'Antlers' A Review

Antlers is a horror movie about a small town in Oregon where a malevolent spirit escapes a mine and posses a father of two young boys. One of the boys Lucas(Jeremy T. Thomas) attempts to keep his father and brother safe and confined but his teacher Julia(Keri Russell) notices something as amiss while she attempts to reconnect with her estranged brother Paul(Jesse Plemons).

Thomas gives an impressively grave performance for a kid but is set up by the script as the creepy child trope and isn't able to go much beyond that. Russell is a pro and always a pleasure to see onscreen by the material is too plodding, too predictable, too underbaked for her to do much with. Plemons is given even less and with an actor of his talent and oddness it seems a woeful oversight. Although there are some incredible character actors in the supporting cast- Graham Greene and Amy Madigan- they are given virtually nothing to do.

A wonderful idea, a beautiful landscape, and a solid cast fail to lift what seems to have been a great elevator pitch that never got fully flushed out. There are some questionable choices made, chief among that the story incorporates Indigenous myth while being centered around white people, as well as attempting to draw a metaphorical parallel from the horrific events to abuse. Both ideas are intriguing but are executed so poorly that it comes across as ignorant and offensive. All in all, a mess.

The 2020 book The Only Good Indians covers similar ground with seismically better results on all fronts. Comparatively its a real shame.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Don't See It.

'Army Of Thieves' A Review

Army Of Thieves is a heist action/comedy a supposed "prequel" to Army Of The Dead, but more accurately described as a standalone spin-off as the zombie outbreak is virtually irrelevant. The movie is in essence an origin story for safecracker Sebastian(Matthias Schweighöfer who also directed). Sebastian is a safecracking obsessive who has no practical experience as he is a nerdy homebody who works in a dead-end banking job. He's recruited by Gwen(Nathalie Emmanuel) an international thief and her crew as they set out to crack three uncrackable safes constructed by master locksmith Hans Wagner inspired by composer Wagner's famous Ring Cycle. 

Schweighöfer's character is just as contagiously charming and funny as he was in his initial appearance, even more so as the tone of the movie is much more playful and comedic than AOFD. Emmanuel isn't asked to stretch much in her role but she's competent and as magnetic as she's allowed to be in the servicable if somewhat underwritten part. Ruby O. Fee and Guz Khan as Korina and Rolph respectively are perfectly cast, but also not given enough to do. The one sour note is Stuart Martin as Brad Cage, the last member of the crew, whose performance is kinda DOA. All in all a solid cast who knows what movie their in and has a blast in it.

Visually competent with some flashes, particularly in the safecracking sequences, of real ingenuity. The movie is, for the most part, a straight-up old-school heist flick and on that basis it's quite entertaining bolstered significantly by Schweighöfer's odd indefatigable energy if not particularly surprising or unique it's got some electricity to it.

Fun throwback movie with a solid mostly unknown cast.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

Sports

Never got into sports
not my kinda thing

but even as a child

I understood the appeal

going to White Sox games

Rockford Lightening games

watching Jordan's Bulls on the TV

with my old man

I understood the appeal

when its good, when its really good

there's a rhythm to it

a rightness to it

within the confines

of the court or field

where there are a fixed set of rules

and refs or umps 

that enforce those rules

everything makes sense

everything is simplified

refined, clear, crystal

within these certain set parameters

people can soar

you can get swept up in it

the job, the mortgage, the grind

can fall away

and your left exactly in the moment

the thrill of it, the excitement of it

the sweat of it, the force of it

the immediacy of it

Like I said, I understand the appeal

but I was always more into Zorro.

Darkness

At the camps I went to growing up one of the evening activities was a Night Hike and one of the Night Hike activities was a Solo Hike. You'd be out in the woods at night and at some point one of the two counselors would go down the trail alone for 5-10 minutes and wait. Then each of the campers, one at a time, would traverse that distance alone. Most of the time everyone had flashlights and the counselors would say you could use it or not, suggesting you didn't.

The first time I did it I was 8 and I used my flashlight. All I can remember is fear. That something would pop out of the dark, that someone was waiting to scare me, the night itself, the unknown. The fear was near overwhelming but I plowed ahead and finished. There was a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I had overcome.

The next year I used my flashlight again and it was anticlimactic. The fear had mostly gone, and using it seemed like a cheat, a slight, untrusting. The next year I didn't use my flashlight and that changed everything.

Without the tunnel of my light the night opened, as I slowly walked down the path my eyes adjusted, the moon and stars cast dappled shadows through the trees, it wasn't bright but I could see. The path stretching ahead of me like a washed out ribbon, the woods cornucopic shades of blue-to-black with only patches of true dark where the woods got dense. And it was alive. The leaves rustled, the insects hummed, and occasionally the scrambling of some small creature would bubble up. But nothing threatening, nothing amiss. It struck me, walking alone through the night, this is as it should be, this was right. It thrilled, this trusting of the dark, and I was rewarded.

It became the thing I looked forward to the most, as a camper and then later as a counselor, later still I would sneak into parks after dark with my friends and lead them only by the shadowed moon as we drank or smoked and sometimes tripped. I reveled in it, it was gloriously freeing, the dark.

Some campers hated it, too terrified of the night, too unaccustomed or discomforted with being truly alone however briefly, of the silent noise of the forest unbroken by any voice. But I knew solitude from an early age, had grown up with it, acquired a taste for its bitterness. I realized on that first hike without my light that the darkness wasn't bad, it was simply different. My fear was mostly, if not entirely, in my own mind, of my own creation. The woods, night or day, if paid the proper respect, was benign. And come evening, particularly, when the shadows closed and the world shrank, it was actually comforting, intimate. I became at home in the dark.

As you grow up you realize that darkness isn't always visual, beyond the monster under the bed or in the bushes there are scarier things, normal things that are just part of life. Death, heartbreak, grief. They can be difficult to deal with, overwhelming. And I have no monopoly on healthy processing or satisfying answers to any of life's mysterious cruelties but I do know the dark. Darkness has been a friend for a long time, and I know that it is not good or bad, it simply is. Day and night, life and death, there is a balance to things. It may not make it easier to handle challenges or weather tragedies but I accept them, I don't deny them, I am not surprised when they occur. They are as natural as the forest at night.

'Dune' A Review

Dune (Part One) is a scifi epic based on the 1965 novel of the same name. In the far distant future Duke Leto(Oscar Issac) is assigned a new fief, sand planet Arrakis(the titular Dune), by the Empower taking over for rival Baron Harkonnen(Stellan Skarsgård), but the arrangement is not as straightforward as it seems. Leto's partner Lady Jessica(Rebecca Ferguson) a Bene Gesserit(space nun), fears the change particularly as it puts her son Paul(Timothée Chalamet), who is manifesting hidden powers of his own, into the cosmic political arena.

Chalamet is the defacto lead, although the film is in essence an ensemble, and he's servicable, he doesn't display any of his "charming" man-child quirks which is a relief but ultimately he doesn't quite have the presence to make the reserved introspection of the character particularly pop. It doesn't really matter as Dune is not a character study but a transportive visual and narrative experience. But aside from Chalamet the cast is near pitch perfect. Issac as the brooding duke, Ferguson as the powerful space nun yet vulnerable mother, Skarsgard as the repulsive rumbling heavy, Javier Bardem as a Freman leader Stilgar(particularly excellent), and on and on. A literally stem-to-stern stacked cast of solid character actors. The cast though is second to the setting and the plot in "Part One" as this is mostly set up, mostly context, mostly mood.

Not surprising coming from director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve the visuals are absolutely stunning and much care is taken with combining practical and CG effects so that the world(s) feel real, have not only visual appeal but are tactile. This is extended/bolstered by the superb costuming and the haunting extraterrestrial score.

Although, essentially, set up the film stands firmly on its own and at two and half hours never falters in its engagement. It's patient, methodical, and takes care not only with the atmosphere, the mood and tone, but with the complicated world building which is vital for any adaptation of the scifi classic. But because of the pacing it doesn't come across that way, we get all the necessary information but in a way that feels organic and much is left for us to infer about the world(s) while simultaneously inexorably moving the story forward with enough action, character, and striking imagery to keep us hooked.

A sumptuous genre feast.

Currently in theaters and on HBO Max.

Don't Miss It.

Fix, Manage, And Control

When you grow up in chaos
in order to survive

you learn how to manage

people, places, and things

as best you can

to mitigate uncertainty

to minimize risk

to protect yourself

the problem is

as an adult

the world, life

cannot be controlled

yet that compulsion remains

having endured the chaos

having emerged from the crucible of dysfunction

the impulse remains

and it distorts

manifests as manipulation

righteous anger

guilt trips

narcissism

perpetuating the same behaviors

seeding the trauma for the next generation.

The cycle can be broken.

It takes work

but above all

a willingness to do the work.

'No Time To Die' A Review

No Time To Die is an action drama, the latest in the Bond franchise, the last to feature Daniel Craig as 007. After the events of Spectre Bond retires with Madeleine(Léa Seydoux) but the two become estranged after an ambush. Flash forward five years Bond is alone in the Caribbean and is brought back into the fold when a secret diabolical weapon is hijacked by a mysterious and scarred villain, Lyutsifer(Rami Malik). 

Craig is a compelling Bond but his tenure has overstayed it's welcome. In this installment they fumbling attempt to inject some pathos but comes across as melodrama. There is little action, which Craig is always competent with, because so much time is taken sewing  up and concluding mostly irrelevant plot threads from Craig's tenure in the franchise. Seydoux and Craig don't have great chemistry and she's mostly phoning it in as she doesn't have much to do on the page. Malik throws himself into the mustache twirling Bond villain mold but the character, backstory, and context are muddled and boring. Ana de Armas shows up as a CIA agent for a brief sequence in Cuba and she's a standout, as she seems to actually be having fun and her character isn't weighed down by ponderous backstory. Lashana Lynch as Nomi a new 00 agent is well cast but she's given virtually nothing to do.

Visually slick but in some ways woefully lacking personality in its kind of generic Hollywood globe trotting sheen, the production is solid but unfortunately the script is very much not. Craig's Bond differentiated itself but its darkness, its focus on action, his Bond more solider/assassin than spy which was pretty effective depending on which of his first three Bond movies you look at but starting with Spectre and continuing with No Time To Die they have drifted away from that attempting to inject some character dimension, emotional complexity, and humor and are roundly unsuccessful. Not to say they can't evolve the character but they didn't do it successfully. The jokes fall completely flat, the "emotional" moments are ineffective because the situations are either overly dramatic or have no stakes rendering it all moot. Craig's tenure began with a focus on "realism" but has since evolved into the same over-the-top world-ending preposterous for which the franchise is known, which is fine, but, the self-serious tone set by Craig's Bond doesn't mesh with that. If you're going to have a preposterously scarred mincing villain who is attempting to cull the world's population with genetically programed nanites there needs to be some awareness that tonally there should be some levity, that that premise is kind of silly.

Plodding, bloated, generic, and all around flat.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Don't See It.

Franzen

Meh.
I've read better.

'Copshop' A Review

Copshop is an action/thriller about Teddy(Frank Grillo), a mob fixer turned informant, who is being hunted by hitman Bob(Gerard Butler), who are both locked up in a small-town jail by rookie cop Val(Alexis Louder). As Val attempts to get to the truth of her two perps the clock ticks down on the contract on Teddy's life and another contractor, the psychotic Tony(Toby Huss) launches a full scale assault on the titular copshop.

Grillo and Butler have presence but because of the size of the budget and the constrained nature of the script they are mostly hamstrung for the bulk of the runtime, being confined to holding cells and having to do simple straight-up scene work, not one of either of their strengths. Louder fairs much better and  has a bit more mobility, both emotionally and physically, within which to play. But the real star here, the biggest, and perhaps only, reason to see the movie is Huss who gives an absolutely ecstatic performance as Bob's unhinged hitman competitor. He gets the tone perfect, he's funny but menacing, and, as with all his performances, he has an effortlessness on screen, he almost glides through the frame, he's like some weird, lunatic, vaudevillian, dancer. He's truly incredible. For the most part, unfortunately, the rest of the cast, although all around decent, fail to reach his level.

Old school and competent Copshop has a solid, almost classic, set up, with a talented cast but seems to butt up against the confines of the script. Butler is essentially on the bench for the majority of the narrative, a miscalculated choice, Grillo has a horrible distracting wig and the audience is already aware of his situation long before the cops catch up creating an unnecessary and protracted drag in the middle of the picture. Ultimately casting Grillo and Butler, two of the most recognizable, traditional action stars working today, works against the movie when they engage in no action until the last ten minutes. Louder and particularly Huss are great but they don't balance out the inactivity of Grillo and Butler.

Mostly slow, very little burn.

Currently in theaters and available to rent on VOD.

Stream It.

'Lamb' A Review

 Lamb is a supernatural family drama about a married couple who are farmers in rural Iceland. The film opens on an unseen, heavy breathing creature making its way into the sheep barn then sometime later when Maria(Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar(Hilmir Snær Guðnason) are delivering their herd's lambs the last one is special. They then take it into their home to raise it as their own.

Rapace is always an absolute joy on screen, total confidence, total commitment but here she(and the film as a whole) operates mostly in the silence, in the restrained, and it's a wonderful change of pace for her. Much is quietly implied or inferred but there's very little dialogue in general and much of the emotional exposition has to be gleaned. Guðnason and her have wonderful chemistry and he brings a much needed, but subtle, optimism. Much time is spent on their day-to-day practical life on the farm and it's lived in, effective. As they raise Ada, their marriage gradually mends, and its a wonderful slow healing. Björn Hlynur Haraldsson as Ingvar's brother Pétur enters about half way through the story, and he's decent but his character's inclusion doesn't seem particularly necessary.

Utilizing the beautiful Icelandic landscape the film is beautiful, the score understated and foreboding, and the pacing is near perfect. An almost glacial build that never gets boring, anchored by the slow unfolding of the two lead performances. The one flaw, if it is one, is that the classic-horror resolve is somewhat perfunctory, it's not that it's unearned exactly but feels a bit obvious, a bit counter to the whole tone proceeding it. Perhaps it was a way to sell the film, to classify it for marketing and distribution, but it's clear what the film is really concerned about isn't the origin titular lamb but this couple and their marriage.

A fascinating rural family drama with a health dose of doom.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

See It.

Grace

Getting sober
one of the first lessons you learn

early and often
is that not everyone makes it

and its tragic

it never stops being tragic

it never stops being hard

but that's part of the struggle

there's no cure

it requires constant effort

sustained diligence

but above all

the willingness to do

and continue to do

whatever it takes

to stay clean, to stay sober

to remain on the path

and it's not easy

some people are too young to get it

some too old to want to try

some can't imagine a life without using

some are in too much pain to give it up

some go on unconvinced of the inevitable end

unaccepting of the evidence all around them

this is how the disease works

it undermines, it alters, it manipulates

and it is hungry, ravenous

this is the reality and it is heartbreaking

blame or pity have no place in this

only compassion, only grief

and you do your best

and you keep moving forward

and you get through it

and maybe tomorrow is a little bit better than today

'Titane' A Review

Titane is a body horror film about dancer/serial killer Alexia(Agathe Rousselle) who connects with a mourning father/fireman Vincent(Vincent Lindon). The film opens on a car ride with Alexia as a child antagonizing her father(Bertrand Bonello) prior to an accident which resulted in a plate being installed in her head. Whether Alexia's issues are nature, nurture, and/or psychological is a theme throughout along with body dysmorphia and gender.

Rousselle gives a fearless performance with some extremely challenging physical scenes(to perform as well as watch) along with a character exceedingly thin on the page, yet she soars. Lindon has the only other character with any real screentime or substance and he does a wonderful job marrying the incredibly bizarre "story" with some actual human emotion and reality. The supporting cast only have brief appearances and function almost solely as plot mechanics or set dressing, one of which even says his name is "Conscience" making his function blatantly and oddly literal given the more metaphorical/allegorical bent the film takes everywhere else.

Inspired production design makes for a very engrossing if periodically exceptionally off putting experience. The body horror scenes are very long and detailed frequently stretching beyond the uncomfortable to the grotesque, these protracted scenes seem to function mostly on the basis of themselves alone ie they are gross and shocking in order to be gross and shocking without much clarity or purpose beyond the sheer novelty of simply depicting them at length. And while there are some truly transcendent moments, sequences, and ideas contained within, the total is somewhat less than the sum of its parts. It is more concerned with a kind of ascendant baroque disgust with a generous helping of shame laid out in a series of beautiful and disturbing impressionistic moments than anything resembling a coherent narrative with actual characters. 

Ambitious, bold, and bludgeoning it is not for everyone and maybe only for a select few because it is incredibly challenging with what it depicts and it leaves it up to the viewer to decide what its all for, if anything. Which, yes, can be very frustrating. Is it well made? Yes, very. Is it well acted? Yes, very. Is it about something? It seems to be but what, I can't exactly articulate. Is it worth it? That's the real question. I think yes. It is unapologetically Art with a capital A, Cinema with a capital C. Is it pleasant? No, not at all. Is it important, especially, given the glut of superheroes, comfort TV, and the corporate monopolization and homogenization of media? Again, I think yes.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD. Trigger Warning: contains graphic depictions of violence, sexuality, and self harm.

Rent It.

'I'm Your Man' A Review

 I'm Your Man is a scifi romance about scientist Alma(Maren Eggert) who participates in a three week study with a humanoid robot, Tom(Dan Stevens) designed to fulfill her romantically. Initially put off Alma slowly develops a connection with Tom as Tom as evolves to be a better match for Alma.

The film is basically a two hander and Eggert and Stevens have wonderful chemistry. Stevens plays it with his usual and unflinching charm but leavens it with a simplicity, almost navite, and a kind of programmed moral goodness that really pops. Eggert has more ground to cover, her role having to be the humanity stand-in and she does wonderfully. We get a great sense of her emotional state and backstory with very little exposition, just her demeanor and how various scenes play out. It's really touching, occasionally touching, but also more real and cerebral(given the premise) than a typical rom com. The supporting cast is solid but the film is for all intents and purposes a two-hander.

Shot with a practicality that helps to root the story in the real rather than some fictitious future, the production is solid if lacking virtually any flourishes. Although there is an excellent scene at night in a museum where there's an ancient temple where the two share a kiss, that's contrasted by an incredibly odd scene with Tom in a field of CGI deer. In aggregate it works but there's nothing that really pops.

An interesting and much more engaging counterpoint to 2013's Her, the human/machine dynamic here is investigated with a lot of compassion and emotional weight(on both sides) although the conclusion the film seems to draw is a bit disappointing in its collegiate existential apathy, despite that the journey is mostly worth it.

Currently in theaters coming soon to VOD.

Rent It.

Normalcy

In a mid-pandemic life

social interaction

is complicated

by communities contraction

chit-chat out of practice

reticence to touch or hug

greetings rusted from inaction

So awkward I may be

more use to silence

and prone to disagree

or to fill a space

inadequately

with an unrelated comment

or an opinionated decree

Still the sweetness of connection

is a balm to the global infection

the old normal dead and gone

and from it rises a timid dawn.

'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' A Review

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a superhero movie, a sequel to 2018's Venom. Brock(Tom Hardy) is living somewhat effectively if not easily with symbiote Venom(also Hardy), when he's asked to visit a death row inmate Kasady(Woody Harrelson), the two have an altercation and a symbiote is incubated within Kasady which comes out at his lethal injection. He escapes and only Venom can stop him!

Hardy again turns in a great performance, balancing humor and action and this kind of befuddled-schlub-everyman quality. There's even more humor in this installment with a lot of Hardy-as-Brock and Hardy-as-Venom gags and Hardy clearly relishes it. Harrelson, god bless him, looks old and feels a bit too old for the part. He does a decent job, he's a pro, but his Carnage just doesn't have much energy or umph especially with Hardy in contrast. The wonderful Naomie Harris is underutilized as is Michelle Williams. A couple people in the supporting cast has some fun turns but ultimately the movie is more concerned with the superhero machinations of the plot and they're the least interesting thing about the movie.

A slick look and solid mo-cap/animation for the symbiotes make for an engaging look, the action is mostly dynamic if overly CGI'd(a criticism that could be leveled at virtually every superhero flick), an effective if mostly forgettable soundtrack, and some nice on location San Francisco shooting make for a solid production if not one that particularly differentiates itself in any way from the superhero landscape.

Basically its fine, but with a property and a lead that beg for something more bizarre and outside the box Venom: Let There Be Carnage stays inside the lines way to often.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Stream It

'Red Dog' A Review

Red Dog is a documentary about a group of people who worked at the famous Oklahoma City strip club Red Dog in the 80's, as told primarily through the perspective of dancer Kim and her son Luke who co-made the feature who was born and spent his early childhood in and around the club.

Virtually all the interview subjects are fascinating characters- candid, insightful, unapologetic about their lives but not shirking responsibility for some of the more wild behavior or down playing it. It's remarkably honest, paints a vivid compelling picture of a time and place and set of circumstances, and has incredible emotional depth and resonance. 

The composition is relatively straightforward with documentary mainstays- talking head interviews, extensive use of personal photographs and home movies, as well as brief snippets of the current landscape, but they also include small effective animated sequences reenacting some of the stories told by the subjects. Taken together it really works and even if the construction is somewhat standard it feels fresh because of the unique characters, their honesty, and their perspective. They have clearly lived lives, they have clearly grown, survived, endured. And all the life gives them a magnetic strength not to mention a cutting humor.

A delightful, moving surprise.

Currently streaming on Hulu.

See It.