Serenity

     Serenity is directed by Steven Knight (Locke) and stars Matthew McConaughey (Mud), Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries), and Jason Clarke (Terminator: Genesys). It tells the story of Baker Dill, a fisherman on Plymouth island whose life is upended when his ex-wife tracks him down to help her complete a dark mission.

     Steven Knight has had his fair share of ups and downs through his career. He is best known as a writer for Peaky Blinders and Eastern Promises but has dabbled in directing. The only thing I knew about the movie going in was a poster I saw in December that had McConaughey and Hathaway front and center. That billing alone was enough to peak my interest.

     Serenity is a mess, all the way down to the editing and script. I usually only notice editing when it is bad, and I definitely noticed the editing in this movie. Characters jumped from place to place with little regard to the actual geography of the island. Night turned to morning and back again with characters remaining in the same scene. A cool camera trick where the camera panned around the actor Matrix-esque but it had little to do with any actually narrative structure.

     The story and dialogue are laughable at best. I understand the purpose of some of the lines of dialogue, but they are incredibly cringe worthy and could have been better written in order to get the same point across. I can only handle so much of Anne Hathaway saying “Daddy” over and over again.

     Around three-fourths of the way into the movie, a narrative twist occurs. While some may argue the twist helps to explain some of the issues from the beginning of the movie, I would argue it not only does nothing to explain away many of the problem, but only further adds to the problems to the movie. Even the end of the movie left me cold, rather than the emotional beat that was presumably hoped for.

     Not every movie can be great. Serenity proves that some are pretty bad. Bad enough to be seared into my mind for quite a long time. The type of movie that the longer you sit with, the more you dislike.

When should you see it? Give it 5 minutes

Minding the Gap

     Minding the Gap is directed by Bing Liu. It is a documentary about three men growing up in Rockford, Illinois, and how skateboarding played a transcendental part in their upbringing, helping to shape the way in which they see the world around them.
     I find documentaries to be an interesting art form. The ones often watched in school are boring and straight to the facts, leaving a cold taste in the mouths of many of what a documentary can be. But upon discovering a newer wave of documentaries, I eagerly seek them out. 2018 was a great year for documentaries with Three Identical Strangers, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, and Free Solo. So I eagerly anticipated this documentary from first time filmmaker Bing Liu.
     From the very beginning, Minding the Gap grabs the viewer with some beautifully shot long takes of skateboarding throughout the empty streets of Illinois. To know the director had to be on a skateboard really helps the viewer to appreciate the technical craft on display. The uninterrupted takes show just how good of skateboarders these men have become throughout their years.
     While the beginning of the film made it appear as though the skateboarding would be the centerpiece of the narrative, the film shifts its focus in the second act. It begins to explore the upbringings of the three main characters, Zack, Keire, and Bing. All three faced abuse within their homes from their fathers. This binds them together, yet their response to the abuse differentiates them from each other.

One chooses forgiveness.

One chooses self-medication.

One chooses repression.

     But the film does not give an easy answer as to who made the best decision, because life is hard and there are no easy answers. Perhaps the worst thing about the movie is the sympathy shown to one character who himself is abusive to his girlfriend. But Bing Liu does not let the man off easy, and prods his subject to find out why he chose the path he did.
     At the end of the movie, a montage shows just how much time has passed from the start of the film to the end. The director shot footage for over ten years, impressively editing it down to a pristine ninety minute run time, teeming with beautiful imagery.
     Minding the Gap is currently streaming on Hulu.

When should you see it?
Opening Night

Glass

     Glass is directed by M. Night Shyamalan (Sixth Sense) and stars James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), and Samuel L. Jackson (The Incredibles). It is the culmination of a trilogy started by Unbreakable and followed by Split. It tells the story of David Dunn locating Kevin Wendell Crumb, only to be captured by a governmental agency.

     Unbreakable is a movie I saw about seven years ago, thought it was pretty good, but did not think about it much until the release of Split two years ago. The reveal at the end that Kevin Wendell Crumb was part of a larger universe left me eagerly awaiting the continued stories of these characters. And the first trailers for Glass were extremely promising.

     The best part of the movie is the character played by McAvoy known as ‘The Horde’. His character from Split Is very much in the center of Glass and is better than ever. He effortlessly floats between characters, embodying each one in his own unique way. Sarah Paulsen (Bird Box) is also pretty good in her role as a shadowy government agent, but the culmination of her story was deeply unsatisfying.

     Perhaps the most frustrating part of Glass is the lack of titular character Elijah Price played by Samuel L. Jackson who reprises his villainous role from Unbreakable. There is very little arc for his character, and I left the movie knowing just about as much about him as I did before walking in. Jackson does what he can with the role, however little that may be.

     The cinematography is quite interesting, with a lot of care being put into the smallest details. Each character is given a specific color that helps each scene pop, especially when they are all on screen together. The action sequences are also well done, if tonally inconsistent. Shyamalan appears to not be as interested in these sequences but knows that they are what the audience is expecting.

     The scale of the movie is much smaller than I was expecting, and less than what it appeared to be through the advertising. Whereas I thought the mental institution would be a stop on the way to a much larger story, it instead is where the majority of the film takes place. While I thought this could be an interesting plot point in a larger story, I do not feel as though it carried enough weight to have the heft of the movie placed on its shoulders.

     At the end of the day, Glass is bolstered by a great lead performance by McAvoy and some visually interesting ideas but is hampered by its lack of scale and little actual character development.

When should you see it?

Dollar Theater

Escape Room

     Escape Room is directed by Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key) and stars Deborah Ann Woll (Daredevil), Taylor Russell (Lost in Space), and Logan Miller (Love, Simon). It tells the story of six strangers who are invited to an escape room, but this game is a lot different than one any of them have played before. 

     January is often the dumping ground for movies. Studios see it as the least profitable time of year and will release movies they do not expect to be that good or do that well. Every once in a while, a movie like Split comes along and bucks that trend. So, I was hoping for a similar result with Escape Room.

     The best part of the movies are the escape rooms themselves. Clearly a lot of effort went into designing the traps and money went into physically building the rooms. The first three rooms bring quite a few thrills and fun moments. As the traps try to ratchet up the tension, some actually became quite silly and I could not help but laugh during the second to last room.

     The performances are all over the place. Woll is the standout as her character has one of the more interesting backstories, but her performance is cut short. I am not sure why they chose Russell to be the lead and the one whom to market the movie around. She is not very charismatic, and her turn comes out of nowhere without being earned in the slightest. Character development is a whole is nonexistent, yet the movie wants to make you believe that a lot of growth has taken place. 

     One of my biggest problems with the movie is its cold open. The cold open is a staple of horror movies and has produced some iconic scenes. But rather than shoot an independent cold open, as most horror movies tend to do, Escape Room instead has a flash forward to one of the climatic scenes of the movie. By doing this they take away quite a bit of the dramatic tension by revealing who is going to survive, as well as make the scene less scary when you show it again for the second time.

     What could have been a cool take on the very popular escape room game instead turns into a Saw rip-off without the gore or Jigsaw puppet. Save your money and go do an actual escape room instead (they are actually a good time).

When should you see it?

Cable

Best Movies of 2018

The much anticipated best of 2018 list, according to me. As good as many of the movies are on this list, many of the movies this past year just did not ring with me. I wanted to love them, but just ended up liking a lot of them. At least with these movies, you will not leave feeling disappointed it is how you decided to spend two hours.

I saw over a 100 movies this year, but here are some that I somehow missed:
First Man, Suspiria, Beautiful Boy, Boy Erased, American Animals, The Old Man and the Gun, Burning, The Guilty, Shoplifters, Minding the Gap, Three Identical Strangers, and Mid90s.

 Honorable Mentions:             

 10. Deadpool 2

Deadpool returns, but this time with a slightly tighter script and some immensely enjoyable side characters. I recommend this one over the original.

Favorite Scene: The X-Force Skydiving

9. Sicario: Day of the Soldado

 Not as tastefully done as the first, but Day of the Soldado makes up for that with explosions and grit aplenty. I am a sucker for intense mafia/cartel movies, so this was right up my alley. Hopefully this series get a third one.

Favorite Scene: Cartel Kidnapping

8. Vice

Interesting look into a part of history that history class does not quite cover yet. Interesting that we still living with the ramifications of many of the decisions made throughout the movie. Also features the best performance of the year from Christian Bale.

Favorite Scene: The Washington Game Board

7. Searching

Best use of the computer screen gimmick, this movie has one of the best twists of the year. Solid performances and had me guessing the entire time.

Favorite Scene: Uncle Confrontation

6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

One of the most visually interesting movies in recent memory, Into the Spider-Verse features an animated style that closely resembles a comic book. Probably the movie from 2018 that I will revisit the most over the coming years.

Favorite Scene: The Opening

5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

An anthology tale from the Coens had to be one of the best of the year, and it was. Set in the days of cowboys and gold mining, Scruggs tells six different tales that have similar themes running throughout. Even if some of the shorts don't work with you, I think everyone will have one that they can find enjoyment in.

Favorite Scene: Near Algodones

 4. Annihilation

Peter Garland, director of Ex Machina, makes another great science-fiction film. Glorious shots of the glimmer are intercut with a heady tale about loss that makes for one of the most thinking movies of the year.

Favorite Scene: Ending Dance

3. Mission: Impossible Fallout

Somehow Tom Cruise continues to find ways to outdo himself. Fallout once again shows why the Cruise/McQuarrie combo rules and why stunt choreography should be an Oscar category.

Best Scene: Soloman Lane Breakout

2. Unsane

Another auteur filmmaker in Steven Soderbergh delivered the most personal horror movie of the year. This twisty movie had me guessing throughout, this time as to the mental stability of the protagonist.

Favorite Scene: Solitary Confinement Showdown

 1. Blindspotting

This movie came out of nowhere and managed to blow me away. Blindspotting follows a man on his last day of probation as he reevaluates his relationship with his best friend. Many themes throughout the news cycle in 2018 are seen in this movie, but are not heavy handed and instead show a true craftsmanship on display.

Favorite Scene: Final Rap

Worst Movies of 2018

The very worse movies from the year that was 2018

*Enter at your own risk*

10. The 15:17 to Paris

 9. The First Purge

 8. The Girl in the Spider's Web

 7. Life of the Party

 6. Welcome to Marwen

5. Truth or Dare

5. The Equalizer 2

4. The Possession of Hannah Grace

 3. Proud Mary

2. The Kissing Booth

 1. Paradox

Every 2018 Movie Seen

For anyone interested here is a list of the 102 movies that I saw that came out in 2018. Over the next few days, I hope to catch up on some movies that I missed and release my best and worst of the year.