Atomic Blonde - David Leitch (2017)

Violence, violence, violence, sweet bloody, graphic, unnecessary, creative violence!

It's been absent from our action films for too long. Remember when bad guys were killed over and over until you didn't think there could possibly be any bad guys left? It was awesome. But nowadays, everybody shoots for that PG-13 rating. Even the last two Die Hard movies were PG-13. And when they do release an R-rated film, even those are watered down.

From Batman to the Avengers to even John McLane in recent years, the good guys nowadays refuse to spill blood. And I'm all for that in real life. In real life, for God's sake, everybody restrain yourselves. But what I want out of action movies is bodies. I want protagonists like Riggs, not Murtaughs! (Even Murtaugh was willing to spill his share of blood. "No way you live. No way.") You know, when the bad guys can't shoot at all but every good guy is like the greatest shot ever, taking out thug after thug after thug? Ah, the amorality. I miss those days.

Well those days are back with a vengeance with David Leitch's "Atomic Blonde."

We are blessed with one of those wonderful good guys in Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) who, as a side note, could easily kick Detective Riggs' or John McClane's asses. She could even take on Ichi the Killer.

From the start, Leitch presents Lorraine as invincible. We just know that nobody is ever going to be able to kill this agent.

Lorraine is an undercover MI6 agent sent to retrieve very sensitive information against the backdrop of the week when the Berlin wall falls. The cold war may be coming to an end, but behind the scenes, intelligence agencies are still undermining their foes. What, did we expect trust between our superpowers to come immediately?

Lorraine is sent to investigate the murder of another agent and track down a list that will expose double agents and puts everybody in the Western intelligence community at risk.

Her superiors warn her not to trust anybody and send her off to Berlin. When she arrives, she meets her contact in a charming and violent car chase sequence.

Her contact is Percival, (James McAvoy) an agent already embedded in the area. It is hard to tell at first if he is a devil-may-care kind of nonchalant guy or if he is just reckless. As the pair of them start hunting down the list, Percival gives Lorraine cause to doubt him from the start.

She meets French intelligence agent Delphine Lasalle (Sofia Boutella) who is simply way over her head. This is her first assignment and it is clear to Lorraine that she does not yet have the cunning for a mission as convoluted as this one.

Percival traces down a man who has the list, or at least has it committed to memory. Now the goal is to get him out of Berlin and onto Western soil.

Betrayal comes fast and hard early and the story turns in so many ways that we are dizzy by the spinning.

The fun is seeing Lorraine caught into trap after trap and overcoming every single hurdle thrown her way. She uses any weapon she can find including pots and pans, a freezer door, loose rope laying around, stiletto heels and so many other objects one can not keep count. She is a talented and versatile killer. She can shoot, she beats her enemies to death, she stages car crashes designed to kill a single man, and of course, she can just stab the hell out of anybody.

Leitch treats this film like an insane body cam video. He delights in staging fight sequences that play out without cuts. It is like a collaboration between Jim Jarmusch and John Woo. "Atomic Blonde" definitely makes action movies fun again. Think the Bourne movies and a rock of crack having a love baby.

When the movie ended and the lights came up, I felt satisfied, just like one feels after having visited a Brazilian Steakhouse.

So indulge yourself. Watch and just enjoy the violence.

It's like witnessing a moment of cool in film history.

30 Best Films Passed Over by Marty, The Doc & Jennifer in Back to the Future: Volume 1

I'm a couple of years too late to be posting on this, but I love lists so and you'll indulge a temporarily disabled genius who's been up to his eyes in prescription medication, right? You pardon my tardiness, yeah? I take your silence as a yes and continue.

So I understand that this should have posted in 2015 and that this post is now coming a year and a half too late.

In the year 2015, much ado was made about the 30 years that have passed since Marty, Jennifer and the Doc traveled into their future and right into our present.

Most of the speculation has centered on the technology and fashion, but I don’t care much about that.

I care a great deal about cinema, maybe music, but not much else.

So, here are the 30 best films these characters skipped over when they sling-shot themselves from their present, 1985, all the way to 2015, our present.

To be short: the 30 finest films in the past 30 years.

As always, the list is in descending order, as all lists shall be. (And you'll pardon me, but I couldn't quite stop, so this will be the top 31, not just the top 30.)

And, for your further amusement, you'll find pics and quotes from the films. Enjoy, I say. 

And, once more, a warning to any squares and/or prudes out there. Some of the quotes from these films are in bad taste, to say the least. Read at your own risk.

31) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer by John McNaughton (1986)
The single most disturbing horror film I've ever seen. That sick feeling you get when any stomach-churning violence you've ever heard of. That's what "Henry" offers you. Not much blood or gore. No effects. Just the sick.

"You all right? You want some fries?"

"It's always the same, and it's always different."

"Yeah, I killed my mama. One night, it was my 14th birthday. She was drunk and we had an argument. She hit with a whiskey bottle. I shot her. I shot her dead."

"Didn't get along with your daddy, huh?"

30) The Skin I Live In - Pedro Almodovar (2011)
 Not to speak in a pretentious way, but this film can only be described as surreal. The film is a deconstruction of an amoral mind. Antonio Banderas plays Dr. Robert Ledgard, the most extreme misogynist you're ever likely to come across. His insistence that women are by nature imperfect drives him to create something better. He's developing fire-proof skin. One could argue that he's operating out of grief because his wife had burned to death in a car crash. But we're witness to the way he treats his guinea pig. The process of changing women can never be a sane one. It's a cautionary fable from the filmmaker who arguably loves women more than any other. In the end, what we're left with is a Gothic horror film and a terse thriller.

"I'm sick of these heels! And this jacket, too! Clothes make me feel claustrophobic. I wish I could stay naked all the time."

"If you wanted to die die, you would have cut your jugular."

"They don't seem pneumatic now, do they? They're like drops of water sliding along a glass surface."

29) Martha Marcy May Marlene by Sean Durkin - 2011
My God is this girl's mind terrifying and beautiful? Why does she and every other person, myself included, need God? Or a god. It may be a need for something tangible to cling to. A constant presence that is always there to love and protect you. And if one is not careful, they can open themselves up to malevolence. (And I could not find a way to include in this paragraph, but but MMMM is beautifully cut. All praise to film editor Zachary Stuart-Pontier.)

"You know that death is the most beautiful part of life, right? Death is beautiful because we all fear death." 

"I am a teacher and a leader. You just never let me be that. But now, I am...I know who I am."

"Is it true that married people don't fuck?"

"Do you ever have that feeling where you can't tell if something is a memory...or if it's something you dreamed?"

"That cat reminds you of some fluffy think you think you used to love. You're clinging...(gunshot)...clinging to some misguided emotion."

28) Fight Club - David Fincher (1999)
Oh, sweet Jeebus, I was expecting a really cool action movie. What I discovered is that "Fight Club" has raised the bar both on dark, dark comedies and satire. At times, even I started to believe in Tyler Durdin's whole vision. Fincher balances dark comedy with squeamish violence and he pulls it off gloriously.This movie a god.

"I am Jack's Broken Heart."

"Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The 2nd rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club! 3rd rule of Fight Club: someone yells 'stop,' goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. 4th rule: only two guys to a fight. 5th rule: one part at a time, fellas. 6th rule: no shirts, no shoes. 7th rule: fights will go on as long as they have to. And the 8th and final rule of Fight Club: if this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight."

"Self improvement is masturbation."

"My God. I haven't been fucked like that since grade school."

"It's a bridesmaid's dress. I got it at a second hand store. It was loved intensely for one night...then cast aside."

27) Frances Ha by Noah Baumbuch - 2012
I am not certain why I connected so intimately in "Frances Ha." Frances is making the transition from child to grown-up and she is stagnant. She needs courage to start building a life of her own. Baumbuch presents her to us as a struggling child-adult and makes us empathize with her as she transforms.

"Sometimes it's good to do what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it."

"Don't treat me like a three-hour brunch friend!"

"It's sort of like how they say that other dimensions exist all around us, but we don't have the ability to perceive them. That's...that's what I want out of a relationship. Or just life, I guess."

"I'm so embarrassed. I'm not a real person yet."

26) The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese – 1988
A loving portrayal of the human part of Jesus Christ. What kind of temptation would Satan use to try and make Christ turn his back on his divinity? Would he use riches and power? Or would he just show Christ what it would be like to have a family of his own? But after all of these temptations, The Lord Jesus Christ declares, "It is accomplished!"

"What if it is God?  You can't drive out God. Can you?"

"You will, Judas my brother. God will give you the strength as much as you lack, because it is necessary - it is necessary for me to be killed and for you to betray me."

"I want to rebel against everything, everybody - against God! - but I'm afraid. If you look inside me you see fear, that's all. Fear is my mother, my father, my God."

"It is accomplished!"

25) Crash by David Cronenberg - 1996
Sigh. Everything is a fetish nowadays, even car crashes. How do we respond to that? Do we worry about the state of the word? Or are we just a little bit delighted? I went to see it and it kinda excited me. Everybody has desires they can not explain. So what are we left with? Silly, silly satire. Nothing is silly. These needs speak about how lost a person's spirit can alienate itself from the core of who you are.

"Don't worry, that guy's gotta see us. Don't worry, that guy's gotta see us. These were the confident last words of the brilliant, young  Hollywood star, James Dean."

"Would you like to put your penis right into his anus? Thrust it up into his anus?"

"The crash is a fertilizing, rather than a destructive event."

"Do you see Kennedy's assassination as a special kind of car crash?"

24) Blue Velvet by David Lynch - 1986
What is evil? Can you harbor a fascination for it without being seduced yourself? At some point, after struggling against the villain, you're so drawn in that yes, you do have to hit the girl.

"Mommy!  Mommy!  Baby wants to fuck!"

"Don't you fucking look at me!"

"Shut up! It's Daddy, you shithead! Where's my bourbon?"

"A candy-colored clan they call the Sandman tiptoes to my room every night."

Raymond - "Do you want me to pour it, Frank?"
Frank Booth - "No, I want you to fuck it! Shit yes, pour the fucking beer!"

"Here's to your fuck, Frank."

23) AntiChrist by Lars von Trier - 2009
The depth of this film's spirituality still leaves me shaken after each viewing. It's about gender dominance and exactly that has to do with death in general. The dialogue is sparse because "AntiChrist" shows its thesis instead of telling us everything.

"What do you think is supposed to happen in the woods?"

"A quiet woman is a scheming woman."

"Nature is Satan's church."

"Acorns don't cry, you  know that as well as I do. That's what fear is, thoughts distort reality. Not the other way around."


"The acorns fell on the roof vent. They kept falling and falling. And die and die. And I understood that everything that used to be beautiful about Eden was perhaps hideous. Now I could hear what I couldn't hear before. The cry of all the things that are to die.

22) Magnolia by Paul Thomas Anderson – 1999
When I first heard about "Magnolia," before it came out, it sounded like a cheap knockoff on Robert Altman's "Short Cuts."Damn was I wrong. It is enthralling in and of its own right. These are tales of heartbreak loss. Any hack can pull this off. But what Anderson does here is flawlessly tie ever one of these narratives around a thread of hope.

"The book says, 'We might be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.'"

"Life ain't short, it's long. It's long, goddamn it. Goddamn. What did I do? What did I do?"

"Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?"

"I lost my gun today. And I am not a good cop. And I'm looked down at. And I know that. And I'm scared that once you find that out, you may not like me."

"Have you seen death in your bed? In your house? Where's your fucking decency? And then I'm asked fucking questions. What's wrong? You suck my dick. That's what's wrong. And you, fucking call me 'lady?' Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on both of you!"

"Respect the cock and tame the cunt!"

"Because, what? I'm made to feel like a freak if I answer questions? Or if I'm smart? Or I have to go to the bathroom? Why is that, Jimmy? What is that? I'm asking you that."

21) Repo! The Genetic Opera by Derren Lynn Bousman - 2008
I've always been enchanted by musicals. Not only do you get a story, but all the delightful songs and dances. They're seductive. Add some horror to it and it's just a wonder. But there's more to it than that. Bousman creates a wonderful world for us to visit and sing along as people are dissected and slaughtered. This movie is a joy.

"It's a thankless job!  But somebody's got to do it!"

"What's the matter, Grave-robber? Can't get it up if the girl's breathing?"

"The most dashing, panty-snatching. I will leave your diapers dripping!"

"Everybody, everybody! Make your genetics your bitch!"

"I warned you about this! Happiness is not a warm scalpel."

Please stay tuned for numbers 20-11!

Inside - Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (2007)

Gore films are seldom taken seriously, and with good cause. Rarely, one pops up that deserves consideration instead of a knee-jerk reaction.

The first few second's of "Inside" are brilliantly traumatic. We're taken inside of a womb and watching a safe fetus, floating in amniotic fluid. Life is peaceful and life is warm.

Then comes a jolt, a crash and blood. If you think that's the worst "Inside" has to offer, you're in for a surprise.

Sarah and her unborn baby survived the crash, but her husband was killed. Four months later, the ready-to-burst mother and child are doing just fine.

She has understandably become reclusive. She won't make small talk with anybody. She shuns the company of her closest friends.

Then, on Christmas Eve, a strange woman shows up at Sarah's home and demands to be let in.

This sequence feels like it could have plucked out of Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." But the stranger is even less humane than that.


"Inside" takes things farther. The filmmakers are unabashed and unblinking.

The stranger gets inside and she's more than what we're expecting.

At first, right when she gets inside, takes on a tangible "Audition" quality .

The film focuses on her attack on Sarah and the ferocity of her hatred. We have no idea why she hates Sarah, and nor does she.

The vicious fighting and savagery is even more intense than one sees in the most extreme horror and gore flicks. During the barbarous brawling, we get glimpses inside the womb, showing us how the baby is surviving the trauma.

Unlike many horror movies, Bustillo and Maury use gore to progress the film's theme and story. As the films gets more terse, the walls and characters get bloodier and bloodier.

Meanwhile, we try to figure out why this stranger is laying siege to Sarah and her baby.

Whatever the answer, we're left with nothing but questions. What makes one violent? At what point does vengeance become psychosis? Lastly, what makes one mad?

Atomic Blonde Trailer

I really do not care what the rest of you want to see this summer. I'm looking forward to "Atomic Blonde" the most.

Groucho was a prophet

"The last man nearly ruined this place. He didn't know what to do with it. If you think this country is bad, wait 'til I get through with it."

A Cure for Wellness - Gore Verbinski (2017)

"A Cure for Wellness" is Gore Verbinski's first attempt at a psychological thriller since his mediocre 2002 film, "The Ring", a remake of the Japanese phenomenon, "Ringu." (And by 'Mediocre' I mean terrible. I just didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings who may have like that movie. But if you are one of those people, what the hell is wrong with you?)

Going in, I was curious to see if the filmmaker responsible for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies was up to the task.

Lockhart, (Dane DeHaan) is presented to us as a dull, disappointing protagonist and a dick. (Think Leonardo DiCaprio having a love baby with Dr. Sheldon Cooper.)

The board of the company he works for has found some in some discrepancies in Lockhart's work that the SEC would find very interesting.

They agree not to turn him in if he will complete one mission. The company's CEO, one Roland Pembroke, (Harry Groener, the snake-mayor from (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) went on a two-week spa vacation in Switzerland and has refused to come back.

Lockhart's task is a simple one: go and fetch Pembroke.

On his way to the isolated retreat, Lockhart learns that the place has a dark history. When his car hits a deer, he is wounded and wakes up inside the retreat three days later.

The first person he encounters is Dr. Volmer (Jason Isaacs, a.k.a. Lucius Malfoy) who tells him he may not leave, but of course, he is not a prisoner and neither is Pembroke.

But they are at altitude, so Lockhart needs to stay hydrated. He drinks more than his share of water. As Lockhart stalks the grounds, he notices that much of the patients' time is spent in water whether in swimming pools, steam baths or the sensory deprivation tank. Maybe there is something strange about these 'treatments'. He looks high and low and at the beginning of the second act, Lockhart finally finds Pembroke, who agrees to return to New York.

Then, the man vanishes again, into thin air. Again, he is told that Pembroke is not well enough to see him.

Lockhart waits and investigates and it soon becomes obvious that something is wrong with the water. As he waits, the wellness center decides to take Lockhart on as a patient as well. Immediately, it is plain that Lockhart is not taking to the treatments.

What follows is more or less an ordinary cat and mouse game. Or so we are led to believe until "Wellness" pulls the rag right from under us.

The film is wise enough to realize the small things that make you squirm are more visceral than any abstract fears. Like pulling one's teeth out.

This place performs medical experiments, so when he finds himself in a tank or strapped to a bed, listening to all the doctors speaking German, it is unsettling. (At one point, I can guaranteed piss will trickle down your legs. When it happens, you'll know. It is even worse than the elderly zombies.)

And if you think your grandma is being abused in her nursing home, that is nothing compared to what the staff is up to at this sanitarium. There are some nice nightmarish sequence, even if some are ordinary. There are even a few Vertigo-esque shots thrown in to mount the tension. Much of the imagery is heavy handed. Yes, we get that Lockhart has an aversion to water because he watched his father jump off in a bridge, into a river, in a rainstorm.

So it is understandable that he is wary of water treatments.

Once again, just as we're lulled into a nice, typical suspense tale, Verbinski kicks our legs right out from under us again. He keeps surprising us to the end.

Socially, "Wellness" makes a comment on how we can all be taken in so we do not see what is happening around us. We do not even notice when we start to die. The kind of entrapment Lockhart is supposed to feel is reminiscent of Gordon Peele's film "Get Out" from earlier this year in that it focuses on the notion of the victims being supposedly willing.

I was impressed at how I was taken darker and darker and darker...

"Wellness" is not even close to the same level of excellence of "Get Out", but I can confirm that despite its crude, inelegant end, it is Verbinski's most satisfying film yet.

Except maybe "Rango." I like "Rango."

Personal Shopper - Olivier Assayas (2017)

Maureen (Kristen Stewart) has not done much but grieve since her twin brother, Lewis, who died of heart failure three months ago. She goes to Lewis' isolated house in hope of contacting him from 'the beyond.'

She refuses to leave Paris because she and her twin had made a pact that whichever one of them died first would send the living one some kind of sign.

Maureen refuses to leave Paris without some kind of signal from her dead twin.

Maureen is a medium, as was Lewis. Maureen has always retained a certain amount of skepticism, while her twin had always been what one would call a 'true believer.'

The big question right now is: does this agreement give Maureen hope, or just prolong her grief?

Just how long can one live in mourning?

Finally, after waiting for three months, Maureen gets two signs. Neither are tangible enough to convince her beyond doubt. Is it possible Lewis has signaled Maureen without her noticing?

Then, a third, malevolent, signal roars from out of nowhere. This is definitely not her her brother. Not only can she feel this new presence. She can see it.

It is not long before Maureen starts to get texts from an entity. It is not her brother. This spirit is angry and violent.

As the film progresses, it evolves into a kind of existential tale about technology vs. Spirituality. And there is study of the connection between grief and fear.

Pieces of "Shopper" have sparse (or no) dialogue. Assayas helps us understand Maureen even when she keeps her quiet.

Parts of "Personal Shopper" feel Bergman-esque. Some of the sequences feel as though they could have been lifted right out of "Persona" or "Cries and Whispers."

Assayas and Film Editor Marion Monnier let us slowly settle into the story without us having to worried about distracting, premature cuts. They let us see characters reacting instead of focusing on the acting.

Kristen Stewart has built up a great deal of credibility since her "Twilight" days. She has refused to be type-cast. She chooses small, intimate characters in very important films. (Clouds of Sils Maria, Welcome to the Rileys)

"Shopper" is gaining notoriety. It has done well on the Festival circuit. I was expecting a typical art-house film, but at its heart, it's a vivid and convincing ghost story.

I enjoyed it very much, but this film is not important nor is it groundbreaking. I am afraid this is not a movie you should drop everything to see.

If you want a thriller or ghost story, this is a satisfactory way to spend 105 minutes.

In a word...meh.
 

Colossal - Nacho Vigalondo (2017)

Gloria, played by Anne Hathaway with, (and I have to say this), horrendous bangs, is a loser. She sleeps all day, sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally. She has no drive and has not worked in a year. She is also a blackout drunk and her boyfriend has tossed her out on the street.

She has no other choice than to go home, so she moves back into her parents' empty house. She runs into Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), an old friend from back in the day who owns a bar.

Then, twenty minutes into the film, it takes a sharp turn. The day after she gets back in town, she finds out that the city of Seoul has been devastated by a giant monster.

The creature appeared and then vanished out of thin air above the city.

Soon, Gloria starts to obsess about the monster. She makes maps, graphs and pictures and she hangs them on a wall in the empty house. We start to wonder why Gloria is so fascinated by the whole story while other characters seem more blasé about the situation.

Is there some kind of connection between Gloria and the monster? She certainly thinks there is. 

And it soon becomes obvious that she's right. At a specific place in her hometown, at a designated time, it seems Gloria is somehow controlling the creature. It mimics every movement. Each gesture, each step.

Then a giant robot appears with the monster like they are a comedy duo, part of a bit. The robot appears to be controlled by Oscar. Think Optimus Prime meets Godzilla. 

Sadly, before too long, Oscar understandably decides controlling a giant robot can actually be a jolly good time. This transforms him from the warm, compassionate hometown friend into a dangerous scoundrel.

This puts Gloria and Oscar at odds. That is to say Oscar starts being a real dick, alienating Gloria and his friends.

It is worth noting that Sudeikis makes a surprisingly convincing villain.

"Colossal" makes a clear statement about the raw nature of power. It can turn you evil and it will drive you mad. Sometimes to the point of murderous. You need only look at the world, and our country, to understand how vital it is that people understand this truth.

The film has a Joe Dante (Gremlins, Matinee) vibe to it. It is mischievous, sarcastic, darkly funny and violent.

What "Colossal" gives us is 105 minutes of a damn good time. It might not be the best horror film I have seen this year, but it certainly is the most entertaining.

Midnight Special - Jeff Nichols (2016)

I can't think of anything worse than discovering that Heaven is most certainly real and then realizing that it is not for you. Sadly, that is the case for every character in "Midnight Special." Except for Alton Meyer, one miraculous child.

And the search for Paradise, or even just happiness is at the heart of Jeff Nichols' film "Midnight Special."

Nichols takes his time as he lets us know slowly what's going on.

The beginning of the movie feels very experiential and surreal. I knew I was in for a good time when the congregation of a bizarre church/cult started to chant coordinates instead of Holy Scripture. The sequence is so surreal, it gives off a feeling of a hypnotic hallucination.

In the second act, though, the film settles down into a more or less traditional narrative.

It's the story of Alton Meyer who is taken from his church "family" by his father, Roy. You see, something will happen in the next few days and it's important to Roy that his child be as far from the church/cult as possible.

Of course, his church wants Alton to be with them during this supposedly crucial time.

The rest of the film is a pretty standard race-against-time suspense/thriller. The Feds desperately want to find Alton. And, like formulaic thrillers, the film slowly pulls the curtain back as we come to understand what's so damn important about this boy.

The leaders of the church/cult also obsessively pursue Alton. The coordinates they recited as Scripture will show them the way to something like Paradise. These people will not rest until they find him and unlock his secret.

It was a great disappointment watching a film with such a promising first act regress into such a predictable and conventional film.

So, come for the delightful and enchanting first act and stay just because you end up curious about what happens to the little kid. Either resign yourself to an hour or so of relative boredom or stay away from "Midnight Special" altogether. I'd recommend the former. The first act really is worth the price of admission.

Raw - Julia Ducurnau (2017)

 "'Help me, help me! '"the rabbit said. "'Or the hunter will shoot me dead.'"

Out of all the horror films made in recent memory, Julia Ducurnau's "Raw" is the closest thing we've had to an old-school mind-bang since the late 70's, early 80's.

Its a rare film that's both physiologically disturbing and physically disgusting.

Justine is a naive young woman and strict vegetarian off to school for the first time. Veterinary school to be precise.

Some unconventional hazing starts an alarming series of changes in the veterinarian. And by unconventional, I mean carnivorous. It may just be the worst kind of torture one could come think of for Justine.

And anything forced upon someone has the potential to become habitual.

After being forced to eat raw rabbit kidneys, Justine's body starts to revolt. First, her skin starts to peel off slowly. Think "Cabin Fever" meets Cronenberg.

Then, she develops a lust for meat.

Raw meat. 

And her body starts to turn on her more. Think more Cronenberg. 

As you can imagine, the worse shape Justine is in, the more difficult the film is to watch.

And that's when it starts to get fun.

When the carnivore turns cannibal, there is just a giddy joy rushes through you.

And in that moment, "Raw" doesn't flinch. It does not cut away. We're stuck right there with Justine as she chews and slurps the meat right off the bone.

Now hazing is the least of her worries.

"Raw" is more than a shock movie.

It's no coincidence that this story takes place at a school or that our heroine is demure and virginal when she arrives.

Along with the nasty business with the flesh-eating and what not, we're getting a look inside of Justine's mind as she develops her sexual proclivities.

But the good times can't just go on unchecked. This cannibalism ends up going too far. It's all fun and laughs until someone loses a finger.

Normally, I have a tendency to stay away from films that mix violence and sex together. I love violence and I love sex, but as far from each other as the east is from the west.

But that doesn't apply here. "Raw" isn't just a movie that throws sex and violence together to keep its audience paying attentions. This movie is about sex and violence and how one psychologically interact inside of a developing mind.