I found the experience of watching The Strangers and The Strangers: Chapter 1 back-to-back rewarding from a movie buff perspective. Others may have a “why bother?” response to this movie and honestly I wouldn’t have a strong rebuttal to that. Mildly Recommended. Continue reading The Strangers: Chapter 1
After learning that the forthcoming The Strangers: Chapter 1 was basically a remake of The Strangers, I thought long and hard as to whether I should see the original beforehand. This decision was not as simple as I thought it would be, though. Since most of the commentary I’d read about Chapter 1 described it as being an inferior remake of the original, I had a conundrum. Would I be setting myself up for disappointment if I watched the original before seeing Chapter 1? Or would I enjoy Chapter 1 more if I watched it in a vacuum? I finally decided to see the original so that I’d have a basis of comparison between the two. If the two movies are that similar, the viewing experience would present itself as a unique review assignment for myself. This review will focus only on the 2008 movie. The next one will be on Chapter 1 and will compare and contrast the two. I hope you enjoy this little exercise!
Continue reading “The Strangers (2008)”
Don’t break the rules. If you do, there will be consequences. Horrific consequences. This simple premise is often used by horror movies because it’s so easy to grasp. Bad judgment is quickly rewarded with a gruesome outcome. It also builds anticipation in the audience from the get-go. Those horny kids who engage in premarital sex? A maniac will kill them for their immoral behavior. You played with a Ouija board? Sorry, it wasn’t just a game and an actual demon has plans for you now. You cheated death? Death isn’t happy and will be working overtime to correct things. You played truth or dare with a stranger? Tough break because playing games with strangers is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Continue reading “Tarot”
Season Five represents the final curtain call for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. After the previous four seasons detailed Midge’s trials and tribulations involved with becoming a famous stand-up comedian, she finds herself closer than ever before to realizing her dream. This doesn’t mean that success will come easily for Midge. She still proves to be her own worst enemy more than once, taking two steps back for every one step forward. Then there’s the ever-present sexism that permeates her line of work. In a male-dominated field, the men refuse to take Midge seriously. Her boss, Gordon Ford, hires her to balance out his all-male writer’s room but mainly wants to sleep with her. And when she auditions for Jack Paar’s show, the producer doesn’t get Midge. It’s enough to make a scrappy, no self-pity woman cry, which she does at one point.
Continue reading “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Season Five”
Challengers is so obvious as to what it’s about, it’s refreshing. There probably is some subtext to be found in the corners of this movie, but this heated tale of lovers who quarrel, have sex and play tennis works overtime to obscure it. This is the first movie I’ve seen directed by Luca Guadagnino, so I have no idea as to whether his other films are similar to this one. From what I see in this movie, he strikes me as a director who doesn’t beat around the bush. He’s a confident filmmaker who is very direct with what he wants to accomplish. What we see is exactly what he wants us to get. Guadagnino’s movie doesn’t try to tug at our heart strings, earn our sympathy or ask us to think about what we see very deeply. If we noodle over a phrase or a look or what a particular object symbolizes, that is entirely up to us.
Continue reading “Challengers”
In Kung Fu Panda 4, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) tells Po (Jack Black) that he must relinquish the title of Dragon Warrior and find a replacement so that he can become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley. (You may recall that in the first movie, Master Oogway held that position and passed away after choosing Po as the Dragon Warrior.) While Shifu insists Po needs to accept his new role in order to continue growing, Po actively resists the change. Like anyone who has spent a long time doing things himself, he is uncomfortable with being promoted to “management”. He loves fighting injustice and hanging with the Furious Five and doesn’t want to give either of them up for a role that he doesn’t understand. (To its credit, the movie does a decent job explaining just what a manager–or Spiritual Leader–actually does.)
Continue reading “Kung Fu Panda 4”
Detroit Cineaste 