Chaos reigns

A black chalkboard scrawled on with bright colors illustrates three opening title cards. The first, accompanied with a jarring organ swell, has the name Lars von Trier. The second, followed by another violent cluster of musical notes, reads Antichrist. And finally the third reads Prologue.

A black and white montage begins in a tiled shower, as slow motion cinematography builds from a leaking faucet into a shower of water raining down over the entire frame. The couple (Charlotte Gainsbourg & Willem Dafoe--whoa, talk about a handsome pair!) are making love passionately. Stylized to the utmost, flurries of falling snow outside open windows are suspended near complete stasis--the poeticism of these elemental abstractions clearly harks back to Tarkovsky’s work in the seventies. And the somber “Lascia ch’io pianga” aria from Handel’s opera Rinaldo will undoubtedly stamp these opening few minutes with the typically criticized accusations of “pretentious,” “arty,” or “self-indulgent” from many, but I would here like to address this style of filmmaking as beautiful.

Perennial enfant terrible von Trier treats this material seriously. He wants the viewer to pay attention to this opening chapter because many details auspiciously reveal the nature of this duo which will be laboriously sketched out through the rest of the film.

Intercut with the shots of the couple making love are frames of their young child who wanders first into their room, then out their bedroom window to his death. Notice as these shots begin that the baby monitor near the couple is switched off; later you will be inclined to suspect who turned the device off--She or He.

Additionally, the prologue reveals a trio of figurines on a desk, later identified as “The Three Beggars,” named Grief, Pain, and Despair. At the beginning the miniatures’ likenesses are of people. Later, however the motif is repeated as an astral constellation and most memorably, as three animals: a deer (always seen birthing a stillborn fawn), a bird that will not die, and a fox.

Lars von Trier is currently the working filmmaker whom I have been a devout follower of for the longest. Back in the sticks when I was 16, then being an avid reader of Entertainment Weekly and having begun the transition into my then newly discovered arthouse phase, I recall Owen Gleiberman and Lisa Schwartzbaum both selecting the same film for their number one pick of their top ten list--Breaking the Waves (1996 Lars von Trier). After seeking the film out and watching it on a rented VHS, it would only be years later that I would be able to fully appreciate it.

In Portland, OR during the late 90s I was able to peruse von Trier’s full oeuvre thanks to Mike Clark’s Movie Madness Video & More (which is still my favorite video store of all time). Renting horribly dubbed VHS copies of The Idiots (1998), The Kingdom (1995) and The Kingdom II (1997) still ranks up on the top of my list of greatest movie experiences. And then there was the time I was able to see the advance preview screening of Dancer in the Dark (2000) at the Hollywood Theater on NE 41st St. and Sandy Blvd.

Dancer in the Dark was the most amazing experience (along with seeing Pulp Fiction 5 times in a month when I was 14) I had ever had the privilege of being rewarded with, by a film that met expectations generated months in advance. That film remains one of my favorite modern masterpieces from one of the greatest living auteurs of the 21st century.

Back to Antichrist (2009), the plot is told through an additional 4 chapters and an epilogue which involve the couple hiking through the woods to a cabin as they deal with the grief over the death of their son, Nicolas.

Forget pawning this off as misogynist or being preoccupied with the graphic extreme acts of sexual violence. There’s an artistic vision present which should not be overlooked. Antichrist reminds me of Dreyer’s films that also austerely revisited archaic orthodox religious practices, and there is something that has always been fascinating about setting horror tales in that milieu.

The film is an art-horror tale of madness, in which psychology and gender studies seem to be present while not specifically outlining any messages; it seems inappropriate to take this film too seriously because it works cinematically, but obviously suffers if over-analyzed or taken as some sort of statement.

It is also, like The Kingdom (1995/97), a haunting narrative which is embedded with victims of atrocious violence who linger as ghosts confronting protagonists in the present.

The animals, or “Three Beggars,” the woods (or specifically nature)-- referred to by She as “Satan’s Church,” along with its rain of acorns, are brush stokes used by von Trier in a manner which is enjoyable for those who appreciate his mischievous cinematic pranks in which he seems to revert to his contoversy-courting mode of visceral, transgressive narratives.

Trivial Observations: Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of 60s French pop-icon crooner Serge Gainsbourg, won the Best Actress Award at Cannes this year for her performance in Anitichrist.

This film was shot on digital video.

-Dregs

Attended screening at the Alamo Ritz on 11/21/2009 (first released in US on October 23, 2009). Unrated, 105 minutes. Distributed by IFC Films.

This pretty sums up all the main points

Little Cthulhu


-d.d.

that noise you just heard

Was DDT's mind BLOWING.

http://io9.com/5404048/moorcock-to-write-doctor-who

Noboru Iguchi's Robo-geisha is a pretty, visual delight of fun action

A Japanese businessman fawns over a geisha in a tatami room. Her body soon sheds itself in two, and a woman emerges who is equipped with mecha-armored forearms, a mask covering the lower half of her face and an armored geisha hair-doo. She still appears to be a geisha, though with a slightly different outfit. As she attacks the man (with metal blades emerging from her arms), the shell she has shed reforms and takes on a life of its own, as a geisha with a buzz-saw emerging from its mouth.

But, the battle soon becomes complicated when the businessman turns out to be a shell for two tengu-masked Japanese girls, one sitting on the shoulders of the other, who resume the fight with the Robo-geisha.

Robo-geisha (2009 Noboru Iguchi) is definitely the prettiest film I’ve seen this year and also the one in which I had the most fun. The first time I saw the trailer, I admit, I thought this looked stupid. But after seeing the 35mm print projected in a theater, I now see it as a work of art.

The rivalry which exists between a geisha and her sister who works with her is the center of the drama. The plot involves Kageno Steel, an evil corporation that kidnaps and brainwashes young women into servitude for corrupt purposes. And the CEO of the corporation, who happens to be the romantic interest of both the geisha and her sister, has a diabolical plan to take over the small town with his army of robo-geisha.

Tengu #1 and tengu #2 are collectively referred to as the tengun. Played by Cay Izumi and Asami, these girls wear black boots, fishnets, bikinis, and red, phallic-nosed, evil-looking masks (matching masks cover their breasts, and shoot out corrosive “milk from hell”). The tengun are the coolest part of the movie because they are not only badass mecha-equipped warriors with, among other things, ass-katana, they are also abrasively loud, aggressive, and sexy counterpoints to the sweet Robo-geisha who features as the film’s protagonist.

Cay Izumi (left) and Asami.

Robo-geisha's director, Noboru Iguchi.

The tengun in costume.

The color palette, with its pink hues and soft shades, and CGI blood make for a glossy, although absurd, visually delightful and highly entertaining work from Iguchi. This exploitative film’s final act left me aghast with pleasure. Consistently comical, Robo-geisha’s innocent playfulness has no peer when it comes to cool, imaginatively implausible fun. Unsurprisingly, special makeup effects artist Yoshihiro Nishimura teamed up with Iguchi again on this film, and the two have something wonderful going on here.

Trivial Observations: In the second act, when Robo-geisha meets her first client, the Japanese Yakuza boss is played by Yoshihiro Nishimura.

In attendance for the film, Noboru Iguchi informed the audience that in the print screened, “hip-katana” was incorrectly translated in the subtitles, and should actually read “ass-katana.”

-Dregs

Attended screening on 9/25/09 at Fantastic Fest, Robo-geisha premiered in Japan on October 3, 2009.

After the screening, the tengun fought in the theater.

And then things just turned into comptete chaos.

The House of the Devil deserves credit for developing tense atmoshpere while letting its story unfold

During the early 1980s, 70% of people believed in the existence of Satanic rituals being practiced in the United States.

Over 30% of them rationalized the occurence of unsolved violent crimes due to Satanic cults.

This is based on those events.

In a quiet neighborhood, overcast skies above and autumnal foliage convey the season. A young woman in a gray, insulated nylon jacket, bundled up with a white knit hat and scarf, receives instructions from a middle-aged woman about the particulars of the new room she will be renting. This surprises the young woman because the landlady has called her on short notice, citing the cause as the sudden disappearance of the tenant who had previously made plans to rent the room.

The House of the Devil (2009 Ti West) returns to, as Ti West referred to it, the “Satanic Panic” craze of the early 80s. The opening vignette lays down a small detail: the girl who was supposed to rent the room before Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) "seems like trouble,” and is unable to commit to the living arrangements. As the plot unfolds, Samantha responds to a post on the bulletin board of her college campus which ominously reads, simply, “babysitter needed.” After she shows up for the job, she hears that there was another girl interested in the opportunity, but she was “unreliable.”

It’s best not to spoil anymore of the plot.

Stylistically, West has committed to the fashions of the early 80s. Samantha and her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig), both with respective brunette and blonde feathered hair, and in Megan’s case, acid-washed jeans, revisit styles of this bygone era.

College life is similarly depicted with respect to the period, and early on, the pizza-parlor location, dorm life and sleeping in evoke the simple, carefree, daily lives of the film’s protagonists.

The highlight of this movie is the casting of the couple who have put out the babysitter ad. Particularly Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan, who seems to be perfectly cut out for this type of role, delivering a chilling performance), the owner of the large house which holds the suspense West carves his Polanski-inspired tension out of.

Unlike other recent horror films, The House of the Devil is not a hyper-kinetic freakout. The story builds at an assured (sometimes slow) pace, and Ti West succeeds at crafting an atmosphere-driven narrative with subtle details. The lunar eclipse which takes place on the night the film is set, for example, adds to the appeal of this modest, quality horror effort.

Trivial Observations: During the Q & A, Ti West mentioned Roman Polanski’s trilogy of apartment-living thrillers: Repulsion (1965), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), and The Tenant (1976) as inspirations for this film.

Dee Wallace (landlady in opening scene) and Mary Woronov (Mrs. Ulman) also appear in the film. Wallace has a cameo and Woronov acts her role in a frightening capacity.

This film was shot on super 16.

-Dregs

Attended screening of The House of the Devil on 9/29/09 at Fantastic Fest. Magnolia Releasing will be giving the film a limited theatrical run (including Austin) starting tomorrow, October 30, 2009. Rated R, 95 minutes.

Cheesy plot only makes Ninja Assassin that much tougher, like its predecessors

A group of Yakuza thugs accompany a cocky, high ranking Yakuza who is getting an elaborate, colorful back piece by an elderly Japanese tattoo artist in a dark, spacious bar. The older man offers the Yakuza some of his wisdom, when the belligerent young man loses his temper and gets tough. This geezer knows his Ninja-lore, and no sooner than he begins to warn of the dangerous Ninja wrath to be expected, does the awesomeness begin, post-haste!

Ninja Assassin (2009 James McTeigue) dispatches the action before you can blink an eye, and in this sense, foreshadows the stealthy attack methods of the figure its high-concept title announces. No detail is spared from the iconography. Everything is here, from throwing stars to impossibly-agile, black-clothed wall-scalers. And of course, there are the fight scenes.

The effects in this movie are in line with what the Wachowskis (the film’s executive producers) and McTeigue have been honing ever since The Matrix (1999 Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski). Managing to update a genre that has been dormant since the 80s, it is fitting for this disposable narrative to look (and sound) fantastic. Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, they’re practically Ninjas; they all wear black and perform amazing feats of acrobatic martial arts. So, why not give McTeigue the chance to strip away the fat and serve up this technical, set-piece driven genre pic?The key to the action is that when it happens, it takes place on a grand scale, and spectacularly fills the frame with CG blood, blurred shadows (sometimes barely sensed), and weapons heard and seen flying everywhere.

Nearly the whole movie takes place in perpetual darkness. For the urban locales anyway, there is the exception of the scenes taking place in the remote, mountainous Ninja training school.

This wouldn’t be a Ninja movie without the pseudo Eastern-philosophizing either, and the laconic leads are contrasted by the disciplined diatribes of Lord Ozunu (Sho Kosugi). Incidentally, there is a plot: Ozunu is the leader of a clan of Ninjas who are kidnapped as children and undergo lifelong training to become skilled Ninja Assassins. Raizo (Rain; a Korean actor formerly known for being a huge pop star) rebels against the clan and after fleeing, simultaneously comes to the aid of Europol agent Mika Corretti (Naomi Harris), who is uncovering clues leading her to the culpability of the Ozunu clan as part of an international crime-ring. The tacked on romantic yarn between Raizo and Mika isn’t all that special; which is a good thing because it keeps this action pic all muscle.

To my understanding, Ninja movies of the 80s were typically low-budgeted and had flimsy plots. The characterizations and plot of Ninja Assassin veer from cheesy to awful, but that should not detract from its accomplished goal: a B-movie with A-caliber production values. The German location work adds gloss to this visceral and satisfying escapist romp.

Trivial Observations: Sho Kosugi (who plays Lord Ozunu) was the original Ninja star of the 80s appearing in titles like: Enter the Ninja (1981 Menahem Golan), Revenge of the Ninja (1983 Sam Firstenberg), on TV in The Master (1984), Ninja III: The Domination (1984 Sam Firstenberg) and Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985 Emmett Alston), among others.

-Dregs

Attended screening at Fantastic Fest on 9/29/2009. Warner Bros. is releasing Ninja Assassin November 25, 2009. 99 minutes, rated R.

High school love doesn't get any sweeter than Nishimura's bloody valentine, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

An insert frames a frilly, heart-shaped box of candy in its center. Below the image, cursive pink text reads: “In Japan, it is traditional for girls to give boys a heart as a symbol of their love.”

Making an escape of some sort in medias res, Monami, Vampire Girl (Yukie Kawamura) cruises down a highway in a convertible with a boy she loves. Vampire Girl encounters a group of Frankenstein Girls in a desolate field, and battle ensues.

Special makeup effects artist Yoshihiro Nishimura has established his reputation as director with his second film, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009 co-directed with Naoyuki Tomomatsu), and his previous movie, Tokyo Gore Police (2008), with prosthetic latex creations which display every imaginable way to see people dismembered in the goriest possible ways, with a few hundred gallons of stage blood drenching the productions for a good hour, at least.

On top of all that, Nishimura also has a tendency to turn every conceivable body part into a weapon. Here, the Vampire Girl is introduced decapitating a gang of Frankenstein Girls with her arms (which mutate into bloody swords).

The fashion of the two main characters is very cool. It consists of Vampire Girl wearing a navy-colored school uniform with a hood. And, as the film progresses, she becomes entwined in a love triangle with the boy she loves and the (soon to become Frankenstein Girl) spoiled, bitchy, Lolita-Goth attired Keiko (Eri Otoguro).

The soundtrack is the final touch used to flesh out the vibe of this campy, 60s go-go-feeling, monster mash-up. An upbeat Japanese female-vocalist fronted garage band gets the party goin’. This works to the film’s advantage because everything about this movie feels campy; and it constantly plays out like an extended joke where things just keep pushing the limits of silly as far as possible.

There’s also the just plain wrong, offensive Afro Rika and her Ganguro Girl posse. These girl’s wear giant fake afros, black skin-paint, oversized fake lips (one with a plate embedded in her lower lip), and protest infringement upon the rights of black people. At one point chants of advocating “change now, like Obama says” begin.

Boredom is never an issue when watching this offensive, grossout/cute high school romance concoction.

Other characters include another group of high school girls who enter a wrist-cutting competition. Their box-knife wielding leader looks like Linda Hunt reincarnated as a Japanese schoolgirl (sorry, I think Linda Hunt is still alive actually). Far from gratuitous, these extra-curricular clubs will later serve the plot cleverly.

Kenji Furano, “the scientist of the century,” and Midori, “the over-sexed school nurse,” highlight the school’s colorful faculty. This movie is remarkably consistent in its efforts to play out like a comic version of Buffy, if remade as it would be in a world where moral sensibilities never existed.

It’s funny how straight the love story plays out against the mayhem of the high school drama. Can’t wait to check this out again, when it comes out on dvd!

Trivial Observations: Vampire Girl’s mom, as seen in a flashback sequence, is played by Eihi Shiina, who starred in Audition (1999 Takashi Miike) and Nishimura’s Tokyo Gore Police (2008).

-Dregs
Watched this at Fantastic Fest on 9/30/2009. Photo: Yoshihiro Nishimura in downtown Austin!