Category: Film Review

The Visit is a hoot. Combining odd humor and effective doses of familiar horror tropes, writer/director M. Night Shyamalan dropped this film in theaters just about a year ago, and it did strong business and was met with favorable reviews. And I can see why. It’s a fun movie. Nasty, clever, silly, and funny in equal doses, the narrative pivots on the sadistic notion that your otherwise pleasant grandparents might be up to some really bad stuff in their seemingly comfortable country home. Working with the brilliant cinematographer Maryse Alberti (Creed, The Wrestler, Velvet Goldmine), Shyamalan actually created a legitimate reason for the found-footage presentation that he offers up, and as a result, the jittery camerawork coupled with fast edits can’t help but unnerve the viewer in more than one instance, even if a few lapses of logic prevent the film from feeling truly air-tight. The performances are all extremely well done by the two annoying-on-purpose kids (Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould) and the sinister elderly couple (Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie), with everyone getting their own individual moment(s) to shine while creating a hostile and potentially dangerous vibe as a group. Kathryn Hahn bookends the piece and is her usual awesome self. But it’s the level of humor in The Visit that really took me by surprise, as I’m always a big fan of movies that mix tones and aren’t afraid to be a little different. I hope the solid success of this film is merely a warm up to Shyamalan’s upcoming chiller, Split, because just from the trailer, that one seems loaded with promise.

I could cry just THINKING of this movie, let alone watching it from start to finish or in bits and pieces or for just 30 seconds. The amount of personal triumph that is explored and honored in this rousing true life football story can never be underestimated; underdog stories are rarely this emotionally rewarding and dramatically effective. Directed with heart and soul by David Anspaugh (Hoosiers) and written with grace by Angelo Pizzo, the film features a splendid performance from Sean Astin as the titular hero, a guy deemed too small by so many, but who had the courage and determination to never back down from any challenge. The final scene of this film leaves a massive lump in my throat, and I can’t help but cheer and sob when Rudy leads his fellow teammates out of the Notre Dame dressing room and onto the field, in front of thousands of screaming fans. There’s a ridiculous cast featuring then-up-and-coming actors like Vince Vaughn and John Favreau, with old pros Ned Beatty, Robert Prosky, Jason Miller, and Charles S. Dutton providing solid anchors for everyone in the robust ensemble. Oliver Wood’s naturalistic cinematography hits all the perfect notes on the field and off, while the tremendous musical score by Jerry Goldsmith goes beyond inspiring and into realms of the sublime. The film states in a text crawl that as of the time of the film’s production, no other Fighting Irish team member has been carried off the field since that happened to Rudy Ruettiger – I hope that this is still the case.

Sylvester Stallone’s blood-soaked 2008 Rambo reboot is an ultra-violent, nearly pornographic action flick that has very little else on its mind other than showing what happens when human beings are ripped apart by an assortment of small, medium, large, and extra-large fire arms, and in one particular instance, a rather famous knife. Seriously. There is an obscene amount of combat violence in this movie, all of it rather stunning to be hold, and if it becomes sort of computer-gamey because of all of the CGI blood-hits (what happened to good old fashioned squibs?), it’s no less rip-roaring and absurdly entertaining. The story that Stallone presents makes it easy to enjoy the carnage, as the baddies are beyond grotesque, rooted in some form of reality, and truly deserve what’s coming to them. The narrative hinges on Rambo being hired by a church pastor in an effort to save innocent missionaries who have been taken hostage by corrupt Burmese military units. And of course, there’s only one man who can save the day, and he’s more than ready for action.

You must give Stallone credit where credit is due – he refuses to give up as an actor and director and seems to be having genuine fun every time you see him up on screen. The plot of Rambo might be threadbare, but the action scenes are ridiculously gory and beyond over the top, at times begging to be immediately replayed as some of the individual moments of bloodletting are jaw-dropping. As captured by cinematographer Glen MacPherson, the film has a rough and tumble visual aesthetic, with lots of shutter retention and shaky-cam, which gives it a visual immediacy to match the insanity of the action scenes, which allows it to stand apart from the mostly PG-13 competition. People are SHREDDED in this pissed-off and hot-blooded actioner, with Stallone taking out his creative (personal?) aggressions on an enemy that more than deserves what’s coming. Whenever this one pops up on the HD movie channels, I can’t help but stop for a moment and check it out, as this is a movie that talks the talk and walks the walk.

A Bigger Splash is one of those films where the primary interest is in exploring mood, atmosphere, and style before anything else. This is a movie about textures, surfaces, and bodies, and how people give off vibes (positive or negative) just by occupying the same space as others, without having to say much at all. In fact, the absolutely mesmerizing Tilda Swinton turns in a nearly wordless performance as a laryngitis afflicted rock star that is hiding away with her hunky photographer/filmmaker boyfriend (Matthias Schoenaerts) off the gorgeous coast of Italy, looking to escape the madness of her exhausting profession. But then, coming on like a gale force hurricane, a rowdy and rather obscene friend from the past (the incredible Ralph Fiennes) shows up looking for a place to crash with his sexy daughter (Dakota Johnson). What all goes down is less important from a plot stand point and more interesting and involving on an aesthetic level; while I didn’t see the darkly funny final scene coming whatsoever, I found the script by David Kajganich to move in surprisingly expected fashion, never truly offering up any major surprises, but remaining fully engaging all the same. All of the performances are extra delicious, with Fiennes portraying one of the most obnoxious cinematic creations that I’ve come across in a while, while Swinton loses herself, yet again, in another transformative performance that takes on a variety of interesting angles due to her uniqueness as a human being; this is her ode to David Bowie. Schoenarets and Johnson both make for sexy eye-candy, while it’s interesting to note just how many individual shots linger on exposed flesh; there’s an earthy, sensual quality to the film that feels almost tangible, with an open sense of sexuality that was refreshing.

So what it might lack in originality from a story stand point, the director, Luca Guadagnino, makes up for when it comes to his high sense of style. This is a work that’s completely aware of the fact that it’s a “movie-movie,” which allows it some creative freedoms not normally seen. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie in recent memory that willfully breaks the 180 degree rule as often as A Bigger Splash does, while it was interesting to note how Guadagnino and his exceptional cinematographer Yorick Le Saux (The Clouds of Sils Maria, Only Lovers Left Alive, Swimming Pool) placed the actors directly in the middle of the frame, often looking straight into the camera, thus providing a sense of heightened artificiality that’s bracing to observe and tonally adventurous. His previous film, I Am Love, was another collaboration with Swinton, and while I preferred that effort to A Bigger Splash, his newest feels like a logical extension, as it’s yet another film with a dreamy and seductive atmosphere that feels as if it’s been painted in vivid brushstrokes. Kajganich’s script also revels in black comedy, and the actors are all up the task, playing characters that move to the beat of their own drums, never fully understanding anyone else but themselves, which results in a mildly detached feeling while observing all of the action, which has the potential for violence and suspense.  The film is based on the 1969 movie La Piscine, and derives its title from the famous David Hockney painting from 1967. A Bigger Splash is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD, and various streaming platforms.