October is underway and a new Netflix horror/comedy movie starring vampires hit the streaming service today.
Miguel (Jaden Michael), Bobby (Gerald Jones III) and Luis (Gregory Diaz IV) were best friends but they had to deal with plenty of issues as many young black kids may face. Then, when you add in vampires, well, that flips the script.
The three young actors do a great job here. Their chemistry together is one of the strongest part of the film. They were all extremely likable and worked well together. I especially liked Jaden Michael, who I kept thinking would make a tremendous Miles Morales in the MCU.
The first two-thirds of the movie were very solid. The time spent on these three characters was time well spent and helped pull the movie through some challenges in the third act.
Because the problems in the third act were large. The biggest of the problems was the special effects of the vampires. They looked cheap and amateurish. Those effects took me out of the film that I had been enjoying quite a bit up until that point.
The story did not help much in the conflict with the vampires. They seemed to die easily and everything that the three boys did seemed to work perfectly. Heck, even Blade, who we saw clips from in the film, had some troubles when fighting the vampires. Some of the emotion from the beginning of the film wound up being drained by the third act.
While it did not end strong, the first part of the film was pretty decent and it made me recommend the movie. It makes a nice Halloween month watch.
Vampires vs. The Bronx brings the feeling of the silliness of The Monster Squad and mixes it with the cheesy-factor of a Fright Night. It is a lot of fun, albeit fairly dumb fun. It survives the weak third act because of the early strength.
The new documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door was brutal, painful and shocking as it focused on the 2018 murders committed by Christopher Watts against his wife Shanann and his two daughters, CeCe and Bella. The film used archival footage from the police, social media and other places to tell the story.
With the use of this true footage that allowed us to see these people, the victim, killer and bystanders, as the investigation developed, this documentary was desperately tough to watch and deeply haunting. There was a truly surreal feel about the film as it jumped around the timeline of events that shocked the community of Frederick, Colorado.
I had not heard about this story, so when the documentary took a turn with a neighbor pointing a suspicious finger at Chris, I was not expecting it. Then to watch this man slowly disintegrate in front of everyone was something to witness.
The documentary, filmed by Jenny Popplewell, had a massive reveal as Chris confessed to his father that he had killed his wife. It had that same kind of shocking feel as the ending of HBO’s mini series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst had. Chris blamed the deaths of the daughters on Shanann, claiming that he killed her after she had killed them.
The posts on social media and multiple text messages and videos told a different story, and it was not too long until he was pointing police in the direction of where the bodies of his family were placed.
Listening to his eventual explanation of what happened was horrendous and heartbreaking.
While I could see how some people could consider this exploitation of a family tragedy, the family of Shanann supported the film and it had a message to present about the violence against women and the use of social media. This elevates the typical true crime documentaries.
This documentary is an important watch, but understand that it will stir up feelings that go all across the spectrum. The unbridled sadness of these innocent lives being ended to the disgust of the evil committed by this man to the bizarre realization that you are watching the unraveling of the case in front of you. It is a powerful doc, but also a truly upsetting one.
The other day during the Movie Trivia Schmoedown Singles Tournament match between William “The Beast” Bibbiani and the Barbarian, one of the questions in round two was centered around the movie It’s Alive. It was a movie that I had never heard of before, but host Mark Ellis said a couple of times that It’s Alive was a “great movie” and Bibbiani added that the director Larry Cohen was a “genius” and “underappreciated in his time.”
Since it is almost October and the annual Halloween/Horror Binge-a-thon was coming up, I decided that I would start off the month a tad early and watch the movie that two awesome people recommended.
In It’s Alive, the pregnant Lenore Davis (Sharon Farrell) wakes up in bed and tells her husband Frank Davis (John Ryan) that it was time to have the baby. These two were clearly veterans of this because they were remarkably calm and downright nonchalant about this. They slowly got dressed, woke up their son Chris (Daniel Holzman), dropped Chris off with friend Charley (William Wellman Jr.) before strolling peacefully to the hospital.
That would be the final moments of peacefulness the couple would encounter. Almost as soon as Lenore arrived in the delivery room, she began saying things like “this feels different” and the “something was wrong” but no one seemed to be concerned with her proclamations.
The doctors surely would regret that oversight. As soon as the oversized mutant baby was born, it became violent and viciously murdered the room full of doctors and nurses, escaping from the hospital.
The movie wisely kept the viewing of the mutant child to a minimum, with only quick flashes and darkened shots. The imagery of the child could have easily flatlined this production with its look had the creators not used the horror genre tope of the unknown being more frightening.
As it is, this movie is clearly a B-movie that has developed a cult status, but there are several prominent aspects of It’s Alive that make it a worthwhile watch. The whole idea of “Frankenstein/Doctor Frankenstein” debate that Frank has with himself in the film is fascinating. There was also a family dynamic that was included that spoke to loving a family member despite its appearance or its behavior. It took Frank a while to discover that, but he does eventually.
The film speculates that the baby’s mutation came from birth control pills that Lenore had been taking for years and an argument could be made that the movie’s hidden message is about abortion.
I found this to be fun, silly and an exciting monster movie. I might not go as far as Mark Ellis did, but I am glad it started off the Halloween Horror Binge for 2020 (which actually, come to think of it, is an oxymoron).
I have always been a fan of the Sherlock Holmes mythos. I loved the Benedict Cumberbatch series, the Robert Downey Jr. movies and the characters are iconic. I enjoy the universe.
So hearing that the universe would be expanding to include Sherlock Holmes’ sister, Enola, I was excited.
When Enola wakes up one day to find her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) gone, she begins to investigate the reasons behind the disappearance. Her older brothers show up after being gone for years and try to force the young and wild child into a finishing school, but Enola had plans of her own, which was to find her mother.
Along the way, Enola finds herself wrapped up with another event happening in the world. A young Lord named Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) was looking to escape from his own personal situation, which included being pursued by a bowler-hat wearing killer (Burn Gorman). Together, Enola and Viscount try to survive long enough to unravel the mystery.
Turned out that this movie is based on a series of books written in 2006 by Nancy Springer and that she created the Enola Holmes character. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did not have another sibling officially for Sherlock than Mycroft. A sister was introduced in the Cumberbatch TV series, but that came after the books.
Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame is the lead role here and she is a wonderful choice for Enola. She is able to show her charm, confidence and strength in this role as the exceptional sister. The movie smartly leans on that charm as well, having her be the focus of the film and having her talk the audience though the film with her fourth-wall-breaking narration.
The movie was fully enjoyable and a breath of fresh air. It had a brisk pace and, even being over 2 hours, never once felt its length. The story is cleverly written and weaves the Sherlock Holmes universe into this narrative beautifully.
That would include the strong performances as Henry Cavill as Sherlock and Sam Claflin as Mycroft. Both actors were able to bring to life their versions of these iconic characters without just copying the blueprint that has come before them. Cavill, in particular, really brings Sherlock Holmes into the film in just the right manner, fitting what this film required of Sherlock without losing what makes the character amazing to begin with. I did wonder about the absence of John Watson and how that character would fit into the life of Henry Cavill’s Sherlock, but that is a minor gripe that could be easily addressed at a future time.
Still, Millie Bobby Brown is the star here, bringing another level to her career. This Netflix film is great entertainment for the whole family and can provide young girls a real role model to look up to who is smart, funny and extremely capable.
One of the small independent films that showed up this weekend on Vudu was called Alone, and, at the time, Vudu said it had 100% on the Tomatometer. That is an impressive feat, so, despite the uninspiring title, it caught my interest.
It was an enjoyably intense and anxiety-filled thriller worth the time and the rental fee.
Jessica (Jules Willcox), trying to escape a tragedy in her personal life, took off in her car. Along the way, she had a series of encounters with a man (Marc Menchaca), who at first looked to be following her on the road, but turned out to be considerably more sinister than that.
The film shows Jessica’s desperation to survive, first from the confines of the man’s prison and then in the wilds of the forest of the Pacific Northwest. It builds suspense throughout the movie and it had me rooting for Jessica.
However, it did place her in situations that made me want to scream at her. She seemed like a smart woman, but she kept putting herself in the way of danger when I could see other choices. That always frustrates me at times, but, fortunately, Alone does not go too far with the poor choices. They had her do things that was somewhat understandable, that someone traumatized might make.
Marc Menchaca was extremely creepy and menacing as the man. We never got a reason why he was doing what he was doing, but we did get a glimpse behind the curtain into his real life, which was fascinating. The film played with some themes, but never dove deeply into any of them. It stuck with the basic cat-and-mouse survival game. The film works in that vein, but it may have missed a chance to elevate the story to a higher plane.
When researching this after the fact, it was weird to see how many movies in 2020 that had been titled “Alone.” I found three for sure and that goes to show how this movie’s title was a missed for sure.
Found this film on Vudu yesterday and I was excited to see it. I had found this interesting when seeing the trailers before the global pandemic and the content seems to be right in line with the current issues facing the nation.
Unfortunately, despite a premise filled with potential and intrigue, Antebellum failed to cash in on it and left me feeling underwhelmed.
The film, which boasts a prospective twist in the movie, truly spoiled that for anyone who had seen that aforementioned trailer. It was a major spoiler for what could have been a truly mind blowing moment.
Successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monáe) finds herself in a nightmarish reality, showing what life was like on plantations for slaves. This world seems to be more than what it appears, however.
Seriously, one of the main issues this film faces is the set up and execution of the film’s main framing device. It makes no sense and does not even give the audience an idea of what is happening or how it may be happening. When the entire second half of the film depends on it, you can’t just cast it off as unimportant. There has to be some kind of clear message about the situation you are in.
Janelle Monáe is excellent here though. She certainly throws herself into the role, despite the fact that I believe much of the script let her down. There were some imagery that showed the horrors of slavery but the overall narrative just did not come together as the film may had hoped.
In the end, Antebellum is an exercise of good ideas versus poor execution. The performances in the film are solid to outstanding, but the overall concept is just not pulled together to make the story comprehensible. The final act is just ridiculous and not worthy of the set up.
I did not know anything about this movie until I happened to see it on a casual glance at Netflix. There was Tom Holland starring in this unfamiliar movie. So I was excited to watch it and on the first opportunity, I did.
I have to say, I found it disappointing.
There are a group of characters in this movie, with Tom Holland’s Arvin Russell being the main protagonist, probably. There are a series of characters, all unlikable and rotten, who the film follows. Robert Pattinson plays a scumbag preacher taking advantage of the young and impressionable girls of the area. A husband and wife (Jason Clarke, Riley Keough) who are serial killers, picking up hitchhikers and killing them. There is a sheriff (Sebastian Stan) who is crooked and in the pocket of a local criminal.
Arvin has a terribly dark past with his father and mother and ends up with other family members. Arvin is shown to be vicious at times, but, perhaps, deep down a good person. At least, he can justify the behavior he showed.
The worst part of the film, for me, was the voice over that told this story. The entire time, I kept picturing the Dukes of Hazzard with Waylon Jennings telling us what those Duke Boys were up to. It was distracting and felt tonally off key. There were a couple of times when I nearly laughed because of the narrating and I do not expect that laughter was the intended purpose.
The cast was very good. Tom Holland was great here. I never thought of him as Peter Parker, and, for me, that is a major bonus. Sebastian Stan was solid too, as I did not even recognize him until later. Bill Skarsgård was creepy as overtly religious father to young Arvin (Michael Banks Repeta).
Robert Pattinson was a bit too much over the top for me. His performance of the slimy preacher felt a little forced and too unrealistic for me.
The story is very dark and violent. While that alone is not a bad thing, this story feels so disjointed that, when it does eventually come together, it felt forced. It jumps all over the place and the narration does not bring it together effectively.
I did enjoy the performances and some of the characters were darkly effective, but The Devil All the Time has enough other drawbacks to make it a mixed bag.
Mental health challenges can be a difficult subject to delve into in a coming of age movie. However, the latest YA novel film adaptation does a very good job of doing just that.
Words on Bathroom Walls is the story of high school senior Adam (Charlie Plummer), who after a violent incident in chemistry class, is diagnosed with schizophrenia and the illness plays havoc with his life. Expelled from his school, Adam winds up at a Catholic school with the understanding that he would remain on his medication.
While at the school, he comes in contact with the school valedictorian Maya (Taylor Russell) and they form a connection. Maya, outspoken and intelligent, has a secret of her own. Adam keeps his schizophrenia under wraps to the best of his ability, but, when the medication starts to cause side effects that were affecting his life, Adam stopped taking them.
During the film, Adam’s “voices” were being shown through delusions of three, in particular, people only Adam could see. The Bodyguard (Lobo Sebastian), Joaquin (Devon Bostick) and Rebecca (AnnaSophia Robb) are only seen by Adam, but they seem to be trying to give him support in the only way they can. There is also a disembodied voice that only Adam can hear and tended toward the darker mindset.
I thought this was a very effective way to show these voices in Adam’s head without stigmatizing them and showing Adam as someone who is not human. Many times, mental illness is shown as evil or uncontrolled and it makes the characters unrelatable. Adam is very much relatable and you feel for his struggles. As he continues to sink deeper into his mental illness, you worry desperately that the movie is setting up the stage for something tragic to happen.
The film does an excellent job of showing that there is not a “cure” for this kind of mental illness and that it is not just going to go away magically at the end of the film.
There are some excellent performances here. Charlie Plummer is exceptional as Adam. He carries this movie with his understated and challenging work. Taylor Russell is another young actress who I think has a bright future as a star in this business. She commands her screen time and plays brilliantly off of Plummer. These two characters have a massive role to play and their chemistry exceeds the expectation.
Another performance that was very wonderful here was Walton Goggins, who plays the recent step father of Adam. Goggins has several layers to play and his work is subtle and really provides an excellent pay off. Andy Garcia is here too is a cool supporting role as Father Patrick, who bonds with Adam inside the confessional.
There are some powerful moments in Words on Bathroom Walls that brought a tear to my eyes. You form a connection with these characters and you want there to be a chance that they make it out of the darkness. Mental illness has such a stigma in our world that this film does a magnificent job of showing that we should look a little deeper before we judge the people afflicted.
A few years ago, there was a Netflix movie called The Babysitter, and it was enjoyable and unexpected. I found out that the new film, The Babysitter: Killer Queen was a direct sequel to that film and I was looking forward to watching it.
This film is nowhere near as fun or enjoyable as the original.
The sequel takes a huge step backwards with the story and with the humor. I will say that there were some ideas and some concepts that were interesting, but they were buried under too much junk to really take them seriously.
Our hero Cole (Judah Lewis), two years after surviving the Satanic blood cult that had tried to kill him, had been having plenty of problems, starting with people thinking he was crazy. He had told everybody about the shocking events of that night with his babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving) and nobody believed him. They thought he had had a psychotic break, and the people in Cole’s life, such as his dad (Ken Marino) and his mom (Leslie Bibb), were hoping to get him back on the right track. They were preparing to have him taken to a psychiatrist resort of some sort, but he discovered that.
With this knowledge, Cole decided to join the girl Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind) who was there with him that night two years ago. They went to a trip to the lake with a bunch of other kids for a wild party.
Unfortunately for Cole, that night’s darkness was not finished with him yet. He teams up with new girl Phoebe (Jenna Ortega) to try and survive the night.
There are parts of this that I really enjoyed. I thought Phoebe and her story was interesting, and Jenna Ortega was stunning. I found her to be completely compelling and I believe she has future star written all over her.
However, the humor of this horror/comedy falls flat way too many times. The whole storyline with Ken Marino and Chris Wylde (Melanie’s father) was some of the worst, most tone-deaf aspects of this movie. It made me dislike both characters a lot and thus brought the emotional impact at the end down considerably.
The campy tone of the movie went just too far and hurt what could have been a much more engaging film. There were so many ridiculous moments and situations that I spent more time rolling my eyes than anything else.
I do believe that there could have been a funny and thrilling horror flick somewhere in here. I thought the ending was decent, if not predictable. The returning demons from the original film had their moments and could have been more effective with the tone just a little bit more serious.
I was disappointed with the film, considering how much I liked the first one. Still, keep an eye on Jenna Ortega, because she could be something special.
Continuing to find movies to pull out of the funk of Robin’s Wish, I watched the 2011 return of The Muppets with Jason Segel and Amy Adams.
This is so wonderful. I love this movie. It jumps all over the nostalgic feels of the early days of The Muppet Show. These Muppets are excellent and fit right back into the comfortable place in your heart immediately.
The old Muppet Theaters is in danger of being torn down by Tex Richman (Chris Cooper). Long time fan Walter and his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) went to find Kermit and tell him about the evil plan of Richman. Walter convinces Kermit to put the band back together and put on one more show to raise the money to buy the theater before Richman could.
The Muppets were breaking the fourth wall all over the place and had a ton of backstage jokes. There are a bunch of great cameos, as there always are in Muppet movies. Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Black, Selena Gomez, Neil Patrick Harris, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Rashida Jones, Jim Parsons, Alan Arkin, Kristen Schaal, Donald Glover, Sarah Silverman, Emily Blunt, James Carville, Judd Hirsch, Mickey Rooney and more appear here. Celebrity cameos are a trope for Muppet movies and this one has a ton…some you may not even realize until later.
The songs are tremendous. Man or Muppet won an Oscar for best Song, but Kermit’s Pictures in My Head is one that really stirred up the emotions.
This one was magical and brought the Muppets back big time. This is one of the best Muppet movies made.
I’m not going too deep into this review. I rented Robin’s Wish, the story of the last year or so of Robin Williams’s life, focusing on the truth of what lead to his suicide in 2014.
The documentary reveals that Robin suffered from an undiagnosed case of Lewy Body Dementia. I had never heard of this before and it was terribly painful to hear about.
The documentary was beautiful, but it was so painful. I loved Robin Williams. He was one of my most favorite performers from Mork and Mindy days. The doc did reveal the inner look at Robin’s spirit and his connection with his wife.
Yet, no matter how beautiful it was, it ruined me. I came out of it down and saddened like I haven’t been in a long time. It made me watch The Princess Bride to get out of the funk that I found myself in.
It is a tough watch. If you are a fan of Robin Williams, it may be worth watching just to see the life of this amazing man and the words of his family and friends about him.
When a horror movie can take a silly concept and make it terrifying, then it certainly has done its job. Z works on all levels as a horror movie despite a couple of moments when the film nearly went off the rails into ridiculousness.
Josh Parsons (Jett Klyne) is a sad and lonely 8-year old boy despite having both parents with him. His mother Elizabeth (Keegan Connor Tracy) and father Kevin (Sean Rogerson) do not seem shaken when Josh starts communicating with an imaginary friend named Z.
“He’ll grow out of it” is the general idea, however, Elizabeth starts realizing slowly that there appears to be more to this imaginary friend than Josh’s imagination.
Josh’s behaviors become more mean and violent. Elizabeth starts seeing things around the house. When Josh draws a creepy picture of Z on his bedroom wall, things begin to escalate even more.
Eventually, Elizabeth discovers a surprising twist that connects Z to her own past, and she begins to understand the level of insidiousness at work here.
Z is a solid horror film that has a short run time and is paced well. There are some general horror tropes that exist here and the film does not try to subvert these at all. Still they work pretty effectively in the film. It is a good example of how a film’s use of tropes can work if it is smartly done.
As I said earlier, the film teetered between creepiness and ridiculousness and there were a couple of scenes where the movie was in danger of falling off the cliff and into the abyss of stupidity. Fortunately, the film was able to maintain itself and not drop into parody.
The one time when we got a real glimpse of Z, however, was a fail. The quick glimpse was not an effective use of special effects and made the monster look ineffectual. It was considerably creepier when the film only used the drawing on the wall as its imagery of Z and they should have left it at that. Luckily, this was the sole spot where Z made his actual presence known and the unknown was much more scary than the actual shot.
The performances were all really good though Keegan Connor Tracy may take her third act performance a bit over the top. The young kid does a sufficiently creepy job of portraying this weird kid. The arrival of Dr. Seager (Stephen McHattie) hinted at a different way to look at the movie, but that was not explored enough to truly give it analysis. It has some intriguing themes though that work with this picture.
It is a quick watch and, produced by Shudder, it has that scary vibe to it. It avoided the potential crash it was heading for and turned out to be an enjoyable addition to the horror films of 2020.
Now, he is man of privileged Norval Greenwood, who arrived at a cabin on the outskirts of the woods responding to a letter from his father. Norval has not seen his father for years, having had his father desert his mother and him when he was but a child.
The letter offered Norval knowledge of where his father was living and asked if he would come and see him.
When Norval arrived, he discovered something that was unexpected. His father was a jerk.
More than just a jerk, his father was violent and vicious. He was abusive and posed a threat to him.
This started a downward spiral for Norval, placing him right in the middle of a violent nightmare.
This was just a lot of fun. Dark comedy/horror aspects really made this script pop and there were moments of pure, unadulterated shock. Gorey and violent, the plot continued along winding up in places where you just did not expect it to go.
The story was original and downright funny. There were many moments where I was laughing out loud and several moments where I was laughing through gritted teeth. Other times I was reviling in shock.
Is it silly. Absolutely. It may not be a film for everyone, but I had a dang good time watching it and I did not guess anything that was going to happen.
I am not sure why I missed this movie in 2017. I saw a ton of movies that year and this sure seems like it would have been one to see.
However, I am very pleased that it slipped off my radar then because that meant that I got a little jewel to watch this week.
We are a little over a week from the passing of Chadwick Boseman, shockingly from colon cancer. That loss struck me hard. I was a fan of Chadwick from his performance of Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get on Up and T’Challa in Black Panther. Every time Chadwick Boseman was on the matinee, you knew you were in for a great performance, even if the movie was just so-so.
So I knew that I had to see Marshall, the film where Chadwick portrayed Thurgood Marshall in a biopic that focused in on one specific case of rape that helped us see the man the way he truly was.
The NAACP sent Marshall into this case of a black man named Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown) was accused of raping a white woman (Kate Hudson). and throwing her off a bridge to die. Once there, Marshall recruited the uncertain lawyer Sam Friedman (Josh Gad) to try the case. Marshall himself was silenced by Judge Foster (James Cromwell) and he could not speak during the trial.
The film does an excellent job of both showing the dedication and personal sacrifices from Thurgood Marshall and also provided us with a thrilling courtroom drama as well.
Chadwick Boseman gave his typical brilliant performance. He had started a career of giving voice to these iconic black men elevating the idea of a movie star to another level. Boseman has not taken roles that brought down the black community. He has not played slaves or gang members. Instead, he showed real life powerhouses such as the first black MLB player, a beloved soul musician, and here the man who would become the first black Supreme Court Justice.
To be fair, Josh Gad does a fantastic job in this film playing opposite Boseman. Gad and Boseman have an easy chemistry and you can absolutely buy them together as a lawyers battling for the rights of their clients. Josh Gad has started to carve out for himself a solid career and this is a role in which he should be proud.
It is sad to think that we will never see any more Chadwick Boseman movies after his last film comes out. You can tell from Marshall, this young man had so much talent to share with the world. He was an inspiring individual to millions. He will totally be missed.
Charlie Kaufman, director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich, has his newest film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, released on Netflix this weekend and it is not a film that you just put on in the background as you are doing other things. In fact, this is a movie that demands your attention and, even then, there may be plenty of moments in this surreal fantasy that you look at and wonder “What the heck is going on.”
On the surface, it appeared that Lucy (Jessie Buckley) is on her way with her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons) through a beginning snowstorm, to go meet his parents at his childhood farm. As the trip begins, it is clear that Lucy is having second thoughts about the trip and that she has been considering about ending things with him.
The conversation in the car on the way to the parents’ house is strained, though we see some flashes of what appeared to be the connection that must have originally brought the couple together.
However, once they arrive at the farm, things truly begin to take some bizarre turns, including a story from Jake’s youth about finding pigs dead with maggots eating their underbellies. Some of the verbal imagery included here makes one feel uneasy and the constant mentioning that life on the farm “isn’t always pretty.”
From there, Jake and Lucy have the single most awkward and uncomfortable dinner ever on the big screen with Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis). I was legitimately on edge during this entire dinner, especially when Jake’s mother indicated everything on the table was from the farm (including the giant ham they were eating… you know, pigs and maggots).
The dream-like nature of the entire situation elevated from this point on as we see both Toni Collette and David Thewlis entering the scenes at different ages, some times young and enthusiastic and other times feeble and decrepit. It is here where you know that something even more odd than what we have received up to this point is going on.
During this time, we see random scenes of a janitor (Guy Boyd) at a school, mopping the floor, watching the ending of a cheesy film by Robert Zemeckis and more. These scenes feel out of place among the story that is going on, but little do we know that this will eventually develop into more.
I don’t want to go into more of the plot synopsis in fear of giving away spoilers, which is difficult because there is such a surreal feel to everything that you are not clear on what is happening. As I said, this requires a keen eye to see the machinations of the script and the developments of the characters.
The performances here are wonderful, Both Jessie Buckley and Jessie Plemons show such a range of emotions and keep you off-balance about exactly what is going on. Toni Collette and David Thewlis are transcendent here with their oddity level performances. You can’t take your eyes off either of these actors when they are on screen.
The ending sequence is something that is going to stick with you for awhile, especially as you try to determine the significance of the different allusions and the actual result of the situation. Yes, there is an animated pig.
This is not your typical popcorn flick and I daresay that it is not even your typical psychological thriller/indie art house film. This has more to it and dives deep into the psyche of the main character, even when it is not 100% sure which character that truly is. This is based on a novel of the same name by Iain Reid.
Trippy, engaging, thought-provoking, and as uncomfortable as a movie could be, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a film that you weigh on your mind for a long time after finishing it. I can understand if this is not a film for everybody, but I found it fascinating.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 