Shanghai_Samurai Reviews

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

The Only Stars That Matter

[8/10 · 22 June 2019]

This Ali Wong and Randall Park co-written and acted romantic comedy, directed by Nahnatchka Khan, is a passable flick, pushed slightly above the usual bar by genuinely funny one-liners and a cameo that is not to be missed. You are unlikely to be disappointed despite the standard plot points, save it for one of your open Netflix nights. You'll have a few chuckles, a couple of laugh out loud moments, and may find some poignancy.

Cop Car (2015)

Degrees of Kevin Bacon

[6/10 · 21 June 2019]

A compact film - neither a Coen brother's modern Western nor a horrible no-budget - it features to passable child actors up against Kevin Bacon - as a corrupt sheriff. This is a passable movie that I enjoyed on a late night with nothing else to do - and didn't feel it time wasted. Kevin Bacon puts on an excellent performance as a desperate, despicable cop - somehow you feel this is the type of character he was born to play.

The House That Jack Built (2018)

Very Von Trier

[6/10 · 16 June 2019]

Following a similar mechanism as the two part Nymphomaniac, where the primary character (previously Charlotte Gainsberg recounting her sexual obsessions with Stellan Skarskard), the wonderful Matt Dillon does the same here as a voiceover, except the topic is psychotic murder. Make no mistake, this is a macabre comedy - I shamelessly laughed out loud a few times at what I may not want admit to, in describing what The House That Jack Built is, to friends or family. In fact, it's better not to tell anyone you watched this film if you saw it by yourself, like I did. The film is a bit self-indulging Von Trier-Nees - you'll see what I mean if you decide to watch. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it's certainly a piece of art that cannot be mistaken for any other artist - much like a Picasso or a Blake.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Monstrously inept

[3/10 · 16 June 2019]

Not a decent cast (the consistent Vera Farmiga, up-and-coming Millie Bobbie Brown, and one of my favorite actors - Kyle Chandler), not a monster budget, or a juicy concept can save this one from the sheer boredom and predictable plot points that hampers it. It's trailer was a hit on Reddit - epic and beautifully scored - and I kind of wish I left it at the trailer.

Dark Phoenix (2019)

Weak, but there are moments that justified my $4 T-Mobile Tuesday special

[5/10 · 9 June 2019]

So I have T-mobile for my phone service, and they have these specials called T-Mobile Tuesdays. I got to watch Dark Phoenix for $4.

Thank goodness, because that's about what it was worth, a third of a normal movie.

This is not a complete write-off, mind you. As with the other X-Men installments since First Class, performances but James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are a joy to watch. Giddy fanboy moments, previously best held by fun Quicksilver sequences, are handed over to Nightcrawler and Magneto.

Don't bother trying to resolve plot and canon inconsistencies. Action sequences - one is space and one on a train, along with fantastic scoring by Hans Zimmer, are what to enjoy here.

The Silence (II) (2019)

Alright

[6/10 · 2 June 2019]

The Netflix original, The Silence, arrives on the heels of other "sensory" horror - A Quiet Place and The Birdbox, but is based on original material. The production value is surprisingly good. You won't be rolling your eyeballs at bad CGI, setpieces, or cinematography. Smart choices to cast the journeyman actor Stanley Tucci and young horror princess Kiernan Shipka (If you haven't seen her in The BlackCoat's Daughter, and are a fan of good indie horror - you should). You won't be blown away, but it's a decent watch on, dare I say, a quiet evening.

Polar (I) (2019)

Comic-like violence

[6/10 · 1 June 2019]

I can appreciate comic violence - Sin City or John Wick comes to mind. Polar has elements similar to both. Starting off with a little too many fast cuts and gratuitous clever scene titles, you will still be engaged by the over-the-top situations, assassins, juxtaposed against the consistently formidable Mads Mikkleson. Stick with it, though, and it packs a surprising punch that makes you wonder if you are watching the same movie at the end that you were at the beginning, and that's not necessarily a bad thing here.

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Pretty, glorious, and brutally funny

[8/10 · 30 May 2019]

I saw Quentin Tarantino's 8th film on opening night in 70 mm, intermission and all. It was pretty big and fantastic, if not a little bit exhausting. Thankfully, the intermission allowed for a bathroom break.

I just watched it again, now 4 years later, as the extended edition on Netflix, broken into four episodes, and in UHD 4K.

The snowy vistas in high def digital are as epic and beautiful as you'll see in any film. The majority of the story happens indoors, though, in Mimi's Haberdashery, which provides a more intimate feel, as if you are alone with these characters with the blizzard outside, and the noisy footsteps on the wooden floors inside (You need two boards!)

The featured racism of Tarantino's films, and liberal use of the "N" word, doesn't age well with time. It jars. It seems less funny, and even a little sad. But it is what it is, and will stand the test of time in its quality, and what it tried to say as an adjunct to entertainment. What cannot be denied are the performances that Tarantino brings out of his eclectic mix of characters. Walter Goggins still is a standout performance, and thankfully, a redemptive one.

I look forward to seeing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, knowing that QT will once again bring together time, music, set pieces, gore, dark humor, pulpy dialogue, and more - and would also like to see how his take on the more regrettable aspects of our culture has (or hasn't) evolved over the last few years.

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Truth Scarier Than Fiction

[8/10 · 28 May 2019]

Spike Lee connects his art to the racism in America. Blackkklansman makes no mystery that it is equal parts thesis and entertainment. While a real-life montage of the events in Charlottesville, VA caps the movie - at first heavy-handedly, it dawns on the viewer quickly that the visceral violence of it and the circus of responses by public figures are no less scary than the sentinal events of our previous century.

Before this sobering slap-in-the-face, however, enjoy the quirky and wonderful performances of John David Washington as Ron Stallwoth, the black Colorado Springs Officer who will infiltrate the "Organization" through ingenuity and serendipity, his solid, helpful partner played by the consistent Adam Driver, and almost unrecognizable Michael Buscemi, Topher Grace playing the ridiculous David Duke, and my surprise favorite: Jasper Paakkonen as a klansman. Paakonen doubles in real life as a world-renowned fly fisherman, conservationalist, and spokesperson for the outdoor company Patagonia - but you would never know it as he portrays one of the most uncomfortably villainous characters I have seen.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Work of Passion

[9/10 · 18 May 2019]

John Wick 3: Parabellum continues the worst couple of weeks of Mr. Wick's life, and it just keeps getting worse. Ultra-violent and ultra-cool, this series is a work of passion - from the principle actors training for months on the shooting range to become competition-Level marksmen (and women), or the writers who keep building a world that is as rooted in fantasy as Harry Potter or Middle Earth. More Matrix then your standard assassin flick, it pushes the characters, settings, activities, attire, and weapons to increasing levels of fandom. Will it ever over-saturate us to fatigue? Perhaps, in future spinoffs and installments. But not yet. In 3, John, and his world of super-cool killers, haven't ceased surprising us.

Dark River (2017)

Bleak and Harrowing

[8/10 · 17 May 2019]

Ruth Wilson carries this film in devastating fashion, through the dark, cold, windy, and disorientating farmland of northern England, where sister and brother vie for tenancy of their deceased father's land. With the menace of Winter's Bone and the tragic tone of Tim Roth's War Zone, the pain of an abused - an emotional cripple trying to forge through the trauma that transcends past and present - has never been made more precipitant than in Dark River. Words ring harsh, blows and falls are felt - this is one that lives you feeling wounded. Precede at your own risk.

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

Cast Iron

[7/10 · 9 May 2019]

It seems natural to take Dragged Across Concrete in context with Zahler's other films, Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99. The gore, while maybe not as frequently presented in terms of exploding or mangled body part per minute, as the other two films, is still there - in exploitation some would say, but it does further the story or say something more about a character. It's the slowest burn of the slow burns that his movies are, but for it's almost 3 hours of running time, kept my attention. The characters, major or minor (keep your eye out for Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter), are compelling, contrasting - and even for the haters of this film - you have to admit that Zahler takes seriously one requirement of good story-telling: motivation. He has you either wondering about, marveling at, relating to, or saying "WTF man?" to what makes his characters tick.

Thunder Road (2018)

An Index Film

[10/10 · 31 March 2019]

There are some films I like to think of as a barometer for the casual film fan as a critic. Preferences differ, of course. But some displays of raw, unbridled, imperfect, but awesome talent demands appreciation. Some are the break-out directorial projects of great imaginations like M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, Denis Villanueve's Incendies, or the Coen Brothers' Fargo. Actor-Directors like Mel Gibson in Braveheart, or writer-actors like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky. Triple threats like Woody Allen, Charlie Chaplin, or Spike Lee. Can you imagine a fellow film-goer saying any of these in their quintessential works "suck," or deserve 1 Star? Thunder Road can stand proudly among the greats. If your companion says it "wasn't funny at all," or was "boring," go watch The Avengers with them, and discuss the philosophical nuances of Thanos, but treat yourself to your favorite indies by yourself and your popcorn. And enjoy fully.

Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town (2017)

The Mackenzie Show

[8/10 · 8 March 2019]

With a strong supporting cast (who gets tired of Carrie Coon? If so, you are fired as an audience member), this is truly the Mackenzie show - an often funny, sometimes frustrating, ultimately cathartic - for some, confusing - end song. Think train-wreck, one-hit-wonder, musician trying to stop her ex from getting engaged, but somehow has to get across town while her car is in the shop in her vomit-covered catering uniform from a black-out night before.

Slither (2006)

Sick fun

[6/10 · 8 March 2019]

Watching this in the context of James Gunn's recent troubles, it lends context to the mind of a man with a - well - sick sense of humor that knows little bounds. Maybe he was just kidding. Look for early echoes of his later "Guardians" work, and enjoy the confident campiness that we haven't seen since the first Tremors hit the screen. Also, prepare to be gleefully grossed out.

The Queen (2006)

Whew Helen Mirren

[9/10 · 8 March 2019]

I gave The Queen a second viewing more than ten years later - the events of Princess Diana's passing coming back into personal memory with surprising lucidity. A slew of films and tv shows featuring monarchs through the ages has somewhat saturated our minds with what it means to be a royal, perhaps, but witnessing The Queen in almost documentarian realism sobers our fancies. Helen Mirren, rightfully awarded, puts on a depiction of a generation - the strong supporting cast appear incidental. Who knows if this is the persona of the Queen - does it matter now that we have the telling of events so truthfully brought to life that it may as well be the reality of something we certainly won't know in full.

Look Away (2018)

Don't look away.

[8/10 · 8 March 2019]

Don't look away from this one if you are a fan of the slow-burn psychological horror-thriller. Fans of The Blackcoat's Daughter or Thoroughbreds can use their preferences as a barometer of how they will like this film. It tackles perhaps nothing new - but the creepiness of mirrors, evil twins, and the unraveling of an upper class society just barely keeping up the facade of ordered civilization with expert story-telling and a finely tuned camera. Not for everyone - certainly some will be exacerbated by the choices of characters, and the improbabilities - but as a character study of ambiguous psychological breakdown, India Eisley is a joy to study with your eyes.

The Secret (2006 Video)

Ridiculous

[1/10 · 8 March 2019]

I don't know what quite to say about The Secret other than it is silly. With the production value of a PBS special on supernatural events, it tells what I think is a story of the power of positive thinking (inter-meshed with the Law of Attraction) as evidenced by the anecdotes of a number of "scientists," therapists, entrepreneurs, and at least one guy I think was high on something. One big thing is missing, though. What is the denominator of this secret? How many times have people thought positively about something - willed it to happen - and it didn't? Anyway, there's no room for this kind of critical thinking in this tiresome collection of sound bites.

Assassination Nation (2018)

For the LOL's

[5/10 · 15 February 2019]

"Don't blame me, I just got here," Lily, the high school senior-turned Purge leader declares during a monologue about the failings of a commercialized, misogynist society using social media to exploit impressionable young women in middle class suburbia. She, and her gang of friends, are just trying to figure out their place in the sexual hierarchy. When disaster snowballs in the form of fappening-like leaks, people start dying, and it takes off from there. The film makes no secret of its raging social justice, but is sometimes overly kinetic, and loses us somewhere between Mean Girls turning into Kill Bill. I can't say I hate it - and for pure blood aficionados, it delivers. In a story of violent tragedies, one sweet whiff of romance occurs with a transgender character and her crush - blink and you'll miss it. But I found myself relieved for some humanity in this cacophony of nightmare sequences.

Timecrimes (2007)

Great "time"

[6/10 · 6 February 2019]

Decidedly low budget, but delightful its in stark imagery, dark humor, and time-bending script, TimeCrimes finds itself among the mentionable when discussing time travel thrillers - where names like Primer or Triangle might come up. Stick with it, and be rewarded.

Custody (2017)

A horror film

[8/10 · 3 February 2019]

Denis Menochet, best known to American audiences as the French farmer in the introductory scene of Inglorious Bastards, gives a riveting and horrifying performance as an abusive husband and father separated from his wife and vying for joint custody. This is essentially a horror film, where the tightly wound father and husband is no less fearsom than a monster or killer.

Dogtooth (2009)

What's more bizarre?

[7/10 · 3 February 2019]

I was drawn to Dogtooth after seeing Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster and Killing of Sacred Deer. A kind of bizarre surrealism characterizes his work - with no paucity of wtf moments. When applied to a more traditional cinematic model, the combination of his weirdness and mainstream work can be fantastic, as with this year's The Favourite. But his earlier works, like Dogtooth, are the experimental foundation of his art. This story of a father, who has a normal job, but comes home to a family confined to their house-compound by a carefully crafted reality where leaving the house is certain danger until they reach the age of their "dogtooth" falling out (their incisor teeth, the right, or the left, it doesn't matter), leaves us with a voyeuristic look into a suburban bizarro world, with its own language, customs, and adaptations to human needs. This isn't for everyone - but maybe should be, as Dogtooth perhaps shows us more about ourselves, of what we are when left to the total control of a patriarchal power that nourishes are nature with the improvised trappings of the modern world.

Revenge (II) (2017)

So much blood

[8/10 · 3 February 2019]

A pulse pounding, gleeful gorefest of French revenge porn, Revenge dips right in, following the familiar cues, but injecting the cinematic equivalent of hardcore drugs into it. The throbbing synth soundtrack and the starkly beautiful shooting location in the Moroccan desert makes this starlet turned sexy, feminist hunter-killer tale one to place among the best of its genre.

IO (2019)

Waiting

[1/10 · 26 January 2019]

This movie features two decent actors, doing their darndest with a weak script. Set and production design does well with a limited budget - never looking cheap. But have you ever watched a film knowing that it's payoff will be a twist - and you are just waiting for it, and that becomes the reason for continuing to watch the movie?

First Reformed (2017)

Tight-Wound with Barbed Wire

[9/10 · 19 January 2019]

First Reformed is a phenomenon, Ethan Hawke a revelation. A priest of an almost 250-year old church, hiding place of the Underground Railroad turned souvenir shop, struggles with - well, a lot - loss of a son, drinking, guilt, cancer, lust - then, unexpectedly, concern for climate change. He is wound up taut, ready to explode in all manners of speaking - you feel it thought the screen. There is juxtaposition, there are layers to peel away - for a movie that at many moments seems to have so little going on, there is an abundance of the human condition in almost every scene, in the characters, in the foreground, in the background. Like a bible, it can be read, interpreted, argued about, and mediated on ad infinitum. Whew, son.