GLASS Review

Nineteen years after writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's sophomore effort, Unbreakable, and two years after he confirmed his return to form with Split, the unique auteur has concocted what is the third film in an unlikely, but not so unlikely trilogy given the twist in Unbreakable was that all-along viewers were watching the origin story of a new hero and his arch nemesis yet were unaware of it. Like Unbreakable, Split was marketed under the guise of a different genre than what its true intentions held and when that original, James Newton Howard score re-emerged in those final moments of Split almost two years ago to the weekend it was one of the greatest "twists" I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing in a theater. This inadvertently created an issue for Shyamalan though, as with this trilogy-capper, Glass, there is no disguising what genre this film belongs to: this is a super hero movie through and through. And so, for a director who has made a name and a career off of the misdirect and/or "twist ending" the challenge in penning his first, unabashed sequel would be that of how might he might continue building these characters organically while integrating them into one another's respective worlds as well as framing the continuation of their story through a device that would satisfy the intrigue and sustain the investment. The idea that James McAvoy's "Beast" or Kevin Wendall Crumb as we know he truly exists is in the same world as Bruce Willis' David Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson's Elijah Price made for some exciting prospects, but where would Shyamalan actually go with things? How would these three individuals find their way across one another's paths and even if they happened to meet-what might it ultimately amount to? These are big questions that require much ambition and follow-through and while Shyamalan has been saying since Unbreakable opened in 2000 that he's had ideas or plans for a follow-up the time has finally come to put up or shut-up and for the most part, it's a good thing Shyamalan doesn't shut-up. With Glass, the filmmaker certainly has much to communicate and much he wants to say, but one will be hard pressed to figure out how all of these (broken) pieces are meant to fit together.

First Trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's GLASS

The first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable/Split crossover, titled Glass, has hit the web and man is it a doozy. As a huge fan of Unbreakable and someone who more admired what the writer/director was doing in Split if not necessarily feeling like he fully capitalized on the premise or James McAvoy's terrific lead performance. Either way, what Shyamalan did with that last minute twist ending was fantastic and completely unexpected.Given this trailer, it looks as if Glass will not only expand on McAvoy's Kevin, but bring us up to date on what Bruce Willis' David Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson's Elijah Price have been up to in the nearly twenty years since that fateful train crash. The trailer begins by highlighting Sarah Paulson's new character, Dr. Ellie Staple, who states she is working in the ever-growing field of those real-life humans who actually believe that have supernatural abilities. It's certainly worth wondering if Shyamalan will incorporate the rising popularity of super heroes and comic book-based movies into the reasoning for Staple's consistently growing field. Whatever the case may be, it seems that there have certainly been some lines drawn as to those who think these people might actually have been blessed with powers and those who believe it to be based in psychological issues and tricks of the brain. Naturally, Jackson's titular character believes in the former and it seems his ever conspicuous Price AKA Mr. Glass will have a strong hand in driving the narrative dynamic between Kevin and Dunn's hero and villain. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how Shyamalan balances the two different tones of the two different films that each birthed these characters. Unbreakable being more of an ominous drama whereas Split was sold completely as a horror flick. Needless to say, it's hard not to be excited for what this crossover holds as McAvoy especially seems to have taken the opportunity and run with it, Willis looks like he's actually invested in working again, and you know Jackson loves the idea he gets to be the mastermind behind all of this. Glass also sees the return of Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as starring Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, Rob Yang, Luke Kirby, and opens on January 18, 2019.

A DOG'S PURPOSE Review

In the opening moments of the latest sun-drenched melodrama from director Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, Hachi: A Dog's Tale) a dog is born and just quickly a dog is euthanized. It's a strange way to open a PG-rated family film about man's best friend, but was apparently the best way to set the stage for a film whose premise is that of dog reincarnation as narrated by Olaf from Frozen. Sound strange? It is, a little bit, but not nearly as bad as you might think though not nearly as effective as it should be either. This is taking into considering the fact the writers/producers and Hallström don't shy away from exploiting what is arguably the easiest way to elicit tears from your audience-a dog dying. They do this at least four times. And yet, through each of these segments, each of these lives that we see different breeds and genders of dogs lead (all voiced by Josh Gad) there is never that moment that just breaks you in the way you expect a movie like this to do. It seems there was no hesitation in doing what it takes to get the audience to that point, but the execution never matches the intention thus making A Dog's Purpose more of a sleeper than the quickly euthanized pup we met in the first scene.

Of course, Universal knows what it's doing and who the audience is for this type of movie and up until a few weeks ago were no doubt counting on cashing in on the countless dog lovers that flood this great land of ours. It's possible, but is now rather difficult to watch the film without the experience being at least somewhat tainted by the set footage that was released in which a trainer is forced to place a dog in water the canine clearly doesn't care to get in for the sake of a shot. Does the footage strike concern for how movies such as A Dog's Purpose are made? Potentially, sure. Is a bigger deal being made out of what footage we've seen than necessary? Absolutely. Sure, the dog clearly doesn't care to go in the water, but the trainer seemed especially sensitive to this hesitation and we only know if we don't like something by trying it first and that could just as easily be the other side of the coin in this case. I stayed through the credits to see that the film received its seal of approval from the American Humane Society and indeed it did. That's enough for me to trust that what video has been released was likely largely taken out of context if not a massive PR stunt to get more people talking about the movie. Needless to say, dog lovers will likely still flock to A Dog's Purpose and have no reason not to-it's made especially for them anyway.   

TAKE THIS WALTZ Review

Take This Waltz tries to be tragic, but we just can't feel any empathy for the main character simply due to her personality. This was not the outcome I expected from the film as I was rather looking forward to seeing director Sarah Polley's follow up to her touching 2006 film Away from Her. While it seems that Polley has gathered an appealing enough cast to relate her story of tested love the inherit problem with the film is that story itself. It is just something about the idea of a young couple lost to the idea that nothing lasts. It is depressing to the degree not that the audience can't deal with it, but to the fact that it is done with such cutting deception to what is made out to be a real and humble couple. For all of its indie garb it is pretentious in actually affecting the greater importance of the relationship it chronicles. It instead comes off as trying too hard not only to paint an authentic portrait of relationships but as a piece of work underdeveloped to the point it operates only on those cliches that it tries so hard to avoid. In essence it is almost a parody of itself the way these people operate in a world defined by its quirkiness. I wanted to like the film, I really did. At first glance you have to wonder what there is not to like. Michelle Williams? Seth Rogen? Sarah Silverman? All funny, talented people who seem to know a good project when they see one (though I know an argument would automatically be made about Rogen here) but when each of them see something in a nice, little indie script about love and relationships you think there might be something inspiring here. Instead it just turns out to be a tepid interpretation of an experience that could have easily struck a chord with so many.

Lou (Seth Rogen) and Margot (Michelle Williams) are
faced with an unexpected challenge.

We are first introduced to Margot (Williams) as she is on a writing assignment in Nova Scotia composing a brochure for a Canadian tourist attraction (a job that serves well enough to pay the bills apparently) but the importance of this trip is that our main character first meets Daniel here (Luke Kirby). Daniel is similar in age to Margot, attractive and willing to call her out on her intriguing perspective towards life and terminals. I don't know if it was just me, but knowing Margot has a husband back home who has no aspirations in love outside of taking care of her forever does nothing but make you dislike Daniel from the very beginning, and Margot even more. As they both arrive home, conversation really sparking when they are seated near one another on the plane and share a cab ride home we learn that Daniel just so happens to live across the street from Margot and her husband. In what is the shining light in this exercise in narcissism coated with sunshine is Seth Rogen as the unsuspecting Lou. Lou also has the blessing to have one of those jobs that seems to carry little responsibility while garnering enough of an income for he and his wife to live comfortably while not really considering much of their future together. Maybe that is part of the inherent problem here, but if Margot is looking for more or as we come to see it, simply something new, she doesn't stray far from her first pick as Daniel is even more artsy and likely has less of a promising career ahead. Who cares, what they're doing is fulfilling right?

Daniel (Luke Kirby) presents an unexpected dilemma
for the married Margot.

The real jolt of what made the film so disheartening though was not the fact it isn't something people can relate to. Naturally, there are going to be folks who relate to feeling trapped within certain things, trapped because they do in fact feel an obligation to the person they are with more than they do a connection and this in turn raises some interesting questions the film addresses. Those having to do with true love, what it is, what that even means and if real, honest happiness can ever be achieved through it. What makes it so hard to get in line with and really understand the sticky dilemma the film chronicles is our lack of care for that main character. This is strange, as I said earlier, seeing as she is played by the very meek and loving Michelle Williams, but not even Williams skill can bring Margot to resonate with the masses. She is annoying, more a distraction than adorable and we begin to wonder why Lou even cares what he is losing and why Daniel puts so much on the line for such a person. I understand the point director Polley is trying to illustrate with Margot; that there is nothing wrong with her, that she only feels her relationship has gone stale and though she tries, in her opinion, to salvage it the best she can, the shiny new guy across the street is just to tempting to let the opportunity go. As the movie describes it, life has a gap and sometimes people seek out things to fill that gap. Margot certainly does that, she takes the easy route or maybe the route she believes she really wants and who's to take that away from her? Still, we all know in the end that everything gets old at some point and Margot will end up behind more than she will ahead. Stuck in a place where it is not so easy to find a dancing partner as it once was.

Margot and her sister-in-law Geraldine (Sarah Silverman)
have an argument over each of their current
situations.

None of this is an excuse for the first hour and fifteen minutes though. It creeps by at such a slow pace it might be he cause of my dislike for the characters all the more. It becomes boring, even when Rogen appears on screen and evokes such loving goofiness that we ache for him to know the truth we also can't help but feel like we don't care all that much either. If you'd like to see a better film addressing a relationship from the end rather than the traditional rom com of boy meets girl than I would recommend something like Celeste and Jesse Forever over this. Where the current film under review attempts to paint a portrait of two people who have been in a relationship for quite some time, one growing restless the other completely content the Rashida Jones starrer gives a more honest look at the resonations of a break-up on the soul of a person with a more clear head and cast of characters that we feel we understand even if we may not agree we let their decisions pass whereas in Take this Waltz we can hardly stand to watch them operate and we certainly can't get behind them and root for the relationship to work. Some critics will enjoy this if for anything because it depicts a different picture of relationships than anything the Hollywood pipeline would ever produce, but just because it is different doesn't automatically make it more satisfying or even good. I liked parts of the film, the setting, the costume design the overall look of the film in general was very aesthetically pleasing but in the end I couldn't relate and I couldn't see why anyone would want to be like Margot.

TAKE THIS WALTZ Review

Take This Waltz tries to be tragic, but we just can't feel any empathy for the main character simply due to her personality. This was not the outcome I expected from the film as I was rather looking forward to seeing director Sarah Polley's follow up to her touching 2006 film Away from Her. While it seems that Polley has gathered an appealing enough cast to relate her story of tested love the inherit problem with the film is that story itself. It is just something about the idea of a young couple lost to the idea that nothing lasts. It is depressing to the degree not that the audience can't deal with it, but to the fact that it is done with such cutting deception to what is made out to be a real and humble couple. For all of its indie garb it is pretentious in actually affecting the greater importance of the relationship it chronicles. It instead comes off as trying too hard not only to paint an authentic portrait of relationships but as a piece of work underdeveloped to the point it operates only on those cliches that it tries so hard to avoid. In essence it is almost a parody of itself the way these people operate in a world defined by its quirkiness. I wanted to like the film, I really did. At first glance you have to wonder what there is not to like. Michelle Williams? Seth Rogen? Sarah Silverman? All funny, talented people who seem to know a good project when they see one (though I know an argument would automatically be made about Rogen here) but when each of them see something in a nice, little indie script about love and relationships you think there might be something inspiring here. Instead it just turns out to be a tepid interpretation of an experience that could have easily struck a chord with so many.