I'm thinking of ending things - Review

 

Charlie Kaufman’s (“Being John Malkovich,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) movies have never ever been for the faint of heart. While there are some that are more mainstream and easily digestible, like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Anomalisa,” there are also films like “Synecdoche, New York” that are beloved by film fans and virtually impossible to be enjoyed by the average cinema goer.

“i’m thinking of ending things” is the latest from Kaufman, adapted from the novel of the same name by Iain Reid. To classify the film’s genre is actually more straight forward than his past films, as this one veers far more into psychological thriller or even horror territory than his past works. Even at his most depressing in “Synecdoche” or “Anomalisa,” Kaufman blends his works with a wry sense of black humor that are unmistakable when compared to his contemporaries.

His directing style here is minimalist, almost like he’s mixing Wes Anderson’s static shots and lateral movements with David Cronenberg’s sense of dread and darkness. It makes for a purposefully uncomfortable viewing experience that feels more like you’re being dragged along for the ride, rather than experiencing it alongside the characters.

Those characters are all extremely fascinating in ways that are impossible to parse while the film is happening, but thanks to some incredible performances, not once can you tear yourself away from them. Jesse Plemons (“Other People,” “Friday Night Lights”) is the only named character, Jake, a young man taking his girlfriend to visit his parents for the first time. His performance teeters on neurotic and self-aggrandizing but is an absolute powerhouse throughout the entire film. Jessie Buckley (“Chernobyl,” “Wild Rose”) is Jake’s girlfriend, and delivers a triumphant performance that makes her an easy frontrunner for an Oscar.

Toni Collette (“Muriel’s Wedding,” “Hereditary”), as Jake’s mother, continues to mine her newly minted middle-aged scream queen status by turning in a truly bizarre role that is equal parts endearing and absolutely unnerving. David Thewlis (“Anomalisa,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), as Jake’s father, is a slow and quiet counterpart to Collette, but is nevertheless fascinating to watch. Guy Boyd (“The Young Pope,” “The Loudest Voice”) plays a janitor that seemingly doesn’t do much of anything and yet does everything by the end.

There’s almost no way to review this film. You can easily talk about the physical makeup of its construction; how it looks, sounds, how the actors are, how the dialogue is, but at the end of the day all of that is thrown out the window if the final product somehow doesn’t coalesce into one finished piece. “ending things” somehow does and doesn’t.

It’s the perfect masterpiece of a singular vision, one that begs to be discussed for weeks after the first viewing is over with. Kaufman’s master control over the pace and tension of the film means that nary a moment goes where he doesn’t have a firm grip on the audience’s attention. Yet, numerous moments throughout the film cause nothing but a “What the fuck?” reaction. Nothing is explained, yet everything is fascinating.

So where does it lie in terms of quality? How can a critic judge a work like this? Everything is expertly constructed, placed in each scene verbally and physically with the precision of a surgeon. Is the point of it to create discussion? Is it purposefully confusing or just meant to be open to interpretation?

This is without a doubt one of Kaufman’s most intense and enveloping films. It’ll be discussed for months, and it’ll never really leave the viewers head. Some aspect will still be there, be it the performances, the music, the cinematography, or any number of the philosophical ideas and time paradoxes it presents. It is a boldly original work that defies the “one and done” viewing attributed to disposable cinema, and even the “I’ll see it in theatres twice” suggestion purported by critical darlings or Oscar bait pieces.

But still. How do you judge a work without knowing what the work is?

The best answer I can give is, you don’t.

Bill & Ted Face the Music - Review

 

What has always set Bill S. Preston and Theodore Logan apart, and made their films easy to return to, is the sense of kindness seen throughout. At no point do Bill or Ted become the butt of the joke thanks to their lackadaisical spaced-out lingo or attitudes. They didn’t resort to attacking or punching down at their teachers in “Excellent Adventure,” and they even befriended Death himself in “Bogus Journey.” It’s worth bringing up because their third and possibly final adventure, “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” is not only an extremely wholesome adventure, but a textbook example of comedy through kindness.

Alex Winter (“The Lost Boys,” “Freaked”) and Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix,” “John Wick”) slide gracefully back into their old shoes as Bill and Ted. The pairs friendship is electric, and the chemistry is as good as it’s ever been. They’re the lifeblood of the film, and, like the last two, their infectious love for each other and general optimism and kindness towards the world at large is infectious.

Bill and Ted’s daughters, Theodora (Thea) and Wilhelmina (Billie), are played by Samara Weaving (“Ready or Not,” “The Babysitter”) and Brigette Lundy-Paine (“Atypical,” “Bombshell”), respectively. They easily match their father’s chemistry and are just as delightful to watch as Bill and Ted Sr. Weaving is definitely more toned down between the two of them, and Lundy-Paine absolutely runs away with every scene they’re in. It’s as if the actor has taken classes entirely on imitating Reeves, but puts a fun, hyperenergetic spin on the performance that prevents it from turning into a mere caricature.

While there are plenty of other support actors here, such as Kristen Schaal (“The Last Man on Earth,” “Gravity Falls”) as Rufus’s daughter Kelly, Anthony Carrigan (“Gotham,” “Barry”) as murderous cyborg Dennis Caleb McCoy, and the glorious return of William Sadler (“Die Hard 2,” “Deep Space Nine”) as Death, none have as much time devoted to them as Bill and Ted Jr./Sr. It leaves them less as characters and more as just vehicles for fun moments and jokes.

Unfortunately, the same goes for Bill and Ted’s princess wives, now played by Erinn Hayes (“It’s a Disaster,” “They Came Together”) and Jayma Mays (“American Made,” “Glee”). There seems to be a plot running in the background that takes them on their own wild adventure that the movie just doesn’t seem too concerned with, reducing them to just popping up on occasion for comedic moments.

There is a weirdly complicated plot going on in “Face the Music,” in a good way. Throughout the film, numerous characters crisscross through time with wild abandon, and it perfectly captures the spirit of the original film. Sure, it’s silly and lighthearted, it has its share of groaners and goofy moments, some spots of plot convenience, and low budget CGI and green screen, but it all feels so endearing.

None of these moments feel sour, because they all feel authentic to the characters and their adventure. It’s a bizarre comparison, but Face the Music often feels like a theatrically released fan film, as it is a perfect recapturing of what made these characters so lovable in the first place. Its hard to fault a movie like this for some poor CGI, given that its clear the choice was made to do that rather than sacrifice some other more important aspect of the film.

That being said, this is still a movie about time traveling slacker 80’s dudes, so even if it’s the best movie it could possibly be, it’ll only be so good. But that’s the incredible thing, more important than the plot or effects, the fact that the characters of Bill and Ted are so perfectly nailed here is the true triumph.

Director Dean Parisot (“Galaxy Quest,” “Monk”) and screenwriters Ed Solomon (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Men in Black”) and Chris Matheson (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “A Goofy Movie”) know exactly where the appeal of these characters lies, and they mine those moments for all their worth. By progressively digging into what could be the worst future for everyone involved, they’ve created a parable for active kindness and living in the now.

It feels so easy nowadays to make a comedy that revolves around one or more people having the piss taken out of them. “Dumb and Dumber” might be funny, but the leads are always being laughed at, never laughed with. That’s where the true success of “Face the Music” lies, it’s a kind film, to its characters, its audience, and it aspires to just make people happy.

The fact that “Bill and Ted Face the Music” is without a doubt the most wholesome film of the year is no small feat. Sure, it’s easy to get hung up on the clear lack of budget in some effects, and the overall cheesiness of the whole affair. But never before has the original spirit of a property or characters been so expertly recreated. It may have been quite a few decades, but Bill and Ted are just as excellent as ever. 4/5

MAJOR EMOTION PICTURES Episode 3: A Knight's Tale

This is Major Emotion Pictures, a discussion show where I sit down with my fellow film loving friends and discuss movies that mean a lot to them, for better or worse. In episode 3, we'll be discussing A Knight's Tale, the 2001 adventure medieval comedy film with my guest, Clint Wright, aka Dr. Awesome.

Boys State - Review

 

Somewhere around 20 minutes into the A24 and Apple TV+ documentary “Boys State,” one of the young men running for chairman of his party says to a crowd of other young men “I believe our society is stronger when everybody is disciplined, yet dangerous. Our masculinity shall not be infringed.” A few moments later, another young man says “I am going to use this devotion to see change for this year’s Nationalists and to pressure the Federalists into a state of absolute submission!”

It’s a harrowing statement and one that encapsulates the entirety of not only this American institution but also the viewpoint of the film. “Boys State” is a documentary that is as detached from its subjects as possible. At no point do the directors step in, do we hear them speak directly to the subjects, or do we even see any filmmakers or camera people. These boys are, for better or worse, doing exactly what they want to do in this situation with cameras rolling all around them.

For those unaware, since 1937, every state in the U.S.A. has held an American Legion Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Girls State conference where high school juniors come and participate in a mock election process. They’re split into two parties, elect party heads, have a television station, reporters, debates, all in an effort to allow those youths who are interested in the political process to participate in a facsimile of it.

This particular documentary is set at the Texas Boys State convention, and it certainly show in the participates. While there are a large variety of youth there, a majority of them seem to be conservative, and it leaves the film feeling a bit lopsided as a result. Like the two quoted at the top, most of these boys result to screaming their points and opinions at each other. Thankfully, these traits eventually subside as the filmmakers eventually narrow the focus down to four specific people.

Shot back in 2018, there are plenty of guerrilla tactics taken in the filming that make it feel as though you’re a fly on the wall as opposed to an active participant. Like previously stated, the filmmakers don’t insert themselves into the proceedings, and it creates a more clinical and cut and dry film.

Its difficult to talk about this film without delving into politics, but that’s really where its strongest aspects are. Regardless of party affiliation, or lack thereof, there’s something weirdly dystopian about this entire practice. Whereas the politicians that most of these young men likely idolize stand on stage and speak slowly and calmly, these men scream and shout, rallying the crowd like a high school election or frat meeting.

To hear words like “bipartisanship” be thrown out and followed by a whoop of applause like a football game was just won is a weird sensation and it is utterly intoxicating. These are some of the people who will likely lead the future U.S. government in some way, and to watch the fat be trimmed and the real leaders emerge is a great experience.

Early on in the film, one of these so-called screaming frat boy styled men, Robert, says that, despite his outward appearance, he is mostly progressive and is pro-choice, directly going against the appearance he put on previously to the crowd of his party. “This is a game I would like very much to win. My stance on abortion would not line up well with the guys out there at all, so I chose to pick a new stance. That’s politics… I think.”

With testosterone fueled antics like pushup contests on stage before a debate starts, “Boys State” feels as close to a nature documentary on Lord of the Flies as one could possibly get. One of the party leaders, Ben, states “A message of unity, as good as it sounds, is not winning anyone any elections,” and yet the most calming and uplifting moment in the film is a small scene showing how the mock House of Representatives is getting along far better and doing more “good” than the mock election boys.

It’s hard to tell if “Boys State” has a message or ethos. It seeks to paint with large broad strokes, to provide a window into a world that not even all Americans are aware of. It’s an enthralling piece of documentary filmmaking at its purest form, detached and simplistic. Some may want more specific attention on certain aspects of the subject, but one thing is certain. This is an excellent film that, similar to Robert, might not be what it appears to be on the outside. Despite an appearance of gung-ho pro-politician attitude, it does end on the harrowing line “I don’t hate the man. Never will, I think he’s a fantastic politician. But I don’t think a fantastic politician is a compliment either.” 4/5

An American Pickle - Review

 

Seth Rogen (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Pineapple Express”) is no stranger to creating a bizarre mix of raunch and heart that really shouldn’t work. Films like “Pineapple Express” and “Superbad” layer their tales of friendship and love underneath the guise of weed and bad behavior, and other films like “The Disaster Artist,” “The Night Before,” and “50/50” are more upfront with their emotional stakes.

So, it should come as no surprise then that An American Pickle is his most “emotional” film yet. But what exactly does that mean, and does that equal a good film?

Rogen has double billing here, both as Herschel Greenbaum, the early 1900’s immigrant who ends up pickled, and his great grandson Ben Greenbaum. While there is the typical Seth Rogen shtick here, with pop culture and jewish gags, there’s something different about Rogen’s performance. Neither role is identical in any respect, despite the visual similarities, and neither person is innocent either.

There’s actual character development and growth as the story progresses, and it allows Rogen to stretch his legs arguably more than ever before. The supporting cast is also good, but no one here has nearly enough screen time to mention, save for Sarah Snook (“Succession,” “Steve Jobs”) as Herschel’s wife, Sarah Greenbaum. She’s sweet and delivers her deadpan lines well.

Simon Rich (“Man Seeking Woman,” “Saturday Night Live”) wrote the screenplay, which was based on his short story “Sell Out,” and for anyone familiar with his previous works, “Pickle” isn’t nearly as sweet, nor as sour, as it could’ve been. Where Rich’s most successful works brilliantly blended the bizarreness of modern life with an overblown sense of fantastical elements, “Pickle” is far lower key than previous outings. It doesn’t mean the dialogue is any less snappy or the emotional arcs any less crunchy, its just a bit more pedestrian than its writer and premise might have suggested.

Each machination on religion, one’s purpose in life, and the nature of family still ring true, and Rogen’s eager delivery sells it all. Herschel is easy to care about and it’s easy to be angry or apathetic towards Ben, but Rich is never content with letting those surface glances be the only ones we get, even as the movie gets bogged down in some “look at the old guy experience the modern world” clichés.

Cinematographer turned Director Brandon Troust (“This is the End,” “The Interview”) certainly has created a bizarre world here to play in. The way everything is shot gives the appearance of a stage play, as if the backdrops are merely made of cardboard. While it isn’t as evident in the modern-day sections of the film, it’s the 1900’s chunk that really shines with a slimy sheen of beauty that is definitely distinct.

Make no mistake, as good as the dialogue, the vibe of the film, and Rogen’s performance is (and his performance is very good) the entire film lacks that something special to make it a must-see affair. That might be odd, saying a movie about a man who’s been pickled for 100 years lacks something special, but it is indeed the case.

It’s far from terrible and fits snuggly in Rogen’s filmography alongside his other weird and heartfelt films, but it just doesn’t come together as smoothly as one might hope. It’s still got a delicious crunch to it that should please Rogen and oddball movie fans alike. 3.5/5

MAJOR EMOTION PICTURES Episode 2: The Big Green

This is Major Emotion Pictures, a discussion show where I sit down with my fellow film loving friends and discuss movies that mean a lot to them, for better or worse. In episode 2, we'll be discussing The Big Green, a 1995 Sports Comedy film from Disney, with my guest Jordan Stroud.