The Last Stand (2013) review

THE LAST STAND 2013

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Ray Owens), Eduardo Noriega (Gabriel Cortez), Forest Whitaker (John Bannister), Peter Stormare (Burrell), Jaime Alexander (Sarah), Rodrigo Santoro (Frank Martinez), Luiz Guzman (Mike), Johnny Knoxville (Dinkum), Zach Gilford (Jerry), Genesis Rodriguez (Ellen Richards), Christiana Leucas (Christy), Harry Dean Stanton (farmer)

Directed by Kim Ji-woon

The Short Version: This formulaic, yet quick-quipped, fast paced 70s style action-western throwback from South Korean director Kim Ji-woon was supposed to be the big return to the big screen for Arnold Schwarzenegger in a lead role after a ten year gap. Unfortunately, THE LAST STAND may prove to be just that for the aging action superstar amidst a drastically poor domestic debut. Still, it moves along at a fair clip almost as fast as the 200mph Corvette ZR-1 featured in the flick. With a fair number of gun battles, hundreds of bullets, splatters of graphic gore, frenetic car chases and lovable, if underdeveloped characters, THE LAST STAND is the 'Guy Movie' to beat of 2013 so far.



While being transported to another location, Gabriel Cortez, a dangerously crafty drug lord, manages to escape custody with the help of his gang. Using a modified Corvette, Cortez -- who is also an ace race car driver -- makes a speedy escape for the Mexican border, but must pass through the small Arizona town of Summerton to get there. However, the former Narcotics Tactical Ops officer, the aging sheriff Owens, has no intentions of allowing Cortez or his men to use his Southwestern town as a gateway across the US border.

Asia has long shared a love affair with the American western which was later transmogrified with the advent of the Italian variants. Chinese kung fu films are essentially Asian examples of the archetypal western conventions that also adopted an Italian flavor melded with their own Asian ingredients. Some of these include Pan Lei's DOWNHILL THEY RIDE (1966), Korean director Shin Sang Ok's THE BANDITS (1971), Chang Tseng Chai's THE FUGITIVE (1972), the international co-production THE STRANGER & THE GUNFIGHTER (1974), Thailand's TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER (2000), and most recently, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (2008) from Kim Ji-woon.




The director of such cult favorites as A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (2003), the above mentioned THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (2008) and I SAW THE DEVIL (2010) crosses the border to take the reigns of his first US production. Kim Ji-woon's earlier, epically spicy ode to the oater was a nitro paced, grand scaled Eastern Western. The South Korean helmer now makes a bonafide modern day sagebrush saga on American soil. It's quite an auspicious, if somewhat modest debut. 

It's also something of a modest endeavor for its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Far more smaller scale than the usual Arnie movie, this curiously works in the films favor. At 65 years of age, Arnold delivers what is arguably his most personable, possibly best acting performance of his career. His character of Ray Owens is a very wise man, a former Narcotics officer now a sheriff of a small, dusty Arizona town coming to grips with his mortality.

Schwarzenegger played off his twilight years with his role in last years THE EXPENDABLES 2 and does the same thing here. His performance showcases a vulnerability and distinctly human quality all but exempt from any number of his semi-superheroic action picture roles of years past. It's really quite jarring to see him in such a humanistic light, and refreshing all at the same time. That's not to say Arnold doesn't do what Arnold does best, he's just the polar opposite of the sort of persona he popularized in the 1980s and into the 1990s. There's a balance here, though. The nuanced cast surrounding Schwarzenegger add a great deal of pathos, humor and villainy to this production. 

Jaime Alexander (Sarah)

The town of Summerton (which is basically an Arizona based version of Mayberry, NC) is populated by a gaggle of lovable denizens and characters who make up the films heart and soul. The exposition on some of these characters is almost as barren as the nearby desert. This threadbare characterization doesn't impede the audience coming to like these lovable people. 

The script does little to steer character trajectory from the realm of predictability, but it's so well written and put together, it's too much fun to pay all that much attention to it.



The film pays the bulk of its attention to the three main participants -- sheriff Ray Owens, FBI agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) and the villainous Gabriel Cortez. Considering Kim's movie plays out just like a modern day western (much like the 1973 classic WALKING TALL and its many Vietnam Era clones), this triangular arc recalls the one from Leone's THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY (1966); a character arc that likewise influenced a slew of Italian westerns with a Good, a Bad and an Ugly character making up its trifecta of principals.

Furthering the Italian western connection, there's even a nod (albeit comical) to Eastwood's emergence through a cloud of smoke from tossed dynamite during the climax of Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964). Here, it's Luis Guzman's deputy character who emerges from the explosion raining down a flurry of lead onto the bad guys.

Additionally, like westerns and kung fu films, the men under the employ of Cortez all have those defining faces that, while we never get to know who they are, their features and their clothing give them their own signature look allowing them to stand out without having to be the focal point of any particular scene.

The plot of THE LAST STAND also draws inspiration from Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO (1959) starring the undying representation of the American western, John Wayne. You could say this is Kim Ji-woon's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968); and like Leone's now classic picture, it, too was rejected by the movie-going public upon its debut.



Going back to the cast, Eduardo Noriega does fine with what he's given delivering a standard antagonist role, which is distinguished by the fact that not only is a cold-blooded drug runner, but he's also an accomplished race car driver. Personally, Peter Stormare (who plays Burrell, Cortez's chief subordinate) comes off as more psychotic than Noriega's interpretation as the main villain. Case in point being the suspenseful scene with Harry Dean Stanton. He has a fateful confrontation with Burrell upon the delivery of that classic western staple to "get off my land."



Johnny Knoxville is given top billing, but he's not in the movie all that much. But when he is, he adds greatly to the humorist qualities of the film. His character is gun nut, Dinkum. A cross between Barney Fife and his JACKASS persona, Dinkum has a barn full of weaponry that reinforces the long standing stereotype that 'the South and the Midwest love their guns'; and there's lots of guns in THE LAST STAND.




This unmistakable air of gun worship may put some off in light of current events in addition to oppressive political leanings demonizing the Second Amendment. In THE LAST STAND, everybody has a gun of some sort; even little old ladies! Not since Ruth Gordon in EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE (1978) and its sequel ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN (1980), has 'Guns and the Granny' been such a welcome addition to the proceedings, even if only briefly seen. 

Genesis Rodriguez (agent Richards)

Regarding the gun culture championed here, guns replace the flashy CGI special effects of bigger action movies, while the computer enhancements seen here mostly make up the splattery results of those guns.

The action scenes are tightly edited and put together, occasionally dotted with that signature Asian flair that stretches credibility in the most creative of ways. With the action maintaining a balance of gun battles and car chases, the coda kicks off with an MMA cum kung fu climax wherein Owens and Cortez duel atop a bridge connecting the borders of America and Mexico. This finale is also comical in that Cortez keeps upping the price tag he will offer to Owens if only he'll just let him pass.




While Schwarzenegger's newest, and first lead role in a decade has shown an inability to stand tall at the box office, there's hope it will find an audience overseas and hopefully on domestic video. At 65 years old, the actor seems well aware there's only so many more times he'll "be back" to the big screen.

If I Am Your Mirror (2012) review

IF I AM YOUR MIRROR 2012

Larry Holden (The Soldier), Bill Pacer (The Old Man)

Directed by Garrett DeHart

The Short Version: This bleak short production contains more passion in its approximately 20 minute running time than many full length features. It's shot in an innovative style emulating a living, breathing oil painting brought to macabre life. It's inspired by Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and recalls a handful of likewise dark sources. Its success lies not just in how it was put together by a group of dedicated artists, but also in the ambiguity of its execution -- the bridge where madness and nightmares meet.




Sometime after the Civil War is over, a disturbed man rots away in prison awaiting his date with death at the end of a rope. His last hours are made up of nightmarish recollections of the battlefield, the death of his wife, and images of a sinister street preacher with a piercingly evil eye.

From the opening frames to the closing moments of this unsettlingly grim, rotoscopically animated horror short, the viewer is plummeted straight to hell in a riveting 20 minute cavalcade of disturbing imagery and cacophonic sounds of doom-laden resonance.

Garrett DeHart's thesis project is a fiercely passionate piece of horror filmmaking that recalls a fair number of ghoulish iconography -- everything from its 'Tell-Tale Heart' Poe inspiration to the macabre oil paintings of NIGHT GALLERY and on down to a Gothic ambiance by way of Tim Burton. There were also moments during this 20 minute nightmare where I was reminded of baroque art decor from various other films and even video games such as the 19th century set occult horror title, 'Nightmare Creatures'.

DeHart's passion project is made all the more exemplar in the fact that it was financed for $5,000 with some of the crew (including the late actor Larry Holden, who passed away February 13th, 2011 from cancer) performing their duties essentially out of devotion to the production. Furthering this sentiment, the makers have bypassed festivals, opting instead to pass the film along via online sources like youtube; this to drum up interest not just via public viewership, but for possible professional endeavors for the future. It's quite the gamble, and one that hopefully will pay off handsomely for those involved.




Garrett not only directed the film, but he also co-wrote it, edited it and performed the graphics animation; all of which spanned a two year time period. There's an undeniable air of professionalism in every aspect of this horror story from the acting, to its design and the striking, almost monochromatic visuals accentuated by splashes of bloody reds amidst an apocalyptic landscape. This polished sheen extends to the phenomenal photography, the sound design, the spooky score and effects work.



The late Larry Holden (whom you may remember from BATMAN BEGINS, INSOMNIA and MEMENTO) plays the tortured soul to the hilt in this expressive performance that, like much of the running time, contains little in the way of dialog. This is more 'sights and sounds' as opposed to dialog exchanges. The few lines uttered are done so with a doom-laden tone that drives the basic narrative. 



The opening minutes reveal The Soldier (he isn't given a name; yet another device driving home the dark dream-like quality) to be an unhinged, deeply disturbed man. The war has obviously damaged him in a way that could just as easily parallel the trauma of Vietnam or the battles fought by those in the Middle East. Aboard a train, a small boy points a toy gun at him to which he responds with a vicious smack to the childs head.



Upon disembarking the train car, The soldier is haunted by a sinister, one-eyed street preacher. It's as if this old man has the power of clairvoyance. We see images of a dead wife and a burning home. Did The Soldier murder his wife and burn his home to the ground as a result of the cataclysmic damage wrought by the battlefield? If so, does this baleful elder sense the disturbed nature of this ex-military man? We're not given clear answers, save for one -- that The Soldier kills The Old Man (played with a profound eeriness by Bill Pacer) resulting in his subsequent time in a dungeon, beaten by his captives, and left to reflect -- in the most disturbing imagery imaginable -- how he got there.



No one we see in this ash-stained wasteland are too far removed from the savagery of a scourge or beyond the criminality perpetuated by the unnamed Soldier. Only the wife bears any sign of angelic life; a life that's snuffed out visually from a few different perspectives courtesy of the twisted, fractured mind of The Soldier, her significant other. We're not sure if she's become a casualty of war, or that of her husband. Considering the tone of the picture, the latter seems the likely choice.



Brilliant in its conception, design and execution, IF I AM YOUR MIRROR shows just what ingenuity can do with extremely limited means and devout dedication to a project. This ingenuity lives within the darkly creative recesses of director Garrett DeHart, his crew and performers that successfully bring a canvas of ghastly imagery to vivid life.

You can watch IF I AM YOUR MIRROR by clicking HERE