Film Review: "The Whale" (2022).

From the director of Requiem for a Dream and mother! comes The Whale. This psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, adapted by Aronofsky and Samuel D. Hunter, and based on his 2012 play of the same play. The film tells the the story of a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.

In early January 2021, it was announced that A24 had obtained global distribution rights to Hunter's play, with Aronofsky as director and Brendan Fraser attached to star. Aronofsky said that it took him ten years to cast this film. Casting the main role of Charlie was a huge challenge until he saw a trailer for the Brazilian film Journey to the End of the Night (2006) starring Brendan Fraser, where it "clicked" for the director who would later cast Fraser as lead. James Corden was at one point set to star with Tom Ford directing, but Ford left due to creative differences. George Clooney also briefly considered directing, but ultimately declined. By early March, adie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early April. Filming took place in the Hudson Valley and Newburgh, New York, which stood in for Moscow, Idaho. Hunter grew up in Moscow. The film was shot on the Sony CineAlta Venice camera with Angenieux Optimo Prime Lenses in the 1.33 : 1 aspect ratio. This would mark the film as Aronofsky's first digitally shot film. For the titular role, Fraser spent four hours each day being fitted with prosthetics that weighed up to 300 pounds. He also worked with a dance instructor for months before filming to determine how his character would move with the excess weight, and consulted with the Obesity Action Coalition.

Known for his leading roles in blockbusters, comedies, and dramatic films, American-Canadian actor, Brendan James Fraser, made his film debut in Dogfight (1991). In 1992, Fraser had his breakthrough with the comedy Encino Man and the drama School Ties. He gained further prominence for his starring role in George of the Jungle (1997) and emerged a star playing Rick O'Connell in The Mummy trilogy (1999–2008). He took on dramatic roles in Gods and Monsters (1998), The Quiet American (2002), and Crash (2004), and further fantasy roles in Bedazzled (2000) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008). From the late 2000s to mid 2010s, Fraser's film work slowed due to various misfortunes. Firstly, The physical demands of the stunts and maneuvers Fraser performed in his action and comedy roles eventually required him to undergo several surgeries over a period of seven years, including a partial knee replacement, a laminectomy, and vocal cord surgery. Then, in December 2007, Fraser's publicist announced that Fraser and his wife Afton Smith had decided to divorce. Fraser was ordered to pay a monthly alimony sum of $50,000 for a period of ten years or until remarriage of Smith, whichever occurred first, in addition to the $25,000 monthly payment for child support. In early 2011, Fraser petitioned the courts for a reduction of his alimony payments, asserting that he was unable to meet the annual obligation of $600,000; he did not contest the child support payments. In late 2011, Smith accused Fraser of fraud by hiding financial assets and not disclosing film contracts for Extraordinary Measures (2010) and Furry Vengeance (2010). In 2014, the court ruled against Fraser's request for a reduction in alimony and against Smith's allegation of fraud. Finally, in 2018, Fraser said that he had been sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the nonprofit organization that votes for the Golden Globe Awards, at a luncheon in 2003. The alleged assault, his subsequent divorce, his health problems, and the death of his mother launched Fraser into a depression. Several publications and social media users interpreted that Fraser was blacklisted from Hollywood because of his accusation against Berk, which Berk denies. He branched into television with roles in the History miniseries Texas Rising (2015), the Showtime drama The Affair (2016–2017), the FX series Trust (2018), and the HBO Max-DC Universe series Doom Patrol (2019–present). Fraser's film career was revitalized by appearances in major films such as No Sudden Move (2021) and The Whale (2022); the latter film gained him a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

The film stars Fraser, Sink, Chau, Simpkins, and Morton. The battered dignity of Fraser's performance is so touching that by the time he makes his big statement of faith to his fans even the toughest and most cynical of viewers will find their eyes going moist. But this is, of course, Fraser's moment. As the increasingly desperate and bewildered Charlie he is large and small, frightening and sympathetic as he struggles to find redemption in a world that he's leaving behind. It's unfathomable to imagine the film without Fraser. It's one of those rare cinematic experiences where an actor and a role come together in perfect harmony. A story of personal redemption and while it certainly does echo Fraser's own life, it wouldn't be fair to say he is playing himself. Sure, Fraser's performance must have been informed by his own past, but that is different, as well as peculiarly powerful.

Great art is sometimes difficult viewing, and such is Aronofsky's The Whale, a film that will be remembered as Fraser's greatest screen triumph. A grittily stark and oftentimes sadly humorous look into the life of a lamentable man and his tragic circumstance. Fluctuating eloquently between hope and sorrow, tenderness and isolation, the film packs an emotional punch - a deeply personal story of one man's search for redemption and love. The film demands to be seen, thanks to the deceptively simple artistry and humanity Aronofsky brings to the story and to the indelible performances. It lines up nicely with my only other Best Films of the Year, collectively presenting a portrait of the uncertain, often unhappy world in which we presently reside.

Simon says The Whale receives:

Also, see my review for mother!

Film Review: "Tár" (2022).

From the writer and director of In the Bedroom and Little Children comes Tár. This psychological drama film written and directed by Todd Field. Lydia Tár is widely revered as an icon in the music world until her life begins to unravel in a singularly modern way. The result is an examination of power, and its impact and durability in today’s society.

In April 2021, it was announced that Cate Blanchett would star in and executive-produce a new film written and to be directed by Field. The film would mark Field's return to the director's chair after a sixteen year absence. Field wrote the script during a twelve-week sprint in the early lockdown stage of the COVID pandemic. Field wrote the film specifically for Blanchett and would not have made the film without her. They had previously planned to work on a different film that Field could not acquire financing for. Back in September 2020, Field was driving while on the phone with Blanchett's agent, Hylda Queally, who'd just delivered the devastating news that her client was booked for the next three years and wouldn't be able to star in his movie. And then Field crashed his car. According to Field, because Queally felt sad for him crashing his car that, she agreed that if Field wasn't in too bad a physical condition, she could get home and send Blanchett the script, and she would read it. The rattling sound that can be heard in Tár's Porsche as she drives was recorded from Field's own car, never fixed properly after the accident. By late June, Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, Mark Strong, Sydney Lemmon, and Sophie Kauer rounded out the film's cast. Blanchett had to re-learn the piano, learned how to speak German, and learned how to conduct an orchestra for the film. To bring Tár's cultured, counterfeit speaking voice into being, Blanchett listened to recordings of Susan Sontag. British-German professional cellist, Sophie Kauer, had no prior acting experience and auditioned at the encouragement of a friend whilst she was studying at the Royal Academy of Music. She learned to act by watching Youtube tutorials hosted by Michael Caine. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in mid December. Filming took place in Berlin, Germany and New York City, New York. Scenes of the Orchestra playing are completely 100% real. Blanchett was actually conducting the Dresden Orchestra. The entire scene of Lydia teaching students at Juilliard is filmed in one unbroken take. In September, Hildur Guðnadóttir was hired to compose the film's score. Hildur was involved in the project after Field's persistence on the importance of the film's music and went into a three-fold process on the music production: tempo-mapping the film and characters, writing the music that Tár had written in film, and creating the actual score. The original score was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in London, England. John Mauceri served as consultant to Field's script, specifically helping inform the tenor and accuracy of Tár's comments on classical music and musicians. A concept album was released featuring Guðnadóttir's score with the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames, as well as a rehearsal of Gustav Mahler's fifth symphony with Blanchett conducting the Dresden Philharmonic. Kauer is also heard on the album playing Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto, backed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Natalie Murray Beale. The album is a listening experience of what Field referring the film as "the messiness of the work involved in preparing classical music for performance", which involves a combination of audio glimpses from real-life recording sessions, sequences from fictional rehearsals, music listened to by the film's characters, and completed versions of the music on which Lydia Tár had worked on. Guðnadóttir's new music created for the film, serves as the central to both the film as well as the album. The album's introductory cue is a voice memo she sang to provide the main melody titled For Petra, which is the music featured in the final session.

It’s a fascinating drama, packed with attitude and ideas, and Blanchett is absolutely enthralling as Tár. She is as fully-formed a character as Charles Foster Kane, a great and terrible figure that will not be easy to ever forget. Lydia herself is so compellingly constructed, a perfect synthesis of hypocrisy and denial, that Blanchett's intensity never cost the film much of its nuance.

What thrills me about the film is that it's a completely uncompromising film. No discernible effort has been made to dumb anything down. Every shot is sumptuously composed, with the production and costume design providing insight into the character’s emotional state. A precise, layered and brave character study that reverberates with harmonious talent, from its masterful conductor and protagonist. The film is a drama about a world-famous classical music conductor and how she is brought low by a sordid sex scandal. It is a serious and worthwhile film, whatever the balance of its various merits and defects. Exceptionally well-made and worthy of all the awards. Cinematography looks great, the score is beautiful, fantastic use of sound design, and the central performance is mind-blowing. The film keeps us guessing. It’s a tense thriller, an engrossing character study, and a thoughtful study of cancel culture. The film is a slippery, sly piece of work, whose bold combination of world building, social critique and psychological investigation needs to be experienced, absorbed, pondered over, and even then will defy description. It can move at a fast clip, overwhelming you with detail, only to slow for a moment or two, allowing you to marvel more fully at this strange public figure and her internal hive of neuroses. It’s basically everything you are certain will bore you to death, but it doesn’t here. It’s riveting. The film is one hundred and fifty-seven minutes long and doesn’t drag for a single second. Ultimately, the film must be seen, experienced, to be believed. Much like its central character, Tár is thorny and difficult yet uncompromising and dazzling in its superiority.

Simon says Tár receives:

Film Review: "Jung_E" ("정이") (2023).

"AI Combat Warrior Will be Unleashed" in Jung_E (정이). This South Korean science fiction film written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho. In a post-apocalyptic 22nd century, a researcher at an AI lab leads the effort to end a civil war by cloning the brain of a heroic soldier — her mother.

By November 2021, Kang Soo-yeon, Kim Hyun-joo, Ryu Kyung-soo, and Park So-yi were cast in a new science fiction film written and to be directed by Yeon Sang-ho, and produced by Netflix. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in January 2022. The film would mark Kang Soo-Yeon's last acting performance, who collapsed after she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, she was then transported to hospital and stayed in the ICU for recovery. She never awoke from the coma and died on May 7, 2022.

The film stars Kang Soo-yeon, Kim Hyun-joo, Ryu Kyung-soo, and Park So-yi. The "science" would mean nothing, though, if Yeon and the cast also didn't invest some heart into the characters. That dose of humanity propels the film beyond the usual action-packed sci-fi fare. Most memorable of this lot is Kang Soo-yeon's thoughtful scientist and her scenestealing daughter, played by a fantastic Kim Hyun-joo, who never goes overboard even when she has to bawl in complete fear.

Yeon Sang-ho's smashing together of the sci-fi action movie genre with modern A.I. movies -- and all the frantic, breathless action they bring with them -- makes the film a treat for fans of both genres. The film doesn't blaze any new trails, but it transcends the tricks and tropes of a genre that so often feels it has nothing more to offer. One of the most compelling, exciting, and captivating sci-fi/action hybrids in years. It grabs the heart as well as the soul, speeding to a satisfying emotional climax. The most purely entertaining sci-fi action film in some time, finding echoes of A. I.: Artificial Intelligence and Total Recall, but delivering something unique for an era in which kindness to others seems more essential than ever. Far more than just a series of action scenes, the film transports its audience through an emotional voyage that provides some fun with emotionally charged drama. The film's sci-fi action premise delivers plenty of high tech gadgetry and breathless action, punctuated by social commentary, strong characters and a heavy dose of melodrama. An entertaining ride, as well as providing political commentary when it overtly references governments' response to climate change alongside commenting on the country's class system. Here both dystopia and robots come to symbolise the blind forward momentum of an all-consuming climate change, unchecked by the brake of any social principle. Yeon Sang-ho can't quite resist a last-minute lurch towards sentimentality, but for the most part he keeps this moveable feast for the undead on track with relentless and bloody carnage. This high-speed sci-fi actioner has a brash moral agenda where it takes the threat of oblivion to bring out the best and worst in people.

Simon says Jung_E (정이) receives:

Also, see my review for Peninsula (반도).

Film Review: "Babylon" (2022).

"Always make a scene" in Babylon. This epic period comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. Set in 1920s Los Angeles, the film is a tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess. It traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.

In July 2019, it was announced that Chazelle had set his next project, a period drama set in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Lionsgate Films was the frontrunner to acquire the project, with Emma Stone and Brad Pitt attached to star. In November, Paramount Pictures acquired worldwide rights to the project, with Stone and Pitt still attached. In January 2020, Pitt confirmed his involvement, describing the film as being set when the silent film era transitioned into sound. He was set to play a character modeled on actor-director John Gilbert, and Stone was set to play a character based on Clara Bow. However, in March 2021, Robbie was confirmed to replace Stone, who exited the film due to scheduling conflicts after the production was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After Robbie replaced her, the role was reworked to become more fictional in nature. By early July, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, P. J. Byrne, Lukas Haas, Max Minghella, Katherine Waterston, Tobey Maguire, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Eric Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Samara Weaving, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, and Phoebe Tonkin. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late October. Filming took place throughout California. Filming was initially set to take place in California in mid-2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was initially scheduled for a December 25, 2021 limited release date and a January 7, 2022 wide release date, but was later delayed by an entire year, to a December 25, 2022 limited release date, and a January 6, 2023 wide release date, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, the film was moved two days earlier to the current date and set for a solely wide release instead.

Pitt's performance is captivating, a smoothly mellow synergy of charisma and charm, but it is Robbie who steals the show, cementing her status as one of the best actresses of her generation. Robbie and Calva make an oddly perfect on-screen duo, as their dryly humorous performances throw contrast to the film's real comedic bread and butter, all of the eccentricities flying around them.

A sprawling riot of bad taste and consumption — and tremendously entertaining if you’re in the right mood. Gloriously grimy, it's a masterpiece of nostalgia, allowing audiences to inhabit a world of low-lives and cults. At three hours it's almost as excessive as Jack Conrad's party. It feels a bit long, but like the spoiled brats it portrays, it will not, and cannot, be ignored. An apt allegory for the delusional arc of Hollywood. Its internal downfall lies in the fact that this insight is most definitely accidental.

Simon says Babylon receives:

Also, see my review for First Man.

Series Review: "Sky Rojo" (2021-23).

"From the creators of La casa de papel" comes Sky Rojo. This Spanish dark comedy action drama television series, created by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato. A fatal turn of events at a brothel sends three women haunted by their pasts on a wild run from their pimp and his henchmen.

By late November 2019, Verónica Sánchez, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Asier Etxeandia, Lali Espósito, Yany Prado, and Enric Auquer were cast in a new Netflix dark comedy action drama series created by Pina and Lobato. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place in Madrid, Tenerife and Toledo. In early 2020, filming was set to move to Castilla–La Mancha and take place there for approximately four months. However, the project was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and filming continued in October in Madrid. The first season premiered on March 19th, 2021. Principal photography took place before the first season's premiere. The second season premiered on July 23rd, 2021. In mid August, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a third and final season. Etxeandia confirmed that principal photography was scheduled to commence in November. The third and final season premiered on January 13th, 2023.

The series stars Sánchez, Silvestre, Etxeandia, Espósito, Prado, and Auquer. The characters engage with the soul. It feels like comfort food. Your heart paces, but you feel at home.

This series is full of outlandish plot points in virtually every episode. Yet I kept watching. Why? Partly because the series is dynamic and unusually well structured. The good direction including the action parts, the photograph and the visual commitment to red as an identity color, a script that measures well how to dose revelations and twists. At twenty-four episodes across three seasons, it is a bit drawn out, but even so, it's often as tense and exciting as early-era Lost. If you want a actioner with visual panache - try this. The direction of the series has been outstanding, with vibrant action scenes, an impeccable photograph, an A+ musical selection and soundtrack. Throughout the entire series and especially the second half it has gone with the plot 'in crescendo', with certain moments of pause, provided by the solid scripts by Pina and company. It's more twisty thriller than soapy telenovela, driven by its ingenious plot, engaging characters, tense flash points, pulsating score and occasional moments of humor. For every wrong move it makes, it gives you a dozen reasons to feel giddy over its sheer audacity and how high it's getting off its own genre fumes. It manages to keep stealing you back to its side. That's the real heist. The series has no intention of going quietly. Just like the gang, this acclaimed drama is going to keep up the good fight until its final breath. I dig smart action stories. But I don't care much for ones about fictional events and I was worried about what the series would become in future episodes. It looked like the show might have changed genres in its final season.

Simon says Sky Rojo receives:

Also, see my review for Money Heist (La casa de papel).

Film Review: "M3GAN" (2023).

"She's more than a toy. She's family." This is M3GAN. This science fiction horror film directed by Gerard Johnstone and written by Akela Cooper. When Gemma, a brilliant toy-company roboticist, suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned eight-year-old niece, Cady, Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems - a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.

In July 2018, it was announced that production was underway for a techno horror-thriller titled M3GAN, with the script penned by Cooper, the story conceived by Cooper and James Wan, Johnstone hired to direct, and to be produced by Wan and Jason Blum. The idea of the film began when Wan's Atomic Monster Productions was brainstorming story ideas and chose one about a killer doll. Blum stated that the film would have black comedy elements which is one reason Johnstone was chosen to direct. Wan admired Johnstone's film Housebound (2014) because of his ability to balance the horror and comedy elements by creating a tone that is both frightening and humorous, and this sensibility was essential for the film. By early April 2021, Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Ronny Chieng, Lori Dungey, and Amie Donald were cast. At the same time, with a budget of $12 million, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late June. Filming took place primarily throughout Auckland, New Zealand, with additional filming in Los Angeles, California. Locations in Auckland, such as Auckland University of Technology, the Auckland Showgrounds, Cornwall Park, Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill, Farm Cove, Warkworth town, and Sunnyhills suburbs, were utilised. The film underwent reshoots in post-production in order to secure a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association, after the original cut was deemed too violent. Adrien Morot and Kathy Tse of Morot FX Studio created an animatronic puppet version of M3GAN. Amie Donald performed all of M3GAN's scenes that called for physical movement the puppet could not do and also did all of her own stunt work. Donald received movement coaching from Jed Brophy and Luke Hawker in portraying M3GAN's agility. On set Donald wore a static silicone M3GAN mask created by Morot FX. In post-production, Donald's physical performance and M3GAN's face was enhanced by digital visual effects by the New Zealand-based effects studio Wētā Workshop. The film was originally scheduled to be released on January 13, 2023, before being moved up a week.

This film chugs along on Williams' on-screen charm and Donald's intimidating physicality with Davis' wicked voiceover as the titular killer doll.

The film is a delightfully old-school horror with a wicked sense of humour, some fun performances and a sense of inventiveness that makes this remake a genuinely pleasant surprise. The film avoids being a display of technophobia and instead fulfills its promise of a killer doll and truly entertaining. Paying homage to its B-movie slasher roots, the film finds inventive ways to up the gore, at the same time skewering the current culture of consumerism and digital obsession.

Simon says M3gan receives:

Also, see my review for Terry Teo.

Film Review: "Operation Fortune-Ruse De Guerre" (2022).

From the director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Wrath of Man comes Operation Fortune-Ruse De Guerre. This spy action comedy film directed by Guy Ritchie, and written by Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, and Marn Davies. In the film, super spy Orson Fortune must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds. Reluctantly teamed with some of the world’s best operatives, Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star Danny Francesco to help them on their globe-trotting undercover mission to save the world.

By mid January 2021, Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett, Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone, Hugh Grant and Eddie Marsan were cast in a spy action comedy film, previously titled Five Eyes, to be directed by Ritchie and penned by Ritchie, Atkinson, and Davies. The film marks the fifth collaboration between Ritchie and Statham. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place in Antalya, Turkey and Hampshire, United Kingdom, as well as Farnborough and Qatar. In September, the film was officially renamed Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. The film was originally scheduled for a January 21, 2022 release date, before being rescheduled to March 18, 2022.

The film stars Statham, Plaza, Hartnett, Elwes, Malone, Grant and Marsan. The cast is revved up to sizzle, with Sting in a smallish role, and the slick dialogue is more comprehensible than you might think. Statham, as well as Harnett and Plaza, play from the beginning the difficult game of engaging the audience. It's not a great film, but the performances are all fun, and Ritchie's direction is one of the most enjoyable and luxurious deployments of pure style I've seen in a long time. Simply put, Statham doing what he does best. But interestingly, the movie paves a way for an intriguing Statham future.

Once you sort out the main characters and the plot kicks into action, it becomes clear that under the shameless MTV pyrotechnics lies a structure as intricately crafted as a Feydeau farce. Ritchie has a giddy gift for storytelling. An unwieldy, short-circuiting film, packing "more tricks than a clown's pocket" yet imbued with brute spiritual force The film is a return to form, of sorts, for Mr. Ritchie. ... The British director has returned to familiar territory, that of the small-time hood. Although it doesn't completely accomplish its mission, the film fits in with the pack as a lighthearted, charming, and stylish take on the spy genre. Ritchie's sophisticated, multi-character drama says the world will be saved with wit, invention, and complex cooperation. Which is why it feels dated, and is struggling at the box office. If you anticipate nothing more than a solid Jason Statham spy yarn, you will come away surprised to discover the star elevates every moment and has rarely been better. If Ritchie maybe slowed things down and developed a character or two, we could lose ourselves more in the story, instead of merely following directions on a meticulously constructed map.

Simon says Operation Fortune-Ruse De Guerre receives:

Also, see my review for Wrath of Man.

Film Review: "The Pale Blue Eye" (2022).

"Every heart tells a tale" in The Pale Blue Eye. This mystery thriller film adapted and directed by Scott Cooper, and based on the 2003 novel of the same title by Louis Bayard. West Point, 1830. A world-weary detective is hired to discreetly investigate the gruesome murder of a cadet. Stymied by the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case — a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.

In February 2021, a film adaptation based on Bayard's 2003 novel to be adapted and directed by Cooper with Christian Bale attached to star. The film would mark Cooper and Bale's third collaboration after Out of Furnace (2013) and Hostiles (2017). In early March, it was announced that Netflix pre-bought the rights to the film for around US$55 million at the European Film Market. By late November, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Hadley Robinson, Timothy Spall, Robert Duvall, Gideon Glick, Fred Hechinger, and Charlie Tahan rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late February 2022. Filming took place throughout Pennsylvania, USA. According to Melling, Bale did not exhibit Method acting techniques during the making of the film.

The film stars Bale, Melling, Anderson, Boynton, Gainsbourg, Jones, McBurney, Robinson, Spall, Duvall, Glick, Hechinger, and Tahan. Bale imbues Landor with convincing traces of lingering trauma, but it's Melling who rivets our attention. Melling as Edgar Allan Poe is immensely watchable, but the story is downgraded to a bog-standard thriller.

It’s all very watchable in a low-expectations way, though anyone hoping for a tale worthy of Poe himself should look elsewhere. The film, however, is very serious, and the dissonance between its dramatic intentions, its events and its execution generates something of a mess. Audiences new to Edgar Allan Poe's work will comes away from Cooper's trite thriller with little understanding of the man himself, the times he lived him, or his hugely influential canon. The problem is that the film is all surface. The movie is nothing but its fun idea, without much development or ingenuity. Even though this film has more than its share of dark, gruesome elements, there is also enough of a sense of playfulness in it to help make it entertaining. A bizarre mishmash of historical elements and subpar on-screen drama capped off with an underwhelming but serviceable performance from Bale. The plot itself does little to provide the scares, and the entire film is completely devoid of tension and incredibly repetitive. Especially considering the strength Cooper has shown in the past, the film feels like a massive disappointment. The filmmaker’s propensity for brooding character studies means the film's seed finds a little more purchase than the typical horror outing. To be honest, things only stumble if one begins to think of what sort of film was left on the table compared to the one that was released.

Simon says The Pale Blue Eye receives:

Also, see my review for Hostiles.

Series Review: "Woman of the Dead" ("Totenfrau") (2022).

From Austria and Netflix comes Woman of the Dead (Totenfrau). This Austria crime mystery series created by Benito Mueller, Wolfgang Mueller, and Barbara Stepansky. It is a story about the lengths a passionate woman will go to for vengeance after her husband’s death and the tug-of-war between good and evil that exists in all of us.

By late April 2021, Anna Maria Mühe, Yousef Sweid, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Felix Klare, Emilia Pieske, Lilian Rosskopf, Romina Küper, Simon Schwarz, Sebastian Hülk, Shenja Lacher, Gregor Bloéb, Robert Palfrader, and Michou Friesz were cast in an Austrian crime mystery series created by Benito and Wolfgang Mueller, and Stepansky. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early July. Filming took place in Vienna, Sellrain, and Ternitz, Austria.

The film stars Mühe, Sweid, Bauer, Klare, Pieske, Rosskopf, Küper, Schwarz, Hülk, Lacher, Bloéb, Palfrader, and Friesz. With a raft of well-judged performances, not least that of Mühe as the woman who is on a revenge quest to avenge her murdered husband, the show returns the viewer's investment in spades. Mühe delivers a performance of great physicality, intensity and occasional vulnerability, and creators Benito Mueller, Wolfgang Mueller, and Barbara Stepansky gave her a lot to do. The show works on a range of levels from revenge story to old-school murder mystery thriller.

The series progresses with remarkable fluidity, supported by a constant bet on the surefire tropes of German TV. Subscription television has allowed German TV to thrive in their expanded themes and this series is luxurious and liberal. An entertaining thriller with the soul of a revenge drama that mixes mystery, drama and violence. Sometimes a murder mystery is just a set-up for a good, old fashioned revenge drama. That's certainly the case for this show. The show has a few logic problems, but its overall vibe is energetic enough, with good performances, to keep viewers' attention. Like a lot of things about the show, this can wear at your patience while you wait to see if your own pet theory turns out to be right. The show may have finally reached the truth regarding Brünhilde's husband's murder, but it does so with a strained story trying to make a larger but not needed conspiracy. The show delivers a tense thriller that, despite its shortcoming, manages to get the viewer to invest in its believable cast of characters as the complex web surrounding a husband’s murder comes to light. While the show was exciting and occasionally even surprising in its first half, the episodes in its back half are dreary and repetitive by comparison. It's realistically grim, but also offers the simple satisfaction of watching smart professionals bring some order to a chaotic world, one case at a time. The show is a tense, psychological thriller series that is sure to satisfy any fan of the genre. If you're looking for the next Lisbeth Salander, you'll have to look elsewhere, as this series focuses on a terror that's much more personal.

Simon says Woman of the Dead (Totenfrau) receives:

Film Review: "The Fabelmans" (2022).

"Capture every moment" with The Fabelmans. This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner. A deeply personal portrait of a 20th century American childhood, Spielberg’s film is a cinematic memory of the forces, and family, that shaped the filmmaker’s life and career. A universal coming-of-age story about an isolated young man’s pursuit of his dreams, the film is an exploration of love, artistic ambition, sacrifice and the moments of discovery that allow us to see the truth about ourselves, and our parents, with clarity and compassion. Sammy Fabelman is devoted to filmmaking, an interest that is celebrated and championed by his artistic mother, Mitzi. Sammy’s successful, scientific father, Burt, supports Sammy’s work, but views it as an unserious hobby. Over the years, Sammy has become the de facto documentation of his family’s adventures, as well as the director of his increasingly elaborate amateur film productions starring his sisters and friends. By sixteen, Sammy is both the primary observer and archivist of his family story, but when his family moves west, Sammy discovers a heartbreaking truth about his mother that will redefine their relationship and alter the future for himself and his entire family.

In 1999, Spielberg said he had been thinking of directing a film about his childhood for some time. Titled I'll Be Home, the project was originally written by his sister Anne Spielberg. In 2002, Spielberg said he was nervous about making the film. In November 2022, Spielberg later revealed that his parents had also been "nagging" him to make a film about their lives prior to their deaths. In 2004, while working on Munich, Spielberg told Kushner his life story. In 2019, the eighty to ninety page plot outline for the film was worked on in during filming of West Side Story. In early October 2020, work on the screenplay for the film commenced, during the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and was completed in December 2020. The film would mar his first writing venture on a film since A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). Spielberg, at that time, felt that the climate caused by the pandemic convinced him that the time was now right to make the film. He gave drafts of the script to his sisters, Sue and Nancy, to ensure that their memories be included in the story and that the details in the film were portrayed as accurately as possible. In March 2021, the film was announced with Spielberg in the director's chair. In March 2021, Michelle Williams was cast to star as Mitzi Fabelman, the role inspired by Spielberg's mother Leah Adler, but with "an original voice." Spielberg himself had her in mind for the role after watching her performances in Blue Valentine (2010) and Fosse/Verdon (2019). Additionally, it was reported that Seth Rogen was cast to play Bennie Loewy, the role inspired by Bernie Adler, "the favorite uncle of young Spielberg". In early April, Paul Dano joined the cast as Burt Fabelman, the role inspired by Spielberg's father Arnold. In June, after a three-month search and over two-thousand contenders, Gabriel LaBelle was cast to portray the lead role, Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker based on Spielberg himself. In September 2022, during the film's world premiere, LaBelle revealed that he initially did not win the part of Sammy following his first audition but did upon receiving a callback three months afterward. On finally reading the script and learning the details about his character being a fictionalized version of Spielberg himself as a teenager for mostly the entire film. Additionally, Julia Butters and Sam Rechner were cast. Butters was cast as Reggie Fabelman, the role inspired by Spielberg's sister Anne. By mid July, Chloe East, Oakes Fegley, Isabelle Kusman, Jeannie Berlin, Judd Hirsch, Robin Bartlett, Gabriel Bateman, Nicolas Cantu, Gustavo Escobar, Lane Factor, Cooper Dodson, Stephen Matthew Smith, Keeley Karsten, Birdie Borria, Alina Brace, Sophia Kopera, and Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord, and Jonathan Hadary were added to the cast, the latter of whom ultimately having his scenes cut from the final film. In February 2022, it was announced David Lynch was cast in a then-undisclosed role, later revealed to be that of film director John Ford. In early November, during the Q&A, Spielberg revealed that it took three weeks to convince Lynch to be a part of the film, with Kushner's husband Mark Harris taking credit for suggesting Lynch to Spielberg, and Laura Dern calling Lynch numerous times to get him to commit. In response, Lynch said he would take it as long as there were bags of Cheetos on set as refreshments. He also requested that he be given his costume as Ford two weeks before filming his scene. 

At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late September. Filming took place throughout Los Angeles, California in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the shoot, the cast gained access to home movies, photographs and recollections from Spielberg's family's past to learn what they were like and how to portray the fictionalized versions of them (the Fabelman family) on screen, while making them feel fresh and original. In addition, Dano ordered and built a crystal radio set to get the feeling of how Arnold Spielberg had around electronics. LaBelle also rewatched some of Spielberg's films, such as Empire of the Sun (1987) and constantly had conversations with Spielberg to learn more about his life in order to prepare for playing Sammy. The jewelry that Williams wore as part of the costumes for Mitzi Fabelman were in fact some of Spielberg's mother's, including a charm bracelet that had pictures of all four of her children. According to an interview she did for the Hollywood Insider at the TIFF premiere, Butters was gifted with Anne Spielberg's high school ring to wear while she played Reggie. For the scenes of Sammy filming his own 8mm films, Spielberg decided to have the character recreate the exact ones he made during his childhood, and worked with Kamiński to ensure that they were portrayed as accurately as possible, but with improvements in the camera angles. LaBelle's first two days on set involved a scene where Sammy and his friends film a recreation of Spielberg's World War II short film Escape to Nowhere (1961). The 8mm and 16mm camera props used in the film had real film inside them, with LaBelle being taught how to use the cameras so that what was shot with them on set can be developed for usage in the film, as well as how to cut and splice film stock using the editing machines and film projectors of the time period. LaBelle also got to keep the 8mm camera Sammy used to film the family camping trip and Escape to Nowhere short film as a souvenir after the completion of principal photography. To look the part of Sammy and make the character look almost similar to Spielberg's teenage appearance, LaBelle had his hair straightened and changed the way he stood and walked, as well as retrained his muscles to mimic Spielberg's smile. LaBelle was unaware of the casting of Lynch until the day the scene he had to do with him was filmed. He recalled that once Lynch came onto the set, it enabled him to embody Sammy and how he was feeling. The scene itself was written to historically match how the actual real-life encounter between Spielberg and Ford went down, with the latter's dialogue written exactly word-for-word. The last shot of the film, where the camera breaks the fourth wall and re-frames the horizon on the image of Sammy walking on the studio lot, was already in the script prior to filming. To recreate the three houses that Spielberg lived in during his childhood in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Phoenix, Arizona, and Saratoga, California, production designer Rick Carter worked off floor plans that the director sketched from memory and then took artistic license with the spaces to fit the emotional mindset of Sammy. Carter and set decorator Karen O'Hara also worked off photos and memories that Spielberg and his three sisters provided. All of the house interiors were built on soundstages.

The performances by the cast are part of the reason why it works so well. I can't think of a better cast of actors that pulls off such emotional depth. 

Spielberg has given audiences dozens of great films over the years, but no movie has captured the power of cinema quite like this film. Spielberg has crafted with warmth and humor a simple film that works so superbly on so many levels that it will surely attract masses of moviegoers from all demographics. With a touching relationship at the core of its compelling narrative, along with a brilliant score, the film remains one of Spielberg's most beloved films. One of the purest and most emotionally direct of all American movies, with not a whit of adult condescension nor any self-protecting irony, which might be why it hits grown-ups harder than kids.

Simon says The Fabelmans receives:

Also, see my review for West Side Story.

Series Review: "Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street" (2023).

From the director of Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes comes Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street. This documentary series directed by Joe Berlinger. The series reveals the truth behind Bernie Madoff’s infamous multibillion-dollar global Ponzi scheme and the ways in which a willfully blind financial system allowed it to flourish for decades.

On April 29, 1938, American fraudster and financier who was the mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion, Bernard Lawrence Madoff was born. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange. He advanced the proliferation of electronic trading platforms and the concept of payment for order flow. Madoff's firm had two basic units: a stock brokerage and an asset management business; the Ponzi scheme was centered in the asset management business. In 1960, Madoff founded a penny stock brokerage, which eventually grew into Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. He served as the company's chairman until his arrest on December 11, 2008. That year, the firm was the 6th-largest market maker in S&P 500 stocks. While the stock brokerage part of the business had a public profile, Madoff tried to keep his asset management business low profile and exclusive. In early December 2008, Madoff's sons Mark and Andrew told authorities that their father had confessed to them that the asset management unit of his firm was a massive Ponzi scheme, and quoted him as saying that it was "one big lie". The following day, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Madoff and charged him with one count of securities fraud. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) had previously conducted multiple investigations into his business practices but had not uncovered the massive fraud. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to eleven federal felonies and admitted to turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme. On June 29, 2009, Madoff was sentenced to one hundred and fifty years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed. The Madoff investment scandal defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. Those charged with recovering the missing money believe that the investment operation may never have been legitimate. The amount missing from client accounts was almost $65 billion, including fabricated gains. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) trustee estimated actual losses to investors of $18 billion, of which $14.418 billion has been recovered and returned, while the search for additional funds continues. On April 14, 2021, he died at the Federal Medical Center, Butner, in North Carolina, from chronic kidney disease.

It seems the events are too recent for the documentary to do an excruciating journalistic job. But it serves as a much needed platform for the victims. These types of documentaries make everything unsurprising. They tell their stories boldly and more, but what truly resonates throughout the four-part documentary is the complicity of government agencies and officials. Madoff's illegal acts are fit for the 'true crime' formula by Netflix. And this series guarantees a full exposure, even when we realize it could have been better.

Simon says Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street receives:

Also, see my review for Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.

Film Review: "A Man Called Otto" (2022).

"Fall in love with the grumpiest man in the world." This is A Man Called Otto. This comedy-drama film directed by Marc Forster, adapted by David Magee, and based on the 2012 novel A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. It is an English-language remake of the 2015 Swedish film of the same title written and directed by Hannes Holm. The film tells the story of Otto Anderson, a grump who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife. Otto is ready to end it all, but his plans are interrupted when a lively young family moves in next door, and he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol. She challenges him to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around.

In September 2017, it was announced that Tom Hanks would star in an English-language adaptation of the 2015 adaptation of Backman's 2012 novel. In January 2022, Forster was hired to direct with Magee hired to pen the adaption. In early February 2022, it was announced that Sony Pictures pre-bought the rights to the film for around US$60 million at the European Film Market. By late February, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Cameron Britton, and Mike Birbiglia rounded out the films' cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in May. Filming took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The film stars Hanks, Treviño, Keller, Garcia-Rulfo, Britton, and Birbiglia. Hanks offers one of the best performances of his career. Otto is alternately smug, confused, selfish, clueless, helpless, mournful, and ultimately, hopeful. I don't know if there is another actor alive who could have made the film as entertaining as it is. Hanks makes Forster's film look better than it is, but he can't save it from being overlong, repetitious, and flat.

The film is like The Straight Story and Ikiru without beauty, warmth, the delightful discoveries along the way, or the hope. The film offers only the sporadic laugh, the less frequent original cultural insight and, at best, a craftsmanlike performance from its aging headliner. Ultimately this is a frustrating patchwork: an uneasy marriage of Backman's source novel and Holm's screenplay. It's a boring movie about a boring man, made watchable by a bravura performance from a consummate actor incapable of being boring. It's little more than a lightweight satire about the average life of a typical man in Pittsburgh that shows no affection for its characters like Fargo does for Midwesterners. Forster has taken a giant of American acting and awakened a midget in him -- a miserable, grumpy bore who seems to deserve his pipsqueak destiny. The movie feels as soft and as lost as Otto himself, and it's not until he grows a heart that it's buoyed by a game supporting cast. There's nothing especially tragic and affecting here, just a bland character coping with some amusing family politics. Despite Hanks' competence, this comedy about a retiree in Pittsburgh never goes beyond mocking its characters and flattering its audience.

Simon says A Man Called Otto receives:

Also, see my review for Christopher Robin.