THE GRUDGE Review

Andrea Riseborough is the kind of actor who, even in a movie like 2020's re-make/sequel(?) of The Grudge, goes to the extent of having her character sport certain tattoos that are never brought up, but that she probably knows the backstories of which undoubtedly inform some of the character choices she makes even if those tattoos only make it into a handful of shots in the final film. This is kind of the perfect distillation for the ratio of talent involved versus the quality of the final product for this new take on Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On property. Meaning, there is a depth to the writing, directing and acting here (or at least a certain level of credibility) that is lost in the final edit; glimpses of what could have been only showing up in a handful of moments in the final cut. If you've seen writer/director Nicolas Pesce's 2016 feature debut, The Eyes of My Mother then you know the filmmaker is adept at tackling the unsettling and framing it within such an atmosphere that it truly becomes one of those situations where you want desperately to look away, but can't help but to continue to watch for fear of the unknown. Unfortunately, with his latest all one really wants to do is look away and not for fear of missing out on what happens to the film's characters, but because we largely don't care about what's happening to them in the first place. As stated, there are hints at reasons as to why we might be inclined to care about any one of the recognizable faces on screen and the peril they're facing whether it be John Cho and Betty Gilpin's plight as new parents, Frankie Faison and Lin Shaye grappling with mortality or Riseborough and Demián Bichir coming face to face with their fears, but the screenplay spreads these scenarios and characters so thin with such disparate connections to one another that it's difficult to become invested in any of them and easier to simply give up on all of them. Besides the fact no one was necessarily asking for another installment from this franchise there seems to be no particular motivation even from Pesce's script to try and tap into the core idea of what the curse at the heart of The Grudge is really about; a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of extreme rage. Shimizu's original short films, like this new version, operated as seemingly unconnected vignettes that are pulled together by police investigating the various, strange events, but whatever it was that made those original films launch the franchise The Grudge has become today has been lost in translation in this latest iteration.

First Trailer for A QUIET PLACE PART II

Happy New Years! To celebrate, as promised, Paramount has released the full trailer for John Krasinski’s upcoming sequel, A Quiet Place Part II. The what-is-suspected-to-be unnecessary sequel picks up right after the events of the first film and follows the Abbott family as they venture into the unknown and discover that there are more than alien monsters threatening their lives. I act cynical, but have enough goodwill for both Krasinski and his wife/star Emily Blunt that I'm rooting for them to pull this off. As for the trailer itself, Krasinski immediately shows off that he still has the goods with what looks to be a single take trip through the small town where the Abbott family lived on the day this alien invasion began as the shot concludes with as harrowing a moment as could seemingly be conjured. From here, we are brought into the moments immediately following the events of the first film AKA the moments when Blunt's now widowed Evelyn is attempting an escape from their once safe quarters with her two older children (the returning Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe) and new infant which seems to instantly prove more difficult than expected. It's difficult to tell where exactly Krasinski is taking these characters in this new film (he is solely credited as the screenwriter with others only receiving character credits) though this teaser would suggest that the other humans outside of the world of the first film will be just as much the enemy of our heroes as the aliens are. I'm also somewhat cautious to be too "in the bag" for this sequel due simply to the fact that the first film came out of nowhere and was successful largely due to the hook of its elevator pitch yet this first trailer for the second film shatters the core of that pitch by having more dialogue in its two minutes than the entirety of the first film featured; the fear being this film will inevitably become a riff on something akin to The Walking Dead or Spielberg's War of the Worlds than it will be an equally clever take on the same premise of the first film. Again, I'm rooting for it, but I would be lying if I said there wasn't some serious hesitation towards the film especially considering A Quiet Place was one of my favorite films of 2018. All shall be revealed shortly as A Quiet Place Part II opens on March 20, 2020 and also features supporting turns from the likes of Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou.

Top 10 of 2019

2019 wound up being a more interesting year than the first six or so months would have led one to believe. There are only three movies on my final list that were released in or before June and only two that I actually saw during those first six months of the year. This, of course, isn't to say nothing of note was released in the first half of 2019 as there were certainly contenders for my top 10 released during those months such as Midsommar, John Wick, Yesterday, The Farewell, The Dead Don't Die and The Aftermath, but more that the overall quality of releases increased significantly in the second half of the year to a point the second half seems to have vastly outweighed the first. This has made it difficult to narrow things down to a finite ten films that I will hopefully consider to still be "favorites" in the years to come. And that is ultimately the lesson I've learned this year in that the subjectivity of these lists is so vast and somewhat superfluous to the point one shouldn't feel a pressure to include films others have labeled as "important"" or "the best", but instead they should include the films that feel-ya know-the most personal to the person making said list. These kinds of lists would also always fare better were they put together in a couple years time rather than in a rush in the last few days of the year as one is attempting to cram in all the end-of-year awards contenders while also catching up on everything that might have been missed throughout the year. Of course, there will be those that slip through the cracks-I'm mad at myself for not yet having caught titles like Luce, Her Smell, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Monos and Fast Color-though I made as valiant an effort as I possibly could, but naturally still managed to miss more than I would have liked to. Along with the point I was trying to make earlier about a composite list of pre-ordained "best of" films comes the fact there will certainly be what some would consider glaring omissions on my list given you've likely heard a lot about them over the course of the last few months and the fact they will certainly make many others year-end lists. I liked Little Women, but didn't fall in love with it; the same could be said of Marriage Story as well as Portrait of a Lady on Fire. 1917 is legitimately a wonder and I completely understand why it will win all of the awards, but is it a film I personally fell in love with and will re-visit time and time again? Probably not. The Irishman, for all there is to adore with it, simply didn't connect with me in a way that I was either incredibly moved or incredibly wowed by. Insightful? Sure. Handsomely crafted and acted? Of course, but it's not the Scorsese I'll point to when someone asks for a recommendation. I couldn't agree more that each of these films possess inspired moments-moments that transcend the art form even-yet much of the conversation around these feel of the moment and what follows are films I hope will remain a part of my life for much longer.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: December 24, 2019

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX - THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Review

If one was to go back and watch the prequels ("...but why?!?" you cringe!) with as objective a perspective as possible, with the allowance of framing them in a new light given the events of the Star Wars universe that have unfolded since their release it's not hard to see that Emperor Palpatine has always played the role of puppet master, at first hedging both sides against one another before fully giving in to his true Sith tendencies and converting a young Anakin Skywalker to follow him on that path. And while J.J. Abrams initial film in this sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens, seemingly had no interest in resurrecting the long, thought-to-be dead Emperor there is sound reason (believe it or not!) in bringing this antagonist back to round out all three trilogies in a way that makes for a resounding stanza...just as George Lucas always intended. It's about rhyme; a recurring metrical unit where the past predicts the future and the future dictates the fate of our favorite characters. There is a great sense of scope and history in these films and while Disney has admittedly fumbled a massive opportunity with these sequels, Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, seeks to try and rectify the lack of cohesion in this latest trilogy and bring everything together through that aforementioned scope and history in a fashion that is both meaningful to our new heroes while imparting the identity of those original heroes to inspire this new generation to continue to work towards the betterment of the galaxy. Yes, The Rise of Skywalker more or less crams two movies into one and yes, it is genuinely disappointing that this series wasn't better constructed from the beginning given how much this world means to so many people, but taken what we're given Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio (Argo) are able to connect the dots in a satisfying enough way where the right questions are answered, some mysteries remain yet feel destined to be unraveled on Disney+ while other inquiries are made that no one seemed to be asking, but are quickly brought up and resolved just as swiftly that it's as if Abrams was taking out double coverage just in case. It's impossible to please everyone and as much as I hate to admit it as a long-time, but not die-hard fan of the franchise, the discourse around these films is often toxic and demeaning. It's okay to simply enjoy whatever brings a smile to your face and more often than not, as I sat experiencing The Rise of Skywalker for the first time, I had a smile on my face.