Lord of Tears

Many people associate the genre of horror with blood, guts and gore of movies like Saw and Friday The 13th, and while they aren't wrong, they aren't necessarily seeing the whole picture that encompasses the genre.  Blood and gore isn't really there to scare people, per se, but to shock and disgust.  While I'm certainly drawn to those kinds of movies, sometimes the better movie is one that involves NONE of that.  A movie that is atmospheric and instills a sense of foreboding and dread.  The horror genre was designed, primarily, to instill a sense of fear in the audience, and for most of us, it really doesn't happen that much anymore, because more and more movies are more focused on how to torture and slaughter their victims.  That's not scary.  It's cringe-inducing, and sometimes not in a good way.  Some of the more effective horror films are far more atmospheric and focus more on the story and the characters, like a good movie should do.  Some of the more atmospheric films include the old Hammer horror films of the 50's and 60's.  That brings me to Lord of Tears, a horror film that relies more on atmosphere and old mythologies to give the audience a sense of dread.

Lord of Tears opens on a teacher, James(Euan Douglas), being informed that he is the sole inheritor of a vast property which includes an old house in Scotland.  He is also given a letter from his late mother, telling him NOT to go back to the house, due to his experiences as a child.  James decides to go to the house and explore, to try and remember his childhood.  He encounters a lovely American woman, named Eve(Lexy Hulme), and they begin to explore the house.  The more James explores the house, the more he begins to experience visions of a disturbing being, a being that has the body of a man, but the talons and head of an owl.  Is he going insane?  Or is there something more sinister at work?  The story is unique and has a few unexpected twists and turns.  It's dark and foreboding and pretty intense.

The acting is actually not bad, more than what I would've expected from a low-budget horror movie.  Euan Douglas does a pretty good job as a teacher that's haunted by his past and tortured by visions of an "owl man."  Lexe Hulme is beautiful and does a good job at bringing a sense of mystery to the film.  And boy, what a mystery it is.  This movie is a bit of a slow-burner, so people who are more interested in getting scared right away, are most likely to be disappointed.  Where this movie really succeeds is allowing us to tag along with the characters and experience what they are experiencing.  It's more of a journey and character study on how one would deal with a paranormal/supernatural situation, that may or may not be driven by psychosis.  That being said, there is actually very little in the way of actual violence, even though there is some blood, but it's not hard R-rated violence, in fact, I would consider it PG-13 in a way.

While the main leads are human, the real characters of this film are the house, the surrounding areas, the music and of course, the owl man who I will get to momentarily.  This is a gorgeously shot film, taking place almost entirely in Scotland, with extremely beautiful vistas and mountain ranges that really add to the film's atmosphere.  The cinematography is astounding and the attention to detail, from the mountains, to the house, to the worms crawling on the ground.  It is very artistic and very beautiful to look at, especially if you've got this movie on Blu-Ray.  It's stunning.  On the audio side, the music is excellent.  It's haunting and beautiful to listen to.  It has a very Gothic feel to it that really complements everything that you see.  It's not heavy-metal, thankfully, it's more instrumental, slow and methodical.  It's impressive.  The sounds of the house and everything in the environment is appropriately spooky. Now, about the Owl Man:  The character is a man with the head and talons of an owl.  He is voiced by David Schofield, who you might remember as one of the villains in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  I have no idea what any of the lines he says means, but he says it with such deliberately quiet malice, that it doesn't matter, this is a character to be feared.  He is also referred to as Moloch, an actual mythological god from ancient Phoenicia, who accepted child sacrifices by fire, and referenced even in the bible. 

If there is one downside is that the ending to the movie is a little cliche, but that's it.  Overall, what we have here is a very unique film with a unique experience.  It's extremely atmospheric and really sends shivers down your spine.  The character of Owl Man is appropriately menacing and memorable and I hope to see more of him in the future.  The visuals and music of Lord of Tears are something to behold.  Is it a mystery?  Is it a ghost story, or a supernatural thriller?  It's all of the above.  Lawrie Brewster put together an amazing film that has surprisingly high-production values, despite it's low-budget nature.  If any of you are sick and tired of the gore-fests and torture movies, and want a more intelligent and thoughtful film, Lord of Tears is definitely for you.  It's an experience.  Overall, I give Lord of Tears a 9.5/10.  Check this one out.

Abduction of Eden

Typically, when I do a film review, it's just generally about the film, and not much else, a trailer here, a plot synopsis there; that's pretty much it. Very rarely, do I come across a movie that is not only realistic, but also deals with fairly brutal industries. And I try not to do a Public Service Announcement. But this is a special case. I've seen many movies that deal with human trafficking, some are action films, like Taken. Others are horror movies or thrillers. Some of them are so over the top, that they can't be taken seriously. Some are gritty, but are not realistic. But the one thing they have in common, is that they try to shine a light on a very real and very serious crime. Abduction of Eden is based on a true story of a woman who was abducted in the mid-90s, and forced into prostitution, along with many other young girls.

Abduction of Eden opens as two underage girls enter a bar to get drinks, one of the girls, Hyun Jae(Jamie Chung)is hit on by a good-looking "fireman." Hyun Jae takes a ride with this guy and ends up getting abducted by a mysterious person. She wakes up in the back of a truck along with another girl. She's knocked out and wakes up in a warehouse wearing an ankle bracelet. She's informed by the head honcho, Bob Gault(Beau Bridges), who also happens to be a U.S. Marshall, telling her what's going on. One of his henchman, Vaughan(Matt O'Leary)takes a bit of a liking to her. In order to survive, she has to be willing to give up the one thing that's been taken from her, freedom, and become a part of the sex slave industry. The story is very compelling and heartbreaking, and told tastefully. This story is based on a real-life account of Chong Kim, who was abducted and forced into slavery from 1995 to 1997, when she escaped. Eden is different from other movies that deal with sex slavery, in that it takes a very personal and up-close approach to what happens behind the scenes. Now, you don't actually see anything going on, it's not that kind of movie, but you definitely know what's going, and it's all the more disturbing because of that. And it's not overly violent, so gore-hounds, turn away. What he have here is a very human story of a victim who has been forced to take drastic measures in order to survive, and to do that she had to actively take part in an industry where millions are victimized every day.

The performances in this film are extraordinary, but it's Jamie Chung who steals the show. She doesn't go overboard with crying like a baby, but she internalizes and you see that she's been defeated, so she is forced to accept her reality, and it's heart-breaking. Beau Bridges is fantastic as the person who runs the show. He doesn't come across as overtly sinister, as he's somewhat likable, despite that what he's doing is evil, and the fact that he's in a position of real authority is all the more disturbing. The other guy who is really spectacular is Matt O'Leary as Vaughan. This is a guy who is a junkie, and is nearly unhinged, but O'Leary, brings it down a couple of notches to make him more realistic. Vaughan is a scumbag, no doubt about it, but through O'Leary's performance, you begin to see that Vaughan is having issues with his....position and what he's doing, but you get the sense that he's just as trapped as Hyun Jae.

Overall, this is a very good movie, that's intense, dramatic and heartbreaking, and yet there's a great deal of humanity here, even on the part of the villains; they're not cookie-cutter. If there's a downside to this movie, it's that the last 15 minutes of the film are just basic thriller material, nothing particular great, but that doesn't diminish the power that this film has. This is a movie that should serve not just as entertainment, but as a wake-up call. I give Abduction of Eden a solid 9/10.

Now that the review is done, I'm going to do something a little different here. So please, bear with me. Slavery has been around for as long as mankind has walked the earth, this is nothing new. Every great civilization that has come before us, is guilty of it. Even the United States is guilty of it. It's what sparked the Civil War. But what most people don't realize, is that legally speaking, while slavery has been abolished in the United States and in most civilized countries around the world, it's still going on. It just went underground, and it's taken different forms: Sex slavery, illegal immigration, organ harvesting, and forced labor. While slavery is a horrendous crime, sex slavery is the worst of it, with millions of women and children being sold like pieces of meat around the world, even here in the United States. Recent estimates place the number at 30 million currently enslaved or born into it. The question: "What can we do about it?" Knowledge is power. The more people know about this insidious practice, the better the odds of finding and helping the victims will be. There are groups out there that are dedicated to fighting this practice and helping the victims of human trafficking. For more information, please see the following websites:

http://www.freetheslaves.net/
http://www.walkfree.org/
http://www.stopinternational.org/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

Even if you can't donate any money, spread the word. You can make a difference.

Man of Steel

In 1978, a movie was released that would make you believe that a man could fly. Superman, released in the summer of 1978 would go on to become one of the most iconic movies of the 20th century. Equally iconic was the performance of the late Christopher Reeve in the title role. A sequel arrived later in Superman II which introduced film audiences to one of the most notorious villains that Superman has ever faced, General Zod: the former head of the Kryptonian military before the planet was destroyed. Superman II was lauded as one of the best movie sequels ever and I agree. Again with an iconic villain, Superman II proved that a good sequel was possible for a superhero movie. Superman III and IV? I think we can all agree that those two movies were horrendous and were responsible for the man of steel not returning to the silver screen until 2006, when X-Men director Bryan Singer directed Superman Returns starring newcomer Brandon Routh. The film was released to mixed reviews. The film was also released after the deaths of Christopher Reeve and his wife. The film was dedicated to them. Unfortunately, the film was basically a rehash of the original film. It was a decent effort, and I enjoyed the movie, but Superman never threw a single punch in that movie. Years later, it was revealed that a reboot of the Superman film franchise was in the works, headed by Watchmen and 300 director Zack Snyder. When I heard that Snyder was going to direct the movie, my expectations just dropped, because his filming style usually involves a lot of stylized violence and slow-motion. I don't think I've ever been so wrong.

Man of Steel opens on the planet Krypton when scientist Jor-El(Russell Crowe)is in front of the Kryptonian council telling them that they have to prepare for the end of their world, because they over-mined the core of Krypton and it's increasingly unstable. Enter General Zod(Michael Shannon)who comes to eliminate the council because he feels that they've led their people to destruction. Jor-El escapes to his laboratory where he's preparing to launch his new-born son into space to save him from the planet's destruction. On Earth, Kal-El a.k.a Clark Kent(Henry Cavill)is helping on a fishing boat when they get a distress signal from a nearby oil rig which is on fire. Before anyone knows it, Kent is helping trapped oil workers escape. Then he disappears, until he hitches a ride to Antarctica where the US military has discovered a mysterious object beneath the ice. And this is where Clark Kent finally learns who he really is and where he comes from. If any of this sounds familiar, it's because Man of Steele is an origin story. But what a story it is.

I'll just come out and say it: Man of Steel is awesome. In every which way. I never thought in a million years that Zack Snyder would've pulled it off. After having seen the film, I'm not sure that anyone else could have pulled it off. The casting is almost perfect. Russell Crowe shines as Jor-El. Michael Shannon simply tears it up as Zod, and yet he makes the character his own and makes him almost sympathetic. Kevin Costner was great as Jonathan Kent, he brings humility and a reality to the role that I don't anyone else could. Cast in the title role of Superman is British actor Henry Cavill. We have our new Superman. He's absolutely fantastic in the role, even before he puts on the red cape. He's very grounded, and unsure of his place in the world and whether or not he should help mankind. I don't think that he'll ever top Christopher Reeve, but that's not what's happening here. This is Superman for a new generation, and everything about the character in this film reflects that.

This being a reboot, they've gone ahead and made some changes. For one, Krypton is no longer a ball of ice and crystals and the denizens are no longer clad in shiny white clothes. No, this is an organic world, with wildlife and oceans. And the buildings look like real alien structures and not giant crystals. The characters of Jor-El and General Zod have actual battle armor. And speaking of which, Jor-El gets to fight. And he kicks some major tail. And people have been wondering about Superman's iconic outfit. Again, it has also been changed to feel a little bit more organic as a reminder of where Superman comes from. There are no red trunks as was worn in previous Super-Man outings. No, the whole suit is blue with the exception of the belt which is yellow and the boots and cape which are red. The cape is also missing the signature S symbol. Also missing is the signature musical theme from previous entries. John William's iconic theme is nowhere to be found here, and that's a good thing. It helps distance the film from it's predecessors. Instead, Hans Zimmer has been brought in to compose the film and it's epic, thrilling and gets the blood pumping. It's amazing stuff.

In the last Superman film, there really wasn't a whole lot in the way of action. Superman didn't even throw a punch. What good is a superhero if he doesn't have someone to beat the crap out of periodically? In Man of Steel, he's putting the bad guys through walls, and just beating the living daylights of his enemies, and the same happens to him. The action in Man of Steele is completely off the hook. It is without a doubt one of the most action-packed movies of the past five years. The Krypton sequence at the beginning of the film is stunning, and that's just for starters. When Kent finally puts on the suit, he faces off against General Zod and his henchmen in some of the most spectacular sequences you will ever see. I would daresay that the action in this movie puts The Avengers to shame, which is no small feat. And the pacing is crazy fast. Still, the film has it's flaws, as minor as they are. For one, Lois Lane was miscast, as was Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Zod's henchmen? Whatever. Overall, it doesn't really detract from the experience. And an experience it was, as soon as the film ended, the audience erupted into applause, which I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing for a long, long time. To say that I was blown away by Man of Steele is an understatement. The last time I experienced a movie like this, was The Avengers. But honestly, I would have to say between the two movies, Man of Steel comes out on top. It is a true Superman film in every way. The performances were fantastic, the special effects were incredible, the music was wonderful, and the overall experience was mind-blowing. This is an event movie, and event movies have to be seen in theaters. For superhero movies, Man of Steel is easily in my top 5, with the original Superman coming out on top, followed by The Dark Knight and The Avengers. It's that good. I think Zack Snyder was born to make a movie like this. And if no one knew who Henry Cavill was, they do now. Man of Steel gets 9.5/10 from me. This is a must-see movie.

Willow

The 1980s were a fantastic time for movies. There were movies across every genre. From action and adventure, to comedy, horror, and science fiction and fantasy, there was generally a movie for everyone. I was born in the early 80s, so I grew up with movies like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Aliens, The Princess Bride, and The Terminator. There was one movie that really stuck with me: Willow.

Willow starts off with the evil queen Bavmorda(Jean Marsh)capturing all the pregnant women in the land in search of a child that, according to a prophecy, would cause her eventual destruction. A nursemaid hides the child and leaves Bavmorda's fortress. Eventually, the evil queen's dogs find her, but not before she sends the child down the river. The child is eventually found by a Nelwyn(little person)named Willow Ufgood(Warwick Davis). Soon, Willow realizes that the child won't be safe in his village, so he takes the child to find someone to care for it. Along the way, Willow runs across a rogue swordsman named Madmartigan(Val Kilmer), and the two try to take the child to safety with the help of some pint-sized beings known as brownies(Kevin Pollak as Rool and Rick Overton as Franjean, respectively). But they are also relentlessly hunted by Bavmorda's daughter, Count Sorsha(Joanne Whalley).

Willow sticks out for me among the other movies I mentioned, mainly because the main hero is actually 3 feet tall, not someone you would expect to save the day, but Warwick Davis really does a fantastic job and when Willow and Madmartigan finally meet up, it gets even better. Those two have a somewhat antagonistic relationship with each other which is rather hilarious, but well done, and neither one are seen as as a sidekick. Madmartigan, as far as I'm concerned is one of Val Kilmer's most memorable roles, along with Tombstone's Doc Holliday. He initially comes across as an arrogant, crass and generally not a nice guy. But when given a sword, he becomes something else entirely: a hero. Along for the ride are Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton as the brownies. Let me tell ya, if it isn't Val Kilmer stealing the scene, it's these two. At about an inch and a half tall, these characters, with French accents, are the comedy relief of the film and boy are they funny. I've always enjoyed Kevin Pollak, and this was a fantastic role for him. When it comes to the villains, though, they aren't nearly as memorable. Bavmorda is played by Jean Marsh who chews the scenery almost to the point of parody. Doesn't mean she isn't fun to watch, but it's really an over-the-top performance. Pat Roach plays General Kale, the queen's trusted right arm and he doesn't really have much to do other than look mean and growl, which he does very well, but the villains don't really have much to offer, except for Joanne Whalley's Count Sorsha.

One of the many things that Willow brought to the table were the visual effects. There were plenty of stop-motion animated creatures like the two-headed dragon. There was a lot of combination of miniatures combined with on-set action. It was almost seamless. But this was 1988, this was the beginning of the use of digital effects. The morphing sequence in the camp in the final act of the film is really what sets this movie apart from the others, it was perfect. Looking at the movie now, some of the visuals really stand out, and not necessarily in a good way, but back in 1988, it was state-of-the-art. Visual effects would take a whole new direction when James Cameron directed The Abyss in 1989, and Terminator 2 in 1991.

The action sequences of the film are fantastic. You had a wild wagon chase in which Madmartigan and Willow battled the queen's soldiers in a wagon. It was intense and very fast paced. The next one would take place in soldier's camp, when Willow and Madmartigan escape with the baby and use a sled to escape. That one was spectacular, and the final battle in Bavmorda's fortress was spectacular, I think the most iconic sequence was the battle in Tir Asleen, with the two-headed dragon. It was not only a fantastic use of miniatures and stop-motion animation, but it also led to Count Sorsha falling in love with Madmartigan. The music by James Horner is varied, in a good way, mind you. During the slower scenes, it's more subtle and calm, but during the battle sequences, it really gets epic.

The direction by Ron Howard is simply amazing. He gives the film a unique feeling and sense of wonder. The characters are, for the most part, memorable and believable. The combination of special effects along with the on-set action sequences make Willow one of the most unique and memorable films of the 80s. It was rumored that Willow was to actually be a trilogy, but it didn't do well enough in theaters to warrant such a treatment, which is a damn shame, it deserves one. There were books written, but I haven't read them and from all accounts aren't all that good either, so I won't bother. But what we have here is a film that stands the test of time and is fun for anyone who wants to have a good time. Fans of Val Kilmer will definitely have a blast. There's a sense of humor that permeates the whole film and it doesn't really get dark until the final act of the film. Overall, this an awesome movie that doesn't outstay it's welcome. If there's one complaint I have about this movie, it's that the villains really aren't as fleshed out as they could be, with the exception of Sorsha. Other than that, this movie is amazing. Sure, the effects may look dated by today's standards, but I think that's part of it's charm. This one gets a 9.5/10.

Dredd

In 1995, a movie based on 2000 AD's British comic book character, Judge Dredd was released to theaters. It starred Sylvester Stallone in the title role. While the film was pretty fun in a really dumb way, it totally missed the essence of the character of Dredd. It made the mistake of removing his helmet. Judge Dredd did not and does not need to have his helmet removed. I assume they did that to try and bring some kind of depth to the character, but the truth is, Dredd as a comic book character didn't need to be more than being the ultimate lawman. While I don't think that Stallone did a horrible job, it wasn't a good movie. They tried to psycho-analyze the character, which was a huge mistake. In 2012 they tried another movie based on Judge Dredd.

The film opens up in a post-apocalyptic America in which America was ravaged by nuclear war. Now, 800 million American citizens live in a enormous city known as Mega City 01. Due to the apparent ineffectiveness of today's law enforcement and court system, a single person has been given the authority to dispense justice as Jury, Executioner, Judge. After taking out a group of criminals, Judge Dredd(Karl Urban) is tasked by the Chief Judge to assess a potential Judge, by the name of Anderson(Olivia Thirlby), who just so happens to be an extremely powerful psychic. The two Judges then go to a mega building named Peach Trees to investigate a triple-homicide. Little do they know that Peach Trees is ruled by a powerful criminal known as Ma-Ma(Lena Heady) When she discovers that one of her subordinates is arrested she locks down the entire building in an effort to find and kill the Judges, to keep her drug operations going.

First, let me say the differences between this movie and Stallone's film are night and day. They are not even the same beast, they just happen to feature the same character. While the Stallone film tried to get inside Dredd's cranium to find out what makes him tick, this new movie has no such pretenses, it's as pure an action film as you can get. Right from the get-go we get a feeling for how Dredd deals with situations. While he has some one-liners, he doesn't come across as a smart-ass. He doesn't joke around. While I think that Stallone was alright as Judge Dredd, Karl Urban really shines here. Dredd comes across as fairly one-dimensional, but for a movie like this, he doesn't need to be anything more. He needs to be shown that he won't be fucked with and will do whatever it takes to uphold the law. Olivia Thirlby's Anderson starts out as a timid rookie, but by the time the film ends, she's a hard-ass, and her psychic abilities allow her to mess with people's minds any way she wants. Olivia does a fantastic job showing that transformation. For the villain, Lena Heady's Ma-Ma is ruthless, willing to kill anyone who stands in her way. Lena Heady brings a real quiet menace to the character that will put you on edge. Everybody else is essentially cannon fodder.

This is a violent movie as you would expect a Judge Dredd movie should be. But unlike the previous movie, this one gets pretty gory, and some of that has to do with the visual effects. If you've ever seen some of those slow-motion videos like when a water balloon is exploding at 3,000 frames per second, making it extremely slow, they employ that in this movie, especially when Dredd and Anderson breach a drug den. It's beautifully violent. It's actually hard to tell what's really CG and what's real, in terms of how the effects are shown, and that's a testament to how good the visual effects artists are.

Dredd is an improvement in so many ways over the last movie, it's not even funny. For example, the only time you actually see Dredd without his helmet is at the start of the movie and you can't even see his face. So, he has the helmet on the entire movie, basically, and allows Karl Urban to portray Dredd as the bad-ass that he is. The story? Not so original and in fact, another movie with a similar premise exists already: The Raid-Redemption. Both are similar in terms of setup, but different in execution(see what I did there?) The Raid utilized hand-to-hand combat, and Dredd is all about the gun-play. Dredd flopped big time in the box-office, mostly because people were afraid it was going to be like Sylvester Stallone's movie. I can honestly tell you, Karl Urban's movie is a whole different animal. It's gritty, it's brutal and it's a hell of a lot of fun. It's a shame that it didn't get the box-office numbers it deserved, because critically speaking, it did very well. I'm hoping that if enough people buy Dredd on DVD/Blu-ray, we'll see a sequel. I loved what I saw, and I can't wait to see more in this style. Dredd gets 9/10.