REVIEW: Mandrill

Mandrill
Director: Ernesto Diaz Espinoza
Year 2009

Mandrill is a colorful revenge flick that follows a haunted man as he hunts down his parents’ killer, only to find that vengeance isn’t always the best medicine to cure your pain of loss. With an abundant sense of style and an action oriented disposition, the film relishes in its lead character’s tremendous abilities and charismatic sensibilities when it comes to both kicking butt and establishing an emotional connection with the audience. Stemming from a team-up that has worked wonders on two previous films, Kiltro and Mirageman, both director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza and martial artist expert Marko Zaror make one hell of a dream team. Mandrill is their third collaboration and it seems that the third times the charm.

The film follows a hitman by the name of Antonio Espinoza, AKA Mandrill, who after witnessing the murder of his parents at a young age, makes it his sole purpose in life to become a professional killer in order to someday cross paths with the man who took his family away from him and deal the final death blow. One day his contact informs him of a new job and it’s the one he’s been waiting for his whole life. Determined to finally put his past behind him, Mandrill heads to his next mark thinking that after he kills the murderer of his parents, his nightmares of that horrible night will come to an end. Unfortunately for him, once the job is done a whole new set of problems begin to come into light, and Mandrill’s life begins to swirl wildly out of control. With a hard knocks lesson on the pitfalls of revenge, the film does an excellent job in telling a morality tale that has an extra punch of badass that kicks your teeth straight out. Bring it on Mandrill!

Marko Zaror plays the role of Antonio Espinoza, AKA Mandrill, and he does a phenomenal job with the character. Not only does he have the martial arts aspects of the role down packed, but he does a commendable job with the more subtle nuances of his jaded, yet optimistic character. I’ve enjoyed his other efforts that he’s contributed to within the action cinema realm, like Kiltro and Mirageman, and I’ve always respected his approach to balancing the heart pumping action with the more emotionally focused moments of his films. He always seems to play a character that has a sensitive undertone to his rugged exterior and it’s kind of refreshing to see that he takes on roles that are not just one dimensional and have something more substantial to say other than, I’m a badass. With the movie Mandrill, that’s the same case, because we get a heavy dose of melodrama within the character of Antonio and he isn’t just all about fighting and being cool. The extra layer that Marko brings to the table is something of a rare exception and in this story he is given free reign to branch out into that uncharted territory with great effect.

Pairing up against Marko’s Mandrill character is Celine Reymond, who plays the sexy daughter of Mandrill’s parents’ killer, Dominik Del Solar. Celine is exceptionally good in this role, because it allows her to show off two totally different sides of her character’s self, the sweet innocent girl and the vengeful bitch. During the moments when Mandrill is trying to earn her affection, Dominik is apprehensive about his advancements but eventually succumbs to his charm, opening up and showing a kinder gentler person underneath the hardened exterior. Then as the film moves along, she changes into a vengeful and frightening person in a blink of an eye, mirroring Mandrill’s own turn after letting the sadness of the loss of his family fuel his fire for revenge. Each side of Dominik’s character is extremely expressive and the transformation, though quickly switched on, is astonishingly diverse, making you second guess that they are played by the same actress. It’s nice to see such a beautiful lady be able to showcase such a wide range of emotions, and Celine does a wonderful job in pumping up the scale of the narrative and in the process giving it some depth.

Along with the caliber of actors, the film also has an abundance of splendid action set pieces that showcase just how unbelievably skilled its star Marko Zaror really is. The fists and kicks fly in glorious fashion and the lens pulls back to display every counter and series of viscous blows, so that you never miss a minute of the brutal action. It's nice to see a film not go the "shaky cam route" and allow the audience to actually see the choreography of the fight, as it happens. From the looks of it, it seems that Marko Zaror and the filmmakers went through some painstaking efforts in order to keep the flow of the fights moving along, and the end result is justifiably entertaining. As usual with a Zaror action film, the fights are interlaced with a tongue and cheek aesthetic, and through this stylistic trait, the movie is able to shine through in the wilder aspects of Mandrill's kinetic and cinematic fictional world.

As for the visuals of Mandrill, I’d say that they are the film’s most accomplished asset, striking breathtakingly composed shots against a color palette that’s to die for. The screen is bombarded with vivid images and brightly hued venues that literally scream out from the screen. I absolutely loved the thematic tone that the colors expressed and it definitely set the film apart from other action oriented productions, especially when it is bathed into everything in such a way that it begins to feel apart of that world. The cinematic aspects of Mandrill are a vivid place where the characters are as equally brash as their surrounding visuals. I only really noticed the vibrancy of the colors until after I watched the film, while collecting screen shots, because I was so enthralled in the moment and also because they were so perfectly a part of the cinematic realm that director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza had set up. I guess that really speaks volumes for the film’s credibility and captivating nature, when you don’t consciously notice something as visually outstanding as Mandrill’s color palette until long after you’ve absorbed it all in.

Mandrill is a beautifully imagined little film that tells a cautionary tale about revenge and the places that it will take you. Played out in an imaginary fashion, the character of Mandrill is a tragic one, only pursuing a violent life in order to someday cross paths with the person that shattered his. Director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza infuses the film with enough emotionally driven moments that it makes the fight sequences spring from the screen when they’re catapulted into action.

 

Visually speaking, the film is a wonder, taking all the colors of the rainbow and splashing them across the frame for everyone to see. There’s a rich and vibrant style to the imagery in Mandrill, and even if you don’t notice it at first, you’ll come to appreciate the colorful world that the filmmakers have created here. With its unabashed excessive nature, it perfectly mirrors the wild territories that this film delves into once the shit hits the fan and all hell begins to break loose. If you’ve found yourself enjoying Marko Zaror and Ernesto Diaz Espinoza’s other films, then give this one a go. With this being their third collaboration, you can tell that these two are a match made in heaven and that they are reaching the pinnacle of their craft together. Here’s to…..

How would you like to be Man-Drill'ed?

Now this makes golf look fun.

Should I go for the pretzels or salted peanuts?

It's little Mandrill trying to bulk up.

Mandrill, your dance moves make you look like a magician.

This strip-tease game just went a little bit too far.

The names Drill..... Man.... Drill.

Don't call me Cyclops.

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

Looks like someones got the blues.

Take that you abrasive colors!

Mandrill shows the world his sensitive side.

Someone's about to get cold cocked.

Even his silhouette is badass!

Ho Ho Ho... Green Giant!

You ruined my perfect eyebrows you bastard!

Hey baby take it easy. I'm a lover not a fighter.

All's well that ends well.

 

REVIEW: Summer Wars

Summer Wars
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Year 2009
 
Summer Wars is an enchanting science fiction drama that combines an intriguing premise with an intimately strewn cast of characters, in order to make a very interesting and unexpectedly fun cinematic experience. Created in a beautiful animation style, the film emphasizes the increasing reliance that our culture has on technology and through some creative storytelling, the filmmakers stress the dangers that this lack of control could result in over a global scale. With other sci-fi films aiming for the stars and the far flung future, it’s nice to see that Summer Wars takes a more personal and subdued approach to the material. This is one science fiction flick that has a whole lot of heart that results in a plethora of heart-warming moments. Awwww!
 
The film follows Kenji Koiso, a math wiz and all-around socially inept high school student, as he agrees to take a summer job helping out the most popular girl in his school, Natsuki Shinohara. It turns out that the job is anything but typical, because Natsuki wants Kenji to pose as her fiancé, in order to appease her grandmother who is having her 90^th birthday party. The girl-shy Kenji reluctantly agrees to continue the farce, but remains weary because of his real-life crush on Natsuki. Things really start to role out of control though, after Kenji responds to a math problem that mysteriously is sent to him via his phone. Upon solving the equation, all hell breaks loose, sending a computer virus into the world’s largest social network, OZ. The digital world holds the key to billions of accounts worldwide and once hacked; the user can manipulate and cause an abundance of chaos over the world’s real life networks. Once the world succumbs to the control of the infected OZ and begins falling into chaos, Kenji is named as the man behind the mayhem by news reports around the world and he must do everything in his power to clear his name and stop the real culprit behind this increasingly dangerous technological terror attack and foil his diabolical plans. Is this math nerd up to the task of getting the girl of his dreams and saving the world? I sure hope so or we’re all screwed.

The first thing you’ll notice about Summer Wars is that it isn’t your average science fiction film. The movie is set in a time that doesn’t seem very different from our own and it is one that is extremely typical of our modern day lifestyle, only enhanced slightly. In fact, the only real element of this film that warrants the science fiction label is the inclusion of the digital world OZ, where people live their lives on another plain of existence, set apart from the normalcy of the real world. The closest thing that we can compare this concept with is the social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, but in Summer Wars these simple applications that allow us to connect with family and friends is taken to extreme levels and substitutes this digitally created society as a second life for a majority of the film world’s citizens. People work, play, and interact, all through the actions of their avatars, which are cartoon created characters that each user is able to concoct in order to represent their physical self in this online realm.
 
The concept of people living out their lives online in a fabricated digital world isn’t that original of an idea, having been treaded on earlier in such films as The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, eXistenZ, Nirvana, and most recently Black Heaven, but it is the inclusion of family and the relationships that come with having an extended family tree that really make Summer Wars an interesting concept in such crowded and favorable company. As if making a commentary on the status of human interaction and the lack of face to face time that we share with both family and friends in the real world, the film highlights the notion that not all of these technological innovations are moving us in the right direction in understanding the more human qualities in all of us. This is an interesting idea to fathom and the film touches upon this in a subtle and passionate way, without derailing the thrilling moments of the story or knocking the viewer over the head with over indulgent preachy delusions of grandeur.

The mixture that the filmmakers are able to conjure up and gel together is essentially exquisite and allows the narrative to tell the lesson of technology stripping us of our humanity and human connection to each other, over a gradual reveal. From the get go, we are introduced to both Kenji and Natsuki as they are bombarded by a wild array of interesting characters while arriving at Natsuki’s grandmothers house, and it’s during this moment that we are witness to the separation that technology has wrought upon this family. We have one of Natsuki’s aunts that is glued to the television watching one of her nephews playing in a championship baseball game, fixated on the tension filled playoff matches but ultimately ignoring the rest of the brood that is right there all around her. This seems like a small example, but it is one that lasts the entire span of the film, that is until the inspiring fight led by Kenji against the now corrupted OZ interface, that forces the entire family to band together and connect once more.
 
There are so many moments like this one, where we are shown a gap in communication between one family member to the next, that bare witness to a reconnection brought on by the troubles at OZ. Some of these situations have nothing to do with technology or the existence of the digital realm OZ, but through the calamity that the infected social site is creating the family is able to come together against one common enemy and finally see that they are a family and that they need each other in order to be whole and content. One of the biggest examples that showcase the reconnecting of the human spirit during a moment of crisis, is when the 90 year old grandma begins calling every single person that she has ever had an interaction with over the course of her 90 years on this earth, reassuring them that if they do their job and help their fellow man then everything will be alright. It’s a heartwarming moment and one that really establishes the essence that mankind is retaking what technology had taken away from them and that’s genuine interactions and inspirational, intimate moments. On the surface the film seems like it’s going to be a by the numbers story about a boy finding his courage over the course of one crazy summer, and it is, but you’d be surprised on how much the movie has to say about the status of our own world and the dangers that await us if we don’t pull back the veil of technology and start living. Summer Wars was a great treat and damn did I enjoy the wonderfully wacky world of OZ.

Summer Wars is an interesting combination that uses the aspects of a technology driven society to tell a story about one family reconnecting with each other amidst a potential global meltdown. The story is epic in scale, but delicately handled in order to hit all the right notes with its emotional pull and relatable tale. Both the world of the digital realm of OZ and the real life elements of this fictional, yet extremely familiar culture is lovingly detailed providing a perfect setting to hop the narrative back and forth between the plain of fact and fiction.
 
Though the movie is subtle in its inclusion of a metaphorical allegory, the visual flare of this flick is off the charts. It’s high energy, without a second of disregard for the audiences’ senses. In the span of this flick you’ll go from an extremely intense battle royal between two over stylized avatar characters within the OZ world, to a heartbreaking moment between a handful of vividly portrayed characters as they mourn over the loss of someone that they truly seem to love with all of their heart, and then bitch slapped right back into the unruly world of OZ filled with all of their hyper spastic digital citizens. The film is a whirlwind of motion and emotion, and if you’re not ready for it, it could knock you on your ass. It’s always nice to see a film like this step up to the plate and usher a concept into existence that really breaks the mold and shows us something new. Summer Wars does just that, while pulling the heartstrings for extra measure. I loved the hell out of this movie and I’ve got one thing to say. Check this flick out and witness Kenji’s……

You better not have been looking up what I think you were. Perverts.

Even working online sucks.

Who's bad?

Note to self.... don't fart when meeting grandma for the first time.

Damn you and your creepy minions!

The horror of internet pornography. Will someone think of the children!

Wipe that face off your smile..... Bitch!

Well don't you look FABULOUS!

You ever have the feeling you're not wanted?

Judo kick!

This intervention is for you pops. You have to get rid of the mustache.

Regulators! Mount up!

Grandma's got some mad skills!

Come here and give me a big old hug.

Looks like everyone's got their game faces on.

Damn, I hit like four hobos on the way here.

Looks like Auntie and her flachulence problem ruined another family get-together.

What the shit? The oddest reaction to being kissed for the first time... EVER!

REVIEW: Technotise: Edit & I

Technotise: Edit & I
Director: Aleksa Gajic, Nebojsa Andric, Stevan Djordjevic
Year 2009
 
Technotise: Edit & I, is a wonderfully ambitious animated Serbian science fiction film that has a great deal of depth and a ton of style. By blending future tech with a humanistic and personal story, the movie delves deep into what actually makes us human, bringing a more meaningful narrative that is chock full of some very interesting concepts. From start to finish, this film has a lot to say and the world that it has created in order to tell this story, is a vision to behold.
 
The general flow of the film follows a young psychology student living in Belgrade in the year 2074 named Edit, who has recently been having trouble passing her tests. Frustrated with numerous failed exams, Edit decides to have a memory chip implanted in her that would allow her to retain more information, resulting in her being able to finally make the grade. Unfortunately, not everything goes as planned, for the implant mysteriously begins to awaken something inside her and Edit begins to experience strange visions added by a new heightened sense of abilities. What is happening to her and can she fight the ever consuming feeling that she is changing into someone else entirely? A science fiction film for the ages, the movie tackles the embedded fear that man has of losing his humanity to technology and the overall definition of what truly makes us human.

This movie is fantastic and a huge surprise for this unwitting movie lover, for I was not expecting to see a fully realized future society that felt lived in and believable when first viewing this film. The world that the filmmakers have created within this technological driven story is phenomenal, yet shockingly subtle. The changes in this future society of 2074 are integrated so naturally into the believable structure of the film that it never takes away from the story allowing the core narrative to remain at the forefront of the picture. We have hover boards, hover cars, and a society in a whole that is wildly different from our own, but there is a structure there that is so strangely similar that it makes this fabricated world feel genuine.
 
I great deal of the validity of the movie can be attributed to the various characters that grace the story, especially Edit and her friends. Their culture is that of extreme impulses fused with amplified hormones, painting a very vivid picture of the escalating rate our society seems to be heading, both in the speed of our maturity and the rate of our technological advances. There is a huge fixation on sex within Edit’s core group of friends and there is a healthy obsession with porn and the many accessible ways that it can be filtered to the willing and able through the use of technology. I loved this inclusion to the film and felt that it was a sensible way in rightfully placing us within the culture that these kids are growing up in. It could possibly seem extreme and far-fetched to the average viewer, but taking into account that this is the year 2074, you have to understand that times change and generations progress, and the film follows this concept through in both the visuals and the dialect of the characters. It’s wonderfully conceptualized, adding the much needed depth that is need in order to place us in this time period and familiarize us, the viewer, with this culture of the extremes.

This sexed up techno nation also gives a great comparison to the moral dilemma of the film and that is the loss of humanity through the use of technology. There is a tremendous emphasis on this statement and we are given visual cues that both highlight this fact and carry along this message into the core narrative of the movie. Time and time again, we are shown the inner workings of the society and the various ways that the inhabitants of this world deal with day to day interactions. For example, when Edit is stressed over the recent changes that have come about after implanting the memory chip into her body, her friend takes her to a virtual arcade where people can hook up to a simulator and act out their most wildest of fantasies. This kind of letting go of ones self to technology is what is at the center of Edit’s main problem in the first place. The chip that she has fused inside her is threatening to awaken something within and in that process, devour her. It’s a heavy concept that isn’t knocked over our heads, even with the addition of so many visual cues, but it’s a rule of thumb that is drenched in everything the society stands for. Once Edit hooks up to the virtual machine, she is literally shocked, awakening the ghost in the machine within her and opening up her new found abilities. Once this starts, the film begins to gradually progress into a more action oriented picture that still manages to retain its philosophical tone.
 
The action, once ignited, is furious and violent, mirroring the excessive culture that has already been introduced earlier in the film. The balance between the two portions of the movie, the contemplative side and the savage adrenaline portions, is perfectly matched, unifying both sides and complementing each other in telling the struggle between human and machine. This conscious decision is masterfully done and the action is so fervent and immediate that it really makes you sit up and take notice on how dedicated the crew must have been in telling this complicated story of man’s possible demise. It’s amazing to think that a film can both stimulate the mind as well as satisfy our insatiable appetites for high octane visuals, but this movie does just that.

Technotise: Edit & I, is such an enjoyable film, not only because of the action packed set pieces and the fully realized society that inhabits this fictional world, but for the inclusion of the story elements that delve deeper into the true meaning of being human and the potential loss of that humanity through the over abundance of technology. It’s a tried and true concept that so many great science fiction films have tackled, but I believe that Technotise has brought something new to the old formula.
 
Through the use of masterfully directed sequences and the extreme attention to detail when envisioning the breadth of this future world, Technotise is an accomplished film with a multitude to say and show. If you ever have the chance to see this movie, don’t hesitate. The amount of work that has gone into creating this visually splendid science fiction animated feature has to be seen and the film screams for the attention of all able bodied film lovers that want a little cerebral thinking in their movies. Technotise: Edit & I, is a rare gem and is not to be missed. Simply put, this film is……

Edit, the saddest girl in the world.

You kids better not be looking at that porn again!

Eat your heart out Michael J. Fox!

My god what have I done?!?!

SHOCKING!

Why haven't scientists invented hover boards yet?

So I'm a ghost. Big whoop!

Is this a Sam & Max spinoff or something?

That bunny better not be looking at my ass again.

That a boy! Go for the gold!

Was it something I said?

I'm freaking out here.

Pow! Right in the kisser!

Hello. Yeah, he's looking at porn again.

X-rays of the future are cool.

We're here to fuck.... you up!

Clothing in the future is awesome!

Staring contest... GO!