Wind River

2017’s “Wind River”, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan.

Starring Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene, Gil Birmingham, Kelsey Asbille, Jon Bernthal, and Julia Jones.

What is it about?

Renner stars as a Fish and Wildlife agent, still coping with his own tragedy, who lives on the Wyoming Wind River reservation. While out hunting for predators who feed on livestock, Renner discovers a young indigenous woman who was sexually assaulted and then froze to death in the winter landscape. The FBI sends in a solo agent (Elizabeth Olsen) to investigate the crime. Completely unprepared for both the frozen tundra and the dynamics of the reserve, Olsen gets a crash course in multigenerational trauma and it’s effects. Using local indigenous sheriff (the always reliable Graham Greene) and Renner as guides to both the terrain and the political realties of the traumatized participants and sometimes violent citizens, will Olsen get to the bottom of the crime without needing to sing her own death song?

Why is it worth seeing?

Taylor Sheridan, after his promising writing works of “Sicario” (my #2 of 2015) and “Hell or High Water” (my #9 of 2016), takes on directing duties to go with his screenplay. While he doesn’t (yet) have the directing mojo of Denis Villeneuve or David Mackenzie, he does create some lovely stark imagery of the frozen tundra not seen since the Coen Brothers’ “Fargo” or Sam Raimi’s “A Simple Plan”. As in his previous movies, Sheridan does bring back more conversation about systemic oppression and imbalance, and this film is his attempt to highlight the plight of murdered Indigenous women across North America, victims who simply are disregarded by the system.

Sheridan wisely avoids an issue prevalent in mainstream movies depicting indigenous characters’ situations: that of the white saviour (1990’s Best Picture Winner in particular). While neither character of Renner’s or Olsen’s are indigenous, Renner’s had a daughter with a reserve member and has clearly lived there for a while, understanding the raw deal given to his neighbours, and their quiet but vulnerable resilience. Olsen herself doubles as a character out to investigate a crime, and as witness for the audience to the horrific multi-generational oppression that has befallen first nations peoples. Mired in bureaucratic nightmare questions such as whatever a woman’s death is a homicide or merely death of natural causes, she meets individuals who feel hurting others to go to jail is the current version of a rite of passage, while she learns about a system that has left people to fend for themselves.

As the fish out of water FBI agent who’s never been to Wyoming or a reserve, Olsen is amazing as someone who knows that she is out of her league, relies on others to educate her, and dives straight into ill meaning danger. Renner is remarkable, as the man of few words who has seen great pain and seeks justice on some level regardless of due process or whom it is for. And Gil Birmingham is remarkable as a grieving parent who watches what he loves be destroyed. Powered by a singeing score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, there are great performances abound.

While “WR” at times operates as a surface deep gaze into it’s subject matter, it’s attempts to delve into the realities of indigenous experiences through the guise of a tough winter noir whodunit are refreshing. A message more important then the medium, the more you try to ignore the realities of ignorant recklessness and systemic oppression, the more the wind brings it back in your face.

Rating:

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.

The Hurt Locker

2010’s “The Hurt Locker”, directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, David Morse, Ralph Fiennes, and Guy Pierce.

Winner of an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow), Best Original Screenplay (Mark Boal), Best Film Editing (Bob Murawski and Chris Innis), and Sound Editing (Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett),

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor (Jeremy Renner), Best Cinematographer (Barry Ackroyd), and Best Musical Score (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders).

What is it about?

“The Hurt Locker” is about a group of US bomb disposal experts (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, during the Bush lead Occupation. After losing their supervisor to an insurgent created Improvised Explosive Device, he is replaced by Jeremy Renner’ s character. Renner proves to be a reckless adrenaline junkie, constantly putting himself and his coworkers at risk- drawing the ire of his personnel. Between unfriendly civilians, hostile snipers, and pyrotechnic Isis booby traps, will Renner’s cavalier personality send the squad to an premature retirement?

Why is it worth seeing?

Screenwriter Mark Boal was embedded in Iraq during the occupation, and wanted to create something representative of his chaotic experiences in Baghdad. Director Bigelow was happy to oblige, and makes something here that feels authentic, personal, and essential. Filming with multiple handheld cameras to represent a variety of angles, Bigelow makes us feel embedded in the heart of an intense ticking street-side bomb about to go off.  There are multiple scenes where you will find yourself begging for a bomb to go off and just end it already- the very heart of suspense.

Renner is wonderful here, diving into a performance that is part brain surgeon and part monster truck. Despite his best intentions, he is affected by the travesty of war, and the ruthless lengths an unseen enemy is willing to go to get results. That goes double for Mackie, who wants to follow procedure, do things the right way, and get home alive so he can think about starting a family. 

Filmed with an artistic flair that has lead to some claiming that “The Hurt Locker” serves as military propaganda, it actually has more in common with journalist Chris Hedges novel, 2002’s “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning”. Here, Renner and his squad’s attempts to defuse bombs and chase insurgents into all sorts of situations speaks to a degree of cavalier narcissism that has nowhere to go but full on into the next impossible situation, full of danger and supposed purpose. It’s these powder keg inspired occupational hazards that lead our heroes to spend their downtime getting drunk and beating each other up. Clearly, as comedian Bill Hicks has claimed, it would be nice if it took less than an actual war to make us feel better about ourselves.

With a great ability to choose when it has silence and when it has horribly good accompanying symphonic score (by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders), “Locker” was a culmination of director Kathryn Bigelow’s previous eclectic successes, such as “Near Dark” and “Point Break”. She was the first woman director to both win Best Picture and Best Director, and she deserves it in this unforgettable journey into the zeitgeist of people who feel more comfortable being at risk of being blown up than visiting a fully stocked supermarket.

Rating:

4.5/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Passchendaele

2008's "Passchendaele", written and directed by Paul Gross.

Starring Paul Gross, Caroline Dhavernas, Joe Dinico, Meredith Bailey, David Ley, Joe Desmond, Gil Gellows, and Adam Greyeyes.

What is it about?

Taking place over the events of WWI, "Passchendaele" introduces us to a soldier (Paul Gross). While fighting in Europe, he commits acts that he cannot forget, and is wounded. Gross returns to his home in Canada, and meets a nurse (Caroline Dhavernas) who helps him heal. Dhavernas herself has become an addict over the trauma of losing so many in the war, and Gross and her begin wooing each other. Dhavernas' brother, (Joe Dinico), who is disqualified from being able to fight overseas because of his asthma, wants to impress his girlfriend (Meredith Bailey)'s father (David Ley), and finds a way to enlist. Distraught over the possibility of losing another loved one, Dhavernas' lover Gross goes back to Europe to watch over Dinico, and Dhavernas also heads over to continue nursing. With the intense battle in the Flanders Fields of Passchendaele looming, will Gross be able to protect Dhavernas from more loss?

Why is it worth seeing?

Canadian Gross was moved by his grandfather's stories of fighting in WWI, and championed for Passchendaele to be made as the producer, actor, writer, and director. The movie's pivotal scene(s) at the ending prove to be quite intense, with mud, carnage, and death everywhere- a noble representation of what the Winnipeg Rifles went through in times of great strife. And Gross at times brings some of the sensibilities of the light hearted goofiness that he brought in spades in 2002's "Men with Brooms".

Unfortunately, the goofy tones jar very strangely with the seriousness of the subject matter. Gross' portrayal of the a carefree philosopher who then commits murder and says he's impacted but doesn't seem to have any physiological or behavioural reactions (to the phenomenon that would become known as Shell Shock and is now PTSD). It's tough to take a performance seriously if it doesn't match (somewhat) to the horror show of the first world war atrocities that society went through. Same for Dhavernas' nurse, who casually follows the boys to war in the medical tent (it's that easy). Her relationship with Gross is barely romantic, and looks at times like something more akin to a Narcotics Anonymous sponsor.

Gross' direction, saddled by the logistics of a !oh Canada! production, at times is as heavy handed in groaning symbolism as it is low budget looking (baffling given the $20 million budget). Things slog along, there is the climatic fight in Flanders Fields, and then a somewhat indifferent send off. While the before mentioned fight is intense, the movie overall lacks something that can take it over the line to make it an indispensable war film, such as passion.

Rating: 3/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Halloween (1978)

1978’s “Halloween”, directed by John Carpenter.

Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Loomis, P.J. Soles, Kyle Richards, Brian Andrews, John Michael Graves, Will Sandin, and Nick Castle as “The Shape”.

What is it about?

“Halloween” opens in Haddonfield, Illinois, with 6 year old Michael Myers inexplicably stabbing his sister to death on Halloween, and then being incarcerated at a psychiatric facility. 15 years later, now with adult strength, he escapes his institution and returns to Haddonfield, looking to wreak havoc on teenagers such as Jamie Lee Curtis. With his doctor (Donald Pleasence) hot in pursuit, will Myers’ shape be able to senselessly continue murdering others?

Why is it worth seeing?

“Halloween” is a classic film, and similar to my thoughts on the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, it’s almost a victim of it’success in that it’s perfect demonstration of it’s respective sub-genre- paving the way for a great deal of mediocrity and even deplorable film making in the future. As of this writing, there would be 7 sequels, as well as the Rob Zombie re-boot and its sequel. With the franchise’s varying degrees of quality, suffice to say it’s a bit much for a simple idea.

But that’s what makes the original “Halloween” worth watching: its potent simplicity. Non believers will chafe at the (relatively) low body count, call its patient periods of tense stalking not exciting enough, and its no frills and un-gory approach not worth paying attention to. All of these factors are a part of what makes it so effective. John Carpenter starts the movie off with a POV continuous shot that is both odd and hypnotic, at one point filming through a Halloween mask. Killing the teenager because they were having sex is the most motivation or explanation that we’re going to get as to why Myers would murder his sister, before he morphs into a motivation-less killer, devoid of reason or rationality- in other words, “The Shape”(as he’s referred to in the credits). The movie’s lack of explanation as to Myer’s psychology is a part of why he is so frightening, as well as his possible supernatural immortality, and yes: a painted William Shatner mask that he seems to prefer over his actual face.

As the movie progresses, Carpenter’s camera work keeps getting more and more awesome. Out of a general fear, we start to scan all the edges of the frame, looking for our antagonist, who keeps popping up in tension filled moments and perfect asymmetry. But beyond the camera work, Carpenter is a master of tension, and for many parts of the film just refuses to cut to the next scene/change camera angles, leaving us breathless, even more able to hear the Shape’s laboured breathing throughout the film.

Besides directing, co-writing (with Debra Hill), producing, and voicing a character (through the phone), Carpenter also did the score for “Halloween”. It’s a doozy, as catchy (the unstoppable main theme) as it is sinister and shocking in other moments. Anyone else able to imagine George Lucas or Steven Spielberg making their own music?

Finally, Jamie Lee Curtis makes her big screen debut here. She does well here as the responsible and homely but sometimes lonely teenager, and similar to the other historically influential parts of the movie, creates an archetype here known as, “The Final Girl”. Donald Pleasance is wonderfully campy as the doctor who warns the townspeople of the Shape’s return to Haddonfield (Christopher Lee actually turned down this role, due to a lack of salary, but later said it was the biggest mistake of his career).

As unsettling as it is revolutionary, “Halloween” is a classic worth checking out every year around October 31. Made for maybe a third of a million dollars, it grossed 70 million, helping to make up the studio’s minds if they should shoot for double digits for the amount of sequels. They would up the body count, increase the perversity of the murders, and add family ties themes- none of them improving the quality of the sequels. See the original and decide for yourself if the Shape can be improved upon as the stuff nightmares are made of.

Rating:

5/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Lone Survivor

2014’s “Lone Survivor”, written and directed by Peter Berg.

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Eric Bana.

Nominated for an Academy Award in Sound Mixing (Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, David Brownlow), and Sound Editing (Wylie Stateman).

What is it about?

“Lone Survivor” is about a 4 man US navy SEALs team in 2005 that went into Afghanistan to take out a Taliban insurgent leader. While in the Hindu Kush region, they accidentally run into a group of civilians, and have a dilemma. Should they kill them to accomplish their covert mission, or let them go and compromise their position to the heavily armed antagonists who outnumber them? Being compassionate, they let the locals go, and almost immediately have a wave of Taliban come after them. Their mission aborted and chances of survival slim, will our SEALs be able to be evacuated by their fellow countryman, or be buried forever in the forested mountains of Afghanistan?

Why is it worth seeing?

Loosely based off a true story by the SEAL survivor, Marcus Luttrell, writer/director Peter Berg adapted Luttrell’s story and threw a bunch of solid stars (and soon to be wounded stunt doubles) into army fatigues in Afghanistan New Mexico. It takes a while for things to get going, but once they do the film can be intense at times. Severely outnumbered and cornered, the grunts prove to be supreme bad asses, as obstacles such as bullets to the head and freshly shorn fingers prove to be mere irritants along the path to kicking ass in the name of freedom.

However, further introspection reveals a desire for more than just grunts talking about how they would die for their brothers/country (and then doing it). After a training montage of real life participants, which points out how much the stars don’t actually look like their characters, we see a widescreen horizon with atmospheric synthesizer, accompanied by Mark Wahlberg voice over about having a fire in your belly (etc…). I have to admit, that’s the first time I’ve seen Malickian devices to promote US Military propaganda. And that’s what we’re in for here- an excuse for our boys to get dirty, look down their scopes at scores of Taliban getting sniped, and die with our brothers. Freedom, or at least the never ending search for it, never felt so thrillingly hollow.

While it’s impossible to call our quartet of overqualified actors (Ben Foster is especially riveting) cowardly, the real bravery and chutzpah here is from the Afghans that end up standing up to the Taliban in aiding the Americans. How much easier would it have been to do nothing and put up no resistance against the monstrous terrorist insurgents? Instead, they prove the bulk of nuance and inspiration in the movie. At the end, after somberly playing Peter Gabriel’s “Heroes” cover, the real heroes are the Afghan villagers who give so much of themselves to these American soldiers. Risking their lives, they do so because of their code of Pashtunwali. Used by Eastern Afghans and NW Pakistanis since 1^st millennium BC, it is based around a code of living to keep their society honourable but intact. Without their inclusion to the story, “LS” becomes a sort of poor man’s 2007’s “The Kingdom”, in that neither side is prepared to yield in search of compromise or understanding. It’s not always possible, but that’s where real strength- and inspiration reside.

Rating:

3/5

Trailer: Click Here.

Groundhog Day

 

1993’s “Groundhog Day”, directed by Harold Ramis.

Starring Bill Murray, Andy MacDowell, Chris Elliot, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, Robin Duke, Angela Paton, and Rick Ducommun.

What is it about?

“GD” is about a Philadelphia weather department (Murray as the prima donna anchor, MacDowell the cheery producer, and Elliot the homely cameraman) from the local television station that travels to the small town of Punxsutawney. Covering a story about the town’s annual Feb.2 custom of seeing if a groundhog’s appearance will “predict” 6 more weeks of winter, Murray is less than delighted at having to go. After covering the event, Murray insists that they leave as soon as possible, but are stranded in town by a freak snowstorm. Unhappy to be stuck in Punxsutawney but resolved to leave the next day, he goes to bed, and wakes up with it being Feb.2 again. Agitated, Murray goes about his routine (again), goes to bed- and again wakes up on Feb.2. Whether by sleep or suicide, Murray finds that he has a perpetual time loop firmly in place, and his thoughts on whom he is as a person will determine if he is able to break out of his cycle. Will he able to break the loop, or spend the rest of his life re-living Groundhog Day?

Why is it worth seeing?

What would you do if you re-lived the same day over and over? Death is no longer possible, as even committing suicide results in waking up in the same place and day. Would you rob others for riches? Help stranded motorists with their flat tire? Learn other languages? Sleep with that attractive person that you know is vulnerable? Equal parts omnipotent and mundane, “GD”’s premise of unlimited actions that result in the same sum is as profound as it is comical and sweet.

“GD”’s fantastic premise is a science fiction idea played as straight as possible. It’s marketing was especially tricky to pull off, since it was sold as a romantic comedy, but it’s actually a drama with huge existential questions (or a fake thriller). While the story can look simple (director Harold Ramis keeps things low key, in a movie featuring multiple suicides and high speed police chases), the result is something earnest, deeply funny at times, and endlessly re-watchable.

After realizing his predicament, “GD” at first appears to be about Murray’s attempts to woo MacDowell, with him realizing that being merely smarmy isn’t going to win her over, but his journey to impress her results in an entirely different destination. Catholics have referred to aspects of the movie as some kind of purgatory, while Buddhists have compared it to themes of reincarnation, and Jewish people about ascending to heaven once good deeds have been performed on earth. Some have called it the most spiritual movie ever made.

Regardless, “GD”’s strength (after it’s premise) is how under the radar it is. Murray is spectacular here, as the slimeball who realizes there’s more to life than yourself. Bill Murray’s performance is energetic and witty, but it’s his quiet moments that show the promise that very nearly won him his Oscar in 2003’s “Lost in Translation”, and his other later career dramatic roles (conveniently forgetting his wickedly understated work in 1982’s “Tootsie”). MacDowell is solid, perhaps better than usual, as the cheery producer who’s more than a pretty face. The movie even coaxes a decent supporting performance from Chris Elliot, which is rare. And watch for a delightful young Michael Shannon cameo…

All great dramas can have moments of levity, romantic interludes, moments of angst ridden despair, and ask great questions about the purpose of life. “GD” has plenty of that and more (and not a single Academy Award nomination), and despite a plot that features themes of the great above, stays nicely grounded as it loops about in perfection. For a plot where we keep coming back to the same old place (on the same day), it sure feels unique and fresh- a timely little sliver of timelessness.

Rating:

5/5

Trailer: Click Here.