Directors: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Tim Miller, Robert Valley, Alex Beaty (and more)
Writers: Tim Miller, Philip Gelatt, John Scalzi (and more); J.G. Ballard, Joe R. Lansdale, Joachim Heijndermans (and more) (short stories adapted from)
Stars: Nolan North, Élodie Yung, Nancy Linari, Joe Dempsie, Peter Franzén, Archie Madekwe (and more)

Synopsis: A collection of animated short stories that span various genres including science fiction, fantasy, horror and comedy.

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With Love, Death & Robots’ debut in 2019, the Tim Miller-created (and David Fincher-produced) series proved that animation is a realm which also permits adults, though not without glaring flaws. It may be for mature audiences, but the hyper-dependence on bloodshed and wanton titillation makes the case that it doesn’t possess maturity. Too many of the 18 shorts failed to validate the usage of explicit spices, causing the story and animation, all of which have points of difference that can astound, to be secondary to the graphic brushstrokes. Sonnie’s Edge can’t resist reminding viewers the protagonist is an assault victim in dialogue and design. And the point of the striptease in The Witness is…? The angsty song choice isn’t the only crime in your sheets-shredding set piece, Beyond the Aquila Rift (the fact that it’s rendered into a set piece!).

For its second round, Love, Death & Robots recruits Jennifer Yuh Nelson of Kung Fu Panda 2 to be the supervising director, who hopefully can keep the male gaze and hunger for crimson in check more actively and pointedly than her Volume 1 counterpart’s Gabriele Pennacchioli. Despite having 10 fewer episodes, whether due to COVID or as intended all along, to showcase a more mindful and story-driven approach, improvements are detectable here. Not all of the eight shorts are equal in quality, such is the reality of anthologies, but they treat you as adults. No excess. Justified grime. Thin or thick, purpose is present. Volume 2 has found the right levels for all future loving, dying and robot-ing to apply, should Miller and company still see this as an experiment worth tinkering.

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Automated Customer Service (Atoll Studio)

A sleepy retirement community is about to get it boomin’ when yogi Jeanette (Nancy Linari) accidentally turns her boxy vacuum robot into a killing machine. From here, directing team Meat Dept takes a nightmare scenario — meeting the agent after ‘0’ is pressed — and blends it with funnies of the twisted variety, at times centering around Jeanette’s fluffy dog. The result is a start to Volume 2 that is as quirky and riotous as the geriatric caricatures populating the setting. [B+]

Ice (Passion Animation Studios)

From Robert Valley of Volume 1’s Zima Blue comes a hyper-stylish story about adaptation. Wanting to no longer be stigmatized by the natives of an icy planet as an “extro,” or persons without synthetic enhancements, Sedgewick (Archie Madekwe) joins his little brother Fletcher (Sebastian Croft) for a dangerous race against titanic whales. The short has precious little to absorb beyond what’s on screen, a letdown since Zima Blue managed to use its succinct aesthetics to tackle existentialism, but what’s on screen is a superb example of evoking the cinematic feeling solely through color use. [C+]

Pop Squad (Blur Studio)

The first (of three) star-studded and photorealistic short sees Detective Briggs (Nolan North), married to diva Alice (Élodie Yung), being worn down after years working as a population controller. Jennifer Yuh Nelson seems to have brought together Dark City, Blade Runner, Deus Ex games and Altered Carbon to create an environment dreamy to be a part of and yet sterile to a horrific degree, or at the very least will be a wonder on the big screen. Gorgeous and thought-provoking, this is the second-best short of Volume 2. [A-]

Snow in the Desert (Unit Image)

The allegorical and literal collide in this short from the team behind — gulp — Beyond the Aquila Rift. Albino recluse Snow (Peter Franzén) is being hunted because his balls (not a typo, swear) is the key to immortality, and it’s up to him and his only ally Hirald (Zita Hanrot) to keep them safe. Although somewhat predictable because of the apparent emphases in dialogue, this short recalls those pulpy, potentially set-on-Mars films of times past holding an endearing belief that it’s grander than it really is. One copulation scene, but now leaning toward tasteful rather than exploitative. [B]

The Tall Grass (Axis Studios)

Bespectacled passenger Laird (Joe Dempsie), refusing to listen to his conductor (Steven Pacey), wanders far from the train and into the overgrown fields full of fainting while lights. Although the short boasts the most unique style that adds to its fable, by-the-campfire tone — characters seem to be carved out of wood, and humans move at a different frame rates than non-humans — it is really Volume 2’s odd duck. It doesn’t seem to belong in this series, on top of being like Ice it begins and ends at “style exercise.” Still, a better use of the titular setting than the In the Tall Grass feature, which is also from Netflix. [C]

All Through the House (Blink Industries)

Here’s something to tide you over, fans of Henry Selick. Believing Santa has arrived, siblings Leah (Divi Mittal) and Billy (Sami Amber) want to take a peek, an action they will soon regret as he is less of a chubby old man and more a sentient Phil Tippett creation. Although strangely kid-friendly in a series that’s anything but and clocking in at just seven minutes, Elliot Dear’s work offers a different option besides Gremlins for folks programming “Horror on Christmas” in their households. [B]

Life Hutch (Blur Studio)

Who is your Killmonger? It is not the pilot Terence (Michael B. Jordan) who is taking shelter in a pod — called a life hutch in this world — but rather a quadruped assistant mech currently so malfunctioned it will kill anything that moves. A hyper-realistic, sometimes to the point you can’t decide whether Jordan or textures are animated, and claustrophobic cat-and-mouse yarn that is straightforward to a fault. Try not to think of it as being in the same universe as Volume 1’s meaningful Lucky 13 and you might enjoy this. Even better, boot up Black Mirror’s rogue bot episode Metalhead. [C+] 

The Drowned Giant (Blur Studio)

Creator Tim Miller writes and directs the anthology’s biggest surprise-slash-special ending — a pensive, heartfelt look at existence through the researcher Steven (Steve Pacey) who encounters the beached carcass of a colossal man. Don’t expect any mayhem here, just impressions and questions on the way we treat-then-mistreat wonders and on the natural order that is now extra-magnified. What begins as a phenomenon might end as anything but. Tom Holkenborg’s gentle score emphasizes both the bitter and the sweet nestling in this lesson. [A]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj2iCJkp6Ko

Director: Suzanne Lindon
Writers: Suzanne Lindon
Stars: Suzanne Lindon, Arnaud Valois, Florence Viala, Frédéric Pierrot, Rebecca Marder

Synopsis: 16-year-old Suzanne is bored with people of her age. One day, she meets an older man on her way to high school. Despite their age difference, they fall in love.

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20-year-old Suzanne Lindon has gone and impressed us all. The young filmmaker’s Spring Blossom was one of the films selected as part of the 2020 edition of the Festival de Cannes, and even though it was not screened in the south of France, the film now carries a seal of approval that is unbeatable and impressive for the directorial debut of an emerging talent.

Spring Blossom – also written and led by Lindon – seems to easily reflect a not-so far away reality of Lindon’s: the fleeting experience of first love, or rather the juvenile crush we feel as we awaken to the sexual and emotional attraction towards someone else. Suzanne (Lindon) is a 16-year-old that has a placid life in Paris. She is constantly surrounded by friends and a seemingly happy family. Nevertheless, it is evident that something is missing in her innocent life. Lindon makes a fantastic job presenting this alienation.

While her classmates and girlfriends talk about silly things, Suzanne is in a reverie. She is disconnected, even bored of her peers. There seems to be an invisible wall that prevents Suzanne from being interested on the petty existence of her classmates, a problem that prevents her from making small talk or engaging in the events that submerge her friends in the chaotic experience of a teen (her futile attempts to have fun at a party are excruciatingly recognizable). Even when she is surrounded by people, the camera makes it clear that she is always alone, not even connecting with her loving parents or energetic sister.

Unsurprisingly, one day Suzanne develops a fascination for an actor that is presenting a play in the local theatre, just a couple of streets away from her home. What starts is an awkward and juvenile obsession that seems to work in her favor when Raphael (Arnaud Valois) – the object of her awakening interest – appears to be interested in her too. Thus, the teenager and the 35-year-old actor slowly develop a sexually tense but chaste relationship.

Even though the film thankfully avoids the grey area of presenting a sexually charged story between teen and man with such an age gap, the interactions amongst them and the feelings that they develop for each other feel conflicting and uncomfortable. They are tender and careful, but it is unfathomable to think that this guy would be interested in a girl that only giggles and stares at him. More importantly, some instances of grooming start to appear. Lindon dangerously flirts between an innocent and a troublesome bond. This is probably the main issue with the story. While it successfully presents the shallowness and intensity of Suzanne’s emotions, Raphael remains a mystery.

What kind of connection could he have with this girl? We soon learn that Raphael is exasperated of acting in the same play night after night. He is tired of acting; she is tired of her friends and her surroundings. It seems that the only thing that joins them is boredom, and unfortunately, the story does not shed light in this profound connection between teen and artist.

Instead, Lindon tries to convey the growing emotional link through choreographed and unexpected dance routines between them, but these scenes feel shallow, substituting real emotions. Furthermore, they seem more of a shortcut than an exploration or consummation of the relationship.

The movie looks discreet and small in its scope, although the messages that it tries to convey are complicated. Somewhere in the second part of its brief 73 minutes, it starts to falter. The dialogues become minimum, the editing confusing and Suzanne’s emotional turmoil inexplicably more intense. We understand that she is going through something. Could it be extreme love, a new wave of boredom, or a desperate realization of the fate of this relationship? We do not really know.

While these contrasting feelings reflect the overwhelming experience of discovering attraction and love at such an early age, the narration becomes clumsy and incomplete. It is impossible not to distinguish the novice effort of the filmmaker behind the camera. The movie reflects Lindo’s naiveté and youth.

Spring Blossom is an intriguing debut that shows curiosity and an understanding of youthful minds. The film starts strongly, with a beginning that is as exciting as it is promising, and while the film is far from perfect, it reminds us of the clumsiness, intensity, and ephemeral nature of young infatuation.

Grade: C+

Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: Zack Snyder, Shay Hatten, Joby Harold
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Matthias Schweighöfer, Tig Notaro

Synopsis: Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.

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The past few months have been quite a positive turnaround for Zack Snyder. Having finally gotten to release his version of the Justice League movie and for it to get positive reviews across the board from fans and critics alike, it is the perfect time to continue that momentum and release his latest film Army of the Dead. Overall, the marketing for this film by Netflix has been fantastic, with some of the best poster designs and trailers of the past year. Even if you are not a typical Snyder fan, it seemed like this film would be one that anyone could enjoy.

Before getting more critical of the film, it is important to highlight the good aspects of this film. This film primarily is able to work because of the performances from most of the actors. This is a packed crowd, and yet each member of the cast is given time to shine and to add their personality to this story. In particular, it is becoming harder in Hollywood to ignore Dave Bautista and this is his best performance to date. Being given a meaty role that not only has to be the action hero lead but have this inner conflict that he faces during an apocalypse gives Bautista a lot to juggle at once, but he shines and demands to be taken seriously.

Whilst it was certainly not a perfect replication at times, I personally want to applaud Zack Snyder for the work that he put in post-production to remove a previous cast member out of this film and recasting. It is obviously a lot of hard work to recast someone and try and place them into the film all during post-production, but the work done with Tig Notaro was phenomenal and what a person to replace the role with. It honestly felt like she should have been there from the start, and the team behind the post-production did a wonderful job placing her in. Recasting that late into the film’s production is something that obviously no studio wants to deal with, but Army of the Dead shows that it is possible and that it may just be the best option.

Aside from the incredible zombie tiger that is highlighted in the trailer, it was disappointing how lacking the creativity was within the design of the film. With a landscape to use such as Las Vegas and in a world where there is an apocalypse happening, the world for the most part felt bland and unoriginal. Most of the visual work went into bringing that zombie tiger to life and little attention was brought to having fun with the actual zombie designs. Not only that, but most of the cinematography resorted to slow-motion shots and explosions, trying to play off of the major blockbusters but doing little to make it fun or original.

Thinking back on the film, it is still unclear what the tone of the film was meant to be. So many of the direction choices by Snyder lead me to believe that he wanted to have fun with the subject matter and mock the formula of the zombie genre. The opening scene of the film, which establishes the lore of zombies into this world, has an awkward humorous tone to it that turns into a Michael Bay-style blowout. When this scene transitions to the official opening credits, it felt like it was cut in a way to be entertaining and to make fun of the genre, but it was hard to fully embrace the style.

This is heavily contrasted in the main storyline of the film, which is actually a touching story about rekindling friendships, family connections, and falling in love with people from your past. There is a heart to the story, and the actors do a good job with what they are given to work within this script. However, the tonal shift between these serious moments and the zombie apocalypse itself is so jarring that it is hard to enjoy. Whilst Snyder may have written and directed this film, it does not come across that way on the screen as it just feels like he forced his style of filmmaking onto a more serious and heartfelt script.

We all know that Zack Snyder likes to tell a lot within his films and give the audience as much time as possible in his worlds. Whether Justice League needed to be four hours is one question, but this was not a film that needed to be 150-minutes long. For how simple and overdone the main structure of the story is, the runtime was stretched out through the use of unnecessary montages and slow-motion shots, both of which did little to actually add context and heart to this story. When thinking of zombie films from the past few years, including Zombieland: Double Tap and The Dead Don’t Die, they clock in between 90-minutes and 110-minutes. This film could have done the exact same thing and it probably would have fixed my major issues within it.

Netflix is a studio that clearly loves to give their directors creative freedom to do whatever they like with their films, and in cases such as Martin Scorsese and David Fincher, it certainly can work. However, people do have issues with the runtime and editing of both of their Netflix films and there are a lot of issues that can be pointed out with Zack Snyder’s directorial choices in his Netflix work. If this film had a shorter runtime and a clearer direction on whether this was a serious version of a zombie movie or a humous parody of what the genre has become, then there would have been a good film here. Sadly, the final result is one that leaves me burnt out and still wishing for a good revival of the genre.

Grade: C-

Director: Oskar Roehler
Writers: Klaus Richter
Stars: Oliver Masucci, Hary Prinz, Katja Riemann, Jochen Schropp

Synopsis: The life and the impact of iconic German New Wave director, Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

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For every great biopic, there are at least 10 terrible ones. One of the reasons that biopics are an easy target for harsh criticism is the similar notes they tend to hit. Of course, this isn’t always the case. There seems to be pressure to cover absolutely everything about a life, especially if that person is quite celebrated. With sites like Wikipedia being not only known, but used by just about literally every person on a daily basis, there is no shortage of information. So, this poses an extra challenge for filmmakers. If I can look up all of the details, what do I need you for? This is why even a good biopic needs vision behind the camera and connected to the script. But even this is no guarantee of greatness. 

And no guarantee of greatness brings us to one of the latest biopics available to see, Enfant Terrible. Oskar Roehler’s film about the life and impact of fellow director Rainer Werner Fassbender does manage to avoid the usual pitfalls of the biopic. There is neither a focus on his childhood nor any concern on making him likable. Fassbender (Oliver Masucci) is portrayed as a difficult man, a force of nature and of destruction. He wounds everything in his path, including himself. From his introduction, he is full of himself, overly confident, and cares not for subtlety or kindness.

In an interesting decision, Roehler and screenwriter Klaus Richter seem to actively avoid making Enfant Terrible actively cinematic. If you are looking for a history lesson in how Fassbinder of the German New Wave made his films, look elsewhere. In fact, the film opens as Rainer takes over control and direction of a stage play. This makes sense, of course, given not only his history, but the relative ease of taking experimental chances on the stage. But, for better or worse, the entire film feels a bit like a stage play, divorced from any sense of realism.

But I mean it when I say better or worse, as there is plenty of both here. Among all these adjectives listed previously, Fassbinder is also shown to be a man of appetites. Roehler makes this clear not only through his proclivity for sex, both casual and relatively committed but also through the presentation of Masucci’s body. Repeatedly, Masucci is either topless or shown with an open shirt. This allows him to display an obvious belly. But, in a perhaps drastic change from our own cultural norms, this is not played for laughs. Fassbinder is both an object of desire and a man on the prowl. He consistently takes lovers and the film does not shy away from this, both in its visuals and in moments of dialogue. 

Although this is refreshing to see, it is also a key to his repeated self destruction. We are witnesses to his many betrayals by men but despite that, we are never fully in his corner. Our witness status to the way he treats people in general stops us from catering to his whims. When people lash out or leave him, it is understandable. This likely goes back to Roehler and Richter’s choice to avoid giving full context to Fassbinder’s mind and experience. 

As a relative newcomer to the world of Fassbinder and a fan of film in general, it may have been preferable to have a greater understanding of his directorial choices and what impact his fame truly had on his psyche. Now, the film does mention that his films become popular, but it almost feels like it does so in a glancing way. Roehler is much more interested in the live action car crash that is his love life. And again, even these moments that touch upon his career feel much like a stage play. Suddenly, we are at dinner and we find that someone important likes his work and he breaks down. This is one of the more human and wonderful acting moments from Masucci, but it is paired with some of his worst behavior. So, like life, this powerful moment is undercut by a consideration of whether we should be rooting for him to succeed or fail. Like all great artists, Fassbinder is not wholly good or bad. He is a walking contradiction. A man who deeply desires real love, but is hamstrung by his choices to barely know his lovers before inviting them into his life. There is a palpable need to both be understood and to react violently when he is not.

Enfant Terrible is certainly not your standard, boring biopic. Roehler makes interesting, focused choices in his direction that draw us in, despite having moments in which we hate his subject. The stage play dynamic is at once both intimate and distant. But for what it’s worth, this film makes one even more interested in understanding and viewing more of Fassbinder’s work. And unlike many biopics, it leaves us with little interest in reading a Wikipedia entry on the man. Enfant Terrible is able to paint the picture of a terrified, complex, deeply flawed man who has a lot to give to the world of film, even if maybe he should have given to himself and his compatriots a bit more. 

Grade: B

Director:  Alexandre Aja
Writers: Christie LeBlanc
Stars: Mélanie Laurente

Synopsis: A woman wakes up in a cryogenic chamber with no recollection of how she got there, and she must find a way out before running out of air.

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It’s always a challenge to craft a film with one character in a confined space that features enough effective narrative beats to maintain interest and intensity. Two years after he induced fear with a story of a father and daughter trapped in a hurricane-damaged house with alligators in Crawl, French director Alexandre Aja takes on the task in the new Netflix film Oxygen. The film combines the claustrophobic nature of Buried with the conversational aspects of Locke to deliver a mysterious story of a woman inexplicably trapped in a cryogenic chamber. 

This woman, Dr. Elizabeth Hansen, is played by Mélanie Laurent. The film begins with her waking up in the chamber, panicking and clearly unsure of how she got there. In fact, she’s not even sure who she is. We’re first led to assume that she is in a hospital, but even this becomes questionable as the film goes on. The biggest dilemma, as the title suggests, is that she is running low on oxygen and has just under an hour to get out before she asphyxiates. Her only hope is to work with the AI that controls the pod, MILO, who is voiced by Mathieu Almaric. Through MILO, she is able to make phone calls, research information about herself, and control the chamber with hopes of extending her time.

That’s about as far as one can go with the plot without revealing a surprising detail, as the film is filled with twists even early on. This is par for the course in a film like this, as we are completely in the dark alongside Dr. Hansen. Aja and screenwriter Christie LeBlanc are able to achieve a nice balance in which Hansen can communicate with others from inside the pod, while maintaining the mystery of who exactly she is talking with. Inside this claustrophobic piece of advanced machinery (the film clearly takes place in the future), Hansen’s questions are almost endless, and the answers are rarely delivered explicitly. It’s a simple yet effective device that allows the narrative to flow without feeling overly tired. 

Still, that’s not to say that the film completely avoids the trouble that can come with forging a narrative for a challenging story like this. MILO is a fascinating character on its own, and Amalric’s fruitful voice work creates a sense that it may become a sort of variation on HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. But the existence and role of MILO also creates some discernible conveniences in the plot. Though MILO is mysterious and doesn’t always give Hansen exactly what she’s looking for, it’s pretty clear that the AI will always be the avenue to any sort of success she finds in her struggle, and it leaves a bit less to the imagination. 

In addition to an effective script, the use of the camera is also essential to sustain intrigue as we sit inside a small pod with Hansen. Fortunately, Hansen rarely allows it to stay static. We certainly spend plenty of time in closeup with Hansen, catching every emotion displayed by Laurent, but it also shifts to explore the chamber and the actions she takes to survive in it. Though this seems odd for such a small setting, the chamber itself is also quite complex, and it helps to create a sense of space. Though at times even this may go a bit too far, such as a scene in which we inexplicably travel in circles with Laurent and the top of the pod as our center points while she makes a phone call. 

Last but certainly not least, a film like this lives and dies with the performance of its lead, who we spend the entire runtime with. And in this case, the film undoubtedly lives. Laurent dives into this role at full force, adding to the sense of claustrophobia created by the setting. One of the most lovable things about this character, and the performance, is that she’s not presented as some sort of superhuman. She is unquestionably very intelligent, and that comes with a confidence that she can somehow work her way out of this situation. But she still displays the fear and anxiety that we should expect from anybody in a strange situation like hers. In short, she’s allowed to cry heavily, panic, and exhibit a sense of hopelessness. It results in a much more believable and grounded character that is easy to root for. 

Alexandre Aja’s career has largely consisted of variations of horror films, from ultra-violent thrillers to creature features. Oxygen isn’t really a horror film, but it does deliver a similar case of uneasiness. It’s certainly recommended that those who are very claustrophobic and those who have a fear of needles proceed with caution. However, what really sticks with me after the film is the lead character and the ever-shifting plot. Granted, the film probably has too many wild twists for its own good, and the contrivances are severely noticeable at times. It’s not one that reinvents the wheel or results in a superb personal reflection, but it’s entertaining enough to hold its own with a challenging premise. 

Grade: B-