'The Contestant' A Review

The Contestant is a documentary about a 1998 Japanese reality show starring Nasubi(real name Tomoaki Hamatsu) who was confined to a studio apartment and lived off magazine giveaways for 15 months.

Through contemporary interviews, footage from the show, and archival news clips Nasubi's story is told. Its interesting and bizarre and certainly a telling precursor to the cavalcade of reality TV to come. But it plays more like a summary of the show and neither Nasubi himself or the shows creator/producer Toshio Tsuchiya are able to offer much in the way of insight about the experience other than it was traumatic. No one is really held responsible, there is no comment about Japanese culture(or humanity at large), no analysis about reality TV as a genre, most of the questions the story itself raises are left unanswered.

Entertaining and pretty cringe but mostly devoid of why. The movie simply states "this happened" which is fine, its a weird enough story to hold attention, but it reaches and fails to grasp any real meaning. The third act attempts to place the experience as motivation for Nasubi later in life but it feels contrived.

Intriguing but incomplete.

Currently streaming on Hulu.

Rent It.

Taking Tickets

I haven't worked a register
in many years

technology

has come a long way

since '07

chips and taps and apps

so many ways to pay

convenience

but my suitability

for the interaction

is unchanged

in my allergy

to false warmth

and low grade

commercial

deference

I am as I ever was

barely competent

'Land Of Bad' A Review

Land Of Bad is a war/survival movie about Air Force drone pilot Reaper(Russell Crowe) and the Delta Force team he supports, most directly with JTAC Fruit Loops aka Playboy(Liam Hemsworth), on a rescue mission in the Philippines.

Crowe continues his streak of incredible performances in mid-range movies. He's totally present, creates a fully realized and compelling character, and is able to hit kind of a shocking level of nuance with the split focus of the narrative and the little emotional space the character gets on the page. Out of the ensemble Hemsworth the Liam is the weakest link, he's serviceable but his dead-eyed aww-shucks take doesn't really have much mileage. Milo Ventimiglia as the ops leader Sugar is breathtaking, not that the story itself is anything particularly unique but Ventimiglia, who has shown incredible promise ever since Heroes, has hit his stride. He is absolutely focused, he is absolutely this character, or at least fully expressing this type of character that is just captivating. Like the soldiers under his command we the audience are utterly convinced of his capability, frightened perhaps by the action but totally confident in his leadership. Hemsworth the elder(aka Luke) is much more assured than his brother, much more at ease and believable and therefore interesting. Ricky Whittle isn't as successful but he's still good. The core team in compliment with Crowe and his partner played by Chika Ikogwe(great) make for a surprisingly deep ensemble in a movie that at first blush may seem straight-to-VOD type material.

The film benefits by taking place, for the most part, in two locations. It looks real, the sound mix and score are effective, the action is competent(if occasionally spoiled by goofy POV go-pro style shots). It works. And the dual narrative of the drone operator state side vs. the boots-on-the-ground mission is really effective. Although an argument could be made for solely following Crowe as the Liam part is very much something we've seen before. There's some decent commentary and insight about the current state of military affairs but the movie isn't particularly interested in that element although it is most certainly there. Land Of Bad is mostly concerned with being entertaining and it is, this was dumped in theaters in the winter and its a shame they put basically no marketing money behind it. Its not a great movie but it is a pretty good one.

A modern day military movie that colors outside the lines just enough to be intriguing bolstered by a mostly tremendous cast.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

'Twisters' A Review

Twisters is a disaster movie, a quasi-sequel to1996's Twister. Kate(Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a storm chaser in Oklahoma but retreats to work with the weather service in NYC after tragedy on a chase. Five years later her friend, the only other survivor of said tragedy, Javi(Anthony Ramos) gets her back on the chase where they butt up against youtuber Tyler(Glen Powell).

Powell is uncompelling and off-putting as Tyler, unable to hit the charming-asshole balance coming across almost entirely as the latter. Edgar-Jones doesn't make much of an impression either way. They are both conventionally attractive which goes some distance for some but neither is able to really generate any real chemistry nor are they able to make much sense out of their flat, lifeless, improbable characters as-written. With the supporting players though the casting agency out did themselves, it is filled with recognizable up-and-coming talent- Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane, Katy O'Brian, Tunde Adebimpe, Kiernan Shipka, and Nik Dodani- and their presence fills out the mostly lifeless spectacle.

The film has a competent look, the CGI entertaining if not particularly realistic, but the script feels AI generated, the actors executing said script feel like automatons and the plot itself careens from scientific gobbledygook to silly spectacle to incomplete romcom to absolute absurdity. Twister worked because it had serious actors elevating a relatively silly idea. Here the tone is wildly uncertain. For a decades-late sequel Twisters does well as a complete refresh with a young cast unencumbered(for the most part) from clunky tie-ins, although there is a relatively frustrating bait-and-switch non-appearance from Helen Hunt.

The movie has some traction at the box office which I'm all for, whatever gets people in theaters I'm behind, so if you're interested go for it, for me though it was a snoozer.

Currently in theaters. 

Stream It.

Top 10 Movies Of The Year So Far

Top 10:

Dune: Part Two

The Fall Guy

Ghostlight

Hundreds Of Beavers

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Longlegs

Monkey Man

Problemista

Sasquatch Sunset

Thelma

Worst Of The Year Contenders:

Hit Man

Road House

Unfrosted

"I'm good."

My grandmother
refused to acknowledge
this idiom

she would harangue me

for its use

wholly rejecting

colloquial evolution

she would force me 

to the explicit "No."

as a child

already intimidated

by her distance presence

and afraid of offending

this was difficult

but

it was good training

good practice

in making the decision

and holding the line.

'Longlegs' A Review

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.