Sin #96: De La Iglesia

A lot of people hate clowns. I tend to blame Stephen King’s “It” for the damage; its deranged clown played by Tim Curry caused endless nightmares for every kid that caught the miniseries on TV back in the 90s. I’ve often wondered what kind of people volunteer to become clowns. For every honest bloke wearing a wig and heavy makeup there must be a dozen of repressed man-childs on an everyday psychotic breakdown.

In “Balada Triste de Trompeta” (released in the US with the silly title of “The Last Circus”), a wickedly dark and audacious comedy of sorts, we meet a clown who’s been suffering since his early childhood (his dad, also a clown, was killed during the war in Spain). As a young man he becomes the “sad clown”, destined to never make anyone laugh. Not that there’s a lot of funny material in Alex de la Iglesia’s movie (except for incredulous laughter for its brutal and grotesque scenes).

Alex de la Iglesia is a director with a great sense of humor who almost always stamps his own brand of humor on each of his genre pictures. I remember one of his earlier comedies, the inventive “El Dia de la Bestia” about a priest trying to prevent the birth of the antichrist and therefore the end of days. It’s a funny movie that manages to be slightly blasphemous but terrifically entertaining (one of its stars is Santiago Segura, a comedian best known for his “Torrente” series). After “El Dia de la Bestia” I saw “El Crimen Ferpecto” (having missed Iglesia’s western spoof “800 Bullets”). The title is purposefully misspelled and its is a bit more grounded on reality than “Bestia” but, in a way, equally outlandish; it starts with a man desperately trying to become the general manager of a top retail store and ends as a grotesque battle between him and a very unattractive coworker who is obsessed with him. It ain’t exactly a love story.

“The Oxford Murders” is a strange departure for Iglesia. It’s his first English speaking feature, set in England and featuring Elijah Wood and the great John Hurt in a mystery thriller in the style of “The DaVinci Code”. Well, I hated “The DaVinci Code” and its sequel “Angels and Demons” (this one a little less I guess) mostly because those films are wall-to-wall with twists that cheat its narrative and make us care very little for any of their one-dimensional characters (Tom Hanks is especially dull as Robert Landon). “The Oxford Murders” is smarter, focusing on an intriguing premise and using a lot of mathematical and philosophical banter to solve its mystery and even though the ending is a little silly the movie remains intriguing and very entertaining.

“Balada Triste de Trompeta” remains Iglesia’s best movie because it transcends its genre and becomes a grotesque tragedy. It perfectly demonstrates Iglesia’s strange but compelling imagination and over-the-top sense of humor. He remains one of the most interesting directors in Spain.

Sin #95: Summertime 2011 Part I

Every summer brings a series of blockbusters that hardly produce anything original in the movie landscape. The summer of 2011 breaks records for sequels and 3D offerings (not to mention superhero movies) demonstrating that Hollywood is eager to exploit franchises and ignore any shred of artistic qualities for its big productions. Even though that’s the case for most, there are still some good movies to be found.

Marvel opened up the season with “Thor”, which was a fun adaptation of the comic book about a Nordic god stripped down of his powers and cast off to Earth (while his mischievous younger brother takes control of the mythological kingdom). “Thor” is by no means a great movie, but it’s lightweight and entertaining, with a charismatic cast who actually bring some gravitas to their silly roles (Chris Hemsworth proved to be an inspired casting choice for the title character).

“Thor” was followed by “Fast Five”, which actually takes the tired franchise on a fresh new direction. Instead of focusing on street racing, the story now develops into a surprisingly entertaining heist movie filled with impossible action sequences and a breezy pace (not to mention the exotic location of Rio de Janeiro). “Fast Five” was a surprise and a decent reboot which benefited from a marketing campaign that exploited the clash of action icons Vin Diesel and The Rock.

Next was the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, “On Stranger Tides”, which might be one of the most unnecessary sequels in recent memory. While the first Pirates was a genuinely original piece of Hollywood entertainment, its sequels felt like bloated and meandering cash cows.

Still, they all carried Gore Verbinski’s quirky vision which made for some surreal and entertaining moments. This new movie, directed by Rob Marshall, is so stale that even Captain Jack Sparrow is clueless as to why he is present for most of the picture. The addition of new and uninteresting characters only makes the experience more frustrating. “On Stranger Tides” is so forgettable and banal, that even Johnny Depp feels like he’s phoning it in (even though he was once nominated for an Oscar for playing Sparrow).

One of the most disappointing summer movies is “The Hangover 2”, which saw the return of the wolf pack after their hilarious series of misfortunes in Las Vegas. The first Hangover was a very funny movie that kept us interested with its mystery format and delighted us with its outrageous characters (especially Zack Galifianakis’s Alan). The sequel doesn’t push the story as much as repeat the events in a different setting. There are some funny moments in “The Hangover 2” but none register as powerfully as in the original (a movie that makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it). Even though it’s an inferior sequel, I would still go see “The Hangover 3” just to enjoy the company of the guys.

The best movie so far was also a pleasant surprise. “X-Men: First Class” is a prequel that actually goes back to basics and delivers a compelling story. “First Class” is blessed with an excellent cast and smart enough to create believable relationships amidst the special effects. Director Matthew Vaughn mixes the real Cuban crisis with the mutant revolution and creates an intriguing fantasy that holds our attention even though we know what’s in store for the characters.

There are still many movies to be released this summer including JJ Abrams’s Spielberg-like “Super 8”, another two comic book adaptations with Captain America and The Green Lantern, and sequels to Kung Fu Panda, Cars and Transformers among others.

To be continued…