The Saga Continues (Scream 4, 2011)

After the disappointment of My Soul to Take, Craven returned to the grounds of his second most popular Franchise. Or is it the first? I supposed I could look at the box office.

Picking up ten years after the third film, Sydney has written a book about overcoming the events of the prior films. Her book tour brings her back to Woodsboro, bringing (now) Sheriff Dewey and Gale (now married). Gale is struggling to write a fiction book. Dewey is trying to run the police department. His Deputy Judy has a clear crush on him, His other deputies are a bit inept. We also meet a new group of teens, centered around Sydney’s cousin Jill. She and her friends suddenly find themselves facing the Ghostface killer again. Who is it now? What are the motives? Is this Sydney’s fault?

Truth be told? This is a real comeback for the franchise. It is fun to be back in the presence of Sydney, Dewey and Gale. And after the second and third films began with Dewey and Gale split up, it is nice to see them together and not really angry with each other. Their only conflict occurs when Dewey suggests Gale should not be a part of the investigation.

I really like the new additions to the cast, especially Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby and Deputy Judy played by Marley Shelton. The twists and motives for Ghostface in this film work so much better than the third film.

Honestly, one of the things that makes this franchise so great and re-watchable is it’s focus. Scream is the rare franchise that is not about its killer. Since Ghostface changes in every movie, the series is about the people Ghostface is a threat to. And we get to see arcs for our leads.

One of the things that really helps here, I suspect, is that this installment features the return of Kevin Williamson as writer, Williamson was the writer of the three good flicks in the series. He and Wes had a real magic with this series. And so, Craven’s filmography ends of a pretty high note, which is nice since he passed away four years later.

I am not sure how I feel about Scream 5…I mean, the core cast (and Deputy Judy) are coming back. But Williamson is not the writer and Craven, obviously, won’t be back. Maybe fresh writers and directors will bring something new. But I do have to say, Scream 4 is a great send off for Craven and a terrific new entry in the series.

October 23, 2020 0

Back At It (Scream 2, 1997)

Scream was a massive success, and a sequel was green-lit and put out right away. Like, barely a year later. And for a lot of horror films, that can be a bad sign. So is Scream 2 a rush to cash in on success?

Picking up one year after the first film, Sydney is at college trying to make a new life. The past keeps haunting her though. The exonerated Cotton Weary (accused of killing Sydney’s mother) is insisting on Sydney participating in an interview with Gail Weathers. But the killings begin again, this time on the campus. Conveniently, Sydney and Randy decided to go to the same college, so Randy can explain the rules of a slasher sequel. THERE ARE RULES, PEOPLE.

Deputy Dewey shows up so that we can have some romantic conflict with he and Gail and the four survivors can investigate the killings on campus.

Scream 2 is written by Williamson and directed by Craven…and this is more of a case of striking while the iron is hot. The return of Campbell, Cox, Arquette and Kennedy makes for a lot of fun. They all have a real chemistry together. The new additions are a cast of solid talent… even in smaller roles (Timothy Olyfant and Liev Schreiber are guys who can carry films as leads).

The writing does not cheat, even the repeating of incidents from the first film are deliberate call backs. Craven’s direction is on still strong. Scream 2 is one of those rare sequels that feels like it compares to the original favorably. It is clear that Williamson and Craven had a vision for a continuation of Sydney’s story. And I think what helps here is that Scream is not about its killer. It is about Sydney Prescott and her friends. This makes Scream 2 an admirable follow up.

October 18, 2020 0

I Wanna Hear You (Scream, 1996)

The slasher ruled the late seventies and well into the eighties. But in the early nineties, the slasher was looking to be dead. And then came the future creator of Dawson’s Creek.

An ambitious writer, Kevin Williamson arrive in L.A. in 1990…/and then saw no success for a few years…his first script sold, only to not get made until after Williamson’s script for Scream fell into the hands of Mirimax and Wes Craven.

Scream is the story of a small town beset by gory murders of local teens. Our central antagonist is Sydney Prescott. A year before the murders, her mother was brutally killed by her lover. Sydney has tried to come to terms with the tragic loss through her friendships. Her boyfriend Billy straddles the line of supportive and selfish as he really wants to have sex with Syd, while she is rather hesitant. But after the first murder, it seems the killer is not content with the act of murder alone. No, the killer is playing a cruel game.

Testing his victims with horror movie trivia, teasing them with the notion of survival if they can just answer the questions right. In a way, the killer (nicknamed Ghostface) is your typical gatekeeping Internet troll.

The killer seems focused on Sydney, and after a failed attack on Sydney, the cops focus on protecting her along with the crime. There is a lot of stuff going on in Scream and a big cast. So trying to recount the plot seems pointless.

Just know that Scream really delivers the goods. Williamson has crafted a solid script full both great scares and the humor that his scripts became known for. The kids have defined personalities that separate them from each other. And you tend to like them.

The cast is really quite good. Campbell proved she could carry a movie, Courteny Cox showed range beyond Monica on Friends and David Arquette was a lovable deputy that was supposed to die by fan love saved him.

Skeet Ulrich was one of those guys who looked like someone else (he and Johnny Depp could play brothers in a film) but also had a certain draw. The stand outs are Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy. Sadly, this series is the only place where Kennedy shined. Lillard just turns the insanity up throughout this film and is a real goofy joy to watch chew the scenery.

This is a nice comeback for Craven on the heels of Vampire in Brooklyn. His direction keeps a consistent tone throughout. The satire never comes into conflict with the horror. And when Craven builds the tension, it is effective without being oppressive.

Scream is a fun and exciting thriller. And almost 25 years later? It is just as effective. I mean, I know the twists, yet, I still had a great time watching this year. Craven and Williamson proved a solid team with this film and it is one of my favorite slasher films.

October 17, 2020 0

Woke Culture (The Hunt, 2020)

So, the Hunt was meant to be released last year, but after a mass shooting and leaks about plot specific information led to people declaring this movie should not be released, including a condemnation from the impeached President of the United States. And so the movie was pulled. Although there seemed to be talk at the time of this film just being put on a shelf somewhere…well, it was released to theaters with a modest amount of commercials and it hit a week before movie theaters closed across the nation. Universal took the proactive move to make three of their recent films (the Hunt, Emma and the Invisible Man) available for streaming rentals. Disney has followed suit with Onward. I recommend Onward and the Invisible Man as very worth watching. I have no opinion on Emma yet as I have not gotten to watching it yet.

So…how is the Hunt? Is it a super hateful film celebrating killing Trump supporters? Well, my short answer is as follows.

No. Yes, this film is about a bunch of rich liberals who hunt a bunch of red staters. But the film is not at all sympathetic to its liberal characters. They are all played as awful people, while the film is pretty ambivalent about the Red Staters. Most of those characters get little to no characterization, not even in the sense of being stereotypes. Most of the liberals are stereotypes, with really only Betty Gilpin and Hilary Swank’s characters getting much personality.

Betty Gilpin is actually really good in this. She seems to be in a constant state of shock and on the verge of breaking down. But she also delivers some great action scenes and had a really good show down sequence.

As a genre film, this has a solid and classic hook. This is in the vein of films like Surviving the Game (a personal favorite). Honestly, I think it is hilarious that people assumed this would be a hateful screed against Trump when all the people who do not support Trump are evil cretins. As a lefty, this did not bother me terribly much, Gilpin feels rather a-political and is easy for viewers to root for.

I liked it. It is not the greatest film, but it is pretty effective as a genre thriller.

March 22, 2020 0

The Rich Eat the Poor Eat the Rich (Parasite, 2019)

Parasite opens with a family struggling to find access to someone’s wi-fi so they can use their phones. Comical and relatable it is also clear the Kim Family are constantly trying to find ways to make money and cut costs.

When a friend of son Ki-Woo asks him to take over a job tutoring a girl from a rich family for him while he is away at college, the Kim family gets an idea. They plot to infiltrate the family via employment. They find ways to get the current employees of the rich Park family fired and take their places.

Parasite is one of the more clever and nuanced looks at class and really the entire system of capitalism. Bong Joon Ho weaves a tale without heroes. Instead, we follow the families and see how different the worlds they live in are and yet how interdependent those worlds really become. It is not a critique of the rich. The rich in the film are not direct evil. We Americans tend to be more comfortable with clearly delineated good and evil. But Parasite looks at the economic system of capitalism and suggests it makes us all parasites.

The cast is terrific, with all great performances. The writing is wickedly funny and emotionally charged. Parasite earned it’s Oscars and is a film I highly recommend.

February 27, 2020 0

Friendship is Magic (Jojo Dancer, 2019)

Jojo is a young boy living in Hitler’s Germany. He aspires to be a great Nazi, to the point that the ten year old’s imaginary best friend is Adolf Hitler. After getting wounded at a Nazi gathering for Hitler Youth, these hopes are dashed. Instead, Jojo has to stay behind and support the Nazis through canvasing with propaganda.

But his life takes an even bigger turn when he discovers his mother is helping hide a young jewish woman named Elsa in their house.

Jojo Rabbit is a fascinating film. It delivers lots of laughs, of course, in part due to the fact that it falls into a long history of presenting the Nazis as buffoons. Sam Rockwell is the disillusioned military man who has lost his faith in the cause of the Nazi regime. Rebel Wilson is the more devoted but goofy (at one point telling the kids at camp she has had eight babies for Germany).

Scarlett Johansson turns in a solid performance as the rebellious mother of Jojo, who hides her activities from Jojo to protect both him and herself. She loves her son deeply, and hopes to turn him from his being a Nazi back to her son…a little boy.

Taika Waititi plays Hitler. And he pulls off a stunning transformation. Early in the film, he is funny and almost sweet. When Jojo is humiliated by some older boys at Nazi Camp-giving him the Rabbit Nickname- Adolf tells him what a brave and noble animal a rabbit is. But as a friendship with Elsa grows, Hitler starts to become more menacing. He is really the dark ideology Jojo clings to, and as Jojo finds himself questioning it, the poison festers and fights to maintain dominance.

Roman Griffin Davis gives a great performance as young Jojo. He has a sweetness that seems to conflict with his belief in the Nazi ideology, and ultimately, that nature starts to assert dominance. He also has a wonderful chemistry with Thomasin McKenzie. At first, she is abrasive with him as a survival tactic, but more and more their walls break down for each other.

Truthfully, the trailers did not prepare me at all for the film. Because, yes, it is funny. And it challenges the viewer with uncomfortable moments. But it also is heartfelt and hopeful. And Heartbreaking. There are gut punch moments I was not anticipating. The film is unafraid to acknowledge the horror and evil of the Nazis, even while laughing at them. And, maybe that is how it should be?

While Todd Phillips complains that comedy is too hard in today’s environment… Taika Waititi on the other hand makes a film that has laughs and heart. It has moments of raw and painful emotion that gets at the center of our conflicts and growing past our ills. Jojo Rabbit looks at us at our darkest and dares to call for hope. It calls on us to dance.

November 12, 2019 0

Trapped In a Fantasy (Isn’t It Romantic, 2019)

Rom Coms are an often maligned genre. Much like Horror, if a Rom Com is done well, people try and argue it is not really a Rom Com. This is a lot to do with the fact that Rom Coms have a pretty solid formula that has worked for a long time.

Isn’t It Romantic attempts to mock the formula by working from within. Natalie was thrilled by Romantic Comedies as a child, until her mother made it clear that she would never be desirable and needed to settle for pretty much anything she gets in life.

So when we find her as an adult, she is a meek woman, interested in her male best friend Josh (who clearly thinks the best of her and is constantly trying to get her to step outside her walls). She is walked over by her coworkers who do not take her ideas seriously. After a mugging goes way awry, Natalie wakes up in an amazing hospital emergency room greeted by an incredibly handsome doctor.

Natalie finds that New York is now smelling better, her apartment is gigantic and her dog is well groomed. Natalie tries to find her way out and decides the only choice she has is to play by the rules of a Rom Com.

The film indulges all the tropes with a wink, some too far better effect than others. The inability to actually get to have sex with handsome suitors is pretty amusing.

At the same time, early in the film, we get an extended sequence where Natalie explains why Romantic Comedies are toxic where we are told exactly what we will experience. The film also does nothing to really develop any of the characters outside Natalie. Josh gets the most development as a character, at least enough to get why she likes him. And while it is entirely predictable that they are going to end up together, it is at least understandable that the two always had feelings for each other.

Isn’t It Romantic does manage to subvert certain of its core criticisms of the genre and the cast is entertaining enough in spite of the lack of character development. It is not as genre busting as it sets out to be, but it has its moments.

June 10, 2019 0

UnderkKkover Brother (BlacKkKlansman, 2018)

According to Jordan Peele, it took a bit of work to convince Spike Lee to take on the role of director for this film. Well, not to much… He sent Lee a copy of the memoir of Ron Stallworth, the Black Klansman.

It really is one of those stories that seems so insanely weird it almost cannot be true. But Ron Stallworth is a real guy, the first black police officer in the Colorado Springs Police department. And in the 70’s, itching to advance his career and take down bad guys, he struck up a relationship with the local chapter of the KKK., eventually, this crawled up the ladder to include ongoing conversations with David Duke over the phone.

Of course, there was the little snag that Stallworth is a black man…and that might have stood out a little. And so the dDepartment decides there is a worthwhile investigation here. So, a white officer, Flip Zimmerman, is recruited to play White Ron.

Lee sees how absurd and humorous this appears on the surface. And he plays that up a lot. But Lee also saw something deeper at play…a notion that today, we are seeing some of the same evils bubbling to the surface in the present. And the film is not subtle about it.

John David Washington is terrific. He is both real and performers. What I mean is that his performance can be very personable and real, yet turn on a faithless charm when Ron is playing the Klan for fools. Adam Driver is more muted…there is no real over the top behavior called for here. Washington and Driver have a good chemistry as men who begin as simple co-workers, but develop a strong bond due to needing to…in a manner…share a life.

The supporting cast is excellent. From Laura Harrier to Topher Grace, we get a certain tongue in cheek, but not mere cartoon characters.

Lee uses some real visual flair in the film, adding a bit of a larger than life feel in some scenes. But never at the expense of storytelling.

The film certainly takes some liberties (for example, David Duke did not find out that Ron Stallworth was black until around 2013) and yet, it did not detract from the story overall. Flipp is not a Jewish man in real life, but it added a certain effective story point within the film and gave a bigger story arc for Zimmerman.

Admittedly, the film does seem play it safe. There is only one racist cop, the rest are, at worst, race agnostic. So, the racism functions outside the institution. This has a side effect of making the black activists represented by Harrier’s Patrice Dumas as being to unfair in their perceptions of the law. It is one bad cop, not the whole department.

However, BlacKkKlansman is a very entertaining and thoughtful film, and its shortcomings do not prevent the film from having a real impact.

January 21, 2019 0