Week Ending 7/19/24
Catching up
Similar to last year, I just didn’t feel like listening to new music for half the year. So, on June 19th, I added 3000 songs worth of new albums into a playlist that had been released up until that point. Which, of course, means I’m now a month behind on adding more. But I did listen to 700 of those 3000. Is that good?
Probably not.
Some highlights: Royel Otis’s cover of “Murder on the Dance Floor” that speeds up Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s original track enough to cut a full minute off the runtime. The Last Dinner Party’s “The Feminine Urge” is great. Benson Boone’s “Be Someone”, Hozier’s “Too Sweet”, Brittany Howard’s “What Now”, Middle Kids’ “The Blessings”, Allie X’s “Galina”, and Chelsea Wolfe’s “Tunnel Lights” stand out too.
That’s not the only catching up I needed to do, though.
With THE ACOLYTE ending the past Tuesday, I realized I was two STAR WARS seasons behind. So, I went to a galaxy far, far away this week.
The verdict:
THE MANDALORIAN S3 was solid. As good as S2. It’s nice that the show is mostly vibes with low stakes. (Are Din Djarin and Grogu ever really in peril?) How that transfers to a feature film is anyone’s guess.
AHSOKA was really good too. I also know zilch about her character besides what I’ve seen in THE MANDALORIAN and THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, so maybe take that with a grain of salt? It was definitely the best-looking season of STAR WARS yet.
My THE ACOLYTE thoughts are below.
What I Watched:
THE ACOLYTE: Season 1
(streaming on Disney+)
It all comes back to the Skywalkers eventually. No matter how far into the past Disney goes or how disconnected they try to make us believe their latest chapter is, the lines will always find their way back to Anakin. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re able to create a cool new narrative thread in the process. This whole world stems from George Lucas’s Skywalker Saga and the powers that be continue to be cautious about severing that tie. Leslye Headland’s THE ACOLYTE is a tentative step in that direction, though. Even if it’s all about Senator Rayencourt’s (David Harewood) prediction that a Jedi will one day implode and become their destroyer … just like little Annie Skywalker.
The fact that someone is willing to speak that truth is what makes Headland’s show compelling. Yes, the Jedi have been shown as fallible before. But never to the extent where the obvious allusion to copaganda can finally be dissected. Here’s a band of all-powerful patrolmen (Carrie-Anne Moss’s Master Indara, Lee Jung-jae’s Master Sol, Joonas Suotamo’s Master Kelnacca, and Dean-Charles Chapman’s padawan Torbin) who take “serve and protect” to the level of “my way or the highway” when out surveying a supposedly desolate planet. Theirs is a culture that demands the autonomy and authority to protect its own above those in need.
Because whatever happened on Brendok isn’t as simple as we’re led to believe at the start. It can’t be if people involved in the tragedy start dying sixteen years later via a purposeful assassination plot. Maybe young Mae (Leah Brady) did start a fire that obliterated everyone. Or maybe the Jedi were at fault due to their uninvited presence … or worse. The answer is what we hope to discover while following Sol and his former padawan Osha (Amandla Stenberg) as they investigate the cause of a Jedi murder. The closer they get to discovering the culprit’s identity (and whomever might be pulling their strings), the closer we get to the truth.
The result is similar to the storyline we’re used to seeing in X-MEN. Just like Magneto isn’t wrong about his desire to live out in the open, neither are the many Force factions outside of the Jedi’s purview. Whether that be those who train in secret while holding their emotions at the forefront of their powers (Sith) or witch covens like the one on Brendok led by Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith)—who gives the Jedi the right to say they shouldn’t exist? That they are a danger to society and safety? Couldn’t one argue that they are better suited to wield the Force due to their acceptance of their flaws? Flaws the Jedi points out in others but not themselves?
It should therefore be no surprise that the killing Sol and Osha are looking into seems to be the result of figures with their feet planted in those two worlds: a witch and a Sith (with the comedic relief of their black-market ally Qimir, played by Manny Jacinto). Motivations might stem from personal vendettas, but that doesn’t mean the dominoes falling to expose the Jedi as hypocrites and in need of oversight isn’t an important byproduct. Sure, these specific victims are being hunted with reason, but they will admit the wrongs they committed to earn that ire is a result of their institution rather than who they are themselves. The cloak makes them feel untouchable. It allows them a sense of superiority that brings a darkness all its own.
Because every rebel is the opposite side’s terrorist. And every terrorist is its own side’s rebel. We’ve spent half a century holding Jedis up as heroes because they fought back against the Empire’s fascism. It’s easy to appreciate Luke, Leia, and Han in that light because it’s colored as good vs. evil. Only now—somewhat surprisingly considering it’s coming out of Disney—have the lines blurred a bit. We suddenly see the bureaucracy and rigid laws of “good” that ultimately create “bad” in their inability to bend. (See Ahsoka’s frustration whenever Huyang follows Jedi protocol despite the Jedi Order being defunct.) Every “righteous” entity ultimately gives birth to its worst enemy through its own oppressive actions.
So, of course THE ACOLYTE will eventually tie into the Skywalkers beyond the abstract with its teased introductions of familiar characters. We’re pretty much watching the birth of the Empire through the actions of the so-called Stranger (so much like Magneto that his helmet also stops telepaths from reading his thoughts). As well as the lengths the Jedi will go to cover their tracks, paving the way towards their own destruction via Anakin’s rebirth as Darth Vader and everything we know that happens afterwards. Finally, we get to play in the sandbox of the Dark Side—even if it’s not quite there yet. Because while we can agree with the sentiments that “All Jedi Are Bastards,” how the Stranger goes about proving it is undeniably evil. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Will his pupil see the difference?
I’m being vague with character names and relationships since Headland and company (highlighted by Kogonada directing both Brendok flashback episodes) do well to keep certain reveals hidden for suspense. I applaud this since so many shows do it for viral marketing instead. None of Headland’s secrets are secrets for long—they create a satisfying cliffhanger before integrating into the story so that identity isn’t shrouded to the point of hamstringing character growth. Add some really good performances from a great cast (I haven’t even mentioned Dafne Keen) and some of the best action sequences of any STAR WARS show yet and it’s hard not to love the ambition of a big swing willing to open up the IP’s true potential.
- 8/10
ODDITY
(in theaters)
The cut to black/title screen at the start of Damian McCarthy’s ODDITY is perfectly placed both as a means to create suspense and instill confusion. We have invested in Dani’s (Carolyn Bracken) plight—alone in an unfurnished house without cell reception as a strange man (Tadhg Murphy’s Olin Boole) begs her to let him in because he says he saw someone else enter when she wasn’t looking—and want to know what happens after she puts her hand on the lock. To then suddenly be whisked away to watch a different murder is jarring. Are they connected? How?
McCarthy boldly decides to believe his audience will gain its footing despite so many seemingly disparate things occurring all at once without context or, in many cases, closure. Dani opening or not opening the door. A mean looking orderly (Steve Wall’s Ivan) chastising a mental patient hours before he hears a brutal death in the next room. And then Dr. Ted Timmis (Gwilym Lee), Dani’s husband, entering an occult shop operated by someone who looks just like his wife? I initially thought I was watching parallel universes until the latter woman is given a name. Dani has a twin sister named Darcy (also Bracken).
Things finally start to fit together as McCarthy helps stabilize us with dialogue that’s meticulously written to set time and place while also revealing the film’s central truth, even if he doesn’t yet show how or why: Dani is dead. Did she open the door for Boole to kill her? Was there actually someone in the house like he explained? These are the questions Darcy has been asking for a full year—questions Ted believes have already been answered via the ensuing investigation. When he leaves her shop and Darcy walks to a mysterious wooden trunk in the corner, however, we realize she won’t stop until she’s certain.
ODDITY is by no means a perfect film, but it’s a major step up from the artist’s previous CAVEAT. All the open-ended segues force McCarthy into creating a conduit with which to dump the exposition necessary for everything to make sense. It renders Ted’s new girlfriend Yana (Caroline Menton) crucial to the proceedings even as she feels shoehorned in and unworthy of our attention beyond her role as our stand-in. She becomes the person to whom Darcy tells everything as well as a target for the scares still to come (because Darcy is blind and thus unable to experience what we’re seeing). Add a creepy wooden mannequin and you cannot begin to fathom the twists and turns waiting in the wings.
How McCarthy exposes his truths is more effective than the plausibility and narrative soundness of them, but I’d rather that than the other way around. I can suspend my disbelief if the tension and visual panache gets me on the edge of my seat. That’s part of the reason we watch horror—to get caught up in the mood and potential of the unknown. So, while McCarthy does have to make some characters jump through hoops to hit their mark for the story’s next fright, the process never lulls. And all those “remember this?” payoffs actually feel smart rather than convenient thanks to a willingness to let the unbelievable play out believably.
- 7/10
THE WATCHERS
(VOD/Digital HD)
While THE WATCHERS might be Ishana Night Shyamalan’s feature debut, it isn’t her first directorial effort as so many are quick to describe when speaking on the nepotism at play with its production (father M. Night Shyamalan self-financed the project before selling to Warner Bros.). Will explaining that she cut her teeth on SERVANT help matters considering her dad was an executive producer and more synonymous with the show than creator Tony Basgallop? No. But anyone who watched it will know that Ishana’s involvement wasn’t a handout. The episodes she wrote and directed were often its best. Shifting to movies was inevitable.
The jump arrives via an adaptation of an A.M. Shine novel and the result has all the earmarks of a “Shyamalan film” with the eeriness of THE VILLAGE and the dark fantasy of LADY IN THE WATER—the latter of which shouldn’t be surprising considering M. Night wrote it as a bedtime story for his kids. Comparisons are therefore unavoidable since Ishana isn’t only following his footsteps where career is concerned, but also his genre of choice. It shouldn’t make or break its success, however. Every new work of art is compared to similar works that came before it. To simply point to her father is disingenuously reductive.
Because the truth of the matter is that THE WATCHERS isn’t a perfect film. It doesn’t stand apart from its supernatural thriller heritage or from the piece of that heritage that M. Night carved out for himself. It’s also not a bad film. It looks great, delivers effective performances, and sets a moody atmosphere that gets your heart racing as far as the characters’ safety goes. If I must point to one flaw in particular, I’d probably focus on the script considering it holds a lot of intrigue that seems glossed over by the needs of the plot. I wonder if it’s a case where reading the book adds a layer of context that watching the adaptation simply cannot provide.
That’s the danger of moving from television to film. Where forty minutes might be shorter than an hour and forty minutes, those episodes are one piece of a whole. She now must condense 300 pages into two episodes—a tall task to complete when you’re dealing with the breadth of Irish folklore at the back of this monsters vs. man fight. And since the latter is what mainstream audiences demand (a three-act, self-contained story), the room to play with the former shrinks to “color” rather than “purpose.” The task is to make Mina’s (Dakota Fanning) journey whole with the rest sprinkled in to serve that goal.
So, we wonder about this young woman’s plight. Trapped in a mysterious Irish forest without no escape, she finds herself imprisoned in a concrete box with a two-way mirror alongside three strangers (Olwen Fouéré’s Madeline, Oliver Finnegan’s Daniel, and Georgina Campbell’s Ciara). Every day at sunset, they must lock themselves in this structure so as not to be killed by the beasts who crawl out of the ground to view them like a reality tv show. What do these “watchers” want? Can Mina and her inmates figure a way out? Is there more than meets the eye? Will Ishana be able to answer those questions and provide insight?
There are some really cool ideas about doppelgangers and immortality in today’s world of generative AI that I would have loved to delve deeper into (“They would get parts wrong like the proportions of my skull or how many fingers are on my hand.”) I love the mythological implications of fantasy born from reality with evidence beyond the experience of what we are seeing as well as the psychological ramifications of isolation, abuse, and guilt that plays into character motivations. But Shyamalan can’t quite connect the dots between theme and narrative in a way that doesn’t make it all a superficial projection atop the main conceit.
Does that mean THE WATCHERS is a failure? No. It’s the first film of a young filmmaker with a ton of promise. It’s a lesson in finding the balance between the implicit and explicit that even her father sometimes manages to fumble despite a three-decade career that includes some of my favorite movies. Strip everything away and this is a solid if generic thriller that delivers the goods on a purely formal level. Add back some of the flavor and you see where Ishana can go if given the time and room to grow. Hopefully she gets that opportunity via more television shows (without her father’s name attached) to cut her teeth and learn from others as well as more scripts to find her voice. I’m looking forward to it.
- 6/10
Cinematic F-Bombs:
This week saw SKYLINE (2010) added to the archive (cinematicfbombs.com).
Donald Faison dropping an f-bomb in SKYLINE.
New Releases This Week:
(Review links where applicable)
Opening Buffalo-area theaters 7/19/24 -
BAD NEWZ at Regal Elmwood, Transit & Galleria
DARLING at Regal Elmwood
DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT at Regal Elmwood & Transit
GHIBLI FEST 2024 at North Park Theatre
NATIONAL ANTHEM at Regal Galleria & Quaker
ODDITY at Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Thoughts are above.
TWISTERS at Dipson Amherst, McKinley, Flix & Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge & Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Streaming from 7/19/24 -
ABIGAIL – Peacock on 7/19
FIND ME FALLING – Netflix on 7/19
SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY – Netflix on 7/19
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WITHOUT A NET – Prime on 7/25
Now on VOD/Digital HD -
THE DEAD DON’T HURT (7/16)
HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA CHAPTER 1 (7/16)
A SACRIFICE (7/16)
TUESDAY (7/16)
BEFORE DAWN (7/19)
CLEAR CUT (7/19)
FLIPSIDE (7/19)
“Rather than choose one record from each of his would-be subjects’ crates, however, Wilcha combines them all into one and lets the stories they tell become about him and, by extension, us.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
THELMA (7/19)
“Margolin and Squibb's spin on well-worn genre tropes proves so wholesome that they were able to get away with a PG-13 rating despite three f-bombs. You cannot keep this granny down.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.