WEEK 61
Ringu 2 - Rolling Kansas
#301 - RINGU 2
1999; dir. Hideo Nakata; starring Miki Nakatani, Rikiya Otaka, Fumiyo Kohinata
There are actually two sequels to the original Ringu present on this Arrow disc.
The marketed one, Ringu 2, was hastily made after the original sequel, called Rasen (translated to Spiral), was released in Japanese theaters at the same time as Ringu. These films were based on an already popular book franchise, so the studio decided to put out installments one and two simultaneously, figuring the audience already had an understanding of the universe and would want to see both asap. That plan did not work, so the original crew of Ringu reunited to write and make a brand new sequel that wasn’t based on any of the original books. I find that all pretty interesting!
Unfortunately, I don’t find either of the films pretty interesting. Rasen probably takes my slight preference, as its expansion of the universe is more clever and intuitive, turning the neat, self-contained ending of the first one into a kind of anthology series. It’s also “a horror story about a forlorn detective,” which will always at least grab my attention a little.
Ringu 2, for me, just doesn’t quite justify its existence. It mucks up the bones and mythologies of the first one without adding anything of particular substance. The “if this is true, what else is true?” math doesn’t add up for me, although there still are some neat scares and ideas.
VERDICT: GOES AWAY
#302 - ROBOCOP
1987; dir. Paul Verhoeven; starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy
RoboCop is one of the great American films. It’s unsettling, funny, prescient, satirical, vulgar, intelligent, and says so much about the issues that plague us. Technocratic corporatism, public funding for essentials running dry, the military-industrial complex creeping into our local police force, dehumanization in the face of technological homogenization, an increasing crassness in our mass media…
RoboCop has something to say about all of this and then some. And it does it all with gorgeously lensed sequences of mayhem with a cast that knows the assignment and transcends it. Perfect movie!
VERDICT: STAYS AND PLAYS
#303 - ROBOCOP 2
1990; dir. Irvin Kershner; starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy
RoboCop 2 is a little coarser and a little less firmly made than its predecessor. It still gestures at all of the X factors that made the first one so special, and thankfully doesn’t shy away from the franchise’s sense of satire or melancholy. It’s still a fun world for me to spend some time in, and it’s still fulfilling to watch Weller imbue this archetypal character with so much pathos and intention.
But beyond one interesting jag where RoboCop is programmed to be a goody-two-shoes, even in the face of overly vulgar and violent children, this sequel feels a little too reheated to make a lasting impression. It’s junk food served to someone used to steak.
VERDICT: GOES AWAY
#304 - ROLLERBALL
1975; dir. Norman Jewison; starring James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams
Norman Jewison has always been one of my favorite filmmakers, but after experiencing Rollerball, I suspect he might be, like, the best filmmaker? Or at least the most versatile; he seems to be able to tackle any genre and produce one of the best versions of it, not insisting on any immediately recognizable style while still feeling like it comes from him.
Here, Jewison takes a positively RoboCopian idea - a technocratic dystopian future that’s addicted to the mass media commodification of a deadly bloodsport - and turns in something that’s quiet, melancholy, boldly made, and focused on character above all. It does all this and features dope-ass, violent, and unsettling action sequences and sci-fi worldbuilding, too!
How many masterpieces does that give Jewison? Like, all of them? Yowza!
VERDICT: STAYS AND PLAYS
#305 - ROLLING KANSAS
2003; dir. Thomas Haden Church; starring James Roday, Sam Huntington, Ryan McDow
I have such fond memories of watching Rolling Kansas on Comedy Central with my brother Gordon and feeling like we stumbled on a holy grail of unorthodox comedy. I had never heard of this film, but it felt so intentionally crafted, fully formed, and off-kilter despite its broad concepts about stoners and sex and male bonding. I was so excited to revisit this still-rare movie, so rare that it only exists on DVD!
On a modern watch, there’s still so much I admire and want to love about the film. Church is a great actor and proves here to be a great director; the sequence constructions are beautifully framed and cut with blunt courage, the runner of “subtitle jokes” is inspired, and its use of music and sound design gets me (a “trumpet fanfare” cue made me lol every time). I love all of these qualities especially applied to the film comedy, a form that doesn’t always care about “feeling cinematic.”
It also has a really interesting cast giving really interesting line readings; they feel like a genuinely bonded group of friends while feeling like their own individuals, a grouping of lots of oil and lots of water that coheres. And one of the characters is given a “I’m realizing I’m gay” storyline that, especially for 2003, feels pretty wholesome and understanding.
However, too many of the jokes still run mean-spirited and “masculine” in a way that has never sat right with whatever my conception of masculinity is. Fat people are routinely shamed, girls are things to be won or lost, there’s a scene with a trans-coded server that’s rife with “weird!!!” subtext, and none of these things are presented with enough self-awareness to read as critical.
A near miss as a film, but a treasure as a memory and collection of potential filmmaking influences.
VERDICT: GOES AWAY
THE RUNNING TIME SO FAR
Total Watched: 305
Stays And Plays: 202
Goes Away: 103
Thanks for checking out Greg’s Blu-Rays A-To-Z! Next week: Denzel, De Niro, Jimmy Stewart, Tommy Lee Jones, Sam Jackson, holy crap!