Movies "N" Stuff Criterion Closet Video - Peter’s Picks

 

Movies "N" Stuff Criterion Closet Video - Christian McPherson's picks

 

Challengers

This was not what I was expecting. I thought I was going to be served (let the tennis puns begin) a dumb teen romance movie that was cutesy and by the numbers, LOVE-15. It was not. What was fired over the net was more akin to "Saltburn" than "10 Things I Hate About You." This was sexy, arty, but without the pretention. With a pounding electronic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and dazzling visuals, this movie will get your pulse up. What's it all about? A love triangle between double players Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) who become rivals over tennis star Tashi (Zendaya). The story is told back and forth, switching from present to past; this editing choice seems intentional. Everything here is a rally, a back and forth, a fight. The tension is as taut as the net strung across the court, both sexual and for the outcome of the match at hand. This is the "Tombstone" of tennis. There hasn't been a lot of good films to watch in the theatres recently. This is a match to catch. It's an ace down the center line.  

Monkey Man

Dev Patel ("Chappie," "Lion," "The Green Knight"). I like him. He's extremely likeable. Somehow he imbues an underdog quality and you want to root for him in every role he's in. "Monkey Man" is Dev Patel's action love letter to India. It's grimy and dirty and it has a turbo charged tuk-tuk! It's a revenge story. I love a good revenge story. A bad man killed his mom and wiped out his village. Dev's nameless character is going to kill that man. Simple. Well not so simple. Dev has been getting into fighting shape by Thai boxing in a monkey mask in the grimy underground fight world of India. He infiltrates his wealthy nemesis's fortress-of-opulence by becoming kitchen staff and making friends with a stray dog. Patel punches with his fists and with his camera - he wrote and directed this. With nods to "Rocky" and "John Wick" Patel's action sequences hit like a spicy curry rolling across your tongue. This is one of the best action movies you will see this year. Get hit in theaters now. 

Baby Reindeer

This series streaming on Netflix, based on the experiences of Richard Gadd, is a warts-and-all, can't-look-away-car-crash of epic proportions. Richard Gadd stars as Donny Dunn, a man living in London, who is working at a pub while he tries to get his comedy career off the ground. A woman walks into a pub - sounds like the beginning of joke. It's no joke. Her name is Martha. If you recall Kathy Bates in "Misery" then you are pretty close to Martha. Donny becomes her obsession. Just when you think this show is all about stalking, it takes an even darker turn. This is traumatizing stuff. It's also darkly funny and extremely honest, intelligent, and well made. Richard Gadd is exceptional in this. His performance is worthy of all the awards, whatever they may be. The human condition is laid out here, exposed, and it's a raw messy thing, not logical or rational most of the time. We do things, fucked up things, and we don't understand why; this is the great honesty on display here; it's what makes the show great and compelling. Catch one of the year's best shows now streaming on Netflix.  

Arcadian

arcadia (merriam-webster) 
noun
ar·ca·dia är-ˈkā-dē-ə 
often capitalized 
    : a region or scene of simple pleasure and quiet

Nic Cage plays a father who has raised two twin teenaged boys in a post apocalyptic world where something bad lurks in the darkness of night. Daytime looks like something out of "Little House on the Prairie" but at night, they go into full lockdown. If you took "A Quiet Place," crossed it with "It Comes at Night" and threw in a little of last year's "The Boogeyman" you would have something that resembles "Arcadian." This little low budget horror film directed by Benjamin Brewer has a wonderful feel of authenticity - everyone feels real, their actions, their home, their neighbours - you believe it all. It's a horror film and we have seen much of everything here before, but it's really well done. I fully bought in largely because of the young cast, the boys (Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins) and the neighbours' daughter (Sadie Soverall); they were all so brilliant. These kids felt real. Catch this hairy beast in theatres now.  

Civil War

This isn't a time travel movie but you could argue it's a "what if" movie, as in, what if the Germans had won WWII - you get "The Man In the High Castle" and other such books and films. "Civil War" seems to me to be a hypothetical, what if Trump insurrection had been successful? What if he was able to maintain control of his presidency and keep himself in power even into a third term? What would the US become? What would it look like? Alex Garland has given us his vision and it seems pretty darn spot on to what I imagine the answers to be. I've been a Garland fan from the start of his writing/film career began. His last film, "Men" made my top ten list of 2022. I'm sure "Civil War" will land in the top 10 films of 2024. From the outset, Garland grabs the audience and doesn't let go. It's an intense ride as we follow a group of four journalists (Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Stephen McKinley Henderson) who are attempting to get to the capital in hopes to interview the President before his government is overthrown by Western Forces. It's a dark film and some of powerful images are enhanced by an uber-cool soundtrack like something out of "Miami Vice." It's enthralling stuff. Catch one of the year's best films now in theatres.