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Reviews
Dogman (2023)
"Luc Besson re-makes Darkman" is pretty much all you need to know
A perfectly serviceable, competently made film with a male lead that acts the hell out of his role. And dogs. So. Many. Dogs. What's not to love?
Well for one thing the titular character is weird and contrived, rather than heroic or tragic. Maybe if I was French I could relate to him. But I couldn't care less about him or his back story. Which, when I think about it, pretty well sums up most of Besson's movies.
That leaves it to the dogs to carry the film. If this had been a kid's film then nothing further would need to be said. But it's not a kid's film. It's not even a family movie. This is a gritty, violent crime thriller.
But the dogs are cute and smarter than all of the bad guys and that's not nothing. Sadly, however, all of the scenes with the dogs are so obviously staged that it takes the viewer jarringly out of the movie. Imagine a high intensity sequence involving gun play and angry tattooed men ramping up the action. Then suddenly Fido and a couple buddies trot across the screen to trigger a booby trap a la Home Alone. Suddenly all of the baddies are dead. Hurrah Dogs!!!!!
Anatomie d'une chute (2023)
Mean spirited and over wrought
I had high hopes for Anatomy Of A Fall. Reviews were uniformly good to great and the premise was quite intriguing. And as a European film I was expecting the slow measured pace as well as often nonsensical, to a NA viewer at least, choices made by characters.
But holy hell, AOAF is above all else an exercise in man hating. Think about it. The husband/father, now dead and the object of the "Fall" in the title, is relentlessly portrayed as little more than a selfish unstable child in the body of a sophisticated adult. But never in a interesting villainous sort way, just tiresome and inconvenient. But he's also potentially the actual victim, which is the movie's big mystery: Did he kill himself or did the wife do it?
But there's never really any doubt. Sure we get the usual reveals and reversals than can make movies like this a fun, engaging experience. But here there is no any doubt. And the many reviews that talk about the film's ambiguous ending clearly completely missed the point: Namely that the whole movie is an exercise in emotional manipulation. We may doubt the heroine at various points but ultimately her 'truth' will triumph as it should.
That truth being, of course, that she never did anything worse than tolerate a man. Oh and don't forget she's bi-sexual, which for some bizarre reason becomes a lazy excuse for the writer to attempt to inject some tension. Hello, Europe? It's 2023. Sexual deviancy no longer exists. Remember?
The son is given some agency but ultimately is never not under authoritative female control, which by the way is clearly for his, and our, betterment. The lawyer is male but only a supporting character necessary for the plot to move forward. He never does anything but, mostly passively, help his client.
The other male character is the prosecutor. He's the baddie of the film. Though because this is a chick flick flick above all else his rough edges are filed down to give him the appearance of some depth. But in truth the character is as one dimensional as the role requires and nothing more.
The film is actually quite watchable though, at least up to the courtroom scenes. I do not pretend to understand European jurisprudence but the wack-a-doodle goings on in that court room would make even the judge at a kangaroo court cry. It was like watching teenage girls have a heated argument while under the eye of a den mother. On that note the judge is, of course, female. As are the majority of the spectators, except for a couple shots that linger on the lone black male sitting there. Gotta be sure to virtue signal about diversity and inclusion, and especially so if you're championing women. I mean this is modern France. Where all the black people be at?
There's enough material in this one film to write a term paper on and I'm only touching on a few of the highlights. Ultimately it's movie about a hard-done-by woman who is charged with murder. Though there's no clear resolution provided by the movie her implicit innocence is patently obvious to anyone who hasn't been lulled into thinking this is a deep, meaningful film by the blatant emotional manipulation.
The real winners are, of course, women. Whereas men are at best a convenience and at worst a real problem, but that always must be kept under the control of a firm, wise, reasonable, guiding female hand to avoid the sort of silliness that falling from a balcony could result in.
It's cheap and facile and ultimately mean spirited. It's also well acted and deftly made and were it not for the egregious courtroom scenes would be a good watch.
Dream Scenario (2023)
Great idea but the movie maker confuses discomfort with tension
Full disclosure I turned it off well before the end. There may be a crackerjack ending full of surprises and a pay off, but somehow I suspect not.
Slow, plodding, unengaging dialogue, and Cage's character is completely lacking in any qualities that would make him sympathetic or in the least interesting. In short I quickly lost interest in where ever the story might be going. Which is a shame because I think it's a pretty nifty idea with lots of potential.
And to be clear I applaud Cage's performance. I think he probably nailed what the writer/director wanted but that unfortunately is the problem. The character -- all of the characters actually -- is so blandly written that we can't care about what's going to happen to him. And yes I understand the character is supposed to be a bland, uninteresting guy but then in that case they have to give us something else about him to hang on to. But they gave us nothing.
Many times the script feels like it's making a comment about some issue, or satirical, but never once goes anywhere with it. At least while I was still watching. The line between clever and annoying is very thin.
It all creates some discomfort in the viewer but also gets wearisome quickly. Much like looking at Cage's ill fitting bald-head wig does. And none of it is a substitute for tension, which the film sorely lacks.
Beau Is Afraid (2023)
My favorite movie of the year
'Course that's not saying much in 2023. But this movie would have stood out even if the year had been full of outstanding shows.
Anyhow. Beau Is Afraid is a visual delight. Each scene is filled with more details than you can hope to take in let alone make an effort to integrate with the plot.
Not that there's a plot. Or maybe there is. I'm honestly not sure.
Phoenix is stellar, this is the sort of stuff that he excels at (as opposed to muddled portrayals of historical figures). He is constantly on the edge of panic and disconnection from 'reality' in just the right amount to make the character feel real enough to be relatable. Rather than farcical or outlandish or, heaven forbid, dour and boring. And this is absolutely necessary for the character to be able to skip from once surreal outing to the next without alienating the viewer.
But the movie is work and the time does not flash by. It's more like a 3 hour mountain climb than a pleasure cruise. The viewer, however, is wonderfully and richly rewarded for his attendance.
Hereditary was a masterpiece. But then Midsommar was a misguided, shallow disappointment and I was prepared to write Aster off as a one hit wonder. But Beau Is Afraid is clearly the work of someone who knows how to make a movie.
Reptile (2023)
del Toro scowls, a lot
Watching Reptile just made me want to watch Traffic again. Benicio del Toro has a subtle, broad dramatic range but we only get a hint of it in a few scenes. When he warns off a contractor that may or may not have designs on his wife, for example. And now that I think of i that may be the only one.
Otherwise he lumbers along, carrying the weight of the world on his tired shoulders,. All the while painstakingly figuring out the particulars of a conspiracy involving, well, almost everyone he knows apparently. Okay, maybe not "almost everybody", but it kinda feels like it.
It's not terrible stuff but the earnest attempts to keep the audience guessing comes off mostly as overly messy, and frankly it drags the film down. Moments that should be tense feel more like we're just going through the paces. Even the finale plays out without the necessary weight and power you'd hope to see. And the 'big' struggle he has with himself after the gun smoke clears feels trite and unnecessary to the plot. And yes there's a history there that is hinted at regularly, but again just having del Toro stump around miserably is not enough to shore up the character's motivation.
The reveals are convoluted and too drawn out to have the impact they need to have to really drive the film to it's conclusion. Instead we arrive and it feels more like we've been reading a newspaper over the shoulder of some guy in the next bus seat over.
It's not a terrible way to spend a couple hours but if you're like me the biggest take away you'll have is the waste of del toro's talent. Though it's certainly a step up from his Star Wars outing.
Corner Office (2022)
How did something like this get green lit?
Wow. The main character is so unrelatable that the viewer literally could not care about what he does or what happens to him. His constant often patently trite voice overs work to further distance the audience from the film. "Show don't tell" has never been so true. Not to mention constantly being told what's happening leaves the audience with nothing to do, which becomes tedious and boring quickly.
The dialogue is clumsy but not enough so to feel stilted, only unrealistic. Presumably done intentionally for atmosphere purposes but it just feels wrong, like when you see a house that's been painted bright orange or lime green. Not surreal or artfully creepy; just odd, misplaced, and mildly unpleasant.
Setting the movie in a bland, featureless office and populating it with shallow, cliched characters makes me assume that the writer had absolutely no idea what a corporate office is actually like and instead fleshed out the story replying on cliches picked up from watching sitcoms or hearing comedic routines about working in an office. This is not an office that could ever exist, not even in a parody or satire. Likewise for the characters. There needs to be at least a hint of familiarity, otherwise what's the point of setting it in an office?
And don't get me started on the soundtrack which clunkily tries to echo the tone of what's going on on-screen but constantly fails. Clearly someone tried to make it happen but just a clearly they were not up to the task.
The trailer promised some mystery and intrigue and, frankly, I was looking forward to the film. But holy cow what a stinker.
Full disclosure I didn't finish it. I stopped watching when I realized that I had no idea what was going on because I'd stopped paying attention a while back. If the ending is a banger then I have done the movie a disservice by writing this. But somehow I don't think that's the case.
While proof reading the above I had the thought that when AI starts making actual Hollywood movies they are probably going to be a lot like this one. It has many of the trappings of a movie and could even pass as one if you didn't stop and pay attention to it. But the second you attempt to settle into the plot or the character you quickly realize it's a movie in name alone.
Shut In (2022)
Mediocre idea for a movie isn't helped by terrible script
The child actor playing the daughter is about the only redeeming feature of this film. How someone so young can act so convincingly and actually rise above the material given her is a wonder. She is the reason for the 4 stars.
Otherwise the movie relies on a contrivance -- the pantry door -- that is easily remedied and that anyone with an ounce of intelligence would have addressed before the movie even starts thereby making the need for the movie moot. And that's a problem, because we need to feel sympathy for the mom for there to be any tension when her ex. Shows up later and begins to cause trouble. But she's either too dumb or too irresponsible to elicit that sympathy. And it doesn't help that from the first scene she kind of a dick toward the kid. I get that she's under pressure and is a recovering addict BUT there needs to be reasons for the audience to want to her win. Frankly I just wanted Social Services to show up and take her kids away.
But if you suspend your disbelief and accept the set up for the sake of enjoying the movie that's fine. But when we get to the main conflicts and action scenes the lack of credibility continues. People, even drug addicts, don't act like that, even in movies. The dialogue is stilted, in part at least because the events are so contrived, and that the actors playing the 2 male antagonists are not what you'd call masters of their art doesn't help.
Hey I get it, the movie was probably made on a minuscule budget and frankly if that's the case then the production values are admirable; the movie looks good and is clearly competently made. But if you're going to start with a lame, unbelievable script then why bother.
Netflix you need to do better.
One Shot (2021)
Great use of the gimmick
The 'done in a single shot' approach is done surprisingly well here and is a credit to the film makers. The film gives us just enough pre-amble to get invested in the characters and then is a non-stop roller coaster right up until the final shot. Cookie cutter bad guys aside the characters are mostly well written and the dialogue never gets in the way of the plot. It's not high art and you have to suspend your disbelief more than a few times but it's entertaining and engaging as heck.
Army of Thieves (2021)
Maybe it was made with the European market mostly in mind?
I'll confess I didn't finish the movie, so if it redeemed itself in the final act then my bad. But to get to that 3rd act you have to sit through seemingly endless scene after scene of what is a light hearted heist caper with a overly dramatic, weighty backstory that frankly both makes no sense and is goofy as heck. This means you're never sure about the tone of the film, and it gets tiresome fast.
It's not great revelation that European cinematic sensibilities are very different to ours and films that are praised in France or Germany, for example, can seem trivial, trite or just flat out confusing because character motivation appears to be all over the road to North American understanding. So I can only assume/hope that this movie hits home in Germany or whatever. But to your average NA viewer it's just a confusing little inconsequential mess that skips along seemingly without any real reason behind it.
What Lies Below (2020)
A surprisingly effective little horror film.
It's not perfect by a long shot but it gets enough things right -- sometimes very right -- and that makes some of the problematic parts forgivable.
I'm not sure if it was intentional or just lucky but the clumsy dialogue fits the characters perfectly and reinforces the viewer's sense that something is not quite right.
The emotional baggage sub-plot is used to move the story forward and though certainly could have done better it serves the purpose efficiently and then gets out of the way. Unlike many many films that shoehorn subplots in for no reason other than filler and/or in a misguided attempt to give the movie and characters some depth.
The sexual undertones in the early scenes are especially uncomfortable but the film maker adroitly shifts to body horror over the course of the film. By the time the final conflict and finale rolls around the full horror is on display.
There are enough answers provided so that the viewer is not left uttering what the fark was that??? But the film also leaves quite a few questions un-answered and that's just fine because none are crucial for the understanding of the characters and their motivations.
The effects were surprisingly good especially considering what was likely a small budget. Casting also was spot on and the young female lead really showed some serious chops, especially at the end.
Several scenes take too long to play out which makes the film drag, but the ending is both brisk and satisfying.
The Bloodhound (2020)
Kinda brilliant
Almost every shot is static, claustrophobic, and scratchy with a pained dryness of repression and old fears and boredom. The dialogue mostly poses more questions than it answers, and it's the visuals that moves much of the 'story' along. A few of the scenes are laugh out loud hilarious. Definitely not for everyone but I was captivated. Well okay a couple scenes run a bit long but not enough to spoil the atmosphere.
I was reminded of both Ex Machina and The Lobster.
Sea Fever (2019)
Uggg
Another "Women are strong. Men are weak. rigid, and dependent" vehicle. I don't mind strong female leads but patently ideological works like this are nothing but propaganda. And the story is only marginally interesting. On the plus side production values are pretty good if you like boats.