In this week's Expatica cinema section - in collaboration with Picturenose - James Drew reviews 'Funny Games US ', 'The Ruins', 'Street Kings ' and Woody Allen's dark, moody 'Cassandra's Dream'.

Funny Games US  
More than ten years ago, German director Michael Haneke gave the world Funny Games (1997), itself a truly gruelling and relentless journey into nightmare that, along with greats such as Peeping Tom (1960) and Rear Window (1954) asks direct questions of the viewer concerning the voyeurism that is at the heart of cinema as an art form.

Like George Sluizer before him, who went Stateside in 1993 to remake his marvellous Spoorloos (1988) as The Vanishing, Haneke here presents an American take on the same story, with an all-new cast and in English. However, Haneke's second effort differs from Sluizer's in that it is (i) identical to his first film shot-for-shot, line-for-line and (ii) it's infinitely better made.

So, does the director's decision render watching the new film pointless if you've seen the original, or vice versa? Perhaps those who ask such a question should first check out Gus van Sant's 1998 remake of Psycho (1960) – the notable director (Good Will Hunting (1997) Elephant (2003)) also went for a near frame-for-frame homage – to find out for themselves if the approach does anything for them.

Whatever your take on the debate, this is still a rightful tenant of the genuine badlands of the human psyche – a horror film that does not mess about. Ann (Naomi Watts) and George (Tim Roth) arrive at their vacation home ready to enjoy some golf and sailing with their son Georgie (Devon Gearhart). As Anne is unpacking groceries, she is confronted by two young men, Peter (Brady Corbet) and Paul (Michael Pitt) dressed in golf clothes, wearing white gloves. At first happy to help with their request for eggs, Ann quickly realises that things are very far from normal when the two boys' attitude turns antagonistic, then far, far worse. 'Funny' games are definitely not on the menu...
 
Unnerving calmness combined with wanton cruelty is the key characteristic of the assailants performances, with solid, terror-struck turns from Watts and Roth. The film's real achievement, however, is the undermining of an audience's customary complicity - in Haneke's film, we are forced to identify not so much with the victims but rather with their all-powerful assailants. Peter and Paul are performing for us, a point underlined by the characters' frequent questions direct to camera: they're appeasing our blood-lust, our desire to witness the worst that can happen to other people. After all, why else would we watch such a film? Ask yourself the same question before you buy your ticket – you won't be leaving the cinema unmoved.
 
112 mins.
 

The Ruins
More decent horror? It's like Christmas coming early. Carter Smith's film boasts a genuinely original premise, an rare genre treat in these days of listless remakes and franchises.
 
On the last day of their stay at a Mexican hotel, Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) and Amy (Jena Malone), Eric (Shawn Ashmore) and Stacy (Laura Ramsey) decide to accompany fellow traveler Mathias (Joe Anderson) on a trip into the jungle to meet up with his brother at an off-the-guide-book archaeological dig atop a Mayan pyramid. Little time is wasted before things go pear-shaped - the tourists are surrounded by locals, and one is killed as a warning before they are left, trapped, on the vine-covered monument.  And the vines 'themselves' have more than a few terrifying tricks in store – there's much more here, really, than you might expect.
 
91 mins .


Street Kings
 
Keanu Reeves (is it just me, or is anyone else getting really tired of Keanu?) plays Tom Ludlow, a pragmatic, vodka-friendly detective who shoots first and looks cool later. When Ludlow takes out some deeply unpleasant kiddie-porn filmmakers and rescues the twin girls they had kidnapped, he is saved from the rap by his mentor and guru, Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker).

Unfortunately, hot-shot Internal Affairs investigator Captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie) is after Reeves, as is his former cop partner Washington (Terry Crews), who has an agenda all his own...

It sounds much better than it is - Street Kings, directed by newcomer Jamie Moss, is a highly derivative retread of L.A. Confidential-esque themes, presented with considerably less skill or power.

109 mins .

 
Cassandra's Dream

 Woody Allen completes his ‘London trilogy’ with this surprisingly dark, moody effort. The title refers to the name that close-knit brothers Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell) Blaine give to their newly acquired pleasure boat, paying some £6,000 for which only adds to the pair’s financial difficulties - Terry’s a gambler whose habit is spiralling out of control, while Ian is looking to invest in a Californian hotel chain, to get away from the struggling restaurant of his father (John Benfield). A surprise visit from their generous millionaire uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) could be their way out of a hole, but the potential benefactor has a surprise request - Howard’s looking to make a real killing of his own, and he wants his nephews’ help…
 
Allen proves himself adept at handling the mechanics of a psychological thriller, territory into which he has not previously strayed. With its naturalistic dialogue and menacing camera angles, the film quickly disavows any audience expectations of customary Woody belly laughs. Rather, what we have here is a sense of genuine foreboding that grips early and is only occasionally loosened. It falls down a little in its conclusion, which unfortunately gives the impression that the writer-director ran out of ideas just when things were getting really grim and interesting, but the sense of the screw turning in an entirely credible, prosaic family setting makes up for the script’s occasional shortfalls.

108 mins .

James Drew

'Expatica's weekly cinema-review section is brought to you in collaboration with Picturenose.com'  

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(expatica 2008)