Plot: What’s it about?
In the future, brilliant scientists and engineers have become valuable pieces of the corporate puzzle. This means those men have access to cutting edge technology, the finest resources, and of course, they get paid some serious cash for their work. But what if one company wants to steal away an impressive worker? Well, since laws prohibit this type of deal, the companies elicit the aid of agents, if you will. These men are given some information, then they seek out the wanted person and hammer out a deal to bring them to the company that hired them. In that field, Fox (Christopher Walken) and X (Willem Dafoe) are among the best in show, with a high return rate of bounties. But this time, the stakes are so high and the assignment so hard, they need to seek out outside assistance, in the form of Sandii (Asia Argento). The target had an overbearing wife and she outlawed a job switch, so Sandii is sent in to seduce him and make sure his wife is drowned out. Soon however, things begin to crumble in this mission and unless Fox & X can surmise a solution soon, this could be their final assignment…ever.
New Rose Hotel is a sci/fi movie with some serious emphasis on cyberscapes, for the lack of a better word. If you think a film has to be The Matrix to be a sci/fi cyberflick, then stick to that eye candy and avoid films with real plots. I am not saying that this film has a flawless storyline by any means, but it is driven by plot and by visuals, like most recent cyberflicks. This movie is much less active from the visual standpoint, but then again, do we need a barrage of colors and special effects to recognize technology advances? Maybe some of you with lesser attention spans do, but I don’t think most viewers do. The presence of advanced technology is evident in New Rose Hotel, but it is never jammed down our throats, which I think is a good thing. This keeps the storyline and characters on the move, no time to rest while some meaningless visuals dazzle the audience into overlooking obvious flaws. This isn’t your typical sci/fi movie to be sure, but I think fans of well written (this is based on William Gibson’s novel) and well performed (Walken & Dafoe) movies will want to check into New Rose Hotel.
I knew this film would have something for me, before I ever even slapped into my player. This is because it contains a performance from Asia Argento, who might not be the world’s best performer, but man, she is hot and oozes charisma. Asia is the daughter of horror flick legend, Dario Argento and she has starred in several films within that genre, with decent enough results. In New Rose Hotel, she turns in her usual adequate performance, but her looks and charms are above & beyond the term adequate. I know she won’t any awards in this lifetime, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t meant to keep making movies. You can also see Asia in such films as B. Monkey, Scarlet Diva, Close Friends, Dario Argento’s Phantom of the Opera, Demons 2, and The Stendhal Syndrome. Also in fine form in New Rose Hotel are Willem Dafoe (The Last Temptation Of Christ, Body of Evidence) and the always wonderful Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Pulp Fiction), both of whom turn in their usual solid efforts. The director of New Rose Hotel is Abel Ferrara, who also helmed such films as King of New York, The Funeral, Bad Lieutenant, and Fear City.
Video: How does it look?
New Rose Hotel is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. I am pleased with the overall image, but of course, I would prefer an anamorphic edition. I saw some flecks and debris on the print, along with edge enhancement evident on a few instances. These issues won’t ruin the transfer, but I do think a quick mention is needed in this review. No color errors seem to be present, as the hues look bold and flesh tones come off as warm and natural also. I did think the black levels were on the light side in a couple places, but not an extreme degree and I wasn’t distracted by the fact. This one falls right into the above average, but should have been better section. And in the end, that isn’t such a bad place to be.
Audio: How does it sound?
I know modern sci/fi flicks use a lot of bells & whistles in the audio department, but New Rose Hotel is much more low key than that. The disc uses a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, but I heard little surround use and was surprised at how front based the mix turned out to be. But this isn’t a flaw in the audio here, as the film uses lower profile audio and as such, a powerful track would seem forced and out of place within this movie. So while it won’t make your ears bleed, it shouldn’t and I’m glad it doesn’t. The dialogue is clean and crisp at all times, no issues in the least to report in this review. The music picks up the slack a little, but this one is just not the audio powerhouse type of flick. The disc also houses a 2.0 surround track and Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
You’ll find a trivia game to check out, the film’s theatrical trailer, talent files, a selection of still photos, and some bonus trailers for other Studio Home Entertainment releases. The main supplement is an audio commentary with Christ Zois, who helped Abel Ferrara adapt William Gibson’s novel into a screenplay. Zois is not an exciting person to say the least, but some halfway decent pieces of information can be pulled from this track. On the whole however, I think people will want to pass on Zois’ dull and often sparse comments.
