John’s Horror Corner: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990), hardly a Christmas Horror sequel, but more of a rewrite into a Witch movie.
MY CALL: This is a perfectly “decent” choice for a Bad Movie Tuesday. It has weird, gross, buggy special effects and gore and some over-the-top nonsense. PSA: This movie essentially has zero to do with the previous three Silent Night Deadly Night movies. MOVIES LIKE Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: For more holiday horror, check out Black Friday (2021), Black Christmas (1974, 2006 remake, 2019 reimagining), Await Further Instructions (2018), Holidays (2016; Christmas), Better Watch Out (2016), A Christmas Horror Story (2015), Krampus (2015), Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), Elves (1989), Tales from the Crypt Season 1 (1989; And All Through the House), Christmas Evil (1980), Silent Night Deadly Night (1984), Gremlins (1984), and Tales from the Crypt (1972; And All Through the House). I might skip Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984), The Oracle (1985), Silent Night Deadly Night part 2 (1987), Silent Night Deadly Night part 3: Better Watch Out (1989), and maybe even All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018).
This franchise has taken some interesting turns. Sure, we began with a proper psycho killer Christmas horror movie followed by the cheapest of throwaway sequel treatments for more of the same, but weaker in SNDN 2. But then we wandered into an ultra-basic Frankensteinian Michael Myers stalker movie in SNDN 3 and now… a holiday horror witch movie? It seems that for SNDN 3-4, a bunch of weird crap just happens to occur around Christmas time (like Lethal Weapon 1987) instead of a proper Christmas movie (e.g., Die Hard 1988). More specifically, SNDN 4 feels like someone rewrote a witch movie to take place during Christmas for the sake of stealing the recognized namesake.
Seeking to impress her boss (Reggie Bannister; Phantasm I-V, Wishmaster) and become an investigative reporter, Kim (Neith Hunter; Carnosaur 2, Silent Night Deadly Night 5) is looking into the unexplained death of a woman who fell from the roof of a building… while on fire. While researching spontaneous combustion, she is gifted a strange book (Initiation of the Virgin Goddess) by a conspicuously interested shopkeeper named Fima (Maud Adams; Tattoo) who also invites her to a group picnic with an uninvited kiss on the cheek. Viewers, this shopkeeper may just be an important character with some big reveals coming ahead.
Just to let you know you’re wandering into weird territory, by the very next scene a certifiable wacko (Clint Howard; Ticks, Ice Cream Man, Evilspeak, Leprechaun 2, Lords of Salem) pulls an impossibly giant, slimy, writhing insect larva from an air vent. Why…? No reason apparently. Just because it’s weird and the prop guy had access to it during filming is my best guess.
From here we see lots of bugs, a giant cockroach, some possessed pasta, yet more bugs, Kim regurgitates a giant roach-like larva-thing that is then used in some sort of ritual, and then a weird gross sex ritual, and then an even weirder birth-mutation-macabre menagerie sequence.
So what’s really weird here is that this is a SNDN sequel, yet the only character named Ricky (Clint Howard) seems to have nothing to do with the Ricky character of SNDN 1-3. In fact, this “sequel” behaves as if those previous movies never even happened, making this one of those awkward standalone sequels like House III (1989). In fact, the only connection I can find to SNDN is when Ricky turns on the TV—when he sneaks into the room while Kim is having sex—and watches a scene from Silent Night Deadly Night part 3 (1989).
The whole purpose of all this: to initiate Kim into a witch’s coven? Seems like a lot. Maybe they could’ve asked if she thought it would be cool to join. And if she wanted to… would it still involve all the nonconsensual stuff with that monster larva? But, I guess that’s the kind of gross delight we’ve simply come to expect from director Brian Yuzna (The Dentist 1-2, Society, Bride of Re-Animator, Beyond Re-Animator, Necronomicon: Book of the Dead, Faust, Return of the Living Dead III, From Beyond).
The ending is kinda’ dumb, but totally par for the course for this level of bad movie fare. And overall I think this movie is a perfectly “decent” choice for a Bad Movie Tuesday, even if not the level of bonkers I’d normally recommend. However, this is definitely the best of the SNDN sequels so far. So I guess there’s that.
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Bonus Episode – The 2024 Marvel Cinematic Universe Recap
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
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Mark and Norbert talk about Deadpool & Wolverine, X-Men ’97, Agatha All Along, and Venom: The Last Dance (which is technically a Sony release but it had to be covered). Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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The Brutalist (2024) – Review
Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Filmed in 34 days (what?) this $10 million budgeted epic is a thrilling and ambitious piece of filmmaking. Watch it!
In an interview with Variety, Corbet compared making a movie to constructing a skyscraper. It’s an interesting analogy because not only is there a tremendous amount of planning, there’s also budgets, egos, and clients who justifiably have a voice during the production/construction of each. László Tóth (Adrien Brody), the lead character of The Brutalist finds this out when he’s tasked with building a massive brutalist structure for a millionaire industrialist named Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce). Amongst many other things, The Brutalist focuses on what happens when ambitious creative freedom meets the worried accountants of a blowhard millionaire.
What’s interesting is that Corbett has constructed a skyscraper of a movie for the price of a McMansion. To avoid opinions and notes, Corbet raised the $10 million budget over seven years and cut many corners to ensure that every cent was seen on screen. After years of delays due to Covid and other issues, Corbet shot the film in Hungary (and Italy) and edited it in the U.K to ensure some money-saving tax incentives. The finished product is a gorgeous 3.5 hour masterpiece that is split into two parts, an epilogue and a 15-minute intermission. It’s the type of film that only comes from a frustrated artist who wants to create something outside of the system – and it’s beautiful to behold in VistaVision.
The Brutalist revolves around a Hungarian-Jewish architect named László Tóth who made his way to America in 1947 and found himself living in Philadelphia with his cousin Attilla (Allessandro Nivola) and his American wife Audrey (Emma Laird). Attila owns a furniture shop and with the help of Lászlóstarts building a customer base which leads to an architectural assignment for Harry Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn – at his smarmy best), the son of a millionaire industrialist named Harrison Lee Van Buren. László’s modern designs are detested at first, but he is eventually hired by Harrison to build a community center that will stand as his legacy.
On top of building a gigantic concrete structure on a hill in Doylestown, Pennsylvania,László, who is a functioning heroin-addict, also has to juggle the arrival of his mute niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) and his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), who developed osteoporosis after years of malnourishment during World War II. The reunion is bittersweet as the intelligent and capable Erzsébet learns that László has poured all of his pay into the project and refuses to compromise with the Lee Van Buren lawyers and advisors. During the production, Corbet barely saw his daughter because the film owned his life, and the same goes with Tóth as he dives headfirst into the project and wants to see it through no matter the physical and mental cost.
It feels a bit odd writing a short review about a film that required an immense amount of work to complete (much like most films, but this one is special). I hope the main takeaway from this review is that readers learn that The Brutalist is an ambitious and thrilling experience. Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Alessandro Nivola, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy and Stacy Martin are all excellent, and they must’ve taken massive pay cuts to take part in a film like this – and I admire them for it. The cinematography by Lol Crawley (Four Lions, The Devil All the Time, Vox Lux) is inspired and I appreciate how he made the film look epic while shooting in a widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format known as VistaVision. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Crawley said “What you see is What we shot,” and I love knowing how deliberate Crawley and Corbet were with their shot selection that included very little coverage and not much of a safety net for the final edit. The production design by Judy Becker (Carol, Brokeback Mountain, Garden State) is unsurprisingly top-notch and she said it was a “dream come true” working on the film because she had to “draw on every inspiration, idea and element in my inner library to become László Tóth.” There are some gorgeous moments that take place in the vast Carrara marble quarries and the scale of the performances, production design and cinematography combine to create a low-budget epic that feels grand.
Between The Pianist and The Brutalist, Brody has excelled in “ist” movies and in an interview with IndieWire he says that “The Brutalist “begins almost where [The Pianist] ended in a way. It is a Jewish immigrant’s journey, surviving.” He owns every second of the film and it’s been fun watching him collect trophies during the awards season because he’s rightfully earned them. Making The Brutalist must’ve been a draining and brutal experience for everyone involved, but the cast and crew supported Corbet’s vision and the end result is something special.
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Nosferatu (2024) – Review
Quick thoughts – Grade – B+ – Nosferatu (2024) is a dark and foreboding addition to the lore of Count Orlock.
After an solid year for horror sequels (Terrifier 3, Smile 2), remakes (Speak No Evil), and prequels (A Quiet Place: Day One, Alien Romulus, The First Omen), it’s fun knowing that the Nosferatu remake will help 2024 horror cinema go out with a bang. On top of being a good year for horror sequels/remakes/prequels, it’s been a great year for vampire cinema with Abigail and Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person offering some beautiful new characters and moments to the vampire genre (think the onion bit from Abigail and the “Emotions” moment in Humanist Vampire).
What’s interesting about this latest Nosferatu film is that it pretty much sticks to the classic lore of Dracula/Nosferatu. The Nosferatu/Dracula story focuses on real estate deals, obsessive love, and a count named Orlock who wears cozy coats and drinks copious blood. Eggers’ iteration is familiar for anyone who has watched Dracula or Nosferatu, but the familiarity isn’t a bad thing because it allows the viewer to follow a familiar road while marveling in beautifully macabre sights and sounds. A nice wrinkle to this iteration of the wealthy vampire is that Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgård) is just straight evil and terrifying. There is nothing sensual about Skarsgård’s performance, instead he wheezes, adopts a gnarly voice, and goes to places that he never wants to go again. On top of putting himself into a depraved headspace for months, he worked with an opera singer to lower his voice, and while on set he practiced Mongolian throat-singing to make his voice even more menacing. Actors have always pushed themselves to extremes while working for Eggers, and it’s fun watching the sweat-drenched performances from Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Ineson and Emma Corrin.
Much like The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman, Nosferatu is a visual delight that features inspired camerawork from Jarin Blaschke (The Witch, Knock at the Cabin) who clearly enjoys trying to match the visual grandeur of the Francis Ford Coppola directed Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It would spoil the ending, but I can say that this film features the best overhead shot of 2024, and shooting with 35mm Kodak 500T film was an inspired choice. I also like how the 1.66 aspect ratio allows for some excellent ensemble staging and I kept saying “wow” as scenes unfolded because of the staging choices. The production design is unsurprisingly excellent too, as another Eggers regular Craig Lathrop was able to use almost 10 years worth of collaborating with Eggers to create some memorable sets in Prague soundstages. Eggers was originally supposed to direct Nosferatu after finishing The Witch, and Lathrop admits that it’s a good thing that the production was delayed several years because it gave the crew time to grow as artists, individuals, and as a team. Lathrop built about 60 sets to create the German town of Wisborg (it’s a fictional city) on the Baltic coast and Orlok’s Transylvanian castle. Lathrop didn’t want anything to feel like a set and he succeeded in creating a rich world of filthy castles, winding streets, and homes built with red brick.
The 2024 iteration is very faithful to the 1922 original directed by F.W. Murnau. However, the 1992 version is only 81 minutes, whereas Eggers’ movie is 132 minutes (Wener Herzog’s 1979 remake is 107 minutes). This means that while the basic story blueprint is upheld, there’s a lot more meat to this story. The extra minutes help give more agency to the character of Ellen Hutter (Depp), who becomes more of a central figure in defeating Orlock. Instead of being a human blood bag. This version of Hutter calls the shots and has agency throughout the entire film, which is a change of pace from the 1922 version which saw Hutter becoming the heroine during the final act.
It’s fun seeing Willem Dafoe back in another Egger’s film and his time around he doesn’t have to fart dozens of times (I love The Lighthouse). After earning an Oscar nomination for playing a vampire playing Count Orlock in Shadow of the Vampire, it’s neat seeing him back in the Nosferatu world. Also, between Juror #2, The Order, and Nosferatu, Nicholas Hoult is having a brilliant 2024 and he does some of the best paranoid sweating of the year as the out-of-his-league Thomas Hutter. Rounding out the cast are Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Ineson, and Simon McBurney, who all get the opportunity to be drenched in blood or look horrified as an ancient sorcerer haunts them.
Final thoughts – You know the story, but the latest Nosferatu is a visual delight that features top notch performances, production design, cinematography and direction.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 595: Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks and Classic Comedies
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
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Mark and Zanandi discuss the 1974 comedy blockbuster Young Frankenstein, directed by Mel Brooks, and starring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman and Teri Garr, Young Frankenstein is one of the best comedies ever made. In this episode, they also talk about walking “this” way, epic comedies, and rewatchable movies. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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MY CALL: Ugh. Another weak SNDN sequel. Probably not even eventful enough for a spirited Bad Movie Tuesday. MOVIES LIKE Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: For more holiday horror, check out Black Friday (2021), Black Christmas (1974, 2006 remake, 2019 reimagining), Await Further Instructions (2018), Holidays (2016; Christmas), Better Watch Out (2016), A Christmas Horror Story (2015), Krampus (2015), Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), Elves (1989), Tales from the Crypt Season 1 (1989; And All Through the House), Christmas Evil (1980), Silent Night Deadly Night (1984), Gremlins (1984), and Tales from the Crypt (1972; And All Through the House). I might skip Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984), The Oracle (1985), Silent Night Deadly Night part 2 (1987), and maybe even All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018).
With his brain completely exposed, Ricky Caldwell (Bill Moseley; The Convent, Boar, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House of 1000 Corpses, Texas Chainsaw 3-D, The Blob, Smothered) awakens from his coma to stalk a young blind woman Laura (Samantha Scully; Bloodsuckers), with whom he shares a psychic connection. Like a modern Frankenstein’s monster, Ricky is drawn to Laura and he kills everyone in his path. In true cheesy horror style, this medical monster hitchhikes with a motorist who makes a bad hair transplant joke.
Director Monte Hellman (The Terror) follows up the incredibly lazy sequel Silent Night Deadly Night part 2 (1987), which set the bar for SNDN sequels pretty low… despite a wonderfully campy death by umbrella scene. Well, in the case of this sequel, despite a fresh premise and a lot of campy potential, this is a total slog.
There’s decent blood and gore. Though with little seen executed on screen and of lower than desired frequency, the pacing is sluggish. And even when the action is happening, it’s executed flatly, nearly devoid of intensity, shock, or fun. You might giggle at how clumsy the action is—but that’s about it. This is a real shame, because the movie exposition builds up this backstory of rebuilding Ricky’s brain and skull (after it was blown away at the end of part 2) and using his comatose brainwaves in experiments involving psychics (i.e., Laura). Yet still this readily devolves to an ultra-basic Halloween (1978) derivative where Ricky kills his way to his final girl homing beacon.
Truly, the main (or only) joy to be taken from this movie is watching the half-filled-with-blood upside-down bare-brain-bathing punch bowl on Ricky’s head.
Not good. Not recommended. So far, of SNDN 1-3, I think I’d only recommend part 1. Although the ideas are starting to get zany… and I do like that effort. Let’s see what happens with part 4 because, yeah, I’m gonna’ watch it.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Substance (2024), a Jekyll & Hyde body horror tale of renewal and addiction.
MY CALL: Wow. This film is… an experience. Everything about it is awesome, so much of the set and lighting and imagery is scintillating, yet this will make you wince from graphic medical imagery, psychological abuse, addiction, depression and gruesome body horror. MOVIES LIKE The Substance: For eternal youth-gone wrong, go for Death Becomes Her (1992) and Rejuvenator (1988). For more recently released, brilliantly made horror, Smile (2022), Smile 2 (2024), Heretic (2024), Immaculate (2024), Crimes of the Future (2022), X (2022) and Infinity Pool (2023).
This film could serve as a photographer’s portfolio. Slimy TV exec Harvey (Dennis Quaid; Pandorum) oozes gross old man chauvinism. Writer and director Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) weaponizes his worst qualities into an audio-visual spectacle as we watch and hear him tear and squeeze and smack and slurp his bright orange prawn lunch. In stark contrast is the aging but perfect and gorgeous Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore; Parasite), who strolls down pristine hallways of bright solid colors and whose hair is never a strand out of place. The colors, lighting, wardrobe and set design make this film a visual splendor.
After an accident sends her to the hospital, someone slips her some promotional material for The Substance, a treatment that rejuvenates at the level of cell replication. Of course, Elisabeth pursues this probably black market drug, obtaining it through the most shady of means, and then injecting herself with what I can only compare to the green glowing serum from Re-Animator (1985). Have Resident Evil (2002), Death Becomes Her (1992) and Rejuvenator (1988) taught us nothing?
What follows is the cell replication scene; the emergence of her other self “Sue” (Margaret Qualley; Kinds of Kindness, Poor Things, The Leftovers). It’s visceral. At first, the gore is almost medical with crude wound stitching, graphic injections and fluid drawings, at-home transfusions, emerging from a body like it was a chrysalis, the spilling out of guts, pus-crusted wounds, and advanced disease-like skin and joint ailments.
Once in the swing of her use of The Substance, Elisabeth’s other/younger self “Sue” lives with a desire to forget her old self. However, this lifestyle comes with very strict rules. And breaking those rules has permanent degenerative consequences. Those consequences seem to include the psychological embattlement between Elisabeth and Sue, sowing distrust and eventually trying to sabotage each other. One side of her becomes addicted to youthful fame, the other side of her a reflection of the cost of that addiction. This wanders us into some ambitious special effects territory and some very graphic, very brutal, very bloody violence.
The finale transitions us from an already big suspension of disbelief and transports us into a slapstick horror fantasy that smacks strongly of Society (1989) and a GWAR concert! It gets really, really wildly gross.
This film really is something. I think it makes for a great medical horror, body horror, psychological thriller, and addiction horror. Moreover, the acting, writing, set work… everything about this film is awesome. This is not a film to skip and I better see some Oscar nods for this!
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John’s Horror Corner: Smile 2 (2024), one of the very top satisfying horror experiences of the year.
MY CALL: For non-highbrow popcorn horror, this is outstanding. Everything about this movie is well done, from the acting to the atmospheric dread to the gore and the fun scares. It was intense and visually pleasing all at once. I even liked the ending. MOVIES LIKE Smile 2: Of course, Smile (2022). And in similar theme, perhaps The Ring (2002), One Missed Call (2008), and It Follows (2015). But in similar quality, I’d turn more towards The Substance (2024).
Attempting a comeback after a substance abuse blowout, young pop star Skye (Naomi Scott) is having a tough time. She is haunted by her past, and now haunted by horrific visions of sinister smiles after an infectious evil infiltrates her mind.
This trauma-transmitted demon enters Skye when she witnesses her schiz’d out drug buddy Lewis (Lukas Gage; The White Lotus, Euphoria, You) horrendously mutilate himself with a gym weight in one of the most gloriously graphic scenes in recent horror history. WOW! This is truly a macabre inspiration and a grossly beautiful mind child of the director and effects team. And this is how this spiritual virus spreads… after feeding on the suffering of its present victim, the victim dies. Whoever witnesses this death becomes the new host, which toys with her mind with all the facility of the Devil himself.
Now afflicted with the Smile (2022) demon, Skye endures unimaginable trauma. We (i.e., she) witness the most terrifying nudity of 2024, traumatizing car crash aftermath imagery, bloody matricide, and a jaw-droppingly horrendous case of unintentional elder abuse. And then there’s the violence—the very, very violent violence. There is so much truly intense imagery that it’s often thrillingly hard to watch.
Skye is planning her comeback tour as all this is transpiring. Good Lord, all the music video scenes look every bit as brilliant as actual high budget music videos; and Skye’s mental breakdown outbursts feel quite convincing for a wealthy, privileged pop starlet. And while she’s clearly a painfully over-privileged, histrionic star, we feel for the mania she suffers. It’s a lot and it’s cruel. Watching Skye go through all this is stressing the crap out of me—in a “good” way, I guess. Her manic episodes become really intense. The hair pulling makes me wince every time.
With all this come great jump scares. I know they’re usually a cheap tactic. But these are some Grade-A, carefully curated jump scares that complement Skye’s paranoia. And it’s not all jump scares. This film infects viewers with a deep sense of dread; scenes slowly draw us in and toy with our anticipation. Oh, but there are also some gruesome creature effects to be enjoyed. That Smile (2022) demon is a gangly horror to behold. So much bonkers, wild, unnerving imagery!
Writer and director Parker Finn (Smile) returns for his second feature film. There’s a nice cameo connection to part 1 (e.g., Kyle Gallner; Smile, The Cleansing Hour, The Cleanse, Jennifer’s Body) creating an awesome opening sequence. Also an awesome ending! This was an awesome horror movie! Can Parker Finn just do all the new horror movies now? With how much I have enjoyed Smile 1-2, I need more of this guy’s work!
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Bonus Episode – Cuckoo, Abigail and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – The Dan Stevens 2024 Retrospective
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and Zanandi analyze and discuss Cuckoo, Abigail, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in an effort to figure out which Dan Stevens performance is the best.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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A Complete Unknown (2024) – Review
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B – A Complete Unknown is a solid biopic that gives Bob Dylan fans what they want (lots of Bob Dylan music). The James Mangold directed film leans into the biopic formula, but refreshingly avoids Dylan’s early years by focusing on his rise to fame between 1960 and 1965.
Based on Elijah Wald’s book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, A Complete Unknown focuses on a 19-year old Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) showing up in New York to chase fame and fortune as a musician. Helping him along the way are Woody Gurthrie (Scoot McNairy) and Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), who first meet Bob when he shows up at Guthrie’s hospital to pay his respects to the ailing Guthrie. Under Seeger’s guidance Dylan starts playing at local venues and eventually becomes one of the most iconic performers ever. Along the way, he starts a relationship with college student Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), and also begins a tumultuous affair with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). From there, the movie showcases his greatest hits during the time period and leads up to his performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
While pitching the movie to to Dylan, Mangold explained that the movie was about “a kid suffocating in Minnesota, and he leaves behind his family and his friends and everything he knows, and goes to New York City and invents himself anew and becomes successful, makes new family and new friends, and starts to suffocate [again].” It’s an interesting concept for a biopic and it keeps the Dylan mystery alive while making sure that audiences have plenty of songs to listen to as Chalamet performs close to 40 songs. What’s neat is that there are enough clues amidst all of Dylan’s lies (he never was part of a circus) to piece together his mindset. Whether it’s a conversation about the 1942 film Now, Voyager, his constant songwriting, or his desperate fight to not be put in a box, Dylan is a guy who has decided to pursue his musical career by reinventing himself into something different.
Since it’s a James Mangold (Walk the Line, Logan, 3:10 to Yuma, Ford v Ferrari) directed film, the performances are unsurprisingly excellent. Monica Barbaro and Boyd Holbrook steal the show and legitimately pop as Joan Baez and Johnny Cash. The best moment of the film comes during a beautiful moment involving Cash attempting to move his car out of a parking space (and failing) and then offering Dylan some chips. Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, and Dan Fogler are all solid and their performances hit all the right beats” To prepare for the role, Chalamet spent five years learning how to play guitar and harmonica and insisted that the set be closed off to ensure no false steps while he inhabited the headspace of Dylan. Impressively, Chalamet Norton, Barbaro and Holbrook provided the vocals for the songs and they sound great.
One of the best things about the film is the cinematography by Phedon Papamichael (Walk the Line, Ford v. Ferrari, Sideways, Nebraska). His framing and lighting feel like classical perfection and the angles used to capture each performance keep them feeling fresh. The biggest drawback of the film is there’s about 4,000 shots featuring people looking at Dylan like he’s changed their entire world. The reaction shots look great, but they get a bit distracting as they happen just about every 30 seconds (I’m exaggerating here, but you’ll see what I mean).
Final thoughts – A Complete Unknown is a well made biopic that will thrill Dylan fans. I’ve been lucky enough to watch it twice already and it will most certainly be a crowd-pleaser.
Movies, Films & Flix 