Category: REVIEWS

Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple at their door.

To say that the filmography of Josephine Decker is weird and imaginative would be a massive understatement. With films such as Madeline’s Madeline and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely under her belt, she has made quite the name for herself in the film community throughout the years.

For some, her style and vision may be a bit too wild and outlandish to be considered enjoyable, but there’s no doubt that she has a clear voice, and that is heavily clear with her newest feature film Shirley, a quiet, oftentimes cold and somber thriller that does feel too pretentious but is nevertheless a mystery worth unraveling.

It sadly starts off quite slow with a first act that exists to set up the plot and introduce our lead characters. The film’s style is a bit jarring at first and it did take me quite a while to get settled into what the movie was going for, as there are numerous scenes at the beginning that came across as over-the-top and pretentious. Really, the whole film could be described that way. Style over substance would be a good term to describe some portions of the film, but after a while, the tension started to rise and the story became more intriguing and the style began to grow on me.

The highlight of the entire film however was the lead performance from Elisabeth Moss as the titular character. Moss is, in my opinion, one of the most incredible actresses working today. Having seen a large portion of her films, I am delighted to say that this is yet another win in her already impressive list of performances. With her role as Cecilia Kass in this year’s excellent horror feature The Invisible Man and now Shirley Jackson, this is Moss’ year.

But in addition to her, Odessa Young also delivers a strong and nuanced performance as Rose Nemser, who feels quite intimidating at certain times. The duality between Shirley and Rose was remarkably weird and fascinating. One scene in particular towards the second act involving mushrooms was so bizarre yet so well crafted that I just have to applaud it.

All of these elements combined make Shirley a little bit of a bumpy ride, although one that was admittedly worth it in the long run. It’s quite slow in the first act and it feels like a case of style over substance at times, but I’d be lying if I said that Josephine Decker’s latest didn’t leave me guessing.

Shirley may be a classic case of style over substance, but its incredible lead performance from Elisabeth Moss and bold vision from director Josephine Decker are too intriguing to ignore.

By Alex Purnell. A genuinely disturbing feast of a film, Hungry Joe sticks with you well after you have stopped watching with its ghastly visuals and consistent, torturous sounds.

Inspired by Tarrare, a 17th-century man who ate anything and everything he could get his hands on, Hungry Joe follows the mother of a monstrous eater, who’s insatiable appetite grows so uncontrollable that it starts seriously affecting those around him.

The short, running in at 20 minutes, is grotesquely engaging, whilst also being unforgivably vile with its obscene, albeit sometimes obnoxious, sound effects that are so invasive that one might think you have somehow ended up in someone’s mouth whilst they squelch and chomp down on some unidentifiable food.

To complement this main course is a side of grizzly practical effects and gruesome props that are sparsely scattered to create a haunting visual element that worms its way into the viewers head. 

Andrew Greaves, who plays the lead of Joe, is sinfully brilliant at doing his job of putting me off my breakfast. I found myself grimacing whilst viewing Greaves shovel mouthful upon mouthful of compressed, mushy food into his face with no expense for cleanliness.

This particular scene of Joe and his mother at the dinner table is executed beautifully, causing the audience to feel sympathetic towards Joe and his obvious eating problem. His mother watches on at her abomination of a child with such disgust, as he devours the slush in front of him like a junkie finally getting his fix.

Hungry Joe is an obscenely clever film, skillfully paced with just enough gore and grossness to make it chilling, though not too much to push it over the top.

If you have a strong stomach, I would recommend giving Hungry Joe a watch. The short has strong, disturbing visuals, nightmarish in a verminous way that can make it somewhat of a challenge to get through depending on your tolerance.

Comedic directors rarely morph into established auteurs in modern cinema, yet Judd Apatow has accomplished just that with his storied career. Along with producing and writing some of the millennium’s most beloved comedic works (Bridesmaids and Superbad come to mind), Apatow has also established a distinct, improve-heavy directorial approach with winning crowd-pleasers like Knocked Up and Trainwreck. With his latest venture The King of Staten Island, the comedic stalwart offers a satisfying evolution of his craft, creating an endeavor that feels equally grounded and personal. 

Based loosely on Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson’s life story, The King of Staten Island follows Scott (Davidson), a burnout stuck in a state of arrested development from his firefighter father’s passing. When his supportive mom Margie (Marisa Tomei) begins to date another firefighter Ray (Bill Burr), Scott is confronted with his lifelong grief as he connects to his father’s past. 

Apatow’s filmography features a plethora of projects that extenuate the talents of their uniquely-fitted lead star (Adam Sandler in Funny People), with Pete Davidson joining that impressive lineage with ease. Playing off his real-life persona as Scott, an affable, quick-witted slacker who quietly carries his overwhelming emotional baggage, Davidson shines in a performance that is simultaneously humorous and revealing. It’s a joy to see the actor operate in an intimate platform that allows him a therapeutic opportunity to explore his grief and traumas, with his adept performance signaling a bright future in the film industry. 

Marisa Tomei dials her performance to perfection as Margie, acting as a supportive pillar in Scott’s life that desperately tries to shake his life into motion. Perhaps the actor that shares the most screen time with Davidson is provocative Bostonian comedian Bill Burr, with the two developing a natural rapport that starts from a place of mutual distaste before altering into a genuine connection. Burr can draw laughs with impressive ease, while thankfully morphing Ray’s New Yorkian attitude into a genuine character. 

The King of Staten Island not only portrays the evolution of Davidson’s acting career, but also a decidedly more grounded effort on Apatow’s part. Working with acclaimed DOP Robert Elswit, Apatow paints Staten Island in a loving, yet honest manner, capturing a suburb that bristles with life despite its modest appearance. The camera work is fluid and free-ranging, with its grounded, Sundance-indie approach fitting the project to a tee. Even the aspects of the director’s style that some criticize fit this project like a glove, with its meandering pace being an ideal fit for Scott’s aimless journey of self-discovery.  

Rarely is there a dull moment buried in King of Staten Island, but opportunities are missed to make this grounded coming of age portrait even more impactful. It’s a shame that the script sanitizes some of its more intriguing topics, with mentions of Scott’s mental illness and criminal wrongdoings having little dramatic payoff.  I also wish that some of the film’s colorful supporting players got more of an opportunity to shine, especially Bel Powley as Scott’s charming on-again-off-again girlfriend.  

Bookended by two cathartic Kid Cudi tracks, The King of Staten Island proudly encapsulates Pete Davidson’s distinct sensibilities on its sleeve in a winning coming-of-age crowd-pleaser. 

‘As The Earth Turns’ is a silent film that was originally released in 1938, and was written and directed by Richard.H.Lyford. After receiving warning messages from someone called ‘PAX’, the warnings of apocalyptic disasters are ignored. However, as they get worse, a reporter and soldier go to investigate, and find out who is sending the messages.

This was the last film of this genre that Lyford made. Considered an ‘indie’ filmmaker, Lyford would end up working at Disney. Before this, he created 50 plays, and 9 award winning films, all of which were never released for public viewing.

This film is an example of achieving what you can with very little, and the result is inspirational. The film industry had moved on from the silent era almost 10 years before this film’s release, with the release of ‘The Jazz Singer’ in 1921. Therefore, the decision to make this silent was presumably due to costs; Lyford used his own equipment, and the disaster sequences are displayed by using models, e.g.: trains and planes, as well as creating establishing shots via pencil drawings. The latter, especially, makes the film stand out and gives viewers a unique perspective on a shot that they are used to seeing. 

The film draws in similar themes to ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’, a film that would come out around 13 years later, as well as the character of PAX drawing a similar vein to that of Andrew Ryan, from the horror game ‘Bioshock’; if this film influenced those two properties in any way, that would come as no surprise to me. Lyford plays PAX, the German scientist who was appalled at what the Germans were doing during the First World War and exacts revenge on humanity because of this. He brings a glimpse into the Silent era furthermore; while the other lead actors act through the film as realistic as possible, aside from a few comedic scenes, Lyford plays PAX like the theatre actors before him, and gives the character an overdramatic feel, which suits the character. 

‘As The Earth Turns’ was digitally restored by GT Recordings in 2019 and the restoration is impressive. Care has been taken to make sure this can be viewed in the best quality as possible without damaging any of the film reel. Furthermore, a musical score has been added, composed by Ed Hartman (‘KillJoys’ and ‘Lucifer’), that elevates the film. Despite being composed recently, the score blends in perfectly with the visuals, and sounds like it belongs in the same era.

‘As The Earth Turns’ is overall enjoyable. The digital restoration is an impressive piece of work and the new score adds to the visuals. ‘As The Earth Turns’ is also inspirational to any film-makers wanting to create their films, but are unsure of what steps to take. 

Auteur directors leave their distinct stamp on every endeavor they’re attached to, injecting their stylistic flavor in a movie that becomes synonymous with their unique perspective. While the term is largely attributed to acclaimed craftsman, some auteurs are singular for their negative qualities. That’s where Olivier Megaton comes in, a Luc Besson prodigy who left his incoherent shaky-cam mark on the disappointing Taken sequels. After a five-year reprieve, Megaton is back with The Last Days of American Crime, a shockingly tone-deaf and bloated experience that ranks among the year’s worst projects. 

Set in a near-future dystopia where crime is about to be eradicated by a government signal, The Last Days of American Crime follows Graham Bricke (Edgar Ramirez), a jaded criminal looking for revenge for his deceased brother. He soon teams up with the reckless Kevin Cash (Michael Pitt) and his elusive girlfriend Shelby (Anna Brewster) to commit one last heist before time runs out. The film is an adaptation of a graphic novel written by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini.

Inside its utterly-baffling 148-minute run time, Last Days of American Crime offers very little to endorse, with the sole highlight being Michael Pitt’s performance as Kevin. The underrated actor taps into manic energy as the smarmy cocksure crook while keeping audiences captivated with each bizarre personality quirk he imbues into the role. Under his abrasive façade, Pitt portrays an emotionally deranged emptiness that makes the character a menacing wildcard, elevating a role that would be cartoonish in the wrong hands 

While Pitt throws his all into the role, his contemporaries seemingly sleepwalk through their poorly-written roles. Edgar Ramirez’s talents are wasted as generic action hero Graham Bricke, solemnly uttering his machismo dialogue without expressing any range of dynamic qualities. Anna Brewster is straddled with one of the most thankless female roles in recent memory, portraying a femme fatale that lacks any real dimension or humanity. It’s also quite bizarre seeing District 9 star Sharlto Copley briefly appear as an over-eager police officer, lacking an opportunity to render a complex character with what’s on the page. 

The craftsmanship in The Last Days of American Crime reeks of clichés and ranges on borderline incompetence. Action screenwriter Karl Gajdusek offers the bare minimum with his by-the-books effort, establishing the most simplistic of motivations despite the high-concept premise. Olivier Megaton’s herky-jerky camerawork is more of a hindrance than an enhancement, showing an inability to create steady imagery in a desperate attempt to create a sense of style. His action setpieces are largely a bore, with an overuse of edits and lack of creativity preventing any sense of excitement. 

There’s being bad, and then there’s being downright tone-deaf. Considering our society’s current unrest over racial injustices, the careless handling of the narrative’s social implications ends up being in poor taste. A critical eye could have used the film’s constant portrayals of police brutality as an indictment of America’s overly-militant state, but these moments are used as window dressing to create its senselessly machismo action landscape. 

Equal parts dated and tasteless, The Last Days of American Crime fails desperately at its attempts to become a stylized genre hallmark.