Annette Kellerman reviews THE LOBSTER and LAZER TEAM
Published at: Sept. 26, 2015, 2:04 a.m. CST by headgeek
Hello everyone! I am back again this year with coverage from Fantastic Fest '15. The first film of the fest for me this year was just so crazy appropriate I can't wait to tell you about it...
To describe THE LOBSTER, I first have to let you know what kind of universe we're dealing with. Take any Charlie Kaufman film, mix in a generous helping of Wes Anderson, and add a dash of Logan's Run. Though THE LOBSTER resides within this realm, director/writer Yorgos Lanthimos (along with co-writer Efthymis Filippou) creates an entirely new chapter in the world of bizarre cinema where people who find themselves newly single must check into a hotel for 45 days in search of a "match"- a new partner with whom to spend the rest of their days. If, however, they fail in their romantic quest, they will be turned into the animal of their choice. On the outskirts of the hotel premises exists a mysterious group called "Loners" who are routinely hunted by the single residents of the hotel. You can extend your stay based on the amount of kills you rack up, though the loners can be quite stealthy during the pursuit.
At the onset of the film, we meet Colin Farrell who is a sad sack of a man, freshly dumped by his wife of 11 years. By order of The City, Farrell's character David dutifully reports to the hotel where he checks in along with an array of other singles. He surrenders his clothes and possessions, and abides by the strict rules and dress code of his new, hopefully temporary, residence. He quickly befriends a couple of chaps- the "lisper" (John C Reilly) and the "limper" (Ben Winshaw)- who hope to find their matches with another who shares their particular idiosyncrasies. When David feigns heartlessness in order to match with a cold-hearted single, she puts his true nature to the test causing David to hatch a plan to escape his almost certain fate as a lobster.
To say THE LOBSTER is weird is the understatement of the year, and this is exactly what delighted me most. I'm not always down with absurdist storytelling (see my Holy Motors review from a few years back), but all of the elements of THE LOBSTER just click. Though the story is uniquely strange, the performances throughout the film remain decidedly monotone, echoing the strict rules governing the dystopian world. This stamp of Lanthimos is evident throughout, even pervading the climax of film with a sense of subdued calamity.
Colin Farrell is an ace as the frumpy, hang dog David. Even when he is at his most animated, his demeanor remains amazingly deadpan. Reilly and Winshaw's comic relief offers only a slight reprieve from the overall gloom. It's a rather delicious gloom, but there is most definitely a pall over the entire film that never quite lifts.
Another aspect of the film I found interesting is the narration that compliments the story from the get go until about midway through when we actually get to meet the narrator, David's potential match. Though this certainly isn't the first time such a plot device has been utilized in a film, such a twist felt right at home in THE LOBSTER and helped to engage the third act in a way that made the story come full circle and make the most sense.
Overall, I totally dug THE LOBSTER and relished in its weirdness. Though at times, I started to feel that the one-note performances were starting to drag, the absurdness of the story and situations picked up the pace leaving the film firmly on a high note.
LAZER TEAM
If you're not familiar with Rooster Teeth, just ask your 13 year old nephew and I'm sure he can school you. If you don't have a pubescent boy around to explain, here's the gist...Rooster Teeth is an Austin based company that produces videos on one of YouTube's most popular channels. RT came to fame via Red vs Blue, lampooning Halo with skits using characters from the game. Flash forward 10 years, and RT now boasts millions of views per day, attendance to their annual convention RTX in the tens of thousands, and the most successful Indiegogo campaign to date to the tune of around $2.5 million. Though completely esoteric, the guys from RT are undoubtedly rock stars to a very select demographic, and through the bonkers-town crowdfunding campaign they have brought us their first feature length project LAZER TEAM.
LAZER TEAM is the story of a rag tag group of characters brought together by fate to save the world. I know this premise is starting to sound a bit cliche by now, but stick with me here because LAZER TEAM definitely stands out from the rest. Set in the sleepy, football-centric town of Milford, TX, we first meet Hagan (RT founder/chief Bernie Burns), your typical small-town Sherriff whose only hot pursuit on a Friday night involves busting a high school party that his cheerleader daughter is attending. After apprehending his daughter's beau (Michael Jones of RT's Rage Quit fame), he stops on his way to the station to stop a couple of has-been townies Herman and Woody (Colton Dunn, and RT mega star Gavin Free) from shooting off fireworks illegally. Unbeknownst to these four, a top secret military operation is taking place nearby in which a trained-since-birth "Champion of Earth" (Alan Ritchson) is awaiting scheduled contact with an alien race that has promised a duel that could potentially end the world. Of course, the doofuses with the fireworks flub the descent of the alien craft's landing resulting in the acquisition of a piece of extraterrestrial armor for each of the four unwitting spectators. When the pieces of the suit become permanently affixed to their new owners and the military elite capture them, the fellas learn that they are now part of quest to save the world from a galactic nemesis.
LAZER TEAM is pure fun y'all. If you're looking for high-falutin' cinema, run away as fast as you can, but if you're looking for a great time and some good laughs this indie film has it. And I think that's important to remember- though a $2.5 million budget is nothing to sniff at, by Hollywood standards it is a drop in the bucket, however the RT guys definitely pull off a feature that feels cinematic and not at all like the YouTube videos for which they are famed. The characters are fully fleshed out and transcend simple caricatures in a way that pleasantly surprised me. In fact, I was quite charmed by each guy's development through the film and even the obvious metaphors that their armor represented from their backstories. Though the digital effects pale in comparison to today's mega budget spectacles, the look feels completely appropriate and are pretty dang good all things considered. I'm not really sure how they pulled off so much CGI on such a slight budget, but my hat is off to the FX team for sure.
I did feel like some of the zaniness devolved into a Keystone Cops-type of feel, even though I'm not entirely sure this is a bad thing considering the overall silliness of the film. My only other gripe is the score during some of the crazy chase and/or fight scenes. Kudos to director Matt Hullum for employing an actual orchestral score, however I felt that the particular composition for the silly scenes was a bit too Benny Hill-ish which I found kinda distracting. Again, this may be precisely the vibe they were going for, it just didn't work for me.
Fortunately, most of the laughs hit big- it is a comedy after all. It seems that Burns and Hullum have definitely honed their timing through their years of producing online content, and it is a joy to see it pay off on the big screen. Though I have a feeling that there are likely some RT in-jokes or references that are over my head, I really enjoyed their brand of humor. From the clever to the toilet brand, I was constantly chuckling throughout the film.
All in all, I really liked LAZER TEAM alot. I have no doubt that Rooster Teeth's followers will flock to the theaters in droves just like they did to the record blasting Indiegogo camapaign, but I think even the average clueless movie goer over the age of 18 will have a great time with this fun flick.
So, that wraps up my first day at Fantastic Fest '15! I'll be back with more coverage from the fest tomorrow.
Rebecca Elliott
aka Annette Kellerman
