'Candyman' A Review

Candyman is a horror film, a sequel/soft reboot of the 1992 cult classic. In the now mostly gentrified remains of Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing project artist Anthony(Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) lives with his girlfriend art curator Brianna(Teyonah Parris). Anthony, amidst painters-block, walks the neighborhood in search of inspiration where he runs into a resident William(Colman Domingo) who tells him the Candyman legend, wrought through beautiful and effective shadow puppetry. This sends him down a path of obsession which have inevitable results.

Abdul-Mateen has great presence and although the character might not have a ton of dimension, he is the audience cipher in the story, and we are propelled along with him on this journey, his performance and almost exclusively tight shots help to create this feeling of constriction, claustrophobia, and momentum. Parris is, as always, a joy and if there isn't a lot of explicit information given about her character, she's able to create depth with implication, context, and inference along with a brief but incredibly punchy flashback. Domingo clearly relishes the opportunity to play the defacto neighborhood soothsayer and crushes it. The supporting cast is full of talent- Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Brianna's brother, Rebecca Spence as an elitist art critic, Vanessa Williams reprising her role from the original(stupendous, she has one of the best moments in film this year)- to name a few. And although Anthony and Candyman are always the focus the ensemble weave together perfectly to create a sharp and startling atmosphere.

Shot with clarity and deliberation Chicago is gorgeous and evocative and is clearly not New York(or Atlanta as a stand in) which is so refreshing. The last standing row houses of Cabrini-Green are particularly well utilized to evoke not only the city as it is but the ghosts of the city that has been paved over. Visually it also pairs perfectly with the constricting mood and ramping up of tension, a series of tighter and tighter shots on Anthony as he digs deeper in the Candyman legend, mirrors are a big theme with some bravura inverted/flipped shots serving to further evoke the mood. The score is effective but not intrusive, a kind of cascading droning elongated crescendo. And the flashbacks to 70's Chicago as well as the shadow plays are integrated seamlessly within the film to provide needed information but also to enhance the creeping doom and gloom.

The social commentary aspect of it, the recontextualizing of the Candyman from dangerous/seductive Black man specter(per the 1992 film) into this kind of amalgam for coping with generation trauma perhaps isn't quite as successful, or at least at 90 minutes not enough time is given to that part of the script to fully come to fruition. The same is true of the attempt at addressing gentrification. But. That's OK. Every horror film doesn't need to have sociopolitical ambition. And as a tight, immersive, engaging, thrilling horror piece with a solid engine Candyman absolutely soars even if some of it's broader aspirations don't. Perhaps something was sacrificed to get down to the tight run time but that run time is absolutely necessary for the petal-to-the-metal pacing.

Director/co-writer Nia DeCosta delivers big- stunning visuals, an excellent cast, a thrilling ride.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Don't Miss It.

'Annette' A Review

Annette is an rock opera/drama about the tumultuous relationship of celebrity couple "stand-up" Henry(Adam Driver) and opera singer Ann(Marion Cotillard). When they have a child(depicted by a marionette) and professional success swings from one to the other tragedy(?) ensues.

God bless him Driver gives it everything he's got but he is ill equipped for the bizarre and uneven tone and reaching quasi avante garde style. He plays it pretty straight and his talent is not in doubt but the result is a jumbled mess of unclear action and choices resulting in pretty thin characterization and an incomprehensible plot. Cotillard fairs significantly better, although she has substantially less screen time, as she seems more attuned with the vibe, kind of serious verging on melodrama, comedic and operatic both, she's able to create what feels like a real person amidst the soup of genre. The puppet's performance is incredibly bizarre and it's wispy hair and mottled skin is unsettling.

There is incredible ambition on display, a cornucopia of ideas, and the first and last scenes are absolutely incredible. But everything inbetween is so muddled, so off, so devoid of any kind of emotional reality, and occasionally any kind of reality at all the sum is a flat, uninspiring mélange of quirks. One particularly baffling choice is to have Henry be a "stand-up" and his "shows" are more shitty cabaret performance art than anything even remotely resembling stand-up comedy. It's as if a friend of a friend saw a stand-up show and telephone-style relayed what the medium was to the writers. The depiction is straight up dumb and further undercuts the idea that any of the characters are real or inhabit anything like the world we live in. It's like aliens watched L.A. Confidential then a couple Andrew Dice Clay stand-up specials from the 80's and wrote the script. Bad.

Despite all the talent and all the creative drive it snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Worst of the year contender. For something equally LA focused and weird that actually works see Maps To The Stars.

Currently in theaters and streaming on Amazon.

Don't See It.

Biscuits

The first biscuit I remember

was from the Pillsbury tube

taking it hot from the oven

tossing it from hand to hand

to let it cool

then sinking my teeth

into that soft flaky goodness

this thing more fitting

to my child's hands 

than a slice of bread

more playful than a dinner roll

more flavorful than the bland

utilitarian grocery loaf

to which I was accustomed

O' Xanadu

The second and perhaps

the more auspicious

was from Popeye's Fried Chicken

and from that

all other biscuits have been judged

it's cascade of salty buttery goodness

like an injection of hot delirium

it's unfurling, encircling warmth

like a comforting familial embrace

carbonic fuel for transcendence 

Since

I've had many biscuits

some so-so, some delicious

but never will I forget

my first two initiates

reliable Pillsbury

and Popeye's, Rockford affiliate.

'Reminiscence' A Review

Reminiscence is a sci-fi neo-noir about a vague future world where climate change instigated a war which polarized the class system even further. The movie takes place in the flooded streets of Miami where Nick(Hugh Jackman) operates a memory machine with his friend Watts(Thandie Newton). One day a classic femme fatal in a red dress Mae(Rebecca Ferguson) comes into the office looking for her keys and quickly develops a relationship with Nick before an unspecified time later disappearing. This launches Nick's obsession, as he relives his own memories numerous times to discover clues and traipses around the non-descript futurescape to follow up on them.

God bless the cast, Jackman and Newton particularly are pouring everything they've got(which is by no means insubstantial) into this ill-conceived, plodding, derivative, periodically incoherent narrative. But despite the absolute and total commitment of two of our finest living actors the movie remains totally inert. Ferguson does a decent job with an incredibly thankless, flat, borderline offensive role toped off by the fact she is retroactively fridged. Woof. The waste of talent is honestly startling.

The movie has the slick kind of non-descript future look one could expect from fair to middling scifi that has to use some random CG companies stock designs out of budget limitations. It works, I guess, but its not interesting or fresh. The score is fine if a bit overwrought and the costuming is effective if not particularly inspired. The main offender is the script. It's convoluted for no purpose, it lacks focus, the pacing drags, the characters are so focused on the plot they never develop, the movie is clearly conflicted about if it wants to be a romance, a mystery, or a scifi flick and the three separate aspirations are totally discordant. Genre bending can be tricky and here it is pretty much a total failure and as a result, despite all the promise, it doesn't deliver on any of its ambitious but overly numerous ideas.

An incredibly frustrating waste of time.

Currently in theaters and on HBO Max.

Don't See It.

Brave New World

Not only is cynicism cheap
it has no purpose

any 19 year old pothead

who's seen Requiem For A Dream

or read half of Notes From The Underground

can be an expert cynic

but to what end?

Hope

is more difficult

potent almost mystical

Beauty

vulnerable to cliché

so hard to capture or convey

Truth

susceptible to moral pollution

yet electric in its constitution

Sincerity

exposed to saccharine sentiment

but dynamic in its eloquence

The fragile, the fleeting, the ecstatic

these are why we live

despite not because of skeptic static

'Free Guy' A Review

Free Guy is a scifi action/comedy about a NPC(non-player character) in the video game Free City (one part Fortnite, one part Grand Theft Auto) named Guy(Ryan Reynolds) a bank teller who achieves sentience and starts "playing" the game after meeting the woman of his dreams Millie(Jodie Comer) a game designer covertly searching Free City for parts of her game that were stolen by Antwan(Taika Waititi).

Reynolds is right in his sweet spot here, a complementary performance to Deadpool, it has the humor, the physical element, a bit of the meta reference, but instead of Deadpool's cynicism Guy has a virtually unflappable sincerity and as a lead action character that kind of blind hopefulness and optimism is really refreshing. Comer is also excellent and clearly enjoys the action as well as the silly/sweet tone. Waititi always delivers and he to seems to relish the opportunity to play the heavy. The other big supporting characters are Lil Rey Howard as Buddy Guy's best friend, who's post Get Out renaissance has been delightful to watch and a gift to audiences, Joe Keery(aka Steve from Stranger Things) who plays Keys Millie's former partner who now works for Antwan. Keery isn't given as much to do and is somewhat sidelined in the plotting but it still a pleasure to see, and lastly Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser Keys' co-worker who is given even less to do than Keery but still, as always, has excellent energy, is magnetic onscreen, and brings and effortless humor.

Visually interesting if familiar in its video game amalgam aesthetic, a score with a series of excellent needle drops, and some great over the top action make for a surprisingly solid production. Even though it is not based on a specific video game it is one of, if not the, most successful "video game movie" perhaps because it is not particularly beholden to any source material. The narrative drags somewhat in the third act and the focus is unsuccessfully shifted from Guy's journey to autonomy to the underdeveloped romance between Millie and Keys but overall that stumble doesn't effect the overall enjoyment.

A solid, funny, exciting, popcorn movie. The rare blockbuster not derived from existing IP and all the more refreshing for it.

Currently in theaters coming soon to VOD.

See It.

'The Truffle Hunters' A Review

The Truffle Hunters is a documentary that follows various aging men and their dogs as they hunt Alba truffles. The men hiking through the woods with their hounds scenting truffles is juxtaposed with the hustling truffle market and some high-end restaurants that use the ingredient. 

Quiet, beautiful, and restrained the film has a classic Cinéma vérité approach and given it's subjects it's a perfect fit. More so than truffles and the exceedingly inflated truffle market the film is about these men and their dogs, this fading tradition and subculture slowly being eroded by supply and demand. The pull of the woods, the companionship of a dog, the hunt for the elusive truffle. Simple but deep.

A meditative, celebratory, if somewhat bittersweet exploration of fading cultural niche.

Currently available to rent on most VOD platforms.

See It

'The Kid Detective' A Review

The Kid Detective is a neo-noir part Chinatown, part Brick by way of Harriet The Spy. The movie opens on a montage of the titular kid detective solving various cases a la various young adult series were all familiar with until his secretary, the mayor's daughter, disappears and he and the police come up empty. Flash forward 20 plus years and Abe(Adam Brody) is depressed burn out, grappling with his past failures and trading on his notoriety as a youth to make a living as a PI. Caroline(Sophie Nélisse) comes to Abe after her boyfriend is killed and he takes the case, seeing it as a chance at redemption.

Brody has some chops and he's able to give this stunted character some real heart and dimension, the script doesn't particularly utilize his comedic talent but does effectively play against his boyish look and charm. The supporting cast are all decent but virtually none of them are given much time to develop, they kind of fade in and out as narratively needed, and that's OK. The focus is on Brody and he carries the load.

The production is effective if not particularly inspired, the tone is a very strange mix of YA, small town mystery, and pretty dark noir. Overall it works but there are moments where it veers sharply tonally that can be a bit discordant. Like the production the script is sufficient, it's an excellent idea and it chugs along with character moments and plot reveals so you remain engaged but there is definitely the sense it could have been better, tighter, cleaner in its plotting. It meanders for most of the runtime and the ending drops so much information so quickly it feels rushed. There isn't much in the way of a build or cumulative tension which given what the movie is(a detective story) could have improved it.

An intriguing scrappy indie worth a watch if not quite a homerun.

Currently streaming on Starz and available on most VOD platforms.

Rent It.

Wedding Day

A lifetime

narrows
to a day

an hour

an instant

nestled within

the endearing

enduring energies

of our

closest intimates

propped up

and propagated

by romantic momentum

bonded 

by magnetic ardor

in this pin-prick

potent now

we pledge our truth

and the world

kaleidoscopic

psychedelic

opens, unfurls, erupts

and a future

fleeting

bright with promise

is revealed.

'The Suicide Squad' A Review

The Suicide Squad is a DC superhero movie, part reboot/part sequel to 2016's Suicide Squad. The movie opens on Savant(Michael Rooker) in a prison yard and quickly cuts together the assembling of a squad of indebted villains to go on a black ops mission. The movie then flashes back and cuts together the assembling of a second squad lead by Bloodsport(Idris Elba).

The ensemble here is substantial and the main squad consisting of Elba, John Cena, David Dastmalchian, and Daniela Melchior are all really great although the sheer number of characters and the pedal to the metal pacing don't give them much time for us to really invest or for them to do much beyond the cursory as far as character. Which is a shame because, particularly with this core four, you got a lot of talent and they have all clearly done a lot of back end work giving their characters dimension we simply don't have enough opportunities to see it. It's fun, they have great chemistry, it works, but ultimately it feels a bit superhero-paint-by-numbers. 

Unarguably one of DC's better offerings, solid action, consistent humor, intriguing characters, unique color pallet, but overall a little thin. It definitely feels like James Gunn's version of Guardians Of The Galaxy which, presumably, is exactly what he was hired to do. Still. Guardians came out seven years ago, and the superhero monocultural has reigned for even longer so although well constructed, entertaining, and all around solid in-and-of-itself due to the saturated superhero cinema landscape this doesn't really break the surface of interest.

Sure, why not.

Currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

Stream It.

The Crunch

Coal into a diamond
mold on a loaf of bread
whiskers in need of shaving

countdown to being wed

Time the ever constant

adamant in its quiet tread

the moment now, the inbetween

and the future up ahead.

'The Green Knight' A Review

The Green Knight is a period fantasy, an adaptation of the 14th Century poem, written/directed by David Lowery. The film opens on Gawain(Dev Patel) who is or maybe isn't a knight as he makes his way to the king's Christmas celebration, there a mysterious Green Knight comes to challenge the round table knights to a bout which Gawain accepts. After Gawain must come to the Green Knight at a chapel a year later. Flashfoward a year, where it seems Gawain doesn't do much save get drunk, he begins his quest, encountering some vague mildly interesting characters along the way.

Patel does a decent job with the vague, underwritten, sketch of a character but the character itself isn't particularly interesting, doesn't go through any changes, doesn't even really react to the parade of encounters he has. The supporting cast is full of wonderful actors who all try valiantly to wrestle something coherent from the murky, half-formed narrative. Alicia Vikander in her first of two roles is the most successful as Essel but is in the film so briefly she can only do so much to right the sinking ship.

Lowery has an eye, that's unarguable, the film is beautiful and lush and epic but he is a wildly inconsistent screenwriter. A Ghost Story was similarly under baked and pretentious while The Old Man & The Gun was a lovely concise swan song for Robert Redford. He's all over the map with his narratives although his films always look great. Here, despite the beauty, it meanders, plods, mumbles, but never goes anywhere nor has much, if anything, to say. Given the source material its a bizarre choice. One could presume the vagueness is intended to leave character motives or narrative meaning "up to interpretation" but the reality is it makes no sense and seems as if Lowery himself doesn't know or couldn't be bothered with the clarity of his own plot.

Gorgeous but incredibly frustrating. A hollow art film for college-aged stoners.

Currently in theaters coming soon to VOD.

Don't See It.