What to Do When You Find Yourself ‘Here’

November 6, 2024

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What’s the best way to get Here? (CREDIT: TriStar Pictures/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Dockery, Gwilym Lee, Ophelia Lovibond, David Fynn, Leslie Zemeckis, Jonathan Aris, Daniel Betts, Harry Marcus, Lily Aspell, Joel Oulette, Dannie McCallum, Nicholas Pinnock, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Cache Vanderpuye, Anya Marco Harris, Mohammed George, Zsa Zsa Zemeckis, Dexter Sol Ansell, Stuart Bowman, Lauren McQueen, Beau Gadsdon, Albie Salter

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Running Time: 104 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 1, 2024 (Theaters)

Would I like to live in the house from Here? A lot of people lived there, some for decades, others for just a few years. But what about me? Well, after watching the movie, I kind of feel like I did live there, if only for a little while. I imagine that’s the feeling that Robert Zemeckis & Co. were aiming for, after all. Anyway, I was happy to spend some time there, and in fact, I may actually be in the market for some New Jersey real estate in the not-too-distant future.

What about that La-Z-Boy couple? They were a hoot!

Grade: 4.5 Heres out of 7 Everywheres

The ‘Knock at the Cabin’ Comes for All of Us

February 1, 2023

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Knock Knock (CREDIT: Universal Pictures/PhoByMo)

Starring: Dave Bautista, Ben Aldridge, Jonathan Groff, Kristen Cui, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Running Time: 100 Minutes

Rating: R for Bloody Fights with Medieval-Looking Weaponry and Tense Profanity

Release Date: February 3, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and Eric (Jonathan Groff) thought they were going to have a nice vacation in their cozy remote spot in the woods with their young daughter Wen (Kristen Cui). But then a group of unexpected visitors arrive, and they … well, it’s right there in the title. Second-grade teacher Leonard (Dave Bautista), nurse Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird), short-order cook Adriane (Abby Quinn), and gas company employee Redmond (Rupert Grint) claim that they’re on a mission to prevent the looming apocalypse. The four of them have been haunted by the same visions that have led to an inescapable conclusion: Andrew, Eric, and Wen must choose to kill one member of their family, or else everyone else in the world will die. Whoever is sacrificed cannot die at his or her own hands, nor can Andrew and his associates carry out the act. Andrew and Eric are naturally incredulous, believing it’s much likely that this is an elaborately staged homophobic attack. But a series of catastrophic coincidences – not to mention the trauma of being trapped in a confined space – leads them to at least consider the possibility that something profoundly cosmic could be happening.

What Made an Impression?: Every movie that M. Night Shyamalan has made since The Sixth Sense has been burdened by the expectation of “Can he pull off another twist like THAT again?” And he’s pretty much embraced that reputation, with a seemingly endless series of attempts to gobsmack us at the end. It’s never been as phenomenally successful as the ghost tale that made his name, and in fact a few times it’s gotten more than a bit silly. But ever since getting back to basics with 2015’s The Visit, he’s displayed a much more consistently deft touch with his conclusions.

Knock at the Cabin‘s premise certainly invites speculation about a potential twist ending. Is the apocalypse realer than we could have possibly imagined? Or will it be revealed as something else entirely once our perspective is adjusted? Without spoiling anything, I’ll note that this is Shyamalan at his most challenging (rewardingly so, if you can get on the film’s wavelength).

What struck me the most about Knock at the Cabin is its plausibility. Leonard’s evidence of the apocalypse are events that you can find on real world newscasts just about every single day: earthquakes and tsunamis, a new deadly disease, planes malfunctioning in mid-air. And Bautista, who’s always been a reliable screen presence, is an absolute revelation here, delivering a series of monologues with quietly passionate, tenderly direct conviction.

Knock at the Cabin left me with a truth that I already fully bought into, but that I’m seeing now more clearly than ever: The world is a scary place, and the family unit often bears the brunt of that cruelty. And sometimes we have to make impossible decisions for the love that binds us to carry on.

Knock at the Cabin is Recommended If You Like: The Box, Shyamalan-ian close-ups and flashbacks, Daddies

Grade: 4 out of 5 Sacrifices

‘The Outfit’ is the Latest Evidence That Mark Rylance is Always a Cut Above

March 15, 2022

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The Outfit (CREDIT: Nick Wall/Focus Features)

Starring: Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien, Johnny Flynn, Simon Russell Beale, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Alan Mehdizadeh

Director: Graham Moore

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Rating: R for Turf Warfare and Mid-Century Profanity

Release Date: March 18, 2022 (Theaters)

Before watching The Outfit, I had no idea what the difference between a tailor and a cutter was. Actually, scratch that: before watching The Outfit, I had no idea that “cutter” was even the name of a profession. But now that a character played by Mark Rylance has told me what’s what, I won’t soon forget it. Basically, the gist is that whereas a tailor typically focuses on one particular article of clothing, a cutter can make adjustments to the entire ensemble. So that’s my biggest takeaway from this movie, and for that I’m quite grateful!

Rylance takes on the role of Leonard, a post-World War II transplant from London’s Savile Row who’s running a steady business in Chicago when we meet him. He left his bombed-out hometown to escape violence, but now he finds himself smack dab in the epicenter of gangster warfare. That’s right, the title of this flick refers to “outfit” in both senses of the term!

With that setup, this is more or less a how-to guide for how to survive amidst violence when you don’t have any interest in being loyal to either side. Leonard and his trusty assistant Mable (Zoey Deutch) both have the requisite amount of craftiness and self-reliance to keep themselves out of harm’s way just enough. By the time the credits are about to roll, there’s a very high probability that you’ll find yourself shouting, “That son of a gun was in control the whole time!” And hey, if you want somebody acting as a smooth operator in the middle of chaos, Mark Rylance is your guy!

Director Graham Moore (who also co-wrote the script with Johnathan McClain) keeps the action confined entirely to Leonard’s shop. You might call that a stagey decision (and honestly I’m surprised that this wasn’t based on a play), but the claustrophobia it conveys sure feels right. Besides, cinematographer Dick Pope always knows exactly where to direct our attention. And that tight confinement also makes it feel like we’re getting to know everyone better than we would have otherwise, which is especially appreciated when the cast includes the likes of Johnny Flynn and Teen Wolf vet Dylan O’Brien as the gangsters, which leads me to ponder, “Damn, these guys are now old enough to play career criminals?” Overall, it’s a nifty little construction, with every cut exactly where it’s meant to be.

The Outfit is Recommended If You Like: Crisp diction, secret pockets, acting showcases

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Cutters

Who Better to Make Us Feel ‘Old’ Than M. Night Shyamalan?

July 22, 2021

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Old (CREDIT: Universal Pictures)

Starring: Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Thomasin McKenzie, Alex Wolff, Abbey Lee, Eliza Scanlen, Ken Leung, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Aaron Pierre, Kathleen Chalfant, Emun Elliott, Embeth Davidtz

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Running Time: 108 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Intense, Strange Violence and a Bare Buttcrack Running Into the Ocean

Release Date: July 23, 2021 (Theaters)

After delivering one of the most iconic twist endings of all time in The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan became straitjacketed by his reputation for the last-second reveal. But now that he’s a little bit older (wink, wink) and wiser, he’s quietly and consistently embraced that reputation. And why not? He truly is one of the all-time masters of the technique, and Old might just be his greatest trick since The Sixth Sense. But Old doesn’t rely on the twist for the entire movie to be effective (which was also the case with his breakthrough film). If the conclusion hadn’t told us what was really happening on this beach that ages people at a rate of about 2 years per hour, I would’ve been disappointed. But I also probably would’ve quickly gotten over that by appreciating everything else there is to offer in this meditation on the passage of time.

Each of the vacationers who find themselves on Old‘s private beach are in situations that are ripe for prompting considerations of mortality. Prisca (Vicky Krieps) has a tumor in her stomach, which is contributing to the troubles with her husband Guy (Gael García Bernal). Charles (Rufus Sewell) is beset by mental illness while attempting to keep both his much younger wife Chrystal (Abbey Lee) and elderly mother Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant) happy. Jarin (Ken Leung) and Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird) are trying to enjoy themselves without worrying too much about Patricia’s frequent seizures. Big deal rapper Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre) is decompressing from the pressures of fame while also dealing with a blood clotting condition. And on top of all that, we’ve got Prisca and Guy’s two kids and Charles and Chrystal’s daughter running around, which is the perfect formula to make any parent get a little verklempt about how the days are just whizzing by.

So just how would people really react if their lifespans suddenly became overwhelmingly compressed? As Old sees it, their first instinct would be to escape, which is probably why Shyamalan decided to make it nearly impossible for them to do so. As they attempt to make peace – or not – with their doom, their reactions are filled with violence and terror. And of course that’s the case; this is a panicky and desperate crisis, a fabulous escape room of mammoth proportions. But there are also moments of  reflection and tenderness, as the families attempt to make the best of the time they have left with each other.

From the first frame to the last, Old is richly satisfying as both metaphor and thought experiment. The questions it raises are plenty of fun to puzzle out as the characters do so on screen. If our biological ages suddenly become so much older, would we become correspondingly more emotionally and mentally mature? Just what is it that makes us mature when time passes at its normal rate anyway? Life experiences, for sure. And well, there’s a lot of life experience packed into each grain of sand on this beach. And the same is also true of the richest cinema in the world. You’ll probably feel a little older after watching Old, and I bet you’ll be thankful about that.

Old is Recommended If You Like: Feeling both scared and enriched by the passage of time

Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Hours