The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

I saw The Cabin in the Woods when it came out and, although I liked it, I never bother rewatching it, mainly because I had terrible taste in movies back then. After reading Cinematic Corner's 10 best horror films since 2010, I thought it was time for a rewatch.

The story follows five college kids, Dana (Kristen Connolly), Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Holden (Jesse Williams), and Marty (Fran Kranz), as they head off to a cabin in the woods for the weekend, and along the way they come across a creepy man who warns them about the danger. Of course, they ignore him and isolate themselves in the cabin anyway.

There couldn't have been a more stereotypical horror scenario than this, am I right? Well, thankfully, there's so much more to the plot —as revealed in the confusing opening (confusing because you feel like you're watching the wrong movie), there's a team of high tech people who is responsible for whatever is about to happen in the cabin— and, although the major twist is revealed right from the start, the plot is compelling and engaging from start to finish.

Not only The Cabin in the Woods has a well-thought plot, but it makes fun of clichés in horror movies incredibly well, starting from the characters who are your typical horror movie victims —Dana is the sweet and innocent one, Curt is the athletic/jerky one, Jules is the slut, Holden is the nerd, and Marty is the stoner. Only this time around they are not plain dumb nor they make the most idiotic choices ever such as splitting up to cover more ground. Eventually, they do idiotic things but only because it's the tech people manipulating, controlling them. Despite their clichés, they are likeable and you'll find yourself rooting for them.

The cast does a pretty good job too. While Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchison do fine in their roles as they play the clichéd characters very well, Fran Franz steals the show as he nails the role of the stoner with a believable and hilarious performance. There are also two great performances by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford, both in the role of tech controllers, and the share such chemistry, it's a pleasure to watch them, and a lot of fun too.

Lionsgate

Because of the humorous tone The Cabin in the Woods has from the very beginning, I was a bit worried about the horror aspect. I worried over nothing though as the film delivers on the front too. While I wouldn't call any of the scenes scary, there are some rather chilling scenes, fun killing scenes and so much gore to please a fan of slasher.

Unicorn Store (2019)

I love Brie Larson so when I learnt that her directorial debut, Unicorn Store, was available on Netflix (by the way, fuck you Netflix for telling me about every single insignificant rom-com of yours but totally forgetting about notifying me about this, and thank you Film Twitter for making me realise it), I watched it immediately.

The story follows Kit (Brie Larson), a young woman who is ejected from art school and goes back in with her parents (Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusack). After dumping herself on the sofa watching TV, she decides to join a temp agency, takes up an office job and soon finds encouragement from Gary (Hamish Linklater), the company's vice president, to pitch a campaign for a vacuum cleaner. But then she gets an invitation to The Store where the salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) promises that not only unicorns exist but that she'll be able to have one of herself to love her forever if she lives up to a few demands. 

While it's arguably not your typical coming-of-age story, Unicorn Store is yet another movie dealing with themes of growing up, letting go of childhood and living in the real world. Unfortunately, it's all been done before and more effectively too. In addition, it often gets cheesy and overly positive and it's quite annoying, and the romantic subplot never really takes off. It does, however, a good job at portraying how young people feel about failure and it's quite relatable because of it. 

The characters aren't particularly captivating either. Kit is not your typical twenty-something who is afraid of growing up and facing the real world, she is an immature young woman obsessed with glitters, rainbows and unicorns. What bothered me about her is that we don't get to know enough of her story to understand why she is so immature and acts the way she does. Also, the way she goes from laying on the sofa all day long wearing basically kids clothes to getting a job and wearing grown-up clothes just seems unrealistic. As for the supporting characters, they don't have a lot of depth. 

Netflix

Despite the lacklustre script, every single member of the cast does a wonderful job. Brie Larson is just fantastic as naive dreamer Kit, a character that seems to fit her personality like a glove. She gives such a charming performance that radiates so much happiness and joy, it's a delight to watch her, and makes the character very likeable and lovable. Also, she yet again shows off her comedic skills. Samuel L. Jackson is obviously having a lot of fun as The Store owner which makes us have a lot of fun watching him. Joan Cusack and Bradley Whitford do a great job as Kit's parents. It's Mamoudou Athie though that steals the scene as Virgil, a new acquaintance of Kit's as well as about the only "normal" character in the film.

The visual aspect of Unicorn Store is quite interesting too. The film is indeed nicely shot, the shaky camera works well and so do the many close-ups, and it's very, very aesthetically pleasing with its bright pastel and wild colours.

Other People (2016)

It's Jesse Plemons's birthday today and as an appreciation, I decided to watch one of his movies. Other People was the only available on Italian Netflix and since I was yet to see it I checked it out.

The film follows David (Jesse Plemons), a young,  gay, struggling comedy writer as he moves back home to Sacramento to do something other people usually do, taking care of his mother, Joanne (Molly Shannon), who is dying from a rare cancer. Over the course of a year, he has to deal with the deterioration of his mother's health, more career setbacks and a strained relationship with his family, especially his father (Bradley Whitford) who has never accepted him being gay.

In his feature debut, Saturday Night Live writer Chris Kelly tells a thoughtful story about life and death, illness, sexuality, and family relationships in a very realistic way without it being overly dramatic. It still has some clichés of the genre, and some of the topics kind of overshadow others —the gay plot had a much bigger emotional impact on me than the cancer plot—, but the story flows well and does a wonderful job at showing how cancer affects people, both victims and their families.

The best aspect of the script is not the story though but the characters. I read someone complaining about David coming off as selfish and self-absorbed because he rarely talks/interacts with others, he's always on his own, and often complains about being stuck in the dull and lifeless city that is Sacramento. Being that sort of person myself, I guess David doesn't talk much and prefers being along because he's insecure and believes other people don't care about him, that he could or could not be there and nobody would even notice. Which is not true, of course, as I've learnt myself not long ago. Also, this is what serves to build his character and eventually deliver a meaningful grown at the end of the film. As for the Sacramento part, I guess he's just disappointed in himself because he's 30 and has accomplished absolutely nothing, he doesn't have a career, he doesn't have a significant other, and him being back home, surrounded by people who didn't need to make it in a big city to be happy and accomplished, makes him bitter. Jesse Plemons, who usually plays edgy supporting characters, has the chance to shine in this and gives a heartfelt, authentic perfomrance and does an astonishing job as portraying David's frustration, loneliness and insecurities.

Vertical Entertainment

The other major character in Other People is David's mother, Joanne. She is a lively, witty woman who is trying to hold onto her dignity and optimism during her battle with cancer. The character is not as developed as David but Molly Shannon gives with a subtle and powerful performance as she shows so much vulnerability and boldness —she does well in the comedic moments, but it's in the dramatic ones that she truly shines here. Also, the chemistry she has with Plemons is wonderful. Bradley Whitford too does a good job as David's father, a man that does not deserve our sympathy and yet, because of Whitford's performance, we cannot hate him as his kindness really shows through.

Ultimately, while it has some problems —what was even the deal with Train's Drops of Jupiter? I mean, it plays several times throughout the film but it's not clear how the song relates to any of the characters. Also, the kid dancing inappropriately was so Little Miss Sunshine —, Other People still is an effective film that touches many topics, especially cancer, without being emotionally manipulative, and that alternates pretty well moments of wry humour to serious, sad ones.

Destroyer (2018)

One of the last few remaining 2018 films on my watchlist —some of those are nowhere to be found so expect my list soon—, Destroyer ended up on my radar because of Nicole Kidman's highly praised performance which got her a Golden Globe nomination.

The film tells the story of now-alcoholic LAPD detective Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) who, seventeen years ago, was placed undercover with a veteran partner (Sebastian Stan) and infiltrated a vicious gang of bank robbers led by Silas (Toby Kebbell), a master of manipulation. When Silas reemerges, she is forced to reopen old wounds and face her demons. 

Destroyer's is a story that develops very slowly, convoluted when it doesn't have to be, less intriguing and interesting than watching raindrops race on a car window despite its twists and turns, and whose use of flashbacks to help unfold the mystery only makes the whole thing more disconcerting and confusing.

The characters are another disappointment as they lack characterization and development, especially Toby Kebbell's Silas who comes off as one of the less interesting, blandest villains ever as he is just a creepy weirdo with an intense stare. The biggest disappointment though is the leading character, Erin Bell as she isn't anything we haven't already seen before, a self-destructive —more like already destructed— wreck —emotionally and physically— who only cares for booze and revenge and doesn't seem to have any positive feelings, not even toward her teenager daughter who is becoming the woman she already is. It's not the already-seen that bothered me about Erin though, but the fact that a detective with such erratic behaviour is still on duty and still trusted with a gun.

Despite the not so good writing, Nicole Kidman finds a way to shine nevertheless. After a strong performance as a protective mother in Boy Erased, and a sweet and emotional one in Aquaman, she gives what's easily her best performance of the year as well as one of the best performances of her career. Almost unrecognizable under the makeup, she is a force to be reckoned with. Her intense and emotional performance really grabs your attention and she delivers the character's pain and bleakness wonderfully. How she lost to Close at the Globes or was snubbed at the Oscars is the greater mystery.

Annapurna Pictures

The supporting cast is obviously overshadowed by her, but a few actors still manage to leave their mark, them being Sebastian Stan as Erin's partner Chris, Toby Kebbell as Silas and Tatiana Maslany as Petra, one of Silas's gang.

Ultimately, Destroyer delivers compelling performances, a moody and quite stylish cinematography from Julie Kirkwood, and good makeup. Unfortunately, the story isn't interesting, the pacing is often too slow, and the relationship between Erin and her daughter isn't given the attention it needed and feels like a distraction.