MST3K, RiffTrax, and Beyond: Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 8 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

Bunker

⭐⭐1/2

Genre: Horror, War

Director: Adrian Langley

Starring: Patrick Moltane, Eddie Ramos, Luke Baines, Julian Feder

This horror movie centers around a group of soldiers in World War I, who try to take over an abandoned German bunker only to be trapped inside with an unknown creature. Here's the twist: it takes inspiration from and is intentionally stylized like a Hammer Horror film from the 1960's. The framing, the script, and the acting are all done like the filmmakers were daydreaming what their pitch to that studio might have been way back in the day. Because of this, a lot of the movie feels awkward because it's trying to emulate filmmaking of a bygone era that we've long since moved on from. If there is any fault I can bring up about the movie, I also immediately think to myself "Yeah, but it's doing that intentionally." I could also ask myself if it could be done better, and the answer is probably. But I also have to assume they had a finite amount of money to make this movie and this is exactly what it was always going to be. Because of that, the worst thing I can say about Bunker is that it doesn't star Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee. But it does have a rather wicked score that sounds like it's trying to emulate Alan Silvestri trying to emulate something era appropriate, so it has that going for it.

Cocaine Bear

⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Comedy, Horror

Director: Elizabeth Banks

Starring: Kari Russell, Ray Liotta, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale

That bear was on so much cocaine, bro.

Horror-comedy has director Elizabeth Banks pulling out all the stops and just making a movie as nutty as its title, where a drug dealer loses a large amount of cocaine which is in turn is found by a bear who eats it and goes on a rampage. One thing I've noted about Banks' directorial efforts is that she has a very animated sense of humor and isn't afraid to go wacky, even if the push hurts the scene (Charlie's Angels sometimes suffered because of this). With Cocaine Bear she knows she has an extreme concept, so she allows herself to get as extreme as she wants with her comedic violence, which is to the movie's benefit more often than its detriment. Sometimes I'm left scratching my head by it (there is a punchline where Banks doesn't seem to quite know that a bear's vagina is in the same place a human vagina is), but I think the movie delivers more under-the-breath snickers than full laughs, but it's campy fun to watch. Banks is also smart enough to know that despite the mayhem its causing, the audience needs to be in love with the bear and wants it to be the hero of the movie by the end. Banks delivers on that front, which makes Cocaine Bear a success.

Jesus Revolution

⭐⭐1/2

Genre: Faith, Drama, Comedy

Director: Jon Erwin, Brent McCorkle

Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Joel Courtney, Jonathan Roumie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Anna Grace Barlow

Faith films can have an uphill battle, as they're mostly concerned with preaching to people who already believe their message than making a good movie in itself. Since getting my Regal Unlimited pass and attending whatever-the-fuck is playing, I've sat through many Christian movies without knowing they're Christian movies going in. Let me tell you, a lot of them are very, very bad (I'm looking at you, Tulsa!). I knew what Jesus Revolution was when I went into it because I had seen a trailer for it (even still...it's called Jesus Revolution), but I went anyway because I like Kelsey Grammer (meanwhile I skipped the new Left Behind movie because Kevin Sorbo can go fuck himself). This is one of the better faith films I've watched. By quite a wide margin.

Here's the thing, while Jesus Revolution falls down a lot of faith film rabbit holes at various points, what I personally appreciated about this movie is that beneath the preaching, there is a deeper message to it, one of acceptance. I think this movie pulls that off rather well, as it brings about the idea that if a religion really preaches love, then it should embrace everyone, not just "the right people." I think the relationship between Christianity and the hippy movement is not explored to its full potential, as both at their core believed in similar morality ideals, and the movie tries a hand at religious philosophy that is stumbles upon. But in fairness, when the movie stays grounded, it focuses on individual character issues and doesn't always solve them with "Faith will fix you" and lets people fix themselves. There is a point where the hippie preacher Lonnie Frisbee starts to come off as a grifter, and I was concerned with whether the movie was going to try and portray this behavior positively. Luckily it calls it out, which made me shine a little more to this movie. I do want to say there are certain aspects to the true story that this is based on that sound like they have more compelling drama at their core that it tries to cleanse itself from, such as Lonnie Frisbee's homosexuality, which isn't touched upon in this movie (he is portrayed as married to a woman, which was true at the time, and they don't speak of it further). It seems like a film based upon Frisbee's relationship to the church while hiding that side of him would have been more interesting, but that probably wouldn't jive with the faith audience. But this movie is so close to getting it. Maybe if we can teach the people who make these movies that simply mentioning "God" is not a dramatic plot beat, then maybe faith filmmaking can find salvation.

Juniper

⭐⭐1/2

Genre: Drama

Director: Matthew J. Saville

Starring: Charlotte Rampling, George Ferrier, Marton Csokas, Edith Poor

New Zealand drama from several years ago makes its way to the States, and focuses on a dying old woman with a biting personality getting to know her grandson while they duel their abrasive attitudes. It's one of those movies that hopes to win over its audience with the shock of an elder saying naughty words and being frank with sex talk. It doesn't do much to get noticed beyond that, but at least the performances are solid. I wasn't terribly interested in it, as it always felt like I had seen this story before and was likely to see it again, probably done with more flavor and hopefully less stilted melancholy tearjerking. I almost feel bad, because it feels like the actors in this movie deserve better than a mute reception. But I also feel they would have worked wonders for a movie less through-the-motions than this.

Art Attack

Emily

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Director: Frances O'Conner

Starring: Emma Mackey, Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Alexandra Dowling, Amelia Gething, Adrian Dunbar, Gemma Jones

The Emily Marsh Story!

Actually the Emily Brontë story.

This movie dramatizes that life of poet and writer Emily Brontë and the events that led up to the publishing of her novel Wuthering Heights. This mostly amounts to her being branded as the oddball of her siblings. This is a great movie for those who consider themselves outsiders or artists, or maybe are a little bit goth at heart, because it does seem to understand and empathize with a lonely soul who desires to speak their truth. The movie goes bolder with its blocking, its framing, its editing, its craft, and its drama than one might expect. Perhaps the movie might have been portraying the hypersensitive awareness of an artist bursting to express herself in its filmmaking. That's just an assumption on my part, but it helped me appreciate the film and Emily's journey a little more than it would have should the film had been a simple period piece. What I got was a film that spoke to my creative spirit, and it's one that I'll treasure.

Linoleum

⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Director: Colin West

Starring: Jim Gaffigan, Rhea Seehorn, Katelyn Nacon, Gabriel Rush, Michael Ian Black, Tony Shalhoub

Jim Gaffigan does double duty in this movie about a children's science show host who decides to build a rocket out of a space shuttle that crashed in his backyard (or is that what it's about?). Gaffigan also plays his neighbor in the film, who acts as a mirror to the more successful version of himself. Life contemplation is the primary theme in this film, which has some whimsical methods of contrasting dreaming against mundane reality, but the film exists in a bubble that mostly works. It also has an interesting subplot featuring the children of each Gaffigan character becoming friends, which provides a fun underlining of the film with a story of youthful ideology and working through one's own self-discovery. The threads tie together in an interesting way toward the end that swipes the rug right out from under the movie and making it something entirely different, providing a generational look at a life lived and promises both fulfilled and left behind.

Netflix & Chill

Nocebo

⭐⭐

Streaming On: Shudder

Genre: Horror, Drama

Director: Lorcan Finnegan

Starring: Eva Green, Chai Fonacier, Mark Strong, Billie Gadsdon, Cathy Belton, Anthony Falcon

Eva Green stars as a fashion design icon who begins experiencing strange visions and feeling sickly. A strange woman appears at her doorstep offering voodoo treatment, which she finds herself succumbing to. This film is not without interest, but it plays so coy with what it's about that for a while it almost doesn't feel as if it's going anywhere. I can see some loving that, as its lengthy run of ambiguity could leave some viewers at rapt attention, but I could have stood for a little more intrigue and a lot more mood. It's a very basic looking movie that has little desire in sprucing itself up for a chill or a fright, and when it reaches its final conclusion, it's full of more sorrow than terror. That might be the fault of misplaced expectations on my part, but I was left wanting.

We Have a Ghost

⭐⭐

Streaming On: Netflix

Genre: Comedy

Director: Christopher Landon

Starring: David Harbour, Anthony Mackey, Jahi Winston, Isabella Russo, Tig Notaro, Erica Ash, Jennifer Coolidge

Christopher Landon brings his goofball brand of taking a horror premise and running it through a comedic wringer to Netflix in this story of a family who discover their house is haunted and try to publicize it for easy money. Compared to what Landon normally puts out, We Have a Ghost is a bit on the bland side and is less funny than you would hope. It doesn't reach the zany heights of either Happy Death Day film, the cute "Vince Vaughn acting like a teenage girl" schtick from Freaky, and it even leaves less impression than his contributions to the Paranormal Activity franchise. One issue is that it juggles two pretty beefy plots, one involving the family getting famous and the other with the ghost rediscovering his past, and mashing them both together results in a plus-two-hour runtime, which is absurd for a movie like this. That being said, it's a soft and agreeable watch that isn't too demanding, and the best moments have solid laughs. It's hard to hate it, but Beetlejuice it is not. But hey, if you ever wanted to watch a Christopher Landon movie with your kids, this is the one to do it with.

Oscar's Trash Can

Aftersun

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Oscars Nominated: Best Actor - Paul Mescal

Genre: Drama

Director: Charlotte Wells

Starring: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celiac Rowison-Hall

This little parenting story plays with a lot of themes that come together in interesting ways. It's about a child's relationship with her father, how she's becoming more fascinated with new aspects of life as she matures, and it's about the struggles of parenting when you're battling your own demons. Put these all together and the large theme at play is about how are parents influence the lives of their children in ways they may not mean to while also understanding what our relationship is with our parents is in retrospect, with the possible longing for bonds to be stronger. It's an interesting approach to a coming-of-age drama that sees the little turning points in our formative years that establish who we are today, for better or worse. It's a tad restrained, which admittedly could be a strength for some, though I would have appreciated more of a push to drive home its life observations. But it's exceptionally acted and there is a soft beauty in even its darkest moments. There is a lot of truth underlining this story of what life was and what it leads to.

All That Breathes

⭐⭐⭐

Oscars Nominated: Best Documentary

Genre: Documentary

Director: Shaunak Sen

Starring: Mohammad Saud, Nadeem Shehzad

This documentary takes a look at siblings in New Delhi who care for black kites, nursing them to health and providing them sanctuary as the city becomes a harsher environment for them. It's an interesting look at human empathy for animals, while also waxing poetic and even exploring how to maintains one's work to ensure it continues. All That Breathes might not appeal to anybody that's not a heavy documentary hound, as its a contemplative and thoughtful film that observes rather than tells. If it falls down for me, it's because I found it to be a tad overproduced. The cinematography is almost too good for a documentary, and it looks meticulously crafted to the point where it doesn't feel organic. Meanwhile, I also found the sound-mixing overbearing, as the film is enriched with foley and it starts feeling artificial. I'm not going to make any such claim, but it's something that took me right out of the experience. Sometimes less is more.

Blonde

⭐1/2

Oscars Nominated: Best Actress - Ana de Armas

Genre: Drama

Director: Andrew Dominik

Starring: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, Julianne Nicholson

I don't think I was prepared for just how hard this movie sucked. I knew it was very unlikely that I would enjoy it given its word of mouth made it clear it wasn't my speed. What I wasn't prepared for was it's aggressive melodrama that tries to hit the viewer so hard that it becomes comical. There is obviously very heavy stuff trying to be portrayed in this film, telling the life story of screen icon Marilyn Monroe, but a movie should portray moments like this with a deft hand and not like the director was high on speed the entire time. The film completely misses the emotional mark it shoots for, not by inches, but rather because it's blindfolded and aiming in the opposite direction of the target. It's an art film gone spectacularly wrong.

To be fair to the good aspects of the movie, conceptually the movie is less a biopic and more of an experience of being a woman who is marketed as an object of sexual desire, whether she wanted to be or not. I don't think this movie is so much about who Marilyn Monroe was, but rather what it felt like to be Marilyn Monroe. The movie's dreamlike presentation has major faults, but its visuals are interesting, even if a few of them take the film in an absurdist direction. Ana De Armas does everything that's asked of her like a trooper, and she's one of the better aspects of the film. I understand what the movie wants to be, it just goes completely off the rails in getting there.

Causeway

⭐⭐⭐

Oscars Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Brian Tyree Henry

Genre: Drama

Director: Lila Neugebauer

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Brian Tyree Henry, Linda Emond, Jayne Houdyshell, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Harvard

Solid drama about emotional codependence in coping with personal trauma, which sees Jennifer Lawrence as a soldier with PTSD befriending local mechanic Brian Tyree Henry. The movie is mostly a casual film where Lawrence and Henry hang out for an hour and a half. Not all the details are on the table, as the movie feels its characters have a right to privacy so it hints that there is more to their stories without saying anything outright. It's a good film to show struggling people how personal connection can help them through their daily lives, even though it does feel a bit basic. Henry is a standout for his performance, mostly playing the huggable buddy with a bit of a personal darkness he is working through as well.

Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

The Short Documentaries never play anywhere near me, so I went out and found them wherever I could. Wasn't too hard. Two are on YouTube and two on Netflix. One I went home empty-handed on. But it's better than nothing.

The Elephant Whisperers

⭐⭐⭐

ELEPHANTS ARE PEOPLE TOO! This is a look at a couple in South India who raised a pair of elephants from infancy and their life taking care of the large-and-in-charge animals. Folks who love animals will enjoy this gentle little film, which basically shows you what it would be like to have an elephant as a pet. It's a lovely little portrait of man and animal living together.

Haulout

⭐⭐⭐1/2

I hope you like tusks, because we're going from elephants to walruses. Haulout is another film about nature, but it's far more harrowing. This one shows a marine biologist studying a gathering of nearly a hundred thousand walruses, as they group together on the cape as the water becomes too warm, and the shocking aftermath that leaves many walruses dead. The look at living in the middle of the group is fascinating and oddly chilling, as the cinematography almost shoots the event like a horror film, including a startling reveal of the walruses and the calm life in the shack, listening to the eerie noise surrounding it. The doc ends of a somber note as we tour the sad sight of dead walruses who were trampled in the event, with the message warning that climate change threatens to make the event more dangerous as the waters get even warmer. It's full of imagery that will stick with you.

How Do You Measure a Year?

N/A

This is the one entry that I was unable to find.

The Martha Mitchell Effect

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Joe Don Baker IS Martha Mitchell! Sorry, I had to. This is a compilation of news footage and archive recordings of Martha Mitchell, the wife of United States Cabinet member John Mitchell, who's notorious candor helped push the Watergate scandal to the resignation of Richard Nixon and the arrest of her husband. Really excellent compilation that successfully builds a brisk narrative through it, which isn't easy to do. Probably the one issue I would state is that I feel like they could have gone feature with it, and gone more in-depth. Talking heads from the Nixon administration are few and far between these days (Ben Stein, Henry Kissinger, and...?), so that might not have been feasible, but more insight into Martha's life would have probably seasoned this documentary well. One could argue that the title is "The Martha Mitchell Effect," which is a very specific idea that relates to her by which of telling the truth and being branded delusional for it, but I would argue back that the idea of her being called out as being mentally ill is also underserved. This documentary is very interesting, but it also feels like it's only scratching the surface.

Stranger at the Gate

⭐⭐⭐

This one tells of a former soldier who almost turned terrorist, deciding to bomb a group of Muslims, but finds his xenophobic views changed after getting to know them. I think Stranger at the Gate has a strong story and moral of acceptance at its core, though I'm a little conflicted about its presentation. It feels a little too upbeat for some of its themes, because as it talks about potential dark turns, the movie's peppy presentation seems to wave off horrific ideals. I understand why, as the participants are all on good terms, and whole affair feels like a "safe space" without harsh judgment for past misdeeds. Freedom from judgment is nigh impossible, considering the severity of the crime almost committed, but the subject is clearly full of remorse and relates the frightening way his mind drove him to almost commit the act. Because of that, I'll give it a pass, but it feels awkward in delivery. Still, it's an interesting insight into a racist mind and a successful way to break free of that way of thinking should be celebrated.

Oscar Nominees (bold indicates Best Picture nominee)

Aftersun ⭐⭐⭐1/2

All That Breathes ⭐⭐⭐

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed N/A

All Quiet on the Western Front ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Argentina, 1985 ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Avatar: The Way of Water ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Babylon ⭐⭐

The Banshees of Inisherin ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths N/A

The Batman ⭐⭐⭐

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ⭐⭐⭐1/2