Half Measures

We are just as unable
to negotiate 

the terms of our healing
as we were
the circumstances of our pain.

'Infinity Pool' A Review

Infinity Pool is a horror/thriller about a rich couple, James(Skarsgård) and Em(Coleman), who vacation at a luxury resort/compound but venture out into the forbidden countryside at the urging of a couple they meet, Gabi(Goth) and Alban(Lespert). No surprise, things go wrong, and James becomes seduced by the the couple, their gross friends, and hedonistic verve.

There are some wonderful ideas and concepts but the script is woefully defecent as far as character. None of the characters feel, talk, or behave in a realistic way. They are vessels for the ideas not actual representation of humanity. As such the actors don't have much to do, they recite lines, mark out blocking, but none of it, ultimately, has much of an effect because their is virtually no emotional reality present. Skarsgård commits much to his credit and Mia Goth continues her campaign to carve out a new trope- manic-pixie-nightmare-girl. But their efforts are mostly wasted.

Not to say the film is a total loss. It has ambition, it has visual flair, and the ideas are really intriguing. It just doesn't really come together, because the setting, circumstances, and motivations are kind of vague, because the characters are thinly drawn, when things start happening and getting weird there aren't much actual stakes. 

There is a misconception that making a genre piece precludes the necessity of believability. This is wrong and why, sometimes, genre gets unfairly maligned. That mistake is made here. I can buy the idea that in this fictional country tourists can purchase clones to stand in for their crimes. What I can't buy is James would put in jeopardy his financial well being(by alienating his rich wife) and going all-in with a couple(clearly unhinged) who he has just met.

Writer/director Brandon Cronenberg is still green but shows promise. He may need a screenwriting partner.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Stream It.

'The Pez Outlaw' A Review

The Pez Outlaw is a documentary about Steve Glew, a factory worker in a small Michigan town who develops an interest then side business in collecting. This hobby becomes his full time occupation when he begins importing non-US market Pez dispensers from eastern Europe.

The movie is composed of talking head interviews(with the primary being Glew himself), limited archival footage, and relatively extensive re-creations/fantasy sequences with Grew playing himself. It's intriguing, told at a thriller-like pace, has fun nostalgia, some eccentric characters, kind of an underdog story. Crisply shot, smartly edited, it bangs along and it works.

Above and beyond the level of entertainment there are some gaps, some incongruous holes. Ultimately Glew is a dreamer and a hustler, kind of a Peter Pan, no shame in that, but there is attempts by him and by implication the filmmakers to spin the story as if he were some kind of legit businessman, further some kind of creative(particularly within Pez). There's nothing wrong with taking it to big corporations, undermining them and putting money in your pocket. Especially now, there's not a ton of big business defenders outside of the rich and politicians bought and paid, but what's odd is in the third act there seems to be an effort to legitimize Grew in a way that is odd and quite frankly does not match with the facts as they are conveyed previously. There's also Grew's mental health which clearly has been a challenge for him his entire life, has had a profound effect on his family, and which the movie kind of glances over in a way that doesn't really acknowledge it and places it firmly in the back seat.

Both those criticism are ultimately more just irregularities in the third act, they don't really effect the movie enjoy-ability as a whole, but these things are obvious and the filmmaker(presumably deliberately) didn't really investigate them simply accepting Grew's version of events and perspective(maybe that was his price for participation). Which is fine, it is a movie about him, narrated by him, with him starring as himself. Its not a surprise. Its just a missed opportunity, to get below the surface and investigate Grew as an actual subject rather than a somewhat goofy, and unquestionably entertaining, self-mythologizer.

Slick, well paced, diverting if unconvincing in it's attempts at real insight.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

The Persistence Of Rage II

The old man steps on my shoe
which prompts an explosion of fantasies
berating and belittling the stranger
tripping him, kicking the offending kneecap
lunging across the train car
eyes bulging, grasping his coat lapels

thrusting my maw at him, teeth bared and grinning
screaming and spitting into his face

roaring, that he and the other passengers might know fear

the visions pass, recede, and I do nothing

sit in silence, patiently waiting for my stop

the anger gone but never vanquished.

'Plane' A Review

Plane is an action movie about commercial pilot Brodie Torrance(Gerard Butler) who is flying a late light flight from Singapore to Honolulu via Tokyo. At the last minute a prisoner, Louis Gaspare(Mike Colter), is taken on board being extradited to Canada. When severe weather necessitates an emergency landing on a remote island populated by a hostile militia group Torrance and Gaspare team up to ensure the passengers safety.

Butler continues his domination as the top seeded B-movie hero/villain, here in the hero incarnation- a good dad, a good pilot, who will do whatever it takes to make sure his passengers get to where they need to go! And he does it well, you can't argue with his screen presence or his commitment. He, and the movies he's been making over the last decade or so, harken back to an era of 90's action flicks that are just simple, morally uncomplicated, fun. And there's a market for that, not only because of the current fade of 90's nostalgia but because of how bloated the movie landscape is with superhero movies and action movies that seem required to be morally opaque. It's great to see Colter and he plays off Butler well but he's a bit less confident, perhaps not totally sure of what kind of movie he's in. Still, the two make a fun shoot-em-up duo. The supporting cast are all solid, particularly Daniella Pineda as the lead flight attendant, nice to see her getting work after her great(but gone-too-soon) turn in Cowboy Bebop.

Visually pretty impressive, surprisingly assured mix of CGI and practicality, even if there are green screens and studio sets in play it always helps to have multiple actual human bodies in a space to create a necessary sense of tangibility. The production on the whole is meat-and-potatoes but it works and mirrors what the movie itself is- straight-up, down-the-middle, entertainment. There are a number of surprising things about it, for one the first twenty minutes or so focus utterly on commercial flight procedure, in a way that's actually pretty riveting and serves almost as a reprimand to the pandemic increase in commercial flight bad behavior but does so in a way that is implicit rather than accusatory. The other real success is the tone- kinda sincere, kinda campy, a little heart, a fair amount of action, all fun.

A clinic in the middle budget action space- pure entertainment. Top Gun: Maverick was a big budget throwback, Plane, and by extension Butler, holds the ground for a type of movie that has virtually been edged out of the market place, forgotten, but is nonetheless necessary.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

See It.

'Broker' A Review

Broker is a drama about a dry cleaner Ha Sang-hyeon(Song Kang-ho) who is partners with Dong-soo(Gang Dong-won) to steal and sell orphans for adoption from a local church-based baby box where Dong-soo works part time. When one of the mother's(Moon So-young played by Lee Ji-eun) reconisders the three work together to broker the deal for her baby and split the profits. All the while they are being investigated by detectives Soo-jin(Bae Doona) and Lee(Lee Joo-young).

The cast all give really textured, compassionate, mostly understated performances with Bae Doona bringing in some really playful oddness. It's great to see Song here without the weight of his previous international breakout Parasite and you can tell he relishes(and excels in) the gentleness of the character and conveys it with an incredibly light touch. Gang also does a lot with a little, Lee is great but is given less space and quiet in which to work at times burdened with a fair amount of plot/exposition.

Richly shot and evocative but with writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda's immersive yet reserved style, an effective but non-intrusive score, all the production elements click. The film struggles to find it's footing in the third act, struggles to end, devolving into somewhat saccharine platitudes and predictability, most likely because the actual plot is clearly not much of a priority. The scenes of the characters simply driving around, getting to know each other, and spending time together are beautiful, affirming, and disarmingly simple that is what the focus of the movie is and its incredibly successful. The baby box, the cops, a murder reveal, all that stuff doesn't really work and ultimately gets in the way of the heart of the actual story.

A thoughtful, considered portrait of working class humanity, although not as complete or effecting as Kore-eda's absolute stunner Shoplifters.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Rent It.

Chess

My dad and I
played chess for years
until I began to win
then we stopped

he said "what's the point,

I have nothing more to teach."