This looks pretty wild- the new Charlie Kaufman film is a stop-motion puppet movie, and it got amazing reviews from the critics when it bowed at a couple of film festivals. It's now coming out in limited release on Dec 30th, and I can't wait. It's animated, but I've heard it's by no means intended for children, so keep that in mind.
10 War Movies For November
Happy November, everybody. It's officially the holiday season now, but as usual, there are not enough great Thanksgiving movies to fill out a top ten, so we celebrate Veteran's Day this month with war movies commemorating the wars from the 20th century from which we still have veterans who fought. We have movies about WWII (The Thin Red Line, Schindler's List, Mrs. Miniver and Army of Shadows), Korea (Mash), Vietnam (Apocalypse Now, Platoon) and Iraq (The Hurt Locker), among others. I try to throw in a variety of styles, so even though these are all war movies, a lot of them vary drastically in tone, humor (Inglorious Basterds is outright historical revisionism, as we know), so that it doesn't feel at all like any of them are the same movie. Celebrate veterans in November and go to our Monthly Movie Page to read more about the theme, and click here for our full list of ten great wartime films, complete with original trailers. Happy Movie Watching, everyone.
BOX OFFICE 10/30-11/01: 'Martian' Again Leads a Slow Halloween Weekend
Halloween always leads to a soggy box office weekend when it falls on a Friday or Saturday, but this time it was once again a complete flop for the new openers, as both Sandra Bullock's Our Brand is Crisis and Bradley Cooper's Burnt failed to make double digits, and The Martian took its fourth weekend on top. Both were saddled with bad reviews, but Our Brand is Crisis earned a terrible "C+" Cinemascore and clocked in as the worst wide opening of Sandra Bullock's career. Burnt also marked the worst of Cooper's relatively short-lived one in comparison, coming in with 5.5 million and just a "B-" from audiences, although it did crack the top five.
The non-performances of the new movies left mostly holdovers in the rest of the top five though, as The Martian came in first with another 11 million and a new total of 182 million so far, soon to top Gladiator to become the most successful movie of director Ridley Scott's career, and that appears to be the narrative that's now driving its awards chances, as people are expecting the film to be embraced come Oscar time (I don't think it's nearly good enough for that, but whatever- awards are always political anyway, so I guess it makes sense). Goosebumps was second place, while Bridge of Spies was third, and Hotel Transylvania 2 rounded out the chart.
Top 5:
- The Martian- 11.8 million
- Goosebumps- 10.2 million
- Bridge of Spies- 8.1 million
- Hotel Transylvania 2- 5.8 million
- Burnt- 5 million
No major new releases in limited this weekend- in fact it's more news in the flop department as Truth and Suffragette both expanded to damaging PTA's, and Room didn't fare much better and will have to depend on some strong awards boosts to stick around in specialty theaters. It's also worth mentioning that Steve Jobs fell a steep 65 percent this weekend from its soft opening and will go down as one of the bigger puzzlers of the year, as people ponder how it could not have done better with great reviews, awards buzz and a terrific limited opening just a couple weeks ago. Next week should finally be a big one, as Spectre hits theaters and is expected to make around 80 million over the weekend, while The Peanuts Movie also comes out and a couple more would be Oscar contenders try to break through in limited release- it's Spotlight and Brooklyn's turn to try and find an audience in this dismal year for indies. See you then.
Movie of the Day: "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944)
On Halloween night we celebrate the day with the 1944 black comedy classic starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. One of the best screwball comedies Capra ever made, and a perfect showcase for what a great actor Cary Grant really was. There's no one else who can do drama, comedy, and most especially, comedy in different ways than Grant could. For proof of his talent and range compare how different his three comedic performances were in Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday and this film. This one takes place on Halloween, with Grant getting married and coming home to visit his eccentric aunts, only to find out they've hidden a corpse in their house and have a very candid history of murder and mayhem. The dark comedy and farce escalates from there- this is a classic that lives up to the word in every way.
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Movie of the Day: "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)
Steven Spielberg's masterpiece holds up every bit as strongly today as it did more than thirty years ago- I only hope kids are still seeing it. Everyone knows this of course- Elliott, played by Henry Thomas, is the ten year old child of divorce who finds the cuddliest and most loveable little alien ever in his backyard, and must help him find his way home. It's funny that ET is so loveable, since his iconic design is actually more than a little ugly, but that speaks to the personality of the animatronic effects. Robert McNaughton and a six-year-old Drew Barrymore play Elliott's brother and sister, who help him try to get ET home. There's an extended Halloween sequence in the movie as Elliott and ET attempt to contact his home planet, which is why the movie qualifies for the entry today, but it's really just a magical, powerful film that everybody should still see. I hope they do.
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New Trailer for 'By the Sea' Shows More Fighting and Weeping
Frankly, this movie looks like the most pretentious thing ever made, and if you want to go and see Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie crying and kicking each other, I guess this if for you. Otherwise I'm not sure who this is really for- it's probably exactly the self-indulgent vanity project from a self-obsessed movie star it looks like.
Movie of the Day: "The Skeleton Twins" (2014)
The next Halloween set movie is last year's The Skeleton Twins, an indie dramedy out of Sundance that is completely made by the chemistry and rapport between Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader as siblings reunited after a ten year estrangement. I really liked this movie a lot, even with the slightly formulaic elements to it- sometimes when the actors and characters fuse like this, everything seems believable and authentic, and you just want to spend time with these people as much as they clearly want to spend time with each other. It's a film set during the fall season in upstate New York and with a big brother-sister outing on Halloween night, so it surely is perfect for the holiday. Take the time to check this one out when you can.
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New 'Suicide Squad' Pics Show Off Harley Quinn and the Joker
Empire magazine got the new stills from next year's Suicide Squad, with new looks at Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, the Joker, Killer Croc and Enchantress. This movie could either be wacky and cool like Guardians of the Galaxy or super weird and a total misfire like this summer's Fantastic Four. Here's hoping for the former- at least WB seems to be letting David Ayer go with his own, weird vision. He's now promising a love triangle between Harley Quinn, Joker and Will Smith's Deadshot.
Movie of the Day: "Donnie Darko" (2001)
Our next movie set at Halloween is the cult classic Donnie Darko, one of the most confusing and surreal movies you'll ever see, but intriguing nonetheless. You can see why this became a cult phenomenon after it came out, since it's almost impossible to figure out what's happening in this movie and what it all means. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a troubled high schooler who keeps seeing a monstrous rabbit everywhere who's telling him the world is going to end in 28 days. This takes us through the month of October and a climactic Halloween party, which fits our theme, and the movie's creepy enough to qualify as somewhat frightening, although it's hardly horror. I wouldn't try to think too hard on this one when you're watching it- the plot is too puzzling to concern yourself with, so instead just enjoy the strange mood and dazzling visions set to some great 80's music (the movie takes place in 1988). It's still a haunting experience in a lot of ways.
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Movie of the Day: "Song of the Sea" (2014)
For this Halloween week, we're going to do something a little bit different, and instead of outright horror or monster movies, we're going to recommend films that are actually set on or around the holiday itself. As you might expect, there aren't too many, but I did manage to dig up five choices, the first of which is this beautiful gem from last year, which you may remember as one of my favorite films of 2014. It's only grown stronger in my memory, and now it may even qualify as my number one movie of last year- a story of a little boy and his sister, who happens to be a Selkie, as they journey back to their home and run into a myriad of characters from Irish folklore. It's actually set on Halloween, funnily enough, so it counts as an entry in this Halloween set category, and I'll never refuse the chance to recommend this wonderful movie whenever I can. Check it out, and show the kids too. It's a treat unto itself.
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Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Mulholland Dr." (2001)
One of David Lynch's best movies and one of my very favorite films of the previous decade is out in a Criterion Collection edition this week, and it's so creepy (well, it's Lynch, how could it not be?), that hey, it works well for Halloween too. Naomi Watts had her breakthrough role as the super sweet small town girl who gets caught up in the mysterious noir-esque Hollywood scene. You can't describe too much more of the plot than that, because it takes all kinds of surreal twists and turns and it's best to just let it wash over you as you try to absorb the madness. In a way, this movie deals with the powerful and abstract nature of dreams in a way that so-called mindbenders like Inception could never conceive of. Mulholland Dr. will blow your mind in the very best way- I guarantee it.
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REVIEW: "It Follows" (2015) Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist. Dir. David Robert Mitchell
It’s that time of year where horror is the thing to be watching, but I just caught up with one that was released way back in January, and it’s kind of a shame because this was undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year. It Follows is the second feature from writer-director David Robert Mitchell, and if this guy goes out of his way to take his cues from 70’s and 80’s horror films (John Carpenter especially, is an obvious influence here), this movie’s all the better for it.
It’s rare to see a horror film more concerned with mood than scares, but here’s one that evokes an enormous amount of dread and fear around every corner, almost regardless of whether anything is ever actually coming at you in that jump scare shot perfected by guys like James Wan of (Saw and The Conjuring). A college student named Jay (Maika Monroe) happens to be dating a guy who seems pretty into her, until it’s revealed that he was using her to “pass on” the entity that’s been following him wherever he goes. How does he pass it on? Well, through sex of course- this is horror movie about teenagers. Nothing good ever comes from having sex, and in this one the fear is made literal. The supernatural being in question is vaguely ambiguous, sometimes taking the form of loved ones, alive or dead, and always catching up with you eventually, even though it’s actually slow enough that you can outrun it for a period of time, but only temporarily.
In line with the old 70’s and 80’s horror movies, Jay isn’t totally alone in her plight. She’s surrounded by a group of friends, including her little sister, who try to believe her fear of impending doom despite being unable to see the thing that’s haunting her every living moment. The movie becomes a quest to get rid of it or pass it on before Jay meets her maker (if the thing catches up with you you’re dead, and if it kills you it comes after those who passed it that far), but the mechanics of the plot are not what makes this movie great. This is a supremely controlled effort from a very talented filmmaker, and every shot betrays a talent who knows exactly how long to hold a shot and what kind of atmosphere will present a mood that will make you afraid, no matter what it is that’s really following Jay. What is it anyway? Is it the fear of death or the fear of life? Is it everything that scares anyone of a certain age before facing the ultimate fear of adulthood? Is it the slut-shaming that follows women of any age whenever they choose to own their sexuality in positively assertive ways (that idea of passing it on is explored to exactly the point where you’d expect it to go).
This movie can certainly work on the level of metaphor, thanks to the mood, the style of acting (which is subtle and low key) and the direction which places us in a world that seems vaguely set in that 70’s Halloween era (someone has a cell phone, but not everyone, and the clothes and cars are ever so slightly retro in that respect). But Mitchell makes a crucial mistake when he decides he has to give the entity a physical presence beyond the atmospheric haunting. This occurs in two scenes, two scenes that are so miscalculated they nearly take you out of the film in a manner that makes you angry at the movie for failing to stick the landing that could have catapulted this film to the level of a classic. Because of this it must settle for being merely good, not great. But what a crying shame that is, because without such a turn of events that forces the film’s villain into a mortal movie monster, this would qualify as an essential entry in a genre that rarely produces such essentials. And with such a terrific closing sequence, I’m tempted to name it such anyway. Still, I say to David Robert Mitchell- bring on your next movie and fast. You’ve certainly captured my attention.
* * * 1/2
