Demon Review

Demon

Dir: Marcin Wrona

Starring: Itay Tiran, Agnieszka Zulewska, Andrzej Grabowski, Tomasz Schuchardt, Adam Woronowicz, and Cezary Kosinski

Everything that happened after the vows on my wedding day is a bit of blur. The whirlwind reception that consisted of meet-and-greets with family and friends went by in a flash. So whenever a newly engaged couple asks me for advice about their wedding day, I tell them to remember to eat their dinner.

A wedding is the setting for director Marcin Wrona’s film “Demon”, a satire and also a horror film that evokes Polish history and culture to compose a remarkable genre-bending feature.

Piotr (Itay Tiran) is traveling from London to a small Polish town; he is coming to meet his bride Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). Piotr and Zaneta are in a relatively new relationship, moving quickly towards marriage has placed Zaneta’s father Zygmunt (Andrzej Grabowski) is a position of caution. The young couple plans on living in the dilapidated house of Zaneta’s grandfather, where they are also holding the wedding in a nearby barn. Piotr discoveries human remains buried on the property and at the wedding reception he begins to act strangely and then falls ill with violent convulsions. Very quickly the family, in the middle of drunken debacle, assume the worse and come to the conclusion that Piotr is possessed by an evil entity known as a Dybbuk.

While the premise may seem very reminiscent of a horror film, exorcism and ghost story films especially, this genre plays merely a supporting character in a film that is more interested in utilizing compositions of culture and tradition and mixing it with history. When one of the few scary moments happens, it’s utilized more as a setup for something comedic or for nothing more than a distraction for the audience. Surprisingly, there are moments that are genuinely creepy all in the quietest way.

The photography is beautifully bleak; the Polish countryside is ominous with a sense of darkness clouded by fog in the distance. This aspect is completely purposeful; “Demon” utilizes both dark humor and not-so-subtle metaphors to evoke a narrative that displays a portrait of Polish history and a correlation to the Holocaust. It’s not hard to see the point the film is trying to make when you have a nonchalant comment about German’s destroying a bridge that hasn’t been rebuilt and the comments from the patriarch to a group of deliriously drunk guests that “we must forget what we didn’t see here”. It’s about the still looming shadow of World War II and the effect that it holds over Europe.

Itay Tiran gives a great performance as Piotr; the slow transformation from wedding groom into a possessed person is layered with exceptional touches. Also good, and very funny, is Andrzej Grabowski who plays the father of the bride. The performance is both manic and restrained, a character that goes to great effort to keep control of the uninhibited party while also keeping his reputation intact.

“Demon” is a different although refreshing genre film. While is doesn’t indulge in its horror conventions like most films would, the film instead deals with the effects of horrific events on people and how it changes and influences culture over time. Marcin Wrona’s talent as a director is undeniable; unfortunately Mr. Wrona’s life was cut short, his death was ultimately ruled a suicide, just as this film was about to premiere. “Demon” is the kind of film that displays how a creative artist can transform genre into something that evokes different emotions while also having something powerful to proclaim.

Monte’s Rating

4.25 out of 5.00

Queen of Katwe Review

Queen of Katwe

Dir: Mira Nair

Starring: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Kabanza, and Taryn Kyaze

For a few years as a teenager I played chess almost every day. I read books, studied strategy, and tried to play different people as often as I could. Chess was an fun game but also a way to help me focus on being patient and also brought an understanding of what motivated people.

I remember being challenged by a coworker to a match. By this time I had played long enough to call myself “pretty good”. As we sat down I could tell that he was a serious player, his entire demeanor changed. I wasn’t worried until he played a brilliant opening. Within no time he had me on my heels and I loss. He would only play me two more times, completely dominating both matches.

In the Disney film “The Queen of Katwe” a young Ugandan girl’s life is changed after learning how to play chess. At one point in the film another chess student tells her “the small one can become the big one”.  It’s a simple but powerful statement about what a board game can do for a person’s self esteem, and more poignantly what it did for a young woman living in poverty with a stigma of gender biases and societal influences shaping her life.

Disney has a talent for making this kind of film and ESPN, who is the producing partner, understands how the essence of sports can be both dramatic and portray the struggles and achievements of humanity in captivating ways.

Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) does not go to school; she sells corn in the busy streets of rural Uganda. Phiona is introduced to the game of chess from a youth ministry instructor named Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) and she quickly advances in skill. Seeing potential, Robert wants to take Phiona to competitions outside of Katwe, however Phiona’s mother Nakku (Lupita Nyong’o) is cautious and resists her daughter’s involvement. Robert shows Nakku that this board game has potential to change Phiona’s life for the better, reluctantly Nakku allows Phiona to compete.

These kinds of films have an inherent quality of being overly cliché and heavy handed on emotional cues that tug unabashedly on the heartstrings. The viewer knows where a film like this is going; it’s like a rollercoaster, a mix of narrative highs and lows that take a likable character through an extraordinary journey. All of these sentiments are on very clear display in “The Queen of Katwe”, but it surprisingly rarely hurts the film. In the same way that a good joke or a good scare can be effective when done correctly, this film displays what great characters portrayed by exceptional actors and guided by a creative director can do for a film. Especially one that audiences have seen many times over.

David Oyelowo is great as the coach to a group of scrappy young people. Mr. Oyelowo is inspired and provides touching motivation in many different forms. His effectiveness as a coach doesn’t come from a place of pity or with unnecessary guidance with hope; it comes from a determination to have control over choices and confidence in your abilities. Lupita Nyong’o is fantastic, playing a mother who understands the struggles that life brings but is determined to work hard and instill the same toughness in her children. Ms. Nyong’o provides a heartbreaking and inspired performance. These seasoned actor accolades are very close to being outshined by the young Madina Nalwanga who plays Phiona with a perfect blend of shyness and self-confidence. Ms. Nalwanga becomes more poised with every chess match, maturing from scene to scene.

Director Mira Nair brings a genuine and authentic feeling to the entire film. Showcasing the struggles of the poor township but also displaying the beauty found in the community and the culture. Mrs. Nair has displayed this talent already; look no further than the “Monsoon Wedding” and “Mississippi Masala” for examples. While the film runs a bit long, which weakens some of the stronger sentiments found in the late narrative, the character of Phiona is compelling and her journey has that underdog quality that keeps a film like this intriguing. While the game of chess brings positive changes to Phiona’s life, the film never displays this aspect as the only factor for success. It instead offers a portrait of a young woman who understands the value of hard work and that her place in this world is not predetermined.

Monte’s Rating

4.00 out of 5.00

The Magnificent Seven Review

The Magnificent Seven

Dir: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Luke Grimes, Peter Sarsgaard, and Haley Bennett

In 1960 veteran director John Sturges was tasked with taking some of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood and collaborating on an updated remake of an Akira Kurosawa film called “Seven Samurai”. That film would become the classic western “The Magnificent Seven”. The film starred Yul Brynner who was coming off two lauded films, “The Ten Commandments” and “The King and I”. It also starred the experienced, yet not established, Steve McQueen who would later make “The Great Escape” and “Bullitt”. Rounding out the film was Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, and James Coburn. Not a bad cast to make a movie with during this time.

While the 1960 version of the film was done only six years after Akira Kurosawa’s classic, it should be noted that the Japanese master filmmaker approved of Mr. Sturges western, director Antoine Fuqua is tasked with updating this film fifty-six years after the original film was released. Mr. Kurosawa is one of the most influential filmmakers in history, his film “Seven Samurai” has been copied, remade, and updated hundreds of times. How could an updated version of a film, which was already a remake, work in today’s remake saturated film world? Because stories of good versus evil and the journey of heroes facing insurmountable odds can still be an interesting element when done the right way, even when it’s been done so many times that even the most novice of film fan can see the path of the story a mile away. The 2016 version of “The Magnificent Seven” is entertaining and fun many times throughout; it's as mediocre of a popcorn movie as one could be.

The small town of Rose Creek, populated with hard working families, is under the brutal control of a greedy industrialist named Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). Faced with the option of leaving town or meeting death, the townspeople employ the services of a bounty hunter named Chisolm (Denzel Washington). Needing more help than the townspeople can offer, Chisolm employs the services of six other men; a gambler named Faraday (Chris Pratt), an outlaw named Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a famous gunman named Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) and his knife-wielding associate Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), a famous hunter named Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), and a lone Native American named Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). 

While the locations and characters have changed just a bit with Antoine Fuqua's version of the film, the structure to the original films that have come before it are still very much intact. Justice needs to be served and the innocent need to be protected. Mr. Fuqua does a great job introducing these characters, even the villain who is offered the very first introduction is provided a startling and violent scene that makes the viewer despise him. This helps warrant the vigilante mentality of getting bounty hunters, gamblers, and outlaws together to fight the good fight. Still, Mr. Fuqua does not shy away from displaying the character flaws of some of the seven justice seeking men, specifically with group leader Chisolm who plays all of his emotional cards close to the chest.

Denzel Washington is great, he provides a swagger and charisma that shines brightest when the actor is allowed to move within a scene. Mr. Washington doesn't need to say much but the little mannerisms that the actor brings adds a sense of mystery, and also danger, with every deliberate move. Chris Pratt provides much of the humor, the actor is best when he is allowed freedom with the character but he also brings a natural likability to a character that isn't the most righteous of the group. Another standout in the film is Ethan Hawke who plays a prideful but tormented gunfighter. The talented Mr. Hawke has a knack for making these kind of secondary characters better than they should be.

Mr. Fuqua composes a film that is entertaining and fun, a film that goes the extra mile with characters and scenarios to make it a crowd pleasing experience. However, this also moves the film far away from being anything remotely memorable, in fact in some instances it makes the film rather boring. It's no better than the western made in 1960 except for supplying more action scenes and the narrative is so straightforward that all the brilliant touches of character development and narrative composition found in Akira Kurosawa's original work is mostly glossed over. So yes, many will be entertained and many will have a great time with this film, however some may find themselves wondering why they bothered remaking it at all? 

Monte's Rating

3.25 out of 5.00

Blair Witch Review

Blair Witch

Dir: Adam Wingard

Starring: James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Corbin Reid, Brandon Scott, Wes Robinson, Valorie Curry

Lionsgate

89 Minutes

It’s not too often that you get a film that changes the landscape of possibilities for a genre. “The Blair Witch Project” had that effect on horror. In 1999 directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez pulled the veil over the eyes of unsuspecting film goers, orchestrating a ruse of a marketing campaign that had audiences thinking the movie they were watching was real footage of three film students who went missing after searching the woods in Maryland for the local legend The Blair Witch. The film was shot on video with cameras you could buy at the nearby electronics store, the three leads were given instructions via walkie-talkie from the directors watching from a distance, and the budget for the entire film was a mere twenty-two thousand dollars. The film was a monumental success at the box office, grossing more than two hundred million dollars. The film paved the way for a plethora of copycats, leading to the point-of-view perspective film style that has been so abundantly overused.  

 

A rushed sequel, “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2”, was made the following year but it didn’t come close to matching the success or scary effect of the original. It seems so unusual in today’s remake mania for a film as highly regarded as “The Blair Witch Project” to not have a remake or re-envisioned release sooner, the fifteen year gap between the sequel and the current continuation is significant for a horror film. 

Director Adam Wingard, who helmed the exceptional “You’re Next” and “The Guest”, ingeniously kept the cat in the bag with this film. Waiting until just a few months ago to reveal that the trailer advertising a film called “The Woods” was actually a “Blair Witch” sequel. Mr. Wingard and long time collaborative writer Simon Barrett put every scare-inducing sleight of hand trick into this film, crafting a fun enough experience but nothing that will keep you from venturing into the woods. 

Mr. Wingard’s film cleverly connects the first film with the new film, making an easy transition back into the woods for a group of friends investigating the mysterious arrival of a video. Josh (James Allen McCune) has kept hope alive that he will one day find out what happened to his sister who was lost in the woods. That hope is enough to have him charging into forbidden territory.

The introduction gets everything moving fairly quickly. Mr. Wingard employs updated technology, a small camera that rests on the ear to document the individuals experience and a flying drone camera that provides perspective for the vastness of the woods. The raw and unpredictable movement of the camera here recalls the style of the original film. Mr. Wingard utilizes this to craft quite a few jump scares, some effectively executed and some frustratingly formulaic. 

Writer Simon Barrett adds a few creepy touches to the mythology that lends itself nicely when the finale arrives but doesn’t provide enough moments earlier in the film to accommodate people running around and screaming from every rustling bush, faint noises in the woods, or blurry figures lurking behind trees. We’ve seen this all before, look at the high point film “REC” in this specific subgenre of horror for the best example. 

Unfortunately, instead of building on everything that has already been achieved with found footage horror the film seems content with doing the familiar very well. Where “The Blair Witch Project” layered the atmosphere and manipulated the characters towards a taut, unforgettable ending, “Blair Witch” gets lost in the early maze that it builds and stages a showy ending that doesn’t carry the impact of the original. 

Monte’s Rating

3.00 out of 5.00

Sully Review

Sully

Dir: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Mike O’Malley, Laura Linney, and Chris Bauer

The summer saw its fair amount of superheroes. Viewers watched extraordinary mutants fighting an ancient enemy in “X-Men: Apocalypse”, they were introduced to a group bad guys with amazing skills fighting a threat to the world in “Suicide Squad”, and they even saw the return of super agent Jason Bourne again performing acts that would get any normal human serious injured. Arriving in theaters this weekend is another story about a hero, however this hero doesn’t have superhuman abilities or extraordinary powers though he can fly.

U.S. Airways Flight 1549 departed New York’s LaGuardia Airport on the afternoon of January 15, 2009 with 150 passengers. About 3 minutes after takeoff the plane struck a formation of birds. The plane lost thrust in both engines and was too far away from the departing airport to turn around. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and first officer Jeffrey B. Skiles were forced to land the plane in the Hudson River. Miraculously the crew accomplished this impossible feat without the loss of one human life.

“Sully” is a compelling real life story about people being forced into acts of heroism and then having to deal with the repercussions of their actions. Director Clint Eastwood has been directing films since 1971, many times also acting in his films. "Sully" is not particularly new territory for the 86 year old filmmaker who has tackled many of the same character themes in films like “American Sniper”, “Flags of the Father”, and “Unforgiven”. Mr. Eastwood is a talented director and “Sully” is accommodated because of his skill.

The narrative is working with an event that only lasted 208 seconds. Mr. Eastwood tells this story in a purposeful and disjointed fashion, emulating how the event was scrutinized and pieced together during the National Transportation Safety Board hearings that followed the incident. Mr. Eastwood does a fantastic job of composing the emotions of Mr. Sullenberger, displaying how the pilot recreated the events in his mind sometimes with a deadlier outcome. It is often a frightening and tense experience; the fear induced when the pilot of the plane says “brace for impact” over the intercom is just the beginning. Mr. Eastwood does more than just recreate the events of the “Miracle on the Hudson”, the director taps into the anxiety still lingering in the wake of September 11^th but also the solidarity of the people who came together during this time of need. 150 passengers and 5 flight crew members survived a plane crash, stood in freezing cold weather and water, and all of them lived to tell the story.

In the heroic roles are Tom Hanks as Mr. Sullenberger and Aaron Eckhart as Mr. Skiles. Mr. Hanks plays the role with quiet, calm, professional dignity. Mr. Hanks shines as this kind of earnest hero; no flash or flamboyance needed just a connection to a character that was simply doing his job. Mr. Eckhart is also good as the supportive, straight-shooting partner and friend of Sully, offering a performance that never waivers from the position of supportive friendship.

“Sully” has some difficulty maintaining the drama of the event as the film recounts the situation a few times over. It also introduces the perspectives of the passengers a little too late to truly generate the kind of connection to the fear and panic felt in the early scenes of the plane charging into the water. Still, in the capable hands of Clint Eastwood, “Sully” displays the miracle of ordinary people doing their jobs with the absolute highest possible efficiency. After a summer of watching superhuman comic book heroes save the world, it’s a nice reminder that superheroes do exist and they don’t need to shot lasers from their eyes or leap buildings but could simply do the diligent work they do on a daily basis.

Monte’s Rating

3.50 out of 5.00