Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Adjustment Bureau


The Adjustment Bureau Poster.jpg

Released:  March 4th, 2011
Rated:  PG-13
Distributor:  Universal Pictures
Starring:  Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery
Directed by:  George Nolfi
Written by:  George Nolfi
Personal Bias Alert:  likes the cast, likes old-school sci-fi

7.7 of 10






            Floating in on a puff of fresh air is The Adjustment Bureau, a sci-fi romance that is the polar opposite of the grim, desaturated landscapes that dominate modern fantasy.  It’s bright and bubbly, begging you to like it just as much as much as the main characters pine for each other’s attention.  There’s an underrated value to this sort of film, the kind that’s perfect in just about every situation for every sort of person.  Broad appeal is nothing to be scoffed at, not when it’s done as assuredly and as winningly as it is in this film.

            Undoubtedly, the MVPs of this endeavor are Matt Damon and Emily Blunt as the love-struck leads David and Elise.  They’re two honest-to-god movie stars, enjoyable to watch no matter what they’re doing, even if that’s just surviving alone in space or singing about a cow in the woods.  When put together their chemistry crackles, and watching them flirt is one of the more enjoyable things you can do with your free time.  Of course, the film puts obstacles in their way, in particular a shady group of men in fedoras who actively prevent them from being together, and their battle against these men forms the crux of the film.

            Many romance-against-impossible-odds stories falter when the going gets rough primarily because the relationship isn’t well established.  It’s either too rushed or not genuinely felt, and the audience is left wondering why the pair are fighting so hard to stay together instead of just moving on.  This is never an issue in The Adjustment Bureau, not because the antagonists are weak (the fedora-clad group have some mysterious connection to God), but because Damon and Blunt sell their romance so well.  And the writing backs them up, making Elise and David engaging, charming folk, which the actors pounce on and amp it up to 10.  How refreshing it is not to be taunted by a rabble-rousing antihero, but to be given characters you instantly like, leaving you to worry only about the machinations of the plot getting in their way.

            Adapted by writer/director George Nolfi from a Philip K. Dick short story, the plot throws enough thoughtful menace into the mix to give the fluffy romance some weight.  For all the pair have going for them, it seems plausible throughout that they may not end up together.  God is a pretty strong force, after all, even if he is only referred to in code.  Nolfi plays around with other concepts as well, namely the positives and negatives of free will, and although it’s not expounded upon, it provides enough layering to keep the film from being a lightweight.  Hardcore sci-fi fans may be disappointed by the film’s airiness, but it’s clear that Nolfi didn’t want the audience to get too bogged down by serious thought.

            Where Nolfi does take some chances, and where he might lose a few viewers, is his decision to present the film’s action with a punchy realness.  Nolfi is a screenwriting alum of the Bourne series, and the imprint of that can clearly be seen here.  When Damon’s David is under duress, the film becomes shakier and narrows in to the action.  Cars crunch and faces slam, the blows palpably resonating to the audience.  It would be understandable to find this choice incongruous with the rest of the film, but Nolfi makes it work, using it to emphasize the fedora men’s power and to up the ante against our protagonists.  This element is sparingly used, taking a backseat to the overpowering nature of the film’s romance, but it pops up enough to turn off those severely averse to action.  To everyone else, it will simply add a jolt of energy to the proceedings, making the romantic drive more immediate and in more real danger.

            It’s this tidy package of action, romance, and science fiction that gives The Adjustment Bureau its broad appeal, and the winning combination of Matt Damon and Emily Blunt put the film into rarified air.  This satisfying of a crowd-pleaser doesn’t come along too often, and it’d be a shame to overlook the charm it has to offer.

Other Notes:
Ø  My one solid negative on this film is the score.  It’s just too basic and too prominent.
Ø  I love this kind of old-school, on-the-nose sci-fi.
Ø  This goes down as one of the best examples of on-screen chemistry I’ve ever seen. 

Monday, October 26, 2015

Chicago International Film Festival - (My) Day Three



Very Semi-Serious

VerySemiSerious-W
Released:  April 19th, 2015
Starring:  Bob Mankoff, Adam Salky, Roz Chast, George Booth, Liana Finck, Ed Steed
Directed by:  Leah Wolchok
Personal Bias Alert:  doesn’t read the New Yorker



8 of 10


            A documentary about the inner workings of the cartoon department of the New Yorker will ostensibly seem aimed at a very particular kind of person.  The cartoonists themselves certainly seem of a type (i.e. white, Jewish men), but just as editor Bob Mankoff is shown making an effort to expand that voice, so does director Leah Wolchok broaden this film to appeal to a much larger audience.  She present a cavalcade of the offbeat, twitchy cartoonists who peddle their wares to Mankoff each week, only for him to brutally lay out what he thinks of their work and send them skittering back to their caves.  The dichotomy of this phenomena, of the painfully introverted showing up week after week only to get beaten down is where much of the intellectual interest derives from, but largely Wolchok is content to parade out the cartoonists and let them do their stuff, namely win you over with their humor.  Wolchok brings a matching wry tone to the film, editing their punchlines into some big, belly-laugh moments.  This is lighthearted fare, a dip into an oddball community that lives on the fringes of society while making it a much better place for everyone else.

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Barash

Barash-W
Released:  October 22nd, 2015
Starring:  Sivan Shimon, Jade Sakori, Divr Benedek, Bar Ben Vakil
Written and Directed by:  Michal Vinik
Personal Bias Alert:  likes coming-of-age flicks


7.2 of 10


            Barash is a tale of first love that’s both traditional and subversive, dreamily evoking the wonder and the pain that inevitably comes with this situation.  Set in Israel, Naama (Sivan Shimon) falls for the more experienced Hershko (Jake Sakori), who introduces her to the lesbian community in Tel Aviv.  It’s a familiar story, but writer/director Michal Vinik makes it seem immediate, drawing you in with excellent music choices, lilting camerawork, and natural lighting.  Although the lead actresses were novices, there’s never a moment when they appear to be reaching for something or fading into themselves.  They’re always these two characters, continually facing us head on.  There’s also a B plot where Naama’s sister goes missing which confronts the heated Jewish-Arab relationships in Israel with a certain amount of honesty and wit, but the storyline always seems like a distraction and never connects fully to the main love story.  With the exception of this aside, Barash proves to be an expressive entry in the gay coming-of-age genre.

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Cemetery of Splendor

SP-CemeteryOfSplendor
Released:  March 4th, 2016
Starring:  Banlop Lomnoi, Jenjira Pongpas
Written and Directed by:  Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Personal Bias Alert:  not familiar with Southeast Asian cinema




            It’s easy to acknowledge that other cultures can have a radically different outlook on life than your own, but until you encounter a piece of art that comments on a worldview that’s entirely foreign to you, you really won’t understand how deep that divide can be.  Enter Apichatpong Weerasethakul of Thailand, who is most prominently known for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.  Like that film, Cemetery of Splendor is laconic and drifting, evoking mood and theme in the same obscure way as a Terrence Malick film.  If you are from a Western culture like myself, Malick would be a good barometer for Weerasethakul’s work.  If you can stomach Malick, then proceed with caution into Cemetery of Splendor.  If not, then run far, far away.  To be honest, I didn’t understand Cemetery of Splendor at all, hence the lack of numerical rating.  It’s beautiful, but I never had a clue what was happening or why I was watching a man poop for a solid minute.  I’ll stop wasting your time now.

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Girls Lost

GirlsLost-WReleased:  October 16th, 2015
Starring:  Emrik Öhlander, Olle Wirenhed, Louise Nyvall, Mandus Berg
Written and Directed by:  Alexandra-Therese Keining
Personal Bias Alert:  excited by the acceptance of gender fluidity


7 of 10



            Following three tomboy/lesbian/general outcast girls who find a flower that temporarily turns them into boys, Girls Lost is modern-day fable about the concept and ramifications of gender fluidity.  It starts as a tender introduction to the idea, an excited game changer for the put-upon group, but as one of them embraces their masculine side more firmly than the others, the once tight-knit clan quickly begins to unravel.  Girls Lost takes big risks, which I vigorously applaud, and it gets a tantalizing amount of things right.  The young actors dig deep into their complicated roles and emote the hell out of them, complimented wonderfully by writer/director Alexandra-Therese Keining lush visual style.  The film grabs you and takes you on this journey with the girls, and early on that is enough to circumvent the provocative subject matter.  Unfortunately, the film loses its way a bit as it barrels towards its finale, sidestepping or over-simplifying some ideas it had previously handled so well.  Still, it keeps you invested in these characters, and you’ll find yourself cringing as their glee goes to hell.  Also, this has one of the best face morphing effects I’ve ever seen.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Steve Jobs


SteveJobsposter.jpg

Released:  October 9th, 2015
Rated:  R
Distributor:  Universal Pictures
Starring:  Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston
Directed by:  Danny Boyle
Written by:  Aaron Sorkin
Personal Bias Alert:  not a Sorkin or Apple fan

7 of 10






            Anyone who’s started to get some age on their bones knows the rough story of Apple and has witnessed its meteoric rise over the last seventeen years.  Those with a wary eye would also have noted the mythologizing of the company and its co-founder, Steve Jobs, which has led to both ardent worshiping and simmering animosity.  By now, it would be difficult to wipe from history the notion that Apple led us into the technological revolution, but any such simplistic description of the tectonic cultural shift we’ve experienced would be untrue.  This is what makes the affronted reaction to Steve Jobs so surprising.  Yes, the film isn’t particularly nice to its deceased subject, but its jabs at the man were reported on throughout his life.  This reaction is perhaps indicative of the cultural gullibility that the film hints at, but if writer Aaron Sorkin understood this phenomena, then it begs the question of why he thought the film could be successful at all.

            Then again, Sorkin isn’t known for undervaluing his own abilities, and it doesn’t surprise me to read of the ‘great truths’ he believes he hit upon in this film.  By structuring the film around three different product launches, it’s clear that Sorkin wasn’t going for a traditional biopic.  The film relies instead on thematic work to give it its arc, and the carefully selected characters that reappear throughout are the biggest hints at what Sorkin was reaching for.  Obviously, Jobs himself is in nearly every frame, with Michael Fassbender portraying him as a borderline megalomaniac.  Representing the largest thematic arc, namely the influence of family (or familial figures) on personality is his daughter Lisa (Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, and Makenzie Moss) and father-figure John Sculley (Jeff Daniels).  Through these characters, Jobs’ early life is used to explain his later downfalls, and his character arc and the film’s overall storyline centers on this exploration.  The trouble is that Sorkin doesn’t handle the storyline with Lisa well, and the constant presence of a young girl seems both manipulative and troubling.  What he’s exploring here is a rather simple line to draw, and the overblown way in which Sorkin chooses to examine it is, and I hate to use this word, pretentious.

            The other people surrounding Jobs is a group of long-time coworkers:  confidante Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), co-founder Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen), and punching bag Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg).  These are people who have known Jobs intimately throughout his career, and they are mouthpieces for the ramifications of forced mythology.  Again, this theme is hit rather hard, and while Sorkin’s observations on these and other smaller themes are true, they aren’t nearly as insightful as he would have us believe.

            And yet, for all its narrative downfalls, Sorkin still brings his snappy brand of dialogue to the table, which makes Steve Jobs bound along to a strong rhythm.  His pairing with director Danny Boyle proves to be a wonderful choice, as most of the film takes place in dressing rooms and backstage hallways.  Boyle has already made an hour of a man trapped by a rock visually appealing, so I’m sure this was no great stretch.  He doesn’t do anything too flashy, mostly some dynamic lighting and excellent music cues, which hints at what he’s really a master of:  knowing how to work with what he has.  What he had with Steve Jobs is some electric conversations, and he plays up each scene’s ebbs and flows into something that, in the moment, feels satisfying.  It’s just too bad that he and Sorkin weren’t able to find something larger to tie it all together.

Other Notes:
Ø  All of the cast is very good, including Michael Stuhlbarg, who I’m afraid is getting overlooked in favor of the more recognizable cast members.
Ø  This film seems to be getting hit with the ‘isn’t true to real life’ criticism.  I don’t think that was ever the intent here, so the criticism doesn’t seem valid to me.
Ø  In case my feelings on Apple seem relevant to you, here they are.  I generally dislike the company (I hate its incompatibility and prices), but it’s not enough to stop me from owning an IPhone and an IPod.  I’m still a firm PC user, though.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Innkeepers


The Innkeepers Poster.jpg

Released:  February 2nd, 2012
Rated:  R
Distributor:  Magnet Releasing
Starring:  Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
Directed by:  Ti West
Written by:  Ti West
Personal Bias Alert:  likes moody horror, dislikes slacker characters

7.2 of 10







            A cursory glance at the horror landscape of today might leave you feeling that your only options are jump scares or gore, but that’s an incorrect limitation, as just below the Cineplex surface lies a thriving, diverse community of horror filmmakers that offer up every kind of scare under the sun.  After dredging it in the festival circuit, some of these filmmakers even get to peddle their wares to the masses, especially with the advent of streaming and VOD services.  One such director is Ti West, whose reputation has earned him segments in V/H/S and The ABCs of Death, and with The Innkeepers got to remind people of a more methodical kind of scare.

            Set in a real-life haunted hotel, most of the film is taken up by the lackadaisical investigation by the hotel’s staff of two, Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy).  The ghost at the Yankee Pedlar Inn is rather mundane:  a disappointed bride who killed herself on her wedding day.  Claire and Luke are interested, but they know they won’t find poltergeist-level events.  Luke just wants some decent EVP recordings to add to his rinky-dink website, and Claire is mostly game just because her friend is into it.  Therein lies the charm of this film; Claire and Luke are real friends, the kind that can while away hours in an empty hotel without being bored.  The fact that they’re doing it by investigating for a ghost just gives their well-worn games a little edge.

            Paxton and Healy both shine as too-old-to-be-doing-this slackers.  They know that they’re better than their current situation, but they don’t ask you to pity their underwhelming lives, either.  Healy plays Luke as someone not interested in getting out of his holding pattern, the kind of person you find managing a record store at a college campus just because he doesn’t want to leave.  Paxton is a bit younger and still believes that she can get out, but she’s not too concerned with figuring out where she wants to go.  For now, the pair are happy to pal around the hotel together, existing moment to moment while staving off boredom.  They’re not too unlike the resident ghost in that regard, and they’re invented entertainment proves to be more than endearing enough to sustain the early parts of this film.

            And their relationship has to carry you through, because West doesn’t give you many scares until late in the game.  While he sustains unease throughout by peppering in information about the ghost and setting up for later events, he clearly rejects the notion that audiences demand loud bangs or big jumps to keep them interested.  West instead relies on steadily building cues to keep our attention:  a locked basement, an odd old man, and some well-placed camera holds.  The lack of immediate payoff may frustrate some viewers, but those more in tune with old-school potboilers like Rosemary’s Baby will find a lot to like here. 

            For all that West gets right in the early going, the climax of the film is unavoidably a letdown.  There’s a nice ramp up of tension going into the big finale, and all the bread crumbs and character development seems to be leading to a satisfying ending.  Then it sputters, falling back on an ending that feels too much like a ploy to satisfy more mainstream viewers.  But the ending isn’t as big as it wants to be, and it goes too far out of its way in the effort to effectively wrap up all the small pieces.  It’s the kind of ending that satisfies no one, and it’s one that you tolerate simply because of your affection for the rest of the piece.

            The lack of effective scares may put The Innkeepers in an odd section of your movie library.  If those early parts work for you, it’ll prove to be a difficult film to watch only once.  Months after your first viewing, you’ll find yourself wanting to hang out with those two goofballs again, and you’ll re-watch the film just to get in a bit more quality time.  The fact that the pair are hunting ghosts will seem secondary in your lasting memory, but once the tension starts to build, you’ll remember that West’s low-key creepiness is just as addicting as your two fictional friends.

Other Notes:
Ø  There is one truly creepy shot from the finale that has stayed in my head for years.
Ø  I like this film’s humorous aversion to the horror movie sex cliché.
Ø  This is one of those films that I re-watch every six months or so.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Chicago International Film Festival - (My) Day 2

Three Days in September

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Released:  October 16th, 2015
Starring:  Irena Ristic, Kamka Tocinovski, Adem Karaga
Directed by:  Darijan Pejovski
Written by:  Igor Ivanov Izi, Darijan Pejovski
Personal Bias Alert:  likes women-centric stories


8.5 of 10



              A slow-burn thriller, Three Days in September is all about what people aren’t saying.  Most of the characters don’t know each other or haven’t seen each other in years.  Their secrets run deep and don’t come out easily, but as they’re all isolated in a remote town, it’s only a matter of time before the veneer comes off.  It’s as classic a story as you can get, and first-time director Darijan Pejovski plays his characters and their surroundings nearly perfectly.  His Q&A referenced influences from film noir and ‘70s American cinema, an apt representation of the film’s gritty entertainment.  You’ll connect with his leading ladies very easily, but you won’t quite be sure why.  In the end, they’ll take you down a path you weren’t aware that you wanted to take, but in Pejovski and these excellent actors hands, it’ll be impossible to resist.

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Full Contact


FullContact-W
Released:  October 17th, 2015
Starring:  Grégoire Colin, Lizzie Brocheré
Directed by:  David Verbeek
Written by:  David Verbeek
Personal Bias Alert:  not big on abstract storytelling



1.5 of 10



            Upping the arthouse ante is Full Contact, a decidedly ambiguous film about a French drone pilot.  The first section is rather straightforward, with the military man bombing targets from a secure facility in Nevada.  One of his targets, though, turns out to have been based on bad information, and the second and third sections unravel the mental and emotional consequences of such an act.  While there’s nothing wrong with going abstract, Full Contact goes about it in all the wrong ways, with textbook film school visual metaphors and minimal dialogue.  The second section is an almost unbearable ‘wandering through the wasteland’ type scenario, complete with an underwater sequence and a dog that gazes knowingly into the pilot’s eyes.  If you were one of the people who complained about the similar sequence in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, then avoid this film like the plague.

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James White

James White poster.jpgReleased:  November 13th, 2015
Rated:  R
Starring:  Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh
Directed by:  Josh Mond
Written by:  Josh Mond
Personal Bias Alert:  dislikes movies about irresponsible adults

6 of 10








            When a group of NYU graduates band together to make their first films, sporadically great things can happen.  Josh Mond’s James White sprang from just such a group, which has already produced the memorable Martha Marcy May Marlene.  With his debut feature about a troubled twentysomething caring for his dying mother, Mond shows a willingness to dig deep into characters and hold on their less than attractive sides.  This, along with some strikingly close camerawork, leads to some riveting moments that just lift James White out of the restless slacker mold that has fatigued many viewers (including myself).  Dragging it back down towards this branding is the casting of Girls star Christopher Abbott as the titular James, who successfully pulls off the role without ever making it feel like too much of a stretch.  There’s excellent supporting turns here by Cynthia Nixon and Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi), but the clichéd self-destructive behavior exhibited by James often is nothing more than tiresome.  A broader scope to pair with the well-observed smaller moments may have made this film into something great, but it’s still a solid, if familiar, little indie.

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They Look Like People

SP-TheyLookLikePeopleReleased:  January 25th, 2015
Starring:  MacLeod Andrews, Evan Dumouchel, Margaret Ying Drake
Directed and Written by:  Perry Blackshear
Written by:  Perry Blackshear
Personal Bias Alert:  generally averse to low-budget asthetics

7 of 10



            You may have heard whispers about The Look Like People, as it has been racking up festival awards throughout 2015.  It’s a micro-budget psychological horror film, light on the horror but heavy on the suspense, centered around two friends reconnecting while one of them possibly goes insane.  It’s that or there’s an alien invasion on the way, and by the end, it’s hard to tell which outcome would be worse.  That’s because much of the movie’s charm is in watching the two young men find in each other a partner more solid than they’ve otherwise encountered.  There’s a pleasure in watching movies about genuinely good people, and these two guys form one of the sweetest friendships you’ll see this year.  The film is noticeably limited by its budget, and a bit more money for effects may have upped the horror aspect to a more respectable level.  Still, the little group of friends who made this film deserve to reveal in the recognition they’re getting, and hopefully someone acknowledges them with a healthier budget.


Monday, October 19, 2015

Chicago International Film Festival - (My) Day 1

I Smile Back

I Smile Back poster.jpg
Released:  October 23rd, 2015
Rated:  R
Distributor:  Broad Green Pictures
Starring:  Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Skylar Gaertner, Thomas Sadoski
Directed by:  Adam Salky
Written by:  Paige Dylan, Amy Koppelman
Personal Bias Alert:  big Sarah Silverman fan

6 of 10







            Based on the novel by the same name, I Smile Back follows housewife Laney (Sarah Silverman) as she struggles with depression and addiction.  It’s familiar territory, to be sure, and while the dialogue is often too on-the-nose and the film is not particularly well lit (it’s apparent because Silverman’s black hair often bleeds into the background), there are enough genuine moments observed here to remain engaging.  Silverman gives a rare and assured dramatic turn, digging into her own history of depression to make Laney a recognizable figure to anyone familiar with these issues.  Having seen her do comedy for so many years, it’s difficult not to see the ticks she’s leaned on throughout her career crop up, but it’s a testament to her that, by the end of the film, these things aren’t passing through your mind at all.  Josh Charles is his usual steady self as her husband, and the scenes between the two are highlights of the film.  But the main thing that I Smile Back gets right is the understanding that people can choose to do things that hurt the people they love without any intent to cause them harm.  This is a great source of tragedy in life, and I Smile Back mines this for an affecting amount of pathos. 

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Embers

12113514_1003287983068900_1495542186298704515_oReleased:  October 16th, 2015
Rated:  NR
Starring:  Jason Ritter, Iva Gocheva, Greta Fernández, Roberto Cots, Rucker Smallwood, Silvan Friedman, Karl Glusman
Directed by:  Claire Carré
Written by:  Charles Spano, Claire Carré
Personal Bias Alert:  likes post-apocalypse stories

5.2 of 10








            Embers opens with a young man and woman (Jason Ritter and Iva Gocheva) waking in a filthy apartment, unable to remember each other.  In fact, they can’t remember themselves, and after some awkward bantering and the discovery of matching bracelets, they decide that they must be lovers.  Every morning begins this way for the two, who live in a world where everyone has been struck with amnesia.  They know how to walk and talk and eat, but they have no memory of themselves or seemingly anything past their immediate surroundings.  It’s a world of heightened emotions, and in its absence, director Claire Clarré explores the far-reaching effects of memory on individuals and society.  It’s ambitious, to be sure, slightly experimental, and expectedly uneven.  Embers follows a few different members of this new society, and certain of these sections work better than others.  The lovers provide the film a backbone, but the other stories are too fragmented to feel complete.  There’s interesting moments of observation here, particularly with an almost feral young man played by Karl Glusman (look for him in the new Gaspar Noé film Love), but there are alternately long periods of boredom.  Clarré is a first-time filmmaker who also serves as co-writer and editor, and the fact that she was able to pull off this kind of film with so little help is a testament to her potential.  Anyone looking to explore fresh blood in the film industry should give Clarré’s Embers a chance.

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The Abandoned

Abandoned-WRated:  NR
Starring:  Louisa Krause, Jason Patric, Mark Margolis
Directed by:  Eytan Rockaway
Written by:  Ido Fluk
Personal Bias Alert:  prefers character-driven horror



4.5 of 10




            Appearing in their After Dark series, The Abandoned is a fairly traditional horror film that just doesn’t have anything behind it.  It follows a young woman starting work as a security guard in a vacant building, and it’s filled with the requisite jump scares and shocking images that litter modern horror.  On the plus side, the building they patrol is a creepily ornate monstrosity, utilized wonderfully in some early, mood-setting sequences.  Louisa Krause and Jason Patric as the two security guards are the film’s strongest elements, bringing banter and some genuine terror to their underwritten roles.  The problem is that the whole thing is underwritten, and the ending flat out makes no sense.  Director Eytan Rockaway, who did a Q&A after the screening, didn’t seem too bothered by the audience’s probing questions, brushing away requests for explanations with the old ‘it’s just a movie’ excuse.  His flippancy about plot is evident in this film, and it doesn’t bode well for Rockaway’s long-term success.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Crimson Peak


Crimson Peak theatrical poster.jpg

Released:  October 16th, 2015
Rated:  R
Distributor:  Universal Pictures
Starring:  Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam
Directed by:  Guillermo del Toro
Written by:  Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins
Personal Bias Alert:  loves Pan’s Labyrinth, mixed feelings about the cast

5.5 of 10






            With the revival of Hammer Films and the popularity of FX’s American Horror Story, the indulgently thrilling subgenre of gothic horror has been making a healthy comeback over the last few years.  It’s a perfect fit for director Guillermo del Toro, who makes lush films that unapologetically dive into whatever genre he’s selected.  Commitment has never been an issue for his films, and commitment is what you need to pull off the gothic high wire.  Unsure footing easily leads to camp or lethargy, and even an assured director like del Toro can stumble and make something subpar like, well, Crimson Peak.

            Named for a creepy mansion that oozes red goo and lets the snowfall in through its ruined roof, the film is about a young author, Edith (Mia Wasikowska), who falls for the dashing British man who owns the estate.  The house proves to have some less-than-hidden demons, and soon Edith finds herself warding off strange occurrences in every cranny of the house.

            Crimson Peak certainly wears the mantle of gothic horror with pride, seizing every opportunity to ratchet up the flair surrounding its simple story.  This is a gorgeous film that understands how delightful it is to see intricate tapestries and frilly dresses surrounding its monsters.  It’s got a rather traditional aesthetic, all greys and reds that, when paired with del Toro’s inventive vision, gives you some awe-inspiring moments of visual splendor.  Expect to hear its name called out many times come Oscar season and for it to take center stage in the program’s clip packages, because short snippets of this film is really the best way to take it in.

            The issues start piling up whenever Crimson Peak tries to tell its story, which despite a long script process that dates back to 2006, never feels more than half-baked.  Part of this is because of misleading expectations; the studio has marketed it as pure gothic horror, but long portions of it is really gothic romance.  That may seem like splitting hairs, but when someone goes in expecting Mary Shelley and gets a slightly bloody Jane Austin instead, they’ll almost certainly be disappointed.  The simple fact is that, despite a clear effort, Crimson Peak isn’t actually scary.  The pacing is all off, the ghosts are neither well designed nor clearly rendered, and the ending trips all over itself.  It’s possible that this stumbling be due to the film’s age.  Back in 2006, some of the twists del Toro takes us on may have seemed genuinely shocking, but now that we have American Horror Story and Penny Dreadful bringing bloody, shocking horror into our homes on a weekly basis, the story that Crimson Peak ends up telling seems decidedly quaint.

            The more detrimental error, though, is the film’s complete inability to form full, consistent characters.  It only needs to establish four people for the film to work:  Edith, her childhood beau Dr. Alan (Charlie Hunnam), Thomas, and Thomas’s sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain).  But del Toro and fellow writer Matthew Robbins fail to make any of them interesting throughout, most notably with Lucille and Alan, who are barely-drawn sketches that Hunnam and Chastain do their best to bring to life.  Thomas and Edith get a bit more attention, but the interesting traits they are given (Edith is a bit of a feminist and Thomas is an unacknowledged inventor) are picked up and tossed away on the fly.  As gothic stories tend to be slow movers, of which Crimson Peak is no exception, the lack of characters that you really care about cripples the film’s slow progress.

            Despite these disappointing setbacks, Crimson Peak will keep your attention throughout.  The cast does their best with what they’re given, and several of them are charming enough to watch even in their most flawed roles.  Sitting back and letting its visual charm wash over you is really the best way to take this film in, as you sure as hell aren’t going to get anything from its story.

Other Notes:
Ø  What a waste of Jessica Chastain.
Ø  Those ghosts really need to give more specific warnings.
Ø  Proposed drinking game:  drink whenever the shoulder ruffles on Chastain or Wasikowska’s dresses are larger than their heads.  You will get very drunk.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Hanna


Hanna poster.jpg

Released:  April 8th, 2011
Rated:  PG-13
Distributor:  Focus Features
Starring:  Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander
Directed by:  Joe Wright
Written by:  Seth Lochhead, David Farr
Personal Bias Alert:  big Saoirse Ronan fan, likes electronic music

7.8 of 10






            The fairy tale element runs strong in this one.  You wouldn’t expect that if you saw any of Hanna’s print advertisements, and even the trailer quickly abandons the idea after a mystical opening.  It’s much easier to sell action, people understand that quickly, than to try and explain Hanna’s arthouse blend of coming-of-age drama and science fiction thrills.

            The screenplay, which appeared twice on the Black List (an annual list of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood), is the kind of dense, ambitious piece that gets kicked around for years before finding the right combination of star and director to get a green light.  Saoirse Ronan signing on as the waif-like assassin got the ball rolling, and her recommendation of Joe Wright, who previously directed her to an Oscar nomination in Atonement, got the film a healthy enough budget to see out its off-kilter vision. 

Wright is well-known for his prominent visual style, and he throws everything he can at the fantastical story of a young girl fighting to escape the clutches of the CIA.  He plays with lighting simply for the awe factor (see the incredible escape scene early in the film), and employs his trademark tracking shots on several occasions.  Wright isn’t an action movie director by trade, and it shows in how unconventionally he presents these sequences.  All of them work and are made more engrossing by their originality, eschewing the hip, quick-cutting jerkiness of most modern action in favor of meticulously choreographed, long fights.

The other odd element of these action scenes, namely that a young girl continuously bests grown men in hand-to-hand combat, is an overt nod to its fairy tale aspirations, but a closer look reveals that the action itself is only a B-plot to a more traditional fable.  Hanna is primarily a tale about growing into the adult world, where you make bonds and encounter complications that leave you bewildered and overwhelmed.  Ronan as the titular character is perfectly cast, with a body not yet sprung into a woman’s but with a face that can encapsulate the pain and the joy of being alive.  Her performances have long exceed her years, and this may be the best of her childhood work.

All these elements make for a rather fascinating film, but not an even one.  At times, the fairy tale elements overpowers everything else, and anyone craving a solid explanation for what exactly is going on will likely be disappointed.  Hanna is a piece that’s content with indulgence.  Some have labeled this as pretention, but don’t mistake Hanna’s grasping reach for a film that lacks goals.

Anyone who has seen Hanna is likely wondering when I will get to the film’s score, because it’s a prominent, make-or-break component.  Done by the electronic dance duo The Chemical Brothers, it blends the film’s elements into kookily loud beats, driving the action forward and carrying much of the weight when it comes to keeping the fairy tale-feel front and center.  The most prominent song, The Devil is in the Details, is even hummed by a character throughout, and this inescapability is what makes it so divisive.  It’s a bold score, to say the least, and some people will just never be into electronic beats.  No matter your personal taste, what’s undeniable is how complimentary it is to the film’s ambitions.

Hanna is a film that puts itself out there, and because of that has attracted some strong sentiments.  However, its supporters haven’t coalesced into a singular fandom, and without a strong cult status, it’s likely to become forgotten.

Other Notes:
Ø  I didn’t even mention how awesome Erica Bana, Cate Blanchett, and Tom Hollander are.
Ø  Speaking of Hollander, he has quite a knack for playing characters that subtly unsettle you.
Ø  “Did she turn out as you hoped?”  “Better.”