At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

Late Night with the Devil

The only thing I thought of when it got to the ending shot:

We'll
Be
Right
Back

Utterly fantastic. It's a phenomenal documentary/found footage-style horror film about a '70s late-night talk show that goes off the rails on Halloween night. It feels like a segment you'd see in a V/H/S movie but done as a feature-length with the utmost care with the script, the performances, and the filmmaking. David Dastmalchian gave an amazing performance as a talk show host. He finally gets to take charge and be the lead in something and does a great job carrying the film. The director does a great job building up the anxiety and dread every time they cut to a commercial and I like how you don't know what to expect even when you think you know. The supporting cast did an amazing job as well particularly Ian Bliss, Rhys Auteri, and Laura Gordon. Overall, despite the elephant in the room which is so unfortunate, I loved this. It's exactly the kind of horror film that could only exist in the indie film realm and what they did with it was so impressive and right up my alley. It's easily one of my favorite films of the year.
4.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Perfect Days

You gotta have extreme confidence going to a public restroom that is entirely a switchable privacy glass room, I could never.

This was an unbelievably perfect and poetic film by Wim Wenders that manages to be a portrait of a man working as a public restroom janitor but done with care and mindfulness by highlighting the simple things in life and life itself. They do a good job using a documentary/cinema verite feel to it in a way with how they focus on certain things and the stillness combined with the deeper themes of it all is what keeps this movie going for me. Koji Yakusho gave a perfect performance and he definitely has a few scenes that will be remembered. The cinematography also couldn't be more perfect and the soundtrack was on point every time they do a needle drop. In many ways, this reminded me of other films I love like First Cow, and Lost in Translation, and even Ghost Dog. Overall, this is exactly what I love about movies and it's a shame I saw this after I posted my top 10 for 2023 because this without question belongs in it.
5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Godzilla × Kong: The New Empire

ngl seeing them gladly destroy the Pyramids of Giza but making sure the Roman Colosseum is intact seems deliberate

Absolutely bonkers and utterly stupid in the best and worst ways possible. This is basically a 90s Saturday morning cartoon come to life without any attempt to make this somewhat sophisticated. It's also more like the later Godzilla Toho movies from the 70s and 80s where its only goal is to expand the world and see who can fight who in the coolest way possible. Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett pretty much doubles up on all the dumb and wacky parts of the previous film and leave all the human characters with poorly done video game dialogue where they only exist to say lame exposition.... except for Dan Stevens who's the only one who seems to work in this movie as dumb as it is. While the CG on Godzilla and Kong looked pretty good, everything else seems like they forgot to finish it, especially Shimo who looks worse than anything I saw in She-Hulk or Quantumania, but I will say the cinematography at times looks pretty good and colorful. While it is insane, there are parts of the movie that did work for me and almost all of it has to do with just Kong himself who's the only character with any reasonable level of depth and pathos. Other than that this sadly belongs in the same big boneheaded blockbusters that are working with one braincell like Fast X or Transformers The Last Knight. I still feel like Kong Skull Island managed to pull this kind of movie off brilliantly and they haven't gotten close since then. Overall, it's one of the dumbest movies of the year with some moments from Kong that were kinda fun.
2/5

 

[Kane52630]

Girls State

It's so wild to me they never explained why Emily had a flip phone.

It is a pretty decent companion piece to Boys State even though it lacks the level of intensity and drama as a doc that operates as a narrative. I thought it was interesting how they quickly shifted the goal for this doc and how it's very different from the goal of the Boys State doc where it felt like a lightning in a bottle that also felt like you were watching a Richard Linklater drama. The girls they picked to be highlighted were interesting because of how it felt like they had three different perspectives on what they wanted out of the program, especially Emily, Nisha, and Tochi. While on the whole, I dug the documentary, it did feel like there wasn't enough time explored and they had a lot to fit in considering it was talking about the fundamentals of the program, personal politics, the Roe v Wade overturn that hovered over this doc, and seeing them integrate the imbalance of the program compared to the Boys State program where there seems to be a more sense of importance. I think this doc would have worked better as a three-part series where you get to know more about the issues this doc brings up. Overall, this was still a great watch despite some problems I have with it and it's still worth seeing if you're remotely interested in how future politicians in America are shaped and formed at an early age.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Monkey Man

"You like John Wick?"
"I want something smart but effective."

A fantastic directorial debut for Dev Patel that takes a simple revenge premise but adds a lot of meaning and heart to it. In a lot of ways filmmaking-wise, this reminds me more of Ramin Bahrani's The White Tiger with some of The Raid 2 for the action set pieces. Unlike most of the John Wick movies, this goes story first then action second and it helps with the overall direction of what it wants to be and what it's trying to say in regards to Indian politics, money and power, extreme poverty, and discrimination. Dev Patel does a great job getting a lot of the emotional heft into most of the characters and when the action does happen it's saved for the best moments of the movie. I thought the best part for me was the training montage with the tabla and the last action set piece that felt so inspired by the last action set piece in The Raid 2 and several 70s martial arts movies like Enter the Dragon. Overall, it's definitely worth checking out and it does a great job standing apart from the rest of the typical braindead action movies of today that almost always have nothing to say.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

The First Omen

[insert that Simpsons meme of a father smacking his kid on the back of the head but it's The First Omen and The Exorcist: Believer]

So unexpectedly fantastic and incredibly well done for what on paper seemed like a nostalgia cash grab much like Exorcist: Believer. This one actually puts in the work and the director Arkasha Stevenson was so heavily inspired by auteur-level horror filmmaking from the 60s/70s/80s like the original Omen, Poesssion, Rosemary's Baby, and Exorcist III. While knowing it's a prequel, it somehow didn't affect my enjoyment of the story until it got to the end which I did still like but it was obvious they needed to connect the dots. The cinematography and score are used so incredibly well and manage to get some inventive scares and horror imagery that you've never really seen before even though Immaculate just came out. And speaking of which, while this and Immaculate are almost identical, Immaculate does a great job doing nunsploitation and having fun with it whereas this does a great job emulating high-end classic horror and does a great job giving you cinematic atmosphere. I thought the cast did a great job but Nell Tiger Free gave one of the best performances of the year so far, she was so good in this. Overall, great film. Besides how I feel about the ending and having to "MCU" this, I thought this is exactly the kind of ambitious upscale horror that looks like a real film that people wanted out of Exorcist: Believer.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Monolith

ngl... the movie should have ended with "And now a word from our sponsor, Hello Fresh."

A fantastic single location/bottle horror that does a great job keeping you invested mostly due to Lily Sullivan who was acting her ass off. I really like how they used podcasting/audio editing in this and it's super rare to see a movie actually get podcast journalism and how easy it is to control a narrative for better or especially worse. How they manage to keep the dialogue rich but only stay on one or two shots for several minutes reminded me of The Vast of Night in a lot of ways which is high praise. As for the horror, it's a great slow burn that does keep you on edge the more you know about the black brick. It gets into themes of paranoia, obsession, and isolation pretty well. Overall, definitely my kind of movie in every way where it does a lot with very little with some great performances that carry the movie.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Civil War

Me: *sees two dead bodies hanging next to a graffiti sign that says "Pittsburgh"*
Me: "Yeah that sounds about right."

A grueling, stressful, and riveting thriller that is essentially a long road trip from hell. It's something that is surely not the movie people want it to be or fear it to be and it's not trying to make any clear sense of the politics in our real world despite how very real it may look and operate. It's pretty much a cautionary tale about division dressed as a war film crossed with an examination of war photojournalists and especially the complex nature of embedded journalism that usually we often see in second or third-world countries brought over to the US, and see how it's the same kind of cycle. It's far more about the embedded journalism aspect than the actual Red vs Blue politics of the war and it's also far more about wanting to be an entertaining thrill ride from hell than anything else. It's done purposely to make things open-ended for interpretation and it doesn't make it feel automatically dated to a specific time in American politics.

I must say, seeing this in IMAX was absolute perfection and the cinematography and especially sound design was so unreal. There are a couple of set pieces that make you feel like you're watching Apocalypse Now or Saving Private Ryan and it's done so intentionally even down to the needle drops. The scene with Jesse Plemons might as well be a scene from The Road. Also, by making the photojournalists the center of the movie, this does remind me so much of Nightcrawler as well even down to how some things play out.

The performances were also fantastic between Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, and Jesse Plemons. And in particular, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Jesse Plemons were the standouts to me. Overall, it's a movie that will definitely leave people either frustrated and angry that they didn't get the movie they had in mind, depressed by the things that happen in this, or completely riveted and entertained... or somehow a combination of all three. For me, while I would have liked a bit more to chew from story-wise, it's yet one of these movies that absolutely gripped me despite how many feel towards it, and seeing it in IMAX worked wonders. It's one of the best of the year that I'll never forget and Alex Garland did it again.
4.5/5

 

[Dr.]

I haven't seen Civil War yet. But that's a nicely written review. Better than many of the pros.

 

[Kane52630]

I haven't seen Civil War yet. But that's a nicely written review. Better than many of the pros.

 

[Kane52630]

Wicked Little Letters

They would fit right at home in a Call of Duty lobby from 10+ years ago.

This was a fun little British dramedy that feels like it was made right after The Banshees of Inisherin became an awards contender. It's a movie that becomes a mystery of finding out who's behind those mean letters and how they can tear apart a small British town in the 1920s done in a very light and delightful way with some meaning behind it along with having the Women's suffrage movement in mind. It's mostly a showcase of how incredible Jessie Buckley is doing comedy and zany things while holding her own against Olivia Coleman who's playing mostly the straight person. They're both incredible in this more so with Jessie Buckley and I liked how both characters developed throughout the movie because they don't make it so obvious. I also really liked Anjana Vasan in this who plays the 3rd leading role and plays a bridge character between the two. It's a movie filled with a lot of comedic swearing which you'd think the appeal would wear off but they do enough to keep things flowing that it comes at the right moment. My only problem is I think the middle slows down a bit too long before the courtroom drama starts up so there are some pacing issues. Overall, though, I really dug it.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Lift

#FreeGuguMbathaRawFromStreamingPrison

Godawful. Between this and Red Notice, it's probably the prime example of what these crappy big-budget Netflix movies are capable of where it feels like the computer algorithm is on the director's chair calling shots and not F Gary Gray. It's a copy of a copy of another copy of a script that someone picked up from the trash can about making Oceans Eleven on a plane. It's super generic, so predictable, and it's so cheap looking despite the $100 million price tag. There are more green screen location shots than there are actual shots on location for a movie that is supposed to feel "international". The whole NFT thing has aged so poorly even when they were making it probably... so having that as the main mission for a heist was kinda funny. The cast itself is mostly phoning it in with generic dialogue and almost none of them felt like they wanted to be there including Kevin Hart. Overall, while it didn't quite piss me off as much as Red Notice did, this is right up there as one of Netflix's horrendous failures.
1/5

 

[Kane52630]

Sorcerer

That one shirtless South American dude who was trolling Roy Scheider as he was driving the truck, A+

After wanting to watch this for the better part of a decade, I've finally seen it and it really lives up to the hype. This was an incredible job by William Friedkin who managed to make a slow-burn nail-biter of a survival action thriller that centers around a ragtag group of guys who all came to this mission under very different circumstances. I thought it was interesting how the film structures each story without really knowing where it ultimately leads, they almost feel like vignettes of different movies that came together. Roy Scheider probably gets the most out of the movie compared to all the other characters in terms of story and character moments and he's fantastic in it as always. It's ultimately a movie that becomes man vs man vs nature with a little helping of self. The jungle scenes where they are transporting extremely volatile dynamite is where the film really levels up and the rainy bridge scene is unlike anything other just from a practical filmmaking level. Because it's Friedkin, I also did like some of the odd flourishes with some of the imaginary, especially toward the end. Also, Tangerine Dream did a great job with the score. Overall, truly underrated when it comes to 70s cinema and it's a damn shame it got overshadowed by Star Wars.
4.5/5

 

[Daywalker89]

Looking forward to your Abigal review Kane and BN. Love this thread as i come across films that ive missed and have lowkey done well. Thanks for the great work.

 

[Kane52630]

Looking forward to your Abigal review Kane and BN. Love this thread as i come across films that ive missed and have lowkey done well. Thanks for the great work.

 

[Kane52630]

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver

The funniest part of this movie is a flashback when they brought in the actual orchestra from the score to play someone's death scene in Julius Caesar fashion.

Absolutely horrendous. This movie is like 60% farm simulator and 40% slow-mo action that doesn't mean anything. It's more of the same bullsh** from Part One only it completely loses the plot and Snyder pads out the first hour of the movie with some generic nonsense that is just there to waste time. Like with the last movie, every character is severely underwritten and overly serious in the acting department. The CGI looks significantly worse than the first one and it doesn't even match up at times. Overall, what a waste of time, effort, and resources. I hate to say it but I hope Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Shay Hatten never write a screenplay ever again.
1/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

I feel like Alan Ritchson's next role should either be a leading action hero or as Johnny Bravo in a live-action adaptation, there is no in-between.

Pretty substandard for Guy Ritchie who seems more hot or cold with each movie. With this it kinda feels like his last movie Operation Fortune, only this had much better action set pieces. It's loosely based on the real story of this ragtag team that ultimately helped the Allied forces in WWII and also helped Ian Fleming create James Bond which is kinda appropriate that Guy Ritchie got Henry Cavill as the leading star in this. This movie is basically Guy Ritchie if he did The A-Team set in WWII, it's all built around the action and the music montages. While the cast was mostly okay, I thought Alan Ritchson stole this movie by a mile he's pretty much playing a buff and Danish Oliver Queen and all his action scenes were spectacular. I can't remember the last actor who gave off "Schwarzenegger vibes" but this guy is probably the strongest candidate... literally. I think the thing that ultimately derails this movie is the script where it's constantly nothing but exposition or flatline quips depending on the character it focuses on. It's a lot of fluff with some nice location shots. Overall, had fun but it's nothing I'll actually remember about months from now.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Abigail

At this point, just let Melissa Barrera wear a grey badass outfit every time she plays a final girl.

A fun splatter house vampire flick that I wish was kept a secret from the marketing promotions. Considering it's by Radio Silence, it's got the same structure as Ready or Not but kinda flipped around and it feels more of a mystery that's front-loaded and it's more centered around the ensemble cast. The chemistry between Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, and Angus Cloud was the highlight of the film for me and all the bickering gets funnier the longer it goes on. Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, and Alisha Weir are probably the standouts, especially with Dan Stevens who can play a sh**heel really well and make it fun. Once the reveal happens it becomes more of a typical trapped house/vampire flick that is very reminiscent of Ready or Not even down to how some things end. All that being said, I really wanted to love it but I feel like it kept holding back its true potential and the cleverness of the script. Also, this did remind me of Werewolves Within which is a far more clever version of what this was trying to do. However, I did very much appreciate the callback of the Swan Lake music from the original Dracula film. Overall, a lot of fun from the Radio Silence guys even though I wish it was better.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Sasquatch Sunset

Riley Keough really gave it her all in this... in and through every orifice imaginable.

A perfect slice-of-life/gross-out comedy that is made for me and stoners everywhere that just happens to be about a family of sasquatches living their lives and discovering new things. Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg are so good in this despite not having any real dialogue and it's all due to the facial and eye acting they go through. It's a movie that is mostly dependent on the physical comedy that really works despite how incredibly gross it can get and the emotional rollercoaster that the characters go through as they travel for survival. It's also beautifully shot and directed which makes certain moments even funnier. Overall, it's a silly and ridiculous movie that I really love even though it's definitely not for everyone.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Lisa Frankenstein

That was a clean chop ngl

This was a lot of fun. It's essentially taking the concept of Frankenstein/Bride of Frankenstein and retrofitting it into this zany 80s goth romcom. It's got some influences from Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Weird Science, and several John Hughes films along with a little more R-rated like Heathers and Jennifer Body. Like a lot of other recent shows and movies that try to mimic the 80s, this more or less is the same where almost everything is too neon and colorful with outfits that feel copied from other movies and shows. That being said, I thought Kathryn Newton was incredible in it and she alone made this movie work as well as it did performance-wise along with Zelda's direction. I also really dug Cole Sprouse and Liza Soberano who get more to do than the rest of the cast. I thought the black and white vignette was pretty well done but I wish there was more creative stuff like that sprinkled throughout the movie. Overall, a fun horror romcom that will probably get cult status pretty soon much like Warm Bodies.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Problemista

FileMaker Pro vs Microsoft Access vs Google Sheets at Wrestlemania when?

This was an incredibly imaginative and frantic surrealist comedy that does a great job showcasing the struggles of an immigrant on a work visa living in NYC. Julio Torres does a great job as a first-time director where he emphasizes certain scenes with an interesting visual flair that's built on comedy and comedic bits. It's very original but it also reminds me of Everything Everywhere All At Once but with a different kind of editing and comedy. It's all told very well through Julio Torres and his lived-in experiences and I thought his performance was great as this meek kid who doesn't want to get into trouble, but Tilda Swinton was excellent in this where she was chewing all the scenery as this eccentric artiste Karen. I will say while I thought Tilda Swinton's character was interesting, her story took up more time than I was expecting and I kinda wish they had more time that revolved around the broken immigration system. Overall, this was a fantastic debut and I can't wait to see what Julio Torres does next.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Infested

I'm pretty sure I phantom itched at least 20 times while watching this.

An incredible French creature feature about killer spiders set in an apartment building that is expertly crafted and puts its focus on the characters. For the director Sébastien Vaniček, who's going to direct the next Evil Dead movie, this couldn't be a better proof of concept of what he can do because this had so many moments that reminded me of Evil Dead Rise. It's also very reminiscent of Attack the Block and Arachnophobia with a little bit of [Rec] thrown in. I dug the concept and the setup with the characters mainly the siblings that get a lot of depth. There's also a very obvious thing that the spiders symbolize in the story as well as the police that hover over the film that I thought worked really well. As far as the scares go, they do a good job setting up the jump scares and certain set pieces like the bathroom scene or the hallway scene from hell. It's as if the facehuggers from Alien got their own movie. Overall, I really dug it. It's one of these horror movies that feel simple on the surface and you can have a fun time, but it can also be full of depth if you want it to.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Boy Kills World

YAYAN RUHIAN STILL GOT THAT MAD DOG IN HIM

A very fun and extremely violent action comedy that feels like a video game... in a good way for once. It is as if someone combined Scott Pilgrim and The Running Man with a little bit of The Raid and funny enough, Monkey Man. I thought at first the over narration by H. Jon Benjamin would have worked against the film, but they used it for the right moments, and a lot of the time it works because of the humor. Bill Skarsgard was pretty great in it and I thought Jessica Rothe was great too even though she doesn't get much to do until the very end. It's a lot of the supporting cast that helps the film like Yayan Ruhian, Andrew Koji, Isaiah Mustafa, Michelle Dockery, and Sharlto Copley. While I thought the weakest element was some of the backstory/lore that felt too basic or uninteresting at times but there were parts of it that worked. The action was great and they definitely were trying to ape up to the Raid films, especially during the final fight which is obvious as to why it was so well done. Overall, it's a super fun time with plenty of laughs.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Challengers

A perfect way to showcase what time and era you're in... play Hot in Herre by Nelly.

Yet another incredible movie by Luca Guadagnino. This was such a unique way to tell a romantic sports drama just from Luca's direction alone. It's a movie mostly built on mood and atmosphere that takes you through this love triangle where all three stars are vying for each other's attention and control. It's also done purposely through a very non-linear format that keeps bouncing around like a tennis ball. It's also so entirely enclosed by its three main stars and their interesting character dynamics and I thought Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist were great in this even when things get a bit soap opera-y. I thought the cinematography was gorgeous and it really felt like watching a film from the late 90s/early 2000s even the production design and costumes were so well done. I feel like the major secret sauce of this movie is the score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross who haven't been this good in a while. This truly stands out and it's very reminiscent of their The Social Network score but if it was done as house music. I thought the movie really worked out by the end and the final scene is up there with some of the best slo-mo scenes of all time. Overall, while I thought the time jumping felt too much at times, this was still a great film.
4/5