Synopsis: Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister.
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Yorgos Lanthimos arrived an apparently fully-formed filmmaker. His 2009 directorial debut, Dogtooth, swept the awards in his native Greece, and subsequent word-of-mouth advertising has seen his star rise on a trajectory not dissimilar from that of Denis Villeneuve, whose own critically lauded Incendies has launched a potential period of highly lucrative, artsy Hollywood dominance. Not that these filmmakers share much beyond their un-American origins; where Villeneuve might lay claim to Spielberg’s heir apparent, Lanthimos appears altogether more comfortable on the periphery, refusing to betray the distinctly European nature of his work. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is no different, and may even be his most assured film.
Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman are Steven and Anna. Both successful doctors – she an ophthalmologist, he a cardiologist – their lives initially appear bliss incarnate: two over-achieving kids, a chocolate box home amidst bucolic splendor… perfection. Very early on, however, we’re introduced to Martin, a 16-year-old boy with whom Steven is holding secretive rendezvous and exchanging gifts. Martin, we soon learn, is the son of one of Steven’s patients, a patient who didn’t make it through surgery and may-or-may-not motivate nefarious stirrings in the teenage boy. To say much more of the plot would be a disservice to those who’re yet to see the film, suffice to say things take a dramatic turn for the Hitchcockian worse. The ensuing tension, of which there is excruciatingly much, of course plays out in a distinctly Lanthimosian manner. Those familiar with his past work, most notably the jet-blackly comic, almost robotic dialogue that permeates The Lobster, will be attune to this. And it’s in the writing that …Sacred Deer really excels. Without the screenplay’s ultimate ability to divert attention with a grin you’re trying desperately to suppress we’d be left with Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (A fine film, incidentally, but short on laughs).
A word on the brilliant score, which pairs an equally dissonant droning brass section with punctuating, Psycho-like piano. The menace, if it weren’t tangible enough, fills every empty space with real impact. Even moments we know and might ordinarily expect to be tough on imagery alone are peppered with these discordant rhythms. It’s painful. In a good way. A wonderful moment in which harmony briefly interjects in the shape of a choir rehearsal fails even to subdue the threat.
Like all his best work, Lanthimos has invited us into a world in which we’d rather not be but sadistically can’t deny. It’s interesting to think of what another director may have made of the script; would John Carpenter have had the patience to allow us to bathe in the uncomplimentary eeriness before he slays his deer? Probably not. But a defiant back has been turned on the orthodoxy, and we’re left with an absurdist domestic thriller that appalls, provokes, delights and, most importantly, energizes.
Overall Grade: A-
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Hear our podcast review on an upcoming Extra Film.
This week on the InSession Film Podcast: Extra Film segment, we tackle a pair of biopics in Professor Marston and the Wonder Women and Maudie.
Both of these films feature fascinating stories with some rather intriguing characters. And given that these characters are based off real-life people, the peformances in these films are important, and they did not disappoint. The casts of both of these films are quite terrific with Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote and Luke Evans in Professor Marston and Ethan Hawke and Sally Hawkins in Maudie respectively.
With that said, have fun listening to this week’s Extra Film segment and let us know what you think in the comment section below. Thanks for listening!
– Movie Review: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (5:24) Grades
Brendan: B+
Vince: C-
– Movie Review: Maudie (34:16) Grades
JD: A-
Vince: A
We try to make this the best movie podcast we possibly can and we hope you enjoy them. Subscribe today on iTunes and Stitcher and please leave us a review on iTunes. You can also find us on Soundcloud, PlayerFM and TuneIn Radio as well. We really appreciate all your support of the InSession Film Podcast.
To hear this Extra Film episode and everything else we do, download our apps on the Amazon Market for Android and the Podcast Box app on IOS devices. The mobile app covers all of our main shows, bonus podcast’s and everything else relating to the InSession Film Podcast. Thanks for your wonderful support and listening to our show. It means the world to us!
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Help Support The InSession Film Podcast
If you want to help support us, we would greatly appreciate it! For more info, CLICK HERE.
On paper, Suburbicon has the potential to be really good, perhaps one of the best films of the year. I know, I know, George Clooney’s track record as a director has been hit or miss, but he’s proven to be a very capable filmmaker with the right material. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck are genuinely very good movies, and I liked Ides of March overall. So to hear he was directing Suburbicon wasn’t letting the air out of the sails for me.
Of course, the big selling part here is that this film is written by Joel and Ethan Coen. Like many others, I adore the Coen brothers and the writing of their films is one of my favorite things about them. However, there is something to be said about how their writing aligns with vision as directors. When you look at their writing efforts where they didn’t direct, the outcomes tend to be a bit more lesser than compared to their dual writing/directing efforts. Unbroken, Gambit and Crimewave are films that nobody would consider to be anywhere close to the “Coen canon” that we love. And if you read into the early reviews for Suburbicon, it may end up falling into that same boat. Perhaps that goes to show that only the Coen brothers are in tune with their writing and know how to direct it.
That said, on paper, Suburbicon still has potential. It is the Coen’s after all. Clooney has proven himself before in the director’s chair. Plus, the film stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac! I mean, surely in the hands of all that talent, it can’t be that bad? Right? Well…we’ll see.
Despite the reviews, I’m still kind of excited. What about you though? You going to see Suburbicon this weekend?
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Here’s what else is coming to theaters this weekend:
Jigsaw All I See Is You Thank You For Your Service The Square (limited) Wonderstruck (limited)
Director: Dean Devlin Writers: Dean Devlin, Paul Guyot Stars: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish
Synopsis: When the network of satellites designed to control the global climate starts to attack Earth, it’s a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide Geostorm wipes out everything and everyone.
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In case you were not aware, I’m British. This tends to mean that along with a slight sense of guilt over abusing indigenous peoples for a few hundred years, and mediocre dental work, we’re obsessed with the weather.
Seriously.
If you are ever visiting our soggy little island and wish to strike up a conversation with a local, starting with a line like “Lovely day today, wasn’t it?” or “I’ve heard it’s going to rain at the weekend” will be an instant icebreaker. Think of this as a top tip if you’d like to chat up a Brit, but a couple of words of warning: 1) once you’ve opened the weather gambit, you may not actually be able to get said Briton to shut up again and 2) as mentioned above, mediocre dental work.
Weather is Britain’s other national obsession after, of course, the addiction to tea. We love talking about the weather, trying to predict the weather, complaining about the weather, enjoying the weather and discussing whether the weather will disrupt the village fete/cricket match/Mrs Miggin’s Pie Festival (delete as appropriate). One national newspaper has published so many insane weather stories on its front page, it’s developed its own brand of satire….
Which is all a bit weird as the British weather can be summed up thus: not too hot, not too cold, usually wet.
We’re so comfortable in this happy little zone that we’ve developed a clothing style that seems odd to the rest of the world. It is not unusual to see a Briton in October in a pair of shorts paired with a waterproof jacket. He’s not confused, it’s just that it’s not that cold. Europeans from warmer countries like Spain, Portugal and Italy visiting in October stare in amazement at this odd sight, sometimes muttering lines like: “But it’s 10° C (50F), why is he in shorts?” failing to realize that it is not unheard of for our peak summer temperature to only hit 20°C (68F). And it’d still be raining.
Also this sort of bloody-mindedness really annoys the French, and if the British like doing anything, it’s winding up the French.
This predictibility of our weather makes our obsession with it even odder, but also ensures that stuff about the weather is BIG business in the UK. We have whole prime time TV series devoted to “The Great British Weather” (five hours explaining how rain is good), examinations of “Britain’s Wildest Weather” (basically not too hot, not too cold, bit wet, bit blowy), the Radio4 Shipping forecast is a national institution that celebrated its 150th Birthday this year and has been the inspiration for songs, poetry and comedy. Even odder, our weather presenters become national celebrities identified by first name only – that’s right: Kanye, Beyonce, Carol. Our weather is so bland and predictable that we have to remember back to times we got caught out by slightly different weather: Every year we remember “The Great Storm”, mainly so they can trot out ancient video footage of weatherman Michael Fish (currently performing in a national comedy tour – I s*** you not) assurring the country that there wasn’t a hurricane on the way, the day before a hurricane hit the county of Kent causing ‘widespread damage’ of the kind that Puerto Ricans currently would only scoff at, but, hilariously, reducing the titular number of trees in the town of Sevenoaks to one.
This last event, a combination of cock-up and weather report, was deemed so quintessentially British, we included it the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. You know, just before we had the Queen jump from a helicopter…
All this probably explains why I shouldn’t have been surprised to find the screening of Gerard Butler’s latest movie practically full. Britons are obsessed with the weather, the weather makes us miserable, lets watch a film where the weather makes Americans miserable instead. What could be more fun?
As it turns out, pretty much anything else, including wearing shorts in the October drizzle.
According to Geostorm, sometime in the very near future, Earth’s weather will go wrong with increasingly terrible storms, flooding, and extreme freezing and thawing events. The situation gets worse and worse until the World’s scientists team up to create a network of satellites called Dutch Boy that control the weather. These satellites are positioned into a physical net that covers the whole world and are maintained and serviced by an orbiting space station and manned by a nicely multi-racial crew from the international community that is serviced by a fleet of space shuttles.
And all is well with the world for a number of years until a UN patrol comes across unexpected flash-freezing event in the surprisingly sandy deserts of Afghanistan causing a number of unfortunate peasants to come over all Robert-Patrick-at-the-end-of-Terminator-2. The US covers up this error, declaring it a computer glitch and the world is none the wiser, despite the UN discovery of the issue in the first place (I know).
Cue the man who devised and built Dutch Boy, Jake Lawson, to be called back to Washington to shout at the West Wing’s Toby Ziegler for character purposes and get fired. Which is helpful as the US, who apparently paid for and built the Dutch Boy network, are coming to the internationally agreed point in time where they hand over ownership of the network to the international community, despite the network being maintained and run by the international community on the Space Station (I know). To piss off our glowering Scot a bit more, his job is taken by his younger brother Max (Jim Sturgess – bland).
So Gerard heads off to Florida to retire, but more weather events keep occurring and finally an expendable Indian scientist dies on the Space Station so the US President (Andy Garcia) decides to solve the issue rather than hand over a broken system.
Max, knowing how the game is played, wants to send a team of people. He’s the good cop, the sensible cop. But Garcia knows better, he wants only one man to keep the investigation small and unobtrusive. He wants the older brother. Jake’s back in the game!
So Gerard goes back to the space station on his own to investigate and is immediately introduced to the team with who he will work to solve the stations problems (I know, bear with). While Max gets cold feet back on Earth, especially when he shares his deepening suspicions with Secret Service agent/girlfriend Sarah Wilson (Abbie Cornish) – the relationship they must keep secret because it is against the rules. Ignoring his small team, Jake enlists the entire space station (I know, look, it’s that kind of film) to check stuff and discovers sabotage, Max uncovers the plot behind the sabotage and cue action, adventure and all that good stuff.
A few of you may have noticed something about the plot synopsis above – namely the absence of a Geostorm. Okay, let’s deal with that up front: There isn’t one. Geostorm, the movie, doesn’t actually contain a Geostorm, the event.
A Geostorm is explained by one expendable Asian actor as a combination of self-sustaining weather events across the globe. Max is the only one that understands what this means, but that doesn’t stop the film from having every other character immediately understand what a Geostorm is the moment they first hear the name. They even have computer graphics for it.
This is the start of a slippery logical slope that, if we went down it, we’d never end this review. So, for the sake of our sanity lets just say that the science, in fact the general plausibility, of this film is complete and utter bunkum. From the need to physically connect orbiting satellites with rods into a rigid net, to the requirement to have space shuttles land on wheels when docking with a space station, to the satellites seeming to be a kind of module in a much larger array, to the weather controlling apparatus itself, to the shuttles on set having a rear-mounted loading door for actor access, but the CGI ones in space having rear mounted engines, everything, and I do mean everything, is unexplained nonsense.
Gerard Butler is Jake, and he’s a manly man. He’s so manly he’s unshaven, tells authority to piss off, he’s tough on his daughter, and split up from her mom. He drinks beer, owns a muscle car, wakes up late and looks great in a jump suit. He’s impetuous, acts first, asks questions later. He once punched a senator in the face. He’s here to kick ass and chew gum, and he’s all outta gum. America, F***-Yeah!
Sorry, I got carried away there. If that sounds like an in-depth character analysis, it is, but I didn’t get that from this film. Butler’s Jake is a flim-flam construct of every action movie hero cliche you’ve ever seen, but with the added implausibility of him being an astronaut. And engineer. Butler, a macho actor brilliantly referred to by the BBC’s Mark Kermode as “Shouty Buttwad”, is a gruff, charming man, but he has no character at all to work with. Jake is a bullet-point construction, the audience expected to fill in the gaps where the script can’t be bothered to. It’s so lazy, and so boring.
Jim Sturgess’ Max is exactly the same, a cut-n-paste straight guy character you have seen a bazillion times before. He’s in love with a girl but he can’t tell anyone, he follows the rules until he realises that others aren’t playing by them, he persuades his girl to break her code for love and together they clean up this town. Yeehah!
Sorry, sorry, sorry, I was off again.
We’ve the straight-laced Secret Service agent girlfriend who plays everything by the book. We’ve got the supportive old codger who’s seen it all before (Ed Harris’ Dekkom), we’ve got the spunky, punky rebellious girl hacker who can break into anything (Zazie Beetz’ Dana – Good). If you haven’t seen the pictures of these characters yet allow me to describe them – Cornish looks like Sarah Walker from Chuck, Ed Harris looks like Frank Horrigan from In the Line of Fire, and Zazie Beetz looks like Ramsey from Fast and the Furious. And guess what? They are exactly the same characters too.
The plot is likewise a feeble construct of recycled ideas smashed together in the hope that something will stick. We have freezing weather events (The Day after Tomorrow), earthquakes (2012, San Andreas), tidal waves (Deep Impact) and a heat laser (err… Die Another Day). In all cases these are deployed exactly as in the films they have been stolen from, and in the case of the heat laser it even feels like they’ve nicked the same special effect. Stitching the weather issues together we have a space station which suffers some mishaps (Gravity), Space Shuttles (Armageddon) and treacherous intrigue in locker rooms (ok, you got me here, but it feels familiar). On Earth we have threats to the president (The Manchurian Candidate, In the Line of Fire), cars racing away from earthquake cracks and lava (Volcano, Dante’s Peak), and skulduggery in the White House (Air Force One). Underlying it all we have a critical system, essential to protecting life on earth, but someone wants it to fail (Sunshine, The Core). Who could be so dastardly, and why?
The whole thing feels like a first draft that somehow got greenlit, as if the producers asked for a possible concept for a flick and when presented with the script equivalent of a mood-board simply said “That’s perfect, let’s get filming”.
Geostorm is played absolutely seriously most of the time. I think it thinks it’s a thriller, but to be honest, I don’t think anyone involved actually cares. The actors have so little to work with: they are doing their best, but they are clearly not committed. Ed Harris gets a notable mention here for trying to draw something out of stale pool of his character, but it’s beyond him. There’s irritating glimmers of promise, the odd decent line, some comedic interplay, hints of brotherly bonhomie, Abbie Cornish’s strict bad-assery, but that’s all it is, glimmers. Brief hints. They cannot put a dent the in the sheer mountain of issues this film suffers from.
It’s not even a pitable mess, as it looks hugely expensive. The special effects in the space scenes are extremely good and the Space Station sets are vast, detailed and interesting. It looks great to be honest, but only the space bits. The rest is just dull dull dull. There’s no visual interest, it’s not very pretty, it looks like a poor TV movie. The car chase at the end of the film is simply awful. One of the ugliest action sequences I think I have ever seen. I mean, who doesn’t want to see a Mercedes taxi be chased in a freeway underpass…
We can’t pity anyone really as all of the flaws of this film should have been obvious when the script, if it remotely resembled the one in the finished film, was first presented. Stories from the troubled production imply there is an even worse version out there than this. I hope we never get to see it.
I also cringed at the sheer crassness of everything. The climax sees Dubai get hit by a tidal wave, Rio hit by an ice storm-tidal wave thingy, Mumbai get hit by tornadoes, and Moscow by a heat ray. Millions dead, colossal disaster, humanitarian catastrophe, but everyone at NASA are in tears for the loss of one man in orbit (#spoilernotaspoiler). There’s an unpleasant racist undercurrent that bubbles along through out the film – ethnic characters are killed off, but white guys save the day. Mumbai gets flattened, Hong Kong blown up, Dubai drowned, Tokyo pelted, Rio … actually I don’t know what the f*** happened to Rio, but the only white city we see affected was Moscow – presumably because no-one likes Russians. Oh, and Devlin has to save the bloody dog. Again.
I spent huge parts of my time watching this through my fingers. I wasn’t remotely annoyed with the 12 year old got bored and asked his Mom “Why are they doing that?” Eliciting the beautiful response from his mother: “I really don’t know”. I wasn’t annoyed with the lady next to me gave up and began viewing Facebook. That usually really annoys me, but this time, I wanted to be looking at Facebook. I wanted to leave. I wanted to be doing anything else than watch this film.
It is dull, unoriginal, insultingly stupid and bereft of almost all entertainment value.
Matt Damon has had an interesting career with performances ranging from action to comedy to intensely dramatic. And yes, we have spent a lot of time trying to save him, for better or worse. Given the trailers for Suburbicon, he may delve into the entire spectrum of what he has to offer. His performance idicates serious drama – for his character anyway – in a film that is (probably) meant to be a satire, and he’s punched in the face at one point, so he’d doing it all.
With that as our inspiration, what Matt Damon performance do you think best reverberates his strengths as an actor?
Director: Kevin Phillips Writers: Ben Collins (co-writer), Luke Piotrowski (co-writer) Stars: Owen Campbell, Charlie Tahan, Elizabeth Cappuccino
Synopsis: Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.
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First time director Kevin Phillips shows a tremendous amount of vigor in Super Dark Times, interjecting skillful precision in how he paces, edits and shoots this film. The 90’s flourishes come alive here, taking me back to my childhood in ways I haven’t experienced in a long time. However, nostalgia isn’t a friend in Super Dark Times, but rather it allows these characters to experience lossness in a more isolated and truthful way.
The ominous prologue is very cold and suggestive of how bleak things can get, a through-line that wreaks havoc in the film’s back half. Phillips opens the film with dark foreshadowing, but the mood quickly shifts to a more light-hearted opening act where we meet friends Zack and Josh. In fact, outside of that prologue, the opening 20 minutes plays more like Stand By Me in how we see the endearing comradery between Zack, Josh, and two other friends – Daryl and Charlie – they meet up with. It’s actually quite delightful.
Soon after though, as the young boys are smoking weed and playing with a samurai sword, things become deadly. From there, Super Dark Times lives up to its title as these boys begin to cope with the harsh reality around them. In an instant, childhood innocence is lost and it’s in these themes where Kevin Phillips showcases true prowess.
Super Dark Times is a film about the inevitability that innocence will be lost, and it’s what you replace with that defines you. It’s less concerned with being another “coming of age” film, but instead it’s more involved with how teenagers react to the bitter brutality of life. Each character deals with this differently, offering up viewpoints that range from complete despair to anger to clinging to hope.
These themes ring very true in part due to Phillips’ aesthetic vision, which couples extremely well with its dramatic overtones. The film looks like it came from Alfonso Cauron’s Children of Men. The town is colorless and lived in, giving it a post-apocalyptic ambiance. That visual approach gives this film a mood that evokes a feeling of uneasiness, something that palpably works in its favor as the story unfolds.
As much as I adored the first two-thirds of Super Dark Times, the final act does fizzle out slightly. The film becomes less interested in its vivid visuals and stark symbolism, and instead it becomes too entangled in its thriller components. The narrative feels confused and misguided, leaving loose ends that are dramatically frustrating.
Despite that, Super Dark Times is a fascinating film that tackles important themes that I found nuanced and invigorating. Own Campbell, Charlie Tahan and Elizabeth Cappuccino are really terrific in their respective roles. Phillips’ direction is some of the best I’ve seen in 2017, especially in how he manages tone, visuals and the fallout of this unfortunate tragedy in these characters. The score and sound design is also captivating in this film.
The film is currently available on demand and is streaming on most platforms. Please seek it out.
This week on Episode 244 of the InSession Film Podcast, inspired by Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, we talked about our favorite dysfunctional family movies. Dysfunctional family movies is a genre of film that covers a lot of ground, so criteria was more important this week than usual. One could argue that all family dramas feature some level of being dysfunctional, but we looked a little deeper at that to highlight films where familial dysfunction is fundamental to those films thematically. On that note, what movies would make your list?
Here are the one’s that made ours:
**Please keep in mind that we each had different criteria for our selections**
JD
1) The Royal Tenenbaums
2) Dogtooth
3) The Magnificent Ambersons
Brendan
1) Nebraksa
2) Dogtooth
3) The Shining
Honorable Mentions (Combined) Warrior, Silver Linings Play Book, Star Wars, Little Miss Sunshine, American Beauty, Krisha, Ordinary People, Stoker, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Godfather, Christmas Vacation, Where the Wild Things Are, The Tree of Life, Boyhood, Carrie, Winters Bone, Mildred Pierce, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Captain Fantastic, Shotgun Stories, Rachel Getting Married, Mommy, Step Brothers, The Kids Are All Right, We Need To Talk About Kevin, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Tale, Meet the Fockers
Hopefully you guys enjoyed our lists and if you agree or disagree with us, let us know in the comment section below. As mentioned above, there are many other films that could make this list depending on your criteria and how you wanted to define “familial dysfunction” in movies. That being said, what would be your Top 3? Leave a comment in the comment section or email us at [email protected].
This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we review Noah Baumbach’s latest film The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), starring Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller. Using that film as inspiration, we also discuss our Top 3 dysfunctional family movies, which happen to feature some of our favorite films of all-time. And finally, we give our thoughts on the new(ish) trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi in a special edition of Trailer Talk!
Noah Baumbach is one of the more interesting directors working today, and his films always offer up interesting conversation regardless of how we feel about them. The Meyerowitz Stories continues that trend and was especially fun to talk about given the striking performances of both Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
On that note, check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
– Movie Review: The Meyerowitz Stories (3:28) Grades
Brendan: A-
JD: A-
– Top 3 Dysfunctional Family Movies (36:39)
Dysfunctional family movies is a genre of film that covers a lot of ground, so criteria was more important this week than usual. One could argue that all family dramas feature some level of being dysfunctional, but we looked a little deeper at that to highlight films where familial dysfunction is fundamental to those films thematically. That said, what would be your top 3?
– Trailer Talk (1:15:53)
We may be a week or so late on this, but we finally got a chance to talk about the new trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. There is a lot to cover here, so we devoted the entire segment to speculating on what this new Star Wars has to offer.
If you want to help support us, there are several ways you can help us and we’d absolutely appreciate it. Every penny goes directly back into supporting the show and we are truly honored and grateful. Thanks for your support and for listening to the InSession Film Podcast!
Director: Tomas Alfredson Writers: Peter Straughan (screenplay by), Hossein Amini (screenplay by) Stars: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Synopsis: Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose pink scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.
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At one point during the hunt for a serial killer who builds sinister Olafs after dicing his captives – all of them women – junior investigator Katrine Bratt (a dynamite, but wasted, Rebecca Ferguson) gives team leader Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender, also wasted) a shot of vodka. “Maybe this will help you get your balls back,” she said, not restraining her dismay at Hole’s inability to see – in her opinion – the obvious culprit. With a few “oooh’s” and a hushed “damn, she cold” in the audience, one would say no one registered the film’s right-there-and-then pointed statement on alcohol dependence.
Not just Hole – correct pronunciation is hoh-leh, but the film goes with Merriam-Webster’s first definition – is a walking liquor cabinet with droopy eyes and temper problem in The Snowman. Also fitting the description is another detective from a town away, Rafto (Val Kilmer), who is on a case with similar MO but took place nine years ago. And Rafto must have married to his poison way longer than Harry: His voice is dubbed by someone else, his skin is wax-like, and he despises birthday parties. Oh, alcohol, always rolling bundles of joy into pastures barren of it…
Actually, it seems like key players behind the camera are also hammered. No one would have thought a first-rate crew consisting executive producer Martin Scorsese, his trusty editor Thelma Schoonmaker, director Tomas Alfredson, and writers Peter Straughan, Hossein Amini and Søren Sveistrup would be so eager to shove The Snowman into the furnace, but that’s what happened. The latter trio bears the most fault considering a mystery lives or dies by its storyline. The source material is a best-seller, and yet Straughan, Amini and Sveistrup spend more time emulating another – the also-Scandinavia-set The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – with subplots about an industrial magnate (J.K. Simmons, also wasted) co-running a prostitution ring with a doctor (David Dencik, also wasted) and Harry’s many attempts to reconnect with estranged wife Rakel (Charlotte Gainsbourg, also wasted) that are ultimately meaningless. And what is the purpose of one of the victims’ twin sister (both played by Chloe Sevigny, also wasted) again? Isn’t she or her twin, per the trailers, supposed to be chased by the killer and then caught in a trap? For the latter, one has to ask Alfredson, who recently admitted that 10 to 15 percent of the screenplay wasn’t filmed and that the editorial department became responsible for filling the gaps. Not sure if Schoonmaker drinks, but Alfredson is sure forcing her to reach for the bottle.
D.O.P. Dion Beebe seems to be the only one sober in The Snowman. Having the ability to see clearly does pay off, since for all its missteps the film remains a visual feast. Every frame effortlessly highlights the scenery’s soul-deadening coldness and helplessness, but the trait comes through clearest in the grim opener featuring an abused mother committing suicide while her son watches on. Additionally, Beebe also depicts unnerving voyeurism in a dreamily seductive way, imbuing much presence into the atmosphere that made Alfredson’s two previous efforts, Let the Right One In and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, superb examples of mood creation.
Assuming in vino veritas is a legitimate concept, liquor is the best place to find out how Alfredson went from helming one modern horror classic and one delectable John Le Carré’s adaptation to this point. Hurts a lot, just by thinking about it, let alone doing so with a drink nearby. While The Snowman seems to have a few words about broken families, its more obvious lesson is don’t make a movie while alcohol is in the system.
This week on the InSession Film Podcast: Extra Film segment, we discuss the latest Stephen King adaptation in Gerald’s Game and also the little indie-comedy The Little Hours!
For those of you who have been waiting for an epic showdown between Brendan and JD, you’re in luck this week. Well, maybe not epic, but we have a heated debate over Gerald’s Game and the quality of that film. Let us know who you agree with once you listen to the show!
With that said, have fun listening to this week’s Extra Film segment and let us know what you think in the comment section below. Thanks for listening!
– Movie Review: Gerald’s Game (5:09) Grades
Brendan: A-
JD: D+
– Movie Review: The Little Hours (32:38) Grades
Brendan: B+
JD: A-
We try to make this the best movie podcast we possibly can and we hope you enjoy them. Subscribe today on iTunes and Stitcher and please leave us a review on iTunes. You can also find us on Soundcloud, PlayerFM and TuneIn Radio as well. We really appreciate all your support of the InSession Film Podcast.
To hear this Extra Film episode and everything else we do, download our apps on the Amazon Market for Android and the Podcast Box app on IOS devices. The mobile app covers all of our main shows, bonus podcast’s and everything else relating to the InSession Film Podcast. Thanks for your wonderful support and listening to our show. It means the world to us!
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Similar to our Italian Neorealism Movie Series, Indian cinema is a major blindspot for us, something we hope to remedy soon. To help start this process, we’ll be diving into the films of one of the most famous – and important – Indian filmmakers of all-time, Satyajit Ray. For this series, we’ll obviously tackle the robust and famous Apu Trilogy, but also a few other classic Ray films that have come to define his legacy. Follow along and we hope you enjoy this series as much as we do.
Pather Panchali, 1955
Grades
JD: A+
Brendan: A+
DJ: A
Listen to our review of Pather Panchali below as heard on Episode 229.
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Aparajito, 1956
Grades
JD: B+
Brendan: A-
Listen to our review of Aparajito below as heard on Episode 231.
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Apur Sansar, 1959
Grades
JD: A
Brendan: A
Listen to our review of Apur Sansar below as heard on Episode 232.
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The Music Room, 1958
Grades
JD: B
Brendan: B-
Listen to our review of The Music Room below as heard on Episode 233.
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The Big City, 1963
Grades
JD: A+
Brendan: A+
Listen to our review of The Big City below as heard on Episode 234.
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Charulata, 1964
Grades
JD: A-
Brendan: A-
Listen to our review of Charulata below as heard on Episode 243.
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Well that’s it, we hope you enjoyed the series as much as we did! Be sure to leave any feedback in the comment section below or hit us up on social media!
Director: Sean Baker Writers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch Stars: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite
Synopsis: Set over one summer, the film follows precocious 6-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World.
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Hopefully somewhere within this fictional “kingdom” that’s being projected into The Florida Project, there’s more Sean Baker has yet to unveil. Maybe it’s just the Cannes and TIFF hype, but there’s something that feels a bit unfulfilling about what the audience is receiving. That goes without including the affectionate performance given by Willem Dafoe and the awe-inspiring one from newcomer Brooklynn Prince. Also not including the exemplary cases of character study and the overarching themes of adolescence and innocence or in this particular situation, lack thereof.
Baker’s previous project Tangerine, was a small indie hit at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and made a whole lot of noise for filming the entirety of the movie on an iPhone 5s. While there’s no denying that aspect is impressive, there is a never ending void of emptiness in relation to its substance. And while The Florida Project is effortlessly miles better than Tangerine, they sadly both suffer from the same fault. They’re just too lazy. Tangerine’s central focal point is the utilization of the grime and filth of the streets of California. It depicts it in a way that is not only sluggish but distasteful to the viewers eye and opinion. This is the exact way with The Florida Project, but only now it’s detailing the manifestation of a poverty-stricken environment in to childhood and adulthood, using it as some sort of obnoxious gimmick.
In respite to what was said about the craftsmanship he has for scenery and his abusing of it, there’s credit to be given to the man for the innate ability he possesses to represent the development of usually, multiple protagonists. There’s always such a high level of tameness set within the universe of his films, especially here. Every character is somewhat relaxed and mellow, almost like there’s nothing ever held at stake. That’s why the film feels so authentic. That honest, grounded tone that’s being produced throughout the movie gives off that sense of realism that Sean Baker specializes in. The way he pens such a modernization of these children in society today, goes to extensive lengths in the film. Between the unpredictable curse words being spouted and the delinquency of just playing with friends on a hot summer day. It’s the small variety of subtleties like this that need to be in more active screenplays of films today.
Willem Dafoe certainly holds the pants of the movie up. He splits screen time with the family and himself but when given proper scenes for his pure talent to glimmer, they’re no doubt some of the better scenes of the film. The introduction to Brooklynn Prince and Bria Vinaite hopefully gives them a longer time to extend their acting career given they both had such a strong affinity on screen as this mother and daughter that’ll likely put them on the map for future roles.
We can all agree childhood is an odd state to be in. It’s always going to be one big mysterious wonder as a kid and for good reason. You’re constantly asking questions and even when you’re not, you’re probably thinking about asking them. Your body starts undergoing through significant changes. You start acquiring attractions to people etc., but the bottom line is, things are going to happen for better or for worse. The finale of this movie does a wonderful job of exploring that. In the heat of the moment when things come to a conclusion, you get that level of disappointment I had stated before. You feel as though you missed something or there might still be more left to uncover. But after you have more time to contemplate and actually think about it, you realize that Baker absolutely took the right route. There’s never going to be a moment when you decide you’re no longer a child. It’s something that’ll gradually wear off over time. We’re shown here what can happen if that is to ever occur when a young girl is placed in a situation like that. No matter how mature or ahead of curve you think you are, you’re not. And here for Baker, it’s something deeply moving that almost brought tears to my eyes because of the heart-wrenching lesson she learned as the film ended.
I won’t say The Florida Project is a complete disappointment because it isn’t. If anything, it did everything right because of how it left me wanting more. It doesn’t successfully manage to break away from its overwhelming location but with the superb performances, class writing and frivolous moments of what it means to be young, it’s evidently a unique occasion I was glad to experience.
Overall Grade: B
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Hear our podcast review on Extra Film, coming soon.
This weekend on Episode 244 we’ll be discussing Noah Baumbach’s latest film, The Meyerowitz Stories, now available on Netflix. Baumbach has been a director that we’ve split on over the course of this show, but despite a few blemishes, he is a director we overall like.
That said, let’s see where you stand on Baumbach’s filmography. What is your favorite film that he’s directed?
Director: Noah Baumbach Writers: Noah Baumbach Stars: Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, Emma Thompson
Synopsis: The adult children of Harold Meyerowitz reunite in New York in preparation for their father’s career retrospective.
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The premise for Noah Baumbach’s latest outing are as straightforward as they come. Despite a crucial plot element being set forth in motion as we reach the finale of the second act, what you see is basically what you get. Although it doesn’t set any distinct precedents of wanting to exceed the classification of those films that are just one big keepsake of families reconnecting, it’s with the impeccable casting and performances that engages with the ideally adept script is where it differs to their advantage.
The Meyerowitz Stories is a hellish delight. It perfectly encapsulates the imperfections of a somewhat dysfunctional family but also just all families in general. Even though it’s following the entire Meyerowitz family attempting to grow closer, each individual family member each seem to have a problem attached to themselves in the film. Not only is it ample to see each investing character from multiple perspectives, but it’s surprisingly very beneficial to the movie later on. I suppose you can call it the climax but when it’s being narrowed down to the remaining revelations, the different stories and flaws presented with each character clash along with their emotions, which transpires in to something really bittersweet.
A movie so genuinely rich in dialogue like this has such a substantial amount of nuances ridden in the script. Especially because Noah Baumbach has the proficiency of knowing how to do it. For example, there’s a recurring theme of characters being cut off in mid-sentence when transitioning to a new scene. It starts with Sandler but slowly spreads to Stiller, Hoffman and the rest of the supporting cast. Although used for some comedic effect, it’s a subtle little ode to the ignorance and lack of patience that are part of our characters traits. Yeah, it could just be nothing, but I like to think it has more to do with the connection of our protagonists. It’s such a sharp-witted script but it’s definitely well candid to give you a good laugh from time to time—which’ll transfer in to the next topic perfectly.
The entire ensemble cast is easily one of the most impressive to be in a film this year. Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller both inflict such a certain degree of tenderness to their characters that is explored much farther down the line of the movie and when it is, it’s so incredibly moving. Sandler’s character is oddly reminiscent to his character in Punch-Drunk Love in terms of personality, but he ultimately brings his own style to the table. Even with Dustin Hoffman pushing 80 years of age, he has never been better. He treads in to such a deep path of Harold Meyerowitz that it truly shows the range he has as an actor. Even though he’s already proved that with his earlier work, it seems as though the people surrounding him are giving a performance outside of their ranges as well. The best part however is how truly interesting each character is. They’re all so idiosyncratic to the point where I couldn’t take my eyes off of the screen because everything that came out of their mouth was pure cinema.
The Meyerowitz Stories is such a delicate film. I say that because there’s just a minimal area that’s responsible for error. It’s possible some might find annoyance in the unconventional narrative but it’s something so minor, it’s hard to see it affecting your viewing of the film. The movie is just incapable of carrying any problems because of how much love and consideration this was put in to by Baumbach. Even with that said and with the overall lack of flaws, it’s objectively just not perfect. I just can’t bring myself to give it a perfect grade. However, it’s undoubtedly one of the best films of this year as of right now.
This isn’t the best way to sum it up and I really dislike using this phrase but, these are one of those movies that’ll sneak up on you. If you’re not expecting much or you have low expectations, that’s alright, but there’s a lot more to it than what’s on the bare surface. When it’s finally over, you feel as though you were part of this family and you were able to listen to them converse to each other all day. I really didn’t want it to end. Although it’s not perfect, it doesn’t need to be.
Overall Grade: A
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Hear our podcast review on Episode 244, coming soon.
This week on Episode 243 of the InSession Film Podcast, inspired by The Foreigner with Jackie Chan, we decided to talk about our favorite “old man with a gun” movies. There’s a lot of irony with that particular topic, because as you’ll hear on the show, Chan’s character doesn’t really use a gun as he seeks his revenge despite our anticipation for that based off the film’s marketing. But we still thought it’d be fun to dive into this unique genre where we see older characters refusing to retire their guns as they go after the bad guys. On that note, what movies would make your list?
Here are the one’s that made ours:
**Please keep in mind that we each had different criteria for our selections**
JD
1) Once Upon a Time in the West
2) The Long Kiss Goodnight
3) Oldboy
Brendan
1) Falling Down
2) The Brave One
3) Oldboy
Allen
1) Sin City
2) Man on Fire
3) Rambo
Honorable Mentions (Combined) Léon: the Professional, The Naked Gun, Taken, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Unforgiven, True Grit, No Country for Old Men, Heat, Lethal Weapon, The Equalizer, Edge of Darkness, Men in Black, Aliens, Walk Among the Tombstones, Dirty Harry, Harry Brown, Get Carter, Death Wish
Hopefully you guys enjoyed our lists and if you agree or disagree with us, let us know in the comment section below. There are many other movies we didn’t mention when it comes to this particular topic and we would love to hear where you stand on this subject. That being said, what would be your Top 3? Leave a comment in the comment section or email us at [email protected].
This week’s episode is brought to you by The Roommate! Help support this interesting horror film by clicking here! Follow Movie Java on Twitter!
This week on the InSession Film Podcast, Allen Ray from the I Seen That Podcast joins us to review The Foreigner, starring the great Jackie Chan. Inspired by that film, we also talk about our favorite “old man with a gun” movies, as we were expecting it to resemble something like Taken with Liam Neeson. We also finish our Satyajit Ray Movie Series with his 1964 film Charulata!
Huge thanks to Allen for joining us, especially since he was calling in all the way from Thailand to talk to us. He was a great guest and we encourage you to check out his fun show. Also – thank you for your patience regarding our Satyajit Ray series, it took a little while to get to our last film, but we were thrilled to dive back into the world of Ray once again.
On that note, check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
– Movie Review: The Foreigner (9:24) Grades
Brendan: C+
JD: B
Allen: B
– Top 3 “Old Man with a Gun” Movies (36:40)
So, there’s a lot of irony in our Top 3 topic for this week’s show. As you’ll hear in our review of The Foreigner, Jackie Chan’s character doesn’t really use a gun as he seeks his revenge, despite our anticipation for that based off the film’s marketing. But we still thought it’d be fun to dive into this unique genre where we see older characters refusing to retire their guns as they go after the bad guys. That said, what would be your top 3?
Main Review: The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Top 3: TBD
The Meyerowitz Stories – Netflix
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Help Support The InSession Film Podcast
If you want to help support us, there are several ways you can help us and we’d absolutely appreciate it. Every penny goes directly back into supporting the show and we are truly honored and grateful. Thanks for your support and for listening to the InSession Film Podcast!
This week on the InSession Film Podcast: Extra Film segment, we discuss the little indie Super Dark Times from first time director Kevin Phillips and also Stephen Frears’ latest Victoria & Abdul!
As you’ll hear on the show, and see in our grades below, we do recommend both of these films despite their flaws and we hope you enjoy them as much as we did. While we had heard good things about both of them, the two ended up surprising us in some ways we didn’t expect, and isn’t that what makes film so much fun?
With that said, have fun listening to this week’s Extra Film segment and let us know what you think in the comment section below. Thanks for listening!
– Movie Review: Super Dark Times (7:04) Grades
Vince: B+
JD: B
– Movie Review: Victoria & Abdul (38:24) Grades
Vince: B
Brendan: B
We try to make this the best movie podcast we possibly can and we hope you enjoy them. Subscribe today on iTunes and Stitcher and please leave us a review on iTunes. You can also find us on Soundcloud, PlayerFM and TuneIn Radio as well. We really appreciate all your support of the InSession Film Podcast.
To hear this Extra Film episode and everything else we do, download our apps on the Amazon Market for Android and the Podcast Box app on IOS devices. The mobile app covers all of our main shows, bonus podcast’s and everything else relating to the InSession Film Podcast. Thanks for your wonderful support and listening to our show. It means the world to us!
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Help Support The InSession Film Podcast
If you want to help support us, we would greatly appreciate it! For more info, CLICK HERE.
There is no doubt that Blade Runner 2049 is going to grow into a cult classic of sorts. Despite its lackluster performance at the box office, Denis Villeneuve’s science fiction epic is starting to follow in the footsteps of the original. Even though the film has received quite the critical acclaim the box office numbers are just falling short. But what does this mean for the film’s Oscar chances? Well join us as we take a look at five Oscars we hope that Blade Runner is nominated and five Oscars it will more than likely be nominated for. You can listen to our review of Blade Runner 2049 here!
Five Oscars We Would Like to See It Get Nominated For:
Best Picture:
This nomination is more than likely going to be missed completely. Due to its underperforming box office numbers and the approach the film takes, it just will not fit in the same category as some other films releasing this year. But there is no doubt it is one of the best films to release this year. It easily is probably the best science fiction film that will release this year (sorry Star Wars). Despite its begrudging runtime and overall slow-moving methodical approach the film still is quite a stunner.
Honoring the first film to come before it while also putting a bit of his own spin on the universe, Villeneuve has seemingly done the impossible. Blade Runner 2049 deserves a best picture nomination because well, its one of the best films of the year. The film is pure cinematic bliss with a lot of different flavors to try.
Best Supporting Actor (Harrison Ford):
Harrison Ford reprises his role as the iconic blade runner, Rick Deckard. But this performance is so much more layered than just your average revival. Ford is probably only on screen for a grand total of twenty five minutes (if that), but every time he is on screen he’s flourishing. Not only does he step away from the stoic, expressionless performance in the 1982 predecessor but he proves to everyone why he is one of the greatest actors ever.
Using his subtle tone of voice changes or the sheer pain/regret he shows through his facial expression. Ford is firing on all cylinders in this film and despite his limited screen time he gives easily one of the best performances of the year. Moving away from the iconic factor and just focusing on the emotional and spiritual moments, Ford is more than deserving for a supporting actor nomination.
Best Adapted/Original Screenplay: Blade Runner 2049 moves at a methodical pace. Now while the reasoning for most of that feeling can be chalked up to Villeneuve, another few contributors to that are Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Fancher and Green have written something truly magical that explores a lot of different ideals. If the film was written in a much more basic format or if these two screenwriters took more of a “by the book” approach, it couldn’t have played the way it does. The film is meant to be more of an old style detective film. People talking, people discovering things, people investigating, and people confronting each other.
Fancher and Green perfectly replicate that old Noir style of screenwriting and Villeneuve perfectly translates it to the screen. From the dialogue that helps us understand who characters are and what their motives become, to some poetic portions of the film that really attempt to get in contact with our spirituality. The screenplay is just as much of a beast as the entire film is overall.
Best Director:
Denis Villeneuve has tackled something that was once thought to be impossible. A sequel to Blade Runner which was considered blasphemy at one point. But after the smoke has cleared, Villeneuve has done it. He has re-created the Blade Runner universe in excellent fashion, excelling in so many different areas. It really is quite impressive that he managed to replicate the scope that Ridley Scott first put into place over thirty years ago.
He brought the film to life and he crafted something truly special. To both cinephiles and die hard Blade Runner fans. Villeneuve is easily becoming one of the greatest directors to ever step behind the camera and if this wasn’t proven before, it sure as hell has been proven now.
Five Oscars It Will More Than Likely Get Nominated For:
Best Cinematography:
Now we would’ve placed this in Oscars we are hoping for but it clearly is going to get nominated. I mean, I guess anything can happen and its possible the cinematography doesn’t get nominated. But if thats the case then they should retire the category and never give anyone another cinematography oscar, ever. Okay that may be a little extreme but Roger Deakins work in this film is absolutely exquisite. Bringing a level of humanity to an artificial landscape, Deakins creates something that is not only groundbreaking but a visual masterpiece.
From the water reflecting off of Niander Wallace’s office, to the entirety of the desert scape sequence, and the rain drenched climax of the film. Roger Deakins has shot some of the most beautiful films in existence but there is something about Blade Runner 2049 that stands out above the rest. Maybe its the fact that he was allowed to explore some uncharted territories. Who knows.
Best Production Design:
Dennis Gassner is the production designer for this film and his work is mind blowing. Not only because of just how large the scale is but also because of how different he makes the Blade Runner world. The 1982 Blade Runner has quite the iconic look and Blade Runner 2049 doesn’t really transition that look, in terms of production design at least.
There are a few scenes that feel reminiscent of the first film but more often than not, Gassner creates something much more fresh. There is a different breath of life brought into 2049 that is actually quite refreshing. Instead of doing a simply copy and paste of the original film they create something more rundown, more dystopian and much more elegant.
Best Costume Design:
If there is one thing that Blade Runner excels at, it is the ability to immerse you into the universe. One of the many ways it executes on this is through the costume design. The costume design is done by Renée April and her work is mind blowing as well. Not only does each character have an incredibly specific look but the clothes are just magnificent to look at. As if there isn’t enough to admire visually in this film the costume design comes in and rocks your socks right off.
From the incredibly badass jackets that everyone gets to wear to the futuristic take on what figures of authority would wear. Every small detail of the film really echoes through the costume design. Whether it be a showing of power or using the costumes as a means to discuss a specific characteristic. April’s work is absolutely stunning and well deserving of the nomination it will likely receive.
Best Original Score:
Now while it may be a tad upsetting that Johan Johansson was not able to collaborate with Villeneuve for this film, what isn’t upsetting is the composer who stepped in to save the day. Hans Zimmer. Zimmer does collaborate with Benjamin Wallfisch and the two are quite the dynamic duo. Now while the score for 2049 is quite clearly a Zimmer staple in certain parts, there are a few moments where Zimmer experiments quite a bit. Swimming in waters he usually strays from, Zimmer goes for something more melodic in some moments than just simply being epic. Of course that thundering bass is still in plenty of scenes.
Best Visual Effects:
I mean c’mon this nomination speaks for itself. All of the effects in this film are flawless in execution from the holograms to the fight scenes and every subtle moment in between. One thing that stands out especially is how clear Ana de Armas character is in her scenes. By clear I mean our ability to quite literally see through her. She is always there in presence and she has quite a glowing aura about her character when she’s on screen and the visual effects really assist in this. We are able to fully understand that she is just a form of artificial intelligence.
Not only are the holograms executed exquisitely but it is seamless in how they interact with the environment. Ana de Armas is always flowing through her environments yet she isn’t really there. When she interacts with Ryan Gosling it looks incredibly real but every now and again we catch those couple glimpses of CGI. If for nothing else the film deserves a nomination for the hologram effect of Joi alone.
What do you think of Blade Runner 2049? What Oscars do you want it to get nominated for and what do you believe it will be nominated for? Let us know!
For my latest guest appearance, I was lucky enough to co-host the latest Epic Film Guys podcast where we discussed Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic, Blade Runner! We also talked about the trailers for Pacific Rim: Uprising and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It was a lot of fun, go check it out asap!
Jackie Chan has always been an endearing presence in cinema and someone I’ve always enjoyed throughout the years. Admittedly, there’s much of his filmography I still have yet to see though. Despite that, any time a new Chan movie comes to town, I’m interested to see what he has up his sleeve. This time with The Foreigner, he is moving away from the action-comedy vehicle and is instead jump-kicking his way back into something more dramatic, which looks quite enticing in the trailers.
One aspect to The Foreigner that intrigues me, is how this film pairs Chan with Pierce Brosnan. Now, I’m not sure if that’s more odd than the Chan/Owen Wilson pairing, but it’s still a bizarre combination. However, if the trailers are any indication, it seems appropriate given the film’s context of location and plot. I’m genuinely excited to see how those two work together as the mystery unfolds itself.
This story also seems to be in the right hands. Martin Campbell doesn’t have a resume that will blow you away, but he’s rebooted the James Bond franchise twice with amazing success, especially Casino Royale. He also directed The Mask of Zoro and Edge of Darkness, two films I enjoyed as well. And I can forgive Green Lantern as he was more of a director-for-hire on that film. Overall Campbell does do drama and action well, which gives me confidence that The Foreigner will be well directed and paced correctly. This film may not blow you away visually, but I do anticipate it being a satisfying theater experience.
Additionally to Chan and Brosnan, I’m also excited to see Katie Leung back on the big screen. Up until 2017, she was literally in nothing else except the Harry Potter films where she played Cho Chang. She wasn’t asked to do much in those film, but I still found her charming and effective. Since 2011, she’s had some TV gigs that I haven’t seen and hasn’t appeared in any other films. That is, until T2 Trainspotting earlier this year where she had a very minor role as a nurse. If you’re not familiar with The Foreigner, I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’ll just say that Leung’s role in The Foreigner could also be limited in a way. Even if just a small part, I look forward to seeing her on screen again.
Lastly, I’ll quickly add that I’m curious as to what Chan will bring to this film in terms of action. To be fair, I haven’t seen him do stunt work in awhile, so I could be way off base here. I missed Police Story: Lockdown, Dragon Blade and Railroad Tigers the last few years and he could have demonstrated his same-ole technical prowess in those films that he’s always displayed. But given Chan’s age, I question how the action has changed for him, if it’s changed at all. If you’re more familiar with Chan in recent years, please feel free to enlighten me. In recent interviews he’s talked about how he’s an actor who can do stunt work, rather than the other way around. Perhaps The Foreigner will purposefully restrain the stunts to allow his dramatic chops to drop-kick instead.
At any rate, I’m really excited for The Foreigner. Are you?
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Here’s what else is coming to theaters this weekend:
Happy Death Day Marshall Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (limited) Breathe (limited) Una (limited) The Meyerowitz Stories – New and Selected (limited)
