DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 4, 2019

Hotel Artemis (2018) One really bad night at a secret hospital for criminals. So-so soft sci-fi thriller, but nice to see the elderly Foster and Goldblum spar. TIL: According to the rules of St. Benedict, the care of the sick is to be placed above and before every other duty.

Still Voices - Monster Trucks (2016) “Taking a lot of selfies doesn’t mean you live an examined life.” - Gina Barreca

Dad Rock Daily: Olivia Newton-John - Totally Hot (1978) Transition from sweet songbird to post-Grease pop powerhouse begins. Not to worry, the angelic pipes remain the same. Laudable Lyrics: Why must we want so much more than we have? Will we never be satisfied?

And finally, for Aleteia this week, I toss around my initial thoughts on Joker, the controversy surrounding it and what the film is actually trying to say.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 3, 2019

The Appearance (2018) Inquisitor looks into witches and murder at a monastery. Wants to be a supernatural The Name of the Rose. Wants to be. TIL: Surprisingly, historians report most people preferred the Inquisition to secular courts because the Inquisition was more lenient.

Still Voices - The Addams Family (TV Series 1964-1966) "Every day is Halloween, isn't it? For some of us." - Tim Burton

Dad Rock Daily: Whodini - Escape (1984) Go ahead and dis old school Electro-Rap like this all you like, it's still more fun to listen to than most of what would follow. Laudable Lyrics: 'Cause out of nowhere it just came to an end, because we became lovers before we were friends.

And finally, if you're not watching Creepshow the series on  Shudder  you might want to catch up now, because every horror fan you know is going to be asking for a Bob for Christmas.

Thursday Movie Picks: Halloween Edition: Period Drama Horror

A weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves

It's finally October which only means one thing in the Thursday Movie Picks series, it's time for the Halloween edition. Starting off this year are period drama horrors, a genre I'm not particularly fond of — mainly because I'm not a fan of period movies. Despite this, I still was able to find three films that not only fit the theme but that I didn't mind watching.

Apostle (2018) - Review

1905. Former missionary Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) travels to a remote Welsh island to rescue his sister, Jennifer (Elen Rhys), who has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult demanding a ransom for her return. In order to find her, he pretends to be a follower of the cult leader, Prophet Malcolm Howe (Michael Sheen). I’m not into period movies and yet I really enjoyed this Netflix original. You should check it out if you haven’t seen it yet. 

Crimson Peak (2015) - Review

Buffalo, New York, 1880s. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), a young woman who strives to be more than just of marriageable age, falls in love with a mysterious English entrepreneur, Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). They eventually get married and as Thomas's sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain), moves in, Edith soon comes to realise that not everything is as it appears as ghosts of the past start haunting her. Although as a whole del Toro's film is a bit disappointing as the story is quite predictable, it's visually outstanding and the acting is superb. 

Interview with the Vampire (1994) - Review 

Spanish Louisiana, 1791. After the death of his wife, Louis (Brad Pitt) accepts Lestat's (Tom Cruise) offer to turn him into a vampire. His life changes completely only when he meets a little girl, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst). It's a great vampire film with an intriguing, compelling story that addresses serious philosophical questions.

Scream 4 Movie Review

Scream 4 (2017)

Rent Scream 4 on Amazon Video
Written by: Kevin Williamson
Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Alison Brie, Britt Robertson, Aimee Teegarden, Kristen Bell, Anna Paquin, Rory Culkin, Anthony Anderson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing. Then she's visited by the Ghostface Killer.

Verdict
The original Scream was novel, but unfortunately it spawned a franchise content to do the same thing every movie. I'm tired of unlikely escapes and ridiculous twists. How do you not hear Ghostface on the phone in your closet? There's nothing interesting in this movie other than the beginning that "starts" a few times. This peaked five minutes in and went down hill.
Skip it.

Review
I thought I had seen this one, but I hadn't. It was lost in the sea of Scream movies.

I really liked the opening. Stab 6 is Stab 7 is Scream 4. It also picks apart the Saw franchise. Unfortunately the movie drops pointing out what's wrong in other franchises and instead just makes its own mistakes.

Alison Brie, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette wonder "What's in the trunk?"

The improbability of everything in this movie is annoying. If it's a spirit, sure it can appear and disappear at will, but human beings make noise. How can you kill and call simultaneously?
Here's the thing. A horror movie does something unique to rave reviews. Then it's franchised and repeated until it fails to make a profit. I was hoping for more horror movie parody or criticism of other horror franchises, but it just doesn't happen. Scream 2 did that as I recall. This movie only teases it.

This movie is making a case that slashers are no longer relevant. Horror movies can't rely on cartoonish gore and improbable escapes. There needs to be a story.

The underlying motivation for the antagonist is just so ridiculous. There's a wild scene as the antagonist attempts to cover their tracks by injuring themselves. It should be a great scene, but it doesn't have the impact it should. Wes Craven has done better. While the direction is part of the issue, even excellent direction would only help to cover a subpar script.

This movie originally ended earlier, instead we get this protracted ending and it really drags.

Ad Astra Movie Review

Ad Astra (2019)

Watch the trailer
Written by: James Gray, Ethan Gross
Directed by: James Gray
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Live Tyler
Rated: PG-13

Plot
Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, thirty years later, threatens the universe.

Verdict
Great movie. The visuals are brilliant with a mix of intense action sequences and quiet contemplative scenes. The directing is outstanding and the writing is really good, aside from the heavy voice over in the beginning. That's my only complaint. This is a stellar movie. I wasn't sure the movie could deliver a satisfactory ending after such a great build up, but it completely does.
Watch it.

Review
I've been waiting on this film. It was originally scheduled to be released early this year and had been pushed back twice. I was concerned it was a quality issue. It's not. I really liked this movie and the more I think about it the more I like it.

Impressive visuals. It starts with Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) on the international satellite. A satellite that rises from Earth past the atmosphere. It's some subtle world building and I wish the movie revealed more about the world of which we only see glimpses.
The first few minutes are intense and they show just how calm Roy is in dire situations. That's important as his entire journey is precarious. Through the movie Roy has to check in with a psych evaluation to confirm he is mission ready. It's a recurring check-in that gives insight into the character.
This opening also showcases the stunning visuals the movie showcases throughout. Space is beautiful and this movie takes advantage. The first scene reminded me a bit of the opening in First Man, both are intense and grab you.

The beginning has some nice film making, and I was disappointed when the movie began to rely a bit too heavily on voice over. Roy voices thoughts that should be and sometimes are clear on screen. Thankfully that subsides in the second half. There are scenes that imply a lot without the voice over so that makes it's inclusion all the more strange. One of my favorite scenes is when Roy takes control of a space ship from a captain that's paralyzed with fear. Upon landing Roy asks, "You know why I did that, right?" That's it. Nothing else needs to be said. The movie got that right, but got it wrong more than a few times with adding voice over.

Roy's an astronaut because his dad was an astronaut, but his dad disappeared sixteen years ago. Now Roy is tapped for a top secret mission. The government thinks his dad Clifford may be alive.

 

This begins Roy's journey to assist in trying to make contact. He first travels to the colonized moon. We only get a glimpse, but it looks like a strip mall. Roy comments through voice over that Earth inhabitants tried to escape their problems on Earth only to build them all over again on the moon.
On the moon we get a space shoot out with space pirates. It's a really cool scene though it made me wonder if this movie would be more action or contemplative. The focus is on the character, and Pitt has some really nice moments to act, close ups on his face that provide him time to emote. The directing is notable. The movie uses silence to great effect, and even then the soundtrack intruded a few times. Space is beautiful and quiet. The visuals don't need a punch up with sound. Then again the sound visuals worked together nicely in the opening.

 

As Roy approaches the edges of the known solar system he contemplates the choices he made in life and his role in the solar system. He wants to face his father, to either confront or leave the memory in the past. Throughout the movie Roy is Clifford's son. Despite Roy's achievements, his accomplishment is the relation to Clifford. He's lived in his father's shadow his entire life. This is his chance to put it to rest one way or the other.

This movie built up for quite an ending and I feared I would be disappointed. How could it live up to expectations? Thankfully the ending is really good. At one point I thought it could and should end earlier than it did. It seemed like a perfect moment where Roy had accomplished his goals and had a decision to make. It would be an ending that leaves you wondering just a bit, instead the movie keeps going.
At one point I wondered if this was going to go the dream, space crazy, or already dead route with the ending. It doesn't, thankfully. There were just a couple scenes that reminded me of Solaris, making me think it was a possibility.

 

The ending we get sets up a contrast to earlier where Roy talks about his priorities. Roy feared he was too much like his father, and his journey reordered his priorities. Roy went as deep into space as anyone ever has. The ending we get is a nice book end. This movie has parts of other sci-fi movies and while it's some of those, it's also none of those.

Movies I Watched in September

This month I finally got around to watching The Three Faces of Eve as well as some Sidney Poitier films. Prior to this month I had only seen him in Lilies of the Field, The Defiant Ones, the last half of Duel at Diablo (on tv - really want to see the first half), and the very beginning of Paris Blues. He's such an incredible actor and I so I took advantage of watching several of his films while he was Star of the Month on TCM.

* means a rewatch

1. Shoulder Arms (1918) - Charlie Chaplin
2. *Merrily We Live (1938) - Constance Bennett & Brian Aherne, Bonita Granville, Billie Burke
3. Love is a Headache (1938) - Franchot Tone & Gladys George, Mickey Rooney, Virginia Weidler
4. *The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - Dana Andrews & Theresa Wright, Frederic March & Myrna Loy, Harold Russell, Virginia Mayo
5. Deadline at Dawn (1946) - Bill Williams & Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas
6. They Won’t Believe Me (1947) - Robert Young, Susan Hayward, Jane Greer
7. Highly Dangerous (1950) - Margaret Lockwood & Dane Clark
8. *A Millionaire for Christy (1951) - Fred MacMurray & Eleanor Parker, Richard Carlson
9. The Belle of New York (1952) - Fred Astaire & Vera-Ellen, Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn
10. Angel Face (1953) - Robert Mitchum & Jean Simmons 
11. The Naked Jungle (1954) - Eleanor Parker & Charlton Heston
12. The Three Faces of Eve (1957) - Joanne Woodward, Lee J. Cobb 
13. 12 Angry Men (1957) - Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb 
14. *Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) - Debbie Reynolds & Leslie Nielsen, Walter Brennan, Fay Wray
15. God’s Little Acre (1958) - Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Buddy Hackett, Tina Louise
16. All the Young Men (1960) - Alan Ladd, Sidney Poitier
17. Madison Avenue (1962) - Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, Eleanor Parker, Eddie Albert
18. *Follow the Boys (1963) - Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, Richard Long, Janis Paige, Russ Tamblyn
19. Looking for Love (1964) - Connie Francis, Jim Hutton
20. The Slender Thread (1965) - Sidney Poitier & Anne Bancroft, Telly Savalas
21. A Patch of Blue (1965) - Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman
22. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) - Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, Cecil Kellaway
23. Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) - James Garner & Suzanne Pleshette
24. Snowball Express (1972) - Dean Jones & Nancy Olsen
25. *You've Got Mail (1998) - Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Dave Chappelle
26. Stardust (2007) - Charlie Cox & Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong, Robert De Niro, Henry Cavill
27. *Psych the Musical (2013) - James Roday, Dule Hill, Maggie Lawson, Tim Omundson
28. A Quiet Place (2018) - John Krasinski & Emily Blunt
29. The Legend of 5 Mile Cave (2019) - Adam Baldwin 

Least Favorite Movie: Definitely Love is a Headache. Franchot Tone WAY overacted. Snowball Express was a little too corny for me. The Belle of New York didn't have much of a story line but I wanted to watch it for Vera-Ellen. The cast of Looking for Love had absolutely NO chemistry.

Favorite Movie: So I've suddenly become a Susan Hayward fan lol. I've seen some of her later movies but she never did anything for me but this month I watched two noirs and was really loving her! And of course I was blown away by all the Sidney Poitier films I watched as well as 12 Angry Men. I don't do horror movies but A Quiet Place wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Emily Blunt is my favorite modern actress and I love the chemistry between her and her real life & on-screen husband, John Krasinski.

Monthly Recap: September 2019

There went another month, yet another month spent doing not much, both in terms of life and films/blogging.

I did see a few beautiful places in my town (Cascatelle, Ponte Romano) that I didn't even know existed up until a couple of months ago, and this weird thing keeps happening to me when I get texts from a person — I can't help but smile. It must be some sort of flu, right? *joking* — but other than that nothing new to report because I have the dullest and uneventful life a 25-year-old could have. 

To spice things up a little, I went off coffee for a week. That sure was something! Honestly though, it went pretty well, way better than expected and, if I have to be completely honest, I was more energetic and awake than I've ever been. I did take naps though so they might be the reason why. 

In terms of blogging, I did the usual Thursday Movie Picks posts, posted a review and joined Mettel Ray's wonderful TV Alphabet blogathon because, just in case you didn't know, I watch more series than movies now and on September I binge-watched Netflix's new series Unbelievable and HBO's Barry, which is one of the greatest, funniest series ever and has the best character ever, Noho Hank — I cannot thank Margaret from Cinematic Corner enough for this suggestion. And yesterday I also started rewatching Breaking Bad because the film is dropping on October 11. As if I don't have enough stuff to watch already.

I also read Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter to "gather some intel" about the Tate murders before watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Unfortunately, I had to work the only day my cinema was giving the movie in English so I missed it. But at least the book was great. Such interesting and compelling read. 

What I'm really trying to say here is that I didn't watch a lot of films, only eight. A new low for me lol

The Hustle (2019)

Plot: Penny (Rebel Wilson) is a small-time Australian con-artist who tricks men into giving her money. Josephine (Anne Hathaway) is a sophisticated British con-artist who cons the richest men in the world. The two cross paths when Penny travels to the French Riviera. After mentoring Penny for a while with the purpose of getting rid of her, Josephine finds herself competing with Penny to con a young American entrepreneur (Alex Sharp). 

While it's not the smartest comedy out there as many of the jokes and gags are silly and juvenile — it's not like I was expecting any different from Rebel Wilson —, the film is quite funny and entertaining, and, although I was not a fan of the ending — sure, finally a man who doesn't underestimate women but at the same time it feels like it's saying that men are smarter than women — the story takes some interesting twists and turns. I also liked how Rebel Wilson balanced Hathaway's seriousness. Anne's British accent is beyond obnoxious though.

Rating: 3

Beetlejuice (1988)

Plot: Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) are a normal couple... until they die and find themselves trapped in their house as ghosts. When the Deetzes (Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara) and their teen daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder), move in, Adam and Barbara attempt to scare them away but without success. Lydia eventually discovers them in the attic and tries to help them but things get serious only when a malicious spirit, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), enters the picture.

Being the only film on my Netflix downloads when I was internetless, I decided to rewatch it as I hadn't seen it since I was a kid. Saying that it was a disappointment is a bit of an understatement. The dinner scene is hilarious — I could watch it on repeat all day long and not get tired of it —, Michael Keaton is awesome as Beetlejuice and young Alec Baldwin is hot, but I just found the film kind of flat and dull.

Rating: 3

Perfect Strangers (2016) - Review

"How many couples would split up if they looked at each other's phones?"

Before Sunrise (1995) - Review | Rewatch

Before Sunset (2004) - Review | Rewatch

Before Midnight (2013) - Review | Rewatch

Duck Butter (2018) 

Plot: Nima (Alia Shawkat) is a struggling actor; Sergio (Laia Costa) is a singer and artist. The two women meet at the bar when Sergio was performing and, after spending the night together and Nima getting fired from her acting gig, they decide to spend 24 hours together, having sex every hour to really get to know each other.

I'm really into indies and experimental films but Duck Butter, unfortunately, was a rather disappointing one. While the concept is very interesting and the cameos by the Duplass brothers and Kumal Nanjiani at the beginning are fun, the film just isn't compelling. We spend an hour and a half with Nima and Sergio and we barely get to know them — the first comes across just as a heartless, emotionless person, while the latter as a needy and crazy woman. Neither the acting nor direction is interesting.

Rating: 2

A Bigger Splash (2016)

Plot: Famous rock star Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) and her boyfriend, filmmaker Paul De Smedt (Matthias Schoenaerts), are vacationing and recovering on the Italian island of Pantelleria. Their peaceful and quiet stay is disrupted when Marianne's former lover and old friend, Harry Hawkes (Ralph Fiennes), arrives with his daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson). 

Although I wasn't a fan of Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name, I did love his take on Suspiria and since both Suspiria and A Bigger Splash stars Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson I finally gave this one a chance. I had quite high expectations but unfortunately, the film didn't meet them. The story is weak and uncompelling for the most, the characters aren't much better and the film is atrociously paced. The majority of the film is just beyond boring and the cast, although the actors give strong performances — not Dakota Johnson, she is bad as usual —, can't save the film.

Rating: 1 ½