Review for Session 9

Flash Summary:
An asbestos cleaning team enters an abandoned mental asylum to do some cleaning to prepare the building for something more commercial. Turns out the asylum may not be so abandoned after all...

Review:
For a movie that I constantly avoided for the worry that it was simply a SciFi-esque cheap thriller with a somewhat decent cast, I was more than pleasantly surprised with Session 9. As I sat down to screen this film for my Art of Cinema class (after my class denied watching Evil Dead 2 over this...ugh....), I was ready to cast the film off as yet another people-enter-bad-place-and-make-dumb-decisions film, but there was, get ready for this, a plot!

While it may be being facetious to add the bold italics to that statement, I find that simply having a decent and original plot in a horror/thriller film instantly gives it merit. If you want mindless B-movie exploitation horror, there is plenty of that in the 80's and spamming Netflix weekly. Session 9 dug under my skin with it's close knit group of characters and their ever-growing tension throughout the film, to the point where I felt their struggle physically and mentally. For someone looking for a great psychological film with a couple brain exercises and hard-hitting, yet sparse, gore, I implore you to look no further.

For our asbestos team of 5, including cast members such as David Caruso and Josh Lucas, we quickly become the 6th worker as we are given a decent exploitation into the personal lives of our workers and why they have stuck with this unsafe and poor-paid job for so long. I think the screenwriter/director Brad Anderson did extremely well with giving our characters a story, since a horror film is not exactly where we find these sort of things. After we are introduced to our setting, which becomes a character of the film itself, and given a dose of back story, the mind-games begin.

The film is one of the better looking horror films I've seen, especially considering how low the budget was one the film (only $379,000!!!). Certain scenes of the asylum, especially the sinister ward A where our lead man Gordon, played by Peter Mullan, has some sort of connection with the halls and passages, are standouts in my memory, and the clear vastness of the building as not many scenes are repetitive. Also, it should be duly noted that the director had only had experience directing two rom-coms prior to this film. It's a no-brainer as to why his next film was the incredibly darker and depressing The Machinist, with this being the foreplay.

At the end of the day, I would still label this film as a horror film, but I wouldn't follow that statement without my reasoning as to why it's most certainly a standout in the genre. It has smarts, it has a decent cast and setting, and it's not what you'd expect from the setup of its story. I will admit that if you aren't paying close attention to the film, there will be some things that may not be completely clear to you, but hey, if you aren't paying attention to it, why are you watching it? Don't choose this as a midnight movie to just have a couple drinks and talk during it, but rather, give it your full undivided attention, and you'll be rewarded with a smart, engaging horror movie that threatens the question; are we aware of the notion of insanity when we ourselves may be?

Sidenote: Sorry for the late review(s), this past week was my 21st birthday, so it's safe to assume movie reviewing was the last thing I was focused on! I'll be back on track from here on out!

Review for The Princess Bride

Flash Summary:
A young boy is told a story of damsels in distress and great heroes by his grandfather. This story is not the traditional King Arthur, as we have a comical twist to keep our story alive!

Review:
Rob Reiner's 1987 film The Princess Bride is a very special film to a lot of people I know. The jokes, the actors, and the story have all been the victim of pop culture regurgitation over the years, and most people/critics/websites cite it as one of their favorite comedies. I, myself, had never completely seen the film until about a week ago, and I thought it necessary to gather my thoughts and see if I agreed with the general consensus. I regret to inform, I did not feel the same way.

While this film is in no regards bad or dumb, I simply couldn't find myself to think most of the film was funny. Granted, the comedy made nowadays is either a play on an Apatow film or a copy of The Hangover, I simply felt that the film was using its characters in the dumbest way possible. I will also say that having seen this film while I was younger or when it was in theaters, I would have probably appreciated it a lot more than having just seen it at 20 years old in 2013. It is certainly easy to tell why this film is nostalgic, though, as the entire movie is joke upon classic line. It is not always true to wait until you're older to truly appreciate cinema.

I quite enjoyed the three pirates' interaction with our hero, played by Cary Elwes, but the fact that their time together was so short made for a sour taste in my viewing experience. The whole story was incredibly basic, but this little addition was my favorite piece of the film. I'd also like to note that for being a film in 1987, this film has held up beautifully aspect-wise. It may be because I watched a Blu-ray copy of it, but the film looked marvelous, and the scenery and action pieces were well-constructed and choreographed. Our damsel in distress, played by Robin Wright, was perfect in the role, constantly vying for her rescuer and badmouthing our Prince Humperdinck, my favorite character, portrayed by Chris Sarandon.

In watching the film, I was trying my hardest to watch it with the mindset of an audience in 1987, or a young child, but I simply thought the jokes were just too dried out for my age and not evoking responses. I am not saying this was not funny at all, as there are certain areas where I thought the film exceeded in its comical aspect (the cups of wine scene and the prince tracking our hero), but I wouldn't go as far as to say it was one of the best comedies I've seen. Like I said before, it is clear to me while many people love this film, and to those who do, I'm happy for you and glad you find this film so great. I simply couldn't feel the same way!

I do not have any specific reviews slated for the upcoming dates, so if there is something any of you would like me to review, please comment below or on any other of my reviews, and I'd be happy to screen your film of choice! Thanks again for reading!

Review for Take Shelter

Flash Summary: 
A husband/father begins to have increasingly dark and threatening visions, with most including his daughter. The line between insanity and sanity is breached.

Review:
I'll never forget seeing William Friedkin's Bug in theaters when I was younger and being so damned disappointed. For a movie that was boasting "From the director of The Exorcist" and having rave reviews about how scary and suspenseful it was, my 13 year old self was ready to pee my pants. Instead I got a dark drama about a war veteran who is a little whack-o and it starts to rub off on to Ashley Judd. Of course, watching that movie again later in my life, I came to realize how truly wonderful of a movie it really was, and applauded all involved.

Take Shelter, which stars our main character from Bug, Michael Shannon, had quite the exact effect on me. I had seen this movie about 2 years ago when it was initially released with a group of friends at a midnight premiere, and we all had plans to call this movie the scariest thing that ever happened to us. This was not the absolve. Instead, Shelter is a slow crawl to a big finish, with no jump scares, just psychological trauma for your pleasure. As we journey down a dark road with Shannon's character, we realize that this film is not meant to frighten, but to enlighten. Are we crazy for seeing things, or is there a higher reason for it?

While Michael Shannon is incredible (as always) in this film, we would be without a proper cast if Jessica Chastain was not in the credits as his wife. Yeah, that girl from Zero Dark Thirty and Mama. She plays us; the scared individual who desperately wants to believe the person we love so much, but has to find it in her heart first before fully accepting. Both of our main actors were nominated for numerous awards for this film, and it is so incredibly easy to see why. They interact like a real struggling couple, who are going through a very real problem.

My favorite aspect of the film had to be its sense of awareness to Shannon's issue. He does not blindly believe in his visions and just rant about it or forget like in every other dumb horror/thriller. He is seeking help, not just from psychiatrists or doctors, but from his family. Sure, it takes him a while to come around to the family part, but it was really nice to see the way a normal human being would react to these apocalyptic sights, rather than turning him into a crazy old bitter man. I also really enjoyed the daughter's role in the film. While having almost no dialogue since she is deaf, she presents the aspect of silence in the issue of the film. Should I tell somebody what I'm seeing, or should I keep to myself and ignore it? That's always the pending questions with movies like these, and her role kind of embodies that question. You'll have to see the film through to get the answer, though.

This write-up has honestly felt more like a Q and A with myself, because this is a very different movie that I still ponder from time to time. I don't know if a solid review would have been possible on my part, since I'm still not sure about a lot of things in the film. I will say that the effects in the film, primarily the visions, are very clear and well-made, and the shots of the desolate farmland they live in create an even stronger sense of isolation in this film. I wish for everyone that appreciates Michael Shannon (even just from Premium Rush) or Jessica Chastain to see this film, because it really showcases their abilities to act with a sense of familiarity to normal human life.

A review for The Princess Bride will be up shortly, and sorry for the delay on this review! This past weekend was my 21st, so I was a little busy! Happy viewing!