“Only God Forgives”
It was hard for me to select just one film to pick as my most anticipated of the summer. With major releases like Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel, I actually found myself looking most forward to a smaller film being released.
Only God Forgives, due out July 19, is the reteaming of Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn with its star Ryan Gosling. I was a huge fan of Drive – an art house noir that took me by surprise. While I’m sure many were stung by Drive (as it was woefully and wrongfully marketed as a brainless action movie), I thought it was a masterful exercise in drama, suspense and artistic violence.
I hope this next film is on the same level. This time Gosling is in the role of a drug smuggler in Bangkok, Thailand. After his brother is murdered, his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) pressures him to go on a vengeance-seeking mission.
When I saw the trailer for this film, everything appealed to me – the neon red color palette, the lack of dialogue and the sheer vagueness of the events that transpire. It does everything a good trailer should, but most seldom, do. It excites, but unlike how most trailers now, it is not the SparkNotes version of the movie.
Ryan Gosling is on the fast-track to becoming the biggest star in the world, and an even greater actor. From what I understand, after this movie he’ll be appearing in auteur director Terrence Malick’s next, currently untitled film. Then Gosling is taking a break. That makes this film all the more important, to my mind. If there’s going to be a lack of Ryan Gosling for a while, I need to get my fix. He’s the best actor out there at the present moment.
I wonder though, if this film will be more like Drive or some of Refn’s other works. Don’t get me wrong; I like most of the Refn films that I’ve seen, but they aren’t always the most…shall we say…pleasant films to sit through. Most are quiet, character-driven dramas with sudden bursts of visceral ultra-violence. Drive was the tamest of the films that I’ve seen. So this may be one of the more disturbing films of the summer.
I don’t remember a summer in recent memory where there was so much to look forward to. (Perhaps the summer of 2008 comes to mind: the year of Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). But, Gosling the actor and Refn the stylish director (whom I believe is the Danish equivalent of Michael Mann) are the only two things that I need to put Only God Forgives at the top of my list for this summer.
Be sure to check it out nationwide on July 19th.
Brian Laughran
Viewpoints Contributor
“Fast and Furious 6”
It’s getting hotter outside and the days are getting longer. Everybody knows what that means nonstop baseball until October. Okay so that’s not the only thing warmer weather means, it also means that it’s time for the hottest most anticipated movies of the year to come out.
Before all that hoopla starts there’s always an opening act to the main event and this year people think it’s Iron Man 3.
I think they’re wrong even though Robert Downey Jr. has turned Tony Stark into the most entertaining character in comic book film history outside of Heath Ledger’s Joker.
The movie everybody has to watch before the unofficial summer bash starts is the sixth installment of The Fast and the Furious. It will surely be action-packed and more exhilarating than any other Fast and the Furious movie. The film will star Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and the surprising return of Michelle Rodriguez.
The best part about The Fast and Furious film series is that it was able to evolve into a better story. The first two movies were pretty entertaining and I think most fans would agree with that even though Vin Diesel wasn’t in the first sequel.
Then the series started to get kind of dull and just flat out bad.
The third film should have been called “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Disaster” starring Shad “You’ll Always be Lil’ Bow Wow” Moss instead of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The third sequel simply entitled Fast and the Furious brought back the original characters and was pretty entertaining but it was shorter than an episode of “Law and Order.”
The fifth movie, Fast Five, rejuvenated movie fans by introducing a new character played by Dwayne“The Rock” Johnson and bringing back characters from previous movies.
The sixth one looks like it’s packed with a big time shot of adrenaline that will get the gasoline in your veins pumping.
The Fast and the Furious 6 opens in theaters on May 24th. It is directed by Justin Lin and is written by Chris Morgan.
Damone Griffin
Features Contributor
“The Purge”
There are many fantastic movies being released this summer, ranging from blockbusters such as World War Z; Despicable Me 2 and other comedies; as well as your more independent films including Lovelace. As a moviegoer who loves to sit on the edge of my seat, the film I selected as my must-see this summer is the horror/thriller film The Purge.
The Purge is set in the near-distant future, depicting America as a sort of utopia, where both the crime rate and unemployment rate are at virtually 0%. However, all good things have their costs. The government allows one night a year where the residents of America have a 12-hour window to commit any crime without repercussion—whether it is murder, rape, or robbery. Emergency services are shut down, so no one has access to hospitals, the police or any other protective measure. This night is called “The Purge,” considered by society a small sacrifice to uphold the perfect world they so desperately want to live in.
The film focuses around one family who attempts to survive “The Purge,” with a house armed similar to the one belonging to Will Smith’s character in I Am Legend. While trying to ignore the chaos just outside their door, the son sees a man outside begging for a safe haven; feeling the need to help, he lets him inside. As a result the family is put into jeopardy, as a group of criminals planned on hunting the man the son saved. The family must try to survive the sinister acts of these criminals until “The Purge” ceases, putting up a 12-hour fight that means the difference between life and death.
The film is both written and directed by James DeMonaco, who is a veteran in the fields of film and television. Having worked on projects such as the television series “The Kill Point”; the spin-off series of Crash; and writing films such as The Negotiator and Assault on Precinct 13, DeMonaco knows how to leave his audience in suspense. The thriller genre is in need of a powerful film that sends chills down your spine—even after you have left the theatre—and I believe DeMonaco’s The Purge has the potential to be that gem.
This film appears to take key themes from famed literature, making it that much better. DeMonaco pulls from Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” focusing around the idea of sacrifice for the great good. The Purge’s screenplay highlights themes from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, particularly that of the darkness within mankind—if the “civilized man” was given the opportunity to be released from the confinements and regulations of modern society, would he unleash the savage, lawless man within? The film further develops on both of these key themes, making the movie-viewer himself consider their potential actions if subject to “The Purge.”
Featuring a strong cast including Ethan Hawke (Sinister, Training Day) and Lena Headey (300, “Game of Thrones”), their portrayal of a frightened couple trying to protect their children from malevolence will surely not disappoint. If you are looking for a movie that will horrify you to the bone, or just interested in a thrill-ride between blockbuster flicks, check out The Purge this summer in select theatres on May 31st and nationwide June 7th!
Nicole Callsen
Webmaster
Foreign Film Review: Ghost in the Shell: ARISE”
The one film I am most looking forward to see this summer is the start of a film series, titled Ghost in the Shell: ARISE. Commonly known to fans as “ARISE,” this four film series will debut its first installment on June 22 in Japanese theaters. Each film is 50 minutes long, and will each have a separate Blu-Ray disc release shortly after debut.
ARISE is actually a prequel to a well-known Japanese franchise called Ghost in the Shell. The entire franchise consists of three films and two television seasons consisting of 26 episodes each.
Overall, the main storyline of Ghost in the Shell is about a full-body cyborg named Major Motoko Kusanagi who is the leader of an anti-crime unit, called Public Security Section 9 (Section 9). Each film consists of Section 9’s encounters with numerous terrorists, government corruption, and even to the point of preventing a civil war within Japan. The entire franchise is based in the future, in a time frame of 2029-2034. In this future, humans can become cyborgs, the Internet can be accessed through the brain, and everyone can connect to each other on the vast and infinite Net. Ghost in the Shell fans have been waiting six long years for another installment.
Shirow Masamune, the original creator of Ghost in the Shell will also be playing a large part in the production of ARISE. This in itself makes me very excited for the new film series. There is no word about ARISE coming to North America just yet—but my hope is that it will be by the end of the year. For now, I am going to anxiously wait for June 22 to come, and watch the film.
Jaclyn Salmon
Viewpoints Guest Contributor