Jason and the Argonauts

 

Based on the epic poem The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius, Jason and the Argonauts is the story of an explorer who returns home to claim his throne only to embark on a quest to find the Golden Fleece where he would fight all sorts of forces. Directed by Don Chaffey and screenplay by Beverley Cross and Jan Read, he film is a fantasy-adventure film that features the work of stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen as it plays into a man dealing with mysterious creatures in his quest to become king. Starring Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Honor Blackman, and Gary Raymond. Jason and the Argonauts is an exhilarating and exciting film from Don Chaffey and Ray Harryhausen.

The film is about a young man who is asked by a king to retrieve an object known as the Golden Fleece and in return would get revenge on the king who killed his mother many years ago due to a prophecy. It is a film that has this young man named Jason (Todd Armstrong) who saves this king from drowning unaware that he was the man who killed his mother based on a prophecy that would destroy him. The film’s screenplay by Beverley Cross and Jan Read is straightforward as it opens with Pelias (Douglas Wilmer) hearing about a prophecy that a child of a rival king would usurp him as he attacks that king’s palace where he kills one of the king’s daughters who prayed to Hera (Honor Blackman) who would protect the young Jason and warn Pelias that killing Jason would meet his doom. The film moves 20 years later where Pelias is saved by Jason from drowning as Jason has no idea who Pelias is and what he’s done as he agreed to get the Golden Fleece for Pelias.

After assembling of some of the best Greeks including Hercules (Nigel Green) and getting a ship created by Argus (Laurence Naismith), Jason and his crew go on this journey unaware that Pelias sent his son Acastus (Gary Raymond) to join the crew as a saboteur. Yet, Jason and his crew deal with monsters and such as well other things in the course of the film while they’re watched from above by Hera and Zeus (Niall MacGinnis) as observers with the former helping Jason out whenever he prays to her. Still, Jason deals with the challenges towards his destination as well as issues among the crew into this treacherous journey.

Don Chaffey’s direction is stylish in terms of its presentation in the world of fantasy and sword-and-sandal films with a lot of emphasis on visual effects to play into the former. Shot largely on various locations in Italy as Ancient Greece, Chaffey uses the locations to play into this vast world that Jason and his companions would embark on that would include ancient ruins, large statues, and other places where Chaffey would use wide and medium shots to get a scope of this world. Still, Chaffey knows when to move the story forward for non-action scenes as a way to showcase Jason’s development as a leader as he knows he might be way over his head where he does go to his crew for advice but also to the gods as Chaffey’s usage of close-ups and medium shots play into these moments. Through the visual effects work of stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen, Chaffey is able to create these extravagant action scenes that include a confrontation with a giant statue, flying creatures, a seven-headed monster, and skeletons in the film’s climax as they add to this world that Jason would encounter.

Chaffey and Harryhausen would create these sequences that are filled with suspense and adventure as there is something primitive to the effects yet there is also a charm to it. Especially in the film’s memorable climax with the skeleton soldiers where the mixture of live-action and stop-motion animation is strange yet there is a lot of imagination into what is created. Overall, Chaffey and Harryhausen craft a thrilling and offbeat adventure film of an explorer trying to retrieve an object that brings life.

Cinematographer Wilkie Cooper does excellent work with the film’s cinematography for many of the natural daytime exterior scenes along with some of the scenes at night in some of the interior/exterior settings for scenes in the third act. Editor Maurice Rootes does terrific work with the editing as it has some nice dissolves and rhythmic cuts to play into the action. Production designer Geoffrey Drake, with art directors Jack Maxsted, Antonio Sarzi-Braga, and Herbert Smith, does amazing work with the set design from the look of the statues and ruins to the palace of one of the kings in the third act. Sound editor Alfred Cox does superb work with the sound as its usage of sound effects and sparse sounds in some of the film’s locations add to the air of adventure and action. The film’s music by Bernard Herrmann is incredible for its bombastic orchestral score that help play into the sense of adventure and suspense along with some somber string-based pieces as it is a major highlight of the film.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast include some notable small roles from Patrick Troughton as the blind prophet Phineus who helps Jason find the land known as Colchis, John Cairney as a young Greek in Hylas whom Hercules is mentoring, Nigel Green as the legendary strongman Hercules who finds himself dealing with doubt and guilt, Doug Robinson as the strong swimmer Eupaemus, Andrew Faulds and Ferdinando Poggi in their respective roles as the swordsmen Phalerus and Castor, Michael Gwynn in the role of Pelias’ priest who reveals him this prophecy when he is really the god Hermes who allows Jason the chance to talk to the gods. Jack Gwillim is terrific as Colchis’ King Aeetes who takes Jason in after a mission where he saved his daughter only to learn of Jason’s motives at his home.

Honor Blackman and Niall MacGinnis are fantastic in their respective roles as Hera and Zeus with Blackman providing charm as the goddess who helps Jason and protects him while MacGinnis brings his own charm to the role of the famed god as he is someone not willing to interfere but knows he’s got plans for some of the characters involved. Douglas Wilmer is superb as Pelias as a king who learns that Jason is the young man who intends to usurp him while knowing that he can’t kill Jason where he tries to befriend him and send his son Acastus to sabotage Jason’s quest. Laurence Naismith is excellent as Argus as the man who created the boat for Jason’s quest as well as being someone who is wise and helps Jason with advice as he is someone the crew looks to for guidance.

Gary Raymond is brilliant as Acastus as Pelias’ son who takes on a different identity to join Jason’s quest in order to sabotage him as he would find himself sparring with Jason over ideas and decisions leading to a lot of tension. Nancy Kovack is amazing as Medea as the princess/high priestess of Colchis whom Jason saves when her ship was attacked as she falls for him while becoming aware of her father’s greed over the Golden Fleece as her voice is dubbed by Eva Haddon. Finally, there’s Todd Armstrong in an incredible performance as the titular character, as he is dubbed by Tim Turner, who is an explorer that is tasked to retrieve the Golden Fleece for its healing powers unaware that he’s giving it to the man who killed his mother where he deals with the journey as well as his own role as a leader where it is a charismatic performance from Armstrong.

Jason and the Argonauts is a phenomenal film from Don Chaffey and Ray Harryhausen. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, an incredible music score from Bernard Herrmann, and inventive visual effects that play up this air of fantasy in the film. It is a film that is filled with a lot of thrills and adventure as well as being this journey of a man trying to prove his worth to the world with the gods looking from above to see him reach that journey. In the end, Jason and the Argonauts is a sensational film from Don Chaffey and Ray Harryhausen.

© thevoid99 2021

The Final Girls

 

Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller, The Final Girls is the story of a young woman who is transported back in time to 1986 where she meets her late mother at a film set for a slasher film where they deal with a serial killer. The film is a comedy-horror film that sort of spoofs the slasher films while it also play into the clichés that are often expected as a young woman teams with her mother to break those rules. Starring Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, and Nina Dobrev. The Final Girls is a witty and inventive film from Todd Strauss-Schulson.

Three years after the death of her mother who was a film star of a famous slasher film in the 1980s, a young woman attends a screening of that film with her friends as a fire breaks out and they find themselves in the movie as they deal with the killer in the film but also other things as they become characters in that film. It is a film that is a spoof of sorts of slasher films where a group of people find themselves in a slasher movie with all of its bad dialogue, stereotypical characters, and everything that is expected as they find themselves being part of the film. The film’s screenplay by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller is straightforward as it play into these five college students who attend a revival screening that goes wrong and then become part of the movie they’re supposed to watch. One of the students in Max Cartwright (Taissa Farmiga) is still dealing with the death of her mother Amanda (Malin Akerman) three years earlier in a car accident that Max had survived as she is reluctant to attend the screening of the film Camp Bloodbath as it was a film that Amanda was famous for but never did anything noteworthy afterwards.

Upon entering the film, Max and her friends including her best friend Gertie (Alia Shawkat), Gertie’s stepbrother Duncan (Thomas Middleditch) who is a horror fanatic, Chris (Alexander Ludwig), and Chris’ bitchy ex-girlfriend Vicki (Nina Dobrev), whom Max had been estranged from, all witness the events of the film as Duncan comments on what is happening as the character Amanda played in Nancy was someone who doesn’t survive in the film as the final girl is Paula (Chloe Bridges). Yet, things don’t go by the narrative due to the presence of Max and her friends as they all have to deal with the machete-wielding killer Billy Hopkins (Daniel Norris) as the script also feature exposition about why Hopkins kills people via flashback.

Todd Strauss-Schulson’s direction does have some style as it play into the style of 80s slasher films though it also maintains a straightforward visual style as it is shot on location in locations in and around Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The film starts off with a young Max waiting for her mother returning from an audition as they deal with mounting bills leading to the accident that would kill Amanda as that scene and several others are presented in a straightforward manner in its compositions including some wide and medium shots as well as close-ups. The scene where the movie theater gets burned leaving Max and her friends to escape into the film screen is an inventive moment where Strauss-Schulson shows what happens and then the film changes. The moment where Max and her friends become part of Camp Bloodbath starts off as funny with its clichéd characters and setting as they then become part of the film. Even as they find themselves waiting for the van arrive and then it would arrive again 92 minutes later as it sets up the tone of the film.

Strauss-Schulson also maintains a certain visual style for the scenes of Camp Bloodbath and how Max and her friends would interact with those characters as it does play into these slasher film clichés with the flashback sequence presented in black-and-white. The approach to humor is offbeat as it play up the clichés including a scene where the hot counselor in Tina (Angela Trimbur) discovers Vicki’s pills and things go hilariously wrong. The film’s climax is typical of slasher films but there’s also these moments that do subvert expectation as it relates to Max and her connection with Nancy who becomes aware of the stereotype she plays. Yet, Strauss-Schulson also play up the idea of the final girl and adds something different to raise the stakes for everyone in the film within a film. Overall, Strauss-Schulson crafts a witty and exhilarating film about a young woman and her friends entering themselves into a 80s slasher movie starring that young woman’s mother.

Cinematographer Elie Smolkin does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is more low-key and naturalistic for the scenes in Max’s world while the colors are more vibrant in the interior/exterior scenes in the day for Camp Bloodbath along with some stylish lighting for scenes at night. Editor Debbie Berman does excellent work with the editing as it has some style that play into rhythmic cuts for the suspenseful moments in the film as well as some stylized slow-motion as it adds humor to the film. Production designer Katie Byron, with set decorator Rachael Ferrera and art director Alexi Gomez, does amazing work with the look of the camp as well as some of the way the rooms are as it play into the 1980s aesthetics. Costume designer Lynette Meyer does fantastic work with the costumes that also play up to the look of the 1980s for the camp counselors as it isn’t afraid to look and be cheesy.

Special effects makeup artist Elvis Jones does terrific work with some of the design of the gore as well as it doesn’t just play to the conventions of horror but also for laughs. Visual effects supervisors David Lebensfeld, Grant Miller, and Matthew Poliquin do wonderful work with the visual effects whether it’s in some backdrops for scenes in a car or to create something that feels cheesy to play up the humor. Sound designer Lewis Goldstein does superb work with the sound in creating some unique sound effects that play to conventions of slasher films along with elements in how music sounds from a stereo and other sparse moments. The film’s music by Gregory James Jenkins is incredible for its 80s-inspired score with elements of eerie orchestral pieces and synthesizer-based music as the latter is something typical of 80s slasher films where there are these fun elements while music supervisor Susan Jacobs creates a fun soundtrack that features pieces from Warrant, Bananarama, Wang Chung, the Chordettes, the Cold Crush Brothers, Bleachers, Toni Basil, and Kim Carnes.

The casting by Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Lauren Gros as the hippie chick Mimi, Reginald Robinson as a hunky hiker Mimi hopes to have sex with, Eric Carney as the young Billy from the flashback, Tory N. Thompson as a camp counselor that Gertie flirts with, Chloe Bridges as the cool virgin in Paula who is the final girl in Camp Bloodbath, and Daniel Norris as the killer in Camp Bloodbath in Billy Murphy who wears a mask and wields a machete. Angela Trimbur is fantastic as the slutty camp counselor Tina who always wear skimpy clothing and becomes even more animated due to Vicki’s pills while Adam DeVine is superb as the douche-bag Kurt who claims to have a big dick and thinks he’s all that to the point that he annoys Chris for being a misogynistic douchebag.

Thomas Middleditch is excellent as the horror film fanatic Duncan who revels in being in the film as he comments on everything around him as he ends up annoying everyone. Alia Shawkat and Nina Dobrev are brilliant in their respective roles as Gertie and Vicki with the former being Duncan’s stepsister and a friend of Max as she is aware of what is going on while trying to be the sensible one of the group while the latter is a bitchy student who is possessive towards Chris as it adds to her estrangement from Max where Dobrev is also someone who is eager to get things done. Alexander Ludwig is amazing as Chris as a longtime friend of Max who also has feelings for her as he tries to help her while also doing what he can to ensure that he and his friends survive.

Taissa Farmiga is great as Max Cartwright as a young student still dealing with the death of her mother as she finds herself in her mother’s film as she copes with the presence of her mother’s character as well as the desire for both of them to survive which includes dealing with Billy Murphy. Finally, there’s Malin Akerman in an incredible performance as Amanda Cartwright/Nancy with the former being an actress struggling to find work despite her infamy for the film she’s famous for while being this upbeat counselor that is hoping to get laid and fit in only to learn that she doesn’t make it in the film where Akerman displays that sense of uncertainty but also a woman who realizes the choices she has to make.

The Final Girls is a remarkable film from Todd Strauss-Schulson that features great performances from Malin Akerman and Taissa Farmiga. Along with its ensemble cast, fun music soundtrack, and playing up the many clichés of slasher films with biting humor and offbeat suspense. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to be funny in making fun of slasher films but also with its heart as it has a group of people being part of a slasher film as they figure out how to survive but also change the rules. In the end, The Final Girls is a marvelous film from Todd Strauss-Schulson.

© thevoid99 2021

Thursday Movie Picks: School (Halloween Edition)

 

For the 40th week of 2021 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. It is Halloween season as we go into the subject of school as it’s often a popular place where things go wrong and kids put themselves into stupid situations whenever they get killed and such. Here are my three picks:

1. Student Bodies

A spoof film from the early 80s that makes fun of slasher films is really this low-brow yet whimsical comedy about a young student who is trying to find out who is killing classmates and other people around her in school as she is the suspect. There’s always some guy breathing while there is also an actual body count and moments that just plays up the many clichés expected in horror films. Yet, the film features a major standout in Patrick Boone Varnell as the janitor as he’s just this hilarious physical presence who does these weird things as he is a total joy to watch.

2. The Faculty

From Robert Rodriguez and screenwriter Kevin Williamson is a take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers set in a high school where six high school kids notice that the school staff and other students are all acting weird and drinking water constantly. With an ensemble cast that includes Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, Elijah Wood, Clea Duvall, Shawn Hatosy, and Laura Harris as the six students trying to figure out what is going on and Jon Stewart, Salma Hayek, Bebe Neuwirth, Famke Janssen, Robert Patrick, and Piper Laurie as the faculty who are acting odd is an inventive high school horror film that is smart and has engaging characters while taking shots and the many clichés expected in high school films.

3. Cooties

Elijah Wood is back on the list but this time as a substitute teacher who is part of the faculty with other teachers as they deal with a zombie outbreak where it’s the kids who are the zombies and trying to kill everyone. The outbreak begins because of a bunch of poorly-processed chicken nuggets one girl ate as she becomes a zombie and makes a bunch of other kids into zombies. It’s up to Wood and a group of teachers including Allison Pill, Jack McBrayer, co-writer Leigh Whannell, Nasim Perdad, and Rainn Wilson all try to fight these kids off with Jorge Garcia as a stoner who helps them. It’s a film that never takes itself seriously while finding an excuse to kill a bunch of zombie children.

© thevoid99 2021

Titane

 

Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, Titane (Titanium) is the story of a young woman who becomes pregnant after having sex with a car as she pretends to be the missing son of a firefighter following a series of murders she committed. The film is a body horror film that explores a young woman meeting a lonely old man while dealing with the mess she’s created through killing people. Starring Agathe Rousselle, Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier, and Lais Salameh. Titane is a rapturous yet extremely fucked-up film from Julia Ducournau.

The film follows a showgirl for car shows whose sexual encounter with one of those cars leads to a pregnancy as she goes on the run following a series of murders she committed where she pretends to be a missing young man for a lonely firefighter. It’s a film that explores a young woman with an appetite for destruction and love for cars as it puts her into places where she went too far while also trying to find love which she didn’t receive from her parents as a child and as an adult. Julia Ducournau’s screenplay has a straightforward narrative yet it opens with a young Alexia (Adele Guigue) annoying her father in a car only for a car crash would lead to giving her a titanium plated filled on the right side of her head as she becomes fascinated with cars where she would become a showgirl for car shows as an adult (Agathe Rousselle). In these shows, she would dance provocatively in scantily-clad clothes where she is beloved by many but some go too far for her affection as it leads to death.

One notable murder at a party leads to trouble as she also learns she is pregnant after having sex with the car she was performing on at the show. With her family either unable or uninterested in helping her, she ends up going alone as there’s already a manhunt for her arrest for the murders. Upon seeing a poster for a missing person and how that man would age, Alexia would pretend to be that man including breaking her own nose where she would be picked up by this aging firefighter in Vincent (Vincent Lindon) as he is a captain who is still trying to keep up with the young firefighters he’s leading through steroids. Though Alexia as Adrien is more concerned with needing a place to crash, she starts to care for Vincent as she plays mute in order to keep him company while dealing with her growing belly.

Ducournau’s direction is definitely intense in terms of the approach to body horror as well as how she presents the film that is provocative but also uncompromising. While the opening scene of the young Alexia and how she got that titanium plate on her head including her scar behind her right ear just adds to offbeat presentation of the film. Shot on various locations in and around the South of France, Ducournau also plays into the world that Alexia is in as the scene of her arriving into the car show is shot in one entire tracking shot from the way she is walking to her dancing provocatively on a car where Ducournau just keeps the camera gazing through all sorts of shooting coverage whether it’s in a wide shot or in a close-up. The film also has Ducournau take on different styles of shots in wide and medium with the latter being in this scene of Alexia having sex with the car and then cuts to a wide shot of the car outside as it’s being part of this strange yet intense sex scene. Ducournau also doesn’t stray from the intensity of the film’s violence in which Alexia often kills her victims with a titanium hairpin she always wears where it’s often trigged by someone going too far as she either becomes defensive or react badly to something.

The film is also prominent with its sexual content as Alexia is often nude as it relates to her body changing due to her pregnancy with elements of titanium in her body as she desperately tries to conceal her true identity to Vincent. Even as she would shave her head to look more like a man yet there are those who know or around Vincent that are suspicious. Ducournau knows when to keep things simple while fire is often a recurring image in not just a key scene late in the first act but also in what Vincent faces quite often where he is a man that is also troubled by his own body which is why he uses steroids to maintain a physique that is becoming impossible to maintain. The third act isn’t just about these revelations of both Alexia and Vincent’s own physical issues but also this need of two people who are lonely and in need of each other with the former not really knowing what love is and the latter is someone who hasn’t been the same since his son’s disappearance as well as unable to accept the truth of what happened to him. Overall, Ducournau crafts a provocative yet intoxicatingly unsettling film about a serial killer who poses a man to be a companion for a lonely fireman as a way to avoid capture from the authorities.

Cinematographer Ruben Impens does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as its usage of stylish and colorful lights for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night are gorgeous to watch along with the usage of fire as well as aiming for something natural in the daytime scenes. Editor Jean-Christophe Bouzy does amazing work with the editing as it does have some jump-cuts in some scenes including a montage of Alexia transforming herself into a man in disguise. Production designers Laurie Colson and Lise Pesault, with set decorators Axelle Le Dauphin, Emmanuelle Olle, and Bruno Taddei, do brilliant work with the look of the car show as well as some of the places that Alexia goes including the fire station that Vincent lives in along with Adrien’s room.

Special effects makeup artists Olivier Alfonso, Amelie Grossier, and Celine Llerena do tremendous work with the film’s make-up effects from the look of Alexia’s scar as well as aspects of her body as it play into the idea of body horror as it is a highlight of the film. Visual effects supervisor Thibault Martegani does excellent work with the film’s minimal visual effects that include a few of the film’s violent moments as well as scenes involving the changes in Alexia’s body. The sound work of Severin Favriau, Fabrice Osinski, and Stephane Thiebaut is superb for its sound in the way the music at the car show is presented as well as other sound effects that range from these small sparse moments as well as some of the intense moments involving Alexia’s body. The film’s music by Jim Williams is phenomenal with its mixture of industrial, electronic music, ambient, orchestral, and vocal choir music as it adds to the drama and horror elements of the film while music supervisor Guillaume Baurez provide a soundtrack that features pieces by the Zombies, the Kills, Future Island, 16 Horsepower, Caterina Caselli, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lisa Abbott, and several others to play into the world that the characters are in.

The casting by Dorothee Auboiron, Christel Baras, Constance Demontoy, and Audrey Gatimel is remarkable as it feature some notable small roles from Thibault Cathalifaud as a fan who gets way too close to Alexia, Bertrand Bonello and Celine Carrere as Alexia’s distant parents, Dominique Frot as an old woman that Alexia as Adrien would save through CPR, Adele Guigue as the young Alexia, and Myriem Akheddiou as Vincent’s estranged ex-wife who meets Adrien with some suspicions of her own. Lais Salameh is fantastic as Vincent’s fellow young fireman Rayane who is suspicious about Adrien while chooses to keep things to himself knowing about Vincent’s fragile state. Garance Marillier is excellent as a showgirl named Justine that Alexia briefly has a relationship with as it later becomes problematic.

Vincent Lindon is incredible as Vincent as a middle-aged firefighter who is struggling to maintain a strong physique as he believes he has his son back as it plays into his own loneliness but also a tenderness into how patient he is with Adrien while dealing with the dangers of his own job as he clings to Adrien. Finally, there’s Agathe Rousselle in a phenomenal performance as Alexia as a showgirl who is also a serial killer as a woman that feels more connected through cars and violence as she copes with the lack of love until she meets Vincent where Rousselle maintains this stoic physicality around him where it is this eerie and intense performance from Rousselle.

Titane is an outstanding film from Julia Ducournau that features great performances from Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon. Along with its ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, an eerie music soundtrack, and its uncompromising presentation towards physical ideas as well as love and loneliness. The film is definitely not for the faint of heart as it is a film that intends to shock as well as so much more yet it is also a film that isn’t afraid to be disgusting and repulsive in its idea of body imagery and desires. In the end, Titane is a magnificent film from Julia Ducournau.

Julia Ducournau Films: (Mange) - Raw (2016 film)

© thevoid99 2021

Films That I Saw: September 2021

 

Autumn has arrived and honestly, this is where the real heavy-duty film watching season truly begins as I’m a bit excited about it while still aware of some of the bullshit that is happening around the world. Even here in the U.S. as there’s still a bunch of stupid anti-vaxxers who really have no clue to the fact that the pandemic is not over and they’re the ones keeping it going. George Carlin was right, never underestimate a group of stupid people as they will just make things worse. I’m just glad I choose not to be around morons though I see them every now and then whenever I’m out to a restaurant or to get groceries as I’m always taking my mother somewhere as she is currently overseeing a new paint job for our house.

One of the things I’ve been able to enjoy aside from my time with my niece and nephew is professional wrestling as All Elite Wrestling didn’t just deliver one of the best pay-per-view events of the year but followed it up with a major event in New York City as they performed in front of more than 20,000 people at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens for an episode of AEW Dynamite and a taping of AEW Rampage as it featured one of the best matches I saw this year between Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson that went into a 30-minute draw. The fact that AEW is making fans love pro wrestling again is proof that wrestling fans are now part of a newfound renaissance period and it’s not just in AEW. NWA, Impact, Ring of Honor, the hardcore GCW, AAA in Mexico, and New Japan Pro Wrestling have managed to provide that sense of joy again as well as bring in wrestling fans together instead of being forced to watch three hours of bad TV every Monday on the USA Network from 8 PM to past 11.

It’s not just that there’s so much going on in pro wrestling that is good but also in the actions of these companies as AEW has been doing a lot of incredible charitable work yet the biggest news in recent weeks involves their work with the Owen Hart Foundation. Now Bret Hart maybe in my top 5 all-time favorite wrestlers along with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Eddie Guerrero, CM Punk, and Randy Savage yet Owen was my favorite of the Hart family as I just enjoyed his ring work and exuberant personality as his tragic death in 1999 is something I still never got over. Yet the revelations about what happened on the night of his death were far more troubling as the years of anger towards his widow for not allowing WWE to honor his legacy subsided once the truth came out as I don’t blame her for not wanting to do anything with that shithole. The fact that she and AEW are working together in an act of charity and to honor Owen’s name made me elated while there will be an upcoming tournament named in his honor as it’s something I look forward to. It is proof that AEW is putting their money where their mouth is and bring some good in the world instead of using charity as a form of marketing like that shit-hole slop-shop at Stamford.

In the month of September, I saw a total of 25 films 14 first-timers and 11 re-watches with five of those first-timers directed by women as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. Slightly down from last month yet it was a solid month as a major highlight of the month is my Blind Spot film in Pixote. Here are my top 5 first-timers that I saw for September 2021:

1. Annette

2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 

 

 3. Emma

4. Lisztomania 

 

 5. Just Mercy

 

Monthly Mini-Reviews/What Else I’m Watching

Twenty Something

The first of two short films from SparkShorts series that I watched on Disney+ where the first short is from Aphton Corbin as it a simple short film about growing pains. It is about a woman turning 21 yet she is presented as three young kids in different ages and emotions as they deal with being this new age and becoming an adult. It is a touching and witty short film that is definitely spot about the fear of being an adult and letting go that aspect of childhood. It is an incredible short film that is full of humor but has a lot of heart.

Genesis: The Last Domino?

Genesis has just started what might be their last tour and it is really likely that it is their last largely due to Phil Collins’ health and the fact that he, guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, and keyboardist Tony Banks are in or nearing their 70s. With longtime guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer playing, the live band consists of two backing vocalists in Daniel Pearce and Patrick Smyth who both contribute percussions with Phil’s son Nic playing drums solely this time around. The documentary about this upcoming tour that just began more than a week ago showcases Collins’ struggle to sound right for this tour as he is unable to move around except in sitting on a chair and sing. It also shows that a lot of the preparation for the tour has taken a mental toll on him due to his personal issues relating to his ex-wife with the band and his son being really helpful as it’s something for fans of Genesis as the recent shows have been well-received as the band have been playing a lot of songs from various periods including the songs that Peter Gabriel sang.

Pauline





One of two short films from Celine Sciamma that I saw as the first one (thanks to Brittani of Rambling Films for finding me this one) is a simple seven-minute short where the camera is still for a long time as a young woman talks about her sexual identity. Shot in one entire take, the film that was made for a government program to combat homophobia as Sciamma’s short allows Anais Demoustier to talk about her struggles and her desire to find happiness as it is really a gem of a short film that fans of Sciamma need to watch.

La Coupe Bernard Tapine

A two-minute documentary short film from Sciamma that is really a tribute to her favorite women’s football club in France. Though it is really short, it does say a lot about the culture of football in France as well as what it means to women who do have a league of their own even though it’s small in comparison to the big football league in France. Still, it is a short worth watching on the link above as it proves that Sciamma is a true visionary.

When Nirvana Came to Britain





Given that September 24 is the 30th anniversary of a bunch of landmark albums from 1991 such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Bloodsugarsexmagik, A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica (in the U.K.), Pixies’ Tromp Le Monde, and Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger. It is also the day Nirvana’s Nevermind came out as it would be the album that changed music culture as this documentary film from the BBC about the band’s relationship with Britain and how the country was able to discover them first before American audiences did. Featuring interviews with bassist Krist Novoselic, drummer Dave Grohl, radio deejays Jo Whiley and Steve Lamcq, Eugene Kelly of the Vaselines, Ana da Silva of the Raincoats, Biffy Clyro vocalist Simon Neil, the band’s U.K. touring dancer Antony “Tony” Hodgkinson, and many others.

The film showcases how the band first came to Britain in late 1989/early 1990 and the buzz they attracted during a time when British popular culture was trying to find a new identity in the decade. The film also showcases a lot of moments where vocalist/guitarist Kurt Cobain was quite happy as well as the fact that their legendary 1992 performance at the Reading Festival would be their last U.K. appearance as the band never played the U.K. following Cobain’s death 2 years later. It is not just something that fans of the band should see but also music fans as it showcased how this small band from Aberdeen, Washington would change the world for a bit as Grohl has managed to maintain relationships with those people that helped Nirvana become a big deal in the U.K. through his work as part of the Foo Fighters.

Nona

The second SparkShorts film that I watched on Disney+ is another touching and winning short film as it’s about an old woman wanting to watch a wrestling show when her granddaughter appears all of a sudden. Torn between two things that she loves, she eventually finds a way to bring them both together as it’s something that is a lot of fun while it also has a lot of heart as it’s a short that fans of pro wrestling can definitely enjoy but also relate to their own grandparents or their grandchildren.

Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James

While he’s known more lately for things he said on Dave Chappelle’s show through the stories from the late, great Charlie Murphy. There is no question that Rick James was one of the greatest artists that ever lived despite his troubles with drug addiction and such. Still, the documentary showcases his artistry with interviews from his widow, his eldest daughter from his first marriage, and various band members as they talk about the highs and lows along with his battles with MTV for not playing his videos. Even as he struggled with drugs as it is entertaining but also sobering of a man who was unable to cope with his demons.

What If…? (Episodes 4-8)

The next five episodes in the season so far definitely show some major highlights as the fourth episode about Doctor Strange dealing with loss as it features some of the show’s best animation. The fifth and sixth episode were also inventive as the fifth one is about the Avengers dealing with zombies while the sixth explore the possibility of what if Tony Stark was saved by Killmonger who would later conspire to create trouble for the Wakandans and SHIELD. The seventh episode about Thor being an only child is entertaining as it is filled with some hilarious moments including Loki presented as a Frost Giant as he and Thor have this mischievous relationship while Darcy marries Howard the Duck. The most recent episode about the idea of Ultron winning is the weakest so far yet it does showcase what happens if Ultron had access to the Infinity Stones and how it ends up creating trouble for the Watcher character. It is definitely an excellent show with one more episode coming to end the season.

Dark Side of the Ring (season 3-episodes 8 & 9)

Being a fan of pro wrestling and this series from VICE TV, I knew fans were about to get into some serious stories and the most recent episodes so far are intense. The eighth episode is about the infamous Plane Ride from Hell in which a bunch of WWE wrestlers are flying home from Britain to the U.S. where a bunch of bad shit happened including Curt Henning wrestling Brock Lesnar on a plane following a prank, a drunken Dustin Rhodes serenading his ex-wife Terri to great embarrassment, pranks involving Michael P.S. Hayes and JBL, a regrettable incident involving an intoxicated Scott Hall trying to make a pass towards a stewardess, and Ric Flair wearing nothing but his robe and flashing everyone while trying to flirt with that same stewardess. Henning and Hall were fired for their actions while Flair got a pass because of who he is as it really represented on a culture that never should be re-lived again as Flair has recently lost some commercial opportunities including a rumored spot in AEW as Andrade El Idolo’s manager.

The other episode on Chris Kanyon is a heartbreaking episode as it relates to a wrestler who didn’t get enough credit for his work in the ring yet he was a man that had a lot of personal issues including the fact that he was secretly gay. Featuring interviews with James Mitchell, Diamond Dallas Page, the Young Bucks, and Brian Cage, the episode revealed the man’s struggle and his anger as well as events that really destroyed his career including an unfortunate segment on WWE Smackdown in 2003 where he was dressed up as Boy George singing to the Undertaker only to be beaten horrifically with a steel chair. Years later, Kanyon would struggle with his demons as well as eventually coming out and sadly his own suicide in 2010 as he is someone that never got a fair treatment during a time when homosexuality was seen as taboo in professional wrestling as the industry has now changed for the better with a lot of openly-gay wrestlers being celebrated.

Top 10 Re-watches (that isn’t Lost in Translation)

1. Mirror

2. The Darjeeling Limited

3. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

4. Big

5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

7. The Mummy

8. I Love You, Man

9. The Mummy Returns

10. Major League II

Well, that is all for September 2021. Next month is October which is often the time to watch films relating to Halloween which means a lot of horror films as I’ve made a watchlist on the films I hope to watch for the month. A few of which will include theatrical releases such as Titane, Last Night in Soho, and Dune and hopefully No Time to Die as that’s a film I hope to watch with my mother as a tribute to my dad who was a big James Bond fan. One film in that list is a Blind Spot film as it will be Perfect Blue as it’s usually a fun time to watch scary movies as I hope to introduce my niece and nephew to some animated Halloween-based films that aren’t scary but fun. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2021

Just Mercy

 

Based on the memoir Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy is the story of a young attorney who takes on an appeals case of a man accused of murder as he deals with the many injustices that this man has dealt with. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and screenplay by Cretton and Andrew Lanham, the film is based on the real life story of Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian who was falsely accused of murder in Alabama where his attorney in Bryan Stevenson tries to prove his innocence as Michael B. Jordan portrays Stevenson with Jamie Foxx as McMillian. Also starring Brie Larson, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, and Rafe Spall. Just Mercy is a riveting and heart-wrenching film from Destin Daniel Cretton.

Spanning from November of 1986 to March of 1993, the film follows the wrongful arrest and conviction of Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian over the murder of a young white woman in Ronda Morrison as he would be represented three years later by an idealist young attorney from Delaware in Bryan Stevenson who would do what he can to exonerate McMillian and prove his innocence. It’s a film with a simple premise yet it is more about a young man dealing with a world that he doesn’t know much of despite having to deal with the prejudices that he also faces as an African-American. The film’s screenplay by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham is straightforward as it opens with McMillian’s arrest after a hard day’s work cutting trees as he’s accused of killing this young white woman as the film then pushes a couple of years later where Stevenson meets a young convict just before Stevenson is officially an attorney where it is a scene that establishes the idealism that follows him and his determination to make things right in the unforgiving environment that is the American South in Monroe County in Alabama.

The script also play into Stevenson not only focusing on McMillian and trying to gain his support as well as the support of his family but also look into the cases of others including a former war veteran in Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan) who is suffering from PTSD as Stevenson tries to save him from execution. Aiding Stevenson in these cases include a local in Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) who helps him find the Equal Justice Initiative as she is disgusted by not just the racism in her home state but also the indifference of prosecutor Tommy Chapman (Rafe Spall) who declines to help Stevenson out in favor of protecting the state. While Stevenson was able to get an alibi from a family friend of McMillian who later backs out, the script shows Stevenson’s determination where he questions another prisoner in Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson) where some major revelations occur about why McMillian was convicted as it leads to major challenges for Stevenson to free McMillian.

Cretton’s direction is largely straightforward to play into its grounded presentation about a real-life story. While the film is set in Alabama and shot partially in Montgomery, much of it is shot on location in and around parts of Atlanta to play into the look and feel of late 1980s/early 1990s Alabama. Cretton does make the locations feel like a world of its own with prison cells also being characters as it is this place of fear where Stevenson has to endure some humiliation in his first visit in Alabama by stripping down where Cretton brings that sense of claustrophobia in the medium shots and close-ups. The usage of those shots add to the prison cell where McMillian is alone with Richardson next door to him on the left and another in Anthony Ray Hinton (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) who was also wrongly convicted. Cretton does use some wide shots to showcase some of the locations including images of trees during a scene where McMillian offer words of comfort to Richardson in one of his PTSD moments.

Cretton also play into this air of racism that is prominent in Alabama where Stevenson is an outsider of sorts as he does get a closer look of what it’s like being a black man in Alabama where a lot of the cops and local authorities are white. Cretton doesn’t paint them as typical villains as a young guard in Jeremy Doss (Hayes Mercure) becomes more sympathetic towards McMillian while the revelations about Myers showcase the similarities towards those who live below the poverty line as he too is a victim. The first act is about Stevenson’s idealism and his attempts to try and get McMillian a retrial while the second act is about these revelations and this retrial for McMillian. Yet, there’s this third act where Cretton goes into deep into the many injustices towards McMillian but also for black men as well as Chapman’s role who is someone disconnected from what is really going on as he has to deal with the status quo who are resistance towards change. Overall, Cretton crafts an engaging and evocative film about a young attorney who tries to free a wrongly-convicted man of murder in Alabama.

Cinematographer Brett Pawlak does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lights for many of the interior/exterior scenes at night as well as some understated colors for some of the daytime exterior scenes. Editor Nat Sanders does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few jump-cuts to play into some of the film’s intensely-dramatic moments. Production designer Sharon Seymour, with set decorator Maggie Martin and art director Peter Borck, does amazing work with the look of the house that Stevenson and Ansley bought as their headquarters as well as the look of the jail cells the prisoners live in and the court rooms. Costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with some of the refined clothes of McMillian’s family during the trials and church scenes along with the expensive suits that Chapman wears. Makeup artist Bridgit Crider and hair stylist Crystal Woodford do terrific work with the look of McMillian early in the film as it played into the period of the times along with the look of Ansley in her ragged yet simple look.

Special effects supervisor Nicholas Coleman and visual effects supervisor Chris LeDoux do some fine work with the special effects as it is largely set-dressing for some of the film’s locations along with a few scenes in the prison. Sound editors Onnalee Blank and Katy Wood do superb work with the film’s sound as it help play into the tense atmosphere of the prisons as well as some of its sparse moments and scenes in some of the locations in the film. The film’s music by Joel P. West does wonderful work with the film’s music score as it features elements of orchestral music with some gospel to play into the world that is the American South while music supervisor Gabe Hilfer cultivate a soundtrack that largely features elements of soul, gospel, rock, and R&B as it features pieces from Martha and the Vandellas, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Alabama Shakes, Hilton Felton, Sister Emily Braum, The Mighty Indiana Travelers, Atlantic Starr, Ella Fitzgerald, and a few others.

The casting by Carmen Cuba and Tara Feldstein is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Rhoda Griffs as a judge late in the film, Norm Lewis as the voice of a newscaster, Hayes Mercure as the young prison guard Jeremy Doss who becomes sympathetic towards McMillian during the film as he realizes that McMillian is innocent, Dominic Bogart as Eva’s husband Doug, C.J. LeBlanc as McMillian’s son John, Karen Kendrick as McMillian’s wife Minnie, Darrell Britt-Gibson as a family friend in Darnell who has an alibi for McMillian only to be spooked by the authorities, and Michael Harding as the racist Sheriff Tate who doesn’t care if McMillian is innocent as he is someone trying to instill his authority. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is fantastic as Anthony Ray Hinton as a wrongfully-convicted man who is a cell-neighbor of McMillian as he believes that Stevenson is a man of hope as Stevenson also tries to help him with his own case.

Rafe Spall is superb as Tommy Chapman as a prosecutor who is unwilling to help Stevenson as he would be the opposition as a political figure who is trying to protect his own community while dealing with the fallout of his own actions. Tim Blake Nelson is excellent as the convict Ralph Myers as a white man who made the claim that he saw McMillian commit the murder as he makes some startling revelations where Nelson provides some chilling monologues and moments that showcases a man who had been used as a pawn for a cruel system. Rob Morgan is amazing as the convicted war veteran Herbert Richardson as a man who suffers from PTSD as he awaits his execution as he hopes to save as his performance is heartbreaking to watch as someone who is consumed with guilt while coping about his own fate. Brie Larson is brilliant as Eva Ansley as a local who becomes Stevenson’s right-hand woman as well as a mother who is aware that she is targeted while also doing what she can to help as well as give Stevenson an understanding of the cruelty that is Alabama and the American South.

Jamie Foxx is tremendous as Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian as a man who is wrongly accused of murder as he is skeptical of Stevenson’s intentions due to past attempts by others as he also copes with the many challenges in getting a retrial where Foxx is just understated in his performance as well as a man who clings on to hope knowing that truth can save him. Finally, there’s Michael B. Jordan in a phenomenal performance as Bryan Stevenson as a Harvard-graduate attorney from Delaware who moves to Alabama with ideas to change the world only to deal with some reality that is intense yet Jordan maintains that determination of someone who wants to do what is right as well as understand his own identity as a black man in the South who is just trying to make a small change to a cruel world as it is a career-defining performance for Jordan.

Just Mercy is a sensational film from Destin Daniel Cretton that features great performances from Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson. Along with its ensemble cast, understated presentation, an engaging music soundtrack, and its exploration of racism and injustice in the American South. It is a film that manages to explore a young man trying to save another man from injustice while also learning about what to do to combat hate in a world that is prejudice and resistant to change. In the end, Just Mercy is a phenomenal film from Destin Daniel Cretton.

Destin Daniel Cretton Films: (I Am Not a Hipster) – Short Term 12 - (The Glass Castle (2017 film)) – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

© thevoid99 2021

2021 Blind Spot Series: Pixote

 

Based on the novel A Infancia dos Mortos (The Childhood of the Dead Ones) by Jose Louzeiro, Pixote is the story of a young boy who is used by corrupt military and police officials to commit crimes and smuggle drugs as a means to survive in the chaotic lower-class area of Brazil. Directed by Hector Babenco and screenplay by Babenco and Jorge Duran, the film is a look into the world of corruption where a young boy tries to survive a world that is intense and brutal as the titular character is played by Fernando Ramos da Silva. Also starring Jorge Juliao, Gilberto Moura, and Edilson Lino. Pixote is a gripping and haunting film from Hector Babenco.

The film revolves around the journey of a ten-year old boy who is part of a number of juvenile delinquents who is taken to a reformatory center as he endures a lot of horrors where he would escape with a few other young men and go into a world of crime. It is a film with a simple premise yet it explores the life of a young boy who encounters a lot of what is going on during a period of Brazil’s rule under a military dictatorship where he does what he can to survive. The film’s screenplay by Hector Babenco and Jorge Duran is largely straightforward in its narrative as it follows the many ordeals of Pixote as a boy who had been captured by the police and is sent to this reformatory center where kids would be raped by older kids while they do drugs and all sorts of shit. The first act largely takes place in this reformatory center where Pixote has to accept the new reality he’s in to keep himself out of trouble while he befriends the stoner Fumaca (Zenildo Oliveira Santos), the transgender hooker Lilica (Jorge Juliao), the intense Dito (Gilberto Moura), and Chico (Edilson Lino).

The second act following a riot and later an escape over the deaths of a few kids by corrupt police officials, Pixote, Lilica, Dito, and Chico go to Sao Paulo to become street thieves and later meet a former lover of Lilica in the drug dealer Cristal (Tony Tornado) who gives them a chance to deal with a showgirl in Debora (Elke Maravilha) in Rio de Janeiro where things don’t exactly go well where they return to Sao Paulo where the film’s third act has them teaming with a prostitute in Sueli (Marilia Pera). These trips and encounters that Pixote would have that include moments of violence has him dealing with growing up too fast but also losing so much of his innocence in a world that is just unruly and cruel.

Babenco’s direction is definitely intense in terms of presentation as it has this documentary-like feel to maintain this air of realism of what is happening during this period of military dictatorship in Brazil in its final years. Shot on various locations in Brazil including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Babenco does use wide and medium shots to establish the locations but often maintains an intimacy with the usage of the latter and close-ups including scenes at the reformatory bedrooms where it does feel cramped and over-crowded. Even as Babenco would use the wide shots for some of the exteriors where it doesn’t feel as crowded but there is this air of decay in the building but also an air of hopelessness despite the fact that there’s a few people who at least are trying to be fair despite some awful people living in that building. Notably in a scene where Lilica is having to dance in front of a group of men and is berated with a lot of homophobic and transphobic slurs at him. Babenco also uses a lot of hand-held cameras that include these wide shots of Pixote, Dito, and Chico stealing purses and wallets from people walking in the streets of Sao Paulo.

Babenco also play up the reality of what Brazil is outside of this postcard imagery of gorgeous beaches and vibrancy despite a scene at the beach where Pixote, Chico, and Lilica are thinking about the future and what to do if they succeed. Yet, each act would end with tragedy and violence as the end of the second act has Pixote committing his first murder out of rage, grief, and feeling cheated. It is where Babenco returns to this reality of slums as it is a reflection of what Brazil really is where people live in decayed and poor homes where Pixote and his friends would stay with Sueli. It is a world that is unforgiving but there’s also something lively about it though it also has this tension of what Lilica realizes knowing that he can’t be part of this world while being aware he doesn’t fit in with the conventions of society. For Pixote, the events in the third act are revelations of who he is but also this air of uncertainty for young kids like him who don’t come from stable homes and are forced to fend for themselves. Overall, Babenco crafts an unsettling yet rapturous film about a young boy trying to survive the cruel world of reformatories and crime in Brazil.

Cinematographer Rodolfo Sanchez does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of grainy film stock to maintain a sense of realism as well as interior/exterior scenes at night that has some vibrancy in the presentation while maintaining its gritty tone. Editor Luiz Elias does excellent work with the editing as it has elements of style in some jump-cuts and slow-motion bits as it adds to the drama and the film’s intense presentation. Art director Clovis Bueno does fantastic work with the look of Sueli’s home including her bedroom as well as the home of Cristal and the interiors of the room where the kids sleep at the reformatory. Costume designer Carminha Guarana is terrific as it play up the ragged look of the kids along with some of the more lavish clothing of Cristal and the sleazy look of Sueli.

The makeup work of Josefina “Nena” de Oliveira is wonderful to not just play into Lilica’s own look at times to look feminine but also the look of Sueli to play up her sleazy presentation. The sound work of Hugo Gama is superb as it help play up the atmosphere of the locations as well as how music sounds from a radio and the way sounds of angry kids are presented during the reformatory riot. The film’s music by John Neschling is amazing for its understated and plaintive piano-based orchestral score that play into the drama and a lot of the terror that Pixote encounters while the music soundtrack features an array of music ranging from rock, pop, and disco as it plays into the chaotic world that Pixote and his friends live in.

The film’s marvelous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Joao Jose Pompeo as the dirty cop Almir, Israel Feres David as the cripple delinquent who is also a singer, Jardel Filho as a reformatory center superintendent who is trying to maintain control as he’s a man that means well despite some of his motives, Claudio Bernardo as a young delinquent in Garatao who was Lilica’s lover, Tony Tornado as a flamboyant drug dealer in Cristal who was one of Lilica’s former lovers, Zenildo Oliveira Santos as the stoner delinquent Fumaca whom Pixote befriends early in the film, and Elke Maravilha as a showgirl whom Dito does a deal with as it would up going very badly. Edilson Lino is fantastic as Chico as a young delinquent that Pixote befriends as he takes part in the world of crime where he hopes he can become a successful criminal. Marilia Pera is excellent as the prostitute Sueli as a woman who is seen as a maternal figure for Pixote despite her alcoholism and cruel demeanor at times where she brings tension within the group as it relates to Lilica.

Gilberto Moura is brilliant as Dito as a mid-teen delinquent who is good at futbol as he becomes Lilica’s new lover only to be more interested in women and crime as he becomes the leader of the gang. Jorge Juliao is amazing as Lilica as a transgender delinquent/prostitute who ventures into the world of crime and acts like an older brother to Pixote while dealing with Sueli’s presence as he feels threatened by her in how she gets Dito’s attention. Finally, there’s Fernando Ramos da Silva in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as this ten-year old boy who endures cruelty, abuse, and uncertainty as he embarks on this treacherous journey where he’s forced to grow up too fast while coping with innocence loss as da Silva just exudes a lot of the anguish and curiosity of this character that adds a lot of realism to his performance.

As part of the 2020 dual-disc box set in the third volume of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project with five other films, the Region A Blu-Ray/Region 1 DVD set presents the film in a newly restored 4K digital transfer with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack for the Blu-Ray release in its 1:85:1 aspect ratio as it shares the disc with the film Dos Monjes and its special features. The special features on both the DVD and Blu-Ray feature a three-and-a-half minute introduction by Martin Scorsese about the film’s restoration as he talks about a lot of what the film needed as its restoration was overseen by the World Cinema Project in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna and permission from the family/estate of Hector Babenco with work from cinematographer Rodolfo Sanchez and one of the film’s original sound engineers in Jose Luis Sasso, along with sound editor Beto Ferraz, who helps restore the sound mixing for the film while Scorsese discuss the film’s impact upon its release and how it served as an international breakthrough for Babenco.

For its U.S. release back in the early 80s, Babenco creates a two-minute prologue about the film with his star Fernando Ramos da Silva to discuss the conditions that the children in Brazil were living in at the time as well as the harsh realities they’re forced to deal with da Silva seen at his home where he lives in a small shack with nine other siblings. The 22-minute featurette on Hector Babenco are excerpts from a March 25, 2016 interview for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Visual History Program Collection just months before his death on July 13, 2016. Babenco talks about his early life as well as his love for cinema as well as his early films prior to Pixote. Babenco also talks about the film as well as his approach to directing the young actors at the time as he admitted that it wasn’t easy to gain their trust but also showed what he had to do as it gave him a lot of confidence in the story he wanted to tell.

The essay on the film entitled Pixote: Out in the Streets by Stephanie Dennison who is a cultural professor and author at the University of Leeds discusses not just the historical context of Brazil when the film was made but also the film culture at the time where some of its premier filmmakers such as Glauber Rocha and Joao Silverio Trevisan were either exiled or forced to make films that weren’t good despite the landmark films they made for the country in the past. Babenco’s role for Brazilian cinema, even though he was born in Argentina, would play into this growing change in Brazil’s political landscape as the years of military dictatorship is coming to an end. Dennison talks about the film and its production as well as the contribution of acting coach Fatima Toledo who was also an instrumental figure in two other landmark Brazilian films in Central Station and City of God who would be the one to help coach the young actors for Babenco’s film.

Dennison also talks about the film in general as well as the struggles that the titular character goes through along with his friends in a world where they live on the fringes of society as kids are often targeted by corrupt policeman who just want to maintain this sense of control. The film’s initial release in Brazil was received with mixed reviews as Babenco was criticized by the left for not doing more to explore the social issues in the film as Babenco stated he is not interested in politics. Despite its mixed reaction in Brazil, the film would win a lot of international critic’s prizes at various film festivals and would give Babenco the chance to make bigger films outside of Brazil including Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ironweed, and At Play in the Fields of the Lord. Babenco would return to Brazil in the late 90s as the country would go into its own period of change but also cope with the things that Babenco told in his breakthrough film still remains as the country is currently another social state of disarray.

Pixote is a tremendous film from Hector Babenco that features a great leading performance from the late Fernando Ramos da Silva. Along with its ensemble cast, gritty visuals, themes of uncertainty in an unforgiving environment, and a somber music score. The film is definitely an unflinching and haunting film that explores a young boy dealing with a world that is cruel as he’s forced to go into crime as a means to survive while dealing with his own loss of innocence. In the end, Pixote is a magnificent film from Hector Babenco.

Hector Babenco Films: (O Fabuloso Fittipaldi) – (King of the Night) – (Lucio Flavio) – Kiss of the Spider Woman - (Ironweed) – (At Play in the Fields of the Lord) – (Foolish Heart) – (Carandiru) – (El Pasado) – (Words with God) – (My Hindu Friend)

© thevoid99 2021

Thursday Movie Picks: Femme Fatales

 

For the 38th week of 2021 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. We go into the subject of femme fatales as women who will make men do anything as well as get them into all sorts of trouble. It’s common in the world of film noir as well as in other modern-day films. Here are my three picks:

1. Out of the Past

Jane Greer’s performance as Kathie Moffat is definitely the archetype of what a femme fatale is as she is someone that Robert Mitchum’s character is asked to find yet he ends up falling in love with her as she ends up being more trouble than he realizes. Notably as she is someone who plays innocent and make claims about her boyfriend in Kirk Douglas who eventually realizes that he is being played for a fool. It is a film that is filled with a lot of twists and turns as it is a must for anyone wanting to discover film noir.

2. The Long Goodbye

Robert Altman’s radical take on Raymond Chandler’s novel that features an inventive and stylized script by Leigh Brackett play up the world of film noir as it revolves around a detective trying to solve the murder of his friend’s wife and his friend’s suicide as it is an offbeat take on the noir. Nina Van Pallandt’s performance as Eileen Wade isn’t a typical femme fatale as she is someone who is just as mysterious while also knowing a lot more that is happening. It is an unusual take on that stock character while she also has some amazing scenes with the film’s lead in Philip Marlowe played with such wit by Elliott Gould.

3. Brick

Rian Johnson’s feature-film debut is probably one of the finest gems of the 2000s as it is the film that marked Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ascent into an unconventional leading man but it is also a noir film set in a high school in the world of social circles and drugs. The femme fatale in the character of Laura played by Nora Zehetner is also a unique take on that stock character as she is someone high up on the social circle but also knows how to navigate her way to get what she wants while making Gordon-Levitt’s character go deeper into the underground world of drugs and violence. She does bring up this air of innocence and exotic presence but there is also so much more in what Zehetner does with the character right till the end.

© thevoid99 2021