NYFF52 Centerpiece Review: Inherent Vice (2014)

by Tony Dayoub


Inherent Vice is possibly the most confusing of all of Paul Thomas Anderson's films. That's saying something considering he directed the enigmatic The Master and Punch-Drunk Love. At least in the case of those films one feels like one can get some kind of a grip on their respective themes because Anderson is a pretty accessible person and wrote the material himself. Inherent Vice is a different animal altogether. Adapted from a Thomas Pynchon novel, one can guess (I haven't read it) that coherence was sacrificed in favor of faithfulness to the book's feel, consistency maybe never having existed on the page in the first place. In any event, the incoherence is the least of one's concerns. When Anderson makes a film, he plays the long game, knowing... no... insisting that one see the movie again and again. It's what makes Inherent Vice so compelling. One wants to wallow in its noirish, surfer-gone-to-seed, atmosphere and revisit the movie again and again, with the hopes that its central mystery might be clarified in an eventual viewing.

Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

by Tony Dayoub

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a noticeable upgrade from the franchise's previous movie in nearly every way. The odd pacing of director Gary Ross's The Hunger Games often meant the inherent thrills of a premise involving arena games in a dystopic future often took a back seat to YA melodrama at the oddest of moments. The tacky otherness of this futuristic society's attire and florid names of its characters were made unintentionally distracting by Ross's inexperience directing what in essence is just a dressed-up action film. Successor Francis Lawrence (I am Legend) instantly proves a better fit as director, darkening up the visuals, accentuating the filthiness of the coal-mining District 12 that heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) hails from, concealing the flamboyance of the class-divided country Panem and its Capitol if not entirely burying it.

Movie Review: The Ruins - Young Cast and Director Freshen Up Peculiar Chiller

by Tony Dayoub

The Ruins opened this past Friday in theatres. The screenplay by Scott Smith is based on his own bestselling horror novel. In the story, a group of friends vacationing in Mexico venture out to a remote Mayan ruin to try to fit in some culture in between their otherwise alcohol-soaked escapades. There's a reason the ancient temple they find is not on any maps, they soon find out. It is a place of foreboding and death, one that not even the surrounding flora and fauna get near... except for a creeping vine covering the structure. Smith's screenplay is not as impressive as his earlier one for Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan. But The Ruins is enlivened by an excellent young cast and director.

A horror movie is most effective when you come to identify with the intended victims in it. In the current crop of such movies, it is difficult to relate to the largely anonymous cast of novice actors. This film casts extremely talented actors that draw you in. Not unlike Brian De Palma's Carrie, I believe in years to come this movie will be revisited by those curious to see the cast of young actors, who will no doubt be in demand in the future. That film had such up-and-comers as John Travolta, Sissy Spacek, and Amy Irving. This film stars Shawn Ashmore (the X-Men films), Jena Malone (Donnie Darko), Laura Ramsey (She's the Man) and Jonathan Tucker (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), all relative unknowns. Tucker (so effective in the neo-noir The Deep End) is capable of letting his teary eyes speak volumes of fear while he tries to keep the group focused on escaping their plight. Ashmore buries his preppie good-looks behind frizzy hair and full beard to get us to connect with his regular-joe. Malone's frown belies her determination in surviving their predicament.

Special praise goes to Ramsey. I'm rarely caught off guard when seeing an actor. I usually recognize them from somewhere. Ramsey, though relatively new, has done some noteworthy films. But she is extremely sympathetic in a role that could have easily been, for various reasons, the most annoying in the film. I see big things for her pretty soon. All the young actors give distinct voices to characters that could have been ciphers, making the movie even more chilling.

Director Carter Smith conjures up some genuine shocks by leaning on traditional elements of fear rather than gory violence. It looks especially challenging considering much of the film takes place in bright daylight. But by concentrating on sound effects, judicious - instead of generous -use of blood, and the dynamic cinematography of Darius Khondji (Se7en), Smith is able to muster up some horrific moments. Even more impressive is his assuredness given that this is the former fashion photographer's first feature-length film (check out his disturbing, gay-themed, horror short Bugcrush).

Encourage filmmakers to turn away from the current trend of torture-porn cinema, and go see this small old-fashioned chiller instead.