Pi/π (1998) - Aronofsky's mystical thriller shows wild promise

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+ Best B/W Movie of the Year + Best Debut of the Year + Best Low-Budget Movie of the Year + Best Thriller of the Year

 

A mysterious poster that seems to promise a demanding watch here for Darren Aronofsky's Pi

Max Cohen is a mathematical genius and a pill addict. He is working on mapping out the mathematical pattern that may lie behind everything in the world but instead uncovers a number with 216 ciphers, which may be God.

 

Pi is written and directed by debuting New-Yorker master filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler (2008)) with co-writer/star Sean Gullette (Traitors (2013)) and Eric Watson (It Snows All the Time (2016)) contributing story elements.

Cohen, acted truly incredibly by the unknown Gullette, gets hunted by Jewish mystics and capitalists and by his own nightmares.

Pi is an extraordinary film in more ways than one, preceding Aronofsky's horrifying drug movie masterpiece Requiem for a Dream. His unique visual talent is already wide awake here with cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Chi-Raq (2015)) handling the film's gritty B/W images, which finds patterns in everything. Pi is a beautiful film.

 

Related posts:

Darren Aronofsky: mother! (2017) - Bring a flask with you to this one!
Black Swan (2010) or, Manic Dance 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The Fountain (2006) - Aronofsky's sensorial meditation on mortality 

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 134k $

Box office: 3.2 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Mega-hit (returned at least 23.88 times its cost)

[Pi premiered in January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 84 minutes. The film's tiny budget was reportedly collected through donations from family and friends. Shooting took place in New York from October - November 1996. The actors were paid 75$ a day, locations, the camera and costumes were loaned, and the production shot without permits in New York and instead used a crew member as a lookout in case police was coming. Post-production costs eventually totaled more than the production costs at 68k $ against 60k $ for the production. The film opened #20 to a 31k $ first weekend in 1 theater in North America. It was also released in several foreign markets and screened at festivals, but regrettably the foreign grosses are not made public. It won 1/3 Independent Spirit award nominations, a National Board of Review award and a prize at Sundance, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Aronofsky returned with Requiem for a Dream (2000). Gullette returned in Joe's Day (1998). Pi is certified fresh at 88 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Pi?

The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) - Redford and A-listers in major period drama slip

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Two men golf in the dead of night on this mystery-invoking poster for Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance

When a golf player keels over from a heart attack on the green as an old man, he recalls past memories pertaining to the incredible caddy/golf player Bagger Vance and a tournament in Savannah, Georgia.

The Legend of Bagger Vance is written by Jeremy Leven (Don Juan DeMarco (1994)), based on the same-titled 1995 novel by Steven Pressfield (Last of the Amazons (2002)), and directed by Californian master filmmaker Robert Redford (Ordinary People (1980)).
With the handsome production values, - which is to be expected from a film of the enormous budget lavished on this sports drama, - and elegant photography (by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (Der Gehilfe (1978, TV movie))), the film lures us onto its pathway. But only for a while, because The Legend of Bagger Vance has the distinct odor of being Oscar bait all around it, coupled with its distinct lack of recognizable reality.
Matt Damon (The Zero Theorem (2013))'s protagonist is a worn-down alcoholic, but that largely remains a postulate; Will Smith's (Men in Black (1997)) mystical Bagger Vance character, (presumably conjured up with inspiration from the Hindu Bhagavad Gita legend, which has a guiding, godly Bhagavan character), is a kind of golf oracle, who supplies wisdom that I simply couldn't receive with a straight face. It seems beyond anachronistic that Vance in the shape of Smith who with his recognizable self-confident swagger waltzes happily and black through the whole film, which is set in the American South around 1930/1931, without encountering a single racist moment whatsoever. Neither he nor Charlize Theron's (The Road (2009)) love interest character for Damon become really human-like at any point in the film.
The Legend of Bagger Vance must be intended as a kind of parable, but it is set in such an elaborately recreated concrete context which it then goes on to fully ignore. It is historically unsatisfying, feels phony - and then it is frankly also enormously dull.

Related posts:

Robert Redford: Pete's Dragon (2016) - Lowery plays Disney remake safe (co-star) 
All Is Lost (2013) - Chandor's Redford-lost-at-sea is compelling filmmaking (star)
Lions for Lambs (2007) - Streep and Cruise's star powers save Redford's boring political drama (co-producer/director/co-star)
A Bridge Too Far (1977) or, Epic Shit Hits the Fan (co-actor)
The Sting (1973) or, Partners in Hoax (co-star)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) or, Friendly Outlaws (co-star)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 80 mil. $
Box office: 39.4 mil. $
= Mega-flop (returned 0.49 times its cost)
[The Legend of Bagger Vance premiered 29 October (USA) and runs 126 minutes. Redford and Morgan Freeman were initially meant to play the bearing roles, before it was decided to go with a pair of younger stars. Smith was paid 10 mil. $ for his performance; Damon 7 mil. $, while Theron and Redford's salaries are unknown. Shooting took place in Georgia and South Carolina from September - December 1999. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Charlie's Angels and holdover hit Meet the Parents to an 11.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 30.9 mil. $ (78.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 1.2 mil. $ (3 %) and Australia with 304k $ (0.8 %). Many foreign markets are regrettably missing from the film's Box Office Mojo gross sheet. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches higher than this one. Critics have describes and criticized Smith's Bagger Vance character in the film as an instance of the 'Magical Negro' stereotype. Redford returned with Lions for Lambs (2007). Damon returned in Finding Forrester (2000)); Smith in Ali (2001); and Theron in Sweet November (2001). The Legend of Bagger Vance is rotten at 43 % with a 5.23/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Legend of Bagger Vance?

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

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+ 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?

Carnivàle - 1st season (2003, TV-series) - Grand but oft clotted-up period mystery show

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Beautifully designed poster for Daniel Knauf's Carnivàle

QUICK REVIEW:

This huge and impressive 1930s period production begins outstandingly in Milfay (1), in which the main characters are introduced:

Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)), who SPOILER buries his mother and father and leaves a dessert storm to join the carnival; its leader Samson (Michael J. Anderson (Twin Peaks (1990-91)), and the mysterious Brother Justin (Clancy Brown (Homefront (2013)), who can get coins to flow from a woman's mouth.
Later other characters are presented, like the confounding 'executive' leader 'Management', the bearded lady and Professor Lodz, Rita Sue, the girl (Clea DuVall (Girl, Interrupted (1999)) and the mother who communicate telepathically etc. etc.

The structure of the series leaves something to be wished for: It appears that a final goal has been set up, (it indeed had by series creator Daniel Knauf (Dracula (2013-14), who had mapped out 6 (!) seasons for the show) and that each episode is to serve the overall story. The problem is that each episode becomes thinner and thinner, plot- and theme-wise, although there's no shortage of blood and sex, (in-line with HBO's general crops.) Carnivàle at some point reaches a place where it feels totally without direction, simply wallowing in its own mysticism.
Brown is good as the Methodist preacher, who goes through so much: SPOILER His church (with 6 kids in it) gets burned down by his sister; his escape, suicide attempt; his visions of his own derelict childhood as a Russian refugee, his getting placed in a mental hospital and, finally, his exposure as a demon!
The Hawkins drifter character, on the other hand, stands for good. At the end, SPOILER he saves the dead snake-woman by killing the unpopular Lodz.
The Carnivàle-production is handsome and highly unusual. The product in itself is problematic.
It got a second season, before its benefactor-financier HBO canceled it due to high production costs and dwindling ratings, to the outcries of many thousands of fans. 
The first season's 12 episodes (averaging 54 minutes each) are directed by 8 talented directors behind shows like The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Hannibal, LOST and True Blood. Columbian Rodrigo Garcia (Six Feet Under (2001-05), the most used of them, directed 4 episodes of the first season.
Knauf has been active in several TV-series since Carnivàle, both as writer and producer.

Best episode:

1. Milfay
Story, universe and character introductions

 

 

Watch the season 1 trailer here

Cost: Reportedly 4 mil. $ per episode, totaling a whopping 36 mil. $
Box office: None
= Unknown

What do you think of Carnivàle?
Stories about the production or your experience of the show are welcomed

The Tree of Life (2011) or, Mother, Father, Sharks, Dinosaurs, My Brothers, Sunflowers, the Desert, the Wind and Me

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1 Time Film Excess Nominee:

Best Non-adult Actor: Laramie Eppler, Hunter McCracken, Tye Sheridan (lost to Amara Miller for The Descendants)

+ Best Art Film of the Year

25 frames from Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, showing its apparent ambition to include everything in life in its 'tale'

The unusual, poetic Illinois-born director Terrence Malick (Badlands (1973)) won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 2011 with his 5th feature, The Tree of Life, which is a visual meditation on the circumstances of life on earth, from beginning to end, more or less.
Talking about 'the plot' in Tree seems incorrect, since it truly isn't a plot film. But it does have a core story of sorts, even though it is never fully illuminated:
A family in 50s Waco, Texas: A kind, all-embracing mother, an authoritarian and often away father and three sons. The older one develops a conflict with himself and his attitude towards the mix of ideals at home. The parents fight and finally move out of Waco.
Linked to the 'plot' is one of the sons, who walks around New York in the present day and thinks back on his childhood. He is played by Sean Penn (Milk (2008)), who has later said that he didn't understand the film. This is understandable, and he surely has the strangest role in the film; with hardly any lines, he just walks around the cityscape looking confused, lost and/or contemplative. He walks in a desert, he walks on a beach. Penn looks sulky or depressed, and that seems to be his role. It's not a great part, even if Penn is accomplished at looking blue; I understand if he left Tree with an apprehensive head-shaking.
On the other hand, the 50s level has great roles, and great acting by everyone there; Brad Pitt (Fight Club (1999)) is impressively credible as the father; Jessica Chastain (The Help (2011)) beautifully portrays the mother, who tries to instill female sensitivity in her sons but sometimes must accept that they are male.
And the boys who play brothers are simply incredible. How Malick gets this level of authenticity out of such young actors is amazing to me. They are Tye Sheridan (Mud (2013)), Hunter McCracken and Laramie Eppler. Their faces and bodies are just so alive and so true in their scenes. There are also great scenes of scores of kids playing in a playground etc., and I thought that the scenes with the kids were the best thing in Tree. So evocative of childhood, so true and so rare. Magnificent work here.
The cinematography is very organic and alive in Tree without ever feeling stressed. It is accomplished by the bold, talented Emmanuel Lubezki (The Children of Men (2006)).

Jessica Chastain and Tye Sheridan are mother and son in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life

The details:

The film is stuffed with nature, chemistry and the universe. The 'story' comes in drops and isn't concerned with hooking its audience, before the film blurs out in poetic imagery. These lengthy passages can be likened to some of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and little else that I have ever seen. Malick is still very unique as a filmmaker. It is visually quite stunning. But perhaps hurried?
The pacing is very fast, so we jump through explosions, volcanoes, organisms, dinosaurs and sharks in few minutes, while the narration is carrying out a kind of one-way conversation with God/poem. Though interesting to look at, these passages were not my main interest in Tree.
I feel that something is missing in the film. Because it is The Tree of Life, supposedly an all-encompassing rendition of life, I feel it slights several aspects of life, and I have to criticize that: Death, sex and waste to name three of the foremost things in life. Death is hinted at a few times; sex and waste are non-existent. Illness is hinted at. Killing, - even killing to survive in nature, - is erased.
In this light, Tree is not a serious film about life.
Rather it is a highly pleasing, aesthetically speaking, very lyrical and poetic film with some very fine 50s scenes. (And some mysticism, like Chastain suddenly floating around in the air.)
But essentially escapist, and seemingly not serene about this fact.
Malick's journey as a director is very interesting. From his masterpiece feature debut Badlands (1973), he took long to follow it up with Days of Heaven (1978) and then incredibly long to follow that up with the great The Thin Red Line (1998), - for which he was twice Oscar-nominated. He then made The New World (2005), a beautiful but strained and pretentious look at the exploration and 'civilizing' of America. After Tree, - for which he was again Oscar-nominated as Best Director, - he has quit being the incredibly slow director; releasing To The Wonder (2012) to down-turned thumbs almost everywhere, and this year, Knight of Cups, a story about fame and excess with Christian Bale and a long line of other famous actors. He even has a second film coming out in 2014, Voyage of Time, a film that seems close to Tree but without any plot level. This has spurred rumors that Malick might be dying, although this is just speculation. The recluse director is notorious for his unwillingness to give interviews himself, so, naturally, we don't know for sure what is the reason for Malick's sudden escalating productivity.

Related posts:

Terrence Malick: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Badlands (1973) or, Kit and Holly in Love

Brad Pitt and Laramie Eppler as father and son in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life

Watch the trailer for the film here and try not to get goose-pimples. Impossible. Visually, Malick's films are incredible, and Tree of Life is no exception.

Budget: 32 mil. $
Box office: 54.3 mil. $
= Minor success

What do you think of The Tree of Life?
What do you think is the deal with Malick's many movies now?

Bleeder (1999) - The mysterious second film by Nicolas Winding Refn

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+ Best Copenhagen Movie of the Year + Best Crime Drama of the Year + Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year 

The Danish poster for Nicolas Winding Refn's Bleeder features the bloody head of Kim Bodnia and lots of critical praise for the film, declaring it a masterpiece, a must, blinding; the actors outstanding; Bodnia a Danish Robert De Niro

QUICK REVIEW:

There are two grown up brothers in Copenhagen: One works in a video store. The other is going to be a father. He cannot relate to this coming responsibility. And then things start to go wrong.
People were swooning over Bleeder, when it arrived in '99, (see the picture text above), and by all means it is an exciting and cool film, and Kim Bodnia (Pusher (1996)) plays with a fiery intensity his part as an angry, disillusioned man.
- But what is Bleeder really about? Perhaps it was mostly a 'training' film for its young director Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher II (2004)), - it was only his second after Pusher (1996). Or perhaps I just can't grasp any bigger picture in Bleeder. Perhaps it's missing.
Refn has made mysterious films since as well, in particular his first American film, Fear X (2003) springs to mind.
Bleeder does seem mysterious as a film, which shows us some extreme violence, but lacks any apparent stance concerning it. Perhaps this stance was only later defined by Refn, as he continued to make very violent films and was again and again confronted with this by other people. He has now come out with a stance which is something like 'violence is inherent in human nature and a key element in all creation and artistic creation in particular.'
Usually, - as in his latest, the great Only God Forgives (2013), chosen as Best Film of 2013 by Film Excess, - the violence in his films drives the plots forward, but that isn't always the case in the dark, intense, and romantic, Bleeder.

Related reviews:

2013 in films - according to Film Excess
Nicolas Winding Refn: Only God Forgives (2013) - Violent beauty in Bangkok
Bronson (2008) or, Violent Man

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

A young Mads Mikkelsen plays the geeky cinephile brother in Nicolas Winding Refn's Bleeder

Watch the hard-punching, English subtitle trailer for Bleeder here

Budget: Approximately 10 mil. DKK
Box office: Approximately 7 mil. DKK
= Huge flop (returned approximately 0.7 times its cost)

What do you think of Bleeder?
If you love it, can you say what is is about, if anything, looking past the obvious plot stuff?