Uncut Gems

Gillipedia Official Rating: Rocky

^took me about 10 seconds to think of that

            Just like actual uncut gems, this movie is rough around the edges. I went in all high and mighty with my prior knowledge to A24 films feeling confident I was in for another hard-hitting flick. And I feel like with just a few changes, the movie is well on its way to that status. But as it is now, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed.

            Before we move on to my factual opinions regarding this film, let’s talk about what we’re actually dealing with so far. Taking place over a couple of days, the film completely revolves around the chaotic mess that Adam Sandler’s Jewish jeweler (impossible to say Jewish jeweler quickly) character Howard has created for his business. He owns a high-end jewelry shop in Manhattan’s diamond district with big-ticket items. The problem is that he gets loans and proceeds to place risky parlay sports bets using that money, and evidently, it hasn’t all worked out. One of the highlights of the film is that we’re not given a history lesson on any of this. We’re able to put all the pieces together as we follow Howard around interacting with all of his associates.

            The basic formula for the film is a debtee comes to collect from Howard, and he either brushes him off or tries telling some form of a white lie. Howard proceeds to another location where he is hell-bent on one objective, and he ignores any obstacle in his way—and these obstacles come back in one way or another to his detriment. It’s in these moments that you see the best of Sandler and the failure of the film. These are supposed to be anxiety inducing, squirmy scenes. In one way I totally agree that watching Howard conduct business is hard to watch in a great way; however, it’s totally undermined by the score. Let me explain.

            Actually, before I explain, now is as good a time as any to discuss Sandler’s performance. Some of your thoughts may be along the lines of, “Wait! Adam Sandler from 50 First Dates and Happy Gilmore and Grown Ups?” Or, “Adam Sandler from all those failed Netflix movies is doing drama?” Or even, “You’re telling me the star of my favorite movie ever Pixels is in a serious role? Cool!” Regardless of how familiar you are with Sandler, it’s worth pointing out that over a decade ago he starred in a film called Punch-Drunk Love. That role still allowed Sandler his comedic moments, but it was a truly committed performance in a highly underrated film. The point is that it has been established that Sandler has acting chops with the right material. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that his performance here is Oscar worthy, but he’s perfect and transformative as the character and works really well.

            The other noteworthy person in this film is Kevin Garnett. The whole film takes place during his Eastern Conference Semis series with the Celtics against the 76’ers in 2012. It’s a smart choice considering he hasn’t aged in pretty much the 20 years he’s been playing in the league. It’s his film debut, and he holds his own. It also marks the debut for The Weeknd, but we don’t care about that. If you want a notable debut from a musician, check out something like John Legend in La La Land. And The Weeknd isn’t even the last debut we’re mentioning—it’s also the first film for Julia Fox who plays Sandler’s lover and sometimes employee. There was one line of dialogue in particular that stood out as bad writing for her character, but beyond that, I’m immensely impressed and look forward to seeing what else she’s in. And last but certainly not least, LaKeith Stanfield has a supporting role. He’s a tremendous actor that broke out in Donald Glover’s show Atlanta and has appeared in big movies like Get Out and Knives Out. The focus of the film is on Sandler at all times, so Stanfield’s role is delegated mainly to the background, and I think that’s a bit of a shame. Would’ve liked to have seen more of him in this. Oh, and Elsa from Frozen is here too.

            Now then, back to why the intensity of this film fails. I put the primary fault on the choice of score. There’s huge synth vibes straight out of Blade Runner running amok out here in the movie, and it’s one of the oddest choices I’ve seen. I’m a huge fan of the Blade Runner soundtrack, but I would never put it in this film. A lot of what’s supposed to be frenetic energy is lost here, and it’s a shame. The fix here would be to go largely drum-based and take a play out of Birdman’s handbook.

            All in all this film takes Spielberg levels of characters talking over each other and ramps it up to a 12. Yes, it’s interesting to see how Sandler’s debts start piling on top of each other, but there isn’t all that much variation in how these play out. There is a scene that let’s us breathe a bit where the family partakes in Passover celebrations, and I commend the film for it—it was interesting to look into a religion I don’t have much knowledge about. Then we get to the climax which was fun to watch and added much more tension because we were following both Sandler and Julia Fox. But I can’t say I’m happy with the finish. It makes sense in enough ways, but it’s also not satisfying. I was expecting a bit more grit out of this A24 film honestly. Not quite a winner for me.

 

In Brief:

I wonder how Joss Whedon feels about the Snyder cut.

The Peanut Butter Falcon

Gillipedia Official Rating: Bayou Goodness

            This is the sweetest film you’ll see in a while. No, it’s not perfect. It’s also a little simplistic, but its heart carries it through its 100-minute runtime. What is The Peanut Butter Falcon? It’s a tale with hints of O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Mud about a young man with Down Syndrome named Zak who has been put at a retirement home for the last couple of years because he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. He watches Thomas Haden Church perform as the Saltwater Redneck on video and runs away with the help of Bruce Dern to fulfill his dream of becoming a wrestler. Through unusual circumstances Zak is thrust upon Tyler (Shia Lebeouf) who is also on the run, and together they have an adventure through the coast of North Carolina.

            This isn’t a hilarious film, but there’s enough humor to keep things running—most provided courtesy of newcomer Zachary Gottsagen. As you may already know if you’re familiar with my reviews, I will critique a film based on its merits first and foremost. And I have to commend Zak for his performance; he feels like he belongs, and it takes guts to perform in your underwear for as long as he does in this film.

            Shia Labeouf’s Tyler plays out about as you’d expect. He’s a fisherman who lashes out at the world because he’s still grieving over the loss of his brother (played by Jon Bernthal in flashbacks—these are mostly subpar and are really used to pad the runtime) by stealing crab and burning gear. Zak sneaks onto Tyler’s boat as he has to avoid the fishermen whose gear he torched (one played by a rapper who goes by the great name Yelawolf). Tyler is dismissive of Zak, and even though he doesn’t bully him like others have already in the film, he’s also not keen on keeping him around considering he doesn’t bring anything to the table. But as the pair continue along, Zak proves to be a loyal partner, and Tyler helps teach him to swim and trains him up to be a wrestler. We’re treated to a couple of montages, and the entire soundtrack is filled with old bluegrass, folksy tunes and I’m all for it (Just wanted to point out that while doing my research for this review, I came across a band called The Electric Peanut Butter Company and I felt like sharing that. That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.). My biggest issue is how quickly Tyler goes from solo outlaw to seeing Zak as a brother figure. It fits in well enough with the brisk pacing and light tone, but a critic’s gotta critic after all.

            Dakota Johnson of 50 Shades notoriety is also here. Outside of Zak’s roommate played by Bruce Dern, Johnson is one of the few people at the retirement center that truly cares about Zak’s well-being, and she’s sent by her boss to retrieve him. It doesn’t take much convincing for her to join the motley crew; a few googly eyes later and her and Tyler hit it off. Again, their relationship is rushed—even more so than Tyler and Zak’s bond. Like when they first meet in a convenience store, Johnson leaves by giving the Tyler the middle finger. It was in a playful way, sure, but it all felt like a quick turnaround. And yes, I understand they bond over their fondness for Zak, but I’d just like to sit over here and nitpick in peace please.

            There really isn’t anything here that will surprise you. It’s a formulaic feel-good movie with the twist of Zak as one of the main characters. And truthfully, it doesn’t need to be more than that. I’m a fan of my dark noir thrillers and my action escapades, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a sweet film. Enjoy this movie and don’t forget that the #1 rule is party.

 

In Brief:

• I think Netflix is clogged with substandard content with some great shows and films mixed in. I think Steve Carell’s Space Force could be good and is probably somewhat funny, but I wasn’t impressed by the trailer.
• If you didn’t check out The Last Dance on ESPN, you missed out. Not only was it great to get some sort of sports content, it was also just super engaging. A lot of young athletes especially can learn what mindsets and consequences it takes to achieve what MJ did. And it was really funny seeing the slight behind-the-scenes peek at Space Jam.
• I recently re-watched the John Wick trilogy and can safely say that I had no regrets about that. I know after the third one the series has become mainstream, but if you haven’t checked them out yet, I highly recommend them. Some of the best action movies ever.

The Lighthouse + The VVitch

Gillipedia Official Rating: “It’s metaphorical!” – Ki Woo, Parasite

            If you’re wondering why I chose these two films, they are the two highly critically praised films from relative newcomer Robert Eggers. The Lighthouse gained a bit of notoriety when it came out last year for its choice of shooting in black and white. It follows two lighthouse workers in the late 19^th century as they maintain this essential seafaring service in sometimes blistering weather off the coast of New England. Willem Dafoe is the veteran skipper, and Robert Pattinson is the new guy, but not all is at it seems.

            You will probably never hear me talk about stuff like aspect ratios, but this film is shot very narrowly and creates a bit of claustrophobia while lending itself to the decision to keep the actors’ faces in center frame for a large portion of the film. We start off with the two men on a small, canoe-like boat heading to the titular lighthouse. There’s very little dialogue in the first 20 minutes of the film as Willem farts a bunch and leaves the menial tasks to the upcoming Batman. Already early on we’re treated to these almost dream-like sequences of Pattinson wading farther and farther out into the water and logs floating towards him and Willem doing some Willem things by going up the lighthouse and baring and basking in all the glory of the light at night. And during much of the slower parts, there’s a low, deep roaring like a ship horn that blares ominously throughout. There’s intrigue here, some good shots, and not bad—but rather slow—start overall.

            Willem performs most of the dialogue which mainly consists of drunken soliloquys that could’ve been taken straight from Shakespeare. He talks a bunch about gods and the sea and Poseidon and you’ll hardly see him blink. What does that mean, you might ask? It’s the stuff that critics eat up and draws most of the attention, but it’s not really all that enjoyable honestly. In fact the biggest praise I have of the film is actually for Pattinson. His performance is subdued, but it slowly becomes more and more deranged as the psychological effects of the isolated area and the story unfold, and it makes me very excited to see what he will bring to Gotham’s Dark Knight.

            I should take the time here to say that if you saw The Witch then you probably already suspected that this is a slow-burning movie, but as little of a plot as that film has, it’s easier to follow than this one. There’s actually more story points here and delves into the characters’ lives, but that serves more as a backdrop to the real grim metaphorical tale here. There’s specks of supernatural, but the main draw is in the cinematography and abstract quality of the film. And I don’t much care for it. I am all for abstracts and metaphors and what have you, but there’s nothing satisfying that comes from this. It’s fun listening to the accents and witness the period piece, but I never felt rewarded for anything that I figured out and left utterly confused by all the junk that made no sense. And even one of the biggest selling points of the Oscar-nominated cinematography using black and white doesn’t feel too impressive. There’s some good shots and occasional cool uses of lighting, but it’s nothing spectacular. If you really want to watch this film, you can find it on Prime. But unless you really just want to put yourself through pain by abstraction, I don’t recommend this movie.

 

Gillipedia Official Rating: Yeah, ain’t too shabby

            The debut film for filmmaker Robert Eggers and actress Anya Taylor-Joy (who has remained extremely busy since), The Witch (got tired of spelling that with the double v’s) is an atmospheric horror film of a banished family residing on a farm near some woods in 17^th century New England. And the filmmakers were so proud of the fact that the dialogue is accurate to the time as well as the story being taken from diaries recovered from the time, they included mentioning that as the end credits roll.

            The dialogue is neat, but if anyone actually understood everything that was said in the film, they deserve a job in speech immediately. I probably missed every fourth line of dialogue just because of how quiet and muddled the voices are. I didn’t watch with subtitles because I felt that might break the tension a bit, but they’re a necessity for this film.

            There’s a great family dynamic established here with little exposition to get in the way. The father is a hard worker and has one of the coolest sounding voices to listen to, the mother is a complex character that is stern but with love in her heart, there’s a younger brother who wants to prove he’s mature enough to help provide, young boy and girl twins, and a baby. But the real star here is definitely Taylor-Joy. She does a great job, even if her character is stuck with the name Thomasin.

            There’s actually action early on, but don’t expect that to be a common theme. The baby is taken by a witch, and there’s quite a disturbing sequence that is hard to make out entirely, and that’s for the best. This sets the whole story off as the family copes with the loss of the baby in their own ways and the witch continues to toil with the family that is struggling to put food on the table. Eventually, the primary tension evolves into the mother believing that Thomasin is actually the witch and they must rid of her to save the family.

            Don’t expect this horror film to be full of jump scares—it’s not that type of film. There’s some disturbing images for sure, but what works best is the whole atmosphere of the film. You really get a good sense of what a family on its own in the 17^th century might be subjected to. With this being a 90-minute film, it may be a slow-burner, but the films moves along with enough pace to hardly allow yourself to take a breath of relief. This film draws a lot of comparisons to Hereditary, and I think that is an apt comparison. This is an A24 film after all, so you won’t be seeing too much of the witch.

            What makes the film rise above Egger’s subsequent effort in The Lighthouse is how the film comes together. No spoilers here, but the way the story resolves itself with the family and with the witch and Thomasin’s arc works so much better. The Lighthouse does a good job of showing the lifestyle of that job during the time period, but the period piece is executed better here; the hardships of the lifestyle come through. At the beginning the family doesn’t have beds to sleep on because there’s no Red Roof Inn to stop at, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond possibly made a killing off of this film from all the candles that had to be used to light the night scenes in their cabin. The Witch succeeds if it gets the daunting atmosphere correct, and they do it right. And the final scene of the movie definitely is a doozy. If we’re continuing with comparisons, I do still think Hereditary edges this film out, but if you’re looking to watch a Robert Eggers film, definitely watch The Witch over The Lighthouse.

 

In Brief:

• As I mentioned earlier, I am now excited to see Pattinson in The Batman whenever that comes out. I know he’s been seeking out challenging roles in primarily indie films since his Twilight days, and if you write him off because of that franchise, then I’m guessing you haven’t seen his other stuff.
• There’s been some internal drama between movie companies and movie theaters. Trolls: World Tour made some big bucks in its improvised release for rentals at home, and that’s put the money-making companies into a frenzy about continuing this trend, and the theaters are upset and blah blah blah. Going to the theater will certainly be different as the country gradually opens up, but that’s okay. I will go in whatever socially acceptable way I can and support the films I want to see because as it stands, the next couple years will be loaded with films desperate to release. I just want to go watch stuff like Tenet and A Quiet Place Part 2 on the big screen, that’s all.
• There’s plenty to review, but as always I will absolutely look into any recommendation anyone has for me.