Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire

Merry Christmas! As I look at Rotten Tomatoes today, December 25th, 2023, "Rebel Moon: Part One" has as 23% fresh rating from critics. It also has a 66% fresh audience score. My opinion is my own and I take pride in sometimes disagreeing with the masses. However, I do like to see how my opinion stakes up to others. Movie critics have this in common, they all love movies. I personally don't care for superhero films and I haven't been a fan of any of the "Star Wars" films except the last one "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." It baffles me that a good chunk of Marvel Universe has received high praise from the majority of critics and yet they have dumped on this film. Why is that? Maybe because Zach Snyder is associated with D.C.? Maybe. There seems to be a hate-on for this super stylized director ("300," ""Army of the Dead"). Snyder is the new master of the slow-motion action sequence. I would say the pioneer is John Woo, whose 1989 action masterpiece "The Killer" is the template for such visual work. As Brian De Palma is to Hitchcock, Zach Snyder is to Woo. So let's get to it, what's "Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire" all about? Snyder has given us a "Star Wars" rip-off version of "The Magnificent Seven"/"Seven Samurai" where Sofia Boutella plays Kora, a bad-ass warrior who’s hiding out amongst a farming community. Galactic baddies show up and threaten its existence, Kora goes on a quest to assemble a team of fighters to protect the humble villagers. Yes, Snyder has recycled from all kinds of films and TV here, including "The Matrix," "Doctor Who," "Star Wars," and many others. He seems to have grabbed the Nazi like villain from "Inglorious Bastards." Is this great cinema? No. Did I enjoy myself way more than I should have? Yes I did. Looking to turn off your brain and be entertained, then slow-mo dive onto your couch while pointing the remote at the TV and find the trash masterpiece streaming on Netflix.  

A Murder at the End of the World

"A Murder at the End of the World" is a new series streaming on Disney+. Emma Corrin plays Darby, an anxiety filled millennial as a kind of Nancy Drew type character who is usually the smartest person in the room. Darby grew up the daughter of her autopsy performing dad who liked to drag his little girl along to crime scenes - it's a little messed up for sure. As a young adult, Darby filled her days tracking down serial killers, one in particular. Along the way she meets love interest Bill (Harris Dickinson), another brilliant kid whose skin is marbled in tattoos like blue cheese is freckled with mould. They go serial killer hunting together - aww, sweet. All this is told in parallel with their present day situation about eight years later. The present day story is about a Jeff Bezos type character (Clive Own) who brings the world's smartest people together to help fight climate change at a remote hotel/billionaire-bunker in Iceland. There is an Agatha Christie style murder and one of the the guests or host or staff is the killer. Set in the near future, AI has taken a believable step forward and it's part of the fun of the series. The flashback serial killer bit gives off a David Fincher Lite vibe and it's pretty darn good. The two leads, Emma Corrin and Harris Dickinson have great chemistry and their performances are the reason to watch. I loved it all. Found it to be smart, timely, and captivating. Catch this killer, now streaming on Disney+. 

Godzilla Minus One

So, it might be the best Godzilla film I've ever seen. You can't even see the wires - hey, wasn't that part of the charm? What we have here is an authentic, Japanese (with English subtitles), Godzilla film. I have a love for the big lizard - I'm currently wearing my Godzilla t-shirt and Godzilla hoodie as I type. What's so good about this one is they have built a real story with real characters - things you need in any movie! Hollywood, take note! (Although the good folks at Apple+ seem to have understood this fact for their excellent "Monarch" Godzilla series currently streaming - go check that out). What is the plot you ask? It's set at the end of WWII, in Japan. Failed kamikaze pilot, Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) lets his fellow soldiers down by freezing up when he should have been shooting at a baby Godzilla. This result of Koichi's inaction is the death of his squad and Godzilla growing up to become very, very, large. Koichi finds himself with an adoptive daughter, a woman to love, and a reason to live despite all the guilt he has accumulated for his shortcomings. Along comes the stopping, crashing big lizard - will Koichi be ready this time?? The best part of "Godzilla Minus One" is the soundtrack - parts stolen as homage to the black and white original - it's both sinister and silly at the same time and I loved it. I had a lot of fun watching Thick-Lizzy squishing people and eating passenger trains. Catch this one in theatres now. 

Dumb Money

Similar in style to the "The Big Short," "Dumb Money" is the true story of how Game Stop stock grew into a monster and Wall Street lost its mind. Starring Paul Dano as Keith Gill, the man behind Game Stop's rising. Keith Gill, for most of "Dumb Money's" runtime was usually clad in the most geeky cat t-shirt you have ever seen while sporting a red bandana tied around his head like the Karate Kid, a mop of hair like a Pink Floyd band member, circa 1973. Keith offered financial trading advice on his internet channel about the  stocks he liked - Game Stop being the main one. People, students, nurses, some Game Stop employees, they actually listened. Hedge fund managers, they bet against the stock, thinking it would crash and die. It didn't. It kept climbing. Keith kept posting his investments and everyone kept buying. The little people were winning and the giants, they were losing. Without spoiling anymore, this is anther underdog story and as you know by now, I love an underdog story. How can you not cheer for the geeks and freaks, the people on the front lines, making nothing, while the fat cats who sit around doing nothing, raking it in, day after day? Go little guy! Make an investment of your time and catch this one on streaming services now.

Joyland

"Joyland" - there is really no clearer example of why I go to the movies. This is a film that is so wildly different from my life and yet I was so clearly made to understand everything happening to these characters, the repression in their society and the cultural expectations placed upon them. I understood it like it were a roadmap. Repressed feeling are just that - these things are universal. So are expectations and obligations. I felt all of it in this weighty film. There is not a lot a joy in "Joyland." This Pakistani film is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Set in contemporary Pakistan, it follows the story of  Haider (Ali Junejo) as a man who finally lands a job - he has been a house husband for many years to the shame of his father. However, Haider's new job is a backup dancer for surly trans woman, Biba (Alina Khan) at the local burlesque club. Haider is infatuated with Biba. They end up having an affair. At the same time, Haider's wife suddenly finds herself pregnant and unhappy. Haider's father is elated. Everything goes downhill from here. Let me stop there. It almost felt like a documentary, that's how real it all felt to me. It's a wonderful film. The IMDB website informed me "Originally banned in its country of origin, Pakistan, a censor board review committee ultimately cleared it. However, a ban remains in the province of Punjab, where the movie is set." Catch this gorgeous but tragic film at your local rep cinema or on streaming when available. 

 

Leave the World Behind

In 1996 a film entitled "The Trigger Effect" came out starring, Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue, and Dermot Mulroney. I was somewhat obsessed by it. I would insist people watch it. The premise was simple - what happens if the power goes out? Chaos, panic, and mistrust of our fellow humans is what happens, at least in "The Trigger Effect." In 2003 the power grid in Ontario and a good chunk of the northeastern US actually went out for about 12-24 hours; longer in some places. 2003 being a recent post 911 world, whispers of terrorism were rumored - it was actually a software bug. Society remained intact and no mass lootings or deaths were reported. Now, 20 years after the North American blackout, Netflix has given us, "Leave the World Behind," staring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon in another gripping apocalyptic thriller. It's kind of like an updated version of "The Trigger Effect" if you mashed it with M. Night Shyamalan's "Knock at the Cabin" (which came out at the beginning of this year). "Leave the World Behind" gripped me for the entire 2 hour and 20 minute runtime. Julia Roberts. Fantastic. I loved her in this. There are two scenes - one where she is dancing with Mahershala Ali and another where she is screaming at deer with actor Myha'la Herrold. Just fantastic. It's unfortunate Netflix has chosen to give the movie such a limited theatrical release when it's such a big screen film. You will be able to catch it streaming on December 8th, on Netflix. Don't leave this one behind. You can also grab a copy from your local video store. In Ottawa that would be Movies 'N' Stuff. 

Dream Scenario

Nic Cage plays Paul Matthews, a tenured professor of biology. He stands out as much as a zebra in a herd - a mostly bald, middle-aged man, whose wardrobe pallet is a mixture of brown, grey, and beige. Paul Mathews is your average Joe, married with two teenage daughters who has never stood out. Then, suddenly he does. Everyone in America starts to dream about him. At first he appears as an innocuous figure, just standing there, doing nothing. His sudden appearance in everyone's collective consciousness (or maybe unconsciousness) vaults Paul into going viral. PR firms want him to sell Sprite and everyone wants a photo with him. Paul seems to relish the attention, at first. However he wants to write an academic book, not sell soda. But then the dreams turn into nightmares and Paul becomes everyone's Freddy Krueger as he performs horrific acts in the minds of strangers. He becomes a persona non grata. People are traumatized by his very presence. "Dream Scenario" is a lucid, self-aware, wide-awake, dark comedy about contemporary societal norms and values. Nic Cage is brilliant, funny, and I hope he receives an Oscar nomination for this - one of his best roles to date. Catch this dreamy film in theatres now.