THE CLUB ***
The scandalous controversy against church leaders accused of child abuse continues to stir and shock with cruel revelations in this drama selected as Chile’s submission for this year’s Oscars. A woman washes the bloodstains in front of the house, where one of the guests’ had just been shot. The place is occupied by a few ex-priests seeking restoration to their disorderly conduct of pedophilia and sexual abuse; one of the victims exposes the disturbing consequences of his injury, leading them to self-analyze their weaknesses, motives, instincts and forbidden desire. The arrival of a counselor sent by the church to check on the progress of the rehab program will defy the standards of morality and virtue, when they are pushed to repent their behavior. Pablo Larrain’s irreverent and revolting drama goes further on what “Spotlight” started: it doesn’t hide the clues to the unacceptable fact of the church’s awareness to the crimes; but it also doesn’t suggest punishment, leaving it as an open conclusion to the audience’s consciousness. Although the collective amount of blasphemy and depiction of such a disgraceful issue could turn it into a torment, the film gathers superb performances, some quite mesmerizing, and Larrain’s brilliant structure is a precise example of his unique and appealing style. (Opens February 5th)
HATEFUL EIGHT ****
Quentin Tarantino doesn’t really care about the mixed reviews or the lack of an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. With this bloody reunion of a bunch of murderous savages, trapped in a hostel amidst a blizzard in the Old West, he continues to exercise his tasteful talent for stylized violence and gore, as a master blender, the greatest contemporary recycler. The film focuses on the aggressive interactions between bounty hunters, thieves, criminals on the loose, veterans and sheriffs as they collide and eventually hurt themselves. Tarantino conducts it with the same mastery as his previous works: eccentric and intriguing long dialogs, unexpected spreads of extreme violence, and out of nowhere bombastic twists. Also, his ability to explore new techniques demonstrates great results, such as the use of 70mm, which reminds us that he’s the coolest director of modern time.
ALSO SHOWING
Will Smith is outstanding as a pathologist in Faith-based drama “Concussion”- an important account on the true story of NFL’s negligence to its Football players’ cases of head injuries. Mexican filmmaker Arturo Ripstein’s “Bleak Street” is a strange B&W surrealistic take on the expectations of a pair of midgets fighters, as they cross the bohemian and impoverished neighborhood encountering prostitutes and hustlers, and other bizarre creatures with the likes of a David Lynch experimental project. “The Boy” tells the story of a broken-hearted girl who accepts an unusual job trying to escape her recent breakdown: babysit a doll, treated as a wealthy family’s own child. It provides a few chills but the result is just a waste of time. What will take to get Zac Efron’s career back on track? Certainly not De Niro as his “Dirty Grandpa”- another box office disaster, a ridiculous and barely funny pile of vulgarity and offensiveness provided by the handsome-lost-buttocks-aficionado young star.
THIS WEEK’S DVD
OUR BRAND IS CRISIS is actually the best thing made by David Gordon Green since he sacrificed his career to Hollywood. Sandra Bullock leads the fun, as the head of marketing for a Presidential Election in South America, seeking strategies to win over her adversary played by Billy Bob Thornton. Noticeably, Gordon manages the material with satisfying efficiency.
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