2017 Films: #33. Killing of a Sacred Deer

An iTunes rental on December 29th in Chicago, IL. This psychological horror film was written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. The film is a modernized version of the Greek tragedy Iphigenia at Aulis.

Colin Farrell plays renown cardiac surgeon Dr. Steven Murphy. He kind of mentors Martin (Barry Keoghan), a teenage boy who's father passed away. Steven holds back on some details about his relationship to Martin with his own family and eventually decides it's a good idea to invite him to dinner to meet his family. Martin is very charming and takes a shine to the Murphy's daughter Kim (Raffey Cassidy). Martin returns the favor by having Steven over for dinner but it doesn't go well after Martin's mother makes a pass him that he rebuffs and leaves. Over the next few days Martin tries to reconnect with Steven but is ignored. Meanwhile, Steven's son Bob (Sunny Suljic) is unable to use his legs one morning and is rushed to the hospital. Tests reveal that there is nothing wrong with Bob. While this is going on, Kim and Martin go out on a date and Kim becomes infatuated with Martin.

The next day at the hospital Martin and Steven speak in private and Martin reveals that he holds Steven responsible for his father's death. He has placed a curse Steven's family where they will suffer before dying a terrible death. In order to balance things out, Steven's family needs to be destroyed. Soon Kim falls to the curse and Steven comes clean with his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) about his relationship with Martin. Anna, who is a doctor herself, investigates the operation and finds out that Steven had a few drinks prior to the surgery.

Kim and Bob are taken home but their condition does not improve. In a panic, kidnaps Martin and tortures him in order to lift the curse. Kim crawls down into the basement and offers to runaway with Martin if he'll make her better. Anna ends up releasing Martin reasoning that it will do no good to keep him and that they should kill one of the children as they can have more children. As Bob enters the final stage leading to death, Steven ties up the family in the living room and attempts to shoot one randomly while blindfolded.

To say the least, this picture pulled me in. The cast showed little emotion other than anger and seemed robotic but that was deliberate. Lanthimos uses a lot of angles to show how vast and empty things are. Everything appears antiseptic. Very nice use of color and light.

This is a very interesting film. In 2016 Lanthimos' American debut, The Lobster, received an 88% Rotten Tomatoes rating. There was a lot of positive buzz about the film for being different. This effort gives us more of the same and it received a 79% Rotten Tomatoes rating. This not a film for everyone, Lanthimos creates tension slowly and with a 121 minute run time, it may be too slow for some. Lanthimos is a director who's going in a different direction and it could be worthwhile to check out his past work and keep an eye out for his next film. 

2017 Films: #31. Saving Capitalism

A Netflix viewing on December 16th in Chicago. Jacob Kornbluth directs the film that's based on Robert Reich's 2015 novel of same name. I had been looking forward to this film as I was a big fan of Kornbluth's and Reich's 2013 collaboration, Inequality for All.

Reich is a liberal economist/professor/author with excellent credentials. The premise is that instead of a book tour, he's going out on a pseudo lecture tour in middle America, the conservative heartland to talk to people about economics. There's a scene where he has a dinner with some Kansas City entrepreneurs who are of course conservative. The entrepreneurs let Reich know that they feel vilified by him because they're rich and worked hard to get there, which is never the target of Reich's rants. Nothing really ever comes of this dinner. We also get interviews with farmers about the 2016 election. There are segments that explain how the average person is left out of the economy, how corporations game the system and how politicians cash in after their service.

The film goes in different directions but finally comes to the conclusion that crony capitalism is to blame.

Which I find hard to believe that this is some sort of news flash.

I found this film to be a bit disappointing. It was not as good as Inequality for All. It seemed to take a roundabout way to make it's point and the only solution I came away with was to elect better officials, good luck, and end crony capitalism, good luck again.  I guess I will have to read the book.

2017 Films: #30. Blade of the Immortal

An OnDemand viewing on December 2nd. Renown director Takashi Miike brings this manga series of the same name to the screen as his 100th film.

Taking place in feudal Japan, our protagonist Manji, has killed a corrupt lord and his guards, one of which is the husband of his little sister Machi, who loses it over the grief of her husband's death. A bounty is placed on Manji's head and his sister is captured. On the way to rescue his sister, Mani duels an 800 year old samurai, which really doesn't do much for the advancement of the plot other than to give you a little, but not really needed, backstory on how one becomes an immortal samurai.

Machi is killed in front of Manji and he gracefully hacks his way through the group before succumbing to his wounds. Before he does pass, a wandering mystic inserts sacred bloodworms into his body to bring him back to life. Fast forward 52 years and young Rin's parents are murdered by the Ittō-ryū under the orders of Kagehisa Anotsu. Seeking revenge, Rin comes across the same wandering mystic that created Manji and she tells Rin where to find Manji to enlist his aid. Manji at first doesn't want the gig but the fact that Rin looks exactly like his sister Machi, he takes the job with hopes that by helping Rin, he can cleanse his soul. Manji starts killing off Anotsu's subordinates and it leads to a final battle with Kagehisa.

There is a lot going on with this film. There's an entire subplot of Kagehisa trying to bring all the dojos in line to teach one form of fencing, the one he's really good at. This is why he kills Ren's father. Kagehisa is betrayed by his backer, Habaki has betrayed him and killed his follower prior to the final battle with Manji. Since the film is based on a long running manga series, there's a lot of story and characters that would need to be worked into the film. But with a run time of 141 minutes, the film drags at a few points. I chose to watch this because it sounded cool so for me to say that there too many characters and too many scenes (do we really need another scene where a character asks for help/training from the protagonist, who initially refuses but ends up taking the job anyway? Can't the guy just say, "sure, I would love to help train/exact revenge" for a change? In fact can we do away with that trope already? There wouldn't be much of a movie if the guy actually stuck by his guns and not trained/helped whomever asked)  is a little shortsighted but it was too long.

The film got an 85% Rotten Tomatoes rating but it was apparently not that well received in Japan. Blade of the Immortal is a solid film but it pales comparison to Miike's 13 Assassins from 2011. I would recommend 13 Assassins over Blade of the Immortal. To me, this could have been a better film with another round in the editing room.

2017 Films: #2. Get Out

March 4th in Chicago, IL. Not sure how I forgot to mention this film throughout the course of the year, which is a crime, but better late than never. This picture has been talked about all year and since this post is over 8 months late, there really isn't much more I can add. Get Out is one of the year's best films. It was also the year's runaway hit.

Get Out had a working budget of $5 million, took in $33 million on it's opening weekend, has grossed over $175 million domestically and over $252 million worldwide. Jordan Peele wrote and directed this film about a young black man, Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), going to meet the parents of his white girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams). Suffice to say, things go down a little differently than Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

The film has a great cast. Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener and Caleb Landry Jones are great as Rose's creepy parents and brother. But it was LilRel Howery who stole the show as Chris's conspiracy theory cousin Rod who works for TSA. Rod's conspiracies are ridiculous but he usually turns out to be right but law enforcement just mocks him. The  picture got a 99% Rotten Tomatoes rating. As great as the film is, that rating seems a bit on the high side and no film is that close to perfect.

The is worth watching and if you haven't seen the film, see it. You shouldn't be disappointed. There's humor, tension and horror. Then there's the "hidden meaning" that is worth checking out as well as the film's philosophy, which leans toward not trusting rich white people.

2017 Films: #29. Justice League

Tuesday November 21st in Chicago, IL. It has been a long road. What started out as an as an idea over 10 years ago finally made it to the big screen, though one could argue that Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was kind of a Justice League film. Outside of Nolan's Batman films, the DCEU has paled in comparison to Marvel, the lone exception being Wonder Woman and the filmmakers wisely decided to make it a Marvel film.

Since Marvel has had a lot of success with the Avengers, DC decided that if you can't beat them, join them. Join them they did. They made an Avengers film with DC characters. Which is fine, that's the formula and Hollywood sticks to formulas. The problem is that Justice League is not a very good Avengers film. The film has made a lot of money. Over $600 million worldwide, but that doesn't make it a good film.

Anyway, Superman's death activated three Mother Boxes that were hidden on Earth since a huge battle that put the forces of Darkseid's henchman Steppenwolf and his army of parademons against an all-star line-up of heroes representing Earth that including the Amazons, Atlanteans, the Gods (of the Greek variety), metahumans and a member of the Green Lantern Corps (which would have made for a more interesting film). Steppenwolf is defeated and the Mother Boxes are hidden, instead of destroying them of course, so that they can't be united and bring about doom to the Earth.

Fast forward a few millennia and Steppenwolf is back and he's after the Mother Boxes. He easily defeats the Amazons in a pitched battle for the 1st Mother Box, a fact that was not touched upon in Wonder Woman by the way. He then goes to Atlantis and even more easily takes the 2nd Mother Box, there may not have been enough money it the films massive budget for this. The battle for the 3rd Mother Box take place in Gotham where the heroes manage to keep Steppenwolf at bay. Batman decides to use the final Mother Box to resurrect Superman despite not everyone on the team being in agreement that this is a good idea. Superman is resurrected (did anyone not see this coming?) and after a brief fight with the Justice League (if you're going to copy Marvel, you go all in) he simmers down. Steppenwolf easily gets the 3rd Mother Box which leads to a showdown in Russia of all places.

Steppenwolf's plan is merge the Mother Boxes together so they can terraform Earth into Apokolips friendly atmosphere ( because it worked so well for Zod in Man of Steel). The League battles Steppenwolf as he managed to merge the Mother Boxes. Wonder Woman and Aquaman battle Steppenwolf, Superman and Flash evacuate the town (though Superman could have been more useful in the battle as he is the most powerful being) leaving Cyborg to unmerge the boxes. Spoiler alert, the heroes save the day.

Rotten Tomatowise, this film was not that good, the plot is convoluted and predictable. Plus you get the same settings director Zach Snyder can't bear to stop using. Snyder has directed three films in the DCEU that range from bad to mediocre at best. Visually, they can barely be distinguished (which goes for most of his films) from one another. Give the next one to Patty Jenkins.

Much like SNL's "more cowbell" sketch, the DCEU needs more Wonder Woman. The presence of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman makes this film bearable. From her introduction to the film, great scene, to final scene, she is awesome. Affleck seems to have gotten tired of being Batman and it showed. When Batman is in his heavy armor for the final battle, CGI is needed to pull off the stunts and it shows. They're not good. Affleck's best scene is as Bruce Wayne when he responds with "I'm rich," after Flash inquires about his superpower.

Speaking of Flash, I thought Ezra Miller's performance of Flash/Barry Allen was fine except for the speed effects that were not as good as either Quicksilver from Marvel. The character's biggest non-effects related problem was the ridiculous the run time padding scenes with his father. It added nothing to the film and wasted the talents of Billy Crudup. I liked Ray Fisher (Cyborg/Victor Stone) a lot but as I mentioned before, the CGI needed to pull off the character seemed unfinished. Cyborg had the most depth of any of the new characters. The character had intelligence and was good in a fight. Jason Mamoa had some good moments as Aquaman but he was little more that a discount strongman. The film had a few good moments of humor but could've used more. It is my belief that neither of these three characters could hold their own in a stand alone film without cameos from the likes of Wonder Woman, Batman or Superman.

DC has had ten years and several Marvel films to copy and they still could not get it right. If you have been following the DCEU then you should see the film. Otherwise you're not missing much.

Moore vs. Jones: Who's the Better Guy? My worthless two cents.

We're all way too familiar with this race to fill an Alabama Senate seat. I would like to take a different approach and put the political aspect aside and look at Mr. Moore and Mr. Jones on their merits and past deeds (just the highlights), without going into too much research, given.

Mr. Moore was actually a Democrat before 1992. He attended West Point and served in Vietnam in the early 1970s. According to his autobiography, his troops really didn't think much of him. Discharged in 1974 he went to law school and into private practice by 1977 as a personal injury attorney. In the early to mid-80s Moore worked as a prosecutor where he was investigated for "suspect conduct(???)" in regards to sheriff's funding but nothing came of it. In 1982 he unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for circuit court judge, losing a primary run off in a bitter campaign. Another bar complaint against Moore also came and went after the election. In 1986 he ran for District Attorney for Etowah County in Alabama and lost in the Democratic primary. Moore moves to Australia for a year, goes into private practice until 1992 where he becomes a Republican and gets appointed as a circuit court judge and wins the election in 1994.

In 1999 Moore wins a seat on the Alabama State Supreme Court on a slogan of returning "God to our public life and restore the moral foundation of our law." He became Chief Justice in 2001. His time on the sate supreme court is marked by controversy. Not controversy from legal decisions mind you, but religious ones. There was the Ten Commandments thing that would get him removed from the bench in 2003. Moore would get back on the State Supreme Court in 2012 and of course, more controversy. In 2016 Moore was suspended for putting his own religious beliefs above the rule of law when he failed to follow the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, where same sex couples were guaranteed the fundamental right to marry.

Mr. Jones graduated from the University of Alabama in 1976, got his law degree in 1979 and worked as an assistant US Attorney from 1980-84. From 1984-97 he was in private practice where he mainly dealt with commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense. Really underwhelming stuff. In 1997, Jones was appointed US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama by President Clinton where he would serve until 2001.

Who remembers the bombing of Centennial Olympic Park back in 1996? The man responsible, WHITE CHRISTIAN TERRORIST Eric Robert Rudolph, also bombed a few other places. One of which was an abortion clinic in Birmingham, AL that killed a police officer. Jones helped put together a task force to hunt Rudolph down as well as securing an indictment against him. Jones' big accomplishment was convicting two WHITE CHRISTIAN TERRORISTS of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing of 1963.

Watch Spike Lee's documentary 4 Little Girls for historical perspective. 

The FBI investigated the case and even named the culprits but no court proceedings were brought forth until 1977. I can only describe this is as a travesty of justice, it still falls short however. Seriously, watch the film and try not to get outraged. Over a decade after the conviction of Robert Chambliss, the FBI discretely re-opened the case and in 2000, Thomas Edwin Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry were indicted on multiple counts of first degree murder. Jones was able to win a conviction against Blanton in 2001 after the jury deliberated for two hours. Jones would eventually secure a conviction against Cherry in 2002 on four counts of first degree murder.

Again, eliminate political affiliation. Let's go further and not include into the equation the fact that one candidate was banned from a local mall for trying to pick up teenage girls while working as a prosecutor. Now who seems like a better person to serve in the Senate? An attention seeking guy who was removed from the state supreme court for violating federal law, twice? Or a guy who helps bring to justice a cop killer and who convicts murderers of children?

2017 Films: #28 Never Here

An OnDemand viewing on November 4th in Chicago, IL. After looking through iTunes, Netflix and finally OnDemand, this is the title my wife and I decided upon. It's a psychological thriller starring Mireille Enos (which is why we went with it) is Miranda Fall a conceptual artist (I had to look it up) that photographs strangers without their knowing. and turns the final product into an exhibit. The film opens up with her latest exhibit, a found cell found that she harvested the information from rather than return it, much to the chagrin of the owner, who expresses his dislike towards the exhibit and threatens to sue.

Later than evening  Miranda is with her art dealer and sometimes lover (it's ok because it's just sex, he's married and emotionally devoted to his terminally ill wife, what a guy!) Paul, Sam Shepard in his last role. After coitus, Paul witnesses a assault on a woman from the window but pulls the old "I don't want to get involved" card. Miranda, not wanting to hear that, decides that she will act as the witness. It's practically the same thing right?

Anyway the cop who questions her turns out to be an old boyfriend. It doesn't take long for Miranda and Detective Williams (Vincent Piazza) to fire up the old flame cliche. From there, weird sh*t starts to happen. Her exhibit gets vandalized, her dog acts really strange and things start moving around in her apartment. It also happens that the man who confessed to the assault didn't actually commit the crime and the perpetrator is still floating around. Miranda starts following a guy who is supposed to be her next exhibit but suddenly feels that he may be the culprit. Anyway, Miranda starts to lose her grip on reality and slips into madness.

There's a few things to like about this slow burning thriller. Enos does a fine job as Miranda. Camille Thoman wrote and directed the film and it kind of falls short at the end. I personally enjoy thrillers where the main character loses it but we do not really get a payoff. Or there was a payoff and it went over my head. Despite a 110 minute run time, the film feels incomplete but got an 82% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Solid acting, nice use of lighting but to me, it comes up short and ran a little long.