Reviews

After a while, this well acted, directed and photographed low key thriller becomes so frustratingly illogical that I had to restrain myself from yelling at the screen: "Call the police already!" To say, "It's only a movie" doesn't help here. The plot strands involving Frances' (Moretz) roommate, her father, the detective he hires as well the police and Frances' co workers at the restaurant never mesh the way they should leaving the characters on the screen stranded in individual and collective stupidity. The film becomes limited in it's scope and finally rather dull and uninteresting. Like Bird Box, A Quiet Place and Velvet Buzzsaw, you'll probably stick around to see how it all ends while enumerating all of the things that are simply unbelievable or never explained making you feel superior to what unreels. Not the best way to view a movie. Isabel Huppert would be memorable if only the screenplay were better and had characters who were less negligible and ineffectual especially Steve Rhea's detective and Frances herself. On a viewing scale, Greta is less odious and tedious than "It" or "Hereditary", but it is not by any means a must see.

I ever sat through in a theater. Borrowing elements from The Witch, The Conjuring and Paranormal Activity to name just a few, Hereditary is excruciatingly slow, and obvious from the start. The film is largely limited to 2 settings: a modern rustic home where no one ever bothers to turn on a light, and a classroom complete with a teacher droning in the background and disinterested teenagers. There are no supporting characters, save for one, of any note or consequence. The acting is one-note and grating, and Gabriel Byrne's character is annoyingly and unbelievably feckless. What it all means is never explained, and the ending comes as a relief. Judy Collins singing Both Sides Now during the credits provokes snarky laughter; the feeling the whole film is just a big joke.

Compared to The Graduate in several reviews, Risky Business is an initially enjoyable, cynical teenage fantasy that is ultimately disappointing as it quickly runs out of original ideas and becomes highly, and frustratingly, improbable with everything working out too perfectly in the end. Tom Cruise has never been more appealing, and the famous scene where he dances in his underwear is still a highlight, but his character becomes exasperating especially when he leaves the hooker alone in his parents house not once, but twice the easier for her to rob him blind. De Mornay's hooker is pretty, but unlikable and she and Cruise have no real chemistry; their sex scenes have no heat and I wish Joel hadn't rescued her from her pimp: they deserve one another. After a while you wonder why he doesn't call the police to get rid of her and her friend and Guido the pimp. And wouldn't the police show up during the wild house party with cars jamming the street and a truck delivering a bed in the middle of the night! This in the same affluent Chicago suburb that was the setting of Ordinary People. The film has an unearned reputation as some sort of classic, but even with superior production values for this genre Risky Business is only a better than average teen comedy which is saying very little.

Jordan Peele has made a smoothly entertaining and smart thriller out of material familiar from The Stepford Wives, Seconds, Night of the Living Dead and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. The film doesn't have an original bone in its body, but it's lively, funny and discomfiting nonetheless and it provides a few pleasurable jolts while nimble direction and an able cast compensate for the plot's predictability. In Get Out the buildup is ultimately more satisfying and memorable than the payoff and the revelations feel rushed and somewhat murky. And though the finale is done with admirable restraint in the gore department, Get Out cries out for a better, more original and thought-provoking conclusion. A good, but somewhat disappointing film considering all the hype and though it's superior to Don't Breathe and Split, it isn't original or distinctive enough to be a classic, but just good enough to warrant a viewing or two.

Expensively produced adaptation of Ira Levin's novel is a combination of Marathon Man and The Omen. The Boys from Brazil should have been intense and gripping, but it's weighed down by a convoluted plot spanning the globe with too many characters whose function is to provide exposition. Franklin J. Schaffner who often helmed large scale productions: Patton, Pappilion, The Planet of the Apes, Nicholas and Alexandria is a plodding director and this material needs a visionary. The film is watchable with some effective scenes and performances, and a sweeping score to carry it, but the sluggish pace makes it a long 2 hours. Jeremy Black is amusing as the boys from Brazil, Uta Hagen is memorably intense, and Olivier in role that provided him with his final Oscar nomination is basically repeating his Marathon Man performance. And though I enjoyed Peck playing the bad guy, George C. Scott who was originally cast might have provided a terrifying powerhouse of a villain that would have ignited this film.

Four Flies on Grey Velvet like most of Dario Argento's films has striking music, editing, and cinematography, but it is confusing, talky, aimless and slow moving. The main character played by a dull Michael Brandon responds to the situation he's got himself into with only mild concern and considerable stupidity. The actions of various supporting characters make little sense as well, and except for a few well-done Hitchcock-inspired scenes, the film is not gripping and you don't really care about the fate of its characters. It's rather unpleasant and pointless like the repeated shot of a beheading that foreshadows the film's arbitrary ending. The film contains a number of Argento's trademarks, but it lacks pace, and the plot lacks shape and cohesiveness. Like DePalma at his worst, Argento spends most of his energy on a few set pieces.

Despite an interesting premise and some enjoyable black comedy, What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? is a tepid thriller that holds the attention thanks to Page and Gordon whose cat-and-mouse game could be memorable were it not for slack pacing, uninspired writing and a weak, poorly staged finale involving warm milk, a sculpture, and a wheelchair that is more laughable than scary. The supporting cast made up of vaguely familiar faces is flat, and they serve no purpose other than to provide tired exposition. At an hour and 41 minutes the material feels stretched-out and the production values of the film, largely confined to one setting, give it a made-for-TV feel. Page's hammy performance is fun and a rather restrained Gordon is immensely likable. Still, the film disappoints. Not as memorable as Baby Jane, but less tedious than Die! Die! My Darling!

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this film is the review it elicited from Pauline Kael in the New Yorker. A review which leads one to ask that old question, Did we see the same film? The sex is certainly not erotic. The first encounter, a record-breaking quickie between Paul and Jeanne, is performed fully clothed and can be best described as Wham! Bam! Thank you, M'am. Why Jeanne would find this grieving, middle aged expatriate so compelling and/or attractive must be taken on faith rather than on anything we see or hear. And though Brando's improvised monologues are profane and occasionally funny, at least to the audience, is this how a young Parisian chick preparing to be wed would choose to spend her afternoons, listening to talk about pig farts and vomit? And if so, why? It's like listening to a depressed drunk in a bar. Last Tango is ultimately dreary, tedious and pretentious with artful photography and a bleating jazz score and 2 main characters who are insufficiently explored and who are not interesting apart from one another. The film remains a curiosity, a chance to see a world famous actor and talent exposed though I much prefer Brando in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye. And the ending where Jeanne shoots Paul rather than simply walking away is just as pointless and unconvincing as everything that has come before. And though I put a spoiler alert on this review, I'd say it's Kael's review that spoils the film. What could possibly live up to her description?