The Reel World

“Maybe it’s all psychological.”

The Killing of a Sacred Deer takes its title from the tragedy “Iphigenia at Aulis” by the Greek dramatist Euripides. I’ve published more than 800 reviews for this site, and that’s almost definitely the most pretentious opening line I’ve ever written. That might sound like an insult, but it’s actually quite fitting for this deeply unsettling movie, which uses a series of grandiose and idiosyncratic flourishes to explore one of the oldest and simplest concepts known to mankind: “an eye for an eye.”

"Well, I tried to start a revolution, but didn't print enough pamphlets so hardly anyone turned up. Except for my mum and her boyfriend, who I hate. As punishment, I was forced to be in here and become a gladiator. Bit of a promotional disaster that one, but I' m actually organizing another revolution. I don't know if you'd be interested in something like that? Do you reckon you'd be interested?"

DC has finally gotten a recent comic superhero movie right with Wonder Woman. We'll know in just a few days if they can bring the streak to two films when Justice League hits the box office this month. Marvel, on the other hand, has a streak going that dates back to 2008

"Once upon a time there was a great war that brought so much sadness to so many people. Hardly anyone could remember what happiness was like. But something happened that changed all that..."

“Winnie the Pooh doesn't know what to do …” starts a popular song written by Kenny Loggins, recorded first in 1970 by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with a more popular and enduring version by Loggins And Messina a year later. Hundreds of millions of children since the 1920's know who Winnie the Pooh is. He's the happy-go-lucky bear who lives in the 100 Acre Wood with Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga, and Roo. But Pooh's best friend of all was a young boy named Christopher Robin.

Thank You For Your Service is an enterprising look into what is like for some soldiers who return home from war. Some come back to find life has gone on without them, and so have the people they hold most dear. Some return only in body, with their minds reliving things that happened to them over there. Others will do anything just to go back, because that is the only reality that makes sense to them. All three of these circumstances are portrayed in a way that will hit close to home for some while allowing others an enriched perspective that will have them uttering those words with more emphasis than they would have in the past, “Thank you for your service.”

As a director, George Clooney just hasn’t managed to reproduce the magic he had in his first effort Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.  I keep hoping that we’ll get another film at that caliber, but it seems over and over it is a swing and a miss.  Now he has his new film Suburbicon, and this could be his most divisive work to date.  There is nothing wrong with adding a social commentary to a film, but sometimes adding it can be a distraction from the film.  In the case of Suburbicon, it is a tale of two films that couldn’t be any more different from each other.  First we have a tale of a family attempting to keep their lives together following a home invasion, and then we have the story of a black family moving into a white neighborhood and the backlash that follows.

Andy Serkis is mostly known for pioneering the industry of motion capture performance. Most of you may not know that he's worked a bit behind the camera as well. He's led a few second units as director but had not actually directed a feature film. Breathe is his first effort, and while it has some truly nice moments, it looks like a first effort. I have no doubt that Serkis will be eventually demand notice as a director. He demonstrates an incredible base of knowledge when it comes to filmmaking. He certainly understands how to make an emotional connection with characters that aren't really there. The skills are evident. But I suspect Breathe won't be called upon in a future list of Andy Serkis masterpieces.

Based on a true story. We see those words preceding a lot of films these days. It's almost as if we've started to chronicle our big moments via the cinema. If a story is tragic enough or portrays outstanding bravery or courage, you can expect it to eventually get a feature film. I can almost predict the big films of 2020 or so just by looking at the headlines in 2017. It's become a little overdone for my tastes and can often appear exploitive in nature. These films are often devoid of originality. Of course they are. They're based on something that real life has already written. I've seen bumper stickers that say "God is my co-pilot". I'm waiting for him to get some screenplay credit or a chair in the writer's room. Of course, he'd be expected to start paying dues to the Writer's Guild. There's also the added problem that the audience already knows how the film is going to end.

When I first heard about The Snowman, this was a movie that got me excited, that we could possibly have a great thriller to look forward to. At one point Martin Scorsese was attached to direct the film. He eventually backed out of the project, though he is still credited as an executive producer for the film. To step in for the directing duties, Tomas Alfredson got the call, and it’s his involvement that initially got me excited. Back in 2008 Alfredson directed Let the Right One In, which I consider to be one of the greatest horror films to be released in decades. It’s hard for some directors to meet expectations when their first films are such a success.

Action heroes are very much like sports superstars. So much of what they do is tied to their physical ability, and eventually time catches up to them. For sports figures they either try and accept it and go out on top, or they taint their legend by trying to hang on. The same can be said for action heroes, except there is a third alternative. Some action movie actors learn to adapt their material to their current skill level. Clint Eastwood, while not really an action star, was known for physical roles. He found a way to age quite well on screen with films like Unforgiven and Gran Torino. Jackie Chan appears to have learned that lesson, and The Foreigner, while not in the same stratosphere as Clint's last staring efforts

Up front I’ll tell you that the movie Happy Death Day has so many twists and turns that you would think you were on a wild ride at Universal Studios.  The fun but deadly storyline is a cross between Scary Movie and Groundhog Day, and the maze of thrills will have you spooked out until the very end. Or what you think is the end, so don’t get up out of your seat until it’s ALL over. Carrying the perfect movie rating, PG-13, the filmmakers sneak in what most teens are looking for without having to have a parent on hand to watch over them.  It’s has some rude stuff woven into the storyline and even some partial nudity that’s nothing more than a rear-end shot.  The shockers are the cool part, with the ugly killer popping in without notice.  Actually, when you feel the stalker is coming, it’s already there.