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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

5/1/2023

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Genre: Mystery, Crime, Comedy, Satire
Rating: 12A
​Warnings: Racism Mention, Some Violence

Benoit Blanc is back with another ensemble cast for another murder mystery. This time he's less mysterious himself, with a few fun gay tropes (his sulk in the bathtub, his outstanding wardrobe, and his discomfort at Birdie flirting with him, among others) and a view of his home, boyfriend/husband and a few of his famous friends.

Likewise, the group he's investigating moves from the stilted, unfriendly family and their old-money ways to a carefree, close group of friends and their celebrity behaviour. While the pandemic setting does make for a very precise period piece, the characters feel both like stock characters and like personal parodies of certain individuals.
Daniel Craig seemed like he would be a sleek or hard-boiled detective, before bringing his Texan-accented fun Benoit Blanc to life. Edward Norton, notoriously difficult to work with, was the perfect self-aware choice for unlikeable Elon-a-like Miles. Janelle Monae is the multifaceted actual protagonist Andi, Dave Bautista as the dumb muscle streamer, Kathryn Hahn as the career woman politician; all of which they were brilliantly cast.

This snapshot moment that Glass Onion is set in, paired with the celebrity version of the closed room mystery, gives this film a much more satirical aspect. The humour and genre keep it light, but there's some razor sharp critique and well-deserved mockery of both certain famous people and their entire out-of-touch celebrity world. The ending, combining the murderer's comeuppance and some political justice, gives the audience a strong gleeful feeling of vengeance and schadenfreude.

However, this isn't just a good murder mystery and satire, it's a really good film. Full use is made of flashbacks, either revealing a more detailed or alternative view of a previous scene or giving you a chance to rewatch a moment with the perspective of new information. Blanc's talk through of the murder is shown, masterfully, with different characters as murderer in each shot. The changed scenes are especially brilliant, the time equivalent of a zoom in on something. Foreshadowing hangs deliberately and obviously in multiple places, keeping the tension high with a "but which of those is it?" for the observant. Things that don't quite seem right are revealed as deliberate clues and as red herrings.

A talented and worthy sequel to the first Knives Out, Glass Onion is an exciting and enjoyable caper. If a third Knives Out is made, and it's as good as this, it could be an iconic series.
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Lot 36 (A Cabinet of Curiosities short on Netflix)

18/12/2022

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Genre: Horror
Rating: TV-MA
Warnings: Gore, Nazis, some Racism, Body Horror

The characterisation is a little heavy-handed, with our unlikeable protagonist being quickly revealed as a racist, right-wing, bitter man who believes himself to be the only real victim of hard times. However, the other characters are more balanced and he's far from unbelievable.

The opening scene moves from a TV dinner to some unpleasant meat or taxidermy gore. Luckily, that's the last of it, and the body horror starts at a clear moment. The racism is spoken only, and the nazis only show up in photographs and conversation.
The setting, a sprawling storage unit building, is a maze-like collection of corridors and storage units: A dingy and confusing location that fits perfectly into the liminal spaces that are popular in horror at the moment. In parallel to the seemingly endless and identical corridors is the constant building of tension. With the protagonist's racism, each other character seems like a potential problem. Will the black storage building owner snap after what is clearly years of disrespect? Will the Spanish-speaking woman who openly curses him get her revenge? Will the mysterious and shady German collector of the arcane betray him?

When the reveal finally comes, and with it the body horror, it hangs in the air for a moment, letting the audience really savour it. As the opening short in an anthology, it brings strong promise. A balance of what feels like an age-old cautionary tale with a very current setting, strong acting and incredible quality visuals bodes incredibly well for the shorts that follow. It is curated and introduced by the body-horror (and scales-forward) Guillermo del Toro, so while he isn't the director of any or the writer of most of the scripts and short stories, he is happy to put his name and face centre stage. Lot 36 is his script and his short story, and is definitely well worth watching for any horror fan.
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Wendell and Wild

8/11/2022

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Genre: Children, Comedy, Horror, Comedy-Horror, Adventure
Rating: 12A
Warnings: Mild Body Horror

Another beautiful stop-motion film from Henry Selick, of Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and James and the Giant Peach fame. Likewise, comedy duo Key and Peele bring their brilliance to another film; they were in Toy Story 4, Storks and Keanu after the sketch show Key & Peele.

The story itself is full to bursting with detail, as various storylines collide. In one plotline, Kat is an orphan in juvenile detention who is sent to a private school as part of a 'last-chance' programme. In the other, Wendell and Wild are two demons who want to redesign their father's afterlife-theme-park.
When they discover a way to bring the dead back to life, their attempts to build their park in the land of the living pulls Kat into a quest to bring her parents back from the dead, the evil prison corporation into a plan to finally decimate the small town and build their ultimate school-to-prison pipeline. Thrown in are demon hunters, school cliques and possession-based super powers; this is not a film to just put on in the background. Hopefully the sheer amount of backstory and complex characters is enough for a sequel or a spin off.

Race and gender are core facets of the story, with the protagonist Kat being a black or African American girl. The prison system and anti-black racism in the US are inseparable, and Jordan Peele's groundbreaking debut as a director was the racism themed horror Get Out. Whilst the demons are Key and Peele and half of the villainous power couple is a black man, Kat being black is integral to the prison criticism theme. Likewise, the school is an all-girls school taught by nuns, and it's all but said that demon possession and the superpowers it comes with is a female-only experience. This centring of women in terms other than sexuality/relationships or stereotypically 'feminine' traits such as being supportive or cute, is still a bold and important decision, especially one for a mainly male writing and production team to have made.

Another powerful choice was made in regards to gender, and one that they could have easily not have included without any effect on the plot: Kat's friend and ally is her fellow pupil Raul. A boy at an all-girls school, there's a quick scene where the clique call him his old name and say its hard to get used to and one where his mother corrects an unheard voice on the phone that she has a son, but aside from that this canonically trans character is completely accepted as a boy called Raul by every single character. It's a lovely inclusive detail and a perfect example of trans characters not being defined by their gender, as he's an artist and one of the few characters not to have shady or conflicted motivations.

Of course, it's hard for an adult without children to judge a children's film. Will kids love it? Will it's important messages be lost on them or too much for them? I can't say, but I do know a lot of children's films are quick buck garbage full of toxic messages or simply advertising, so it's definitely worth trying it. It's a good child-friendly horror and entertaining for adults too. 
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Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

18/5/2022

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Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama
Rating: 15
Warnings: Some Violence, Some Gore, Mild Animal Abuse, Suicide Mention, Mild Self Harm

A kung-fu science fiction about multiple parallel universes and an all-powerful baddy quickly reveals itself as also an absurdist comedy and family drama.

The fight scenes are fun and exciting, and there is some violence and gore here. A dog is even used as a weapon, riding the line between an action scene and a comedy scene. The 'multiverse' plot is detailed enough to keep you interested but simple enough to follow amongst everything else.

Likewise, having alternate universe versions of the same smaller cast makes it both easier to keep track of characters and adds interesting levels to them.
Some of the most absurd elements come into play with the universe hopping, as they do odd things to trigger jumps and explore each alternative universe. In other lives, Evelyn is a film star, a chef, a scientist, a sign spinner... a rock, a pinata, and a woman with hot dog fingers. The rock universe is has some really touching moments for the family drama; this film is genre-rollercoaster.

The troubled relationships between Evelyn and her husband, Evelyn and her daughter, and Evelyn and her father take up this aspect. Just as there are all these multiverse versions of her, she is also juggling the laundry business, her own hopes and dreams, and her relationships like multiple lives. Her husband is less her life partner to her than he is her business partner, she wants to be close to her daughter but distance her sexuality and girlfriend from her elderly father, and the timing of this multiverse news clashes with both her father's birthday party and the laundrette being last-chance audited.

The villain reveal is heavily foreshadowed, as is the ultimate moral of kindness and happiness. Regardless, the impact it has on Evelyn is powerful, and the audience either reacts with her or can really take in her reaction. Just looking at the poster gives a good idea of the busy-ness, the artfulness and the brilliance of this film, and the fun it has. You'll never look at googly eyes, hot dogs or even the small local businesses around your city the same again.
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The Batman

4/4/2022

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Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
Rating: 15
Warnings: Violence, Some Gore

A new Batman interpretation, this time by director Matt Reeves and actor Robert Pattinson. It's hard not to compare any new Batman to the Dark Knight Trilogy, but this one is also dark and gritty, and incredibly enjoyable.

Bruce Wayne, genius billionaire blackbelt with no superpowers who regularly wins against beings with superpowers, can often be a textbook Mary Sue. The fact that he fights a lot of petty crime in a poverty-stricken city when he has the money and resources to fix most of those problems is a character plot hole for many, too. This Batman feels a lot more realistic, as an incredibly troubled man who feels like his money and influence wouldn't actually have any effect on the people who need it.
In fact, the city's corruption is a huge part of the plot. While the villain is just going after the politicians and officials who are undeniably abusing their power, it's a fun grey area. I wanted the Batman to succeed, but I kind of wanted the Riddler to do enough to make a difference. The Riddler himself is excellently written, and excellently portrayed by Paul Dano. A familiar villain, but not as overplayed as the Joker, he is exaggerated enough to live up to the comic book character people will expect, but still held within real life bounds. Question marks abound, but in a black hunting mask and using Zodiac-like symbols rather than in a bright green bodysuit. His use of codes and unfinished jokes lets him fit the name well.

Zoë Kravitz' Catwoman is yet another brilliant casting, and yet another believable character. Her motives are noble but her methods (and the life surrounding her) are criminal, her cats and bisexuality are portrayed in a positive light, and her costume is realistic. Likewise, the Penguin, Alfred and James Gordon are all well balanced portrayals. The story is engaging, the action is exciting and the visuals are excellent. Whether you're a Batman fan, a Robert Pattinson fan or just a general film fan, The Batman is a great film worth catching at the cinema. It would have been nice to have had one whole film without the Joker, but his last second appearance did show that this is the first film in a series, and that the Joker is not going to be the terrible Jared Leto version.
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Don't Look Up

24/1/2022

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Genre: Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Rating: 15
Warnings: Mild Gore

With a star-studded cast, a solid sci-fi concept and themes ripe for satire, Don't Look Up manages to be, well, definitely one of the films I have seen this year.

The concept of an asteroid large enough to wipe out humanity on a collision course with Earth, and the astronomers trying to get the world at large to understand, is a solid concept that could have been really interesting. Instead, we get lazy jokes about people only caring about vapid celebrity news, like one of those "kids these days would try to swipe the pages of a book like a phone" cartoon strips.

That trite and shallow satire is every more annoying in the face of the political theme. The President doesn't care about the asteroid, only her own corruption and ratings. Sounds good, but it's ruined by Jonah Hill, as her nepotism-hire son, doing his usual unfunny teen dude comedy routine.

With the suspension of disbelief broken already, the science part of the science fiction falls down too. NASA's footage is all public, so the asteroid couldn't have been top secret, and NASA does not need Presidential permission to launch rockets or redirect asteroids. The DART project, where a spacecraft was launched to redirect a large asteroid, began in 2018 and likely inspired Don't Look Up.
The ending is clear early on, but its slow inevitability is enjoyable. If the silly parts were removed, the pessimistic idea of just waiting for the end of the world would make for an interesting film. The ironic switch between Leonardo DiCaprio's and Jennifer Lawrence's characters' media abilities and reception is fun and funny; more focus on their characters' relationships would have been better, as DiCaprio's Dr Randall Mindy's relationships plotline is witty. Lawrence's Kate Dibiasky has some relationship time with Timothee Chalamet's Yule, which is far more entertaining than any of the news scenes or Hill's entire character.

​The most annoying part of this film, really, is that it isn't bad. It's just not good. It sits there, teetering between failure and the potential that the concept has. The main actors are great and there are some really strong satirical points, like the Bash capitalism and monopoly parody. But, ultimately, its stunted by its own childish humour. The whole "Don't Look Up" thing is a rushed montage and heavy-handed point about the deliberate ignorance of the right wing. The idea that mainstream groups of people would refuse to look at the sky and say that looking at the sky is propaganda is too far, even in a world with flat earthers and anti-vaxxers.

You can tell that the creators here were patting themselves on the back smugly from the very beginning, and perhaps if they hadn't been so immediately pleased with themselves they might have pushed past their first thoughts and made a clever film. With all the generic versions of things and people, it's amazing NASA allowed their name to be used. The post-credit scene is a giggle, if you can be bothered to wait that long.
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Await Further Instructions

17/7/2021

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Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Rating: 15
Warnings: Gore, Violence, Body Horror

Almost a brilliant film, but the flatness of the characters and the way the two core themes battle for meaning really let it down. The poster really spoils some late game plot points, taking the impact entirely away from the reveals.

The characters all feel a little bit two dimensional. Beth, the mum, gets a little development, but the rest of the family are all more types of people than they are people. There are hints of redemption and deeper layers, but they're quickly ended.

While the plot fights itself over whether this is about the problem with white-patriarchy or with television, there are brilliant moments of tension and really unsettling visuals.
Despite being spoiled on the poster, DVD cover or streaming thumbnail, one of the two major reveals still packs a punch with the sheer body horror. Not for the squeamish, there are some very gross deaths and injuries. Don't think too hard about them, they're already unpleasant enough! And, on the topic of warnings and things that are unpleasant, the racism is pretty heavy. The sister and dad have some terrible blanket ideas, but the granddad ramps it up with overt slurs. They're more along the mispronounced generics, with a complaint about "Johnny Bongo-Bongo" than the n-word, but it's still some heavy-handed writing.

This is one half of the theme: the granddad is an abusive ex-military man who spouts hatred, and his abused son is the repressed, uptight head of the household. The sister, pregnant and outspoken, is to be protected and revered, with her husband the second in command. The mum, too old to be in the protected role of baby-making, is the unloved caretaker. The main couple are the failure of the family - a son who dares to not follow the authority and toe the line, coming back from a period of estrangement with a (insert shocked gasp) a "middle eastern" girlfriend who thinks dares to be more educated than them!

The dad becomes more and more unhinged as things get worse, needing so badly to prove that his belief system is correct and that following the rules will solve things. The sister and brother in law have little glimmers of redemption, the chance to stand up to the white supremecist patriarchy, but their relapse is immediately followed by punishment. This is where a horror staple slips away: while repugnant granddad does die first, second-in-line dad makes it to the finale and angelic mum doesn't. Waiting for that perceived poetic justice is frustrating.

Some haphazard Christianity comes crashing in with the dramatic peak, with a Son of Sam style God-in-the-TV and some second coming of Christ that comes entirely out of left field. This does almost link the other theme, which is the less interesting cliche of TV is bad and brainwashing us all. It's a bit overdone and hypocritical coming from a television screen itself, but could have been an interesting critique of the place of TV in the family if it had been properly explored. There's also a completely unacknowledge hallucination or dream of a wide open field, adding more mess to the symbolism.

Overall, mediocre characterisation and confused conclusion aside, the horror elements and racial points are enjoyable. Not an instant classic by any means, but the suspence had me hooked until the end, even if I did forget the characters names.
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Circle

8/11/2020

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Genre: Sci Fi, Horror, Thriller
Rating: 15
Warnings: Mentions of racism, homophobia

50 people stand in a circle, and soon realise that they are voting each other off; "off" being zapped to death by the bubble in the centre. Tensions rise as they fight for their lives and prejudices surface as they grasp for reasons that the others around them should die. And, without names or backstories, we the viewers are too forced to identify the characters by their appearance and their seeming stereotypes.

Pared back to the quickly dwindling cast in an otherwise featureless black space, the focus is on the interactions between the people and their decision making. The opening shot pans across the racially diverse group, but those that take over the conversation are mostly male, and mostly white. Values are questioned, and themes of racism, homophobia and other prejudices are explored.
While the first group declared less valuable are the elderly, a pregnant woman and young girl are soon singled out as either most important or most sympathetic, and the group divides into two factions. One side want to work together to ensure at least one of the two reach the end, ensuring one may potentially survive. The other, lead by a bearded man, argue that they should be killed, as they aren't actually any more important than anyone else in the room and the sympathy for them condemns everyone else. It's a morally complex film, uncomfortable to watch. What would you do in that situation? What is the correct outcome? Are you making your decisions based on stereotypes or your own prejudices?

In what could have been a heavy handed moral moment, one black man calls on the other black people in the group. He says they will be killed by the white people, who immediately get heated and insist race is meaningless. The other black people refuse to engage, saying that whether or not he is correct, drawing negative attention to himself will just get him killed. It's put aside, but he is the last black person alive and in one last second redirection one white person literally says "Kill the black guy!" and he is zapped. Vocal male characters are only voted off for enraging everyone else; the rich jerk guy only faces the killer beam after an intense homophobic rant and the scruffy guy only after a blatent series of lies that are a blatent attempt to get everyone to kill the woman next to him.

In the moment, these deaths aren't even satisfying beyond shutting the ranter up. All but one is earmarked for death, and it's clearly going to come down to the pregnant woman and the girl. The question of why comes up a lot. The scenario is apparently the aftermath of alien invasion, mass panic and fleeing the city, and potentially random abduction. Staying in the circle right until the last scene, we not only do not see the aliens but also do not find out the answers to any of the questions posed. Why these fifty people in particular? Why are they voting each other off in a contactless battle royale? Is there a correct way to play, is it a judgement of humanity or is even anyone even watching? Unanswered and unimportant; the film is not about the motivations of the aliens, but the behaviour of the people.

As the cast slowly lowers in number and the conflict becomes the sole focus of the discussion, the outcome becomes more and more certain. The tension stays high and the 'leader' of each faction continues to outlive their groups. A last second twist leaves one survivor, released as it was guessed (or hoped) into the desolate city. Walking along a tunnel to echoes of their most effecting quotes, the survivor joins a small group of children and adults, and they all stand and watch one of the many giant circular spaceships over the city.

What does it all mean? It isn't clear. Just like the point of the game, the morally correct thing to do, and the truth of any of the people, the film is not here to give us any answers. With more courage, the film might have something to say about human nature, prejudice and selfishness, but it leaves it all up to the viewer. There's a missed opportunity for an amazing ending, if it had turned out that the fallen people were unconscious and they all had to face their victims. Interesting but ultimately unsatisfying, its worth watching if just for the concept.
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Creep

27/10/2020

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Genre: Horror
Rating: 15
​Warnings: Camera Shaking, Sexual Assault Description, Suicide References

Slowly building suspense for over an hour, this psychological horror might be as far from a slasher flick as it's possible to be. Technically in the found footage subgenre, we see the aparently unedited footage of a freelance filmmaker hired by an odd man in a cabin in the mountains.

With minimal action, jumpscares or even any real confirmation, the tension and unease just continue to ramp up. The man, Josef, gets stranger and more suspect as time goes on, but what exactly is going on is as mysterious as it is creepy.

The handheld camera and motion does lead to the occasional shaking, and there is one discussion of a rape scenario and one of suicidal feelings.
With literally just two cast members, Patrick Brice as Aaron and Mark Duplass as Josef, the film itself is very pared back. With no gore, monsters or high action sequences, Creep instead relies entirely on the acting and interplay between the two characters. The result is brilliant. Josef is both a scary and pitiful man, seeming entirely genuine or completely deceptive from second to second. Aaron is a competant everyman, making mostly sensible decisions and reacting in a normal way to strange and scary things. 

The found footage genre is not for everyone, putting severe limitations on the way the plot is presented and what can be included. The filmmaker premise works very well, and Aaron's rising fear gives good reasoning for the expanding scope of what he records. Josef's desperate attempts to befriend him and erratic stalking work well. There are some suprises, red herrings and minor jump scares along the way, all adding to the atmospheric horror more than any special effects could. 

The pace and real-world setting plant Creep firmly in the psychological horror camp. While my heart raced and my hair stood on end, it was not anyone in-film I was afraid for. Dangerous people who may or may not want to kill you are real, and the possibility that you are in danger with zero evidence to take to the police is the kind of logical adult fear that worries you in the early hours of a sleepless night.

When all the character driven tension is eventually resolved, the fact that things are actually resolved is more shocking than the jump scare. There's a little wrap up that confirms your suspicions and makes space for the sequels. Watch in the afternoon, and follow it up with some kitten videos, or watch it late at night with the window open to keep you from sleeping.
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Slaughterhouse Rulez

25/10/2020

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Genre: Comedy Horror, Horror, Comedy
Rating: 15
Warnings: Some Gore, Some Child Abuse, Homophobia, Suicide

Fair warning - while this is a Nick Frost and Simon Pegg comedy love letter to horror and nerdery, it isn't a Edgar Wright masterpiece. It's good, it's fun, it's stuffed to the brim with references, but if you're expecting perfection you will be disappointed. This is a great film but not the instant classics both actors have previously been involved in.

Another fair warning is due, as the public school setting is accurately portrayed with abusive bullying, some homophobic bullying and a couple of slurs (despite being in a house called Sparta, who were notably into same-sex warrior relationships) and suicide references as a core plot point. There's a lot of gore, all rather cheesy, and tonnes of violence.
When the name of the film itself is a reference to two others (the book Slaughterhouse-Five and the film The Cider House Rules) it's practically a Where's Wally of references. References to Harry Potter abound, and the dialogue references Goodbye, Mr Chips, 300, Freaks, Braveheart. and even Fifty Shades of Grey.

The plot is simple and classic; working class boy goes to public school, and his fish-out-of-water story is disrupted by a monster attack. Three doomed romance subplots, some character rivalries and a Chekhov's lighter; Pegg, Frost and Sheen are having a whale of a time under writer and director Crispian Mills. 

It's pretty funny, it's a little bit scary, and it's exciting. Well worth an afternoon.
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