CREATION STORIES (2022)

February 24, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. As a kid in Glasgow, Alan McGee’s dream was the same as many others: he wanted to make it big in the music business. A TV appearance by The Sex Pistols lit the proverbial fire, and Alan became obsessed. However, as he states in the film, “I didn’t have any talent, which limited my opportunities.” What he did possess was ambition and commitment. The last few years have produced an abundance of music biopics, yet this one isn’t based on a great singer, songwriter, or guitar player. Instead, director Nick Moran and co-writers Dean Cavanagh and Irvine Welsh have adapted Alan McGee’s autobiography, “The Creation Records Story: Riots, Raves and Running a Label.”

The film begins with the tagline, “most of this happened”, and of course, we understand that when rock ‘n roll is involved, stories get twisted and personalities are exaggerated. Leo Flanagan and Ewen Bremner star as the younger and older Alan McGee, respectively. Flanagan gets the backstory which sets the conflict with McGee’s father, while Bremner, as you have likely guessed, gets the flamboyant and wild events of the later years.

There is a zaniness to the film in that, at times, it has frantic pacing, quick cuts, and psychedelic effects. Suki Waterhouse plays a journalist interviewing McGee on his success, and this provides a touch of structure to a story that otherwise bounces between timelines and business developments so haphazardly that we can’t possibly keep up. McGee and Creation Records were key players in the surge of independent and alternative music in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The label featured such bands as Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and of course, Oasis.

Bremner is high-octane as the fast-talking McGee, and we believe that he believes he’s running “the coolest record label on the planet.” We are along for the ride in his never-ending quest to find the next band that is “going to be bigger than U2.” He’s a maverick who succumbs to the lifestyle by over-indulging in drugs, and having no obvious business savvy in maintaining what he builds. The Oasis story is particularly well told, and features Jason Flemyng at the King Tut gig. Other supporting work is provided by an unusually high-strung Jason Isaacs, Paul Kaye, and Steven Berkoff in the film’s oddest role. He plays a McGee hallucination of famed occultist and writer Aleister Crowley.

Danny Boyle is an Executive Producer on the film and director Nick Moran has spent much of his career acting, including a role in LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS (1998). This combination (as well as a few connected actors) is likely a key to the early Guy Ritchie vibes we sometimes experience. Set Decorator Clare Keyte deserves a shoutout for exceptional work in various time periods and settings. Kudos to Bremner for his all-in approach, but the film works best as one that offers some nostalgia and historical value of a time when the music culture shifted in the UK.

The film will stream on AMC+ and be available On Demand and digital on February 25, 2022

WATCH THE TRAILER

Leave a Comment » | Comedy, Drama, World Cinema/Foreign | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

CHARLIE SAYS (2019)

May 9, 2019

 Greetings again from the darkness. Author Joan Didion wrote “the 1960’s ended abruptly on August 9, 1969”, and as we approach the 50th anniversary of that tragic night … actually two tragic nights (August 8 and 9) … there is no shortage of recollections and reenactments through both print and visual media. For anyone who was alive at the time or has read the story since, the grisly murders and cult commune lorded over by Charles Manson remains nearly beyond belief. Unfortunately, it’s all too real.

Director Mary Harron and screenwriter Guinevere Turner previously collaborated on AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000) and THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE (2015), and here, “inspired by” books from Karlene Faith (“The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult”, 2001) and Ed Sanders (“The Family”, 1972, also one of the film’s producers), we get a glimpse of the Manson cult through the eyes of the women, especially Leslie Van Houten. And let’s be honest, that’s where the real mystery is. A domineering, arrogant, white supremacist is not nearly as interesting as the story of how these women became so enchanted by him that they were willing (even anxious) to murder innocent people on his behalf.

Hannah Murray (“Game of Thrones”) stars as Leslie Van Houten, nicknamed “LuLu” by Manson not long after they meet for the first time. We see Van Houten, Susan “Sadie” Atkins (Marianne Rendon) and Patricia “Katie” Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick) in an isolated cell block of a California Women’s Prison five years after the murders. They are going through therapy sessions with Karlene Faith (Merritt Weaver, “Godless”) whose goal is to remind them of who they were before meeting Manson.

During the prison therapy sessions, we get flashbacks to the Spahn Ranch where Manson ruled over his followers which also included Mary Brunner (Suki Waterhouse), Squeaky Fromme (Kayli Carter), Linda Kasabian (India Ennenga), and of course, Tex Watson (Chace Crawford), who initially comes off as quite aloof, but eventually buys in totally – in a most violent manner. It’s these flashbacks that are meant to help us understand the brainwashing which stuck with these women through the crimes, through their trial, and through years of incarceration. We hear the “garbage dump” song. We hear about money and ego. We learn that ‘the new rules are no rules’. We see Manson’s dream of becoming a rock star shattered by music producer Terry Melcher (the son of Doris Day) after his introduction from Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys drummer), who hung around the ranch sometimes. And we hear Manson’s rantings about the correlations between The Beatles’ White Album and the Bible, and about how a race war is coming (and it’s named Helter Skelter).

Matt Smith plays Charles Manson, and oddly enough, this comes on the heels of his playing artist Robert Mapplethorpe in MAPPLETHORPE (2018). Smith seems to have fun with the role, but it’s these segments that feel underwritten. We want more of an explanation of how this could happen. On the other hand, the therapy sessions in the prison actually provide more insight to the lasting effects of the man and the cult that brainwashed them right into committing cold-blooded murder and a life behind bars. The thankless job of a prison therapist becomes clear as Ms. Faith realizes that if she breaks the Manson spell, these women will be forced to live with the unimaginable atrocities they committed. For a different perspective, track down the 1976 TV movie HELTER SKELTER that was based on prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi’s book. It starred Steve Railsback as a terrifying Charles Manson.

watch the trailer:

Leave a Comment » | Drama | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES (2016)

February 4, 2016

PPZ Greetings again from the darkness. For those high school Literature teachers struggling to get their students to embrace the classics from writers like Jane Austen, this movie won’t help much. However, chances are good that those same students will enjoy this blending of 19th century British class warfare with “The Walking Dead” – likely one of their favorite shows.  The zombie apocalypse has landed in the middle of Austen’s prim and proper story, including the repressed attraction between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.

Anyone expecting the serious undertones of Ms. Austen’s1813 novel will be disappointed … but the title should have provided a pretty solid hint. While her characters and general story line act as a structure here, it’s really based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s YA hit novel … delivering zombie battles and often zany humor. Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) directs his own adapted screenplay and seems to really be having a great time – right along with his talented cast. The sets, costumes, dialogue and fight scenes work together to create an unusual movie experience that will generate plenty of laughs while not dwelling on the zombies or violence (it is PG-13). Expect most critics to destroy this one because it’s made simply for fun, not for art.

Of course, any Pride and Prejudice spin-off (even one with zombies) must pay particular attention to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. It turns out that Elizabeth and her four sisters are highly trained warriors raised to survive against the undead. It’s even clearer for Mr. Darcy as he is billed as a zombie hunter and protector of Mr. Bingley, the rich bachelor hooked on Jane Bennett. Things get muddled by the devious Mr. Wickham, a focused Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and especially the flamboyant fop Parson Collins. The interactions between these characters bounce between loyalty, romantic attraction, emotional turmoil and hand-to-hand combat … with enough comedic elements that most viewers will find plenty of opportunities to laugh.

The talented cast is all in. They play it mostly straight (with one major exception) to achieve the balance between somber and silly. Lily James (“Downton Abbey”) and Sam Riley (On the Road, 2012) are both fun to watch as Elizabeth and Darcy. They are the film’s best fighters … both with swords and words. Bella Heathcoate (Dark Shadows, 2012) is “the pretty one” Jane, who is wooed by Douglas Booth (Noah, 2014) as Mr. Bingley. Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”) makes an impression in her limited screen time as an eye-patched Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Jack Huston (“Boardwalk Empire”) is well cast as Wickham. Screen veterans Charles Dance and Sally Phillips take on the role of parents to the five Bennett daughters, but it’s Matt Smith (“Dr Who”), who turns the film on its ear with his unconventional twist on the oddball Parson Collins, who pretty much steals each of his scenes. He had those in the theatre laughing out loud more than a few times.

Pity is the word that comes to mind for any young man who takes these Bennett girls to the prom … or more likely to one of the societal balls. The weapons hidden under their formal gowns offer fair warning to zombies and handsy suitors alike. It’s this element of strong women (physically and emotionally) that might even allow Ms. Austen to appreciate what’s happened to her characters … were she alive to see it.

Even though the film offers plenty of fun with laughs and action and romance, let’s hope it doesn’t kick off a new zombie-adaptation trend. Here are a few titles that we hope never see the big screen: Sense and Sensibilities and Zombies, War and Peace and Zombies, Crime and Punishment and Zombies, The Old Zombie and the Sea, Wuthering Zombies, Romeo and Juliet and Zombies, and Alice’s Adventure in Zombieland.

watch the trailer:

 

Leave a Comment » | Action, Horror, Thriller | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

LOVE, ROSIE (2014)

March 8, 2015

Love, Rosie Greetings again from the darkness. More Romantic-Drama than Romantic-Comedy, the story spans 12 years – a necessary change of structure from the 45 year saga of Cecilia Ahern’s novel and source material “Where Rainbows End”. It’s a familiar theme of boy-girl friendship muddled by quasi-romantic interludes of frustration, confusion, missed signals, and misplaced pride.

Rosie (Lily Collins) and Alex (Sam Clafin) have been friends since they were 5 years old, and their bond means they discuss everything from Alex’s weird dreams to leaving England together. Well, everything except what they really think of each other. On Rosie’s 18th birthday, a poorly executed, drunken spin atop a barstool, leads to the proverbial fork in the romantic road … and off to the dance go Rosie and Alex with other partners. One cringe-inducing condom mishap later and Alex is headed off to school in the U.S., while Rosie stays behind to tend to other responsibilities.

In the mode of One Day, or Four Weddings and A Funeral, we track the separate lives of Rosie and Alex. Though connected mostly through texts, the next dozen years bring more than enough opportunity for these two to right a wrong, but predictably bad timing is always their worst enemy. The adapted screenplay from Juliette Towhidi (Calendar Girls) and the direction of Christian Ditter allow us to really understand Rosie and care for her, while the supermodel dalliances of Alex keep him at arm’s length.

The film’s best scenes and most interesting sequences are those centered on Rosie. Lily Collins (Phil’s daughter) really steps up her game here and shows some promise for things to come in her career. Most enjoyable are her scenes with the more streetwise Ruby (played by Jaime Winston, daughter of the very cool Ray). The film’s weakest moments involve the attempts at slapstick humor. The two worst: a scene involving handcuffs and a headboard and an elementary school; and another scene with the group awkwardly scurrying through an airport. Both seem out of place with the almost pensive nature of so many other moments in the film.

In an attempt to lighten the mood and ensure the viewers are on track, numerous songs are utilized and act almost as a narrator for the dramatic turns. Most of these are a bit overbearing rather than serving as a complement to the story. Despite the shortcomings, the message of friendship and dreams is one worth delivering … even if the presentation may be a bit cheesy except for the most hopeless of romantics amongst us.

watch the trailer:

 

Leave a Comment » | Rom-Com | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson