MST3K, RiffTrax, and Beyond: Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 9 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

Champions

⭐⭐1/2

Genre: Comedy, Sports

Director: Bobby Farrelly

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Ernie Hudson, Kevin Iannucci, Madison Tevlin, Matt Cook, Cheech Marin

The latest Regal Mystery Movie.

In case you were wondering what Bobby Farrelly was doing while Peter was off making Green Book, he was making a remake of Mighty Ducks with special needs folks. More to the point, Champions is a remake of a Spanish film from a few years back, which tells a story of a sports hasbeen who is busted for drunk driving and sentenced to community service by coaching a local sports team.

Y'know...Mighty Ducks.

The twist is that the team is made up of intellectually disabled players, and he must work to earn their trust and build the team. Kind of...sort of... Unlike a lot of (Mighty Ducks) sports movies, this movie's building of teamwork and the coach's bonding with the players isn't really heavily telegraphed. He comes in and things steadily improve, but there is no real arc between him and the players that plays out. Most of them shine to each other instantly. But instead it tries to wring for laughs the best it can. What makes Champions tricky is the disability subject matter. The actors are all actually disabled, which is a plus one for diversity. The type of comedy Bobby Farrelly is known for often comes at the expense of characters making questionably silly decisions, and when you make that joke at the expense of someone with an intellectual disability, it can get problematic. The movie walks a fine line between laughing with its subjects and at them, not always successfully. However, it wins over some good will with its surprising empathy and sweetness. For example, there is a player who refuses to play for Woody Harrelson's character for the majority of the movie, and while it's a pretty funny gag for a good long while, once we find out why, it's surprisingly heavy, deep, and moving. It was this scene in Champions that won me over, even if I wasn't always on board with how it was handling itself. While I did feel like the movie did come off as exploitative at times, it also isn't bullying anybody. Everyone here, everyone is in on the joke, and everyone is having a good time. If you want to have a good time with them, you'll enjoy the game.

Children of the Corn

⭐1/2

Genre: Horror

Director: Kurt Wimmer

Starring: Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey, Bruce Spence

I have no experience with Children of the Corn. I just know the franchise is a thing that exists. I guess it makes sense that a new version of Children of the Corn was made since we had a Stephen King mini-renaissance pre-pandemic with the success of It, but apparently this movie was being filmed just as Covid started hitting, limped to the finish of shooting, then sat on a self, missing what window of opportunity it had at any success (well...we'll see how Salem's Lot and The Boogeyman do). So, I have no point of reference for this...what do I think of it? It's like watching a horror movie starring the Little Rascals as the monster. Darla's on a rampage, motherfucker! Though, what's weird is that most of the children have non-speaking roles, while one of them hogs all the dialogue. To be fair, the young girl in this role is actually pretty good and she seems to be having a blast playing her unsympathetic psychopath role. It's just hard to really grasp the kids as a threat if she's the only one that does anything. The lead protagonist actress is serviceable, but looks as if she's the only one who showed up for the Drew Barrymore cosplay contest. And director Kurt Wimmer, who has been in director's jail for over a decade, has a few tricks up his sleeve to make the movie moderately chilling at times (the burial sequence is actually pretty effective). But the script tends to feel chopped up and incomplete, as there are plot strands that go nowhere and/or feel like they skipped a necessary moment to tell the story. But even if the film did feel complete, Children of the Corn is a bit too silly to build merit outside of its camp value. Some of its campiness is pretty charming, I'll admit, but I can't imagine ever taking it seriously.

Close

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Oscars Nominated: Best International Feature Film

Genre: Drama

Director: Lukas Dhont

Starring: Eden Dambrine, Gustav de Waele, Émily Dequenne, Léa Drucker

France's submission for the International Oscar this year is about two boys with an intimate friendship who have a falling out when the other kids at school start believing them to be more than friends. Close is a very "Show, don't tell" movie, and its very strong at conveying internalizes emotion, those moments where it hurts and you choose not to show it. The film's biggest strength is that it cast its two leads with two young actors who strongly convey a sense of longing in their eyes. The film is an examination of mutual love through bond, while also side commentating on bullying, peer pressure, and both gender and social norms. Its about two children who don't fit in the established box and their separate reactions to society's attempt to label them, with fear of negative connotations of that label. There's even the possibility that the two boys were actually in love with each other, but neither realized it (or maybe one realized it more than the other), but given the narrative of the film, we may never know the answer to that. But that doesn't matter because it shouldn't matter, as friendships in their many forms are a beautiful thing, and this movie realizes it more than most. It also realizes that not everyone will understand a personal connection, which can lead to suffering because of one's idea of love. Through that, among other elements, it becomes about the pain that love brings.

Creed III

⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Drama, Sports

Director: Michael B. Jordan

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson

People named "Michael Jordon" should stop being this god damn talented. Michael B. Jordan has no business being that sexy, that good an actor, and now establishing himself as an exceptional director. You're making the rest of us look bad, bro. The latest installment of the Creed franchise has Jordan taking a page out of Sylvester Stallone's playbook and directing the film himself, and the result is masterful. Like Ryan Coogler before him, Jordon seeks to innovate with the boxing sequences over what the Rocky series normally delivers. But also like Rocky's third round, Creed III heavily emphasizes the entertainment over the drama, which gives the first two a leg up. The third film lacks the little character beats that made the first two resonate so highly among the Rocky/Creed franchise, and sometimes it seems to be rushing through them (there is a subplot about Adonis's daughter being bullied which is oddly dropped almost instantly, only serving the purpose of giving the daughter character an extra scene or two). Despite this, it doesn't fumble the ball. The main story is an interesting combo of Adonis's streetlife past clashing with his current success. The closest the Rocky franchise has gotten to doing a story like that is maybe Rocky V, and since the Creed franchise was built upon the idea of "Let's do Rocky V, but let's do it well," one can't blame them for embellishing the theme and running with it. But it's mostly just an excuse to get Adonis in the ring for that dramatic one-two climax. The movie is primarily flash, with that glimmer of a heartbeat that keeps us from tuning out. That's what defined Rocky III in general, and if this is what Creed's version of that is, then it's an exceptional one. I guess we're in for the hollow, music video inspired one next, the misfire after that, and the contemplative one to make up for that. That's how this series works, right?

Hunt Her, Kill Her

⭐⭐1/2

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Director: Ryan Thiessen, Greg Swinson

Starring: Natalie Terrazzino

Those who know me know I love seeing movies with limited resources jump into the grind and make a thing. Sometimes it results in Evil Dead, and sometimes it results in Manos, but I always want to see the swing. While I know very little about the production of Hunt Her, Kill Her, the movie very much feels like it was made by people who had access to a large space and used it to influence a simple chase movie about a woman who is stalked through a factory by masked killers. Hunt Her, Kill Her is also made by people who show a lot of promise, as it's camerawork is impressive for such a low-to-the-ground title and its sequences are genuinely suspenseful. The movie is actually quite thrilling, but it falls victim to greenhorn pitfalls that could be ironed out with more experience under their belts. The acting can be uneven and the script lacks polish, as foreshadowing is too heavily telegraphed for twists to genuinely surprise and dialogue leans heavily on trope-influences lines. Even something as simple as the foley is probably more potent than it should be. It can also leave logic at the door at times with awkward blocking, but the film just wants to hit the ground running with little bother to think things through. Horror enthusiasts will want to check this out to see if they consider it a minor gem or not.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre

⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Spy, Action, Adventure, Comedy

Director: Guy Ritchie

Starring: Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Carey Elwes, Josh Hartnett, Bugzy Malone, Hugh Grant

Coming off as Guy Ritchie doing his own pitch for helming a Mission: Impossible movie, I'd admit I'd be game to see Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza get their own spy franchise out of this. It's very much a Guy Ritchie flavor, sometimes puting forth more effort into its personality than its story. However, it's more rhythmically pleasing than a lot of its contemporaries. Every moment in this movie is a beat that serves a purpose in the film and pushes the narrative forward. More films could learn from its example. It's not as exciting as the best of the Mission: Impossible series, but it's a lean machine on its own and entertaining enough to put on during a rainy day.

Art Attack

One Fine Morning

⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Drama

Director: Mia Hansen-Love

Starring: Léa Seydoux, Pascal Greggory, Melville Poupaud, Nicole Garcia

Léa Seydoux stars as a single mother taking comfort from her daily stress in the arms of a married man. This is the sort of dry, slice-of-life dramas that some people eat up, and to them I recommend it. It's also one of those movies that general audiences likely will find dull, because it lacks any sort of spice (except Seydoux's spicy body without clothing). As for myself, I have a middle of the road reaction in that I can admire the drama but not be invested in it. I'll call the movie good on the basis that I can't have the audacity to say it's bad. It's not very rich on interest value, short of displaying certain struggles other films do more compellingly. Seydoux is good, so I guess that's why we're watching it.

Netflix & Chill

Bruiser

⭐⭐⭐

Streaming On: Hulu

Genre: Drama

Director: Miles Warren

Starring: Trevante Rhodes, Shamier Anderson, Jalyn Hall, Shinelle Azoroh

I tried to watch this movie last week but Hulu was acting trashy, so I finished it up this week. Simple but interesting drama features themes of father figures and the influences they inflict upon a child, both what they try to and what they unintentionally impress upon them. This flick features a teen boy who meets his biological father for the first time, which has consequences in his life that aren't foreseen. It's also a look at violence, what influences it and how it relates to environment and emotion. As a drama it maintains a mood that emphasizes the mental tone of the main character, which works in its favor because it's consistent about it. But it's also a very drawn out movie that requires patience, which may not be for everyone.

Spoonful of Sugar

⭐

Streaming On: Shudder

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan

Starring: Morgan Sailor, Kat Foster, Myko Oliver

Bizarre thriller sees a virgin babysitter addicted to acid and caring for sheltered boy while lusting after his father. It plays out like an attempt at elevated artsy horror that doubles as a fetish film for people who are into making it hurt, while also having paternal issues that make them kinkier? God, this movie is weird. And horny. And being weird just makes it hornier. Spoonful of Sugar wants to be unnerving and instead comes off as odd and unpleasant. I kept trying to jive with this movie, but it always felt like it was pushing me away and screaming at me for trying to understand it. I think I partially read it as work relating abuse relating to longing, but it's also a work so pushed to the edge that if that's its intent, it is too busy reveling in its metaphor to tell a story. It's kind of a shame, because there are moments where I look at it and think "I see what you did there," but the whole experience is not worth barreling through for the brief spots where it shines.

Oscar's Trash Can

A House Made of Splinters

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Oscars Nominated: Best Documentary

Genre: Documentary

Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont

Starring: Lots of children

Nothing tugs at the heartstrings like the wellbeing of children. On top of that, we have a documentary about the wellbeing of children living in Ukraine, which is a very hot spot right now. This is about a Ukrainian orphanage trying to keep the kids safe during the little you-know-what that's going on. Some of the kids are troubled, some come from troubled homes, some have nowhere to go while the orphanage system sorts them out. We get to see little ones come and go for various reasons, sometimes good and sometimes bad. The film provides a look at the innocents who suffer because of the chaos of adults, and it's pretty excellent.

Navalny

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oscars Nominated: Best Documentary

Genre: Documentary

Director: Daniel Roher

Starring: Alexei Navalny

From a documentary on Ukraine to a documentary of Russia, we get to see both sides of the border today. This one, however, is set in late 2020/early 2021, well before the War in Ukraine. Instead it focuses on Vladimir Putin's political rival Alexei Navalny, specifically the failed assassination attempt on Navalny and his attempt to trace it back to Putin. It's a tense throughline between the event and his investigation, right up to calling the potential suspects and questioning them himself. It's an intense look inside the danger of current Russian politics, both the dangerous and the outrageous. The documentary's only real drawback is that it feels like it's only surface level on Navalny's personal politics, but they make it clear that Navalny wants to keep it focused on the narrative. There are moments were Navalny is asked some tough questions during his talking head scenes, and he doesn't always answer angelically. But Russia is a complicated country, and this peak at the iron clad cling Putin has to his personal power is chilling. The movie's primary point is to shed light on the dangers of the current political climate is, and one can't help but admire the bravery of a man who is willing to jump into it.

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