Longlegs is a horror/thriller set in the 90's that follows Lee(Maika Monroe) an FBI agent in Oregon on the hunt for a mysterious killer.
Monroe gives Lee a raw and effecting humanity, reserved yet vulnerable, skittish but determined. Its an intricate web of emotion that Monroe weaves and serves to anchor the story as it gets wilder. The supporting cast is excellent, Blair Underwood(as Lee's boss) brings some absolutely necessary charm and an easy authenticity which the movie needs, Alicia Witt(as Lee's religious mother) is appropriately and disconcertingly alien, and Nicolas Cage as the titular villain, in his typical style, is wonderfully baroque creating not so much a character but a legitimate monster out of a child's nightmares.
The film looks great with communities/neighborhoods/homes that feel real and the locations and the manipulation of light in those locations furthers the films themes. The use of the changing aspect ratio is effective and the simple but ever present score sets the oily but seductive tone. There is flair in the production design, no question, and overall its an intriguing immersive ride. But the film stumbles in the third act with some reveals and plot twists that seem either unnecessary or not completely thought out, overly simplistic. The story and the characters are rich and the ending although not bad enough to undermine the experience and promise of the film certainly pulls it up short.
A queasy, biting, hypnotic horror flick undercut by a lackluster finish.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
See It.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is an action/comedy, the 4th installment in the franchise. Axel Foley(Eddie Murphy) remains a Detroit detective, the movie opens on a Red Wings game where he is following some suspects which culminates in a high speed chase damaging a lot of private and public property. He is suspended and heads to Beverly Hills after his old friend Billy(Judge Reinhold) tells him his daughter Jane(Taylour Paige) is in over her head on a cop killing case.
Murphy deploys his wisecracking charm as if it hasn't been 30 years since he last revisited the role. Its great and a mix of nostalgia and an odd edge(even though the humor is in-line with the previous films). Its wonderful to see him here and his late career return starting with Dolemite Is My Name continues, maybe not with all unequivocal hits, but still he has been missed, he is a singular performer with a robust career and now, perhaps more than ever with all the mix up in show business, we need him. The returning cast are all great to see(although Reinhold has had some unfortunate plastic surgery) and new comers to the franchise fit right in and enhance- Paige plays it absolutely straight and almost single handedly grounds the film with necessary reality and stakes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays off Murphy well, and Kevin Bacon is deliciously over-the-top as the heavy. All-in-all a stellar cast.
The production is shockingly practical and expansive. The action is visceral and Murphy is still able to execute it well and weave comedy throughout. The classic score fades in and out effectively and it mostly moves along at a decent clip(even if there's a moment or too where the plot becomes a bit heavy). It really works and it should have been released in theaters, this is an undisputable crowd pleaser with a large demographic reach(not to mention a large budget) so there is no possible benefit for Netflix to confine this to streaming.
If Bad Boys: Ride Or Die(aka Bad Boys 4) was a moderate box office success Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F(aka Beverly Hills Cop 4) would have been a bona fide hit(particularly with the current malnourished release schedule). The original Bad Boys was an attempt to repurpose Beverly Hills Cop and for the talent that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have in this particular genre niche(which I don't dispute) you could argue it was created by Eddie Murphy who is still the king.
Straight-up fun.
Currently streaming on Netflix.
See It.
Kinds Of Kindness is an absurdist anthology movie about depraved sad people doing depraved sad things.
The cast are all talented but none are able to lock into the tone in a way that makes the film feel particularly watchable or coherent. Over his past several projects writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos has traded in his old ensemble mainstays for new and that trade has not benefited the results, if Colin Farrell and Angeliki Papoulia were in the Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone roles the film would be better. Not that Plemons or Stone are bad but they are miscast, they misunderstand or are unable to translate the tone, they don't have the necessary cunning to deliver. Perhaps this is a result of the film not having the flat affect used to great success in Lanthimos's earlier films. Maybe it's because the script as is feels like its trying too hard. Lanthimos and co-writer Efthimis Filippou trying to reclaim their avant garde bonafides after Lanthimos's back-to-back mainstream successes. And, like Austin Butler before her, its astonishing that Margaret Qualley's star has risen so far so fast. Its not that she lacks talent but her current ubiquitousness is baffling and her limited experience makes her presence here a waste. Equally frustrating is the under use of Hong Chau and Mamoudou Athie who are the only two that are able to convey anything like recognizable humanity.
What is this film even about? It appears nothing. The film has visual style and an infectious soundtrack but it has no meat, no life to it, so the excellent production design is mostly for naught. The sex stuff is gratuitous and seemingly without purpose, the violence boring and unaffecting as there is no discernable motivation behind literally anything. The Lobster works because the world it builds is rich and the actors within it carve out idiosyncratic yet emotionally truthful characters. The same is true of The Killing Of A Sacred Deer even if it is more brutal, it has ambition and it is confident in what it is. That balance is what is lacking here. Regardless of the trappings, the subculture, the bizarreness there is no truth. And the fault is both in the script and with the performances both of which fall into Lanthimos's lap. He seems to be falling prey, as many writer/directors do, to success. The Favourite is a good movie but it was the first of his film's that was digestible to a wider audience. And Poor Things, despite its critical acclaim, was an absolute mess. One hopes he can right the ship.
Inert.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Don't See It.
