Rod Paddock's blog

Fantastic Fest Review: Afflicted

Rod Paddock — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:00:23 +0000

Just when you thought a trope had reached the end of its shelf life, a new vision appears and adds more days to that trope's expiration date. This year's vision comes in the form of a new horror film called Afflicted. Afflicted tells the story of Derek (Derek Lee), and Clif (Clif Prowse), best friends about to depart for a round-the-world trip of high adventure.

The film opens with a set of vignettes (shot in the style of MTV's The Real World), where the friends describe to the camera their long-standing friendships and excitement for this round-the-world trip. The trip begins in Barcelona where the friends meet some musician friends on the final leg of their European tour, which wraps in Paris a few days later.

After their friend's final show, our protagonists find themselves in a seedy Paris bar where we are treated to the obligatory horror film hookup scene. After "working the program," Derek finds himself in the company of a beautiful Parisian girl and soon disappears to his hotel room. After having a few more drinks, Cliff and his musician buddies decide to play a prank on Derek by crashing into the hotel room they are sharing. After barging into the hotel room, Clif and his friends are shocked to find Derek unconscious and sporting a nasty shoulder wound. In true horror fashion, this is a hookup gone wrong. This attack affects the remainder of their trip as Derek slowly sinks into illness.

Review: The Conjuring

Rod Paddock — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:00:13 +0000

The formula for making a horror movie might be considered fairly simple. You combine one or more ingredients into ye olde film cauldron, mix in some practical effects, scary atmosphere and wolfsbane, and out comes the next blockbuster horror movie. You know the ingredients: creepy dolls, old houses, doors that could stand a good dose of WD-40, dusty basements, creaky floor boards, demons, ghosts, ghost hunters, psychics, priests, young newlyweds, kids and anything else that might go bump in the night. More often than not the concoction crafted by the grandest of film wizards turns out to be nothing more than snake oil, but once in a while the wizard is successful in causing the dead to rise or turns lead into gold. This time that wizard is James Wan of Saw fame, and the splendid potion of a film is The Conjuring.

The Conjuring tells the story of the Perron family, who move into an old musty farmhouse and soon realize that the "seller's disclosure" for their home failed to mention the "presence" already occupying it. The story slowly unfolds as the children discover that this charming country home is anything but. The kids hear mysterious voices, see things in the shadows, and experience the piece de resistance of scary things: something under the bed.

Review: The Bling Ring

Rod Paddock — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 16:00:25 +0000

From late 2008 until late 2009, a group of Hollywood teenagers came up with the bright idea that it would be fun and easy to rob the homes of numerous celebrities. Their victims were chosen using a variety of websites specializing in the Hollywood gossip trade. These sites provide a laser-like focus on the whereabouts of the rich and famous. In high demand and constantly away from home (on vacation, working on films, attending club openings, etc.), these people proved easy marks for a group of young, unsophisticated home invaders.

With this rough description of Sofia Coppola's tepid new movie, The Bling Ring, you now possess the entirety of what this paint-by-numbers story is all about.

For those of you following at home:

Kids get the idea to rob celebrity homes.
Kids use gossip websites to determine when Paris Hilton, Audrina Patridge, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom and others are out of town.

Review: The Hangover Part III

Rod Paddock — Sat, 25 May 2013 18:00:36 +0000

In 2009 audiences were treated to one of the funniest comedies in recent history: The Hangover. The Todd Phillips-helmed film demonstrated that adult comedy could turn out serious box office numbers. The success of The Hangover was accomplished by weaving together a highly engaging story that can be classified as a comedic whodunnit. The hook for this film was the mystery surrounding the "who" and the "dunnit." The first part was the "who." Who wrecked the expensive Las Vegas suite? Who is this baby we just found in our wrecked hotel room? And finally who does this tiger belong to? The second part was the "dunnit." What happened to Doug (Justin Bartha)? What happened to Stu's (Ed Helms) tooth? And finally: What the hell happened last night? The characters retrace their steps from the prior evening, slowly unraveling the story layer by layer.

2011 brought the return of the "Wolfpack" in The Hangover Part II. This time the boys wake up in a wrecked hotel room in Bangkok. Now, instead of a tooth missing, Stu has a brand new tattoo ... on ... his face! This film is pretty much a beat-for-beat rehash of the original film, possessing some fresh jokes and situations thrown in. While successful at the box office, this movie didn’t enchant audiences like the original.

Now 2013 brings us the Wolfpack once more in The Hangover Part III. This time no one wakes up in a wrecked hotel room, nor is anyone missing. The story now revolves around the kidnapping of Doug by a drug kingpin named Marshall (John Goodman). Marshall wants his stolen gold returned and enlists the Wolfpack to do his bidding. Why the Wolfpack? Marshall blames them for his gold getting stolen by rival drug kingpin Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), the drug dealer from the previous movies. The film is spent in a series of capers that take the characters from Arizona to Tijuana and finally the place where it all started: Las Vegas!

Review: The Company You Keep

Rod Paddock — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:30:36 +0000

Robert Redford's newest film The Company You Keep is a charmingly small movie with a larger-than-life cast. It tells the story of members of the Weather Underground, a radical political group from the late Sixties who were well known for both their opposition to the Vietnam War and the use of violence to deliver their message. The Company You Keep deals primarily with the aftermath of this violence.

During this group's heyday, some of the members decided to rob a bank. During the robbery, a security guard is killed and many members of the group are forced to go underground. After four decades underground, the first crack in their wall of secrecy breaks when Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon), one of the bank robbers, is captured at a gas station near Albany, New York. Soon after, the news of Sharon's arrest reaches the desk of Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf), a young ambitious reporter for a struggling newspaper in Albany. After a well-deserved razzing by his editor, Shepard decides to follow up on the story of Solarz's involvement with the Weather Underground.

SXSW Review: This Ain't No Mouse Music

Rod Paddock — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:30:12 +0000

With its origin in music and a 20-year history of supporting mainstream and independent film, Austin’s SXSW creates a unique atmosphere where both universes sometimes collide to create splendid works of art. This year’s festival managed to once again create a unique melding of music and film via the documentary This Ain't No Mouse Music! It's a heartfelt movie that tells the story of Chris Strachwitz and his unique music label Arhoolie Records.

Directed by Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling, This Ain't No Mouse Music! spans a period of over 50 years. Strachwitz's story begins in the summer of 1960 when he travelled to Navasota, Texas to record songwriter and guitarist Mance Lipscomb. During the same trip, Chris also met and recorded legendary bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins. In order to promote these two legendary musicians, Chris founded his own record label, Arhoolie Records. It was all melody from there.

SXSW Review: The Act of Killing

Rod Paddock — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:00:01 +0000

You take a mortal man, and put him in control. Watch him become a god, watch people's heads a’roll.

--Opening lyrics to Megadeth's "Symphony Of Destruction"

The above lyrics are the first thing that came to mind immediately after watching the unique and disturbing documentary The Act of Killing. This movie provides a terrifying glimpse into the minds of people that commit genocide.

The Act of Killing is one of the most unique documentaries ever filmed. Director Joshua Oppenheimer somehow convinced numerous gangsters, paramilitary leaders, thugs and politicians to create cinematic re-enactments of their experiences during the military coup that occurred in the country of Indonesia in 1965-66. This coup resulted in the mass execution of nearly half a million people who were members of, or accused of being members of, the Indonesian Communist Party.

SXSW Review: Drinking Buddies

Rod Paddock — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 14:00:37 +0000

When it comes to SXSW you would be challenged to find a director/actor more prolific than Joe Swanberg, who's been bringing features to the fest since 2005. Swanberg returns to SXSW 2013 with his new film Drinking Buddies, and this time he means business. Drinking Buddies is a charming movie that tells a story of love and conflict, set against the backdrop of craft brewing.

This film tells the story of two different couples. Kate (Olivia Wilde) is a marketing manager for a craft brewer and Chris (Ron Livingston) is a successful music producer. Jill (Anna Kendrick) is an artsy type and Luke (Jake Johnson) is a brewmaster at the same craft brewery where Kate works. After hitting it off at a company party, the two couples decide to spend a weekend together at Chris’s beach house. This is where the conflict begins.

Each couple's relationship possesses a certain amount of insecurity, and these insecurities come to the forefront during this fateful weekend. The remainder of Drinking Buddies is spent dealing with the aftermath of conflicting feelings and emotions.

Update on 2013 Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards (Tarantino!)

Rod Paddock — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:00:00 +0000

What do Ann Richards, Lauren Bacall, Dennis Hopper and William Friedkin all have in common? They've all had the honor of presenting awards at the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards. In January, Jette shared the list of 2013 honorees -- this week, Austin Film Society announced presenters for 2013, as well as the evening's master of ceremonies.

The gala awards ceremony next Thursday night will be emceed by highly capable actress and singer Dana Wheeler-Nicholson. She's well known for her many film and television roles, including the Austin-shot series Friday Night Lights and the legendary movie Fletch.

Several more award presenters were also announced this week. Filmmaker/actor Rob Reiner will turn this event up to 11 when he presents an award to Princess Buttercup herself, Robin Wright. Joining Reiner is the one, the only, the stupendous David St. Hubbins, better known by his stage name Michael McKean. McKean will be presenting an award to his wife Annette O'Toole.

How do you top a Spinal Tap mini-reunion? You do it with Quentin Tarantino! Yesterday we were greeted with news that legendary filmmaker, recent Oscar winner and 2010 Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards honoree Tarantino will be presenting the Star of Texas Award to Richard Linklater's movie Dazed and Confused.

Review: Stand Up Guys

Rod Paddock — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:00:10 +0000

The hands of time move against us at the beat of a steady drum currying favor for no one. The film Stand Up Guys tells the story of what happens when mobsters reach their golden years. With an amazing cast, the movie creates an endearing story of friendship among thieves.

Stand Up Guys tells the story of Val (Al Pacino), an old school gangster, and his best friend Doc (Christopher Walken). After serving a 28-year prison sentence, Val is picked up by Doc. Wasting no time, Doc begins the process of reintroducing Val to a world that has changed a lot in 28 years. After some awkward re-introductions, Al and Doc set out for a night of girls, good food, great friends and simply making up for years that have passed these two by.

But as is often true, life is more complicated than that. Doc has been given a job, and that job is, to "take out" his best friend within the next 24 hours. Almost immediately Val smells a rat and asks Doc if he "has a job to do?" Doc freely admits he does but is faced with a difficult choice: save his friend or do what he has always done, his job. The men make a decision: Doc will carry through his job, but first they'll make Val’s last day on earth a blast (literally and figuratively).