For It Is Man's Number

Sunday, 10 March 2024

Netflix And Chill: Adventureland (2009)

Director Greg Mottola has been consistently entertaining for almost three decades now, on both the small and the big screen. I cannot comment on his short films made in the 1980s, but I don't think there's too much to be overly critical of from The Daytrippers (1996) onward. I'm not saying he has made classic after classic, and, as we can say about everyone, some will hate his work, but he's been doing very solid work throughout the majority of his career. This coming-of-age story remains one of his best.

It's 1987. Jesse Eisenberg plays James Brennan, a young man who ends up reluctantly taking a job at a local amusement park. His parents (played by Jack Gilpin and Wendie Malick) can't necessarily afford all the plans that James had in mind for his future student life, much to the surprise and disappointment of James. Unhappy with his role, things soon start to look up when James meets Em (Kristen Stewart). But can he make a good impression when everyone at the amusement park seems to be overshadowed by the cool and handsome Mike (Ryan Reynolds).

With Mottola taking on both the directing and writing duties this time around, showing that he's equally good in either role, what you get here is a sweet and amusing comedy drama that won't necessarily be embraced by those seeking out the very next feature from "the director of Superbad". Not that you can't see any connective tissue (Mottola knows how to show the insecurities of young characters as they make mistakes and stumble into what they think the next stage of their life should be), but this is actually a fair distance removed from that film, more in line with films such as The Way Way Back and The Kings Of Summer.

Eisenberg is a great choice for the lead role, bringing his usual mix of cockiness, intelligence, and the ability to be occasionally knocked down while he finds out that he doesn't always know more than everyone else around him. This is up there with his very best roles, and he's complemented by a pretty perfect selection of supporting performers. Stewart is equally good as Em, a young woman making her mistakes without the relatively comfortable background that James has, Margarita Levieva is well-cast in the role of another desirable young woman, Lisa, and Martin Starr excels as the more experienced park worker, Joel, who really should have moved on to something else by now. Gilpin and Malick are good fun in their few scenes, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are scene-stealers, as expected, any time they appear as the husband and wife park management team, and Reynolds is brilliantly utilised, with his charisma and good looks helping to soften the edges of someone who can viewed as very sad and quite awful, a man able to play at being king amongst youngsters who cannot smell the whiff of his BS.

The 1980s time period allows for a couple of great hits on the soundtrack (and I continue to be a big fan of Rock Me Amadeus, as performed by Falco), a main plot point allows for numerous Lou Reed tracks to be sprinkled throughout the film, there's a nice visual style that manages to feel both soft and crystal clear, and an air of authenticity runs through everything, from the content to the presentation. I highly recommend this, especially to anyone who has spent years avoiding it under the misapprehension that it was in the same vein as Mottola's previous teen movie.

8/10

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Saturday, 9 March 2024

Shudder Saturday: This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967)

Although I had heard of the character, I spent far too many years not having experienced the movie magic of Coffin Joe. That changed when I finally watched At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, the Brazilian horror that I enjoyed enough to remind myself that I should check out as many of the instalments in the movie series as possible. It's been six years since I watched that earlier movie though, which just shows how bad I am at following up on my own mental "to do" list, and how hard it is to keep making progress through my ever-growing watchlist.

Following on from the events of the first film, although this works as a fairly standalone feature, Coffin Joe recovers from his injuries and returns to his village. He remains determined to find the perfect woman to bear his child, a plan that will lead to more deaths and more nightmarish visions for our dark and dangerous main character. That's pretty much all you need to know. Highlights include more diabolical use of spiders, a character literally caught between a rock and a hard place, and a vivid sequence that may or may not depict an actual trip to hell.

Once again directed by the star, José Mojica Marins, who also co-wrote the screenplay again, this time with Aldenora De Sa Porto, This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse is an even deeper journey inside the troubled mind of Coffin Joe. Although it's all plotted well enough, and has a narrative that is easy enough to follow, there are a couple of scenes that are brilliantly hallucinatory, blending with the other-worldly presence of Joe to deliver something that feels like one extended fever dream. That fever builds and builds, culminating in a fantastic and satisfying final sequence (although it should be noted that one main element was forced upon the film by Brazilian censores, and Marin was strongly opposed to it).

The cast all do good work, with both Nadia Freitas and Tina Wohlers impressing as two different women that have a strong effect on Joe, Antonio Fracari a strong presence as a thug who is tasked with taking down our devilish lead, and Nivaldo Lima is very Igor-like as, of course, a hunch-backed assistant named Bruno. Marins makes the right choice in giving himself the lead role though, and he's a captivating and consistently interesting presence, whether relishing in his diabolical plans or being scared out of his wits by visions of ghosts and Hell.

I seem to like this film more than many other people, from a very quick glance around at some of the other reviews available for it, but maybe that's down to me waiting about six years since watching the first film. I won't be waiting as long to get to the next film though, especially after having treated myself to a gorgeous boxset full of Coffin Joe goodness [although we're all still waiting on that replacement disc from Arrow Video].

7/10

Friday, 8 March 2024

Anatomy Of A Fall (2023)

In an ideal world, Sandra Hüller would have swept numerous awards throughout the cycle of this current season. Not to take away anything from the other great actresses in contention, but Hüller has been a shining star in two incredible films recently, with both this and Zone Of Interest. And it's difficult to pick one performance from the two that would be a clear favourite, although her turn here feels a bit more nuanced and allows her to command the screen a bit more.

Although the title is Anatomy Of A Fall, this really turns into an anatomy of a relationship. Hüller plays Sandra Voyter, a woman who finds her life put under an unflattering microscope after the death of her husband. Did he fall, or was he pushed? Without anything here overtly telling viewers if Voyter is innocent or guilty, the film forces viewers to question themselves as/if they constantly question her integrity and character.

Having been a fan of director Justine Triet for a number of years now, who also once again shares the writing duties with Arthur Harari, this feels like an impressive career high (for now, it would be great to see Triet continue making films at the same height of this magnificent plateau). Part character study, even larger part exploration of the highs and lows of relationships, I envy anyone who can watch this and not feel even the smallest amount of worry about any of their own conversations and arguments being read out in a courtroom without the context of everyday life around it (as is happening to our lead). The need to grasp for specific phrases in specific languages, Voyter speaks English, French, and German, underlines the gaps that can often lie between our inner thoughts and how things are effectively conveyed to others.

It feels redundant to heap more praise upon Hüller at this point, after my first paragraph echoing what so many have already said about her in the past year, and for some time beforehand. Her performance is absolutely perfect throughout, and her screen presence is so riveting that the film often feels like a one-woman play. This is despite a number of excellent supporting players, including both a child actor (Milo Machado-Graner, playing Sandra's son, Daniel) and a very well-trained dog (Snopp, played by a border collie named Messi).

Working on both an emotional and cerebral level, although the poise and calm, for the most part, of the main character, may have people thinking otherwise, Anatomy Of A Fall shows someone being judged by people who can't ever know every nuance and moment of the life being dissected. And, by extension, it reminds us of how little we know about everyone we may judge or view in certain ways without having anywhere close to a full picture of them. The more I think about it, the more I love it. Despite the 151-minute runtime, it's one that I know I could easily rewatch any time.

10/10

Thursday, 7 March 2024

Gorath (1962)

Having been on this cinematic journey for some time now already, I can safely say that I seem to be prepared for everything that these films throw at me. There is either a stat creature/personality or some interesting creation allowed to cameo, there is always the potential for a large-scale catastrophe, and many of the actors are kept busy playing people I don’t really care about in between the tense set-pieces.

That causes me a problem, of course, as I struggle to write something in-depth about each of these films, and also struggle to write something that doesn’t feel just copied and pasted from previous reviews.

Gorath was a film that I had a lot of fun with, and I suspected I would enjoy it when I saw the main creature (one named Maguma, and it basically looks like a huge walrus). It also helped that I discovered quite early that Gorath is the name of a runaway star that is on a collision course with Earth. Gorath is smaller than our planet, but it has 6000 times the gravity. Viewers will remember this because it is stated at least half a dozen times in the first quarter of the movie, or so it seemed. After one spaceship is destroyed, another heads off on a brave quest to monitor the situation. Meanwhile, Earth scientists hatch a plan to move Earth just enough to avoid the star. What this will mean for the future of the planet is unknown, but it becomes more problematic when they wake up Maguma, who wanders around angrily for a few scenes.

With director Ishirô Honda once again at the helm here, and a script written by Takeshi Kimura (another familiar name to fans of this kind of fare), this is comfortable and enjoyable entertainment. The focus throughout remains on the impending disaster, with a small diversion when Maguma is woken up, and watching the plan be conceived and put into practice is surprisingly entertaining.

While the cast includes Ryô Ikebe, Yumi Shirikawa, Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, and numerous others, none of them make much of an impression juxtaposed against the vastness and potential danger of our universe. Some extra drama, revolving around an astronaut with memory loss, feels like nothing more than an irritating delay in between the big planet-in-peril moments.

I may not rush to revisit this one, and it’s a shame that there wasn’t more screentime for the wonderfully goofy Maguma, but I enjoyed it while it was on. I am sure it won’t be a firm favourite for anyone, but it does enough to make it memorable and worth your time.

7/10

Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Prime Time: Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)

Although it seems to be largely forgotten nowadays, The Nutty Professor was a fun remake of a classic Jerry Lewis vehicle. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but it updated the story well and packed in a decent number of laughs. Tom Shadyac directed well enough, and Eddie Murphy was on good form when not in the scenes that had him playing multiple roles.

The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps doesn’t realise what worked in the first film though. We now have Peter Seagal directing (someone who has helmed a handful of decent comedies) and even more scenes allowing Eddie Murphy to act alongside his favourite scene partner, Eddie Murphy.

Murphy once again plays almost every member of his family, the Klumps, but this time around the plot sees Sherman thinking he has discovered a scientific fountain of youth. He also aims to remove any shred of Buddy Love from his genetic material, and he is in love with a colleague, Denise (Janet Jackson). Things start to go wrong, of course, once Buddy is separated from Sherman. Not only do the two end up competing over Sherman’s new scientific miracle, but Sherman starts to lose a significant amount of brain cells, meaning that he actually needs to incorporate Buddy back into his system if he wants to keep his intelligence and his career.

There isn’t really too much that needs said about this. It is another Eddie Murphy vehicle that ends up being both helped and hindered by the leading man. Segal directs competently enough, but he cannot overcome a script that relies on numerous fart gags, dream sequences to give Murphy more screentime (and more fart gags), and a number of sniggers at the idea of a man being sodomised by a giant hamster. I am sure Paul and Chris Weitz, two of the co-writers on this, don’t have this at the top of their CV.

Murphy does well enough in his various roles, and it’s hard to watch this even today and not appreciate the skill required to interlock his various performances, with the only major mis-step being Buddy Love, who is as annoying as he was the first time around, but also has some extra canine DNA mixed in this time. Jackson is very sweet and appealing, taking on a thankless role that is made even more thankless while she takes a backseat to the multiple Murphys. And then we have poor Larry Miller, a man who has to suffer the indignity of being the “punchline” in that aforementioned hamster sequence.

While it remains far from the worst Eddie Murphy vehicle, and that is a low bar indeed, this just isn’t very good. But, even worse, it’s a disappointingly huge step down from the previous film. That felt like an attempt to update an old film into something that would entertain comedy fans. This feels like an attempt to simply entertain Murphy.

4/10

Tuesday, 5 March 2024

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

The feature debut from director Zelda Williams, who has already amassed a number of shorts and music videos to her name, Lisa Frankenstein is a film I have been keen to see since I first heard about it. It stars Kathryn Newton (a plus), it is another horror comedy written by Diablo Cody (another plus, and I am someone else who always enjoyed Jennifer’s Body, please enjoy that rough and brief review), and it has a late 1980s setting and vibe (plus). This should have been a home run for me. It was not.

Newton plays Lisa Swallows, a young woman who doesn’t feel as if she fits in anywhere. She doesn’t have her own people at school. She keeps engaging in an exhausting battle of wills with her step-mother (played by Carla Gugino). She doesn’t even seem to enjoy living as much as most people, and that is how she is well-suited to becoming a friend to someone who unexpectedly returns from the dead (Cole Sprouse). Can this other outsider help her resolve a number of issues, or will he just make Lisa more determined to loathe those living their lives in relative bliss.

It is all too easy to review this movie by making the obvious comparisons to Frankenstein’s creation. The tonal shifts are jarring, a number of elements don’t work as well as they could, and it is constructed in a way that leads to a clumsy and ugly result. Nobody should want to lead an angry mob to set this on fire, but I can certainly see why it hasn’t been a roaring success (although I am sure it will do better in the home rental/retail/streaming market).

Unlike her previous work, Cody doesn’t seem to know what main points she wants to make here. There’s no obvious target, although the scattershot approach tries, and fails, to hit a number of small bullseyes. Williams does nothing to help, seemingly focused on the style and aesthetic ahead of a cohesive and satisfying narrative through-line, so it’s up to the cast to lift the film up.

Fortunately, Newton is an absolute star. Sprouse, limited by the character he is playing, also does well, but the film brightens up whenever it stops just to let Newton shine brighter, which she gets to do on a few different occasions (a rendition of a well-known ‘80s hit being the highlight of the whole film). Gugino is fun, as is Liza Soberano (playing Lisa’s sister, Taffy). Henry Eikenberry also does well, playing Michael, the object of Lisa’s unrequited affection, and Joe Chrest is an amusingly passive father. None of them rival Newton though, and I continue to look forward to watching anything that she’s in.

I still found enough separate elements here to enjoy, but it was hard work. There are so many decisions made here that fall short of the mark, from the soundtrack to ineffectual backstories for our leads, from the awkward early scenes to a bold, but slightly mishandled, ending. Some will be able to overlook the main failings and love it, and I already know one or two friends who had much more fun with this than I did, but I was saddened to find that the bad counter-balanced the good throughout, forcing me to mark this as an absolutely average viewing experience.

5/10

Monday, 4 March 2024

Mubi Monday: The Machine To Kill Bad People (1952)

AKA The Machine That Kills Bad People.

Another serving of neorealism from Roberto Rossellini, this time mixed with a healthy dose of comedy, The Machine That Kills Bad People is an enjoyably simple idea that allows for the director to keep everything deceptively light and frivolous until hammering home one or two main points in the finale.

Gennaro Pisano plays Celestino, a photographer who lives in a small fishing village in Italy. He encounters a man who claims to be Saint Andrea (I am still trying to identify that cast member), and is subsequently given the titular item. Taking a photograph of someone else can lead to their demise, and they will pass away in the same position as their photographed pose. With this power in his hands, Celestino could help his village by getting rid of bad people and working towards equality for all. Unless that is impossible.

Written by a handful of people, seven are credited with the story idea and development, the film works thanks to the many characters it brings onscreen to illustrate the problems that stem from judging others, as well as the problems that stem from trying to force change in a society that needs more than a metaphorical wave of a magic wand.

Rossellini directs with his usual light touch and expertise, although I say this as someone yet to explore so many more titles in his filmography, and those who appreciate his style should find this as worthwhile as anything else he helmed. It is a comedy though, albeit a dark one with a lot of social commentary, and some may be slightly put off by that. For all the praise heaped upon him, Rossellini is rarely mentioned in conversations about humour.

Pisano is a delight in the lead role, going through a number of stages as he disbelieves his new “gift”, plans how to make the best use of it, and eventually sees how his best-laid plans may be seriously flawed. There’s also an opportunistic local mayor, a number of American tourists, and one or two others who may or may not end up victims of the machine, all played well by the assembled players. And old Saint Andrea himself, an imp who spells out the main points of the film, is brilliantly portrayed by [place holder here, I WILL find out the name of this actor].

I enjoyed this well enough as the first half played out, but I incorrectly viewed it as something light and disposable. The second half really impressed me though, and made me feel slightly foolish for underestimating the skill and intelligence of those behind the camera.

8/10

Sunday, 3 March 2024

Netflix And Chill: Spaceman (2024)

A sci-fi drama that makes good use of Adam Sandler in another of his impressive dramatic turns, Spaceman is an American film that feels like an ill-judged remake. It isn't an ill-judged remake, actually being based on the book, "Spaceman Of Bohemia", written by Jaroslav Kalfař, but it's very interesting to find elements here that weren't changed to keep the whole thing feeling more obviously American in origin.

Sandler plays Commander Jakub Procházka, a cosmonaut who is due to investigate a large dust cloud just beyond Jupiter. He is far from home, all alone, and suddenly not receiving any messages from his estranged wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan). There has been a message sent to him, one telling him that Lenka is leaving, but Jakub's commanding officer, Commissioner Tuma (Isabella Rossellini) decides to hold it back, figuring out what is best for Jakub's mental health and wellbeing. Maybe it's too late for Jakub though, considering that he starts to wonder if he's hallucinating when he encounters a telepathic spider-like creature that ends up being named Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano). This encounter leads to a number of conversations that force Jakub to face the reality of his decisions and emotions.

The second feature written by Colby Day, Spaceman is a deep well of ideas and potential that is sadly never as good as it should be, and a lot of that feels down to the writing. Day doesn't do anything wrong by the characters, but the one idea being focused on is a bit too slight without adding more to it, making the 107-minute runtime feel overlong as a number of the main moments between Jakub and Hanuš feel repetitive and unconstructive, especially while the former fights against his own regret and sorrow.

Director Johan Renck has no other features in his extensive filmography so far, but one look at the many music videos and TV shows he has worked on shows someone who should have been given a film project many years ago (he's worked with Chris Cornell, Madonna, Kylie, and David Bowie, as well as being at the helm of episodes of The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Bates Motel, Bloodline, and all 5 episodes of the absolutely astounding Chernobyl). He assembles a solid cast here, gets some lovely cinematography from Jakob Ihre, and a fine score from Max Richter, so it's a shame that the material is lacking that special something.

Sandler is very good in the lead role, no surprise to anyone who has been appreciating his dramatic work throughout the past couple of decades, and Dano is an excellent foil for him, enquiring and commenting with a fairly flat and monotone voice highlighting their position as an impartial viewer keen to explore the loneliness of a fellow traveller. While Mulligan is also very good, she's stuck playing a woman who is often shown in memories and visions filtered through the eyes of the main character, making her feel like someone who is never fully real. Kunal Nayyar is also very good, playing a technician named Peter, and both Rossellini and Lena Olin are given just enough screentime to remind you that other people are trying to support both Jakub and Lena, and there is a wider world beyond our stranded cosmonaut and his, in a way, stranded wife.

Spaceman is good. It's worth one watch. But it's not one that I can see many people revisiting, and I don't think many people will love it. There's too much wasted potential, and it brings to mind one or two superior sci-fi tales, at the very least, that you could say cover very familiar territory. I know many people, like myself, who won't mind wandering through that kind of landscape though.

5/10

Saturday, 2 March 2024

Shudder Saturday: History Of Evil (2024)

Here is the single sentence plot summary of History Of Evil on IMDb: "A family on the run from a corrupt state takes refuge in a safe house with an evil past." I don't often make use of summaries available elsewhere on the internet, almost always preferring to convey my own interpretation of the main plot points, but I have shared a standard logline on this occasion because, well, I don't think I would have thought of it in that way. Because History Of Evil isn't very good, and it seems to forget what it is trying to do for the majority of the runtime.

The very opening of the film explains how it is set in a near future. Things haven't gone well for humanity. Some people are trying to make things right though, resisting against the horrors and oppression. They are known as The Resistance (a word highlighted in red for those who might otherwise struggle to realise what word is the best one to describe the characters we are about to meet). We then join Ron Dyer (Paul Wesley) as he attempts to get his "public enemy" wife, Alegre (Jackie Cruz), and their daughter, Daria (Murphee Bloom), to a safe house where they can await extraction to somewhere even better. They are being helped by Trudy (Rhonda Johnson Dents), eventually reaching their destination and then growing more tense and strange as the time keeps passing.

I could describe some more plot elements, but a) they are spoilers, b) they may make you think that this is a better movie than it actually is, and c) I cannot be bothered. This film, although competently made on a technical level, was so frustrating and unfocused that it proved a real chore to get through. I am just happy that the runtime clocked in at just over an hour and a half before the end credits started rolling.

Written and directed by Bo Mirhosseni, making his feature debut (which should come as no surprise to anyone who watches this), there are crumbs of good ideas scattered throughout this, but nothing is ever given enough time and attention. The world described to viewers isn't really shown, obviously due to a limited budget, the characters don't feel worth spending too much time with, especially when we don't get enough background information that might help viewers sympathise, empathise, or consider what they would do in the same scenario, and any apparent "plot twists" fall completely flat, being far too obvious and familiar to genre fans. To be fair, Mirhosseni may not have intended anything to feel like a twist or reveal, but it certainly feels that way as things play out.

Wesley is decent enough in what amounts to the lead role, but he shouldn't have necessarily been the lead. That should have gone to Cruz, or perhaps Cruz and Bloom together, mother and daughter struggling to maintain a healthy relationship and attempted normal life in the face of mounting danger. Cruz, Bloom, and Dents are all good, with all of the main flaws in the film stemming from the script and direction, as evidenced by the way the solid performance from Thomas Francis Murphy, playing someone else inhabiting the house, is consistently undermined.

I know why Mirhosseni made this film, and there's always potential in the idea of people repeating dark moments from history without learning anything from them, but I hope he takes some more time for his next project, perhaps getting someone else to look over his work and check that he follows enough of the breadcrumb trails he scatters around, and ensure that he picks the right lead character. This is bad, but there's promise within it.

3/10

Friday, 1 March 2024

The Three Treasures (1959)

It’s quite a coincidence that I spent time this week finally watching Poor Things, a Frankenstein-like work, and then made room in my viewing schedule for this, a film essentially about gods and monsters. The Three Treasures has some of the former, one of the latter, and a lengthy runtime that allows the director to give due respect to a creation myth that shows Japan being formed.

The great Toshirô Mifune is the lead here, an individual named Prince Osu who will soon become Prince Yamato Takeru. As Osu, he embarks on a deadly quest. As Takeru, he starts to evolve as he finds out more context about his place in the world, whether of his own doing or at the hands of others.

I am not going to lie. I watched this because it was on the list of kaiju movies I am currently using as a main reference point for my 2024 journey through the films of Godzilla and co. It wasn’t long until I realised that this was quite different to the other films I have been watching recently. This isn’t a monster movie. It is a classic tale, a hero’s journey that also includes a memorable encounter with a creature that is very close in design to the Hydra (although it “only” has eight heads, and is known as Yamata no Orichi). That creature is well-realised, Harryhausen-like in feel and execution, but it is one very small moment in a film that is more concerned with fate, selflessness, love, and fighting for your place in history.

Written by Ryûzô Kikushima and Toshio Yasumi, who both have MANY films worth exploring, this is an enjoyably overblown bit of melodrama, almost an entire film seemingly designed to celebrate the gods responsible for creating Japan, but it’s also a film that just reaches a bit too far. I never felt truly invested in the story, and I didn’t care for any of the characters, although I would remain interested in Toshirô Mifune simply due to him being Toshirô Mifune.

Director Hiroshi Inagaki looks to have made a nice little career out of churning out historical dramas for a decade or so, and there is clearly a good use of resources here to show every main set-piece, but the end result here doesn’t feel like the best work from anyone involved. Maybe, and it is a big maybe, a rewatch would be beneficial. Maybe watching it in a better presentation would help (this was hard to track down, but is tucked away on the Internet Archive). Sadly, all I have to go on is this particular experience, and it was lacking something special.

Mifune is wonderful though, and I will also mention the likes of Yôko Tsukasa, Kyôko Kagawa, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, and Setsuko Hara, and there are many more excellent performers in the stuffed cast, but very few get to make much of an impression amidst this sprawling tale of tales.

Certainly not terrible, and rarely dull, this just wasn’t as good as other historical epics I could suggest. And I’ll admit it, I was hoping for more screentime for that multi-headed snake monster, dammit.

5/10

Thursday, 29 February 2024

Poor Things (2023)

Another film from director Yorgos Lanthimos, who has delivered one stunning feature after another for the past decade (and even his earlier work is of interest to those who appreciate his strange look at the world), Poor Things is a film I wish I had seen sooner, but I just couldn’t schedule the cinema trip. I am now even more regretful of that missed opportunity.

Emma Stone plays Bella, a young woman who has been created, in a way, by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). As she rushes through various stages of development, from learning language to eventually learning about the pleasures of sex, Bella accepts a proposal from Godwin’s assistant, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef). She feels as if she should see a bit more of the world first though, and ends up travelling for a while with the caddish (although a number of other adjectives could also be listed here) Duncan Wedderburn.

Adapted from a novel by Alasdair Gray, Poor Things has a screenplay by Tony McNamara, wonderful cinematography from Robbie Ryan, and a suitably strange and wonderful score by Jerskin Fendrix. I am mentioning these people now before I forget them entirely, because my movie reviews simply don’t have the space to list every single person who contributed to this wonderful vision. Rest assured, however, that this is the kind of film that makes you want to take note of every name, from the production designers to the wardrobe department, from the make up to the lighting. It really is a brilliant group effort to deliver a vision that will be credited mainly to the director and cast.

Moving from what seems like a standard period drama setting to a cool, unexplained, steampunk sci-fi world, Lanthimos is once again having fun with an implausible concept that he can use to scrutinize the rules and hypocrisies of society. This would make an excellent companion piece to his masterpiece, The Lobster, covering the equally important topics of love and sex.

Stone is brilliant in the lead performance here, hilariously non-conformist and constantly questioning the rules and etiquette she sees as obstacles to her enjoyment of life. Ruffalo is equally good, and has many of the best lines in the film, swearing and klutzing his way through every scene as he tries to make himself out to be a much better man than he really is. Dafoe, working under some excellent make up, is as dependable as ever, even doing a decent job with what I think was meant to be a Scottish accent, and Youssef heads up a fine selection of supporting players, including Vicki Pepperdine, Margaret Qualley, and Christopher Abbott.

Simultaneously both funnier and darker than I expected, and also cruder and smarter, this has already been quite rightly praised as one of the best movies of 2023. It has plenty packed in every scene to reward repeat viewings, and I am already keen to make time for my own rewatch.

9/10

Wednesday, 28 February 2024

Prime Time: Upgraded (2024)

A misunderstanding that leads to someone trying to maintain an unrealistic image of their life, a number of coincidences making everything more complicated on the way, and one or two supporting characters doing their best to trip up our lead. Yes, we’re firmly in rom-com territory with Upgraded, a film that I saw someone else cannily sum up as a standard rom-com mixed with more than a hint of The Devil Wears Prada.

Camila Mendes plays Ana, a young intern struggling to make the right impression in front of her boss, a hard taskmaster named Claire (Marisa Tomei). While heading to the UK to close a deal that will gain them a hefty commission, they are in the business of evaluating and auctioning art, Ana is mistreated at the airport so appallingly that she is upgraded to first class by a kind ticket agent. It is in this unfamiliar environment that Ana meets Will (Archie Renaux), getting on so well that she is befriended by his mother (Catherine, played by Lena Olin). Which is all well and good, until she starts to develop a busy social life that might create a clash with her work duties.

Writers Christine Lenig, Justin Matthews, and Luke Spencer Robert’s don’t have the most extensive filmographies, but it quickly becomes clear that each member of the team knows the formula needed at the heart of this film. There are some quirky supporting characters and some surprisingly funny lines of dialogue in the first half of the movie, but we all know where it needs to end up. The truth needs to come out, and at least one big romantic gesture is always welcome.

Director Carlson Young has a similarly small body of work, certainly in her directing role, but has been acting, mainly in TV shows, for a number of years. She is arguably best known for her role in the Scream TV series, where she played Brooke Maddox, but the skill and polish on display here bodes well for her future as a helmer of slick popular entertainment.

Mendes is perfectly fine in the lead role, and Renaux pairs up well enough with her. The two of them are as cute and safe as expected, but they actually feel like they have chemistry as their meet-cute turns into something more. Tomei has a lot of fun being the super-mean and super-demanding boss, Olin also seems to enjoy being a quirky and loving socialite/ex-model/actress, joined at times by a carefree and spirited artist (played by Anthony Head), and two “mean girls” are played well by Rachel Matthews and Fola Evans-Akingbola. There are also enjoyable supporting turns from Andrew Schulz, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, and Thomas Kretschmann.

Easy to enjoy, as long as you’re in the mood for this kind of thing, this is the kind of film that should manage to force a smile out of even the most resistant of viewers. You get a good mix of characters, the cast all seem to be enjoying themselves immensely, and the third act delivers one or two very satisfying moments. It’s not sophisticated, it’s far from perfect (I have already forgotten any of the score/soundtrack, for example), but it’s a bloody good time while it’s on.

7/10

Tuesday, 27 February 2024

The Zone Of Interest (2023)

If you want to go to the cinema and enjoy a fun bit of escapism then I don’t recommend rushing to see The Zone Of Interest. Director Jonathan Glazer doesn’t tend to deliver feelgood films. He does deliver greatness though, and I believe you could make a case for every one of his films to be considered a modern masterpiece.

In case you have missed any conversation about this one, The Zone Of Interest is the film all about Auschwitz that doesn’t ever show us the horrors inside the camp. We spend most of our time watching the house situated right beside the camp, the residence of camp commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), his wife (Hedwig, played by Sandra Hüller), and their young children. There are some other areas shown (an office and a basement “washroom” are used for one or two memorable moments), but the crux of the film is the idyllic family home juxtaposed against what we know is going on in Auschwitz.

We all know that Nazis were bad. We should all know that Nazis are still bad. I firmly believe in the “it’s always okay to punch a Nazi” adage, and I am constantly bewildered by people who try to use the freedom of speech argument to defend hatespeech and scapegoating a whole demographic to help turn everyone else against them. If you are reading this review, I assume we agree. So I can understand people rolling their eyes and sighing as they wondered why we even need this film. Well, I think it does a great job of highlighting just how evil deeds are normalised, and how a holocaust is propped up by the many people who decided to do nothing, either through ignorance, misplaced faith in others doing the right thing, or self-preservation.

Although both Friedel and Hüller are both excellent in their roles, with the latter having the kind of year, between this and Anatomy Of A Fall, that should take her career stratospheric, their performances are boosted by the location, and the atmosphere of dread and terror creeping around the edge of every frame. Whether it’s a shot of smoking chimneys or the top of a train arriving at the concentration camp, or even the constant soundtrack of muffled cries and pain, this is a film that knows the main character is Auschwitz itself, one of the most heinous places to have ever been constructed.

Glazer, adapting the novel by Martin Amis, knows exactly how to treat the material. The apparent banality of everything onscreen just makes you feel worse about what is going on “behind the scenes”, and some of the conversations, whether they are about increasing the efficiency of the death machine, being recognised for a job well done, or sorting through clothing, pack the kind of punch that may leave some viewers feeling slightly winded.

There’s a lot more I could say about this, despite struggling to find the right words and trying not to repeat myself too much, but I think the viewing experience speaks for itself. It would be good to think that we have learned from history, but a brief glance at the latest news headlines has me doubting that. Ah well, at least I have been reminded of my own willingness to punch Nazis. So maybe there is a bit of a feelgood factor to the film after all.

9/10

Monday, 26 February 2024

Mubi Monday: Adaptation. (2002)

I remember when I first saw Adaptation. Like many people, I loved it. Another collaboration between Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, a great dual role for Nicolas Cage (playing an onscreen version of Kaufman and a fictional twin brother, Donald), and a cast that also includes Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, and Tilda Swinton, as well as one or two other very familiar faces. What’s not to love?

As almost everyone knows by now, Adaptation. is a film that stemmed from severe writer’s block. Charlie Kaufman was struggling to adapt The Orchid Thief from page to screen, and eventually creates something, with the help of Jonze, that explored his painful creative journey, full of personal insecurity, frustration, and a checklist of things he wanted to avoid.

Here’s the thing I need to say now, ripping the band-aid off (as it were). Adaptation. isn’t actually as great as I remembered it. I am not saying that everyone will agree with me, but there may be a reason why it tends to be forgotten/overlooked in conversations about the respective filmographies of Jonze and Kaufman. It’s not a terrible film, but it’s arguably the least interesting feature to come from either of the main creative forces behind the camera here.

There’s a fine line between making use of something to explore and have fun with various ideas, turning the negatives into major positives, and simply giving yourself an easy option by commenting on everything that you are doing, or are about to do. The former is smart and insightful. The latter is often called “lampshading”, I believe. Revisiting Adaptation. two decades after I first saw it, it simply feels like Lampshade: The Movie. Others may strongly disagree with that, but knowing where the film goes makes all of the dialogue and commentary feel much less enjoyable on a repeat viewing.

At least the cast are well worth your time though. Cage is great, giving a couple of performances that serve as a reminder of why so many people stuck by him through some difficult years. This plays to his preference for nervous energy, but one of his characters is also offset by the circumstances grinding him down. Streep and Cooper both have a lot of fun, playing various versions of their characters that show us written fictions compared to complete “reality”. Alongside the ever-reliable Swinton are the equally excellent Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brian Cox, Judy Greer, and Cara Seymour, to name but a few welcome additions.

There is still a lot to enjoy here, not least of which is the brutal and hilarious honesty in the moments that have Kaufman showing his worries and struggles while facing a typewriter. I still like this, and would watch it again. I just don’t love it, and I don’t think it’s a truly great work any more.

7/10

Sunday, 25 February 2024

Netflix And Chill: King Richard (2021)

There are two big things that work against King Richard while you are watching it. One is the memory of that Oscar slap "heard around the world", especially when you realise how it underlines why Will Smith gave such a good performance in the role of a man who continues to believe in himself as others dismiss and disrespect him. The other is the fact that this is, ultimately, a film about two of the greatest sportswomen in history . . . told with a focus on the father who guided them to greatness. I'm not saying that the film isn't delivering the truth, or a truth presented to the world by the Williams sisters and their father, but it feels as if some more care could have been taken to show a bit more of the sisters dealing with the choices made by their father.

If you have even the most passing interest in sports, and particularly tennis, then you will be familiar with the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus, played here by Demi Singleton and Saniyya Sidney, respectively). Both hold multiple records, both are formidable athletes, and both have walked their career path with great dignity and a care to keep supporting, and inspiring, many others. And both were able to fully realise their potential thanks to the grand plan created by their father, apparently. This film shows how their father, Richard Williams (Will Smith), created opportunities that allowed them to break into a world that didn't look set to welcome them with open arms, and it's a superb tale of self-belief, staying grounded, and learning as much from any failures as you learn from victories.

The first developed script from writer Zach Baylin, it's easy to see why this would appeal to his sensibilities (especially when he has followed it up with a couple of other standard, and enjoyable, sport movies). There's everything you need in place for a story told within this sub-genre, and you have an idiosyncratic and flawed character in Richard. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green has half the work done from him by the time the cast is in place, and some more of the work done by editor Pamela Martin (because you have to love those transitions that show time passing from the time a tennis ball is thrown up into the air to the time it is forcefully hit over the net). That's not to take away from how he handles the material. He does a very good job, and I am just saying that getting all of the right people in the right positions is a big part of that job.

Smith is very good in the main role, although it's hard to decide whether it's a truly great performance or just something that seems better because of how far removed it is from most of his other onscreen work. Both Singleton and Sidney are excellent as the young Williams sisters, convincing on and off the tennis court, and Aunjanue Ellis does very good work as Oracene Williams, the wife/mother who supports her family at every turn, but also knows when her husband needs to have his perspective changed after too much time spent with his eyes on a distant prize while he makes decisions that start to require a bit more thought and diplomacy. Tony Goldwyn and Jon Bernthal are two main coaches who do their bit to help progress the careers of the sisters, and both give equally good performances (Bernthal particularly enjoyable playing someone much more acquiescent and passive than he usually does), and a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces pop in to play businessmen, sponsors, spectators, and tennis players (John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Jennifer Capriati, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario being the other main pros shown).

Despite what works against this, as mentioned in the first paragraph, there are many positives that make it worth your time, not least of which is the feeling of jubilation and satisfaction as some of the end credits are interspersed with real-life footage of the Williams sisters and impressive stats about their sporting achievements. Whether you agree with the main character or not, the successful end result is impossible to deny. And that makes this another underdog story that is impossible not to appreciate and enjoy.

8/10

Saturday, 24 February 2024

Shudder Saturday: Megalomaniac (2022)

While this isn't the first feature from writer-director Karim Ouelhaj, Megalomaniac feels like the announcement of an incredible talent worth keeping an eye on. It's dark, grim, and very uncomfortable, but there are also moments of macabre beauty that serve to both interrupt the bleak plot and highlight the impressive eye of Ouelhaj.

The film follows the difficult life of Martha (Eline Schumacher), a young woman who spends time in her workplace being mistreated and abused (and her abuse includes sexual abuse, with Ouelhaj managing to show this in a way that is disturbing without ever being too graphic). When she is at home, Martha spends time in the company of her brother, Félix (Benjamin Ramon). Félix is a killer, and their home also currently houses his latest victim (Hélène Moor). As things start crumbling around her, Martha starts to become more envious of her brother's "skillset".

One of the most impressive discoveries I have stumbled across in recent times, thanks to randomly picking it on Shudder without knowing anything about it, I fear that I've already said far too much to other people who may have otherwise had a similar experience. This isn't just a great film. It's astonishing. Powerful, dark, unsettling, it keeps you alongside a very unpleasant central character that you end up rooting for, and explores the idea of people being shaped by their environment and the main events of their lives.

Schumacher is excellent in the lead role, rarely doing too much during the many scenes in which her character remains passive, but always with the potential to lean into a darkness that surrounds her at all times. Ramon also makes a strong impression, although he's onscreen for far less screentime. His killer is unnervingly calm and composed throughout, which allows him to continue his sadistic lifestyle for such a long time. Moor has to be bloodied and distressed, which she does convincingly, Raphaële Bruneau is a concerned social worker, and Wim Willaert, Pierre Nisse, and Quentin Laszbazeilles play Martha's work colleagues (either participating in abuse or enabling it by not intervening). There's also a small, but vital, role for Olivier Picard, playing Iblis, the late patriarch of the family AKA "The Butcher Of Mons".

Part of me suspects that I will never want to rewatch this, but another part of me thinks that it's something that I may want to own one day. It easily stands alongside some other towering titles in this grimy sub-genre (yes, I think it comes close to being as good as "Henry") and it constantly moves between the darkest horror and the macabre beauty of moments that look like they could have been painted by a freshly-awoken-from-a-nightmare Caravaggio (or maybe Goya, but with more black paint available to him than any other colour).

Ouelhaj has taken something that could have easily been turned into easy exploitation and made something unique and highly disturbing. I doubt that many people will respond to it in the same way that I did, but I hope it starts to develop a reputation that it deserves. Because, as unpleasant and painful as it is, and even I (despite enjoying thinking of myself as a hardened horror fan) had to look away once or twice, this is art.

9/10

Friday, 23 February 2024

River (2023)

A lot of people have rushed to recommend River as another timeloop film from the same team who delivered the inventive and wonderful Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes, but I think it is worth pointing out that writer Makoto Ueda has been working on films utilising time trickery in interesting and fun ways since his wonderful debut, Summer Time Machine Blues.

This film starts with Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) praying by the titular river. That river is beside a small inn, and everyone inside the inn, and in the surrounding area, is about to be caught in a 2-minute timeloop. When two minutes elapse, everyone ends up right back where they were, but they have full awareness of their situation. Is there a way out of it, or are they destined to repeat this small amount of time forever and ever?

Shot in numerous 2-minute takes (there may be hidden cuts here and there, nothing stood out to me as majorly fake), this is another blend of great characters, technical ingenuity, and satisfying interweaving storylines on a par with Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes. The only major downside is the third act reveal of what is actually causing the timeloop, although it is a good way to get absolutely everyone working together as a team to try and rescue themselves from their unusual predicament.

Junta Yamaguchi directs the whole thing with the same confidence and attention to detail that made his last timey-wimey feature so enjoyable, helped enormously by Ueda’s script, a deceptive creation that appears to be much lighter than it actually is, and the hard-working cast. Everyone gets a chance to shine, and you will be pleased to get to the end of the film and feel that you spent the runtime in such good company.

Fujitani carries the whole thing easily enough, and she is the focal point for every “reset”, but there are occasional delights from absolutely everyone onscreen, with my personal favourites being a frustrated writer realising he now has much more time to work towards his deadline (Yoshimasa Kondô), and the bemused and pro-active head clerk (Munenori Nagano) who seems to be the fastest thinker when it comes to making the best use of their limited time window to set things up for the next time around.

Also benefiting from the fact that it is shot in such a gorgeous location (seriously, let me book a long weekend in that inn, and I might not even mind being stuck in a timeloop there), the constantly delightful score that feels propulsive without ever overpowering the visuals, and some great little jokes, River is a delight that should easily satisfy those who enjoyed Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I appreciate this as being every bit as good as that film.

8/10

Thursday, 22 February 2024

Varan AKA Varan The Unbelievable (1958)

The worst thing about choosing to FINALLY watch every Godzilla movie, and every main movie tangentially connected to that long-running series, is the fact that so many of the films are very similar to one another. You get a big creature, you get some initial sense of mystery before the destruction occurs, and you get people then struggling to figure out a way to stop whatever new beast is trying to stomp all over them. I knew this when I started this ongoing “quest”, and people will just have to bear with me when it comes to the movies that don’t really give me too much to discuss.

Varan is one of those movies, but I also enjoyed watching it, and looked forward to reviewing it, because it felt like the most successful retread of the original Godzilla template yet. I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of this creature before, although that relative ignorance is part of my reason for watching all of these movies now, and it certainly feels like a Big G flick in all but name.

If you really need to know the plot, and I guess I should make some effort to summarize things here, just know that a large creature is discovered, it starts to roam around and cause some large-scale destruction, and everyone scrambled to figure out exactly how to destroy it. Flares might come in handy this time around, but only if the rest of the plan can be perfectly executed.

With the legendary (yeah, I think it is safe to cal him that nowadays) Ishirô Honda back in the director’s chair, and a screenplay written by Shin’ichi Sekizawa, this is a top-tier kaiju flick that features the usual visual trickery, melodrama, and an excellent creation wandering around and causing carnage. It’s only the sense of familiarity that may put most people off, but I was easily pleased by the fact that this felt like a great return to form after the mixed bag of the (still enjoyable) previous few movies.

The cast all do fine, and I will namecheck Kôzô Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda, Akihiko Hirata, and Koreya Senda here, but we all know who the real star is. Yes, it’s Varan, and the design and feel of the titular creature is a major asset. I am a fan, obviously, but it would seem that this creature wasn’t ever used again in the vast Toho filmography (not in a starring role anyway, and not including the American version of this film, which I am not rushing to check out).

A quick check on Wikizilla (a site I highly recommend to fans of these movies) shows me that I seem to be out of step with the general opinion of this. While many others appreciate the kaiju creation, very few seem to enjoy the movie as much as I did. Maybe this review will encourage one or two others to join me in my appreciation of it. Or maybe I will remain in a minority of one.

8/10

Wednesday, 21 February 2024

Prime Time: Mafia Mamma (2023)

Most days, if given a choice, I enjoy sitting down with a good horror movie. Well, let’s be completely honest, I just as often sit down with a bad horror movie, but you have to keep digging through the stinky stuff to find the nuggets of gold. Some days, however, I go out of my way to check out a movie that seems far removed from anything I would normally choose to watch. I will watch anything and everything, but some movies seem destined to stay lingering at the bottom of the “to watch” pile. That was the case with Mafia Mamma, a film that looked, quite frankly, absolutely dire. It seemed to come and go without anyone noticing, or caring about it, and the main premise (an American woman visits family after the death of her grandfather, then gets herself in the midst of a mafia turf war) is ridiculous.

Toni Collette is the lead here, Kristin, and we soon get to know how selfless and soft her character is. Which makes her even less likely to become a (temporary?) mafia don, although she is encouraged to take on her inherited role by Bianca (Monica Bellucci). It isn’t a world for the weak, and it isn’t often a world for women to lead the way. But after the difficult period of adjustment, realising how many people around her can die at any given moment, Kristin starts to do some good work, and might just be right for her new role. Some remain very unhappy about that, and those people are armed and dangerous.

I am not going to tell anyone that this is essential viewing. I am not going to say that it should be watched ahead of a good 50-100 better movies from the last couple of years. I had some fun with it though. Sometimes you are just in the mood for something light and silly, and this certainly fits the bill, aside from a few inconvenient deaths sprinkled throughout.

Written by J. Michael Feldman (who tends to be billed nowadays as Michael J. Feldman) and Debbie Jhoon, based on a story by Amanda Sthers, this is a pleasing comedy that presents itself honestly from the earliest scenes and allows you to decide whether or not you want to go along for the ride. I recommend people wanting to smile and enjoy a few chuckles just go with it. The repeated refrain of “eat, pray, f**k” alone was enough to amuse me.

Director Catherine Hardwicke is no stranger to silliness, having helmed a certain vampire werewolf love triangle blockbuster some time ago, but this is a very different type of silliness, and she does a perfectly good job of keeping everything as light and optimistic as the main character, even as the situation around her starts to become darker and more dangerous.

It helps a lot that Collette is such a delight in the lead role, playing the kind of character she seems to get so rarely nowadays (aka someone without a horrendous amount of pain and angst to deal with). She is allowed to be shown finding her light again as she moves away from just thinking about the needs of others and finally thinking about her own needs, and it is a joy to watch. Bellucci is also good fun, although she is a bit more one-note in her dedication to maintaining order and running the family business as directed. Sophia Nomvete is an enjoyable addition, as a supportive friend, Tim Daish is also good in his few scenes, as an unsupportive husband, and there are key roles played well by Eduardo Scarpetta, Giulio Corso, Francesco Mastroianni, and Alfonso Perugini.

While I am unlikely to revisit this, and I am just as unlikely to think of it first whenever someone asks me for a movie recommendation, I cannot deny that I enjoyed it while it was on. It was pleasant, a number of little moments surprised me into an extra big laugh (usually down to the fantastic work of Collette), and I would watch a similarly ridiculous sequel. Not sure how many will agree with me though.

6/10

Tuesday, 20 February 2024

Expend4bles (2023)

If there was ever a prime modern movie example of nominative determinism then I suggest you can find it here, where a fourth Expendables movie has been co-written by someone named Tad Daggerhart. He sounds like he should BE one of The Expendables, never mind writing their adventures. And, judging by this mess, maybe he could have improved things.

This is another film in which Sylvester Stallone leads a team of tough guys on a dangerous mission. Except he sort of doesn’t. So it is a film in which Jason Statham is put front and centre as the new leader. Except he sort of isn’t. So it’s up to Megan Fox to be sexy and badass, which she sort of . . . you get the picture. Nothing here works, nothing, and any further attempt to summarize the plot would simply give you false hope. Let’s just all be clear that this is a film that starts with Stallone getting his tough mate to confront and beat up a bar full of guys because he lost his ring in a gambling session. It wasn’t stolen. He wasn’t duped. He got drunk and sloppy, lost his precious ring, and now storms back in like some kid who has made up a story about another kid he wants to see cry when his dad gives him a telling off.

As well as Daggerhart, this mess was co-written by Kurt Wimmer (who at least did much better with Statham on his most recent film, The Beekeeper) and Max Adams. I am not sure if they had much freedom with the writing, a lot of these movies seem to be plotted around the stars and their screen presence, but they have to now shoulder the blame nonetheless.

The direction from Scott Waugh doesn’t help. Waugh has a few films under his belt now, none of them are particularly great, but few are as bad as this, and he seems unable to do the best with any material he is given. His best asset here is the cast, because he also has Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais at his disposal, but they are almost uniformly wasted.

Sly does what Sly always does, even if he steps back this time around to let others take more of the strain and the bruises, and Statham is as dependable as ever when he is given a decent amount of screentime. That is the big problem though. A whole host of people are here, with none of them getting to do anything truly worthwhile. Jaa is wasted, Uwais is wasted, Fox is wasted. Dolph Lundgren? Levy Tran? Andy Garcia? All wasted. But at least there’s time for Randy Coutoure and Jacob Scipio to have some unfunny and unwanted banter together, and 50 Cent gets to be part of the team long enough to be involved in a scene that creates a diversion using . . . a 50 Cent song.

I have enjoyed all of these movies, to some degree, and I am quite easily pleased. Not to offend a large group of people, but I think the majority of those who lapped up the blend of nostalgia and action presented in this concept are generally as easy to please as myself. This doesn’t please anyone though. It seems to forget the main reason why anyone would want to see an Expendables movie, which is a real shame. Easily the worst of the lot, and I hope they stop now before figuring out some way to hit a new low.

3/10

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