Movie Dump, pt. 2

Movies: Bernie, In Bruges, The Sacrament

Here's part two of my Netflix bonanza.


Bernie

Plot spoilers!

I can't believe I didn't watch this movie sooner. Directed by Richard Linklater, Bernie is, well, just about the most delightful film you'll watch about a guy who shoots a little old lady in the back.

Based on a true story, Jack Black plays Bernhardt Tiede, an assistant funeral director from Carthage, Texas. Bernie is one of the most popular men in his small community and beloved by everyone. He sings at the church, participates in community theatre, and as the assistant director of the Leggett Funeral Home, he oversees funerals with compassion and grace.

After the death of her husband, Bernie befriends Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), a mean, hateful old broad whose reputation in Carthage is the polar opposite of Bernie's. Where Bernie is loved for his generosity and kindness, Marjorie is loathed for her spite and coldness. The two make the oddest couple (also, Bernie is in his late 30's and Marjorie in her 70's), but they find companions in one another. What starts out as beneficial to both of them--Marjorie has a travel companion who is nice to her and Bernie gets all expenses paid vacations around the world--begins to look more like indentured servitude as Marjorie gets meaner and more possessive of Bernie as time goes on. Until one day Bernie shoots Marjorie in the back and stuffs her body in a freezer. And then goes on to generously spend her money on helping out people in the community, all while pretending Marjorie is in a nursing home due to a stroke.

This movie is so great in so many ways. First, it's based on a true story and that story is bat-shit insane. They actually had to move Bernie Tiede's trial to another county because he was so well-liked in Carthage that District Attorney Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey) didn't think he could get a conviction if the trial was held locally. The jury would be compromised.

Linklater films Bernie in partial "interview" style--not unlike Drop Dead Gorgeous and Modern Family, where the action of the film or show is broken up with characters speaking about events directly to the camera. This captures the local color of Carthage as well as the affection everyone had for Bernie despite the, uh, unpleasantness surrounding his arrest and trial.

While all the performances in Bernie are excellent, Jack Black is just...amazing. This might just be his best role to date. He captures the quirky, effeminate nature of Bernie Tiede--a sort of fussy, "light in the loafers" type of guy (there's an entire section of the film where interviewees speculate on whether Bernie is gay or not) who is also just so doggone nice and caring that you can't help but love him. By the end of the movie, you're basically like, "yeah, if I was on that jury, I'd vote to acquit him too".

Like I said, I can't believe I waited this long to watch Bernie, which has been on my Netflix queue for years. I'm glad I did because it's just...something else. I keep wanting to write that it's a "hoot", but that doesn't seem like an appropriate way to describe a movie where a guy pumps a little old lady full of lead...but here we are. It's a hoot.

Grade: A

***

In Bruges

Speaking of funny movies that involve pumping people full of lead, In Bruges is another film that mixes pathos with humor really effectively. In Bruges' reputation as a film precedes it--I kept hearing about how great this movie was and how it had a bit of a cult following. I can see why. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as Ray and Ken, two hit men told to hide out in Bruges, Belgium after a job and await further instructions by their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), a man with a hair-trigger temper.

Ray is recovering from a hit job gone wrong and grappling with the guilt of killing an innocent bystander. He also fucking hates Bruges and thinks it's a terrible city. Ken tries to convince him to enjoy the history and sights, but Ray would rather sulk, drink, and try to get into the pants of Chloe (Clemence Posey), a woman who also has dark secrets.

In Bruges is pretty slow until you find out the actual reason Ray and Ken are in Bruges and then it really takes off. I know I sometimes spoil plot points in these reviews, but I won't for In Bruges. Trust me, just watch it. Especially if you like the films of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie. In Bruges can be very--even shockingly--violent. It also contains offensive language, and not just the f-word. But it's also very funny and even poignant. Hell, it's just plain sad at times. I think what surprised me most about In Bruges is that it's an emotionally and ethically complex film. I thought it was just going to be a dumb shoot-em-up, but it turned out to be deeper and more existential than I thought.

Grade: A-

***

The Sacrament

Directed by the very talented Ti West, The Sacrament is essentially a mockumentary-style film that fictionalizes the Jim Jones murders. Patrick (Kentucker Audley--who wins the prize for "most ridiculously preppy name") is a journalist for Vice media whose sister, Caroline (Amy Seimetz), an ex-drug addict, has joined a self-sustaining commune in South America called Eden Parrish. Patrick's colleagues, Sam and Jake (AJ Bowen and Joe Swanberg), convince him to take them on a visit to Eden Parrish while they film the whole thing for an immersive journalism piece. Well, obviously things don't go as planned and they can tell that something is not right when they see a bunch of guys with machine guns guarding the entrance to Eden Parrish.

While Patrick and Caroline reunite, Jake and Sam interview residents of the commune. All of them seem just over the moon to be living there. Many of them are elderly and have nowhere else to go. Some, like Caroline, are recovering drug addicts. None of them seem concerned about the lack of access to any forms of communication with the outside world or the limited medical supplies in Eden Parrish. They truly seem to believe they are living in a paradise.

Sam scores an interview with "Father" (Gene Jones, giving a chilling performance), the founder of Eden Parrish who successfully dodges Sam's pointed questions about why a community devoted to peace and non-violence has men with machine guns guarding the perimeter. Father turns Sam's implied criticisms back on him, saying that it's the big cities and the media that have poisoned Sam's mind against the possibility of peace and community building.

You'd have the be an idiot not to see where all this cheerful Kumbaya-ing is actually leading. But West makes it easy for viewers when a woman and her mute child come to Sam and Jake in secret, begging for a spot on their helicopter out of the country. You won't find subtlety or many surprise twists in The Sacrament, but the scenes where shit goes down are not only horrifying--they're emotionally disturbing. Again, this is basically the Jim Jones story, only fictionalized a bit.

Personally, I really enjoyed The Sacrament. I was surprised to see that it was not very well-reviewed when it came out and some critics consider it one of Ti West's weaker movies (I've see two of his other movies--The Innkeepers and House of the Devil--and I think this one is his best). So, different strokes, I guess. If you're into suspense/horror/movies about cults, I'd give this one a whirl.

Grade: B+

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!)

***

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-

***

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+

***

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-