Catnip Reviews: LANDMAN (Season 2), THE MONSTER and BURNING

Snack-sized opinions from the frisky felines at Free Kittens…

LANDMAN Season Two (Blu-ray) - I know series creator Taylor Sheridan is a big deal right now (he practically owns Paramount+). But to be honest, I wish he’d go back to doing more movies because he’s written some real bangers over the years. But I get it…Yellowstone and its spin-offs were much bigger than the likes of Sicario and Wind River (and probably made his wallet a lot fatter). But I think he’s starting to spread himself a little thin now. Tulsa King is okay, but Lioness? Marshalls? The Madison? Meh. Like those shows, Landman boasts a killer cast, this time led by Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, a Texas oil landman and president of T-Mex Oil. Having never seen Season One, it took me a while to sort out the various subplots and who’s who, but once I did, I kinda felt like I was watching Dallas with F-bombs. While there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that, there are way too many characters to keep track of, and not all of their conflicts are very interesting, which tends to detract from these 10 episodes’ overall bingeworthiness. Fighting for screen time in Season Two include Demi Moore, Andy Garcia, Sam Elliot, Ali Larter, though the show is at its best when focused on Thornton and his character. (2025/418 min/Paramount).

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼

THE MONSTER (Il mostro) (Blu-ray) - This Italian obscurity walks, talks and generally looks like classic Giallo, but to call it such isn’t entirely accurate. The plot involves a mysterious killer who calls themself  “The Monster” and commences bludgeoning a seemingly random batch of victims, but not before sending letters to down-and-out reporter Valerio Barigozzi (Johnny Dorelli), announcing each attack in advance. Seizing the opportunity to get back the respect and notoriety he once had, Valerio milks the situation for all its worth, with histrionic, tabloid-style articles that are a media sensation. Along the way, he becomes a celebrity by actually creating the news rather than simply reporting it. Sorelli himself is a real piece of work. Bitter and angry at first, sudden fame goes to his head, while new-found ambition and greed turn him into something of a monster himself. Though there are certainly Giallo elements to be found, both narratively and aesthetically, actual onscreen violence is limited and the story itself largely unfolds like a black comedy. As such, the film is pretty entertaining, with a wonderfully acidic performance by Dorelli (who was largely known as a Sinatra-like crooner back then). I also wonder if The Monster served as partial inspiration for the conceptually similar Kurt Russell vehicle, The Mean Season. (1977/95 min/Radiance Films).

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼😼

BURNING (DVD) - Not to be confused with the critically-acclaimed 2018 South Korean thriller with the same title, this one hails from Kyrgyzstan. And despite the ominous cover art, grim overall tone and some genuinely creepy sequences (especially during the first act), Burning is ultimately not a horror film...yet arguably more disturbing. It opens with a fire that destroys a young couple’s home, then focuses on a few neighbors who’ve gathered in a nearby shop, three of whom each have different accounts of what caused the fire. Taking a narrative cue from the likes of Rashomon, the film presents three different versions of the same scenario. Only the first segment - the recollection of an old man with a drinking problem - is horror-based and features a couple of effectively nasty scenes. The other accounts are more grounded in reality, and interestingly, based on the subjectivity of the characters telling them. Throughout the story, more is revealed about the young couple (and their history), which eventually alters our perception of each. All the while, Burning becomes an increasingly downbeat, emotionally harrowing film to endure. Though it features good performances, effectively moody direction and timely themes worth exploring, be prepared for one hell of a Debbie Downer.  (2024/101 min/IndiePix).

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😺😺😺

THREE and THREE…EXTREMES: Aptly Named Anthologies

THREE & THREE…EXTREMES (Blu-ray)

2002 & 2004 / 254 min (2 movies)

Arrow Video 

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Three…Extremes was released on this side of the pond in the early 2000s, and I was aware of its reputation. More specifically, I was aware that Takashi Miike was one of the directors of this horror anthology. For those unfamiliar, Miike’s prolific career includes Ichi the Killer, Audition and the nastiest episode of Showtime’s Master of Horror series. So nasty, if fact, that Showtime refused to air it, and after later catching it on DVD, I could see why.

He’s a good director, but the films I’ve seen (those above-mentioned titles) wallow in levels depravity and violence that are tough to endure…and I can generally endure a lot. But the violence isn’t just graphic. The context in which it’s inflicted is what makes it so brutal. So, tail between legs, I took a hard pass on Three…Extremes.

But here we are, 20 years later, and Arrow Video has put it out on Blu-ray, along with the first film, 2002’s Three. And guess what…I was today-years-old when I learned the film I was reluctant to watch two decades ago was a sequel. Actually, that might surprise a lot of people, since Three was only released in the U.S. (as Three…Extremes II) after Three…Extremes made waves here. Not that it matters, since they’re anthology films anyway.

Not knowing what to expect, I put on my big-boy pants and dug in, fully prepared to witness stuff I’ll never unsee…

But Three is a surprisingly subdued and deliberately-paced trio of stories by directors from Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong. In fact, the overall tone is similar to what we now might call ‘elevated horror.’ The first tale, “Memories,” features a man who appears concerned about his missing wife. Concurrently, she awakens in the middle of the street with no idea how she got there, then proceeds to make her way home. There are some effective scenes here and there, but most horror fans will see the twist ending coming from a mile away. “The Wheel” deals with a cursed marionette that wreaks havoc on the man who took it for himself after its original owners died. “Going Home,” is about a cop whose young son goes missing. While searching, he’s taken captive by his reclusive neighbor, who is trying to resurrect his dead wife. There’s more plot here than the story really needs, but it’s the best of the three, with an ironic twist and an intriguingly ambiguous denouement.

Overall, Three is longer than it needs to be, with directors Kim Jee-woon, Peter Chan and Nonzee Mimibutr all guilty of a little self-indulgence. But for the most part, it’s visually interesting, with an emphasis on atmosphere over scares and violent thrills. In fact, it’s damn near bloodless.

You won't find these at a food court.

Conversely, Three…Extremes is aptly named. “Dumplings” is Fruit Chan’s sick and twisted tale of a former actress desperate to stay young. She hires the services of a mysterious dumpling maker whose secret to eternal youth is pretty shocking (to say nothing of stomach churning, thanks to some repellant visuals and sound effects)…and the story is just getting started. In Park Chan-wook’s “Cut,” a film director and his wife are held captive and tortured by one of his former extras, who forces him to make some terrible decisions in order to save her. This one is brutal and bloody, marred by a somewhat silly ending. 

The biggest shock is saved for last, with Takashi Miike’s “Box.” But what’s shocking is that this one is not driven by violence and gore. In fact, it’s an exercise in surrealism about a young woman who has spent her life mourning the twin sister she accidentally killed when they were children. Haunting and atmospheric, this one may disappoint those accustomed to Miike’s more bloodthirsty work, but I really enjoyed the director’s emphasis on mood over logic. As the final story, however, it does end the Three…Extremes rather anti-climactically, at least compared to the visceral viciousness of the first two.

These six stories play more like individual films - complete with their own credits - than part of a whole, and the tone is mostly serious (sometimes almost melancholy). As horror anthologies go, they don’t quite deliver the sense of fun that a Creepshow episode might, but are certainly worth checking out, although Three…Extremes is definitely not for the squeamish. In addition to solid 2K restorations of both films, Arrow has included an good batch of new & archival bonus features. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

THREE

INTERVIEWS - New and archival individual interviews with “Memories” director Kim Jee-woon, “Memories” cinematographer Hong Kyoung-pyo, “Going Home” director Peter Ho-Sun Chan, “Going Home” actor Eugenia Tuan.

MAKING-OF FEATURETTE

TRAILER

THREE…EXTREMES

INTERVIEWS - New and archival individual interviews with producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan, “Box” director Takashi Miike, “Dumplings” director Fruit Chan, “Dumplings” actor Bai Ling.

MAKING-OF FEATURETTES - One for each film.

2 TRAILERS - Three…Extremes; feature length version of Dumplings.