Authentic Joe

From the opening master shot of white rabbits in cages, to the weird conclusion, Us is riveting. It begs you to watch, and captures your attention with a relentless sense of unease. The viewer is piecing together the hidden clues, all the while terrified for the highly likable, and extremely well acted, protagonists. The film strikes a balance between horror and comedy that is often very difficult to achieve. Early on, we have a beautiful Santa Cruz beach that feels menacing. These are moments of genuine humor layered on top of the growing dread. Not everything in the narrative makes perfect sense, but that is part of the fun. The principle cast is comprised of dark-skinned black people, and it is a refreshing change for a mainstream film. Race doesn't feel essential to the plot, like it did in Get Out . However, there are aspects of a modern day racism that is much closer to class-ism, but it is not the larger focus of the plot. No, this is something else. This is the ar...

Blockers is not a particularly good film. The chemistry between the primary adult cast is lacking, especially in comparison to their more dynamic teen counterparts. Still, John Cena is a better actor than he should be, and continues to prove it here. It is slightly overlong, and suffers for it. A more focused story, where the parental figures played a more secondary roll, could have been successful. Limiting the more interesting story of the kids to B tier plot, was a mistake. Some of the comedic bits would benefited from brevity. Several of the "riffing" sessions run too long, and are more dramatic in nature than comedic. That isn't to say that the laughs aren't there. Any time a man shits beer into another man's face, you will probably laugh. There are funny, and sad, moments during a particular under-the-bed scene involving Leslie Mann, but they almost feel too intrusive to elicit any genuine laughter. I will credit the trend diverging decision not to inc...

Success in video games requires touch. It requires gentle precision and adroit fingers. Buttons are purely tactile, as are the sensitive joysticks and directional pads. Triggers are pressure sensitive, and imputing combinations requires absorbing and processing feedback to succeed. All of these are the qualities of a successful lover. Processing the feedback of a partner, carefully and expertly manipulating the various inputs; these are the jobs of a lover. I say 'lover', but I mean sexual partner. When you are engaged in such activity, you've entered into a sort of game. Think of clitoral stimulation, and the various complexities that lie herein. It is a button, in a sense. A button that can be the key to a sublime satisfaction, or a source of enigmatic frustrations. Just as handing a controller to someone who has never played a game may elicit a response of confusion, or incompetence, so too may introducing one to sex organs. They represent a feedback loop so ...

On a lonely hill stood the great city of Abbernacky, Its tall stone walls gazing down over the vast fields of green that surrounded them. In the center of Abbernacky was a monolithic tower, the chamber of parliament. Here the House of Lords and the House of Wizards would debate endlessly over the many laws and by-laws that governed the city. The Tower of Parliament also served as a clock tower. It stood omniscient, a watch by which all citizens could keep perfect time. On a much smaller hill, some distance from the city walls, stood two small figures. Just specks of gray, barely visible in the shadow of the great city. Of these two, the slightly larger speck was a boy, or a man, depending on ones perception of such things. He was pale and ordinary, his long dark hair tossed haphazardly in the twisting gales. He wore the beige robes of a wizard’s apprentice. In his hands he carried a large wooden staff, one he thrashed about vigorously, in an attempt to better illustrate h...

The style and setting are wonderfully dark, and grimy. There is a veneer of sadness that covers everything in this film, and the aesthetic really works. What doesn't work, is the over reliance on weirdness at the expense of the magical realism the film works to build. This is a less good Sorry to Bother You. There are some oddities to point out here: The sound effects for the characters walking around are weirdly, and intentionally, way off. The retro futuristic grime is really wonderful, and the setting easily outshines the story it sets out to tell. The film takes place in a depressed world, where suicides are alarmingly common. Is this a non-edy? No. There are a few legitimate laughs to be had. Any humor that does exist is very dark, but it does qualify as an actual comedy.