Remarkable Power

This wild mash of a film follows several timelines (a revenge plot masterminded by a TV host, a cheating wife, a chance meeting between a pothead and a hustlering actor, some Russian mobsters looking for a stiff, a porn star and a private investigatior playedby the always intriguing Tom Arnold). If you find this puzzling, well it's because it is. These wild characters are all on a crash course and when the stories collide we are offered a hell of a climax.

This is dark comedy at it's best with solid acting, good pacing, great dialogue and an awesome soundtrack.

It's the perfect movie for a fun night in.

Remarkable Power is an interesting indie film that brings together several very disparate stories and neatly ties them together for the climax. Through most of the film it felt like I was watching two movies, most of the stories come together in two separate arcs early on but do not intersect until the end. In retrospect I really should have figured out what was happening sooner, but I was a little slow on this one.

Kevin Nealon plays an aging late night talk show host who is about to be canned by the network, his wife is having an affair, and he knows about it because he has hired a Private Investigator (Tom Arnold) to follow her around. The second storyline involves a burnout loser (Evan Peters) who meets a failed actor (Kip Pardue) that happens to be in a self help video he purchased while stoned late at night. There is a fight, someone dies, a girl shows up, drug dealers are looking for money, and Russian mafia are looking for a body. As I said, several stories that are seemingly independent come together in a clever way. If you have a free space in your Netflix queue fill it with Remarkable Power, it's a good wast of time.

I can't believe I almost passed on this gem because of its pathetic IMDb rating (5.2), but something about the plot sounded interesting so I had to see for myself.

Popped it in the DVD player figuring I'd let it play in the background while I had a workout. I only got as far as 4 sit-ups before finding myself riveted to the screen (and it's not just because my sorry ass can do only 4 sit-ups). In the first 5 minutes, the movie teases us with a celebrity murder, a hot blonde caught on videotape doing nasty things, a hilariously bad self-help infomercial, and a stoner/loser kid who is obsessed with the aforementioned infomercial.

How do these seemingly random events come together? That, my friends, is why you must see this movie.

Told in a quirky non-linear way (jumping back & forth in time, place and narrator's perspective), the film immediately presents itself as a puzzle that we're supposed to solve. It's extremely economical; not a single minute is wasted, just like a good whodunnit should be. You'd think this would sacrifice character development, but on the contrary, the acting is so excellent that you immediately know & understand each character from their first minute on screen. Relying on this, the director doesn't need to bore us with unnecessary backstories and contrived dialogue. Instead we are thrown right into the mix and forced to figure out who's who & what's what (just like our hero in the movie, the stoner/loser kid from Milwaukee who is suddenly thrown into the most bizarre string of events ever imaginable, including, but not limited to: coked-up knife salesmen, cute porn stars, Jewish mobsters, kosher fried chicken, cops in Batman/Robin suits, and maybe even a zombie visitation or two).

If it sounds weird, you better strap on your crazy hat, sister, cos it gets WEIRDER.

The brand of humour is low-key but hilarious. It reminded me of director Jim Jarmusch ("Coffee & Cigaretters", "Night on Earth", "Ghost Dog") and the funny side of Wim Wenders ("Million Dollar Hotel") with maybe a little bit of Vincent Gallo's bizarre sarcasm ("Buffalo 66").

The presentation made me think of the classics "Pulp Fiction", "Suicide Kings" and an obscure yet awesome Japanese film "Summer Time Machine Blues". These films are told in cryptic fragments, seemingly unrelated, but if you're paying attention you'll be rewarded with a grand epiphany at the end when everything comes together. It's downright symphonic.

Which brings me to my next bit of praise: amazing soundtrack! We get bits of the old school stuff from Judas Priest, Depeche Mode, Winger, and the recurring themesong: that classic groove from 1970, "Look-Ka Py Py" by The Meters (go to YouTube & check it out if you don't recognize the title).

If you like quirky, cleverly-written, dark comedies with lovable oddball characters, you definitely need to check this out. As always, don't put too much stock in IMDb's ratings. See for yourself.

Well I'd better get back to doing my sit-ups. Where was I? Oh yeah... 97...98...99...

Get Back Jack is a dark comedy on an epic scale. Set in Los Angeles, it makes use of many different locations and neighborhoods throughout the city. The story unfolds in a way you don't expect, centered on a late night talk show host (a great performance by Kevin Nealon), then expanding to many different characters in a complicated plot. I liked the structure of the chronology. And there were some very unique moments, such as the scene in the batting cage. Overall I thought the script and the editing were excellent. The directing was good and the acting was solid by the whole cast. If you're looking for an epic dark comedy, check this movie out!

A lot of notable performers took part in this black comedy, and overall I'd say it worked. I especially liked Tom Arnold's character. For the most part the story moved along nicely and there were a couple of surprises. Not a big budget production, but it didn't pretend to be. I loved that the movie ended with a song by Public Image Limited, and I enjoyed the film.