Tag: Identity

“Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) starring Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Pete Davidson, & Lee Pace

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When a group of rich 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, a party game turns deadly in this fresh and funny look at backstabbing, fake friends, and one party gone very, very wrong. -Synopsis

This movie had a viral moment after Amandla Stenberg (who plays the lead- Sophie) messaged NYT film critic, Lena Wilson, after Wilson called the film a “95-minute advertisement for cleavage.” In a direct message (DM), the 25 y.o. actress wrote: “Ur review was great, maybe if you had gotten your eyes off my tits you could’ve watched the movie.” The title/game played are based on Body Body (or Murder In The Dark) where players run around in a dark room while the murderer “kills” players by tapping them, hoping to get away w/ “killing” the entire group. This is Dutch director Halina Reijn’s 1st film to be made in the US; she allowed the (young/Gen Z) cast to choose songs and improvise some of the dialogue. The screenwriters are Sarah DeLappe and Kristen Roupenian (who worked on the viral op ed turned movie- Cat Person). As this movie takes place mostly in the dark, w/ the only source of light being cellphones, a headlamp, and glow tubes, the cast was instructed on how to light scenes/themselves from the cinematographer, Jasper Wolf.

As one critic commented: this movie (distributed by A24) shows how “Gen Z’s social life has been greatly affected by the use of social media.” Another issue here is toxic masculinity, as the director noted. This cast is mostly little-known, though some may be familiar w/ 30 y.o. Pete Davidson (who plays Dave, Sophie’s BFF); he’s known for SNL and relationships w/ famous women. The other man here is played by the handsome/tall (6’5″) Lee Pace (now 45); he’s the slacker/Tinder hook-up of Alice (Rachel Sennott). As I noted before, Sennott appeared recently in two indie comedies- Shiva Baby and Bottoms. For sabering-the-champagne-bottle near the start of the movie, Pace practiced at home using Thranduil’s sword from The Hobbit (2012)- LOL!

The movie opens w/ a close-up of two young women kissing and sharing their emotions; it soon shifts to them in a car texting on their phones. Such is modern life! Sophie and her gf, Bee (Maria Balalova- a Bulgarian actress seen in Borat 2) go to a hurricane party at a mansion. These diverse partiers are ALL from wealthy families, perhaps aside from Bee (w/ an Eastern European accent) and Greg (who they assume to be a war vet). There is little character development; most of these ppl are NOT likeable. As they drink, take drugs, and- worst of all- treat each others cruelly, your patience might wear thin. The dialogue is often banal and unfunny, as many critics/viewers have commented. I realize that this is NOT geared to ppl my age; however, it’s an undercooked waste of time!

[1] A modern horror of sorts, no scares and mild action. Mostly focused on trying to study the breakdown of people in the wake of suspicion. As I was looking for some good scares, I left feeling disappointed. I should have kept my old ass at home.

[2] Part of me wants to rate this well for how good it is at touching on a lot of what Gen Z is today. A lot of me wants to give this a thumbs down for how completely unlikable the characters are, how overplayed the point is, and how predictable and dumb the whole movie ends up being.

I give it points for it’s grounded approach. It advertises itself as a slasher, but it really ends up mostly being a deconstruction of these characters. Nothing over the top or typically slasher. Unfortunately, everyone here is a cliche.

[3] Bodies isn’t scary and there’s only so much tension and excitement to be gleaned from the premise. The acting was fine, but it was also hampered by the characters being so self-absorbed and hard to like. While the twist is kind-of new, it didn’t mean much and I was still left disappointed that I sunk an hour and a half into this.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“Eileen” (2023) starring Thomasin McKenzie & Anne Hathaway

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The stagnant waters of Eileen’s dull, stifled life as a solitary worker at a juvenile detention center in 1960s Boston, are unexpectedly disrupted when the institution brings in a new psychologist, the vibrant Rebecca. The fervent enthusiasm that blossoms between the two women almost immediately gives way to a closer relationship, until their fragile connection takes a dramatic turn. -Synopsis

You have to hand it to Anne Hathaway- she’s trying new things! Now, these roles aren’t all going to fit her right. As Rebecca, she wears a platinum wig (like a femme fatale from the days of noir). However, the real dangerous lady here is played by Thomasin McKenzie, a young/20ish Aussie actress w/ a LOT of talent. So far, I’ve seen McKenzie in Jojo Rabbit, The Power of the Dog, and Old. Eileen has a difficult home life, dead-end job, and “girl next door” looks (which helps the audience empathize w/ her plight). Elieen lives w/ her alcoholic/retired cop father, played by prolific character actor Shea Wigham.

The director, William Oldroyd, is a Brit who we can thank for “discovering” the FAB Florence Pugh (who was the lead in his debut/indie Lady Macbeth). This movie is inspired (in part) by Todd Fields’ critically-acclaimed drama Carol (which starred Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara). The 1st hour is intriguing, BUT that sense of anticipation is let down in the last half hour; the story is undercooked. I kept thinking that something was missing. What was the point here? FYI: There is a plot twist (involving another character) which could be difficult for sensitive viewers. Overall, I was disappointed, as I had high hopes for this movie!

“Priscilla” (2023) starring Cailee Spaeny & Jacob Elordi

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Wife to the King. Icon to the world. Destined for more. -Tagline

When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend. -Tagline

Are any of y’all having a hard time sleeping? Well, this movie MAY be the solution- no joke! We have (another) case of style over substance. I had modest (NOT high) hopes for this biopic; it had gotten a LOT of buzz at the Venice Film Festival last Fall. The teens/20s crowd (mostly female) waiting for pics/autographs went wild for the statuesque Jacob Elordi (who plays Elvis). Priscilla Presley (whose autobiography the film was based on) was on the red carpet, along w/ Sofia Coppola (director) and petite/newcomer Cailee Spaeny (who plays the title role).

I think it would’ve been easy to make a much darker movie, especially because seeing something unfold onscreen can be so much more visceral than reading it. But I didn’t want the darker side of their relationship to completely overshadow the film, so it was a matter of trying to show the reality. It was important to Priscilla that it was still her love story and to show Elvis as a real human being instead of some two-dimensional villain. I just wanted to show her point of view and leave it to the audience to come to their own conclusions about this relationship. But it was a matter of finding some balance because I don’t want the film to seem like it’s condoning certain things, but I also wanna portray Priscilla’s experience as she says it was. It was important to me for her to feel good about the film, and that it felt truthful to her experience and how she told it. -Sofia Coppola, director

Lisa Marie Presley (before passing away suddenly) read the script and strongly disapproved; she wrote a letter to Coppola criticizing the portrayal of her father. Elvis Presley Enterprises declined approval for this film to use his songs; Coppola used music by her husband’s band (Phoenix) and cover versions of songs. As we expect from this director, the look of the film is impressive; the period details are cool to see. At nearly 2 hrs in run time, this movie seems TOO long b/c of its pacing. The tone is heavy throughout. I didn’t see much heat (romantic chemistry) btwn Elordi and Spaeny! Was this perhaps intentional (in some scenes), I had to wonder? Their acting is good for what they’re given, BUT I didn’t find depth in the dialogue or feel connection to the story. The supporting characters don’t get much to say/do, which makes the tale seem even more thin. As the Young’uns might say: “It was meh.”

“Leave the World Behind” (2023) starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, & Ethan Hawke

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There’s No Going Back to Normal. -Tagline for the movie

Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke) Sandford leave the hustle of NYC (Brooklyn) for a quiet/ Long Island vacay w/ their 2 teen kids: 17 y.o. Archie (Charlie Evans- a 19 y.o. Aussie actor/musician) and 13 y.o. Rose (Farrah Mackenzie- now 19 y.o.) Their trip is interrupted by the arrival of a middle-aged man, G.H Scott (Mahershala Ali), and his 20-ish daughter, Ruth (Myaha’la), who own this luxury rental house. The Scotts (dressed to the nines for the Bronx Symphony) decided to leave the city when a blackout occurred. When the internet, TV, and radio stop working, as well as the landline, there is no way of finding out what is exactly happening! Loud sonic booms shatter the peace, animals start to migrate to weird places, and the physical/mental health of both families begins to disintegrate. As the renters are white and the owners are Black, issues of race clash and become distractions to the more disturbing events happening around them.

Amanda: Well, when I couldn’t fall back asleep this morning, I came over here. To watch the sunrise. And I saw all these people starting their day with such tenacity. Such verve. All in an effort to… make something of themselves. Make something of our world. I felt so lucky to be a part of that. But then, I remembered… what the world is actually like. And I came to a more accurate realization. I f*****g hate people.

My parents really valued assimilation. They were leaving a political system that had failed, and there was no desire on the part of either of my parents to look back with any rose-colored perspective. We were there to be American. They were extremely clear about that. I was raised like any other white kid in any other nice house in any other fancy American suburb. -Rumaan Alam (author of the source novel Leave the World Behind) in Vulture: September 15, 2020.

With Amanda, we get to dissect white entitlement, and I thought, What a fascinating challenge for America’s sweetheart [Julia Roberts] to examine that privilege. -Sam Esmail (director/screenwriter) in Vulture: September 15, 2020.

Yup, you heard right- former prez Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, are producers on this movie! Netflix won a bidding war for the rights to the novel by Rumaan Alam (a queer/Bangladeshi-American writer) in July 2020. Alam and his husband (photographer David Land) are raising two Black sons in Brooklyn; he has written re: adoptive fatherhood in NYT. Sam Esmail (best known for Mr. Robot) was attached to write/direct the movie; he is Egyptian-American. This is the 3rd collab btwn. Esmail and Roberts after Gaslit (2022) and S1 of Homecoming (2018). Leave the World Behind had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on October 25, 2023. It was released (select theaters) on November 22nd, then hit Netflix on December 8th.

G. H. Scott: A conspiracy theory about a shadowy group of people running the world is far too lazy of an explanation… especially when the truth is much scarier.

Amanda: What is the truth?

G. H. Scott: No one is in control. No one is pulling the strings.

The central Q posed here: What has modern life made of us? We are focused on tech and ourselves, so perhaps are losing what makes us human. There is plenty of meta commentary in this movie; for EX: Roberts’ character’s daughter, Rose, is obsessed w/ Friends (1994). The girl becomes V anxious when unable to stream the series finale. Many viewers (esp. near by age) will recall that Roberts was a guest star in one ep of the hit comedy series; she also dated Matthew Perry. Rose doesn’t get much empathy from Archie, who is the typical down-beat/self-concerned boy. Some viewers commented on his resemblance to a young Adam Driver: tall, pale, slim, w/ long-ish dark hair. I had somewhat high hopes for this movie, as the cast is good and the premise is intriguing. Several viewers noted that Hawke is playing a version of himself, which I felt also. This movie is TOO long (2 hrs. 18 mins) and lacks pacing (momentum); there are a few scenes w/ good tension.

[1] I think the movie was timely. COVID accelerated our isolation with everyone living in their own realities of happiness. I recommend watching this movie and thinking about how our world is rapidly changing. How many of us would be perfectly happy living in our bunkers of our own making with our own devices watching our own shows not needing to pay attention to the outside world? The movie takes it to the extreme with bombs dropping right outside, but I thought the point was powerful.

[2] It’s supposed to be a deep, political exploration of what would happen to the average citizen if America were to be destabilized. And the answer is: they’d sit around and wander around and generally mope around. That’s very boring. Nothing about this movie hits. Nothing about this movie hits any of the right notes. I want my time back!

[3] And if 2023 has shown us anything, it’s revealed to more and more people that maybe we’re just cogs turning in a vast machine that we can’t possibly understand. There are forces shaping the world that are bigger than our individual capacities, and maybe too complex for us to collectively confront. We lack a common cause. Because we often can’t even agree on what the problem is. And where we can and do see problems we only see the surface problems. We band-aid things, and we swat flies. But we’re not building the solutions that we need to build a better future.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

Two Films of Emma Seligman: “Shiva Baby” (2020) & “Bottoms” (2023)

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Shiva Baby (2020)

Debbie: I thought you were done experimenting.
Danielle: You think everyone that’s bi is experimenting. You don’t know anything. You have zero gaydar.
Debbie: Excuse me, kid! I lived through New York in the 80s! My gaydar is strong as a bull!

What are the “kids” doing these days, do y’all sometimes wonder? Well, some of them are subverting audience expectations and creating fresh/genre-defying work. This movie (which I saw on Max earlier in the pandemic) was adapted from writer/director Emma Seligman’s short film, Shiva Baby (2018), also starring her former NYU classmate/close friend Rachel Sennott (who was raised Catholic). “Shiva” is Hebrew and means “seven;” the film’s run time is 77 mins. Except for some producers, all essential crew here are women. Unfortunately for Sennott, she had a supporting role in the (hot mess) Max series The Idol. Then she swung back w/ the teen comedy Bottoms (streaming on Amazon Prime).

Danielle (Sennott) is a petite/curly-haired 23 y.o. student who also works as a “sugar baby”; this is unknown to her friends/family. In the 1st scene, she’s getting dressed in the (modern/spacious) NYC apt. of a cute/30-something man. Danielle needs to get her payment from this man (her client), BUT he grabs her for a hug and starts asking about her life. She is in a BIT of a rush, as she has a social obligation in her neighborhood (on Long Island)- a shiva for a deceased/older woman. In a podcast interview, Seligman (a bisexual/Jewish woman) commented that several classmates/friends had worked IRL as sugar babies in college; she tried it briefly herself.

Max: [to Danielle] You’re studying business?
Joel: [laughs] No, not business.
Debbie: No, no, she’s studying gender.
Danielle: The business of gender. It’s like gender business.
Joel: She does this fantastic program where you kind of design your own major. It’s a little complex when it comes to finding employment, but she’s doing terrifically.

Danielle’s mom, Debbie, is played by Polly Draper (who some mature viewers may recognize from thirtysomething); her dad is played by character actor Fred Melamed. Danielle’s ex-gf, Maya (Molly Gordon), soon arrives at this event; Maya is in law school (so held in high regard by their elders). When Max (Danny Defarrari), Kim (Diana Agron from Glee), and their baby arrive, many gather around them to admire the cute baby. Maya comments on Kim’s looks (blonde/conventionally attractive); she is also known as a successful businesswoman. From across the room, Danielle is shocked- Max is her “sugar daddy” (who we saw in the opener)! The tension (and humor) comes from the social situations which Danielle must navigate; ppl are curious re: her education, future career, and love life. The acting in the movie is quite good, incl. from the bit players.

[1] With its claustrophobic atmosphere, creepy soundtrack and uncomfortably relatable cringe, the picture basically feels like a panic attack on screen. In many ways, it actually tells its tales using tropes of the horror genre. 

[2] We need Emma Seligman to direct a thriller/horror movie…like tomorrow.

[3] She faithfully delivers just the sort of fun ethnic romp which, only a few short years ago, would have been the exclusive territory of a “name” writer or director.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

Bottoms (2023)

Principal Meyers: [over intercom] Could the ugly, untalented gays please report to the principal’s office?

Two unpopular/queer HS seniors, RJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri: seen in The Bear on Hulu), start a “fight club” to spend time w/ the “hot girls” they have crushes on before graduation. RJ and Josie have been friends for many yrs, though they have different personalities. Their friend Hazel (Ruby Cruz) is the 3rd wheel; she’s actually excited to learn self-defense/have a “safe space.” Some of you will recognize Kaia Gerber (looks V similar to her former supermodel mom- Cindy Crawford); she plays a cheerleader named Brittany (RJ’s crush). Havana Rose Liu plays Isabel (the most popular cheerleader); she’s Josie’s crush/gf to the star quarterback, Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine). A real NFL player, Marshawn Lynch, plays Mr. G (a history teacher); he does a good job for a non-actor. Lynch wanted to take on this role; he has a queer sister IRL.

Isabel [to Josie]: I really value when people use violence for me, it’s actually one of my love languages.

Do you like (or like making fun of) teen movies? If so, then check out this wacky comedy/satire! You’ll have to keep an open mind here; it’s quite different from Shiva Baby. Edebiri (whose parents are immigrants from Jamaica and Nigeria) is also close friends/former classmates w/ Sennott and Seligman. While attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, they ALL discovered their preference for the comedy genre. They started to create their own work, rather than focusing on “classics” (which was common at Tisch). Edebiri (now 27 y.o.) has gotten many awards these past 2 yrs for The Bear. I’d file this under movies that I can appreciate, though it wasn’t specifically tailored to me. High school is a tough time for most ppl I’ve met; perhaps it’s natural to make fun of it!

[1] Every single person here seems to be having the time of their lives. It reminded me a bit of the energy in Barbie, only this one is — in the best possible sense — a lot more unhinged.

Its influences are many, as I said (one of its more “early 2000s” elements is the Avril Lavigne needle drop, which is up there with the Bonnie Tyler sequence as one of the most glorious and hilarious moments in the movie), but this is a film that does something truly special with its homages and love letters.

[2] It’s over-the-top satire, sure, I get that, and I even get what this movie tries to poke fun at, but I just found myself being unable to enjoy or even connect with this particular style of annoying teenage humour. I don’t know if this is a generational thing or a cultural thing… it could be both. All I know is that it just wasn’t for me.

[3] The film is done in quite a bizarre way. It’s set in the present but everyone dresses like the ’70s and there are no smart phones. Also, there are almost no adults in the film, and the few that there are are absolute monsters. If there’s a school assembly the students are just running it, for example. You get used to it after a while but I can’t remember another film like it in that sense.

The film is at its best when it is just trying to be wacky and funny. There’s a period in the middle where some conflict arises and the film gets bogged down briefly.

[4] This movie is an acquired taste. At first, I thought it was just silly. Then I thought it was extremely silly. Eventually I laughed my butt off. There is no scene that they don’t take over the top. Whether they are mocking teen movies or parodying David Fincher or using Marshawn Lynch to comment on feminism, the entire cast completely goes for it.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews