MOVIE REVIEW: THE SUBSTANCE

 

Elisabeth Sparkle, renowned for an aerobics show, faces a devastating blow on her 50th birthday as her boss fires her. Amid her distress, a laboratory offers her a substance which promises to transform her into an enhanced version of herself.

Director: Coralie Fargeat

Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Edward Hamilton Clark, Gore Abrams

Release Date: September 20, 2024

Genre: Drama, Horror

Rated R for strong bloody violent content, gore, graphic nudity and language.

Runtime: 2h 20m

Review:

Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance is a wickedly twisted satire about aging in an appearance obsessed society that gets crazier as it barrels into its finale.  Fargeat's film makes great use of striking visuals to create the elevated sense of reality to drive home how the old are so incredibly old and decrepit while the young are practically bursting at the seams with vitality and sexual energy.  She makes great use of colors throughout to create a striking series of images that are bound to leave an impression for a variety of reasons.  The story itself is thematically loaded outside of the most obvious aspect of it all especially as it turns into a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde conflict that pits an older and younger version of yourself against each other.  It’s an interesting angle that adds a lot more depth to the entire thing as it turns into a meditation on what we are in our youth and how it affects our older selves.  Needless to say, there's plenty to chew on after it all ends and the film is so cartoonishly over the top to drive home its point that it might be a bit too much for some people.  Demi Moore is fully committed throughout as she dives headfirst into every aspect of the incredibly unglamourous role.  Her performance gives a solid sense of the character's internal turmoil as she tries to cope with aging as she's thrust aside the moment a younger, hotter starlet hits the scene.  She's shot in every unflattering light imaginable and that's before things get decidedly stranger and more grotesque.  On the opposite end is Margaret Qualley who is shot like she's constantly in the world's horniest soda ad or aerobics videos.  Qualley leans into it with glossy eyed aggressiveness and lip biting that set her sex appeal to a thousand.  Dennis Quaid serves as the stand in for every gross man you've ever met.  Quaid is deliciously over the top every time he pops up onscreen with the extreme close up of his face channeling the uncomfortable invasion of space these kinds of guys are prone to.  They are all fascinating performances, but this might be a career best for Moore who just goes for broke even during its finale.  The finale act does start to suffer a bit as the film overstays it's welcome which might have some people getting flashbacks of 1989's cult film Society.  The Substance stumbles a bit in its close but that doesn't keep it from being an effective satire told via strong performances and a strong visual language.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: ODDITY

 

After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.

Director: Damian McCarthy

Cast: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Jonathan French, Steve Wall

Release Date: July 19, 2024

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Rated R for some bloody images/gore and language.

Runtime: 1h 38m

Review:

Oddity is a lean, well constructed spook fest that sets up scares with impressive skill that echoes Guillermo del Toro's The Devil's Backbone.  Damian McCarthy displays a self assured confidence behind the camera as he smartly constructs his film to establish mood and setting.  He manages to use a series of well timed jump scares to hammer home the overall tension he establishes early on.  In lesser hands, these jump scares might come off as an easy out, but McCarthy manages to pull you into the story's central mystery in order to set you up for the sudden shocks.  His judicious use of these moments works in the film's favor as he allows the film's cast to carry the film with excellent performances across the board especially Carolyn Bracken in a dual role.  Bracken does the majority of the heavy lifting as the surviving, blind twin sister who possesses supernatural ability and a rather large wooden Golem.  She brings an unnatural aura to her performance that gives the character an otherworldly feel.  Her interactions with Caroline Menton and Gwilym Lee are unsettling because there's a steady sense that her character knows far more than she's letting on.  Menton, who plays the widower's new girlfriend, is appropriately freaked out from the moment she shows up while Lee's turn in more measured throughout.  He brings a quiet charisma and charm to his role which makes the late reveal effective even though it's fairly predictable.  The story in general doesn't offer a ton of surprises and nearly everything turns out the way you'd expect.  It’s a testament to the talent on both sides of the camera that Oddity works as well as it does even with a fairly straightforward story.

B

Cindy Prascik's Review of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

 

My dearest reader(s), it's been quite a long while again, hasn't it? I hope everyone is enjoying the close of Spooky Season and the start of Santa Season!

It's been a busy month for this ghoulish gal, but this week I made time to watch the new documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Bruce Springsteen assembled the E Street band more than 50 years ago, and while the film touches on history and offers little tributes to members lost (Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici, RIP), the main focus is on the ongoing world tour, from the first rehearsals through some of this past summer's European dates. The movie runs about half the duration of a real Springsteen concert, but there's plenty of live footage to hold you over 'til your next E Street show.

Bruce provides some narration to these proceedings, turning on his best teacher voice to impart viewers with wisdom earned in five decades on the road. Interviews with band members, old and new, seem less formal. Tone of the discussion swings from happy relief and gratitude for being able to return to touring post Covid, to somber acknowledgement that nobody gets to do this forever. The live footage, though, that is pure joy, for band and fans alike.

As documentaries go, this one won't set the world on fire. If you're a fan of the subject matter you'll enjoy it, and certainly the music is always good enough to earn new fans, but the film itself is a bit pedestrian.

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band clocks in at a quick 99 minutes and is unrated. These are rock n' roll people, but I don't recall too much in the way of adult content.

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band is a good watch thanks to its legendary subject, and I'm a real sucker for "back onstage after Covid" stories. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Road Diary gets seven.

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is now streaming on Hulu amd Disney+.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: VENOM : THE LAST DANCE

Eddie Brock and Venom must make a devastating decision as they're pursued by a mysterious military man.

Director: Kelly Marcel

Cast: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach, Stephen Graham

Release Date: October 24, 2024

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language.

Runtime: 1h 50m

Review:

Venom: The Last Dance ends the Tom Hardy bromance trilogy on a stilted, occasionally goofy but ultimately underwhelming note.  Tom Hardy clearly enjoys making these films as he gets to banter back and forth between himself as both characters but the film's have rarely matched his commitment and focus.  This entry has a strange herky-jerky feel to it as it struggles to find any sort of consistent tone which is made even harder with a lazy script.  Kelly Marcel does her best to make the whole thing watchable with some Looney Toon inspired action sequences that are bits of contained madness which bring some life to film before it dips back down into the uninspired drudgery that makes up the plot.  Tom Hardy does his best to carry the film but the comedy here rarely lands the way it should which makes the film's hour and fifty minutes feel longer than it should.   Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple slum it here in underwritten supporting roles but try their best to make something out of the paper thin characterizations on the page.  Ejiofor is an immensely talented actor which makes it hard to watch him slog through the incredibly generic dialogue as a foil to Temple's overly naive, wide eyed scientist.  Rhys Ifans pops up in small but fun supporting role but he's in a similar battle against the script.  There's very little that happens that comes as surprise until it leads to the predictable final battle.  That CGI heavy battle provides plenty of symbiote action vs generic alien creatures which look like unused Men In Black character designs.  The whole thing ends with an odd  TV finale style montage that seems to hammer home the point that this is the end of the trilogy which aims to inspire an emotional response more meaningful than a general shrug.  

D

MOVIE REVIEW: WOMAN OF THE HOUR

 

In 1970s Los Angeles, as a wave of murders makes headlines, a young woman aspiring to become an actress and a serial killer cross paths during an episode of a dating show.

Director: Anna Kendrick

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Nicolette Robinson, Tony Hale, Autumn Best, Pete Holmes

Release Date: October 11, 2024

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Unrated

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Anna Kendrick's directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, is an efficient true crime dramatization that shows promising talent behind the camera for its star/director.  Kendrick displays a steady confidence in the director's chair as she has a clear vision of how she wants to tell this story.  She gives the film a moody, unsettling feel from the onset where the implicit threat of violence is ever present in the form of Daniel Zovatto's charming but off putting Rodney Alcala.  Zovatto's turn is measured for the majority of the film, which makes the eventual moments of violence all the more impactful.  He also manages to convey the intelligent charm and braggadocious nature that made Alcala an engaging figure.  Zovatto packed on a few pounds to deemphasis Alcala's looks, but it gives the screen version more outright, creepy vibe which would sound alarm bells for most women especially when he's offering to take them to a secluded location.  It appears to be a conscience choice in order to avoid glamorizing the serial killer at the center of the story but it does create a bit of narrative turbulence as its harder to explain why these women were so trusting.  Its saps a bit of tension from the story which is unavoidable in general since the outcome is fairly well known.  That being said it doesn't keep Kendrick's scenes with Zovatto from packing an uncomfortable punch in the film's final act.  It’s capped off by an impressively staged sequence in an empty parking lot between the two as there's a palpable change in the dynamic as things turn more predatory and dangerous.  It’s a moment where you get a real sense of the promise Kendrick's has as a director and it should leave you eager to see what she does in her sophomore turn.   

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: SMILE 2

 

About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and pressures of fame, she must face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.

Director: Parker Finn

Cast: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, Ray Nicholson, Kyle Gallner

Release Date: October 18, 2024

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violent content, grisly images, language throughout and drug use.

Runtime: 2h 12m

Review:

Parker Finn's Smile 2 is gorier and devilishly funnier than its predecessor as focus shifts to a damaged pop star played by a stellar Naomi Scott.  Finn's second turn, immediately feels more confident and elegantly eerie as we follow Skye Riley's decent into madness.  He still relies on jump scares a tad too much for my taste but its hard to hate it too much when he sets up those moments up so effectively.  A handful of sequences are anxiety inducing and set up with impressive visual panache such as a gloriously nightmarish where Skye's smiling back up dancers chasing her around her apartment.  There are a handful of moments like that which leaves a noticeable impact with each leaving you wonder what's real and what's not as things get increasingly out of control.  This all doesn't work nearly as well as it does if not for a instantly engaging turn from Naomi Scott.  Scott is fully committed from the start by bringing a believable sense of mental fraying from the onset.  Her Skye is damaged and isolated before the madness begins due to a horrific event that's left her traumatized beforehand.  Scott conveys that sense of isolation and self hate with a natural ease that's incredibly impressive.  As things get more dire and her character starts to fall apart at the seams there's an exasperated terror to her as she starts to lose her grip on reality and she becomes an increasingly unreliable narrator.  Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley and Dylan Gelula are solid in supporting roles but this is Scott's showcase and she is the most fascinating performer onscreen throughout the entire film.  Given the amount of celebrities we've seen go off the rails there's something that feels slightly more realistic about this setup than the original which makes it one of the few horror films to earn its two hour runtime.  Smile 2 proves to be one of the rare horror sequels that improves on the original by taking in a slightly different sphere to deliver a mash up of The Ring and Nightmare on Elm Street which leaves me eager to see where the series goes next.

A-