Julia 2014 Film Review

Julia’s journey of seeking revenge for her brutal rape.

Director: Matthew A. Brown

Running time: 95 minutes

Screenplay: Matthew A. Brown

Music composed by: Frank Hall

Cast: Ashley C. Williams, TahynaTozzi, Jack Noseworthy, Joel de la Fuente, Cary Woodworth

The film Julia 2014 revolves around a girl who is brutally raped and then seeks revenge by practicing an unacceptable form of therapy to restore herself. Ashley C. Williams plays Julia beautifully. She is a nurse. She is raped by her date and his friends after being drugged. Dumped somewhere by the water for the tides to take her, she still manages to get back to her home. The rape results in depression and drinking on a daily basis at a local bar. 

At the bar, Julia overhears a discussion about some new empowered therapy for rape victims. She then falls prey to this unacceptable therapy conducted by Dr. Sgundud, played by Jack Noseworthy. The therapy is based on some terms and conditions. One of the main terms that Dr, Sgundud put forth her is that she is not allowed to take revenge from the people who raped her. She seeks her revenge against men by acts of violence upon random victims.

Julia is a bold and powerful movie. Ashley C.William’s performance is the film’s strongest point. Phenomenal throughout the movie, Ashley did justice to her part. Overall the movie is powerful and raises questions about the rape culture. Julia is a very loud movie with very little dialogues. The movie is visually arresting, unique and worth a watch.

Julia 2014 Film Rating: 6/10

The Resident (2011) Review

Article first published as Review: The Resident (2011) on Technorati.

Movie: The Resident (2011)
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Hilary Swank and Christopher Lee
Rating: 3.5/5

Many horror flicks come an go and leave no mark on your memory. The Resident is an exception in this regard. It is an unconventional scary film in the sense that unlike Paranormal Activity 2  it does not rely on any supernatural phenomenon to create creepiness and horror.

Although many films are based on human disorders and psychotic anomalies, The Resident is still unique in its treatment of the subject where intimacy, love, sex and obsession are all given equal weight-age.

It is a wonderfully presented film about how you can never be sure of who is monitoring your daily routine at what time with what intentions. It also addresses the fact that many sweet gestures can be interpreted in undesirable ways by seemingly sane people causing them to react insanely and dangerously.

Dr. Juliet Dermer (Hilary Swank) moves to a new apartment and after some days feels that she is not alone in the place. She frequently misses the wakeup alarm and feels that some external influence is causing her to oversleep. She finally finds out that her landlord Max(Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has harbored a passionate and raging obsession for her.

The best feature of the film is its presentation of sexual desires, lust and want. The cinematic presentation of Swank's curves and features is sensual to say the least. The translation of both Juliet's and Max's frustrations is immaculate, where Juliet is shown masturbating in the tub and max is shown perving on her naked body through a peeping hole.

Although I don't consider Hillary Swank (who has also co-produced the film) as a particularly attractive woman I must admit that she has looked impressive without clothes. Her full figured body gives a good explanation of Max's perversion and attraction. She has acted very well as the heart-broken, frustrated doctor who really wants to get it on with her landlord but is confused and finally returns back to her ex.

Not giving much away about the film, I must say that it is quite scary simply because it shows how a seemingly sweet person can have a dark side to him that could be triggered by a misguided gesture.

I Spit On Your Grave (2010) Review

Article first published as Review: I Spit On Your Grave (2010) on Technorati.

Movie: I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

Cast: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard
Rating: 3/5

I love a film where a nude woman doesn't necessarily give you a boner. I Spit on Your Grave is one such movie. As sexy and well developed as Sarah Butler is, she really doesn't make your eyes ogle and lock onto her stark naked body.

The film is an eye-opener to all who think that narrow-mindedness and brutality are only associated with a specific group or nation. It shows that even in a country like the USA there are people and communities that consider a progressive woman as an open target and term her a "city whore".

It is the story of Jennifer Hills, a writer who goes to a secluded small town in the woods and occupies a cabin there. She is in search of a story and hence chooses the quiet of the far away town. Her presence in the town creates a ripple in the narrow-minded natives of the area. She encounters a group of renegade, filthy men at the gas station and that makes her a topic of discussion amongst them. She innocently gives one of them a peck and that, combined with her short dresses, gives her a "whorish" repute in the view of the group. They finally make a plan to pay her back for all the "attraction" that she had gathered. She is assaulted by the gang, and when she runs to escape them, she finds the sheriff. The sheriff is also in for the fun and hence mauls, ridicules and gang rapes the innocent writer.

Jennifer Hills is one of the best characters to have emerged recently and her transformation from a naive rape victim to a furious avenger has been brilliantly performed by Sarah Butler. The gore in the film is authentic and gut wrenching but you don't for a second feel sympathy for the recipients of pain. Some scenes are especially brilliantly choreographed and are artistically brutal.

Intelligent horror like Buried has always inspired me and I really enjoyed I Spit on Your Grave and would strongly recommend everyone to have a watch. It has something for everyone: nudity, gore and tragedy.

9 Songs (2004) Review

Article first published as Review: 9 Songs (2010) on Technorati.

Movie: 9 Songs (Blu-Ray) (2010)

Cast: Kieran O'Brien, Margo Stilley and Huw Bunford

Rating: 3.5/5

Love stories come and go but the aura created by the one of a kind 9 Songs is unmatched. The 2004 film is now back on Blu-Ray. The blatantly sensual and provocative film presents a story of love making influenced by 9 Songs from different concerts that a couple attends. It is a movie that shows the power of music and its ability to enhance or subside pain and to impart sorrow and joy.

Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They met in a concert in London and end up in the bed making steamy love. In the several months that follow they embark on a sexually passionate journey that is guided by 9 songs from 9 concerts they attend.

With genuine sex scenes presented in the most artistic ways possible 9 Songs is a unique love story that shows the difference between pornography and love-making on film. The authentic oral scenes and intercourse makes it unsuitable for all audiences but still to call it porn would be a disgrace. It is always mentioned in various film directories as a drama or a love story rather than porn and that is a completely just judgement on the film.

Margo Stilley looks erotic and lustful yet deeply in love. Her body is an instrument for the musician to make magic with. She has depicted Lisa's pain and joy with masterful acting. With sex being the main subject of the film she has made every scene look extremely enchanting and is the real hard on in the film.

Films like 9 Songs and Nude Nuns with Big Guns (although of different genres) prove that purposeful nudity and real sex in a well made Hollywood feature can be an added asset if portrayed with seriousness and class rather than purposeless exposure.