Rating: R for A Party Going Wrong in Every Which Way, What With the Drugs and the Nudity and the Peeing on the Floor and the Stabbing and the Punching
Release Date: March 1, 2019 (Limited)
For the most part, Climax is as challenging and painful as the reputation of its director, Gaspar Noé, would suggest. But it also demonstrates that he is capable of great ecstasy. Its tight focus is on a troupe of dancers who are kicking back with a party after a series of intense rehearsals. The cast is made up of non-professionals and first-time actors, as well as Sofia Boutella (whose dance background is plenty bona fide). After starting with a bit of fun with cinematic chronology and some character intros, Climax really kicks into gear when the crew shows off the routine they’ve been working on in an extended unbroken shot to the tune of Cerrone’s 1977 disco hit “Supernature.” The totally uninhibited physicality on display is one of the best examples I have ever seen of the communicative and restorative power of dance. Unfortunately that joy does not last long.
It turns out that somebody has sneakily spiked the sangria with something, supposedly LSD, and nobody is reacting favorably to that punch. The party quickly descends into a blood-red neon mess of paranoia that is unpleasant enough to almost make you forget how you felt while watching that transcendent dancing. Noé appears to be saying something about the fragility of society, with this night of horrors serving as a believable microcosm of how humanity as a whole can be seized by myopia and worst-case-scenario obsession. But that understanding of people’s darkest impulses has been utilized in the service of a cinematic endurance test. I could appreciate the unpleasantness if it achieved full-on unnerving terror. But instead it is mostly irritating.
Climax is Recommended If You Like: Instant Gratification, Followed by an Hour of Suffering
Starring: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Rating: G for Gravity Defiance
Release Date: March 1, 2019 (Limited)
Documentaries featuring restored archival footage are having a moment. Peter Jackson’s box office hit They Shall Not Grow Old got in the trenches of World War I. The Oscar-nominated short A Night at the Garden uncovered a 1939 Nazi rally in New York City. And now Apollo 11puts us right alongside the crew of the same-named 1969 lunar mission. As a technical achievement, it is stunning and confounding. Every frame is made up of 70 mm film footage that was shot at the time but never previously released to the public. The richness and clarity of the visuals are breathtaking. How it all remained a secret and in such good condition is surely beyond most mortals’ comprehension.
The you-are-there sensibility is so thorough that there is even time to check out the snack bar set up for the crowds gathered to watch the launch. In that regard, it is reminiscent of the seminal 1960 Direct Cinema doc Primary. But it differs insofar as Apollo 11 director Todd Douglas Miller adds a few showy editing flourishes. Occasionally he arranges a series of shots in comic book-style panel arrangements, calling to mind Ang Lee’s Hulk, of all things. Also adding to the mix is Matt Morton’s intensely looming score. I like both of these elements on their own, but I wonder if they are saturating the already plenty powerful raw footage. But no matter what, the awe and beauty on display is unmistakably evident, serving as reassurance that humanity can still find inspiration by looking up to the stars.
Apollo 11 is Recommended If You Like: Primary, They Shall Not Grow Old, First Man
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Isabelle Huppert, Maika Monroe, Colm Feore, Stephen Rea
Director: Neil Jordan
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rating: R for Psychological and Physical Torture From a Spry Sixtysomething Woman
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Is it better to know going in to a nonsensical movie that it doesn’t make sense, or to put it all together afterwards? Or perhaps thinking in terms of a binary between “sense” and “nonsense” is not really the best way to approach a juicy horror flick about obsession. That is certainly the case with Greta, in which director Neil Jordan sets Isabelle Huppert loose on Chloë Grace Moretz, turning a budding intergenerational friendship into a deranged domestic fantasy. There are moments when I wonder how a character can get away with so much bad behavior, or when I am taken back at how big a role coincidence plays in all the machinations. But there are so many twisted pleasures along the way that I cannot be too mad.
CREDIT: Shane Mahood/Focus Features
Frances McCullen (Moretz) has recently moved to New York City, and she is somehow still trusting enough to return a handbag she finds on the subway to the home of the person who lost it. That person is Greta (Huppert), a French piano teacher who lives alone and who it turns out has been leaving behind a whole series of bags to lure unsuspecting kind young women into her clutches. But before we peel back all the layers on Greta, we get to spend some quality time with Frances and her roommate Erica (Maika Monroe). Erica is the much more cautious yin to Frances’ yang, immediately pegging Greta for the creep that she is. But that does not mean she isn’t also an advocate for alternative gut health treatments, which means that we get a surprising amount of dialogue about the wonders of colonics. Seriously, I would have been happy if this movie were just an hour and a half of Monroe discussing the joy of fluids getting shot up her butthole.
As for why Greta enjoys torturing Frances and others like her, her motivations remain vague, to the film’s advantages although perhaps to some viewers’ frustrations. Through reveals about Greta’s strained relationship with her daughter, Jordan hints at some clear explanation that never really comes. But if you calibrate your expectations to accepting that that explanation is unnecessary, then you should be good to go. There are also some implications that Frances is drawn to Greta because she sees her as a replacement for her own recently deceased mother. But all this mother business is just a framework to build the shenanigans around. Don’t worry about all that – just sit back and enjoy Huppert dancing psychotically and ignore any concerns about “logic” and “motivation.”
Greta is Recommended If You Like: Audition, Misery, The Visit
My favorite part of They Shall Not Grow Old is the featurette after the end of the movie in which Peter Jackson lets us in on the restoration process. It makes me wish that all making-of special features played on the big screen, or at least the ones for the most technically ambitious movies. I almost would have preferred an hour and a half of the behind-the-scenes footage to the actual documentary. But of course, I needed to see the thing itself for the making-of to have its fullest oomph. And it’s not like it’s a bad doc. Indeed, when They Shall Not Grow Old switches to color, it is just about as thrilling as when The Wizard of Oz makes that same vivid transition. The other big value is the peek into a past culture when teenage boys were so eager to enlist at the first sign of war. Society is so profoundly different now. Not that I want it to go back to the way it was. Rather, I am glad we have this first-hand document in such good quality to viscerally show us both how deadly and how disgusting the trenches were.
If I were in charge of unilaterally selecting the Oscars, here is who would be selected. Nominees are listed alphabetically, winners in bold.
Best Picture Annihilation The Endless
First Reformed
Sorry to Bother You
Widows
Best Director Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, The Endless Alex Garland, Annihilation Steve McQueen, Widows Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You Paul Schrader, First Reformed
Here’s my final rundown of who I will think will be taking home the little gold men on Sunday, February 24, 2019, and whom I would vote for if I had a ballot.
Best Picture
Prediction: Roma is tied for the most nominations, and it’s won the most noteworthy precursor awards.
Preference: BlacKkKlansman is absolutely electric, a quality that is all too rare in Best Picture winners.
Best Director
Prediction: Expect Alfonso Cuarón to continue the recent Mexican dominance in this category.
Preference: A win for Spike Lee would have lifetime achievement oomph, and it would also be deserved in particular for BlacKkKlansman.
Starring: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, F. Murray Abraham, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harington, David Tennant
Director: Dean DeBlois
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Rating: PG for High-Flying Fantasy Danger
Release Date: February 22, 2019
I do not remember a whole lot about the first two How to Train Your Dragon films other than the fact that I generally enjoyed them. The first one was among the initial wave of expansive 3D animated blockbusters. But nine years later, studios hardly ever bother to even screen their films in 3D, and I almost never seek the extra dimension out myself. But the CG animation is still of the utmost quality. Hair blows delightfully in the wind, and from what I have heard from the trenches of animation, realistic hair movement has been one of the biggest bugaboos in this medium. And this is a franchise about dragons, which don’t have a lot of hair! So the fact that the HTTYD team cares that much about rendering its human characters as well as its fantastical creatures should tell you all you need to know about the level of craft at play.
The Hidden World, the third in the series, finds Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his trusty dragon Toothless realizing that they are running out of room on their little island for all the humans and dragons to fruitfully co-exist. Meanwhile, an infamous dragon hunter named Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham) has declared he has his sights set on Toothless and all the other domesticated fire-breathers. There are admirable messages here about looking past surface differences and treating nature with respect, but there is also a bit of a sense of same-old, same-old. At this point, shouldn’t everyone know that these dragons are as loyal and affectionate as dogs? But while the story may be a little pedestrian, the animation continues to stun. Toothless develops himself a bit of a crush, and let’s just say, the dragon seduction dance is a (family-friendly) sight to behold.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is Recommended If You Like: The Most Thorough Animation in the Business
Jeffrey Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then organizes the sketches into the following categories: “Love It” (potentially Best of the Season-worthy), “Keep It” (perfectly adequate), or “Leave It” (in need of a rewrite, to say the least). Then he concludes with assessments of the host and musical guest.
Love It
Roach-Ex – Man, maybe all SNL sketches should be under three minutes long. Perhaps every once in a while, you can bust out a ten-minute behemoth, but there is plenty to be said in favor of economical storytelling. The twist of how visceral the fight against the roaches is just hits so hard with this approach.
These were the singles released in 2018 or that first became hits in 2018 that had the strongest impacts on me.
1. Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left to Cry” – Has any other singer besides Ariana Grande ever endured so many personal struggles so publicly and on such a massive scale? She still had a lot of heartbreak left to come after releasing “No Tears Left to Cry,” but luckily she was already equipped with and had gifted the world with a timeless anthem for how to insist on finding the joy amidst all life’s turmoil.
2. Dennis Lloyd – “Nevermind” – The ultimate kind of elastic groove to which you can chill out or dance ’til you drop.
3. Ella Mai – “Boo’d Up” – Ella Mai captured the language of infatuation in 2018, but the feelings are eternal.
4. Ariana Grande – “God is a Woman” – Oh, trust me, I believe. I was certain once I heard that first sexy guitar strum.
5. U.S. Girls – “Velvet 4 Sale” – This is the sort of rock music that makes me happy to currently be an adult human.
6. Beck – “Colors” – Is Beck the greatest dance artist of his era? “Colors” makes a strong case.
7. Janelle Monáe – “Pynk” – If we all had our own personal “Pynk” to announce to everyone who we are, the world would be a much better place.
8. Rüfüs Du Sol – “No Place” – I imagine that this is what it will sound like when I drift off this mortal coil.
9. Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – The musical equivalent of getting shot in the head and living to tell the tale.
10. Portugal. The Man – “Tidal Wave” – The force of extreme weather, but going down smooth and easy.
11. Janelle Monáe – “Make Me Feel” – Feeling good should sometimes feel like there’s a worm dancing in your brain.
12. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – “You Worry Me” – It’s good to know that some musicians are out here to make sure we’re safe and sound.
13. Elle King – “Shame” – It’s healthy to exorcise the lowdown dirtiest impulses of your humanity through song.
14. Paul McCartney – “Come on to Me” – I know I’d also like to remain this punny and lusty into my seventies.
15. Bob Moses – “Back Down” – An ideal soundtrack for making an unstable night feel just a little bit more stable.
16. Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “All the Stars” – The kind of song that assures you that all the spirits of your community are with you.
17. Max Frost – “Good Morning” – I’m happy to admit when I wake up in a day-conquering mood, and Max Frost has packaged that feeling.
18. Tyler, the Creator – “You’re a Mean One” – Maybe all kids movie theme songs should be crafted by pansexual oddballs.
19. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning” – When the sound cuts out right before the chorus, and then the guitar chimes in so nastily, I feel like I’m drowning, into the Sunken Place or something … and I like it.
20. The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It” – The desire to make it all the way through together really does often sound this urgent, doesn’t it?
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