Monday 26 February 2018

Marshall (2017)

Marshall is entertaining mythbuilding. A courtroom drama whose purpose is to highlight the strength of character of an important American man. Chadwick Boseman plays Thurgood Marshall as the charismatic leading man he is. He is heroic, almost perfect. He is mythic. While Thurgood Marshall's accomplishments are remarkable he was human. The film, like so many biopics before, isn't really about him. It's about the struggle for justice in racist America and it needs a hero. Marshall is that hero.

Marshall is filmed as courtroom drama. It doesn't attempt to tell the life story of the man, instead focusing on one case, this one snapshot in time. It is dramatic and perfectly illustrates the nature of how the justice system was (and remains) set up against people of colour. The story is clearly for its purpose. And it is damn good. Entertaining, dramatic, with all the hallmarks of good legal drama. Marshall is a fun and inspiring ride.

Boseman exudes leading man charm and here he puts it all to good use. His Thurgood is a champion, a role model. He is magnetic on the screen. This is a star making turn. Boseman doesn't get to play nuance here, the film's characterization doesn't allow it, but he does amazing work with what he is given. His Marshall is incredible to watch.

What is somewhat fascinating about Marshall is how its story is about difficult questions in this metoo period in time. The film justifies not believing the woman who is claiming she was raped. It is about using her sexual morals and her promiscuity against her. And it is about how doing so is justified. This is a challenging story. It touches on the intersections of racism and male violence against women, yet it sweeps most of that part under the rug. There are moments where Marshall could have been even more interesting than it is if it had been open to more complexity. But as I said, that's not the point of Marshall. Things need to be more cut and dried than that.

Still, Marshall presents a strong inspiring story and juicy courtroom drama. Marshall is good cinema. It may not be the most nuanced history lesson, but it hits all the notes we would want.

Marshall
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, Sterling K. Brown, Keesha Sharp
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Writers: Michael Koskoff, Jacob Koskoff

Last Men in Aleppo (2017)

If you aren't familiar with the White Helmets, you should learn. They are a group of civilians in Syria and Turkey who volunteer for urban search and rescue. Basically as buildings are being bombed out they rush in and pull people out. It is one of the greatest examples of heroism in the modern world. Last Men in Aleppo chronicles what it is like to be a part of this group.

Last Men in Aleppo pulls no punches. As an audience safe in our cinemas or on our couches we watch as they pull the bodies of children and babies form destroyed buildings. We watch as the volunteers themselves are hurt and die. We watch as these men live their lives, impossible lives to imagine for westerners, eating street food, supporting each other, and living on despite conditions that we can simply not imagine.

But we don't have to imagine it. We can see it for ourselves. The strength of this film is how it looks unblinkingly at the horror and finds amazing examples of humanity. It is a tribute to these heroes. Like the Oscar Winning short film White Helmets, Last Men in Aleppo opens a window into a world few of us could survive. Movies are so often about heores. This is an amazing example of that.

Last Men in Aleppo
Writer/Director: Feras Fayyad

Saturday 24 February 2018

Mute (2018)

I am beginning to think Moon was a fluke? Source Code was a boring mess and Warcraft, while dedicated to its source material, couldn't inspire anyone other than the die hard fans. So despite the glorious debut of writer/director Duncan Jones that was Moon, perhaps Jones doesn't have it in him to make another glorious film.

Mute, despite being a "spiritual sequel" to Moon, isn't that impressive follow up. But although there are many failures in his second four-letter-M-word film, Mute has moments of brilliance which show perhaps another great film is coming from Jones, one day.

Mute is sci-fi detective noir (a la Blade Runner) but it sinks into many of the pitfalls of the genre istead of rising above them. Jones' script is rife with toxic masculinity in a way which is celebrated not critiqued. The plot is classic pulp fiction, a man searching for a missing woman, a woman who was involved in a "shady" underworld where kink is equated with bad and purity is represented by the strong silent (white) man. These ideas are ripe to be played with and deconstructed but Mute has no time for that. Instead it revels in the cliches of that. One has to ask what are we seeing that's new here. I'm not sure the answer isn't "nothing."

And there is a lot of "nothing" in this film. There are large parts of it which do not seem to advance the story of characterization much at all. Especially the film's connections to Moon which seem to be there only as a fan service. They are more than an Easter Egg, which could be a fun throw away, but less than integral to the plot. So again, what's the point?

But there are interesting ideas here. I love the central conceit of the silent main character. The idea of being outside due to blocks in communication. That would be perfectly placed in this genre but the film never gets to truly unlock that idea.There is also the setting of Berlin, a city presented as a way-station for those lost, looking for... what? Again this feels like a missed opportunity.

Jones' eye is good and his Berlin is a fascinating canvass. When he gets his hands on another good story I think he'll be able to do amazing things with it. But Mute isn't that great story. It ends up being little more than a "woman in a refrigerator" tale and it's honestly just not that interesting. The disturbingly shocking ending feels horrifically exploitative, not cleverly upsetting.

I'll hold out hope but my good will from Moon is almost spent.

Mute
Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, Seyneb Saleh
Director: Duncan Jones
Writers: Michael Robert Johnson, Duncan Jones



Friday 23 February 2018

Annihilation (2018)

Some horror is visceral. A killer, a monster, an alien, something is hunting people and the scares are clear. A bang, something jumps out at you, someone is attacked. This kind of horror is easy. It doesn't take imagination. It is easy to be scared by it.

Other kinds of horror are more complicated. There are stories which get us to uncomfortable places, that play with out ideas of comfort, that get under our skin. These require an audience which is imaginative, which can understand the terror underneath.

Annihilation is the latter kind of horror.

Writer/director Alex Garland has made a terrifying film. He has made a film which is asks us to think about what normal is, what base line is, and what it would mean to be transformed beyond our control. The questions he poses aren't answered, the suggestions he makes are contradictory. Annihilation is about not being what you were before and not being able to go back.

He has made a film about women. The film is self-consciously about women addressing the unknown after men have failed. It is about women of colour and queer women. It is about how women survive.

And it is a beautiful movie. Garland's unassuming take jumps us around in time a bit, giving us little pieces, which are mostly quiet moments at first. Moments of visceral terror are introduced but briefly and effectively. They often leave the more disturbing questions in their wake. He starts with his film being soft focus, lovely and quiet, slowly adding more chaos, more violence, more disruption until the film crescendos into something confusing

The film supposed did not test well. Audiences were confused, upset with the non-linear aspects and dark tones, the lack of resolution. Fortunately the film makers stuck to their guns and didn't do reshoots to "fix" that. Annihilation is the sort of film you go for coffee after to discuss what the hell did we just see??

I understand in the book this is based on the characters are left quite ambiguous as to their identities including gender and race only to be identified in later books. I understand Natalie Portman is playing a character who is not identified in the book as any specific race but later is confirmed to be asian. It is unfortunate that Hollywood still struggles to cast racialized actors in appropriate parts leaving white actors as leads regardless. Does this pull from the movie? The movie remains brilliant and Portman is excellent. Would it have been important to cast an asian actor in the lead role in this film? Certainly.

Annihilation is typical Garland in that one will leave with more questions than one goes in with and that's what makes me so attracted to his work. But he is also developed a very interesting visual style which I find so compelling, especially in light of the fantastic elements. Garland goes full out with the fantasy (reminiscent of his screenplay for Sunshine which was critiqued for that bold direction) and that may put some people off. I think Annihilation will put a lot people off.

But not everyone.

Annihilation 
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny, Oscar Issac, Benedict Wong
Writer/Director: Alex Garland

Wednesday 21 February 2018

Early Man (2018)

Somewhat awkward and clunky, Aardman's latest, about a soccer match between a group of cavemen and a more advanced Bronze Age society, gets charming at the end but still feels a bit haphazard.

Early Man (an awkward title) starts with a rushed set up. We follow a tribe of cavemen (with an implication of dinosaurs?? really?? in 2018 we still put cavemen next to dinosaurs) who invent soccer by evolving what is essentially hot potato with a meteorite. Sure it's clever but the next piece feels less clever and more obvious. Generations later the tribe is hunting rabbits and encounters a more advanced society. Their clash of cultures is cliched and filled with lame jokes (including one about sliced bread... *eye roll*). All of this just to get to the meat of the story, the soccer match.

Early Man, like many Aardman films, is extremely British.  However, unlike their last film, the brilliantly slapstick Shaun the Sheep, Early Man stumbles through most of its story until it gets to the soccer game. It's then the film comes alive and finally starts being entertaining. The jokes remain very culturally specific. Non-brits just won't laugh as hard. But at least it starts being fun.

And then, like a lot of stop-motion animation, it just stops and is over. Run times can be challenging for these films and perhaps that's a part of why the plot feels so choppy.

So while there are charming moments, especially at the end, overall this is one of Aardman's weaker efforts.

Early Man
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall
Director: Nick Park
Writers: Mark Burton, James Higgenson

Sunday 18 February 2018

Freak Show (2018)

The vision of James St. James has been realized in Trudie Styler's charming film Freak Show, the story of a gender non-conforming teen whose dramatic life is one of triumph not tragedy. One of the best aspects of this story, and what Styler is able to highlight, is that Billy Bloom is no victim, despite what life throws at him and where he lands, Bloom flies his freak flag proudly.

Alex Lawther is one of those next big thing actors right now and Freak Show shows off his talents. Billy Bloom is a tour de force role where he gets to do it all. He is surrounded by an amazing cast which inclues the Divine Miss M playing a complicated version of the idealized but absent mother, Abigail Breslin as the virginity club style cheerleader, Anna Sophia Robb as the best friend, Laverne Cox as a plucky reporter, and the wonderful character actor Celia Weston as the midwestern stepmom with a heart of gold. But this is Lawther's show and a lessor actor couldn't have pulled this off. This is one of those roles that makes you want to keep an eye on what amazing things he's going to do next.

Freak Show is a delight. Styler misses some opportunities to make the film as delightfully queer as its subject, but by centering the film around such great performances, she has created a truly enjoyable and triumphant film.

Freak Show
Starring: Alex Lawther, Bette Midler, Laverne Cox, Abigail Breslin, Anna Sophia Robb, Celia Weston
Director: Trudie Styler
Writers: Patrick J. Clifton, Beth Rigazio

Icarus (2017)

Icarus is about doping in sport, with a strong focus on the Olympics. But that is only on one level. It is also about the way a despot can influence the world of sport. But again that's only looking at the surface. In reality, Icarus is a well laid out demonstration of the way that Putin and his corrupt government can influence global politics at all levels. Watching Icarus may make you loose faith not only in the Olympics and other global sport events, but in the security of the world when such power is being exploited.

Director Bryan Fogel takes a systemic and thorough look at the way despotic governments can influence the world around them by using the lens of sport. The implication is clear in how much control certain actors can have in all areas of global politics. Fogel lays out his argument quite clearly, starting with the rather inert feeling world of cycling. But from there he moves on to explore the terrifying dilemmas facing those who attempt to speak out.

And in the end it takes us to a frightening conclusion, in this ear of investigation into Russian meddling in the elections of the United States. It's a wake up call and a fairly clear one.

Icarus
Director: Bryan Fogel


Saturday 17 February 2018

A Fantastic Woman/Una Mujer Fantastica (2017)

Writer/director Sebastian Lelio has made a truly fantastic film. After a woman's much older partner dies, she is excluded from mourning his life and inheriting his possessions by his ex-wife and family. Lelio captures the way a transwoman is treated in western society, both by those with outward disdain and those whose politeness barely hides a discomfort which contributes to keeping her outside.

Lelio takes a rather straightforward approach which holds the microagressions (which lead to marcoagressions) in plain sight. His fantastic woman at the centre of his film, Marina, played by Daniela Vega, suffers it all with a grace and quiet strength. But it is not those moments which truly bring the film to life. We need to see the way she is treated to understand the world she lives in, but that isn't what this film is about. It is about her fantastic elements. There is a sequence in the middle which allows Marina to truly be free, to be herself. It is glorious and lovely and fantastic.

Marina lands on her feet but we are given a taste of Marina's day to day experience. We are also given a glimpse of her glory and that is where the film truly soars.

A Fantastic Woman
Starring: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes
Director: Sebastian Lelio
Writers: Sebastian Lelio, Gonzalo Maza

Friday 16 February 2018

The Insult (2017)

Watching The Insult is a bit like watching a disaster movie. As the chain of events falls into place we can see the disaster coming, the dread builds, and we careen towards conflict as an inevitability. That's the point of The Insult. It explores how our identities and our emotions push us towards violence and take us away from the things we truly hold dear.

Tony is a Lebanese Christian who holds onto a large amount of rage related to atrocities which happened in his childhood. When he encounters a Palestinian Muslim, Yasser, this is unleashed, first in small but unproportional amounts, but then continuing to build. Yasser's own pride and history prevents him from being able to more effectively deal with his neighbour's rage. Together, the two are unable to keep what is essentially important to them as they head down a path of violence and retribution which ends up engulfing an entire city.

The Insult is occasionally heavy handed. This isn't the most subtle allegory out there. The movie even ups the "drama" quotient by having each party represented in court by father daughter lawyers pitted against each other. However it is remarkably powerful in its message. There is a lovely little moment when Tony's impulse to fix a car (he is mechanic) overrules his anger at his "enemy." His humanity, what makes him a part of his community, triumphs, even just temporarily.

The Insult works best when it is in these small moments between characters. Tony and his wife caring for their prematurely born child, the lawyers and their family dynamics, and Tony and Yasser together when they are forced to see each others' humanity. That is when The Insult is at its strongest.

The Insult
Starring: Adel Karam, Kamel el Basha, Rita Hayek, Camille Salameh, Diamond Bou Abboud
Director: Ziad Doueriri
Writers: Ziad Doueiri, Kamel el Basha

Black Panther (2018)

Black Panther is, to date, one of the best Marvel movies by basically being the least "Marvel movie"-ish of any Marvel movie. There are certain tropes that have become synonymous with every Marvel movie and Black Panther mostly jettisons these to make a movie that exceeds the series that spawned it.

First, minimizing "issues." From Iron Man to Civil War, Marvel movies eschew addressing real world issues in exchange for being "fun." This has been one of the most frustrating things for me about the MCU. For me genre films are at their best when they are speaking to our real world in some way. Marvel avoids that to ensure maximum popularity. Panther goes the other way, directly confronting issues of colonialism as one of the central questions of its plot. How refreshing.

Speaking of plot, that's the second. Marvel movies often keep the plot simple as a way of stringing together big action set pieces. In Panther the plot is foremost while the action sequences serve the plot. They remain a little on the Transformers side of outrageous spectacle but they still serve the plot more than the other way around.

Third, weak villains. Other thank Loki Marvel villains capital S suck. Here Andy Sirkis' Klaue is charismatic and entertaining while Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger is a villain with a strong impact. Reminiscent of Magneto, he is one of those villains who "has a point" and the movie struggles with the clash of ideas presented by his character.

Fourth, weak female characters. Sorry Black Widow but please. Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie in Ragnarok perhaps being the sole exception. Here that is no problem. From Lupita N'yongo's Nakia to Danai Gurira's Okoye to Letitia Wright's Shuri (even the underused Ramonda played by Angela Bassett) this film is dripping with strong female characters who hold their own.

Bland art direction, costumes, music. The Marvel movies haven't been a wealth of artistry when it comes to the technical aspects. Hum one Marvel theme... right? While the cartoony worlds created for the Thor movies are pathetic, the remainder of the films (with the general exception of the first Captain America movie) are blandly designed. The whole tech budget gets blown on the Transformers style special effects. It's really the only thing anyone ever says about Doctor Strange. Here the world of Wakanda is a gorgeous feast for the eyes. From hair to costumes to sets, Marvel has finally made a beautiful movie stylishly filmed. Okay, the music remains as forgettable as the rest of the MCU. Oh well, nothing's perfect.

And finally silliness. The Marvel movies have been on a lowest-common-denominator trajectory towards being as irreverent and ridiculous as possible. The leap frog by Guardians of the Galaxy into the silly-zone lead us towards the most ridiculous film so far Thor Ragnarok, a film which gave up any semblance of taking itself seriously in exchange for basically being an Austin Powers movie. Panther has some humour but it is organic, it comes from the story. It isn't an attempt to lead from one fart joke to the next. It was so nice to see a Marvel film take is subject seriously for a change.

So Black Panther was a surprising treat, an entertaining adventure that has something to say, something to wrestle with. I hope this represents a new direction for the MCU, one that can actually keep me entertained. It did this by not being like the other Marvel movies so my hope is tempered with realism that mass popularity will rule out in the end. But if Black Panther is as financially successful as it appears it is going to be perhaps the suits at Disney will let them make more movies of this ilk.

Here is my one complaint about the movie. The film makers took a lesbian character and muted that aspect of her for no apparent narrative reason. This erasure is disappointing, perhaps even more so in a movie which goes so far to focus on representation of gender and racial issues. Watching the film, I felt let down the filmmakers felt it was necessary to not just ignore the sexuality of one character (while heterosexual characters have plenty of representation throughout) but to actively change and erase it. If the film hadn't taken such strides this would be even less egregious. Sigh.

Still, this film ranks high for me on my MCU list. I hope it will mean good things for the future of the MCU.

Black Panther
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita N'yongo, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Martin Freeman, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Sirkis
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writers: Joe Robert Cole, Ryan Coogler

Tuesday 13 February 2018

God's Own Country (2017)

It is hard not to compare God's Own Country to Brokeback Mountain. Both are about male sheep farmers who fall in love despite the closets they live their lives in. Both are impeccably beautifully filmed movies which reach a deep emotional place. And both feature honest depictions of male sex acts. The film makers and promoters have tried to distance themselves from the more famous film, but in realty the two do share a great deal, including both being wonderful films. But despite its similarities to Brokeback, God's Own Country does offer a rich experience of its own.

One big difference, and it is an important one, is that God's Own Country is not a tragedy. While I find Brokeback's heartrending narrative not only beautiful but an essential part of the queer male canon, there is also value in telling romantic stories which end positively for the protagonists. God's Own Country is patterned more after a typical romantic comedy, without the comedy, it's a rather dower tale despite being uplifting. Boy (whose life isn't going where he wants) meets boy (who he has no expectation of having a relationship with), boy looses boy (by being, well... a typical boy), and has to chase him down to win his love back at the end. But what makes God's Own Country not just another typical romantic film is two things, it's incredible beauty and a sincere honesty in its story telling.

Gay sex in films can be overly glamorized or sanitized (yes I'm looking at you Call Me By Your Name). Here it is both raw and powerful. The connection between these men is palpable there is this beautiful transition in their sexuality. They move from a fairly toxic masculinity approach to sexuality that morphs, slowly and realistically, into a connected tenderness. The film isn't just a "gay love story" it's a comment on masculine culture and the way it destroys men. It is the queerness between them that saves them, and not only them but their family and the family farm. The film is making a case for queerness as salvation and it's glorious.

And as I said, director Francis Lee films the cold, bleak Yorkshire countryside in a manner which makes it so lovely we can't take our eyes off it. His leads aren't supermodels they are beautiful in an earthy way and their passion is gorgeous not because it feels polished or "sexy" but because it feels real. They have sex like men actually have sex together. It's messy, it's clumsy, it's real.

And the film is a testament to that love. So while it may share stuff in common with other films it is also just wonderful in its own right. I hope that Francis Lee, now having broken out with his first feature, branches out from here.

God's Own Country
Starring: Josh O'Conner, Alec Secareanu, Ian Hart, Gemma Jones
Writer/Director: Francis Lee

Sunday 11 February 2018

Peter Rabbit (2018)

2018's Peter Rabbit serves more as a sequel to the famous Beatrix Potter books than a traditional adaptation. With a new story, it is a strange hybrid of sentimental updating of a children's classic with a zany, self-aware romantic comedy filled with out of place pop-songs and more physical comedy than you can stuff into a Jim Carrey movie. I'm not sure the whole things works terrifcially but it also ends up being more enjoyable than it should be.

In this film, Peter is his adorably rascally self but old man McGregor has a heart attack so it's his type-A enraged nephew, a young romantic interest for Peter's human friend Bea which creates a weird sort of love triangle that likely it's best to just ignore. The film really is just an opportunity for all sorts of Wile E. Coyote antics between Peter and his new rival and that's where the film is the strongest. Brits do physical comedy the best and Peter Rabbit does a good job with that and is certainly when it's the most entertaning.

The problem is that the film often errs on the side of too silly. There were times when the jokes just went so far over the top they pull you out of the film. They also feel somewhat misplaced. Peter Rabbit as a "property" has a very classic, nostalgic feeling, like Winnie the Pooh. Humour is good but toilet humour and zany Looney Tunes-style jokes seem like they don't quite belong. Peter Rabbit also tries to go all romantic by making this about everyone's feelings. I don't feel that ever works despite how surprisingly sexy uptight Domhnall Geelson is and Rose Byrne is gorgeous in her country blouses.

Perhaps it is the fact that Paddington 2 came out so close in time to this and that film series just nails the exact right combo of everything to be the perfect children's Brit comedy classic and Peter just can't find the right vibe. However, when the hi-jinx are happening, Peter Rabbit is a hoot. When it is trying to advance its story it just looses something.

Peter Rabbit
Starring: Domhnall Geelson, Rose Byrne, James Corden, Daisy Ridley, Sam Neill, Sia, Margot Robbie
Director: Will Gluck
Writers: Rob Lieber, Will Gluck

Saturday 10 February 2018

Fifty Shades Freed (2018)

I hated Fifty Shades of Grey. It was not only a clumsily made movie, poorly acted and painfully put together, it also misrepresented BDSM so flagrantly by having nothing to do with consent and empowerment. Instead it was about romanticising an abusive relationship. And the sex was so vanilla (carried into this file quite literally in one scene featuring ice cream) it felt like a let down after all the hype about how "naughty" it was supposed to be.

Then came the even worse disaster Fifty Shades Darker, a sequel which takes everything about the first and makes it even less. Silly, cliched, and hardly sexy, the Fifty Shades movies were 2 strikes so far...

And with the final chapter (let's hope!), Fifty Shades Freed (the worst title yet??? are they trying to compete with Fast and Furious films for horrible titles?), the series is sent back to the dug out. Strike out.

Christian and Anastasia are finally happy! They get married and she gets pregnant. They get to have kinky (well in some peoples' minds) sex. Can't we just let them live happily ever after?

They show their dysfunction in the very first scene. Laying on the beach together Christian lectures Ana, cause he's an abusive fuck, on not showing her breasts on a nudity friendly beach despite her desire to tan her upper body. Just because he is such a jerk, he smacks her ass to tell her when he's done and once he's gone she silently defies him. Ooooo how romantic.

Things get really romantic when Christian flips out over (1) her not using his name professionally, (2) stalks her over it, and (3) flips out over her happening to work with a beautiful man. The plot centres around jealousy, harassment, and domestic violence all wrapped up in a sexy disguise. There is no actual dominance or submission in these stories, it's a bastardization of that, a violation of that. It's gender violence and its gross. Christian is a controlling abuser and the films make us see it all as love. This is not what love is. I'm not talking about the ropes. I'm talking about the abuse Ana suffers and is gaslighted into thinking is sexy.

And it is all wrapped up in fast cars, yachts, champagne, and other symbols of desire and aspiration. Yuck. Every time we see Christian act like a dick he buys Anastasia something and she smiles. The way the film shows her to be a "strong woman" is by having her repeatedly choose to be with a dick. But it's her choice. Another way we see her being "strong" is to bitch slap any pretty girl who happens to talk to Christian. Because nothing says love like ensuring your partner is your property.

The idea of the Grey books/films as sold as romantic at all is simply disgusting. I can critique how badly both leads act throughout, or the horribly cheesy dialogue, or just how untitilating the direction is. All of this would be legit cause these movies are horribly made movies. But really what makes these films so distasteful is that they sell an unhealthy narrative as romantic.

Thanks goodness it's over.

Fifty Shades Freed
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger, Marcia Gay Harden
Director: James Foley
Writer: Niall Leondard

Thursday 8 February 2018

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

I'm going to go out on a limb here in defense of The Cloverfield Paradox, the unfairly maligned third entry in the Cloverfield series whose unorthodox release, I believe, contributes more to the general reaction than the actual film itself. To explain all this I need to go back a bit as this is a fairly unique film series.

The first Cloverfield (2008) also sort of dropped from nowhere, not quite as quickly, but with similar surprise. With little marketing in advance, suddenly trailers were released with a kaiju style story meshed with "found footage" which was all the rage back then and a cult following was born. The film is great B-movie fun and the audience took it that way.

10 Cloverfield Lane was also a surprise late into the production of the film it was revealed the movie would not only change names but be connected to Cloverfield (loosely) creating sudden interest as the movie was just about to be released. There wasn't years of build up to a sequel like we usually expect from a film series. Suddenly we had another chapter to enjoy and this one hit with a little more power. Okay, a lot more power. 10 Cloverfields Lane's biggest sin is that it's a very strong movie. It pushed the series to a height it likely wasn't prepared for. These were low budget b-movie inspired adventures set in a chaotic world that we didn't quite understand. Yet this intense character study was clever, tight, and moving. So now anything to follow is going to seem like a disappointment...

And that's where The Cloverfield Paradox comes in. A weaker scripts but honestly still as b-movie fun as the first movie, which a multi-racial cast which centres a woman of colour without feeling contrived, The Cloverfeld Paradox is a tribute to trapped-in-a-space-station-with-an-unknown-threat (think Deadspace, Sunshine, Pandorum, and of coarse Alien) and goes on all cylinders for pretty much the whole film. There isn't much down time (the back on Earth plot is really the thing that pulls it down) the film is efficient and tight. It's a fun little romp with multidimensional weirdness. Sure it's not 10 Cloverfield Lane but that doesn't mean it's not good.  I had fun watching it and intend on watching it again.

As I said, the film's main weakness is trying to explain to much. It should have left more mystery. We should never have seen what was going on back on Earth and like the previous films it should have left the monstrous stuff more mysterious. We don't need to see it. Just give us what we came for, terrified beautiful smart people fighting to survive something unexplainable in space. We'll make our own connections to the Cloverfield world with the smallest of hints.

But I think the marketing is partially to blame. People (and when I say people I mean mostly critics and film industry folks) are still having a hard time legitimizing any films which debut on Netflix. Films like Mudbound and Beasts of No Nation would have been given many more awards if not for the struggle so many have to acknowledge these films. And Netflix's other original movies aren't getting the same attention that weaker films get when released in theatres. Some are problematic, like I said, Paradox isn't perfect, but in this Rotten Tomatoes world where scores pile on and are simplified to clean numbers, decisions on how to see films are made on the slightest of information. And films which have wonderful divisive stories or are told in interesting ways which may not speak to everybody, get sorted into fresh or rotten with no grey area. Netflix has taken a chance on some of these, the charmingly fun Bright for example. But people don't want films that take these chances to be good because it upsets our understanding of what is supposed to be good. So perhaps this is the perfect home for a film like Paradox, but it doesn't help overcome the prejudice it already has to face.

And it's too bad because the way this film was released is exactly in the spirit of this franchise. Finding a way to surprise us like Beyonce releasing a new album. I hope it keeps coming up with innovative ways to reinvent how its movies are distributed. It's all part of the fun.

As the internet piles on and the film isn't given a chance to be appreciated for what it is, at least those who do want to experience it and enjoy it even with some flaws can do so without having to worry it will disappear from cinemas before they get their chance. And if you've enjoyed these movies so far, I think Paradox was fun and just what I needed.

The Cloverfield Paradox
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Daniel Bruehl, Daniel Oyelowo, Zhang Ziyi, Chris O'Dowd, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Debicki, Aksel Hennie, Roger Davies
Director: Julius Onah
Writers: Oren Uziel, Doug Jung

Wednesday 7 February 2018

On Body and Soul (2017)

Awkward is the word that most comes to mind when trying to describe On Body and Soul, writer/director Indiko Enyedi's treatise on love and connection. Awkward because she chooses subjects who don't connect well into the world around them. But also awkward because she has structured her film in a way that doesn't allow her characters to interact in a natural way. I wasn't convinced this was a stylized choice. It felt more to me like a fumble which took me out of the film more than it allowed me to connect with it. While the idea of finding a fit within an ill-fitting world is a fascinating one, I never felt On Body and Soul got there honestly.

The premise is that two people who struggle socially (a woman who has autistic qualities and/or touch related phobias, and a man who has cut himself off from emotional contact) begin sharing the same dream. This is a fascinating place to start and it is where Enyedi's film soars. The dream sequences are moments of exquisite beauty, like the reasons the film has garnered such popular praise. One could get lost in the dreams and in fact her characters try to yet keep getting pulled back into to starker world they live in.

She brilliantly crafts her real world as dull and somewhat vile. Her characters work in a slaughter house and there are scenes of actual slaughter included in the film for shock value, or perhaps more generously for contract with the naturalist world of their shared dream. In the dream they are deer, living in a pristine, gorgeous forest. In real life they have blood on their hands, and clothes, and bodies.

But it is from the set up that the film falls for me. Enyedi seems to obsessed with her trope that she doesn't build the connective tissue in a way that feels honest. There is a "crime". Someone at the slaughterhouse has stolen something. So a psychologist is hired to interview everyone about their first sexual experiences to see if they can uncover the thief. Right? Doesn't make logical sense. The psychologist's questions are nonsensical, inappropriate, and likely unprofessional. Her character acts completely unprofessional through the entire movie, as does the main character played by Geza Morcsanyi. I know it was a device to get to her "they are dreaming the same dream" gimmick but it was just so poorly done that it took me out of the movie each time it was going on. There were so many moments when the film would get to these moments where the characters were acting so unbelievably awkward that it didn't feel like a character piece but a cheat so that the larger story could be told.

The ending frustrated me to. There is a moment near the end which I don't want to spoil which appears to be designed to mirror the slaughter going on at work which is not truly earned by the film. And the film then uses a cheat to get out of it. It's played for dark humour but it just made my eyes roll.

For me On Body and Soul failed to get me to the place where I could believe it. It felt I was being played a bit despite seeing all the potential in the idea, and in those lovely little moments which did reach some inspiring peaks.

On Body and Soul
Starring: Geza Morcsanyi, Alexandra Borbely
Writer/Director: Indiko Enyedi

Tuesday 6 February 2018

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017)

The fact that Annette Benning doesn’t have an Oscar is evidence that the whole Oscar thing is a sham. Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is another example of one of the best actors in film displaying her talent.  Her turn as an agin Gloria Graham is just a delight to watch. It is layered and complicated and empathetic.

This is the story based on a memoir of one of her last lovers, a much younger British actor whose family took her in during her last days. The film is a bit rose coloured in its portrayal of Graham. Peter Turner’s rememberance of her is one of a doting crush. He owes see her flaws and shows us some, but he couches those flaws in a passionate love of her so we feel it too. Liverpool is set up as lovely tragedy. A star too bright to shine on forever and gone too soon.

But the power of the film rests mainly in Benning giving such a tour de force performance. She enriches the part and makes us love her. Without her I’m not sure Turner’s tribute would have worked so well. The rest of the cast is great too and director McGuigan who has shown some audacious strength in his past films does a great job of finding a way to tell this story’s tale so it doesn’t feel too cliched. But it all comes together around a performance which should have won its star an award, despite not getting nominated at all.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
Starring: Annette Benning, Jamie Bell, Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Waters
Director: Paul McGuigan
Writer: Matt Greenhalgh

Friday 2 February 2018

Winchester (2018)

The story of the Winchester house is quite famous and likely ripe for a good scary movie to be made about it. Unfortunately this one isn’t it. The main problem is the story. I think there is likely a good story in this legend somewhere I’m just not sure this film finds it.

The tale of bringing in a doctor with his own issues to evaluate the famous Ms. Winchester’s sanity in the wake of her never ending renovations to her mansion is a good starting place that does not go anywhere, like much of her house. Soon into the staged gothic set up the film becomes fairly standard PG-13 ghost story fare. There are a lot of loud noises and jump scares that lead to nothing, a possessed child, and a fairly safe predicatable conclusion. It has all been seen before.

I think the film is on to something though. The idea of those profiting off violence being haunted by the spirits of the victims of that violence is fascinating. The film basically uses this for set up and never explores the implications of this. Perhaps that would have been truly scary.

Winchester
Starring: Helen Mirren, Jason Clarke
Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Writers: Tom Vaughn, Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig 

Thursday 1 February 2018

Loveless/Нелюбовь (2017)

Writer/director Andrey Zvyagintsev has claimed Scenes from a Marriage is an inspiration for his film Loveless, his chillingly bleak film about the loss of family. This loss is both literal and relational. The film follows both the breakdown of a marriage and the story of the couples' son going missing. Spoilers: neither the love nor the son are recovered. That's not the point. The point is to explore these losses and their effects on us.

Zvyagintsev's film is lush in how it follows the already conflict oriented relationship between the boy's parents and the way this impacts the search for the boy. Zvyagintsev extrapolates this beyond their relationship and into Russian society in general, and beyond that into modern society. Loveless is about our disconnections, our disposable relations, our loneliness in our separations, our bitterness and anger. Yes it is that bleak and dark. And all of this is set against the backdrop of a missing child, a McGuffin here which perfectly captures the loss of what is most important.

What makes Loveless work so well is how Zvyagintsev doesn't wallow in the desolation, instead making it all feel so normal, so familiar. Life continues on, as it does, making it more challenging to bring about change. The story is depressing in how non-depressing it is. We accept it and move on. What is more discouraging than that?

Loveless is clever and sad, and a sharp examination of complacency in loss, filled with a number of quite lovely little moments.

Loveless
Starring: Maryanna Spivak, Aleksey Rozin
Writer/Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev