BEFORE: Yeah, I had my next month of films all mapped out, in a chain that separated spouse killers and serial killers from hit-men and spies, but then along came "Kill Bill: Vol. 2", which I didn't realize was about assassins, and had a cameo from Samuel L. Jackson. That meant the next logical film to watch was "The Long Kiss Goodnight", which features Mr. Jackson, and is about an assassin. I tried to flip the chain around to make that film next, but it just interrupted the flow, and set off a domino effect of randomness, plus all my killers got mixed up together. What to do?
I took a long look at the cast lists for the next few dozen movies, and eventually a clear path emerged. For my purposes, I'm going to take into consideration that "Kill Bill" is about a GROUP of killers, and so is tonight's film, and so is tomorrow's. Once gang violence has been covered, I can deal with individuals - and the resulting new chain maximizes actor linking while also parsing out the various types of killers.
Linking from "Kill Bill: Vol. 2", Michael Parks carries over. Once I realized that connection, this film came right up to the top of the list. And I found my new credo, conveniently available on a t-shirt, which reads: "I have OCD & ADD. So everything has to be perfect...but not for very long."
THE PLOT: A group of teens receives an online invitation for sex, though they soon encounter fundamentalists with a much more sinister agenda.
AFTER: The other connection to last night's film is that it was directed by Kevin Smith, and just as with Tarantino, I'd like to see all of his films, as he usually doesn't disappoint. This film got a lot of attention for screening at Sundance, with Smith vowing to sell the rights at the screening - then he reportedly opened his wallet and bought the rights from himself for $20. Wait, you can do that? That's just a way of saying he wanted to self-distribute, but he kind of tricked distributors into showing up, thinking they had a chance to buy the film on the cheap.
The film features a religious group, not completely a cult, but definitely a group that puts the "mental" into "Fundamentalist". I'm sure that there are groups out there that preach God's love while hating homosexuals, and yet are unable to see the inherent contradiction in doing that. For convenience's sake, the group also stockpiles weapons and is waiting for the rapture. This made the message of the film a little elusive - is it anti-religion? Pro-gay? Anti-guvmint? All of the above?
The story starts out told from the perspective of certain characters, and at some point there's a shift, and the ending is seen from the perspective of different characters. I won't say why, because that shift is necessitated by the plot, but it does suggest a structural problem, if nothing else.
It's also hard to justify this with the Boston bombings - I admit I was out of the country and I haven't been following the news as much as I could have since I've been back, but we've collectively learned that terrorists are out there, their motives are not always clear, and the F.B.I. does have an interest in taking them into custody alive. Killing suspects is a last resort, and done only when the public (or the agents themselves) are in danger.
And killing in the name of religion is a highly questionable thing - yet it's gone on for thousands of years, in one form or another. The problem becomes, if you believe in hell, then why not send sinners there sooner? If you believe in heaven, why not commit suicide and get there sooner? Ah, but God thought of that, didn't he? I can just dispute the logic with "Thou shalt not kill", which has no exemption clauses to it. And if you want to resolve the contradictions between Exodus and Leviticus, by all means, go ahead. I'll wait.
Also starring John Goodman (last seen in "The Campaign"), Melissa Leo, Stephen Root (last seen in "J. Edgar"), Kevin Pollak (last seen in "3000 Miles to Graceland"), Ralph Garman, Michael Angarano, Nicholas Braun, Kyle Gallner.
RATING: 5 out of 10 bullet-proof vests
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