Netflix And Chill: 1922 (2017)

There was a time when I considered Stephen King as the master of the short horror story. In fact, regardless of genre, he was a master of that form. That time has long passed though. He still puts out some great short stories, but they're not as effective, or short, as they used to be. 1922 is one such tale, having started life as a novella in the collection titled Full Dark, No Stars (alongside Big Driver, Fair Extension, and A Good Marriage, with only one of those tales still waiting for the inevitable adaptation from page to screen).

This is the tale of a family set to come apart. Wilfred James is a proud and hard-working farmer, unwilling to accept that his wife, Arlette, wants to sell their land and move elsewhere. With his son, Henry, on his side, Wilfred eventually sets out to do the unthinkable in order to maintain the status quo he wants in his life. Believing he has thought of everything, Wilfred soon starts to encounter a few wrinkles in his plan. Before you can say "tell-tale heart", things start to get increasingly strange and tense on the farm.

Adapted and directed by Zak Hilditch, 1922 is far from the worst of the many Stephen King movies we have had over the years. It just has the same problem that many others do. It's been a while since I read this tale, but I felt that the film added a fair bit of extraneous material that took time and focus away from the enjoyably simple central idea. You also get that sense of familiarity that comes with most King tales.

The cast help though. Thomas Jane is excellent in the role of Wilfred, a weak man who thinks he can sort all of his problems with one deplorable act, and Molly Parker does well in the role of Arlette, a role that obviously requires a lot less screentime. Dylan Schmid is their son, suitably changed by the fateful night that has him assisting his father in a heinous crime, and he also does good work. While the supporting cast features roles for Brian d'Arcy James (a standard friendly sheriff), Bob Frazer, and Kaitlyn Bernard, the only other standout is Neal McDonough. He's not used well, but he's Neal McDonough, able to make a strong impression even in the most minor of roles.

Competently put together, the production design, audio, score and all other technical aspects feel on a par with one another when it comes to a level of quality, it's just a shame that this never feels as if it gets into gear. Letting everything unfold at a languid pace, and with Jane's character rarely giving in to external displays of his internal stress and struggle, Hilditch arguably makes the mistake of treating the whole thing too seriously. I wouldn't want it filled with humour, don't get me wrong, but moving between the real horror of the premise and some more entertaining moments of mania could have allowed for even more full-blooded scares, complementing the growing dread and misery that fills up the second half of the film.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, apart from the kind of people who may want to watch every Stephen King adaptation ever made (aka masochists), but I also wouldn't strongly warn people away from it. Some will end up loving or hating it much more than I did, but I think it's fair to rate this as absolutely average as average can be.

5/10

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Mubi Monday: Madeline's Madeline (2018)

Directed by Josephine Decker, who also co-wrote the script with Donna di Novelli (although I suspect she wouldn't take full credit and would instead point to it being a collaborative, organic, experience), Madeline's Madeline is the kind of film that I usually tend to dislike. The main characters are generally insufferable, the style of the film attempts to be so overly natural and earthy that it feels fake, and it's got moments of people doing the kind of drama school schtick that you suspect many actors cringe about when they think back to whatever they had to do to pass whatever course they signed up for.

Helena Howard is Madeline, a young girl with a number of problems. It's never made clear exactly why she is on medication, but major mood swings and abusive tantrums seem to indicate a serious mental health issue (perhaps bipolar disorder, perhaps a form of autism) that affects her life, and the lives of those around her who care for her. The main carer for her is her mother, Regina (Miranda July), and the worst scenes in the film show her bearing the brunt of her daughter's rage. The one thing Madeline loves is performance art, and she seems to be very good at it. So good that a theatre director, Evangeline (Molly Parker), decides to use her more and more, allowing Madeline to just let everything out while they develop the project around her "character".

This is another film that has an interesting idea at the core of it, yet doesn't do the best it can with it. Unfortunately, in this instance, I'm not sure if Decker realises where the more fertile ground lies, which leaves viewers watching scenes in which the lead character is horrible before she is then finding her happy place while performing. The word cathartic may have art in the middle of it, and many of us are aware of the power of it, but it's perhaps not always the wisest move to indulge someone who may need a bit more care/aftercare to stay grounded and even in between the highs that performing can deliver.

The camera moves around people, and right up beside them. The soundtrack is made up of ambient noise turned all the way up, this is another one of those films in which we have to hear the breath of every main character. It's a choice made to throw viewers in amongst the cast, and perhaps show just how much Madeline takes in from the environment around her, but it works out to be nothing more than another annoyance in a film full of them. It softens some hard edges that should have been there throughout, as far as I'm concerned, and tries to keep viewers onside with a main character who just isn't very nice. You can have main characters who aren't very nice, be it their fault or not, and still make a film around them (especially here, because Evangeline is really the more horrible character, due to the fact that she should know better than to essentially abuse the situation). Decker doesn't do that here. She wants to, and perhaps thinks she has, but the script, and the stylistic choices, make this a failure in that regard.

Howard does well enough in the lead role, and there are decent supporting players, but the scenes that work best are those that involve July and Parker, both of the main adults viewing someone they care about from two very different angles. A better film would have brought out even better performances from them, I suspect, but they still remain highlights here.

It's horrible, it drags (I've seen 180-minute epics that felt briefer than this), and it doesn't manage to make any interesting comments on the central relationships. A huge missed opportunity. But, hey, at least you get enough moments of actors pretending that they're animals. Can you even call yourself a thespian if you haven't convinced people you were a cat for five minutes.

3/10

There's a Region A disc here.

Yule Love It: Pete's Christmas (2013)

Zachary Gordon is Pete, a teenager who wakes up on what will end up being the worst Christmas of his life. He's had to share a bed with his younger brother (Jake, played by Peter DaCunha) because of a visit from his grandpa (Bruce Dern). His parents (Molly Parker and Rick Roberts) have forgotten to get his present. He's ambushed by local bullies with snowballs, he also has to take part in an annual football game that he hates, and the dinner ends up not being cooked after a power failure. And, worst of all, Pete wakes up the next day to find that he's going to go through it all again. And again. And again.

Yes, it's another Christmassy riff on Groundhog Day (only this one isn't quite as enjoyable as the fun Christmas Do-Over), and there's a time loop that cannot be stopped until just the right lesson is learned, of course, which usually revolves around, well, I am sure you can guess.

Director Nisha Ganatra may not have stayed in this particular field, I think this is her only Christmas TV movie (to date), but writers Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer certainly settled into their groove nicely enough (Peter McKay also helped write this, but didn't follow them on their career path). This covers all of the bases well, and does a decent job of mixing the festivities with the timeloop fun. The main problem comes with some of the editing in the last third of the film, sometimes not making it clear enough how much time has passed, roughly, as we watch Pete try to perfect his day with varying degrees of success.

Gordon is decent in the lead role, and he will be a familiar face to many who have seen some of his extensive filmography (by the look of his credits, he has been acting since he was a very young lad), while Bruce Dern lifts the whole film up with his wonderful performance as the grandfather. The other cast members do fine, but the only one I took extra notice of was Bailee Madison, who possibly started acting at an even younger age than Gordon (most notably in Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark and Just Go With It) and did a few other Christmas movies at about this time, before moving on to a number of other projects.

Although it never really fulfils its full potential, Pete's Christmas is a fun, teen-friendly, holiday film that just about offsets the sugary schmaltz with enough moments that are genuinely amusing. I mean, I recommend dozens of films ahead of this one, including the time loop movies mentioned in the second paragraph, but if you're stuck with only the main TV channels and this comes on . . . you could do a lot worse.

5/10

There's a ridiculously pricey dvd here. Please click on the link and buy something else instead.
Or everyone could buy this cheaper disc from America.