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The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
So Much Hard Work For Terrible Execution
Here's what they pitched to Netflix:
"It's Succession, but we get to watch them all die in horrible ways because the family is cursed, and we work in Poe references."
I'm sold.
What they delivered:
- great sets
- great color grading
- great Poe references
- no complaints at all about the plot / story structure
However, we also include:
- a cinematographer who doesn't know how to put a camera on tracks
- casting dictated by corporate
- a musical score that is just close enough to remind us of Succession, but just bad enough to remind us that, hey, this isn't Succession
- writing that will show you its entire hand then expect you to be wowed when it puts its cards on the table
- dialog written by people who watched and clearly loved Succession, but I'm sorry to say that there is more to writing the elite than having them just proclaim how rich and maladapted they are
- and btw no one objects during an opening statement. Tighten up your courtroom drama if you want to be taken seriously.
No One Will Save You (2023)
The Results Are In
Duffield makes an amazing discovery and proves that you really do need dialog to have a semblance of plot and character development.
After the first half hour of watching this character scream and run and breathe heavy and hide and scream from aliens, we ask ourselves: Why do we even care?
And don't get me started on the therapy core message of the film. Yaaas girl, you know what would be a satisfying conclusion? Working through your past childhood trauma to fix your mental health, which, as we all know will solve every problem you have.
I wish the aliens would take me now.
Anyways, if you're looking for dialog-lite and style, check out Under The Skin, or anything that Refn does.
If you enjoyed this movie, check out A Quiet Place, written and directed by the no good John Krasinski who doesn't deserve or appreciate his beautiful wife, Emily Blunt, a truly class lady, who I'm told is wising up to the fact that Krasinski is a dilettante bum and that she deserves someone better, possibly even a dashing young renegade with excellent taste and who watches two movies a day, and would of course whole heartedly agree with her that this movie was trash.
Outer Range: The West (2022)
Tone Problems
Your premise is a Sci-Fi macguffin, the hole in the ground, and Wyoming.
Ok, that's great -- I'm sold.
But then you add a rival rancher family, because Game of Thrones was a huge success.
Ok, sure. You cast them well, and the set they stay on is actually kind of cool.
But then you add in some police procedural. Because, well, you have an idea for a Sherriff character, who is a lesbian native American, and she needs a crime to solve.
Ok, sure. The actress actually does a pretty good job, and I believe the character.
But then you add in a romance plot, because, hey, you need to have a love plot somewhere.
Ok, sure, but I really do want to explore this mystery macguffin stuff.
But also there's this bull rider character. And we're not sure if he's going to place well at his local finals.
Silicon Valley: Exit Event (2019)
How The Hell Did You Not Land TJ Miller For The Last Episode
I don't care if that man wants to be paid in elephants, you get him in the finale, you teasing.
Living with Yourself (2019)
Multiplicity Reboot, But I'm Somehow Cool With It
All the trappings of the Michael Keaton situational comedy but with a more distilled plot and less children. God bless Paul Rudd. Fine soundtrack but they should've sprung for that other Talking Heads song. You know the one...
The Laundromat (2019)
Series of Vignettes Shuffled Around, But No Queen To Be Found
While the Panama Papers make for a great background, poor editing, lack of conflict, and a forgettable soundtrack fail to drive momentum as a series of unconnected scenes are shuffled before us.
Much like the proxy shell companies the film seeks to expose, the contents of this film are disconnected from each other and randomized. It's clear Soderbergh lifted a page or two from The Big Short (2015), but narrative style is not enough to drive a film without narrative structure.
The film attempts to follow Ellen (Meryl Streep) as she tracks down the parties responsible for not paying out on her lawsuit, but the conflict is non-existent, and our protagonist solves mysteries by bumbling around Mr. Magoo style. She just happens to show up in the right place at the right time in at least three instances.
In lieu of rewrites and reshoots, (hey, Ms Streep is a busy lady) the producers seemingly decided to obfuscate the poor narrative by injecting 10-15 minute shorts about unrelated characters that lead nowhere.
As Antonio Banderas will tell you, this film is all a shell game.
The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter (2018)
A Good Shot For Hill, Despite Little Meat On The Bones
Jody Hill has locked onto an incredible comedic formula that basically consists of Danny McBride saying terrible, unfiltered things in front of children. It's great. It works. I'm still not tired of it even after two series runs on HBO.
The problem here is that this film straddles the line between PG-13 and R, leaving the tone of the movie too much for the family-friendly crowd and too little for McBride fans. It's possible more content was filmed and later cut to slide under R as the run time is only around 80 min.
Plot and pacing hit all the right beats. The setups were a bit obvious, but the payoffs were rushed through, which actually sort of compensated because at least there were no repeat beats.
Despite struggling to find a tone, this film works as a whole. Satire hits home. Casting was a blank check. Performance sold the characters, and I swear whoever Jody uses for music department is spying on my Spotify recently played.