Searching (2018)

Sure Searching has a gimmick. Shot from the point of view of computer, phone, and tablet screens, everything you see in the film searching, the story of a father trying to track down his teenage daughter who went missing, is something the appears on a screen. This isn't the first film to do this. The 2014 horror film Unfriended works the same way. Is it an examination of our online culture, an appeal to an audience who is used to viewing media in a different way than traditional film is used to, or just a gimmick? I'm not sure I have the answer but it works. Searching is a damn fun thriller whose somewhat claustrophobic use of its gimmick adds to the tension in ways that made me feel if this had been shot traditionally it likely would have felt far less gripping.

There is an urgency to Searching which is heightened by its use of screen imagery. Director Aneesh Chaganty, who I haven't heard of before, taps into something both original and quite familiar. We all interact on screens all day and so much of how this film functions feels very truthful, authentic. And by needing to show everything through this medium, Searching avoids some of the traditional thriller tropes which often slog it down. So even when the twist appears, a twist which pushes the boundaries of suspension of disbelief, the film's structure helps it feel realistic.

A big part of why Searching works is its star John Cho. He has exhibited his star quality many times before but hasn't headlined many films like he does here. The structure of the film required someone with the gravitas to pull it off and he does. He gives a top notch performance.

Searching's main flaws are in the story, which is a little derivative and standard, but much of this is offset by the film's original approach and Cho's centered performance. It's an entertaining watch.

Searching
Starring: John Cho, Deborah Messing, Michelle La
Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Writers: Sev Ohanian, Aneesh Chaganty

Summer of 84 (2018)

The 80s are all the rage right now, especially in horror. From Stranger Things to It, audiences are reminiscing about scary stories from their neon coloured childhoods. Adding to this is the polarizing film Summer of 84, a horror tale about teens investigating a serial killer they believe to be the cop living next door brought to us by the Montreal film making collective known as RKSS. Some are praising it as unsettling and original. Others call it anti-climactic and slow moving. After watching 84 I lean toward the former. I found it to be a rather disconcerting experience.

The story feels intentionally cliched. The young teen boys at the centre of our story are desperate to show they can be men, flirting with toxic masculinity but fumbling it and instead being decent little people instead. They are experiencing that long lost nostalgic relic, the lazy summer spent on bicycles through their suburban neighbourhood. The synthed score serenades this classic feeling period piece.

And as they crush on the older girl next door they discover an adventure. They go investigating. The film purposefully uses jump scares (cause that's how kids transitioning from boys to men interact with each other, not because the story is cheating us) as a way of letting out the tension, a tension which starts subtly in the opening scenes as the main character narrates about how sinister the suburbs truly are. "Even serial killers live next door to somebody."

That's where I feel the magic of this film is found. Underneath all the expected beats lies a darkness which is felt by the audience. The way civilization papers over a horror underlying everything. And it builds to a finale which punctuates this brilliantly. Horror movies often suffer from anti-climactic endings, where the film can't quite deliver on the promise it was building. But 84 shows us it is committed to its idea. Many who don't like this film seem to misread the ending or perhaps don't get why it is quite so scary. For me it was highly unsettling and therefore also very satisfying. It was better than the ending I was expecting and offered much more. I can't say anything about it so you just have to see if for yourself.

And perhaps the film could lead to a pay off in a sequel called Summer of 2024... just saying.

Summer of 84
Starring: Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Gruter-Andrew, Tiera Skovbye, Rich Sommer
Directors: RKSS
Writers: Matt Leslie, Stephen J. Smith

Alpha (2018)

Sticking to a simple, straightforward story and beautiful cinematography and art direction make Alpha a surprising treat. Alpha is mythic story telling, weaving a tall tale about the first canine to be domesticated, it relies on our human affinity for dogs to romanticize the relationship between the two species. The story of two injured and isolated characters, one human, one wolf, who learn to love and help each other ends up being a thrilling adventure.

Director Albert Hughes, one half of the Hughes Brothers directing team (Menace II Society), films his story gorgeously. His film has little dialogue (relying on what I assume to be a made up language to recreate a paleolithic language) so instead Hughes focuses his attention on visual language, creating a beautiful film to watch.

And it all comes together in a way that is hard not to enjoy. Certainly those with a special affinity for dogs will appreciate it even more but it would be hard for anyone not to enjoy this legend.

Alpha
Starring: Kodi Smit McPhee, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson
Director: Albert Hughes
Writer: Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt

The Happytime Murders (2018)

The Happytime Murders isn't as bad as everyone is making it out to be. It doesn't mange to live up to the potential but it is often genuinely funny, and not just in a provocative way. The story just doesn't offer enough to sustain the entire film. It is an example of a good idea which didn't quite get pulled off, but manages to be entertaining enough.

This is a difficult thing to pull off. As with anything absurdist, the idea of making an adult themed comedy which touches on thinly veiled (if veiled at all) social commentary in a Sesame Street style is the kind of thing audiences will either embrace or dismiss entirely without even trying to understand. So the burden was on the film makers to make it remarkable, to overcome our discomfort with puppets doing anything other than family friendly entertainment. It's been done. Avenue Q shows us how to do this right. I still think an Avenue Q movie would be wonderful. And maybe even prepare audiences for how to handle something like this.

But the problem with The Happytime Murders is the story remains fairly flat and predictable so the movie's oddities stand out more. If the story had been somehow more revelatory, offered something substantial, I think this could have worked. The film makers create this allegory for racism but then don't explore that any further than making jokes about it. Everything about The Happytime Murders feels non-committal. Like they only wanted to push certain kinds of buttons and not others. Let's tell disgusting sex jokes but not deconstruct systems of oppression. There is a missed opportunity here. They could have taken a page out of Who Framed Roger Rabbit to see how this sort of this is done.

The one thing they do commit to fully is the comedy. They go hard R comedy here and that is the main saving grace of the film. It's funny. I wasn't impressed with Sausage Party (again, story lacked substance) but here I laughed through most of it. The cast here is damn funny. From McCarthy to Rudolph to Banks, I could watch them do almost anything. And the main puppet voiced and performed by the creator of Pepe the Prawn, holds his own with those funny ladies. If The Happytime Murders did anything for me it made me laugh.

And that's why I can't totally condemn it. Yeah I wish it was smarter and more engaging. But I laughed a lot.

The Happytime Murders
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta, May Rudolph, Elizabeth Banks, John McHale, Leslie David Baker
Director: Brian Hensen
Writer: Todd Berger

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Crazy Rich Asians has all the hallmarks of a cliched romantic comedy. Rich boy wants to marry "poor" girl and has to face down his family and their expectations. Throw in the zany best friend, clash of classes jokes, and the standard rom-com structure of the manufactured conflict to keep the lovers apart until they chase each other down and confess their love to each other proving love does conquer all. Yup. You've seen it a thousand times before.

So what keeps Crazy Rich Asians from feeling so typical? Perhaps it is musical movie director Jon M. Chu's kinetic touch. Or perhaps the completely delightful Awkwafina who is fun to watch in anything she's in. Or perhaps the charismatic Michelle Yeoh who commands the screen whenever she's on it. Constance Wu has a strong leading lady vibe, the kind of rom-com charisma which a rising star needs. There is just something fresh feeling about what should be a fairly recycled movie plot.

Crazy Rich Asians never quite transcends its genre. But it does manage to be pleasantly fun and that is likely enough to make it worth seeing on a night when all you want is a standard rom com like you've seen a thousand times before.

Crazy Rich Asians
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong
Director: Jon M. Chu
Writers: Peter Chiarelli, Adele Lim

BlackKkKlansman (2018)

The studio is selling Blackkklansman as something it isn’t. From the trailers you think it’s madcap, zany buddy cop movie but that is a bait and switch. Perhaps they didn’t think they could sell what it really was; a sharp, sassy, examination of racial bias in America told through the lens of this “truth is stranger than fiction” story. It is far more of a bold, gut punch than the marketing lets on. It is not silly. While it has strong attitude, it doesn’t use flippancy.

Reminiscent of some of his earlier work, Spike Lee shows a fearlessness to not pull punches and a boldness with he films his story. More like some of his more recent work there is a strong maturity and gravity to his tale, a way of connecting us to the pathos of Ron Stallworth’s story that easily could have been missed amongst the style.

But Lee is a master and he shows us just how well he can balance it all. I was taken aback (again after expecting something different based on the trailers) by how powerful, how gripping, and how throughful the whole film was.

One of the biggest strengths of the film is the way it speaks to us today. I know if the grand scheme of things we aren’t that removed from 1970, and this film drives that point home. While the time setting allows us a bit of distance for reflection Lee keeps our eyes on the way we are living this all today. From the police brutality to the “make America great again” and “America first” slogans, to the white anxiety about demographic changes Lee refuses to let us off the hook by placing his story in some distant past. He is showing us the ways all of it connects.

And he does it with a gripping personal story of a hero, heroes actually. Stallworth leads but he brings in a number of others to rise to the occasion. Lee’s beautiful eye for caputuring the emotional centre of each moment is on display here Blackkklansman is a beautiful film as well as being both entertaining and powerful.

Lee ends his film with a tool often used in “based on real events” movies. He switches to real footage of now, of the ways the white supremicists are coming out of the woodwork and influencing culture. Lee doesnt let us look away and honours the legacy of those cops whose story he is telling.

BlacKkKlansman
Starring: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, Ryan Eggold, Corey Hawkins, Harry Belafonte
Director: Spike Lee
Writers: Charlie Watchtel, David Robinowitz, Kevin Willmot, Spike Lee

Eighth Grade (2018)

It is exciting watching two new artists show you they are forces to be reckoned with. Writer/director Bo Burnham (youtuber, comedian, film maker) has astounded with this piece of damn honest feeling film making. And young actor Elsie Fisher gives one of those break-down-the-door performances that shouts "I am someone to watch." Together they make the truly captivating and almost painful to watch Eighth Grade.

The story of one young woman's last week of middle-school, Eighth Grade is the kind of film that will grab you and won't let go. It is filled with all the angst and confusion that being 13 entails. Burnham's script is remarkably familiar yet original. Most will be able to relate to this awkward journey in the sort of way that will make you squirm and cringe. He has captured all the pain of this age in a very authentic way. Despite not being a 13 year old girl, he has made it all very real.

And his eye is perfect, filming his story in a lovely haze. Kayla's world is a lovely array of suburban banality filled with painful and beautiful moments. Burnham captures what Kayla is feeling in each moment so that we feel it. And he is aided by one of the best performances of the year. Elsie Fisher appears to be a major talent. She commits fully to Kayla and makes us all feel her every tear, joy, shiver. Paired with Josh Hamilton who plays her doting father, the two create a truly honest feeling family.

Eighth Grade deals with difficult things. It is not an easy film to watch. But it is a wonderful film to watch and you'll be glad you did.

Eighth Grade
Staring: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton
Writer/Director: Bo Burnham

Slender Man (2018)

The urban legend of Slender Man is a fairly creepy one which makes the complete lack of chills in this cheap horror film all the more disappointing. How does one exactly suck all the fear out of such a tale and tell such a pedantic, boring story? Well, you start by doing what a lot of bad horror movies do; they tell you to be afraid instead of actually inspiring fear in you.

A lot of horror movies cheat by not actually investing in telling a truly creepy story and instead just rely on conventions about what is scary. They employ time tested tricks of what we're supposed to be scared of. For audiences who are easily suggestible it can work, it takes no creativity, and there is a lack of risk involved. But when it comes down to it, rarely do these films end up being very scary at all. And what is the point of a non-scary horror movie?

Part of the problem is the way the film renders its villain. They never clearly define who Slender Man is, what his abilities are, or what his M.O. is. While often mystery can work well in horror, there needs to be enough of an understanding of the "monster" to be afraid of it. Here he is such an ambiguous figure that it's hard to muster fear. I'm not sure I was ever clear on what I was supposed to be afraid of. The film just gives me dark hallways, jump scares, and screams. It isn't really enough to get my blood pumping. 

So far my experience with the work of director White is a rather cookie cutter approach to telling stories. This one though is the least creative and original I have seen.

If you want to see every horror movie you've seen before regurgitated then Slender Man might be for you. But I can't imagine this film being satisfying to very many horror fans.

Slender Man
Starring: No one you will recognize
Director: Sylvain White
Writer: David Birke

Dog Days (2018)

Half way through Dog Days I realized how much I was enjoying the film, a film which was admittedly formulaic and emotionally manipulative. Sitting there with misty eyes and a big grin on my face I started to ask myself, how could I be enjoying this film so much?

What it came down to for me is the way the film nailed it's absolutely charming degree of humour. Dog Days is consistently funny, and in a surprisingly refreshing way. While the plot and characters feel canned, the humour felt clever, often smartly random, and original. The cast are mostly rather funny people, from Adam Paly, Lauren Lapkus, Jon Bass, Tomas Lennon, and Rob Corddry to those who can pull off humour well like Vanessa Hudgens, Finn Wolfhard and Eva Longoria. What it comes down to is a very funny movie, the kind of funny that has you smiling a lot. It's not gross. It's not dumb. It's not offensive. It's just funny.

I am not a dog person but you'd have to be heartless to not warm up to the mutts in this movie. This isn't the kind of eye rolling dog movie like Show Dogs or something horrible like that. No animals talk in this film. Instead they are just actual dogs doing actual dog things and being as cute and lovable as they can be.

I guess what I am saying is that while Dog Days is vanilla confectionery it doesn't talk down to you and is just honestly sweet and enjoyable.

Dog Days
Starring: Eva Longoria, Adam Paly, Vanessa Hudgens, Jon Bass, Rob Corddry, Ron Cephas Jones, Tomas Lennon, Lauren Lapkus, Nina Dobrev, Ryan Hanson, Tone Bell, Finn Wolfhard, Michael Cassidy, Tig Notaro
Director: Ken Marino
Writers: Elissa Matsueda, Erica Oyama

The Meg (2018)

No one is expecting a film starring Jason Statham about a giant prehistoric shark to be "good." The reason you go is for dumb fun. And for that The Meg delivers. It's plot is structured exactly how all these movies are structured. You know just what to expect. It gives the "thrills" you come for.

But, the writing and acting are all pretty bad. Characters say and do stupid things, in fairly cliched ways. And the action is rather muted. There is really very little (if any) human blood in this film. Every death is telegraphed so that the tension is sucked from each scenes. On second thought, perhaps The Meg doesn't even deliver on what one would hope for from a film like this.

Points for the films diverse cast and use of international settings that don't rely on centring the western characters. Also points for.... I can't really think of much else the film gets points for. It is a rather inert beast.

One has to be pretty damn generous with the lowest of expectations to get much of a kick from this monster.

The Meg
Starring: Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Masi Oka
Director: John Turteltaub
Writers: Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber

Blindspotting (2018)

What makes a great film? So much goes into it. But often it is about how everything comes together. Fascinating and layered performances. Direction which captures not only the story telling beats needed to convey a narrative but the emotional beats underpinning each moment. Visuals which suck its audience into the feelings and story. Music and poetry to make it all such a beautiful thing. Watching Blindspotting I was reminded of the thrill I get when I am watching a great film for the first time.

This is the story of Collin (Daveed Diggs) serving out the last 3 days of his parole and the way everything appears to conspire against his success. But Collin is alive and Collin is joyous for moments, terrified in others, pushing through in others. His friendship with childhood friend Miles, played by his co-screenwriter and real life childhood friend Rafael Casal, is one of the most honest and beautifully drawn friendships on screen.

First time feature director Carlos Lopez Estrada is bold, brash, and fantastic in the way he tells their story. He films like an artist, filling each moment with beauty. He takes some serious risks and the mostly pay off, and when they don't they remain rather glorious. Blindspotting is a beautiful thing to watch.

And the story is palpably intense. Edge of your seat is often used to describe action films but I spent my time perched on the edge of mine for emotional reasons. Estrada and his cast create something electric here and it is fantastic. Blindspotting never falls into tropes or cliches, always defying where I thought it was going to go. And as the credit rolled I knew I saw something special and have found three talents to ensure to keep an eye on.

Blindspotting
Starring: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Wayne Knight
Director: Carlos Lopez Estrada 
Writers: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal

Christopher Robin (2018)

Winnie the Pooh stories work best in short story form. Pooh has small little adventures, often loosely connected, which centre on the zen philosophy personified by the silly old bear. The classic Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was originally told as short films and then strung together into one longer movie. Telling a longer story featuring the characters is a bit of a challenge as the conceit works best in these brief vignettes. Pooh is about living in the moment. "What day is it? Today. Oh good, that's my favourite day."

Christopher Robin is about adults forgetting the lessons of childhood and needing to relearn them. And it is told in director Marc Forster's lush, rose coloured glasses style of telling beautifully lovely sad tales. Despite the initial joy of seeing the stuffies of Robin's childhood brought to plush CGI life, it turns out this story is more challenging than it would seem.

I didn't feel the longer form story worked in Christopher Robin. The story of a grown up Christopher rediscovering his childhood is filled with adorable but shallow cliches and his "solution" is a bit of a cop out. It's all just too simple to be real. This is a problem because the Pooh stories traditionally leave it to the audience's imaginations as to whether or not the adventures are the product of Robin's imagination or if the toys truly do have animated lives. This film jumps firmly into the "this is real" side of that question yet doesn't do a good job of making it feel real.

But, despite all this, the film still works. Because when it does what is important, it does it well. It captures the nature of the characters. And for all it's bungling of telling a believable story, it makes us feel the moral of its story. Pooh and Robin are real. Their relationship is real. And the philosophy that draws us all into Pooh's world is truly captured.

So in the end Christopher Robin is lovely. Forster's style fits it all well and he makes a lovely movie. If you can get past the silliness of most of it, the emotions will sweep you up and carry you off to the 100 Acre Wood. And I guess that is really all we need.

Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Mark Gatiss, Jim Cummings
Director: Mark Forster
Writers: Alex Ross Perry, Alison Schroeder