“Killer Joe” – William Friedkin (2012)

It is my sad duty to inform you that "Killer Joe" does not mark filmmaker William Friedkin's return to his former glory.

2006's underrated "Bug" notwithstanding, Friedkin hasn't done much worth our attention since "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist."

The director has floundered in mediocrity since the '70s, even making some flat-out bad films like "Jade" and "Rules of Engagement."

"Killer Joe" focuses on the Smith family.  When Chris gets himself in trouble with more debt than he can handle, the Smiths decide to hire a hit man to kill his mother so they can split her insurance money.

Enter the title character, a menacing cop who kills people on the side.

The problem is the Smiths can't pay Joe up front, so they work out a deal.  Joe gets full use of Dottie, the baby of the family, as a kind of retainer.

Inevitably, things go terribly wrong, but we don't really seem to care about the troubles heaped onto the Smiths.  Each of them is so detestable they frankly deserve to have Joe in their lives.   

The family's misfortunes are more than warranted.

I’m by no means someone who needs likable characters to enjoy a film, but try as it might, “Killer Joe” is no “Blue Velvet.”

There is one scene involving a piece of chicken and a battered Gina Gershon that brings to mind Dennis Hopper’s “MOMMY!” scene in “Blue Velvet.”  But Joe is no Frank Booth.

Frank was nightmarish and creepy, where Joe is unsettling at best.

Actually, the film's most menacing moments don't feature Joe at all, but Chris's debtor, Digger, played by character actor Marc Macaulay.  He only has one scene, but Macaulay delivers the film's best performance.  Frankly, I wanted to see more of Digger.

There are some melodramatic moments in the film, but not enough to sustain the thriller throughout.

The bottom line is, while "Killer Joe" is bold and at times tense, but it just isn't very good.

"Chicken With Plums" - Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud (2012)

"Chicken With Plums" is Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's follow-up to their 2007 animated masterpiece, "Persepolis."

The film tells the story of Nasser-Ali, a man whose violin breaks.  He can't find a suitable replacement, so he decides it's time to die.

This may not sound like the premise for a magical film full of wonder, but it is.

Toward the beginning of the film, we're treated to a montage of Nasser-Ali fantasizing about all the possible ways he could kill himself.

Each method is distasteful, so he crawls into bed to wait for death.

And that's where the adventure begins.

 

As Nasser-Ali lies in bed, willing himself to die, he reflects on his life.  The film is primarily a series of flashbacks showing how he came to this sorry state.

We see how he became a gifted musician and why he married a woman he never loved.

More importantly, we see the true reason for his death wish.

Too many art films focus on gorgeous visuals at the expense of its theme and characters.

"Chicken With Plums" is not one of them.  There is plenty beneath the surface.

Featurette about "Cloud Atlas"

"Cloud Atlas" is an upcoming film by directors Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski.

It's a sci-fi drama that deals with how one's actions in a past life can impact future incarnations.

Here's a featurette about the making of the film.

News from the Associated Press on David Fincher's series "House of Cards"

NEW YORK (AP) -- Netflix's highly anticipated original series "House of Cards" will premiere Feb. 1.

The subscription video company announced the debut date Thursday. The series is the most ambitious effort yet by Netflix to supply its 27 million streaming users with original programming.
 

The remake of the classic British miniseries stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. It's produced by David Fincher, who directed the first two episodes. Spacey plays a ruthless, strategizing House majority whip.
 

All 13 episodes will be immediately available to Netflix members in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America and Scandinavia.
 

The show's second season will begin production next year.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chobsky (2012)

There's never been a shortage of coming of age films.  It's a genre all to itself.

But "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" sets itself apart, not just because it's one of the best ever made, but because of its sincerity.
 
 
Charlie is a freshman in high school who doesn't have a friend to his name until he meets Patrick and Sam, a pair of outsider seniors.

Charlie inevitably develops feelings for Sam, but it's more than a high school crush.  Their relationship develops slowly and it's treated delicately, with the respect it deserves.  The two of them open up to each other over the course of the film with trust and in good faith.
Charlie, Patrick and Sam are all damaged goods, and that's why they fit together so well.  Traditionally, in films like this, the focus is on how much kids like this need to be accepted.  What makes "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" so special is these characters aren't just ready to receive love, they're capable of giving it as well.

 
The film works so well because while it focuses on teen angst, it demonstrates, without any cynicism, how it's not just a source of pain, but a force that drives these kids.

Mostly, it shows how the people who love you can make you brave.  Admittedly, that sounds cheesy as hell, but when you're watching this film, it feels like a lovely sentiment.

But I think what I love most about "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is the way it truly understands broken people.  If someone is sad, they genuinely don't have the capacity to feel better.  And "Perks" accepts people like that on their face without trying to change them.

"Looper" - Rian Johnson (2012)

At the very start of "Looper," we're treated to an assassination within a matter of seconds.  It's quite startling and goes a long way to establishing both the premise and tone of the film.

In the new sci-fi thriller, we're introduced to a future where time travel exists, but it's controlled by thugs.

 

Actually, in this future, time travel does not yet exist, but it will in the future-future.  That's right, hope you have your thinking caps on because the plot of this film is incredibly convoluted.

 

"Looper" takes place in 2044 in an unnamed town in Kansas.  A Looper is an assassin who kills people who are sent back in time to face their deaths.  That way, the bad guys in the future don't have any messy remains to dispose of.
Neat, huh?

 

And, of course, because the future criminal world doesn't like any loose ends, they have a habit of sending back old guys who used to be loopers to be executed by their younger selves.

And that's where our trouble starts.
Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Joe, an assassin who lives a charmed life filled with violence, drugs and sex, until he's expected to kill his future self, played by Bruce Willis.

The film also features Emily Blunt who plays a woman whose telekinetic son may or may not grow up to be a notorious mafia kingpin.

"Looper" reunites Levitt with director Rian Johnson, who collaborated on the sensitive but brutal high-school gumshoe film, "Brick," and this film has a similar, decidedly indie feel.

"Looper" is the best mainstream science fiction film since 1998's "Dark City."

It's brually violent and features a complicated, sordid and conflicted anti-hero.

"Looper" Featurette

Rian Johnson's "Looper" reunites the director with Joseph Gordon Levitt.

The film comes out this Friday, but here's a featurette about the problematic concept of time travel.