Cabin Weekend

Recently we made the decision to postpone our wedding, an obvious and obviously correct choice to make it was still surprisingly difficult. With the world in such flux I realized I was counting on this one thing, the wedding, to be "normal". But ultimately it's the right choice and in accepting it I can better accept this new and ever-changing world that is our new reality.

I had already reserved a cabin for the bachelor party and those in the wedding party in the area used it. It was really nice not only to get away for a bit but to connect with my friends and sister, to have them connect, and to feel celebrated. Nicole and I may not be getting married this year but we still have wonderful friends and family and there's still so much to be grateful for.

'My Spy' A Review

My Spy is an action/comedy about a formal Special Forces soldier JJ(David Bautista) who's a liability at the CIA so he's put on surveillance duty with tech Bobbi(Kristen Schall) to watch over the widow of an arms dealer Kate(Parisa Fitz-Henley) and her daughter Sophie(Chloe Coleman). Sophie quickly discovers JJ and Bobbi and strikes a deal with JJ, to keep the observation quiet in exchange for spy training, the two form a bond and JJ and Kate begin a tentative romance.

Bautista is a rare and graceful cross over(beginning his career in the WWE) like the only other real success story The Rock, he's been picking up action/comedies(Stuber) as well as the occasional stretch(Blade Runner 2049) in addition to his Marvel appearances. He gets better with every role, more confident, more dynamic, more emotional and more funny. He's great here and it would be great to see him in some more demanding roles, he's clearly ready. His co-star Coleman is a great foil, precocious without being fake, funny without being unbelievably adult. It's a great match and so what if the script is relatively formulaic, the two have enough heart and energy to make the thing work and the support cast rounds it out nicely.

Some great action sequences balance what is mostly a light fish-out-of-water comedy although the majority of the action takes place in "Chicago" when it is clearly shot in Canada. The production is somewhat by-the-numbers but there is enough action and enough inversion of action troupes to entertain. Not particularly unique or surprising but solid family friendly fun.

Currently streaming on Amazon.

Rent It.

'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' A Review

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is a comedy about two small town Icelandic musicians Lars(Will Ferrell) and Sigrit(Rachel McAdams) who aspire to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest and through a series of accidents and misadventures get to take their shot.

After years of mediocre familial comedies Ferrell goes back to the well of his hayday, his Lars is essentially a version of his character in Blades Of Glory and the conceit, spoofing a particular cultural subset, makes this well trod ground. His performance is passable but it certainly makes you wonder what happened to the quiet emotional power of Stranger Than Fiction or even the magnetic gonzo ferocity of Talladega Nights. McAdams, as always, is effortlessly charming, emotionally committed, and funnier than her straight comedian counter part. She makes the movie work through sheer star power. Dan Stevens is another highlight, clearly relishing the opportunity to go big and Pierce Brosnan is a delight although his role is essentially a glorified cameo.

The costumes are wonderful, the bubblegum pop music is pretty catchy and their are a handful of actually great numbers. There's a laundry list of what are presumably European popular musicians that cameo and there is a sense of lightness and fun throughout but the presence of Ferrell makes the formula that much more stark, we have seen this movie from him a number of times a decade ago and although it isn't necessarily ineffective it is most definitely not fresh.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

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Carcass

This fated fish
gone too soon
before the spawn

bleached bones
on shrinking shore
all that's left

bass or trout
life is short
and dead is done.

Campfire

Over years I have built
one hundred fires
(give or take)
for cooking and camaraderie
for stories and bug-repelling smoke
but always, every time
there is a deep abiding satisfaction
to coax from stick and match and time
this fundamental benefaction
there is a certainty
in the flame, a rightness
in line with what should be.

'7500' A Review

7500 is a thriller about a flight from Berlin to Paris that is hijacked. The movie opens on CCTV footage of the various terrorist going through the airport then cuts to co-pilot Tobias(Joseph Gordon-Levitt) boarding with the captain, and Tobias talks briefly with Nathalie(Aurélie Thépaut) his girlfriend(wife?) one of the flight attendants. Shortly after take off the cockpit is rushed, the captain is attacked but Tobias manages to close the door and incapacitate one of the terrorists. The terrorists threaten hostages if Tobias doesn't open the door while is instructed to make an emergency landing.

JGL really goes for broke- he screams and pounds and weeps and gnashes his teeth but for all his effort these exertions ring mostly hollow, it is in the all too brief quiet moments when he actually does some convincing acting. The various terrorists are mostly reduced to raging, mouth frothing, lunatics, virtual stereotypes. The one that seems conflicted Vedat played by Omid Memar has some interesting scenes and moments but he too, whether by direction or interpretation, is also mostly prone to incoherent, illogical screaming. The other cast members although probably talented, are on screen so briefly their appearance is almost totally negligible.

It is unclear what the movie intends to be, a hijacking thriller in the vein of Air Force One or an intimate but compelling struggle like 127 Hours and Locke it seems to attempt both and in so doing fail at both. Time is not taken to get to know Tobias or the attackers, and with the majority of the runtime taking place in the intimate cockpit the action falls significantly short of thrilling. Not to mention the subject matter, which feels a decade or more past relevance and offers nothing particularly original let alone thoughtful. A miss.

Currently streaming on Amazon.

Don't See It.

Antidote

Concrete, glass, steel beams
these are anesthetic not strange

The tree, the beach, the prairie's sway
these replenish what once was drained

Mother

The Sun is much commended
stalwart and secure
the comfort of the heat
light and it's allure

but the Moon is beguiling
in her ever changing face
soft blue light kisses
in her shadowed embrace
the mystery of her darkness
is the secret to fragile grace

perhaps we need the nutrients
in his perpetual beating rays
but for me the Moon's indulgence
is the connection that I praise.

'The King Of Staten Island' A Review

The King Of Staten Island is a dramedy about a listless 20-something Scott(Pete Davidson) trying to figure out his life. Scott is an aspiring tattoo artist and pot head with mental health issues. Living with his mom Margie(Marisa Tomei), leading on his best friend Kelsey(Bel Powley)and hanging out with his equally unmotivated friends he must deal with the wreckage of his present and the pain of his past, the death of his fire fighter father, while competing with Ray(Bill Burr) for his mom's attention.

This is, in many respects, Davidson's story and he is playing a version of himself so his performance is quite good. Where he somewhat struggles is when deep emotion/transformation is required, and he's servicable but his humor and innate charm shines throughout. The supporting cast are all kind of incredible especially Powley as this ambitious Staten Island woman, who's in turns guileless, vulnerable, smart, and tough. She is just effervescent onscreen and really stuns, an award worthy performance. Tomei is always great and is so here but after this coming off the back of Spider-Man it makes you wish she was getting more meaty roles. Burr shows more range and restraint than has ever been apparent and is surprisingly effective. The other standout is Maude Apatow as Scott's sister Claire, who seems to be coming into her own, or is at least given more than some of her previous roles as precocious kids/teens. On the whole the cast is shockingly good and dimensional with a number of surprise cameos and supporting turns.

Visually the film, like all of Apatow's work, is mostly workman like, there isn't a lot of flashy camera work or artistic composition but it does feel intimate, the film is in some ways a slice-of-life and it feels like you're with Scott on his day-to-day. Also like many of Apatow's work the film is too long, he's very patient with scenes and pacing and this provides the real, authentic quality which is part of his trademark and allows his cast space but it can easily turn to bloat(Funny People being the most egregious example of this with an entire unnecessary third act). And although this doesn't quite drag a 2:15 runtime for this type of film is a bit much.

The other issue is one of subject, this is certainly consistent in Apatow's oeuvre, a young troubled Peter Pan finding his way but that narrative, which because of Apatow has basically become it's own subgenre, isn't as fresh or exciting as it once was.

Currently available for rent on most VOD platforms.

Rent It.

'Da 5 Bloods' A Review

Da 5 Bloods is a war drama from co-writer/director Spike Lee. Four Vietnam War veterans- Paul(Delroy Lindo), Otis(Clarke Peters), Eddie(Norm Lewis), and Melvin(Isiah Whitlock, Jr.)- return to Vietnam to recover the remains of their friend killed in action Norman(played in flashbacks by Chadwick Boseman) as well as gold they buried as part of a failed mission. Before setting off Paul's estranged son David(Jonathan Majors) joins them.

Lindo is the clear lead and gives a complex, conflicted, operatic at times performance. His presence and portrayal is so powerful it, at times, over shadows the rest of the ensemble, which perhaps is intentional and not necessarily a criticism. A big, brash, unapologetic and effective turn that dominates the film. Peters is given some solo screentime, some individual dimension, and his calm, assured presence is always a wonderful to watch. Lewis and Whitlock are given less time and less to do but its pleasing to simply see the group hanging out before the adventure portion really takes off. Majors is great but also isn't really allowed time to develop. The core four play younger versions of themselves in flashbacks which is a bold and effective choice, there is no uncanny valley distraction like in The Irishman.

Tonally the film is incredibly ambitious, not a surprise coming from Lee, it flows and flashes from heist to thriller to drama to melodrama to comedy. The flashbacks are instigated with a change in aspect ratio and match cuts, Lee employs his always effective and singular dolly shots and direct address as well as cut-aways to documentary footage and stills. It's a writhing mercurial film which makes you think and raises questions and doesn't offer a neat or concise experience. And although perhaps some of the cast is underutilized they are all in service to this greater cinematic ambition that the film is which makes it work. Yes, it would have been great to see more Whitlock who is a perceptually underrated performer but that doesn't detract from its success.

Beautiful and furious, slippery and at times difficult Da 5 Bloods maintains Spike Lee's status as a master and his decades spanning relevance.

Don't Miss It.

Simple, Not Easy

All love is a struggle
because it is not an easy thing
there is an element of striving
to maintain any precious feeling
an element of effort, sweat and tears
to develop the intimacy required
to survive the ever-passing year.

It's peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows
not a perpetual unbending line
life's periodic and myriad trials
never as simple as valentines
like waves they crash
upon devotion, to test and temper
and perhaps to crack and shatter.

But success is not complicated-
communication, desire, and support
thus is foraged a partnership
that can answer all retorts
trust the path to walk upon
affection the compass way
hope the breaking of the dawn
and faith to fend off time's decay.

'Shirley' A Review

Shirley is a psycho/sexual thriller bizarrely masquerading as a biopic about a young couple going to live with writer Shirley Jackson(Elisabeth Moss) and her professor husband Stanley(Michael Stuhlbarg) in the early 60's. Fred(Logan Lerman) is a post-doc in service to Stanley and due to Shirley's mental health/substance abuse/psychic powers-witchcraft(?) Fred's wife Rose(Odessa Young) is forced to become the defacto housekeeper. A strange and nearly incomprehensible farce (unintentional) ensues.

Moss gives a big performance and perhaps in a different production with a different script this could really soar but here it makes an already confusing story even more muddled. Moss's Shirley oscillates so quickly and so broadly from normal human to unintelligible prophetess to righteous vengeful housewife in aggregate the character makes no sense and it is transparently actor Elisabeth Moss giving a capital P Performance. Stuhlbarg seems to relish his opportunity to play a manipulative lecherous professor, and good on him I guess, but the result is patently unlikable and uninteresting and seemingly purposeless. Lerman's character is so underwritten and he has so little screentime his inclusion is irrelevant. Young is the only one that convey's anything like an actual character, and she is compelling, but any in roads she makes are rendered moot given all the noise which surrounds her.

Speaking of noise, the near ever-present writhing score is a constant distraction and its assertiveness seems to convey a lack of confidence in the material rather than bolstering it up. Instead of letting the viewer settle in to the creepy cloying feel of the film the score telegraphs it's intent. The film is almost exclusively shot in shaky hand held and, again, it's a distraction and shows a lack of trust in the actors and the script forcing us into a particular mood which feels ever more contrived as it progresses. The period production design and costumes are fantastic.

The story itself is some what baffling, it has wonderful ambition but the actuality is more wannabe decrepit Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? And the use of actual author Shirley Jackson as a character actually undercuts its intent significantly as the story seemingly has no semblance to reality. The other major issue is that of tone. The film flips through different genres and there is the implication of many things but in total nothing is ever clear. Is this a supernatural tale? A crime story? A bedroom drama? The film flits and flirts but never settles so the result is muddled.

Perhaps for those with interest in the avant-garde over narrative clarity.

Currently streaming on Hulu.

Don't See It.

Nature's Reckoning

Famed film director
Werner Herzog would say
our Mother is indifferent
this disease not cruelty
or consequence
but cold coincidence
yet She has ever been
a giving one
the wood Her bone
the earth Her blood
perhaps this is not penalty
but lesson, love.

Never say She was not exacting.

Our City

Break, burn, or bleed
that's not what I see
I see survival
and perhaps,
perhaps a chance
at transformation
thus I will not fear
or flee.

'The Wrong Missy' A Review

The Wrong Missy is a romcom from Happy Madison(aka Adam Sandler and Co.). The movie opens on Tim(David Spade) going to a blind date at a restaurant where he's tricked into an uncomfortable situation by his date Missy(Lauren Lapkus), she's antagonizing and wild so he attempts to bail out the bathroom only to injure himself. Flash forward to months later and Tim has not dated since, he accidentally exchanges luggage Melissa(Molly Sims) at the airport and the two strike up some chemistry. With an upcoming worktrip to Hawaii Tim takes the plunge and invites Melissa along only to find out it Missy instead. Trouble and romance ensue!

Lapkus is by far the comedic fire and saving grace of the movie, Spade is surprisingly restrained and likable as the searching middle-aged worker bee and the two have decent chemistry although she is twenty years his junior(which they kind of address in a brief throwaway). But other than Lapkus there's no real surprises from the cast, she almost has enough energy and unpredictability to carry the movie but there's only so much she can do with the tired, paint by numbers script and the tired and old Sandler stable.

Pleasing if not quite entertaining the luminescent Lapkus overshadows some but not all of the triteness of the premise and the dullness of the cast.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Stream It.