Risen (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Risen

Biblical dramas are countless and with good reason. Even if one is not religious, Jesus remains a compelling an existential figure. Many artists have said he was the first pop star. The Bible is in itself, an early epic read having something for everyone: lust, violence, struggle and resolution. No matter what one's faith is, the story of Jesus and biblical mystery has persisted even in our tech-fetishist iPhone age where the touch of a screen has mimicked the holy-handed touch of Creation.

The recent biblical mystery film is "Risen" by director Kevin Reynolds, focusing on the sentence of crucifixion and the intrigue of Jesus' body before its ascent. The film is told from the side of Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) a Roman Centurion, who is summoned by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) to hasten Jesus' death and put a quick end to the revolt. Like an Everyman, Clavius is stuck in a rut, engaging in battle, day after day. He yearns for peace, or at least a calm day without the spilling of blood. He cares little for he Nazarene, simply wanting to finish each day alive as a soldier.

There is one grisly scene of Jesus (Chris Curtis) on The Cross, his face puffy and as stiff as plastic. Under Clavius's direction, an assistant plunges The Spear under Jesus' ribcage. His eyes are open in death and gaze in reproach.

Clavius has done his job, but if so, why can't he sleep?

The film is a shade different from most Biblical films for its lighter touch. The suffering of Jesus is not dwelled on. And Joseph Fiennes gives an appropriate and understated perfomance as the dutiful soldier who is over all of the bloodletting.

Peter Firth's Pilate gives a hint of gallows humor as well. When Clavius tells him of the grim details, Pilate dunks in the hot tub as if to say "Ho hum!" As in most films, one would be hard pressed to call him likeable. He is a hardened rule-maker, the Roman everybody loves to hate.

Fiennes has some lines of dialogue that seem taken from the tongue of Sam Harris. Clavius gives some entertaining repartee, calling the resurrection a "delusion" and practically rolling his eyes at Mary Magdalene (Maria Botto) and her rapturous idealism.

There is an intriguing lunch scene where the recently crucified man is alive and well and smiling joyously at Clavius, his wrists now mere innocuous wounds. Jesus seems to toy and tease with the centurion. Here he is, the literal life of the party! The apostles follow him from one location to the next and here the action goes flat. The men go out on a boat and fish and at each stop, Jesus like a compass, guides them.

For all of the sightings, one gets very little of Jesus in this story. He is kind, smiling and laughing often. Yes, but what else? What of his worries and his fears? The saviour we see is done in crayon rather than in rich oils.This sketchiness is true also with Clavius. After a suspenseful first half, the soldier goes mute, revealing little of his emotion. In the film, Jesus tells Clavius to let his heart speak.

It is a pity that he doesn't take the advice.

The cinematography is stirring and beautiful. One scene in particular features a swarm of bats wheeling overhead as the apostles move forward on their quest. Clavius wanders on and on, alone against the huge stone fields. The ground itself becoming Clavius's personal crown of ivory thorns. Such moments remain provocative, having the feel of something otherwordly or epic and paying homage to other films: "The Outlaw Josey Wales," "Mad Max" or "The Man Who Fell to Earth." All of these films have one thing in common: the outcast who walks alone.

"Risen"  is two separate films: the first is done in intrigue with curiousity and a respect for mystery. The second is a colored primer held up for display like an Advent calendar, marked merely for preaching.

The power of any story, biblical or otherwise, is in its speculation and wonder. To show all so plainly is to dispel the magic .

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

10 Cloverfield Lane (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

10 Cloverfield Lane

Watch the skies! This is what you will whisper to yourself from the very first second of "10 Cloverfield Lane" by director Dan Trachtenberg. This matinee-flavored film is a thrill from start to finish, not for what it reveals, but for what it leaves in the dark. The film, which bears the stamp of its producer J.J. Abrahms, has an excellent escapism. The entire production is aware of its potential, the legacy of Spielberg and the impact that an adventurous film has when it is done well.

The story shares its shocks with its first cousin, "Cloverfield" in the sci-fi genre, though it is not a sequel. We don't know the cause, but as in the predecessor, something is strange regarding the mere sight of Cloverfield depicted here as a name on a mailbox.

In this chapter, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), is a young woman who has a very percussive and dangerous car accident. Instead of waking in a hospital, she comes to in an underground bunker. Enter Howard (John Goodman) a round and rough survivalist who is as intimidating  as his heavy leather belt, studded with metal and large 1970s era keys.

He means business.

Michelle doesn't like being held in a small cell, but Howard tells her that America has been attacked, that the air is now toxic and most have died. The core of the film is John Goodman in his fierce and engaging role as the tumescent Howard. There are plenty of unnerving jolts and Goodman has a wonderful deadpan, and clearly relishes this role. The film teases relentlessly with verve and free wheeling joy in the spirit of Halloween. The sight of Goodman's face alone, either as puffy as a blowfish or as pleased as a preacher at a pancake breakfast, is worth the price of admission.

And because the audience is left wondering, the "what if" anxiety recalls something of Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds" radio broadcast.  For much of the film, one is entertained and satisfactorily left to ponder and worry. There are some genuine creepy scares that feel as though they were taken directly from "Weird Tales" magazine.

There is Emmitt (John Gallagher, Jr.), a passive second captive who attempts to take a stand against the stern and corpulent Howard, one part Svengali , one part General Patton.

"10 Cloverfield Lane" works wonderfully as a "Twilight Zone" film, not to mention some great camp and circumstance. At its end, it betrays its sleight of hand just a smidgen, yet the final trick is thankfully not out of the hat when the final credits appear.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

Demolition (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Demolition

Jean Marc-Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) attempts another psychological portrait with the self-consciously titled film "Demolition," about a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) who gets catharsis from ---no surprise here---demolishing big things.

Gyllenhaal plays investment banker Davis Mitchell, who is jaded and stuck in neutral. He is living comfortably in the Big Apple with his attractive wife Julia (Heather Lind) and things are moving on cruise control. One day, the couple drives along in the car and Davis is side-swiped.
Julia dies while he walks away without a scratch.His father-in-law (Chris Cooper ) hates him, but he always has. A curious sensation comes over Davis. He feels nothing about Julia or the accident. Huge skyscrapers hover him like giant metallic birds. Such a sight brings only a poker face with Davis exchanging the barest of pleasantries to his team. During a hospital vigil, he gets cheated by a vending machine and begins to write letters to the company.

His passivity remains unchanged with the exception of 70s rock music, which unleashes Davis's spontaneous and unbridled inner nature, unkempt and anarchistic. Davis starts to become obsessed with disassembling appliances and then smashing smashing them, a bit like The Hulk. This is the most provocative aspect of the film as it is fun to watch the monosylabbic businessman let loose and become almost simian in his movements, hanging from the ceiling, swinging sledgehammers. He yells, roars and gambols about chimp-like. This is De-evolution. Say what you might about the film as a whole, but Gyllenhaal wonderfully forgets himself in these segments.

Davis meets Karen, a service rep from the vending machine company (Noami Watts) and the two start a friendship. Karen has a foul-mouthed kid named Chris (Judah Lewis ) who likes to experiment with his image and an abusive boyfriend.

While the savage impulses expressed by Jake Gyllenhaal sizzle with great charge, the other sections of the film flatten out in standard drama. The kid is bullied, Karen is scared. The father-in-law is nasty. The story does not progress. One also knows precious little about the secondary characters. Who was Julia and what is Karen really like? Except for a few bare scenes, very little is expressed. The parental discontent and the melancholy by all, makes this beautifully shot film feel like a TV movie.

Sketchy melodrama is all one finds. There is a wonder and a terrific letting go in Gyllenhaal's poundings and pummellings. Such voltage is similar to Reese Witherspoon in "Wild" : a transformed and transforming woman who becomes Nature in order to achieve her goal.

"Demolition," by contrast, ultimately creates the most casual of disorders on-screen. It is a crackle rather than a boom and the story begs for refreshing potency.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

WLRN Radio Theater: Rebecca (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

WLRN Presents Live Radio Performance With “Rebecca”

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again,” intones the voice from the stage.

Shut your eyes for a moment and just listen. It’s radio.

Now open your eyes and see the small cast huddled around a microphone, just like those old days of Lux Radio Theatre.

But here you are, sitting in the Carper Theater at Key West’s Tropic Cinema -- a movie house!

And you’re listening to a production of “Rebecca,” the script based on Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film. You remember “Rebecca,” the Daphne Du Maurier story about a bride tormented by the memory of her husband’s deceased first wife, the Rebecca of the title. Clashing with the housekeeper, the second Mrs. de Winter discovers that Rebecca still has a strange hold on everyone at Manderley.

“Rebecca” will be performed live on stage this Sunday night at the Tropic.

This is the first in a three-times-a year program, the WLRN Radio Theater Series. Each will feature a radio play based on classic movies.

Partnering with WLRN, Arts Radio Network Theatre Project will produce these on-stage performances.

I’d met producer John Watts last year when Arts Radio Network Theatre Project put on “African Queen” at the Tropic as part of the Museum and Attraction Weekend. He’s a guy who collects old radio memorabilia, while pursuing his dream of reviving old-time radio-style entertainment.

Lux Radio Theatre was a long-running anthology series, which thrived 1935 - 1954 on CBS Radio. The hour-long performances were adapted from popular Hollywood movies, in those days often starring the actors who had appeared on screen. As the name implied, it was sponsored by Lever Brothers, maker of Lux Toilet Soap.

“We’ll be using old Lux Radio Theatre scripts,” John Watts assured me, a point of pride about the authenticity of the experience. “We’ll even leave in the commercial break.”

He adds, “‘Rebecca’ is a little heavier because it is a thriller. The commercial break will allow the audience to have a little laugh, then get right back into the play.”

Gretchen Porro stars as “I,” the second Mrs. de Winter. Dave Hyland joins her at the microphone as the patrician Maxim de Winter.

This being radio, Carlos Alayeto, John Carlile, Dan Leonard, and Rae Randall take on multiple roles, populating the radio speakers with their ever-changing voices.

The production is directed by Matt Stabile. The important function of sound effects engineer is handled by Daniel Eilola -- producing such audio effects as wind, surf, even a barking dog. Producer John Watts does his double-duty cuing the music.

Watts has spent the past 25 years as a producer for both audio and video productions.  Although his early career included positions with ESPN, the Golf Channel, and NBC, he has specialized in radio production for the past decade.

This performance of “Rebecca” is being recorded live, to be re-broadcast on WLRN Public Radio on May 7. “Come and be part of show,” Watts invites. “There will be lots of audience participation -- crowd noises, screaming, murmuring. The audience will be part of the broadcast.”

After the play there will be a “talk back,” the chance to ask questions of the cast and crew. And if you want to know even more about old-time radio, John Watts will be giving a Distinguished Speaker talk the night before at the Key West Art & Historical Society’s Custom House.

As for the Tropic’s performance of “Rebecca,” it starts off with a champagne reception at 7 p.m. And at 7:30 you will be treated to “a movie inside your head.”

srhoades@aol.com

Remember (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Remember

There have been many Holocaust films. Some are dramas. Far fewer of them are thrillers that must tread a delicate line between suspense and drama, careful not to fall into the realm of adventure or melodrama too quickly as to seem far fetched or cloying.  Fortunately, most have been well done with care and detail. Last year's "Phoenix" belongs in this category, as does the wonderful "Son of Saul", a masterpiece that is as much about the legacy of Franz Kafka as it is about the morally abhorrent Nazis.

Now, by director Atom Egoyan, there is "Remember" a tense, breathless drama that closes in on the paranoia of survivor aftermath and barely releases its wolf-like grip. Zev (Christopher Plummer) is an aged widower stricken with dementia who is an Auschwitz survivor. He does the best he can and is by all accounts kind and considerate if a bit taciturn.

As fate would have it, his next door neighbor in the nursing home is a frail man with an oxygen tank by the name of Max (Martin Landau.) The two are best friends as they have managed to survive war, not to mention the concentration camp. Max asks Zev, if he has remembered the promise that he had made to his wife, specifically to avenge his family's murderers at the hands of the SS. Zev recalls nothing concrete but retains an inkling. Max then gives the man a letter which corroborates the pact that Zev made to Max and his own wife, Ruth.

The letter says that he must kill the  Blockführer, whose name is Rudy Kurlander. As there are four Kurlanders, however, there is no way of knowing which man is the one responsible. The story draws us in superbly, mainly due to giving us an alternate vision to the usual "hitman" or revenge narrative where all is under the assassin's confident control. Zev knows little about guns. His hands tremble and he is frequently sweaty and spent. Instead of hanging out in fancy cafes or Mediterranean resorts, his stalking grounds are nursing homes, hospitals and desolate porches. The film gives a slight but telling glimpse of the  way stations known as convalescent centers and the fluorescent boredoms that dwell within.

Though the film gives a nod to "Memento," while giving a strong tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner's "The Boys from Brazil" in its condition of men hell bent on revenge (coupled with the frequent appearance of actor Bruno Ganz yet again), the film is closer to Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild" for its glib and acidic detail in its characters.

Each time Zev comes to see a possible "Kurlander," the person is usually infirm, struggling or near death, thereby undermining the potency or value of justice.

Like Demme as well, are the scenes featuring the flippant and wisecracking gun dealer, the nonchalant cop, and the rabid, nazi-sympathizer sherriff (Dean Norris) who is as visceral and scary as Ray Liotta. Juxtaposed against each weird, but authentic character, the passive landscapes of Reno and Boise hold still and waits.

To add to our confusion, "Remember" teases our concepts of what is right and wrong. When one sees a man in a hospital bed, on  an i.v., he or she may wonder if it is ever possible to forgive under such circumstances. With each visitation, one is played and put to the test: what does this house contain, a rosy faced innocent woman or a dour and unrepentant officer?

At first, it appears that the one singular and shocking sight in "Remember" is a tell tale swastika against a bare wall.

Don't move and take caution with the last percussive shot.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

Deadpool (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Deadpool

Deadpool is an anti-hero from Marvel comics who was dealt a bad deal. He is a mercenary who, just when he was beginning to sort out his life with his girlfriend Vanessa, gets struck with cancer with months to live. Usually happy go lucky, he begins to internalize his bitterness. A chalk faced man with black eyes approaches with an offer: he can be cured and equipped with superhuman powers, but Wilson must resign himself to a capricious fate not of his choosing. His new abilities might be used for good or evil. Such is the predicament of Wade Wilson, known as Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds.)

With his debut, director Tim Miller, who directed the opening sequences for both "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Thor: The Dark World," strikes the perfect off-kilter note in capturing Deadpool's glib and lethal irreverence. This being impales people with as much ease as eating potato chips. Number one on Deadpool's hit list is Francis aka Ajax (Ed Skrein) a truly sadistic man who horribly disfigured Wilson and tortured him for days during his transformation.

The main thrill is Reynolds' staccato dialogue combined with enough nonstop sex jokes to make Larry David break out in hives. The film, more of a comedic tale than a Gothic hero epic, has a color and a freshness all its own. Ryan Reynolds completely embodies this socially innapropriate person and although crude of tongue, the man known as Wilson is never offensive. One laughs with him, perhaps because the superhero film is now so elevated on pedestal heights, as if beyond reproach.

Who else but Ryan Reynolds could be clad in red leather and ramble on about oral sex, S&M and penis size? And, to push the envelope, the iconic Stan Lee gives his most laughable cameo yet. Believe it or not, "Deadpool" doesn't shy away from its shades of haunt and poignance. Despite his intermittent flights of psychotic fancy, Deadpool just wants to return to his Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) with his face unscarred.

Best of all, in spite of the foreplay mentions and penis-envy, one begins to care about this man in the red and black suit.  While Deadpool might at first seem late for a fetish party as Spiderman merged with Patrick Bateman from "American Psycho," (especially when remarking that lime juice and salt are perfect for removing blood stains on clothes) fear not. There is, in fact, a human beneath.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com

Eye in the Sky (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Eye in the Sky

"Eye in the Sky" is a topical thriller by director Gavin Hood (X-Men :Wolverine) involving drones and terrorism. It is not for the faint of heart. Helen Mirren stars as Colonel Powell, who is assigned to capture three known terrorists in Nairobi before they carry out a plot. All of the elements are in place. Then to Powell's horror, she sees one of the men with a suicide vest. On the spot, she urges her team to consider a shoot- to-kill operation.

The situation is further complicated by the sight of Alia (Aisha Takow) an innocent young girl in the area. The question: does the collateral damage outweigh the wanted persons? The tension spirals upward bit by bit, helped in no small measure by the cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, who gives us the literal eye of a bug on the wall. The camera drifts back and forth with a slow and gradual rocking to reveal one skin crawling moment after the other, making the audience almost dizzy with apprehension. Seconds pass like pinpricks. The slow drift of time owes much to Hitchcock and one cannot help but be on edge.

The quandry becomes even more knotty because the audience is well teased and pulled along. One surely sees the call to eradicate terrorists but the conscience is acutely rattled when meeting Alia. Just when a snag is made smooth, another arrives. The audience becomes the prey.

Mirren is excellent, as is the late Alan Rickman, who sadly died last year, as Lieutenant Benson. Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)  is the reluctant pilot and Barkhad Abdi of "Captain Phillips" fame does well as an undercover operative, overturning his sinister character. Both of the main actors,  Mirren and Rickman, shine because the two roles are neither good nor bad but instead highlight the amoral hell of war.

"Eye in the Sky" is an unrestrained and biting film under the deceptive guise of a thriller. It teases our wanting for a pat resolution and queasily asks all to weigh the worth of one person against others.

Write Ian at ianfree1@yahoo.com