Scream

“Do you like scary movies?”

Scream is what happens when slasher movies become a staple of our culture.  Those of us who grew up watching Jamie Lee Curtis run screaming through Halloween, or watching Freddie Cruger pick off teen by teen, know the wonderful, yet unsavory effects that horror movies can have on us.  We know when not to answer the door.  We know when to turn around.  We know when to leave the house rather than run upstairs, just like the characters in Scream do.  But to be honest, if we that were stuck in that situation, in that fight or flight mode, we would be making the same mistakes.

In Wes Craven’s 1996 hit Scream, a small town is terrorized by a masked murder targeting teens.  The murderer also seems to have a fascination with horror films, using trivia and “the rules” to terrify.  After two classmates are killed, Sydney (Neve Campbell) seems to be the next target.  This is even more unsettling for her, as this attack falls around the anniversary of her mother’s murder.  While she is worried, some of her peers seem to enjoy the mayhem.  The reporters have a field day, just as they did during Sydney’s mother’s murder.  As tensions intensify, and a curfew is set on the town, the teens have a party.  What a perfect place for some more murder.

The first scene perfectly sets the whole film.  What seems like an innocent wrong number, with even a bit of flirting, turns on a dime to terror and a grizzly murder.  The first time I began this movie (in my early teens) I couldn’t get through this first scene.  It was too tense and freaky for me at the time, and the worst part was how real this felt.  I began to imagine how easily this could happen to me anytime I was home alone.  Even now, by the time the she is being quizzed about Friday the 13th, I find myself standing two feet from my television, hand over my mouth to keep from screaming, loving and hating every moment.

The words from Principal Himbry (the uncredited Henry Winkler) ring sadly true for most of Generation X and on.  We are “desensitized little shits.”  We’ve seen too many slasher movies.  Fake blood and gore hardly fazes us.  Hell, I grew up hearing about terrible murders on the evening news while eating dinner.  If someone was brutally murdered in my high school I know someone would find a way to make a joke of it.  Maybe it’s our faults for being horrible people, or maybe it’s the media and society we were exposed to.  Either way, it brings us closer to the kids in the middle of Scream.  Especially Stuart (Matthew Lillard).

It seems Wes Craven has made this film especially for movie geeks.  It begins to reference horror movies right in the beginning and keeps it up to the very end.  One of the most important parts for movie nerds is how Randy (Jamie Kennedy) lays out the rules for surviving a horror movie.  Until then, they had been unwritten rules, more of a modern archetype that has been shaped over the past 40 years.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the rules, here they are.  Use them wisely if you ever find yourself within a personal horror movie:

1. You can never have sex.  Sex = Death.  Virgins will live.
2. You can never drink or do drugs.  Just another sin that will make you a target.
3. Never say, “I’ll be right back.”  You won’t.

Even if you have never seen a single horror film before, Scream can be a real treat.  It doesn’t rely on your film knowledge, though it helps.  Scream is simply a modern horror classic that will easily draw you in and make you scream.  The stakes are set high right from the start and only escalate from there.  There is a great mix of tension, gore and run-for-your-life terror that makes this film fun every time.

“No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!”

Captain Phillips

I put off seeing Captain Phillips for a long time.  From the previews and commercials, I joked that Tom Hanks was just fishing for a new Oscar.  Even when the Oscar nominations came out, I was surprised and guessed the film depicting a recent big new story propelled it into best picture status.  When I finally watched it, I was pleasantly surprised.  The film became a fast paced, realistic thriller with a heart racing amount of tension.

The film is based on the true story of a 2009 hijacking of an American cargo ship by Somali pirates.  Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) is captain of the unarmed MV Maersk Alabama and runs a tight ship.  Knowing the warnings for pirates in the area, he keeps his crew on their toes, running drills to make sure they are prepared.  In the middle of a drill, two boats are spotted pursuing the ship and actions are taken to slow them down.  It buys Phillips and his crew some time, but Muse (Barkhad Abdi) is a threatening adversary, and his crew are persistent.  In a heart pounding scene with Phillips’ crew doing all they can, Muse and his armed men storm the ship.

Immediately, tensions tighten, Phillips has to think fast to help his crew and prevent any violence.  A great amount of suspense is created as Phillips leads Muse and his men around the ship, trying to keep his crew informed without Muse knowing.  When Muse has had enough, he and his men take Phillips hostage into a lifeboat, where they plan to take him back to Somalia.  As Phillips tries to survive the cramped quarters with his captives, the Navy is on their way to save the captured captain.

The film reminded me of Greengrass’ previous Oscar nominated film, United 93.  Both illustrated a hostage situation, didn’t shy away from the villains, utilized a realistic, almost documentary style of filming with hand-held cameras and the majority of the films take place in a cramped space.  While I remember being very moved and terrified through United 93, I felt more curiously anxious during Captain Phillips.  Though I know both films are based on true events, Captain Phillips felt more like a typical narrative with a main character I could find myself rooting and worrying for.

One aspect I was very impressed with was the photography within such a small space.  The last half of the film takes place mostly within a small lifeboat, about the size of a large SUV.  Inside are Phillips and the three Somali pirates.  Though the air is obviously stifling for them, we do not feel so cramped.  Somehow the filming here finds the right angles that we understand the space is small which makes the situation more tense, yet a sense of claustrophobia is avoided.

Captain Phillips is nominated for six Academy Awards.  Among them are best film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, adapted screenplay and best picture.  And in a wonderful surprise, rookie actor Barkhad Abdi has been nominated for best supporting actor.  Somehow with the thick field, Tom Hanks was denied the Oscar nomination this film seemed destined to bring him.

All in all, Captain Phillips is a good film, especially for those who enjoy realistic, tense situations.  It feels like it could have easily turned into a typical action movie, and I am very thankful it did not.  Phillips’ story got the movie it deserved, one that the average audience can enjoy as well.

“You said you were a business man!  Is this how you do business?”

Gravity

As I watched the opening scene in Gravity, I was in awe.  Right away, just seeing these astronauts float around on a routine space walk, the film was beautiful and thrilling.  A few minutes in, a couple behind me in the theater remarked with a sneer, “Where are all the satellites and shit?”  Their sarcastic question was more than answered and they didn’t make a peep the rest of the movie.  I believe the whole audience was absolutely spellbound.

In Gravity Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer turned relatively inexperienced astronaut.  As she and more experience astronaut, Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) work together, we understand that space is not her element, but perhaps an escape from her troubles on Earth.  During the opening space walk, satellite debris comes crashing at the astronauts, destroying much of the space station around them.  It’s a horrifyingly beautiful sight to see and clearly sets up the fear and danger of being stranded floating in space.  After the danger has passed, and Ryan and Matt are harnessed together, they realize their only chance of survival is to get to another space station, which means drifting through space in the right direction without running out of oxygen.

Many of the scenes are one continuous longshot.  In fact, the opening scene is over twelve minutes without a single break.  Granted, it is digitally edited from multiple takes to seamlessly flow into one continuous image, but still, my God their effect is amazing.  Hitchcock might have been green with envy of all the suspense they produce.

One thing that seemed to damper the film when it was first released was how many scientific inaccuracies could be spotted throughout the film.  For some people, that ruined it, if it’s not accurate then why care?  Personally, I don’t find the inaccuracies to be a problem, let it be fiction and if it’s good enough, I’ll believe what I want to.  However, when Ryan does nothing to stop those little bits of fire floating around the Russian space station, I got a little more ticked than concerned.  Floating fire does not seem like something a trained astronaut would ignore.

At ten nominations, Gravity is tied for the most nominated film of 2013 with American Hustle.  While American Hustle racked up the acting nominations, Gravity got its boost from more technical awards, including visual effects, cinematography, sound editing and sound mixing.  It is also nominated for Best Picture, production design, original score, film editing.  Alfonso Cuarón received his first Oscar nomination for best director and Sandra Bullock received her second nomination as lead actress.

Overall, Gravity is a captivating thrill ride of a film that clearly deserves all this Oscar love. From the moment those wayward satellites crashed in, to the very end, I was on the edge of my seat, nervous, excited and enjoying every minute.

“Because either way, it’s going to be one hell of a ride!  I’m ready.”

The Prestige

Film is a magic trick.  Illusions of fictitious people and places fill a two dimensional space before us for an hour or so and we choose to believe it.  It’s not real and we know it.  Many times we know how these tricks are done, but that’s not the point.  When real magic flows from the screen, you’re not looking for the trick.  You want to believe.  I believe that is the point and spirit of The Prestige.

Readers, please be patient with how vague my following review may seem.  I want to discuss The Prestige spoiler free, yet I know that the slightest mention of an event can bring an avalanche of spoilers to the unsuspecting reader.  Believe me, this film is quite a ride the first time you see it, free of any preconceived notions.

In Christopher Nolan’s 2006 film, The Prestige, we witness an ongoing feud between two rival magicians in Victorian London.  Christian Bale plays Alfred Borden and Hugh Jackman plays Robert Angier.  They first work together as plants (volunteers that that seem picked at random from the audience) in an act, but after an incident occurs, they become bitter enemies sabotaging each other’s solo careers.  Robert yearns for what Alfred has: family and an gobsmacking transported man act.  He becomes obsessed with discovering Alfred’s secret to the trick and go to many lengths to create his own transported man act, but at what cost?

I have seen this film at least five times now, and I still find myself trying to wrap my mind around everything.  The first time I saw this, I was a bit lost at times, but always fascinated.  We are not shown everything in perfect chronological order, but rather the order to which will best pique our interest.  Like I said, Nolan is creating a film like a magic trick.  In every act he must show us the pledge, then the turn before revealing the prestige.  If it’s not leaving you searching putting the puzzle together, he has not done it quite right.

At the Oscars, The Prestige was nominated for only two awards: art direction and cinematography.  That would make you think it’s a very visual film.  It is, especially when the connections with Tesla come into play, but the strength the film carries is in it’s complexity and how it heightens our curiosity until the very end.

There are some fun, yet downplayed surprises.  David Bowie plays a role as the famed Nikola Tesla.  And only in my latest viewing did I realize that Tesla’s assistant was none other that Andy Serkis.  So nice to see him as a non-CGI character.  There is also Scarlett Johansson, as a lovely assistant, and Michael Caine as a manager connecting the two rivals from beginning to end.

I understand there is a point in the film that some people believe it breaks ranks.  Suddenly the film’s perceived reality is more than it seems.  I don’t worry about it, this film holds my suspension of disbelief.  What I always find intriguing is trying to figure out the difference between the prestige and the man in the box.  Is it really the same person?  What are the consequences?

While The Prestige is still a very young film, I believe that it is destined to become a classic.  It’s simply a tale of rivalry, but set to the era of early of magicians, like Houdini.  It becomes an intoxicating ride that twists and turns in ways you could not have expected, but love to believe.

“The secret impresses no one.  The trick you use it for is everything.”

Notorious

Premiering in 1946, Notorious was Hitchcock’s second film starring Ingrid Bergman.  It is a spy thriller and a dramatic love story all at once, with Bergman forming a complicated love triangle with Cary Grant and Claude Rains.

After her father is convicted for being a Nazi spy, Alicia (Bergman) is sought out by a young government agent, Devlin (Grant).  With her familiarity with some Nazis that have moved to Brazil, he hopes that she can infiltrate their organization.  While waiting for details of her mission in Rio de Janeiro, the two fall in love.  When Devlin gets word that Alice is to seduce a friend of her father’s and past admirer, Alexander Sebastian (Rains), he tries to convince the others that Alicia isn’t right for the job, but to no avail.  He chooses their mission over their love and pushes Alicia to seduce Sebastian.  But how far can Alicia go along with this false love, and worse, what will happen to her if Sebastian realizes she is a spy?

One of the most memorable scenes, that literally pushed some boundaries, is a love scene between Bergman and Grant.  In the height of their romance, it seems the two can hardly stand to part when Devlin is called to get information on Alicia’s assignment.  For two and a half minutes, Hitchcock uses a long shot, focusing on the two kissing and nuzzling in between a few lines and slowly moving Devlin towards the door.  Since this film was made while the Hays Code was in charge of censoring film, kissing could not last for more than three seconds.  To get around this, Hitchcock had Bergman and Grant break off kissing after exactly three seconds only to start up again and again between breathless lines.

While the film was not nominated for Best Picture, it was not completely forgotten at the Academy Awards.  Notorious was nominated for Original Screenplay and Claude Rains was nominated for Supporting Actor.  His portrayal of a secretive man seduced by an old flame and then realizing her true motives is startling and wonderfully believable.

In the grand scale of Hitchcock films, Notorious may not be one of the most essential films, but I believe that is an important one in Hitchcock’s filmography.  While it’s a taught spy thriller, the element of romance is mixed in stronger than ever.  There are smaller moments of mounting suspense, like Devilin and Alicia’s discovery in the wine cellar, that may not built to big moments, but keep the story moving in a more placid manner.  Still, Notorious is an enjoyable and intriguing film perfect for any fan of Hitchcock, Grant, Bergman or Rains.

“A man doesn’t tell a woman what to do. She tells herself.”

Halloween

The first time I watched Halloween in its unedited entirety, I was about thirteen and babysitting my siblings.  Yes, perfect.  This was the late 90s, and the early days of parental passwords blocking television programs.  My technology-deficient dad needed my help to set the password, so I knew how to watch anything I wanted.  While my brother was excited to see the original slasher film, I remember my sister protesting, saying it was too scary and she’d tell on me.  Oh, please.  Like any smart oldest child, I asserted my dominance and threatened some sort of blackmail I had been saving on her.  Victory was mine that night, and we were all sufficiently scared that runaway maniacs could be roaming around the neighborhood.

John Carpenter’s Halloween from 1978 focuses on a small suburban town, its escaped manic’s return home after fifteen years, and a few teenage babysitters.  Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) is the bookish sitter, covering for her friends while they run off to fool around with their boyfriends.  She is also the more observant and skittish, noticing the eerie presence following the girls all day.  While Michael stalks the girls and moves in closer, his doctor (Donald Pleasence) is trying to find him, before it’s too late.

The film establishes the legend of Michael Myers perfectly.  It opens with a first person look at the murder from six year old Michael’s vantage point.  It’s perfectly creepy and brutal and seems to lack a soul.  In the present, the Myers house looks old, spooky and abandoned.  Local kids say it’s haunted and dare each other to go in on Halloween night.  That moment when a kid runs into Michael outside the school, we don’t know if there is a recognition, but he runs like he had just seen the boogeyman he was just talking about.

One of my favorite scenes is just a small moment towards the end, so please, if you have not seen Halloween, skip to the next paragraph, major spoilers!  I remember perfectly the first time my sister saw this moment, when Laurie thought she had killed Michael upstairs.  She tells the kids to run to a neighbor’s house to call the police and sits in the doorway crying and collecting herself.  Suddenly, we see Michael sit up behind her!  On cue, my sister and I proceeded to freak out, desperately trying to warn Laurie of the danger behind her.

In my opinion, Halloween is the best slasher film out there.  The situation is perfect; teenage babysitters with their guard down in their safe town and a manic is stalking them.  We love to see Michael stalk, biding his time building his eerie presence and our anticipation at the same time.  Our innocent characters are powerless against Michael’s brute, murderous insanity and we love to watch and wait for them to fall.  Enough suspense and fear is established to warrant the brutal and gory images of Michael’s murders.  Whenever I hear music from the film, the back of my neck feels prickly, bringing instant fear and recognition.  Most frightening of all, the film feels very real, like any late night alone in a quiet neighborhood could end screaming and becoming Michael’s next victim.  Happy Halloween!

“Boogeyman is coming!”

The Descent

When The Descent was first released to theaters, I was a lowly popcorn sweep at a local cinema.  During some slow evenings, I would quietly watch at the side of the theaters, hidden in the shadows.  It was the best spot to watch the audience and The Descent was one of the best movies to check out their reactions.  I saw people jump, scream, and cover their faces cringing at the terror on the screen.  Unfortunately, I didn’t see the entire film in theaters, but alone on my couch on a sunny morning.  Some of my reactions made those squirmish people in the theater look brave.

The Descent is about a group of adventurous British women.  The film opens with a white water rafting trip.  While the actual rafting is a success, the ride home ends in tragedy for Sarah (Shauna Macdonald).  A year later, the same trio of friends, plus a few new ones, get together to explore an Appalachian cave.  They seem competent and confident in their spelunking abilities, but soon things start to go wrong.  And in the darkness, lurks creatures that are waiting to attack.

This may be one of the very few films around that stars only women and makes them all very badass and strong.  The night before their cave exploration, they hang out in their cabin, but it’s not a stereotypical girls night in.  They drink beer, smoke, cuss and don’t braid each others hair or have pillow fights in their underwear.  When trouble arises, they’re rightly scared but do not crumble.  The whole story could be the same if this were a group of men, and I love that.

Alone in my own home, I have never felt so ridiculous and scared.  Anyone who doesn’t jump at all to The Descent has either seen it too many times or lived it.  There are a lot of very tense moments in exploring the cave that had me on the edge of my seat in fear and anticipation.  Other moments just scared the shit out of me.  At one point, I jumped to violently I knocked my laptop off the couch.  Never done that before; it was amazing and so fun!

The Descent makes excellent use of darkness and small spaces.  Once deep inside the cave, the only light sources are the helmet lights, flashlights and the occasional flare or glow-stick.  There is so much around the characters that they cannot see, at one point that delivers one of the biggest shockers.  Some of the passages the women shimmy through are ridiculously small.  The camera gives us perfect vantage points to see how tight and narrow some places are.  It gave me a very nerve wracking feeling of claustrophobia.

One creative way to show us more terrors in cave is the use of a handheld camera, on night vision mode.  In pitch black moments, one of the characters will hold the camera and see the surroundings on the screen.  At one point we discover that they are walking over piles of bones.  The best camera moment is a very up close encounter with one of the cave creatures.

I love caves and before seeing this movie, I would have gone spelunking in a heartbeat.  Mind you, the amateur kind, with a tour guide and all, but still.  After The Descent, being in a cave screams bad idea and nightmares to boot!  The tight passages and risk of cave ins feel all too real and claustrophobic.  Even though you can tell me there are no creepy albino monsters lurking around, I’ll still see them creeping in the darkness.

“Hey, there’s something down here…”