Utopia (it is not)

It is a lot like Westworld, with more sex. In addition to similar Old West and ancient Rome adventure options, you can also roleplay a Nazi in the WWII area, to make it even more distasteful. Humanity is basically doomed, but the bad guys intend to make money off the bottoming out. Unfortunately, their plan is especially exploitative in James Bamford’s Utopia, which is now available on VOD.

The adult theme park Utopia operates in the fictional Eastern European country of Astovia, making it part of the “Bamverse,” following the not-so-bad Air Force One Down and the disappointing Shadow Land. The returns now diminish furher. Regardless, former American Special Forces commando Damon Matthew has followed the trail of his semi-ex-girlfriend Alexis to Utopia, which he infiltrates with the remote hacking aid of his old British comrade Rupert.

There he finds her working as one of the hostess-harem girls, with no apparent memory of him or the rest of her past life. To make matters worse, she is clearly the favorite of pervy Karl Tubin, Utopia’s largest silent investor. Matthew and Rupert assume the abducted women were implanted with some sort of AI chip that alters their memory and behavior. Yet, some abducted women, like Joan and Natalie (who had to be “reprogrammed” after the little incident during the prologue) have grown suspicious and perhaps even rebellious.

Compared to Utopia, the Bruce Willis quickie Vice passes for a masterpiece. Basically, this entire film is reverse-engineered around shots of Charlotte Vega, Alix Villaret, and Wanda Banda wearing skimpy attire, in suggestive situations. Unfortunately, Bamford largely wastes legit martial arts veteran Daniel Bernhardt playing Utopia’s security chief, William Sallow.

Iron Mask: The Russian-Chinese Co-Production Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

Do You remember the Nikolai Gogol story about the Kung Fu warriors fighting to liberate the dragon who served as the ancient guardian of China’s tea supply? Neither would he. He wouldn’t know Jonathan Green either, the protagonist of Forbidden Empire, the 2014 film vaguely but still recognizably based on his novella, Viy. Green returns, traveling from Czarist Russia to Qing Dynasty China in Oleg Stepchenko’s Russian-Chinese co-production Iron Mask (a.k.a. Viy 2: Journey to China, a.k.a. Journey to China: The Mystery of the Iron Mask), which releases tomorrow on DVD.

Iron Mask should not be confused with Dumas either, but there is a royal stuck inside a piece of iron head-gear. In this case, it is Peter the Great, Emperor of All Russia, imprisoned in the Tower of London. He shares a cell with the Master, a mysterious Chinese warrior, who has sort of taught him Kung Fu. The Master was the leader of a brotherhood serving the patron dragon of China’s tea-producing region, where dark forces have now taken control.

Ironically, that is where Green is headed. He had a tough scrape in Moscow, but the British ambassador managed to facilitate his release from prison, with the expectation the phony Czar’s assassin would permanently silence him. However, Cheng Lan, the Master’s protégé, protects him, while maintaining the guise of a man (Mulan-style). When Green’s wife gets wind of the situation, she helps the Czar escape from the Tower, so they can travel to China, to defeat the imposter witch-queen, fraudulently ruling in the Dragon’s name, exactly the way Gogol would have written it, if he thought Viy needed a Kung Fu-fantasy sequel.

Just trying to write a brief synopsis of Iron Mask is a handy exercise for putting the illogical randomness of the plot into perspective. To make things even nuttier, James Hook, the warden of the Tower of London is played by Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he doesn’t sound so conspicuously out of place in the Russian and Mandarin dubs.

Forbidden Empire was an inconsistent mess, but it still hung together as a whole better than Iron Mask. On the other hand, Iron Mask boasts more entertaining highlights. Stepchenko and the producers are shrewd enough to deliver a fight scene between their two action icons: Jackie Chan and Schwarzenegger, as the Master and Hook, respectively. It is pretty good fight scene—and the climatic storming-the-castle sequence is definitely cool. A lot of credit goes to Helen Yao Xingtong, who shows off some terrific action chops as Cheng Lan and the imposter witch.

3 by Neville Pierce: Bricks, Ghosted, and Lock In

Amontillado is a sherry, whereas rioja is a fruity red, but they can certainly serve the same purpose. There have been a few adaptations of the Edgar Allan Poe story over the years, but Vincent Price and Peter Lorre still probably claim the most iconic take in Roger Corman’s Tales of Terror. However, Neville Pierce updates and crystallizes the Poe classic quite distinctively in Bricks (trailer here), one of three of his recent short films releasing today on Vimeo VOD.

Clive is a tradesman renovating the wine cellar of William, a well-heeled country gentleman. Of course, he doesn’t think that makes his employer any better than he is. Perhaps a little deference would have been advisable in this case. Anyway, enjoy the rioja.

Blake Ritson and Jason Flemyng are quite a well-known duo to appear in a shot film, but Bricks was probably too much juicy fun to turn down. Ritson is delightfully twitchy and villainous as William, fully in keeping with the Poe-Lorre tradition. Likewise, Flemyng is believably but tragically oblivious to the danger of his situation, rather blinded by his egalitarian workman’s pride. It all looks spot-on, thanks to a perfect set and Sam Renton’s darkly evocative lensing.

In the case of all three shorts hitting VOD, Pierce collaborates with scribe Jamie Russell, who has sole screenwriting credit for Ghosted (trailer here). Flemyng also returns in a supporting role, but the lead is clearly Alice Lowe, an emerging genre star, thanks to Prevenge, Sightseers, and The Ghoul. This is definitely a lighter film from her, but she is terrific as Rebecca, a widow, who has the ghost of her philandering late husband tagging along on her internet-arranged dates.

The premise is reminiscent of Robert Mulligan’s under-appreciated Kiss Me Goodbye, but it has a really endearing twist at the end. It also looks great, thanks to Flemming Jetmar’s stylish black-and-white cinematography.

That leaves the competent but disappointing Lock In as the weakest of the trio. Pregnant Lucy is alarmed when an agitated young man barges into her former teacher father’s public house at closing time, accusing him of unspeakable abuse when he was a student. They go into full barricade mode fearing an attack from his mates outside, but in cinema today, an accusation of molestation is tantamount to proof, so we know it is just a matter of time before Lucy starts to suspect the worst. It is all pretty predictable, but at least Lucy Boynton, from Blackcoat’s Daughter and Murder on the Orient Express is quite good as her namesake.

So, two out of three is pretty good, especially when the third is sure to have its kneejerk defenders. Fortunately, the two with the most genre appeal really are a lot of jolly fun. Bricks will delight old school fans of Vincent Price, while Lowe’s fans and general audiences will be charmed by Ghosted. Very highly recommended, they both launch on Vimeo today, along with the comparatively less interesting Lock In.

Gemma Bovery: What’s in a Name?

Gustave Flaubert was an exacting writer who often spent days perfecting a handful of lines, making him a fitting literary idol for a fussbudget like Martin Joubert. As a result, when an English woman named Gemma Bovery (mind the “g” and the “e”) moves to his Rouen village, he quickly fixates on her similarity with Flaubert’s Emma Bovary. Her curviness does not exactly dampen his interest either. Literary obsession will have comedic and tragic implications in Anne Fontaine’s Gemma Bovery (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Joubert was once a miserable editor for a Parisian publishing house, but he has been much happier since he returned to Normandy to take over the family bakery—up until now. It was Charlie Bovery’s idea to move to France. Even though his somewhat younger wife Gemma does not speak French, the antiques restorer thought the charms of provincial life would be a healthier environment for them. However, as Joubert immediately suspects, small town life is rather stifling for the passionate namesake.

As part narrator and part Iago, we watch the story unfold through Joubert’s jealous eyes. He is perfectly positioned for spying, since the Boverys moved in right across the street from the Jouberts. Despite his obvious infatuation, the curt Valérie Joubert is not particularly concerned about anything happening between them, for obvious reasons. However, when Bovery commences an illicit affair with the shiftless son of the wealthy Madame de Bressigny, Joubert’s rash petulance will set in motion an unfortunate but perhaps inevitable series of events.

With her adaptation of Posy Simmonds’ graphic novel (with co-screenwriter Pascal Bonitzer), Fontaine completely redeems herself for the cringing smarminess of Adore. This is a wickedly droll film that saunters towards its sad end with a strangely carefree but knowing vibe. Frankly, the final ten or fifteen minutes are just about brilliant.

Of course, Fabrice Luchini is perfectly at home with Martin Joubert’s literate humor and angst-ridden yearning. He plays a darkly comic figure, but one that is dashed easy to relate to. Frankly, someone like Film Forum or MoMA ought to program an overdue retrospective of his films. Gemma Arterton alos brings an earthy sensuality to the film as Bovery and earns credit for her diligence learning French. Yet, one of the film’s most notable surprises is Jason Flemyng’s dignified, humanistic portrayal of Charlie Bovery, who is quite the far cry from the put-upon cartographer of the recent chaotic Russian maelstrom that is Forbidden Empire.

Although Fontaine’s film certainly has a smart sensibility, it is never too clever for its own good. Its sly literary parallels, allusions, and foreshadowing emerge organically from a wholly satisfying narrative. There is not one scene that feels forced (but there are plenty of times Joubert will have viewers wincing at his recklessness). Very highly recommended for fans of French cinema and French literature, Gemma Bovery opens this Friday (5/29) in New York, at the Lincoln Plaza and Landmark Sunshine theaters.

Forbidden Empire: Fighting Evil, One Map at a Time

The 1967 Mofilm adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s short story “Viy” is considered the first Soviet horror movie, aside from whatever real life torture porn might be hidden away in the KGB archives. Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Stepchenko originally set out to remake Gogol’s tale, but the scope of their long stop-and-start production expanded over the years. The guts of the macabre story are still there, but there is also plenty of witch-hunting and map-making in Stepchenko’s Forbidden Empire (as it was bafflingly retitled for the international market), which launches tomorrow on VOD (trailer here).

British cartographer Jonathan Green hopes to make his fame and fortune mapping the sleepy hamlets of southern Europe and Ukraine, so he can return home to claim his loyal fiancée from her judgmental father. However, he will reluctantly find himself swept up in the dirty dealings of a small village. As will soon be explained to Green, when a wealthy Cossack’s daughter died under suspiciously supernatural circumstances, a baffled divinity student was brought in to prey over her body for three bump-filled nights, per her last request. The precise blow-by-blow of that third night will be revealed over time. Regardless, the aftermath was disturbing enough for the sheepish villagers to seal off the church and shun it thereafter.

Distressed his daughter never had a proper funeral, the Cossack hires Green to map the area surrounding the church. You might well ask why, but it certainly shakes things up. Before long, Green and a mute servant girl are accused of witchcraft, while the malevolent spirit known as Viy continues to terrorize the village with impunity.

Empire is a weird viewing experience, due to a number of factors, including the feverish religious imagery, the fairy tale-like stylization of the sets and backdrops, and the disembodied dubbing voices. Frankly, this film would probably be a good deal better with subtitles. Czech Airlines used to show a garish looking 1960s fairy tale film, sans subtitles, during the breakfast service of its New York bound flights. Watching Empire produces a similarly disorienting effect.

Ironically, the best sequences by far are those that harken back to the original Viy source material. It is impossible to not appreciate the scene in which the coffin animated by foul spirits chases the divinity student throughout the church, trying to ram him like a sinister bumper car. That is the kind of stuff movie magic is all about.

On the other hand, when the narrative focuses on Green, it wildly veers from broad shticky comedy to demonic horror, throwing-in didactic jabs at religion’s supposed hostility towards science and reason for good measure. Reportedly, without the story’s rustic, folkloric elements, the materialistic Soviet authorities never would have greenlighted the 1967 Viy. However, they would have loved Stepchenko and co-screenwriter Aleksandr Karpov’s depiction of the venal, power-hungry priest.

There are a lot of bald dudes with Fu Manchu mustaches in Empire, so it is often devilishly difficult to differentiate the various cast-members. However, Jason Flemyng (probably just famous enough to justify some British co-production investments) is a good sport, pivoting at a moment’s notice to be goofy one moment and resolute the next. This is a loud, dark, defiantly illogical film, but at least the resulting spectacle is a strange sight to behold. In short, it is a mess, but in bizarrely compelling, can’t-stop-watching kind of way. Recommended accordingly (I guess), Forbidden Empire hits VOD platforms tomorrow (5/22) and has a special screening at the Arena Cinema in Los Angeles on Saturday (5/23).