All posts by scottmet99

2024 Films, Horror

A Quiet Place: Day One-2024

September 24, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

A Quiet Place: Day One-2024

Director Michael Sarnoski

Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou

Scott’s Review #1,440

Reviewed September 24, 2024

Grade: B+

I was skeptical about watching A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) since the John Krasinski and Emily Blunt team do not appear (on screen anyway). And let’s be honest, the third in a horror film series is not usually a revelation and is more often than not a money grab.

Be that as it may, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and Krasinski does serve as a producer who invests in quality over convention.

It’s a prequel to the surprise hit A Quiet Place (2018), which once again brought the horror genre credibility, so it more or less sets the stage for what’s to come later in the events.

The setting of New York City is great. The loud and bustling city complements the hearing-infused theme and counterbalances the necessity for quiet, as viewers already know.

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, who is having excellent success in the horror genre after appearing in Jordan Peele’s Us (2019), stars alongside an adorable cat who is a hell of an actor.

Nyong’o plays a terminally ill cancer patient named Sam, living out her days in a hospice facility. Depressed, she yearns for a trip to the Big Apple to live again, remembering how she would accompany her pianist father for pizza and a concert as a child.

When she goes on a field trip to see a puppet show in Manhattan with her primary nurse, the shit hits the fan. Frightening creatures appear out of nowhere to attack and terrorize the city.

Casting Nyong’o is a wise move for credibility. She’s an Oscar-winning actor and a great talent. Since the film requires silence, the actors must use facial expressions and body language to reveal emotions, which Nyong’o does well.

Sam experiences shock, horror, and wonderment as she glimpses the monsters and realizes the wrath of terror they are on. Nyong’o is up to the task.

She pairs well with actor Joseph Quinn as Eric, whom we know little about except that he is kind. The pair slinks around the city, doing their best to avoid death by a monster, and their relationship is tender but not predictable.

In a standard film, they would escape and conquer their foes, or a tepid romance might be added, but Sam is dying and intends to save Eric and her darling cat by any means necessary.

As a cat lover, I was immediately captured by Frodo’s incorporation. Not only does it make sense for a terminally ill cancer patient to cling to a furry friend, but the scenes of Sam losing Frodo and finding him again had me in tears.

How many horror films have that effect?

Suspension of disbelief is required in certain scenes. There is no way a cat would passively agree to be cradled by its owner underwater, especially in a sewer or the Hudson River. But it’s fun to pretend.

Despite being a good movie, A Quiet Place: Day One has few surprises from a story perspective, and A Quiet Place (2018) is the best of the trio of films.

However, this film sets up the events in the others and has a better story angle than merely continuing where Part II left off.

In a nice nod, Djimon Hounsou reprises his role from Part II, so we know where the character originates, but he has little to do. Perhaps if there is another installment, it may center around him.

The visual and special effects marvel and provide jumps and frights in the right places. Thunderous outbursts of mayhem balance the ‘quiet’ moments.

For a third installment, A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) keeps the story character-driven as we follow a day in Sam’s life and her journey. This is the key to the success of these John Krasinski-created films.

2023 Films, British, Drama, Fantasy, Independent, Independent Drama, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films

All of Us Strangers-2023

September 22, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

All of Us Strangers-2023

Director Andrew Haigh

Starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy

Scott’s Review #1,439

Reviewed September 22, 2024

Grade: A

A moody, dark-lit experience, All of Us Strangers (2023) is a dreamy affair in all the best ways. It’s a bit of a ghost story combined with a love story and can be challenging to explain.

Especially noteworthy are some elements like the lighting and mood which serve as enhancers. The lavish setting of London, England, and its surroundings are presented as lonely and depressing.

Loneliness is an encompassing description of the film summing up the character-driven story set mostly in an enormous yet almost vacant luxury high-rise apartment.

The vacant building is an effective backdrop to the main character’s experience.

We get inside his head and travel down a tunnel of self-reflection and acceptance just as he does. It’s unclear what is imagined or real, raising the stakes and catapulting the viewer into a world of questions.

The best pleasure comes after finishing the film and wondering how all the pieces come together or even if they do. I wasn’t sure what happened in the conclusion but the overall experience left me thinking.

The British film follows a lonely screenwriter named Adam who works as a television writer. He develops an intimate relationship with his mysterious male neighbor while revisiting memories from the past involving his parents.

Andrew Haig directs the film and Andrew Scott plays the screenwriter from which the story is his vehicle. Paul Mescal plays his neighbor and love interest.

Haigh is best known for efforts like 45 Years (2015) and Lean on Pete (2017). Both are quiet films and character-driven. All of us Strangers is the best of the trio, though.

The film also has some teary moments of sweetness mostly shown through an LGBTQ+ lens but the film is not only for members or allies of the community but for anyone with a heart or craving something cerebral.

Viewers who have lost parents far too soon before feelings are expressed and only cherished memories remain will find All of Us Strangers to resonate mightily.

Specific to the LGBTQ+ community, what gay man wouldn’t want to travel thirty years into the future and have deep conversations with his parents about his lifestyle? Having missed those prominent years because of death.

In the story, Adam’s parents died in a car accident when he was a child. Since he never ‘came out’ to them he travels to their house outside of London and imagines conversations with them separately and together.

The best scenes are between Andrew Scott and Claire Foy who plays Adam’s mother. They are lengthy and poignant and brilliant acting by both are showcased.

In an ideal fantasy, his mother would leap into Adam’s arms and champion his lifestyle becoming his most ardent supporter. Haig writes the scenes better than that as real-life situations might play out with conflict and misunderstandings.

The mother wants to understand and support but has hesitancies and ideas about a lifestyle different than Adam’s. The scenes become tense and complex not because of shouting but because of a deep struggle for understanding.

Not to be outdone by Foy’s performance in the unique relationship between father and son deliciously played by Jamie Bell.

Adam has resented his father’s emotional distance for years never forgetting how he needed his father’s support as a child and never got it.

In a powerful scene, Adam and his father embrace. The embrace is one that Adam needed as a child.

The film is for everyone because why wouldn’t anyone want to visit their dead parents years later? Even if still alive there are things between parent and child never said or expressed.

So many scenes are emotional, poignant, and meaningful in All of Us Strangers.

The finale is trippy and made me recall David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (1992) where what is real may not be and who we think a character’s life is all about may not be so.

Though wrapped in fantasy, All of Us Strangers (2023) is focused on grief through a deep emotional lens and uses superior acting to tell its story.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Film, Best Director-Andrew Haigh, Best Lead Performance-Andrew Scott

2003 Films, British, Chick Flicks, Christmas, Comedy, Romantic Comedy

Love Actually-2003

September 8, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Love Actually-2003

Director Richard Curtis

Starring Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson

Scott’s Review #1,438

Reviewed September 8, 2024

Grade: B

Love Actually (2003) is a British romantic comedy that’s perfect to watch around the holidays, especially on Christmas Eve.

Perhaps even on Valentine’s Day, the setting is tinsel-laden and filled with holiday merriment and sweetness.

It features an ensemble cast of dozens, but it is surprisingly easy to follow. The myriad of stories had me naturally more invested in some than others, preferring the heavy drama to the silly side plots.

The film begins beautifully as a voice-over narrator sets the stage and message of love. He ruminates about pure and uncomplicated love of lovers and friends and points out that the messages from the 9/11 victims were messages of love and not hate.

The story then switches among the interconnecting “love stories” of many people.

The quick segment nearly left me in tears, and I let the poignant message sink in.

I was pleasantly surprised to find nine stories, some of which intersect with others. I am a fan of this type of storytelling, but not all of them connect with others, which might have made it too confusing or even better layered.

Some stories are not given a lot of exposure, but the balance feels close to right.

I preferred the first half of Love Actually to the second. I had heard of the film and finally watched it twenty years later. Still, I anticipated more of a sappy romantic comedy than anything substantive, especially since the rom-com master Hugh Grant stars.

I immediately felt an emotional connection to stories like that of the United Kingdom Prime Minister (Grant) and his romantic relationship with Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), a junior member of his household staff.

This ‘boy meets a girl from the wrong side of the tracks’ felt authentic and laden with possibilities.

Another win is the love story between Sarah (Laura Linney) and handsome creative director, Karl (Rodrigo Santoro). Their buildup and near-tryst after a Christmas party had me in their corner and rooting for the pair to overcome an obstacle involving Sarah’s dependent brother.

Finally, my favorite couple is writer Jamie (Colin Firth) and his Portuguese housekeeper, Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz). Their sweetness and innocence are gleeful and true, and rooting for them to get together despite language barriers was easy.

Richard Curtis, who directs and writes the screenplay, misses an opportunity when he creates an unfulfilling love triangle between newlyweds Juliet (Keira Knightley), Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and best man Mike (Andrew Lincoln).

Initially unclear if Mike is smitten with Juliet or Peter, the traditional route is chosen instead of an LGBTQ+ presence.

In one story, the horny British lad named Colin (Kris Marshall) unsuccessfully tries to woo British women and decides to go to America to get laid. Predictably, he meets one hot woman after another in the Midwest USA.

This story is hokey and could have been dropped altogether in favor of more screen time for the more interesting stories.

In the final act, I was disappointed when the film teeters too much towards cheesy, with a tepid Christmas pageant where many stories come to a head.

This culminates in a silly chase through Heathrow Airport, where one character jumps security and outwits inattentive airport personnel to catch his love interest before she boards a flight to New York.

Since 9/11 is mentioned in the beginning, this tired plot device is surprising, given the times of heightened terrorism and deserved respect for airport security.

Curtis rips off Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997) in the epilogue by using the same song, ‘God Only Knows’ by the Beach Boys, and the same wrap-up of what happens to the characters.

Despite the thievery, I did enjoy seeing what happens in my favorite stories.

Love Actually (2003) wobbles a bit by trying to have all nine stories pack a punch, but the effort is nice, and the message of love closes out the film.

We know happiness and Christmas miracles usually don’t pan out, but it’s nice to escape and pretend they do.

1965 Films, British, Horror

Die! Die! My Darling!-1965

September 2, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Die! Die! My Darling! -1965

Director Silvio Narizzano

Starring Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughn

Scott’s Review #1,437

Reviewed September 2, 2024

Grade: B

Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) is a British horror film released under this name in the United States, but it was initially titled Fanatic in the United Kingdom. This was frequently done for marketing purposes.

The film follows a young woman, played by Stefanie Powers, who wanders into the clutches of an old wacko, played by legendary actress Tallulah Bankhead. The once-sultry actress is unrecognizable as an elderly, hobbling old crone who is a religious freak.

She blends nicely into the 1960s trend of a once sexy and acclaimed actress going the horror route sans glamour or makeup. Bette Davis did the same thing, most notably in 1962’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? who Bankhead’s character is similar to.

One could argue that Davis led the pack with heavyweights like Joan Crawford, Joan Fontaine, and Veronica Lake.

Patricia Carroll (Powers) plays an American woman who travels to London to marry her boyfriend, Alan (Maurice Kaufmann). While there, Patricia decides to visit Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead), the mother of her deceased ex-fiancé, to pay her respects and chat with the woman before marrying Alan.

Upon arriving, however, Patricia discovers that Mrs. Trefoile’s grief over her son has transformed her into a lunatic, and the woman plans to ‘save’ Patricia by holding her prisoner and helping her see God’s light.

Mrs. Trefoile’s staff—the housekeeper, Anna (Yootha Joyce), the groundsman, Harry (Peter Vaughn), and the mentally challenged, Joseph (Donald Sutherland)—are along for the ride.

The film is a perfect late-night watch and should not be taken too seriously. Once Patricia is locked in the upstairs bedroom of the quaint English cottage, it’s no surprise that she will eventually escape.

The fun is watching her many attempts at freedom and the inevitable conclusion.

Director Silvio Narizzano provides genuine thrills and peril that would make Hitchcock proud. When Patricia crafts a makeshift rope by tying bed linens together to climb down the side of the house, I hold my breath, hoping she will make it as she carefully scales past two characters chatting near a window.

The comical element is how she cannot physically overpower the older woman or Anna. She is younger, more muscular than either, and has the will to survive.

But Die! Die! My Darling! It isn’t meant to be analyzed but merely enjoyed. Narizzano fulfills that request with a nice set design of the cottage interiors, superior acting by Bankhead and Powers mainly, and real moments of peril the audience can enjoy.

As a viewer, I felt emotionally invested in the characters and couldn’t wait for Patricia to escape and Mrs. Trefoile to give her desserts.

I mostly enjoyed Patricia’s determination and battle with the wicked older woman. Some characters might have cowered to her demands, but Patricia remained strong in what was undoubtedly an effort to provide for 1960s feminism.

This counterbalances nicely with Mrs. Trefoile’s old-fashioned religious fanatism. It’s the old versus the new, especially when Patricia admits she’s not into religion.

Bankhead is the highlight, and I could only imagine Davis playing the role instead. Bankhead plays the part magnificently, and accurate glamour shots of Bankhead appear to have been used to show a younger Mrs. Trefoile, an actress.

The film is a cat-and-mouse affair and begins with a quick graphic of a cat chasing a mouse. Fans familiar with Hammer Horror Productions can rest assured that the cheap but effective sets are fully displayed.

A creak here and there and battered couches and walls only enhance the experience.

Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) is recommended for horror fans or Bankhead fans who want to see her stripped down, only three years before she died at age sixty-six.

2024 Films, Horror

Sting-2024

August 18, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Sting-2024

Director Kiah Roache-Turner

Starring Alyla Browne, Ryan Corr

Scott’s Review #1,436

Reviewed August 18, 2024

Grade: B-

Sting (2024) is a lightweight but suspenseful late-night horror flick. It takes a bit to get going, and at only one hour and thirty minutes, it’s too long for it to take off and have a satisfying effect.

The set designs are the best part as the wintery Brooklyn, New York atmosphere pairs well with the dingy and stuffy walk-up apartment complex where the action occurs, and a family lives.

The dusty rooms, creaking floors, and walls are well-done thanks to dim lighting and a secluded vibe. I bought it because the family lives this way, but it feels cozy, thanks to these trimmings.

As with most modern horror films, the plot makes little sense and is not plausible.

To compare Sting to other films, it plays like Arachnophobia (1990) with a dash of Alien (1979) thrown in, but it is inferior to those films because it lacks either the campy humor or the wonderful special effects.

The film is not scary but, at most, thrilling.

Sting reintroduces a spider as the protagonist with marginal success. The spider starts innocently but grows into a sinister carnivore with human beings as its desired menu item.

Events surround twelve-year-old Charlotte (Alyla Browne), who obtains a pet spider who becomes her pride and joy and whom she names Sting. Once she realizes that Sting plans to eat her entire family, Charlotte goes into protector mode and must fight for their survival.

Directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, an Australian director unknown to me, she uses Australian actors primarily.

Sting starts well with a scene involving an elderly tenant named Helga. She begins to hear noises in the walls and assumes they are rats, so she calls a local exterminator.

Helga has dementia, and the audience quickly realizes she has already called an exterminator but has forgotten. The investigating exterminator is snatched by an unknown force and dragged into the wall canals of the old building.

Then Roache-Turner takes us back to four days prior.

This point immediately made me invested in the film, especially when other characters are introduced, and we learn about Helga’s connection.

What’s going to happen in the next four days?

Unfortunately, Sting loses steam from this point, introducing marginally exciting characters. Charlotte, her overworked stepfather, Ethan (Ryan Corr), her clueless and frazzled mother, Heather (Penelope Mitchell), and her creepy German Aunt Gunter (Robyn Nevin).

Stock characters like a boozy Spanish neighbor, the weird Asian kid upstairs, and the comical black exterminator are included.

Hey, at least diversity was added.

The only likable character is Ethan. He struggles to connect with the bratty Charlotte through graphic novels and the demands put upon him by Heather’s family, who do not like him for some reason.

The poor guy serves as the building superintendent, works a day job, attempts to do creative work by night, and is a surrogate father. Sounds like a hero to me.

The family drama’s point only adds filler to the already slow-paced film and has nothing to do with the main event of Sting eating the family.

Charlotte is quite unlikeable, and I rooted for Sting to turn on her and make her its next victim. She mostly pouts and broods and has a sense of entitlement. I’m not sure why Roache-Turner made the character this way; she should have softened her.

Events do pick up towards the end, when a character is finally killed, and the others are accosted and put into webs, presumably to be dined on later.

This was anticlimactic since Charlotte is the character we are supposed to root for, and I hated her.

Predictably but also clever is how a perfect sequel setup occurs at the end. I’m not sure Sting is good enough to warrant a sequel, but box office receipts will determine this.

Sting (2024) is entertaining and fun, but it’s not much more. I’ve already started to forget about it.

1963 Films, Art, Swedish

The Silence-1963

July 28, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Silence-1963

Director Ingmar Bergman

Starring Gunnel Lindblom, Ingrid Thulin

Scott’s Review #1,435

Reviewed July 28, 2024

Grade: A

Like most Ingmar Bergman films, careful concentration is highly recommended. Consistently in the art film genre, his films are rich with substance and deep thought. Being alert and focused makes his films most rewarding.

The Silence (1963) is not one of his best-known films, taking a backseat to The Seventh Seal (1957), The Virgin Spring (1960), and Wild Strawberries (1963), three of his more recognizable works.

It is no slouch and is quite excellent resembling Persona (1966) a Bergman film yet to be released.

The Silence is sometimes considered the third film in a trilogy that includes Through a Glass Darkly (1961) and Winter Light (1963). The trilogy focuses on spiritual issues, but the films need not be watched sequentially.

His films often center on one character caring for another character who is brewing anger, conflict, or self-reflection about life, death, and the existence of God.

Traveling through an unnamed European country on the brink of war, sickly, intellectual Ester (Ingrid Thulin), her sister Anna (Gunnel Lindblom), and Anna’s young son, Johan (Jorgen Lindstrom), check into a near-empty hotel for shelter.

Even though Ester is a linguist, they cannot verbally communicate with the locals. They also have trouble communicating with each other due to their estrangement.

Anna provokes her sister by enjoying a dalliance with a local waiter, while Johan, left to himself, has a series of strange encounters that heighten their growing isolation.

There is also an elderly hotel porter and a group of Spanish dwarfs who are part of a traveling show.

One gorgeous scene occurs when Anna ventures into the city alone and is openly advanced by a waiter in a cafe. He places her change on the table and knocks a coin to the floor. When he crouches down to retrieve it, he quickly brushes her leg.

Later, she watches a show in an uncrowded theatre and is both repelled and fascinated when a young couple begins to have sex in a seat nearby.

Anna returns to the cafe, brushes past the waiter, and returns to the hotel.

The scenes exude sexuality since Anna is cautiously but certainly on the prowl for sex. She and the unnamed waiter have an instant, animalistic attraction that smolders onscreen.

Some say the relationship between Anna and Ester can be interpreted as a push and pull between the same person. That impacts me as much as two separate people, and I kept thinking about this point throughout the film.

Bergman incorporates several shots of the two women either side by side or their faces very close. This enhances the idea that they could be one person with deep psychological conflict.

There is no question that The Silence was influential to other films to come. Three Women (1977) and Mulholland Drive (2001) immediately come to mind since both delve into cerebral and dreamlike relationships between two women.

The film is shot in black and white like most, if not all, of his other films. This creates a stark mood and supports the conflict in the storyline, especially Ester’s illness.

Furthermore, because of the language barrier and emotional drama, there is little dialogue, making the film almost like a silent movie.

It’s an incredible work with familiar storylines created by Bergman that question the complexity of relationships, thoughts, and emotions.

I was left with the message from The Silence (1963) that human beings are incredibly complex, and it’s terrific that it’s explored in cinema.

Thanks to ownership of a robust Criterion Collection set of thirty-nine of Bergman’s films, I look forward to seeing more of the brilliant Swedish director’s works.

2004 Films, Chick Flicks, Comedy, Teen Comedy

Mean Girls-2004

July 21, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Mean Girls-2004

Director Mark Waters

Starring Lindsay Lohan

Scott’s Review #1,433

Reviewed July 21, 2024

Grade: B+

Upon its release, I doubt the creators of Mean Girls (2004) knew how influential the film would become.

Not only did it become a box-office hit, but it also became a Broadway musical, with a reboot twenty years later.

It’s also one of those films everyone has heard of and immediately knows what it’s about.

After reading a self-help book about high school social cliques, Tina Fey, who stars in it, wrote the screenplay. The book also delved into school bullying and its damaging effects.

Mean Girls, the film, is intended to be a comedy and skirts over the horror and contempt that is the reality of vulnerable students being picked on by mean girls.

I doubt that in real life, ‘mean girls’ victims’ would appreciate a comedy based on their terror and ridicule.

A darker version, while depressing, would also be closer to reality. I took Mean Girls as a fantasy.

Nonetheless, the film is a roaring success if for no other reason than its examination of the insecurities and hierarchies of the high school (and middle school) years, which 90% of adults would likely soon forget.

This is powerfully done through comedy, allowing us to laugh at the characters’ over-the-top and hypocritical actions across different scenarios.

It’s fun to watch because it takes us back to a time in cinema when its star, Lindsay Lohan, was an up-and-coming sensation, and before co-stars Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried were Oscar-nominated.

Cady Heron (Lohan) is a sophisticated yet naïve student, educated in Africa by her scientist parents.

When her family moves to the suburbs of Illinois, Cady gets to experience public school and the cruel laws of popularity that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques.

She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students dubbed “the Plastics,” but soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends earned this nickname.

They are led by Regina (McAdams), a rich, popular mean girl.

Things quickly go south after Cady becomes smitten with Regina’s ex, Aaron (Jonathan Bennett).

Despite the title, the film is for anyone with teenage angst, a crush on a fellow student, or feeling either left out or part of a group at the expense of other unpopular kids.

The message of Mean Girls is universal and therapeutic, as audiences can cheer along with Cady, especially when she exacts her revenge on the queen bee, Regina, hilariously.

The cat-and-mouse play between the two characters is merciless and delightful in the cruel measures to one-up the other in pure comical fashion.

Lohan and McAdams deserve kudos for energetically infusing the characters with likability, even in scenes where they should be hated.

Cheering when Regina gets hit by a bus never felt so good.

The writing is astounding and surprisingly good, with vicious, quick wit and humorous scene after scene.

Wisely, the film ends after one hour and thirty-seven minutes, which is a perfect length for a teenage comedy. Anything longer might have made it drag because the ending isn’t unexpected or a huge surprise.

Since we assume Cady will emerge victorious, which she does, the conclusion is satisfying, and the event hints at a sequel.

The film is peppered with diversity, which is also an enormous win. The principal of North Shore High School, Mr. Duvall (Tim Meadows), is black, while other ethnic characters also appear.

This provides a nice progressive message.

Watching the film twenty years following its release, I never expected to enjoy it quite so much as I did.

This is a testament to the power of Mean Girls (2004), director Mark Waters, and Tina Fey, who create something that holds up well.

1994 Films, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Satire

Serial Mom-1994

July 8, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Serial Mom-1994

Director John Waters

Starring Kathleen Turner

Scott’s Review #1,432

Reviewed July 8, 2024

Grade: A-

An uproarious performance leads Serial Mom (1994) by Kathleen Turner, still in her cinematic heyday in the 1990s; the latter-day John Waters comedy fires on all cylinders.

She wickedly goes full steam ahead in a pulsating performance, one that is deliciously deserving of an Oscar nomination.

The film is directed by Waters, known for perverse and gross-out fare like Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1975), so any chance for an Academy Award is laughable.

Though Serial Mom is much safer than those films, it chooses slick 1990s mainstream camerawork over raw shots of dogshit on the sidewalk.

Still, Turner hits it out of the park playing a ‘June Cleaver’ character with a murderous dark side.

Beverly Sutphin (Turner) appears to be an unassuming upper-middle-class housewife living with her dentist husband Eugene (Sam Waterston) and their teenage children, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard), in suburban Maryland.

She is secretly a serial killer who kills people over trivial slights or offenses like insulting her son or blowing off her daughter. The dastardly mom uses creative weapons like her station wagon and a fire poker to kill her prey.

Serial Mom is strictly for ravenous fans of Waters, and I’m not sure it will win over any new fans. But I’ll stress how much of a mainstream affair it is compared to his more dangerous 1970s films.

It pairs well in look and feel with Hairspray from 1988, and both films star Ricki Lake.

Some have referred to it as a slasher film, but that would steer it in the horror vein or knife-wielding maniac territory. Beverly isn’t Freddie, Jason, or Michael Myers.

She is fun and does as much damage with a sneer or a smirk as with a weapon.

Beverly is also the type of woman you’d like to be friends with, but are terrified of crossing. After all, she kills in the defense of her kids, so she’s a good mother with a wicked sense of humor.

When she delights in crank-calling her neighbor, Dottie Hinkle (deliciously played by Waters’s regular, Mink Stole), to get a rise out of her, we cheer her on.

Later, when charged and sent to trial for her dirty deeds, she fires her attorney and takes over her case amid rabid fan response. Beverly becomes a local hero.

She’s a cinema villain to remember.

Waters is great because he finds the perfect balance of camp and wit to make a smart film, not merely a slapstick one. Many cinema comedies don’t work because the laughs feel canned instead of fresh.

The writing and the cast make Serial Mom a winner.

The ridiculous antics and situations Beverly gets into make the audience want to know what she’ll do next. Who doesn’t love a well-to-do character who turns sinister?

It’s fun to watch a rich suburban town turn into a shit show of high entertainment.

Besides Stole, my favorite supporting actors are Mary Jo Catlett and Matthew Lillard. Catlett has brilliant comic timing as a neighbor, Rosemary, while Lillard was on the cusp of becoming a horror/comedy star with 1996’s Scream.

Regarding cameos, I could have done without the Suzanne Somers cameo playing herself, which didn’t land all that funny, but Patty Hearst as juror #8 is a winner.

The ‘white shoes after Labor Day’ sequence is hysterical.

Serial Mom (1994) is a cult classic for the ages and is on par with most of John Waters’s earlier classic raunchy comedies.

2024 Films, Crime Drama, Drama

The Bikeriders-2024

July 1, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Bikeriders-2024

Director Jeff Nichols

Starring Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy

Scott’s Review #1,431

Reviewed July 1, 2024

Grade: A-

The Bikeriders (2024) immediately informs the audience of the time and place the film will be told. A dry and dusty midwestern USA between 1965-1973 is the window explored and the defiance of the characters drawn.

This period is the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, assassinations, Woodstock, and many other historical moments. Dangerous, the culture and people were changing and very rebellious.

Director Jeff Nichols, who also wrote the screenplay based on ‘The Bikeriders’ by Danny Lyon, wonderfully presents a time capsule of a group of bikers who forged their subculture away from the uncertainty of the rest of the world.

After a chance encounter at a local biker bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is drawn to handsome and mysterious Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of the Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals, led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy).

Much like the country around it, the club changes with time, transforming from an essential gathering place for local outsiders into an underworld of violence. This forces Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

The most vital parts of The Bikeriders are the beginning and end, with portions in the middle section, making it drag and lowering a potential ‘A’ rating to an ‘A-.’

But the other sections are so rich with characterization and events that they usurp the dull parts.

Nichols, who has also directed Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), and Loving (2016), likes to focus on the decade of the 1960s in America with conflicted characters. He likes to work with Michael Shannon, who has a small yet pivotal role as a man who ponders life.

We meet Benny in a bar, where he sips a drink. Two local thugs hastily tell him to remove his biker jacket. After a bloody fight in the parking lot, we realize how much the biker club means to him and what it symbolizes.

It’s a club where the vermin, weirdos, undesirables, and those cast aside by society find a place and are cared for by one another. That is until the years pass and things change by meaner and less loyal bikers.

The symbolism resonates with all because time never stands still, and good things always come to an end.

The Bikeriders is told from Kathy’s perspective through interviews with her friend Danny (Mike Faist). He is the real-life author of the book on which the film is based.

Comer is outstanding in the lead female role. She is strong and resilient, attracted to the dangerous lifestyle and the bikers, but only has eyes for Benny and will not be taken advantage of.

She chronicles specific events like fights, death, and rape in painful yet thoughtful detail, inviting the audience into her dark world.

Butler and Hardy are also terrific. Arguably co-leads, Butler’s Benny is childless and more accessible than Hardy’s Johnny, a family man. Johnny sees Benny as the next leader of the Vipers, but Benny wants none of that.

Comparisons to the club and life outside the club torture both men. During a long homoerotic scene, Johnny and Benny are dangerously close to kissing as Johnny discloses the reasons why Benny should lead the club.

The scene is smoldering as the unspoken connection can be felt in raw form. Nichols doesn’t dare to make the film into anything LGBTQ+ related, but the nuances and subtleties exist.

Besides the acting, the gritty environment oozes with richness. The soiled biker bars, sticky floors laden with blood, beer, and vomit, emit from the silver screen.

You can almost smell the environment.

The bad teeth, foul language, and tacky Midwestern accents all portray the loneliness of these characters and their clinging to the club for dear life.

Nichols and the author Lyon depict a fresh look into the world of motorcyclists and the culture they lived and died in for a brief time. The Bikeriders (2024) presents violence mixed with brotherhood and loyalty, which is fascinating to watch.

2020 Films, British, Thriller

Rebecca-2020

June 30, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Rebecca-2020

Director Ben Wheatley

Starring Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas

Scott’s Review #1,430

Reviewed June 30, 2024

Grade: A-

Impossible to compare to the legendary 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film, I tried very hard to take the 2020 retelling of Rebecca based on its merits. After all, it’s been eighty years, and other attempts have been made, mostly forgotten or irrelevant.

Aware of lukewarm reviews by other critics, I desperately set those aside and settled in for a macabre, dark, ghostly British thriller.

The film is quite good! Feeling fresh and with a polished cinematic look, I’d describe it as a modern British offering, despite being set in a long-ago era.

For comparison, it reminds me of the British television series Downton Abbey (2010-2015) in terms of its look and feel—a grandiose estate, dutiful servants, and a cast of other wealthy and not-so-wealthy characters.

A young newlywed (character nameless) arrives at her husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives in the house long after her death.

The lead actress, Lily James, whom I initially couldn’t recall, is best known for Downton Abbey and the 2023 film The Iron Claw.

The character she plays, the insecure second Mrs. de Winter, is confused and haunted, requiring terrific acting. James hits it out of the park on that front.

Emotionally abused by her employer, wickedly played by Ann Dowd, she is instantly heroic and likable so we are happy when she graduates from servant to queen bee.

I cringed at first when I realized that the gorgeous and lovely Kristin Scott Thomas was playing the pivotal role of the villainous Mrs. Danvers. Known for the film The English Patient (1996), where she played the romantic Katharine Clifton, I wasn’t sure she’d be able to go so dark.

Boy, was I wrong? It took me a bit to channel out the dastardly performance by Judith Anderson from the original and accept Scott Thomas. She gets better with each scene and even forces the audience to sympathize with her.

Finally, Armie Hammer is good in the lead role of Maxim de Winter. Handsome, sophisticated, and wealthy, he peculiarly fancies a lady’s maid who inexplicably becomes his wife.

We wonder what he sees in her when his deceased wife, Rebecca, was gorgeous, affluent, and a perfectionist. Rebecca was presumed to have drowned in a terrible boating accident, but as events unfold, we wonder if there’s more to the story.

If only the characters communicated with each other, it would have eliminated confusion. Maxim refuses to talk about Rebecca. If his true feelings were revealed, he’d have a different kind of second marriage.

Besides the story and acting, other elements make Rebecca circa 2020 worth watching.

The cinematography captures crashing waves and high cliffs, which provide a haunting mood; the dining room and kitchen sequences brim with goodness and excellent meals.

The art direction and set design are overall flawless in the presentation.

The costume party that Mrs. de Winter eagerly plans and hopes will admonish the house of any thoughts of Rebecca going wrong, which, for viewers, is a delight because the scene is already rich. With help from Danvers, a regal red costume is designed and prepared to showcase Mrs. de Winter.

When she confidently descends the staircase, the startled crowd gasps with fright at the similarities between her and Rebecca. Maxim angrily dismisses her to change outfits while Danvers smirks in the background.

She’s won round one.

The Danvers/Mrs de Winter feud is my favorite aspect of Rebecca (both original and 2020 versions), so it’s delightful to see it work so well with Scott Thomas and James.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as watching a film with little expectations and finishing it feeling fulfilled, still thinking about it the next morning.

I’ll always watch 1940s Rebecca as a treasured friend, but Rebecca (2020) quite capably offers a modern spin with good acting and lavish production values.

2023 Films, Biography, Drama, Sports

Nyad-2023

June 28, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Nyad-2023

Director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

Starring Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans

Scott’s Review #1,429

Reviewed June 28, 2024

Grade: B+

Nyad (2023) is a perfect example of a film made much better by the performances of its lead actors.

Heavyweights, Annette Bening, and Jodie Foster bring heart to their characters, making the viewer empathize and fall in love with them even when not likable.

Despite receiving Oscar nominations for both actors I semi-resisted watching the film and had it on my list for quite some time before biting the bullet and pressing play.

The previews enshroud the film in safety offering a feel-good, Cinderella-type story, pleasant but perhaps little more. A sports biography at that any nitwit searching Google could tell how the film would go.

The conclusion while inspiring is unsurprising and, spoiler alert, Bening as famous swimmer Diana Nyad, dramatically lumbers onto the sand of the Florida Keys amid cheers and chants of ‘Diana, Diana, Diana!’.

She is breathless and haggard but acknowledges her fans and friends.

Filmmakers, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin only needed to add slow-motion filmmaking to make this thunderous ovation more sappy.

But they didn’t, and the husband and wife directors do an admiral job of incorporating various colors and cool editing tricks to make Nyad a bit more cutting-edge than it might have been.

The true story of tenacity, courage, friendship, and the human spirit’s triumph, is explored by telling of the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad.

Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of sixty, Diana has an epiphany.

She completes an epic swim of one hundred-and-ten-mile trek from Cuba to Florida, a feat she failed decades earlier. It takes her four years along with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (Foster) and a dedicated sailing team.

Bening and Foster have tremendous chemistry and every scene together sizzles with authenticity and humanism. Both are gay, it’s assumed they are longtime partners or a married couple. But it’s explained early on that they dated ‘for a minute’ and became best friends.

It turns into a film about female friendship and determination rather than romance. Other than Diana’s one feeble attempt at dating an uptight Los Angeles blonde neither woman date at all.

The flashier role goes to Bening who does not mind looking hideous in her film roles. Determined and aggressive, she slowly transforms into bloated, puffy, and unrecognizable, especially after her long swims.

A wonderful actor, Bening powerfully relays Nyad’s absolute need to attempt this historic feat. She sees her life passing her by and even though she is hardly a failure she doesn’t see herself as anything more.

Foster on the other hand is calm cool and collected, quite familiar with Nyad’s trials and tribulations and bouts of neediness. She’s spent years cow-towing to these needs.

But, Foster’s Bonnie is hardly a patsy or merely a supportive friend. She’s way more. In a brilliant scene, Bonnie confronts Diana and the pair have a blow-up scene. Bonnie needs more from her life and deserves it.

The women grow even closer after this emotional scene.

The film’s mid-section got a bit boring and I found myself tuning out until the big finale I knew was coming.

Since I knew Diana would eventually achieve her goal the three or four attempts feel dull. Bad weather, a jellyfish, fatigue, or other issues force the team to cancel the attempt.

Going in I would have guessed I’d rate Nyad (2023) a ‘B’ but thanks to Bening and Foster a ‘B+’ is a must.

There is so much to be said for brilliant acting and these two ladies know how to deliver the goods.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress-Annette Bening, Best Supporting Actress-Jodie Foster

1998 Films, Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Screwball Comedy

There’s Something About Mary-1998

June 16, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

There’s Something About Mary-1998

Director Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly

Starring Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon

Scott’s Review #1,428

Reviewed June 16, 2024

Grade: B+

Since many films are released within the romantic comedy genre, most are disposable and forgettable. Very few stand out initially, let alone stand the test of time.

Decades later, There’s Something About Mary (1998) holds up well mostly because of its chemistry and laugh-out-loud memorable moments. It also has a heart and is not mean-spirited, showcasing a brewing romance people can relate to.

Watching in 2024, particularly interesting is the appeal of Cameron Diaz since she retired from acting, and a young Ben Stiller, who was then in his heyday and a box-office gem.

Brett Favre, who then was a superstar NFL quarterback, makes a cameo appearance.

It’s a pleasure to watch a hit film from decades ago that still holds appeal.

Ted’s (Ben Stiller) unexpected dream prom date with Mary (Cameron Diaz) in 1985 is disastrous when an embarrassing injury at her home prevents them from getting to the prom. Mary leaves town shortly after.

Thirteen years later, pre-social media in 1998, Ted hires shady investigator Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to track down Mary so he can reconnect with her. Pat becomes obsessed with her and lies to Ted about Mary, learning everything she can about her to trick her into dating him.

Ted realizes the truth and travels to Miami, Florida, to meet Mary, a successful orthopedic surgeon, and reconnect with her.

Instantaneous hilarity comes to mind at the mention of two legendary scenes involving Ben Stiller’s Ted that most people have heard of.

While using the bathroom at Mary’s house before leaving for the prom, Ted gets his private parts, or ‘frank and beans’, caught in his zipper.

Every male viewer will squirm in imagined discomfort, but the hijinks with Mary’s parents and neighborhood firefighters who get involved make the sequence legendary.

This pairs well with a later scene when Ted masturbates just before his date with Mary to relax. Mary mistakes some ‘residue’ on Ted’s ear for hair gel and hilariously applies it to her hair, causing it to stick straight up in the air during dinner.

Both scenes still feel fresh and natural years later and are now historical.

The introduction of Tucker (Lee Evans), a third admirer of Mary, doesn’t work so well in hindsight. The revelation that he is not a British architect but merely a pizza deliverer who injured his back to get close to Mary feels forced and unnecessary.

The triangle between Ted/Mary/Pat is just enough.

The inclusion factors are impressive. In 1985, Mary had a black stepfather and a mentally disabled brother, both of whom she adores.

When Ted drives from Rhode Island to Florida, he stops at a rest area and is assumed to be gay. This is preceded by a session with a psychiatrist who suspects Ted may be gay.

These additions go a long way to showcase normalcy in these individual areas.

It’s also impressive that the Farrelly brothers (Peter and Bobby), who direct the film, make Mary a surgeon, paving the way for female viewers to aspire to the same.

There’s Something About Mary gets a slight knock for exploiting female breasts. Mary is seen at least twice through a window putting on a bra while a male spies on her from a distance.

The characters are benevolent, especially Ted and Mary, making it easy for the audience to root for them.

Thanks to the tremendous chemistry between Diaz, Stiller, and Dillon, There’s Something About Mary (1998) feels fresh and romantic without a forced feeling.

2023 Films, Austrian, Drama, International, International Drama, International Romance, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Romance, Romantic Drama

Eismayer-2023

May 31, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Eismayer-2023

Director David Wagner

Starring Gerhard Liebmann, Luka Dimic

Scott’s Review #1,427

Reviewed May 31, 2024

Grade: A-

Eismayer (2023) may be the first Austrian-language film I’ve ever and is the first Austrian LGBTQ+ film. Similar to German cinema there is a cold and stark naturalistic veneer to the filmmaking making it feel moody and foreboding.

I’ve said this many times before but the statement still has merit. The LGBTQ+ cinema genre has been saturated with offerings since the late 1990s, especially into the 2000s and it can be difficult not to tell the same story continuously.

As proof of the above, our Prime subscription contains numerous LGBTQ+ films to showcase so we decided on Eismayer which sounded interesting.

It focuses on the military, is Austrian, and focuses on a love story between two soldiers. The fact that it is based on a true story held special intrigue.

Sergeant Major Eismayer (Gerhard Liebmann) is known and feared as the toughest training officer in the Austrian Armed Forces. He is ruthless and unfeeling with recruits and a staunch disciplinarian, with order and macho toughness.

Unsurprisingly, the new batch of recruits despises him.

Surprisingly, in his personal life, he is a loving father to his son whom he adores and treats his wife respectfully.

But when he starts to fall in love with Falak (Luka Dimic), a recruit who is unashamedly out and proud as a gay man Eismayer must decide if his closeted existence is worth it.

The director, David Wagner, paints a lovely canvas of the love between two men that slowly takes shape. He wisely makes the running time less than an hour and a half so the film doesn’t drag.

It’s not a shock what develops between Eismayer and Falak because their embrace appears on the cover art but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment.

I like the direction Wagner takes with this story. Eismayer being the title character the focus is on his character not the couple as a whole. The plot centers on his plight to come to terms with his sexuality and also make it publicly known.

He doesn’t have to come out naturally but if he wants to have an open and honest romance with Falak he must do this genuinely.

It’s unexplained why Eismayer is the way he is but one can easily guess why. His father was probably stoic and military-like he is and the expectation was to be macho and tough at all costs, showing no vulnerability.

To satisfy his urges he is reduced to having hot sex with willing recruits in the back seat of a car but it’s hardly candlelit dinners and romance nor satisfying.

In addition to being in love with Falak, he admires his courage to be out and proud in a traditionally masculine environment.

We know virtually nothing about Falak’s backstory. What made him come out? What was his father like?

While there has been a clear shift in acceptance of gays in the military a story like this hasn’t been told in film to my knowledge.

Gone hopefully are the days when LGBTQ+ filmmakers told stories of mere resistance to a gay character’s happiness as an obstacle to their joy and acceptance.

There is a raised eyebrow or two when Falak makes his homosexuality evident in the shower and one grizzled senior officer complains that ‘fags don’t belong in the military’ but the younger officers have little issue.

They even applaud at the end when Eismayer and Falak kiss and embrace, cementing their open and blossoming romance.

A fantasy? Possibly, but Wagner gives the likely predominately gay male audience something to admire and cheer for.

Understated, but packs an emotional punch and an uplifting and inspiring message, Eismayer (2023) is an Austrian film I hope will inspire more American filmmakers.

2021 Films, Biography, Drama

Being the Ricardos-2021

May 7, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Being the Ricardos-2021

Director Aaron Sorkin

Starring Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem

Scott’s Review #1,426

Reviewed May 7, 2024

Grade: B+

Aaron Sorkin, who has written or directed such efforts as A Few Good Men (1992), Moneyball (2011), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), is typically associated with mainstream films.

While working on quality projects, he will never be accused of being a dangerous or auteur director. Since he is in the director’s chair for Being the Ricardos (2021), I knew going in that the film would be more or less a safe venture.

Ironically, the film that tells the story of famous comedian Lucille Ball, played by Nicole Kidman, and her husband Desi, played by Javier Bardem, is not a comedy. It’s a drama mixed with a biography for those audiences unfamiliar with the duo, explaining who they are.

For those of us at least mildly familiar with the iconic black and white show ‘I Love Lucy’ that pivoted television shows into the spotlight in the 1950s, Being the Ricardos serves as a slice of nostalgia.

The film depicts many aspects of the relationship between the pair and the challenges that went into producing the hit television show every week. But it also delves heavily into their rocky marriage, political smears, and cultural taboos that the show helped break.

Whoever thought that a pregnant character or a Cuban leading man would have stirred so much controversy?

But in the 1950s, things were different, and anyone even open to the idea of Communism faced career ruination.

Sorkin successfully treats the viewers to lengthy debates in the writers’ room, contentious star feuds, and the creative process in general.

More subtly, we see how a powerful woman in show business was the exception, not the rule, and how norms were very different for women.

The events of the film mostly surround one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom “I Love Lucy.”

J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda play loveable Fred and Ethel, Lucy and Desi’s comical next-door neighbors in the sitcom. In real life, the actors despised each other, frequently hurling insults at each other.

Comedy legend Linda Lavin makes a surprising appearance as Madelyn Pugh. The then-older television writer provides interviews along with other writers and producers to explain the earlier events.

Kidman is center stage as the icon. A brilliant actor in any role she is cast, she does effectively depict the breathy voice and the mannerisms of Lucille Ball, but she doesn’t look like her.

Originally, Cate Blanchett was attached to the role, and I’m very curious how she would have played her.

The obvious choice might have been television’s Debra Messing, brilliant on Will & Grace, even portraying Lucy in one fantasy episode. My hunch is that Messing was too great a risk of lowering the film to sitcom standards, and she isn’t a ‘movie star’ either.

And again, Being the Ricardos isn’t a comedy.

So, Kidman delivers the goods with some reservations, mostly revealing what a strong woman Ball was and how she created many of the hilarious skits she is known for, while not making the character seem like an idiot.

Bardem is also good in the role of Desi. He mixes conservative machismo with a thirst to be daring and challenge the mold. His womanizing would ruin their marriage, but he was a savvy businessman, and the film shows this.

An entertaining biopic that probably will be forgotten over time, Being the Ricardos (2021) nonetheless shines a spotlight on the early days of television as a new medium and the hurdles its stars had to face in the woeful days of early apple pie and white picket fences that defined America.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor-Javier Bardem, Best Actress-Nicole Kidman, Best Supporting Actor-J.K. Simmons

2023 Films, Drama, International, International Drama, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Shorts, Spanish, Western

Strange Way of Life-2023

April 22, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Strange Way of Life-2023

Director Pedro Almodóvar

Starring Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal

Scott’s Review #1,425

Reviewed April 22, 2024

Grade: A-

Pedro Almodóvar is a unique film director. Spanish, his films are flavorful, saucy, and unpredictable. He tends to mix melodrama, wacky humor, and a colorful landscape frequently sprinkling LGBTQ+ elements even if they are not classified with that specific genre.

I adore his films though they frequently blur together for me.

Though a Spanish film, Strange Way of Life (2023) is only Almodóvar’s second English language film and to my knowledge his first short feature film.

Watching the brief thirty-one-minute offering I fantasized about a full-length feature or even a television series based on the story and characters.

Since it’s short we get right down to business quickly.

One day Silva (Pedro Pascal) rides a horse across the desert to Bitter Creek to visit Sheriff Jake (Ethan Hawke). It is quickly revealed that twenty-five years earlier, the sheriff and Silva, worked together as hired gunmen.

They fell in love during a passionate encounter with three whores and barrels of wine who ditched the men when they realized they were not valued.

Silva provides Jake with the excuse that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship but rather to rescue his son Joe (George Steane) from persecution for being suspected of killing Jake’s late brother’s wife, also a whore.

After Jake and Silva sip wine and enjoy a lovely meal they quickly engage in animalistic sex and reignite their long-dormant passion.

While Silva is gung-ho about reuniting Jake has reservations.

Pascal, who is everywhere due to the success of his television series The Last of Us is fabulous to watch. His sexy machismo pairs well with his passion for his soulmate. Because his character of Silva intends for him and Jake to live out their days running a ranch he is a more inspiring character than Jake.

This point is a nod to the groundbreaking Brokeback Mountain (2006) whose characters also flirted with running a ranch together during a time when any gay relations were forbidden territory.

Hawke is quite good too though I’m partial to Pascal. Buttoned up and law-abiding he rebuffs Silva’s advances, at first.

It’s nice to see Hawke in a gay role. Both characters are masculine thereby dismissing silly LGBTQ+ stereotypes that too often appear in cinema.

It also doesn’t hurt to get a glimpse of Pascal’s bare butt or Hawke’s buff physique as they while away time in the bedroom.

I love the sweaty and muscular Western genre being the backdrop of an LGBTQ+ film and tipped upside down. Not to reduce it to a tepid John Wayne film cliche there exists a gorgeous and melodic fado singer throughout the film.

It is performed by Manu Ríos.

This counterbalances the Quentin Tarantino-ish blood and violence with lovely music.

The film is titled after a 1960s Portuguese fado song by Amália Rodrigues

Since Strange Way of Life is a brief experience many facets could have been explored. Why did Silva leave Jake in the first place? What made him suddenly have a realization after twenty-five years? Were there other men at that time?

Being critical that the film is short and deserves full-length feature status it nonetheless deserves to be towards the top of Almodóvar’s catalog a testament to its power.

Strange Way of Life (2023) successfully takes a macho genre like the Western and lights it on fire proving that two men can be tough and tenderly love each other.

1971 Films, British, Crime Thriller, Thriller

10 Rillington Place-1971

March 22, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

10 Rillington Place-1971

Director Richard Fleischer

Starring Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt

Scott’s Review #1,424

Reviewed March 22, 2024

Grade: A

Richard Fleischer has directed films such as Dr. Doolittle (1967) and Soylent Green (1973) that are remembered better than 10 Rillington Place (1971).

That’s a shame, because the film is one I hadn’t seen or heard of, yet it’s chilling, macabre, and masterful in its bleakness and atmosphere.

It’s also wonderfully acted.

One can’t help but notice the stark similarities to Frenzy, an equally disturbing and great 1972 film by Alfred Hitchcock. Did this film influence the master of suspense to create that one? Only he knows the answer to that question.

Primarily set in one dreary apartment building in London named 10 Rillington Place, it tells the true story of the British serial killer John Christie (Richard Attenborough), who committed many of his crimes in the tall terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving his neighbor, the simple-minded Timothy Evans (John Hurt).

John used Timothy as a scapegoat for the murders.

John is a seemingly model citizen but a killer, as the audience witnesses in the first scene. He poses as a kindly doctor who convinces naive women that he can cure whatever ails them, whether it’s aches and pains or a pesky pregnancy.

He usually strangles them to death and buries them in a makeshift graveyard in the pretty garden in front of his residence.

The main story in 10 Rillington Place follows John as he cons a pregnant bride (Judy Geeson) who is struggling financially to use his help and medical methods. John’s dutiful, clueless wife, Ethel (Pat Heywood), slowly discovers her husband’s shenanigans, but will she fall victim as his next target?

Of course, Richard Attenborough steals the show as the demented killer with a calm, cool, and collected exterior. As an average-looking Joe type, he can use his trusting appearance to his advantage.

I’d trust him.

Attenborough became an Academy Award-winning director for 1982’s Gandhi, so he knows his craft well. He also directed Cry Freedom in 1987 and Chaplin in 1992.

In actor mode, he is phenomenal as a crazed killer. His most excellent skill is his demeanor. Thoughtful and pondering, he never plays the psycho or the nut. He is careful, but that’s part of his creepiness. With every noise, he peers out the window, drawing the living room curtain ever so slightly, revealing his face.

Hurt and Geeson are terrific as the young couple with the cards stacked against them. They are simply looking for tranquility and the means to raise their child.

Simplicity is a winning formula, and most of the film is subdued thanks to Fleischer’s laid-back direction techniques.

The look of 10 Rillington Place is perfection. The colors are muted and faded, giving a dank and depressing look. Even a bright red velvet sofa appears dark and dreary.

As Timothy and Beryl agree to lease the top-floor flat, it will not bode well for them, and we can sense it.

Towards the end of the film, it is almost too much to bear with the knowledge that John strangles a toddler to death and unceremoniously stuffs the child, wrapped in a blanket, in a washroom.

Brilliantly, the murders rarely happen on screen and involve none of the principal characters. That’s what’s so haunting about the film and reminds me of Hitchcock’s Frenzy.

Remember the scene where the necktie killer lures a female victim upstairs to her death? There is silence and a shot of the staircase for seemingly an eternity until the killer descends the stairs.

We know what’s happened.

What we don’t see is sometimes much more frightening than what we do see.

The ghastly reveal at the end of 10 Rillington Place that the story is based on real-life events packed a punch since I didn’t have this knowledge going into the film.

Thankfully, 10 Rillington Place (1971) has received its just desserts in recent years, with praise and recognition. This proves that great films are like cream and rise to the top…..eventually.

2023 Films, Drama, Musical, Musical Drama

The Color Purple-2023

March 16, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Color Purple-2023

Director Blitz Bazawule

Starring Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson

Scott’s Review #1,423

Reviewed March 16, 2024

Grade: B+

In 2023, director Blitz Bazawule recreated the famous 1985 cinematic version of The Color Purple by Steven Spielberg with mostly good results though it won’t be remembered like Spielberg’s is.

Bazawule is also a visual artist, rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer so his version differs greatly from Spielberg’s in style and production design.

The ‘new’ version feels closer to what a feel-good Broadway stage version might feel like with incorporated musical numbers breaking up the drama and sometimes the comedy.

The Color Purple was a stage version and before that a much bleaker novel by Alice Walker so I’m not averse to comparing the 2023 version to all that preceded it.

Since we are talking cinema, although I’m more partial to the 1985 version mostly because that one packed a much greater emotional punch I think the numbers are a wise move and are choreographed well.

My favorite by far is ‘Hell No!’ an aggressive and anthemic stomp performed by a defiant Sofia (Danielle Brooks) and later reprised when mousy Celie (Fantasia Barrino) finds a set of balls.

We all probably know the story but here is a brief synopsis for those unfamiliar with the plot.

Set in the Deep South (Georgia) from the early 1900s until the 1940s, the main story follows the shy and put-upon Celie. She is raped and forced to bear the children of her father who then sells the babies. She is sent to marry and live with ‘Mister’ (Colman Domingo) who beats her and sets his sights on Celie’s sister Nettie (Halle Bailey).

Nettie and Celie are the best of friends but through circumstance lose touch for years.

The decades march on as Celie finds her voice and independence thanks to Sofia, jazz singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), and other kind folks.

The Color Purple is a lovely look at perseverance, extraordinary strength, and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood during a difficult time in history.

Black women especially were not always treated well.

The casting is uneven. I wasn’t completely won over by Barrino as Celie. The one-time ‘American Idol winner can sing and was Celie on Broadway in 2007 but I kept musing how exceptional Whoopi Goldberg was in the part in 1985.

Speaking of Goldberg, she appears in a cameo role early on as a midwife.

Henson, as Shug, has a tremendous voice and confidence providing the glamour and outrageousness needed for the role. However, she is supposed to be a drop-dead gorgeous woman who Celie is madly in love with and Henson doesn’t have the looks.

As my apt husband announced, Beyonce Knowles would have been a brilliant casting choice.

The standout is Brooks as Sofia, justifiably receiving the sole Academy Award nomination. The instant she appears on screen bullying her meek husband Harpo she has the audience wrapped around her finger giving as good a performance as Oprah Winfrey did in 1985.

While the musical numbers incorporate more of the Broadway-style they also contain a musical rock video vibe that takes away a bit of the cinematic production. The dance moves are so perfect that they make the film feel ‘fun’ when it should feel ‘tragic’.

Even though Spielberg’s version was accused of excessive sappiness, it’s downright raw compared to the 2023 version. The finale is overly sentimental and the reunion of Celie and Mister, Mister now suddenly converted to a saint, is unrealistic.

Everything ends up so perfect for Celie and that’s all well and good but the fairy tale ending offsets some of the anguish she goes through early in the film.

Finally, Sofia’s big scene when she punches the mayor and other white townsmen lack the emotional heartbreak that the 1985 version did.

Held on its own merits, the film is a success. The Color Purple (2023) never drags and entertains from the first scene to the last. It’s a crowd-pleaser so those looking for a gooey experience will enjoy this version.

It’s safe waters without languishing towards dull or ineffectual.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actress-Danielle Brooks

2023 Films, Drama, French, International, International Thriller, Thriller

Anatomy of a Fall-2023

March 4, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Anatomy of a Fall 2023

Director Justine Triet

Starring Sandra Hüller, Milo Machado-Graner

Scott’s Review #1,422

Reviewed March 4, 2024

Grade: B+

The taut legal thriller, Anatomy of a Fall (2023) is rich with mystery and almost immediately offers the viewer a character’s surprising death. The rest of the film is spent trying to figure out how the death occurred as a trial surfaces.

The mountainous puzzle made me as the viewer anticipate a shocking conclusion or at least a cemented ending leaving nothing to the imagination.

In plain terms, I wanted to know why the character died, at whose hand, and how the act was done.

As good as the film is the ending underwhelmed me. I was left wanting more than I was offered. This is undoubtedly a result of the enormous buildup.

However, the effort is spectacular, and some of the year’s best acting is showcased by Sandra Hüller and Milo Machado-Graner, who give rich and dramatic performances. They stay believable and nuanced in challenging, teary scenes.

Sandra (Sandra Hüller), her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis), and their eleven-year-old son Daniel ( Milo Machado-Graner) live a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps.

Tension develops when Sandra, who is a writer, is interviewed by a reporter at home as they sip and enjoy wine. Samuel ruins the moment by blasting an obnoxious song loop causing the interview to be aborted.

Suddenly, Samuel is found dead in the snow by Daniel! The police question whether he was murdered or possibly committed suicide. Samuel’s suspicious death is ultimately presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the prime suspect.

As the trial begins, the events of Samuel’s death are uncovered while the complexities increase. A disturbing journey into Sandra and Samuel’s troubled relationship is explored with Daniel being at the center of the drama.

Anatomy of a Fall is a slow-moving vehicle but that’s a large part of its appeal for me. After Samuel’s death, the film features quiet scene after quiet scene of Sandra and Daniel being interviewed by either their lawyers or others involved in the case.

While not action scenes, the dialogue reveals an incredible amount of backstory. An incident that occurred years earlier is key and the remnants of that unfortunate activity are vital to the entire reveal.

With tremendous acting the film is also significant in scoring Justine Triet an Oscar nomination for Best Director when shamefully few female directors have ever been given this distinct honor.

Unfortunately, Triet’s nomination comes at the expense of Greta Gerwig NOT being nominated for the ginormous blockbuster hit Barbie. I’d give the nomination to Gerwig but why couldn’t they both be nominated?

Triet also wrote the screenplay and wisely crafted an unpredictable vehicle. Since Sandra is on trial the writing could have felt forced or generic but it doesn’t. There are also no silly television drama moments of unnecessary legal jargon or canned shocking tense moments.

What Triet serves up is genuine and humanistic.

The cold and snowy atmosphere reminds me of a Swedish film from 2014 called Force Majeure with a similar story of uncovered secrets and backstory. They are both set in the French Alps ironically enough.

I expected more from the ending but Anatomy of a Fall (2023) mesmerizes and keeps one guessing never feeling boring like some legal dramas can.

While Triet’s Oscar nomination may be questionable, Hüller’s is not and I’d even argue she deserves to win.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director-Justine Triet, Best Actress-Sandra Hüller, Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Editing

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best International Film (won)

2023 Films, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Drama, Independent, Independent Comedy, Independent Drama, Satire

American Fiction-2023

February 11, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

American Fiction-2023

Director Cord Jefferson

Starring Jeffrey Wright, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown

Scott’s Review #1,421

Reviewed February 11, 2024

Grade: A

American Fiction (2023) is an intelligently written expose of black culture and a poignant family drama mixed as one. Cord Jefferson makes his feature directorial debut with the satirical comedy-drama which he also wrote.

The film explores how perceptions of black people, mostly by white people but even amongst themselves, are categorized into neat little boxes.

Usually, the negative stereotypes are assumptions of bad grammar, poverty, and hardships in ghetto situations.

While some may be sympathetic these beliefs are either conscious or subconscious and they are propelled by the media. In the case of the film, through literary works.

Are white people intimidated by intelligent black people, the film questions. How do the intelligent black people feel about themselves?

American Fiction is a witty, smart, funny, and poignant film that will make you laugh as often as it makes you think about the perspectives offered.

Jefferson brilliantly offers up both an education and powerfully drawn black characters. In the middle is a sentimental family storyline that had me enraptured by almost all the characters.

The writer/director bases his film on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is a highly intelligent African-American upper-class writer and professor living in Los Angeles.

He is a frustrated novelist-professor who doesn’t make much money or sales from his serious works.

Needing money after moving back to Massachusets on a leave of absence, he decides to write an outlandish satire of stereotypical “black” books, only for it to succeed by mistakenly thought of as serious literature and published to both high sales and critical praise.

He struggles with keeping his alter ego a secret while questioning the lack of intelligence with people assumed to be the liberal elite and the general public.

Wright is great and leads the charge of a dynamic cast. He makes his characters believable and their motivations clear while still showing Monk’s conflict. Monk has lived a privileged life with education, social status, and success.

His experience as a black man is different than other black men and he is smart enough to know this while still wrestling with his feelings.

Wright is dynamic at showing many emotions.

To make the film even better, the supporting characters are delightful with their own stories, making me fall in love with them. Special call-outs are for Sterling K. Brown and Erika Alexander who plays Monk’s brother and girlfriend, respectively.

Brown as Cliff is a successful surgeon but lives a conflicted life as a newly ‘out’ middle-aged gay man. He dabbles in drugs and promiscuous behavior but all he wants is approval by his family.

Alexander is a successful public defender and neighbor of the Ellison’s going through a divorce. She relates to Monk while challenging him on his bullshit and is a richly carved character.

Also, Leslie Uggams Monk’s mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Ellison’s housekeeper Lorraine (Myra Lucretia Taylor), and Issa Rae as Sintara Golden are weaved into the canvas seamlessly and with purpose.

The film’s ending left me scratching my head and caught me off guard. While clever, it made me wonder if what I had just seen was reality or fantasy. Providing three different endings as adapted film options it’s tough to know which if any actually happened but maybe that’s the point.

I left the movie theater having laughed out loud, thought, and been entertained.

American Fiction (2023) made me feel like I had seen something relevant that would help me understand people better and give me insight into what other people feel.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Actor-Jeffrey Wright, Best Supporting Actor-Sterling K. Brown, Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Original Score

Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 2 wins-Best Film, Best Lead Performance-Jeffrey Wright (won), Best Supporting Performance-Erika Alexander Sterling K. Brown, Best Screenplay (won)

1972 Films, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, International, International Comedy, International Drama, Italian

The Seduction of Mimi-1972

February 4, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Seduction of Mimi-1972

Director Lina Wertmüller

Starring Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Agostina Belli

Scott’s Review #1,420

Reviewed February 4, 2024

Grade: B+

Lina Wertmüller, a visionary female director around a time when there were few female directors with notoriety, created The Seduction of Mimi (1972), a flavorful Italian adventure/drama/comedy.

Any fans of Federico Fellini will immediately draw comparisons to his films with saucy banter, odd characters, and lively music. But amid the fun exists importance.

Wertmüller produces a film with a more defined plot focus than Fellini usually does.

The key to the enjoyment of The Seduction of Mimi is twofold. Actors Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato starred together in three of Wertmüller’s films, usually as love-torn yet bickering couples, full of drama and misunderstandings.

The other films are Love and Anarchy (1973), which I have not seen, and Swept Away (1974), which I have seen.

The actors work so well together that anyone familiar with them will instantly be delighted, especially during high-energy scenes when they spar or passionately solidify their romantic intentions.

Giannini was Wertmüller’s muse in a time when, rarely if ever, a male actor was a muse of a female director.

The other nicety is the film’s title. One might assume (I did) that the character of Mimi is female and is seduced by a male, but in Wertmüller’s film, it is the reverse. This causes traditional gender stereotypes to be turned on their heads with more awareness of assumptions.

Mimi (Giannini) is a Sicilian dockworker who inadvertently becomes involved in an increasingly complicated series of personal conflicts.

After he loses his job after voting against a Mafia kingpin in a ‘secret’ election, Mimi leaves his frazzled wife Rosalia (Agostina Belli) to find work. He moves to Turin, where he engages in an affair with a Communist organizer, Fiorella Meneghini (Melato).

Soon, Mimi finds himself juggling not two but three relationships and three children while plotting to take revenge against the corrupt forces that ruined his life.

The Seduction of Mimi is quite good, but I’m more partial to her other films, like Swept Away and the hysterically brash Seven Beauties (1975), which is, in my opinion, her best work.

Still, there is a lot to enjoy about ‘Seduction’.

Taking nothing away from Melato’s performance, Mimi is the focal point, and Giannini is a pure delight. For viewers unfamiliar with his work, his dazzling green eyes and almost manic style fill the character with pizazz and passion.

The actor is also great at making his wacky shenanigans seem realistic.

Beyond the hijinks, Wertmüller offers serious messages about sexual hypocrisies, political dilemmas, and corruption. She mixes jokes with purpose so that the audience learns a thing or two while being richly entertained.

Like her obvious mentor, Fellini, she appreciates good satire and incorporates that into her films.

Visually, there’s some cool, wacky camera angles going on. Mimi repeatedly notices moles, beauty marks, or otherwise odd or eccentric facial features, which come into focus in shaky close-up shots.

Since the film is so Italian, it’s joyful to watch it for this aspect alone. There are frequent sequences shot on location in Sicily and around Italy, a treat for those partial to European films.

The Seduction of Mimi (1972) is a film I’d like to see again for more appreciation and further examination. It’s a film that has more going on than meets the eye and leaves viewers pondering, specifically regarding the Union storyline.

2023 Films, Art, Best International Film Oscar Winners, German, International, International Thriller, Thriller

The Zone of Interest-2023

February 2, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Zone of Interest-2023

Director Jonathan Glazer

Starring Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller

Scott’s Review #1,419

Reviewed February 2, 2024

Grade: A

The Zone of Interest (2023) offers a unique experience for its audience. It’s one of a distant observer to unthinkable horrors and events that took place during the 1940s occupied Poland.

A lovely estate rife with flourishing flowers and plush gardens surrounds the haunting setting of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Exterminations and unspeakable acts of human suffering occur daily whilst a German family enjoys their dream home hardly unnerved by what’s going on steps away.

The father is the mastermind behind the suffering.

The macabre film is extraordinary, and powerful, and will haunt you long after it ends.

The subject matter of the Holocaust in cinema is usually told with a visual examination of the victims. In The Zone of Interest, though, what you don’t see is worse than what you do.

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) live a seemingly idyllic life with their five children. They fish, swim, and frolic among the confines of their house and garden next to the camp.

Höss is a high-ranking and respected member of the Third Reich. Servants handle chores around the house, while the prisoners’ belongings are given to the family.

As a viewer, I first thought to myself what a happy family they seem to be. I was quickly sickened when I realized what was going on over the top of their high walls and their role in it.

Director, Jonathan Glazer, brought us disturbing films such as Birth (2004) and Under the Skin (2015) and revolts even more with The Zone of Interest. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a film quite like it.

Usually, what happens in a film happens on screen. Seeing the Jews gassed or shot or tortured is horrific enough. Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) was a masterpiece by visually featuring the nature of the Holocaust in an inventive black-and-white way.

We see the victims.

In The Zone of Interest, it’s the sound that is effective. Beyond the garden wall, gunshots, shouting, and sounds of trains and furnaces are constantly heard.

The nights are even worse.

A quick glimpse of flames and smoke roaring to the sky are the visuals key to the events taking place next door.

We only very quickly see a parade of prisoners march through the grass……once.

Höss approves the design of a new crematorium, which soon becomes operational. With horror, it is confirmed that thousands of Jews are gassed and burned.

Glazer keeps the viewer at a distance with more than just experiencing the unseen. The cameras are set far back from events so the audience observes the family instead of being alongside.

There are no closeups.

The lighting is superior. Muted tones portray the starkness of the period. Effective is how everything appears grey except the flowers in the garden.

Some peculiarities exist that are hard to figure out. In two sequences, a Polish girl who lives nearby sneaks out every night, hiding food at the prisoners’ work sites for them to find and eat.

The film is a clay animation style similar to what Glazer used in parts of Under the Skin. It’s weird, stylistic, and fascinating.

Late in the film, Höss descends a staircase and retches. He does so again. I’m not sure why he does. Is he subconsciously sickened by the death he causes? He has been tasked with a new initiative to transport hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz to be killed.

The mission has been named after him.

Is it too much for him to deal with?

The film ends with a modern scene of a group of janitors cleaning the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum before it opens.

I was dying to know what happened to Höss and Hedwig.

It’s a searing film, unforgettable and uncomfortable. It plods and sickens but is pure art. It’s troublesome and a unique entry for Holocaust films. Glazer finds a new way to examine material told in cinema for decades.

The Zone of Interest (2023) is a painful masterpiece and a thinking man’s film.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-Jonathan Glazer, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best International Feature Film (won), Best Sound (won)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best International Film

1989 Films, Adventure, British, Fantasy, Kids

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase-1989

January 20, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase-1989

Director Stuart Olme

Starring Stephanie Beacham

Scott’s Review #1,418

Reviewed January 20, 2024

Grade: B+

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989) is a British dark fantasy film directed by Stuart Orme in his theatrical directorial debut. Most notably, as a rock video director, I am unsure if Orme ever directed another film.

The film is based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Joan Aiken, which was popular with children during the 1960s and beyond.

Similar to the book, the film is set in an alternate history version of nineteenth-century England where wolves roam the countryside. The animals prance through the wintry landscapes, causing fear among humans who spot them.

The experience is playful and escapist, with similarities to both Oliver! (1968) and The Witches (1990). Especially regarding the former, some of the action takes place in a bleak workhouse where adults mistreat children.

Predictably and satisfying, the evil adults get their comeuppance while the nice children and warm adults live happily ever after. This is a main part of the fun of watching the perilous situations.

The plot centers around two young girls. Bonnie (Emily Hudson) is the daughter of Lord and Lady Willoughby, who live at the grand yet cozy country estate named Willoughby Chase. Lady Willoughby (Eleanor David) is ill, and the couple plans to recuperate, basking in the warm sun along the Mediterranean.

In urban London, Bonnie’s cousin, Sylvia (Aleks Darowska), is leaving her impoverished Aunt Jane (Lord Willoughby’s cousin) to keep Bonnie company while her parents are away.

While on the train, she meets a mysterious man, Mr. Grimshaw (Mel Smith), whom they decide to bring back to Willoughby Chase after falling unconscious when wolves attack the train.

Meanwhile, Bonnie and Sylvia’s cousin, Letitia (Stephanie Beacham), is their new governess. She is evil and determined to get rid of the children so she can inherit the money and the estate.

Billed as a children’s film, as Oliver! Some of the sequences may be too much for younger kids. The ferocious wolves may be frightening, while a scene in which one of the girls is locked in a chest might cause nightmares.

There is a presumed drowning, and another character catches on fire.

For adults, particularly those who enjoyed the book as youngsters, the dangerous situations are light fare and merely make Bonnie and Sylvia more heroic and justified in escaping the adults’ clutches.

The art direction and set designs are also a big part of the fun. Numerous scenes of winter and snow-covered roads and pathways are what make The Wolves of Willoughby Chase a perfect watch for a frigid January evening.

I’m not sure if the film would feel as atmospheric in July or August.

The estate where much of the action takes place has a warm and cozy feel. It made me want to curl up by a raging fire with a good book.

There’s an undertone of class distinction when the servants are all dismissed to save money, and I questioned why Sylvia and her aunt didn’t simply live on the estate. The poor living amongst the rich is a perfect setup for more meaningful storylines, but the intent is more for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase to be fun.

Beacham is delightful while slightly over-the-top playing a fiendish character. Best known for appearing on television’s ‘Dynasty,’ the actress has also appeared in British horror films.

I assumed she planned to kill the parents and the girls, but what about the aunt?

It doesn’t matter much because her plan is foiled and the girls are reunited with their loved ones.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989) contains a nice musical score that enhances the adventures. The film is a bit too scary for kids, but perfect for young adults and older adults.

2023 Films, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Thriller

Saltburn-2023

January 19, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Saltburn-2023

Director Emerald Fennell

Starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike

Scott’s Review #1,417

Reviewed January 19, 2024

Grade: A

Emerald Fennell, as a director (she also acts) is someone to keep a close eye on. With only her second film, Saltburn (2023), she has quickly drawn comparisons to Darren Aronofsky and Yorgos Lanthimos by creating wickedly daring comedies rife with sharp dialogue and peculiar tastes.

Okay, I’m drawing those comparisons on my own.

The point is that she creates films that are not necessarily for mainstream audiences but will satisfy the peculiar cravings of those seeking left-of-center and hard-to-predict films.

She also wrote the screenplay.

Those wary of hard-to-digest scenes involving blood, sex, nudity, and other depravities, be forewarned.

Her first film was the revenge-themed and Academy Award-winning Promising Young Woman (2020) starring Carey Mulligan who makes a return appearance in Saltburn.

This time out Fennell offers us a beautifully daring story centering around privilege, jealousy, and desire. The film offers unlikable characters with enough twists and turns to keep the audience off guard and confused as to who to root for or against.

Will the characters we hate stay hated? If this sounds vague it’s because the film is filled with mystery.

Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is an awkward young man struggling to find his place at Oxford University the recipient of a scholarship for those with financial hardships. His mother is a recovering drug addict and his father is dead.

Unpopular, he finds himself drawn to the charming and handsome Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who also happens to be filthy rich. Felix is the envy of almost everyone as they strive to be his friend or bedfellow.

After Oliver does Felix a favor, they become buddies, and Felix unexpectedly invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer vacation.

The lavish Oxford University is grandiose and scholarly with lots of preppy and wealthy intellectuals. As the snobs partake in parties and wild games Oliver is looked down on by everyone but Felix. The spoiled students are not meant for the audience to like.

I love how Fennell incorporates legions of insecurities suffered by the have-nots struggling to fit in which is a common theme of hers. The only kid willing to give Oliver the time of day is a creepy Jeffrey Dahmer type.

Anyone familiar with cliques on college campuses will be firmly in Oliver’s corner. He’s a good kid after all, who has been dealt a struggling hand at life, what with his parent’s issues and all.

The shit hits the fan when Oliver arrives at Saltburn which makes Oxford seem minimal in comparison. Manicured and sprawling lawns complete with a center maze are overwhelming to Oliver to say nothing of the group of oddballs that make up the family and staff.

Suddenly though, everything becomes weird, and the tone of the film shifts.

The final forty-five minutes are riveting with unexpected events transpiring after a wild party to celebrate Oliver’s birthday. Felix, his sister, and their parents are involved in shenanigans that make the viewers question everything they’ve seen thus far.

Mulligan doesn’t have much to do in Saltburn. Her role amounts to little more than a cameo which would be more irritating if the other characters weren’t so richly written.

Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant sizzle as aristocratic types oblivious to everyone else and their wealthy surroundings. It’s almost as if they assume everyone lives this well.

The sexual scenes of desire are breathtaking and startlingly explicit. In one scene, two characters make out with bloody mouths and in another, one character masturbates in a bathtub while another character spies on him and lustfully licks the faucet a few minutes later.

The best acting performance belongs to Keoghan who delivers a complex and spirited character who we’re not sure what will do next or sometimes why. He possesses an innocent yet creepy veneer which is tough to figure out.

His naked dance sequence is one of the wildest in cinema history.

Fennell hits another grand slam with the eerie yet fascinating Saltburn (2023), a delicious examination of the class system. The mixture of the groveling poor with the callous rich makes for a brilliant story.

I can’t wait to see what she does next.

2023 Films, Biography, Drama, Sports

The Iron Claw-2023

January 15, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

The Iron Claw-2023

Director Sean Durkin

Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson

Scott’s Review #1,416

Reviewed January 15, 2024

Grade: A

I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling and character-driven The Iron Claw (2023) is. Being a sports drama there is always a risk of cliches and little in the way of surprises but director Sean Durkin who also wrote the screenplay, delivers the goods.

Powerfully acted by all of the actors involved The Iron Claw is also profoundly sad and very hard-hitting emotionally which caught me off guard.

The trials and tribulations of the Von Erich family are explored in a fact-based story that honors the family ties with compassion and heart making the audience fall in love with and understand the feelings of the family.

There are triumphs but also much heartbreak with some outstanding acting in support of a very sad real-life story.

Efron who plays Kevin Von Erich gives the best performance of his career as a reasonable, stable young man living in a world of chaos.

It is perplexing, especially given the December release why the film received no awards mention especially for Efron.

One miss, most notable with Kevin, is the inclusion of a ridiculous wig and jacked-up body making him look more like a cartoonish Incredible Hulk than the clean-cut all-American young man that the real Kevin looked like.

Being a huge fan of professional wrestling as a youngster in junior high school the Von Erich family was somewhat familiar to me. However, I had to search my memory for long-forgotten specifics.

The family, led by former wrestler Fritz (Holt McCallany) was well-known throughout the 1970s-1990s in local Texas circles and then nationally as professional wrestling gained popularity. His sons Kevin (Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson), and Mike (Stanley Simons) are the focal points.

The true story of the inseparable brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling is recounted. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.

The family, similar perhaps to the Kennedys, were known for a widespread myth about a family curse, called the ‘Von Erich curse’.

The film has some narration from Kevin who immediately informs the audience of this curse which sets the tone for the chain of events the film explores.

Durkin is careful to present the film so masterfully as a cautionary tale about parental influence, sibling rivalry, and the various dangers of the professional wrestling business.

The Iron Claw begins with a black-and-white sequence from probably the 1950s when Fritz was a struggling local wrestler. His famous ‘finishing maneuver’ was called the ‘iron claw’ meant to make his opponent submit to the wrestling match.

From there the story is largely told from the point of view of Kevin wonderfully played by Efron. Kevin, now the oldest sibling following the tragic death of his older brother at age five, serves as the brother’s leader.

While he yearns for a title belt largely to satisfy the demands of his father, he is usurped by brothers Kerry and David in different ways. He meets a local girl, Pam (Lily James), who is an intellectual and supports him emotionally.

They make a fabulous couple because they are equals. Conversely, the Von Erich mother is a traditional housewife and the entire family is taught to show no emotion.

In a wonderful scene late in the film, Kevin’s son teaches him that it’s okay to cry and show love through emotion. Kevin sobs with relief and it’s a beautiful and pivotal lesson the film teaches.

The other actors are outstanding, especially kudos to Jeremy Allen White (Kerry), and the parents (Maura Tierney and McCallany) but there is not a weak performance to be found.

It is unnecessary to be a professional wrestling fan though it is a treat to see long-ago stars like Ric Flair, Harley Race, and Bruiser Brody represented.

The Iron Claw (2023) like Boogie Nights (1997) did for the porn industry shows the flaws, the hopes and dreams, and the pain of a category of people (professional wrestlers) too often dismissed and discarded.

As Durkin examines wonderfully, these people also have a story to tell.

2023 Films, Comedy, Drama

Magic Mike’s Last Dance-2023

January 14, 2024 scottmet99 Leave a comment

Magic Mike’s Last Dance-2023

Director Steven Soderbergh

Starring Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek

Scott’s Review #1,415

Reviewed January 14, 2024

Grade: C-

Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023) is the third and final installment in the Magic Mike trilogy, following the successful Magic Mike (2012) and the dismal Magic Mike XXL (2015).

Billed as ‘The Final Tease’ the sub-title of the last release is rather appropriate since there is nary a bare bum to be found much less any other nudity. Since the film is about the male stripper industry there is laughingly more female flesh than male.

While there are a couple of titillating sequences containing thrusting and gyrating the tone is watered down and extremely safe. Nothing warrants the R-rating that Magic Mike’s Last Dance received.

After my horrific review of Magic Mike XXL in which I awarded it a solid ‘F’ I will keep my manners in check and be mindful that Magic Mike’s Last Dance is intended to entertain on a late night.

I have rated it a generous ‘C-‘.

The film is pretty bad with no character development whatsoever, poorly written dialogue, and little chemistry between stars Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek. Mike is the only likable principal character in the bunch.

I’m very surprised that respected director Steven Soderbergh who received an Oscar nomination in 2000 for the terrific Traffic would have anything to do with this film.

His style is unnoticeable except for a setting of wealth and a brief and mediocre mention of capitalism and the rich manipulating the poor which the director sometimes includes in his films.

“Magic” Mike Lane (Tatum) has suffered a bad business deal that has left him bartending at parties in Florida. He meets a rich businesswoman, Max, played by Salma Hayek, who pays him for one of his legendary dances.

Smitten, Max immediately offers him a job directing a show at a famous theatre in London. The show will include a smoldering feast of hot new dancers that Mike will choreograph.

The storyline, admittedly secondary in this type of film, has so many holes I wouldn’t know where to start, but the weakest point is expecting the audience to buy Mike and Max as having fallen in love after one dance.

Romance is a hard-swallow made worse by Max’s demanding personality and insecurities over her ex-husband. She’s a bit of a tyrant made more noticeable by Mike’s even-keeled nature.

While not worldly, Mike is kind and I desired to see him paired with nearly any other character other than Max.

Tatum is a much better actor than most assume based on his pinup beefcake good looks. Has anyone seen him in Foxcatcher (2015)? Sadly, the actor is given weak material to work with that does nothing to challenge him.

Furthermore, we are cheated and only see him twice in his underwear. Some stripper.

Supporting characters like Max’s brooding daughter, Zadie, and opinionated manservant, Victor, are stock and given uneven dialogue to work with. They are presumably added for comic moments that never come.

To be fair, the film is set in London in addition to Miami, and a few decent exterior shots of both locales are added which helps the film.

A ridiculous Zoom call cameo sequence meant to include Mike’s ‘bros’ from the other films (Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, and Joe Manganiello) is a treat but has an ill-effect since that’s all we get from the handsome fellas.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance would have been saved if a scantily clad reunion dance had commenced with the ‘bros’ but sadly none was to be found.

The first film, Magic Mike (2012) is the only one of the three worth spending any time on. Pure juicy entertainment mixed with polished machismo is what was offered and Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023) loses the ‘magic’ and instead offers a shriveled pickle of what used to be a commanding phallic symbol.

Welcome to my blog!1,542 reviews posted so far! I'm Scott Segrell and I reside in Stamford, CT. My site features hundreds of film reviews I have written since I launched the site in 2014. I hope you enjoy reading my latest reviews or searching for your own favorites to see if we agree. Please see my featured films of the month, and don't forget to utilize the tags and category links.