'You Can See Everything' A Review

You Can See Everything is a documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim about biotech fraudster Elizabeth Holmes. Fielder and Oppenheim spend the last month with Holmes and her family in a rented beach house prior to her incarceration, not so much fly-on-wall footage as Fielder acts more as a house guest and periodically interviews the couple. After she is imprisoned Fielder & Oppenheim stage reenactments for conversations they were unable to record.

Oppenheim as a stylist soars here, his visual development compounds with each project, and his fascination with perverse and illicit subjects continues. That is to say the film looks amazing, the framing and patience of the shots, the truncated aspect ratio, the languorous but unrelenting pacing, the close-ups. It all serves to evoke an eerie discomfort and put the audience in the room.

Fielder is a comedian and not a documentarian and his presence is both engaging and at times fumbling. He questions Holmes and her husband directly but a lot of the conversations get diverted into semantics. There's some situational comedy and a couple moments where Fielder attempts to explain comedy to them which is amusing. Fielder is a great foil through which to see the infamous Holmes and allows the film, by nature, to be more free-form and experimental.

It clearly aspires to get at greater themes of Truth but mostly fails, Holmes and her husband are clearly hustlers, this is apparent immediately. Holmes is a criminal and her husband is clearly aspiring to be one, even if we were to believe her semantic cartwheels her "belief" as she puts it is not relevant to her fraud charges and conviction. Not to mention, regardless of any of the particulars, it is also clear both Holmes and her husband are deeply mentally unwell. The fascination from both Fielder and Oppenheim comes across in some ways as privileged(these are not particularly unique subjects, they are hustlers and narcissists and sick people, the scope of Theranos downfall and the media attention are the only reason they are known) and they are unable to draw any meaningful conclusions from the project as a whole.

Unquestionably entertaining and beautiful looking, it feints at potent insights and teases discoveries but ultimately fails to deliver on the ecstatic. It seems to unnecessarily litigate two obvious truths- liars lie, hurt people hurt people.

Currently in theaters.

Rent It.

'The Last First: Winter K2' A Review

The Last First: Winter K2 is a documentary about a 2021 record-breaking(and deathly) expedition to summit K2 in winter.

Through interviews, archival and on-site footage the selfishness, hubris, and tragedy is reported. Do we need more climbing docs? Particularly ones where participants inevitably die? I don't think so. There's nothing esteemable about these sad, narrow-minded, mostly rich people addicted to adrenaline, ego and social media.

One of the reasons Free Solo was such a sensation was because he didn't die, he's still alive, and the risk of what he was doing was clearly interrogated by the filmmaker. This feels like they had a contract that they needed to fulfill, itself culpable in some of the deaths. All around just gross and sad. You'd feel sorry for the climbers and families involved if they weren't so willfully ignorant.

Currently streaming on Apple TV.

Don't See It.

Progenitors

I often wonder
about adults fealty
to their parents

as if being coerced

into this world

were some gift

that incurred a debt

don't get me wrong

it can be great

living

but it ain't ever easy

'Wildwood' A Review

Wildwood is a stop-motion fantasy based on the 2011 novel of the same name. Portland, OR teenager Prue(Peyton Elizabeth Lee) defies her parents nebulous warnings and takes her baby brother Mac out on the town when she is babysitting. He's abducted by a murder of crows and Prue, along with Curtis(Jacob Tremblay) a hapless classmate, follow them into the Impassable Wilderness where they discover a magical world of threat and adventure.

The voice cast, across the board, is fantastic. Lee, Tremblay, Carey Mulligan(as the heavy), Awkwafina(as a friendly rat), Tom Waits(as a coyote), on and on. Just wonderful, emotional, committed performances that bring the(absolutely stunning) stop-motion characters to life.

Visually the film is breathtaking, rich and magical that is to say perfect for the source material. The score is effecting and the story re-treads some classic fantasy beats but there's enough originality and style to make it fresh. There has not been a great young adult fantasy in years(if not decades) and this is reminiscent of some of those old classics Labyrinth and The Neverending Story because there is real danger here, real threat, and the parents are not present or not particularly helpful. It feels like a throwback to a kind of potent narrative that has sadly fallen out of vogue in deference for overly screened content. 

Whimsical, transportive, and engrossing with a sense of real physical and emotional stakes. Best of the year contender.

Currently in theaters.

Don't Miss It.

'Norm: The Tale Of Norm MacDonald' A Reivew

Norm: The Tale Of Norm MacDonald is a documentary about the late comedian directed by Judd Apatow. From primarily archival footage as well as photos and home movies his career and life are explored.

Refreshingly there are no talking-head interviews, any interview-style segments are taken from other works, sections of his stand-up and late night appearances are used extensively to show his style of comedy as well as how his personal life and interests came through in his material.

The result is a loving portrait of a kind introvert with incredible talent. Mostly all his material holds up and for a famously private person we do get a glimpse of who he was as a person. Some of his controversies and eccentricities are interrogated and if it's not exactly cinematic in construction it is engrossing and loving.

A relatively comprehensive and deep look at a generational comedy icon.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

See It.

Day Boy / Night Boy

In the light
the cat is mostly mine
he head butts
he lap sits
he circles and taunts

coquettish

In the dark

he is my wife's

he's all indifference

and skittishness

he cuddles her

on the couch

and in bed

capricious, our cat

'Street Fighter' A Review

Street Fighter is an action/comedy based on the video game series of the same name. The movie opens on an animated sequence of the first World Warrior tournament and shows the tension between friends and adopted brothers Ryu(Andrew Koji) and Ken(Noah Centineo), flashforward 5 years and into live action, the two are estranged but reunite after being recruited for the second World Warrior tournament by  Chun-Li(Callina Liang) herself an undercover agent looking to take down the organizer of the tournament, the dastardly M. Bison(David Dastmalchian).

Koji and Centineo have great chemistry- bring some heart, give solid physical performances, and are able to thread through a fair amount of comedy. Liang is a nice grounding presence(as she was in 2024's Presence, nice to see her in a feature with more reach here) and Dastmalchian is deliciously baroque. The supporting cast, essentially a series of cameos, are all equally effective. They all understand the brief and the tone co-writer/director Kitao Sakurai is creating- this kind of high-octane martial arts fun that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Using animation for flashbacks, propulsive fight choreography, and judicious and well rendered CG visually the movie has a unique and effective style. The soundtrack is full of era-adjacent needle drops and the costuming is great, paying homage to the games but in a way that feels in-keeping with all the various design choices. It really works. Not as innovative as something like Resident Evil but as successful(a bit more so) than the Mortal Kombat reboot. Sakurai gives us action, enough story to engage, but doesn't overload on either. There's a good amount of comedy and just all-in-all it's a solid piece of popcorn entertainment.

Unabashed, straight-up fun.

Currently in theaters.

See It.