This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we talk about the importance of Napoleon taking the box office from Disney’s Wish, Edgar Wright’s most recent comments, the Scream 7 news and the really fascinating filmography of Ridley Scott!
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!
– JD’s Gloating (2:10) We apologize in advance for those who don’t follow or care about sports, however JD wanted to spend a few minutes at the top of the show to talk about his Michigan Wolverines and their most recent success. For what it’s worth, however, the narrative around the Wolverines this season has been very cinematic.
– Napoleon / Wish (21:15) As noted above, it was quite a surprise to see Ridley Scott’s Napoleon take the box office this last weekend over an animated film from Disney. Perhaps it’s indicative of everything we’ve seen this year regarding IP and their struggles, and the remarkable success of more original or director-driven films as we saw with Barbenheimer earlier in the year. Either way, it’s really fascinating and it continues to echo a changing of the tide.
– Edgar Wright (35:47) Very recently there was an interview with Edgar Wright who noted that IP and bigger franchises would benefit from taking breaks and letting audiences build anticipation. We talk about why he’s absolutely right, not just for building hype, but also allowing VFX artists more time to render visuals that are more sharp.
– Ridley Scott Discussion (1:11:28) Ridley Scott is a captivating filmmaker for many reasons. He’s an astute craftsman. He’s an eclectic artist. He’s willing to tinker with his films long after he’s sent in the theatrical cut. He doesn’t care what you think. There are very few like him, and it makes for a really fun conversation when talking about the good and bad that comes with his filmmaking style.
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: Eli Roth Writers: Jeff Rendell and Eli Roth Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Ty Olsson, Gina Gershon
Synopsis: After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.
The Black Friday scene that opens Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving is already a classic: mindless humans who don’t ask questions but consume product and get excited for the next product await in a flock in front of a store opening early for some sweet, sweet deals. The store opens in ten minutes, but the rage from our consumers grows larger as they wait to be let in and save money on their consumption to benefit the pockets of corporate America.
The owner of that store, Thomas Wright (Rick Hoffman), is excited at the prospect of enriching his pockets at the expense of a society that turns into mindless zombies as soon as deals are laid out. A free waffle maker for the first 100 people who consume? How exciting! However, for Mitch Collins (Ty Olsson), not so much. The store’s general manager has to miss his Thanksgiving dinner to supervise its Black Friday. Only two security guards are positioned to calm down an ever-growing and ever-raging crowd.
When Thomas’ daughter, Jessica (Nell Verlaque), and her group of friends enter the store by cutting the line and get to spend their money a few minutes before the store opens, bedlam ensues, and what follows is the most scathing indictment of Black Friday ever put on film. Its satire may be on the nose, but Roth turns an already nightmarish situation for underpaid employees and store managers all over America (at first, now the world’s joined in on the madness) into a literal nightmare: the enraged consumers attack the mall with all of their fury, shoving themselves into corners, ripping their hair out, and stomping on themselves, all so they can be the first to get something free.
For the first time in his directorial career, Eli Roth has something to say. His previous pieces of work, while heavily inspired by some of the greatest exploitation filmmakers who ever lived, pushed buttons for the sake of pushing buttons. Even his remake of Michael Winner’s Death Wish stripped the nihilism and blunt social commentary from the original movie (until subsequent installments became farcical cartoons that glorified the use of guns to the extreme) into a formless actioner that was highly violent but didn’t do much to examine Paul Kersey’s (Bruce Willis) descent into darkness.
We had to wait until his adaptation of one of the fake trailers playing in front of Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse for Roth to actually have something interesting to say about the state of our current consumerist society. We are all vultures who knowingly feed into the corporate machine as they continue to profit off our backs while we buy mindless things to fill in some gap in ourselves that will be worth nothing once we pass on from this world. It was already obvious in films like George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, but Roth’s approach to this message, with a penchant for clear and explicit violence, has never felt more timely and urgent. Look at the way we treat one another and the way we behave when we hear the words Black Friday, a “holiday” created by the powers that be to make us fight for things that will ultimately be worth nothing. But since we must obey and consume, the holiday must go on.
After this incredibly direct and angry cold open where Roth shows audiences how much he’s matured as a filmmaker, transforming a peaceful mall into total purgatory for massive shock and enlightenment, Thanksgiving grinds to a halt as it cuts to a year later. But it’s a welcomed halt as it establishes the main characters still grappling with the effects of a traumatizing event. As preparations for this year’s Thanksgiving celebrations are underway, a killer begins to enact his revenge on the ones responsible for the Black Friday tragedy of last year. Sheriff Eric Newlon (Patrick Dempsey) is on the case, as he finds out that the killer is specifically targeting Jessica and her friends, tagging them in posts on Instagram with a dinner table with their names written on each chair.
It’s a race against time to figure out who is doing the murders before more bodies pile up. And while the rest of the movie is far more conventional in its storytelling and even gets far too predictable with its multiple red herrings, Thanksgiving remains largely entertaining. Its core plot is a beat-for-beat re-tread of Wes Craven’s Scream, but when the kills are thoroughly vicious in their execution and creative in their staging, does it really matter? Sure, it’s incredibly easy to guess who the killer is, even when Roth tries to divert attention by making Jessica’s love interests, Bobby (Jalen Thomas Brooks) and Ryan (Milo Manheim), the alleged suspects, but it’s far too obvious to be obvious if you catch my drift.
As such, it, unfortunately, loses the momentum that Roth built in its opening scene, but he still has something to say as the town realizes their mistake, which greatly affects the main characters, minus Thomas, who hopes the consuming will resume once morale improves. He also gets some really good performances from his actors, most notably Dempsey, who revels in the camp of Sheriff Newlon and that thick Boston accent selling it. But I was particularly impressed by Addison Rae, who has never had her time to shine on screen in the unwatchable He’s All That. But she’s particularly effective as Gabby, one of Jessica’s best friends. Manheim also impresses, though his arc is truncated near the movie’s latter half when it could’ve blossomed into something far more active than what we have.
But the real star of the picture is Roth himself, who finally manages to make something worth our time. He showed signs of artistic maturity with the kiddie horror flick The House with a Clock in its Walls. But in Thanksgiving, he finally blends his flair for the grotesque with a poignant social commentary that will always ring true as the years go by. I can absolutely see this film becoming a new holiday classic, solely on its opening scene, finally shedding light on the most horrific day of the year, where we all act like soulless Romerian zombies for those discounts. I get it, but let’s act civilized for once. It’s just a damn PS5.
This week on Women InSession, we take a look at all of the film adaptations of Little Women and discuss our favorites, how they hold up and which film captures the spirit of the book the best.
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!
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Director: Emerald Fennell Writer: Emerald Fennell Stars: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike
Synopsis: A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.
After her Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell is back with a story that is more wild and filled with performances by an ensemble who go all in to the very end. Obviously, her taste is writing dark comedies mixed with mind-f**king results and she takes it back to the upper classes of Britain with this debaucherous tale. Barry Keoghan plays Oliver Quick, a student at Oxford in 2006 who comes from a tough background, namely his parents are recovering addicts. Oliver is a bit socially awkward and seemingly desires to get with a higher clique when he spots Felix, (Jacob Elordi) a popular, wealthy student who takes a liking to him. Towards the end of the semester, when Felix learns that Oliver’s father has died, he lends his sympathy by inviting Oliver to his home, the titular Saltburn country house.
Upon arrival, Oliver is met by Felix’s parents, Sir James and Lady Elsbeth, played by Richard E. Grant and Rosamund Pike, respectively. Mixing in is Felix’s sister Venetia (Alison Oliver), Felix’s half-American cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe), and Elsbeth’s friend Pamela (Carey Mulligan), who has outstayed her welcome, yet hangs on staying with the “it” crowd. Farleigh doesn’t have empathy for Oliver and gives his warning to him to that Felix is someone who will cut anyone loose once he is bored of them. Yet, Oliver is invited into Felix’s summer fun which includes huge parties and sunbathing naked as a group.
Where Promising Young Woman is about getting revenge, Saltburn is about climbing the social ladder and usurping affluence from another family. Fennell prods the family dynamics of aristocracy with wickedness and a character, Oliver, totally influenced by The Talented Mr. Ripley. While she sticks the landing with its last twist in the end, Fennell takes a little too long to get there, hampering the flow of the story. The beats in between take on too much water rather than getting into rhythm, almost like it is relying on Linus Sandgren’s beautiful cinematography to keep the story going. The things that carry the film are the audacious performances by the ensemble.
Keoghan doesn’t hold back in his character, who willingly performs outrageous acts that, based on your type of humor, will either have you gagging or cracking up. It’s opposite to the dim-witted character he played in The Banshees of Inisherin and just goes for it. Elordi is having a year with this film and Priscilla as Elvis Presley, but Saltburn has him with a piece of his TV character Nate Jacobs from the series Euphoria. Pike as Elsbeth absolutely steals some scenes with her cold demeanor (“Oh, how wonderful!”) towards others without pulling punches, especially towards Pamela.
In the end, Saltburn burns a bit too long, but has enough of the English countryside to bring us in like Downton Abbey. Except there is no class and taste, just lies and too much alcohol as Felix finds out quite easily. It’s a naughty film featuring hedonists who want power and favorability, almost like Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favorite, but without the royal connection. Yet, the modernity of high-class scandal is always present and it becomes a juicy subject of Emerald Fennell’s eye and Barry Keoghan’s seductive presence, as exclaimed in the film’s dancing finale.
On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss George C. Wolfe’s latest film Rustin, starring a to-be-Oscar-nominated Colman Domingo! Say what you will about the movie, but there’s no denying Domingo and the vibrancy he brings to his performance. The definition of magnetism.
Review: Rustin (4:00) Director: George C. Wolfe Writers: Julian Breece, Dustin Lance Black Stars: Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Jeffrey Wright
Directors: Paul Monusky, Micaela Powers, and Angela Torma Stars: Tim Allen, Bill Belichick, Jeff Daniels
Synopsis: The definitive story of Barry Sanders’ Hall-of-Fame career and his extraordinary decision to walk away from the game in the prime of his career.
It was one of the most shocking decisions in pro football history when Barry Sanders retired. Why would a man in the prime of his career walk away after ten stellar seasons in the National Football League? Including being in striking distance from breaking one of the most coveted records in professional sports, Walter Payton’s NFL career mark for rushing yards. It was so controversial at the time that for years, networks like ESPN followed the man’s every retired move. The problem with Bye Bye Barry is that, even though it offers insight from a notoriously reclusive athlete, decades later, with what we know about American professional football, you may wonder why he didn’t leave sooner.
The documentary attempts to offer answers to that unanswered question. The fact that Sanders played ten straight seasons and never had less than 1,000 yards rushing had the look of a disgruntled athlete who wanted out of his contract to play for a contender. There were rumors that the documentary never addressed. For one, a story tracked for months was the Miami Dolphins attempting to coax Sanders out of retirement.
The Detroit Lions, who are notoriously unforgiving regarding their athletic alums, would not relinquish their rights. Directors Paul Monusky, Micaela Powers, and Angela Torma (yes, three of them) do an excellent job of outlining the legendary running back’s confusion and disdain for the organization’s tactics toward their best players. So much so that you’d have difficulty walking away from Bye Bye Barry without concluding this was the reason and also a strategy.
However, considering the physical and emotional toll the sport has on athletes and the lifespan of running backs, which is only 2.65 years (lower than other players and considering the decade Sanders thrived in), it’s not at all surprising. He’s a man who lived through two of the worst injuries in NFL history (former Lion players Mike Utley and Reggie Brown). It would put any man’s life in perspective, especially with a family waiting for him. Some of these points are brought up and come out of the Hall of Famer’s mouth, but if you watch closely and listen intently, they are never confirmed.
And that’s the problem you should have with the film. The documentary hardly offers any more insight from the day Sanders left the NFL to the day filming Prime Video called it a wrap. There are too many pointless interviews with celebrities like Jeff Daniels, Eminem, and, of all people, Tim Allen, to provide expert “context” on why Sanders was the greatest running back ever. The filmmakers have a limited sense of football history, considerably affecting the picture’s structure.
Sanders’s time at Oklahoma State is largely ignored and should have played a more prominent part. For one, he was stuck behind another Hall of Famer running back in the Buffalo Bills, Thurman Thomas. Even though the film shows a handful of highlights against the legendary AFC team of that decade, the former teammate was never mentioned. In fact, instead of a three-headed running back monster, which was the last time running backs dominated the NFL, Sanders is only compared to Emmitt Smith. Exploring this relationship and spending more time with his college career would have tightened the film considerably.
Other insights should be approached and answered if you do not answer that fundamental question. For one, Sanders had to share the NFL MVP with Brett Favre even though he ran for 2,000 yards (only the second person to do so) in a league dominated by African-American athletes. Yet, he only won the award 22% of the time in the Super Bowl era.
How about the unforgettable moment he fell asleep on the bench during a game? This is incredibly relevant since the film portrays the players as egoless, often pulling themselves out of games to give others a chance. Or all pertinent insight into why his father called him the third-best running back in NFL history during his Hall of Fame introduction speech?
No, we don’t have to probe the psychological damage done by overbearing fathers in every narrative feature. Still, perhaps it’s even more fascinating how Sanders maturely worked through the situation instead of letting it scar him for life.
If anyone deserves a money-grab puff piece, it’s Barry Sanders because, by all accounts, he’s an MVP of being a good and decent man, which is hard to find when it comes to superstardom these days. However, that doesn’t make Bye Bye Barry good, interesting, or worth your time.
On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss Alexander Payne’s new film The Holdovers, starring the great Paul Giamatti! We are big fans of Payne, his previous work with Giamatti in Sideways is especially great, so we were very excited for this film. And they did not disappoint.
Review: The Holdovers (4:00) Director: Alexander Payne Writers: David Hemingson Stars: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
Director: Paul Briganti Writers: Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall Stars: Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, Ben Marshall
Synopsis: It follows three friends who live together. When they realize that they don’t like their life trajectory, they set off to find a gold treasure that is rumored to be buried in the nearby mountain.
The guys in the comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy, who bring surrealist humor to the TikTok generation, have breathed new life into Saturday Night Live over the past few years. I would call group members Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy fearless. Their new Peacock streaming comedy, aptly titled Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, is purely them. A type of madcap humor, even irreverent, that rarely can be found on television anymore.
The script follows the three friends, Ben, John, and Martin (again, aptly named), as the trio is stuck in an eternal mode of arrested development. Martin has curtailed his super cool, tough-guy image thanks to his steady girlfriend, who happens to be a conservative Christian. You have Ben, a young man trying too hard to get his father’s approval (a hilarious Conan O’Brien), who wants to take over his father’s sporting goods store.
Then there is John, the friend, trying to keep the group from growing up and staying on the island of misfit toys. He refuses to acknowledge Martin’s girlfriend (he doesn’t even know her last name) and criticizes Ben for trying to win his father’s approval, which is actually profound. John thinks that being in their mid-twenties isn’t a time to start thinking about their futures.
So, to keep the group from drifting apart, he decides the trio should take an adventure together. That’s right—a search for the treasure of Foggy Mountain. As legend has it, an adventure seeker (Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang) went missing looking for the treasure years prior. They meet an enemy hawk with an eye for revenge and a pair of forest rangers (Megan Statler and X Mayo) who want the treasure for themselves.
Written by Marshall, Higgins, and Herlihy and directed by Paul Briganti, the comedy ranges from amusing to often hilarious but hardly ever drops the ball and often hits their mark. The trio’s script has at least three to four good belly laughs. And while the John Goodman narration may be too much of your usual SNL shtick, it surprisingly works well enough to set up a few gags and keep the storytelling tool interesting. The film’s highlight is the pairing of Statler’s Lisa and Higgins, who have an adorable and almost affable chemistry that is simply delightful. Known for Hacks, Statler is simply winning here.
What you’ll love about the script is the deep bench of supporting characters acting absurd and wacky humor that revolves around the three stars’ satirical comedic takes. From the absurdity of that vengeful hawk to Conan O’Brien’s spineless take on fatherhood to Yang’s biting take on feigned advocacy, the comedy works famously while having the ability not to be taken too seriously.
Overall, Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain is too damn likable and funny to dismiss. In a year of great theatrical comedies, particularly the hard R-variety like Joy Ride and No Hard Feelings, Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy’s films stand out among the crowded field of streaming war offerings. The comedy is awkward, ridiculous fun from some fresh voices, and the best SNL-produced comedy to come along in decades.
Director: Taika Waititi Writers: Taikia Waititi, and Iain Morris Stars: Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss
Synopsis: The story of the infamously terrible American Samoa soccer team, known for a brutal 2001 FIFA match they lost 31-0.
There are few words to describe what a tedious and manipulative experience Next Goal Wins really is, but I’ll try to write about 500 to 600 words on the subject. The new Taika Waititi proves one fact about the mercurial director behind films such as Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and Jojo Rabbit: Too much Waititi can be bad for you because the director tries to pass off limited talent with heart. If only he had brought enough heart to the filmmaking process to even out the sentimental cartoonishness of the final product.
Written by Waititi and Iain Morris and based on the documentary of the same name, Next Goal Wins follows real-life figure Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), a soccer coach who was MLS Coach of the Year in the league’s inaugural season in 1996. However, Rongen fell on hard times after a blissful welcome into the head manager profession. He is letting go of coaching the United States national team. Suddenly, Rongen finds himself with nowhere to go until his ex-wife Gail (Elisabeth Moss) and the member of the board (Will Arnett) pull some strings.
Rognen is given the keys to the manager position of American Samoa, a plucky bunch who are not so much soccer hooligans as they are roligans of the world’s most popular sport. The players are calm and friendly and always look at shortcomings or obstacles through a positive lens. Even though the team has only one single game in international play, they are ranked dead last in the world rankings, and in the last tournament game they participated in, they lost 31-0 to Australia.
Some of the cast can be likable, particularly New Zealand comedian Oscar Kightley, but the writing is so shallow, and one note hardly matters. Knightly plays Tavita, the executive of the Samoa team, who also runs a restaurant and is the camera operator of the island’s most popular reality show, “Why’d You Come Here?” His attitude can be infectious, and it’s meant to balance out Fassbender’s toxic coach’s antics. The problem is that the character needed to be more Bad News Bears Coach Buttermaker to equal out all that positivity.
Many are pointing out Next Goal Wins’s faults in Ted Lasso’s success. Imagine a cynical bunch of cinephiles so angry about a trend of positivity in film and television that it becomes a turn-off. However, that’s not the problem with Waititi’s film. The fact is, the movie has nothing new to offer other than the typical cliche-filled sports picture.
A much more interesting (and even fascinating) part of the story is Jaiyah Saelua (played wonderfully by Kaimana). They are an American Samoan footballer who was the first non-binary transgender athlete to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match. Kaimana and Fassbender have a natural rapport, mainly when Kaimana can convey the experiences, struggles, and challenges an athlete like this will deal with internally. Unfortunately, nothing is said about the external biases they must have faced.
You may argue that Next Goal Wins brings a time-tested and tested winning formula back to cinemas that shouldn’t be tinkered with. The problem with that ideology, like any success, is that it can be copied and repeated over time until it loses its effectiveness. Waititis’s film is a shell of that concept by playing it too safe and only offering surface-level insight into characters hardly ever examined in film or television.
Instead of offering this course correction, Next Goal Wins drives down the middle of middling. A film is hardly zany or wacky enough to be funny, mature, and honest enough to get the audience to care.
Synopsis: A young teacher hopes to be appointed to Istanbul after mandatory duty at a small village. After a long time waiting he loses all hope of escaping from this gloomy life. However, his colleague Nuray helps him to regain perspective.
Demanding both in its multi-layered subject matter and lengthy canvas, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses is a verbose yet thought-provoking character study on broken people and their means of expression towards a world that has “betrayed” them, containing two of the best dialogue set-pieces I have seen this year in its piercing third act.
Is Nuri Bilge Ceylan the modern version of Andrei Tarkovsky? This question has seemed to pop up quite often when discussing the Turkish filmmaker’s oeuvre, more so after the release of his 2018 feature, The Wild Pear Tree. Ceylan has commented on Tarkovsky’s work before; his experiences watching Solaris and Mirror have changed from being baffled to naming them some of the best films of all time, specifically the latter, which he has watched more than twenty times. Although plenty of aspects separate these two cinematic maestros, the comparison is quite applicable. The contemplative nature of Ceylan matches with Tarkovsky’s doleful narratives. While Tarkovsky often uses sci-fi and surrealist elements to move forward his stories and create a dreamy and melancholic haze, Ceylan constructs his own with two main ingredients: silence in its atmosphere to cause unease and a verbose screenplay.
The two create lengthy, complex, poetic pictures that remain in your head for days, weeks, and even months after watching them. That’s what unites Ceylan and Tarkovsky – curating melancholy through a beautiful landscape and awe-inspiring technique. And if you weren’t convinced about the comparison yet, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s latest, About Dry Grasses, will do so, as it is yet another philosophical and immaculate character study that unpacks questions about belief, toxic masculinity, and the fatigue of hoping for a better life. The film centers around Samet (Deniz Celiloğlu), a thirty-year-old art teacher who wants to move from his current position. He’s currently in the small town of Icesu – where everybody knows everybody – and has his mind set on Istanbul, a place he deems would bring him better opportunities.
He isn’t in that village by choice; like most of its residents, he is there serving a mandatory service. In his case, Samet is teaching children at a secondary school. He hopes that what comes after his limited stay in the remote town of Eastern Anatolia will be better, as he quotes early on: “From the day I arrived, all I thought about was leaving.” Samet longs for the days when he can freely roam around in a more prominent (and prosperous) place. At least his work proceeds him, as he’s beloved by everybody. They hold him in high regard even though he states out loud that he doesn’t want to be there. Hence, we see plenty of scenes where he’s passing the time by any means necessary, whether drinking tea and eating cheese pastries or taking photographs of the villagers and plains.
There’s a palpable feeling of emptiness oozing from Samet’s core whenever he is by his lonesome or quiet. He isn’t hopeless or completely shattered mentally. But Samet constantly yearns for a better life instead of embracing what’s right in front of him. It keeps him at a distance from his co-workers and the townsfolk. The only people he seems to have faith in are his students, precisely his favorite one, Sevim (Ece Bağcı). When they are on-screen together, you notice his change of personality. Samet opens up to her about every question she has, sometimes overstepping his boundaries and her privacy, which paves the way for an incident at the school. Sevim accuses Samet and fellow teacher Kenan (Musab Ekici) of inappropriate behavior because he wouldn’t return her love letter, which was confiscated during an inspection.
We see him erupting, forging a nihilistic attitude that holds his contempt for Icesu on his shoulders. Celiloğlu creates a multilayered performance in which he balances nihilism and angst with the self-assured persona we saw during the first moments and self-righteousness. He has a challenging role in this film, and Celiloğlu manages that tethering of emotions with a ton of proficiency. His performance feels natural and calculated – as the dialogue sequences arrive one after the other, you sense each emotional note from his expressions. It is hard to state how complex his role is and how well he manages it without missing a single beat. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, alongside co-writers Ebru Ceylan (his wife) and Akın Aksu, leaves the audience questioning whether or not Sevim’s love letter is addressed to Samet.
This specific and important detail is left ambiguous because the film doesn’t focus on that part of the narrative. About Dry Grasses focuses more on the reaction and shattering realizations of belief, culpability, responsibility, and loneliness. The letter arrives as a kill-switch in the means of Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt. But it’s more of a segment that helps the rest of the film and its ideas come to fruition. With this note, we learn the harsh reality and darkness of Samet’s boiling solace. Through the letter and his connection with other characters, we see a deeper glance into his psyche and ideology. Two specific people in his life will provide us with this exploration of a love triangle between Kenan and a teacher from another school, Nuray (Cannes Best Actress-winner Merve Dizdar).
It isn’t your typical encounter of lovelorn souls but rather a psychological duel. She isn’t playing the role of a savior who rescues Samet from his solemnity. Nuray will challenge him in all regards, Ceylan creating plenty of lengthy confrontative dialogue set-pieces – two of which are some of the best written of the year. Each conversation is like a different stage in Samet’s existential and spiritual crisis. His anti-hero persona, which Ceylan applies to his most interesting characters, is questioned in ways he didn’t expect to; Samet slowly realizes that there’s solace within his alienation deep inside. During the last act of the film, Nuray and Samet have a thought-provoking and profound discussion on politics, negligence, conviction, and everything in between. And in one moment of silence, something strange happens.
Samet becomes so enraptured with the psychological toll this chat is having on his mind that he needs to take a breather. He does so via a fourth-wall break that’s disruptive and piercing. It removes the magic of cinema to showcase the effects of the lines not only on the character but also on the actor playing him. The coating of fiction is removed for a second so the audience and Celiloğlu can clear their minds. It is nothing short of brilliant; I have never seen such a thing come out of nowhere, leaving everyone in the cinema speechless. That moment in About Dry Grasses caused everyone to gather and become entranced with the lyrical mind of Ceylan. Despite its three-hour-and-a-half runtime, you never feel the length of the film’s canvas.
You are so intrigued by these characters and their ways of thinking that you would want to see more of their personal conversations. This is a pessimistic picture with occasional comedic language that rips apart the essence of a fractured male ego. About Dry Grasses is a dissertation on many topics told through a dialogue-heavy and demanding procedure we are accustomed to seeing in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s filmography. The Turkish filmmaker creates a web of complex yet beautifully humanistic and elegiac sequences. He is a master director of his class, deserving of every inch of praise given to him.
Director: Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn Writers: Jennifer Lee, Allison Moore, and Chris Buck Stars: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, and Alan Tudyk
Synopsis: Wish will follow a young girl named Asha who wishes on a star and gets a more direct answer than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her.
Wish, the new Walt Disney Animation Studios picture, is a warm and winning animated film that acts as an origin story for the studio’s legendary filmography. While incorporating classic Disney themes and clever nostalgia, Chris Buck (Frozen I and II) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (Raya and the Last Dragon) put a fresh spin on classic Disney themes, albeit with a wink at recycled material.
The story follows young Asha (Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose), a precocious 17-year-old wise beyond her years. Asha is celebrating her “Sabino’s” (Victor Garber) 100th birthday, as is her mother, Sakina (Natasha Rothwell). She’s young, energetic, and beloved by her community of Rosas. The young woman represents all the hopes and dreams of their family because, simply, they have none of their own.
That’s because a sorcerer King Magnifico (Chris Pine), manages everyone’s wishes and is in charge of whose very dreams come true. Luckily for Asha, she is interviewing for a job as his assistant. They immediately hit it off, having a natural rapport. However, Asha sees Sabino’s wish floating in the royal palace. She can’t help but ask the King if he could grant her grandfather’s Wish on his special day. However, Magnifico declines.
His explanation? Granting such a wish may be too much for the old man to handle and disrupt the peaceful balance of the community. As Magnifico says, “Imagine a place where wishes come true, where your heart’s desire can become a reality. What if I told you that place was within reach? All you have to do is give your Wish… to me.” It dawns on Asha that the ruler has no intention of giving back the wishes to Rosas, effectively never allowing people’s hopes to shape their futures.
Buck and Veerasunthorn’s film, with the help of a clever screenplay from Frozen collaborator Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore (Night Sky), takes off when it begins to act as an origin story for the greedy Mouse’s legendary filmography. For example, after Asha is dismayed by the King’s action, she, yes, wishes “upon a star,” causing a cosmic event seen throughout the kingdom. The result is an adorable ball of energy called “Star” that magically comes to life, shaking the lives of the Rosas community. Star begins to bring objects to life and allows animals to talk, like Asha’s beloved goat, Valentino, voiced by the scene-stealing Alan Tudyk.
The animation will be much talked about, with the filmmakers using digital techniques to give Wish a look of hand-drawn images (or storybook drawings) to evoke appreciation from diehard Disney fans. However, while the effort is appreciated, the visuals of Wish have a Saturday morning cartoon look that’s almost jarring initially until the artistry becomes whimsical. In an era of animated choices in the last few years, where studios mix and match styles and take bold chances, Disney has pandered and played it too safe here.
However, what Wish does have are some dazzling musical numbers. My favorite is Chris Pine’s thoroughly enjoyable “This is the Thanks I Get,” which is pure Disney magic. And, of course, the gifted DeBose’s show-stopping “This Wish” will surely bring goosebumps to diehards and casual fans alike. “A Wish Worth Making” is a worthy closing number for any Disney animated feature. Wish isn’t a classic by any means, but it has a chance to develop a worthy following. For one, films with lasting legs are always defined by younger generations. And Disney fans will love the nods and origins of the timeless classics, which will bring generations together. Along with what I’m sure will be a massive sale of plush toy “Stars” in the future, Wish is a wonderful holiday treat for the entire family.
Director: Timm Kröger Writers: Roderick Warich and Timm Kröger Stars: Jan Bulow, Olivia Ross, Hanns Zischler
Synopsis: The year of 1962. A physics congress in the Alps. An Iranian guest. A mysterious pianist. A bizarre cloud formation in the sky and a booming mystery under the mountain. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING. A quantum mechanical thriller in black and white.
Timm Kröger blends past and present with old and new cinematic aesthetics in his latest work, The Universal Theory (Die Theorie Von Allem). Both in its ideas and stylistic choices, sci-fi and film noir are combined with the modern narrative obsession of the multiverse to create an oddly fascinating yet ultimately cluttered project.
For a couple of years now, the multiverse has been a notion that everybody has been obsessed with, and there’s some understanding of that craze. There are many directions that concept can travel. You can center it around a doomed love story, a dangerous escapade through the various galaxies, or even an action-drama-comedy picture about a mother and daughter. The multiverse can serve as a guide for very interesting stories. However, rather unfortunately, it seems like the idea has been running dry due to its poor and lazy use, with most directors relying on the same old cinematic design and themes. We have grown used to such things, as the same happened with time travel in the past decades. There’s always this fascination with a sci-fi-related conception that everybody wants to get their hands on, losing steam as the years go by.
Right out of nowhere, Timm Kröger arrives with The Universal Theory, which finds a compelling use of the multiverse craze. The German filmmaker literally uses the intrigue of scientific belief as the core of the film’s web-like combinations of genre (sci-fi, film noir, romance) and tone (claustrophobic, gloomy, and occasionally intimate). He doesn’t focus much on the theories or mechanics of this topic. Instead, Kröger prefers to dwell within the film’s cinematic inspirations. In a way, that weird concoction does service to its curious demeanor as well as diminishes its overall coherence – both drawing the viewer to seek the film out and leaving them at a distance upon finishing it. This tale is about tunnels underneath the Swiss Alps that make people travel through time and maybe (or not) lovers stuck in this array of mysterious happenings. It is a mess, but at least one worth watching.
The Universal Theory begins in 1974, when we see Johannes Leinert (Jan Bulow) being interviewed on a German television show for his new book, ‘The Theory of Everything’. He is trying to explain the logistics of the book and its multiverse topics to the crowd and guests but to no success. Everyone is taking it as a joke, seeing his work as a tale of fiction rather than the “true story” it is based on. So, Johannes decides to cut the interview short and leave the program, ending with a message dedicated to a woman named Karin, whom he’s been seeking for ages. There’s some sort of odd tension both in the studio and in the film’s atmosphere after his decision to leave, one that creates intrigue on what exactly he is referring to and whether or not his story is true.
After this, the film’s setting switches to twelve years earlier, changing the look from color to stunning monochrome. Johannes is preparing to leave his home for a couple of weeks with this doctoral advisor, Dr. Julius Strathen (Hanns Zischler), to a scientific congress in the Swiss Alps, where an Iranian scientist is going to deliver a lecture about an astonishing new subject, relating to quantum mechanics, that will change how we perceive life as a whole. Dr. Strathen is quite stern and very honest about everything; he can be perceived as a grump occasionally, but the man just wants a break and the best for Johannes. During the train ride to Switzerland, he encounters one of his past colleagues, Professor Blumberg (Gottfried Breitfuß), who is the opposite of Strathen personality-wise. Blumberg is charismatic and comical, indulging in drinks and drugs to make his stay at the conference a more enjoyable one.
Strathen can’t stand him; hence, he tells Johannes to stay away from him so he can focus on his paper. Johannes is excited about this new experience and to see how his thesis on parallel universes holds its weight. However, things don’t go as planned, as the notable scientist doesn’t arrive at the conference, canceling the event in the mountains and Johannes’ manuscript is riddled with notes by Dr. Strathen questioning his research. In addition, he has found himself distracted by a piano player named Karin (Olivia Ross). During their first encounter, Johannes states that he has seen her but can’t recall exactly where. At first, she doesn’t seem interested in him and the probability of them meeting prior to the conference. But, as the mysteries begin to entangle with one another, the two start to connect, for better or worse.
This leads Johannes into a web of mysteries that involve avalanches, weird cloud formations, brutal murders, and a multiverse portal. Timm Kröger uses sci-fi as the catalyst for his mysteries but relies on film noir to develop the story and the characters. It feels like The Third Man, yet with a plot that revolves around parallel universes. The film has a slightly original concept but, at the very least (and most importantly), feels fresh and innovative with its narrative playfulness. The German filmmaker is bold and dedicated, crafting plenty of intrigue in its first act to keep its momentum going for the following two. You question where the film is going. This isn’t because you are frustrated; it is because you’re anxious to see where it is heading. The curiosity of its narrative webbing grows stronger as new characters are introduced into the scene.
That feeling, unfortunately, doesn’t last long. The second half of The Universal Theory becomes a mish-mash of rushed concepts put one on top of the other. Boldly so, Kröger puts all his ideas onto the table and sees what sticks. And all of them do so individually. The problem is that collectively, they don’t work as planned. Kröger becomes so enamored with the concept that he forcefully wants to connect everything, no matter the cost of its narrative coherence. As Johannes dives deeper into the rabbit hole of potential space-time travel to uncover what exactly is occurring, the viewer grows less engrossed – the interest diminishing rapidly compared to the first act. It is an exercise in doing too much when less is more. While I still admire the ambitiousness of Kröger’s direction, and I believe that The Universal Theory will find its noir pulp audience, there’s too much clutter to fix what was previously fascinating.
Director: Walt Dohrn Writers Elizabeth Tippet Stars: Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Eric André
Synopsis: Poppy discovers that Branch was once part of the boy band ‘BroZone’ with his brothers, Floyd, John Dory, Spruce, and Clay. When Floyd is kidnapped, Branch and Poppy embark on a journey to reunite his two other brothers and rescue Floyd.
Regarding commercial entertainment, the Trolls franchise seems to be the least offensive piece of IP that Universal loves to milk, even if its third installment, Trolls Band Together, gets unsurprisingly egregious at times. Still, it’s a large step above the first sequel, Trolls World Tour, which cranked the commercial references to the extreme and forgot to tell a decent story despite fun animation.
Trolls Band Together is more restrained in its commercial references, but they’re the film’s weakest parts when they come and go. Direct lines like “We’re not in sync. We’ve gone from boys to men, and now there’s only one direction for us to go: the backstreets” can be funny for those who equate cinema to theme park rides and do the Rick Dalton pointing meme when they catch something they understand from another piece of media that others don’t, but it’s not particularly inspiring in the context of the movie.
Of course, the film’s story is plucked out of Justin Timberlake’s boy band days and sees him reunite with members of *NSYNC to write an original song for the first time in over twenty years. Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick also appear in the movie as Trolls to sing the song, which is fine and all, but you can tell how director Walt Dohrn seems more interested in the third film as a “brand extension” piece of content whose commercial appeal is stronger than its story when the main plot is far more interesting than any of the commercial stuff shoved in front of our eyes (in 3D).
The gist of the plot is simple but done effectively well: Branch (Justin Timberlake) reunites with his brother John Dory (Eric André) after he learns that their brother Floyd (Troye Sivan) was captured by hack singers Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannells), who steal the magic of the Trolls to improve their singing voices vastly. Floyd is trapped in a diamond prison and can only be freed by the “Perfect Family Harmony,” which was attempted once by Branch and his brothers when they were in the boy band BroZone but failed miserably. However, now that Floyd is in danger, Branch, Poppy (Anna Kendrick), John Dory, and Tiny Diamond (Kenan Thompson) look for Spruce (Daveed Diggs) and Clay (Kid Cudi) to bring the band back together and finally attempt the Perfect Family Harmony one more time.
In that adventure, Poppy also meets her long-lost sister, Viva (Camilla Cabello), who has a vendetta against Bergens and kidnaps King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and his wife Bridget (Zooey Deschanel) while are on their honeymoon. Dohrn tries to do too much in such a tight runtime (92 minutes) that the Viva subplot seems more like an afterthought instead of enhancing the main plot. It’s almost as if screenwriter Elizabeth Tippet thought the story focused too much on Branch’s past that the film also needed to introduce a newer batch of Trolls to the mix. As a result, the movie doesn’t spend enough time with Viva for the audience to care much about their relationship, while Branch’s story gets the flashback cold open and the spotlight from beginning to end.
Arguably, Branch’s story is the film’s most exciting part because it’s the most developed aspect of the movie. Timberlake brings lots of heart to his portrayal of the character, just as he did in the past two movies, and the addition of Eric André, Daveed Diggs, Kid Cudi, and Troye Sivan to the film is also terrific. Branch has an incredibly believable chemistry with each member of BroZone that we ultimately feel for the characters as they travel to save Floyd. There’s an emotional center that none of the Trolls movies have achieved until now that made this movie feel more human and alive as opposed to purely commercial fodder for Trolls to sing known pop songs.
It’s also a visually rich movie, with stunning animation and fast-paced action sequences. One scene, in particular, sees the character move from 3D animation to 2D as they travel down the Hustle Dimension, where Joseph Shirley’s Hustle theme starts playing and puts the audience in an increasingly trippy mood. It’s incredibly jubilant and the franchise’s most artistically stirring scene yet. It is also integral to its climax, which was a welcomed surprise. However, it’s not a movie worth the extra money for the 3D experience. At its best, a few elements pop out of the screen, but at its worst, the image is consistently flat, with desaturated colors because of the murky glasses you put in front of your eyes.
Its villains could’ve been more fleshed-out, but they’re more comically entertaining than the previous antagonists in Trolls World Tour. Despite uninspired vocal turns from Rannells and Schumer, the Milli Vanilli-inspired framing device saves their arc, and there are legitimate emotional stakes at play regarding Floyd’s life as Velvet and Veneer continue to use his powers to feed their voices. With an impossible task at play, the ending could be seen a mile away, but its emotional impact is intensely felt, ultimately making the final moments of the picture like a satisfying coda for the Trolls franchise. We’re likely to get a fourth film because they have always been incredibly successful titles for DreamWorks, but I wouldn’t be mad if the studio decides to leave it as is. Sometimes, it’s best to end things while you’re on top and not before you start experiencing diminishing returns.
This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we catch up on some other 2023 releases and give some brief thoughts on Nyad, Next Goal Wins, The Burial, Wingwomen, Fingernails and The Caine Mutiny Court Martial! Plus, a small debate on putting up Christmas lights before Thanksgiving.
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!
– Christmas vs Thanksgiving (1:05) We didn’t intend on opening the show with this, however; after JD admitted that he’s a “put up Christmas lights before Thanksgiving” guy, Brendan had ot say something about it. Which then lead to a whole conversation about the proper way to treat Christmas before and after Thanksgiving.
– Nyad, Next Goal Wins, The Burial (9:44) We begin our catch-up discussion by talking about a trio of movies that we both saw over the course of the last few weeks. All three are based off real stories and involve some level of competition. They weirdly do have a lot in common despite the obvious superficial disparities. We might not be super high on these movies but we did have a great time discussing them.
– Individual Catch-Up (1:23:43) In this segment, Brendan very briefly discusses The Exorcist, while JD gives his thoughts on Wingwomen, Fingernails, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial and the horror film When Evil Lurks.
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: George C. Wolfe Writers: Julian Breece,Dustin Lance Black Stars: Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen
Synopsis: Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.
The biopic wants to show the roundedness of a person, often bringing the legend back into human form. A biopic used to cover a wide swath of a person’s life. It made them bloated, sentimental, and often pulled in as many directions as possible. Many more modern biopics choose a singular aspect of a person’s life or legacy. There are some exceptions, but most, including Rustin, fit into this mode. In the case of Rustin, it’s a bit to the detriment of the film.
As a largely unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement, Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo) is an unknown. His life hasn’t been bullet pointed in American history textbooks and so there’s a lot to catch up on. The film does fine in peppering in bits of Rustin’s life, but fails the “show don’t tell” rule of storytelling. There are flashbacks and they are powerful, but they’re snapshots and not the whole picture. It feels like we’re playing catch up the whole time.
Yet, the screenplay, written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black (this being his third queer historical biopic) is packed with tenderness. The writers balance the outright racism that Rustin faces alongside his colleagues in the movement with the homophobia imposed on Rustin by both members of the movement and the outside world. Rustin lives his life as an openly gay man, which pushes his personal life into something that can be seen as unseemly.
Director George C. Wolfe handles some scenes of Rustin’s private life like a seedy melodrama from the era of the Hays Code; lots of stolen glances, dark shadows, and cigarettes suggestively brushing lips, but a pair of scenes take that idea in a couple of different directions. The first is as Rustin and his new crush Elias Taylor (Johnny Ramey) sit in a bar and get to know each other. When Taylor makes an affectionate gesture to Rustin, he flinches a little and Rustin assuages him because we and Taylor didn’t realize the two men were in a gay bar, surrounded by men who just want a place to be themselves. The sequence ends with a terrific chaste kiss that could have come from any romantic comedy.
The other scene is the previous scene’s more explicit companion. Wolfe, cinematographer Tobias Schliesser, and editor Andrew Mondshein craft an interesting contrast to what came before. We see Rustin as he takes in Taylor’s storefront preacher riling up his congregation, mixed with a love scene between the two men in a darkened room, their hands groping and tearing at clothing to get at the skin beneath. The thing that removes the exploitative nature in the sexuality contrasting religion, is that in his sermon Taylor acknowledges Rustin and their place with each other as he echoes some of Rustin’s words from the first night they had at the bar. The scene is invigorating and far too short.
These scenes, and frankly the entire film, is owed to the dynamic and incredible lead performance of Colman Domingo. As a character actor he has had some indelible roles, but here as a lead, Domingo shows the depth he can bring to a character and especially a character as charismatic as Rustin. He excels at the blustery speeches, the confrontational arguments, and the emotional pleas, but it’s in his expressions that Domingo slips into perfection. He has the ability to bring some microexpressions, the slight slips of Rustin’s mask, into the forefront of the emotion he’s playing. It’s a captivating performance.
The performance of Colman Domingo really carries the film. Rustin is a biopic of a person who needs more recognition for his accomplishments, but a film that isn’t breaking the rules that Rustin himself did. It’s a very safe type of film, but an enjoyable and uplifting one to watch. It’s a moving story that will hopefully spur more interest in the historical figures who moved, shook, and changed the world amongst all those straight, cis-gendered men.
Director: Francis Lawrence Writers: Michael Lesslie, Michael Arndt, and Suzanne Collins Stars: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis
Synopsis: Coriolanus Snow mentors and develops feelings for the female District 12 tribute during the 10th Hunger Games.
On July 17, 2019, Suzanne Collins, the acclaimed author of The Hunger Games series, announced a new addition set to be released the following year. While her announcement excited many fans, the idea of exploring the rise of President Snow 64 years before the first novel puzzled some. Fans were curious about the decision to focus on a villain’s origin story rather than diving into the games of other beloved characters like Finnick, Johanna, or Haymitch.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was released on May 19, 2020, offering a compelling read during the pandemic. Any initial confusion about the chosen narrative was swiftly addressed by the author’s justification for the story. The narrative delves into how a violent and totalitarian government can mold an individual with an elevated ego into someone who exploits systems and the world around them, ingeniously oppressing others during the process of their rise to power. Despite pandemic-related delays, the film adaptation hit theaters, effectively translating this chilling narrative. It goes beyond a mere villain origin story to provide a stellar exploration of The Hunger Games world, delivering a chillingly realistic portrayal of how close this fictional world could come to reality.
In the early days of Panem, the Hunger Games experienced a decline in popularity among Capitol citizens, both in viewership and overall appeal. To revive interest, 24 young Capitol Academy students are assigned to mentor a tribute. A young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is paired with District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), and as the narrative unfolds from the reaping ceremony to preparations for the games, the games themselves, and the extensive aftermath, Snow gradually develops feelings for her.
While the book follows a familiar pattern seen in other Hunger Games novels, adapting this comprehensive narrative into a single film proves challenging. Memories of the bloated Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 films from nearly a decade ago, which significantly slowed the overall series momentum, linger. Fortunately, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes avoids this pitfall by condensing the entire story into a single two-and-a-half-hour film. However, it isn’t without its own drawbacks.
Structured into three parts, mirroring the format of the other novels, the film’s first two sections focus on the Hunger Games, while the third explores the repercussions faced by Snow. While each segment contributes to the narrative, transitioning from one tone to another proves arduous. The film’s length becomes noticeable during this third act, emerging as a significant drawback. The pacing slows down substantially, creating a stark and challenging shift from the tense and faster-paced style established in the Games. Once this narrative phase settles in, adapting to the film’s different style becomes easier. However, by the time this adjustment occurs, it’s already nearly two hours into the film, with another half-hour or 45 minutes left. Feeling the length becomes pronounced during this section, putting the viewer’s endurance to the test.
The film excels in vividly portraying the dystopian world that the inhabitants of futuristic Panem must navigate to survive. A stark contrast is evident between the early days of the Hunger Games, with tributes thrown into an amphitheater-like arena where games typically lasted only a day or two. The intricacies of Snow’s strategic maneuvers to achieve his goals, employing both moral and selfishly immoral means, present a captivating thought experiment. This is the kind of film that prompts viewers to engage in extensive discussions for days, offering sustained enjoyment even after leaving the theater.
The production maintains top-notch quality, rivaling the standout film of the original trilogy, Catching Fire. Hunter Schaffer and Viola Davis, in particular, distinguish themselves in the ensemble cast, while Tom Blythe and Rachel Zegler deliver commendable performances in the lead roles. However, condensing a substantial amount of material into a single film inevitably leads to some sacrifices in character development, resulting in several characters appearing more one-dimensional than desired. Notably, Snow himself assumes an almost protagonist role in the film, deviating from the morally complex character familiar to readers. For those who have only seen the films in the series, the connection from this version of Snow to the older one seen as president becomes almost incomprehensible.
Josh Andres Rivera’s character, Sejanus Plinth, Snow’s best friend, bears the brunt of these changes and transforms into an almost unbearable and annoying character as his actions become increasingly frustrating to follow. This transformation is a notable drawback arising from the challenge of compressing the narrative.
While The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has its drawbacks, notably its extended length and some minor character adaptations that may come across as slight, the film still delivers rich entertainment suitable for a diverse audience. It reaffirms the film series’ popularity and its enduring presence in popular culture. The most intriguing aspect of the film lies in the underlying themes it attempts to convey, using the overarching plot as a digestible medium for these ideas. Timed for release during the Thanksgiving holiday, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes stands out as an ideal entertainment choice for those seeking an escape from home, quality time with family, or a blockbuster film experience at the theater.
On this episode, Christian Eulinberg joins JD to discuss the latest film in The Hunger Games franchise, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes! We are pretty big fans of this franchise, so we were excited to be back in Panem and the film didn’t disappoint in how it further establishes the roots of Coriolanus Snow.
Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (4:00) Director: Francis Lawrence Writers: Michael Lesslie, Michael Arndt Stars: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage
Director: Ridley Scott Writer: David Scarpa Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim
Synopsis: An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
One has to wonder why the great Ridley Scott has hitched his wagon to the recent scripts from a man best known for the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still(2023), but he has. Maybe he lost a bet, or it’s an elaborate fraternity hazing prank. Either way, the legendary director of films such as Gladiator, Blade Runner, Prometheus, and The Martian does what he can with the material of his latest grand spectacle, Napoleon. It’s a movie with Mr. Scott’s trademark technical prowess, but when dealing with Le Petit Capora’s personal life, Napoleon falls, uh, short of expectations.
The story follows Napoleon Bonaparte’s (Joaquin Phoenix) rise to power after leading his troops to break the mighty British blockade. Napoleon’s military reputation was molded during the French Reign of Terror (a series of massacres and public executions in France as a response to uprisings). His cold, ruthless style was uncompromising toward all enemies, foreign and domestic. Propped up by Paul Barras (Tahar Rahim), the head of the Directory during the French Revolution, Bonaparte was a Brigadier General at the eye-opening age of 24. (The film conveniently skips over the fact that he was lieutenant colonel at the time.)
At this point, the film gets off to a stirring start with a remarkable invasion to secure cannons to break the British naval blockade. (Trust me, the shot of Napoleon’s ill-fated horse being brought down by a cannonball that can be held in one hand, even Bonaparte’s, is jaw-dropping.) From there, the script from David Scarpa explores the love of the general’s life, Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby), the widow of a military officer who was a victim of the guillotine.
This is Scott’s 28th feature film, and “The Admiral” of big-budget historical (and science fiction) epics continues his mastery of innovative production design and atmospheric lighting that has made him a legend. You can see the craft with breathtaking, arresting visuals and the best wartime battlefield scenes since Braveheart. In fact, the scenes involving the Battle of Austerlitz are some of the finest this year. You wouldn’t think you could find a fresh angle for wartime spectacles, but Scott does with the help of Dariusz Wolski’s eye for Neuroclassic evocative visuals.
Still, Scott manages to find the human cost, which includes a stunning lack of empathy (the way he handles a rebel uprising is remarkably frank and will cause audible gasps) and the true genius of Bonaparte’s tactical mind. That’s the aspect of Scott’s film you can admire. Napoleon was one of the most brilliant military minds in the history of the world. A chess master in planning and execution, the man led global crusades.
This leads to the double-edged sword of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. We are led to believe that a man who was beloved by his troops, so charismatic and a leader of men, including leading over 3,000,000 soldiers to their deaths over dozens of campaigns, was a sniveling, weaselly, and anxiety-ridden leader with little to no political instincts, which is a significant flaw in Scarpa’s script. This feels like a storytelling tool to add some needed comic relief to a film with more misses than hits.
However, this leads to pulling the blanket over the myth of this titular figure and Josephine’s legendary romance that history has mythologized. Kirby’s character is nothing close to the one-note cinematic trope of the dutiful wife pulling a Keith Morrison lean in a doorway, listening to the love of her life’s troubles that only she can heal while never thinking of her own needs. Kirby’s Josephine has her own urges to quench. She can be cruel and selfish, but she is also his support system and loyal confidant.
Of course, similar to how most women were treated during the era, Napoleon only used his “love” to build his self-worth. He is overly possessive and jealous, suffocating their romance. From Commodus in Gladiator to Willie Guitierrez in The Yards, this is nothing new for Phoenix and a character he knows like the back of his hand. He expertly allows insecurities to unravel his life on the screen like no other actor of his generation.
Yet, the reason I describe Napoleon as falling short (besides the obvious pun, and per historians, he wasn’t prancing around like Lord Farquaad from Shrek) is that for all its grandeur and richness, the wartime narrative that runs parallel with the personal is wildly disjointed. They are both repetitive and offer very few surprises. This is because Scarpa’s script gives us less insight into why and how the man developed an ambitious thirst for control and power other than the usual cinematic cliches.
That’s the disconnect the viewer will ultimately feel as the movie jumps in and out of Napoleon’s life. While Napoleon is ultimately worth a mild recommendation because it’s a visual marvel and performances, the narrative ultimately fails to live up to the fascinating life of its subject.
And that’s essentially why the story matters and always will.
This week on Women InSession, we discuss the lives and careers of the fascinating Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton! Taylor and Burton’s love affair is one of the most storied in the history of Hollywood and made 11 classics together. There was so much to get into but we had a great time talking about what made them one of the 20th’s century’s most iconic couples.
Panel: Kristin Battestella, Zita Short
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!
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This week on the InSession Film Podcast, JD and Brendan talk about the new SAG deal and discuss their Top 5 Marvel Characters that we’ve seen in the movies over the years!
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!
– SAG Deal (9:56) Recently it was announced that SAG had reached a deal with the AMPTP that will give them protections and a better pay structure for the next three years. We talked about why these details are important and maybe more notably why the length of this deal may be the most crucial bit of it.
– Coyote vs ACME (20:00) As David Zaslav continues to be, appropriately, a cartoon villain, Coyote vs ACME became the next victim of the ole “just write it off for tax purposes” tactic. A move that promptly sparked massive pushback and forced Warner Bros. to put the movie up for sale instead of just dumping it away. We’ll see what happens, but in the meantime we had to give our thoughts on the situation.
– Top 5 Marvel Characters (1:11:31) In a year where we celebrated our 10th anniversary (back in Janurary), it felt right to revisit a list that we originally did back on Episode 23 back in 2013 when The Wolverine came out in theaters. So this is our second go at this list, however there’s so much that we’ve seen over the last decade that renders this exercise all the more complex. Say what you will about the MCU, Spider-Man or the X-Men franchises, but there’s been some great characters and moments over the years. And we had a lot of fun talking about why they’ve resonated with us.
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!
