For a while now, the role of the “one man wrecking crew” who takes on a corrupt town, corporation or what have you has been the cinematic domain of Jason Statham.  As an established badass, we know that anybody who gets in his way are idiots who will soon be lying in a pool of their own blood.  Which is what makes Bob Odenkirk’s encroachment on Statham’s territory so interesting.  No one would ever mistake Odenkirk for Statham, who looks more like a kindly grandpa than a killing machine.  Odenkirk’s a square peg that’s wedged himself into the action/revenge genre hole, and the mismatch is what makes Normal so much fun.  Odenkirk may look like a kindly old man, but watch out when he gets riled up.

Like its eponymous character, The Life of Chuck contains multitudes and is difficult to categorize.  It’s by turns apocalyptic, fantastical, nostalgic and horrific.  Broadly speaking, it’s an existential treatise disguised as a heartwarming coming-of-age tale that ultimately works because its charm and amiability.  Recommended. Continue reading The Life of Chuck

Humans are strange creatures.  Instead of getting rid of what makes us miserable, we hold onto it.  This is the focus of Sentimental Value, a movie about two artists, a father and his daughter, who keep what hurts them close at hand.  One explanation provided is that those hurtful things inform their art.  (He’s a director, while she’s a theater actor.)  Revisiting their pain makes what they create more honest and true.  However, it also prevents either of them from leading fulfilling lives, artistically as well as personally.  The movie explores this commingling of art and trauma with a level of maturity, sensitivity and empathy that forced me to look at myself in a way that I’d avoided for, well, most of my life.

One of the oldest cliches in cops and robbers movies is how the two groups are sides of the same coin. That they’re all angry psychopaths who don’t think twice about killing to get what they want.  The only difference between them is that those on the law enforcement side wear badges, and that the criminals wear better clothes and drive nicer cars.  Thankfully, Crime 101 doesn’t go in that direction.  Instead, it focuses on why some people are drawn to criminality, while others retain their moral compass.  It’s a movie that follows the genre formula fairly closely, but colors outside the lines just enough to keep us guessing.

No Other Choice is a tale of two movies.  I enjoyed the satire and slapstick-filled first half, less so its cold and didactic second half.  Overall, the movie’s dizzying style and committed performances won me over.  Recommended. Continue reading No Other Choice (South Korea, Park Chan-wook)

What do you do when your friend asks you for a favor above and beyond what you would normally do for them?  For example, “Would you look after my dog after I’ve checked out?”  That kind of request can affect your life dramatically, especially when that dog is a Great Dane, you live in a small studio apartment and the building has a no pets policy.  How do you turn down your friend’s dying request?  And more importantly, what does the dog think about this arrangement?

If you enjoy watching well-made movies about beautiful people doing all the wrong things, The Housemaid is for you.  The trio of Amanda Seyfried, Sydney Sweeney and Brandon Sklenar make this trashy psychosexual thriller a blast.  Recommended. Continue reading The Housemaid