Collecting Criterion – Election (1999)

We are mere days away  from that time again, when we must do our duty as citizens and vote for who will lead our country for the next few years.  It’s a day that we are either eagerly awaiting, or more likely dreading.  But, nevertheless it is an essential function of a healthy democracy, where every voice matters.  Much of the political discourse in our nation, for better and worse, is influenced greatly by our culture and Hollywood has contributed it’s fair share of political movies over the years.  A few of those films have become special enough to be recognized by the Criterion Collection, and they span a wide variety of issues.  There are political thrillers from the likes of director Costa-Gavras, namely Z (1969, Spine #491) and Missing (1982, #449).  There’s also Watergate era paranoia thrillers like The Parallax View (1974, #1064).  Political documentaries also are represented in the collection, like Harlan County U.S.A (1976, #334) and Hearts and Minds (1974, #156).  But perhaps the most politically charged film that are found in the Criterion Collection are the political satires.  Some of the most hard hitting ones include Robert Altman’s 11-part mini-series Tanner ’88 (1988, #258), where it skewers the American political machine by running a fake candidate in a real election.  There is also the chillingly prophetic film A Face in the Crowd (1957, #970) from Elia Kazan, where a loud mouth entertainer is propped up to run for office and over the course of time becomes a dangerous demagogue; a savage critique of the toxic relationship between media and politics that feels eerily too close to reality today.  But perhaps the one of the most interesting political satires that has made it into the Criterion Collection is a little film about a high school student body election that over the course of the film reveals itself to be a microcosm of the American way of politics in it’s entirety.  That movie would be Alexander Payne’s breakthrough second feature simply titled Election (1999, #904)

Alexander Payne beforehand was no stranger to tackling politics in his movies before Election.  His first feature, Citizen Ruth (1996), satirized the debate around abortion in America during the 1990’s.  A movie like Election seemed like a logical next step.  But it is interesting that ever since, Payne has largely avoided overt political stories in the rest of his body of work.  Through the following two decades he was more concerned with human stories such as About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), Nebraska (2013) and most recently with The Holdovers (2023).  Really, the only movie in that time where he returned to making a political satire, it was the movie Downsizing (2017) which many people agree is his least successful film.  Election does fit well within his larger body of work mainly because it is a film about characters more than it is about any political agenda.  For his film, Alexander Payne and his frequent writing partner Jim Taylor created characters that reveal themselves to be familiar archetypes of the kind that you see pop up in any contentious political campaign.  By keeping the scope of his setting small, Payne helps to draw more attention to the stakes of this small scale election and how it pertains to the characters in his story.  While the stakes are small, the way these characters deal with their own scheming and manipulation in order to seek victory in this election reveals an interesting concept that has a far more reaching conclusion than you would think from the start.  All of the pettiness and backstabbing we see in politics today really isn’t that far removed from the way we behaved when we were in high school.  Politics has grown increasingly juvenile over the years, with elections becoming more of a clash of personalities than a clash of ideas.  The fact that social media and the ability to meme is a function of campaigns today is just another sign of how spot on Alexander Payne’s satirical look at campaigning was.  It should have been a wake-up call, but instead it was sadly ahead of it’s time.

Set in Alexander Payne’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska (as most of his films are), the movie follows the student body election of Carver High.  Currently, the overly ambitious and over-achieving Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is running un-opposed for student body president, but even despite of that, she is aggressively campaigning in a way that even Beltway insiders would find over the top.  Her election seems like a foregone conclusion, until History and Civics teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) decides to shake the campaign up.  McAllister has grown to dislike Ms. Flick after she got herself involved in a sexual relationship with the geometry teacher who was also Jim’s best friend.  Though he agreed that his friend Dave should have been fired for the inappropriate relationship he had with a student, Jim is also upset that Tracy did not face any consequences herself.  As a way of trying to make her pay for her misdeed, he convinces dim-witted star football player Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run for class president as well.  While completely lacking in any of the same knowledge needed to run student government like Tracy has, Paul nevertheless gains support from the student body by virtue of his simple charisma.  Tracy is outraged that the clearly unqualified Paul is just coasting through his campaign while she is working hard and getting nothing in return.  To make things even more complicated, Paul’s lesbian sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell) decides to enter the race herself as a spoiler third party candidate, running on a position of ending student government in general.  When the day of the election comes, McAllister finds that Tracy has won by only a single vote.  Not wanting to see her succeed, he hides the last couple votes she would need for victory, and hands the election to Paul.  However, McAllister’s dirty deed is discovered and he loses his job for the election interference.  Tracy gets the student body president position she always wanted, but it comes at the cost of alienating her from half of the student body.  Despite the victories gained, the movie shows us that the fight itself is not without cost.

It’s hard not to watch the movie today and not see the parallels with American politics today.  Even when it first was released, many people were shocked by how much the film predicted what would happen in the presidential election a year later.  Before the 2016 and 2020 elections became the messy situations that we have recently endured, the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was at the time the most controversial in American history.  Just like the race seen in Election, it was a contest between an ill-informed but folksy son of privilege versus an intelligent but socially awkward career politician and the race did literally come down to just a couple of votes out of millions cast.  When Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor wrote their screenplay, they probably thought that their premise would be far too ridiculous to ever come true, but as we’ve sadly learned about American politics, reality has become stranger than fiction.  Where the movie Election really nails the satire is in showing how politics is a very petty game of one-upsmanship.  Tracy Flick may have the stamina and knowledge to do student government right, but we also see that it’s a desperate cry out for attention for her.  In a way, the movie does present it as a positive point about her character, since she is shown to not have a lot of wealth and influence behind her so she is entirely self-reliant.  But she is also shrill and dismissive of others, believing that she alone is capable of doing the job of student president.  Meanwhile, Jim McAllister is a petty person for putting his own resentment of Tracy before the needs of the student government.  In many way, an audience reading of the film can say a lot about us as a nation when it comes to deciding who’s in the right and the wrong.  Some may see McAllister as the hero for stopping someone as power hungry as Tracy Flick from getting what she wants.  Others may view him as the villain for deliberately disenfranchising voters for his own petty ends.  In the end, the thing that I think Alexander Payne is trying to say is that everyone in this film is a terrible person in their own way, and that that’s just politics has become over time; picking the least awful person for the job.

But what definitely wasn’t awful was the craft that was put into this movie.  Alexander Payne’s become a master at capturing what you would call mid-American ambiance in his movies.  Hailing from Nebraska, he has a fondness for fly-over country simplicity and Election definitely feels at home in that vision as well.  Even while the perspective on the American political process is examined with a lot of cynicism in the movie, the perspective on the people and the place where they live is not.  Payne’s very humanistic outlook for the characters in his movies very much helps this movie from becoming too sour of a portrayal of political machinations.  It also helps that he cast the right people to play the parts in the film too.  Reese Witherspoon is just note perfect as the efficient to a fault Tracy Flick.  Before Election, Reese had been one of the go to actresses at the time to play deeply troubled teenage girls, with breakout roles in Pleasantville (1998) and Cruel Intentions (1999).  Playing the buttoned-up and over-achieving Tracy was a bit of a departure for her, but not something that she wasn’t capable of pulling off.  It also gave her a place to shine her credentials in comedy, something that she would carry with her to box office success in 2001’s Legally Blonde soon after.  Opposite her is a wonderfully sleazy performance from Matthew Broderick as Jim McAllister.  He does a great job of playing this character as pathetically petty while at the same time giving him a sense of relatability that helps to prevent him from being two one-dimensionally evil.  Also, Chris Klein makes for a perfect dim-witted jock in the role of Paul Metzler.  He himself wasn’t too far removed from appearing in the sex comedy American Pie (1999), so he probably knew exactly the kind of charming empty vessel that the movie needed to get the political metaphor across.  Indeed, in lesser capable hands, a political satire like this would have gotten muddled with too much overt symbolism, and with Payne keeping it grounded in his simple Nebraskan style, he was able to create a more provocative film as a whole.

For this film’s release within the Criterion label, the film underwent a new 4K digital transfer, approved by Alexander Payne himself.  Sadly, the film has only been put out by Criterion solely on Blu-ray and DVD, with no word yet of a 4K release in the future.  So while the movie is playing on these lower resolution presentations, it should be said that the movie does indeed still look good.  For a movie reaching it’s 25th Anniversary it still holds up pretty well.  Cinematographer James Glennon’s work shines through in the new transfer, with the naturalistic colors really getting a great treatment in the restoration.  The digital transfer was sourced from the original negatives, so it’s understandable that it would look pretty immaculate.  One can only imagine what a 4K disc version of this movie would look like.  The movie also features a new DTS 5.1 surround mix based on the original film’s sound mix.  Election is not a particularly dynamic sound experience, as like most Payne films it’s a fairly quiet movie from beginning to end.  There are some bright spots that do give you a full aural experience, like the scene where Tracy has a meltdown and starts ripping up campaign posters in the high school hallway.  The film’s soundtrack, which features quite a few country songs, also benefits from Criterion’s very clean and strong sound mix for this release.  I do wish that Criterion gives this movie a proper 4K UHD release in the future, but it’s also not a movie that’s meant to be a showcase for picture and sound.  It’s treated respectfully in it’s presentation on Blu-ray and should look and sound great on most home entertainment set-ups.

Criterion of course delivers a bountiful collection of extra features for this release.  Some are old, taken from Paramount Pictures’ previous DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film, as well as new ones from Criterion themselves.  The most prominent feature is an Audio Commentary track from Alexander Payne himself, recorded in 1999 for the original DVD release of the film.  The commentary is informative, with Payne going into detail about why he made the movie, it’s not so subtle political message, and a variety of other topics.  Of the new bonus features, the most substantial is a brand new interview with Reese Witherspoon herself.  It’s interesting to see her looking back on the film with the perspective of several years being removed from it.  She talks about how the film changed the course of her career, what she thinks about the character of Tracy and how the film has aged with regards to it’s reflecting of real world politics since it’s release.  Another interesting inclusion in the bonus features is the inclusion of Alexander Payne’s student thesis film from his studying at UCLA’s film school, titled The Passion of Martin (1990).  It’s a fascinating inclusion on this disc, giving us a look at the origins of Alexander Payne as a filmmaker, seeing him working out what kind of films he wanted to make.  Also on the Criterion disc is a 2016 documentary called Trulnside: Election, which features on-set footage of the making of the movie and interviews with the cast and crew.  There’s also a very fun inclusion of the local Omaha news reports that chronicled the film’s production, which I guess was a big deal for the citizens of Omaha at the time as many films typically are not made there.  Lastly there is an original theatrical film trailer, which is a standard feature on most Criterion Collection releases.  Overall, Criterion compliments the film with some very nice bonus features about the film’s making, as well as some interesting bonuses that give some perspective on the film’s impact over time.

With a lot of political satires, there is a danger of being too on the nose about your message, or too mean-spirited about the people you are trying to mock.  Alexander Payne manages to reach the right tone with Election.  His mockery is more geared toward the process of American politics and less so of the people.  Sure, characters like Tracy Flick and Jim McCallister are flawed and fueled by jealousy and insecurity, which is a terrible mix in the realm of politics, but Payne allows us to understand that all of his characters are human beings as well; each one broken in their own way and trying to survive in the best way they can while trying to shield the world from their inadequacies.  The characters in Election feel all too real, and that’s what helps to get the point of the film across.  Our political reality has just become increasingly more absurd over time, with social media fanning the flames even more.  And even though Election came at a time long before social media, and really only just a couple years into the era of the Internet revolution, it’s metaphor still resonates.  Just this year alone, we are worrying about bad actors interfering with the counting of votes in order to get their preferred candidate into office, and throwing democracy out the window as a result.  The moment in the movie of Jim McAllister tossing those few votes into the trash can doesn’t seem all that different from reality anymore.  While Payne’s film remains hopeful about the people trying to strive for what’s best in the end, sadly it’s the reality of petty grievances getting in the way that makes Election feel all too prophetic in the end.  The one thing he left out is how bad the demagoguery would get in the world of politics we live in now.  The saddest part of the film is how politics ends up destroying people in the end.  A character like Tracy Flick feels very familiar to us.  She has to perform even harder to achieve her goals by virtue of being a woman, because men are given more privilege in the world of politics.  So many men of privilege like Paul Metzger seem to have the keys to power given over to them without much struggle, as they can make all the mistakes they want and still succeed, while even a simple flaw can destroy a woman seeking the same goal.  Hopefully we’ll move past that obstacle soon in the world of politics (fingers crossed for this week’s election), but as movies like Election have shown us, politics is a game where there is no clean victory.  Another solid entry from Criterion that in addition to a lot of other great films about politics only gets more relevant with time.

Criterion Cellection – Election (1999)

 

Top Ten Terrifying Performances in Horror Movies

The horror movie genre isn’t exactly known for being the place to find great acting.  Given the lower costs that most horror films are made under, it usually relates to a lower quality of performance seen on screen.  Bad performances in horror movies usually are attributed to the level of quality of the actor themselves, who perhaps are acting in front of the camera for the first time.  Or there might be a good quality actor in a role that is very much ill suited for them and they are just there to collect a paycheck.  Either way, horror movie sadly do not get the same good fortune that other genres get when it comes to showcasing the talents of the actors.  But, there are cases when great performances can coincide with some truly terrifying movies.  Even in some of the cases where a horror movie is clearly done on the cheap there can be an example of a performer giving it their all and treating schlock like it’s Shakespeare.  There are in fact some performances that have transcended the genre and have been heralded as among the greatest of all time.  In a couple cases, there are even Oscar winning performances that came from horror movies.  For a genre that is as old as cinema itself, it’s understandable that many actors have looked to the dark side to find a role that really allows them to flex their acting muscles in ways that other genres don’t allow them to.  For this list, I am going to share my choices for what I think are the top ten most terrifying performances to have ever come from horror movies.  To be on this list, the performance can’t just be a great but not scary one that happened to be in a horror movie.  The performances on this list are ones that genuinely send chills down the spine of audiences while at the same time showcasing just how good the actor is in playing the part.  And in some of the cases on this list, the roles have been so unforgettably terrifying, that they still stick with us many years later.  So, with all that laid out, let’s take a look at my picks for the Top Ten Terrifying Performances in Horror Movies.

10.

ANNIE GRAHAM from HEREDITARY (2018)

Played by Toni Collette

Not every performance in a horror movie starts out as terrifying.  Some evolve over the course of the movie and by the finale turn into the things of nightmares for audiences.  One of the most vivid portrayals of a slow burn descent into the terrifying can be found in Ari Aster’s Hereditary, where actress Toni Collette delivers one of her most stellar performances in a career that’s full of great ones.  The character of Annie Graham is on the surface a grieving mother, who not only lost her own mom with whom she had a complicated relationship, but also her daughter in a horrific accident, all in the span of a couple of days.  But, as the movie moves further into the plot, we begin to see Annie unravel in an unsettling way, lashing out at the family she has left and going to extreme measures to reconnect herself with the loved ones she lost.  The movie heads into some very dark territory with her character, revealing that she is a pawn in a satanic cult’s ulterior plans, which have been placed upon her family for some time.  And Toni Collette magnificently navigates the unraveling of her character, while still maintaining a grounded sense of who this woman is.  In the final act of the film, we see the character of Annie fully possessed, and that’s where the character really becomes a nightmarish demon on screen.  But even beforehand, Toni is terrifying in her role as she believably makes us see this character come apart mentally.  Toni Collette’s performance has been seen by many as one of the all time best performances to never get an Oscar nomination, and people attribute this to the Academy’s bias against genre films, particularly horror.  As my other picks on this list will show there are examples where there were horror performances too good for the Academy to ignore, but they did drop the ball by ignoring Toni here.  The only thing that keeps it from being higher on this list is that the terrifying parts of her performance don’t come out until almost the very end, but what we do get is good enough to get her recognized here.

9.

BABY JANE HUDSON from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)

Played by Bette Davis

There was a weird movement in horror during the 1960’s that people have dubbed “Hag-sploitation.”  It was a trend where horror filmmakers would create movies that centered around “scary old women” to give their stories a more gothic quality to them.  In many cases, these “Hag horror” movies would give roles to aging actresses who were not getting any other work due to the way Hollywood devalued it’s female performers once they reached a certain age, and these roles were often seen as exploitational and indicative of the end of the road for these once beloved starlets.  But this certainly wasn’t the case for Bette Davis.  Even into her senior years, Bette was still at the peak of her talent, and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? showcases just how much she still had that spark of talent and was able to completely own even a sinister “hag’ role like that of Baby Jane Hudson.  The film, interesting enough, is about an emotionally stunted former child actor who is clinging to past glory while taking out her aggression on her invalid sister played by Joan Crawford.  What starts out as passive aggressive insults eventually devolves into psychological torture and then eventually acts of murder.  And all the while, Baby Jane continues to slip deeper into insanity, which Bette Davis brilliantly displays in her performance.  By the end of the movie, she has even devolved entirely into a childlike state of mind, and this is where she is at her creepiest, especially in the way that her concept of reality becomes more fractured, and it puts her sister in greater danger as she is witnessing that downfall firsthand.  Davis’ performance certainly helps to raise Baby Jane above the otherwise bleakness of “Hag-sploitation.”  You can tell this wasn’t just a desperate ploy for work; she was really invested in playing this character and it shows.  It’s a masterful performance that even 60 years later still gives off creepy vibes and it was a benchmark role in horror filmmaking which led to a lot of imitations but none were ever able to deliver as powerfully as Bette did here.

RED from US (2019)

Played by Lupita Nyong’o

Sometimes the most terrifying kind of character is the one that looks exactly like us.  That’s the angle that Jordan Peele went with for his sophomore film as a director.  After tackling racial tension in his first film, Get Out (2017), he decided to look at class divisions in his follow-up, with a movie where affluent people on vacation are terrorized by their own doppelgangers, who seem to have come from underground laboratories and are tethered to our world while living in their hidden world under our feet; that is until they begin to rise up.  And their leader is a terrifying character named Red; the only one of the doppelgangers capable of speaking, which she does in a restricted, damaged voice.  Lupita Nyong’o plays the dual parts of Red and her “real world” counter part Adelaide, but it’s the former role where she really displays her acting talents.  Red, with her doll face like expression and husky voice is a nightmarish presence in the movie and Lupita does not hold back in making her a memorable character.  The fact that she’s the only one of the doppelgangers that displays any intelligence, as all of the others are feral by nature, makes her especially creepy.  Lupita brings this almost alien quality to the character, like she is investigating her victims while at the same time seeking malicious ends.  There is a twist revealed about the character, which does add another creepy layer to the character’s story, as well as to her relationship to Adelaide.  Lupita and Jordan Peele could have taken a more conventional route with their take on a home invasion horror scenario, but with the character of Red and the other doppelgangers, they create this twisted examination of a society where the divide between the haves and the have nots could not be more clearly defined.  And when we see our own selves presented back to us through the unnerving, almost frozen expression on Red’s doll like face, it clearly sends the message of the danger that lies beneath the surface of our class divides.

7.

LONGLEGS from LONGLEGS (2024)

Played by Nicholas Cage

This recent horror flick is already developing a reputation for being one of the creepiest in the last couple years, and part of that is due to an unexpectedly chilling performance from Nicholas Cage as the titular serial killer.  The film itself is a bit like Fincher’s Se7en (1995), only with more supernatural elements mixed into it’s murder mystery.  It’s a slow burn horror flick that takes place in an era where “Satanic Panic” was taking hold in pop culture, and the movie takes that theme to the extreme.  What is clever about the movie is that the mystery is not about who is committing the murders, but how and why, and when we get our answers it’s not what you’d expect.  Nicholas Cage is an actor known for going big with any role, and sometimes that can be a curse just as much as a blessing for some films.  Here, his unpredictability as an actor actually works for the character.  This Satan worshiping doll maker named Longlegs is deeply unsettling  from the very first moment he appears on screen, and Cage’s willingness to take the character over the top adds just that extra bit of terrifying to the role.  He speaks with this creepy Michael Jackson-like squeal of a voice and his face is pale and almost plastic like the dolls he creates.  And Nicholas Cage’s penchant for unhinged outbursts really drive home the creep factor of the character, where every moment he spends on screen just gives you this spine-chilling feeling.  It’s clear that Cage was really relishing this role, and the freedom it allowed him to just create something original.  It’s one thing to create a cold, foreboding persona for a serial killer; it’s another to have him smiling and blowing kisses while singing “Happy Birthday” like Cage does as Longlegs.  I have a feeling that this is going to be a character and a performance that people are going to be talking about for a while.  For me, it is certainly the most the creepiest character I’ve seen in a long while in a movie, and proof that Nicholas Cage can be a great actor when his over the top instincts fit the right kind of role.

6.

NORMAN BATES from PSYCHO (1960)

Played by Anthony Perkins

While Cage’s Longlegs performance is fully displayed without any nuance to show us a different side of the character, Anthony Perkins on the other hand presents a very different approach to portraying a murderer.  Norman Bates is one of the great misdirects ever achieved with a character in a horror film.  When we first meet him, Norman seems like a mild-mannered road side motel manager who is devoted to caring for his mother.  Perkins perfectly portrays this everyman aspect of Norman when we first meet him.  He is harmless and soft-spoken and the character of Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) feels safe in his company.  But as we listen to Norman speak a bit more during the fateful night that he and Marion meet, the mask slips ever so slightly, especially when they discuss topics like Norman’s mother and the “women” who come in between him and his devotion to “mother.”  Alfred Hitchcock masterfully hides Norman Bates true nature throughout the film.  Even when Marion is murdered in her hotel room, we quickly suspect that it’s Mrs. Bates and not Norman who did the deed, and we remain sympathetic to the mild-mannered man.  But, as we move further into the plot, we learn that Norman is not what he seems, and by the end we find out that “mother” has been long gone and that Norman is the true killer.  It’s the strength of Anthony Perkin’s performance that helps to keep the rouse up throughout the film, and it makes the ultimate reveal all the more satisfying as a result.  Hitchcock’s Psycho, which itself was based on the notorious Ed Gein murders, changed the horror genre forever, and showed us that monsters are not just the creatures that spook us in the night.  It showed that even the un-assuming boy next door could turn out to be a monster as well.  And that hiding in plain sight portrayal of evil is what makes Norman Bates so terrifying.  To drive that point home, Perkins delivers one of cinema’s greatest evil smiles in his final scene, with his mother’s decomposed skull briefly superimposed over his before the shot cuts away, showing us how the face of evil can sneakily appear so harmless at first.

5.

REGAN from THE EXORCIST (1973)

Played by Linda Blair; Voiced by Mercedes McCambridge

To be fair, the character of Regan herself is not the monster that terrifies in this film, but rather it’s the demon that has come to possess her.  Even still, it’s a remarkable performance from Linda Blair to throw herself into the mayhem of her character’s possession like she does in William Friedkin’s ground-breaking horror flick.  The deterioration of Regan throughout the film is terrifying to watch, and it’s incredibly shocking when we see this once sweet little girl causing self-mutilation and speaking profanities.  As the demon takes hold even more, even her childish voice disappears and is replaced with the raspy, other-worldly voice of the demon.  Veteran actress Mercedes McCambridge contributed her own husky voice to the role of the demon and it’s a remarkable vocal performance, making the demon sound unlike anything of this world.  Mercedes probably relished saying the shocking lines that the demon utters in the film, like “Your mother s**** c**** in Hell,” because not only were they barrier pushing for their time, but there was the added shocking factor that those words were coming out of a child; albeit a possessed one.  A lot of credit is due to Linda Blair perfectly lip-synching to the demonic voice as well.  For a movie like The Exorcist to work, the audience needed to buy into the belief that the demonic possession they were watching felt real.  The results from Linda and Mercedes performances not only made it feel real, they made Regan’s possession feel like evil literally captured on the screen before us.  It had to be daunting for an actress Linda’s age, and there are stories of Freidkin’s set being a bit hazardous at times, but she displayed a command of the role that you wouldn’t expect a young actor to have, especially when their job is to scare the daylights out of the audience.  And what her performance ended up giving us is one of cinema’s most terrifying performances ever.

4.

JACK TORRENCE from THE SHINING (1980)

Played by Jack Nicholson

Much like Toni Collette’s descent into madness in Hereditary, we see the same change in character from Jack Torrence in The Shining, only the fall is much, much bigger in this acclaimed adaptation of the Stephen King novel.  Jack Nicholson is another actor who likes to go big in his roles, and Stanley Kubrick very much let him go big here.  What’s great about Nicholson’s performance is that the build to insanity isn’t so much gradual as it is taking things one step further after starting in an already heightened place.  Jack Torrence is first introduced as even-keeled in the beginning, but the wheels begin coming off not too far from that, especially as isolation begins to take it’s toll on the character’s psyche.  Nicholson’s performance is quintessentially him, with himself ratcheting his own persona beyond it’s limits.  By the time he reaches his full murderous state, Nicholson’s performance becomes truly a nightmarish presence.  We get our first taste of the worst of his character during the “All work and No play” scene when he confronts his wife Wendy (played brilliantly by the late great Shelly Duvall), and it’s effectively creepy how he is able to scare us while also doing so with a smile.  And the of course there’s the climatic chase through the Overlook Hotel where the ax-wielding Jack pokes his face through the door and screams out “here’s Johnny.”  It makes it all the scarier that he’s playing around with his victims while hunting them down in a murderous rage.  By the end of the film, there is zero subtlety left in Nicholson’s performance, but that really is what makes him so effectively terrifying in that final stretch; just the unhinged nature of his character at that point.  That’s the scariest kind of evil, when the person you loved no longer feels anything but blinding rage, and seems to enjoy using their power to terrorize you.  The story leads us to believe that the Overlook turned Jack towards evil, but the movie and Jack Nicholson’s performance also indicates to us that Jack Torrence didn’t need that much of a push to go off the deep end, and they show that to us in quite a spectacular way.

3.

ANNIE WILKES from MISERY (1990)

Played by Kathy Bates

Staying with Stephen King for one more film, we find an example of a horror film performance so good that the Academy was wise not to ignore it.  Kathy Bates star making turn as Annie Wilkes in Misery did earn her a much deserved Oscar for Best Actress, and it’s a role that managed to display incredible acting chops on the part of Bates as well as be terrifying and not watered down at all in order to fit the Academy’s standards.  The character of Annie Wilkes seems to be an externalized expression of fear on the part of Stephen King, as she is the epitome of toxic fandom in the extreme.  What is interesting about Bates performance is that she appears warm and matronly at first, but only a couple scenes later we see her turn into a rage monster that snaps over the most minor of infractions.  There is clearly something going on with the psyche of Annie Wilkes, but Kathy Bates is wise to not soften her character too much.  Annie is a monster to be sure, and the strength of Bates performance is in showing the full range of dangerous extremes that Annie can go to at any time.  Perhaps the best example of Kathy Bates’ brilliance in her performance is the most famous scene in the movie when Annie has the writer Paul Sheldon (a great James Caan) tied to the bed, where she plans to hobble him by purposely breaking his feet with a sledgehammer.  The best part of that scene is just how soothing and calm Annie is, right before she does the shockingly violent act.  It makes her all the terrifying as a result; how disassociated she is from the horror she is inflicting.  Kathy Bates certainly goes over the top too with the character through some rage filled explosions, but it’s those quieter moments of madness that really give us the chilling effect.  Creating a character like her must have been cathartic for Stephen King as he probably encountered one too many fans who displayed a little bit of obsessiveness themselves; though not to the extreme that we see with Annie Wilkes.  I think it’s that familiarity with the character (her obsessiveness and rigid conformity) that makes her one of cinema’s most terrifying characters; evil personified with sugar-coated sweetness.

2.

COUNT ORLOCK from NOSFERATU (1922)

Played by Max Schreck

It’s amazing that one of the earliest horror movies still manages to hold up over a century later, and the same goes for the terrifying performance at it’s center.  Director F.W. Murnau was unable to secure the rights to the novel Dracula from the Bram Stoker estate, so he crafted a vampire story of his own that was still fairly close to the original.  Nosferatu became the first ever vampire movie, and much of the rules of horror cinema stems directly from this ground breaking film.  The vampire at it’s center, Count Orlock, is vividly brought to life by the unforgettable Max Schreck.  The lanky build and statuesque height of the actor creates this image of an otherworldly creature, and it’s a nightmarish image that still sticks with audiences today.  It’s especially terrifying when we see him standing at the end of a dark corridor in the middle of the night, and even more terrifying when he later stands in the frame of a doorway about to enter the room to feed on his prey.  Murnau effectively creates this sense of terror without having Schreck do much action at all.  It’s all about how Count Orlock’s mere presence creates this foreboding atmosphere in every scene that he’s in.  Murnau also makes brilliant use of shadows to invoke the vampire’s presence even when he’s not physically on screen.  The performance that Schreck gave was so convincing that speculation rose that he was an actual vampire, which became the basis for a behind the scenes biopic called Shadow of the Vampire (2000), where he was played by Willem Dafoe.  We have since seen Dracula brought to the screen many times, including brilliantly the first time by Bela Lugosi, but even in all his many versions, I don’t think there has been a Dracula that has terrified audiences the same way as Count Orlock.  For a 100 year old movie to still have the ability to terrify it’s audience is a real testament to the effectiveness of Schreck’s performance, and we owe every portrayal of vampires in cinema to the high bar that he set with his spine-chilling on screen portrayal.

1.

HANNIBAL LECTER from THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)

Played by Anthony Hopkins

For all the critics who look down on acting found in horror movies, it should be noted that what many regard as one of the greatest performances ever committed to celluloid did in fact come from a horror movie.  Anthony Hopkin’s became a cinema icon with his portrayal of the hyper intellectual cannibal behind bars in this Oscar winning Jonathan Demme film.  It’s interesting to note that Dr. Hannibal Lecter, for as terrifying as he is, is not the main antagonist of the movie, nor is he an obstacle for the hero Clarice Starling (an equally brilliant Jodie Foster) as he spends the movie as her ally in her search for the “Buffalo Bill” serial killer.  But make no mistake, Hannibal is still a monster and the movie does such an effective job making every moment in his presence the stuff of nightmares.  The brilliance of Jonathan Demme’s direction is that he puts the camera right in the faces of his actors.  Anthony Hopkins delivers his chilling performance while looking right down the barrel of the camera, making his presence feel all the more invasive.  It’s also unsettling that we rarely see him blinking as well.  With Hannibal Lecter, it’s not about what he does that terrifies, but the way he casts a pallor of foreboding over a scene with his methodical way of talking and the stillness of his movements.  He’s like a demon that you feel waiting for you in the darkness, only he’s here fully lit and we are unable to escape his piercing gaze.  The movie still shows us how dangerous he can be with the prison break scene, where he goes on a bloody spree of violence after spending the whole rest of the movie behind bars.  Hopkins’ Oscar win for the role was a no-brainer, and he would continue to bring the character back to the screen in subsequent sequels and prequels.  But it’s here in The Silence of the Lambs  that we see him at his most terrifying.  No other performance on screen makes you feel like the villain is piercing right into your soul and haunting you without doing much at all.  It’s that psychological terror that makes Anthony Hopkin’s performance as Hannibal Lecter the most terrifying ever put on screen.  It raised the bar in portraying terror on screen, and showed that even horror could raise the bar high for all cinematic acting in general.

So, there you have my choices for the most terrifying performances ever in movies.  Some are more obvious than others, but what I find interesting is how well older horror films have held up over the years in showcasing great performances that still can terrify audiences today.  Anthony Perkin’s portrayal as Norman Bates is still a brilliant bait and switch that can still shock audiences, as well as Bette Davis giving us one of the most vivid portrayals of madness on screen as Baby Jane Hudson.  And then of course there’s Max Schreck whose chilling portrayal of a vampire is still the gold standard for the sub-genre 100 years after the fact.  Also the fact that both Anthony Hopkins and Kathy Bates have won Academy Awards for their unapologetic horror movie performances shows that the genre is just as capable of presenting quality acting as any other genre out there.  Recent examples like Toni Collette in Hereditary and Lupita Nyong’o show that great actors can still deliver their best work in scary movies, and I feel like Nicholas Cage’s recent work in Longlegs will also stand the test of time and be regarded as one of the best in the genre.  What is great about all the performances on this list is that they displayed great acting while also accomplishing the goal of being scary.  It shows that you don’t have to water down a terrifying performance in order to get critical praise.  Are there bad performances in horror movies?  Sure, but no more so than any other genre.  The low budget stigma surrounding horror movies seems to have also extended to the perceptions of the performances given in them as well, but that seems to have changed in the last few years as more and more A-listers are looking to spread their wings in the horror genre.  While it can sometimes be risky, horror movies tend to do better when they allow their actors to abandon their guardrails and just let loose, and that seems to be what is appealing to actors more and more these days.  There is a freeing aspect to what the horror genre can do for actors who just want to do something wild and weird every now and then.  And as this list has shown, some of those unhinged performances turn into some of our favorite performances.  That’s the blessing of horror in Hollywood; it gives it’s talent the chance to be weird, wacky and unbound in a genre where all that is valued.  And as we’ve seen, the best actors alive have been the ones who have scared us the most.

Seeing Dead People – The Sixth Sense 25 Years Later and the Shift in Scary Movies in the New Millennium

The horror movie genre looks a lot different today than it did a quarter century ago.  While some things haven’t changed, like Hollywood chasing success in the genre with an endless number of sequels, the style of horror movies is much different, and that is due to a shift to a more auteur driven flow within the genre.  One thing that has made horror movies so appealing to the movie studios in Hollywood is that they are a low risk, high reward product for them to invest in.  Horror movies tend to be cheap to make and are able to perform well at the box office, meaning that it’s a genre with a track record of profitability.  Unfortunately, during the 80’s and 90’s, the cheapness of horror movies became much more of a defining feature of the genre.  The movies of that era could never be considered high art, and were for the most part just manufactured to put butts into seats, typically from less discerning teenage and college age audiences that just wanted cheap thrills.  But even those demographics were growing tiresome of the same old tricks that the Hollywood was giving us in the horror genre.  Particularly towards the end of the 90’s, horror had just been reduced to schlock, with emphasis on cheap jump scares and gross out gore as a means of entertaining their audiences.  There were bright spots to be sure, like Wes Craven’s iconic Scream (1996), but even that got drowned out by a dozen Scream clones that followed in it’s wake.  Horror was in desperate need of a re-evaluation, which for a lot of people was a desire to take the control of the genre out of Hollywood executive offices and back into the hands of filmmakers who had a real hunger for changing the rules of the genre.  Horror films has been a great breeding ground in the past for visionary directors, such as George A. Romero, John Carpenter, and Brian DePalma.  Even Steven Spielberg technically sprung out of thriller filmmaking with movies like Duel (1971) and Jaws (1975).  But what kind of filmmaker would arise in the turn of the millennium to cause a dramatic shift in the horror movie genre.

I think very few people saw the rise of one M. Night Shyamalan coming.  Born in India before his family moved to the States when he was still a baby, Shymalan grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, developing a desire for filmmaking at an early age.  Him and his childhood friends would get together and make short films, so by the time he started attending the Tisch School of the Arts’ elite film program, he already had a good knowledge of visual storytelling.  From these early exercises in filmmaking, he demonstrated a fondness for dark thrillers and tense horror.  He looked to influences like Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling in shaping the the way he told stories with a darker edge.  But upon graduating from film school, he didn’t immediately jump into the horror genre right away.  His first feature film was a semi-autobiographical drama called Praying with Anger (1992), and his follow-up after that was a feel good coming of age story called Wide Awake (1998).  At the same time, he was also drafted to write a screenplay for the live action adaptation of Stuart Little (1999).  None of these early film would have led you to know where he was about to go next as a filmmaker.  While he probably appreciated the work he was getting, it’s also apparent that he really wanted to make the kind of movie that he would want to watch, and that’s what drove him to create his first horror movie.  He sent his spec script for his take on a “ghost” story to multiple studios, and found a surprising interested party in David Vogel, the then head of production at Disney.  Vogel belived in Shymalan’s script so much that he agreed to the $3 million dollars for the rights, and the stipulation for Shymalan to direct, without the corporate approval of the Disney higher ups.  It was gamble, but as we all would see, it was a gamble that payed out in a major way.

The Sixth Sense went into production in the Fall of 1998, shooting entirely in M. Night’s home base of Philadelphia.  Unfortunately, David Vogel’s stunt in getting the rights cost him his position at Disney, as he was dismissed shortly after.  Disney would allow the production to move forward, but the budget would be heavily trimmed down.  In many ways, this would’ve destroyed the visions of most filmmakers wanting to shape their movie the way they wanted, but M. Night was able to make lemonade out of those lemons.  No stranger to working with non-existent budgets in his home movie days, Shymalan found ways to create an effective horror movie with the constraints that were thrust upon him.  He relied on old school techniques from the early days of horror, like the use of atmosphere and tricks with lighting to evoke a sense of terror in his scenes.  The film has no post-production visual effects added, and only a few instances where his ghost actors appear in make-up.  As we would see, that is all that was needed in the end.  One of the most effective tricks shown in the movie is another old school slight of hand where actress Toni Colette exits her kitchen and goes into the other room with the camera following her and once she re-enters the kitchen, all of the cabinet doors are open.  Of course, those in the know with regards to filmmaking obviously can put together that once the kitchen is out of view of the camera, a bunch of production assistants swarm in and open all of those cabinet doors before the room is in the camera’s view again.  It’s simple, but effective if you do it right and Shymalan makes it work in his movie.  With The Sixth Sense, Shymalan is not creating just another schlocky horror film; nor was he making something that hadn’t been done before in horror filmmaking either.  He was simply using the art of cinema to tell a horror story really effectively and make old tricks feel new again.  In a time when horror was loud and ugly, Shymalan made something that managed to thrill effectively through it’s minimalism.

It certainly helped that he had a cast who effectively contributed to this more muted style of horror filmmaking.  At the time, the movie actually benefitted from the collapse of another movie.  Bruce Willis was contracted by Disney to complete 3 films, the first of which was the blockbuster Armageddon (1998).  Unfortunately, the second film on that contract, Broadway Brawler, imploded after Willis demanded the firing of the director.  That film never got back on track and the studio needed to find another project quick to allow Willis to fulfill the obligations of his contract.  This is where the arrival of The Sixth Sense proved to be fortuitous, because it was movie that was a departure from the usual films that Bruce Willis had been a part of which were typically action oriented, and would allow him to show more range as an actor.  The part of Dr. Malcolm Crowe gave Willis a chance to be subtle, and even charming at times; a welcome departure from the gruffness of his past roles.  But, while it was beneficial for M. Night Shymalan to have a big name movie star in his film, it mattered a lot more to get the casting right for the crucial character of Cole Sear; the little boy who can “see dead people.”  The crux of the movie is dependent on the ability for the audience to believe that this young boy can see the dead, and that’s a difficult thing for a young actor to nail on screen.  Luckily for Shymalan, he found his Cole in a young up-and-coming star named Haley Joel Osment.  Osment, who had previously played the small part of Forrest Gump’s son opposite Tom Hanks a couple years back, showed acting talent beyond his years in the harrowing performance that he gives as Cole Sear.  It also mattered a great deal that his chemistry on screen with Bruce Willis was believable.  The interactions between Willis and Osment are definitely among the highlights of the movie, with Willis showing a vulnerability on screen that we typically had not see him show.  The film also features an incredible performance from Toni Collette as Cole’s mom Lynn.  Her performance is a heartbreaking one in which she tries everything she can to help her son who is “different.”  And there is a remarkable cameo role from former boy band singer Donnie Wahlberg (brother of Mark) as a disgruntled former patient of Malcolm Crowe, a role that Wahlberg apparently lost nearly 50 pounds for in order to give himself a gaunt look.  It was a blessing of all the right actors coming together for the roles that would indeed propel them to greater things later on.

Of course, the biggest key to the success of M. Night Shymalan’s The Sixth Sense was The Twist Ending.  This was probably the thing that made David Vogel jump so many hurdles in order to secure the rights.  Fair warning, I am about to spoil the twist ending of the film in this paragraph, so if you haven’t seen the movie by now skip ahead.  In the closing moments of the film, it is revealed that Dr. Malcolm Crowe has been dead for the majority of the movie and that he has been appearing as a ghost the whole time.  The only reason audiences didn’t originally pick up on that is because we see him interacting with Cole Sear, a boy who can see and interact with ghosts.  It’s only in retrospect that we realize that Cole is the only character that we’ve seen Malcolm speak directly too.  In the reveal that comes in the end, where Malcolm realizes he is a ghost, that all the puzzle pieces that Shymalan had been laying out start to make sense.  The effectiveness of the twist lies in the fact Shymalan doesn’t just pull it out of thin air; all of the clues were in plain sight, but with the way the story was being told, as it focuses on Cole’s journey, those clues are not at the forefront of our minds until the twist makes us see the story again in a completely different light.  It’s something that Shymalan learned from one of his inspirations, the master of twist endings Rod Serling, who utilized them brilliantly in many episodes of The Twilight Zone.  What was also crucial was that, like many of Serling’s most memorable twist endings, there had to be catharsis with it; that the audience would feel rewarded if it picked up on all the clues, but also not feel dejected if they hadn’t.  It took careful planning for Shymalan to not give away the fact that one of his main characters was dead the whole time, but he had to make sure that the clues would be recognizable by the end.  For this, he borrowed another trick from another one of his inspirations; Hitchcock.  Alfred Hitchcock famously used color coding as a way of signaling the presence of danger, something that he most famously used in Vertigo (1958).  In The Sixth Sense, Shymalan uses the color red to signify when a ghost was present in the scene.  Sometimes this was shown overtly, like when Cole is visited by a ghost girl, played by a young Mischa Barton.  She appears after Cole hides in his bedroom play tent, which of course is a bright color of red.  This helps tie the color to the appearance of ghosts, but when we learn the truth about Malcolm at the end, we sudden notice all those subtle hints of red that were present throughout the movie whenever he meets with Cole.  All of these ingredients helped to give the movie the effective twist ending that it needed and boy did it pay off in a big way.

Part of why The Sixth Sense made the impact that it did was also due to the fact that it came out in the middle of a turning point for the horror genre.  Earlier that same summer in 1999, The Blair Witch Project (1999) premiered and completely turned Hollywood on it’s head.  This found footage horror movie made on a shoe-string budget with a simple digital camera and no-name actors remarkably opened at number one at the box office and grossed an astounding $140 million.  While the gimmick itself was probably what lured a lot of people to the movie theaters to check out this oddity for themselves, it also revealed a craving from audiences for something different in the increasingly stale horror genre.  The Blair Witch Project filled that void perfectly with it’s unconventional way of telling it’s story.  But surprisingly, The Sixth Sense would also benefit from this change in audiences’ taste as well.  While The Sixth Sense was more mainstream than the experimental Blair Witch, it also stood out as being very different from the other horror films of that era.  It wasn’t a slasher thriller; it wasn’t a jump scare fest; and it wasn’t a blood soaked gore fest.  It was an atmospheric ghost story with some mystery elements thrown in.  And for audiences, that was enough.  In many ways, M. Night Shymalan was harkening back to the auteur driven horror movies of the 1970’s, many of which were slower burns than the in your face aggressiveness of the 80’s and 90’s.  Movies like William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) or Richard Donner’s The Omen (1976) take their time in building their scares to a crescendo, and Shymalan makes his film even more low key than those.  It’s not about how many times you can scare an audience, but by how well you can scare them.  Shymalan brought atmosphere back into the forefront of horror filmmaking, and the effect it had was very evident on the horror movies that have come in it’s wake.

One of the strongest legacies that The Sixth Sense has left behind is the way that it brought horror back into the hands of the filmmakers.  The genre has been much more driven by style and the unique visions of it’s filmmakers.  In the wake of The Sixth Sense,  Hollywood was interested in finding out who would be the next M. Night Shymalan; a question that even Shymalan has struggled to define for himself.  There certainly has been a resurgence in the number of film directors that have emerged as uniquely tied to the genre of horror films.  James Wan is one of those filmmakers that managed to emerge from the horror genre with a clearly defined trademark to his name.  He helped to shepherd the Saw and Conjuring franchises into some of the most lucrative horror series in recent years, and he continues to develop new horror concepts that appeal to modern audiences.  The interesting thing is, his horror movie are wildly varied, from the gory Saw films to the subtler scares of The Conjuring.  Likewise, other horror filmmakers like Ari Aster are re-defining the things that we find scary on the big screen, like how he terrified us with a Scandinavian paganism in Midsommar (2019).  And there are other recent horror filmmakers like Mike Flanagan, Leigh Whannell and Parker Finn who are generating effective scares through the mainstream machine of Hollywood with old standards like Stephen King, Universal Monsters, and just even the simple act of a sinister smile.  Horror has gone through a complete transformation in the last quarter century thanks to what The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project left behind.  It’s honestly now the genre where we see the most creativity allowed for filmmakers, because it’s one of the few avenues where experimentation is rewarded.  In many ways, this is a golden era for the genre, and it’s something that Shymalan thankfully pushed Hollywood into accepting.

When it first released in the waning Summer days of August 1999, The Sixth Sense opened to a respectable but not extraordinary $26 million.  But remarkably, it continued to gross the same amount weekend after weekend, $20 million for 6 weeks straight; a feat only Titanic (1997) had a achieved before.  This was a true phenomenon that Hollywood couldn’t quite figure out at first.  What we witnessed with Sixth Sense’s unprecedented run was one of the first truly viral movies, where word of mouth played a major role in driving up it’s box office.  While people raved about the craft of the film, it was that perfectly executed twist ending that really brought audiences back again and again.  Shymalan created an experience with The Sixth Sense, and not just a product like so many horror movies of the last decade were.  In the end, The Sixth Sense grossed an astonishing $293 million at the box office, making it the highest grossing horror film ever at that time, a title it would hold for 18 years before 2017’s IT surpassed it’s record.  The film would also go on to earn 6 Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture and for Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette in their supporting roles.  Bruce Willis would also walk away from with $100 million through his back end profits deal when he accepted the role for initially less than his average salary.  Since then, Shymalan has struggled in the shadow of his greatest achievement.  He’s had success here and there, including with Signs (2002) and Split (2016), but he’s been a filmmaker who’s unfortunately been boxed in by his own style of filmmaking, which hasn’t gotten better over time.  Thankfully, Haley Joel Osment has been able to survive the usual pitfalls that can ruin child actors and he’s aged into adulthood fairly well as a beloved character actor, including returns to the horror genre with movies like the recent Blink Twice (2024), co-starring Channing Tatum.  Toni Collette likewise has excelled in her returns to horror, including her acclaimed performance in Hereditary (2018).  While M. Night Shymalan may have become a victim of his own success and struggled as a filmmaker in the years after, there’s still no denying that he crafted a masterful film with The Sixth Sense.  In all of it’s subtleties, it re-freshened a genre that was in desperate need of a transformation, and the great thing is that he managed to make it happen with tricks of the trade that used to be staples of the horror genre that had sadly been forgotten over time.  With hints of Hitchcock and the Twilight Zone present in his movie, he managed to show us what a horror movie used to be and could once again become again, and this helped to usher in a new era of experimentation in horror filmmaking that we are still seeing today.  We have The Sixth Sense to thank for the slow burn intensity of artsy horror like we see in films such as Skinamarink (2022) and Longlegs (2024); movies that don’t force scares on you but still fill you with a sense of terror while you watch it.  It’s unbelievable that a little movie about a child who “sees dead people” would be the kind of movie to change Hollywood horror for many years after.

Off the Page – Coraline

Neil Gaiman has emerged as one of the most unique voices in modern literature over the last couple of decades.  The British author has particularly had a hand in creating a renewed interest in fantasy literature, especially when it comes to darker themed fantasy.  Gaiman himself cites the likes of J.R.R. Tolkein and Lewis Carroll as inspirations in his writing, and it’s interesting how he has carved out his own voice the literary world.  Not only has he made a name for himself with the written word, but he has also become a celebrated writer in the field of comic books as well.  The common theme that seems to appear in most of his writing is the idea of mythical and celestial beings existing in a modern world setting.  It’s a theme that pops up in most of his works.  His first novel, Good Omens, involved a familial relationship between a literal angel and a demon.  American Gods told a story about the gods of the old world making their way through life in the New World of modern day America.  Even his run of Sandman comics for DC involved the clashing of heaven and hell on earth.  But even with all of the literal biblical sized elements that he throws into his stories, his writing is also focused on the humanity that often comes into conflict with these world shaping elements.  Perhaps the best illustration of his ability to ground the fantastical in a contemporary, ordinary world is found in what was his first foray into children’s literature.  Of course, when we say children’s literature from the pen of Neil Gaiman, it’s still in the genre of horror fantasy.  His version of a story appropriate for young readers is within the same context of the works of the Brothers Grimm being appropriate for young readers.  He softens his edges, but still creates for his readers a spooky and at times also disturbing atmosphere.  And that’s the story we find in his 2002 novella, Coraline.

Coraline tells the story of a young girl who finds that her new home is not what it seems.  The titular heroine is at odds with her parents after their move, and wishes for an escape.  She finds that escape when she finds a door in the back of the house to another house identical to her own, only livelier and more welcoming.  There she finds a woman identical to her mother, only with buttons sewn onto her face instead of eyes.  This “Other Mother” is generous and attentive in a way that her own Mother has not been, and Coraline grows more fond of this “Other World.”  As he seems more inclined to stay in Other World, she soon realizes there is a catch; to live there, she must sew buttons into her own eyes just like the other residents there.  She of course refuses, and begins to see the Other Mother for who she truly is, a deceptive creature called the Beldam, who begins to grow  more grotesque after the pleasing facade has fallen.  Coraline manages to return to the real world, but her family is nowhere to be found.  It is here that Coraline realizes the cost of taking her parents love for granted, and favoring her own comfort and happiness over the needs of the family as a whole.  From this point, she determines to find her real family, and in the process, she learns of the horrible history that her new home has had with the Beldam lurking behind the hidden door.  Overall, it is a spooky sort of haunted house story that Neil Gaiman manages to craft that certainly is provocative without ever being gory.  You can definitely see the Lewis Carroll influence, as the Other World is a twisted take on the concept of Wonderland, where it takes on a sinister character after making too much sense instead of nonsense.  When the novella was first published, it was instantly successful, earning Gaiman among other things a Hugo Award.  A couple years later, Gaiman would oversee a graphic novel adaptation, which was published in 2008.  The graphic novel gave readers the first visual representation of Gaiman’s imaginative world, and as it turned out, it would be just an appetizer as Coraline was about to make the jump to the big screen.

“How can you walk away from something and then come towards it?”

Enter Laika Animation studios.  Laika had just emerged after a rebranding of the old Will Vinton Studios, which had been the stop motion workshop that had been animating shorts and commercials since the 1970’s, famous for the California Raisins among other things.  Due to growing health issues, Will Vinton was looking to pass his Portland, Oregon studio off to new management that he hoped would continue the stop motion tradition after he was gone.  A former animator who work at his studio was Travis Knight, who just so happened to be the son of Nike founder Phil Knight, and he managed to convince him father to invest in Vinton’s ailing studio.  Vinton retired in 2005 and shortly after Travis Knight took over management of the studio, re-branding it Laika Animation.  Knight wasted no time in turbo-charging the output of his new studio, quickly looking for a project to develop into a feature film that he hoped would put the studio on the map.  Given that stop motion already has this other-worldly feel to it, so a story like Neil Gaiman’s Coraline was a match made in heaven for Laika.  The story had all the elements that was ideal for the studio, a spooky story that could still appeal to all audiences and allow for them to flex their arms creatively, especially with the construction of the “Other World.”  And to also show that Laika was serious about getting the tone of the book right, they sought out some veteran help by hiring Henry Selick to direct the feature.  Selick, of course, famously directed the classic stop motion feature, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) for Disney and producer Tim Burton.  The success of that film led to a follow-up adaptation of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach (1996), but the souring of the working relationship between Selick and Burton eventually led to the former leaving their partnership in pursuit of a different creative path.  This was fortuitous for Laika, as they wanted their house style to evoke the weird and imaginative sights that both Nightmare and Giant Peach both shared.  Bringing Selick on board would prove to be exactly what their Coraline project needed, as it gave the film the fully realized vision that it needed.

“You probably think this world is a dream come true.  But you’re wrong.”

So, what did Laika manage to do to give Coraline the cinematic treatment.  Gaiman’s story already lent itself very well to the visual form as the graphic novel demonstrated.  On the whole, Laika didn’t make a whole lot of changes to the story itself; it plays out pretty much as it did on the page, with some notable but not too drastic alterations.  Perhaps the most noticeable difference is that Laika decided to give their setting a bit more character.  Neil’s novel is set in no particular place, with only the house itself being the primary setting for the story.  It’s presumed that Neil sets his story in his home country of England, as the house he describes is reminiscent of the old manor houses that dot the English countryside.  Laika on the other hand gave Coraline a decidedly American setting, and in fact the studio chose it’s own back yard as the place to set this story.  The movie takes place in the town of Ashland, Oregon, which is a real town nestled just north of the California state border.  It’s a small cultural community known for it’s yearly Shakespearean Festival.  If you’re wondering why the movie has citizens from the town reciting quotes from the Bard, that’s the reason why.  It’s an interesting choice to set the story there, because while Ashland can be an inviting place, it’s also a bit cut off, being surrounded by mountains and farms.  The often gloomy Oregon weather also plays well with the atmosphere of the story.  But what is interesting is that Laika also makes the “real world” in their movie stylized as well.  Both the realms of reality and fantasy have the same off-kilter look; the big difference is the way that the different realms are colored.  Coraline’s reality is muted and washed out, while “Other World,” is bright and colorful.  This is an effective way to differentiate the two, with the more sinister side appearing initially to be the more appealing of the two.  The effect is still the same with regards to the story, which works to Laika’s advantage.  They are able to make even the real world visually interesting, without sacrificing the impact of seeing the “Other World,” and in the end it gives the movie as a whole a vibrancy of style.

The characters for the most part are pretty similar to their literary counterparts.  One change that is made to the characterization is that the movie does not carry over Gaiman’s use of the first person narration from Coraline herself.  Coraline is still the main character here, but we are experiencing the story with her, rather than having her recount it for us.  Apart from that, she is the same character described in the book; spunky and free spirited, but still flawed due to her abrasiveness, especially when she shows it to her parents.  The story is a coming of age tale and through it we see Coraline grow into a more responsible character, not letting personal interests and desires get in the way of doing what’s right.  The animators definitely made her distinct, with the matching of her yellow rain coat and blue dyed hair creating an instantly iconic profile.  She’s also given great personality by a then teenage Dakota Fanning in her vocal performance.  Her work in the film is also complimented by a surprisingly complex vocal performance by Teri Hatcher as both Coraline’s mom and as “Other Mother” aka the Beldam.  Hatcher remarkably plays her role with incredible range, showcasing so many different variations on the same character; being warm and inviting at one point and then terrifyingly shrill by the end.  The Beldam is also a character where the animators got to be more creative in their designs.  Neil Gaiman described the creature as looking just like Coraline’s mother, except taller, thinner and paler, and obviously with those unsightly button eyes.  In the film, the Beldam goes through multiple transformations, at times being similar to what Gaiman described, but done one step further.  By the end, the Beldam is almost insect like, with metal needles as spider legs.  It makes for a truly terrifying villain for the story, and one that very much could only be fully realized in this style of animation.  All of the other characters are much like their counterparts in the book, with the animators using their creativity to give them all exaggerated bodies.  Coraline’s neighbors in particular are fun caricatured designs, like her downstairs neighbors Miss Spink and Miss Forcible having extreme “curves”, and her upstairs neighbor Mr. Bobinsky having blue skin.  The one character that seems to be the most direct pull is The Cat, who in the movie speaks with the distinct voice of Keith David.  He’s a character that definitely feels like he jumped right off the page, and he’s very much present in much of the promotions of the movie, including appearing as part of the logo.

“Even if you win, she’ll never let you go.”

There is one character that was original to the movie that made a significant change to the story.  The film added another neighbor named Wybie to the plot; a boy around Coraline’s age that doesn’t live in the same house like the rest of Coraline’s neighbors but nevertheless still hangs around the property.  He starts off as a bit of a nuisance to Coraline, being a bit of a weirdo that talks too much.  But, when Coraline begins to investigate deeper into the mystery of the house she lives in, she learns that Wybie’s family has a dark past related to it.  Wybie tells her that his grandmother lost a sister when they used to live in the same house.  The sister disappeared one day and was never seen again.  It’s only after Coraline challenges the “Other Mother’s” authority that she comes face to face with the truth.  The house is haunted by the spirits of children, all of whom were captured and eaten by the Beldam, who lured them into the “Other World” the same way that Coraline was.  This revelation is found in the original book, but the fact that one of the ghost children is related to Coraline’s new friend in the real world gives the revelation a much more personal angle.  It hits home a lot more that Coraline knows what fate she’s about to face after becoming aware of Wybie’s great aunt’s own grisly fate.  It helps to elevate the threat of the Beldam in the story and it gives Coraline a bit more purpose in the story.  Not only is she going to face off against the Beldam for her own survival, but she also is doing it to seek justice for those who were not able to escape.  It definitely gives Coraline a bit more urgency in her story, showing that she is thinking through her ordeal as she presses forward.  The inclusion of Wybie in the story also gives Coraline a character that she can relate with on a personable level.  As she finds out, Wybie is the only one who believes her after she has passed into a different world, with all the adults dismissing her childish “fantasies” as just that.  It’s interesting that in the “Other World,” the Beldam has also created an “Other Wybie” whose mouth has been sewn shut.  Perhaps the fact that “Other Mother” went to the extra effort to keep “Other Wybie” silent is what convinces Coraline to take the words of the real one more seriously, and that’s an interesting new wrinkle added into the plot of the film.

What the movie and book both effectively realize is the theme of confronting fears head on as a positive sign of maturity.  For Coraline, she appears on the surface to be a fearless pre-teen girl whose adventurous spirit leads her to explore the unknown.  But all of that fearlessness to what’s in front of her also puts a wedge between her and her parents.  Her fear is internalized; she is afraid to open up to her parents and tell them she loves them, because that’s a sign of immaturity in her eyes.  There’s a degree to that in every rebellious youth, but the movie and the book Coraline confronts this theme in a very vivid way.  Her fear manifests clearly when the Beldam has taken her parents away.  She realizes her greatest fear is being alone, and that because of her actions, she has ended up isolating herself, making her own fear come true.  It’s a mature theme to explore in a coming of age story like this, and it’s interesting to see how Coraline comes to the realization that having everything come to her on her terms is actually what has made her world come apart.  Once the Beldam shows her true form, and the “Other World” begins to slowly crumble apart, we see all the old things that made the “Other World” so inviting before suddenly become the things of nightmares.  In her quest to save her parents, all of the different encounters with the “Other” residents of the house become twisted and nightmarish moments in the final act of the film.  And the worst is saved for last when she has to face the Beldam face to ugly face, all the more disturbing when the creature is still faintly like her mother.  Another interesting element that was added for the film was the idea of the Beldam luring her victims with dolls that look just like them found in the real world.  What it tells us is that the Beldam seems to sense the insecurity that a child like Coraline possesses and uses the dolls as a plant to coax out the curiosity of each child once they arrive at the house.  Neil Gaiman’s story certainly deals with all these themes, and thanks to Henry Selick’s creative vision, those themes manifest is some truly eerie and at times terrifying moments on screen.

“She wants something to love, I think.  Something that isn’t her.  Or, maybe she’d just love something to eat.”

Coraline premiered in February of 2009, but regardless of its wintertime release, it has since become a favorite for Halloween time playlists.  The film was critically well received and it had a pretty healthy box office take for a stop motion animated film.  More importantly, it put Laika Animation on the map.  In the 15 years since Coraline’s premiere, they have released four more features (2012’s ParaNorman, 2014’s The Boxtrolls, 2016’s Kubo and the Two Strings, and 2019’s Missing Link) with a fifth one currently slated for 2025 called Wildwood.  While they have struggled to repeat the same success as Coraline, each film is still highly regarded and the studio has helped to keep the prestige of stop motion animation going.  Like many other successful runs, it matters how well a studio is able to perform on it’s first go, and Laika certainly found the right story to tell with Neil Gaiman’s short modern fairy tale.  The movie itself has helped to elevate the novel itself, which when it was first published was regarded as one of Gaiman’s lesser works.  It was still loved, but it didn’t shine as brightly as Gaiman’s run of Sandman comics, or his novels Good Omens and American Gods.  What is noteworthy though is that the movie Coraline was the first actual cinematic adaptation of one of his literary works.  Since then, many of his novels have been been given adaptations, mostly for television.  Both American Gods and Good Omens were faithfully adapted into shows for Starz and Amazon Prime respectively, while Netflix managed to take his vast collection of Sandman comics and turn it into a successful mini-series.  And after 15 years, Coraline still holds up and is probably even more popular now than it was when it first premiered.  One thing that really has helped it to stand out is the fact that it’s an animated feature that’s not afraid to be a little dark.  Animation used to have a lot more darker moments than they do now, and those were the kinds of movies that have withstood the test of time.  Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to make a family friendly film have that extra little bit of peril in it, even if it becomes borderline horrific, because those end up being the scenes that we remember most from childhood on.  Coraline has the perfect mix of all that; whimsy, humor, creepy atmosphere and even a good scare here and there.

“They say even the proudest spirit can be broken…with love.”

Joker: Folie a Deux – Review

Five years ago, Warner Brothers and DC struck gold with a bold and ambitious movie centered around one of pop culture’s most infamous villains.  The movie Joker (2019) stood out from all the other comic book movies that were released towards the end of the 2010’s.  It was grounded, gritty and unforgiving in it’s tone.  The filmmaker behind it, Todd Philips was diverting far from his usual comfort zone in comedy and was taking a page from early Scorsese with this origin story centered around Gotham City’s “clown prince of crime.”  The Joker has always been a highly coveted role in the past for actors, because it’s a character that is all about extremes, especially when it comes to both humor and horror, and that’s a mix that many actors love to throw themselves into.  From Jack Nicholson to Heath Ledger, many great performances have helped to turn the Joker into a cinematic icon, but in the case of the Todd Phillips’ movie, the Joker was not just going to be a foil for the Batman this time; he was going to be the main character.  To make the movie work, they needed an actor who could not only pull off the grandiosity of the Joker persona but also someone who could find the human being underneath and make that aspect just as fascinating.  Joaquin Phoenix proved to be the ideal choice for the role, as he slipped into the clown shoes of this iconic villain and crafted an unforgettable performance that was both chilling and unhinged but also felt authentic.  The resulting film was a smash hit at the box office, becoming the first R-Rated film ever to gross over a billion dollars worldwide, a feat only matched this year by Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).  The film also received numerous accolades, including a Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival, and 11 Oscar nominations including Best Picture.  Joaquin ended up walking away with a Best Actor win for his performance, making him the second Oscar winner for a portrayal of the Joker, after Heath Ledger’s posthumous win in 2009 for The Dark Knight (2008).  In many senses, the timing of Joker’s release could not have been better to capture the zeitgeist of the comic book movie boom.

But, the success of Joker was not without controversy.  Many people were worried that the movie painted too sympathetic a portrait of the Joker character, and in a way they believed that the film was an endorsement for anti-social, anarchic behavior that often attributes itself to the Joker persona.  Only 7 years prior, the infamous mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado was attributed to a gunman who wore make-up similar to the Joker, which is a memory that still sticks with movie-goers to this day.  Because Joker is such an evocative idea of a villain, his persona has been unfortunately usurped by dangerous radicals in the online community, including incel movements and even white supremacist groups.  For many, the idea of this origin film giving a more nuanced look at the beginnings of this famous villain was like playing with fire in an already volatile cultural moment, with so many people getting radicalized into these extremist groups, particularly angst-y young men.  Now, Todd Philips and Joaquin Phoenix have always asserted that their movie is not an endorsement of the Joker’s actions, but rather that the movie is an examination of the way that societal problems and lack of care for mental illness leads to the creation of someone as bad as the Joker.  Like with heroes, villains are not born but made as a response to problems in society and the trauma it leaves behind.  Most audiences agreed and could see the nuance of the filmmaker’s intent, but there were many others, especially those in the radicalized community, that only saw the movie as a glorification of their anti-social behavior and they adopted the movie as a vindication for their extremism.  In the wake of this movie, particularly with the unrest of the pandemic and the 2020 election that saw rioters attack the Capitol, as well as the targeting of marginalized groups under the guise of “fighting the woke,” it’s easy to see why so many people were fearful of the message that the movie was sending, even if it was misinterpreted.  Still, Joker remains a controversial yet potent film that still sparks conversations today.  And perhaps in response, Todd Phillips and company are looking to provide an answer to the volatile impact of the first movie with a sequel called Joker: Folie a Deux.  The question is, does it offer up anything new or meaningful to the discussion?

Joker: Folie a Deux takes place not long after the events of the first film.  Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is being held at the Arkham Asylum where he is awaiting trial for murder.  His daily routine involves receiving medication to pacify his violent tendencies and he is allowed to roam around the courtyard under the watchful supervision of a group of rough and mean prison guards, led by officer Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson).  Not long before his trial starts, Sullivan decides to allow Arthur to attend an Asylum musical therapy group.  It is there that he meets another inmate at the asylum named, Harley Quinzel (Lady Gaga).  Harley it turns out has been infatuated by Arthur after seeing his crimes play out in the public eye, including the murder of talk show host Murray Franklin on live television.  Arthur takes a liking to her and they begin a courtship in the prison, leading to some mayhem along the way.  Meanwhile, Arthur’s lawyer Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener) is trying to soften his persona in preparation for the trial, getting him on board with the idea of pleading insanity in order to get a lighter sentence.  His defense will be that he suffers from schizophrenia and that the Joker is a separate personality created out of the years of abuse he faced at home.  His defense is of course being disputed by the city that is seeking the death penalty in response to his murders.  On the other side of the courtroom, Arthur’s attorney is having to face off against the ambitious and skilled new Assistant DA, Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey).  But, Ms. Stewart is noticing that Arthur has been under the influence of his extremely volatile new girlfriend, and that it’s bringing out all of the bad aspects of his character into full view.  She worries that the unstable relationship that Arthur is having with Harley is going to jeopardize his chances of avoiding the death penalty because the jurors are only going to see Arthur and Joker as being one in the same.  Will Harley and Joker’s whirlwind romance ultimately lead to Arthur’s end, or is she awakening something far worse in him than was ever there before.

Perhaps the boldest choice that Todd Phillips could’ve ever made in response to the reception of the original film was to decide to follow it up with a musical.  But, that’s exactly what he did.  Folie a deux is a French term for shared psychosis, and the use of it in this title is to explain that both the Joker and Harley are both feeding the psychotic states of each other, and that is manifested in the movie through song.  Music is the language that speaks to both of them, and so we see the descent of madness they both fall into being presented in the movie as lavish musical numbers.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a movie that has a song here and there; this is a full-on musical, with songs intended to underscore the story and everything.  This idea intrigued me, because it was such a departure from the original film which was a ground, gritty drama.  I was excited to see how well this change in genre would work within the same world.  Also, I wanted to see the anti-woke crowd have a meltdown, seeing their beloved Joker franchise take a decidedly more artsy direction that runs contradictory to their worldview, and would hopefully cause them to abandon their claim on the original so that it wouldn’t be co-opted by such a bad faith group of anti-fans.  Well, I can definitely say that the meltdown among those people is happening, and they are throwing a massive fit over the direction that Joker: Folie a Deux has taken the franchise.  Unfortunately, Todd Philips didn’t give much else to this movie to make those of us on the opposite side care either.  I don’t know if Joker: Folie a Deux was too much of an over-correction for the harder edges of Joker’s message, but the movie that we got just has nothing that appeals to either the “woke” or the “anti-woke” crowd.  The musical element is ambitious, but it rings hollow and doesn’t have the desired effect of creating a sense of awe with the audience.  In many ways, this is one example where I can say that the movie is made worse by the musical numbers and not better.  And most annoyingly, it seems like Todd Philips doesn’t really have a point to make in the end.  The first Joker, for all of it’s controversy, still had a clear sense of what it wanted to say.  Here, the movie just throws a lot of different big concepts all at us at once, and none of it lands.

What’s frustrating about Joker: Folie a Deux is that it ultimately feels toothless.  It becomes clearer the further you get into the movie that Todd Phillips had nowhere to go after the first Joker.  Whatever statement he was trying to make, he already made it clear before.  So, the choice he made with this sequel was to flip genres and go full surrealist with the musical twist.  The strange thing is that the movie is still in that gritty tone of the first movie, so the switch to musical numbers feel jarring and without meaning.  And it should be noted that this is a jukebox musical, meaning that all the songs are not original to this movie.  The film utilizes old standards of classic  Hollywood, such as “That’s Entertainment,” “If They Could See Me Know,” and “Put on a Happy Face” to name a few.  And you’ll notice that a lot of the song choices are very on the nose beating you over the head with their themes.  The movie has a very La La Land (2016) feel to it, where it bounces back and forth between the fantastical and the down to earth, but it doesn’t have any of the cohesive narrative that that revisionist musical had.  Perhaps the audience that’s going to feel the most frustrated with this movie’s lack of bite and cohesion are the comic book fans.  In Joker, they got a fascinating deep dive into one of the most iconic comic book characters of all time.  With this, the comic book connection is really treated like an afterthought.  There’s not a single mention of Bruce Wayne or any of the Wayne family in this movie, which is odd to see a Joker film that doesn’t have any connection at all to Batman.  At least the last film gave a hint at that future.  This movie almost feels disconnected completely from the comic book, like it could be about any other murder trial.  It’s only occasionally you’re reminded that there’s a character named Harvey Dent in this movie, because nothing distinguishes him as a character at all, and there’s not a single hint of his future as the villain Two-Face.  The movie doesn’t have anything to say as a musical, as a comic book movie, or as a social commentary.  It’s just feels like a 2 1/2 hour epilogue to the first movie with a few songs added in.  It offers nothing more than that.

And the sad thing is there is that the movie is still well crafted from a technical standpoint.  The period recreation carried over from the first movie, which depicts a Gotham City in the same vein as late 70’s/ early 80’s New York City, still looks incredible.  Lawrence Sher, who was also the cinematographer for the first Joker, returns to do the photography for this movie.  The film was shot digitally, but the team did a great job making it look like it was made with the same kind of film stock they would’ve used on the films in the 70’s.  And when the movie does go into the dreamlike musical sequences, Sher does make them feel bold and colorful.  And while the musical numbers are hit and miss (mostly miss), the one piece of the movie that still shines bright musically is the original score by Hildur Guonadottir.  Hildur was the recipient of the first Joker’s other Oscar win for Original Score and her haunting music is a perfect fit for gritty world that this film depicts.  The eeriness of her mix of low bass strings and horns fits very well with the fractured state of Joker’s personality in this film, and the score just does such a great job of setting the melancholy mood of the film.  You almost resent the fact that the movie interrupts itself to start playing a musical number as it takes away from the beautiful music in-between.  There’s definitely skill on display, and Todd Phillips definitely shows off his knowledge of classic films as the movie references not just old school Scorsese, but also has nods to the musicals of New Hollywood as well like New York, New York (1977), All That Jazz (1979) and Hair (1979).  Even older musicals like Singin’ in the Rain (1952),The Band Wagon (1953) and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) get shout outs.  There is clearly love of movie musicals in this movie, but the love also seems to be misplaced.  The fact is, even with all the skill put into the musical numbers and the drama side of the story, the film never really commits to one or the other.  It’s hard to tell if there is sincerity in the musical numbers, as it feels like Phillips isn’t so much trying to create a new kind of musical as he seems to be using it more for parody.  Unfortunately, the movie never feels clever enough to get the ironic use of musical numbers to carry much of an impact.

For the musical numbers to also work, it also matters to have the right cast in place.  The musical is primarily sung through by only two performers in this movie; Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.  Phoenix is no stranger to singing on film, as he received an Oscar nomination for playing Johnny Cash in Walk the Line (2005), a film where he didn’t do any lip-synching in playing the country music legend.  For this film, he’s called upon to do some pretty big numbers which require a powerful singing voice, and strangely he still performs in character as Arthur Fleck, who he portrays as having a weak, damaged voice.  In a way, the strain in his voice makes sense, as it shows the struggle that Arthur Fleck has in controlling his emotions, showing the psychological damage he’s still dealing with.  And when we see him fully embrace his Joker side, his voice gets much bigger and commanding.  Joaquin plays both of these sides well and there’s a lot of crazy turns that he takes with the character in this movie.  Even as his character lacks the rich development that was found in the original film, he’s nevertheless giving it his all as an actor throughout the movie.  Of course, on the singing side, the movie benefits greatly by having Lady Gaga in the cast.  Here she’s taking over a role that in past films has been memorably played by Margot Robbie.  I find it refreshing that her version of Harley Quinn is nothing like Robbie’s bubbly little anarchist.  Her performance as Harley is definitely well suited for grittier version of the Joker mythos.  The only problem is that Harley Quinn is not as important to the overall plot as she should be.  We see her be a bad influence on Arthur Fleck in prison, but we don’t learn more about Harley outside of what Arthur sees with her.  Again, like the absence of Batman, we are denied the inclusion of seeing Joker and Harley committing crime together like they do in the comic books.  Harley is just there to be a motivator for the evolution of Joker’s story, and that sadly is another disappointing underuse of the potential of the character.  But, at least she sings the hell out of her songs in the film; far and away the best singer in the cast.  There isn’t much else to say about the cast other than there’s some decent work from a good collection of character actors, such as Cathrine Keener and Brendan Gleeson.  I also want to spotlight little person actor Leigh Gill, whose witness stand scene is a highlight in the film and he manages to steal the scene with a heartbreaking performance.

Joker: Folie a Deux is not the worst movie of the year, nor is it the worst comic book movie of the year; both easily go to the travesty that was Madame Web (2024).  But I will say that this is probably the most frustrating movie of the year, because of the waste of good talent that I saw on screen.  I was thinking back a lot to my experience watching Megalopolis the previous week.  Objectively, Megalopolis is a much sloppier, mismanaged movie than Folie a Deux, but it was also much more entertaining to watch.  Both movies are wild swings, but one of the movies misses and still manages to be memorable while the other misses and just makes you feel nothing.  There was little hope for Megalopolis, and yet I admire it’s audaciousness and the fact that it was just such a bizarre experience.  Joker: Folie a Deux wishes it could be bizarre.  Like I said before, there just seems to be this lack of committment to the bit from Todd Phillips.  He’s making a musical, but the musical numbers feel restrained to the point where they don’t soar, with Phillips still trying to tie it back into the grittiness of the original film.  And the fact that the movie never gives us anything more than a rundown of Joker’s criminal trial to center the story around also makes the movie feel small.  It’s barely a comic book movie adaptation, with a baffling absence of any hint of Batman. Lady Gaga is giving it her all in the belting out of her songs in the film, but her Harley Quinn has nothing else to offer and like everything else in the movie, she’s just there because she’s a piece of the Joker puzzle that ultimately never fully gets solved.  The must insulting part comes in the end, when Todd Phillips even appears to undermine the Joker origin that he set up in his original, beloved movie.  You leave the theater wondering what was the point in the end, and sadly there is none.  I get the feeling that Phillips was upset by just how many people misread the first film and he wanted to deconstruct the mythos that he himself had created as a means of getting the point across that he intended.  He wants us to see the way that fame and celebrity can corrupt, and that we as a society are embracing more and more people not for their good qualities but rather for their extreme personalities, and that can often lead to horrible consequences as villainous people can be elevated to heroes for the angry masses.  Unfortunately, too many people viewed the first film as a celebration of the extremes in society, and Folie a Deux feels too much like a not well thought out rebuttal to that misunderstood message of the first movie.  I imagine this is all we are going to get out of this brief else-world storyline from DC comics.  It’s not a good sign when you’re big musical comic book movie barely gets a reaction from even the most forgiving fans of the genre.  My screening was dead quiet by the end, and there were even walkouts before the credits rolled.  Joker will still live on in comics and on the big and little screen for years to come, but I doubt we’ll hear anymore singing from him for a while.

Rating: 5/10

Megalopolis – Review

There are many reasons why Francis Ford Coppola has been dubbed the “Godfather of Cinema.”  Of course the main reason is because he made the Godfather movies, but he has also earned the title because he was also a crucial figure in the re-shaping of cinema as we know it.  He was one of the batch of filmmakers that came to be known as the New Hollywood movement in the 1970’s, which steered the industry away from the old studio system and more towards auteur driven projects that were less glossy and more gritty.  While Coppola may not have been the one to start the movement, he was certainly the one who turned it into a powerful force, with The Godfather  (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974) both rising out of this new style and becoming successes at both the box office and during awards season.  In the meantime, Coppola also steered himself away from Hollywood itself, choosing instead to craft his own mini industry in his home base of San Francisco.  His American Zoetrope company was a truly independent studio of it’s own, with it’s own soundstages, facilities for editing and post production, giving for the first time a Hollywood style level of filmmaking services outside the confines of Hollywood itself.  But, with that incredible progression of growth, there was inevitably going to be a fall of from grace too.  While Coppola did manage to achieve accolades for his ambitious war epic Apocalypse Now (1979), the production was a chaotic mess that began to take it’s toll on Coppola’s reputation in Hollywood.  And then the box office failure for the musical, One from the Heart (1981), put his company in a financial bind.  Coppola would work throughout the 80’s and 90’s on much smaller productions that while they did pay the bills and were generally well received they also were safe and not the kind of bold artistic statements that he used to make.  In that era, only Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) stood out as an artistically daring movie.  After 1996’s The Rainmaker, Coppola left filmmaking behind to focus more on his growing wine making business.

But, during those years in the wilderness, there was always this idea that was occupying his thoughts.  Coppola had long dreamed of making a Roman style epic, but have it set in modern day America.  His ambitious story would concern the theme of rising and falling empires, the disconnect between the patrician and plebian classes, and the new civilizations that grow out of the ashes of the old.  He dubbed this story, Megalopolis, and it was a story that was bold in concept but highly difficult to sell to potential investors.  Coppola would continue to work on the film periodically, but as the industry was changing and largely leaving him behind, the hopes of making the film a reality also diminished.  For the longest time, among fans of Coppola’s oeuvre, Megalopolis became this mythic thing; an unrealized project that we could only speculate what it may have been.  But, Coppola never gave up hope on it.  In the late 2000’s, Coppola regained some of his creative spark, and made three small scale films that while nowhere as ambitious as his earlier film were nevertheless granted him the creative freedom he desired; Youth Without Youth (2007), Tetro (2009) and Twixt (2011).  But even with that late career resurgence, Hollywood still wasn’t interested in investing in Megalopolis.  As Coppola has entered his mid-eighties, he was at the point where he knew that if he wasn’t going to make Megalopolis now that it would never get made at all.  So, he took the drastic measure of self-financing Megalopolis himself, to the tune of $120 million.  To accomplish this, he sold half of his wine making business, which was a sacrifice he was willing to make since his own grown children were uninterested in inheriting it, given that they’re all successful filmmakers like him.  And now, with a good chunk of his fortune poured into the film, the once impossible dream of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is finally a reality and making it’s debut on the big screen.  The only question remains, was it worth all of the wait and the many years of hype.

The story takes place in a heightened version of New York City named New Rome.  New Rome has been going through many years of decline due to a volatile economy, and it’s up to a select few to fix it’s crumbling infrastructure.  Unfortunately, two sides are at wat over the vision of the future.  On one side is Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who is inclined to keep the city budget minded and exactly as it is.  On the other side is popular architect Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) of the New Rome Design Authority, who has won the Nobel Prize for creating an environmentally adaptive building material known as Megalon.  Cesar’s dream of a utopia clashes with Cicero’s more pragmatic plans for the crumbling city, But, the mayor’s daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) doesn’t agree with her father’s vision, and finds herself seeking to help Cesar fulfill his utopian dream.  Both rivals desire the favor of a patron in the form of New Rome resident and richest man in the word, Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight), who’s also Cesar’s uncle.  Unfortunately for both Cesar and Cicero, there are troublemakers seeking to disrupt the power structure of the city by exploiting the old man and his money.  One is Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza), a former news anchor who was once Cesar’s estranged girlfriend and is now the new wife of Hamilton.  The other is the old man’s grandson, Clodio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf) who is interested in stoking up the resentful working class people in a rebellion against the people re-shaping the city, manipulating them to his own benefit.  While Cesar continues to draw up plans for his utopian vision of the city, he and Julia form a relationship that becomes more romantic over time.  But there is a dark secret to Cesar’s past that continues to haunt him and force him deeper into substance abuse.  Even under the observant eye of Ceasr’s assistant Fundi Romaine (Laurence Fishburne), Cesar can still let himself go too often and that creates an aura of scandal around him that could derail his vision.  Will Julia be that calming influence that helps Cesar literally re-shape New Rome into a modern utopia, or will the wolves at Cesar’s door be able to destroy him and wreck havoc on the city as a result.

I was one of those observant cinephiles who had heard of this mythic production called Megalopolis,  and I would say I’ve probably been aware of it maybe for over twenty years.  The genesis of the project went even further back, but by the time I started to hear about it, it still hadn’t advanced more than just a title and an outline of the concept.  For many years, I wondered like many about what Francis Ford Coppola was cooking up for us.  The idea sounded bold, and I was really eager to see Coppola go for something big again like he did with the films of his glory days,  But, as the years went on and Coppola distanced himself more and more from Hollywood, it seemed like Megalopolis was just going to be one of the great never made films in movie history.  So, color me surprised when I learned that Megalopolis was indeed being made.  With nothing left to lose, Coppola is taking one last big swing as a filmmaker and getting this dream project across the finish line before he himself has left this world behind.  That in itself is admirable, and I’m just glad that I can now actually see this mythic film for myself.  So, was it worth the wait.  Well, the answer is going to be a complicated one.  The film, I would say is objectively bad.  It is a colossal mess in terms of story, tone, and just general common sense with regards to logic.  But, is it also entertaining?  Absolutely.  In a strange way, everything that made this movie awful is also what kept me interested.  I was never bored watching this movie, and it’s probably one of the craziest movie experiences I’ve ever had in a theater.  This movie was a self-financed passion project and it shows; we are seeing Francis Ford Coppola’s unvarnished creative mind on display in all of it’s unfocused glory.  There is so much going wrong with this movie that it somehow goes all the way around and becomes it’s own beautiful thing.

There’s no doubt in my mind that many people are going to hate this movie.  Anyone expecting this to be another Godfather like masterpiece will be very disappointed.  This is a Coppola that is far closer to the gonzo weirdness of Apocalypse Now, though I will say it’s still no where near as masterful as that movie managed to be.  Apocalypse Now managed to somehow come together into a coherent narrative, but Megalopolis is far from coherent.  So much of the movie does not make sense.  Cesar has the ability to control time.  Is it ever explained why? Nope, and it doesn’t even have a purpose to play in the story itself.  Megalopolis is full of these incongruent elements, all thrown together into this melting pot of ideas that Coppola’s trying to force together into a story.  Francis’ overall thesis about this movie is that he wants to spark a debate about what should be done about our future.  But, he sadly undermines his own message by throwing so many ideas at us that it all gets muffled amidst all the noise.  And yet, there’s so much creativity abound in all the madness of this movie.  This movie really is unlike any other film I have seen.  At some points of the movie, there are moments that genuinely soar and show what the potential of the film could’ve been had there been more of a focus to it.  While this movie can in no way fall within the same category of beloved epics of the past, I do feel that it does stand out as something bold and original, which is welcome in a Hollywood market that has grown more homogenous in recent years.  It’s hard to tell if Coppola is aware of the oddball nature of this movie.  There are a lot of moments that I think were unintentionally hilarious that Coppola had maybe intended to be taken seriously.  But, then he’ll have an intentionally funny moment, and it’ll be actually funny.  So, I wonder if the weirdness was intentional and all of the abrupt tonal shift were actually all meant to be farce after all.  The movie is such a hodgepodge, I honesty could not peg down what Coppola was doing at all.

There’s definitely a lot to be said about the performances as well.  Anyone who accepted a role in this film must be commended for their bravery, because it must not have been easy.  Nobody talks like a real human being in this script; the whole thing is heighted with characters speaking in these grandiose terms and with grand soliloquies.  But, some actors are better equipped than others.  For one thing, I think the only leading man you could ask for to carry a movie like this is Adam Driver.  Driver has chosen to act in some very out there films recently, and he’s committed himself to the craft no matter how bizarre the film or role may be.  He brings that kind of energy to the role of Cesar Catalina, taking it big when he needs to go big, but also finding the moments to reign it in find the subtlety in the character when it’s called for.  While the character ultimately gel together on the page, with Coppola making him too enigmatic, Driver at least gets the job done in his performance.  He’s also got a great match in Giancarlo Esposito.  His performance as Cicero may be the best in the entire movie, because it’s the most grounded.  He definitely captures the grandiose nature of the character, but also finds the ability to make him feel like a real person as well, unlike so many of the other characters that come across more like caricatures.  The supporting roles are the most bizarre in the film.  Aubrey Plaza is really vamping it up as the character Wow Platinum, in a performance that leave no room at all for subtlety.  And the fact that she goes whole hog with this character makes her performance pretty fun to watch.  Shia LeBeouf is a bit more mixed, as he’s trying to be a bit more method while at the same time playing a character that’s supposed to be wildly erratic, and the mix doesn’t always work; though there are flashes of entertaining moments from him here and there.  And I honestly don’t know what Jon Voight is doing in his performance, but I’ll say this, he has one hell of a final scene that was ballsy for an actor of his age to be a part in.

With a $120 million price tag, you would imagine that a lot of that had to go into the visuals.  For quite a bit of the movie, Megalopolis is a visually impressive movie.  In terms of costuming and cinematography, the film does have some incredible craft behind it.  The film was shot by DP Mihai Malaimare Jr., who has worked on films as varied as Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master (2012) and Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit (2019), as well as shooting all of Coppola’s last three films.  He manages to create some really beautiful shots throughout the movie, including a romantic scene that takes place among hanging steel beams high above the skyline of the city.  He also incorporates many beautiful uses of lighting, especially during some of the more dreamlike moments of the movie.  The costumes used in the film also are well crafted, giving the film it’s best connection to the underlying theme of this being a modern day Roman Empire.  The suits that the men wear all have these capes that the characters fling over their shoulder like the togas of a Roman senator, and the women’s dresses also carry over that Roman aesthetic, in a nice visual connection contributed by designer Milena Canonero, who had previously done costumes for another member of the Coppola family in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006).  But, even with a $120 million budget, the film’s ambition seemed to still test the limits of the budget, and that unfortunately leads to some visual effects that don’t entirely work.  There’s a heavy use of some very obvious green screen that comes across as clunky in the final look on screen.  Also, the ill-defined substance Megalon that is supposed to be this game-changing building material never comes across as tangible and also it looks like a very low quality digital effect from decades ago.  But, as bad as some of the visual effects come across, there is still a sense of ambition behind all of it.  Coppola put his own money behind his vision and there are moments where the film does carry across some striking visuals.  The sequence with giant stone figures coming to life and growing weary may be a ham-fisted metaphor in the film, but it is visually striking at the same time.  It goes along with so much of what the rest of the movie represents; it’s messy, but it is also unique.

The best thing that I can say for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is that it will be remembered.  Whether that will be either infamously or lovingly is up for debate, but I am sure that anyone who sees this film will never forget it.  It is just this weird, anomaly of a movie that could only exist through the sheer will of a legendary filmmaker investing everything he has into it.  He may burn through more good will with casual filmgoers as a result, but he got this dream project to the finish line in his twilight years and that seems to be the goal in the end.  He’s not seeking to reclaim past glory and put himself back on top in Hollywood.  He wanted to make this movie for most of his career, and he lived long enough to see it through, and now it belongs to the world.  He’s not looking for the awards season gold anymore.  And he’s also very well aware that this movie will not see a return on investment, as the box office looks to be pretty weak.  It shouldn’t be surprising, given that he had trouble convincing any studio to help distribute the film, before Lionsgate ultimately stepped up.  It may be a box office flop, but I can see this film finding a cult following in the years ahead.  While the movie may have been a colossal mess, it did manage to entertain the audience at my screening.  They were laughing pretty consistently throughout at all the weirdness of the movie, including the clunky dialogue and the unexpected tonal shifts.  Every time you think the film has peaked with it’s craziness, it somehow finds another way to go a level beyond that, and that kind of is impressive.  I don’t think it will tarnish Coppola’s reputation at all; the Godfather movies and Apocalypse Now are still undeniable masterpieces that will continue to shine a bright light on Coppola’s legacy.  But I am happy to see him trying to swing hard at his advanced age, even if also becomes a big miss.  Megalopolis may be a mess, but it’s a very beautiful mess that gave me one of the best and most insane theatrical experiences I’ve had in a long time.  It’s almost impossible to really rate it like usual because it almost defies a quantitive value.  As a story, it is without a doubt in a 4/10 range, but as a theatrical experience, I would put it near an 8/10 or even a 9/10, just based on how much fun I had.  To split it down the middle, I’m giving the one below which is about how I feel as a whole.  In the end, it was worth the wait even with all those flaws I mentioned.  It’s no where near a masterpiece, but in a way I kind of love the movie for being an uncompromised work of originality that only a great, legendary filmmaker can make.

Rating: 7/10

Like a Box of Chocolates – 30 Years of Forrest Gump and American Nostalgia Put on Film

The movie Forrest Gump (1994) by many accounts would seem to be an unusual choice to be the highest grossing movie of the year as well as the champion of awards season.  A story about a simpleton who has managed to stumble his way into important historical moments while being completely oblivious to his own impact on those same events, as well as the effect he has on the lives of others.  On the surface it doesn’t scream out as being a blockbuster.  And yet, it accomplished all that and more.  Forrest Gump was the undisputed champion of it’s release year both at the box office, and at the Academy Awards, and it’s even more surprising when you see the competition it went up against.  It managed to become the highest grossing film of the year, even with direct competition against Disney’s juggernaut The Lion King (1994) that same Summer.  And during awards season, it managed to beat out universally beloved classics like Pulp Fiction (1994) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994).  So what was it about the movie that made it such a champion with critics and audiences.  When you look at the film, it makes a lot of sense given the context of when it came out and also with the talent that was involved.  Forrest Gump was the right movie at the right time for Hollywood.  America was going through a period of relative peacetime during the Clinton era of the 1990’s, and during this time the culture was beginning to reflect on the struggles of the past and look at how they shaped the country into what it was at the time.  With Forrest Gump, the focus was on the shaky period of American post-War history between the 1950’s and 1970’s that saw the rise of Civil Rights in the South, the horrors of the Vietnam War and the loss of faith in government through the Watergate scandal.  All of these events provide the backdrop of Forrest Gump, but at it’s center is an eccentric character brought to life through an unforgettable performance by an actor who was starting to hit the peak of his powers in Hollywood; Tom Hanks.  All of this collided in a movie that benefited from the right timing, and 30 years on, it’s interesting to look back and see if the movie has the same kind of potency today.

The movie was based on a 1986 novel of the same name by author Winston Groom.  Told as a first person account from a Southern man named Forrest Gump, we witness his life story while at the same time getting a perspective on the national events he witnessed from his own simple and unburdened mind.  The novel was meant to be a picturesque story of America in transition with a bit of humor injected to give a satirical perspective on what it meant to be an American during these tumultuous years.  The story lent itself very well to a cinematic adaptation, and went through a fierce bidding war before eventually landing at Paramount Pictures.  Screenwriter Eric Roth was given the task of refining Groom’s sprawling narrative into a manageable script, and even though it did adhere pretty closely to the original plot of the novel, Roth did make quite a few changes, especially with the character of Forrest himself.  In the novel, Forrest is more of an overt savant, with clearly defined disabilities that made him academically deficient in many things, but also highly proficient in others.  In Roth’s script, Forrest it’s a bit more ambiguous of a character.  We never know what’s going on with him as a person, and why he’s not as bright as the average person.  It wasn’t that long after the film Rain Man (1988) had featured a savant character with severe autism in it’s story, so perhaps the studio just didn’t want that to be the focus of their movie.  In a sense, Forrest is written much more like a Capra-esque “every-man,” but with just a little less mental acuity.  It does fit more with that the intent of the story should be, which to not focus on Forrest’s disabilities but rather the journey he takes through life.  It’s a style of story that dates back to Voltaire’s Candide, and has been the basis for other films of the same ilk like Woody Allen’s Zelig (1983) or Lindsay Anderson’s O Lucky Man (1973), where a common man finds himself wandering though life and finding himself unexpectedly being caught up in the march of history.  The fact that Forrest is not the brightest apple in the bunch is inconsequential to the plot, though it does occasionally lead to some of the funniest moments.  What is of consequence is where his journey in life leads him, and what effect he has on others.

What was also crucial in the making of Forrest Gump was who would end up directing it.  Filmmakers like Ivan Reitman, Penny Marshall, and Terry Gilliam had circled around the project, but the job ultimately went to Robert Zemekis.  Zemekis was an interesting choice for this material, because he was not exactly known as a prestige film director.  He made blockbuster films that were cutting edge in technology, and also enormous crowd-pleasers.  His type of movie were comical adventures like Romancing the Stone (1983), Back to the Future (1985) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).  A period film was not exactly what he was known for, but Zemekis did see the potential of this story through his own unique style.  Given his background in comedic movies, he saw the underlying humor of Forrest’s story to be something that he could easily work with.  He also saw a way to use the story as a means to try out some new visual effects techniques that had yet to be used on screen.  The visual effects used in the movie wouldn’t be the big kind that you would see in blockbusters like Jurassic Park (1993).  Instead, they were the invisible kind that made you forget you were looking at something that was digital touched up in a computer.  In particular, what stuck out to audiences were the scene where Tom Hanks is digitally inserted into real archival footage of famous historical events, which includes meetings with long gone past presidents like John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.  It’s a subtle effect, but audiences were still struck by the seamlessness of the result.  There were other really effective visual effects that again don’t draw attention to themselves, but in retrospect reveal themselves to be very impressively executed.  Some people, for instance, thought actor Gary Sinise was a real amputee but it turns out his legs were removed through the magic of CGI in the film.  While Zemekis was indeed using his skills as a cutting edge blockbuster director to good use in this movie, Forrest Gump also marked a departure for him from the more zanier movies in his past and got him more comfortable with delivering a more mature, dramatic story, though still with some humor throughout.  Hollywood certainly rewarded him with that maturity, as he won the Oscar for directing.

But, when you think about the movie Forrest Gump, the first person who comes to mind will always be the man who brought the character to life, Tom Hanks.  Hanks had something of a challenge with the character.  Play the part the wrong way, and the character of Forrest could have unfortunately fallen into cringe territory.  The movie Tropic Thunder (2008) touched upon this aspect, where Robert Downey Jr.’s character warns about the perils of going “full r-word” in their bids to win awards for playing in mentally challenged roles.  Forrest Gump was used as an example in the movie of an actor who managed to walk that fine line the right way and of course Tom Hanks got his Oscar for it.  Despite how Tropic Thunder pokes fun at it, Tom Hanks manages to find the right tone with the character of Forrest.  He’s dumb, but not without some thoughtfulness, especially when it comes to expressing his emotions.  This is certainly in line with the more Frank Capra “every-man” angle that Eric Roth tried to make Forrest into.  We can laugh at some of his goofy simplicity, but the movie never mocks him for being who he is.  Forrest makes his way through the film as a pure soul who just is oblivious to the prejudices that infect the rest of us.  Tom Hanks managed to make Forrest more than just a one note character, finding his humanity through all of the relatable aspects of the character; his charm, kindness and enthusiasm for life.  Hanks managed to find the unique sound of Forrest’s deep Southern accent by observing the young actor who would be playing Forrest as a boy.  Young Michael Connor Humphreys (no relation) had this unique way of speaking in his Alabama bred accent that Tom Hanks just loved, and he used it for his own performance.  But Hanks’ performance alone wasn’t the thing that helped to make the movie memorable.  He was given great support by Robin Wright as the tragic love of Forrest’s life, Jenny, as well as the memorable turns of Gary Sinise and Mykelti Williamson as Lieutenant Dan and Bubba respectively; all characters whose lives unexpectedly intersect with that of Forrest and are forever shaped by it.  Tom Hanks himself was coming off of an Oscar win for the film Philadelphia (1993), so his stock was already on the rise.  Thanks to Forrest Gump, he would be only the second actor after Spencer Tracy to win back to back Oscars for Best Actor.

While it’s undeniable that the movie was a massive success in it’s day, looking back on the film from today’s perspective certainly offers up some interesting questions; namely what is the movie trying to say.  One complaint leveled at the film is that it’s a bit shallow, at least when it comes to the perspective it gives about the historical events that it depicts.  The movie approaches everything from this apolitical stance, and some people complain that this leads to some sanitization of important events that shouldn’t be ignored and that it only pays lip service to the social movements that fill the background of the story.  Where the complaint has some merit is in the way it presents representations of the Civil Rights movement and manages to work in an comical awkward moment involving Forrest.  A clip where Forrest politely gives a book back to a student who dropped it during the highly contested school integration protests, and is unaware that he ended up on live television, is certainly in line with Forrest’s character, but it can be seen as a bit in poor taste to throw a comedic scene into a historical moment that still represents an important milestone in Civil Rights.  The thing about the movie is that it is entirely from Forrest’s perspective.  He’s the one telling the story, and in his view, he’s oblivious to the politics of his time.  Some would say that the movie is minimalizing these moments that matter to our society, but at the same time, we as viewers are also aware of the context of these events too.  Robert Zemekis and Eric Roth are not treating Forrest Gump like a history lesson.  It’s much more of a character study, and the character just so happens to live through extraordinary time and meets extraordinary people.

One thing that people can read into the film is that Forrest as a character is a metaphorical representation of America itself; existing through good intentions and principled morals, but oblivious to the consequences of his actions.  Forrest achieves many great things in his story; he becomes a star football player at Alabama, he’s a decorated war hero, he meets at least three presidents, he wins a ping pong tournament in China, he starts a shrimp fishing business that makes him a millionaire, and he even taught Elvis how to dance.  His life is the personification of the American dream.  However, while his life achievements are many, none of it seems to land with the people that he chooses to love in his life.  His childhood sweetheart Jenny goes through a hard fought life of sexual abuse and drug use that ultimately catches up to her.  Lieutenant Dan becomes suicidal and violently depressive after losing his legs in Vietnam, instead of gloriously dying on the battlefield like all his ancestors had before him.  And Bubba doesn’t even make it off the battlefield, dying in Forrest’s arms from his battle wounds.  Even the historical figures that Forrest meets receive horrible fates, from Assassinations to Resignation.  It’s almost like Forrest is an angel of death to everyone but himself.  But, at the same time, the lives of these characters are also enriched by being in Forrest’s orbit.  Jenny’s only source of normality and protection in life comes from the tender love that Forrest shares with her.  Lieutenant Dan accompanies Forrest on his shrimp fishing venture, and he in turn becomes a multi-millionaire himself, and even gets to walk again on “magic” titanium legs.  There may be some merit to the idea that Forrest embodies the sometime naivete and ignorance of America to it’s own faults.  But, the key part of Forrest’s character is that his simple outlook on life also makes him free of prejudice, and that his defining characteristic is unconditional love and respect, even if someone is undeserving of it.  Forrest is not so much a critique, but an ideal of the American dream.

One other thing that stands out about the movie is the way it presents a sense of nostalgia about the past.  Given the context of when it was made, Forrest Gump represented a time where America was feeling comfortable about re-opening some old wounds and confronting some of the darker moments of the past.  The complaints about the minimalization of history perhaps stem from the fact that nothing, from Civil Rights to Vietnam to eventually the AIDS crisis, is ever fully explored in the movie.  And instead of addressing the brutal realities of those historical events, the movie just uses them as a part of the palette in it’s upbeat pastoral of America.  A large part of the nostalgia factor of the movie comes from it’s enormous soundtrack of pop music standards from the era, with songs ranging from Jimi Hendrix, to Credence Clearwater Revival, to Lynard Skynard, to REO Speedwagon all getting playtime in the movie.  Along with the sweeping musical score by Alan Silvestri, the film creates this sense of an idealized version of the past that shows off the grandeur of it’s time period.  The 60’s and 70’s was a prolific period of time with regards to culture, especially when it came to music.  But, this alone does not mean that the time period was free of turmoil, and I don’t think that it’s what the movie is intending to say to it’s audience either.  Like everything else in the movie, the music is part of the background of Forrest’s story.  The movie knows how to place it’s historical context on the cultural touchstone within, without painting a false sense of nostalgia that minimizes the events taking place.  Even still, so many movies that try to whitewash American history by painting a false portrait of the past by milking our sense of nostalgia have often taken a page from the formula put to use in Forrest Gump.  These were harsh times put on screen in the movie, and yet the rocking soundtrack and the glossy filmmaking all make it feel like an idealized world.  It’s not the movie’s intention, because the filmmakers were explicit in letting us know that this was never supposed to be a history lesson.  But, nostalgia can be a powerful tool in shaping our perspective on things, and too often it’s abused by people wanting us to mis-remember the past by falsely presenting us with an idealized one.

Regardless of the critiques, Forrest Gump still stands as a solid piece of entertainment that holds up well after 30 years.  Tom Hanks performance in particular really helps to carry the film, and makes it richer through his ability to give dimensions to a character that could’ve easily fallen into caricature.  The passage of time that the film covers is also interesting to explore, especially looking back on this film as it’s own time capsule.  While it wasn’t the first film to address Vietnam on the big screen (movies like Apocalypse Now and Platoon had already covered it extensively), it certainly put more of a spotlight on the aftermath of the War, especially when it came to the forgotten Veterans whose lives were broken once they came back.  The character of Lieutenant Dan in particular was one that few people had seen spotlighted, especially in a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster, with regards to the War’s aftermath.  Both Gary Sinise and Tom Hanks have become strong advocates for the veteran community since the making of this movie and their charitable contributions have helped many vets get the aid they have desperately needed.  Forrest Gump also represented something of a cathartic exercise in helping America to make sense of an era that for all accounts showed itself as struggling to figure out what it wanted to be.  The era depicted in Forrest Gump was one of a nation in turmoil, seeking to find it’s soul again.  While it does so with a comical twist, the story of Forrest Gump is nevertheless a story about hope in the face of death and destruction.  Forrest is a pure soul that never lets the awful events surrounding him make him bitter, resentful and hateful about the world.  And it’s some, whether he’s aware of it or not, that he is thankfully passing along.  His cross country run inspires a nation to join in because it gives them something good to believe in.  And after Jenny sadly passes away due to an unknown illness (implied to be AIDS), she leaves behind a son she had with Forrest, who he now must be a father to (played by a very young Haley Joel Osment in his first role).  Through Forrest Jr. we get a hopeful sign of a better future as Forrest’s good heart endures for another generation.  That’s ultimately what Zemekis, Hanks, and Roth wanted to convey with the character of Forrest Gump; never giving up on hope.  It’s thing that endures about this movie all these year later; embracing change and letting hope persevere.  That’s why the most famous line from the film resonates: “Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re going to get.”  Forrest treated everyday like a surprise and was eager to embrace that feeling no matter what life brought his way.

Evolution of Character – Abraham Lincoln

When Hollywood looks for subjects to create historical biopics on, the most compelling subjects usually end up being important world leaders spanning across history.  For American films, the Presidents of the United States have often been given the cinematic treatment.  From our founding fathers to the men and women who are still shaping our nation today, there are a fair amount of film dedicated to these important figures.  But there probably hasn’t been an American icon that has appeared on both the big and small screens more than our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln was not a founding father, but his impact on our nation may have been even greater than that of the people who shaped it in the first place.  And his story lends itself so well to cinema.  Born and raised in the humble beginnings of a log cabin in the early American wilderness, Lincoln became a self made man who found his way into a law profession that in turn led to a career in politics, spurred by a passionate belief in the abolition of slavery.  His eloquent speech and intelligent mind made him one of the great debaters of his day, and he carried the torch of abolition with him in a bid for the presidency, though it came at a volatile time for this nation.  His election to president and promise of emancipation of the slaves was violently rejected by the southern states, all of which soon seceded from the Union and ignited the Civil War.  But, Lincoln became a steadfast wartime leader and not only did he see the Union to victory over the Confederacy, but he also kept his promise of emancipation, ensuring the passage of the 13th Amendment in Congress, ending the barbaric practice of slavery once and for all in America.  But it came at the cost of an assassin’s bullet, which prematurely ended Lincoln’s life, preventing him from seeing his achievements bear fruit in the years after the war.  All of this history has made for some compelling cinematic moments, which is why Lincoln’s life story has been one of the most widely dramatized in all of cinema.  What follows are some of his more noteworthy big screen appearances.  Not only do they show the many ways that Lincoln continues to be a compelling figure in history, but it’s also interesting how the span of cinematic history itself shows different perspectives on the same man, showing the way history itself can be viewed differently over time.

JOSEPH HENABERY in THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)

Unfortunately for Mr. Lincoln, one of his earliest big screen appearances comes in a movie that is antithetical to his legacy.  D.W. Griffith’s monumental Civil War epic is one of the most influential and groundbreaking films in history; responsible for setting the precedents for so much of what we know as cinema in it’s wake.  It is also Confederate apologia and a virulently racist film that was historically responsible for reviving interest in the Ku Klux Klan.  Undeniably one of the most controversial films of all time, and it is still a lightning rod over a hundred years later.  So, how does a film that spits in the face of everything that Lincoln stood for represent the man himself.  Griffith, despite using his film to glorify the “lost cause” of the Confederacy and the KKK that arose out of it’s ashes, seems to also show a tiny bit of reverence for Lincoln himself, though it’s still very surface level at best.  Griffith still understood the iconic nature of Lincoln in America’s historical legacy, and he presents him as this stoic, serious man who leads with a dignified air.  The movie doesn’t tell us much more about the man; he’s barely a part of the main plot and is more or less just a background element on which the plot pivots.  Joseph Henabery certainly looks the part, with the well-defined bearded chin and sunken eyes that we all know very well from Lincoln’s many portraits.  It’s interesting to note that the movie itself was only 50 years separated from the life of Abraham Lincoln, which today would be the equivalent of us looking back on the Watergate era in politics. There might have been people who saw The Birth of a Nation during it’s original release who had also seen the real life Lincoln in person, which shows you how we are not too far removed from these historical events as we might think.  Lincoln though should have deserved a better debut on the big screen than a horrific racist movie that the man himself would’ve likely condemned.

WALTER HUSTON in ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1930)

Fifteen years after The Birth of a Nation premiered, Griffith would try to atone for the hateful nature of his past epic with a movie devoted to telling the story of Lincoln himself.  But, it was too little too late.  While it is a far better movie than Nation for the simple factor that it doesn’t support the Confederacy and the KKK, Griffith still doesn’t create a compelling story around the life of Lincoln either.  The movie is a speed run through the life of Abraham Lincoln, giving us an episodic look at all the touchstone moments in his life, from childhood to his presidency, to ultimately his assassination.  But you know what Griffith conveniently leaves out; Lincoln’s abolitionist activism.  The Emancipation Proclamation gets only a passing mention in the film, which is complete whitewash of history as ending slavery was the benchmark of Lincoln’s political career.  In Griffith’s film, Lincoln is instead celebrated as the man who saved the country from division, which of course is an over-simplification of his accomplishments and his character.  At least Griffith did a good job of casting the role.  Renowned character actor Walter Huston (father of legendary filmmaker John Huston) is an ideal choice for the role, giving Lincoln an air of respectability, while at the same time making him relatable as down to earth leader of men.  He also gets the look of the character right, very much capturing the stern faced man we all know from the photographs and the 5 dollar bill.  But, as good as Huston’s performance is, he still can’t salvage the historical inaccuracies that plague the entire movie.  While Griffith attempted to atone for the sins of The Birth of a Nation with this favorable portrait of Abraham Lincoln, one can’t help but see his own pre-built prejudices creeping in and still sanitizing the horrible racist legacy of the Confederate States by burying the reason the Civil War was fought in the first place.  Abraham deserved a better film treatment than a hollow summary of the man’s life told by someone who was trying to use the film to whitewash his own toxic legacy in Hollywood.

HENRY FONDA in YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939)

Finally, we get a portrayal of Abraham Lincoln that is true to the man’s legacy while at the same time is compelling as a great piece of cinema.  Director John Ford wisely chooses to not tell the whole life’s story of Lincoln, and instead focuses on a specific period of time that informs us about the man who Lincoln was.  As the title suggests, it’s a movie about Abraham’s early years, specifically the period of time in which he was practicing law in the town of Springfield, Illinois.  In that period of time, we see Lincoln grow into the compassionate defender of the innocent that we know he’ll soon be in a racially and politically charged world that’s about to explode in the years ahead.  It also covers his early love life, including his courtship with Ann Rutledge who sadly dies too soon and eventually leads him to his marriage to Mary Todd thereafter.  Ford clearly has a reverence for Abraham Lincoln’s story, but he wisely refrains from making Lincoln too saint like.  He managed to strike the right balance with the character of Lincoln by casting the perfect actor to play him; Henry Fonda.  Fonda’s folksy everyman charm works perfectly with the character, and he perfectly captures the tender soul of Lincoln while also giving him the commanding presence of a man who will stand up for what is right.  It’s the kind of performance that Fonda would continue to portray in most of his role over the rest of his career, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and 12 Angry Men (1957).  While Young Mr. Lincoln was not his first role, it was certainly the movie that propelled him towards becoming an A-list movie star.  The movie itself is also seen as a cinematic classic, and without a doubt one of the most beloved films centered around the story of the iconic American figure.  After several films beforehand that either distorted or minimized the legacy of Mr. Lincoln, Young Mr. Lincoln was the movie that we really needed to help remind America the important and essential mark that he made on our nation.

RAYMOND MASSEY in ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS (1940)

Released the following year after Young Mr. Lincoln, this equally reverent portrayal of the man picks up right where the last movie left off.  Henry Fonda’s portrayal of Lincoln showed us the young man just beginning to find his footing as a lawyer and discovering where his convictions lie.  Abe Lincoln in Illinois takes us through the next stage, showing us how the lawyer became a politician and then ultimately the President of the United States.  The movie is much more focused on showing us Lincoln the orator; the man who could inspire the people with his command of reason and intelligence.  Actor Raymond Massey gives Lincoln a big booming voice, which definitely fits with the idea of Lincoln being a commanding speaker, especially in the film’s recreation of the famed Lincoln Douglas debates.  Massey may not have the folksy innocence of Fonda’s portrayal, giving his version of Lincoln a more operatic presence, but he still treats the character with this respectable air.  The movie also gives us perhaps the most historically accurate account of Lincoln’s life up this point.  While Young Mr. Lincoln was true in spirit to the man, the movie itself was an imagined portrayal of what his early life might have been like.  Abe Lincoln in Illinois stays very close to the actual events that shaped Lincoln into who he was, albeit with some typical Hollywood embellishment.  Watchin the two movies together actually does work as a way of giving the viewer a fuller account of Lincoln’s life, each one complimenting the other.  Given that so much is known about Lincoln’s time in office, it’s nice to see that two very strong older films were devoted to showing us the parts of his life that we know less of, which helps us to understand how he became the man who would guide our nation through it’s most perilous era.

BENJAMIN WALKER in ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (2012)

Now, jumping ahead several decades, we go from some of the most honest, historically honest depictions of Abraham Lincoln to something that is just pure fantasy.  Based on a history/fantasy mash-up novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is exactly what the title infers; a story about the 16th president having an alternate career as a killer of vampires.  This came out at around a time when these horror infused mash-ups were gaining popularity, which also included another Grahame-Smith novel titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which itself was turned into a 2016 movie.  The movie was directed by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, who had gained popularity with his previous vampire flicks Nightwatch (2004) and Daywatch (2006).  Seeing this foreign filmmaker deliver his own twisted spin on an American icon was going to be interesting to see, though the end result was unfortunately underwhelming.  The movie never really lives up to the lunacy of it’s premise, and instead strangely tries to play things safe when it comes to the violence and the overall plot.  The casting of Benjamin Walker was an interesting choice, given that he had gained fame on Broadway for portraying another American president in the musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.  The statuesque Walker does create a physically imposing figure in Abraham Lincoln.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t make Lincoln anything other than a stock action hero, which is not only a let down for the zany premise of the story, but also for the persona of Lincoln himself.  It makes sense that Lincoln would be quite good at killing vampires with an axe, given that he was raised in the woods where tree-cutting was an essential skill.  The movie should have been either far more scarier or far more absurd than the standard, boring action film we ended up with.  It’s weird to say this about a movie where Abraham Lincoln is shown chopping up vampires with an axe, but Lincoln deserved better.

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS in LINCOLN (2012)

Of all the portrayals of Abraham Lincoln that have made it to the big screen, this is likely going to be the one that people will think of first.  Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of the Lincoln in the 2012 film directed by Steven Spielberg may very well be the definitive one in all of cinema.  It’s the only performance of Lincoln that has won it’s actor an Oscar (a third for Day-Lewis, making him the current reigning champ).  Daniel took his method acting to the extreme and not only transformed himself into the persona of Abraham Lincoln, but also lived in his shoes throughout the filming of the movie.  There was a great amount of effort in the actors part to get every detail of who Lincoln was on screen, with Daniel Day-Lewis even researching the tenor of voice that people who knew him described him as having.  While we don’t know 100% for sure what the real life Abraham Lincoln sounded like, Daniel’s performance feel like it could be the closest that seen yet to being true to history.  And while the Lincoln in this film is definitely at the heart of the story, the film is also about a specific period of time that was crucial to the shaping of America.  The film centers on the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which banned slavery and the incredible maneuvering that Lincoln made as President to see it successfully pass through Congress, despite fierce opposition.  It’s a textbook example of the right way to do a biopic of a historical figure, which is to center the story on a specific moment in their life and dramatize it to it’s fullest rather than condense an entire life into one 2 hour story.  It makes for a more interesting and compelling story.  And it gives us a more intimate look at Lincoln himself, as we see him struggle through the twists and turns of this very important moment in time.  It’s also a great reversal of the early D.W. Griffith films that we have a movie that firmly establishes the Emancipation of the slaves across America to be Lincoln’s crowning achievement.  Both Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner create a compelling step by step dramatization about what it took to make Lincoln’s dream come true, and Daniel Day-Lewis brings the man to life in a way that feels like we’ve gone back in time to be in the presence of the real man himself.

BRAYDON DENNEY in THE BETTER ANGELS (2014)

This film delivers a story about Abraham Lincoln unlike anything else we have seen in cinematic history.  With a title taken from the famous quote delivered by Lincoln in his first Inaugural Address, The Better Angels takes us way back in history to show us the earliest part of Lincoln’s life, when he was still living with his family on their homestead in the Indiana wilderness.  Here, Lincoln is a young man between the age of 9-10, discovering his identity and observing the sights and sounds that would motivate his future actions.  The movie itself has a dream like atmosphere that is less plot driven and more like cinematic poetry akin to the films of Terence Malick.  Not surprisingly, Malick was a producer on this film, with his frequent editor A.J. Edwards making his directorial debut with this film, and it’s clear that the influence trickled down.  The film is also shot with some gorgeous looking black and white cinematography, which reinforces the film’s historic time capsule feel.  At the center of the film is the portrayal of a very young Lincoln by actor Braydon Denney.  Denney’s performance doesn’t reveal much of any indication of the man Lincoln would end up being.  If you didn’t know going in that you are watching a movie about the early years of Abraham Lincoln, you would think that this was just another coming of age film, but with an artistic flair to it.  Denney does well with his depiction of a young Abe.  It’s a very grounded portrayal, and it helps to make him feel like a real person living in this historical time period.  You don’t really learn much about Lincoln himself in this film; the movie is mostly just there to showcase what kind of life Lincoln must have had.  As an artistic rendering on true history, it does create a provocative portrait of Lincoln’s upbringing.  We know the least about this time period in Lincoln’s history, the only accounts being taken from Lincoln’s own autobiographical writings.  We can only imagine what his early years may have been like through evidence of how people lived back then, and the movie does a fair job of that too.  So many films about Lincoln use their time to build up his legend, but his film does the interesting action of using his own personal experience to inform us of the kind of life that would shape someone into a legend in the beginning.

These seven examples of Abraham Lincoln’s presence on the big screen are honestly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the many different appearances that he has made across all media.  There are countless made-for-TV movies and miniseries that are either about Lincoln or include him as an important figure.  He’s also shown up in several different films as a supporting player, including a silly cameo in the time travel comedy Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989).  Abraham Lincoln today still stands tall as one of our greatest historical icons, and is almost unanimously regarded as our greatest Commander in Chief.  No other man achieved so much in his brief time as President of the United States.  He secured the future of this country by commanding the nation through it’s greatest crises, the Civil War, and brought it to a worthwhile end by defeating the Confederacy and reuniting the sates.  But of course his greatest legacy was getting the 13th Amendment passed and adopted into the Consitution, ending the barbarism of slavery in America once and for all, and emancipating the millions of slaves who were now free to live as equal citizens in American society.  At least that was the hope, and sadly it would take nearly another century for equal rights to become enshrined into law, and even today the scars of slavery and the Jim Crow laws that followed still run deep in society.  The good thing about movies that celebrate the life of Lincoln is that they remind us of the example of his leadership and how it still inspires us all to appeal to our “better angels” in society today.  America still falls short of where it should be with regards to race relations, but the example that Lincoln left behind hopefully drives us to be better and to work to solve the problems of racial division that persist to this day.  The best portrayals of Lincoln, from Henry Fonda’s tenderness to Daniel Day-Lewis’ intensity all have that inspiration in common.  Far more than four score and seven years have we seen Lincoln be a guiding presence in our cinematic history, and hopefully he is a figure that continues to inspire future filmmakers and audiences in the years ahead.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Review

When we look at the whole career thus far of Tim Burton, there is a definable split between the early years and the later years.  When Tim Burton was first starting out, he was a unique voice unlike any other in Hollywood.  He cut his teeth as an animator at Disney before expanding his talents in the realm of live action film-making.  He would get his first shot at directing when LA-based comedian Paul Reubens selected him to make a movie adaptation for his Pee Wee Herman character.  Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) certainly showed off the great creative mind that Burton had, but it would be his follow-up that people consider to be the first true Burton movie.  Beetlejuice (1988) was a true original.  It was bizarre and eerie, but in a way that was still appealing to a mass audience.  It was also irreverently hilarious in a way that many movies of it’s kind in the 80’s were too afraid of being.  Creating a oddball twist on the haunted house sub-genre, Tim Burton created this imaginative world where life and afterlife intersect.  The peaceful serenity of a small New England town becomes a gateway to a strange and otherworldly purgatory with “newly dead” tenants waiting for their turn to be processed through underworld bureaucracy.  And at it’s center is a ghoulish prankster who is too much to handle in both realities.  The titular “ghost with the most” Beetlejuice features remarkably briefly in the movie (less than 20 minutes), and yet he is the centerpiece of the whole movie.  Michael Keaton, the actor who played him, had been around for a while, but Beetlejuice was the character that catapulted him to super-stardom.  If Keaton hadn’t shown off his incredible talent as a performer as Beetlejuice, would Tim Burton have had the confidence to cast him as the caped crusader in his next film, Batman (1989), even when everyone else thought he was crazy.  Burton would have eventually found his footing as a filmmaker, but because of Beetlejuice, he was able to make a name for himself early without having to compromise his vision, and because of that, Burton movies are a category of their own.

But, like with most other filmmakers, it becomes difficult to try to live up to your own legacy.  That’s why the latter years of Tim Burton’s career have been a little more hit and miss.  When he was a much hungrier young filmmaker, he was more willing to take chances to prove himself.  That’s why that early run of movies feel so creatively vibrant.  From Pee Wee, to Beetlejuice, to Batman, to Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Ed Wood (1994), there was a sense of Tim Burton using his talents to transport audiences into another world that only he could imagine.  But, the latter half of his career seems to have lost a bit of that creative spark.  Movies like Planet of the Apes (2001), Alice in Wonderland (2010), or Dark Shadows (2012) feel more like parodies of a Tim Burton film rather than genuine artistic expressions.  As the Burton name has gained it’s reputation, so has the interest of Hollywood in using that to appeal to audiences.  And it seems like Tim Burton has become more inclined to bend to Hollywood’s will rather than them bending to his.  There are occasional flashes where Burton makes something that he feels genuinely invested in; like the Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) musical adaptation, or the Margaret Keane biopic Big Eyes (2014).  He’s also shown an interest in animation that has proved fruitful, going back to his dream project of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and continued through his adaptation of his own live action short, Frankenweenie (2012).  But, even still, he’ll still return to the Hollywood machine and make a soulless project like the Dumbo (2019) remake for Disney.  But, he recently found renewed creative and commercial success with the popular Netflix series Wednesday, which he produced and directed half the episodes for.  The home run that that show turned out to be is giving long time Burton fans hope that he is finding his creative mojo again, which is helping to build anticipation for his next project.  And what that project has turned out to be is a long in development sequel to the movie that defined his career from the start; the highly anticipated Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). The only question is whether or not the world is ready to bring this ghoul back from the dead again, or is it dead on arrival?

Set in the present day, decades after the events of the first film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice catches us up quickly with what has been going on with Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder).  Her ability to speak with ghosts has turned her into a bit of a celebrity, with her own ghost hunting show, produced by her manager and romantic partner Rory (Justin Theroux).  Lydia’s show is interrupted one day when she receives the news from her quirky stepmother Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) that her father Charles has died. The news hits her hard, and it also means that she’ll have to return to the home that she thought she left behind years ago.  In addition, she has to break the news to her estranged daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega) in order to get her to come along.  Meanwhile, in the Netherworld, a malevolent ghost with the power to devour the souls of the dead named Delores (Monica Bellucci) has arisen from her exiled imprisonment and seeks to take revenge on the man who killed her; a familiar ghost by the name of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).  Beetlejuice is desperate to steer clear of his soul-sucking old flame Delores, and he seeks the help of a ghost cop named Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), who was an actor who played cops in his past life.  While Beetlejuice is on guard, Lydia finds it hard to balance the new life she has made with the life she once had, as it increasingly begins to intrude more with her return home.  Rory is also pushing her to make important life decisions that she is clearly not ready to make, such as getting married, and it’s creating even more of a wedge between her and Astrid.  In the midst of all this, she is having traumatic flashbacks to her original encounter with Beetlejuice, to the point where she’s starting to see him everywhere she goes.  Is she on an inevitable collision course with Beetlejuice once again, and is it possible that this time he may need her help more than she needs his.

A sequel to Beetlejuice has been in off and on development for over thirty years, and given that lengthy span of time, it’s a wonder that Burton and Company managed to actually get it to finally happen.  In many ways, the idea of a sequel seemed to be treated like a joke, with the movie at one point being called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. Obviously that version never happened, and I imagine nothing of that original treatment made it into this sequel, with Tim Burton opting to not stray too far from the original recipe.  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice more or less covers much of the same ground as the original, which for many legacy sequels tends to be where they fall apart creatively.  Thankfully, this sequel manages to avoid most of the pitfalls that a long in the making follow-up falls into.  While Tim Burton is revisiting the same settings of the first film, he doesn’t turn Beetlejuice Beetlejuice into an endless string of memberberries.  There are a lot of new ideas thrown into the mix that builds upon the world of the first film rather than just exploiting it for cheap nostalgia. The most pleasing thing about this movie is that it’s the first Burton film in a long while that actually feels like a Burton film.  I think this is because he’s not working with an adaptation this time of someone else’s work; like a book adaptation or a Disney remake.  This time he’s working with a universe of his own creation and is allowed to expand upon it and even poke fun at it a little.  What is especially pleasing is that it shows that Tim Burton is still capable of making a movie like this after a decade or so of feeling like he’s just been coasting on his past glory.  Given the special place that Beetlejuice holds in his legacy as a filmmaker, you can see how he wanted to approach this movie with a bit more resolve to get it right, almost like he’s trying to prove himself once again just like he had with the original.

But, this movie is also far from perfect as well.  The big problem with the movie is that it’s unfocused.  There are half a dozen plots going on in this movie, and Tim Burton doesn’t seem to know which one he wants us to focus on.  There’s the Lydia/Astrid storyline, the Beetlejuice/ Delores storyline, a subplot with Astrid getting to know a local boy in town, Lydia’s trauma coming back to haunt her, and a few others thrown into the mix.  The problem is that none of those stories intersect in an organic way, and they all keep butting into each other.  When one storyline finally hits it’s footing, it will be undercut by another storyline, and in some cases, storyline’s that have potential will suddenly be dropped in favor of another.  The movie is missing a traditional three act structure, and is instead a bunch of fun but loosely connected scenes strung together in the hopes that it tells a cohesive story.  The biggest problems with this occur when it robs the effectiveness of the character development within the story.  Delores for example is a really interesting character, with a fantastic introduction scene.  But then she disappears for most of the movie, only becoming an active threat once again towards the end.  Too much of the other subplots got in the way of Delores’ development, and it lessens her presence as a villainous threat in the story.  The original film may not have been the tidiest of plots either, but it had a consistent through-line in it, with the Maitlands (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis in that movie) being effective audience surrogates whose eyes are the ones we follow along with as they observe the weirdness of Beetlejuice’s world.  They were the cornerstones on which the rest of the movie could focus on.  This sequel seems to not know which character it should be focusing on; Lydia, Astrid, or Beetlejuice.  It’s the thing that makes this movie fall well short of it’s predecessor, even while hitting the right notes when it comes to the visuals and the humor.

One thing that certainly is pleasing to see with this film is the absence of CGI in the effects.  It really seems like Tim Burton made an effort to return to his roots with the way he made this sequel.  Instead of relying heavily on computer animation to recreate the world of Beetlejuice, Burton instead resorts to old school practical effects that feel like the ones he would’ve used back in his early days as a filmmaker.  For one example, the sandworms that make a return from the first film are animated in stop-motion.  This gives them a more dynamic presence than how they appeared in the first movie, which was done with puppets and models, while at the same time helping to retain the hand crafted effect that Tim Burton is striving for with this film.  There’s also some incredible make-up and puppetry work that help to make the more cartoonish moments of the movie feel genuinely in line with the original film’s low budget charm.  But, even with the drive to do everything with practical effects, Tim Burton doesn’t cut back on the scale of his film either.  The full practical sets of this movie are expansive and pretty incredible to look at as well. They definitely feel in line with the visual style that we all are familiar with when it comes to Tim Burton.  Some of the corridors still retain that off-kilter aesthetic that he’s known for, especially the ones with uneven floors.  And you can tell when watching the movie that these are real sets on real soundstages, with the minimalist of green screen enhancements.  These Netherworld sets also pair nicely with the actual, on location shooting that they did for the film, bringing a beautiful juxtaposition to the film between the world of the living and that of the dead.

Of course, the thing that matters most is how well the cast is able to perform in this imaginative Tim Burton world.  Michael Keaton and Tim Burton go way back, with their shared history obviously going back to the first.  And while this isn’t a long in the making reunion between the two, since Keaton had a part in his Dumbo remake in 2019, it is still very pleasing to see these two working together again on a character that matters a lot to both of their careers. Of course, even with the 36 year gap, Keaton doesn’t miss a beat playing Beetlejuice.  It’s a part that Keaton, whose in his 70’s now, can still play despite the passage of time, given that the character is literally a decaying corpse.  It’s also pleasing that he gets a lot more screen time in this film, though I still believe it’s a lot less than it should be.  Winona Ryder also gets to explore a bit more of Lydia’s character this time around.  It’s interesting how she is a much different person this time around now that she’s a mother, but at the same time, you still see the rebellious little goth girl underneath the surface.  The movie wouldn’t be the same without both Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder both on board, so it is pleasing to see them both say yes to being in this sequel.  Jenna Ortega became an audience favorite with her acclaimed performance as Wednesday Addams in the Wednesday series, and it’s nice to see Tim Burton bring her on board this project as well.  Unfortunately, there isn’t much to the character of Astrid, other than her being an angsty teen.  Jenna does her best with what she can with the role, but Astrid unfortunately is the least interesting character in the movie.  The always great Catherine O’Hara consistently steals every scene she’s in here, and it’s great to see her return as well.  Her throwaway one-liners may be the highlight of the screenplay all on their own, and she delivers them perfectly.  And while stars like Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci are sadly sidelined for much of the film, they still bring a strong presence to every scene that they are in.  The only actor I feel is wasted is Justin Theroux as Rory.  He’s a one-note character that sadly Theroux isn’t able to do much with, and in the end, it becomes an unfortunately underwhelming performance.  But, the highlights of the cast are the ones we were all hoping to see return, and Keaton, Ryder and O’Hara all look like they are having a blast being back in this world.  Burton certainly likes working with the same people over and over again in his movies, and it’s pleasing to see how far after the fact that his troop of stars are willing to get right back into this quirky world again.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is nowhere in the same league as the original film, but it’s not exactly going to reflect poorly on it either.  It’s flawed, but still entertaining enough to be worthy of being a continuation of the story.  The most positive thing about it is that it’s Tim Burton finding himself once again comfortable with making the kinds of movies that he made in his early career.  While I don’t think we will ever see him make a film again that hits the same way that his early films did, this sequel is certainly the closest he’s gotten in quite some time.  The movie is very funny in all the right ways, the visuals are distinctly Burton-esque, and there was an effort made to use real, practical effects in the making of this film.  All of that is a welcome change from the way Tim Burton was making movies over the last couple of years.  We may be witnessing a new, third phase of Burton’s career starting to emerge with this and the Wednesday series.  It would appear that Burton is no longer coasting on any big studio gig that he can get (though this film is still certainly that too).  He’s now starting to seek challenges again as a filmmaker, and trying to build upon his legacy rather than compete with it.  My hope is that he applies some of that renewed creativity into something original.  That’s the thing that we have been missing from Tim Burton over the last couple decades; an original concept brought to life on film.  Even still, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice should still prove to be an audience pleaser.  Michael Keaton slips right back into Beetlejuice’s striped suit just like he’s never left, and it looks like he’s happy to be back, as does Winona Ryder.  A lot of things had to happen to make this sequel possible.  It helps that both of it’s stars have seen big career comebacks in the last decade, with Keaton earning an Oscar nomination for Birdman (2014) and Winona getting a boost from her role in the hit series Stranger Things.  Their hot streak, plus the addition of Jenna Ortega to the mix is almost certain to drive audiences to see this movie in massive numbers.  But hopefully, the biggest beneficiary will be Tim Burton, who needs his own Renaissance as a filmmaker.  While far from a perfect sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice still delivers enough entertainment that’ll keep this franchise alive and far from dead and buried.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Movies of Fall 2024

The Summer of 2024 proved to be an unexpected couple of months at the box office.  The month of May, which typically kicks of the Summer with a bang ended up being more of a whimper.  With no Marvel film in it’s first week, Hollywood had to rely on the Ryan Gosling/ Emily Blunt vehicle The Fall Guy (2024) to open up the season; a feat that it sadly didn’t have the muscle to pull off.  But what really got Hollywood sweating was the surprisingly weak Memorial Day weekend box office.  The highly anticipated prequel film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) not only under-performed on the usually big ticket weekend, but it ended up becoming a massive flop, even despite glowing reviews from both critics and audiences.  This began to spread talk around the industry that the theatrical market was in trouble and that Hollywood was in for a massive downturn in box office in what looked to be a very weak summer.  But, perhaps all of us were too quick to give up on the box office for Summer 2024, because once we entered June, things actually took a turn for the positive.  There was surprisingly strong box office results for the sequels Kingdom of the Planet of Apes (2024) and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) that helps to buoy the box office for a few weeks more.  And then came the box office savior that Hollywood needed.  Inside Out 2 (2024) not only exceeded expectations, it has broken down every conceivable record there is for an animated movie at the box office.  This is an inspiring story on it’s own, as Pixar needed a win after seeing it’s brand take a hit post-pandemic after the misguided decision to send their films straight to streaming for two years.  This summer proved that the Pixar brand is still strong and they weren’t the only battered brand to see a comeback.  Marvel had it’s biggest hit in years with the record-setting release of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), giving parent company Disney the two undisputed champions at the Summer box office by a mile with it and Inside Out 2.  That’s a relief to the Mouse House after the tough year they had in 2023.  There were also several surprisingly strong box office returns for movies like Twisters (2024), It Ends With Us (2024), A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) and Longlegs (2024), and what looked initially like a bleak Summer season in the end became a bright moment for movies in general.

So, with a Summer season that proved to be better than expected now behind us, it’s time to take a look at what’s ahead for us in the Fall.  Like in past years, I will be looking at select movies that I think are the ones that are Must Sees, the ones that have me worried, and the ones that I think you should skip.  Keep in mind my track record is not perfect, so some movies may end up being better than I expected or be less than I expected.  My choices here are based on my own expectations from what I have gathered from the hype surrounding these movies as well as the effectiveness of the marketing.  So with all that said, let’s take a look at the Movies of Fall 2024.

MUST SEES:

MEGALOPOLIS (SEPTEMBER 27)

This movie has me intrigued more than any other coming out in the months ahead.  It goes without saying that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest film directors of all time.  I’m sure that any list made of the greatest movies of all time will have at least 3 Coppola movies on it.  But, in recent years, Francis has stepped away from Hollywood, choosing instead to make small art films like Tetro (2009) and Twixt (2011).  While it is sad that one of the greats of Hollywood has been left behind by the industry due to his purity of vision, he has nevertheless revered by the industry, so whenever he makes something new people still take notice.  This year, we are finally getting able to see what is undoubtedly his most ambitious film in years.  Megalopolis has been a passion project of his that he’s been persistently bouncing around for 20 years.  When you look at the very out there premise, you can see why Coppola struggled to get the financing for the film.  In the end, he put his own money into the project, making this one of the biggest self-financed films in history.  The fact that this movie exists at all in a final form is a miracle in itself.  But, is it a miracle that may have consequences for it’s creator.  The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a mostly mixed reception.  Some critics loved it while others found it to be a baffling mess.  Given it’s nature, I can easily see this movie dividing audiences once it makes it’s way to theaters; which even there became a struggle as it took a while to find a distributor until Lionsgate thankfully stepped in.  I really do hope it turns out to be better than expected because this is a movie that I’ve been hearing about for such a long time and I’m thrilled to see it become a reality.  It’s been a while since we’ve seen Coppola work on this kind of scale and I think it’ll be worth it to see the “great master” take one final big swing.  The visuals look great, and the all star cast that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf and Dustin Hoffman looks really impressive.  I hope this movie delivers on it’s promise.  The man who gave us The Godfather Parts I and II, as well as Apocalypse Now (1979) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) is one of the last swing for the fences filmmakers left of his generation, and even if it may be a mess, it’s a mess that I must see to fully appreciate.

JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX (OCTOBER 4)

Five years ago, Warner Brothers and DC put out a somewhat controversial comic book film that centered around the famed “clown prince of crime.”  Some saw it as a brilliant deconstruction of one of comic books and cinemas greatest villains that also tapped into some intriguing social commentary.  Others thought it was exploitative and convoluted in it’s approach towards creating a fully fleshed out characterization of it’s central character, as well as being derivative of too many other movies like those of director Martin Scorsese.  But the one thing that nobody could dispute was the powerful performance given by Joaquin Phoenix as the titular psychopath, earning him a well deserved Oscar for Best Actor that year.  In the years since, the movie has continued to be controversial, with a lot of people worried that it has been co-opted by reactionary thugs on the internet who clearly misread the intention of the movie and believe that the movie supports their own twisted and bigoted agendas.  Which is why I’m pleased to see the direction that returning director Todd Phillips and company have decided to go with for this sequel by making it a musical.  Nothing would upset the edge lords who embraced the first movie more than to see this franchise turn into a song and dance extravaganza.  I can already see the click bate reactions by this crowd complaining that “Joker’s Gone Woke” and I’m so eager to see that crowd meltdown over this movie.  I respected the first movie well enough without outright loving it.  I do think turning this kind of story into a musical is an interesting angle and I’m intrigued to see how it’s executed.  It would be interesting to see if the musical numbers feel like the musicals of the same era that the original Joker was trying to evoke, like say emulating the movie of Bob Fosse or other kinds of grounded, gritty musicals.  Or are we going to see some old school Hollywood musical sequences like Singin’ In the Rain (1952) had.  Having Joaquin Phoenix back is a plus, and I’m interested to see how handles the musical aspect.  We know Lady Gaga can carry her own, and I’m interested to see what she does with the character of Harley Quinn.  This movie is taking a risk to be sure, with the possibility of alienating part of it’s fan-base, but that’s the kind of gamble I like to see from Hollywood.

MOANA 2 (NOVEMBER 27)

It’s been a tough couple of years for Disney Animation.  Their last truly blockbuster hit was pre-pandemic with Frozen II (2019).  Since then they’ve been putting out completely original films, and none of them have been lighting up the box office.  Sure, the pandemic had something to do with the reversal of fortune, and the move to streaming has altered audience patterns, especially with Encanto (2021), which became a smash hit once it started to stream on Disney+.  But, the back to back flops of Strange World (2022) and Wish (2023) have put a damper on the animation powerhouse, with the latter being especially disappointing as it was supposed to be the studio’s big 100th anniversary project.  Disney Animation really needs something to turn it’s fortunes around, and that means relying on that dirty word again; sequels.  It’s understandable to think that Disney is selling out by falling back on sequels rather than adding something new to the mix, but new things are what we’ve been getting for the last couple years, and it’s not working.  To help rebuild themselves back to where they were, they need to go with what’s worked before, and they have a reliable winner with Moana (2016).  The original film was a smash hit, and has only gained in esteem in the years since.  It is the most streamed movie not just on Disney+, but across all platforms, which is quite a feat so it makes sense that Disney would want to make a sequel given the original’s staying power.  The film thankfully returns the original cast, including Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui.  While the sequel looks like it will be covering some of the same territory as the first, it does appear that it will offer some new thrills to the mix, including the hint of a yet to be revealed villain.  One thing that sadly will not be present in this movie are new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Hopefully the new songwriters are capable of living up to the high standards set by the first movie, which included now beloved classics like “How Far I’ll Go” and You’re Welcome.”  The one thing you can count on is that the Disney animators will still make this movie a visual feast, and I certainly am eager to hit the high seas again with Moana and Maui.

NOSFERATU (DECEMBER 25)

Merry Christmas from the Dark Side.  This isn’t the first time someone has attempted to update F.W. Murnau’s chilling and now century old horror masterpiece for the modern day.  Werner Herzog famously remade Nosferatu in 1979 with Klaus Kinski as the titular vampire.  But, if there was ever a right person to make another attempt at re-creating the spooky horror of this classic story, it’s the man behind terrifying films like The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019).  Robert Eggers is a director that has done a magnificent job of putting style back into horror, and what better way to show off what he can do than to pay homage to the movie that set the standard for the genre.  The film does look like it will be a visual feast, but I also appreciate just how much Robert is trying to create the most unsettling visuals that he can with this version of the story.  The shadow of a hand stretching over the city is an especially evocative visual, and one that is clearly a nod to the original, which was very much reliant on the use of shadows for conveying the supernatural.  The trailer wisely keeps things vague, because I’m sure the studio would like to keep a few of the scares secret, but those familiar with the original film will definitely pick up on the story itself.  Thankfully one of the withheld secrets is what the lead vampire, Count Orlock will look like.  We know he is being played by Bill Skarsgard, who’s no stranger to playing iconic movie monsters.  But I’m wondering if his look will be akin to the original creation by actor Max Schreck in the original, or are we getting a different Nosferatu.  Ironically, frequent Robert Eggers collaborator Willem Dafoe is also in this movie, taking on the Van Helsing type role, who 24 years ago was nominated for an Oscar for playing Max Schreck in the film Shadow of the Vampire (2000).  It will certainly be quite an experience, especially with this coming out on Christmas Day in one of the wildest out of season movie premieres in a while.

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (SEPTEMBER 6)

It looks like the Fall season may be kicked off with a bang with the “ghost with the most” running the show.  Legacy sequels that come out way beyond the release of the original can be a huge risk, but it helps when the same people who made the original are on board.  There has been talk of a Beetlejuice (1988) sequel for over 30 years, and now it has finally become a reality.  The question is, can it still spook up the same mix of laughs and scares.  It’s been five years since Tim Burton last released a film in theaters, the ill-fated remake of Dumbo (2019), but in the meantime he managed to find his mojo once again with the hit Netflix series Wednesday, of which he produced and directed half of the episodes.  The positive sign is that he is bringing on board the creative team from the Wednesday series to help him craft this sequel, including the shows writers as well as the star Jenna Ortega.  What is also pleasing is that Tim Burton is making an effort with this film to primarily use practical effects instead of computer animation, so that the movie will feel authentic and in the same spirit of the original.  This includes long neglected effects like stop motion and complex prosthetic make-up, which were key components of creating the world of the original Beetlejuice.  But of course, you can’t do a Beetlejuice sequel without the man who brought him to afterlife in the first place, Michael Keaton.  Keaton is certainly a much older man now, but Beetlejuice is the kind of character where that doesn’t matter and it looks like he is slipping right back into that iconic striped suit like he never took it off.  And if he can play Batman again, why not also play Beetlejuice while he still can.  Another plus is that Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are also returning to reprise their roles as Lydia and Delia Deetz.  And the new cast including Justin Theroux and (hello again) Willem Dafoe all look like they will be a lot of fun in their roles.  Let’s hope that the long wait is worth it and that Tim Burton is able to deliver yet another thrilling and funny adventure with the recently departed.

MOVIES THAT HAVE ME WORRIED:

GLADIATOR II (NOVEMBER 22)

It is remarkable that in his mid-80’s Ridley Scott is still capable of making epic scale films for the big screen.  At the same time, he has also been a bit hit or miss in recent years.  For every The Martian (2015) or The Last Duel (2021) that lands, there is an Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) or Napoleon (2023) that doesn’t.  He also has a very shaky track record when it comes to creating franchise follow ups, as the movies Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017) failed to reignite the Aliens franchise.  So, there’s a bit of doubt surrounding whether he is able to create a follow-up to his Oscar-winning epic Gladiator (2000).  There are a lot of variables that are working against this movie, chief among them is that there is no Maximus in this sequel.  The iconic central character of the original ends up dead at the end, so where do you go from there.  Of course, it would be a tall order to have Russell Crowe reprise the role in a different way, as he is much older and out of shape now.  So, what this movie does instead is to take the child character from the first movie, the son of the Emperess Lucilla (played by Connie Nielsen) and have him aged up and in the role of a gladiator inspired by the memory of Maximus.  I will say that the casting choices in this movie are intriguing.  I’m especially interested in seeing how Denzel Washington performs in this swords and sandals style epic.  He may feel too modern and out of place, but then again I just saw him kill it as Macbeth only a couple years ago so he might surprise people.  I also am interested in seeing Pedro Pascal perform in this movie, playing a general in service to two corrupt emperors that have taken over after the death of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).  What remains to be seen is if Paul Mescal can fill the big boots left by Russell Crowe, who won an Oscar for his performance.  Maximus is one of the most iconic movie heroes of the last quarter century.  Also, it’s hard to say if a movie like Gladiator needs a second chapter, as the first one felt so complete.  Hopefully Ridley Scott still has it in him to deliver yet another grand epic on that same level again.

MUFASA: THE LION KING (DECEMBER 20)

If you’ve been reading my blog for at least the last five years, you’ll recall that I absolutely hated The Lion King (2019), Disney’s so-called “live action” remake of their animated masterpiece.  What frustrated me was that the movie was just a copy and paste job that added nothing to the experience, and in fact robbed the story of it’s strength by having the characters be animated in this naturalistic style that robbed them of any personality.  So, you’re probably wondering why I have this movie here and not in the movies to skip category.  Well, I still have plenty of reservations about this movie, primarily with how it still uses that unappealing photo realistic character animation for the animals.  But, at least with this film they are working with an original story, rather than copying beat for beat the same plot of the original film.  Sure, it’s a prequel, telling the back story of Mufasa and Sacr so we aren’t really going to cover any unknown territory.  But at least now I don’t have to negatively contrast the beats of this film with those of a vastly superior movie.  One other intriguing aspect of this film is that it is being directed by Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk).  Getting a prestige, art house filmmaker like him to jump on board is a bold move on Disney’s part, and it might make this a bit more of a deeper film that it normally would be.  At least that’s the hope.  I am worried that this could be the kind of movie that could sully Barry Jenkins’ reputation as well if it still feels like a cash grab the same way that the first one did.  My hope is that Jenkins is capable of finding a rich and meaningful story with this film that transcends the limitations of the medium and well exceeds expectations.  The track record of Disney remakes is pretty shoddy, and the sequels to those remakes fare even worse.  Here’s hoping the gamble of giving this project over to a filmmaker of Barry Jenkins’ caliber helps to make this Lion King prequel roar.

WICKED (NOVEMBER 22)

One has to wonder if the Broadway to cinema pipeline has run dry.  There have too many stage musical translations recently that have failed to light up the box office.  One of the last true blockbuster musicals that has yet to get the cinematic treatment is finally making it’s way to theaters, and it is a lot to digest.  One thing that worries me is that the film looks a bit overproduced.  It seems like a whole lot of the budget went into the make-up, costuming, and the production design.  But, here’s the problem; it doesn’t give off any authenticity.  Overproduced movies never feel like they are lived in worlds; the artificiality just overwhelms everything else.  You do admire the hard work that the technicians put into building all of the sets and costumes, but unless people connect with the story, no one will care.  And that’s the vibe I am getting with this cinematic adaptation of Wicked.  The trailer seems to be going out of it’s way to hide the fact that this is a musical, which should be the biggest selling point for this movie.  We all know about Wicked from Broadway, so why aren’t they showing us a clip from a musical number.  Perhaps it’s a sign that the studio is concerned with the final product of the musical numbers.  Hopefully this isn’t the case.  One of the pluses of this film is the stellar cast that’s been put together.  I’m not quite sure about Ariana Grande as Glinda, but Cynthia Erivo is one of the most powerful belters working in musicals today, so her casting as Elphaba should be something in the movie’s favor.  The casting of Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard is another inspired choice, and I’m happy to see Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh here as well.  With all that, it’s still unclear if this movie is going to be able to stick the landing.  The Broadway musical is beloved by many, as is the classic 1939 film that made The Wizard of Oz famous in the first place.  That classic film still feels magical, and most of all tangible in how it depicted it’s magical world.  You would think that over 80 years later we would be able to still make the land of Oz feel like a magical place.

VENOM: THE LAST DANCE (OCTOBER 25)

The iron grip that Sony holds on their rights to the Spider-Man side of the Marvel Universe has not been delivering anything good recently, outside of animation that is.  Morbius (2022) was a disappointing mess and Madame Web (2024) may be an all timer for one of the worst comic book films ever.  The only success that the Sony Spider-Verse has had in live action is with their collection of Venom films.  Though those movies have been a success at the box office, they still are far from the level of quality that we’ve seen from the MCU.  They still have the same convoluted plots and underwhelming action of all the other failed films in the Sony franchise.  The only saving grace has been actor Tom Hardy in the leading role as Venom and his alter ego Eddie Brock.  Hardy may be acting in trashy movies, but he’s still giving it his all and he’s managed to make the characterizations of these characters work.  This new film, Venom: The Last Dance, appears to be where Sony is looking to close out the Venom franchise.  Tom Hardy looks like he’s still having fun in the role, which is a good sign.  But, there are some red flags that show up in the trailer.  One of the big issues is the moment where it looks like they are retconing the stinger from the movie Spider-Man: No Way Home  (2021), where Hardy’s Eddie has been transported briefly into the MCU, where he accidentally deposits part of his symbiote suit, which we thought may be a tease for other problems in that universe later.  But as seen in the trailer, it looks like they are saying that that universe was not the MCU at all but instead is the same universe that they Venom movies have always existed in, thereby shutting down any possible multiverse connections in future.  It gives us the sense that Sony is continuing to go rogue in defiance of the plan that Marvel Studios has been laying out, and I think it’s doing a disservice to their own franchise and the character of Venom.  The hope is that Tom Hardy can still at least keep this movie entertaining, but it’s a shame that Sony has undercut their own cinematic possibilities by refusing to play nice with the rest of the Marvel Universe.

MOVIES TO SKIP:

KRAVEN THE HUNTER (DECEMBER 13)

Speaking of Sony’s endless string of mediocre Marvel films, here we have a new film dedicated to one of Spider-Man’s most famous foes.  This movie was already delayed one whole year, mostly due to the ongoing labor strikes that drove down box office in general, but the massive delay also indicates that Sony didn’t have a lot of confidence in this one carrying the torch immediately after the strike had ended.  The pattern from the Sony Marvel films has been one of completely missing the point why people want to see comic book movies in the first place.  We aren’t concerned about the origins of these characters and why they became who they are.  We just want to see them either be the heroes or villains they were meant to be.  One thing is noteworthy about all of these Spider-Verse films that we’ve seen from Sony; a distinct absence of Spider-Man himself.  That’s because the Spider-Man that everyone loves is in the MCU, putting him out of reach unless Sony plays ball with Marvel.  They are never going to be able to spin-off a cinematic universe on the same level with just the side characters of the Spider-Man comics.  We don’t care about Kraven the Hunter as the main character.  We want to see him fight one on one with Spider-Man, and this movie will definitely not deliver on that.  The casting of Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a bit strange for this character, as he seems to be a fair bit too young for what should be a seasoned hunter.  Maybe there will be some decent action scenes, but the trailer just gives us the same generic style that we’ve seen from all the other Sony Spider movies, where they feel like they are ashamed to be adapted from a comic.  The MCU showed that audiences are embracing of the campy and colorful aspects of comic books.  The Sony films feel like throwbacks to the era of super hero movies that were trying too hard to feel grown up as they grounded their characters too much in reality.  For Kraven, he should be a formidable villain and not just another generic anti-hero.

FLIGHT RISK (OCTOBER 18)

It’s a painful to watch one career downward spiral manifest on film.  This new thriller is giving us two.  Mark Wahlberg’s recent choices in film roles have seen him fall more and more off from his career highs.  He seems to be distancing himself more from Hollywood as he’s become more spiritual in the last couple of years.  Now, it is possible to be more in touch with one’s faith while at the same time continually challenging themselves as an artist, but Wahlberg seems to be distancing himself a bit too much and that is putting a limit on the kinds of roles that he’s taking.  It’s a similar downward trend that this film’s director, Mel Gibson, has gone through and both of them show no signs of changing anytime soon.  Both Wahlberg and Gibson could do so much better, and have so in the past, but their egos have gotten in the way and have led them to attaching their names to schlock like this.  In Gibson’s case, he’s never really gotten out of the rut he put himself in through his own bad behavior, and Wahlberg seems too concerned about his own image that he’s stopped taking risks.  I guess this movie exists because they like working together (this is their third collaboration) and it’s not a bad thing to work with the people you trust the most.  But, both of these guys should take a more introspective look at where their careers are, because this kind of movie should be beneath them, and yet here they are.  But if Wahlberg feels comfortable acting with one of the worst bald caps I’ve seen in recent memory, then it seems to me that he’s not ready to be the risk taker he once was again, and the same goes with Mel who said yes to having Mark wear that bald cap.

RED ONE (NOVEMBER15)

Another painful reminder that star power does not guarantee that a movie will be good.  This Christmas themed action movie feels like it’s late to the party by a couple of years.  Nothing is going to surpass the hilariously over-the-top Violent Night (2022), which was one of the best possible examples of bringing Christmas theming to recognizable action movie tropes.  Given that this is a production from Dwayne Johnson’s own company, Seven Bucks, it’s clear that it’s little more than a star vehicle for him.  It might have been funnier if he were in the Santa role, but no he gave to J.K. Simmons, which even isn’t the first time that the Oscar-winner has played St. Nick.  What makes this trailer especially cringe is the very obvious indication that neither Dwayne nor his co-star Chris Evans have any on screen chemistry.  Evans looks like he was dropped in from an entirely different movie, and his personality is merely looking at all the Christmas themed elements around him and finding it all weird.  That’s pretty much it; no other punchline.  Overall, it just looks like an excuse for an easy paycheck for everyone involved, so I highly doubt this will turn into a new Holiday classic.  There are far better action movies with Christmas theming to them (the aforementioned Violent Night is highly recommended).  I would imagine this movie will be out of theaters not long after we cut our Thanksgiving turkeys, falling well short of the Christmas season that it is hoping to capitalize on.

So, there you have my outlook of the upcoming Fall Season at the movies.  Of course, there are many other films that have yet to make it through the Fall film festival circuit that could become some big deals in the months ahead as the Awards Season heats up.  While the Fall hasn’t exactly been producing big Oscar winners recently (the last two Best Picture winners came out in the Spring and Summer of their respective years), it still is a fertile ground for some movies that no doubt will be talked about for next year’s awards.  I’m certainly interested to see what surprises come up in the next few months.  My favorite movie of 2023, The Holdovers, wasn’t even one of the films on my radar when I did my preview of Fall from last year.  Of the films that I spotlighted in this preview, I would imagine that few are going to be deemed awards worthy, and my excitement is more about anticipating the chance to see them for the first time.  Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis will be one of those experiences that I have to see for myself in a theater, even if there’s the chance that I might not like it.  The fact that the movie even got made is kind of miraculous and that in itself is the allure.  I’m also eager to see how audiences respond to Joker: Folie a Deux, which could be it’s own spectacle.  And my hope is that movies like Gladiator II and Wicked are better than expected.  Given that both movies are releasing on the same day, we could see another Barbenheimer situation arise due to the strange counter-programming, though I doubt either will achieve the same box office levels, given that Moana 2 is likely going to crush both over the same holiday weekend.  There’s a lot of interesting stories waiting to happen this fall, and I will be heading out to the movies quite a bit in the next couple of months.  Hopefully this Fall continues the same box office recovery that we saw happen this Summer.  We may not have the same kind of blockbusters, but a good healthy box office spread across all films will be great for theaters in general.  Here’s hoping for a good finale to the year 2024 at the movies, and an even better future going into 2025.

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