'Parasite' A Review

Parasite is a satirical thriller about a poor family of four(The Kims) living in a garden apartment that infiltrates the staff of a wealthy family(The Parks) at first through a quasi-honest referral, then fraud, then sabotage. Once the Kims have replaced the entire staff they relax in their newfound ease. When the Parks for a camping trip however the Kims security is threatened with a shocking revelation.

The cast is adequate with Park So-dam as Kim Ki-jung giving the performance with the most texture but for the most all the Parks and the Kims are playing thinly drawn caricatures rather than real people. Much is unclear about anyone's motivations and some transparently stupid choices are made not driven by character but the necessities of the plot. Even after the two hours and change run time it is unclear who any of these people actually are. And perhaps that's the point, they are ciphers, puppets, for this very particular, very tight narrative.

As is no surprise with writer/director Bong Joon-ho the film has a sharp magnetism and visual clarity. The belated twist and the chaotic third act are electric but what proceeds it implys and infers a socio-economic message that the story simply doesn't convey. Or perhaps it does convey it in such a straightforward deadening way with characters, both rich and poor, that are so thoroughly flat and uncompelling that the point is rendered ineffectual. There are some wonderful ideas in the film but the humanity of it's participants isn't particularly considered and as such whatever allegorical intent lies behind the story it doesn't really succeed. There's an inevitable comparison to last years more soulful and successful Shoplifters which Parasite simply doesn't measure up to.

Ambitious, interesting, immaculately crafted but ultimately short on that most necessary cinematic component- emotion.

See It.

To Icarus

Hey man
It's gotta suck
being the poster boy of pride
the harbinger of hubris
known not for your chill flight
but your gnarly fall
an example
all the greedy traders
preening actors
and power-mad politicians
know but ignore
yours is a lesson
we have yet to learn
sorry your death
taught us nothing
yet you are remembered still.

'Gemini Man' A Review

Gemini Man is an action/thriller about aging government assassin Henry(Will Smith). The movie opens with Henry on a job sniping an old guy on a bullet train. He then attempts to retire to his rural Georgia home but an old military buddy lets him know his last hit was a worldclass biologist not a terrorist as he was lead to believe. After the government he worked for attempts to kill him Henry flees the country to find some answers. When the first attack fails they send the only person that's better than he is to get him, himself!

Smith brings his not insignificant movie star charisma to bear but fails to bring life to either of his lead turns, hamstrung by thin characterization and a corny script as Henry and by implausible and exhaustive de-aging CGI as Henry 2.0. The pairing is interesting and certainly ambitious but the technology and the script fail to deliver anything warranting a theatrical release. Evidently director Ang Lee shot and cut the film utilizing technology that movie theaters can't actually project so this isn't quite a shock. Supporting players Benedict Wong, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Clive Owen all put in engaging efforts, and they are all a pleasure to see, but nothing that breaks out of the maddeningly paint-by-numbers story they find themselves in.

There are some moments of real visual brilliance but the film is so dependent on CGI, even to the point of frequent baffling backdrops, its flourishes are far overshadowed by its floundering. The film telegraphs each turn of the plot to the point there is no surprise, the characters are so thinly drawn the idea of human cloning is the least untenable narrative thread, although the action scenes of the film are thrilling there are too few(basically two) and they are so devoid of context they have no real stakes. An opportunity at a return to form for Ang Lee that falls surprisingly short.

Interesting enough to do laundry to.

Stream It.

'Joker' A Review

Joker is a crime drama, the origin story of Batman nemesis Joker. The film opens on Arthur Fleck(the man who would be Joker, Joaquin Phoenix) in a dirty(there's a garbage strike) and crime ridden Gotham City as he puts on his clown make-up set to work at a going-out-of-business sale. He's accosted, receives a gun from a fellow clown, sees his social worker, and takes care of his ailing mother. He aspires to be a stand-up comedian but doesn't seem to possess the social facility or talent to achieve his dream. After a confrontation on a subway Arthur's life changes forever.

Phoenix gives a noble effort, supplying a virtual never-ending avalanche of ticks, winces, and sighs, he screams, he sprints, he laugh/weeps. The performance is certainly singular and the effort being plied is unignorable but it isn't a success. He oscillates so completely and so bewilderingly from scene to scene Arthur doesn't come across as a character he comes across as Phoenix giving a Big Performance. It's simply not believable, for a film that espouses to be "realistic" to be "gritty" it's central character, basically the sole focus of the film as Phoenix is in frame virtually the entire run time, has no depth, no texture, no recognizable humanity. Phoenix does have some ecstatic moments, notably when actually performing as a clown or some quasi-balletic silent moments, but those are few and the only breathe of authenticity the film has.

There are some wonderful actors in the supporting cast- criminally underutilized Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Brian Tyree Henry- but the focus is so tight on Phoenix, so enamored with his Acting, there is no room for their engaging humanity which the film so desperately needs.

The failing isn't solely Phoenix's, he's asked to make sense and translate a stunningly lazy and derivative script. Mental illness is, once again, used in lieu of actual character development. It is unclear what diagnosis Arthur has and it's reference he's on seven different medications none of which are explained. "He's crazy! He takes pills!" Seems to be the extend of the thought behind this subplot, which could be fine in a broader less overtly "serious" film but Joker clearly has pretensions. It is not inspired by Taxi Driver, King of Comedy, Fight Club et al. it is consuming and regurgitating them. Additionally the "class conflict" in the film is so thin, so juvenile, so transparently pandering, it is no surprise it was written by a rich person.

Unlike the story the production elements of the film are wonderful and inspired- evocative locations, pitch perfect costumes, sharp almost lurid camera work, a bolstering soundtrack- all work and weave together to deliver this grungy NYC-esk Gotham that no longer exists.

 Significant ambition with little result, more marketing success than compelling cinema.

Don't See It.

A Meditation On Bags

Upon waking
consider the events of the day
the appointments
the routine
the responsibilities
consider the objects required
chose one bag that will contain these items
in total
whatever size that bag
that is the bag most appropriate for that day
the question of aesthetic may arise
however this is vanity
if a backpack is necessary
then the backpack should be utilized
if a bag of sufficient size is habitually not available
seek out and purchase one
use it next time
if aesthetics are a concern
consider this when selecting a purchase
if one bag is repeatedly insufficient
perhaps it is time to consider
the accumulation of obligations
that require such bulk
deep and simple
is better
than broad and complex.

Sometimes two bags or more are desired, even necessary
when traveling, anytime children are involved
however it is best
to strive always
for one bag.

'Judy' A Review

Judy is a biopic about actor/performer/entertainer Judy Garland played by Renee Zellweger. The film opens on a young Judy on the set of Wizard of Oz being harassed, manipulated, and abused by studio head Louis B. Mayor(Richard Cordery) it then flashes forward to 1969 where Judy is struggling to find work and take care of her two young children. Her ex-husband Sid(Rufus Sewell) moves to take custody of their kids and in order to make money Garland books a run in London where the majority of the action takes place with periodic flashbacks to her formative years as a child star.

Zellweger portrays Garland with honesty, energy, with periodic crescendos of theatricality and emotion. It's magnetic but the problem is that it is tragic bordering on the pathetic, exploitative rather than celebratory. This is a result of the material not Zellweger's performance. Her singing is good, she may not have the vocal range or grace of Garland but she makes up for it in her commitment and electricity. The problem is the sound mix of the various numbers, which are bizarre and uneven, at times Zellweger's performance is(or seems at least) diegetic, sometimes she is lip syncing, other times she seems to be lip syncing to a voice not her own or her voice auto-tuned to a point beyond recognition. The unevenness isn't a result of her singing but a result of the various ways the numbers are cut up and patched together.

There are some good turns in the supporting cast- Sewell, Dan and Stan played by Andy Nyman and Daniel Cerqueira, Burt the band leader played by Royce Pierrson- but there are also some duds too Finn Wittrock as Mickey Deans Garland's young love interest struggles for watchability let alone believability(he is titanically outclassed onscreen by Zellweger) and Jessie Buckley as Garland's London handler who does so little her presence serves only as a place holder.

The major and glaring issue is with how the story is framed and how it plays out. In this film Garland has no victories, other than an incredibly striking and unfortunately brief sequence with gay couple/super fans Stan and Dan, she simply suffers. She is in the miserable grip of her addiction the entire film, honestly portrayed by Zellweger and perhaps true to history, but so what. This is the story of Garland, her impact and her legacy, and it is not served by the depiction of protracted pain. The scene with Stan and Dan is really the only one that shows her profound impact as an entertainer and only in the last seconds of the film to we get a sense of Garland's need-to and joy-from perform/ing. That is her legacy, her body of work and her lasting influence, not the pathetic and torturous realities of her drug addiction and alcoholism.

The film fails because it portrays Garland as a tragic figure not a human being. It examines and exhumes her misery but fails to show her impact as a performer and as a person.

Don't See It.

'Rambo: Last Blood' A Review

Rambo: Last Blood is an action thriller, the fifth in the Rambo franchise, co-written and starring the ever-more-kragy Sylvester Stallone as the titular John Rambo. Following the events of the previous movie Rambo has settled on his deceased father's ranch and runs it with a childhood friend Maria(Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabriela(Yvette Monreal). Gabriela goes to Mexico to meet her biological father and is kidnapped by a sex trafficking ring. Rambo goes to track her down.

Stallone has been a movie star for 45 years and there is no small pleasure seeing him onscreen regardless of the circumstances or quality of the story however this return to the series is half-baked and perfunctory, the character less defined than it is just Stallone himself. Perhaps this installment was only or partially made to maintain the rights but whatever the cause the performances are fine but the characters or so thinly drawn it doesn't particularly matter. It's not even clear at the beginning where Rambo is, why he is there, who Maria is or what their relationship is to each other. It's lazy screenwriting.

Aside from the climactic battle sequence the movie is visually uninspired, the telegraphing music swells lazy and insecure. The plot and the script itself are the biggest issues, there is certainly space for the investigation of the life of an aging veteran and PTSD as well as the current very real threat of sex trafficking, however the result is a tone deaf fluff piece that doesn't pack the punch of an overt action movie nor the depth of a drama attempting real commentary.

Shallow, rote, disappointing.

Don't See It.