Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

[numbersix]

Latest batch: the Fantaverse Awards Edition


Preparations to be Together for An Unknown Period of Time: 6/10
A slow and slightly dream-like story of a Hungarian surgeon who returns home to connect with a man she met at a conference, only to find he doesn't remember her. It's a quiet film about identity and delusion, as the surgeon relocations and questions herself.

Time to Hunt: 5/10
Sorry, Chien, but this was disappointing. A bunch of ideas thrown together that don't quite gel, it's a story about male friendship set in a dystopian world. But really it's a sort of chase film as an assassin hunts down the boys for robbing a casino. But the dystopian setting isn't really needed and there are some bizarre scenes, like a trip to a hospital where nobody is. IF the film focused on the core sequence of the shootout it would have been a solid little action thriller, but sadly it bites off more than it can chew.

The Vigil: 6/10
There's nothing new here to this horror, but it's watchable. A young Jewish man is tasked with watching over the dead body of an old man - apparently a common practice for Judaism. The man accept sthe task and sits in the house of the man and his demented wife, only for strange shit to happen. Some sequences are great although it's a little obvious at times.

Stowaway: 6/10
It's almost a bad film. Like the director's debut, it's a film about survival that works only on the level of immediate tension. The characters (a group of 3 astronauts on a mission to Mars who find an unconscious stowaway) are week and there's very little psychological depth or real conflict. But the climax involving an arduous task is pretty well done.

Martyr's Lane: 6/10
Coming soon to Shudder. Solid horror that plays more like a fantasy - much in the way Del Toro's darker films operate. It's a simple story about a young girl encountering a strange other girl, who plays a game and sets tasks involving a hidden past. Nicely handled.

The Trial of the Chicago 7: 5/10
Great story but told poorly by Sorkin, who makes it feel like a TV movie despite the large budget. But most surprisingly the story is rather light in tension between the group of hippies who are put on trial for causing an anti-Vietnam-war riot. The cast are okay, and it makes an interesting double bill with Judas and the Black Messiah, but Sorkin badly needs an editor.

Sleep: 6/10
Solid but strange German horror about a teenager whose mother is drawn to a strange country hotel, and becomes comatose. The daughter starts to see strange things from her dreams as she uncovers what really happened. For fans of the Netflix series Dark.

Straight Up: 7/10
Witty gay drama about a gay man who decides he want sto be straight, and finds the ideal girl for him, an aspiring actress who is too smart for her own good. It's a lovely, warm story about the fear of love and connection and this Platonic couple do their best to live a lie. It's a little too dialogue-heavy at times but has a good, surprising ending.

Those Who Wish Me Dead: 3/10
I wish all involved in this film dead. What a stinker. Taylor Sheridan is a hack in disguise, with his two good films working because of the talented other directors involved. Here we get a hokey rehash of several 90s thrillers, but it's botha mess and predictable. Angelina Jolie is asleep at the wheel and looks suspiciously great as a firefighter with a haunted past. This would be fine if there weren't soe many cheesy, awful moments (including a run through a field while lighting attacks like a velociraptor) and a ridiculous climax. Avoid.

A Glitch in the Matrix: 6/10
Overlong but watchable doc about Simulation theory, made famous by The Matrix films but truly introduced by PK Dick who was convinced this reality wasn't the "real" one. The doc follows accounts of several men who feel similarly, but it slowly erodes this concept and hints at other problems which may create this belief.

[Buscemi2]

It looks like I won you over on Sheridan. Between this one and Without Remorse, I have to imagine he'll just be a hack-for-hire from now on, only getting work solely for the fact that he created Yellowstone.

And it looks like you have similar problems with Sorkin as I do, though my issue with him is that he writes too much dialogue, causing everyone to talk really fast as the general public isn't going to sit through a four hour movie unless there's a lot of action.

Meanwhile, I just cannot sit through Rodney Ascher's work. He comes off as the pop culture version of Alex Jones to me.

[numbersix]

I would say Ascher is obsessed with conspiracy theorists rather thane being one. He certainly undermines the solipsism of simulation theory pretty well.

[Shrykespeare]

Did anyone else watch The Nevers on HBO? Joss Whedon, whatever you think of the man personally, has done really well with this cast. The set design and casting is phenomenal, and the story had me glued to my sofa every episode.

[Buscemi2]

Street Gang: How we got to Sesame Street 8/10

Fascinating documentary on the making and cultural impact of Sesame Street. Though it doesn't have the impact that Won't You Be My Neighbor? had, it is still an entertaining film that brings out things you never knew about the show and the experience of making it. Also, you never knew you wanted to see Sesame Street outtakes until you see this one.

[Buscemi2]

Wrath of Man 7/10

Routine but entertaining variation of films such as Michael Mann's Heat where a newly employed cash truck driver becomes a local hero after successfully stopping a robbery. But as the non-linear structure of the story goes, we learn he is not who he seems to be and that he is a man seeking revenge for the murder of his son. For Guy Ritchie, I found this one of his better films in his hit-or-miss career. It's no Snatch or even Sherlock Holmes but it's better than say, Aladdin. It's bound to divide some but I'm sure it's better than some of the other movies out right now.

[Buscemi2]

New Order 2/10

I can't recall the last time I've been this disappointed in a movie. The trailer suggested something like a Mexican version of Parasite. Instead, I got a cheap exploitation film that tries to pass off torture and pointless mayhem as political and social commentary. The first 20 minutes or so are promising but once the riots begin (of which we never get any sort of explanation or reason as to why these things are happening or why they use green paint or why they kill everyone in their way, they just do to give the film some semblance of plot), the film turns into a complete mess where one-dimensional characters either murder or get murdered and the plot, or what little there was to begin with, is thrown out in favor of more violence and torture. What exactly was the point of this film and how did it win an award at Venice? It's nothing more than yet another Purge clone.

[Screen203]

I've heard HORRIBLE things about New Order.

[Buscemi2]

Dream Horse 6/10

Slight but likable narrative adaptation of the 2015 documentary Dark Horse, with Toni Collette playing the barmaid who got together the residents of a dying Welsh village to own a race horse and get the village thriving again, leading the residents to live again. If you've seen the documentary or other feel good UK films of the past, you know exactly what to expect but if you haven't, you might get more enjoyment from it.

[Buscemi2]

The Perfect Candidate 8/10

Interesting drama about a doctor in Saudi Arabia who when attempting to get her visa renewed, ends up registering to run for the local city council and becomes a dark horse candidate and goes from a nobody to someone who can change a town stuck in the past. The concept for the film is fascinating and is mostly well-made but I have no idea how critics considered this a feel-good movie. Yes, the director was going for realism but by the end, I felt more depressed than anything.

All in all, I didn't like it as much as the director's other film but it's still for the most part entertaining.

[Buscemi2]

Riders of Justice 9/10

An Ealing comedy but with violence. Mads Mikkelsen plays a deployed soldier whose wife is killed in a terrorist attack. Returning home to Denmark to take care of his daughter, he meets a survivor of the attack and along with his friends, plan revenge on the men responsible for her death. Anders Thomas Jensen directs the film with more intelligence than the typical studio action film and the characters are well-rounded and contain a method to their madness which makes them more than just a ragtag group of men on a mission. There's a lot of humor and heart to their figures.

I liked it much more than Another Round and like that film, this one is certain to be remade but will have none of the strength or appeal with a lesser director and in English. One hell of a ride.

[Buscemi2]

The Amusement Park 9/10

The scariest film in a long time is in fact one that was filmed in 1973 but not released for nearly fifty years until it was discovered and restored by George A. Romero's estate. Commissioned by a Lutheran church in Pittsburgh, the story is an allegory for elder abuse and it is an endless nightmare. I'm now afraid to get old.

[Buscemi2]

Censor 8/10

Better than usual throwback horror set during the Video Nasty moral panic of the 80's, focusing on a film censor who during a viewing is reminded of her past and is led to believe that her long-missing sister was kidnapped and forced to star in the movies that has to edit. It's a lot to take in but it's refreshing for the genre and more trusting of the audience than most recent offerings, with an atmosphere done better than a lot of other period-based horror from the past few years. Strong lead performance as well.

[Buscemi2]

Gunda 10/10

The movie of the year so far. The premise is simple: a sow and her little piglets over a brief period, with cameos by a herd of cows and chickens, including a rooster with one leg. But that is only scratching the surface. Without any dialogue or music, this film is mesmerizing and takes you to a world in a way few can. Like a painting, every frame in this film is one of beauty and sadness and even as the story gets more depressing, there is much to take in. It's going to be hard to top this one in terms of this year's documentaries.

[Buscemi2]

Dick Johnson is Dead 4/10

This movie is more or less a cheat. Purported as a documentary on the director's dying father, the excessive staged and reenacted elements turn what could have been a touching portrayal of an Alzheimer's patient into an ego trip where the two mislead and laugh at the people around them as well as the audience. There were some elements that were interesting but the end result would have worked better as a narrative film where we find that we can't feel sympathetic for these people. It's false sentiment and not much more.