THE DANMAN CAN

Gangster Squad  (2013) will never go down as a classic crime film. It's predictable, ridiculous, loud, brash, bloody, brawny, and over the top. It's full of anachronisms, ticks every trope, the action is sloppy, and the score is typical unremarkable wallpaper. Director Ruben Fleischer  can't seem to decide what the tone is—it's difficult to tell how much he reveres the genre when the film also seems to mock it. Despite an all star cast, the performances aren't anything special though Sean Penn deliciously hams it up but good and there a few choice one-liners. All that said—I still think it's fun! It's pulpy Hollywood schlock in the way that Brian De Palma 's The Black Dahlia (2006) is. The production design is stylish and the cinematography and costumes sure make everybody look sexy. The plot plays fast and loose with the facts behind the real-life  Gangster Squad but it makes for decent melodrama. If Fleischer was hoping to create the 00s versio

Safe (1995)— Todd Haynes ' sophomore film—elicits Kubrick ian calm to present the story of Carol, a bored rich housewife with a detached and somewhat insensitive husband living in L.A. who develops an inexplicable environmental illness that crumbles her fragile stability and eventually leads to her moving into a cult-like desert community called Wrenwood for treatment. There are other films that deal in similar themes, but Safe  does well to avoid feeling too familiar, thanks in large part to  Moore 's perfectly understated and brilliant performance, Hayne's appropriately flat direction and  Ed Tomney 's moody ambient score—all of these elements really sell the level of disconnect. The production design, costumes, cinematography and songs do an excellent job of capturing the late 80s as well. *SPOILERS* Toward the end of the film, as she struggles to comment on her condition, Carol's sad attempt at giving a birthday speech to her fellow Wrenwood resident

Wes Anderson is known for being meticulous but The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) has to be his most meticulous film (so far). Aside from assembling one of his most impressive casts (in a filmography filled with ridiculously impressive casts)—down to what are essentially bit parts— GBH  is, well, just his most grand film in every way. And unlike Moonrise Kingdom (2012) (which I still greatly enjoyed), there's never a feeling of stunt casting—even the smallest roles feel lived in (whether they are name actors or not). And the fictional world which Anderson created for all the wonderful characters that populate GBH is simply breathtaking. GBH   boasts three (!) (technically four but one is a matted version of another) aspect ratios to represent different time periods throughout the film (1932, 1968, 1985 and present day). There are hundreds of f/x shots of varying disciplines (practical, miniatures/models, matte paintings, some digital here and there), all brilliantly executed. T

I blind bought Lost River  (2014) just shy of five years ago when it was released on Blu-ray because of the cast and crew and because the trailer was intriguing. I didn't quite love the film then and I still don't now—in fact, I gave it a 1/2 star less this time. But it's one of those films that I can appreciate for what it attempted. Ryan Gosling 's directorial debut (with no follow-up, so far) is filled with ideas and striking visuals, but it's really thin on characterization and plot. That doesn't always bother me. Plenty of directors I love have been accused of the same, including ones that Gosling was clearly influenced by, like David Lynch  and Nicolas Winding Refn . But those directors—and many others who make "art films"—usually manage to find more cohesion in their work. There's just too many ideas that don't get fully explored in LR  and the mishmash of fairy tale, family drama, science fiction and surrealism never quite gels.

Beastie Boys Story (2020) is a filmed version of the history of the group narrated by the two surviving members, Mike D  and Ad-Rock , with visual and audio accompaniment onstage, in front of a crowd. There's some creative staging here and there, but one would expect a bit more panache from director Spike Jonze , responsible for the BB's most iconic music video (" Sabotage "), as well as many other famous and creative videos by plenty of other excellent musical acts (and a few pretty great films too). For a documentary that is two hours long (including outtakes at the end), spending an entire hour on Licensed To Ill (1986) felt excessive. It could be because my introduction to BB was Check Your Head (1992) (a landmark album IMO and still my fave by them), so I've never been that into LTI (even in retrospect I prefer everything else they have ever done over it). If, in my teens,  LTI  had been my intro to the group instead of CYH , I'm sure it would be a m

David Lynch 's The Elephant Man  (1980), in many ways one of his most accessible films, could be accused of sentimentality. It certainly tugs at the heartstrings in a way that the majority of his work doesn't (I literally cannot watch this film without tearing up). That isn't to say that there aren't plenty of emotional and sad moments throughout his filmography, but The Elephant Man presents itself in a much more straightforward manner than most of Lynch's work. There are few traces of the surreal that were so prevalent in his debut feature Eraserhead (1977) (my review here ) and would continue to be so throughout his career. But I've never seen any of this as a weakness when it comes to his sophomore film. No, in fact, despite being more humanistic than the typical Lynch film, I think TEM  proves that at heart Lynch is  a humanist. Even when weird (sometimes inexplicable), excessively violent or disturbing events occur in his film and television work, ther

Corpus Christi (aka  Boże Ciało ) (2019) presents the story of 20-year-old ex-convict Daniel, who longs to become a priest but whose criminal records prevents him from doing so. Daniel manages to find a way to make his dream come true by posing as a priest and then being left in charge of a parish when its vicar leaves for rehab. But the town is still traumatized by a tragic car accident that took the lives of several teens. Young Daniel's unorthodox sermon methods are welcomed at first but as he digs more deeply into the events surrounding the accident, he begins to lose the favor of the townsfolk. The high concept nature of the film stretches the believability here and there but the contrast of Daniel's lifestyle—that of partying/drugs/pre-marital sex—with his more pious aspirations creates an interesting dynamic. The viewer is presented throughout with questions regarding second chances and what is means to truly turn the other cheek. I'm not familiar with any othe

Boiled Angels: The Trial Of Mike Diana (2018) is a solid and consistently engaging documentary about the first and only person to ever receive a criminal conviction in the United States for artistic obscenity. The film is directed by cult filmmaker Frank Henenlotter , narrated by Jello Biafra , and features interviews with key players in Diana 's 1994 trial, as well as other comic book artists and celebrities such as Neil Gaiman and George A. Romero  (in what appears to be one of his last interviews). I'm pretty particular about documentaries (I tend to find a lot of them disposable and I don't think they should be held to the same standards as feature films), but I appreciated Boiled Angels for its effort to raise awareness about an artist whose First Amendment rights were violated and the questions it poses regarding what can be considered art and/or obscene, all while retaining a fun, punk presentation.

Doomsday (2008) wears its influences proudly on its sleeve and writer/director  Neil Marshall  is perfectly okay with that. It's an intentional mashup/homage, but in the best sense (the way the Italians did so often in the '80s), effortlessly swinging from genre to genre, as good exploitation films do. Doomsday cribs liberally from three cult classics from 1981— Escape From New York  ( review ),  Mad Max 2   ( review) ,   and  Excalibur ,   and throws in a bit of  28 Days Later   (2002) ( review ),  Aliens   (1986) ( review ) and   The Warriors   (1979) ( review ) for good measure. It would be a better film if the characterization weren't so thin, the tropes so heavy, and the action/editing so quick-cut. I wish the production design, costumes, and vehicles had more time to shine. And yet I always have a good time with this movie, which never seems to take itself too seriously. It's loud, it's gory, it's fun, and, yes, it's silly at times, but it contin

I don't understand the love for this film. It has its moments for sure, but few and far between. I've mentioned before, as in my review for Steve Jobs (2015) (which I loved), that Danny Boyle is very hit or miss for me. But 28 Days Later  (2002), which I seem to recall liking more when I saw it in the theater and on DVD, is mostly just annoying to me now. I detest the cheap-looking DV/camcorder look (as much as I couldn't stand it when David Lynch did the same for his 2006 film  Inland Empire ). The cinematography is poor, the editing is annoyingly fast and confusing, and the action is sloppy. Not to mention, the rate of infection is absurdly rapid in a film that otherwise shoots for realism. The performances are mostly good and the film works best during its "human" moments. But it's such a rollercoaster of quality—starts off really bad, works okay for a while as an eerie post-apocalyptic movie, gets good when it becomes a road movie, gets mediocre w

Filled with incredible anecdotes and interesting connections, Don Coscarelli 's True Indie: Life And In Filmmaking   (2018) is a delight for film buffs, especially lovers of horror and science fiction. Coscarelli writes fondly about his experiences and his appreciation for his collaborators and fans is obvious—one gets the impression that he truly is as humble as he seems. A fun, breezy read that serves as less of a biography and more of a fun series of stories.

I'm not in the habit of writing TV show reviews (as I mentioned in my review  of the 2017 return of Twin Peaks ), but I decided to revisit the international version of the pilot episode of Twin Peaks  (1990–1991) to celebrate the 30th anniversary today of the first airing of the pilot. The international version, made for the European market and released on VHS and laserdisc, acts as a standalone TV movie with a closed ending. It's basically identical to the US pilot but adds approximately 20 minutes at the end, revealing Laura Palmer 's killer (though not their human identity) and features footage from the Red Room , which David Lynch repurposed in later episodes of the series. While I certainly prefer the US version (my favorite pilot episode of my favorite TV show) because, well, of course it leads you into the rest of the series (and the entire first season is close to perfect), the international "movie" works quite well on its own (though the thought that

On a rewatch, directors  Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz 's debut film  Goodnight Mommy  (2014) made less of an impression on me than the first time. I still enjoy it for its excellent performances, solid cinematography, and creepy (basically) score-less atmosphere. But, like many others, I found the twist unsatisfying and too much of the film relies on said twist. Also, while I enjoy slow burns,  GM  takes just a bit too long to get to its denouement, where the tension and gore ramp up—much like Takashi Miike 's Audition (1999) ( review ) (though that film did it better). I still look forward to seeing the directing duo's second film  The Lodge   (2019) though, which looks and sounds intriguing.