by Ray Velez

Let’s get this out of the way first: “The Thing” (2011) is a good monster movie. It has the scary jump moments, the CGI creature effects, the gore…pretty much everything that would make it a good monster movie. The problem is that, in making it a prequel to an awesome film (John Carpenter’s ”The Thing”), you have asked me to at least expect your film to play by a particular set of rules. Rules that were set up in the 1982 film.

Like I said, this is a good monster movie. But what made the 1982 film so good was that it wasn’t necessarily a monster movie. It was a film that played with paranoia, and when the monster did appear, the practical effects (which will ALWAYS be better than CGI, in my opinion) made you cringe with disgust. This monster was really there. But again, the monster only appeared out of necessity! It wanted to survive, and the best way for that to happen was to lay low until it was called out by Kurt Russell’s magnificent beard! Which I hear can cure cancer, but that’s neither here nor there. In the prequel (or reboot or whatever they are calling it), the monster is almost predatory, spending most of the film giving itself away, hunting most of the crew in its monster form. One of the scenes is reminiscent of the raptors-in-the-kitchen scene in “Jurassic Park”, which is NOT what “The Thing” should be! The people behind this film had an opportunity to make a film on par with the John Carpenter version, dealing with claustrophobia and paranoia. Instead, they just turned it into a loud affair, with very little subtlety.

All that said, the movie was nice to look at. The cinematography by Michel Abramowicz was beautiful, the direction by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. was visually appealing, the script by Eric Heisserer was strong, and the actors were all very good. Mary Elizabeth Winstead takes the lead, with Joel Edgerton as the helicopter pilot, minus any sort of epic beard. The rest of the cast, filled with what I assume are popular Swedish/Danish/Norwegian actors, were all very good, and believable in their roles. The lack of any real stars made it less obvious who was going to perish. And bonus points to the director and writers for having a good portion of the film in Norwegian with subtitles.

The score evoked John Carpenter’s film in some of its score, but again, most of the time just turned into a loud mess. The CGI effects of the monster were good, but the 1982 film still holds up today because of its practical effects. Sadly, this film’s special effects will be outdated in a few years. There were a few questions that I did have throughout this film that kind of bugged me. When Mary Elizabeth Winstead discovers for the first time what the cells of the creature are actually doing, she doesn’t tell anyone except her friend. Why!? Call me crazy, but you would have caught me blaring it over the loud speaker, writing the message in the snow with my own urine, and leaving post-it notes for everyone to find! Also, if this is a Norwegian base, why are most of the items in the background in English?

All in all, “The Thing” (2011) is a good, effective monster movie. I just wish they would have played with more of the elements that made the John Carpenter film such a classic. And though they left the film open to a sequel, I highly doubt we’ll get the opportunity to see it due to this film’s low box office numbers. Sad really, given that when the new Twilight film comes out in a month, it will more than likely break records… I miss the horror films of the 80’s.

A lot of people are unhappy with the changes Netflix has made, but I still think they offer the best service out there (mostly due to their Watch Instantly library). Here’s 10 reasons why:

1. All the Criterion films on Instant. New and old, there’s a lot and they keep adding more.

2. Every season of Mad Men is on Instant. The new season doesn’t start until 2012, you have plenty of time to catch up.

3. Lots of MST3K. Always good for a laugh.

4. Troll 2 and the countless other “so-bad-they’re-good” movies. These are good when you want to host your own version of MST3K.

5. Miniseries, trilogies, and more. If you have the time, these are all worthy marathons.

6. Louie Season 1. It’s the best show on TV right now. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. If you have seen it, watch it again.

7. The New Arrivals for Instant aren’t half bad. Everything from 13 ASSASSINS and HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN to COLD WEATHER and I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS.

8. All seasons of South Park. Still the best animated series out there.

9. The films of Jan Svankmajer. Several of them are on Instant. If you haven’t seen any, it’s time to change that.

10. National Geographic. Whether you want to learn about the Science of Dogs or the World’s Most Dangerous Gang, it’s all there.

Are you keeping your Netflix service? If so, why? If not, what service are you switching to?

We’ve all done it.

The movie’s on. It’s a thriller. A twisty one.

The bad guy reveals his identity. The monster appears behind the door. The hero’s really a ghost. The lover’s really a man. The gimp is really Keyser Soze. Morgan Freeman really kidnapped the child. I saw it coming! I saw it coming! We argue over who saw it coming and who didn’t. We sit in awe when the storyteller fools everyone.

Everyone loves good slight-of-hand. Magicians at their peak–Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland with L.A. Confidential, M. Night Shyamalam with The Sixth Sense (don’t hate), Martin Scorsese and William Monahan with The Departed–deliver the kind of jaw-droppers that leave you smiling with delight.

Most twist-films aren’t so successful. The fact is, you just can’t build a movie around its twist. If the twist is all you’ve got going for you, then you simply don’t have enough story. Occasionally, great storytellers come along that suck at character and excel at plot. Agatha Christie is a prime example. Christopher Nolan is another (Insomnia and especially The Dark Knight are exceptions–there’s phenomenal character writing in both). If you want to be that kind of writer, then more power to you… but follow their example: you’ll need enough story for three movies\books, and you’ll need to make it clear, economical, and fun.

One very fine example of a twist movie is Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island. It’s not Scorsese’s best, but it’s a very well done film built around a twist, and has the stamp of an auteur. We’ll dissect this film in the final part of this “How To Build A Better Mousetrap” series, which is devoted to studying the art of the twist.

This concludes a series I started a while back. If you wanna catch up, you can do that here:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Shutter Island stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a cop investigating a disappearance on an island/mental hospital “for the criminally insane.” As Leo investigates, he’s sucked into a vortex of lies, twists, turns, madness, and horror.

I’ll skip the plot summary and get to the the film’s big twist: Leo is, in fact, not a police officer, but a patient at the hospital. Unable to cope with the fact that he killed his equally nutty–and murderous–wife, he’s built himself a universe where he’s investigating his wife’s murder. This is revealed to the audience in the last fifteen minutes or so of the film, foreshadowed by odd twists, commiseration with equally insane patients on the island, incredibly visual dream sequences, flashbacks to the holocaust, and haunting supporting performances from Michelle Williams, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, and Max von Sydow. The film’s based on the book by master crime novelist Dennis Lehane, who wrote an old-school noir complete with 50s hats, snub-nosed revolvers, and Shock Corridor-style trappings.

Somehow this idea ended up in the hands of Martin Scorsese, who knows more about these kinds of movies than even Lehane. Given the knowledge that this was, a twist movie, Scorsese was left to strategize how to bring the story to an audience, making the final twist as effective as possible. As far as I’m concerned, he did everything right:

1) He stuck to the book.

Scorsese realized that, right or wrong, a film adaptation has to stick to the book. Luckily, he was adapting a Lehane novel–the man can write. So Scorsese could proceed with the adaptation knowing that the twists and revelations should approxomate those of the Shutter Island novel as closely as possible. David O. Selznick set the precedent for this when he produced “Gone With The Wind” and “Rebecca.” In particular, when Hitchcock adapted “Rebecca,” Hitch turned in a draft of the script with major plot point changes more suited to his weird sense of humor and idiosyncrasies. Selznick lit him up, ripping him up one side and down the other. The producer forced Hitchcock to make a faithful adaptation. The resulting dogfighting caused a rift between Hitchcock and Selznick, and Hitchcock disowned the film. However, “Rebecca” won the Best Picture Oscar. And Selznick was right.

2) He made the story subjective.

In preparing “Shutter Island,” Scorsese saw through the trappings of plot mechanics, choosing to film the story as if it were a character study. Not only is character Scorsese’s ‘sweet spot’ as a director, it is a cunning way to distract the audience from trying to guess the twist.

In addition, focusing on character gives the twist movie its greatest value: true suspense. During the second viewing of a twist movie, the main character should be deep enough that the audience is fascinated by the protagonist’s behavior. When the writing is so strong that the audience knows that CHARACTERS are making decisions–not deus ex machina plotting–then the audience is less likely to focus on guessing plot points.

3) He made the story emotional.

Scorsese chose to make a subjective story. Since “Shutter Island” is the story of a madman, the audience should be drawn into the protagonist’s madness as accurately as possible. The insane are often on huge emotional highs all the time, as DiCaprio’s character is. Scorsese uses his camera to add exclamation points to nearly all of DiCaprio’s actions. We are enervated by the lead character’s passion, drawn along with him, and it makes the final twist even more devastating.

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This strategy informs everything in the film, from the performances to the visuals to the score. DiCaprio spends almost the whole film at one emotional extreme or another, always on “10″ while the gentle hospital attendants–especially Mark Ruffalo’s sympathetic undercover psychiatrist–underplay, listening quietly and patiently. The visuals are a fireworks display of bright colors, movement, and jagged edges, strongly evoking Scorsese’s hero, Michael Powell. The score is a dissonant, grating, claws-on-chalkboard collection of classical recordings.

If you’re gonna deliver a twist, there’s no better way to do it. Scorsese played to his strengths as a director–character, subjectivity, insecurity, and unstoppable energy. He allowed the screenwriter to do his stuff: as in all latter-day Scorsese flicks, the film is carefully scripted, appearing free of the improvisation that so legendarily colored his pre-Gangs of New York films.

The Art of The Twist: it’s an essential tool of the storyteller’s trade. When well-delivered, it’s also the funnest prank a storyteller can pull on his audience. The flicks we’ve gone through in this series–Inception, Vertigo, Salt, Shutter Island–all depend on them, and are worthy of study by the aspiring storyteller.

by Susan Szakonyi

It’s not that I’m not proud to be an American, or that I don’t love frozen yogurt and Chicago deep dish pizza. But I have recently fallen for British films and television shows. Most Americans think that the only movies and television come from the United States. Silly Americans. And England is not the only country that makes quality films.

The main reasons for my deep reverence for British films/television are Luther and Never Let Me Go.

Luther stars Idris Elba, who has been featured in many American films. But he really shines in Luther. I’m so tired of criminal procedural shows whether it be Law and Order–which I am glad finally ended–and CSI– which should have never started. Luther takes a darker look at a police detective with his own vices. The crimes are not at all obvious and the supporting cast is strong. Luther is engrossing, and the pacing of the show is top notch. It doesn’t try to put too many foils or too much character development in each episode. There is character development as the series goes on, but in comparison to American crime shows, the pasts and current issues of the characters unfold at a reasonable pace where you don’t feel like information is being forced on you.

And on a completely different note comes Never Let Me Go. The ensemble cast of Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and the relatively unknown Andrew Garfield. Garfield’s career is about to explode, as he is in the reboot of Spiderman. However, Garfield finds his step in this film. Without giving too much of the plot away, the characters are in the midst of a love triangle and a desire to live. Not only does the scenery take my breath away, but the film score puts you in their world, which is far different from present day. There is something to be said about the understated acting of Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield. They use their features to display emotion instead of explaining their every feeling. The pace of the film is slow, but it needs to be for us to understand the characters’ lives as they begin as young children and develop in their twenties. I have not seen such a beautiful film in months. Even as it ended, I wanted more.

Luther and Never Let Me Go are not the only reasons why British films and television shows take precedence in my mind over current American television… whether it be reality shows or silly sitcoms. And who can forget the best import of Britain, Ricky Gervais? But that’s another story in itself.

Jonathan English’s “Ironclad” carries a unique distinction: it is the most expensive independent film production ever shot in Wales. An ultra-violent hack-and-slash medieval epic, you can expect much shouting and bloodletting from stars Brian Cox, Paul Giammatti, and Rome-alum James Purefoy. It’s available on VOD starting tomorrow.

The trailer:

From the Associated Press, this behind-the-scenes video features star Brian Cox awaiting CG removal of his limbs:

Also coming out tomorrow is John Carpenter’s “The Ward,” with Amber Heard, which can be seen on VOD starting tomorrow. We posted on this film like two days ago.

Here’s a very funny video of John Carpenter introducing the film at TIFF.

The trailer: