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  • THE MONKEY Laughs In The Face of Death

    THE MONKEY Laughs In The Face of Death

    The newest film from Osgood Perkins is an instant gallows humor classic.

    Courtesy of Neon

    As a child, I was obsessed with my own death. From the moment I learned that I would one day die, it was routinely all I could think about. I remember laying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, terrified that I might die in the night and that I’d never know. The vastness of it terrified me, and that was even before I had contemplated how everyone I knew would also die. Sometimes I will still find myself feeling my mind wander to this ultimate fact, that all our lives have, essentially, the same ending.

    Quite obviously director Osgood Perkins has had similar moments, as this cruel fact serves as the central cornerstone of his new film The Monkey. Even the movie’s tagline is “Everybody dies.” An adaptation of a Stephen King short story, the film’s script lifts the topline premise (killer monkey toy) and a few character names to craft a mostly original tale about the inevitability and carelessness of death. But rather than using that story structure as means of dread, Perkins takes a more surprising approach. He makes a joke of death’s inscrutable nature.

    One is loath to open the box on what is and isn’t a horror film. But perhaps the most surprising thing about the Monkey, given its morose subject matter, is that it puts its humor front and center. This isn’t a scary movie or even a tense one; it is a hilarious comedy about a horrific topic. It blends the madcap zaniness of an Evil Dead film with the Rube Goldberg death mechanics of a Final Destination.  By making a joke of death, of our shared fate, Perkins is able to show the cosmic absurdity of it all and make an all-time gallows humor classic.

    Hal Shelburn has a problem. There is a monkey that has been haunting him, namely a toy monkey drummer that was left behind by his deadbeat father. That wouldn’t seem to be a problem, except that every time the monkey bangs his drum, someone Hal knows dies a horrific death. The only person who knows Hal’s secret is his twin brother Bill, and after causing one death too many, Hal knows he has to bury the monkey in a well. But when mysterious, cataclysmic deaths begin occurring again in Hal’s adulthood, he realizes that monkey must be back, and that he has to stop it once and for all.

    Courtesy of Neon

    This barebones premise serves as the background for the main event of the film: a series of increasingly grisly and innovative death, depicted in glorious gory detail. But the deaths are never lingered upon, but rather hyperbolically horrific. At one point a character is trampled to death in a sleeping bag to the point where they appear to be transformed to hamburger meat. Another death involves someone diving into an electrified pool, which for some reason causes their body to immediately explode. 

    The scale and absurdity of these deaths make them less disturbing to behold as they are delightfully silly, taking the often overwhelming topic of gruesome ends and making them a spectacle. It belittles death as a concept, laughing in its face and defanging it. The end result is both satisfying and cathartic, taking the ultimate fear shared by all people and making it a punchline. Perkins’s last film, horror-thriller Longlegs, struggled balancing a tone of dread versus campiness. There is no such tone disjointedness here. This film puts it’s foot on the gas for the silly, and is all the better for it.

    Perkins is buoyed by some fantastic performances, most centrally Theo James, who plays both the adult versions of Hal and Bill. Hal never plays the comedy of his circumstances, fully committed to playing the horror of the circumstances. But even as the deaths grow more and more ridiculous the longer the Monkey’s reign of terror lasts, even within the structure of the film, Hal seems to be aware of just how absurd it all has become. The always wonderful Tatiana Maslany plays the twins’ mother, whose brash and unfiltered style of mothering should be an inspiration to all parents. Even one-scene cameos by Adam Scott and Elijah Wood delight, even if they beg for more screen time.

    But it is the Monkey itself that serves as the true star of the show. Little more than a pair of wide eyes, an unnerving grin, and a spinning drumstick, the little guy is consistently one of the greatest comic presences of the film. Really it is all in the edit; anytime the movie cuts to the little guy, his eyes wide, observing all, it elicits a devilish grin. And that is the power of the film; when the avatar of death, the very embodiment of destruction rears its head, you don’t feel dread. You feel joy.

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  • LEGEND OF THE EIGHT SAMURAI (1983): A Pop Princess Assembles Avengers [Blu Review + Unboxing]

    LEGEND OF THE EIGHT SAMURAI (1983): A Pop Princess Assembles Avengers [Blu Review + Unboxing]
    Eureka

    Sonny Chiba! Hiroyuki Sanada! Kinji Fukasaku writing/directing! Power ballads in the trailer! These are a few of my favorite things, AKA the names and stylings that caught my eye when I first saw the trailer for 1983’s Legend Of The Eight Samurai and decided yes, I must review this film. I think most folks would be familiar with the name Sonny Chiba, he of the famous Street Fighter film franchise and Hattori Hanzo the swordsmith in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Hiroyuki Sanada might be less well known to some in the West, but has risen to prominence as the lead in the massively successful and seminal Shōgun this past year. And many readers might be familiar with Kinji Fukasaku’s final opus after a lifetime of filmmaking: Battle Royale! This assemblage of talent was more than enough for me to seek out Eureka’s new Blu-ray release of Legend Of The Eight Samurai, a film I’d never known existed, but I’m sure happy to have been exposed to.

    Despite all those names that attracted me to this release, the headline star of the film is someone I was unfamiliar with, a young pop idol named Hiroko Yakushimaru as Princess Shizu. And the primary driver of this film was producer Haruki Kadokawa, another talent I was unfamiliar with, but which drove the creation of this wild ride of a film. According to the stellar bonus features made available on this release, Japanese cinema wasn’t exactly at a high point in the early 1980s, and Kadokawa sought to pull from the pop culture hits of the west as inspiration for this sci-fi/fantasy/samurai hybrid. It was this approach that brought us a somewhat classical samurai tale starring a young pop idol with a rabid youth/cult following, featuring western-style English language power ballads, and several sci-fi and fantasy story elements that brought visual effects into the mix. But all while ripping off Seven Samurai, of course… because why not?!

    Legend Of The Eight Samurai tells the tale of Princess Shizu, the last surviving member of her ruling clan, who were all mercilessly slaughtered by an evil sorceress, who assumes power in the vacuum, bathing in the blood of her victims to assure eternal youth. But there is a prophecy that 8 mystically chosen dog warriors will come to the aid of Shizu and restore righteousness to the throne. Many glowing orbs, mystical monsters, and spectacular action set pieces ripped quite directly from Star Wars and Indiana Jones will follow, as well as a nice little redemptive/romantic arc for the strapping young Hiroyuki Sanada! There’s not an original bone in Legend Of The Eight Samurai’s body, the sum of a thousand pop culture influences mixed together in an attempt to form a mass market hit; but damn if it’s not gloriously entertaining throughout the spinning of its yarn. 

    I guess I’m just a sucker for every component of this smorgasbord, because while this movie really shouldn’t work (and many will feel that it doesn’t), I can’t help but be charmed by it. For most of the runtime it does look and feel like a traditional samurai film. But then a massive centipede monster will show up, or some black magic will happen aided by 80s style visual effects. And then there’s that power ballad penchant I mentioned. And while the film is most definitely aping Seven Samurai, it almost simultaneously feels ahead of its time, like a proto-video game movie with a bunch of side quests and mini-bosses leading up to a final assault/boss battle. 

    What worked well for me may not work for everyone, but within 10 minutes you’ll know what you’re getting and if you aren’t vibing with it in the earliest moments, it’s probably not going to click for you. But if, like me, you’re a fan of virtually every ingredient of this cobbled together recipe, you might just join the Hiroko Yakushimaru fan club and start pumping your fists along to the power ballads like I did. 

    The Package

    Eureka put together a pretty gorgeous Blu-ray package here for this pop smash hit that may not have been so much of a critical darling. Most importantly, the film itself has some real visual splendor if you can appreciate 80s style VFX, and this first-time-released in North America title got the 4K restoration treatment. Along with some killer artwork that I’ve got featured here in unboxing photos, you also get an essay from Tom Mes, a new audio commentary track, and a fascinating interview with Fukasaku’s son Kenta. Limited to only 2000 copies, I am thrilled to have gotten to experience this curio and feel many fans of samurai cinema and Star Wars knock offs would feel similarly if they picked up this release for themselves.

    Legend Of The Eight Samurai hits limited edition Blu-ray from Eureka 2/18/25

    Unboxing Photos

    And I’m Out.

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  • Taking a Trip with PADDINGTON IN PERU

    Taking a Trip with PADDINGTON IN PERU

    It’s the third go-round for the funny but gentle Paddington franchise, centered on the sweet young bear whose transformative kindness touches everyone around him, whether he’s in a new neighborhood or locked up in prison. It’s a well-loved franchise; Paddington 2 in particular is famous for its long-held title of the highest rated film by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a reference to its outstanding excellence even earned a spot as the most memorable scene in the Nicolas Cage film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

    This second sequel isn’t quite as good as its predecessors, but is still a lovely and well worthwhile return to the kind world of Paddington and his family and friends (both bear and human).

    When Paddington (Ben Whishaw) receives some distressing news about his beloved Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) in South America, he decides to make the trip back to the motherland to see her. His adoptive human family, the Browns, decide to join him – it’s a chance for the once close-knit family, now becoming more disconnected with two busy teenagers, to spend some time together, and a chance for Mr Brown (Hugh Bonneville), who works as a risk assessor, to try to curry some much-needed clout with his adventure-minded new manager at work (Hayley Atwell), who questions him – and his role – as boring and unnecessary.

    But the Brown family’s arrival in Peru is met with more bad news – after behaving strangely, Aunt Lucy has disappeared into the jungle, much to the dismay of the singing nuns who run the retirement home for bears, including the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman).

    And thus begins the trek into the jungle to search for Aunt Lucy, with a little help from a handsome riverboat captain (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter (Carla Tous). It’s an adventure to find Aunt Lucy, but also a whole lot more – including getting in touch with Paddington’s origins.

    If you had to pick one character who represents the soul of the Paddington movies, it would be, well, Paddington. But a close second would be Mrs Brown, played by Sally Hawkins in the prior two films. Unfortunately she does not return, and while Emily Mortimer (a great actress in her own right) capably steps into the role in Peru, it’s a palpable loss to recast such an integral character.

    Paddington in Peru is a grand adventure with laughs, thrills, and maybe some tears, and overall I loved it! But at the same time I can’t place it as high as the (incredible) first two films directed by Paul King. Veteran music video director Dougal Wilson takes the reins on this sequel in his feature debut. And while on paper it sounds plenty absurd the follow up to the highest-Tomatometer film of all time with a first-timer, in truth he definitely rises up the challenge of a sprawling, global adventure that’s inherently a bigger logistical challenge that its predecessors.

    Paddington in Peru opens theatrically in North America on Friday, February 14th.

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  • CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, Superhero Fatigue is Here and It’s Real

    CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, Superhero Fatigue is Here and It’s Real

    Superhero fatigue is here and it’s real. Look no further than Disney’s much-delayed addition to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Captain America: Brave New World, as first and final proof of that proposition. Fatally undermined by muddled, unfocused plotting, vague, ultimately meaningless politics (or lack thereof), and anonymously directed, stakes-free set pieces, and the result clarifies the currently woeful state of the MCU: desperately in need of a top-to-bottom refresh or universe-resetting reboot and if neither approach works, a long, uninterrupted period in hibernation or stasis.  

    Captain America: Brave New World opens with the obligatory, underwhelming set piece as the “new” Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), drops in from the sky for a brief smash-and-grab, stopping disposable henchmen and their leader, Seth Volker/Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), from stealing a super-special case containing the latest Whatsit/McGuffin. Wilson, of course, saves the day, rescues the hostages, a Catholic priest and a gaggle of nuns, and retrieves the case, delivering it to the new president of the United States, ex-general Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford).

    Long considered a foe and/or antagonist to the libertarian-aligned Avengers, President Ross has taken a more conciliatory tone with Wilson, offering him the chance to restart the Avengers, albeit once again under Ross or U.S. control, and more importantly for the plot at hand, inviting Wilson, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), Wilson’s sidekick and the new Falcon, and Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), an old friend/mentor and ex-soldier, to the White House for a meet-and-greet with world leaders to negotiate the terms on an international treaty dividing control over Celestial Island (see, e.g., The Eternals, for more about the half-born Celestial who perished in the Indian Ocean).

    For Bradley, the first Black super-soldier, once lost to history, unjustly imprisoned, and now, belatedly restored to respectability, meeting the newly elected president, let alone returning to the public eye, means recognition of past harms made by the U.S. government, if not outright reconciliation. Bradley’s mistreatment, a consequence if not an effect of his Blackness, like Wilson’s decision to take up the Captain America name, points to a level of complexity, not to mention contradictory ideas about America, American exceptionalism, and its failures, that Captain America: Brave New World deliberately fails to explore meaningfully, the unsurprising result of corporate cowardice on Marvel’s owners, Disney.

    Before Bradley and the others can enjoy Ross’s “one for all, all for one” speech, a Manchurian Candidate-inspired attack abruptly ends the conference, leaving Ross uninjured but vowing payback, Wilson no longer on Ross’s good side, and Bradley imprisoned again, this time for his unwilling participation in the attack. That, in turn, compels Wilson, moved by his friend facing the rest of his life in prison or worse, the death penalty, to do what he and his predecessor have always done best: Go it mostly alone, go rogue (i.e., unsanctioned), and start digging into the wide-ranging (insert several yawns here) conspiracy that led to the attack and its aftermath.

    What Wilson, Torres, and later, Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), Ross’s Israeli-born right-hand security aide, learn won’t be spoiled here, but it takes the trio back to the MCU’s humble beginnings (2008) and the first, stumbling steps the then 2-film franchise took toward a shared superhero universe and the Avengers.

    Cue a series of escalating misunderstandings (between allies, real and imagined), miscommunications (between nation-states), and a long-forgotten supervillain literally emerging from the shadows to drop some exposition on Wilson and his support crew. By then, the time has arrived for several more set pieces, including Captain America: Brave New World’s standout sequence, an airborne Captain America and the Falcon vs. both American and Japanese fighter jets over the Indian Ocean. Succeed and all goes back to the status quo ante, however imbalanced in the U.S.’s favor that might be. Fail and everything goes sideways. Also, hello, World War III (superheroes not invited).

    Why Marvel’s Powers-That-Be (PTB) would think, let alone imagine, that audiences would find a heretofore unaddressed plot point even remotely worthy of inclusion in Wilson’s first – and possibly last – standalone superhero adventure remains unanswered. At least, it’s not an answer Marvel’s PTB decided to share with fans before Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters. It’s one, however, someone will have to answer eventually. Until then, it would be irresponsible not to speculate.

    Ultimately, Captain America: Brave New World offers nothing of novel superheroics or original storytelling, instead taking an anodyne approach that will please few and annoy or bore many, repeating the same, tired tropes in over-familiar ways, dooming the onscreen characters and the audience on the other side of the screen to the MCU’s equivalent of Groundhog Day.

    Captain America: Brave New World opens theatrically in North America on Friday, February 14th.

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  • PADDINGTON IN PERU, Everybody’s Favorite Bear Returns, Unfortunately to Diminishing Results

    PADDINGTON IN PERU, Everybody’s Favorite Bear Returns, Unfortunately to Diminishing Results

    After almost a decade, multiple start-stops, and additional, unrelated delays (the 2023 SAG-AFTRA Writer’s Strike), Paddington in Peru, the long-awaited, much-anticipated third entry in the commercially and critically acclaimed live-action franchise makes it to stateside theaters. To suggest Paddington in Peru was – and is – worth the lengthy wait might be an overstatement, especially in comparison to the artistic heights of its predecessors (Paddington and Paddington 2), but that’s less than a knock against the sequel than a reflection of reality.

    Paddington in Peru picks up some time after the second entry in the series. Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw), the marmalade-loving, hijinks-prone, ultra-polite bear, has become a full-fledged member of the Brown clan, officially adding “Brown” to his passport application. Once an undocumented immigrant, adoption by the Brown family has settled his status as a British citizen. Still, Paddington needs a passport if he wants to travel abroad, specifically if he wants to visit his aunt, Lucy (Imelda Staunton), long a resident of the Home for Retired Bears in the country, Peru, where Paddington was born, adopted by two elderly bears, and raised for a time before shipping off to a new life in the UK (United Kingdom).

    While there’s no longer any doubt about Paddington’s place in the Brown clan (he’s one of their own and vice versa), a letter from Aunt Lucy stirs Paddington’s conscience: She’s lonely and misses her nephew. Keen to assuage her loneliness with a visit, not to mention acquire and use his British passport for the first time, Paddington convinces the Brown clan to join him on his trip back to Peru. It’s apparently what the Browns, facing the inevitable effects of time (i.e., children growing up into young adults and leaving the family home), need to get them back on track as a familial unit, a renewed sense of togetherness, community, etc.

    In addition to Paddington and his favorite blue coat and red hat, the Brown clan includes Henry (Hugh Bonneville), the family patriarch, Mary Brown (Emily Mortimer, replacing the much-missed Sally Hawkins), wife, mother, matriarch, and their two children, Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), a slacker with an inventive mind, Judy (Madeleine Harris), a soon-to-be university student, and Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters), the family’s housekeeper extraordinaire.

    Finally in Peru, the Browns soon discover that Aunt Lucy disappeared, necessitating a change of plans. Instead of a reunion, the Browns, led by Paddington, have little, if any choice, but to venture into Peru’s jungle terrain. With only a single clue left behind by Aunt Lucy, the Browns obtain the services of Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), a riverboat captain, and Cabot’s daughter, Gina (Carla Tous), to transport them to Aunt Lucy’s likely destination. Harried by his overly verbose, perpetually present ancestors, Cabot sees Paddington and specifically, a gift left by Aunt Lucy to her nephew as the figurative and literal key to untold riches.

    Paddington in Peru wears its anti-colonialist, anti-imperialist narrative lightly, perhaps too lightly, treating Cabot’s relationship with his ancestors, visualized as nagging ghosts who push him to acquisitive extremes, partly out of pride (i.e., family name/reputation), partly to prove their sacrifices somehow justified. Banderas plays every iteration of his ancestors, including a female aviator, with just the right of cheeky, self-aware humor. Still, it’s odd to acknowledge the centuries-long effects of Spanish conquest and rule and treat it as an ongoing joke that gets more stale with each repetition.

    That aside, taking Paddington, an anthropomorphic bear, out of his natural element (i.e., London), and bringing him back to Peru has other, not quite fatal consequences: The humor in Paddington’s naïve, kind, generous, generous attitude and befuddled, bewildered, bemused Brits, his propensity for pratfalls and other bits of physical comedy, and the centrality of his relationship with the Browns. Each, in turn, gives way to an overabundance of plot and incident and an underabundance of gags and whimsy.

    Buoyed by note-perfect performances, especially Ben Whishaw’s turn as the voice of Paddington, breezily unobtrusive direction by first-timer Dougal Wilson, and its always welcome positive, optimistic message about family, community, and belonging, Paddington in Peru delivers, if not another must-see entry in the series, then the next best thing: a perfectly pleasant, family-oriented experience.

    Paddington in Peru opens theatrically in North America on Friday, February 14th.

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  • With CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, The MCU Shows Depth But Lacks Flash

    With CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, The MCU Shows Depth But Lacks Flash

    The newest Marvel entry offers political intrigue, social commentary, and boring spectacle.

    Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL.

    This creates a dilemma for Disney. Kevin Feige and the Marvel Films cabal attempt to create as broadly appealing media as possible. And in case you haven’t noticed, the current political environment in America is fraught for conflict and division. This reared its head when the newest Captain America film entry, Brave New World, went through multiple rounds of revisions and reshoots, largely due to needing to reconsider the delicate political elements of the film. This includes even the name of the film. Originally it was subtitled New World Order, a phrase associated with multiple conspiracy theories.

    All of this is why it is surprising to see so much of Brave New World’s political backbone still intact. It’s not a film that stakes specific grounds on the progressive-conservative divide in the United States, but it does have a perspective on the nature of political corruption at the root of American government. It is absolutely a fluke of timing that the film is laser-focused on a newly elected President attempting to project strength and worth in his first 100 days. But it is hard to not watch the film through the prism of currently political realities. To that end, the film both is bolstered and falters slightly.

    Picking up from the events of the Disney+ Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) finds himself still getting used to being the new Captain America. The film doesn’t shy away from Wilson’s Blackness causing friction as he takes up this role. In fact, in one of the more objectively political plotlines of the film, Wilson has created a deep bond with Isiah Bradley, the second man to take the super soldier serum who was subjected to extended incarceration and human experimenting. With echoes of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Bradley is the voice of Wilson’s conscience to be clear-eyed on who he is serving when he becomes a tool of the US government. The weight of being a Black man serving a country that has done little to serve him hangs over the whole film.

    Meanwhile, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, taking over for the late William Hurt) has been elected president, with a message of conquering the rising challenges of the superhero age with a vague direction of “Together.” His first order of business is to help guide a treaty between various countries all vying for a piece of adamantium, a new metal discovered on the remains of Arishem (a nice nod to my beloved Eternals.) As a major act of international diplomacy, Ross is mutually motivated by assisting his country but also cementing his own legacy.

    (L-R): Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo by Eli Adé. © 2024 MARVEL.


    This plan is disrupted when several sleeper agents, including Bradley, all attempt to assassinate Ross. It becomes clear pretty quickly the shooters are victims of brainwashing, and Wilson takes it upon himself to discover who is responsible. But President Ross appears to know more than he is letting on.

    Thus is the thorny plot of Brave New World. Like most MCU films of this era, it pulls from dropped plotlines from previous films, ranging from classics like Winter Soldier to less remembered fare such as The Incredible Hulk. Unlike some other entries however, the film is more or less readable with or without those references, though they certainly heighten the effect. Any details that you need to be made aware of, the film will certainly fill in the gaps.

    As the film’s ostensible co-leads, Mackie and Ford make for a formidable pairing. Mackie is in full movie star mode here, his kind-hearted but stern masculinity cementing him as a cornerstone for the MCU going forward. Ford, by contrast, is fully flexing his old-man grumpiness to full effect here, though tinged with an ongoing sense of grappling for redemption. A common thread across both characters is a mirrored imposter syndrome; Wilson is attempting to prove he is up to the task set forth by his predecessors, while Ford’s sight is set on proving those who question his character wrong.

    The intermixing of political intrigue and personal narrative is nothing new; it has been in the DNA of the Captain America sub-franchise from the beginning. But it really takes center stage here, where the characters are given room to breathe and explore their inner lives in a way that impresses when compared to the most bombastic impulses of these movies. It is a movie of two men who are uncertain of their place in the world, questioning if they really have earned their spot.

    The cast beyond Mackie and Ford is a bit shakier. Danny Ramirez returns as Joaquin Torres, Wilson’s partner/sidekick who is clearly inspired by Sam. Ramirez never quite finds a voice for the character, and often seems to exist simply for Wilson to have someone to bounce ideas off of. Similarly, Shira Haas debuts as Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli agent who went through the same training as Black Widow, who is the head of Ross’s security detail. Her character was massively trimmed out of the film, and you can feel the gaps, as she appears throughout without any major purpose or direction.

    (L-R): Prime Minister Ozaki (Takehiro Hira), Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL.

    The other let down of the film is that it’s action can’t quite live up to the standard set before it. Comparing any MCU entry to Winter Soldier is an unfair ask, as it is still the film that set the standard for a reason. But comparing any action sequence in Brave New World to just the elevator sequence in Winter Soldier, and the deficit becomes clear. Multiple scenes in Brave New World look weird thanks to obvious compositing and CGI. The setpieces feel overly contained, oddly cheap and unimaginative. 

    If you’ve seen any marketing for Brave New World, you likely know President Ross’s ultimate fate. Viewers should know going in it takes the film a while to get there, and when it does the end result is slightly hollow, feeling lifeless in the final conflict. For all the promising aspects of the movie, it is that much more frustrating that the theoretical payoff of all the drama leaves much to be desired. Still, compared to other films with competent action but little in terms of depth, this outcome is much preferred.

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  • THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980): A Linchpin of Empathetic Cinema – Lynch/Love [Two Cents]

    THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980): A Linchpin of Empathetic Cinema – Lynch/Love [Two Cents]

    We continue our month-long tribute to the work of David Lynch with an Oscar calibur empathetic masterwork

    Two Cents is a Cinapse original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team curates the series and contribute their “two cents” using a maximum of 200-400 words. Guest contributors and comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future picks. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion. Would you like to be a guest contributor or programmer for an upcoming Two Cents entry? Simply watch along with us and/or send your pitches or 200-400 word reviews to [email protected].

    The Pick: The Elephant Man (1980)

    Our Team

    Ed Travis

    “I am not an animal. I am a human being”

    I first encountered The Elephant Man in my youth and its redemptive narrative is likely one of the early building blocks of my deep love for cinema as a medium for empathy. It’s a film that’s almost preternaturally attuned to hit me, a person who has always attempted to follow Jesus more from the “love one another” motivation than the “let’s be a Christian nation” angle, right in the deepest parts of my soul. The film introduces us to “the terrible Elephant Man”, a frightening other, a freak who is despised and exploited for his curious and unexplained physical difference. But as Anthony Hopkins’ Dr. Treves studies this man and takes him into his hospital, his home, and his heart, we come to know John Merrick; a fearful but intelligent young man who’s learned how to survive in a cruel world. John begins to find a voice, and a safe place from which he can live and express himself as a kind and curious and artistic person. Genuine kindness and sacrifice allows us to move from “awful” to “awe-filled”.

    And who could capture such a genuine, complicated, tragic, and hopeful journey better than master filmmaker David Lynch? Known more for his dedication to surreality in his films, Lynch nevertheless had an innate kindness to him, and a soft spot for the outcast and despised of this earth. Perhaps many would think the freak show components of The Elephant Man better align with Lynch, but part of what made Lynch such an essential voice was an unflinching willingness to depict evil, true brutality and human depravity, while also infusing an innate goodness and truth into his work.

    And as such, the 8-time Oscar nominated 1980 masterwork The Elephant Man was indeed in the best hands imaginable to swell the heart with almost impossible levels of cinematic compassion and redemption, while simultaneously depicting the true muck and mire of human indecency which Mr. Merrick had to contend with. It’s why, in a film that soars with a profound satisfaction of John Merrick finding friends, and a home, and safety and belonging, our heroic doctor can look John in the face and simply say “no” when asked whether or not a cure might be found. It’s also crucial that Lynch is able to depict Dr. Treves as himself a flawed and conflicted helper, perhaps at times in it for himself, or morbidly curious just like the freak show onlookers, but who pushes past self-interest or obsession into a deeper level of genuine friendship and complex give and take. Lynch is able to infuse nuance throughout a film that could’ve easily been exploitative or treacly.

    The Elephant Man isn’t about fixing people. It simply depicts our abject propensity to fear and hate what is different, and also revel in the profundity of the human capacity to love, accept, and welcome what we do not understand and find redemption, community, and family in acceptance and grace.

    “My life is full because I know I am loved.”

    Ed Travis on Bluesky

    IMDb

    Julian Singleton

    As much as Lynch openly explored the virulent darkness humans are capable of, rife with greed, hate, cowardice, and other self-destructive impulses, he was always a creator who sincerely believed in our individual and collective capacity for Good. To borrow from Twin Peaks, in a world full of demonic Bobs or devious Windom Earles, we all could be Dale Coopers or Major Briggs if we chose to fix our hearts rather than die. 

    I like to believe similar notions ran through Mel Brooks’ mind when he screened Eraserhead for the first time, and determined from Lynch’s art-house parental horror film that he was the director best suited to adapt The Elephant Man for the screen. 

    It’s a film that finds primal ugliness at the heart of an era at the dawn of rampant industrial progress, as black smoke belched from factories rife with machines that regularly chewed-up and disfigured their workers. Their only respite: to head to freak shows full of the only people who could possibly have it worse. 

    What’s fascinating about Lynch’s take on Joseph Merrick’s story is how even though the film opens with Anthony Hopkins’ clinical yet kind-natured Dr. Treves, Merrick (a remarkable John Hurt) grows to rightfully take charge of the film’s focus–with his natural kindness spreading like an effective cure to society’s ills as he and Treves pierce through their initial repulsion. Through a calm voice and limited movement, Merrick can’t help but evoke a transformation in whoever he meets, unearthing individual compassion from the ruins of institutional cruelty, saving others from descending into irredeemable monstrosity. 
    Lynch and master DP Freddie Francis never belabor this into melodramatic territory–like Eraserhead before it, it’s a film that more than eagerly nestles into ambiguous shadow and uncomfortability, and refuses to turn away from the individual hate and mass vitriol Merrick endures as much as it lingers on gentler moments. Lynch’s balance of darkness and light in both a tangible and thematic way is so damn apt and effective, even this early in his career. As such, The Elephant Man rivals Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me as the crown jewels of an unparalleled career as one of film’s most empathetic filmmakers.

    Julian Singleton on Bluesky

    Justin Harlan

    Despite the fact that a lot of what I’m drawn to with Lynch being how weird he is, I genuinely love this film – one of his most “normal” films. There’s so much to say about the true story, this wonderful screen adaptation of the story, and involvement of the great Mel Brooks, but I think the others here have covered most of that.

    For me, this film is all about the heart. It tugs at the heartstrings while maintains a beautiful and artistic look and feel. So many dramatic filming this ilk are completely lost on me, but the acting and direction here set it apart. This was a wonderful rewatch and one I am sure to return to every few years.

    Justin on Bluesky

    Frank Calvillo

    It’s hard to believe that The Elephant Man was Lynch’s second feature-directing effort. The film is so well-made and lovingly constructed that it’s hard to imagine anyone outside of the David Leans and Richard Attenboroughs of the world being able to pull such a cinematic feat off successfully. But Lynch managed to do so with a superb screenplay and a filmmaking eye that was equal parts empathetic and compelling. 

    It’s all but impossible not to get wrapped up in the story of John Merrick (John Hurt) and his attempts to exist as something other than the creature society fears. Hurt gives a career-best performance as John, showing his highly emotional journey into the real world and the many places it takes him. Hidden beneath that ever-impressive makeup, Hurt gives John a true innocence and dignity as he summons the courage to come into his own. It’s truly the actor’s finest turn on screen. Hurt may have been the one to have earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his performance, but we shouldn’t discount the beautiful work Anthony Hopkins is doing here as one of the only people who sees the beauty within John and fights for him all the way, becoming the parental figure he never really had. 

    Eraserhead had to have been such a hard act to follow for the young Lynch, and one can only imagine the nerves that came with bringing a script such as The Elephant Man to the big screen. But Lynch clearly embraced the opportunity, showing both a rawness and a storytelling versatility that would come to represent his style as a filmmaker. Over 40 years later, The Elephant Man remains a beautiful portrait of humanity and a testament to one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation.

    Frank Calvillo on Instagram

    Join us for the rest of our Lynch celebration for the rest of the month:

    And We’re Out.

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  • Criterion Review: PARIS, TEXAS [4K-UHD]

    Criterion Review: PARIS, TEXAS [4K-UHD]

    Wim Wender’s soulful slice of Americana

    Amid a haze of dust, a man (Harry Dean Stanton) emerges from the desert. A shabby affair, wearing a misfitting suit and tie, topped off with a red baseball cap. Seemingly dumbstruck by some unknown trauma, he stumbles into a bar and is eventually identified as Travis Henderson, a man missing for four years. An enigmatic opening gives way to a considered and impactful reconciliation with the past and emotional trauma, as Travis is picked up and driven home to LA by his His brother Walt (Dean Stockwell). The return is a reunion, with Travis joining Walt and his wife Anne (Aurore Clément), as well as his estranged son Hunter (Hunter Carson), who the pair have been caring for in his absence. Initially silent, Travis eventually opens up about his long walkabout and making a new home for himself in the remote town of Paris, Texas. Father and son begin to reconnect, before they decide to set off to Houston on a fateful roadtrip to reconnect with the missing maternal element of their family, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), as well as the events that drove Travis into the wilderness.

    Fight or flight is a basic animal response, the latter speaks to a withdrawal to facilitate survival and healing. Despite our evolved sensibilities we still feel those urges, and they can often be compounded by social cues. A long drive after an argument, a hike to clear the head after some bad news. There’s a primal understanding of Travis’s nomadic sojourn even if we are aware of his abdication of responsibility. The simple sight of a man seeking solace opens up into a deeper examination of the mindset of American masculinity, notably the folly of unresolved emotion and inability to face up to trauma, which in this case encircles the fragmentation of a family. Stanton is key to this emotional character study. With a look, both in attire and expression that speaks to years of wear, and a performance that infuses the film with a somber soul.

    Paris, Texas is a small town in the lone star state, but the title also hints at the trans-Atlantic temperament of the film. The European sensibilities of Wenders (a German) and cinematographer Robby Müller (a Dutchman) give the film the look and feel of lush European cinema, coupled to the more muscular sights of the US landscape and gritty performances of its cast. Leveraging the American West, this foreign and legendarily untamable frontier, adds to the aura of instinct and isolation. Even a move to the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles offers no respite, an equally foreign an alienating environment awaits Travis. Ry Cooder’s guitar-driven score infuses the film with yet another soulful hint of Americana. The script from Wenders, along with Sam Shepard and LM Kit Carson is light on dialogue, but uses word and visual language to conjure something melancholic and haunting. A man with anachronistic attitudes traversing a run-down landscape, serving as a warning about fixating on the past, over the importance of the present.

    The Package

    Criterion deliver an all new 4K digital restoration, one supervised and approved by director Wim Wenders. The result, like past 4K Criterions, is truly impressive. Paris, Texas delivers verdant visuals that really pop here. From the deep inky blacks of night, to the punchy neon lights, to the scorched oranges of the desert. Colors are strongly represented, with a palette that at times tilts towards greeny/blue. Density and detail of image is superb, with a healthy, stable grain throughout. 4K-UHD version of the film on a dedicated disc, while an additional Blu-ray contains extra features for the film:

    • Audio commentary featuring Wenders: It’s all about the details in this packed commentary. Very focused on technical and logistical aspects of filming
    • Archival interviews with Wenders; cinematographer Robby Müller; composer Ry Cooder; actors Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper, Peter Falk, and Hanns Zischler; novelist Patricia Highsmith; and filmmaker Samuel Fuller: Built into a 40 minute featurette, The Road to Paris, Texas
    • Interviews with filmmakers Allison Anders and Claire Denis: Each an accomplished director in their own right, they reflect on their roles as first assistant director and production assistant on Paris, Texas. Anders through pulling from a personal diary, and Denis through an interview
    • Deleted scenes and Super 8 home movies: Just over 20 minutes of deleted scenes, with a commentary from Wenders
    • Cinema Cinemas: footage pulled from a French TV program which covers some of the collaborative work done to compose the film’s score
    • Gallery of Wenders’ location-scouting photos
    • Behind-the-scenes photos by portrait photographer Robin Holland
    • Trailer
    • Cover Art by Neil Kellerhouse
    • Liner Booklet: containing an essay by film critic Nick Roddick; interviews with Stanton, writer Sam Shepard, and actors Nastassja Kinski and Dean Stockwell; and excerpts from Wenders’ book of photos Written in the West

      The Bottom Line

      Paris, Texas won the Canne film festival Palme d’Or back in 1984. It struck a cord then and still is one of the most evocative and impactful renderings of American woven by a foreign filmmaker. An indelible treatise on isolation and identity that deserves the reverence that surrounds it. Criterion’s 4K is sublime and further underscores the craft on display.

      Paris, Texas is available via Criterion now

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    • THE SEARCHERS: A Piece of Seminal Cinematic Americana hits 4k UHD

      THE SEARCHERS: A Piece of Seminal Cinematic Americana hits 4k UHD

      Catching up with “The Greatest Western of All Time”

      The Searchers is one of those pieces of  seminal cinematic Americana I’ve been meaning to catch up with for quite some time now — luckily for me it was just released on 4K UHD thanks to Warner Archive in their first 4K release. The 1956 film dubbed by some as “the greatest western of all time” was directed by one of the first American auteurs John Ford, starring John Wayne in their twelfth of fourteen on screen collaborations. The story goes, the pair met while Wayne was a prop man at Fox and the two really hit it off, which is apparent not only in how naturalistic Wayne’s performance feels on screen, but how he manages to deliver a masterclass in subtext as well. The script, which was based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May was inspired by some very real events and explored some of the darkest fears of the early American settlers. 

      The film begins in 1868 three years after the end of the Civil War and follows Ethan Edwards (Wayne) who fought alongside the Confederacy, which here is shorthand for he’s VERY racist. Sometime after he returns home to his brother and his family in West Texas, he is recruited by a group of Rangers who are rounding up a posse to look into some missing cattle; which turns out to be a distraction for a Comanche raid on his brother’s homestead. While the rest of the family is killed in the raid and the aftermath, Ethan’s young niece Debbie and her older sister Lucy are abducted. It’s then up to Ethan and his brother’s adopted son Martin Pawley, who is one-eighth Cherokee – to look for the missing women in a search that transpires over half a decade. It’s through this journey of searching, that both men learn a lot about not only the world around them but each other, overcoming their differences. 

      It’s interesting watching The Searchers, after having viewed Kevin Costner’s vastly underrated western masterwork Horizon. That film begins with a similar albeit much more explicit raid, but also digs into the why on the Native American side of the conversation. Here we come in post that inciting incident, but thanks to history, we know why. The Comanche in particular migrated down to Texas in 1743 and quickly became a force to be reckoned with, quickly gaining control of the Texas plains, while nearly wiping out the Apache who once called Texas home in the process. In the late 1800s when The Searchers transpires, the US government was in the process of taking land from the Comanche people and placing them on reservations — which as you’d expect did not sit well with the once great warriors who had just taken the land themselves

      This danger of the new frontier is front and center and drives the plot and supplies the dread of The Searchers. For a film made in 1956, it does surprisingly dig into the darker aspects of what the risks were for these settlers with a daring subtlety. Living on these stolen lands, the Comanche raids meant certain death for the men, the women were often assaulted and killed after the fact, and the children were sometimes kidnapped or simply killed. The Comanche tribe in particular were known for their brutality, but we do see it’s not just the Comanche Ethan has to contend with, but his greedy caucasian counterparts as well. There’s a dog eat dog level of lawlessness in the west at this point that was exploited by all, since the Civil War had depleted the soldiers who once kept peace and order in the new frontier. 

      The film given its rather one sided narrative and time of its release, still does an amazing job at showing how Ethan learns to grow past his racist view through the runtime. This is thanks to his relationship with his companion Martin who rode with him for those five years and their experiences along the way. It’s that change of heart that ultimately comes into play once the two men reach the end of the search, and discover what happened to the young girls taken from the homestead. You could say acting-wise John Wayne is just being John Wayne here, but he manages to craft a powerful performance from nuanced inflections of dialog and body language that speaks louder than words. It culminates in a transformation in Ethan throughout the runtime that’s hard to miss.

      Filmed in Vistavision and presented on this disc in a new 4K transfer from the original negative, this scan flawlessly presents Winton C. Hoch awe inspiring cinematography for home viewing. This is pre-cgi, so they’re really out there riding horses – in these gorgeous landscapes of Monument Valley, both in Arizona and Utah that here stands in for Texas. The film format and time period definitely influence the overall vintage color palette perfectly presented here with an image that has a stunning contrast and overall breathtaking visual quality. This film presentation is paired with a wealth of extras on the blu-ray ported from previous releases, which along with a great doc on the film also includes a feature length commentary on the film by Peter Bogdanovich, who himself did a documentary on John Ford. It’s truly a fantastic package that does its best to present the film in the best and most comprehensive way possible.   

      This was my first time watching The Searchers and I couldn’t have imagined a better way possible to experience it, than this reference quality 4k presentation. And then, afterwards being able to dig into the extras for that extra bit of context and history of the production. It’s something that I hope Warner Archive does more of, especially with these older high profile films to introduce them to a new generation. While The Searchers is a surprisingly dark take on the settlement of America, it’s sadly a bit one sided, that would be my only quip about the western masterpiece – that is thankfully not completely without hope. I don’t think even today we are really ready to start hearing both sides of this difficult conversation about how this country was really founded, but I think The Searchers tries to start that conversation in its own way, and that’s more than most.

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    • JACKIE BROWN is Cooler Than Ever in 4KUHD

      JACKIE BROWN is Cooler Than Ever in 4KUHD

      Jackie Brown is impossibly cool. From the moment it starts and Bobby Womack’s “Across 110th Street” plays as Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) hustles through the airport to her stewardess job, it feels like you’ve just sat down in the most comfortable chair you’ve ever been in. Maintaining that cool demeanor while crackling with excitement throughout is a next-level balancing act by Quentin Tarantino. For a director who has never lacked confidence, Jackie Brown represents something else: a film that knows it’s great rather than one that wants its audience to know how cool and great it is. That’s not meant as a slight to Tarantino’s catalogue, just as a testament to the magic he captured with Jackie Brown. 

      Chalk it up to the melding of Tarantino and Elmore Leonard. Their sensibilities are a perfect match. The changes Tarantino makes from Leonard’s novel Rum Punch, namely changing Jackie from white to black and layering in the Blaxploitation influence feels like a natural extension for the story. Not only does it give us Pam Grier, but it allows for all the history that comes with casting her to add depth to the story. 

      Grier plays Jackie, a stewardess with a quiet life that is passing her by and not giving her much. She’s unfortunately mixed up with Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) a braggadocious gun-runner, who’s as slimy as he is conniving. Jackie gets popped smuggling some of his money and finds herself caught between law enforcement and Ordell. But, opportunity comes knocking and Jackie sees a chance to pit those two against each other. LAPD Detective Mark Darius (Michael Bowen) and ATF Agent Ray Nicollete (Michael Keaton) squeeze Jackie to help them take down Ordell, while Ordell still has money he needs transported.  

      Enter Max Cherry (Robert Forster) as the bail bondsman who is in business with Ordell without being under his thumb. Max and Jackie are the coolest of customers. They’re content to stay silent and let everyone else carry the conversation. The power players in the story, Ordell, Ray, and Mark, constantly remind everyone that they are at the top of their respective food chains. Jackie and Max, well, they’re just pawns. But, Jackie and Max are quintessential “playing chess while everyone else plays checkers” characters. They’re quiet because they don’t need to speak more than necessary. Grier and Forster’s performances crackle because they allow silences and eye movements tell us all we need to know. For a movie full of scheming and betrayal, the film is always at its most exciting when Max and Jackie share a scene.  

      As the movie rolls along there’s a feeling of sadness that creeps in along the edges. It has to do with the characters being trapped in their station in life. Ray and Mark have the traditionally noble jobs, but for all the work they’ve put in, for all the training they’ve gone through, and promotions they’ve chased, they’re going to forever be dealing with guys like Ordell or harassing citizens like Jackie. People like Melanie (Bridget Fonda) and Louis (Robert De Niro) with no real prospects in life hang around for as long as Ordell has use for them. Beaumont (Chris Tucker) is another pissant caught in Ordell’s web. Then there’s Jackie and Max. These are characters that have lived. They’ve dealt with the bullshit for so long that I feel tired on their behalf. I know we’re in the lives of these characters for such a small amount of time, but it’s so easy to imagine how their whole lives have been and what they’ll continue to be after the credits roll. 

      Jackie Brown is my skeleton key for Quentin Tarantino’s work. To varying degrees, I liked all of his films, but it wasn’t until I watched Jackie Brown for the first time in 2016 that the barrier came down and I saw what many others already saw in Tarantino’s work. Subsequent rewatches bumped his other films up in my estimation, but Jackie Brown remains at the top of my personal rankings with only one other movie really challenging for that spot. I’m not sure that there is anything Jackie Brown does that Tarantino hasn’t done in his other films, but there’s something about the alchemy of Jackie Brown that continues to set it apart for me.

      Lionsgate brings Jackie Brown to 4KUHD with Steelbook and Standard Edition, alongside Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2, and a re-issue of Reservoir Dogs. 

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