Wishing Stairs - Black Swan

Seeing the trailers for Black Swan reminded me the Korean horror film Wishing Stairs from a few years back. I think it's available on Netflix streaming right now. The movie has a long, atmospheric setup, and, in the tradition of many Asian horror films, gets a little confusing near the end, but it is not too bad for the genre.

The beginning of the trailer below will show you a few of the similarities. (In Wishing Stairs, Giselle is the central ballet.)

Movie Posters - Holiday Edition - Planes, Trains and Automobiles

These two comic icons were also great comic archetypes - as well as a American socio-economic types. The use of white space is just about perfect. Notice how Mr. Martin crowds slightly out of the border on the left side?

And the angle brings your eye down to the literal and symbolic baggage that Candy's character tugs along with him throughout the film.

Movie Shot of the Week - Oh, God! (1977)

How, in a comedy, do you make the physical entrance of God memorable? Set it in the bathroom, and use mirrors to multiply the anticipated effect of our first seeing the film's big star, George Burns.

There is post work in the shot, so it isn't really pure. The bottles on the sink to the left give it away.

Kairo - and The "Pulse" of Loneliness

I was reading Roger Ebert's recent entries on his blog. He talks about loneliness, and a little about its relationship to social media or the Web.

What do lonely people desire? Companionship. Love. Recognition. Entertainment. Camaraderie. Distraction.

Encouragement. Change. Feedback. Someone once said the fundamental reason we get married is because have a universal human need for a witness. All of these are possibilities. But what all lonely people share is a desire not to be -- or at least not to feel -- alone.

You are there in the interstices of the web. I sense you. I know some of you. I have read more than 78,000 comments on this blog, and many of them have been from you. I know two readers who if possible would never leave their homes. I know more who cannot easily leave, because of illness or responsibilities. I don't know of any agoraphobics, but there probably are some. Just because you're afraid to go outside doesn't mean you're happy being inside.

I couldn't help thinking of Japanese filmmaker Kiroyishi Kurosawa's 2001 ghost film Kairo. The film's title has been translated to "Pulse" and the movie was remade into a relatively respectful, but ultimately unremarkable American film of that title.

Kairo is a somewhat complex film and is a little difficult to get a handle on with a first viewing, and the pace is almost too slow. But there is an undeniable artistry in Kurosawa's vision of the near future. A short summary of the "plot" makes it sound ridiculous. It is not.

The main idea of the film is that ghosts have found a way to bridge into this world through the internet. Apparently heaven is full and the ghosts figure that if they can keep people from entering the equilibrium will maintain. How the ghosts achieve this is one of the film's unexplained mysteries, but essentially the ghosts' victims sort of fade away and become large black stains on the wall that eventually disappear.



While the encounters with the ghosts are chilling, I will always remember the small moments of the film where suddenly the camera angle switches to the POV of the victims, still conscious inside an isolated existence. All the noise on the soundtrack cuts out as we hear the pitiful pleas that will never be heard: "Help me. Help me. Help me."

As the movie continues, the city becomes desolate as the remaining characters ride empty subway cars and drive through empty streets where every darkened corner appears to spread slowly across the screen, threatening to engulf them. A hopelessness and dread is woven into every second and every shot. This journey through lonely Tokyo contains the film's only nod towards the conventions of the large-scale apocalyptic epic - a military cargo plane drifts overhead slowly, flying way too low, crashing somewhere over the horizon. And even this effect is somewhat muted and quiet.

Indeed, the overall effect throughout is that of the world slowly disappearing, giving itself over to the impending void while the survivors hang on to the last threads of human connection, however slight they may be.

Movie Shot of the Week - Birth of a Nation (1915)

Paranormal Activity - More of the Same - But That's O.K.

Paranormal Activity 2 is a rare kind of sequel. It is exactly as good as its predecessor. However, this means that while it is no worse, it is also no better.

Well, let me revise that. There is a little tedium that sets in with the second installment because the concept doesn't feel as fresh. They have a found a way to multiply the passive camera effect, but, unfortunately, more angles only produce more of the same after a while.


Some things I found interesting about the writing: (Slight spoilers.)

1. The franchise still hasn't established any sort of clear story rules. We know that this is a demon, but what are its powers? Its operating procedures are very hazy - sometimes it leaves footprints, but other times it seems to float as a vapor?

2. The "prequel" structure of the second movie sets up a third act that may be very difficult for audience members to completely follow if they haven't seen the first movie. Although this could be deliberate - making a kind of interlocking series of stories that rotate around each other.

3. Like the first movie, the characters in the second movie do things that just simply don't make sense. For instance, in this movie, it is weird when one character at a certain point doesn't simply go to a neighbor's house. (Those who have seen the movie will understand.)

Paranormal Activity 2 provides several really good jumps, some minor scares and some very suspenseful moments, but beyond that it is not much. However, if you are looking for that, you pretty much can't go wrong, which may be its appeal.

Many critics are straining to make something out of the upper middle class "mcmansion" setting of both films, but after the second one, I am almost convinced the filmmakers have no real interest in that idea.

Get a Prorated Ticket for the First Five Minutes of Devil...

The opening title sequence of Devil, a new horror film "from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan" is fantastic.

The camera soars over the suspension bridges and skyscrapers of Philadelphia, but the simple act flipping the picture upside down works beautifully to achieve just the right mixture of unease, tension and, well, fun that the movie needs.

However, the rest of the film, I'm sorry to report, just keeps going downhill from there. This movie was not screened for critics, but it is not nearly bad enough to warrant that particular move by the studio - that's usually reserved for real turkeys.

Below, the trailer gives you a taste of those opening visuals, but seeing it on a big movie screen is more impressive, or at least it was for me. Save your money though.