Pride & Prejudice

Listen
I like Kiera Knightly

quite a bit

I saw Domino

opening night

but she ain't my Lizzy Bennet

she's no Jennifer Ehle

not by a mile

God Sized Hole

the house
the car
the job
will be the solution

a new phone

a smart watch

will be the solution

a change of scenery

will be the solution

except it won't

except what's missing

isn't outside

what's missing

is inside

it can't be filled with stuff

it must be given up

given over

only then

will the searching end

'Highest 2 Lowest' A Review

Highest 2 Lowest is a crime thriller, a remake of Kurosawa's High and Low, directed by Spike Lee. David King(Denzel Washington) is a high-powered music producer and on the eve of a large deal with his label his son is kidnapped and held for ransom.

Washington is captivating as always, just like in Gladiator II, he creates a compelling character by sheer talent and will from the uneven, confused script. Jeffrey Wright is underutilized as his friend/driver but still compelling. The rest of the cast struggles to make anything interesting from the script and come across as mostly wooden and melodramatic. 

The production is inconsistent. The movie opens with a repeated pedestrian drone shot, the first 2/3rd's are strangled by an incessant old-timey orchestral score, the shot set-ups and framing are frequently bizarre. All this together just makes for a profound confusion in tone. It kinda smooths out and gets interesting in the final third with some more of Spike Lee's patented inspired sequences and shots as well as a more appropriate and compelling soundtrack, unfortunately it's a case of too-little too-late. Perhaps the script or Lee wanted to stick too close to the original or perhaps the production was rushed, either way it just feels underbaked, erratic, and dated.

Lower tier Spike Lee but worth watching for Washington and the lively third act. 

Currently in theaters.

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Your Best Is Variable

During a difficult time

I was struggling to be present

struggling to stay calm

struggling

to do what I needed to do
I told a friend
"If this were graded I'd be getting a D."
he said
"It's not graded. It's pass/fail."

and that unlocked a lot for me

'Weapons' A Review

Weapons is a horror/mystery about the disappearance of a third-grade class. Told through nonlinear, overlapping chapters from different characters perspective the mystery and it's impact is explored. Tension slowly builds with scares and some laughs to a surprising crescendo.

The ensemble cast is all around stellar with some faces we haven't seen in awhile and some old school tried-and-true character actors. Julia Garner(alcoholic teacher), Josh Brolin(grieving father), Alden Ehrenreich(struggling cop), Austin Abrams(relentless junkie), Benedict Wong(PC principal) and child actor Cary Christopher(shockingly poised) each have their own chapter and each carve out an interesting character with nuance, some humor, and complexity. The structure allows them to give slightly different performances of the same interactions based on whose perspective the scene is from. The whole thing is just really rich and you can tell the cast is giving it everything they got and having a blast. And that extends beyond the main cast to pretty much anyone who even has a cameo- Toby Huss(old school police chief), June Diane Raphael(jilted lover), Justin Long(beta dad)- it all just weaves together intricately and works in harmony to present these rich characters and community while simultaneously ratcheting up the tension and unspooling the mystery. Out of this impressive cast the big surprise, the show stopper, is Amy Madigan who gives an absolutely magnetic, terrifying, layered performance. She goes for it and it pays off huge. She's always been an impressive(and working) character actor but it's so great to see her get this kind of spot light, this kind of scale, this late in her career which should(if there's any actual merit in these things) lead to awards recognition. She is sensational.

Visually the film is subtle but innovative, the horror sequences are inspired as are the camera angles and shot set up just in the "regular" scenes, there's two really thrilling dream sequences, and it all culminates in an edge-of-your-seat heart-pumping finale that is the most cathartic endings to a film since Winston Duke's recitation in Nine Days. The score is eerie and subtle, the costuming and set design evocative, all the production elements and the script and the cast all work together melodically to present this unified story. All elements are working towards this singular vision and purpose. It's clear the promise of Barbarian was not a fluke and this from writer/director Zach Cregger is even better. He shows here his ability to translate his vision and perfectly manage tone. It's impressive for a sophomore feature and easily one of the best films of the year.

Rich, dynamic, fun, scary, provocative, slippery, all of the above.

Currently in theaters.

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True Crime

In grade school

Rashawn's sister

was shot and killed

Will's sister

died of leukemia

Mindy drowned

in the Kishwaukee

we never suffered

under the delusion

of suburban safety

or middle-class innocence

The thesis

of much True Crime

seems to be

bad things

inexplicable things

tragic things

can and do happen

well

no shit

'The Naked Gun' A Review

The Naked Gun is an action comedy, a reboot/sequel of the Leslie Nielsen franchise this time with Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. The movie opens on the heist of a literal P.L.O.T. device and the antics go from there. There's slapstick, visual gags, word play, some goof action, and a pretty stacked cast of fully committed actors having a blast.

Neeson is a delight, his gravely deadpan delivery and absolute commitment to the absurd not only makes the comedy work but it's infections and the tone he sets permeates the entire cast and the movie. Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport is a great foil to Neeson, the two have wonderful chemistry, and it's just the right kind of tone for her, she's able to play and have fun. A wonderful follow up to her ambitious if somewhat underrealized turn in The Last Showgirl. Danny Huston as the heavy is having a ball and it's great to see him in not only a comedy but something this broad where he's able to let loose. CCH Pounder is not cast against type exactly but she plays the bizzarro absurd version of the various law enforcement and government officials she's played over her long career. Similarly Kevin Durand returns to the villainous henchman role he's played before but is able to be funny and kinda comment on it. Overall just solid casting and clearly director Akiva Schaffer set a fun, playful tone that trickled down.

In some ways the way it's shot its relatively conventional, as most comedies are, but every couple scenes there would be a real inspired physical comedy set piece culminating in a fight scene with Neeson set to 'Fergalicious'. The soundtrack/score is effective but most of the credit goes to a pretty air tight inspired script, a talented cast all-in, and an assured director in Schaffer who had a clear vision. It's refreshing that this exists and was released in theaters, an adult comedy(of which we get few-to-none), that doesn't try to hit every demo, there are many references people under 30 would not get. But even then I think there's appeal to a younger crowd just based the infectious exuberance of the whole thing.

A light-hearted, unserious blast. Guaranteed to make you lol.

Currently in theaters.

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