Author: Joe Bendel

LFM Reviews A Fool @ The 2015 New York Asian Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. In a simple Chinese peasant’s world, no good deed goes unpunished. In the world of Chinese actor Chen Jianbin, a supporting cast-member’s drug bust can be used to cancel the release of his directorial debut. Arguably, their worlds are not as different as they might initially appear. However, one might well debate just who exactly is referred to in the title of Chen’s A Fool, which screens as an opening day selection of the 2015 New York Asian Film Festival, in advance of China Lion’s upcoming theatrical release.

Latiaozi is a salt-of-the-earth goat-herder, who is scrimping to get by after giving Li Datou, the village wheeler-dealer, a sizable bribe to facilitate his grown son’s release from prison. So far, Li’s lack of results makes things rather chilly for Latiaozi at home. The last thing he needs is an adult half-wit following him home like a stray dog. However, Latiaozi and his Muslim wife Jinzhizi are reluctant to turn him out into the cold, lest he freeze to death on their property.

As we might expect, the gruff couple warms to the idiot just about the time someone comes to claim him. For a while, Latiaozi takes satisfaction from his good deed until another group of self-proclaimed relations comes to claim the fool—and yet another. Each time the supposedly disappointed parties try to extort money from Latiaozi. It leaves the poor, unsophisticated rube in quite a state.

From "A Fool."

Chen’s A Fool arrives within the same festival season as Yuriy Bykov’s The Fool, exhibiting kinships beyond the similar title. While Bykov is more explicit in his criticism of Putin’s Russia, both films directly address the perils of being honest and guileless when living in the midst a corrupt system.

Pitiable Latiaozi does not stand a chance. Yet, his dogged earnestness exceeds all expectations. There is no question A Fool is a dark film, but it is not the proletarian passion play you might be expecting. Indeed, Chen is his own best asset. The standout from Doze Niu Chen-zer’s Paradise in Service and dozens of previous films, Chen plays Latiaozi as an achingly transparent everyman, incapable of deception and utterly overmatched by the wider world. Similarly earthy and direct, former television sex symbol Jiang Qinqin is shockingly glammed down and down-trodden looking as Jinzhizi. They completely feel like a husband and wife with a long shared history together (which, in fact, they are).

Unfortunately, Wang Xuebing’s drug-related incident was the pretext used to cancel A Fool’s Mainland theatrical distribution, but it is clear why Chen refused to reshoot his scenes with a different actor. Wang’s serpent-like charm and sarcastic edge are the X-factor that constantly kicks the film up yet another notch. Any other Li Datou would merely be a pale shadow of Wang.

The narrative of A Fool, based on Hu Xuewen’s novella, shares superficial commonalities with any number of propaganda tales about exploited peasants. Nevertheless, this is not didactic agitprop or a self-serving wallowing in the misery of others. This is a pointed yet pacey film that happens to hold a mirror up to reality while focusing on its rustic but sharply drawn characters. Highly recommended, especially for Chinese visitors to our fair city who might not otherwise have the opportunity to see it, A Fool screens this Friday (6/26) at the Walter Reade, kicking off this year’s NYAFF.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on June 24th, 2015 at 5:47pm.

LFM Reviews Never Defeated: the Shunzo Ohno Story

By Joe Bendel. Shunzo Ohno is like the Timex of jazz, or even its Job. The record shows he took the blows, but still found a way to keep doing his thing. It is an inspiring story of repeated triumph over adversity that Sean Gallagher chronicles in his short but remarkably eventful documentary Never Defeated: the Shunzo Ohno Story, which premiered before Ohno’s Cutting Room gig this past Wednesday in New York.

Hailing from an economically challenged family, Ohno was not given a trumpet until late in his school years, but he quickly made up for lost time. He was one of many international jazz artists who came to America as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He experienced considerable initial success, but Ohno subsequently found himself scuffling to the point of actual homelessness, during what were lean years for real deal jazz in general. Of course, he bounced back personally and professionally, but his greatest trials were yet to come.

Somehow, Ohno survived a serious car accident (that caused the sort of damage to his jaw and teeth that make trumpet players shudder) and fourth stage throat cancer approximately eight years later. In each case, Ohno had to radically reinvent his embouchure to keep playing, which is sort of like a sculptor learning to mold clay with his feet. Yet, Ohno continues to play at a lofty professional level.

Frankly, Never Defeated could easily be expanded to feature length without requiring much padding. Gallagher is a tremendously economical storyteller, shoehorning some epic tribulations into a mere ten minutes. Wisely, he also incorporates plenty of Ohno’s music, including a studio performance with his working group and an all-star ensemble concert at Carnegie Hall, featuring musicians like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Larry Corryell, and Steve Turre.

From "Never Defeated: the Shunzo Ohno Story."

As an additional attraction for jazz fans, Never Defeated is narrated by Buster Williams, the accomplished bassist who featured Ohno on his Something More album. Williams is a selfless leader. You might hear him give nearly all the solo space to his sidemen at his own gigs, but he always plays with top musicians, so nobody complains. He is always more concerned about serving the music than vice versa, so it makes perfect sense he would sign on to promote awareness and appreciation of his friend and colleague.

Never Defeated is the sort of short doc that deserves a chance to be reincarnated in a larger format. It is tightly constructed and gives the audience a richly flavorful taste of his somewhat Miles-esque music. Ohno next plays at the Bean Runner Café in Peekskill on 6/27 and as part of the Sunset Jazz concert series in Lyndhurst on 8/13, but the venues are sadly not equipped to screen the film, so hopefully shrewdly programmed festivals like AAIFF will be picking it up in the near future. Recommended for jazz fans and “inspirational” audiences, Never Defeated: the Shunzo Ohno Story is definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on June 24th, 2015 at 5:47pm.

LFM Reviews Cross

By Joe Bendel. They say confession is good for the soul, but probably not in Lee Leung’s case. He has turned himself into the authorities after failing in his divinely inspired mission. His body count is carefully documented, but there might be more to his story than meets the eye in Daniel Chan’s Cross, which releases today on regular DVD and digital platforms from Well Go USA.

The fact that co-directors Steve Woo, Lau Kin Ping, and Hui Shu Ning are all credited with helping to complete Cross over a two year period does not inspire a boatload of confidence. On the plus side, it stars Simon Yam as Lee Leung. In fact, it is not the dreary anti-Catholic diatribe we might expect, even though Yam’s serial killer is most definitely devout. Reeling from his terminally ill wife’s suicide, Lee Leung starts to kill off members who post on an online suicide forum, at their own invitation, thereby saving them from mortal sin. They are supposed to pass peacefully, so when he botches his latest assignment, he remorsefully turns and surrenders to the police.

Professor Cheung, the police psychoanalyst, starts to investigate the case, at which point the film turns strangely sympathetic towards Lee Leung. It is clear his wife’s death deeply damaged his psyche. However, he may have been manipulated by an outside agency.

From "Cross."

Unfortunately, just as the film builds up the mystery surrounding his murders, Chan (or whoever) blithely pulls out a Jenga block, making the entire tower collapse. There are also massive timeline issues with the ultimate truth, but at least there are some nice stylistic touches in how it is revealed.

Cross definitely feels edited-together, but as usual, Yam is rock solid as Lee Leung. It largely confirms our unspoken theorem that every Simon Yam film is worth seeing. Kenny Wong Tak-bun is also terrific as Prof. Cheung, an obsessively empathetic character worthy of his own franchise treatment (which stands no chance of happening). It is also amusing to see Nick Cheung appear in a small role just as his career was igniting.

You can readily see how if circumstances had been different, Cross might have worked quite well. It is still considerably exceeds the expectations established by its reputation. While it should not be anyone’s introduction to Hong Kong cinema, Yam fans will find its consistent moodiness strangely watchable. Consider this a bemused defense more than a recommendation now that it is available from Well Go USA.

LFM GRADE: B-/C+

Posted on June 24th, 2015 at 5:46pm.

LFM Reviews Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; In Theaters 6/22

By Joe Bendel. It is by far Shakespeare’s most genre friendly play, chocked full of fairies and magical spells. It is the comedy that inspired Czech animator Jiri Trnka’s adaptation 1959. Subsequently, both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett have riffed on in their signature fantasy worlds, so it should be the Shakespeare play contemporary movie goers can most easily relate to. Now they have no excuse, because Julie Taymor will give them the spectacle they crave in her filmed version of her own dynamic staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which screens nationwide this coming Monday for one night only.

To inaugurate the opening of their first permanent home, Theatre for a New Audience turned to Taymor, who put her distinctive stylistic stamp on Midsummer, in collaboration with composer Elliot Goldenthal. Not only was the production a hit, it also translates well to the big screen (and the bigger the better). Yet, the best surprise is how deftly Taymor and her cast turn the play’s comedic business, getting big laughs everywhere Shakespeare intended them. Many previous productions have been fatally caught up in the dream motifs, resulting in a snoozy atmosphere. In contrast, Taymor’s Midsummer is unusually energetic and pacey.

Of course, it is still Midsummer. That means Hermia and Lysander are still forbidden to marry, they once again abscond to the forest outside Athens, inadvertently blundering into the Fairy Realm. The prospective suitors they rejected, Demetrius and Helena follow after them. Hoping to even out the situation, Oberon the King of the Fairies, orders Robin “Puck” Goodfellow to bewitch Demetrius with Helena, but his trickster servant casts the spell upon the wrong mortal. Meanwhile, a group of roughhewn tradesmen are rehearsing the play they hope to put on as part of the ruling Duke’s impending wedding. This time Puck gets it right, magically morphing the blowhard Nick Bottom into a Donkey-headed beast and enchanting Oberon’s disobedient Queen Titania with the braying prole.

Into this familiar, archetype-rich narrative, Taymor incorporates some incredible wire-work (at least she got something out of the Spiderman experience), the rich yet suggestive costuming (often reminiscent of her Lion King), her trademark billowing fabrics, sparingly effective use of video projections, and pillow fights. Believe it or not, almost all of it looks great on the screen.

From "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

However, the incontestable star of Taymor’s Shakespeare’s Midsummer is Kathryn Hunter, playing Puck in the Mary Martin tradition, but with a mischievous glean in her eye worthy of Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister. Taymor whips her around the stage like Spidey, yet she still totally nails the “if we shadows have offended” epilogue.

There are no weak links per se, but David Harewood’s physical presence as Oberon is pretty darned awesome. Likewise, Roger Clark plays the Duke with gravitas and good humor befitting a nobleman. To an extent, as Demetrius and Helena, Zach Appelman and Mandi Masden somewhat outshine a comparably blander Hermia and Lysander, but it hardly matters.

Filmed theater often looks a little flat, but Taymor makes it an immersive and kinetic cinematic experience. This will be a tough Midsummer to top, so it is great to have it so well preserved. Frankly, it easily ranks within the top tier of Shakespearean comedies for the big screen, up there with Trevor Nunn’s Twelfth Night and Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. Very highly recommended, Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream screens this Monday (6/22) as a special Fathom Events presentation at theaters nationwide, including the AMC Empire in New York.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on June 19th, 2015 at 12:13pm.

LFM Reviews Among the Believers @ AFI Docs 2015

By Joe Bendel. Apologists constantly claim Islamist madrassas are nothing to worry about. They are simply “schools.” While that might be a literal translation, it deliberately obscures the practical meaning. Throughout Pakistan, the Red Mosque’s network of Wahhabi madrassas act as incubators for virulent extremism, molding their students into fanatics and and with shocking regularity, into suicide bombers. Viewers meet the Red Mosque’s radical mastermind and his leading critic face-to-face in Hemal Trivedi & Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s Among the Believers, which screens during AFI Docs 2015.

Abdul Aziz Ghazi radiates the absolute certainty of evil. A supporter of the Taliban and ISIS, he advocates imposing strict Sharia law uniformly and despises secular government, especially that in Pakistan. This is somewhat ironic, since his father founded the Red Mosque at the behest of the Pakistani government and he still probably counts on considerable support from Islamist elements within the intelligence service. When not sending out self-immolating terrorists into the world (maintaining the thinnest shreds of plausible deniability), Ghazi ruins lives one child at a time.

The education provided at the Red Mosque madrassas guarantees their students a life of marginalization. Forget math and science. They are only taught to memorize the Koran, but not what its passages mean. Even if they were not radicalized to the point socially productive lives are impossible, they are not taught any employable skills, thus perpetuating the cycle of futility and resentment.

However, Ghazi can talk a good game. Despite his clashes with the government, he regularly scores points with the media. His most intrepid critic is Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a nuclear physicist. Frankly, the words “Pakistani nuclear scientist” look a wee bit troublesome together, but it is reassuring to know Dr. Hoodbhoy is on the side of civilized, tolerant society.

There are loads of potentially dramatic material in Believers, but it is not well served by the filmmakers’ unyielding commitment to their observational approach. Ghazi’s severe religious ideology cries out to be challenged, but the only time that happens is in a highly structured television debate with Dr. Hoodbhoy, conducted over the phone. Nevertheless, you have to give Dr. Hoodbhoy credit for standing up to his harsh rhetoric.

From "Among the Believers."

Yet, this underscores the film’s weakness, presenting both men’s position and then largely shrugging. Frankly, they do not spend enough time with the victims of the Red Mosque, like Zarina, who ran away from her abusive madrassa and now attends a school that provides education rather than religious indoctrination. Even when they do provide wider context, like the Taliban massacre of 132 school children in Peshawar, the filmmakers never ask Ghazi the obvious follow-up questions.

Despite its intentional limitations, Believers is often an eye-opening cinematic dispatch from a deeply troubled nation. Clearly, Ghazi’s outfit is far better organized than the Pakistani government, which is depressing. Yet, the mere existence of Dr. Hoodbhoy and the hundreds of thousands of concerned Pakistanis who came out to protest the Peshawar Massacre is encouraging. It is one of the few documentaries chronicling contemporary Pakistan that does not leave us completely bereft of hope, but it still does not leave a lot of room to work with. Revealing but frustratingly passive, Among the Believers is worth a look anyway when it screens today (6/19) and Sunday (6/21) at AFI Docs, following its premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on June 19th, 2015 at 12:12pm.

LFM Reviews Burying the Ex

From "Burying the Ex."

By Joe Bendel. It is hard for a proud geek like Max to stick with his relationship with an intense environmental activist like Evelyn. At least when she dies tragically young you would expect her to do the green thing and decompose into compost. Unfortunately, she will rise from her grave, reanimated by a nasty case of supernatural codependency. Of all people, Max ought to be reasonably well prepared for a relationship with a zombie, but she is just as jealous and overbearing as she was in life. This leads to problems in Joe Dante’s Burying the Ex, which opens today in New York.

Max works in a costume shop, chafing under his boss’s rule. He dreams of opening his own shop, but Ashley is not one to encourage such foolishness. When he agrees to cohabitate with her, Max finally realizes what an insufferable piece of work she is. He is even ready to break-up with her, but a city bus does the dirty work for him—permanently, or so he thinks. Thanks to a satanic idol and Evelyn’s intense commitment, she claws her way out of the ground, expecting to pick up where they left off.

Of course, this is awkward for Max. After all, she is kind of pale-looking and just generally creepy to be around. To be fair, he moped over her for a long time, but he only just started pursuing a new, healthier relationship with Olivia, a fellow geek malt shop owner. Right, Evelyn probably won’t like that.

From "Burying the Ex."

This is a Joe Dante film, which means Dick Miller is in the house. Happily, he is still doing his thing and stealing his scene when he pops up late in the third act as an incredibly unhelpful policeman. Of course, we know he will be money. Essentially, Anton Yelchin falls back the same dweebish nice guy shtick he used in films like Odd Thomas, 5 to 7, and Broken Horses (listed in declining order of entertainment value), but it works relatively well in the context of Ex. In fact, he develops some believably appealing cult-movie loving chemistry with Alexandra Daddario. Dead or alive, a little of Twilight’s Ashely Greene’s Evelyn goes on long way, but she certainly helps the audience feel for poor Max.

Compared to Dante’s best work, Ex looks somewhat restrained. However, his many nods to geek culture (including Fruit Brute cereal, Hollywood Forever cemetery screenings, a Val Lewton double feature at the New Bev, and generous helpings of Ed Wood’s Plan 9) are a lot of fun. Although not nearly as richly executed, Ex could be a nice lite beer chaser to Dante’s true classic Matinee.

Like a seasoned pro, Dante keeps everything moving along quite snappily. There are some clever gross-out gags down the stretch and the design team assembled plenty of fan-friendly props and bric-a-brac. There is no shortage of zombie comedies these days, but this one has some heart and Dick Miller. Recommended for fans of Dante, Miller, and zombies (which ought to be just about everyone, right?), Burying the Ex opens today (6/19) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on June 19th, 2015 at 12:12pm.