Netflix And Chill: The Ninth Gate (1999)

While people have a number of different reasons for holding whatever opinions they have on director Roman Polanski, something that isn't mentioned enough is the simple fact that he has never equalled his cinematic output of the 1960s and 1970s. That's not to say that he hasn't made some very good films in more recent decades, but they're certainly not his best, and some are perhaps given a bit more leeway because of his name being attached to them. The Ninth Gate is one of those lesser films, and you can still find many people who champion it as a fine modern horror movie . . . which I think proves my point.

Johnny Depp plays Dean Corso, a rare book dealer who is hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to locate and check over copies of a book that supposedly gives the reader the chance to summon the devil. This job leads to Corso crossing paths with Liana Telfer (Lena Olin) and Baroness Kessler (Barbara Jefford), two women who may be in possession of the valuable texts. It also leads to him encountering a mysterious woman (Emmanuelle Seigner) who may want to help him, but could easily be seeking to frustrate his ongoing attempt to complete his task. The more that Corso investigates the book, the more he starts to see things that become harder to explain rationally.

Adapted from a novel, 'El Club Dumas', by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Ninth Gate has a screenplay by Polanski, John Brownjohn (who collaborated with the director on 4 or 5 movies), and Enrique Urbizu, that feels exactly in line with what Polanski wants to deliver. It's another one of his films that walks a tightrope in between horror and comedy, but that tightrope-walk is something that Polanski managed much more successfully in many of his earlier movies. Give me the inspired madness of The Tenant or Cul-de-sac. Please don't give me something else that reminds me of the ridiculous Bitter Moon.

Depp is fine in the main role, although he plays a character so unflappable that the third act fails to provide any real tension, but there are a few treats to be had in the supporting cast. Langella is his usual formidable presence, and plays his part with an admirably straight face. Olin does well, up to a point, but the screenplay sets out to make her character very silly by the time she is given a more active role in the second half of the film. Jefford is excellent, helped by the fact that she seems to be more savvy to what is really going on, and she doesn't seem to be as easily manipulated as other people in the movie. Seigner does what is asked of her, and I won't waste time being too rude about her appalling inability to give anything close to a decent performance. There's a good reason that her biggest movie roles seem to have been in movie directed by Polanski AKA her husband.

There's a decent score from Wojciech Kilar, some shots look nice enough (I guess), but there aren’t many more compliments I can give it. I will begrudgingly admit that one or two moments of humour work, especially one moment in which a character essentially berates a group of satanic cult members as nothing more than ignorant cosplayers, but that’s a rare moment that works in a movie that runs for just over two hours. If this wasn’t directed by Polanski, it would have been series and dismissed immediately, and completely forgotten by now.

3/10

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Mubi Monday: Lolita (1997)

I am not familiar with the tale of Lolita, having somehow never seen the film by Stanley Kubrick, or even read the source novel by Vladimir Nabokov. All I knew about it is what most people know about it. There's something at the heart of it that involves an older man and an underage girl. Yeah, if you've spent the past week or so getting upset about Cuties then you may want to stop reading now.

Jeremy Irons plays Humbert Humbert, a gentleman who ends up residing as a lodger in the home of Charlotte Haze (Melanie Griffith) and her young daughter, Dolores "Lolita" Haze (Dominique Swain). Swiftly growing infatuated with the child, Humbert eventually marries Charlotte, all the while scheming to do the minimum he has to do, in terms of his husbandly duties, and keep himself available to Lolita. Things do not go well in the marriage, of course, but that leads to a period of time during which Humbert and Lolita can give in to their distasteful urges.

I'm struggling to fully balance out my thoughts on Lolita. It is not a film I enjoyed, not one bit, and I am struggling to figure out the appeal of the source material, which perhaps makes some points lost in the adaptation from page to screen by Stephen Schiff (in what seems to be his first credited writing role). I guess, considering the third act, it's about a man so oblivious to how wrong his behaviour is that he needs to find someone worse than himself to help him find some kind of redemption.

Everyone involves deserves credit for giving it a try, even in 1997 this wasn't exactly something that moviegoers would be rushing to see, and the fact that it tries very hard to walk a tightrope between the intriguing and the disgusting is enough to remind you that no small amount of effort was exerted to get this done.

Director Adrian Lyne shoots things in a way that is either passive or, worse, lingering from the POV of Humbert. He places you alongside the main character, who has the benefit of being so well portrayed by Irons, and gives you nowhere to hide, even as things become darker and more sordid.

As well as a top-notch performance from Irons, Swain does well in the titular role. Her character is often very annoying, and treats the people around her quite appallingly, but she's a child being a child, even when she has moments of trying to act like a woman. She never is, and that point is emphasised at every turn, even when viewing her through the eyes of Humbert, who views her in a different way from everyone else. Griffith has a limited amount of screentime, but does well with it, and there are a couple of scenes stolen by Frank Langella.

The more I think about Lolita, the less I like it. That's not really the fault of the film though. I found the central idea too disturbing, as it was intended to be, but I also appreciated watching something that proved to be such a strong challenge. Not to sound too pretentious, but that can happen sometimes with art. A strong averse reaction can be just as rewarding, in some ways, as a strong connection to the material. The worst thing that any art can do is leave you disengaged, and Lolita certainly doesn't allow you to view it without becoming engaged.

The technical side of things is generally decent enough, and the performances give it a boost, but I hope to never watch this again. I will, however, check out the Kubrick film one day. And I may see how the novel presents things.

5/10

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Brainscan (1994)

Horror movies have always incorporated popular trends, and have always had fun with hobbies and interests that have been used as scapegoats by some scare-mongering news outlets. Whether it's the dangers of heavy metal, the perils of watching other horror movies, or videogames. And Brainscan is one of a number of movies to remind you that videogames are a corrupting influence on the youth of today. Well, the youth of the early 1990s, which means Edward Furlong.

Furlong plays Michael, a young man who ends up getting a CD-ROM of a game that allows him to commit violent crimes without fear of any real consequences. Except there does end up being consequences. Encountering a figure, The Trickster (T. Ryder Smith), who steps out of the screen, Michael finds himself in real danger. There's a detective (Hayden, played by Frank Langella) on the trail of a killer, and a young woman (Kimberly, played by Amy Hargreaves) who could become the next victim.

Written by Andrew Kevin Walker (yes, the man who would give us Seven just one year later), Brainscan is one of those horror movies that gets almost everything wrong. It desperately wants to make a memorable character with The Trickster, but fails, and none of the big plot points are as nasty and violent as they should be, which leaves the whole thing feeling far too take, especially for those who would have been the target audience for this in 1994.

Director John Flynn just doesn't have any handle on the material, as weak as it is, and makes a lot of wrong decisions. Had The Trickster been a better character then focusing on him would have been a good move, perhaps even giving him some more screentime (although he gets plenty), OR there could have been an attempt to make things even more complex between Langella's detective and Furlong's character, who keeps appearing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Considering how much better Langella is than anyone else in the movie, that could have greatly improved things.

Furlong is okay in the main role, but he's not someone I usually consider the best first choice for any role, and that is also the case here. He does what is asked of him though, moving from cocky teen to scared victim as it becomes clear that he may have actually committed crimes that will get him a hefty prison sentence. Langella is so good in his role here that I wish he'd been given similar roles in many other horror movies from about this time. In fact, I can't deny that I imagined a little fantasy universe in which Langella got the John Saxon role in the Elm Street series, and I wasn't disappointed. Smith is lacking a special quality needed to help make his character more entertaining, while both Hargreaves and Jamie Marsh (as a friend named Kyle) don't get time to make any strong impression.

Fun to watch once as a kind of relic from the 1990s, Brainscan isn't one that you should ever be too bothered about having missed off your viewing schedule. If the opportunity arises, decide whether or not you want to give it your time. It's quite poor, but it's not absolutely awful.

4/10

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Robot & Frank (2012)

An affecting drama with just a dash of sci-fi in the mix, Robot & Frank is a great little film that manages to impress viewers without the need for any unnecessary frills. Of course, Frank Langella being fantastic in the main role is a huge plus.

Langella plays Frank, a man who used to be a jewel thief but who now has to get used to the quiet life. Well, that's what his son (James Marsden) and daughter (Liv Tyler) are hoping for. His son even gives him a gift, a robot butler, to both help him around the house and keep him company. But it's not long until Frank realises that the robot may be able to give him a second shot at his favourite, though illegal, career.

Written by Christopher D. Ford, this is a beautiful little film, one that mixes in a few great characters with a small amount of humour and a story arc that viewers will genuinely care about as things play out. It's a seemingly simple drama that's freshened up slightly thanks to the small sci-fi touches throughout, and also thanks to the great cast. As well as Langella, Marsden and Tyler (who isn't onscreen for very long at all), there are also decent turns from Susan Sarandon (a real highlight in her relatively small role), Peter Sarsgaard and Jeremy Sisto, among others.

Director Jake Schreier does well by the material, never overdoing the emotional button-pushing until a final 10-15 minutes that really earns the right to tug at the heartstrings of anyone watching. There are one or two surprises, but none of them will leave viewers feeling cheated.

It's a shame that, perhaps, some people may avoid this because the word "robot" is in the title, while others may seek it out expecting something more sleek and shiny. It's a drama, first and foremost, about aspects of the human condition (growing old, becoming vulnerable, etc.), but it also uses the near-future world that it presents to highlight just how so much can stay the same while so much else changes.

Almost a dictionary definition of the word "unassuming", Robot & Frank might just end up impressing you as much as it impressed me. It's sweet without being sickly, moving without being TOO heavy-handed, and simply entertaining from beginning to end.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Frank-Langella/dp/B00AENNHOE/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1398298580&sr=1-2&keywords=robot+and+frank