Fargo (1996) Mini Review

 

Great accents can take a production far. That was one of my biggest takeaways from Fargo, along with the gratitude that I don't live in a place where I have to worry too much about snow.  

Fargo would be much less than it is if not for its charm, whether it arises from Frances McDormand’s “oh jeez” Minnesotan innocence or the pure incompetence of William H. Macy's wannabe criminal mastermind character. Even the two kidnappers, played by Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare, have a certain bumbling appeal to them, even when they commit extreme acts of violence and cruelty. You know who they reminded me of? The Wet Bandits, if the Home Alone criminals were a little toned down and a little more vicious and capable.  

Fargo was the recipient of two Oscar’s (Best Actor for McDormand and Best Screenplay for the Coen brothers) and was nominated for several more. I was therefore expecting something… bigger, in a way. But the smallness is what makes it a great movie. As the tagine says, it is a homespun murder mystery, and it’s one that feels real (the win for best screenplay is well deserved) and funny and charming all at the same time. Great movie.  

Eraserhead (1977) Mini Review

 

    I've been watching a lot of classic movies recently and figured that I might as well jot down some thoughts. Enjoy!

It was a mistake to watch this one right before my sister was scheduled to have her C-section.

Eraserhead is the very first full-length film by David Lynch, master of surrealist cinema. It was also the first I have seen of his, and I was not sufficiently prepared for how bizarre, disorienting, and most of all disturbing the 1977 film would be. In the most basic terms it is the story of a father's struggles with caring for his newborn child, but that child also happens to be the most horrifying creature I have ever seen come to life with practical effects. There is also a deformed lady who lives in the radiator, a diseased man who pulls levers inside of a meteor, and a decapitated head that is used to make pencil erasers.

The film is nonsensical when you try to treat it as a narrative that follows normal logic, but as a cinematic representation of a nightmare it is quite effective. I was unsure of whether or not I liked it when I was watching it—there is a certain film-school student level of pretentiousness to Eraserhead, as if Lynch is making things as obtuse as he can, pretending they mean something, and then laughing at us when we don’t understand his genius, or maybe I’m just dumb and this is all coming from my frustration with not understanding everything. There is also no doubting that Eraserhead is unpleasant to experience, which was, of course, intentional. The music, an omnipresent drone of discordant industrial noise, made sure I was never comfortable, even when the disturbing and disorienting visuals took a break from messing with my brain, and the acting work by Jack Nance and his supporting cast is so alien that it made me feel like I was watching… well, aliens. 

So did I like Eraserhead? The jury’s still out. There is no doubt that it is an effective film, and it is one that I have thought about a lot since I have watched it (compare that to Mufasa: The Lion King, which I watched a day after and couldn’t tell you anything about). The metaphors are strong, the visuals appropriately haunting, and the filmmaking unquestionably solid. But like any nightmare I sure never wish to experience it again.

Mickey 17

    

 

I watched Mickey 17 last week and don't feel like writing an entire essay-style review for it. Instead I thought I would just experiment with format a bit and jot down some thoughts. 

 

 Pros: 

-The acting. Robert Pattinson is incredible as the main characters (plural, as this is a movie about clones), his performance(s) endearingly quirky and goofy. Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette give off an unsettlingly bizarre energy as the film’s villains. They keep things interesting even when things drag.

- The film looks good, from the CGI on the aliens to the directing.

Cons:

- The film tends to be a bit boring in spots and never fully explores the implications of its interesting premise.

-  It’s a film made of two separate stories—the story of the clone whoopsie and the first contact with new aliens deal. These two halves seem oddly distinct from each other, as if they initially existed in other films and were then mashed together. It would have been nice if they were a little more intertwined, thematically if nothing else.

- The satire isn't exactly subtle 

Misc. Observations:

- My expectations for Mickey 17 were pretty high. I still haven’t seen Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2019, but I did enjoy Snowpiercer and expected to love Mickey 17. I did not. It was fine. I might have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t expecting so much.

Mickey 17 is now playing in theaters. 

Captain America: Brave New World

I’ll let you in on a little secret: Unless the directing in a film is particularly bad or particularly exceptional, I will usually not notice its quality. This can be a bit of a blind spot for a reviewer, but I figure it’s fine; there are plenty of other things to pay attention to in a film, and there is a reason mediocrity is a synonym for unremarkable, right? So when I say that I was very aware of the directing in Captain America: Brave New World it is probably not a great sign.

The 35th film in the increasingly stale Marvel Cinematic Universe, the fourth in the Captain America sub-series, and the direct sequel to the wholly forgettable Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Brave New World had a lot of baggage from the start, which is appropriate given the film’s focus on legacy. Despite this I found it decently entertaining, although that might just be the comic book fan in me, as it’s really not a good film from a technical standpoint.

The directing in Brave New World is shockingly amateurish, with many scenes coming across as poorly blocked and shot to the point of distraction. Equally as ugly is the CGI, which is overly clean and weightless looking (an issue that is not New to MCU films, unfortunately). I did enjoy some of the fight choreography, perhaps because it is often fast paced enough to hide any of these issues, but when things slow down the cracks in the foundation start showing.

Anthony Mackie does well in the spotlight, despite his character’s arc being less of an arc and more of a straight line, and Harrison Ford steps flawlessly into the long-running series as President Ross, an appropriately grumpy character that was previously played by the late William Hurt. The dialogue that they and their fellow actors have to chew through is sometimes ugly, and not even the joy of simply listening to Ford say silly comic book things while knowing that he secretly hates it can cover up for the fact that there simply isn’t any punch or edge to the script. Not every film needs to have some greater point to it, but when your Captain America film’s most politically charged and poignant moment involves a Hulk walloping the main character with the American flag (or more accurately, the pole that it is on) then you’ve clearly wasted an opportunity.

I can’t in good conscience recommend Captain America: Brave New World unless you’re already a big fan of the MCU. Even then your enjoyment might vary, as a lot of the movie hearkens back to 2008’s oft forgotten The Incredible Hulk, the black sheep of the MCU that many people skipped back in the day. But if you’ve got a pre-investment in the characters and world I’m sure you’ll find Brave New World perfectly serviceable if you’re willing to see past its flaws; just don’t expect that world to actually be anything new or brave.

Captain America: Brave New World is now playing in theaters.

Number 24 (01.17.25)

 

How far would you go to fight evil? How much of yourself do you give to the effort, and will there be anything left when the struggle is over? For Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian war hero, there was only the mission: Disrupt the German occupation of his homeland by any means necessary. This single-mindedness kept him alive and helped enormously in the war effort, but it is the brief moment where he finally lets life in that Number 24 is at its most satisfying.

Number 24 (also referred to as Nr. 24 in various places) is a story told in two eras. The primary focus for much of the film is on Sønsteby as a young man (played by Sjur Vatne Brean) as he sabotages the Nazi occupation of Oslo during World War II, while the elder version (Erik Hivju) narrates things in the 2000s (or possibly the ‘10s). At first I found this framing superfluous; indeed, it has the unfortunate side effect of robbing the WWII story of some of its suspense, as even those who aren’t familiar with the real-life Gunnar Sønsteby can pretty easily conclude that he survives. But by the last few minutes the latter-day story is the emotional driver of the movie as Sønsteby lets his guard down just the one time decades after the war has ended. The film never insinuates that Number 24 (his wartime codename) is anything other than heroic for his inflexible resolve, even when his duty forces him to make the hard choices, but reminds us that life must be lived even while it is being fought for. Number 24 could have done more to make these choices seem more difficult to Gunnar, if anything, but if the actual person didn’t have a hard time with some of his actions then I suppose it would be a disservice to make the fictional version doubt himself.

Number 24 manages to find tension and excitement even with the knowledge that our main character survives. Sjur Vatne Brean gives a strong performance as our main Sønsteby, which was not an easy thing to pull off when stoicism and professionalism are the character’s primary traits. He does not appear to ever open up to anyone, so he never opens up to the audience, but Brean manages to make Gunnar Sønsteby a compelling primary character nonetheless. 

The music choices are interesting if questionable—the use of Radiohead's Exit Music (For a Film) works well emotionally but feels out of place, and the song that plays during the final scene and first batch of credits (I couldn’t find a name) makes the pivotal scene of the elder Sønsteby laying down his war feel a bit corny and saccharine. But Number 24 is an impressive and effective film overall, managing to distill one man’s life (or at least a decent chunk of it) into a succinct and simple message of sacrificing all that one is for the greater purpose of freedom and peace.

Number 24 is now available on Netflix.

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on January 17^th, 2025. Visit at www.keizertimes.com.

A Man on the Inside Season 1 (??.??.??)

 

Everyone needs a hobby. Some people collect stamps, some people dabble in petty theft. Some, like Ted Danson's character in A Man on the Inside, check into a retirement home in order to help a private investigator catch someone who’s hobby is dabbling in petty theft. Since Ted Danson and Michael Schur (creator of Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc.) are involved in this particular set-up you might suspect hilarity, and because Schur also created The Good Place you might further think there would be a good amount of sweetness and sad moments in this new television show as well. If you thought either of these things then congratulations! You might just have the makings of a great detective, because you are correct.  

A Man on the Inside didn’t click for me right away; there are a few lazy jokes in the first couple of episodes that make trite observations such as “older people are generally not great at technology” and “those darn teenagers are always on the internet,” stale takes that don’t exactly speak to good writing. But a rhythm is eventually found, and it’s one that is hard not to dance to. The pacing of the jokes isn’t terribly dense—it's not the kind of show that has a high laughs-per-minute ratio—but they do eventually become more reliable as the plot gets underway and we get to know the characters a bit better.

What A Man on the Inside does particularly well is mix in these funny moments with satisfying emotional ones, be they sanguine, melancholy, or a combination of the two. Michael Schur’s last project, The Good Place, was about death and ultimately being a better person. A Man on the Inside is similarly comfortable going to places that most sitcoms wouldn’t ever want to explore, fearlessly tackling tough subjects such as loneliness, cancer, and dementia. It’s a potent cocktail, and I’m sure it’s not for everyone; A Man on the Inside is not for people that aren’t in the headspace to confront certain sad facts of life in their television.

Don’t get me wrong, the show isn’t a downer by any means. The sadness is always levied by a message that it’s never too late to find joy, and that is something to be appreciated. Ted Danson and his supporting cast (which includes Mary Elizabeth Ellis of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Stephanie Beatriz of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Sally Struthers of All in the Family and Gilmore Girls) bring to life some truly hilarious moments, yet they never feel like one-dimensional caricatures that only exist when the camera is on them.  The espionage/crime plot that is central to the show is intriguing as well, its low-stake nature being a refreshing flip side of the heavier emotional themes.

A Man on the Inside ultimately makes for a potent emotional cocktail that would make Sam Malone proud. I wonder what that guy is up to these days?

A Man on the Inside season 1 is now available on Netflix.

 

Nosferatu (01.03.25)

 

The story behind 1922's Nosferatu is a fascinating one: as a clear rip-off of Dracula the film lost a lawsuit against Bram Stoker's estate back in the day and was almost wiped from existence as a result, but luckily some copies survived and it is now considered a cinematic classic in its own right. Like Count Orlok the film has proven hard to kill, with the original’s unlikely survival, a remake in 1979, and a remake in late 2024. This last one had a lot to live up to (and die down to?), but thanks to some stunning cinematography, exceptional performances, and a hauntingly beautiful score it is every bit as artistic and beautiful as its previous incarnations.

Vampires have always inexorably been linked with sexual metaphor, and 2024’s Nosferatu makes this much clearer than its predecessors by juxtaposing the blatantly sensual with the very, very gross. It can be an uncomfortable film in that way, but it never loses the beauty that results from some truly impressive filmmaking. The original was, of course, in black and white, and for some reason I expected this one to be as well. The reason for this became clear pretty quickly—there are moments where the 2024 version pays clever tribute to its predecessor by staging certain scenes entirely by moonlight, sapping the surroundings of warmth and giving the illusion of black and white filmmaking. Such interesting tricks give the film a haunting gothic quality that dominates even when color manages to leech in.

The performances in Nosferatu are not terribly subtle but they work. Bill Skarsgard plays the titular creature sublimely, and although it sometimes is a bit hard to understand what he is saying he nails the role just as much as he did Pennywise in the most recent It adaptation. The real star of the show is Lily-Rose Depp as the conflicted and haunted Ellen, a young newlywed tortured by tantalizing visions of Count Orlok. The broad nature of the acting, instead of being hammy, adds to Nosferatu’s feeling of epic tragedy.

The original film is sometimes given the subtitle A Symphony of Horror, and for this reason I paid particularly close attention to the music in the 2024 remake. The score by Robin Carolan is another impressive cog in the well-oiled gothic machine that is Nosferatu, never failing to enhance the horror, drama, and tragedy whenever it is called upon to do so. It is thrilling when all the pieces of a film come together so effortlessly, and Nosferatu is one beautiful puzzle.

The movie does feel a bit over-long in the final act, as if the characters and filmmakers sensed the end approaching and were determined to do everything in their power to procrastinate and prolong the inevitable conclusion to their pretty little gothic world, but this is a small complaint for a film that is destined to become a classic. It looks like, despite all odds, this old vampire has some life left in it yet.

Nosferatu is now playing in theaters.

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on January 3^rd, 2025. Visit at www.keizertimes.com