Some Unexpectedly Good Films and A Couple Tosses

"Bad Words"
starring: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand, Philip Baker Hall, Allison Janney
directed by: Jason Bateman
written by: Andrew Dodge


This film is Jason Bateman's directorial debut. He understands his own strengths, as a newly discovered comedic actor. It's a great showcase for his comedic timing, and it allows him to play a character that's nastier than usual and should be allowed. It's a film that relies heavily on stressed-out exasperation, withering insults (especially towards unsuspecting and undeserving children), and a condescending smugness that is almost too perfect and natural. With all that being said, it is also a film that seems to suffer from a case of schizophrenia, because it wants to be many different things. It's a filthy comedy with outrageous behavior, but then it's a bittersweet, affecting story of a man playing against the odds, on a misguided quest of personal vindication. Unfortunately, the two sides of the story do not come together nicely and you are left laughing in between having your heart melt because you think the character is changing- but it's the personal vindication that is really driving this story and as long as you are okay with that, you won't care that Bateman's character is ultimately a narcissist.

Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) is a man on a mission. Unfortunately, the mission is managing to irritate and confuse everyone in his path. Exploiting a rulebook loophole, Guy has determined to enter a national spelling bee competition intended only for middle-schoolers. The authority figures who run the bee are outraged, but there's nothing they can legally do to stop him. Making matters worse: Guy is entirely too willing to resort to shameless measures to humiliate and defeat the other contestants. However, there's one kid Guy can't seem to irritate: Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), a bright-eyed, friendly fellow who is completely enamored by his foul-mouthed competitor. Over time, Guy begins to show signs of warmth and softness, but never loses his resolve to win the competition. What is driving Guy to this bizarre behavior?

There are parts of the movie which are very clearly rooted in recognizable human emotion. The secret behind Bateman's quest will be pretty obvious to viewers paying even a small amount of attention, but when the scenes of revelation finally arrive, they're delivered with real weight and substance. These aren't the cheap "dramatic" scenes which often serve as filler in comedies like these; these scenes are actually rather moving and superbly-acted. As such, when we shift from these moments to scenes which feel like they're taking place on a whole different plane of reality, the movie suffers.

The relationship between Guy Trilby and the adorable Chaitanya is an interesting piece to the film's success or failure in the viewer's mind. On the one hand, the two actors share terrific chemistry together, and there's an undeniable pleasure to seeing Guy cheerfully corrupt the little kid. The third-act plot developments the film offers subvert some traditional storytelling tropes in a fresh, surprising way. However, there are times when the kid just seems too impossibly precocious in the way that only movie kids can. He exists primarily to warm the heart of Guy and the audience, but he feels artificially manufactured. Even so, Chopra's radiant charisma is so prominent that he makes it tempting to overlook some moments of clunky writing.

Overall, it's a decent escapist film, with plenty of humorous moments for you to appreciate it. 

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"Come Back to Me"
starring: Jon Abrahams, Nathan Keyes, Matt Passmore, Katie Walder, Maureen West
written and directed by: Paul Leyden


Sarah (Katie Walder) and Josh (Matt Passmore) are a clean-cut, all-American couple living a comfortable existence in the suburbs of Las Vegas when one day, a young man named Dale (Nathan Keyes) moves into the house across the street. Socially awkward, Dale takes a liking to Sarah and ends up turning her life upside-down...if only she could figure out how. She keeps having violent dreams and waking up panicked, hyperventilating, disoriented and even a bit bloody. Sometimes she'll be in a completely different place than when she went to sleep, and sometimes she's wearing different clothes. Her doctor friend Leslie diagnoses night terrors and sleepwalking, but Sarah suspects her creepy new neighbor has something to do with it. But how? When she installs a security camera in her bedroom, she receives answers beyond her wildest imagination, but along with them come more questions that plunge her deeper into a waking nightmare.

"Come Back to Me" had great potential to be something new, intriguing, and inventive in a genre that often finds itself plagued with sequels upon sequels or remakes and re-imagings of the same core films and/ore ideas. It comes from a book, in the same genre, and quite honestly, i am more intrigued to read the book, because I'd like to see if it is better.

The performances are flat and rather phoned in. The dialogue is hokey and campy. It honestly looks like it could have fit on cable television, perhaps as a Lifetime movie of the week, if it wasn't for the horror and gore.

Given the film's should-be title, which gives everything away, it is rather unpredictable, until Sarah figures it out for herself.
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"Liberal Arts"
starring: Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, Zac Efron, Elizabeth Reaser, John Magaro, Kate Burton, Robert Desiderio, Kristen Bush
written and directed by: Josh Radnor


Josh Radnor is the type of film writer that knows his audience, much like Zach Braff. They are clearly writing for themselves, but also for those twentysomethings feeling lost or abandoned by the world. Radnor and Braff are excellent filmmakers, in my opinion, because they know how long to wait between laughs and they make comedic films with just enough serious incidents and lines of dialogue to make the characters feel like your friends and the story feel like your own.

Jesse (played by Radnor) is a thirty-five year old college admissions guy, stuck in a rut, especially since his live-in girlfriend moves out and breaks up with him right at the beginning of the film (which begs the question, was she looking for more out of life than he was willing to provide). Just when he needs it, Jesse gets chance to escape the big city life and living when he is asked to speak at one of his favorite professor's retirement party. Jesse heads to Ohio's Kenyon College (which coincidentally is Radnor's actual alma mater) and meets his professor Peter, who quickly introduces him to friends and their 19 year old daughter, a drama major at the college. Elizabeth, nicknamed Zibby (played well by Elizabeth Olsen) is Radnor's version of Braff's Natalie Portman character in "Garden State." She is presented to us as another quintessential manic pixie dream girl- the only problem, and perhaps creepy factor, is that Elizabeth is 19 years old. With Jesse being 35 years old, it presents everyone with the problem of the 16 year old age gap, that's 3 years less than Zibby is old. It makes the connection a bit unbelievable, but hey these relationships happen all the time in the real world, right?

Perhaps one of Radnor's misses occurs with making a point of telling us that Zibby relies heavily on her love for improv but Radnor never really gives her moments to shine, like Braff did for Natalie Portman's quirkiness. Instead, Zibby becomes just another young female in love with the idea of being in love, with an older man who could show her things (and take her virginity, because she says she's ready).

Radnor knows enough to know that Jesse and Zibby's ensuing bond and relationship cannot drive this film or lead to Jesse's understanding of his life and choices. As the writer and director, he gives Jesse encounters with a mysterious and painfully kooky dude on campus (played rather well by Zac Efron), as well as a manic depressive, supposed genius-in-the-making, Dean (played by John Magaro).

This is a film that draws heavily on the idea of nostalgia. Jesse feels he should be over the desire for college life, but before he goes back to New York City, Zibby makes her desire known by giving him a mixed CD- my generation's ultimate flirtatious move. They also agree to send handwritten letters to each other regularly, both of these things are pieces to the nostalgia that Jesse is craving.

When Jesse is convinced to go back to Kenyon College to visit Zibby, he comes to his realizations that will set him on the right course in his life, and not keep him in a fantasy world. After a lover's spat with Zibby over her love for "Twilight"-type vampire fiction, Jesse encounters arguable his favorite and most memorable professor, played by Allison Janney. After having sex, Jesse's eyes are opened by her dark philosophical secret.

All of the characters are clearly in Jesse's path at this moment in his life for a specific reason, but I don't mind those type of characters or stories at all. They are sort of coming-of-age for my generation and those are the stories I gravitate towards. If you find them annoying, you won't like this film.

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"The Sacrament"
starring: Joe Swanberg, A.J. Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Gene Jones
written and directed by: Ti West


I guess I had higher hopes for this "horror" film, given its director, Ti West, since he is the man behind the excellent horror film "The House of the Devil." And then, there's its producer, Eli Roth, perhaps the newly crowned horror/gore king of the genre, thanks in large part to his excellent films "Hostel," "Cabin Fever," and then there's "Planet Terror." Unfortunately, Ti West finds himself grabbing a hold of the trend known as "found footage" or more precisely, "faux documentaries" that were made popular thanks to "The Blair Witch Project" back in 1999 and these two subgenres of horror have never really lost their steam, even though many of us would say it has certainly worn out its welcome.

I guess the terrifying thing about this film's premise is that it is inspired by true events, the likes of Jonestown, whose story involved a cult with a charismatic leader and his followers who all drank cyanide-laced Kool-Aid in one of the largest mass suicides in history.

The story follows a VICE magazine crew who are commissioned to the cult's compound by the photographer's sister (played by Any Seimetz). Being an investigative magazine, the crew of men, which also includes journalists played by A.J. Bowen and Joe Swanberg, decide to film their journey and experiences. They interview enough people on the compound to believe that everyone is happy and content with their life choices, especially since they are all for the most part former addicts who were saved by the Father (played by Gene Jones). Until they find a mother and her mute daughter who want out. But the trouble is, there is no way out. You can't just leave the place that's saved you. Or you'll die trying.

The major problem with this film and its story is that mass suicide in this context just does not make sense. Most cults and their leaders, in particular, attempt or commit mass suicide for a reason. The cult we stumble upon at Eden Parish really have no reason to die, except because they've been brainwashed by a creepy, smooth-talking preacher whom they've dubbed the Father. Eden Parish is not on the world's radar. Nobody knows where it is. The fact that the Father expresses urgency when it comes to the "final solution" doesn't add up.

Clearly, Ti West is only telling this story for the ending's shock value.
Don't drink the Kool-Aid here. instead, watch his other, much better horror films.

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"Alyce Kills"
starring: Jade Dornfeld, Tamara Feldman, James Duval, Eddie Rouse, Larry Cedar, Whitney Anderson, Yorgo Constantine
written and directed by: Jay Lee


This is a psychological horror indie film (from the same director of "Zombie Strippers," which I have also seen, but let's be fair, that film could have been his gateway to making this film, a much better, pleasant surprise for the genre. I have to admit that I was not expecting much upon watching this one, but it really is quite decent, with enough shock and violence to satiate any horror fan's nerves (really waiting until the last 30 minutes to shove the bloody gore and grotesque stuff in your face- and that piece of it is quite cringe worthy, trust me).

It ultimately is asking the question: "How much do we really control in our lives?

Perhaps there's a deeper meaning and commentary of the latest generation of workers to emerge from college with little to no ambition, or maybe it's a commentary on how work can create a mundane and withdrawn existence. Either way, the message is well received, especially when Alyce (Jade Dornfeld, playing well here with the vacancy in her eyes, like she's completely gone) goes out with her best friend, estranged as they may be because of their choices in life, for a night on the town. A night filled with dancing, drinking, and drugs. Ultimately, they find themselves on the roof of Alyce's apartment building, where she "allegedly" accidentally pushes her friend off the roof. But, there is a bit of mystery behind whether she meant to or not, especially with the way the rest of the film plays out, with Alyce slowly creeping down into a descent from her "normal" life. I guess the question is, what drove her to do it? Alyce's mind clearly starts to crack, when she gets word that her friend survived the fall, but just barely, and with little to no ability at all for a functioning life, just a hospital bed and tubes. Alyce descends into a spiral of self-destruction (mostly from drugs, that she somehow becomes addicted to easily, perhaps as a way of dealing with the pain of her existence), which ultimately leads to murder. The ambiguity of her intentions up on the roof lead us perfectly into her descent into madness and the film then becomes more of a psychological horror film. She becomes the more mainstream psychotic killer that we are used to seeing in horror films, and it's just a bit more interesting, to me, because she's a woman and even though she is cracking, she is taking back the control in her life.

The director does a great job building the character, slowly telling the story (even given just 90 minutes), and really lets us get to know and see Alyce cracking, slowly but surely; and like I said, the gore really doesn't hit the screen until the last 30 minutes. The director is paying service to the character and her development. He trusts that she drives the film and Jane Dornfeld, the actress playing Alyce, does a fantastic job in her role.

This is not just another throwaway, B-film, horror movie. Give it a try. And try to stick it up, even when it starts to get gruesome.

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