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.

Don't Miss It.

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.

Don't Miss It.

For Every Action

Buy the ticket
take the ride

You reap

what you sow

What goes around

comes around

This is all to say

Actions

have consequences

A simple fact

hard to remember

hard to contend with

the ramifications, the fallout

'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' A Review

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a superhero movie set in an alternate technologically advanced 1960's, the latest entry in the MCU, refreshingly more of a standalone installment. In a brief opening montage(packaged as a talk show clip) the origin story of the foursome is set up, effectively and efficiently, another pleasant surprise not spending the first movie on that part of their story. The movie kicks off with the Silver Surfer(Julia Garner) announcing the approach of Galactus(Ralph Ineson) and Earth's doom. Reed Richards(Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm(Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm(Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm(Ebon Moss-Bachrach) aren't gonna take that lying down!

Pascal is maybe more understated and serious than we've ever seen him, it's actually kind of great to see this side of him, he's playing against type and it brings a new freshness to his appearance here. Kirby is a dynamo and brings much needed emotion, reality, and gravitas to, what can be, a silly franchise. Quinn doesn't get as much screen time but he continues to show he's got range and screen presence to spare. If there's a new British IT leading man it ain't Austin Butler or Jacob Elordi it should be this guy. Moss-Bachrach is given short shrift by the design of his character, I don't doubt he gave an inspired mo-cap but the clunkiness of the rendering made it extremely difficult to get any emotion or intent from The Thing, something they'll hopefully resolve in future appearances. The supporting cast is full of talent(but certainly notable another example of the encroachment of British actors playing Americans in American movies) but there's clearly been some relatively significant reshoots and edits, to what purpose I don't know but I suspect for pacing, as a result a lot of the side characters don't have much to do and seem like their stories were cut or truncated.

Visually the film is sleek, effective, and occasionally pretty inspired(aside from The Thing). The score is really incredible and very atypical of the MCU of late, it's orchestral and choral and uses the same repeated theme throughout, really potent and serves to give the movie a real identity of it's own. The pacing is break neck and the runtime hits the sweet spot with a couple intimate moments that really hit, if there's a fault it's just it would have nice to have just a bit more of those. With this and with Thunderbolts* it seems that Marvel is finally turning the ship, making compelling fun blockbuster movies, the goodwill they squandered the past several years may take a bit longer to snap back but they're on the right track.

A return to a winning formula for the MCU.

Currently in theaters.

See It.

'Happy Gilmore 2' A Review

Happy Gilmore 2 is a sports comedy a sequel to 1996's Happy Gilmore. After tragedy strikes Happy(Adam Sandler) gives up golf and limps along working at a grocery store trying to take care of his four sons and daughter. After his daughter gets in to a prestigious dance program Happy reluctantly returns to golf to make money for tuition.

Sandler returns to the role with surprising ease, bringing all the manic slapstick gags from the original but also an odd but effecting pathos, indicative of his whole career but particularly the last ten years where it seems he's been better able to balance his creative ambition and penchant for scatological. The tone is surprisingly dark but never not funny with emotional beats that hit alongside truly incredible Three Stooges level physical comedy. It's quite a feat. The supporting cast is absolutely stuffed and at a certain point it becomes a case of diminishing returns but it takes quite awhile to get to that point and a lot of the characters that pop up along the way are a real hoot. The big stand out though is the return of Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin, dude absolutely explodes onto the screen, relishing the broadness of the comedy and heights he can go to, it's really a treat to see.

The production has an authentic feel, relatively workman-like and understated, evoking the first film but updating it. The big inspiration, where the designers get to have some fun is in the Maxi Golf finale. The soundtrack works, costumes are effective with a couple characters being really fun and inspired. All-in-all it's kind of a clinic from director Kyle Newacheck and the Sandler team in how to do a legacy sequel, a genre that unfortunately doesn't seem to be going anywhere but that all Hollywood hasn't quite figured out yet. The theory is to do the same thing but different and they certainly achieve that here. It's a bit darker, it's more grown up, but the beats and the arc feel familiar and the humor is the same if not the jokes. And there's a certain amount of ecstatic joy about seeing Sandler return to the role, older, more grizzled, but still able to deliver.

For anyone that grew up with Happy Gilmore this is for you.

Currently streaming on Netflix(should have been released theatrically, Netflix continues there ill-advised strategy not to figure out some middle ground with exhibition, with this movie they're leaving hundreds of millions in box office on the table, no matter how you slice it bad for business, bad for creatives)

See It.