Air 2015 / A Most Wanted Man 2014 / Se7en 1995

Directed by the guy who directed the Manhunt & Red Dead Redemption video games, Air stars Norman Reedus (who is also an exec producer) and Djimon Honsou as two men protecting the last survivors of an nuclear winter. The film uses an interesting device where it seems to confirm racist stereotypes only to subvert them in the end. But beyond this progressive twist there is a disturbing message of elitism. What makes our hero the hero is that he is protecting "the best of humanity" unquestionably as opposed to the antagonist's disdain for the 1% and resentment that they let the rest of the world die. There is a sacrificial act to save the future of mankind that is excused because of the sacrificial animal's selfishness, nihilism and pessimism. But this character doesn't express the very real concerns in the reality of this situation: Is murder, betrayal, sabotage all excused for the interests of the majority? What does it say that humanity must commit evil to preserve itself?

I can't tell if I like this film's message or not. Its a murky mix of philosophical ideas that might confound a college class and thats more than I can say for most films. For its ambition and aesthetic design, its a recommended film. But be warned there are some very conflicted arguments put forth. Its part clever portrait of the death of white supremacy but also a problematic NeoLiberal hope of a more colorblind and romantic bourgeoisie utopia. Half-hearted, half-educated media like this is what led to the unpopularity of the current democratic party. Its dead on in its attack of the Rightwing but it doesn't provide any real confidant answers to its own ideologies' weaknesses.

I was thoroughly absorbed by A Most Wanted Man's detailed and highly realistic plot and the wonderfully designed direction by Anton Corbijn (who I mostly associate with his amazing music videos for Depeche Mode), but I was distracted by the very off-putting casting of American actors as Europeans. Its not for any political reason, I simply thought their accents were weak. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman is the worst offender, coming off more like a caricature performance than a person (something I think applies to his entire career). But thats not enough to put off the film. It does a ho-hum job trying to humanize and sympathize with Islamic jihadists but it could've done more. It relies more on its tight plot of spy intrigue than any original observation about modern politics or humanism. I assume the John Le Carre novel that inspired it is much more interesting, but this is a good film simply because its a realistic departure from the usual cartoon spy films.

I had never seen Se7en before and, considering it was released in 1995, it lived up to its reputation and exceeded my expectation. Because its a David Fincher film, I expected a more cute "buddy cop" deconstruction with lots of sadism. Actually, maybe because this is a younger, less established Fincher, its much more cerebral, restrained and focused on its themes and characters than any dressing or gimmicks. This is before Fincher pursued his "Millennial Hitchcock" aesthetic but it has the Hitch influences. Its very formal, very pitch black in humor and builds to a tense climax. Fincher never throws out the emotional intelligence of his scripts but Se7en has him very much in sync with the dark themes and worldview, probably because this was his rebound from Alien3. Not perfect, but a great film from a period where Hollywood films were garbage and it plays like a masterpiece compared to today's shit and most poorly aged "Classic Hollywood".

Castle Freak 1995

Director Stuart Gordon got his start thanks to Full Moon founder Charles Band. Its often forgotten that Band produced Re-Animator and From Beyond before starting his straight-to-video empire. Stuart Gordon works for his old boss again on another solid horror cheapie and one of the real gems from Full Moon's library.

Gordon is famous as the guy who directs HP Lovecraft moves, but here he creates an original tale thats closer to Edgar Allan Poe. Its a very exotic and yet Gothic tale about atonement within a really, really messed up family. Gordon's background in theater assured that "Freak" has credible acting, very dramatic staging and a healthy momentum driving the action. Perhaps its Gordon being separated from his usual partner/producer Brian Yuzna that allows a more tasteful (just slightly) and more serious film. But the lack of Yuzna also robs the film of joy, hipness and a true sense of macabre. This movie IS very gruesome and eerie, but it lacks that carnivalesque quality of the previous Gordon films, as well as the existential horror that Yuzna's solo films continued.

This is a tribute to classic Universal and Hammer monster movies. Gordon brings a lot of wit and genre knowledge to the offering, but forgets to make it scary and/or very heavy. I can't put it all on him because I've long suspected Charles Band didn't want much substance when he started Full Moon and I wouldn't be surprised if he had his own editors eliminate footage that would've made Castle Freak more suspenseful and more dramatically paced. Still a great little horror film that feels much richer and classical than it is.

Killer Barbys 1995

Well, this is my first review of 90s Franco. I was pleasantly surprised! Cheap, stupid, silly, very spooky and pretty damn entertaining.

This is one of Franco's "for hire" commercial crowd-pleasers. Not up to par with Faceless and Blood Moon, but retaining enough of the spirit. There's heavy gore and light sex (the reverse of Franco's preferences) and Jess works in his Orloff formula to create some familiarity and continuity.

The plot is setup like a slasher, Texas Chainsaw Massacre to be specific. Kids in a van run afoul of some crazy backwoods yokels in an old haunt. Was TCM a riff on Scooby Doo? We may never know. But Killer Barbys feels A LOT like Scooby Doo. Since its Franco in charge, the villains of course are a cold hearted man, his bed-ridden lover who needs flesh to survive and their demented and darkly comical henchman. They're not mad scientists this time. The bed-ridden bitch is a vampire, tying in to Franco's most famous period.  Oh and she's played by Mariangela Giordano, the stunning Italian milf from the immortal "Burial Ground". She was around 57 here and looking absolutely incredible.

The Killer Barbys are a pop-punk band from Spain who I can only assume wanted to promote their name with a fun no-budget horror movie. They must be big Franco fans because someone pulled strings to get Franco work at this point in time. Euro-schlock movies were few and far between after the late 80s.

As usual, Franco makes chicken soup out of chicken shit as there is no money on the screen and the script is way more amateurish than the stuff hes usually associated with. But its a good watch. Maybe even a repeat viewer. The Barbys are likeable enough, the weirdness is there, the gore and special effects are cheesy and excessive, its typically well-shot and full of Gothic mood. And The Barbys'  music ain't too bad.

A small feather in Franco's cap.

Showgirls 1995

*Written for IMDB with the title "This Film Was Too Next-Level For 1995"

I have yet to watch "Elle", but I rate this as Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece.

First off, critics failed to realize that the bizarre and trashy quality was on purpose to reflect the character and her journey. The world of Vegas showgirls and strippers is surreal, beautiful on the surface and steeped in idiotic fantasy. Verhoeven makes this film a reflection of 90s American values that are MORE timely in 2016.

The infamous "lap dance in a pool scene" is the biggest gag and hint at what this film is about. From this absurd moment on, Nomi's world comes crumbling and her false self is unraveled. Ignorant viewers thought it was just a misguided sex scene that unintentionally takes the film over the top. Verhoeven knows what he's doing in every second of the movie.

Its undeniable that Showgirls is the best shot movie of the 1990s or very close to being, but it needs to be reappraised as a monumental art film that's sly and doesn't pander or take itself too seriously, unlike the films that win Oscars these days. If this film was made today and starred Amy Adams and was directed by PT Anderson, critics would respect it and think it was one of the most modern films ever. Now reflect that it starred a Saved By The Bell star, was directed by the Robocop guy and came out over 20 years ago. All of those things make it better, if you didn't know. 10 star film.