Category: Film

PREVIEW: The Lighthouse

Nellie Shih Leave a comment

A24’s newest film, The Lighthouse, stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers in the 1890s. The film follows their descent into madness after a storm strands the two on an isolated, mysterious island. The film has received critical acclaim, particularly towards both performances by Dafoe and Pattinson, the black-and-white cinematography, and the direction by Robert Eggers.

I have been looking forward to this film ever since the first trailer dropped. I am already aware of Dafoe’s range as an actor, having seen him in both Spider-Man and A24’s The Florida Project. But, this will be the first time I have Pattinson in anything besides Harry Potter and Twilight, and I am interested in seeing how he will showcase his own range.

Eggers’s directorial debut, the Witch, is available to stream on Netflix.

PREVIEW: Jojo Rabbit

Lucy Leave a comment

The newest film by Taika Waititi, this movie focuses on the life of a young German boy who thinks he is a true Nazi until he figures out that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in his attic. I am interested to see what Waititi does with the subject, however I am very wary of a comedic film about Nazi Germany. In today’s political climate, there are a lot of parallels to that time, and I think this film will definitely help spark and facilitate conversation about our own current situation. I have been a huge fan of Taika Waititi’s work in the past, and I am excited to see the direction he decides to take and his own acting in this movie.

The movie is playing at the State Theater at 7:20 tomorrow (Thursday Oct. 31), and Friday (Nov. 1) at 4:00, 4:45, 7:20, and 9:35.

State Theater Website: https://www.michtheater.org/show/jojo-rabbit/

A trailer for anyone who is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL4McUzXfFI

 

REVIEW: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

JM Leave a comment

Before seeing the documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, I was familiar with some of Miles Davis’s most iconic music (like his album Kind of Blue), but I didn’t know very much about him outside of these recordings. That said, this film, which shares its name with Davis’s 1957 compilation album and is directed by Stanley Nelson, offers a deeper look into the many years of his career, as well into him as a person.

The film went through his life in chronological order, and since he was born in 1926, there is not a lot in the way of video of the early years of his career. However, the documentary deftly handled this, and still managed to be quite engaging. As black-and-white archival images panned across the screen (a classic move from a PBS documentary), Miles Davis’s own words (many of which were from his autobiography, Miles: The Autobiography) were read by actor Carl Lumbly. The film additionally features interviews with scholars and some of Davis’s closest colleagues.

While Miles Davis is certainly one of the giants of jazz, the documentary also does a remarkable job of showing the complexity and flaws behinds the star. He was not a warm personality. Despite his capacity for beautiful music, he was an abusive husband, which is revealed in the film during interviews with his late first wife, Francis Davis (who is featured on the cover of Miles’s album Someday My Prince Will Come). In one perhaps telling (and mildly humorous) anecdote, a colleague recalls asking Miles how he was going to drive his family in his Ferrari. Reportedly, he responded that his kids could call a taxi. He struggled for years with alcohol and cocaine, and the film does not sugarcoat this.

In fact, it was in part due to his struggles with addiction that Miles did not pick up the trumpet for over five years. Between 1975 and 1980, his career was virtually on hold, and many doubted that he would ever return to music. However, he made an incredible comeback, and in my opinion, this was one of the most compelling storylines of the documentary. Not only did he return to the stage, but rather than pushing back on the changing tastes in music, Miles embraced it and adapted, pushing the conventional boundaries of genre.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is now showing at the Michigan Theater. If you are interested in learning more about the jazz legend, I strongly recommend it!

 

 

PREVIEW: International Studies Horror Film Fest

Emma Pinchak Leave a comment

 

Halloween, though it has already been upon us for months, is now extremely upon us. Somehow the most important holiday in the universe does not warrant a day off of school (meanwhile, some still legitimately celebrate Columbus Day), so we must do all we can to work around our schedules to properly honor this spiritual time.

Thank the Unholy Lord of the Dead that the International Studies program is continuing horror film fest. In its seventh year, the free program will include three foreign films (subtitled in English) for all to be terrified by. Come by the Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery (first floor) between classes, or if you’re especially dedicated, skip them all and stay for the whole time. And I better see you all in costume, or else.

The movie schedule is as follows:

10:00–11:30 a.m. — Face (2004, Korean)
11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. — The Lure (2005, Polish)
1:15–3:00 p.m. — Dogtooth (2000, Greek)

https://events.umich.edu/event/68410

REVIEW: Zombieland: Doubletap.

niezi 2 Comments
Zombieland: Doubletap was written to be Zombieland’s sequel — it seems to exist more for the actors to have a nice time and for the fans of the first film to relive the Good Old Days™ than try to be a sensationally moving film. While the first movie was accidentally pioneering in its genre, Doubletap makes no promises. It is nothing visionary, but works its simple, nostalgic charm enough for it to be fun and fresh. It is the ultimate tribute to a classic film.

In 2009, Jesse Eisenberg hadn’t been in The Social Network yet, and La La Land was but a stray thought to Damien Chazelle who had only finished directing his first movie. In 10 years time, the actors have reached loftier calibers, each one becoming Academy Award nominees and winners. And although the script isn’t the most emotionally complex, they play their parts perfectly, regardless of how vast and complicated their recent roles they’ve grown to fill are. The characters of Zombieland still fit seamlessly from out of the time capsule, despite the decade of change and progress in between.

Horror elements improve the comedy; the underlying morbidity of the tragic demise of humanity helps the banality of some of the more cliché jokes become more palatable. New characters also add a kind of sparkling appeal and novelty to a plot that’s structurally a copy of the first film. Madison, played by the magnetic Zoey Deutch, is simply a trope with a singular note, and yet Deutch makes the note hit bright and spectacular. Although the other new characters contribute to the movie’s success, Madison, with her effervescent denseness, is so obviously the standout element amongst all else.

Much of the comedy in Zombieland: Doubletap stems from Zombieland itself, deriving jokes that often stroke the fourth wall with a kind of impish wit in reference to its predecessor. The movie can certainly be enjoyed as a stand-alone, but it’s main purpose, it’s true blood, can only be recognized in conjunction with the first film. It is full of details written in for the amusement of old fans, with a keen enough self-awareness about its intent that it does falter when it comes to the delivery either. While Doubletap may not be an inspiring, original film, it is an excellent commendation of Zombieland. Enough of the components are there, and given enough heart, Doubletap is fun to watch. It is enjoyable, uncomplicated, and the end credits are killer.

REVIEW: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Ruth 1 Comment

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, attempted to draw out the tale of Sleeping Beauty’s prized villain to the absolute limit. Unfortunately, what started out in the first film, Maleficent, as a well crafted origin story of a not-so-villainous fairy, quickly degraded into something almost unrecognizable in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

That’s not say Disney did nothing right. As with all Disney films, the special effects were on point. Multiple species of fairies were lovingly rendered with CGI and captured in almost every scene. Maleficent’s iconic green flames made several appearances. And let’s not forget the action sequences! Who doesn’t love a long drawn out battle between a battalion of winged fairies and an army of inept castle guards? All that aside, action and fantastical CGI effects can’t hope to save a film if the script of that film is less than adequate.

 

And the script  of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was just awful. The dialogue throughout the film was plagued with cliched lines, each one like a slap in the face, sinking me lower and lower into my seat. To be honest, I became embarrassed for the actors as they spewed out lines such as: “It’s a new day.”,  “I’ve loved you since the moment I met you…“, and  “You do not know me.”

Of course, there were some small gems of dialogue as well, but those  moments were too few and far between the underwhelming quality of the script as a whole.

Now, perhaps I could have ignored the bad script and just enjoyed the rich and complex plot of the story. After all, I’m a big fan of Disney. However, the plot wasn’t rich, neither was it complex. In fact, it was completely and utterly predictable.  ( WARNING: SPOILERS ) Philip’s mother suddenly has a change of heart when it comes to her precious son marrying Aurora? She must be the villain. Diaval, (Maleficent’s right hand man/crow), randomly mentions that he’d make a great bear? Well, know we know what Maleficent is going to turn him into during the heat of battle.

It isn’t that these events are necessarily bad, but in order to keep an audience enthralled by a film, there needs to be a sense of not knowing what is going to happen next. You’ve felt it before, that uneasy feeling in your stomach as you clutch the arms of your chair, completely at the mercy of the screen in front of you. That is a good film, a film that combines a well developed plot with an original script in order to show you something that you never knew could exist.

Unfortunately for Disney, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is not one of those films, at least for me.