Shudder Saturday: Inugami (2001)

Based on a novel by Masako Bando, which itself makes use of some well-known Japanese folklore (all to do with possession by the spirit of a dog), Inugami is another one of those horror movies that is only pigeonholed into the genre because of one or two core elements. There are things here that will please those who want something tinged with the supernatural, but the majority of it plays out like a very standard drama with some thought-provoking commentary on tradition, the damage caused by people holding on to certain beliefs, and abuse within small communities.

Akira (Atsuro Watabe) is a new schoolteacher arriving in a small town. He quickly makes a connection with Miki (Yûki Amami), an older woman who is skilled in the art of papermaking. As that connection starts to grow stronger, Akira finds out that Miki has a reputation in the community for being part of a family responsible for looking after a spirit known as inugami. Nobody is too bothered when everything is going well, but they look to point fingers and blame Miki when people start disappearing. Are they right to feel threatened by her, or has the behaviour of Miki been influenced and directed by the treatment from those around her?

Despite his fairly lengthy filmography, this is the first film I have seen from director Masato Harada. It won't be the last. Harada isn't concerned with checking any genre boxes, nor is he bothered by the need to interrupt the flow of this tale with unnecessary shocks or surprises. He's completely invested in telling the story in the best way possible and allowing the characters to gain more and more substance as things move towards a finale that doesn't look as if it's going to be all sunshine and rainbows. The screenplay is impressively grounded, and it's hard not to feel sympathetic to the main characters as they are harassed and pushed around by those around them. Taken at the most basic level, this shows the damage that can be caused to individuals and relationships by the unwanted opinions of everyone else around them, but adding the layer of inugami, as well as one or two other plot points that are revealed in a surprisingly low-key way to stop them from being presented as a huge "gotcha", adds more sinister and dangerous layers to everything.

Watabe is pleasant and easy to root for in his main role, but it's Amami who carries the movie, especially as we get to see various moments from her life that have shaped her character into who we see in the here and now. Kazuhiro Yamaji also makes a hell of an impression, helped by the fact that his character often acts reprehensibly to poor Miki, and there are very good performances from everyone else onscreen, including Eugene Harada, Shiho Fujimura, Kanako Fukaura, Shion Machida, and Ken'ichi Yajima.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this as the early scenes played out and I wasn't sure of where the main storyline would go, but I ended up loving it. It's such a bittersweet and poignant look at the crushing weight so many people try to endure for the sake of their family traditions and their position within the community, yet there is, for both the film and the main character, the shadow of the inugami looming over everything for the entire runtime.

9/10

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We Live In Time (2024)

I knew that I wanted to see We Live In Time because I tend to want to see everything that stars either Florence Pugh or Andrew Garfield, and they both play main characters here. Aside from that, all I knew about the film is that it showed a relationship in non-chronological order. That's been done before, a number of times, and I was worried that We Live In Time might end up feeling too familiar to me, but I'm happy to say that it manages to avoid making you think of anything else while it all plays out. Viewers are, hopefully, far too invested in the onscreen couple, and what they're going through, to spend too much time thinking about any similarities with other movies.

Andrew Garfield is Tobias and Florence Pugh is Almut. The two meet just as Tobias is going through a divorce. Almut is a successful chef, and she's about to open her first restaurant. Making a strong connection immediately, they then have to navigate their way through conversations about whether or not to have children, career paths, and serious health issues that come along to spoil the party. It's all quite standard stuff, shaken up slightly by the non-chronological presentation, and elevated by both Garfield and Pugh being two people you can easily believe in their roles.

While I'm not familiar with the work of writer Nick Payne, who only seems to have written a couple of features and a decent selection of TV work before this, I am now happy to check out whatever he does next. We Live In Time may not deliver any surprises or stunning insights, but it's nicely crafted in a way that allows most of the scenes to feel as if they're built around a kernel of truth. 

Director John Crowley has been doing very good work for the past couple of decades (he received a lot of love for Brooklyn, but I still highly recommend his debut feature, Intermission). He's not the sort of person to cover a film with his own fingerprints though, and I strongly suspect that his biggest talent is casting the right people as leading players.

There's a chance that other people could have made this work, but it's undeniable that it's hard to imagine anyone else doing as well as Garfield and Pugh. The former is unbelievably sweet and lovely in a way that aligns with what we've seen from Garfield in some of his real-life moments (interactions with fans, chat show conversations, etc), and Pugh gets to show a strength and determination that has been in the DNA of many of the characters she has played while making a hell of a name for herself since she started her movie career back in 2014. Lee Braithwaite does fantastic work, playing a supportive colleague/chef named Jade, Grace Delaney manages to be a cute child without ever being too irritating, and the rest of the cast includes familiar faces such as Aoife Hinds, Adam James, Douglas Hodge, Niamh Cusack, and Kerry Godliman, as well as the less familiar, but no less welcome, Nikhil Parmar, who certainly deserves a mention for being involved in a sequence that provides a perfect mix of tension, humour, reality, and ridiculousness.

There will be many who already know that they don't want to see this, and the ongoing sub-plot about a painful medical diagnosis won't be an easy watch for anyone who has had to watch a loved one go through anything similar, but I'd encourage most to give it a go. It takes you through a wide range of emotions, uses the time jumps to try and play around with your expectations, and ends in a way that feels thoughtful and satisfying.

8/10

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Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

I was one of many people who ended up enjoying Joker when it was released back in 2019. It was a divisive movie though, and many hated it. Surprising as it may seem, one of the people who seems to have hated it more than most is . . . director Todd Phillips. Well, to be more accurate, he seems to hate the character, and seems to hate how he has been held up as some icon of cool. And the people who use images of Joker and Harley Quinn to state "couple goals"? Yeah, Phillips hates you just as much, if not more so.

It's time for Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix reprising the role) to be put on trial. Having been imprisoned since the events of the last movie, Fleck has become a lightning rod for an uneasy population thinking they may have an anarchic hero to support and push forward like a giant wrecking ball. Arthur gets the attention of Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), the two sharing a love of daydreaming their way through some song and dance numbers, but this doesn't sit well with his lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener). None of this growing unrest, nor the celebrity prisoner's growing popularity, sits well with prison officer Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson), which essentially paints a large target on Arthur's back.

EVERYTHING that was good about Joker is destroyed here. Everything. And when I say destroyed I mean fully torn apart, shredded, pulped, shredded again, set on fire, and the ashes packed into a small rocket that is fired directly into the sun. Did you like the visual style? It's here again, but somehow feels like the lazy choice this time around, especially when it invaded even the scenes that should make use of some colour and light. Did you like the nihilism and misanthropy? It's here, but it's so constantly in your face that it feels like an angry toddler pulling on your ears as it screams Nietzsche quotes at you. Did you like the central character? You shouldn't, not according to Phillips anyway. Joker is a weak and pathetic victim, unexpectedly elevated to a position of power that he is absolutely unprepared for.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Phillips tries hard to make his disdain palpable in every scene. There are very few moments here that actually work in movie terms, and one of those atypical treats happens at the very beginning of the film (a bit of animation that hints at an anarchy and energy the rest of the film stubbornly refuses to revisit), and even the much-discussed musical numbers fall flat because a) Phillips refuses to commit to them, and b) they feel as if they're just present to deliberately repel anyone who enjoyed the first film. There's something slightly admirable about Phillips making use of the money and resources available to create such a huge Joker-topped pyre, but it also feels, well, just a bit rude.

At least there's a decent cast, and I don't really have any complaints about Gaga, Gleeson, Keener, Zazie Beetz, Steve Coogan, Harry Lawtey (as a rather bland Harvey Dent), and Leigh Gill. I do have complaints about Phoenix though, and the fact that he is still the main star means that his awful performance helps to damage the film in a way that I am sure Phillips actively encouraged. Phoenix is limp and lifeless throughout, except for the moments in which he deliberately chooses to overact and fool around. Everything he did so well in the first movie is alchemically transformed from gold to lead this time around.

Phillips, co-writing the screenplay once again with Scott Silver, does everything to ensure that this second film puts a handful of nails in the coffin of the main character. Both he and his leading man should be embarrassed by how bad this is, but I suspect they're already on to other projects without giving this a second thought. It's just fans who will be affected by it, fans of the Joker and/or fans of cinema. And Phillips couldn't be clearer about what he thinks of those people. Remember that the next time he works on something that he actually cares about.

3/10

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Prime Time: Kneecap (2024)

Kneecap are an Irish band made up of rappers Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, and a DJ named JJ Ó Dochartaigh. This film is, as far as I can tell, a fictionalized tale of how they achieved whatever level of success they now have. For the purpose of this review, I'll be referring to the stars by their stage names (and they play up to those personas onscreen so there's no need to maintain any major distinction). So here's a review of the musical stylings of Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvai.

Directed by Rich Peppiatt, who also co-wrote the screenplay with his musical stars, this is, at heart, a fairly standard tale of people struggling to find appreciation for their talent. While Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara have been treading water for some time, they end up being able to take their ambition up a notch when they encounter a teacher who can help create beats for their lyrics. That teacher will become known as DJ Próvai. Aside from the familiar elements, you also get a look at the struggle of growing up in Belfast, and the struggle to pull away from a history that keeps so many weighed down, as well as a campaign to keep the traditional Irish language alive.

I've seen one or two people compare this favourably to the many films that came out in the wake of Tarantino's success. That's fine, but I don't think it's actually correct. This is a film that feels more in line with the best works of Danny Boyle, and it delivers visuals and music with an energy and passion that make it an impactful statement of intent for all involved.

Funny, rebellious, violent, and exuberant all at once, Kneecap works as both a movie, and one with some important messages in it, and an advert for the wit and music of the featured band. Did I head straight to my main music streaming service as soon as the film was over to add the band to my ever-growing list of favourites? Yes. And I suspect others may do the same, whether you know the Irish language or don't.

The three band members are enjoyable and charismatic performers, particularly when jumping around on a stage to energise and entertain the masses. I won't single anyone out, but the film knows how to use their varying strengths and weaknesses, and also surrounds the central trio with people such as Josie Walker (playing a determined and tough detective), Fionnuala Flaherty (also heavily invested in promoting the use and preservation of the Irish language), Jessica Reynolds (a love interest with a very twisted kind of dirty talk), and Simone Kirby and Michael Fassbender (parents who are both absent, in different ways, until the crunch point when viewers hope they will actually step up and help their son).

I've been a bit cautious in writing this review, lacking knowledge of the band while ensuring I word things in a way that doesn't seem problematic outwith the context of the film (because Kneecap certainly don't care about tip-toeing around the feelings of those who don't own their own place in either the here and now or the there and then), but the main thing I want to convey is how much I enjoyed this. I laughed out loud on a number of occasions, I turned the volume up for the music, and I hope to see and hear more from everyone involved.

8/10

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