Review: "President Wolfman"

There will always be a part of me that will love "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist". Don't look at my review like that... When I was in grade school, I would take the newspaper cartoons, cut out different characters and lines of dialogue and rearrange them to create a new strip that I called The Funnies. A boy can do wonders with a pair of scissors and a stick of glue.

And people can do similar feats with a foreign film and some editing software. "Kung Pow" was basically the movie version of The Funnies; you take old footage, shoot some new footage, do some voice overs and you've created a whole new flick! The final product hasn't exactly aged well, but I still appreciate its remix / re imagining attitude (and so did my cousins when I showed it to them).

It's that very attitude that makes me love this digital renaissance so much.

"President Wolfman" is not on the juvenile level of humor that "Kung Pow" lived on, but it does share a similar spirit. You see, the filmmakers took footage from public domain films - the majority of which coming from "Werewolf of Washington" - hired some voice actors, wrote a new script and put together what I can only best describe as a joyous romp. This new story follows President of the United States John Wolfman, as he deals with a popular piece of legislation that would sell America to China (marketed to the country as Chi-merica) in an effort to erase our debt. Oh, and he's also a werewolf.

Political satire can be hard to do without hitting the audience over the head with some kind of message, but "President Wolfman" is only interested in making you laugh at how ridiculous it all is. I once did a speech for public speaking class where I announced my candidacy for President. I laid out a goal, where not only would I stop the War in Iraq, but I would make it up to the country by offering a product placement with Pepsi; change the name of their capital to that of a soda, and you've got reparations. Of course, I was just being cheeky, but it also made a good point about where we were at as a country at the time - our ignorance towards a region of the world we didn't understand.

We see Chinese officials as classic racial stereotypes, tv commercials used as propaganda against its own people (us) and a congress that just likes to party. Sure, it's somewhat cartoonish in its presentation, but it really does nail certain things on the head; our national mindset towards other countries and races is still pretty tasteless, our government and media have no problem manipulating the voters into agreeing with anything they want and the only way a President can accomplish something is by morphing into a beast. This is my kind of political / social commentary. Through silliness, there is truth.


PW LocalScreen promo from Mike Davis on Vimeo.

The movie is also very aware at what it's doing. At one point, a sequence involving an emergency pregnancy is shown. This piece of footage has been circulated all over the internet, and really doesn't forward the story in any way. It's clearly meant to take the audience out of the film for a moment, and realize how much fun the filmmakers are having. One of the most obvious wink winks I've ever seen, in one of the most enjoyable projects I've seen in years.

I almost want to dust off my copy of "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist". Almost. Maybe I'll give "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" a view. Or maybe I should grab a newspaper (while I still can) and cut and paste away. Ought to be fun, no matter what I choose...

3/5 *'s

Review: "Zero Dark Thirty"

Just the other night, I watched the ending of "Inglourious Basterds". While it was a television edit, it was still pretty graphic: people burning to death, Hitler getting machine gunned to pieces, a movie theater exploding, etc. My dad channel surfed to it, but kept searching as he didn't like the violence in it (this coming from a guy who would go to sleep while watching "Red Dragon"). However, my father is in the minority, as most people really got a kick out of this rewriting of history. In real life, Hitler committed suicide, thus robbing the world of inflicting brutality on him. How unfair.

It's not enough that this monster is dead; he MUST be killed Charles Bronson style, and we MUST be able to experience that. I'm not suggesting that Tarantino made his film solely to cater to our lust for satisfying revenge, but we do eat up that kind of stuff, whether it's reality or a movie. It's like addictive fast food; catharsis on demand!

I got to see "Zero Dark Thirty" recently. You want to revel in some sweet payback? Wait for "Inglourious Basterds" to come back on.

Unlike what happened with Hitler, we actually got to kill bin Laden. And, of course, a movie would be made about the operation. I thought about a WWE Studios flick, where pro wrestlers would star in an 80's throwback men on a mission style story. Don't judge me for going primal... I know you wanted to see his death, even if its just a recreation. The movie Kathryn Bigelow gave us - a based on actual events style retelling of the hunt for the most wanted man in the world -  works as an indictment of us wanting to cum to a climax. Any climax. Wow, did I just type that? Yes, and I don't regret it.

The story takes place over the course of a decade, following the character of Maya, a CIA agent promoted to this investigation. Played with a stone cold determination to close the case by Jessica Chastain, our protagonist is wanting that climax as much as us. But, as the movie progresses, I wonder if Maya is capable of achieving satisfaction. She is a pale skinned loner, with nothing known about her other than her job. A desktop wallpaper on her computer shows an image of her with a child, but it is so distorted and blurry. We never learn her last name, and it's possible she is working under an alias. Does she have a personal reason for finding bin Laden, like a family member who died in 9/11 or something? All we know is that this is her task, and she must complete it.

At one point, a superior tells her that she is "chasing a ghost". I think that Maya is, herself, a ghost. Not literally, but she certainly acts like a spirit doomed to walk the planet until her purpose is fulfilled. When her job is done, she boards a plane as the only passenger. When asked where she would like to go, she has no answer. With a moment to herself, she sheds a tear, but I don't think it is from exhaustion or happiness; she has no one left to chase, and is finished. The fact that she got her target isn't enough; what's next?

Now, our hero didn't get that tingling sensation from the conclusion - what about us?

The raid sequence is dark, quiet and full of unparalleled tension. But, much like the style of the film, it is presented with no fanfare. Don't expect slo mo shots of bin Laden getting shot or superimposed images of American flags; it goes off in a straight forward procedural manner. The highly anticipated moment comes and goes in a flash. The seals execute their job and leave, almost as if they weren't even around. Kinda like a ghost.

The protagonist, her investigation, the raid itself and even the torture bits - which are not shown in a positive light, but rather used to establish our governments' wanting of revenge as extended to interrogation tactics (quite a mouthful) - all point to exposing and questioning our individual and collective craving for catharsis, no matter the cost. To do such a thing through such a high profile movie is nothing short of bold.

I ought to get around to reviewing Tarantino's latest, "Django Unchained". In it, we get revenge on slave owners. "RoboCop" style blood spurts are plentiful. Did your pants just get tighter?

5/5 *'s