Fried Barry
SimilarA.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), Minority Report (2002), Strange Days (1995), Wonder Boys (2000),
There’s something both modern and curiously quaint about Fried Barry. It’s very slick and glossy looking (while also still dark and grimy at the same time), but its dedication to pushing the envelope with graphic sex and violence feels like a product of the 90s, when indie filmmakers were all trying to become the next Tarantino. Fried Barry tries for a lot of things--science fiction, comedy, body horror, etc.--while also assaulting the viewer’s senses with a throbbing electro soundtrack and frenetic imagery. The primary reason it works (mostly) is its star, who adds some unexpected humanity to a thoroughly loathsome character. Continue Reading →
Twixt
Pulsating at the heart of Twixt are pains all too familiar to legendary writer-director Francis Ford Coppola. Third-string horror novelist Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer), the “bargain-basement Stephen King,” arrives for a book signing in the town of Swann Valley, where, unappreciated and unable to overcome a case of writer’s block, he’s forced to confront his insignificance, his sullied legacy, and the feeling that he has nothing valuable left to say or give. Continue Reading →
Se7en
Director David Fincher’s movies are generally fascinated with creating a mythos around his characters that then breeds an egotistical obsession of oneself. It’s no wonder famous people like Mark Zuckerberg, Orson Welles, and the Zodiac Killer became points of fascination for him. He is also fascinated by propaganda and engages in it a bit himself. Continue Reading →