Challengers

Movie Name: Challengers
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist, Nada Despotovich, Naheem Garcia, Darnell Appling, Jake Jensen
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

The wonderful Luca Guadagnino is back, following the solid but underrated "Bones and All". "Challengers" which was originally slated to premiere in 2023, eventually premiered in April of 2024 and has since become the biggest commercial success in the director's career (at least thus far). The film is written by Justin Kuritzkes, and focuses its attention on three central characters. Those characters are Tashi Duncan, Patrick Zweig, and Art Donaldson. They all meet in 2006 when Patrick and Art win the boys' junior doubles tennis match at the US Open, and where they spot Tashi, then a rising tennis star. They flirt with each other and are about to consummate their tryst, when Tashi decides to leave. Tashi and Patrick eventually start a relationship, one that is strained by their different agendas, something that leads to a break up at the same time she suffers a serious injury and is forced to give up her dreams of playing tennis. Tashi and Art reconnect a few years later and she becomes his coach and they start a romantic relationship as well. In 2019 Tashi and Art have solidified his career, have a young daughter, but he is struggling to achieve a career Grand Slam due to injuries and his age. Hoping to reinforce Art's self confidence, Tashi enrolls him in a Challenger event , coincidentally one where Patrick is also playing. Patrick's career hasn't flourished quite as much, and he basically lives from his winnings from lower circuits. Patrick still has feelings for Tashi, and asks her to consider training him instead, whereas she wants him to throw the game in Art's favor. 

Luca Guadagnino is one of the most interesting and accomplished film directors working these days. His "I Am Love" is to this day, at least in my opinion, one of the best films of the 2010s. He has been able to craft narratives of authentic romanticism, where carnality walks hand in hand with characters realizing that while love does give new meaning to their lives, at times the choices they end making are not driven by those sentiments, but by a calculated need to lead life in a different direction. A bit like deterring a river from its natural flow, and in a different direction (such was the case of the narratives in "Call me By Your Name" and even "Bones and All"). That theme comes across in "Challengers" as well, where the romantic triangle between these characters, while peppered with trysts and lust, it also feels not entirely satisfactory resolved for all of them. And the path of life, has taken them in certain directions that has made some of their decisions feel more sensical. Out of all of Mr. Guadagnino's features (including the great remake of Dario Argento's "Suspiria" and the fantastic "A Bigger Splash"), this one feels a bit thinner in terms of the depth of the narrative and of the characters themselves (Art ends up taking a backseat to the dynamics that are happening with Tashi and Patrick, and even they feel solely focused on a specific topic and that is all). The director is able to create an impeccable spin and rhythm to the narrative by making it non-linear, and putting a stylistic perspective in how the tennis shots are captured, but the film does feel a bit more narrower in scope than any of his past endeavors. The cast is equally solid in their performances, and the production team is peerless, including Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's cinematography, Merissa Lombardo's production design, and Jonathan Anderson's costumes. It's an entertaining feature, possibly not as finely layered as his prior endeavors, but worth watching nonetheless. 

Deep Water

Movie Name: Deep Water
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Adrian Lyne
Starring: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts, Dash Mihok, Rachel Blanchard, Kristen Connolly, Jacob Elordi, Lil Rel Howery, Brendan Miller, Jade Fernandez, Finn Wittrock, Jeff Pope, Paul Teal, Michael Scialabba
Genre: Drama, Crime
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Director Adrian Lyne's latest directorial release comes 20 years after the release of "Unfaithful", which garnered the wonderful Diane Lane a well deserved array of award nominations and accolades. This time around the director tackles the a script that is the adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel. The narrative focuses on the lives of Vic and Melinda who live with their young daughter Trixie in Louisiana. Vic is retired as he made a substantial amount of money by developing some chips for combat drones. He and Melinda have an arrangement as far as their marriage is concerned, where she can take lovers openly, even in their family home. The marriage however is becoming increasingly strained, with Vic's jealousy becoming more and more problematic, and Melinda's behavior also lacking a semblance of common sense. Vic admits to one of Melinda's lovers that he killed one of her previous lovers in order to scare him off. While Vic is successful in scaring the new fling off, Melinda just keeps moving from man to man, irritating Vic progressively more. Things escalate further when Melinda invites her most recent dalliance to a party with all of her friends, where the situation ends dramatically with the police being involved in the situation. But even then things are far from over, and Vic's violent behavior continues.

Sadly "Deep Water" is not the comeback Adrian Lyne deserves. This is a director who always has been able to illustrate, even if at times mildly superficially, the emotional and sexual dynamics of couples. His best features, such as "Unfaithful" and "Fatal Attraction", featured situations that were originally rooted in conventional premises, which eventually descended into something more dramatic (the throes of passion apparently justifying these cataclysmic events). "Deep Water" however fails to elicit the same type of reaction, since these are characters that as much as one doesn't want to judge their choices, seem to live in a bubble where common sense is something oblivious to them. In addition to their somewhat abhorrent behavior, there's also an obvious realization that their patterns are consistently the same, and these are characters who have no dimension whatsoever (they apparently have no ambitions, goals or direction in life, other than collecting lovers for one, and killing them for the other). Both Melinda and Vic just keep doing the same thing over and over again, and at some point one has to ask what is the intent of creating a narrative centered on characters such as these, where there's nothing redeemable and where they're both equally insufferable. What ends up saving this film from being a complete wreck, is Adrian Lyne's ability to stage calculated intimacy, something that is noticeable even in "9 1/2 Weeks" and "Indecent Proposal", though this film has issues of pacing/editing, since at some point it drags on for quite a bit. The supporting cast fares better than the leads, particularly Tracy Letts who is as usual fantastic. The production team is impeccable, particularly Eigil Bryld's cinematography, Marco Beltrami's score, and Jeannine Oppewall's production design. It's a film that looks good, but sadly one that has a mediocre narrative at its core. 

Kinds of Kindness

Movie Name: Kinds of Kindness
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamodou Athie, Joe Alwyn, Yorgos Stefanakos, Tessa Bourgeois
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

After the critical and commercial success of "Poor Things", director Yorgos Lanthimos is back, with a feature that is comprised of three episodes with some connecting threads, but for the most part functioning as separate chapters. He reunites with his Efthimis Filippou, whom he wrote "The Lobster", "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "Dogtooth". In the first chapter, named the "The Death of R.M.F.", we follow the story of Robert Fletcher, a man who follows every order coming from his controlling boss (and lover), Raymond. Raymond exacts orders in regard to everything in Robert's life, including whom he is married to, what he eats, when he has intercourse, literally everything. Things start going awry when Raymond tells Robert to crash his car into R.M.F.'s in order to kill him, and Robert fails to do so, only suffering minor injuries, the same going for the victim. When Robert refuses Raymond's orders to do so again, the latter is angered and fires Robert. From then on, everything in Robert's life spirals downward, forcing him to make some tough decisions. The second chapter named "R.M.F. is Flying", follows the story of Daniel, a police officer who is mourning and suffering with the disappearance of his wife Liz, a marine biologist. When she returns, Daniel is struck by how different habits and even physiological aspects of Liz are different from her wife. He believes this Liz to be another woman, and this paranoia starts eroding his mental health, until a dramatic event occurs while he's on patrol with his partner. His life at home starts taking a dark turn, and he starts asking Liz to perform certain actions, which he believes will prove that she is not his wife after all. The third chapter named "R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich", focuses on Emily and Andrew, who are part of a sex cult. The leaders of the cult, Omi and Aka, demand exclusivity of intercourse, with them alone. Emily and Andrew are currently looking for a woman they believe can reanimate the dead. They eventually come across a woman named Rebecca, who states her twin sister Ruth may well be the person they are looking for. Everything takes a dark turn however, when Joseph, Emily's husband, invites for a visit, drugs her drink, and rapes her while she's unconscious. Emily is expelled from the cult, but decides to buy her way back in, by uncovering if Ruth is indeed who they're looking for.

Creating films in chapters is always challenging, since for all intended purposes it feels as if the director is in reality creating three distinct films, and then trying to woven them together. "Kinds of Kindness" goes back to Yorgos Lanthimos' tone of surreal observations of life, something he did so well in his prior original films that have not been the adaptation of other people's literary works. They're all narratives that feel extreme, but only barely, since so much of what he touches upon harks to the needs of human beings of belonging, of being loved, rewarded and seen by others. These chapters do fall into the trappings of being inhabited by characters that lack certain dimension, which is where the film mostly falters. The tone of balancing a philosophical/ideological statement with believable and fully realized characters isn't really there, even if all chapters are portrayed by an excellent set of actors. Willem Dafoe's characters, much like Hong Chau's are paper thin, even if they are indeed meant to illustrate a concept or humanize a certain type of behaviors. These chapters however, are demonstrative of a writer/director who is able to create a universe of its own, one that is very vivid, even if at times most of that universe may seem repelling. These are all characters that are raw, at times lacking nuance, but they still do demonstrate that stripping away from some sociological traits and polish, everyone is longing for a sense of belonging, even if that comes at a cost for their own decision-making and autonomy. The cast is uniformly great, particularly Jesse Plemons who gets a chance to shine in three very different characters, with apt support from Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, and Hong Chau. The cinematography from Robbie Ryan is solid, as is the score from Jerskin Fendrix. This may not be for everyone, but it is worth watching. 

Devil

Movie Name: Devil
Year of Release: 2010
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Starring: Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Geoffrey Arend, Jenny O'Hara, Bojana Novakovic, Matt Craven, Bokeem Woodbine, Jacob Vargas, Joshua Peace, Joe Cobden, Zoie Palmer, Vincent Laresca, Rudy Webb
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Director John Erick Dowdle made a splash with his film "Quarantine", which was a remake of the Spanish film "REC", before tackling this project whose story was authored by M. Night Shyamalan. The narrative follows a series of strangers who find themselves stranded on an elevator. Those five strangers are comprised of a temporary security guard who has a slight case of claustrophobia, a mechanic/former Marine, a mattress salesman, a young woman going through some marital issues, and a slightly older woman whom we don't know much about. The security team of the building lets the individuals know that someone is looking into what is happening and causing the malfunction. One of those security guards thinks the Devil is involved, when he notices a strange disruption on the security monitor. As the lights in the elevator start going off unexpectedly, weird occurrences occur. The young woman, who is named Sarah, suddenly has a bite mark on her back, and the mattress salesman has blood on his hands. Detective Bowden who is on sight as a result of a suicide that just took place, is called to the scene. He's watching through the security parafernalia what's taking place in the elevator, where tensions are rising. When the lights go out again, there's noise heard, and by the time they return, the mattress salesman is dead. The remaining individuals suspect each other, while the religious security guard in vigilance suspects the situation will only get worse. As the detective and his partner go through the sign-in sheet to identify who is inside the elevator, they get a better notion of who those people are, and all of them are more than meets the eye.

"Devil" has a positive thing going for it, which is essentially the claustrophobic setting in which most of the action takes place. This allows for the director to craft a tale of paranoia and fear, that escalates as the killings start occurring. While this premise could have turned out into a taut Hitchcockian thriller or even an Agatha Christie-inspired kind of tale, it does not veer in that direction. It goes slightly in a more Paranormal Activity/The Conjuring direction, without much subtlety to it. For a while the narrative tries to unfold as a procedural type, but once the big reveal occurs, it crumbles most of what the film had set in motion. Most of the problems don't lie solely with the narrative twist, but also with the fact that this film is populated with puppets without a semblance of dimension to them. There's not much of a difference between the barely there characters here and the ones Jack Traven/Keanu Reeves saved in the opening scenes of Jan de Bont's "Speed" (and at least those knew they were superfluous for the narrative being told). This film has an essential problem of not knowing which lane to pick: is it a supernatural thriller, or a thriller focused on a killer who is impossible to identify? This prevents the film or its director from fully embracing the tone or nature of the narrative that is being told. The cast is solid, with high marks going for the underrated Chris Messina, who has good support from Matt Craven, Jacob Vargas, and Logan Marshall-Green. The production team is solid, including the fantastic cinematography from the great Tak Fujimoto, score from Fernando Velazquez, and production design from Martin Whist. It's watchable, but also quickly forgettable. 

Hermana Muerte/Sister Death

Movie Name: Hermana Muerte/Sister Death
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Paco Plaza
Starring: Aria Bedmar, Maru Valdivielso, Luisa Merelas, Chelo Vivares, Sara Roch, Olimpia Roch, Adriana Camarena, Martina Delgado, Claudia Fernandez Arroyo, Almudena Amor, Sandra Escacena, Consuelo Trujillo, Arantza Velez, Ainoa Hernandez
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Another "Netflix" exclusive release, "Hermana Muerte/Sister Death" is a companion for another successful Paco Plaza feature titled "Veronica" ("Sister Death" is a prequel to that film). The narrative takes place in the late 1940s, when a novice by the name of Narcisa arrives at a Convent, one that has been converted into a school for young girls, following some traumatic events from the Spanish Civil War (which lasted between 1936 - 1939). Narcisa has a reputation to her, since she claimed to have seen holy visions when she was but a young girl. The Mother Superior explains to Narcisa that she is to take the place of Sister Ines, who left the convent, and whose role was that of lecturing the girls. Narcisa starts experiencing odd occurrences from the beginning of her stay, which includes dreadful nightmares, a chair that repeatedly falls on its own, and an incomplete hangman drawing that appears on her wall. One of the students, Rosa, eventually confides to Narcisa that the convent is plagued by a spirit known to every student as "the girl". While Narcisa is teaching the girls about an upcoming solar eclipse, Rosa's name appears on the blackboard. Things quickly escalate from there, with Rosa eventually meeting a sad and brutal demise. Narcisa blames herself for everything, and as she decides to leave the convent, she is caught under the eclipse. While the eclipse blinds her vision, it also opens her eyes to many things that occurred at the convent.

"Hermana Muerte/Sister Death" has similarities to Guillermo Del Toro's "El Espinazo del Diablo/The Devil's Backbone", in the sense that tackles a similar time period in the history of Spain, dealing with the aftermath of terrible events which occurred during the civil war. They're also both dominated by closed off settings (schools and convents), with children being tormented by entities who have a story of pain and wrongfulness to their story. Similarities aside, "Hermana Muerte" takes a different turn, by focusing on the story of a sister who lives with a lot of self questioning, and whose existence is forever changed by what she witnesses and experiences in the convent. Paco Plaza thankfully takes a decidedly tamer perspective in tackling the supernatural in the film, opting instead for a methodical description and representation of the setting and habits that both students and educators have in the somewhat restrictive space. This definitely isn't trailing on the path of "The Conjuring" universe, attempting instead a more credible re-enacting of what convent life would look like in that time period. Some of the issues lying with this film are tied to the fact that Narcisa, and both the students and the other nuns at the convent, aren't given much in terms of motivation or even clarification on who they actually are (some of the nuns are more vicious than others, but that's hardly a descriptor). The story does develop progressively, with the director smartly avoiding gratuitous jump scares, but by the time the final chapter comes along and everything is revealed, there really isn't a huge surprise to what is unveiled. What indeed is the most solid and impactful aspect of the film, is precisely the authentic aspect of convent life and schooling that takes place in it. The supernatural aspect of the storyline just doesn't necessarily feel as an organic extension of that universe. The cast is uniformly solid, with Aria Bedmar having a solid central performance. The production team is equally solid, though the cinematography appears a bit too bright at times. It's an interesting take on this type of genre, even if not the most effective one. 

The Boogeyman

Movie Name: The Boogeyman
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Rob Savage
Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland, Madison Hu, LisaGay Hamilton, Rio Machado, Shauna Rappold, Cristala Carter
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Writer/producer/director Shawn Levy continues his prolific output, by producing this new version of "The Boogeyman", which had a prior version in 2005, directed by Stephen Kay, featuring Barry Watson in the lead role. This version focuses on the story of the Harper family, all of whom are still reeling from the sudden death of the matriarch, as a result of a car crash. Father Will, who is a therapist, is tying his best to deal with his sorrow, while supporting his two daughters, Sadie and Sawyer, who are equally crushed by the recent events. One day Will has an unexpected client come over, a man by the name of Lester Billings. The man is obviously distressed, but he manages to confide that his three children have died, as a result of an evil entity that has latched onto his family. Will doesn't believe the man's story, and steps aside to call the police. Lester slips away, and Sadie eventually uncovers him hanging in what was her late mother's art studio. Sadie starts noticing a weird texture appearing around the house, while Sawyer starts hearing rumblings and viewing glimpses of a sinister creature. Sadie decides to visit Lester's house, with the help of one of her friends, only to attest the rundown aspect of the house. Though she believes the house to be empty, she soon realizes there's someone there, Lester's widow, Rita. She explains to Sadie that the creature who has latched onto them is known as "The Boogeyman", a creature that feeds off fear and grief. The only way the creature stays away is by having light around. As the creature's attacks intensify, Rita asks Sadie for help to defeat it, only to realize that there's more to that plan than what she was led to believe.

One of the most interesting aspects of "The Boogeyman" is how Rob Savage manages to create dread and suspense, by manipulating shadows and darkness, creating the illusion of a menacing entity without revealing much of it. That's something that sets the film in a right tone, the same going for the bleakness of the state of mind of the family, all of whom are reeling from the trauma they all just experienced, that has left them all somewhat lost. Sadly this also where the script stops in terms of giving these characters a bit more in terms of subtlety or even personality: Will, Sadie, and Sawyer don't have much in terms of originality or distinctiveness as the story progresses. As the narrative unveils itself, and as the creature appears more and more, the fright shots become more gratuitous, as does the standard clichés of the genre, all moving in the direction of the final confrontation between the family and the menacing entity, at which point the film has lost most of its uniqueness. Most of the issues with this film lie in the fact that while decently shot and staged, Rob Savage tilted its direction towards something more conventional, one where characters, and even the entity, have very little to no explanation or dimension. The cast tries their best with these characters, with highlights going to the always reliable Chris Messina, who has good support from David Dastmalchian, and Marin Ireland. The production team is all effective, including Patrick Jonsson's score, Eli Born's cinematography, and Jeremy Woodward's production design. It's not a bad film, it's just a quickly forgettable one. 

The Watchers

Movie Name: The Watchers
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Ishana Shyamalan
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, Oliver Finnegan, John Lynch, Alistair Brammer, Siobhan Hewlett, Anthony Morris, Shane O'Regan
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"The Watchers" is Ishana Shyamalan's feature directorial debut, after directing a few episodes of the show "Servant", which was produced by her father, writer/producer/director M. Night Shyamalan. "The Watchers" is an adaptation of the book by A. M. Shine, and follows the story of Mina, an American immigrant who works in Ireland. Mina has estranged herself from her twin sister, and blames herself for the death of her mother years earlier. Mina gets tasked in delivering a valuable golden conure parrot to a zoo near Belfast, but while en route her car breaks down. She ends up stranded in a forest, and eventually gets lost. She eventually finds an older woman by the name of Madeline, and follows her to a bunker type of place, where she meets two other people, Ciara and Daniel. She quickly learns they've been there for quite a while, and that at night they have to stand in front of the glass wall that occupies all of the bunker, as there are mysterious entities outside, by the name of "The Watchers", who observe what they're doing. If any of them are caught outside at night, they'll be killer by "The Watchers". They perform the ritual every evening. Mina tries to escape, but soon realizes that the situation is much harder than it seems. As tension increases amongst the group itself, Madeline finally explains that the Watchers are in reality shapeshifting fairies, who are attempting to learn and mimic human behavior. The Watchers attack the bunker, and the group discovers a hidden door on the floor, which leads them to an underground shelter. Turns out the bunker and the shelter were devised by a professor who wanted to come to the forest to study the creatures. In one of the video recordings he left behind the professor explains how to get out of the forrest unharmed. While the three women manage to escape, Daniel is killed by a Watcher. Mina goes back to the professor's University to destroy some of his notes, but uncovers some information there about his intentions, and Madeline herself. 

One of the biggest issues with "The Watchers" is the fact that once the mystery behind the creatures is unveiled, much of the dread and tension that had been built, loses much of its effectiveness. Ishana Shyamalan manages to build an ominous scenario, one where the unseen menace lurks in the dark, it's seemingly everywhere, and apparently unbeatable. This hinting and powerful suggestion that is illustrated is far scarier for the viewer, more so than anything that is represented subsequently which is what eventually occurs. Part of the problem lies with the fact that the storytelling feels rooted in something authentic and menacing for those characters, but the tilt of the narrative towards the magical or supernatural presents itself unexpectedly and not entirely married with the narrative thus far. The characters sadly don't have much specificity or particularity to them, which also doesn't bode well for the narrative itself. Mina is a rather bland individual, the same going for everyone in the bunker, whose background or even motivation is barely explained or hinted at. The lack of attention and detail to these characters renders this feature less impactful, since they're all forgettable, and though their initial challenge, the permanence on the bunker, was indeed disarming to these individuals, we never get to understand how that challenge impacted their sanity, their well being, or even their journey. These tonal and character issues make this film that much more difficult to embrace. The cast doesn't do much with these characters, with the only highlight going to the presence of Olwen Fouéré, who is slowly crafting this type of Lyn Shaye persona to herself in these type of horror/thrillers. The cinematography from Eli Arenson is stunning, as is the production design from Ferdia Murphy. It's not an ostensibly bad film, just not a particularly good or memorable one. 

The Substance

Movie Name: The Substance
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Oscar Lesage, Alexandra Papoulias Barton, Joseph Balderrama, Gore Abrams, Oscar Salem, Tom Morton
Genre: Horror, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
View Trailer

Synopsis and Review

"The Substance" is writer/director Coralie Fargeat's sophomore directorial endeavor, and has made quite a critical splash since having its debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it ended up winning the best screenplay award. The film follows the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, an actress now in her 50s who has a successful fitness broadcast, but who in the past was the toast of Hollywood, winning numerous accolades, which culminated in getting her own star in the Walk of Fame. She accidentally discovers that the head of the network wants to replace her with someone younger, something that is confirmed when he takes her to lunch to communicate his intentions (which he is barely able to articulate). Obviously distressed over the news, Elisabeth is involved in a car crash, where she suffers no injuries, but where one of the nurses gives her a flash drive and a mobile number only indicating "The Substance". After watching its content, Elisabeth dismisses it, but fear of obsoletion makes her reach out to the number on the drive. She gets the package with all items in a rather shady part of town. The package has pretty simple instructions. The new version of her will share the same DNA, and they get to enjoy 7 days each time, upon which they have to swap on who "has the stage". They have to nourish each other and there's a stabilizer that enables the new "You" to function. Elisabeth's new "You", who takes the name of Sue, with her supple beauty, freshness and personality, seize the attention of the network, who quickly line her up to replace Elisabeth's former show. The more Sue gets comfortable in her own skin, she starts pushing on the time distribution between hers and Elisabeth's existence, which starts leaving its consequences on the latter, who becomes more and more dissatisfied with the situation.

"The Substance" is a very intelligent take on the obsession with youth, beauty, and in particular, with the objectification of women in Hollywood (and in the media in general). The film has some influences of early David Cronenberg work, including "Rabid", "The Fly" and aspects of "Videodrome", both in terms of the aspect of body tampering but also for the fact that the film doesn't have a particular time stamp on it (while some aspects are modern, others bring to mind the exercise tapes from Jane Fonda that were popular in the 80s, and even the production design is a combination of modern and retro). The parasitical relationship that is created from Sue towards Elisabeth, and the cruelty the first one has towards the second, particularly as the second one ages and suffers the consequences of the extreme behaviors caused by Sue, is in many ways a take on how aging is viewed in our society, where the elderly are seen as something to be removed, brushed aside, or simply forgotten (and particularly for women, as something to be ashamed of, particularly for those who are and have been in positions of high visibility). The film illustrates most men as either monstrous, which is the case of Dennis Quaid's character (a representation of chauvinism and corporate greed at its worst), or sex objects without much dimension to them (in particular Sue's love interests, both of whom are represented as most women have been depicted in many films). It's a very smart and layered film that packs a lot of symbolism, and while the third chapter goes raucously over the top, it does demonstrate that humanity is indeed cruel and horrific, particularly towards those who are different, and at times those who are a result of their own insane beauty and perfection standards. Demi Moore in particular has never been better, and she goes completely unhinged as Elisabeth, someone who is deeply afraid of her irrelevance, even at the brink of her own death. She has great support from Margaret Qualley, who creates a vapid Sue, though at times her superficiality (and ambition) is almost too superficial. The production team is superb, including Raffertie's score, Benjamin Kracun's cinematography, Stanislas Reydellet's production design, and Emmanuelle Youchnovski's costumes. The makeup effects are also impeccable. This may not be for everyone's taste, but it's a great ride. 

Joy Ride

Movie Name: Joy Ride
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Adele Lim
Starring: Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Debbie Fan, Kenneth Liu, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, Ronny Chieng, Meredith Hagner, Baron Davis, Chris Pang, Rohain Arora, Alexander Hodge, Victor Lau, Desmond Chiam, Daniel Dae Kim, Michelle Choi-Lee, Belle Zhang, Lennon Yee
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"Joy Ride" is director Adele Lim's feature directorial debut, following a considerable career as a writer and producer of projects which include tv shows such as "Private Practice" and "Life on Mars", and the script of the hit film "Crazy Rich Asians". "Joy Ride" focuses its narrative on two childhood best friends, Audrey and Lolo, both of Asian descent largely living in a mostly caucasian area. Audrey's parents adopted her from China when she was but a toddler, while Lolo's parents are from China, but had been living in California, prior to moving to Washington state with Lolo. Now full grown up adults, Audrey is a successful lawyer, who has a chance to finish an important deal with a Chinese client, and make partners on the firm where she currently works (a firm that is ferociously racist but whose senior partners try to say otherwise). Lolo in the meantime has been trying to make it as an artist, by making adult themed art that hasn't had much traction. She's been living with Audrey. Anxious to close the deal with the client, Audrey volunteers to go to China, stating she's fluent in the language (she's not), and taking Lolo with her as a backup translator. They are joined by Lolo's cousin, Deadeye, whom Audrey has a weird relationship with. All three of them meet with Kat in China, Audrey's college best friend, who is now a well known actress, who has also volunteered to act as a translator. Lolo in the meantime has planned out a situation for Audrey to possibly meet with her birth mother, who gave her away for adoption. As a result of a requirement of the deal, they all set forth on the journey to meet Audrey's birth mother, only to be met with more unexpected events and adventures.

"Joy Ride" is for the most part a breezy film that surprises for its ability to capture the friendship and complicity between these characters in a way that feels very authentic. The bond between Audrey and Lolo in particular feels well illustrated, and those characters are immediately understandable, even if limitedly expanded upon (the same going for Deadeye and Kat). The situations that the co-writer/director illustrates are indeed hilarious and over the top, which keeps the narrative engaging. This momentum manages to keep the film always arresting, until there's a tonal shift into something more sentimental in the third chapter, which takes away both the crackling satire and even the rhythm the film had built thus far. There's a noticeable pattern in comedies, where there's a point in the narrative where there's an attempt to further humanize the main characters, after the author(s) spent two thirds of the script describing them as nothing more than an archetype. These attempts are sadly misguided, even if well meaning, and never really add anything substantial to the character or the narrative at that point (maybe build better characters to begin with). That is to say, the third chapter of "Joy Ride" while positioning itself as the emotional epiphany for the central characters, the tonal shift that it imparts is abrupt and it literally deflates the journey the characters have gone on (not to mention the humor almost entirely evaporates). It's an unfortunate misstep, since the film manages to be hilarious, rude and crude, and up until that third chapter, never dull. The cast is solid, in particular Sherry Cola and Stephanie Hsu, who have a ton of charisma and comic timing. The production team is equally solid, including Nathan Matthew David's score and Paul Yee's cinematography. It's an entertaining even if slightly unbalanced feature debut for Adele Lim. 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Movie Name: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Danny DeVito, Arthur Conti, Burn Gorman, Amy Nuttall, Sami Slimane, Liv Spencer
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review

Director Tim Burton is back, tackling one of his most famous characters, following the huge hit that was the Netflix show "Wednesday", which revitalized his creative energies. "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice" reintroduces us to the characters from the first film, with Lydia Deetz now a grown woman with a TV Show of her own where she addresses the supernatural, also dealing with an estranged daughter who resents her, whereas her stepmom continues to dazzle in the art world. Lydia's father, Charles, dies, forcing her to go back to her teenage house where all the events with the Maitlands and Beetlejuice occurred. Her agent/producer Rory accompanies them, and while the service for Charles is taking place, proposes to Lydia. Astrid in the meantime wanders around the small town and meets a young man by the name of Jeremy, who entices her. In the world of the dead, Beetlejuice finds himself in a tough situation when his late wife comes in his pursuit, destroying the souls of the dead in her path. When Jeremy turns out to be more than he led Astrid to believe, Lydia has to resort to Beetlejuice in order to save her from a rough situation.

Tackling an iconic film such as "Beetlejuice" was always going to be a tall order. Since premiering in 1988, the film has become this unique property in Tim Burton's career, one where there's a touch of his sensibility in the fact that it tackles a marginalized character, contrasting with the apparent normalcy of a family that joins the narrative, all the while also having a very distinct visual flair. The original "Beetlejuice" also featured one of the most interesting anti-heroes that has appeared in a Tim Burton film, in the sense that Beetlejuice himself is self-serving, crazed, and also very funny character. Capturing that energy once again in a sequel was always going to be a challenge, and the question was even, did this film really need to exist. As it stands, there's quite a few interesting threads to this film, namely the narrative surrounding Lydia, Delia, and Astrid, all of whom deserve a film of their own, whereas the connection with the world of the deceased doesn't feel as well established and organically connected as it did in the first film (the Maitlands were that connection, and it all stemmed from their need/want of getting rid of the family who had taken over their home). The writers populate this narrative with a series of supporting characters all of which end up detracting from the core of the main ones, namely Lydia, Delia, and Astrid, and they do so without giving these sub-plots enough dimension to make them compelling and nothing more than anecdotes. In the end there's much to love here, particularly the relationships between Beetlejuice and Lydia and the latter with Delia, the same going for revisiting some of the stylistic choices that are adopted, but these characters definitely deserved a better script. The cast is uniformly solid, particularly the always fantastic Michael Keaton, the wonderful Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara, with Willem Dafoe bringing his charm to barely there character. The production team is solid, with highlights going to Colleen Atwood's costumes, Danny Elfman's iconic score, though Haris Zambarloukos cinematography is too dark and grayish, making the film look a bit too murky at times (and Bo Welch is a visual consultant on this film, not the production designer as was the case in the original film). It's watchable, and there's much to enjoy, but one can't help but wish for a better script for everyone involved in this project.