Miles Ahead (2015) - Cheadle succeeds with jazz biopic passion project

♥♥♥♥

Star Don Cheadle blurred out in B/W but with colored specks of reflection on a cool poster for his own Miles Ahead

We meet master jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in a creative and personal crisis. In the same period of time a Rolling Stones journalist gets lucky in approaching the legend after a 5 year break from music. Davis demands a lot - too much - of his wife, and he doesn't create in this period.

Miles Ahead is written by Steven Baigelman (Feeling Minnesota (1996)) and debuting co-writer/co-producer/director/star Don Cheadle (Colors (1988)), with Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson (Ali (2001, both)) contributing story elements.
It is an unusual depiction of a musical giant, which springs along with creatively free interpretations back and forth in time, with an obviously deeply personally involved Cheadle. He makes a distinguished portrait of Davis, and certainly not a romanticized portrait; SPOILER Davis cheats, is unreasonable, addicted to drugs, unpredictable and dangerous, apparently having lost his gift with a trumpet, - which he seems to regain at the very end.
Miles Ahead is perhaps not as fully rounded as it could have been, but it is a worthy venture in free form jazz filmmaking with nerve.

Related posts:

Don Cheadle: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - Whedon disappoints with less fun, huge, ugly sequel (actor)
Flight (2012) - Character study masterpiece from Zemeckis and Washington (co-star)
The Guard (2011) - J. McDonagh's uproarious crime comedy debut  (co-star)
Iron Man 2 (2010) - Favreau and Theroux's boisterous, entertaining sequel (co-star)
Boogie Nights (1997) - Anderson's irresistable porn 'Casino' (co-star)

Don Cheadle talks about the making of the movie in this 5-minute video

Cost: 8.5 mil. $
Box office: 5.1 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.6 times its cost)
[Miles Ahead premiered 10 October (New York Film Festival) and runs 100 minutes. The idea for making the film came around during production of Ali (2001). Relatives to Davis finally got Cheadle involved. Cheadle has stated that Ewan McGregor was cast for his box office appeal. Financing was achieved partly through crowdfunding. Shooting took place in Cincinnati, Ohio. The film opened #32 to a 114k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #16 and in 527 theaters, grossing 2.6 mil. $ (51 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were South Korea with 1.7 mil. $ (33.3 %) and the UK with 242k $ (4.7 %). The film won a Grammy. According to The-Numbers the film made 335k $ on the home video market. Cheadle has not directed a feature since, but he has made 4 episodes of House of Lies (2014-16); he returned as an actor in Captain America: Civil War (2016). McGregor returned in Jane Got a Gun (2015). Miles Ahead is fresh at 74 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Miles Ahead?

The Lords of Salem (2012) - Zombie's disturbing satanic radio witch horror lacks a compelling center

♥♥

+ Most Sinister Movie of the Year

Sheri Moon Zombie in satanic goth emo getup on this decay-tinted poster for Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem

A woman rock radio host in Salem, Massachusetts receives a record with a mysterious melody, which awakens something sinister in her and other women, which hails from the witches of Salem's past...

The Lords of Salem is written and directed by Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses (2003)). Zombie denies us conventionality in the form of murders and relatable characters here: Instead Bruce Davison (Return of the Killer Shrews (2012)) researches around, (he is a Salem witch trial expert), while Sheri Moon Zombie (Halloween (2007)), the filmmaker's wife, gabbles with her maybe-boyfriend with occult stuff in her surroundings.
It never becomes really exciting or scary; the plot is simply too feeble-minded for that. It is a shame, because The Lords of Salem features strong and highly unpleasant imagery; the sabbath in the beginning is enormously hideous; the mystical melody does sound like something straight out of hell, and there is no shortage of strange and disturbing images overall, springing from a concert hall of a religious variety. The Lords of Salem is blasphemous or more accurately satanical, which makes it especially tough diet for Christians. 

Related posts:

Rob Zombie: 2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
Halloween (2007) - Zombie's remake is a bloody stinker
The Devil's Rejects (2005) - Zombie's crazy serial killer Americana

Watch an interview with Rob Zombie about the film here

Cost: 1.5 mil. $
Box office: 1.5 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 1 time the cost)
[The Lords of Salem premiered 10 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Ontario) and runs 101 minutes. Zombie was given free reins with a low budget from horror producer maestro Jason Blum to do something supernatural. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, and in Salem, Massachusetts from October - December 2011. Zombie toured with his band, while the film was edited. It opened #16 to a 642k $ first weekend in 354 theaters in North America, where it decreased from there, playing a total of 4 weeks, grossing 1.1 mil. $ (73.3 % of the total gross). The only 2 foreign markets accounted for are Italy with 373k $ (24.9 %) and Spain with 5k $ (0.3 %). Rob Zombie returned with a video promo, a concert film of his own metal band Rob Zombie and theatrically with 31 (2016). Sheri Moon Zombie returned in said promo and theatrically in 31. The Lords of Salem is rotten at 46 % with a 5.3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Lords of Salem?

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) - Unusual, surprising, gory, horrifying indie horror

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Horror Movie of the Year + Best Low-Budget Movie of the Year + Best Gore Movie of the Year + Best Witch Movie of the Year

The greyish body of a deceased young woman fills the cold poster for André Øvredal's The Autopsy of Jane Doe

A father-son coroner team receive a 'Jane Doe' [unidentified female corpse] from a house with more bodies in it along with an investigative demand for answers asap. But their autopsy reveals shocking mistreatment, and the two - three - are soon locked in by a major storm.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe is written by Ian B. Goldberg and Richard Naing (Dead of Summer (2016), TV-series, both) and directed by great Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal (Trollhunter/Trolljegeren (2010)).
Øvredal impresses in his English-language feature debut here. Made on a strong Blacklist-featured script, the film is simply skillfully directed. Although there is lots of autopsy-related gore horror, SPOILER this still feels like a bare bones (no pun intended) little horror flick, which develops in a surprising supernatural direction; the deceased was an innocent woman who was not a witch but became one from being the victim of extensive anti-witch torture!
Brian Cox (RED 2 (2013)) and Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild (2007)) are believable as father and son, and both are really good here. - The Autopsy of Jane Doe is also an unusual horror because we almost only spend time with two grown men in it. It is original and plays on several of its genre's chords and also features excellent sound design. From a semi-comical beginning, The Autopsy of Jane Doe evolves into a surprisingly horrifying ride, - a real treat for horror fans and an obvious and strong horror movie night candidate.

Related posts:

André Øvredal: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Trollhunter/Trolljegeren/Troll Hunter/The Troll Hunter (2010) - Øvredal's hilarious found footage kaiju horror comedy

Øvredal, Cox and Hirsch attend a Q&A for the film here - don't watch until after you've seen the film!

Cost: Unknown (but likely 1-2 mil. $)
Box office: At least 6.1 mil. $
= Uncertainty - but at least a box office success
[The Autopsy of Jane Doe premiered 9 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 86 minutes. Øvredal was inspired by James Wan's great The Conjuring (2013) to do a similarly pure horror film. Martin Sheen was originally cast but dropped out. Shooting took place in March 2015 - ? in England in London and Kent. The Jane Doe is played by Olwen Catherine Kelly (Darkness on the Edge of Town (2014)) rather than a prosthetic corpse dummy. Forbes Magazine has estimated the film's budget at around 1-2 mil. $. The box office gross above is the total for the film's 19 international markets. Its North American gross is unlisted; perhaps it was very small as it only played a few festivals and had a limited release along with VoD roll-out domestically. Its biggest 3 markets were France with 1.2 mil. $ (19.7 %), Mexico with 1.1 mil. $ (18 %) and Brazil with 0.8 mil. $ (13.1 %). Stephen King has tweeted in favor of the film, saying that it rivals Alien (1979) and early David Cronenberg in visceral horror. Øvredal has two upcoming projects, Bright Skies and Mortal (2018), both fantasy projects anchored in Norway. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is certified fresh at 87 % with a 6.8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Autopsy of Jane Doe?

Hacksaw Ridge (2016) - Gibson's intense, humbling WWII epic

♥♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best War Movie of the Year + Comeback of the Year: Mel Gibson
 

 

This striking poster for Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge highlights how one man went against the destructive chaos of war

 

Desmond Doss is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian Virginian, who has grown up with an abusive father, who was himself traumatized by experiences in the first World War, when WWII arrives, and Doss feels compelled to enlist, although his convictions make it impossible for him to use violence.

Hacksaw Ridge, written by Robert Schenkkan (The Quiet American (2002)) and Andrew Knight (The Water Diviner (2014)), based on Desmond Doss' true story, is the 5th film from American-Australian master filmmaker Mel Gibson (Apocalypto (2006)). It is an intense war movie, which feels like a classic war film although it depicts the horrors of a Japanese war zone in ways that were impossible 60 years ago and also tells us a fresh story that is instantly fascinating.

Andrew Garfield (Boy A (2007)) as Doss calls to mind an actor like Anthony Perkins. His slightly effeminate demeanor might take a moment to get used to; later it is clear that the particular, unusual sensitivity he has developed here fits the character perfectly. Teresa Palmer (Lights Out (2016)) is darling sweet, and she makes it far from a mystery what makes Doss fall so suddenly for her. Garfield is backed up by an ensemble of terrific actors: Hugo Weaving (Last Ride (2009)), Sam Worthington (Macbeth (2006)), Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under (2001-05)) and Vince Vaughn (Be Cool (2005)), who works surprisingly well as the roughneck sergeant.

The film takes us on a journey from a troubled family setting and a blossoming romance, to the sharp-edged hierarchy and harshness of the army, incorporating humor and a consistent focus on Doss' convictions and how they clash with the system. As he overcomes these obstacles, it heads us into the battle for the titular Hacksaw Ridge, a hellish piece of Japanese land that is climbed up ropes on a rocky wall in awesomely mythical fashion. The war scenes are horrific, conveying the pointless destruction, waste and agony of war and the adrenaline rush it creates at the same time. Gibson is a master at work here, SPOILER and I was particularly glad that the film also responded to the waste of enemy lives, and Doss' reaction to this fact as well.

There are a few scenes in the film which are scarred by some digital image compositions which stand out. One is in the training camp with several things going on in the front, middle and back ground, SPOILER and another is towards the end when Doss is lifted down from the ridge, and the camera purports to do a sweeping movement in under his sling. Both are obviously achieved through digital compositing handiwork, which goes against the overall realism achieved in Hacksaw Ridge. - A shame.

But it is also a minor detractor from a great war epic that tells an exciting, horrifying, inspirational and humbling true story. This kind of animal rarely comes to town, so don't miss Hacksaw Ridge in a cinema!

 

Related posts:

 

Mel Gibson: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess

The Expendables 3 (2014) - Unique, bizarre, largely entertaining third action fireball (actor)

Get the Gringo/How I Spent My Summer Vacation (2012) - Mexico is just a little merrier with Mel Gibson (co-producer/co-writer/actor)

The Beaver (2011) - Odd depression-dramedy with great stars - for the open-minded (actor)

Top 10: The best action movies and TV-series reviewed by Film Excess to date

Top 10: The best big hit movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Apocalypto (2006) - or, Journey to an Extinct World 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 40 - 45 mil. $

Box office: 39 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say

[Hacksaw Ridge premiered September 4 (Venice International Film Festival) and runs 131 minutes. The project was in 'development hell' for 14 years, before it finally took shape with Gibson as director, - who had turned down the project twice before accepting. For financing reasons, the film was set up as a US-Australian co-production with no less than 14 production companies involved, which includes some distributors. Palmer was cast following an audition she shot herself on her iPhone and managed to get to Gibson. Filming took place for 59 days from September - December 2015 in New South Wales, Australia. 500 hectares of land was cleared, including removing 80 trees, which prompted environmentalists to protest, although approvals were gathered, on conditions of replanting and rehabilitating the area after shooting. The accuracy of the film is reportedly pretty high; changes include some things concerning Doss' father and his struggles with him, Doss' prior service in two battles before Hacksaw Ridge and the length of his service in that battle, which actually ran for around 3 weeks. The film opened #3, behind fellow new releases Doctor Strange and Trolls, to a 15.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it fell to #5 in its current second week and has grossed 34.3 mil. $ so far. The film is getting a Chinese release later this month. It has already been nominated for 13 AACTA awards (Australia's Oscar.) Hacksaw Ridge is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hacksaw Ridge?

Sinister (2012) - Derrickson's genuinly unpleasant horror

♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best Mega-Hit Movie of the Year

 

The poster for Scott Derrickson's Sinister effectively conveys some of the film's horrors

 

A true-crime writer and his strained family move to a new town for his work, but the man, who desperately needs to write another hit after years of flops, has neglected to inform his family members that this time, they are moving into the crime scene. 

Ethan Hawke (Boyhood (2014)) treads intensely into his character's shoes here to a fantastic degree. Juliet Rylance (The Knick (2014-15)) is also good as the wife and mother, and the two share a couple of passionate, very credible fights in Sinister.

We follow Hawke's work with a substantial amount of very troubling material, which he finds in the house. Sinister features phenomenal sound work and a droning, unpleasantness-creating score by Christopher Young (Spider-Man 3 (2007)). It is not a 'fun' ride type of horror, - as The Conjuring (2013), for instance, - but a deeply discomforting horror movie about family slayings and child abductions.

The third act fails to live up to the promises of the first two and disappoints a bit, but the film up until this has been so well-made and intensely scary that this doesn't rock the fact that Sinister is a good horror. It is written by C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange (2016)) and co-writer/director Scott Derrickson (Deliver Us from Evil (2014)).

Related posts:

Scott Derrickson: 2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V] 

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) - Unduly bashed sci-fi drama

From Young's score for the film, here is the track entitled Don't Go in Dad's Office

Cost: 3 mil. $

Box office: 77.7 mil. $

= Mega-hit

[Sinister premiered March 11 (Austin, Texas' SXSW festival) and runs 110 minutes. Cargill got the idea for the film from a nightmare he had following watching The Ring, and it was originally meant to have a Willy Wonka-inspired boogeyman character in it. The demonic face now seen on the poster and in the film is based on an image from Flickr that Derrickson found and purchased the rights for for 500 $. Filming took place in LA, New York and Long Island from September - October 2011. The film opened #3, behind Taken 2 and Argo, to an 18 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it dropped from the top 5 in its second week and grossed 48 mil. $ (61.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 10.6 mil. $ (13.6 %) and France with 3.2 mil. $ (4.1 %). A commercially and critically less successful sequel, not by Derrickson, was released in 2015. Sinister is fresh at 63 % with a 6.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Sinister?

Insidious (2010) - Wan's thrilling, scary ghost horror

♥♥♥♥

1 Film Excess win:

Best Sound 

1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Sound (won)

+ Best Horror Movie of the Year
+ Best Mega-hit of the Year

The eerie poster for James Wan's Insidious, prominently featuring Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World (2015))

A family moves into a new house, where their oldest son soon after has an accident that puts him into an unexplainable coma. Meanwhile the house is haunted, but so is the next one that they move into. - Turns out that it's the comatose son who's haunted!

Rose Byrne (The Internship (2013)) and Patrick Wilson (Bone Tomahawk (2015)) have chemistry and seemingly play the terrorized parents, whose lives are under a malicious attack. Lin Shaye (The Penthouse (2010)) is also great as the clairvoyant brought in to solve the issue. Once the horror begins in Insidious, it works fast and pummels us good, despite most of its effects being relatively simple camera tricks, peppered with terrific, affecting sound work. Great Malaysian director James Wan (The Conjuring (2013)) is a master of ghost horror, SPOILER and the red-faced demon of Insidious is seriously scary.
We are terrorized to a degree that few movies can here, even if the small budget becomes recognizable in some moments of the film. The very end of the film is super cool and whets the horror fan's appetite for more. Insidious is a remarkable horror. It is written by Leigh Whannell (Cooties (2014)), who also stars as one of the supernatural investigators that also work as comedic relief in the movie.

Related posts:

James Wan: The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Wan's sequel is a long horror treat with terrifying periods
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
The Conjuring (2013) - Best horror film in 7 years   
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Here's an interview with James Wan about his great The Conjuring

Cost: 1.5 mil. $
Box office: 97 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[Insidious premiered September 14 (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 102 minutes. Wan wanted to prove that he could make an effective horror that didn't rely on torture and gore, following his success with Saw (2004). Filming lasted just 3 weeks in April - May 2010. Less than 12 hours after the film's Toronto premiere, the US distribution rights and worldwide rights to sequels were acquired by Sony. The film opened #3 (behind Hop (37.5 mil. $) and Source Code (14.8 mil. $)) with a 13.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 54 mil. $ (55.7 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 11.5 mil. $ (11.9 %) and Spain with 7.7 mil. $ (7.9 %). Insidious is reportedly the most profitable movie of 2010. It has so far spun a 2013 sequel, a 2015 prequel and will get another sequel, probably releasing next year. Insidious is fresh at 66 % with a 6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Insidious?

Everything Must Go (2010) - Rush and Ferrell's great Carver adaptation

♥♥♥♥♥

2 Film Excess nominations:

Best Screenplay: Dan Rush (lost to Christopher Nolan for Inception)
Best Lead Actor: Will Ferrell, also for Megamind (lost to Stephen Dorff for Somewhere)
 
+ Best Adaptation of the Year

Will Ferrell does look a little lost on this poster for Dan Rush's Everything Must Go

Will Ferrell (Stranger than Fiction (2006))  plays a man who loses his job, his wife and his car and deals with these defeats by deciding to move out onto his front lawn and start drinking.

Everything Must Go is a Raymond Carver (Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (1976)) adaptation, based on his short story Why Don't You Dance? (1978), written and directed by Dan Rush as his first and only credit to date. It has just the needed shot of comedy in the shape of Ferrell and some extra warmth in Rush's script, which Carver's story is likely to have be missing.
Ferrell is eminent in the for him rare, more dramatic part, and Rebecca Hall (The Gift (2015)) and Laura Dern (When the Game Stands Tall (2014)) are both good in supporting parts. Everything Must Go is a nice dramedy and a fine film SPOILER with a hopeful ending that is decidedly un-Carveresque.

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: 2.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Unknown (looks like a huge flop)
[Everything Must Go premiered September 10 (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 97 minutes. Rush's script was featured on the 2008 Blacklist, an online list of the most liked unproduced scripts around. Filming took place in Arizona. The film was only released in half a dozen countries. It opened #15 with 0.7 mil. $ in North America, where it peaked in just 245 theaters. It made under 100k $ in each three of its foreign  markets (South Africa, Brazil and the UK), which are reported. Regrettably, poor distribution and audiences bailing on Ferrell in an attempt at a more serious film seem to have killed the film theatrically. Everything Must Go is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Everything Must Go?