Two Great Films, and more to Pass the Time
"We Need to Talk About Kevin"
starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rocky Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Alex Manette, James Chen
written and directed by: Lynne Ramsay
Remember when The Who sang "The Kids are Alright"? Yea, this film proves that is not the case as it attempts to define nature versus nurture versus just plain evil (and are you simply born that way). This is a modern American (almost strictly American, by the way) horror story. One all too real in the wake of Columbine and all subsequent mass killings (at schools, specifically) since that awful day. We always struggle to understand why things like that happen and how they got this way, what drives someone to murder.
This is the story of a boy-turned-teenager through the eyes of his mother, and her struggle with raising him and then answering for his crime.
Swinton, as Eva, is flat-out amazing. Since much of the film unfolds in flashback with Ramsay dropping in small, tantalizing bits of information slowly, we're steadily presented with an achingly painful picture of motherhood – and childhood – gone utterly haywire. Shunned by her neighbors, her home defaced by teenage boys, Eva nevertheless maintains her dignity in the midst of the worst thing possible. And it never ends.
The film belongs to Swinton as she portrays a woman trying to reconfigure her life after every mom's nightmare occurs. A very heartbreaking story to tell, but through a unique point of view and the flashbacks to Kevin's childhood and mom and son's interactions, it is a very gripping film.
From the start it's an almost Omen-esque battle of wills between mother and child. Kevin refuses to potty-train, throws tantrums, and defaces everything and everyone – except his father, who just can't seem to grasp the doomy chaos in his own household – until Eva can take no more. Yet she does. Is the problem post-post-postpartum depression? Not hardly: This kid, with his vacant yet terrible gaze and his angelic good looks, makes Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed look like Nick Cave, loverman. Miller's portrayal of an amoral, insidious teen from hell is pitch-perfect. He's lovely to look at, but there's a devil inside. And it's a calculating one, fomenting wrongness from cradle to grave.
If the film didn't belong to Swinton, one could make the argument that the film is owned by the look in Miller's eyes every time he is on the screen, especially when interacting with his mom. There seems to be a profound hatred for her, but we never really know why. And Eva doesn't get the answers she's been looking for, in order to recover, move on, and/or even just deal with the tragedy of the loss of life at the hands of her son. I don't believe she's ever grieving for the loss of her son, because it seems pretty clear that he was never "hers" to begin with. The battle of wills between them started pretty much from day one.
.........................................................................
"Uncle John"
starring: John Ashton, Alex Moffatt, Jenna Lyng Adams, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Adria Dawn, Tim Decker, Don Forston, Gary Houston
written by: Steven Piet
directed by: Steven Piet and Erik Crary
This is one hell of a debut film from a Chicago-based filmmaker.
Possibly the most subversive aspect of Piet's film is that for the first 60 minutes or so it plays like two completely different movies that have been skillfully intercut. One half of it revolves around a contemporary office romance between graphic designer Ben (Alex Moffat) and his winsome new manager Kate (Jenna Lyng), while the rest of the story lies on the titular Uncle John (John Ashton), first seen disposing of some, let's call it "evidence," in a bonfire in rural Illinois. What's the connection between these parallel storylines and, more importantly, why does this taciturn, crusty old uncle cause you to break out in gooseflesh every time he scowls? This isn't a horror film per se, nor is it a romance in any traditional sense. Uncle John confounds expectations at seemingly every turn.
It's a two-genre film, which is a heavy and hard feat to accomplish for any director/writer, let alone a first timer. It's a thriller in a small town, but also a romance set in the big city, which eventually converges to the small town and the way the filmmaker blends the two stories together for the final act is almost purely masterful.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot, other than to say Uncle John isn't who he seems to be.
This is a must-watch!
........................................................................
"V/H/S"
starring: Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes, Kentucker Audley, Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Andrew Droz Palermo, Hannah Fierman, Jasper Sams, Lisa Marie Thomas, Elizabeth Davidovich, Joe Swanberg, Sophia Takal, Kate Lyn Sheil, Drew Moerlein, Jason Yachanin, Bryce Burke, Glenn McQuaid, Helen Rogers, Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Paul Natonek, Nicole Erb, Bilal Mir, Damion Stephens, Koz McRae
written by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Chad Villella, Ti West, Adam Wingard
directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Chad Villella, Ti West, Adam Wingard
What do you get when you ask 8 or 9 different directors to create horror shorts to fit within the confines of an anthology of found-footage for a horror film? A messy story of arcs that ebb and flow and never really conclude. Setting it all off is Adam Wingard's "Tape 56" which has a group of doofus/tool-type dudes who break into a house only to discover the rotting corpse of an old guy who seemed to have an affinity for snuff-type films.
Each short film really shows the theme of boys being boys and girls going wild with often times horrific results. The horror genre has always been a very male-dominated genre and these short films, novellas almost, just continue the saga of horror as defined by men.
Skip this one for sure!
.........................................................................
"Brave New Jersey"
starring: Anna Camp, Evan Jonigkeit, Heather Burns, Raymond J. Barry, Erika Alexander, Tony Hale, Sam Jaeger, Grace Kaufman, Dan Bakkedahl, Mel Rodriguez, Matt Oberg, Leonard Earl Howze, Noah Lomax, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Adina Galupa
written by: Jody Lambert and Michael Dowlin
directed by: Jody Lambert
Tonight might be our last night on Earth. That's what the residents, and interesting characters, of Lullaby, N.J. believe on the night of October 30, 1938- and what ensues is very entertaining.
That’s the night that Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre aired their now-legendary radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, a program that is reported to have scared the bejesus out of gullible folks who believed the Halloween show when it announced that Martians had landed in West Windsor Township, N.J. How widespread the panic actually was in actuality is debatable, but the idea of group hysteria incited by a misleading media message is tempting comedic fodder. As the people of Lullaby mobilize to fight their attackers, co-writer and director Jody Lambert (Of All the Things) seizes the moment to reveal the town’s characters, their backstories, and their future dreams.
Taking place over the course of one long night, Brave New Jersey trots out the usual panoply of small-town figures. There’s the milquetoast mayor Clark Hill (Tony Hale, from Arrested Development) and the blowhard businessman Paul Davison (Sam Jaeger), along with his devoted but emotionally shortchanged wife Lorraine (Heather Burns). Peg Prickett (Anna Camp) is the local schoolteacher who turns into a dynamo at the barricades. Reverend Ray Rogers (Dan Bakkedahl), a lackadaisical shepherd to his flock, has his faith tested by the Martian invasion, and a brain-addled World War I vet (Raymond J. Barry) can for once put his war-ready instincts to good use as the citizens dig trenches and plot the defense of their town. One love story emerges while another one bites the dust. Everyone’s true colors come to light, but by morning when the panic evaporates, so does the night’s magic.
This is a fantastic comedy that breezes by definitely worth checking out, just to watch all the characters interact as they all face the inevitable end of the world, according to them. Often with ensemble films, they tend to fall apart because there's too many characters to ever really care about or consider following for the length of a film, but this one town has entertaining characters, much like the ensemble indie comedy from years ago, "State and Main."
starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rocky Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Alex Manette, James Chen
written and directed by: Lynne Ramsay
Remember when The Who sang "The Kids are Alright"? Yea, this film proves that is not the case as it attempts to define nature versus nurture versus just plain evil (and are you simply born that way). This is a modern American (almost strictly American, by the way) horror story. One all too real in the wake of Columbine and all subsequent mass killings (at schools, specifically) since that awful day. We always struggle to understand why things like that happen and how they got this way, what drives someone to murder.
This is the story of a boy-turned-teenager through the eyes of his mother, and her struggle with raising him and then answering for his crime.
Swinton, as Eva, is flat-out amazing. Since much of the film unfolds in flashback with Ramsay dropping in small, tantalizing bits of information slowly, we're steadily presented with an achingly painful picture of motherhood – and childhood – gone utterly haywire. Shunned by her neighbors, her home defaced by teenage boys, Eva nevertheless maintains her dignity in the midst of the worst thing possible. And it never ends.
The film belongs to Swinton as she portrays a woman trying to reconfigure her life after every mom's nightmare occurs. A very heartbreaking story to tell, but through a unique point of view and the flashbacks to Kevin's childhood and mom and son's interactions, it is a very gripping film.
From the start it's an almost Omen-esque battle of wills between mother and child. Kevin refuses to potty-train, throws tantrums, and defaces everything and everyone – except his father, who just can't seem to grasp the doomy chaos in his own household – until Eva can take no more. Yet she does. Is the problem post-post-postpartum depression? Not hardly: This kid, with his vacant yet terrible gaze and his angelic good looks, makes Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed look like Nick Cave, loverman. Miller's portrayal of an amoral, insidious teen from hell is pitch-perfect. He's lovely to look at, but there's a devil inside. And it's a calculating one, fomenting wrongness from cradle to grave.
If the film didn't belong to Swinton, one could make the argument that the film is owned by the look in Miller's eyes every time he is on the screen, especially when interacting with his mom. There seems to be a profound hatred for her, but we never really know why. And Eva doesn't get the answers she's been looking for, in order to recover, move on, and/or even just deal with the tragedy of the loss of life at the hands of her son. I don't believe she's ever grieving for the loss of her son, because it seems pretty clear that he was never "hers" to begin with. The battle of wills between them started pretty much from day one.
.........................................................................
"Uncle John"
starring: John Ashton, Alex Moffatt, Jenna Lyng Adams, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Adria Dawn, Tim Decker, Don Forston, Gary Houston
written by: Steven Piet
directed by: Steven Piet and Erik Crary
This is one hell of a debut film from a Chicago-based filmmaker.
Possibly the most subversive aspect of Piet's film is that for the first 60 minutes or so it plays like two completely different movies that have been skillfully intercut. One half of it revolves around a contemporary office romance between graphic designer Ben (Alex Moffat) and his winsome new manager Kate (Jenna Lyng), while the rest of the story lies on the titular Uncle John (John Ashton), first seen disposing of some, let's call it "evidence," in a bonfire in rural Illinois. What's the connection between these parallel storylines and, more importantly, why does this taciturn, crusty old uncle cause you to break out in gooseflesh every time he scowls? This isn't a horror film per se, nor is it a romance in any traditional sense. Uncle John confounds expectations at seemingly every turn.
It's a two-genre film, which is a heavy and hard feat to accomplish for any director/writer, let alone a first timer. It's a thriller in a small town, but also a romance set in the big city, which eventually converges to the small town and the way the filmmaker blends the two stories together for the final act is almost purely masterful.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot, other than to say Uncle John isn't who he seems to be.
This is a must-watch!
........................................................................
"V/H/S"
starring: Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes, Kentucker Audley, Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Andrew Droz Palermo, Hannah Fierman, Jasper Sams, Lisa Marie Thomas, Elizabeth Davidovich, Joe Swanberg, Sophia Takal, Kate Lyn Sheil, Drew Moerlein, Jason Yachanin, Bryce Burke, Glenn McQuaid, Helen Rogers, Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Paul Natonek, Nicole Erb, Bilal Mir, Damion Stephens, Koz McRae
written by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Chad Villella, Ti West, Adam Wingard
directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Chad Villella, Ti West, Adam Wingard
What do you get when you ask 8 or 9 different directors to create horror shorts to fit within the confines of an anthology of found-footage for a horror film? A messy story of arcs that ebb and flow and never really conclude. Setting it all off is Adam Wingard's "Tape 56" which has a group of doofus/tool-type dudes who break into a house only to discover the rotting corpse of an old guy who seemed to have an affinity for snuff-type films.
Each short film really shows the theme of boys being boys and girls going wild with often times horrific results. The horror genre has always been a very male-dominated genre and these short films, novellas almost, just continue the saga of horror as defined by men.
Skip this one for sure!
.........................................................................
"Brave New Jersey"
starring: Anna Camp, Evan Jonigkeit, Heather Burns, Raymond J. Barry, Erika Alexander, Tony Hale, Sam Jaeger, Grace Kaufman, Dan Bakkedahl, Mel Rodriguez, Matt Oberg, Leonard Earl Howze, Noah Lomax, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Adina Galupa
written by: Jody Lambert and Michael Dowlin
directed by: Jody Lambert
Tonight might be our last night on Earth. That's what the residents, and interesting characters, of Lullaby, N.J. believe on the night of October 30, 1938- and what ensues is very entertaining.
That’s the night that Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre aired their now-legendary radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, a program that is reported to have scared the bejesus out of gullible folks who believed the Halloween show when it announced that Martians had landed in West Windsor Township, N.J. How widespread the panic actually was in actuality is debatable, but the idea of group hysteria incited by a misleading media message is tempting comedic fodder. As the people of Lullaby mobilize to fight their attackers, co-writer and director Jody Lambert (Of All the Things) seizes the moment to reveal the town’s characters, their backstories, and their future dreams.
Taking place over the course of one long night, Brave New Jersey trots out the usual panoply of small-town figures. There’s the milquetoast mayor Clark Hill (Tony Hale, from Arrested Development) and the blowhard businessman Paul Davison (Sam Jaeger), along with his devoted but emotionally shortchanged wife Lorraine (Heather Burns). Peg Prickett (Anna Camp) is the local schoolteacher who turns into a dynamo at the barricades. Reverend Ray Rogers (Dan Bakkedahl), a lackadaisical shepherd to his flock, has his faith tested by the Martian invasion, and a brain-addled World War I vet (Raymond J. Barry) can for once put his war-ready instincts to good use as the citizens dig trenches and plot the defense of their town. One love story emerges while another one bites the dust. Everyone’s true colors come to light, but by morning when the panic evaporates, so does the night’s magic.
This is a fantastic comedy that breezes by definitely worth checking out, just to watch all the characters interact as they all face the inevitable end of the world, according to them. Often with ensemble films, they tend to fall apart because there's too many characters to ever really care about or consider following for the length of a film, but this one town has entertaining characters, much like the ensemble indie comedy from years ago, "State and Main."
Hi there Sean,
ReplyDeleteHave you seen The Big Sick? It's phenomenal, by far one of the best I saw last year. Hope you're doing well.
With Care,
Emily from the A Fine Frenzy Concert.
Emily! How's it going? I did see it! I loved it. I didn't see many films in the theatre last year.
DeleteIt's going great! Glad to see your still going strong with the blog! Something made me think of you recently so I'd thought I'd reach out. Maybe we can catch up over email.
DeleteOh yea? Absolutely... send me one! spacedthekeys@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteLook forward to hearing from you!