Month: August 2020

Today’s quick review: Bohemian Rhapsody. In London in 1970, Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) joins lead guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee), drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and bass guitarist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) to form Queen. The band’s creative energy and Freddie’s flamboyant personality soon propel them to the top. But their success is accompanied by dramatic changes in Freddie’s personal life that jeopardize his health and the band’s future.

Bohemian Rhapsody is a biographical drama about the band Queen and its lead singer Freddie Mercury. Bohemian Rhapsody covers the history of Queen from its formation to its peak in the 1980s. The film focuses in particular on the ups and downs of Freddie Mercury’s life, from his heartfelt but increasingly strained relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) to the extravagant, self-destructive lifestyle he took up at the height of the band’s success.

Bohemian Rhapsody’s chief appeal lies in its soundtrack. The movie has the entirety of Queen’s song catalog to choose from, and it manages to work in nearly all of their greatest hits, along with recreations of some of their most famous concerts. There are occasional rough spots where songs are cut down for time—as well as a time or two when the opposite occurs and the movie gets lost in song—but the cavalcade of hits is bound to please any Queen fan.

Bohemian Rhapsody does have slight pacing issues as a result of fitting two decades of band history into a single film. The early portion of the film is a whirlwind introduction to Queen and their rise to the top. The rest of the film takes a more selective approach, focusing on Freddie Mercury’s personal struggles and tensions within the band. Overall, the movie finds a good mix of band moments, professional history, and personal drama to spend its time on.

The sheer volume of material it has to cover governs the way Bohemian Rhapsody handles its drama. The movie skims through the highlights of Queen’s career and Freddie’s life, stopping just long enough to evoke a mood or document a pivotal moment before moving on. These brief stops are enough to tell an effective story, but they lack the depth and cohesion that a narrower approach might have had. Whether this is a positive or a negative comes down to taste.

Strong dramatic performances and an excellent soundtrack make Bohemian Rhapsody worth a watch for those who want what it has to offer. Those interested in either the music or the story of Freddie Mercury will get what they’re looking for. Those hoping for a more focused story that delves deeper in to the lives of the band will get less out of it.

8.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 to 7.5 for solid drama and a memorable soundtrack.

Today’s quick review: Igby Goes Down. Igby Slocumb (Kieran Culkin) has been kicked out of every private school on the East Coast. Running out of options, his wealthy mother Mimi (Susan Sarandon) sends him to spend the summer working for his godfather D.H. (Jeff Goldblum) in New York. But when the summer ends, Igby ditches his school and family to live on his own in the city, in the process striking up a relationship with D.H.’s mistress Rachel (Amanda Peet).

Igby Goes Down is a black comedy about a misfit teenager and his wealthy, dysfunctional family. The movie chronicles Igby Slocumb’s varied attempts to make a life for himself outside the confines of his home. More concerned with sex and drugs than his future, Igby has no plan other than to get away from it all. Fittingly enough, Igby Goes Down is less of a singular story than a series of misadventures that force Igby to grow up, after a fashion.

Much of the conflict in Igby Goes Down takes place between Igby and his family. Igby shows open contempt for his mother Mimi, a cold, aristocratic woman who just wants Igby to shut up and behave. He also butts heads with his older brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe), a hard-working, cultured young man who is everything Igby is not. Igby has a more ambivalent relationship with his godfather D.H., an avuncular businessman who is every bit as shrewd as Igby.

How much you get out of the movie will depend on how interesting you find its main character. Igby is clever and bitter, a combination that drives him to lash out even when the smart thing to do would be to hold his tongue. He is a rare protagonist whose spite is genuine and not shed lightly. His cynical outlook on life fuels much of the film’s humor, though the jokes are doled out infrequently and tend to have a dark edge to them.

In spite of his bad attitude, Igby does have nuance as a character. He may not have the sentimental core that other disaffected teenagers do in fiction, but he does have a heart, one that’s most readily seen when his attempts to game the system fall apart. Igby wants to be treated like an adult but simply isn’t ready for it yet. His brushes with responsibility, romantic rejection, and illness in the family give depth to the character and the story.

Igby Goes Down is a decent pick for those interested in its themes of teenage rebellion and familial dysfunction in the upper class. The movie doesn’t offer much in the way of overt humor—its comedy comes mainly from odd situations and Igby’s sarcastic quips—nor does it have much in the way of redemption for its protagonist. But it does paint a nuanced, fascinating portrait of Igby Slocumb, and that’s enough to make it a solid watch for the right viewer.

For a dry coming-of-age comedy that deals with similar issues, try Rushmore or Lady Bird. For the more upbeat adventures of a precocious teenager, try Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. For the story of a similarly dysfunctional upper-class family, try The Royal Tenenbaums. For a more surreal tale of self-destruction, try Birdman.

7.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it the same for a fascinating lead and interesting themes without the story or heart to do more with them.

“I’m single. Sort of.” —Fay Grim

Today’s quick review: Fay Grim. Fay Grim’s (Parker Posey) life is complicated. Her son Ned (Liam Aiken) is in trouble at school, her loutish husband Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan) fled the country years ago, and her brother Simon (James Urbaniak) is in jail for helping him. Now, to top it all off, Agent Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum) of the CIA wants Fay’s help in retrieving Henry’s missing journals, which he believes contain important national secrets.

Fay Grim is a quirky independent comedy about a single mother caught up in an international web of intrigue, thanks to the exploits of her notorious husband. Fay Grim combines a unique premise, a convoluted plot, a wry sense of humor, and a jaunty directorial style to produce a fresh and entertaining experience. However, the complexity of the story, its madcap pacing, and the serious places it goes all put a damper on an otherwise upbeat comedy.

Fay Grim is the sequel to Henry Fool, another comedy from writer and director Hal Hartley. The sequel picks up roughly seven years after the end of the first film and spins its offbeat ending into an even stranger adventure involving international espionage. The leftover plot points from Henry Fool make Fay Grim’s story even more convoluted, but the sequel takes it all in stride, providing enough in the way of a recap to orient new viewers.

Fay Grim has a unique style of comedy that not even its predecessor fully shares. The movie presents itself with an overly serious, deadpan style that its characters and dialogue undercut at every opportunity. The vivid, fallible characters flounce around like they are in a soap opera, mundane conversational exchanges are delivered with even more gravitas than key plot points, and the script is chock full of dry wit and subtle, tongue-in-cheek humor.

The plot itself is contrived and convoluted to a comical degree. Fay, an ordinary single mother, gets wrapped up in the loose ends of her husband’s flight from the country. Pressured into helping the CIA retrieve her husband’s journals, Fay travles to France and lands in the middle of an international web of intrigue and deception. The many, many puzzle pieces do fit together, but they’re thrown at the viewer rapid-fire, more for comedic than dramatic effect.

Here is where Fay Grim starts to falter. The sheer volume of information required to follow the plot is overwhelming, and it gradually becomes apparent that all the schemes, lies, and competing agents in the hunt for Henry’s journals are not mere throwaways but actual parts of the plot. Eventually Fay Grim sheds its comedy entirely and becomes the spy thriller it was pretending to be all along, with a concomitant shift in tone to pure drama.

How much you get out of Fay Grim will depend heavily on what you want it to be. Those hoping for a breezy comedy may trip on the film’s complex plot and gradual shift to a heavier tone. Those hoping for a genuine spy thriller may not appreciate the film’s flippant treatment of its plot. But those willing to invest in Fay Grim’s plot and roll with the drama as it comes will be treated to a quirky comedy with subtle and skillfully delivered humor.

For a more elaborate comedic romp with similarly dry delivery, try The Grand Budapest Hotel. For a wry, espionage-based caper with a similar tonal trajectory, try Burn After Reading. For an understated comedy with a similar tone and more heart, try Sunshine Cleaning. For a black comedy with a convoluted plot and a bittersweet tone, try In Bruges.

6.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for intriguing deadpan humor attached to a double-edged story and tone; your score will vary depending on your taste in comedy.

“They’re throwing bottles at your house. Come on, let’s go break their arms.” —Henry

Today’s quick review: Henry Fool. Simon Grim (James Urbaniak), an unassertive garbageman, lives with his sister Fay (Parker Posey) and their mother Mary (Maria Porter). His life takes a peculiar turn when he meets Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), an ex-con with grand ideas and a shady past, who decides to rent out the Grims’ basement. Henry urges Simon to take up poetry, and his evocative poems soon stir up controversy in the local community.

Henry Fool is a quirky independent comedy from writer and director Hal Hartley. Henry Fool specializes in dry humor punctuated by fits of crassness and dramatic themes that become more pronounced as the movie goes on. The cast is a motley lot of losers and malcontents, including the emotionally stunted Simon, his sex-starved sister Fay, and their troublesome tenant Henry. Henry Fool has a twisted charm to it and the craftsmanship to see it through.

The movie, much like its namesake, has a knack for making terrible ideas seem plausible. Henry is a societal rebel whose grandiose ideas are perfectly convincing until they’re put into practice, when they are usually revealed as dubiously effective and deeply antisocial. Under Henry’s tutelage, Simon transforms into a controversial poet whose notorious work makes him a local menace. Henry’s effects on the other characters are no less catastrophic.

Yet Henry has a strange sort of nobility about him that makes him a compelling character. Despite being a repulsive, self-interested, and unrepentant man guilty of terrible crimes, he has a sort of perverse charisma that the movie uses to great effect. Henry’s twisted character, the Grims’ attempts to stay afloat, and Simon’s quixotic quest to get published form the foundation for an unusual but intriguing comedy with fascinating ideas.

However, Henry Fool makes for a niche pick. Its wry black humor lacks the accessibility of other comedies, while its flippant portrayal of everything from sex to suicide is bound to turn off many of its viewers. The story also veers in odd directions, spanning the course of years as Henry works his way deeper into the Grims’ lives. The resulting is a sprawling movie that’s driven more by individual incidents than an overarching plot.

Watch Henry Fool if you’re interested in comedy that’s offbeat, perverse, and somewhat melancholy. The movie achieves its unique vision of an enigmatic stranger and a dysfunctional family, but not everyone will like what it has to offer. For the right viewer, Henry Fool will be a clever and inventive watch. The wrong one will find it utterly unpalatable. For a quirky coming-of-age comedy with less explicit content, try Lady Bird or Rushmore.

7.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for fascinating characters, creative ideas, and a peculiar mix of comedy, drama, and coarseness.

Today’s quick review: The Legend of Drunken Master. Wong Fei-Hung (Jackie Chan) lands in trouble when he accidentally takes a package containing a priceless jade seal from the British ambassador (Louis Roth) as he was smuggling it out of the country. When the ambassador sends his men to rough up Fei-Hung and harass his family, Fei-Hung must disobey his father (Lung Ti) and use the powerful but dangerous technique of drunken boxing to defend himself.

The Legend of Drunken Master is a martial arts action comedy starring Jackie Chan. The movie showcases drunken boxing, an erratic, unpredictable martial arts style that uses alcohol to numb a fighter to pain. Fei-Hung’s use of the style makes him a fearsome opponent, but using too much alcohol sends him over the edge, which is why his father forbids the art. This unusual technique gives the film plenty of material for its action and comedy alike.

As far as action goes, The Legend of Drunken Master is one of Jackie Chan’s sharpest films. The stunts are fast-paced and endlessly creative, making use of improvised weaponry, a variety of environments, and the flashy moves of Fei-Hung’s fighting style to keep the action fresh. The martial arts talent on display is hard to top. The fights do skew somewhat more violent than Jackie Chan’s other work, but only to keep the stakes high and never to excess.

The Legend of Drunken Master doesn’t skimp on comedy, either. Fei-Hung is a natural troublemaker, an easygoing slacker whose shortcuts tend to backfire. His friendly personality and double-edged fighting style are a perfect fit for Jackie Chan. But the film’s unexpected comedic star is Anita Mui, who plays Fei-Hung’s wily stepmother Ling, a fiery woman who covers for her stepson, gambles behind her husband’s back, and steals the show whenever she’s onscreen.

The movie’s sharp action and earnest comedy are balanced out by a story with plenty of natural drama. Though the movie generally keeps up a light tone, the plot dips into drama at key moments. Fei-Hung faces constant setbacks, whether from his stern father, the ambassador’s men, or his own mistakes. Overcoming them gives Fei-Hung a weight that a purely comedic character would lack, while the story’s dramatic beats set up its fight scenes quite nicely.

The Legend of Drunken Master is an excellent pick for fans of Jackie Chan or the martial arts genre in general. Between its unique fighting style, talented cast, and careful balance between action, comedy, and drama, The Legend of Drunken Master has everything it needs to entertain a viewer who’s at all interested in the genre. For a similar flavor of martial arts comedy from Jackie Chan, try Project A or Rumble in the Bronx.

7.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for just the right mix of stunt work and humor.

Today’s quick review: Young Tiger. Cab driver Chien Chen (Charlie Chin) lands in hot water when a woman being chased by a gang of criminals dies in his cab. The gang believes that she gave Chen the purse she was carrying, so they attack and harrass him in order to get it. Chen must team up with Ho Mai-Wah (Qiu Yuen), an undercover cop and the sister of the deceased, to turn the table on the gang’s boss (Nan Chiang) and his lieutenant (Jackie Chan).

Young Tiger is a martial arts crime movie that pits a brave cabbie and a talented police officer against a drug kingpin and his men. The movie’s half-decent plot revolves around a missing purse that the criminals desperately want back. But what modest potential the movie has is let down by sloppy cinematography, uncompelling acting, and stunts that fall well short of other films in the genre. The result is a forgettable and unsatisfying watch.

Young Tiger has a few minor points in its favor that aren’t enough to overcome its weaknesses. Qiu Yuen is a capable martial artist, though her stunts are less spectacular and somewhat more strained than harder-hitting entries into the genre. The skeleton of the plot works just fine, a crime movie where an innocent bystander gets dragged into a criminal conflict with a fair amount of backstory to reveal. But that’s really as far as Young Tiger goes.

The weaknesses of the film are glaring. Aside from Qiu Yuen’s fights, the stunts are sparing, unimaginative, and stick mostly to the basics. Chien Chen is a neutral protagonist with no real skills of his own. The plot lingers on Chen being harrassed by the gang and back-loads the events that matter. Jackie Chan is almost a nonentity, with no real personality or role to play in the story. Low production values also hurt the film at a technical level.

Young Tiger has very little to offer that other films don’t do better. Martial arts fans who are looking for a short dose of action may get something out of it, but most viewers will find that the quality simply isn’t there. Young Tiger doesn’t make any single mistake that dooms it, but it falls short due to a variety of shortcomings that pile up quickly. The result is a flick that’s forgettable and not especially entertaining.

For a martial arts movie with a similar plot and better stunts, try Rumble in the Bronx.

3.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 4.5 for a decent plot and martial arts let down by weak acting, writing, and overall execution.

Today’s quick review: Battlefield Earth. In the year 3000, sadistic aliens known as Psychlos have taken over Earth, driving humanity to the brink of extinction and rendering them nothing more than primitive hunter-gatherers. When Jonnie (Barry Pepper) ventures from his home and is captured by the Psychlos, he uses his unusual intelligence to lead a revolt of human slaves against Terl (John Travolta), the treacherous Psychlo in charge of the planet.

Battlefield Earth is a sci-fi action movie based on the novel by L. Ron Hubbard. Battlefield Earth extrapolates a distant future where aliens rule what’s left of the Earth and the surviving humans live as savages or as slaves. Decent production values and a viable sci-fi premise give the movie some potential, but they are let down by over-the-top acting, spurious plot logic, and tonal issues, resulting in a movie that mostly misses the mark.

Battlefield Earth is a hard movie to take seriously. The setup belongs to a science fiction epic, dealing with humanity’s attempts to pick itself up by its bootstraps in a fight against a much more technologically advanced foe. But the execution is oddly comical, with generically primitive humans, cartoonishly selfish aliens, and gags about human culture and modernity that come at the expense of the setting’s credibility.

The sort of irreverent take on alien occupation that Battlefield Earth flirts with could be the basis for an entertaining comedy, but it’s not clear that this is what the movie has in mind. The gags that are meant to be funny fall flat, while the exaggerated acting and extreme leaps of plot logic turn otherwise serious moments into parodies of themselves. The movie has elements of epic, parody, and popcorn action, but not in any discernible pattern.

Watch Battlefield Earth only if you’re a fan of the sillier side of the science fiction genre. Flaky acting and direction sharply limit its effectiveness as a drama, an epic, or even an action romp. What it does manage to achieve in these areas is not novel or interesting enough to set it apart from other films. Battlefield Earth has more luck as a comedy, but even then the unintentional nature of much of the humor makes it a surreal watch.

For a more iconic reversal of human civilization, try Planet of the Apes. For a more inventive tale of post-apocalyptic survival, try Reign of Fire. For more thoughtful science fiction set in a decimated Earth, try Logan’s Run. For a similar caliber of acting, writing, and direction, try In the Name of the King. For a better use of John Travolta’s talents, try Face/Off.

2.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 4.5 for a decent premise hurt badly by the way it is realized.

Today’s quick review: Occupation. When aliens invade their small Australian town, Matt Simmons (Dan Ewing) and his girlfriend Amelia (Stephany Jacobsen) help lead a group of survivors to safety, including an ex-con (Temuera Morrison) and his estranged teenage daughter (Izzy Stevens), a pregnant nurse (Rhiannon Fish), and Amelia’s younger brother (Trystan Go). Hiding in the forest, the survivors begin to wage a guerrilla war against the alien invaders.

Occupation is a sci-fi action movie about an alien invasion and the band of humans resisting it. The movie follows Matt, Amelia, and their fellow survivors over the course of several months as they fight back against the aliens and search for a way to save their loved ones who have been captured. Occupation’s ambition and effort make it a surprisingly capable film, but its merely decent story and limited budget put a cap on what it can achieve.

Occupation makes the most of what appears to be a modest budget. The invasion goes light on the CGI but heavy on the pyrotechnics and practical effects. As a result, the action scenes do manage to sell the scale of the conflict, even if the action itself isn’t particularly refined. The story is similarly ambitious: a lengthy, multi-stage tale that charts the invasion from start to finish and tracks the arcs of nearly a dozen survivors.

With that said, Occupation only achieves part of what it sets out to do. The cast avoids any major pitfalls, with decent acting and varied characters, but there are no outstanding performances or brilliant characters to latch onto. The plot has plenty of dramatic events, but it lacks clear intermediary objectives or a well-motivated endpoint. The ebb and flow of the war seems to happen on its own, without any coups for or mistakes by the characters.

Fans of budget science fiction may want to give Occupation a shot. The movie lacks the spectacle, polish, and star power of its big-budget counterparts, and it doesn’t add anything new to the alien invasion genre. But it does make good use of the resources at its disposal and puts in enough effort to make it a decent watch for those willing to take it for what it is. Steer clear if you’re looking to be impressed in concrete terms.

For another movie about the guerrilla resistance to an invasion, try Red Dawn. For a more action-packed alien invasion, try Independence Day. For a budget alien invasion movie with more of a twist, try Extinction. For one with a worse script and acting, try Taking Earth or Robot Overlords.

5.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for decent fundamentals without the novelty or polish to go farther.

Today’s quick review: 2036 Origin Unknown. In the year 2036, Mack Wilson (Katee Sackhoff) remotely commands an unmanned mission to Mars with the help of ARTI (Steven Cree), an advanced artificial intelligence. The Mars lander soon finds a mysterious cube that’s capable of hyperlight travel and other startling feats. As Mack digs deeper into the cube’s origins, she learns troubling secrets kept by Lena (Julie Cox), her sister and boss.

2036 Origin Unknown is a budget science fiction movie that muses on artificial intelligence, interplanetary exploration, and alien contact. 2036 Origin Unknown pairs a skeptical scientist with an AI to unravel the mysteries of alien technology. The movie features some interesting sci-fi speculation and a couple of good mysteries laced into its plot. But its mediocre writing and acting, abstract plot, and weak payoff make it something of a miss overall.

2036 Origin Unknown is too ambitious for its own good. The plot starts out fine, an interplanetary mystery with a dash of conspiracy and the added wrinkle of a hyper-advanced AI who may or may not be trustworthy. But as it approaches the endgame, the story loses its way. The mystery takes a turn for the bizarre, the nature of the conflict changes drastically, and the story embraces lofty themes that it does not have the skill to pull off.

The result is a science fiction movie that aims high and falls well short of its goal. 2036 Origin Unknown has the bits and pieces of a compelling sci-fi story, but it lacks the quality of writing needed to follow through on them. Its most daring ideas are not set up properly and presented in confusing ways, while the more plausible plot twists that fill the middle of the movie are abandoned as the ending comes around.

Watch 2036 Origin Unknown only if you’re a fan of budget science fiction in the mood for something abstract and mind-bending. 2036 Origin Unknown does not have the sharpness of writing, the tightness of plot, or the thematic depth to have its intended effect. The pieces of the story will hold some interest, but the whole does not have much to offer.

For a much more artistic sci-fi movie that deals with similar themes, try 2001: A Space Odyssey. For a more grounded, scientific tale of Mars exploration, try The Martian. For a science fiction drama that reaches just as far and with more skill, try Interstellar. For another minimalistic sci-fi movie that explores the relationship between man and AI, try Moon.

4.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.5 for decent plot hooks let down by an abstract, unsatisfying ending.

Today’s quick review: IO. Sam Walden (Margaret Qualley), the daughter of scientist Harry Walden (Danny Huston), is one of the last humans left on Earth after an environmental catastrophe that poisoned the atmosphere and killed off most animal life. With the last shuttle to the human colony orbiting Io leaving in just a few days, Sam must decide whether to continue her father’s research on Earth or leave with Micah (Anthony Mackie) for a new world.

IO is a budget science fiction drama about a young woman left by herself on a dying planet. The story centers on the question of whether to give up on Earth or pursue a desperate, likely futile quest to see it reborn. IO has a well-drawn setting, interesting themes, and a fair amount of grounded, scientific speculation. However, its slow pacing and uneventful plot mean that there is almost no reward for investing in its world.

IO is better at setting up its story than seeing it through. The Earth shown in the film is portrayed modestly but effectively, a lonely, desolate place with isolated pockets of beauty. The film takes great care to show Sam’s routine, her research, and her attempts to rekindle life capable of surviving in the toxic atmosphere. For their part, Sam and Micah are credible characters, behaving in responsible but human ways in a taxing situation.

But IO has nowhere to go with its setup. The sole question of note is whether Sam will give up on the Earth, and even then the question is ambiguous enough that neither answer is satisfying. There’s no hope of a magic cure to save the Earth and no gleaming paradise to flee to, meaning that there’s no payoff for all the time the movie spends mulling over the question. The plot has very little going on; even its one or two plot twists change nothing.

Fans of the moody, thoughtful side of the sci-fi genre may want to give IO a shot. Its moody atmosphere and intellectual writing make it one of the more grounded budget sci-fi movies out there. However, IO has almost no story to speak of it, just the slow reiteration of themes the movie has already explored. IO has fine craftsmanship but little to recommend it. The majority of viewers would be better off looking elsewhere for their sci-fi fix.

For a grander adventure with a similar premise, try Interstellar. For a science-heavy tale of survival in an even harsher environment, try The Martian. For a low-key sci-fi movie with much of the same melancholy, check out Another Earth.

4.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for a decent setup but precious little plot.