Hotel Artemis

Jodie Foster! Jeff Goldblum! Also: Dave Bautista, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto, Charlie Day!

I wasn’t sure what this film was going to actually be. I had seen the trailers that indicated the movie was about an exclusive, near-future Los Angeles hospital for criminals. There are the typical ten-years-from-now-technology-will-be-amazing plot points, and the story rides on the current vibe that the wealthy of the world will take advantage of the poor, to the point where the water supply in Southern California is privatized (isn’t it already, though?) and the population riots in response to high prices and limited availability. The riots make up the backdrop of this gritty, dirty Los Angeles where somehow Jeff Goldblum is the crime boss (“The Wolf King of L.A.”) — a crime lord who wears Gucci dress sandals.

Jodie Foster is the Nurse who runs the Hotel Artemis, where criminals and wealthy VIPs pay large amounts of money for membership to provide immediate medical treatment for any issues they may have, including 3D-printing of organs. There are Rules of Membership (“do not kill the other patients”, “no weapons allowed”) that are strictly followed until they’re not, and the Nurse has a backstory that explains her gripping anxiety and inability to leave the confines of the hotel. Dave Bautista plays the Orderly, “Everest,” who uses her agoraphobia for a little comic relief, until she overcomes it briefly to save an injured police officer who turns up at the alley door. This violates another Rule of the Hotel Artemis: No Cops.

A confrontation occurs later when a weapons dealer (Day), an assassin (Boutella), a former gangster (Brown) and the Wolf King all meet up during the height of the riot. Oh, and the former gangster was in the middle of a bank holdup with his brother who accidentally stole a pen-vault thingy from a guy wearing a suit (who looks a lot like Jason Statham) that contains six Uber-rare yellow diamonds that happen to belong to the Wolf King…

The plot is not quite as convoluted as my description makes it sound, and the film is enjoyable overall.

Recommended.

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War

I would be crazy to say anything about “Avengers: Infinity War” in public before most people have a chance to see it themselves. Pro tip: don’t be a dick and talk/gasp/cry in the theatre. Nobody (me) wants to hear that.

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place

I was not sure what to think about “A Quiet Place” when I first saw trailers for it. It looked okay, if a little derivative. Felt like I had seen something like it before. I started reading good press about it a few weeks ago and HOW DID I NOT KNOW EMILY BLUNT IS IN IT? Apparently the story (as she related it on dozens of PR interviews) is that her husband John Krasinski was directing and staring in it and another actress was cast for the role of “the wife.” After reading the script, Blunt decided to take the role for herself… I guess it’s good to sleep with the boss in this particular case.

I really enjoyed how much (but not all) of the film is nearly silent. The lack of sound adds to the tension in spots while the soundtrack does help to crank up the anxious moments. I really appreciated that there is almost no mention of the backstory of how these creatures came to be on Earth, destroying almost all of society. I love when a film doesn’t have to explain its backstory to the audience.

One warning: the lack of audio in the film will definitely make you notice how awful and noisy the average filmgoer is these days.

Annihilation

Annihilation
Annihilation

I went into viewing this film without ever reading (or hearing about) Jeff VanderMeer’s “Southern Reach” trilogy of novels, and therefore had no idea how director and screenplay author Alex Garland changed the book for the big screen. Nonetheless, the film looks great and literally had me hooked from a single audio effect used in the trailers that played at nearly every film I watched at The Alamo Drafthouse for a few months prior to its release. I cannot wait until the film is released on home video so I can sample that sound effect for text tones on my smart phone — yes, I am that nerd.

The film itself kept me enthralled as it explored a different type of alien invasion, where the invader attempts to change to fit our environment while inadvertently (?) changing ours with its presence. The visuals are beautifully shot and the climatic scene weirds out into a psychedelic sequence that made me think of the equally strange “Under The Skin” starring Scarlett Johansson from about five years ago. Unfortunately I think the visualization of the scene probably did not win many fans, although after reading the “Annihilation” novel of the Southern Reach trilogy it actually made more sense to me.

I recommend you find the Southern Reach trilogy and read it before seeing the film.

Black Panther

Black Panther
Black Panther

As an old, fat Caucasian man I am not qualified to review the social importance of this film beyond the standard platitudes of “finally, a big-budget action film with a mostly black cast.” Sitting in the bar before the showing I overheard a lot of people who were VERY excited about the social importance of this film, though. It was great to see so many people enthused about a film!

I enjoyed the film and look forward to see how Wakanda fits into Marvel’s idealized universe in the future.

Mom And Dad

Mom And Dad
Mom And Dad

Holy crap, this was a crazy fun ride! Nicolas Cage was at his finest here as a part of the cast, not as the “star” of the film. There were sufficient amounts of Nic Cage crazy without overwhelming (and ruining) the rest of the plot. I realize the bar is set pretty low, but I feel this is the best film with Nic Cage (ever?).

About a third of the way into the film we start to see that something is wrong with the world. Not the most original plot point, for sure, but I enjoyed the way that something is visible peripherally to the story. There’s no obvious cause or solution, just a problem that must be dealt with as everyone begins to understand that parents suddenly have an overwhelming urge to kill their children. Not ALL children, just their own offspring.

One of the pull quotes from the film’s poster describes it as “… a twisted remake of ‘Home Alone’ on bath salts.” That feels very accurate. The kids have to deal with parents who suddenly want to kill them. The film doesn’t just present the adults as homicidal zealots, either. They carefully plan how to murder their children without any inkling that it is wrong. The parents are aware that others are killing their children, too, but dismiss it as a natural thing to do.

I laughed inappropriately at much of the last half of the movie, partly as a stress release after one particularly anxious scene at the hospital when Selma Blair’s character’s sister gives birth during the crisis. The writer and director, Brian Taylor, shoots the film in a decidedly different, almost trippy, style. I loved it!

Beers I paired with the film: Fiction Brewing Malice and Darkness, Odyssey Beerwerks Psycho Penguin Vanilla Porter

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Initially had tickets to see this film at 11 PM on Thursday but blew that off to spend the evening with friends (at a brewery, who would have guessed). Went Friday morning at 9 AM.

My initial reaction was: This is my favorite Star Wars film yet, even over “The Empire Strikes Back”. Seeing it again tomorrow evening and will add my thoughts afterwards…

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok
Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok is a lot of fun. If you’ve watched any of the previous Marvel’s Avengers series of films you recall the love-hate relationship that developed between Thor and The Hulk. Everyone remembers the scene where Thor is smugly gloating about how well the two fought a group of aliens in New York before Hulk “smashes” Thor in the head (out of spite?).

Ragnarok expands on their relationship further after a series of unexpected family drama events leads Thor to a garbage planet (let’s call it New Jersey) where he must fight their champion, roman gladiator style. On first blush the film is all romp, humor and action with a tiny bit of plot. I have seen it described as a farce of a film, and that is a fair assessment. It is nice to see the two fighters of the Avengers doing what they do best without the smug Tony Stark or super-pure Steve Rogers involved.

This actually feels more like a summer blockbuster film than fall lead-in to Thanksgiving. But that’s not bad thing! The overall arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe story is advanced a bit in the bonus scene post-trailer, and I enjoyed watching the CGI fighting. It’s like a 21st century comic book!

Brawl In Cell Block 99

Brawl In Cell Block 99
Brawl In Cell Block 99

I watched Brawl In Cell Block 99 last Friday night at Alamo Drafthouse’s satellite Fantastic Fest event in Denver. The short plot summary for the film is “A former boxer-turned-drug runner lands in a prison battleground after a deal gets deadly.” The summary leaves out the best part of the film, though: gruesome violence.

Vince Vaughn departs from his comic roles here as a former boxer who takes a job delivering drugs for a buddy. When a deal goes badly he ends up in prison and must make choices that are not that great. Any more details might spoil the plot. If you are squeamish or can’t handle gore and violence this film is not for you… the film was released unrated for a reason.

I was impressed by Vaughn’s acting abilities here and hope to see more of this type of role for him in the future.

Mother!

Mother! poster
Mother!

So. This film is not for everyone. Its symbolism will lose a lot of viewers and the allegorical references to the Bible and Christianity will put others off. It’s a wild ride and one of the few films I’ve seen in a long time that made me think about it over the ensuing few days.

Some of the characters are nuanced and others are clear-cut. Only Darren Aronofsky knows for sure who each of them represent — the audience is left to (hopefully) interpret his creation and decide for themselves.