Hey folks, Harry here and it seems that BRUISER affects different folks in way different ways... everything from love and bliss to hatred... hmmm... that didn't stop WHAT LIES BENEATH from domestic distribution... So here are 3 more reviewers offering up a look at the George Romero even up in Chicago this past weekend.... enjoy the treat...
Hey Harry, Capone in Chicago here with my report on George Romero’s eagerly awaited new film (his first since 1993’s THE DARK HALF), BRUISER. Romero attended the screening at the Chicago School of the Art Institute’s Film Center and he was generous enough to answer questions for nearly an hour after the film.Before I talk about BRUISER, I need to say that George Romero is a hero of mine. I was 10 year’s old when DAWN OF THE DEAD came out, and it changed my life; CREEPSHOW sent me into orbit; and MONKEY SHINES, quite simply, scared the crap out of me. And I don’t even need to comment on the greatness of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Romero may not be a great filmmaker in terms of technique, but his films are some of the best social commentary around and his love of gore is only rivaled by the Italians. I just saw THE CRAZIES for the first time last week and loved that as well. And he told us in the post-screening Q&A that he had signed on to direct an adaptation of Stephen King’s novella, “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gorden.” Again, the man is a personal hero and a very friendly guy, and I thought for sure that any review I provided you of BRUISER would be tainted by my undying love for Romero.Having said that, I will now let you know what an unbelievable piece of shit BRUISER is. It isn’t scary. It isn’t funny. It isn’t clever. What is it, you ask. Boring, dated, poorly acted, poorly written (by Romero), and nearly unwatchable. It kills me to say any of this, but as I sat watching BRUISER my heart sank into my feet and tears almost formed as I witnessed the fall of a giant. And, boy, you should have heard the crowd kiss his ass during the Q&A. “This movie makes you think,” one fan boy said. Bullshit! The only thing this made me think of is how I need to organize my sock drawer.BRUISER starts out promisingly. Jason Flemyng (from LOCK, STOCK AND 2 SMOKING BARRELS and THE RED VIOLIN) is Henry, who has a fairly high-level job at a popular magazine called Bruiser. Henry’s whole life has been reduced to being stepped on or over. His boss (FARGO’s Peter Stormare) is a total bastard who does everything short of pissing on him to degrade Henry and his co-workers; Henry’s wife hates him and blatantly cheats on him with his boss; his best friends (and accountant) is stealing money from him. In other words, his life sucks. He has murderous fantasies about killing anyone who pisses him off, but his lack of confidence assures us that he’ll never act on these impulses.One night at a party at his boss’, Henry is fitted for a plaster mask, as do all the party guests. The idea is that everybody gets a mask made to decorate and display at the party. The next morning, Henry wakes up to find his plain white, featureless mask permanently affixed to his face (a minor but cool make-up job, with just two drilled eyeholes to see through). Now Henry has no identity; now a man who has lost his identity can act out his revenge fantasies without fear of being recognized. So far I’m grooving right along with this movie.The problems begin when Henry starts killing those that have belittled him.
The final two-thirds of the film are nothing but a tired slasher film. At first I thought maybe Henry was the only one who would be able to see the mask and that the manifestation of the disguise was all in his mind (Kafka-esque, right?). But no, everyone can see it. He doesn’t even manage to keep his identity secret for very long because he tells everybody who he is. And Henry talks and talks and talks to his victims before he kills him.
BOH-RING! And tell me this, if your identity is a secret, how does anyone know that it’s you standing up for yourself? BRUISER doesn’t bother with such questions. Instead we’re given tired slasher tricks. The killer somehow always knows where the victim will run to, he’s able to get into completely secure buildings despite the fact that he’s wearing a bright white mask. You get the idea.The film culminates in a John Hughes-like masquerade party scene (in other words, no party EVER looked like this) thrown by the magazine owner, where the band The Misfits are playing. This was fine except that half the questions in the Q&A were asked by Misfits fans who wanted to know about their involvement in the film; not too interesting after the first five questions. The party scene was the final straw for me. Nothing about it rung true as Henry stalks the guests dressed as the Phantom of the Opera. The sequence actually features a death by laser beam. Do today’s lasers actually cause heads to explode? And the final shot in the film dares to allow for the possibility of a sequel. GOD NOOOOOO!!!!!!!I don’t know what else to say about BRUISER except that it sucks camel dick and prepare to be disappointed if you ever have the misfortune to see it. (I’d tell people not to see it, but I know people will see anything by Romero at this point.) The film is financed with French funding, which may or may not mean anything, and George Romero has no idea when/if it’s coming out. The Q&A was alright, I guess, with no real incite offered (except about the upcoming Stephen King project). I blame the lame crowd with their even lamer questions; it seemed like they’d all been waiting 15 to 20 years to ask one question about the third zombie from the left in Scene 97 of DAY OF THE DEAD. Romero was very generous with his time and it was great to be in the same room with him, but I would have rather have a great new film than a personal appearance any day.A sad but hopeful,Capone
and here's the Nuke's look at it all...
Hey Harry, TheNuke here. I was among a few lucky fan boys to experience The Gene Siskel Film Center's George A. Romero weekend.
The Gene Siskel Film Center is a small department of The Art Institute of Chicago, they mostly have foreign stuff but this past weekend they had one of the greats. They showed 4 of his films and he did Q&A for two of those showing. They showed The Crazies, Night of the Living Dead, Monkey Shines, and the brand spanking new wonderful piece of film Bruiser. Unfortunately they planned to show Jack's Wife but some goon messed up and no print could be found.
This was an odd weekend in Chicago lots of minor celebs were in town. De Angelo that R&B goon had a concert that weekend. Barbara Eden of I Dream of Genie fame played ping pong in our hotel for some reason, it was just an odd combination I guess. Also Patrick Mackenro was playing tennis in Grant Park and I actually rode an elevator with him, but all of this is pale in comparison to the wonderful weekend Mr. Romero presented.
On Thursday they showed The Crazies which was really nothing to write home about, it was fun to watch but it's a pretty bad film. Then on Friday they had a double feature, first Night of the Living Dead which was really cool to see on a big silver screen with a audience. The audience was scarier than the zombies though, there was a man with a scarf a purse and a spring dress who kept waving to the back of the theatre for some reason and a man with Robin Williams style rainbow shirt camouflage shorts and large winter socks tie-dyed in neon colors, and those are just a few, bur none the less it was awesome to see this classic on the silver screen.
About 30mins after "Night" the assistant director Marty came on stage and introduced Mr. Romero. Romero came out said a few words about the movie (Monkey Shines), he talked about the monkey "Boo" they used and introduced the film and we watched. The movie was rather beautiful, they must of found an underused print. After the film Romero came out and did about 45mins of Q&A. People asked about the handicapped community's response to the film, Romero responded that there were some protestors but that died down. I asked "Is there any truth to the rumored alternate ending to Dawn of the Dead?". Mr. Romero said that yes a full suicide/accidental death was scripted. All that was shot however was Fran standing up into the helicopter blades but there was not special effect to it so basically it was Fran standing up. Romero once even denied that this was shot because he did not remember. It came from his mouth folks.
Then the next night on Saturday they held the first public U.S. screening of George's newest film "Bruiser". Man this is a whopper of a film and an excellent addition to Romero's vast collection of works.
The story follows Henry (Jason Flemyng) a man who is walked over and treated like shit by everybody and eventhough he has what was a good life and a good job at "Bruiser" magazine, but it means nothing because everybody treats him like dog shit. His wife has numerous sexual encounters with his boss, his friend is going behind his back to steal, and even his maid steals stuff out of his house. His boss Miles a.k.a. Milos ( Peter Stormare-The Russian Astronaut in Armageddon)throws a masquerade party for everyone who works at "Bruiser". his's bosses ex wife Rosemary (Leslie Hope) makes masks for each guest, and the guest is supposed to paint it according to there personality. Henry however cant find anything to put on his mask, he's a blank, he's lost his personality, he has none because they have taken everything. The next mourning he wakes to find the skin on his face is thick and white and he has no features just a mouth a nose and two pin-hole eyes. This new discovery influences him to make a difference, and HE IS NOT GOING TO TAKE IT! He becomes something he's wanted all along, he's the guy who doesn’t take it, he stands up to everyone, he's a barbarian who works for himself and himself only. He has evolved, in a way this is like Romero meets Fight Club . It's not a scary movie however, it's a psychological thriller, and you do think about it after you see it. It's a great film. My father who didn't even care for Romero before this loved "Bruiser" and is now a minor George A. Romero fan.
This movie should get a wider distribution than it will, this will be sparsely distributed and will probably get one copy at Blockbuster in a year, and frankly that's sad. This is a tremendous film. It's very stylized, it contain a lot of anti-media anti-economic propaganda which I think Romero loves to throw into his films.
Basically the story is rather simplistic, but can be read on many different levels. It can be both fun entertainment and something psychological that you have to think about. This is probably one of Romero's best works EVER.
After the film there was a Q&A just like the one before. One guy asked if Mr. Romero would work with Ed Harris ever again, which he responded that he would love two. One guy asked if there would be a Twilight of the Dead a.k.a. Dusk of the Dead, Romero said he would love to but the rights are tied up with so many different companies, however he did hint that he is in talks with Anchor Bay.
Mr. Romero himself was very "down-to-earth" and really wanted to please the fan with questions and autographs. Now I own 4 autographed Romero DVD's (Night of the Living Dead, Monkey Shines, Creepshow, and Marin).
It's was a pretty damm cool weekend.
TheNuke Out.
And here's Capt Rosenbalm
George Romeros visit to the Gene Siskel art theater
Hey Harry, as you know, Mr. Romero came to Chi-town this past weekend and previewed his new movie, Bruiser. Heres a report about it. Includes some bits about Mr. Romeros visit and Dead 4 (woo-hoo). I am going to review Bruiser also, so, spoiler alert! Living just outside of Knoxville, TN, this wasnt going to be a short trip. Over ten hours just to see a movie and a man. Oh, but what a movie and what a man.
Mr. Romero was funny, candid and very generous with his time. My friends and I had a hell of a time getting there and didnt ever find a place to stay. So, with little sleep we blew in to town for the movie. After getting tickets and eating lunch, we went to the theater. Due to lunch, I had to visit the facilities. While doing that, I missed Mr. Romero (and Ms. Romeros) arrival. As he got out of the taxi, he looked around. He then walked up to my friend Randall and introduced himself. Hi, Im George Romero. Im suppose to meet someone here, thats not you is it? Randall said he wasnt, but was glad to meet Mr. Romero. Randall said they talked for about a minute and the person Mr. Romero was supposed to meet came out. I came out after this, noticed Mr. Romero and couldnt talk for a minute. While standing there like an idiot, Mr. Romero and gentleman went in. I was busy cursing my colon. Here was my one chance to meet my favorite director, gone because of! lunch. Curse me colon!!
Well, we watched The Crazies and I was still in a funk. We headed back to the theater for Bruiser. Well, guess who was outside smoking? Here it is, my chance. Having carried around all day my copy of the novelization of Dawn of the Dead, I walked up to the man and introduced myself. He shook my hand, graciously agreed to an autograph and a picture (Hi, Im Dave). Mr. Romero was very generous with his time. He answered by fanboy questions. He said that he HAD started the script for Dead 4. Hinted there might be another movie of his coming out on Anchor Bay and told us we came to far to meet him. Told us he hoped we enjoyed the movie.
We went in to the theater and got seats up front. Mr. Romero came in and setup the movie. When he entered, I was amazed at the applause. It was also staggering. Truly it was for a man that deserved it. My review of Bruiser follows, but I will continue with the story of that night. After the movie, Mr. Romero came out and did a Q&A. Again, more applause. He fielded several questions. He talked of several things, some include Try explaining film preservation to a studio head, film rights (which it seemed to surprise some of the audience that Mr. Romero didnt own his movies), that he liked Scary Movie better than Scream, some technical, his thoughts that lead to Bruiser (thoughts of isolation and dysfuntionality), and was just a fun and exciting person to listen to. I gave him my opinion of Bruiser (its awesome, great soundtrack), asked if it was him being the guy that called into the radio station (you have to see the movie to understand) and I finall! y got to ask him what happened to Fran and Peter from Dawn(didnt decide probably ran out of gas around Cleveland). After a while, I began to think he might stand there all night. Just then, I saw his wife come down and talk to gentleman that introduced Mr. Romero. She said something to him; he then got up and said something to Mr. Romero, who then announced he was being told two more questions. He then graciously held a long autograph session. Oh yeah, I missed getting the movies they gave away by two numbers off my ticket. Oh well, I have them all anyway.
All in all, it was a great time. Mr. Romero gave freely of himself. And I hope that he got something out of the adoration of his fans. I know did. Thank You Mr. Romero for doing this and letting us see Bruiser. For me, it was worth the trip to Chicago for this.
As for the movie itself, well, I have to have a few spoilers, so, Spoiler Alert: As most of you know the movie is about a guy that looses his face and then looses his identity and mind. But to say that is what the movie is about it to say that Martin is about a vampire. Like all of Mr. Romeros movies, there is so much more to it. Thoughts of isolation and dysfunctionality, indeed. For everybody that had been walked over by someone, you understand this character. His descent is moving, without degenerating into camp. While there are some familiar faces, the cop from Night of the Creeps plays a cop, Mr. Romero does the call in voice and his wife is in it twice (first as the woman that is thrown under the train and then again later in the film). But, most of the actors you probably dont recognize. Which adds to the movie, because these are normal people that dont look like stars. I kept thinking that it would be a good companion piece for American Psycho. While AP is inferior to Bruiser, they do explore similar themes. If you could com! bine APs slick Hollywood production and budget with Bruiser, you would have the perfect movie. The acting by the main actor (whos name escapes me) is very good. It could have been a camp role, but he acquits himself very well. The only real complaint I have is the suggestion that the mask is all in his head isnt very strong. It only really comes in later, almost at the very end. And the quick end bit, really back that up. Its come out (to me) saying, he stole his own identity. And only he can give it back to himself. Much like the fore mentioned Martin, this movie is alike in the theme of isolation and the idea that it might be all in his head. While you known that others see the mask, its more the idea of you could have taken it off any time. This is one very good movie. I cant recommend it enough. GO SEE THIS MOVIE. I hope it gets distribution soon.
Well, Im out of here. Work it about to notice I havent done anything for a long time, but thought you might enjoy reading my report. Thanks Mr. Romero,
CaptRosenbalm
