Indie Film Journal

DOUGH BOYS – director: Nicholas Harvell; starring: Arlen Escarpeta, Wood Harris, Cory Hardict, Mo, Lorenzo Eduardo, Sticky Fingaz

There is part of me that would like to think that if I had never seen Menace II Society, or Juice, or Boyz ‘n the ‘Hood, or any of the other urban dysfunctional dramas that have come out over the years, that I might think Dough Boys was a halfway decent film. But the truth is that even if I had never seen these other films—and I have, so pretending I haven’t is pointless—it doesn’t change the fact that Dough Boys isn’t a very good movie. Now, I don’t want to be overly negative, but at the same time, if I were to adhere to the “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” school of film criticism, this review would end right here. Continue Reading »

CONNECTED - director: Benny Chan, starring: Louis Koo, Barbie Hsu, Nick Cheung

For decades there has been a back-and-forth exchange of creative influences between Hollywood and Hong Kong. John Woo was heavily influenced by Sam Peckinpah, and in turn Woo’s The Killer and Hardboiled helped rewrite the book on how action was presented in Hollywood films. For a long time, this relationship of Hong Kong influencing Hollywood and vice versa was limited primarily to loving homages and unabashed rip-offs, but seldom did it manifest in legitimate remakes. Perhaps the best known example of a remake is Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, which had been made earlier in Hong Kong as Infernal Affairs. The Departed and Infernal Affairs served as a great example of how Hollywood could take an exceptional film from Hong Kong, and do it justice. Now, Hong Kong has taken a not-so-exceptional film, the 2004 action thrill Cellular, and turned it into the much better Connected. Continue Reading »

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 - director: Tony Scott; starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman

The word “classic” is thrown around a bit too carelessly these day when it comes to films, making it some sort of magical adjective used to describe movies that by some arbitrary set of sensibilities have been deemed worthy of being classical. Unfortunately, not every film that is called a classic really is a classic, as some films, while being great are simply just that, great. For any film to truly be a classic, it needs to reach a level of excellence that all movies strive for, but few ever achieve. And then decades later, if the film in question still holds up—if the writing is still finely crafted, the acting still solid and capable, and the direction still effectively evokes the sort of emotional response it was intended to evoke—then and only then can it be considered as possibly being a classic. Understanding this is crucial to understanding why the original 1974 version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a classic. Continue Reading »

OPIE GETS LAID – director: James Ricardo; starring: James Ricardo, April Wade, Ute Werner, Jesselynn Desmond

It’s not a surefire formula for success, but independent filmmakers just starting out and low on cash would all be well advised to study the work of other filmmakers dealing with similar conditions. In particular, they should be watching those films that employ a small cast with few locations to see how those stories are told. Some of the best indie films of all time were launched using this equation of small cast and limited locations, the beauty of which being that it works for a host of genres. It worked for George Romero in Night of the Living Dead, Jim Jarmusch in Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law, Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs, and Kevin Smith in Clerks. Of course, all of these movies had interesting stories to tell, which is the essential ingredient in all films, no matter how big the cast, how many locations, or how much money they have to spend. Continue Reading »

AFFLICTION - director: Paul Schrader; starring: Nick Nolte, James Coburn, Sissy Spacek, Willem Dafoe

I’ve decided to write a series of reviews entitled “Downer Cinema” showcasing films that at the core are very good and even great but are some of the most depressing films ever to see the light of day. These films find yourself saying, “That was a great movie! I never need to see that movie again!” Continue Reading »

THE DEVIL’S TOMB – director: Jason Connery; starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Taryn Manning, Henry Rollins, Ron Perlman

There is something about Cuba Gooding Jr. that just gets on my last nerve. Maybe it’s the shameless way he prances around and hams it up in insipid comedies. Or maybe it’s the way he strikes that stoic, misty-eyed pose in ham-fisted melodramas. Whatever it is, there is something about Gooding that really bothers me, and with the exception of maybe two films, I’ve never seen him in anything where I liked his acting. But no matter how much I may not like his acting—and I really don’t like his acting—the one “positive” thing I can say about Gooding is that he puts something into every performance (crappy though it may be). At least that was the one thing I could say until I saw The Devil’s Tomb, in which Gooding appears to put so little effort into his “performance” that it seems more like he accidentally wandered on to a set of a movie after having awakened from a week-long coma. Continue Reading »

CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA – director: Stacy Peralta

As a documentary filmmaker, Stacy Peralta came into his own with Dogtown and Z-Boys and Riding Giants. Both films examined subcultures within the United States—skateboarding and surfing, respectively—offering rich historical perspectives on subject matter that could just as easily have been dismissed. Peralta was able to find a comfortable balance in those two documentaries that made both films informative and entertaining. But while both films had moments of human drama, and perhaps even a bit of tragedy, there’s no denying that by and large, Peralta’s work was lighthearted in tone. The same can’t be said for his most recent documentary, Crips and Bloods: Made in America. Continue Reading »

PANDORA’S BOX – director: G.W. Pabst; starring: Louise Brooks

Much has been said about the iconic impression left by Louise Brooks in G.W. Pabst’s brilliant Pandora’s Box and although the role has transcended the woman, it is rare that a film is so deserving of such obsession and worship. Continue Reading »

TERMINATOR SALVATION director: McG; starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin

Back in 1984, James Cameron’s low budget sci-fi action film The Terminator seemed to be just about the coolest movie of its time. Borrowing heavily from two classic episodes of the television series The Outer Limits—“Soldier” and “Demon With a Glass Hand”— Terminator offered the mind-bending tale of a time-traveling killing machine (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent from the future into the present to kill a woman whose son would lead a rebellion against the machines that overthrow mankind. Much like Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien, The Terminator kicked off a science fiction franchise that started out strong, hit its apex with the sequel (both Terminator 2 and Aliens were directed by Cameron), and then lost much of its energy—only with the Alien films, there were more sequels and spin-offs to measure the downward spiral. Continue Reading »

CADILLAC RECORDS – director: Darnell Martin; starring: Adrian Brody, Jeffery Wright, Beyonce

There’s an air of ambition floating around the first twenty minutes of Cadillac Records promising to eschew the familiar terrain of the music bio-pics by attempting to layer several stories at once. Cadillac Records tells the story of “Chess” records, the legendary Chicago record label and studio where the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry, Etta James and Muddy Waters created some of their most classic hits. Adrian Brody plays Leonard Chess an immigrant’s son who has ambitions of success that would erase the years of struggle passed on by his failure of a father. Jeffery Wright plays blues legend Muddy Waters, a sharecropper who uses his musical talents to escape his doomed life in Mississippi. The two meet up and the like-minded duo from different side of the tracks form a partnership that endures success, death, and addiction. Continue Reading »