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OmarFirestone-1
Reviews
Hostile (2017)
Cloverfield Meets Mad Max
Hostile, like Cloverfield, is a quirky Romeo and Juliet that sneaks up on you as it simultaneously unfolds in the Zombie Apocalypse of the near future, and the back-story of the protagonists' "star-crossed" relationship, told in flash-backs. 'Jack', the scion of old European money slumming in Manhattan, is the proverbial 'Man with a future'. 'Juliet', dyslexic, yet intelligent and resourceful, has a '(traumatic) past' as an abused child and heroine addict. Director/Writer Mathieu Turi employs the trope of a Terrorist Virus that decimates civilization, or at least New York, by turning people into cannibalistic mutants. Humanity survives in biker gangs and as isolated enclaves of technology who have circled the wagons in the desolate wasteland. While the reveal is predictable, the set-up is poignant, and the ending moving. The work of Francis Bacon, an Irish figurative painter (1909-0992), provides context for the film's self-referential theme. "Look at it (the painting]) until you see the beauty within," Jack tells Juliet, foreshadowing his own disfigurement. Made on less than a million-dollar budget, Director Turi uses artful camera angles and casting in lieu of CGI special effects. Judicious dialogue and careful framing advance the plot and reward the attentive viewer. Hostile has me eagerly anticipating what he will accomplish with studio backing. Omar Firestone - © 2021.
The Pledge (2001)
Sit Down, Spicoli!
While I thought there was much about "The Pledge" to appreciate: The homage to "..Cuckoos Nest", (Nicholson's arched eyebrow walking through the 'Solarium' door); homage to "Ransom" (Ron Howard, 1996 - lost balloon at the flea Market), the "Art House" dissolves (a la Nicholas Roeg's 'Walkabout') of 'Monash County's' relentlessly beautiful flora and fauna; shots through "ripple glass", reflected in mirrors etc.; there were just too many loose ends to justify a positive review. Perhaps these were left on the cutting room floor, but I felt the film's "pledge" was left unfulfilled.
Director Penn "promised" the audience that Jerry Black, finding "the killer, would be granted his "Soul's Salvation": a new life with Lori and her daughter Chrissy. The hugely understated scene of his watching a sport fishing infomercial advocating the use of "live bait" to catch "aggressive fish" did not rise to the level of reneging on his part of this Faustian bargain. It was Lori who made the first romantic overtures, undercutting the premise of their relationship as "deep cover".
More Nits: the "minutes-ticking-by-to-departure" scene in the airport lounge did not conclude with a forensic epiphany; only a "doesn't feel right" admission to the police chief. When he finally does identify the pattern: "Tall man in black with black car kills little blonde girls wearing a RED DRESS", there is no explanation or background on the killer's pathology, only a mother's admission that he is "waiting (to get married) for the right woman". Neither is there any background on Jerry Black's exemplary career as a detective, just the one line from Stan Krolak as they drive home from the aborted stake-out that, "You should have known Jerry 20 years ago, he was a great cop". (BTW The Isuzu Trooper Nicholson drives is missing the "Rhino Bars" on one of the takes of his mad dash to the church, ostensibly to save Chrissy.)
In conclusion I never felt Jerry's fate hanging in the balance between perdition and redemption. While Sean Penn attempted to elicit (from Nicholson) the "Psychotic Spriral into Madness" that he witnessed George C Scott deliver in "Taps" (1981 - Harold Becker), leaving him a drunken storekeeper, slack-jawed and mumbling did not bring a feeling of closure. I have to say (with much annoyance), "Sit Down! Spicoli"
Omar Firestone