'No Other Choice' A Review

No Other Choice is a black comedy/thriller about Man-su(Lee Byung-hun) a papermaking expert who is laid off, struggles to find employment, then hatches a plan to murder various other candidates in order to secure a coveted position.

Lee is a solid lead, balancing absurdity and slapstick with sincere emotional vulnerability. Son Ye-jin as Lee Mi-ri, Man-su's wife though really steals the show and brings some much needed sympathy and reality to the narrative. The support cast are all solid and maintain the kind of unreal tone. Does that tone work though? It's consistent but feels, at least from a US perspective, dated. It's the same kind of corporate satire of the excellent American Psycho or the much less successful Wolf Of Wall Street. It feels somewhat irrelevant and the purpose of it all is unclear.

Visually the film is compelling with some cool artistic flourishes and short abstract sequences, but again, to what end? Corporations are bad? Capitalism destroys people? No shit. On top of the overall theme being pretty 80's 101 Man-su as written is a selfish, inarticulate, buffoon. We have absolutely no reason to care about this idiot so whether he succeeds in killing other selfish idiots or his life is dismantled as a result of his own pride and ineffectuality doesn't really matter. All in, the film feels like there are materially no stakes other than like, how much will Mi-ri put up with?

A big theme of recent years seems to be movies about selfish men being selfish but most(if not all) of them are uninteresting and given the current state of the world men like these are getting more than enough air time in the news and positions of power. 

Not a bad movie but seemingly has nothing to tell us about our current time that we don't already thoroughly know. Seems only interested in highlighting the absurdity of the current human condition but stops there.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

With the hustle and bustle
of the season

it is important

to be deliberate

with an elongating to-do list

it is best

to take it

a task at a time

to be present

and enjoy

the obligations

as well as the celebrations

a reminder I needed

cutting my fingers

in the rush

to prune the tree

'Hamnet' A Review

Hamnet is a period drama, an adaptation of the 2020 novel, about the courtship and marriage of Agnes(Jessie Buckley) and Shakespeare(Paul Mescal) and how the two deal with the untimely death of their 11 year old son, the titular Hamnet(Jacobi Jupe).

Buckley gives an incredible, almost elemental performance. Raw and open and unadorned. Mescal struggles a bit to get to her level, he's still good and they have good chemistry, but she clearly outshines him which all-in-all is mostly appropriate given it is really Agnes's story. The supporting characters are well cast and effective although Emily Watson is somewhat underused and the child actors are surprisingly natural and give full-bodied performances particularly Olivia Lynes as Judith. The issue isn't with the actors or what they do and Buckely will, justly, get some awards attention this year.

There are two big issues with the film. The first is the camera work. It deploys an absolutely relentless shaky hand-held close-up focused approach that feels claustrophobic and bludgeoning displaying a distrust of the actors, Buckley in particular, and a coldly mercenary view as to eliciting an emotional reaction from the audience.

Two, on that same track, the emotional beats are profoundly unsubtle and the script exploits the child-death at the center of the story enormously to the point where the clear manipulation of the audience is recognizable and offensive ie the fifteen minute long scene of 11-year-old Jupe wailing and thrashing as he dies along with Buckley's primordial screams all shot in 6 inch close ups is all just too much. We get it. The situation and the performances are effective, the audience does not need to be dragged along by the ear and beaten over the head with the idea that a child's death is tragic. The film clearly relishes this moment and that's simply wrong.

This juxtaposed with the final scene of the film during a staging of Hamlet where both Agnes and Shakespeare finally gain understanding and catharsis is nothing short of transcendent. The inconsistency is frustrating. The film looks beautiful, the cast is great, the story is compelling, but it gets in its own way.

A career best from Buckley mostly weathers co-writer/director Chloé Zhao's periodic lack of confidence in her material and audience.

Currently in theaters.

Rent It.

'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues' A Review

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is a mocumentary, a sequel to the 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap. 40 years after the first film Marty DiBergi(Rob Reiner) is making a documentary about an official Spinal Tap reunion. 

As far as story it's pretty straight-forward and uncomplicated but it's a joy to see Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer back in character and although much older they don't really miss a step. Their characters are just as alive as ever and jokes are jam packed into the dialogue and they bounce off both returning characters, new characters notably drummer Didi(Valerie Franco), and a series of high-profile and playful cameos.

The cinematography is uncomplicated and effective, in keeping with the mocumentary style, a genre that kind of took off in wake of the first film but has in the past ten years mostly disappeared(the last notable entrant being 2015's What We Do In The Shadows). The music is great(no surprise) and there's quite a bit of it, the costumes are inspired. In short, the gang still rocks!

Fun, funny, surprising, and a well deserved(and successful) victory lap for the Tap.

Currently streaming on HBO Max.

See It.

Air Thick With Frost

The cold
at night

the bite
the darkness

the silence

time cracking

underneath the ice

the world

breath held

in anticipation

'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' A Review

Wake Up Dead Man is a murder mystery, the third in the Knives Out series. Father Jud(Josh O'Connor) a former boxer turned priest is reassigned to a rural parish after punching a rude deacon. He is under the thumb of megalomaniacal Monsignor Wicks(Josh Brolin) who unexpectedly and mysteriously dies. When all fingers point to Jud the gentlemen detective Benoit Blanc(Daniel Craig) is called in to solve the case.

O'Connor gives a good, if inconsistent, lead performance here. The problem with O'Connor is that we're simply seeing too much of him, this is the third(of four) major releases this year for him. Kind of getting into Glen Powell territory, any actor, no matter how talented, cannot saturate the market, be forced upon the collective cultural consciousness. Back to the movie, he provides heart and sincerity and provides a believable(and necessary) portrayal of a truly devote Christian calling out and acting against the corruptions of religion both in the abstract and the specific. But overall its just kind of flat, plateaus and doesn't change. Brolin is delicious as the heavy, with total commitment and total presence. Craig seems to be losing a bit of umph with Blanc and his ill-advised hair piece doesn't do him any favors. He's still compelling but at this juncture the character and the series is falling into diminishing returns. The supporting cast is all stacked with great actors and cool cameos, most notably Glenn Close who absolutely dominates, but a bit too much time is spent on plotting and a bit too little is spent on character so as great as the cast is, it doesn't particularly matter.

Visually the film is a huge improvement on the over-saturated, pastel repugnance of Glass Onion. The color pallet is more subdued, there's a sense of place and history, more-in-line with the original even though it is clearly shot in the UK and on soundstages. The score works, the costuming is great, the twists-and-turns of the plot entertain but it doesn't have that singular electricity of the original, doesn't have the emotional depth needed to make it work both as a great mystery and a great film. Writer/director Rian Johnson is inching closer and closer to Kenneth Branagh Poirot territory. Not bad, just pure entertainment.

Funny, engaging, with attempts at commentary which are admirable if not altogether successful, a little thin.

Currently in theaters and streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

'Sentimental Value' A Review

Sentimental Value is a drama about a dysfunctional Norwegian family. Gustav(Stellan Skarsgård) returns to Oslo in the wake of his ex-wife's death and attempts to reconnect with his daughters Nora(Renate Reinsve) and Agnes(Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) and get a new film made after a long hiatus.

Skarsgård continues to deliver in his later career, here he is constrained by the character's emotional limitations but compensates beautifully with subtlety, nuance, and portrays an artist with the kind of insight and contradictions you'd expect from a life long creative. Reinsve's performance is more limited, it is in essence a version of the same character she played in Worst Person In The World an individual who is selfish, mentally ill, impenetrable, with little to no interest in changing(until the very end). Maybe that character arc is particularly appealing to co-writer/director Joachim Trier but as a viewer is pretty frustrating. The real star is Lilleaas who plays the only relatable human in the cast, she feels real, has recognizable emotions, and grows and shrinks and changes as the story progresses. The 'artist' characters swirl around her while she lives in reality. The other notable supporting cast member is Elle Fanning as Rachel Kemp an American movie star. She's compelling but the whole movie-within-a-movie subplot feels unnecessary, feels like a delaying tactic to not have to show the characters change or transform.

Visually the film is beautiful. Shot with subtlety and richness with the occasional inspired flourish or bit of magical realism. The score is effective, the locations are evocative. The production all the way around is top notch. The story is just unfocused, the themes ambitious but muddily conveyed, the resolution too tidy and brief, unearned. There's a luxuriating within the past and present trauma of the characters but no real insight about that trauma. Reminiscent of movies about addiction like Crazy Heart where the bulk of the runtime is spent languishing in the pain of life and quickly montaging through the actual progress made as a result of that pain in the final minutes proceeding the credits. Especially now in 2025 our movies do not need to tell us about how painful life is and can be, most of the entire population is living it and has been. Not to mention this particular story is full up with a kind of oblivious economic privilege that may be cultural but is still off putting.

Trauma porn. Well made, well acted, and finely drawn but trauma porn nonetheless.

Currently in theaters.

Rent It.

Endings

At an end

we are forced to reflect

asses

the value

the meaning

sometimes we will mourn

the passing

sometimes we will rage at

the absence

sometimes we will trivialize

sometimes we will be relieved

and yet

the cessation itself

does not effect

the impact

of the past

'Jay Kelly' A Review

Jay Kelly is a drama about a sad and lonely rich boomer movie star the titular Jay Kelly(George Clooney). The movie opens on the wrapping of his latest movie after which he attempts to connect with his daughters who, after years of neglect, justly don't want much to do with him. He wanders around Europe and fails again and again to really learn anything or come to terms with his actions, life, or career in any meaningful or insightful way.

Clooney is decent, he seems a bit on auto-pilot which makes sense for the role but isn't particularly compelling. The supporting cast is a cavalcade of names but the only real standout is Adam Sandler as Ron Jay's manager, he's the only one who really seems like an actual, relatable human being with recognizable emotions, it would have been a more interesting story following his character.

The cinematography is bold and rich and compelling as is the score. The big issue is just the whole premise. Who cares about this rich, aging narcissist who's motivation in trying to connect with his friends and family seems to only be a self-centered loneliness and who displays a complete inability to take responsibility for his actions or understand, in any way, his failings. The whole central conundrum is very specific to a certain type of aging white male(presumably a lot of the themes are very close to co-writer/director Baumbach) and as such doesn't really have broad appeal. 

An incredibly made film that elicits no compassion or interest in its narrative or characters(aside from Sandman).

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Don't See It.

'Zodiac Killer Project' A Review

Zodiac Killer Project is a meta-documentary about the failed adaptation of The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up: The Silenced Badge by director Charlie Shackleton. Shackleton narrates over b-roll footage, describing the film he intended to make until it fell through and ruminates on the True Crime genre, occasionally cutting to popular features or series to elucidate certain troupes.

Visually the film is simple and meditative, the California b-roll, which may be location scouting footage, is mostly static, the only movement being slow pans and zooms, it's effective to a point but certainly strains attention at feature length. The big issue isn't that the film is experimental in form and content but just that that content, the point of it all, isn't particularly complex. Shackleton criticizes True Crime filmmaking troupes and practices and in the same breath how he couldn't wait to deploy them. He talks about the explosion of True Crime's popularity with a certain amount of distain but is clearly an avid watcher. He expresses frustration about not getting to make his project simply because it would have been watched by a lot of people.

Ultimately the film, Shackleton, has no real insight to offer- he tried to make a film, couldn't, and made this as a substitute- that's it. He feints at broader analysis of True Crime both as a product and the culture's fascination with it but never follows through. However, the way he breaks down imagery and discusses the lexicon of film in conveying information is engaging, the film he describes sounds like the kind of HBO or Netflix project that people would watch, there's a certain appeal to the simplicity and cleanness of the images, but taken together it's all a bit underbaked.

Interesting as an experiment but ultimately incomplete, feels like what it is- the scraps from a bigger, fuller idea.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.

'Five Nights At Freddy's 2' A Review

Five Nights At Freddy's 2 is a horror sequel to 2023's Five Nights At Freddy's based on the video game series. The movie opens on a flashback to 1982 on a different Freddy's location from the original where an isolated girl Charlotte sees owner and serial killer William(Matthew Lillard) kidnapping a little boy, in attempting to rescue him she is killed and her ghost is trapped. Twenty years later Mike(Josh Hutcherson), his sister Abby(Piper Rubio), and their friend Vanessa(Elizabeth Lail) struggle to adjust in the wake of the events of the first movie when Charlotte's malevolent spirit reaches out to interfere.

Hutcherson, Rubio, and Lail are all great and committed and serve as the grounding point for all the absurdity and violence and give those things emotional stakes making it fun, entertaining, and if not believable exactly than at least plausible. Lillard isn't in it as much as the previous movie but he's got one great, terrifying dream sequence. The supporting cast is all solid and there's one piece of really inspired casting with Skeet Ulrich as Charlotte's dad, a cool bit of resonance with Lillard calling back their Scream villains.

Visually the movie sticks to its roots, focuses mostly on practical effects and coherent tactile action, there's minimal CG and what there is is integrated smoothly and effectively. With a bigger budget they're able to use more locations and the flagship Freddy's location is expanded allowing more animatronics, more elaborate kills, and more visual flare. The soundtrack is catchy and fun, if there's a flaw it's that the plot is a bit convoluted and it ends on a cliffhanger(presumably setting up a third in the series). Still, it's fun, funny, well paced, and above all entertains.

A solid B-movie horror sequel, great counter programing to the season's Oscar hopeful glut.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to Peacock.

Rent It.

Life on life's terms

I don't understand
the fear of death

I don't wish it

or welcome it

I relish each day's

pleasures

I'm grateful

for each day's

challenges

I accept

my responsibilities

with an open

and eager heart

most days

I am filled

with love

but

when it's time to go

whether tomorrow

or in 50 years

I will be ready to depart