A Reel Review: ANTLERS

In the last 12 years, director Scott Cooper has become one of those filmmakers who lands on a lot of must-see lists. In 2009 he guided Jeff Bridges to an Oscar with CRAZY HEART, turned Johnny Depp into a gangster in BLACK MASS (2015), and helmed the outstanding Western HOSTILES in 2017. Here in 2021 he teams up with creature-feature producer Guillermo del Toro for the supernatural horror film, ANTLERS. 

 

Julia (Keri Russell), a schoolteacher, suspects that one of her students, Lucas (Jeremy T. Thomas), is secretly keeping a supernatural creature hidden in his house. 

 

Based on the short story The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca, ANTLERS mostly operates as a mystery. In the early goings, young Lucas and his meth-cooking father are ambushed in an abandoned mine by some unknown creature, and later Julia, along with the audience, are led to believe that Lucas is keeping said creature as a pet. An early twist happens as we learn (slight spoiler here), that Lucas is actually keeping his infected father and younger brother locked up…both of whom seem to be slowly transforming into something else. 

 

While director Scott Cooper is slowly unraveling an effective mystery, he’s also making one hell of a horror flick with good scares and a creepy atmosphere. Unfortunately, once the mystery is uncloaked (which happens fairly early), the rest of the film becomes blandly predictable even for anyone who has never seen a horror movie. Cooper at the same time is playing with plenty of subtext; including lower-class families whose children fall through the system, small towns that are vanishing due to declining coal industry, and American Indian legends. 

 

Filmed on location in British Columbia (in the same town where FIRST BLOOD was filmed in 1982), the film looks gorgeous despite being in endless rainfall and sunless skies. Editing is crisp and the gore is glorious. The creature itself, when it does come, is horrific and grotesque. Cooper only shows the creature in fleeting glimpses which really works well. But in doing a horror film there are still traps that Cooper falls into, with the old trick of hapless characters venturing into spooky places they would naturally flee from. 

 

Acting is good from the small cast. Keri Russell handles everything well despite her character getting a lot of backstory that never seems to come back into play. Jesse Plemons comes in as her brother and local sheriff and does well. The support cast of young Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, and Amy Madigan all handle their roles well. 

 

The final battle and solution to kill the creature is handled with zero imagination and tension, and one has to wonder if there were discussions on set on how to do it best or if something got changed in the editing…and then an epilogue offers a slight twist that doesn’t work as well as it thinks it does. In the end ANTLERS pokes in as a horrific (in a good way) body-horror creature feature that delivers as just as much as it misses. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it 

A Reel Review: THE FRENCH DISPATCH

For the most part, the films of stylistic director Wes Anderson have explored with joyful whimsy the sad melancholy of things that have passed from this world; such as grand hotels, the spirit of youth, natural talent, or even love. Here in 2021 he takes a look at the long demise of print journalism with his anthology film, THE FRENCH DISPATCH. 

 

THE FRENCH DISPATCH is composed of three different storylines based on feature articles in the final issue of the fictional Kansas newspaper The French Dispatch, following the death of its long-time editor (Bill Murray). The stories include an incarcerated artist (Benicio del Toro), and his prison-guard lover Simone (Lea Seydoux), a student revolutionary (Timothee Chalamet), and a police commissioner (Mathieu Amalric), who enjoys fine dining. Each story is told through the eyes and words of each respective journalist who find themselves in the middle of each happening (played by Owen Wilson, Frances McDormand, and Jeffrey Wright). 

 

Quirky and untraditional even for an anthology film, THE FRENCH DISPATCH’s three storylines have little or nothing to do with each other, with the only connecting thread being that the writers of each article find themselves deeply imbedded in the happenings. Issues of ethics in journalism come up, but on a deeper level Wes Anderson is looking at how a story can be started as one thing in mind, only to have it take on a life of its own. It’s a statement on not only journalism but nearly any creative endeavor. 

 

The film is put together with Anderson’s usual trademarks; symmetrical framing, tracking shots, quick cuts, and marvelous set design. For good measure he finds a way to use the modern “mannequin challenge” as a cinematic tool…and it works wonderfully. His storytelling doesn’t quite go from A to Z easily as there are some sideways scenes that can be a bit jarring. The film looks gorgeous, and the moments of drama and laughter are perfectly timed and executed. Anderson throws every cinematic trick out there; ranging from various screen and color formats to animation. 

 

Acting is very good and with a huge ensemble cast with shifting storylines it’s difficult to single anyone out. In addition to Murray, Chalamet, Wilson, McDormand, del Toro, and Seydoux…there is also Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Henry Winkler (!), Bob Balaban, Christoph Waltz, Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, and Tony Revolori. An impressive cast, no doubt. 

 

THE FRENCH DISPATCH runs only 103 minutes but feels longer thanks to the massive amount of characters and happenings in the film. It’s easy to feel exhausted once the credits roll, but like most of Anderson’s films, he brings us a world that we would love to wrap ourselves up in. Ambitious, unique, and delivering an important theme, THE FRENCH DISPATCH can be read over and over. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Review: DUNE

In 1965, author Frank Herbert published his epic novel, DUNE; the first book in his massive saga that would set the groundwork for modern science fiction. The book was adapted to the big screen in 1984 with mixed results by David Lynch, and here in 2021, we get another shot at it. 

 

In the year 10191, the Emperor assigns Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), to the desert planet of Arrakis; the one and only source in the known universe of the spice…a coveted essential element. Leto is joined by his wife Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and his son Paul (Timothee Chalamet)…who is believed to the messiah to the native people of Arakkis. 

 

Directed by Denis Villeneuve and covering the first-half of Herbert’s book, DUNE is a layered story of galactic politics, betrayal, commerce, and extra-sensory mysticism. At the center of it all is young Paul, who, because of his non-traditional birth circumstances, is believed to be the messiah of the native people of Arakkis, known as Fremen, who are fighting for their right to their homeworld. Paul’s father is dealing with his own issues on a larger scale, which includes spice-mining rights demanded by the war-like Harkonnen (led by a grotesque Stellan Skarsgaard), which eventually leads to all-out war and backstabbing. There is a lot going on but Villeneuve balances it all well. 

 

The many plot-lines turn DUNE into a slow-burner, and the film feels every bit of it’s 156 minutes. But making up for that is the technical masterpiece that Villeneuve has put on the screen. Visuals are breathtaking, and the many extreme-wide shots paint a massive scale that is hard to take in all at once, and the intimate shots are all paintings. Sound-design is another miracle as it nearly becomes a character itself, and Hans Zimmer’s score adds to the foreboding and huge atmosphere. 

 

Acting is excellent as the entire cast fits their roles very well. Timothee Chalamet puts in his best performance as a young man saddled with great destiny that he doesn’t fully understand. Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson are nicely matched, and the supporting cast of Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgaard, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, and Zendaya are all excellent. 

 

As the film only covers the first-half of the book, DUNE does feel incomplete…but what we do get here is a masterstroke in visual storytelling and world building on a layered and expansive scale. There are complicated parts of the book that could have been fleshed out better for the un-informed, but it doesn’t derail this universal stunner that deserves a conclusion. This is required big-screen viewing. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

 

A Reel Review: HALLOWEEN KILLS

In 2018, horror icon Michael Myers returned to the big screen in David Gordon Green’s HALLOWEEN, which was a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN from 1978. Ignoring the countless sequels that covered over 20 years, the film was ballyhooed as the long-awaited final showdown between the knife-wielding, masked Michael and Laurie Strode, as reprised by Jamie Lee Curtis. For the most part it was, until the very end when the film just punted that final showdown away for another film…which brings us to HALLOWEEN KILLS. 

 

Moments after the end of HALLOWEEN (the 2018 HALLOWEEN, not the 1978 HALLOWEEN), Laurie (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), head to the hospital to recover from their fight with Michael…who was left to burn alive. Michael escapes and resumes his killing spree, which inspires the town of Haddonfield to form a mob to go after him. 

 

HALLOWEEN KILLS is a slasher film that has a lot going on. While Laurie recovers from her wounds, a handful of Michael’s original targets rally the town into a frenzied mob. The mob is led by 1978 characters Tommy (played here by Anthony Michael Hall), Lindsey (reprised by original actress Kyle Richards), and the former Nurse Chambers (original actress Nancy Stephens). Meanwhile, Deputy Hawkins (Will Patton), survives his attack from the previous film and spends the rest of the movie in a hospital bed…which then goes into a series of flashbacks showing his connection to the 1978 attacks. 

 

If it seems like a lot for a slasher film, it is. Although the flashbacks, which provides backstory and motivation for Hawkins, are very well executed by re-using and re-manipulating footage from previous films, they don’t mean much here as Hawkins does nothing for the rest of the film but lay around; again, just another set-up for another movie. The mob that forms to hunt down Michael isn’t the worst idea on paper, but the townsfolk, which includes an entire hospital staff, gets whipped into a frenzy way too quickly and it becomes laughable. Toss in a mistaken-identity sequence where the mob chases an escaped inmate to his death, and it becomes a lot of noise that goes nowhere. 

 

But if kills, blood, gore, and stabbing is what’s wanted out of a HALLOWEEN movie, then KILLS does live up to his name. Characters are introduced and hacked up within minutes, and the kills are inventive, brutal, gory, and true to the franchise. Director David Gordon Green does provide atmosphere when Michael can’t be seen (but we know he’s lurking about), and photographs one great-looking film. The score, which was partly done by John Carpenter, is excellent. KILLS often goes out of its way to pay tribute to the original movie, and the inclusion of 1978 characters and actors is a nice touch…right down to 82-year-old Charles Cyphers reprising his role as Sheriff Brackett. KILLS shows these legacy characters celebrating the fact that they are survivors of Michael’s original killing spree…but then the film oddly, and stupidly kills some of them off anyway. 

 

Acting is hard to judge as so many characters come and go over the course of the 105 minute running-time. Jamie Lee Curtis does the most yelling, but unfortunately for her, she spends most of the film in bed and doesn’t do much of anything. Anthony Michael Hall is very good. 

 

If seeing the shape of Michael lurk in the shadows and whip out his blade in gory fashion is all that is needed out of a HALLOWEEN film, then KILLS does deliver. The film does have the disadvantage of being a middle-chapter as most of it’s work is just set-up for yet another film…because no, Laurie and Michael still haven’t had their final showdown. In fact, they are never even in the same room together in KILLS. It’s frustrating, as KILLS delivers in some areas but whiffs badly in others. Maybe in 2022 the next movie will make this one seem better in hindsight. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it  

A Reel Retro Review: DRACULA A.D. 1972 (1972)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews will randomly review a classic film every week, with the intention of introducing some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

October is the time to dust off the old horror favorites; the slashers, the ghosts, the living and walking dead, and the classic monsters and ghouls that have defined the genre from day one. One such blood-sucker that has dominated horror for nearly a hundred years is Count Dracula, who has been portrayed by the late great Christopher Lee seven times…with his sixth outing coming in the 1972 film, DRACULA A.D. 1972. 

 

Dracula (Lee), is staked to death by his nemesis Lawrence Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) in 1872. A hundred years later, he is resurrected by a group of hippies and begins a new reign of terror. 

 

Directed by Alan Gibson and produced by the famed horror factory Hammer Film Productions, DRACULA A.D. 1972 was an early attempt to update the Dracula story for modern audiences. Gone are the familiar settings of castles and graveyards, and in comes the London swinging party scene. The story itself is simple in nature, and as an early film to bring vampires into modern settings, is very familiar by today’s standards; Drac starts his feeding which baffles clueless Scotland Yard, and only a select few who actually believe in vampires understand what is happening. 

 

The film’s story is bolstered by the lineage of Dracula’s old enemies. Standing in his way here are the descendants of Lawrence Van Helsing, including Lorrimer Van Helsing (also Peter Cushing), and his granddaughter Jessica Van Helsing (Stephanie Beacham). This offers a little more meat on the bone; not much, but it is there. 

 

Bringing Dracula into the swinging scene of 1972 London half-works. The group of hippies that bring him back are some of the most annoying characters of all time, and the film uses disco music during many scenes that are supposed to be scary which are then ruined. There also seems to a missed opportunity to capitalize on Dracula in modern times, as he never once leaves his location to mingle with the city. The film also has some of the fakest-looking blood ever put to screen. 

 

Acting is quite good. Christopher Lee looks as menacing as ever, even though his screen-time oddly feels like an extended cameo. Peter Cushing is a delight as always. Stephanie Beacham is excellent. 

 

DRACULA A.D. 1972 has plenty of flaws, but for the most part it provides an easy watch during the season when the nights grow dark quicker and the pumpkins are flaring. It’s not the best Dracula ever, but it’s not the worst. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it 

 

*

 

Reel Facts: This was the first film to feature Lee and Cushing in their respective roles as Dracula and Van Helsing since DRACULA from 1958. The two would reprise their roles once last time in 1973 in THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA. Stephanie Beachman would later star in TV’s THE COLBY’S (1985-1987), and DYNASTY (1985-1989). 

 

 

A Reel Review: LAMB

There are many forms that a horror movie can take; slashers, mysteries, torture, bloodbaths, body-horror, sci-fi, and supernatural…to name a few. One of the most effective, and un-nerving forms are the films that make things wrong…while characters go about their business.

 

Maria (Noomi Rapace), and her husband Ingvar (Hilmir Snaer Guonason), are sheep-farmers in Iceland morning the loss of their child. When one of their sheep gives birth to a half-human, half-sheep…they decide to raise it as their own child. 

 

Directed by Vladimar Johannson, LAMB first introduces us to Maria and Ingvar as a couple whose grief has overtaken them; the many tasks around the farm are done mundanely, and dinner-time conversations are limited to just a few terse words. When the mysterious, and near-grotesque lamb-child is born (whom they name Ada), the couple learn to be parents and lovers again. 

 

What makes LAMB work so well, despite what should be a silly concept, is its presentation. Vladimar Johannson expertly makes our imaginations go nuts by holding a lot back; it’s what we don’t see that makes the film so un-nerving. We don’t see Ada’s disfiguration until much later, as Johannson uses the actor’s faces and reactions to tell us that something is amiss. The way Ada is conceived is shrouded in mystery until the very end, with the opening sequence being told from the “father’s” perspective. 

 

Shot on location, LAMB is gorgeous to look at; even rainy and cold days look beautiful on the screen. Pacing is deliberate, and the story is told through very little dialogue. The score by Porarinn Guonason is excellent. Ada is a visual miracle as she goes from infant to toddler. Acting is also excellent, with Noomi Rapace leading the way. 

 

LAMB ends in a shock, and while it may not make a lot of sense to some audiences, the film seems to be channeling old Iceland myths and legends…so on the surface it works. From birth to death, LAMB is a creepy affair as we watch this relatable couple raise a half-sheep, half-human child as if nothing is wrong. That’s the type of horror that gets under our skin and stays there. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Review: NO TIME TO DIE

NO TIME TO DIE, the 25^th film in the James Bond 007 franchise and the fifth and final outing for lead actor Daniel Craig, has seen more than its share of problems on its way to the big screen; ranging from awkward press events, production problems and delays…and being shelved for nearly two years thanks to a mis-managed pandemic. But none of that really matters, because all that goes in the rear-view mirror once the big screen lights up. 

 

James Bond (Craig), is called out of his retirement and romance with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), to stop Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), a terrorist leader looking to unleash a DNA-based virus upon the world. 

 

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, NO TIME TO DIE serves as a near-direct sequel to SPECTRE (2015), while wrapping up many threads left behind by the previous three films in the Daniel Craig era that began way back in 2005. On the surface the plot seems simple, but underneath that is a complex, yet cleverly layered story that takes Bond not only across the world but into his past, present, and future. After a thrilling (and shocking) cold open, the film surprisingly jumps ahead five years, and has Bond pulled back into the world of espionage which reunites him with old colleagues such as M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw), Moneypenny (Naomi Harris), CIA Agent Felix Leiter (the always reliable Jeffrey Wright), CIA Agent Paloma (a delightful, show-stealing Ana de Armas)…along with new double-o agent Nomi (Lashana Lynch), and old adversary Blofeld (the always dull-as-nuts Christoph Waltz). 

 

The plot then moves into a series of globe-trotting adventures packed with many twists and turns and surprises. The idea behind Safin’s attack on the world is unique and is a clever combination of the old Bond-villain wacko schemes and relevancy with today’s technology. But more importantly, for the first time ever James Bond has a true arc that has carried through five films, and in NO TIME TO DIE the character is taken to new and fresh places for the first time in 50 years. It’s the most impactful thing the character has done since Sean Connery first introduced the last-name first. 

 

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga films a gorgeous looking movie on a wide scale that demands to seen on the big screen. Action sequences are an absolute thrill with perfect buildups. The old standard template of past Bond films is out the window (Bond doesn’t get back on her Majesty’s payroll until deep in the film), which makes the movie unique and provides its own identity. Hans Zimmer’s score is outstanding. 

 

Daniel Craig gives Bond the right amount of emotion and truly sells the arc the character has been on. Rami Malek seems to mumble too goddamn much and his villain is a bit stock. Lea Seydoux is excellent. The show is stolen by Ana de Armas who can seduce just as easily as she can kick a bad guy in the head in heels. 

 

NO TIME TO DIE takes many cues (and provides clever winks), from previous Bond entries, and sharp-eared fans may pick up on where the film is headed after it’s outstanding, 30-minute final battle to save the world. Even if the end is guessed, the final minutes are an emotional wallop that will leave 007 lovers staggering out of the theatre. The final wrap could have used a little more ceremony, but it’s no dealbreaker, as NO TIME TO DIE allows Daniel Craig to go out at the very top of the James Bond legacy. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

A Reel Retro Review: ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews will randomly review a classic film every week, with the intention of introducing some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

 

With the long-awaited 25^th James Bond film ready to hit theatres, the time is right to go back and revisit one of the most-often overlooked entries in the franchise; the George Lazenby-led ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE from 1969. 

 

British secret agent 007 James Bond (Lazenby), travels to a remote outpost in the Swiss Alps. There, he discovers Blofeld (Telly Savalas), the leader of the terrorist organization SPECTRE, planning to brainwash a group of women to act as a sleeper cell, who when activated, will decimate the world through chemical warfare. Along the way, Bond meets and falls in love with Countess Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg). 

 

Directed by Peter R. Hunt and based on the novel by Bond creator/author Ian Fleming, ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE was the first Bond film without the man who originated the role on the big screen, Sean Connery. With that in mind, the film starts in a non-traditional manner, immediately separating itself from its previous entries and giving itself its own identity. It’s a welcome and fresh start, and sets a precedent that future Bond films would eventually follow. 

 

The film moves at a leisurely pace, and while Blofeld’s plot to take over the world is bonkers, the film is never derailed by this as the focus is on the new Bond. Lazenby plays the part with a vulnerability that was missing from the previous entries, and this carries over into the rest of the film. For better or for worse, much of the film is focused on Bond and Traci, and it takes a good hour before 007 is actually dispatched on his mission. Some plot points don’t make a lot of sense (Bond is attacked by Traci’s father’s henchmen, who then asks him to grant him a favor by marrying his daughter…huh?), and Blofeld is revealed to be seeking a ransom more than global domination…which lowers the stakes. 

 

Director Peter R. Hunt, who worked as an editor in previous Bond films, shoots a gorgeous looking film and executes some of the best fights and chase sequences the franchise has ever seen. Tension is mounted nicely, and John Barry’s score is outstanding. 

 

George Lazenby, in his one and only outing as Bond, plays the character in a fresh way that is welcome. Although his acting experience when filming was very limited (he was a model with only a commercial to this credit at the time), he makes for a formidable Bond with all of the toughness and charm that we’ve come to expect from the character. Diana Rigg is gorgeous and matches Lazenby well, and Telly Savalas gives Blofeld a true calculating menace. 

 

ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE is a 007 film that is mostly recalled for being led by the “forgotten Bond” of Lazenby, and for its tragic ending that the franchise has yet to match or top. The film deserves a bit more credit than that, because despite a few flaws, stands as a thrilling and moving entry into the Bond catalog. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

Reel Facts: George Lazenby was the youngest actor cast as Bond at the age of 29, and as an Australian, the only one born outside of the British Isles. Diana Rigg would gain late-career fame as Olenna Tyrell in TV’s GAME OF THRONES. She passed away in 2020 at the age of 82. 

A Reel Review: VENOM - LET THERE BE CARNAGE

In 2018, Sony Pictures adapted Spider-Man’s greatest villain Venom to the big screen (without Spidey, but that’s another story). The film was slammed for its silliness and bizarre shifts in tone from comedy to horror, but it made enough bank that was good enough for a sequel. 

 

Free-lance journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), while still adjusting to living with his flesh-eating alien symbiote Venom, is summoned by imprisoned serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), to conduct a series of interviews which are actually code phrases for his imprisoned love, Frances (Naomie Harris). When Cletus manages to bite Eddie, he becomes infected with a spawn of Venom, which calls itself Carnage. 

 

Directed by Andy Serkis (yes, that Andy Serkis, precious), VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE does not have much by way of plot…and what there is of a story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Cletus’ plan to use Eddie’s articles as a one-way street of communicating with Frances (who happens to have super-powers of her own), doesn’t have any sort of plan or endgame…and Cletus becomes Carnage only out of dumb luck. Overall CARNAGE is anemic in story; there is a setup, a slight complication, a big fight at the end…and that’s it. There’s barely enough to fill the measly running time of 90 minutes. 

 

With so little story the time is filled with attempts at humor between Eddie and Venom. It’s set up like a buddy comedy but every joke and one-liner falls flat and falls hard, and the cookie-monster-on-drugs voice that comes out of nowhere is still silly. The film tries to live up to its name by making carnage; every two minutes the script is smashing up Eddie’s apartment, a vehicle, or a bunch of buildings. There’s certainly carnage to be seen, but eventually it gets repetitive, boring, and lazy. And despite all the destruction, everything that Venom and Carnage does never seems to affect another person in the city; it’s like they’re in their own bubble. Another issue is lazy editing; even though the transformation scenes are very well done, the film too often skips them. We cut away from Venom to another shot, and when we cut back its suddenly Eddie. It’s a cheap and lazy way to scale back on visual effects, and on-screen it is jarring and awkward. 

 

Acting is ridiculous as everyone just acts like a bumbling muppet. The biggest travesty is the lovely and most-excellent actress Michelle Williams…who is given nothing of significance to do. 

 

Counting the un-related 2007 SPIDER-MAN 3, this is Sony Pictures’ third attempt at doing Venom justice on the big screen, and it is their worst swing-and-miss. The mid-credits scene offers a glimmer of hope for the character as Venom and fans finally  get a glimpse of what’s been missing since 2018. It’s just a shame we had to sit through two of these dung-heaps to get there. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it