Movie Loner

Let me get this straight. Martin Scorsese directed Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Goodfellas, but won nary an Oscar for any of them. Instead, he wins for 2006’s The Departed, a good, not great film. You’ve probably seen The Departed, but did you know it was a remake of a Hong Kong movie called Infernal Affairs? As is usually the case the remake fails to live up to the original.

The Hong Kong police are at war with the Triads. Two young cadets, Chan and Lau, take up opposite sides for control of the streets. Chan goes deep undercover to infiltrate Boss Sam’s crime syndicate. Lau, a secret member of Sam’s gang, climbs the police department ladder to the position of Inspector. While Chan employs morse code to tip-off his Supervisor, Lau uses cell phones and computers to forewarn Boss Sam. Both men know the other exists, but it takes a complex cat and mouse game to reveal their true identities.

After ten nerve-racking years of posing as a gangster, Chan is beginning to lose himself. As long as he remains undercover a normal life will never be attainable. Meanwhile, Lau is starting a normal life. He and his fiance move in together and make plans for the future. Lau also struggles with his dual existence; the pressure of deceiving his law enforcement brethren takes a toll. As they edge closer to discovering each other, Chan and Lau both question the validity of their respective jobs. A tense rooftop climax finally brings the two men together putting an end to their subversive ways.

It’s great to see two of Hong Kong’s best actors go head-to-head. Tony Leung and Andy Lau shine playing kindred spirits teetering the thin line between loyalty and betrayal. The clever, twisting narrative was astutely adopted by Scorsese for The Departed. Unfortunately, Scorsese’s version suffers from a neatly tied ending. Infernal Affairs doesn’t provide easy answers to its difficult questions. Good guys and bad guys are not so definable. The lack of ambiguity in American cinema makes for boring, predictable movies. Thankfully, films like Infernal Affairs are there to pick up the slack.

The trailer for Infernal Affairs:

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Anyone familiar with writer/director Tom DiCillo’s phenomenal Living in Oblivion is well aware filmmaking can be excruciatingly painful. I’m amazed most movies don’t turn into disasters. In particular independent films are always at risk for falling apart. Without deep Hollywood coffers, a smaller project can be ruined by one or two bad days of shooting. For that reason I am appreciative of a movie like Box of Moonlight, DiCillo’s eccentric follow-up to Living in Oblivion.

Straight-edge electrical engineer Al Fountain (John Turturro) has just finished installing a factory gas turbine somewhere in the middle-of-nowhere rural America. Instead of going directly home to Chicago Al rents a car and sets out to rediscover Splatchee Lake, a quaint water park he once visited as a kid. Al’s perfect memory is spoiled when he finds an abandoned Splatchee sitting on a contaminated lake. Disappointed, Al hits the road and nearly crashes into a broken down car belonging to a local named Bucky (Sam Rockwell), aka The Kid. Al’s boring, joyless existence is about to get very interesting.

Al begrudgingly agrees to tow The Kid’s car home. Once there, Al is anxious to leave, but Bucky passes out so Al is forced to spend the night. A breakfast of milk and Hydrox cookies leads to a fun-filled day for Al and Bucky. Their list of activities include taking a dip in a gorgeous swimming hole, engaging in a tomato fight, and running from the cops. Free-spirited Bucky and by-the-books Al become fast, albeit unlikely, friends. Al’s short stay is extended into a 4th of July vacation as he sheds his rigid ways and injects some much-needed fun into his life.

Box of Moonlight festively illustrates how friendship can result in positive change. Al and Bucky have no friends which enables them to learn much from each other. The Kid shows Al how to cut loose; Al teaches The Kid a little bit of structure goes a long way. Turturro has made a career playing staid characters, but he adds a deadpan goofiness to Al Fountain. Rockwell never fails to impress in his comedic roles. His portrayal of the Davy Crockett attired oddball Bucky The Kid is original and hilarious. Box of Moonlight is an strange little film that will grow on you.

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Don’t be thrown by the weird title. In Thai it translates to “A Story About 6 and 9.” I actually prefer the translation but for some reason they went with 6ixtynin9 for English audiences. Anyway, I dig it when I stumble upon a movie I’ve never heard of and thanks to IFC Channel this hidden treasure popped up on my radar. Grab your popcorn and strap in for 6ixtynin9, a dark comedy with a high body count.

Tum (Lalita Panyopas) just got fired from her finance job. Bad news for sure, but life is about to get worse for Tum. After a night filled with suicidal dreams, Tum awakens to discover a mysterious box outside her apartment door. The box contains $25,000. Tum stashes the loot and calls her friend Pen. To keep or not to keep, that is the question. Before Tum can reach a decision two thugs knock on her door looking for the box. Not buying her feigned ignorance, the two hoods get a little rough. Not a smart move because they end up dead.

Stolen money and dead guys complicate things for Tum. She quickly devises a plan: ditch the bodies and skip town with the dough. Of course the best laid plans never go smoothly. More interested parties drop by Tum’s place. A bevy of street toughs, a nosy neighbor, and a cop all pay her a visit. Gun-play and violence ensues. The demure Tum finds herself entangled in a bloody mess. Will she escape with the cash or will her illicit activities catch up with her?

Writer/director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang nimbly keeps the laughs coming despite a brutal storyline. Tum’s improbable plunge into darkness never rings false. A ridiculous series of events powers the plot forward offering a fair share of twists along the way. Lalita Panyopas delivers a pinpoint performance as Tum, an unlikely criminal mastermind. Her striking face reveals a myriad of emotions from innocence to rage and everything in between. 6ixtynin9 was a pleasant surprise and I love to share my surprises. If you don’t mind a lot of blood, give it a watch.

The trailer for 6ixtynin9:

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Certain filmmakers distinguish themselves by their willingness to be unconventional. They don’t get bogged down in traditional narrative and plot devices. Instead, they tell their story the way they want to tell it. Writer/director Wong Kar Wai has established himself as one of the more original and inventive guys making movies today. Atmosphere, emotion, and nuance are staples of any Kar Wai film. In 2046, Kar Wai takes us on a hypnotic journey to 1960s Southeast Asia to explore the romantic entanglements of struggling writer Chow Mo Wan.

Tony Leung plays Chow Mo Wan, reprising his role from In the Mood For Love. Heartbroken from his affair five years prior, Chow returns to Hong Kong and takes up residence at a seedy hotel to pen exotic pulp fiction. One of his stories tells of a futuristic train that travels to the year 2046 to a place where people can recapture memories. When he’s not writing, Chow indulges in drink and women. Leery of emotional attachment he beds as many beauties as possible. For all his writing and womanizing Chow cannot forget the loss of his one true love, Su Li Zhen.

Three of Chow’s women take center stage. First, a black-gloved gambler (Gong Li) who reluctantly eschews his advances; second, a neighboring seductress (Ziyi Zhang) who falls under his charming spell; third, Chow’s landlord’s introverted daughter (Faye Wong) who pines for her Japanese lover. Chow pursues each woman for different reasons but none can heal his wounded heart. He refuses to search for solace. Instead, sorrow consumes his weakened soul. Chow doesn’t want to forget his past; to forget would be too easy; to forget would deny his love existed.

Smeared lipstick. A dancing trail of cigarette smoke. Lovers playfully wrestling. A woman’s anguished face. Just a few of the memorable images in 2046. Kar Wai sets a mood that delivers. From the claustrophobic hallways and rooms of the Oriental Hotel to crowded restaurants and cramped gambling halls, Kar Wai keeps his camera close. A confined atmosphere traps the characters in frame and exposes the uncomfortableness of their heartache. They can’t escape their damaged lives. The audience can’t escape either. Wong Kar Wai keeps us engaged throughout. 2046 is a haunting film about the lovelorn and the broken.

The trailer for 2046:

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We’re all searching for something. Maybe it’s our place in the world or perhaps a semblance of clarity. Whether 17 or 40, answers continuously elude us. And yet we press on in hopes of finding an identity, a sense of belonging. These themes and many others are at the heart of director Mike Mills’ Thumbsucker, an offbeat little film about letting go of what we know in order to discover our true selves.

At 17, Justin Cobb still sucks his thumb. This infantile habit adds strain to the relationship with his daydreaming mother (Tilda Swinton) and withdrawn father (Vincent D’Onofrio). It also negatively affects his interaction with girls causing him much embarrassment at school. An attempt to cure the oral fixation by his new-age orthodontist (Keanu Reeves) proves toilsome for Justin. His freakish behavior lands him in front of the principal. The school’s solution: diagnose Justin with ADHD and load him up with pills.

Justin’s medicinal routine has an immediate impact. Void of distraction he becomes more focused. His studies improve and his newfound thirst for knowledge gains him a spot on the debate team, where he flourishes in the face of competition. The period of stability doesn’t last; Justin exchanges legal drugs for pot and the opportunity to explore his sexuality with his longtime crush Rebecca. Tested by the pitfalls of adolescence, Justin finally comes to terms with his own identity and finds a place where he belongs.

The act of thumbsucking represents much in the movie. Justin’s unwillingness to extricate himself from his mother’s hold is obvious, but the thumb itself offers him a sort of protection, sanctity in an unsafe confusing world. When he stops the act, he panics, unsure of how to survive. Drugs provide only temporary relief. Dealing with his problems head on is the only real solution. Feeling weird and out-of-place is part of growing up. Medicating our youth only prolongs their maturity, placing them in a perpetual state of arrested development. Thumbsucker is a thought-provoking film worth seeing, especially if you’re a parent.

The trailer for Thumbsucker:

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Welcome to day 4 of sci-fi week at Movie Loner. Hardcore fans of the genre know all about this movie. When I caught Pi a couple weeks back I had forgotten just how compelling it is. Writer/Director Darren Aronofsky set the film world ablaze in 1998 with his debut film, an intense roller coaster ride inside the troubled mind of a mathematical genius. Dazzling black and white cinematography and an appropriately unnerving electronic score are just two of the sensational attributes in Pi.

Max Cohen is a brilliant recluse who suffers from extreme migraines. A steady diet of pills helps ease the pain but Max’s obsession with numbers plagues him more than headaches. Numbers rule Max’s life, and the world, according to his philosophy. His latest compulsion is plugging digits into his homemade super-computer in an attempt to break the code to Wall Street. Track the numbers long enough and a pattern will materialize. Max’s nonstop analysis produces a theory; a theory that will lead him down a path toward madness.

Max’s numeric doctrine draws interest from Wall Street heavy hitters and a silver-tongued Hasidic Jew devoted to the Torah. The introverted Max can’t handle the sudden attention. His headaches worsen. Paranoid delusions consume him daily. A constant buzzing fills his head. Is his theory plausible or is it perhaps a message sent by God? These unanswered questions and many more affix Max on the precipice of insanity. Will he survive this dangerous numbers game?

Pi grabs hold early and never lets go. At just 27, Aronofsky created a cult masterpiece that astounds from start to end. It’s a startling expose on the thin line between genius and madness. Max dwells on an alternate plain of existence overwhelmed by digits and code. His brain never stops, never tires. It will not rest, not until it successfully unravels the mysteries of the universe. You don’t have to be a sci-fi nut to appreciate the clever simplicity of Pi. Check back here tomorrow for the final installment of sci-fi week.

The trailer for Pi:

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It’s day 2 of sci-fi week at Movie Loner. If you suffer from claustrophobia you may want to avoid Cube, a gripping nightmare of a movie that is certain to freak you out. You could easily include this in the horror genre but a dystopian setting and the integral role of math/science to the plot firmly positions Cube in the sci-fi category. It was filmed in Canada and directed by Vincenzo Natali, who believe it or not is from Detroit.

Seven strangers wake up inside a cubical labyrinth. Each person is there for a specific reason: the cop, the architect, the math student, the doctor, the fugitive, the autistic, and one man who falls victim before we learn his identity. The six remaining prisoners convene to find a way out. Each cube is a different color with a set of engraved numbers. Some are harmless, others are armed with wicked traps designed to kill.

Utilizing their combined knowledge and skills, the six devise a formula to navigate the deadly maze. Their ability to work together and maintain sanity is the key to survival. The longer they stay incarcerated the more desperate they become. Panic takes hold. Some seek personal preservation while the rest adhere to the group mentality. Can they reach the outer shell of the monstrous catacomb or will they destroy each other along the way?

Cube is a truly frightening movie. Fear of entrapment is inherent in all of us, as is the sense of helplessness that comes with it. Natali keys on these basic emotions in his characters. He keeps hope at a minimum which adds to the terror. The relatively unknown cast is solid, delivering diverse performances that endear us to them. A simple story executed with ingenious preciseness, Cube is deserving of finding a larger audience. Stay tuned tomorrow for day 3 of sci-fi week here at Movie Loner. Until then…

The trailer for Cube:

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I’ve always been a Campbell Scott fan. I first saw him in Singles and even though I didn’t really dig the movie I thought he stood out. Satisfied with making his mark in the Indie world Scott has delivered promising performances in The Spanish Prisoner, The Secret Lives of Dentists, and co-directed the lauded Big Night. His best and most challenging role to date is in Roger Dodger, an acerbic study of relationships between men and women.

Scott plays the title character, Roger, a New York advertising plebe who fancies himself an expert on women. He looks and dresses the part with a disarming wit to match. A surprise visit from his 16-year-old nephew Nick puts his skills to the test. Nick, desperate to lose his virginity, becomes Roger’s eager student in the art of seduction. Quick lessons on how to look at and approach women are lost on Nick, so Roger sneaks him into the lion’s den, a bar. He then enlists the aid of Andrea (Elizabeth Berkley) and Sophie (Jennifer Beals), two attractive singles, to teach young Nick what women want.

Nick’s honest sensitivity score points with the ladies, while Roger’s primitive cynicism proves offputting. The die is cast. Roger, convinced his method is foolproof, leads Nick on a turbulent journey into the NYC nightlife. Ruptured attempt after ruptured attempt to get Nick laid forces Roger to resort to what he calls the “fail-safe.” A trip to a sordid underground brothel with an inebriated Nick in tow evokes Roger’s dormant conscience to awaken. He quickly grasps that he doesn’t have all the answers and has much to learn about women and life.

Writer/Director Dylan Kidd doesn’t pull any punches. His frank, graphic script is a frontal assault on relationships and sex. He attacks the prevailing attitudes of both men and women; men’s inherent immaturity collides head-on with women’s unreal expectations. I can’t think of a recent movie that has dealt with these issues with levity and intelligence. Cheers to Jesse Eisenberg for deftly tackling the character of Nick. His innocence holds the story together. I don’t write this often, but Roger Dodger is a near-perfect film.

The trailer for Roger Dodger:

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