Writer. Library person. First in the world to platinum Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on PS3.
“Is that what you think we’re doing out here? Committing suicide?”
It plays fast and loose with the source material, but Alex Garland and company have still crafted a challenging, remarkable piece of science fiction that digs into humanity’s sense of self and asks substantial questions.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Replicates your cells and doesn’t stop until you are something new! -Nick Perilli? Natalie Portman? Who are we? Who are any of us? What is next?”
“Is this your King?”
A superhero movie with heavy 007 vibes and both narrative and emotional complexity as important in the evolution of the modern genre as last year’s Wonder Woman. The celebration and incorporation of African culture in all aspects of the film, from the setting to the memorable score, offers a more than welcome new perspective to the MCU.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Lest we forget the trailblazer Luke Cage, though, who took the MCU to aid Harlem and later beat up many ninjas for the good of the world. With how separate the Netflix shows seem to be from the Iron Mans of it all, I doubt these two worlds will ever meet, which is a damn shame.”
“I don’t do nothing for nobody for nothing.”
This is the most charmed I’ve been by a movie since Hugo way back in 2011. Paddington 2 shares a distinct love of wonder and sheer entertainment with Hugo, as well as the visual craft that goes into every marmalade slathered frame. It also shares a nearly idyllic version of its splendorous setting, where it feels like the worst thing happening in the world is quite possibly a dissociative Hugh Grant stealing a pop-up book. Prison is an amazing place in a Wes Andersen sort of way, criminals are lovable and merely gruff or roguish, and most everyone has the capacity for self-awareness and change. I want to live in this world.
My VHS cover pull quote: “One of the most substantial and timely things this movie does is keep the Peruvian bear intact as a stand-in for immigration by way of Peter Capaldi’s Mr. Creary and his unfounded fear of the adorable Paddington. Dynamite!”
“I think we should form a Dahmer fan club.”
There is no sympathy here for (or glorification of) the cannibal serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, but there is a bit spared for Jeff Dahmer, who was a weird high school kid in need of a best friend and some hefty psychiatric care. Ultimately, this is a tragicomic coming-of-age film that’s, at times, hilarious and harrowing in equal measure.
Jeffrey Dahmer tried really hard to not become Jeffrey Dahmer.
My VHS cover pull quote: “In the context of watching this movie, I was worried that my fashionable hipster glasses might be too Dahmeresque.”
“I had a day of hoping which is more than I’ve had in a while.”
Whereas Martin McDonagh’s previous two films, In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, hid a heart beneath crackerjack dialogue and madcap goings-on, Three Billboards lays its bleeding, angry and wounded organs bare right from the start. It pulls comedy from the frayed ventricles, sure, but the comedy is always second to the pain.
My VHS cover pull quote: “Frances McDormand is so good in this I want to re-watch the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge where she was equally– if not more – – stellar. I mean definitely watch this now but check that one out too, bud.”
“It’s about stopping World War III.”
I remember–in the Before Times–when these movies that have somehow been a constant in my life were about street racing.
My VHS cover pull quote: “New career plan: get a PhD in film studies. Write dissertation focusing on the trajectory of Universal’s Fast and the Furious franchise. Chart its course from hollow street race flicks, to halfway clever heist movies that almost have a theme and care enough about character and reverence to pull bro tears from bro sockets, to a straight up comic book superhero picture that just does whatever the fuck it wants. Get tenure. Bring in guest lecturer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Bring in guest lecturer Vin Diesel on the same day by ‘accident’ so we can get to the bottom of this on-set beef. Bring in Vince McMahon. Oh shit, bring in Stone Cold Steve Austin. Here comes The Undertaker out of retirement!”
“I belong up here.”
A somewhat nihilistic entry into the outer space horror/adventure/let’s-watch-some-people-die-horribly-or-survive film genre that feels like the natural evolution of both Alien and Gravity at once.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Remarkable! LIFE will have you up on your feet saying ‘You guys really shouldn’t be messing around with that. Just knock it off.'”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
And with that line that has appeared in a myriad of other films like it, the ball begins to roll in Jeff Nichols’s straight sci-fi effort. In many ways, Midnight Special feels like Spielberg making Cameron’s The Abyss, and I can’t imagine anyone would (nor should) take that as a criticism. But Nichols has obviously taken many cues from directors before him here, even if his rural Americana vibe and affection present in Take Shelter and Mud (both “better” films) remains intact. Most everything works, though. The kid has an apt young-Culkin quality to him, the plot is indeed soulful, and the effects are just understated enough. Plus, the actors — Michael Shannon in particular (as always) — really help sell everything that’s happening.
My VHS cover quote: “Not since Star Wars VII has there been a science fiction film featuring Adam Driver.”
“What if all those things I did were the things that led me here?”
A journey of self-discovery as successful as the memoir on which it’s based thanks to the hyper-focused, personal narrative and a grounded performance by Reese Witherspoon, who is completely game for everything from selling the laborious journey of self-discovery to making everyone cringe when she rips off her prop toenail.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Simon and Garfunkel’s El Condor Pasa features as a sort of theme of the film, reflecting Cheryl’s journey and feelings throughout, which would very much be an intelligent observation I made if I hadn’t read it in an article before seeing the movie so that I could sound smart to you and all my friends. In short, I’m a fraud.”
“…but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all.”
As good an ending as one could expect from the overlong, flawed, but — you know what? — still endearing trilogy of films. While it should have been a duology, what happened happened and this is what we have. So let’s all just chill out and hang with Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, an aggressively digital Billy Connolly and company.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Lord of the what? Return of the who? Oh, right. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the crowning achievement in a trilogy of crowning achievements. Yeah, this isn’t as good as that, but it isn’t terrible and Middle Earth is always a fun place to visit.”
Nick Perilli