Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story (2022) Review

Title: Knives Out 2
Year: 2022
Director: Rian Johnson
Country: US

Language: English

I had tickets to Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story (hereby called Knives Out 2) at Toronto International Film Festival in 2022. Unfortunately I couldn't go, so I sold the tickets...for $100 each! The film was so anticipated that it had sold out in hours & tickets were selling second-hand for as high as $300. In a few weeks it will be out on Netflix, but I knew I had to see this picture on the big screen so I went to my local Cineplex,

Famed Southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) travels to Greece at the behest of an eccentric billionaire (Edward Norton). 

Knives Out (2019) was a breeze because the murder mystery at play was a tour de force in showmanship and storytelling. We're never meant to be amateur sleuths playing a guessing game, but rather on a whodunnit? rollercoaster. Knives Out 2 (2022) carries over this formula in a stranger setting (eccentric billionaire's island) with even weirder characters (Batista as a twitch superstar).

Throughout the picture Director Rian Johnson makes us chuckle with scattered bits of humor that seem random at first, but become more important during the second half. Much of the enjoyment come from the actors playing such quirky characters so straight & having such barbed dialogue being thrown at their ineptitude. "One should not confuse speaking without thought for speaking the truth."

Rian Johnson's approach to the murder mystery- setting expectations and then defying them, add to a riveting picture that, like an onion, has layers upon layers. There's an undeniable pleasure in watching the script unfold in ways that add more nuance to the story and characters within. Every "twist" is intelligently thought out, even if the characters are dumb as bricks. 

The Fabelmans (2022) Review

Title: The Fabelmans
Year: 2022
Director: Steven Spielberg

Country: US

Language: English

My fascination with cinema has given me a love-hate relationship with the filmography of Steven Spielberg. At times I feel like he's phoning it in; making a picture just to appease his corporate masters (Kingdom of the Crystal Skill). At times I know he is a master of his craft; creating awe inspiring works that deeply affect me (Schindler's List). When Spielberg is at his best it's a sight to behold. The Fabelmans is one of his best.  

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret.

As autobiographical as Spielberg can get; The Fabelmans is a remarkable self-mythologizing picture that explores Spielbergs' childhood & deep dives into the power of cinema. Film can expose us to harsh truths about ourselves and the world around us. Film can expose our vulnerabilities. It can bring us together or be used purely for escapism.  

The Fablemans is an incredibly well made picture; I'm certain it will be nominated in nearly every technical category at the Oscars. It's a deceptively "normal" film (in the sense that it isn't a visual spectacle like Wakanda Forever) that quietly plucks away at your wall of security. Rarely do we get a picture so touching and mature. 

It's hard to gather words to describe a picture as nuanced as The Fablemans. I was thoroughly impressed & I would certainly re-watch it as there is much I likely might have missed my first viewing. It's a great film. The best film that is currently playing in theatres. 

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) Review

Title- Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Year: 2022
Director: Eric Appel
Country: US
Language: English

Co-written by Weird Al himself, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story delivers on its premise of being very weird indeed. Lately musical bio-pics have become incredibly trendy in Hollywood, 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody was a great critical and commercial success, and this film seeks to deconstruct those films by satirizing the hell out of them. It's humour is on the level of the cult classic This is Spinal Tap (1994).

The film explores every facet of Yankovic's life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like Eat It and Like a Surgeon to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.

Weird is an absurd comedy that takes you on an unexpected ride and keeps you on your toes throughout the run-time. Even though you know it's a comedy, some scenes will have you in awe, "that didn't happen in real life!" It's stupid, I'll admit, but a joyful stupid that speaks to the creative spirit in us. 

The actors do a great job at playing their roles as straight as possible. The actors give outrageous lines, like "Give up your hopes and dreams." & "Were you playing the accordion in the closet!?' with the upmost sincerity, which adds to the comedy.  I like that the movie doesn't break the fourth wall or wink at its audience. We are smart enough to "get" what is going on.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is an enjoyable movie that left me in a great mood after watching it. It's hard to reveal much of the plot without spoiling any hilarious moments. I expected this film to be good and it went above my expectations. 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) Review

Title: Wakanda Forever
Year: 2022
Director: Ryan Coogler
Country: US
Language: English

After Chadwick Boseman's death, Marvel could have decided not to make a sequel to Black Panther (2018) and nobody would have blamed them for it. This film directly addresses' his death in the opening credits and the story is thematically about the nature of grief. Each character deals with their grief in a variety of ways which drives an ever-growing conflict about Wakanda's resources.

Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), and the rest of the Wakandans fight to protect the kingdom of Wakanda from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death.

With Black Panther (2018) I enjoyed the socio-political conflict at the heart of the movie; "Should Wakanda use their resources to help the World?" I particularly liked that the villain, Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)., was not entirely in the wrong & that our hero had to learn a lesson. This grey area of socio-politics also translates to Wakanda Forever. The central issue has no easy solution and the Wakandan Kingdom has some deep seated issues to fix. 

Despite my praise for the grief driven story, I felt there were a lot of obvious technical issues with Wakanda Forever. The lighting is terrible; too many dark scenes that had me squinting, wondering what I was supposed to see. The cinematography lacked a sense of space; the lack of depth was very apparent. Event shots of supposed "expansive" kingdoms felt small and claustrophobic. 

I didn't particularly like all the shouting matches that were going on in Wakanda Forever. How did any of these people become leaders when they're so obviously mentally unstable? The film does tell an intriguing story & has important themes, but it's presented like a picture with 1/10th of its budget. 

Town Bloody Hall (1979) Review

Title: Town Bloody Hall
Year: 1979
Director: D.A Pennebaker
Country: US
Language: English

Town Bloody Hall compares having a debate to a wrestling/boxing match. It is a fascinating time capsule from an era where even the most controversial subject matter was still civilly discussed, as people were legitimately curious about understanding -and discussing- opposing ideologies. Rather than squash thought, people sought to expand their mind. 

In Town Bloody Hall  infamously macho author Norman Mailer shares a 1971 NYC panel with an audience of intellectual women and famous feminists discussing the socio-pollical discourse of the women's liberation movement. 

Mailer is joined onstage by feminists Jill Johnston, Jacqueline Ceballos, Diana Trilling and Germaine Greer. Though the feminists all share a disdain for Mailer, each one has a remarkably diverse argument that is not necessarily aligned with the other. It's an intellectually proactive discussion that makes political theatre quite thrilling. 

The cameramen of Town Bloody Hall weren't actually allowed inside New York's Town Hall and thus the secretive hand-held camerawork feels as raw and vigorous as the debate it captures. Rarely still, the camera does a great job at panning across the stage and audience; giving us revealing shots regarding the mood of the crowd and panelists. This improvisatory type of filmmaking is quite an achievement. 

Despite the incredibly dated views of Norman Mailer (in a documentary provided with the Criterion edition it seems he changed some of his ways) Town Bloody Hall is a fun picture that will inspire you to write a socio-pollical article or join a debate team. Pre-Twitter and MAGA, these "civil" yet disruptive debates seem to be a relic of the past. 

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) Review

Title: All Quiet on the Western Front
Year: 2022
Director: Edward Berger
Country: Germany
Language: German

Adapted from a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I (1914-1918), All Quiet on the Western Front proves to be an expansive breathtaking look at the true nature of "The Great War". It's an appropriate picture to watch this Remembrance Day; 104 years after the Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany. The true terror of trench warfare seems fully realized in this German picture. 

The film is about a young German soldier's (Felix Kammermer) terrifying experiences and distress on the western front during World War I.

Graphic and disturbing, the atmosphere of All Quiet on the Western Front immerses you in the terrors of the trenches. Though epic in scope, we do not witness a glorification of war but rather an intense condemnation of it. There is no frame that suggests war is anything but brutal, ugly and barbaric. Even shots within posh trains look cold and callous. 

All Quiet on the Western Front is a great achievement, particularly in cinematography, editing and sound but the story does feel a little too familiar in story. At times it was hard to distinguish this compared to 1917 (2019) and Hacksaw Ridge (2016). It's a survivalist picture, but we don't really "get to know" the personality of our main character. It'd be nice to know what he was trying to go back to. 

Everything about this picture is big. The music is loud and memorable; the acting is top notch; the makeup is impressive; the sound design will inspire. All Quiet on the Western Front is quite a great cinematic experience, even though it will make you feel awful for witnessing humanity at its worst.