Dead Mail Film Review

 

Dead Mail Film Review

Halfway to Halloween Presented by Shudder

We’re halfway through our halfway to Halloween celebration with Shudder!

So far we watched and reviewed 825 FOREST ROAD and SHADOW OF GOD.

This week brings you a noir thriller, DEAD MAIL.

On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him.

The note makes its way to the desk of Jasper, a seasoned ‘dead letter’ investigator at a 1980s midwestern post office.

As he begins to piece together the letter’s origins, it leads him down a violent, unforeseen path to a kidnapped keyboard engineer and his eccentric business associate.

DEAD MAIL is a thriller told in three distinct parts using two storylines that eventually merge at the climax of the film.

The first part sets the vibe for a potential cat and mouse game thanks to the thoroughness of the dead letter office. It’s an intriguing beginning that immediately pulls you into the story and then abruptly shifts, taking you down the path of the second storyline

The second part/storyline is focused around the how and why behind the dead letter received in the first part of the film. The main antagonist is eccentric to say the least and the story gives off strong John Fowles’ THE COLLECTOR vibes. (Add to your reading list). At times, the pacing can feel a bit slow but the build up is worth it as the film moves in the third part where both storylines collide.

All around, this is a very well-done noir thriller that demands to be on a movie shelf for viewing parties. The purposeful aesthetic of the film immediately transports you back to the 80s and the characters, both minor and major, leave a lasting impression.

Make this Friday night movie night with DEAD MAIL, popcorn, and ice cream. I suggest Neapolitan. I think you’ll thank me later.

 

Motherless Brooklyn Review

Motherless Brooklyn

Dir: Edward Norton

Starring: Edward Norton, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ethan Suplee, Dallas Roberts, Bobby Cannavale, and Willem Dafoe

A lone New York gumshoe exits the darkness of a side alleyway, a fedora casting a shadow over his eyes as steam rises from a manhole nearby. “Motherless Brooklyn”, directed, acted and written by Edward Norton, tackles the crime film noir genre with aggressive style and impressive performances from a group of exceptional actors placed in roles that allow them to flex and chew the scenery in unique ways. It’s a movie that doesn’t often get made in today’s sequel-heavy, superhero influenced atmosphere, the fact that it understands film noir characteristics and narrative themes keeps this film thought-provoking and engaging throughout.

In 1950’s New York, Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton), sometimes known as Brooklyn and often self-described as Freakshow, works for a private investigation company run by Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Lionel is an orphan who grew up rough, Frank protected him when he was younger, keeping others from taking advantage of him. Lionel has a condition, he says his “brain is all messed up”, that accompanies physical twitches and involuntary verbal bursts. But being in the investigation business, this condition has an advantage as Lionel has a photographic memory. 

Frank arranges a setup with a group of mysterious guys, bringing Lionel and another one of Minna’s Men (Ethan Suplee) along to watch his back. Things go bad and Frank is shot, leaving Lionel to piece together a scheme of corruption beyond the private sector, but rather into the realms of New York politics, greed, and murder. 

“Motherless Brooklyn” is an interesting piece of noir cinema, it feels unusual yet refreshing to see a film like this on the big screen, which is where this film should be seen. Edward Norton, wearing the director’s hat, does a great job of combining familiar genre characteristics from crime films from the past, bringing a shadowy and hazy atmosphere to New York City while also showing the contrasting beauty of the city’s architecture and landscape both in bright sunlight and the dark of night. It feels, in very specific moments, like John Alton’s style of noir composition with films like “T-Men” and “He Walked By Night”, with deep shadows and pinpoint lighting style. 

The cast is an ensemble of great actors who all contribute nicely with characters, some who control the screen with glee. Take for instance Alec Baldwin playing a forceful businessman in a politician’s disguise. Baldwin’s introduction in the film finds him bursting through doors, feet and fist stomping, into a celebratory meeting that immediately stops. 

Minna’s Men, Bobby Cannavale, Ethan Suplee, and Dallas Roberts, have the fun task of playing the many different versions of noir detectives we’ve seen from the past. The tough guy, the playboy, the family man…each in search of a different reason for being a detective.

Edward Norton’s character is the most complex, the most intricate and the most unlike the standard stereotype found for this character. At one-point Lionel, seemingly shedding his persona to look more like something more familiar, picks up a trench coat, fedora and a holster with a gun, putting on the uniform of the determined gumshoe. Norton is doing so much with the character, consistent twitching and verbal rhyming spells, more flair than vulgar, that become more prominent when he is agitated or, in the one instance, grooving to jazz music in a smoky night club. 

The narrative weaves a nice who-dun-it but delves into over-explanation too often, with flashbacks that assist the mystery in ways the audience is already keen to. The primary story conflict is that of power, and throughout the film, this aspect is what gives the movie its motion, it what keeps you engaged to see how the sympathetic Lionel will best the bad guy. This drives the film until, in the final act, it shifts into a story about the protection of the past, present, and future. It works in pieces. 

“Motherless Brooklyn” is inspired by so many great things, “Chinatown”, classic film noir, jazz (the score and accompanying music from an amazing group of artists like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, Wynton Marsalis, Thom Yorke, and a score by Daniel Pemberton), and New York City. While the narrative encounters a few bumps, the film does a great job of organizing an intricate and interesting noir film. 

Monte’s Rating

4.00 out of 5.00

The Nice Guys Review

The Nice Guys

Director: Shane Black

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Keith David, Beau Knapp, and Kim Basinger

116 Minutes

Warner Bros.

The beginning musical notes and title font of director Shane Black’s crime-noir-comedy “The Nice Guys” lets the viewer know we are taking a trip back to the 1970’s. The nostalgia of the era, the film takes place specifically in 1977, flows through every frame as Mr. Black fully presents his love for noir detective procedurals and buddy cop films. “The Nice Guys” is a rather funny comedy with crime-noir elements strung throughout. It’s a none-to-serious film, slapstick and silliness with high amounts of violence, which works remarkably well because of the commitment of the fabulous cast, Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, and Angourie Rice. Director Shane Black has crafted an entertaining comedy that plays the 1970’s era in all its nostalgic glory for a good-natured, adult laugh.

Private investigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is examining the case of the apparent suicide of a famous porn star. March is a single father to a young girl named Holly (Angourie Rice); the two have a strained yet loving relationship with one another. Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is a punch first as questions later private eye who crosses paths, brass knuckles on hand, with March; the two agree to work together to find a girl named Amelia who recently went missing. The case leads the two men into a dangerous situation with political powers, mobsters, and a hitman.

There is a crime afoot in “The Nice Guys”, one that leads the team of March and Healy on a wild goose chase of sorts throughout Los Angeles. The era specific details of the costumes and locations provides for some entertaining moments, like a party with a digital “Earth, Wind, and Fire” providing on-stage entertainment.  The blending of these historical pieces into the structure of the film is achieved quite nicely. While the film details the crime of a murdered porn star, a political conspiracy, and a case of mistaken identity, these themes never move into any significant dramatic territory because the film rarely ventures far from the comedic tone it establishes. While it may not feel like other retro-noir films like the serious and dramatic “L.A. Confidential” or the clever and bizarre “Inherent Vice”, “The Nice Guys” delivers a polished comedy that pulls distinguishable elements from crime and noir films. There are a few times when the story doesn’t live up to the execution that composes it, for all the era rendering and attention to detail the narrative never comes around to being all that engrossing but instead exists as a vehicle to watch great actors compose great characters.

Mr. Black establishes great chemistry within his characters in this film; Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe play off each other quite well. They are the quintessential embodiment of the phrase “we can do this the easy way or the hard way”. Mr. Crowe and his grouchy, grumpy Jackson Healy prefers the hard way, usually a fist to the face of degenerates he has been hired to hurt or, in the case of his would-be partner, a broken arm and bloody nose. Ryan Gosling and his laid-back, sometimes sleazy, mostly bumbling Holland March prefers the easy way, usually a half-hearted investigation to gather just enough information to swindle old women out of more cash to find their loved ones. However opposite once these two characters get together they accommodate one another, Mr. Crowe and Mr. Gosling are easily one of the most entertaining duos on-screen in some time. However, while these two actors are great it’s the relationship of Holland March and his daughter Holly that offers the most balanced heart and humor. Angourie Rice plays Holly naïve and inquisitive, a young woman who is more similar to her father than she’d like to let on. Whether her sneaking along on an investigation to an adult entertainment party or applying her father’s blundering investigation strategies into her own skillset, young Ms. Rice holds her own very well.

Director Shane Black understands this genre; one should watch his exceptional neo-noir film from 2005 “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” for proof. “The Nice Guys” utilizes the 1970’s era to build an interesting atmosphere to accommodate the comedic structure, while the narrative is somewhat underwhelming Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are worth the price of admission. “The Nice Guys” is an enjoyable film, definitely one of the funniest of the year so far.

Monte’s Rating

4.00 out of 5.00