You hear that sound? The one echoing all across the internet this morning? That’s the less than joyful noise of a dead horse being thoroughly flogged.

Looks like horror filmmaker Wes Craven will be returning to direct the fourth installment of his popular (in the 90s) horror franchise, Scream. With Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette all returning to no doubt combat one more whacked out psycho, Scream 4 has a slated release date of April 12, 2011. That’s almost exactly 11 years since the last entry hit theaters.

Kevin Williamson, the brain trust behind the first three films, has apparently turned out a script Craven is happy with. Wes’ acceptance doesn’t exactly lift my spirits though.  After those Hills Have Eyes remakes I question Craven’s taste. The news that Williamson already has ideas in place for Scream5 and 6 isn’t exactly cheering either.

Although I’m not surprised by this decision, especially at a time when studios are looking for ‘sure things’ with a built in audience, Scream feels like a concept that has long since run its course. It singlehandedly resurrected the slasher film, and gave birth to the terrifyingly annoying post-modern teen horror flick. Still, in this current climate of Saws and Hostels, one can’t help but be a bit nostalgic for those less malicious, tongue-in-cheek thrillers.

Unless of course, Williamson is planning to make the new movies grittier to match the changing times. Here’s hoping they end up being big goofy throwbacks. It’s about the only way I can seem them working at all. At least, though, this isn’t another remake. That’s something right?

Am I the only one what would rather be getting news of a Joss Whedon helmed, SMG starring, Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie instead of this?

I, mean, if we are in the business of resurrecting by-gone late 90′s horror franchises, why not?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a terrifically thrilling and agonizingly taut mystery epic; it creates an arcane hedge maze of corrupt industrial legacies and dark family secrets and populates that maze with a pair of most extraordinary protagonists. It’s quite possibly the best pulp thriller in several years. David Fincher has reportedly been eyeing it up for remake, but I honestly don’t know what else he could bring to the table.

Based off the novel by Swedish author Steig Larsson, Girl is also that rare cinematic adaptation that honors and enriches the source material. Whether you have encountered Lisbeth Salander first in the printed word, or in the confines of this movie, where she is energetically portrayed by Noomi Rapace, you will walk away with the impression of having met a living, breathing person.

Salander, the titular gal with the tattoo, is Larsson’s most beguiling and compelling creation; a 20-something, socially stunted hacker who’s convinced the world at large she’s mentally handicapped when in fact, she’s quite the opposite. Also a child of extreme abuse and neglect, Salander doesn’t really enter the focus of Tattoo’s primary story until an hour in, but when she does she steals the show. And what a show it is to steal.

There’s no possible way to do justice to all of the tangled and complex elements of Girl’s plot in writing, so I’ll skip lengthy analysis to discuss, instead, the way the film version brings that plot to life and makes it light up the screen.

First, there’s the casting of the two leads. I’ve briefly mentioned Lisbeth Salander, but Larsson’s other protagonist, the one we get to know first, is Mikael Blomkvist, a well known and gifted journalist who’s currently facing charges of libel. Blomkvist’s legal troubles open the door for his involvement in a decades old cold case that puts him in the orbit of the Vangers, an expansive and wealthy industrialist family. It is this mystery that becomes the catalyst for his partnership with Salander and it’s also the backbone of the story.

Michael Nyqvist slips into the role with a kind of rumpled pluckiness and understated confidence. His character has undergone public failure, but it doesn’t affect his tenacity or roving eye for details. He provides a performance that cuts to the very center of the novel’s Blomkvist and defines him as a man of thought and reason, who can truly appreciate the aptitude and skill of Rapace’s Salander. He’s not your average hardened noir hero, but a 3-dimensional portrait of the intrepid and dogged reporter. He propels the plot forward and tackles the treacherous caverns of Larsson’s potboiler so efficiently that he frees up Rapace so that she can focus her energy on building and nurturing the camaraderie of this crime-fighting duo.

Rapace, for her part, has the graceful skill of stepping into Salander’s shoes so completely that the performance feels more like being than acting. Larsson’s novel is only a few years old in publication terms (Dragon and its sequels were published posthumously beginning in 2005) but Salander has a very specific and concrete presence in the minds of fans. Rapace covers the visual portrayal of Salander perfectly, nailing all the goth decoration and surly intelligence that magnified the character on the printed page.

She gives us something that matches with our own mental images of the woman and then methodically unpacks the psychological richness that Larsson wrote into her. Mystery stories are often only as good as their plots, but this is one of the rare instances where the dazzle and complexity exist first and foremost in the characters.

Outside of Rapace and Nyqvist, director Niels Arden Oplev adorns Girl with a fantastic and antique visual verve that really fits the Danish setting and the thematic darkness of the story. There are some intensely violent and uncomfortable scenes in the film, especially when it comes to the life of Salander, but Oplev walks the line of depicting events matter-of-factly and simply suggesting the depth of the abyss without aiming his camera directly into it.

There’s not half as much onscreen abuse as one might suspect, and that is certainly a good thing. While the film itself is not misogynistic, it does deal heavily and thoughtfully with abuse towards women; stacking its deck with grittiness isn’t simply a shock-based decision. Interweaving grainy film footage, slick fx, and a very stately, haunting cinematography, Tattoo embraces us completely in its style and atmosphere and then lets the tale itself do its work.

Sharing some very basic similarities with a few other international pictures—the Red Riding trilogy and The Chaser come to mind—Girl trumps the lot of them by sending us on its quest with some excellent, multi-layered travelling companions. Even when the road gets rocky and the path obscured by night, Salander and Blomkvist grab us by the hand and lead us out of the woods. On the page, they return for two more novels. As filmgoers, we can only be so lucky as to see Rapace and Nyqvist reprise their roles.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

A film like Hong-Jin’s The Chaser is the exception to the rule for shock-based serial killer films. Speaking as someone who actively avoids most  women-in-peril horror pics, I was relieved to find that this Korean offering manages to unhinge and electrify  its audience without resorting to loathsome or  deviant imagery.

Recently William Monahan and Leonardo DiCaprio have showed interest in an American remake of it. I can see why.

The Chaser creates a believable and incredibly real environment out of the night-time streets of Seoul, and draws the focus not on gruesome torture or misogyny but on a critique of the  justice system in Korea, which allows a  murdering sociopath to go free even after he’s been apprehended by authorities.

At the same time, the film is a captivating and poignant study of a man who has crossed over so many moral and personal boundaries that it requires him coming face-to-face with real and calculating evil to even begin to see his way back home. Best of all, The Chaser works simply as a taut, unrelenting thriller; even when the film’s pace doesn’t match the breakneck speed of the events on screen, it holds us in its dark, chilling spell.

Taking place on the streets of the Mapo district in Seoul, The Chaser follows disgraced cop turned pimp, Joong-Ho, who is lamenting the financial hit his ‘business’ has taken of late; several of the prostitutes working for him have simply never returned. When e sends the sick Mi-Jin(because he has no one else available) out to a john, he realizes too late that the man’s cell number matches the last job each of the missing girls took. Joong-Hi tries to get in touch with Mi-Jin, and when this fails, he sets out after her; at this point, he isn’t so much concerned for her safety as he is fighting to protect his business.

As it turns out, a lot of things aren’t as they seem. Mi-Jin has a daughter that Joong-Ho finds when he goes to her apartment–he never knew she had a child– and when he single-handedly apprehends Young-Min, the john who has been taking his girls, he realizes that the man hasn’t been selling his girls, but murdering them. This means Joong-Ho has placed Mi Jin in harm’s way.

Without giving too much away, the film shifts its focus at just about every half-hour mark. The first 30 minutes  play out as an almost contained thriller with the pimp trying to selfishly defend his employees while taking down the chilling and nonchalant Young-Min, who looks like he would happily murder 70 more if given the chance.  With Young-Min in custody and confessing to the murder of the girls, it looks like an open and shut case. Until of course, bureaucracy gets in the way, and a crap-slinging (literally) protester who targets politicians becomes a higher responsibility than the vile killer.

Although the intensity of Mi-Jin’s predicament invests The Chaser with a horror-movie atmosphere, it is ultimately the slow awakening of Joong-Ho’s humanity that gives the film its emotional impact. This isn’t an easy role or a simple character, and I didnt’ find much to like in the man at first. To be honest, there isnt’ much to like by the end either, but he is in the process of growing and as played by Yun-seok Kim he has a complexity to him I did not expect. Joong-Ho is a slovenly, angry mess at the opening of The Chaser,  bullying the women who work for him and casting a sour eye at the rest of the world. He’s hiding out in a ratty, dingy office with yellowed wallpaper and sputtering flourescent lights. His mind, however, is still sharp and his skills as a detective haven’t dulled.

As soon as the ex-cop sets out to find Mi-Jin, he’s on the road to reconnecting with all he lost. He just doesn’t know it, and of all the things the film over-emphasizes, his gradual redemption isn’t one of them. It happens with little fanfare or posturing but it is meaningful precisely because it isn’t easy for him. There is a bitter truth at the heart of the film; despite his best efforts now, Joong-Ho won’t have come to the end of his journey by simply catching Young-Min or saving Mi-Jin. Over the course of this one angry night, he will be goaded to life by the young girl he’s watching over, haunted by the one he delivered into harm, and provoked by the man who has hidden her away in the bowels of Mapo. There are feelings being stirred that cannot be re-buried, and some time very soon, perhaps even before all this is over, Joong-Ho will have to pay the proverbial Piper. Maybe, there will even be enough of him left afterwards to make good out of it.

In contrast to the character of Joong-Ho, there is Yeong-hie Seo’s chilling performance as Young-Min. The Chaser is such a great film specifically because of his performance. Without him, it wouldn’t be nearly as disturbing or affecting as it ends up  being.  The filmmakers have based Young-Min and his crimes off of the real-life case of  Yoo Young Cheol who murdered 21 people in 2003-04. Killing mostly women and the elderly, Cheol was documented as callous, diabolical and an amoral mastermind.

Yeong-hie Seo takes those characteristics and delves into each one so fully that I do not envy his journey or the places he had to go to achieve such results. Other actors approaching the task of playing a madman employ hand gestures, facial ticks, or other forms of body language to suggest instability or abberration. Whats so completely disarming  about Young-Min is that there isn’t any of that. All of the ‘badness’ can be found in the eyes that stare just a bit too long, or the smilingat all the wrong moments, or the telling way in which he won’t touch anyone unless it’s in the process of physical violence. These are small, near-throwaway details, but there are so many layered on here they form a portrait of disquieting grotesqueness.

Finally, special mention must be made of the director’s work. Hong-jin Na provides an active and living backdrop for the drama and lifts it beyond merely an efficient thriller. He crafts each action piece with the skill of William Friedkin or Alfred Hitchcock and he never lets up. We think we know how the film will run. We assume we see where it is going. Most of the time, I think as viewers we follow the typical rhythms and tropes of filmmaking–especially genre films–and we can anticipate the next move. Thats part of why genres are popular; they are familiar. At some point, The Chaser jumps the ramp of genre and becomes direct, powerful and honest.This is a great film.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Main Feature (1H 58M 37S)

I have seen this film quite a few times and each time I am left with a different overall opinion. I am always left feeling impressed with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter but that I prefer the more openly psychotic portrayal from Brian Cox in Manhunter. Jodie Foster, fresh from her Oscar-winning performance in The Accused, puts in a good performance as the gifted FBI cadet Clarice who finds the strength to overcome her fears. I can’t put my finger on why my opinion on this film has differed so much in the past because watching it again, noticing how each performance fits so well into the picture as a whole, it’s clear to me now that everything is so well balanced. Ted Levine’s performance, as Buffalo Bill, is much ignored in favour of Hopkins and Foster due to a lack of on-screen character development but he did a wonderful job with with such few lines and for me is the equal of Hopkins.

Director Jonathan Demme was an odd choice at the time as his less than glittering career was based on comedies but he stepped up to the plate and when presented with the opportunity to prove his talents he grabbed it with both hands. Demme did a great job but it could be argued that his greatest achievement was working with this cast which had its doubters and getting the most out of them as a team.

It’s little surprise now that this swept the Oscars but at the time no-one expected that from a thriller about serial killers but it’s clear the success is down to the cast and crew pulling together and clicking so well. This stands as one of the most critically acclaimed films based on a novel and is certainly one of the best American psychological horror films of all time.

One of the most important aspects of any psychological thriller or horror is the use of music and this film is blessed with the genius of composer Howard Shore. It is easy to forget that Shore worked on films such as Silence of the Lambs before his work on recent successes such as The Departed, Gangs of New York, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Silence of the Lambs isn’t as violent or gruesome as I remembered but I accept that, being a fan of Takashi Miike, my current threshold on violence might be abnormal. Apart from less than impressive video quality this is still an enjoyable watch and is at least the equal of any psychological thriller in more recent years.

Extras

Deleted Scenes (20M 29S) – Many of these “scenes” aren’t proper scenes at all and consist of only a few seconds here and there. The clips which are longer, a good example is the drawn out Clarice target practice scene, don’t add anything to the story and were understandably removed. The clips are of a really poor quality and there’s a lot of visual and audio distortion.

Out-takes Reel (1M 46S) – The first out-take is quite funny and has the Coroner using up 30 seconds as he struggles to pull on a pair of rubber gloves while trying to maintain a serious expression on his face. There is also a nice moment where Anthony Hopkins does a funny impression of Rocky.

Breaking the Silence (1H 58M 37S) – This is a Standard Definition version of the film interspersed with occasional video of the cast and screenwriter in a picture-in-picture style plus additional facts and figures in text form. This is the closest thing the Blu-ray edition has to a Commentary and I don’t think it works as well due to the gaps between each comment and I’m confused as to why this is SD and not HD. There is one comment I found very interesting and that is when the Screenwriter, Ted Tally, admits that his film version of the “Buffalo Bill” character isn’t as rich as he appears in the book.

Understanding the Madness (19M 35S) – This is a very interesting documentary in which FBI agents describe psychological profiling and how useful such information can be. The agents also go into some detail on real-life serial killers and what aspects of their personality and actions can be found in the Hannibal and Buffalo Bill characters.

Inside the Labyrinth: Making of The Silence of the Lambs (1H 6M 28S) – Is a substantial documentary which is packed full of information and a must-see for fans of the film and anyone interested in the creative side of film-making.

The Silence of the Lambs: Page to Screen (41M 17S) – For one reason or another I’ve not yet read the novel but this documentary makes me want to rush out and purchase it. This gives us an insight into the author Thomas Harris and the level of detail and precision he went into when creating this story.

Scoring the Silence (16M) – Howard Shore talks about his love of film music and the choices he made in order to create the soundtrack for this particular film. Shore comes across as an exceptionally thoughtful composer and his explanations for the choices he made really add to the film as whole.

Original 1991 “Making of” Featurette (8M 7S) – This is a nice extra because it takes you back to an old fashioned style of documentary film-making, complete with trailer style voice-over, found in the Eighties and early Nineties.

TV Spots (5M 55S) – This, similar to the above Featurette, is great because it’s like watching an old VHS tape and reliving all the old trailers complete with some entirely inappropriate Blade Runner and Halloween style music.

Theatrical Trailer (1M 49S) – Once again this is a great addition as it takes you back to a different era in film trailers.

Teaser Trailer (1M 5S) – Like above but shorter, more fast-paced, and minus the voice-over.

Anthony Hopkins Phone Message (34S) – This is a cute little message, from Hopkins as Lecter, which probably won’t be used in reality but is an interesting addition.

Summary

After watching the main feature I wasn’t sure how I felt because while I certainly enjoyed the film the visual quality understandably comes into question when compared with more recent motion pictures filmed in HD.

As this is a review of the Blu-ray edition and not merely of the main feature I reserved my judgement until I had viewed the extra features and I must say that the quality of the documentaries alone are enough to earn this Blu-ray top marks.

Rating *****

When you first saw the trailer for John Avnet’s introspective buddy cop film Righteous Kill, did you honestly hope for fantastic dialogue, an award-winning plot, and heart-pounding action scenes? Probably not, and for that reason alone it had almost no chance of failing. It successfully delivers exactly what it promises – a movie starring De Niro and Pacino, even if we had to wait for the twilight of their careers to see it.

It’s been 13 years since these two giants shared a few short scenes in Heat, and another 11 years before that since they both appeared in The Godfather: Part II, in which they never shared a scene at all.  To see them side by side for an entire feature could be the main reason you were interested in Righteous Kill.

There are few scenes that don’t feature Turk (De Niro) and Rooster (Pacino). two old cops who crack jokes as they kick asses and try to solve crimes. Interestingly, they aren’t portrayed as fantastic cops or great detectives, just seasoned veterans who’ve been together forever.

When the two maverick cops watch a child-murderer go free, Turk forms a plan to put the criminal away for good. While Rooster initially tries to dissuade him from the crusade, he keeps his partner’s secret for years.

At this point, things get complicated (for the viewer even more than the characters). Turk and Rooster are on a case of a serial killer who leaves poetry at his victims’ crime scenes. The victims are all criminals, and Detectives Perez (John Leguizamo) and Riley (Donnie Wahlberg) are convinced that only a cop would have access to them all, and they take their suspicions to Lieutenant Hingis (Brian Dennehy).

Meanwhile, Officer Corelli (Carla Gugino), Turk’s masochistic girlfriend, is becoming more and more curious about what’s really happening. And all of these scenes in the present are constantly interrupted by non-sequential scenes of Turk, in a black and white video, confessing to the serial killings and explaining why they were necessary.

The movie resembles Lethal Weapon and Showtime’s Dexter combined in strange harmony. A buddy cop movie that vaguely poses some philosophical questions about the nature of right and wrong.  And there’s potential for a great, out of the ordinary story that showcases those kind of questions. Instead, it wraps up with a safe but tired gimmick that threatens to rip the story apart.

In the end, you won’t stay in your seat for dialogue like, “you pick up a check sometime and then I’ll believe in miracles” or for action that’s made up of a few people being shot.  You might even get annoyed or frustrated by the long, complicated road the storyline takes or the clichés it visits along the way.

But if the reason you’re going to see Righteous Kill is because it stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, well, it does. Have fun.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

Plot Synopsis: FBI agent Jennifer Marsh is tasked with hunting down a serial killer who posts images of his victims on the Internet. As time runs out the cat and mouse chase becomes more personal.

Personally I am a huge fan of Diane Lane, and not just due to her being a hottie!!! Looking forward to seeing this. Most likely a DVD rental though