Short Attention Span Review - Primal (2019)

Short Attention Span Review - Primal (2019)

Primal is based on a script that has been around since the 90s.  Often, with a film of this sort, that seems like a blessing, because there are elements of this picture that would clearly benefit from what the special effects community is capable of these days.  Well, about that . . . maybe this one would have been better off being filmed in the 90s.  Or the 80s.  Hell, maybe even the 70s.  What really limits Primal are the dodgy effects (the CGI is roughly equivalent to Playstation 2 graphics) and the abysmal picture quality.  I would blame the film stock, but I'm pretty sure film wasn't in the budget.  Think we're seeing the work of cheap digital cameras here.  So, we have a picture that really needs quality effects (among the most pertinent elements of the screenplay are a massive albino jaguar, deadly vipers, and a host of jungle critters running amok on a boat) that fails in that regard.  And this movie boasts the same picture quality you might see on local access television.  And we have Nicolas Cage, who looks a bit rough around the edges, and falls well short of the Nicolas Cage who made Mandy one of 2018's biggest surprises.  Yet this isn't exactly "phone it in" Nicolas Cage, as he does show some gusto, and throws himself into the physical elements of the movie.  And Kevin Durand fully embraces his role as the heavy, chewing scenery with glee when he isn't beating the shit out of Cage's dubious hero.  Famke Janssen is also on hand to look awful* and fall for Cage's arrogant and derisive big game hunter as he endangers everyone on the ship with a bevy of treacherous animals he is smuggling across the sea.  So, this all sounds pretty bad, I imagine, and it is.  Oh boy, it is.  And it's also a lot of fun if you like a good B movie.  Scratch that--it's also a lot of fun if you like a bad B movie.  Despite the shitty look of the piece and the lousy effects, the movie seldom slows down, and it is frequently gruesome.  There are some good scraps, some decent lines, and even a few morbid laughs along the way.  There are also cliches to spare, but that's part of the fun in a B movie that feels like Under Siege's long-lost bastard child by way of the Syfy Channel.  You know what?  Here's the short version: it's kinda awful, but I liked it.

*I feel bad pointing this out, but it is impossible to overlook.  Part of me thinks Cage was enough of a  gentleman to go on a bender and put on a few pounds just to make poor Famke feel more comfortable on set.

Final Grade: C+

Sometimes a bad Nicolas Cage movie is just a bad movie, but this is one of those bad Nicolas Cage movies that is most certainly a good bad movie.

Short Attention Span Review: Mandy (2018)

Short Attention Span Review: Mandy (2018)

Mandy is a showstopper, no doubt about it.  It's also a tough watch on a few levels.  I would say that 75% of the movie-going public will hate it for one reason or another.  Many will not survive the deliberate and ominous first act.  Many will be unable to handle the hardcore violence that becomes more and more prominent as the film progresses.  Others won't like the trippy aspects of the show, and then there are those who won't be able to handle batshit crazy Nicolas Cage.  In all honesty, I found all of these elements to be strengths, with only the deliberate pacing of the first reel threatening to spoil my enjoyment.  I like a slow burn, but that opening pushes the concept to its very limits.  Thankfully, once things ramped up, I found myself in cult classic heaven--or I guess cult classic hell would be more like it in this case.  I'm also not opposed to trippy flicks when they work, and I think that Mandy remains coherent while also emerging as perhaps the trippiest picture I've ever enjoyed.  The violence is a welcome payoff after that subdued opening, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the choreography on display.  All too often, filmmakers who take a deliberate approach to their craft have a hard time dishing out thrills when it's time to start cooking.  That was not the case here, and Panos Cosmatos surely honored his father's legacy with a handful of visceral confrontations and some badass imagery.  Finally, while the script and direction are both solid but flawed, the hype surrounding Nicolas Cage's performance in Mandy is absolutely warranted.  He never falters, offering up an authoritative and nuanced portrayal of a quest for vengeance like no other.  Cage has often been praised as an actor of talent, yet he has also garnered a reputation for going gleefully over-the-top and perhaps even sabotaging his work with a lack of restraint.  I have seen (and enjoyed) both flavors of Cage, but this may the first time that I've seen the two occupy the same space.  It is impossible to imagine anyone else playing this part, and even when the picture is moving a bit too slow or exploding into surreal territory that mercilessly stretches the very bounds of credibility--even as it relates to a gonzo horror film set in alternate universe--it is Cage's passion and skill that holds the viewer's attention.  No bullshit, I would nominate him for an Oscar if I could.  But I can't, and the Oscars are bullshit anyway.  Mandy, on the other hand, is totally legitimate.

Final Grade: B+

Cosmatos does some amazing things with his direction, but occassionally falters.  His star, however, is at the top of his game throughout.  Could this be Cage's finest hour?  That's certainly a possibility.