'The Menu' A Review

The Menu is an absurdist thriller about Margo(Ana Taylor-Joy) a last minute guest of Tylor(Nicolas Holt) to a extremely exclusive fine dining restaurant located on a island. As the meal, presided over by head chef Chef Slowik(Ralph Fiennes) commences it becomes clear there is something sinister afoot.

Taylor-Joy is captivating as ever, she's able here to play a bit more grounded than her other 2022 offerings(Amsterdam, The Northman) and acts, in essence, as the audience surrogate. Unfamiliar and uninterested in haute cuisine, the only diner not of the 1%, and the only character we really care about her realism helps propel a lot of the peril and humor. Fiennes does one of the things he does best, mix threat with compassion, his performance kind of writhes with contradictions- pride, thwarted ambition, regret, principle- it's impressive as always. A good follow up to his 2021 underseen and underappreciated turn in The Dig. Holt is decent but whether in the performance or the script, the character fails to gain much traction especially opposite Taylor-Joy and Fiennes although in his final scene it really clicks. The supporting cast is impressive - John Leguizamo, Judith Light(Angela!), Janet McTeer(all diners), and Hong Chau(the maitre d’). None have particularly large parts but all function to elevate and deepen the film which, almost totally, takes place in one location.

The film has a realistic foodie-crispness, no surprise as a Chef's Table director was involved as well as various fine dining professionals, the score is relatively minimal but effective, the restaurant itself and the locations are all beautiful but also have an appropriately haunting kind of gothic isolation. The real triumph is the script, with great darkly comic moments sending up fine dining as well as the rich while at the same time making some pretty effective and direct commentary on class, the service industry, and economic exclusivity not to mention a couple moments of real violence. Tonally its an odd highwire act but never falters.

Laughs, gore, hope, and just desserts.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Don't Miss It. 

Cooking For My Parents

Some things can't be forgiven
Some things can't be forgotten
Some times regret doesn't dissipate
But most things can be healed.

'Slumberland' A Review

 Slumberland is a family fantasy/adventure movie about Nemo(Marlow Barkley) who goes on adventures in her dreams, based on the 90's comic strip. Growing up on an isolated island lighthouse with her father(Kyle Chandler) Nemo is content but when he is lost at sea she is forced to live with her awkward estranged uncle(Chris O'Dowd) and begins escaping into her dreams hunting treasure with Flip(Jason Momoa) a former friend of her father.

Barkley is assured and emotional, realistic if not exactly electric, occasionally wooden, a serviceable YA lead. Momoa is the real stand out, going for broke, clearly delighting in the opportunity to go this big and not having to be a hunk. It's kind of his version of Beetlejuice and it's great. O'Dowd is funny and also kind of heartbreaking as the clueless, cold, door knob salesman and his pay off is pretty sweet. Chandler, although only in the movie briefly, is wonderful as the loving yet grieving dad.

Visually the movie is mostly CGI but it's well done and the designs are imaginative, it works, and it takes advantage of the dream-setting, there are a couple different set pieces and sequences and its enough to feel like its properly taken advantage of, we are transported to this dream-world. An effective execution(as opposed to something like Doctor Strange 2 where the multiverse is only really shown in one montage sequence). A decent soundtrack and fun costumes make for an all around solid production.

It's a relatively straightforward family movie, the adventure is fun, the lessons(and plot) are maybe a bit obvious but it never slips into saccharine territory. It's ambitions are simple and in those it succeeds.

An engaging family adventure if not an amazing one with a career-best performance from Momoa.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

Art For Art's Sake

I've got paid to act
a couple times

each one contained

a bit of grime

So I gave up

that partial dream

although it had

a lustrous sheen

To do the things

I want and when

in pursuit of

joy and health

The only goal

is the thing itself

not a means

to reach a future end

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' A Review

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a superhero movie, the sequel to 2018's Black Panther. The movie begins with the death of T'Challa(as a result of the death of Chadwick Boseman), as Wakanda mourns world powers get bolder in their attempts to seize vibranium and a superpowered-secret-underwater-nation is discovered and is inexplicably and totally hostile particularly bafflingly to Wakanda.

Perhaps as a result of superhero fatigue, the quick turnaround, and the untimely death of it's star there's a lot of weariness about the movie, in it's script, visuals, direction, and it's cast. Letitia Wright becomes the defacto lead and is unfortunately not up to it, she is clearly out of her depth and is unable to bring the presence needed to hold the movie together and the script calls for her to act counter to what has been set up in her previous appearances. Angela Basset, Lupita Nyong'o, and Winston Duke are the only ones that are able to recapture their electricity, quite frankly they are the only ones that really feel human in an increasingly convoluted illogical story. The wonderful Danai Gurira is done a disservice and is mostly side lined(as well as burdened with a truly awful 'superpowered' suit). All in all it's kind of a mess.

Visually the movie is dreary, dark, overly stuffed with CGI verging on the indecipherable at times. The idea of the Talokan is intriguing but it's execution strains credulity far beyond the shattering point. None of it make sense. The score is more muted and underutilized than it's predecessor, there are in essence no stand out scenes(dramatic, comedic, or action) with or without a needle drop. It is clear this was rushed and it is clear it was made by people still processing their grief. It's heartbreaking but it simply does not come together, it fails to capture virtually every aspect of the first film that made it great. The movie is book ended with two moving tributes for T'Challa and by extension Chadwick Boseman, and those are really powerful, if this movie had to be made it should have only dealt with the death of the Black Panther, introducing new characters, a war, international espionage, an entirely new civilization is simply too much.

Exhausted and exhausting. Too soon.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to Disney+.

Don't See It.

'Master Of Light' A Review

Master Of Light is a documentary about George Anthony Morton, a classical painter. The film follows Morton as he paints, goes to museums, discusses Rembrandt, starts therapy, and returns to his hometown to contend with his past and paint his family.

The film contends with a wide range of themes- race, racism, incarceration, drugs, poverty, familial trauma, transformation, and art. Shot in an unintrusive fly-on-the-wall style with some audio narration taken from straightforward interviews it coveys a quiet intimacy juxtaposed with an unshakeable sense of volatility, a reflection of it's subject. The socio-economic situation is very complex and it would be easy to make judgements, prescribe shortcuts(as Morton's girlfriend perhaps justifiably does at one point) but neither Morton or director Rosa Boesten is willing to turn away and as a result what the film conveys is much more nuanced and powerful. It is clear his past and his struggles is intricately woven with his journey as an artist, the two things are in some ways combined, so both for Morton and for Boesten as she puts the film together these two themes reflect and help to explain each other. It's fascinating and singular.

Emotionally demanding, engrossing, insightful.

Currently streaming on HBO Max.

See It.

The Mantra Of The Present Time

I am Steven Nelson
Born Rockford, Illinois
Resident Chicago, Illinois
Sober alcoholic

Grateful husband, son, brother, uncle, friend
And this is the moment. Now.

'Stutz' A Review

Stutz is a documentary made by Jonah Hill about him and his therapist Phil Stutz. The movie is, mostly, in black and white and loosely follows a series of therapy session where Stutz breaks down his methodology and we learn a bit about the two men as they open up to each other during the process. 

Even though Hill says at one point he has been in therapy for five years this, similar to Selena Gomez's doc, feels too soon. Hill seems to be very much still in the process of healing. He is too raw, too agitated to offer much perspective or wisdom. The movie is not so much a mechanism to share insight but an extension of his therapeutic process. Which is fine, however, he(like Gomez, same with Matthew Perry on his recent book tour) repeatedly says that he wants his struggle to help people which is noble. However he is still clearly very much still in the process of arriving and above and beyond simply normalizing therapy doesn't have much to offer. 

Stutz is much more confident, much more assured, and is clearly a professional and it is clear his process has helped/is helping Hill. However, whether intentional or not, his process is framed as unique. Hill says at the beginning that he tried "traditional" therapy for a long time and it never worked for him until he met Stutz, implying he has a "non-traditional" approach. But what we see is very much  contemporary therapy(there's discussion of visualization, calming, breathing techniques, discussion about the inner child which Stutz calls the "shadow"), Stutz may have his own individual vocabulary but the concepts are very much modern therapy as it exists. This, needless to say, is odd and adds an air of pretention to the movie which- with its black and white cinematography, it's meta turn in the first act, and just the socio-economic privilege that underscores the whole scenario- is already kind of pretentious.

Not to say Stutz isn't a great therapist, he clearly is, not to say he hasn't helped Hill who has, as a result, made a lot of progress, he clearly has. Stutz's concepts are very clear, very actionable, and that's great. But it all raises the question, who is this for? Any audience that would watch this movie is most likely already comfortable with the idea of therapy if not had direct experience with it. Superbad fans who have social or emotional prejudices or barriers against therapy aren't watching this movie. And what it offers above the generic therapy-is-normal celebs-do-it-to is not anything you couldn't find on the wiki for CBT(Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) or other contemporary effective methodologies.

It's clear Stutz and Hill have a special relationship and Stutz has helped Hill which is wonderful. But it takes a certain level of narcissism to believe that that is unique especially to the extent that it is documentary worthy. Because celebrities had to go through the struggle and trauma of the pandemic(just like everyone else even if our experiences differ by a matter of degree) I suspect therapy as a subject of documentaries and features will continue in the zeitgeist but the reality is that the 99% have been dealing with these issues longer and with much more severity so what is needed isn't simply "this thing exists and is good" but what do we have to learn as a result.

More self-involvement than self-actualization.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Don't See It.

'Causeway' A Review

Causeway is a drama about wounded veteran Lynsey(Jennifer Lawrence) returning to her home town of New Orleans to recuperate. She meets mechanic James(Brian Tyree Henry) and the two develop a cautious friendship.

After a little over a decade Lawrence returns to the type of indie material that launched her career and she seems to have lost the assurance she displayed in her break out Winter's Bone. It's not that the performance doesn't work but there seems to be an undeniable vein of artifice running through it. Perhaps given her high profile career and media scrutiny there is an extra barrier that she has to contend with that she didn't as an unknown. Even so, whether it's partly the performance or partly the script there is something that feels calculated and that's distracting. Henry is wonderfully at ease, charming, emotional, and real. The two have decent chemistry but his naturalism, by contrast, makes her struggles more apparent.

Shot on location in New Orleans, the locale has a richness and character that's refreshing(its not Atlanta standing in for literally any/all US cities). The score is subtle and effective, the production design restrained and real. The script itself though is a bit generic, seems almost fearful of delving too deeply into the emotion of either of it's co-leads. The two each have, very well put together, monologue moments which simply feel too clean to be honest. In tone it is too deliberate to achieve it's intent. Dog tackles the wounded-veteran-wanting-to-reenlist with much more electricity and truth.

Passable but immature.

Currently streaming on Apple+.

Stream It.

On The Progression Of Alcoholism

The first time I got arrested
I was frightened.
The second time
I was relieved.

'The Banshees of Inisherin' A Review

The Banshees of Inisherin is a drama(billed as a tragicomedy) about two friends in a small island community in 1922 Ireland who "break-up". Pádraic(Colin Farrell) goes to meet his friend Colm(Brendan Gleeson) for their routine afternoon pint only to be ignored by Colm, later at the pub Colm tells him he no longer wants to be friends and not to speak to him. Pádraic struggles to accept this and tensions ensue.

Farrell's considerable talents are extremely muted by the character which is described as dull and dim, which is what we see, there are two brief moments when Farrell and the character come alive one when he's drunk the other when he is grief-stricken. But that's really it. A "dull and dim" character written/portrayed explicitly as such, with little depth, little understanding, little maturity, just isn't really that interesting especially given he is the lead. You don't really care about him, which is fine, but also the circumstances aren't interesting enough to engage with beyond him. Gleeson has a bit more depth but he too is constrained by the whole conceit of the script. Who gives a shit about these two hot-headed, frustrated, emotionally stunted, knuckleheads, I don't. Kerry Condon as Siobhán, Pádraic's sister, is the only character(and the only performance) that actually feels dimensional, feels human, but she's mostly a supporting character, relevant narratively only through her relationship to her brother. Barry Keoghan shows up and does fine I guess but he is doing the exact same twitchy half-wit characterization that we've seen from him before multiple times (most recently in The Green Knight).

The film looks beautiful, sweeping rich panoramics of this Irish island, expansive stone walls, jutting cliffs, animals chomping grass, its gorgeous. The score is not particularly effective with the same discordant theme hammering over and over again to bludgeon us with "something is amiss!" the diegetic songs are wonderful and offer the only hope and grace in the whole thing. Tonally its confused, at times it seems to want to play as realism, other times allegory, it kind of slides from one to the other based on cinematic convivence calling into question the effectiveness of either style.

As a portrait of loneliness I suppose it is functional but it is thin, anemic, it offers no real insights on the human condition and doesn't really portray humanity with any real affection or understanding beyond the superficial. More broadly what the hell does this thing have to teach us we didn't learn over the course of the pandemic. Compare this with A Love Song which mediates on solitude and the yearning for connection but does so in a way that is empowering and hopeful, that speaks to resilience rather than despair.

Not funny enough to counteract the simplistic, undergraduate, existential fumblings of it's main theme.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Don't See It.

Reserve Tank

Most motorcycles

don't have
gas gauges

for a buffer

they have 

the reserve tank

an extra half gallon

you can access

in times of need

'Enola Holms 2' A Review

Enola Holmes 2 is a period mystery, a sequel to the 2020 movie, about Sherlock Holmes's niece Enola(Millie Bobby Brown). After the events of the first installment she's gone out on her own to open a detective agency. Unfortunately being a young woman she finds it difficult to engage clients until a little match girl with a missing sister sets her on the hunt to a bigger conspiracy than she bargained for!

Like in it's predecessor- Brown is charming as ever but lacks depth, Henry Cavill as Sherlock is miscast, Helena Bonham Carter is great but functions barely more than a cameo. The new heavy is David Thewlis as Grail who is wonderful but there's just not a lot for the mostly talented cast to dig in to.

Decent production design, with the slickness of a healthy budget, don't do much to belay the general apathy that's conveyed. The script(deviating in this installment from the YA source material) is overly convoluted, the action sequences too sparse, the red herrings too plentiful, the characters underdeveloped, the moralizing immature bordering on trite. It's not terrible but it is one of Netflix's just-watchable-enough-not-to-turn-off type of features that seem to be their unfortunate stock-in-trade at this point.

Meh.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Stream It.

'Selena Gomez: My Mind And Me' A Review

Selena Gomez: My Mind And Me is a documentary about the performer taking place over the past six years(or so). The movie is a glimpse into her life during that time showing her preparing for tours, doing press, meeting with her management, struggling with her health and mental health, returning to her home town, and going to Kenya on a philanthropic mission, this cut with occasional segments of narration from Gomez's diary.

It's seems to be a trend of celebrity docs to be made prematurely(Val, Sheryl, David Crosby), the artist in question needs to grapple with some issue or discovery and part of them working through that process is making a movie about it. All good. But the issue is that at that point the artist themselves has little to no perspective. Gomez is in the throughs of her adulthood, her Lupus, her new bipolar diagnosis. She is still grappling with it all, coming to terms with it, attempting to process it, figuring out a new way of living to manage and pursue her passions and what she thinks is important. That's great. But its not particularly interesting to watch nor is there much, if any, insight to be gained. Her simply putting her health and mental health struggles out there raises exposure and puts that stuff more firmly in the cultural discussion. That's great. But beyond that the movie seems to have very little to say because Gomez simply hasn't had time to gain much wisdom about any of these issues and as a result cannot impart wisdom she has yet to gain.

There are two other issues with the movie. One, even though Gomez is compelling(as a person and performer, check out Only Murders In The Building btw she's amazing) there is an air of entitlement, privilege, and the kind of repugnant naivete of the rich that permeants a lot of it. Not to diminish her struggles or her back ground or what she's gone through or the artistic/chartable work she does but what we see in the movie conveys an out-of-touchness that makes it difficult to connect. It's not a deal breaker its just clearly there and not really addressed in any way so it sticks out. Kind of like when Michael Phelps came out about his depression, commendable and impactful no question, but he framed it in a way as if it was new, as if it was unique and for the working and shrinking middle class the struggle has been real for a long fucking time. It's complicated not cut and dry and ultimately there's just not a lot of nuance in the movie and it feels like that's because the subject and the filmmaker are unaware not because of deliberate choice.

Two, the industry is really messed up. Gomez, especially in the early scenes(2016-2017) talks about her body, as do those around her, in an incredibly dissociative way. She says explicitly at one point that she doesn't want to be a "product" while we see her(and her team) continually, vigorously commodifying her. She attempts to work while getting her Lupus and bipolar in check and she is very clearly in pain and miserable. Her team, some of which may be friends its unclear who's on the payroll and what their positions are, almost unilaterally diminish any and all complaints and problems she has, placating her, clearly in an effort to simply keep her working, keep the gravy train rolling. It's incredibly disturbing. But what's more disturbing is its unclear if Gomez or the filmmakers even recognize this. In the context of the movie it feels like this is normal, this is SOP.

I have a lot of respect for Gomez and I'd love to see something like this from her five years from now. But as is the movie is too raw with too little understanding.

Currently streaming on Apple+.

Don't See It.

'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story' A Review

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a biopic parody about the titular musical parody artist. As a kid Al listens to Dr. Demento and gets interested in parody songs, his factory working father(Toby Huss) is aggressive and dismissive of his son's ambitions but his mother(Julianne Nicholson) secretly gets him an accordion. At a high school party Al lets loose and plays stunning and thrilling his peers only to return home and have his dad destroy his beloved instrument sending him out on his own. Sometime later Al(Daniel Radcliffe) lives with three buds and writes "My Bologna" launching his career.

Radcliffe, once again proving himself the most intriguing Potter graduate, brings a necessary iron-clad commitment to the absurdist story. He sells it and he's clearly having a ball. He scores the comedic crescendos and bizarre tangents as well as the pockets of real heart that populate the movie. It's impressive, from being one of the more bland HP kids he's grown into an eclectic talent. He dominates here, just absolutely off the leash, raw, funny, and explosive. Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna is also wonderful, she plays this skewed version of the pop princesses with a delicious avarice, an almost Bond villain level of relish. The two have great chemistry and effectively ground the increasingly preposterous plot developments. The supporting cast is stacked- Huss is always a knockout and this allows him to do what he does best- broad comedy with an unshakable commitment- Rainn Wilson is a much needed breezy compassionate presence, former child star Spencer Treat Clark(of Unbreakable fame) is great as one of Al's buds/band mates, Quinta Brunson shows up briefly as Oprah- it's all just so playful but commitment and bizarre. 

Clearly on a limited budget it still looks great. Solid locations/set design, pitch perfect period costuming, a great soundtrack(obviously and correctly mostly Weird Al tunes). It all just works. More so than the questionable cult hit Walk Hard it functions both as an effective(if fictitious) biopic as well as a send-up of the genre. There's just so much life to it, so much energy, which is all channeled through and coming from Radcliffe's lead performance as well as the pretty out-there but uncompromising script. There are some big swings almost all of which connect. It's a triumph in tone.

A joyous, surprising thrill ride. A guaranteed good time for Weird Al devotees and the uninitiated.

Currently streaming on the Roku Channel(app you can download for free with a Roku device).

Don't Miss It.

Inspiration

In 2000 my friend Ryan Green told me about High Fidelity,
he said it was great but if it wasn't John Cusack 

it'd be too much John Cusack.
My sister, home for spring break, took me and my friend Ben Geller.
We all liked it, I in particular, loved it. 

Not only for its insights into "adult" relationships

but for one of it's supporting characters, 

Jack Black's Barry.

As a chubby, sensitive, sometimes shy kid 

it was a revelation.

Heretofore I had to settle for Chris Farley, great 

but ultimately, at least on the big screen, a buffoon.

Or John Candy, too old, wise, and serene to really feel attainable.

Barry felt like someone I could be 

and there after I modeled myself after him.

I got louder, funnier, more opinionated, tougher.

Seeing that character 

gave me the permission 

to take up the space I had previously been too terrified to.

It gave me the example of the confidence I wanted.

I eventually moved on- Sam Jackson's Jules Winnfield was the next biggie.

But Barry was my number 1.

'Black Adam' A Review

Black Adam is a superhero movie about a beleaguered city(country?) that gets the hero it doesn't want(but needs?). The movie opens thousands of years in the past when a usurping king enslaves a people in search of their regions singular resource(sound familiar?). A hero rises, ordained by the council of wizards(?), he takes back the city but destroys(part of) it in the process. Thousands of years later(the present) a resistance fighter inadvertently awakens him, he is Teth-Adam(The Rock)!

The Rock brings his undeniable presence to the movie but is hamstrung by the characters limited humor and bleak outlook, he spends much of the movie floating around looking dour, not a good use of The Rock. The supporting cast are all serviceable but most are constrained by the convoluted plot, made too dense by layers of unnecessary exposition and multiple McGuffins that it renders the stakes virtually nil. The one bright spot is Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate who's able to push forward a fully formed personality as well as seems to be having a ball.

Visually the movie is pretty spectacular, particularly the fight scenes. All brightly lite, impactful, dynamic, with an element of visceral carnage and real danger that many superhero movies lack in their CGI sameness and PG-13 adherence. Here Black Adam feels genuinely dangerous and unpredictable which feels different and cool. The costumes are great, the score is catchy, it simply fails from the stand point of the script which attempts to pack two or three movies worth of plot into one. It's too complicated and as a result the pacing after the first act is sluggish. The attempts at allegory come across as clumsy rather than inspiring.

Lower tier superhero fair despite considerable potential.

Currently in theaters coming soon to HBO Max.

Stream It.