Burning Palms (2010) Reviews

• 5 stories that will mess you up for life...

  Matt_Layden2011-08-03

  ...was the tagline for this flick, so it caught my interest. Burning Palms is a film that tries to push boundaries and would only upset tight conservative folk. It seems to try too hard and comes off a bit juvenile. There are 5 stories, they act as their own stories and do not interconnect with one another as some ads might say. They are told from a comic book, a tales from the crypt style thing, minus the hilarious Crypt Keeper. The first deals with a couple who are getting married. The husband to be is seeing his daughter for a week, she is flying down from wherever she was. Innocent enough, until you find out that the relationship between the two is a little too close for comfort. They openly talk about sex, sunbath nude and dance erotically. The soon to be wife is taken back and tries to get the the bottom of the "relationship". The second deals with a couple in college or university. He loves big boobs, she has small ones/ During sex, the man asks the girlfriend to stick her finger in his anus. She does so because she doesn't want to lose him to a bigger chested woman. After the act, she gets it stuck in her mind that her finger smells like poo, so she scrubs and scrubs until she finally decides to cut the finger off. The third story has two gay men adopting a black child from the black market. She seems to be straight out of Africa because she doesn't say a single word to anyone, yet grabs a spear and throws it at an animal and growls. Thinking they are over their heads with a child, they leave her alone in the woods and get a dog instead. The fourth story is the least exciting one. Three young and spoiled boys hold a "Court TV" bit in their house when a valuable item from the housemaid goes missing. We discover a dark secret from the housemaids past that turns things upside down in the house. Their stoner babysitter laughs at the sticky situation. The final and last segment actually happens to be my favourite, and the one redeeming factor in this film. The story opens with the Rape of Sarah. After the rapist flees, she finds his wallet under her couch and decides to track him down. When she does, he soon finds out she has some sick and disturbing plans of her own. The final segment with have one thinking of a rape revenge bit, but that's where the story wants you to go and the direction it takes itself is something I applaud. I was surprisingly taken back at the last one and it had the best performance. It helps that the two leads were Zoe Saldana and Nick Stahl. Overall, a lackluster film that wants to be more 'dirty' than it actually is. Who knows, maybe I'm one demoralized sicko and this film actually is twisted. But if you've seen half the films I have, you'll find this pretty tame and immature.

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• Five Dark Comedies with a Serious Thriller Edge

  mrcibubur2011-11-02

  I feel compelled to report on this film which I watched on DVD last night. It is the first film I have chosen to report on here for quite a while. It is an interesting film at best but not more. All the above comments about the lack of entertainment of the film overall are totally justified and it is certainly a film in bad taste, have no doubt - a father making provocative sexual gestures to his teenage daughter in front of his obviously offended wife/girlfriend, a young girl confused about her sexuality and the hygiene of anal sex, the morality of a gay couple adopting a child from a different culture, a kangaroo Courtroom held by spoilt and out of order kids while masochism and revenge are to some extent a feature of the last story. All the stories are interesting in their own way. Although the Doctor appears in Row of the stories, NONE of the stories link in any way except that they all take place in different suburbs of Los Angeles. The basic storyline of the five stories are attention seeking, the ending distinctly disturbing. Dark comedy or not, we should not overlook that the film is intended for entertainment. In the first segment, there is very little to make me laugh. The most entertaining segment was certainly the gay couple and their mission to adopt, either a child at any cost or a dog as an alternative and then the two guys with their 'pet child' meeting another similar couple with a 'pet child' in a shopping boutique. The last segment merited closer scrutiny but we were denied the opportunity to understand how the young lady found courage to handle her rape situation after the event and approach the guy who did it. I feel there was such a wasted opportunity with this storyline in particular to take it further. for example, the rapist could possibly have been one of the children holding the Kangaroo Court a few years before, not sure about link to the other story. There was momentary humour in the second story when it was explained to the girls parents what was the reason for her psychological paranoia but it was humour misplaced because the scene was essentially a sad one. Not sure at all why it was called 'burning palms' unless it is reference to being caught 'red handed'? The film is NOT rubbish and is worth watching. Certain scenes may offend but overall sexuality is moderated considering the extremity of the concept to the story lines and profanity is not as bad as you might think. You could easily watch this movie and feel you 'get something' out of it. That is not to say it is a good movie, it is not. Make up your own mind!

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• brilliant work and metaphors

  hawkeyesroost2011-06-02

  i loved this film and the fact that it was brilliant in it's use of allegory and imagery! early on i definitely realized that there was at least one very over the top image in each vignette. not only is it a great way to re-engage a viewer to significance but you can also push boundaries which they chose to do! excellent. taboos need to be pushed occasionally just to show how much our world is messed up and to test your own moral compass. this succeeds admirably. i love the comic book/graphic novel/pulp rag horror comics style. it works in the film as a good transition and i think sells the whole concept of short vignettes with a common theme. this movie will turn some viewers off. just be aware that it is probably an even money guess if it was intended so or not. but the film still retains a sense of humor especially about itself. a very strong 9 for me on this. i don't feel this way often about movies but when i do i tend to go with my instincts and like it despite what "joe schmoe" thinks of it. it is a cerebral film which most people will not get.

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• Not sure what to say. I liked it but felt I shouldn't. Will offend some people but defiantly worth the watch. I say B.

  cosmo_tiger2011-05-27

  What is normal? This is a movie about five different groups of people. A very close father and daughter. A boyfriend with a strange bedroom habit. A gay couple who want to adopt. A boy who is a borderline psychopath, and a women who falls in love with her attacker. Very, very strange. Very offensive in parts, and also pretty good. This movie I really liked, and I don't think I should of. When you watch it you will see why. This is a hard movie to recommend because of the subject matter. But if you like movies that are very different and not a movie that has been re-done 50 times this is the one for you. I liked it, but again if you are easily offended do not watch this. I give it a B. Would I watch again? - I don't know if I would *Also try - 11:14

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• Brave and fun..

  shaan-75-8203142011-06-08

  If you can stomach/appreciate dark humor in the line of Louie C.K. and Jimmy Carr, this movie will entertain. There are five stories, simple pulp fiction type tales without significant character development, but still resembling Aesops fables - only for adults. Stripping off the cozy duvet of political correctness some of the tales will disgust and others will amuse, but buttons will be pushed for most. By grossly exaggerating the little neuroses most people in modern society happily allow themselves and tolerate in others. The movie quickly reveals how seriously we take ourselves and our stereotypes, and how fragile these ego shells are when exposed to ridicule or scrutiny. If you're unused to questioning motives, be it your own or those of others, and firmly believe there is such a thing as a "victim" - steer clear. Otherwise allow yourself to be shocked, it won't kill you and you may be healthily disillusioned (to be deprived of illusions). As far as the acting, some support actors seemed to enjoy their mostly satirical roles - e.g. Shannen Doherty's accent and Paz Vega's emoting (worthy of the telenovela playing in the background), helped to lighten the fairly dark subject matter. Oh, the segment "Buyers Remorse" is a must see for those looking to adopt.. If you spot ANY of those traits, please don't.

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