Film Review: Await Further Instructions (2018)

Screened at The Walter Reade Theater at Film Society of Lincoln Center, 8pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: a bottle of water. Is that considered a snack?

My favorite film festival has returned: Scary Movies XI at Film Society. Brand new horror films from around the world making their North American debut. I love it! I’ve seen some of my favorite movies here for the first time.

I was drawn to this movie because of its synopsis: a dysfunctional family wakes up Christmas morning to discover their entire house is surrounded by a black substance with no way out, and their only connection to the outside world are the words on the television “Await Further Instructions.”

It’s a unique premise, and despite it’s extremely rushed set-up, the film settles into it’s Thing (John Carpenter joke… ha… ha…) rather quickly. Paranoia is high and no one is to be trusted. I liked everything the movie did, but each scene just left me wishing it had gone even further. It’s crazy, tense, and funny, but not crazy, tense, or funny enough. I wish it had gone to 11. Spinal Tap joke… ha… ha…

With that said though, the ending of the film is truly insane and I loved it. But just as before, I wish it had gotten insane sooner, so the filmmakers could have spent more time in the Cronenberg grossness of it all and explored the ideas it brings up.

Await Further Instructions is a really enjoyable ride. The ending is wonderful, even if it does take a little while to get there. It doesn’t do anything astounding in the genre, but it’s a welcome addition. I had plenty of fun with it and I highly recommend you check it out.

Film Review: The Exorcist (1973)

Screened in the comfort of my own home, 9pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: Nothing. This was a serious viewing, as you’ll soon find out why…

Watching The Exorcist for the first time was extremely important to me, I feel like my entire life built up to this Halloween night.

The mangled face of possessed Regan is something that has haunted me for years and has scared me for as long as I can remember. When I saw her face for the first time (I was so young, I don’t actually remember where or why. A commercial maybe? I have no clue) but it terrified me.

Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, my parents and everyone around me always labeled this as the worst movie imaginable. Foul, crude, and disrespectful, saying it went completely against God’s good word. On top of that, my parents were just plain strict with everything entertainment-wise. Without them even realizing, they were building this movie up in my head as being untouchable, and I wanted to watch it even more.

I told my good friend all about this “journey” towards watching it. Then, three years ago he bought it for me for my birthday (that really fancy 40th anniversary blu-ray set hell yeah). Why I didn’t watch it until now, I don’t remember. Who cares. But I’m very, very happy I watched it at this point in my life. Three years ago, or even sooner than that, my childhood JW-guilt would have crept in, and I would potentially, most-likely, maybe, possibly, felt differently. That is, to the point that I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.

Tonight, I felt a Christian mindset come back into my thinking for the first time in years. Of course Father Karras and Father Merrin are the good guys. Regan brought the Devil into herself by playing with a demonic toy (again, my parents warned me if I ever THOUGHT about using a ouija board, demons would come into our home). She was guilty, but also needed to be saved. It was extremely weird, but it felt it. A Christian fear, something I didn’t think I’d ever feel or worry about again. I’m happy I watched this film now. Far off enough that I could watch it and genuinely enjoy it, but still close enough to my old life that the voice of my parents were in my head, shaming me for toying with demons and Satan’s entertainment.

On this devilish Halloween night, I just watched a new favorite movie.

Film Review: Suspiria (2018)

Screened at Regal in Union Square, 2:40pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: Small Diet Coke and some Peanut M&M’s, which is very unlike me. I never drink soda.

One Suspiriorum, Two Italian directors, Three Mothers, and a Dozen Witches.

I had no previous feelings towards this new remake of Suspiria. On one hand, I adore Dario Argento’s original 1977 film, but knowing that an equally impressive filmmaker Luca Guadagnino was directing this new film, I had no fear that he wouldn’t do a good job.

The story is the same: a young American aspiring dancer dreams of being part of a world renowned dance company based in Berlin. While she is accepted, happy and ready to begin learning, there is a mysterious foundation holding up this famous dance company that she, nor anyone, is prepared for. The 2018 remake is nothing like the original film, and thats a great thing.

An underlying feeling of dread and anxiety permeates the entire movie. Even when something normal or mundane were happening on screen, you just felt anxious as if something not quite right is going to happen. And guess what? It doesn’t. Fifty Shades of Gray star Dakota Johnson is absolutely wonderful in the film. Her basic and normal every-day-woman character is so blasé and average that she undermines your senses when her “time” to “shine” eventually comes to the screen. She’s the real star of the film, and you don’t even realize it until it’s too late.

But that’s not to say that Tilda Swinton isn’t the powerhouse she always is. Swinton plays not one, not two, but three characters in the film. The leader of the dance company Madame Blanc, who choreographs the “rituals” and routines. Josef Klempere, a psychotherapist who becomes interested in the dance company when one of his patients tells him it is run by witches. And finally Mater Suspiriorum herself, Mother Markos, the witch living beneath the academy in search of a new body. With Tilda Swinton’s sensational acting, on top of the incredible makeup used in the film, I truly didn’t know it was her playing all these characters. When the credits roll, they even fake these characters by putting fake actors names. The character of Doctor Josef Klempere is named in the credits as Lutz Ebersdorf. Very, very interesting.

My highest recommendations go to 2018’s Suspiria. It’s unlike anything Hollywood is making today. It’s horrifying, anxious, sad, and downright beautiful. It’s a piece of cinema that will be remembered for years to come.

Film Review: Caniba (2017)

Screened at The Museum of The Moving Image, 5pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: nothing but a nauseous stomach. You’re not going to want to eat for a while after this film.

This documentary is not what I thought it would be. It barely touches on the events that occurred in 1981, when Japanese man Issei Sagawa murdered and ate his classmate Renée Hartvelt. This film isn’t even an interview. Instead, we are watching a painter create images on a canvas. Who that painter is: Issei, his twin brother Jun, or the filmmakers Paravel & Castaing, is up to us to decide.

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Caniba is both an exercise in patience and in depravity. It’s extremely slow moving, with Issei speaking a few words, then pausing for an extended number of seconds, before finally finishing his very poetic thought. Whether this is a result of the stroke he suffered a few years ago is never disclosed, but possibly the thoughts of a man who now thinks before he speaks. His words are delivered as cryptic poetry, both fantastical and confessionary, in potentially the most intimate he’s ever been about his feelings.

Accompanying these words are his face and only that. The entire film is a close-up, morphing between crisp and out-of-focus. There is an extended sequence that seems to go on forever, when Issei lays down to sleep and his face is on screen staring directly back at us. I began to doze off, eventually closing my eyes for a moment. When I woke up, his face was still on screen and I still do not have any idea how long I was asleep, if I even fell asleep, or for how long that sequence went on for. It’s an incredibly interesting way to view him, that is unique and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. But the moment this scene ends, you are abruptly woken up by debauchery, as we get to witness one of Issei’s amateur porn videos, one of many he filmed through-out the 90’s, capitalizing on his new-found criminal fame.

This is only the beginning of the nausea.

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The other half of this film involves Issei’s twin brother Jun. Jun has dark secrets of his own that he has never shared with anyone, and within the film, we witness him firsthand telling his brother Issei about his secrets after 60 years of keeping silent. I was not prepared to feel physically ill, and I was not prepared to be staring at these images for as long as I was. But just as the filmmakers shot the faces of their subjects, we were forced to gaze at the violence in extreme close-up and for an extended period of time.

Caniba is unconventional in every way. It’s a moving piece that looks at, not a cannibal, but the guilt of a cannibal who has been living with this in his head for nearly 40 years. Then, stepping aside and looking at his brother who deals with his own demons. “Is the pain they feel and express genuine?” is the question you’ll be asking yourself for days.

The film ends with a miracle though, and we get to witness it ourselves: Issei Sagawa feeling happy. How he acquires this happiness though is just another twisted moment we have to voyeuristically endure.

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Film Review: A Star Is Born (2018)

Screened at Regal Kaufman in Astoria, 10:15pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: Snickers Ice Cream Bar. Words of advice, don’t eat ice cream at the movie theater. Toooo messy.

A Star Is Born, but is it really Lady Gaga?

Two weeks before the movie came out, I had bought my tickets for A Star is Born. I was ready. Beyond excited. Although I was unfamiliar with the many adaptions of A Star Is Born: the 1937 original, and the 1954 and 1976 remakes, I was stoked to see Lady Gaga on the big screen. Who doesn’t love Lady Gaga? If you don’t, you’re lying to yourself. Admit it.

Although I haven’t seen the remake from the 50’s or the 70’s, I did wonder, how could Lady Gaga compare to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand? I know she’s massively successful with her phenomenal voice, but she’s following in the footsteps of two of music’s greatest legends. Boy was I wrong.

DSC_2077.dng — Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga, in the infamous scene, singing *Shallow*

A Star Is Born is a Star of a film. It’s extraordinary. It’s fantastic. It’s stellar. It’s perfect. I was wrapped up from the moment it started, following Jackson Maine walking from backstage out into a roaring crowd, cheering him on as he picked up his guitar and started rocking. It doesn’t take very long until we meet Lady Gaga’s character, Allison, who is the only female singing onstage at a drag bar. Jackson Main, looking for a drink, stumbles into the right bar at the right time. They meet, and thus begins our incredible journey.

The music slaps. Cooper and Gaga’s song Shallow was stuck in my head for days after I left the theater. The first time we hear the song is in a parking lot at 4am. Ally belts the tune out acapella, but it’s just as powerful. Soon after, we get to hear the song played by a full band and sung by Ally and Jackson both. It’s a great moment in the film that fills your body with chills.

Lady Gaga was already a star following her music career, obviously, but now we know she’s a star on the big screen. Bradley Cooper’s direction is precise and fluid. (Even though, admittedly, you can tell he’s a first time filmmaker.) A Star Is Born should be seen by everyone. It’s going to be a hot movie at next years Academy Awards.

Film Review: Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1978)

Screened in the comfort of my own apartment, somewhere around a 10pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: None. I was still full from dinner. Crazy.

I had recently watched the original Invasion of The Body Snatchers from 1956. I got to build a 35mm print at work and quality test it before the official audience screening. I loved it. It was atmospheric, wonderfully shot, and very well written. I immediately became interested in watching the 70’s remake.

Slowly, day by day, people across San Francisco are changing. Not physically, but their loved ones can just sense that something is off about them. More and more people are being taken over by this unseen force, becoming emotionless beings, and nobody knows why or what is going on.

From the moment the film starts, I quickly realized it was scene-for-scene, moment-for-moment a direct remake of the original. I was taken aback by how closely it resembled the first, wondering why it didn’t try to live on it’s own. But I was quickly proven wrong. The film may be extremely similar to it’s source material, but it showed me how individualistic it really is. The movie isn’t just a carbon replica of the original film, ya know, like the alien creatures in the story, but it stands on it’s own as an incredible exercise in terror.

The movie hits the ground running, wasting no time getting into the story. And even faster than that, the horror begins creeping under your skin. The person you love the most may no longer be themselves… Honestly, I don’t know what’s more terrifying than that. This remake took me by complete surprise. I wasn’t expecting this film to be as good as it was, but it’s a truly captivating movie. And, crazy enough, I’d say it justifies remakes.

Film Review: Lake Mungo (2008)

Screened in the comfort of my own apartment via a good ‘ol Amazon rental for $2.99, somewhere around an 11:20pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: a bowl of cereal. Vanilla Frosted Chex, I think it was.

I had not heard of Lake Mungo until a few days before this; it came recommended from a friend of mine. The synopsis he gave me was very vague, “a girl drowns in a river and her family experiences some weird shit after it.” He then insisted I not look up a single thing and to watch the movie blind. He’s always been good when it came to recommendations. He hasn’t failed me yet. So I took his advice.

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The film begins with some police footage. Then a thick Australian accent begins speaking over the video. Then, to my surprise, a talking head appears in the traditional documentary style, with the words appearing on the bottom of the screen: June Palmer, Alice’s Mother. I was taken completely by surprise. I had no idea this was a documentary and I became completely intrigued.

A family takes a weekend away and visits a beach, where their daughter Alice disappears into thin air. After a week and a half of searching, her body is found further down the beach; soaked, bloated, and decomposing. From this point forward, strange things begin happening in their home, and they soon believe Alice is coming back.

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The biggest compliment I can give to the movie, is the adherence and loyalty it has to it’s faux documentary style. There were moments when I truly began believing in what the film was telling me. I knew it wasn’t real, but that didn’t stop me from sharing in the terror the Palmer’s were going through. Every piece of video footage was crackly and blurry enough to trick me into thinking “maybe this did happen?” It does such a tremendous job following through on the documentary style that it surpassed every cliche attributed to found footage, and flew passed the moniker of mockumentary.

Is it scary? Hell yeah it definitely is. It’s so subtle and minute in it’s horror that it creeps under your skin without you even realizing. There are no jump scares, no loud obnoxious bangs or growls, just pure terror. The scariest moments of the film are when you’re viewing blurry camera footage of a ghost standing completely still, staring right back at you. Without any outward horror, the film may give you a heart attack.

Lake Mungo took me by surprise. I was truly captivated from beginning to end. It does so much with so little, that you can’t help but have so much respect for it. I highly recommend.

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Film Review: Happiness (1998)

Screened at Museum of The Moving Image on 35mm, 3pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: nothing, because the Moving Image doesn’t allow snacks in their theater. I respect it.

Directed by Todd Solondz, Happiness is a dark comedy film that follows a family and all the people they interact with in their lives, and then follows those people and who they interact with, and then follows them… and how each individual is searching for happiness. It touches on nearly every social topic you can think of, and does so with controversial grace. The film is two and half hours, and never feels slow or overcrowded.

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There are 21 named characters in the movie. A beautiful housewife with the perfect home and perfect family. A lonely perverted office worker with a drinking problem. A famous novelist who feels fake on the outside. A well-to-do therapist who is a secret pedophile. An old couple who doesn’t love each other anymore. Their lonely daughter who just wants to fall in love. A young, pubescent boy who wants to orgasm. Even with all these characters in the film, you have a genuine interest in every single person and cannot wait to get back to their story. It’s never dull, never boring, and completely captivating.

The film touches on some extremely dark and controversial topics, but does so with extreme respect. I mean, there is no respectful way to discuss pedophilia. Just by having a character in the film with these desires and treating him like a human is already going to bring some controversy. The film talks about pedophilia, rape, murder, and mass shootings (which is far more difficult to stomach 20 years later). The film does not use these themes to shock or cause distress, but instead uses them in the story to make a point and bring about change. The least suspecting people are the ones who may have these negative qualities. Sometimes it’s better to talk about things than it is to ignore them.

Todd Solondz direction is subtle and simple. It’s never showy, and because of that, it allows the audience to focus in on the story. No fancy camera moves or quick edits to influence your thoughts. Just the characters and their decisions. And that alone makes it a beautiful movie to see. It’s also a time capsule of mid-90’s New Jersey, which offers some great laughs.

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Speaking of laughs; despite the films dark nature, it is absolutely hilarious. If you’re not laughing at a genuinely funny moment, you’re probably laughing with nerves during it’s awkward moments. It balances perfectly on a fine tight-rope between trashy and respectful, and each moment that is meant to be funny, will definitely put a smile on your face.

Happiness is a masterpiece of storytelling. A simple movie that can be picked apart and analyzed, teaching dozens of lessons to those struggling with the day-to-day grind. Not only the best of Todd Solondz entire filmography, but one of the best films of the 90’s.

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Film Review: The Predator (2018)

Screened at Village East Cinema, 2:05pm showtime. Movie Theater Snacks: Smoked salmon sandwich and a banana/peach smoothie. Bougie, I know.

Where to begin on the latest entry in the Predator franchise? Let’s keep it simple. I hated it. This film is so far removed form what the original films used to be. The series began with Predator in 1987. Followed by numerous sequels: Predator 2 in 1990, Predators in 2010, and the alien movie cross-over garbage, the two Alien vs. Predator movies in 2004 and in 2007.

I don’t really care about keeping things original. As cinema grows it’s totally cool to keep enhancing and growing and changing franchises. To piss and moan saying this isn’t like the original films because it “changes the canon” is a lousy complaint. But what I will say is this movie is a terribly made movie.

The first two films (in my opinion the only good movies in the series) we’re slow and steady, chilling, thrillers. The later films have become loud, explosive action films. Everything about this latest movie is necessary. My biggest annoyance is the movie moves so quickly, you as the audience and even the characters have no time to breath. Every single scene in the film lasts no longer than 90 seconds, before we are whisked away to the next location to fire more guns and blow things up. This doesn’t even give us time to meet all the characters, and there are way too many of them. This movie has a total of 17 named characters, and you couldn’t pay me to remember a single name of any of these people. We never get to learn about them because they are never on-screen for longer than a few seconds, and if they are, they are smashed together with numerous other characters.

A major problem this movie has is butchering an underlying commentary it’s trying to discuss: respect towards American soldiers. On one end, it’s talking about the physical and mental trauma that soldiers have to endure, and gives a great amount of respect towards those who have fought for this country. But at the same time, it’s bringing light to the fact that soldiers are murders (which, letsbereal, they are). There are six American soldiers in the film that are painted as the American heroes. The main character himself even gives a talk to his son where he says, “The difference between soldiers and murderers, is murderers enjoy killing.” Then, no later than ten minutes after that, the same “American Hero” says “You made me lie to my son… because I’m going to enjoy this” right before putting numerous bullets into two different men. The film wants to bring attention to what soldiers do (i.e. murder), but at the same time enthusiastically glorifies guns and murder, all in the hands of the characters playing American soldiers.

The Predator does not do well for itself. It’s a bad entry in the series, both in terms of fan service and in terms of genuine filmmaking. It’s not a good movie and should absolutely be avoided. Even for fans of the series, go with caution.

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