Day: October 10, 2012

By Joe Bendel. Elsa Cassanova opposed the invasion of Afghanistan and wears keffiyehs. She thought she would fit right in, but she is shocked to discover that the Taliban systematically abuse local women. As a result of her reporting on the horrors experienced by a woman sold into marriage-slavery to a prominent Taliban warlord, Cassanova is abducted and forced to make some rather ominous internet videos. Without proper backup, an elite commando unit will mount a rescue attempt in Stéphane Rybojad’s Special Forces, which opens this Friday in New York.

It is a good thing Cassanova est tres jolie. The prospect of her beheading has the French government freaked. While the men under Commander Kovax command are not exactly thrilled with her byline, they will bring her home anyway. It will not be easy, though. They will face Ahmed Zaief, an Islamist fanatic Cassanova dubbed “The Butcher of Kabul.” You’d think he’d like that title – but no, evidently not.

Executing a mission planned on the fly, Kovax’s men liberate Cassanova from her immediate captors easily enough. However, things get complicated with the extraction. Cut off from their rendezvous points, the commandos have no choice but to head home on foot over the mountains, from Zaief’s Pakistani hideout to their base in Afghanistan – not unlike the gulag escapees in Peter Weir’s The Way Back. However, Zaief and his men will pursue them (somewhat reluctantly) every step of the way.

While the French initially seem to have A-Team like success holding off the Taliban fighters, it should be kept in mind that they have superior firepower, better morale, and higher ground all in their favor. Their charmed luck soon runs out, however, with squad members dying off one by one. Eventually only the biggest stars are left to protect Cassanova. That includes Djimon Hounsou as Kovax and Benoît Magimel as Tic Tac, a flirty paratrooper who might just have a shot with the lefty journalist, if they both survive.

Hollywood should take note: Hounsou was an inspired casting decision. Blessed with a truly commanding screen presence, he is completely credible in every action scene and lends the film dignified gravitas. A Ryan Golsing or Reynolds just would not cut the Dijon mustard here. While not as hardnosed, Magimel is sufficient as the sensitive commando. Also perfectly cast, Diane Kruger nicely portrays Casanova’s resiliency in the face of harsh elements and even harsher Islamist extremists. It is hard to think of any other name actress working in film today who can similarly combine grit and beauty.

Well known in France for his military documentaries, Rybojad’s narrative is about as straight as gets, never throwing any sort of twist or turn the audience’s way. Yet, to his considerable credit, he never whitewashes or excuses the brutality of the Taliban. We see several instances of the terror they rain down on helpless villagers as well as the destruction left in their wake. Again, this is an example of the sort of film Hollywood ought to be making, but refuses to. Recommended for both action movies fans and Francophiles, Special Forces opens this Friday (10/12) in New York at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on October 10th, 2012 at 4:04pm.

By Joe Bendel. In the movies, casinos exist just so they can be taken down. However, one Korean criminal mastermind is not just pulling a heist because the casino is there, like Everest in downtown Macao. He is also out for payback. Nor is he is not the only one looking to settle scores in Choi Dong-hoon’s Thieves, which opens this Friday in New York.

A monster hit in Korea, Thieves has just about all the classic heist movie elements. There is Popie, the cynical ringleader; Yenicall, his hot new accomplice to shimmy about in Cat Woman suits; and her predecessor, Pepsee, fresh out of prison. They have been recruited for a job in the former Portuguese colony by the man Popie and Pepsee blame for her incarceration: their former partner, Macao Park.

After a rather unfortunate incident in an elevator shaft, Macao Park disappeared with a bag full of gold, reinventing himself as a bank breaker in Macao’s casinos – thereby earning his new moniker. It is not the casino’s cash Park is after this time, though. He is interested in the “Tear of the Sun,” a spectacular diamond a guest is storing in their vault. That would be Tiffany, the mistress of mobbed-up fence Wei Hong. The plan is to steal the diamond and sell it back to Hong, with the help of a Hong Kong crew led by the sly Chen (for the record, this will make the team an even ten). That might not sound like a very good plan, because it isn’t, but it’s not really what many of the conspirators have in mind. There are a lot of agendas at play in Thieves that will inevitably lead to a series of crosses and double crosses.

Dripping with style, Thieves will draw obvious comparisons to the Oceans franchise, but it is rather better than that. While there is comic relief here and there (mostly from Oh Dal-su’s crook, Andrew), Thieves is far edgier with a very real sense of danger present throughout. Nobody here mugs for the camera or tries to show the audience how much fun they are having. They are professionals and not all of them are going to make it.

Thieves also has something else the Oceans lack: Simon Yam, bringing all kinds of HK action movie cred as the crafty old Chen. This is a great part for him, allowing him to stretch out as he develops romantic chemistry with Kim Hae-suk’s “Chewing Gum,” the mature Korean con woman he has been paired up with.

Yet Yam does not quite out-grizzle Kim Yun-seok’s Macao Park. Rumpled in a noir way, he could kick Clooney’s butt while still hung over, much like his breakout character in The Chaser (but not quite as dark). Also recognizable to international audiences (from The Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, among other films), Gianna Jun makes flirtation looks dangerous as the seductive cat burglar Yennical.

Clearly, Choi was not afraid to cut loose with third act action sequences. There will be no place for smug looks over champagne when it is all said and done, which is what makes it so refreshing. An amped-up and pleasingly devious heist movie, Thieves is highly recommended for genre fans when it opens this Friday (10/12) in New York at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on October 10th, 2012 at 4:03pm.

By Joe Bendel. An unexpected bequest is always a dramatically mixed blessing in horror films. Take Johnny Petrie, for instance. On his eighteenth birthday, he learns that he is adopted and has inherited the farmhouse where his birth father killed the rest of his original family. Returning to claim his legacy, Petrie will be forced to deal with some supernatural family business in Colin Theys’ Dead Souls, the Chiller original film based on the novel by Michael Laimo, which premieres this Friday night.

One dark and stormy night, the infant Petrie’s preacher father up and killed his family in a bizarre ritual, but not before his big brother safely hid him away. Eighteen years later, give or take, Petrie is living in New York with his super-Christian, hyper-protective, hypochondriac aunt, whom he believes to be his real mother. Oh, but not so, as he learns from the lawyer handling his parents’ estate, upon reaching his majority. When his presumed mother is once again admitted to the hospital, Petrie is able to sneak up north to take possession.

Strangely, once the prodigal son arrives, a pack of locals tries to strong-arm him back to the City. His estate attorney is also eager to facilitate a lucrative potential sale ASAP and be rid of him, but Petrie wants to look around, soaking up his roots. Before long, he comes across Emma, a squatter, which is exciting for him, because she’s a girl. Unfortunately, they are not alone. The spookiness starts coming fast and furious, possibly involving the sacramental killing of his family. It seems the ritual was not completed. Our first clue would be the fact that Petrie is still alive.

Theys has a good grasp on the three classical unities as they apply to horror movies. The creaky old barn and farmhouse are quite ominous looking (with credit also due to Paul Pribble and Jeanette Drake’s design teams), giving the film a genuine sense of place. Indeed, Souls is surprisingly distinctive visually, but the story itself is rather workaday genre stuff. The evil psychotic clergyman is also a decidedly tired cliché, though one could argue his cult does not really qualify as Christian, per se.

On the plus side of the ledger, the cast-members are all professional grade. Jesse James is sufficiently moody and confused as Petrie, but horror fans will be more interested in the supporting cast, particularly cult favorite Bill Moseley (of Devil’s Rejects and House of 1,000 Corpses infamy), who lends grizzled credibility to the third act as former Sheriff Depford. Jaiden Kaine also brings some energy to the proceedings as Andrew Judson, the dodgy lawyer (is there any other kind?).

The mechanics of Souls are fairly strong and it boasts some colorful, fan-pleasing supporting turns. There are eerie moments, particularly by television standards, but it is always clear what general direction it is headed. For horrors fans who value atmosphere over story, Dead Souls should still work well enough.  It airs this Friday night (10/12) on Chiller TV.

Posted on October 10th, 2012 at 4:01pm.