Sunday, March 25, 2018

The Shape Of Water

Year: 2017
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones


Plot: A mute cleaning lady at a top secret science facility forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature held captive there.


Review: So I finally got the chance to catch this year's Best Picture Oscar winner, The Shape Of Water. While it is a great film, it isn't director Guillermo del Toro's best movie. It reminds me of Martin Scorsese's The Departed, in the sense that it won him the elusive Oscar, but it doesn't measure up to his previous work. In del Toro's case, Pan's Labyrinth is his number one movie.

Anyway, The Shape Of Water takes place in the late 60s, during the Cold War. Elisa is a mute woman working as a cleaning lady at a secret science facility. She only has two friends: Giles, her gay artist neighbor and Zelda, her co-worker at the facility. One day, an amphibious creature is brought in, and despite it being rather dangerous (having attacked the cruel military head Mr Strickland soon after it arrived), Elisa forms a bond with it and manages to communicate with it. When she learns that Strickland plans to kill and vivisect the creature, she tries to set the creature free, and ropes in Giles for help.

This film has a few similarities with del Toro's other creature films like Pan and Hellboy, and I don't just mean the participation of his favorite collaborator Doug Jones. While the sci-fi similarities are apparent, The Shape Of Water is essentially a love story between two people, both outcasts in their own way. Del Toro's attempt to set this romance in a retro period, complete with retro music and even a dance number between Elisa and the creature (in a dream sequence of course) is very much welcome.

The cast all throw in excellent performances, from Sally Hawkins as the kind Elisa, to Octavia Spencer as the helpful but opinionated Zelda, to Michael Shannon as the mean Strickland and Michael Stuhlbarg as a Russian spy passing off as a scientist in the facility. Jones of course deserves credit too as the creature. But in my book, the best performance goes to Richard Jenkins as Giles, who acts as Elisa's voice, best friend and conscience. He's probably the best friend anyone can have.

Now, while the film is indeed beautiful in almost every way, I would have preferred del Toro to focus less on a couple of other subplots, such as Giles' attempt to attract a diner owner he's interested in (which gets a much too convenient resolution), and Stuhlbarg's character's workings with his Russian handlers. The latter subplot got way too much screentime and took the focus away from the love story, which deserved more time to develop.

In the end, The Shape Of Water is a solid film from Guillermo del Toro, though again, not his best work. (7.5/10)

Sunday, March 18, 2018

The Strangers: Prey At Night

Year: 2018
Director: Johannes Roberts
Cast: Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman, Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson

Plot: A family of four are stalked by a trio of masked killers in a remote trailer park.


Review: Remember The Strangers, the invasion horror film released 10 years ago about a young couple being stalked and hunted by a trio of killers wearing masks? It had a solid idea, but director Bryan Bertino kinda squandered the momentum he had built up with some illogical plot development. Now here's the sequel, with Bertino as co-writer and Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) as the director.

Plotwise, Prey At Night pretty much follows the same beats as the original, with a few changes. Firstly, instead of a young couple, we have a family of four, and a typical one at that. Secondly, this film makes full use of the whole neighborhood instead of confining it to just one house as in the original. Finally, the outcome of this story is quite different than the original, but I won't get into that.

What has significantly improved is the killers' MO. In the original, they would just continuously stalk their victims and only go for the kill at the end. But here, they are a little more efficient as they spend a decent amount of time hunting the family down before making a serious stab at them, which makes more sense in my book. There's also a good amount of violence here but Roberts should improve on the lighting as a handful of violent scenes are barely visible.

The cast do a competent enough job here, but nothing outstanding. The biggest problem with the film isn't the cast though, but the lapses of logic in the script. There are a few moments when someone should be doing something, but doesn't, for example, one of the victims is face to face with the killer. He or she is armed, but chooses to run instead of defending themselves head on. You can argue that they panicked, but when it happens more than once, it doesn't make sense.

I also mentioned the typicality of the family i.e. rebellious daughter, family members don't get along etc. The open ended finale was also a weak choice. But I do have to compliment Roberts for using a handful of eighties music to underscore what was happening on screen. It's an ingenious move.

Overall, The Strangers: Prey At Night is an improvement on the original, but still rather flawed thanks mostly to the poor logic in the script. (6.5/10) 

Sunday, March 11, 2018

The Post

Year: 2017
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Sarah Paulson, Matthew Rhys, Bruce Greenwood, Carrie Coon, Bradley Whitford, Alison Brie


Plot: Based on the true story of how Katherine Graham, owner of The Washington Post, and her chief editor, Ben Bradlee, exposed government secrets regarding the Vietnam War during the Nixon administration in 1971.


Review: The Post, another feather in director Steven Spielberg's cap, feels much closer to his recent film Bridge Of Spies than say, Saving Private Ryan, in the sense that it focuses more on retelling a pivotal part of history than human drama. But is it effective? Yes.

The film begins with a man named Daniel Ellsberg, an employee for RAND (Research And Development) who returns from Vietnam after a visit for observation, and becomes disillusioned learning that Secretary Of State Bob McNamara isn't confident about sending more troops there even though they still are. He begins secretly copying pages from McNamara's research on the war (which are highly top secret and toxic if released to the public) and sends them to the New York Times. When the Times is taken to court by Nixon for publishing the papers, Ben Bradlee, editor of The Washington Post, sees an opportunity to not only go one up against their rival paper, but to publish a story that would benefit the public. However, Post owner Katherine Graham faces a dilemma as she has to make a decision that may damage her beloved paper, while fending off pressure from the other directors of the board who don't respect her enough.

What's most apparent about The Post is how talky it is, but to Spielberg's credit, it never stalls. He moves the film at a frenetic pace once Ellsberg leaks the papers. From here, he shows the audience how journalists work, from day to night, in offices and their own homes, sometimes in secret, and in one scene, use multiple payphones to avoid detection. Spielberg's presentation of this aspect is very genuine, and Tom Hanks' portrayal of Bradlee adds to it immensely, even though he's sporting a lousy wig to look younger. Nevertheless, Hanks always throws in 110% to all his roles and he does the same here, making Bradlee a very likable and genuine character.

While Hanks has the more active role, Meryl Streep has the more dramatic one, as she plays the Post's owner Katherine Graham. Graham, who inherited the paper from her late husband, doesn't get much respect from her fellow directors due to her inexperience, and must make her own mark in a business which is mostly a man's world. Streep turns in a subtle yet effective performance here as the person who has to decide on a move that may affect her company and all the people working for her. Also worth mentioning are Bob Odenkirk as the Post reporter who hunts down the secret documents, Matthew Rhys as Ellsberg and Bruce Greenwood as McNamara.

If The Post has any flaws, it's the lack of quieter moments due to its quick pace, save for two scenes, one where Hanks and Sarah Paulson (as Bradlee's wife) talk about Graham, and the other featuring Streep's Graham talking about her late husband to her daughter, which was a very effective scene and highlights Streep's ability to fill in any kind of role. It's unfortunate that these moments are scarce here, as they would have elevated the film a bit more.

All in all, I think The Post is a solid entry into Spielberg's filmography, though it clearly isn't one of his best. (7.5/10)  

Sunday, March 04, 2018

Lady Bird

Year: 2017
Director: Greta Gerwig
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothee Chalamet, Lois Smith, Beanie Feldstein, Odeya Rush, Jordan Rodrigues, Marielle Scott


Plot: Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson is a 17 year-old high school senior struggling to achieve her ambition of going to college in the east coast while dealing with boys, other girls and her opinionated mother in Sacramento 2002.


Review: Lady Bird is a coming of age story written and directed by Greta Gerwig, who is an actress in her own right. While her writing is pretty much on point, her direction is not really up to mark. More on that in a bit.

Lady Bird McPherson (birth name Christine), wants to go to college on the east coast and move away from Sacramento, much to the chagrin of her mother Marion, a working class nurse, who cares about her daughter very much but struggles to understand her. It's bad enough Marion has to deal with her recently laid off husband, now she has to deal with Lady Bird, who constantly rebels against her and wanting to do her own thing. Lady Bird herself struggles with her friends at school and getting involved with the wrong type of boys, and seldom considers the impact of her actions on others before doing them.

The life of the American teenager struggling to discover themselves is a popular subject matter in Hollywood, but in Gerwig's hands, it actually feels quite fresh. Her sharp dialogue, which has tremendous dramatic weight but never drifts into melodrama, certainly helps in making Lady Bird stand out. It also helps that Lady Bird is played by talented young actress Saoirse Ronan, who gives the character a fine balance between being sarcastically smart, but not totally unlikable. Laurie Metcalf is superb as Marion, a working class mother who wants what's best for her daughter but finds it difficult thanks to Lady Bird's rebellious nature. Tracy Letts puts in an understated performance as Lady Bird's father, who suffers from depression but continues to be supportive of her. It's a subtle yet heartbreaking performance from him, I wish he got nominated alongside Ronan and Metcalf. Lucas Hedges and Timothee Chalamet also put in some good work as Lady Bird's love interests. Of the two, I personally preferred Hedges.

Now, here's the main problem with the film. Gerwig's direction or perhaps the editing was rather poor. Until the last fifteen minutes of the film, I couldn't find a single scene that lasted more than two minutes. Gerwig and her editor rapidly move from one scene to the next without letting the audience settle into the film comfortably. One minute Lady Bird is arguing with someone, the next minute she's someplace else, and so forth and so forth. There are scenes of her auditioning for a play with other students in her school, and Ronan actually gets to do a little solo singing at one point, but Gerwig ruins it by cutting it off midway! I can't speak for everyone else, but I found this rather annoying.

Nevertheless, Lady Bird is still a solid watch thanks to great performances from Ronan, Metcalf and Letts. Gerwig's direction is shaky, but her writing is superb. (7/10)

Saturday, March 03, 2018

Death Wish

Year: 2018
Director: Eli Roth
Cast: Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris, Kimberly Elise, Camila Morrone, Beau Knapp, Jack Kesy, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Len Cariou


Plot: When a trio of robbers kills his wife and puts his daughter in a coma, ER doctor Paul Kersey becomes a vigilante and embarks on a path of vengeance.


Review: I hadn't seen the original Death Wish starring Charles Bronson, but I have watched Kevin Bacon's Death Sentence, which is an offshoot of the Death Wish franchise. Compared to Death Sentence, Eli Roth's remake of Death Wish feels a little more light-hearted. Don't get me wrong, Roth does take the matter of revenge quite seriously, it's just that Death Sentence was very sombre in its approach, while this remake throws in some humor every now and then.

Roth, with a script by Joe Carnahan (which has been re-written by two other people), cleverly takes the opportunity to address the issue of gun violence by inserting scenes of radio deejays discussing the pros and cons of vigilantism, but ultimately, since this film is about taking the law into your own hands, it certainly leans more towards buying guns to solve your problems, which certainly doesn't bode well for those advocating against the issue. Nevertheless, the film more or less works as a gritty thriller, more so than a straight up action movie, so don't go in and expect a Die Hard kind of movie. Since it's Eli Roth we're talking about, there is a decent amount of violence, so that's something to look forward to.

Bruce Willis, who has spent the last few years making B-grade action flicks with very little enthusiasm on his face, is more convincing here when he's taking on the bad guys. Whenever he's not doing so, his lack of interest is blatantly obvious, especially in the first act. Willis is still capable of gunning down scumbags with ease, and violently tortures one in a garage (which you've seen in the trailer). Vincent D'Onofrio fares better as Willis' younger brother Frank, who's trying to turn away from a life of crime and is now forced to keep Willis out of trouble. I only wished D'Onofrio had gotten involved a little in the vigilante acts, or at least gave Willis a few pointers.

Naturally, the cops here are portrayed as being somewhat incompetent, with Dean Norris and Kimberly Elise as the detectives chasing Willis. As for the villains, they are mostly a random set of bad guys with very little distinction between them, unlike Death Sentence where they are more fleshed out. Beau Knapp shows some potential as the lead robber but doesn't get enough time to really stand out. Blue Bloods' Len Cariou shows up in a minor role as Willis' father in-law, and makes an impression with his stand on vigilantism.

While Roth should be commended for inserting just enough humor to not make this film feel too funny, there are a few other things that didn't feel right. For instance, Willis gets incredibly lucky a few times during confrontations with the bad guys. The entire illegal pawn shop sequence is a prime example of this. Plus there's this annoying blonde who greets Willis when he attempts to buy a gun...Roth should have toned down her enthusiasm a few notches. 

In conclusion, Death Wish is a decent Willis vehicle, which would have been better if Willis put in more gusto into his acting. (7/10)  


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