This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we discuss the legendary James Earl Jones (RIP) and the complications of doing a new Harry Potter series! We also talk about The Life of Chuck winning this year’s TIFF People’s Choice Award and a new change of direction for Spider-Man 4.
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!
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– Box Office (2:09) We begin this week’s show with our ongoing “Is the parade on or off?” segment talking about the recent box office results. For all of the “marketing” for Speak No Evil, it was quite hilarious to see that it only garnered $11 million.
– James Earl Jones (20:05) Last week, we sadly lost the legendary James Earl Jones at the age of 93. He was simply one of the best and you cannot tell the story of cinema without his iconic vocal work. His performances in Star Wars and The Lion King are all-timers, but we can’t forget other films like The Great White Hope, Dr. Strangelove, Field of Dreams, The Sandlot and many others.
– Harry Potter Reboot (42:39) The new Harry Potter series for Max is going to be a challenging event for many reasons. J.K. Rowling has not endeared herself to many since going political, and that alone will keep some fans away (understandably). Additionally, because of the deep divisiveness in fandoms these days, the poor kids who are cast are going to be in the line of fire. And then there’s the actual adaptation/artistry aspect of it, which is equally fascinating given the density of the books and how this could be quite different from the book. That element of it is admittedly very compelling. We talk about all of that and more.
– Spider-Man 4 / The Life of Chuck (42:39) We end the show this week by talking about Spider-Man 4 bringing in Destin Daniel Cretton to direct and how that impact the MCU. While we’ve been told that we’re going to see Spider-Man going back to the streets, with Cretton coming on board, one wonders how true that might be. The Life of Chuck winning at TIFF is also very interesting given the history of The People’s Choice Award and how that often leads to a Best Picture nomination, but at this moment the film has no distribution.
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: Frederik Louis Hviid Writer: Anders Frithiof August Stars: Gustav Giese, Reda Kateb, Amanda Collin
Synopsis: In 2008, a group of men from Denmark and across Europe pull off the biggest heist of all time on Danish soil. Kasper, a boxer with few chances left in life, is offered the opportunity to plan the robbery by its foreign initiators.
Many great heist films hinge on something more than just the crime itself. And the thrill of a mega-heist alone obviously draws people in for good reason. But the staying power usually stems from something far more relatable. There’s a human element to many all-timers. Heat is about two diametrically opposed men who share the inability to shed their obsessions and drive in the face of “normalcy.” Inside Man is a panicked look at post-9/11 New York and how it broke down essential factors of daily life. Ambulance is, in many ways, an ode to service workers and veterans alike that are repeatedly served the short end of the stick by the country they call home. The Quiet Ones, celebrating its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, follows in the footsteps of being a heist movie about something more than just pure greed. Frederik Louis Hviid’s film is based on the true story of Denmark’s biggest robbery in history, which took place in 2008 during the looming economic crisis. Opening with an intense one-take sequence, the film pulls its viewer in quickly, and then almost instantly shifts to the drama that will propel every decision made for the rest of the film. Because if The Quiet Ones makes anything clear, it’s that emotion is inextricably linked with the decisions we make.
A fairly common criticism many throw at films they watch is usually in regards to how certain characters behave in certain situations. Frankly, it’s ridiculous. There are obviously instances wherein a poor script can lead to odd character decisions. But in the case of a well-made and competent film, the answer is simple: it’s necessary for the film to proceed. The character in a slasher film needs to go check out the noise they heard because that’s what the film calls for! And the most interesting element of The Quiet Ones grapples with this very idea time and time again. It’s a film where a large set of characters all make decisions based on their emotions. The reason for this? Because they’re all human. As shown very early in the film, the opening of the film takes place during a robbery where a radio program comments on the impending national worry of a financial collapse. “There’s no cause for concern” is stated verbatim by an official within the banking industry. For those who have some knowledge of financial history, or have merely read the logline of the film, and see what follows in the aftermath of being ambushed, it becomes clear that Hviid is tapping into something potent. Something that throws any sense of rationale out the window: desperation. It’s a powerful feeling that can overcome even the most sensible of individuals, and few can genuinely imagine what that must feel like in the face of possible death or injury. As this genuinely thrilling sequence comes to its climax, the film immediately cuts to a year later where we meet Kasper (Gustav Giese) and his family. They’re at the table eating, and although it’s never stated directly, one gets the sense that things aren’t picture perfect in the household. Unfortunately, this is the first sign of a script that shows where it is a bit underwritten; particularly with regards to how it handles its three major female characters.
On one hand, some may be able to chalk up the refusal to delve into marital tension too deeply as being a sign of confidence. And in certain ways, that’s understandable. There’s more than enough evidence to point out how The Quiet Ones relies on silence and imagery to infer both emotion and thought. This is also a film that is very much about how the internalization of emotion leads to despair and rash decision making. So again, the film doesn’t need to outright depict trouble in the household for the audience to understand why these actions are being taken. The development of both wives in this film are cast aside in favor of their husbands either refusing to open up, or being the victim of physical and emotional abuse by Slimani (Reda Kateb). This issue of the script reveals itself mostly in how little it seems to utilize security guard/aspiring cop Maria (Amanda Collin). At first, she is introduced in a way one might expect to see a parallel journey of sorts. It’s a classic cat-and-mouse set-up! Yet she is missing for large swaths of the movie, only to pop up in the third act in a way that resembles something closer to sequel bait than something emotionally resonant. It makes sense within the context of the film, and is certainly interesting, but if her character were more present, or at least felt, throughout the film, it would make for a more intriguing conclusion. But that’s not to say the third act of this film is underwhelming.
The third act feels stellar for a variety of reasons. There is a lot of planning in this film, and it’s not afraid to take its time (albeit to a fault at times). But upon the arrival of the heist, all hell breaks loose in via stylized direction and Hviid’s thesis statement for the film. Kasper, for the most part, has shown himself to be introspective and confident in his own degree of meticulous planning. But as soon as the first sign of a problem rears its head, something in him snaps. And we begin to see cracks in the armor that were only alluded to prior. He makes rash decisions to prove a point. He refuses to leave money on the floor (literally). At no point in the final act of this film does Kasper make the right decision, save one. And even that is only brought upon by a grave mistake he made. But with that decision Kasper makes, it speaks to his true sense of self, and the point Hviid is trying to make in the first place. Desperation, and the stubbornness that comes with it, isn’t always necessarily a bad thing. It’s completely understandable, and it is felt that Kasper tries to do the right thing despite feeling like every choice he makes goes wrong for him. Perhaps this potentially life-saving choice in question will also go wrong for him. But it nevertheless shows that, when the chips are down, he was doing what he felt was necessary to defuse a situation. Despite all his personal worries and fears leading to a cascading sequence of events that will only bury him someday, it pushes him forward to the point of doing the right thing. Sure, the right thing in this instance might be the lesser of two evils, but for Kasper, it no longer appears that the action is the juice (apologies for invoking Heat twice, but it’s always on the brain!) For Kasper, this desperation pushed him to the point of acknowledging what kind of person he wants to be.
To close out the climax of the film, there’s an absolutely stellar chase sequence. It slams the camera right in the faces of these thieves all packed up in a small car. The audience is left completely disoriented and frightened at what exactly is transpiring aside from hearing shouts and occasional bursts of light. Throughout The Quiet Ones, Hviid shows his ability to command a viewer’s attention through really well-constructed set pieces. At moments where the script feels a bit lacking, the visuals and character dynamics in these sequences make up for it. This is a very serviceable heist film that at the very least attempts to rise to greater heights. It may not always reach them, but as a viewer, the peak is certainly more visible than many heist films that don’t even make the attempt.
The Quiet Ones celebrated its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
For more information on the film, head right here.
Director: McG Writers: Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, Whit Anderson Stars: Joey King, Brianne Tju, Keith Powers
Synopsis: A world in which a compulsory operation wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty.
Remember the last time McG made a good movie? People were wearing low rise jeans the last time it happened, and even then, it’s debatable if Charlie’s Angels (2000) was good per se or if it was a simpler time when Cameron Diaz doing a wiggly butt dance in front of a mirror was enough of a reason to fork out a small amount of cash to go to the movies. The Babysitter was diverting enough for a direct to streaming teen screamer and boosted a decent script by Brian Duffield and Samara Weaving. Uglies, however, falls into the category of young adult science fiction book adaptations that retrospectively make people who read the novels wonder two things: if the book they liked was secretly terrible all along, and why, after the downward spiral of the Divergent movie series, do companies insist on trying to find the next Hunger Games franchise but decide to get incompetent people to make them?
Uglies is based on the first of a popular four book series written by Scott Westerfield. After McG’s disastrous effort with Uglies, the small mercy is that, despite the film ending on a cliff hanger, it’s unlikely there will be another movie. In a future dystopia where, you’ll never believe it, a fundamentally corrupt zealot is promising the populace physical perfection and happiness in a resource rich city. At the age of sixteen the populace goes through the Transformation; extreme plastic surgery to make them free from prejudice based on their appearance and hence equal. Parents give up their children to be taught at a restrictive school where they are considered “uglies” until the day they graduate to become “pretties” and get to live in the City.
Tally/Squint (Joey King) is a quick witted Ugly a few months shy of her sixteenth. Peris/Nose (Chase Stokes) with whom she has a “best friend/more than best friend” bond is due to have his surgery and leave the dorms where they grew up together as “Nose” and “Squint.” They sneak out of their rooms and meet where they can look over the river at the City. Squint and Nose promise each other they will never change – even after the surgery. They will always be together. It’s a promise made with a shared scar on their hands. Nose tells Squint to meet him at the bridge one month after his surgery. When he fails to show up Tally (with surprising athleticism for such an ‘asymmetrical imperfect ugly’) scales the bridge and heads to the glorious towers of endless parties in the City to find him.
Once there, she puts on a mask and sneaks into a party to find him. Everything is exactly as she was told it would be. Everyone is happy, dancing, and complimenting each other. People pose for selfies (yes, there are still selfies post the collapse of the fossil fuel era – known as the time of the ‘Rusties’) and their images are beamed into the sky. It is the utopia Doctor Nyah Cable described. No one ages and people are healthy. Tally eventually finds a post-surgery Peris, now blonde and popular. She reveals herself to him and asks him why he didn’t meet her. “I didn’t think we’d have anything to talk about. You’ll understand when you’re pretty.” Peris has had his hand scar removed, a broken promise to Tally. Before she can push the conversation further, a scanner clocks that she is an Ugly and she must hastily escape from the tower before the cops arrest her.
She almost makes it back across the bridge to safety when a flying sentinel vehicle traps her. She is saved by a classmate, Shay (Brianne Tju) who has mad skillz with a hoverboard and they bond over their shared sense of adventure, and their shared birthday. “Why aren’t we best friends already?” Shay (AKA Skinny) yelps.
Shay and her friends talk about a mysterious figure called David who lives in The Smoke – a fabled off grid community. They have contraband; such as a copy of Walden (what else?) by Thoreau. Shay is less keen on discussing her future self than Tally is. She doesn’t have her alt-image uploaded and doesn’t bother with routine scans. Over the space of two months, the girls become close with Shay teaching Tally how to use the hoverboard, and Tally showing Shay all the small hacks she’s learned to get around the computers at the dorms. Soon it comes time for their surgery and Shay takes Tally through the forbidden Rusty zone to tell her she’s planning on meeting up with David and his group – they’re real and there is a different way of life where no-one is judged for their appearance. Shay wants Tally to go with her, but Tally has long dreamed of her surgery and refuses to go. She promises she won’t tell anyone where Shay has gone.
On the day of her graduation, Tally is taken to the City but Doctor Cable refuses to allow her the Transformation until she reveals where Shay has gone. Tally sticks to her promise but when Peris visits her later, she reveals that Shay has joined David and she knows how to find her. Cable convinces her that Shay is danger – David has brainwashed her, and he has a weapon which will destroy the City and all they have built. She tasks Tally with bringing back Shay before David can harm her.
Hoverboarding, rock climbing, and camping Tally goes following Shay’s cryptic map (again, she’s surprisingly athletic – there’s no indication rock climbing was part of her education). She eventually finds the place Shay told her to rest – among the fields of the White Tiger orchids which are the renewable energy source post fossil fuels. She wakes up in a burning field with the extremely not ugly Ugly, David hoisting her over his shoulder and bringing her to the temporary camp where she reunites with Shay. Shay is not distressed at all, and David doesn’t seem dangerous. Tally is vouched for despite the objections of the also not ugly Ugly, Croy (Jan Luis Castellanos). They go on a mission burning the White Tiger orchids which are not an energy source, rather a noxious poison killing off the environment. In a retrofitted helicopter once used by the Rusties now running on solar, they set fire to the fields until they are intercepted by Special Circumstances operatives from the city. Shay falls from the helicopter and Tally dives after her saving her life (again – impressive for a person who spent most of her time on a morphopad). David decides Tally is trustworthy enough to be taken to The Smoke – the agrarian society where runaway Uglies work together in harmony growing their own food and recycling metals the Rusties left behind.
As is the way in these stories, Tally and David fall in love and Tally realises that she’s been fed a lie her whole life. She meets David’s parents Maddy (Charmin Lee) and Az (Jay DeVon Johnson) who reveal the terrible but exceedingly obvious truth behind the Transformation. The weapon Cable fears is a cure Maddy has been working on to reverse the effects of the Transformation. Tally burns the tracking locket Cable gave her and decides to stay with David. In the fire the locket activates, and Cable and her troupes arrive and capture everyone bar David and Tally. A rescue mission must be undertaken despite David having lost faith in Tally. On it goes…
Uglies even by the standards of low rent YA dystopian science fiction action is bottom of the barrel stuff. It is ridiculously dated, condescendingly simplistic, and lacks any manner of internal logic. None of the Uglies come close to being unattractive people – Shay, David, and Croy look like models. The only difference between them and the Pretties is they haven’t got a huge amount of Kardashian style makeup on. Tally Youngblood – our heroine – is an action hero but it’s made clear at one point that at the school no one does anything physical (except for Shay’s hoverboarding). The earth approximately three hundred years into the future has managed to dump fossil fuels for a synthetic fuel source extracted from a flower that kills the environment. Everyone still spends most of their time texting (pinging) each other and using ‘FaceApp’ filters to imagine what they will look like if they were airbrushed. The message is: if you spend too much time worrying about what you look like on the outside, you’ll become a vapid idiot who likes glitter and will buy anything the ‘man’ is selling. So, embrace your true self – especially if that true self happens to be already attractive and athletic.
McG and writers Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, and Whit Anderson serve up predictable and undercooked slop lacking an iota of originality. Laverne Cox seems to be having fun playing an obvious and over the top villain, but she’s too good for this ugly CGI fest. Everyone else, including Joey King, is running on autopilot. King has proven herself a capable action actor in The Princess but her character there had diegetic training. King, Tju, and Stokes can’t pass for sixteen even in ridiculous movie land. The music cues are cringe inducing – it’s a strong case for ‘stop the pop’ on science fiction soundtracks. It’s hard to imagine what kind of teen will be vibing with a cover of a Death Cab for Cutie song.
To be generous some of the baffling logic might be explained in the novels (and unlikely sequels), but it isn’t in the film at hand. Uglies lacks finesse, intelligence, characters you can buy into even briefly, and… basically anything that makes a movie worth watching. Uglies is egregious hackery that is embarrassing for everyone involved, except McG who obviously knows no level of shame.
Director: Jason Reitman Writers: Gil Kenan, Jason Reitman Stars: Rachel Sennott, Dylan O’Brien, Willem Dafoe
Synopsis: At 11:30pm on October 11th, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. Find out what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.
Saturday Night Live! It’s the late-night show that began one fateful (Saturday) night in 1975. In 2024, about to be celebrating its 50th season, it’s a show that practically everybody in America knows about. While most people likely don’t watch it live anymore, opting to instead watch it the following morning on social media, it’s still one of the most iconic television programs of all time. And here comes a film about that amazing night in television history, which backs up the case that it must be important! In Jason Reitman’s film Saturday Night, celebrating its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, we see the inner-workings of the machine that brought the world some of the most famous and celebrated names in comedy history and beyond. There’s no place like show business, where the show must always go on one way or the other. The film opens with a quote from SNL-creator Lorne Michaels: “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.” Despite that, it never really feels like there’s any sort of stakes. That may read a bit harsh, but needless to say that despite its flaws, there is much to enjoy out of Saturday Night.
On a very base level, there’s an inherent interest in seeing how the sausage gets made. With a wildly stacked cast full of up-and-coming stars ready to be thrown into the limelight, Saturday Night does capture some sense of pressure. The film has such a frenetic pace that it’s manufactured to be tense. On one hand, it does make every scene feel as if whichever actor being focused on is doing all they can to command the attention of Reitman and cinematographer Eric Steelberg. Only through sheer charisma will that camera remain steady and hold on deploying its next whip pan. Cooper Hoffman enters the film like a stone-cold movie star. Between his introduction here and in Licorice Pizza, the man simply knows how to enter a film, and we’re all luckier for it. Cory Michael Smith delivers, without question, one of the most star-making performances of the year. He commands your attention and delivers comedy excellence in a way that is bound to keep him on our screens for a long while. Dylan O’Brien runs around the studio in his ever-so-charming way that proves himself, once again, to be the sweetheart of anybody who knows his work. Legendary actors like Willem Dafoe and J.K. Simmons, even with limited screen time, remind everybody just how much they can stun us with mere minutes to work with. There’s no weak link from the ensemble of Saturday Night. One can only hope that this, much like the show itself, catapults a lot of these individuals into movie stardom. There’s a lot going on within the famed halls of studio 8H during the 100 minutes of this film, and Reitman will be damned if he wastes a second on anything but greatness out of his performers. Before you know it, the camera races off to the next most exciting thing occurring. This way of captivating the camera (and obviously the audience) is something that does work in favor of the excitement. But it does also feel like it harms the overall result of Saturday Night.
The biggest issue seems to stem from the feeling that Saturday Night sort of fizzles out. By the time we get to a moment that should be full of triumph and “I told you so!”, it’s instead met with a shrug and a small curiosity as to what the final image shown will be. From a purely visceral perspective, Saturday Night does work. It’s technically very well-made and structured with a ton of care and precision despite all the chaos it captures. The constant thrashing of the camera and running from scene to scene does convey a sense of thrill that, by the time the show goes live, you do let out a great sigh of relief. But on a character level, there’s seemingly no time provided for anybody to breathe. Even the film’s most central dilemma, an awkward post-marital discussion between Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) and Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), leaves little to no impact on the film or seemingly either character. They’re both excellent as performances, and in the quiet moments they share, you do want to see more. But these scenes of internal dilemma, peppered throughout the film, don’t dive anywhere near deep enough to make this cast feel three-dimensional on an individual level. Sure, they have a little bit of every type of comedy to showcase in their repertoire. That lifts the entire ensemble up. But as far as individual dramatic tension goes, it’s arguably the weakest part of Saturday Night. And if this massive cast proved anything in this film, it’s that they could certainly handle the weight. Let them shine and the film would shine in return!
Even still, it feels impossible to deny the simple pleasures of Saturday Night. This is straight-up one of the funniest films of the year. It operates best as a full-blown comedy, and hopefully, inspires studios to put more in theaters. The very loose, jazzy score (which was composed and produced live) from legendary artist Jon Batiste adds to the frenzy of the film. Coupled with the warm 16mm photography from Steelberg, Saturday Night looks, sounds, and feels incredible. It appears that, more than anything, Reitman had more interest in recreating this fateful moment in history rather than really examining it from angles previously untouched. There’s not really any issue with that, I suppose. As written, the film certainly feels as if a ton of care was placed into it; and that all pays off. But for a film that very deliberately and repeatedly points out the often-essential nature of taking risks in art, Saturday Night doesn’t take all that many. But if you’re coming to the movies looking for an escape that will purely entertain, it would feel like a lie to say Saturday Night isn’t an excellent choice.
Saturday Night celebrated its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. For more information on the film, head right here.
Lucrative horror franchises almost never happen by design – just ask the Dark Universe. So, when I say that Hannibal Lecter wasn’t supposed to be another Hollywood money spinner, it’s not exactly a hot take. Nor were plenty of other horror icons; from Freddy Krueger (Wes Craven only wanted to make the one film) to Jason Voorhees (who isn’t even the villain in his first movie) to Norman Bates (whose rights-holders had to wait for Hitchcock’s death to wheel him out again). We’ve seen this pattern so many times – a low budget first film makes absolute bank, and within minutes the producers are pumping out yearly sequels until audiences get fed up.
Dr Lecter didn’t quite follow that same pattern. His first onscreen appearance, in Michael Mann’s brilliant but contemporaneously ignored Manhunter is a long way from cheap-but-fun shlock. His second on screen appearance was the third and, to date, last film to win all five major Oscars. You’ve probably heard of that one.
After the gigantic success of The Silence of the Lambs, it took a decade for Lecter to re-emerge and, when he finally did in Ridley Scott’s divisive but fascinating Hannibal, it didn’t exactly scream quickie Hollywood cash grab, or that it would be the harbinger for more sequels. Largely because all the source material by then had been adapted.
Lecter isn’t the only horror icon to originate in a series of novels, but he might be the one most beholden to the novels. Robert Bloch wrote three Psycho books but only the first was adapted, and even then, with heavy changes – the later films went entirely in their own direction. Koji Suzuki’s Ring has been filmed multiple times, but the screen adaptation of his sci-fi hued direct sequel Spiral was quickly brushed under the carpet and replaced with more lank-haired ghost girl mayhem, none of which came from the literary sequels.
Hannibal Lecter has never strayed too far from Thomas Harris’ writing. Yes, there have been stark divergences in various adaptations, but, to date, the only Lecter adjacent property that has not been based on anything Harris actually wrote is the miserable 2021 TV series Clarice; and its fate would seem to be indicative of what Hollywood executives in the ‘90s knew but likely resented as they waited for a new Lecter book to adapt – that this was not a franchise that would benefit from eschewing its creator’s text.
But in the ‘90s, was it a franchise at all? That there would be a sequel to Silence certainly looked inevitable, but given the lengthy wait for Harris’ new book and the gigantic backlash when it was finally released in 1999, most filmgoers would have been forgiven for assuming that, for all his status as an icon, Lecter was not some endlessly renewable resource, but simply a central character in three vastly different auteur driven thriller adaptations.
If you watch Manhunter, Silence, and Hannibal back-to-back (or even just Silence and Hannibal given they’re the two Hopkins starring films) it is staggering how little they resemble each other. Manhunter is all heavy synths and neon-tinged ‘80s saturation. Silence is gothic, grey, and orchestral. Hannibal is a lurid operatic fever dream. These films owe little to each other or to any notion of Lecter as a franchise, largely because all three are the work of directors who are unable to be anything other than themselves. So even with the release of Hannibal in 2001, the character was not yet a franchise figure. But within two years that would change.
2002’s Red Dragon is the least interesting of the three Hopkins films in terms of what’s on screen, but it might be the most interesting in terms of what it represented for the character’s pop culture standing. Promotional interviews with the key creatives tended towards a slight defensiveness given the novel had already been adapted in Manhunter. The only real justification for this new take was the chance to get Hopkins on screen again and enjoy the subsequent box office domination. In many of those interviews, director Brett Ratner and producer Dino De Laurentiis try to suggest that it was, in fact, a noble pursuit, a chance to do the book properly after Manhunter failed to. It’s true that, on paper, Ratner’s film is closer to the book than Mann’s, but the earlier film captured its dark heart far better. Something Red Dragon failedto do because it was too busy trying to be The Silence of the Lambs version 2.0.
In the novel, protagonist Will Graham is a troubled and troubling character, an agent who is so good at getting into the heads of serial killers that he’s forced to wonder whether he, in fact, shares some of their pathology. This is also true of the Graham in Manhunter, although it must be noted that Manhunter heavily changed the bleak ending of the book, in which Graham’s stare into the abyss destroys him.
In the 2002 film, Graham is a decent, straight-laced professional, with only lip service paid to his ‘issues.’ Couple this blatant attempt to create a more ‘likeable’ hero with the myriad shots directly emulating The Silence of the Lambs and you have a film that is for more concerned with recapturing old glories than doing anything remotely individual. Interviews from the time of production outright confirm that this was the intent. And while the choice of Ratner to direct after a succession of respected auteurs raised eyebrows at the time, it makes perfect sense for what De Laurentiis wanted – a franchise film.
Dino De Laurentiis’ tortuous relationship with Lecter and the tangled rights situation it led to is the stuff of Hollywood legend. He had produced Manhunter, but after it flopped, he passed on Silence. This mistake would haunt him for the rest of his life. De Laurentiis exercised his first right of refusal to the character and started production on Hannibal almost immediately after the release of the book. He then swiftly followed it up with his second Red Dragon adaptation, only this time, after the reaction to Ridley Scott’s movie, he went for a less bold, and potentially easier to control, pair of hands.
De Laurentiis got what he paid for. Red Dragon is competent and entertaining. It boasts strong performances, most especially from Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson. It also guts the text of its most key theme; that the gulf between ‘normal’ people and the monsters we fear is nowhere near as vast as we like to believe, if indeed it exists at all. It curtails the novel’s unsettling character study of Graham in favor of inflating Lecter’s three short scenes from the book into a starring role. It gives us a happy ending followed by an egregious set up for Silence, the kind of cheap wink that would have been unthinkable in any of the earlier films.
Red Dragon did fine, both critically and commercially, but it was not the second coming of Silence. Infamously, De Laurentiis then pushed Harris for another book to adapt – when the author refused, the producer threatened to have somebody else come up with the story. Harris acquiesced and we ended up with Lecter’s nadir – the awful Hannibal Rising. Nothing represented 2000s Hollywood cynicism more effectively than the scene where Thomas Harris’ Lucifer-esque figure of urbane and unknowable evil learns the ways of the samurai sword from his Japanese aunt before taking out his first victim with one.
The decline from Silence to Rising is staggering, but unlike other horror franchises with diminishing returns, only two films separate them. Hannibal might have been controversial, but at least it still aspired to something artful and elevated. Red Dragon did not, and thus paved the way for a film so soulless it would kill off Lecter as a viable cinematic franchise.
There’s an argument to be made that Rising’s failure was what necessitated a radical new take on the character, leading to the brilliant madness of Bryan Fuller’s cult classic television series in 2013. It was a win for the franchise even if its success was more in the reviews than the ratings. But it was also representative of the new state of affairs for Harris’ stories – they were now the kind of thing that could be reinterpreted and revived again and again, for reasons both artistic and commercial.
Before Red Dragon that wasn’t the case. And while the Lecter franchise has had both highs and lows since, it was only after that film that it could be considered a franchise at all.
This week on Women InSession, we discuss the problems and nuances of ‘the Hitchcock blonde” and how it’s come to define that great Alfred Hitchcock! From Tippi Hedren to Grace Kelly to Janet Leigh, Hitchcock’s reputation with these actresses are…not great. You hear the stories and it complicates your relationship with a filmmaker that made some of the best movies of all-time.
Panel: Kristin Battestella, Zita Short, Amy Thomasson, Jaylan Salah
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!
Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the United States, is rolling around once again for its 2024 iteration. The festival, taking place from September 19th–26th, is jam-packed this year. Celebrating all things genre, from action and sci-fi to horror, fantasy, and everything in-between, the festival lineup is one that will always stir up excitement. And this year is no exception! I adore Austin, and the opportunity to head down there for a few days and be surrounded by all things genre cinema could not be more exciting. The lineup announcement, which can be found below, should detail why. After all, when your opening night film is the world premiere of Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3, you know, as a genre fanatic, you’re in good hands. There’s also the exciting news that Natalie Erika James’ Apartment 7A, the new Rosemary’s Baby prequel starring Julia Garner, will be premiering at the festival! And there’s even a ton of films that aren’t necessarily genre, but should be a dream come true for anybody attending. There’s Sean Baker’s Anora (which won the Palme d’Or in this year’s Cannes Film Festival), Josh Greenbaum’s Sundance-darling documentary Will & Harper and Benjamin Ree’s heart-warming documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. As far as repertory cinema goes, there will be a screening of the only 35mm print(s) in existence of Johnnie To’s 1990s film, The Mission, as well as the world premieres of new 4K restorations of Randal Kleiser’s Big Top Pee-Wee and Adam Wingard’s The Guest. There’s so much more to be discovered in the lineup, so take a look and get excited! Stay tuned to InSession Film for as much coverage as possible, ranging from written reviews to transcribed interviews. Perhaps even some red carpet coverage? Let us know what you’re most excited to see from the lineup below on Twitter @InSessionFilm.
AJ GOES TO THE DOG PARK (Burnt Ends Selection)
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 79 min
Director – Toby Jones
A very mediocre man must complete a heroic Odyssey-like quest to restore order to his town and protect the comforts of his routine life.
ANIMALE
France, 2024
North American Premiere, 99 min
Director – Emma Benestan
After leaving a party with her male co-workers, aspiring bullfighter Nejma begins to experience physical and sensory perception changes after she’s attacked in a field in the middle of the night.
ANORA
USA, 2024
Austin Premiere, 138 min
Director – Sean Baker
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.
APARTMENT 7A
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 104 min
Director – Natalie Erika James
When a struggling, young dancer (Julia Garner) suffers a devastating injury, she finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected, older couple promises her a shot at fame.
THE BABADOOK
Australia, 2014
10th Anniversary Screening, 94 min
Director – Jennifer Kent
Back for its 10-year anniversary, this psychological horror and possession film terrified us in 2014 with its harrowing take on grief. Now it’s back to remind us all of the dangers of reading to children!
BABY ASSASSINS NICE DAYS
Japan, 2024
Texas Premiere, 112 min
Director – Yugo Sakamoto
The Baby Assassins are back at Fantastic Fest to spread joy, dessert, and sick kills in the delightful third entry to this Japanese action franchise.
BIG TOP PEE-WEE
USA, 1988
World Premiere of 4K Restoration, 86 min
Director – Randal Kleiser
When a tornado blows a circus onto his farm, agricultural chemist Pee-wee Herman is tempted away from a life of contentment with his fiancée and her mediocre sandwiches by an alluringly beautiful acrobat.
BINARY
The Netherlands, 2024
International Premiere, 42 min
Director – David-Jan Bronsgeest
As Nisha prepares for gender confirmation surgery, violent and confusing images move from haunting her dreams to impacting her clients and friends, and Nisha must decide what she will do to live her authentic life.
THE BIRTHDAY
Spain, 2004
20th Anniversary Screening of 4K Restoration, 117 min
Director – Eugenio Mira
Corey Feldman gives the performance of his career in this newly restored O.G. Fantastic Fest stunner.
THE BLACK HOLE (Burnt Ends Selection)
Estonia, Finland, 2024
North American Premiere, 115 min
Director – Moonika Siimets
Aliens land in Estonia to collect teeth and change the lives of bored, frustrated citizens in this triptych film of existential humor and strangely beautiful creature design.
BODY ODYSSEY
Italy, Switzerland, 2023
North American Premiere, 104 min
Director – Grazia Tricarico
A female bodybuilder trades in her obsession with crafting the perfect body for an all-consuming pursuit of a younger man.
BONE LAKE
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 94 min
Director – Mercedes Bryce Morgan
In an attempt to rekindle their stagnant love life, Diego and Sage rent a property on the aptly named Bone Lake. When a mysterious young couple shows up at their door, their romantic getaway devolves into a twisted psychosexual nightmare.
BOOKWORM
New Zealand, 2024
US Premiere, 103 min
Director – Ant Timpson
An 11-year-old girl sets out into the New Zealand backcountry with her estranged father to capture photographic evidence of the mythological Canterbury Panther, hoping to claim the reward and pay her mom’s medical bills.
BRING THEM DOWN
Ireland, UK, Belgium, 2024
US Premiere, 105 min
Director – Christopher Andrews
Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan lock horns as the sons of two warring Irish shepherding dynasties.
CARNIVAL OF BLOOD (Presented by AGFA)
USA, 1970
Texas Premiere, 88 min
Director – Leonard Kirtman
AGFA presents a dreamy proto-slasher from the gutters of NYC.
CHAIN REACTIONS
USA, 2024
Texas Premiere, 103 min
Director – Alexandre O. Philippe
In his latest documentary—and right on time for the film’s 50th anniversary—Alexandre O. Philippe explores the profound impact and lasting influence the TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE had on five international artists.
CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING
Estonia, 2024
US Premiere, 117 min
Director – Sander Maran
Tom and Maria’s courtship is cut short by a cannibalistic spree killer and his dysfunctional family. Equal parts Stephen Sondheim and Lloyd Kaufman, this Estonian slasher musical is a truly unique odyssey.
CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN
UK, 2024
International Premiere, 90 min
Directors – Dr. Chris Nunn, Justin Hardy & Dominic Hardy
Justin and Dominic Hardy reflect on their relationships with their father, Robin Hardy, and the cult classic he directed, THE WICKER MAN.
CLOUD
Japan, 2024
US Premiere, 123 min
Director – Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Ryosuke makes his living as an online wholesaler, flipping goods from desperate sellers for a profit. As his business grows, so does his paranoia. Auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest is another masterful examination of dread and contagion in modern Japan.
DADDY’S HEAD
UK, 2024
World Premiere, 97 min
Director – Benjamin Barfoot
After the death of his father, a young boy is terrorized by a gruesome creature that bears an uncanny resemblance to his dad.
DANIELA FOREVER
Spain, Belgium, 2024
US Premiere, 113 min
Director – Nacho Vigalondo
Nicolas mourns his dead girlfriend in a unique way—by taking an experimental drug that allows him to relive his memories when he dreams.
DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY
Taiwan, 2024
US Premiere, 110 min
Director – John Hsu
Dying is just the beginning of one young woman’s problems when she learns the hard way that the afterlife is a competitive world of celebrity scarers and desperate wannabes, and the cost of failure is a fate worse than death.
A DIFFERENT MAN
USA, 2024
Texas Premiere, 112 min
Director – Aaron Schimberg
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare as he becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
DISEMBODIED (Presented by BLEEDING SKULL)
USA, 1998
World Premiere of 4K Restoration, 77 min
Director – William Kersten
Bleeding Skull presents a cinematic acid trip through a surreal, haunting world of mutations and murder.
DON’T MESS WITH GRANDMA
Canada, 2024
World Premiere, 81 min
Director – Jason Krawczyk
Michael Jai White is just a grandson who loves his grandma. When a motley group of thieves attempt to break into her home, he gives them a punishing lesson in etiquette while keeping her comfortably in the dark.
THE DRAFT!
Indonesia, 2023
International Premiere, 84 min
Director – Yusron Fuadi
Five college friends go to a cabin in the woods for the weekend and start to experience strange, violent events in this meta-horror movie with bloody kills and zany comedy.
DRAGON DILATATION
France, 2024
North American Premiere, 114 min
Director – Bertrand Mandico
Director Bertrand Mandico puts his own unmistakable spin on two famous works: Stravinsky’s PETROUCHKA and Dante’s THE DIVINE COMEDY, in this visually arresting experimental film.
EBONY AND IVORY
UK, 2024
World Premiere, 88 min
Director – Jim Hosking
The untold story of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s pop classic, as only the maniac behind THE GREASY STRANGLER could tell it.
ELSE
France, 2024
US Premiere, 99 min
Director – Thibault Emin
A new strange pandemic has hit the world, causing the infected to fuse with their surroundings. Two freshly acquainted lovers take refuge in a flat, trying to avoid the disease that spreads through eye contact.
ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY
China, 2024
US Premiere, 98 min
Director – Li Yang
A trio of teenage friends find themselves able to inhabit their future bodies in this coming-of-age/coming-of-middle-age martial arts comedy.
THE FALL
USA, South Africa & India, 2008
North American Premiere of 4K Restoration, 117 min
Director – Tarsem Singh
Los Angeles, circa 1920s, a little immigrant girl in a hospital recovering from a fall, strikes up a friendship with a bedridden man. He captivates her with a whimsical story that removes her far from the hospital doldrums into the exotic landscapes of her imagination.
FRANKIE FREAKO
Canada, 2024
International Premiere, 82 min
Director – Steven Kostanski
The creator of PSYCHO GOREMAN introduces the raddest & baddest li’l goblin squad since the Ghoulies.
GAZER (Burnt Ends Selection)
USA, 2024
North American Premiere, 114 min
Director – Ryan J. Sloan
Frankie tries to reclaim her life in this paranoia/neo-noir/body horror gem about the decline of America and the terrifying and awesome power of the feminine.
GET AWAY
UK, 2024
World Premiere, 86 min
Director – Steffen Haars
Ignoring the warnings from the Swedish mainlanders, the Smith family takes a vacation on the small, charming island of Svälta… which turns into a killer trip.
GHOST KILLER
Japan, 2024
World Premiere, 105 min
Director – Kensuke Sonomura
Fumika Matsuoka is a young woman with a terrible job, a friend in a bad relationship, and the ghost of an assassin bound to her until she gets revenge on his behalf.
GIRL INTERNET SHOW: A KATI KELLI MIXTAPE (Burnt Ends Selection)
USA, 2023
Texas Premiere, 79 min
Director – Kati Kelli
A compilation of early YouTube uploads by artist Kati Kelli posthumously showcases her deranged genius as an outsider artist and social commentator.
THE GUEST
USA, UK, 2014
Theatrical World Premiere of 4K Restoration, 100 min
Director – Adam Wingard
A mysterious soldier befriends the family of a fallen comrade and quickly makes himself an indispensable part of their lives, but the secrets he’s hiding put them all in danger in THE GUEST, a nail-biting, retro-stylish thriller from director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett (YOU’RE NEXT, A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE).
HEADS OR FAILS (Burnt Ends Selection)
Belgium, 2024
World Premiere, 86 min
Directors – Lenny Guit & Harpo Guit
Armande Pigeon steps in more shit than a latrine cleaner, living off a series of less and less endearing gambles and grifts. When luck rolls her way, she just has to walk away, but where’s the fun in that?
HEAVIER TRIP
Finland, 2024
World Premiere, 96 min
Directors – Juuso Laatio & Jukka Vidgren
Impaled Rektum, the world’s most brutal metal band, must escape Norwegian prison and save a reindeer slaughterhouse from foreclosure before battling a Faustian promoter offering Rock God superstardom in exchange for selling out.
HOUSE OF SPOILS
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 101 min
Directors – Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy
Follows an ambitious chef (Ariana DeBose) as she opens a restaurant on a remote estate where she battles kitchen chaos, crushing self doubts…and a haunting presence who threatens to sabotage her at every turn.
I, THE EXECUTIONER
South Korea, 2024
US Premiere, 118 min
Director – RYOO Seung-wan
The veteran detective Seo Do-cheol (HWANG Jung-min) and his team at Major Crimes, relentless in their pursuit of criminals, join forces with rookie cop Park Sun-woo (JUNG Hae-in) to track down a serial killer who has plunged the nation into turmoil.
ICK
USA, 2024
US Premiere, 90 min
Director – Joseph Kahn
In Joseph Kahn’s breakneck sci-fi/horror satire, a high school science teacher (Brandon Routh) does battle with a parasitic alien entity, as well as the apathy of the small town it has been gradually absorbing.
THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES!!?
USA, 1964
Texas Premiere of Severin Restoration, 82 min
Director – Ray Dennis Steckler
AGFA presents the first monster musical!
THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA (Season 3, Episodes 1 & 2)
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 52 min
Directors – Eugene Lee (Ep. 1) & Young Heller (Ep. 2)
In Season Three of The Legend of Vox Machina, everything is at stake – our lovable band of misfits must rise above inner (and outer) demons to try and save their loved ones, Tal’Dorei, and all of Exandria.
THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF CHRISTOPHER LEE
UK, 2024
North American Premiere, 103 min
Director – Jon Spira
Descended from royalty and the real-life inspiration for James Bond, this documentary shows Christopher Lee’s struggle to succeed as an actor before discovering the joys of playing monsters and villains—transforming him into an icon and a legend, seemingly overnight.
LITTLE BITES
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 106 min
Director – Spider One
A mother, a monster, and a terrible secret.
MADS
France, 2024
North American Premiere, 88 min
Director – David Moreau
Tweaked-out French club kids battle a rage virus during one crazy night, all in one single, unbroken shot.
MALDOROR
Belgium, France, 2024
North American Premiere, 150 min
Director – Fabrice du Welz
When a dedicated but impulsive young officer is taken off a clandestine surveillance team tasked with catching a child predator, he becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth, despite the risks to his family and his sanity.
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
Australia, 2024
Texas Premiere, 95 min
Director – Adam Elliot
Placed in separate foster care homes after the death of their father, two siblings grow up in families with different values. Gilbert and Grace learn to live apart, but their hope of being reunited never fades.
THE MISSION (Presented by AGFA)
Hong Kong, 1999
25th Anniversary Screening, 84 min
Director – Johnnie To
Come celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To’s towering gangster film masterpiece, presented from AGFA’s rare 35mm archival print!
MR. CROCKET
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 88 min
Director – Brandon Espy
A single mother thinks she’s found the key to calming her child down—a VHS copy of a strange children’s program named Mr. Crocket’s World. However, a darker, bloodier secret waits to invade their home from inside the tape.
NEVER LET GO
USA, 2024
Gala Screening, 101 min
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Written by: KC Coughlin & Ryan Grassby
Produced by: Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Dan Levine, Alexandre Aja
Executive Producers: Halle Berry, Holly Jeter, Daniel Clarke, Emily Morris, Christopher Woodrow, Connor DiGregorio
Cast: Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins
From visionary director Alexandre Aja (THE HILLS HAVE EYES, CRAWL) and the creative minds behind STRANGER THINGS and ARRIVAL comes NEVER LET GO. In this new psychological thriller/horror, as an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother, played by Academy Award® winner Halle Berry (Actress in a Leading Role, 2001 – MONSTER’S BALL), and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival. Lionsgate presents, in association with Media Capital Technologies, a 21 Laps / HalleHolly production.
NIGHT CALL
France, Belgium, 2024
North American Premiere, 91 min
Director – Michiel Blanchart
A locksmith finds himself accused of a crime he didn’t commit, kicking off the longest night of his life.
NINE QUEENS
Argentina, 2000
US Premiere of 4K Restoration, 114 min
Director – Fabián Bielinsky
In this gorgeous 4K restoration, two con artists set up a plan to sell a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps known as the Nine Queens to a collector.
PÁRVULOS
Mexico, 2024
US Premiere, 119 min
Director – Isaac Ezban
In the aftermath of a devastating global catastrophe, three brothers must fight against the dangers of a post-pandemic world and keep their family intact.
PLANET B
France, Belgium, 2024
International Premiere, 118 min
Director – Aude Léa Rapin
In a near future shaken by violent protests, activist Julia wakes up in an unknown world after being shot in the face with a non-lethal round. Welcome to PLANET B, a place where your worst nightmares are generated to torture you.
PLASTIC GUNS
France, 2024
North American Premiere, 96 min
Director – Jean-Christophe Meurisse
A world-renowned criminal profiler leads authorities to arrest an innocent man, mistaking him for a notorious killer. Meanwhile, two amateur detectives bumble through their own investigation, and the real killer sees an opportunity to start a new life.
QUEENS OF DRAMA
France, Benelux, 2024
North American Premiere, 115 min
Director – Alexis Langlois
A tabloid-headline, torrid affair between a pop princess and her secret pop-punk songstress stretches into the 2050’s in this camp musical.
RAZE
USA, 2013
Anniversary Screening, 92 min
Director – Josh C. Waller
Awakening after being abducted, Jamie finds herself in a concrete bunker, and she discovers that she is not alone.
THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN
Norway, 2024
Texas Premiere, 103 min
Director – Benjamin Ree
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.
RESPATI
Indonesia, 2024
Texas Premiere, 112 min
Director – Sidharta Tata
Deep in the recesses of a spiritual hive mind connecting an orphaned teenager to the victims of a demon, the boy must also confront his own demons in the demented and deeply unsettling Indonesian horror RESPATI.
THE RULE OF JENNY PEN
New Zealand, 2024
World Premiere, 103 min
Director – James Ashcroft
Admitted into a state care facility, Geoffrey Rush engages in a battle of wits with his deranged tormentor, John Lithgow.
SATAN WAR (Presented by AGFA)
USA, 1979
World Premiere of Restoration, 62 min
Director – Bart La Rue
AGFA presents a new restoration of the Satanic panic mindwarp.
THE SEVERED SUN
UK, 2024
World Premiere, 80 min
Director – Dean Puckett
When a headstrong woman rebels against her religious father, she unleashes a powerful beast intent on picking off members of her isolated community.
Three brothers enter a world of cosmic horror as they try to bring their mother back from the beyond.
SISTER MIDNIGHT
UK, Northern Ireland, India & Sweden, 2024
North American Premiere, 110 min
Director – Karan Kandhari
Stuck on the outskirts of Mumbai following an arranged marriage, Uma turns to black magic to dislocate her domestic blues.
SPERMAGEDDON
Norway, 2024
North American Premiere, 79 min
Directors – Rasmus A. Sivertsen & Tommy Wirkola
A coming-of-age love story set in parallel universes: a teenage boy chasing his first experience of coitus, and two companion sperm swimming upstream in hot pursuit of their holy grail, the egg. It’s also an animated musical comedy that slays.
THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 95 min
Directors – Bradford Thomason & Brett Whitcomb
Have you ever dreamed of living in a place where Halloween is celebrated year-round? Welcome to St. Helens, a charming town that revolves around the cult classic film HALLOWEENTOWN.
STEPPENWOLF
Kazakhstan, 2024
US Premiere, 101 min
Director – Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Set against a ravaged dystopian wasteland, a ruthless killer joins forces with a traumatized young mother in the search for her missing son in this hard-hitting, genre-bending B-movie from Kazakh auteur Adilkhan Yerzhanov
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STRANGE HARVEST: OCCULT MURDER IN THE INLAND EMPIRE
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 94 min
Director – Stuart Ortiz
STRANGE HARVEST follows the investigation of one of the worst, yet least reported and discussed serial killers in the history of Southern California.
TEACUP (Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2)
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 65 min
Writer / Executive Producer – Ian McCulloch
Director – E.L. Katz
From James Wan’s Atomic Monster & UCP, TEACUP follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. Inspired by the New York Times bestselling novel STINGER by Robert McCammon.
TERRIFIER 3
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 128 min
Director – Damien Leone
Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.
TOUCHED BY ETERNITY
Latvia, 2024
World Premiere, 95 min
Director – Mārcis Lācis
Although lacking any zest for life, middle-aged hermit Fatso is obsessed with immortality. When a friendly duo of vampires materializes with a proposition, he has second thoughts when he learns what’s at stake in this playful vampire satire.
TRIZOMBIE
Belgium, 2024
International Premiere, 78 min
Director – Bob Colaers
When a zombie plague hits Belgium, a group of unlikely heroes embarks on a perilous journey to save one of their missing friends.
U ARE THE UNIVERSE
Ukraine, 2024
US Premiere, 101 min
Director – Pavlo Ostrikov
After planet Earth explodes, space trucker Andriy is left alone, drifting through space with an AI computer as his sole companion. When a message from a French scientist reaches him, he risks everything to cross the universe and meet her.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
Canada, 2024
US Premiere, 89 min
Director – Matthew Rankin
A surreal, hilarious, and touching meditation on family and place.
V/H/S/BEYOND
USA, India, 2024
World Premiere, 110 min
Directors – Jordan Downey, Christian Long & Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kate Siegel, & Jay Cheel
The seventh installment of the V/H/S franchise will feature six new bloodcurdling tapes, placing horror at the forefront of a sci-fi-inspired hellscape.
WAKE IN FRIGHT
Australia, 1971
International Premiere of 4K Restoration, 109 min
Director – Ted Kotcheff
Come witness Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 thriller about a schoolteacher marooned in an Australian town full of drunken madmen. A magnificent 4K restoration supervised by Mark Hartley (NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD), WAKE IN FRIGHT is an unmissable cult classic.
WHAT HAPPENED TO DOROTHY BELL?
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 80 min
Director – Danny Villanueva Jr.
Years after a terrifying attack by her grandmother, Ozzie returns to her hometown in an attempt to understand her own mental illness and the supernatural being haunting her family.
THE WILD ROBOT
USA, 2024
Texas Premiere, 101 min
Director – Chris Sanders
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot named Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh environment, gradually bonding with the island’s animals and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling.
WILL & HARPER
USA, 2024
Texas Premiere, 115 min
Director – Josh Greenbaum
When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.
WITTE WIEVEN
The Netherlands, 2024
International Premiere, 61 min
Director – Didier Konings
Frieda is desperate to get pregnant. When she’s ostracized by her medieval Dutch community for surviving a trip to the nearby woods and supposedly conspiring with the Devil, she slowly lets the darkness in.
THE WORKOUT (Burnt Ends Selection)
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 82 min
Director – James Cullen Bressack
Following the shocking death of his wife and facing his own terminal injury, a former Army Ranger sets out on a path of revenge in this stunt-forward, found footage action movie.
ZÉNITHAL
France, 2024
International Premiere, 80 min
Director – Jean-Baptiste Saurel
A man with a giant dick is killed by a jealous, evil man attempting to take over the world. Only women can save us now! You know how it goes…
On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss Jeremy Saulnier’s new film on Netflix Rebel Ridge, starring the incredible Aaron Pierre! We are big fans of Saulnier, so it was not surprise that we responded quite positively to the film, however; Pierre’s striking performance wasn’t something we were expecting. Talk about one of the best surprises of the year.
Review: Rebel Ridge(4:00) Director: Jeremy Saulnier Writers: Jeremy Saulnier Stars: Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb
Director: Anderson .Paak Writers: Anderson .Paak, Khaila Amazan Stars: Anderson .Paak, Jee Young Han, Soul Rasheed
Synopsis: Follows a washed-up musician who jumps at the chance to capitalize on his long-lost son’s stardom for his own renaissance, but learns that fatherhood is much more than stardom.
It’s 2014. My friend PRiM tells us about an album called Venice, by an artist named Anderson .Paak. He’s from California, he has one of the most distinct voices I’ve ever heard from an artist, and the music absolutely rocks. A year later, that same artist pops up all over the long-awaited album from Dr. Dre, Compton. Every single feature from him on that album is different, and it’s exciting recognition for our friend group for having listened to him a year before the masses got a hold of him. A year later, in 2016, .Paak drops his album Malibu, and that’s the end of any semblance of obscurity for an artist we had quickly fallen in love with the past two years. He absolutely exploded. He was everywhere we looked; every feature was better and more exciting than the last. His creativity was working off the charts. He consistently shifted any expectations the public might have had about him. With each new project he released, whether solo, or with Knxwledge as “NxWorries” or Bruno Mars as “Silk Sonic”, .Paak is an artist who was able to pivot into new and exciting sounds without ever losing what made him unique. Now, 10 years later, attending my first Toronto International Film Festival, I was able to see K-Pops! celebrate its world premiere and serve as .Paak’s directorial feature film debut. In those ten years, it’s surreal to look back at the journey and see what led to this point in time. And in that regard, and many more, K-Pops! is an absolute treat.
Whether you know anything about .Paak or not feels irrelevant. The moment he bursts on screen is really all you need to know about him. He’s doing what he does best: delivering smooth vocals in his incredible, raspy voice while playing the drums as cleanly as ever. He’s clearly having a ton of fun with the role as far as brash performance goes, pulling from an experience that was likely quite personal to him (and to any artist searching for their big break). .Paak plays BJ, a musician who has been playing background drums at a little alleyway bar in Los Angeles for long enough that all the regulars seem to know about, and mildly put up with, his overreaching antics. He believes himself destined to be a star, and he certainly has the all-eyes-on-me demeanor, style, and talent to pull it off. All he needs is that break. Instead, he meets Yeji (Jee Young Han), and the two begin a relationship that we see in the form of an adorably animated montage set to new .Paak music! It’s the first of many creative flourishes .Paak injects into the film, bypassing any opportunity to do the standard and instead take a risk. With this film, .Paak has proven himself a true multi-hyphenate. So even if every chance taken may not necessarily land, it’s exciting to see an artist take risks and work out exactly what their cinematic voice will be in real time.
Through the montage, we catch details of BJ’s musical stagnancy and his break-up with Yeji. The next time we see BJ, it’s 12 years later, and he’s still in the same bar. The only difference is it’s a bit more run-down, and a lot more empty. He even manages to anger and scare off the last remaining hold-outs that would listen to him. With that, his friend and boss, Cash (the legendary battle-rapper and .Paak’s real-life best friend Jon “Dumbfoundead” Park) and mother (Yvette Nicole Brown) let him go… but they also present the artist with a once-in-a-lifetime shot at stardom. The plan? Stay a background drummer, but do so on one of South Korea’s biggest musical competition shows, (the fictional) “Wildcard.” In doing so, he can showcase his talents to fan-favorite, up-and-coming all-around K-pop contestant Kang (real-life K-pop star Kevin Woo) in the hopes of collaborating on music. After another animated interlude set to more .Paak music, BJ arrives in South Korea. It’s here that the film really takes off, for it was the entire basis of conceiving the film in the first place.
Upon his arrival with some wonderfully fun antics in the mix, BJ makes it to Wildcard and it’s here that he meets Tae Young (.Paak’s son, Soul Rasheed). No surprise based on resemblance alone, and the film mines a ton of great jokes from this conceit, Tae Young is BJ’s son that he never knew about. While the film may gloss over the crash-course lesson on the ins and outs of K-pop, this is very much a story about a father and son reconnecting above all else. It’s a large part of why the film was made in the first place. During the height of the pandemic, .Paak was forced to take a break from non-stop touring and was at home just like everybody else. In that time, he was able to obviously spend a ton more time with Soul. I can vividly recall the countless posts on Instagram of the two of them dancing, making skits, and all around making the most of the time together. It was touching to see, and it’s lovely to know that K-Pops! was birthed from the curiosity and joy of investigating the passions your child might hold. And while the film may move a bit too fast for its own good at times, the purity of how it all came to be (and the heartfelt chemistry the two share on screen) carries it very far beyond a typical fish-out-of-water comedy or a familial reconnecting drama.
Obviously, music plays a massive part in this film, as well as in the lives of its lead performers and characters. When K-Pops! turns its focus on music in relation to a way of learning about oneself and our roots, it also excels. As written earlier, there’s a genuine curiosity baked into the conception of this film. .Paak wanted to learn more about K-pop because his son was obsessed with it. When BJ is breaking down the origins of hip-hop to Tae Young, he calls music “the great communicator.” It wonderfully encapsulates what this film is trying to convey. To look back at the history of music, especially hip-hop, one can see a clear through-line across countless genres and years. It is a genre that has been built off tradition and recontextualization to form something new and exciting. As BJ teaches his son about all that can be learned from such a wide array of music, you feel a genuine strengthening of the bond between the two of them. And again, .Paak and Rasheed elevate the material on-screen by seemingly being themselves. It’s a delight meta-textually, but within the developments of the film itself, it’s a charming treat that pays off.
From playing one of the all-time great Method Man & Redman songs (“Da Rockwilder” for those curious) to a montage set to the Beatnuts and a scene with Earth, Wind & Fire, K-Pops! is a film that explodes with .Paak’s tastes. There’s even a montage of father and son connecting set to the legendary “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy!” One may start to worry that this film will be fun solely for fans of .Paak and his music. But that assessment feels a bit off-base. There are countless beloved filmmakers who indulge their greatest passions and tastes with the films they make, and they translate incredibly well. Between the clear adoration for all the musical talent brought to life in K-Pops!, and a touching reconnection between father and son (both within the film and reality), it feels like .Paak’s debut film is one that is bound to spark a whole lot of joy, a whole lot of musical curiosity, and a whole lot of laughing and dancing.
K-Pops! celebrated its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. For more information on the film, head right here.
Synopsis: Gandhi is a hostage negotiator, field agent, and spy working for the Special Anti-Terrorist Squad (SATS). After years of service, he is called back for a critical mission that sets him on a dangerous collision course with his own past.
Thalapathy Vijay is The Greatest of All Time. That’s what Yuvan Shekhar Raja’s bludgeoning music keeps telling us for 183 excruciating minutes in the alleged GOAT’s penultimate motion picture before he makes his full entry into politics. In February 2024, Vijay, to the shock of many, announced his retirement from acting after a successful career since his beginnings as a child actor through his father S.A. Chandrasekhar’s films to focus on his political involvement.
Vijay has become a household name in Tamil cinema, and one of its biggest stars. He has frequently collaborated with Atlee in Theri, Mersal, and Bigil, and achieved the most significant success of his career with Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Master and Leo. The latter is arguably his best work to date, a cold and calculating character-driven study on how the flames of violence are never truly extinguished when a person is born and raised out of violence.
With The Greatest of All Time, Venkat Prabhu seems to want to tip the hat for such an illustrious career, always showing him recreating famous moments from his career, such as the chewing gum eating move in Atlee’s Theri. Prabhu evengoes all out and makes him imitate Shah Rukh Khan’s signature open-arms pose he puts in most of his films, which prompted me to yell “How dare you stand where he stood?”. There’s only one GOAT, and Vijay ain’t it.
But I digress. In my opinion, the most important element that indicates whether or not an Indian film will be good is how a filmmaker introduces his lead star. There’s an art to the buildup and catharsis one gets when they see their favorite star on screen for the first time, especially when one will spend three hours with them.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t help that the action scene surrounding Vijay’s introductory appearance in The Greatest of All Time is clunky, loud, and overedited. Of course, overediting is par for the course with many Indian films (see the nauseating work of Prashanth Neel), but Prabhu and editor Venkat Raajen use quick, jarring jump-cuts within a tight setting to hide the poor, unplanned stunt work on display. We can’t see anything occurring on screen, which dilutes any emotional or cinematic impact they would otherwise have.
As a result, the violence never feels cathartic, or cinematically exhilarating, which were on full display in Lokesh’s Leo. Unlike that movie, Prabhu has no sense of space, and doesn’t know where to position the camera during what looks to be a massive set piece. Looks to be, because it’s hard to discern what’s being shown to us on screen. The only action sequence with sauce occurs before its intermission, set in a moving subway train, where Gandhi (Vijay) fights against a masked antagonist in a tight, quasi-claustrophobic setting.
Shoddy VFX aside, the action sequence is competently shot, staged, and scored (as if Loki himself ghost-directed it), but it’s the only sequence in the movie that’s worth a damn. Vijay seems intent to play with his face in the movie, particularly in its aforementioned introduction scene. His body is fully visible, and his signature poses are immediately setting the stage for a killer introduction, a powerful reveal for Vijay unlike any other. However, his face is instead digitally altered to resemble the late actor/politician Vijaykanth, who passed away in December of last year.
Some will say this AI-generated tribute mirrors Thalapathy’s current political trajectory, but it’s another garish example of digital necromancy that should never, in any circumstance, be treated on screen. This coming incredibly close after the controversy surrounding Ian Holm’s appearance in Alien: Romulus is even more galling. Yes, even if his family agreed, the person who gets resurrected for our apparent entertainment did not, and cannot approve of this, because they are no longer with us. Instead of satisfyingly giving Vijay one penultimate intro to remember (though his iconic animated title card still gets you pumpedthe hell up), this soulless reanimated corpse leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
But this is Prabhu’s big technological approach for The Greatest of All Time: pit the 50-year-old Vijay with a ‘younger’, de-aged version of himself, utilizing Artificial Intelligence to make his son, Jeevan (also played by Vijay) twenty years younger than the current-day Thalapathy. The results are hit-or-miss, but perhaps it’s because the lead actor doesn’t look a day over 35 that it looks competent. But there are also sequences in which the de-aging is so bad it almost looks like a cutscene straight out of a mid-tier Call of Duty installment, particularly in its ridiculous twist ending that suddenly makes the entire three-hour actioner a knockoff of Ang Lee’s equally terrible Gemini Man.
Gandhi is a spy working for the Special Anti-Terrorist Squad (SATS), and is so good at his job that people (and its BGM) constantly praise him as one of the greatest field agents SATS ever had. And yet, with so many incredible skills as a spy, he’s an absolutely terrible parent, leaving Jeevan alone in the hospital unattended as her wife (Sneha) is undergoing labor. You would think that The Greatest of All Time would know how to parent, but apparently not!
The ‘smartest’ and ‘greatest’ characters in the film constantly make nonsensical decisions like these throughout its runtime, which leads into his son getting (predictably) kidnapped and seemingly dying in an accident where he gets horribly burned to death. This shockingly exploitative scene, in which we directly see the burnt corpses being pulled out of the van, are exacerbated by Vijay’s caricatural cries. It gets even worse when he returns to the hospital to share the devastating news with his wife, as they hold their newborn child in agony. Repulsive doesn’t even begin to describe how shamelessly manipulative this whole sequence is.
Many years pass, and Gandhi is now on assignment in Russia. A terrorist attack occurs while he is in his office, leading him to be confronted by a person who looks exactly like him. Surprise, surprise, it’s Jeevan, and he can’t believe his son has been alive all this time without him knowing. We’ll eventually find out how he survived, which makes sense in the context of the main antagonist’s plan, but gets far more shockingly exploitative when Prabhu presents an extended flashback in which Jeevan was a victim of child trafficking. This entire dramatic crux is terribly icky, but is constantly reminded to us as any emotional beat is developed between father and son. The two get chased by a group of terrorists, fly back to India, and reconcile with Gandhi’s wife. This all seems too good to be true, and it is, soon pitting a rivalry between father and son, after the latter was brainwashed by terrorist leader Rajiv Menon (Mohan) to do his bidding.
Yet, even with so many maze-like twists and turns, there are very few surprises in The Greatest of All Time. One is always thirteen steps ahead of the screenplay, no matter how it tries to subvert expectations at every turn with elongated flashbacks and uber-dramatic reveals, always intensified through a bulldozing score so deafening the cinema had to pause the movie and lower the volume in the wake of several audience complaints. This gets even worse when, instead of naturally building towards emotional catharsis, Prabhu constantly manipulates its characters into cruel sequences that are always of their own inane decisions, even if they are known to be incredibly smart operatives. I’m beginning to think they’re not very good at their job, and at their personal lives!
Everything in The Greatest of All Time is designed to be as much in-your-face as possible. Yet, when the technical aspects of the movie are risible at best, distasteful at worst, the action sequences are haphazardly shot (it’s incredible how it manages to overexpose and underlight the camera at the same time, something Uwe Boll can’t even accomplish!) and incomprehensibly edited. In many cases with Indian films, the derring-do is enough for me to appreciate the movie, and I had hoped it would at least be competently filmed, and aesthetically pleasing. But there isn’t a single moment (barring the subway fight) that made me want to sit through three hours of Vijay always overexaggerating every single aspect of his performance.
Gone is the emotional complexity he brought in his thrilling shift as Parthiban/Leo Das in Kanagaraj’s Leo, or the romantic, almost God-like charm he operates within Atlee’s unofficial Vijay trilogy. We instead have two turns that always try too much at every single occasion. There are no subdued emotions, no feelings that were boiled down and ‘snap’ back up in an intense jolt of violence. It’s always, ‘how can I put everything, all at once, in front of the audience?’ Suffice it to say, it’s embarrassing, and is arguably one of Vijay’s most disappointing performances. When he yells “DO YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME? NO ONE CAN STOP ME!”with as much cartoonish energy as Eddie Redmayne repeating “I can’t” and hyperventilating in The Good Nurse, one wonders if he ever seriously studied the artform of acting at all before getting into movies.When guided by a great filmmaker, Vijay is usually quite compelling. But when directed by someone who doesn’t even know what his movie is supposed to be (a family drama? Spy thriller? The start of an ambitious sci-fi universe? Foiling a terrorist plot?), or how his actors should react to anything occurring on screen, he’s obviously going to falter.
If he truly were the GOAT, he’d deliver an amazing performance every time, just like SRK does in Bollywood, or even, if we’re staying in Kollywood, Rajinikanth. He starred in plenty of lousy stuff, especially recently. He is never bad in anything he’s in. Maybe Thalapathy should take inspiration from him going into his final film because The Greatest of All Time is definitely not what its title suggests.
Director: Ron Howard Writer: Noah Pink Stars: Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby
Synopsis: Follows a group of people fueled by a profound desire for change; in order to turn their back to society they leave everything behind and set their futures on the harsh landscape of the Galapagos.
The thought of living on an isolated island free from any and all standard responsibilities might sound like a dream to some. But also, an absolute nightmare to others upon actually seeing the location. But such is the cost of absolute freedom. To completely rid oneself of any notion of societal standards in favor of something larger could be an exciting prospect, but, like anything else, it comes at a cost. That cost, and whether or not it’s even possible to pay without losing oneself, is at the forefront of legendary filmmaker Ron Howard’s latest film. Eden, which celebrated its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, feels unlike anything the filmmaker has ever made. This film swerves in many directions throughout its runtime. While it has that humanist hope Howard is known for, so much of it is shrouded with a curtain of real darkness. For it dives headfirst into the core of what makes humans tick, and holding up a mirror to the ways in which humans can devolve into savagery makes for not just a compelling watch, but a damning one.
Based on a true story, Eden follows a handful of individuals who find themselves living on an island in the Galapagos after they become disgusted by where society is leading. After World War I, “economic collapse and the rise of fascism” leads Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and his wife, Dora Strauch (Vanessa Kirby) to Floreana island. Ritter has one lofty goal in mind. With his escape from modern and traditional civilization, he aims to discover and expose the true purpose of life. It’s an idea that sounds as if it’s been explored countless times; throughout cinema, but also by countless philosophers. Yet Eden excels in separating itself from merely questioning the notion of what makes humans act the way they do. It bounces back and forth between absurdly dark humor, genuinely thrilling sequences full of fright and tension, and most importantly, a profound curiosity on whether or not that purpose can truly be defined. Many would argue it cannot be. I believe this film does.
To be human is to be malleable. It’s a simple fact that must be accepted. When we first meet Ritter and Strauch, they seem a bit jaded. This may simply be due to the nature of their chosen lifestyle. But nevertheless, what’s clear is that they were remaining steadfast in the principles they have defined through Ritter’s manifesto on humanity. Mind you, they are certainly odd in more ways than one. Living on an island with nobody around in any direction can do that to anybody. But that doesn’t mean that introducing neighbors into the mix is the solution to such a problem. In fact, it’s this very development that begins to show what humans do when they feel threatened, challenged, or even just surprised with unexpected company. The Witttmer family; Heinz (Daniel Brühl), Margaret (Sydney Sweeney), and young son, Harry (Jonathan Tittle) show up on the island after being inspired by Ritter’s feats.
They come with good intentions, despite the marital dispute we later discover. Heinz thought it would be good for the family, Margaret simply followed along. If selfish desire brings people to supposed paradise, with no regard to those closest to us, can it really be envisioned as the perfect utopia? Perhaps that is what Eden is trying to say regarding the purpose of life. That we are placed into a set of circumstances by a variety of factors, and in turn, we must do all we can to survive within that situation. Could the purpose of life simply be the pure drive to survive at any and all costs? It’s a rather upsetting truth to confront. Operating in pure survival mode, it seems impossible to ever be content in life. And we see this deeply human inability to be pleased upon the arrival of Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (a stand-out Ana de Armas).
It’s upon the arrival of the overbearing Baroness that the true form of Eden begins to really take shape. She is carried onto the beach like royalty, sitting on the shoulders of her two lackeys, who are head-over-heels infatuated with her. They’ll do anything she asks, and it’s not difficult to understand why. De Armas brings a wide-eyed excitement to the performance that masks a worrisome control freak bent on proving she has a name worthy of remembering. You can see how she’d be utterly lost when unable to bend the whims of those around her. But back on the mainland, she never had to worry about such things. It’s only when her power and essential mortal possessions, like food and water, are stripped away from her that we see cracks begin to form. And those cracks very quickly spiral into something far more worrisome. De Armas holds this entire performance together so damn well, producing laughs and angered disgust in equal measure.
So upon the arrival of the Baroness, her men set to work on building the foundation for a new luxury hotel right on the beach. But very quickly, her not-so-neighborly demeanor begins grating against the rest of the inhabitants on Floreana island. What is the purpose of life? Is it to hate thy neighbor? That’s written in jest, of course, but it is comical to see just how quickly Howard and writer Noah Pink’s film can turn neighbors against one another by the simple fact of cohabitation near one another. It’s almost outright proclaiming the age-old idea of one big friendly neighborhood is simply impossible due to the very nature of our most internal selves clashing up against one another. What is the purpose of life? Could it simply be to find peace? That’s a far more comforting idea to hope for. The only problem with that definition lies in another question: what happens when that peace is threatened?
In that threat to peace comes some of the most thrilling sequences of Eden. It’s in these sequences that we see what humans are truly capable of. And it is here, in this human potential, that I believe lies the answer to Ritter’s question regarding the purpose of life. Or at least, what Howard and Pink feel it is. These sequences (which will be written around somewhat vaguely to avoid spoilers); some triumphant and some cold-blooded, show what humans are truly capable of. When pushed to the limit, stripped of all that modern society has to offer; when it is merely humanity and the very essence of the world around us, we reveal our true selves. As humans, we believe we can beat the odds. That we are the exception to the rule. Shocking revelations make way for cathartic truths about the cast of characters we have lived with for some time on this island. It would appear humans are full of abilities both monstrous and animalistic, and it’s not until coming to peace with those mentalities that we can maybe accept how quickly our principles can fall to the wayside.
We see how this purpose to exist in a pure form breeds contempt, jealousy, and greed. As the Baroness representing modern living rears its ugly head to co-opt all the island inhabitants have built, the ugly truth comes to light. The actions of Ritter, Strauch, and at times, the Wittmer family may be damning for the future of humanity. But it’s just a means of survival brought out by the desperate need to fight against an imposed order designed to split society in half: those who have, and those who do not. And those who do have will do all they can to guarantee they remain in such a position. So who are we to blame the others? Perhaps the purpose of life is merely accepting that it’s impossible to do anything aside from look out for oneself and the immediate family we hold dear. Is that a bit of a savage outlook on humanity? Perhaps, but this humanity appears to be all that we have, one way or the other. Maybe the purpose of Eden is all about forcing us to accept that it, and we, are flawed. Yet even still, we fight for it to prove otherwise.
Eden celebrated its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. For more information on the film, head right here.
Director: Mike Flanagan Writers: Mike Flanagan, Stephen King Stars: Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Matthew Lillard
Synopsis: A life-affirming, genre-bending story based on Stephen King’s novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.
As I sat at my laptop, wondering how to begin writing about Mike Flanagan’s latest film, The Life of Chuck, two different anecdotes popped into my head. Neither are necessarily thrilling, but they both are oddly linked to the film in question, which celebrated its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The first is closer to an observation than anything else. More like a sparse recalling of a memory. I can’t quite pinpoint the first time I stumbled onto Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” But the one thing that stuck with me most from the legendary poem is, of course, “I am large. I contain multitudes.” I remember finding it so distinctly profound at the time, and from time to time, something I’ll watch or read will reignite that memory of discovering it. So to hear it read verbatim in The Life of Chuck was quite the shock to the senses. It primed my emotions for something I was not prepared for, which I will get to in a bit. If I walked away with anything from this film, and I walked away with a lot, it’s that there’s no rush. We’ll get there. The second thing I began to think about is how long it’s been since I went dancing.
Sure, I love to dance whenever the feeling arises. If I’m commuting to work, I’m likely moving some part of my body on the platform or train as I wait to get to work, home, or more often than not, the movies. But I mean fully dancing all night long. For a time, I remained in the contact list of a friend’s phone as “Dancing Alex.” I always found it comical, but what can I say: the only activity I love more than dancing is watching movies, and the former has a better ring to it, I think. Anyways, the reason I bring that up is because, during one extended dance number that breaks out randomly in The Life of Chuck, I was again not prepared for the flood of memories and emotions that Flanagan would pull out of me. Yet there I was: misty-eyed and bordering on full-blown weeping in a sold-out theater, surrounded by strangers I have never met, colleagues and friends, and some of the most cherished artists of my life. And something rang in my head that Flanagan said when introducing the film. He made note that life is “all about moments,” and that it’s important to not only make note of those moments, but to hold onto them. And experiencing this film for the first time is a moment I will certainly never forget.
The film begins, funnily enough, in the least dramatic way imaginable. In fact, the first half of the first act of The Life of Chuck plays out like a full-blown comedy. If David Dastmalchian popping up for a single scene acting despondent about losing access to an NSFW website doesn’t leave you with full-on belly laughs, I don’t know what to tell you! The jokes are flying as Flanagan loosely sets up the frame of his film. And built into the very foundation of its structure is comedy, yes. But there’s also a massive amount of intrigue. It almost instantly tugs at the curiosity of the audience, introducing a litany of ideas that will be explored over the course of a lifetime. But Stephen King’s short story of the same name, and this film, both share the key idea of some mysteries being better off unsolved. In fact, The Life of Chuck fully embraces the notion that there are countless mysteries to be found within the human experience. Does seeing some of them go unsolved make the experience any less? It seems like Flanagan and King don’t think that to be the case. The world is chock full of mysteries, both intimate and grand. Why do some of us wait until it’s too late to say what matters most? Why do terrible tragedies happen to good people? Why do nightmares exist? Within The Life of Chuck, but also within the life of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston),lies countless questions such as these, and many more. Not all of them are answered, but it’s not due to a faulty script. It’s wholly intentional. This is the legendary King we’re talking about. The man has built an entire career off the idea that we can’t always tell what’s awaiting us in the dark. And it’s not until we step directly into it that we can figure it out, or be absolutely terrified by what’s discovered. But there’s sometimes a third option in King stories. And as I’ve gotten older, I find myself being more and more drawn to it.
Over a wildly successful and beyond well-established career, King has provided us with some of the greatest stories ever conceived. He has terrified millions of people throughout his life, myself included. But many of his novels have also caused us Constant Readers to weep. He has the ability to shift from horror to intense drama and earnest existentialism at a moment’s notice. Much of it is present in his full-blown horror stories, but when he crafts up something potently human like The Shawshank Redemption or 11/22/63 or Fairy Tale or The Life of Chuck, it feels extra special. And it serves as a reminder that, in life, what we expect is not always what we might need. Sometimes it’s the surprises that affect us more than anything. And it shouldn’t necessarily surprise us at this point in his career that King can craft a plethora of stories within different styles and genres, but the ways in which he goes about them basically always catches me off-guard in the most exciting ways imaginable. The Life of Chuck, in arguably its stand-out sequence during the second act, does just that. At the turn of a hat, Flanagan is able to craft a sequence so dazzling and exciting that, before you know it, you’ve found yourself getting choked up over what it leads to.
During the second act, narrator Nick Offerman details the innermost thoughts of a busker playing her drums. While her hat remains free of tips, the narrator clues us in that she’s not particularly worried. In her mind, “There’s time.” For a film that opens up with supposedly the very final moments of the planet, it’s a darkly comic idea to frame a sequence around. Due to the story occurring in reverse chronological order, there’s not much time at all! But don’t we all know that already, regardless of how it might actually happen? Maybe the universe itself won’t implode before our time is up. But on an individual level, we all know that, eventually, there is an end. Knowing that, the question then becomes whether or not we’ll be able to accept it. And that’s obviously incredibly tough for some. Myself included. But if we know it’s all going to be over someday, why not try and go out on top? If the inevitable cannot be changed, we shouldn’t let the house simply walk away with all the joys of winning. Let’s try and go out smiling, or at least try to go with memories held tightly enough to make us smile in those final moments.
So upon seeing Chuck walking in her general direction, the busker finds a way to lure him in. And in an impromptu shift of the downbeat, she’s surprised at the reaction she sees. Quite frankly, the entire audience was equally shocked. Chuck even appears shocked, acting more possessed than dancing of his own accord at times. For the next seven minutes or so, Flanagan indulges his viewers with something that every fan of Hiddleston’s would love to see: an extended dancing sequence with him dressed in a full suit. To be quite frank, it’s incredible. It feels like one of the best musical numbers in a very long while. And the reason for this isn’t just because of the choreography and direction (which are both great!). It’s because, in this sequence, Flanagan captures something deeply genuine. Despite being a sequence that undoubtedly had tons of prep work going into it, he is able to somehow bottle up the beautiful nature of impromptu feeling and release it on camera. For this sequence, you do believe as if Chuck, and by that nature, Hiddleston, has been completely swept up in the rhythms and beats being carried to his ears. There’s a joy present in the dancing here that doesn’t feel scripted. It’s an undeniably charismatic performance in a film full of them. It’s a beacon of hope. We know that Chuck doesn’t have much longer to live. He might even have a suspicious feeling. But in that very moment, when that very particular beat is heard, that’s a worry for the future. And when we arrive at the future, realizing that the final moment is soon upon us, we’ll hopefully have something to look back upon. Something like this moment. Hopefully, that joyous memory will be enough to walk through the door smiling.
As the film comes to a close in its longest act, we see Chuck as a young boy. Chuck isn’t present for much of the film, but his presence is obviously felt. And it’s here, in the final (but chronologically first) act, that we learn all there is to know about the man (or in this case, the young boy). After all this intrigue built up for a man popping up across billboards, radio stations, television broadcasts, and seemingly other-worldly beacons, who is Chuck? He’s just a boy. A boy who loves to dance, and watch musicals with his grandma, and occasionally, do math with his grandpa. He has the same curious mind as any other young child. He has the same charm, and the same worries, and the same occasionally mundane stretches of time that we all deal with as children. But, and this is the beauty of much of King’s work, he is everything. Not just to the story, but to life itself. Whether or not we feel it, all of us have a story. And all of us contain the entire history of the time we live through. As Whitman writes, and as Chuck’s teacher (the ever-charming Kate Siegel) displays to him, we contain multitudes. Aspects of who we are may contradict themselves, but so what? Life is more exciting if we embrace all that comes our way and find the ability to shift to what a scenario may deem necessary. Towards the end of the film, Chuck’s grandpa (a great Mark Hamill), breaks down a very academic-minded way of approaching life.
And he’s not wrong in a way. The mystery of life, in all of humanity’s quest for understanding in the hopes of feeling larger than it is, can be broken down rationally into formulas and mathematical solutions. But that’s not all there is to life. It’s simply too expansive and too ever-changing to be distilled into a clear-cut definition. With life comes a sense of pure feeling. There are some things that we just do because they feel right. Walk miles with a stranger. Break out into dance on the street. Open a locked door in our home because our curiosity overwhelms our fears of what’s on the other side. There’s no correct formula to living life. There’s just taking the day as it comes, day in and day out. And we do all of this knowing what will happen someday. Flanagan repeats an idea several times throughout the film: “the waiting is the hard part.” But here’s the thing about life: that’s the only part we have. If all we can do is wait, at least let’s make it the most entertaining and joyous and moving wait of our lives. Despite being a film centered around the death of everything, the life-affirming core of The Life of Chuck might very well prove this to be Flanagan’s masterpiece.
The Life of Chuck celebrated its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. For more information on the film, head right here.
Synopsis: Follows an unassuming Newfoundland woman whose online persona strains her community relationships after its exposure.
Those who know me know that I’m a city dweller for life. Born and raised in New York, I feel deeply out of place if I’m not near bustling streets, an immense amount of noise pollution, and man-made monoliths that stretch into the sky. But I’m an absolute sucker for coastal towns. There’s a beauty and charm to them that is undeniable. And as a fan of cinema, it certainly helps that coastal imagery is about as photogenic as nature can get. But there are also much deeper reasons to love such locales. Practically all homegrown, there’s a sense of real reliance on those around you. The whole town prospers when the individuals within help one another thrive. But along comes the Canadian film Sweet Angel Baby, celebrating its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival to disprove that very notion myself, and likely others, share. In fact, Melanie Oates’ film questions if that sense of community is even possible in such a judgmental, hyper-connected society like the present we currently find ourselves in.
The film opens on that exact delight that draws people into coastal towns. Crashing waves on natural rock structures, beautiful greenery, some of the freshest food one could hope for. And of course, it’s a town where everybody knows everybody. In one establishing shot, Oates basically captures the entire town in a single frame. While that may seem great to somebody just passing through, it would obviously be a nightmare for anybody hiding parts of themself from the world. And that’s the exact predicament Eliza (Michaela Kurimsky) finds herself in. Between her closeted sexuality and secret Instagram account where she posts nude photos, Eliza does all she can to keep out of the limelight for the wrong reasons. And the way Sweet Angel Baby handles this element of Eliza’s character is one of its many strengths.
In a lesser film, it feels like the easy-way-out for inciting drama would be to make Eliza a social outcast within the town. Somebody who keeps to herself; somebody recognizable yet never fully known. Oates fully leans into the complete opposite. Eliza is a beloved member of the community. She leads the charge in setting up a fundraiser for the local church. She seems to show up to work quite early for general upkeep, taking pride in the moments that others may never notice are getting done. She even brings freshly chopped wood to her neighbor daily. It seems that despite being so forward-facing, Eliza enjoys her private moments just as much. And don’t we all? More importantly, don’t we all deserve to have something we keep solely for ourselves? Kurimsky gives an undeniably vulnerable, internal performance, but the way she balances that with her more outgoing one is where the magic of the film lies. It’s the type of performance that draws an audience in plenty, but leaves just enough distance to remind us that we only know as much as the character and the filmmaker allow us to. And here enters Sean (Peter Mooney), an enigma to throw a wrench into the mix of all Eliza has done to protect herself.
Just because everybody knows everybody in town doesn’t necessarily mean they all speak to one another. Sean seems to be all that on the surface. But Eliza and her secret-partner Toni (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) do all they can to steer clear of him. A quick greeting or momentary small talk is all we really see. We are firmly team Eliza in this film, and Oates makes it abundantly clear why Sean should be avoided. Mooney plays him as a guy who doesn’t really feel too much shame in his thoughts and actions. He’s revealed to be the worst type of sleazeball: one that doesn’t really register they are one. His actions speak volumes, and there are moments both subtle and blatant that make you want to groan in annoyance and disgust in that particular way cinematic bozos make you feel. The blatant moments are the ones that may make an audience revolt at the sheer thought of Sean, and though it’s obviously predictable, Oates makes the development feel potent. It displays a strong grip over the script and a confidence that your actors can effectively translate a range of emotions the audience knew would be coming.
By its final act, Sweet Angel Baby expands far beyond a personal, intimate story. It begins to morph into an indictment on the hypocrisies of society and towns that look like this one. There are double standards aplenty to be found in the reactions of varied townsfolk. Sean escapes any criticism by way of simply being a man, while Eliza is picking up the pieces of the life she sees slowly slipping away. It’s as if the people she has grown up around her entire life can no longer recognize her. And it’s a concept that’s both saddening and frightening. How can people be so set in their beliefs they can turn on a person they proclaimed to love? How could anybody ever justify such behavior, especially when they aren’t harmed in any way whatsoever? With Sweet Angel Baby, Oates reminds her viewer of the unfortunate truth that some people are, ultimately, set in their ways for life. And with that revelation comes a choice that needs to be made. What is better? To be shunned and knowingly spoken about behind your back? Or to embrace any and all vitriol, regardless of how hypocritical on their part it might be? There’s much to be angered by in this film, understandably when reactions start flying across town regarding Eliza’s life. But Oates also provides such sweet moments of those who will still defend her. And those silently touching ways families stick by one another are powerful. There’s certainly a juxtaposition even amongst those who are mostly unbothered by her life, but those moments are essential for the finale of Sweet Angel Baby. For all the sadness and anger this film has to throw on societies and the people within them that have deemed certain ways of living “improper”, Oates chooses to focus on a moment of triumph. And it’s wholly welcomed and appreciated.
Sweet Angel Baby celebrated its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. For more information on the film, head right here.
On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss Tim Burton’s latest film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, starring the great Michael Keaton! It’s been a struggle in the last decade, so it was exciting to see Burton reinvigorated with those creative (beetle)juices flowing once again.
Review: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice(4:00) Director: Tim Burton Writers: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar Stars: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega
Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir digs deep into memory through the tactile act of re-enactment to uncover the truth about the Casablanca Bread Riots in 1981 – protests that saw over 600 people killed or imprisoned. Amongst those killed was Fatimah a young girl who lived on the same street as the El Moudir family. Among those imprisoned and arrested were her close neighbours Saïd and Abdallah. Among those who watched and remained silent was her grandmother – a matriarch who exerts iron control over Asmae, her father Mohamed, and her mother.
Asmae employs dolls that have been painstakingly created by her father and dressed by her mother. The three of them have recreated the street where they lived, the interior of their home and adjoining apartments (where Saïd and Abdallah lived) and a soccer field where her father played which turned out to be the site of a mass grave where the victims of the riot were buried.
An entire microcosm is created in Asmae’s studio where she uses tactile “play” to invoke memory. There are many ways to make a documentary, but Asmae El Moudir’s approach is unique. She is inside and outside the story. She is acting and directing and remaking and remembering.
Nadine Whitney speaks with Asmae El Moudir about her stunning documentary.
Nadine Whitney: The Mother of All Lies is unique in its form of tactile memory evocation. Can you tell me a little about why you chose to use a constructed world to reconstruct and uncover memories?
Asmae El Moudir: I chose to use a constructed world to delve into memories because it allows a unique exploration of the past. By creating a tangible environment, I can invite the audience to engage more fully with the fragmented and sometimes elusive nature of memory. This approach helps uncover truths that are often hidden or forgotten.
NW: While making the film you encountered active resistance from your grandmother. How important was it for you to show her continuing denial is the behavior of a trauma survivor?
AEM: Showing my grandmother’s denial was crucial as it reflects the complex layers of trauma survivors’ behavior. Her resistance wasn’t just a narrative obstacle; it was a profound insight into how deeply trauma can shape one’s reality and perceptions. It was important for me to convey this honesty and complexity to create a more authentic narrative.
NW: The Hunger Riots were just one example of the brutality of the Hassan II regime. Although there has been an attempt to look into the past, do you think Morocco is learning anything from it?
AEM: The Hunger Riots and other historical events are no longer taboo subjects, as evidenced by numerous films addressing them. There is a sense of reconciliation with the past, although we’ve never seen a film quite like The Mother of All Lies in its form.
While there have been attempts to address our history, the process is ongoing, and I believe there’s still much to learn as a nation. Acknowledging and understanding these events are essential for societal growth and healing.
Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir poses during a photocall for the film “Kadib Abyad” (The Mother of All Lies) at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2023. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)
NW: There is quite a lot of brave cinema coming out of Morocco, for example Maryam Touzani’s The Blue Caftan. Do you believe cinema has the opportunity to create conversations leading to a society that can both honor heritage, confront pain, and more forward into equity for all Moroccans?
AEM: Moroccan cinema is indeed paving the way for crucial dialogues. Films like The Blue Caftan highlight the power of storytelling to confront societal issues, honor heritage, and inspire change. I believe cinema can spark conversations that lead to societal transformation, bridging the gap between past injustices and a more equitable future.
NW: What do you hope audiences get out of the experience of seeing The Mother of All Lies?
AEM: I hope audiences leave The Mother of All Lies feeling restored memories. My aim is to offer them a journey that provokes thought and empathy, encouraging them to question and understand the complexities of personal and collective memories.
Director: Alex Ross Perry Writers: Stephen Malkmus, Alex Ross Perry Stars: Stephen Malkmus, Scott Kanberg, Joe Keery
Synopsis: Documentary about the American indie band Pavement, which combines scripts with documentary images of the band and a musical mise-en-scene composed of songs from their discography.
Pavement is a band that a specific niche of ’90s kids and 2000s rockers adore while the rest of the world ignores. Their songs were the score to the lives of the youth that Richard Linklater described as “slackers” in his 1990 feature film titled after the description. And that is no dig at the band itself. Their records appealed to that group of teens and were their probable introduction to the vast indie scene. But Pavement is not recognized for that. It was a group that was forgotten, and years later, the world reassured and welcomed them back to the scene, which is why their reunion tour received plenty of attention.
Most of these bands from the ’90s have gone through the same journey of rediscovery by a new generation that appeals to them for the same reasons as the original fans did back then. Pavement’s feels different; it has a more sincere revelation, even if the 2020s surge began with the rise in popularity of one of their B-sides in TikTok, ‘Harness Your Hopes’. Yet, I still feel that they are not given their deserved merit. Now, they are the subjects of a double-sided, metatextual project, Pavements, that is one part documentary about their discography, impact, and recent reunion in 2022 and one part fake fiction observation on what could have been–selling out to the masses–and their wayward demeanor through mockery and admiration.
The director helming this project is Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell, Queen of Earth), a talented and stripped-down filmmaker who has made his name by crafting peculiar pieces that tend to work when they aren’t supposed to due to their tone and genre shifts. Pavements is another addition to the list. The film contains his style and spirit. But actually, it is the fan side that predominates the direction, immediately noticeable upon the tagline “The World’s Most Important and Influential Band” and his words on the press notes, where Perry talks about how the group deserves their flowers because there hasn’t been a band like Pavement. And he is right.
Their use of irony and introspection in their lyrics mixed with the nonchalant of their lo-fi slacker aesthetic silently influenced a new generation of artists (Cate Le Bon, Car Seat Headrest, Snail Mail, Destroyer, just to name a few) that the response to it does not measure up with their current sidelined placement. I may not be their biggest fan in the world, but they deserve to be considered one of the top bands of the ’90s. Due to such disregard by the masses (and other reasons later to be explained), Alex Ross Perry made Pavements–a tip of the hat for the underground heroes and a beautiful, outright creative portrait of their essence, the slacker repertoire, and the music world they shaped one shrouded pop record at a time.
This doc hybrid is pitched to the viewer as “the documentary that may or may not be entirely true, may or may not be totally sincere, and may or may not be more about the idea of the band–or any band–than a history of Pavement”. That convoluted sentence leaves you questioning where things might be headed. But nothing can prepare you for the dissection Perry does of the band, rock docs, and biopics. The Her Smell director picks apart the worst tendencies of the Oscar-showered projects and mocks them to oblivion by providing artistry and vision to this film, leaving behind the Wikipedia rundowns and alignments for a more freeform approach.
If it isn’t apparent, Pavements is about the band Pavement. If you know about them, you are up to speed in some regards. If you don’t, Perry has more than covered you. He presents you with their history through archival footage of their beginnings and decades-later reunion, as well as covers of their songs from up-and-coming bands (which serve as an honor for the new generation that has embraced them). The members (singer Stephen Malkmus, guitarist Scott Kannberg, bassist Mark Ibold, and drummer Steve West), past and present, records, and slacker rock style are all given an introduction so that later Perry can delve deeper into their significance.
Their music does not appeal to every soul so you may be detached from the documentary. Perry recognizes that and thoroughly admits it. But one of the many tricks he pulls to turn the rock biographical portraits upside down is sharing his perspective on why the subjects are important not only to him but the music industry overall–with frontman Malkmus learning the meaning of Pavement in his life by reflecting on the multiple breakups and reunions as they reach more fame through new generations. Documentaries about rock music mainly consist of a by-the-numbers structure or “you had to be there” nostalgia trip that teaches you about the subject at hand. Yet, it is all information widely known by the great majority.
You are given one fact after another and no insight into what made them these thunderous forces in the industry, whether they are celebrated by the public or recognized by a more niche crowd. Pavements does the opposite. The film is rooted in the acclaim that made their style and musical posture recognizable and admirable. Perry manages to do such a thing by adding self-referential and unfeigned remarks on them via three different scenarios–two being real while a third one isn’t close to being such and with a purpose. The first is a museum exhibition called PAVEMENTS: 1933 – 2022, featuring memorabilia and “rumored” relics of their actual and imagined history.
This is where reality and fiction begin to intersect. Tokens of forged past cross paths with the knowledge of the fans attending the museum. It is all done with that ironic wink that Pavement’s lyrics contain. Beneath the surface of that experimentality, secrets are waiting for the right person to explore. Nonsensical wordings on a wall dedicated to old notebook pages may seem unimportant. However, these pages in the union tell a story about their creative process and personalities. The same happens with the old tour posters and cover art variants you see in the background. Yet, the writings have more potency and definition, like each wall is a gateway into their minds at the time.
The second is a workshop stage musical named after one of their most popular records, “Slanted, Enchanted”. There is no dialogue, only covers of Pavement songs played to capture the inner feelings of the characters singing them–the vibe rather than exposition. The story is simple and cliched: a boy falls in love, becomes famous, and ponders about that lost love. The interesting element in this on-paper trite concoction is how Perry and the band capture the aesthetic of their records through the restrictions of an off-Broadway play. And it is enjoyable watching it, charming in its low-budget contractions–like a giant pair of mache scissors appearing during ‘Cut Your Hair’, and jokes in its depictions of melodrama in the musical venue.
The third project is the most random yet self-referential of them all: a faux biopic about Pavement called “Range Life”. That “film” within a film starts with the likes of Natt Wolf, Logan Miller, and Fred Hechinger as band members and Jason Schwartzman as Matador Records head, Chris Lombardi. But the standout, and most commanding of them all, is Joe Keery as a brooding Stephen Malkmus. Seeing scenes from it as a “For Your Consideration” tag pops up, Keery immensely commits himself to the role. Keery even believes he is becoming the Pavement frontman; at one point, he mentions that an exorcism is needed to remove his essence from his future roles. These are hackneyed clips, yet with a purpose. The “Range Life” sections of the film mock modern biopics.
Keery is once asked what a special biopic is and answers Bohemian Rhapsody, one of the worst examples of the rudimentary list, or, in other words, the ne plus ultra of horrid biographical portraits. Many multi-layered jokes critique the Hollywood machine’s laziness. These projects need directors interested in the subjects to cover them thoroughly with a distinctive touch. All of this, and more, is done by Alex Ross Perry and Stephen Malkmus. They team up to show the world why Pavement means something not only back then but in today’s world, driven by consuming content quickly without digesting any of it.
Pavements might not be the epitome of rock documentaries or biopics. However, the project can probably pave the way for other filmmakers to craft more inventive portraits of fascinating musical figures with flair and ingenuity instead of million-dollar checks. (I am dying for a project like this about Chelsea Wolfe, Laura Nyro, or Portishead.) Alex Ross Perry culminates Pavements by giving the band their deserved flowers–and a new light shines on them because of this strange, informative concoction.
Synopsis: A documentary through a series of intimate sessions with psychics and their clients.
Lana Wilson (Miss Americana) enters the world of New York City psychics and clairvoyants in her documentary, Look Into My Eyes. Per Erik Borja, Eugene Grygo, Nikenya Hall, Phoebe Hoffman, Michael Kim, Sherrie Lynne, and Ilka Pinheiro are mediums who hold sessions with various clients. They are, overall, an eccentric bunch. Some are put together more convincingly than others, but none are quite convincing enough to make the audience believe they’re witnessing much more than cold readings, therapy techniques, vague and interpretable language, and some (in)elegant theatrics.
The documentary makes no effort to win over skeptics and often shows the psychics getting things wrong or reaching without success. Lana Wilson doesn’t expect the audience to buy what they’re seeing is real spiritual or psychic communication. What the documentary does achieve is to make you wonder if any of the ‘reality’ matters.
Why do people go to psychics? Many of the clients in Wilson’s documentary have the pedestrian questions and concerns one would expect when consulting a clairvoyant. Someone is asking about when Mr. Right will come along, another wants some financial guidance, another needs to know if they’re making the right choice for their future. Some want to know if the environment is going to collapse. A family lives in an apartment they think is haunted. Children wonder if their deceased parents are proud of them.
Other clients have more specific concerns. A young woman needs to know if her birth mother in China who gave her up still thinks of her. A doctor wonders about the child gunshot victim who died in her arms years ago when she was first working emergency. A young man wants to know if his ancestors were slaves and how he can learn to let that legacy go. Then there are the clients of Phoebe, the animal psychic, who want someone to interpret the mysteries of an annoyed cat or a leash resistant dog.
Essentially, the answer the documentary gives is that clients seek out psychics because they are people who won’t judge their questions. Psychics are a safe space for inquiries that therapists or religion don’t want to deal with or deny the existence of. Seeking permission to grieve and to be allowed to grieve in a non-traditional manner has people coming to the psychics. Asking off the wall questions and being treated without judgement has people coming to psychics.
Each of the seven psychics is damaged in some way. Outsiders who found themselves feeling less on the outside when they hung up a sign and opened for business. Many of them were entranced by films, art, acting, musical theatre. One has a degree in theatre studies, another has an acting degree, another is a screenwriter (attempted) and a musical performer. They’re each holding onto a specific pain and their skill is to recognize pain in other people and give them the outlet to express it and provide them with some form of solace.
Phoebe, the animal psychic, is particularly good at projecting her own feelings of being a special oddball and survivor onto her clients. If she was to go to a therapist, they might use some of her own techniques on her. When one hurt young woman asks her about a faithful dog who helped her through a tough time, Phoebe’s answer about the dog in question might well be made up, but her understanding of what the woman went through is not.
NYC is the kind of place which attracts fringe people, and it sometimes rewards them for their peculiarities. Apart from Eugene, who is a borderline hoarder, carrying around his pain of being rejected because of his sexuality, most seem to be making fairly good money. Lana Wilson follows each of them home and showing them in their apartments with the small and large items they treasure gives the audience a deeper understanding of what makes them believe in their ‘gifts’ and why they feel they must share them.
The documentary doesn’t always maintain momentum, but Wilson’s window into the world of people who provide some consolation to others and who also feel more authentic when giving it, has enough impactful sections to keep the audience invested in certain clients and particular psychics.
Even though there is the element of improv sham – something one psychic embraces somewhat through a particular brand of solipsism – most people get what they came for. A moment where they are seen and made to that something or someone out there is guiding them or forgiving them.
One scene which won’t be soon forgotten is when the doctor hugs her psychic and openly grieves the young gunshot victim and the young woman she was. What she was really asking was “How do I move on from what I experienced?” No one supported her at the time of the incident decades ago and she’s probably seen too many deaths where everyone remained silent and moved on with their day. The heartbeats of the doctor and the psychic are picked up on the microphone and it is raw and intimate. In that moment, it doesn’t really matter how she got to that place of release, just that she did.
Another revealing section is when they are all brought together and one of the group is supported with the same vague language they use on their clients and that seems enough for him. Michael earlier admitted he doesn’t know if any of what he does or perceives is legitimate – and he is quite egregiously bad at his interim career while he waits for his big acting break. Yet he and the others believe in something, even if it just turns out to be having people to talk openly about vulnerability. They each have deep seated issues of loss or displacement, and their ‘life path’ has given them purpose.
The psychics might well be fleecing their clients with their claims – in fact there are times some of them most certainly are, but even if their gifts aren’t real, some people are happy to buy them. Lana Wilson leaves it up to the audience to decide if there is any significant difference between paying someone who has spirits ‘speak’ through them, or can turn a card on a tarot deck, than there is in seeing a religious figure or therapist. If the end effect is comfort or closure, does it matter?
Look Into My Eyes doesn’t represent the entire community of psychics, mediums, or clairvoyants and it also doesn’t show any of the subjects doing anything malicious or harmful (which can and does happen). It’s a small cross-section of people who are seeking something larger than themselves just as much as their clients are. Look Into My Eyes is a study of seven people who perform and their particularly willing audience. It is a minor entry in Wilson’s documentary oeuvre but a surprising one in its focus on people who need to believe they are special.
Directors: Max Eggers, Sam Eggers Writers: Susan Hill, Max Eggers, Sam Eggers Stars: Brandy Norwood, Andrew Burnap, Kathryn Hunter
Synopsis: It tells the story of a newly pregnant couple who are forced to take in an ailing, estranged stepmother.
Religious horror continues to take the reins throughout 2024, with Immaculate and The First Omen kicking off the year in the spring and Russell Crowe’s The Exorcism (remarkably unrelated to his 2023 film The Pope’s Exorcist) getting us through the summer. Max and Sam Eggers, brothers and collaborators with Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Northman), bring us their debut feature, The Front Room, that carries the banner of religious horror right into the fall. The film follows Belinda (Brandy Norwood) and Norman (Andrew Burnap) as a young married couple expecting their second child after their first didn’t make it through the delivery. Weeks before their daughter is to be born, Norman’s estranged father passes away leading to his very devout stepmother, Solange (Kathryn Hunter), offering them her entire fortune for the opportunity to move in with them and become more involved in their lives.
A different branch of the Christian faith takes focus in this film, moving away from the quiet, pious nature of Catholicism and more traditional denominations. Solange comes from a Pentecostal background, a grouping of Christianity that emphasizes the movement of the Spirit and prayer leading to miracles. She speaks in tongues and somehow knows things about Belinda and Norman that she should have no way of finding out. Her intuition and assuredness are typical of charismatic Christians and it’s interesting to get this religious angle instead of the buttoned-up, reserved faith we often see in horror. This alone sets the film apart from other similar premises that have come out in recent years.
The film’s tension and action are all facilitated by Kathryn Hunter as Solange and her faith. It’s difficult to overstate just how peculiar and singular Solange is throughout the movie, and she is by far the highlight you’ll be thinking about afterward. Hunter brings incredible energy to the character that is totally unexpected even if you’ve seen the trailer. Her facial tics and nonstop chatter blow the rest of the cast off the screen. Her performance is truly special, but each of the three actors seems to be in wildly different films. Norwood and Burnap are definitely in a different register from Hunter, yet still aren’t in sync themselves. The stark contrast in performances is extremely distracting and indicative of the entire film’s tonal inconsistency.
It’s clear what the Eggers duo were trying to achieve on the page, with a few scenes successfully nailing the horror vibe and bringing legitimate scares. Some images are even so disgusting that they are unsettling despite the context around them. For the most part, however, each scene shifts drastically in tone leaving you wondering how you got there. It’s hard to know whether to laugh or be disturbed by some of the things that happen. Maybe that’s the point in some stretches of the film, but the translation from page to screen leaves a lot to be desired and squanders the solid premise due to these inconsistencies.
The most impressive piece of The Front Room is the cinematography from Ava Berkofsky. There are so many overt religious references through the dialogue itself, but more subtle allusions to Christianity come through the imagery captured by the camera. Beautiful shots of shadows forming ominous crosses combine with slow-moving cameras tracking characters throughout the house. Berkofsky’s use of mirrors is wonderful as well, with a specific slow zoom-in during a conversation between two characters making you wonder how they pulled that shot off. The lighting team also gets time to shine, creating a few terrifying moments during the dark evenings within the house.
There’s a promising artistic vision on display that leaves me hopeful for the future of these filmmakers despite the downfalls in the execution. The Front Room offers a unique bent on the religious horror front and a legitimately amazing performance from Kathryn Hunter. Things might have become more cohesive if the rest of the film could live up to her antics and commit to even more craziness.
Directors: Guy Maddin, Galen Johnson, Evan Johnson Writers Evan Johnson Stars: Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Rolando Ravello
Synopsis: The leaders of seven wealthy democracies get lost in the woods while drafting a statement on a global crisis, facing danger as they attempt to find their way out.
Guy Maddin, the Manitoban maestro of things strange, psychosexual, and dreamlike might not be the first director one would consider directing a satire about a G7 Summit gone wrong in Germany; but after experiencing Rumours it is hard to imagine anyone else could have made it. Maddin teams up with brothers Evan and Galen Johnson (who he worked with on the astonishing homage to genre cinema The Forbidden Room) to make a satirical comedy of manners reminiscent of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie doing for global politics what Buñuel did for group dining.
In a glorious Saxony forest retreat, representatives of the seven most prosperous democratic countries on the planet get together to draft preparatory points for a joint statement about the current ‘Global crisis.’ Cate Blanchett plays German Chancellor Hilda Ortmann dressed in a less severe Angela Merkel power suit. Charles Dance is U.S. President Edison Walcott – a man who is clearly past his prime but unwilling to let go of power. Denis Ménochet is French president Sylvain Broulez, who is the epitome of post-structural Gallic pretension and anxiety. Nikki Amuka-Bird is Cardosa Dewindt, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who is surely as fantastical a creation as the giant brain later found in the forest as one cannot imagine the people of Britain voting for someone half as competent as Ms Dewindt. The Italian Prime Minister Antonio Lamorle (Rolando Ravello) an unassuming good-natured fellow. The Japanese Prime Minister Tatsuro Iwasaki (Takehiro Hira) even more unassuming. And rounding out the quotient, as the film points out, is the Canadian Prime Minister Maxime Laplace (Roy Dupuis) a man-bun sporting, sexy silver fox, tragi-romantic drama king – irresistibly attracted to strong women (most of whom hold high political positions).
Before they reach their well-catered, built for purpose gazebo, the politicians stop at the archaeological excavation site for a bog man whose severed penis is wrapped around his neck. A punishment from the tribe for failure of leadership is posited. A quick photo op with Mr. Iron Age and it’s off to work, which mostly consists of them gossiping, throwing barbs at each other, and congratulating themselves for being generally civil. The United States enjoys telling France no one is going to read another one of his tiresome monographs on psychogeography. Italy admits that his greatest regret was wearing a Mussolini costume to a party for which France forgives him. Japan talks of how he wishes he’d learned to ride a horse. France mocks Canada for being insufferable, but Germany explains how Canada is about to lose his position for the dreariest scandal regarding something to do with carried interest and property holdings. Canada is getting increasingly drunk and not adding much to the preparatory notes but adding a lot to the drama and getting Germany a flushed and horny.
They’re all so involved in their useless note making, arguments, or insular obsessions that they fail to notice no one has come to top up their wine when the bottle empties – in fact no one is around at all. They’ve been abandoned, which baffles them. More baffling are encroaching zombie bog people (thankfully not protestors) hanging from trees or masturbating in a full circle jerk around fires. They can’t reach anyone via their phones (Italy forgot to bring his) and France ventures back to the villa to find the unthinkable – they’ve been locked out. An apocalyptic event has occurred the audience infers, and the sheltered nitwits might be all that is left of humanity.
France tries to put it into some kind of semiotic order and develops a sudden injury, meaning he has to be carried by manly Canada. Italy keeps offering pocketed cold cuts from the table. England is still trying to focus on getting the notes for the statement prepared. America would like to continue his nap if possible. No one can work out why America has a silver spoon British accent. Japan drifts along. Germany feels responsible.
A brain the size of a hatchback appears in the forest (definitely a male brain France proclaims because no female brain could reach that size) and Alicia Vikander’s President of the European Commission, Celestine Sproul, sits atop it speaking what seems to be gibberish but is Swedish (and prophetic gibberish). Her presence sends Canada into a tailspin as they were once lovers and he’s having trouble getting over her, although not so much trouble that he couldn’t engage in a quickie with Germany in the woods earlier.
Guy Maddin is swinging at low hanging fruit as the ineffectual leaders undertake a long and, in their minds at least, treacherous journey back to civilization. The only guide is a now sentient AI chatbot designed to catfish pedophiles, disproportionately represented among the political class. To get directions they need to type suggestive codewords so it will respond.
Swirls of Enya’s “Exile” drift on the soundtrack as Canada and Japan undertake a distinctly anti-climactic heroic act, getting a small barge from one bank of a shallow river to the other. The otherworldly colors beloved by Maddin and the Johnsons (pinks, purples, neon greens) light up the tortuous path where the economic leaders of the free world alternate between histrionics and history lessons about previous world economic summits. It’s all deliciously berserk, ludicrous, but in some regards possibly the most co-operative and unified any G7 summit has been in our reality.
Rumours brings it all home with an excellent and caustically pompous finale. All the madness had meticulous method. Other than The Saddest Music in the World (2003), Rumours is Guy Maddin’s most accessible film in terms of having a standard narrative structure. It also features big name stars like Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, and Alicia Vikander along with well regarded international character actors (including a late appearance by Zlatko Buric). The jokes can get stretched thin in places, but they come back with a round punch especially when delivered by Blanchett or Dance.
Rumours is black comedy cloaked in gloriously lurid colours. Combining elements of slapstick with absurdism and pointed commentary on the precariousness of the contemporary world. It doesn’t matter which ‘Global Crisis’ the summit was making a joint statement on – it could be environmental or economic collapse, or diplomatic relationships failing. How exactly did the world end? Rumours posits it’s probably already over, so at least we should laugh while swallowing the cyanide pill of truth.
Director: Rachel House Writers: Tom Furniss, Rachel House Stars: Elizabeth Atkinson, Terrence Daniel, Reuben Francis
Synopsis: Explores the journey of three young people as they seek solace under the watchful gaze of the Taranaki mountain and companionship in the spirit of adventure.
Rachel House is a treasure. A legend of Aotearoa cinema and theatre. With her directorial debut, The Mountain, she adds blinking fine filmmaker to her legendary status. Having worked with kids since early in her career, for example Niki Caro’s Whale Rider through to her lovely turn in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, it seems a natural fit for her to build her first film around the adventures of lonely and adventurous children.
Sam Walsh (Elizabeth Atkinson) has cancer. She’s in the hospital more often than she’s home. But she’s been training to be a warrior woman and she’s making a jail (hospital) break so she can climb her mountain – Mount Taranaki. Along with teen cancer survivor Peachy (Sukena Shah) she hatches a plan to get out and keep her mother, Wendy (Fern Sutherland) unaware of her absconding. On the roof of the hospital, she releases her collected hospital gift store balloons, hoping they will reach the mountain. They contain a message. “Let me live.”
Mallory Potts (Reuben Francis) live with his dad Hugh (Byron Coll). His mother recently passed away and they’ve relocated to a new town. Neither Hugh nor Mallory know how to adjust to their new lives. Mallory imagines he might make some friends but he’s a bit timid and right now all he has is his depressed dad and talking to his mum to keep him company.
In one day, he meets his neighbor, the charming protector of Mother Nature, Bronco (Terrence Daniel) who keeps finding Sam’s balloons over Inglewood (“Blinking disrespectful”) and Sam herself. Sam is going to her mountain Taranaki Mounga. In Māori culture, “A mountain is living family. When you’re Māori they’re your ancestors. They hold knowledge,” Peachy points out to Wendy who freaks out when she works out Sam was left the hospital. Wendy hasn’t helped Sam understand her Māori identity, so Sam has imagined it on her own.
Sam somewhat press gangs Mallory into helping her get supplies for her journey. She’s planned a bit… she has a map, a list of supply needs (mostly chocolate, marshmallows, and a gun), and a fierce attitude. Mallory decides to help her chatting with his mum about the pros and cons (pros: she’s adventurous, cons: she wants a gun). Hugh arrives home and talks to his wife about how he’s a lonely, soggy, loser. Overhearing his dad, Mallory is galvanised not only to help Mallory, but to ensure he’s on the journey with her.
Sam is bossy as hell, but she realizes she needs Mallory at least as her sherpa, so she conditionally agrees. Bronco, who has been tracking down Sam’s balloons polluting the environment and skipping school to see if his constantly absent dad Tux (Troy Kingi) notices, meets Mallory and Sam along the way. Invited to join them, the three undertake a magical, perilous, joyous, and emotional journey to the ancestor.
Sam’s journey is informed by faith; faith that her Mounga is testing her to find her worthy, and when she proves herself so the ancestor will want her to stay alive. With her stick, Woodface, and a lot of attitude she corrals Mallory and Bronco into facing the ‘obstacles’ Taranaki has put in place. Mallory is possibly the least brave of the two, but he believes his mum is watching over him and he needs to feel some frisson of life. Bronco is “millions of miles away from home” (not literally, he’s just in another part of Aotearoa) but all of Aotearoa is sacred to him. Spiritually connected to his Māori heritage on a profound level, he’s wise, positive, and gentle as well as a bit of a rabble rouser. Sam is quietly jealous of Bronco’s understanding of who he is, but she’s also open to learning from him.
Meanwhile, the parents realize their kids are gone. First, Hugh and Tux chat outside Bronco and Mallory’s school. Peachy covering for Sam is easily discovered by Wendy. Peachy explains in her deadpan way that the reason Sam has gone is Wendy has been so stressed about, and so focused on, Sam’s illness she’s forgotten that Sam the kid is inside of it. The parents set out on their own journey to find the kids (with Peachy in tow running interference) and along the way learn a little about their own failings and strengths as people.
Rachel House and co-screenwriter Tom Furniss craft a narrative filled with reverence for Māori traditions and beliefs. Utilizing Sam’s quest for spiritual belonging and her fight for a future; House crafts a mystical adventure that speaks to the individuality of her three young protagonists and the unique connection Māori iwi have to their land decolonized from Pākehā influence. The way House achieves this is through shared connection rather than confrontation. Three kids, Pākehā, mixed heritage, and Māori experience the wonder of Taranaki, mythology, the interconnectedness of the natural world, and empower each other.
A lovely example is a night spent in front of a campfire where Mallory pulls out his wall compass gifted to him by his mother before her death. Bronco uses his rope to tie it around Mallory’s neck saying his mum will help guide them. Sounds in the dark lead to the trio performing a dance to KRS-One’s “Sound of Da Police.” Their journey isn’t without some friction – Sam initially lied to Mallory telling him that her mother died of cancer and Mallory is deeply hurt. What he doesn’t see is the other things Sam is lying about, such as the state of her health. She’s giving everything to make it to her ancestor.
Stunning scenes captured by cinematographer Matt Henley of the Taranaki region merge with Sam and Bronco’s storytelling which is at times rendered via animation, or at others by attention to smaller details within the wider vista. House credits the mountain themselves as an actor: Te Kāhui Tupua Taranaki Mounga.
First time film performers Elizabeth Atkinson, Reuben Francis, and Terrence Daniel are utterly charming and carry the work without mawkishness. Rachel House doesn’t shy from the realities of cancer and how sick Sam is, but she highlights her bravery and tenacity and gives Sam with something she had not previously had – an iwi formed because Taranaki Mounga willed it. The Mountain is a delightful, magical, mystical, and melancholy film brimming with humor and tenderness. Aotearoa and the world are blessed to have Rachel House as a creative force and one hopes she will continue behind the camera.
