At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

Rustin

Yet another biopic that feels all too familiar and prepackaged. This time it's about Bayard Rustin and his contributions to the civil rights march in DC. It's a shame because you finally get Colman Domingo in a center starring role and while he was fantastic, he doesn't have interesting enough material in the script to work off of. Almost everyone in the cast is giving very typical biopic performances where they are either overacting or acting very generic. Seeing Jeffrey Wright for a second here almost gave the movie a boost but he wasn't in it enough. Chris Rock acting all serious yet again still takes me out. I also thought Aml Ameen as MLK was actually not bad but he's also not in it enough. I will say I thought there was a glimmer of originality when they shot some scenes like a jazz musical and if they kept that format, it would have been something to talk about but they didn't commit to it. The movie is also about Rustin hiding his sexuality as a black gay man and I feel like they tried to explore it but it all felt surface level. Almost every conflict this movie gets into almost immediately gets resolved within the next scene. It also doesn't help that the movie feels cheap at times and you can tell by all the stuffy office rooms that the majority of the movie takes place in. Overall, it's yet another Oscar bait film that is so obviously Oscar bait.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Fingernails

Not bad but it could have been better. I feel like they were trying to go for a less sci-fi version of The Lobster and Her with a little bit of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but the script wasn't quite up to that level. Where the movie excels the most are the performances between Riz Ahmed, Jessie Buckley, and Jeremy Allen White but I feel like they could have used a lot of that energy in that last act throughout the movie. The other part I enjoyed was the cinematography and also the set design trying to go for some retro reimagining of what the 80s were. I did think some of the dull pacing and the almost 2-hour runtime were what held this movie back a bit. Overall, it's a decent relationship drama that had some interesting moments that went on for too long.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Dream Scenario

I am suddenly thirsty for some Sprite™.

A hilarious and heartbreaking indie satire with a great hook especially since Nic Cage is at the center of it, literally. Considering it's produced by Ari Aster, this almost feels like a more accessible version of Beau is Afraid. They did a great job with the script by tailoring it to fit what we love about Nic Cage and his style of comedy. There were definitely some inspirations taken from Being John Malkovich and even Adaptation. The movie does a great job showcasing some anxiety horrors and putting a hilarious spin on it and I also thought the director did a great job showing how weirdly esoteric dreams and/or nightmares can be. The movie is also a satire on 15 Minutes of internet fame and the backlash of fame and I also feel like there's a little bit in there about the whole Nic Cage as a meme on the internet. What matters the most is that the humor worked well and there's some great timing on the jokes and it's edited really well. Overall, one of the best of the year. For a Nic Cage superfan like myself, this is a must-see, it pretty much represents all four quadrants of his matrix.
4.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Silent Night

The match cut of the single teardrop falling to the bullet hitting the ground is the single best shot of 2023.

It's John Woo's return to Hollywood after 20 years and what he came up with is quite confusing because of how simple it is. It's essentially a straightforward Punisher-style revenge film but with the added gimmick of no dialogue. When I say simple, it's very simple when it comes to the plot. It's very stereotypical and most of the characters feel like they came out of the 90s and it's as sophisticated as a lesser Steven Seagal movie. With how they paint some of the villains, it almost reminded me of Peppermint, and considering it's another white protagonist, the plot doesn't do the movie any favors with its optics. That being said, what the movie does work in spades is the direction by John Woo, the cinematography, the action, and the editing which all work really well together. The movie is more focused and concerned with how a father who lost a kid became The Punisher without being able to speak and it's a lot of the middle of the movie shows you that process. The last 30 minutes are basically all action and there are some great moments like the stairwell scene that remind you of the scene in Daredevil. Overall, it's all style no substance. It's a movie that is silly, serious, and horrendously stereotypical with a solid gimmick all wrapped in one and for me, the positives outweigh the negatives by just a little bit.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

May December

"We need more hotdogs."
*cues dramatic piano music*
*cuts to 100 hotdogs on a grill*

A fantastic melodrama that is loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau case but with some obvious changes. It's a really well-done script that takes it up several levels from what normally would have been a typical Lifetime movie, which this movie even mocks them for. Natalie Portman plays a well-known actress who is trying to study and shadow Julianne Moore's character for a role about their lives in a more serious movie adaptation and I thought the dynamic between the main cast was fascinating. The performances by Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton were fantastic especially Charles Melton who gets a couple of scene stealers in the later half of the movie. I also thought the direction and cinematography were excellent and they did a great job showing some nice vistas of Savannah Georgia. Overall, It's a great character study that elevates the material and does deliver on some great performances.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Enys Men

People in the UK just straight-up hallucinate a hellish dreamscape when they don't get their tea and crumpets.

A great arty horror film that is not for everyone but is worth seeing just for the visual aesthetic alone. The movie centers on a wildlife volunteer who is in charge of overseeing a rare flower and the folk horror story that creeps in. Because they shot it on 16mm, I love how it feels like a lost film from the 70s that they restored recently. It's almost as if this is what people thought The Lighthouse was gonna be based on the trailer. When they get to the second half of the movie, they do such a great job of making you feel like you're trapped in someone's nightmare and it's edited extremely well. While it may not look like anything on the surface, I really liked the subtle Mary Woodvine's performance. Overall, it's a movie that makes a great triple feature with The Lighthouse and The Shinning.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

El Conde

Between Ridley Scott's Napoleon and this movie, was Marie Antoinette's execution the Taylor Swift concert tour of 1793? Apparently, everyone was there.

A fun satirical black-and-white horror comedy that pokes fun at fascism to the point of absurdity. It's also a fun and weird Succession episode with vampires and the overall drama that comes with inheritance. Even take away the not-so-obvious subtext, it was such an interesting take on a vampire story that uses real-life historical figures like Augusto Pinochet in an alternate history. Pablo Larraín does a great job as always with directing and shooting it in a way that really puts some old-fashioned artistic flair to his shots. I liked how the movie goes fully into the vampire lore in a different way and they don't shy away from the blood and gore. They also get some crazy moments and reveals towards the end that really put the satire in full effect. Overall, I really dug it. It strikes a nice balance of horror satire with some arthouse sensibilities.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Boy and the Heron

This is exactly why I had to give away my parakeets when I was younger.

It's yet another beautifully rendered world created by Hayao Miyazaki that manages to deliver on some of his signature style. It's a movie that is also weird and bizarre but somehow all fits together that makes sense. With the story, it's more or less what you expect it to be. It's essentially another Alice in Wonderland with a little bit of Pan's Labyrinth and The Fall thrown in and other fantasy and fairy tales. The movie does a good job of diving into the themes of grief and letting go in contrast to this fantasy world he fell into. My biggest gripe is the movie does take its time setting up these characters and while I thought the first half worked, you can feel the story being stretched in the second half. For me, it's got some pacing issues, and knowing where this movie ultimately leads to, it feels like it was dragging the plot by focusing so much on the style and the animation. Overall, I thought it was really good but it could have been a little tighter in the edit.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Leave the World Behind

I'm predicting every person who owns a shelf full of DVDs and Blu-rays will rate this at least 4 stars on letterboxd.

I didn't expect to love it as much as I did but I should have known because it's by Sam Esmail. It's a movie that asks one fundamental question, What if M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening was good and intentionally funny at times? It does a great job building suspense and mystery in the first half of the movie where it almost plays like a bottle film with some great actors in the middle of it. Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, and Myha'la were fantastic in this and I love how almost every person represents a different attitude to what is seemingly a nationwide blackout that could also be a doomsday-level threat. They do a good job of putting in some humor and a running gag throughout the movie to counterbalance some horrific scenes and themes that happen in this. The movie has layers of what it's trying to say with its messaging that goes in all sorts of directions. There are also some homages from cinema that Esmail does like North by Northwest and Metropolis that I noticed right away as well as a shot of E Corp. And the movie ends on a dark but humorous note and seeing how this is a Netflix movie makes the irony that much sweeter. Overall, it's a really well-done psychological thriller that I actually love the more I think about it.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Eileen

If you think I would check letterboxd right after watching this in the theater to see how many people were disappointed they didn't play the Dexys Midnight Runners song, you'd be right.

A fantastic festive neo-noir thriller that really takes you on a ride you don't quite expect. It is beautifully shot and it's full of Christmas time atmosphere which reminded me of Carol but if it was done as a dark thriller. How it starts as a character drama and where it ends they do a great job setting up moments that would pay off in the twisty third act. Anne Hathaway really steals the movie every time she shows up on screen, she's basically the femme fatale that you always want to know more about. She's truly captivating in this. Thomasin McKenzie was also fantastic and while she doesn't really deliver on the Boston accent, I thought she worked when it came to those character moments with Anne Hathaway and my guy Shea Whigham. Also how she changes throughout the film was also great to see. While I don't think the movie is trying to go for something more unconventional, the director manages to keep you invested throughout all the smaller moments. Overall, I found this way more entertaining than I thought, and considering the 60s/70s Massachusetts of it all during Christmas time, it would make for a killer and different double feature with The Holdovers.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Godzilla Minus One

Wow, I really didn't expect to be watching the sequel to Oppenheimer this soon.

A great Godzilla movie in the form of a WWII-era war film which obviously feels like it came full circle. It uses the original Godzilla film as a roadmap and inspiration for how they use the Godzilla Atomic Bomb allegory as well as other films like Jaws, Dunkirk, and even the 2014 Godzilla movie. It's one of those rare times where they actually gave a damn about the human characters in these Kaiju movies and they did such a great job setting up the Shikishima character who was a former kamikaze pilot and what he goes through throughout the film and the crew around him. I really like the design of this Godzilla and the changes they made with his abilities as well as actually depicting his atomic breath to the actual atomic bomb in scope which was horrifying to watch. The movie plays on a lot of war movie tropes especially with Japanese war movies and while it doesn't really do anything new, they do a good job putting it in context with a Godzilla movie. Overall, this totally lives up to the hype and it was great seeing it on the big screen. It is probably in my top 5 favorite Godzilla movies.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Priscilla

Essentially the best and longest Lana Del Rey music video ever.

Extremely well done. It's Sofia Coppola at her best as she delves into the life of Priscilla Presley through this almost dollhouse prison. While it does have similar biopic tropes like with all biopics, they do a great job of making things feel more naturalistic and less flashy when it comes to the performances. Speaking of performances, Cailee Spaeny did such an incredible job playing Priscilla especially when there was no dialogue but there was a lot said with just how she carried herself and how she played the hopeless romantic who was in a very weird and difficult situation. Jacob Elordi as Elvis was also great and delivered a more down-to-earth performance compared to the overly stylized and campy performance from Austin Butler. I love it when a director has a clear signature aesthetic and with Sofia, it's her attention to detail in the production of clothes, makeup, and everything that falls under interior design that helps paint the story. For example, they do such a great job focusing on those gold bracelets early on that totally and intentionally felt like handcuffs. Overall, it's a great film and I really hope Cailee Spaeny gets an Oscar nom.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Wonka

There needs to be a spinoff movie about the chocolate cartel but done in the style of Sicario and Breaking Bad.

I kinda feel two ways about this movie. On one hand, it's an adaptation of Willy Wonka that is antithetical to Roald Dahl's original more cynical and mean vision of who Willy Wonka is... on the other hand it's Paul King being Paul King (who clearly doesn't have a cynical bone in his body) and having a loveable version of Wonka and having it set during his early days was heartfelt and genuine. I ended up really enjoying this as a Paul King movie. It's a movie clearly inspired by his Paddington movies, Mary Poppins, Annie, Matilda, and a little bit of The Greatest Showman. I really like how this movie and Timothée Chalamet's performance as Wonka isn't trying to be the perfection that is the Gene Wilder movie at any point in time. It is truly trying to be its own thing as a British-inspired musical comedy with side characters that you enjoy watching. Calah Lane as Noodle becomes the heart of the movie and Keegan-Michael Key delivers some of the best laughs as a corrupt chief of police along with Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant. Where the Tim Burton Wonka movie is the more weird and twisted version of the character (that completely doesn't work imo), this Wonka movie swings completely to the other side but it actually works on an enjoyment level. Overall, it's a Wonka movie I ended up really enjoying and that's all thanks to Paul King who continues to deliver some of the most heartfelt moments in cinema.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Leo

fr tho... Summer really needs to either ST*U or start a podcast.

Springingly not bad considering it's Adam Sandler going back to animation. This almost felt like a kid's movie they would have made back in the late 90s but done in 2D. The story is fairly straightforward where it's Adam Salder as a pet iguana for the class who pretty much helps these school kids with their problems. The movie works well whenever it's Adam Sandler and Bill Burr talking sh** like Statler and Waldorf. Much like Eight Crazy Nights, this also happens to be a musical like Mary Poppins and I thought sometimes it worked and other times it was incredibly annoying. The animation itself is also hit or miss even though I did quite enjoy the character designs especially the kindergarteners who look like hungry piranhas. Unlike Disney and PIXAR, they don't really care about playing it family-friendly so it's got a few raunchy stuff (on a kids level) that does try to push the envelope a bit. Overall, I enjoyed it. It's a movie that feels like it shouldn't work but it somehow does despite some problems it has.
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Cool Cat Saves the Kids

I laughed. I cried. I had my own midlife crisis.... and so did Derek Savage.
Also, Butch the bully did nothing wrong.

And yes, I watched the director's cut.

 

[chintai80]

Cool Cat Saves the Kids

I laughed. I cried. I had my own midlife crisis.... and so did Derek Savage.
Also, Butch the bully did nothing wrong.

And yes, I watched the director's cut.

LOL. i was just watching the double toasted roast of this yesterday and laughing my ass off.

poor Butch!

 

[Kane52630]

#FREEBUTCH

 

[Kane52630]

Divinity

However you feel about this movie... That final fight needs to be a DLC on the next Mortal Kombat and/or Street Fighter.

A quite bizarre and experimental film that is both an art-house sci-fi satire(?) and a trashy and horny style-over-substance thriller. There are definitely shades of Cronenberg, Lynch, Panos Cosmatos, and a Tool music video all wrapped in one. It also reminded me of Carpenter Brut's Blood Machines in how extravagant the sci-fi elements are where you are just there for the insane cosmic visuals. Between the filmmaking and the themes it attempts to explore, it's definitely not for everyone, but it's got something different that you don't see every day. Overall, while there's not enough meat on its bones in terms of plot and characters, the visuals alone are worth checking out just to see how it plays out.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Family Switch

This might be the first How Did This Get Made episode where Paul Scheer appears in the film.

As expected, it's pretty bad. I'm guessing someone had an elevator pitch the weekend after Wednesday aired on Netflix who just said "What if it's Freaky Friday but it's the whole family on Christmas and Emma Myers is the star?" It's such a lazy and rushed attempt to capitalize on a new popular actor. I'm more shocked that it's directed by McG of all people because it's shot, edited, and directed so poorly even by the low Netflix standards. This feels more like a bad Lifetime movie that I'm sure they've made several with just this concept alone. None of the jokes landed unless you count the bloopers they got at the end. The family dynamic just feels off and weird. The movie even starts with no real proper introduction... it's like you missed the first 10 minutes or something. Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms were sleepwalking in this even with the family swap gimmick. Overall, even with a crazy bit with a CGI baby, this was forgettable.
1/5

 

[Kane52630]

Quicksand

I just know some therapist is gonna make a lot of money with extreme couples therapy with quicksand.

This was not bad for an indie survival horror that revolves around a couple that's on the verge of divorce. I will say I thought this probably works better as a short film instead of stretching the concept for 90 minutes with a subplot that really doesn't work. That being said, I did like the atmosphere and the horror elements that were introduced as the movie went along. While I think the actors they got were okay, the character moments while they're stuck in quicksand were pretty well done. I particularly liked how that vegetarian line came back around. Overall, it's pretty average as a Shudder movie with some good moments in between.
2.5/5

 

[Dr.]

Quicksand — the trope — has its own article over at (of course) TV Tropes.

Quicksand Sucks - TV Tropes

Quicksand is a common and deadly element of swamp, jungle, and desert terrain. Science Fiction stories written before the Moon landings are also liable to describe thick layers of extremely fine lunar dust on the Moon's surface that are treated …

tvtropes.org

 

[Kane52630]

Funny enough, they do bring up how quicksand isn't as quick as it is depicted in the movies.

 

[Dr.]

According to Archimedes' Principle :nerdy:, it’d be impossible for a human body to sink into a medium that’s denser. To be sure, quicksand can still be deadly. It’s just that stuck victims usually croak of exposure, dehydration, etc. — which, admittedly, isn’t as dramatic and claustrophobic as being swallowed alive by mud!!!

 

[Kane52630]

Finestkind

A pretty messy crime thriller that doesn't know if it wants to be a wannabe The Town or a schmaltzy made-for-TV drama about a fisherman and his crew who get into trouble. It's a shame because Ben Foster and Tommy Lee Jones are the best parts of the movie and they have some incredible moments in this but you have to dig through all the cheap writing and performances. This is probably Jenna Ortega's worst performance I've seen. I can't tell if she was trying to pull off a Boston accent but it never worked. Orgeta along with the other main star, Toby Wallace doesn't bring much to the table other than a very generic MTV romance. The movie is way too long for its own good and it goes in all sorts of directions that meander a lot but I did appreciate the middle of the movie where it's just exploring the life of a fisherman. Overall, while there is some stuff to like about this, it's ultimately a forgettable movie that could have been so much better.
2/5

 

[Kane52630]

Trolls Band Together

Wow, not a single Fingerbang boyband reference.

Yet another Trolls movie where stuff happens and they all sing pop songs and reference all the 90s boybands. Eric Andre and Kenan Thompson were the only ones that kept me awake through this and I thought the parts where it goes psychedelic 2D were fun, I guess. And I thought it was weird they didn't make the Nsync part of the movie longer. They were basically cameos at the end of the movie. Overall, it's forgettable.
2/5