Spring Breakers (2012) Review

Director: Harmony Korine

Stars: James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine

Genre: Crime, Black Comedy

(Note: There's some minor spoilers within, but nothing too big and nothing you probably haven't already seen from the trailers)

Harmony Korine's latest film is a piece of pop art absurdity that will surely leave you with a few different feelings by the time the credits role. 

The film concerns four college girls who desperately want to go to Florida for spring break but lack the funds. In order to raise the money for the trip they rob a restaurant. However, during their Florida spring break they meet a local gangster by the name of Alien who takes their lives in a new direction. 

The film's plot is fairly thin and simple but that's definitely not the selling point of this film, of which I'll get to presently. This film had a lot of festival hype and received a lot of attention due to its casting of Disney stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens. But it'd be wrong to look at this film strictly in turns of its radical casting. There's more to it. 

The beginning of the film is mostly just these four college girls hanging out and having fun, and then progressing to some wild spring break partying; booties shaking, alcohol flowing, you know how it goes. But despite this seemingly normal, lighthearted atmosphere the film always lets you know that there is something very dark beneath the surface. Anytime you get too comfortable there will surely be a loud sound of a gun being loaded on the scene's transition. This sound effect repeated throughout the film prevents you from ever getting comfortable and will indeed probably even startle you. Along with this there are brief glimpses of horror early on in the form of "micro scenes," as the director calls them. The robbery of the restaurant is terrifying and Candy's (Hudgens) retelling of it to Faith, whom wasn't there during the robbery, is even more frightening. 

In the second half of the film, with the introduction of Franco's character Alien, the girls' hedonism leads them  to a world of crime and only crime. It turns the film into a sort of "Beach Noir," as the director calls it. 

What this film does well is that it doesn't glorify the lifestyle of partying teens but it also doesn't condemn it. It feels more like it's just displaying it. It's holding up a mirror to American youth and forcing them to see themselves. To see the drunken behavior and reckless partying. But in the end the viewer will interpret it how they want. Someone who loves partying and does it often will watch this and relate to the party setting and those who generally dislike dumb teenagers will feel disgust. Either way is fine; either way works for the film. 

I do think the film has satirical elements though. One cannot look at footage of young girls shaking their asses and having alcohol poured on them with a Selena Gomez voice over of her saying how spiritual it all is and not sense the satire. Or seeing Alien as a manifestation of the "gangsta" image. The girls wear pink ski masks with unicorn patches; they took something that was intended to conceal their identity while committing criminal activities and they still managed to turn it into a matter of appearance. It's showing us America's pop culture with no holds barred. It's forcing us to see what much of this country's youth is. 

Alien is not a gangster in the true sense of the word. He is someone who is so obsessed with his image and with material things. He just wants the appearance and everything he does is to build and maintain this appearance he strived for. The first time we see in Alien's house the entire scene is spent with him pointing out all of the things he owns, from guns to cologne. I think that also works into the idea of spring break and youth, and I suppose the film can be looked at as a comment on hedonism and materialism in general. Our culture is very artificial, materialistic and, as Harmony himself has said, deals largely only with the surface of things. 

There's some really great camerawork here, and at points it utilizes a kind of Girls Gone Wild or MTV's Spring Break shooting style. It's effective in that not only does it support a satirical nature but it also forces further comparisons between real life and the things we constantly see in our culture. There's also some very beautiful and stylistic use of lighting, with a constant sense of neon and plasticity, not only supporting the film's themes but looking stunning in the process. I must also complement the film's editing, with great use of gun sounds on transition as I mentioned before (and indeed all the sound in here sounds great, reminiscent of the great sounds recorded in Julien Donkey-Boy) and also great use of repetition and voice overs, etc. 

The entire film has such a dream-like atmosphere. Not only due to its neon lighting and its atmospheric editing and its such vibrant use of color (Korine said he wanted certain parts of the film to look like Skittles) but also due to its constant absurdity. But its absurdity is never completely unbelievable; it takes things that surely do happen in real life and shows us that these things are absurd but that doesn't make them not real. Life is absurd; our culture is absurd; now watch it. It's a crazy story grounded in dream-like reality. It's impressionistic. 

The casting was a very smart move. Not only does the casting of big names bring immediate attention to the film but also the radical defiance of typecasting (in regards to Gomez and Hudgens) sparked controversy. But we should also realize that Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens are indeed the type of people they are playing. They are a part of the pop culture that the film is displaying. They are literally perfect for the role. As far as their performances go, and indeed the performances of all four girls, it is suffice. Their characters are written to be flat and lacking depth so they do fine within the room the role allows. They're hard characters to sympathize with, at least for me, but that's really not the point. The film, again, is not trying to get you to root for or against anything, it's just showing it to you. 

The one who really stole the show as far as performances go is James Franco as Alien. Easily one of the best  and most interesting parts of his career. His character is so ridiculous (yet eerily believable) that it is just awe-inspiring to observe. I was honestly taken aback and just amazed at this character. It really is, at least to me who isn't usually around these types of people, like watching someone from a different planet. And Franco plays the role great. I think it helps to be a Franco fan prior to this, just because I found it much more funnier to see an actor I love play such a hilarious part. And it is hilarious. James Franco playing (and singing) a Britney Spears song on a piano and then it serving as the background music for a robbery montage is genius but above all hilarious. 

Whether you laugh at its absurdity, cringe at its horror, or relish in its stylistic beauty, Spring Breakers is an interesting film and an undoubtedly well crafted one. It's unbiased, unpretentious, and it captures an odd dream-like yet realistic feeling. Harmony Korine sucked unsuspecting people into theaters with the allure of a Hollywood cast, sexy promotion and a mainstream soundtrack and then he showed them something they weren't expecting. This "pop poem" is definitely a worthy entry into Harmony's intriguing filmography. 

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Super Fly (1972) Review

Director: Gordon Parks, Jr.
Stars: Ron O'Neal, Julius Harris
Genre: Crime, Blaxploitation

Super Fly is pure blaxploitation. It doesn't get any more black than this.

The film is about a drug dealer, Priest, who wants to get out of the drug business. But with his partner and some new business associates and the police breathing down his neck getting out proves to be harder than it seems.

I was pretty disappointed with Super Fly. It's a pretty dull, boring film. It's really only notable for being an early blaxploitation film (though not the first). I suppose it did form many of the genre's stereotypes, like the pimp image and the pimpmobile.

It's, simply put, a bad movie. The acting is fairly mediocre; Ron O'Neal wasn't terrible though. The cliches are abundant, the 70s camp is ever present. The plot is boringly simple, the characters are forgettable. 

There was a pretty cool chase scene in the beginning of the movie, unfortunately not much happened after that. There was a really odd sex scene thrown in there too...which I'll admit was pretty nice.

The film is kind of stylish in its own right. Mostly do to the 70s atmosphere and the extravagant costumes. I feel like the film's poster is the coolest part though.

The one good thing about Super Fly, no, the one great thing about Super Fly, is its soundtrack which was created by Curtis Mayfield. One of the greatest film soundtracks of all-time and I mean that quite literally. Super Fly is one of the few films to be outgrossed by its soundtrack. Rightfully so, Curtis Mayfield is a damn talented man and is music is awesome.

Buy the soundtrack and maybe give the film a watch but its passable. There were also two sequels, Super Fly T.N.T. in 1973 and The Return of Superfly in 1990.

Recommended for: fans of blaxploitation, Curtis Mayfield fans

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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Review

Director: Joseph Sargent
Stars: Walter Matthau, Jerry Stiller, Dick O'Neill, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam
Genre: Thriller, Crime

As far as 70s crime thrillers go, The Taking of Pelham 123 is one of the finest.

Set in 70s New York City the story follows a group of hijackers who hold a train hostage and threaten to kill the passengers if they aren't paid one million dollars. But there's still one thing that everyone can't figure out: what's their escape plan?

First off I have to say that one thing I love about this film is its setting. It nicely captures New York at the time; the way it looked, the types of people. It's great. Maybe I appreciate it more since I'm from New York (though I wasn't born until two decades after this film), so I recognize many of the subway stops and street names.

The plot is pretty good. It surely made subway-takers even more terrified of the subway then they already were. It definitely took a new angle on subway trains. The movie isn't action packed, but it doesn't feel slow. There's a lot of suspense and build-up and most of it is very effective. The only real complaint I had was that the hijacker's escape plan was pretty disappointing. It wasn't really clever, or crazy, or impressive. It just was.

The cast is pretty awesome too. You have Walter Matthau sort of playing the film's protagonist, Dick O'Neill, and Jerry Stiller of Seinfeld and King of Queens fame (Stiller really is fond of New York, isn't he?). Robert Shaw, who fans of Jaws will recognize as Quint the fisherman, played Mr. Blue. Martin Balsam, whom any film-goer will recognize from somewhere, played Mr. Green.

The writing is great, it has plenty of cheesy one-liners (many of them very clever) but it also has some really fantastic dialogue, which is great being that most of the film is about hijackers giving demands through a radio.

The ending, I won't spoil, is ridiculous, hilarious, totally predictable, but it works. The last frame cracks me up every time.

There's not much more I can say about The Taking of Pelham 123. It's enjoyable to watch and it captures its setting so well. Has its hilarious points and its suspenseful ones. Worth the watch. 

Recommended for: Fans of any cast/crew, fans of 70s thrillers, New Yorkers

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Jackie Brown (1997) Review

Part of Merry Christmas and Happy Tarantino Month!

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker
Genre: Crime

Jackie Brown is Tarantino's third directed film (if you don't count Four Rooms), following Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, and expectations were high, to say the least.

The plot concerns half a millions dollars and a bunch of people who want to get their hands on it, from a money smuggling flight attendant to an illegal firearms dealer to the police.

The cast is great, with an aged Pam Grier (who was actually previously auditioned for the role of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction) playing the star role and proving that she's still a charm to see on the screen. Samuel L Jackson plays his typecast hard gangster character, and does fabulous as always. Robert De Niro has a small role as a silent, slightly insane, criminal, and he, as it should go without saying, delivers a great performance. Robert Forester does fabulous and Bridget Fonda plays a very welcomed role as well. 

The plot is pretty engaging, though not terribly thrilling. Upon first viewing you really don't know how it will end and who will end up with the half a million dollars. Even as the viewer it is seldom you know who to trust as everyone is plotting against one another, it's very often the viewer doesn't even know when a character is lying or not. It adds a bit of mystery, a bit of curiosity, and it's very effective.

Jackie Brown was adapted from the novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard, something Tarantino doesn't usually do. And while the film stays fairly truthful to the essence of its source material (albeit it changes quite a few things) it also manages to have its own style. Tarantino definitely made it his own. The film, though not quite one itself, pays homage to blaxploitation films of the '70s (the film's name itself being a reference to Grier's film Foxy Brown) which just reeks of Tarantino style.

However, this film is only barely recognizable as a Tarantino film. He intentionally changed his style up while directing this, trying to avoid comparison between his last two films. This style change is very noticeable in camera positioning and movement and even in plot structure. (There's a very excellent use of a split-screen shot in here).

The film has solid dialogue and it does make its share of pop culture references, but the dialogue is much more subtle and less memorable than Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction and there are far less pop culture references. It's still good dialogue, just not Tarantino's best. 

It makes sense that the film doesn't feel completely Tarantino though, being that it's an adaptation. So it's more like half Tarantino style  and half Elmore Leonard style. Tarantino himself even said that he feels that he managed to have about half the dialogue created by him and half taken from the novel.

In fact, the entire film is very subtle for Tarantino and much more calm and serious. Tarantino still does a great job with it though.

It's also the first Tarantino film to have an opening scene that doesn't involve the characters talking with each other.

The soundtrack is top notch. Really great enjoyable, immersing tunes, and also very suiting to the film and what happens on screen.

Tarantino does a fabulous job and proved that he's a director that can do a variety of films well. Though it may be a little dull for fans of other Tarantino films, it's still great in his own right. Very awesome film.

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From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Review

Part of Merry Christmas and Happy Tarantino Month!

Director: Robert Rodriquez
Stars: George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis
Genre: Action, Crime, Comedy, Horror

From Dusk Till Dawn is pretty much a precursor to Rodriquez and Tarantino's later collaboration, Grindhouse. It has that same grindhouse, exploitation feel.

I will say, if you haven't seen this film and don't know much about it, just watch it before you read this review. I won't give any major spoilers but it's ten times better if you go into it not knowing what to expect.

The first half of the film is about two brothers, Seth (Clooney) and Richie (Tarantino), who rob a bank and are on the run from the law. They then hold a family hostage and force them to drive them across the border and into Mexico. However, once in Mexico, things turn a little...crazy, to say the least.

Tarantino wrote the screenplay (he actually wrote it before he even made Reservoir Dogs) and it definitely shows. Tarantino dialogue and references are very present and noticeable in the film. The first half of the film (pre-vampires) feels very much like something you'd expect from Tarantino.

Tarantino has a fairly large role in here as Seth's brother Richie. He does a great job and does a justifiable performance for a great character. Tarantino may not be as good an actor as he is writer or director, but he really doesn't get the credit he deserves when it comes to his roles.

Robert Rodriquez directed and he does a good job also. You can definitely see the difference between Tarantino's directing and Rodriquez's; Rodriquez has faster shots and more cuts and camera movement as opposed to a Tarantino directed film.

Nearly all the characters, in one way or another, go against typecast.

George Clooney plays a hardened criminal. He delivers a greatly believable and charming performance. His character, Seth, is extremely well written. He's such a complex character. We know that he's a selfish character that has done awful things, but in comparison to his brother we can see that he does hold morals and ethics, though he lacks, or rather fails to understand, empathy. It also hints that he places guilt on himself for his brother being psychotic, manic and delusional.

Harvey Keitel goes completely against typecast and plays a former preacher and family man. He is enjoyable to watch as always. 

Juliette Lewis, who was largely featured in sexual roles, plays an innocent (albeit not completely) daughter of a preacher. She does great in here and by the end of the film you really feel that she went through changes and has matured. Indeed almost all the characters come to certain revelations throughout the film, something that I think mostly goes uncredited to the film by its critics.

There's some really cool cameos in here as well. From the beautiful Salma Hayek to Cheech Marin (who actually plays three roles in here) to Danny Trejo to special effects guru Tom Savini to badass Fred "The Hammer" Williamson to Michael Parks to John Saxon. All faces that will be recognized by common movie-goers.

Whereas the first part of the film is a sort of crime thriller/buddy road film, the latter part is an action horror, with comedy present throughout both parts. The script was actually originally written to show off the effects of a certain production company. Well, the effects aren't anything special. The vampires look pretty silly and the melting and fire effects look incredibly fake. The transformation effects vary from pretty good to bad. This, though possibly disliked initially, is eventually forgotten once the action picks up and you really just stop caring how stupid everything looks and you just enjoy the ride. It is a film about the survivors, not the vampires. But perhaps while Tom Savini was shooting his cameo they should have asked him for a few pointers.

As a horror film it's pretty mediocre. Once the vampires come the movie's over after a fight scene or two and it all just happens too fast. There's no sense of terror, entrapment, claustrophobia, or anything like that, though there were numerous opportunities to incorporate them. But I don't really look at this as a horror film, and if I did I'd hate it. I look at it as a grindhouse-esque crime thriller and ultimately the story of two criminals and a hostage family.

The opening scene and the beginning of the film are awesome, the vampire part (though a major shift in style and genre) is still pretty awesome, and even the ending is good. It's worth the watch. 

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Pulp Fiction (1994) Review

Part of Merry Christmas and Happy Tarantino Month!

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken
Genre: Crime, Black Comedy

There's not much I can say about Pulp Fiction that hasn't already been said, but that's not going to stop me from trying.

The story is told out of chronological sequence (similar to Tarantino's previous film, Reservoir Dogs) and is divided into intersecting segments. We see the stories of prizefighting boxers, mob bosses, mob boss' wife, gangsters, and a variety of other characters. It's a plot that is really about the journey rather than the destination. Being a homage to old pulp fiction magazines (among many other things) you can be sure to expect your fair share of violence and humor.

As with all Tarantino films many of its elements are "borrowed" from other films. There's plenty of things that comes straight out of Psycho or Deliverance or Zardoz; the briefcase is very reminiscent of the briefcase in Kiss Me Deadly or the car trunk in Repo Man. There's countless references and homage shots (or perhaps not so countless after all), and Tarantino, somehow, manages to bring it all together with his own style and make it seem original. And I guess it is original in its own way.

The cast here is great and all deliver wonderful performances, as you'd expect from a Tarantino picture. Most would list Samuel L. Jackson as Jules as the stand-out performance. John Travolta (whose career was revitalized by Pulp Fiction), Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, and really everyone in here do fantastic jobs as well. The Christopher Walken cameo is great too.

The dialogue and writing are awesome. The majority of lines spoken in Pulp Fiction are quotable as hell. It can be witty, epic, funny, referential, and so on and so forth. It's really the characters that bring the film to life and the writing really make the characters shine. My favorite segment is the Jules and Mia one.

The film has no original score, though the soundtrack is superb. With funky surf music, rock n roll, and even soul, every tune fits perfectly, compliments the film, and really pulls you in to the mood of the film. One of the greatest soundtracks ever. 

What's the point of Pulp Fiction? Well, I'd honestly say that Pulp Fiction only exists so that it can show us how clever it is. To show us how fashionable it is or how many movie references it can make. It's an arrogant and mostly unintelligent movie...but goddamn is it awesome. One of my all-time biggest guilty pleasures. You can't not enjoy yourself while watching this. A postmodernist masterpiece. But is it overrated? Oh, dear, yes it is; severely overrated. It's still great though and still gets an Amazingly Amazing rating from me. Am I just a huge sucker for Uma Thruman? Yeah, pretty much.

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Reservoir Dogs (1992) Review

Part of Merry Christmas and Happy Tarantino Month!

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
Genre: Crime, Thriller

Reservoir Dogs is Tarantino's directorial debut (if you don't count his earlier amateur film) and what a fine debut it is.

The plot concerns a jewel robbery gone wrong. Who died, who didn't, were they set up, who's the rat, etc. are common questions to be had here. The plot is basically a rip-off of Ringo Lam's 1987 City on Fire, a Chinese film that Reservoir Dogs stole many ideas from, though Reservoir Dogs arguably does it much better.

Every character is referred to by a color (an idea straight out of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) so as nobody can snitch on anyone if they get caught. There's a really terrific cast here, Harvey Keitel as Mr. White, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink, Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde, Chris Penn playing Eddie and Lawrence Tierney playing Joe. They all do fantastic jobs, except for maybe Tierney. Buscemi's is my favorite performance as is Mr. Pink my favorite character.

You can still see Tarantino's style developing in here but still not quite fully developed. You have Tarantino's signature Trunk Shots and it does show off his recognizable style. The dialogue here is great (though largely irrelevant), especially the opening. It really helps that all the characters are fantastic, not that they're developed, just that they have terrific personalities. There's plenty of great long takes in here and they are all done flawlessly.

The plot is engaging throughout and really does make you think what you'd do in the same situation. Can be funny, thrilling, intense. The only part that felt kind of off to me was the Mr. Orange back-story, I felt like the film spent a little too much time with that. Minor complaint though.

Some complain about the pacing or structure (not many mind you), I thought it was pretty good though. I'd easily cite it as an example of flashbacks done right. I felt the film flowed very nicely. I think the film could of benefited if it worked a little more mystery in, but I guess it worked out fine.

The soundtrack is great, as with all Tarantino films.

I like the fact that aside from the big name actors, it's a very simple film. It really didn't take a whole lot to make. From the first scene with some guys talking in a diner, to the warehouse where most of the film takes place. It's a small-scale film, and that's what I usually prefer. It is an independent film after all (though it had a 1.5 million dollar budget), and started out as a very small project for Tarantino but eventually grew much bigger.

As well with all Tarantino films, it's not a highly original film, sure it has that Tarantino feel to it, but nearly all its elements are borrowed. Nonetheless it is a worthy entry into the Crime genre and one of the best heists-gone-wrong films, a gangster tragedy. The ending was kind of meh, it was completely void of logic to me, but I guess that was the point. 

If it wasn't for the more than stellar performances (Buscemi especially) this film would get a much lower rating (3 stars, maybe 3.5). Watch it, it's definitely enjoyable and is a great movie. If you're a sucker for Buscemi and Roth, than you'll love this. 

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