My Review: Stoker (9/10)

¨Sometimes you need to do something bad to stop you from doing something worse.¨

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Chan-wook Park´s first American film considering it hadn’t received as much critical acclaim as his Korean films did. I liked Oldboy, but wasn’t a huge fan like most people, but somehow I ended up being blown away with how artistic and well made this movie was. Park can take you to dark places and his movies can be disturbing. Stoker is no exception. Park creates a dark and provocative thriller that begins at a slow pace but the tension begins to rise as we get to the climatic and surprising ending. Park´s film is very stylish, and I don’t think I have seen better camerawork and editing in a film this year. I was blown away with the images and the twists that Park creates in this film. Stoker proves that it is not necessary to sympathize for any of the characters in order for the viewer to care for what is happening. None of these characters are likeable, but Park creates such a dark and twisted atmosphere that I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The slow opening scenes were very stylish and gorgeous to look at. I was completely hooked with the story from the beginning. I was surprised to discover that the script was written by Wentworth Miller (the actor from Prison Break and Resident Evil Afterlife) because the story was pretty gripping. I don’t know if it would have worked in another director´s hands, but Park made the script look good. If this was Park´s first American film, I can´t wait to see what he does next. This film also made me want to watch Oldboy again and see what I missed the first time considering I was a much younger viewer. Park will definitely be on my radar from now on.

India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) has always been very close to her father, Richard (Dermot Mulroney), but has never connected well with her emotionally unstable mother Evie (Nicole Kidman). India isn’t a normal teenage girl herself; she is socially awkward and doesn’t like to be touched. She lives in a large family estate in a peaceful town surrounded by the woods. On the day of her 18^th birthday, she receives the news that her father has passed away in a freak car accident. During his funeral, India is introduced to her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), Richard´s estranged brother whom he has never mentioned before. Evie invites Charlie to stay with them, and despite being attracted to him in some sort of bizarre way India isn’t happy with his presence in their estate. Charlie seems to have some ulterior motives, but everyone in the family acts in a bizarre way. This isn’t your typical family and everyone seems to have some disturbed troubled past. Charlie seems to be taken with India, but she distrusts his intentions. As the movie begins to unfold we discover some hidden secrets from the family´s past.

I´ve mentioned how much I liked Park´s direction and Miller´s script, but I also have to give credit to Wasikowska´s performance. She gives a very strong performance as this troubled teen who is struggling to accept her infatuation with her estranged uncle. She has some very difficult scenes here and she delivers at every turn. She is the highlight of this film, although Matthew Goode has some great moments as well and some strange sort of chemistry going on with Wasikowska. The film finds a perfect balance between being disturbingly dark and beautifully stylish. I was really hooked with this thriller and would definitely watch this film again. Stoker may not be as raw and shocking as Oldboy but it still has its twisted and disturbing moments. Park´s style may not be for everyone, but I enjoy his craft and artistic style.  

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My Most Anticipated films of 2013

I know we are already near the end of January, but I’m still trying to catch up with some of the 2012 releases before I make my 2012 Top 10 list. What I do want to do is tell you about some of the 2013 films that I am really looking forward to seeing.

First of all there are some big blockbuster releases that we are all expecting and that we’ve heard about so I will just briefly mention them because I’m pretty sure we are all familiar with them: Iron Man 3, Star Trek: Into the Darkness, The Lone Ranger, World War Z, Kick-Ass 2, After Earth (yes, I’m a huge Shyamalan fan despite his recent misses), The Great Gatsby, Oz the Great and Powerful, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, A Good Day to Die Hard, Anchorman: The Legend Continues, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Fast and Furious 6, Oblivion, and The Wolverine.

Having that said and getting those big budget films (which I am really anticipating) out of the way, I must mention some smaller independent movies that you might not have heard of and that look really good. I present them in no particular order:

1.       Jobs  (Ashton Kutcher stars as Steve Jobs in this biopic about one of the most creative men of our time). 

2.       The East (This film stars Ellen Page and I could see any movie of hers so this is a must see for me. Include Alexander Skarsgard from True Blood in the mix and that gives me another good reason to go see this). 

3.       Before Midnight (It has been almost two decades since Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy delighted fans with Before Sunrise. Then came Before Sunset, and now the trilogy continues with Richard Linklater at the helm again. The film is getting rave reviews). 

4.       Very Good Girls  (I really don’t know much about this film other than the fact that Elizabeth Olsen who I really love stars in this film with Dakota Fanning and Demi Moore. After making Martha Marcy May Marlene I want to see every film that Olsen stars in).

5.       Ain’t them Bodies Saints (It stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara and has been getting a lot of positive reviews from people at the Sundance Festival).

6.       MUD (This is Jeff Nichol´s follow up to his successful 2011 film debut Take Shelter. It stars Matthew McConaughey, and if it is as half as good as Take Shelter was it will be worth a watch). 

7.       Touchy Feely (Your Sister´s Sister was one of my top 10 films last year, and this is director Lynn Shelton´s follow up which also stars the talented Rosemarie DeWitt. I also love her co-star, Ellen Page so this is one movie I won´t be missing).

8.       Breathe In (Director Drake Doremus and Felicity Jones reunite after Like Crazy in yet another romantic drama dealing with a foreign exchange student).

9.       Stoker (This is from the director of Oldboy; need I say more?) 

   

10.    The Way, Way Back (Directorial debut of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash who wrote the screenplay for The Descendants. The film stars Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell).

11.    Only God Forgives (This is the movie I´m anticipating the most because it comes from one of my new favorite directors: Nicolas Winding Refn who is teaming up with Ryan Gosling again after making my favorite 2011 film: Drive. He describes this film as being a Western in Asia).

12.    The Place Beyond the Pines (I could see any film starring Ryan Gosling and in this film he stars alongside Bradley Cooper who also seems to be on a role. Did I forget to mention Eva Mendes stars in this as well? I´m sold for this and the trailer looks terrific).

13.    Mama (This looks like it could actually be a good horror film, although I usually end up disappointed with these films. I still look forward to watching Jessica Chastain doing something completely different).

14.    Fruitvale (This film just one the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic film in the Sundance Film Festival. Last year´s winner was Beasts of the Southern Wild and didn’t disappoint).

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