By Jared Curtis jared@dmcityview.com
‘Crank: High Voltage’
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Rated R, 96 minutes
The first “Crank” film was brilliant, so outlandish that it left audiences laughing at its absurdity. Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) was filled with poison and had limited time to find the cure. Chelios went on an ass-kicking spree, made love to Eve (the sexy Amy Smart) and should have died numerous times. “Crank: High Voltage” starts where the original left off, with Chelios falling from a helicopter. Triad gangsters scrape him off the ground because their leader wants Chelios’ superhero-like heart. They replace his with an electronic one, but when they try to harvest his manhood, Chelios wakes up and kills his way out. With help from his friend, Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam), Chelios realizes that in order to find his real heart, he has to keep charging the electric heart. He finds numerous sources including car batteries, a police taser, a defibrillator and an electronic dog collar. Friction also produces electricity, so once again Chelios and Eve have sex in public, this time at the horse track. The film is chaotic with tons of cartoon violence and quick, head-spinning cuts. I didn’t think it could happen, but “Crank: High Voltage” is more fun and outrageous than the original. CV
‘John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars’
Directed by John Carpenter
2001, Rated R, 98 minutes
Director John Carpenter is one of the best filmmakers of the last 50 years. His work, which includes “Big Trouble In Little China,” “The Thing,” “Escape From New York,” “They Live,” “Halloween” and “Assault on Precinct 13,” is legendary and his ideas have been stolen or copied by numerous filmmakers working today. “Ghost of Mars” is a fun-filled action flick that splices a number of genres. When a team of police officers (Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Pam Grier and Clea DuVall) visits a Mars colony camp to retrieve a famous criminal, Desolation Williams (Ice Cube), they find more than they bargain for. The workers have become infected by ghosts and become cannibalistic creatures. The police officers have to decide to either fight alone or join forces with Williams and other criminals to stay alive until their ride home shows up. Ice Cube provides his best performance since “Friday,” but it’s Statham who makes this film classic worthy — his character would rather spend his time loving up on Henstridge than worrying about a way out. “Ghost From Mars” isn’t Carpenter’s best film, but it has his classic synth/rock soundtrack and a wildly entertaining, only-one-way-out type of battle that leaves audiences cheering for more. CV
