Kriv Stenders’ Kill Me Three Times, isn’t just a movie, it’s a state of mind. By which I mean, in watching the film one rather starts to hope not once but at least three times, that either the film or the viewer will be allowed the release of death. Ok, I’m being melodramatic. But Kill Me Three Times is melocomedic, so I think I’m justified. Stenders claims in his press notes to have wanted to create a popcorn film, and his hitman comedy of errors starts out on the right track, intriguingly telling its story backwards, but its inside-out layers quickly spiral out of control in a bloody frenzy that will cause most viewers to leave any appetite for popcorn on the floor of the theater.

Starting at the end, Simon Pegg (who must have owed someone a favor in between Mission: Impossible and Star Trek films) is hitman Charlie Wolfe, and he’s in rather a pickle. A rare scenario we come to see for this ruthless and self-assured criminal, who we see adeptly taking out a dude as he backtracks how he came to be in his current bind. Charlie starts following a woman, Alice (Alice Braga), who is clearly his next target. But before he can carry out the job, she makes a stop at the office of dentist Nathan (Sullivan Stapleton) and his wife Lucy (Teresa Palmer). Charlie watches as Nathan and Lucy surprisingly knock out Alice and put her in the trunk of their car. As Charlie follows he watches as the amateur husband and wife team enact a scheme to collect life insurance on Lucy by mixing up their dental records, putting the unconscious Alice in the driver’s seat of Lucy’s car before setting it on fire, and sending it off a cliff. Charlie leaves, satisfied his job was just done for him, but in the next segment we flash further back to learn the motivations behind Charlie’s hiring by Alice’s abusive husband—who rightly suspects her of cheating with gas station attendant Dylan (Luke Hemsworth)—and the financial troubles that have led to Lucy and Nathan’s fumbled murderous plans.

When the film goes in for its third, and most convoluted, layer of the story it starts to arc back to the present and just how out of control everyone’s master plans go. In this sort of film a certain level of double-crossing is a given, and yes it can be funny when the double-crossing borders on the ridiculous, but the levels of treachery revealed in the last 15 or so minutes of the film aren’t at all driven by plot and appear to be thrown in for the sake of blood and gore. It’s one thing to be Quentin Tarantino and start off a film at gore levels around 8, quickly elevating to 10 to show he means business, and then escalating to levels around 15 to prove he’s discovered blood-thresholds you didn’t know possible. But starting and maintaining about a 2 and then suddenly erupting into an 8 is just confusing, and like I said earlier, a real appetite suppressant.

Pegg does his best to keep the comedy playful, though Charlie is written like most cocksure hitman, and rather plays into expectations with his bravado and hardness. He’s clearly the most underutilized asset the film has and it’s a tragedy watching him adhere to a script hardly worth his notice. Nathan and Lucy’s storyline is the easiest to laugh at as the mismatched couple fight over their ambitious plan to make some quick money, but their mutual animosity rather ensures their destruction, so there’s no real surprises in their storyline. Braga is the most compelling to watch, fighting for her life and seeking revenge. Hemsworth’s role is minimal, but like all the Hemsworth men, whether by muscle or emotion, makes his presence known. If there is a star of the film it ends up being the Australian coastline, present in almost every scene and rather distracting in how much more appealing it is to everything else happening. And while the bright and airy atmosphere may have played off interestingly against a black comedy, this comedy isn’t nearly dark enough to contrast.

With its layered backwards style, the film moves along at a rather stop-and-go pace; like a student driver using a little too much gas and a little too much pressure on the break. But instead of whiplash, the more likely result of Kill Me Three Times is a general sense of nausea and a lingering feeling that Stenders missed an exit somewhere along the line.

Submarine is a Welsh film that director Richard Ayoade adapted a screenplay based off the novel by the same name, about an awkward teenage boy and his first real relationship with a girlfriend. It is an honest coming of age story about how relationships are formed and destroyed which the main character experiences on his own and through his parents at the same time. A storyline that is often told but rarely executed this well.

Like most boys at the age of 15, Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is trying to discover himself. He is not all that popular at school but the fact that he loves reading the dictionary and prefers to be alone most of the time does not help matters. The prologue gives us background into the oddball character that is Oliver Tate before introducing us to his new obsession, love.

Chapter one is labeled, “Jordana”, who is also an unpopular girl who recently became single. Oliver imagines himself with her and is willing to do what it takes to win her over even if it involves doing things he would not normally do. One day Jordana instructs Oliver to meet her under a bridge and to bring a camera. She kisses him and takes photographs for proof.

It is revealed that Oliver has only kissed one other girl before Jordana, so he was rather excited to have kissed her. They stood up for each other when a bully picks on them and held hands when walking together afterwards. However, when he asked her if they were going out together now, she responds with “I’ll think about it.”

His mother is shocked when Oliver tells her he now has a girlfriend and relieved that her son is not gay. His father supported him when he heard the news by making him a cassette tape with songs, including some break up songs near the end in case things did not work out. This is as much support his parents could give him.

Oliver informs Jordana that his parents will be gone from the house Thursday night and not so subtly hints to her she could come over to have sex with him. She tells him she will come by and this makes Oliver as excited as he ever has been. He goes out of this way to make sure everything is perfect; the lights at the right levels and candles lit in his room. After the two make love she reminds him, “Don’t get cocky.”

Part two is called, “Graham Purvis”, who is an ex-boyfriend of his mother which startles Oliver who has been monitoring his parent’s sex life by the use of a dimming light switch. He concludes that his parents have not had sex for seven months as the light has not been dimmed low. It is not long before Oliver discovers his mother is having an affair with Graham and becomes worried that his parents may get divorced.

Oliver finds himself alone with his father and tries to tell him about his mother having an affair with Graham. His father shrugs it off saying that the two are just old friends. He is clearly not worried about the relationship between the two.

After speaking to his father, he realizes why his father became a marine biologist. He has felt down in the dumps for nearly his entire life which he describes the feeling as being under water. This goes along with the overall theme of the film which almost always involves water.

He decides to tell Jordana about the situation regarding his parents. He finds out that her mother has cancer. Even he admits that cancer trumps parental fidelity and fixing either of them is hardly easy. Jordana’s mother is having an operation which Oliver said he would come to but ultimately skips out on in order to try solving his parent’s issues.

Part three is entitled, “Show down”, which is more or less Oliver’s world crumbling down. Oliver goes to the beach where his mother and Graham are together again and saw that Jordana was with someone else. He finds out that his mother gave Graham a handjob. Adding to his misery, he receives a letter from Jordana stating what he was afraid was true, that their relationship was over and that she found someone new.

Oliver states rather realistically that none of this will matter when he is 38. Which is him trying to be optimistic but no one forgets their first love, not even the sophisticated Oliver Tate. Though, he has not spoken to Jordana for two months. The epilogue tells the conclusion to the wonderful story and ends the film perfectly.

Submarine showed glimpses of similarities to the work of Wes Anderson. From the chapter based storyline to the quirky yet sophisticated characters and the general art style of the film. Even the soundtrack seems like something that Anderson would have picked out.

The soundtrack is one of the best I have heard in years and most of the time completely relevant with the scenes in the film. Comprised of original songs from Arctic Monkeys’ frontman Alex Turner, the soundtrack enhances the film instead of merely adding to it.

Not only was the soundtrack superb but so was the use of the camera and effects. Showing fantasy ideas and freeze frames the cinematography by Erik Wilson was splendid. At the same time the film was not too fancy and stayed true to its period with typewriters, cassette tapes and Polaroid cameras.

Craig Roberts plays the character of Oliver Tate appropriately, an awkward recluse that is far more mature for his age. His character is often compared to Holden Caulfield from “The Catcher in the Rye” and it is not hard to see the resemblance.

Jordana Bevan’s is a character every male has met before, a cute girl who forces you out of your comfort zone to which you going along with out of the sheer case of lust. She is bold which is visually present from her wearing a bright red coat always. Yasmin Paige was convincing as Jordana.

The story is not revolutionary by any means, in fact it is undoubtedly simple but it is told and executed marvelously. Submarine is not just for the artsy Wes Anderson crowd, who love quirky characters and whimsical cinematography, the film appeals to everyone with it’s genuine take on a coming of age story. A prime example of how romantic comedies should be.

Dogtooth is disturbing anti-social satire that is shot in an art-house sort of way. After the conclusion of most films, you can form an opinion fairly soon after the final credits roll. But there are some films that are so unique and different that you must let them sit with you for a bit before you can approach a final opinion. Dogtooth fits in the category of the latter. It is possibly the most original movie of the year, perhaps second only to Enter The Void.

The focus of the film is around an isolated family of five; father, mother and their son and two daughters whose ages are probably somewhere in the early twenties. They are given no names to call each other. Their house is surrounded by a very high wall which the children have never been beyond. Furthermore, the children have no clue of what the outside world contains as only the father is allowed to leave the house. The television is only used to watch the family’s home videos. The children learn language lessons from a tape-recorder. To say this family is sheltered would be a great understatement.

The vocabulary that they are learning off the tape is giving wrong definitions to the words. The mother goes along with it as the daughter asks for the phone and the mother proceeds to hand her the salt shaker. This is one of the first indications that the children are obviously being lied to but also how the parents are isolating them from outside contact.

The only outside contact they do get is a visit from the only character with a name, Christina. She works as a security guard at the factory the father works at and is brought in as a prostitute to fulfill his son’s needs. She also trades jewelry in exchange for erotic licking from the daughter, it is just as bizarre as it sounds.

One day the brother spots a cat in their yard and decides to kill it using garden shears. The father lies to the children when he hears this had happened. He tells them that creatures like the one in the garden are the most dangerous creatures out there and that only staying inside will protect them. It is ironic when the father creates so much fear of the outside world to the children, because what is happening inside is far scarier.

The children are fascinated with airplanes that fly over their house and wish they would fall so they can “have it”. They do not know otherwise because their parents from time to time toss a toy one in the yard that they think fell from the sky. Between the toy airplanes and giving them stickers when they complete a task, shows how small-child-like the parents are treating their “children”.

It is not until the father talks to his dog trainer that we understand the blatant metaphor of the film. The trainer explains how dogs are waiting for him to show them how to behave. That is exactly what he is doing with his children back at home. Later we see him teach his kids how to bark like a dog and he teaches them that they are not ready to leave the house until their dogtooth comes out. The name of the film suddenly becomes more clear.

Many people were considering Dogtooth as the dark horse for this year’s Oscars for Best Foreign Film. However, it failed to best In A Better World. Just being nominated for an Oscar is an achievement in it’s own right as it became only the 5th ever Greek film to be nominated for one. However, it did win the prestigious Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes 2009.

Director Giorgos Lanthimos brilliantly shoots nearly the entire film from a camera at a fixed point. Therefore the viewers are like the children and the camera is like the fence, we are only allowed to see what is inside the frame (or fence). Furthermore, most of the objects and characters are in the center of the frame, giving off the feeling of order and straightforwardness. Similar to what the parents are teaching the children. The colors in the film are dull for the same reason.

Dogtooth leaves most of the interpretations up to the viewer. On one hand it could easily be a direct shot towards parents that over-protect their children to the point of inhuman standards and extreme anti-social practices. Or it could be a political allegory. In a dark way, the film proves that censorship can be just as, if not more, harmful than not. It takes homeschooling to an extraordinary bizarre level. The film shines because of the uniqueness and is memorable from the shock value it provides. It almost goes without saying but I will do it anyways, this film is not for everyone.

Cyrus is not quite the comedy the trailers have you believe it is. This indie film is much more than your typical John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill slapstick you are accustom to seeing in Judd Apatow films, it adds a touch of dark creepiness. Written and directed by upcoming indie superstar duo Mark and Jay Duplass, Cyrus takes cues from their previous films such as, The Puffy Chair and Baghead. In other words, it is wonderful. I would be lying if I said I was not excited when it was announced they were doing this film.

John (John C. Reilly) is socially inept who openly admits is lonely, depressed and desperate after being separated from his wife for seven years now. Just days away from his ex-wife getting married, she feels bad for John and wants him to move on with his life. She knows he needs a relationship for this to happen, so she drags him to a party.

At a party that he not only was not thrilled on going to, let alone meet someone at, he finds a girl named Molly (Marisa Tomei). Even though John is completely drunk beyond reason, for which he can thank his ex-wife for, Molly looks past that. She is in a lot of ways like John, lonely and single for far too long.

He is overly excited when she comes over for the first date, someone that every male can probably empathize with. He purchases condoms, wine, makes dinner and even puts in a few last minute sit-ups. What John lacks in confidence, which is a lot, he more than compensates in honestly. As in this case, sometimes the two are not completely unrelated. The date goes well but ends mysteriously when she tries to sneak out but is caught by John.

John suspiciously follows her home and accidentally falls asleep in his car. The next morning he discovers that she has a son named Cyrus (Jonah Hill). The two oddly hit it off being completely and sometimes too open with each other. Cyrus being overly welcome, invites him to stay for dinner, which John eagerly agrees to.

Something strange happens the next morning as he is about to leave, his shoes are missing. He becomes a little paranoid that something is up. He consults his ex-wife whom which is also his co-worker it turns out. She tells him to forget about it and pretend it never happened. Partly, because she does not believe they took the shoes but mostly because she wants him to be in a relationship more than anyone.

John, as well as the viewer, begins to question whether or not Cyrus is trying to sabotage their relationship or if the bizarre and overly welcome encounters are legit. The film then shifts it’s focus around Cyrus. Hence, the title of the film. The romantic comedy takes a sharp turn and reveals a darker side.

We see John go through an amazing character development as he transforms into a new person. He goes from the timid and lonely, depressed person, to a smart and tactful one. In many ways, his character is a reprise from his character in Magnolia. I am not only talking about him being in a more serious role in general but specifically similar personalities. I missed that John C Reilly. Apparently, so did others as he was nominated for Best Male Lead at Independent Spirit Awards.

Cyrus does not rely solely on John C. Reilly to carry the film though, nearly equally as impressive are Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill. Tomei is plays a lovable character that is hard not to like. Hill shows that he can play an unlikeable, dark and creepy character instead of the usual pure comedy role. I am not putting down his typical roles, because I find them, and subsequently him, to be hilarious. It is delightful to see this different side of him.

For better or worse, the film was shot in a typical Duplass style. Which feels very amateur, almost home movie style with random snap-zooms. Personally, I think it works here but others may not agree. The dialog between characters was very natural and believable. The film as a whole is completely realistic. Which is tends to be a recurring trademark of the Duplass brothers and what has become known as the mumblecore movement. They achieve this by less script and rehearsal and more improvisation on the set.

Cyrus is a straight forward and incredibly honest film, two simple qualities that big budget films should take note of. It proves that you do not need an overly complicated plot with unrealistic situations in order to make a film interesting. Throw in terrific acting performances by the cast and you have yourself one very superb indie film.