studiolite92 Reviews

Wonderland (2003)

Better than the reviews I read...

[10 February 2004]

I heard some not-so-hot reviews about this movie, mainly, I suspect because it was compared to Boogie Nights, which was fun, while this movie didn't glamorize any aspect of the porn business. In fact the porn biz was not even approached (see the WAD documentary included with the CD for that). But I was pleasantly surprised. The filmmakers really went to great lengths to recreate the setting for the tale, I fact I could only really appreciate after watching the bonus material on the CD. And Kilmer did a great job of portraying Holmes, a fact which again I could only appreciate AFTER watching the WAD documentary, when you learned about how pathetic a guy Holmes really was. His interviews in WAD are great - how horribly he lies with total dead-pan conviction. The movie suffers a few moments from a common problem I've noticed in a lot of these real-life anti-hero type movies (Flynt, Blow, etc), where the film-makers try a little too hard to show the "human/vulnerable" sides of the hero, making it all seem less real and a little more "Hollywood" - anybody else know what I'm talking about? "Flynt was really not the sleazebag everyone else claims he was...", etc/

In any case, this was a pretty good movie and it got more entertaining the further along you go in the film's story. If you liked Boogie Nights, are interested in the man-vs-myth story of John Holmes, or like real life crime docu-dramas, I recommend you check it out. If renting, make sure the video store also gives you the bonus disk with the WAD documentary and watch it FIRST!

Man Bites Dog (1992)

Hyping an underrated masterpiece - the darkest dark comedy.

[16 January 2003]

If your a fan of cynical, intelligent, dark comedy then I urge you to see this film! It is the masterpiece of the dark violence/comedy genre.

Man Bites Dog was way ahead of its time - before Pulp Fiction, before reality TV, before movies about the "real lives" of serial killers (Dahmer, Bundy, etc..) there was Man Bites Dog. Simply, this film is superb.

Benoit is a charismatic "up-n-coming" serial killer, working out of some Belgian suburbs. A scrappy film-maker convinces Benoit to allow his crew to follow him around on his exploits, documenting the madness. The set-up is somewhat surreal - kind of making out like there is a serial-killer "scene" in French-speaking Europe. Benoit, a natural performer, really gets into the idea, working the camera, beaming in the limelight. So eventually, to increase the quality of the movie, the film maker + crew go beyond merely documenting and start to become accessories to the crimes. Benoit's super egotistic demeanor starts to catch up with him, with the repercussions of his crimes pulling him down.

It is a multi-faceted exploration of many ideas, riffing on each within the episodes which make up the film (the "story" really exists to bind the distinct scenes - its not so much a story in the traditional sense ,ie. the old fomulaic "background - dramatic tension - climax - resolution" routine).

Many classic scenes, like when one of Benoit's friends is taking a little too much of the attention at Benoit's birthday party. Nothing peeves Benoit more than not being the center of attention, so, as Benoit is playing with his birthday gift (a new gun holster), his gun "accidentally" discharges into his friends skull. All the other party members sit covered in blood,in shock from the "accident". Benoit just sits back down and calmly resumes eating his birthday cake. Another great scene is when Benoit shows off to the film maker how he can save bullets by murdering an elderly woman with psychology (Benoit suddenly screams "Snuff!" at the trembling woman, inducing a heart attack).

This movie is just paced so well. We see Benoit warm to the camera, the film maker is slowly drawn into Benoit's world from mere documenter to full blown co-conspirator. The scenes of Benoit's family are hilarious! Benoit's parent's are stereotypical adorably ignorant bumpkins who will always love their cherished son. Just great stuff.

Be warned, this is not a movie for kids, as the violence is intense and graphic, and without proper contextual understanding, could be misconstrued as exploitive. Other than that this movie really hits that balance between violence and comedy, cold intelligence and raving madness. Highly recommended.