indy-39 Reviews

Poor Things (2023)

Beautiful looking film with an ugly heart...

[6/10 · 6 March 2024]

This is an extroardinarily beautiful film to look at. Probably even more enjoyable if you like looking at Emma Stone (which I do not)- in fact, I can't remember the last time I was so turned off by looking at a woman's naked body- perhaps Glenda Jackson in Ken Russell's "The Music Lovers". I won't rehash what serves as a plot here since so many other commenters have done that so well. It's an okay premise to jump off from. Problem for me is that it jumps wrong early on and never recovers its feet (perhaps all that "fast jumping"). Despite the best efforts of Stone and Ruffalo- and they are very good- I never could understand what was so enthralling about Bella. In general the performances are very good- with , I thought, two exceptions. Jerrod Carmichael was awful- he seemed to step in from out of another film entirely if not another century- and shockingly, Willem Dafoe- who I usually love but who was in and out of brogue depending on the scene- I guess no one else noticed or cared. Generally, that has been territory reserved for icons like Brando to get a pass for. The message of the film seemed half baked- something about women and their sexuality which actually might be best left to women to interpert. The "innocent" joke wears thin early in this one and Bella's charm with it...and there's still a lot of film to trudge through. It seemed to me that the basic plot here was a woman discovers her sexuality- experiments with it- runs into an old ugly washed up feminist that convinces her to run up her body count into the thousands for profit- but who still ends up living with a super beta (and her female lover) at the end. A story we're all very familiar with these days. I'm pretty sure that was not the director's intent.

Dario Argento: Panico (2023)

For the true admirer...

[8/10 · 5 February 2024]

In my wildest dreams, I never hoped that anyone would ever do a Dario Argento doc that would seriously delve into what makes Argento one of my favorite filmmakers. Indeed, I often vacillate myself between seeing him as a guilty pleasure and a true visionary in the horror genre. Dario Argento: Panico lays out a sound case for placing him at the top of the pantheon of greats.

I enjoyed the film with a rare relish and was very impressed that the exploration was not top heavy with Suspiria- but rather doled out equal time to so many other films. It made me want to go out and revisit some of the work I haven't seen in a while. (I'd just seen Inferno recently in the Blu Underground print and was blown away by the film for the first time- after three previous viewings. ) My high praise, however, comes with a warning- I think if you have limited exposure to all of his work you will be at a severe disadvantage here. This is a deep dive and the film doesn't take time to get you up to speed on the work- but that's how it should be when dealing with the "Maestro". (If Fellini called him that, how could I possibly disagree?)

Past Lives (2023)

A Good Old Fashioned "Women's"Picture...

[6/10 · 4 January 2024]

Only it's not about old fashioned women. It's about new fashioned feminism. How do I know it's a women's flick? First, because the male characters are remarkably fake. Beta and beta-lite, they both would make wonderful friends but fall far short as potential lovers. There's virtually no masculinity in the entire film (not surprising since it was written and directed by a woman). Nora, the lead, is an underwritten character who is the object of adoration because she is so...well, she doesn't have to be anything- she's a woman and therefore the prize. She values her career above all things and that's the way she was brought up- her family uproots itself from what looks like a successful life in Korea to pursue greater success. The conflict here is that because Nora has emigrated to NYC she ends up married to a nebbishy unexciting American guy instead of the far superior looking, if uncharismatic, Korean guy she would have married had her family stayed put. He's not much, but I guess in the Asian world he's a kind of Chad (and he worships her). Ah, the modern women's dilemma: she's so perfect- an educated, thin, beautiful (?), successful playwright forced to settle for an underwhelming partner yearning for Mr. Big (but not enough to mess with her career) In the end, she stays put with the guy who can help her write her plays. Watching Chad East being ubered away she sobs uncontrollably- for herself, of course- who else would she be crying for? She is both hero and victim.

I actually enjoyed the film and thought it was well made creating many interesting questions that can be discussed after viewing- but, boy oh boy, is the manosphere going to have a ball with this one.

Breakfast on Pluto (2005)

Been done...and better

[5/10 · 3 December 2023]

After reading a number of reviews here about how unique this film and this character is I just had to jump in. First let's talk about this "precious" film...and "precious beyond words" it is. (That's a criticism folks). The film itself is a mess and feels to me like it's been cut up. Things don't always make sense- some characters don't make sense- there's pop music interjected at every turn (you will have to listen to Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" multiple times- I believe that's against the Geneva Convention). The whole thing, that's supposed to be so original, comes off as formulaic and forced with phony emotional scene after scene.

In 1975 they made a very similar film and it was everything that BOP wanted to be. You've never seen it, but I'll bet Neil Jordan has. It was called "The Naked Civil Servant" and it was innovative and coherent and really, really memorable. And it contained a performance by John Hurt that blows away the lead performance in this film. All art is derivative, I know, but you have to improve on the source or risk being called out. I'm calling Neil Jordan out.

The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

Good excuse for a trip to Italy, I suppose...

[3/10 · 27 August 2023]

Don't let the phony bot reviews fool you, this is a piece of garbage. Obviously Crowe is better than the material because you can't fall off the floor. I had trouble keeping my eyes open for much of it since we've seen it all before. Only Franco Nero escaped this unscathed- all the other actors (sans Crowe) turned in boring and one dimensional performances. The direction was basic with nothing to raise your interest. I figure this was a tax write off that got everyone involved a nice vacation to Italy- it's good to see Russell is still eating well...next up "The Citizen's Kane". Blah, blah, blah (to fill out the review- not worthy of 600 characters).

Uptown (1987)

Desperately Seeking DePalma

[3/10 · 28 July 2023]

This recently aired on TCM Imports and man is it shockingly bad. Like a really weak DePalma film (think Femme Fatale) that was clearly influenced by Desperately Seeking Susan (which was made two years prior). So many interesting scenes- that we never get to see. Sex between the two main characters (we come in well after the deed), girl locked in steamroom while unconscious (cut to her in the hospital bed recovering) , girl falls off boat (cut to her soaking wet walking on the road). You get the idea. There's not one moment of suspense in the whole film. Someone said the editing was good. Huh? It was embarrassing, with some cuts making me think this was a tv movie and there were cuts for commercials. I only wrote this review to save others from watching if TCM cues it up again. I'll never listen to Alicia Malone again- she obviously had not seen this. Hitchcock? She said "Hitchcock". Straight garbage.

Beau Is Afraid (2023)

Painful and embarrassing... no spoilers, the film itself is spoiled.

[2/10 · 12 July 2023]

I am not someone who was wowed by Hereditary or Midsommer (in fact conjuring up the image of the guy in the bear costume burning up can still cause to to laugh out loud) so I don't hold Aster in the high regard as many of the other reviewers here. I know young people are easily manipulated by popular opinion and idol worship, but surely even they could see through this garbage heap. This film was painfully bad and, although creative, was just flat out embarrassing to watch. The use of water in the film was most appropriate as the director is way out of his depth here. My head was cocked for so much of this that I ended up with a stiff neck (one of the few analogies Aster failed to use).

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023)

Neil Simon's trash can...

[3/10 · 25 April 2023]

Tried to watch a few episodes of this series- from season one(you know, the good season) and found it to be weak. The biggest problem or, at least, the biggest sin here is that the show is supposed to be about a stand up comic/writer but whenever she does stand up it's not funny. Now, if the point of the show is that she was going to fail at this job the lack of humor would be okay. The film "Funny Bones" comes to mind every time I check into the later seasons (I know someone on the show)- where Jerry Lewis tells his son "It's no use. You're not funny. You've got to have Funny Bones." Certainly, if this had been about an aspiring young male comic it would have been dead in the water unless it was pure genius. You know, they say the great Neil Simon wrote at least five pages of dialog a day whether he used it or not. I have a feeling someone must have raided his trash can.

Babylon (I) (2022)

Damien's Gate

[3/10 · 1 March 2023]

What is truly stunning about Damien Chazelle's "Babylon" is that it actually survived intact. In the old days some studio exec would have cut a bloated and mind numbingly long film like this to pieces and it would have been released in a truncated form to brutal reviews. Would that it had been so for DC as, at least then, people would have come to his defense and demand a "director's cut" crying that his "vision" had been destroyed by uncaring businessman who had no right to tamper with an artist of his caliber.

The truth, however, is something else. Only very talented directors can make a film this bad, because only they can build the capital to work without guard rails. "Fellini's Satyricon" comes to mind first when viewing "Babylon"- but Fellini had really earned the right to make that with at least six films that were world class prior. This film probably has more in common with Michael Cimino's "Heavens Gate" (which is better ) in that the directors both have a small filmography and were coming off award winning projects.

The bulk of "Babylon" takes place in the late twenties/early thirties - the period where silent films were displaced by "talkies". The first major problem with this is that , even with an immense budget, the film fails to convey the period adequately. The characters feel out of place, the language is often from another era, even simple things like hairstyles are not attended to with proper care. Oh, the occasional character strolls through in period but that is the exception and not the rule. Also along these lines we have the scene in which the gossip columnist talks to Brad Pitt's character about the end of his career. She explains to him that his time is over "but whenever someone threads a frame of his through a sprocket" he will live again. This modern sentiment was not something someone would say in 1932. The idea that anyone would ever watch those films again never entered into people's heads (that's why the films were cared for so poorly)- maybe with the advent of tv and the late night showings of some silent films in the 50's, but may I remind you that even into the mid sixties shows like "The Beverly Hillbillies" used the names of long forgotten film stars for laughs "A movie star? You must know Vilma Banky." Pitt's final scene presented a problem of a different kind. A scene that cried out for subtlety- one where every viewer knew what was going to happen- which could have been cut halfway up the staircase but was allowed to run almost all the way to it's conclusion- revealing Chazelle's unsure hand, his suspicion that we aren't going to "get it". (Perhaps if Pitt had allowed them to properly "age" his character- a few more lines- maybe one bad profile shot...) Just when you think it can't get worse, we have the ending of the film. Stunning. What a lack of awareness- using "Singin' In The Rain" (a great film) and then a montage of film and effects that was supposed make us nostalgic and immerse us in the "magic of film" but instead plays as if Nellie had ingested the end of "Cinema Paradiso" and then vomited it all over the audience. DC must have shown this to someone before it was released, pity they didn't have the taste or guts to have him change it.

In a quagmire this deep it is unfair to hammer on the actors- it appears they tried their best- with varying results. I rarely comment on a film score unless it is to praise, but I found this score incredibly annoying and the "love theme" to be laughable seemingly brought in on a player piano from some old western.

I doubt DC will meet the same fate that Cimino met after his disaster- it is a different era studios and critics do not carry the weight they once did-but perhaps he will learn a valuable message here and return a better product next time.

Hellbender (2021)

Forget broomstick...this is a measuring stick.

[6/10 · 31 January 2023]

I was really not sure about watching "Hellbender"- the reviews here on IMDB were all over the place and, confidentially, it didn't really seem like my kind of horror film. Thank goodness I decided to give this little indie feature a try. There's a lot here that's really well done- first of all it puts a new spin on the ball which I won't give away . I thought the performances were very good and the script, while somewhat thin on dialogue, was crisp. The story holds together and the ending is solid. It's a quirky film where the atmosphere creeps you out- no real jump scares for the "Boo!" crowd (which I assume is where a lot of the hate comes from). This film is a good measuring stick for viewers: those who rated this a "1" or even less than "3" - it's back to film school for you- if you ever attended at all- and this time try to stay awake.

Planet of the Vampires (1965)

Shockingly good...well, it is Bava

[8/10 · 31 January 2023]

I'm not a huge scifi fan- I much prefer horror, and so it took me quite a long time to come around to watching Bava's "Planet Of The Vampires" even though I've seen virtually all his other work. I was thunderstruck by how good it was. The comparisons to "Alien" are very valid and, although it's done on the cheap, there's nothing cheap about the atmosphere here and it doesn't punk out on the payoff. When you factor in that this is 1965- pre "2001" this is quite an achievement- though nothing should ever surprise you about this master director. Get past the cheesy costumes and scenery and marvel at how he pulls this off.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

For adults, like me, who feel they MUST watch this...

[3/10 · 25 January 2023]

....but have options. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (EEA from this point forward) had been critically acclaimed and is now been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars (not that it means anything any longer). For me, that meant I had to view it-in its entirety- to give a fair assessment of the film. I had my reservations going in, I'm really not fond of martial arts- although I'm a fan of both Kill Bill films- and I view stories about the multiverse as generally offerings that use the concept as a crutch because they can not tell a coherent story based in the one universe we all live in. After hearing all the praise and accolades that were applied to this film across the board, I figured I would have to at least acknowledge that, although this was not my cup of tea, the film was pretty good. What a shock it was, then, to find myself embroiled in such a juvenile exercise with such a simplistic meaning. Two hours and twenty minutes of sturm and drang (all at volume 11) to come up with "There's no place like home"? There is actually a scene of two rocks talking to each other- seriously, two rocks- well there ARE two Daniels after all. Suspend your disbelief to accept thousands of other universes for "All you need is love"? When I suspend my disbelief, it comes at a price-EEA fails to pay that price and has a sophomoric sense of humor that one might find in the subgenre of porn/comedy (see Flesh Gordon) that almost makes me think it's a neo-comedy (you know, the ones where you never laugh- because there's nothing funny). It's truly disturbing to see how the film has connected with so many younger people- although juvenile and simple is the way to go these days. This is certainly not a film for serious adults and my advice is: if you think you're going to hate this film, you're probably right- certainly DO NOT PAY in any way to see it, and have a back up film ready to watch that could save your movie night if you dare venture in. Just remember that Everything Everywhere All at Once could also be an accurate description of projectile vomiting (used in the film) or explosive diarrhea- wonder how the later failed to make the cut in here.

P. S. The use of Debussy's. Clair De Lune in this film is an actual abomination- pearls before swine.

Aftersun (II) (2022)

Difficult but rewarding watch...

[9/10 · 24 January 2023]

Some films require your full attention and some films require both your full attention and submission. "After Sun" is an example of the latter. An amazing directorial debut (that will be nearly impossible to match) that attempts, and for the most part succeeds, the very difficult task of a slow reveal by bits and pieces...indeed fragments of memories...of a landmark in an eleven year old girl's life- a demarcation that has both molded her adult life and haunted her as she tries to put together the puzzle pieces to come up with a coherent picture of her then 31 year old father. Trying to finally resolve empathy and reality as she views the past from an older and perhaps more informed (if not wiser) perch. The performances are magnificent and the message powerful- you will, very much like the protagonist, find yourself doubling back to accord new meaning to scenes you only thought you understood. Strongly recommended to those who long to put all the residual noise of life aside and immerse themselves in contemplative film.

The Harbinger (I) (2022)

Hallmark Horror

[3/10 · 18 January 2023]

Imagine the Hallmark Channel decided to change up their usual insipid love stories for horror and The Harbinger is kind of what you might get. It has all the weaknesses of those romances: incredibly over scored, full of tropes strung together like ornaments on a Christmas tree, love with no passion (here its manifests as almost all the horror taking place off screen), played out (fairly well) by stock characters. There's not a surprise to be found in the story and the ending feels tacked on from a totally different film. As the "action" part of the film commenced I was actually embarrassed to still be watching. However, I wanted to review it to prevent others from the same fate, since it was some IMDB reviews that finally pushed me over the edge into viewing this. For horror newbies and, perhaps, Hallmark romance lovers only.

Barbarian (2022)

Everybody has a plan...

[4/10 · 15 January 2023]

Mike Tyson is fond of saying "Everybody has a plan...until they get punched in the face," How does that apply to horror? Well, generally all the characters have a plan (normal comportment) until they are thrust fully into "the horror"- at which point- survival mode takes over. Unfortunately, in much of modern horror it seems the same thing applies to the scriptwriters. This film, like so many others, has a fairly well written beginning that lasts pretty much until the girl discovers the room with the camera (if the door had only closed behind her at that point and the screen had gone to black- what a great short horror film THAT would have made) the following confrontation with the beta male room mate was pretty good , too. Once, however, the whatever it was, makes its first appearance the writers are the ones who go into survival mode. The film falls apart in a panicky incoherence with a flashback to the 80's and some pseudo-science that should make you laugh out loud (a child born in the 80's that has an inbred child in say 1995 would not produce the kind of monstrosity seen here) . The last twenty to thirty minutes is painful and totally forgettable.

Two asides: 1) these kids today NEVER don't have their phones with them- they're surgically attached to their hands. 2) the old man and the monster would have moved out of Detroit long ago it's too damn dangerous there.

The Frozen Ground (2013)

Unimaginative waste of talent...

[3/10 · 1 December 2022]

With two marquee actors in Cage and Cusack in an interesting and scenic landscape, "The Frozen Ground" should have at least been an easy watch. It isn't. Poorly written and even more shabbily directed this movie tries to exhaust the viewer with breathless desperation. I don't know how I made it to the end, but I felt the obligation to the many other unsuspecting viewers to stick it out (I won't write a review unless I've seen the entire film) very much the way Cage worries about future prey of the serial killer. But while Nick Cage is able to save the terrified prostitute at the end, he can't can't save this film. If you stick with "The Frozen Ground" until it thaws the dedication at the end to "all the victims" will include you.

(Scott Walker should go back into politics).

Out of the Blue (II) (2022)

These kids and their phones...

[3/10 · 29 November 2022]

The other day I was channel surfing and came upon Neil Labute's terrific "In The Company Of Men", I hadn't seen it in years and, after sitting through the bulk of it again, I wondered out loud "Why can't they make smart films like this anymore?" When I saw the same channel was running Labute's latest film "Out Of The Blue" I figured, "Why not?" It's a kind of neo-noir starring Jack Nicholson's son Roy( Chinatown prequel anyone?) and Diane Kruger that features some curious titles "Some Time Later" "A Little Later Than That"- that lead me to believe that in a last ditch effort to avoid serious scrutiny Labute kind of mocks the genre hoping you "get" the joke. It doesn't work, which isn't surprising since almost nothing works here.

Among the things that don't work, the chief offender is the femme fatale at the center of the drama. In the best romantic noir's there is, at the core, the "Baby, I don't care" rule (instituted from "Out Of The Past"- if you don't know the film- stop reading and find it) which, in short, means that the draw to the flame is so strong that our protagonist has lost his sense of reason. The best romantic noir films "Postman Always Rings Twice 1946"and especially "Body Heat" feature this element. As I said to my wife- "I'd go to jail for Lana Turner, to hell for Kathleen Turner, but Diane Kruger? I wouldn't go to the store..." The lack of a "to die for" femme fatale is a body blow to a noir but it is not always fatal. Smart dialogue and a clever plot can still make a compelling film ( contrary to popular opinion I see "Double Indemnity" in this category).

Labute, however, has not graced us with either here. The dialogue is a disappointment and the plot is a rehash of Body Heat /Bound. Disturbingly, the film looks cheap, and in an era when so many cheap films look fantastic. Virtually the only thing that really works, as many have noted, is Hank Azaria's character. Sad to report.

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

Overwritten and derivative but worth a watch...

[5/10 · 24 November 2022]

I have a hard and fast rule about films like DOC- if, after watching 3/4's of the film you still wouldn't be shocked by ANYBODY getting offed- it's a pretty good picture. DOC meets my rule but, unfortunately, can not rise above being pretty good because it is badly in need of editing. By that, I mean the film needs a judicious rewrite by someone other than its writer/director to trim both the fat in the plot as well as the dialogue. One embarrassingly bad scene concerning a new mother who is distressed about returning to work most likely was originally placed much earlier in the film (where it wouldn't be so transparent) but got moved because the director feared people might not remember the circumstances by the time it became relevant. Truthfully, it should have been cut altogether. Mel Gibson carries this film as far as it gets with a really strong performance. Warning: some of the "banter" is so bad your eyes might roll all the way round the back of your head and back up the front. The opening sequence is awful and, had the film not been so highly recommended, would have made a casualty of me before the ball started rolling. I'm glad I stayed, though, but just marginally.

The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018)

Prescient...

[7/10 · 16 September 2022]

Pretty tense combination of "Reservoir Dogs' and "The Thing" that really is interesting for it's overtly political bent. Released in 2018, the film lays out what happens when everyone decides to take the law into their own hands and resorts to vigilante like behavior (especially law enforcement). Seen through the lens of the ever growing distrust of those who claim to protect us the "twist" in this is obvious fairly early in the film (well, it's obvious to at least half the population anyway).

Performances are very good and while the story might be too short to fill the running time it's still a worthy watch.

Adventures of Superman: The Wedding of Superman (1956) Season 4, Episode 8

Revisiting as an adult...

[7/10 · 12 September 2022]

You know it's entirely possible that Lois Lane was my least favorite fictional character of all time...growing up in the late fifties and early sixties I preferred my heroes to be asexual (truth be told I pretty much still do)= you can't be off doing heroic things when your mind is being sidetracked by the fairer sex. So, the Lone Ranger was my favorite hero- all business. Probably the reason why I never developed a fondness for James Bond. Superman was really all we had when it came to tv superheroes, until Batman came along in the late sixties, and thank goodness the tv series really played down the "romantic" angle between Lois and Superman. This was probably my least favorite episode as a child. I recently happened to catch it again and was surprised at how good it really was. I mean it's Lois's dream and the people in the dream have logical reasons for being there. It all makes sense and that's all you can really ask, even Lois' subconscious knowledge that Kent and Superman are one in the same. The pathetic nature of Superman's (then Perry White, Inspector Henderson and even the District Attorney) mooning over Lois is really quite comical- and fifty years later pretty much rings true when it comes to women. Everyone wants to marry Lois...really. Yeah, I never met any woman who thought like that.

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)

Finally, Terry Gilliam's Hallmark Film

[3/10 · 6 September 2022]

Wow, is this bad. I'm a cat lover so I do have to say- the cats were good, the live ones. The film was bad until the last twenty minutes when it degenerated into awful. Cumberbatch overacts so much I just figured he must have directed this himself- no one else, I thought, would have allowed him to go this far. The story purports to be true- I'm sure that Louis Wain existed and drew amazing pictures of cats- but obviously has moments of out and out balderdash. And it's cloying, insufferable balderdash. The only way it could have been worse is if it turned out Olivia Colman's (Yes that Olivia Colman) narration was being delivered by Wain's cat. Originally I wanted to give this four stars but the waste of talent merits deducting one star.

My Dream Is Yours (1949)

Who will be the lucky guy?

[4/10 · 31 August 2022]

Doris Day vehicle in which she looks great and sings wonderfully. Really only two reasons to watch this:1) you love Doris Day or 2) you wonder which of these two perennial "guys who never get the girl" Jack Carson and the even more miserable Lee Bowman (filmdom's own "Brave Sir Robin" who almost ended up with Rita Hayworth in "Cover Girl", who nearly landed Irene Dunne in "Love Affair", etc, etc) will win Doris's hand. Hard to believe she was saddled with such poor options, hang in there Doris- better days are coming.. For Lee Bowman- losing to Jack Carson? Doesn't get much worse than that- although Carson did land Rita in "The Strawberry Blonde" even if it did turn out to be a dubious achievement.

Meet Danny Wilson (1952)

Movie is a six but the singing is a 10

[6/10 · 22 August 2022]

I'm one of the lucky people that actually have this film on DVD (don't ask). Even so, I DVRed it when I saw it was on TCM, so that I could watch it again and pull up scenes whenever I felt like it. The film isn't bad- at least not for the first hour or so- the ending degenerates pretty badly perhaps because it had to be rewritten due to the problems between Winters and Sinatra.

All that is neither here nor there, this film is worth watching principally because it features the best singing of the best singer of all time. When people don't "get" Sinatra I often direct them to Youtube to watch Sinatra's rendering of "She's Funny That Way" from "Meet Danny Wilson"- if you don't "get" it after that, you're not going to. You've seen the set up a thousand times- some unknown singer is given a chance to sing and just blows everybody away (CODA is a recent example) with their voice. Only this time, nobody has to act like their getting blown away- Sinatra's voice, breath control and phrasing of this old chestnut is absolutely stunning. He recorded the tune a number of times but this, for my money, is the finest version. All the singing is so top notch that you can hardly believe that those who had left Sinatra for dead wouldn't listen to this and think "Maybe we jumped the gun."

West Side Story (2021)

Seriously wanting...

[3/10 · 14 August 2022]

There's a moment in "West Side Story" during the performance of "Officer Krupke" where the camera cuts away to a female observer who has locked herself in a holding cell with a look of horror on her face at what she is watching- it's almost a breaking down of the fourth wall since I'm sure her face mirrors many of the faces of those of us at home watching perhaps the apex of American Musical Theater being "Spielbergized".

I have a great fondness for the original film West Side Story- but that film was not without its flaws, the biggest of which was the casting of the wooden Richard Beymer as Tony- when I heard that they were remaking West Side Story my second thought after the obvious "What the hell for?" was, "Well, at least they can finally get a better Tony." So, when I finally caught up with the modern version you can imagine how surprised that they had not only cast someone even worse, but they had given him more to do. This movie prides itself on its authenticity, and yet there's hardly an authentic moment in it. From the boxing Bernardo with his less than muscular arms to a Riff that resembles the guy from "Will and Grace"- you just go from scene to scene aching for the stylized vision of the 1960 version.

Now, all is not totally lost. The score here is just too good to be ruined. But virtually all the changes made to the dance numbers (many of which obviously are merely trying not to "ape" the original) left me cold. Look, if this was a stage revival or dinner theatre I would say its very good- but it isn't some live show- it's a film and, as such, it's seriously wanting.

I could go scene by scene and tear the thing to shreds (which it more than deserves) but suffice it to say that one can only hope that no one ever sees this before the 1960 version which has only grown in my estimation.

X (II) (2022)

Example of a new genre...

[8/10 · 11 August 2022]

Not a big fan of Ti West, so I figured this would be over praised. It really isn't- especially as it "gets out" to the more general public that don't have the attention span to catch everything that's going on here. Spoiler: You need to put your phone down for this one.

The juxtaposition of the making of a porn film in the midst of a horror film reminds me a little of "A Serbian Film"- which is stronger and generally much more extreme than this. We're seeing the birth of a new genre- horror/porn.

This is not without it's flaws- chief among them the casting of a heavily made up young person to play an older character. You would think that after the catastrophic use of this in Suspiria 2018- we wouldn't be seeing this ever again never mind four years later. You spend three quarters of the film trying to sort out who is playing the old lady and if there's a reason for it (at least this time it actually does have meaning)-sadly, it's a distraction that's payoff isn't important enough in the end- in fact it's kind of trite. Small quibble though, this is a clever reworking that merits some serious attention as it hits a lot of right notes in a wild ride.