Dastmalchian is a great leading man, grounded, emotive, and in full control of the screen. Its wonderful to see him in this kind of role, being most frequently cast as the character or the creep. He's a soulful actor and he's able to bring that quality effectively to bear here in a context that really needs it. The supporting cast is all talented but have less to do, the exceptions are Laura Gordon as Dr. June Ross-Mitchell and Ingrid Torelli as Lilly, the duo that are the mainevent guests for the show as Lilly is possessed. Torelli is deliciously creepy and Gordon sparks good chemistry with Dastmalchian in the limited scenes they have. Ian Bliss is the one squeaky wheel, the character, as written, is pretty irritating but his performance doesn't bring much life to the plot's necessary contrarian.
Clearly on a limited budget the film looks authentic, evoking the 70's and late night network vibe. All the production elements, the narration, the montage, the costumes, the score, the show itself, all work together to evoke this cool transportive mood. The film doesn't fail in ambition or talent but it does fall a short in pacing, periodically it drags, and the ending isn't quite coherent or work particularly well. At times the plotting gets in the way of its impact. But it does feel fresh, there's a vitality to it, some edge, some danger.
Not a homerun but a solid base hit, satisfying with a great turn from Dastmalchian.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Rent It.
Love Lies Bleeding is a neo-noir set in an unspecified town in New Mexico in 1989. Lou(Kristen Stewart) is a lonely manager of a gym and has unspecified familial and law enforcement issues. Enter Jackie(Katy O'Brian) a transient bodybuilder on her way to a competition in Las Vegas. The two meet and begin a relationship while Jackie prepares. Lou's past and situation begin to interfere with the relationship and trouble ensues.
Stewart is miscast and brings her hipster aw-shucks shrugging to a role that requires more. O'Brian, in her first leading role, is clearly a talent to watch but doesn't have enough on the page to really carve out a character. The two have decent chemistry and it would have been nice to see them in a story not so bogged down by manufactured externals. Both are criminally underwritten and are propelled not by a real connection with each other or believable humanity but with the necessity of plot. It is glaring how contrived both the relationship and the situation the characters find themselves in are. The rest of the cast have very little to do and Jena Malone, a true star, is barely used. She would have been a better choice for Lou. Ed Harris's absurd wig does more acting than he does.
The film looks great, saturated and lush, the score thrumming and thrilling. But its all style no substance. Director/co-writer Rose Glass is an expert craftsperson, no question, but her screenwriting ability, at least in this effort, is little to none. She has no real sense of the time period, location, criminality, class, or fitness. All areas a rich prep school Londoner shouldn't get into without, at minimum, extensive research. Given the New Mexico setting the dearth of Latinx and Natives in the film is concerning. Understanding this is extra-textual but it underscores the inauthenticity that is an undercurrent throughout.
It is wonderful to see the representation and the uptick in queer filmmaking generally over the last couple years is encouraging but here there is almost a sprint to the stylized sex scenes proceeded by little-to-no character development which render them confusing at best, exploitive at worst.
Feels more like a protracted music video rather than a feature.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Don't See It.
Arthur The King is a feel-good sports drama about adventure racer Michael Light(Mark Wahlberg) who befriends a stray dog during an adventure race in the Dominican Republic.
Wahlberg gives the same performance that he has given over the past five years- blandly serviceable and indistinct. For this kind of flick that's mostly fine. There are some decent talents in the supporting cast but the script is so poor, the pacing so jagged, and the characters so thin it doesn't really matter who they are or what they're doing. The dog is very sweet.
Shoot on location as well as utilizing a fair amount of green screen the overall look is cheap and uneven. The sound track is generic inspirational and generally so are all the production elements. The reason to see this is for the dog but the problem is the dog doesn't really show up until over half way through the runtime. Its not even really about the dog, its about Wahlberg's Light who on paper isn't interesting and isn't made so by Wahlberg's performance. Much of the script and plot beats are baffling creating a vagueness, unreality, and general inability to engage.
There is a certain pleasure in saccharine feel-good dog movies like A Dog's Purpose, this ain't it.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Don't See It.
Damsel is a fantasy about Elodie(Millie Bobby Brown) a poor princess who is coerced into an infelicitous marriage. Made in Netflix's typical just-barely-watchable-enough-to-have-on-while-folding-laundry and extremely derivative given not only the almost exact same premised The Princess but the similar Catherine Called Bird and Ready Or Not all released within the last five years. Not to mention the exactly titled and similar(if Western set) Damsel.
Needless to say this movie is not good. And given the relatively substantial budget, one would guess between 50-100 million why has Netflix yet to solidify any note worthy relationship with theatrical distributors. This is not a good movie yet it is clearly attempting to be a major release, a defacto Blockbuster, this underscores Netflix's baffling approach to feature films. Regardless of its quality it would make some, if not quite a bit, of money in box office if given a national release. That would have little to no effect on Netflix's exclusive streaming rights or the number of views it would subsequently get on the platform. By also not releasing it into the open theatrical market its quality is not appropriately put to the test, and in this instance it is extremely poor(weak lead performance by Brown, predictable and unoriginal AI generated script, uneven visual effects). And if it were a straight-up bomb that would still provoke discussion and subsequently drive viewers to watch it on Netflix(if not in the theater). Win-win.
Clearly given how many of these types of movies that have been made recently(Ready Or Not being the superior by a wide margin and being a genuine box office success with a gross return of 1000%) there is a market or the studios perceive there to be a market for them. Why not put that to the test in the open market? Why not take some actual time and effort to make them good? Netflix currently has a limited contract with Landmark Theaters exclusively for showings of awards contenders to meet their minimum requirements for eligibility. There has been much discussion about the uncertain future of movie theaters, one of the clear issues is variety. One of the major reasons Dune: Part Two is a success is because there is simply nothing else to see right now.
All this is to say that the streamers, in particular Netflix, need to begin distributing their films into theaters. Its the best way forward for cinema and the best choice for them economically. This relationship between film and movie theaters is symbiotic. The medium of the TV, the device, is the TV show. The feature film is made for the movie theater.
Damsel currently streaming on Netflix.
Don't See It.
Problemista is a surrealist cringe comedy about Alejandro(Julio Torres, also written and directed by) a El Salvadoran immigrant to New York City an aspiring ironic-toy designer. When faced with a visa problem he befriends and begins to work as a personal assistant for Elizabeth(Tilda Swinton) a mentally unstable art critic and champion level Karen.
Torres Freshman film effort shows a lot of imagination, a lot of ambition, and a decent amount of visual flair and actuality, his effort as the lead is servicable but not as strong as his other efforts in the film. His characterization verges on a Napoleon Dynamite impersonation. Not overtly but in mannerism and in indicating a kind of vague intelligence, another influence in regards to the performance seems also to be Peter Sellers' Chance in Being There. This is not to say its bad but to simply say it doesn't come across as particularly original. Which is in stark contrast to Swinton's Elizabeth which, even if unpleasant as a character most of the time, is absolutely captivating to watch. Frequently Swinton's is cast as unknowable or distant or authoritative, its rare she gets a chance to be completely human(the Michael Clayton type roles for her are not frequent). Here she takes full advantage and gives a performance of singular quality. Outside the two of them the supporting cast is inconsequential, not in there talent but in their screentime and necessity to the narrative.
From a design standpoint Torres, out of the gate, has style, has point of view. Like his former SNL co-worker Kyle Mooney before him with Brigsby Bear, there is a clear sense of darkness and whimsy. A magical realism injected both in some of the emotional beats but in dream or representation sequences which are lovely to see. There is not one way to do a film although in the increasing homogenization of the studios most major releases follow the same screenwriting parameters, this does not. It has identity.
One can question how effective the film is and what, actually, is it trying to say. Those questions are more murky here, perhaps even off putting. There is a lot in the film, like many freshman features, it is overstuffed. With visuals and with ideas. But most of them are successful. The relationship between Alejandro and Elizabeth, the themes explored, are interesting. But the resolution of which leaves an odd, bitter, one imagines unintended, taste.
An intriguing new work from a promising talent.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
See It.
Spaceman is a scifi drama based on the 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia about a solo Czech astronaut Jakob(Adam Sadler) who is sent to investigate a mysterious cloud around Jupiter. Increasingly isolated Jakob reflects on his failing marriage with Lenka(Carey Mulligan) and is inexplicably visited by an alien creature he names Hanuš(Paul Dano).
As always its nice to see Sandler in this kind of register. Grounded, emotional, with the same open vulnerability he brings to both his dramatic and comedic roles. Its a lot to ask of him here as he never has any actual scene partners and he thrives in the company of actual humans, he does a good job but can't quite carry it to the finish line. This is partly the fault of the script which at times languishes and becomes repetitive. Mulligan gives a great performance but its more pastiche, more montage, than actual scene work as she is mostly shown through fragmentary flashbacks. Dano's vocal performance has depth but not a lot of variation.
The production is very effective, very vivid, but perhaps overly dark and gloomy furthering the already dark and gloomy story and dark and gloomy lead performance. At times it is a bit much, a bit oppressive. Which is perhaps the intent, regardless the result is too much sameness not enough variety. It is kind of a plodding trudge which becomes slightly numbing as the film progresses due to this lack of change in pacing or tone. It is transportive and the themes it grapples with are intriguing but it is not well rounded, it does not feel complete.
Ambitious and commendable if not quite successful.
Currently streaming on Netflix.
Rent It.
Dune: Part 2 is a scifi epic, the sequel to 2021's Dune, together an adaptation of the 1965 novel. Following the events of Part 1 Paul(Timothée Chalamet) is embedded with the Fremen, works with them to launch effective military attacks against the Harkonnen, establishes his place as a leader, fights against the Messiah prophecy, and falls in love with Chani(Zendaya).
There is much more plot in Part 2 and an even bigger cast. Most of which are good additions other than Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha who is out of his depth and is unable to provide the impression the film sets him up to make. He's got beautifully full attractive lips but his recent and rapid ascendance in Hollywood is somewhat baffling(as is Chalamet's for that matter, although Chalamet maintains a decent performance if not a definitive one). Because of so much that needs to happen in this installment character development and dimension is somewhat on the back burner. Which doesn't detract too much as the film is so gorgeously and evocatively rendered. But it is bordering on criminal how little Rebecca Ferguson and Dave Bautista are given to do. The sole exception is Javier Bardem who gives a full-to-the-brim performance. He's funny, emotional, and dynamic providing not only necessary levity but a solid grounding which makes the Fremen feel real.
Visually, like its predecessor, the film is immaculate. Rich and imaginative. The score thrumming and otherworldly. The costuming lush, clean, and specific. Denis Villeneuve's production team is absolutely, across-the-board, on top of their game carving out a singular and transportive world.
Part 1 was delicious because it luxuriated in the world building, it was more tone poem than narrative, Part 2 is unfortunately tasked with making up some of that difference plot-wise and although there is much more action(which is great) it feels a bit rushed.
A wonderful viewing experience if somewhat short of transcendent.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to Max.
See It.
