A pretty odd selection of films here, I’ll admit. But I haven’t given myself enough time to write about each one individually, so…here we go. Mostly discussing the impressive Nosferatu and Nickel Boys.
Nosferatu
The remake of the horror classic. A film that came out over a century ago. Damn, that’s a long time in the movie world. I wanted to honour such an achievement by wearing the new SpongeBob hat I got for Christmas. Why, you ask? Because SpongeBob SquarePants was my first introduction to the famous vampire. Any written description won’t do justice to why and how this dude pops up in the animated show, so you’ll just have to find out for yourself by hopping on the ol’ YouTube.
For those not in the know, the original had no sound. No sound as in no vocalised speech, because technology hadn’t advanced that far at that particular point. Title cards illustrated context and speech, and live musicians would accompany on-screen events to give the cinema its own spooky vibe. No need for such fare here, though. Director Robert Eggers thankfully doesn’t go overboard on the dialogue front, but he makes sure words are carefully – and frequently scarily – spoken when necessary. The plot is largely the same as the original. Bad vampire dude convinces naïve businessmen to escort him over to his lands, lots of peeps die due to his insidious presence, and it’s up to a gal to save the day. Yep. There have been plenty of stories of audiences laughing when Lily Rose Depp’s troubled Ellen Hutter has fits of ecstasy as the scheming vampire pervades her psyche. None in this cinema I went to, though. Perhaps it’s because the English crowd are a bit more internalised and taciturn? Or maybe it’s that they respect the subtle art of cinema more? I hear American chaps are much more vocal in cinema spaces. I didn’t see the film at a particularly late time either, so perhaps the viewing crowd just weren’t sufficiently sloshed to vocalise their immature opinions. I’m not sure.
Eggers regulars Ralph Ineson and Willem Defoe are present and correct as medical folk who try and release Ellen from her mysterious fits, and Eggers newcomer Nicolas Hoult is introduced as Ellen’s concerned husband. Plus Aaron Taylor-Johnson is in here too. That dude’s been in a lot of joints over the past year, and this is one of his stronger recent performances. It’s also slightly unnerving to see Simon McBurney go all out crazy as Nosfertu’s assistant when my main reference for him is the polite guy drinking tea and buttering toast in Tinker Tailor Tailor Spy, but he definitely puts maximum effort into the madness aesthetic. And Bill Skarsgard is making a name for himself playing freaky villains. Not sure about the mustache choice, but he certainly makes an impact as the villainous vampire. It’s kind of a shame he’s on screen so much, though. The main element of fear from Max Shreck’s original creature was his limited screentime, allowing for more terror during the brief instances when he actually appears. Heck, the original scared the Swedish lads so much that they banned the film for 50 years on the basis of ‘excessive horror. True story. Anyway, not bad. Egger’s signature visual style is alive and well. A pretty strong effort overall, although it’s my least favourite entry in his filmography so far. That’s not a criticism, since all his other films are great. I just didn’t engage with the characters as much this time round.
Nickel Boys
One of the first things I heard about this flick was that it was filmed from a ‘Peep Show perspective’. If you know that particular show, then you know the comedic effect it can produce. But as director and co-writer RaMell Ross‘s film proves, the camera style provides ripe opportunity for moving drama and tragedy.
Based on Colson Whitehead‘s book of the same name, the camera shows the early life of Elwood Curtis in Jim Crow era Florida. After being labelled as an accomplice in a stolen car incident, however, his ambitious future is brought is cut short when he is sent to Nickel Academy (based on the real life notorious Dozier School). Corruption is clear from the start as Elwood watches from the confines of a car as white inmates receive preferential treatment from the academy administrator. Elwood only begins to find solace when he meets fellow inmate Turner, alleviating the horrors and abuse that aren’t directly shown. It’s at this point that the point of view camera swaps to Turner, which then goes back between the two men as the narrative unfolds. It’s a bold visual choice that pays off in spades, with silent images of hands wrapping material around fingers creating pathos and intrigue. It’s nice that Ross didn’t go for the typical internal monologue shtick, as we instead witness Elwood and Turner’s experiences directly while they respond to each other and the world around them. The POV choice has sparked criticism from some viewers who argued that the perspective is gimmicky and takes the viewer out of the film, but Ross’ sensory approach ultimately provides a novel, curious approach that reminds us that cinema can still provide us with wonder and bittersweet joy.
Pitch Perfect
Ok, Nosferatu and Nickel Boys were the main films I wanted to write about because I hadn’t got round to them yet. The others are going to be a lot shorter, because they’re just ones that were about to be deleted from the recording system so an update can be completed. Just so you know.
I’d heard some good things about this film, even though it didn’t seem like my kind of thing. And it turns out…it wasn’t. It really wasn’t. The plot took formulaic to whole new levels, and I didn’t appreciate the shmaltzy American plot. If I was into Glee or Mean Girls, I probably would’ve found something to enjoy here, but I’m not into either of those joints, so…I didn’t. It’s billed as a comedy, and it’s got plenty of songs in there too, but the laughs were non-existent and the songs were garbage. Admittedly, I’m not the target audience here, by the looks of it. It’s meh. Very meh indeed.
Driven to Kill
The next one on the list was this, uh, action movie. As soon as I saw the name Steven Seagal, I knew I was in for a treat. And if the sarcasm isn’t coming across nice and clearly over the text, well, here’s a hint. This is basically a schlocky revenge film in a history of schlocky revenge films that probably influenced more recent revenge films like Taken. And Seagal’s having a go at a Russian accent. Hoo boy. Wow. Not so great. He plays a former Russian mobster who goes on the revenge path after his daughter is seemingly murdered. Standard dumb action sequences, hammy performances and a third act that gets OTT gory. Fun to watch if you’re looking for a really bad film, but in terms of Seagal joints, you’d have a better time with Under Siege. Quite meh.
Jurassic World
Gotta be honest, I’m not even a big fan of the original. I know. Heinous. I wasn’t going into this one with big expectations, and I was pleasantly unsurprised. There’s not really much milage in regurgitating the same ‘oh no humans mess around with dinosaurs then dinosaurs go wild and violent’ concept. I mean, there is in the sense that this film made a huge amount of dollar in the cinema, as did the original, but the basic narrative doesn’t grab me. Solid meh.