Review: Eddington

Image courtesy of A24.

Director Ari Aster has gone from one of cinema's most acclaimed new horror maestros to oddball provocateur. While the latter description tends to result in the type of films that I find intriguing, Aster's earlier work remains - to me, at least - the most effective.

"Hereditary" was a nightmarish horror movie that announced the arrival of a real talent while "Midsommar," if not quite as memorable, boasted a great lead performance and was mostly gripping from start to finish. I admired his odd "Beau is Afraid," even if I didn't quite love it, but his latest film, "Eddington," somewhat misses the mark, despite some solid performances and memorable moments.

The film, a social satire-turned western, is seemingly loaded with potential. It is set in 2020 in a small New Mexico town amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the summer Black Lives Matter marches following the murder-by-police of George Floyd. The film aims to examine why and how society collapsed during this moment and neighbor turned against neighbor, rather than having the empathy that was required of the moment.

The film's lead is Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix, who's solid here), the small town of Eddington's sheriff who doesn't believe he should have to go along with the new rules about masking in public. He defends an elderly man in a grocery store who refuses to wear a mask as a crowd of masked onlookers criticizes him and captures the moment on their iPhones.

Cross's primary antagonist is Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who scolds Cross during the scenario. Their animosity goes further back, however, due to Cross's wife (Emma Stone) allegedly being impregnated by Garcia when she was 16 years old. Garcia - and Cross's wife - deny that this is what happened, but the sheriff's mother-in-law, an avid conspiracy theorist, fans the flames of the rumor.

Following the grocery store masking incident, Cross decides to run for mayor, challenging Garcia, which inflames tensions in the town. At the same time, a group of primarily white youths starts holding Black Lives Matter protests after Floyd's death. Garcia's son (Matt Gomez Hidaka) and a young woman (Amelie Hoeferle) seem sincere about the protests, though the film takes a somewhat jaded portrayal of their characters, while another youth (Cameron Mann) has other intentions.

Meanwhile, Stone's Louise Cross has gotten mixed up with a shady cult-like figure (Austin Butler) who appears to be obsessed with pedophiles in places of power. All of this makes Cross, who starts the film as world weary but becomes increasingly unhinged, begin to lose his grip.

There are some interesting moments in "Eddington," primarily in the film's first half as it examines the mostly bad behavior of Americans as they react to one of the most perilous moments in our recent history. Phoenix and Pascal make for good nemeses and there's some decent tension in their escalating feud.

But as the film nears its halfway mark, it starts to spin out of control and, at times, comes off as an empty provocation. One of its main problems is its satirical marks. There's plenty of satire to be had at the expense of people whose absurd conspiracy theories fueled the drama during the COVID-19 pandemic and there are brief references to things like Ivermectin and the Pizzagate conspiracy (though it's not called that here).

But the film makes the same mistake as our lost-in-the-woods national media by thinking it must somehow even the scales between the two sides it's parodying. It wants to make all sides look crazy, but it is a ridiculous comparison when trying to show how everyone lost their minds during this era by making Black Lives Matter protesters and the vaccine deniers who refused to wear masks appear as one and the same.

It's also telling that the ultimate shootout in the film doesn't come from gun-toting Trump supporters - you know, the types who have actually shot up synagogues and grocery stores - but rather right-wing media's favorite imaginary boogeyman, Antifa. The film gets bloody during its denouement, and its end is cynical enough to ring true in our current moment, which is somehow even more awful than the one depicted here. 

But while Aster elicited some genuine shocks in his two early horror movies - and even to an extent in the peculiar "Beau is Afraid" - he's not on as firm of footing this time around. There are some interesting elements in "Eddington" and most of the performance are good, but it's a social satire that only partially captures the craziness of the moment that we had the misfortune to live through five years ago.

Review: I Know What You Did Last Summer

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.

Horror reboots have become so prevalent that the release of the first theatrical "I Know What You Did Last Summer" film in the 21st century should come as a surprise to no one. 

In recent years, there have been some reboots that have been marginally successful - the first of the new "Scream" and "Halloween" movies - and some not so much ("The Exorcist"). I have yet to see the new "Final Destination" movie, which received surprisingly good reviews, and I can't say I'm looking forward to the umpteenth attempt to reboot "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Please, folks, don't feel the need to bring back "Urban Legend."

In this latest "I Know What You Did," a group of teens - once again in the small town of Southport - find themselves in the similar scenario of having done something bad the previous summer. In this case, a bout of drunken revelry in the middle of the road on a winding hill leads to a car flying off the edge and killing its driver.

Like clockwork, the group of friends - Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), her BFF Danica (Madelyn Cline), old flame Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), party boy Teddy (Tyriq Withers), and former friend Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) - start receiving threatening notes and some side characters who have connections to the group start getting picked off by a person in a rain slicker with a hook (and various other weapons).

The group researches the massacre that took place in the town in 1997 - a word, like Forrest Gump's name, that you could place a drinking game with, considering how many times it gets mentioned - and seeks out its survivors: Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr), now a local bar owner who seems a bit cranky, and Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who had apparently married Ray after the events of the 1998 sequel, but has since divorced him, seemingly not amicably.

Julie is now a teacher and lives in a town far enough away. She tells the group of teens who seek her advice that she wants nothing to do with it, but we know she'll be drawn back in anyway. In terms of plotting, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is by-the-numbers and the violence, while occasionally gruesome, seems tame compared to some of the gorier series of the modern era.

There's a genuine surprise near the film's end that deserves some credit because it's the sort of thing that the "Scream" films have mostly avoided in the sequels. But the film's end otherwise lands with a thud, primarily setting up the possibility of a sequel (I also apparently missed a post-credits sequence that moves the needle further in that direction) and the film seems to end mid-thought in the middle of a conversation between two characters.

There are worse horror movies out there than this semi-legacy sequel (I've now seen all three "Terrifier" movies and can honestly say that I don't get the appeal), and plenty of other bland films of the genre populating the cineplexes these days (I missed the mostly lambasted "Megan" sequel, but just saw the mostly forgettable "Until Dawn"). In other words, it's just another of many films of its type flooding the marketplace that has little in the way of differentiating itself from the pack. 

While the "Scream" films - at least, certainly the first one - were a revelation at the time of their release and helped the genre to regain popularity, the original "I Know What You Did" films were never that good. The first one had atmosphere and was watchable, but the series probably didn't need a reboot. As one character in this latest entry notes, "Nostalgia is overrated."

Review: Superman

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

 

I’ll admit, it took me a little while to warm to James Gunn’s “Superman.” I have no problem with comic book movies taking a more lightweight route – not every film has to be overly dripping with gravitas like Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy – and the director’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” films are a case in point on how to mostly do that well.

But in the first few minutes of this new “Superman,” I thought the film was going to end up in  “Superman 3” or “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” territory, but it eventually settles into its groove somewhere around the halfway mark.

It’s around this time that Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) becomes a central figure in the story. Dressed in an outfit that resembles one of the Warriors (“come out and play-ay-ay”), Terrific joins Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) on a rescue mission and really gets to strut his stuff. From there on, the film became more engaging and engaged – and by that, I mean with the current moment.

It’s been hilarious to watch certain sectors of the U.S. population go into tailspins over this new film featuring America’s most iconic superhero, whom they have now deemed “woke.” At the same time, it’s surprising just how much the film comments on – or is prescient enough to foresee – our current, perilous moment.

At various points in the picture, the term “alien” is hurled at the caped crusader (played by David Corenswet), which we can take to mean “immigrant.” Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is a tech mogul who wants to create his own corporate technocracy and has captured those he opposes and thrown them into underground gulags in other dimensions.

Meanwhile, Luthor has partnered with a former Soviet bloc-style dictator who has illegally invaded a neighboring country. All the while, a gullible public is easily fooled when the media takes Luthor at his word and allows him to deem Superman a “threat.” I mean, ahem!

And the good thing about all of these elements is that they’re handled in an intriguing and believable manner. These themes are present throughout, but not in a clunky or heavy-handed way.

I’m of the mind that it’s not necessary to reboot comic book heroes every few years when a new actor comes on board – but that’s where we are in current film culture. We’re in the middle of a new Batman series. There’s yet another attempt at “Fantastic Four” later this summer. And so, of course, there’s a new Superman series in which we basically start from scratch.

The good thing about this one is that it’s not an origin story, but instead throws us right into a new story involving these familiar characters. It takes a while for the film to get its groove, but around the halfway mark it finds it and never lets up. This isn’t the greatest “Superman” movie (that remains the 1978 version) and it’s nowhere near the bottom of the barrel (the aforementioned ‘80’s sequels and the “Dawn of Justice” debacle). All in all, it’s a reasonably enjoyable summer movie.

Review: Jurassic World: Rebirth

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.

By now, you know the formula: People, against their own good judgment, travel to the now-abandoned islands populated by dinosaurs from the other "Jurassic Park" films on a mission and some of them get devoured, while a few others survive and flee the island to the tune of John Williams' now-iconic score. It's now just a matter of how it's executed.

Despite mostly middling reviews, "Jurassic World: Rebirth," while generically following this formula, is one of the more watchable of the recent sequels. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's good or that I'd recommend it - but if you go in knowing exactly what you'll get, you won't be disappointed (or surprised either).

In this film, a group is gathered - a mercenary (Scarlett Johansson), a friend of hers who is handy with getting people out of sticky situations (Mahershala Ali), a scientist (Jonathan Bailey), the sleazy businessman with ill intentions who's just waiting to get eaten (Rupert Friend), and a whole lot of expendable minor characters. Add to the mix a family on a boat vacation whose vessel ends up going in the wrong direction and runs into the other characters, who save them with the caveat that they must travel to the island for the mission.

The mission involves extracting the blood of several of the species there that can apparently cure cancer. I'll remind you at this point that most people don't come to the "Jurassic Park" films for the well-thought-out plots or scientific theories. 

Naturally, the corrupt character played by Friend wants the blood samples to sell to the highest bidder, while Bailey's scientist wants to share it with the world, arguing that "science is for everybody" (can't argue with him there). Johansson and Ali's characters want to retire from their lifestyle with the money the job will bring in.

Just to up the ante, this particular island is abandoned and populated with some of the mutant dinosaurs that were too violent or scary to be included in the original park. Then again, there's a nice sequence in which the group of humans stumble upon a large herd of brontosauruses and are amazed by their beauty. If you're looking for consistency, you're in the wrong movie.

Anyway, the family and the group seeking the dinosaur blood get separated early on after an attack on the water. The family is left to fend for itself - and the daughter adopts a cute baby dinosaur that she names Dolores - while the other group chases after the three dinosaurs from which they need blood. There's a particularly thrilling sequence involving a flying dinosaur from which they need to extract a sample.

As far as summer blockbusters go, you could do worse than "Jurassic World: Rebirth." It is far from the best of the series (that's still Steven Spielberg's 1993 original) or the worst. There's hardly anything original about it and most viewers in the audience will be able to guess what happens next at all times.

But it has some thrilling sequences, a few unique and scary new dinosaurs, and some great cinematography. The cast isn't given much to do, but it's always a pleasure spending time with Johansson and Ali. So, yes, this latest "Jurassic Park" is just business as usual, but it's passable entertainment. It delivers exactly what it promises.

The Best Movies of the 21st Century (So Far)

Mulholland Drive

The New York Times recently released a ranked list of the top 100 films of the 21^st century so far, based on polls it took of directors, writers, actors, and others in the global film industry. Each participant was able to list his or her top 10 list.

Since then, I’ve seen a number of other similar lists pop up. Although I currently don’t have a Rolling Stone subscription and couldn’t read the entire list, that magazine released its top 100 list. That’s more like it.

The idea of narrowing down all of the movies I’ve seen this century to 10 is daunting and a bit ridiculous, so instead I’m including my non-ranked list of the top 100 of the century so far. Then, because narrowing it down to 100 is even a bit limiting, I’ve included a list of runners up - lots of them.

So, enjoy. And drop your own lists in the comment section if you so choose.

Review: F1

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

A sign of a good movie is when a topic of little interest to the viewer still makes for a compelling watch. Such is the case of Joseph Kosinki's "F1," a Formula 1 racing movie about a formerly washed-up driver, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), who returns to racing to help out a friend, Ruben (Javier Bardem), whose team is struggling to stay relevant and ends up clashing with his young hotshot teammate, Joshua (Damson Idris).

Sound familiar? If you think this sounds a little like the blockbuster hit "Top Gun: Maverick," you'd be correct and you might not be surprised to learn that this film is directed by the same person. As for the subject matter, I'll admit to having no interest in professional racing. Cinematically, it has resulted in one decent film ("Days of Thunder") as well as a mediocre one ("Driven") and an overrated satire ("Talladega Nights").

Kosinski's film doesn't reinvent the wheel here or do anything radical to shake up the sports genre. Instead, he does what so many summer blockbusters fail to do these days - develop interesting characters - and even goes so far as to making this the prime feature of the film. As such, "F1" is pretty compelling.

Sonny was once a rising star in the world of racing. As a young hotshot driver, he was known for his reckless style of racing, which ultimately led to an accident that derailed his career. Since then, he has bounced around in various driving stints - we're told he was a New York City cab driver at one point - but the big time has always eluded him.

His friend Ruben, another former race car driver, shows up with a desperate plea: One of his two drivers is out for the season and he needs someone to fill in. Sonny later learns he was only eighth choice in this scenario. But he accepts the offer and immediately clashes with Joshua, an arrogant young driver who clearly has his eyes on bigger things than the APXGP team that he's currently on. Needless to say, the team is not having a good season.

You probably won't be too surprised to see where this all leads, but suffice it to say that the film makes up for its lack of originality with some terrific camerawork amid the nauseatingly fast-paced race sequences. This is a good looking film.

More importantly, the picture boasts a sturdy lead performance by Pitt, one of filmdom's last true movie stars, and has a great supporting cast. Bardem is always a welcome addition to any cast and Kerry Condon, who was so good in "The Banshees of Inisherin," is a scene stealer as Kate, the team's feisty technical director. Idris is solid as Joshua and Sarah Niles makes her small role as Joshua's no-nonsense mother count.

I've missed a number of this year's summer movies (and will likely play catch up on streaming), but a majority of them haven't caused a whole lot of excitement, namely because they are sequels, reboots, or additions to cinematic universes that seem unnecessary. While I'm not saying anyone needed a Formula 1 racing movie, this is a pretty good one. It's fast paced, well shot and edited, and includes a cast that develops characters you care about. For a summer blockbuster, that's typically more than you can hope for.

Review: Caught By The Tides

Image courtesy of MK2 Films.

I've long admired and enjoyed the work of Jia Zhang-Ke, one of China's most highly acclaimed and prolific filmmakers whose work often employs a fiction-docudrama hybrid. His latest, "Caught by the Tides," should have been my cup of tea, considering that it features characters from some of his finest films, was shot over a period of many years (I've always been a sucker for movies that explore the passage of time as a theme), and features the melancholic and often beautifully shot imagery one would associate with a Zhang-Ke film.

With some works, what you get out of it has to do somewhat with what you bring to it - or, rather, how much of yourself you're willing to give to it. In this case, I'll fully admit that at times I wasn't completely following the film - which has an elliptical pattern, even for this director - or as invested in it as I have been with his other works.

This is not to say it's a bad film by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I appear to be in the minority in terms of where I stand on it - which is this: I'd place it somewhere in the realm of Zhang-Ke's films that go heavier on the docudrama angle, such as "24 City" or "Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue," both of which are movies that I'd rank lower in his filmography. 

The film has some of the startling imagery and moody editing and use of music that his best films - namely, "Ash is Purest White," "Platform," "Unknown Pleasures" or "Mountains May Depart" - utilize, but it didn't strike me in the quite the same way. It's entirely possible I could have a different experience watching it a second time (which I eventually might).

Suffice it to say, this film is significantly more elliptical than any of the other films I just praised. It starts in 2001 and ends somewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic (2022, I believe), and various characters pop in and out of the action. There's a fair amount of dancing and singing (karaoke and otherwise) and, as usual, Zhang-Ke's greatest concern is observing the vast changes that China has undergone over the past few decades.

There's an entire section set in 2006 against the backdrop of the Yangtze River, where the forced migration of citizens in the region occurred to make way for the installation of the Three River Gorges dam, a topic that the director covered extensively in his film "Still Life" (another good one).

The film, shot over two decades much like Richard Linklater's "Boyhood," basically follows the story of Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao, a Zhang-Ke regular) as she pursues her missing lover, Bin (Li Zhubin). The picture's various eras can be distinguished by the film stock, which varies from grainy video during Aughts-era scenes to crisper images for sequences set in the present.

Qiaoqiao's character first debuted in Zhang-Ke's acclaimed 2002 film "Unknown Pleasures" and the way she's utilized in this film also recollects her work in "Still Life" and "Ash is Purest White." In some ways, "Caught by the Tides" plays like a greatest hits of the director's work, not only in terms of style and themes that he often explores, but also his cast members and characters.

As such, "Caught by the Tides" feels a little like a summary of his body of work - but, for me, it is a lesser entry. Not a bad movie, but not nearly as evocative as the great "Ash is Purest White," the moving "Mountains May Depart" or his early works that put him on the map, such as "Platform" or "Unknown Pleasures." Perhaps, the film deserves another try - but for now, it's an intermittently interesting work that feels like a minor film for a significant director.

Review: 28 Years Later

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Danny Boyle's "28 Years Later" is an expectations-subverting sequel to one of the 21st century's best horror movies that isn't so much interested in giving audiences exactly what they think they want, but is instead an idiosyncratic beginning of a new trilogy that moves the story forward in ways most people won't expect.

The picture opens briefly in the year when the catastrophe struck, causing millions of people in the UK - and years later, the infection has been contained in quarantined England, Scotland and, presumably, Ireland and Wales - to be rage-filled zombies. A group of children watch "Teletubbies" on TV and, moments later, the attack begins. Only one boy escapes the melee and it's not until the end of "28 Years Later" that we discover what happened to him.

The rest of the film is set on a secluded fortress of a Northumberland isle known as Holy Island where some sense of civilization has been restored. A young boy named Spike (a very good Alfie Williams) lives with his aggressive father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), who is suffering from a mysterious ailment (no, not that type).

The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway that can only be accessed at low tide. Every young boy in the village's rite of passage involves being taken to the mainland to hunt the infected, although it's the slow-moving and crawling ones they typically seek out. There's also a type known as Alphas, and Spike and his father come across one of these during their trip. This particular Alpha is faster and smarter than most infected. The Alpha's preferred method of killing is ripping out one's spine and it has disturbingly, ahem, pronounced genitalia.

After a very close call between Spike, Jamie, and the Alpha, the former two return to the village, where Spike learns something upsetting about his father. He sees a raging fire in the distance and is told of a now-mad doctor who lives there, prompting him to collect his mother and flee with her to the mainland to find the doctor, whom Spike hopes will heal his ailing mom. Much of the film is their offbeat and occasionally frightening trip to find Dr. Kelson (a very good Ralph Fiennes), whose demeanor and abode reminded me of "Apocalypse Now," although Kelson is a much milder and even compassionate Kurtz. 

In terms of similarities to Boyle's 2003 modern horror classic, there are some frightening moments involving the infected and its portrayal of a societal breakdown. There are also some moving moments at the end of Spike's journey, making it similar to the original film, which had more heartrending scenes than one might expect in a zombie film.

But that's basically where the similarities end. This is a very different experience than Boyle's original film or the mostly decent 2007 sequel. Boyle's original film made great use of music - needle drops by Brian Eno, Blue States, and Godspeed You Black Emperor and John Murphy's score were great in creating mood - while the lonely shots of deserted London, the film's take on the dangers of militarism, and the relationships between the film's characters all added up to a potent brew.

In "28 Years," the music has primarily been left to Young Fathers, whose score is decent but doesn't quite pack the punch of the original. While the first film had a lonely, melancholic tone to it that made it so memorable, this sequel has a much odder and constantly evolving one. That's not a bad thing - it's just a very different viewing experience. 

The film includes some very tense sequences that are followed by some of a quirkier nature. The scenes involving Fiennes' isolated Kelson take on a more cosmic nature and there's an interesting take on the phrase memento mori that is utilized during these scenes. This section of the film is also its most moving.

The picture ends on a strange - again, not in a bad way - note that is meant to segue into the next film, "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple," which is set for a January release. I'm curious to see where this series goes next and hope that Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland can secure the funding for the third and final film, which will likely bring back one of the original film's most beloved characters. As for now, this is a solid start to the new series. Perhaps, no "28" film will ever match the original, but something new and original like this film is the next best thing.

Review: Materialists

Image courtesy of A24. 

Marrying for love or money is question at the heart of "Materialists," the sophomore feature of Celine Song, whose recent "Past Lives" was the best debut I'd seen in a number of years. But for Lucy (Dakota Johnson), the matchmaker lead character in the film, many other qualities are examined at an almost clinical level.

When Lucy meets with clients, they break down their interests in the opposite sex to a degree that's borderline absurd - they must be "fit," they must be no taller (or shorter) than a certain height, they must make a specific amount of money, and so on. The transactions seem more like what might happen when one is buying a car rather than seeking a romantic partner.

Lucy is not particularly adept at love, or even interested in it, but she's very good at setting others up, though one of her pairings goes disastrously wrong. As the film opens, she is being celebrated at her matchmaker firm (do these things exist?) for the ninth wedding among couples she has introduced. 

At the wedding, Lucy is called upon to talk down the nervous bride, who gives a pretty humorous reason for why she ultimately wants to marry her beau. While there, Lucy runs into two men - her ex, John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor who's working for a catering business at the wedding; and Harry (Pedro Pascal), the rich brother of the groom who seems less interested in the services she offers than he is dating her specifically.

Lucy decides to give Harry a try and their relationship seems like one of comfort and low stakes. Meanwhile, Lucy remains friends with John and appears to still have feelings for him, but admits that she cannot get past his low wages and the fact that he lives with some slob roommates in a dingy apartment, the scene of one of the film's funniest moments that involves a used condom.

While "Materialists" is billed as a romantic comedy and certainly plays as such for portions of the movie, it's also too cool and sleek at other times to fit that category. And as the film moves along, it becomes more serious, especially after one of Lucy's clients has a very bad encounter with a date. 

All in all, I liked "Materialists." It's well acted, often funny, and well written. Much like "Past Lives," Song again displays the knack for some thoughtfully placed needle drops - songs by Johnny Thunders and Harry Nilsson are used intelligently here - as well as a good ear for dialogue and examinations of romantic relationships.

If it's not on the level of "Past Lives," that's probably because that film was the most impressive debut I'd seen in at least a decade. If her first film often felt like a knife in the heart, her second is more on the light and breezy side, though it's also pretty sharp in its examination of how modern Americans blend love and commerce. This is a likable and enjoyable romantic dramedy from one of American film's most talented newcomers.

Review: The Life of Chuck

Image courtesy of Neon.

There aren't that many films I would describe as special and even fewer I'd call profound, but Mike Flanagan's "The Life of Chuck" - which is based on a Stephen King novella of the same name - manages to be both. I'm tempted to not describe too much about the film's plot because I think viewers should go into it knowing as little as possible.

Suffice it to say, it's a film in three acts, although movements might be a better word to describe its three parts, especially considering the importance that music and rhythm play in the picture. On its surface, the film's latter two sections involve chapters from the life of Chuck Krantz, an accountant whose existence seems by all measures not exactly extraordinary. 

The first section - which is really the final chapter as the film goes backward in time - may or may not be some sort of pre-apocalyptic story involving a handful of characters who are baffled about signs popping up around their town celebrating Chuck's 39 years, and they assume it must have to do with his retirement from his job. Meanwhile, the internet stops working and soon afterward the cable channels. Part of California has crumbled into the sea, while other parts of the world are burning. The end, as they say, appears nigh.

The first section's primary protagonists are a teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor, great as always) and his ex (Karen Gillan) who decide that with the end possibly near, the persons with whom they'd like to spend their last moments are each other. In between their final scenes together, Ejiofor takes part in some lovely and fascinating conversations with the townspeople about lost hopes and dreams, the nature of the universe, and many other things.

Many films barely have a perspective at all, but "The Life of Chuck" is bursting with ideas. The joy of dance faces off against the love of math, of all things, and both are given room for the wonder they instill. Carl Sagan's concepts of the universe make an appearance and a famous quote by Walt Whitman - "I am large, I contain multitudes" - gets a lot of mileage here.

The second section of the film is just a fleeting moment in Krantz's life and contains one of the most joyous dance numbers of recent memory. Tom Hiddleston is terrific as Chuck in middle age. As this brief section winds down, audiences may likely have little idea where it's all going, but each section is a piece of a puzzle that provides depth for its final section.

The third and longest section is set during the childhood of Chuck (portrayed by a buoyant Benjamin Pajak), who lives with his grandparents, Sarah (Mia Sara) and Albie (Mark Hamill), who raise him as their own after his parents die. I don't want to say much more, other than all three sections are significant to the overall picture here and they come together beautifully by the film's end, which reminded me - oddly enough - of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

The film ranks among the greatest adaptations of King's works - which include "The Shining," "Stand By Me," "The Shawshank Redemption," and "Carrie." Few directors have been able to successfully translate King's work to the screen as Flanagan, who has also directed adaptations of "Doctor Sleep" and "Gerald's Game."  

"The Life of Chuck" plays with apocalyptic scenarios, but it's not science fiction, and there's sort of a ghost story, but it's far from a horror movie. It tiptoes to the line of sentimentality but avoids it and achieves pathos instead. It's ultimately a simple story when you break down the narrative, but it's thematically rich and open to interpretation. And yes, it contains multitudes. 

Review: The Phoenician Scheme

Image courtesy of Focus Features.

After two back-to-back films that rank among his best, Wes Anderson's latest, the short and breezy "The Phoenician Scheme," is more of a lark - a minor film, albeit an enjoyable one. The picture is, as always, loaded down with numerous returning cast members, an impeccably just-so mise en scene, and some of the themes one would expect from an Anderson film.

It is, nevertheless, after the structurally and otherwise inventive - but also underrated - "The French Dispatch" and the profound "Asteroid City," a more lightweight affair, despite being slightly more violent and obsessed with death than your typical Anderson film.

The movie follows the travails and exploits of Zsa Zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro), who has just survived his sixth plane crash and assassination attempt. The year is 1950 and Korda, a businessman and all-around schemer, is in the midst of a massive deal, albeit one without slave labor or detriment to the environment, something on which he prides himself and an indication that his previous deals have been less than above-board. 

The details of the project are too labyrinthine and absurd to describe in detail, but more important to the film is Korda's other big plan - to name an heir in light of the multiple attempts on his life. But rather than picking one of the numerous young boys - some sired by Korda, others adopted - living in his home where he conducts business, he chooses his estranged daughter, a nun named Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who has a score to settle with her father due to rumors that he may have been involved in her mother's death.

Much of the film involves Korda and Liesl, who agrees to sign on as heir on a "trial basis," traveling to various corners of the world to convince his financial backers to provide more funding for his project. These include a Middle Eastern prince (Riz Ahmed), basketball fanatic brothers played by Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston, a French nightclub owner named Marseilles Bob (Mathieu Amalric), an American military man (Jeffrey Wright), and a cousin (Scarlett Johansson). Last on the list is Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch), who looks like a Russian czar and whom Korda blames for Leisl's mother's death.

Much like many other films in Anderson's oeuvre - but especially "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums," and "Asteroid City" - "The Phoenician Scheme" involves one of Anderson's longstanding fixations - relationships between either estranged parents and children or younger characters struggling against father figures. Much of it is played for humor in his latest picture, but it ends on a note of subtle warmth.

Overall, "The Phoenician Scheme" is more of a trifle, which might be due to the fact that his two most recent films - "Asteroid City" and "The French Dispatch" - were such high points in the director's career, the former being an insightful and profound take on our place in the universe that left me thinking about it for days. In comparison, his latest is more laid back and less heavy.

But it's still a good time. The cast is, not surprisingly, great, especially Del Toro in his first lead role in an Anderson film and Michael Cera as Bjorn, the Swedish tudor of Korda's children who has a few tricks and secrets up his sleeve. The production design is impeccable, the film is funny in the way that most Anderson movies are, and the director as always manages to squeeze a whole lot into a short running time. It might not be among his finest works - I'd place it somewhere in the same vicinity "Moonrise Kingdom" - but it's imaginative and enjoyable.

Review: Bring Her Back

Image courtesy of A24.

Australian filmmaking brothers Danny and Michael Philippou's first two gruesome features focus on characters who are grieving and ultimately find themselves mixed up in body horror stories involving supernatural elements. I thought their first film, "Talk to Me," was a little overrated, but mostly good, whereas their latest, the grim and gloomy "Bring Her Back," is just overrated.

The film follows two siblings - Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) - as they find themselves in the foster care system after discovering their father dead in the shower. It is suggested that the hulking Andy was traumatized by his experiences with his father and previously found himself in some trouble, while Piper, who is blind, was the favored child and Andy's stepsister. There seems to be some question as to whether he'll successfully be able to gain custody of her when he turns 18.

The two land in the home of Laura (Sally Hawkins), a former social worker who lost her daughter, also blind, some time before in an accident. Laura comes off as warm and inviting, a goofy individual who likes to blast music in the house, curses off the bat in front of Andy and Piper, and even gives in to Andy's request to allow them to take some whiskey shots.

There's also an unexplainable presence in the house - a young boy named Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) who will not speak, has a shaved head, and a bruise of some sort underneath his eye. Andy never seems to get the response he wants when enquiring about Oliver's backstory. 

Not too long after they have been staying at Laura's, some odd things occur. Andy starts wetting himself and we later discover a nefarious explanation. At every turn, Laura appears to undermine Andy in front of Piper, reminding him that her report on their relationship could make or break his efforts to later be her guardian.

Much like after a particularly memorable gruesome sequence in "Talk to Me" - a scene involving a younger sibling playing a deadly game - things go haywire in this movie after a nauseatingly gruesome sequence in which Andy tries to feed Oliver some melon. From there, things get more disturbing.

There's a lot going on in "Bring Her Back" and, truth be told, there's insignificant explanation for much of it. The filmmakers continually show clips of some sort of ritual involving a cult that become increasingly grotesque, but the role they play in the film's story is nebulous to a frustrating degree. There are also numerous scenes of horrific body horror gore involving children and most of them appear to exist solely to shock.

Hawkins, a great multitalented actor, convincingly portrays Laura as a person whose grief turns monstrous, and Barratt and Wong are both solid as the children unfortunate enough to be in her care. But one of my quibbles about "Talk to Her" was that, though impressive in many respects, it ultimately didn't add up to more than just being a decent horror movie. "Bring Her Back" is more extreme in this respect: It's unrelentingly gruesome and grief is clearly an important element of the story, but it mostly feels skin deep - which might seem like a bad pun considering how much flesh is torn in this picture.

The Philippou brothers are obvious talents - "Talk to Me" was, if nothing else, a series of impressive set pieces - but they have taken a step back here. "Bring Her Back" ultimately left me cold. It's the feel bad movie of the summer and while it puts its audience through the ringer, there's little payoff to make the experience feel worthwhile.

Review: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

If you're thinking that a film about a love-averse bookshop employee who adores Jane Austen, but avoids romance, and is invited to spend a week at Austen's home for a writer's workshop where she'll most likely find love sounds like the setup to a corny early 2000s rom com, I won't fault you. But you'd be wrong.

"Jane Austen Wrecked My Life" involves the aforementioned scenario but its lead character is Frenchwoman Agathe (Camille Rutherford) and its take on the literature-inspired romantic comedy is more French than Hollywood and, therefore, a little more risque and a sharper-than-average film of this sort.

Agathe is prompted to attend the workshop by best friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), a possible romantic interest, after he comments on the gloomy state in which she's been since she recovered from a car accident that claimed her parents' lives. Her sister, Mona (Alice Butaud), thinks that the getaway will do Agathe good and comments that she needs some attention from the opposite sex.

While the film starts out as a fish-out-of-water comedy - Agathe thrown in among the Brits in a quaint countryside manor - it soon becomes more of a will-they-or-won't-they romantic dramedy after she runs afoul of the scion of the Austen estate, Oliver (Charlie Anson). He's a bit stuffy but droll in the British sense, especially during a very funny scene in which Agathe mistakes his bedroom for a bathroom.

Nothing happens here that you don't expect - Agathe comes to the weekend with writer's block and continues to suffer from it, Oliver's possibly dementia-suffering father causes some nude mischief in the garden, and Agathe struggles with her feelings for both Felix and Oscar - but it's done in a humorous, charming, and decidedly French manner.

While there is some humor in the film - though it's more of a quiet nature than the laugh-out-loud type - "Jane Austen Wrecked My Life" is similar to the "Bridget Jones" series in that it is primarily concerned with the foibles, of the artistic and romantic type, of its headstrong lead character. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but instead gives some well-worn material a fun and refreshing spin.

Review: Friendship

Image courtesy of A24.

Andrew DeYoung's debut, "Friendship," is what you might call an uncomfortable movie about an awkward and abrasive person who engages in a lot of cringey behavior. I feel like there's a genre out there that includes other films of this nature - but none immediately spring to mind. It's an effective movie that doesn't always work, but when it does it can be hilarious and off-the-wall.

One element that allows the film to catch viewers off guard is that not only is its lead character, Craig (Tim Robinson), awkward is an almost hostile manner, but the film itself has an almost surreal vibe in that its world doesn't quite reflect the one we're living in now. For instance, all of the characters have cell phones and yet they are frequently getting caught up in the spiral cords while talking on their landlines. One particularly memorable scene - easily the film's funniest - involves Craig trying to score drugs and the result of his taking part in a ritual that leads to a hilarious hallucination.

In the film, Craig has few friends. He works for a public relations firm and seems bored by life. His wife (Kate Mara) has defeated cancer and Craig awkwardly makes the moment all about himself when they are talking during a cancer survivor meeting. She seems to tolerate him - as does his son, who behaves more adoringly toward his mother.

One day, Craig returns a package to a neighbor that was delivered to his address. The neighbor turns out to be local weatherman Austin (Paul Rudd), a sort of man's man with a crew of cronies who hang out at his house regularly - and occasionally break into bizarre impromptu a capella performances of "My Boo" by the Ghost Town DJ's. 

But Austin also has some quirky interests - such as collecting ancient artifacts or foraging for mushrooms by climbing through an underground pipe that leads into city hall (we're never told exactly where this film is set, though it looks snowy and the characters often wear heavy coats). And Craig feels special because Austin pays him a lot of attention quickly and lets him in on his interests.

But Craig makes a series of truly indescribable faux pas during a hangout night with Austin and his friends and is quickly shunted aside. At first, Austin politely tries to brush him off - for instance, when Craig shows up unannounced on the the set of the news show for which Austin provides the weather forecast. Then, Austin gets more blunt.

Meanwhile, Craig's work and home life begin to slip as his character goes the route of Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction. Thankfully, no rabbits were hurt during the making of this film. Craig's awkward and bizarre behavior becomes more self destructive and, at times, pretty creepy.

While I wouldn't say that everything works in "Friendship" - Robinson occasionally plays Craig's weirdness to 11 on a scale of 10 - it's an unusual and uncomfortable film about the joys and dangers of male bonding. It's also frequently hilarious - a scene involving the licking of a toad (don't ask) and what occurs afterward are riotously funny and there's a very funny quip regarding the war in Afghanistan that's awkwardly tacked onto the end of a speech. 

I've never seen Robinson's sketch TV show "I Think You Should Leave," but from what I'm told it also pushes the boundary of offbeat examinations of human relationships. Robinson's portrayal of Craig, while an overall good performance, occasionally goes over the top, but "Friendship" is regardless a mostly effective comedy about a somewhat deranged individual.

Review: Fear Street: Prom Queen

Image courtesy of Netflix.

Trying to cash in on the popularity of Leigh Janiak's 2021 "Fear Street" trilogy, Netflix's fourth entry in the series - which only shares a location and title with the previous films, but not characters or story - does little to inspire confidence that this series has much life beyond its original three films.

Running a brief 81 minutes, "Prom Queen" is a gory slasher throwback that wastes little time on character development, story, or theme and gets right to its series of gruesome murders. Set in 1988, the film takes place amid the battle for prom queen between contestants from posh Sunnyvale and underdog Shadyside. Representing the former is teenage tyrant Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza) and her "Wolfpack" crew of sycophants, while Lori Granger (India Fowler) is the lone Shadyside denizen to enter the fray.

Lori has a best friend, Megan (Suzanna Son), who dresses like a goth, loves gory horror movies, and occasionally freaks people out with gruesome makeup and limb removal gags. Lori's family has a whiff of scandal as her mother was once accused of murdering her husband on prom night some years before, thereby making Lori the classroom "freak" whom the Wolfpack targets as an object of ridicule. She decides to jump into the prom queen competition to change things at the school.

This backstory takes up a scant minute or two as "Prom Queen" quickly starts delivering on what it is most interested in - dismembering teens, especially limbs being hacked off. There's a creative use of a paper cutter in one particularly gruesome death, while another teen finds himself on the wrong end of a buzzsaw. A lot of blood flows in this fourth entry - as it did in the original "Fear Street" films - but the picture is missing the je ne sais quoi that made that trilogy (especially its 1978-set entry) memorable.

Not surprisingly, Lori and Megan's friendship is the most interesting element going here, but it - much like all else in the film - is given short shrift to make way for the nonstop bloodletting. Lili Taylor pops up as a surly principal, while Katherine Waterston and Chris Klein make for an overbearing helicopter parent duo, but otherwise this fourth entry in the series can't hold a candle to the original films. It ends up feeling like every other generic slasher movie of the past however many decades.

Review: Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Tom Cruise's death-defying stunts continue to nauseate and thrill in equal measure in "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning," which is likely to be the last in this long-running and well-received franchise. While this episode is among the lower ranks of the eight films in this series, it has its moments of amusement - including what has to be Cruise's most insane stunt to date.

There's not much reason to explain what is going on in this latest installment - if you've seen the other films, you'll recall where the plot left off from the last one; plus, I'm not sure I could explain the film if I wanted to. 

Calling it convoluted would be an understatement as the film flits from continent to continent, featuring one minor character after another providing expository dialogue and Cruise, once again playing super spy Ethan Hunt, racing against time to stop a sinister, globe-trotting villain (Esai Morales) and a super computer known as The Entity that intends to take over the world's nuclear weapons caches and turn them against mankind.

There's a surprise early in the film and a poignant moment or two after one of the series' central figures is killed, but otherwise there are a lot of plot twists and locale changes - and even a few callbacks to previous "Mission Impossible" movies, most notably the first and third. 

The film starts out solidly enough as Hunt and his cohort attempt to find Morales' Gabriel and hack into The Entity to bring a stop to it. Meanwhile, the U.S. president (Angela Bassett) and her advisors question whether to trust Hunt and his team to prevent a cataclysm or to launch a premeditated attack on the other nuclear powers.

The film's middle section is a bit of a slog as Hunt and company try to track down a sunken submarine that might hold the key to destroying The Entity. There's an extended set piece that takes place underwater that is, no doubt, meant to wow, but instead has a stultifying effect. It's not until the film's final third that it gets back on track.

The finale starts with a standoff in a cave, but then takes to the sky as Cruise pursues Morales in a small airplane. Cruise has long been his own stuntman in the "Mission Impossible" films and has taken part in some wild and impressive feats - scaling the world's tallest building or riding a motorcycle off a cliff - but his extended bout on the plane is likely the most impressive and terrifying. I'll give the man credit: He's fearless.

So, while "The Final Reckoning" is not among the best in the series - it's better than John Woo's second entry, but not as good as some of the other sequels - it's a decent enough sendoff for this long-running saga. It has a great cast of character actors who manage to rise above the script's Hollywood action film cliches to give their characters a bit of personality and it features some jaw-dropping stunt work. 

Review: Hurry Up Tomorrow

Image courtesy of Lionsgate. 

It's somewhat of a rarity these days that I run across a movie that's a total misfire. Sure, I see and review plenty of movies that are mediocre, often technically competent movies that are corporatized art meant to sell new installments or bland films of various genres that are run-of-the-mill. But it's not often that I see something that completely misses the mark.

Mel Gibson's "Flight Risk," out earlier this year and not reviewed by me, is one of them. Trey Edward Shults' "Hurry Up Tomorrow" - you know, The Weeknd movie - is another. This is a movie that starts off with its titular character doing vocal warm ups through lip trills and only gets worse.

The film follows a pop star (Abel Tesfaye, AKA The Weeknd) as he seemingly teeters on the brink of self destruction, all while his manager (Barry Keoghan) offers plenty of bad temptations and while a stalkerish fan (Jenny Ortega) lurks in the background, waiting to pounce.

The Weeknd is known for his self-deprecating persona and songs that touch on angst, depression, hedonism, and a desire to escape celebrity status. While I'm not overly familiar with his entire catalogue, I like some of his most well-known songs - "Starboy" and "Blinding Lights," which is used in what must be the most awkward scene of any movie this year.

But there's self-deprecating and then there's... this. In the film, The Weeknd plays The Weeknd, who spends much of his time offstage crying over a relationship that seemingly fell apart, but also admitting that he treated the woman terribly. Then, we get to see him treat her terribly on the phone as he calls her a "bitch" and a "nothing," and the former insult is later hurled at another female character. He also does a fair amount of cocaine, often at the prompting of his manager.

It's hard to tell if "Hurry Up Tomorrow" is an extended, overly stylish therapy session or just an overwrought and self-absorbed project for its pop star lead. While I've admired some of Shults' work - such as "Krisha" or "Waves" - more than loved it, he really lays the style on thick here. It feels like every other shot is a 360-degrees swirl around his lead or a tight shot of his sweating face. 

Then, about halfway through the film, it becomes a variation on Stephen King's "Misery," sort of, leading to the aforementioned awkward scene. It involves Ortega awkwardly dancing and actually explaining to The Weekend how brilliant his music is and dissecting some of its themes. I think the last time I face palmed this hard is when M. Night Shyamalan wrote a bit part in one of his films for himself in which he played a genius author who wrote a book that would save mankind.

The Weeknd and Shults have both seen better days in the realms of music and film and I'd imagine that they will go on to do better things. In the meantime, this is a film in which its title might become a mantra for those sitting through it.

Review: Secret Mall Apartment

Image courtesy of Submarine Entertainment.

What is it exactly that qualifies something as art? Must it be an object or can it be an act? Is it required to be permanent or can it be fleeting? These are all questions that are posed - but not necessarily answered - in Jeremy Workman's documentary "Secret Mall Apartment," which is about a group of Providence, Rhode Island artists who found a vacant spot in a massive mall in the early 2000s and created an apartment, where they were able to spend time unnoticed by anyone for about four years.

The idea for the apartment was borne during a debate in Providence during the late 1990s over how spaced was used. The city, at that point, had seen better days and its administration thought the best way to revitalize it would be to create a massive luxury shopping center. Many of the communities who lived in proximity to it opposed the mall because, as they argued, they couldn't afford to shop there and would soon be squeezed out of the area when property taxes went up.

All of this turned out to be true, including the demolition of a beloved spot for artists and local musicians known as Fort Thunder, which hosted underground concerts and space for burgeoning local artists of varying kinds. One of the artists associated with the spot, Michael Townsend, noticed a place during the mall's construction that seemed to be empty and was far away from the stores and pretty much everything else. He correctly assumed that the room was intended for storage of some sort, but was later forgotten.

Michael and some friends broke into the room and decided to create an apartment for a select group of artists where they could hang out. A group of eight artists - including Michael's then-girlfriend Adriana Valdez Young - bought furniture in the mall and then lugged it up to the room. There's a harrowing sequence of them pushing a couch up a steep ladder in the upper regions of the mall.

"Secret Mall Apartment" is the story of how these eight artists spent time in the apartment - although none of them actually lived there - unobserved for about four years. As such, it's a well-made and interesting documentary feature. It should be noted that when law enforcement eventually cracked down, it was only Michael who faced any sort of repercussions (they were surprisingly minimal), so it's interesting that all other seven artists basically outed themselves by participating in the film.

But while the story of the apartment is interesting enough, if not quite mind blowing, it's the other endeavors of the artists that are most interesting in the picture - namely, a unique onsite sculpture involving mannequins that Michael put together under a bridge in Providence prior to the mall apartment and his group's "tape art" that they used to decorate a local hospital and then placed all over New York City in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in an effort to honor the lives of every person who died at the World Trade Center site.

Of course, this art's format is tape, making it ephemeral, and there's some interesting discussion in the film about how Michael views art and how many of his own works are short-lived and only live on in photos. There's also an argument made in the film that the apartment itself was a work of art, and one of the less compelling elements of the documentary involves another artist trying to recreate it some years later. 

A film like "Man on Wire" is, perhaps, a more memorable documentary on what exactly can define art - in that case, a tightrope artist walking between the World Trade Center towers in the 1970s - than "Secret Mall Apartment." Perhaps, it's because the stakes are lower in this film. Regardless, it's a mostly interesting documentary about a region-specific art movement that you've probably never heard of, but will likely find compelling nevertheless.

Review: Another Simple Favor

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Paul Feig's "Another Simple Favor," a sequel to the quasi-popular 2018 film "A Simple Favor," is one of those sequels where it appeared that the entire cast wanted to vacation in a gorgeous spot, so they built an entire film around it, kind of like Adam Sandler has been doing in recent years.

Against all odds, the film brings the two lead characters from the original back together again and introduces a slew of new ones - there are Italian mobsters, FBI agents, book agents, twins, creepy aunties whom we didn't know existed, and various others - and plops them all down on the gorgeous Italian island of Capri.

As the film opens, the once-mousy Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick), who is now an author, albeit not quite a best-selling one, and true crime online influencer (is this a thing?), is promoting the book about her experiences with murderess Emily (Blake Lively) when the latter pops up at a book signing and basically threatens to sue Stephanie if she doesn't attend her wedding in Capri. The explanation for why she's no longer in prison for murdering her father and sister is flimsy at best.

Suddenly, Stephanie is in Capri with a book agent (Alex Newell), a character who does not need to exist for the purposes of this movie, and Emily, but also Sean (Henry Golding), the sort-of ex of each of them, as well as Dante (Michele Morrone), the beefy scion of an Italian mob family that is at war with another family that, for whatever reason, will be attending the wedding.

Elizabeth Perkins pops up as Emily's mother, while Allison Janney is a mysterious aunt whose behavior gets stranger by the moment. There's also a bumbling FBI agent (Taylor Ortega) who is following Stephanie around and Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci), Dante's unfriendly and seemingly sociopathic mother. There's also another character who becomes integral late in the film whom I can't discuss without giving away spoilers.

Needless to say, Stephanie is skeptical as to why Emily wants her there, and isn't comforted much when Emily regales her with a tale of a god who brought people to the island to entertain him and, when they didn't, threw them off the cliff.

Shortly after everyone's arrival, a murder occurs - and then another. There's a lot going on in this film - some of it amusing, some of it not so much - and the picture often feels like it's juggling numerous plot lines, styles, and genres. Sometimes it's funny, while at other times it plays up the murder-mystery element Occasionally, a character might be charming or funny, only to be later revealed as a lunatic.

"Another Simple Favor" has its moments - the tete a tetes between Stephanie and Emily are occasionally amusing - and there are some scenes I could have done without, especially a sequence involving the usage of a truth serum. The original 2018 film was one that didn't really need a sequel, yet the finale of this one hints at more to come. 

This is a film that could be described as busy. Juggling multiple storylines can lead to success if each of the plot lines are intriguing. Some of the ones in "Another Simple Favor" are amusing enough, but others fizzle out, resulting in a sequel that's only intermittently successful and, more often than not, running on fumes.

Review: The Shrouds

Image courtesy of Janus Films.

Everyone has their own manner of processing grief, and occasionally some methods might veer toward the unusual. In David Cronenberg's latest film, "The Shrouds," which was conceived of in the wake of the loss of Cronenberg's wife to cancer, the central character, Karsh (Vincent Cassel), uses methods that are off-putting to women as he attempts to get back on the dating scene. 

In one of the film's opening scenes, his latest date is taken aback to learn that Karsh - who owns both a cemetery, restaurant located on the cemetery's property, and a company known as GraveTech that acts as an Internet-connected mausoleum - has created technology that allows grieving people to watch their loved ones decompose within their graves. 

Why would anyone want to do this? Karsh explains that he was with his wife every step of their lives since they met and feels horrible to think that her body is alone in its grave. Therefore, he and GraveTech's users can log onto a screen in which they see their loved one's body within the grave. In the casket, they are covered by "shrouds" with cameras in somewhat of a reference to the Shroud of Turin.

But something is afoot. One night, the mausoleum is vandalized, with several of the graves having been overturned, and Karsh is locked out of the technology that allows him to view his wife's body. Could it be the Russians or the Chinese, whom he is told might be trying to compete with his technology? Is it an act of protest from a group denouncing the moral implications of the technology? Could it have something to do with his wife's relationship with the doctor that treated her whom Karsh never met, but suspects something of a romantic element might have been taking place?

He gets paranoid suggestions from Terry (Diane Kruger), a dog groomer and twin sister of his wife, Becca (also Kruger) as well as a conspiracy theorist. He gets more tech-savvy answers from Terry's ex-husband, the nebbish Maury (Guy Pearce). Karsh also gets involved with the blind wife (Sandrine Holt) of a Hungarian billionaire who wants to utilize the technology as his own impending death from illness looms - and there's a possibility that this scenario might play a role in the mysterious sabotage.

Cronenberg has long been known as the king of body horror, which derives from so many of his films having to do with the horrors of the body's ailment, whether it's the gooey remake of "The Fly," the twisted tale of twin doctors "Dead Ringers," the recent surgery-heavy "Crimes of the Future," the medically-themed "The Brood," or "Videodrome," a film about losing the sense of one's reality that suggests "leaving the old flesh behind."

In many ways, "The Shrouds" also feels like an answer to the director's moniker. Throughout the film, Karsh has dreams in which Becca comes to his bed nude at night and her body is seen slowly disintegrating from her disease. At one point, she shows up with a missing breast or an arm. During a scene in which they cuddle, her hip suddenly snaps because of the frailty of her bones. While Cronenberg's body horror movies suggested the frailty of the flesh, his latest is based on the very real horrors of the body's wasting away due to age or disease.

While I liked "The Shrouds" and found its labyrinthine conspiracy theories compelling and mysterious, the picture ranks more in the realm of some of his more recent films such as "Maps to the Stars" or "Cosmopolis," rather than some of the aforementioned body horror classics or the work from his highly productive late 20th century-early 21st century period - for example, "Crash," "Spider," "A History of Violence," "Eastern Promises" or "A Dangerous Method."

Cassell makes a compelling lead as a seemingly Cronenbergian stand-in and the rest of cast - Kruger playing double duty, Pearce as the squirrelly technology expert, and Holt as the mysterious wife of the Hungarian billionaire - are also good. Despite some squirmy sequences involving decomposing corpses, "The Shrouds" is a bit milder than some of the director's other films, especially the recent, grim "Crimes of the Future." It's not one of his best, but it's possibly his most personal and overall a good film.

Movie Review: Sinners

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” may at times feel like a riff on Robert Rodriguez’s “From Dusk Till Dawn” and, sure enough, the final third of the picture is fairly similar to that one – but this is also a movie with much more on its mind and, for the most part, works as a period piece, gangster drama set in the South and somewhat a musical that touches on race and, yes, features vampires.

Not all of this necessarily works, but overall Coogler’s latest – a big budget studio film that is a nice reprieve from all the IP, sequels, and reboots – is an engaging picture. It also helps that it has such a strong cast, from Michael B. Jordan playing two former mob-affiliated brothers, Hailee Steinfeld as a family affiliate who had an affair with one of the brothers, Wunmi Mosaku as the former lover of the other brother, Miles Canton as a cousin and budding musician, and the always-great, scene-stealing Delroy Lindo as another musician.

There’s a lot going on in “Sinners,” but the general premise is that Smoke and Stack (Jordan) – considering how much this film is indebted to the blues, I can only assume that these names were inspired by a certain Howlin’ Wolf song – are brothers who previously did jobs for Al Capone in Chicago and, in 1932 Mississippi, have returned home to open a juke joint in the middle of nowhere.

They enlist the help of Sammy (Canton), a shy cousin who is gifted with the guitar, and Delta Slim (Lindo), a cranky harmonica player, to provide music on opening night. Mosaku’s Annie – with whom Smoke once had a child who died – will help run the joint, while store owner Grace (Li Jun Li) and her husband will mind the bar. A large man named Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) will provide security. A seemingly shady man sells the brothers the building and swears that the Ku Klux Klan is no longer active in the area, upon their inquiry on the matter.

The film’s first third does a nice job of establishing its many characters and what their relationships are to each other. The picture is gorgeously shot and its first section involves numerous scenes of its characters making their way through sunny, but isolated, landscapes. The film’s middle portion involves the opening night. And the final section involves the event’s intrusion by a trio of white vampires – who also happen to be in a band – as they lure guests outside, pick them off one by one, and form a small army that’s ready to invade the juke joint, that is, if they’re invited in.

Not every scene in the film works. For example, during Sammy’s debut, Coogler and company make a strange stylistic choice by portraying various types of artists of consequence through the ages – from African dancers to men on electric guitars and even a DJ scratching a record – hanging out in the juke as the music plays. I’m sure there’s a point to be made here about the power of music and those who possess the quality to transfix others by playing it, but it comes off as half baked.

Also, the final confrontation with the vampires comes off a bit rushed after what felt like a significant amount of buildup. However, a semi-cathartic scene following that when Smoke takes on some Klan members more than makes up for it.

In recent years, Coogler has primarily been making films that might qualify as existing IP – “Creed” or “Black Panther” sequels – that were good, if not earth shattering. This is the first original film he has made since “Fruitvale Station” and while it doesn’t reach the levels of that powerful, lower budget picture, it’s still an engaging movie that juggles a variety of genres and concepts, mostly in a smooth manner. All in all, it’s pretty good.

Review: Warfare

Image courtesy of A24.

If nothing else, director Alex Garland's "Warfare" is an example of impressive execution. The film, based on the actual experiences of co-director Ray Mendoza, throws you right into the melee of being under fire in an intense standoff between American forces and Iraqi jihadists in 2006. As such, it's a gripping experience that is likely to make you queasy.

But much like Garland's 2024 film "Civil War," another example of an impressively executed scenario, the film is lacking in other areas that might have made it even more compelling. In the case of the previous film, I thought that the director took a disturbing scenario that has clearly been on the minds of many Americans and made an intense thriller out of the material without providing much insight or perspective. 

Likewise, "Warfare" is gripping because of the nature of what it's about and due to the execution of the scenario, but it provides little in the way of context - or even characterization. We hardly know any of the characters' names or much else about them. We certainly don't see the jihadists firing upon them, at least not much more than brief glimpses. We don't know how or why the scenario unfolded, other than that this group of NAVY Seals is cornered in a house and is nearly blown to tatters by people firing on the house.

Now, there's some argument to be made that doing so is a way of refuting Francois Truffaut's assertion that there's no such thing as an anti-war movie. That comment was made to point out that by investing audiences in characters set against war backdrops and the exciting nature of such stories glamorize the experience. "Warfare" does no such thing. We know little about the individuals involved and the scenario that unfolds is merely horrifying - and not exciting in the traditional manner in which a war movie might be presented.

As the film opens, the group of Seals, led by a character portrayed by Will Poulter, bust into an Iraqi home in the middle of the night. They argue that they're there to protect the family inside, although it really comes off as more of a hostage situation if we're being honest. The first 30 minutes of the picture does a solid job of capturing the occasional boredom of participating in a war. The men mostly sit around the house, looking through rifle scopes at the streets outside and listening in as they receive information and direction from their superiors via radio.

At one point, a soldier spots some men entering a house across the street holding weapons. Shortly thereafter, a grenade is thrown through the window into the house and an attack ensues. A tank is called in to rescue the men, but is blown up, critically injuring two of the men (played by Cosmo Jarvis and Joseph Quinn), who spend much of the rest of the film bleeding and screaming as the others try to hold their wounds together.

A second platoon is sent in as a rescue mission and the final quarter of the film involves the two groups of men trying to extricate themselves from the house while firing upon the mostly unseen assailants surrounding it. The film has a "you are here" style of pseudo-documentary filmmaking that is effective and unrelenting.

But what "Warfare" ends up being is mostly an exercise. It's an effective one, but it's nothing more and nothing less than watching a grueling wartime scenario play out in real time. Both "Civil War" and "Warfare" deserve praise for their execution - but unlike some of Garland's previous works, such as the screenplay for Danny Boyle's great "28 Days Later" as well as the solid "Ex Machina" and "Annihilation," there's not much deeper under the surface. It's an example of a well-made portrayal of things that happened without much in the way of context, characterization, or perspective.

Review: The Friend

Image courtesy of Bleecker Street Media.

David Siegel and Scott McGehee's filmography is so vast in terms of style and content that it's often easy to forget some of the films they have created together. A number of their pictures feel as if they don't belong in the same category as the others.

Their work has included the black-and-white, noirish "Suture" and the thriller "The Deep End" as well as family dramas "Bee Season" and "What Maisie Knew" and the moody "Montana Story." Their latest, "The Friend," is their best and an addition to another sub-genre - the literate New York intellectual milieu drama - in which they've never worked.

In the film, teacher and writer's-blocked author Iris (Naomi Watts in her best performance in some time) is stuck. She's been putting off her latest novel, instead working on a book of correspondence written by her best friend, acclaimed author and larger-than-life personality Walter (Bill Murray), with his daughter following his suicide. No worries, this isn't a spoiler as it's laid out at the film's beginning that Walter has died. He appears only in flashback.

Iris is distraught at the death of her friend, who was briefly a lover many years before but has mainly been a confidant and pal during Walter's three marriages. All three of his wives, including his present one, have shown up for his funeral. His latest wife asks Iris to come by the house when she has a chance. Upon doing so, Iris learns of Walter's last favor he asks of her - besides, of course, working on his letters of correspondence book - adopting his dog, a massive great dane named Apollo.

Reluctantly, Iris does so and learns about great danes quickly that it is difficult to get them to do anything they don't want to due to their size. This includes moving Apollo off her bed, so she takes to sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. To make matters worse, Iris is threatened by the management company from her building that she will be evicted if she doesn't ditch the dog.

Naturally, Iris begins to bond with the pup, who also seems sad and disconsolate over the death of its master. No, this is not what one might call a cute movie nor is it a treacly film of the type in which a dog is the main character and observes the actions of a smarmy family. "The Friend" is a poignant film about friendship, the lengths one would go for those whom one loves, and making new friendships. Also, it's one of the better films I've seen of late about grief and the process of acceptance.

Watts has long been a great actress - I just recently rewatched the remarkable "Mulholland Drive" and was impressed all over again by her breakout performance in that film. She's been very good in a number of other films over the years, but it's been a while since she's had a juicy role, so this film is being viewed as somewhat of a comeback, and it's well earned: She's very good. 

Murray is also solid in what mostly amounts to a small supporting performance and the rest of the cast is also memorable - most notably, Constance Wu as one of Walter's more difficult ex-wives and Carla Gugino as the ex to whom Iris is closest. Much like in "Mulholland Drive," there's a scene late in the picture in which Watts concocts a fantasy - in this case, it's a conversation with Walter. It's a powerful moment in a movie full of them - and much more so than one might expect about a person bonding with a gigantic dog. This is one of the year's cinematic bright spots so far.