Category Archives: Mystery

Velvet Buzzsaw

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Velvet Buzzsaw.     4 stars

Of the films I saw today the one that probably has the widest audience appeal is Velvet Buzzsaw. This is a satire thriller that absolutely skewers the art world with its representation of the pretensions of artists, critics, buyers and museum curators and the greed infecting these people. The film seems like a big budget Hollywood movie with its A list stars and big sets in Los Angeles. Cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, Billy Magnussen and John Malkovich. Since it is a satire, I am not sure how many people might like it. Some of the comedy is a bit high brow, but at the same time it’s also a silly comedy. I can’t go into detail on why it’s so silly without giving away the plot, but suffice it to say the greed of many of the characters gets the best of them in highly unusual ways. The satirical nature of the movie can be compared to The Death of Stalin and Vice, two recent movies that if you liked might mean you would like Velvet Buzzsaw. It was one of the better comedies I have seen at Sundance. I hope it will do well in theaters.

Disclosure Day

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Disclosure Day                   4 ½ stars

We are not alone. Movies and TV have been exploring this subject for decades. On TV there were episodes of The Twilight Zone and The X-Files. In the movies we have seen Men in Black, Arrival and Cowboys and Aliens. Then there are the Steven Spielberg films of E.T: The Extraterrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and War of the Worlds. They consider what it would be like if we are visited by beings from another world. This weekend we saw that Mr. Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic World Rebirth and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) are still very much interested in this subject with the release of the much-anticipated Disclosure Day. Disclosure Day captures the current mood of the country with the backdrop of turmoil and distrust in the government. In the movie tensions start out high with the threat of a coming war. From the opening scenes we find out that there are government agents trying to prevent a closely guarded secret from getting out to the public. There is a not well-known private organization hired by the government called Wardex that is charged with hiding the fact that aliens have been visiting Earth ever since that first incident in Roswell back in 1947. (This organization is so secret that not even the President knows about it.) Wardex is led by the villainous Noah Scanlon (brilliantly played by Colin Firth) who will stop at nothing including murder to keep the secret from getting out. There is a pair of especially gifted individuals that Scanlon is after. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and Challengers)) is an ex-employee of Wardex who has joined a wider group of ex-Wardex folks led by Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo (The Color Purple and Drive-Away Dolls)). Hugo has entrusted Daniel with a backpack full of hard drives that contain decades worth of evidence about the truth, but Daniel is reluctant to take on this role. Then there is Margaret Fairchild (the extremely talented Emily Blunt in one of her best performances yet), the weather person at the local Kansas City TV station, who believes she belongs somewhere else. (Along the way she will discover talents she didn’t know she had, like the ability to speak and understand foreign languages and read minds.) Spielberg uses his established methods in storytelling by alternately allowing us to get to know the characters in personal conversations and then giving us an intense action sequence with lives on the line. The truth is an often-used term in the movie as some of the characters are determined that people must see the truth on what is referred to as Disclosure Day. The question of what the known presence of alien beings will do to the faith of the God-fearing public is raised, particularly by Daniel’s girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson). Will they still believe in a supreme being if they see that they are not alone? Unfortunately for Jane, at the hands of Scanlon she will experience a powerful alien technology that allows one person to invade the consciousness of another and influence their actions. Can she resist his evil intensions? Besides all the action and the fast-moving plot, the film delivers a message of empathy; that is, if we can just recognize the pain that others are going through, this will be a much better world. Spielberg has once again put together a communal experience that will blow our minds and open our thoughts to the possibilities that the future holds. Disclosure Day looks like the big movie of the summer. You should not miss it.

Destroyer

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Destroyer                            4 stars

In the new crime drama, Destroyer by director Karyn Kusama, Nicole Kidman gives her most gritty and unusual performance of her career.  She is Erin Bell, a corrupt and substance abusing detective with an appearance to match.  Her look is absolutely unrecognizable with bad skin and sunken eyes and a stare that can nearly kill.  In the story she is on the path of a criminal from her past, Silas, a leader of a gang of bank robbers who has resurfaced after nearly twenty years.  On a past undercover assignment, she failed to stop the deaths of several people in a robbery that Silas masterminded.  Now she is on a personal mission to right past wrongs as if she was somehow responsible for the deaths herself.  Along the way she has to deal with a sixteen year old daughter who is becoming a juvenile delinquent.  The story is likely similar to past police/crime dramas featuring a tough anti-hero, the difference being that here the main character is a woman.  There is no modern technology used here like we see in police procedurals today.  Erin Bell uses good basic police work in tracking down her target.  There are some creditable supporting roles here including Sebastian Stan as Bell’s undercover partner and Toby Kebbell as the evil Silas.  It is Kidman that is the true heart of the film as she is in virtually every scene.  One can’t help get the feeling that she is stretching for awards glory is taking on such a difficult role.  She already has received a Golden Globe nomination for the film.  One warning for viewers is that you need to pay close attention to the plot as it is told in a nonlinear fashion.  All is not as it initially appears.

Greta

Greta                                    2 ½ stars

Greta by writer/director Neil Jordan brings a different twist to the stalker movie genre.  It stars Chloe Grace Moretz as young naïve Frances who having recently moved to New York City finds herself making friends with a French widow named Greta (Isabelle Hubbert) whom she has recently met.  The two met after Frances returned a lost handbag to the woman after finding it left on the subway.  The two seem like a good match since Frances has recently lost her mother.  Of course this is all too good to be true as we find out that Greta has some rather sinister motives that put poor Frances in peril.  Fortunately for her (and the movie) she has a very concerned roommate with good advice and a beautiful apartment in Manhattan who is played by Maika Monroe (from that great horror film It Follows).  The film follows much of the formula that goes along with your standard stalker movies including misfortunes befalling a pet (a dog in this case).  There was nothing especially noteworthy about this film other than the performance by Hubbert who is especially well-suited to the role of Greta.  Also present in the film is Zawe Ashton of Velvet Buzzsaw fame.

Laura

Laura                     5 stars

This well known mystery from 1944 has been on my wish list for a very long time and I finally got around to seeing it.  Known as one of the best made mysteries ever, it stars Gene Tierney as the murdered Laura, a young socialite who is sought after by a number of men and Dana Andrews as Detective McPherson who must solve the case.  The story introduces a number of suspects who are questioned by the detective who becomes obsessed with the subject, Laura, who then strangely appears at her own apartment very much alive.  The film is well constructed as each suspect appears to have a good story for why they are innocent while important clues about the actual events appear.  It is still a masterpiece that holds up to the test of time and packs plenty of style and drama in the short 90 minute run time.  The film was directed by Otto Preminger in what was only his second directorial effort.  Also present in the movie is a young Vincent Price as a weak willed admirer of the young Laura.

Us

Us                           4 stars

By now everyone has heard of Jordan Peele’s latest horror film Us. It’s his second directorial effort after 2017’s much heralded Get Out.  With Us he goes much deeper into the horror genre with his story about the Wilson family on a beach outing at their summer cabin.  We learn that the mother, Lupita Nyong’o, experienced a traumatic event at the beach when she was a girl.  In the present the family has a few strange encounters until everything explodes with the arrival of another family who look exactly like them except they are very different too!  This is truly a horror film with the odd developments and bloody encounters that you would expect with such a film.  Peele puts his own spin on the genre that has a moral message somewhere in the story.  As the film gets toward the conclusion there are some unanswered questions and some things that don’t quite make sense, but I think that’s ok for horror movies.  Be forewarned that there is plenty of blood and interesting ways of dying in Us.  It’s a film that’s probably not for everyone.

The Dead Don’t Die

The Dead Don’t Die         3 stars

The Dead Don’t Die by Jim Jarmusch puts a new comedic twist on an old genre, the zombie movie.  This light but bloody comedy brings together a very talented cast that includes Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Selena Gomez, Carol Kane and Tom Waits.  With this group of actors you wonder how could this film possibly miss.  The movie has more hits than misses so has some moments that don’t hit the mark.  The premise is that polar fracking being done by corporations has caused the earth to move off of its axis leading to strange events throughout the world.  Of course this includes the dead rising from the graves to seek out human flesh to satisfy their appetite which is completely logical, right?  Much of the comedy is delivered by Murray and Driver who both give their lines in the most deadpan manner imaginable.  (Remember, the way to stop a zombie is to Kill the Head.)  Also making a significant contribution is Buscemi as Farmer Miller, the white racist whose accusations have little basis in reality.  There is an ongoing gag involving a new country song that bears the title from the movie.  Tilda Swinton has a most unusual role as the Irish undertaker, a new comer to the small town of Centerville.  It is a very strange role that only Swinton could deliver on.  It being a Jarmusch film, it wanders into the ridiculous at a couple of times that detracted from the overall feel of the movie.  The Dead Don’t Die is not the funniest Zombie movie I’ve seen, but if you are a zombie movie fan you should not miss this one.

Midsommar

Midsommar       4 ½ stars

Midsommar might be the fright fest of the summer.  This horror movie really establishes Ari Aster as a first rate talent in the horror genre.  Last year he brought us the disturbing “Hereditary” and now he brings us Midsommar, a horror story told in broad daylight.  We start the story with Dani, a young woman who suffers an unimaginable tragedy when her sister and parents are all killed.  She decides to accompany her boyfriend and his graduate school friends on a once in a lifetime trip to a summer festival in a remote Swedish village.  Once there the friends are welcomed to this commune like society and are invited to join in with the villagers in their ancient pagan rituals.  Being involved includes enjoying the effects of hallucinogenic drugs that distort their sense of reality.  The happy mood continues for a good while but things eventually take a dark turn as things are not all what they appear to be. (How could it be any other way?)  Things go from bad to worse for each of the American guests as they discover what their hosts really think of them.  Aster is a master at creating these disturbing scenes that are played out in broad daylight unlike most horror movies.  This movie may also be appropriate for the MeToo movement as it shows how women can react toward the men they are disgruntled with.  Beware, there are several very disturbing images in this one as you would expect from a first rate horror movie.

Sirat

Sirat       4 ½ stars

At the opening of Sirat we see the words on the screen telling us that Sirat is the path between heaven and hell and that it is narrower than a strand of hair and sharper than a sword. These words serve as a warning for what the viewer is in for. Sirat, by Spanish film director Oliver Laxe, is the most slow-burning and harrowing film I have seen in a long time. As it progresses it becomes a test of endurance for the movie goer. The movie starts with hands building a large stack of speakers somewhere in the desert. Eventually, they are in place and the music starts. The sound we hear is that of loud rave music with a steady beat and non-melodic sound with over a hundred people seen dancing. They are some where in the Moroccan desert next to a mountain range. Luiz (Sergi López), a middle-aged Spanish man is wandering through the crowd with his young son, Estaban and their dog, showing a photo of his daughter to people asking if they have seen her. His daughter has been missing for months, and she was known to frequent these illegal rave events. Then a truck carrying armed soldiers appears, stopping the event and forcing the dancers to leave. As the crowd starts to drive away, a quintet of rave followers who are part of the crew drives off on their own path and Luiz decides to follow them in the hope that he may learn of the whereabouts of his daughter. There is another rave to be held in the desert in a few days, and they intend to get there driving through the desert. (They are driving a large truck and an RV, but Luiz and his son are in a mini-van that is not equipped for the rough roads.) We hear radio reports making vague references to there being a state of war. Later, they see troop convoys making their way through the desert. This movie is not about the search for a missing daughter, but something much more ominous and existential. Initially, it may look like a road trip movie, but it isn’t Thelma and Louise or even Mad Max. These travelers find themselves in one of the most isolated and unforgiving places imaginable. It is a place practically devoid of human or animal life. The mood of the film changes to something more ominous and is aided by a loud and hypnotic sounding score like nothing I have heard before. There are long stretches of the film showing the voyagers driving through the plains and on dangerous mountain roads with quiet rest stops along the way. As they make progress one gets the feeling of dread and heightened tension while wondering where the film is going. Then the sudden shock comes at the most unexpected time leaving the viewer completely stunned. The film may be described as an obscure arthouse film, but it is absolutely devastating and will not be forgotten. Besides López, all the cast are non-professionals who Laxe found among actual rave goers as he has followed the rave scene for the last six years. Thus, the actors are very authentic. Sirat is nominated for Academy Awards in the Best International Feature and Best Sound categories and is deserving in both categories. Of the nominated foreign films I have seen, I find only The Secret Agent to possibly be superior to this extraordinary film. You are warned though that this one is not for everyone.

Scream 7

Scream 7              2 stars

It has been four years since the Ghostface killer appeared once again in Woodsboro to continue his murderous spree on the local teenagers and others, who are related in some way to Sidney Prescott (Neve Cambell), the original victim of the knife wielding Ghostface going back to the nineties. But then, the very next year he showed up again in New York City in search of more victims, (only minus Sidney since she moved away to an undisclosed location (in Scream VI)). This perpetual killer did not let that stop him though. By now you know the formula. Ghostface makes a sudden appearance in Woodsboro, going on his usual rampage killing victims that are in some way connected to our heroine, Sidney. Some local sleuths come up with theories about who the killer or killers may be (Usually there are more than one.) Then there is a final confrontation where the mask comes off and we discover the identity of the real killer who gives a speech on why Sidney deserves to die, only to be killed by one of our heroes in a thrilling climax. Scream 7 has arrived in theaters and it is much the same story as we have seen in the previous six movies going all the way back to 1996. This time around Ghostface has tracked Sidney down in a different town, only now it is Sidney Evans’ daughter, Tatum (Isabel May of 1883) that he is after. The name is Evans now since Sidney is married to the local police chief, Mark Evans (Joel McCale of Community). In Scream fashion we get an opening scene where a young couple goes on a tour of a house built to recreate the original crime scene complete with Stab movie posters and a Ghostface mechanical figure, only to face their end at the hands of the costumed killer. Ghostface goes on to make threats to Sidney over the phone using that familiar, sinister voice, then follows through by stabbing some of the local teens to death who happen to be friends of Tatum. Then the reporters show up to get the story including the famous Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox returning for her seventh appearance) and her two minions. The rest is basically a repeat of the time-tested routine, when the killer’s identity is discovered and we get the same result. The writer of the original Scream movies, Kevin Williamson returns, this time as both writer and director to bring us this seventh of the series. The earlier directors of the franchise were Wes Craven, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. But there was an actual variation in the latest movie. In what can be called Ghostface meets AI, things get more complicated for poor Sidney with the creation of AI videos showing previous killers thought long dead reappearing on screen to make more threats. Thus, we see once again Dewey (David Arquette) and Stu (Matthew Lillard) making appearances on screen. The use of AI (without actually using AI in the movie) is an added twist that does nothing to add to the story. In my review of Scream VI, I said that it was time to call it quits on the franchise, but the filmmakers didn’t listen to me. My guess is that there will be a Scream 8 one day. But remember, Shoot ‘em in the head!