The Iron Claw

I didn't grow up watching wrestling, so I was in my 20s before I even considered the sport something worth learning about (and was shocked to learn that some of these macho wrestlers are ardent supporters of women's rights). And it wasn't until I watched John Oliver's 2019 segment on the WWE that I realized how sucky the business of wrestling is--that wrestlers are contract workers who aren't guaranteed health insurance and that they're often pressured to go back into the ring too soon after they injure themselves, which of course can lead to more and greater injuries, addiction to pain medication, and untimely death.

So, I went into Sean Durkin's film The Iron Claw knowing nothing about the Von Erich family except that they suffered from numerous tragedies and were said to have a family curse. Well, the 2 hour and 12 minute film doesn't even have the time to get into ALL the tragedy this family of six brothers experienced. In fact, one entire brother--Chris Von Erich--isn't even mentioned in the movie! But Chris (as well as most of the wives of the various brothers) being left out isn't intended as a snub, it's a conscious choice on the part of the director to make a film that captures the heart of the story of the Von Erich "curse" and the brotherly love that the curse couldn't destroy...without being a repetitive slog by going into death after death after death. The fact is, of the six Von Erich brothers, only one--Kevin--made it into older adulthood. 

Kevin is the main focus of The Iron Claw and is portrayed by Zac Efron in a wonderful performance. Kevin is the oldest of the living Von Erich brothers (his older brother, Jackie, having died when Kevin was 5 years old) but he's the second favorite son. Patriarch Fritz Von Erich (Mindhunter's Holt McCallany) is open about his ranking of his sons, from favorite to least favorite, and Kerry Von Erich (The Bear's Jeremy Allen White) is third oldest but the apple of his pop's eye. However, Kerry is away at college working to become an Olympian in discus throwing, and so Fritz focuses his energy on training Kevin and second oldest (but 3rd favorite) son David (Harris Dickinson) in the art of wrestling. Additionally, there is Mike Von Erich (Stanley Simons), a gentle kid who loves music but gets pressured into wrestling like all the Von Erich boys do.

Look, a lot of stuff happens in the movie and I'm not going to get into all of it. What this movie is really about to me is how an abusive father and an enabling mother couldn't smother the love these brothers had for each other. Fritz Von Erich is portrayed as more quietly abusive--he doesn't scream or hit, but he exerts a constant, crushing pressure on all his sons from birth (and apparently he was way worse in real life than he is portrayed in the movie). Meanwhile, Doris Von Erich was a religious woman who allowed her sons to be abused by their father while dragging everyone to church on Sunday. In addition to straight up playing favorites with his sons, Fritz pitted them against each other to push one (he probably didn't care which one) to rise to the highest ranks in wrestling. And nothing--not even the death of a son--would snuff out Fritz's ambition. He never stopped pushing and it destroyed his family.

To me, the "Von Erich curse" is simply the curse of toxic masculinity. It's the curse of abusive parents. It's the curse of genetic predispositions for mental health and addiction issues which are ignored and downplayed because, well, you gotta man up. It's the curse of wrestling as a sport with little to no protections. Three of the Von Erich brothers died by suicide and one died possibly from a drug overdose or possibly from injuries sustained in the ring. Either way, all of these deaths were likely preventable if these men had sought help, slowed down, and had been supported by their family. They were not, and so they died--at tragically young ages too. 

The Iron Claw shows the various points at which these tragedies could have been prevented. It's frustrating to watch these men put their bodies through hell to achieve their father's dreams. And maybe those dreams were shared by the sons, but it's hard to be sure where Fritz's ambition stops and the sons' ambition begins. 

The film ends with two cathartic scenes that nearly brought me to tears: a scene depicting Kerry Von Erich reuniting with his brothers--including Jackie--in the afterlife. Surprisingly, this didn't feel cheesy to me.  The final scene shows Kevin Von Erich crying while playing with his young sons. He tells his sons "a man shouldn't cry" and they counter with "Everyone cries. We cry all the time." He then tells them he's crying because he "used to be a brother" and his sweet little boys say "We'll be your brothers, Dad." MY HEARTSTRINGS. Again, this scene could have been cheesy, but it just felt right. Like the Von Erich curse has finally been broken through love and a rejection of the old tropes of masculinity. And, indeed, Kevin Von Erich is still alive to this day. He's still married to his loving wife and has 4 kids and a passel of grandkids. He managed to escape the curse.

The film isn't perfect. Some of the writing--particularly the scenes with Fritz Von Erich--feel heavily expository and clunky (I suppose some expository dialogue was required to keep the audience up to speed). But the movie has heart. And even though it's an incredibly tragic story, it doesn't feel unkind or cruel, if that makes sense. Again, the main message I got from The Iron Claw is that the love between the brothers Von Erich couldn't be crushed by their abusive dad, their enabling mom, the brutal sport that was their trade, the drugs they became addicted to, or even death itself. It's a testament to the power of sibling connection and I was here for it. 

Grade: B+

Poor Things

General spoiler warning for this review

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos is doing some of the most interesting work in film today. Of his work, I've seen Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Favourite, and Poor Things and even though there are some I love more than others, every one of them is undeniably unique and fascinating.

His films take place in realities that feel adjacent to ours. They are worlds in which a teenager can magically kill an entire family just by wishing it so (The Killing of a Sacred Deer), in which being single is illegal and people who don't find partners within a set period of time will be transformed into an animal of their choosing (The Lobster), and in which a man can take the brain of an infant and transplant it into the body of a dead woman and re-animate her (Poor Things). 

What Lanthimos is really doing is holding up a mirror. His films question why we willingly accept societal expectations that don't serve us. His films are also all about domination and submission: why do we submit to others and to society? Why do we seize control through domination? 

Poor Things seems like the pinnacle of Lanthimos' work. The film takes place in a version of Victorian London. I say a "version" of Victorian London because things that cannot be simply are in this world: a surgeon, Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), discovers the body of a pregnant woman who has just jumped off a bridge in an attempt to end her life. Baxter removes the nearly-ripe fetus and transplants its brain into the head of the woman and re-animates her. He names her "Bella" and treats her as a daughter. 

The film opens with Bella Baxter (Emma Stone in a career-defining role) in an immensely childlike state. She walks around without bending her knees, she called Godwin "God", she pees on the floor and smiles, and she can string a couple words together at a time. Godwin hires medical student Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) to observe Bella and help her grow and learn. She does. She begins talking in sentences (albeit broken ones), she learns to catch a ball, and her gait improves. But she is still impulsive as a child and therefore Godwin feels the need to keep her inside and away from a dangerous world.

Then, Bella discovers masturbation.

I went into Poor Things fairly blind, knowing only that it was a sort of steampunk, feminist take on Frankenstein. I did not know, and was delighted to find out, just how much of a sexual awakening movie this is. Around the time Bella learns how to "make Bella happy anytime", Godwin encourages Max and Bella to get engaged. He hires lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo, in an unforgettable and hilarious role) to draw up a contract and Wedderburn, the definition of a "cad", seeks out Bella and immediately attempts to seduce her. He invites her on a trip to Lisbon, Portugal and Bella tells Godwin and Max that she needs to go with Duncan and, basically, get her brains fucked out and see the world before she settles down with Max. Godwin decides to let her go.

While Duncan is at first delighted to have a woman whose sexual appetite is insatiable, he is very annoyed at her lack of social graces and her seeming ability to separate sex and love. Although Duncan warned Bella to not fall in love with him, it is he who falls "in love" (more like "in jealousy") with her. He basically kidnaps her and puts her on a cruise ship so that she can't just leave him the way she can in Lisbon. On the ship Bella meets two passengers: nihilistic Harry (Jerrod Carmichael) and wise older woman Martha (Hanna Schygulla) and starts reading philosophy and caring about helping the poor. This drives Duncan to his wits end. He "loved" Bella when she was a horny, wide-eyed naif, but now that she is reading and having thoughts and opinions, he is done with her. 

When the two end up in Paris with no money, Bella makes the practical decision to become a whore. She also ends up learning about socialism and that even bad experiences (such as fucking an ugly, smelly man) can make her life more whole and deep. Duncan, of course, is furious and Bella doesn't understand why. She happily lives life in a brothel, spending her spare time reading, auditing anatomy classes, and going to socialist meetings. That's when she gets the news that Godwin is terminally ill. She travels home to see him and he finally reveals how he created her.

Max is still there, working as Godwin's assistant. And he still loves Bella. He doesn't care that she was a sex worker. He wants her to be herself. The two agree to go forward with the wedding, but at the last minute, Duncan shows up with a nasty surprise: one Alfie Blessington (Christopher Abbott), Bella's husband from the time before she killed herself. Despite Godwin begging her not to go (Max, ever a true believer in the philosophy of "if you love someone, let them go", lets Bella go), Bella chooses to leave with Alfie. Mostly because she is curious about the woman she was before she was Bella Baxter: Victoria Blessington. 

She quickly finds out why her former self wanted to die. Alfie keeps Bella prisoner in his enormous house. He torments the servants and laughs at their suffering. And Bella overhears him planning with a doctor to sedate her and give her a clitoridectomy. Bella now understands why Victoria wanted to die...and she's prepared to make the same choice. In a standoff, she throws a drugged martini in Alfie's face and he ends up shooting himself in the foot and passing out. She drags his body back to Godwin's, where she and Max replace Alfie's brain with that of a goat: "he can be improved", Bella says, ever the optimist.

The films ends with Bella living happily with both Max and Toinette (Suzy Bemba), her prostitute friend/lover who got her into socialism, carrying on the legacy of Godwin's work. Bella, the "Frankenstein's Monster" of Godwin's, is finally whole: a sexual, intelligent woman who loves cocktails, reading, socialism, and cunnilingus. Fin.

So, clearly Poor Things is a feminist tale, as Bella stubbornly steps out of the grasp of the various men who want to contain and control her: she is given life by Godwin and he loves her, but he is overly protective. She is given sex by Duncan, but he is pissed that she wants to have sex with other men as well. She is given a reality check by Harry, the nihilistic philosopher, who shows her what suffering looks like and tells her that no one can change the world, but Bella rejects this. She is given the truth of her life before Bella by Alfie, but he wants to mutilate her to bend her to his will. She is also given things by women: Martha gives her philosophy books, the Madame at the whorehouse gives her a practical perspective on work and life, and Toinette introduces her to socialism and lesbianism, both of which Bella takes a liking to. But the women don't try to control her or capture her like the men do. The only man who seems to truly not want to control Bella is Max, and while it's unclear whether the two end up in a romantic partnership or strictly scientific partnership, he is still there with her at the end. 

Poor Things is also a humanist tale because everything the film espouses--that love is not ownership, that both body and mind deserve to be liberated, and that people CAN grow, learn, and change for the better--can be applied to all people, not just women. Although these truths are perhaps more profound when viewed through the lens of a woman who has not yet learned to be ashamed of her womanhood, they are truths that are relevant and important for all genders to learn. 

Although much of the film is about Bella's sexuality (after all, the biggest, baddest villain of the movie wants to divest Bella of her clitoris), it's also about Bella's mind--and her heart. She comes to understand that while life if full of suffering and we can't end everyone's suffering, we *can* make a difference and we *can* improve as individuals. In spite of Lanthimos' dark, twisted tendencies as a director, he has created a very optimistic piece of art here.

And what art it is! I haven't even mentioned the eye-popping, gorgeous cinematography, the unique and creepy soundtrack, the over-the-top costumes, and the acting. Oh, the acting. Stone and Ruffalo are clear standouts, but everyone is amazing here. 

Poor Things is a movie where every frame is beautiful, every scene is funny or interesting, and the movie is just a pleasure and joy for its entire runtime--plus, you'll be thinking about it long after the credits have rolled. Finally, I watched a movie in 2023, that I can, with no hesitation, give this grade to:

Grade: A+

Stuff I Watched in...November, 2023

The Handmaiden

It's kind of wild that I only recently watched the entirety of Park Chan-Wook's 2016 film. It's the kind of movie other people would watch and say "I bet Jenny loves this movie!" In fact, I watched the first third of it a few years ago with a friend but we stopped partway through for some reason. Which is a shame because the first third is the most boring part of the movie! It gets reallllly interesting after that.

Based on Sarah Waters' novel Fingersmith, but set in early 20th century Korea instead of Victorian-era Britain, The Handmaiden follows a con man and a pickpocket who team up to steal an heiress's fortune. The con man (Ha Jung-woo) pretends to be a rich count and the pickpocket, Nam Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), takes a position as Lady Hideko's (Kim Min-hee) handmaiden--encouraging Lady Hideko to fall in love with the Count. After the Count marries Hideko, he will commit her to an asylum and he and Sook-hee will make off with her fortune. But who is playing who in this cat-and-mouse game of seduction and betrayal? And what happens when Hideko and Sook-hee start falling for one another?

This 144 minute long film contains a LOT more plot than what I described above, as well as many, many scenes of eroticism. I ended up watching it after listening to John Mulaney describe to Stephen Colbert how he accidentally watched the very sexy movie with his girlfriend's mom. Whoops!

The film is absolutely gorgeous and super erotic (but classy!). The plot can be a bit confusing at times, but will thrill viewers with its twists and turns. Highly recommended.

Grade: A-

***

The Killer

The latest David Fincher movie is not his best, but is still entertaining enough. Fincher is one of my favorite directors, so I know he can do better. The movie follows a professional assassin (Michael Fassbender, kinda perfect in this role) who, after having a long internal monologue about how good he is at his job, fucks up his job in a huge way: he fails to kill his target. In response, whomever hired him turns around and hires some goons to rape and beat up his girlfriend, sending the Killer (who is unnamed in the movie) on a hunt to track down and murder everyone responsible. 

The joke of the movie is that this supposedly badass alpha male (I'm sorry, sigma male) assassin is actually just a dork who listens to The Smiths, wears a dumb hat, and fucks up his job a lot. But Fincher plays the movie almost straight, so a lot of viewers seem to think that the Killer is the hero of the movie. I don't really think the movie is that deep--it's about a guy killing a bunch of people, and there are some laughs and a good scene with Tilda Swinton. I enjoyed The Killer for what it was, but can't see myself revisiting this movie the way I often revisit other Fincher films.

Grade: B

***

Bride of Chucky

What can I say? Bride of Chucky is a campy, goofy delight. When I was a kid, the very *idea* of Chucky--a doll that kills people--was enough to give me nightmares for months. I avoided watching any of the Child's Play movies until well into adulthood. Strangely enough, Bride of Chucky was the first film in the franchise I watched and it was enough to cure me of my fear of dolls. Well, of one doll at least. 

Bride of Chucky is where the Child's Play franchise splits from more traditional horror into straight-up horror-comedy (although the original Child's Play has some pretty funny moments). Brad Dourif returns to his role as the voice of the little monster of a doll, but it is Jennifer Tilly, playing Tiffany--the titular Bride--who steals the show. The movie wouldn't be half as good without Tilly playing a sexpot, trailer trash psychopath who really wants to kill people and look good doing it. When she rejects Chucky, he kills the human Tiffany and transplants her soul into a doll via black magic. Then the two dollies hit the road, stowing away in the car of two runaway teenagers (Katherine Heigl and Nick Stable), to travel to where Chucky's human body is buried so that he can repossess his human form.

Really fun movie--and, side note, treats the gay sidekick character really well for a movie that came out in the late 90s.

Grade: B

***

Seed of Chucky

The tradition of Chucky movies being weirdly cool with LGBTQ characters, Seed of Chucky follows the child of Chucky and Tiffany--Glen/Glenda (voiced by Billy Boyd). There's a whole plot involving Jennifer Tilly playing herself and getting forcibly impregnated with Chucky's foul seed, but the real story is Glen/da reuniting with their parents. Glen/da is nonbinary--sometimes feeling like a girl, and sometimes feeling like a boy--and, more offensive to their parents, they don't have a killer bone in their body. Or do they? There is some last minute twist reveal that the body of Glen/da is actually shared by two souls: a murderous girl, Glenda, and a gentle boy, Glen. For a B movie about killer dolls, this is an unexpectedly beautiful metaphor for gender non-conformity, isn't it? It also works out really well since Tilly gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and Glen/da is able to transplant their soul into both children, while Tiffany possesses the body of Jennifer Tilly and they all live murderously ever after. 

Yeah, the movie is kind of confusing and playing by its own rules regarding possession and black magic, but hey, it's a Chucky movie. Whattaya gonna do? It's fun and campy.

Grade: B

***

The Others

And now for something a little more dignified. The Others--a haunted house movie starring Nicole Kidman--came out in 2001 and I saw it around that time and have not revisited it since. I decided to rewatch it and WOW is it good. The film takes place in a big, old estate at the end of WWII. Grace Stewart (Kidman) and her two children, Nicholas (James Bentley) and Anne (Alakina Mann in a superb performance as a very strong-willed daughter), live a very isolated life while they wait for the return of Grace's husband and the kids' father from the war. The children have a deathly sensitivity to light, forcing the family to spend most of their time with the curtains drawn, living by lamplight.

When three people show up a Grace's door, offering their services as groundskeeper and housekeepers, Grace is taken aback...but she does need the help, so she accepts their offer and introduces them to the eccentricities of the house. But then strange things begin to happen in the manor: mysterious noises, rooms that were locked suddenly becoming unlocked, and the children insisting that they are visited by a little boy. A devout Christian, Grace refuses to entertain supernatural explanations, instead choosing to believe that her new servants are screwing with her and her children are lying to her. Grace is a very complex character and woman for whom denial is not just a river in Egypt. 

If you haven't seen The Others yet, stop reading and go watch it right now! It's a spooky story that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Grade: A

***

The Sentinel 

I really wanted to like this 1977 film. The plot sounds fantastic: a woman, Alison (Cristina Raines), moves into a fully furnished Brooklyn brownstone apartment for a great price. She meets strange neighbors, including an eccentric man who invites her to a birthday party for his cat and two lesbians who act salaciously around her. When she complains about these neighbors to her landlord, the landlord informs her that she's one of only two residents living in the building--the other being an old priest who lives on the top floor and does nothing but stare out the window all day. Alison is shocked and we find out that, in fact, the building is where the entrance to Hell lies. The priest serves as the guardian--or sentinel, if you will--to the entrance and the people Alison met are actually the damned souls of a bunch of murderers.

Sounds like a really intriguing movie, right? Well, it actually kind of sucks. It's shockingly boring with WAY too few scenes of Alison interacting with these neighbors and too much time spent on Alison's slick, asshole boyfriend (Chris Sarandon) doing the investigating for her. Also, the final scene is pretty controversial by today's standards: a bunch more damned souls get released from Hell's entrance and the director hired people with facial and physical deformities to play them. While hiring actors with physical disabilities and deformities is generally a cool thing to do, it really depends on the role you're giving them--and these nameless, voiceless individuals were just used to horrify the audience. Ugh.

So, yeah, The Sentinel had a lot of promise but was ultimately a big disappointment.

Grade: C+

May December

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Todd Haynes' latest film, May December, is a lesbian romance. After all, there are two female actors on the poster, one older (Julianne Moore) and one younger (Natalie Portman). And of course Haynes is known for his queer stories, including the lesbian classic, Carol.

But May December is about as far from a queer romance as you'll get. In fact, the film is in many ways about toxic heterosexuality and the ways in which straight culture and gender roles allow for women to get away with sexually and emotionally abusing men.

Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress researching a role. She visits the woman whom she is researching, one Gracie Atherton-Yoo. In 1992, Gracie made the national news because she "had an affair" with Joe Yoo, whom she is married to in the present. Why was this affair national news? Well, at the time, Gracie was 36 and Joe was 13 years old.

May December is clearly inspired by Mary Kay Letourneau, who made headlines for raping her 12 year old student, Vili Fualaau, when she was 34. The two had a sexual relationship and, after Letourneau served time in prison and Fualaau reached the age of majority, married. In May December, Gracie and Joe have a similar timeline: they begin "an affair" (the word "rape" is never used in the film) and are caught. Gracie serves prison time and has their first child, Honor, while in prison. After serving her time and waiting until Joe is legally of age, the two get married and have two more children--twins. 23 years later, Joe and Gracie are still happily married and sending the twins off to college. 

But are things as happy between Joe and Gracie as they say they are? Hahahahahahaha, of course not! Charles Melton plays Joe Yoo in a vulnerable breakout role. Joe is essentially a 13 year old kid in a grown man's body, having been robbed of his teenage years and forced into the national spotlight and into fatherhood well before he was ready. But he cannot talk to Gracie about this without Gracie furiously exclaiming "You seduced me!" While Gracie and Joe present a united front to Elizabeth, we see how Gracie controls Joe behind closed doors. Not with fists or abusive words, but through her emotions--weaponizing her tears and forcing Joe to validate her and drop any questions or concerns he has about how their relationship began. Gracie also manipulates her children, especially her daughters, with passive aggressive remarks about their weight. 

Elizabeth talks to not only the Atherton-Yoo family, but to Gracie's ex-husband, who seems kinda ok with (or, at least, accepting of) the whole thing, though he does refer to 36 year old Joe as "the boy". She speaks to Gracie's defense lawyer, the owner of the pet shop where Gracie and Joe met, and Gracie's son, Georgie, from her previous marriage. While Georgie is obviously disgruntled about his mother ruining his life, most of the other folks seem to be accepting of Gracie and Joe's, er, unusual relationship.

To be clear, Todd Haynes is not accepting of it. He walks a fine line between straight-forward drama and campy dramedy. He is clearly rolling his eyes at anyone who sees Gracie and Joe's relationship as anything besides what it actually is: an abusive marriage between a sexual predator and her victim. The movie is indeed darkly funny. I let out a bark of laughter when Elizabeth tells her director that the 13 year old boys auditioning for the role of Joe aren't "sexy" enough. It's that kind of humor: dark, cringe-inducing, and delighted to poke holes in the bullshit morality and excuses Gracie makes for herself and others make for her. 

May December is a movie about delusion--self-delusion and communal delusion in service of keeping things calm and peaceful. Elizabeth's entrance into Gracie and Joe's lives stirs shit up and soon Joe is both claiming to Elizabeth that he "wanted it" and bringing up the possibility that he was perhaps "too young" to Gracie. What is monstrous is that neither woman is actually interested in Joe's feelings. Gracie is too focused on convincing herself that she is a good person and Elizabeth is too interested in researching her role, no matter the cost. Joe remains a person to manipulate and abuse in service to these women's feelings and goals. 

May December slices like a knife through our shared cultural delusions about teenage boys and full grown men. We assume that teenage boys won't be harmed by having sex "too soon", even though we clutch our pearls at the idea of a young girl having sex. Likewise, we think grown men should man up, force bad feelings down, never cry, and instead be a comforting, strong presence for the emotional women in their lives. By doubling down on their "affair" and getting married, Joe and Gracie swap true justice and accountability for a veneer of happiness that just can't hold up in the long run. 

Grade: A-

Saltburn

I left Emerald Fennell's newest film, Saltburn, with a feeling I have rarely felt upon leaving a movie this year: glee. The movie is not particularly deep, and the plot has been done before, but it's also just an outrageous, fucked up, queer, kinky, fun movie with gorgeous visuals, a bitchin' soundtrack, and a wild lead performance by Barry Keoghan. While I left other movies this year (Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, and Barbie in particular) feeling like I *should* have enjoyed them more...I actually did enjoy Saltburn. 

The film opens at Oxford University in 2006. Keoghan plays Oliver Quick, a scholarship student who struggles to make friends at the prestigious university. But he captures the attention of Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi, best known for his role as Nate in Euphoria)...a very, VERY rich fellow student who is also tall, good-looking, and...nice?! After Oliver lets Felix borrow his bike when Felix gets a flat tire, Felix takes poor, dorky Oliver under his wing...much to the chagrin of Felix's cousin (and full-blown snob), Farleigh (Archie Madekwe). 

But despite Felix's attention, you can kind of tell he's being "rich person nice"--in other words, nice when it suits him and makes him look good. He eventually tires of Oliver and starts ignoring him again. Until Oliver experiences a family tragedy that drives Felix to invite the poor lad to stay the summer at the Catton family estate--Saltburn. Oliver reluctantly agrees and is flabbergasted when he arrives at a Downton Abbey-style castle. Felix introduces him to his family: father James (Richard E. Grant), mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), sister Venetia (Alison Oliver), and cousin Farleigh, whom we've already met and is incredibly annoyed at Oliver's presence. There's also "Poor Dear Pamela" (Carey Mulligan), Elspeth's hot mess friend who has already overstayed her welcome at Saltburn.

Everyone is just so delighted to meet Felix's (poor and kinda ugly) friend. Oliver is like a wide-eyed babe in the woods...or is he? We start to see some machinations behind Oliver's quiet facade. I'll go into full spoilers below after a warning, but for this spoiler free section I'll just point out how good Barry Keoghan (previously in The Banshees of Inisherin and The Killing of a Sacred Deer) is in the role of the kind of mousy guy most people would underestimate. I was very impressed with Keoghan in Banshees, but now I am a full-on Keoghan stan...with maybe a little crush on him? 

The back-half of Saltburn gets wilder and wilder. The film's queer undertones become pansexual overtones as Oliver, er, ingratiates himself into the family. I found Saltburn to be wonderfully campy and sinister in the best possible way...but the movie ain't that deep. This is Fennell's "eat the rich" movie, and it's not as insightful as some of the other films in that genre. But that's ok. Saltburn is what it is...a nasty little piece of work that is a hell of a good time.

Grade: B+

SPOILERS BELOW!!

It becomes clear pretty quickly that Oliver is manipulative. He starts out by flattering Rosamund Pike's character, Elspeth, by listening to her gossip about the people she claims to care about and agreeing and "yes and-ing" her comments--and by telling her she's "fucking beautiful". 

But it gets even more interesting when Oliver seduces Felix's sister, Venetia, through a little psychological domination and some good, old-fashioned pussy-eating...in the garden at night, right outside cousin Farleigh's window. When Farleigh snitches to Felix and Felix confronts Oliver, Oliver laughs and says "You believe him? Venetia and me?!", leaning into Felix's pre-conceived notion that Oliver is a harmless dork. 

Meanwhile, Oliver is literally drinking Felix's bathwater...I'm not kidding. In a scene that manages to be both disgusting and sensual, Oliver observes Felix masturbate in a bathtub and, when Felix leaves the bathroom, licks up the water as it drains. I'm guessing this scene was inspired by the scene in The Talented Mr. Ripley where Matt Damon watches Jude Law in the bathtub...but like, taken about 10 notches too far.

Keoghan is really good at playing the sociopathic, bisexual seducer. He wants to be part of the Catton family and he'll fuck the entire family to weasel his way in. But, just like with Tom Ripley, Oliver's machinations don't stop at fucking. When Felix discovers that Oliver's backstory--a poor only child whose mom is an addict and whose father recently died--is complete bullshit (Oliver is a from a middle class family with sisters and his parents are alive and well)...he tells Oliver that he will soon be expelled from Saltburn. This is where Oliver becomes very, very dangerous.

It's not difficult to see where this is all heading, and it's also very unrealistic, but...yeah, Oliver kills the entire Catton family and ends up gaining ownership of Saltburn. It happens over a period of years. First, he poisons Felix during the last big party at Saltburn (which is, in fact, Oliver's birthday party). Then he manipulates Venetia into killing herself. After James pays him to leave Saltburn (because his wife, Elspeth, doesn't want Oliver to leave in the wake of losing both of her children), Ollie plays it cool for a few years until he sees in the newspaper that James is dead (did he somehow kill James? Probably). Finally, he reunites with Elspeth, who leaves him the manor....and then mysteriously becomes gravely ill. Once all the Cattons are dispatched of, Oliver dances around Saltburn totally naked--his entire plan, from the moment he put a tack in Felix's bike tire to the moment he rips out Elspeth's life support tube--finally paying off in a big way. Yes, it's totally ridiculous. But is it any more ridiculous than the plot of Parasite? Not really...it's just a lot less classy than Bong Joon-ho's eat the rich movie. 

Overall, Saltburn was one of my most enjoyed movies so far this year (alongside Sanctuary and Talk to Me). I'm a sucker for nasty, pretty movies and this one has both nastiness and prettiness in spades. It's not dignified like Killers of the Flower Moon...but dignity is really overrated.

Grade: B+

Killers of the Flower Moon

A lot of ink has been spilled about Martin Scorsese's latest film, a 3.5 hour epic based on the book of the same title by David Grann (which I have not read, full disclosure). Grann's book explores a series of murders of the Osage people in the 1920s. The Osage discovered oil on their land and became wealthy. However, the law being what it was in the 1920s half- and full-blood Osage were appointed white guardians to manage their wealth. 

A wealthy cattle rancher, William "King" Hale (played by Robert De Niro in the film), was the mastermind behind dozens--possibly hundreds--of murders of Osage men and women in a conspiracy to steal their wealth. The film focuses on Hale and his nephew, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio). Burkhart is a bit stupid and easily led and when he develops a crush on a wealthy Osage woman, Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), Uncle Hale gently suggests that Ernest ask for her hand in marriage, pointing out that her oil money would be his. 

But it doesn't stop at wealth via marriage. Killers of the Flower Moon shows how Hale ingratiated himself to the Osage people and gained their trust while plotting to murder them one by one. There were many men working for Hale, white and Osage alike, who carried out crimes at his bidding. The interesting thing about Hale is that he appeared by all accounts a very polite, friendly, soft-spoken man (at least, that's how he's portrayed in the movie). This film shows how evil doesn't always come in the form of an angry, cursing man and that, in fact, civility is an even more effective cover for racism and violence because no one wants to believe that such a nice man could be a murderer. 

And, of course, Hale never lifted a finger to harm an Osage person. His evil deeds were carried about by men like Burkhart who had their own reasons for killing the Osage: love of money, hatred of Indigenous people, violent temper, maybe a little of all three. 

The discourse around this film has mostly been about whether or not Martin Scorsese was the person to bring this adaptation to the big screen. Scorsese clearly cares about the story and was committed to telling it thoughtfully and artfully. However, the film squarely focuses on the white people involved in the murders, pushing the Indigenous victims to the periphery. Some have pointed out that it would have been difficult to tell this story from the Indigenous point of view since many Osage individuals had no idea what was going on, and the main Osage character--Mollie--spends a significant portion of the film sick in bed (on account of being slowly poisoned by her greedy, dipshit husband). But...I can see some pathways to bringing the Osage perspective closer to the center of the film. Even just showing certain scenes from Mollie's point of view and spending more time with Mollie and her family would have helped.

I think a perfect version of this story would have been a miniseries, not a movie. There is so much information to convey that I'm not surprised that the film has a bladder-busting runtime of 206 minutes. If it had been a 4-episode miniseries, the story would have had time to breathe without numbing the asses of the audience. I also think the story should have been directed by an Indigenous person or persons. It's not that I don't think a white person can tell a story like this, but rather that the story is so painful and intimate that it seems wrong to be told by a white person. I'm not surprised that Scorsese focused so much on Hale and Burkhart--white male criminals are kinda his bread and butter. And while he *definitely* does not lionize these men or present their crimes in a romanticized light, the fact that he focuses on their faces, their conversations, their rationalizations, and their reactions shows that Scorsese is simply biased in favor of focusing on white men even in a story that begs us to pay attention to the Osage people who were brutally murdered for their money. 

However, that ideal version of this story isn't the one we got. So, putting that aside, how is this movie? Well, it's very good in my opinion, but falls short of great. Two weeks out from having seen it (at an Alamo Drafthouse with reclining seats, thank God), I have to admit I'm not thinking about it that much. 2023 has been a year of movies that people are going completely bananas over: Barbie, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon...and yet, I remain only moderately impressed by all three. Maybe it's the problem of going in with very high expectations. 

Some positives of this film include the gorgeous cinematography and costumes, as well as the excellent acting, particularly by Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro. Both Gladstone and De Niro give understated performances. I have to say that I think the one aspect of Killers of the Flower Moon that really has stuck with me is De Niro's performance as a soft-spoken, even kind man who turned out to be a snake in the grass of the highest level. You know how once in a while there's a villain in the movie that just draws you in? Think Hannibal Lecter or Dracula. De Niro's William Hale is like that--a character who is disgustingly racist and vile at his heart, but beguiling in his manner. It's absolutely haunting. 

The other thing that stuck with me is the story itself: a story of truly insidious racism. Because make no mistake: these murders wouldn't have happened if white men had struck oil. Sure, people kill people for money all the time. But a conspiracy like this one which happened over many years and led to the murders of dozens, if not hundreds, of Osage people...well, it had to have a solid foundation of racism for it to happen. The white murderers had to justify their actions and the white law enforcement had to justify not helping--and it's easy to justify murder when you don't see the victims as equal human beings to yourself.

In any case, Killers of the Flower Moon is a very good movie that I'm just not in love with. I do recommend it, but I also think that maybe one's time is better spent (or equally well spent) reading the book it's based on.

Grade: B+

Stuff I Watched in...October, 2023

The Fall of the House of Usher (TV series)

The latest Mike Flanagan joint is a good one. The eight episode series follows the members of the corrupt Usher family--a family clearly based on the Sacklers, as they built their insane wealth by creating lethally addictive pain medication. The series opens with patriarch Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood, perfect for the role) mourning the death of all six of his children (don't be too sad--said children are all adults and each one more hateful and shitty than the last). 

Roderick gets together in his dilapidated ancestral home with the attorney who has spent years trying to prosecute the Ushers for their many crimes to give his final confession. This confession reveals how--and why--the Usher children died. The series is love letter to Edgar Allan Poe, as all the stories are updated versions of Poe stories and all the characters are named after Poe characters. 

Additionally, Flanagan's usual themes are woven through this series: family, addiction, time, and redemption. However, The Fall of the House of Usher is a little more acidic--and funny--than Flanagan's previous works. There are also fewer monologues--a staple of Flanagan TV series. Thank God. The monologues in Midnight Mass almost drove me to madness. 

With excellent acting from Flanagan's regular cast of actors (including Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, and Kate Siegel among others) and genuinely shocking and gross gore, The Fall of the House of Usher is a fun watch for spooky season.

Grade: A-

***

When Evil Lurks

This movie, directed by Argentinian director Demian Rugna, has been touted as "the scariest movie of 2023". And while it is indeed quite grotesque, I personally didn't find it all that terrifying. 

Two brothers, Pedro and Jimmy, realize that a demon has possessed a local man in their rural town. The people of this town have seen such evil before and refer to Uriel, the possessed man, as a "Rotten". In their attempts to remove Uriel from the town, the brothers set the demon loose to infect others...and no one is spared, no matter how innocent.

When Evil Lurks is a unique entry into the possession/zombie subgenre of horror. The "rules" for possession in this movie are a little different than in other possession movies, in that the demon stays in place but can infect others in the vicinity. 

This is a solid horror movie with a lot of gore and shocking moments. Although I didn't *love* it, I would recommend it to other horror fans. 

Grade: B

***

The Boogeyman

This horror flick started strong, but petered out a bit near the end. Chris Messina plays Will Harper, a therapist and father of two who is raising his daughters Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) in the aftermath of the death of his wife. The girls are obviously traumatized, but despite Will's training as a therapist, he can't bring himself to talk about their mother's death with his daughters. 

One day, a strange man shows up at Will's house asking for a counseling session. This man, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), was accused of murdering his children. He claims that it was in fact a strange entity, simply called "The Boogeyman", who ultimately killed them. By coming to the Harper's house, Lester seems to have brought this evil with him and soon Sadie and Sawyer begin seeing the Boogeyman. Can they figure out how to destroy the entity before they, like Lester's children, are killed?

It's a horror movie about grief and it's a bit derivative. The Babadook did the same thing, only much better. That said, The Boogeyman, which is based on a short story by Stephen King, is bolstered by really good acting. Sophie Thatcher is so, so good in Yellowjackects (she plays young Natalie) and she brings that intensity and empathy to this role as well. 

Overall, not the most remarkable scary movie, but a fun pick for a dark and dreary evening at home.

Grade: B-

***

The Village

(spoilers)

I hadn't seen this M. Night Shyamalan film since it came out in theatres in 2004. Back then, we all thought Shyamalan was the shit. The Sixth Sense had blown everyone away. Signs also scared the hell out of us. Well, in my opinion, The Village was where it all started to go downhill. 

Now, I will begin by saying that this movie is beautifully filmed. The cinematography and costumes are gorgeous. Also, the movie is filled with excellent actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver...the gang's all here!

But once you actually know the twist, the whole thing just falls apart. A group of people appear to be living in a rural town in the late 1800s, but they're actually living in the modern world. The founders of the town decided to get together and basically create a commune/historical cosplay because they all experienced some type of profound grief that relates the the modern world. Or...something. So they raise families completely separate from not just other people, but from modern medicine and technology. 

It's, frankly, a completely dumb twist. I would understand if these people want to live separate from other people...but why do they have to live like it's 1890? And what makes them think they'll be spared grief and pain by living this lifestyle? For god's sake, the movie opens with one of the founders grieving the (likely preventable) death of his 12 year old son! 

Additionally, The Village really leans into Shyamalan's ableism. Shyamalan has a history of writing disabled characters either as villains or "super crips"--meaning exceptional, or even magical. The Village has both: Bryce Dallas Howard plays a blind woman who makes the trek to the outside world in search of medicine and is able to find her way against all odds. That's not too bad. But then we have poor Adrien Brody's character, Noah, a developmentally disabled man (yes, played by Adrien Brody...it's not cute) who ends up becoming violent and is very much punished for it. I had forgotten completely about Brody's character and, man, it's not cool. 

So yeah, M. Night Shyamalan had one really good movie in him (The Sixth Sense) some so-so ones, and a bunch of epically bad ones. The Village is one of the so-so ones...

Grade: B

***

A Knock at the Cabin

(spoilers)

...and so is A Knock at the Cabin. Also directed by Shyamalan, I can't help but be disappointed in this movie because it's based on an absolutely excellent book, The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay. Problem is, there is a shocking turn of events that takes place in the book which does not take place in the movie (yes, I'm going to spoil it below) and therefore basically ruins the entire story. The ending is a complete change too, and not for the better in my opinion.

Gay married couple Eric and Andrew (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) are vacationing in an isolated cabin with their 7 year old adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) when four strangers carrying homemade weapons show up at their door, demanding to be let in. This gang of four is led by Leonard (Dave Bautista, really, really good in this role), a gentle giant of a man who is unfailingly kind and polite as he breaks into the terrified family's home. 

Once inside, Leonard and the three others, Redmond (Rupert Grint), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), and Adriane (Abby Quinn), explain that while they mean no harm to the family, they have been chosen to relay a message: Eric, Andrew, and Wen have to decide to sacrifice one member of their family (as in, kill), or the entire world will die from various plagues and natural disasters.

Of course, Eric and Andrew are like "no fucking way" and "is this a hate crime?"...but when they refuse to choose one or the other to sacrifice (we know they ain't killing Wen), the predictions that the gang of four make appear to start coming true. They turn on the news to see multiple epic earthquakes setting off a chain of tsunamis which kill thousands and thousands. They see a new virus spreading like wildfire. They see plans literally falling from the sky. 

Now, in the book, the tension ramps up slowly, with Andrew remaining skeptical and Eric starting to worry that maybe all this is real. Things get more and more violent when they begin fighting back. And then partway through the book (HUGE SPOILER)...a gun accidentally goes off and kills Wen. This event radically changes everything because now Eric and Andrew aren't focused on protecting Wen (her accidental death doesn't count as a sacrifice). In fact, they completely stop giving a fuck once Wen dies and refuse to sacrifice one or the other and basically say, "If God really is doing this, then fuck God." and walking off into the (maybe) apocalypse hand-in-hand. It's quite beautiful, actually. 

Well, when I heard that M. Night Shyamalan was adapting this book, I knew he would pussy out on killing the kid. I also knew he would probably love letting one of the gay men kill the other. Shyamalan's movies are filled with Christian themes, so having a gay dude be forced to sacrifice his husband in order to save the world is basically Shyamalan's wet dream, right? Sorry...do I sound bitter? Well, that's exactly what happens in Shyamalan's vastly inferior version of this story.

Having Wen die is the crux of the entire story and when you take that away, it's no longer the same story. Of course, having a 7 year old girl get her head blown off and then having two gay dudes basically say "Fuck God and fuck the world" and letting the world burn down isn't really Shyamalan's style...and it for certain wouldn't be popular with movie-goers, so I'm not surprised he went in the cowardly, basic-ass-bitch direction that he did. 

I will give it to Shyamalan though: the guy hires good actors. Bautista, Groff, and Aldrige are really great in this movie. That saves the movie from going into "C" territory for me. 

Grade: B

***

Uncle Buck

What can I say? Uncle Buck is great. It's not THE BEST John Hughes movie. But when John Candy flips that giant pancake with a snow shovel, you know you're watching a stone cold classic. 

Grade: B+

Stuff I Watched in...September, 2023

Bottoms

Bottoms is an unhinged high school sex comedy in which two lesbian high schoolers, PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri), start a self-defense club to get the attention of Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Isabel (Havana Rose Liu). The movie is borderline surreal with a principal who says things like "You two better stay in your lane until you're munching beaver at Wesleyan" and a school cafeteria where pineapple is unilaterally banned because the most popular jock in school, Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine), is allergic. Bottoms is definitely going for satire over realism. 

I got a distinctly "Gen Z" feel from this film, which makes sense given the director (Emma Seligman) is 28 years old, and the stars are similarly aged. I think the weird and fast-paced jokes made me feel a bit like an Old, but that's ok. I am a fan of the youths and it's really cool that there's a movie about nerdy high school girls trying to get "cooch" where the fact that they're gay is besides the point. And rather than present them as perfect paragons of queerness, Bottoms lets Josie and PJ be regular old horny, self-centered teens looking to score. 

When their fight club (ahem...self-defense club) becomes popular with both the uncool girls *and* the cool girls (including Brittany and Isabel), PJ and Josie think it's smooth sailing to pussy town. But after Isabel starts ignoring Jeff in favor of Josie, the jocks plan to sabotage the girls and reveal that they started the club not to support women, as they claimed, but to score with women. Will PJ and Josie be able to salvage the relationships they build with the girls in the fight club? Or will trust and credibility be destroyed until they're munching beaver at Wesleyan? You'll have to watch to find out!

Quick notes that 1) Ayo Edebiri is one to watch. She's in everything right now, including a leading role in Hulu's acclaimed series The Bear; and 2) former football player Marshawn Lynch plays Mr. G, PJ and Josie's history teacher who also serves as the fight club's faculty advisor---he is so goddamned funny in this movie. 

Grade: B

***

School of Rock

I rewatched this 2003 Richard Linklater film and was delightfully surprised at how well it holds up, not just as a family-friendly comedy, but as a movie plain and simple. In fact, School of Rock feels like one of the purest, most wholesome-but-not-schmaltzty movies I can think of. It truly has a heart of gold, mostly due to Jack Black's performance as a PG-rated version of himself.

Black plays Dewey Finn, a musician who is kicked out of his own rock band and is forced to find a way to make money to pay the rent to his friend Ned (Mike White) and Ned's ball-busting girlfriend, Patty (Sarah Silverman). Ned is a substitute teacher, so when Dewey answers the phone while Ned is out one day and is told about a long-term sub job at a prestigious private school, he of course pretends to be Ned so he can earn a quick buck. Oh, the days of landlines. The advent of cell phones would make this film impossible.

Dewey thinks he can just tell the 5th graders of Horace Green Prep to "have recess" all day while he naps at the desk, but when he listens in on the students' music class, he realizes that he can, well, exploit their talent. He can turn them into his new band and they can participate in Battle of the Bands and win the grand prize (which, of course, Dewey won't share with them--but it will help him pay the rent).

Put aside the impossibility of the entire premise for a minute and enjoy the child actors' genuine musical ability and Black's performance as a selfish asshole who morphs into someone who actually cares about these kids and bonds with them through love of rock n' roll. School of Rock is a love-letter to music and shows how life-changing music can be for young people. Like I said, this film, like many of Linklater's films, is just good vibes all around. It's a movie with a kind heart that doesn't feel saccharine or preachy. I dug it in 2003 and I still dig it today.

Grade: A

***

Interview with the Vampire (television show)

Despite a few criticisms I have, this adaptation of Anne Rice's classic novel of toxic vampire love is excellent. Season 1 of this show has been updated in a few ways that really make the story shine. First, instead of being a white plantation owner in 1790s Louisiana, Louis de Pointe du Lac is a mixed Black and Creole man living in 1910s New Orleans. Jacob Anderson, previously known for his portrayal as Grey Worm in Game of Thrones, does just the perfect job as this iteration of Louis. 

Louis is from a wealthy family, but because they are Black they have limitations on how they are able to build that wealth. Louis is a brothel owner in the Storyville neighborhood of New Orleans. He is tolerated and even "included" (sort of) by the affluent white men of New Orleans (for example, he is invited to their card game nights), but he is not respected by them and they constantly look for ways to undermine Louis and his goals. 

Louis meets Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid, in turn both menacing and charming), a French man who has strange abilities, such as being able to communicate telepathically. Louis, deeply in the closet, gives in to his desires and begins a sexual and romantic relationship with Lestat that the two insist is just a close business relationship. But after a horrid tragedy brings Louis to a place of despair, Lestat forcibly turns him into a vampire. Lestat spends a lot of time trying to convince Louis that this is the perfect life for the two of them: they don't have to worry for money (Lestat has plenty of it), Louis doesn't have to be beholden to the rich, white assholes who treat him as an uppity nuisance, and the two can fuck and kill as much as they want, as long as they're discreet.

But Louis misses his family and craves love and closeness that Lestat can't give him. He makes an impulsive decision to save a 14 year old girl, Claudia (Bailey Bass), from a fire and convinces Lestat to turn her. Louis thinks they can be a happy family. But it is not to be.

Interview with the Vampire is a melodramatic feast for the eyes. The cinematography is beautiful. The musical score is overbearing. The drama is a little much at times. But overall, this adaptation of Rice's novel is...dare I say it...better than the beloved, campy 1994 film starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. It's both gayer and more interesting. I'm excited for season 2.

Grade: A-

***

Carrie (1976)

This was a rewatch for me (I watched it with my horror-curious friend), but it had been a long while since I last saw Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's novel. Boy, I had forgotten how truly misogynist this movie is. 

If you live under a rock, here's the plot: Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a 16 year old girl who is relentlessly bullied at school and lives with her religious nutcase mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie). When Carrie gets her first period and subsequently freaks out in the locker room showers, the other girls throw tampons and pads at her, telling her to "plug it up". They all get detention and Carrie is, of course, massively traumatized. Her mother never told her about periods and then tells her that she is a sinner because she wouldn't have gotten "the curse" if she never sinned. 

Sue Snell (Amy Irving) feels truly remorseful about her participation in the bullying, so she makes her boyfriend, Tommy (William Katt), take Carrie to the prom. Mean girl Chris (Nancy Hargensen) and her boyfriend, Billy (John Travolta), conceive a plot to humiliate Carrie: they will rig the voting so that Carrie and Tommy are elected Prom Queen and King and then dump a bucket of pig's blood onto Carrie when she is up on stage in front of the entire school. This humiliation triggers Carrie's telekinetic abilities and she basically kills everyone, including her mother. 

Carrie--the book and the film--is a product of its time. The intense emphasis on the importance of the prom and getting a boyfriend feels very dated in today's world (even knowing that those things are still important to many young people). Even the gym teacher who feels bad for Carrie tells her "You're a pretty girl--a little makeup would bring out those eyes". Even the "good" people in this movie are all about getting Carrie a date and a makeover. To be fair, there are many people who still believe that a woman's worth lies in her looks and the quality of the man on her arm. But the movie just feels old school as fuck.

Despite the misogyny, the horrific thrill of seeing Carrie humiliated and then immediately at the height of her powers, killing every dumb motherfucker in sight, is undeniably breathtaking. Who among us hasn't fantasized about having some kind of power over the people who hurt us? Whether that power is a murderous one, like Carrie's, or even just the ability to say the most cutting remark that will make the bully a laughingstock in front of everyone. Carrie is massively relatable. Unless you're a Chris or a Billy (or a Margaret), in which case I'd just be careful about who you bully. 

Grade: A-

***

The Other Black Girl

Based on the book by Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl is a 10 episode series on Hulu. I was...not crazy about it. I was really not into the message of the series, which seems to be that Black women will screw other Black women over to make it in Capitalist white America.

Nella Rogers (Sinclair Daniel) is an editorial assistant at Wagner Books and dreams of being a full-time editor so she can usher stories about Black people into the world and the "little Nellas" out there will be inspired the way she was inspired by Burning Heart, her favorite book growing up. Nella is also the only Black employee at Wagner. That is until Hazel-May McCall (Ashleigh Murray) shows up. Another editorial assistant, Hazel at first claims to want to be friends with Nella, but quickly proves herself untrustworthy by throwing Nella under the boss in front of her boss.

Despite getting off on the wrong foot, Hazel tries to woo Nella back into friendship, even through Nella's boyfriend and best friend Malaika (Brittany Adebumola) don't trust her. But when Nella meets Hazel's "sisterhood" of close girlfriends--all of them polished, poised, and fiercely ambitious--Nella realizes that something is very off. When she and Malaika try to investigate, they find themselves in danger from the very women who claim to have their backs.

The Other Black Girl has been called "Get Out meets The Devil Wears Prada", but it's not as socially relevant as the former nor as entertaining as the latter. Like I said, the message of the series is a little bit fucked up. I don't love it. It was entertaining enough to binge in a couple days but I can't say I recommend it.

Grade: C+

***

Joyride (2001)

Not to be confused with the 2022 film, this turn-of-the-century (!!) thriller stars the late, great Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, and Leelee Sobieski. And the iconic voice of Ted Levine (best known for his role as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs). Walker and Zahn play Lewis and Fuller Thomas. Lewis is a college student making a cross-country trek home from college. He picks up his ne'er do well brother, Fuller, from prison in Salt Lake City and the two get on the road to Boulder, CO, where they plan to pick up Venna (Sobieski), a hometown friend whom both guys have a crush on.

Fuller gets a mechanic to install a CB radio in the car so they can listen to truckers' conversations (and get tips about speed traps). But when the boys decide to play a prank on a lonely long-haul trucker (going by the name Rusty Nail), they make a deadly mistake. They pretend to be a woman, Candy Cane, and lure Rusty Nail to a motel and a direct him to the room of a guest who was rude and racist to the night manager of the motel. But the next morning, rude guy is discovered with his jaw ripped clean off. Turns out that Rusty Nail doesn't like to be the butt of a joke.

Rusty is able to track the boys down and nearly kills them, stopping when they apologize and beg for forgiveness. But when they pick up Venna, Rusty is back on their tail, having an almost preternatural ability to find Fuller and Lewis. We don't see Rusty until the very end of the movie, only hearing that iconic Ted Levine voice (I can't help but think of him asking Jodie Foster, "Was she a big, fat person?" in Silence of the Lambs) over the radio. 

Joyride is a fun, ridiculous movie that will make you never want to play a prank on (or even do that "blow the horn" motion at) a long-haul trucker.

Grade: B

Stuff I watched in...August, 2023

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Based on the non-fiction book by Andreas Malm, How to Blow Up a Pipeline shows what can happen when a group of people with little to lose and just enough self-righteousness are pushed to the brink. Eight young people come together in Texas to collaborate on building bombs to blow up an unguarded section of an oil pipeline with the goal of 1) spiking oil prices and 2) sending a message to the powers that be. They have no interest in hurting anyone with this bomb; they simply want to take radical action to fight back against the capitalist systems that propel climate destruction forward. This is a very timely movie and it captures the desperation many people feel about climate change.

The film delves into the background of all eight people so that we understand their motivations. Every character is fully three-dimensional, even if their reasons for participating in a project that could get them arrested or killed seem a little foolish. We understand how they got to this point, as well as the connections between them. We are invested in their success at building a bomb and blowing up property--the movie presents them as doing the right thing, but it does not turn them into superheroes who are morally pure. In fact, I wish the movie had spent a little more time dwelling on how their actions will bring real harm not just to the corporate fat cats, but to the average Joe trying to survive. It touches on this dilemma but then moves right past it.

While watching How to Blow Up a Pipeline, I felt acutely aware of how short I fall of true radicalism, which is almost certainly a good thing for me personally. However, the movie can't help but inspire me to look into ways I can help fight climate change. It's a problem that is so enormous, so global, that it feels like anything you do will have no impact, so why bother? To be honest, I still mostly feel that way...but How to Blow Up a Pipeline is really good fodder for inspiration, passion, and curiosity. Highly recommended.

Grade: A- 

***

Cruising

Directed by the recently deceased William Friedkin, Cruising is a thriller starring Al Pacino as a heterosexual undercover cop who dives into the world of gay leather and BDSM in 1980 New York City to find a serial killer. I first heard about this film in the documentary The Celluloid Closet, which presents it as a homophobic film. However, a lot of gay people seem to love it! I think it's a gritty, sexual movie that is iconic to the people who, you know, actually have gay sex, and gross to the hets. I watched it and was pleasantly surprised to discover that given the time period during which the movie was filmed, it's actually pretty respectful (or at least not too judgy) of gay S&M subculture. The hets are the ones who judge. 

Cruising captures a very specific time and place: this is a pre-AIDS New York City with adult bookstores, people getting straight-up fisted in bars, people doing poppers left and right. This is not the Disney-ified New York City of Rudy Giuliani. This is some nasty, dirty shit and I am here for it! Despite being a straight guy, Al Pacino's character, Steve Burns, dives right into this world, doing poppers and letting men tie him up in cheap motel rooms. But the killer, who preys on gay men who happen to look a lot like Al Pacino, eludes him. 

Cruising is definitely a tad "problematic" as the kids say, specifically when it comes to the killer's motivations. But for a movie about gay S&M that came out 43 years ago, I'd say it does a pretty fucking good job of not making gay men in general and gay men into leather specifically into freaks. Hell, there are even some trans women who get hassled by the cops and they are treated as actual human beings by the movie! So yeah, I totally recommend this iconic film!

Grade: B+

***

From Dusk Till Dawn

Given how much I love Quentin Tarantino's work, I am surprised it took me this long to watch From Dusk Till Dawn, which was written by QT and directed by Robert Rodriguez. If you haven't seen this 1996 film, stop reading now and go watch it. I'll wait...

Ok, so if you're still reading, you know that the big twist of this movie is that it starts off as a crime thriller and turns into a vampire movie halfway through. Brothers Seth and Richie Gecko (a baby George Clooney and an appropriately creepy, foot-obsessed Quentin Tarantino) are on the run from the law. They force a family of three at gunpoint to drive them over the Mexican border in the family's RV and head out to a bar called The Titty Twister to meet up with a guy who will provide sanctuary for the fugitives. The family consists of ex-pastor Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis) and son Scott (Ernest Liu). 

But once they're at the Titty Twister, shit hits the fan when all the people who work there--the bartenders, the bouncers, the strippers, the band, etc--turn into very weird-looking vampires and try to kill everyone. The Fuller family, the Gecko brothers, and a couple other patrons of the bar, Frost (Fred Williamson) and Sex Machine (a wonderful Tom Savini), have to team up to fight back. With Jacob's knowledge from his years as a pastor, they have tactics to kill the vamps if they can all learn to work together.

From Dusk Till Dawn is a hoot. I love how half the movie has QT's signature smart, funny dialogue while the other half of the movie is just constant vampire puns ("I really...suck!"). Also, the film is surprisingly spiritual. Jacob (Keitel is great, as he always is) has to reconnect with his faith under extreme duress to protect his children. The reason he lost his faith in the first place is because his wife died in a senseless accident. Can he forgive God in order to fight off the vampires from Hell? That was a subplot I didn't expect.

I definitely recommend this movie if you're a fan of irreverent comedy-horror. It's also a fairly safe movie for horror-babies. The special effects are straight-up goofy, which makes the film more comedic than scary.

Grade: A-

***

Red, White & Royal Blue

Based on what I gather is a far superior book by Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue is a safe, perfectly fine gay romantic comedy. While you might not want to watch it with Grandma, it's probably safe to watch with your 16 year old kid sister. There are sex scenes, but they are--sadly--in good taste. Almost too good of taste. When people fuck in a movie, they should make you believe it. That said, perhaps one measure of acceptance of LGBTQ relationships is if they make movies about said relationships that are just as boring and tasteful as movies about straight relationships.

The plot concerns Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the fictional spare to the British throne, and Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of Ellen Claremont, the first female President of the United States. These two young men are forced into each others' company for various political events even though they can't stand each other. Henry thinks Alex is an annoying clown and Alex thinks Henry is an elitist snob.

So, obviously, they fall in love. 

One nice thing about RW&RB is that they don't spend too long on the "we hate each other" part, and pretty much get right to the "flirting wildly over text" part. I really struggle with romcoms for various reasons, one of which is that romantic conflict makes upsets me. Like, I'll watch a movie where cannibals eat a live baby, but if someone makes their romantic partner cry, I can't take it. Welcome to the world of anxious attachment!

However, this movie is way too long. It's two hours long and could easily have been 90-100 minutes. Especially since Alex and Henry get past the initial "ick" very quickly. It felt a bit draggy in the second half. RW&RB is very cute and pleasant. There really isn't that undeniable heat I like to see in romantic movies, but I feel that, sadly, it's par for the course for romcoms to not have a lot of heat. Please, I'm begging you: name me a romantic comedy (not just a romantic movie, but a romcom specifically) where the leads look like they want to eat each other's faces off. PLEASE. I want to give this genre a chance, but all I'm finding are boring, trope-filled movies that are the equivalent of a dry peck on the lips. RW&RB is a smidge more interesting since the fact that the lovers are both male and in the public spotlight adds an element of angst and vulnerability that most romcoms don't have. But at the end of the day, that peck is still pretty dry.

Grade: B-