One "Exit" You Don't Wanna Miss

In the "legally gray" world of street art, anything goes. Street artists use whatever they can to get their messages to the public- whether it's a can of spray paint, a busted up telephone booth, or even an elephant. But as the movement gains more mainstream momentum, everything changes. In his 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, the notorious yet anonymous street artist Banksy shows us how one man cheated in a world where there are no rules.

That man is French born, LA clothing store owner Thierry Guetta. Thierry comes across almost like a cartoon character, complete with enormous side burns and an obsession to record everything with his video camera. On a vacation back to his home country, Thierry and his camera make a thrilling discovery: at night, his cousin calls himself Space Invader and posts small mosaics inspired by the 80’s arcade game all across Paris. 

The man who will unknowingly play a huge role in street art

Thierry takes to this strange new art form like a drug. Through Space Invader, he immerses himself in the street art movement by awkwardly mingling with some of its biggest artists- who happen to think he’s filming a documentary. Thierry’s addiction gives him a whole new high when circumstance leads him to meet his idol: the one and only Banksy.

The mysterious British street artist allows the bizarre Frenchman to record him for a while- provided he doesn’t film his face. Soon enough though, Banksy realizes Thierry isn't the film maker he made himself out to be. In an attempt to shoo Thierry away in the most positive way he can, Banksy urges him to go out and create his own art. Little does he know how extreme Thierry will take this order. 

The ever elusive Banksy in an interview

Exit Through the Gift Shop is one solid documentary. The movie fully explores something I initially shrugged off as graffiti through engaging interviews and behind the scenes footage of street artists at work. I was actually surprised to find out the lengths some artists go to and how political their messages can get- especially when we see Banksy place a dummy dressed like a Guantanamo Bay inmate by a Disneyland roller coaster.

Much of the footage in the movie actually comes right from Thierry's haphazardly recorded material. While his camera work isn't the best, the decision to include it really benefits the movie in unexpected ways. By seeing events unfold through Thierry's perspective, we get to experience them the way he did. Through this approach, we actually learn much more about him than we could have otherwise.  

A stencil of Thierry, armed with his camera.

At times, Exit Through the Gift Shop can also be downright funny, with much of the humor stemming from Thierry's bumbling nature and outright weirdness. I just couldn't help but laugh at parts when Thierry spilled gallons of paint in his trunk or acted like a little kid whenever Banksy spoke to him. 

This humor serves as a sharp contrast to some of the major themes the movie explores towards the end. After Thierry attempts to make his own work, the movie really urges us to think: what is art? Is it something that should just be created for profit, or should there be something more to it? 

In the end, Exit Through the Gift Shop sets itself apart from other movies by simultaneously serving as a documentary and a character study. The result is one of the most unique and thought provoking movies you will ever see. My verdict is a perfect 10 out of 10. 

  

"43" Reasons You Should Avoid this Movie

What is it that makes comedy funny? Twelve directors tried answering that question by combining a huge ensemble cast with obscure, character breaking situations and calling it Movie 43. Boy, were these guys wrong. Released just this year, Movie 43 is a sketch comedy with tons of big names and lots of gross out humor, but it fails to deliver a single laugh.

The main premise to Movie 43 is a crazy guy (played by Dennis Quaid) trying to pitch his wacky sketches to a major movie executive. His ideas are so bad that he literally holds the exec at gunpoint so they can even be considered for a feature.

And then the movie goes on to show us said horrible sketches for a very painful hour and a half.

My problem with this movie is the sketches try so hard to be outrageous that they end up being really stupid. One good example is the first sketch, where a business woman (played by Kate Winslet) goes on a blind date with a bachelor of the year (played by Hugh Jackman) only to find out he has a certain male body part hanging on his neck. The woman's reactions were kind of funny at first, but the fact that the bachelor and every other character are completely oblivious make the sketch go on far too long.

Somebody's having a bad date.

None of the sketches reflect any clever writing either- they kind of take one joke and see how long they can drag it out. One sketch involves a teen girl (played by Chloe Grace Moretz from Kick Ass) shocking her boyfriend and his brother by being unprepared for her first period. Another sketch features "The iBabe," an mp3 player designed to look like a naked woman that results in dismemberment of its male users. The list just goes on. 

Another thing that really irked me about Movie 43 is the way it humiliates its huge cast of stars. We see Halle Berry playing a game of truth or dare where anything goes, Anna Faris wanting her boyfriend to defecate on her, and Gerard Butler being a rough and tumble, foul mouthed leprechaun. Not only does the movie's huge cast give off a sense of claustrophobia, but we've seen this cast do much better.     

Not about to give up his pot of gold. 

There's only one real sketch I liked in Movie 43, and it was the main attraction of the film's trailer. This sketch is set in the 50's, and stars Terrence Howard as the coach of a black basketball team going off against an all white team. In a parody of movies like Remember the Titans, Terrence Howard has two words that insist his team will win the game:

In a movie with a star studded cast and headed by 12 directors, it's disappointing to see only one scene that's actually funny. This amounts to about 10 minutes out of a 90 minute movie. I could go on to list 43 reasons why this movie should be avoided, but I think by now you get the point. Movie 43 is a tasteless piece of cinema that feels like it was written by a bunch of teenagers. My verdict is a 2 out of 10.  

  

  

A Movie with a "State"-ment

When you hear the name Kevin Smith, the first words that come to your mind are “Jay” and “Silent Bob.” The man has been involved with his View Askewniverse for so long we just take for granted that every movie he makes is destined to be a slacker comedy. This assumption is completely shattered by his 2011 film Red State. With Red State, starring Michael Parks, John Goodman, and Melissa Leo, Kevin Smith successfully blends elements of horror and action to propel a story that criticizes extremism in any form.

The movie starts with three teens driving to meet an older woman they found on a sex site- but when they get to her trailer, they are in for a big shock. The boys' would-be paramour is actually a member of the Five Points Trinity Church, a local fundamentalist group known for its extreme actions like protesting the funerals of gays. The teens are drugged and taken to the church's compound, where they are held at the mercy of the entire machine gun wielding group and its preacher, Abin Cooper. Unbeknownst to Cooper and his victims, the actions that both groups commit set off a much larger chain of events, culminating in an explosive showdown with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

Teens Travis and Billy Ray, held captive by the church.

Let me set one thing straight: Red State is not your typical Saw-style torture fest. This movie is completely unpredictable- nobody is safe from death and about halfway through it a series of twists and turns transforms it into more of an action movie. In an age where most horror film feels more like "torture porn," I find this change of pace very refreshing.    
This change of pace also flows very well with the bigger themes this movie explores, which are clearly rooted in current events. The Five Points Trinity Church is like an even more extreme version of the Westboro Baptist Church, and later on in the movie we see a different type of extremism with the ATF. I don't want to say much more about it for fear of spoilers, but the orders given to the ATF team bring to mind some of the controversies surrounding the War on Terror.

Abin Cooper and his rabid flock.

Red State also pays very close attention to detail. Seemingly inconsequential events, such as a non-violent sideswipe with a gay couple's car, go on to spark even bigger fires. This kind of payoff feels very satisfying, and kept me on my toes throughout the whole movie.

Another satisfying aspect of the movie is the acting. Michael Parks' ever righteous demeanor as Abin Cooper brings a chilling presence to the movie, particularly when he orders the execution of a gay man in the name of God. Meanwhile, John Goodman's portrayal as ATF Agent John Keenan feels completely invested with both authority and complexity as he openly questions the orders given to him by his superiors.

Agent Keenan takes aim at a church member.

That being said, the movie doesn't go without its flaws. In some of the more intense scenes, the camera gets a little too shaky and blurry for comfort. Instead of giving it a stylistic feel, this camera work comes off a little amateurish, and takes us out of the moment.  

Red State also tends to get a little too in depth with dialogue. There is one scene in the movie when Abin Cooper gives a sermon that goes on for nearly 12 minutes. I understand that we are supposed to see this guy as an overly obsessive religious freak, but seeing someone just go on for that long takes a heavy toll on our attention span.  

Overall, Red State is an incredible movie. Filled with intense action and psychological horror, this movie is a statement not only of the dangers of Christian fundamentalism and the failures of the War on Terror, but also of Kevin Smith's previously untapped potential as a filmmaker. My verdict is an 8 out of 10. 

  
 

"John Dies" from an Overdose of Weirdness

Netflix is notorious for its huge collection of obscure movies, ranging from good, to bad, to just plain weird. When I sat down to watch the indie movie John Dies at the End, I just expected to see somebody named John to die at the end. I had no idea just how bizarre this movie was going to be. The 2013 movie directed by Don Coscarelli  and starring Chase Williamson, Ron Mayes, Paul Giamatti, and Clancy Brown  tries to balance humor, sci fi, and horror, but is ultimately too consumed by the resulting weirdness to be considered good or bad.

The movie starts by introducing us to 20 something year old David Wong. David is your average slacker with a twist- he's some kind of "paranormal exorcist," fighting otherworldly monsters invisible to the naked eye with his friend John Cheese. He is aided in his battles by the Soy Sauce- a drug that opens its users' eyes to the strange, extra dimensional happenings around them. The plot follows David as he recounts how he came across the Soy Sauce and its effects to reporter Arnie Blondestone in a Chinese restaurant. 

Structurally, I found the movie a little hard to follow. It opens up with a scene that has nothing to do with the rest of the movie, and it jumps too frequently between David's story and his interview with Arnie. I thought the scenes with Arnie weren't even necessary to the overall plot, and made it even harder for the audience to keep track of what is happening in David's already bizarre story.

And my oh my does a lot of stuff happen in his story. From the very beginning, we are bombarded with absurdity after absurdity. Some of these scenes, like the part when David talks to his apparently dead friend John through a hot dog, were pretty funny. Others, like the part when David and John fight a monster made out of meat, just felt a little off. 

All of the movie's insanity is of course fueled by the Soy Sauce. However the Soy Sauce itself is never explained- none of the characters really know what it is, or where it comes from. The lack of explanation gets extremely frustrating at times, and I almost walked away from the movie because I didn't understand anything that was going on. Once you  accept  that some things just don't get explained, the movie gets a little easier to follow.

Another thing that frustrated me about the movie was it pushed the absurdity factor so far that it neglected some of the more traditional jokes. The few non absurd jokes in the movie feel a little bland and really off kilter, like the part when David asks Arnie if he's his dad. 

The movie did have it's saving graces though. For the most part I liked all the characters. I liked how you were never really sure what was happening with John throughout the movie and I thought David had a pretty interesting character arc, although we see it unfold sort of backwards. My favorite character though has got to be Dr. Albert Marconi, a minor magician type character played by Clancy Brown. 

  

John Dies at the End is a weird movie that knows it's weird. Unfortunately, the story and humor tend to get too weird for the movie's own good. However there are some moments where the humor works, and the characters are anything but boring. My verdict is a 6 out of 10. 

  

Executed with "Fearless" Precision

I've always been a huge fan of martial arts movies, and when I flipped on Netflix the other day I happened to find probably the only martial arts movie I haven't seen yet: Jet Li's Fearless. I've never been too much of a Jet Li fan to be honest, and I was a little concerned that the only hype surrounding the movie was that it was his last historical piece. However this movie went against all my expectations. Director Ronny Yu's 2007 film Fearless combines themes of historical tensions and redemption with beautifully choreographed action to produce a movie that is satisfying visually and intellectually.

The movie opens in 1910. It is the late Qing Dynasty, a time when many Western powers had a strong influence in Asia and China had lost much of it's former glory. Three Westerners are fighting in a large arena against one Chinese martial artist, and they all lose. The Chinese fighter is Huo Yuanjia, played by Jet Li.

The movie then transitions to a flashback, showing just how Huo Yuanjia got to that point. We are taken back to his childhood, when a type of brutal arena fighting called leitei is very popular. After his father is defeated in one of these tournaments dishonorably, the young Huo Yuanjia is greatly disappointed in him and swears to become the best fighter he possibly can.

The years go by and Huo Yuanjia  is a father and one of the best fighters in the city of Tianjin. His fighting is so impressive that he soon amasses a huge following of disciples. However, Huo Yuanjia's success leads to arrogance- he treats himself and his disciples to drunken parties he can't afford to pay for and he becomes increasingly ruthless towards his opponents. Just when he feels there is no one left for him to fight, one of his students claims a visiting rival martial arts master named Qin Lei attacked him without provocation. Enraged and drunk with pride, Huo Yuanjia challenges Qin Lei to a death match. Their fight sets off a chain of events that lead to Huo Yuanjia's damnation, and later, attempts of redemption.

Fearless got many things right. My favorite aspect of the movie is Huo Yuanjia's fully fleshed out character arc. Throughout the movie, we see him grow from a humiliated, asthmatic child to an arrogant and prideful fighter, to a spiritually broken man, and finally, to a revered hero. These ever changing personality traits add depth to his character and help to make him relatable to the audience. In a genre full of characters who are either inherently good or evil, it feels very refreshing to see a character who is as complex as real people are.

The fight scenes in the movie are very well choreographed. There are scenes where Huo Yuanjia takes on many fighters simultaneously, destroys an entire room, and brings down opponents who are giants compared to him. The camera man knew exactly what he was doing in these scenes, as everything is shot in  a way that makes the fighting seem more intense without being shot too fast. There's even enough time in between punches and kicks for nice fluttering back flips and even snarky comments, which I found didn't feel too cheesy in this movie.

Finally, the story is absolutely top notch. The movie masterfully ties Huo Yuanjia's quest for redemption to an underdog story that is historical, compelling, and in some ways, relatable to any audience. For fear of releasing any kind of spoilers, I will leave my comments on the story right there.

I only have a few complaints about this movie. First of all, while they were well shot, none of the fight scenes feel uniquely Fearless. Sure they are extremely nice to look at, but at the end of the day there isn't really anything to differentiate these fight scenes from another kung fu film.

I also would have liked to explore more of Huo Yuanjia's childhood, or to at least see a montage of the kind of training he had to do to become a great fighter. Seeing him go from being a beaten up kid with asthma to a powerful and well renown fighter with no kind of transition linking the two made me really curious about his transformation.

All things considered, Fearless is an excellent movie. With a masterful display of characters arcs, deep story telling, and nice fights sprinkled here and there, I found myself completely hooked throughout the whole thing. However, with nothing to signify the fight scenes as unique and one crucial element of a character's arc missing, I can not give it a perfect score. My verdict is an 8 out of 10.

Note- If you can, watch the movie with subtitles instead of the dubbed version. Trust me, thought it requires reading, it will make the movie so much more enjoyable.