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Film reviews

Thanksgiving Review

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A holiday title with a horror vibe in November is like an extension of the Halloween season (even though the holiday has passed). Thanksgiving is a film that takes some of the real nightmares of the holidays and multiplies them by ten. Director Eli Roth is known for frequent grotesque scenes in his movies, yet with Thanksgiving he takes this to a new level. However, it is unfortunately one riddled with redundancies and inconsistencies. The film is set in Plymouth Massachusetts where the Thanksgiving holiday is a big deal for this small town. The intimate sense of community heightens the horror of what is about to take place. Although it takes place on Black Friday, it still feels like a Halloween slasher made with the bloody violence as the main form of entertainment with little story content. However, in this instance, it is not so enticing for the moviegoer. It ends up feeling more disgusting than inviting. Imagine the Scream franchise with its additional ingredients being Black Friday terrors and aftermaths. That is what the Thanksgiving experience is under the direction of Roth feels like and it is nothing more than mediocre.

Plymouth, Massachusetts is the supposed birthplace of the Thanksgiving holiday, as the first pilgrims were said to have landed and established their colony there. Ironically, now Black Friday sales are in full swing there at a store called Straight Market. The frenzy of the sale causes a riot where people end up dead or severely injured. A night of holiday shopping that turns into extreme violence as people get killed over silly items for sale. The many horrors of Black Friday spiral downhill in Thanksgiving. After the events at the Straight Market, a killer who wears a John Carver mask and is dressed as a pilgrim starts killing individuals one-by-one. Those who are killed are ones associated with the riots at the store. Teenagers are targeted and must figure out the pattern to halt the killer’s next victim. Those teens are Ryan (played by Milo Manheim), Gabby (played by Addison Rae), Jessica (played by Nell Verlaque), Evan (played by Tomaso Sanelli) and Bobby (played by Jalen Thomas Brooks). There are others involved but these individuals seem to be most important to the pattern of the killer. The town law officer is Sheriff Newton (played by Patrick Dempsey). As the slaughter continues with the masked killer in bizarre places at bizarre moments a link forms to the riot from the previous year of the Black Friday sale. A sale that went awry and stirs the pot for new terror, danger and deaths. This becomes an experience of repetitiveness of grotesqueness that is not so appealing and leaves the viewer unimpressed.

Roth is a director who likes to push the limits of violence, but more attention needs to be given to an engaging storyline over simply tossing around scenes of pure gore. The brutality of Thanksgiving is just a bore. It is not new, it is not much of an amazing experience, and it is poorly written and directed. It does perhaps give one pause to give into the urge of Black Friday shopping this holiday season. The addition of a killer to the holiday shopping spree was not scripted well to the extent that it did not lend an aura of excitement. It simply delivered graphic kills, unexpected discoveries, and continued to lack in the qualities of what a horror film should be—a eerily joyful experience. The mind of Roth has got some clever ideas, but it is focused too much on grossing his audiences out rather than inviting them into a world of amazement.

One of my least favorite films with the slasher vibe this year. With too many moments of stupidity and poor approaches, Thanksgiving is not much of a fun holiday experience. It is not funny or even astonishing, it is most unfortunately disappointing. Two out of four stars for this one.

Film reviews

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt Review

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The film opens with a scene of someone being taught how to fish. In that moment the instruction is strict yet encouraging. However, it is a moment of much deeper meaning that spans many decades and many lives. There is a pervasive feeling of loss and disconnect. There is sadness, frustration, cultural differences and confusion—that is All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.

The Mississippi setting of the film is one where poverty and daily routines are a challenge. The film makes observations of life from the past and present. It portrays moments of light and darkness in the good times and the bad. Strong writing correlates well with the cinematography in creating a sense of dramatic irony. There is drama with purpose in All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, however, the film leaves a trail of questions. What is the meaning behind the film’s focus on catching and preparing fish? What part of the drama serves the biggest purpose? The trail of hopelessness is in the form of a scavenger hunt for the good times for an individual in All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.

The Mississippi setting of the film is one where poverty and daily routines are a challenge. The film makes observations of life from the past and present. It portrays moments of light and darkness in the good times and the bad. Strong writing correlates well with the cinematography in creating a sense of dramatic irony. There is drama with purpose in All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, however, the film leaves a trail of questions. What is the meaning behind the film’s focus on catching and preparing fish? What part of the drama serves the biggest purpose? The trail of hopelessness is in the form of a scavenger hunt for the good times for an individual in All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.

The director and writer Raven Jackson is poetic in her direction with All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. The pacing may seem to blur in moments, but it makes sense in order to create a certain feeling for its audience. It helps the viewer feel the dramatics of All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. Many times, the film flashes back to the lake where the fishing moment takes place. Most of the film feels like a blur of an artistic project trying too hard, but then the realization comes that the lake setting holds together everything in the film. The setting of the lake is thepersonification of Mack’s life. The location of the lakesymbolizes the themes of the film. It rains by the lake, it shines by the lake, the water is clear, yet deep. The lake is where the meaning of Mack’s life has a form and a life that is destined to be inspiring. It is spellbinding.

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is an experience of dramatics that may try too hard in moments. I did not entirely love the experience; I appreciated its art form. It is a film which requires a certain mindset to watch in that takes on more of a literary approach to its storytelling over that of a typical big screen movie. The experience of the film felt like a literature class because of its use of the lake in the film like literary device paralleling the dramatic portions of the film itself. Three out of four stars for All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.

59th Chicago International Film Festival, Film reviews

Poor Things Review

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Director Yorgos Lanthimos is known for his brilliant use of bizarre and downright weird imagery; however, he knows how to blend these elements with success and brilliance. He builds resilience by pushing the envelope of his strange ideas as a director. He did so with The Lobster (2015), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017 and my top favorite of his), and The Favourite (2018). In Poor Things he turns up the volume on the grotesque factor combining humor, daring, and genius. It is definitely one of his most sexualized films, but also one where the context is intended for those who want to experience a film that is different and not one’s normal romantic or sci-fi adventure. The plot line is filled with twists and scientific anomalies which lead to hysterical and invigorating outcomes.

Poor Things takes place in a historic setting introducing Dr. Godwin Baxter (played by Willem Dafoe), a professional of unorthodox practices. His studies focus on bringing people andvarious creatures back to life. The film quickly moves into eerie and daring territory. His assistant is Max McCandless (played by Ramy Youssef), and he oversees moderating the experiments of the doctor. Baxter’s most ambitious project is Bella Baxter (played by Emma Stone). Bella has been brought back to life with a brain that is very undeveloped and out of tune. This has left Bella in a state where she is always anxious to experience new things, yet has no filter or social awareness. Her brain and thought processes are so muddled that she keeps pursuing activities that would be considered acts of public indecency. Although she is eager to feel out her new life, she does not know how to hold it together. Being under the care of Baxter and McCandless, Bella finds herself angry that her existence seems uneventful. Suddenly, Bella meets a lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (played by Mark Ruffalo). Bella falls instantly in love, and she runs away with him. Her undeveloped brain and state of mind are out of whack, but something inside of her is determined to feel connected to the world and find a sense of fairness. Bella’s struggle is that her brain is so sexualized thather behaviors remain highly inappropriate.

Stone’s performance is gutsy in her portrayal of a woman with such eager sexuality. Under the direction of Lanthimos, she depicts a creature whose sense of desired connection has become confused with satisfaction. It is a film where there areno limits. Also, Dafoe’s performance is fierce as Baxter, whoseego and fanaticism blind him to the reality that his procedures have failed. He is unrelenting in his efforts to get Bella back. Dafoe is a master of his craft despite the strange calling of his character. As for Ruffalo, he is playing an attorney who is taking a risk. One with a girl whose brain is undeveloped. The characterizations surrounding Poor Things are like those of Young Frankenstein on steroids.

Lanthimos often plays with the theme of matters getting out of control, and the consequences having to be dealt with. In this story, it is a situation of finding the right direction for Bella.With the film being two hours and twenty-one minutes long, heincorporates all kinds of scenarios to take her on a journey that explores what happens when desires are allowed to manifest themselves without restriction. The film begins in moments of black and white and then transitions to color. The direction of Lanthimos takes a serious approach like a dark novel, but then transitions to brilliant cinematography with an undertone of darkness. The performance of Stone craves for sex, love, experiences, and seeing the real-world. It is one wanting connection, but in the context of behaviors that are immoral. It does go intentionally overboard in some moments, forcing the viewer to question one’s own desires and constraints. That element is the genius of this film. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Poor Things.