Early trailers for Hostel: Part II were a small bit of genius—they featured a basso profundo German voice over declaring that Americans have no imagination for killing, followed by a flash of instruments of torture and a cut away shot of a woman bound and screaming. They suggested menace on a very deep level, a rumbling in the bowels to make even the most hardened of us uneasy. In no way does the film live up to this promise. To be sure, it is well made — competent and efficient at 93 minutes, clear in its depiction of the brutality that the overwhelming majority of the audience is coming to witness, and a testimony to the professionalism of a group of young actresses for whom the shoot must have been excruciating (especially poor Heather Matarazzo, who in her “big” scene resembles nothing so much as a horse strung up for processing in the abattoirs on the outskirts of Paris in Georges Franju’s 1949 documentary The Blood Of The Beasts). What is lacking is any hint of narrative or suspense; once Axelle (Jordanova) has convinced Beth, Whitney, and Lorna (German, Phillips, and Matarazzo) to go to the spa rather than to Prague (“Do you want to go to a spa instead of Prague?” “Okay.”), the die is cast, and the film becomes about nothing but the violence. What is left to us is to patiently wait in our seats as each victim is, in turn, treated less kindly than a hand-me-down med school cadaver. And that makes Hostel: Part II an inadvertent issue movie.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Ratings Board is the body that is charged with guiding the film going public in its viewing choices through the application of its evaluative criteria (which are available for viewing at mpaa.org. What is at issue here is what distinguishes an “R” (under 17 requires accompanying adult) and an “NC-17” (no one 17 and under admitted). According to their own language, a film may receive an “R” for “…strong language, violence, nudity, drug abuse, other elements, or a combination of the above.” and an “NC-17” for “excessive violence, sex, aberrational behavior, drug abuse or any other elements which, when present, most parents would consider too strong and therefore off-limits for viewing by their children.” By way of comparison, let us compare Hostel: Part II to another current “R” rated film—the romantic comedy Knocked Up. The latter contains moderate profanity, drug use, and two fairly graphic close ups of child birthing—nothing that would likely be therapy material for later in life, but enough, by rule, to earn its “R”. Hostel depicts, among other things, a naked woman, hung by the heels and begging for her life, being slashed to ribbons with a scythe by another naked woman lying beneath her, who writhes orgasmically as she bathes in the girl’s blood – all while reclining on velvet pillows. The rating? An “R,” just like Knocked Up. If this scene does not meet and exceed your threshold of “excessive violence” and “aberrational behavior,” MPAA, then Game Night at your house is off.
None of this is to say that films like Hostel: Part II should be banned or
censored — if this is what puts the olive in your martini, so be it.
What it means is that a system that can equate these two films is fundamentally
suspect. For a better understanding of the who and the how of the Rating Board,
the excellent, funny, and slightly disturbing documentary This Film Is Not
Yet Rated is highly recommended. But don’t look for a “PG”
or an “R” to guide you when you pick that film up — it was
pulled from ratings consideration when the MPAA slapped an “NC-17”
on it.
– Michael Lee
Although considered an action movie, this is not a "superhero trying to save the world" flick. It’s actually a buddy movie disguised as an action movie. The film is more about the bond between these characters and the extent they are willing to go for one another than it is about heists. Even thieves and con men have hearts, at least toward each other.
Back for this installment is the entire Oceans gang: George Clooney, Brad
Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie
Jemison, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, and Elliott Gould. Andy Garcia also returns
to reprise his role as Terry Benedict. Needing to find an adversary capable
of sharing the screen with the Oceans team, Al Pacino joins the cast as Willy
Bank, with Ellen Barkin starring as his right-hand woman, Abigail Sponder.
The plot is simple: My friend’s enemy is my enemy. When Reuben Tishkoff
(Gould) gets double crossed by ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (Pacino) and
is left confined to a hospital bed in critical condition, the remainder of
the Ocean’s eleven join together with the sole purpose of destroying
Bank. The plan is twofold. First, to obliterate him financially by turning
the tables on the house of Bank’s new casino appropriately named The
Bank so that the patrons would win every time – then, to eradicate his
reputation as the only hotelier who has earned “The 5 Diamond Award”
on every single one of his hotels.
Clooney and Pitt allow the other characters to develop, and their fellow
actors shine in the film. Casey Affleck and Scott Caan, who play brothers
Virgil and Turk Malloy, are very active throughout. Acrobat Shaobo Qin, who
usually inserts himself into tiny spaces and dangerous situations in his role
as Yen, impersonates an enigmatic Chinese real estate magnate as a means of
accessing one of The Bank’s exclusive high roller villas. Electronic
whiz Livingston Dell (Jemison) is forced to realize he isn’t as good
as he thinks he is after he has to seek out help from an old friend (Eddie
Izzard) when he cannot rig the automatic card shufflers used in blackjack.
Even Cheadle’s character, Basher Tarr, displays his sensitive side when
writing Reuben letters of encouragement.
The only character that seems bland and overdone is that of Linus Caldwell,
played by Matt Damon. This time around was his chance to be the leader of
the group. But the performance seemed more like a whiny child screaming for
affection than anything else.
As a whole, the movie is definitely worth seeing. Director Steven Soderbergh
keeps the movie fast paced and enticing. The script, written by Brian Koppelman
and David Levien (who also wrote the poker movie Rounders) is smart, witty,
and warm. Although the climax isn't as outlandish as the first movie, it is
highly satisfying.
– Faith Rackoff
