Change Your Image
Ads96
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Local Legends (2013)
Genuinely Inspiring Meditation on Art and Commercialism
This was the first film I watched in 2020 and thus the first I watched this decade. There's something beautiful about that for the sole reason that this film is so genuinely inspiring as a piece of filmmaking. As we move into the era of streaming theoretical opportunities for making low budget, DIY projects are increasing. Yet despite this the humungous amount of choice available as well as the dominance of a new generation of streaming companies makes the practicality of making your own film, and actually getting an audience, smaller. Local Legends, therefore, represents a wonderfully personal, funny and sometimes sad film that was a genuine pleasure to watch. For anybody that fancies themselves as a would be low budget filmmaker Matt Farley's auteur driven project acts as both a manifesto for how to make art, and make it pay off-just a little, and as an argument for a new kind of homegrown cinema that challenges, albeit only a little, in Hollywood's status.
Clocking in at just under 80 minutes Local Legends concerns the semi-autobiographical exploits of Matt Farley (Farley) as he goes about his life in Manchester, New Hampshire. Farley's day job is working at an old people's home 'wiping their arses' as he narrates to us, yet he does this so he can write songs, sometimes twenty or so a day, to earn money off and funnel some of that money into making films with friends and family, primarily for friends and family. Alongside what is essentially a long advert for Farley's music and films, including repeated use of his own phone number, we see Matt play basketball, chat and meet friends, play music, go for walks, pontificate on the nature of Billy Joel fandom and perform stand up.
Farley has gained notoriety as the songwriter behind over 20,000 songs, almost all of them available on streaming sites. The idea behind Farley's efforts, explained in the film, are that whilst a few novelty songs about excrement and animals may gain him a few dollars each year, twenty thousand such songs will gain him thousands of dollars. Farley's efforts have paid off. In the latest financial report at the end of 2019 Farley made just shy of 60,000 dollars via his songs. Farley has also gained fans for his films, many of them monster movies, that he has made with the same rotating cast of friends, family and the occasional professional. These films, including Don't Let The Riverbeast Get You, Slingshot Cops and Freaky Farley, are usually written, produced and star Farley with direction by his longtime friend and close collaborator Charles Roxburgh. They are immensely funny.
In this film however Farley takes a slightly more serious approach. Farley directs alongside all his other usual roles, (Roxburgh appears in a humorous telephone call scene), and presents the audience with a manifesto for his work, a reflection on art and its relationship to commerce and a history of his life and how he came to do what he does. Despite his novelty songs Farley explores his and his friend Tom's (Tom Scalzo) band, Moe's Haven, and their numerous albums which, in his own words, combine the musical stylings of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Pink Floyd. Yet the band toils in obscurity and Farley realises he can make money off the novelty songs.
Farley is not ashamed of this. The conflict between art and money is presented in a number of symbolic sequences where Farley, the artist and ordinary hero of the story, meets the businessman, also played by Farley with his hair slicked back and an eighties yuppie jacket. In an interview with Justin Decloux on the Important Cinema Club podcast Farley explained that he preferred the businessman character because at least he was honest about wanting to make money. The film makes clear Farley's desire to be recognised. Fans who call him on his number are genuinely thanked. He sends people free DVDs and CDs and writes a song about three fans who call him. One phone call, received whilst he's on a basketball court pretending to be another NBA star with his friend, reveals the caller saw his film at three in the morning on public access television. It doesn't matter to Farley. He's just glad the guy enjoyed it. The fan can't believe this is Farley's real number. "I'm shameless," Farley replies.
The difficulties of producing art that nobody wants to see is summed up by the major plot point of the film, Farley appearing in his friend Milhouse G's comedy showcase which is continually downgraded in terms of venue. In another Farley laments to Tom that all they wanted to do in life was entertain but they could never find anyone who wants to be entertained. These moments are sad but Farley does not see his work as a waste of time. Indeed, he always carries a CD or DVD to leave round random locations whilst out on one of his long walks, another autobiographical element of his life that Farley explains.
The camera moves in a functional and minimalist manner. Shot in black and white Farley mentions Woody Allen, including Stardust Memories, as influences whilst much of the film recalls a mumblecore aesthetic. The deadpan approach of Farley and Roxburgh's other films is here presented in a truly sincere fashion. Farley isn't posing. His whole life is up here, with full honesty about his desire to make money and how his life is more interesting than almost anyone else he knows. Occasionally the realism is interrupted by the businessman sequences and a hilarious about turn at the end of the film where reality and fantasy meet. Sometimes moments of Farley's life seem brutally disappointing. He sneaks CDs into a record store and is misunderstood by family who give him poor advice or do not take him seriously. Yet the sincerity always shines through. Farley has crafted a unique way of living. If the film is his manifesto then it speaks to the heart, but also the head in terms of earning money.
Even with the realism Farley allows himself moments of wonderful deadpan comedy. Regular Farley and Roxburgh star Kevin McGee appears as a wise father like figure with recommendations about delivering soup to a lady with a migraine. The soup is made by Farley's basketball friend-Soup, so-named because of his love of making soup.
In a strange, roundabout way I was reminded of John Cassavetes, in particular his 1976 film The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. In that the club owner protagonist who gets into trouble with the mob desperately tries to add artistic elements to the striptease acts that appear on his stage but nobody is interested. Farley similarly creates genuine art in both his music and films, yet is unfairly ignored or dismissed. He has created something truly unique and it is a crime more people have not seen this and his other films.
The difficulties of creation and the ability to keep going have been explored in a number of mainstream indie productions, usually in places like New York. Good films though they are nothing can match Local Legends for the sincerity of its subject matter and auteur creator. The film is both a manifesto for Farley's life and work as well as an inspiration. Why not make your own film? It will cost you, one scene reveals Farley hasn't been to a party since 1998, yet you will produce something that is really your own. If you do it with friends and family all the better. In his podcasts and interviews, as well as this very film, Farley talks about getting Hollywood to come to us. You don't need to be a native of New England to enjoy this film. Indeed, I come from old England, but the specificity of Farley's world is open to all, he'll explain it for you anyway. Farley's film pushes the boundaries of filmmaking. Many people talk but few people do. Farley has proven you can create your own films, create your own music and even become a local legend yourself, a whole universe available to you via your friends, family and community.
Who knows what the future of cinema will bring but I truly believe, in all sincerity, that Matt Farley has created something beautiful, the most personal of visions and put it out for the world to see. If cinema is about pushing deep into the souls or essences of characters, seeking out some truth, or simply making art for art's sake, Farley has achieved all three. This will broaden your horizons of film, give you access to an eccentric but wonderful world and make you laugh all in one. Regardless of whether it's your cup of tea or not you owe it to yourself to give it a go. Well done Mr Farley.
The Purge (2013)
Poorly Executed Popcorn Piece
The basic idea of 'The Purge' is not too bad and, in a better film, would have been entertaining and interesting to watch. Sadly 'The Purge' is not that film. The home invasion thriller genre may have been done to death but it's still a personal favourite of mine. Home invasions always seem scary no matter how many times you've seen it before but the main feeling 'The Purge' leaves you is not terror or tension but a lack of belief and mild boredom.
Although it contains a few good sequences 'The Purge' is generally poorly executed. Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey do their best to ham things up but the script itself is poorly written. We are asked to believe in and root for the characters but they make so many stupid decisions each and every scene that it's hard to like them, or even dislike them. Instead I just didn't care. Their emotions too seem almost always out of kilter with the events of the preceding film, a problem that hardly helps to build tension for the situation.
Much of any home invasion film's tension derives from the characters making use of their house and its space but in 'The Purge' the house seems inordinately large, even for a rich family in the suburbs. Throughout the film I felt myself asking the question, how big is this house? I know American houses are large but is it really this big?
'Purge's' other main problem is its message. Instead of subtly posing questions and answers or calling our attention to the real life social implications of the film's basic premise writer-director James DeMonaco decides to hit you over the head repeatedly with a large brick from the very opening of the film.
Life (2017)
Decent But Derivative Sci-Fi Thriller
There's nothing wrong, whatsoever, with 'Life.' It's a good film with some good characters, good sequences and, as the thriller genre demands, thrills. Indeed, in places 'Life' goes beyond what you might expect. Its characters are far better rounded and developed than some of its lesser cousins and cliches which could easily drag it down are avoided in clever ways. The performances, across the board, are good and the dialogue feels natural.
Despite this the film suffers from an obvious derivative nature. All films are derivative, nothing is original and almost all films pay tribute in one form or another, either obviously or subtly, to those films that inspired them. The problem with 'Life' is it feels too much like a modern day 'Alien' tribute piece than something fresh.
I enjoyed the film and it certainly excels in some areas. It is thrilling, it is scary in parts and there is plenty of well placed tension. That said, the overriding feeling of watching the film is less, 'This is good', and more, 'Aren't Alien and The Thing really brilliant.'
Amores perros (2000)
Excellent Drama With Plenty of Dogs
If you watch this film today chances are you'll come to it having already seen Alejandro Inarritu's more recent, famous English work like 'Birman' (2014) and 'The Revenant' (2015), both of which rank as modern classics. Having already seen both of the above I was interested to know what Inarritu's Mexican films were like and I was not disappointed. 'Amores Perros' or 'Love's a Bitch,' the title being a pun on both love itself and dogs, both of which feature prominently.
The basic premise of the film is a now well established and copied trope of a central, connecting event through which a variety of stories are spun off, usually in cities. In 'Amores Perros' a car crash brings our three main stories together and a variety of love and situations, types of love and good and bad outcomes. The most interesting is the final and climatic arc of the El Chivo character, who is dotted throughout the first two stories in a mysterious and half taunting method, drawing us closer to the finale and his piece.
There is a tendency in films like this to fall into melodrama but Innarritu maintains the realism of his picture well. The brutality of the interconnected stories too, also feel realistic. The only real problem with it is some now very dated music for the soundtrack which sticks the film in its late 90s/early noughties feel. There is also a danger that such films attempt to say too much about life in too little time or too much. Whilst Amores Perros runs for about two and a half hours at no point does it feel too long nor does the film feel like Inarritu is attempting to say all he can about love, life, cruelty and the world.
The role of dogs in their human masters and abuser's affairs is a clever little motif that helps draw the stories together. They, as much as the human cast, deserve applause. For the most part the characters we are privileged and horrified to be privy to their lives feel real, honest and actual people. There is sympathy yes, but never too much and the ugliness of humanity is made clear without falling victim to dull nihilism.
Even the shaky, gritty camera-work feels fresh despite its 2000 release date. Whereas action films since the Bourne series and its various descendants have killed shaky cameras before repeatedly desecrating their graves and using their corpses the setting and context of Inarritu's work means that the cinematography works well.
All in all whilst it's not a perfect film 'Amores Perros' does what any good drama should do, deliver dramatic situations, sequences, stories and make us feel for the characters in equal parts pity and disgust.
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Solid and Slightly Different Slasher
Whilst it still revels in the tropes of the slasher genre 'My Bloody Valentine' is a solid, entertaining and slightly different film which should be enjoyed by fans as well as the casual viewer. 'Valentine' is notable for being one of the few good Canadian entries to the eighties slasher craze and makes the most of a limited, somewhat clichéd idea with a welcome professional, creative element that slashers often lack.
Following on the heels of 'Halloween' and other holiday based plots 'Valentine' concerns the holiday, a card shop holiday anyway, in a small Canadian town also helpfully named Valentine's Bluff. You'd think it'd be the perfect place for a valentine's party but a mine collapse twenty years prior leaves a madman named Harry Warden buried alive whilst the rest of the town parties. You can imagine what happens next. The madman bans Valentine's in the town and enforces the ban in a violent fashion. Twenty years later a new valentine celebration is planned as Harry Warden has faded into legend.
What makes Valentine's stand out is two things. One, the actual slasher set pieces are superb. Creative, brutal and sometimes funny. The filmmakers were forced to cut about eight or nine minutes of footage to appease the censors which adds to the cult appeal of the piece. Yet despite the cuts the bloody nature of Valentine will please fans of the genre and some genuinely unsettling moments are also scattered throughout the film when it comes to the use of blood and guts.
The other appealing element is the film's professionalism. Whereas other slasher films fall into the cheesiest and cheesiest of quality through bad acting, bad camera-work and generally amateurish production Valentine does not. The acting is good and naturalistic, a nice surprise from the genre, the cinematography is interesting and inventive, making use of a wider range of camera expression than falling back on the POV shot. The focus of the characters in peril are also far more interesting. Valentine's Bluff is a dreary working class town with a single industry, the mines, to keep it going. As such the characters are smarter, more bitter and, in many ways, better than their college co-ed, teenage counterparts.
In the ranks of slasher films 'My Bloody Valentine' ranks high. For those who are fans of the genre it is definitely required watching. For the more casual viewer the film's professional tint and interesting, though still generic holiday based premise, will distinguish itself from other less astute entries.
Get Out (2017)
Superb Piece of Horror with Interesting and Insightful Social Commentary
'Get Out' is a superb piece of horror with sharp, sometimes funny and always interesting social commentary that walks the line between classic horror conventions and a modern, revitalised genre form perfectly. It's an excellent debut from Jordan Peele who moulds his clever tale together with a great cast, interesting camera-work and a welcome dose of heavy tension and menace.
First of all, go see this film as blindly as you can. Teaser trailers are acceptable, anything else could ruin or spoil the moment. I made the effort to go in relatively blind through part laziness and part active ignorance, avoiding critic's reviews and switching off the radio if people started talking about it. The premise alone should be enough to interest most people and Peele's name attached to the writing and directing should be able to persuade most sceptics. That said, whether you like or dislike horror, make the time for this one.
The cast is all around excellent though special praise must go to Daniel Kaluuya who, despite the temptations of genre, keeps his acting naturalistic, completely believable and watchable. Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford also deserve special mentions for their parts, as do Marcus Henderson and Betty Gabriel for their creepy turns. Peele doesn't let the cast carry the film however with some interesting, creative and above all else unnerving camera-work and great writing throughout. Lest we forget that Peele wrote, directed and produced this.
Beyond everything Peele has succeeded in balancing the genre demands of his piece with the social commentary he puts forth. There is a danger with any horror film that the social issues at hand overwhelm the story or that the story and plot dampen any wider concerns to nearly nothing. There is interesting and at times genuinely uncomfortable moments created by the issues our main character faces and situations he deals with. Peele has got the balance spot on and the film is also helped by moments of well timed comic relief.
Debuts are always a double edged sword which half the time leave you feeling underwhelmed and the other half overwhelmed, setting up inevitable disappointments for whatever follows up. Peele has proved himself a skilled and inventive director who can tackle complex and fascinating subject matter in a horrific fashion as much as he can in his comedy. He has said he has many more stories of 'social demons' to come over the next ten or so years. I am looking forward to them already.