ethancarmanmoore Reviews

Thunder Road (2018)

Great directorial debut

[9/10 · 16 May 2019]

Thunder Road is a 2018 movie that I only found out about recently and I'm glad I checked it out. Its director Jim Cummings' first feature. He also wrote, starred in, and scored the film. The plot is basic enough, a down on his luck guy who is trying to fight for his daughter's custody but what makes this film different from other forgetful messes is the filmmaking foremost. The direction, acting, shot composition, cinematography and writing are almost masterful which is extremely impressive considering this is a debut film.

A 13 minute long take showcasing Cummings as Jim Arnauld eulogizing at his mothers funeral starts us off and I was immediately in it for the long haul. The humour is awkward, you pity our subject, while also feeling for him and his situation, but he just keeps digging himself in deeper - it's like watching a train wreck that you can't take your eyes off. While watching this opening I kept thinking "Man, this scene would have made a great short film" and it would you look at that - the film is based off of Cummings' previous short which is the same set up. The movie is made up mostly of long takes which gives a feeling of realness to the events taking place. Its also always nice to see them done well in a debut film because it can really give the cast moments to shine by showcasing their talents - on screen and off.

Jim Cummings' performance is one of the best, and my favourite, of 2018. His character is this flawed yet comical cop who is striving to better his life and it's mostly himself who always gets in the way. That is not to say that his surroundings aren't contributing to his struggle. Cummings' plays this character with the right amount of heart and cringe. His interactions with other people, and even with himself, are hilarious yet within the same scene you can end up really feeling for him. The interaction between his goals and his own character is one of the most interesting aspects of the film. He's not some generic picture-perfect guy who is being oppressed by the people around him which results in his endeavours. No, there are plenty of situations in which he makes it worse through fault of his own shortcomings. He's really just an extremely entertaining character to follow and it's all thanks to the great performance and writing.

The film is funny, endearing, cringe-worthy (in the best way), and above all great. A good debut film is usually something that has hints of the inexperienced filmmakers true talent but is not anything exceptional. This inkling of talent reveals the director's potential. The director will often expand on what shone through in their debut film and get rid of what didn't in their future films. Thunder Road on the other hand is already so impressive that if Cummings' tops himself next time I will be blown away. It does not feel like a low budget first time director's film. The shots, direction, writing and acting all feel so calculated as if he's been filmmaking for an entire career. Watch the trailer for this one and you'll immediately know if its something you're interested in watching. I highly recommend it.

Climax (I) (2018)

Climax (2018): Review

[9/10 · 24 September 2018]

A group of dancers practising for their American tour celebrate while unknowingly drinking LSD-laced Sangria; what could go wrong? Gaspar Noé is back with his newest, and possibly most accessible, film. Noé has been on a list of directors that I would label 'watch cautiously' ever since I originally saw his film Irréversible (2002) years ago. It was, and still is, one of the most emotionally detrimental films I had ever seen. With his use of amazingly unique cinematography, lighting, and camera movements, Noé immediately peaked my interest. I thought he knocked it out of the park with that film and hasn't matched up to it since. While Enter the Void (2009) is an extremely interesting film visually and conceptually, the characters and story just did not work for me. The same can be said for his film Love (2015).

Climax is an extravaganza of dance, sex, chaos, and, the most importantly, panic. It is comparable to one long, 96 minute, looming panic attack. But in a good way. The film reels you in with a wicked-long dance number with blaring synth music and it is honestly enthralling to watch. It is one long beautiful take and it prepares you for the style that encompasses the rest of the film. Noé can make a shot last 10-15 minutes without it coming across as if he is showing off. It takes real skill to set up these complex shots that last for so long and to pull them off flawlessly without having the actors mess up a line or having the continuity be broken. His long takes simply engage you as an audience member and make you feel as if you are part of the situation. It feels natural.

Seriously though, beware. This film is emotionally exhausting. It has a way of sticking a horrible feeling in your gut and keeping it there until long after the movie is over. It is a spectacle of a bad acid trip. The actors, camera work, and storytelling make it feel as if you are a witness to this chaotic event that is taking place. Sofia Boutella is fantastic in the film and so is the rest of the cast. Every character feels so believable and honest. There is a lot of information given about the characters within the first 20 minutes or through dialogue which can be a bit confusing considering there is a lot of them and we do not immediately learn all of their names. However, I think that this will make for rewarding rewatches.

'Climax' is much more accessible compared to any of Noe's previous works. It is not ultra-violent, nor is it an excess in experimental filmmaking. It is a fairly straightforward story with fantastic performances, beautiful cinematography, and unbelievable camera work. It is by far his best film since Irréversible and may be his best film, period. Although multiple viewings will have to confirm this. It is enthralling in every regard and should be seen for the first time in a theatre if possible. I cannot wait to see this one for the second time.

The House That Jack Built (2018)

The House That Jack Built (2018) Review

[9/10 · 19 September 2018]

I just saw Lars Von Trier's new film 'The House That Jack Built' at the Atlantic Film Festival. I'm not extremely familiar with Trier's other work (I love Antichrist and Dancer in the dark is one of the most depressing films I've ever seen), but I've still been looking forward to this one since its premiere at Cannes. The subject matter peaked my interest and the trailer looked great. The early reviews got me even more invested as everyone was saying it was Trier's most disturbing and violent film yet.

'The House That Jack Built' was fairly brutal, yet oddly comical (if you can look past the disturbing material) and widely entertaining. I was not expecting it to be as funny as it was considering all of the 'hype' around the film's dark brutality since its screening at Cannes. Having said that there are some extremely gruesome and disturbing scenes which are effective in what they set out to do.

The film is divided into 5 sections plus an epilogue. A strange structure but ultimately I think that it benefited the film as we see a slight progression of Jack's character throughout. Though it can feel a bit repetitive at points, it never gets boring and is continuously engaging. Matt Dillon was excellent as the truly psychopathic serial killer Jack. It was honestly probably the best role I've seen him in (seriously, he should be in more movies).

There are many philosophical discussions about the nature of art throughout the film. This can either come off as super pretentious or can actually add to the film. I thought it worked fine in the context of the film as it relates very much to the character of Jack and how he views himself and his, so to say, 'art'

The film portrays the violence in a fairly realistic manner and does not hold back. At all. Seriously, the movie is not for the faint of heart. But it never came across as gratuitous or 'edgy'. It felt like Trier was just showing us what these scenarios would look like if a serial killer viewed his killings as art.

If you're a fan of Trier's work then definitely try and see this one. Even if you're just a fan of disturbing art-films, check it out. It has a screening at VIFF in October but other than that I have no idea where you can see it. Surprisingly, the Atlantic Film Festival (Halifax, Nova Scotia) had a one-night screening for the film. Either way, try and see it if it looks interesting to you. I highly recommend it. 9/10.

Jurassic World (2015)

Jurassic World Review

[4/10 · 10 December 2015]

Jurassic World is the newest instalment of the once great Jurassic Park franchise. Well, it literally was 'once' great. Here goes a movie about the actual park with dinosaurs as it's opened to the public. Everything's wonderful until the biggest, baddest dinosaur escapes! The movie stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, along with some kids that were hilarious! They had me in tears when the dinosaur was chasing them. Wait, I wasn't supposed to be laughing? Oh.

But seriously, the acting is fine for what it has to be. For me it's a hard movie to review because I'm pretty neutral on it. Everything was just fine. Nothing was spectacular, everything was pretty bland. Well let's at least start somewhere. Is there any characterization? Well, it's about as one dimensional as you can get but at least their not card board cut outs. Chris Pratt plays Owen, and he's reminiscent of a young, one note Han Solo.

The only part I actually felt myself enjoying thoroughly was the end action scene, and that's just because it was mind numbing action that I could turn my brain off for. If you pay attention to detail, you can nitpick just about every little plot point to pieces, which is a huge problem, not just with this movie, but with many movies today. It just shows that there was barely any effort put into it. They mostly likely wrote a quick script, slapped the Jurassic Park name onto it and released it.

I've been hearing a lot of "It was good compared to the other blockbusters we get", "It was better than the sequels", which brings up the question: Is that the bar? Is the bar so low for movies that when we get a mediocre one we have to force ourselves to enjoy it and say that it's the best we're gonna get? No. We should be demanding better films and more effort but the average movie goer doesn't care enough. We shouldn't be accepting decent films because they're better than other ones that come out. The bar needs to be higher.

All in all though, Jurassic World isn't terrible. It's fine. It's whatever. It's a movie. Don't go into this expecting a great action thrill ride. You'll merely get some enjoyment. The end action scene is fun but other than that the movie is pretty bland. 6/10.

The House of the Devil (2009)

The House of the Devil Movie Review

[7/10 · 8 September 2015]

The House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written and directed by Ti West set in the 1980's and has to do with satanic cults. This movie already has my attention. Ti West had already had me on the edge of my seat while I was watching his segment in V/H/S (2012), which I found great until a very disappointing ending. The House of the Devil is about a college girl named Sam who needs money to buy a house. A little touch that I liked in the movie was that they gave us a reason why she needs a house for herself. A lot of horror movies wouldn't even bother giving us a reason, but this one made the effort. Sam see's an add for a baby sitting job on the campus bulletin board and decides to go and make some money. Thats all I'll say because this is a highly effective horror film and should not be missed by horror fans. There is a fine line between a film being boring and building tension. Ti West is right above that line. You could cut the tension with a knife throughout this film. Most of the movie is almost set entirely in one location, a creepy house in which our leading lady does not know the layout, and it makes for some very eerie scenes. All of the acting is perfectly fine for a horror film, nothing Oscar worthy but not bad at all. Sam (Jocelin Donahue) fits this role perfectly, she looks completely natural wearing 80's clothes and listening to her cassette player. A great part of this horror flick is that it looks like Ti West actually cared about what he was making. Most horror films of the past decade have been the same thing over and over that Hollywood just pushes out. Ti West's visual style is beautiful, he likes to film a lot of scenes in panning shots and in wide shots. He's got a lot of imaginative visuals in the film and some interesting shot constructions. From the opening shot I could tell I was in for something special visually. The only problem I had with the film is that the whole movie was a great build up and I found that the last 15 minutes were not very scary and a bit cliché. Without spoiling anything I will just say that the ending seemed almost overly violent and went the route of a lot of generic horror films. All in all, The House of the Devil is a great horror film with some highly effective scares that will keep you on the edge of your seat up until the disappointing finale.