LONGLEGS Review

A completely surreal style a la the isolation of characters and staging of settings that writer/director Oz Perkins manages to merge with the expectations of a procedural; allowing the story to boil in the tedium of its case gone cold before the unexpected convictions of its characters come to light - revealing the true intent of the piece. Key to this intent is the understanding that the world we're being presented is largely dictated by the perspective through which we're seeing it. Longlegs doesn't always sustain itself on the intrigue of its mystery yet continuously gets under the skin with the disturbing if not sometimes heightened ideas it has around real-world difficulties. That isn't to say the central conceit of the film as a crime thriller doesn't work but more if that's all one takes away from it then they are missing the point. In essence, Perkins has put together a cautionary tale of sorts, regarding the trappings of mythologizing both regular human beings who choose to do terrible things as well as deities, demons and whichever side you affiliate with in terms of worshipping them. 

Perkins, who is presently the father of two teenagers, is also if not more interested in the ideas of the extent and severity to which parents go to not only protect their children but ensure the purity of their life experiences for as long as possible than he is said procedural aspects. Alicia Witt turning in a genuinely chilling performance in support of such. Yes, Longlegs features the titular character played as extravagantly as one would expect Nicolas Cage to play a creepy serial killer who looks like Tiny Tim and Powder's lovechild but for as effectively (and memorably) as Cage portrays this doll-making witch doctor what echoes for days after seeing the film is not the actions of the character of Longlegs, but more the credibility he lends his beliefs based off nothing more than intuition and furthermore, how far he was willing to follow them.

HONEY BOY Review

"The only thing my father gave me of any value was pain...and you want to take that away?" 

As someone who is less than a year younger than Shia LaBeouf and grew up watching Even Stevens there was no doubt that Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy was going to be something of an emotional endeavor; a deeply moving experience that would both be reminiscent of while also completely unraveling this element of my early teen years that created nothing but fond memories. This is obviously an extremely personal piece and it's tough sometimes to criticize as much, but thankfully there's little need for that here as LaBeouf relays exposure therapy sessions that helped him work through the trauma caused by his relationship with his father during a specific point in time in a way that pieces together both how he grew into the person he's become as well as exploring how he's moved past it. It's cathartic, sure, but for viewers who can remember how naturally funny and flat-out talented LaBeouf came across in that Disney channel show, Honey Boy also serves as this honest, unguarded piece of insight into the pain behind that comedy.

The film goes back and forth between LaBeouf's time as a child actor (referred to as Otis in the film), when he was living in a motel with his father who would come to set and run lines with him, and the post-arrest version of LaBeouf (Lucas Hedges) as he attempts to immerse himself in this treatment that has him repeating these stories that scarred him until they don't hurt anymore. As played by Noah Jupe, twelve year-old Otis adores his father and seeks his affection unabashedly yet his father, James (LaBeouf), has no real idea what it means to be a good dad or role model; instead James simply dismisses any display of emotion with a distant, "wipe your face, Otis. Don't cry in front of me." It's devastating, but so is most of what we see depicted in the film. Jupe's younger Otis is dealing with this father figure who wants to be good to him, wants to be there for him, but isn't good for his development in any sense of the word (his dad nonchalantly offering him cigarettes and booze at the age of twelve) and it seems Otis understands this, but doesn't know another way to navigate what he's experiencing other than to go along with it. There are key lines that stand out as pure truth that one can tell stuck with LaBeouf from his childhood as well, things such as his father resorting to bragging about the sound of his own piss hitting the toilet. Moments when there aren't really words to describe the amount of tragedy being experienced and within many of these scenarios LaBeouf paints one simply has to let the heartbreak wash over them while knowing this little boy has comes out the other side and is doing better. Alex Somers' fantastic score also helps considerably in allowing said tragedy to flow over and around the viewer rather than overwhelm them.

First Trailer for MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE

As the Toronto International Film Festival draws closer and closer the more trailers we'll likely receive for some of the higher profile titles that will be making their debut there. Today brings us the first glimpse of director Peter Landesman's  (Concussion, Parkland) take on the story of FBI agent Mark Felt, who would become “Deep Throat”, the anonymous whistleblower who exposed the Watergate scandal in a series of discussions with Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. As the trailer shows us, the film chronicles Felt’s discovery of the Watergate scandal and subsequent decision to leak information to the Post as President Richard Nixon’s White House administration began to try and tamper with the FBI’s investigation. While this may have been presumed to be something entirely different to those unaware of who Mark Felt was prior to watching the trailer (a la a Liam Neeson version of White House Down/Olympus has Fallen) I am a sucker for straightforward historical dramas such as this seems to be and would have definitely made time to see this were I still going to be able to attend TIFF this year. While that was the plan up until recently, I unfortunately won't be able to make the trip to the festival this year, but fortunately won't have to wait too much longer to find out if The Man Who Brought Down the White House is as intriguing as this first-look trailer makes it out to be. What concerns me about the film is that it was originally announced back in 2006, didn't start shooting until May of last year, and is just now getting a release date nearly a year and a half after the fact. Whether this has anything to do with the quality of the project overall remains to be seen, but the credentials are certainly in the films favor as Liam Neeson stars in the titular role along with Diane Lane, Tony Goldwyn, Josh Lucas, Michael C. Hall, Maika Monroe, Kate Walsh, and Tom Sizemore in supporting roles. Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House opens nationwide on September 29th, 2017.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE Review

There is a bit of trivia on the IMDB page for Independence Day: Resurgence that talks about how, after the success of the first film, 20th Century Fox paid screenwriter Dean Devlin a large sum of money to write a script for a sequel. The story goes though, that after completing the script for what would have been the original sequel to 1996's Independence Day Devlin decided not to turn it in and instead gave the money back to the studio. The trivia goes on to state that Devlin did this because he felt the story didn't live up to the first film. As we are now twenty years removed from that original film and have now seen what an Independence Day sequel looks like this course of action only seems to beg one question: how bad must that original sequel script have been? Could it really have retreaded the beats of the first film as much as Resurgence does? The only thing that differentiates the first film from this new one is the passage of time and how that has changed earth's technologies and defense systems while having what cast returns look a little older. The IMDB page goes on to say that it was only fifteen years later, when Devlin met up with director Roland Emmerich to try again, that they felt they had finally "cracked" a story for a sequel. Though it is difficult to be downright negative towards a film story and character development certainly aren't Resurgence's strong suits and may even be the most laughable aspects of a movie that tries really hard to be funny. One can't help but feel that, in this scenario, "cracking" the story only meant they were offered a lot more money than before. If Resurgence does indeed deliver the story that Emmerich and Devlin thought more justified the existence of a sequel to their 1996 feature it can only now be concluded that they were only going to repeat themselves more with the scrapped screenplay. While Resurgence certainly finds moments of dumb fun and some rather spectacular action sequences given special effects have improved greatly in the last two decades it is more or less a retread of what we saw in that original movie in terms of ensemble cast and humans versus aliens. Granted, the question easily posed in response to that statement is, "what did you expect it to be?" and the answer to that is that they at least try to find a new way into that same old story.

New Trailer for INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE

In light of Earth Day today 20th Century Fox has decided to release a new look at this summer's Independence Day sequel that will inevitably destroy it. This twenty years later sequel that undoubtedly hopes to cash in on some of that nostalgia money Jurassic World was able to make last past summer is throwing all the chips on the table with this latest trailer. Unlike World though, this property has many a returning factors. Director Roland Emmerich has directed what looks to be a real time second chapter to the story of the 1996 alien invasion where the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsh, and Vivica A. Fox are all back to once again defend the planet from incoming invaders. The set-up has a neat little conceit to it as Goldblum's David Levinson has seemingly been leading the charge to ready the Earth for the inevitable by using the alien technology they acquired after the events of the first film to protect them if the aliens were to ever return. Well, it seems as if the time has come. With this new look at what I assume is recently completed footage given the amount of CGI here is seems the director has really outdone himself this time in terms of pure spectacle and scale. The destruction in this thing is almost incomprehensible, but it is truly stunning and should translate on the big screen quite well. The real question is if any of these characters will the same way Smith was able to way back when. At the very least, Emmerich is always a reliable source for big, brainless summer spectacle and I expect nothing short of such entertainment here. Independence Day: Resurgence also stars Liam Hemsworth, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, and opens on June 24, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE

Out of nowhere 20th Century Fox has decided to release the first look at next summer's Independence Day sequel. Of course, this isn't really out of nowhere as everyone in their right mind is vying for a spot in front of Star Wars: The Force Awakens this Friday and Fox has simply thrown their hat in the ring with both the X-Men Apocalyspe trailer that debuted Friday and now the twenty years later sequel that will undoubtedly hope to cash in on some of that nostalgia money Jurassic World was able to make this past summer. Unlike World though, this property has many a returning factors. Director Roland Emmerich has directed what looks to be a real time second chapter to the story of the 1996 alien invasion where the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsh, and Vivica A. Fox are all back to once again defend the planet from incoming invaders, but sadly there is no Will Smith to be seen. The set-up has a neat little conceit to it as Goldblum's David Levinson has seemingly been leading the charge to ready the Earth for the inevitable by using the alien technology they acquired after the events of the first film to protect them if the aliens were ever to return. Well, guess what-they're back. While this first glimpse at the footage for the upcoming film looks to be in line with what today's audiences expect in terms of dark and gritty and taking things fairly serious, I wouldn't be surprised if the final film is much more in line with the tone of the original. Plus, Emmerich is always a reliable source for big, brainless summer spectacle and I expect nothing short of such entertainment here. Independence Day: Resurgence also stars Liam Hemsworth, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, and opens on June 24, 2016.

Favorite Films of 2015 So Far...

It has been something of a strange year so far as much of what has garnered the most attention has been fine enough in my humble opinion, but more often than not just that and little more. Much of what I'm referring to here are the massively successful critical hits that are Mad Max: Fury Road and Inside Out. I enjoyed both of the aforementioned films and both would make my current top ten were this the actual end of the year, but considering we are just closing out the sixth month there is much more to see. The thing is, I've only seen Max and Inside Out once and have a sneaking suspicion that I will enjoy them more and more with each repeated viewing that will certainly happen before the end of the year and so there is plenty of time for things to change as well. I have also missed a few of the smaller films that have garnered critical praise that either didn't open in my comparatively smaller market or were only available to catch for a limited time that I wasn't able to make time for. I have yet to see Sundance winner Me & Earl & the Dying Girl, but hope to catch it this week when it opens in my area as well as catching up on the likes of Clouds of Sils Maria, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, Faults, The Duke of Burgundy and What We Do In the Shadows each of which have all been recently released on home video or are coming out soon. It is uncertain if any of these will leave an impression as big as some of their reviews would suggest, but I'm hopeful. Some of my choices are rather obvious as they will no doubt appear on 90% of year end top ten lists, but others I hope might not be and I've added a few close calls so as to round out a top ten for this point in the year. With so many highly anticipated releases coming this fall and winter none of these films are safe, but I'll be surprised if at least two or three of these films don't also end up on my year-end top ten, especially considering I'll have seen many of them more than once at that point.

IT FOLLOWS Review

This could have gone rather bad were director David Robert Mitchell not completely sure of how he'd be able to pull it off. Because, let's face it: the idea of someone walking after you isn't exactly frightening at first thought and could easily be interpreted as comical were it not presented in the right way. Presentation is key and Mitchell has this down to a science in It Follows as everything from the framing to the movement of the camera and into the accompanying score is drilled down to precision so as to evoke the most effective reactions. In that the film feels so specific in its making allows for the final product to feel assured in its execution and thus its ability to play on the minds of those taking it in for the first time. As much as people like to imagine we are smarter than the characters on a screen, especially in scary movies, It Follows makes one question that confidence by building up the mystery of the circumstances and pitting both the characters and everyone watching them in a race against time whether they realize it or not. While things could have gone one of two ways really easily with this simple yet somewhat profound little horror flick, the quality of the production and the keen sense of being able to capture exactly what he wanted has seemingly allowed for Mitchell to create a horror film that isn't necessarily as scary as it is intimidating and eerie. One could easily read the synopsis and laugh, one could easily read the synopsis and find it trashy given the certain set of rules with which the films central conceit operates, but in understanding why it all works as well as it does and why it makes sense, why certain elements are more than critical, is to see it play out with your own eyes and try to deny the cool yet disturbing feeling that washes over you and takes you in. That is what It Follows does best, that is why it deserves the praise it has received so far; because it takes you into its world and doesn't let you go. Even as you leave the theater it raises the hair on the back of your neck making you turn your head to check if anyone's there.

THE GUEST Review

First things first: I pretty much loved every single aspect of director Adam Wingard's The Guest and only give it a less than perfect score because while I love and revel in it, it certainly isn't something to be regarded as exceptional. It's not exceptional because it isn't necessarily innovative, but it is still highly entertaining and well-constructed because it knowingly draws from very specific inspiration. Horror movies of the late 70's and early 80's as well as the thrillers of the same decade infuse every angle of Wingard's tale of uncertainty. He plows over every moment in the film with his unabashed soundtrack fueled by synthesizers and one note tones that dispel any notion we should take this seriously. Instead, seasoned moviegoers will acknowledge this as an exercise in form, of style and take note of how every story, even the most generic of ones, can be made fresh and interesting with a unique directorial approach. The same was true of Wingard's previous effort, last years You're Next, in that it was a self-aware, goofy riff on the home invasion thriller. With The Guest though, Wingard has stepped up his intent in not confining himself to a single genre, but rather expanding the story possibilities to afford him endless opportunities while keeping the tone in check with those films that clearly inspired his childhood ambition to be a filmmaker. As the film begins we are introduced to David (Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey) and with only the 80's inspired soundtrack to overstate his subdued line readings we are immediately entranced into the world of who this man is and what his purpose might be. His surroundings are minimal, but his presence is immediately worthy of note and Wingard knows what he has both in terms of technique and in Stevens as a performer and with that he mines them to their full potential. Again, The Guest, isn't anything that should necessarily be celebrated as a triumph or as wholly original, especially in the wake of Drive a few years ago (which this film could easily draw comparisons to) but nonetheless it is a hell of a lot of fun and well worth ones time.