Naked@Work

Short Story #1

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 02:58:00 +0000

There was something nostalgic about the way she slapped me. I left her a little extra on the nightstand then set the time bomb for 15 minutes.

The History of Nose Picking As Being A Socially Unacceptable Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 16:02:00 +0000

George: Was it a scratch or a pick?
Jerry: It was a pick!
George: Hey, it's me you're talking to! Was there any nostril penetration?
Jerry: (stutters) There may have been some accidental penetration!*

In the 1992 Seinfeld episode, "The Pick", the social taboo of sticking one's finger up your nose and it's ramifications are explored. In this one, Jerry Seinfeld is sitting in the back of a cab when a model he is dating happens to be in the cab next to him. Jerry simply scratches the outside of his nose, and maybe a little more, but from the model's perspective it looks like he's knuckle deep in his sniffer. This creates a hilarious backlash in which the woman is repulsed by him and ends the relationship, while Jerry vehemently defends that it was a scratch not a pick. Why is a mucophagy seen as such a disgusting thing to do?

Your nose is constantly working to produce mucus that removes dust and other particles moving through your airway and the closes that mucus gets to your nasal openings the more it's going to dry up into gross little balls of dirt and mucus. Alright, I kind of halfway answer my question there; if you're picking your nose to remove these things then they most certainly have to go somewhere and most people, according to a survey that I'm making up because I'm tired of switching over to Wikipedia, are booger flickers. Or they wipe it off on chairs or underneath desks. Still it's just mucus and dust and people associate it with halfwits and a mouth-breathers. There's an Austrian doctor of some sort I read about earlier who actually advocates picking and then ingesting the payload, so as to boost your immune system. Something about a cocktail of germs and enzymes, something something, good for you.

I'll come right out and say it: I pick my knows quite a few times a day. Now, before you go judging me, I do understand that this is seen as gross in public, so I usually do it at my desk around my co-workers whose judgment I don't give a shit about and then I remove it into my waste basket. Or I take a quick survey of who's around me on the highway and then do it and send it to the floor (the floor gets vacuumed and cleaned once a week anyways because I am fairly neat person). Or I do it in the privacy of my home.

My point is that it's really not that gross when you think about it. Or maybe it is to you. In that case, we probably shouldn't date. Whenever I'm in a comfortable somewhat serious relationship they inevitably catch me picking my nose and they either laugh or say something like "go blow your nose", which is bullshit (that may be an option for some noses but this nose rarely gives up all the goods after a hearty blow). But the act has rarely caused as much of a reaction as it did for Jerry in the classic episode mentioned up top. In fact, most girls I date or at least the ones I stick with for a time aren't going to be phased by that stuff. I guess because I don't really like dainty princesses, but I already knew that. The more Jenny McCarthy-esque a girl is the better. If we're comfortable enough to pick our noses and fart around each other then the sex is probably really good because I find that the more comfortable I am with a girl the better the sex. In the beginning I think I try too hard to look cool while having sex, like I'm a porn star, and I don't devolve into a primal state and just let myself go. In summation: trying to look cool and sexy during sex is like pretending we don't pick our noses, which everyone does at some point, so the quicker we drop the act the faster we'll be having mind-blowing sex. Or maybe not. I need more coffee.

http://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/shows/seinfeld/episodes/the-pick/#sthash.EO5hHead.dpuf

A Harmony of Comic Dysfunction

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:38:00 +0000

By Nick Coleman

Mental illness, football, and romance make for a winning combination in the Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook. Director David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) and his wonderful cast blend these elements into a great character-driven story. While it’s a romantic comedy at its core, the film is done so well that it deserves better than being associated with that generic lot. It's darkly comic without being negative and eventually unravels into a feel good movie about family and making your own happy ending instead of relying on fate or circumstance. The filmmakers also manage to avoid predictability at every beat.

Our movie starts in a Baltimore institution where our protagonist, Pat Solitano Jr., is in his eighth month of rehabilitation after an incident that caused him to lose his job, his wife, and, well, get sentenced to a mental institution. His Mother comes to his rescue when the court says his time’s up, even though the doctor’s urge against his release. We’ll eventually find out why he was in there to begin with but in the meantime we get to know Pat, the other crazy characters in his world, and his obsessive plan to get his estranged wife back; which involves reading classic literature, jogging, and ignoring all the restraining orders against his presence. Along the way he’ll help escape a friend from the same mental institution he left, throw Hemingway out of a window, play dueling crazies with a love interest, clash with his possibly crazier Dad, get arrested by the same police officer a couple of times, and even dance a little.

Bradley Cooper was one of the reasons I initially didn't want to see this movie. Not because I don't like him, but after reading about the movie, I just didn't think he could pull it off. I was so wrong. When you watch his character, bipolar Pat Solitano, teeter between likeable and dangerous, you know this character is going to keep you on your toes and Cooper does not disappoint. Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games) is on fire as the equally crazy Tiffany, whose path crosses Pat's early on and it's her that plays the suitor, under the guise of helping him get his wife back. The chemistry throughout the ensemble cast is seamless, but these two are like fire and gasoline.

This movie manages to walk the line between drama and comedy by taking Pat’s mental illness seriously and portraying some scary moments in the Solitano household where you think that he might be heading back to the loony bin. Robert De Niro plays Pat Sr., and he's not exactly the model of sanity either. He plays a failing OCD bookie who believes his son is good luck to the team and spends the whole movie trying to convince him to ditch his plan to win his wife back and join him on football Sunday. Pat Sr. has a great moment of unkempt anger where he stalks a neighborhood boy to his house threatening him and yelling at the neighbor’s along the way. It’s so refreshing to see De Niro show up to act his butt off and not phone it in, but actress Jacki Weaver really rounds out the vibe of this dysfunctional household as the matriarch in the background. While the reality of her character puts her in the background much of the time, she’s very present and when she does step to the foreground, mostly to dote on her son and back him up, it is so believable that I wouldn’t be surprised if she wins Best Supporting Actress this February. There is little to nothing in this movie that causes you to snap back into reality. Even when the oddly casted Chris Tucker (Rush Hour 1 through 7) shows up in the movie he quickly fits right in and even leaves you wishing that he’d be in more movies of this quality.

David O. Russell made this film for his son, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at young age, and the empathy for his characters shines in his direction. The cinematography and editing combine for seamless storytelling that never lags. Based on the book of the same name by Matthew Quick, Silver Linings Playbook is essentially a movie about rebuilding yourself after disaster and learning to make the right plays towards your own silver lining.

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Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.

Realistic Thriller Portrays The Facts

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:11:00 +0000

By Nick Coleman

From the writer/director team that brought us Hurt Locker comes a spy-trade thriller that combines subtle dramatics with a documentary-like realness. Most conventional thrillers are like flash-bangs – they get your attention, but the effects wear off quickly. Zero Dark Thirty is like napalm – it sticks to you and doesn't go away.

Tradecraft is the operative word that represents the core of this movie. From the clockwork of a decade-long intelligence operation based on the theory of one woman to the tedious work of condensing the manhunt to a 2 and a half hour theatrical account, only a master craftsman could pull off such a feat. Katheryn Bigelow is just the master for the latter part of that job. As in Hurt Locker, Bigelow and writer Mark Boalhave brought to life the reality of our country's most recent unpleasantness through painstaking journalism and evenhanded storytelling that doesn't preach one way or the other. There is no symbolism in the cinematography, there's no propaganda in the script, there's just the facts, which are shown through claustrophobic camera-work, no-nonsense editing, and gritty acting.

This movie could've been a pile of garbage in the wrong hands. The fact that this plot covers ten years makes it hard to build characters and weave together subplots, so the filmmakers did us a favor and left that alone. There is no side story of a burgeoning romance and we don't learn about anyone’s family backstory. The pacing of this movie is deliberate enough to keep you enthralled and Bigelow leaves it up to her expertly chosen actors to draw us into their world. Boal's script trusts us to be smart enough to follow along without any heavy-handedness in the dialog. Maya, played with refreshing confidence by JessicaChastain, is the strongest female lead we've seen in a while. If there was ever an on-screen manifestation of director Katheryn Bigelow, who also operates in a largely male-dominated field, Maya would be that persona. Watching this character navigate from the opening torture sequences (which, by the way, don’t take a pro-torture stance) to the endgame is a fulfilling experience in itself and only adds weight to the ambiguous ending which features her as the sole passenger aboard a C-130.

The climactic raid of bin Laden's compound is realistically portrayed and thrilling. As a veteran of the military, it's refreshing to see a filmmaker show how a raid is actually conducted. Normally we’d see commandos move like ninjas into the bad guy’s lair and take out their target in seconds. In real life, the experts who do this sort of work take their time and don't always concentrate on looking cool. There’s no heroic portrait-painting of any single Navy SEAL and they only refer to bin Laden as the "third floor guy". No triumphant high-fiving or grandiose score in the background, just men doing their job.

Zero Dark Thirty doesn’t look to teach us a lesson, make a political point, or exploit already sensational events. The movie simply shows us history through a realistic portrayal of events taken from first-hand accounts. As far as great political thrillers based on facts go, this movie blows Argo out of the water.

Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.

Eminem Teaches Us How to Strive for Something Greater

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:01:00 +0000

By Nick Coleman

The New Year represents a new beginning for all of us. While resolutions have become mostly something to joke about, a lot of people still use it as an excuse to make changes in their life for the better. At the beginning of this journey we feel weak, we talk down to ourselves, we’re not sure we can even do it. This puts us into the role of underdog and everybody loves a good underdog movie. The problem with most underdog movies is that you know the protagonist is going to fix all of their problems in the final climax. 8 Mile is a gritty portrayal of a down-and-out loser who strives for something greater within himself.

This is about the only movie made since its 2002 release that gives us a realistic portrayal of the struggle for something better that ends in a small-but-effective victory, rather than a clichéd rags-to-riches story that ends happily ever after. Even though this movie is loosely based on Eminem’s ascent to rap stardom, he plays the character of Jimmie Smith, aka Rabbit, with enough grounded sincerity that we are able to separate him from the real life version, which helps us sympathize with his plight. At the end of the movie, you’re left feeling like he still has a lot of work to do to pull himself out of the muck and I believe that’s a more responsible lesson than most movies teach us.

Director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) uses his actors with expert precision. Kim Basinger is perfect as Rabbit’s alcoholic Mom, whose trailer he has to move into at the beginning of the movie. Omar Benson Miller, De'Angelo Wilson and Evan Jones play Rabbit’s crew and support group that are there to keep his spirits up when he pukes on himself or can’t start his car. Mekhi Phifer and Brittany Murphy’s characters bring enough positivity to their roles to help counteract the sullen and angry Rabbit. From the abandon buildings of Detroit to the dreary, depressing auto plant he works at, the cinematography of Rodrigo Prieto pulls us into the story with engrossing visuals that are important in conveying the situation that our protagonist wishes to remove himself from. This film also boasts probably the best hip-hop soundtrack of any movie, filled with classics and new tracks alike.

Rabbit doesn’t just wish to be in a better place, he feels deep inside that he’s destined for something greater. On some level, we can all relate to that. Whether it’s a bad habit we need to break or a lifelong dream that we yearn for, 8 Mile does the audience a service by showing us how rough it is for anyone to make just that first terrifying step. The reason I chose this underdog movie over a cemented classic like Rockyis because in 8 Mile we are given a character who experiences violence throughout the movie and lashes out a couple of times himself, but in the end he eschews violence and wins with his wit and his words. With all of the violence in the media and plenty of murderous revenge tales in the theaters, it’s nice to watch a movie that handles conflict resolution responsibly and doesn’t glorify the little bit of violence in it.

Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.

Characteristic Tarantino Provides Shocks and Thrills

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 02:00:00 +0000

By Nick Coleman

Quentin is the one who’s unchained in this wild southern revenge fantasy. Never has a director been given such freedom to weave his bizarre style around a deep love and respect for as many genres as he feels like tipping his hat to. In Django Unchained he manages to convey the brutality and inner workings of the slave trade with earnest while giving us some of the most wildly comic moments he’s ever penned.

All of the QT trademarks are here: eclectic soundtrack, idiosyncratic characters, smarter-than-thou dialogue, ultra-violence, and slick editing. From his quirky title cards and shot choices to his use of veteran actors, you always know you’re watching a Quentin Tarantino movie. Another thing he manages to do with Django is give us his most violent film. While Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds presented the violence in a more stylistic and thrilling fashion, here we get straight-up brutality which is fitting for the setting. A man gets ripped apart by dogs in one scene. In another, two men fight to the death in a scene that’ll make the most jaded moviegoer flinch. Shocking violence isn’t his only trick, though; Django is filled with enthralling characters, great dialogue, and a linear story that keeps us entertained throughout; even if it does lose a little steam in the second half.

Quentin Tarantino has documented that he’s winding down his career in order to keep his filmography in good standing; so it’s no surprise when he spares no expense on his Academy Award-winning crew. The Directory of Photography, Robert Richardson, has worked on such films as JFK, The Aviator, Casino, Shutter Island, and won 3 Academy Awards. The Production Designer, L. Michael Kiva, won an Academy Award for The Color Purple. Aside from the starting lineup, the actors he casts in the surrounding roles are absolutely perfect. Walter Goggins, James Remar, Rex Linn, and the rest are all as much part of the scenery as they are the cast. Don Johnson’s cameo as a plantation owner serves as one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

Christoph Waltz steals the first half as garrulous German dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Dr. Schultz. Dr. Schultz plays mentor to Django, whom he has freed for the purposes of tracking down slavers that only Django can identify. Foxx leaves nothing to be desired in his role as a freed slave turned bounty hunter. He portrays the progression of Django expertly and eventually commands himself like a hardened gunslinger with a confident swagger. Jamie Foxx also uses his comic roots well in some of Django’s more awkward fish-out-of-water moments. Leonardo DiCaprio, as Calvin Candie, turns in a decent performance as the petulant boy prince who is so bored with his inherited plantation that he turns his passions to “Mandingo” fighting, in which two slaves are pitted against each other to fight to the death. It’s in the second half of the film when we meet the worst villain in the movie: Samuel L. Jackson as authoritarian house slave, Stephen. Django refers to the type of person Stephen represents early in the film as worse than any slave trader, and Sam Jackson relishes his soulless character.

Django is not without fault. The pacing of the story suffers a bit in the second half of the film and even when the violence kicks up a notch you still feel like a mark was missed somewhere. There is an unnecessary scene featuring Tarantino that only adds to the lengthy runtime. Also, the romance between Django and his wife, which is the catalyst of the whole plot, feels lackluster. Quentin Tarantino’s biggest criticism will always be that his own directorial style gets in the way of his storytelling rather than complimenting it. Nevertheless, Django still manages to be flat out fun and worth a round of applause when the credits roll. I never thought I’d see a legitimate Civil War era film with hip-hop in it, but that’s the least surprising element in Django.
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Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.

Apocalyptic Cinema

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 01:09:00 +0000

By Nick Coleman

In honor of the Mayan calendar ending on Friday, which some believe to be the end of the world, I have decided to choose my 6 favorite apocalyptic films. Doomsday movies represent a scenario in which the world as we know it no longer exists. No waiting in line, no alarm clocks, no boss yelling at you. We’re all secretly fascinated with this scenario and it shows in our entertainment. From shows like Doomsday Preppers to The Walking Dead our love apocalyptic entertainment is a sign that we all kind of resent the social contract at times and wonder what it’d be like to have a shopping mall to ourselves or race a sports car around empty streets. Just the thought of my student loans being wiped out is enough for me to whisper bring it into Armageddon’s ear.

1.) Mad Max 2: Road Warrior (1982, written and directed by George Miller)

Mad Max 2 is a relentless chase flick set in a post-nuclear-holocaust Australian outback where Mel Gibson clashes with a roving gang of maniacs lead by Lord Humungus, an insanely ripped sadist donning a pre-Jason hockey mask. Max is a lost soul roaming this wasteland with his dog and winds up reclaiming his humanity when he steps up to defend a group of settlers from the aforementioned bad guys.

This movie holds an impressive 100% rating on Rottentomatoes.com and is the most influential post-nuclear-holistic film ever made. The stunts are executed well and the non-stop action is edited at a breakneck pace. This movie is pure escapism at its brutally entertaining best. If you haven’t seen it then you’ll have no idea how to dress for the apocalypse.

Most apocalyptic moment: The choreographed chaos of the final chase scene has not been repeated.

The Road Warrior lives on now only in memories...and in Youtube videos of drunken rants to his girlfriend's voicemail.

2.) 12 Monkeys (1995, directed by Terry Gilliam)

Terry Gilliam makes strangely wonderful cinema and 12 Monkeys is possibly his most visually arresting. From the production design to the eerie music, this movie crawls under your skin, but the performances of Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt are what really seal the deal. Willis is as emotionally raw as ever and Pitt is psychotic in the most delightful way.

The apocalypse in this movie was caused by a virus which has wiped out most of the population and sent the rest underground. Bruce Willis is “volunteered” to slip into a big condom suit and search the surface for clues while animals, unaffected by the virus, roam freely throughout the barren streets of Philadelphia. After discovering a clue indicating that a faction called the Army of the 12 Monkeys is the cause of the virus, he is sent back in time to put the kibosh on their operation.

Most apocalyptic moment: Brad Pitt spouting poetic insanity in a rapid fire manner while dancing around an asylum.

I hope no one from the office sees me in this.

3.) The Road (2009, written by Joe Penhall, directed by John Hillcoat)

This is by far the most depressing and bleak of my picks, which is saying something. Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, The Road follows a man and his son as they forage for food in a world that has been dying from an unknown cause for years. There are no animals, no plants, and the trees are literally falling down around them.

Viggo Mortensen does a great job here of portraying the desperation of a father whose only reason to keep living is his son. Both actors not only nail their parts on an emotional level, but on a physical level they look as if director Hillcoat locked them in a cell and starved them for months. The author of the book explains the characters plight the best: “when everything's gone, the only thing left to eat is each other."

Most apocalyptic moment: Finding out how Mortensen lost his wife is a truly harrowing moment.

Dad, this is the worst father-son camping trip ever!

4.) Children of Men (2006, written by Timothy J.Sexton and Alfonso Cuaron, directed by Alfonso Cuaron)

I almost didn’t put this on the list because I didn’t think I could keep myself from writing a novel about it. With a compelling storyline and gritty action sequences this is the all-around best movie on this list.

It’s been 18 years since anyone’s popped out a baby and the world has crumbled into an anarchic state, with Britain being one of the only places that can manage order via a fearsome military state. Clive Owen parachutes into the chaos to start impregnating women – just kidding. The amazing actor does play the man charged with the transportation and protection of a young woman who could be the world’s last hope.

The future depicted in this movie feels like a very plausible reality. The set pieces look straight out of some war torn part of the globe and every visual is rooted in blood, sweat, and fear.

Most apocalyptic moment: A great chase scene shot in one single take, ending in an abruptly violent manner.

This broken window with a swing set in the background is abound in allegory.

5.) Apocalypto (2006, written by Farhad Safiniaand Mel Gibson, directed by Mel Gibson)

What better movie to commemorate the Mayan prophecy than a movie about the Mayan’s own way of life coming to an end? This movie isn’t a futuristic post-apocalypse movie, but it is an apocalypse movie. We witness the pillage and imprisonment of a peaceful tribe of hunters. Most are slaughtered and raped, while the strongest are taken to a Mayan temple to be sacrificed. The Mayan royalty sit back while captives are beheaded in hopes of appeasing the gods and staving off the famine and disease that is bringing their empire down.

Like in Mad Max 2, the climax is a chase scene that takes up the final third of the film. Jaguar Paw is a man who was smart enough to hide his pregnant wife and child from the Mayan onslaught and will risk everything to get back to them. The movie was even directed by Mad Max himself. Say what you will about Mel’s personal life, the guy can direct the hell out of movie. His love of brutality and his nihilistic outlook are shown throughout this heart pounding thriller.

Most apocalyptic moment: When Jaguar Paw reaches the ocean and finds that there are bigger changes about to take place than what he’s just gone through.

We didn't even see our demise coming, stupid gringos!

6.) 28 Days Later (2002, written by Alex Garland, directed by Danny Boyle)

At some point you probably wondered where the zombie movies were. I came to the conclusion that the living dead are in their own category due to market saturation. So I chose a film that is close to an undead flick and also one of the best films ever made, period.

28 Days Later is a combination virus thriller/zombie movie and it takes the most terrifying aspects of each to create a truly frightening tale of survival. The threat isn’t your typical walking dead; more like zombified sprinters who want to tear your flesh apart. This is largely due to a ‘rage’ virus, which is the second virus on this list spread around civilization by animal rights activists – just saying.

Most apocalyptic moment: When Cillian Murphy stumbles upon a wall filled with notes for other peoples’ loved ones and gets a real sense of what has happened.

Medical scrubs and a plastic sack are the new suit and briefcase of the apocalypse.

Honorable Mentions: Terminator 1 & 2 for their brief glimpse of the future war, which Terminator: Salvation tried to deliver and failed. The Matrix is a great post-apocalypse action flick with slick design, but too much of the story takes place in a video game. A Boy and His Dog is a great influence on the whole genre and inspired the Mad Max trilogy; it’s definitely worth a watch. For some B-movie end of the world fun I recommend Hardware and Night of the Comet.

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Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.

Lyrical Debut Feature Provides A Glimpse of Seldom-Seen Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:00:00 +0000

By Nick Coleman

Beasts of the Southern Wild is a strange yet beautiful coming of age tale set in an impoverished fishing community threatened by a coming storm. Shot entirely on 16mm to save money, director Benh Zeitlin used only a small crew of professionals and dozens of locals from Montegut, Louisiana, to make this film happen. The screenplay was written by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar, based on Alibar’s play Juicy and Delicious. While the setting is fictional, it is largely inspired by small, isolated fishing communities, like Montegut, in and around Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish. The film teeters back and forth between fairytale and stark reality creating a surreal effect that makes this emotional journey play out like a fever dream.

Our protagonist, Hushpuppy, is a little girl growing up in a small slice of poverty called the Bathtub, where her wild imagination keeps her company amidst the ruins of an eroding town. She is played with a heartfelt sincerity that you just can’t get out of adult actors by 5 year old Quvenzhane Wallis. Dwight Henry plays her father, Wink, a borderline alcoholic in a decaying state. He's adamant in teaching her to be strong and self-reliant via some harsh love, but if she's to survive when he dies it’s a necessary evil. This isn't the overly sentimental fluff that Hollywood usually sends our way to make us feel warm and fuzzy. It's darker and grittier than anything with a child protagonist since Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro).

Despite living in squalor and on the verge of sleeping with the fishes, the residents of the Bathtub show an incredible spirit and will to live that left me feeling guilty for whining about my heater not working. The Bathtub’s school teacher gives a history lesson concerning survival to her kids in the beginning which sets the tone for Hushpuppy’s narration as she refers to everyone as animals in a game of survival. The teacher also tells the rest of the children that life is too short to waste time crying, be happy while you're alive. It seems that these children get a more honest lesson about life than most kids probably do at school these days and it makes sense; there is no illusion of order to be found in the Bathtub, just nature and chaos and family.

There's a hint of magic and voodoo in the story that pairs well with Hushpuppy’s narrative and the strange appearance of prehistoric creatures. We see mammoth beasts called Aurochs thaw out of glaciers at the beginning. Throughout the film we get the occasional clip of them migrating towards the Bathtub for a showdown with our protagonist. This is all in Hushpuppy's wonderful imagination, of course. She also pretends that a red basketball jersey is her Mom, and the voice-over of an older woman we hear is just Hushpuppy projecting her own comforting version of her Mom. The characters all live in a third world within a first world and even when that first world tries to impose 'relief' upon them they revolt and escape back to their home.

At the end of the day most of us would rather watch James Bond blow stuff up than witness a harsh reality that exists within our borders, but for those of us that sometimes wish to be challenged by our entertainment Beasts is a fantastic triumph. The fact that this movie, without the help of a big budget, known director, or stars, saw the light of day and is now generating Oscar buzz proves that our souls haven't rotted from the decay of too much Hollywood...yet.
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Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.

Gritty Gangster Flick Impresses With Style

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:54:00 +0000

Review by Nick Coleman

Killing Them Softly is based on the novel Cogan’s Trade, which was written back in 1974 by forgotten hardboiled novelist named George V. Higgins. Writer/Director Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) has done us a great service in digging up this gem and shining a light on the late authors work. 1974’s The Friends of Eddie Coyleis his only other novel to get the film treatment. Higgins has been cited by writers such as Elmore Leonard, James Elroy, and David Mamet for influencing their work. Elmore Leonard has influenced some of the top filmmakers today with 20 of his books turned into feature films, including his work Rum Punch, which was turned into Jackie Brown by Quentin Tarantino. This sort of hard-boiled fare can be traced back to the likes of Chandler and Hammet and it’s nice to discover a missing link along the chain of influential pulp writers.

The plot is barebones and dialogue-driven, punctuated by a few bursts of violence. A card game is knocked over in such a way that it threatens the stability of the local criminal economy. Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is in town to sort out the mess and make sure lesser criminals don’t get the idea that robbing their card games will go unpunished. Dominik updates the books setting from Boston circa 1974 to Louisiana during the 2008 Presidential race and the impending collapse of America’s economy. Early on we are inundated with sound bites from Bush, Obama, and McCain every time a character is within earshot of a radio or TV. I’m pretty sure hoods give about as much about politics as I do and personally I think they could’ve inserted some great music in the background instead and everyone would still get the point. Even though the movie’s cynical politics line up with mine, I feel they could have been less heavy-handed with the delivery. That’s really my only complaint. The movie is a wonderfully gritty gangster flick that is executed with a touch of panache. The message is hammered home in the best way I’ve ever witnessed with Brad Pitt’s closing line, which I won’t give away here, even though it will soon enter the phrasal lexicon of American gangsterdom.

The fireworks in the background are indicative of what Jackie Cogan (Pitt) has in mind.

Brad Pitt glides effortlessly through his role as a reliable and pragmatic enforcer who prefers to kill his targets ‘softly’, or from afar, rather than deal with the emotional pleas of a man up close. James Gandolfini does what James Gandolfini does and his mere presence adds another layer to the underlying influences of the whole genre. An episode of The Sopranos (Amor Fou) plays out in a similar fashion to this plotline and his character here is reminiscent of the self-pitying, sourpuss hitman he played in True Romance(written by Tarantino) over two decades ago. The movie abandons straight-up action and thrills for a grimly funny portrait of the criminal underbelly that is filled with darkly funny conversations about the bureaucracy of trying to whack the right guy. In doing this the movie relies heavily on the performances of its actors and the casting to pull this off seems to have been handled perfectly. Surprisingly, the conversations between Pitt and Richard Jenkins, who plays a Mob liaison in charge of hiring the right contractor for the job, are the best.

Mickey (Gandolfini) practically spits his dialogue at you throughout his cranky, cynical performance.

Another thing this movie did right was cast actors that look like criminals. One of my biggest pet peeves is watching a movie with criminals portrayed by actors who could easily sub in for a rom-com. Newcomer Scoot McNairy turns in a convincing performance, though someone should’ve told him the setting was changed from Boston to Louisiana; he rocks the Boston accent hard and, while it’s very good, he’s the only one with it. Not a big deal, just seemed odd to me. His partner in crime, played by Ben Mendelshon, has to be a real heroin addict/homeless man, I’m convinced. Together the two have some of the more humorous conversations. Whenever someone’s making a gangster film they probably always have the “should we call Ray Liotta” talk. Ray’s lizard stare and maniacal cackle are on display and he manages to make his character the most sympathetic in the story, despite his short amount of screen time. The rotund getaway driver from The Town has a small role that adds a touch of “authenticiousness” to the film because he looks like my three-time felon of a cousin. He’s also involved in one of the funniest scenes in the movie, involving an exploding car. The movie could’ve used about two more scenes like that along the way to break up the nonstop conversation. Don’t get me wrong, when you can write dialogue this good and have actors sink their chops into it then let it rain dialogue. I’m merely nitpicking.

Russell (Mendelsohn) and Frankie (McNairy) are living the low life, desperate to get paid...and in need of a shower.

Music is used sparingly here compared to Scorcese or QT films, but I did enjoy their usage of Johnny Cash’s When the Man Comes Around for Pitt’s intro. It was last used in the Dawn of the Dead remake and, while I liked it there, it seems more appropriate here. The song evokes images of a grim reaper arriving on the scene to clean house and that’s exactly what Brad Pitt’s there to do. This is not a fast-paced thrill ride, but more of a slow-burning crime film where its effectiveness lies in strong performances, excellent direction, and beautiful cinematography. Killing Them Softly doesn’t quite reach greatness, but it gets damn close.
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Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.

Neo-Noir Sci-Fi "Dark City" Influences Future Classics

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Coleman) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:55:00 +0000

Dark City (Director’s Cut) (1998)

Review by Nick Coleman

Dark City is a grossly underrated neo-noir sci-fi thriller that influenced many films that came after. Mainly criticized it for favoring style over substance, it definitely is visual a feast that still looks good today. The sets were all built just for Dark City at Fox Studios Australia on the biggest set that Australia has still ever seen. A year later The Matrix used some of these exact same sets. Which is appropriate because Dark City was a movie about people trapped in a world, unaware of their reality, with a Neo-like protagonist destined to set them free…or not quite, but I’m not here to spoil anything.

Speaking of spoilers, the director’s cut gets rid of Kiefer Sutherland’s annoying voice-over at the beginning of the movie, which spills the beans about the whole plot. Studio execs insisted on the voice-over because they thought nobody would understand what was going on and maybe they were right because this movie is definitely a strange little slice. Another neo-noir sci-fi film that was strange for its time was Blade Runner, which also had an unnecessary voice-over pushed on it by the check signers. Both movies share similar themes concerning the validity of our memories and what makes us human.

Directed by Alex Proyas (The Crow) and also written by him, as well as David S. Goyer (Batman Begins) and Lem Dobbs (Kafka), Dark City is film noir to the bone and only people that enjoy such fare will probably dig the story line as much as I do. The plot was dismissed by a lot of critics as being convoluted and having no substance. While the best part of Dark City is the cinematography and art design, it definitely has an entertaining tale to spin. It’s also supported by terrific acting and an eerie, if overused, score.

Our protagonist, John Murdoch, played pitch perfect by Rufus Sewell, awakens in a bathtub with no memories and a dead hooker in the next room. Accused of murder and on the run, we follow him as he pieces together this mystery. He has the occasional flashback to a bright and sunny scene on Shell Beach, which nobody can quite remember how to get to, though everyone has been there. William Hurt adds a touch of gravitas to the film as a fedora and trench coat-clad detective who seems to sense that all is not what it seems in this city and is troubled by the fact that he can’t seem to reach far back into his memories. He’s tracking Murdoch as his main suspect in a string of serial killings concerning prostitutes. A film noir would not be complete without a sultry dame and Jennifer Connolly fits the bill as John Murdoch’s wife, Emma, a lounge singer for a jazz band. Then we have Kiefer Sutherland, channeling Igor, as a mad doctor who is somehow connected to the madness behind the curtains.

We soon discover that this city is under the control of a race of Nosferatu-looking creatures called The Strangers who have the telekinetic ability to put everyone to sleep, rearrange the layout of the city, and swap everyone’s memories. John has somehow acquired these powers through some very fast evolutionary process and is the only one that remains awake while this extreme makeover takes place. When the clock strikes midnight on the first day of our story we witness everyone in town fall asleep right where they stand, except for John, who wanders about trying in vein to wake everyone up. During the mass slumber we witness an awesomely surreal scene (one of my most favorite in cinema) in which gothic cathedrals transform into skyscrapers and The Strangers go about swapping the sleeping inhabitants memories. Christopher Nolan has cited this movie as his inspiration for Inception and it shows. The transforming buildings are an architect’s wet dream, sporting a mix of architectural design that is described best by one of the Strangers: “We fashioned this city on stolen memories; different eras, different pasts all rolled into one.”

Dark City is more about its visuals than its story, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We never delve too deep into any of the characters and that actually fits in with the story. It's hard to get to know someone who can’t remember who they are. If you haven't seen it then go watch it now before you forget!

Nick Coleman is an aspiring writer/filmmaker/comedian who is in pre-production of his first short film. He is also an improv performer at Sacramento's Comedy Spot.