Hey ya'll! Long time no blog! I've missed you my lovable peeps! I've had so much to write about that I've had nothing to write about. Does that make sense? No? Hang with me for a little while and it will! I apparently get overwhelmed when I have more than one thing on my mind to write about. Who knew? Anyhow, since I wasn't sure which thing I had going on in my life to start from, I decided to try something different. A movie review. A movie review over...drum roll please... Amber Benson's movie THE KILLING JAR. Yeah, I know...she tends to appear in my blogs quite often. Deal with it! It's part of my charm! :o) It's not typical of me to do a movie review. I haven't really reviewed one since high school when I used to review films for both my Drama class and my AP Pop Culture class. I may be a little rusty at it, but I'll give it a go and you guys can let me know what you think! WARNING: I do NOT advise eating while watching this film. I mean really...fast first. And away we go!
You know how sometimes there are films that move really slowly? Typically thriller and action type movies that are set in one specific place, for instance, a diner in the middle of nowhere, tend to be a little on the boring side and have a hard time catching your attention. Sure they promise you blood, gore, and scary dreams, but in the end, it just leaves ya kind of hollow. I was all on board with watching the movie THE KILLING JAR, namely for three reasons: Amber Benson(LOVE HER!), Kevin Gage(HE'S BEAUTIFUL!), and Michael Madsen(WONDERFUL ACTOR!). Even though I was kinda skittish about seeing the film because given Amber Benson's talent for nailing roles that she's killed in, I didn't think my heart could handle seeing her die...again. I made peace with the fact that it was a very distinct possibility that she could, what with the growing body count in the Copral Grill being one of the main aspects of the film, but I decided I'd watch it anyway. For a film that I had only sat down to watch for the primary purpose of looking at Kevin Gage's eyes and hear him speak, and yes also to support Amber Benson's acting venue, I was impressed! Let me back up right here and say that while I am a fan of certain actors, I am at least not blinded by my like of their acting style to know when the project they've worked on wasn't the greatest. For example, the movie TABOO. Even though Miss Benson did well with her role, the scripting just wasn't there, and the whole film was kinda lame in general. Which is in no way the cast members' fault. They can only give as much as the scripting allows them. That being said, I was pleased that THE KILLING JAR wasn't such a film. The script was well done, the casting brilliant, and plenty of surprises that you never once saw coming.
While it is your standard movie of a psycho looney tune goes into a restaurant and starts shooting people up, it goes way beyond standard with the intricate character details. Each character has their own secrets, a depth to them, which is kind of hard to find in a lot of thrillers that tend to circle around one primary antagonist. You always seem to find out little tidbits of info about the bad guy, but never the people that the bad guys kill. I was very pleased to see that the characters were real people. They had families with names, they had quirks, things they were good at, and a specific voice. You had Noreen(Benson), who was a self declared dumb waitress that was trapped in a marriage she should have left years ago, but she could count! Miss Benson seemed to be channeling her Alabama roots in the film because her slight Southern drawl stayed intact throughout most of the movie. She seemed to be the voice of reason in the film, and I was very pleased to see that the role kind of differentiated from some of the other roles she's done. Then you had Doe(Madsen), a random guy that just stepped into a diner wanting something to eat that wound up taking his frustrations for the day out on everybody in the diner. His character was simply rage. All out rage, but he was a smart guy! Michael Madsen played the part well. The role seemed to have been written just for him. Whether it was or not, I don't know. But I do know that he played it to a "T". Then you had Dixon(Harold Perrineau), a fast talking salesman that just wanted to get home after he'd been working. I call him reaction guy. He'd assess the situation, and most of the time act accordingly. The part was brilliantly played. Hank(Gage), was a soft spoken ex-military man that would stop in for some conversation twice a month with Noreen and Lonnie(Lew Temple). He seemed to be more of a quiet strength type character. Didn't say much, but when he did it really meant something. I felt that Gage portrayed that character in a way few other actors could have. He wasn't overly dramatic and you could sense every emotion his character seemed to be going through. You have all these subtexts going on under this main storyline and it's just kind of...typically I wouldn't use the word refreshing for a film like this, but we'll go with it... it was kind of refreshing to see director and writer Mark Young be able to interweave these little tidbits of the different characters lives into the primary plot to give it more substance. It takes a real talent to do that well, and he was spot on.
So the plot... big man that's highly ticked off, big gun, you do the math. I can tell you from experience, this is absolutely NOT a film to watch whilst eating anything with the slightest tinge of a red hue to it...as a matter of fact, I'd fast before watching the film if you happen to be a tad on the weak stomached side. I was eating a bowl of spaghetti...I can't even BEGIN to tell you what a mistake THAT was! The goal of the characters trapped inside the diner in the movie? To get out alive. The reality? The odds of that happening are pretty much impossible. If ya like blood, this is your movie, because there is definitely blood and lots of it! It is kinda nice to see a film that doesn't shy away from events as they actually happen.
All in all, I give this film a big round of applause. It may be a low budget independent film, but it's definitely one that shows what can be accomplished on a small budget as long as you have good casting, good scripting, and well developed characters. Another heads up for you! Listen to the song the credits are rolling to. It's none other than the song stylings of Miss Amber Benson! The song is called THE ONE I NEED, and the musician in me says it's a cool tune. Not to mention the vocals are awesome! If you're curious about the song, check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQyv6ztdV7A My advice...watch THE KILLING JAR and enjoy. And remember... NO EATING!
Till next time guys! :o)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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Hi Trista, I watched the film this morning so its fairly fresh in my mind. I enjoyed it overall but I do have one or two issues with it.
ReplyDelete1) I found the build up to be too slow, actually deflating tension rather than causing it. Once it got going the momentum kept it going but it did take far too long. I also found the Director's determination to stop anything to take a look at a wall, or an outside shot of the diner, or a close up of a bloodstain, detrated from the claustrophobic atmosphere within the film and again deflated the tension. And the dialogue, whilst good, also went on too long in a couple of key places where a line less ehre and there would ahve served to keep the tension going.
2) The acting. I agree that Amber, Kevin Gage and harold Perrineau are all excellent but it does take them a whil to find their character's stride. I wonder seriously if the film was shot in sequence, which would explain a lot. Danny trejo as the diner owner was completely wasted and Lew Temple as the cop was pretty woeful. As for the young couple, the woman got so bad with her acting I was begging for Madsen to shoot her. But curiously I disagree with you about Madsen's performance. he seems bored and disnintersted for a good chunk of that movie, only really coming alive in the final third when he has his one on one with the two men.
But, in spite of these niggles, there was much to enjoy. The performances from the main characters, once they got into their groove, are very good and the final third really does shift things up. Whilst I think Amber is good in it I have to give the acting props to Harold Perrineau as Dixon who is a very complex character.
I liked the ending, as it does pay off a completely off the cuff remark from earleir in the film (which I always like when a inconsequential detail, which is treated as such, proves to be anything but).
All in all I wouldn't say it was a great film, but it is a good one and one that I would say was worth checking out.
I agree with you about maybe watching it on an empty stomach though.
I'm in total agreement with you over the ending! I love when a writer knows how to tie things back to an aforementioned quote. Without giving anything away to anyone that hasn't seen it, I aways like it when it's able to be brought back to an insignificant quote. I'm not saying the film would win awards or anything, but it's definitely better than some of the things mainstream movies are trying to pass off as award winning films when they clearly have lousy scripting and are mainly just mainstream because of casting. That's a pet peeve of mine.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that it took the movie a bit to get moving along, but once it did, I feel like it was done well.
True, there were some lines that could have been shortened, but that comes in any film and I don't think it neccessarily makes it poor scripting or is exactly detrimental to the movie. I think things like lines tend to be in the perception of the viewer. For example, a line that seemed to slow it down to you may have taken it to a different level for me. It's all in perception. That's why variety of opinions is so important.
I disagree over the camera shots of the blood though. I felt they were well placed, and at some of the points in time, I felt some of the shots were needed to tone down some of the intensity. I like my movies tense, but others out there may not, so I felt like they were placed well to kind of let the faint of heart regain their composure. The thought also crossed my mind that maybe the director placed them in the order he did to pull back in the reality of the situation, or perhaps putting you into the character point of view, because they are literally looking at all the carnage surrounding them. I like having a character's point of view, I suppose.
The characters... no argument whatsoever about the teen girl! Bad acting, a way over the top cheesy performance on her end. It was more like she was in an amatuer play production as opposed to a film. The guys part was decently done, and her acting dynamic just didn't match his. My opinion, Madsen did his role well. His character was a sociopath. They are seemingly disinterested people until someone pushes their buttons. Most of his rage that I was speaking about, and I probably should have specified, was silent rage. It was mostly in the small details on his face. The slight twitch in the jaw muscle, the clenching of the hands, things of that nature. He'd had a bad day, so he had the internal rage going on for him, so I really can't see him as anything other than rage.
I can tell you one thing...the next time I watch it, I DEFINITELY will have an empty stomach! :o)
Thanks for reading and posting!