Genres

Visitors Review

Iain 2012-05-21 06:26:33

Review

Steve McQueen got his first starring role in this musty delight about a giant red alien jelly terrorising small-town America and absorbing the population. A quintessential 1950s classic (which spawned an equally successful 1988 remake), its gaudy colours, self-mocking tone and neat title creature add up to loads of unsettling fun. The scene where the outer-space ooze invades a local cinema has become one of science fiction's key images. Note the title song, which was written by Burt Bacharach and Mack David, brother of Hal, Bacharach's longtime collaborator

2012-05-20 20:29:20

GREAT THINKER

This review is from: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (DVD) There is lovely symbolism and an awesome, creative adaptation of real life events. Very Surprised how much i enjoyed this film.

bonehochane-704-490700 2012-05-12 03:10:20

Simple as this...

Let's say I'm as possibly sane as a person can be.Now let's say I go on a trip to Peru and when I come back I startrandomly yelling things like "Why is everyone staring at me!" or"Razzle Dazzle them! Razzle DAZZLE them!" And then I start creatingcontraptions out of glassware claiming that "I'm trying to captureHeaven on earth!" I claim to hear god on the radio, I speed acrossbridges at rapidly high speeds, and I cry when I see people working outin gyms. People would either think I'm trying to be artsy, or more sensibly,that I'm totally flipping insane. However in this movie, we have a maincharacter that does all of these things and none of the charactersaround him react realistically. The man's very own fiancée continuallyraises her eyebrow and sometimes appears to LOOK concerned, but neveractually takes action, or even attempts to give her future husband anyhelp what so ever. The same goes for the mother and the maincharacter's best friend. Why do all of the surrounding characters remain so calm, so lenient tosuch a bizarre character? Sometimes he'll be screaming bizarre nonsensein a character's face. Other times he'll be threatening characters'lives with a sword he cares about so passionately. Wouldn't you thinksomeone would do something, or maybe just do something other than stareblankly?Nope. Because if anybody did anything, then there wouldn't really be amovie here. And that's what hurts the believability so much...laughably so. So many critics were quick to say that Michael Shannon'sover the top delivery is what hurt the production. But it's not, it'sreally not. He does a fine job portraying a mentally dangerous man.It's the characters around him that feel so flat that make thischaracter, Brad McCullum, stick out so harshly. William Defoe, easily the most likable person here, is caught insimilar downfall. His performance is fine but his character is sobland, so fake. He listens to these characters testimonies and tries topiece together an idea of what is going on, but he comes off just asclueless as everybody else. He never once says to any of thesecharacters "What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you try to gethim help? Why didn't you take ANY action? This could have beenprevented," like any real person would do. He never even comments onthe absurdity of Brad McCullum's actions in these stories. He justsorts sits there, nods his head, keeps grinning like a robot, and moveson. Why doesn't he react like a normal person, instead of a lifelessplot device? Probably because director Werner Herzog thought it wouldhave messed with the boring atmosphere or the slow timing of the movie.Point is, it's the artistic choices that hurt this movie in the longrun. It comes off as just completely laughable. And speaking of artistic choices, boy are there a mess of them. Perhapssome work on some level I never really grasped, but for the most partthey too come as extremely humorous. A few examples: early in the moviethe cameraman practically trips and completely slips up a continuousshot, yet it remains in the movie. Why? It was obvious enough foreveryone to notice. Why keep it? Another example, the actors come to complete stops at random points inthe movie, appear to freeze, and then stare into the camera for fiveminutes. This happens multiple times... not once is it explained. Notonce does it make sense. Someone may tell you they were trying to implyBrad McCullum's schizophrenia with these scenes, as if hisschizophrenia isn't already overwhelmingly apparent in this movie. Thetruth is their just trying to pull off some David Lynch inspired art,and well, it just feels too contrived. And tooo awkward.The finest David Lynch-inspired-nonsensical moment comes midway intomovie in which we're randomly thrown into a snow-covered setting alongwith David and two new characters: a hillbilly and a man with dwarfism(sorry I'm not 100% what the politically correct term is so that's whatI'm sticking with). Nothing in this five minute scene made any sense tome, I wanted someone to explain to me what had happened, but I reallydon't think there is anything to explain. A lot of words are spoken inthis scene about a subject the audience is never let in on, so it comesoff as a bunch of nonsense. Meanwhile the man with dwarfism silentlywalks around a giant tree stump looking into the sky worryingly. Thescene ends beautifully with all three actors, once again, staringawkwardly into the camera. None of these newly introduced charactersare ever seen again. Whaaaattt. The unfortunate thing is I, and so many of those in the audience withme, were hoping that all these awkward moments would come together inthe end. These are the only scenes in the movie that feel like theystill need explaining when the credits start rolling. Nobody is goingto walk away from this movie not knowing what happened, saying theydidn't get it. It's a fairly simple and obvious plot. But thoseartistic scenes. Those will stick with you. You'll walk away wonderingwhy the hell they were there and why they were necessary... other thanreminding you were watching a David Lynch production. Overall, this film is a mess. Simple as that.

2012-05-11 16:42:46

Worth buying the DVD for "Plastic Bag"...

I ws somewhat underwhelmed by "My Son, My Son..." I've liked most of Herzog's films much better. It held my interest, but I didn't find it very satisfying. Quirky yet predictable, and I thought the acting was spotty. What clinches this as a must-buy, however, is the short film, "Plastic Bag," narrated by Herzog and directed by Ramin Bahrani. I'd never heard of the film nor seen any of Bahrani's other films, but this is the most brilliant 18 minutes of filmmaking I've probably ever seen. Compelling, charming, poetic, funny, tragic, and touching, and it does it all without any digital effects. I won't say more so as not to spoil it, but while I'll probably never watch "My Son..." again, I'll be returning to "Plastic Bag" and sharing it with friends for a long time to come...

2012-05-11 16:19:47

Honeymoon on the moon

This film is a blast, but is not going to be loved by everyone. One reviewer who gave it a one-star review said it was a brilliant comedy. It is that, and more. The humor is obviously intentional, though it's not your typical comedy or your typical anything. If you appreciate the humor in most David Lynch stuff... such as the cowboy scene at the corral in Mulholland Drive, or more strange less cornball humor in Twin Peaks, then you'll probably enjoy this. Also coming to my mind for points of comparison are "Vampire's Kiss" (though this is more subtle) or "Twister"... the 1989 "Twister" with Harry Dean Stanton and Crispin Glover. This would make a painfully great double feature with "Twister." This movie is only "like" the above movies in it's way of pulling humor out of seriously sad and strange things. Grace Zabriskie is the mom of our main cracked character. She was the mom of Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks, and she was also in Inland Empire. She hits a new level of bizarre in My Son... Fun stuff.

moviemanMA 2012-05-10 20:38:37

Another hypnotic tale from the great Werner Herzog

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done is a complex, hypnotic drama starringMichael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, and Chloe Sevigny. The film starts withhomicide detective Havenhurst (Dafoe), and his partner Detective Vargas(Michael Peña) being called in to investigate a recent murder. Afterscanning the scene for the basic details, Dafoe and Peña are made awarethat the main suspect, Brad McCullum (Shannon) is across the street.After making contact with McCullum, the situation turns hostile whenMcCullum declares that he has two hostages.To help facilitate the process of capturing McCullum, two closerelations are interviewed. His fiancée Ingrid (Sevigny) and his formertheatre director and close friend Lee Meyers (Udo Kier). Each persongives their own history about McCullum to Havenhurst in order to tryand figure out what would make him kill this woman. The most disturbingpark, aside from slaying the woman with a sword, is that the woman isalso his mother.The stage is set for Herzog to investigate the psyche of anintelligent, deranged man. The film is based on a true story where anactor who was performing in a Ancient Greek play about a man who killshis mother to avenge his father's death, does just that and kills hisown mother. Herzog and fellow screenwriter Herbert Golder interviewedthe actual man in an attempt to try and tell this remarkable storyaccurately. At the screening of the film, Golder said that the man washighly intelligent. I can't imagine what would posses someone to dothis hideous act, but this movie tries to put together some sort ofrationale as to what would lead a person to do this.I thought that Shannon's character would be the most interesting, butafter thinking it over I found that the other people in his life wereeven more peculiar. How could they put up with his radical behavior andoutlandish thinking? Ingrid says that two years prior Brad embarked ona rafting trip to the Amazon with some of his friends. He was the onlyone who survived. After he returned Ingrid said he was different. Verydifferent.Why did she stay with him for so long when clearly he was mentallyunstable? Why did Meyers, the director of the Greek play, put up withhim that long? These people are more intriguing than a man who clearlyis not all there in the head for one reason or another. I had a hardtime getting past these questions.What helped was the entrancing camera work and film composition thatHerzog put together along with cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger. Theslow tracking shots along with eye popping sets and locations createthis feeling of foreboding. The eerie score composed by ErnstReijseger, whose score is heard almost entirely throughout, gives thefilm a much needed boost by ingering in the background.Shannon might have been a little over the top or under the top. It'shard to describe. He played it kind of flat but to a point where it wasa bit much. I think he is really stepping into his own as a seriousactor and roles like this are good for him. Very brooding andpsychologically complex. The rest of the cast does a decent job, butnothing too dramatic, with the exception of Brad Dourif in the smallrole of Shannon' uncle. He plays a fiery ostrich farmer who does notapprove of the lifestyle his nephew has chosen.There is always something to like about Herzog's movies and sometimesthere are things I very much dislike. I think this one needed a littlemore boost in the action to keep the audience fully interested, butthere is still something here to take away.

Jack Gattanella 2012-05-05 05:41:59

an example of the parts far outweighing the whole

"It's all a little confusing." No kidding. When you get a movie thatsays "David Lynch presents a Werner Herzog film", you know you'll be infor some weirdness. Though by the film's end I was under theimpression, perhaps from being such a geek about both director's work(I've seen all of Lynch, most of Herzog) that it was more theBavarian's doing and that Lynch wanted his name with it. Which is fine,but fans will find their interpretations as they will. For me it's acontinuation not so much of a crime genre story like Bad LieutenantPort of Call New Orleans, but of Herzog's oeuvre in general about man'splunge and practical capture by madness due to nature (i.e. Peruvianjungle). And for fans of the director, it should be quite an event tobe able to possible walk from one theater in NYC or LA playing Port ofCall New Orleans to see another playing My Son My Son.And yet, for all of the good stuff going on in this film, I might bemore inclined to recommend the crazy-but-lucid head-trip of Port ofCall over the hit-or-miss affair of My Son My Son. In this case we getthe story of Brad, a sometimes-actor who takes a cue from a Sophoclesplay he's acting in to kill his mother one morning with a sword he usedas a prop for the play. As the cops surround his house (not knowingthat he really has flamingos as hostages, naturally, named afterSecretaries in the Johnson administration), his girlfriend and playdirector expound about his decline in his mental capacity. Some of thiscomes from his unhealthy relationship with his black jello makingmother, and some of it from his disillusioned trip to Peru, surroundedby health freaks. Or, perhaps, something else triggered it that Herzogintentionally leaves a mystery.Which, the mystery part I mean, would be perfectly fine. But theproblem comes in the screenplay, and some of the acting, both countsthat from time to time have given trouble in Herzog's work. The set-upsof the flashbacks are often unconvincing, and there's a disconnect Ifelt between Michael Shannon's character and his girlfriend played byChloe Sevigny (I don't often beg for explanation, but really, why arethey together, how did they meet, WTF man). And, sad to say for someonewho always admires the weirdness, it almost goes to extremes intobecoming meandering, a facet of Herzog's work that comes up from timeto time, such as Even Dwarfs Started Small or Invincible.But oh, such parts that make up this whole! When Herzog is able toreally relay to a willing audience about Shannon's frame of mindthrough images, and how to construct the shots and landscapes of SanDiego city or a Calgary interior "tunnel" or just random images like apiano playing by itself, it's truly wonderful. Hell, we even get imagesI hadn't recalled since Fata Morgana, where he has his charactersintentionally (ala Brecht) stand in a frozen pose as if it's afreeze-frame, with eerie music accompanying them, and every so oftenyou'll see an eye move or control of the body start to waver. What kindof balance is there for this character, or for the story about him?That the cinematography from Peter Zeitlinger is top-notch andsurprising also should go without saying.And yet saying it's somewhat of a disappointment from such a massivegenius of cinema- and whether you like him or hate him Herzog's placein modern movies is wildly unique- I hope would mean as a compliment.Like, say, Synecdoche, New York, it's got incredible sights andmoments, things of this world we haven't seen in a film in a while (ormaybe ever) like ostrich farms and a 1920's gospel song put over copswith their hands up in a hostage scene. I just wish it didn't get TOOweird for me.

2012-05-04 16:00:22

Werner Herz-fraud

This review is from: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (DVD) This movie is absolutely horrendous. I bought it without viewing it first because it is a Herzog film. A sad mistake that sometimes makes it hard for me to sleep at night. I could have given that money to a homeless person... or flushed it down the toilet, but this, this is immoral.This film alone makes me question the accolades of Mr. Herzog, in totality. The film is terribly written, acted and directed. The reaction the police have to the entire crisis situation is not believable by any stretch of the imagination. It's probably because everyone involved in this film lives their life completely detached from reality. Yes, the movie is fiction, I get that, but the characters should react to their situation as real people might (that's what acting is). Instead the Herzog and his cast decide to search the bizarre depths of their coo-coo character's souls like a college thespian pining for truth in their interpretation of-blah-blah-blah, who cares.The point is, Michael Shannon's take on "crazy" Brad McCullum, the main character, couldn't have come out more simplified. It's also impossible to believe that Ingrid would have stayed with this loony bird after the whole, Quaker Oatmeal guy-is-God thing. Yes that's really part of the story. But don't worry, Herzog completely balances this by throwing in a cool sword, a flash back trip to South America, a SWAT team that does nothing, two flamingos, some ostriches, a bigoted uncle, an imagined midget, a fascinating story about a very large chicken and a ridiculously colored house plopped in the middle of the ugliest LA suburb you can imagine. Spectacle, spectacle, spectacle and no substance what so ever.I am a movie lover, not a movie snob. I am easily won over and I enjoy all genres. I especially love unique movies that tell new stories in a fresh way. But this movie is not unique, despite desperate efforts to make it such. It is however, a brilliant comedy.

2012-05-02 01:54:06

As you can see...

...peole either really liked this film or realy disliked it--I thought it was great. Few movies do I enjoy watching more than once--but this has such creative combinations of intriging visual setups and mythico-quirky lines that I enjoy many scenes more with repeated viewings. Herzog felt it was one of his best told stories. He said clinical insanity is not very interesting--the insanity has to be lifted up to something higher. Some viewers experienced the film as just an unsatisfying crazy story, but I felt that Herzog definitely succeded in lifting it up to a higher level. I think this is a very good film, but one that will appeal to only a small audience.

Gentleblue 2012-05-01 19:29:11

Arty Farty waste of time. Knitting is more exciting.

There is a world where acting skills are not required to make movies,in fact, in Werner Herzog's world, actors with acting skills areobviously dissuaded to use them.I've always liked William Dafoe. It was his name among the cast thatmade me decide to watch this film to give him another chance after LarsVon Trier's Antichrist debacle, but I fear I'll have to be verycautious with Mr. Dafoe's future work.This film is boring and stagnant. From all the takes of all the scenes,I'm sure only the ones with the worst acting performances were used. Itis a long succession of uninspired scenes lacking any highs or lows,with actors who are clearly sorry that they committed to doing thefilm. None of them ever credibly interact, and they read their lineslike an eight year old would a memorized poem beyond his or herunderstanding in front of a classroom.All the characters are one-dimensional and there is no real explanationgiven why Mrs. McCullum was killed. From the outset, her son is notablyderanged, but that's about it and the rest is hubbub.To quote Mr. Herzog; "Film is not analysis, it is the agitation ofmind; cinema comes from the country fair and the circus, not from artand academicism."This film has the intelligence of a flea circus and may be many things,but it is not art although a rookie attempt was made to emulate DavidLinch-like visualizations, and it is most definitively not an academicdescent into a killers mind.Spare yourself this agitation...

tieman64 2012-04-29 17:03:40

Chickens in Drag

"My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?" stars actor Michael Shannon asBrad Macallum, who, as the movie opens, has just killed his widowedmother and is holed up in their flamingo-themed home, allegedly withtwo hostages. Outside, Detective Hank Havenhurst (Willem Dafoe) awaitsthe arrival of a SWAT team. The film is based on an event which occurred on June the 10th, 1979, inwhich Mark Yavorsky, a San Diego grad student who had been cast as thematricidal lead in Orestes (a Greek tragedy), murdered his own motherwith an antique sword. This is interesting material, but "Son" wasdirected by Werner Herzog, a director who habitually uses "truestories" to construct his own personal little fables.And so here we have the tale of a man who, in typical Herzog fashion,ventures off into the jungles of Peru. He's on a spiritual quest, butonce he confronts the monstrous rivers and wild, lawlessness of Nature,immediately recoils. Literally turning his back to roiling waves, Bradhides his fears whilst his friends try to convince him to go rafting.He refuses. They die to the river days later.Brad returns to America a broken man. His humbling encounter with theriver – a Schopenhaueren God which forces him to confront, not only hismortality but his own insignificance – has awakened a newfound sense ofGodhood. If he is nothing he will become everything. And so Brad, likeHerzog, sets off to tame the wild.Problem is, Brad's a bit of a loser, perpetually at the mercy ofcountless lesser Gods, none of whom he can surmount. Herzog thusstresses Brad's impotency: he can't afford a house, lives with his mom,can't hold a job, cannot perform sexually or musically, is kicked off astage-play and is belittled by everyone.But Brad is determined to fight back. Soon his quietly domineeringmother becomes a tin of Quaker Oats, a domestic God whom he will latercast out of his home, her body rolling out into the streets. "Razzledazzle!" Brad chants, shaking a coffee cup triumphantly. He thinks hisspectacle has elevated him above man, but Herzog undercuts the scenewith the story of a police detective who drove cross-country holding acoffee cup in one hand. Brad's path to Godhood is a path civilised manroutinely drives.Throughout the film, Brad is linked with homosexuality, femininity andthe colour pink. He's a castrated man in a theatre company of onlywomen. "A Greek play?" Brad's uncle mocks. "The only thing Greeks knowis how to play with their balls!" Later, the film ends with a giantball.Herzog has a fondness for birds. Here he has Brad detest the pinkflamingos ("Pink Flamingos": a 1972 film with homosexual man servants)of his home. They epitomise not only how others view Brad, but Brad'sown ineffectuality. And so Brad takes the birds hostage and begins toimagine himself as a mighty ostrich, whom his bigoted uncle calls "thelast dinosaurs". Like the ostrich, Brad's head may now be underground,ignored by all, but, as he says, the "time will come when the ostrichrises again and its wings scorneth all!" By the film's end, Brad'sWestern rise and fall ("Pity the sun rises in the East") is contrastedwith a more eastern holism.Before this, one ostrich, Brad's surrogate, defiantly steals thespectacles of a theatre director ("I'm the director, you do what I tellyou!"). Later, Herzog will link a circle of illuminated prescriptionspectacles to both heaven (see Herzog's "Heart of Glass") and Brad'sown warped, divine perception. Brad believes himself to be a prophet("I have taken a new vocation as a righteous merchant!"), destined toclaim The Glass, to bring heaven itself back down to earth. Arrogantly,he changes his name to Farouk, Arabic for "all knowing".Of course, to the theatre director, Brad's a nut case. "It's not theright kind of sword," the weaselly God complains, throwing Brad out ofhis stage play. But from the sidelines, Brad gets an idea. In the play,Tantalus challenges the gods, constructing a test to determine whetherthey are real. Brad thinks: I will razzle dazzle the gods, test them,measure my performance against their shoulders.More surrealism follows: an ornamental flamingo slamming into a treemirrors a sequence in which a dwarf, though himself dwarfed by a tree,dwarfs two men. Brad wants to be this dwarf, caught below a loomingNature, but towering above man. Brad thus goes in search of this stillpoint, this limbo between Tree and Man. He recounts a basketball storyin which he seemingly hovered in the air, and later walks against theflow of an escalator, suspended as infinity stretches to beyond beforehim. Herzog's usual message – magnificently fail before Nature –changes: to fight the balance is suicide.Last act: Brad mimics Christ. He gives away his possessions andattempts to heal the sick, but to no avail. Finally, be places abasketball in a tree. It's this humble gesture which Herzog advocates,not only humility in the face of Nature, but humility in the face ofoneself. The film's final shot, in which a ball is perched in a tree,on a hill above a city, not only recalls several symbols litteredthroughout the film (the tree, the ball, holism, balance, the hill),but mirrors its first shot, in which we watch from below as cargotrains thunder across a hill. Brad's achieved some measure oftranscendence, some height, not by scaling the tree, but by nestlingwithin it. Still, he dreams of being more, visions of ostrich armiesemblazoned on his brain, racing across deserts like fleets of tanks.8/10 – With Lynch AWOL, Herzog's now our go-to man for madcap hilarity.Note: this film is not channelling Lynch. Herzog 'invented' almosteverything Lynch does. Worth two viewings.

2012-04-29 06:06:15

Lots of weirdness and things unexplained

Herzog and Lynch team up for this very strange story of a troubled man who spends time in Peru and comes back different--though this is never really explained. The guy is the lead in a Greek play and ends up wanting to kill just as his character does, except he does it for real. Much time is spent with the police talking to the play's director and the man's fiancee to try to understand why he did it. Oh, and there are lots of flamingoes. And ostriches. And a basketball.Odd, and has an interesting and offbeat soundtrack, but I don't really think I would recommend it overall.

theumpteenthtimes 2012-04-29 03:37:33

Herzog and America...Finally!!!!

Werner Herzog, Germany's answer to Martin Scorcese, at least in thesense that his movies are unrelenting at times in their brutality,their honesty and their depiction of troubled characters, has beenbidding to become a Hollywood filmmaker for some time now. His firstattempt, Rescue at Dawn, starring Christian Bale, was a failure inevery sense of the word. It was at times pretentious and at othertimes, just straight-up hokey. His collaboration with Nicholas Cage,Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call-New Orleans, was an interesting mess, withCage bringing back that effective campy-style of acting that first madehim famous, a style we all loved and mourned for when he gave it up tobecome a "serious actor." The film itself, however, was an in-cohesivetale, pieced together with blotches of scenes that at times didn't geland often got in the way of the storytelling. Without Cage'sperformance, Bad Lieutenant would've withered away, joining the millionof other films that have failed to inspire us.Herzog's 2009 attempt, however, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?, nowavailable on DVD, succeeds greatly in its storytelling, its originalityas a film, and its portrayal of a disturbed man lost in the world,looking for something to believe in, ultimately feeling he needs tokill his mother to liberate himself from the demons that haunt hismind, as well as his soul. Michael Shannon, who we now know as thebitter, troubled F.B.I. agent on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, plays the sonand his performance is almost as brutally honest as any other in aHerzog film. The character of Brad McCullum is nearly on par, inregards to being intensely disturbed, as Klaus Kinsky in both Aguirre:The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo. The only difference being, thelatter two films are more gigantic in scope, so consequently their maincharacters would be as well.What also helps to make My Son, My Son… so effective is its tone. Thecolors in Herzog's portrayal of Southern California (San Diego, morespecifically) are dullened throughout the film, giving us a sense thatMcCullum's state of mind is not sharp enough to connect with reality.Herzog is able to maintain this sense of disconnection and uneasinessconsistently as the story unfolds in a series of flashbacks, told byMcCullum's fiancée and acting coach. Despite the disturbing nature ofthe film, there are several humorous moments that break the uneasytension created by the filmmaker. And if these moments are too obscureto be called humorous, then let's just call them just outright surrealand undoubtedly Herzogian in the conception. David Lynch was theexecutive producer of this picture and I'm sure his influence may havemade somewhat of an impact on its obscurity, but ultimately the feel ofthe film is definitely that of another Herzogian journey into the deep,dark depths of man's battle with himself. Very few filmmakers can makethat journey and come out the other side with a fascinating,well-crafted story that will last for ages to come. I didn't thinkHerzog still had it in him. He has proved me wrong.READ MORE REVIEWS at theumpteenthtimes.com"Reel" Film Reviews for Real Moviegoers

artguy17 2012-04-28 19:43:25

Stood still

There are scenes where actors literally stand still, in front of the camera, for what seems like an eternity. Was this supposed to build suspense? It didn't. It just wasted time. This movie's storyline sucked and was boring. A stand-off movie only works when theres enough action to substain the story. Like "Dog Day Afternoon", a great standoff movie. Take notes, future directors.

Scott LeBrun 2012-04-24 23:04:23

Definitely a strange one, but not uninteresting.

The first teaming of noted filmmakers David Lynch and Werner Herzogtakes a real life crime story and makes it into something truly surrealand haunting, and very offbeat. Michael Shannon, an actor who's comeinto real prominence these last several years, plays Brad, a broodingadult living at home with his mother (Grace Zabriskie). Brad's beenunravelling ever since an excursion to Peru, and upon his arrival homeis given to uttering, and doing, some pretty strange things. Thisculminates in a brutal act of matricide, done with a sword that figuredin a play that Brad was performing in, and becoming increasinglyobsessed with. Much of this is related in flashback, as the storyactually begins with Brad behind a suburban hostage situation thatinvolves two detectives, played by Willem Dafoe and Michael Pena. Withstriking choices for the soundtrack, right from the start one can tellthis isn't going to be predictable or conventional in the slightest.It's an effective portrayal of spiralling madness, and one man'sstruggle to find some sense of purpose in his life, with intriguingshots and a sometimes literate screenplay co-written by director Herzog(Lynch is one of the several executive producers). The eclectic castalso includes Udo Kier as the theater director, Brad Dourif as Brad'squirky, ostrich breeding uncle, Chloe Sevigny as his concernedgirlfriend Ingrid, and Irma Hall and Loretta Devine as neighbors. Withits cast of characters, its imagery, and its slow, reflective nature,this sure adds up to one intriguing film, although it certainly won'tbe for everyone. Suffice it to say, it's not something the viewer canforget.7/10

2012-04-24 18:40:39

What would Herzog do?

Hitler-lover Lars Von Trier may have torn down the walls with "Dogville," but he left it up to flavor-of-the-month auteur Werner Herzog to obliterate any semblance of cinema with "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?" It's a horror film without the pesky, clingy need for any actual horror; it's acting without direction; and -- as all actors, when given a bit of leeway, are nothing more than Bon Bon-eating couch slugs -- it's directed without action.Having trouble? It's OK. Why don't you sit back and relax while I give you an analogy that might help. Let's say you just built an interstate and your inclination is to go out and find people who have cars. Well, that's exactly the wrong thing to do. It's what behavioral psychologists call the "chimp response": employing knee-jerk logic to solve problems, which I hope I don't need to tell you is an oxymoron. No, if you were Herzog, the last thing you would do is let drivers on your interstate. For one thing, it's too damn easy. But more importantly, it's been overdone. If you were Herzog, you would leave that interstate untouched, like Chernobyl, but all around there would be butterflies fornicating with high-tension wires, Easter egg hunts in the culverts, weeds mating in vulgar close-ups on the sun-smeared blacktop, etc.By creating a film that is not actually a film, Herzog (and gal-pal David Lynch) has in one tidy yawp reclaimed cinema from the popcorn-drooling populace. And it's high time because the fears of an impending CGI shortage appear to be coming to fruition, thanks to corporate stooge Stan Lee. 'Nuf said!

2012-04-21 22:31:39

What was the question?

This review is from: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (DVD) I've read all the reviews here to date. I don't see Brad as insane or crazy. And I do feel the killing is "explained" or perhaps better stated, motivated. Hardly anyone would think of killing their domineering, controlling and what-would-you-call-her mother. Then again, hardly anyone would hear a barely audible warning amidst the roaring stream of life and act to avert disaster. Brad is caught up in his own yearning for life--to really live--as he floats comfortably and yet uneasily, provided for and yet unprovided, somehow "made" by his mom. It's hard to say how he was made, really, how he came to be what he was just before the rafting trip. That part isn't explained. My guess, though, is that he's a typical American, longing for a real reality within whatever reality we have here.We hear the story, told by consummate actors. There is no graphic violence, only psycho-violence of the most common kind: mother dote love. It is quite accurate, quite representative of what I've seen at large, albeit sharpened up and presented with utmost clarity. But that's what theatre is all about: showing and telling.Brad is like a child, taken by everything, as his guardians try to sweep him along, chastising him for not keeping up. But he's interested in everything, and can't stop himself from stopping to look. You can see what he sees is fetching--architecture, escalators, shining lights through glasses, etc: everything kids like. And so he is growing. But instead of growing out of that phase, usually called growing up, he grows...to cut his root, his mom. Why didn't he commit suicide, though?In the Orestes play, we are told by the director that generations of his ancestors have treated themselves with unspeakable cruelty. Does it *dawn* on Orestes to stop it? And if so, why doesn't he kill himself? That is the question.---Nothing much happens in the movie, if you are looking at the outward activity. One reviewer contrasted this movie with The Bad Lieutenant, and that's a good contrast. The action is elsewhere and will be frustrating to those not liking story telling.

countryshack 2012-04-21 12:41:26

Save Yourself

First, let me start by saying that: "Anyone that gave this movie arating higher than a one must have had their head buried neck deep intoa garbage bag filled with the fumes from airplane glue!This paragraph is 'somewhat' of a spoiler. You will probably realize inthe first 15 minutes of the movie that the main character is just somecrazy unbalanced nut. And I don't mean the intense interesting crazylike Hannibal Lecter, or Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb, or Jack Torrancecrazy. NO, this is just your every day mundane type of unbalanced loonthat can be found lying on some curb in any major city in the country.Do not spend any money on this movie unless you have some free timewith Netflix and I'll tell you why. When you start to watch the movieyou will immediately notice some of the actors: Willem Dafoe, BradDourif, Michael Shannon, Michael Pena, Grace Zabriskie…just to name afew. And since you are familiar with their reputations, you willcontinue to watch this ridiculous movie because you are thinking thatthey would never have signed on to this project unless it had somemerit. If you thought that, like we did, you would have been terriblymistaken like we were. I won't dissect it scene by scene because I'mtrying to put this mess out of my memory but… Almost every scene istotally ridiculous! Let me repeat in case you missed it. "Almost EveryScene Is Totally Ridiculous!" In almost Every Scene of the movie youwill be telling yourself: "Wait a minute, that doesn't make any sense.That's not the way things would happen in real life." So, you willcontinue to watch this mess waiting for the Intellectual Deep Twistthat will just 'pull it all together'. That moment never comes becausethere isn't one!In my opinion, if you have an hour and a half to kill you'd be betterserved watching a bunch of ants building a hill.

giantpanther 2012-04-17 22:50:01

Herzog's Masterpiece

On the DVD for Herzog's film The Wild Blue Yonder there is an interviewwith Brad Dourif (the star in that film and the guy who plays the unclein this one) and for some reason he mentions the script for this moviesaying it was unmade but brilliant. So true, this film is absolutelybrilliant, Herzog destroys conventional filmmaking with this, withinthe first five minutes you know everything that any other film wouldtake 2 hours revealing.Then after that, after the five minute mark pure Herzog madness sets inand its beautiful. Also as for the Lynch association, the movie startswith David Lynch Presents that was just Lynch offering his name forselling power. He was never on set once and Herzog only referenced himonce when Brad is walking around a hotel and sees a man with abreathing device walking on a treadmill.I have always been convinced that Herzog is a great documentaryfilmmaker (although he refuses to call his documentaries documentaries)but with this he has proved himself fully capable to me as a narrativedirector. This film is extremely strange but in a good way, sometimesyou see strange films that are just odd for attention. The film isdistorted and strange but it is meant to represent the main charactersmind and its insanity in full.You'll either be on board with this movie or you won't be but I thinkeveryone should give this film a chance.

rooprect 2012-04-17 19:42:19

My DVD player, my DVD player, what have ye done

The credits haven't finished rolling, and I find myself racing to mylaptop to warn moviegoers to avoid this colossal ostrich egg.Werner Herzog, once my favourite director of all time, has for the last20 years been slowly piling the dirt on his own grave. Let's face it,without Klaus Kinski's feverish madness to balance Herzog's drowsynihilism, his films miss the mark by miles.MYMYWHYD is no exception. We begin with a compelling plot and apotentially riveting storyline with potentially profound themes: Awoman is found dead, apparently run through by a sword wielded by hermentally unbalanced son. It is slowly revealed that the son had beensuffering some sort of stage-based psychosis, fancying himself thecenter of a Greek tragedy. Reading the DVD box, I was thinking tomyself, "How could this not be awesome?!"I'll tell you how. Despite its promising beginning, the film quicklydevolves into one passionless ramble after another, punctuatedinexplicably by Werner Herzog's vacation movies to South America.Apparently we are to surmise that something in South America drove theyoung man mad, but aside from that there is no substance. It's as ifEuropean/American audiences are supposed to be dazzled by themountains, clouds and unfamiliar native faces into thinking somethingsignificant happened.Kinski would've been able to pull this off, and he certainly has. Thisis precisely the same recipe used in "Aguierre the Wrath of God" and"Fitzcarraldo", two of my top films. A man tangles with the crushingpower of untamed nature and loses his mind. I repeat, Klaus Kinski wasda man. But how long can Herzog try to milk this same formula withsub-par talent? It's like your favourite 70s rock band (Genesis,Foreigner, Journey, etc) having lost its passionate frontman and tryingto carry on for 20+ years with some new weakling in the saddle everyalbum. At some point you have to accept that the band is dead. Or atleast they should move on to a new sound altogether (like Toto. Nowthat band has released some kickass stuff in recent years!).Enough of Klaus Kinski & classic rock. I was just trying to make apoint that Herzog's latest efforts are falling flat due to hisobsession with the old Kinskian themes that made him once great. Mr.Herzog should change the act altogether. Despite my utterdisappointment in Herzog, I will continue to watch his films hoping oneday he'll either find his new Kinski or move on. Just like I keepbuying the new Genesis albums. Unless you're stupid like me, you shouldprobably avoid both.