#120. Killer of Sheep - Review

Written and directed by Charles Burnett while attending UCLA’s film department, Killer of Sheep (1977) forgoes cinematic snobbery for poetic sincerity, creating a narrative masterpiece that defies Aristotelian conventions and instead focuses on the beautiful flourish of the human soul. While the film’s lack of structure may be mistaken for simplicity, Killer of Sheep is anything but, creating a sorrowful and frustrating look at the senselessness of existence. While excising the convolutions associated with artificial plot, Burnett injects realism uninhibited by circumstance or dulled by excess polish.

The film opens with a father saying to his son, “start learning what life is about now.” Perhaps the only important lesson a man must impart to his child, but in Killer of Sheep it is made clear this is a lesson never completely understood. Stan (Henry G. Sanders) is the father. An African American living in Watts in 1977, Stan is a free man, but like everyone below the poverty line he is still a slave to a life of drudgery. To support his family he works tirelessly in a local slaughterhouse, grinding away day after day in an effort to sustain an existence he tries to appreciate, but cannot enjoy. His wife, played by Kaycee Moore but never given a name, sits patiently by her man’s side as he struggles to come to grips with his state of being. His hurt is her hurt, but what are her options? Her reality is made up of concrete and distracted by friendly gossip and banality, patiently waiting for the rare moments when her man takes her in his arms and allows her soul to enter his. This is a life not built on choices, but only reactions to the confines put upon them by the environment they were born into. Burnett wastes little footage portraying the duties of a slaughterhouse worker, which keeps the obvious subtext of Stan butchering sheep from being too on the nose.  The director’s (perhaps) conscious decision to trust his audience is what elevates the material from common film school pretentiousness to what may only be defined as art.

Those distracted or focusing on the film’s African American base is too easily blinded by the surface. A chronicle of humanity, the color of the protagonists is quickly forgotten, and Stan, the man, the father, the husband, the weak and the strong; only serves as a vessel of thematic assimilation. Who could not see the worried concerns of their own father in Stan’s tired eyes, or the face of their mother desperately trying to connect with her man like Stan’s wife? Burnett’s sincere portrayal of African American life made the film important, but the director’s singular ability to capture this brotherhood of mortality for which we are all members of is what makes this film powerful. Burnett’s film succeeds at capturing the simplistic languor of life. The mundane realities invisible to all of those forced to experience them is showcased in Killer of Sheep as poetically as the moments that come to define one’s own existence.

Also, I do realize my posts have been few and far between as of late, and I apologize. With school quickly ramping up towards the end of the summer I have to keep my priorities straight, and sadly CU must take a backseat to everything else. I will do my best to post, but don't expect much until the end of the semester in the middle of May. Til then keep leaving comments and sharing the site! 

#119. Play it Again, Sam - Review

Perhaps Humphrey Bogart is not the most sensible of personas to model one’s self after, especially if that someone is a nebbish New York intellectual who is most comfortable in a dark crowded movie house. Where Bogey was the handsome ladies man that covered his obvious sentimentality with a brash cynicism, Felix is a timid, insecure cinefile that desperately tries to mask his inhibitions with self-abasement. Woody Allen’s Allen Felix could possibly be considered an elitist if it wasn’t for his humorous inability to control his somewhat constant grade school like sexual urges. Seriously, if this were a Roman comedy Allen would be playing a half man – half goat.

Felix is the genesis of Allen’s self-reflexive protagonists. The character’s self-obsession and anxiety would be later built upon and perfected by the time he wrote and directed the award winning Annie Hall (1977), but this early manifestation of Allen’s own personal disabilities clearly lays the ground work for what was to come. Who else but Woody Allen could create a character that is so singularly selfish as to be completely blindsided by the request of a divorce from his wife, and still maintain a level of sympathy from the audience?

There is a fantastic scene in Play it Again, Sam (1972) where the newly divorced Felix attempts to imagine what his ex-wife could be doing with all of her newfound freedom. Where common sense would lead a sane man to dream-up reasonable situations for the ex (e.g. grocery shopping, getting a drink with some friends, washing her dog, etc.), Felix’s daydream quickly escalates into absurdity. His ex, looking far more attractive than earlier in the apartment, rides on the back of a Harley Davidson. She finds safety by wrapping her arms around the bulging chest of the man controlling the hog, who must have been the inspiration for the television game show American Gladiators (1989). Why is it that past lovers always transform into nymphomaniacs as soon they say goodbye and close the door behind them? It reminds me of the great line in Stephen Frears High Fidelity (2000) when John Cusack has a similar hallucination starring his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend and he says, “No woman in the history of the world is having better sex than the sex [she] is having with [him]… in my head.” I can only speculate how Freud would interpret Felix’s manifestations of the muscle head and the Harley, but I am sure it would be both sad and disturbing.

With a film centered on the self-centered, I found myself becoming more and more self-conscious to my own reactions of the film. I will admit the film is successfully funny, but several times throughout the movie the audience I believed to be a member of would leave me behind in fits of maniacal laughter. Hysterical, knee-slapping outbursts would accompany even the most middling punch lines, and my silence quickly instigated insecurity. Why am I not laughing with the rest of the audience, is my sense of humor not as fully evolved as the guy that un-ironically wears a fedora on top of his head? It didn’t help matters when the only joke I laughed at alone was during a conversation about rape, but this isn’t supposed to be about me, it’s about Felix. This isn’t comedy; this is therapy. 

#118. Barry Munday - Review

I am pretty sure I could watch Patrick Wilson read the dollar menu at McDonald’s and I would be in rapture. Barry Munday is one of the few comedies on the actor’s resume, and although not a great film, after watching it I really hope Wilson takes on less dramatic roles in the future. When the womanizing Barry Munday loses his testicles due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, things are only made worse when he finds out that before the accident he may have impregnated a woman he doesn’t even remember having sex with. There is some originality hiding behind 30-years worth of comedic tropes and lazy set-ups, but all in all I really enjoyed this movie. Wilson is committed, and the story takes some unexpected turns that are both funny and sweet. There is a great supporting cast (Malcolm McDowell, Judy Greer, Chloe Sevigny, Christopher McDonald, Cybill Shepherd…) that is given very little to do on screen, and most of the B-plot with Wilson and Sevigny is fumbled and confusing. Check it out though, its on Watch Instantly so there is no reason not to. Let me know what you thought, and please click the “share” button below.

#117. The Maiden Heist - Review

They may be old, but they can still commit felonies with the best of them! Actually a pretty cute story, The Maiden Heist is about three aging security guards at an art museum who must devise a plan to steal their favorite pieces of art before they are transferred to a different museum overseas.  It’s sweet, totally forgettable, and worth a look if you find grumpy old men humor as enjoyable as I do.  William H. Macy, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the only guy who seems dedicated to the film, which is a shame if you consider what Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau could have done with the material. I should also give credit to Marcia Gay Harden, who really invests herself in a thankless roll and is rewarded by easily stealing every scene she shares with the drooping Christopher Walken. This is a harmless, if not completely innocuous film that at best is good background noise. 

How can so much talent make such innocuous drivel? Let me know in the comments section! Oh yeah, and please click the "share" button below and link the site so ControllerUnplugged can get famous buy spinners!

#116. Paul - Review

Paul will go down on my list of films that were almost great. Distracted by its own inspirations, this sci-fi drenched buddy road-trip comedy stars my favorite duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, as they drive around America in an old RV visiting famous UFO hotspots. Along the way they pick up a smartass hitchhiking alien voiced by Seth Rogen, and race to get their new friend to the location where his mothership (or whatever) can grab him and take him home. Along the way they are accompanied by a holly-rolling Christian played by Kristen Wiig, chased by the FBI, and of course, learn something about themselves. With a brilliant premise, Paul quickly trips over its own feet. Cramming as many film references as humanly possible into every frame, eventually the callbacks to E.T., Star Wars, Close Encounters, etc., were just distracting and took me out of the experience. Oh, and it wasn’t that funny. Regular Pegg/Frost director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) could have probably made a better film with the material offered; sadly Greg Mottola proves once again his strength is with characters. 

Agree? Or am I just an angry sci-fi troll? Let me know...

#115. Winter's Bone - Review

Winters Bone is a really clever murder mystery, but that is not what makes it so special. Following Ree (Jennifer Lawrence), the teenage daughter and caretaker of her handicapped mother and two siblings, as she races across the Ozark Mountains to try and find her father. There is a sense of urgency throughout the film that is very palpable. Ree’s father, a local thug and drug-dealer/user, put the family’s house up as collateral for bail and then skips town. Ree has to find him to ensure he shows up to his trial, which is in a week’s time, or they lose the house. While the story is compelling, it is the film’s aesthetic that truly succeeds. Infusing subtle noir touches, director Debra Granik creates a chilling ambience set in a rural Missouri that is beyond frightening. The acting here is spectacular, particularly the transformative Lawrence and the character actor John Hawkes, who gives the performance of his career. More suspenseful than most horror/thrillers that get a theatrical release, Winter’s Bone is soaked in realism; even going so far as to hire non-actors for major roles and filming on location. Hauntingly honest, this film deserves its recognition and should be seen.

#114. Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever - Review

Oh man I did not expect Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever to be this awesome! A die-hard fan (and what seems to be apologist. Why no love?) of the Eli Roth original Cabin Fever, the sequel forges on its own and creates a film that is both wholly different, and completely true to its namesake. Staying away from secluded cabins and forests in general, Cabin Fever 2 instead takes place in small town suburbia. Directed by Ti West, who gave us the tonally perfect film The House of the Devil in 2009, he creates a film that succeeds on its own merits. Funny, gory, raunchy, and brutal, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever is not only a great sequel, but also a wonderful addition to a lacking low-budget horror genre all on its own. Loved it!

Why do I feel like I am the only guy that really liked the first Cabin Fever flick? Let me know in the comments what you thought of the original film, and if you would be interested in watching the sequel. As always, please share the site on your facebook/twitter pages so CU can get some love!