Thugs and Drugs All Over the World

This week I took a series of cinematic trips around the globe to examine different conflicts between drug dealers and cops. Each has its own distinct flavor, and watching them in close succession worked well in providing different insights to the aesthetic and thematic choices when dealing with a similar jumping-off point.


The Raid: Redemption (2011)
Director: Gareth Evans
I usually try to avoid hyperbole, but when I heard that this Indonesian import might be one of the best action movies since Die Hard I figured it was a gotta-see-for-myself situation. And I must say I was not disappointed. The setup is a police raid on a dilapidated apartment building that is occupied (almost?) entirely by the dregs of society, your everyday Mos Eisley of drug dealers, murderers, thieves, mother stabbers and father rapers. They are ruled over like a fiefdom by the shadowy druglord Tama, who lives in the penthouse complete with a bank of monitors where he can watch the unfolding action and encourage his minions to battle the intruding forces. The police are met with fierce resistance as they attempt to ascend up the tower, level by level, in an insane attempt to carry out the mission. The result plays out a bit like Bruce Lee's Game of Death, (or the old Kung Fu video game, if you prefer. Great, I just spent 30 minutes playing that. Okay, back to biz.) There are also smacks of Assault on Precinct 13 and Attack the Block thrown in for good measure. 



Okay, it's not Die Hard in that it's missing the smart-assed leading man. In this case were supposed to care about Rama (Iko Uwais) but it's short on character development, though it tries for a few points by showing us Rama's wife at home all preggers. We're really just here for the fist-bloodied action and monsoon of bullets. There are a few convoluted twists and turns where the "good guys" might not be exactly that, making me feel less guilty when I found myself rooting for the "bad guys." Was especially wowed by Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian), the #1 henchman, whose lack of size is more than made up for by his ferocity. The action gets into gory territory, illiciting more than a few winces and utterances of "Oh Damn!" from yours truly. I don't recall an action movie that made me do that so much since a couple scenes in Fist of Legend. Writer/director Gareth Evans has delivered a winner that sends everybody through the ringer, including the audience. A really nasty pure action kick in the cabeza. In limited theaters now, if you can find it go go go. There is already word of a sequel to which I say "yay" and a Hollywood remake to which I say "yuck."


Elite Squad (2007)
Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010)
Director: José Padilha
Next I jetted on over to Rio and the pair of acclaimed Elite Squad movies that captured the attention of Brazil and now, justifiably, the world. There are obvious comparisons to be made to the brilliant, brilliant City of God, and there is a link in writer Bráulio Mantovani, but director José Padilha brings a less flashy, grittier vision. The ES films shine a similar sort of light on the various plights of Rio through the eyes and voice of Roberto Nascimiento (Wagner Moura), a Captain in an elite paramilitary unit Special Police Operation Batallion (abreved as BOPE). Their insignia and call to arms is "Caldera!" ("Skull!"), and they are tasked with SWAT-type missions, mostly involving cleaning up the drug trade. Nascimiento is in the position of a "gettin' too old for this shit" Brazilian version of Rama with a lot more meat to him: the please-find-yourself-a-replacement-and-get-a-desk-job-so-you-can-come-home-safe wife at home with baby on the way.The other main character is André Matias (André Ramiro), an idealistic BOPE recruit/law student. The ebb and flow of the relationship between the two men and how they handle the ever-changing landscape of crime and politics infuses the films with a varying perspective and real thrust. Corruption exists at every level and the necessary symbiosis of the major players makes for complex issue-tackling.

The first ES has more action with intense training scenes that best Full Metal Jacket - that is not hyperbole, it's truth. The second ES (The Enemy Within) is a little more fixated on politics with just a few action scenes sprinkled in. I know some people saw the second first, but if you can help it I would definitely recommend watching them in order. You'll get sucked in by the action in the first and the backstory in the second will make a lot more sense. and you'll have more emotional investment. I felt touches of a lesser Godfather as it progressed through part 2. Okay that's a bit of hyperbole, but Moura channels the best of Pacino throughout, a performance that grows on you as the character grows.


One of the big impressions I get from all 3 of these films is that there could be a Modern Warfare spinoff dealing with paramilitary forces, with enough action, corruption, and double crossing to engage a prolonged, twisted storyline. Imagine a cross between Modern Warfare and "The Wire," set in police stations, prisons and favellas of Rio. That would be pretty kick ass, no? End digression, I soon intend to go back to the beginning of what Padilha calls a sort of trilogy, his documentary Bus 174.


Pusher (1996)
Director: Nicholas Winding Refn

Additionally, I dug Pusher, which turns things around and focuses on the drug dealer side of things as a man's life descends into spiral of hell after a deal goes bad. It's the worst case scenario of empty promises, threats and violence as he ferrets into every possible corner of Copenhagen to beg, borrow, or steal enough money to pay off his debt. Kim Bodina is great as Frank, but every scene with Zlatko Buric as Milo the druglord is a tense drolling classic. Will be checking part 2 of Nicholas Winding Refn's trilogy tonight.




The Raid: Redemption: 87 purely action points. 
Elite Squad: 79 & 83 individually, 88 as a whole. I know that makes little sense, but I'm making a point. The sum is better than the individual parts.
Pusher: 78

Drunk Movie Time, 'sode 4: Hangin' with Mr. Nuff

It's been a few weeks since I've thrown one of these together because I've been spending an increasing amount of prime time in the out-of-doors, but I needed to get back on the horse-- 

Aaaaiiiiii, not THAT horse! He's running on AIR!
Hey, do you think he knows Falkor?

 Ahh, those cheesy 80’s productions company logos always take me back. Anyway, I'm back in the saddle with another dissection of classic 80s-ness. I'm on a mission to make sure everyone I know loves The Last Dragon as much as I. If you haven't seen it yet, I implore you to rent it yesterday and follow along with this edition of Drunk Movie Time:

The stars are Vanity & Taimak: I don’t think there are enough single-named “actors” anymore.

Chopsticks are a very important part of marital arts training. Mr. Miyagi told me so.

For those of you Mythbusters fanatics who wanna cry foul about Taimak catching those arrows I suggest you watch this...(at least 4:30 through 5:30):

http://youtu.be/uLj8eK814o0?t=4m27s

Betcha didn't know I was such a badass archer, didja?

(Don't forget...bikini skiing up next!!)

When I reach the Final Level it looks something like this:

And then I make Ganon my bitch with the Silver Arrow. 
And make sweet, sweet love to Zelda.

The belt buckle, er...charm looks like a space invader.

There are some clever transitions in this theater scene cutting between Bruce Lee’s reactions in Enter the Dragon and the live action. Nicely done.

Kid gave Sho’Nuff a facepalm. Excellent.

Eating popcorn with chopsticks. Probably one my favorite little touches to his character.

Cyclone: “That’s the only guy that stands between Sho
...and total supremacaaaay.”

Mr. Nuff: “Catches bullets with his teeth??!!”

Foreshadowing!! His disbelief would be his undoing.

Mr. Nuff: “The shogun is BACK on the scene!” 

I really wonder where he went. DId he take a trip to see his grandmoms upstate?

Half shirts!! And a drag queen. Excellent scene...

I'm just...wow.

Does Rock have a pet Vat of Boiling Acid? I wonder why those never caught on. That sounds like it came from Mainway Toys.

Ok, nevermind, there’s something moving in the acid. It must be a distant cousin to the thing from the trash compactor in Star Wars. Or the swamp of Dagobah.

Rock is really put out by Angie’s “success.”

He’s got an amazing jacket, though...

Every time I see Faith Prince in this it makes me nostalgic for that “Encyclopedia” show that was on HBO when I was a kid. I remember her and Jim Fyfe, but nobody else.  (To the INTERNET!)

OMG I CAN'T GET THAT SONG OUT OF MY HEAD NOW!!!

And I totally forgot about Betty.

Ahhh DeBarge just jumped up from out of nowhere!!

Different version than the movie, but who cares? The music’s playin’ and this is a celebration of amazingly terrible 80s fashion!

William H. Macy! What a jacket!

Eddie Arkadian is a self-professed video game king (much like Noah Vanderhoff of Noah’s Arcade). He’s going to go in the tank in a few years once my parents buy me a Nintendo. I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and laugh at him. 

And buy stock in Nintendo and Microsoft.

Ugh, it turns out Laura Charles is not very talented. She’s pretty fine, tho'.
And her dress looks like an Egyptian computer chip.

Aaaahh, the computerized kiss blowing is freaking me out. It’s like a spooky pink bat!

Why is Leroy outside the 7th Heaven show right when Laura is getting attacked? Very convenient...bad writing.

The love theme is a total ripoff of Atlantic Starr’s “Always” and you know it.

Damn, I wish that song were not a duet...I would totally kill that at karaoke. 

Need to find a partna.

The best place to deposit an unruly limo driver is through the open window of his open front door. He will look silly when he tries to stand up and you will laugh, because Kung Fu is mostly about being silly.

He put her in that cab from Scrooged that takes Frank back to the 1948.

Eddie (to Angie): “Don’t bug me...FIX YOUR FACE!”

And THAT, my friends, is how you talk to a lady...at least one who is wearing a whole colony of exploded Snorks.

Great subtle humor:

Thugs: “...it was these bodyguards, 20 or 30 of them...big...BLACK GUYS.”

<they look guiltily at the black guy with them>

Black thug: Yeah, with chains!

I guess that makes it okay?

Yeah, Leroy has a Bruce Lee Game of Death tracksuit! Just like the Bride!

Johnny keeps calling himself an “Oriental Dude.” Ahhh 80s...

My mantra: “KISS MY CONVERSE!!”

I’m guessing this is the next day, but all the people in Mr. Nuff’s gang are wearing the same thing as they were in the theater scene. You think he has a bunch of those outfits, or have they just not been home to change?

RUDY!

Every attempt to make the chopsticks look like a Jell-O Pudding Pop
ended up looking very, very wrong.

Instead, here is a video of her doin' her thang.

And just because, here is Bill Cosby and his pal Mortimer Ichabod Marker.

I think one of the best things about this movie is that it deals with racial issues through the confrontation of urban intermingling. The black people own a pizza shop; lots of non-Asians are into kung fu to the extent that they recognize the concept of a territorial shogun; for their part the Asians are just as likely to be into modern clothes and listening to club music and (Berry Gordy’s version of) hip-hop, and essentially mock their own cultural heritage. And the whites...are mostly gangsters and thugs.

Another kidnapping attempt...and Leroy again in the right place...this time at least they set up why he was there.

Cyndi Lauper mocking a bit?

The thing to say when a ninja shatters down your door:

 Eddie: “Who the hell is this guy? We didn’t order out!” 

There's always time for wisecracks!

Wait, does Laura live in the same apartment building as Arkadian? 

He got her home, like, immediately.

Oh, Leroy...you have no moves. Cock’s crow? Not so much.

Ever-helpful NY cops.

Yes, the white dude with the thick glasses and the too tight shirt drinking a screwdriver
in the middle of the day...he’s the one who knows where to find Sum Dum Goy.

Things you never see unless you have the widescreen version: 

Dude on the left using a pick to comb his hair!

As if the see-through shirt and single finglerless glove weren’t enough.

I am seriously crestfallen (you guys) that there is not an officially official music video for Raw Dog's "Suki Yaki Hot Sake Sue.".

“Ain’t no masters here dude...ain’t no slaves either.”

I think I could write a really academic piece about race relations and how this movie might have sparked Spike Lee to make Do the Right Thing, But that would be a lot of bullshit.

Speaking of Sum Dum Goy, did you know that a “goy” is a non-Jewish white person?

Yes! Now Sho'Nuff is ready for gameday!

I do love that Mama Green was gonna attack ShoNuff with a pizza peel.

This is a modern commentary on the death of the small business. As Shogun of Harlem, Sho'Nuff represents the ruthlessness of corporate greed, willing to do anything and everything to dominate the economic landscape, even to the extreme of vandalizing a Mom & Pop store that might be a threat. Dirty pool, Mr. Nuff. Dirty pool.

Sho'Nuff hates Angie’s music, too. So I think that officially makes everybody but Eddie.

Team Sho'Nuff rides in an A-Team pedo-van:

The back windows match his shades. The ladder on the back is also very important
so you can get people up there to do kung fu and/or dance moves during your inevitable music video.

Oh, no...maybe violence IS the answer? Black Panthers, UNITE!

I think MLK would find this movie totally jive.

Johnny  after meeting Laura Charles...priceless.

TIA.

Lots of broken tables in this joint.

Man, Angie's outfits...just spectacular.

Awww, dramatic moment revealing Eddie’s insecurities. Not exactly On The Waterfront.

Great stinger on the end of the scene...

Eddie: “Where you goin’?”

Angie: “Elocution class.”

Eddie: “What for?”

Love that.

Mr. Nuff has his own fight club... but why does he get to wear shoulderpads? 

Seems like an unfair advantage.

As if Eddie and Rock weren’t dressed beautifully, the hairpieces are a nice touch. 

They almost look like Teddy Boys.

Paraphrasing:

Leroy: I will be your bodyguard if you help me on this mission.

Laura: Wait here, I need 5 minutes to change into my Oriental clothes.

Ok, so she put together the Bruce Lee montage. I can buy that. But how did she know to use a song that talks about “Reach the Upper Level” “When you Got That Glow”? He just taught her about these concepts 20 minutes ago at her apartment. Conveniently dubious.

I don’t think that kid’s jean jacket is military issue.
He’s a Sergeant of what...Candy Land?

Odd (and convenient) that she would edit that scene of Chinese Connection where Bruce Lee is disguised as a phone repairman. The kissing scene makes sense (she wanted to teach him some moves.) But then the disguise scene comes up and she asks him “What’s that?” I think she’s manipulative. And knows more than she’s letting on. If this were a James Bond film this would be the point where I reveal Laura Charles as a double agent.

Favorite newfound line from this viewing comes from the dude with the blue mesh shirt and the snake-print vest:

“I don’t know what you’re up to, buddy, 

but I’m gonna RIP YOUR FACE OFF!”

Johnny: "How about something in a medium-sized Oriental?"

Angie: “No thanks...I’m not Jewish” 

What?! Ha!

I do like his tank top. Takes style points from their uniforms earlier.

Awww 80s music videos...You were the best:

That video is incredibly phallic.

So what do these 3 guys do at the fortune cookie factory? Are they guards? Are there no other employees? They make it sound like they run the place but they don’t seem to be running a very tight ship. 

Wow they got a little 80s Stevie Wonder in here. Never noticed that one.

Ninja kid! Why is this his first appearance in the movie? He's a scene stealer.

Now I’m remembering that Ernie Reyes, Jr. was really hot shit for a little stretch.

Anyone else remember Sidekicks!!? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090519/

All of these thugs should be easy to take out because they are too busy shining flashlights from a low angle up at their faces trying to look scary.

Oh no wait! Spotlights built into the floor. Excellent work, Mr (or Mrs) Set Designer.

Wow that escalated quickly. It’s like a Royal Rumble!

Richie is totally poppin’ and lockin’ his way out of his bindings! YES!

There is way more of Ernie Reyes fighting in this scene than anyone else.

Real-life update: He’s still working, not destroyed by drugs and alcohol, not fallen into a reality TV level of obscurity. I can really respect that the discipline instilled in him as a young kid probably kept him on a pa-- OH SHIT, HE’S BREAKDANCE FIGHTING!!! 

I won’t say much about the thrilling Sho'Down between Bruce Leroy and the Shogun of Harlem, except that if anyone wants to get me a set of red silk pajamas with a tiger over the shoulder just like Mr. Nuff’s I will totally ‘fro out my hair for Halloween. Weddings. Bar Mitzvahs. Or just anytime.

Gotta hand it to Eddie Arkadian: He’s wheeling and dealing even after trying to pop a cap in someone’s ass...er, mouth.

I call this move "Eating the Big Mac."

When we all wear white it's like there is no race. Except white.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go find a lady to teach me some moves. 

Where is my paintbrush?

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) --85/100--

Writer/Director Sean Durkin delivers an assured feature debut with Martha Marcy May Marlene, a film that won raves on the festival circuit and should immediately jump up in everybody’s “must-see” queue. 

Martha’s been living for a couple of years in a rural commune, but eventually runs away and turns to her uptight yuppie sister Lucy to help re-assimilate herself to society. Flashbacks and dreams of the time with her unusual “Family” constantly enter her mind and fill in the blanks that she isn’t willing to talk about as she struggles to move forward. Questions of normalcy, memory, trust, trauma, and the role of family bubble to the surface in a masterly dance of past and present.

As Martha, Elizabeth Olsen is a revelation in an incredibly complex, vulnerable role. John Hawkes commands every scene as the Family’s leader, Patrick, a man of quiet manipulation. On their first meeting he tells Martha, “You look like a Marcy May,” which immediately establishes his influence and ability to refashion her identity within the Family as a newly-favored underling. Soon he’s "written" a serenade for her that’s as patiently penetrating and cunning as anything since Keith Carradine wooed an entire room of women in Robert Altman's Nashville.

The entire supporting cast is stellar, starting with Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy as Lucy and her new husband Max, they hold their own against Olsen’s whirlwind of emotion. The members of the Family (er...it's a cult) make a perfect mix of complementary personalities, the script guiding them to play underneath the emotions established by Patrick: Christopher Abbott and Brady Corbet (whom I recently knocked as a weak-link in Mysterious Skin) and especially the women, Maria Dizzia, Julia Garner, and Louisa Krause; each “finds his or her role” expertly in the small space given.

I found myself repeatedly caught off guard and wowed by unexpectedly beautiful imagery, a testament to the talented eyes of Durkin and young cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes. The story/character arcs don’t deliver all the answers about the backstory, and leave some things open at the ending, which I promise will leave you on edge. The more I think about the film, however, it’s fitting to the character that we’re left in the dark, too. No matter how many times her sister or another Family member asks Martha, “What are you feeling? What’s wrong?,” she’s not talking. The tension builds throughout, and as a series of transgressions that occurred while with the Family is slowly revealed to the audience Martha worries that she may be found. As a result, Martha Marcy May Marlene is an experience that is thoughtful, enigmatic, and often unsettling.