Reviews
Find Me Guilty (2006)
A Review of the film, not Vin Diesel
Movies, hopefully, should be about more than their stars, or lack thereof. Whether or not you were charmed by the unique choice of Diesel for the starring role, you cannot ignore the blaring faults of this movie. It is a courtroom drama-a genre which should promise us conflicts of principle and belief; choices people have to make. (See "A Few Good Men," for example). The conflict in this movie? Is Diesel's gangster good or bad ? Why? Can he defend himself? Those are possible answers, but the only time we are made to believe he is otherwise are from the rants of the prosecutor. Why not show us examples of the mobsters life? Another possible theme-Is the U.S. Government being racist in its prosecution of Italian Americans ? Again, this is mentioned, but only one side of the argument is briefly explored. Perhaps the theme that was adhered to the most was that of the main character's loyalty to his "family." Yet, the strongest attempt to illustrate this poses Diesel as the simpleton gangster speaking from his heart to his co-mobster-defendants, waxing eloquent that he would never rat on the people he grew up with. A taps-like trumpet fanfare accompanies his speech at the end. Very dramatic, except that he is in a meeting concerning whether or not the group should unanimously decide to take a plea bargain-a situation which has nothing what so ever to do with ratting on one another. So when each member stands up and says "I vote no!" -who cares? Overall, this film took a potentially charming/strong character poised to stand for his beliefs, but only ends in playing at several hackneyed and borrowed dramatic ideas. There are some decent performances that unfortunately cannot save the meandering lack of direction in this movie. And it was BADLY edited.
Koroshiya 1 (2001)
What if Dead Alive was about S&M?
For those of you who have seen the Peter Jackson gut-fiesta, Ichi the Killer tries in the same way to add gore that will make you toss your cookies to a loose plot that doesn't have to be taken seriously. Unlike Dead Alive, Ichi's plot does deserve a second look. Set in modern day urban Japan, the movie offers a highly stylized (this is Asian cinema) look at modern Japanese gangs- (We learn they corrupt the police and rule with just as much authority), and pokes around a bit for answers to that age old question, Why in the world are some people so hell bent on torturing others? The recurring themes of bullies and sexual perversity are treated in the extreme and by the end there is little room left for semi-Freudian conclusions about motive: Kids who are bullied like to get off by causing pain. But I have not put this as delicately as I should have. Ichi is not heavy handed with it's characters and, without a bit of thought, (which is really an activity only for the hyper-analitical during this one...I mean, really, ya don't have to think about pop-psychology to enjoy flying cut-off faces splatting against the wall), one might never notice the depth and delicacy of backstory given to each person. It's only somewhere between wondering if you will ever flinch again and whether or not you will forget all your morals after seeing this film that you might think "Why is Ichi a killer?" At first glance, it's a tasteless (yet uber-chic!) story of gangsters, hookers and pimps that would make Quentin Tarantino or any horror movie fanatic giddy with excitement and any other average Joe wondering if they should be offended by the extreme violence, tastelessness and mysogony. But the second look really opens up some of the psyche behind all that, and that's the only thing that could ever help solve those problems. Condemning it certainly wouldn't do the job. Good job Miike!
Corrections (2001)
An impressive project
Corrections takes you behind the scenes of a complex, confusing and corrupt modern American institution: the prison industrial complex. Before seing this film, I wouldn't have known what that term really meant. Corrections sorts out all the political and commercial rhetoric and shows how people are making money, lots of money, by putting people in jail. Maybe you've heard that prison's are profitable, but it doesn't hit home until you are taken into a "correctional corporation's" convention, and hear sales people pitching their special restraining devices, or their long-distance plan, or their FILMS. Yes-one of Hollywood's fastest growing markets is the prison population.
Sadly, it's no surprise that all this "healthy" business would go under if crime decreased or less non-violent offenders were put in jail.
The filmaker of Correction has done an important job in creating an accurate picture of the whole situation, one the average person can't get from normal media. It's vital people start learning more about things happening like this in their communities, and Corrections is an important step in that direction.
Sugar & Spice (2001)
Cheerleader vice!
In the genre of high school movies, this is a new masterpiece. And let's face it...teeny movies are an art. Being a teenager and going to high school are practically timeless themes that can either be done poorly or accurately. Sugar and Spice hits the mark. There's no denying a healthy curiosity in the possible corruption of the high school king's and queens, and trying to make sense out of just what were they thinking? Even if you were homecoming queen, you probably still don't know what the big deal was. So you can't knock the movie for being absurd. Robbing a bank makes as much sense as high school cliques like the cheerleading "A-squad." And if you're the pregnant captains of the a-squad, why not dress up as Betty-dolls too? Which brings up one of the movies best moments: The shot of 5 blonde betty dolls with guns and american flags streaming behind them, strutting in front of Richard Nixon, marching into to rob a bank. That's only one of the greatest illustrations of the silly, absurd America we live in, and I'm so glad there's a movie that captures it.