Netflix And Chill: No Country For Old Men (2007)

Sometimes you revisit movies and they hold up even better than you remembered. I find that happens to me often when I go back through the filmography of the Coen brothers. I'd seen No County For Old Men before (I would call it an essential viewing, but almost all of their features feel like essential viewing), but it had been a very long time. All that was left in my mind was a fading echo, sometimes made louder again by a clip shown online or a meme. Revisiting it this week was a real pleasure, and a reminder of how often I can seek cinematic comfort in so many of their works.

Josh Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss, a man who thinks he may be in luck when he stumbles across a bag of cash left at the scene of a drug deal gone wrong. Nobody would just accept that much cash going missing though, and Llewelyn soon finds himself being pursued by the relentless and ruthless Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Other people are also interested in where the money is, but the main game of cat and mouse is played out by Moss and Chigurh.

Adapted from a novel by Corman McCarthy, this is a bleak and brilliant slice of neo-noir that somehow allows the characters to continue feeling very much alive and ready for anything thrown their way . . . until death puts an end to their plans. The Coens take their time, especially in moments that show Chigurgh either killing people or letting their fate be decided by a coin toss.  

While it would be easy to spend all of my time praising Bardem, he does such a great job of portraying such an iconic character, everyone does well in their respective roles. Brolin is solid as the guy hoping to turn a bad situation to his advantage, Kelly Macdonald handles her accent well in the role of his wife, Carla, and both Tommy Lee Jones and Garret Dillahunt get some good scenes as two law enforcement officers who end up on the very edge of a horrible mess. There are also welcome roles for Woody Harrelson, Stephen Root, Barry Corbin, and Beth Grant.

It's hard to think of anyone watching this and not being able to appreciate it as a cinematic masterpiece, but I would say that about many of the Coen brothers movies. You have to accept a slower pace, as well as some idiosyncrasies, but the whole thing feels like some gorgeous piece of classical music all about life, death, chance, and fate. It doesn't necessarily build to a crescendo, but there's certainly a build up to something tremendous before the music then starts to gently fade out.

No Country For Old Men is a modern classic. If you don't agree with me then maybe you can agree that, to paraphrase a character in the film, "if it ain't, it'll do till one gets here."

10/10

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All About Steve (2009)

Yet another film that I only became aware of due to the Razzies, All About Steve is a notorious stinker (allegedly) that I always wanted to see because of Sandra Bullock having the good grace and humour to turn up at the ceremony "rewarding" it and doing her best to entertainingly defend it. And, hey, maybe it wouldn't be THAT bad.

All About Steve really IS that bad. Sandra Bullock plays Mary Horowitz, a young woman who creates crossword puzzle for a newspaper. She then goes on one date with Steve (Bradley Cooper), a news cameraman, and becomes absolutely obsessed with him. This leads to her pursuing him across the country, much to the amusement of his colleagues. Mary has a way with people around her though, thanks to her good nature and eccentricity that people respond to. Apparently.

Writer Kim Barker has three projects to their name. This is the second. Director Phil Traill, on the other hand, has managed to create a body of work that provided much more distance between himself and this travesty. And it is a travesty, although it's hard to figure out what else it is meant to be. If it's a twisted rom-com then it lacks both the rom and the com. If it's a dark comedy then it lacks both the darkness and the comedy. If it's supposed to be some commentary on what happens when people without a filter are thrown into the middle of the general population, presenting some kind of "idiot savant" able to teach others a la Being There and Forrest Gump, then it also fails in that regard. No good points are made here, and we're left with a character study of people who are poorly-written and completely uninteresting, once you get beyond the "quirkiness" of someone who is actually on the spectrum of autism.

As unlikely as it seems, there may have been some way to make this a good movie. I think the screenplay would have needed a complete overhaul though, with Bullock and Cooper constantly thrown together more by coincidence than any scheming. It might also have benefited from different leads.

I really like Bullock. I would consider myself a full member of the Sandra Bullock fan club. How dedicated am I to her career? Well . . . I just watched All About Steve. This is easily one of the worst performances I have seen from her though, and the way she portrays Mary is almost offensively bad. There are times when she's only a couple of steps away from being the female equivalent of Simple Jack (see Tropic Thunder for that reference point). Cooper can do cocky and smarmy, but he doesn't have the extra softness required to offset the mean side of his character. At least there's some fun to be had with Thomas Haden Church (a smug TV reporter), Ken Jeong, DJ Qualls, Katy Mixon Greer, M. C. Gainey, Holmes Osborne, and, as Mary's parents, Beth Grant and Howard Hesseman.

Despite my overwhelming criticism of this movie, I will say that it's almost saved by the supporting cast and the third act moments that try hard to show some kind of closure for both Mary and Steve. Some lessons are learned, I think, and it would work in a standard movie way if viewers had grown to care about the central character. Very few will care though, which kind of undermines the ending.

Like so many similarly maligned films, this is far from the worst of the worst. It's also deserving of a lot of the mockery and disdain it has received though. 

3/10

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Mubi Monday: Lucky (2017)

There are a couple of credits that appear after this movie in the filmography of the late Harry Dean Stanton, but I think that is more to do with the timing of the releases, which is why I would be happy if we can all agree that Lucky is his last main movie role, and it's difficult to think of a more fitting swansong for a career so full of memorable turns. It's a shame that he died approximately two weeks before this was officially released, as I am sure he would have been very proud of the final product.

The story itself is simple. Stanton plays Lucky, an old man who goes through the same daily routines as he deals with his old age, the fact that you can no longer smoke in many of the establishments that he used to enjoy smoking in, and how his friends are dealing with their own growing sense of mortality. Lucky is one of those little films that doesn't feel as if it says anything important, it's just the chance to hang out with a great character, but it has some wisdom buried in many scenes. And even if it didn't . . . just spending time with Stanton in a role seemingly perfect for him is enough of a reason to want to give it your time.

Logan Sparks and Drago Sumonja, both able to now list this as their first filmed script, have written such a sweet little film that it's hard to think of it not being personally shaped around Stanton and friends (David Lynch has a small role, as do Ron Livingston, Tom Skerritt, Beth Grant, James Darren, and Barry Shabaka Henley). It's a perfect combination of words and cast.

John Carroll Lynch is the one bringing it all together, making his directorial debut after many years of being "that guy" in a number of movies (you may not recognise the name, but you know him), and I hope he follows this up with some other directorial work. He has a great eye, certainly has faith in his cast of quality characters, and also has the patience to hang back and trust that viewers will wait through many quiet moments to enjoy some of the small, but wonderful, payoffs.

Stanton is a treat throughout, unsurprisingly, and his final moment here is just about as bittersweet as you could get. It's a truly fortuitous bit of cinema magic. Lynch gets on well alongside his good friend, not asked to stretch himself while he and others simply orbit the central character, and everyone else mentioned steps up to the quality of the material. Even Livingston, who I like but rarely view as a great actor, makes the most of a moment that allows him to deliver some of the best dramatic dialogue he has ever been given (to my knowledge). Yvonne Huff, Bertila Damas, and Ana Mercedes also deserve a mention for their work.

It's hard to separate my reaction to this as a movie from my reaction to it as a poignant celebration of the massive talent and wonderfulness of Stanton. Others may want to knock my rating down a point or two, but I'm happy to reassure fans of the star that this is an unmissable performance, as well as an amazing tribute to him.

9/10

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Willy's Wonderland (2021)

It had been discussed for some time now. An unofficial movie version of Five Nights At Freddy's with Nicolas Cage in a main role, battling killer animatronics. So when it finally appeared, coming along soon after the trailer had been put out there for Cage fans to enjoy, there was no way I was going to miss out.

Cage plays a silent man who ends up damaging his car while driving through a small town. The repair is going to cost a fair bit, but a couple of locals make him a deal. If he spends the night in the closed premises of Willy's Wonderland, cleaning it as best he can, then the work will be paid for. It's not long until the newly-hired cleaner realises that he's been put to work somewhere very dangerous. There are a number of animatronics that are far too lively, and out to kill. But they don't count on the Cage rage.

Willy's Wonderland is very silly, and not necessarily in the right ways. It's a very odd one to consider, tonally, with Nicolas Cage often seeming to be in a very different movie from anyone else who appears onscreen (and the cast includes Beth Grant, Emily Tosta, and a number of disposable supporting players). Both of those movies work, to a degree, but they never really gel together.

Writer G. O. Parsons has fun with his first feature script, largely keeping things tightly focused on the fun of the central premise, and director Kevin Lewis doesn't do a terrible job, although I suspect he's the one responsible for the film not working as well as it should. There's a lack of any singular style throughout, and even the levels of bloodshed and gore vary wildly from one set-piece to the next. The more amusing touches pop up often enough to remind you of how self-aware of the silliness everyone is (especially the timer that Cage uses to ensure he takes a break every couple of hours, but there's also a frankly glorious bit of gratuitous dancing from our lead as he relaxes with a bit of pinball), which makes it a bit more frustrating when things don't just keep getting wilder and wilder.

Cage is awesome, playing his role with just the right blend of cool, toughness, and awkwardness, and his fanbase should have a lot of fun with this. If you don't like him then nothing here will win you over. But also . . . you should just learn to like him. Grant is fine as the local Sheriff, very much aware of how dangerous Willy's Wonderland is, and Tosta is a very enjoyable second lead (named Liv), a young woman who leads a group of friends on a mission to destroy the animatronic-populated killing ground.

As much as it sounds like an overused cliché, this is the perfect movie to enjoy on a Saturday evening with your favoured selection of snacks and beverages. It's got Cage fighting silly villains, it's paced briskly enough, and it gets everything done in just under 90 minutes. Pair it up with The Banana Splits Movie and you have a great double-bill.

7/10

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Shudder Saturday: The Midnight Swim (2014)

The feature debut from writer-director Sarah Adina Smith, The Midnight Swim is the tale of a woman (Beth Grant) who disappears during a deep-water dive at a place called Spirit Lake, which leads to her three daughters turning up to ostensibly put her affairs in order. The three women end up discussing their upbringing, as well as the mysterious power of the lake.

First thing's first, The Midnight Swim is not a horror movie. It's important to get that out of the way now, and especially important when it is a title that horror fans may stumble upon. Judge the film for what it is, not for what it doesn't try to be.

Second, The Midnight Swim has enough in place to make it worth your time. It's all very competently put together, the main characters - June (Lindsay Burdge), Annie (Jennifer Lafleur), and Isa (Aleksa Palladino) - are all fine to spend time with, and the pull of the lake at the heart of things is nicely woven throughout the whole thing.

Third, and finally, this is a film which, in line with the subject matter, has some hidden depths to explore. Whether it's the mystery of their mother's disappearance or the strength of the bonds between the sisters, you get the feeling that almost every scene in this movie is saying something important, either about the characters or about the grand mysteries of life and death.

Having said all of that, this didn't work for me. It wasn't a painful experience, not at all, but it certainly wasn't a film I really enjoyed watching. The relatively slim runtime - it clocks in at about 84 minutes - felt longer, many scenes felt as if the main point being made got lost somewhere in translation, and the ending wasn't as interesting or satisfying for me as Smith obviously wanted it to be. I am sure there are others who will love the ending, it's certainly something a bit different, but I just couldn't get on board with it.

Burdge, Lafleur, and Palladino all do well in their roles (all three actresses have built up interesting résumés over the past decade or so), Grant does as good as she usually does, in her small amount of screentime, and there are solid supporting turns from Ross Partridge and Michelle Hutson, although the latter features in one of those scenes that I feel ended up a step removed from what was intended.

What you get here is, overall, a decent family drama with one lively "music video moment" to pep things up. It's just a shame that none of the main plot elements or ideas are explored in a way that makes them as interesting as they could be, resulting in a film that is just rather dull and disappointing, albeit very well put together.

4/10

It's on Shudder here in the UK, of course.
Americans can check it out here.

Extract (2009)

Another enjoyable comedy written and directed by Mike Judge, this may be his weakest film to date but it's still a fun viewing experience thanks to a great cast working with a great script.

Jason Bateman plays Joel, the owner/manager of an Extract plant. All is going pretty well for Joel apart from the fact that he can't seem to get home before eight o'clock, which is the time that his wife (Kristen Wiig) puts her sweatpants on. Once the sweatpants are on, Joel gets nothing and he's a bit frustrated by his lack of sex life. When a work-related accident leads to loyal worker Step (Clifton Collins Jr.) losing one of his testicles, Joel finds himself the unwitting payday opportunity for Cindy (Mila Kunis), a thief who realises that she can engineer a meeting with Step before manipulating him into suing the company for more money. Meanwhile, Joel also makes the mistake of following the advice of his friend Dean (Ben Affleck) and hiring someone to seduce his wife, supposedly leaving his conscience clear to begin his own affair.

It may not be as brilliantly wired into the consciousness of all working Joes (a la Office Space) or full of the easy, big laughs of Idiocracy but this still deserves to be appreciated by anyone after comedy that aims higher than most.

Judge is a great talent behind the camera. There may not be too many tricks and flourishes onscreen but he does what's needed to keep things moving along and set up every scene full of that memorable dialogue.

Bateman is good in the main role, playing the kind of role that he can play in his sleep, and Kunis is believably cute and charming. It's easy to imagine her getting away with just what she gets away with. Wiig is also very good in an atypical role, as is Ben Affleck, playing someone slightly addled from a life centred around far too many drugs. Clifton Collins Jr. is a sweet enough "mark" and there is good support from J. K. Simmons, T. J. Miller, Betsy Palmer, Gene Simmons, David Koechner (also in a slightly atypical role, as a persistent and dull neighbour) and Matt Schulze.

All in all, Extract is well worth your time. By the time the end credits roll, there's nothing major to mull over but it's simply a nice, consistently amusing, character piece that won't disappoint.

7/10

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