By Susan Granger
Opening with one of the shortest and most amusing segments, Argentinian filmmaker Damian Szifron’s “Wild Tales” is an unconventional anthology, built around the psychological concept of revenge.
“Pasternak” deals with a fateful encounter on a plane, as a suave music critic (Dario Grandinetti) begins a conversation with a beautiful model (Maria Marull). But they’re not the only people in business class with a connection to the model’s ex-boyfriend, Gabriel Pasternak. Think “Twilight Zone.”
“Rats” revolves around a waitress (Julieta Zylbergberg) in a roadside diner who discovers that her only customer (Cesar Bordon) is the loan shark who drove her father to suicide. When the ex-con cook (Rita Cortese) learns the truth, retribution seems inevitable.
As the cautionary “Road to Hell” begins, a rich, arrogant businessman (Leonardo Sbarglia) is driving his shiny, new Audi, rudely giving the finger to a redneck (Walter Donado) in an old Peugeot. Then when the Audi gets a flat tire, road rage takes over.
In “Bombita,” a Buenos Aires demolition engineer (Ricardo Darin), whose car keeps getting towed in streets that don’t have No Parking signs, destroys his career and his marriage.
“The Deal” finds a wealthy patriarch (Oscar Martinez) paying his gardener (German de Silva) to take the blame for a hit-and-run accident caused by his spoiled son (Alan Dalcz).
Finally, “Til Death Do Us Part” occurs during a festive wedding reception in which the bride (Erica Rivas) discovers that the groom (Diego Gentile) is cheating on her.
Writer/director Damian Szifron confidently links these diverse short stories around the same behavioral theme: what happens when people are pushed to the edge. It’s an intriguing and compelling concept.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Wild Tales” is an inventive 9, one of the most entertaining Foreign Language films of 2014.
Ever since John Hughes’ “The Breakfast Club,” teen rom-coms have been a popular genre—with updates like “Mean Girls” and “Easy A.” But they were before the onslaught of digital devices and social media. Now there’s “The DUFF.”
Bianca Piper (Mae Whitman) is a happy, honor-roll high school senior until her next-door neighbor, football-captain Wesley Rush (Robbie Amell), jokingly tells her that she’s known as the DUFF – or Designated Ugly Fat Friend – to her popular, gorgeous peers (Skyler Samuels, Bianca Santos).
Not surprisingly, this ridicule sends her into a tailspin. While her recently divorced mom (Alison Janney) tries to placate her, Bianca’s self-confidence is shattered. Miserable, she spins into action, un-friending, un-following and disconnecting her BFFs’ Twitter, Facebook, Tumblir and other accounts.
Determined, defiant Bianca then decides to re-make her dorky reputation by striking a deal with perceptive Wes. She’ll help him pass chemistry to save his threatened athletic scholarship if he’ll teach her how to attract the guitar-strumming guy (Nick Everman) she secretly adores.
Even an embarrassing dressing-room disaster caught on a frenemy’s video that goes viral does not deter her. Predictably, resilient Bianca emerges triumphant from this identity crisis.
Based on the YA novel by Kody Keplinger, it’s formulaically adapted by Josh A. Cagan and amiably directed by Ari Sandel, juggling comedy with romance and pathos.
Primary credit goes to sassy, savvy Mae Whitman (TV’s “Arrested Development” & “Parenthood”) whose comic timing is superb. Indeed, the entire cast is so likable that it’s easy to ignore the fact these so-called teenagers are really in their 20s.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The DUFF” is a subversively snarky, yet sensitive 6, updating George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” with 21st century technology.
Set in a Berkeley, California, science laboratory, “The Lazarus Effect” revolves around medical researcher Frank (Mark Duplass), his fiancée Zoe (Olivia Wilde) and their cohorts who make a remarkable discovery: by injecting a psychedelic chemical into the part of the brain called the amygdala, they can revive the dead.
They call it the Lazarus serum, referring to the Biblical resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus, as related in the Gospel of John.
After a successful but unsanctioned experiment on a lifeless dog, they’re ready to make their work public – even though the revitalized canine exhibits some bizarre behavior.
When the authorities find out about what they’ve done, the lab is closed. And in an attempt to recreate the experiment, Zoe is electrocuted, propelling grief-stricken Frank to test the process on her.
While Zoe appears to be resuscitated, something vengeful and evil has grown within her. Now zombie Zoe, she’s capable of telekinesis, telepathy and a disconcerting predilection to dilate her pupils.
Riffing on the Frankenstein myth, the cliché-riddled screenplay recycles science, religion and horror, touching on various moral issues before dissolving into predictable violence.
What’s surprising is that director David Gelb chose this weird, low-budget project after the success of his foodie documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” profiling Japan’s greatest sushi chef. Here, Gelb utilizes far too many ‘jump scares’ in which something off-screen darts at someone, accompanied by a loud noise.
But if this creepy concept intrigues you, consider the far-better “Flatliners” (1990), starring Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon and Kiefer Sutherland.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Lazarus Effect” is a faltering 4, as fright ultimately fizzles.
( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
