The Greasy Strangler might be what it feels like to go mad. The film is best described as a kind of John Waters fever dream (or maybe wet dream), that combines a penchant for bizarre sexuality with a tongue-in-cheek slasher film. The acting is purposely hammy, and each kill more absurd than the last. There are sequences that physically made me ill, and others that left me utterly befuddled. You can call it weird, disgusting, senseless, or even a fucking embarrassment of a film – but you can’t call it derivative or boring.
Derek Jacobs
Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” Seeks a Spiritual Deliverance from Racial Injustice
Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation is a remarkable piece of cinema, especially from a first-timer. Parker controls this entire endeavor as writer, director, producer, and also stars as the slave Nat Turner. This is a powerful but sad film, though there is a kernel of hope at its center that Parker tries to work from. Based on a the real-life slave revolt led by Nat Turner in the early 1830s, the film offers incredible acting, but suffers slightly from narrative issues and some muddled thematic material. Of course, Parker takes some poetic license with the actual history, and while some of these help the story, others are more egregious and unnecessary. The most definitive aspect of the film is its profound spirituality, which Parker leans heavily on for dramatic justification of Turner’s rebellion, and also as the source of his leadership. Indeed, this is a film about not only racial injustice, but spiritual deliverance. Parker is sometimes lost with exactly where to focus the rebellious spirit, but these small mistakes cannot mar the overall poignancy of his message.
The Enchanting “Spirited Away” is Miyazaki’s Greatest Animated Film
Today, words are exceedingly lightweight. You can say whatever you like because words are as substantive as foam to us. That’s no more than a reflection of how empty our reality has become. And yet even now, the truth is that words are power. It’s just that we’re meaninglessly drowning in a sea of powerless, vacuous words.
-Hayao Miyazaki, 1999 – Director’s notes for Spirited Away
State of the Blog – October 2016
Autumn is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere, and with it comes sweater weather, pumpkin-spiced everything, and Oscar contenders. While I was a little harsh on the cinematic offerings of September, I was pleasantly surprised by most of what I saw last month, both at home and in the theater. I also began a new writing venture, which you should see reflected on this site soon. And, my readership seems to be increasing with each month, to boot! To make matters even better, October is stocked with an outstanding array of films, from high-dollar Hollywood fares all the way down to some of the most widely-regarded and weird indies out there. Let’s get into it.
Classic Review – Antoine Fuqua’s “Training Day” (2001)
To protect the sheep you gotta catch the wolf, and it takes a wolf to catch a wolf.
– Det. Alonzo Harris
No fun when the rabbit has the gun, is it?
– Jake Hoyt
“The Light Between Oceans” is a Juggernaut of Expert Lead Performances
Derek Cianfrance’s post-WWI melodrama, The Light Between Oceans, is a doctorate-level class on film acting from two of the best on-screen performers working today: Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Cianfrance adapted the screenplay himself from the acclaimed novel by M.L. Stedman, which ponders those cruel twists of fate that often rain down upon us and how we can respond to them. Do we shut down and isolate ourselves from humanity, or will we allow another to remind us of the wonders of love and life? And to what lengths will we go to provide happiness to those we care about? All of these questions, and far more subtle ones, are explored in The Light Between Oceans, but ultimately this film impresses mostly due to the absurd proficiency of its lead actors.
Toronto International Film Festival Reviews
Hey all! I was fortunate to get a few screeners for some films at the Toronto International Film Festival, courtesy of Courtney Small over at CinemaAxis.com. Here I collect the four reviews and offer a little blurb about the films, including just how much I recommend each one (spoiler alert: I liked all the films, but some more than others).
All Aboard the Elle Fanning Hype Train
Elle Fanning isn’t exactly a new kid on the block. In fact, her first film was a full 15 years ago, when she was the two-year-old version of Lucy Diamond Dawson in I am Sam. Since then, Fanning has often portrayed younger versions of her older sister Dakota, but her filmography extends well beyond playing second-fiddle. Her breakout role was likely her turn as Alice Dainard in J.J. Abram’s Super 8, which I enjoyed just fine. But, it is her most recent work that augurs greatness. Maleficent was a strong performance, and she also managed to be the second best actor in Trumbo, behind the Oscar-nominated Bryan Cranston. Then there was The Neon Demon. After gushing about this film, I decided to look more closely at the career of Fanning, and I was surprised to find her starring in seven films between now and the end of 2017!
“De Palma” Overflows with Cool Stories but Lacks Cohesion
Filmmakers Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha) and Jake Paltrow (The Good Night, Young Ones) must have had mountains of fun making their documentary De Palma. The film is something like enjoying a whiskey next to a famed director and engaging in the best conversation of your life. Baumbach and Paltrow are content to place Brian De Palma in front of the camera, shoot him flat, and let him muse away. Unfortunately, that’s all they really do. So, while some of the stories that De Palma relates are interesting, the ultimate effect is a film that feels like a haphazard collection of thoughts, shot in the most bland style possible. Cinephiles will likely drool throughout at the discussion of filmmaking craft, but unfortunately De Palma holds very little thematic power.
David Mackenzie Dazzles with “Hell or High Water”, a Deliberate and Astonishing Western Heist Film
David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water is a wonderful modern Western film with the added flavor of a noir-heist. It is also wildly funny in subtle and smart ways but isn’t above low-brow pot shots, either. The performances from all four leads are superb and myriad character actors flesh out the environment. Finally, the film sports a fantastic plot that unravels at a deliberate pace and has a lot of surprises up its sleeves. It is like a slice of West Texas on screen, from the cattle wranglers to the gun-toting vigilantes. Hell or High Water is a potent piece of cinema, and will likely end up as one of the strongest films of 2016.