'Never Seen It' - Episode 22 - Is 'The Purge' a cleansing experience?

Back in 2013, The Purge was a big surprise hit, buoyed by a tantalizing premise (in the near future all crime is permitted for just 24 hours) and an intriguing trailer which didn't give away too much. Although it was critically panned, it made a lot of money and has since spawned an expanded universe. But my wife and I never got around to seeing it.

So in other words, here's yet another episode of our podcast series "Never Seen It." Check out the YouTube below to get our first takes on this home invasion chiller.

 
PREVIOUS 'NEVER SEEN IT' EPISODES:

Episode 1: Some King of Wonderful
Episode 2: XXX
Episode 3: Varsity Blues
Episode 4: Xanadu
Episode 5: An Affair to Remember
Episode 6: Blue Steel
Episode 7: Spy Kids
Episode 8: The Frisco Kid
Episode 9: Rising Sun
Episode 10: The Conjuring 2
Episode 11: Zootopia
Episode 12: Fear
Episode 13: The Cell
Episode 14: Nocturnal Animals
Episode 15: Kindergarten Cop
Episode 16: Clash of the Titans
Episode 17: Silence
Episode 18: King Kong (1976)
Episode 19: The NeverEnding Story
Episode 20: Striptease
Episode 21: The Craft

Stay tuned for more!

'An Unmarried Woman' is more real than most modern romances

It's easy to see a movie like An Unmarried Woman now and fixate on its dated elements. Although this acclaimed 1978 film was considered a groundbreaking work and a marker of the feminist movement when it came out nearly 40 years ago, the very fact that it is written and directed by a man will give modern viewers pause. It also takes place in a fairly affluent, largely white world -- although Jill Clayburgh's warm, emotional Oscar-nominated performance is still very relatable.

Still, there is much about its appeal that hasn't diluted in all these years. And like director Paul Mazursky's best work it can serve as both a snapshot of time and as a vehicle for universal truths that persist across generations.

An Unmarried Woman is as much about how men use women and take them for granted, as it is about how liberating it can be for women to extricate themselves from toxic relationships, whether it's by choice or not.

In a towering, moving turn, Clayburgh beautifully evokes the plight of a woman whose marriage suddenly falls apart and who is trying to tenuously put her personal life back together.

In one incredible scene, Clayburgh's character confides in a man with whom she intends to have a one night stand that she has only been with one man for the last 17 years. Later, during one of several scenes along her girlfriends (which feel so natural they could have been improvised) confesses to being manic depressive.

In moments like these, An Unmarried Woman is transcendent. It's so earnest and honest and not afraid to put its characters and audience in an uncomfortable place.

I saw the movie with an small hipster audience that snickered at times at the movie's rawness. There are some very believable therapy scenes that take place during the midsection of the film that would be over-edited and packed with one liners were it to come out today, but Mazursky let's the scene play out almost in real time with sensitivity and humanity.

An unlike many modern films dealing with romance and relationships, this film doesn't fall for some cheap, simplistic ending.  Instead it ends on just the right note, and it actually feels more accessible than a lot of recent movies I've seen.

And Clayburgh is a real treasure. For some reason, she didn't have the lengthy, successful career that some of her contemporaries like Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton did, but she was just as great, with some great roles in movies like Starting Over and Silver Streak. But An Unmarried Woman was her best part -- and she should have won the Oscar for it.

Unfortunately, her signature work is hard to find -- it's not on Amazon to rent or steaming, even it's DVD is out of print -- but if you can find it, watch it. You will not be disappointed.

How Norman Bates changed the way we think about movie 'heroes'

This weekend I revisited the better-than-it-has-any-business being first sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Released nearly 25 years after the original in 1983, Psycho II does some really clever things with the traumatic life of Norman Bates, who is freshly returning to civilization after years under psychiatric treatment.

Anthony Perkins once again does peerless work as an oddly sympathetic serial killer -- who, this time, is being tormented by the relatives of some of his former victims, as well as some of his own inner demons. What is amazing about the character is that he is the nominal 'hero' of both stories.

I have always found that concept -- of being forced to identify with and in some cases, even root for, someone who should be the bad guy, one of the uniquely special experiences in the movies.

In original 1960 Psycho there is a scene the beautifully illustrates this idea. Once Bates/Perkins has infamously dispatched with Janet Leigh's character, the movie's focus shifts to his socially awkward creep of a character. He meticulously cleans up that aftermath of her death and seeks to submerge her car in a nearby swamp, in order to cover his/her tracks.

Hitchcock creates a moment where it seems like the car just might not sink -- and the audience is meant to feel Bates' frustration and fear when the vehicle doesn't go down. Eventually it does, and a funny thing happens, we feel relief. Is it that we just want this macabre story to continue? Or is that in the moment we are reveling in the thrill of watching Bates try to get away with a crime?

Before Norman Bates and Psycho, heroes were pretty cut a dry. If you murdered someone in cold blood -- even if you were crazy or possessed -- you were usually the 'bad guy' and you almost certainly would see that character pay a price in the end for their 'sins.'

But -- SPOILER ALERT -- both in the original film and its first sequel, Bates subversively gets away with it. First go round, it was the relatively novel for its time insanity defense. In the sequel, he simply manages the pin the blame on others.

As an audience we aren't meant to be upset that he isn't receiving 'justice.' And perhaps Hitchcock's decision to keep the 'bad guy' in circulation -- and front and center in the narrative -- changed movies forever. In the following decades you'd seen plenty of movies with charismatic killers and scenarios where we are not even begrudgingly cheering on the a maniac.

It's not surprising that many people see Psycho as the godfather of the modern horror movie. Part of the kinky thrill of movies like Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street, which came in its wake, is that part of the enjoyment of those movies is in the murder and mayhem.

Freddy Krueger is the real hero of the Nightmare films. He's infinitely more interesting and appealing than the teens he stalks and torments, and you want him to come back again and again

Obviously, this can become tiresome and painfully lazy -- hence the upcoming Jigsaw reboot of the already overplayed Saw franchise. But at least we no longer have to accept uniformly identifiable heroes and villains anymore. The whole playing field is muddier now, just like the real world.

Norman Bates may be a bit of a caricature too, but he's a figure of terror you can't just dismiss out of hand, he makes you feel something for him too.

'Mother!' is a movie from hell -- and I mean that as a compliment

Director Darren Aronofsky has long been preoccupied with telling visceral stories about the mind, body and spirit. And particularly when it comes to the body, he doesn't like to shy away from the literal and tactile. My two favorite films of his -- The Wrestler and Black Swan -- couched his obsessions within a character study of deeply flawed but sympathetic protagonists. And even in those films, Aronofsky's directorial hand was very present and distinct.

In his latest provocation -- Mother! -- Aronofsky -- and all his indulgences and eccentricities -- are even more on center stage, which will be repellent to some viewers, but it proved fascinating to me.

This movie is ostensibly about Jennifer Lawrence's mousy, victimized heroine -- the entire film is shot from her claustrophobic perspective to stunning effect -- but by the time its wildly uncompromising and draining last act comes to a conclusion it becomes increasingly clear that this may be an autobiographical film Aronofsky has made.

It can be interpreted as a meditation on several themes -- the epically fragile male ego, the nature of celebrity, the ordeal of creating art, the battle of the sexes -- there is probably a little something for everybody. That is, except for mainstream audiences seeking a straight genre picture.

The first three quarters of this film does play out like a wildly intriguing psychological horror film, on par with Rosemary's Baby with its ability to evoke encroaching dread.

The casting of Javier Bardem and Lawrence as a married couple seems anachronistic at first, until you begin to believe it's meant to be. Meanwhile Ed Harris and especially Michelle Pfeiffer (who nearly steals the movie) make a strong impression as a mysterious couple that impose themselves upon their younger counterparts.

But then the narrative starts to escalate to an almost unbearable brew of relentless tension, black comedy and disturbing violence (much of it inflicted upon Lawrence). It's hard not to think of Aronofsky's real life personal life turmoil -- his ex-wife, actress Rachel Weisz, literally left him for James Bond (a.k.a. Daniel Craig).

There seems to be some fairly histrionic self-flagellation at play here, and yet the film is so frequently riveting and technically impressive that it didn't bother me half as much as it potentially should have. Lawrence certainly puts herself through the ringer absorbing all kinds of abuse both mental, emotional and ultimately physically (in perhaps the film's most disturbing sequence).

None of this seems meant for wide consumption, let alone 'enjoyment'. This is a movie that jumps from genre to art film with very few guardrails or nods to subtlety. But I've always had a soft spot for films that take risks, whether they work or not, than a movie that is staid and predictable.

If anything, I'm impressed that something as decidedly uncommercial as this movie was ever even greenlit by a major film studio, especially since it is a deeply pessimistic and caustic movie. I've read that even those who admire Mother! won't ever want to revisit it again, but don't count me in their number. I will be unpacking this one again and again for a long while.

#RIP Harry Dean Stanton: An all-time great character actor is gone

Harry Dean Stanton was one of those actors who always seemed old. His craggy, weathered but wise face spoke volumes about a life lived hard -- and his distinct look and authentic delivery leant him incredible pathos and presence in every role he played. He's been around so long and appeared in so many movies (most recently in projects at diverse at Twin Peaks: The Return and The Avengers) that it seemed like he would always be there. But at 91 he has sadly passed away.

Stanton has long been one of my all-time favorite actors. He has done terrific supporting work in some of my favorite films like Escape From New York, Alien, The Godfather Part II, Wild at Heart and countless others.

I remember reading once that the late critic Roger Ebert believed that if Stanton was in a film it could never be entirely bad. He may have been onto something. Stanton grounded every scene he was in, however fantastical the movie was, with a compelling humaneness.

He could so much with so little -- his nearly wordless performance in David Lynch's The Straight Story may be the highlight of the movie, Stanton later recalled the small role as one of his favorites.

For my money though, his high point was reached in two classic 1984 films, both of which gave this unlikely leading man the opportunity to be front and center.

The first Paris, Texas is a moving and elegiac movie about a mysterious man who self exiled himself from his family for years and is tenuously trying to reconnect with his estranged son. Stanton gives a haunting, very quiet performance that builds over the course of the film and culminates with one of the greatest monologues I have ever seen in a film (delivered with his back turned to someone sitting behind a one way mirror).

Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas

It's a travesty that Stanton's peerless work in this film wasn't Oscar nominated or widely appreciated, but it is simply one of the most beautifully calibrated performances I've ever seen, one that leaves you devastated.

Repo Man is like the complete flip side of the coin. It's a whacked out sci-fi road movie meets punk comedy with Stanton in its center as the seen-it-all grizzled veteran who's seen it all, a role that fits him like a glove.

He is like machine spewing out one memorable line after another as he guzzles beers and snorts coke and generally behaves like a man half his age as he seeks to repossess a white whale of a vehicle amid some alien invader intrigue. It's a gloriously fun movie masterpiece, but Stanton gives the most fully committed and realized performance in it.

It makes perfect sense that Stanton would eventually find a kindred spirit and regular collaborator in David Lynch. They are both iconoclastic old horses who have both an affinity for the past and a desire to push boundaries into the future.

Stanton was never a boring or predictable performer. Even in one of his most mainstream movies, the Brat Pack weepie Pretty in Pink, he gives a surprisingly tender and resonant performance as Molly Ringwald's blue collar father.

I am going to miss this man deeply. Whenever he popped up in something, especially recently it made me smile. I'll miss his hangdog face and devil may care, chain-smoking off-screen persona. This guy was a national treasure, hopefully now he'll get his due.

Liam Neeson's 'retirement' and the old man action genre

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Why 'The Wrath of Khan' is one of the last true 'sci-fi' movies

One of the most striking things about Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is how slow it is. It has a reputation for being one of the great space battle movies but really its a meditation on reckoning with life and death, with coming to grips with the aging process and making amends -- for better or worse -- with the past. Beyond its emotional content, it's also a movie about ideas -- involving a project to create newly habitable worlds for colonization -- a concept which has renewed resonance in the era of climate change.

It seems unthinkable now that this classic film -- widely considered the greatest of all the Star Trek films -- almost didn't get made 35 years ago. Its predecessor, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, was critically reviled -- and while it was a huge hit, it barely recouped its runaway production costs.

Producers reportedly were hoping to equal the success of Star Wars, but as any committed Trekkie will tell you -- this material was never meant for mass popular consumption. One of the biggest quibbles with the franchise since J.J. Abrams took it over is that they've become essentially big, bloated action movies, with only passing nods to the socially conscious, topical thrust of the original series.

Promotional art for The Wrath of Khan (circa 1982)

Watching The Wrath of Khan now, as I had the opportunity to do on the big screen this past weekend, I can't imagine how it would be received by modern audiences. There are virtually no young sexy heroes (unless you count an up and coming Kirstie Alley as an upstart Vulcan cadet) and it spends a lot more time exploring the malaise of middle age than bombarding you with high tech special effects.

It's ace in the hole is the brilliant performance of Ricardo Montalban as Khan, one of the greatest screen villains of all time. His silky voiced line readings (which owe much to Melville's Moby Dick) and formidable physical presence are still striking today.

But even he might seem dated to some modern viewers who are used to more generic scenery-chewing from their bad guys.

Looking back now, it's clear that this film represents the last gasp of a certain kind of sci-fi film. Even the later Star Trek films (with perhaps the exception of Star Trek VI) are less talky and faster paced. And virtually every major sci-fi hit its wake has more action and pyrotechnics than this film.

The fact that audiences flocked to it is a testament to how iconic the characters had become and how comfortable the actors were in their shoes.

William Shatner, while no one's idea of an Oscar caliber thespian, injects just the right amount of his own barely suppressed arrogance with a kind of unhinged gusto (his infamous "Khan!" scream is pure joy) to give a credible, even heroic performance. And the late Leonard Nimoy as Spock is the perfect ying to his yang.

Nimoy effortlessly possessed all the humor and charisma that Zachary Quinto's version of the character is sorely lacking. He can do more with a dramatic pause or a raised eyebrow than any line of dialogue can. And, his SPOILER ALERT, premature demise in this film is genuinely moving and emotionally satisfying.

The term space opera gets thrown around a lot but this is one film where the hyperbolic term genuinely applies. The stakes are huge, the characters are mythic and the action -- once it kicks in -- only elevates pre-existing tensions in the story instead of serving as a set piece to pump up its marketability.

Sure, there have been interesting little curios like Under the Skin and Ex Machina, that want to make you think more than they want to raise your blood pressure, but they are rarely the kinds of commercial successes that spawn multi-movie franchises.

This is part of what makes the Star Trek movie universe as it existed in the 1980s and early 90s unique and special. They defied ageism, stupidity and the limitations of low budget special effects to (almost) always tell engaging, smart, character-driven stories that happened to be set in space in a future populated by far out planets and imaginary cultures.

It's a refrain I return to a lot on this blog. They don't make them like this anymore. So all we can do is revisit these movies from time to time -- show our respect and relive the highs of what this genre can do when it wants to be both accessible and sophisticated.

'It' is the popcorn movie audiences have been waiting for

The new adaptation of Stephen King's It takes great pains to create a world with no sympathetic adults, where our very charismatic young teen heroes are confronted daily with terror invoked by vicious bullies (which are, as they are in so many films of this ilk, wildly over the top) or from traditional adolescent social anxiety.

It is perhaps the great in-joke of this movie that these kids' life is already plenty scary before they begin to be stalked by a supernatural demon in the form of a clown that can seemingly create their own innermost fears by feeding off their subconscious.

It's a strange thing to call a film that centers on child abuse, abduction and murder as fun and yet that is precisely what this movie is. And it is also the movie that is the unlikely choice to answer the call to be the popcorn flick of the moment.

After a summer where the most dominant movies have long since petered out, the last several weeks have left American audiences starving for a distraction from real world chaos. And although It is also victim to the industry's need to turn every event picture into a commodifiable franchise (part two is already in development), it's smart, funny and entertaining enough to provide plenty of thrills for mainstream movie audiences.

While It isn't clever social commentary like Get Out or first class terror that will haunt your dreams like The Conjuring or It Follows, it is an unabashedly good movie and probably the best version of this particularly King story that we're ever likely to get.

The real stars of It

The story centers upon a cadre of self described losers -- six boys and one girl -- who each have their own particularly poignant backstories which make them vulnerable and interesting that most horror film protagonists. Finn Wolfhard (of Stranger Things fame) and Sophia Lillis in particular feel like little major stars in the making.

Although the movie looks great and eye for period detail (it's set in the late 1980s) are spot on, its the performances of these young actors that draw you in and help you get invested in the story, which is no small feat since if you're familiar with the source material (or the iconic 1990 TV miniseries), you know not all the much is at stake.

Audiences will be pleasantly surprised by how deeply funny this movie is and how sensitively the relationships between the kids (all admittedly playing 'types' is). At the same time, the movie does not skimp on the scares -- although they are more of the jump than psychological variety.

Actor Bill Skarsgard has a much tougher job. He has to both make the Pennywise the Clown character his own (after Tim Curry's memorable turn in '90) and make the it palatably scary to an audience that has been bombarded with far more repulsive monsters in recent years.

He manages to pull it off by walking the line between camp and truly scary, while being somewhat hamstrung by the constraints of the script (he spends much of the movie being a tease before he starts actually looking to take anyone out).

Unlike my favorite King adaptation (and movie, period) The Shining, this film is almost slavishly devoted to hewing to the original version's story beats. It might have been interesting if director Andy Muschietti played with our expectations more or injected more subtlety into the proceedings, but these are minor quibbles.

It has a great pace, some terrific effects and lots of heart.  This all contributes to a highly enjoyable piece of mainstream entertainment -- which could have easily have been a summer blockbuster -- but finds itself situated in a quiet fall where somehow the antics of an evil clown are able to provide catharsis from frightening real-world headlines that are anything but funny.

Back to School: My top 10 favorite 'coming of age' movies

In light of the highly anticipated, upcoming release of the Stephen King horror film adaptation of It -- itself a kind of unorthodox coming-of-age movie -- and the fact that so many American kids are in the midst of heading back to school for the fall, I figure it's as good a time as any to take a look at this genre of movie -- the youth picture.

There has never been a film that entirely has spoken to my own experience as a young person -- and since films are historically far from diverse, there are very few cultural lynchpins I can relate to in these types of movies.

That being said, there are some universal truths and poignant moments that are relatable in all of the films on this list. They are funny, moving and more tellingly, personal movies. Here are my top 10 favorite coming of age movies...

Ghost World (2001) - Based on a popular graphic novel, this film perfectly captures the malaise and uncertainty of the post high school, pre-college experience. Although Scarlett Johansson would go on to greater fame, this film belongs to Thora Birch, who is excellent as an unlikely love interest for a note perfect Steve Buscemi and who nails it as an iconoclast who is not as confident as she'd like to this she is.

Say Anything (1989) - The best of the sappy John Cusack romance movies still holds up, even if that boombox scene has now become the stuff of parodies. One of the best and more honest portrayals of young love -- it's tentative and vulnerable in the best way. A lovingly sensitive and funny movie that Cameron Crowe has never improved upon in my opinion.

The 400 Blows

The Last Picture Show (1971) - A tribute to a more innocent Americana made in the deeply cynical '70s. Director Peter Bogdonovich's forays into darker territory are what make this episodic drama more compelling instead of just an old-fashioned curio. And he assembled an amazing cast of up-and-coming actors, including a young Jeff Bridges and Ellen Burystyn, who do some of their best work here.

Crooklyn (1994) - Easily director Spike Lee's most personal movie, coming on the heels of his epic Malcolm X. I've always felt this was one of his most under-appreciated films. It's a great 1970s time capsule, with a flawless soundtrack and he tells the story not through his own eyes but his younger sister's, which is no small feat for a filmmaker often dinged for his lack of feminism. An autobiographical window into one of our most challenging directors.

The 400 Blows (1959) - French director Francois Truffaut's moving portrait of a young boy with a penchant for getting into trouble both helped kick off a new wave of filmmaking and introduced audiences to iconic actor Jean-Pierre Leaud. It's teeming with life and emotion and contains one of the best child performances ever captured on film.

American Graffiti (1973) - Although this nostalgic film is awash in early '60s songs and style, it somehow manages to hold up and be accessible to a modern viewer. A weirdly humanistic film from George Lucas, which benefits enormously from a great, spirited cast which includes Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams and Harrison Ford. A much smarter and sophisticated movie than it appears to be on the surface.

Rushmore (1998) - The movie that made me fall in love with Wes Anderson (I didn't discover his first film, Bottle Rocket, until much later). Not only did it resurrect the career of Bill Murray and lend him some gravitas, but it also introduced audiences to Jason Schwartzmen as the uber-creative super-geek Max Fischer. This film is as much a tribute to outcasts and eccentrics as it is a warm and winning comedy.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - We all wanted to be Ferris Bueller (even if he could be a petulant jerk) even though quite a few of us were really the mournful Cameron, who reluctantly joins his high school pal for the most elaborate day of hooky ever devised. This movie meant a lot to me during those awkward years of adolescence. And even though it's mostly a farce, the moments that reached for more profundity spoke to a younger, more earnest me.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - Of all the high school based comedies, I find this to be the funniest and the most endearing. It's not bogged down by any major central premise, it's almost like an Altman film, following disparate characters as their worlds collide. It's got a great feel for time and place and again the actors -- like Judge Reinhold, Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh, just to name a few -- elevate it to the next level.

Boyhood (2014) - Richard Linklater's decades-in-the-making masterpiece is a supreme cinematic achievement. It's decidedly not flashy both cinematically or acting-wise, and yet it's got an epic weight to it. There's something remarkable about watching the lead character literally grow up on screen. But it's not just a gimmick, never has a movie better helped me get to know a character and appreciate them in full once the credits role. A real game-changer.

'Never Seen It' - Episode 21 - Nothing creepy about 'The Craft'

And we're back! Elizabeth Rosado and I are at it again with another episode of our "Never Seen It" podcast, and in this episode we're looking at the 90's cult movie The Craft -- which I have studiously avoided for years, but decided to give a whirl since it was streaming on Netflix.

It arrived in 1996 amid something of a boom for movies directly targeting a teen audience, and it falls right in the beginning of Neve Campbell's peak as an A-list star.

But does this movie hold up? And is it an effective scary movie and satire?

Listen to the podcast below to hear our latest hot take on a relatively well-known movie that we've both just recently watched for the first time...


PREVIOUS 'NEVER SEEN IT' EPISODES:

Episode 1: Some King of Wonderful
Episode 2: XXX
Episode 3: Varsity Blues
Episode 4: Xanadu
Episode 5: An Affair to Remember
Episode 6: Blue Steel
Episode 7: Spy Kids
Episode 8: The Frisco Kid
Episode 9: Rising Sun
Episode 10: The Conjuring 2
Episode 11: Zootopia
Episode 12: Fear
Episode 13: The Cell
Episode 14: Nocturnal Animals
Episode 15: Kindergarten Cop
Episode 16: Clash of the Titans
Episode 17: Silence
Episode 18: King Kong (1976)
Episode 19: The NeverEnding Story
Episode 20: Striptease

Stay tuned for more!