April 11th 2024

Late Night With the Devil

Civil War

Robot Dreams

Back to Black

Evil Does Not Exist

It's another wonderful week of worthy films. All are recommended, with a couple of stand-outs.  The Oscar-nominated animation is a superb panacea for other more dark and disturbing films. 

 

Late Night With the Devil

Dir: Cameron Cairnes & Colin Cairnes

Length: 93 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myAlhpB3Pok

©  Maslow Entertainment - totally original,
scary and even funny

Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) is the host of a late night show that he hopes can one day rival Johnny Carson's ratings. But since the death of his wife, Delroy's rating have been tanking, so he decides to host a special Halloween event that will bring viewers back in droves. He enlists a medium Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) and, for balance, a debunking skeptic, Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), who believes everything is either a hoax or has a logical explanation. But the big drawcard is supernatural psychiatrist June (Laura Gordon) and her young ward and patient Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) who, it seems, is intermittently possessed by a demon known as Abraxas. Is it all one big hoax or will evil be let loose in the studio? What an original storyline these Aussie writer/directors have come up with. And what a wonderful homage to a certain genre of late night schlock-horror shows. Evoking the 70s studio sets, with a live band playing, a studio audience (all decked out for Halloween), constant silly banter and copious cuts to ad breaks, the film feels at first like a super realistic spoof. But when things get hairy, the chills and thrills set in. Dastmalchian is perfect as the sort of slimy host we are know and hate, while Rhys Auteri is an excellent foil as Gus, the sidekick and announcer for Jack's show. With a super-creative twist and Faustian element at the end, this is a film that is true entertainment, with a strong narrative, plenty of thought-provoking intrigue and just the right amount of horror.

4 - highly recommended

Civil War

Dir: Alex Garland

Length: 109 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDyQxtg0V2w

©  Roadshow - America is disintegrating, 
and journos are capturing it all

Some time in America's dystopian future, everything has turned to hell. Nineteen states have seceded and civil war has engulfed the country. The rebel Western Forces army is moving east towards DC, while the government is sending its troops to try to quell the uprisings. Hardened journalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and her boozy colleague Joel (Wagner Moura) are also racing east, trying to get a scoop interview with the President before the White House is possibly overthrown. Young aspiring journo Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) muscles her way in on the expedition, along with veteran journo Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson). What they experience en route is seriously confronting. The really frightening thing about this brilliant and disturbing film, is just how prescient it feels, and that the divisiveness in America today could perhaps lead to such a scenario as this in the not-so-far future. Garland is not so much commenting upon specific politics, but more on what war looks like, what is means to be a war photographer in the middle of it all, and how humanity is so easily lost in such situations. At times the film-making feels like news footage, and the immersion of the central characters in the bullet-riddled conflict makes for nail-biting tension. In other moments of rare calm, we glimpse just what the world has lost after all hell breaks loose. Dunst is memorable in her role, and the other three leads support her admirably. Jesse Plemons is notable in a chilling scene where the quartet of journalists stumbles across a group of soldiers (mercenaries, government troops, or rebels?) and discovers just how much humanity and rationality have been lost in the conflict. Grit your teeth for this near must-see film and reflect, tragically, what a mess our world is in.  

4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Robot Dreams

Dir: Pablo Berger

Length: 102 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CHV_ZDlhrA

© Madman - get out the tissues!
A beautiful story of friendship

If you're looking at the picture and are about to dismiss this as something only for kids, DONT!! Read on, and discover a sublime, wordless animation that speaks to the deepest human longing for friendship, and the need to sometimes move on in life. Dog is lonely, so he orders a build-your-own robot. Instantly he and Robot become firm friends and share everything together, especially dancing to the lively 1980s hit September. But on a beach trip tragedy strikes, Robot becomes incapacitated and Dog is forced to leave him, desperately hoping he will be able to come back and retrieve him. Not a single word is spoken in this animation from Spanish director Berger. All the characters are anthropomorphised animals, and all communication is conveyed via body language and the simplest of animated gestures. And yet we can read more emotion into this, than into many films acted by real humans! I found myself unexpectedly teary with both delight and sadness in so many scenes. The visuals, with an 80s New York setting, are exciting and colorful, the soundtrack vibrant, and to my surprise, the plot does not go in an anticipated direction, but veers in a direction far more attuned to real life. Much as we all love slick Disney and Pixar animations, Robot Dreams, a worthy nominee for this year's Oscar, delves far deeper and hits the most human of nerves.

4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Back to Black

Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Length: 122 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSAm0BvAMYQ

© Studio Canal - Marisa Abela brings Amy
back to life!

There is nothing like the tragedy of young talent being cut down in its prime. So many brilliant musicians died at age 27, and Amy Winehouse is one of those. In 2015 we saw the documentary Amy, and now a feature film of her life is here, with the director aiming to tell the story from Amy's perspective, and through the haunting lyrics of the songs that appeared on her Grammy-winning album Back to Black. Marisa Abela plays Amy, and, with a powerfully  impressive voice, does all her own singing. Jack O'Connor is Blake, the unsuitable man Amy fell for, married, and who is perhaps credited for a large role in her downfall. Many of Amy's lyrics were directly inspired by the tumultuous love affair. Eddy Marsan plays Amy's father Mitch Winehouse, and it is here that the film's interpretation significantly differs from apparent "fact". Since Mitch is a producer of this film, we are not shown how he also was a destructive influence, pushing Amy to tour beyound her exhaustion limit. Regardless, Marsan delivers a fine performance. A stand-out is Lesley Manville as Nana Cynthia, a positive and unconditionally loving influence on Amy, who had already started her heavy drinking at a very young age. Unfortunately, the early problems that pushed Amy into a self-destructive lifestyle are not deeply enough examined, nor the culpability of others around her in the music industry along with the horrendous paparazzi; the film remains firmly focused upon the sad and sorry love affair. However, I am yet again at odds with the Tomatometer critics, some of whom see the film as exploiting tragedy. I remained deeply engaged with the story throughout: the wild young woman, her aspirations, struggles, and her extraordinary talent. 

3.5 - well recommended

Evil Does Not Exist

Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Length: 106 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC5nKFDpETc

© HiGloss  - wonderful themes of tranquil
life disrupted by developement

Hamagushi follows up his award-winning Drive My Car with this delicate and mysterious tale of a father Takumi (Hitoshi Omika) and his little daughter Hana (Ryo Nishikawa). They are in a rural village some way from Tokyo and live a simple life that is heavily invested in the natural beauty around them. Takumi chops wood and collects wild wasabi for a local restaurant while Hana collect bird feathers for the village chief. But some Tokyo developers have plans to build a glamping holiday retreat in the village and send representatives who seek to get the locals involved and approving the project. The film works beautifully as a disturbing insight into the effect thoughtless development can have upon the ecology of pristine areas, and on the people who value their way of life. Like last week's Perfect Days, this is also a slow-burn film, with lingering shots of trees, grassy fields, and wood chopping, so fans of Marvel movie mayhem will probably not enjoy it. The scenes where the locals hold their meeting with the company present beautifully scripted and strong pro-conservationist arguments, and the relationship between Takumi and his daughter is beautifully evoked. But the most confounding thing is a very mysterious (for me quite incomprehensible) ending that left me feeling disappointed, after being so heavily engaged with this powerful story. 

3.5 - well recommended