Stuck (2007)

Mena Suvari plays a hard-partying nurse who hits a bum note.

At a glance:

If you have an academic interest in the oeuvre of Stuart Gordon, the man behind movies like Re-Animator (1985), Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989), Edmond (2005) and King Of The Ants (2003), then Stuck (2007) should strike some accord with you. It has that kind of otherworldly grim humour to it, despite bein a dramatisation of the 2001 true story of Chante Jawan Mallard, the convicted Texan black woman who had hit a white bum on the road and left him lodged at the windscreen, as she drove home, parked the car in her garage and proceeded to have sex with her boyfriend, as if nothin had happened. Reportedly the grisly truth only came to light four months later when she bragged about havin "hit this white man" at a party. That's when the long arm of the law started to catch up with her sorry arse. Many reviews of this film have pointed out that Mena Suvari's character is much more intelligent than the real person and you tend to agree. The absence of malice doesn't make somethin any less a crime and this flick discusses the culpability of any well-meanin person who finds himself quickly losin control when put in a sticky situation.

Mena Suvari in an unhelpful, protracted sex scene.

Bad news on the doorstep:

This isn't your high-octane action-thriller, if you thought it was. Stephen Rea gives a constrained performance as the poor victim of a hit-and-run and it's easy to root for him amidst the spirallin injustice. Mena Suvari turns in a suitable white trash portrayal with her ghetto braids but shouldn't have agreed to a protracted sex scene that didn't help the story, although pervs like me have waited for this since she last did the nasty with Kevin Spacey in American Beauty (1999). The biggest culprit here is Russell Hornsby, whose take on a scaredy-cat drug dealer is overacted and takes some some tension away.

Stephen Rea

Perennial wonderment:

You might remember this already bein referenced in a Law And Order episode on TV. Bollywood had an authorised remake too: Accident On Hill Road (2009) with Celina Jaitley and Farooque Shaikh. Everyone wants a piece, eh?

Most memorable line:

"Is he dead?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
This is a nice surprise, especially if you fancy the B-movie tone. Situational morality at work, no need for forceful self-reflection. Compellin character arcs. Variety's Joe Leydon called it "a sardonically edgy pic". By the way, the real life perp will be eligible for parole in 2027. But you don't need to wait for her to get the DVD now.★★★
Bonus material:

Chante Mallard: 50 years in the pen

King Of The Ants (2003)

Spot the head.

At a glance:
Charlie Higson takes his own 1992 novel of the same name and writes a screenplay for Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, 1985) to direct. It's a grim crime fable that has its moments but I'll be the first to admit that I watched it just because it was listed under Kari Wührer's CV. She plays the sultry widow of a businessman murdered by a clumsy drifter (Chris McKenna, pic) but things go from bad to worse in a strange case of unattainable redemption.
Bad news on the doorstep:
It's not very happenin. Like a telemovie.
Perennial wonderment:
This was one of Kari Wührer's first few movies after havin her breast implants removed due to her body rejectin the silicones (I think they call it encapsulation). Why do women go under the knife with such real odds of fuckup is beyond me.
Reminds me of:
The time I first laid eyes on Kari Wührer in Poison: Thy Neighbor's Wife (2001). Also, this Daniel Baldwin really looks too much like his brother Alec in The Cooler (2003). Same voice, same mole, same sadistic character, even.
I can't remember if I cried:
When our drifter gets tortured by a gold club for days in a bid to turn him into a vegetable. Thugs cut up some carpet and wrap his head with it to cushion the blows so as not to kill him.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
I'll give it a solid three stars due to the grotesque humour to the proceedings.
Trailer for the curious:

Bonus material:

This is how Kari looks like after she had her monster tits removed.
[click to enlarge] This is a dream sequence from the movie.

Edmond (2005)

Mena Suvari, the essential whore.
Always with directions to the closest ATM.

At a glance:
Somewhat a more twisted revisit of Michael Douglas in Falling Down (1993), this time its all about gettin laid and nobody does a less convincin job that the character actor William H. Macy (pic) in his role as a look-what-you-made-me-do Edmond Burke. Chronicled in the course of one long night, our fumblin anti-hero leaves his wife abruptly and goes downtown on a mission to wet his wick but the bizarre and surreal soon drives him to murder, although you don't really think it's anyone's fault. Seems like that's the message - an ordinary middle-class man carryin his white man burden to Trouble Town.

William H Macy talks money with Bai Ling.

Bad news on the doorstep:
It's just a little short of bein a thinkin man's horror movie. Meanin, it's for film students.
Reminds me of:
American Psycho (2000) and those Lynch movies. William H. Macy's bedroom scenes still bring back the horrors of havin caught a glimpse of his unsightly knob in The Cooler (2003). Not a pleasant experience.
Watch out for:
Mena Suvari (pic) as a whore, Bai Ling as a stripper and Julia Stiles as a waitress whom Edmond takes home.
Most memorable line:
William H. Macy goes "that's too much" every time he hears the price for a score. It's an amusin refrain because his character has principles, just like the protagonists in Herman Yau movies.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
If I do get it, which I think I do, then it's gotta be ★★ stars because there's gotta be a neater and cleaner way to present this. If I don't get it, it's ★★★★ alright!