Funny Games Is Seriously Sick

Title

Funny Games (2007)

Directed by

Michael Haneke

Writing credits

Michael Haneke

Selected Cast

Naomi Watts ... Ann
Tim Roth ... George
Michael Pitt ... Paul
Brady Corbet ... Peter
Devon Gearhart ... Georgie
Boyd Gaines ... Fred
Siobhan Fallon ... Betsy (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
Robert LuPone ... Robert
Susanne C. Hanke ... Betsy's Sister-in-Law
Linda Moran ... Eve

Review

Funny Games (2007) is Michael Haneke’s remake of the 1997 Austrian film by the same name. The story covers the experience of a family who is held hostage in their vacation home by a pair of preppie sociopaths.

Funny Games is benefiting commercially from a bit of controversy. I watched the movie and quickly realized why the movie is generating controversy. In short, Funny Games is a sick movie. If you do not want spoilers, stop reading here. Otherwise, you are about to learn exactly why Funny Games is sick. (Spoilers in italics.)

The twisted preppie friends Paul (Michael Pitt) and Peter (Brady Corbet) take advantage of a nice, trusting family. Paul kills their golden retriever with a golf club and then takes the family hostage. They mentally and physically torture the family throughout the night. Eventually, Peter murders the family’s young (9 to 12 year old) son (Devon Gearhart) with a shotgun as part of a game. After more torture, they kill the father of the family (Tim Roth) with a knife and a shotgun as part of another game. With only the mother (Naomi Watts) left, Paul and Peter take her out on a sailboat and mercilessly drown her. In the final scene of the movie, we realize that Paul and Peter have found the next family they wish to torture and kill.

The plot of Funny Games just never went anywhere. The "games" are shallow, pointless, and uncreative. There is no big master plan or greater purpose. There is just no payoff, lesson, or enlightening experience in this movie. Funny Games could have redeemed itself by making some sort of an interesting and original point, but the movie did not cover any significant new ground (with the exception of a couple of rarely used cinematic devices, such as Paul directly speaking to the audience and some false foreshadowing).

Michael Haneke will probably defend himself by saying he made a commentary about violence, but that excuse is getting a little old, and he failed to establish any particular point of view with this movie. The result is a movie with gratuitous mental and physical torture where no unique or clever point ever presents itself. And, by the way, do not go into this movie expecting some big revelation or hidden twist. There are no big secrets in this movie. Once you figure out this is just about killing innocent people for fun, you pretty much have a full grasp of everything you are going to see.

If you like watching innocent animals, children, and adults get humiliated, tortured, and murdered for sport, you will love Funny Games. If you do not like that sort of thing, Funny Games will be a waste of your time and probably disgust you. Unless you are a sadistic person or budding serial killer, there is just nothing here for you.

Rating (1-10)

2

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The Blair Witch Project Meets Godzilla in Cloverfield

Title

Cloverfield (2008)

Directed by

Matt Reeves

Writing credits

Drew Goddard

Selected Cast

Lizzy Caplan ... Marlena Diamond
Jessica Lucas ... Lily Ford
T.J. Miller ... Hudson 'Hud' Platt
Michael Stahl-David ... Rob Hawkins
Mike Vogel ... Jason Hawkins
Odette Yustman ... Beth McIntyre
Anjul Nigam ... Bodega Cashier
Margot Farley ... Jenn
Theo Rossi ... Antonio
Brian Klugman ... Charlie
Kelvin Yu ... Clark
Liza Lapira ... Heather
Lili Mirojnick ... Lei
Ben Feldman ... Travis

Review

Cloverfiled is the story of a group of friends fighting for survival as mysterious monsters attack New York City.

Cloverfield is somewhat like Godzilla (1998) and is shot in the style of The Blair Witch Project. The entire story takes place through the perspective of a camcorder in the hands of the actors. The film can get very confusing at times, but the trade off is a very unusual film, which is filled with surprises and tension. The single camera angle and narrow perspectives keep the audience in the dark and in states of paranoia and confusion.

The screenplay from Drew Goddard is fairly original and fresh. Director, Matt Reeves, did an excellent job of telling an interesting story in an inventive way. The result is a fun movie that is entertaining and worth your time.

By the way, when you watch Cloverfield on DVD, make sure to look for the subliminal flash of King Kong during the big helicopter crash at 1:06:51 (Chapter 14). Also, notice that something large (and far off in the distance) falls from the sky and crashes into the ocean off of Coney Island at 1:13:17 on the DVD (Chapter 15).

Rating (1-10)

8

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11:14 - Don't Miss a Minute of It

Title

11:14 (2003)

Directed by

Greg Marcks

Writing credits

Greg Marcks

Selected Cast

Rachael Leigh Cook .... Cheri
Hilary Swank .... Buzzy
Patrick Swayze .... Frank
Barbara Hershey .... Norma
Clark Gregg .... Officer Hannagan
Shawn Hatosy .... Duffy
Stark Sands .... Tim
Colin Hanks .... Mark
Ben Foster .... Eddie
Henry Thomas .... Jack
Blake Heron .... Aaron

Review

11:14 is the chronicle of events leading up to a single tragic moment one night in a small town.

First, I need to expose the movie promoters for trying to trick the movie-going public. In an irresponsible and deceptive move, the promoters decided to market 11:14 as another I Know What You Did Last Summer type movie. The reality is that 11:14 is almost nothing like the trailer the studio is running to promote the film.

11:14 is a dark comedy, a very, very dark comedy. What makes 11:14 superior to most dark comedies is the writing and directing. Most notably, the movie jumps around in time and follows multiple characters in multiple story lines that intersect in unexpected ways. This method of storytelling is not entirely original, but it is rare and very difficult to execute. Mystery Train, Pulp Fiction, and Momento are some good examples of excellent non-linear storytelling, and 11:14 has earned the right to be mentioned along with these other great films.

11:14 features a star-studded cast, who fits perfectly into the fascinating tale of irony and coincidence that was written and directed by the promising new filmmaker, Greg Marcks. 11:14 is a smart film that requires a lot from the viewer but is sure to please any intelligent and observant movie-watcher looking for something beyond the typical studio formula films that come out each week.

Rating (1-10)

9

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Lord of War Is Anti-Gun Propaganda

Title

Lord of War (2005)

Directed by

Andrew Niccol

Writing credits

Andrew Niccol

Selected Cast

Nicolas Cage .... Yuri Orlov
Bridget Moynahan .... Ava Fontaine
Jared Leto .... Vitaly Orlov
Ethan Hawke .... Jack Valentine
Shake Tukhmanyan .... Irina Orlov
Jean-Pierre Nshanian .... Anatoly Orlov
Eamonn Walker .... Andre Baptiste Sr.
Sammi Rotibi .... Andre Baptiste Jr.
Jasper Lenz .... Gregor
Kobus Marx .... Boris
Stephan De Abreu .... Liev
Ian Holm .... Simeon Weisz
Tanya Finch .... Ingrid

Review

Lord of War is the story of a gunrunner who rises to the top and must face the horrors committed with his merchandise.

Lord of War was promoted as a humorous action movie, but it is far from that. WARNING: Spoilers in italics. This film is a dark and depressing tale that closely follows the standard Mafia Don formula: A young immigrant turns to a life of crime, takes some big chances, rises to power, tries to go straight, makes one last deal, and loses everything. Basically, we’ve seen it all before.

Lord of War does not have much of a story, and that is because the film spends too much time preaching to the audience about how terrible guns are. Lord of War naively fails to confront the more serious issue of why wars and genocide have existed throughout most of human history. This issue would make for a good film, but this rather shallow film never once delves into the psychology of a warlord. Why do people kill each other? Certainly, it is not only because they have guns.

Lord of War makes several common film mistakes. The narration is overused, the supporting cast (specifically Ethan Hawke) is underused, and the pacing of the film is far too slow. There just is not much interesting material, and the characters are not engaging.

Lord of War is an overly political movie that has too little substance to go anywhere and does not have much to say. If you want to know the message of Lord of War, it’s very simple: People don’t kill people. Guns kill people. If you agree with this message, you will love Lord of War. If you disagree, you will be very disappointed and annoyed.

Rating (1-10)

4

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