3 stars out of 5
I had 2 hours to kill and it had just started raining; this is perhaps the perfect movie for that scenario. What we have here is a comedic whodunnit in the not-so-grand tradition of Murder by Death and Knives Out. We’re in London, where Adrien Brody is intent on turning the stage production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap into a Hollywood movie. I was finding Brody’s character very annoying but then they tell us “the most annoying character in a whodunnit is murdered” and, voilà/whew, Brody is murdered. So now we have a real-life mystery within a staged mystery, poking fun at all the whodunnit tropes. It’s that kind of comedy.
Jaded detective Sam Rockwell (reliable as usual — wait, I guess that’s what “reliable” means) is paired with wide-eyed rookie cop Saoirse Ronan. I remain quite fond of Ms. Ronan who’s not first thought of as a comic actor, but let’s not forget I first saw her in Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel, and she also had a small part in The French Dispatch. And let us also recall that Adrien Brody is part of Anderson’s recurring troupe. These facts are important because early on, it seems like director Tom George and writer Mark Chappell are trying their darnedest to make a Wes Anderson film, they try too hard, and it basically falls flat.
Ah, but the movie eventually finds its own voice, a likable enough mid-tempo comic groove. Ronan charms us as always, and I was also quite amused by Harris Dickerson as a young Richard Attenborough, who did indded star in the original West End production of The Mousetrap. (There is some loose basis in fact here, if you like that sort of thing.)
As is often the case with mysteries, even farcical ones, things get a bit convoluted toward the end, and the story gets a little away from the filmmakers. But that doesn’t take away too much from a movie that’s great for an airplane, or ducking in out of the rain, or your next bout of Covid.
Movie Review: See How They Run
Movie Review: Moonage Daydream
4.5 stars out of 5
The world didn’t necessarily need another David Bowie documentary. I mean, I’m a big fan, not a superfan or anything, and I’d already seen two different Bowie docs in the past several years. But director Brett Morgen, with full access to the Thin White Duke’s archives, delivers something very different, very accomplished, and very artful. And excuse me for being a little corny, but I left feeling like we’d been given one more gift from David Bowie.
I saw Moonage Daydream in IMAX, which I do think added another layer, wrapping the viewer in the sights and sounds. (I thank my friend Joe for the heads-up on a special Fandango/Record Store Day offer; total ticket cost, $8.59.)
The movie gives you just enough biography, and though it didn’t feel like it, remains mostly linear in its storytelling. But that’s not Morgen’s main drive here. He’s more interested in exploring identity — how Bowie thought of himself, and how he presented himself to the wider public. Bowie even seems to suffer from the “imposter syndrome” that often plagues the successful; maybe there was nothing behind all the clothes, hair, and makeup. He also seemed to identify (certainly lyrically) with gods and aliens — distant, strange, powerful. And of course was always impeccably dressed (even in his “casual Friday” Berlin period).
Morgen devotes a good chunk of screen time to the twin tentpoles of Bowie’s mainstream success: the Ziggy era and, a decade later, the Let’s Dance album/Serious Moonlight tour. In both instances, Bowie apparently craved and actively courted popularity, and then immediately recoiled from it, working on more challenging, less easily digestible projects. So again, that question: Who am I, really? The Artist or The Public Figure?
If I’m making this film sound like an intellectual exercise, don’t worry darling, it isn’t. There is so much incredible concert, interview, and news footage, that you can also just sit back and really bask in it. Be transported, and for 135 minutes, forget your own identity crisis.
Movie Review: Barbarian
4 stars out of 5
On September 10, 2001, my buddy Terry and I went to see the pretty decent horror flick Jeepers Creepers which starred Justin Long. (He’ll always be Ed’s Warren Cheswick to me.) A couple of things have happened personally and globally since back then, yet on September 13, 2021, I found myself seeing the very decent horror flick Barbarian co-starring Justin Long.
The lead actor is Georgina Campbell, but the true star here is writer/director Zach Creggers, who cut his teeth as a member of the Whitest Kids U’Know comedy troupe. I didn’t see his feature debut, 2009’s Miss March, but I’m intrigued that it only earned a score of 7 out of 100 on the review-aggregate site MetaCritic. He has clearly upped his game in the past 13 years. In Barbarian, Creggers takes reliable horror tropes and smartly shakes them up a bit. [No spoilers ahead.]
I don’t know if this is the first AirBnB horror, but I liked that modern touch: Tess (Campbell) shows up at the rental house but somebody else is already there. It’s seemingly nice guy Bill Scotchgard uh I mean Skarsgård. Bill and his bro Alexander are the actor sons of the great Stellan Skarsgård, but Bill is probably best known as PENNYWISE THE EVIL CLOWN!!!! So, as Keith here, is he actually a creep, and, uh, what’s going on in the basement?
Meanwhile, the character played by the aforementioned Justin Long is also dealing with current-day issues: He’s an actor who has just been #metoo’d and #canceled. On the brink of arrest, public shame, and bankruptcy, he flees L.A. to regroup back home in Michigan where he owns a few properties. Those include a certain overbooked AirBnB.
I am not going to say much more, except that this film is scary as shit, occasionally very funny, cleverly constructed, contains a milliliter of sweetness, it kept me guessing, and beyond the topics I’ve already mentioned, also exists in the worlds of police profiling, urban decay/renewal, women’s personal safety, and family dynamics. Basically, if you like this sort of movie, I think you’ll really enjoy Barbarian.
Movie Review: Funny Pages
4 stars out of 5
You have to hand it to Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates — they’ve churned out a couple of super-talented kids. Greta Kline has been a fave of mine for a while, via her band Frankie Cosmos. And now Owen Kline has written and directed a self-assured feature debut which is by turns funny, sad, disturbing, and offbeat. And very Jersey.
The Kline siblings impressively both seem devoted to all things indie. Greta began as a perfectly twee singer/songwriter and maintains that essence. Owen likely could’ve recruited some famous faces to round out his film, but he goes a steadfastly independent route. The most well-known name in the opening credits is Sean O’Hagan of the High Llamas who did the music, and if you’re a nerd like me you’ll recognize that Peter Bagge did the title design.
Our lead is Daniel Zolghadri as high school senior Robert. “He looks liked a young Wilmer Valderrama” are words I have never strung together before, but they apply here. Robert loves to draw underground-style comics. Inspired by a perhaps overly enthusiastic teacher, Robert decides he doesn’t need art school or even to finish high school. He’s ready to leave his comfortable home (Princeton) and pursue his gritty comic dreams (Trenton).
Zolghadri isn’t afraid to portray the character early on as a I-know-better-than-everybody-else jerk (not an uncommon high school trait), and his performance becomes more vulnerable and likable as things don’t go exactly as hoped.
And Kline isn’t afraid of populating his movie with, um, let’s say, “interesting” looking actors. Their hair alone should win an Independent Spirit Award. Roger’s suburban mom and dad are really the only conventially attractive people we see; his buddies and new Trenton pals might’ve come from a casting call for a show named Geeks and Geeks. Just one delightfully odd example is Michael Townsend Wright as Roger’s new landlord/roommate. Wright is an Uncle Floyd Show alum and (full disclosure) a pal of mine dating to our time together on an ultimately failed attempt to reboot Captain Kangaroo. (R.I.P. Pat Cashin) Wright is a rather dapper fellow but “Barry” certainly is not. He’s very, very sweaty and unkempt and weeeeeeiiiiiiird yet not unkind. And oh my his hair. Cheers for a tremendous, restrained performance by M.T. Wright!
I must also spotlight Matthew Maher as Roger’s very reluctant new friend/new mentor. Maher captures an extreme social awkwardness masked in unwarranted confidence. And there’s a little bit of humanity in there too.
Beyond the New Jersey settings (hooray for the Trenton Makes The World Takes sign) and the Vivino connection, we also hear WFMU’s Dave the Spazz show (very difficult to get on the car radio from central Jerz but I’ll let it slide) and Roger wears a Princeton Record Exchange t-shirt. Plus the film would fit easily in the Clerks Universe, with heaping tablespoons of American Splendor and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
If I have a gripe, it’s that the story seemed to want to play out a little bit further than Owen Kline was willing or able to do. But I’m sure his storytelling will improve and mature with another movie or two under his belt. For the time being, this is a very promising debut from a clearly well-raised young man.
Aquarium Playlist, 8/17/22
EPISODE #500: ROCK & ROLL
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Len Price 3 — “Cold 500”
The Showmen — “It Will Stand”
Scott the Hoople — “Rock & Roll Party”
Chuck Berry — “Rock & Roll Music”
A Giant Dog — “& Rock & Roll”
King Missile — “Rock-n-Roll Will Never Die”
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — “I Love Rock n’ Roll”
The Jesus & Mary Chain — “I Love Rock n Roll”
Lou Reed — “Rock and Roll Heart”
Huey Lewis & the News — “The Heart of Rock & Roll”
Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit — “I Knew the Bride (When She Used To Rock & Roll)”
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band — “Rock and Roll Never Forgets”
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers — “So You Want To Be a Rock ’n’ Roll Star” [live]
The Rolling Stones — “It’s Only Rock n’ Roll (But I Like It)”
Unrest — “God Gave Rock n Roll to Us”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Vengeance
2.5 stars out of 5
I should’ve trusted my gut. The trailer for this seemed pretty good, and yet, possibly not good. And I had the same reaction watching B.J. Novak’s Hulu anthology series The Premise. But I do have to move the car on Tuesdays, and it was 8,000 degrees outside, and I’m a member at the Clairidge theater so a matinee is only 5 bucks. So there I was, in air-conditioned splendor, watching Vengeance, enjoying it and then not really.
Novak can write jokes, that’s clear. His dad co-edited The Big Book of Jewish Humor and B.J. inherited that interest. (The movie’s title is even presented in Woody font.) As this flick began, I thought it might be that dying breed: a straight-up comedy. The characters aren’t believable but that’s fine, as long as it’s funny. And there are zingers a-plenty here, as perma-bachelor Ben learns that one of his many hookups has died, her family thinks they were truly in love, and her brother thinks she was murdered and wants Ben to help him track down the killers. Zany!
But with fish-out-of-water Jewish New Yorker podcast reporter Ben now in Texas, this eventually becomes the dreaded Comedy With Heart. Which is, you know, also fine. It was the sort of movie perfect to see with the folks over Thanksgiving weekend: not great but harmless, mildly funny, kind of sweet. Three stars out of five.
And then it gets worse. In sports speak, Novak “loses the handle.”
I get the feeling he wanted to make a really good movie — funny but also makes you THINK — but Novak just isn’t a talented enough writer/director to make it happen. And yet he’s very fond of himself. I’m reminded of Louis CK’s bit about Matt Damon writing Good Will Hunting: “The main character is a janitor but he’s really good-looking and also a mathematical genius.” Of course he is, you’re writing your own character! In Vengeance, Novak frequently cuts back to Issa Rae (wasted here), Ben’s podcast editor back in New York, smiling and nodding as she listens to his great wisdom. How smart he is! How insightful about the human condition! Wait, Novak WROTE HER REACTIONS!
Novak himself is likable in this movie, though probably a decade too old for the character. J. Smith-Cameron, who was so good on Rectify, is believable as a Texas mom. Unfortunately that’s not the case for the rest of the cast. And Ashton Kutcher shows up as a small-town record producer who’s really philosophical. Because screenwriter Novak has an awful lot of theories he wants to share.
I think the ideal way to watch this movie is on a plane (and it will be there soon), where you’re thinking, hmm, will I have time to see the whole thing before we land… because if you miss the ending, you’ll actually enjoy it more.
Movie Review: Nope
3.5 stars out of 5
Did I enjoy this movie as much as Get Out and Us? Nope. The good news is, Jordan Peele is becoming a more skilled filmmaker with each outing. The bad news being, artfulness does not always result in pure viewing satisfaction.
Opening segment: creepy, weird, and awesome; no spoilers. After that, I briefly thought I was watching Montana Story again, as brother O.J. (Daniel Kaluuya) and sister Em (Keke Palmer) reconnect at the rural family ranch, complete with horses, and try to carry on after the death of their father. (Wait… O.J.??) The Haywood family business is training horses for the movies, and this nicely ties to African-American history and the earliest days of cinema.
We meet their reliable client, former child star Ricky (Steven Yeun), who runs a nearby Wild West family attraction.
And, you guessed it, crazy shit starts happening. In a clever and very of-the-moment twist, instead of cowering in fear, Keke suggests monetizing the phenomenon.
So, all good so far. But Peele spends entirely too much of the film setting up the story, He did this in Us as well, but in that movie the first half was taut and tense (prior to the delightfully batshit payoff), while in this one it’s kind of slow… and meandering; there are frights and oddness but not enough to really pull me in.
The acting (and/or direction of the actors) is also at fault. Kaluuya was superb in Get Out but here the Brit plays an inland California cowpoke as taciturn and grumbly, and doesn’t exactly light up the screen. Yeun was really good in Minari but here he’s trying too hard to be a guy who, um, tries too hard to be fun and funny — but with buried childhood trauma — and Yeun just doesn’t nail it. Brandon Perea comes off real phony-baloney as a Geek Squad employee who helps the Haywoods with their security cameras and gets caught up in the spookiness. Only Keke Palmer — dancing, strutting, full of attitude in a Jesus Lizard t-shirt — really shines here.
The last section does deliver the wildness, terror, and laughs we now expect from Peele, and sure, a little bit of stupidity. The music is great, there are some very cool and clever visuals and sequences, and I did enjoy this movie. Just — after the very high bar set by Us — not as much as I hoped to.
Aquarium Playlist, 8/2/22
EPISODE #498: ROUGH
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Ron Gallo — “Rough Mix”
Lois w/ Elliott Smith — “Rougher”
Dany Laj & the Looks — “Diamond in the Rough”
Islands — “Rough Gem”
Don Covay — “Iron Out the Rough Spots”
Disturbios — “Rough Rider”
Paul McCartney — “Rough Ride”
ZZ Top — “Rough Boy”
Pete Townshend — “Rough Boys”
The Pastels — “Rough Riders”
Lefty Frizzell — “My Rough and Rowdy Ways”
The Connells — “Pretty Rough”
Smog — “It’s Rough”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Jack Silbert, curator