FATMAN: SANTA FOR PARENTS

 

     

 

 

Well once more Christmas time is here and the regular slew of holiday films are on TV. Rudolph is glowing, Santa is coming to town and the Grinch is stealing Christmas. Adults that remember these shows are watching them with their children and grandchildren now. But what about a Christmas film that the adults can enjoy? Something a little more inclined to be viewed when the kids go to bed? Enter FATMAN.

Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) is a spoiled rich kid whose father is incommunicado and is being raised by his grandmother. Billy has a deep Napoleonic complex (witness a portrait of the ruler on his wall) and feels the need to win at all costs. For example when he loses the school science fair he brings in hitman Jonathan Miller (Walton Goggins) to capture the winner and threaten her with returning the prize to stay alive. Needless to say this puts him on the naughty list and he gets a lump of coal for Christmas.

Meanwhile Mel Gibson stars in the title role as Chris Cringle, who lives with his wife Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) in North Point, Alaska. Chris is down because his business is waning. It seems children are not behaving as nice as they should. News reports of some dropping bowling balls off of freeway bridges and setting houses on fire have dampened his spirits and it shows.

In an effort to keep his factory running and Christmas alive, Chris has been contracting work with the US government. But this year’s check is half of what it once was. In an effort to keep the work he does going he agrees to a 2 month contract with the government. In return for more funds he and his elves will be working to build items for the military. He’s not happy about it but he has to do so if Christmas is going to keep going.

After Billy gets his lump of coal he is angry with Santa. So much so that he contacts Miller and puts out a contract on Santa. This is a contract Miller is keen to take as he has his own issues with Santa from his childhood. To this day he finds people willing to sell items from their childhood that Santa presented them and buy them from them. Now he has the chance to get his own revenge against Santa.

While Miller tracks down clues to discover where to find Santa, Chris and his elves begin working on the contracted government project. Happy with the work they’ve done they want to extend the contract but Chris tells them this is a one time project. In the meantime Captain Jacobs (Robert Bockstael), the Army liaison in charge of the guards enjoys his time with Chris and the elves working for him.

Eventually the confrontation between Chris and Miller will take place. After all that’s where the plot is going here in the film. Along the way there is plenty of dark humor involved that will have you snickering or outright laughing as the film rolls forward. Plenty of language is on hand to get this film an R rating and if that wasn’t enough some blood is shed. No, this is not a Christmas carol for the kids.

The film hits the right notes when discussing Christmas because there does seem to be a lack of cheer these days. Cynicism runs rampant with young people these days and the talk of being honest with kids and not letting them believe in Santa seems to be a growing trend. But why not let them have some fun before they have to face being adults? That may not be the main concept here but it does play into the story.

Gibson is aging well and does a great job here as Chris. If you didn’t catch it already, yes he is THAT Chris Cringle. From knowing the names of everyone he comes into contact with to knowing if they were bad or good. Jean-Baptiste is a delight as the cookie baking Mrs. Cringle. Goggins is superb as the hitman Miller, allowing us to see the cold hearted killer that he is as well as the grown child disappointed in a gift he requested of Santa that there was no possible way of delivering. Watch to find out what that is.

Dark comedies are hard to pull off. Some go over the top while others seem afraid to tread on items the comedy is based on. FATMAN doesn’t pull punches and delivers some truly funny moments. Perhaps not knee slappers but funny none the less. So if you’re looking for a movie to watch while the kids are sleeping and you’re busy wrapping presents, this might be just the movie you’re looking for.

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POSSESSOR: HIGH TECH HIT

 

     

 

 

One of the greatest directors from the 70s forward who put forth the idea of science fiction with body modification and manipulation was David Cronenberg. Imagine being the son of Cronenberg and having to live up to his record of films. It appears that his son Brandon is doing just that and succeeding. His latest film does just that and more, creating a science fiction premise that is frightening and fascinating at the same time.

POSSESSOR takes place in the near future and opens with a brilliant yet violent segment that shows what the film is all about. A young woman named Holly (Gabrielle Graham) is seen inserting something into the top of her skull and reacting to the probe emotionally. Shortly after she is attending a party as one of the hostesses there when she takes a knife and kills a high profile attorney in one of the most brutal and bloody sequences seen. Afterward she points the gun in her mouth but doesn’t pull the trigger. Instead she points it at the police who kill her.

But it wasn’t really Holly who was responsible for the brutal killing. In reality she was being manipulated by Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough), a professional killer who works for a company that implants her consciousness into another person using them to pull of the contract. Having done this many times this last hit proved problematic because Holly was resisting Tasya’s plan to kill herself. Rather than inform her superiors Tasya keeps this to herself.

Tasya takes a short time off to visit her husband Michael (Rossif Sutherland) and son Ira who she has separated with. To do so she has to prepare herself, teaching herself how to speak and interact with normal people. It seems the mechanics involved with her profession are taking their toll on her. Unable to connect as much as she’d like, she leaves early and returns for her next job.

The next assignment is a top priority one. The man being targeted is the owner of a massive corporation, John Parse (Sean Bean). They’ve been hired by Parse’s stepson Reid (Christopher Jacot) to kill both him and his daughter Ava (Tuppence Middleton) so that he can take over the company. Tasya’s company wants the hit done as well so they can use the information to blackmail Reid.

To put her in place Ava’s boyfriend Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott) is captured and linked with Tasya. She now controls his body seeing what he sees, manipulating him when called on to do so. In the meantime her body lays in stasis back at the company’s facility being monitored. But things don’t go as planned. It seems that Colin keeps trying to regain control of his mind as Tasya works to continue manipulating him.

Simply getting through the day becomes difficult for Colin/Tasya, at one point with him blacking out. Trying to recognize people and not making him seem different in his behavior is a struggle. All of this leads to a dinner held at John Parse’ home. The question now becomes whether Tasya can control Colin long enough to pull off her mission or not and if so can she return to her own body?

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began watching this film. I knew it premiered at Sundance but that doesn’t always mean a movie is good. Sometimes those films can be critic darlings but audience dead weight. Fortunately that wasn’t the case here. While the progress of the film is steady the pacing is a bit slower than most. It doesn’t hurt the storytelling going on here but some people might not be willing to go along for the ride without that breakneck speed they’re used to. That would be their loss.

The story is compelling on various levels. There is Tasya who you want to understand and figure out why she does what she does. There is Colin who is fighting for his life here inside of his own skull. There is Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Tasya’s controller who has concerns for Tasya. There is Ava who seems the most innocent of the entire group. And there is John Parse, a jerk who at points seems worth killing. All of these characters combine to make an interesting story. And the acting on the parts of all involved make them come to life, becoming believable.

I’d love to say I love the film but in all honesty I really just enjoyed it but found it not a movie I’m likely to revisit. It is worth one viewing at least and will keep you guessing. The version being released is unrated due to a combination of gore and nudity so keep that in mind. Not one for the kids. On the whole you might enjoy this one if you’re a fan of sci-fi. 

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ULYSSES: THE EPIC COMES ALIVE

     

 

 

Those of us who are older can remember when we were taught about Greek history. It was coupled with a bit of background concerning Greek mythology and the Gods ruled by Zeus. My guess is kids today have no clue what I would be talking about with the exception of hearing some of the names in WONDER WOMAN. I don’t know which was first but I took a keen interest in Greek mythology when I was young. It was either a book on mythology I found at the library and read every time I went there or it was the movie JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS that inspired my curiosity.

At that time the sword and sandal movies were popular still. Most of these were being made in Italy and then dubbed to air on various Saturday morning programming of various hosts. It seemed like every week we had either Hercules or one of his sons battling someone. Then one day I saw a movie about the most legendary Greek hero of all time, Ulysses. The movie of the same name was fantastic to my young mind. Viewing it all these years later it is still a captivating movie.

The film opens not with our hero but his wife Penelope (Silvana Mangano). She is besieged by would be suitors there to claim her as their bride and take over as King of Ithaca. It’s been more than ten years since Ulysses went off to fight the Trojan War and he has yet to return. Now these men overstay the hospitality of his home and the kindness of his wife and son Telemachus. In an effort to put them off Penelope has said that she will not marry until she finishes a tapestry of the battle. But each night she undoes what she’s completed during the day.

On the shores of nearby Phaeacia, a man washes ashore and is found by Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinous. He has no memory of who he is, where he’s been or where he was headed. Over time the man and Nausicaa fall in love and plan to marry. But on their wedding day he stands looking at the sea and his memories return.

The man is Ulysses (Kirk Douglas) and his travels were fraught with danger. After destroying a statue of Neptune in the city of Troy, he and his men were cursed to suffer the wrath of the sea god. Suffer they do encountering the cyclops, the singing Sirens that lure men to their death upon the rocks and the deceptive witch Circe who longs for companionship. Ulysses has tossed at sea until he reached this port.

Penelope in the meantime has been found out. Her main suitor is Antinous (Anthony Quinn) and as the group continues to disrespect her household she must agree to determine a suitable husband from them. She does so by saying she will marry the winner of the games they will have. At the last minute she changes the games and has them attempt to string the bow of Ulysses, something no man has ever been able to do. Not only that, they must shoot and arrow through a set of axes in place. Will she find a suitable beau or will Ulysses find his way home in time?

The movie is typical of the time with robes and loincloths, sandals and swords, adventure on the high seas and battles pitting one set against another. Through it all Ulysses is depicted as the most heroic man among them, destined to be a leader. But his crew are heroic in their own right as is the wife he left behind, determined to wait for his return.

Watching this today I was surprised at how well it’s stood the test of time. The dialogue in the film is actually very solid unlike many films at the time. The cinematography is beautiful here. The acting is amazingly subtle for a film in this genre. And Mangano not only does well as Penelope but plays Circe as well offering two different personalities. Douglas no doubt was having a fun time here and would go on to star in two more films in the genre, THE VIKINGS and SPARTACUS.

The movie is still entertaining and might inspire some young person to look into Greek mythology much like it did me years ago. This release of the film from Kino Lorber includes both the English and Italian versions of the film, an audio commentary track by film historian Tim Lucas, alternate U.S. opening titles and a collection of trailers.

My own personal history made this one I had to add to my collection. But I would think there would be plenty of fans out there who would enjoy watching this again as well. It’s one worth picking up.

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