Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Knock at the Cabin - I've said this before, but I'm not exactly the biggest fan of M. Night Shyamalan. HOWEVER, his films are bold and have interesting narratives, so I will always watch them and hope for the best (I've liked a few). I liked that the trailer for this didn't give too much away - it definitely created intrigue. There's also a very interesting cast here - Dave Bautista has been great in superhero stuff, but I was curious to see his actual acting chops. I LOVE Jonathon Groff (not just because of Glee, he was excellent in Mindhunter). And the hot guy from Spoiler Alert (he's still hot in this! I should probably learn his name). They all exceed expectations, as does the rest of the supporting actors. Aside from Rupert Grint - that boy can NOT act to save his life. As for the story, it's quite interesting - it instantly reminded me of 10 Cloverfield Lane, which I loved, with these people having to trust strangers telling them that the world is going to end. Personally, I just would not believe it - there are too many crazy people in the world, but if I did believe what this group were telling me, I would absolutely sacrifice myself for the survival of everyone else. It's a very biblical tale set in a modern world, and a very strong premise. BUT, I think centering this story on a gay couple is a huge error in judgement. This group of people have to destroy a gay family in order to save the world??? That just sends a terrible message to all the homophobes out there. I'm a very anti-religious person, but I think people are free to believe in whatever they want. If someone is homophobic because it's against their religion - fine. I don't agree with it, but whatever. But, it's these crazy religious zealots that think it's their job to police other's sexuality that really angers me. Anyway, I'm not going to go on a whole tangent, but my point is that this film feels very homophobic to me and I'm not sure if that's intentional? It's also one of those movies that you have to just "go along" with instead of asking questions - like how on Earth do they clean up the bodies and ALL that blood within minutes???? The news footage also looks incredibly fake, so I would definitely not believe it for that alone (and all the people hanging out on the beach after an earthquake?? Everyone knows to get off the beach in case of a tsunami that often follows earthquakes. So dumb). I also questioned if Shyamalan works with the same cinematographer for his films because there are always shots in his films that feel amateur (it's actually my biggest criticism of his films), and I realized that maybe it's not his fault, but no, he uses different people in almost every movie - so it's all on him. It just feels like Film School 101 sometimes. While I like the ending *spoilers ahead*, I do think this is probably not the time to let the conspiracy theorists win. 

2. Luckiest Girl Alive - I liked this movie more than I was expecting to. I thought it kind of looked like a Lifetime movie (do those even exist anymore or am I aging myself??). I just love Mila Kunis so much though. And not just as an actress - I think she's an awesome human - she's funny, self-deprecating, smart, charitable (although I was initially impressed when she donated 3 million to Ukraine only to learn that her and her husband have a combined fortune of 275 million LOL. I hate rich people so much sometimes). Anyway, I was surprised at the depth explored in this - and I feel like it could have better told within a mini-series because there's actually so much to the story that could have been explored more if they had the time. There is a very interesting story here about the aftermath of a school shooting - in which the bully/rapist (and catalyst for the shooter to go on his spree) survives the shooting and is seen as a national hero now. While I never want to place blame on a victim, sometimes I think people are a little too quick to idolize others. And in this case the victim is a very, very, very shitty person. I also think Mila does a fantastic job at this very layered character that she creates - it's the story of a woman who has put this protective layer around her, so much so, that she basically becomes another person. A person who lives a privileged, wealthy, loved life. This persona of a woman who loves hearing her husband call her "babe" (sorry, but it makes me cringe so hard. Both my husband's sisters and their partners call each other "babe" so when we have family dinners we hear "babe" like 20 times and my husband and I sit there taking deep breaths so we don't explode at them LOL.); the type of woman who cares about her weight (the scene when she inhales her food after her fiance leaves is hilarious). It's an incredibly nuanced role, and I don't think I've ever seen Mila really push herself like this. I do have a slight nit-pick, though, with the line in which she says something like "petite is what they call short fat girls" is...weird? I don't think that's true at all - I'm 5ft and a stick (95lbs on a good day) and I'm most often described as petite. It's always been used as a compliment - so it's confusing that someone sees it as an insult? Anyway, I like this movie, but it all feels a little too rushed. There's also a great supporting cast - Connie Britton, Scoot McNairy, Jennifer Beals & Finn Wittrock. Plus, an incredible performance from newcomer Chiara Aurelia. And I like the writing advice that she is given at the end, which is to write as if nobody is ever going to read it. That's exactly what I do and I promise you, it is very freeing. 

3. Tetris - I really liked this. Shocking, I know. It reminded me a lot of Argo and I loved Argo (actually, this made me want to watch Argo again, because I think I've only seen it once). But, I fully admit that I probably would not have enjoyed it as much if Taron Egerton wasn't in it. And it seems I'm not the only one, because I read a LOT of reviews, and even the reviews that are less favorable still tout Taron as being absolutely charming and engaging. I think a lot of people may have assumed that his performance in Rocketman was a fluke, but with this and Black Bird, I think people are finally starting to take notice. As much as I love him in this role, and the range that he shows here, I do think that the casting is a little problematic. Henk Rogers was part Indonesian (it's even stated in the movie), so whitewashing the role isn't the best option. However, this is one of those cases that I think sits right on the line - because I don't get the sense that Rogers really identifies himself as anything other than an American (he is also Dutch, but grew up in America and then moved to Japan for this wife). It sort of reminds me of my husband's situation because he's half Cuban, but would not care if someone playing him was also half Cuban because he's mostly just a white American. As I said, it's an "iffy" situation, but Henk had some say in the script and was consulted on the movie, and he's obviously not the type to back down, so if he had a problem with the casting, surely he would have said something??? Anyway, obviously, I'm biased because I think Taron is perfect (his only flaw is that he puts mayo on pizza) and he was so cute promoting this movie because he very clearly is not really a big fan of Tetris the game (he literally said "it's definitely addictive, but so is crack" LOL WHAT TARON??), and he compared wearing a fake mustache to the pain of giving child birth (I'm still laughing at this). Anyway, as far as the movie goes, I do think it would have fallen apart a little if it weren't for Egerton's charm. It feels like it doesn't know what kind of movie it wants to be so it just straddles the line of being this weird combination of Cold War espionage and silly nostalgia-based biopic. It works, but barely. Like the Tetris themed interludes for the car chase scene and character introductions - which Vaughn said was Taron's idea - it's just...odd, but also made it extremely watchable. Like, I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It definitely gets a little repetitive and could have easily been 20 minutes shorter. The supporting cast is great (Toby Jones and Nikita Efremov, in particular. Although doesn't Efremov look like Joe Alwyn??? Like...identical?) and the soundtrack is super (I still have "The Final Countdown" in my head and I watched this movie a month ago). 

4. Rye Lane - I like this movie too! I don't think it's as good as some of the praise suggests, but it's really cute and sweet, with some funny quick dialogue, and the actors are really charismatic. Vivian Oparah and David Johnson are delightful together. There are parts about it that I like a lot - I love how they put themselves into the flashback scenes (that Sienna Miller movie that nobody saw did something similar - it's a really cool way to use flashbacks within the narrative). The karaoke scene is EVERYTHING that I wanted it to be and then some. And the cameo appearance by none other than COLIN FIRTH??? How fucking random is that?? And also really, really hilarious. I'm not sure that I like the distracting camerawork - like the over use of the fish-eye lens. I just don't think it's necessary here - the film is already interesting because the characters have charm and depth and it's written well. But overall, it's a cute and lighthearted rom-com that has some laugh out loud moments and memorable scenes. I think it does a good job of also incorporating real world discussions about gentrification, racism, and mental health without bogging down the story. 

5. There's Something Wrong with the Children - Blumhouse Production just keeps churning out these low-budget horror movies, and I just keep watching them. The only reason this film rates slightly higher than a 1 star movie is because of the cast. It's very bad, though. I love Zach Gilford (aka Matt Saracen) so much, even if he plays the same character in everything. And it's the actress from Silicon Valley! It took me a good hour to figure out how I know her until I finally gave in and looked it up. I don't know the others in the cast, but everyone gives really strong performances. It's just....very dull and predictable. I don't think it's particularly scary, either - it follows the "kids are creepy" trope (and these kids are super creepy even before they're supposed to be!). And, as always with horror movies, the characters do really, really stupid things. But, I do think the actors did a great job at grounding it in reality, and some of the conversations about having (or not having) children are really interesting. I also like the overpowering 80s horror movie score, even though it's a modern day movie (although it could be told during any decade of the last 50 years if they just got rid of the cellphones). I just wish it had some bigger scares, a bit of a faster pace, and some surprises.