At the Movies with Kane and BN

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Remember At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert... or Ebert & Roeper? Well let's just say this thread is gonna try to mimic that show... only this time you have me, Kane. And on the other end, we have @Black Narcissus. Both of us are fans of the movie industry and we got some thoughts and opinions. We'll talk about what's going on in Hollywood, mostly review movies, argue, and argue some more. Others are welcome to comment and contribute to the discussion, but we will have the final say on things.

Welcome to At The Movies With Kane and BN

...and if you don't like it, you can kiss my shiny metal ass. ​

 

American Dreamer

It's an incredible small budget neo-noir thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Jim Gaffigan did a phenomenal job. He completely transformed himself as this character who's kind of a piece of sh** and really desperate. Even though the plot does go into familiar territory, they do enough to hook you in. It essentially tries to be Breaking Bad and for the most part, it does work on that level. Robbie Jones and Isabel Arraiza are pretty much the main supporting actors they got here and they do flesh them out as characters. My only issue is the last 15 minutes. They do a great job connecting plot lines together and creating tension naturally until they got to the ending where it felt unrealistic and trite. Overall, it's still a great little gem of a crime film that rarely gets made anymore.
8.5/10

 

He's been "comedy" acting for quite a while and he's had shows before, but it wasn't until I saw him in Chappaquiddick I thought "He's got some real acting chops". He can easily transition into dramatic acting... especially after this movie.

 

Also, I feel like you can take any seasoned comedian and put him or her in a dramatic role and they'll ace it. People love to crap on Sarah Silverman, but between Take This Waltz and Battle of the Sexes, she could also transition into dramatic acting for the rest of her life and be better for it.

 

It's been on my queue, I've got stacks of horror titles to go through all next month.

 

Oh, I do have a letterboxd if anyone is interested.

Kane52630’s profile

I don't know how many people have seen Parasite yet, but it is truly one of the best movies of the year.

 

I'm gonna go check out The Goldfinch today before it leaves theaters. I've heard mixed things.

 

The Goldfinch

This is like going to a five star restaurant with excellent atmosphere and an hour after you order something you can barely pronounce, they give you a small PB&J sandwich. Despite the good performances all around, the plot stays in neutral the entire time. The stakes of the movie are so minuscule that it doesn't justify the two and a half hours it spends trying to tell this story. And even when they are stakes towards the end, it quickly rushes through it. This almost feels like it was originally meant to be a limited series on Netflix. That being said, probably the biggest thing this movie has going for is the cinematography and direction. Roger Deakins once again pulls the rabbit out the hat and he along with the director manages to make the movie somewhat watchable despite the lack of care for the story. Overall, I don't hate it, but it could have been so much better.
6.5/10

 

In Fabric

It's utterly bizarre and wild and I loved pretty much every minute of it. This manages to be a homage to Argento and the Giallo films from the 70s and 80s, but bring something new that we haven't seen before and it doesn't hold back. It's got an overt message on consumerism, but it doesn't takes itself too seriously because it is about a dress that literally kills people and play by slasher rules. I dug the performances, but Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Fatma Mohamed were really great. Overall, it's a much watch if you are a fan of Giallo.
9/10

31 Day Horror Marathon 2019
Day 1 | In Fabric (9/10)
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The Dead Don't Die

Interesting choice for Jim Jarmusch to go to the horror genre route after Paterson. It's pretty much the classic Romero zombies that do a few meta things along the way. I do like how it was directed and structured, it's a very nonchalant zombie horror comedy. I dug the cast a lot, it's probably the only thing that keeps the film from sinking. My biggest issue with the movie is it's trying to go for political/social satire, but the message doesn't say anything new. The movie's hottest take is "Trump is bad. Science is good." And Romeo already did a social commentary on consumerism in Dawn of the Dead, so a lot of the movie is just a retread. Outside of all of that, I still enjoyed it, but it's just slightly forgettable.
7.5/10

31 Day Horror Marathon 2019
Day 1 | In Fabric (9/10)
Day 2 | The Dead Don't Die (7.5/10)
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So I haven't seen Joker yet (seeing it tomorrow)... but it makes me wonder how different I would view the film if all the monoculture hype and toxic discourse this is getting went to other prestigious films like Parasite, The Farewell, and The Last Black Man in San Francisco. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood probably came the closest this year, but that's usually the deal with every Tarantino movie.

 

Polaroid

A very by the book teen horror flick. It's almost like it was made in the early 2000s and didn't get released until now. And it doesn't help that you see the Dimension Films logo at the start of this. The movie is based on the short film and you do you see a shorten version of that in the opening act, but it's nowhere near as clever or sharp. The cast was mostly not annoying, which helps. Also I thought the creature design was pretty interesting and they do some interesting scares. The problem with this lies with how painfully predictable this becomes. It's a formula that's been used countless times and you see every move they make five steps ahead. That being said, there's not enough for me to hate or love about this, it's just kinda there doing nothing. Overall, it's mediocre as hell.
6.5/10

31 Day Horror Marathon 2019
Day 1 | In Fabric (9/10)
Day 2 | The Dead Don't Die (7.5/10)
Day 3 | Polaroid (6.5/10)

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In The Tall Grass

Pretty enjoyable for the most part. It started off kinda rough on the acting side of things, but it slowly turned around when Patrick Wilson showed up. Vincenzo Natali is the director and while it is a Stephen King adaptation, it does feel like a spiritual sequel to Cube just by concept. They do a good job of making you feel trapped in the tall grass with them. There's some very imaginative visuals and direction going on and that keeps you interested. The movie does explore some interesting themes and relationships, but the ending kinda falls flat. Overall, I dug it. It's got a great middle, but a rocky beginning and ending.
7.5/10

31 Day Horror Marathon 2019
Day 1 | In Fabric (9/10)
Day 2 | The Dead Don't Die (7.5/10)
Day 3 | Polaroid (6.5/10)
Day 4 | In The Tall Grass (7.5/10)

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