AMERICAN NIGHT

Emile Hirsch     Jonathan Rhys Meyers     Paz Vega     Michael Madsen     Jeremy Piven 

            What a disappointment.  Writer-director Alissio Della Valle has whipped up something that is supposed to be an art intrigue, but the production from writing through editing leaves much to be desired.  If I hadn’t been going to review it, I would have exited before the end.  The script is so mundane it’s close to being hilarious in scenes that aren’t supposed to be funny.

The story goes like this:  The heir-apparent of Andy Warhol’s Pink Marilyn Monroe, Michael Rubino (Hirsch), the self-entitled son of a Mafia boss and aspiring painter no less, has gotten into the cross hairs of forger-turned-art-dealer John Kaplan (Meyers).  They’re both after the Warhol, which has gone missing.  A cheap addition to the plot is putting the two also in competition for the same woman, beautiful museum conservator Sarah (Vega).  To add to the confusing mix is stuntman Vincent (Piven), who finds the painting, brings it to John, and asks for a cut of the profits.

For me, the movie was doomed the minute I saw Emile Hirsch as the son of a mafia boss who is about to succeed his father.  Hirsch has none of the characteristics we usually think of in those who have grown up in a crime family.  He just doesn’t look nor act the part.  I’m usually a fan of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, but again, he failed to convince me of his (reformed) mercenary nature.  His trysts with Sarah have some chemistry, but not enough to convince me of his passion in the end.

            I had hopes for this movie when I saw the cast who have been great in previous films but miscasting and the script—along with direction by Alessio Delle Valle--pretty much doomed it.  

 

Save your precious time and miss this movie with a good cast but a “wha?...” kind of plot.

 

Grade:  F                              By Donna R. Copeland

MIDNIGHT IN THE SWITCHGRASS

 Megan Fox     Bruce Willis     Emile Hirsch     Lukas Haas     Machine Gun Kelly     Caitlin Carmichael

            This is a thriller to be sure.  It starts out showing us the derring-do of female FBI agent Rebecca (Fox) whose risk-taking freaks out her partner Karl (Willis).  She is bound and determined to ensnare a serial killer of young women, doing it by making dates with suspects.  After a few hunches that turn out to be wrong, Karl worries about his own safety as well as hers and quits the case.

            Rebecca has her counterpart in young local detective Byron (Hirsch), whom she gets to partner with her after Karl has withdrawn.  She is still confident that she will be able to snare the killer.  Byron’s supervisors have asked him to drop his searches, but both he and Rebecca are aware that since many of the slain girls were prostitutes, law enforcement doesn’t show much interest in solving the crimes.  They both show empathy for the girls and feel impelled to save others, no matter the risk.

            The filmmakers (director Randall Emmett and writer Alan Horsnail) keep the tale taut and suspenseful, even after the murderer is revealed to us.  In the process, the characters’ stories become ironic at times, telling at other times, and sometimes just plain eerie.  My only wish was that Karl’s backstory was revealed.  Willis is a powerful presence—and well-known, of course—so we’re given tidbits, but I think revealing more about his character would have contributed to a fuller enactment.

            Even so, Fox, Hirsch, and Haas keep us engaged the whole time.  They are all talented in bringing their characters to life in roles that complement the main character.  

 

            While Midnight in the Switchgrass is thrilling and interesting to watch, I see little that is new and innovative in the genre.  For those who love this kind of movie, it is well worthwhile.

 

Grade:  C+                            By Donna R. Copeland

THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE

Emile Hirsch     Brian Cox     Ophelia Lovibond     Olwen Catherine Kelly

          This thriller gets into the supernatural, along with the standard thunderstorm, bumps, and other strange happenings during the night.  Tommy (Cox) is the town’s coroner and has a mortuary business, employing his son Austin (Hirsch) as a medical technician.  They seem to be getting along reasonably well after the death of Austin’s mother, but Tommy is itching to venture out into the world.  He hasn’t had the nerve to tell Tommy yet, because he feels an obligation to stay and help his father.  He has a girlfriend, Emma (Lovibond), who is pressuring him to tell his father and follow through with their plan to relocate.

           The men have just received four bodies from a burning house, and already find some puzzling signs.  On top of that, the sheriff brings in another body that was half buried in peat in the basement.  This is even more puzzling, and it gets weirder as they proceed to do an autopsy.  For starters, there are no outwardly visible signs of trauma, despite broken bones and internal injuries.  They decide to work through the night because the sheriff needs answers by the next morning.

           The beginning of the story written by Ian B. Goldberg and Richard Naing takes time in developing the characters and setting up the mystery and alarming events that are to follow.  As Tommy is conducting the autopsy, we’re privy to his findings and the questions that arise.  This is very interesting to observe; however, he does seem to be going through the steps of an actual autopsy, so the squeamish might consider whether he/she is up to the film. 

           Norwegian Director Andre Ovredal and his staff know how to put together a horror film in terms of pacing, sound effects, camera action, and maintaining suspense, sprinkling in just enough reality-based effects to make the story more plausible.  Hirsch and Cox have good rapport, convincing as a father-son duo, and showing sheer terror when it looks like they’re trapped and being pursued by supernatural forces.  With virtually all of the scenes taking place in the confines of the morgue, the claustrophobic sense enhances the horror.  As the corpse, actress Kelly maintains utter stillness (a function of yoga practice) in her body staring blankly ahead with gray eyes.

          The movie should keep horror fans happy and scared within its well-crafted story telling, sound effects, camera action, and solid performances.

A creepy thriller that captures your interest as you learn about autopsies, even while you wish to escape the claustrophobic atmosphere.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

JUST JIM

Craig Roberts     Emile Hirsch
 

-->

Just Jim is a nifty little Indie film written, directed, and starred in by Craig Roberts.  It shows a segment in the life of an unpopular nerdy teen who lives in a fantasy world because he just can’t seem to connect with anyone, even his parents.  They’re portrayed as being inattentive to him and rather shallow, although they seem to relate to his older sister very well.  Yet, they want to help him, and try giving him a birthday party, and inviting one of his classmates for supper without asking him.  Jim is taunted by classmates, and although he makes feeble stabs at socializing, nothing works, and he retreats further into himself.

      Jim is ripe for a bad influence, and he appears in a new neighbor named Dean (Hirsch) who inserts himself into Jim’s life under the guise of helping him grow out of his pussiness with advice like, “Man up a bit; stop being a little bitch” and to be “mysterious but open.”  Dean takes Jim to have his ears pierced, get a tattoo, and to walk out of a store without paying for a drink.  He helps him win a race at school through underhanded means, and threatens the boyfriend of the girl Jim has a crush on to stay away from her or horribly bad things will happen to him and his family.

      Dean’s next step is to “inform” Jim’s parents of the things he has advised Jim to do, without telling them of his own influence.  All of this is to convince them that Jim is “crazy” and needs to be sent to a mental institution.

      Because of how the film ended, I began to wonder if Dean is a real person or someone in Jim’s imagination, who helps him explore different ways of being and ways to solve his problems.  If so, I would say, “Well done, Craig Roberts.”  It elevates what might be a good script to a more clever production.

Yes, it is all just Jim, but most interesting.

Grade:  C+                        By Donna R. Copeland