I Spit On Your Grave 2 (2013)

Jemma Dallender in a spot of rape & revenge for I Spit On Your Grave.

At a glance:

"I shit on your grave!! I do!!"

Director Steven R. Monroe follows up on his R & R hit (rape and revenge) I Spit On Your Grave (2010) with the inevitable I Spit On Your Grave 2 (2013) -- this time with a slightly prettier lead in Kristin Kreuk lookalike Londoner Jemma Dallender (a bit like Hanna Mangan Lawrence too, innit?) and with better, more memorable villains, although they are typically East European again, as Hollywood's preferred criminal profilin will have it. The beloved critic Roger Ebert, who famously rubbished the 1978 original and its 2010 remake, is probably turnin in his grave right know, knowin that this franchise has managed to outlive him. For what it's worth, the product is a more polished, technically accomplished concept sequel with improved realistic torture for you gore hounds out there. This reboot features Katie, a wannabe model who gets more than she bargained for, after agreein to a free photo shoot with some dodgy blokes. Highlights include an extended rape scene on the floor and several good kills involvin a shitty toilet bowl (literally), a cement mixer and an electric prod, not to mention an excellent nipple removal scene reminiscent of Grotesque (2009), plus the best, most graphic castration scene I've ever seen on film.

Bad news on the doorstep:

We gotta nip it in the bud, I say.

I think it's a story of two halves, in more than one sense. The rape bit is nasty, steady stuff. However the revenge bit, which I believe to be central to makin these kind of movies work, is only partially present. Jemma Dallender actually commands a stronger screen presence than her predecessors Camille Keaton and Sarah Butler but the narrative robs us of any sort of meaningful reflection on the part of the aggrieved character that would have made retribution sweeter. The downtime I'm talkin about involves only a subway pigeon roast and a few half-arsed conversations with a sympathetic priest in a church. Notwithstandin some logistical concerns that plague the story and requires frequent suspensions of disbelief, Katie's unlikely escape and rebirth as the hellbent avenger is hard to relate to because she goes from desperate, helpless victim to a calculated, punchline-hurlin badass too quickly. She seems to have forgotten about the anguish that drove her so far in the first place, while we have been invested to see her keep it, especially for the decisive moments in which she is to exact her revenge. Huntin down her captors become an exercise in car-crash curiosity and the payoff we ask for is reduced to a series of shock violence and human depravity.

Jemma Dallender is a little tied up at the moment.

"Nice shoes. Wanna fuck?"

Perennial wonderment:

How should we do I Spit On Your Grave 3 ? I say, have a male lead this time, a pizza guy maybe, who gets raped and tortured by some old maids. Any better ideas? Drop me a line below.

Reminds me of:

I Spit on Your Grave / Day Of The Woman (1978) and Thriller - A Cruel Picture (1974). It's rare but I do find that this movie has actually provided a reasonably more entertainin modern times reupdate on those rape and revenge movies, although it broke no new ground.
I can't remember if I cried:
The nipple removal scene!

"Hmm... I wonder what this does..."

Most memorable line:

None.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Starburst Magazine's Paul Risker framed it well: "For all the controversy of Straw Dogs' notorious rape scene, the film remains a reflection of the ideologies of its director Sam Peckinpah. It explores the individual’s relationship to violence and the necessity of violence for survival. Whilst this reflection is embedded in the film’s subtext, I Spit on Your Grave 2 asks you to attempt to find a reason to celebrate it by projecting meaning and metaphor onto it where none exists." The movie could have been 15-20 minutes shorter, to achieve what it did. By the way, I saw a 107-minute version, so don't get shortchanged because I read that there are some festival cuts around.★★1/2
Bonus material:
I have loads of photos for you below but I don't suggest you click through unless you don't intend to watch the movie. Enjoy!

Joe Absolom gives it up for the best castration scene in cinema history.

The Stranger Within (2013)

Estella Warren about to mount William Baldwin in The Stranger Within (2013).

The ghostly Katia Winter. Yeah I would.

At a glance:

Philosopher Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff's son Adam is a Danish TV series director makin his feature film debut with the R-rated Hollywood thriller The Stranger Within (2013). The earlier Sony title was The Stranger Inside but I think they're all too generic still. Anyway, it's completely Adam Neutzsky-Wulff's baby since he wrote, produced and directed it, and the biggest sellin point is that it sounds like an erotic thriller since William Baldwin and Estella Warren star in it. She's some kind of famous actress who survives a kidnap and rape, and he's the concerned psychiatrist husband who decides to take her to a holiday home on a remote island. Things get groovy when some bird appears on their doorstep (Sarah Butler, in various states of dress and undress again, just like she was in I Spit On Your Grave, 2010) with blood on her hands, seemingly havin just survived a hikin accident in which her boyfriend died. We're let in on a series of mindfucks but it does stop short of turnin into a home invasion thriller. Oh, there's a part too for Katia Winter -- I vaguely remember her naked body against Kellan Lutz in Arena a.k.a. Death Games (2011).

Bad news on the doorstep:

BDSM necrophilia? Nope. Oughtta be, though.

The billin is attractive and the performances are well above serviceable for an $800k flick but I didn't like bein whisked here and there so quickly in the early stages, while hardly connectin to the characters. The stock mystery thriller soundtrack compliments the rather predictable proceedings once they get to the house. It's not the most original of stories and if you watch a lot of thrillers, maybe the payoff twist won't really do it for you. To be honest, I only got this because I saw Kim Bodnia (that badass in the Pusher movies) in the cast listin but turns out he cameos as a masked kidnapper for just a few minutes! What a waste of a top actor -- didn't even get to see his face! Fuckin muppet.  

Perennial wonderment:

Estella Warren: Blushed and bemused.

Don't know modellin works but when I first saw Estella Warren in Planet of the Apes (2001), I thought she had an over-blushed kind of sex appeal that I don't particularly enjoy in an actress. Oh well, at least she finds work. Did you know she's a foodie and about to start some cookin shows and a culinary career of some sort?

Reminds me of:

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (1992), Sleeping With The Enemy (1991), Fatal Attraction (1987), Basic Instinct (1992) and this movie here (don't click it if you still want to watch the movie proper because you'd make out the twist right away).

Did you know:
Estella Warren is a world-class synchronised swimmer from Canada?

Watch out for:
There's a nice little song somewhere in the middle of the movie which I later found out to be Joan Westgate's Nothing Is Real. I'm tempted to say this is the best thing about the movie but that would be slightly too harsh. Her fans on YouTube said it anyway. Ha.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

For a thriller that wants to be taken seriously, the groundwork is pretty dodgy and the characters make pretty strange decisions sometimes. Well this ain't Mulholland Dr. (2001), that's for sure.★★
Bonus material:

Sarah Butler asks Estella Warren if her boobs are too small.

The Victim (2011)

The incredibly tempting but titless scream queen Danielle Harris.

Real life lovers Michael Biehn and Jennifer Blanc.

At a glance:

The tagline asks: "Who is the victim?" Well, you mostly likely are, if you sat through this, like I did. The Victim (2011) is written and directed by Hollywood veteran Michael Biehn who couldn't resist also starrin in the damned thing, while castin his buxom wife Jennifer Blanc opposite him. Well actually, they started their own production house and this is the first of three pictures they shopped, I think. It's an R-rated effort about two sluts (Blanc and the equally trashy Danielle Harris) who are fixin to get it on with two police officers (Ryan Honey, Denny Kirkwood) in the woods but their tryst is compromised and Blanc's character escapes to a cabin inhabited by a mysterious loner (Biehn). Title refers to the guessin game we have to play, as we try to figure out their competin stories on just who is bein fucked over here.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Ryan Honey takes forever to come with Danielle Harris in The Victim (2011).

Jennifer Blanc-Biehn and Danielle Harris.

Reportedly shot over 12 days for US $800k, mostly in Topanga Canyon, close to Malibu, California, and marketed as grindhouse fare, helmer Michael Biehn apologetically said he "got the sex in, because I didn’t have money for special effects makeup, I didn’t have money for visual effects. I didn’t have money for crowd scenes of car chases, nothing like that and so I just went with the sex, dirty cops, drugs, a little bit of torture, and enough to do a little bit of action, and I threw in a serial killer." Well, that's all well and good but The Victim largely suffers from a structural issues i.e. unhelpful flashbacks and music that are well sourced but don't work. The onscreen sex between the husband and wife team is so sudden, it's hilarious. Biehn will always have his fans but I think Mrs. Biehn's actin and delivery still has some way to go. She's pushin 40 but she's got a voluptuous body, though.

Perennial wonderment:

What's the next level for Danielle Harris, I wonder? She's famous now after doin the Halloween and Hatchet movies, and I seem to always end up watchin her less illustrious appearances as well, such as Stake Land (2010), Cyrus (2010), ChromeSkull: Laid To Rest 2 (2011) and most recently Fatal Call before this favour to Michael Biehn.

Reminds me of:

Jennifer Blanc pleasures Denny Kirkwood in The Victim (2011).

Primal sex in the woods with betattooed women of loose morals... or was that all a dream sequence? Oh noooooooo ...
I can't remember if I cried:
What kind of girl would offer to give head in exchange for "living a little longer and doing something I've always enjoyed"? The kind of girl in a B-grade sexploitation flick, I guess. Oh, and what kind of guy would allow a girl to? An incredibly stupid one, that's for sure.

Most memorable line:

Some weak lines throughout but please do check out Michael Biehn's bizarre monologue on sociopaths in the closin scene, about "touching the face of God".

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Biehn at work.

Alan Cerny of Ain't It Cool News acquits The Victim as "a fun sleazy grindhouse film", in which Biehn was lauded for both givin a good performance and gettin good performances out of his actors. I can't say I can be as excited for it, but watchin the end credits reel does make me feel more forgivin towards the people behind it, who must've put in a lot of effort. I guess if I were Michael Biehn, this would definitely be somethin I'd proud to start out with. Good luck for your next try, sir. ★★1/2
Bonus material:

Danielle Harris. Not my kind of body type but she got heat, alright.

Lovelace (2013)

Peter Sarsgaard tickles Amanda Seyfried's tonsils in Lovelace (2013).

At a glance:

The real Linda Lovelace.

How far does a girl have to go to untangle her tingle, asks the poster for Deep Throat (1972), the purported most profitable indie flick of all time at some $600m (not accordin to the mob who funded it), out of which tragic starlet Linda Lovelace received none of the US$1250 owed to her. I wish I were livin in those pre-Internet days to experience fuck flicks at standalone cinema wankathons, at least once in my life. If I did, I wish I got to know Linda Susan Boreman, the unassumin Florida schoolgirl turned world famous porn star, often credited as bringing adult entertainment into the forefront of mainstream attention. This very sympathetic and one-sided Andy Bellin / W. Merritt Johnson treatment is a biopic based on Eric Danville's 2001 book The Complete Linda Lovelace, focusin on how the lass escapes her religious mother (Sharon Stone) to meet and marry the charismatic hustler Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard) who would end up bein her papa pimp and punisher. Who would've thought that Linda's impressive capacity for fellatio would send her up the dizzyin heights of international superstardom and then down so far to the lowest levels of human depravity? Lovelace (2013) is a movie I was excited to read about and I wanted to like.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Juno Temple would've been my top choice for Linda.

Dirty beauties Juno Temple and Chloe Sevigny both have small roles in this and I wish either of them had landed the leadin part instead. Was Amanda Seyfried cast because of her freckles and her 60s style, upside-down heart-shaped tits? I read that Kate Hudson was first choice! What a disaster that would've been. Far more critical than that, of course, is how easily the picture goes down, when contrasted against the cultural significance of its characters. I'm talkin about how it "reduces an immensely disturbing, politically byzantine tale to a series of cartoonish vignettes" and how "this celeb-studded biopic squanders a gutsy performance by Amanda Seyfried while making '70s porn look scarcely more sleazy than a movie-of-the-week melodrama from the period", accordin to Rob Nelson for Variety. Sarsgaard and Adam Brody especially give some layered, highly watchable performances but the way all the characters enter and exit the proceedings, e.g. Playboy legend Hugh Hefner played by James Franco, simply devalues the explosive subject matter. Not only is the camerawork rather static, the characterisation makes caricatures out of everyone and many potentially powerful scenes lose their emotional gravitas, e.g. Dad (Robert Patrick) talkin to his little girl on the phone about how he had to walk out of the cinema, and Linda survivin a beatin in the streets only to be rescued by cops who were more interested in gettin her autograph.

Well, at least the retro typeset and production design was spot on.

James Franco's pipe-wielding Hugh Hefner!

Perennial wonderment:

Will we ever find out how much the movie actually made? Did Hugh Hefner really get a blowjob from Linda and was he really a sympathetic figure who wanted her to be a legitimate movie star? Was Linda actually a pathological liar and used everyone, just as much as they used her? It would've been nice to at least cover the other angle about how she felt the anti-porno movement also manipulated her durin her last days.

Reminds me of:

The wonderfully depressin biopics Auto Focus (2002) about Bob Crane and What's Love Got To Do With It (1993) about Tina Turner - both of which are vastly more resonant and wholly entertainin than this one.

I can't remember if I cried:

When it stopped at 92 minutes. What kind of self-respectin biopic has such a short runtime? No wonder everythin seems rushed!

Most memorable line:

Chuck says: "No, Linda, it's Shakespeare. I told them you do a great English accent, particularly with a cock down your throat."

Innit sad that a movie so big gave so little to Linda?

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Total Film's Kate Sables notes that for a movie obsessed with truth-tellin, Lovelace "ignores the competing accounts of its heroine’s porno past, privileging only her own version". Another online comment dismisses Lovelace as "nothing more than a by-the-numbers, woman empowerment, Lifetime channel Movie Of The Week…with nudity". I do feel it's not very tender and disappointingly mediocre. For a more academic view on the topic, check out the 2005 documentary Inside Deep Throat. By the way, does anyone know what happened to that other Linda Lovelace story that was supposed to be out this year, Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story (2013), starrin Malin Akerman and Sasha Grey? I read that Lindsay Lohan was supposed to be the lead. Oh well, meanwhile I'll have to check out Paul Schrader's The Canyons to see how LiLo is doin. ★★1/2
The day the music died:

R.I.P. Linda "Lovelace" Boreman (26 Jan 1949 - 22 Apr 2002)
and Charles Everett "Chuck" Traynor (21 Aug 1937 - 22 July 2002)

Bonus material:

Some of them like to use you, some of them like to be of use.

Jug Face (2013)

Jungle jism: Lauren Ashley Carter loves incestuous in-and-outs in Jug Face.

At a glance:

Jug Face (2013) is about face jugs.

Backwater bad religion and sibling sex come together swimmingly in the impressive indie Jug Face (2013). By all accounts, debutant writer-director Chad Crawford Kinkle is gonna have a great career ahead of him. That's if the gods of hillbilly horrors and the supernatural slasher genre will stick around to preside over a few generations more of Southern Gothic inbred killers and the horror DVDs they sell. Here, we closely follow an isolated community from the animated opening credits through to a grim, deterministic end. It's a tight little village story about young Ada (Lauren Ashley Carter), who's supposed to be a nubile virgin about to marry straight-laced Bodey (Mathieu Whitman) but she hides a bun in the oven, an unspeakably incestuous one co-baked with her brother Jessaby (Daniel Manche) at that. Running parallel to this story is another village secret. There's a magic pit in the woods that sends its sacrificial wishlist by way of visions to a seer named Dawai (Sean Bridgers) who happens to be the village halfwit. Every season, this reluctant potter will fashion a clay jug bearing the face of the next intended and the villagers will offer up a blood sacrifice via slow-drip. Wotta fresh spin! Bring on the mystery and the moonshine, fellas.

Bad news on the doorstep:

"The pit wants what the pit wants."

Not a big issue but some didn't like the CG aspects, however little, for they do remind us how cheaply the movie was put together. Make-up FX veteran Bob Kurtzman is attached to this, so I wonder if there were better ways to film the more demanding apparitions we see. Others note the underpopulated village as another down point that took us out of the experience. Also, the somewhat muted ending seems to wanna hold itself back unnecessarily. I'd have fancied a stronger finish.

Perennial wonderment:

"Please, sir. Can we have a sequel?"

If you're wondering where you've seen big-eyed brunette Lauren Ashley Carter before, she's the younger sister in The Woman (2010). Lass sure has blossomed nicely, eh? Birds like these do so swell in horrors playing the dishevelled innocent.

Reminds me of:

A refreshing evil blend of Terribly Happy (2008), The Breed (2008), The Shrine (2010) and M. Night Shyamalan's The Village (2004).

Most memorable line:

"The pit wants what the pit wants."

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Confident piece of storytelling. Even the music is good and adds value to the package. Definitely several cuts above the usual crap lately. Check out the official website and the Facebook fan page for more info.★★★1/2

"Open further and lemme see that smelly snatch, you ungrateful whore!"

Charlie Zone (2013)

Amanda Crew stars as crackhouse beauty Jan in Charlie Zone (2013).

At a glance:

I've read many glowin reviews about this little Canadian crime caper that managed a very limited theatrical release a while back. Michael Melski's under-supported Charlie Zone (2013) is about a disgraced First Nations boxer and ex-con (native actor Glen Gould) who resorts to streetfightin for YouTube videos to make ends meet, before fatefully takin up a job to retrieve a young heroin addict (Amanda Crew) from a crackhouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Title is in reference to a rough part of town, I understand.

Jan (Amanda Crew) gets nicked by Avery (Glen Gould).

Bad news on the doorstep:

It's a little too long and it tends to wanna cover too much. Also it overdoes the unpolished, grainy feel. Is this how the East Coast underworld is really like, I wonder? I've never been. Modest little Canadian crime flick with borin camerawork and lethargic editin but it does feature some decent lead performances, especially the gritty Gould. The movie is most interestin when he's on the move and weakest when people talk too much. Two or three more rewrites would've landed more solid punches.

Perennial wonderment:

How come pushers and junkies are always so unconvincin in under-budgeted movies? I believe that sometimes, all that an actor needs to get so much better for such roles is to spend some time on the streets.

No safety.

Reminds me of:

Always liked Amanda Crew since I watched her in Sex Drive (2008). She reminds me of Kristen Stewart, only with talent. Wished her role could've been sexier here, though it'll probably serve as a distraction from the proceedings. Still, could've gone for a more lascivious edge, in all that doom and gloom.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

I enjoyed all the personal little touches and also the attempt for a certain level of intimacy but I think the heart of the story is underwritten. Norman Milner notes: "It’s cheaply made and a little on the long side, with maybe one speech too many about the rich taking advantage of the poor. But strong performances by Gould and Crew – clearly relishing the opportunity to go beyond the frowny-pretty roles she’s usually given – compensate for the production’s ragged edges, and director Melski, who co-wrote the script with Joseph LeClair, shows promise as a meat-and-potatoes storyteller. Give these guys a little more money and a bit more prep time and the results could be really impressive." Check out the official website and Facebook fan page for more info.★★1/2

Sexy Evil Genius (2013)

Looking to jack off to Katee Sackhoff? Sexy Evil Genius ain't the movie for it.

At a glance:

Shawn Piller's lo-fi black comedy Sexy Evil Genius (2013) was reportedly completed some two years ago and only found VOD and DVD release through Lionsgate Home Entertainment last week, so do align your expectations accordingly. It does boast an interestin lineup of now lesser seen stars though, in Michelle Trachtenberg, Harold Perrineau, William Baldwin and Seth Green. The movie is almost all-indoor and most of the proceedings happen in a downtown L.A. bar where a group of strangers meet, on account of their mutual friend Nikki Franklyn (Katee Sackhoff in the titular role), an unconventionally attractive woman who'd recently done time for murderin her last ex. We get some flashbacks from different characters every now and then, as the night progresses into a full-blown cat-and-mouse mindfuck.

Bad news on the doorstep:

You'd think a movie with these two would set your pants on fire.

Scott Lew's dialogue-driven script can sometimes surprise us with several sharp turns, even makin references to great classics like Double Indemnity (1944), but the guessin game grows tiresome and the material simply couldn't spark much excitement. Despite sufficiently watchable chemistry between the table guests, we aren't allowed much room to invest in them, as all things have to defer to Katee Sackhoff's central character but she doesn't seem to give much energy to the narrative, though this is through no fault of just her own, especially if you read this Collider interview about how bloody hard she worked for the role. You'd think she'd be perfect for this crazed femme fatale role but somethin is amiss with the direction and we're left feelin indifferent about the payoff even before it comes. Perhaps they could've put in stronger sex scenes to perk things up a little, since it's already rated R?

Perennial wonderment:

Although he's got a quite a substantial body of work in various capacities, Seth Green will always be remembered as that wigga with the goggles who screwed the awkward girl in Can't Hardly Wait (1998), won't he? I liked him as the Amish guy in Sex Drive (2008) too but that wigga role will never be topped, I believe.

Reminds me of:

The Perfect Host (2010) with David Hyde Pierce but that was nowhere near borin, which is what many would feel about this little release.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Not particularly sexy, evil or genius, by most accounts. The DVD has quite a lot of cool extras though, but I wouldn't pay for it if I were you. Go show some love on its official Facebook fan page though.★★
Bonus material:

Goofing around on set.

The Place Beyond The Pines (2013)

Though far from perfect, Gosling makes The Place Beyond The Pines unmissable.

"If you ride like lightning,
you're gonna crash like thunder."

At a glance:

Imbued with all the ambition and class of a modern classic crime epic, Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance reunites with the enigmatic Ryan Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines (2013), a flawed but fabulous fable steeped in heavy themes of guilt and redemption. It's the kind of movie you don't take your eyes off for even a minute, as a long take openin trackin shot majestically promises. We're let in on the moral struggles firstly through carnival motorcycle stuntman Luke Glanton (Gosling recallin some touches of Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive), who reluctantly starts robbin small banks with a newfound handyman friend (Ben Mendelsohn) when he discovers he has a year-old son with his one-time fling (Eva Mendes). The decidedly unpolished narrative avoids cheap emotions throughout and the first act especially posits all the hallmarks of an unforgettable story with a lead character so excitin, he deserves an origins sequel.

Bad news on the doorstep:

So Emery Cohen is supposed to be the son of Bradley Cooper & Rose Bryne
while Dane DeHaan is supposed to be the son of Ryan Gosling & Eva Mendes?

Bradley Cooper goes Serpico in The Place Beyond The Pines.

In a clear case of peakin too early, the momentum splutters by the time we meet Bradley Cooper's co-protag in the second act, a cop character with neither the charm nor the complexity to meet the emotional continuity revved up earlier by our ever-so-watchable rebel robber. This is likely to be a miscast than a character exposition problem but by the third act when we're introduced to their respective teenage sons in a 'sins of the father' story arc, things turn weary and even slightly contrived when we realise the actors (Emery Cohen and Dane DeHaan), through no fault of their more than adequate performances, look very little like who they're supposed to be descended from; an unfortunate development that does undo a lot of the magic in this movie, like the breathtakin camerawork and sublime score by Mike Patton. Several set pieces are beautiful and production values are top-notch but one would suspect the director has several regrets he'd admit to himself with the final cut.

Perennial wonderment:

This character deserves an origins sequel.

Are they gonna use Bon Iver's The Wolves (Act I & II) for every movie that seeks to end on a convalescent, resonant note? I'm still high from watchin and hearin its first use, in the closin scene of the beautiful French drama Rust And Bone (2012). Shoegazers forever!

Reminds me of:

Animal Kingdom (2010), A Bronx Tale (1993), and Prince Of The City (1981) come to mind when I think about crime epics with some pedigree.

Ben Mendelsohn can't put a foot wrong.

Watch out for:

Eva Mendes successfully makes herself thin and haggard for her trashy role and Ray Liotta has a more useful run-out here for a change, in one of his usual villainous turns, but Ben Mendelsohn steals the show as the world-weary accomplice and friend. Check out his chops in Beautiful Kate (2009), Killing Them Softly (2012) and Animal Kingdom (2010) if you wanna see what he can really do besides his small part in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

Only God forgives... if you tattoo a dagger on your face.

Most memorable line:

"If you ride like lightning, you're gonna crash like like thunder."

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Would've been movie of the year if not for a few false notes in there. Still, it's a family affair about honour and duty that's certainly artful and intimate enough for a rewatch. Check out this interview with the director if you wanna know more about the movie and also that incredible openin long take. Movin on, can't wait for Only God Forgives (2013) in summer!★★★1/2
Bonus material:

No woman, no cry... Ryan Gosling style.