Review - Blue Ruin

Meet Dwight Evans, a vagrant living out of his battered blue Pontiac (the Blue Ruin of the title). Dwight earns his living by dumpster diving and picking up beach litter, which he later turns in for recycling in exchange for money. Thank God for litterbugs, or this man would probably starve to death in a week. He occasionally breaks into homes when the owners are away, to take a proper bath and perhaps indulge in a square meal. The perpetually vacant look in his eyes and his slumped posture suggest that he barely even feels alive.

Dwight Evans led a aimless life till one fateful day

Dwight's tattoos hint at a rebellious streak at some point in his life, but that fire seems to have been put out, likely after the murder of his parents years ago.

Only Dwight's tattoos imply that at one point, he did feel truly alive

However, all of that changes one morning, when a friendly cop wakes him up and informs him that his parents' murderer is being released early due to a new plea bargain. Suddenly, something stirs inside this hollow shell of a man, and as he stares at the cop in silence, his eyes come alive with renewed resolve. Finally, his life has a purpose - to avenge the death of his parents, which was denied to him years ago, with the murderer tossed into prison. Thus begins a tale of blood, rage, and violence, which forms the core of Jeremy Saulnier's Kickstarter-powered 2014 revenge movie.

Revenge movies often follow a straightforward formula in Hollywood

Although revenge is not my favourite movie genre, I'm no total stranger to it either, having watched quite a few genre favorites - Sweeney Todd, The Crow, Punisher: War Zone, and John Wick, for instance, come to mind. While I enjoy the stylized violence in these movies, the charcoal-filtering of realism out of the action sequences constantly remind me that these are, after all, just movies. The protagonists, capable of cartwheeling through bullet storms in trenchcoats or stealthily dispatching dozens of evildoers with nary a scratch on themselves, are pretty much superheroes in their own right.

Blue Ruin takes a different approach, however

Blue Ruin strays from the usual formula of revenge movies, focusing instead on how a perfect everyman might go about avenging the death of someone close to him. It deals with real world problems like securing a firearm, which is quite a predicament for someone whose savings are not likely to exceed double digits and who hasn't even owned a decent set of clothing for ages. It brings us up, close and personal with Dwight when he commits his first murder in the men's room of a seedy-looking bar. The way he reacts to the sight of his victim's still-twitching body on the floor and the blood fountain erupting from the punctured jugular made me shudder.

The stomach-churning scenes do not always involve violence

And that's not even the best of what Blue Ruin has to offer. How can I, after all, forget the scene when Dwight attempts self-surgery to extract a crossbow bolt from his thigh with nothing but a pair of pliers? His helpless screams, not to mention the blood spurting from the wound, gave me a knot in the stomach and almost made me do a dry retch. If the scene was a couple minutes longer, I would probably have trouble keeping my dinner down. Thank you, Macon Blair, for bringing Dwight to life in a way few in Hollywood ever could.

Macon Blair and Amy Hargreaves play brother-sister duo Dwight and Sam

Amy Hargreaves' casting is spot on

Amy Hargreaves plays Sam, Dwight's sister, who gets caught in the crossfire between her brother and a bloodthirsty family that's now out to avenge the death of one of their own. And Saulnier couldn't have found a better actress for the role. Her Sam brings some much-needed levelheadedness into the story, which nicely complements Dwight's single-minded drive towards vigilantism.

It was nice to see Devin Ratray again

Devin Ratray puts in a solid performance as Ben Gaffney

I remember Ratray as Buzz the bully from Home Alone. This is the second movie I have ever seen him in, and I'm glad Saulnier decided to cast him. As Dwight's gun-loving childhood friend Ben Gaffney, Ratray drives the story forward by supplying him with firearms and even training him to shoot. Plus there's one particularly grisly scene, where Ben blows half the skull of a man off with a single round from his rifle. Dwight cringes at the explosion of brain matter and blood, but Ben nonchalantly replies, "That's what bullets do".

Congratulations, Saulnier. Rarely have I seen a revenge movie so heavy on violence also showcase the real horror, and the ultimate futility of it. Revenge, after all, is a slippery slope. Where does one stop when triggers are pulled and cold corpses start piling up?

Review - Maggie

Hollywood has a pretty standard formula for handling zombie movies, I feel. Be it Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, or even the queen of zombie franchises, Resident Evil, the movies follow a pretty common structure, with a motley band of survivors struggling to stay alive in the middle of an ongoing zombie apocalypse. The zombies, on the other hand, mostly serve the purpose of killing off supporting characters and acting as cannon fodder for the protagonists. Aside from a few odd title here and there in recent years (Shaun of the Dead, Warm Bodies and Fido come to mind), I've seen few movies portraying zombies in a humane manner.

Maggie offers a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse backdrop

Director Henry Hobson's debut venture Maggie takes quite a different approach here. At the beginning itself, it becomes clear that the apocalypse, triggered by a virus, is over. Humanity is still reeling from the massive casualties. And then there is the issue of dealing with the leftover population of the Infected - people who've been bitten by zombies but have not succumbed to the effects of necroambulism (zombification) and turned cannibalistic yet. There's no cure for them though; the only option is to transfer them to quarantine zones, and put bullets through their heads once they transform.

A prairie farmer from Kansas has a different idea, however

Schwarzenegger and Breslin team up in this touching story about parent-daughter bond

Two weeks after his daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) goes missing, Wade Vogel (Arnold Schwarzenegger) receives a call from her, confirming his worst fears. Maggie has been bitten, and it is only a matter of time before she succumbs to a ravenous hunger for human flesh. Staying away from home is the only way she can think of, to keep her family safe.Wade, however, spends two weeks tracking her down and brings her home, deciding to send her to quarantine right before she transforms. He wants to fulfill the promise of protecting Maggie that he made to her mother. The rest of the family and Maggie's friends, however, are understandably wary of her presence, creating plenty of friction along the way.

The mutual trust between Wade and Maggie is the core element of the plot

Schwarzenegger has arguably put forward his best performance ever

At the ripe old age of 68 (at the time Maggie was released), the Austrian Oak is finally showing his age. That means he has to let go of multiple intense action scenes, settling instead for just one, where he effortlessly snaps the neck of a zombie that strays a little too close to his daughter. However, the lack of action sequences in the movie has brought out a side of him that viewers have rarely witnessed earlier. His Wade may look tough on the outside, complete with a hulking physique and a fortnight-old stubble; yet his deep affection for his offspring is clearly visible. During his solo moments, the audience bears witness to the forlorn look in his eyes and his hard-set jaw; unmistakable markers of a defeated man barely holding himself together. 

Schwarzenegger and Breslin shine the brightest in the post-apocalyptic drama

Breslin's performance is equally memorable

Breslin has already proved her mettle with her outstanding performances in Signs, Little Miss Sunshine, Zombieland, Nim's Island, and My Sister's Keeper. In Maggie, her portrayal of the suffering and inner strengths of the eponymous character seamlessly complements Schwarzenegger's tough-yet-vulnerable Wade. I would definitely expect to see her regularly in mainstream blockbusters, pretty soon.

All in all, Henry Hobson's Maggie is a touching tale about the mutual trust and the emotional bond between an aging farmer and his daughter, with both Schwarzenegger and Breslin delivering memorable performances. I would eagerly look forward to Hobson's next venture.

Review - Troll Hunter

Norway has trolls. Lots of trolls. No, I don't mean the attention-hungry human beings who stalk social networks. I mean the fantasy creatures who make Norwegian forests their home, shy away from sunlight, and like to beat the shit out of devout Christians. Naturally, with such creatures stalking forests and countrysides in search of the faithful, it's only fair that there exist a group of defenders, whose task is to hunt any troll that strays too far from forests. That is the basis of Troll Hunter, André Øvredal's found-footage style mockumentary.

The story is well told, right from the get go

Found-footage films often show the central cast in pursuit of their objective. Øvredal deliberately strays from this well-traveled path to bring a fresh feel to his entry in the genre. Three college students, the characters supposedly filming what is seen on screen - Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), Johanna (Johanna Mørck) and Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen), are tracking Hans (Otto Jespersen), a man they suspect is a bear poacher.

(L-R) Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Mørck, and Tomas Alf Larsen

After several failed attempts to interview Hans, the trio decide to follow him into an abandoned minefield within a dense forest and finally see him in action - taking down one of the massive, ornery beasts. Apparently, killing trolls is as easy as focusing a powerful ultraviolet lamp on them, which instantly calcifies their entire body. 

Calcifying a troll - up, close and personal

Soon, however, the students find out that killing one stray troll isn't what Hans' mission is all about. Something way bigger is underway, and they are all a part of it now. And that's when the fun begins. The camera work is superb, especially during frantic chases, where the shakes in the camera accurately simulate a real world scenario of the type, even though it does make the action a bit difficult to follow in certain cases.

The performances are, as can be expected, excellent

Most of the cast members are popular actors and comedians in Norway. As such, it is hardly surprising that the performances are almost always brilliant. However, even among such a cast, the portrayal of Hans by Otto Jespersen deserves special mention. His no-nonsense depiction of the eponymous hero, as well as the occasional comical moments that he brings to the screen make the movie worthy of a re-watch.

Jespersen's portrayal of Hans is one of the finer elements of the movie

The humor may not translate well for everyone, however

A core aspect of the humor presented in Troll Hunter is religion. The trolls are apparently able to literally sniff out the religious convictions of their victims. There's even a scene where Hans confronts the students about their religious beliefs after noticing a troll continually sniffing in their direction. This kind of heavy-handed, anti-religious approach might not sit well with some viewers. Also, on a separate note, those who do not know about the dryness of Scandinavian humor might not be able to get it all on the first view, and end up watching it as a blend of fantasy, sci-fi and action instead. That won't exactly ruin the experience for them, however.

Bottom line - André Øvredal's Troll Hunter blends plenty of dry humor, brilliant performances, and an engaging storyline that come together nicely to offer a highly entertaining experience. The director certainly seems ready to deliver plenty of entertainment for the decades to come. His 2016 venture into Hollywood with the chilling-to-the-bone horror movie, The Autopsy of Jane Doe (check out the review here), is also something viewers (especially those who enjoy creepy supernatural horror) might want to look out for.

Review - The Autopsy of Jane Doe

I like to broadly classify horror movies into two categories. First, there are the ones with paper-thin stories that rely on gazillions of special effects and done-to-death movie tropes, to make clumsy attempts at making the audience jump. While these movies do make me feel uneasy at times, more often than not it is for the wrong reasons.

Then, there are the superbly atmospheric, chill-inducing titles with tight editing that define the genre; the ones make the hair on my neck stand up for a brief moment, if I remember them while entering a dark room, or right after I turn the light off at bedtime. André Øvredal's The Autopsy of Jane Doe is one such movie.

A stunning, no-nonsense opening sets the mood

Something I really like is how Øvredal doesn't waste time offering a long narrative at the beginning of the movie. Instead, in the first scene itself, he takes us to a house in Grantham, Virginia, where a truck of a construction company is parked on the driveway. A shot of the backyard shows a pristine white coffee table flanked by two chairs, with a coffee mug and an extinguished cigarette in an ashtray. All in all, the perfect image of a peaceful morning in a small town home.

From the opening sequence itself, Øvredal decides to show, not tell 

The inside of the house, however, tells another tale. The floor bears more blood smears than a butcher shop on a busy day. Blood-soaked dead bodies and weapons litter the floor. A team of police officers and forensic experts comb the macabre scene in search of clues. Finally, they find the weirdest clue they could ever imagine - the naked body of a beautiful woman half-buried in the basement, without a scratch on her. In search of answers, they transfer the body of the unidentified woman, a "Jane Doe" to the local, family-owned mortuary for urgent autopsy. As the father-son team of coroners start to work on the body, they discover that it carries a rather sinister secret about her.

The performances are top-notch, across the board

Emile Hirsch (left) and Brian Cox deliver brilliant performances

Emile Hirsch (Wild Iris, Alpha Dog, Into the Wild) and legendary actor Brian Cox (Bourne Identity, Manhunter, Braveheart, Rushmore) team up as the coroners trying to determine the cause of death of Jane Doe (Olwen Kelly). From the very beginning, it becomes clear that the son is relatively new to the trade, and is in the process of learning the tricks of the trade from his experienced father. They work well together as a team; the son bringing some much needed humor and the father explaining  various processes, as well as sharing words of wisdom.

Cox expertly delivers what's arguably one of the best quotes in the movie

The pacing is just perfect for a horror movie

Øvredal sure knows how to pace a horror movie for maximum impact. For the first hour, he takes time to set up the backdrop for the climax, offering plenty of "what the" moments as the father-son duo dig deeper (pun intended) into Jane Doe. Once that's over, he shifts to high gear, keeping the audience at the edge of their seats for the remainder, with plenty of genuinely scary moments. There are jump scares too, but those have been handled so well that none of them feels cliched, or forced. Besides, I'm not going to hint at what the coroners find, but it does provide a fresh take on a topic that has been previously covered by a number of directors.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe is Øvredal's second movie that I have seen, the first one being the gem of a mockumentary Troll Hunter (check out the review here). For those who enjoy found-footage films, I would definitely recommend it. Yes, it is just as weird and entertaining as the title suggests!