line, on their quest to save Sarah from the clutches of 'Jock'.

Super is a dark comic odyssey into the side of superheroes we don't ever consider or think about - if they were real, they'd just be costumed nut jobs. And bashing in skulls is not justice, but murder. Rainn Wilson is both hilarious and sad as Frank, a man who's world caves in and he snaps into an almost fundamentalist mentality. Ellen Page is perfectly cast as the spunky and even creepily frightening comic nerd who also ends up raping Frank in one scene. James Gunn, co-writer of the Troma classic Tromeo & Juliet and writer/director of the underrated Slither, keeps things very dark, funny, violent, and even a touch sad.

Although Super does have a few faults and the story does unravel a bit, it's a refreshing take and satirization on a tired genre that has been endlessly turning out adaptations and franchises over the past decade. Bitingly scathing, James Gunn's Super takes a piss on the politically correct ideals of superheroes, somehow making them more human, in all its bloody skull-smashing glory. It's a dark slice of entertainment worth checking out.

All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist

Miike's Coup de Grâce

13 ASSASSINS

Director: Takashi Miike

Writer: Daisuke Tengan

Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Gorô Inagaki

2010 | Japan | R | 141 mins

★★★★

Takashi Miike, reigning film force behind some of Japan's most impressive, controversial, and even bizarre movies, brings us a remake of  Eiichi Kudo's 1963 period-drama Jûsan-nin no shikaku. In 1840s Japan Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki), the former Shogun's son and current Shogun's brother, uses his untouchable status to maim, kill, and rape to his sadistic pleasure. When a disgraced samurai commits seppuku because of the young Lord's evil deeds, an older samurai Shinzaemon Shimad (Kôji Yakusho) is hired to assassinate Naritsugu.

Upon witnessing a woman whom the Lord had seriously abused as his plaything by cutting off all her limbs and cutting out her tongue Shinzaemon puts together a group of 12 other samurai with varying personalities and skills. Their suicide mission is to ambush Naritsugu on his way back home from Edo by fortifying and booby-trapping a village they have bought out. But Naritsugu surprises them by showing up with over 200 guards when they were expecting only 70.

Under Takashi Miike's taught direction 13 Assassins becomes an epic and engrossing film that harkens back to the work of Kurosawa in its beauty, drama, and destruction, as well as explosive and unexpected like the Lone Wolf and Cub and Zatôichi films. Not failing to make sure his stamp is there, Miike makes sure the villain is as vile and reprehensible as can be and even one of the thirteen assassins may not be altogether human.

Production design and art direction are majestically crafted, with sprawling panoramic cinematography and action set-pieces that engage and progress the story and characters, 13 Assassins is a triumph for writer Daisuke Tengan and maverick director Takashi Miike. Able to work in all genres and put out more movies in a year than most directors, this is a staggering accomplishment for Miike. The age of the samurai film isn't waning as Miike moves on to Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai.

All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist

The Girl from the Woods Next Door

THE WOMAN

Director: Lucky McKee

Writers: Lucky McKee, Jack Ketchum

Starring: Pollyanna McIntosh, Sean Bridgers, Angella Bettis

2011 | United States | R | 108 mins

★½

People can't seem to talk about Lucky McKee's The Woman without someone piping in about the film's controversy surrounding the Sundance Film Festival premiere. A man in in the audience was so appalled by the film that he demanded the film print be burned right then and there and made a big stink as he was escorted out of the theatre by security. The aftermath can be seen in full on YouTube. Raving loon or moral crusader? You decide.

Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers), a seemingly all-American family man and successful lawyer, is out hunting one day in the woods surrounding his home when he spots a feral woman (Pollyanna McIntosh) near a stream. Eying her up through the scope, Chris has a plan for her. So he captures her, ties her up in the family work shed, and manages to lose his finger while he tries to have some fun with her. This secret isn't going to be easy to keep so he gathers the whole family together and proposes they all pitch in and try to help "civilize" her. Now this family has a few more concerns besides martial problems, rebellious teenagers, and a depressed daughter.

The Woman is Lucky McKee's second film based off of Jack Ketchum's literary works. His first being the adaptation of Red, a story about a man's revenge for the unjust killing of his dog. Here though it seems Jack Ketchum is revisiting a previous scenario he already wrote about in The Girl Next Door, although this outing is not based loosely, or at all, on fact and has a change of location. Same basic set-up however; a girl/woman is captured by seemingly sane people, punished, tortured, raped, and eventually escapes. In The Woman though she's more of an animal than human per say and exacts her revenge, but it's the same old thing. Pollyanna McIntosh is the film's only saving grace. But she can't save it.

Lucky McKee makes some big mistakes that make this a paint-by-the-numbers captive film. The characters are all highly cliched, uninteresting and hokey, the writing bland and predictable, but the film's biggest offender is the soundtrack. Bubblegum-esque pop-punk saturates the soundtrack and it feels like some bad late 90's high school comedy ala American Pie. This ruins anything that could have possibly made this an atmospheric and chilling venture (of course if it were acted and written better as well). As for the controversy this film has caused, let's call it hype. The Woman is too boring and lame to shock or offend and even Michael Bay's movies are more misogynistic. And the twist they throw in at the end removes any credibility it may still have had. Lucky McKee showed promise as an interesting director to seek out with previous efforts such as May and his highly underrated film The Woods but this effort is just juvenile. The Woman is Lucky McKee's worst film.

All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist

They're Not Just Under The Bridge Anymore

TROLLHUNTER

Director: André Øvredal

Writers: André Øvredal, Håvard S. Johansen

Starring: Otto Jespersen, Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Mørck

2010 | Norway | PG-13 | 103 mins

★★★ 

The Blair Witch Project opened the floodgates to the found footage film, for better or worse. Most of these films utilize this view point for nothing more than cheap jump scares, avoiding any real plot or motive other than to scare you with a loud noise or quick frantic glimpse of some unknown terror. The Paranormal Activity franchise being notorious for this. But here comes a film from Norway which takes you into a fairy tale world come alive and just might let you enjoy the time spent viewing this found footage while providing some cleverly placed thrills. 

Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) are three students from Volda College who are out doing some investigative journalism into what a series of bear killings and bear poachers. Their main target is Hans (Otto Jespersen), a mysterious hunter whom only seems to go out during the night. Curiously he always ends up leaving an area as soon as a new dead bear is discovered by the local population. Upon secretly following him into a mine blasting site they are confronted by Hans, whom agrees to let them film him as he wants to expose his actual job, much to the disbelief of the students, that he is a troll hunter. 

TrollHunter features the talents of some amazing CGI artists who blend the "reality" of the footage with the enormous, hideous looking trolls. Each type is distinctive and believable, and the attention is payed to making them part of the environment rather than the show-horse. The cast are all quite charming and at times realistically annoying. Jespersen's Hans is just like the trolls he hunts; lumbering around trying to survive yet escape the confinements of his world which he is growing tired of. André Øvredal knows that less is more, and always chooses the right moments to showcase the action and horror, and keeps things moving along despite that it takes some time to get into the world of the trolls. 

There are no cheap jump scares, the action is concise and thrilling, and it avoids going for violence over suspense. While the film loses some steam half way through, gets a bit talky, and doesn't end in the most satisfactory of terms (unfortunately, an all too common problem of the found footage genre), André Øvredal and crew still manage to bring a spectacle to life and prove that CGI can be used in a manner that becomes part of the story rather than taking you out of it. TrollHunter is, overall, light and entertaining fun. 

All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist

Invite the Devil Home

SENNENTUNTSCHI: CURSE OF THE ALPS

Director: Michael Steiner

Writers: Michael Steiner, Stefani Japp, Michael Sauter

Starring: Roxane Mesquida, Nicholas Ofczarek, Carlos Leal

2010 | Switzerland | Not Rated | 110 mins

★★★★ 

Isolation. Cabin fever. Sexual frustration. In the Swiss Alps legend has it that lonely mountaineers had fashioned a broom, straw, and some rags into a doll to keep them company. The Devil took pity on them so he made their doll come to life. It became the Sennentuntschi. She cleaned, cooked, made coffee, and was used and abused by these men for their pleasure. But not without a price, as the Sennentunschi took her revenge and killed, skinned, and fashioned the men into straw-stuffed dolls.

1975. A small mountainside village. During the funeral procession for a priest who committed suicide a mysterious and mute young woman (Roxane Mesquida) wanders in out of nowhere dirty, frantic, and seemingly possessed. Sebastian Reusch (Nicholas Ofczarek), the local cop, quickly takes her in despite the judging of the church community whom deem her a witch possessed by the Devil. Reusch believes in innocent until proven guilty. With the mystery of trying to find out who this woman is, Reusch discovers an article from an unsolved murder case involving three mountaineers in 1950. And the prime suspect appears to be the same woman, appearing to have not aged at all. Earlier on though, a goat farmer (Andrea Zogg), his mute son (Joel Basman), and a hired hand (Carlos Leal) working higher up in the Alps drunkenly put the legend to the test and when they awake from their absinthe-fueled slumber they find a woman amongst them, the Devil having given them a Sennentuntschi. But a curse deeper than that just of the Sennentunschi lurks over the entire mountainside, and will Reusch discover it before it's too late? 

Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps is a gripping, twisting and turning mystery thriller. Michael Steiner finely crafts a film that layers on atmosphere, suspense, intrigue, and a spider's web of a tale that if you're not paying attention it will leave you confused and dazed. Sennentuntschi weaves together all the pieces of the puzzle to tell its tale so we are delved into three different times throughout the film at different moments. And if you don't notice these changes in the characters' wardrobe you may think they are taking place simultaneously, and this will not help you in figuring out the mystery and will leave your head hurting. Steiner, and the other writers, use these flashbacks to anchor the story and mystery and to engage the viewer into discovering the truth along with, or before, Reusch.

Intricately detailed, this type of plot and story with its twists and turns would be horrendously butchered say if this was an M. Night Shyamalan production, but everything connects and works. And the twists unravel with substance to the plot rather than throwing a left hook out of nowhere. The actors turn in great performances and Roxane Mesquida especially gives a lot of depth to every nuance which straddles the line between childlike curiosity and predatory survivalist instinct. Accompanied by some gorgeous cinematography, rich locations, and a great and brooding score, Sennentunschi: Curse of the Alps is a thrilling labyrinthine mystery worth seeking out. 

All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist