I'm Still Here

Oh Joaquin. I am not simply a lover of movies but also of pop culture as a whole, so when Joaquin Phoenix's first "rap" performance appeared via cellphone camera online...well, I laughed hard and shook my head. Around the same time word was spreading that Casey Affleck was filming a documentary about Phoenix's foray into the rap world. (Another one of my favorite posters this year)



I hoped it was real and not all an act. Especially when this happened around the 2:50 mark...



Im Still Here follows Phoenix as he decides to abandon acting and make a rap album with Sean Diddy Combs as his producer. Unfortunately his spiral into a music career, drugs and what seems like losing his sanity all turned out to be an act and I was thoroughly disappointed. Not that I would wish anyone to go a little crazy but it would have been a lot more fun watching a train wreck than an act, that being said Phoenix did do a good job in what could be called a character piece as he and Affleck explore the notion of celebrity, consumer and what effects they can have on the celebrity themselves. There are some funny moments and some sad, and definitely some that make you roll your eyes in a "are they serious?" fashion. I could have lived my life without seeing this movie but I'm not screaming to have that time back either.

Im Still Here
Released 2010
Directed By Casey Affleck

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

This poster is one of my favorites from the last few years as is the documentary itself. I saw it awhile back but recently showed it to my family on a visit home for the holidays, they were as blown away as I was which is saying a lot for them. Aside from the artwork I had not heard anything about it and checked it out on a whim, in the beginning it seems like a sappy story about a guy who died and his best friend interviewing friends and family so that his infant son can "know" him. But that is far from what this movie is really about, we soon learn that baby Zachary's father was murdered by his psychotic ex girlfriend right before she discovers shes pregnant with Zachary. The filmmaker makes his way around the country interviewing but also unfolding a story of murder, a failed justice system and a families love for a child that is so strong they pack up their lives and move to Canada to fight for custody and reform the judicial system.

Dear Zachary: a Letter to a Son About His Father
Released 2008
Directed By Kurt Kuenne

I Spit On Your Grave: Unrated (Remake)

In 1978 director Meir Zarchi brought the world the original "I Spit On Your Grave a.k.a Day of the Woman", and the world banned it in five countries from even being released. This movie is an expression of the most diseased and perverted darker human natures", wrote Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun Times. "I walked out of the theater quickly, feeling unclean, ashamed and depressed." When I saw the first trailer for the remake my first thought was "I can't believe they are remaking this movie...and why?"

I Spit On Your Grave has a very straight forward plot, author Jennifer Hills rents a secluded cabin to write her new novel. Shortly after arriving a group of the surrounding towns degenerates inflict brutal torture and rape on her and leave her for dead. Fortunately for us she is not dead and returns to unleash revenge on the men one by one. At the time of its release it raised a great deal of outrage from churches, potential viewers, critics and feminist. I would say the times have changes significantly considering I saw this after a college professor suggested I do so to get inspiration for my senior thesis. It was hard to watch for a few reasons, the brutal nature of the plot of course but also because its an older low budget film so it is slow paced and as a twenty something of the bloody torture horror generation this almost doesnt compare to what we see now. Its the kind of movie you have to think about when you watch it, put yourself in the time period it was made in order to understand why this film is such a big deal.

Friends are still outraged and turned off when I talk about exploitation films because they only see the violence against women aspect but fail to see the female heroin side of the story as well. A huge point of most of these kinds of movies is the female empowerment that results from these horrifying acts. Tell me that at the end of Tarantino's "Death Proof" you did not feel some sort of "YEAH!" for these girls that just kicked the piss out of a guy who previously killed three defenseless women? I Spit On Your Grave and other films like this are doing the same thing but in a more hardcore sort of way. As far as the remake goes, it was a bit more unnerving than the original for me probably because its set in my time and there was a bit more realness that could be applied to it. The rape scenes are very hard to watch and at a certain point I started feeling like maybe this is going a little long, but I think thats what the director wanted, and to say her revenge was satisfying to watch is an understatement. It was pretty awesome, each one tying into what they had inflicted on her. I Spit On Your Grave is not for everyone, especially the faint of heart but worth seeing if you can appreciate exploitation films and want to see an updated but pretty true to the original versions of a classic.

I spit On Your Grave
Released 2010
Directed By Steven R. Monroe

Holy Rollers

Since I was a kid I always had a fascination with Hasidim, now I live in a city and area that serves as a mecca for many hasidic families from around the world. The garb, the germanic sounds of yiddish, the sea of sukkahs perched out from apartment buildings around Williamsburg have me wondering what is happening on the inside of this community. Its very rare that you can catch any sort of glimpse as to what is going on behind closed doors, to my knowledge there is only one documentary, "A Life Apart" which is actually pretty great but very outdated. Throughout the years there's been few well known controversies that have come out of the hasidic community but one of the biggest has to do with the introduction of ecstasy to the United States.

"Holy Rollers" is based on a true story, taking place during the nineties, hasidic jews from Brooklyn were recruited as drug mules to smuggle in ecstasy tablets from Amsterdam. Each person was paid roughly $1,500 and given a free trip to Europe in order to do this job, what young sheltered individual that will soon be providing for a family would want to pass that up? Especially when you are told you are merely transporting medicine or diamonds. The film follows Sam Gold a young hasidic man who is not content with his current life and profession. He is approached by his neighbor who claims to work in pharmaceuticals and offers him the chance to join him in traveling and making money. Even after he finds out what is really going on he goes further down the rabbit hole in a quest for happiness and independence. One of my favorite scenes seen above was did not use extras, instead they shot down a street in a hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn capturing the true reactions of people walking by which gives a true sense of what it is like to be ostracized amongst this community.

I really enjoyed "Holy Rollers", Jesse Eisenberg sort of plays the same character we know him to be, shy, timid, quiet. But also exhibits desperation and characteristics of being a lost individual. Actress Ari Graynor really won me over as well, I have seen her here and there in a couple of things but she has a charm and realness to her that should be appreciated, but she was also able to give us a glimpse of what it is like to be one of those people who seem to be in control but really are just as lost and looking for something like the rest of us. Joseph Zimmerman does a good job of playing Sam's self absorbed neighbor and douche bag who is quickly spiraling out of control as well. Im a sucker for a movie based on true intense events and this was very satisfying. Click here for more info on the Hasidic Ecstasy Ring

Holy Rollers
Released 2010
Directed By Kevin Asch

Human Centipede (First Sequence)

First off, I did not think this concept was that awful. Maybe I've seen too many weird and outlandish movies at this point but this was not shocking to me really at all. Every time this movie came up in conversation it was always prefaced with "Oh my God have you heard about Human Centipede?!" or ended with "Eww thats so disgusting and fucked up". Newsflash guys, thats the point. This film was not made to be mainstream, it was not made to make you scared of bumps in the night, it was made for you to say "whoa that was fucked up!" at the end. The acting is not amazing and nor is the dialogue yet again, not the point. It got people talking and generated its own buzz without doing anything, hell it was only showing at our tiny IFC in the west village with few showings, but most of my friends (most of which are not into movies like I am) heard about it at the least.


Human Centipede is a Dutch horror film that takes place in Germany where three tourists are kidnapped by a psychotic Dr.Heiter who has devised a plan to create a new "pet", which consists of sewing three humans together "mouth to rectum" and redirecting their digestive tracks to work as one, thus dubbing it the human centipede. Does it sound a little gross? Sure ok yeah by traditional squeamish standards. Did I personally find it that disgusting and horrifying? No, not really. Maybe it is because this concept is somewhat so outlandish that it's hard putting myself in these characters shoes or on their hand and knees to be more accurate. I think in most horror movies we imagine ourselves in the positions of the characters or at least are seeing situations we know could potentially effect us, for me this just isn't one of them and trust me I am well aware of the insane people there are in this world that are fully capable of making this plot a reality. The surgical scenes and dreaded "someone is going to have to go to the bathroom eventually" scene weren't that graphic to me and I feel that other human torture movies like Hostel or I Spit On Your Grave cause more of an uncomfortable feeling than this movie did. It's all really about shock value and one of those things you feel you just have to see to see and if you're interested there is a sequel coming titled "Human Centipede (Full Sequence) aka "The Human Millipede".

Human Centipede
Released 2010
Directed by Tom Six