A waste of good suffering

HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II (1988)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

There is pain and then there is pleasure. "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" is damn near unwatchable, a painfully boring, torpid mess of a movie. It appears to be assembled from other parts of better films adding up to nothing but a pain in your butt from having to sit through it.

We have a brief recap of the original film followed by a sequence where we learn about Pinhead's origins. Apparently, Pinhead (Doug Bradley) was a World War II soldier who discovered the magic box, known as the Lament Configuration, and inadvertently opened a portal to Hell where nails are driven through his head and, presto, he becomes Pinhead. This brief section of the film works best.

But "Hellbound" begins a few hours after the original where we observe Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) in some mental hospital declaring she is not crazy. She is eager to save her father's soul, which is trapped in Hell, but she has to get through Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman), her crazed uncle, and Julia Cotton (Claire Higgins) who is reanimated by a truly insane doctor who wants to take a peek at Hell. The rest of the movie follows Kirsty entering one dusty passageway after another. Hell turns out to be a labyrinth but there is little in it that looks the least bit pleasing to the eyes. I half suspected Kirsty to yawn at all these supposedly remarkable sights.

And that is it folks. There is Kirsty running from one passageway to another with a blond female mute in tow, with Kirsty screaming and hollering at every turn. Pinhead and fellow Cenobites show up briefly and disappear. There is some of the sexual tension of the original but nothing too dramatic ever occurs. In the original film, there was a real sense of fear, particularly when confronting the Cenobites. Kirsty faces Pinhead again but, this time, a little negotiating and bantering is all it takes to escape. Who are the filmmakers kidding? And whatever happened to Kirsty's boyfriend from the original who only gets a passing mention?

"Hellbound: Hellraiser II" is a frenetic, gore-laden freak show that leads nowhere. If you are a fan of the original, you might follow what's happening and understand who some of the recurring characters are and their motivations. Several sequels followed but it all seems like such a waste of good suffering.

Jesus wept at Pinhead

HELLRAISER (1987)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Despite flaws in its narrative and some undernourished characters, "Hellraiser" is one of the most provocative, intriguing horror films in many years. It has incredible images one may not soon forget and a dark, ugly feeling of dread that most horror movies hardly capture, if ever. In a sense, this is a true Gothic sadomasochistic delight that will twist your stomach into knots and give you bad dreams for a long time.

Larry Cotton (Andrew Robinson) and Julia Cotton (Claire Higgins) move into an old house that Larry inherited from the "old lady." The house seems frightening and ominous enough, complete with religious artifacts, statues and a kitchen full of scraps eaten away by maggots (though there are not as many exterior shots as one would like, there is a feeling of menace in the interior shots). Larry likes the house and Julia seems hesistant to move in but decides to settle for it ("I suppose it is better than Brooklyn.") It turns out that Larry's estranged brother, Frank (Sean Chapman), had been living in the house conducting himself with some mysterious magic box. Meanwhile, Frank's daughter, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), has moved into the area and loves her father yet has a troubling relationship with his new bride. Not quite a functional family but close enough until we discover Julia's secret love affair with Frank in beautifully executed flashbacks.

The magic box, known in later sequels and in the Clive Barker book as the Lament Configuration, is a gateway to Hell and a means of summoning the Cenobites who provide pain as pleasure by wielding chains and piercing several parts of one's skin. The Lead Cenobite (Doug Bradley), later nicknamed Pinhead in the countless sequels, introduces his hapless victims to the boundaries of pleasure and pain. They look like dead punk rock musicians wearing leather garb with several bloody piercings. Pinhead wears what looks like nails on his head. One other Cenobite has chattering teeth. Another one wears sunglasses and appears to be heavyset. They are essentially demons, or as the lead Cenobite says, "Demons to some. Angels to others."

"Hellraiser" has many surprises in store but its constant bloodletting may put off many audience members. This is, however, not the kind of gross-out extravaganza built on gore for the sheer pleasure of shock value (even Pinhead would agree with that). Clive Barker, who wrote and directed the film from his own book "The Hellbound Heart," has crafted a witty, disturbingly heightened sense of reality with his own look at family values in the face of unimaginable horror. It is what the human characters do that scares more than the brief appearance of the Cenobites.

One vivid characterization is Julia Cotton (exceedingly well-played by Claire Higgins), a sensual, cold, aloof, sympathetic, murderous vixen who is shown in flashbacks to be quite the innocent, virginal type. Julia mistakenly reanimates Frank Cotton, who had escaped from the Cenobites and needs human flesh to be in human form again. Julia does his bidding, he is her former lover after all, and picks up men at various restaurants and bars to be used as flesh for Frank. Julia at first resists and is frightened by what she does but then she grows accustomed to it. The naive Larry and the suspicious Kirsty are unaware of what lies in the floorboards of the attic (it makes you wonder why they do not use it for storage space but never mind). Julia remains the scariest character in the film - if she had been in a film noir story as a seductress, she would fit the bill brilliantly.

My main quibble is that "Hellraiser" never places as much emphasis on characters such as Larry and Kirsty. Julia's character remains the most full-bodied but Larry is only shown in truncated form - one of his few good scenes is where he relishes a boxing match with glee while Julia merely is transfixed by it. Kirsty appears more as the latest in the "Friday the 13th"-teenage-screamer leads but she is effective enough in her confrontations with the Cenobites and crawling monsters in hidden passageways. I would have loved more scenes between Kirsty and Julia - one scene almost suggests that Julia is ready to use Kirsty as flesh food for Frank. Seeing Kirsty running around from monsters and screaming can get on one's nerves but, as played by Ashley Laurence, she is a sympathetic, strong-willed heroine. Who can hate someone that tells the Cenobites to go to hell? I suppose a good horror movie can't have everything but obviously Clive Barker is aiming for more than an average slasher flick, which this decidely is not. But its characters are fascinating enough to have expected so much more.

The ending of the film is a bit anticlimactic but the scene where Frank, using his brother's skin as cover, is chained up by the Cenobites where he utters the film's most famous line captures the film's theme of pain and pleasure in all its glory. "Hellraiser" is not a great film but it is good enough to be rendered a classic in the horror canon. You may get more pain than pleasure from watching it but it has an undeniable sense of fright and terror.

Yoda watches Night of the Living Dead

GHOST CHASE (1987)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

There is nothing worse than seeing an old 1980's flick with precisely all the elements of bad 1980's flicks. Bad hair days, bad music synthesizer sounds (there were some good ones back then, like the Axel Foley and  Fletch scores), an old-hat plot that Sherlock Holmes and the Hardy Boys would've figured out in ten minutes, a Yoda-like creature with a British accent, a clumsy German spy and excessively hammy acting. I am talking about a forgotten curio from 1987 called "Ghost Chase." 

This is an early effort by Roland Emmerich who went on to do so-so movies and truly horrendous blockbuster remakes - "Godzilla" anyone? Jason Lively plays an actor of extremely low-budget slasher films who discovers he is entitled to an inheritance. Only problem is that the inheritance is actually a grandfather clock but something odd happens - the clock is inhabited by the ghost of a former butler who has firsthand knowledge of valuable cash bonds that are kept in the walled-in section of a basement in an old mansion. It also turns out that a greedy movie executive (Paul Gleason) is very interested in the location of those cash bonds.

The ghost of the butler looks like Yoda, and manages to manifest itself in a puppet that looks just like him. This is odd because neither looks remotely human, hence the Yoda reference. Jason Lively tries his damnedest to make his character appealing, as does the bright shining star of Jill Whitlow as the actress/waitress. "Night of the Creeps" fans will delight in seeing these two again, but it ain't worth the trouble (just watch "Night of the Creeps" again). Neither is the film director, puppet maker and horror movie buff named Fred (Tim McDaniel) - an insufferably whining kid who makes film in-jokes every few minutes in the midst of jeopardy. Speaking of in-jokes, why do movies that show clips from other movies always show them out of order? When Master Yoda watches "Night of the Living Dead" through a projector, you'll see what I mean.

Unless you are the most devoted Jill Whitlow fan on earth, any VHS and DVD copies of "Ghost Chase" belong deep, deep underground.

Give 'Em Hope Katniss

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is a potent, energized, super sleek and far more solemn sequel than the original - a darkening of the saga has begun. It is far more political though no less emotional than the powerhouse original. The stakes are still high in the Katniss Everdeen character yet the movie, as a whole, leaves you wanting more - maybe because one more book follows and I can only imagine where this fascinating dystopian tale leads. 

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) resides in District 12 after winning the 74th Hunger Games, but a sadness persists in her. She is a victor for having killed various tributes in those violent games, and she lost a friend, Rue from District 11, an allying tribute. The other victor is Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) who is Katniss's friend whom she cares for, yet she also has feelings for Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), who now works in the mines. Trouble is afoot when President Snow (Donald Sutherland), the president of the Capitol, insists that Katniss and Peeta makes appearances, show their support for each other by getting engaged and utter banal dialogue to the districts who know better - they know Katniss is their rebel-in-the-making. All this leads to Snow announcing a special Hunger Games, the Third Quarter Quell, where selective tributes from previous Games will once again fight to the death. Katniss is in and Peeta volunteers, though Haymitch (the heroes' mentor) is initially picked (still played with quirky humor by Woody Harrelson). If none of this makes any sense to you and if are unsure who Cinna is, or Rue or what the hell the Hunger Games are or what the Capitol stands for, watch the original film or read the first book, still a startlingly suspenseful, fast-paced book by Suzanne Collins.

"Catching Fire" never falls out of step or loses our connection to the characters, many of whom bring a lot of emotional baggage. Like Gary Ross' original film adaptation, "Catching Fire" is short on spectacle and CGI effects and long on story, political maneuvering and a dystopian society that is separated from the Capitol. The Games are just as vivid and tantalizing as they were before but the strategies have changed (though I would not reveal how they changed). Just as tantalizing is watching Philip Seymour Hoffman as the new gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (I love these names, maybe Plutarch is a play on the word plutocracy?), who wants to kill Katniss, and his conversation with Snow over how to handle the growing rebellion - two powerful men who convey malice with words. I also love the attachment that Katniss has to previously killed tributes and her attachment to Peeta and Gale - two men who deeply love her and want her to succeed. 

Jennifer Lawrence, an actress slowly becoming something of an institution, makes Katniss a sympathetic heroine - someone who has not lost sight of her impoverished roots. She wants to help the people of District 12 and others but she is unsure of how to do it. Lawrence has a special gift, as shown in radically different roles such as "Silver Linings Playbook," of making us cling to her and share the intimacy and connection she has to her characters. Katniss Everdeen is on her way to becoming instrumental in the rebellion and spreading hope - her last scene is a stunning transformation of a disheveled girl on fire into a woman that may lead an uprising.

A few characters, that is certain tributes, are tossed aside rather abruptly in the Games. Although I only started reading the book, I wanted to see more of the tribute with specialized teeth that can tear flesh. Amanda Plummer plays one other tribute who is not given much screen time. Still, newcomers such as Jenna Malone's intensely manic Johanna and Sam Claflin as the arrogant Finnick lend much gravitas to the proceedings. 

A fine cast that fills their roles with precision and tact, not to mention superb special-effects (the poisonous fog is an indelible image) and stunning production design, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is clearly a labor of love for all involved. I can't wait to see Katniss shoot and score more direct hits with the next two installments. She gives me hope. 

Recycling Daniel LaRusso

THE KARATE KID, PART III (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

If the then 27-year-old Ralph Macchio could no longer convince the audience he was the 17-year-old Daniel, the Brooklyn kid who could kick with the flair of a praying mantis, in the regrettably awful and crudely entertaining 1989 sequel, "The Karate Kid Part III," then what was left except sheer boredom? Amazingly, this latest chapter is not boring at all, but it is so sloppily written and acted in such a ham-handed way that it is almost impossible not to laugh.

Daniel LaRusso is back in L.A. from Okinawa with his mentor and friend, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), and is about to start college. Instead of an education, though, he takes his tuition money and helps Miyagi build his lifelong dream, a bonsai tree shop! Daniel is also interested in defending his title at the tournament he won against the drained and practically soused Kreese (Martin Kove) and his Cobra Kai school of karate thugs. Miyagi says no, and eventually Daniel concedes. But not before virtually bankrupt Kreese decides to go after the Karate Kid and his teacher with the help of a millionaire buddy, Terry (Thomas Ian Griffith), who has a magnificent home, dutiful servants, a profitable business involving dumping toxic waste, and is a hell of a martial artist. Terry is not about to let his old war buddy down, so he recruits the new karate "badboy" in tournaments, played by Sean Kanan (who was in a different kind of good/bad movie called "Rich Girl"). Terry's intention is to get the badboy to force Daniel to fight in a tournament, thus leading Terry to befriend, train and fool the blindsided and terminally stupid Daniel.

Let's face it: the "Karate Kid" movies were never truly believable. The first film had some ounce of credibility but what made it sing was the developing relationship between Daniel and the Zen-like master Miyagi (not to mention a sweet, credible romance between Macchio and Elisabeth Shue). The second film was merely a dull rehash without much else to recommend it except some beautiful locations. This movie is a recycled joke that merely recycles the airy dynamics of the first two movies. The exception is that Daniel no longer resembles the character Macchio created in the first film - he is a refrigerated replica of the smart-ass Daniel from Brooklyn. Miyagi is about the same, though there could have been some attempt to enhance his character and his origins. Daniel, though, is the one who hasn't learned anything from his master - he does, then he doesn't, and then he realizes his mistakes all too late in the game. The character in the original would never have fallen victim to the charms of Terry or his violent philosophies. And, for the first time, Daniel is such a sweet, sensible teenager that he befriends rather than dates the Cute Leading Girl (Robyn Lively). At least one honest trait remains in Daniel - he tries to apologize to a kid whose nose he broke.

Despite such glaring flaws, including the increasing stupidity of the main character, "Karate Kid Part III" is a fun bad movie, something that acts as sincere as an episode of Nickelodeon. It is hard to say what makes it so watchable despite the fact that nothing in it works. It is the kind of bad movie where Daniel is stuck in an unreachable pit at the bottom of a mountain, thanks to the bad guys who stole the suspension ropes, and all Daniel-son can say is (paraphrasing), "You suck man!" You get the idea.

Judas Priest! The kid can play

42 (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Jackie Robinson's story was once told with the real Jackie himself in a rousing 1950 picture called The Jackie Robinson Story. 63 years later, Hollywood tries to do it again and with improved results. "42" is an equally rousing and often powerful film dealing with the first black baseball player to play in an all-white baseball team.

Chadwick Boseman is the enigmatic Jackie, playing for the Negro Leagues before being inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers in the late 1940's. Cigar-chomping Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford, in his most colorful, dazzling performance to date), the Dodgers' general manager, takes a chance on a rookie whom Rickey knows will make history. Rickey has a talk with Jackie, telling him that racist language is likely to be thrown at him from every white player. Rickey has a simple stipulation: Jackie has to restrain from fighting back and take the verbal abuse.

Verbal and physical abuse is in store for Jackie Robinson. I am not talking "Passion of the Jackie" here but an opposing team player does stab Jackie in the foot at one point. Mostly, when Jackie steps to the plate, a lot of hollering and boos from the stands takes center stage. The difference is that Jackie is a hell of a baseball player - he can hit home runs and he runs like a jackrabbit, stealing bases with ease. He taunts the pitchers, egging them with his "superhuman" athletic abilities. The audience of jeering patrons is stunned (also stunning is seeing how blacks sat at one end of the stadium, while the whites sat on the other though that does change in different states where Jackie's wife can sit comfortably among whites).

As written and directed by Brian Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential"), I do wish the film focused on other aspects of Jackie Robinson. In this film, he is presented as a hotheaded rebel, a far cry from the 1950 version of yesteryear, but there is not much else beyond being a good baseball player and a good husband to his wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie). Only one scene shows Rachel's own recognition of racism and how it divided everyone - the ladies' bathroom for whites only. At the beginning of the film, Jackie also expresses disgust when a gas station owner doesn't let him use the bathroom at all. Mostly, Helgeland is more focused on Jackie's complex relationship with Rickey, and the dynamics of playing off and on the field. Most brutal scene is when the Philadelphia Phillies’ racist manager Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk), shouts an endless barrage of racist insults. It is so bad that Jackie has to run off the field and smash his bat to smithereens. Even more telling is seeing how Jackie's teammates are alarmed as well.

These aspects of Jackie Robinson are shown to great and powerful effect - it moves you and you can't help but sympathize. Another less obvious angle is the portrayal of Wendell Smith (Andre Holland), a black sports writer/Jackie's driver who had to type his sports column in the stands with the audience - no black sports writers were allowed in the booths. It is essential that Jackie break down all barriers to allow Wendell a chance as well as other black baseball players to integrate with the whites.

"42" is largely an entertaining, old-fashioned sports picture painting an ugly portrait of racism - it is as if Jackie's abilities on the field were the precursor to the Civil Rights era. As I had mentioned, these elements are handled as well as expected, particularly a scene where a young kid mimics his father's racist tirade only to then realize that something is aflutter. But the movie doesn't see Jackie as anything other than an icon - the screenplay displays the character's justifiable anger when necessary but otherwise he keeps his cool. Chadwick Boseman does keep the character lively enough with a sense of humor - he is forthright and knows when to display mischief and smiles and angry looks to keep us wondering if he, just once, might lose his cool. The tension is blatant and keep us on edge and Boseman is too good an actor to make us think we are looking at a statue. I just wish there was more insight into the man himself.

Acid-tongued Office Space

IN THE COMPANY OF MEN (1997)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
(Originally reviewed in 1997)

Men and women are likely (and understandably) to be disturbed by the acidly amusing and intoxicating "In the Company of Men," a new film about how pernicious and hateful men are towards women, and men. The film is a devilish surprise: a morbidly comical and terrifyingly real expose on what happens between men and women in today's society.

Newcomer Aaron Eckhart (resembling a young Harrison Ford) stars as Chad, a malignant office worker who continually shares his hateful views on other workers and women to his bumbling colleague, Howard (Matt Malloy). Chad hates everyone, hates his job and especially hates women. One night at a restaurant, Chad proposes an idea to Howard: they will find an insecure, sweet woman whom they will woo and then dump with a major thud. The idea is that they must be complicit in their wounding an innocent woman, which leaves Howard unsure whether to proceed with such a plan. Chad finds the right victim - a fragile, deaf secretary named Christine (Stacy Edwards). Chad's only objective in this game is to inflict emotional injury by only pretending to love Christine. Howard, however, really starts to develop feelings for her, and feels that this game is immoral.

There are many ways in which "In the Company of Men" makes us see how complex this triad is. Chad is eminently lethal and hateful whereas Howard is more caring and has some shred of humanity. The film doesn't make Christine a complete saint, though, considering she dates both men simultaneously until Chad tells her he really loves her. Essentially, Christine dumps Howard for Chad. Then Howard becomes envious and feels he has to do something to prevent this false union. But does Howard suddenly care because she's deaf, or because he loves her? And is Chad really doing more damage to Howard than to Christine?

"In the Company of Men" is both darkly comic and scathingly serious in its treatment of a curious subject - it is written by first-time writer-director Neil LaBute, and at times, you won't know whether to laugh or cringe. A major reason for this imbalance is the depiction of its characters who are acutely performed by all three leads: Eckhart is brilliantly effective as the insulting and obnoxious Chad; Matt Malloy makes Howard as pathetic and cumbersome as you can imagine; and Stacy Edwards is a revelation as the flattered Christine unaware of her doomed relationship with Chad; she projects sympathy and heedfulness.

"In the Company of Men" is a film you're not likely to forget and shouldn't - it is profound, shrewdly written and masterfully directed. LaBute composes this world in bland, colorless ways such as the anonymous offices; the employees dressed in white shirts; the dreary cafes, restaurants and rental cars; and roofs that seem to offer no discernible view. What will stay with you, though, is Chad's malice thereby evoking the most uncommon and complex behavioral portrait of the year.