(2002)
Dir - Ken Russell
Overall: MEH
Overall: MEH
The last solo full-length from Ken Russell, The Fall of the Louse of Usher is a bizarrely self-aware act of indulgence that was filmed on a digital camera in the director's own home with just a small handful of friends and James Johnston from Gallon Drunk helping out. It is Russell's version of Stephen Sayadian's 1989 avant-garde head-scratcher Dr. Caligari, made for no money and with a random assortment of cheap costumes, props, and set design, except done with all of the laughably ridiculous gusto and over-acting that the filmmaker's more celebrated works are known for. Russell himself plays Caligari with a German accent, meanwhile everyone else besides Johnston speaks like they are doing an impression of either a Southern belle or a pompous British madame. The works of Edgar Allan Poe are referenced left and right, with a particularity hilarious moment occurring where Johnston is strapped down, given a concerning amount of Viagra, and then coerced into singing lest a pendulum slice his increasingly growing dong off. Scenes like this make up the entire film which barely has a plot and is more a series of juvenile and nonsensical gags done in the most garishly cheap manner possible. The songs are terrible, the acting worse, and the whole thing has a level of production that is one grade below a couple of six year olds running around with their dad's camcorder, but it is a good, (bad), amount of fun for those who are in the mood for Russell's eccentricities done on a Z-grade scale.
(2007)
Dir - Danny Boyle
Overall: MEH
For their second collaboration following 28 Day Later, the writer/director team of Alex Garland and Danny Boyle switch to sci-fi and follow so many well-worn narrative tropes that one just wishes that the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team was on board to take the piss out of them. Instead, Sunshine plays to the genre's formulaic weaknesses without any nods or winks, taking itself seriously as a high-octane outer space thriller that looks good, sounds good, is acted good, and is also instantly forgettable. We have a lot of familiar faces here, (Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, and Benedict Wong), and they are all charismatic enough thespians to elevate yet another plot where rugged astronauts venture into the cosmos on a dangerous mission to save the Earth, while running out of oxygen and receiving a concerning distress signal. Some other stuff happens that touches upon everything from Solaris, to Alien, to Event Horizon, and it eventually turns into a cat and mouse horror film of sorts, with action scenes that are edited to smithereens and ergo impossible to decipher. Characters have emotional breakdowns, they argue with each other, they make sacrifices, and little of it is bound to leave anyone on the edge of their seat. If it borrowed less from so many playbooks, explored less pedestrian ideas, and/or actually threw in some humor somewhere, then it could warrant its existence as something more than just a special effects Twinkie.
(2008)
Dir - David Howard
Overall: MEH
The lone theatrical full-length from television director David Howard, Flick is an ultra-low-budget zombie revenge romp that is exclusively goofy while overcompensating with tacky digital effects and a flashy style that exceeds its meager means. Cheapo movies that are not shot on film usually have an unmistakably cruddy aesthetic, and none of this is hidden by any of the bold filters, Dutch angles, swipes, comic book panel transitions, and inadequate CGI. That said, Howard maintains a comedic tone and only a comedic tone, so its inherent tackiness is leaned into This is fitting for a story about a dweebish 50s Teddy Boy with a bad stutter who went on a bloody rampage in his youth, only to come back to life decades later as a "fish out of water" revenant hellbent on vengeance. Said lead antagonist is not only nicknamed "Flick", but he also uses a flick knife to kill his now senior citizen-aged victims, which is a convenient coincidence. Faye Dunaway is inexplicably in this, and cynical viewers can proclaim "oh how the mighty have fallen" to their heart's content, but the once lauded actor does seem to be enjoying herself as a one-armed Southern police detective who is taking the silly material as seriously as it deserves, meaning not at all. Despite Howard's noble ambitions, nothing actually funny happens, plus the pacing stagnates here or there with lengthy monologues. Even if Dunaway is delivering those monologues with a panache that has not been depleted even in scale paycheck jobs like this, it is still a mediocre yuck-fest at best.
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