Category Archives: 2020

2020, Recent Reviews, Reviews

I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020): Introspective, Eccentric, and Thought-provoking

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It’s been 10 years since the last live action feature from Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and his newest film won’t disappoint fans of his particular style. I’m Thinking of Ending Things, based on a novel by Iain Reid, follows a young woman (Jessie Buckley; Wild Rose) and her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons; Game Night) as they drive up to meet his parents for the first time.

The film, like the book and most of Kaufman’s works, is heavy on introspection. During the drive we frequently hear Buckley’s voiceovers questioning her relationship. Although they’re initially presented as an idyllic couple, her first remarks (the film’s title) suggests otherwise. In the midst of taking the next step forward with Jake, she is actually considering breaking up with him and their conversations abstractly reference this.

It’s these protracted dialogues that will lose viewers. Some may find the seemingly unrelated and extended tangents exhausting. They are relevant to the main plot but, in the moment, they can drag on as the couple make obscure references to topics like literature, recitations of poetry, film criticism, and even the musical Oklahoma! which plays a more crucial role than expected. Within these conversations are subtle hints towards the film’s nature and the mindset of its characters and Kaufman deserves credit for his ability to convey information to the viewer without forced exposition.

Jake’s parents try to be welcoming, but have a concerning demeanor.

Compared to his first film (Synecdoche, New York), Kaufman has significantly upgraded his visual flair. The film is shot entirely in a 4:3 aspect ratio, likely intended to convey the mental claustrophobia experienced by the lead, and features a distinctive, eerie aesthetic. The drive takes place during a blizzard and heavy snowfall is almost always in the frame furthering the film’s constrictive feeling  as if the characters are snowed in without a way to escape their current situations. Jake’s family home, the main interior location, is an old farmhouse that has a weathered and unsettling beauty. The wooden floors are worn, the furnishings are outdated, and the wallpaper features bold colors and patterns that manage to be rustic and cozy while still communicating unease due to their sickly shades of green and blue.

Throughout the film, and especially with Jake’s parents, supporting characters have alarmingly strange behavior. Jake’s unhinged mother and father are borderline deranged while trying to exchange pleasantries with their son’s new girlfriend and appear to change physically and mentally during their dinner. At times it even seems like the film’s genre is pivoting towards horror which deliberately deprives the viewer of comfort and certainty and keeps the narrative direction inscrutable for most of its runtime.

As the story approaches its conclusion, Kaufman veers away from the source material. It may be unsurprising coming from the man who wrote Adaptation, but the film takes the book’s psychological thriller narrative and expands it into a self-reflexive and surreal story about longing, loneliness, and fantasy. The ending may again lose some viewers but as perplexing as it initially is, the tonal shift leads to a much more thought-provoking destination than a straightforward translation of the novel would have. It better fits the medium, adds meaning to the alarming eccentricities that preceded it, and gives the viewer reasons to reexamine the film’s expertly layered narrative.

4/5 stars.

2020, Recent Reviews, Reviews

Extraction (2020): Action Without Interest

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He may be a star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Chris Hemsworth (Thor) has had mixed results outside of it. Extraction is his chance to prove himself as a true action lead. He plays Tyler Rake, a mercenary hired to extract a kidnapped gang leader’s  son from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is supported by his handler Golshifteh Farahani (About Elly) and faces enormous obstacles as the city’s police are under the control of a rival crime lord. To his credit, Hemsworth has a believable physicality as he fights through dozens of goons. His performance, as usual, shows few emotions. This is partly due to how his character is written, but part of it is also his own limited acting ability.

The director, Sam Hargrave, knows his action. This may be his first film, but he comes from the same background as other stuntmen-turned-directors like David Leitch and Chad Stahelski (John Wick) and is best known for his work as stunt coordinator on the latest Avengers movies for directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who also produced this movie. Because of this pedigree, it’s tempting to describe the style of action as John Wick in Bangladesh, but Hargrave seems directly inspired by the work of Gareth Evans in The Raid series. Instead of the comparatively steady camerawork from John Wick,he uses Evans’s more unstable camera and accentuates it to mixed results. The action is typically in clear view, but the constantly wavering camera can be distracting rather than immersive. In its worst moments, the cinematography is even a bit nauseating.

The relationship between Rake and the boy isn’t effective enough to ground the movie.

Shakiness aside, there are still some great set pieces. Chief among them is an extended sequence of Rake attempting to flee Dhaka with the boy. Hargrave stitches together several scenes to create what appears like one unbroken shot. The technical craft is incredibly impressive as the camera seamlessly moves from the street and repeatedly into and out of moving vehicles. This builds the tension of the car chase as the leads weave through the crowded, narrow streets and dodge pursuing vehicles. However, this scene, despite its strong craft, runs too long. The problem is escalation. As the scene continues, the action doesn’t  necessarily surpass what preceded it and the tension begins to deflate.

The film knows what it is, a bare bones action film, and has no greater ambitions. There is very little story beyond the setup. Rake is hinted at having emotional baggage related to a wife or child no longer in his life and lives by himself popping pain pills and drinking heavily. In a line of clumsy dialogue, a character tells the audience that Rake is borderline suicidal. During the course of the rescue, he forms a bond with the boy which is meant to endear him to the audience, but this is mostly unsuccessful. The narrative offers little, if any, emotional investment in the characters or their safety. Without it, even the expertly constructed action wears thin. The movie runs out of steam well before the credits roll and the final shootouts are more tiring than climactic and the intended emotional moments have minimal impact. It deserves praise for its intricate choreography but Extraction never creates enough emotional stakes to hold the audience’s interest.

3/5 stars.

2020, Recent Reviews, Reviews

Bad Education (2020): School District Scandals

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Public schools are not the typical targets for embezzlement and fraud, but Bad Education proves otherwise. Set in Roslyn, a wealthy area of Long Island, NY, the film follows the district’s popular superintendent Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman; Logan) as he prepares to submit his next budget to have a skywalk added to the high school. Beside him is his hardened assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney; I, Tonya) who functions as the business manager, their school board chairman Bob Spicer (Ray Romano; Everybody Loves Raymond) and Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan; Blockers), a student writing an article for the school newspaper that uncovers discrepancies in the school’s accounts.

In some ways, this is a story about people caring about results without examining the process as long as the results were favorable. Tassone was seen as the man that took the high school to new heights. During his tenure, the high school became 4th in the nation with many of its students entering top schools like Harvard leading to an increase in property values and the script takes extra effort to repeatedly emphasize this point. Each individual in the system, directly or indirectly, was benefiting from his work. Families saw their home prices rise and their children received better education with a greater chance at a promising future. As long as that trend continued, Tassone had earned their trust and didn’t warrant further inspection despite some red flags.

Jackman’s performance makes it easy to see Tassone’s appeal.

To make this willful disbelief believable requires a certain type of personality and Hugh Jackman brings that to the character. He is smart, well-dressed, and gregarious. He’s accommodating to everyone from junior staff to board members to parents and students and genuinely cares for their well-being and the overall success of the school. He works long hours and has improved the school in incredible ways and was able to use a cover story to create sympathy in others. Jackman plays Tassone as extremely well-behaved. He wears a ring on his finger and speaks of a young wife who died decades earlier that he still hasn’t moved on from. The tragic backstory makes him an almost saint-like figure to the community and Jackman gives him the easygoing confidence and charisma needed to understand how so many could have been swayed by his behavior.

Director Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds) weaves through the scandal from the perspective of the townspeople or board. We’re first introduced and ingratiated by the duo of Tassone and Gluckin only for the story to gradually reveal their true natures. While the script rightfully places blame on the administrators, it is not as scathing as expected. Finley spends more time humanizing than indicting which is a strange decision. It leaves viewers shocked at the audacity and the enormity of their crimes, but doesn’t create the blood-boiling level of outrage that recent films like Dark Waters or Just Mercy have. It’s a choice that shifts the focus from the crime to the cult of personality that allowed it, but unintentionally diminishes the lasting emotional response to the film, despite its intriguing story.

4/5 stars.

2020, Recent Reviews, Reviews

Swallow (2020): Stomach-Churning and Emotional

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Swallow is one of the hardest watches in years. It’s not long and there isn’t much gore, but director Carlo Mirabella-Davis knows how to get under the audience’s skin with a simple premise. The film stars Haley Bennett (Hardcore Henry) as Hunter, a housewife recently married to a man from a wealthy family. They live together in the stunning mansion overlooking  a river purchased for them by his parents and she spends her days decorating and cleaning it while he works for the family business. During this time Hunter develops a strange fascination with consuming inedible objects.

Even knowing its topic beforehand will not prepare you for the acts on display. Hunter’s behavior starts small, with a marble, but quickly escalates to disturbing heights. Mirabella-Davis films these scenes in medium shots where Hunter’s body language takes center stage. We see her subtle grimaces, convulsions, and pain as she swallows things no human being was ever meant to eat. These scenes are universally revolting. The director doesn’t rely on extreme close ups or tracking into Hunter’s face to get the point across. Instead, Mirabella-Davis’s static shots eliminate any potential distractions forcing the viewer to unwillingly imagine Hunter’s physical experience and contemplate what emotional  state could have caused someone to behave in this manner. Very little graphic imagery is shown, but Mirabella-Davis frames the actions in an uncomfortably inviting way. Some will find these moments, and therefore the film itself, unwatchable due to their repulsive nature yet this is only a testament their effectiveness.

Hunter examines the objects in unsettling detail before consuming.

Haley Bennett is incredible in the difficult role and carries the film. Hunter has a disturbing, inexplicable habit that could make her too strange for viewers to relate to, but Bennett’s performance highlights her vulnerability. Hunter isn’t crazy, despite her actions. She seems fragile, broken by some aspect of her past, yet good-natured. Hunter wants to be a good wife to make her husband happy, she wants to fit in with her in-laws, and is too timid to do anything to offend them. She gives the impression that she is trying to redeem herself by being what others desire and is an extremely sympathetic character. When her compulsion develops, it is disgusting, but it calls attention to some unknown emotional baggage she carries. Bennett gives her the frailty needed to make Hunter a victim using a terrible coping mechanism rather than a lunatic.

In it’s final act, the film shifts its focus from Hunter’s present to her past. Mirabella-Davis examines Hunter’s background and allows her to confront issues that have been plaguing her. These scenes are heartfelt and tender as Bennett again displays Hunter’s sincere vulnerability. While other filmmakers would have focused on the gross-out elements, Mirabella-Davis takes the more difficult route to understand rather than to judge. He is invested in the characters motivations rather than her actions and creates the same interest in the audience. Swallow is a stomach-churning experience, but one that sympathizes with its subject and delves beyond the obvious to comprehend the compulsion without vilifying its victim.

4/5 stars.

2020, Recent Reviews, Reviews

Les Misérables (2020): Injustice and Cyclical Violence

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Opening with a moment of unity and closing with something far different, Les Misérables follows three members of an anti-crime brigade in Paris. The film begins with a soccer match that has hundreds of locals shouting in solidarity for their national team but quickly shifts to its focus: the relationship between law enforcement and the citizens they serve. Corporal Ruiz (Damien Bonnard; Dunkirk) transfers into a new police unit in is placed on a team with Chris (Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djibril Zonga). He quickly realizes their methods and beliefs are very different from his own as they torment the community and reveal possible illicit connections to criminal groups. The film is not an adaption of Victor Hugo’s famous novel, but it shares many of the same themes of class struggles and takes place in some of the same locations a century and a half later.

Director Ladj Ly’s greatest gift is his control over crowds. The film carries a sense of unease with characters constantly in conflict. The police clash with the residents who clash with their mayor and with other factions. There is an omnipresent civil unrest that threatens to boil over into outright violence at any moment. Simple discussions immediately escalate into screaming matches between divided groups, seconds away from beating each other senseless. The message is one of pent-up frustration. Whether it’s their living conditions, their economic opportunities, or their treatment by the police, the people of this neighborhood have suffered injustice and it has manifested in a level of collective agitation that is a powder keg just looking for a spark.

The street crime unit is always combative in their interactions with the locals.

The film questions, and answers, the police’s role in this chaos. Supposedly the protectors and agents of law and order, the street crime unit sees itself as the only thing keeping the neighborhood peaceful. Ruiz is a newcomer and is appalled by the actions of his teammates. They are self-righteous, unjust, and actively antagonistic. At times, their behavior is almost unbearable as Chris sees a teenager he finds attractive and threatens to molest her under the guise of a drug search. They view themselves as infallible and refuse to apologize for any of their harassment with a character even screaming “I am the law!”. Their beliefs and the realities of their behavior are shown in stark contrast.

Ly sees law enforcement that behaves in this manner as the progenitors of discord and violence in the community. He places special focus on the youth of this area who are tormented at an early age by the police. They learn to run away immediately, even when they have done nothing wrong, because they know that their innocence or guilt don’t factor into how they are treated. They become the true victims as Ly reinforces his thesis. The message can be a bit heavy-handed at times with characters like Chris being an indefensible tyrant, but Ly makes a compelling case for how systemic abuse by authorities can create and perpetuate a cycle of violence and discord in struggling communities.

4/5 stars.

2020, Recent Reviews, Reviews

Underwater (2020): Familiar, but Enjoyably Tense

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Set on a drilling base at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, Underwater follows a crew of workers when something goes terribly wrong. Norah (Kristen Stewart; Personal Shopper) is a mechanical engineer that narrowly escapes a collapsing wing of the base and informs the others of the catastrophic damage. It appears that an earthquake has destroyed most of their base and its crew. As Norah and the others attempt to escape, they encounter anomalies that suggest they may not be alone on the ocean floor. The film is the first studio feature of William Eubank (Love), an indie sci-fi director, and he carries much of his style into the project.

Eubank is adept at creating tension. It’s immediately obvious that several of the crew are going to die, the questions are who, how, and when and Eubank keeps this guessing game interesting. Some deaths are predictable when characters venture away from the group, but other deaths can be swift and unexpected. There are plenty of jump scares, but few that feel cheap. There are moments of levity used to break the tension with T.J. Miller (Cloverfield) making sarcastic jokes in precarious situations, but these aren’t as annoying as they initially appear. Miller serves as an audience surrogate, pointing out the insurmountable danger they face that films often ignore. His jokes are usually only worth a chuckle, but they’re not to the film’s detriment.

The film’s influences are obvious.

The film boasts impressive visual effects. The sets have the unadorned look of an oil rig rather than a high-tech sterile environment and it adds to the realism, particularly when portions of the base collapse. Eubank uses the same contrasting speed-up / slow-down effect from his earlier films during explosive scenes to capture the power of the blasts and it provides some needed style. There are also interesting designs like the pressurized suits the crew wears to traverse the ocean. The suits could easily be mistaken for mech suits with their intricate, almost modular appearance. The designs of the sea creatures are mostly standard, but their quick movements and glowing eyes are frightening enough. The  best design is revealed towards the end when the film shows it still has a secret up its sleeve and is able to create a unexpected, but truly awe-inducing moment.

While the direction may be strong, it’s impossible to ignore the script’s unoriginality. The film is a cross between Alien, The Abyss, and The Descent with little original plot to add. It has the same blue-collar cast as Alien, the setting of The Abyss, and the creatures and claustrophobia of The Descent. The main crew has little development and the film seems more interested in its set pieces than its characters. Surprisingly, this was a beneficial choice. The lack of character focus allows the film’s strongest features, it’s visuals and direction, to shine. In the few moments when relationships and backstories are emphasized, the cast struggles with the lackluster script and do the film a disservice. It’s story is completely familiar but the film’s tense direction and visual flair are enough to make it an enjoyable ride.

3/5 stars.

2020, Top Lists

Most Anticipated Films of 2020

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With 2019 coming to a close, here are my most anticipated films of the upcoming year. Note that titles from last year’s list that were delayed to 2020 have been excluded here (like I’m Thinking of Ending Things which would otherwise be near the top).

12. Underwater (1/10/2020)

William Eubank is one of the most promising young sci-fi directors working today. He brings big ideas and grounded emotions with incredible special effects and visual flair. His two films to date (The Signal and Love) were not complete successes but they showed a filmmaker with potential to do something special if given the right canvas. Underwater is his first studio film and while the January release date and multiple delays are worrying, I’m still hopeful for a thriller with a unique vision.

11. Another Round (TBD 2020)

Rejoining many of his team from The Hunt, Thomas Vinterberg has another impressive project in the works. Starring Mads Mikkelson and co-written by Tobias Lindholm, the film follows a group of high school teachers that experiment with being intoxicated throughout the day after learning of a theory that claims it is beneficial. The precarious plot and the combination of Vinterberg, Mikkelson, and Lindholm mean we can expect plenty of taut drama.

10. Color Out of Space (1/24/2020)

The producers of Mandy have re-teamed with Nicolas Cage for an adaptation of a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. The premise is strange, but that’s to be expected given the pedigree. Festival reviews have been positive and it looks like another great opportunity to see the great actor at his craziest and at his Cage-iest. The film is also the return of director Richard Stanley (The Island of Dr. Moreau) and is a welcome entry in the growing number of fun B-movies made with A-grade talent.

9. Next Goal Wins (TBD 2020)

Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) is directing a live-action remake of the acclaimed documentary about the football team of American Samoa going from being a terrible team to qualifying for the FIFA World Cup. The sports underdog story should allow Waititi plenty of situations to craft his signature brand of goofy humor and the casting of Michael Fassbender (Shame) in the lead role is an interesting twist. Fassbender is an incredibly talented actor, but he hasn’t starred in a comedy before. His inclusion is an exciting wildcard in what I hope will be a sports comedy to rival the likes of Shaolin Soccer.

8. Tenet (7/17/2020)

Using in theaters only trailers and previews, the hype machine for Tenet has already begun and with good reason. Christopher Nolan is one of few filmmakers that is as critically acclaimed as he is commercially successful granting him the chance to make original ideas with budgets usually reserved for established franchises. Nolan has called Tenet his most ambitious film yet and it appears to involve time travel elements that will create Nolan’s favorite puzzle-like structure for the narrative and will likely have film fans discussing what happened and in what order for months after release.

7. Mank (TBD 2020)

David Fincher (The Social Network) hasn’t directed a film in half a decade so his next feature is long overdue. Based on a screenplay by Fincher’s late father, the film follows screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he writes the script for Citizen Kane. Fincher has shown his mastery of period details in Zodiac and Mindhunter and with Gary Oldman in the lead role, this will be much more than the typical biopic about a Hollywood insider.

6. The Lodge (2/7/2020)

The only film on this list I have already seen, The Lodge is a psychological thriller from Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (Goodnight Mommy). Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road) plays a future stepmom with a traumatic past left alone at a remote cabin with her two future stepchildren. What follows is a tense and troubling series of inexplicable events that cast doubt over all the characters. Franz and Fiala are unrelenting in their commitment to unnerving horror and the end product is satisfyingly ruthless.

5. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (TBD 2020)

Aardman Animations (Chicken Run) is still the best stop-motion animation studio working today. They are masters of slapstick humor and use expressive puppets and fluid movements to bring their stories to life. The original Shaun the Sheep Movie was an absolute delight that showed how much humor can be mined from characters that don’t even speak. Farmageddon released in the UK recently and the feedback has been just as positive as for the original.

4. Dune (12/18/2020)

His last film (Blade Runner 2049) may have flopped at the box office, but Denis Villeneuve demonstrated that he was more than capable of bringing a complex science-fiction world to life. Villeneuve is being given something the previous adaptations have not had, at least not concurrently. He has a blockbuster movie budget and his film will only cover the first half of the book, reducing the risk that the film will suffer from a condensed plot. A sequel based on the remaining half of the novel as well as a television series spinoff, also directed by Villeneuve, have already been announced placing significant confidence in this new adaptation of a beloved novel.

3. Annette (TBD 2020)

Leos Carax is definitely an oddball. His last film (Holy Motors) featured everything from motion capture suits to chimpanzees to talking cars, but somehow worked. He has the manic energy and absurd plots to make films that seem like the work of a mad genius. His newest film is his English-language debut and sadly the first to not include the great Denis Lavant as the lead, but it does have Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard to compensate. The story is supposedly a musical about a girl with a special gift. There is no telling what any of this could mean, but the unpredictability is the most exciting aspect of any Carax project.

2. Memoria (TBD 2020)

Another English-language debut, Memoria is the newest film from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives). Starring Tilda Swinton and set in a mountain village in Columbia, the beauty of the area will provide ample opportunity for his contemplative style and his focus on nature.

1. About Endlessness (TBD 2020)

After finishing his trilogy “about being a human being”, Roy Andersson (You, the Living) returned to the Venice Film Festival this year with About Endlessness. Like his previous work, the film uses the same stark artifice for ironic humor, but initial reviews have noted a more emotional tone. Andersson is one of the most distinct filmmakers alive and it is entirely fitting that he release a 70 minute film titled About Endlessness. I can’t wait.