4 stars out of 5
In the past 2.5 years, I’ve quietly become a fan of writer/director Ryûke Hamaguchi. His previous effort, Drive My Car (based on a Haruki Murakami short story), was my favorite film of 2021. And his anthology film Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy was pretty compelling as well. Now this would be my first time seeing a feature-length tale that had sprung wholly from Hamaguchi’s own mind.
Did he take to heart my warning in the Fortune and Fantasy review “against making movies that are too talky”? Regardless, silence plays a major role in this film. (It begins with several wordless minutes as the camera looks up at trees.) This is a contemplation of nature in which the drama slowly unfolds, thanks to us pesky humans of course.
We meet Takumi (Hitoshi Omika), a odd-job man in a rural Japanese village. He cuts wood, transports water, you name it. Young daughter Hana (Ryo Nishikawa) is learning — with dad’s help — to appreciate the natural world. Life is simple, life is good.
The badness lurks in the background. The village was only formed after WWII for people to flee Tokyo. Also, what happened to Hana’s mom?
And now an Evil Company wants to build a glamping (glamorous camping) site in the village. Takahashi and Mayuzumi are p.r. hacks from the evil company explaining all the wonderful aspects of the site to the villagers. The people are suspicious. Is the septic tank big enough? Will their water source be ruined? Will tourists start fires, destroying the forest?
In many ways, it’s a classic Man vs. Nature scenario. The p.r. hacks don’t have an answer. And neither does Ryûke Hamaguchi. But he wants you to think about our relationship with nature, and our often feeble attempts to tame it. The ending has sparked discussion, and indeed, I found myself in the lobby afterward chatting with fellow moviegoers. Not too shabby when art can accomplish that.
Movie Review: Evil Does Not Exist
Movie Review: Furiosa—A Mad Max Saga
4 stars out of 5
“Mad Max” was a nickname, which described his behavior, which was — you know — mad. But saddling a kid with the name Furiosa — are you sealing their fate right then and there? And don’t even get me started on her arch rival, Dementus.
As with recent sequels involving ghosts and apes and sandworms, I initially resisted Furiosa. I liked Fury Road a whole lot; it was my 7th favorite film of 2015. But this just looked like more of the same: vehicles and dust. Still, positive early word got me to shake off my own dust, and though not quite as great as Fury Road, I’m glad I caught this one in the theater.
This is a prequel, with Anya Taylor-Joy taking the reverse baton from Charlize Theron as heroine of the wasteland, Furiosa. This is her origin story.
As such, we spend a lot of time with Lil’ Furiosa (very nice work by young Alyla Browne). She’s raised in a utopian (though still post-apocalyptic) female-centric society, kinda like like Wonder Woman. Alas, as curious children do, she wanders from the herd and is snatched by goofy bad guy Dementus. Chris Hemworth has a blast playing this role; sometimes with a cape and steampunk club, he even looks like a student-film version of Thor.
But the really evil bad guy, just like in Fury Road, is Immortan Joe. (Dementus is bad, but at least has a sense of humor.) Joe’s two dumb sons are played by the same actors from the last movie (Don Jr. and Eric). And it’s Joe and his thugs vs. Dementus and his thugs for control of the gasoline and the bullets. Oh boys and their toys, war what is it good for, absolutely nuthin’, meanwhile Furiosa grows into Taylor-Joy who is just trying to get back to the ga-ar-den.
Taylor-Joy is terrific here, delivering a truly feral performance. And though she was a wild child, by sitting back and learning she now subtly shows problem-solving acumen in addition to the kick-ass-itude we knew was within. Taylor-Joy plays Furiosa’s emotions very close to the vest, yet allows a touch of humanity to drip out as fellow road warrior Praetorian Jack slowly earns her trust.
Plus you get all the giant trucks and old cars and guns and spears and explosions and hang gliders you could ever want. Opening-credits sound bites give us a few hints of how the modern world collapsed — wouldn’t ya know it, war and pandemics were involved!
At age 79, director/co-writer George Miller shows no signs of slowing or mellowing, and I’ll happily follow him into the dust once more if such is his bidding. An epic spanning Taylor-Joy to Charlize? Just putting a bug in your ear and silver spray paint around your mouth.
Aquarium Playlist, 6/4/24
EPISODE #593: LULLABIES
The Pogues — “Lullaby of London” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Lightheaded — “Dawn Hush Lullaby”
Thigh Master (now Dippers) — “Porto’s Lullaby”
UV-TV — “Distant Lullaby”
Jonny Couch — “Lullaby”
Long Neck — “Lullaby”
Health & Happiness Show — “Sinner’s Lullaby”
Neko Case — “Furnace Room Lullaby”
M. Ward — “Lullaby + Exile”
Built to Spill — ”Nowhere Lullaby”
T-Bone Burnett — “Sweet Lullaby”
The Cure — “Lullaby”
The Czars — “Lullaby 6000”
Amor de Días — “Hampshire Lullaby”
Liam Finn — “Lullaby”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 5/28/24
EPISODE #592: OF SLICES AND PIZZA
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Pylon — “Italian Movie Theme”
John Cozz & the Wellers — “Slice of Life”
The Resonars — “A Slice of Today”
Jesus and Mary Chain — “Deviant Slice”
Amnesia — “Slice”
Bouncing Souls — “The Pizza Song”
Jonathan & Tommy — “Cold Pizza”
The Pizza Underground — “Pizza Underground”
Worriers — ”Chicago-Style Pizza Is Terrible”
Louis Prima — “Angelina” [live, 1945]
Dean Martin — “That’s Amore”
Ween — “Where’d the Cheese Go” [part 1]
Personal & the Pizzas — “Pepperoni Eyes”
George Harrison — “Thanks for the Pepperoni”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Kim’s Video
3 stars out of 5
In the mid 90s I had an East Village girlfriend, so we spent a decent amount of time at Kim’s Video on St. Mark’s Place looking for something to rent. (It could be a frustrating search, as the movies were snobbily filed by director instead of title.) Post-relationship, Kim’s reamined in my “sad guy haunts record stores” rotation. So, Kim’s holds a memorable spot in my life and I was very interested to learn more about the store and what happened to its massive video collection.
So it’s a shame this isn’t a very good documentary.
It is an OK documentary for basic information, like so many of the unnecessary docs providing content for streaming networks. We meet the mysterious Mr. Kim and learn about his background. We see footage of the wild old downtown NYC of the 1980s. And we take a deep dive into the legitimately compelling story of how Kim’s complete video collection ended up in the small town of Salemi, Italy.
The flaws fall squarely with the directors. (For most of the movie we think there’s one director but we accidentally find out there are two. And they’re married. Awwww!!) The narrator/director really, really wants us to impress us with how much he knows about movies. So there’s a whole lot of, “When I bought that pack of gum, it reminded me of when the wounded infantryman bought a back of gum in Truffaut’s masterwork…”
Also, the situation in Salemi, spanning over a decade, is very complicated and frustrating. In a better director’s hands, with a more dynamic personality — oh let’s say, Michael Moore — this complicated frustration could’ve been greatly simplified and even delivered in a humorous way. These directors are unable to do that.
In general these days, too many journalists and documentarians are becoming characters in their own work. But there has to be a very compelling reason to do that. Here, the narrator/director actually becomes an integral part of the story — no spoilers, but his actions affect the fate of Kim’s video collection. But by becoming involved, he sacrifices his objectively as a documentarian, and for me became an unreliable narrator. (Also, how does he afford to keep flying back and forth from New York to Salemi, and also to Korea??)
The climax — again, no spoilers — is presented in such a way to make the director(s) and their colleagues seem really cool and fun. But by then I was basically rooting for the bad guys.
Movie Review: The Fall Guy
2.5 stars out of 5
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are delightful in this. I want Gosling to leave Eva Mendes and Blunt to leave John Krasinski and I want Gosling and Blunt to get married. As a wedding gift, I want them to be cast in a much, much better movie than this piece of crap.
Nostalgia bait-and-switch warning: The movie borrows the title of the old Fall Guy series, and its stuntman–battles-baddies conceit, and the names “Colt Seavers” and “Jody,” but that’s it. No other connection. They even significantly alter the theme-song lyrics to eliminate dated references. Aw come on!!
Still, I was enjoying the movie in the early going, I really was. It was fun, funny, light, and Blusling (huh? maybe??) are a rom-com pairing sent from heaven. So what happened? Maybe the producers couldn’t afford any other decent actors. You get an inkling of this in the beginning — why is Gosling the stunt double for someone he’s much more handsome and charismatic than? And Hannah Waddingham, you are a TV actress, not a movie star, sorry. No one else remotely stands out.
As the plot piles on (star of Blunt’s directorial debut disappears, Ted Lasso lady sends stuntman Gosling to find him, mayhem ensues and he still loves Blunt), the movie gets worse and worse. Just generic stunts and chases and fights and explosions etc. etc. etc. when all we want is Gosling and Blunt, who are stupidly very often not in the same scene.
Another warning: If you do see this (your flight is stuck on the tarmac or some other nothing-to-do situation), and are in my general age range, I strongly recommend not staying for the extra scene in the credits. It will only depress you further.
Movie Review: Ghostbusters — Frozen Empire
3.5 stars out of 5
I have gone on record more than once declaring that bustin’ makes me feel good. Aided by a generous dose of nostalgia, Ghostbusters: Afterlife even snuck onto my top-10 films of 2022.
And yet, I did not rush to the theater to see this follow-up. Why not? Was some mysterious paranormal force keeping me away? Or was it simply sequel fatigue? Regardless, when I noticed that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes clocked in at an unreasonable 2 hours, 25 minutes, I opted for the comparatively short 1 hour, 55 minute Frozen Empire.
This bustin’ did indeed make me feel good, just not quite as good. Yes, nearly all the elements from Afterlife are back. Though perhaps most notably, Jason “Son of Ivan” Reitman did not return to the director’s chair. He did once again co-write with Gil Kenan, who takes over as director.
Also, cast-wise, there’s a pretty significant bait-and-switch at play. Advertising led me to believe that, unlike Afterlife, this was a true team-up of the old and new Ghostbusters. Mmm, yes and no. Executive producer Dan Aykroyd is in this a whole lot. Second place, Ernie Hudson. In a distant third, Annie Potts. And bringing up the rear and barely present, Bill Murray. We love you and miss you, Peter Venkman! (The movie does frequently honor the 1984 original, bringing back the EPA inspector who had no dick — he’s now the mayor! — and even the library administrator. And Slimer, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man….)
From our current Ghostbusting family, Paul Rudd and especially McKenna Grace fare well; she has genuine star potential. Finn Wolfhard and the usually excellent Carrie Coon don’t get too much to do. For younger viewers, the filmmakers desperately try to explain why Oklahoma teens Lucky and Podcast from Afterlife are coincidentally now in New York.
Of new additions, Kumail Nanjiani does some very funny work as an initially unwilling participant in this otherworldly rigamarole. Patton Oswalt is only in one scene, and it’s… ok. Emily Alyn Wood plays a tenement-era ghost who seems way too thoroughly modern.
Plot? Yes, there is one. An evil cold spirit escapes, freezes New York, releases captured ghosts, and Ghostbusters have to save the day. New and old Ghostbusters, working together. Which is not quite “human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria,” but eh, it’s pretty good, it’s funny enough, and you can watch with the family, which sometimes is good enough.
Aquarium Playlist, 5/21/24
EPISODE #591: TRACES
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Benny Spellman — “Lipstick Traces (on a Cigarette)”
Karyn Kuhl — “No Traces”
The Bats — “No Trace”
Leonard Cohen — “True Love Leaves No Traces”
Weak Signal — “Barely a Trace”
Sloan — “Traces”
Hugo Montenegro — “Traces”
The Mystery Lights — “Traces”
Dusty Springfield — ”Natchez Trace”
Jon Langford and Skull Orchard — “Gone Without Trace”
Scrawl — “Disappear Without a Trace”
Soul Asylum — “Without a Trace”
Sonos — “The Untraceable Past”
Au Revoir Simone — “Trace a Line”
Shannon Wright — “Ribbons of You”
David Sanborn — “The Dream” r.i.p.
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 5/14/24
EPISODE #590: STEVE ALBINI TRIBUTE
Big Black — “Heart Beat” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Pixies — “Where Is My Mind?”
Nirvana — “Heart-Shaped Box”
Nina Nastasia — “Oblivion”
Guided by Voices — “It’s Like Soul Man”
Screaming Females — “High”
Mikey Erg — “Almost Like Judee Sill”
John Biz and Higgins — “Amplifier”
Bewitched — “No. 1”
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant — ”Shining in the Light”
The Fleshtones — “Psychedelic Swamp”
Don Caballero — “Our Caballero”
Pansy Division — “Bad Boyfriend”
The Wedding Present — “Dare”
The Sadies — “The Last of the Good”
Shannon Wright — “Ribbons of You”
David Sanborn — “The Dream” r.i.p.
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: The Beast
3.5 stars out of 5
I didn’t know much about The Beast going into this: Léa Seydoux (I’m a fan) time-travels, and keeps meeting the same man. I was hoping — and even told the concessions staffer — that the movie would be more weird than romantic. I think I got what I wanted.
Just a little more plot for y’all: It’s 2044, and AI has taken most of our jobs. Dang! Ah, but there’s a medical procedure in which humans can go through their past lives, cleanse the heavy emotions, and return to the present without feelings but ready for one of the good remaining jobs.
First we’re in 1910 and everyone’s in old-timey clothes and hair and we’re in a fancy house at a party and sometimes they’re speaking French and why is this segment going on for so long and oh man I am getting sleeeeeeeeepy…. Reader, I do not care for this era of “period piece” and will admit to dozing off a time or two or maybe even three, possibly missing a detail here and there. Yet I snapped to attention when things indeed got weird for Gabrielle (Seydoux) before she zapped back to the present, which was the future.
There’s a strong David Lynch influence here, specifically the Lost Highway/Mulholland Drive era, and Seydoux could easily be a stand-in for Naomi Watts. But director/co-writer Bertrand Bonello is no David Lynch, and I began to wonder if things were just getting weird for weirdness’s sake. Why aren’t Gabrielle’s past lives more commonplace? It’s the cliché of tales of regression, where the person was a fighter pilot and a princess and the inventor of fire, yet never learns that in a past life they were the guy at CVS who unlocks the razor case.
So, I don’t know, it’s pretty cool, and the always watchable Seydoux fully commits to the role, though there’s a slight undercurrent of dumb and it just doesn’t quite come together. You can certainly wait till this one is streaming. Oh, no plot spoilers, but there was one element that I absolutely had never seen before in all my years of moviegoing: Instead of end credits, there was a QR code on-screen! So later I watched 8 minutes of credits on my phone. Wow, we really are in the future!
Jack Silbert, curator