Stuff I watched in...March 2022, Pt. 2

X

This slasher, directed by Ti West, is a really fun homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with a twist. In 1979, a small group of filmmakers working on an adult film rent a bed and breakfast out in the boonies from an elderly man. They don't tell the old codger that they plan to film a fuck movie using his guest house, barn, etc. 

All seems to be going well until night falls. Turns out the old man has a wife who has "sundown syndrome"--basically, she suffers from dementia and it gets much worse after dark. And by "worse", I mean that she kills people. 

On the one hand, X is just a straight-forward slasher where each nubile young thing gets picked off by the oldsters one by one. On the other hand, it's a meditation on aging and death, and how it really sucks to be physically old (and considered unattractive by most people), but still feel young (and horny) at heart.

The cast is really great: Mia Goth plays Maxine, the main protagonist; Martin Henderson plays Wayne, Maxine's much older boyfriend and director of "The Farmer's Daughters"; Brittany Snow captures the essence of a late-70s porno starlet perfectly as Bobby-Lynne, and Scott Mescudi (better known as Kid Cudi), is smooth as silk as Jackson Hole. Plus there is a surprise casting stunt which I won't reveal here.

Overall, this fun and unique slasher is recommended to all horror lovers. 

Grade: A

***

The Batman

My biggest complaint about Matt Reeves' latest take on Batman is that it tries to cram way too much into one movie. Jokes have been made about the 3 hour run time, and I have to agree that it is excessive. The film begins almost as a crime procedural, in which a bad guy (The Riddler, played by Paul Dano) is killing people and leaving behind messages and riddles for The Batman (Robert Pattinson). But instead of being satisfied with a tight cat-and-mouse game, there are like 12 subplots and multiple endings that make the film kind of forgettable (or, rather, difficult to remember) in the end. In fact, I originally graded this film as a "B", but I have downgraded it to a "B-" because, looking back, I don't remember much about it. 

The positives of the movie include the many excellent actors in it. Pattinson is very good as the titular Batman--he is macho and gruff when in costume, but kind of a pathetic, reclusive kid out of it, which makes more sense than Christian Bale's playboy take on Bruce Wayne. Jeffrey Wright, who elevates every movie and TV show he stars in, is a cool, collected cat as Commissioner Gordon. Zoe Kravitz captures Catwoman's whole deal as a thief with a heart of gold. Rounding out the cast, we have Colin Farrell, unrecognizable under an entire suit of makeup as The Penguin, John Turturro is another Big Baddie, and even Peter Sarsgaard as a hapless victim. 

Overall, The Batman is a fun popcorn movie but it's no Dark Knight. Despite the somewhat controversial politics of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, and the second of the three films in particular, in my opinion they're just way fucking better than most other Batman movies. 

Grade: B-

***

Euphoria

Euphoria is...a lot. The HBO show about teens in California struggling with drug addictions, bullying, and all manner of high school drama is going to be straight up disgusting to many people. Despite all the actors being over the age of 18, seeing teens engage in sex and nudity is still quite disturbing for many folks. For me, though, the bullying and violence are much more difficult to watch. I mean, a guy literally strangles his girlfriend and she immediately goes back to him. It's fucked up, y'all.

The cinematography is transcendent, often making the show look more like a religious painting than a teen dram, with the use of beautiful color and light. The acting is tremendous and vulnerable, especially Zendaya's turn as the pill-addicted Rue and Hunter Schafer's role as Jules, a trans teen who gets caught up in the sexual mind games of Cal and Nate Jacobs--a father and son who are beyond fucked up. 

I think Euphoria will naturally filter out people who don't want to watch it. It's very much a soap opera and quite unrealistic, even though some aspects of it are real as hell. I think it's a very well done show that is excellent on all technical levels, but still leaves me feeling empty and unfulfilled. 

Grade: B+

***

No Country for Old Men

This was a rewatch for me, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that No Country for Old Men remains one of the best Coen Brothers' films of all time. Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, NCFOM follows Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), an average Joe living in a trailer in 1980 Texas, who comes across the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad. He discovers a briefcase filled with 2 million in cash and of course takes it home.

For his incredibly stupid act, Llewelyn becomes the target of hired hit man and certified psychopath Anton Chigurh (Javer Bardem, playing one of the most terrifying villains in cinematic history). Moss sends his wife away to stay with her mother and he flees to the border, with Chigurh hot on his heels. Meanwhile, both Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) and hired investigator Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) are trying to track down both Moss and Chigurh. Will anyone make it out alive? 

I say this without a hint of hesitation: No Country for Old Men is one of the greatest films of the 21st century. It is excellence in film form: adapted from an excellent novel, directed by excellent directors, acted by excellent actors, and firing on all cylinders. It is also a deeply cynical story with what some consider a very unsatisfying ending. But not all art makes you feel happy in the end.

Grade: A+

***

There Will Be Blood

Here is another deeply cynical (perhaps moreso than No Country for Old Men) movie, also released in 2007. This was a rewatch for me and each time I watch it, I am both impressed and...a little bored, to be honest. Paul Thomas Anderson's epic film about a ruthless oilman, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), is a bit slow at times. But despite the slowness, it's a very meaty movie. 

One interpretation of There Will Be Blood is that it's about the eternal struggle between American greed and American religion. Plainview cares about money and power, period. He is a sociopath who does not believe in God. His enemy is Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), a preacher whose family originally sold Plainview the land on which Plainview discovered oil. Sunday is always bothering Plainview to come to church, donate to the church, etc. Plainview delights in humiliating Sunday.

And yet, despite their differences, the two men are more alike than they'd ever admit. They're both self-focused, greedy, and obsessed with power and control. Eli Sunday is a just...wimpier...than Daniel Plainview. Similarly, religion and capitalism in America are two symbiotic parasites battling it out--but, in America at least, the love of money will always win out. 

There Will Be Blood, like many of PTAs movies, is a tough, uncomfortable watch. But it's highly rewarding, if for no other reason than to watch a master (Day-Lewis) at the height of his talent.

Grade: A

***

Walk the Line 

Another rewatch for me! And this time, it's a very UNcynical movie about the life of Johnny Cash. Played by another acting great, Joaquin Phoenix, the film follows Cash from his poverty and tragedy-stricken childhood, to his rise to fame, to his battle with addiction, and finally to his proposal to June Carter while onstage in 1968. 

Released in 2005, there are a lot of things that feel dated about Walk the Line--namely, the depiction of Cash's first wife, Vivian (played by Ginnifer Goodwin). Vivian is portrayed as a shrew who doesn't support Cash's music and resents his rise to fame. From the little I've read, Vivian Cash was not the bad guy she is shown to be in the movie and was actually very supportive, as well as a good mother to Roseanne, Cindy, Tara, and Kathy. But in Walk the Line, the focus is on Johnny and June's love affair, not the inconvenient facts of his first marriage.

Despite the imperfections, Walk the Line is a solid movie with very good acting and toe-tapping music. The life of Johnny Cash (and those around him) can't be adequately summed up in two hours, so no biopic was going to hit the mark with a perfect bullseye. But this film does its best to show both the light and dark sides of The Man in Black.

Grade: A-