Review: The Bucket List (2008) [Reviewed By Kelsey Zukowski]

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, Beverly Todd

Directed By: Rob Reiner
Written By: Justin Zackham
Released: 2008
Grade: B

The Bucket List is based on the dreams, experiences, and ambitions that we all want to live out before we die. The writer of the film, Justin Zackham, wrote the film based on his very own bucket list that he created. All of the locations that our main characters go to were taken from Zackham’s list, showing how much of himself was put in to the film, making it very personal and reflective. This film was a way for him to live out the things on his list that he hasn’t been able do and in the process was a way for all of us to come along on an exploration and beauty of the world and even the things that aren‘t so far away.

Carter Chambers (Freeman) and Edward Cole (Nicholson) are two very different people whose sickness brings them together. They are both cancer patients who end up sharing the same hospital room. On the outside they seem to be opposites. Carter is a mechanic who has only been with one woman, his wife, Virginia (Todd). He also had aspirations of becoming a history teacher, but never had the chance to accomplish that goal. Edward on the other hand, has been divorced 4 times and has many other very casual relationships and flings in between. He is a wealthy corporate mogul who has been making good money since he was 16. Both are in the room together, sharing the same disease and fate. They both learn that neither of them has very long to live; around 6 months to a year at the most. Reflecting on his life. Carter remembers his first semester of college when his professor had the class write a bucket list, the things they wished to do before kicking the bucket. He begins writing a more current list, but quickly gives up on it, since it seems his life is already over now.

Edward convinces Carter that they might as well go out there and have some fun, rather than sit around with everyone feeling sorry for them and watching them die. They create a list together and start doing everything on it. They go to France, the great wall of China, The Himalayas, and sky dive. Along the way they share a lot of their experiences and insights on people, life, and what may lay ahead of them after they die. During the course of this, we learn more of Edward’s past and that the most important thing to him, hasn’t been in his life for a long time. This is all because Edward put their needs and well being ahead of his regarding the relationship. Carter tries to push this to be an item on the list, so Edward can make amends. This is a horrifying thought to him, causing him to lash out, and putting an abrupt ending to their trip. In the end, they both knew it was time for it to end so they could both spend time with the most important thing in their lives: family.

Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson were an obvious and excellent choice to be playing the two lead roles trying to get the most out of the life that they had left. They are two of the most gifted older actors out there who consistently make accomplishments in their life and make work with the potential to affect others as well. The two of them really work together wonderfully. Freeman gives the insightful, caring, and personal side while Nicholson gives us the comical and daring side. Beverly Todd as Freeman’s wife does very well too. She shows authentic concern and desperation to spend the time that her husband has left with him. I also enjoyed the appearance by Freeman’s real life son, Alfonso Freeman, who plays his son in the film.

The Bucket List is a film that should be able to speak to everyone since I think everyone should have an experience like the one Carter and Edward have. It is the kind of thing that not only gets you outside of the bubble you live in and experience the rest of the world, but it is a way for you to share this and really connect with another individual. The most important thing that the film does though is showing that you are never too old to find self discovery. Really that coming to terms with oneself, is what adds the youth back to you, enriching your relationships and making yourself content and ready to accept your fate. The Bucket List is a good film with talented, iconic actors who are metaphoric to the meaning of the film themselves and enhance the film to take the audience on a journey full of discovery.

Review; Semi-Pro (2008) [Reviewed By Kelsey Zukowski]

Starring: Will Ferrell, André Benjamin, Woody Harrelson, Maura Tierney
Directed By: Kent Alterman
Written By: Scot Armstrong
Released: 2008
Grade: B

Semi-Pro is a sports film that follows an underdog basketball team, that many might not even consider authentic ball players. This makes the characters seem to be at an even more drastic disadvantage. Although, the film follows a lot of the common steps of sports films, it differentiates itself by using comedy as its’ basis to poke fun at the ABA organization and the entertainment and celebrity that the characters desire and grant themselves with in hopes of others seeing them as big as they dream.

Jackie Moon (Ferrell) is the owner, coach, and player of the Flint, Michigan Tropics, of the ABA league. Moon uses popularity through modeling and countless advertisement and promotional gimmicks. Soon this will be gone, since the entire league is being dropped, the Tropics are devastated this life that they have been accustomed to could be gone forever. Without this, many of them will be at rock bottom. Jackie can’t stand this thought and refuses to accept it. There are four teams in the league that will become a part of the NBA. None of these teams are the Tropics though. Jackie fights this, and makes a deal for the four teams that win the most games to be those who join the NBA. The Tropics have a long way to go to get to this point though. Not only are they not the most skilled players, but their stadium usually doesn’t have the best attendance. This is a major problem and could cost them the little shot they have at beating the many other teams out. It is not just about winning the games, but proving themselves to be the most profitable team.

To attempt to get passed this, Jackie does a few things. The first is bringing in another player with some experience behind him, Monix (Harrelson). Monix is a somewhat washed up player that once played for the champions, the Celtics. He traded to the far less superior Tropics in order to be close to a past love of his, Lynn (Tierney). Lynn wants nothing to do with Monix as he has clearly abandoned her in the past and the trust is lost for the time being. Monix still tries to make the best of that situation as well as the one with the Tropics. Upon the team’s request, he even takes Jackie’s place as the coach, assuring him that he can take care of the entertainment aspect of it. Jackie does this with continuous stunts and attention grabbers, anything really that will get people in to the stadium, as they need to average 2,000 people per game. These things include a fight with a bear, a roller skating jump over a gym of woman lying on the ground, allowing people to win thousands of dollars if a basket is made, and the crowd winning corn dogs if they win or lose by a certain amount. To everyone’s surprise a lot of these tactics including their new found basketball skills actually seem to be working. The underdogs might actually have a chance of becoming NBA stars, rather than losing everything which was their assumed fate.

The film did some good things, but there is no doubt in my mind that a lot of the enjoyment of the film was enhanced by the talented actors that were involved with this. I have been a fan of Will Ferrell since his early Saturday Night Live Days. Sure he has done some things that haven’t been great and even one that made me disgusted and very disappointed in him, Taladega Nights. With just an exception or so though, he still remains to always have a certain hilarity and spark displayed in ways that I really don’t think would necessarily be as funny if nearly anyone else attempted the same material. Will Ferrell does very well as Jackie Moon. Now he is no Ron Burgundy, Buddy the Elf, or Harold Crick, but it is slightly better than his character in Blades of Glory and at about the same level as he was in Kicking and Screaming. It is really just the way he holds his character in the film and how clueless he is to how ridiculous he can be at times. His energy is there 100% and he doesn’t hold back one bit. André Benjamin is really the one who stood out to me. He has a very youthful and driven nature to him that came out concisely in his character. This character has dreams of playing in the NBA and this seems to be a fantasy that is actually about to come true. He seems real through capability of relating him to us and through his grasp on situations. This is a great contrast to Jackie, which formed a balance and a place for both of them in the story. Benjamin giving some really great performances in Four Brothers, Idlewild, and now Semi-Pro, is one of the most talented and capable musicians turned actors. I look forward to seeing what else he throws our way as I am sure he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential.

Will Arnet and especially Andy Richter give great touches to the sport caster’s personalities. They are in touch, lively, and not afraid to have fun with the material at many points mocking some of the bizarre situations that Jackie Moon presents before them. It is especially nice seeing Andy Richter continuing to pop up, since I haven’t seen much of him since the underrated and short lived sitcom, Quintuplets. So it was nice to witness his humor once again. Tim Meadows was also very funny here reminding me of a more wild and daring version of his character in Mean Girls, maybe even with some of that spunk that he displayed on Saturday Night Live week after week. Jackie Earle Haley who gave a riveting and moving performance of a very morally gray character in Little Children gives comedy a go. He played an unemployed bum who won money that Jackie promised, but didn’t really have it in the first place to give away. Now this is obviously far from the type of material that Haley has the intellect and care to handle. However, I kind of liked that it was something so different for him even if it was a smaller part. David Koechner, who typically plays the raunchy and goofy character is actually completely serious. This is completely different for him, but he handled himself very naturally.

Really the only complaint I have is it seems it could have done without the sub-plot with Monix and Lynn. It was by no means bad, but it just didn’t hold my interest as much as the rest of the film. This was partially from the performance by Woody Harrelson. He just didn’t seem real to me, his emotions, who he was, and what he really wanted just weren’t displayed in the way that they should have been in order for me to care about his character. He wasn’t terrible, just ineffective. Even this wasn’t much of a struggle to watch especially since these moments were more minimal. It wasn’t as good as the rest of the film, but it wasn’t all that hard to sit through either; it was just kind of there.

Semi-Pro uses a show like atmosphere, which seems to be far from true basketball. However, it does this to critique the industry. Especially given that the amount of money they can give the league outweighs the talent that they have. It shows that it is all really just about money. When you look at LeBron James having his own lemonade bubble gum with his cartoon face and name plastered on it and a Nike add covering buildings essentially with the message that we should witness the legend that he is, some of the products and things Jackie models for and even his somewhat self involved attitude don’t seem all that unrealistic. It just serves as a representation that they’re not just athletes, but celebrities as well. Not only is it accounted how much money can be gotten out of them, but it works the other way too. Athletes fight over how many millions of dollars they are getting per year when ultimately it shouldn’t matter if it is really just for the love of the game. The film exerts it’s comedy by a ridiculousness of the situation and mostly just by using a illogical, but unique way of handling a challenging situation with quirky and vibrant personalities. Semi-Pro is a decent film with a fun spirit and the talents of a tremendously funny and lively cast with a critique on the sport portrayed in a comedic light.

Review: Walk All Over Me (2007) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Robert Cuffley
Written by: Robert Cuffley (screenplay) and Jason Long (screenplay)
Genre: Crime\Drama\Thriller
MPAA: Rated R for language, some violence and sexual material
Released: (2007)
Starring: Leelee Sobieski, Tricia Helfer, Lothaire Bluteau, Michael Eklund, Michael Adamthwaite, Jacob Tierney.

Plot: A small town girl runs into big time trouble as she takes on her roommates identity as a dominatrix to pay the bills

Review: 6/10

My Thoughts: BDSM, a form of kinky sex in which one person rules over another or others, as a master, in short some people crave to dominate while others want to be dominated, in most part, a female will dominate over the male counterpart as a “Dominatrix” and by disciplining and humiliating the male into complete submission, this form of kinky sex is often depicted as taboo in the public’s eye due to its content of violence being done from one person onto another. I try not to have an opinion on the matter because I believe what people do in the bedroom is their own business, and as long as all parties are fully consenting to the act than it should be completely okay. Well with the film Walk All Over Me (2007) it tries to bring a sort of lighter side to S&M sex, however it can’t really be called S&M per se and it's not intentionally erotic at all really, it more or less a comedy about role playing and mind controlling while dealing with S&M in a dark comedy form. The film shows much promise from the very beginning and continues to shine through and through, well that is of course until you hit around the midpoint of the film where it starts to take a rather corny and predictable approach to certain matters which have already been done in many different films making it very unoriginal.

From here the film does however still manages to pick itself up but still leave the viewer somewhat disappointed, I mean I sis enjoy myself, but there was just something missing from the film, it lacked heart in many ways, in a movie we are usually made to love or hate the main characters of the film, however in this movie you don’t really feel anything for them, for one thing we are made to feel sad for Leelee Sobieski’s character ‘Alberta’, how can one feel one bit of sympathy for this character when in the very beginning of the film she runs away from her hometown because she forgot to give to deliver the money her Boyfriends give her to pay back some men, and by forgetting she runs away leaving him to pay for her mistake?

Overall the characters in this film are shallow and lack any chance to give them a single ounce sympathy, like I said, it lacks heart. The film begins with much ambition but never quite comes through in the end leaving many things unanswered and much holes in the plot, the film is so mediocre that by the time you reach the end of the film you’ll already begin to forget some of the key elements to the film, which is very much a negative in my belief as a film critic, a good film will remain with you for days after viewing, and if it’s really good then it will stay with you forever. But aside from all the negativity I’ve been giving the film I will say that it has its moments where you can’t feel hope for the film and start to get into it, but like I said it is only hope, also the film does have a few good laughs in it, which in some odd degree is the only real parts I can honestly say I enjoyed. Aside from that the film is very moderate and nothing that will WOW you.

The story is about, Alberta (Sobieski) a young naive girl who works as a convenient store clerk, after her boyfriend gives her the smallest task as to give her boss the money that is owed to him (this part of the story is never explained) she screws up and losses the money, terrified at what she had just done she runs away to Vancouver to her friend who also babysit her as a child. Celene (Helfer), to her surprise she finds out that her once babysitter is now a full time Dominatrix who gets paid well. Now living with her she tries to make it on her own as a cashier at a grocery store, as she tries to pay back her roommate for taking her in, she begins to find it’s not as easy as she thought it would be living in the big city, out of ideas she turns to desperation and pretends to be her roommate Celene for a young guy who is new to the whole domination thing, at first it seems harmless but what Alberta will soon find out his the young man is in a bit of problem with the wrong crowd who believes he stole half a million dollars from them, now she is stuck with more problems than she had to begin with, and not so sure how to fix it all.

As for the acting: Leelee Sobieski was very disappointing, she has been acting for a very long time, heck since she was a kid, we all remember her outstanding performance at age 15 in Deep Impact and was even fairly enjoyable in Joy Ride, as an actress she showed great potential, however it sadden me to see all that I saw was possible in the past, was not visibly showing in this film, I found her performance to be somewhat dry and a little forced on many occasions, it seems as though she was unsure of herself in the part, which I would have accepted since she is playing a young naive girl, but the thing is even after she as they say Mans up to the situation and becomes a strong Dominatrix like her roommate, she clearly shows the unsureness on her face which just didn’t have at the slightest bit convinced. As for Tricia Helfer, she did surprisingly well, I must admit she really did a fantastic performance, she also matched the part of playing a Dominatrix, you could say she dominated it! [Laughs]. As for Lothaire Bluteau who plays the bad guy “Rene” he did an okay job, but it’s certainly nothing that I could say would make him a memorable villain, just like the film his performance was quite mediocre. As for Michael Eklund, his proformance came on a bit too strong and ended up feeling quite fake, I was not feeling the energy he was giving off on screen as the out of control henchman. Jacob Tierney’s performance was rather cheesy and somewhat embarrassing to watch, it’s a good thing his character spends most this film unconscious. Otherwise I’d be even more disappointed. Michael Adamthwaite give a pretty good performance, he gives off a natural energy that makes you want to hate him, which is what his role is basically there for.

Finale say: Over all the film was way too soft and on the weak side to what was advertised to me, it was okay, but nowhere near as I thought it was going to be, I feel if the film was sold to its audience another why it could have been a more enjoyable film and maybe a funner time viewing. Perhaps one day I’ll have second thoughts on the film, but until that day comes I stand by my rating.

TCW
© The Comic Whore 2008

Review: Youth Without Youth (2007) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Written by: Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) Mircea Eliade (novella)
Genre: Drama \ Romance \ Thriller
MPAA: Rated R for some sexuality, nudity and a brief disturbing image.
Released: 14 December 2007
Starring: Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz, André Hennicke, Marcel Iures, Adrian Pintea, Alexandra Pirici, Florin Piersic Jr., Zoltan Butuc, Adriana Titieni.

Plot: A love story wrapped in a mystery. Set in Europe before WWII, a timid professor is changed by a cataclysmic event and explores the mysteries of life.

Review: 8/10

My Thoughts: Master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola has bought us such magnificent films throughout the years, such films as; The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Godfather: Part III (1990), and Dracula (1992). With such wonders as these he has proven to be a remarkable filmmaker, an artist of the arts some would say, but that not to say he’s a perfect filmmaker, after all he also has some real downers in his career, but none of which can out shine his brilliance in movie making, with that said it had really sadden me to see that it has been nearly ten years since his last film (The Rainmaker (1997)) with him in the director’s seat, that is of course until I saw a little known film called Youth Without Youth (2007), a film that was in a very limited release in the US, and was not given the respect it should have gotten from the industry, the film is a very beautiful and remarkable film with a plot which carries depth within depth, and will have you loving every moment of it.

But I must warn you it is not for everyone, the film’s big massage deals greatly on Nietzsche philosophy, and some will have a hard time to bare with it because of that, but if you are like me a very open-minded critic to the mysteries of our world; then you will not have a single problem with it at all, in fact you will quite enjoy it as I did. The film deals with the choices we make in life and the time we have left to deal with it, but unlike your average film, this one has a twist to filled with mystery that will never quite fully be explained, not to mention it is so incredibly romantic, now before you say anything, YES I love romantic films, I feel that romance in all forms is a beautiful thing between us as human beings, from words we express, to the body language we give off, rightdown to our very touch, romance is one of the few things that we has humans have experienced throughout history, it connects us to past and present and will so forth into the future, romance holds within itself love, hate, strength and weakness, security and insecurity in such a way that it's beyond our comprehension, that is why I love romance.

As for the romance in this story, it certainly doesn’t play a big role, however it does play a role in it, and it is both beautiful and greatly depressing, some could say it’s paying homage to a William Shakespeare play; filled with so much hopes and dreams but in the end it remains as what it was always meant to be, undeniably tragic, a bittersweet ending you could say, and most of all the cinematography as well as the editing was outstanding, a real eye opener for me, as I loved every minute of it, not to mention the score which was breath taking in such a way it only help add to making this film great. Overall ten years was well worth the wait, I can’t wait to see what Mr. Coppola come up with next!

The story takes place in Romania with a 70 year old man named Dominic Matei (Roth) professor of language and philosophy in the year 1938, contemplates suicide: after the love of his life is dead, and he remains unable to complete his life's work on the origins of language, on the day he is about to kill himself (Easter Sunday) he is struck dead on by lightning and should have died from it, but instead heals quite fast of someone at his age, but to his surprise as well as the doctors who nursed him back to good help, they find out he is no longer the 70 year old man he was before the attack, but now a man in his early 40’s, shocked by this the doctors help hind his from the invading Nazis who have learned of this, as Dominic travels Europe over the years under new various identity he slowly comes to understanding his new found gifts, like the ability to absorb knowledge with a single touch, now some years later, he meets a young woman who has her own passage through a lightning storm and suffers the same fate. Not only does Dominic find love again, but her new abilities hold the key to his research, but the longer he remains with her the faster she ages, he must choose between finishing his work along side her and continue the love they have, or save her by leaving. Is the sweetness of life finally at hand?

As for the acting; Tim Roth was fantastic, he really shows off his talent in this one, he not only plays the character, he becomes the character and does so in such a manner that we forget that he is an actor and not the man he’s playing on screen, most people who enjoy his talented skills know him for his best work is such films like; Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, as an actor he gives an energetic charge to just about every film that he’s in, even if the film may or may not suck it still have the part of it that remains excellent. Alexandra Maria Lara was great! I loved her acting in this; both she and Roth share a great on screen chemistry together, Alexandra Pirici was amazingly beautiful; her acting is as outstanding as her beauty which one cannot deny is breath taking all on itself. André Hennicke did a great job playing the part of Josef Rudolf, the Nazi scientist who is hunting Dominic down for studying. Bruno Ganz was fantastic even though he has a sort time on screen. Marcel Iures was also great, he makes another great name added to the cast, his profomace was done spot on. I loved his acting in Goal!, and just the same in this fine film. As for the rest of all the other actors, even though they have much smaller roles in this compared to the ones listed above, they all did their job fantastically. Also I should notify you to look out for a cameo by actor Matt Damon I won’t say where, just look out for him.

Finale say: Youth Without Youth is a profound film which probably won’t ever get the respect or appreciated by a wide audience that it so greatly deserves, because it’s the type of literature that is very special and restrictive (you’ll need to understand Romanian folklore or oriental philosophies in order to get into this type of film or at least be open minded to it). and I will andmit it has some plot holes, however it doesn't ruin the film one bit. Over all I really loved this film and will much like to give this another go around someday. I highly recommend it!

TCW
© The Comic Whore 2008

Review: Frontier(s) (2007) [Reviewed By Kelsey Zukowski]

Starring: Karina Testa, Patrick Ligardes, Samuel Le Bihan, Amélie Daure, Joël Lefrançois, Jean-Pierre Jorris, Estelle Lefébure, David Saracino, Aurelien Wiik, Maud Forget
Written & Directed By: Xavier Gens
Released: 2007
Grade: A+

Frontier(s)is a French horror film that takes the lead of films of grotesque horror, but uses more thought to construct meaning and purpose in the film than many gore fests usually do. It uses the severity of the torture the characters are forced to deal with to expose the insanity that is very much alive in the world.

The film takes place inside the slums of France in a time where there were constant riots against the government, especially regarding the presidential election. It centers on a group of teens who in attempts to make it by, pull off a robbery. Yasmine (Testa) has gotten stuck in the middle of this since her brother and her ex-boyfriend are both paranoid that the other is going to turn on them. Yasmine demands that they take him to the hospital. Even though they do this knowing the risk of getting tracked down it isn’t enough to save his life. Forced to leave her dying boyfriend, Yasmine is chased by governmental authorities for being a part of the robbery. Four of the teens are left, two in each car, attempting to get away. They plan on meeting each other at a hostel in a less urban area in hopes of getting to the border.

They find what seems to be a nice place to stay especially when two young ladies that work there, Gilberte (Lefébure) and Klaudia (Daure) hit on the two boys and end up having sex with them. This ends up being a deadly mistake on their part though. After this happens the brothers of these ladies, Karl (Ligardes) and Goetz (Bihan) go after them, making them pay for “taking advantage” of their sisters. When Yasmine and her brother arrive there, their friends are no longer around as they are desperately trying to find a way out of the hell that they find themselves in. Gilberte takes the new arrivals where she claims their friends have gone. However, when they get there, they become trapped in a center of torture, surrounded with dead bodies hanging everywhere. They are immediately attacked and if anyone is going to survive this, it is Yasmine, there is little hope for anyone else at this point. Even if she does live though, she might have a very grim life. This family that owns this hostel are very deranged neo-natzis. They want to keep Yasmine to be Karl’s wife, and to take her baby to be Karl’s and the future of the family, keeping the head of the family’s ideals alive. This leaves Yasmine to be a lifelong prisoner of this man who brutally tortured and killed her own flesh and blood, a sentence that won’t end with her, but will continue on with her child.

Karina Testa gave an intense and invigorating performance as Yasmine. There is such a growth in her character that has to go through so many horrors on very many levels. Her strength is relentless and even when she doesn’t say a word the communication is there, helping us feel just a fraction of the pain she does. Jean-Pierre Jorris plays the head of the house and really demonstrates in a mind boggling way just how harmful an urge for dominance and perfection can be. Maud Forget gave a great performance. She gave a very creepy and chilly vibe at first, but then we see that she really isn’t as horrid as some of her family is. She even tries to help Yasmine, but refuses to be set free herself all because of her loyalty to her children.

The setting of Frontier(s) exposes what a crazy world we are living in. With all the bad there is such a small hope for good, that by bringing a child in to this place all you are really doing is setting them up for constant hardships where morality is no longer prevalent. Even before the torture occurs, there is a definite questioning of how anything good can keep any purity, where there seems to be inescapable troubles everywhere you look. Family is a major subject dealt with here. Most of the teens have lost majority of their families, and this lack of support in addition to their lack of faith in the government has them turning to stealing just to get by. Even the brother and sister, only have each other, which is a bond that is quickly destroyed.

The most interesting family unit is the neo-nazi family, partially because of their slanted beliefs, but also because deep down they show tendencies and emotions that aren’t as different from the norm than you might think. The constant talk of the “perfect race” is part of the father’s cruelty and reason why the family is so dysfunctional. Murders are committed by them for two reasons: the first being to find a woman who can serve the new head of the house and produce a perfect race baby, and the second, to satisfy their hunger for power. Where the family shows hints of normalcy is through the favoring of the son, Karl. The father claims that he is the only worthy one in the entire family and now each and every one of them has to listen to and complete his every command as if they were his army of servants. Sibling rivalry comes in to play through feelings of unjustly being treated like inferiors. It is family where superiority is everything. Those who are thought to be inadequate have served their long and hard sentences, killing for their father time and time again. Eva wasn’t even born in to this madness but abides by it in hope that if she does her birth parents will return to her. Her strong belief in them is partially why she stays there, in hopes to see them, but also to be there for her children like she thinks her parents will be some day for her. The father thought her children to be unsuitable since they didn’t fit in to his idea of perfect. They are forced to live in the mine like animals, where Eva visits them. Living in these conditions is what she must do, and she does it without hesitation.

Authoritative governmental stances are heavily criticized in the film. Neo-nazi's ideals are shown obviously through the beliefs of the characters and how harmful it is even for the family themselves who practice them. Also shown are the riots in France that took place in the country in 2005. It puts what happens in the film in to great context. The Neo-nazis are a representation of the French government. This choice was obvious with their idea of perfection needing to be dominant and with the French government’s lack of tolerance or very many rights of equality or freedom of expression. There was a fear of police brutality especially given the anarchic state that was present and the neo-nazis are the ones who end up handing out that brutality on their behalf in the way of torture and imprisonment. It’s as if they are all on the same team. If one doesn’t get you the other will. When the characters find themselves fleeing from one of them they end up in the mercy of the other. Showing that there is no way out.

Frontier(s) is so many things in one brilliant horror film. It takes a dangerous state in France, directly deriving from the reality there in 2005, in to a very intelligent commentary on the subject. By using such intense proportions of gore and intensity it puts in to perspective the severity of what went on and how threatening the government had been to the French’s previous way of life. It does this so much so that it almost redefines what life means to these people, taking away all of the goodness that it should imply. Inside of all of this are very complex and interesting characters, gruesome kills, high levels of tension, and a strength not just through the characters but through the film. The spot on writing along with everything else the film has going for it brings out a promising future for horror. With so many remakes, sequels, and copy cats in the American mainstream, Frontier(s) is very refreshing, as not only an excellent and innovative horror film, but as one that actually has something to say. Usually we get one or the other. Either it’s thought provoking and symbolic or it is a fun gory bloody slasher. Frontier(s) is the perfect example of showing us that both of these are important. Most would doubt the importance of blood and twisted kills to spread a message, but it portrays the film’s motives completely. We are shown that horror is a genre that can do good, even going beyond a viewing of the film, producing a bond and vital energy that we should feel whenever a movie is done right as the brilliant Frontier(s) certainly is.