Prospect (2018)

Sci-fi often feels like it only comes along in two forms, at least in the movies. You get the small-scale movies that allow people to make the most of one or two great ideas, and you get the big-budget spectacles. It isn’t often that you get something that seems to land between the two, especially something that actually succeeds in what it sets out to do. Prospect is one such movie though, and I was genuinely impressed by the world-building in this. It is all about ideas and people, but everything onscreen also presents a believable and well-realised future without ever feeling cheap.

It all starts with Damon (Jay Duplass) and his daughter, Cee (Sophie Thatcher), landing in a remote alien environment where they will spend time carefully harvesting gems from the dangerous environment around them. It’s not the easiest job, but the great risk offers great reward. Everything changes, however, when Ezra (Pedro Pascal) muscles his way into the picture. It soon becomes clear that Ezra and Cee will have to work together if they want to get things in order for a homeward bound journey.

Written and directed by Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl, expanding from their 2014 short film, this is a perfect mix of interesting ideas, good characters, and tech and alien life that is both believable and impressive. That doesn’t mean that the movie itself is perfect, which I will get back to soon enough, but everything is here in just the right proportions to deliver a tasty recipe for those willing to drink it all down.

The small cast is uniformly excellent, but both Pascal and Thatcher stand out, working so well together that it seems to solidify the notion of Pascal being the best choice for any story that requires a reticent father figure to help a youngster on a perilous journey. Both have good reason to mistrust one another, but both also choose to be surprisingly optimistic as they work together towards a common goal. 

Caldwell and Earl do what they need to do, focusing on characters and numerous small details to hint at the texture of a bigger and stranger universe onscreen, but there are a couple of small touches that stop this from being as great as it could be. A bit more time spent setting up the relationship between Damon and Cee could have helped, as well as some more context for the other characters that our leads interact with (e.g. how/why are they dangerous? what are the usual rules of engagement? etc). I enjoy not having everything spelled out for me, but I can’t help thinking that Prospect would have been improved with just a bit more information filling in some of the gaps.

Despite my nit-picking, this is a great bit of sci-fi, and a brilliant feature debut. I hope to see more from Caldwell and Earl soon, and it’s a shame that they haven’t already been attached to any other feature since this, although fingers crossed that we aren’t left waiting too long for whatever they decide their next feature will be. 

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Baghead (2008)

Although I had no idea about what to really expect from Baghead, I knew that I liked the people involved. The Duplass brothers were in charge of both writing and directing (with John E. Bryant also credited for creating a film within the film), and the cast included Greta Gerwig, currently being celebrated by almost everyone for helming Barbie and helping to turn the world happily pink, for at least a short time anyway.

The slight plot sees four people, two men and two women, head out to a cabin in the woods to relax and come up with some creative movie ideas. That’s a perfect horror movie premise, of course, and it isn’t long until someone gets nervous when they realise they are being watched by someone with who could best be described as a “baghead”, hence the title. It probably isn’t anyone outside the core group though, because who would want to get mixed up with this mass of insecurities, tensions, frustrations, and attempted betrayal. These adults often act like teens, especially when both of the men take a shine to the same woman (Gerwig).

Described in some places as a low-budget, lo-fi, horror comedy, Baghead isn’t something to rush to if you want scares or laughs. It has too few of either, although it certainly has a better blend of the two than some horror comedies I could point out. I am not trying to gate-keep here, not wanting to remove any genre credentials. I just don’t want people going in with the wrong expectations. What you get here is decent, it’s interesting, but it actually works best when looking at the ways in which people will manipulate the creative process for personal gain. It also looks at abuse of power in a small, but thought-provoking, way. 

Steve Zissis and Ross Partridge are the two main male characters, and both feel very well-suited to the Duplass brothers style. In fact, I was surprised that the brothers themselves didn’t take on these roles, but maybe they weren’t confident enough at this point in their career. Or maybe they just felt that Zissis and Partridge were better in the roles. Gerwig is as good as she always is, and she works especially well opposite Elise Muller (the older of the two, a bit more savvy, and able to deliver criticisms with a smile and a demeanour that makes them seem as if they could be compliments).  Jett Garner also has a small, but vital, role, and he does well enough, but it’s a relief that he isn’t part of the main group that we spend most of our time with.

I tend to like movies from the Duplass brothers, although I always feel as if I haven’t seen nearly enough of them. Don’t go into this if you want a horror or a comedy, or a mix of the two. Go into it if you want a Duplass brothers movie. It succeeds in that regard, with the talented duo using some genre elements to present moments that work on a couple of different layers. You could even begin to wonder if we should be as critical of what the brothers present as we are of what the men onscreen are planning, and I think that is absolutely part of the talking points being raised here. This is fun, odd, and very clever.

8/10

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Table 19 (2017)

Weddings can be stressful affairs. Stressful for those planning the whole event, and sometimes almost as stressful for those attending. What do you wear? What gift should you get for the happy couple? What table will you be sitting at? What can you do to avoid the best man, who you were going out with until very recently? Okay, maybe that last one only applies to one or two individuals, including the character played in this movie by Anna Kendrick.

Kendrick is Eloise, a young woman who ends up at the titular table at the wedding of her good friend. She ends up alongside Jo (June Squibb), who used to be the nanny to the bride, a young man named Renzo (Tony Revolori), a married couple (Bina and Jerry Kepp, played by Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson, respectively), and a man recently released from prison by the name of Walter (Stephen Merchant). This ragtag bunch start to learn a lot more about one another as the wedding day goes on, becoming more supportive and defiant in the face of dictated wedding roles. It's likely that these individuals will find themselves changed by the end of their experience, or it's equally likely that they will accept qualities they once thought they HAD to change.

Written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, based on a story that he worked on with Mark and Jay Duplass, Table 19 is a film that manages to embrace the dramedy/rom-com tropes it is using, while also throwing in one or two minor surprises that should make viewers smile. The tone is pitched perfectly, as is the way in which awkward moments aren't overdone. This material could have easily been far too cringe-inducing, or broad, or too bitter, but it isn't. There's no real substance to it either, mind you - these people always feel like movie characters in movie situations - but it's nice and simple entertainment.

The cast helps a lot. Kendrick can play this kind of role blindfolded, Wyatt Russell adds another solid performance to his growing, impressive filmography, playing the best man who is painted in a bad light by Kendrick (but is that really who he is?). Squibb is lovely, Revolori and Merchant provide a lot of laughs, and Robinson and Kudrow work well alongside one another, with Kudrow delivering a performance that might well remind viewers that she should really be given more roles like this, in terms of screentime and substance.

There's not much more to say about this. It's a small film that never really feels hampered by any of the decisions made (in terms of budget and shot choices, etc), and it's something that should work well enough for any couples looking for a choice to settle on for "date night". But I'm sure it won't often be cast up by anyone involved when they're rattling off highlights of their career. Pleasant and unspectacular would be the two main adjectives to apply here.

6/10

Folks can pick up Table 19 on DVD here.
Americans have the Bluray option here.