Author: Joe Bendel

LFM Reviews The Notorious Mr. Bout @ The 2014 Sundance Film Festival

From "The Notorious Mr. Bout."

By Joe Bendel. He was the world’s best known arms dealer, who shot more selfie footage of himself in the wrong places at the wrong times than a punky skateboarding graffiti vandal. That was not the best strategy for minimizing circumstantial evidence, but it left a wealth of primary source material for Tony Gerber & Maxim Pozdorovkin’s documentary, The Notorious Mr. Bout, which screened at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Viktor Bout could be the model of the self-made oligarch in the age of Putin. It has been established that Bout served in the Soviet military in some capacity, but the exact details remain murky. Thought to have been active in Angolan operations, Bout set up shop after his early 1990’s discharge, focusing his “shipping” business in failed African states like the Central African Republic and ambiguously regulated fiefdoms throughout the Middle East. Eventually dubbed “The Merchant of Death” by the media, Bout inspired the Nic Cage film Lord of War, guaranteeing him bad karma for his next life.

From "The Notorious Mr. Bout."

When Notorious follows Bout’s trail from one global hotspot to another, it is absolutely fascinating stuff. However, the film sort of suffers from an odd split personality disorder. The first half meticulously pieces together the shady elements of his business, including his attempts to cultivate Congolese warlord turned politician Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is now facing war crime charges in The Hague. Yet, the third act largely paints him as a victim of a DEA entrapment. Frankly, there is a much more compelling argument to be made in sex or drug cases that target human frailty rather than in conspiring to sell arms to Colombian FARC terrorists.

It is rather odd to see Notorious openly appeal to the Russian persecution complex so assiduously stoked by Putin, considering Pozdorovkin also co-directed the uncompromising human rights expose, Pussy Riot: a Punk Prayer (which played at last year’s Sundance). Most viewers will probably leave baffled by the film’s contradictory pieces. At the very least, the inconsistent tone reflects dubious editing choices. The story is compelling, but the conclusions drawn are hard to reconcile with the material that came before it. Interesting but ultimately frustrating, The Notorious Mr. Bout is sure to draw further attention on the festival circuit, but it might want to go back to the editing bay for a few tweaks after screening at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: C+

Posted on January 17th, 2014 at 4:05pm.

LFM Reviews Kumiko the Treasure Hunter @ The 2014 Sundance Film Festival

From "Kumiko the Treasure Hunter."

By Joe Bendel. Something about the Minnesota accent must get lost when translated into Japanese, at least judging from one unhappy office worker’s strange obsession. She is convinced the briefcase full of cash buried in final scenes of the Coen Brothers’ Fargo is really out there, waiting to be discovered. Her strange delusion will eventually take her to the fateful North Dakota border in the Zellner Brothers’ Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

It is not clear whether Kumiko’s obsession has crowded out other aspects of her life or whether it has grown to fill the pre-existing void in her gloomy existence. Regardless, her work as an “Office Lady” (fetching coffee and dry cleaning for her boss) remains profoundly unfulfilling. That she is conspicuously older than her bimbo colleagues is a fact not lost on her, either. Her only solace comes from her pet rabbit Bunzo and watching a well worn VHS copy of Fargo, constantly scribbling notes that only make sense to her.

When Kumiko finally reaches her breaking point at work, she absconds with the corporate card and books a flight to Minneapolis. This is not a well planned trip. Kumiko carefully collects all her Fargo material, but neglects to consider adequate winter gear. Yet, as she makes her way north, several locals will try to look out for her, as best they can. The wider world is not really such a cold place in Treasure. Kumiko just has trouble fitting into it. That forgiving spirit is one reason why it is such an oddly moving film.

With the right distributor behind her, Rinko Kikuchi might stand a chance of landing her second Oscar nomination for Kumiko. It is a quiet performance, but absolutely devastating in its power. She vividly projects the acute sensitivity and compulsive focus that make Kumiko more closely akin to outsider artists than routine nutters. David Zellner (the director and co-writer half of the Zellner filmmaking tandem) is also quite funny yet also rather touching, in an admirably understated way, as the sheriff’s deputy who tries to help Kumiko. Bunzo is cute too.

From "Kumiko the Treasure Hunter."

It is too bad nobody from Fargo signed on for a cameo, because there is an obvious place where the Fellners could have put them. Evidently, when you land a hit HBO series, you quit caring about independent film. Still, fans of the Coen Brothers’ film will appreciate all the references. Ironically, Alexander Payne recently signed on as an executive producer, just before he was nominated for Nebraska and the Coens were snubbed for Llewyn Davis (none of which he could control).

Whether or not it qualifies as a “co-production,” Treasure certainly represent extensive American and Japanese collaboration, shot entirely on location in either Tokyo or Fargo country. Surprisingly accomplished work from the Zellners, it has a sweetly sad vibe that really distinguishes from the rest of the field. Recommended with considerable affection, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter screened the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on January 27th, 2014 at 4:01pm.

LFM Reviews Wizard’s Way @ The 2014 Slamdance Film Festival

Wizard’s Way trailer from wizard's way on Vimeo.

By Joe Bendel. Some legends might stand eternal, but no server lasts forever. When the one hosting one of the earliest surviving fantasy MMO’s is finally decommissioned, it causes great angst for two of the most dedicated players. A pair of snarky documentary filmmakers intend to capture the resulting drama, but the story evolves beyond their control in Metal Man’s Wizard’s Way, which screened at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.

Although nothing could upstage Christopher Nolan receiving the inaugural Founder’s Award at this year’s Slamdance, news that Jack Black plans to develop and executive produce the American remake of Way was still pretty big stuff. He could probably star as well, in nearly any of the scruffy roles. Joe Stretch and Chris Killen (played by their namesakes) are recent film school grads, who somehow received early notice of the impending demise of Wizard’s Way. Recognizing a good opportunity for cinematic exploitation, they seek out Julian “Windows” Andrews, a stockroom prole by day, who is the undisputed top gun amongst Wizard’s Way’s dwindling ranks.

As his schlubby roommate Barry Tubbulb explains, Windows is the only player to get married “in-game” to Elin, whom he has never met outside of Wizard’s Way. When the plug gets pulled, Windows is understandably distraught, because he has lost his “wife” along with his life’s passion. Somehow Stretch convinces the gamers to stick with their film, but he has some rather cruel manipulations scripted out for the lads. However, Andrews and Tubbulb might not be as dumb and pathetic as the would-be-documentarians think.

Frankly, Wizard is exactly what Zero Charisma should have been, but wasn’t. There is no question that in the culture war between geeks and hipsters, Metal Man, a.k.a. co-writers Socrates Adams-Florou, Chris Killen & Joe Stretch, line up solidly behind the geeks. Their sympathy for Tubbulb and Andrews is genuine and the eventual comeuppance is satisfying.

As Tubbulb, Adams-Florou lets loose with a fair amount of shtick, but Kristian Scott is surprisingly grounded (and rather reserved) as Windows. While Killen largely avoids the spotlight (which is definitely an issue for his character), Stretch’s slow, creepy evolution into outright villain is frankly quite impressive. This is obviously a zero budget affair, but everyone in front of the camera gamely holds up their end.

You do not often see movies at festivals that tell documentary filmmakers to sod off, which is why Wizard is so refreshing. Similar in tone to Electric Man, David Barras’s affectionate ode to comic readers, Wizard defends geek culture in general, while gently encouraging the addition of an offline component. It all works quite well.Highly recommended for gamers and fans of eccentric British comedies, the news-making Wizard’s Way should have plenty of festival screenings in its future.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on January 27th, 2014 at 3:57pm.

LFM Reviews Rezeta @ The 2014 Slamdance Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. Rezeta still calls herself Albanian, but technically that is no longer true. Regardless of her Balkan nationality issues, the fashion model is not fluent in Spanish. Nonetheless, she will have no trouble meeting men in Fernando Frías’s Rezeta, which won the narrative feature Jury Award at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.

Things always seem to work out relatively okay for Rezeta, if not spectacularly so. The modeling agency that brought her to Mexico is decidedly on the dodgy side, yet she starts scoring high profile work almost immediately. She gets along reasonably well with most of her roommates in the company’s model crash pad, but frankly she will not be around very much. She is not Blanche DuBois, but Rezeta will knowingly slip into some bad relationships with underwhelming men of means, for obvious reasons. However, things with Alex, the working class punk rock hipster, might be different. He definitely catches her eye when they bond over their tattoos, but he plays bafflingly hard to get.

Highly improvisational, Rezeta the film chronicles the rise and potential fall of a romantic relationship, with some culture clash garnish on the side. Even at its best, Rezeta is never particularly deep and there are long stretches of narrative slack. Still, the Balkan connection lends the Lost in Translation story a fresh angle.

From "Rezeta."

Without question, lead actress Rezeta Veliu is the film’s winning ace-in-the-hole. Not just a pretty face, she is also quite a fine screen performer, blessed with a natural sense of when to dial it up or down. As Alex, Roger Mendoza does not have a fraction of her screen presence, but at least they develop some credible chemistry together during their ambiguous courtship scenes.

The occasional glimpses Rezeta offers of the vagabond lives led by not-quite-supermodels suggests there is more to be mined from this strange world of pseudo-glamour and exploitation. Clearly, Frías is much more interested in the characters transparently based on his co-leads, but their interpersonal dramas are rather hit-or-miss stuff. Regardless, Rezeta obviously made quite an impression on the jury when it screened at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival. The combination of its award attention and Veliu’s striking look (she is not a plastic cookie-cutter type, by any stretch) should secure it plenty of festival play, including at the 2014 Indie Fest in San Francisco, where it screens February 11th, 16th, and 20th.

LFM GRADE: C+

Posted on January 27th, 2014 at 3:49pm.

LFM Reviews Life After Beth @ The 2014 Sundance Film Festival

From "Life After Beth."

By Joe Bendel. Teenagers and zombies both have bad skin and smell like feet. However, the similarities end with the risen dead’s affinity for smooth jazz. At least, that is how the zombie apocalypse rolls in Jeff Baena’s Life After Beth, which screened during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Zach Orfman was always inclined to be mopey, but the death of his out-of-his-league girlfriend Beth Slocum really has him down. He is especially anguished because their final awkward days of couplehood teetered on the brink of splitsville. Seeking comfort in proximity, Orfman starts spending time with Slocum’s parents, Maury and Geenie, who also seem to take consolation from his presence. Then one day they freeze him out and close off their entire house to the outside world.

Eventually, Orfman discovers they are harboring the “resurrected” Slocum, who has no memories of her fatal hiking misadventure. The Slocums are determined to keep it that way. They allow Orfman to renew their relationship, but insist he never tell her about her death or share the happy news with the rest of the world. It is all good for a few days, until certain changes start manifesting in Slocum. For instance, her skin is drier and her behavior is more aggressive. We also get hints she might not be the only zombie who came back.

Writer-director Baena dexterously keeps the zombie apocalypse lurking just outside our field of vision, focusing instead on the increasingly problematic relationship between Orfman and Slocum. He also stays true to the logical necessities of zombie movies in the redemptive third act climax. However, the humor in After definitely leans toward the mild chuckle end of the spectrum.

From "Life After Beth."

Aubrey Plaza is the perfect choice for Slocum, jumping into the undead teenager angst and zombie gore with both feet. In contrast, Dane DeHaan’s Orfman is a leaden presence, stuck on moody brooding throughout the film. He might be convincingly nebbish, but it is impossible to believe someone with this kind of dead fish charisma could attract the reasonably popular Slocum. While Paul Reiser (his second dad role in a Sundance film this year) and Cheryl Hines are largely wasted as Orfman’s parents, John C. Reilly’s shtick suits Maury Slocum rather well.

Life After Beth is pleasant enough, but it is quite like scores of previous teenager horror mash-ups thematically and stylistically. While it earns originality points down the stretch, Plaza and Reilly could have used some help carrying it to that point. Tightly executed but low in calories, Life After Beth only served as a light snack for genre fans when it screened as a selection of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: C+

Posted on January 27th, 2014 at 3:43pm.

LFM Reviews The Raid 2 @ The 2014 Sundance Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. Rama’s last mission was an off-the-books frontal assault. He was one of the few survivors. This time, he will use stealth and deception. Don’t worry, he will generate the same massive body count in Gareth Huw Evans’ The Raid 2, which screens during this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Ironically, busting his corrupt commanding officer might not be so hot for Rama’s career. It is likely to attract the wrong sort of attention. Fortunately (or not), the leader of the new anti-corruption squad papers over the whole affair, so he can recruit Rama for a deep cover operation. The honest cop and family man will spend two years in prison, where he will become the protector of Uco, the unstable son of Bangun, Jakarta’s top mob boss. His objective is not to take down Bangun, but to expose the cops in his pocket.

Matters get more complicated (as gangster business often does) when Uco hatches a plan to usurp his father and launch an all out war against their Japanese Yakuza allies. With chaos unleashed, Rama forms a de facto alliance with Eka, Bangun’s more rational lieutenant, played by Mr. Sundance, Oka Antara, co-lead of the Mo Brothers’ Killers.

Raid 2 starts a bit slower than the previous film, actually devoting a minute or two to exposition, but it is soon off to the races. In addition to the mega-melees, there are several feature spots devoted to various supporting beat down artists. Yayan Ruhian, Iko Uwais’s co-action choreographer on both films, reappears in the persona of Prakoso, a loyal Bangun assassin done wrong by Uco. However, the sequel’s new fan favorite is likely to be Julie Estelle, who literally tears it up the joint as the aptly named “Hammer Girl.” Watching her go Sears Craftsman on various Yakuza is what the movies should be all about.

Once again, Uwais and Ruhian’s fight scenes are spectacularly violent and wildly cool. Close quarters combat is unquestionably their forte. While their moves are often dazzling cinematic, there is nothing superhuman in Raid 2, except perhaps its characters’ tolerance for pain.

Uwais is an earnest enough screen presence with truly ferocious action chops. Likewise, Ruhian and Estelle should be future cult stars in their own right. Arifin Putra brings plenty of entitled villainy as the recklessly ambitious Uco, while Antara and Tio Pakusodewo’s Bangun nicely hold up the Johnnie To gangster tradition.

Without question, Raid 2 maintains the franchise’s status as the reigning Cadillac of martial arts cinema. Saturated in adrenaline, it is the sort of film that inspires expressions of appreciative shock and awe from the audience. Highly recommended, it screens again this Saturday (1/25) in Salt Lake as part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on January 24th, 2014 at 5:36pm.