MRMOVIEETC
REVIEWS:
“When Angels
Sleep” (2018)
I kind of want to slide this into the “Good Try”
category. It’s not really bad, but not too great either. I want to say I liked
it, but only in spurts. I don’t know; maybe I’m not the right audience for a
plot that advances solely based on the increasingly stupid decisions made
repetitiously by the characters in stressful or desperate situations. I can
appreciate the attempt at realism there, but the two leads come off as
reasonably intelligent people whom would eventually break the cycle.
At the same time, when the film does start to reach its
suspenseful peak, it’s pretty gripping and effective. Watching German (Julian
Villagran) slowly reach his breaking point knowing his freedom is on the line
after a terrible car accident leaves a young woman dead, it starts to play with
the audience’s psyche as to whether or not he’s going to something incredibly
irrational, and if he does, is it justified?
I likely would have enjoyed the film more if said suspense lead to what
looked like a satisfactory ending instead of what turned out to be.
I guess I can give it a casual recommendation.
“When Angels Sleep”: 6.5/10
“I Am Not A Serial
Killer” (2016)
For a low-budget monster movie about an almost
eighty-year-old Christopher Lloyd lumbering around a sleepy town killing people
to rejuvenate his dying body, it’s not half-bad.
Do I need to continue? If that doesn’t sell you, I cannot
imagine anything will.
Alright, well, if you need more, “I Am Not A Serial
Killer” could actually be seen as two films with very different character arcs.
Lloyd’s Bill Crowley character is interesting enough, sure, but he serves as
more of a distraction/fascination for teenager John Wayne Cleaver (Max
Records), whom spends a majority of the film trying to convince himself and
everyone around him that he’s a sociopath capable of serial killing, and the
results are a little cringeworthy. One cannot help but sympathize with him
though as he’s clearly trying to reconcile a less-than-stellar childhood.
I’m not going to say this blew my mind or anything,
though the gritty and faded cinematography gave it some extra charms where
needed.
“I Am Not A Serial Killer”: 7.5/10
“Hunter Killer”
(2018)
I enjoyed the Hell out of this.
No, seriously, I had a pretty good time!
To be clear, “Hunter Killer” is not a good film. Gary
Oldman’s character could have been played by anybody with a face, Gerard Butler
isn’t bad but that’s about it, and the CGI, especially underwater, is going to
leave a lot of people wanting for better. However, once it quickly becomes
obvious where the film is going and what it is going to be all about, there is
an abundance of delicious 90s cheese in which to indulge.
“Red October” and “Crimson Tide” it is not, but then
again, what exactly is? With brains fully turned off and a bowl of popcorn at
close range, “Hunter Killer” can deliver some thrills.
“Hunter Killer”: 8/10
“First Man” (2018)
I had completely intended to do a full write up for
Damien Chazelle’s latest attempt at Oscar gold in “First Man”; though, the more
I thought about it, I just couldn’t think of a way to do it.
“First Man”, by default, has a big mountain to climb,
because while it clocks in at just under two-and-a-half hours, there was
clearly way more material that could been included to show the physical and
emotional strife on Neil Armstrong leading up to his historical moon launch.
Chazelle is much more interested in the drama on the ground than in the sky
(though the scenes within the shuttle’s cockpit are stunning in a variety of
ways), which isn’t a bad approach. The issue with that, again, is time
constraints. All the tests leading up to the mission meant handfuls of
fatalities for those that were supposedly close to Armstrong, but it all comes
and goes so quickly, so there’s little chance for the audience to absorb it
before moving on to the next thing.
Fortunately, towards the end when Neil is preparing for
his departure, the dust is allowed to settle and Claire Foy finally gets a
chance to shine as a wife that can barely tolerate being supportive any longer.
Gosling is also at his best when he reminisces about his daughter whom died at
a terribly young age due to a terminal disease, and Chazelle did a fantastic
job of capturing those moments as the clear motivator for Armstrong’s
reluctance to give up despite the odds.
I’m not going to say it’s my favorite Damien Chazelle
film so far, but it is still a fine piece of filmmaking that shows he’s willing
to take his craft into different genres and be successful at it.
“First Man”: 8/10
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