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Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Black Christmas (2019)

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The original 1974 film is one of the earliest Slasher movies. It’s influence can be felt in other classics such as John Carpenter’s “Halloween” & Wes Craven’s “Scream”. It had smart writing, a tense atmosphere, and one of the most ominous endings from the genre. In 2006, the first remake came out and it was decidedly not as good as the original. It wasn’t scary, smart, or subtle. But it was unapologetically sleazy and had some solid gore. So if you were looking for a version that had that, this would certainly entertain. The reason I’m informing you about these other films is to help illustrate how Blumhouse’s remake has no redeeming qualities.

Right off the bat, the PG-13 rating needs to be addressed. I’m a big fan of Horror and I will be one of the first to tell you that a film doesn’t have to be rated R to be good. But you need to know how to utilize it with the right sub-genre. Supernatural Horror films rely more on unsettling imagery which doesn’t have to be drenched in blood or gore. Psychological Horror films force us to watch the mental torture of a character without having to be graphic. But Slasher films are famous for how much blood and violence they have. Even if you were to watch one of the most standard by the numbers Slasher film, there’s a good chance you can still find enjoyment in the kill scenes. But with this version of “Black Christmas” having a PG-13 rating, the kills have no bite/impact.

But to be clear, that is the least of this movie’s problems. It’s clear that the primary focus while making this movie was to have social commentary. Badly written and executed commentary. Thereby leaving us with a bizarre story with dull characters that have no personality. I don’t even remember any of their names. Also, there are a few characters that we are supposed to root for that I don’t even like. One of the main characters has active social causes to pursue. Such as starting a petition to get one of the college professors fired. She pushes one of her friends to do a talent show performance purposefully meant to get a reaction from the fraternity members hosting the show. One of them being the guy who sexually assaulted our main lead, Riley. But then Riley’s friend posts their performance online without consent from any of her friends, which has lead to them being harassed online or getting threatening calls. Why am I supposed to root for her when she does something like that?

The dialogue of this movie is also a huge concern. We get a few different conversations/arguments regarding sexism in society and in institutions, which is what you would expect going into this film based on the trailer. But everything they say are just surface level statements and buzz words. When they do get into arguments, they don’t go into any deep discussion. It’s just phrases you could pull from a similar argument from any social media site. But let’s put the social commentary aside. There are several scenes where we get huge exposition dumps that have to explain everything that is going on. In a manner that insults the intelligence of the viewer, as if we can’t follow along and make connections ourselves. And several points in these exposition dumps make you wonder how even the person explaining the movie has come to those conclusions for parts that didn’t witness themselves.

And then there’s the climax. It starts off with the main lead, Riley, being kidnapped and brought forth a secret society made up of the fraternity and lead by the college professor her friend was trying to get fired. In another exposition dump, it is established how the founder of the school apparently knew how to do Black Magic and enchanted his bust to have future followers of his beliefs to be possessed by his spirit. Actually scratch that – since it’s black goo the movie clearly is showing it’s supposed to be a stand-in for toxic masculinity. And of course the leader of this society goes into more detail about how they plan to “put women back into their place” and establish man’s rightful place once again.

This…this is the part of the film where everyone should be insulted. For the average movie watcher, this plot and the commentary is so painfully obvious and ham fisted, the only way they can enjoy it is a “so bad it’s good” film. But it is also an insult for anyone who has seen the original “Black Christmas”. The original movie included a plot of how one of the character’s was pregnant and how her boyfriend who wanted to drop out and marry her becomes angry she doesn’t want to do that. That subplot was integrated into the other mysterious happenings that made it seem like that person was the killer until the climax when it was confirmed he wasn’t. The way that movie approached that topic and wrote it is a great way of showing how a Horror movie can be smart. This film has no room for subtlety or nuance as it devolves into this big action fight scene. And it ending with the girls locking all the guys in the burning building as Riley looks at it and smiles. Except…during that climax, we saw that when some guys broke free from the supernatural influence, they didn’t have any idea what was going on. Implying that they weren’t actually in control of their actions or consented to any of this. And they were left to burn alive with the rest. And how do you think they are going to explain what happened to the police? They have to be involved when a college is set on fire. And that shot of Riley smiling at the sight just makes her seem like a psychopath.

Here is the best way I can show you the difference between the original and Blumhouse’s remake. Both share a scene of a character going to the police to report a disappearance of a friend. In the original, the place is full of people and a couple of officers trying their best to get through as many of them as possible. When the girl tells an officer about a missing friend, the officer suggests possible scenarios that in theory are plausible but continues to not fully listen to her. This could be interpreted as a form of sexism in not taking a woman’s claim seriously, it could be interpreted as just a busy officer going through as many people as he could on a busy night. But the movie leaves it open for how you view it. In the Blumhouse film, it is a completely empty station save for one police officer. She has his full attention. But when she tells him she thinks her missing friend is in danger, he just laughs and comes up with flimsy scenarios for what he thinks is going on. Are there officers in real life like this? I don’t doubt it. But it is on the nose and painfully obvious what the movie wants you to think.

This was a painful movie to watch. Not scary in the least. A lazily written story with uninteresting characters. Insane logic and twists that you have to laugh it in pity for the film. It’s frustrating on every level.

Comics, Film Editorials, Movies

Film Editorial – The Best Villain for The Batman 2

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The latest film version on the Caped Crusader has opened to positive reviews from both critics and audiences. With early talks for a sequel already underway, many people are trying to guess who the next villain will be. Most Batman fans and actors from the film have their money on The Court of Owls. A recent addition to Batman lore, they are a secret society of Gotham’s most powerful controlling everything from the shadows. They are also a group of villains that have been growing in popularity thanks to their appearances in other media. As exciting as they would be, it runs the risk of repeating the same story of corruption that the previous installment covered. Which is why, if you ask me, the best villain is a guy who used to wear a potato sack on his head.

Dr. Johnathan Crane is a psychologist at Arkham Asylum and a professor of Psychology. His experiments relating to fear and the effect they have on the human mind lead him to becoming the villain known as The Scarecrow. He has appeared in video games and various animated Batman shows over the years. But his most well known appearance was in the Christopher Nolan film “Batman Begins”. There was potential in him in that film, certainly not a bad performance. But it’s safe to say he was underutilized, especially when it came to showing what people see while under Crane’s fear toxin. But it is because of this lack of focus and development that Scarecrow can receive the same treatment as The Riddler. But what kind of story would work with this kind of character?

There was a recent storyline in Batman comics that focused on Scarecrow as the main bad guy. Known as “Fear State”, Dr. Crane took advantage of a city trying to recover from two back-to-back city wide traumatic events by using the media to intensify the sense of fear throughout Gotham. He even manipulated city officials into turning against Batman by framing him for terrorist attacks, forcing him to team up with a group of people – The Unsanity Collective – who try to move past their traumatic past by wiping their memories clean and losing all sense of fear. The entire purpose behind this plan is to push Gotham into what Dr. Crane calls the Fear State. His theory is that once they confront and push beyond the limits that fear puts on the human mind, people can grow and become better versions of themselves.

This is a storyline that can be used effectively in the next Matt Reeves film. After The Riddler kills several high profile officials – including the mayor – and then uses bombs to flood Gotham where his followers attempted to attack Gotham’s citizens, there would be fear that more people like The Riddler will start appearing. Dr. Crane could be inspired by what the serial killer was trying to accomplish and tries to help the city in his own way. Through a series of attacks and the spread of his fear toxin, he would push Gotham’s citizens into a state of panic in an effort to have them let go of their fear and become new people. The movie could even do justice when it comes to what people see when under the toxin’s influence. While the first movie had a psychological element and a Horror atmosphere, the movie could create truly disturbing visions and hallucinations that – if presented the right way – can make you question what is real in the scene you are watching. In this way, it can take inspiration from “Joker” by using subtle choices and framing to keep you guessing what’s really going on until the very last second. There can even be a way to adapt the Unsanity Collective where they are formed by Dr. Crane to help him in his mission.

This is admittedly my suggestion for where The Batman 2 could go. But it’s a direction I believe would help further the themes and story of Matt Reeves’s universe.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Clerks

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If you are a fan of comedies and/or comic books in general, chances are you’ve heard of Kevin Smith. He’s known today as a skilled filmmaker who talks a lot about movies & comic books. Maybe you’ve already checked out his Youtube channel or listen to his podcast. It’s hard to not like the guy and the energy he injects into his conversations. But like a lot of well known people in Hollywood, his beginnings as a filmmaker are pretty humble and ordinary. And it all goes back to this 1994 joint.

Set in New Jersey, it’s a buddy comedy film that focuses on two store clerks. Dante works at the Quick Stop which is kinda like a convenience store but focuses mainly on selling groceries. His friend Randal works as a clerk in the video rental store next door and spends a lot of his time with Dante while he is on the clock. They interact with a variety of people who come by, including Jay & Silent Bob, drug dealers who loiter outside of the two stores. They will be become staples of Kevin Smith’s future films and will eventually become icons in their own right. But in this film, just as ordinary as everyone else in the film. And that’s the best way to describe the movie. Ordinary people doing regular, boring stuff to pass the day with no real goal in mind.

That is both the strength and the weakness of “Clerks”. Finding a film that doesn’t have a plot that drives everything forward can be hard to find, and films that successfully pull that off are even rarer to find. For this movie, it kind of flips back and forth. There are moments where the casual approach to the story and characters does work. But other times, it can come off as awkward. One of the contributing factors is that this film does feel like a student film project being presented in class. It’s shot in black & white which, while gives it a unique stylistic choice, does reinforce that perception. There are also title cards inserted for when it transitions to a new scene or new part of the day. And the dialogue goes back and forth between being realistic and being unnaturally forced. You do have conversations that do sound like something real people will actually say. But then in another scene you might have a guy rapid fire a bunch of dialogue at once that will go more in depth than naturally expected for that specific character.

But that awkwardness of the film can also help the movie stand out a bit more. And while this isn’t the best film in Kevin Smith’s filmography, it has probably served as the first film a lot of people watch where they have seen this kind of casual movie the first time. The first time a bunch of people have seen movie characters talk about the same stuff they probably do with all of their friends. And that’s the reason why this has become a cult favorite. And thankfully, his next film “Mallrats” improved a lot of the weaker elements of this film, showing Kevin Smith’s growth as an artist. But if this film has escaped you or your feeling a little nostalgic for it, it’s worth watching again.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – The Batman

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It’s been a long journey to get to this point. When this movie was first announced, Ben Affleck was attached to direct and star in his own film following “Batman v Superman” and “Justice League”. Long story made short, Affleck ended up walking away from the film and the role entirely and the new director Matt Reeves was given the freedom to come up with the story he wanted to tell. And now it is finally here. The Dark Knight returns to the big screen.

Let’s start by taking a look at the man wearing the cowl. Robert Pattinson has worked hard since “Twilight” to work on his acting, taking roles in indie films. And you can see the result of those years of dedication in his performance. When he first shows up in the movie wearing his Bat Suit, he gives off a menacing aura. The way he moves makes him come off as someone like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. He intimidates all the criminals he comes across. The first time the Bat Signal turns on, the movie lets us see the reactions of the criminals who take notice. They look to the shadows in fear of seeing the Caped Crusader walk out. Robert Pattinson puts forth terror. His Bruce Wayne is a version that is addicted to this lifestyle, who has almost given up entirely on having a life outside of the Bat Cave. But over the course of the movie, we see him interact with those he considers allies, creating new relationships and deepening old ones. The story forces him to rediscover his humanity, remember the true reason he put on the suit and go out into the night. You see his emotions in every looks he gives, in every movement he makes. Robert Pattinson does right by the role and gives one that leaves a dark yet complex impression.

But that’s not to discredit the the quality of the other acting performances. Jeffrey Wright as Lieutenant James Gordon is a standout in this film. The partnership between the cop and the vigilante is unique from the other film versions and you can tell that there is respect and some trust between the two, especially as they go against a corrupt city in order to solve the case. It is arguably better than the chemistry Robert shares with Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Their interests and goals align for most of the movie, which is when we see the spark between the two slowly grow between the two. Since this is the first time meeting each other, the relationship isn’t as intense as one might hope for. But that doesn’t mean you will be disappointed. You will see the beginning of a deep connection that would hopefully be revisited and deepen in future installments. Paul Dano as The Riddler reinvents the character from practically every other popular version in past movies, TV appearances & comics. Taking influence from both The Zodiac and Jigsaw from the “Saw” franchise, Dano’s character is truly disturbed with a dark sense of humor. You carefully watch and follow him as you want to know what his endgame truly is. Lastly but certainly not least, Andy Serkis as Alfred is a strong choice. The relationship between the butler and Bruce is more distant than in past iterations, but their relationship is also an indicator of how Bruce slowly reconnects to his humanity. And Andy shows genuine love and affection in those later moments, but you will also be impressed by the more stern posture he gives off early on as he subtly displays the role he played in creating the young Batman.

There is one character that has shown up in every film version of Batman that doesn’t always get the proper attention – Gotham. While Tim Burton gave us a city with beautifully gothic visual style, Christopher Nolan gave us a version that’s as realistic as it could be. Both have their strengths, but both ultimately don’t truly portray an authentic Gotham. But Matt Reeves takes the best of both versions and gives us the best portrayal yet. You feel the grit whenever you follow Batman out into the night, the aura of crime that is a part of every brick. A version of Gotham that makes you wonder why does anyone choose to live here. This is enhanced by the strong visual direction of the film, letting scenes speak with very little or no dialogue. The action is also well choreographed and displayed, allowing you to see what is happening in style and let’s you feel the weight of the vigilante’s punches. All of this accompanied by a beautiful musical score. One full of terror, beauty, and even hope. If you fear that the length is too long, you will probably forget that once you follow the along with the protagonists working to unravel the mystery put in motion by Gotham’s newest serial killer. Every scene feels like it has a purpose or reason for being in the movie.

Here you have it. A Batman movie with a strong Horror atmosphere, a story that has psychological effects on all those involved. Performances that keep you glued to the screen and a menacing Batman that reconnects with his emotional side by the end of the movie in the hopes of better serving his city. This is a film that you can’t miss.