Quick Reviews, Spring 2018, Part 3: You Were Never Really Here, The Death of Stalin, RBG, Fahrenheit 451, Upgrade

You Were Never Really Here

You Were Never Really Here (2018): A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

Wow. What an IMDB description. I'm honestly surprised that IMDB was even able to conjure up a description for this film, because even after watching it I honestly have no idea what it's about. If you like films that embrace and go all-in on their premises, then You Were Never Really Here is the perfect movie for you. Director Lynne Ramsay composed a mind-bending, discombobulating, but masterfully crafted film here. Even though I struggled to appreciate it, I still enjoyed seeing a master of the craft at work with no oversight or limits on what she's allowed to do. We need more films like this, and we need more films from female directors! Joaquin Phoenix is filling the shoes of his usual outlandish persona here in the lead role of Joe, (great name, right?) which is only slightly stale for me at this point, but that's fine. The story is interesting, though because of the editing it will be disorienting for some and downright impossible to follow for others. This is not a film for everyone by any means, but for those that take the plunge out of sheer curiosity like I did, you will find yourself thinking about this one for a while afterwards, even if you don't really know how to describe it. Like me! I really need to see this one again to truly appreciate it, but the fact that I actually want to see it again should speak volumes. If you're a fan of the craft it's well worth the watch. Everyone else, though? Your time is probably better spent elsewhere.

My Number: 7/10

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​The Death of Stalin

The Death of Stalin (2017): Follows the Soviet dictator's last days and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death.

AH. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I wish IFC Films had realized it had such a great film on its hands and released it back in 2017 with its UK release, or whoever was behind that decision, because this deserved at least a few Golden Globe nominations. This is a marvelously crafted comedy that is laugh out loud funny. I haven't seen director Armando Iannucci's premier accomplishment, Veep, however the humor here feels like it's tailor made out of that same mold. The ensemble cast here is incredibly strong and absolutely hilarious, with Steve Buscemi leading the way in my book. I honestly can't recall the last time I laughed this hard while watching a film. Maybe 2013's The World's End? I guess I love British comedies. There's also an elegance to the editing of this film. The pacing here is glorious thanks to some incredibly fluent and beautiful editing. Several hilarious jokes come out of the editing as well, which I really enjoyed. I also really appreciated the fact that the underlying joke of this film is that we're all laughing at a bunch of prominent white men trying desperately to hold on to their positions of power. It is a very topical film for this moment. I really dug the Veep style of satire, though I was a bit disappointed that Jeffrey Tambor was involved with this, especially given his recent Arrested Development controversy with his co-star Jessica Walter. But, ultimately, its similarities to Veep may be the best thing to come out of this film: it's a gateway for those of us not familiar with Veep yet, and for those that are it's basically just Veep, but set in Russia with some terrific editing. (And cinematography.) I highly recommend it!

​My Number: 8.5/10 

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RBG

RBG (2018): A look at the life and work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

​The world of documentaries is a shockingly different world than that of film to me. So I will openly admit that I am not one to even remotely critique something effectively like RBG. However, I had to check  this documentary out as it was making waves for being a pretty cool documentary on arguably the most famous Supreme Court justice on the bench right now. And fun it was. I had a great time learning about "the Notorious RBG." Do I think there were points of this documentary that were played up? Sure. But, for the most part it told the story of its subject matter in a fun and entertaining way. I particularly enjoyed how it tackled her Supreme Court arguments / dissents with some creative editing. While it was no Last Week Tonight, (c'mon, dogs will always be the best way to tell anything) the flashy text was still a good way to keep the pace up while not making us, the audience, realize that we were, you know, reading text. Otherwise, I don't really know what to say about this. If you're into reasonable politics, (you know, the kind where you're not yelling at someone simply because they're different from you, or just disliking someone else's plan while having no logical solution to the problem of your own) this is well worth the watch. If not? Your time is better spent elsewhere. Like under that shiny rock over there! Also, there's not much to see here on the big screen, so you're not missing much other than supporting the filmmakers by waiting to see it on Netflix.

My Number: 7/10

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 (2018): In a terrifying care-free future, a young man, Guy Montag, whose job as a fireman is to burn all books, questions his actions after meeting a young girl...and begins to rebel against society.

Wow that is a corny IMDB description. Kind of like this film and honestly, (unpopular opinion) kind of like this subject material. I remember reading Fahrenheit 451 while in school and thinking it was fine, but nothing special. Like, it's an interesting premise that tries to base itself in reality as they're burning classic works of literature, (which definitely crosses over to tackiness at multiple points, and the film falls victim to that several times as well) but its a premise that's as absurd as people following a Jedi religion and fighting each other with lightsabers. It's a tough line to straddle - having ties to the real world while doing your own thing - and I never thought the book did a very good job of it. And this film CERTAINLY does not. Now, I gotta talk about Michael B. Jordan. I love this man. Fresh off portraying the fantastic villain Killmonger in Black Panther, Jordan gets to showcase his passion project: portraying Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451. Well.....he's not very good, and neither is his female counterpart, Sofia Boutella. (Clarisse) Neither have very good writing to back them up, but they just seemed.....off. Jordan's facial expressions are all over the place and totally inconsistent with how he should be acting in any given scene, and Boutella isn't given much to do outside of being the love interest, (sigh) and....my God. The romance here rivals the cringing nature of Anakin / Padme in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The saving grace here is Michael Shannon, (Captain Beatty) and his chemistry with Jordan is pretty good and leads to one admittedly great moment at the end of the film. The only great moment, I might add, and in order to get there you have to sit through 100 minutes of film that is mediocre at best and garbage at worst. Hard pass.

My Number: 3/10

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Upgrade

Upgrade (2018): Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called Stem.

Every so often, my opinion of a film is completely different than the consensus of said film. This is one of those times. I was not a fan of Upgrade. The problems start with the film's primary protagonist. Grey Trace, played by Logan Marshall-Green, lacked the charisma he was trying to hard to have. He wasn't helped by the dialogue he had to say, but the whole time Marshall-Green felt like a discount Tom Hardy, and he didn't help his case much by trying to be Tom Hardy. It's almost as if Logan Marshall-Green got an advanced copy of Venom and also watched Locke (which is a fantastic little film from 2014 where Tom Hardy basically talks in a car for 85 minutes) and said, "Hey! I should play Grey EXACTLY like this!" Additionally, this film is hampered by some atrocious cinematography / editing during the fight scenes. When you try and cheat with the editing to make a character seem faster than everyone else in a lower budget sci-fi movie, we, the audience, can tell. And it's distracting! That said, there were some pretty cool moments with the production design throughout the film, and the story does have a pretty spectacular twist at the end that I did not see coming. But to get to that twist you have to sit through a lot of "Siiiiiigh" moments and generic sci-fi tropes. Also, and I get that this was done intentionally, but still.... why did director Leigh Whannell feel the need to have law enforcement be like 15 years behind the technology of everyone else in the film? It's tough for me to get behind a film trying to make a statement on our current society when their statement is the government is basically just discovering that phones can access the internet (wow!) while the bad guys have these massive internal tech upgrades. It also kind of ruins (the always amazing) Betty Gabriel's detective character, which is unfortunate because she is (shock!) the ONLY female character in this that doesn't die in the opening scene! (Again.....SIGH) So, ya. A lot of other people may have liked this, but not me. It's a tad better than ​Fahrenheit 451, but still not good enough to be "Just fine." Another hard pass.

​​My Number: 4/10