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.

I Want Candy (2007)

Well, here we are with a British sex comedy. Let's all take a moment to wipe our minds before we go on. There used to be the solid reputation, often viewed with rose-tinted glasses, of the Carry On films, of course. And things got naughtier with "Adventures Of..." and "Confessions Of..." movies. But, let's face it, British movies have done better over the past few decades when they focus on the romance over sex. On the one hand you have a number of films featuring Hugh Grant, and on the other hand you have, ummmm, films like Fat Slags and Sex Lives Of The Potato Men (neither of which I can envision appearing on blu-ray any time soon).

So where does I Want Candy fit in? It's the tale of two students who want to make their first film. Joe (Tom Riley) and John AKA Baggy (Tom Burke) have a vision, and they have a lot of faith in their own talent. What they don't have is anyone willing to back them. Until they make a deal with Doug Perry (Eddie Marsan). Unfortunately, Doug is in the porn business, and the deal is made on the understanding that Joe and John have the hottest adult entertainment star, Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra), in their movie. It's then up to the young film-makers to come up with a plan that pleases everyone and allows them to get their film made.

Directed by Stephen Surjik (who has a hell of a lot of TV work in his filmography, with his biggest movie release being Wayne's World 2, back in 1993), I Want Candy isn't the kind of film that has any individual style stamped all over it. It's rude without being explicit, I may have already forgotten some details but I don't believe you ever see any actual nudity, the cast of main characters are ably supported by a decent enough ensemble, the soundtrack contains a cover version of the song with the same name as the movie, and the ending is completely unbelievable, but in line with the feelgood nature of the film.

A lot of people worked on the script, far too many than you would expect for something this lightweight. There was an "original idea" by Piers Thompson and Olivia Glazebrook, that was fleshed out into a script by Peter Hewitt, Phil Hughes, Jamie Minoprio, and Jonathan M. Stern, and then some further dialogue was added by Fred Wolf and Jimmy Carr, apparently (the latter has a fun cameo role that may have allowed him to improv some of his dialogue, or maybe he also helped with some other parts of the movie). And despite all of those people involved, it's never as funny as it could be. I suspect this is partly to do with keeping it a bit too tame, and also partly to do with not having the perfect cast in place.

Riley and Burke are good in their lead roles, they're just not great. Riley just doesn't have the charisma to sell his character as well as someone else might have done, and Burke is hampered by the script wanting to keep him very much in the "sensitive young artist" box. Marsan is a lot of fun in his role, the potential villain of the piece, and Electra just has to turn up and look incredibly desirable, which she does. Easily. Felicity Montagu and Philip Jackson are good value as Joe's mum and dad, Mackenzie Crook has fun in his role as a teacher trying to stay cool with the kids, and Michelle Ryan is the female friend who keeps being very helpful and loyal to a main character who cannot recognise something with the potential to blossom right under his nose (I am on about romance, that is NOT a porn term . . . I hope).

This isn't a terrible film. It's certainly not half as bad as those awful examples I mentioned in the opening paragraph. It's just not any great shakes. Relatively amusing enough while it's on, very easy to forget as soon as it's finished, and bottom of the pile when compared to other films in the same vein (the Risky Business type of film, arguably most successfully reworked as The Girl Next Door).

5/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

Anyone who knows my view on the Fast & Furious franchise should predict that I was optimistic, yet also very cautious, about this spin-off. The car-based core series has often entertained me, they peaked with the mix of action and ridiculousness in the sixth and seventh instalments, and then eight just went too far over into the kind of silliness that kept taking me out of the movie. This film, pairing up Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham for their own action-packed adventure, looked enjoyably silly from the first trailer I saw.

And it is. Which was a huge relief for me. This film makes it obvious from the very beginning that the central characters are almost superhuman and your brain shouldn't spend too much time calculating the odds of all of their plans and stunts being physically possible.

Written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce, the story concerns a deadly virus, a cybernetically-enhanced supervillain (Brixton, played by Idris Elba), and a young woman named Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) who has already tried to defeat Brixton, but finds herself defeated. Fortunately, Hattie is the sister of Shaw (Statham), which is why he is asked to help, along with the one person he really doesn't want to be paired up with, Hobbs (Johnson). This isn't a one-man job though, and working together may be the key to any chance of success, which would also basically save the world.

Directed by David Leitch (who previously did such good work on Deadpool 2), this is big dumb fun that runs for just over two and a quarter hours (do any major action movies nowadays manage to come in at a brisk 90 minutes?) and manages to entertain from start to finish, thanks to the comedic tone of the script, the charisma of everybody with a major role, and the pacing. The set-pieces are enjoyable loony, with as many challenges as possible thrown at our heroes while they generally outrun, out-think and out-fight everyone around them.

If you enjoyed the interplay between Johnson and Statham in Fast & Furious 8 (which, let's be honest, was at its best when they were onscreen) then I don't see any way that you wouldn't enjoy this. They remain amusingly antagonistic towards one another, and competitive when it comes to who can despatch the most disposable henchmen, and both men get an equal amount of time to show off. Elba is a fantastic villain, and he appears to be having a lot of fun in the role, and Kirby is as good as, if not better than, anyone else onscreen, with a tough attitude and a badass skillset ensuring that she can hold her own in any of the major action sequences (including a scene in which she believably takes on Johnson). Helen Mirren reprises her role, as the mother of the Shaws, and entertains once again in her one main scene, and Eddie Marsan is good value in a small supporting role, a Russian Professor who may be able to help ensure the virus can't harm others.

Plenty of punches are thrown, you get a few moments of vehicular mayhem, there are a couple of fun cameos (which I won't spoil here), and those who are patient enough to sit through the end credits will be rewarded with numerous little extra scenes, which are also a lot of fun. I doubt anybody is going to spend too much dissecting this, or searching for hidden meanings or metaphors, because it's absolutely not that kind of film. But I am pretty certain that it will please most action movie fans, and be on regular rotation when it comes to the home media market later in the year. I know I'll be getting it, and am already looking forward to a rewatch.

8/10

Prime Time: The Convent (2000)

A film that feels very much like it could be an instalment in the Night Of The Demons series, The Convent is the third feature film from Mike Mendez, who was already comfortable with his approach to making fun, modern horror movies full of energy and homages. It's one of his weaker films, especially compared to the likes of Gravedancers (which would be his next feature) and Big Ass Spider! (released in 2013, do check it out), but it's definitely of interest to genre fans.

The main premise concerns a group of youthful men and women who decide to break into a local, allegedly cursed, convent. They plan to get up to typical hijinks, but all of that goes out the window when it soon becomes clear that the convent is host to at least one demonic presence. And a grand plan can start to be put in motion once again if a virgin can be procured and ritually sacrificed. Perhaps the one person who can help is the one person everyone assumed was mad after she attacked the convent residents many years ago. Especially as she is played by Adrienne Barbeau.

With plenty of silly character interactions, evil creatures with neon-tinged veins and blood, and logic quickly sidelined in favour of extreme silliness, including a scene in which Coolio (yes . . . Coolio) and Bill Moseley play a couple of cops, this is a film about fun ahead of anything else.

Joanna Canton is the lead, even if her character feels quite thin, and others involved include Megahn Perry, Liam Kyle Sullivan, Renée Graham, and more, but once you know that Adrienne Barbeau is in the cast list you just end up waiting for her to show up, and the film steps up a notch once she appears, being as tough as fans like her to be.

Mendez directs competently enough, working from a script by Chaton Anderson (who also gets a small onscreen role), and this is the kind of silliness that accompanies the more horrifying moments with some sharp editing and . . . lively music on the soundtrack. It's not about tension, at least not once the opening scenes are out of the way, and it's not about well-rounded characters you want to see make it through the night alive.

The Convent is not big or clever, and it's not trying to be. It's a film uninterested in depth, instead just hoping to provide viewers with some thrills, some laughs, and a fun 80 minutes, which is a perfectly good aim to have, especially when it succeeds. It's not a complete success, I admit that I would have liked some moments that were actually suspenseful, and some more gore gags would have also helped, but it's lightweight fun for those in the mood for it.

6/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Book Of Monsters (2018)

A little girl is being told a scary bedtime story by her mother. All is well and good until a monster appears, drags the mother away, and kills her. Many years later, that little girl has grown up to be Sophie (Lyndsey Craine), someone due to celebrate her 18th birthday with a party full of her friends, and some people who don't like her at all but will turn up just to have their own fun. Which means there are plenty of disposable victims around when monsters start to show up and kill people, monsters that are in a book that Sophie's mother used to make notes in. It's up to Sophie and her friends to battle the numerous beasties, from a shape-shifting demon to a beast that looks like a crazed plague doctor, and even some deadly gnomes.

Made possible thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, Book Of Monsters is a real melting pot of fun moments and enjoyable elements. The practical effects are all generally very well done, the cast do alright, and it moves briskly enough from one battle to the next once the monsters make their appearance.

Director Stewart Sparke and Paul Butler collaborate once again, after a number of previous projects that I'll probably check out at some point (The Creature Below sounds right up my alley, at the very least). Both men have a firm enough grasps on the basics of their craft, and they certainly do plenty to make best use of every budgeted coin, but they seem to have gotten so good with the budgeting that they have forgotten how to set aside less interesting ideas. And allowing contributors to pick specific elements not only leads to both good (a birthday gift that leads to another spirit encounter) and bad (monsters being killed by dildo), but also leaves the film feeling like what it is, a mish-mash of ideas that have been thrown into the mix in a way that stops the whole thing feeling consistent and cohesive.

Craine is decent in the lead role, and Michaela Longden also does good work (as Mona), while the others help contribute to the inconsistent tone. Arron Dennis isn't too bad, as a male stripper who ends up caught up in the nightmare, but I can't help thinking that someone else could have done better with that role, and fans of films based on the work of Clive Barker will enjoy the cameo role for Nicholas Vince.

Essentially a riff on Goosebumps that's aimed at adults, Book Of Monsters has a few decent bits of bloodshed and some impressive creature design. And then it also has some killer gnomes, for no reason other than I guess people thought killer gnomes would be fun (and some viewers like that sequence, I am not one of them). There just wasn't enough here to win me over completely, not at any point, but that doesn't stop me recommending it to others, especially if you want a rental to enjoy with some snacks and beverages of your choice. Sparke and Butler deserve some praise for what they've done here with their limited resources, I just wish that it was something I was more entertained by. Which is an odd thing to say, considering how much it tries to please everyone at different times.

5/10

Check it out here.

Mubi Monday: Enemy (2013)

Sitting in between the less mainstream, but no less interesting, films from director Denis Villeneuve, Enemy is a dark and strange film that boasts a fantastic dual performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, some interesting themes being explored, and a head-scratching ending that feels much more surreal and nonsensical than it actually is.

Gyllenhaal plays Adam, a teacher who seems to enjoy his quiet life. His weekdays are taken up with work and he usually sees his girlfriend (Mélanie Laurent) at weekends. His world changes, however, with the discovery that he has an exact double in the form of an actor, Anthony, and he decides that they should meet. But that may just makes things stranger, and may lead to a spiralling chain of events that include mistrust, anger, and arachnid-infused nightmares.

Based on a novel by José Saramago, Enemy is a dark and compelling psychological drama that rewards multiple viewings, and also retains enough ambiguity to allow viewers to have their own interpretation of events. There are clues, probably even pointers, generously sprinkled throughout the first half of the film, but they still don't point to any one, definitive, conclusion. Well, not in my mind.

Villeneuve knows exactly how far to push things, working with a fine script by Javier Gullón that takes time to observe the main character in between a number of defining moments. Everything has an air of menace and foreboding about it, emphasised by the dark visual style (not murky, but this feels like a film with a hell of a lot of dark brown used in the colour palette), and that doesn't disappear as you realise that a number of the external cues may just be representing the state of mind of the main character.

Although he has many performances that could contend for the title, Gyllenhaal once again proves why he's one of the most watchable actors of his generation as he portrays Adam and Anthony here, two men who may be physically identical but certainly seem poles apart when it comes to personalities. Laurent and Sarah Gadon (playing Anthony's partner, Helen) both do great work in roles that could have easily been further sidelined in favour of more screentime for Gyllenhaal. They're not big roles, or handled as well as they could be, but both actresses do excellent work, reminding you at all times that these are very important characters in the story, even when they're not onscreen. There's also a cameo from Isabella Rossellini, who provides more information that could help sway you towards one definite conclusion, yet once again proves far from definitive.

Enemy is a film I have thought about often, since I first saw it a couple of years ago. It's not one I will revisit often, but I WILL revisit it. And I doubt I will ever stop appreciating the little touches throughout - the character beats, the dialogue, the design work, etc. I recommend others seek it out, if you haven't seen it already.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Netflix And Chill: Blindspotting (2018)

Blindspotting is an incredible film. There's no point in trying to keep you waiting to hear my view on it. Because I'd like everyone to rush off and watch it immediately, before or after reading this review. It's not really thought-provoking, sadly, but simply underlines the huge problem of systemic racism that doesn't seem to be getting any better (particularly in the USA, but it's not a uniquely American issue).

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal (who also wrote the movie) star as, respectively, Collin and Miles. Collin is just finishing up his probation, after serving some jail time, and he wants to get that out of the way. One night, while driving home, he is shaken up when he sees a man chased down by a police officer and shot. This serves as a timely reminder of just how slippery the slope is for someone like himself, now a black man with a felony on his record, and how he would most likely suffer much worse consequences for his actions than Miles, who is hot-headed and problematic, but less likely to be shot by officers thanks to his white skin.

The first, and only, feature directed by Carlos López Estrada (I'll be very surprised if things stay that way), Blindspotting works as a great piece of entertainment throughout, but it also maintains an added layer to it that lends weight to every moment and builds tension in a number of ways that allow viewers to also consider their own blindspots (whether they are intentional or not). Much like a certain scene in Get Out, this is a film that has extra tension when it wouldn't necessarily play out that way with a white protagonist, and it's those moments, as much as the incredible finale, that make you realise just how often you might be choosing to ignore the reality that others around you are very much living through.

As well as their sterling work on the script, Diggs and Casal are perfect in the lead roles. Diggs is very easy to like, and he's not painted as an angel, despite the fact that his friend is the one who causes the most trouble. Casal, for his part, has enough charisma and energy to make his character much more tolerable than he otherwise would have been. Get the wrong actor in that role and the whole film is unbalanced. Janina Gavankar does well in the role of Val, someone Collin may have some kind of relationship with, depending on how he moves forward in his life and what she can see in him when it is being clouded by mistakes and misplaced loyalty, and Jasmine Cephas Jones is equally good as Ashley, the partner of Casal's character. Ethan Embry appears for a small, but pivotal, role, and you also get a fine little turn from Ziggy Baitinger, a sweet child actor involved in a couple of sobering moments, and cameos from Wayne Knight and Leland Orser.

On the one hand, it can be quite saddening that a film like this has to be made, and even more saddening that it probably won't reach those that need to see it the most (including the people who feel the need to reply to "black lives matter" with the tiresome "all lives matter", which is on a par with replying to tales of sexual abuse and harassment with a reminder that it is "not all men"). On the other hand, this is an incredible, intelligent, effective way to get across an important message.

9/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Shudder Saturday: Soulmate (2013)

A well-handled debut feature from writer-director Axelle Carolyn, Soulmate is a film that uses supernatural trappings to explore something very grounded, which is namely how difficult people can find it to move on after losing a loved one.

The first person we see suffering is Audrey (played by Anna Walton). She has recently lost her husband, and attempts suicide at the very start of the movie. She then rents a cottage, where she hopes to have some time to rest and get better. Unfortunately, the cottage still has a spirit residing there, in the shape of Douglas (Tom Wisdom), a young man who managed to commit suicide after the death of the woman he loved. After an initial fright, Audrey starts to find herself enjoying conversations with Douglas, despite warnings from a local couple, Theresa (Tanya Myers) and Dr, Zellaby (Nick Brimble). Audrey thinks they are either not wanting to believe her or not wanting to condone her actions, but perhaps they are just thinking of her safety.

Inevitably too slow and uneventful for anyone seeking standard horror movie thrills, Soulmate is best viewed as a straightforward drama that happens to also feature a ghost. If you're hoping for either The Conjuring type levels of spookiness or The Ghost And Mrs. Muir type levels of humorous interaction between a living tenant and dead "squatter" then you'll be disappointed here. This looks at a number of people adversely affected by loss. Although Audrey and Douglas are the main focus, it also becomes obvious that there's something drawing Theresa to the cottage, and its inhabitant, and the third act draws things together in a way that you suspect may not play out well for those involved.

Carolyn does well enough, the film looks good and the script develops the characters in a way that lends more weight to the words and actions as things head towards the finale, but it all feels a bit like something too stagey at times, despite one or two scenes set outdoors. It's a chamber piece and, as such, feels more like the kind of thing you could catch on TV in the evening than a film you would seek out on streaming/disc.

Although not perfect in their roles, everyone does decent work. Walton is a very good lead, mainly just because I like her and would like to see her in more roles that don't have me spending the first few minutes thinking I am watching Rebecca Ferguson, and Wisdom gets to play his ghostly character without any clichéd ghostly mannerisms. Myers isn't as good, but does fine in her role, and Brimble makes the most of moments that have him warning of a danger he won't explain in any more detail. There's also a very small, welcome, role for Emma Cleasby at the end of the film.

It's always a bit tricky when reviewing a film like this to find a balance. You cannot "punish" it for not being the film you expected it to be, yet it's also not good to praise it too much just because it does something a bit different, as admirable as that is. There really should have been a few more scares scattered throughout this, or some more gripping drama between some of the main characters. As it is, the end result sits uncomfortable between the two worlds, not entirely unlike the sad male ghost at the centre of things.

5/10

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Rats: Night Of Terror (1984)

Although starting off feeling like a hundred other Italian post-apocalyptic movies, Rats: Night Of Terror quickly settles in to being the enjoyably daffy creature feature you should be expecting after the first few scenes. It delivers the rats, both real and obviously fake, and it delivers some fun gore gags.

Set in a year after the big bomb has gone off, things start with a group of 11 roving survivors discovering an abandoned area that they think could make a good base. There seems to be some food, some decent resources, and maybe even some decent drinking water. There are also a lot of rats. And the rats don't want these interlopers around, unless they can be turned into rather snacks. So the battle begins.

From director Bruno Mattei, this is a film that may not please animal lovers (because you know a number of rats were very likely harmed during the making of this), but will certainly please those who love entertaining schlock. The screenplay, by Claudio Fragasso and Hervé Piccini, actually does a decent job, in terms of setting up the various characters and planting the seeds of ideas that all come to fruition in the second half. It's not so decent when it comes to conversation and arguments, making the middle section a bit of a slog at times, but I have suffered through numerous Italian shockers from this time that had much weaker screenplays leading to much less satisfying payoffs.

And then there's that final scene, which is as demented as it is quite brilliant. A classic moment that, once seen, will never be forgotten. Part of me wants to just detail it here, and part of me wants everyone to watch the movie as soon as possible, if only to enjoy that one moment.

Geretta Geretta stars as Chocolate, one of the female gang members, and you also get main roles for Gianni Franco, Ottaviano Dell'acqua, Massimo Vanni, and more (often listed under different names, depending on which print you see). Nobody is a true great, although I have a soft spot for Geretta (thanks to her most memorable turn as Rosemary in Demons), but they all react with suitable - maybe even too much - panic as the rats become more and more dangerous to them.

If you're in the right mood for this, and I think you know what mood that is, then Rats: Night Of Terror is a very entertaining bit of hokum. If you don't think you'll ever be in the right mood for it then, well, look on in bewilderment as other genre fans discover, and enjoy, it.

6/10

You may be able to order the movie here.

Sixteen Candles (1984)

Ahhhhh, Sixteen Candles. It's a film I have very fond memories of. I have owned it on VHS, I have owned it on DVD, and now I own it on a shiny blu-ray. And others feel the same way. It's also one of the most problematic '80s teen movies that isn't focused on sex (those films are on a whole other level, and I'm not wanting to get into an argument about them at this time). I'll get into all that soon enough.

Let me start by saying that I can accept what Sixteen Candles is, just as much today as I did back when I first saw it in the 1980s. It is a teen film that speaks to a certain demographic of teens, and features a cast impressively made up of many actors who actually were at the same age as their characters. Molly Ringwald is decent in the lead role, Samantha, and the plot revolves around the devastating (when you're that age anyway) fact that her family have forgotten that it is her 16th birthday. They're all busy prepping for her big sister's wedding. Samantha also pines for older hunk, Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling), and has to fend off the attention of a young geek credited as Geek (Anthony Michael Hall). Although she doesn't know it yet, Jake has taken an interest in Samantha, although he's currently going out with the gorgeous and popular Caroline (Haviland Morris).

With a great soundtrack, decent performances from the main cast members (Hall has always been my favourite though, and I also love the silly performances we get from Gedde Watanabe, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, and even a number of the adult characters), and the standard moments of wish-fulfilment, this is a template-setting directorial debut for Hughes, who was largely responsible for the stardom of Molly Ringwald in this decade, as well as the chart success of a number of musicians featured on the soundtracks of his movies.

Sixteen Candles still makes me laugh, although I laugh less than I used to. It bounces along from one almost-surreal moment to the next with so much energy that it's almost hard to think too critically about it as it plays out. Much like any big party you attended while at high school, things take on a different hue when you are recovering after the main event.

So let's discuss the problems with Sixteen Candles, problems that seem way more obvious now, but should also have been pretty obvious when it was first released.

A lot of people mention the fact that Jake is willing to give away his drunken girlfriend as if she's a) just a piece of his property he no longer has any use for, and b) deserving of whatever happens because of her drunken state and sexual confidence. They also mention the cringe-inducing inclusion of an Asian character named Long Duk Dong (name often accompanied by a gong sound, yes . . . a gong sound). The horribly inappropriate grandparents, the horny geek who won't take no for an answer, you've probably heard about these problems already. There are other problems though, some that we are perhaps only more attuned to nowadays. Like the following exchange -

Randy: And a big Trans Am in the driveway with a ribbon around it. And some incredible gorgeous guy that you meet like in France. And you do it on a cloud without getting pregnant or herpes.
Samantha: I don't need a cloud.
Randy: Just a pink dress and the guy, right?
Samantha: A black one.
Randy: A black guy?
Samantha: A black Trans Am, a pink guy.

That may look light and amusing enough,  but watch the film and the shock of Randy when she thinks her friend is on about "a black guy" and it just feels like an unnecessary reminder that writer-director John Hughes delivered films that were almost uniformly sliced up chunks of whiter-than-white Americana, no matter what bitter pill may have been slipped into some scenes. And that's not even mentioning the moment that has Jake Ryan gaslighting his girlfriend as he dances with her while thinking about Samantha.

It was always clear, I think, that Hughes was writing for a specific target audience. The lack of diversity in his cast (beyond class and clique archetypes) now sticks out like a sore thumb, although I am not sure I would ever want to hear him try to lend his voice to a central African American character. He wrote for those he felt he could identify with, or at least give a voice to.

Which is why, despite the problems, Hughes movies will always hold a special place in the hearts of those who discovered them at just the right age. As silly as it may seem, he wrote teen characters in the way we wanted them to be. They were very rarely realistic, or able to see beyond their own selfish problems that seemed huge, but there was a truth to the core of many of them. Because we always wanted to be better than our reality anyway, whether that means being the coolest rebel, the prettiest girl, the edgiest outcast, the nerdiest of the nerds, or any other pigeonhole we could fully inhabit and call our own. And when it comes to not being able to see beyond selfish problems that seem huge, that is most of our teenage years. Sadly, thanks to my arrested development, I think that lasted right up until my late twenties. I am glad that nobody was around to record the many conversations I used to have with friends when we thought we knew about love, life, sex, and heartbreak.

I've waffled on a bit more than I intended to, mainly because I didn't initially want to give as much time to addressing the aspects of the film that more enlightened modern viewers may take issue with. But I think it is important to remember that, taken as a whole, Hughes was trying to do something good, in giving teens their modern cinematic dream scenarios, and also giving young females a number of role models, even if they often ended up just wanting to end their school term with a perfect date/Prince Charming. We've moved on a lot since then, in many ways, but teenagers still spend an awful lot of time thinking about these things. We just forget how many hours in the day were spent dwelling on such issues, because we grew up and realised that our lives would more likely be directed by Mike Leigh than John Hughes.

7/10

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Prime Time: The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

Having explored the highs and lows of a developing and unraveling relationship in the superb Blue Valentine, director Derek Cianfrance followed it up with this exploration of parenthood, and the decisions that have repercussions for future generations. This doesn't have the weight of the preceding film, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, but it's still very good.

Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a carnival stunt bike rider who struggles to figure out the best way to move forward when he finds out that he is the father of a child after hooking up with a woman named Romina (Eva Mendes). He somehow, thanks to some none-too-indirect nudging from a man named Robin (Ben Mendelsohn), decides that he can provide best for his son by robbing banks and using the ill-gotten gains to provide for those he loves, even if Romina is now with another man (Kofi, played by Mahershala Ali). Crashing into this scenario comes relatively new cop, Avery (Bradley Cooper). Lives will be irrevocably changed, and the plot starts to writhe and wind towards a melodramatic finale.

A film about people doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, or the right thing for the wrong reasons, or just generally making mistakes that can lead to consequences more serious than they could ever have envisioned, The Place Beyond The Pines is a film that will resonate with anyone who has tried to be responsible for a loved one, whether you managed it or felt you let them down.

Written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, and Darius Marder, this is all as effective as it is simplistic. It could easily have become soap opera stuff, or just downright tedious by the time viewers waited over two hours to get to the expectedly convergent climax, but the cast, and the assured direction, make it very much worthy of your time.

Everyone I've already mentioned does great work, often sitting alongside their very best, but there's no small amount of pleasure to be derived from a cast of supporting players that includes Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Harris Yulin, Bruce Greenwood, and both Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan, the last two playing two children who end up connecting in a way that you just know is going to bring some things to a head.

If you've seen the trailer for this movie then you may already think you know where it's going. Gosling hurtling through woods on his dirt bike. Cooper as the good cop. Clouds of tragedy hanging over the main characters. You'd probably be right with a lot of your guesses, but there are one or two interesting developments that will also keep you on your toes. And being able to stay a step ahead of the plotting, for the majority of the movie, doesn't take anything away from the impact of what's being shown.

7/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Hey, I am as surprised as you might be to be saying this, but maybe more people should check out Alita: Battle Angel. It's not necessarily going to become your new favourite movie, it's certainly not going to placate you if you've been spending some time recently seeking out quality cinema with great actors delivering ear-tickling dialogue, but it's a fantastic bit of escapist fun, set in a world full of cool little details and wonderful production design.

The film starts off with Christoph Waltz, playing a Dr. Dyson Ido (and his surgical work now involves a lot of engineering or robotic parts), finding a discarded cyborg body that he then rebuilds and reactivates. The cyborg is Alita (Rosa Salazar), a young woman who strives to remember her past, and who ends up having a number of much bigger cyborgs tasked with ending her life.

Based on a manga (Gunnm AKA Battle Angel Alita) by Yukito Kishiro, Alita: Battle Angel comes to the screen courtesy of a screenplay by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis and direction from Robert Rodriguez. As ridiculous as it may seem, considering some of their achievements throughout their careers, none of these names are the draw they once were. People tend to actively mistrust Cameron nowadays, with good reason, considering how many times he has done his bit to sell us on Terminator sequels of ever-diminishing quality. Everyone is on good form here though, and it's refreshing to see Rodriguez back at the helm of something that is looking forward rather than trying to emulate the past (he does the latter well, but it's a well he's gone back to a few too many times throughout his career).

The cast help to sell everything, especially Salazar in a role that transforms her into the wide-eyed central character and Waltz as the fallible human who kicks things off. Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali are enjoyable as the people who are manipulating events to direct Alita towards dangerous confrontations, Keean Johnson is the pretty male/potential love interest, and a couple of the main mean cyborgs are played entertainingly enough by Ed Skrein and Jackie Earle Haley.

But don't go thinking I am praising this as a near-perfect cinematic experience. While it delivers on the eye candy, and it really does (I was relieved to see that Rodriguez could still do well with action scenes), it's also full of good quality cheese. The script is silly and clunky, especially in the few moments in which it tries to have characters showing some real emotions. It's easy to forgive, however, as we're taken from one gorgeous sequence to the next (whether it's just a crowded street scene or a violent sporting tournament).

I'm not sure if we'll ever get any other instalments after this one, it didn't seem to do as well as expected at the box office, but I do know that I'll try to catch them on the big screen if we do. For sci-fi action blockbusters that enjoy pretending they have some depth to them, this is one of the better examples we've had in recent years.

7/10

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Mubi Monday: The Elephant Man (1980)

The Elephant Man has always struck me as the most un-Lynchian film in the filmography of David Lynch (although someone did recently remind me of The Straight Story, which I have yet to see), and yet it is no less worthwhile, or rewarding, for fans of his work.

Based on the true life story of John Merrick (played under a load of make up by John Hurt, with a performance that I would argue remains his finest achievement), this is a fairly straightforward look at someone who was viewed as a freak for most of his life. And even those who sought to help him ended up falling into a trap of occasionally putting him on display for the benefit of others. The main person to try helping Mr. Merrick is a doctor named Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who decides to home the man in the hospital he works at, helped in his endeavours by a matron (Mrs Mothershead, played by Wendy Hiller), and the governor of the institution (played by John Gielgud).

Describing various moments from this movie would easily make you question my opening paragraph. There are some nightmare and dream sequences that certainly wouldn't be out of place in other Lynch movies, and nor would the idea of evil making visits in the guise of various humans. But here, couched within a film that has such a strong emotional core in the plight of Mr. Merrick, it all feels a bit different. The darker, sometimes surreal, touches are just that. This is a story told respectfully and effectively by Lynch, with incidents in the script (co-written by himself, Christopher De Vore, and Eric Bergen) that show why it would appeal to him, cinematically.

The performances are brilliant across the board. Hurt gets all of the praise, and rightfully so, but he's rivalled by the beautifully restrained, for the most part, turns from Hopkins, Hiller, and Gielgud. Freddie Jones and Michael Elphick are far less restrained, playing the kind of nasty and abusive individuals who wouldn't look out of place in a classic Dickensian tale (which this very much feels like), and you have a number of familiar faces in smaller supporting roles: Anne Bancroft (who gets a few wonderful main scenes alongside Hurt), Dexter Fletcher, Hannah Gordon, Lesley Dunlop, Pauline Quirke, and Kenny Baker.

The black and white cinematography is gorgeous, whether scenes are crystal clear or murky when showing the smoke-filled and less hygienic back lanes of London, and Freddie Francis deserves no small amount of praise for his contribution as director of photography. In fact, this is a film in which I wish I could namecheck everyone, from the make up team to the costume designers and on and on. I always remember that film is a collaborative effort, and am always aware that when writing reviews I am picking and choosing the "main names" to discuss, but The Elephant Man is a classic that simply emanates care and hard work from every frame, making me feel more remiss than usual in not listing every credited contributor.

If you have seen this before then revisit it some time, when you can handle something serious, rewarding and moving. If you haven't seen it yet then get to it, and do it as soon as possible.

9/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy a disc here.

Netflix And Chill: Girls With Balls (2018)

The main premise of Girls With Balls is a decent one. A female volleyball team ends up endangered when they are stuck in the middle of nowhere, and viewed as great sport for some dangerous locals to hunt and kill. But the killers don't count on the girls being so strong and determined. If only they can actually work together as a team then they may just get out of the situation alive.

Mix the strained friendship dynamics of The Descent with any number of films from the "hillbilly horror" movies we've had over the years and, once you've added a bit of volleyball action, you end up with this. Although not interested in any real level of suspense or scares, you do get a horror comedy that deals in a nice selection of over the top gore gags, most of them amusing enough thanks to the sheer amount of blood spilled and damage caused.

Where Girls With Balls falls down, unfortunately, is in all of the moments that aren't based around the violence and death. The characters and various relationships aren't as strongly developed as they could be, the villains (headed up by an entertaining Denis Lavant) are mostly an anonymous mass of hooded figures, and the comedy doesn't work half as well when it isn't being accompanied by sudden sprays of blood.

The cast all try to do their best, with a number of them managing to stand out, despite being given only one or two main traits. Manon Azem is the most competitive one, and also the most selfish when it comes to staying alive, so she stands out from the others. Anne-Solenne Hatte is the captain, and obviously has her moments. Camille Razat is adorably ill-prepared for fending off murderous bad guys, especially as she takes the time to confess to some big mistake to a team-mate who doesn't want to hear it, and Louise Blachère is brilliant as a nerd who turns badass in this time of crisis. Victor Artus Solaro is fine as the coach, and Margot Dufrene is the other main player worth mentioning, but she gets a bit lost in the mix, along with one or two others.

It's unsurprising to see that director Olivier Afonso, who also co-wrote the film with Jean-Luc Cano, has a background in makeup and special effects. This is his directorial debut and it's easy to see that he tried to work with material that would play to his strengths. Perhaps next time he will manage to balance things out a bit better, although this is a decent bit of fun for his first effort.

6/10

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Shudder Saturday: Strange Behavior (1981)

Filmed in New Zealand, but set in Illinois, and considered by many to be an Ozploitation flick, Strange Behavior is a very odd experience. And it's not a very satisfying one, which is a shame when you consider how well the premise could have worked.

A number of teens are turned into killers. A local police officer (John Brady, played by Michael Murphy) believes it may be the work of Dr. Le Sange (Arthur Dignam), who happens to be deceased. Perhaps his work is being continued by a loyal assistant, Gwen Parkinson (Fiona Lewis). Whatever is really going on, Brady needs to get to the bottom of it, even before he realises that his son (Pete, played by Dan Shor) has been dragged in to the plan.

Directed by Michael Laughlin, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Bill Condon, Strange Behavior is almost an entirely flat and unexciting time for the duration (and it runs at just over 100 minutes). Very few of the supporting characters are memorable, occasional set-pieces just appear and then end, without any feeling of being properly framed for maximum impact, and even the third act lacks any decent scares or tension. I suppose it is also structured in a way that is supposed to have viewers looking forward to the central mystery being solved. If anybody else watched this and cared about the resolution of the mystery then please let me know.

As well as lacking any decent thrills, Laughlin also wastes almost his entire cast. Okay, Murphy and Shor are okay as the older and younger Brady men, mainly because they get the most screentime, but Lewis doesn't have half as much fun in her role as she should have been allowed to have, Dignam is used to have a sly bit of fun that just doesn't work, and Louise Fletcher, perhaps worst of all, is just sidelined for much of the film. Louise Fletcher. If you get her to take a role in your movie then, dammit, you should make that role as good as she deserves it to be.

There may be some people reading this who think I missed the entire point of the film, which is a homage to certain films of the 1950s. Unfortunately, I don't think it works in that regard either. Those making the film had a choice to either make a straight horror, make a homage, or make something that landed somewhere between the two. This works as none of those things, and one sequence featuring a character wearing a Tor Johnson mask isn't enough to convince me otherwise.

I know there are some people out there who seem to enjoy this one. I just struggle to think of anything that would appeal to most film fans.

3/10

You can get a pack of discs here (R1).

Pet Sematary (2019)

You probably already know all about Pet Sematary. You may have already seen this movie. Or you saw the trailer, that gave away one big twist that the film used to distance itself from the 1989 original. Or you saw the 1989 original (lots of people view that one with fondness). Or maybe, just maybe, you read the book before any of the movies appeared. I was in a peak Stephen King period at that point in my life, devouring many of his works, and read it as soon as I could. I was old enough to enjoy it and still young enough to somehow miss the obvious fact that it was the ultimate way for King to rework one of his favourite ever tales, "The Monkey's Paw".

Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz are Louis and Rachel, a married couple with two children, Ellie (Jeté Laurence) and Gage (played by twins Hugo and Lucas Lavoie). They have just moved in to a new home, somewhere that seems potentially idyllic for them. If it wasn't for that road nearby that sometimes has large trucks hurtling down it. There's a friendly neighbour (Jud, played by John Lithgow), at least, and he is the one with some extra information when they discover that somewhere on their land is the titular "pet sematary". Tragedy strikes. The nearby ground has powers. Sometimes dead is better. All of those three things will converge in the second half of the film.

It's a shame that Matt Greenberg helped to write the screenplay for 1408, one of the better Stephen King adaptations in the last fifteen years. A shame because that may lead you to believe that his work here, fleshed out by Jeff Buhler, will be good. It's really not. In fact, it's ridiculously lazy in places. Whether making changes to the source material that don't seem to be for the better or failing to shake off the spectre of the original film, Pet Sematary shambles from one bad decision to the next. It's telling to say that some of the better moments here feel so enjoyable because they could easily have come from any late '80s/early 90s Stephen King movie adaptation.

The casting is the best thing here. And that's working around the fact that the lead actor is Jason Clarke, a man who surely owes his career to being occasionally confused for Joel Edgerton by harried casting agents. I've seen him do decent work onscreen but he's rarely the best choice for any lead role, and doesn't have much charisma that you expect to find in most leading men. Fortunately, Seimetz is much better, and you have Lithgow doing the best he can to put his own spin on the character of Jud (no small feat when you remember how great Fred Gwynne was in the original). The children are also very good, with Laurence given more opportunity to shine than either of the Lavoie twins. And kudos to the cats involved (oh, animal lovers be warned, the death of a cat is the real turning point in the plot).

Directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer have done some great work together. Starry Eyes remains a film I will happily recommend to any horror fans after something different. Seeing them churn out something so ill-judged and poor is slightly depressing. It made a profit, although I am not sure if it was a good enough profit to please those who keep count or just enough to ensure people kept their jobs, so I am sure that they will get more work after this. I just hope they go back to doing something of their own creation.

The original novel or the 1989 movie, take your pick. Both of those options are much better than sitting through this. And I couldn't even be bothered to mention the new incarnation of Zelda (played this time by Alyssa Brooke Levine), all too familiar to fans of the original, but also with another pointless change that adds nothing to this empty experience.

3/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Dragnet (1987)

Although I wasn't aware of the character of Joe Friday, or the TV show Dragnet, by the time I saw this movie, it didn't really matter to me then, nor does it matter to me now. The main characters are established quickly enough (this isn't complicated material) and it's obvious that our lead is someone who still feels rooted in a past that has a slightly different kind of police officer dealing with a slightly different landscape of crimes.

Here's the typically 1980s, buddy cop, take on the material anyway. Friday (Dan Aykroyd, playing the nephew of the famous TV show character) is given a new partner in the shape of Pep Streebek (Tom Hanks). The two of them could hardly be any more opposite in nature. Friday is meticulous, organised, and polite, Streebek is a fairly happy-go-lucky slob. While investigating a number of bizarre thefts, the two lawmen stumble on to a nefarious plan that involves ritual sacrifice, murder, chemical poisoning, and the virgin Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul).

Another film often forgotten by people who probably, and with some good reason, dismiss it as a lesser comedy outing from the decade, Dragnet is absolutely not some kind of classic that is due for rediscovery and reappraisal. It is, however, exactly what you may want when seeking out a simple and entertaining comedy, boosted by two talented leads who work well with one another.

Aykroyd does well as the fastidious and ever-polite main character, a role that restrains him in a way that works well for the laughs, and Hanks is in his peak careless manchild comedy phase. Harry Morgan makes the transition from the TV show (as Gannon, now promoted from officer to Captain) and there are fun performances from Christopher Plummer, Elizabeth Ashley, Dabney Coleman, Kathleen Freeman, as well as a number of other supporting players. Paul is appropriately demure as Connie Swail, although she's not given much to do beyond being the maiden in distress.

Director Tom Mankiewicz also co-wrote the movie with Aykroyd and Alan Zweibel, helping to get both the tone and look of the movie right. Despite the modern-day setting, it's very much a believable world in which someone like Friday could be working his beat. There are numerous nods to the show, the familiar soundbites you expect to hear are delivered, and the main theme tune is given a fun reworking by the Art Of Noise.

A perfectly valid choice for some easygoing entertainment when your work week is done, you want to enjoy some unhealthy food and beverages, put your feet up and exclaim "Thank God, it's Friday!"

And it also has this, which is absolutely a favourite '80s movie soundtrack bonus (no, I am not being sarcastic)

7/10

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Prime Time: Imitation Girl (2017)

As I am sure others will have mentioned in reviews, Imitation Girl is an independent sci-fi drama that bears more than a slight resemblance to the magnificent Under The Skin. That's not to say that this covers exactly the same ground, or that it should be judged harshly because it doesn't manage to be on the exact same level as that film, but it's interesting to note the similarities while also recognising the little turns that take it down a different path.

Lauren Ashley Carter stars as Julianna, a young woman earning a living in the world of adult entertainment. She doesn't seem content, but also doesn't seem to know exactly what changes she wants to make in her life. Carter also stars as an alien visitor, first seen as a puddle of black sludge, who takes on the form of Julianna and starts discovering just what it means to be an Earthling.

Written and directed by Natasha Kermani, only her second feature after a number of shorts and TV work, Imitation Girl is equally impressive both for the level of care given to the technical side of things and the fact that Kermani doesn't ever take the easy option (especially when it comes to showing Julianna at work). Instead, viewers are treated to a slow-paced look at two physically identical individuals who, despite their very different origins, are both looking for a way to feel comfortable in their own skin.

It's a good job that Carter is in the lead role because she's a consistently great actress who puts in yet another fine performance here. Two fine performances, in fact. Moving through a full emotional range (including the times when she is figuring out a number of different sensations and how they make her feel), Carter conveys everything about her character in ways that are often subtle and silent. Neimah Djourabchi and Sanam Erfani both do well in main supporting roles, a couple who help the imitation girl settle herself in her new environment while they look out for her safety. Catherine Mary Stewart is also good in a small role, someone who knew Joanna some time ago and offers her an opportunity to perhaps take a different path, and both Stefanie Woodburn and Marsha Stephanie Blake do well with their small amount of screentime. Oh, there's also an appearance by Lewis Black, for one scene (inessential as it is), and that covers most of the main people involved.

Not that any of them really matter. No offence to them, it's just that I could easily have watched this film with minimal human interaction, as long as Carter was still delivering her brilliant performance at the heart of it all.

Although it makes one or two mis-steps, including that scene with Black, this is a great slice of sci-fi that explores the human experience. I'd happily rewatch it some time, and I hope that others seek it out. Kermani is definitely someone to keep an eye on in the future.

8/10

You can check out ways to see the movie here.

The Secret Of My Success (1987)

Michael J. Fox was a huge part of developing my love for film during my formative teen years. Part of that was due to the amazingness of the Back To The Future movies, part of that was due to his charm and skill, and part of that was due to the fact that he was so prolific throughout the '80s and '90s. Not every one of those films worked, even with him trying his best in the main roles, but I can't think of any that are complete failures. I'm sure that many other people never want to revisit what may be deemed his lesser films, but I am hoping to one day see if I can still enjoy them as much as I used to (although I am doubtful).

If The Secret Of My Success is anything to go by, I might end up being pleasantly surprised.

Fox plays Brantley Foster, a small town boy who heads to New York in order to make his fortune, and a great life for himself. Unfortunately, the job he was due to have ends up falling through. It's a tough market, which leads to Brantley eventually asking for a favour from his uncle, Howard Prescott (Richard Jordan). Although not TOO close, Howard gives Brantley a job in the mail delivery department. Desperate for an opportunity to prove himself, Brantley manages to make the best possible use of some empty office space. He's focused on his path up the career ladder, apart from the times he's being distracted by his attraction to Christy Wills (Helen Slater), or when he's being seduced by an older married woman (Margaret Whitton).

The sharp script, by Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr. and AJ Carothers, is full of energy, small digs at the wasteful nature of corporate culture (and just how easy it can be to remain in employment while coasting along), and elements that come together well for a couple of standout farcical sequences.

Director Herbert Ross isn't the sort of person to stamp his own identity over any film, instead making the most of the stars and ideas that he's working with (as shown in the likes of Play It Again, Sam, Footloose, My Blue Heaven, and many of his other projects). This is no bad thing, however, especially when working with the right stars in the right roles.

Fox is definitely right for the lead here. He's wide-eyed enough to play some moments more innocently, yet also able to convince when shown building his determination and development. Slater is acceptable in her role, although she would rarely be my first choice for any role of this type and Jordan is enjoyably callous, and enjoyably ignorant of "our hero" making his moves around him. But Whitton is the person who almost steals the film entirely, and certainly steals most of the scenes that feature her making Fox far too comfortable, and then far too uncomfortable. John Pankow and Christopher Murney are fun in their supporting roles, and there are very small, but enjoyable, turns from Fred Gwynne, Mercedes Ruehl (playing a waitress), and Bruce McGill (another company employee).

Another plus is the soundtrack, which includes songs from Yello, Katrina & The Waves, Pat Benatar, Bananarama, and some other people who aren't as well-known.

If you can overlook some of the scenes and attitudes that are undeniably . . . '80s then the rest of the film remains a fun fantasy about a young man who is chasing his dream. That dream just happens to be one that involves him becoming a major player in the business world (not exactly rock 'n' roll, but a dream is a dream is a dream).

7/10

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Mubi Monday: Half Nelson (2006)

Ryan Gosling plays Dan Dunne, a history teacher who seems to do well with the kids in his class, despite the fact that he doesn't work with the standard curriculum, and he also has a drug addiction issue. Discovered one time by young Drey (Shareeka Epps), a bond is created that may or may not lead to big changes for them. Although that depends on whether or not either of them can actually change. Dan is held fast in the grip of his addiction, Drey seems to be heading down a path alongside a dealer (Frank, played by Anthony Mackie) who considers himself a friend to the young girl.

The first fictional feature helmed by the film-making team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (both wrote the script, Fleck directed), after a few shorts and a documentary between them, Half Nelson is in line with a lot of their other work, and also remains one of their best. It manages to strive for realism at times without being too grim, puts the main character through the wringer while never losing a sense of optimism, and everything is anchored by some damn fine lead performances.

Gosling is his usual understated self, a likeable presence that you keep rooting for throughout (because surely he can help kids more if he can get his life back on track), and Epps holds her own alongside him, a young girl somehow defying the odds as events around her conspire to nudge her towards some potentially-damaging life choices. The fact that Mackie, the important third point in this defining relationship triangle, manages to not be the kind of character who makes your skin crawl while you boo and hiss at him until he goes offscreen again is testament to both how good his acting is and how carefully the script works to shade every character.

You can easily view Half Nelson as something we've seen many times before. At heart, it's a tale of a teacher and student who may end up learning from one another. But it becomes more complex when you add the drug addiction. And it becomes even MORE complex when you start to break down the characters and their motivations. I just mentioned Mackie doing well in his role, but Boden and Fleck use their casting to also, perhaps, distract us from the fact that Gosling, as well-intentioned as he is, could end up causing just as much harm to young minds by failing his students, in terms of classroom ethics and also how he could work as a role model.

The look and sound of the film is what you would expect from such low-budget indie fare. It all looks good, don't get me wrong, but it's a mix of scenes infused with a warm glow and the low soundtrack weaves in and out in a fairly unobtrusive manner. Most people speak in a fairly low, intimate, tone and camera focus is a low priority to show drug-induced haziness.

Highly recommended if you like the acting style of Gosling, if you appreciate Mackie as much as he should be appreciated, and/or if you are a fan of other films you have seen from Boden and Fleck.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.