'The Killer' A Review

The Killer is a thriller about the titular hitman played by Michael Fassbender. The film opens on a mysterious killer in Paris on a stake out. With meditative voice over the Killer goes through his mantra(repeated throughout) and his morning physical routine. The hit goes wrong and he is forced to do something he does not do- improvise.

Fassbender, in what is outside of a couple scenes a solo performance in a solo film, is exquisite. He does what he does best- play the emotionally challenged, fully competent, stoic. The precision, the methodicalness, the voice over, it all serves to portray this extremely questionable character in an incredibly satisfying way. It reflects the production around him, all very clean, sharp, controlled, aiming for perfection. Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Kerry O'Malley, Tilda Swinton are all great but basically only have a scene each and serve really only as obstacles for the Killer to contend. In that way the film is beautifully symbiotic, watching we are the character, what we see and hear is what he sees and hears, the information focused on is only what he focuses on, his thoughts are spoken via voice over so they are our thoughts. There is no extra fat, it is all lean, all essential.

Does the film have anything to say? Not much. Or at least its themes(control, power) are more broad and nebulous. There is a focus, almost an ecstatic pleasure, in process and character rather than story. This is an excellent, gripping, meticulously constructed, adult thriller. That's it. The plot is probably its weakest element and almost irrelevant. It is a tour de force for Fassbender(who hasn't had a particularly good role since 2015's Macbeth) and a perfect marriage to director David Fincher's penchant for obsessive, exacting production.

In a world of the John Wick and Extraction franchises, which could(at least on paper) be lumped in with this, the lack of interest in action here(although the brief sequences of such are immaculately staged) is beyond refreshing. Some may find this film too cold, too clinical, but it could not be more effective getting you into the mind and spirit of this character and in that it is exceptionally satisfying.

Delicious in its clarity, a transcendent turn by Fassbender, and Fincher at the height of his craft.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to Netflix.

Don't Miss It.

Simple. Not Easy.

We are conditioned
with ambition
money, power, position
these are things
we are taught
to pursue
and on attaining
will be satiated

The Great American Fiction

I recognized the persuasion

in the declaration

so I got small

went inward

but like wealth

contentment is no easy

aspiration

Simple, not easy

is the mode of operation

trite abstractions

honesty, humility, service

the guide 

for daily interactions

unattainable is perfection

but in the pursuit lies satisfaction

'The Saint Of Second Chances' A Review

The Saint of Second Chances is a documentary about Mike Veeck minor league baseball owner and promotor and son of Bill Veeck major league baseball owner and promotor. Through archival footage, re-enactments, and talking head interviews the career of Mike and the legacy of his father are laid out with laid back humor and heart.

As far as its construction the movie is not particularly unique, it has the same components we've seen repeatedly from the genre(that has seen quite a boom during the streaming era due to its low production cost) and its put together in a familiar way. But the story itself is unconventional, compelling, fun, and spotlights a man who has a pretty quintessential underdog story. A story of failure and redemption and brings new energy and interest to America's favorite pastime(as Mike himself did).

A breezy, entertaining, occasionally insightful doc about a man who deserves to have his story told, deserves a chance in the broader spotlight.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

'The Pigeon Tunnel' A Review

The Pigeon Tunnel is a documentary about the life and career of author John le Carré aka David Cornwell through an interview with the subject, reenactments, and clips from various adaptations of his work.

The film has the same sleekness and edge that director Errol Morris has developed over the years but as far as the content it is solidly in the middle of the pack as far as his work goes. Cornwell is an interesting guy but he was famous and relevant 50 years ago, which is not a dig, but within the film there is an assumption that we the viewer not only know who he is but are aware of specifics about his life. So the result is a lack of context for some of the routes the questioning and the film go down. Cornwell provides some interesting insights but the net effect is relatively thin. Not to put to fine a point on it but there were moments where the viewer is left wondering, unless they are a big Cornwell fan, who cares?

Not as directly unsatisfying or irresponsible as some of Morris's other recent features like American Dharma and The Unknown Known more akin to his more modest work, eccentric examinations of interesting characters, like Tabloid but lacking the punch or interest of his seminal The Fog Of War or the more recent docuseries Wormwood.

Morris is one of our greatest living documentarians and any new work of his is worthy of a watch but hopefully he has at least one more great work in him because this ain't it.

Currently streaming on Apple+.

Stream It.

Unbelief

A common trope
in horror stories
a common barrier

is the characters inability

to accept the supernatural

or the monstrous

or simple danger

denial is frequently

the prominent villain

and most horror stories

like many genre yarns

function as allegory

so what does this oversight

have to teach us

our disbelief

in the boogeyman

does not mean

he is not hiding in the closet

our unwillingness

to acknowledge our problems

our refusal to process them

does not mean they are not there

that they are not lurking, feeding

waiting to be confronted

Belief

What if
in Hook
Robin Williams wasn't actually Peter Pan
what if 

he was just a normal corporate guy
like he first appears
what if
once he gets to Neverland
it is simply the power of his belief
that facilitates 

his transformation
his decision

-Yes. I am Peter Pan.-
the catalyst for his becoming

'The Creator' A Review

The Creator is a science fiction movie set in the near future about the rise of AI that follows Joshua(John David Washington) a former covert military operative who has since become disenchanted but is pulled back in and maybe learns to feel again after befriending child AI Alphie(Madeleine Yuna Voyles).

Washington seems a bit adrift in this role, he has talent no question, but he doesn't have the unshakable presence and contagious magnetism of his father who could bring mediocre movies like Virtuosity up in quality simply be being in them. Washington is bogged down by the derivative, convoluted, borderline incoherent plotting and the thinly drawn character he's asked to play. He has good moments but overall he is lost. Voyles is great but underutilized. The rest of the cast truly have very little to do.

The movie looks incredible, it sounds incredible, the world building is very good but when it comes to ground level narrative and character it almost completely collapses. Blade Runner, Terminator, AI, The Fifth Element, even Elysium the list this movie pulls from goes on and on. And the problem is that it shows. There's too much going on, the pace is to fast, there's too much irrelevant plot that distracts and detracts from what the movie clearly wants to be about which is Joshua and Alphie's relationship and connection.

Outside of a purely sensory experience The Creator has little to offer. Its a shame because there is absolutely a great movie in there.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Stream It.

Night Deer

In the evening field
the silhouette
the ears, the antlers
the shadowed form
then, rising up
a dozen more
staking their supper claim
temerity lost in the dark

An Offering To Dancing Man

Deep inside the cave
the tour paused
to gather round an ancient glyph

a limestone sheet

painted, pre-history

by some ancestor three millennia ago

on the left

a human shape, arms and legs extended

as if in a leap

on the right

a jagged snake or bolt of lightening

as Kelly, our patient effusive ranger

explained to us these images

the fat barking boomer of the group barged to the front

to take a picture

and as he knelt and Kelly orated

he let out a loud rapacious fart

deafening, thunderous in Mammoth's stillness

and all of us in attendance

stunned, silent, stifling laughter

thus was fealty paid to Dancing Man

by our modern day equivalent- Farting Man.

I tell my sorrow to the stones

There is a stone
with epitaph:
her spirit smiles
from that far shore
and softly whispers
"weep no more"

and beyond death

this message seeks

one hundred years

and more it leaps

to my heart

this day it strikes

to remember well

a once bright light

Esline Age 1852-1912

Mammoth Cave

Second stop where were spending most of our time, Mammoth Cave. Beautiful forest and really cool long cave system. Did a tour each day we were here, the lantern one especially was great.

The Dunes

The beauty, the majesty
of the sand, the black oaks, the marsh
are marred

by the inescapable plumes

issuing from east and west

the steel mills, the power plant

not miles but yards away

from these fragile wonders

The tourists

all hauling beach chairs

and dragging dogs

glisten with lotion

as they lounge on the beaches

heedless of their slow pollution

and drink their Pabst

'Elemental' A Review

Elemental is an animated family romcom about anthropomorphized elements living in a city. Ember is conflicted about running her immigrant father's shop, during a pipe burst she has an accidental encounter with Wade, a city inspector, who reluctantly gives the building multiple citations. The two then work together to save the shop and fall in love in the process.

The voice cast is all talented but emotionally the movie doesn't really get off the ground. The script is trying to do too much, the allegory too convoluted and muddled, and as a result so is the narrative. Its cute, it looks great, although could have used some songs, but its thin and predictable. 

Not that every Pixar movie needs to reinvent the wheel but it seems recently they have fallen prey to Disney's inevitable homogenization. It feels like something we've seen before many times, its made of parts and sequences and scenes we've seen before many times, the setting and the fact the characters are elements is new, cool even, but what they do with it is pretty rote. Too much time is devoted to the inter-elemental conflict as well as the machinations of the store and too little is spent on what, presumably, should be the focus- the romance of the two main characters. Story and emotion are sacrificed for furthering the momentum of the plot.

A cheese plate appetizer rather than a meal, fills the belly but doesn't quite satisfy.

Currently streaming on Disney+.

Stream It.

Indiana Dunes

Headed out on our annual Fall vaca today, first stop the Dunes. Really nice but a bit overshadowed by the heavy industry around.