SXSW 2012: MODUS ANOMALI Review

Introducing an unreliable protagonist at the start of a movie is a tricky proposition.  On the one hand, it’s an instant mystery.  Why doesn’t the main character have the full facts and what is the secret regarding his identity?  He’s in the dark and so we’re in the dark, and together we’re trying to find out the truth.  But that kinship with the protagonist is broken when we remember that while the main character may be trying to get to the truth, he can’t be trusted.  Modus Anomali has to function on these dynamics, and they prove to be the film’s undoing.  The premise allows for writer-director Joko Anwar to craft an intense thriller, but we have an escape route by knowing that the protagonist can’t be trusted.  When Anwar finally makes his big reveal, we’re glad we were never too invested.

A man (Rio Dewanto) claws his way out of a shallow grave and finds himself in the middle of a jungle.  He can’t remember anything, not even his name.  Terrified and looking for a way out, he comes across a cabin with a car parked outside.  He goes inside and finds a disturbing video waiting for him.  The tape shows a pregnant woman being stabbed to death by a masked figure.  Before he can even make sense of the horror, a mysterious figure comes to kill him and he must continue fighting for his survival.  His terror is made worse when he learns that the woman was his wife and that his two kids are missing.

We learn that the man is an amnesiac within the first five minutes of the film and from there on, we can’t stop wondering what he’ll end up remembering.  That reveal will change everything that came before and so we can’t become fully invested in the present.  Instead of being caught up in the man’s terror, we’re always wondering what he’s hiding from us.  But at the same time, giving the man a fractured psyche provides a nice addition to the predator-prey horror film.  We want to unlock the mystery, but we know the mystery will somewhat invalidate everything that came before.  If we’re to become invested in a false reality, we can’t know it’s a false reality.  One could bring up Christopher Nolan‘s Memento as a counter-example, but that film throws multiple mysteries at us, and while we may not trust Leonard Shelby, the superb structure puts us firmly in his head instead of at a distance.

Anwar almost manages to close the distance in Modus by creating a technically masterful horror ride.  With the exception of the dialogue looping, the sound design in Modus Anomali is tremendous.  While some of the sound is used for jump scares, the majority is used to create tension and atmosphere.  The mysterious figure is out in the woods, but Anwar isn’t building his sound design around the next attack.  He’s building it around the man’s frantic search through the woods and what he learns along the way.  Aside from waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding the secret behind the man’s amnesia, the only thing that breaks the tension is the bad performances from the actors who play the man’s kids.

But the tension is destroyed when we finally learn what happened to the man.  Not only does it reaffirm our decision to distrust the man, but the reveal is painfully contrived and also invalidates the possibility of thoughtful subtext teased out of the first two acts.  Anwar impressively manages to keep the tension alive, but it slowly drains away as the mystery is lost and the answer comes off as a checklist in order to explain everything that came before.  It’s only slightly better than the end of Psycho when the doctor comes in and explains to the audience how Norman Bates was able to maintain the illusion that his mother was alive.

Without its amnesiac protagonist, Modus Anomali has no hook.  With its amnesiac protagonist, it has no trust.  Anwar does his best to make you forget that the man has amnesia, and he almost succeeds, but we’re too busy constructing solutions rather than being swallowed up by the horrific situation presented.  And when the big mystery is revealed, it doesn’t blow you away or force you to reevaluate everything that came before.  Modus Anomali manages to deliver thrills and chills for the majority of its runtime, but its climax elicits nothing more than a shrug and an “Oh.  So that’s what happened.”

Rating: C+

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FOOTLOOSE Blu-ray Review

The original Footloose is a charming relic from the 1980’s. Not a great film, it has the premise that there is a town where dancing is outlawed (based on a slightly true story). It’s a narrative hook that wouldn’t be out of place in a Mickey Rooney film, but is a good (safe) way to give teen rebels a cause. Craig Brewer – director of Hustle and Flow and Black Snake Moan – was chosen to direct the remake, and it’s a pleasant surprise to find out that he loved the original. So much so that his remake takes much from the original and updates it only slightly. As such it’s a fairly straight ahead remake; there aren’t too many narrative changes, but his work adds modest improvements across the board. Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough and Dennis Quaid star in the film, and our review of Footloose on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Ren McCormack (Wormland) is forced to move from Boston to the small town of Bomont, Georgia after his mother dies. The big city boy finds himself in a completely different world, and has to accept the southern hospitality of his aunt and uncle (Kim Dickens, Ray McKinnon).  His uncle gives him a beat up Volkswagen as a gift, though Ren has to fix it up himself, and he quickly comes to realize that the town has a law against dancing (and frowns upon loud music). This version tones down some of the big city vs. small city stuff, and mostly just focuses on Ren as the outsider.

Once he gets to school he meets and immediately becomes friends with Willard (Miles Teller), there he also gets to know Ariel (Hough), the daughter of the town’s preacher Rev. Shaw Moore (Quaid). Her brother died in the accident that caused the town to ban dancing, and as a teenager she’s turned into a hellion. She’s dating race car driver Chuck Cranston (Patrick Flueger), but she has a connection to Ren and it’s undeniable.

Ren is frustrated with the town (which leads to this film’s version of the angry dance), and feels alienated at school where he’s set up to have pot on him, while Shaw also blames Ren for an incident when Chuck hits Ariel. There’s some life lessons to be learned, and Ren decides the only way to change things is to go to city council and see if he can’t get the law against dancing revoked.

Watching this version back to back with original doesn’t really help as they are very much the same film. What Brewer did in adapting it is streamline some of the narrative. In the original Ren’s mom comes with him, here he’s lost her to leukemia. It also makes his uncle into a real character, and he doesn’t come home to a family that hates him (which is nice). Brewer’s film is warmer that way. And the law against dancing is something that is the narrative hook, but it’s obvious the kids don’t care about it – Ren’s protest is more about proving that he’s a decent young man than it is about changing a law. Brewer adds a little bit more dancing (though the scene in the drive-in is very similar to a scene in the original), but he sticks to the main beats of the original, down to using most of the same soundtrack (though mostly covers, fittingly).

In that way it’s easy to compare and contrast. Here the dancers are that much better, and Ziah Colon’s turn as Rusty – Ariel’s best friend and Willard’s love interest – has a similar kick as Sarah Jessica’ Parker’s turn in the same role. Dennis Quaid is a great actor, but he can’t match John Lithgow’s haunted specter in the original – the scene where Lithgow shows up to see his daughter breaking the law is that much stronger in the 80’s version – but Quaid’s not on autopilot, and he’s a good choice. Andie MacDowell plays the reverend’s wife, and though she’s not the powerhouse that Diane Weist is, she does fine work. And though Chris Penn was great as Willard in the original, I’d give the edge to Teller’s performance – perhaps he’s just more naturally funny and inviting a performer than Penn.

As for the leads, Kenny Wormald acquits himself well. He gets the right mixture or self-possession and humility, and perhaps his nervousness in taking on a lead role works well for the character. If there’s a problem with the film it’s that Julianne Hough can’t convey the same sort of damage that Lori Singer had in the original. You believe that Singer might be suicidal, but Hough doesn’t have the same frailty, and she can’t convey the same sort of self-abuse as effectively. She’s just too strong for the role.

But Brewer knows how to make a party movie, and like all of his films, this is a crowd pleasing effort that’s fun to sink into. If you love the original, then this may just feel like a modern redress – and it is, but it works just as well. And that’s good enough.

Paramount’s Blu-ray of Footloose also includes a DVD and digital copy. The film is presented in widescreen (2.35:1) and in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, and it look stellar with Amy Vincent’s cinematography well represented by the disc. The supplements kick off with Craig Brewer’s commentary, and he’s one of the best commentarians we have these days. He’s smart about talking about the film, and reveals anecdotes from the shooting, and offers advice to young filmmakers about how he shot it. “Jump Back: Re-Imagining Footloose” (15 min.) is the making of, which is followed by “Everybody Cut: The Stars of Footloose” (13 min.), which highlights the cast. These are pretty standard. “Dancing with the Footloose Stars” (13 min.) talks to the choreography, while there are also five deleted scenes (7 min.) with optional commentary – there’s one scene that sucks to see it cut, but you can tell it interfered with pacing. There are also three music videos, and a Footloose rap (2 min.) that recounts the film’s story.

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SXSW 2012: THE DO-DECA-PENTATHALON Review

Jay and Mark Duplass don’t really go dark or deep with their movies.  Most of their films look at a family dynamic by introducing a strange but not outlandish hook, and then let the performances and heartwarming story carry the day.  Their latest film, The Do-Deca-Pentathalon, is no different.  While the movie rarely challenges the audience and slightly stumbles on a forced conflict using a stock character, The Do-Deca-Pentathalon is cute and funny and another nice addition to the Duplass’ filmography.

Mark (Steve Zissis) and his estranged brother Jeremy (Mark Kelly) have become depressed with their current lifestyles.  Mark loves his wife Stephanie (Jennifer Lafleur) and son (Reid Williams), and Jeremy is a successful poker player, but the joy has somehow vanished from the brothers’ lives.  A few days before Mark’s birthday, Jeremy decides to drop in on his family and goads Mark into a new Do-Deca-Pentathalon.  This doesn’t sit too well with Stephanie, who wants Mark to follow his doctors’ advice and keep stress to a minimum.  Mark is eventually forced into a conflict between appeasing his wife and re-connecting with his brother.

The relationship between Mark and Jeremy is where Do-Deca draws its strength.  Their scenes have all the comedy and genuine emotion that makes the movie worth watching.  The Duplasses, Zissis, and Kelly all work together to make the competition scenes contain humor and character development, and give the movie its forward momentum.  Zissis and Kelly play wonderfully off each other throughout the picture, and Zissis in particular does a great job of investing his performance into the little moments like when he’s talking about his fat foot.  While there’s no doubt to where the story is going and how the brothers will change and grow over the course of the picture, the male leads bring an authenticity that adequately blunts the plot’s predictability.

The Duplass Brothers tend to give their actors plenty of room to maneuver, but they box in Lafleur in by giving her the boring, irritating character of Nagging Wife™.  The movie tries to ground Stephanie by making her conflict with Mark stem from her concern over his mental health, but her support always comes off as counterproductive.  Having her be concerned for her husband’s happiness and only making him more miserable in the process makes Stephanie come off as selfish, arrogant, and incompetent.  Lafleur stops us from hating Stephanie, but the Duplass should have found a better way to use the character and not resorted to employing a tired stereotype.

Jay and Mark Duplass’ movies usually work because they tend to go so small that generic characters don’t even seem to fit, and it’s a bit of a surprise that one was able to sneak into The Do-Deca-Pentathalon.  Like their other movies, the low-key story, characters, and unscripted dialogue keeps the film feeling loose and natural albeit slight and somewhat disposable.  At some point, the Duplass formula will stop working, and audiences will eventually begin to demand something more, but The Do-Deca-Penathalon is enjoyable enough to keep them content for the time being.

Rating: B-

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SXSW 2012: IRON SKY Review

There are no half-measures when it comes to moon Nazis.  The very phrase “moon Nazi” invites laughter.  There’s no room for serious consideration, and even biting satire can be a stretch.  It’s a goofy premise ripe for B-movie fun, and Iron Sky has no problem playing the fool and being silly right up until it begins to believe that people came to a movie about moon Nazis for CGI space battles and anything resembling dramatic contemplation.  Director Timo Vuorensola forgets that when you make a movie involving moon Nazis, you must always stay true to the moon Nazis and the ridiculousness they embody.

In 1945, Germany had secretly developed an advanced space program, and sent colonists to live on the dark side of the moon.  Flash forward to the year 2018, and the Nazis have been preparing an invasion of Earth, but their members no longer understand their culture’s dark history.  Busty Earthologist Renate Richter (Julia Dietze) believes her people are about peace, love, and happiness, and that The Great Dictator is ten minutes long (it’s the part where the Dictator is playing with the globe).  Her unwanted paramour Klaus Adler (Götz Otto) couldn’t care less about peace and wants to launch an invasion of Earth so he can become the new Fuhrer.  In to their world stumbles black model/astronaut James Washington (Christopher Kirby) and he clues them in to how much the Earth has advanced.  Back on our planet, the unnamed-but-Sarah-Palin-parody U.S. President (Stephanie Paul) is running for re-election, and her busty campaign manager Vivian Wagner (Peta Sergeant) sees the potential to use the Nazi threat as a way to a second-term.

It’s a stuffed plot, especially for a B-movie, but the film does an admirable job of balancing different kinds of humor and storylines.  Rather than make tired Sarah Palin jabs, the movie uses the caricature as the standard politics-obsessed President, but one who’s scummy and stupid enough to use Nazis as a campaign tool and still manage to fuck it up.  But she’s a minor story compared to the shenanigans Renate, James, and Klaus are up to.  Iron Sky finds fun ways to go beyond the silliness of the “moon Nazi” hook and throw in some racial humor, social critiques, and some clever parodies.

The parodies provide a glimpse of what could have made Iron Sky more than enjoyable movie junk food.  Nazis has been repurposed as both the catch-all real-world villain of the 20th century and as comic fodder.  As their atrocities and horrors fade further into the past, it’s easy to mock Nazis, and perhaps we should in order to deprive them of their power*.  Iron Sky is almost on to something as it starts throwing in references to other films that have parodied the Nazis, and with a little more control and imagination, Iron Sky could have been like a Shaun of the Dead but for Nazi movies.

However, the movie remains enjoyable enough with its own brand of silliness.  Part of the humor is throwing lots of zany humor at the audience and switching between playing it straight and playing an Albert Einstein look-alike as an evil Nazi scientist.  Up until the end, Iron Sky is light enough to swing between different brands of humor without seeming desperate.  While desperation never sets in, the humor fades away, and the movie morphs into a wannabe Dr. Strangelove but with space battles.  Vuorensola deserves credit for using his limited budget to get the most out of his green-screen effects, but eventually the setting and the plot overpower the goofiness that had made Iron Sky so enjoyable.

Iron Sky is worthy of applause for using moon Nazis as a launching point rather than just recycling the joke for 90 minutes.  The moon Nazis get the ball rolling on the silliness to come, and the film remains light and airy enough to drift between different comic styles.  Except for a couple clever parodies, the humor is usually good enough to get some laughs, but never great enough to be particularly memorable.  But ending with a bland space battle and a trite message does a disservice to everyone, both Earthmen and moon Nazis alike.

Rating: B-

For all of our SXSW 2012 coverage, click here. Also, here are links to all of my SXSW reviews so far:

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