I was amazed by Hellhound so had to check out more of Greenhall’s work. Childgrave was next on the list. Here is my review.
Reviews
I’m Thinking Of Ending Things | Book Review
How I missed this one, I’m not sure. The Netflix film, which I also reviewed here, was interesting, to say the least. It was nice to see Netflix dipping its toes into quality content again. I was worried they would continue to cater to the mainstream and churn out garbage. But no, Charlie Kaufman brought this one to life, and while it was a bit of a mixed bag for me, I had to check out the book, especially because the Wikipedia and Amazon listing categorized it in the Psychological Horror/Thriller category.
All I knew was that the film wasn’t either of those things. I had to dig deeper. Check out what I thought in the video below.
The Devil All The Time (Movie Review)
The Devil All The Time is a novel that I took far too long to get to. It had popped up on a list somewhere, and I had added it to my to be read queue, just wish I would have gotten to it sooner. It’s a Steinbeck novel with big balls. Violence. Horror. Tragedy. So many bad things to the characters in this story, but it was expertly done and never gratuitous. Some of the best character work I’ve read in a long time, and it was not only a great read from an entertainment standpoint, but as a writer, I learned a lot.
Needless to say, I was excited to learn it was being adapted to film. The cast was insane. The trailer was insane. I was ready for this thing. I drank in every image, every word, its story keeping me glued to the screen for its entire duration of two hours and eighteen minutes. But did it succeed both in doing justice to the source material and a film?
Check out my review to find out.
The Last of Us Part II Review
The first game meant so much to me. An amazing feat of storytelling that was loved by nearly everyone. An artistic and technological achievement that pushed what we knew video games to be. I can’t say enough good things about The Last of Us. It evoked emotion like no game before it, and will always stay with me.
Needless to say, the sequel I had been anticipating ever since it’s announcement. Where would these characters be? Was Joel dead?
Naught Dog teased us, hard. Finally, the gameplay trailer came out, introducing us to new characters, new places, an even grittier setting. I was all in.
I binged at least half the game over a weekend, immersed, enthralled, pissed. They threw a wrench in it. How did I ultimately feel after completing it? Check out this review to find out.
Damn it, Netflix (Hold the Dark)
This should have been perfect. “Dark” is even in the title. It looked atmospheric, with a great cast including Jeffrey Wright and Alexander Skarsgård.
But what made me most excited to see it was that it was directed by Jeremy Saulnier, who brought us two great indie films: Blue Ruin and Green Room.
What happened?
I thought this might be the beginning of something great, like what you did with Maniac. The let’s-create-lots-of-crap-because-the-audience-is-stupid act was over. You were back to the glory days of showing HBO you could do the same, if not better. Well …
What is it?
Hold the Dark is a tale shrouded in grit, gore, cold, and, well, darkness. It’s about … I’ll let the internet provide a concise description:
Summoned to a remote Alaskan village to search for the wolves that killed three children, a wolf expert soon finds himself unravelling a harrowing mystery.
Sounds cool, huh? I thought so, too, and even sat through its two-hour running time because there had to be something there. With that director and that cast? Had to be. I wish there had been.
Why you shouldn’t watch it
The film gives us a thin plot that isn’t all that interesting and plays its cards early and to no real effect. Once we’re given a good enough (albeit confusing) idea of what’s going on, the plot devolves into random acts of violence that seem unfounded and have zero payoff. Which is a shame. The director knows what great films are. The only other two he’s made are great. He put a unique spin on the revenge story with Blue Ruin and created a compelling narrative with a bunch of kids thrown into some weird Nazi rock concert in the woods with Green Room. Character is the heart of any good story. Not visual effects. Not action. Not star power. Saulnier knows this. So, how did he let this happen? Hell, even his good buddy Macon Blair, who starred in Blue ruin–and has a bit part here–penned the thing. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe Netflix micromanaged any kind of vision he had. Maybe it was both of these things plus everything else that happens when good ideas turn to shit. I don’t know.
How long will it take?
It maybe took me about an hour to realize I didn’t like this film. I am fine with slow burns, accepting of experimental story structure, and just loved the look of the thing. The midpoint of a story is usually when things flip, shit hits the fan, we learn what everything is really about, and it sucks us in and spits us out just in time for a cathartic ending. I guess that’s why I waited until then. If you hate deliberate pacing or are confused without a title crawl full of exposition, you will most likely stop much sooner.
It can’t be all bad, can it?
Of course not. The acting is solid across the board. The cinematography isn’t amazing, but better than serviceable. You can tell there was care put into almost every element of this film, other than the story. Sometimes I wonder how something can go so far before someone realizes that something feels off, that something isn’t working. Maybe there is a better edit out there that solves all the issues I had. Who knows. The film is based on a novel by the same name. I haven’t read it, but a part of me is curious to see what Netflix saw in it. I’ll let you know if I do. If you want to check it out, you can pick it up on Amazon by clicking the pic.
Check out the trailer.
Were you as let down by this film or do you disagree with me completely? Tell me in the comments below.
Finally, Netflix (Maniac)
You made a show worth watching. There have been a few, like House of Cards and … and …
Is that it?
Now I haven’t watched every Netflix show out there, but I have more fractional-progress bars on TV show thumbnails than could name. Most of them are poorly written/acted/shot/directed/paced, unfortunately. Then they release Maniac, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga of True Detective (SEASON ONE), Beasts of No Nation, Sin Nombre, fame. It stars half of Jonah Hill (nice work, man!) and Emma Stone, with a great supporting cast including Justin Theroux, Sonoya Mizuno, and Sally Field. It’s currently labeled as a “limited series,” which means there isn’t planned to be subsequent seasons to further dilute and destroy a great accomplishment.
Firstly, Cary Fukunaga is becoming one of my favorite directors. He’s a lot like Alex Garland in that he doesn’t want to revisit anything he does with sequels, but, unlike Garland, he genre hops like crazy. He’s done sci-fi, romance, police procedural, dark drama, to name a few. He’s also heavily involved with the development of the project he’s on, not just a hired gun.
What is it?
Maniac is a bit odd to classify. Set in a near future that feels more like the 80’s injected with futuristic ideas/tech, it’s part science fiction, part comedy, part indie drama, part Tarantino-gore-fest (sorta). However you want to classify it, it’s done damn well. The performances are great across the board. We see Jonah Hill stretch his acting muscles like never before, Justin Theroux become wackier than ever, and Sonoya Mizuno given the chance to finally act, and it’s great!
Spanning ten episodes of oddly-inconsistent duration, the show introduces our two protagonists (Hill and Stone) in their current day to day. Both mentally and emotionally damaged (and broke), they decide to join a pharmaceutical trial for an experimental drug to make some cash. That’s when things get weird. Nearly every episode consists of Hill and Stone in a different setting, playing different characters that are vessels to illustrate and force them to confront their issues. The in-between moments are filled with the antics of the supporting cast, who deal with their own personal problems in the lab, overseeing the whole thing.
Why you should watch it
It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. Genre-bending with a collection of fantastic settings, Maniac is constantly surprising in a myriad of ways. The art direction, the story, the performances. I found myself wanting to see where Fukunaga and crew would take me next. Most important, it creates a compelling arc with two compelling characters at the center of it–and their various iterations. While Hill’s character is mostly comatose, in the real world, and Stone’s is, at times, a facsimile of the sassy/quirky female we’ve seen in various degrees before, we don’t spend much time with them. We’re treated to the multitude of characters they become in their own minds.
How long will it take?
This is something I always ask myself when delving into show or movie I haven’t seen. Will I be grabbed by the first scene? The first episode? I was hooked by the first episode even though we don’t get into the heart of the story until episode three (episode one introduces us to Hill’s character, and episode two introduces us to Stone’s). If your interest wasn’t as piqued as mine after the first episode, give it three before you give up, but I hope you don’t. It’s worth it. I promise.
It can’t be all great, can it?
Nothing is perfect. It’s not a fast-paced show in the least, but I don’t think it needs to be. Its pacing reflects the psyches of the protagonists. There are episodes of break-neck action, but also episodes of deliberate and meditative quality. It feels more like an 8+ hour movie than something that was designed to be purely episodic in nature with meticulously orchestrated structure. And that’s okay. Each episode has something to like, something to pull you further in. It’s worth the ride. It also has a great single-take action sequence toward the end, and I’m not talking the bullshit-faked-with-pans-to-black one in the first season of Daredevil. Don’t even get me started on the Marvel stuff.
The trailer is a bit misleading, but here it is anyway.
If you’ve seen and enjoyed it or hated it, please let me know in the comments.