Antiviral Review

I told ya. The main character is a total creep.

Antiviral’s clean composition and unique premise die off quickly in a film that is infected (get it? Okay I’ll stop) with slow pace and bland characters. This sci-fi thriller had a promising concept but failed to do anything worthwhile with the story.

Antiviral is set in a not-too-distant future where people pay a premium to contract the diseases and viruses of celebrities. Sounds crazy, right? It definitely isn’t far off the mark, especially in our society where people will pay thousands of dollars for celebrity’s hair, dirty garments, and chewed bubble gum.  I kid you not, take a look.

The film’s sterile white aesthetic is visually pleasing and juxtaposes well against the bacteria and blood and overall theme of disease. Most of the characters are pale and anemic which adds to the distorted medical atmosphere.

The main character, Syd, steals from the viral company that he works for by injecting himself with the newest celebrity strains and then selling them on the black market. This is what I got from the first 30 minutes anyway. After that, Syd, is being abducted by different organizations, covering up a celebrity’s death, and wandering around in these weird slow motion segments. Things become incoherent quickly, and you’ll soon be totally lost and bored. I didn’t find myself invested in any of the characters. They’re all so bland and lack originality.

I’m pretty sure Oprah’s cold just feels like a normal cold. Get your syringe away from me!

The main character, Syd, is only capable of two emotions the whole movie, apathy and creepy (probably not an emotion but I’m putting it there anyway). Did I mention we follow him almost exclusively? Yeah, I’ve had dead skin cells with more personality.

Antiviral is a one-trick pony that doesn’t even do an interesting trick. It tries to be gross and creepy by showing injections, blood, and close-ups of medical procedures. There’s even a celebrity meat product people buy that is grown from celebrity cells (Okay, I’ll admit that is GROSS!).

“This Thanksgiving roast is delicious, Barbara. What is it?”

“Only grade a, ground Timberlake for this family.”

Yeah, you get the picture, and you probably want to throw up now.

But this gimmick gets stale fast and you’ll likely be desensitized to the grossness after the first 20 minutes. The blood is red in some scenes and pitch black in others. Talk about over-exaggerating. You could say it was a stylistic choice, but I just call it a stupid choice.

The director is obviously trying to bash the celebrity worshipping that goes on in our society, which is understandable and I support his message. The other stuff is a bit too abstract. It’s either too suble or maybe this movie isn’t as deep as it seems. The slow motion bits are boring and disorientating. If that’s what he is trying to accomplish then congratulations, I am both confused and annoyed.

Starts off with a “seems interesting” and ends with a “what the f**k has been going on for the past hour and a half?”

Antiviral is director and writer, Brandon Cronenberg’s debut so it’s hard to tell if this was just an experiment or if this is his definitive style, but I hated it. If I see his name attached to anything in the future, it will make me think twice about seeing it.

Don’t waste your time on this film. You’re probably too busy bidding on Lady GaGa’s used Kleenex anyway.

2 out of 5

-The Critic

Mud Review

PolkTheatre http://www.flickr.com/photos/polktheatre/

“I’ll teach you something about respect your daddy never did.”  -Mud

I’ll admit it. I went into Mud with very high expectations. After hearing the phrase “modern classic” being thrown around and seeing its 98% rating on rottentomatoes.com, could you blame me? Then I read that the writer/director, Jeff Nichols, only worked on two other feature length films before Mud. Not only was I doubting this film, but I was literally prepared to knit-pick every little thing. I’m happy to say this movie ended up being far beyond anything I expected. Read on…

Mud is about two young teenagers, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who are easy-going, country boys just looking for adventure. The boys live in a small town in Arkansas where everyone knows everyone…or so you think.

One day, they take their motor boat out to a small island down the river and find out that there’s a man hiding out there. The unshaven, tattooed pariah (portrayed by Matthew McConaughey) is Mud, a mysterious man with an even shadier past. He originally asks the boys to bring him food, but soon his requests become much more complicated. Add in a revenge story and you’ve got yourself a pretty compelling concept.

Although it’s a drama at heart, this film is an emotional buffet; there’s a little bit of everything: comedy, action, romance, and mystery. It doesn’t let any of these sub-genres take over the film to the point where it’s cheesy or sappy or unbelievable. Nichols really knows how to perfectly balance each of these moments.

The pacing is another area where this film excels. It doesn’t waste any time. Not even 10 minutes into the film, and we’ve got tension as the boys stare down Mud, unsure whether he is friend or foe. Nichols makes sure that the audience doesn’t get too comfortable for long. The action segments are well scattered throughout the script. There’s always something interesting going on.

McConaughey, who normally comes off as an air-headed pretty boy (sorry McConaughey fans!), gives a moving performance. He fits the character Mud so naturally that he can be relaxed, but still give weight to his words. The two boys, Ellis ( Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Sam Shepard), were also very believable in their performances. It’s like they didn’t even know the camera was there.

Beautiful yet unforgiving.
Jimmy MacDonald http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmy_macdonald3/

Nature is its own character. The atmosphere in this film envelopes the audience into the unpredictable southern wilderness. The flowing river, the beach, and, yes, the mud embody the grittiness of film’s central theme: truth. It’s a world where we truly feel at the mercy of Mother Earth.

Aside from only a few minor plot contrivances, I left this film fully satisfied.

5 out of 5. This film gets my highest recommendation. See it immediately!

I am now off the see Nichol’s other films, Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter.

-The Critic

God Bless America Review

Offcalt
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Over the weekend I came across a peculiar indie film named God Bless America. It’s a movie in which a 45-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl team up to kill the world’s most annoying people, including celebrities, politicians, and anyone else that they deem “unfit to live.” Original? Yes. Good? Well…

This dark comedy, written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, is a social commentary on the downward spiral of American culture. What is he trying to say? Well early on in the film, the main character Frank answers that question with another question: why have a civilization if we are no longer interested in being civilized?

The first major sin that this film commits is having undeveloped characters that don’t even play by the rules they set. Frank kills two parents for spoiling their teenage daughter, yet Frank himself is a failure as a parent. They vow to only kill mean, annoying, or violent people, but by the end of the film there are numerous casualties that die for no apparent reason.

Roxy, the teenage girl that Frank teams up with, is a deranged psychopath. She lies about being raped by her stepfather, so she can spend more time “killing” with Frank. We don’t really learn anything else about her character other than the fact that she’s lonely, extremely insecure about her looks and hates people who “high-five.” The latter is clearly a justifiable reason to kill someone.

Also, I can understand someone having a character trait of being foul-mouthed, but when everyone character in the film uses the f-word in practically every sentence, they all start to sound like the same person.

Deionairra
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“But Critic, that’s the genre.”

I get it. The genre of “dark comedy” is supposed to be a provocative and over-the-top experience, usually with a message, but the film isn’t very funny or developed so we are only left with monologues of “holier than though” speeches.

In a nutshell, this film is basically a bunch of unorganized rants, an array of semiautomatic weaponry and a few gallons of fake blood.

The plot starts to lose momentum after you hit the 30 minute mark. The reasons that begin Frank’s rampage start to dwindle, but he continues for no apparent reason. Roxy continues because…she’s lonely and….well maybe we should call up the writer and ask him because he clearly forgot to write it into the screenplay.

There are a few funny moments here and there, but with a sparse storyline and flat characters, the experience ends up being a like gumball, sweet at the start, but an ultimately unsatisfying and forgettable experience.

It might be worth a watch for some people just for the spectacle of it. But if you never see this movie, you aren’t missing much. After all is said and done though, at least the director is okay with that.

2 out of 5

-The Critic