| CULTCUTS
SHORTCUTS |
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Andrew is understandably
depressed. His parents are dead, a friend is brutalized and will never
be the same, and he loses his job. Unsure of himself and what kind of
future, if any, he will have, Andrew becomes numb. His inability to express
his frustration causes his girlfriend to walk out on him. One night Andrew
flips out and beats the crap out of a jerk in a men’s room. From
that point on, Andrew’s life deteriorates into even lower depths
as he gets involved with drugs deals and even snuff films. As one might
guess, Gareth Evans’ SOV movie isn’t a family feel good event.
From its violent beginning until its…well…violent ending,
the story is bleak. We do get to see Andrew arrive at some dubious redemption
in what is a great third act finale. Still, there is good and bad here.
The good is the documentary-like experience of the movie, which makes
one feel as if it’s all very real. A lot of credit has to go to
filmmaker Evans for not only understanding his subject matter but also
in how professionally he translates it to the screen. Another big plus,
very big, is a great performance by Mads Koudal as Paul, a psychopathic
thug that shows Andrew the ropes. Unfortunately, the one bad element is
Andrew. Played in an almost catatonic one-note manner by Nicholas Bool,
Andrew simply isn’t a character that elicits much empathy or understanding
from the audience. In fact, at times he’s downright boring. Yes,
you root for him near the end, but that has more to do with rooting against
his adversaries than pulling for the so-called hero. Even so, given Koudal’s
captivating performance and the grittiness of Evans’ screenplay
and direction, I recommend this one to genre fans. – Craig Hamann |
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In this sequel
to the 1940 serial The Green Hornet, Britt Reid (Warren Hull) and his
faithful manservant, Kato (Keye Luke) find themselves on vacation in Hawaii
and in the midst of a huge crime ring that is involved in every aspect
of society. Led by a mastermind by the name of Grogan, Green Hornet finds
that he will have his hands full infiltrating this syndicate to bring
it to its knees. This sequel to the original series ups the ante, expanding
itself from 13 to 15 chapters. There are more exotic locales like Hawaii,
even though I’m pretty sure that most of Hawaii was represented
by stock footage and fake foliage. Keye Luke has returned as Kato, but
this time we get a new Green Hornet in the shape of actor Warren Hull.
This might actually be an improvement as Hull was more acclimated for
this kind of role. Having played The Spider and Mandrake the Magician
in other serials he seemed tailor made for The Green Hornet. As all of
the other serials from this time frame we are treated to tons of stock
footage, explosions, twists and turns of the plot that sends us through
almost five hours of two-fisted action. While the first serial established
the character and gave us his background, THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES BACK!
takes what has gone before and runs with it. I think that this might be
the definitive Green Hornet experience for those who are looking to the
roots of his creation before digging into the new feature film that is
scheduled for release in the near future. No extras on the disc, probably
because there wasn’t room. The print is very nice and clean. Unlike
the recent VCI release of THE GREEN HORNET: MOVIE EDITION, there is no
bizarre coloring of the print. Just good old fashioned black and white
like it was meant to be seen. – Douglas A. Waltz |
LovecraCked!
The Movie |
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A
very bad play ends with deadly and hellish results in director Alan Del
Tufo's short satire OPENING FRIGHT. Several of the actors and stagehands
get trapped by a demonic killer after a disastrous opening night. Unable
to leave, they team up with a newspaper critic and try and find their
way out after discovering a severed leg. Realizing they are trapped, a
few more bite the dust and discover Mr. Demon (played by director Alan
Del Tufo himself) not only cannot resist dismembering folks because it
is his nature, but he's actually there because he dreams of being a Broadway
star! Having tried out at the local theater for six other plays, he takes
matters into his own hands. OPENING FRIGHT is an odd mix of low budget
gore (we're talking the fake feet and hands you buy at the Halloween stores
that open for two weeks in October), purposely hammy acting and comedic
farce making fun of the Arts. It's hit and miss as some of it is overbearing
for a 17 minute short film, but there's enough there to make the viewer
smile from time to time. A tad more atmosphere in the set up might have
been enough to give it some edge. Alan Del Tufo is actually quite effective
as Edward The Demon and does a very funny routine on stage that reminisces
Peter Boyle's famous Putting on the Ritz in Mel Brook's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.
Overall, I'd say if you run across this at a festival or on a collection
of shorts, definitely give it a shot if you are in a humorous mood. Mark Engle |
