MOON

Warning: Mild spoilers ahead.

Sam Rockwell plays Sam, the seemingly lone human running a lunar mining station whose only companions are a ceiling tracked-robot assistant named Gerty (soothingly voiced by Kevin Spacey), the occasional video feeds from Earth and increasingly haunting visions that suggest Sam is either breaking down from cabin fever…or that he’s struggling with something far deeper and more disturbing.  But when one of his visions causes him to crash his moon buggy into a harvester and seriously wounding himself, Sam miraculously wakes up in the infirmary, only to learn that he might not be who – or what – he thought he was.  For the remainder of its running time, Moon explores the psychological and emotional vortex Sam finds himself increasingly lost in, as he fears the impending arrival of some company men who are en route to clean this mess up, one way or another.

Helmed by first-time feature director (and David Bowie’s son) Duncan Jones and produced, among others, by Trudie Styler (who is also Sting’s wife), Moon is a welcome throwback to the “truckers in space” science fiction films from the late ‘70s/early ‘80s like Alien, Outland and Silent Running, while standing side-by-side with more recent SF films like Solaris and Sunshine.  On the one hand, it’s like nostalgia porn for older filmmakers and geeks who grew up with and thoroughly immersed themselves in the off-world conceptual art of Ralph McQuarrie, Syd Mead and Ron Cobb, with their recessed lighting, bulky airlocks, functional access panels and cryptic signage.  On the other hand, it’s a thoughtful examination of a soul challenged by the cold disconnect of working millions miles away from the nearest human.  Either way, Moon largely delivers on its promise.

With a somber/cool score by Clint Mansell and some really impressive old school miniature effects (Jones estimates the film boasts 75% in-camera effects, with about 25% digital compositing and clean-up), Moon represents a hopefully growing breed of science fiction indie filmmaking that is less about Star Destroyers and Borg Cubes and more about exploring the inner worlds of the mind and heart.  The film seems to lose a bit of steam the further it goes, and its narrative focus gets a bit muddy in the final reels, but it’s certainly a trip worth taking and if Jones follows through on his promise for his next film to be a “spiritual sequel” to Blade Runner, he is clearly a filmmaker to keep an eye on.

TOE TO TOE

There was a time when movies about teens in trouble were all the rage.  Irresponsible sex, unchecked substance abuse and rocky relationships were explored and exploited in varying degrees in such films as Little Darlings, Foxes and even The Blue Lagoon.  So right off the bat, Emily Abt’s Sundance entry Toe to Toe is already covering well-trodden ground.  Following the predictably tempestuous friendship between the struggling but studious outsider Tosha (fierce-eyed Sonequa Martin) and the privileged yet promiscuous mattress-back Jesse (the Dunst-like Louisa Krausse), Abt’s film has some fairly compelling conflicts on its mind but unfortunately lacks the vision to distinguish it from being little more than an R-rated after school special.

Fellow teammates on the high school Lacrosse team, Tosha and Jesse become and remain friends for reasons which are never entirely clear, other than that perhaps Jesse has come down with a case of rich white guilt and wants to befriend the poor African-American Tosha as a way to give her own empty life some meaning, since the drugs and sex don’t seem to be doing the job.  A series of Saved By The Bell-caliber conflicts ensue, all of which could have been avoided had it not been for Abt’s obvious fetish for having one friend disgusted to discover the other friend making time with some leering high school douchebag right out of your everyday hentai gangbang casting.  Ultimately, both girls struggle to find their own moral high ground, even as they slum through some rather bad decisions and a shaky third act “whodunit” that wouldn’t even inspire Screech to don a Sherlock cap.

The film’s low budget and lack of scope is evident in every frame, especially those indecisive handheld shots that fumble through thin “crowds” of extras at school and night clubs, but that shouldn’t be held against it.  Nor should the relatively inexperienced cast who, no matter what, seem engaged and doing their best to deliver.  Martin and especially Krausse bravely soldier through Toe to Toe with both commitment and heart.  But Abt’s offensively one-dimensional screenplay and lifeless direction in this film are at serious odds with any positive attributes that the film might otherwise have going for it.  And given the semi-explicit sex suggested in the film (yes, it’s true: Krausse delivers a post-fellatio gulp in the locker room), one has to wonder who this film was made for, since the ones who could most benefit from its heavy-handed message are probably too young to even view it.

WORLD’S GREATEST DAD

It would be a massive understatement to say that Bobcat Goldthwait’s latest directorial effort, the disturbingly hilarious World’s Greatest Dad, was one of the really big surprises of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.  Starring Robin Williams as a poetry teacher (really? No, seriously…really?) and shot mostly flat and clean like a Chris Columbus mainstream family flick, you could be forgiven for thinking that this film is just another disposable bit of commercial pabulum from the star of Mrs. Doubtfire.  But you would still be dead wrong.  World’s Greatest Dad is the darkest, smartest, funniest and downright most evil comedy to scratch its way to the surface from the blackest recesses of a filmmaker’s imagination in a long time.

Williams plays Lance Clayton, the father of Kyle (Daryl Sabara of Spy Kids infamy) perhaps the most obnoxious and sleazy teenager to perv and bitch his way across the silver screen.  Obsessed with pornography, misogyny and the adorable TILF (Teacher I’d Like to…) that Lance is secretly sorta dating, Kyle is quite handful for Dad to deal with both at home and at school.  But when one of Kyle’s sexual experiments goes horribly wrong – or perhaps right – Lance slowly begins to realize that maybe there’s a way to turn this tragedy around.  And thus begins an increasingly biting comedic journey that takes it to the hilt and knows exactly when to pull out.

Goldthwait has expertly crafted a winning film that’s every bit as darkly satirical as Parents or Heathers, but has done so under the radar.  There’s nothing obvious in his approach to this material.  The sublime way that World’s Greatest Dad unfolds is so natural and unforced that even its most disturbing moments feel perfectly justified and downright entertaining.  But do yourself a favor:  Don’t read too many reviews or interviews about this film.  Try to go in knowing as little as possible before seeing it.  If you do, you’ll find yourself delightfully horrified by the surprise twists and turns that Goldthwait has in store.