2011. Dir: William Friedkin. Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church. ●●●●○
I think I'm beginning to see my problem. I get actively turned off by well-adjusted characters, mild middle class dysfunction simply doesn't excite me, I need barely concealed breakdowns and trailer trash histrionics before my pulse is even slightly raised. Needless to say Killer Joe delivers in buckets, from the opening shots we are treated to the desperate machinations of our central family unit, only too aware of the potential complications of inviting in the eponymous devil. From then on I was hooked by the grand guignol - extreme violence, simulated fellatio and all.
Emile Hirsch arrives at a trailer in North Texas, close to the Oklahoma border, drenched he screams into the unit for his sister (Juno Temple) to open the door. Alas his younger sibling, cocooned in her Disney Princess fantasy at the end of the trailer, doesn't budge but Step-mom Gina Gershon, suspiciously underdressed, does so. Unimpressed Hirsch calls his father (Thomas Haden Church) and, after a quick visit to the local strip club, he outlines his plan to hire "Killer Joe", a local detective with a sideline in contract murder, to execute the missing matriarch and claim the insurance money to pay off hi drug debts. It's a lurid and fast-paced opener, that effectively introduces our family unit and establishes their types - desperate Hirsch, pathetic Church, slutty Gershon and (faux?) innocent Temple.
Into this clan of screw-ups and victims walks Matthew McConaughay, and immediately we know this is not the laid back rom-com hero we know and love. Tightly wound yet outwardly laconic, he portrays a suffocating blend of southern gent and malicious snake. It's the kind of tour de force performance that will completely sideswipe his previous fans and certainly makes me even more excited for his upcoming turns in Magic Mike and The Paperboy.
Unable to pay the necessary advance Hirsch offers his sister as a retainer, perhaps a colossal error for the confused waster as he appears to harbour complex psychosexual desires for her - something barely hinted at in the screenplay but clearly present in Hirsch's performance. Joe's first sexual encounter with his temporary possession is appropriately un-nerving, and whilst it may not be the rape some critics are suggesting it's certainly indicative of Joe's power fixation and Temple's apparent desire to be thought of as more innocent than she may be. Temple alternates between accusing and breathily seductive, her line reading of "Your eyes hurt" alone reminds us she's one of the most exciting young British actresses on the screen.
Before long the deed is done, but the aftermath is suitably grotesque as double cross and duplicity is revealed and each character must make a moral choice, and there's certainly nowhere to hide in the final act. A fried chicken take away meal becoming the basis for sexual humiliation, repeated beatings and swift justice.
William Friedkin has adapted from Tracy Letts' play, and where sometimes the staginess of the source material shows, this only seems to exemplify the sleaziness of the situation and necessary claustrophobia. With this and Bug you have to say the duo have created a fantastic working partnership and I can't help but wonder what else in Lett's back-catalogue they could have a go at.
Killer Joe is an uncomfortable watch, but necessarily so, like many familial tragedies before it the audience shudder at the nastiness of the set-up whilst chuckling at the blackest of comedic moments. Superbly involving this is one of my top recommendations of the year so far.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Killer Joe
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Haven't they seen "Double Indemnity"? (Out this week - 29/06/12)
It's an Italy vs Spain final on Sunday that promises great football, even if it's narratively unadventurous and Andy Murray is still performing well at Wimbledon so the studios can be forgiven to going slightly easy this weekend on the big ticket releases. So much so that the largest roll-out is only 265 cinemas, over 100 less than Men In Black 3 in it's sixth weekend. Not that I'm motivated by size when it comes to my film choices, but distributor confidence can be a factor. Nevertheless there are some exciting options this week, Todd Solondz returns to cinemas with another bleak mirror on American society and Lynn Shelton's highly praised follow-on to Humpday is also getting a minor release but for me it's Southern Fried gothic all the way with the runs like a gay film of the week Killer Joe.
There are lies, damned lies and box office statistics. A truism made all the more relevant with the UK top ten from last weekend. Theoretically my prediction last week was correct, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the highest grossing new entry and took the top spot. I should be suitably smug and walk away. However closer analysis of the figures shows that Lincoln's victory is attributable to two days of previews. So Men in Black 3 actually took the most with The Five-Year engagement close behind. Feeling considerably less smug now. This weekend I think the extraordinary trend of MIB holding onto audiences will keep it at the top and the likeable Friends with Kids as the highest new entry.
Killer Joe
Given that murder for the insurance money never seems to play well in cinematic lore you have to wonder why characters still keep doing it. Saying that I doubt the trailer trash protagonsists of William Friedkin's second Tracy Lett's adaptation (following the claustrophobic Bug) will have caught many black and white classics on TV. This might be a case of style over substance, but I'm hooked.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
Read on for adult adolescents, competing choirs and Scandinavian borstals, as well as all of this weeks releases and trailers.
There doesn't appear to be much subtlety in Freidkin's trailer, but McConaughey purrs his way through it quite nicely.
Dark Horse
Todd Solondz's black comedies aren't to everyone's taste and whilst his latest looks considerably less perverse than say, Happiness, I imagine a lot of people will still be turned off by the central character, a thirty something still living with his parents (Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow) and the first tentative steps towards what might be love or might be stalking.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
The Fairy
Well, that was weird. For audiences not used to seeing such physical comedy it's slightly shocking to see such obvious clowning on screen. Nevertheless reviews have positively compared this magical fable to Jacques Tati so it might be worth a look.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
King of Devil's Island
Swedish release which has largely appeared from no-where starring Stellen Skarsgaard as the governor of a boys prison, with shades of classic borstal pic Scum and a touch of historic tragedy about it. Nicely cut trailer that certainly makes me want to see more.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Your Sister's Sister
The title may sound like the opening phrase of a riddle and there's is no way on earth Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt are sisters but this semi-improvised relationship drama has much to recommend it. Director Lynn Shelton has comfortably eased out of her mumblecore roots and looks to be one of the most consistent and talented indie directors working today.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Friends with Kids
Jennifer Westfeldt's parenthood comedy boasts a great cast of stars on the rise including husband Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig and Adam Scott and the premise of a pair of best friends who have a child together but don't have the relationship with it sounds cute enough. It certainly deserves to find an audience out there.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Jatt and Juliet
Last weekend Bollywood release Teri Meri Kahani broke the top ten with a substantial per screen average. This Punjabi comedy looks unlikely to do the same but I have to admit I found the trailer more amusing and the stars chemistry seemed more apparent.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Joyful Noise
I don't know whether this Church choir pic will find an audience here in the UK, especially after it under-performed in the States. Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton are the warring diva's trying to improve their local singers into an award winning combo. Unsurprisingly it takes some bland new talent to mount their Glee like revival.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Last Flight to Abuja
We don't get the opportunity to see many African made films in the UK so I really want to recommend Nigeria's true-life disaster movie. Sure it's all been parodied to death by Airplane but there's still something about soap in the skies that we can all appreciate. As the tagline says "Fasten your seatbelts".
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Lovely Molly
Have you been wondering what happened to Eduardo Sanchez, the revolutionary mind behind The Blair Witch project? Apart from just disappearing in the woods 15 years ago he has been cranking out horror flicks largely direct to DVD but this one has a small chance of finding some fans with a limited release. Shame several of the shots seem a little too derivative though.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Storage 24
The ubiquitous and hard-working Noel Clarke is back again with his first (post Doctor Who) excursion into sci-fi with this strangers trapped with an alien set-up. I hear the creature design is original and spectacular even if the rest of the characters are thinly drawn.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
Based on his best-selling book, which was in turn inspired by an insane pub bet, comedian Tony Hawks, played her by himself, travels to the former Soviet republic of Moldovia where he challenges each of the Moldovan football team (played presumably by actors here) who lost to England 4-0 to a game of tennis. I really don't know what the point of the movie is but I expect the book is quite funny.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Sunday, 10 October 2010
It all comes back to me now (Film News - 09/10/10)
It's all virtually back to normal now. I've been able to look up the news for three weeks in a row and the total stories for this week are manageable - even if it's still been on the busy side. There's been some interesting revelations this week although it's been mainly casting news on projects I've already mentioned. If you don't mind I will continue to use the format of a casting news section after the new projects underway.
The Bourne Legacy
The most celebrated story of the week was the news that the most interesting and successful action series in many years, the one that effectively reinvigorated Bond and rewrote the book on spy thrillers, is not finished. Yes Bourne is back with The Legacy currently being prepped for a 2012 release.
In the past the star Matt Damon has very clearly stated that he wouldn't go back to the franchise unless Paul Greengrass (director of Supremacy and Ultimatum) was on board. Obviously that would be a major loss to the series. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing Bourne and Greengrass has made a unique stamp on his films with the handheld cinematography and closeness to the brutal action. That said the man behind the camera will be Bourne writer Tony Gilroy and Damon is beginning to falter on the issue.
What say you? I love Gilroy's output as a director and would be delighted to see him taking on this project, but that said - in spite of the ambiguity of the title - I see little point on carrying on without Damon (below - see what I did two pics of Matt in one week).
I've just read that Gilroy's firmly stated Damon won't be returning as Bourne. Very upset. Please feel free to comment.
Read on for murders in the Holy land and loads of casting news...
Dimiter
So William Peter Blatty's latest novel (left), about a extraordinary US agent who stumbles across a mystery whilst escaping through Jerusalem, is currently undergoing a big screen rewrite. No surprise there Blatty's work, which touches on the supernatural, touches both the horror and action thriller genres with a touch of cop procedural thrown in too. What is exciting is that William Friedkin is in talks to direct. That's the same combination behind The Exorcist, and if this comes even close to hitting the zeitgeist in the way that collaboration did look out for a box office winner with some shockingly good performances.
Casting News
And here we go with the latest rumours for the actors.
Retirement dramedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has started filming and among the geriatric cast are Oscar winners Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and nominee Tom Wilkinson.
Thomas Haden Church, who's having a great week, has signed up for Killer Joe and We Bought a Zoo both in unnamed parts. In that second project he's also joining the recently announced Matt Damon and Amy Adams.
Brad Pitt and Anjelina Jolie are rumoured to be co-starring again in Darren Aronofsky's The Tiger, of course that's dependent on whether Aronofsky will take any of the other myriad offers being presented to him right now.
And finally the latest names to be attached to Katheryn Bigelow's Hurt Locker follow-up Triple Frontier are Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks, it's not clear if these are additions or replacements to the earlier rumours of Will Smith, Javier Bardem and Sean Penn but just imagine the five of those sharing screen time... 
She'll have her hands full that's for sure.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Going to the Dogs (Film News - 25/09/10)
What is the best way to kick off this weeks film news? Should I just pass directly into the plethora of delightful stories that have filtered through and thereby ignoring the gaping chasm since my last entry? In fact it's been 21 days since I last mentioned any news - that's two entries missed. So here are my excuses. The first week (11 September) there was nothing that interested me, not a single news story that made me read the article in full and last weekend I couldn't access my computer. So now I have two very busy weeks of news to get through. In fact there's so much news I can't even put them all in the labels... Anyhoo I'd better just get on with it, don't you think:
Darling Companion
Certainly the most intriguing story is Lawrence Kasdan's third entry into his loose collection of films focussing on the outlook of his generation. This will centre around the stale marriage between Kevin Kline and Diane Keaton, and their dog (of the title) who runs away during a wedding. A bunch of late 50 somethings will then join the search and will find their lives permanently affected for btter or worse.
I'm a big fan of The Big Chill so if this works in a similar way then that will be really interesting - catching up on similar characters some thirty yeas on. I also like the idea of the action being kicked off by a runaway dog. Indeed the title indicates the dog will feature quite heavily, either in terms of it's presence or it's escape. The dog lover in my likes that concept a lot...
The Big Chill used music to evoke emotions, as thie hits listed at the top of the album cover illustrates.
Read on for crime dramas, beauty pageants, hired killers, television adapatations and the end of the world as well as masses of casting news.
Killer Joe
Hired killers are usually reasonable box office successes, so it was a surprise to few people to learn that Tracy (writer of August: Osage County) Letts' morality tale about two siblings who hire an assassin to kill their mother. Emile Hirsch is rumoured to play the murderous son with the female half of the pair yet to be cast. What is unlikely is the casting of Matthew McConaughay as the man they hire. o that is weird.
Robopocalypse
Following the disappointing box office run of Terminator: Salvation you would have imagined that further movies that explore robots rising up against humanity wouldn't get aything close to a greenlight. Well, we were wrong as this robot-apocalypse movie based on the novel by Daniel H. Nilson (what, really?) is under development with Steven Spielberg involved. That name alone should make you think that the project may just make some money, although given the rate that Spielberg starts and drops projects I wouldn't try to hold breath for this one.
Wicked Lovely
Beauty Pageants have really been portrayed on film, usually as the butt of a joke like in Miss Congeniality or Little Miss Sunshine Now I wouldn't normally dare to make any judgements about the rights and wrongs of these events, but I am certainly interested in seeing a story based around evil faeries at these events. Wicked and Lovely indeed.
Untitled Crime Drama
Casey Affleck has been talking about an upcoming almost Boston set crime drama - in that the book it's based on is set in Boston but the film adaptation won't be. That's an intriguing option as Boston appears to be becoming the crime city du jour for modern films (see The Town, The Departed et al). Andrew Dominik, of Jesse James fame, is set to write and direct.
Untitled Barry White movie
It's rare for a film based on a television show to work, but this latest idea from Joel Schumacher is based on a running joke from a TV series so you have to doubt whether it will work. The running joke in question comes from Ally McBeal where Barry White would occasionally cameo as himself in order to dispense love advice to the main characters in the office toilet. Shocking.
Casting news - I'm getting tired and bored now (I've spent 6 hours at my computer this morning trying to remove a virus, so please forgive me this) so here is a catch up in the quickest way possible. Elliot Gould is the latest extension to Contagion, Tim Burton will use Winona Ryder and Martin Landau to voice Frankenweenie, Roman Polanski's Gods of Carnage has picked up one of the most extraordinary casts with Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Matt Dillon and Christoph Waltz, Joaquin Phoenix will be Leonardo DiCaprio's lover in Hoover (which is nice), Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are both in talks to join Bobby De Niro in I heard they Paint Houses (definitely worth celebrating that), Josh Brolin will be in Labor Day and not Young Adult as originally rumoured, Jennifer Garner and Mark Wahlberg (or is it Joaquin Pheonix) are in The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Sigourney Weaver is up for Rampant and, finally, Rachel Weisz will be sexually adventurous in 360.
I'll do the release date updates next weekend, along with mentioning any new films that have lumbered into production.
Stay safe.
Ben
