Y2K (2024)

I admit that I expected the worst when I pressed play on Y2K. I hadn't heard many people saying good things about it, and I wasn't sure I could trust the praise that came from some people who seemed to revel in the nostalgia inherent in the premise. Thank goodness I never let such things put me off though, and now I can be one of the few other people encouraging others to give this one some time.

It's a very certain New Year's Eve. The new century is approaching, and the news has a lot of talk about the millennium bug, with some people warning about it and others reassuring everyone that all will be well. Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) are two high-school friends who are more concerned with spending some time at a cool party, where Eli can hopefully spend some time in the company of the cool and gorgeous Laura (Rachel Zegler). The partying and celebrations end up rudely interrupted, however, by a "glitch" that causes all computers, and any piece of tech, to rise up and attack the humans, aiming to ultimately enslave them as a power source.

The directorial debut of Kyle Mooney, who already has years of acting experience under his belt, this is a horror comedy co-written by himself and Evan Winter that can be nicely summed up as the result of people rewatching Maximum Overdrive far too many times before then wondering how it would play out if the laughs were intentional. It's very light and silly from the very first scenes, setting up an onscreen world akin to any seen in John Hughes movies of the 1980s, and just gets sillier when the robo-carnage begins, which is all well and good when the film-makers themselves know how wonderfully absurd the whole thing is.

Martell and Zegler are decent leads, and Dennison delivers another performance that ensures he'll keep being cast as the young man who can be relied upon to deliver a healthy dose of fun and self-confidence. Daniel Zolghadri and Lachlan Watson play two supporting characters who start off feeling a bit too underdeveloped and mildly irritating before turning into people you don't mind spending some time with, Eduardo Franco continues to be someone I now enjoy popping up in anything, Mason Gooding cements his "scream king" reputation with another solid turn, and there's a fantastic cameo appearance I won't spoil here, despite the fact that most of you will already know all about it.

The pacing works well, especially as the characters desperately try to escape one threat after another, the soundtrack is full of some great tracks from a quarter of a century ago, the practical effects are entertainingly lo-fi and absolutely in line with the tone of the whole thing, and this is entertaining fun for those who go into it with an open mind. I laughed more times at this than I have laughed at some recent outright comedies, and the third act delivered a level of cheesiness that will work on those who retain any fondness for the music and memories of the turn of the 21st century. In fact . . . I kind of loved it. 

8/10

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It (2017)

Adapting what is, for many, a formative reading experience into a movie is always a challenge. Attempting to do that after there's already been a fantastic, and beloved, TV movie adaptation that many still view as definitive and iconic would seem to be a fool's errand. It's happened before with Stephen King works though, and I have no doubt that it will happen again. I'm not sure I would mind if they all turned out as well as this.

It, and it's worth mentioning for those who may be unaware that this is the first, albeit nicely self-contained, part of an enjoyably sprawling horror story that is spread out over two movies, is all about a group of youngster who help one another survive an extremely deadly summer in Derry, Maine. They all end up being affected by a creature that can take on the shape of their fears, although it mostly catches victims while in the shape of Pennywise the clown (Bill Skarsgård, doing such a great job that he somehow manages to equal the nightmare-inducing performance given by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV movie). That's all you need to know. Seven children, a lifelong bonding experience, and a killer clown.

Having very recently rewatched this, I am sure that I was a bit harsh on It during my first viewing experience. I did praise certain elements, particularly the mix of scares and bloodshed without a reliance on either, but I also mentioned some unnecessary CGI used, a slightly weak script, and the fact that the main characters weren't really. Well . . . present me disagrees with the past me (although I still think there are one or two bits of CGI work that didn't have to be done that way, or maybe even done at all).

With Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman figuring out the best ways to turn King's major tome into a satisfying screenplay, Andy Muschietti can stay focused on direction. The screenplay is a great blend of coming-of-age episodes and well-executed scares, even if a number of them are jump scares, and Muschietti serves the material well. The film is, in many ways, a mood piece, a painting by someone who wants to depict growing pains and common anxieties in the same picture. And, in that regard, it works. In fact, it works brilliantly, constantly evoking a growing sense of nostalgia, the blossoming of dark petals of sadness, and an impressive sprinkling of dread over every main sequence.

There are no weak performances to critique, which makes it easy for me to simply namecheck all seven members of "The Loser's Club" here; Jaeden Martell (Bill, credited here as Jaeden Lieberher), Sophia Lillis (Beverly), Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben), Finn Wolfhard (Richie), Chosen Jacobs (Mike), Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie), and Wyatt Oleff (Stanley). All of these characters get enough time and space to feel like more than just a scared victim, and the cast members are all perfectly cast. Nicholas Hamilton and Owen Teague are also very good, although they are given the unenviable task of playing typical King bullies who are, and Jackson Robert Scott does well enough in the role of young Georgie to cast a suitable little shadow over the entire film. As for Skarsgård, he's a creepy and brilliant delight in ways that I cannot even begin to list here. Whether pretending to be innocent and fun or showing a hint of his true evil nature, he's always an interesting depiction of a monster never quite comfortable enough in any one form to fully convince people that there's no threat nearby.

The 135-minute runtime ticks over without any pacing issues, those responsible for the adaptation from page to screen have great instincts for what to show, what to imply, and what to completely excise, and the whole thing is just about as good as you can get, certainly in the realm of modern mainstream horror. It's still hard to watch without thinking of the novel, or thinking of that beloved TV movie, but it's easily up there with the very best King movies (and the top of that particular tree has some real classics nesting there).

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)

Written and directed by John Lee Hancock, adapting a short story by Stephen King, Mr. Harrigan's Phone feels like the kind of film that would result from, well, John Lee Hancock adapting a short story by Stephen King. He is helped by excellent casting, and I have seen many people already happy with what they view as a fairly faithful adaptation of the story (I haven't yet read that short story collection, "If It Bleeds", yet, despite my love of King's work), but it's a thriller/horror movie that is best described as perfunctory.

Jaeden Martell plays Craig, a young man who ends up making some pocket money by reading books to the titular Mr. Harrigan (played by Donald Sutherland). Mr. Harrigan is a rich businessman, with a potentially murky past that is only hinted at, and he enjoys the company of Craig. The two become friends, and when a scratchcard gift from Mr. Harrigan gives Craig a windfall of $3000, he decides to treat the older man to a mobile phone. Although he isn't initially thrilled by the device, Mr. Harrigan soon learns to appreciate his phone, for the information it can supply him and the "hotline" to Craig. It becomes such a prized possession that, during the sad time when Mr. Harrigan dies, Craig slips the phone into his inside pocket during the wake. And then Craig starts to receive text messages from . . . Mr. Harrigan.

I'll start discussing more about the film by praising the cast. Martell is very good, believably sweet without seeming overly precious, and Sutherland has one of his best roles in some time. Joe Tippet is a decent movie dad, Kirby Howell-Baptiste is a kind teacher, Ms. Hart, who becomes another friend to Craig, and Cyrus Arnold is entertainingly unpleasant as a towering school bully. The cast are really the best thing about this.

Aside from assembling a great cast, the other good thing that Hancock does is present a tale that you can tell contains the voice of King running through it. The dead parent, the magical bond of friendship shown, the school bully, the coming-of-age aspect, these are all elements that King often uses in a very King way, and there's a comforting familiarity here that you often feel when reading his work. That also works against it though, because this is too nice to be scary or upsetting. Hancock seems to be unwilling to make any artistic choice that could improve the material from the page to the screen, which is a shame. This could have been turned into something more impactful, a story that shows Craig struggling to get the genie back in the bottle or struggling even more to just let go/deal with loss. The latter is the focus of the film, but that's easy to forget as it spends the second half dealing with the fact that Craig realises he has access to a power that can help him get revenge on people who have spent too much of their life avoiding punishment for their misdeeds.

Although supernatural, and with scenes that touch on a backstory that is never fully explored (disappointingly), Mr. Harrigan's Phone is much more in line with the more emotionally-affecting works from Stephen King than any of his scarefests. It's about dealing with grief, Craig and his father are on their own after the untimely the death of his mother, and about the good consequences that can come from people who have done bad things. While others suffer, Craig has his life inexorably changed for the better by his friendship with Mr. Harrigan. Despite some interesting elements, it falls between two stools, failing to be enjoyably spooky while subsequently also failing to be as moving as any of King's better work.

This isn't bad. I've already seen comments from many people who enjoyed it more than I did. I just didn't think it was very good.

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: Metal Lords (2022)

Ahhhhh the joys of discovering metal music. Arguably more than any other genre of music, aside from punk, metal speaks to the anger and frustration within us, something that is even more in need of an outlet when we are teens than when we are adults. As an adult, metal becomes more about the musical skill and ear-splitting wall of sound, generally, but it's hard to argue against the idea that most would first really tap into the music as a teen. It is, just like punk, the kind of music that doesn't need a lot of extra equipment to have a go at (a guitar and a loud amp will do), and it scares away a lot of people who may have already been viewing someone else as an outsider anyway. And it can become all too easy to lean further into that comforting world of noise, scaring more people away, either accidentally or deliberately, and claiming the outsider status as a badge of honour.

Metal Lords is the tale of two such "outsiders" who have decided to fight against the world together. There's Kevin (Jaeden Martell), a newbie to the music who is an excellent drummer, and Hunter (Adrian Greensmith), a talented guitarist who lives and breathes metal. Having said they will participate in an upcoming "battle of the bands" competition, the two struggle to find a bassist. Fortunately, there's a new way to present the songs if they team up with a cellist named Emily (Isis Hainsworth). Kevin thinks that could be a great idea, but he also ends up in a relationship with Emily, much to the displeasure of Hunter.

Written by D. B. Weiss, who has done the rest of his writing work for TV (including a small show you might have heard of called Game Of Thrones), Metal Lords is a mess, initially, and I can see a number of viewers giving up before it really hits its stride, which is actually just before the halfway point. That's not to say that the messy parts are bad, but they are certainly more enjoyable for those who can recall some awkward years in their teens, and for those who have at least dipped their toes into the hallowed waters of metal. Weiss maybe errs slightly as he makes his lead characters a bit too determined to keep some others at bay. Well, it's Hunter doing the pushing, but Kevin sticks with him throughout the first half of the film. The fact that the actors are great in their roles is another big help.

Martell and Greensmith both look as if they know their way around the respective instruments that they're playing, whether through natural talent or the editing of the film, and they feel spot on in their central characterisations, with the former being open to eventually connecting with other people as the latter keeps putting up metal-spiked walls. Greensmith becomes irritating quite early on, but he's supposed to be. That's all nicely in place for a grin-inducing grand finale. Hainsworth is wonderful as the young woman who could work well with the central duo, despite Greensmith's character viewing her as simply coming between them. Fiery-tempered, but also very sweet in the company of those she cares for, Hainsworth is at her best when cursing people out in her Scottish brogue and priming herself to jump on their heads. She also looks as if she knows what she's doing when it comes to the scenes that have her playing the cello. Brett Gelman also has fun, playing a doctor who hasn't connected properly with his son in years, Noah Urrea, Analesa Fisher, Phelan Davis, and Rachel Pate all have one or two good moments, and there's a very amusing little turn from Joe Manganiello, not to mention fun cameos from four fully-fledged "metal lords".

Director Peter Sollett works well with the stumbling script, keeping everything in place until things settle into the better sequences. He allows the characters to show their facades as being just that, he keeps the metal tunes coming, and a special mention should go to the absolutely superb use of "War Pigs" throughout, and he conveys a faith in the material that is infectious. While viewers may be unsure of how much of the journey they will fully enjoy, they can always sense that things are heading towards a destination that is both predictable and joyous.

I feel like I've been a bit harsh in this review, but it's important to warn people that the film feels a bit tonally erratic for a while. And I'm not sure how I would have felt about the whole thing if it had stayed that way. It doesn't though, and I'm glad that the right choices were made to turn this into something that should please anyone who enjoys teen flicks, metal music, and underdogs having their moment in the sunshine (metaphorically, because metal fans usually prefer the pitch black of night to any beach trips).

7/10

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The Lodge (2019)

From Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, the people who co-directed and co-wrote Goodnight Mommy (joined this time by an extra writer, Sergio Casci), comes this tale of isolation, horror, and madness. And it all stems from a pair of kids upset by their parents divorcing.

Jaeden Martell and Lia McHugh are Aiden and Mia, a brother and sister who are understandably upset when their mother reacts badly to news of divorce proceedings by killing herself. They blame the new woman (Grace, played by Riley Keough) who is due to marry their father (Richard Armitage). With that friction crackling away between them, the foursome head to an isolated holiday lodge. Maybe relations will improve. But strange things start to happen once their father is called away on business. Are they playing tricks on one another, or does it all have something to do with Grace's disturbing past spent within a strict and controlling cult?

Once again focusing on a pair of children who are acting oddly around a disturbed parental figure, Fiala and Franz certainly seem comfortable in their chosen niche. It's a shame that neither of their two main fictional features have so far been entirely successful. The Lodge works better than Goodnight Mommy, for the most part, because there is more interaction between the adult and the children, and there's a sense of tension that builds nicely, even if things fall apart once you start to think about them in more detail. The Lodge is actually quite ridiculous, but the final scenes at least make it worthwhile. This is a bleak film, and maybe not one to quickly reach for if you're currently experiencing a bit of the Lockdown madness most of us have had at one point or another this year.

The cast are pretty faultless though, with major props due to the talented young duo of Martell and McHugh. The script allows them to act in a way that is believably childish, emotional, and spiteful, and you're on their side from the earliest scenes. Keough has to be a bit twitchy and highly-strung for a lot of the runtime, but she does it all well. Armitage is absent for a large chunk of the movie, but is absolutely fine in his main scenes, and Alicia Silverstone puts in another of the wonderful little performances she has been accruing over the past few years.

Fiala and Franz have an impressive visual style, both this and Goodnight Mommy have a clean and cold look for many scenes (although The Lodge has a much colder environment being shown, literally), and I hope that they keep working hard on whatever might become the material that best matches up with their obvious talent. This is a step in the right direction, but still falls just a bit short of the mark to be really good.

6/10

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