There have been plenty of meta, reality-bending films about writing a screenplay, many from this century made by Charlie Kaufman. BLACK BEAR boasts a wonderful performance from Aubrey Plaza as an actor turned-writer-director looking for inspiration, but asks you to spend a storyline twice over with awful and not especially interesting characters. It doesn’t seem to have a lot new to say about the writing process beyond your perception of what is real getting blurred, hence why Allison is writing a screenplay in the first half of the film and starring in the resulting film being directed by someone else (played by one of the actors from the first in a different role) in the second. The film also features Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon, two of the most interesting young character actors working today, but performances aside Lawrence Michael Levine’s film just isn’t all that compelling and tries your patience long before it starts to intrigue. SSP
Review in Brief: Black Bear (2020/21)
Review in Brief: Mortal Kombat (2021)
Maybe rather than trying to stumble upon the secret formula for a successful game-to-film adaptation, it should be agreed that the answer remains “don’t”. MORTAL KOMBAT looks visually impressive for the most part, and fans of the games will doubtless spot plenty of pleasing references to characters and mythology. The infamously gory fatality finishing moves have survived transfer to the screen intact (unlike the targets of these splattery killing blows) and the film at least has a rather wonderful opening action sequence. Unfortunately every character is just there, waiting their turn to do or say what MK every fan expects them to do or say, and the much built-up dimension-straddling fighting tournament that is supposedly the reason for all the plot gubbins happening never actually takes place in this movie. Save something for the sequel, sure, but maybe don’t hold out on the combat of Mortal Kombat, especially when this is far from a sure franchise-starter. SSP
Review in Brief: I Care a Lot (2020/21)
You can easily see why I CARE A LOT has been a divisive film. One ever-reliable truism to fall back on when talking about what makes a compelling film is that a protagonist doesn’t have to be likeable but they do have to be interesting. Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) is awful, but she is fascinating. She has an evil-genius hustle of taking advantage of rich elderly people without relatives, until she makes the costly mistake of targeting Mrs Peterson (Dianne Wiest) and in doing so attracts the attention of a Russian mobster (Peter Dinklage). The film moves at a pace, is crisply directed and J Blakeson’s screenplay provides plenty of acerbic exchanges that make the most of Pike’s strengths, particularly in a delicious battle of wits and veiled threats between Marla and Chris Messina’s mob lawyer. When the plot goes for broke any kind of dark social commentary is lost in the chaos, but Pike still sells the whole thing admirably. SSP
Review in Brief: The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Between INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE and now THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINES, Sony Pictures Animation are in a league of their own. Nobody else is creating animated features with this energy, emotion and visual uniqueness quite like them. Aspiring filmmaker Katie’s (Abbie Jacobson) plans to start college and “find her people” are scuppered by her dad’s (Danny McBride) insistence that they bond as a family one last time on a road trip. Oh, and there’s the small matter of a worldwide robot uprising as well. Writer-directors Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe and their animation team bring to life a vivid and beautiful CG/hand-drawn hybrid world and a story that’ll leave you crying with laughter and just plain crying, especially if you’re from a family of weirdos yourself. This is one of the great dysfunctional family films about parents and children who mean well but continually fail to communicate, who are ultimately both helped and hindered by modern technology along the way. SSP
Review in Brief: Nomadland (2020)
Arguably no filmmaker since Agnés Varda has blended elements of documentary and fiction together as effectively as Chloé Zhao. NOMADLAND’s narrative is loose and meandering, but only to reflect the Nomad on-the-move, purposeful and yet purposeless lifestyle. Following industrial collapse and personal bereavement, Fern (Frances McDormand) sets out across the USA living in a van, taking on seasonal work as she goes and forming unbreakable bonds with fellow members of the Nomad community. Like Zhao’s previous films it’s all about living an unconventional life to the fullest off-grid, and the strongest and most memorable scenes simply place the camera to capture real Nomads recounting their journey and experiences and exploring their connection to the planet. Add to this an unadorned, stripped back and honest central performance from McDormand and stunning, massive American landscapes bathed in magical light delicately captured by DP Joshua James Richards and before you know it you’re having your own spiritual experience while watching. SSP
Review in Brief: Run (2020)
Non-specific spoilers for RUN ahead. If there’s one mystery-thriller movie trope that really needs to die, it’s the Convenient Incriminating Evidence Box. Aneesh Chaganty’s sophmore feature is far less assured than SEARCHING, being about 50 minutes of a decent thriller and a complete collapse into bad information reveals and sub-Shyamalan twists in the final 40. A wheelchair-using teenager waits for the freedom of her college acceptance letter as her mother continues to care for her around the clock, but soon becomes suspicious of her behavior and motives. The first plot twists you guess from this setup will probably be correct. As Chloe, Kiera Allen proves herself a real talent, fearlessly throwing herself into the demands of the role and bringing a nuanced mix of vulnerability and strength to balance out Sarah Paulson’s genre-driven over-acting. This really comes off the rails towards the end, but not in un-entertaining ways. SSP
Review in Brief: Promising Young Woman (2020)
With PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN writer-director Emerald Fennell has crafted one of the most challenging and keen-edged debut films in years, and it’s making just the right kinds of people mad. Cassie (Carey Mulligan) spends her evenings pretending to be blackout drunk until a “nice guy” offers her help and inevitably tries to take advantage of her until she instantaneously “switches” from intoxicated to sober and turns the tables on the would-be predator. The motivation for this twisted pastime is revenge for the system failing Cassie’s best friend Nina who was raped at college years before, and soon she begins to enact her master plan for vigilante justice. Men will carry on doing this unless you confront them about it, and you hope along with Cassie that new boyfriend Ryan (Bo Burnham) turns out to be different to all the others. This black as pitch, scathing and brutal, but it’s compelling as can be, cathartic and has the most satisfying, gasp-inducing denouement in 2020 film. SSP
Crip Camp (2020) Review
Review in Brief: Baby Done (2020/21)
A lot of New Zealand comedies have a very distinct feel, and BABY DONE from writer-director team Curtis Vowell and Sophie Henderson echoes the voice of its producer Taika Waititi. This is deadpan-funny, heartfelt and unafraid to make its protagonist a challenging personality to spend the allotted time with. The film grows beyond quirkyness for the sake of it with a mature look at a difficult time in any woman’s life, all through the prism of an immature character’s view of the world. The performances, particularly from leads Rose Matafeo and Matthew Lewis as an expecting couple (the former unready to surrender her youth, freedom and passion for climbing, the latter excited at the prospect of fatherhood and exasperated by his partner’s actions) are pitched about right for this bittersweet and grounded story. Not every moment lands or hits the right tone, but overall this will leave you uplifted, fulfilled, even enlightened. SSP
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