It’s a ‘Silent Night’ for All the Worst Reasons in John Woo’s Christmas-Set Tale of Vengeance

November 29, 2023

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , 1 Comment

Joel Kinnaman and Catalina Sandino Moreno having a Silent Night (CREDIT: Lionsgate)

Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi, Catalina Sandina Moreno, Harold Torres

Director: John Woo

Running Time: 104 Minutes

Rating: R for Bloody Violence, Mostly Due to Gunfire

Release Date: December 1, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Brian Godluck (Joel Kinnaman) has just survived the most terrible tragedy during the holiday season. His young son has been killed by a stray bullet in a gang-related shootout. Fueled by adrenaline in the heat of a moment, he chases after the men who are responsible, a decision that ends with him being shot in the neck. He manages to make it out alive, but in the process he loses the ability to speak. After recovering, vengeance takes over his life, and he circles Christmas Eve on his calendar as the day for payback. And because the movie he’s in is called Silent Night, there’s hardly any audible dialogue throughout.

What Made an Impression?: Poetic Vengeance: It’s quite the challenge for an actor to realize a full characterization without being heard. Scott Cudi (aka the rapper Kid Cudi), for example, can only do so much as the lead detective, although to be fair, he doesn’t have that many scenes, and he’s mostly filling a utilitarian purpose. Kinnaman at least has plenty to do as the main character, with anguish written all over his face even at his most determined. But perhaps the most profound performance is delivered by Catalina Sandina Moreno as Brian’s wife Saya. With her deep eyes and full cheeks, she’s always had a visage that you can get lost in, and director John Woo knows exactly how to frame her. In many ways, Saya is the stereotypical action movie spouse who gets dropped by the wayside before the flashy set pieces arrive. But her eventual absence hits more profoundly than most, as Brian sinks further and further into the underworld.
Unrelenting … and Cathartic?: There are plenty of Christmas-set movies that aren’t exactly holly-jolly, so Silent Night isn’t exactly sacrilegious. But it is among the bleakest ever in this particular subgenre. When all is said and done and Brian has fed his desperation as much as he possibly can, I couldn’t help but feel devastated, even knowing that this is just a movie. But in a way, Silent Night also works as a what-not-to-do guide if the Worst Possible Thing happens to you as a parent, much the same way that the true crime genre is so popular in part because it can help warn us how to be less vulnerable in the face of life-threatening danger. Additionally, I can’t help but be impressed by Woo’s commitment to the gimmick, and breathe a sigh of relief when the tension of the whole mission finally concludes.

Silent Night is Recommended If You Like: Bracing yourself for the absolute worst tragedy

Grade: 3 out of 5 Christmas Sweaters

‘X’ and ‘Umma’: Short Titles, Ambitious Scares

March 17, 2022

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Umma (CREDIT: Saeed Adyani/Sony Pictures); X (CREDIT: Christopher Moss/A24)

Umma:

Starring: Sandra Oh, Fivel Stewart, Dermot Mulroney, Odeya Rush, MeeWha Alana Lee, Tom Yi

Director: Iris K. Shim

Running Time: 83 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Terrifying Memories and a Terrifying Present

Release Date: March 18, 2022 (Theaters)

X:

Starring: Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, James Gaylyn

Director: Ti West

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: R for Plenty of Sex and Violence

Release Date: March 18, 2022 (Theaters)

This week, we’ve got a couple of new horror releases arriving with pithy, vague titles. They pair well as a potential double feature, so I decided to go ahead and review them together. They’re also both operating in familiar subgenres with their own unique flourishes that you may or may not see coming. Let’s dig in.

First off, we’ll take a look at Umma, which to English speakers might sound like baby-talk. In a way it kind of is, but anyone who knows Korean will surely clock what’s in store. Starring Sandra Oh as a single mother named Amanda who lives alone with her daughter (Fivel Stewart) in an electricity-free home, this is one of those supernatural tales in which a ghost attaches to a person’s soul and just won’t let go. The East Asian pedigree suggests a throwback to the early 2000s when The Ring and The Grudge inaugurated a wave of J- and K-horror. But while those influences are certainly noticeable, a story of what we owe and inherit from our mothers resonates across cultures.

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‘Don’t’ Look Up’ Might Make You Scream, Except That Its Characters Are Doing Enough of That Already

December 13, 2021

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Don’t Look Up (CREDIT: Niko Tavernise/Netflix)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Himesh Patel, Melanie Lynskey, Michael Chiklis

Director: Adam McKay

Running Time: 138 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: December 10, 2021 (Theaters)/December 24, 2021 (Netflix)

Timothée Chalamet should have been in all of Don’t Look Up.

Or at least like 75% of it. I’m thinking the ideal situation would be that he’s a main character, but he’s barely in the trailer, if at all. So when he shows up, you think he’ll hang around for just a few scenes, but instead he gradually just takes over the whole affair. A miniature version of that is what actually happens in the Don’t Look Up that we did get, as he shows up about 2/3 of the way through and plays a fairly large part from that point forward.

What I’m trying to say is, instead of recreating the broad reality of people yelling at clear and present disaster, Don’t Look Up probably would’ve been better off primarily focusing on the peculiarities of random skater boys rolling through the apocalypse.

Grade: Look Up About Half the Time