IT: Chapter One Review

Monsters come in many forms—and so does fear. Isolation, the supernatural, and stumbling below expectations can scare us and become our demons. These uncertainties claw their way through the frames of IT—figuratively and literally—as nothing is sacred and no one is safe. Dependable friendships become the only refuge from the naked terror inflicted by Pennywise and the children’s parents. Blending real-life horror with unexplained, otherworldly menace, the film challenges the ragtag group known as “The Losers’ Club” at every turn. The story of IT has been imprinted on the American zeitgeist and in the minds of young readers for decades. It follows bullied outcasts as they confront the evil lurking beneath the seemingly tranquil small town of Derry, Maine. Beneath this suburban façade billows a conspiracy of murder, destruction, and missing children—far more than in any nearby town. The kids are forced to investigate the source of the menace when one of their own, Bill’s younger brother Georgie, goes missing. Realizing the adults won’t quell the evil, they decide they must try, embarking on an adventure through ramshackle houses, sewer pipes, and eerie phantoms as they confront their deepest personal terrors. When I first saw the trailer for IT, I thought it looked great but potentially unsustainable. Many horror trailers build expectations only to flip a sharp middle finger at the audience, replacing directorial patience with cheap jump scares. This film does not. It takes its time to develop characters, shape tension, and explore questions about undiscovered fear—both real and abstract. The monsters become anything we refuse to confront: the stranger lurking in the dark, the abusive father or overbearing mother, or the loss of someone we love. Our inability to face these fears only cripples our growth and nourishes our demons. That isn’t to say the film is a perfect masterpiece. I do have minor quibbles with the overuse of score and sound effects to emphasize scares—something I blame more on contemporary studio expectations than on the filmmakers themselves—but these choices never ruin the film. Skillful direction, multifaceted performances, and authentic relationships elevate IT above the mainstream horror that often plagues theaters. The standout among the young cast is Sophia Lillis as Beverly, who shoulders heavy dramatic material and delivers a nuanced, affecting performance. The film shares more DNA with Stand By Me—though with far more grisly child endangerment—than with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as you grow to genuinely care for these outcasts. You feel adopted into The Losers’ Club yourself, rooting for them to overcome adolescence, abusive parents, and the intangible supernatural evil preying on them. Where sloppier films devolve into a series of disconnected scares, IT uses inspired imagery to challenge its characters while enriching their development. Genuine dialogue and humor deepen the dynamics within The Losers’ Club, elevating the film from simple slasher fare to something closer to a Spielbergian coming-of-age adventure. Its affection for 1980s nostalgia (the story’s setting shifted from the 1950s in the novel) gives the film fresh ground to explore. This renewed retelling of the IT mythology unearths surprises even for longtime fans, offering plenty to discover while retaining its emotional core with characters who are likable and feel real. IT is an engaging, thrilling, and often surprisingly fun retelling of a classic Stephen King tale—and one of the strongest adaptations of his work.

IT (2017) - REVIEW

Monsters come in many forms, as does fear. Isolation, the supernatural, stumbling below expectations can scare us and come to be our demons. These uncertainties claw their way through the frames of IT—figuratively and literally as nothing is sacred and no one is safe. The necessity of dependable friendships is the only refuge from the naked terror that Pennywise and the children’s parents put them through. Morphing real-life horror with unexplained, other-worldly menace, they challenge the ragtag group of friends dubbed “The Loser’s Club” at every turn.

The story of IT has been imprinted in the American zeitgeist and young children’s minds. It surrounds bullied young outcasts as they deal with the underlying evil of their seemingly tranquil small town Derry, Maine. But billowing from beneath this suburban town is a conspiracy of murder, destruction and missing children—more so than any other town nearby. The gang of kids are forced investigate the source of the menace when one of their own, Bill, kid brother Georgie goes missing. The kids decide if the adults aren’t going to quell the evil within, they must try, and embark on an adventure of ramshackle houses, sewer pipes and strange phantoms as they confront their greatest personal terrors.

When I first saw the trailer for IT I thought it looked great but unsustainable. There have been plenty of trailers for horror films that build up expectations and promptly jam a sharp middle finger up in the air, replacing directorial patience with jump-scares. This film does not. It takes it’s time to develop characters, shape tension, and probe questions about undiscovered fear—real and abstract. The monsters in the film become anything we don’t want to approach—the stranger lurking in the blackness, the abusive father or overbearing mother, or losing a loved one--and our inability to combat these fears will only cripple our growth and nourish our demons. That is not to say the film is not a complete masterpiece. I have minor quibbles with the overuse of score and sound effects to emphasize scares and I blame that mainly on the time in which it has been released than the fault of the filmmaker's, however, it does not completely ruin the film.

Eyeful direction, multifaceted performances, and authentic relationships are carefully earned, dragging IT from the gutter of mainstream horror that often plagues theaters to set it apart. The real standout performer of the gang is Sophia Lillis as Beverly who has a lot of dramatic baggage to shoulder and gives a nuanced performance. The torture of adolescence throughout shares more with Stand By Me—although severely more grisly child murder—than something like Texas Chainsaw as you learn to care for these outcasts. You are inadvertently adopted as another member into The Loser’s Club, rooting for them to prevail over their adolescent woes, their abusive parents and impalpable supernatural evil.

Where sloppier films devolve into a series of disconnected cheap scares, IT uses inspired imagery to challenge characters while simultaneously adding to their development as people. Genuine dialogue and humor swell complexity among The Loser’s Club, elevating a film from slasher to a more nuanced, almost Spielbergian coming-of-age adventure film. The love for eighties nostalgia floods this film (originally set in the 50’s in the novel) and allows for fresh places to be explored. This renewed retelling of the IT mythology unearths surprises for those familiar with the novel, leaving plenty to discover, while still retaining its emotional core with characters that are likable and feel like real people. IT is an engaging, thrilling and more often fun retelling of the classic Stephen King tale and one of the best adaptations of his works.

MOTORAMA (1991) QUICKIE

I've never ever heard of this movie until a friend of mine recommended it after having a 2-month long sabbatical from work where he gambled on whatever movies on Prime he came across. And this film is a reminder that some movies finding distribution can sometimes be a miracle. Would Clerks be the indie hit that it was if the right people hadn't seen it at the right time? It's very possible. I think Motorama is a movie that wasn't able to capture that lightning in a bottle and find the audience it was looking for. 

Motorama would be the lovechild if Repo Man, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Mad Max, Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam fucking. It plays (and was advertised) like a children's film, but it's more of a surrealist fever dream road movie, taking place in an alternate reality United States.

A young boy decides to travel across the country, playing a crazy card game at participating gas stations where he needs to spell out “Motorama” to win 500 million dollars. The premise is simple enough, but the interactions and characters certainly are not.  The protagonist has run-ins with lowlifes, bikers, horny teens, and weird cameos by Dick Miller, Meatloaf and Drew Barrymore along the way. Unrecognizable states, strangely colored money and desert landscapes abounding.

This movie made 10K at the box office and 1,000 votes on IMDB. I have found barely anything about it online. It must have been a film festival movie that didn’t receive distribution or something? How this isn't a cult movie by now, I will never know.

Directed by a producer of The Stuff (who hasn’t really made much since) and written by the writer of After Hours, this film is a cult movie in the making (I hope).

Free to watch on Prime.

Weathering With You Quickie

I’ve been avoiding Anime like the plague because I’ve seen what it can do to your standard white male. It can suck all the life energy from them and turn them into a see-sawing weeaboo weirdo, rocking back and forth in the Manga section in Barnes and Noble. It can be a cruel, grisly and unrewarding life. I know the danger of Anime addiction, only being adjacent to it, trying my best to stick only to the Miyazaki films, but I can’t deny that the films have creative merit and no matter how long I try to resist, eventually, like all great plagues, Anime will soon consume me and win entirely.

UNCUT GEMS QUICKIE

I saw Uncut Gems in probably the less than ideal way to go about it—-or perhaps the greatest way to see it—-I dunno. I was hung over from New Year’s Eve, I had barely gotten any sleep, I had some serious drinker’s remorse and a shitty cheap breakfast at some golf club a few towns over, but honestly Uncut Gems, outside of the strange beginning which is almost like Jurassic Park in a weird way, this film is like a 2-hour long anxiety attack that grips you from the beginning and never lets go.

I had anxiety going into this movie though, and by the end of this film I was nervously laughing because of how uncomfortable and tense it was making me because I had no idea what else to do. This is one of the few films I can point two that basically gave me a cardio workout just by watching it and is the best way to describe to those of you normies who don’t have bad anxiety what an anxiety attack actually feels like.

Adam Sandler should be winning best actor this year and it is incredible that he is not even nominated. This is an outright crime against humanity—-well not really, but for cinephiles it kind of is.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be better in anything —--and punch-drunk Love legit is one of my favorite movies of all time and probably was my favorite performance of his—-outside of Little Nicky.

This film jumps out like a bull rider and never stops and there are scenes and set pieces in this that somehow turn something as mundane as an electronic door not opening into something that made me want to bite my fingernails until they were nubbins.

This is a movie I can’t even say that I’d recommend because I’m scared to revisit it and it doesn’t make you feel good at all. I can see why general audiences are left scratching their head because this definitely isn’t a movie with Al Pacino singing a song about donuts.

I mean, even knowing what happens the second time around, I can’t imagine me being less anxious in a second viewing. This film should be airdropped over enemy lines just to stress out everyone behind enemy lines and distract them.

I will admit that I’ve never seen Good Time, but my friend reassured me that their other movie is also like this. I wanna check it out because I think Uncut Gems, but I’m going to have to take some time off before I subject myself to a similar feeling like this film made me have.

I can’t say enough about how good this movie is. The more I think about it, the more I like it, and I don’t think I’ve seen much else this year that imprints images and scenes with a feeling of dread and anxiety in the same way.

I feel like I had PTSD after watching this film (this is not to make light of people that actually have that condition, I’m being hyperbolic).

Apollo 11 Quickie

How this isn’t a part of the best documentary features this year at The Oscars truly baffles me. Admittedly, I haven’t seen every nomination in that category, mainly because the Oscar Documentary category tends to be a dumping ground for some of the most depressing real-life stories imaginable. Why I love Apollo 11 and why I think it should be in that category is because of the extreme sense of wonder it invokes. The moon landing has always been something in the distant past to me being born 30 years after it. I know in the grand scheme of things this is merely a drop in the bucket, but I’ve always felt kind of disconnected to it. I hate to admit it, but personally I feel more connected to the fictional characters in the Star Wars universe than I do the actual moon landing. Space has always interested me, but I never felt a part of the moon landing in the same way that baby boomers seem to.

Apollo 11 puts you front in center with that feeling. The footage in this film, the narrative structure, the lack of narration makes you feel like you’re experiencing the moon landing as if it’s happening right now in front of you. I was awestruck by the IMAX footage presented here. It is so crisp and orgasmic that it is truly riveting.

I simply haven’t seen a documentary like this in my lifetime, that could make me care about something I never felt attached to in a significant way. It made me care, it made me wonder, it made me nostalgic for a time I wasn't even a part of. It is truly an achievement. What more can I say?

Just see it already. ALRIGHT!?

The Art Of Self-Defense Quickie

This movie isn’t going to change lives, but I had to include it on this list because it was criminally underseen and is truly a hidden gem.

It’s one of those films that doesn’t really have any likable characters, but it manages to still work. It certainly strikes me as the type of film that will have a cult following soon enough if it doesn’t already and I don’t have much else to say except go into it blind and have fun with the results.

Also, it has one of the most mean-spirited yet fully earned jokes in all of 2019 and might have made me laugh the hardest in the theater this year.

HONEY BOY QUICKIE

I never thought I would actually have this come out of my mouth in my life, but Honey Boy is a REVELATION in the truest sense.

It’s kind of hard to appreciate the film on the same level I did if you aren’t familiar with the background and struggles of the main actor Shia Lebouf’s background. His strange father that I often heard about in a joking matter on talk shows, but never really knew the extent of the psychological and physical abuse.

Honey Boy is not only a fantastic character study and a great highlight of Shia Lebeouf’s fantastic acting ability--yet another performance ignored by the Oscars bafflingly—-but it also is kind of a film about overcoming your demons and forgiving people that have wronged you which is something they often don’t make films about. Forgiveness is rarely something explored in Hollywood movies and whenever it is I always give bonus points (I haven’t forgotten you Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood).

While I can’t say this is an enjoyable film, especially if you grew up with addict parents who were both emotionally and psychologically abusive, none of that stuff feels fake or melodramatic. You can tell that Shia has poured his mental anguish into every page of this screenplay and never does this movie even feel preachy or appealing to Oscar-bait sensibilities. It’s just a great film, plain and simple.

DOCTOR SLEEP

Doctor Sleep was easily the biggest surprise of the year and the one movie that I keep going back to. It’s also... a big flop and kind of underseen outside of horror supernerds? I have to give this film an extra grape job sticker for not only being a great adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, but also a sequel to the original Kubrick film and somehow managing to honor both author’s intent without shitting on either property. That’s something not only incredibly difficult to pull off but something only a damn fine director can get away with.

I’ve seen most of the director Mike Flanagan’s work and have really enjoyed it. He made a good adaptation of Gerald’s Game which literally is spent mostly in a woman’s head and somehow still works. When he was announced to make an adaptation of Dr. Sleep I was cautiously optimistic---and also there is just some inherent baggage with making a sequel to a horror classic that is beloved by all except for a single person, the author of the original book, Stephen King. He is infamously known for hating Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining while literally everyone else on Earth loves it. It’s a seemingly strange stance for him to take, but I understand where he is coming from being someone who has also read the novel it’s based on. As an adaptation of his work, it is flawed. Jack Nicholson seems crazy from the beginning and in King’s novel it is a slow transition into madness.

But Doctor Sleep is it’s own thing...minus the last 30 minutes. I guess if I had an objection to Doctor Sleep in any capacity it would be the last 30 minutes, not because it’s bad—-I think it’s really good actually---but it relies too much on the audience's familiarity with the original film adaptation that makes me sad that Flanagan didn't continue doing his own thing.

I do think the ending is great and does appeal to fans of the original movie without feeling too fan service—-LOOKING A T YOU ROGUE ONE—-and doing interesting things with the original film it’s referencing.

Everyone in this film gives great performances. Ewan McGregor is fantastic in this movie and has an amazing character arc and realistically portrays the life of an alcoholic who has undergone some serious childhood trauma. There’s also actors recast as the original characters, but they aren’t doing cheap imitations but rather capturing the cadence of the characters. It's honestly kind of amazing and completely shouldn’t work but somehow manages to work.

I’m going to say something rather cliche here and say this film is UNDERRATED. Not in the classic sense of the word, because as we know Rottentomatoes is the determining factor of whether or not a film has merit—--RIGHT? RIGHT!?

I’m more of a Metacritic fan myself because it tabulates every review into a numeric score (who actually has the time for such things) and gives you a more well-rounded interpretation of the reviews. And if you were to go on Metacritic, you would have seen that Doctor Sleep has a 55/100 average which is kind of...bad.

But I think what the bulk of the negative reviews fail to realize is that this film is not trying to be a direct sequel to the shining...while also kind of being one? I don’t know. It’s hard to not sound like a hypocrite talking about this movie, but this film feels like its own and also not (but it still works somehow) and also kind of like a Superhero movie in the way that the final act concludes.

The film mainly works because both the protagonist and antagonist are fucking fantastic. Rose The Hat is a compelling villain which has completely understandable motivations even if you might disagree with her morally.

The cinematography, the direction, the special effects are actually kind of incredible and innovative and there are more than a few scenes that I was lost in and were seared into my brain, whether it be for their visual beauty or the tension of two people just talking to each other.

Good stuff.

Marriage Story Quickie

Marriage Story is a film that many of my friends rolls their eyes at and I can’t really blame them. Movies about creative people and actors just rub some people the wrong way.

And I certainly couldn’t argue that either of these characters are actually very good people at the end of the day, but I was rooting for each of these characters through their selfish actions and bad choices all the same and this film’s ending legitimately had one of the most moving scenes in any film I’ve seen this year—-and in a very long time.

What hasn’t been said already about this film. Yes! Both Adam Driver and Scarjo give fantastic performances. And honestly Adam Driver kind of elevates anything he’s in that I see a few points. Have you seen the new Star Wars trilogy you guys, imagine if someone from the prequel trilogy played that part. It would not be the same.

Adam Driver is probably so buff from carrying that franchise on his shoulders and I’m sure this is a joke that I’ve stolen so I’m just going to give credit to the millions of other people who have made this joke before me.

The most compelling aspect of Marriage Story is the depths of the human heart it strips bare and explores without ever feeling like a movie. These characters act and speak like real people and make choices that we often can’t sympathize with but also understand.

I don’t really have much else to say about this movie except that it’s a fantastically real portrayal of a marriage coming apart where neither person is the villain and that is something rather hard to pull off.

Avengers: Endgame

This is a film on my list that I need to put an asterisk on at the end. While I’m not saying it isn’t a good movie—-it is—-it’s kind of more than a movie in a way. It’s an event. This is a culmination of 10 years of planning by Marvel that actually sticks the landing and that is something that should be applauded because we’ve seen other studios try to attempt the same thing that Marvel has done in a thoughtless, cynical fashion and failed in real time. Hell, it’s still going on . As a movie, Avengers: Endgame is solid, but nothing super revolutionary in terms of its actual film-making. It is, however, revolutionary in the sense that I can’t really think of another time I’ve seen a film with an audience where we all felt so invested and people were cheering. I think the scene where Captain America gets that hammer is so incredibly satisfying because it’s been building since 2014’s Age of Ultron and it is so much more rewarding for us fans who have been sticking with Marvel from the beginning, trusting them that even when they fail, they are trying to make good movies that audiences will enjoy.

Avengers: Endgame is the true definition of a crowd-pleaser. I was completely wrapped up in the film in the theater and even my girlfriend who has seen like 2.5 Iron man films, Infinity War, still enjoyed the hell out of it without knowing all the lore and payoffs that this movie has in almost every scene. So that’s saying something about how it just works as a classic American blockbuster film-making.

Simply put, a fun movie that delivers on many characters' arcs spanning over an entire decade that could have been so awful and mishandled and just wasn’t. Kudos to everyone involved. You made something that truly the world was excited to see and went to the theaters to enjoy together and we need more movies like that before every multiplex is reduced to dust and rubble.

Captain Marvel Quickie

Captain Marvel is a bedfellow with Black Panther where the conversation surrounding the film is bigger than movie itself. Wonder Woman is a film that Captain Marvel aspires to be and misfires in almost every category. The source of that reason is harder to place. Perhaps it was a film made by committee, but the phoned-in Larsen performance and poor direction renders this fish-out-of-water story flopping aimlessly. Honestly, they could have Mad-libbed the screenplay for Wonder Woman with minor tweaks and probably churned out something more effective in its storytelling, but every choice seems to be done with shrugged shoulders. The acting, stunt choreography, character arc, plot, visual style and storytelling all feels corporate and indistinct.

But will the cultural and political maelstrom swirling around this movie allow me to critique it honestly? It seems that anything negative said about this movie will wrangle me into some kind of political conversation I don’t want to participate in.

So, I’ll give the movie a 6/10 because I’d rather not have a guy in a black ski mask spray paint a swastika on my driveway alongside the MAGA-hat wearing guy spray-painting a Pepe the frog.

It was fine?

Mandy (2018)

Velvet purples and the use of deliberate light and shadows dance across the entirety of Panos Cosmopolis’ Mandy. Bolstered by a transcendent—and batty—performance by Nicolas Cage, and grabbing the aesthetic of a heavy metal music video and setpieces, it is a breath of fresh air in a year comprised of films hellbent on making safer choices.

The use of tone and aesthetics to create a mood, a feel, that throws back to the 80’s time period in which it takes place—-but is more interesting that the nostalgic pandering that properties like Stranger Things capitalize on. Everything in the film—whether it comes to the lighting or the use of color---feels deliberate. The action is slowed down or sped up to attract the viewer to decipher hidden meanings from what’s on screen.

Playfulness with tone throughout is one of the more interesting aspects of the film. There can be a brutal heart-wrenching scenes followed by one of extreme paranoia or Robocop-esque infomercials—-a grindhouse era horror sensibility that can so easily fall off the rails—-but something about it all works and sticks the landing.

The otherworldly, bizarre Nic Cage is channeled completely in this film, but there is also an interesting mix of the more quiet, reserved Nic Cage, showing off the more indie darling Cage we get to see when he’s really passionate about a project. The fusion of the two personalities works because Cosmatos knows when to reign him in and when to let him go wild.

The strange and haunting imagery throughout transitions from plain bizarre to the unexplainable—in a good way. The monsters in this world that Mandy creates—men, paranormal and the in between—culminates in one long acid trip, drawing in the viewer unapologetically. Many rocks are left unturned, forcing the viewer to go along for the ride or get thrown off in the process. The film is a fever dream of heavy metal rock video battle axes, t-shirts and animated segments reminiscent of the Heavy Metal (1981). The film paints a story with the same feeling of listening to metal records and head-banging. While I never gravitated toward the subculture, the imagery is laid on thick that I feel like I have.

Mandy is streaming on Shudder and all platforms, and definitely worth checking out.

(7.9/10)

Apostle (2018)

The discussion online concerning homage and rip-off poisons forums and Facebook comment threads alike. Was The Hunger Games really a ripoff of Battle Royale? An homage? Does it even matter? Various dystopian novels predicted that government-implemented hive-minds or emotional repression would be the downfall of society. I disagree. Read any Facebook comment thread under anything to do with film or art, and you’ll realize that dystopia is knocking on your front door .Too many people have a voice, and many of them are about as appetizing as the collective pool of fluid at the bottom of a garbage bag. Director Gareth Evans attempts to tackle a plethora of dark ideas, morality and repression in the Netflix original Apostle, and despite this, I think it will be overshadowed by many who are too busy comparing it to other properties (Wicker Man, Silent Hill, The Witch) than to see it for its own merit. Evans has already proved he had a knack for action set-pieces in his previous series of bone-crunching films ---The Raid series---and Apostle has the same craftsmanship, but it's harnessed in different, more experimental ways.

I won't divulge too much about the plot. I think the film is far more fun going in blindly---like most Netlix properties (TANGENT: Netflix often doesn't advertise many of its original properties, and they drop it often out of nowhere, and this inadvertently creates an excitement for movies similar to when I was still surprised by trailers before the age of the internet spoiled literally every detail of a film before you could see it. Remember when you used to see trailers or films and never even know they were going to be made. Netflix has blown new life into that feeling in the internet era, and that is quite a feat in its own right). But the basics are the following: Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) attempts to find a lost woman who has been kidnapped by a radical religious cult in 1905, and upon infiltrating the community he uncovers some bizarre happenings that defy explanation and real-world logic. The voyage scene to the island, in which this cult resides, opens like a Jack-in-the-Box of weirdness with a passive sacrifice of animals galore. But how long can this weirdness sustain itself, and does this cult have anything to say of value that makes this backward-thinking community? What is the appeal of such a place? When Thomas arrives to try and find out, many weird practices and suspicions swell like a boiling pot.

Many people I’ve talked to have cited that the first act of Apostle is a slog, which I couldn't disagree more with. To me, it is the most compelling portion, the cutting and direction in the film has an ample energy similar to The Raid films, and a pace that I found more thrilling than most films that take place in this historical period. I never really associated a film from 1905 to move like an action film---but this does. It has enough fresh and interesting surprises that it kept my interest to the end. I think the film would have worked better without such a clean and slick polish to it all, however. Adapting a more grainy, 60’s to 70’s sensibility would have bolstered the last act into something more exploitative and reminiscent of a grindhouse b-movie and better fit the tone. I was completely engaged more by the first two acts than the last act where a profound switch in tone takes place and becomes something entirely different. The last act is the weakest part for me---if I had one quibble---but it has enough interesting ideas and imagery, brutality, that it pulled me by my shirt collar .

An interesting experiment of a film that is entirely worth watching, destined for cult status, and being free to stream on Netflix isn't too bad either. (7.9/10)

5 SUMMER MOVIES TO HELP YOU COOL OFF

Lather on the sunblock, crank the a/c and soak up the rays of bedroom light-bulbs with these five summertime movies to help quell the sweltering summer heat. I decided to compile a list of summertime films that are more light-hearted (Dog Day Afternoon and Do the Right Thing had to stay behind) and three reasons why these films are worth a watch.

American Graffiti (1973)
Directed by George Lucas.
Written by George Lucas, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck

Before heading off to college, high school graduates spend one final night of hijinks in a Southern California small town.

It’s a love letter to the 60’s. John’s (Paul Le Mat) ‘32 Deuce Coupé purrs beneath the night lights of a small town in the summer of ‘62, him awaiting the next sucker that challenges him to a race, cruising around for girls to take for rides as night flickers into dawn. American Graffiti is one of the ultimate summer movies and period pieces, telling the story of a group of teenagers one summer 1962 night in SoCal. It embodies the peak of car culture in America, where teenagers rumbled their Chevys at slow speeds down the streets with no destination and growly-voiced DJ Wolfman Jack taking requests and casting spells over the radio waves. It drips nostalgia, surrounding people in a simpler time that charms from beginning to end and, whether you are familiar with 60’s Americana or not, the film will make you fall in love for the first time or all over again.

The soundtrack is boss. Music is a constant in American Graffiti and serves as its own character. Arguably having some of the best series of songs in an American film and certified triple platinum upon its release, the soundtrack boasts 41 playful tunes and sizzles the screen with Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and The Crests howling catchy melodies as seconds tick and car engines boom. The music is irresistible and forces calm toes to wiggle and tap, often provoking the same kind of nostalgic flavor of grandparent’s spinning stories of the good ole’ days.
A charming cast. Young Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and even Harrison Ford are among the players in the film and are extremely fun to watch. The actors give off bubbly performances that sweep you into their devil-may-care adventures, yet they can also seamlessly immerse themselves into subtle, understated emotions when the happy-go-lucky events take a turn into the painful reality of leaving friends and lovers behind in order to spark the next chapter of their lives.

Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Written by Michael Showalter and David Wain. 

Directed by David Wain.

On the last day of camp in the summer of 1981, counselors address romances and unfinished business.

One of the best comedic ensemble casts. Debuting in 2001, Wet Hot American Summer wasn’t a big hit upon its initial release but quickly gained a cult following on home video due to its absurdist comedy. More interesting is the film has incredibly talented comedic actors at the top of their game before they were household names. Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler and Elizabeth Banks to name a few that really nail the over-the-top acting and silliness–and is one of the first movies showcasing how naturally funny Paul Rudd is.

Absurdist gags at their best. It’s not a surprise that Wet Hot American Summer was not a big hit with audiences upon its release. The humor is very specific and appeals to a certain kind of audience. From a man dry-humping a refrigerator to a montage of the counselors going into town for groceries, escalating to them robbing an old lady and being strung out on heroin, then returning to camp cheering and smiling, the film cannonballs into the absurd, unapologetically and often. Once you embrace what it is, it’s a hilarious ride like nothing you’ve seen before.

It’s a great parody of 80’s summer camp films. The film can get away with bizarre gags because it’s a brilliant send-up of popular summer camp films of the 1980’s like Meatballs. Director David Wain has an excellent eye for cliché and takes that to extremes throughout like the entire cast being in their 30’s, but they play teenage camp counselors–a jab at Hollywood’s practice of casting people much older to play 16-year-olds. And as with most summer camp films, Camp Firewood seems to be a haven for the counselors to constantly ignore the kids– and pranks and bullying – with no consequence. There are points where counselors make out with each other while kids drown and scream for help behind them and then it’s just onto the next scene. This underlying darkness to many jokes make this one of my favorite comedies of all time.

Stand By Me (1986)
Directed by Rob Reiner.
Written by Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans.

Four young friends set out on an adventure to find the body of a missing boy.
It has child characters that aren’t stupid. There aren’t many films that capture the experience of being a kid better than Stand By Me. The four main kids on a quest to see a dead body have different personalities, are relatable, and are not dumbed-down. There is an offensive practice in Hollywood films where children are portrayed as cardboard cutouts with no original thoughts or motivations, but this film builds living, meditative children who aren’t oblivious to the harsh reality that life prods at their noses. The kids have real human emotion and address themes such as death, child abuse and family dysfunction through smart, realistic dialogue bolstered by great performances.

Great child performances. It is hard to watch Stand By Me without the behind-the-scenes reality creeping in of River Phoenix’s tragic death of drug overdose at such a young age. The amazing performance he gives as Chris showcases the incredible talent he had for the craft and a true promise of a phenomenal career ahead had his life not been cut short. But it is not just River Phoenix that carries the film, Corey Feldman (Teddy), Wil Wheaton (Gordie) and Jerry O’Connel (Vern) inhabit their roles believably. When existential struggles surface, they react genuinely and evoke empathy because these are real kids dealing with real issues. Without the outstanding performances given by each child lead, the film would suffer and cross into something overly sentimental.

One of the definitive coming-of-age films. The boys in the film are at a crossroads in their life and despite the complexity/abrasiveness of their situation, they are still normal boys in an Oregon small town. The film is narrated by an adult Gordie Lachance (Richard Dreyfuss) writing his memoir, recounting the parable of childhood friends on an adventure to help emphasize that, despite the often gloomy subtext to the boy’s lives, nothing will ever feel as uncomplicated or innocent as your experiences with childhood friends because it predates the loss of innocence and the painful circumstances of adult life.

Adventureland (2009)
Written and Directed by Greg Mottola

A recent college graduate must abandon his plans for the future and take a summer job at a rinky-dink amusement park in the summer of 1987.

Every character feels real. People want to do the right thing, but they also make real-life mistakes, act selfish in their relationships and their personal lives, and learn from those actions. Where many other films try to overexploit emotional scenes or pigeonhole the morality of characters with dialogue over-explaining motivations, Director Greg Mottola respects his audience and shows raw emotion through subtle, surprising performances he draws from Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds. There is an authenticity to these characters that trickles across each frame.

One of the best soundtracks in recent memory. The film takes place in the summer of 1987, and instead of committing the tawdry choice of taking the most obvious, clichéd 80’s music and injecting it into the background, real music reflecting the era/culture of the time is used. Boasting a soundtrack of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, Husker Du and The Cure, the music is not only great to listen to but no song feels forced, and the music often carries scenes to a higher level, effectively bolstering mood and emotion without becoming a distraction. More interestingly, all of the unapologetically 80’s songs like “Rock Me Amadeus,” are used in an ironic fashion, the character’s often pointing out how tacky the “popular music” is—an almost meta-critique of clichéd period piece soundtracks.

It’s a relatable story. What makes this movie insanely re-watchable is the exploration of the uncertainty and issues young people experience. Where other films would tackle problems like alcoholism in a melodramatic light, they are portrayed through background shots, lines of dialogue and subtle performances. The film respects its audience by showing not telling. Alcoholism is addressed by a shot of Brendan’s (Jesse Eisenberg) father in the background blending a drink without the lid on or a bottle of vodka being found hidden underneath the seat of a car. A lesser film would derail these scenes explaining, but Adventureland doesn’t pause to point issues out, they just kind of exist, like in life, and this adds a depth to the film that rewards multiple viewings.

Dazed and Confused (1993)
Written and Directed by Richard Linklater.

Graduating and incoming high school students get into trouble on the last day of school in summer of 1976.

It knows what the 70’s were like. Despite being made in the 90’s, Director Richard Linklater’s depiction of the 1970’s is a true love letter to an era filled with kids hanging out in the back of an El Dorado’s truck bed while sipping beers and shooting the breeze. Each locale, hairstyle and song choice is pitch perfect and perfectly illustrates what it feels like graduating high school, and the friendships we potentially have to leave behind as we grow into adulthood.

Fun performances by stars before they were big. One of the more fun aspects of Dazed and Confused is seeing the cavalcade of celebrities on screen before they were household names and had Oscars sitting on their mantle. You get to see Ben Affleck as a paddle-swinging jock bully, Milla Jovovich as a free-spirited, groovy chick and most famously Matthew McConaughey as a loitering, ultra-creep that loves high school girls because “[he] get[s] older, they stay the same age. Yes they do.”

You don’t watch it, you live it. Linklater creates a film with an innate ability to capture real moments in an honest way with the simplicity of the narrative–high school kids hang out and get into trouble on the last day of school in May of 1976. These characters feel like people you know and share genuine experiences/dialogue, and pull you into their world instead of feeling like a spectator. You become a fly on the wall of a mellow summer night filled with friends, joints and an absence of smart phones or selfie sticks. It will make you feel like you’re living in the wrong era.

5 Must-See Independent Films

For this first list, I decided to narrow my choices to character studies exploring the darker, moody aspects of life and were made for a budget of less than 7 million dollars. Each film showcases the unique voices of indie directors and tell stories that captivate the human experience and resonate deeply.

Brick (2005)
Director: Rian Johnson

A highly stylized and gorgeous homage to 50’s noir films, Brick is unique from other less ambitious Indies and wickedly underrated. Considered the benchmark film for Joseph Gordon-Levitt as he broke into the more serious actor he is today, he plays Brendan, a teenager on the quest to investigate the sudden disappearance of his high school ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin); and a conspiracy of drugs and betrayal begin to unravel. Bursting with incredible cinematography evocative of Spaghetti Westerns, and essentially the modern lovechild of The Maltese Falcon with many references to be found, director Rian Johnson (Looper and upcoming Star Wars Episode VIII) truly employs every ingredient of his 500,000 dollar budget. It echoes a production value of a higher budgeted film with incredible orchestral music that tips its hat at the genre he is idolizing. But it is the compelling detective story that unfolds that truly sets it apart: the dialogue drips in machismo and the tone and overall peculiarity of the mystery strangles your attention. Levitt delivers an incredibly interesting performance of understated sadness and hunched-over stoicism as the lead (loosely based on Spike Siegel, the title character from Anime Cowboy Bebop). While Brick may alienate certain viewers unfamiliar with the noir genre, dismissing it for its on-the-nose dialogue and absence of realism misses the point entirely. A must-see for those who appreciate storytelling and pulpiness of a genre that has almost dimmed entirely into obscurity.

The Wrestler (2008)
Director: Darren Aronofsky

Many of us search for success in our lives. For those who have gained glory and lost it, what then gives our life meaning? Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson (Mickey Rourke), washed-up wrestler, seeks to reclaim his lost splendor and restore his relationship with his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) to gain a sense of purpose in The Wrestler. However, the road to recovery is paved with repentance, regret and low-paying backyard wrestling gigs in front of crowds no more than thirty. What makes The Wrestler compelling, above all else, is its innate ability to capture a man at his most desperate without teetering into melodrama. Filmed in a way that almost makes it look like a documentary, it chronicles the uniquely human search for redemption through fame, fortune, and in Randy’s case, second chances at stardom. The story acts as an allegory for Mickey Rourke’s own personal life and career—being a professional boxer himself and falling from the limelight—adding an unexpected complexity to the narrative. Director Darren Aronofsky’s steady fingers draw deeply personal, yet subtle pain from Rourke, flooding the screen with genuine emotion and one of the best performances in over a decade. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood also provide excellent supporting acts that highlight the tragic, unflinching character flaws of Randy the Ram’s psyche. You root for him despite his continuous narcissistic choices and vicious cycle he thrusts upon himself that leave him loveless and alone, and it ultimately culminates in a beautifully metaphorical ending about our incessant drive for recognition as human beings.

American Splendor (2003)
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini

Perhaps one of the most criminally overlooked films of the 2000’s, American Splendor surrounds the real-life story of file clerk by day and underground comic book creator by night: Harvey Pekar. Fictionally portrayed by Paul Giamatti (with real narration and interviews by Pekar himself cut between), the film captures the essence of a working class artist (Pekar) who wants comic books to illustrate the real life he experiences in Cleveland day-to-day, brushing elbows with heavy hitters in the underground comic industry like Robert Crumb along the way. What sets American Splendor apart from typical Hollywood biopics is the absence of gaudiness and grandiose set pieces often breathing within films of more well-known celebrities. There is a noticeable absence of Oscar-baiting, and it suits the story of Harvey Pekar quite brilliantly since he’s an artist, yet always an unapologetic, normal guy at heart. The film’s adherence to blunt realism in its storytelling—even having the film itself tiptoeing into the meta with real-life Pekar criticizing the film within itself—grounds the narrative and creates an authentic tone. This authenticity serves as a wonderful companion piece to Pekar’s autobiographical comics that focus on neo-realism rather than spandex-wearing supermen. The leap to make comics about ordinary life not only established Pekar as a visionary for the medium, but also attracted new voices and respect for comics as a non-fiction art form. Harvey is a man who doesn’t need nor want fame, strongly resisting the entertainment industry machine that sees him as the butt of a joke, and instead sticks to his roots despite offers to sell out. The film is in sync with his principles.


Blue Valentine (2010)
Director: Derek Cianfrance

Dean (Ryan Gosling) strums the strings of his ukulele to the pitter patter of Cindy’s (Michelle Williams) tap-dancing feet, singing “You Always Hurt the Ones You Love” by The Mills Brothers , frolicking among the hustle of New York City as they fall for each other. However, Blue Valentine is not a love story: it’s about the surrender of one’s heart to another and the emotional descent once we lose grasp of love. It is one of the most truthful, tragic depictions of a relationship crumbling and arguably features the best performance by Gosling to date, perfectly capturing a man who gives up his life for someone else and attempts to salvage the irreparable cracks within his relationship. The explicit realism carved into each frame, juxtaposing the couple falling in and out of love, and it’s deeply personal narrative smothers you with a constant sense of underlying dread, eventually leaving you to drown in uncertainty and hopelessness about the nature of love and marriage. The loss and desperation one feels clinging to unrequited love is perfectly illustrated through Gosling’s and Williams’ dialogue, painting heartbreak from both perspectives and the film rewards multiple viewings—often meaning something starkly different depending on the mindset you bring to it. Never for the faint of heart, always interesting, and an imperative viewing for those of us who embrace all facets of love, including the brooding darkness it may lead us to.


Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Director: Quentin Tarantino

A nonsensical title, a soundtrack dripping with 70’s coolness and quite possibly the strongest debut feature film of any American filmmaker, Reservoir Dogs single-handedly launched Quentin Tarantino’s visionary career and shook the branches of American independent filmmaking forever. Surrounding the aftermath of a botched diamond heist, robbers adorned in black suits and ties must sniff out who ratted them to the police, escaping to a hideout of an abandoned warehouse. The film works like a stage play in its structure, most of it taking place in one room with brief flashbacks to the past showing how they landed in such dire circumstances, allowing it to revel in its small budget and perfect screenplay possessing dialogue that is concise, realistic and darkly funny. Often imitated but never equaled (except maybe in Tarantino’s other films) the surviving thieves, nicknamed after colors to preserve their real-life identity, Mr. White, Mr. Pink and a severely wounded Mr. Orange question each other’s loyalty as the clock ticks and paranoia swells. Performances given by Harvey Keitel, newcomer-at-the-time Steve Buscemi and Tim Roth create a tension that billows, and the sadistic Mr. Blonde played by Michael Madsen is a psychopath so cool you can’t help but love him. Despite being Tarantino’s first feature film, every scene is threaded precisely and equal to a master filmmaker, yet he makes it look so effortless that it transcends belief. The film continues to influence and inspire. And, it must be said that the ear torture scene still makes me cringe. It never fails to profoundly entertain no matter how many times I watch it. A celebration of noir, grindhouse cinema, heist movies and pulp that points a finger in the face of pretension and earns its medal as one of America’s best films.

The One I Love (2014) - REVIEW

If you could be with the ideal version of your partner would you be happier? Is embracing them for their flaws part of the accepted insanity that is love? The One I Love aims to answer that by reinventing a familiar premise with excellent performances and a quirky, clever script fusing relatable human drama with science fiction.

When we first meet Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elizabeth Moss) they are in a rut, both describing a night to their marriage counselor during which they crept into a stranger’s backyard for a late-night swim, fearful to be caught, before jumping into the pool and realizing that the owner is not home, floating in the water on their anniversary with only a cinder of excitement; but this isn’t the first time this evening has happened—in fact it is a botched attempt at recreating their first date, to rekindle the fiery relationship they once had, now only at a simmer.

Their marriage counselor (Ted Danson) suggests that perhaps their problem is trying to relive their past happiness when they should be replenishing their passion through new memories and experiences instead. He recommends a weekend getaway at a countryside vacation home where his other patients have stayed and the magic of the area made the couples “fall in love again.” Willing to try anything, Ethan and Sophie agree to go. They arrive at a lush, private home with surrounding gardens, hillsides and a charming guest house where they indulge in food, wine and pot—all serving as a welcomed change to the tired, habitual aspects of their relationship.

Twenty minutes into the film, nothing about the plotline seems radically diverse. There are some quirky lines of dialogue and visible chemistry between the two leads, but no single element that sets it apart from most indies that start similarly—but it is precisely when you think The One I Love is going to confine itself to overdone formulas – until – it surprises you in unexpected ways. Quickly into it, things turn unexpectedly, and a seemingly normal indie dramedy begins drifting into a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. When Ethan and Sophie discover two people that look exactly like their significant other every time they enter the guest house alone, they are baffled because they are not Ethan and Sophie. The “mirror image” of their partners look like them, speak like them, but have minor tweaks to their personality that represent every positive quality they feel is lacking with the “real versions” of their partners, acting as sort of a Stepford wife and husband, tempting both the real Ethan and Sophie into falling in love with inauthentic copies for reasons yet to be explained.

Weren’t expecting that were you? Neither was I, and that occurs within the first twenty minutes of the 91-minute film. Divulging any more about what transpires afterward is too spoiler-ridden and would ruin the fun and mystery of the film; but the couple’s supernatural discovery tests their fading relationship in a series of unusual ways and raises many conflicts couples struggle with—albeit in a strange Rod Serling kind of way.

When watching the film, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufmann collaborations with its profound yet not garish weirdness. Although there is a speedy emergence of science fiction elements, the film shines by remaining grounded as a story about a man and woman struggling with temptation, and thankfully, the paranormal aspect never acclimates to a point of lunacy or camp. Excellent cinematography (by Doug Emmett), a quaint musical score (by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans.) and wonderful, confident direction by rookie filmmaker Charlie McDowell only bolster the production value of the film. Both Duplass and Moss give excellent performances — each actor displaying their range with two different characters, impeccably walking the tightrope between surrealism and profoundly emotive drama.

The film has a keen sense of self-awareness and capitalizes on it, poking fun at cliches by bending them into unfamiliar shapes that is both humorous and inventive all together. The One I Love is a perfect addition to the genre fusion of recent years, not hindering itself with safe, expected choices or clumsy resolutions. A pleasant surprise.

Refuge (2014) REVIEW

Amy Behr (Krysten Ritter) becomes a mother out of unexpected circumstances. She tries to raise her two younger siblings who struggle with day-to-day life: her younger brother, Nat (Logan Huffman), writes to-do lists concerning mundane tasks, like attempting to converse with other people, after he has a brain tumor removed that mildly disables him . Amy’s teenage sister, Lucy (Madeleine Martin), has a hatred of high school and experiments with drugs and shoplifting as her grades slip. It is not until a handsome stranger living in his truck named Sam (Brian Geraghty) surfaces in their town does Amy’s familiar family structure become shaken. She instantly shares a connection with Sam and as they both begin to learn more about each other, Sam tries to become a father figure to Amy’s younger siblings, in the process trying to establish a sense of purpose after a personal tragedy was thrust upon him during a path of reflection and self-discovery that inevitably led him to Amy and her siblings.

Refuge is directed by Jessica Goldberg who also wrote the play the film is adapted from. Having never seen the play, I can’t confidently say that the play might be better than the film or perhaps it simply didn’t translate well to the silver screen—but the film adaptation meanders often. Characters seem incapable of knowing what they truly want or feel and because of this it often feels like a jumbled mess of extraneous scenes and dialogue.

The shame of it all is the film has an excellent cast and stellar performances. Logan Huffman who plays her disabled brother, authentically paints a portrait of a young man struggling to reconnect with other people and his subplot is often more interesting than the main focus of the story. Madeleine Martin also gives an understated performance as the party-going sister who battles against conformity. And while Krysten Ritter’s performance as Amy is often excellent, the sloppy script makes her jump unexpectedly into borderline lunacy, frequently and sporadically on screen—often being on the verge of a nervous breakdown and seemingly incapable of raising a family or even taking care of herself—and by the next scene she’ll seem painfully normal. Brian Geraghty as Sam gives the best performance and has a much more interesting character with clearer intentions throughout—but his decision to stick around feels forced and unrealistic, his tumultuous relationship with Amy and her siblings often flying off the rails at the drop of a hat.

Refuge is a jumbled mess of sporadic characterization that often makes the people we are supposed to care about feel unreliable, detracting from realism—something that is crucial in a subtle, small film like this to be effective. It is commonly blurred what the film is trying to say, if anything, and larger conflicts that arise as Amy and her younger siblings clash with accepting Sam as one of their own are quickly abandoned with jumpy cuts (and without real reason), repeatedly feeling like a random assortment of scenes and dialogue that don’ quite connect to each other. I was very surprised that a film based on a play would feel so cut-and-pasted and because of that, a narrative with abundant potential is buried underneath too many subplots in a very short 84-minute run-time.

Available to watch on all major streaming platforms.

The Congress (2014) - A HIDDEN GEM

If given the choice to be young forever, would you jump at the opportunity? Actress Robin Wright (Princess Bride, House of Cards) is given that choice, albeit through contractual agreements, by the fictional Miramount Studios in Ari Folman’s (Waltz with Bashir) The Congress. Studio executives propose her body and facial expressions should be scanned by advanced computers with motion capture technology so they can puppeteer her image into c-grade films and, as the greedy studio head Jeff (Danny Huston) would argue, “keep her young forever.” The only stipulation: she can never act in films, television or stage again—and she will be given a lump sum of money in return for signing away her identity. Wright reluctantly agrees at the pressure of her agent (Harvey Keitel) who argues her poor life choices and burned bridges have left them with few other options to consider.

Twenty years follow and a grey-haired Robin Wright drives a sports car down a desolate desert road of a very different America; the rapid expansion of science and technology has created a culture of psychedelic pharmaceuticals that can change reality into an animated world that looks like the personal nightmares of Mickey Mouse. Penn arrives at the gate for Miramount Studios, taking the drug at the urging of a security guard, and descends into a psychedelic world of land-swimming whales, robot butlers and other fantastical characters and creations. Nothing is what it seems, nobody can be trusted, and the concept of reality and personal freedom is now a stale concept.

The first act of The Congress is live-action, filmed by Michal Englert, a Polish cameraman that won best cinematography at Sundance for Lasting, and every frame is absolute beauty; each scene a canvas to be explored, consisting of vibrant colors and moody set pieces that draw you in like a Van Gogh painting. Soon after, the film transitions entirely into colorful and surreal animation that has an underlying sense of dread in its imagery. The switch from live-action to animation can be jarring at first, but it differs from films like Cloud Atlas which make jerky tonal choices that create eye-rolls rather than dropped jaws—and that is due to an incredibly strong script that shelters the animated segment from treading on tacky, kitschy seas—instead creating a brainy science fiction film that surprises the audience often and explores the depths of the human heart.

That being said, The Congress isn’t a perfect film. It can feel a bit uneven in its tone—sometimes teetering between a Spike Jonze and Wachowski Bros. film—and it expects the audience to willingly extend a hand to the lengthy, animated portion without struggle—but the flaws are embraceable since the script continuously remains clever. The dark, inventive aspects of the story not only prove interesting but often satirical, hoisting itself beyond extrasensory schlock with gorgeous imagery and sharp wit. It unapologetically jabs at big business and the film industry at large, all the while portraying tangible relationships between its characters amid the chaotic, psychedelic elements.

Robin Wright’s performance really carries the film as she battles against a world voluntarily surrendering their freedom to become a figment of their own imaginations; she brings density to the self-deprecating role of herself, and although animated for most of the film she still exhibits her versatility as an actress. Harvey Keitel, Paul Giamatti, Jon Hamm, and Kodi Smit-McPhee complement Wright’s performance with compelling characters that exhibit the remaining humanity in a world of nightmarish delusion and rampant greed.

Loosely based on the satirical novel The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem, The Congress is an ambitious and flawed film that takes bold and imaginative leaps many films fear to attempt: it will satisfy as well as polarize and while I think a second viewing of The Congress is necessary to prove the fantastical elements hold water, it is undeniably an entertaining and trippy experience that will quell the thirstiest of art-house and science fiction fans. I highly recommend giving it a look and definitely go into it with an open mind. Arguably one of my favorite films at the Newport Beach Film Festival of 2014 and a real head-scratcher.

Ready Player One (2018) - 100 WORDS OR LESS

Dir: Steven Spielberg

A milquetoast main character that lacks charisma, blatant cliches, and lazy direction, Ready Player One is fan culture fodder that is painfully unoriginal. Ben Mendelsohn and supporting cast do their best with little to do; and one interesting, original sequence involving The Shining shows potential, but the third act is lazy: many jokes flop, the acting is beyond terrible, and too many coincidences led me to believe the film would be written-off as one long dream sequence. References to beloved properties feel tacked-on, uninspired, reminding me of better films with compelling characters/plot lines. It flounders what Super 8 accomplishes effortlessly (6/10).