Movie Dump, pt. 1

Movies: Keanu, They Look Like People, Blue Ruin

It's that time again where I have watched more movies that I can reasonably do full reviews for, so please enjoy these short reviews (and "Movie Dump, pt. 2" will be coming soon!)

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Keanu

Keanu is a 90 minute long Key & Peele sketch. It captures the absurdity of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele's humor, since the plot revolves the duo's attempt to rescue the titular kitten from a gang known as the Blips (if you're not in the Bloods, and you're not in the Crips...you're in the Blips!). It also addresses race, a topic often found at the center of the duo's sketches. Peele plays Rell, a heartbroken stoner recovering from a breakup. When a tiny kitten appears at his doorstep, he takes it in and names it Keanu. Key plays Clarence, Rell's cousin. Clarence is as mild as one gets--happily married, he enjoys listening to George Michael as he drives around in his minivan. After Rell's house gets broken into, the two realize that nothing of value--except Keanu--was taken. They ask Rell's next door neighbor/weed dealer Hulka (a gut-busting Will Forte, in white man dreadlocks) if he saw anything, and Hulka tells them about the 17th street Blips--a fearsome gang who likely took poor Keanu.

So Rell and Clarence, who are about as culturally "white" as the cast of Modern Family, must infiltrate the Blips and get cozy with Cheddar (Method Man), the deliciously named leader of the gang, if they want to get Keanu back. Hilarity, violence, and dropping the n-word every other sentence ensue.

I enjoyed Keanu. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was high when I watched it. (I don't get high, FYI, in case my mom is reading this...). The movie can't quite keep the joke of Clarence and Rell's total confusion about gang culture up for the length of the film. But it definitely has its moments, as well as some great cameos (including a hilarious scene with Anna Faris playing herself). Let's just say I rented Keanu for $2.97, and that's about what it's worth to pay for a viewing of it. An enjoyable comedy starring some beloved comedians, but not something you're going to watch more than once.

Grade: B-

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They Look Like People

Similarly, They Look Like People (streaming on Netflix) is a good horror/suspense film for a boring evening at home, but it didn't knock my socks off.

In They Look Like People, Christian (Evan Dumouchel) is a single, successful guy in his late 20's. A friend of his from childhood, Wyatt (MacLeod Andrews), comes back into his life unexpectedly and stays for a visit. Something seems a little off about Wyatt--from his long, unkempt hair to the 4am phone calls he makes. The audience sees more of Wyatt's weirdness than Christian does. It turns out that Wyatt is receiving phone calls from someone who masks their voice, telling him that evil creatures have begun to infest human beings and that a war between these creatures and "good", non-infected humans is coming, prompting Wyatt to load up on weapons, including sulfuric acid.

Because we, the audience, sees what Wyatt sees and hears what he hears, we don't know if this is all in Wyatt's head or is happening for real. And that's where the tension of the film lies--especially as Wyatt becomes more and more paranoid about Christian becoming infected by one of the creatures.

You'll have to watch it to find out what happens, and I gotta say the last scene of the film is an excellent one that will have you biting your nails. Still, I felt middling about the movie. Not bad, not great.

Grade: C+

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Blue Ruin

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, also directed this year's excellent Green Room, Blue Ruin is a melancholy take on the revenge film genre. Macon Blair plays Dwight, who at the start of the film is living in his car and has a long, bushy beard and the haunted, puppy-dog eyes of a sensitive soul who has suffered greatly.

When he is informed by police authorities that the man who murdered his parents is out of jail, Dwight stalks the man, Wade Cleland, and his family, following them to a sleazy bar where the Cleland's family gathers to celebrate Wade's release.

Macon Blair is gripping as Dwight--he appears so mild-mannered (he looks like the love child of Matthew Broderick and Joe Lo Truglio) that when he commits a shocking act of violence, you can hardly believe he had to guts to do it. But Dwight's impulsive act sets a series of events in motion that not only put him in danger, but also puts his estranged sister, Sam, and her two young daughters in harm's way, forcing Dwight to continue his spree of violence to save what remains of his family--a family that doesn't particularly like him. There's a moment when Sam tells Dwight, "I could forgive you if you were crazy, but you're not. You're weak." By climatic ending of Blue Ruin, we realize Sam was wrong. Dwight isn't weak at all. Nor is he strong. He's simply a haunted man with absolutely nothing to lose.

Blue Ruin is less edge-of-your-seat exciting than Green Room, but it's equally well-made. For a revenge film, it's interesting that the central emotion that drives the film isn't rage, but sadness--as well as a sense of inevitability.

Grade: A-