More Movie Reviews... Including Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" (Not His Best...)
Review of Baby Driver (2017)
Best thing: As per usual, Edgar Wright makes use of incredible choreography. Displaying every action sequence clearly with a lot blink-and-you'll-miss-it details.
Worst thing: You've known the guy for less than a week. You've known each other, what, three days?!! Seriously! I get that you both like music, but even so...
Baby Driver veers away from Edgar Wright's comfort zone. This must be the first Edgar Wright that is not a comedy. Even so, the comic moments are still the best bits.
Nevertheless World's End was funnier, more moving and had better action sequences. Ansel Elgort really does not make for a particularly interesting protagonist. Edgar Wright's painstakingly choreographed action sequences would be cool with anyone in the lead role, but Sheridan doesn't seem to bring any extra pizazz.
Baby Driver is fun, exciting and a really fun time at the movies, but it's the first Edgar Wright film where I haven't been blown away. Shaun of the Dead has always felt a little overrated to me, but that's only because his other films seemed so much stronger.
As much as Scott Pilgrim felt weird, oddly paced and jumbled, I still felt immersed in that film in a way that I simply did not in Baby Driver's geeky Transporter musical.
Wright's films will always be worth your attention and Baby Driver is no exception, but I think comedy is Wright's strong suit and I hope he doesn't lose sight of that in future projects.
B+
Review of Fortress (1992)
Best thing: Intestinate! (Also Jeffrey Combs is great.)
Worst thing: Noooooo! The barn exploded!
Why did anyone ever think Christopher Lambert should be the star of their sci-fi action movie?
Hearing him pretend to be American is so odd. Somehow he sounded more convincing as a Scotsman in period piece sections of Highlander, yet I cannot forget how ridiculous it sounded when he snarls in that odd squeaky way, "I'm from a lot of different places."
Accepting that Christopher Lambert is an odd choice for a leading man, he's perfectly fine here as the man captured trying to help his wife escape to have a second baby.
If it wasn't cool enough that we have a prison where even your dreams are monitored by the guards, we also have Kurtwood Smith (from Robocop) giving us insight into the wider mythology of this dystopian world with his mysterious prison-controller character.
One scene where the film gets incredibly trippy and we're expected to believe, essentially, that our protagonist is having his brain melted, it really drags. The effects aren't as interesting as the filmmakers seem to think in that scene and, seriously, we know you aren't killing off the protagonist before we are even half way through the film.
Still, while a little cheesy this is a really fun sci-fi action movie. Fortress is a little more consistent than Christopher Lambert's more well known action movie, Highlander, but it also doesn't have such great memorable moments and visual flourishes. Christopher Lambert benefits in Fortress from an array of co-stars to keep us engaged, particularly Jeffrey Combs as an engineering expert.
Not perfect, by any means, but a solid exciting sci-fi action film that explores some interesting concepts. Pretty cool.
B+
Review of The Independent (2000)
Best thing: The wacky examples of films from the independent director are often very funny. For example, "Bald Justice" about bald men being macho action heroes.
Worst thing: For me the worst aspect of the film was the interviews with real filmmakers about the fictional independent filmmaker. I often didn't recognise the figures they interviewed, but that wasn't the problem. My least favourite of these interview segments was with Ron Howard very long-windedly explaining that he didn't like the (fictional) movie “Bald Justice” until he went bald. It already wasn't a terribly funny gag even before Ron Howard stretched it out for five minutes. The filmmakers are not comedians, often aren't performers and asking them to tell funny stories about an entirely fictional character is not playing to their strengths.
Fellow Letterboxd user Audrey Karloff, who almost always carries a cheery disposition in his online writing, regularly cites this film as an unsung gem. He must have been trying to get me (and anyone else who'll listen presumably) to watch this for at least the past 5 years.
The Independent is a sweet story about a washed up director of trashy low budget films struggling to maintain recognition in his later years. While his daughter tries to help him move his career forward, we are regular filled in on his long career of rip-offs and misguided social commentary films. It's a great concept.
Yet when actually watching the film, I must be honest, I found it a bit dull.
The opening is a bit jarring, showing us a load of talking heads, without much to clarify that we are not, in fact, beginning a documentary about a real person... until the main actor stands up and shouts into the valley (and even then it's still pretty unclear).
Sure, the scenes from the set of the protagonist's latest movie (of which I shan't spoil the details) firmly reveals the wackiness we should expect.
Still, the half sitcom/half mockumentary combination does the film no favours. The sitcom is constantly interrupted by talking heads and fake movie footage. Meanwhile the clear fiction of the sitcom sections makes it all the clearer that the talking heads are just random industry bods making stuff up on the spot.
I wonder whether the mocumentary section would have been improved for me if I could identify half the people being interviewed?
The Independent is a sweet enough film, but it wasn't funny or exciting enough to really make much of an impression on me. It's a pity to be unable to respond to a friend's beloved personal favourite with much more than a weak shrug.
C-
Review of Prevenge (2016)
Best thing: When the unborn baby is telling the mother to kill, she seems to have a posher accent than her mother. The film actually makes reference to this when the protagonist mother is informed that her foetus can't speak and she replies, "No, actually she's very articulate."
Worst thing: One of the earlier people to be stalked by our protagonist is so obnoxious and so oblivious (both to how obnoxious he is and how likely it is that the protagonist will murder him) that it's difficult to suspend disbelief.
Horror comedy about a woman encouraged to take revenge by the urging from her unborn baby.
Alice Lowe wrote and directed this herself. It's a wonderful blend of themes, savage murders, funny lines and some occasional morbid puns.
Quite a harsh and gruesome black comedy, but if horror comedy is your thing (and it's certainly mine) you don't want to miss out on this little gem!
A+
Review of XX (2017)
Best thing: The first story in particular is simple, effective and really gets under your skin.
Worst thing: The werewolf-esque story “Don't Fall” isn't as smart as the other segments and was the only part where I found myself looking at my watch.
I preferred the first entry. “The Box”, to the rest of the anthology, but I thought it was pretty strong set of stories overall.
Oddly enough, nearly all of the segments seemed to be about parenting in some shape or form except for one rather generic werewolf story (that was no Ginger Snaps). Is that because the directors were going for especially feminine stories for this anthology?
The first segment has such a dark edge to it. One child has a secret whispered to him by a stranger and suddenly has a strange inexplicable change in behaviour. He refuses to eat.
Okay, yes, it is similar to the Radiohead music video for their song "Just". Except that involved a load of people lying on the street. The prospect of a child intentionally, calmly, opting to starve himself is much more haunting and a hell of a lot more plausible.
Melanie Lynskey's attempt to rescue her daughter's birthday party and the woman handling her son being reclaimed by his father, the devil, were both pretty great segments too.
Overall XX is a solid anthology and well worth the attention of horror fans.
B+
Review of Free State of Jones (2016)
Best thing: Free State of Jones is a very interesting tale of a rebellion within the southern states of America even while the civil war was ongoing and it only gets more interesting once the civil war is over.
Worst thing: I don't know if this was a book adaptation or just an interpretation of the historical events, but either way the story seemed to be covering too long a period of time to provide us with a well-paced story. We seem to jump forward to each part of the story.
Free State of Jones is a fascinating film. The story is pretty great, but it feels like it is trying to cover a bit too much. The films spans the American civil war, the period after the war and even has a few scenes in the 20th century.
The relevance of the history to the race issues in America today are clear. I've heard some fairly dismissive comments about this film simply because Matthew McConnaughey is a white protagonist, but the film makes very clear that this story is about a real historical figure and puts pay to the idea that blacks in the south were supported in any real way by the northern victors in the civil war. Far from being a white saviour our protagonist is a very frustrated activist for equality who finds himself despairing of the lack of support from his supposed allies in pursuing what ought to be an obvious noble goal.
Free State of Jones has exciting moments and sad moments. It's a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Still, it has that biopic / book adaptation feel where the film feels like it's stretching to fit in all the story elements it wants to include. And since this covers such a large timespan it would be a miracle if the film didn't feel that way.
A lot of fun, well-acted, moving and powerful in places, but trying to cram in so much. Well worth your time. Don't believe the haters.
B-
Review of Frailty (2001)
Best thing: I think the most fantastic aspect of this film is its "fear of faith" theme. The way this is explored is very dramatic and powerful, pulling you into the mind of the young protagonist. The voiceover narration doesn't even detract from this either.
Worst thing: Not to give away spoilers, the final part of the film involves a shift in perspective that also alters the tone of the film. Basically the twist doesn't work that well and the ending seems rather tone-deaf and possibly a little cheesy.
The ending makes all the difference. Sadly what seemed like an incredible unsung gem became bafflingly cheesy in its final act.
Certainly the seeds for that ending were present but the presentation and execution at the end feels like an entirely different director must have taken over at the last minute.
At the half way point I was very impressed. By the end I was a bit non-plussed. A real pity.
Special mention needs to go to the excellent child actors. They remain the emotional core of the film and give absolutely remarkable performances.
C+
Review of The Warriors (1979)
Best thing: There's a remarkably grounded mythology to The Warriors. Different New York gangs all looking for greater control and grander reputations, seeking a promise of unity. The different gangs express themselves with their own unique themes or outfits. There's a neat simplicity to it all.
Worst thing: Unfortunately this neat simplicity has its problems too. Not an awful lot really happens in the film, but the real issue is that I never fully warm to the characters it doesn't happen to. Our main protagonist and leader of the gang suggests to a girl that they might "pull a train" on her. Even if it's just posturing it's hard to look kindly on what are basically just a bunch of thugs...
A really interestingly styled film with some cool moments, but not really any characters that I'd root for or even any I particularly understood.
Still, The Warriors is a unique curiosity which is sufficiently cool and well-structured to make up for its more alienating aspects.
The unique mythology is spellbinding.
B-
Review of The Ninth Life of Louis Drax (2016)
Best thing: There's a bit of a mystery involved here and the big misdirect is that the film initially looks like it's a children's film. There are moments where it looks the filmmakers might be buying into magical nonsense, but the biggest clues that isn't a magical children's story is the scenes with the police detective. She's blunt and won't accept any nonsense and clearly has a much clearer idea of what is going on than the adult doctor we follow for much of the film.
Worst thing: The opening of the film where the child protagonist is introducing himself. I can't stand cutesy kids doing voiceover narration directly to the audience. I now know this was intentionally disarming, but my response was a moan of dismay. "Hunt For The Wilderpeople, this ain't," I thought to myself. If a young child is talking confidently to the camera it is likely that they have a background doing drama. Our protagonist most likely isn't supposed to have this background (or if they do that's a remarkably handy coincidence), but the actor does. As a general rule, this sort of set-up will always pull me right out of the film.
Alexandre Aja is a pretty interesting director, starting with the bizarre horror movie Switchblade Romance and then moving on to the remakes Piranha 3D and The Hills Have Eyes, before bringing us the Joe Hill adaptation Horns. Aja also wrote some pretty cool films like the Maniac remake and P2.
At the opening of Ninth Life of Louis Drax I thought this was a major misstep for Aja. A whiny kid is introducing himself in a kind of wacky way.
I think a lot of viewers have failed to recognise how this opening has been engineered to put the audience offguard. There are a worrying number of reviewers who have referred to this as a children's movie. This film contains the line: "Are you f**king her?" This is not the kind of question you'd expect from a police officer in a children's movie. And that's intentional. Things are not what they seem.
The contrasting tones are a bit jarring, but the performances are great and by the end the film had completely won me over.
A-
Movies I Couldn’t Finish (Sort Of): The Funhouse Massacre (2015)
I always make a point of not giving a score to films I didn't finish. This is a little different. I DID finish it. I just fell asleep through a sizeable chunk and have no interest in returning to check out the bits I missed. Personally I found this pretty dire.
A group of murderous misfits take over a funfair and then proceed to massacre the customers.
I always reckon there's nothing like a good horror comedy. And this is nothing like a good horror comedy. It's cheap and lame and a waste of time...
Best thing: As per usual, Edgar Wright makes use of incredible choreography. Displaying every action sequence clearly with a lot blink-and-you'll-miss-it details.
Worst thing: You've known the guy for less than a week. You've known each other, what, three days?!! Seriously! I get that you both like music, but even so...
Baby Driver veers away from Edgar Wright's comfort zone. This must be the first Edgar Wright that is not a comedy. Even so, the comic moments are still the best bits.
Nevertheless World's End was funnier, more moving and had better action sequences. Ansel Elgort really does not make for a particularly interesting protagonist. Edgar Wright's painstakingly choreographed action sequences would be cool with anyone in the lead role, but Sheridan doesn't seem to bring any extra pizazz.
Baby Driver is fun, exciting and a really fun time at the movies, but it's the first Edgar Wright film where I haven't been blown away. Shaun of the Dead has always felt a little overrated to me, but that's only because his other films seemed so much stronger.
As much as Scott Pilgrim felt weird, oddly paced and jumbled, I still felt immersed in that film in a way that I simply did not in Baby Driver's geeky Transporter musical.
Wright's films will always be worth your attention and Baby Driver is no exception, but I think comedy is Wright's strong suit and I hope he doesn't lose sight of that in future projects.
B+
Review of Fortress (1992)
Best thing: Intestinate! (Also Jeffrey Combs is great.)
Worst thing: Noooooo! The barn exploded!
Why did anyone ever think Christopher Lambert should be the star of their sci-fi action movie?
Hearing him pretend to be American is so odd. Somehow he sounded more convincing as a Scotsman in period piece sections of Highlander, yet I cannot forget how ridiculous it sounded when he snarls in that odd squeaky way, "I'm from a lot of different places."
Accepting that Christopher Lambert is an odd choice for a leading man, he's perfectly fine here as the man captured trying to help his wife escape to have a second baby.
If it wasn't cool enough that we have a prison where even your dreams are monitored by the guards, we also have Kurtwood Smith (from Robocop) giving us insight into the wider mythology of this dystopian world with his mysterious prison-controller character.
One scene where the film gets incredibly trippy and we're expected to believe, essentially, that our protagonist is having his brain melted, it really drags. The effects aren't as interesting as the filmmakers seem to think in that scene and, seriously, we know you aren't killing off the protagonist before we are even half way through the film.
Still, while a little cheesy this is a really fun sci-fi action movie. Fortress is a little more consistent than Christopher Lambert's more well known action movie, Highlander, but it also doesn't have such great memorable moments and visual flourishes. Christopher Lambert benefits in Fortress from an array of co-stars to keep us engaged, particularly Jeffrey Combs as an engineering expert.
Not perfect, by any means, but a solid exciting sci-fi action film that explores some interesting concepts. Pretty cool.
B+
Review of The Independent (2000)
Best thing: The wacky examples of films from the independent director are often very funny. For example, "Bald Justice" about bald men being macho action heroes.
Worst thing: For me the worst aspect of the film was the interviews with real filmmakers about the fictional independent filmmaker. I often didn't recognise the figures they interviewed, but that wasn't the problem. My least favourite of these interview segments was with Ron Howard very long-windedly explaining that he didn't like the (fictional) movie “Bald Justice” until he went bald. It already wasn't a terribly funny gag even before Ron Howard stretched it out for five minutes. The filmmakers are not comedians, often aren't performers and asking them to tell funny stories about an entirely fictional character is not playing to their strengths.
Fellow Letterboxd user Audrey Karloff, who almost always carries a cheery disposition in his online writing, regularly cites this film as an unsung gem. He must have been trying to get me (and anyone else who'll listen presumably) to watch this for at least the past 5 years.
The Independent is a sweet story about a washed up director of trashy low budget films struggling to maintain recognition in his later years. While his daughter tries to help him move his career forward, we are regular filled in on his long career of rip-offs and misguided social commentary films. It's a great concept.
Yet when actually watching the film, I must be honest, I found it a bit dull.
The opening is a bit jarring, showing us a load of talking heads, without much to clarify that we are not, in fact, beginning a documentary about a real person... until the main actor stands up and shouts into the valley (and even then it's still pretty unclear).
Sure, the scenes from the set of the protagonist's latest movie (of which I shan't spoil the details) firmly reveals the wackiness we should expect.
Still, the half sitcom/half mockumentary combination does the film no favours. The sitcom is constantly interrupted by talking heads and fake movie footage. Meanwhile the clear fiction of the sitcom sections makes it all the clearer that the talking heads are just random industry bods making stuff up on the spot.
I wonder whether the mocumentary section would have been improved for me if I could identify half the people being interviewed?
The Independent is a sweet enough film, but it wasn't funny or exciting enough to really make much of an impression on me. It's a pity to be unable to respond to a friend's beloved personal favourite with much more than a weak shrug.
C-
Review of Prevenge (2016)
Best thing: When the unborn baby is telling the mother to kill, she seems to have a posher accent than her mother. The film actually makes reference to this when the protagonist mother is informed that her foetus can't speak and she replies, "No, actually she's very articulate."
Worst thing: One of the earlier people to be stalked by our protagonist is so obnoxious and so oblivious (both to how obnoxious he is and how likely it is that the protagonist will murder him) that it's difficult to suspend disbelief.
Horror comedy about a woman encouraged to take revenge by the urging from her unborn baby.
Alice Lowe wrote and directed this herself. It's a wonderful blend of themes, savage murders, funny lines and some occasional morbid puns.
Quite a harsh and gruesome black comedy, but if horror comedy is your thing (and it's certainly mine) you don't want to miss out on this little gem!
A+
Review of XX (2017)
Best thing: The first story in particular is simple, effective and really gets under your skin.
Worst thing: The werewolf-esque story “Don't Fall” isn't as smart as the other segments and was the only part where I found myself looking at my watch.
I preferred the first entry. “The Box”, to the rest of the anthology, but I thought it was pretty strong set of stories overall.
Oddly enough, nearly all of the segments seemed to be about parenting in some shape or form except for one rather generic werewolf story (that was no Ginger Snaps). Is that because the directors were going for especially feminine stories for this anthology?
The first segment has such a dark edge to it. One child has a secret whispered to him by a stranger and suddenly has a strange inexplicable change in behaviour. He refuses to eat.
Okay, yes, it is similar to the Radiohead music video for their song "Just". Except that involved a load of people lying on the street. The prospect of a child intentionally, calmly, opting to starve himself is much more haunting and a hell of a lot more plausible.
Melanie Lynskey's attempt to rescue her daughter's birthday party and the woman handling her son being reclaimed by his father, the devil, were both pretty great segments too.
Overall XX is a solid anthology and well worth the attention of horror fans.
B+
Review of Free State of Jones (2016)
Best thing: Free State of Jones is a very interesting tale of a rebellion within the southern states of America even while the civil war was ongoing and it only gets more interesting once the civil war is over.
Worst thing: I don't know if this was a book adaptation or just an interpretation of the historical events, but either way the story seemed to be covering too long a period of time to provide us with a well-paced story. We seem to jump forward to each part of the story.
Free State of Jones is a fascinating film. The story is pretty great, but it feels like it is trying to cover a bit too much. The films spans the American civil war, the period after the war and even has a few scenes in the 20th century.
The relevance of the history to the race issues in America today are clear. I've heard some fairly dismissive comments about this film simply because Matthew McConnaughey is a white protagonist, but the film makes very clear that this story is about a real historical figure and puts pay to the idea that blacks in the south were supported in any real way by the northern victors in the civil war. Far from being a white saviour our protagonist is a very frustrated activist for equality who finds himself despairing of the lack of support from his supposed allies in pursuing what ought to be an obvious noble goal.
Free State of Jones has exciting moments and sad moments. It's a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Still, it has that biopic / book adaptation feel where the film feels like it's stretching to fit in all the story elements it wants to include. And since this covers such a large timespan it would be a miracle if the film didn't feel that way.
A lot of fun, well-acted, moving and powerful in places, but trying to cram in so much. Well worth your time. Don't believe the haters.
B-
Review of Frailty (2001)
Best thing: I think the most fantastic aspect of this film is its "fear of faith" theme. The way this is explored is very dramatic and powerful, pulling you into the mind of the young protagonist. The voiceover narration doesn't even detract from this either.
Worst thing: Not to give away spoilers, the final part of the film involves a shift in perspective that also alters the tone of the film. Basically the twist doesn't work that well and the ending seems rather tone-deaf and possibly a little cheesy.
The ending makes all the difference. Sadly what seemed like an incredible unsung gem became bafflingly cheesy in its final act.
Certainly the seeds for that ending were present but the presentation and execution at the end feels like an entirely different director must have taken over at the last minute.
At the half way point I was very impressed. By the end I was a bit non-plussed. A real pity.
Special mention needs to go to the excellent child actors. They remain the emotional core of the film and give absolutely remarkable performances.
C+
Review of The Warriors (1979)
Best thing: There's a remarkably grounded mythology to The Warriors. Different New York gangs all looking for greater control and grander reputations, seeking a promise of unity. The different gangs express themselves with their own unique themes or outfits. There's a neat simplicity to it all.
Worst thing: Unfortunately this neat simplicity has its problems too. Not an awful lot really happens in the film, but the real issue is that I never fully warm to the characters it doesn't happen to. Our main protagonist and leader of the gang suggests to a girl that they might "pull a train" on her. Even if it's just posturing it's hard to look kindly on what are basically just a bunch of thugs...
A really interestingly styled film with some cool moments, but not really any characters that I'd root for or even any I particularly understood.
Still, The Warriors is a unique curiosity which is sufficiently cool and well-structured to make up for its more alienating aspects.
The unique mythology is spellbinding.
B-
Review of The Ninth Life of Louis Drax (2016)
Best thing: There's a bit of a mystery involved here and the big misdirect is that the film initially looks like it's a children's film. There are moments where it looks the filmmakers might be buying into magical nonsense, but the biggest clues that isn't a magical children's story is the scenes with the police detective. She's blunt and won't accept any nonsense and clearly has a much clearer idea of what is going on than the adult doctor we follow for much of the film.
Worst thing: The opening of the film where the child protagonist is introducing himself. I can't stand cutesy kids doing voiceover narration directly to the audience. I now know this was intentionally disarming, but my response was a moan of dismay. "Hunt For The Wilderpeople, this ain't," I thought to myself. If a young child is talking confidently to the camera it is likely that they have a background doing drama. Our protagonist most likely isn't supposed to have this background (or if they do that's a remarkably handy coincidence), but the actor does. As a general rule, this sort of set-up will always pull me right out of the film.
Alexandre Aja is a pretty interesting director, starting with the bizarre horror movie Switchblade Romance and then moving on to the remakes Piranha 3D and The Hills Have Eyes, before bringing us the Joe Hill adaptation Horns. Aja also wrote some pretty cool films like the Maniac remake and P2.
At the opening of Ninth Life of Louis Drax I thought this was a major misstep for Aja. A whiny kid is introducing himself in a kind of wacky way.
I think a lot of viewers have failed to recognise how this opening has been engineered to put the audience offguard. There are a worrying number of reviewers who have referred to this as a children's movie. This film contains the line: "Are you f**king her?" This is not the kind of question you'd expect from a police officer in a children's movie. And that's intentional. Things are not what they seem.
The contrasting tones are a bit jarring, but the performances are great and by the end the film had completely won me over.
A-
Movies I Couldn’t Finish (Sort Of): The Funhouse Massacre (2015)
I always make a point of not giving a score to films I didn't finish. This is a little different. I DID finish it. I just fell asleep through a sizeable chunk and have no interest in returning to check out the bits I missed. Personally I found this pretty dire.
A group of murderous misfits take over a funfair and then proceed to massacre the customers.
I always reckon there's nothing like a good horror comedy. And this is nothing like a good horror comedy. It's cheap and lame and a waste of time...