Happy Doctor Strange week! By now, you’re either a fan of this franchise or you simply don’t care. I haven’t met many that find themselves in the middle, although I’m sure there is a few out there. However, most people we interact with find themselves on one side of the fence or another. And if you’ve ever listened to our show, you’ll know we are big fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and we are always glad to go back when a new offering comes our way. Doctor Strange also brings a new element to the MCU, thrusting us into the world of magic and the mystic arts. If you’ve seen the trailer for this film, that element looks exhilarating and trippy. I’m also curious how this new realm will play into the larger scope of the MCU and how this will effect the Avengers themselves. Similar to Ant-Man, this will probably have huge dividends down the road.

Another reason I’m excited for Doctor Strange, is the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch, who looks perfect as Steven Strange. Aesthetically speaking, I’m not saying he jumped off the page of the comic book, but he looks really good in that costume. More importantly, Cumberbatch is an actor that can impeccably ride that line of drama and humor, which is a staple of the MCU thus far. Doctor Strange will also see the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen and Tilda Swinton. That’s a pretty awesome cast if you ask me. Now, I know this film has seen some controversy with the casting of Swinton as the Ancient One. Personally, I can’t speak to it given my background, but I can sympathize with the outrage and I agree Hollywood needs to consider equal representation more. However, it seems that director Scott Derrickson has done some great work in building understanding and that’s great to see. Despite all of that, I love this cast and I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring to the MCU.

Speaking of Derrickson, he’s another component to Doctor Strange that I’m looking forward to this weekend. The reason being, he’s mostly been a horror film director. Making a Marvel film is way outside of his wheelhouse, which should raise some red flags on paper. I’m confident that Kevin Feige picked him for a specific reason though, and that’s enough for me. On top of of that, the horror films that Derrickson has made have been pretty descent. I can’t speak to his entire resume, but Sinister and Deliver Us from Evil are films I would definitely recommend. So, it should be fun to see what he does with this property and all of the (ahem) strange quirks he brings to it.

How do you feel about Doctor Strange? Are you excited?

[divider]

Here’s what else you can expect this weekend at the box office:

Trolls

Hacksaw Ridge
Loving (limited)
The Eagle Huntress (limited)
Peter and the Farm (limited / VOD)
Army of One (limited)

This weekend on Episode 193, we are going to be discussing Kelly Reichardt’s new film, Certain Women, starring Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams and Laura Dern. As mentioned on this week’s poll post, Reichardt is a director that you should be familiar with if you’re not already. I’m on record of saying that Meek’s Cutoff is the Oregon Trail movie that I’ve always wanted. It’s incredible and it made my Top 10 from 2011. Similarly, Wendy and Lucy is a wonderful and heartbreaking film about freedom, desperation and coping with life. 2008 is the next year in our year-by-year retrospective series and I have no problem spoiling that Wendy and Lucy will be in my Top 10. Reichardt’s 2006 film Old Joy is also really good and probably has a great shot of making my Top 20 for that year. In 2013, I enjoyed Night Moves but overall it’s a small step down from the films mentioned above. It’s still a solid effort that is beautifully shot. Her first two films are the only movies I need to see at this point, but from what I’ve seen, she’s easily one of the best female directors working today.

All of that said, it’s probably not a surprise to hear that Certain Women made my Top 5 most anticipated films coming out this fall. Additionally to Reichardt, the film stars my girl Kristen Stewart. Her career post-Twilight has been absolutely amazing. Stewart’s on-screen presence should mix very well with Reichardt’s shooting style. On top of that, this film also stars Michelle Williams, who has been Reichardt’s muse on a few occasions. Williams’ heartbreaking performance in Wendy and Lucy made that film’s pathos really resonate. The same thing can be said for what she brought to Meek’s Cutoff. Williams wasn’t in Night Moves a few years ago, so it’s nice to see her re-connecting with Reichardt. And how can you not love Laura Dern? She’s always a treat as well.

The premise of Certain Women is intriguing to me and it’s a very Reichardt narrative. It’s about the lives of three women who intersect in a small town, which leads to some compelling conflict. Reichardt doesn’t need much to make something beautiful. She is able to capture small-scale very well, focusing on rich characterization and story. It’s her simplicity that shines in her movies. However, don’t confuse simplicity with plainness. There are complexities to her characters but there’s a simple elegance that keeps her films real and attainable. As a result, the experiences Reichardt conjures are visceral and thematically potent. I expect nothing less in Certain Women, especially with these three actresses and what they bring to the table.

All in all, I cannot wait. Are you excited for Certain Women?

[divider]

Here’s what else is coming to theaters this weekend:

Inferno
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
American Pastoral (limited)
Gimme Danger (limited)
Oasis: Supersonic (limited)

Film is the one art form that can bring the world together. It is the only art form that is both visual and auditorial which causes us as an audience to be completely immersed into our viewing experience. This is referred to as the “willing suspension of disbelief.” We are willing ourselves to watch films, but we also understand that what is happening on screen is not real, it’s been crafted and perfected by a group of talented artists. And the filmmakers that we go back to time and time again are the filmmakers who not only suspense or disbelief, but also relay a hidden message. They hid something in the subtext of the film, forcing us to analyze it and receive a deeper understanding of what is being shown on screen. What is unfortunate about this, is time and time again we receive films with strong emotional subtext, however the execution of the film itself ruins the delivery of the message. And Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation is a film with a powerful and heartfelt message, but the execution of the film ruins the delivery.

Racism has been around forever. And it has been extremely poignant especially in today’s society with a load of horrific and terrible events happening left and right. Another thing film is used for is to reflect the reality that we live in today. So filmmakers capitalize on these tragedies, forcing us as humans to watch these awful things unfold and understand that we need to change our ways. And The Birth of a Nation holds all of the power to change the conversation about racism in America. It holds so much emotion, and power in the subtext that it could force us as a country to view everything that has been happening recently and change our ways. Unfortunately, it does not do this.

Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation is actually a remake, with the premise and concept of the film flipped on it’s head. The original Birth of a Nation is one of the first feature films in existence. It’s directed by D.W. Griffith and it was released in 1915, however instead of the film being about a slave revolution, it’s about the rise and growth of the KKK. The 1915 film is awful. Including it’s shameful and horrendous glorification of the KKK, the film is also incredibly poorly made. Now, we may be able to tribute that to the times but that is no excuse.
Several films were released in the early 1900’s that are masterpieces. They may be silent and they may be slow, but as far as a craft they execute the early idea of filmmaking seamlessly. So to clear the air before I make my statements about Parker’s film, the original film is by no means
a good film. Now, onto Parker’s.

Nate Parker set a record with this film, making it the most expensive film ever purchased at the Sundance Film Festival. It received a glorious standing ovation and incredible praise from the critics. Yet, for some reason on it’s release to the general public other critics began to take a closer look at the film. The critics seeing it on wide spread release went it with a bit more open mind, clearing all preconceived notions of what they had heard at Sundance. One of the best headlines I saw for the film was “Birth of a Flop.” Which is disappointing considering how well the film was originally received. I myself was even immensely excited to watch the film. A movie that was originally about the KKK flipped on it’s head with breathtaking cinematography?! Sign me up! Unfortunately, like many other critics I myself was also
disappointed after the treacherous hour and fifty minute runtime.

But, after further consideration of the film I would like to start off with a positive note about the film. The cinematography is breathtaking. It does take advantage of that “New Academy” look where the general feel and look of the film appears to have a middle balance between grays and blues. Forcing these harsher and more saturated reds and oranges to pop on screen. The film is masterful at mixing colors, and especially the composition of the shots. Contrasting incredibly wide shots, with immensely extreme close ups. The film is a pure joy to watch visually, and if the biggest selling point on films for you is the purely visual then you will thoroughly enjoy this film. However, if you’re a fan of story and character like myself this film may leave a bad taste in your mouth.

First of all, this movie has every single ingredient to create a masterful piece of work that could change not only the course of how films are perceived by the general audience, but also change the course of the topic of racism. The film has a copious amount of passion, the tragedies and heartbreak literally ooze off of the screen bringing you almost to tears. The key word there being almost. Though the film has passion, it lacks in character choices and story. First of all, the film show us events and specific moments in Nat Turner’s life. Which is powerful in itself, but
this does not get you off the hook for making sure that your audience cares about your character. There still should be something that forces me as an audience member to connect with your protagonist. Be it a character trait they have, just something that audience members can relate to. And besides the fact that these things that have happened are horrible, isn’t enough for me to care about what’s going on. Don’t get me wrong, there are several moments in the film where I just cringed and held my hand over my mouth because I felt so shameful and horrified. But as the film goes on and on, this feeling slowly dwindles away.

The sole problem I think for this is the runtime. If the film had ended probably around 30-40 minutes earlier, using all of the information that the film brings and condensing them into a shorter runtime, it could have been much more powerful. The story just lacks in character development and arch, and has a few flaws in the screenplay.

I don’t want this to be misconceived. I am fully aware that these awful things have happened and I absolutely respect what Nate Parker is trying to do. It is insanely powerful and holds every single aspect to force America to watch this film. But the film falls flat in terms of story and character which is what film is all about and I cannot praise this film to be a masterpiece because of this. The film is great, and has a lot of strong elements, however it just falls a bit short and that forces it to hold a bit less of power at least to me. Then again, film is all about perspective and I don’t find this film distasteful or ignorant in anyway. If anything, it is the absolutely opposite and I adore the message of the film. I just cannot get behind the masterpiece aspect. The film is flawed, but still an important viewing.

As all you probably know, 20th Century FOX / Marvel released a new teaser trailer this morning for Logan, the last film to feature Hugh Jackman as the popular character of Wolverine. As you may also know, we are currently in the middle of our Harry Potter Movie Series on the show, so we don’t have any extra space at the moment to discuss new trailers in audio form. But we have thoughts on this trailer, so we are going to divulge them here. Below are both my (JD) thoughts as well as Brendan’s thoughts on the new trailer for Logan.

JD’s Thoughts:
Wolverine is a very popular comic-book character, so it made sense to me why they would want to start a series of standalone films feature such an iconic superhero. However, Origins: Wolverine turned out to be something nobody wanted. The Wolverine had its moments but in the end, we found that film rather disappointing too. So, the announcement of a third standalone film didn’t excite us too much, that is until now. Hugh Jackman has always been stupendous in the role, whether it be the X-Men films or his own movies, and Logan may be his best outing yet. This trailer is heartbreaking, authentic, honest, gritty and exciting, all in one experience. Jackman looks in top form, as does Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor X. You add in the dynamic of this little girl, played by Sienna Novikov, and the potential for this film has skyrocketed for me (PS, the poster for this film is incredibly emotional for me too). The music for this trailer is also perfect, setting the tone masterfully, which couples very well with the imagery James Mangold gives us. Yeah, mark me down as excited.

[divider]

Brendan’s Thoughts:
Wolverine and Professor X get dropped into what looks like Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, and all the better for it. As a result, this does not look or feel like your typical X-Men film; instead, James Mangold looks to be bringing a surprising authenticity and richness this universe doesn’t necessarily need, but more than welcomed nonetheless. Logan looks devastating, cruel, honest, but still exciting, and the inclusion of Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” (originally by Nine Inch Nails) compliments this tone beautifully. Lump in a central child figure, giving this film a possible familial theme, and we are all in. If this is truly Wolverine’s final outing, Mangold and Jackman seem to understand that the character needs to go out on a sad, yet exciting high.

[divider]

What did you think of the new trailer for Logan? Let us know in the comment section below.

As many of you know, the InSession Film Podcast is broken up into two shows. Our main shows are released on Mondays and feature reviews, Top 3 lists and other film-related discussion. However, on Friday’s, we have a segment we call Extra Film. This segment features reviews only of films that we don’t have time for on our main show. Over the course of the last three years, both versions of the podcast have come into their own and have come to define us.

Given recent circumstances, we are now looking for a third co-host to help lead our Extra Film podcast every week and occasionally fill in on the main show as needed. Keep in mind, that most of our Extra Film reviews cover indie releases. So, we will need someone who loves indie film and is willing to be flexible when it comes to seeing those films. However, on occasion, we will see and discuss other mainstream films as well as older classics.

We also need someone who is going to be dedicated and available most weeks. We are flexible and understanding of life circumstances, but we want someone who is willing to make the time needed for this role and wants to have fun discussing film. This, of course, isn’t a paid position (we are in podcasting after all) but we promise that it will be satisfying, challenging and worth your time.

If you think this is a role that you can commit too, please email us at [email protected] and let us know you are interested. From there, we can discuss more privately and can figure out if this is the right role for you.

Thank you to all those who are interested and we look forward to what InSession Film has to offer in the future.