Month: September 2023

White Building: Review.

It’s not often that a film comes out that has a lot to say about the state of the world, but does so in such a rich and detailed story that’s charming and empathetic as it is swift and mannered. Cambodian director Kavich Neang’s film White Building is a very impressive display of the harsh realities of living day-to-day in working poverty, while daydreaming of a better life in stardom—as the film expertly weaves together textures, nuance, and a tangible sense of place and characters.

Written by Daniel Mattes and Neang and directed by Neang (Last Night I Saw You Smiling), White Building is a coming-of-age film that follows Nang, played by Piseth Chhun in his feature film debut, a young man who lives in a cramped and crowded apartment complex in Phnom Penh.

He dreams of being a famous dancer as a winner of Cambodia’s Next Superstar contest with his friends, but when a real estate company offers to buyout his home’s residents, his family has to choose to take the money and move, or stay in their home and lose everything.

Although the film is small in scale, it feels like the center of the world with energy, momentum, and life—as it bounces from rough reality and joyous dream sequences with ease. Neang drops you into the story, but after a few moments, it seems like you already know the characters’ motivations, desires, and responsibilities. The character Nang is ambitious, but not talented, while his friends placate him with trips into the city center to busk in restaurants to make money from tourists.

He hangs out, plays soccer, makes TikTok videos, and flirts with girls, all while dreaming of fame. However, it’s not meant to be and deep down inside he knows it. He’s torn between his dreams for himself and obligations to his family. Neang conveys so much ambition and disappointment in Nang, while Chhun offers a stellar performance oozing with both charisma and melancholy.

Throughout the film, we get a sense that there’s something larger happening in the background. The city is getting more and more urbanized with a lot of construction with high rises and luxury condos going up. This is reflected in the bigger story of self-eviction of Nang’s home. A real estate company nearly doubles their initial offer for residents, while some jump at the opportunity to move and others just want to stay in their homes. But, it feels like all of his construction isn’t for the people who already live there, but for new residents with heftier wallets and pocketbooks.

In addition, Nang’s father, played by Hout Sithorn (Same Same But Different), wants to hold out for more money. He’s bedridden from a toe infection that increasingly gets worse and worse, while he’s stubborn and prideful about leaving the place he’s called home for more than 40 years. There’s a heartbreaking subplot that involves his injury and lack of funds, which hits close to home for audiences—especially in America. It feels consistent with the rest of the film and its themes.

White Building is an excellent film that’s worth your time and attention—especially since it’s well-paced with a brisk 90-minute running time. The movie is well-constructed and thoughtful, while its characters and themes feel intimate and meaningful. It’s also smart and clever with something to say about the pitfalls and tough reality of Capitalism, lack of healthcare, and gentrification in urban settings. It’s highly recommended.

Meanwhile, White Building hits home video and streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Vimeo on Demand on September 12.

While Toho were involved with the American Godzilla films, the last cinematic portrayal of the King of Monsters that Toho released was in 2016 with ‘Shin Godzilla’. It was a fantastic reboot of the 1954 original and now Toho finally return with a new live action film!

It takes place in Japan post-World War 2 where the country’s economic state has been reduced to zero. But the return of Godzilla will see the country go down to minus one.

There are a few aspects to this film that will make it stand out from Toho’s previous entries: the film being set in this specific era is unique to the franchise but will further emphasis it’s threatening manner. This is something that was missing from the American films where the monster was painted as humanity’s saviour. Plus, the film will be mostly set from the ground and from the perspective of the civilians, something that the Toho films haven’t done in decades. Not only will this be a refreshing take on the franchise for Toho, but the perspective means the monster’s terror will be fully realized.

After a 7-year absence, it’s great to see Toho return to fully creating Godzilla films again, after being involved in the American films. The film looks fantastic and offers a new perspective on the iconic creature. Plus, Godzilla itself looks amazing: the CGI looks fantastic, and Toho have done a great job at keeping its original design. And being a huge Godzilla fan myself, I’m looking forward to this.

This is an upcoming Japanese kaiju film directed, written, and with visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki. Produced by Toho Studios and Robot and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the 37th film in the Godzilla franchise, Toho’s 33rd Godzilla film, and the fifth film in the franchise’s Reiwa era.

Dr. Lily Khan (Tal Hymans) is on the verge of getting everything she ever wanted. Despite her self-doubts, she has a thriving medical career ahead of her and a wonderful boyfriend, Kit (Alec Snow) who wants her to meet his family.

However, when they get there, Lily meets Kit’s sister, Rachael (Tara Jay) and immediately senses tension. Doing what she can to get along, Lily and her new family head of to a house for the weekend to get to know each other. Unfortunately, there are stories of where a woman was hung for being a witch circling the area and it’s said that her vengeful spirit still haunts their destination.

The Hanged Girl is a supernatural Australian horror movie written and directed by Jon Cohen. A story which has all the usual trappings, although with some characters that are more fleshed out to make them more grounded.

However, this may very well be the best thing that could be said about the movie, because horror fans may be waiting a good while for any scares. This is particularly evident as it seems the filmmakers are more interested in the family drama than the supernatural element.

This means that for a lot of the movie, the story comes across as more of a melodrama than a horror. None of it rings true besides tensions between Rachael and Lily either, which may make the audience think they’re watching a bad soap opera rather than a horror movie.

This particularly becomes the case when questions about Lily’s past are raised and the audience may start to believe that Rachael has good reason to suspect. However, it turns out that the secret is rather tame and quickly forgotten.

Finally, The Hanged Girl does get to the point of its supposed genre, but by the final act it seems like director Cohen just wants to tie things up as quickly as possible. This unfortunately means a lot of contrivances, another ridiculous plot twist and a blood bath of a finale which would only ensure that horror fans won’t ask for their money back. A missed opportunity to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, The Hanged Girl isn’t worth hanging around for.

The Problem Of The Hero: Review.

Adapting a stage play into a movie is tough enough with so many lackluster examples out there, like Spinning Into Butter, Love’s Labour’s Lost, August: Osage County, and others. And then when you mix that in with historical drama, it gets even more difficult to manage fictionalizing past events.

The film The Problem of the Hero attempts to offer up the making of a stage play, Native Son, and the drama between its two writers Paul Green and Richard Wright, who wrote the bestselling novel, in which the play is based. In some ways, delivers on a sort of unconventional stage adaptation and the opposing viewpoints of two literary juggernauts. It’s a balancing act that’s thought-provoking and visceral—albeit a little muddy and flat.

Written by James A. Hodge & Ian Finley and directed by Shaun Dozier (all making their feature film debuts), The Problem of the Hero follows author Richard Wright (played by J. Mardrice Henderson) and playwright Paul Green (played by David Zum Brunnen) during the rehearsal before Native Son opened on Broadway in 1941. The two work together to be ready for opening day, but the pair are still at odds with how the play should end.

Throughout the film, the difference between growing up Black and White, nurture and nature, Communism and Capitalism, author intent and audience reception, Europe and America, Atheism and Christianity, condemning actions and the luxury of choice, and other themes. Moreover, whether the Broadway version will comfort or confront White people’s beliefs. The men feel like cyphers for these themes rather than characters. However, it seems like it’s the filmmakers intent since the structure feels didactic.

While the film itself has a simple story told in a series of flashbacks that are bookended with Green hearing news of Wright’s death at age 52, The Problem of the Hero feels almost an experiment in storytelling. The film seems to be more about its themes examined through the lens of pre-World War II American Racism, the subjugation of Black people, which is all told and blocked with the cadence and delivery of a stage play. In some ways, it feels like a Wallace Shawn film in tone, like My Dinner with Andre or A Master Builder.

In addition, the racism that Wright experiences is outside of the theater, as well as inside of it without overtness or supremacy. It plays out below the surface with microaggressions and gaslighting, even from his peers and allies.

Although The Problem of the Hero is enthralling, captivating, and effective at times, it feels like an overall homage to Richard Wright—pulling from his works like Native Son (both the novel and play) and White Man and Black Man. Dozier takes advantage of the film’s small scale to deliver something that feels larger than the sum of its parts, which is a big credit to Henderson and Brunnen’s stellar performances of Wright and Green as colleagues, rivals, and friends. Furthermore, the problem of the hero is there’s still no heroes in America.

A group of people all with their own mental health issues come to The Vance Institute in order to be rid of their problems for good. Promising new and effective techniques, the institute run by Elizabeth (Hannah New) and its founder, Tobin Vance (Tom Malloy) treats everybody as equals whilst putting them through the ringer in order to rid them of their problems.

Everybody has their own issues as well such as Lily (Courtney Warner) who has an eating disorder and Jesse (Gordon Holliday) who is suffering from anxiety and depression. What leads them there is the desperation that their emotions are going out of control and despite the hyperbole of what’s promised, it’s an opportunity they can’t pass up. The problem is that The Vance Institute uses some sinister and highly unethical techniques to help its patients, and it’s just a question of how far they’re willing to go.

Trauma Therapy: Psychosis is the sequel to 2019’s Trauma Therapy. An intriguing premise that puts a set of victims in an unusual but recognisable setting. Although it feels like it wants to appeal to the horror crowd who want their torture porn fix.

Although promising a strong horror vibe for an audience willing to go to extreme lengths, it feels like the movie suffers from a budgetary issue. This means that a lot of the time when one of the volunteers for the Vance Institute is made to do something, the true horror is moved off screen.

However, there’s something to be said for a horror movie that does this kind of thing, although it feels like the movie wanted to do more than it was allowed.

There’s also the bizarre choice of having a fictional podcast fronted by Tom Sizemore to comment on the events of the movie. Something which wasn’t present in the first movie and only serves to slow down the pace.

Trauma Therapy: Psychosis does something different with the trope of mental health and brings up thought provoking issues, although maybe only in the name of shock value. Unfortunately, despite its original premise, it doesn’t really have a solid direction for the plot and doesn’t show audiences anything they haven’t seen before.