Monday 21 June 2010

Double Bill Mini Musings: A strange pairing...

Milk:
Sean Penn makes you believe he's Harvey Milk in this fascinating biography from Gus Van Sant. It's big-scale biography with an indie thoughtfulness mixed with real-life newsreel footage. What's more, it's astonishing to think that 30-40 years ago, some politicians were seriously lumping homosexuals together with paedeophiles and animal botherers as their argument against pro-gay legislation. Living in present day Britain - where religion is subtle and sexuality is no bother - it's amazing to think that the above argument was seriously being made, and met with vocal support, not all that long before I was born.

Tormented:
A slightly weird British horror comedy that's got two of the original cast of Skins in it. A bullied kid comes back from the dead to torment and bump off those whose bullying and selfishness affected him most. I'm still not sure why he kills the nerdy kid with the pencils up the nose gag, and it's frustrating that none of the bullies show a single ounce of understanding or regret for their actions ... and the reveal of the website that's foreshadowed earlier proves so wholly troubling (as it bloody well should) stalls proceedings with distinct unpleasantness.

That said, there's some great gore gags - a broken classroom guilotine, a towel-whipped eyeball, and a steamy encounter in a cemetery among them - and the final pay off is a rallying cry to those who have been bullied. A violent resort such as this isn't the answer - naturally - but who wouldn't want to see a bunch of despicable teenage bullies getting what they damn well deserve? A pretty decent flick - worth a watch.

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