Film Week

A review of the films I've seen this past week.

THE SCREAM TEAM (2002)
Very cute Halloween movie from the Disney Channel, one which I'm surprised they don't really air anymore during the spooky month (it's another one of those flicks relegated to 2 AM on Saturday showings). A couple of kids (one of whom is Kat Dennings) comes to their grandfather's home for his funeral, and find themselves embroiled in a battle between ghosts (one of whom is Eric Idle, whom I just like in stuff like this). Written by the same writer who wrote the best of the Halloweentown movies, Halloweentown High. *** stars.

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964)
Excellent film in the AIP/Price/Corman Poe canon. This may be my favorite of them all. It's not played for amusement, but instead played quite seriously, the story of a sadistic lord (Price in a performance without an ounce of ham, and quite unnerving he is) who worships Satan and tries to cheat death. There's a lot of perverse decadence on display, and all in the name of godlessness, with Price at the head of it, looking on with an almost casual, disaffected air. Great performances from Jane Asher and Hazel Court, but I wish Nigel Green had had more to do; he was so great in Countess Dracula and Jason and the Argonauts. The art direction is especially good here; I love the monochromatic rooms and the blue and green candles. **** stars.

I have to say, having seen many of these movies both this October and last October, I'm disappointed at how they've been sold to me over the year. So often, I've heard that these were cheap movies--in a way where "cheap" means "chintzy." I don't think that's true at all. These are fine, engrossing horror films, and they may be made efficiently and for less money than their glossy counterparts, but the talent involved is undeniable and the films themselves do a lot with less. Those are things to praise a film for, not dismiss it. Transformers may be very expensive indeed, but it can't touch any of the Corman/Price Poe pictures for quality. Not a whit.

OUTRAGE (2009)
Kirby Dick's films are about taking on people who try to hide behind authority. In Twist of Faith, he attacked the Catholic Church's policy of moving around child molesters. In This Film Is Not Yet Rated, he outed members of the MPAA ratings board who try to control the film industry through censorship. In this film, he specifically attacks politicians who are gay (or rumored to be gay) and who vote against gay rights. I don't think it's right to out people who are gay, but I do think it's important to out hypocrites. Dick especially attacks Charlie Crist, but I was most glad to see him go after Mary Cheney, who thinks her admitting she disagrees with Republican policies somehow makes her more genuine and less of a hypocrite. It doesn't. ***1/2 stars.

BRUNO (2009)
I dig Sacha Baron Cohen's shtick, which is basically based on showing up Americans for being fearful, angry, homophobic, and weirdly aggressive when forced to deal with the slightest inconvenience or a different belief. If you've seen Borat, this is the same film with a different character. And while I thought it was hilarious, I didn't think it was as good as Borat. It's just a little too slick, and the celebrity cameos at the end just take away from the power of the film; Cohen doesn't need to go for that kind of gimmickry when he's funnier without it. But there's still a lot that I loved in here, especially a scene of Bruno interviewing stage parents when auditioning babies for a photoshoot. One mother agrees to everything, including liposuction, for her infant. Cohen almost can't contain himself as he watches this woman out herself as casually inhuman. That kind of thing is necessary. ***1/2 stars.

YEAR ONE (2009)
I thought it was fun. Not great, but fun. I think the mistake the studio made here was attempting to sell this movie as an out and out comedy or some kind of spoof (though, really, those commercials were dull) instead of what it really is, which is an adventure movie about two idiots. I think they're going for a sort of Road to feel without really getting how it works. Which is not to say that it's a bad movie--Jack Black and Michael Cera are good, and there are genuine laughs--I just think that Harold Ramis is smarter than this. The guy wrote and/or directed Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation, Stripes and Ghostbusters, which are classic comedies where smart people are confronted by idiocy. That was always funny. Year One is a movie where the idiots are in charge, and it's just not as sharp to me. Still, funny movie. *** stars.

DIARY OF A MADMAN (1963)
Vincent Price in an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant. It tries for the same type of atmosphere as an AIP movie, but it's mostly kind of boring. Price is good, though. ** stars.

BLACK SHEEP (2006)
This movie reminded me a lot of Peter Jackson's Bad Taste, if not quite as funny (though what could be?). A man returns to his New Zealand farm home after spending years dealing with a massive phobia of sheep. His brother, who has modernized the farm, has been genetically modifying sheep and is about to introduce a new breed. Enter a couple of environmentalists who accidentally set loose a wave of mutation that turns the sheep into killer zombies that attack with a very graphic vengeance. Hilarious stuff which manages to satirize both fears of genetically altered food and hippie New Agery. Loved it. ***1/2 stars.