Machete Kills Review

'Machete' began life as a fake trailer attached to the film 'Grindhouse'; a project spearheaded by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The trailer starred Danny Trejo as a pissed-off Mexican mercenary. Eventually Rodriguez took it upon himself to expand upon the trailer and bring 'Machete' to the big screen. The result was a mildly entertaining action film that tried hard to be fun but failed miserably.

You'd think Rodriguez and Trejo would leave 'Machete' well enough alone. Unfortunately they stuck a teaser for a sequel on the film's ass end. And because they are men of their word, we're treated to a sequel that comes close the being the movie 'Machete' tried to be.

'Machete Kills' is over the top, simplistic, awful, violent, misogynistic and fueled by testosterone. Danny Trejo is still the worst leading man I haver ever layed eyes on. He has no character or charisma, all he has is a face. And it's not even a pretty one. Really, there are burn victims with prettier faces than Danny Trejo.

I didn't expect 'Machete Kills' to be good. But it's a testament to awful filmmaking that Trejo has zero impact his own story. His character only rarely makes a choice that influences the direction of the story. Most of the time he's just along for the ride, surrounded by people who are a lot more interesting than him. Both of these films prove that it's hard to make good bad movie.

Because that's what they were trying to do, make a good bad movie. It's terribly tricky thing to do, because if you do it the wrong way you end up with a bad bad movie. That's what happened to 'Machete'. Luckily this sequel has a few aces up it's sleave. Those aces are Demian Bichir, Antonia Banderas, William Sadler, Cuba Gooding Jr., Carlos Estevez and Mel Gibson.

I don't know how many family members Rodriguez had to kidnap in order get these actors in this movie but it's worth the effort. They're all visibly enjoying themselves. The one who sticks out, however, is Mel Gibson. He is great as the film's big bad.* You could write a whole book (okay, maybe five pages) about this guy's ode to James Bond villains. But even the shiniest of stars can't hide the awful turd that is 'Machete Kills'. Still, I hope against hope that 'Machete Kills Again... In Space' will be the masterpiece we deserve.

*It's going to be hard for Leonardo DiCaprio to top Mel Gibson in the next movie. 

Looper Review

Time travel has always been an enticing concept for filmmakers. George Pal showed us the year 802.701 in 'The Time Machine', Robert Zemeckis took us on three trips in a time machine with the 'Back to the Future' movies and on the small screen Doctor Who travels through time on a weekly basis. Popular culture is saturated with time travel and why not? How cool would it be to meet your grandparents when they were kids or to see beyond years and into the future? 

Unfortunately, the concept is rarely used intelligently. The implications of time travel are tremendous and it's high time for filmmakers to learn they can exploit them to create dense and intricate stories. 'Looper' is one of those films. Aside from being an excellent action film it is also a very smart science-fiction story. It handles the time travel paradoxes in an interesting and entertaining way. That's why it's one of the year's best movies.

In 2074 time travel will have been invented. The technology is immediately outlawed but the mob uses it to get rid of people. They are put into a time machine and blasted thirty years back in time. Upon arrival a hired gun kills them and destroys their bodies. The mercenaries are known as Loopers, they get good money for their work but it comes at a price. Sooner or later their older selves will come through that portal and the looper will have to kill him(self). It's called 'closing the loop'.

For Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) the loop is about to close. However his older self (Bruce Willis) is a wily one and escapes. The mob doesn't take kindly to this and set their dogs on both Joes. Now Young Joe will have to find Old Joe in order to save himself and his future. There are some other twists and turns which I won't spoil.,what I can say is that the story moves quickly and includes some very enjoyable surprises. 

Director Rian Johnson doesn't think of time travel paradoxes as bothersome. Instead he integrates these technicalities into the plot. What we get is a movie that's totally unpredictable but when we come to the conclusion we wouldn't want it to end any other way. Sure, after some thinking, little parts of the film don't quite seem to make sense but that's part of the fun. 'Looper' is a movie that will ignite discussions about the possibilties and impossibilities of time travel.. 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's transformation into a young Bruce Willis is also worthy to be talked about. His make-up isn't a complete success but the way Levitt copies Willis his mannerisms is uncanny. It's not the make-up but the acting that sells this very important part of the plot. Bruce Willis himself is also terrific. I can't imagine a better candidate for this particular role. It's also one of his most memorable performances in a very long time. He brings out the utter desperation of a character who only wants to return to his life.

To me 'Looper' is nothing short of genius. The story might seem gimmicky at first but it manages to convince  you before knocking you on your skeptical ass. This is a movie with a lot of smarts and enough energy to make it all seem effortless. It's not afraid to go to dark places or to have the most famous actor in its cast do some seriously despicable stuff. 'Looper' is a great film and a breath of fresh air for fans of intelligent science-fiction.