Digital & DVDebut: Madellaine Paxson's creepy, frisky, funny genre piece BLOOD PUNCH

What might you get should you shake together Groundhog Day, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Time Crimes, Scarface, Edge of Tomorrow and Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit? That's some range of styles and genres, I know, and I doubt very much whether all those movies (and one play) were on director Madellaine Paxson's and writer Eddie Guzelian's conscious minds as they came up with the funny, frisky and occasionally ferocious BLOOD PUNCH, the award-winning-at-festivals genre piece currently making its DVD and digital debuts this month. But you've got to hand it to them: the duo has turned out a nifty little movie that would probably make all those other movie-makers, along with that famous French philosopher, duly pleased.

Paxson (shown above) and Guzelian begin their film as our brainiac hero, Milton (Milo  Cawthorn, below, right), awakens into, yes, a nightmare. Then we flash back a bit to the drug rehab center and a support group in which the stories told by the members are about to bore us to death when a new girl named Skyler (Olivia Tennet, below, left) suddenly opens up and changes everything.

We're then whisked off to a mountainside retreat where we meet Skyler's original boyfriend, Russell (the very hot Ari Boyland, below), and all sorts of weird things begin to happen. If M. Sartre insisted that hell was other people, and Groundhog Day indicated that it might consist of constant repetition, Blood Punch combines the two, along with some other ideas, to offer up a quite original little hell of it own.

What distinguishes the movie, in addition to its smart and tingly story, are the especially good performances Ms Paxson draws from her excellent cast.  Cawthorne's nerdiness works well for the humor, but the actor also possesses enough sex appeal and strength to work as the films more-or-less hero, while Tennet is full of sass and naughtiness and enough mystery to keep us guessing.  Boyland -- with his goofy grin, gorgeous body and face, and loose-canon menace -- is a cringe-worthy delight. I wish he'd been given a little more to do.

The movie -- a combo of sci-fi, fantasy, horror and scientific mystery -- is basically a three-hander (which for a time, moves up to five characters). What holds us in thrall most of the way along is the simple question of what is happening here, and why. That the filmmakers manage to pull this off for a full 107 minutes (that's long for this genre) should give you some sense of how special this particular movie is.

From a technical standpoint Blood Punch is well done, too. What special effects there are tend toward the bloody variety, though much of this is used for humor rather than ugliness. And the filmmaker's choice of music is smart and original, as well.

From Midnight Releasing, the film hit DVD and Digital venues as of September 1.

Aping humanity: DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES keeps rebooted franchise firmly on track

Initially, I was disappointed to hear that Matt Reeves was replacing Rupert Wyatt as director of the second in this rebooted and infinitely finer series than any of its predecessors. Although I loved Reeves' Cloverfield (the best modern monster movie of 'em all) but found his remake Let Me In simply unnecessary, Wyatt's record as director (The Escapist and the Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is pretty extraordinary. Still, Reeves (shown below) has come through with a fine and brawny sequel that puts the apes front and center and teaches us that, when it comes to apes -- just like with Christians, Muslims, Jews, Gays, Blacks and what-the-hell, Russians, Romanians and Americans -- there are good ones and there are bad ones.

Oddly, the titles of these two new(er) Apes movies ought to have been reversed. Clearly the first one was the "Dawn" and this new one constitutes the "Rise." But Hollywood has always been pretty terrible regarding handing out movie names, so we shouldn't expect much here. (The penultimate film in this series will probably bear the title, "The End of the Planet of the Apes," while the final film will be called "Return to the Planet of the Apes.") Because Dawn takes place around a decade after the "Simian Plague," as it has come to be called (and which was seen beginning right at the end of Rise), has decimated human kind, the movie sports an apocalyptic look -- all blues and greys and smokey fractures.

The apes are now more or less in charge and can live without the kind of needs -- fuel and electricity and such -- that humans require. Yet the human base that remains in the San Francisco area must somehow get to and make active again the dam that resides in ape territory, which could provide much-needed electrical power. This "quest" pretty much provides the plot of the movie, as well.

It also provides the conflict that arises between the two leading apes -- Caesar (Andy Serkis, above) and Koba (Toby Kebbell, below, left) -- both of whom we met in the earlier film. The former was raised in a loving environment, while the latter was subject to constant abuse for much of his earlier life, and this now marks the enormous difference between the two, as they begin to vie for power.

The humans we meet (shown below, left to right, are Kirk Acevedo, Keri Russell, Jason Clarke, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Enrique Murciano) don't register as strongly as did most of the characters in the earlier "Rise." No fault of the cast, which also includes Gary Oldman (shown at bottom). It's simply that this movie is much more ape-inclined than human: It's the simians' story.

And it's a good one -- fast-moving, exciting, propulsive. If there is nothing here as occasionally joyful or moving as the earlier film (Caesar's last line of dialog, for instance, regarding "home"), this is because "Dawn" is darker in every way. The worst has happened to mankind. We shall see, in the movies that continue this so-far excellent re-boot, if and how humanity struggles to regain a place at the table.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes -- from 20th Century Fox and running two hours and ten minutes -- is (or recently was) playing at a theater near you, in both 3D and 2D (we saw the latter). If you don't catch it now, it'll look plenty fine, come its Blu-ray debut later this year.

Frank Rinaldi's retro SUNDOWNING -- an experimental sci-fi, sleep-inducing thriller -- gets a 3-day run at Anthology Film Archives

The first thing that hit TrustMovies, after watching SUNDOWNING -- the unusual "experimental" film from Chicago-based Frank Rinaldi -- was how oddly retro the entire movie seemed. From its fashions to its often tightly-focused frame, from its "story" (a mere wisp of a thing) to its "effects," which take us back to that much-loved photographic process we used to call posterization -- made use of often in the 1960s-70s, which plays interesting tricks with color and color reversals (see below).

This may very well be intentional on the part of Mr. Rinaldi (the filmmaker is shown below) in order to give his film a kind of timeless -- this-could-be-taking-place-anywhere, past, present or future -- quality. And it works works pretty well in that regard. I only wish more things worked well in the movie, which I gather is trying to combine experimental film with a sort of sci-fi thriller.

I don't usually read any press materials given me about the film in question until after I've watched it. This way I can approach it fresh. After viewing Sundowning and feeling somewhat negative about the experience, I did want to learn more, in case I had perhaps completely missed the boat regarding what the filmmaker was up to. According to the press materials sent out by Anthology Film Archives (AFA), Rinaldi's work "navigates the boundaries between character-driven narrative and experimental filmmak-ing"... while "investigating how non-linear techni-ques and devices can be incorporated into storytelling and conversely how storytelling can facilitate experimental agendas. SUNDOWNING is influenced by neo- and hyper-realist films, but also draws from elements of Technicolor imagery, science fiction, and experimental film and video art." Good enough.

All of the above is understandable and probably commendable. It's the execution that's noticeably lacking. AFA also gives us a rather complete plot analysis, explaining certain things that are not explained within the film. It doesn't matter much, however, because, the plot is so thin and hugely attenuated that within a few minutes, I'm afraid many viewers will be champing at the bit to get on with it.

At the film's beginning, a young Caucasian woman (played by Shannon Fitzpatrick, above), clearly ill, is being looked after by a young Asian woman (Susan Chau, below, right), who is attempting to bring down the former's fever. Who are these people? Clearly the Asian is some sort of caregiver/taker. Later, the formerly sick girl catches sight of herself in the mirror, and... what? Is this surprise? Recall (certainly not total)? Confusion? We don't know.

We do some flower arranging via a TV program, some Yoga moves (above) and then some rock dancing. (Suddenly, with the dancing, there is no sound track. Is this the experimental part comencing, perhaps?) And then we're tucked into bed for the night, followed by an act on the caretaker's part that can only be seen as suspicious, if not hostile. A title card flashes on the screen: END OF DAY 256.

The camera often stays in tight on its subject(s), but there is almost no dialog and no character development here, There's not a hell of a lot of character to begin with: just two women, one active, the other passive, neither of whom exhibits any expression. At around the 40-minute mark, another title card tells us END OF DAY 357. Butterflies, above, are introduced in a big way -- reading about them, seeing them on TV -- and we we think: Ah, metamorphosis! No, not really. At times the sound disappears again, and we begin to wonder: intentional or some kind of glitch?

At the 50-minute mark, things begin to change. Why, we have no idea, and what happens after this (we're at DAY 422 by now) seems suspiciously like bad and/or unbelievable plotting. At least, at this point, events are more frequent. During the first half, things are so slow, repetitive, paltry and boring that sleep seems a possible option. Yet these new events add up to little: a bit of past history that anyone might have experienced, discovering things that probably ought to have been discovered days and days previous, and going back to a learned activity that may not be all that healthy, especially if you like to play with razor blades. Then suddenly we get a blast of books/ pages/words: "Destruction + Reproduction = Construction." Something like that. Though, were it "Abduction + Liposuction = Nip&tuction," I wouldn't have cared.

Now come the visual effects, a more or less riot of images and colors, the best of which has Shannon's maybe-boyfriend putting color all over his face as though it were shaving cream. This begins a section that goes on for almost the remainder of the film and resembles those light shows and special-effect sequences that filmmakers like to throw at us, but usually blending them a bit better into the plot line. Finally we're at end of day 519, which is nearly a year and a half by my count. And we still do not know what is really going on. The movie ends as enigmatically as it began and middled, with yet another title card which I not only figured was coming but even knew what it would say. Shot in Singapore, the credits inform us, the movie might easily have been shot just about anywhere. But maybe there was a tax break offered here.

So, does Sundowning "navigate the boundaries between character-driven narrative and experimental film-making"? Does it "investigate how non-linear techniques and devices can be incorporated into storytelling and conversely how storytelling can facilitate experimental agendas"? Sure, but so do many sci-fi or thriller movies. They use the latest visual techniques and any kind of new ideas they can find or steal, as they try to create something new. Mr Rinaldi takes a rather tired story concept and squeezes it out ultra slowly, and then piles on the visual and non-linear stuff at his conclusion. What's really different about this film is that it moves so slowly and takes so long to tell us so little. But maybe that's why it's experimental. If you want to learn more about the technical aspects of Sundowning, do read this piece that appeared some time back in the Kodak magazine In Camera.

The movie opens this Friday for a three-day run at Anthology Film Archives, as part of its Show and Tell series. Click here for tickets, and here for directions.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL: Nacho Vigalondo's loony, loving sci-fi surprise opens SCN

Think there's not much new in the "space invaders" genre? Think again. Nacho Vigalondo, the young Spanish filmmaker who a few years back brought us the mini-budget but maxi-creative sci-fi thriller TimeCrimes, is back this year with Spanish Cinema Now's opening night selection. This is a wonderfully goofy, funny and inventive movie that takes a very real and imposing invasion from space and turns it into a kind of McGuffin, a red herring that allows this clever and ironic writer/director to explore once again, Spanish style, those eternal verities of sex, love, honor and commitment while making us gasp and laugh, wonder and chuckle. One neat feat of moviemaking is EXTRATERRESTRIAL!

Señor Vigalondo, shown at left, is a man who makes the most of his resources. And while the budget here is a lot bigger than it was for TimeCrimes, it's still small potatoes by most movie-making standards. And yet the filmmaker creates a truly marvelous world in which invaders land (or at least hover), the populace is evacuated (except, of course, for the few characters who plays into the scenario) and... action ensures. Yet that action becomes more and more about everyday occurrences -- jealousy, envy, what's-for-dinner -- rather than the usual "escape-the-aliens" routine. It takes, I would suggest, immense balls to even try something like this -- let alone bring it off as well as does Vigalondo.

How the filmmaker interests us in this, rather than in what we expect to be interested in, is what makes the movie such a little treasure. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the first such topsy-turvy film in the invaders-from-outer-space genre, and as such, as well entertaining the hell out of audiences receptive to something different, is going to be remembered in times to come. For Vigalondo's use of tennis balls alone, the movie is memorable.

Vigalondo has cast his little "game" with a more-than-game cast, and everyone delivers the goods. In the lead role of our just-a-guy hero, Julián Villagrán (two photos up and below) is terrific -- going through change after change, trying to adapt to the invasion of his planet and then of his heart, as he grows closer to the young lady whom he has recently screwed but knows almost nothing about. Played by Michelle Jenner (above) -- quite the little performer who also stars in this year's SCN movie Don't Be Afraid -- this crackerjack actress is practically unrecognizable visually and emotionally from one role to the other.

The film's remaining three characters (small cast!) are handled by Miguel Noguera (as a TV newscaster with a lot of problems), Raúl Cimas (above, with firearm) as Jenner's boyfriend, and especially Carlos Areces (so amazing in last year's SCN hit The Last Circus) as Jenner's next-door-neighbor, the ironically named Ángel. Among his many skills is Vigalondo's ability to subtly foreshadow and then build on it. I won't say anymore -- except that the film's final conversation is delightful: a kind of message about how to live, to perform and maybe even to make movies. And the last shot is simply glorious: a beautiful, low-key, deadpan hoot-and-a-half.

Extraterrestrial will screen twice only during SCN: Friday, Dec. 9 @ 6:15 pm and again Thursday, Dec, 15 @ 9:00 pm. But (he says, with hope in his heart), surely some smart/art distributor will take a chance on this one and give us a larger, longer chance to catch it.

Rupert Wyatt's "Rise" has risen -- and those "Ape" movies will never be the same

Destined, I believe, to become one of the great movie heroes of all time -- and ironically so, since we ought to be rooting for the humans (more of this below) -- Caesar, the chimp from the new RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (shown below and above), is an amazing creation. This is thanks to the work of actor Andy Serkis and the motion-capture of the special effects people. (As a true movie buff, however, you owe it to yourself to see Mr Serkis in a film like The Cottage or the upcoming and generally dreadful Brighton Rock, in which he gives the juiciest performance, just to discover how good this guy can be without special effects.) And the movie itself? Not only does Rise put to shame the rest of of the obvious, obtuse films in the Planet of the Apes franchise, thanks to its immediacy, vibrancy and sheer, near-tactile force, it puts in the shade just about every other summer blockbuster of these past few years.

For those of us who felt that director Rupert Wyatt's last terrific film The Escapist was unduly neglected, this "Rise" is payback indeed, showing that he -- along with his writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (who, together, were among the co-writers of the under-appreciated The Relic) -- is capable of handling mainstream and making it, dear god, so much better than what we are generally offered. (I doubt that the simple line "I am home" has ever seemed so poignant or meaningful.) Handling a variety of genres in a single film -- family film, sci-fi, fantasy, action thriller and animal movie -- after giving us a state-of-the-art prison-break film with The Escapist, Mr. Wyatt, shown at right, may only be beginning to display his array of smart movie-making skills. Just wait.

One thing is certainly clear. The guy loves working with men. In a men's prison movie, this is standard, of course, but his ape movie, too, has surprisingly few females on view -- in the office/business venue or even in the "family," which is made up of only men: son (James Franco, above, right, and at bottom, right), dad (John Lithgow) and then Caesar. Thankfully, the primary woman is played by the gorgeous Frieda Pinto, (above, left) who is given little more to do than look beautiful -- which she handles quite well, of course.

How Wyatt and his team move fluidly from the sci-fi and family story to the animal-in-jeopardy and then into the all-stops-out action finale is extremely well done. Yet when the pace quickens, even the gentler, emotional scenes are handled with more subtlety and tact than we expect. Consequently we're moved when we should be (wait'll you see what Caesar draws on his wall of his cage), and then excited beyond measure as action, emotion and rush-to-justice collide.

Audiences, most of them anyway, will be rooting for the apes against the humans -- which is a very odd position for a human being to find himself. But this movie may be timelier than we know. As America sinks deeper into its morass of greed, stupidity and the utter heedlessness of a people following directives so obviously set by those who have our worst interests at heart, the film should prove a fascinating wake-up call, delivered just a tad too late. Clearly, we are incapable of governing ourselves. Great: Let the apes give it a try.

Rise of the POTA is showing just about everywhere, but the movie's web site only allows Fandango to sell you tickets. So click on the link and see if your favorite theater is included.

Chills, scares & kindness: Brad Anderson's VANISHING ON 7th STREET hits theaters

What a shame that Night Catches Us has already (and so recently!) been used as the title of a movie, one for which its meaning proved abstruse, at best. It would have made the perfect fit for Brad Anderson's new film VANISHING ON 7th STREET, a title that, while place-specific, is little more than prosaic. The actual film, however, is anything but. A truly creepy, frightening, bizarre and oddly moving film about perhaps the ultimate "fear of the dark," this exceedingly swift and smart genre movie delivers the goods on every front,  from concept to execution -- including screenplay (by Anthony Jaswinski), dialog, direction and performances -- with style to spare. And on the kind of low budget that I suspect would send certain other directors into apoplectic fits.

From the time of his breakout indie Next Stop Wonderland through Happy Accidents, Session 9, The Machinist, Transsiberian and now this new one (with the occasional cable TV gig between times), Anderson has been a talented and terrifically diverse filmmaker whom you can count on to provide smart entertainments that often offer something more. Long after seeing one of his films, an idea, a moment, performance, line of dialog or visual memory will come back to haunt you, but pleasantly. The filmmaker has now tackled the rom-com, fantasy, thriller, horror, drama, and sci-fi genres with equal aplomb. If he hasn't come out with the best film in any of these, he always manages a good one. And with Vanishing, he might actually have a "best" on his hands.
 
This unusually chilling movie starts with an almost immediate bang: a disappearance. From there we move extraordinarily quickly into a situation fraught with immediacy and terror. What has happened to others may happen to the folk we're suddenly stuck with and whom we become rather fond of fast. These include Hayden Christensen (above), Thandie Newton (below, right) and Jacob Latimore (below, left) and John Leguizamo (one photo down).

There is also a little girl (Taylor Groothuis, at bottom) who appears to be camping out in a nearby church. How these five connect, interact, help and hinder each other makes the short film (well under 90 minutes, as I recall) work to tremendous effect. If you buy the initial premise, which I will not give away, it is more than easy to go along with just about everything else, and soon you'll be biting your nails to the quick.

So primal is the fear generated by the movie's premise, so skillfully have Anderson and Jaswinski mined it for shock, surprise and detail, and so immediate and full of feeling are the performances of the five principals that I can't imagine being more strongly caught up in a fantasy/sci-fi/horror situation than I was with this one.

Why is this "thing" happening? Is humanity to blame in some -- or many -- ways? Are our survivors guilty because of "survivor guilt," or is something deeper and more individual going on? Much is hinted at but concrete answers never appear, which is just as well. The victims don't have time to ask such questions, and at the speed and pacing on which Anderson insists, we barely do, either. The ending, by the way, is simple, stun-ning and so right. I can't wait for the sequel.


Vanishing on 7th Street opens this Friday, February 18, in New York City at the Village East Cinema. Click here to learn other playdates, cities and theaters around the country.