Review: I'm Still Here

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Although it's set in early 1970s Brazil, director Walter Salles' Oscar-nominated "I'm Still Here" resonates in a profoundly disturbing way at this given moment. The film follows the story of the family of Rubens Paiva, a former congressman, after he is taken prisoner by the country's military dictatorship and his wife, Eunice (a fierce Fernanda Torres), searches for answers.

The film takes a long and patient approach to the material. Its length is meant to convey the long, arduous journey that Eunice and her five children went through as they waited for news of their husband and father. At one point in the narrative, Eunice and one of her daughters, Eliana (Luiza Kosovski), are taken in for questioning and Eunice languishes for what seems like weeks in a dank cell.

The reason for Rubens' arrest, despite that it has been years since he was involved in Brazilian politics, is that the country's dictatorship is seemingly rounding up anyone that it might deem to be a threat. There are accusations that Rubens was abetting terrorists, which Eunice sees as ludicrous, but her disinterested tormenters just keep repeating the same questions.

The film starts in 1970, skips ahead late in the film to 1995 when the Brazilian government began to release information on those who disappeared during those horrific days, and finally to a 2014 family reunion in which Eunice, still alive at age 85, seems haunted still, although we learn that she suffered from Alzheimer's later in life.

The film, which boasts gorgeous cinematography and a great soundtrack of Brazilian music as well as a terrific performance by Torres, is Salles' best since his 2004 "The Motorcycle Diaries," one of the better Che Guevara chronicles. And much like that film, "I'm Still Here" is about an educated individual who becomes politically active after witnessing first-hand the cruelty of politics.

Grounded by Torres' powerful performance, the film is an often nerve-wracking experience as it places us inside the household of a family whose patriarch has been disappeared by a corrupt political regime. There are a few dramatic moments - the scene in which Rubens is arrested is pretty tense and the sequences in the police barracks where Eunice is kept while questioned are scary - but the film's overall tone does a great job of capturing the devastating effect of not knowing. 

We see the years pass and while the family, due to its determination to stick together and their becoming activists in one form or fashion, gradually heals, all the while we know that below the surface they continue to suffer from not knowing the truth. Salles' film, which was a surprise Best Picture nominee at this year's Oscars, is a powerful political drama about a terrifying subject at a moment in time that is also greatly unsettling. 

Review: Heart Eyes

Image courtesy of Screen Gems.

Obviously inspired by the "Scream" films and blending the genre that Wes Craven's film revitalized with the rom com, "Heart Eyes" is a gory thriller that also doubles as a love story between two advertising copywriters. The film takes its love story seriously, while also not skimping on the gore, which it has in abundance.

Although its central story is somewhat half baked - and its ultimate explanation during the final scene is even more so - the premise is that a serial killer known as Heart Eyes targets young couples in love on Valentine's Day and hacks them to pieces. 

The picture opens at a winery where an obnoxious man is attempting to propose to an equally obnoxious woman, although both of them are prioritizing whether the moment is adequately caught by a photographer snapping photos from the woods. Needless to say, their moment is literally cut short.

In Seattle, a young ad copywriter named Ally (Olivia Holt) is struggling at her job after her difficult boss doesn't like her ad concept about doomed love - she references "Titanic," "Bonnie and Clyde," and "Romeo and Juliet" - to sell fancy rings. 

Earlier in the day, Ally has a Meet Cute with a smooth and charming fellow named Jay (Mason Gooding) at a coffee shop. However, she is none too pleased when she realizes that he's a star copywriter who has been brought in to fix her campaign. They don't exactly hit it off.

But that doesn't prevent the Heart Eyes Killer - who is in town for Valentine's Day to wreak havoc - from picking the duo to be among his victims after he sees them kiss. Unbeknownst to the killer, the kiss only occurred to make Ally's ex-boyfriend jealous after they bump into him while exiting a restaurant on Feb. 14.

Most of the film involves Ally and Jay - who are seemingly more resourceful than the other couples who are easy prey for the killer - attempting to escape Heart Eyes' clutches, while numerous others do not. This leads to beheadings, eye gouging, an inventive murder of a couple coupling in the back of a van, and multiple stabbings.

For the most part, "Heart Eyes" is fun and breezy on the rom com side and somewhat icky on the horror side. It's clever enough and Holt and Gooding have good chemistry. There's somewhat of a twist involving Heart Eyes' identity and while I could see that coming, I was underwhelmed when the killer gives the speech about the modus operandi. Truth be told, it's a little lame.

That being said, "Heart Eyes" is a mostly amusing blending of two genres that don't typically mesh. If it's a success, it'll likely face the endless parade of sequels that this type of film tends to generate. For now, at a moment when there's a glut of gory horror movies, this one is slightly better than average.

Review: Companion

Image courtesy of New Line Cinema.

How much do we want to humanize AI? Do we want our computers and gadgets thinking for themselves? Some of the lazier variety, perhaps, want the items they own to anticipate the need, so to speak, thereby making humans almost useless - which, come to think of it, is what AI might end up doing anyway.

These questions are not exactly pondered in Drew Hancock's "Companion," a film that I must refer to as a horror movie, even though it's not particularly frightening, even while it's often gory and isn't funny enough to be considered a comedy. But they are thoughts that I pondered afterward.

I'm not going to be able to discuss the movie at any length without giving away a major spoiler - assuming that it even is one at this point - but you've been warned. In the film, a guy who the filmmakers want you to believe is a nice one, Josh (Jack Quaid), but who you secretly know probably isn't, takes his seemingly docile girlfriend, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), to a secluded cabin for a weekend getaway.

They are joined there by a woman named Kat (Megan Suri), who seemingly doesn't like Iris, as well as a creepy Russian named Sergey (an unrecognizable Rupert Friend), and a gay couple - Eli (Harvey Guillen) and Patrick (Lukas Gage). Something seems off from the beginning, especially when Josh tells Sergey that he's welcome to spend the morning at the beach alone with Iris, while he and Kat remain at the house where they're all staying.

A death occurs and it comes out that - in case you hadn't guessed it - Iris is a robot, albeit a lifelike one who dotes on the every need of its companion and has sex with them. But there's a plot afoot among some of the characters and Iris is quickly seen as a liability - and a scapegoat - in the scenario. Josh tries to shut her down but she escapes, and spends much of the rest of the film trying to stay away from the other characters and, in some instances, being captured and abused by them.

There's clearly something to be said in this film about toxic masculinity. Josh naturally thinks he's a good guy, despite the overwhelming evidence that he is not - and he treats women poorly, regardless of whether they're human beings or robots. 

But while "Companion" could have also had something to say about whether it's a good idea to give robots minds of their own - as the "Terminator" films did - this one is clearly in the AI's corner because Iris is more likable than the horrendous Josh or Sergey. Instead, there's simply a lot of plotting involving how Iris - and another character who is a robot - can be programmed or deprogrammed. 

"Companion" is amusing enough, and yet it's not quite enough, considering the topics it covers at this particular point in time. It has a few good laughs and it's occasionally gruesome, but the manner in which it addresses a capitalistic society in which everything is commodified, toxic masculinity, or the dangers of AI are mostly window dressing. The film has its moments, but I feel that it could have been more.