These days, many of us wonder what the point of life is. We have trouble finding a purpose because many have led us to believe there is none. It can be hard to find your purpose in life when things are so uncertain about the future, especially right now. Some of us feel like there’s really no reason to carry on; that it’s better to accept that things won’t get better rather than doing anything to change this.
That brings us to Nyles (Andy Samberg), a man who is at the wedding of his girlfriend’s best friend. Throughout the day, he seems like he doesn’t care about life. He nonchalantly floats through the day, acting as an emotionless bystander to the event. But when he has a frisky encounter with the bride’s older sister Sarah (Cristin Milioti), he unintentionally brings her into the very thing that has caused his listless demeanor. Turns out, Nyles is trapped in a time loop, caused by a mysterious vortex in a nearby cave. He has been reliving the day of the wedding for god knows how long, always returning to the start of that day when he falls asleep. Because of how long he’s been trapped, he knows every single detail of the events that play in and around the general area. Having to relive everything over and over has forced him to accept the reality that escape is futile, and he’ll be forced to live this day for all eternity. And now, Sarah is trapped in the loop with him. At first, she is unable to accept their predicament. She tries several attempts to escape, including taking her own life. But all of these just result in her waking up at the start of the day again. The two decide to make the most of a day that always resets, living out their wildest dreams without consequence. But the longer they loop back, the more they seem to be growing together. And they’ll soon come to realize that their buddying chemistry may be the key to escaping their quantum prison. The time loop concept has been done to death, with several different genres tackling the concept and how it works. It would seem like there’s nothing left to do with this idea. But here comes Palm Springs, the kind of a film you wouldn’t expect to work. And yet, despite my expectations, it’s one of the sharpest and most hilarious films in a long time. It’s a movie that manages to put a smile on your face that never goes away, and that’s a hard thing to accomplish. Much of this comes from Samberg’s performance. His character is what much of the humor plays on. He’s been trapped in the time loop for so long (it’s never stated how long, though they imply several years) that he just doesn’t care anymore. He casually cuts in on important events, plays pranks on the various attendees, and generally mopes around about the futility of his situation. You would think that would make for a really annoying protagonist, but there’s something kind of endearing about watching him live the same day again and again. His sentiments about the time loop cleverly mirror many people’s gripes about life itself. This turns him into a very relatable guy. As someone who has fears about the future, I really identify with Nyles’s desire to just give up and let whatever happens happen. And watching him grow from listless mope to selfless optimist makes him someone to root for. He also gets lots of mileage out of his chemistry with Milioti. The two leads work well with each other; with Milioti’s desperate attempts to escape the loop clashing well with Samberg’s carefree personality. It’s their opposite dynamics and character arcs that make them such a great pair, and when they start to develop feelings for each other, we really feel a connection between the two polar opposites. This especially comes from a montage of them playing various pranks at the wedding or at a local bar, which is so hilarious you might have a hard time paying attention to all of the jokes coming your way. The film also does an amazing job balancing several different tones. Many comedies today have dark edges to them involving casual violence, and this movie is no different. There’s a subplot where we learn that Nyles also trapped a partygoer named Roy (played by J.K. Simmons) in the loop. Roy takes out his anger over their situation by periodically hunting Nyles for revenge, which leads to scenes where he is shot with arrows or methodically tortured. What makes these scenes work is that they’re woven into the story. Many violent scenes in dark comedies come out of nowhere, expecting us to laugh at the characters because of how shocking their injuries/deaths are. In this movie, we understand that both Nyles and Roy have been trapped in the loop for a long time. We understand why Roy hates Nyles to the point of violently hunting him down like a prized dear. The random acts of violence are justified, and as a result, they gel with the tone and get better laughs. Palm Springs has a lot to say about the dangers of giving up on life. It smartly uses the time loop concept to tell a very heartwarming story about finding your purpose. You can’t just wait for something to happen; you have to find it yourself. Samberg and Milioti mine great humor out of their great chemistry, and the film melds the light-hearted and dark-witted sides of its story better than other comedies. All of this results in one of the funniest films in a long time, and something that will definitely put a smile on your face, even in these current times.
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Haunted house movies have been a staple of the horror genre for as long as scary stories have existed. That’s why it can be a challenge to try and bring anything new to the concept. With so many stories that are set in some type of haunted location, it has pretty much been taken in every direction imaginable. That takes us to Blumhouse’s new film, You Should Have Left, from highly successful screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park, the first Mission: Impossible, and Panic Room).
This haunted house tale follows Theo Conroy (Kevin Bacon). He is attempting to build a new life for himself with his younger actress wife Susanna (Amanda Seyfried) and their young daughter Ella (Avery Essex). However, he is unable to move past the public backlash leveled against him thanks to something from his past. He finally decides that they need to get away for a while. Finding a perfect vacation home in the Wales countryside, they begin what they hope to be a long needed bit of R and R. But once they settle in, Theo begins to suspect something is off about the place. Time seems to work differently, the layout of the rooms and hallways don’t seem to match the structure, and some rooms are bigger on the inside than on the outside. Nothing about the house seems to work in terms of basic physics. But the odd structure will be the least of Theo’s problems, as it soon becomes clear there’s something worse inside that seems to be after him and his family. He’ll have to confront the truth about his past if he wants to make it out with his life. While it may not be the freshest take on the haunted house genre, You Should Have Left works with its various ingredients to craft a genuinely terrifying experience. It’s one of the few horror movies that will make your head spin as the story unfolds. The many branching and weaving halls of the house are impossible keep track of, which perfectly unsettles you for when the scary stuff starts to amp up. The production design is truly where the movie excels. It’s the house at the center of the film that creates a true sense of dread. The bare bones design and Kafkaesque layout make you feel lost once the characters enter the front door. Everything about it just seems like a normal home, but just enough is stripped away for you to get the idea that there’s something more menacing just underneath the surface. This is also aided by the unsettling score by composer Geoff Zanelli. As if the house itself wasn’t scary enough, his musical accompaniment will really put you on edge. His mixture of modern electronic pings and old fashioned horror tones does a great job of making the most mundane of scenes seem frightening. Really everything about this movie is designed to fill you with dread, which is the point of these types of films. And they accomplish this almost without fail. Of course, that’s bad news for Kevin Bacon, who delivers a great performance as the central character Theo. This is the first big role he’s had since 2016’s Patriots Day, and he shows that he’s fully up to the task to helm a horror film. His sense of fear and dwindling sanity seem genuine, as if he really is losing his mind inside the house. Amanda Seyfried also gives a great performance as Susanna that will probably end up being unappreciated. Her character is more a stereotypical depiction of a Hollywood actress than a fully-fledged human character. However, while she has her moments of light-headedness, she truly cares for the people around her. She plays this role well, toting the line between funny and annoying without falling more towards the latter. However, the film does stumble in places, and that’s mostly in its screenplay. While Koepp does an admirable job directing the picture, his script often delves into weird directions. The dialogue sometimes doesn’t feel natural, with characters spouting soft swears during scary set pieces that almost deflate the tension he’s established. He was probably trying to create comic relief, but it doesn’t land as well as he seems to think it does. The movie has a more satirical side to it that the trailers didn’t really give off. The opening scenes are make fun of how some film productions are handled, with Bacon’s character attempting to get on the set of his wife’s new movie while she’s performing a sex scene. That almost leaves something to be desired, as the movie had the potential to be a satire of Hollywood’s current, overly-sensitive state. But the film never takes the time to develop these ideas. While it’s still a scary film, it’s hard to ignore the glimmers of something greater shining through the cracks. You Should Have Left is quite a terrifying film; thanks to its expertly mind-bending production design, unsettling music, and great performances from Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried. It doesn’t do much to fully reinvent the haunted house formula, but it works with what it has and succeeds anyway. And while it could have been more subversive in its themes, it’s still a fun time for anyone looking to get scared at home. One of the most challenging parts of adult life is finding the perfect home. Houses are very expensive, and finding one that suits your needs can be even harder. Whether you’re an individual, couple, or a family, searching for the perfect home within your price range is never an easy task. That’s why there are so many suburbs that advertise themselves as the perfect community for whatever type of person may be looking for a home.
Young couple Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) and Gemma (Imogen Poots) are looking for a new home. They don’t quite know what they want in life, and are unsure of what direction their relationship is going. Their hunt for a new home leads them to a development called Yonder; which promises the perfect home for the perfect family. Though it’s not quite what they’re looking for, they’re willing to give it a look. After a rather strange house tour from their odd real estate agent, they attempt to leave, but the layout of identical homes continuously lead them back to the house they looked at. No matter what direction they go, they always end up at the place where they started. It isn’t long before they realize that they’re apart of some supernatural experiment; provided with food, supplies, and even a child. They’ll either have to go along with this or risk their lives trying to escape the nightmare. Vivarium is a strange film, not just in story but also in execution. From the colorful visual style to the off-kilter performances from the cast, everything about this movie is designed to off-put you. Right from the beginning, the movie is doing everything it can to make you feel uncomfortable. And that’s not really a bad thing. In fact, that’s one of the movie’s greatest strengths. The growing sense of uneasy shifts between genuine humor and genuine fear, constantly pulling the rug out from under you. This makes the movie very unpredictable. You never know what’s going to happen next, let alone how to properly react to it. This is aided by the film’s unique visuals. The layout and appearance of the strange suburb looks like it was ripped out of a picturesque real estate brochure. It looks inviting, almost cartoonish. And that’s entirely the point. It’s designed to look peaceful and playful in order to draw you into the nightmarish trap that lies within. Vivarium is an great blend of comedy and horror that effectively keeps you laughing It offers no easy answers to the mysteries is introduces, keeping us in the dark for the entire runtime. But that only succeeds in keeping us terrified about what is going to happen next. Everything about this movie is designed to make you uncomfortable, and that makes the final payoff all the more rewarding. Back in August, Blumhouse pulled the plug on its newest film The Hunt, a thriller about a human hunting expedition loosely based on the famous 1924 short story “The Most Dangerous Game.” When a couple of mass shootings happened close to its release date, the studio decided to pull the film fearing it would be insensitive to the victims of those tragedies.
That’s when things suddenly went hog-wild (no pun intended). Following the cancellation, media officials on the conservative side were quick to point out details from the trailer that hinted at the film’s deeper plot. It became clear that the people being hunted were conservative members while the ones hunting them were of the rich, liberal type. They quickly labeled the film an insult to their beliefs and another example of insensitive, liberal Hollywood. Now the film is finally out, and as it turns out, The Hunt isn’t a thriller but a satire. The film’s story wisely never takes the idea of hunting humans for sport too seriously. Though it does have its serious moments, it mostly relies on the ridiculousness of its situation to generate some bloody yet stellar action sequences and a more than healthy dose of humor that takes aim at the wide divide between America’s two biggest political parties. The predictions were right about the hunted being of the conservative side. The twelve strangers who have been placed in the game are all conspiracy obsessed “‘Mericans” who were all wrapped up in an Internet rumor about the game they are currently in. All the characters take time to express their grievances about gun rights, illegal immigrants, and the idea that liberals are ruining the country they love so dearly. While on the other side, the hunters of the game are most definitely of the far liberal side. The elites on the hunt are simply looking for revenge against the far-right supporters who, in their opinion, are making their lives worse by spreading the rumor. They fiercely believe in the importance of political correctness, inclusion, and the idea that conservatives are a scum that need to be taught a lesson. Though the early press predicted that the film was targeting the far-right specifically, it turns out that both sides are getting the finger pointed at them. The regressive Republicans being hunted are just as bad as the progressive Democrats that are hunting them. There are villains on both sides, and this movie isn’t afraid to directly reference some very sensitive topics to make this portrayal clear. This is where The Hunt generates its biggest laughs. The one-sided portrayals of the political parties make for some truly hilarious moments. The characters are designed to be ridiculous, and the movie wouldn’t be as entertaining as it is if they were taking everything happening around them seriously. But it’s the liberals in general that bring in an unexpectedly high number of belly laughs. There’s one scene in particular where the liberal hunters are waiting around in a fort, talking about the importance of pro-choice and other basic liberal topics. One even has a small freakout when filmmaker Ava DuVernay (a known “woke” supporter) likes one of his photos on social media. It’s a smartly written scene that knows how to keeps the chuckles coming. That’s one thing that feels fresh about this satire. With woke culture so engrained in the film industry today, it’s great that we finally have a movie that isn’t afraid to point out the flaws in this point of view including a scene where one liberal suggests including one African American among the hunted to be inclusive, and the others are disgusted by this idea. This movie isn’t afraid to go where many movies fear to tread. It also contains some very entertaining action sequences. Director Craig Zobel clearly took inspiration from The Purge director James DeMonaco, as the scenes are blood splattered and somewhat hard to watch, but never to the point that it will make you want to hurl. They are just violent enough to get the pulse going without seeming too mean to the characters getting blown to bits. The Hunt feels like a social media comment section come to life. Everyone hates the other side for some reason, and it quickly devolves into insults and death threats. The idea to represent this mindset as a game of hunting humans perfectly represents the ridiculousness of these comments. Combine this with the expertly crafted humor and action pack fight sequences and this movie is way better than what people initially thought. Right from the beginning, The Invisible Man isn’t setting out to be just another reboot. Most modern reboots, especially ones based on well known properties, try to get by on a half-baked story loaded to the brim with nostalgic references to the film or films that came before it. Studios think that by doing this, audiences won’t be able to notice that they’ve only put a quarter effort into actually making a good film.
This new version of the classic Universal monster is far from just another studio cash grab of a reboot. Sure, it’s based on an iconic character that many are still a fan of. But aside from one shot, this film isn’t content to rely on the cozy presence of nostalgia. Its goal is to take the iconic character and carve a unique image for him; one that stands apart from the other interpretations. And boy does it succeed. Putting a very contemporary twist on the classic story, this new film follows Cecilia Cass (Elisabeth Moss), a woman who is married to a brilliant, world-renowned optics scientist and billionaire named Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). On the surface, Cecilia’s relationship seems like a dream come true; a luxurious life with a rich, intelligent man. It seems nothing could go wrong with this picture. Expect for one thing. As it turns out, Adrian isn’t the good man he may appear to be. Underneath his arguably charming exterior is the soul of a master manipulator. He has a sinister, psychotic mind with the intent to control everything in his life; including Cecilia. He laid down law on everything from what she wore to what she thought, and was always able to figure out whenever she stepped out of line. But Cecilia has had enough. One night, she makes a harrowing escape from Adrian’s fortress of a home. Holding up in the home of her friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter Sydney (Storm Reid), she is surprised when it is discovered that Adrian has died of an apparent suicide. Even more surprising is that he left her an apology note and his substantial fortune. Things appear to be turning around for her. But she isn’t too convinced that things are over. Knowing his ability to manipulate people, Cecilia thinks that this is some big hoax, even though she’s the only person who believes this. Things get worse when strange events begin to happen to her and she starts getting the feeling that someone is watching her. As these experiences begin to turn violent, she believes that Adrian has found a way to hurt her so know one else can see it. He has found a way to turn himself invisible. This more modern premise is where the movie really excels. While adding a feminist spin on stories is nothing new, certainly in today’s film industry, this film is one of the few to do it well. Movies like last year’s Black Christmas failed spectacularly by being a one-sided story that demonized all men; portraying them as sexist monsters in unrealistic ways and killing all the ones that try to help. The Invisible Man, however, isn’t that one-sided. While it is about Cecilia going up against the man who beat and manipulated her, some of her biggest allies are men. Other than Adrian, no one is trying to force their way onto her. This makes the story less niche than the aforementioned film. Women can enjoy watching the lead fight back against her abuser, while men can enjoy the action without feeling called out and accused of something not everyone is guilty of. This is held together by a fantastic performance from Elisabeth Moss. She gives a raw and completely unhinged portrayal of a woman who is so broken that she has lost all concept of how to work in the real world. She never comes off as trying to fake the emotions. As the movie goes on, she really looks like she is gradually being broken down on every level. Oliver Jackson-Cohen also gives a great performance as the titular monster. Coming off his breakout performance from Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, he imbues the character with all the evil charm people say he has. When we do actually get to see him, he looks like a guy that you would want to spend time with. And when he’s the threat of the scene, he is a genuinely menacing presence. The fact that he can effortlessly switch between the two is a quite an accomplishment. This is also all thanks to the guy at the helm, writer/director Leigh Whannell. Following his partnership with director James Wan, he’s had a hit-or-miss time getting going, but this is definitely his best film. With Insidious: Chapter 3, he showed that he knows how to craft horror; and with Upgrade, he showed that he has a unique eye for action sequences. Here, he gets to combined both to make a relentlessly tense and action-packed experience. After failing to launch a cinematic universe of their classic monsters, it’s safe to say that Universal made the smarter decision here. They now plan to reboot their iconic characters as individual films rather than a Marvel-style franchise, and that’s the way to go. These old characters deserve modern-day reboots. With technology so much better than it was decades ago, these classic characters can finally get the chance to be kings of horror once again. The Invisible Man begins this new era of Universal monsters with a bang. This new interpretation of the horror icon successfully brings him into the 21st century with a story that doesn’t go out of its way to isolate certain audiences, with great performances from the cast and brilliant writing and directing work from Leigh Whannell. This movie proves two things; that reboots can create their own identities without the use of nostalgia, and the Universal monsters are just as scary now as they were almost a century ago. |