Reviews of the Bosch

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A Very Sensible Adaptation

It was perhaps obligation that created this movie. Jane Austen adaptations are a reliable brand and they come in generational cycles -every decade or so brings a new version of one of her classic books to television, and occasionally to film. We have seen in recent years new iterations of Pride and Prejudice , Emma , and Persuasion . And with Mansfield Park being not an attractive prospect for adaptation, Northanger Abbey being obscure, and Sandington even more so -that leaves Sense and Sensibility as thus the sensible choice of source. And it has been some time since Austen’s debut masterpiece has gotten such a treatment, the likely reason being the enormous shadow cast by the 1995 film version by Emma Thompson and Ang Lee -a very definitive adaptation that not only won Thompson a screenwriting Oscar but that set a standard for most Austen adaptations and romantic period dramas alike that have come since. Its influence is clear and unavoidable on this new film thirty-one years lat...

Street Fighter Looks the Part and Little More

I'll say this as someone with a passing awareness of the Street Fighter game franchise and its characters: this movie appears to be a fairly accurate representation of its source, for whatever that is worth. Aesthetically, it does indeed look like Street Fighter -as flashy and colourful and as ludicrous as ever. Its characters are an eclectic mix of styles and erratic fashion statements, its world is appropriately broad and silly. Yet none of that makes the movie itself good, points though it does at least earn for some visual effort. The first theatrically released film under the Capcom brand since the last Street Fighter adaptation in 1994, the movie comes from of all people director Kitao Sakurai -best known for his work on The Eric Andre Show . Andre himself appears in the movie naturally as one of a few comic relief roles, and the particular chaotic comedy energy his work is known for can be found pervasive throughout the movie -though it is not a particularly good look. St...

Survival and Symbiosis in the Belly of a Whale

We've been overdue for a 'Jonah in the Whale' movie. That is essentially what Whalefall is. And not just through the basic gimmick of a man being swallowed whole by a whale. In the old Hebrew story, Jonah reckons with his life and his faith while in the beast's belly; he had been trying to run away before, is cast into the whale for this, and yet finds new meaning and purpose there -it is for that reason that God eventually rescues him. There is no God in this story (not literally at least), but there is the spirit of an absent father serving much the same function. And the personal reconciliation our protagonist searches for with him is as much a part of this movie as its visceral depiction of being trapped in the body of a whale. The film is directed by Brian Duffield, based on the novel by Daniel Kraus, who collaborated with Duffield on the screenplay, and it is far more ruminative a piece than expected. It's got plenty of intense action and incredibly detailed ...

Other Mommy Dearest

The “Other Mother” as a horror concept was best articulated by Coraline, and Other Mommy has no hope of escaping its shadow. There, the entity of that name was a legitimately psychologically unsettling creature in addition to being freaky in power and appearance. She was a striking contrast of deceptive warmth to her counterpart and haunted the story even through her absence. The same effect is attempted by Other Mommy but never with any success. The game of her creepy, malevolent nature is given away so early that any real purpose or affection she might represent for her subject is handily neutralized. All that’s left is for her to spend an hour and a half being an inescapable boogeyman popping out at you regularly for an easy scare. Coraline interestingly was not the basis of this film however, it was a novel by Josh Malerman called Incidents Around the House . It was only published a couple years ago, meaning the rights were snatched up by Blumhouse pretty fast for adaptation. A...

There is No Reckoning in Aaron Sorkin’s Facebook Follow-Up

When he wrote The Social Network , Aaron Sorkin was fortunate to have David Fincher directing his material -to amplify the strengths of his writing style and to cut the fat whilst composing the movie in such way that was interesting in its own right, enhancing the value of Sorkin’s work by proxy. Fincher did not return for The Social Reckoning -leaving its direction in Sorkin’s own hands; fitting for a movie that is in every way his baby. And in fact it is disingenuous for The Social Reckoning to market itself as a sequel to The Social Network . Where that film was about the creation of Facebook wrapped in an anti-character study of Mark Zuckerberg, this film is an investigative journalism drama about the macro effects of the platform that really couldn’t care less about Zuckerberg, apart from being a face for the soulless billion-dollar company. Beyond the shared subject of Facebook they have little in common in tone, style, or themes. Sorkin’s priorities here are vastly different th...

Late Fame and the Bittersweet Poetry of Aging

I have met many a crusty old poet or author in the mould of Willem Dafoe’s Ed Saxberger in Late Fame -folks whose education back in the day was highbrow, for lack of a better word, but whose work has been fleeting or sporadic and live mostly mundane, down-to-earth lives where their literary credentials might be anonymous. A couple of them taught creative writing at the modest college I went to, others I have encountered through my local prairie literary festival. It is interesting to wonder what they make of their marginal connection to fame, if maybe they strived for something more akin to some of the great writers who no doubt inspired them. Late Fame is directed by Kent Jones from a script by Samy Burch, who has fast become one of the most interesting screenwriters working today (her three film credits are her Oscar-nominated May December , Coyote vs. Acme , and this). It is based on a novella by classic Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler written in the 1890s but only published in ...

The Criterion Channel Presents: Itim (1976)

Itim is one of the most Catholic movies I have ever seen. It makes sense as it was produced in the Philippines, one of the most Catholic countries in the world. And director Mike de Leon, who made his debut with this 1976 gothic horror film, has an interesting attitude around that faith, clearly ascribing to some of its tenets in the movie’s themes, but stunned and perplexed by some of its traditions especially in localized regions of the Philippines. His avatar, Jun (Tommy Abuel) is both put-off and captivated by -for instance- a ritual where the Procession of Christ carrying the cross is reenacted along a dirt road (presumably to a church) where the Jesus analogue is authentically whipped and tormented. Like with many of the religious mores that he observes, there is something a little spooky about it and in just the general atmosphere of the environment. The film is set in San Ildefonso, an old rural community north of Manila, where Jun is visiting his father Dr. Torres (Mario Mont...