Shithouse

Cooper Raiff wrote, directed, and starred in the remarkable film, Shithouse. It's about an overly sensitive and shy boy, Alex who is living away in residence for his first year of college. His roommate gets blackout drunk and Alex feels disconnected to his environment - he hasn't made any friends. Then he manages to sleep with the dorm supervisor, Maggie (Dylan Gelula - she is amazing). For Alex, this is world altering. Alex has fallen hard for Maggie hard and expects she is feeling the same way about him, except she isn't. This isn't a typical rom-com. It has a real authentic feel of emotions, dialogue, and pacing. Shithouse reminded me Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. Raiff perfectly captures what it is to meet someone at Alex's age, what is it to form friendships at this time in your life. Alex is far from a perfect character; there are times I wanted to give him a smack for being an overly emotional baby. At the same time, everything Alex does seems so real and his action and reactions are wonderfully consistent to the character's nature. The is Cooper Raiff's first full length feature and it's rather remarkable. Catch it on streaming services.  

The 40-Year-Old Version

It's a black and white comedy set in New York about a failed theatre playwright, Radha Blank. It was written, directed, and stars, Radha Blank in this semi autobiographical film which reminded me a little of Woody Allen when Allen was at his best. It also has the pacing of a Jim Jarmusch film. If you ever saw Curtis's Charm, The 40-Year-Old Version borrows a bit from this too. I loved it and I loved Radha Blank. The story goes she was once a promising up-and-coming black star of the theatre world - she even got a plaque naming her one of the 30 under 30 most promising talents - but now she is 40 and hasn't produced anything in a decade. She teaches theatre to a bunch of foul-mouthed horny teenagers as her gay agent friend tries to revive her career by bringing back one of her works to the stage, but with artistic compromising edits. Blank deicides to go all 8-Mile and become a rapper. This sounds ridiculous but it's the best parts of the film. The 40-Year-Old Version is one of the warmest, charming films I've seen all year. Catch it on Netflix. 

Promsing Young Woman

 

Carey Mulligan stars as Cassandra, a medical school dropout who is working in a coffee shop who spends her evenings at bars pretending she is extremely drunk so men pick her up to see what they will do; a kind of date-rape vigilante. How did Cassandra get to this place? We find out over the course of the movie. I Spit on Your Grave has been turned into I Spit into Your Coffee. This #MeToo drama is dark and gives us the perspective we need when boys behave criminally when it comes to sexual assault, where the victims are blamed for making bad choices. Promising Young Woman is a cut above most revenge dramas because it carries extra emotional depth, thanks largely to Carey Mulligan's great performance. Catch this on streaming services. 

Run

It's a thriller. You have seen all of this before, but like Don't Breathe it's an extremely well put together monster. Everything is taut, lean, no fat. This is 90 minutes of pure suspenseful fun. What's it all about? It's about Cloe Sherman (Kiera Allen - she is wonderful) as a girl born with a series of aliments - sick from out of the gate. Her mother, Diane (Sharah Paulson - loved her in this) has been caring for Cloe with great tenderness for the last 17 years. Diane prepares all of her daughters meals, even growing her own vegetables in a large organic garden outside their home. This is healthy stuff for someone who needs to be so careful with what they eat - Cloe is diabetic, asthmatic, and has no use of her legs, bound to a wheelchair. But Cloe is a fighter and smart. So smart that she is soon off to college - she is just waiting for a college acceptance letter to come in the mail. Why aren't they coming? I won't say anything more. Get out your antianxiety medication for this movie, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Catch it on streaming services.   

Sound of Metal

 

Riz Ahmed stars as Ruben Stone, a heavy metal/punk drummer in a two piece band, a kind of reverse White Stripes ensemble, with his girlfriend, singer and guitarist, Lou (Olivia Cooke). Ruben, for reasons unknown, although maybe because of constant exposure to loud noise, suddenly loses his hearing. Ruben, now four years clean from heroin addiction must learn to deal with his new-found deafness. He does so at a compound for the deaf/those in recovery center. The center is run by a deaf-hippie-therapist named Joe played with great charm by Paul Raci. It's the performances by Ahmed and Raci which gives this movie it feel of authenticity. Ruben, who has been working out his anger with the world through his drumming, must find a new way to deal with himself when he loses his hearing. It's a riveting performance. I wouldn't be surprised if Ahmed was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Oscar and a best-supporting for Raci. The film has a rawness to it, the grittiness of The Florida Project, American Honey, and Vox Lux to name a few recent films with similar aesthetics. Catch this one on Streaming Services.