Mashing together a Christmas movie with the horror/comedy genre tends to go poorly. The result is usually hackneyed slasher schlock like Jack Frost or Black Christmas. Capturing the spirit of the holiday season is a difficult thing to accomplish if you’re also trying to establish an appropriate tone where you can alternate between monster attacks and comedy. The gold standard will always be Joe Dante’s Gremlins, but Michael Dougherty has a viable competitor in Krampus. This film succeeds where others fail largely because it doesn’t insist upon offering us a warm-and-fuzzy interpretation of “holiday spirit”. As Krampus shows, there is a much darker side to the holidays.
Comedy
Barry Crimmins’ Courageous Testimony: “Call Me Lucky”
In the basement that has haunted Barry Crimmins since he can remember, the acerbic comedian’s tongue falters for a moment as he hums and haws in the darkness. Eventually, unrehearsed words pour out and assemble themselves into a poignant justification for Bobcat Goldthwait’s documentary Call Me Lucky. Though the film ends up in this strange place, it begins as a seemingly garden-variety portrait of the political satirist and comedy club patron told mostly through interviews with his friends and family. But Goldthwait’s keen directorial eye and editing choices reveal the film’s sinister kernel – one that we won’t fully understand until much later (if ever).
Classic Review Friday – Gary Ross’ “Pleasantville” (1998)
The strongest fantasy stories depict a world that is different from our own while telling stories which are fundamental to the human condition. In the case of Pleasantville, the idyllic 1950s town is an actual paradise where the high school basketball team never loses, the fire department merely has to rescue cats trapped in trees, and dinner is always ready when you come home. But perfection, safety, and comfort are not the default, and when two real-life children introduce new ideas to the sheltered town, Pleasantville transforms from black-and-white safe space into vivid real-life.
Back on the Big Screen: “Back to the Future Part II” (1989) and “The Iron Giant”(1999)
I am trying something new here on Plot and Theme: “Back on the Big Screen” will be a series of posts focused around familiar films that I had the opportunity to see screened in a theatre. Sometimes I will focus on a single film, but like today I will also use it as a way to comment on multiple films without delving into a full-on review. The first official Back on the Big Screen will showcase two films recently shown in theatres in the last month as a special occasion: The Iron Giant and Back to the Future Part II.
The Newest Comedy-Horror Masterpiece: “What We Do in the Shadows”
Monster-mash together a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary on vampires and the comedic sensibilities of the Flight of the Concords crew and you get something like What We Do in the Shadows. Starring, written, and directed by Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi, this film is capable of transitioning from deadpan hilarity to a genuinely creepy found-footage horror – and then back to ridiculous slapstick. So many films fail to establish a single tone, and somehow What We Do in the Shadows manages to nail them all.
Classic Review Friday – Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” (2003)
A sensual ennui permeates Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, imploring spectators from young adulthood through old age to respond to the budding relationship between Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) as the two navigate a foreign language, city, and feelings. At its heart, this is a film about confronting your insecurities and reveling in the warm feeling of a new romance and friendship. The hustling, neon beehive of Tokyo acts as the perfect setting for such a story, as the hyperactive assault on the senses that we see on the surface belies the quiet torture of that directionless feeling.
“Burying the Ex” Dramatizes the Shambling Remains of an Undead Relationship
When reacting to the trailer for Joe Dante’s Burying the Ex, I remarked that it could be interesting to use the zombie story as a metaphor for a doomed or stale relationship. This film barrels down that road with fervor, and the result is an awkward on-screen relationship that despite literally decaying, just will not … Read more
Open Road Films to Offer “Dope” for Bitcoin
In an exclusive story from The Wrap, production company Open Road Films announced that they would be allowing tickets for their film Dope to be purchased with the digital currency bitcoin. The indie comedy, which was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival this year, prominently features bitcoin as a plot detail when the main … Read more
“Jenny’s Wedding” Acquired by IFC, Set for July 31st Release
In a Variety Exclusive it was announced that IFC has acquired the rights to Jenny’s Wedding, an indie dramedy (which is apparently a word we’re going forward with) starring Katherine Heigl, Alexis Bledel, Linda Emond, and Tom Wilkinson. The film was written, directed, and produced by Mary Agnes Donoghue, who has a number of writing … Read more
The Manchurian Stoner: “American Ultra” Red Band Trailer
If you’re at all like me, then the second Jesse Eisenberg + Kristen Stewart pairing on the big screen might have evaded your feelers. I feel like I heard about American Ultra at some point, but may have dismissed it initially – even though I relatively enjoyed Adventureland (it wasn’t anything special, and I must … Read more