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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... current day count
230 .......................... 250
__________________________
July 25th
—— 2011 ——
KILLER JOE
—— dark comedy ——
Revenge is a dish best served
with chicken and torture
I was very much looking forward to finally watching this feature, which apparently had Matthew McConaughey in the role of Killer Joe, handing out some killer justice through imaginative oral sex using a chicken wing weiner. I don’t see how that can be anything other than some good old offensive amusements, which has caused my attention to shoot out through the roof. Even though I definitely looked forward to the film, I was mostly creating my curiosity out of what I really hadn’t seen much of – only in bits and pieces – which would make it hard to digest entirely. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I knew it had to be some kind of side-centered and sadistic hillbilly flick, which had some strange characters doing strange things. I wasn’t completely off center with this statement…
The movie certainly tries its best to be a bona-fide view on the backside of cinema, though it does feel like a slightly weirder and more concealed coverage of it. And as it is always the case with such films, you either connect with the craziness or you don’t, but honestly I wasn’t sure about this one. Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly become the welcomed inbreeded individual that I hoped to be, but it was still rather fun to witness it all on a safety distance. This is a quirky and truly dark film, but I wasn’t totally put off by it, I just didn’t feel like I fit in that well. I wasn’t a fan of too many of the characters and the fun of the film came in waves. What made it worth it, though, in my opinion, was obviously the one and only, Matthew McConaughey as “Killer Joe”. His overall appearance, agonizing methods and intimidating kindness was just right for this film. He was like the Heath Ledger Joker of hillbilly trash, though only meant as a positive thing of course. Whenever Killer Joe was on screen, you weren’t really sure if you should scream, squirm or storm out of the room as fast as possible. One hell of a character indeed.
But I have to say, that without McConaughey and his character of chaos and evil, I would probably have hated most of this film, simply because I had a hard time enjoying all the other characters. Emile Hirsch annoyed the hell out of me, which was a shame, since I have seen good acting from this guy before. His role just seemed so out of place for him and he tried so hard throughout but came off as annoying and too much. Thomas Haden Church was pretty good though, especially later in the film where he had many funny moments, but the rest of the cast I didn’t care for at all. The overall story wasn’t that good either, but obviously it aimed more for the atmosphere, which it executed a whole lot better – it definitely didn’t chicken out, so to speak, but instead went all the way when it wanted to. I respect that.
This film definitely had some fun moments, and though I liked some of the dark humor, I wasn’t really a fan of the overlong and overly cruel things happening, which was dragged out until it became painfully pedestrian. The last thirty minutes or so, was what really made this movie worth it. It was intense, intimidating and irresponsibly awesome. It couldn’t keep it going all the way through, but it was definitely the best part of the film. I wish it was like that from beginning to end, but sadly I was frequently bored, annoyed or just didn’t care for whatever happened or why.
-
__________________________
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... current day count
230 .......................... 250
__________________________
July 25th
—— 2011 ——
KILLER JOE
—— dark comedy ——
Revenge is a dish best served
with chicken and torture
I was very much looking forward to finally watching this feature, which apparently had Matthew McConaughey in the role of Killer Joe, handing out some killer justice through imaginative oral sex using a chicken wing weiner. I don’t see how that can be anything other than some good old offensive amusements, which has caused my attention to shoot out through the roof. Even though I definitely looked forward to the film, I was mostly creating my curiosity out of what I really hadn’t seen much of – only in bits and pieces – which would make it hard to digest entirely. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I knew it had to be some kind of side-centered and sadistic hillbilly flick, which had some strange characters doing strange things. I wasn’t completely off center with this statement…
The movie certainly tries its best to be a bona-fide view on the backside of cinema, though it does feel like a slightly weirder and more concealed coverage of it. And as it is always the case with such films, you either connect with the craziness or you don’t, but honestly I wasn’t sure about this one. Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly become the welcomed inbreeded individual that I hoped to be, but it was still rather fun to witness it all on a safety distance. This is a quirky and truly dark film, but I wasn’t totally put off by it, I just didn’t feel like I fit in that well. I wasn’t a fan of too many of the characters and the fun of the film came in waves. What made it worth it, though, in my opinion, was obviously the one and only, Matthew McConaughey as “Killer Joe”. His overall appearance, agonizing methods and intimidating kindness was just right for this film. He was like the Heath Ledger Joker of hillbilly trash, though only meant as a positive thing of course. Whenever Killer Joe was on screen, you weren’t really sure if you should scream, squirm or storm out of the room as fast as possible. One hell of a character indeed.
But I have to say, that without McConaughey and his character of chaos and evil, I would probably have hated most of this film, simply because I had a hard time enjoying all the other characters. Emile Hirsch annoyed the hell out of me, which was a shame, since I have seen good acting from this guy before. His role just seemed so out of place for him and he tried so hard throughout but came off as annoying and too much. Thomas Haden Church was pretty good though, especially later in the film where he had many funny moments, but the rest of the cast I didn’t care for at all. The overall story wasn’t that good either, but obviously it aimed more for the atmosphere, which it executed a whole lot better – it definitely didn’t chicken out, so to speak, but instead went all the way when it wanted to. I respect that.
This film definitely had some fun moments, and though I liked some of the dark humor, I wasn’t really a fan of the overlong and overly cruel things happening, which was dragged out until it became painfully pedestrian. The last thirty minutes or so, was what really made this movie worth it. It was intense, intimidating and irresponsibly awesome. It couldn’t keep it going all the way through, but it was definitely the best part of the film. I wish it was like that from beginning to end, but sadly I was frequently bored, annoyed or just didn’t care for whatever happened or why.
-
__________________________