Review: Brightburn

Image courtesy of Screen Gems.

After more than a decade of the Marvel universe and the numerous DC Comics films of recent years, the idea of flipping the concept of a comic book origin story on its head and turning it into a horror movie sounded appealing. "Brightburn" could have been fun.

It's anything but. This film, which is a mashup of Superman and "The Omen," is a sadistic film about an entitled little monster with a superiority complex who murders those who look at him the wrong way and seems to take extra pleasure in brutalizing women. Sound fun?

The film is extremely thin on story. It opens by introducing us to a couple, Tori and Kyle (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman), who keep trying and failing to have a kid. The opening shot is their bookshelf, which gives the indication that they have purchased every book ever offered on Amazon on how to get pregnant. A loud crashing noise occurs and we cut to 10 years later.

Tori and Kyle now live happily with their awkward young son, Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn). Although we are supposed to believe he is 10 years old, he and all of his classmates appear to be closer to 15. He seems like a sweet enough kid, that is, until he realizes one day that he has superhuman strength - that loud crash at the film's beginning was apparently some sort of spaceship carrying infant Brandon that landed in Tori and Kyle's wooded backyard, a plot thread barely developed.

Soon after his discovery, Brandon begins acting like a maniac. He stalks a young girl in his classroom, creepily sneaking into her bedroom at night. When his affections aren't reciprocated and she calls him a "creep," he crushes her hand. Seemingly not enough of a response, he then attacks her waitress mother at the diner where she works, and we're subjected to the nastiest close up of a pierced eyeball since Lucio Fulci's "Zombie."

Brandon tells his aunt, a guidance counselor, that he is superior to the people in his life - or just people in general - and "special." As more and more people begin to notice what a sinister little shit he is, the bodies pile up - a man's jaw is nearly torn off by a truck crash caused by Brandon, several cops are obliterated, a corpse is found with intestines oozing out and a guy's face is burnt off by the lasers that shoot out of Brandon's eyes.

The picture is a brief 90 minutes, just enough time to pile on the grisly effects and surely not enough time to develop the story or the characters to the point that we care about them. And a glowing red light emanating from the family's barn that appears to have been spliced in from a 1980s straight-to-video movie and is accompanied by a voice demanding that Brandon "take the world" is, well, don't even get me started. The film's ending suggests a possible sequel - God forbid. "Brightburn" doesn't burn bright. It's a dim bulb.

Review: John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum

Image courtesy of Lionsgate.

"John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum" is most likely the most violent movie you'll see this year, and possibly the most violent thing you've ever seen, that is, unless you have a taste for Italian exploitation films from the 1970s. The film is woefully low on character development or even storyline and high on body count and jaw dropping action sequences. But choreography and stunt-work are art forms of their own, and this film is an exemplar of those forms.

The film picks up from the last picture as... well, does that really matter? John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is still on the run from nearly every hitman and bounty hunter in town after killing off high-profile Russian mobsters as revenge for the thugs who killed his ex-girlfriend's dog in the series' first film. As "Parabellum" opens, a countdown clock ticks off the minutes until Wick becomes an open contract for $15 million for the first person to bag and tag him.

As much as story goes, that's pretty much it. One gruesome - but amazingly choreographed - fight scene follows another. The first takes place in a weapons depot of some sort, where Wick faces off against a group of Chinese killers. Axes are thrown and land in all manner of places - chests, heads, faces. In the film's most grim moment, Wick plunges a knife into a guy's eye up close.

A subplot emerges in which various characters - including those played by Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick and Anjelica Huston - who helped Wick in previous films are sought out for punishment by the "High Table," the series' somewhat ludicrous overarching criminal enterprise. In this film, the High Table is represented by an "adjudicator" played by Asia Kate Dillon and a sword wielding killer named Zero (Mark Dacascos). Dillon's character warns McShane's character that he is in danger of losing managerial rights to the Continental, the hotel where assassins are apparently on neutral ground, for helping Wick.

But I repeat: the storyline here is merely something to move the action along - and there's a whole lot of it. Among the most stunning sequences are a fight between Wick and Zero's henchmen in a glass-floored and ceilinged room, the aforementioned bout with all manner of sharp objects and a shootout that livens up an otherwise unnecessary subplot that takes Wick to Morocco, where he meets with an old friend played by Halle Barry. Some cringe-inducing moments involving her character's two dogs attacking bad guys follow.

The "John Wick" series is one that involves little emotional involvement with its characters or story - and yet, it's among the most successful of modern franchises. It's all surface, but it gets by on the fact that the films are impeccably shot, beautifully choreographed and breathtaking in intensity. The film might not give you too much to chew on once you leave the theater, but the ride itself is the experience. And as such, "Parabellum" is one of the better action movies I've seen lately.

Review: Booksmart

Image courtesy of Annapurna Pictures.

Actress Olivia Wilde's directorial debut, "Booksmart," is an often funny, occasionally sweet coming of age story told from the rare vantage point of young women. But while often amusing, especially during its first 30 minutes or so, the picture drags slightly during the middle section, as the filmmakers try to stuff in as many quirky sequences as possible, often slowing down the film's pace. The picture's momentum picks up again in the final 30 minutes.

The film's two leads - Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) - have a nice camaraderie and are humorous and sympathetic characters, even when the picture appears to take more interest in the numerous supporting characters, some of whom are more interesting than others. Feldstein played the sidekick in 2017's "Lady Bird," another film acting as a directorial debut for the actress who made it. That film, in my opinion, remains the gold standard for recent movies of this sort, whereas "Booksmart," although likable, feels more like a women-led version of "Superbad."

As the film opens, Amy and Molly are regretting the fact that they spent four years of high school being studious and not enjoying other elements of teenage life - namely, partying. It's not that they're unhappy with their futures - Molly is going to Yale, while Amy will take a year off to do some sort of charity work in Botswana - as much as they're pissed to learn that the idiots and slackers in their class also have managed to land slots at prestigious schools, and found time to live it up for the past four years.

So, the two young women decide to catch up on all they've missed over the course of one night. They first show up at an awkward boat party thrown by a rich kid named Jared (Skyler Gisondo) and his weirdo pal Gigi (Billie Lourd), who seems to be channeling Kate Hudson's Penny Lane, that is, if the groupie were completely spaced out on a mind-altering drug. There's a recurring gag regarding Gigi's ubiquitousness that's funny at first, but quickly loses steam. A second party is thrown by the class's two token gay theater students - who are portrayed as what must be the most over-the-top gay youths ever portrayed on film.

But the girl's hero's quest is ultimately to end up at a party thrown by popular kid Nick (Mason Gooding), a dopey jock who Molly looks down upon, but is her secret crush. Amy, meanwhile, is a lesbian, but barely out of the closet. In other words, the fact that she's gay isn't a secret, but she hardly seems able to act on it. Throughout the course of the film, she pursues a tattooed skater girl, but ultimately winds up locked in a bathroom with someone else.

For a debut feature, Wilde shows some assurance behind the camera. "Booksmart" is often clever, mostly pretty funny and has a friendship theme that proves to be somewhat moving in the final scenes. Unfortunately, the middle section is a little all over the place. There are too many unnecessary characters - for example, the pizza delivery guy who acts like a serial killer, the teacher who wants to join the students at the party and a principal (Jason Sudeikis) who has a side job as a Lyft driver.

There are also some gags that are repeated - again, the aforementioned Gigi joke, plus another in which Molly and Amy lead the latter girl's parents (Will Forte and Lisa Kudrow) to believe that they are lovers - but to diminishing returns. There are also some amusingly raunchy ones - the watching of a porn video and an ongoing gag about masturbation involving a stuffed animal. So, despite its flaws, "Booksmart" mostly works. While it doesn't reach the level of "Lady Bird," it's a charming coming of age tale that is still better than most of the ones that focus on immature guys. There's a decent amount to like.

Review: The Hustle

Image courtesy of MGM.

Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson make a pretty decent team in "The Hustle," and the film has a few laughs, despite its lack of originality. But it pales in comparison to its source material - "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," a much funnier comedy that had Michael Caine in the Hathaway role and Steve Martin in the one played by Wilson.

In the picture, the two women - Hathaway's Josephine and Wilson's Lonnie - are competing for the same crowd in a town in the south of France to swindle. Josephine is more of a cool character. She'll steal your money or belongings without you even batting an eye, while Lonnie is more of a scam artist. As the picture opens, Lonnie is grifting a sleazy guy whom she is meeting at a bar after having conversed online under false pretenses.

After Josephine and Lonnie's first meeting, the latter realizes that she has been conned by the former, and asks her to teach her her tricks. Josephine is against the idea, but relents after she realizes that Lonnie could turn her in to the authorities. So, she plays along with the intention of eventually ditching her.

The women work together on a series of cons in which they nab jewelry and money from rich men. Josephine plays the men's fiancee, while Lonnie is the crazy sister. It's a swindle that works for a while, until the two women again become enemies. They then make a wager with an agreement that the loser must vacate the area. Their bet revolves around a young tech millionaire (Alex Sharp) with a seemingly good heart. The first woman to convince him to fork over $500,000 wins the bet.

The film has a few funny moments, several of which involve Lonnie's antagonistic relationship with Josephine's butler, while the movie's biggest laugh comes from the mispronunciation of a city's name. But otherwise, "The Hustle" is a somewhat tepid remake of a funnier film.

It's not really Hathaway and Wilson's fault - they're doing what they can with recycled material. There's a twist near the end that is pretty easy to see coming and a tidy ending that sets us up for further adventures with these characters. My advice to the picture's talented leads is to find better material instead.

Review: Long Shot

Image courtesy of Lionsgate.

Jonathan Levine's "Long Shot" works pretty well as a romantic comedy and somewhat as a look into the workings of the United States' political system. When it comes to capturing how Washington D.C. operates, the film is about as insightful as "House of Cards," which is to say - not too much. However, there are two interesting - if somewhat underdeveloped - concepts at play in the film that speak to our current moment.

In the film, Seth Rogen plays Fred Flarsky, a schlubby but passionate journalist who works for a Brooklyn rag that is on the verge of being bought by a shady conglomerate that is run by a sleazy out-of-central-casting conservative (Andy Serkis) in the Rupert Murdoch vein. When we meet Fred, he is in the middle of exposing a right-wing hate group and barely makes it out alive. One night, he's dragged to a party by a pal (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) with the promise of a Boyz II Men performance. Once there, he spots Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), the nation's secretary of state and Fred's one-time babysitter on whom he had a crush.

Before attending the party, Fred had quit in protest of his company's buyout, so an opportune moment presents itself after he and Charlotte reconnect and he learns that she has a speechwriting gig open for her upcoming presidential run. Charlotte has recently been told by the U.S. president (Bob Odenkirk), a former TV personality clearly meant to be a Donald Trump type, but seemingly less sinister and controversial, that he does not plan to run for reelection and he's considering an endorsement for her. She has become accustomed to towing the party line with her boss, but has ideas of her own - especially an environmental platform about which the president seems lukewarm.

"Long Shot" mostly settles on being a charming and often funny rom-com. It only occasionally attempts to make any serious commentary on the U.S. political system, but it manages to successfully bounce two ideas around. The film is interesting in how it portrays Fred as a member of the Democratic Party's Bernie Sanders wing - idealistic but unwilling to compromise - whereas Charlotte is more of a centrist who, as a woman, understands that compromise is often how things get done.

Secondly, the film occasionally observes the challenges a woman faces when running for a high position, such as the president of the United States. From her staff, she often gets pointers on how to make her poll numbers go up by making changes to her appearance, improving her wave, showing more of her sense of humor and playing up a flirtatious friendship with a Canadian leader (Alexander Skarsgard) who is clearly modeled after Justin Trudeau. Voters, she is told, are less interested in her actual policies.

The fact that Charlotte chooses Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love" as her favorite song, and that the tune is played twice during the picture gives an indication on the picture's inspirations lie. The song was the theme for "Pretty Woman," but in this film, Theron is Richard Gere and Rogen is Julia Roberts. While the political elements of "Long Shot" are occasionally far fetched and a little half-baked, the movie works pretty well as a romantic comedy. Rogen is consistently funny and Theron's character has a genuine arc during the course of the picture.

"Long Shot" may only be superficially interested in making a statement about our current political moment - that would require more of a punch in the gut, considering the recent turn of events - but it's a funny and charming two hours spent in good company.

Review: Her Smell

Image courtesy of Gunpowder & Sky.

Even the committed lead performance by Elisabeth Moss can't quite save Alex Ross Perry's "Her Smell," a grimy, in-your-face chronicle of a punk rock singer's descent. The film is divided into two halves that couldn't be further apart.

The first half of the picture is a nearly unwatchable series of backstage scenes during which Becky Something (Moss) berates fellow bandmates, managers, relatives, ex-lovers and pretty much anyone else who's around, often attacking them physically or verbally. Due to the loud warbling rock music permeating from the background, it's often difficult to even distinguish who's yelling and what they're shouting about.

Surprisingly, the film's quality increases fairly significantly during the film's second half, during which Becky attempts to make amends, becomes more of a mother to her young daughter and makes an attempt at a comeback, despite her fragile state. These scenes work much better, although it's difficult to get a sense of how Becky let these people down in the past - sure, we see her acting in a shockingly unpleasant manner to all involved during the earlier scenes, but there's little in the way of context and it doesn't help that I could only make out about one-third of the dialogue from the earlier scenes.

As the film opens, Becky is on the path to alienating her two bandmates - guitarist Marielle (Agyness Deyn, giving off a Joan Jett or Chrissie Hynde vibe) and drummer Ali (Gayle Rankin) - as well as her manager (Eric Stolz), seemingly estranged mother (Virginia Madsen) and a fellow rocker (Amber Heard) who wants to tour with her. To her credit, Moss throws herself completely into the role of the self destructive Becky. When she's not laying into those around her, she's attacking them with a broken bottle. She also mentors a burgeoning band led by a drummer named Crassie Cassie (Cara Delevingne), although these young women quickly begin to question how much they'll put up with to hang out with their idol.

Perry has thus far modeled his career somewhat after Noah Baumbach, telling stories about characters who are often difficult to like. However, Baumbach's films are more insightful and funnier, while the general unpleasantness of Ross' characters in such films as "Listen Up Philip" and "The Color Wheel" is often difficult to take. "Her Smell" fits in well with these films, but its second half suggests an emergence from the gloom that I'd love to see explored in his next films.

Moss is a great actress whose range is on display in the various TV work she has done - "Mad Men" to "Top of the Lake" - and Becky is a challenging role. She's good even when the film occasionally grates. "Her Smell" is two movies - the first of which is often irritating, the second of which more compelling. If only there had been more of the latter and significantly less of the former.

Review: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

Image courtesy of Netflix.

Joe Berlinger's "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" - which gets its title from a pronouncement made by a judge at the time of its subject's sentencing - takes an interesting approach to telling the story of Ted Bundy, a prolific serial killer in the American northwest during the 1970s who rose to infamy during a publicly televised court case.

With the exception of one brief shot near the film's end, we never witness any of the 30 or so murders that Bundy admitted to committing. Sure, we hear plenty about them, from news clippings, police officers grilling Bundy and the aforementioned trial. Rather than focusing on Bundy as a serial killer, the film takes a look at his relationship with Liz Kendall (Lily Collins), a single mother who met Bundy in a bar one night and was involved on and off with him for more than a decade.

Some critics have complained that by portraying Bundy as a suave, charming smooth talker whose appearance turned the heads of most women when he walked in a room and not showing him as the sadistic killer he was - although there's certainly enough graphic detail during the court proceedings - the filmmakers have tried to humanize a heinous human being. But while I have other issues with the film, this element is actually what keeps it most compelling. It's frightening to observe how people - Kendall, for example, or the numerous other women who turned out for Bundy's trial to show him support - can be taken in by a sociopath merely because he is good looking, talks a good game and seems likable.

Zac Efron, a good looking guy who has often been utilized to play characters with a cocky charm, gives a convincing performance as Bundy. When we first meet him, he is introducing himself to Kendall at a bar. The two slow dance to "Crimson and Clover" and she invites him back to her place. They don't sleep together, but he spends the night at her place and ingratiates himself by making friends with Kendall's young daughter.

Time passes and the couple have become engaged. However, Kendall works in Seattle, while Bundy is a law student in Utah. One night, he is pulled over by police and lands in jail on charges of attempting to kidnap a young woman. Kendall believes him when he professes his innocence, but she's clearly unnerved to find out that her boyfriend is also a suspect in several grisly murders of women across the Pacific Northwest. The suspect that police are seeking matches Bundy's description, right down to the Volkswagen Beetle he drives.

Much of Berlinger's film follows Kendall's own falling apart as she tries to compare the man she thinks she knows with the monster being described on the news. It becomes harder for her to believe in his innocence after he makes two successful escapes from police custody, and several more women at a Florida sorority are brutally murdered, a crime in which Bundy is implicated.

The film falls apart somewhat during the final half with a prolonged series of court sequences that aim to capture the circus-like atmosphere of Bundy's trial. It helps to have John Malkovich as Judge Edward Cowart, providing dry delivery while scolding Bundy once the serial killer decides to become his own defense attorney. Also, since Bundy's character is somewhat of an enigma - and Kendall only exists in relation to her connection with the killer - there's not much in the way of emotional involvement with the film's characters. The picture is frequently engaging, but distant.

Berlinger is no stranger to true crime stories. He directed the phenomenal documentary "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills," which chronicled the case of some young men who were falsely accused of a hideous crime. That film was extremely powerful. So, perhaps the director has a more difficult time in effectively telling the story of an evil man who was clearly guilty. "Extremely Wicked" is often fascinating in its decision to follow one aspect of its subject - how his charm and looks can woo those who met him into a false sense of security - but it's also ultimately a little limiting.