Awful cover art, brilliant film

I bought this blind on VHS a few years ago as a fan of Alicia Witt. This is a superior, superbly acted and interestingly shot teen flick, and kind of works as a companion piece to "Thirteen". Ignore the dodgy DVD cover art and give it a go - most online stores sell it for under 10 bucks so how can you go wrong?

One of the most depressing but gripping 'struggle in the closet' films I have ever seen, with a fantastic, charismatic and emotive performance from anti-hero Alex Dimitriades (who, judging from his IMDB page, needs to get a better agent). It's a niche subject perhaps, which is then squeezed into another minority - a traditional Greek family - but it's expertly written and played and actually has broad appeal. Ari's downward spiral (he starts close to the gutter and disappears into it by the time of the slightly rushed, bleaker than bleak ending) is gripping and entirely believable, the Aussie streets have a grimy/murky, hellish feel and some of the lines cross the boundaries of sexy/disturbing/distressing ("don't spill it"). Kinetic direction and a brilliant (and now nostalgic) soundtrack both ground and enhance a very good film. Pity about the off-putting poster art.

A much better than expected comedy romance, about a guy, a girl, and a dog, that doesn't stray into overly cute or cloying, and has interesting characters and good performances that make up for a slightly predictable storyline. Although, the "guy who hates dogs learns to love dogs" plot does mix up the standard "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back again" arc in an interesting way. I should address a bias here too; Brendan Hines is one of my personal heroes, and in my eyes can do no wrong. As Charlie, he makes for an extremely likeable lead - he doesn't ever stray into creepy territory (a la Jude Law in pretty much anything romantic), nor does he become bland, slushy, or annoying. Malin Akerman, as Daphne, is less successful and doesn't seem to have much of a flair for comedy - though to be fair her character is a little underwritten. Kevin Sussman's "loveable loser shtick" is a joy, and his scenes are fun without ever stealing the show from the leads. Presumably, Heavy Petting was made on a small budget, but this doesn't show in the direction or editing and even the soundtrack has some recognizable choices (The Magic Numbers, The Boy Least Likely To, Nada Surf). Heavy Petting wont set the world on fine or redefine romantic comedy, but it's still pretty damn good. And Brendan Hines is smokin' hot.

"That's not folk wisdom, that's communism!"

P.S. Yes, the DVD cover art is AWFUL. But this is a case where that old adage "never judge a book by its cover" rings true.

A film quite unlike anything I've seen before, The Mudge Boy deserves a larger audience then it is ever likely to get, thanks to its peculiar title, cheap, 70s looking cover art and "funded by cable" credentials. But it's a stunning film.

Duncan (Emile Hirsch) is a teenager trying to come to terms with the unexpected death of his mother. An outsider who doesn't have the self-awareness to express himself adequately and without any support in friends or his emotionally unavailable father, Duncan, who helps out on the farm he lives on, cycles the countryside with his favorite chicken and begins to form relationships with some of the people he meets.

Psychologically rich and complex, realistic, beautifully photographed and stunningly performed (Emile Hirsch, Richard Jenkins and Tom Guiry are all superb), The Mudge Boy builds to a devastating conclusion that is truly shocking and difficult to watch; a brilliant depiction of teenage life, sexuality and grief in all its forms.

Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, winner of the Grand Jury Award at L.A. Outfest.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Stuck is an exceptional, genre-bending, powerful and absorbing film from cult favorite Stuart Gordon. I won't bother with a synopsis as the one here on Flixster is well written and to the point. Suffice it to say that has become a new favourite of mine. The simple structure of the film, shifting point of view from Brandi to Tom, to Brandi & Tom, very effectively ratchets up the tension and grotesqueness, and every sequence has something going for it. At only 85 minutes running time, the pace doesn't drag, and despite the deliberate hysteria of the situation, Stuck never gets tiresome and more surprisingly, doesn't approach a "now, hang on a minute" moment. I personally think a huge amount of credit should go to Meena Suvari and Stephen Rea, two terrific, underrated actors. As Brandi, Suvari continues to make horrible decisions, but key is despite the inherent unlikeability of what she continues to do, it's impossible not to lose hope that she'll turn her situation around and do the right thing. Hers is a fearless performance. There's something about her physicality here, and oddly, her braided hairstyle angles her face in such a way that her emotions and thought processes are easy to read; thus even towards the end there's still, somehow, the ability to 'root' for her. There's a brilliant, disturbing and horribly funny moment early on, where Tom is still stuck in the windshield of Brandi's car in the garage, whilst in the house she is fucking her drug-dealer boyfriend. She has a flashback to the impact of the crash, whilst having sex, and Tom's face appears and she screams in horror - her boyfriend mistakes it for a powerful orgasm and proceeds to speed up his thrusts. In this moment, Suvari's whole body language changes, and for an instance, post-coital and wracked with anxiety, she looks like a child in the womb, almost alien-like. Stephen Rhea is equally good as Tom; he has little to say except "please, help me" and variations there on, but the things he has to go through! Whenever Tom manages to move another foot out of the windshield, or blast the horn, or (shudder) remove a foreign object from his body, the amount of effort it visibly takes on him feels like massive progress. I can't say more about Rhea without giving away too much, but his is continually excellent. Aside from the acting, the story is frequently clever, the writing is fresh and witty (sometimes stupid-funny, other times dark-funny), the direction assured. Props too to the sound effects. A very memorable film.

"Can you get me your supervisor please, or maybe a human being if you've got one back there?"

Well, that was unexpected. Not only is The Trip good, it's damn good. Ok, so it's yet ANOTHER story where AIDS rears its ugly head to claim the life of an undeserving gay guy, but at least the story here is told with a fair amount of conviction and good intentions. Spanning over a decade, The Trip cleverly uses archive footage from newsreels as well as music and fashions of the period. It's not exactly massively ambitious but looks like it was made for a good deal more money than was actually thrown at it, and the two lead performances are winning. Larry Sullivan is all goofy Jake Gyllenhall-esque with the odd temper tantrum, and is a pretty hot mess, despite some awful haircuts. Steve Braun has less range but makes the most of a slightly underwritten role, and has this Brad Pitt/Nick Stahl mix in him that works well. Both actors also age quite convincingly, which is always a hard trick to pull off. Also impressive is the photography - The Trip is beautifully lit. A couple of the scenes drag and are overplayed (one in which Alan's mum and kooky friend come to pay him a visit is especially cringy), but mostly the balance between drama and comedy is successful, and the final minutes are genuinely touching.

If These Walls Could Talk is an uncompromising trio of films dealing with the abortion issue over three decades. It's fascinating to watch how times have (and haven't) changed. In this regard, 1952 starring Demi Moore and 1996 starring Anne Heche and Cher are the most resonant stories. In the former, Moore plays a widowed nurse struggling to find a way to safely terminate her pregnancy in a decade where such practices were illegal, shrouded in secrecy and often resulted in the woman dying from haemorrhaging or infection. It's painful to watch and Moore is unusually excellent, and there's good support from mother-of-one Catherine Keener as the step-sister. In 1996, Heche plays a student who becomes pregnant following an affair with one of her professor's. This is easily the standout story; it is still hugely relevant, with a mixture of views on the issue represented without judgement. Cher, who capably directs this segment, has quite a small role as one of the doctors at the clinic Heche visits, and I wonder if her ego was involved in getting her the starring credit or if it was considered necessary by the studio in order to attract a bigger audience. 1996 undoubtedly is based on true events - the ending, which is properly shocking, seems ripped from the headlines - making it all the more powerful. By contrast, the Sissy Spacek headlining 1974 - the shortest of the three films - isn't particularly involving since, oddly, her situation is presented as the least difficult to manage. I suppose a middle-aged woman with a large family discovering she is pregnant once again just isn't particularly interesting (though I do remember that an episode of ER handled a very similar situation with greater dramatic depth). Overall though, If These Walls is a moving project that rises above from its somewhat 'televisual' aesthetic.

What starts as a kind of Nine to Five comedy about a group of young women temping at a credit company, evolves into a rather dark, frustrating, realistic and somewhat depressing dramedy.

Iris (Toni Collette) is the newest temp recruit at a credit company where the key is to "look like you're busy". Incredibly shy, somewhat insecure and lonely Iris is soon befriended by three fellow tempers (Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow and Alanna Ubach) who welcome her into their world of boredom, under-appreciation and aspiring dreams unfulfilled or out of reach. The catalyst for their friendship becoming stronger before ultimately falling apart is the arrival of a new office assistant and a subsequent string of thefts of everything from stationery to personal diaries. As suspicious eyes turn to the temps ("it's them and us"), it isn't long before bitterness and resentment break out, and things are never the same again.

Despite the truly terrible, 80's looking DVD cover which inaccurately suggests a kooky office comedy, this is actually quite a bleak look at friendship and office politics, and is powerful stuff in parts. Toni Collette, as narrator and lead player, is truly excellent and has a way of portraying inner thoughts not spoken that is quite unique. As the film enters its second phase, you can see her think through possibilities and suspicions and, though the transformation of character she promises in voiceover at the start isn't (thankfully) completely fulfilled, her depiciton of Iris remains compelling throughout. Parker Posey provides excellent support, and has a heartbreaking and frustratingly real scene when her friends seemingly abandon her.

A very cheap and plainly looking film (though that's probably half the point), Clockwatchers doesn't have enough of a satisfactory conclusion to make this entirely successful, but still remains a film you shouldn't judge by its tacky cover.

A psychopath who dubs himself Harry Houdini (Adrien Brody) kidnaps the wife of a rich businessman, strips her, and buries her alive in a coffin with about an hour's worth of air, demanding a million dollars in cash in return for which he will reveal her location. If the ransom isn't paid, or the police are involved, 'Harry' will not give up the details... the husband gets the police involved. The detective investigating, Madeline (Maura Tierney of Scotland PA, Diggers and ER fame) is now the only one who can try and solve the case. A damaged masochist with a drink problem, she'll have to think like Harry in order to find the burial site before the oxygen runs out.

Opening with a kinetic chase through a subway train, Oxygen immediately makes an impression. Its greatest asset is the well thought out characters, who so clearly have had lives before the film begins. In particular, Madeline is an absolutely fascinating protagonist and the bits of information we get build into something that makes the dénouement doubly exciting. The premise is excellently handled but this isn't a one-trick pony of a film and the sub-plots are equally well executed. Maura Tierney and Adrien Brody both give refreshing performances (a sort-of skew on the Hannibal/Clarice relationship in Silence of The Lambs) and the supporting cast (which includes Terry Kinney and Dylan Baker in a small role) is decent. The low budget is occasionally evident (a car-chase through New York City isn't exactly high-speed) but higher production values might have resulted in something more sensationalist and less imaginative. In any case, this is a solid, exciting little flick.