'Okja' A Review

Okja is an adventure/speculative future film about a young girl Mija(Ahn Seo-hyun) raising a Super Pig in rural South Korea, the titular Okja, one of several spread throughout the world as a publicity stunt by Mirando Corporation's head Lucy(Tilda Swinton). After ten years the pigs are inspected by spokesman and eccentric TV zoologist Johnny(Jake Gyllenhaal) and one of them crowned the winner in a celebration in New York. Okja wins the prize and is taken from Mija who chases after her running into Mirando Corp stooges, law enforcement, and radicals from the ALF(Animal Liberation Front).

Seo-hyun is perfectly cast as the young Mija, confident and determined yet vulnerable, driven on her wild quest by her love of Okja. Although a CGI creation Okja herself is startlingly emotive and empathetic. Their duet is the real heart of the film and its portrayed with marvelous nuance and tenderness. Swinton, as always, is delightful however she is a side-character and not exactly integral to the story, any villainous CEO would have been sufficient but Swinton brings some pleasing eccentricity to a role that could have been flat. Gyllenhaal, god bless him, goes for broke in his most wild and over the top turn. Not always a success but fun. Paul Dano as the leader of the ALF is exceptionally Paul Dano, not distracting but nothing too surprising. The film is really about Mija and Okja and all supporting roles serve that, the film only meanders when it strays too far from that central relationship.

All the visuals are striking from the action sequences to landscapes, the way Okja is integrated is incredible, some of the most seamless use of CGI to date. It is a little unclear what the comment of the film is as it starts as more of a straight-up satire then changes to more of a straight-forward coming-of-age adventure. Certainly it is rife with allegory- Monsanto, genetic engineering, political and social unrest- but what comes across the most strongly and what is the most compelling is the love between Mija and Okja and the lengths that love will drive them to reunite. A Netflix original the only improvement would have been seeing it on the big screen.

Surprisingly effecting, potent, and unique.

Don't Miss It.

'Band Aid' A Review

Band Aid is a romantic comedy/drama about a struggling married couple who channel their fights into songs and start a band. Anna(Zoe Lister-Jones) and Adam(Adam Pally) both work dead-end jobs and wrestle with having meaning in their lives and marriage in the wake of failed dreams and a miscarriage. Per the tacit recommendation of their therapist they start a band with their eccentric neighbor Dave(Fred Armisen) and begin to make some tentative progress as a couple and as individuals.

Lister-Jones, also the writer/director, gives a great performance emotional and funny, confident and authentic. Pally doesn't have the depth of his co-star but he does well and his lack is made up for in the magnetic chemistry they share. Armisen although certainly quirky is at his most reserved and plays a pleasant foil to the couple. The supporting cast all do well but the majority of the screen time and the story is, justly, taken up by the marriage at it's center. We get to know them intimately and even if we can't relate explicitly the experiences and feelings conveyed are universal.

A wonderful score is augmented by the actual songs the couple plays you only wish there was more of them because they're so good. The various production elements all blend harmoniously to show a more lived-in intimate LA that most films tend to ignore. The personal aspect of the film is heightened by the various homes and coffee shops it inhabits.

An incredibly compelling comedy about pain, purpose, and love.

Don't Miss It.

Take The Day

Today is my birthday. Nicole and I took the day off and went out for breakfast at Bakin' and Eggs then to the zoo.

And the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

Then to a movie and then met Jimmy and Thomas for dinner at PMU where I got my ceremonial slice of chocolate cake. It was a great day, low key, relaxing, and I did the things I enjoy most.

When I first moved to Chicago I worked on my birthday and got my bike stolen, a couple years later I worked on it again out of obligation and it just felt weird. I'm not one of those type of people who makes a big deal out of it I just think it's important to take a little time for yourself. I don't mind my job now but it already consumes a lot of my time and energy, a birthday should be celebrated if only simply. My advise, never work on your birthday whether its a big deal to you or not. The mental health dividends pay big.

I had a wonderful day, another year down, another year of challenges and potential to look forward to.

'The Hero' A Review

The Hero is a meta drama about an aging actor Lee(Sam Elliot) grappling with the loss of professional relevance, disease, isolation, and purpose. The film opens on Lee recording a voice over for a barbecue sauce clearly frustrated by the quality of the work. He gets high and goes to a doctor's office where he is diagnosed with cancer. We follow Lee as he grapples with this, gets high with his neighbor and drug dealer Jeremy(Nick Offerman), and attempts to reconcile with his estranged daughter Lucy(Krysten Ritter). Along the way he meets Charlotte(Laura Prepon) a comedian and more-than-casual drug user who he develops a tentative relationship with. Interspersed throughout are dream sequences of a movie Lee would like to make.

Elliot gives an incredible performance- nuanced, quiet, deep, complex. An impressive tour de force turn. Unfortunately the story surrounding this inspiring turn is anything but. Offerman plays well off of Elliot, clearly relishing sharing the screen with the long time legend, funny and charming but devoid of any of the cliched pitfalls that can trap actors playing drug dealers. Ritter, with little screen time is striking and authentic, the story is about Lee not his daughter although it would have been nice had she been afforded a little more screen time. Prepon is serviceable but clearly out of her depth and has a clashing style then the other cast members, there is an awareness and presentation about her performance which is especially distracting given how real Elliot feels. To be fair her's is the most illogical and rote part in the already trite script.

There are flashes of real brilliance, long silent meditative moments where Elliot is allowed to do some incredible work, also some interesting dream or fantasy sequences that are largely left for us to interrupt the meaning of. One of the best scenes of the year so far is Elliot running lines with Offerman. However. Those are all moments and taken as a whole the film is strikingly unoriginal and relies upon tired troupes(unnecessarily) to propel Elliot's character's existential crisis. Most off putting is the big C and the older man-younger woman aspects which telegraph PLOT DEVICE.

A fascinating lead performance fails to elevate a thoroughly mediocre script.

Rent It.

What I'll Miss

The hallway most of all, it's bright orange paint
the name of which so tickled us
Circus Peanut.
Other than that
it was just an apartment
I think it's just the time
that makes it hard to leave
it's familiar
and comfortable
our nest
a home we made
over weeks and months and years.

But the things I won't miss
are much easier to name
the list much longer
Spacca Napoli
and there vapid screeching clientele
their raucous early morning deliveries
and power washing
the daily dozen repeated crashing shatter
of a garbage bag full of wine bottles
being thrown carelessly into a dumpster
by the staff who nightly loiter with car speakers blaring,
our neighbors, sweet lord, their idiocy
their stomping toddler
their nightly drunken maddening classic rock serenades
the chalk "murals" the mom would "create"
stoned beyond coherence and parental responsibility
the unapologetic and perhaps oblivious proliferation of all their junk in common areas
the dad, unsolicited, approaching me on the privacy of the back porch, glass in hand, to chat,
the unreliable washer and dryer,
the scribbled rent reminder notes slipped under the door,
the lack of sunlight,

Actually maybe it's just the neighbors.
God they are truly awful.

Foreboding

There's no feeling
like that of waiting
for the other shoe
to drop

that sense of helplessness-
the unexpected knock
the guilt,
perhaps unwarranted,
when someone asks to talk
impending doom
the countdown clock

a meeting with an agenda
unsaid, unset, unsought

it could be something pleasant
or something small-
something inconsequential

but then again
it could be a death
a firing
an eviction

it is this protracted possibility
that makes it so unpleasant

what a gift imagination is
but also
what an albatross

'Beatriz At Dinner' A Review

Beatriz At Dinner is a dramedy about Beatriz(Salma Hayek) an alternative healer/masseuse whose car breaks down at an affluent client's house. Kathy(Connie Britton), the hostess, invites Beatriz to stay for a dinner party she and her husband Grant(David Warshofsk) are throwing for his business partner Doug(John Lithgow), his wife Jeana(Amy Landecker), and an ambitious up-incoming couple Alex(Jay Duplass) and Shannon(Chloë Sevigny). Tensions rise as Beatriz repeatedly confronts Doug about his manipulative and destructive business practices.

Hayek gives one of her meatiest performances since Frida and one of the most subtle of her career. She is quiet and magnetic for most of the film, contemplative and emotional, vulnerable and more drab than we're use to seeing her(although she is always striking). Her portrayal is philosophical but also grounded in the physical nature of the character's profession. There's a stolidness about it which is atypical for Hayek but her usual heart is not sacrificed. A shame the film around her amazing performance isn't nearly as cohesive. The cast is good, Britton and Lithgow specifically are great, but the film seems to waiver on what it is about and how specifically it wants to spell that out preventing the supporting cast from really soaring.

The premise seems kind of like a classic culture clash and we are primed for Beatriz to tell off and correct the rich. This kind of happens but there is no real resolution and no real change. Interspersed with this narrative which we are clearly presented with is another one, where Beatriz is swept up in dreams, memories, and presumably metaphoric imagery that is never really developed. There are two or three angles attempted in the film when only one could be successful. Instead of a class comedy. a meditative environmental commentary, or an interpersonal existential crisis we get none of these. The result is entertaining and compelling, no question, it is just more convoluted than it needs to be.

Ambitious, with a fantastic lead, if somewhat frustrating and problematic.

See It.

Tranquil Or Meek

Last night Nicole and I went to Willie Nelson at Ravina, all-in-all a nice evening. A great venue, cool to see Willie, old but still playing, good to get out and do something a little different. However the night started with an odd, potentially night-killer type interaction.

For a long time I had quite a temper, unable or unwilling to put up much resistance whenever I felt anger, justified or otherwise. It got me into a lot of trouble over the years and strained or alienated a lot of people I had relationships with. When I got sober it's something I worked(and work) a lot on. Not lashing out, feeling and processing emotions rather than stewing, letting go as opposed to fostering resentment, communicating rather than arguing. And for the most part I'm successful, most things don't bother me much anymore, things pop up but I'm mostly able to pause and let go and not react. But that's the thing, sometimes letting something go isn't the right thing to do.

A couple months back Nicole and I had an interaction with a door guy where he made some inappropriate comments, totally out-of-line, and neither her or I really reacted, just felt bad, were made to feel small by this guy. Afterward we talked about it and we felt like we should have said something, as difficult as it may have been it was important to say something and we didn't.

So, we took the Metra up to Ravina and while we were getting off the train this guy and the woman he was with were behind us. I heard him say "Get over it hon, it's the weekend" and then something else, more aggressive and sharp in tone. Nicole was behind me and I wasn't sure who he was talking to, remembering our interaction with the door guy I thought if he was saying these vaguely threatening things to Nicole it was important I say something. I turned around and said "Are you talking to us?" Clearly drunken, with blood-shot eyes the guy said "I'm not talking to you. But I can be." I felt a crash of adrenaline, nerves electrified, ready to fight, an old but familiar feeling. I knew that if I said anything else the situation would escalate needlessly. I turned and we kept walking and he said something else under his breath. After we were out of the train and separated from the disembarking passengers Nicole told me he was talking to some lady on the train and then the poor lady he was with. Ultimately it didn't matter and I didn't really need to say anything to him in the first place. The guy was drunk and irascible, rude and unpleasant looking for an altercation but not worth engaging with.

Point being there are times to pause and be silent and let things go, most times I think. The potential for violence or confrontation almost never has any value. But there are times when it's important to stand up and say something, when threats or denigration or abuse are not to be tolerated. The trick is knowing the difference, something I continue to try and figure out.

A/C

I bought the unit 5 years ago
at the time it was my second
most expensive purchase
(after a pair of black cowboy boots
7 years before that)
it felt terribly adult
and responsible
not to mention necessary
as it was a typical Chicago summer
(sweltering)
at the time I could barely function
as I was close to bottom
so the acquisition
was quite an accomplishment
given my condition.

I think of it
every year
as I put it
in the window
and enjoy
the pumping cool relief
of my long ago errand.

Strange, the fondness for things.

'It Comes at Night' A Review

It Comes At Night is a horror/thriller about a family living in a cabin in the wilderness amidst an unspecified apocalyptic plague outbreak. The film opens on Bud(David Pendleton) sick with boils and his daughter Sarah(Carmen Ejogo) saying good bye. Sarah's husband Paul(Joel Edgerton) takes Bud outside the compound with his son, Bud's grandson, Travis(Kelvin Harrison Jr.) to execute him and burn the body to avoid contamination. Later the family is awakened in the night by a break-in. Paul captures Will(Christopher Abbott) and after confirming he is not infected invites him and his wife and young son to join their family in the cabin.

Although an ensemble picture Harrison is, essentially, the lead as the audience surrogate and the action filtered through his perspective. He is open and emotive but not necessarily knowable. He has an active dream life that fades in and out making reality somewhat questionable. This is all to say he does well but there is a reserve about his role as well as the whole movie that creates a distance that doesn't always work. Edgerton is the most grounded and most clear in his performance and, second to Harrison, has the most screen time. The cast all do well but Edgerton, by his natural and formidable presence, is the load bearing center of the film. Other than him the cast is kind of swept up in the immaculate and compelling tone and production design, unable to distinguish themselves much.

Dark and brooding, picturesque yet sinister, all the production elements weave together to create a palpable and unrelenting feeling of paranoia and dread. The problem being there is little else in the film save foreboding and eventual tragedy. As a somewhat abstract piece of art it is interesting but as a film it seems incomplete. Not to say resolution is necessary but the film ends like a run-on sentence, with everything before it being so meticulous it feels inappropriate.

Immaculately constructed, proficiently acted, lacking insight.

Rent It.

'The Mummy' A Review

The Mummy is an action-adventure movie, a reboot of the franchise begun in 1932 with the Universal Monsters series. Nick(Tom Cruise) is a US soldier/mercenary(unclear) who is an antiquities thief while on missions(?). He enters an insurgent camp believing it to be above an ancient tomb then calls in an airstrike(??) which in inadvertently opens up the tomb entrance. Within the tomb Nick, his sidekick Chris(Jake Johnson), and scholar Jennifer(Annabelle Wallis) uncover and inadvertently free the long imprisoned Princess Ahmanet(Sofia Boutella). Hell quickly breaks loose!

Cruise is efficient as he always is but the script makes early and numerous mistakes in regards to character. It's not so much that Cruise does a bad job with the role more that the role is so bizarre and illogical that no actor could pull it off. Johnson's typical low-key deadpan is such a way it doesn't work and seems to belong in a different movie. Wallis is fine but isn't given much to do aside from go through an unbelievable "romantic" arc with the Cruise character and eventually be saved. Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll(???) is good I guess but makes you wonder why the hell he's in this movie. Much if not all of the character machinations make no sense. Boutella is the one bright spot as the titular Mummy but her role is sacrificed for exposition and character introduction in order to set up the "Dark Universe" or whatever.

Visually the movie is very cool. The action all works and is exciting, the costumes are fun, the flashbacks and ruins all work perfectly to set the tone. The story that should inhabit the production however never seem to manifest.

Borderline incoherent despite the efforts of talented production and cast.

Don't See It.

'My Cousin Rachel' A Review

My Cousin Rachel is a Gothic melodrama about an orphan Philip(Sam Claflin) raised by his cousin Ambrose on a English estate. Ambrose, suffering an illness, travels to Italy for the warmer climate. There he meets a distant relative Rachel(Rachel Weisz) who he falls in love with an marries. Letters home to Philip are initially bubbling then turn dark, Philip goes to investigate but is too late as Ambrose has died allegedly from a brain tumor. Returning to England as the owner of the estate Philip distrusts Rachel and prepares to confront her when she eventually arrives for a visit. However when she does arrive the situation is much more complicated than it first appeared. One of the poster tag lines is "Kiss or KILL?"

Weisz is wonderful, sultry and charming, fierce and compassionate. She keeps you guessing as to her motives, is able to fluidly change tactics scene to scene in a way that makes you believe she's a murder one minute, suspicions totally false the next. She also imparts what would be, during the time, a proto-feminist courage which turns the whole film on an interesting slant. Claflin is not nearly as successful, handsome and with no small amount of movie-star magnetism he simply can't pull off the oscillation the character requires. What should be a decent into paranoid madness and obsession comes off more like petulance and immaturity. He's not bad just inappropriately cast and because of that Weisz can only do so much to make the story work.

Visually the film feels very authentic. Excellent costumes and lots of scenes and shots of simple manual labor on the estate. There is no reticence about showing how dirty that time period could be and was which is incredibly refreshing for a period piece. The score is uneven at some points heightening at some points, especially "big" moments, distracting. The film is intriguing, no doubt, and has some very odd moments that are surprising and baffling if not quite compelling.

Weisz enlivens a somewhat irregular period yarn.

Rent It.

'Buster's Mal Heart' A Review

Buster's Mal Heart is a psychological mystery about Jonah(Rami Malek)a night clerk at a hotel with a wife and kid who becomes convinced that an apocalyptic event he calls "the inversion" is imminent. An unspecified time in the future Joanh called Buster by the authorities is hiding off the grid in the mountains hiding in vacant vacation homes. Cutting back and forth in time the film tells Jonah's story, periodically interspersed are scenes and images of Jonah in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean marooned.

Malek is compelling as the lead and is able to convey a lot of meaning and telegraph existential confusion and frustration in a way that's interesting but the role feels like a bit of a retread of his more dynamic turn from Mr. Robot. DJ Qualls as the coke snorting prophet is decent although not completely successful in evoking the air of mystery and menace that the role seems to call for. Kate Lyn Sheil as Jonah's wife Marty is the most grounded and confident, the scenes with her Malek and their daughter are easily the most interesting and the most effortless.

Visually the film is sharp, unique, and engaging. The Montana wilderness seems to be underutilized in film and this takes full advantage of the harsh but picturesque landscape. Even the interiors of the various vacation home's that are featured are framed in a way that makes them appear semi-foreign and helps enhance our connection with the lead and the film's rejection of the outside world.

There are some very thick and ambitious ideas in the film both in regards to society and spirituality but through too much abstraction and inference the point becomes almost indiscernible. And certainly that could be part of the intention, leave the audience to interrupt, however the film seems too deliberate in its sequences and images for that to be the case.

An energetic and sharp vision, clarity sacrificed for artistry.

Rent It.

History Repeats Itself

You tell me you might be in a relationship soon
with the guy you dated before you left
who was dating someone else when you got back
which didn't stop you from hooking up
but he wouldn't break up with her until now
because he was her boss and the job is done
you say he's never cheated before
and I ask you if he told you that
and you say no its something you've inferred
and this time, you say, you're both going to be wide open
and you hope to move in with him in two months
because you're not messing around
which makes me pause
and like I flash I see this whole misbegotten love affair
splayed out like a slow-motion six-car two-fatality wreck
blood, smoking metal, glass shards and all
disaster inexorable
but I, the impotent prophet, stay silent
because I know it will change nothing
for the heart knows what the heart knows.

Perhaps I may be wrong
I hope I am
Nevertheless I have my doubts.

Willingness & Action

A friend texted me yesterday asking to talk. The initial text was relatively vague but seemed urgent. We went back and forth a bit and I made plans to meet this friend after work today. They had a situation come up at work that they wanted to talk through and get some advice on. I listened mostly and offered some suggestions after they laid out what had happened. I think they felt better after the conversation.

Laid out like that it was pretty simple but internally it was anything but. Initially I thought, why couldn't my friend just tell me what's going on over text, then I told them I could call them but they told me they didn't like to talk on the phone(something a lot of people seem to say now that I find kind of mystifying) but would because I was doing them a favor(which made me feel kind of guilty), when it became clear my friend wanted to meet face-to-face about this I thought of my busy schedule and how it was a pain in the ass to carve out some time for whatever this thing was. But I did. And the reality was it was easy and after we met I could tell my friend was pretty upset and wound up about this thing and that they were relieved to talk it out and get another perspective. Ultimately it didn't even upset my schedule in any way because I already happened to be in my friend's neighborhood.

The point being my first reaction was a selfish one, I didn't want to do anything that would or might inconvenience me. But instead of acting on that first impulse I was willing to be available for my friend, even if I was reluctant it was left unspoken and ultimately irrelevant, we found a time that worked and I showed up for my friend. Easy for some people maybe but not for me- the pause before reacting, the willingness to be malleable and then taking some kind of action- took and takes time and practice. The result is that I got to actually be a friend to my friend, to be of service, to show my care and compassion through offering a listening ear, and that feels good. What I get in return is just as valuable to me as what I'm offering. I offer companionship and I receive it. I'm gratified by being able to provide some small measure of help and my friend is appreciative of it.

This is all to say taking action, whether it be something mundane or convoluted, something clerical or interpersonal, something innocuous or intense, starts with the willingness to say yes, to be available, to show up. And that does not mean whatever it may be isn't irritating or a hassle and certainly I'm not advocating for total selflessness I'm just saying if someone asks for help you should if you can. Because ultimately it feels good and you'll get back more than you give. Even if your initial reaction is(like mine frequently is) there's nothing I'd rather not do.

'Wonder Woman' A Review

Wonder Woman is a superhero movie set during WWI. It follows Diana(Gal Gadot) as she is raised on hidden island Themyscira populated by the women warrior tribe the Amazons, created by Zeus to protect human kind. Steve Trevor(Chris Pine) an American spy crashes by the island and is saved by Diana. After being told of the war to end all wars raging Diana sets off with Steve to confront Ares God of War who she believes is instigating the conflict. This mission takes them first to London then to the front to confront German high command.

Gadot is perfectly cast and gives the character not only the necessary strength and martial facility but humor and a vulnerable naivete that provide emotional depth as well as thrilling action. Pine is a great foil for Gadot, their chemistry is effortless and he's able to successfully walk the fine line between sidekick and romantic interest without cliche or awkwardness. Those two have the majority shoulder the bulk of the narrative and screen time but there are some nice turns by a number of the supporting cast: Robin Wright as General Antiope Diana's mentor, Elena Anaya as Doctor Poison an evil chemist, and as Lucy Davis as Etta Candy Trevor's secretary. All in all there's not a false note to be had amongst the cast save for Danny Houston as a German General who's a bit flat but forgivable given he isn't given much to work with.

The action is wonderful, slow motioned utilized at various points during sequences to highlight rather than cloud what is actually happening. It's incredibly refreshing to be able to actually see what's going on. Although in the same color palate as the other DC films this installment isn't bogged down by so much darkness or doom and gloom. The story moves, the characters are compelling, and the action is cool. The only fault is with the final battle, a superhero slugfest which at this point is a little rote.

Fun action, a compelling story, a refreshing and unique superhero story.

See It.