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DANCER IN THE DARK (2000)

DIRECTOR: Lars von Trier

STARRING: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse

This has been on my “to see” list for a while. I highly admire Björk and am mildly familiar with von Trier’s unique work (i.e. Dogville), so I had the mind to expect something unexpected, considering the two creative forces at work here. When I finally did sit down to watch it I experienced something troubling, beautiful, and moving — and if it is true that von Trier’s domineering directing approach is responsible for Björk refusing to ever act again, well, then he should be ashamed of himself.

Dancer in the Dark follows a Czechoslovakian woman named Selma (Björk) who has come to live in America with her young son, Gene. An avid fan of American musicals, Selma lives an internal life of song and dance, often drifting into daydreams involving musical numbers whenever she gets bored at her tedious job at a factory. Her sweet, but sometimes naïve, nature has gained her the friendships of those around her, including her coworker Kathy (Deneuve) and local policeman Bill (Morse), who has allowed her to live in a trailer on his property. However, Selma’s optimistic exterior hides a secret: she’s quickly going blind due to a genetic disease, and is desperately saving every penny she earns to pay for an operation which can spare her son from the same fate.

This was a difficult film to watch. Aesthetically it is not what any mainstream film viewer would be used to, as it’s mostly shot on a low-grade handheld camera with very little editing. I believe that is a technique that should only be reserved for certain films, and this happens to be one of them. In addition to the tough events occurring onscreen, the audience gets to experience it like they are sitting in the room with Selma — there isn’t much to keep us at a distance and so we can’t help but feel what she does.

What truly makes the film, however, is Björk. I’ve always appreciated her as a creative force, even if her music is sometimes inaccessible, and as Selma she truly proved herself in every way. Naturally her musical performances were wonderful, but it’s her moments of quiet, understated drama that truly pull you in. Her innate goodness and childlike sense of wonder was beautiful, as she refused to let the disappointing realities of life get to her. This was her movie.

In my opinion, Dancer in the Dark is a film about hope. It is sometimes bleak, sometimes devastatingly tragic, but even at the darkest moment of her life Selma still sings out her hope for something good. Although Mr. von Trier may have been going for the angle that America is an evil place for the innocent, I still choose to see it in a positive light, thanks to Björk’s magical performance.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TEETH (2007)

DIRECTOR: Mitchell Lichtenstein

STARRING: Jess Weixler, John Hensley

In spite of my feminist tendencies I bear no ill will toward the male sex. Most of the time I like them just fine. That being said, however, Teeth has got to be one of the most satisfying — albeit disgusting — pieces of filmmaking I’ve seen in recent memory. What that says about me, I don’t know, but we can overlook that for now.

Teeth tells the story of Dawn O’Keefe (Weixler), the embodiment of every parent’s dream: she’s sweet, pretty, and an advocate for her school’s abstinence group. But even as she proudly wears her promise ring, Dawn’s budding sexuality is beginning to overshadow everything she clings to — that is, a deep fear of her body and womanhood. To make matters worse, her waste-of-space stepbrother Brad (Hensley) is harboring a lifelong “love” for her, and every teenage boy (or man, for that matter) she comes into contact with seems to want a sweet little piece of her. It isn’t until she discovers a secret weapon between her legs that Dawn begins to understand that she may have the upper hand.

This is a film that probably pissed a lot of men off. I can just imagine guys sitting in the theatre, shrinking down in their seats and clinging to their junk as they witness the images on the screen. That aspect is what made this so good: guts. I haven’t seen many films that are so daring to go to that edge where people could only be disgusted, only be uncomfortable. We aren’t supposed to talk about female sexuality or vengeance, unless it’s in a familiar context. Teeth, however, hits them right where it hurts. You can guess where exactly.

In addition to its statement about violence against women, Teeth’s strength and genuineness (I guess you could say) lies in its understanding of where that violence stems from. There is a brilliant scene where Dawn sits through a sex ed class, first learning in detail about the penis from a diagram in her textbook; when she turns her page, however, there is a big sticker covering the vagina diagram and the teacher can’t even say the word. We are taught that women are scary, and fear can only breed violence and disrespect. The film, of course, takes it to the extreme by saying that yes, we are scary—imagine what we’re packing in there!

I applaud this film. Heavily. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

FINAL GRADE: A-

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE (2010)

DIRECTOR: David Slade
STARRING: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

I’m going to admit something I’m not very proud of: when I first started reading the Twilight books, I ate them up. I loved ’em. Studying for my finals became a distant second to consuming them within a two-week period and I thought Rob Pattinson was a fox. Since then I’ve become a feminist and graduated with a degree in English and writing, so you can imagine how deep my shame runs. That being said, I’m well aware that liking these books is only okay as long as you don’t take them seriously, and I also want to point out the fact that I thought vampires were sexy way back in middle school when I discovered Anne Rice’s Lestat — does that give me any credibility at all?

Anyway, back to the movie.

Eclipse is the third installment of the series, following Bella (Stewart) and her intensely co-dependent relationship with stud vampire Edward (Pattinson). They’ve gone through a lot together — other vampires desperately wanting to eat her, Edward nearly committing suicide in Italy because of a little misunderstanding, and the like. Recently, however, what Bella is really having a hard time with is the fact that in spite of her all-consuming love for Edward, she also is in love with her werewolf friend Jacob (Lautner). To make matters worse, Edward and Jacob don’t get along, not only because they’re in competition but also because they are natural enemies. And, on top of everything, Victoria (a.k.a. hot evil redhead vamp) is still on Bella’s trail, determined to kill her as revenge against Edward. Needless to say, Edward and Jacob may have to get along for the safety of their delicate ladylove...

Let me be honest here. I know these movies are crap — anybody who actually believes otherwise is in denial. However, I have to commend Eclipse for being a considerably higher grade of crap than the first two. There aren’t nearly as many cringe-worthy moments, no music-video-esque slow motion montages, and the sexual tension and romance going on actually feels somewhat genuine. I would like to believe that Kristen Stewart has the potential to be a good actress (see my review for The Runaways) and it seems that as Bella she is gradually evolving past the obnoxious, stuttering mess that I can’t stand. Her character seems to be slowly sneaking towards having a spine. Of course, Rob Pattinson is still pretty and bland, sleepwalking through what could have been an interesting role, but I won’t hold that against him (but please, can’t he tweeze just a bit?).

I guess I have to say that I was actually a little bit impressed. Not impressed in that it was a good movie, but that it was a better one. It managed to improve in a lot of ways. Let’s just say I’m extremely curious to see how they pull off movie #4 — anyone who’s read it knows exactly what I’m talking about.

FINAL GRADE: C+

SPLICE (2010)

DIRECTOR: Vincenzo Natali

STARRING: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac

Anyone who’s seen the film Cube would probably understand why the prospect of seeing this film was exciting. Also directed by Vincenzo Natali, Cube struck me as a disturbing examination of how people react under extreme circumstances. I haven’t heard of the director since Splice came around, and since then I’ve been looking forward to seeing what he had up his sleeve. I am pleased to say that my expectations were met.

Splice follows two young scientists, Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley). The couple has recently found success and notoriety from their work with splicing the DNA of different species to create new species, hoping to find medical breakthroughs by studying their genetic makeup. Having already created Fred and Ginger, a pair of weird pig hybrids, they want to take the next scientific step by splicing human DNA — the reason, of course, being to find cures to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and so on. Their superiors, however, aren’t interested in taking the ethical risk, and instead want to focus on making a profit via Fred and Ginger. Being the insatiable scientists that they are, Elsa and Clive won’t take no for an answer, and they secretly begin their own experiment. The result is Dren (Chanéac), a beautiful and strange creature who ends up pushing her creators to more than one limit.

The story here isn’t necessarily original and, unfortunately, could have used some tightening — as could the script. There were a few moments where the characters stumbled upon a few clichéd lines, and Elsa’s traumatic back-story felt a little too contrived at times. But as far as gripes go, that is about all I’ve got.

The rest of the film really fulfilled what I’d hoped it would be. The trailer marketed it as a jump-out-of-your-seat thrill ride, but, thank God, it wasn’t. It was disturbing on an emotional level, which is quite hard for a film of this genre to pull off. The magic lies entirely in Dren: one of the most memorable characters I’ve seen in a long time whom turns out to be more human than the actual humans. She manages to bring up a lot issues that aren’t often addressed in science fiction films — parenting, ownership, control, sexuality, freedom, and, of course, ethics! Morality! Whether or not we have the right to play God and then patent it. Wonderful things to think about, though part of me wonders if audiences would rather just see the monster go haywire and try to kill everyone. So, in that regard, perhaps this isn’t for everyone. Keep in mind that it’s more of a cautionary/morality tale than a thriller.

All in all, I was satisfied. Not blown out of my seat, not mesmerized, but an impact was definitely made. It may not be for everyone, but those who go with an open mind may find a worthwhile experience.

FINAL GRADE: B

FROM HELL (2001)

DIRECTORS: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

STARRING: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham

Given my admiration of Johnny Depp and unhealthy fascination with serial killers, I figured this film would be a perfect fit for me. On paper, it appeared it would be. Unfortunately I ended up fast-forwarding through the most of the second half, just to get to the finale. That doesn’t exactly speak well for good filmmaking, now, does it?

From Hell tells the story of the events surrounding the murders of Jack the Ripper, taking place in the poverty-stricken Whitechapel district of London in the late 1800’s. Someone is out there butchering prostitutes in the most gruesome manner imaginable, and it’s up to Inspector Frederick Abberline (Depp) to solve the case. Not only is he heavily addicted to opium, but Abberline also has some clever skills to aid him in his investigation: he is clairvoyant, often receiving visions of the victims before they’re killed. As he continues to gather clues and put pieces together, he eventually seeks the assistance of Mary Kelly (Graham), a hooker who is part of the victims’ circle. Naturally, the two of them begin to develop a romance, even as it becomes clear that Mary is likely on the killer’s hit list.

I think my problem in watching this film was the fact that I was probably expecting an historical thriller — you know, factually based. That really was not the idea behind From Hell. Yes, the historical facts behind the Jack the Ripper case were certainly the foundation of the story, but not by any means essential. Even though the case itself is unsolved the filmmakers felt it necessary not to leave anything open-ended, fitting on a contrived ending and explanation to the mystery. The result was a surprisingly boring film — boring enough to fast forward through and not miss much.

As far as performances go, I’m beginning to realize that although Johnny Depp is a phenomenal actor when given the right roles, he isn’t very good at playing characters that are fairly straight. As Abberline, he sort of deadpans his way through his scene — not in a dry, humorous way, but just flat. Even his affection for Mary doesn’t have a lot of energy behind it. It almost seems that in order to make the character interesting he had to become a clairvoyant, a trait that made absolutely no significant impact on the story and, frankly, felt out of place. Heather Graham as Mary Kelly, on the other hand, didn’t do too horribly, but like Depp she didn’t really put much into her role. Most of the time I was just distracted by her horrifically-dyed red hair, the shade of which could never be natural on any human, and was therefore just one more piece that didn’t fit into the whole picture.

Needless to say I was disappointed. I didn’t expect anything fantastic but I did expect something watchable — which, honestly, this wasn’t. It just seemed lazy and poorly executed. Don’t waste your time.

FINAL GRADE: C

R.I.P. Dennis Hopper (1936-2010)

Dennis Hopper died today of complications from prostate cancer. Definitely a bummer, but he was 74 so I think he had a good go of it. Hats off to you, Mr. Hopper. Rest in peace. Everyone go watch Blue Velvet or Easy Rider or Speed or other movies of his that I can't think of right now.