Dream Log

A REAL PAIN
2024 | Dir. Jesse Eisenberg | 90 Minutes
4 out of 5
A character-driven dramedy elevated by a fantastic performance from Kieran Culkin that seamlessly drifts between incredibly funny and deeply affecting. Writer/director/co-lead Jesse Eisenberg explores the different ways people process grief and sorrow or, perhaps more often, choose to bury these feelings. While the narrative is pretty straightforward, the emotions driving the picture are earnest, and the odd couple energy of a manic Culkin and a neurotic Eisenberg serve this picture well.

ANORA
2024 | Dir. Sean Baker | 139 Minutes
4 out of 5
A wild, chaotic, and deeply earnest emotional ride driven by a truly exceptional leading performance from Mikey Madison. Despite the somewhat unconventional and ostensibly salacious aspects of its narrative, at its heart the picture is an engaging universally-relatable story of misplaced love and heartbreak. The pacing  and incessant shouting can be a tad relentless during the second act, but the film starts and ends masterfully.

SMILE 2
2024 | Dir. Parker Finn | 127 Minutes
4 out of 5
Larger in scale than its predecessor in terms of production value as well as pure anxiety, the toothy trauma monster feeding off a troubled pop star opens the narrative up to all manner of ingeniously plotted and deeply uncomfortable moments. The pacing unfortunately stumbles for long stretches, and while the air of dread is palpable throughout, the jumpscares and disorienting twists do little to break the tension that somewhat devolves into monotony. Naomi Scott is very impressive, incredibly convincing as a celebrity gradually descending into total madness.

SATURDAY NIGHT
2024 | Dir. Jason Reitman | 109 Minutes
4 out of 5
Tense, funny, and very engaging, this dramatization of the 90 minutes leading up to the broadcast of the first episode of Saturday Night Live is an entertaining glimpse into the stress and chaos of creating something brand new under overwhelming pressure and uncertainty. Driven by its larger-than-life characters more than by narrative, Jason Reitman's picture does a decent job of selling the suspense of whether or not the show will even make it to air, though the inevitably of how television history plays out takes quite a bit of the edge off. Leading a fun ensemble cast, Gabriel LaBelle perfectly captures the nervous bottled-up energy of untested talent playing SNL creator Lorne Michaels. Other  standout performances include Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner exuding pure sweetness, Nicholas Braun pulling double weirdo duty with varying degrees of success as both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson, and Cory Michael Smith perfectly cast as arrogant upstart Chevy Chase.

MEGALOPOLIS
2024 | Dir. Francis Ford Coppola | 138 Minutes
3 out of 5
Clearly fueled by raw passion, Coppola's allegorical epic is a fascinating incoherent rant of a film. The dialogue and performances are distractingly affected, and while the ideas the narrative carries are intriguing, if overly broad, the plot is disjointed and even confounding at points. This is the cinematic equivalent of a master chef stepping out of the kitchen to lecture the diner about delicious imaginary dishes, but these illusory delicacies are somehow still undercooked. Its heart is in the right place, I guess.

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Deadpool & Wolverine

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
2024 | Dir. Shawn Levy | 128 Minutes

"Suck it, Fox! I'm going to Disneyland! Get fucked!"


Wade Wilson once again suits up as Deadpool when a rogue Time Variance Authority agent threatens to mercy kill his branch of the multiverse and spare it from inevitable gradual decay following the death of its anchor being, the heroic X-Man Wolverine. Desperate to save his loved ones from destruction, Deadpool unwittingly recruits the worst Wolverine in the multiverse as a replacement. At odds with TVA forces and the chaotic whims of an evil Omega level mutant, the duo must work together to preserve Deadpool's doomed world.

A direct sequel to the 20th Century Fox Deadpool movies by way of MCU multiverse shenanigans, Deadpool & Wolverine is as inaccessible to the uninitiated as it is a bawdy unpredictable treat for both fans and detractors of the various non-MCU Marvel superhero movie franchises orphaned since the film studio's acquisition by Disney. The plot messily mashes together elements from various MCU and non-MCU Marvel films and television shows, offering virtually nothing to fill newcomers in on the characters and overarching story points, but its eager target audience, on board through thick and thin since 1998's Blade, will most assuredly revel in the pandemonium of it all. While the overall narrative can be boiled down to nothing more than a simplistic tandem redemption story for its titular pair of homicidal frenemies, it serves its purpose as a vehicle for the hyper-violent action sequences, juvenile comedy, and fourth-wall-breaking gags that made the previous Deadpool features so much fun. What sets this third Deadpool picture apart as a unique delight is its access to the wealth of genuinely surprising cameo players from across the Marvel movie multiverse. Very funny metatextual jabs at both erstwhile non-MCU Marvel superhero movies and the MCU's Multiverse Saga aside, it is an unabashed celebration of Marvel cinema past and present, and the love its leading men and the filmmakers have for material translates straight onto screen.

The set pieces for Deadpool & Wolverine are, in a word, bonkers. The laughs from Deadpool's multiverse-traversing montage to find a replacement Wolverine is worth the price of admission alone. Standout action sequences include the Logan-desecrating opening bloodbath, the knock-down drag-out one-on-one fights between the movie's leads, the epic battle between the "Others" of the Void and Cassandra Nova's army of exiled supervillains, and Deadpool and Wolverine's anything-goes one-shot street fight against the massive Deadpool Corps. If there's one aspect that's slightly disappointing, it's a bit of a letdown that so much of the story takes place in the dreary wasteland of the Void.

His public persona inextricably linked to the Merc with a Mouth, Ryan Reynolds is as charming as ever, proving once again that he is the perfect actor to play Deadpool. It goes without saying that if anyone other than Reynolds were in the role, the character would quickly become totally insufferable. Hugh Jackman's deeply depressed perpetually drunk worst Wolverine makes for the very best foil, bringing the same level of gravitas he brought to his past portrayals of Logan, but this time with so much more humor. The chemistry between Reynolds and Jackman is buddy comedy dynamite. As the overambitious TVA agent Paradox, Matthew Macfadyen is convincingly petty and conniving. Emma Corrin is amusingly menacing as the casually cruel Cassandra Nova, particularly when their fingers are protruding out of someone's face.

The supporting cast is rather expansive with some prominent players that really stand out. Rob Delaney reprises his Deadpool 2 role as the ordinary but curiously influential Paul, his unfathomable clout somehow extending into the multiverse. Aaron Stanford returns as Pyro from X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand to give a scummier take on the wayward mutant. Back in their signature superhero roles are Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios from 2003's Daredevil and its Elektra spinoff, Wesley Snipes as the titular Daywalker from New Line Cinema's Blade movie trilogy, and Dafne Keen as the Wolverine clone Laura from Logan, characters stranded in liminal space wanting nothing more than a fitting ending. Finally afforded the opportunity to play the cardslinging X-Man Gambit after his spinoff superhero vehicle never left development hell, Channing Tatum puts on a hilariously ridiculous accent while actually looking pretty cool charging things hot pink until they explode. One of the funniest assets of the movie is the mind-blowing fake-out return of Chris Evans not as the MCU's beloved Steve Rogers, but as Johnny Storm the Human Torch from Fox's Fantastic Four movies, allowing him to curse like a pirate and lean hard into his comedy chops.

An irreverent romp through the ashes of defunct Marvel movie worlds, Deadpool & Wolverine is a bloody, foul-mouthed, and all-around hilarious tribute to a bygone brand of superhero films. The picture delivers an overabundance of joy and reverence for the movies that paved the way for and eventually rivaled Marvel Studios' shared universe, though it isn't above making dirty jokes and nearly everything is fair game. It's first and foremost a Deadpool story after all, but one that's presented on the biggest, most extravagant canvas available.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
Deadpool reviews the footage to prove that Johnny lied after all.


STAN LEE CAMEO
Stan the Man appears in an ad for Stanlee Steamer on the side of a bus.


FRAGMENTS
- The movie really goes out of its way to highlight how James Mangold's Logan is just such a great film

- It was stupidly confounding to me at first to learn that Deadpool traveled to the MCU's Earth-616 at one point for a job interview with Happy Hogan, but I realized the practical implications don't really matter because his fourth-wall-breaking antics would naturally allow him to do anything, much less jump across timelines using Cable's time travel device he acquired at the end of Deadpool 2

- While there isn't quite enough dramatic build-up for it to make a strong emotional impact when viewed as a stand-alone film, when viewed as the concluding third installment of the Deadpool movie trilogy it's a decent payoff for Deadpool to finally feel like he accomplished something that matters in saving his timeline from both imminent and eventual destruction

- The sight of the short comics-accurate Wolverine made me laugh so very hard

- My favorite Wolverine variant from the replacement Wolverine montage has got to be Weapon X from Age of Apocalypse, but Cavillrine is a close second

- It's kind of neat that the ragtag team of "Others" more or less represents the beginning (Blade), the bad (Elektra), the good (Laura), and the never-was (Gambit) of the non-MCU Marvel movies

- Seeing Wunmi Mosaku again as B-15 from Loki now leading the TVA is incredibly gratifying

- We never did find out why Thor was holding Deadpool and crying


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Inside Out 2

INSIDE OUT 2
2024 | Dir. Kelsey Mann | 97 Minutes

"That's not gonna haunt us for the rest of our lives at all."


After turning 13, within aspirational hockey player Riley's mind, a new group of complicated emotions lead by Anxiety stages a coup in headquarters. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust must journey to the back of Riley's mind to retrieve the girl's sense of self and return it to headquarters before Anxiety completes a new core persona for Riley rooted exclusively in insecurity.

Inside Out 2 is a well-crafted natural continuation to its predecessor that's as entertaining as it is deeply moving thanks to superb character development and clever approaches to building upon its high-concept premise. Kelsey Mann's feature directorial debut captures all of the challenges and complexity of puberty in a way that's realistically messy but also relatively easy to follow on a narrative level even for younger audiences, benefiting greatly from the fun character designs and delightfully distinct personalities of the expanded cadre of anthropomorphic emotions. Both the epic journey within Riley's mind undertaken by her standard emotions and the personal struggles she faces at hockey camp prove to be very engaging due to her relatability as a character, and her desire to identify herself as a good person while more ego-driven motivations begin to take shape. Literally embracing and accepting all of the conflicting facets of what it means to be a human being with complicated feelings, the film reaches a conclusion that's somewhat unconventional for narratives depicting two conflicting factions, but it's refreshingly balanced and an impressively elegant way to portray the first steps towards maintaining emotional intelligence.

The phenomenal artistic standards of Pixar Animation Studios are on full display here through and through. The feature shows off some of the very best in cinematic 3D animation to date, particular in the craft of lighting and 3D textures. To single out two settings, the sub-level housing the threads to Riley's sense of self is visually breathtaking, and the mountain of repressed memories in the back of Riley's mind surging back to headquarters like a massive emotional tidal wave in the final act is quite the sight to behold. One of the most creative and hilarious flourishes of the film is in its presentation of two particular characters locked within a mental vault: for Riley's favorite television cartoon dog from her childhood brought to life in minimalistic 2D cell animation, and Riley's video game character crush rendered as a flawed 3D model complete with stiff movement and janky clipping. 

Amy Poehler returns as the voice of Joy bringing more frantic energy, standing out particularly in the moment where Joy admits she's in fact delusional. As Anxiety, Maya Hawke delivers a wild performance that suitably embodies the personification of emotional insecurity, playing the pitiable antagonist to perfection. Playing Riley, Kensington Tallman is the secret MVP of the film, exuding every facet of teenage insecurity from scene to scene. Reprising the part of Sadness, Phyllis Smith doesn't carry as much of the dramatic heft in this story, but the sequel allows her to capitalize on many more funny moments. Lewis Black is once again perfectly cast as Anger, amusingly demonstrating more nuanced facets of the character during the quest to the back of Riley's mind. Tony Hale and Liza Lapira join the ensemble as the new voices of Fear and Disgust respectively, and they fit in seamlessly, both performing with excellent comedic timing. Rounding out the group of new emotions, Ayo Edebiri is incredibly cute as the excitable Envy, Adèle Exarchopoulos is very French and very funny as the ever-aloof Ennui, Paul Walter Hauser perhaps appropriately has one line of dialogue as the painfully shy Embarrassment, and June Squibb is a total scene-stealer as old lady Nostalgia.

A prime example of unexpectedly exceptional Pixar sequels, Inside Out 2 is a must-watch for anyone who loves the first film. The picture explores more sophisticated emotions and appropriately raises the stakes while still delivering an amusing and genuinely touching story about coming to terms with one's feelings in a healthy way. As a work of cinematic art, its gorgeous visuals also demonstrate how Pixar remains one of the very best animation studios in the business.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
The mystery of the Deep Dark Secret is revealed.


JOHN RATZENBERGER AS...
- Mind Worker Fritz


A113
- Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust are brought to Vault ACXIII where they meet other secrets within Riley's mind


PIXAR INTERCONNECTIVITY
- There is a poster in Riley's bedroom for 4*Town, the boy band from Turning Red


FRAGMENTS
- While Andrea Datzman's appropriately brings fresh energy to the film, it's pleasing to that in incorporates Michael Giacchino's theme from the original film

- Pro hockey star Kendall Coyne Schofield lends her voice as a hockey announcer

- I absolutely love Lance Slashblade and how authentic he is to the PlayStation 2 era of Japanese video game character designs, particularly Tetsuya Nomura's work for Final Fantasy


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Yvette Nicole Brown (Phyllis Jenkins in Avengers: Endgame)
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The Zone of Interest

THE ZONE OF INTEREST
2023 | Dir. Jonathan Glazer | 105 Minutes

"This is our home. We’re living how we dreamed we would."


Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss and his family live happily in a picturesque house next to the concentration camp.

Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest is a sobering examination of infuriating complicity. Adapting Martin Amis's 2014 novel of the same name, Glazer provides the bare minimum in terms of narrative. The most significant drama that unfolds concerning its central characters is a woman's frustration at the suggestion of having to relocate her family due to her husband's promotion, the most unremarkable of conflicts if it were not for the horrific context. What makes the picture overwhelmingly unsettling is what the scenes of seemingly ordinary domesticity illustrate, that it was so easy for Nazis to carry on with their lives unbothered by the genocide they were committing just next door, in this case quite literally. The film is incredibly difficult to watch by design.

A technical masterwork in terms of subtlety and suggestion, The Zone of Interest utilizes the medium of cinema in ways that very few films do. The camera is consistently positioned to imply the horrors of Auschwitz are occurring just out of frame, with the majority of the feature made up of mundane moments at the commandant's house. The most notable shift in style are the night vision scenes featuring a young Polish girl sneaking food into the concentration camp under cover of darkness, the sole presence of resistance represented in the picture. What the audience doesn't see, the audio design forces them to hear. The sound of gunfire, shouting, crying, and screaming, while sometimes only coming through softly, is consistent and incessant. Though the production hired Mica Levi to compose music for the film, Levi's score is seldom used, which only highlights the nightmarish soundscape underscoring the proceedings.

Christian Friedel plays Rudolf Höss as a hardworking family man and loyal servant to his government most convincingly, one would almost forget the detestable nature of his gruesome work if such a thing were impossible. As Höss's wife Hedwig, Sandra Hüller is so believably smug and casually hateful that the woman she portrays somehow becomes even more despicable than Höss himself, a testament to Hüller's immense talent.

With The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer delivers a viewing experience that is most appropriately deeply unpleasant. While it is a film that is totally devoid of escapism and entertainment value, it is a work of tremendous value that must be preserved and studied. Masterfully encapsulating exactly what complicity to the evil of fascism looks like, it makes a powerful statement on the banality of evil. 


FRAGMENTS
- Sandra Hüller also appears in 2024 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Anatomy of a Fall

- While I greatly admire The Zone of Interest and its purpose as the film, I don't think I'll ever want to watch it again
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Poor Things

POOR THINGS
2023 | Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | 141 Minutes

"I have adventured it and found nothing but sugar and violence. It is most charming."


Brought to life by a mad doctor, Bella Baxter is a young woman who perceives the world with the innocent mind of a child. Strongly desiring life experience and knowledge, Bella ventures into the world on a journey of self-discovery while challenging societal norms at every turn, particularly ones pertaining to women.

A wildly entertaining adaptation of Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel, Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things is a hilarious, sharp, and engaging fantastical comedy loaded with critical observations on gender-based inequity and double standards. Philosophically perceptive and perfectly-paced, the thought-provoking narrative also features an overabundance of off-color comedy but also a whole lot of heart. Throughout Bella's odyssey, she is never robbed of her agency despite the bizarre circumstances surrounding her existence and the best efforts of some of people in her life, and much of the picture's humor derives from the novel manner in which Bella approaches and resolves the various challenges she encounters.

Visually inventive and unconventional, Poor Things is immensely appealing aesthetically. Utilizing stark monochrome and lush color photography, warped fish-eye lenses, and surreal outlandish special effects, the picture is an entertainingly disorienting feast for the eyes. To say that the style of the film's production design is heightened is putting it mildly, as it features fun over-the-top period costuming and a radical variety of beautiful sets.

Poor Things is dependent upon leading lady Emma Stone's performance, her second feature collaboration with Lanthimos, and she does not disappoint. Stone confidently plays the part of Bella to perfection, fully committing to all of the character's bizarre behavior at the start of the picture while quickly and convincingly becoming the outspoken voice of reason in an objectively absurd world. Delivering perhaps the funniest performance of his career to date, Mark Ruffalo is delightfully dastardly and eventually quite pathetic in the role of the lawyer Wedderburn. As something of a scientist, Willem Dafoe shows off his range as the complicated physically and psychologically scarred Dr. Godwin Baxter, believably well-meaning but detestable yet pitiable, all the while amusingly burping up utterly disgusting bubbles. Ramy Youssef makes for an effortlessly relatable McCandles, the audience surrogate who cares deeply for the protagonist but is only able to stand by and observe her journey. Though her screentime is limited, Kathryn Hunter gives a stand-out performance as Madame Swiney, fantastic at portraying the seemingly wise and empathetic woman but still the sleazy manager of a brothel.

An excellent off-beat comedy that examines the mistreatment of women through an absurdist lens, Poor Things is equal parts funny and profound. The film's peculiar premise serves as an unlikely springboard for timeless social commentary. Director Yorgos Lanthimos, specializing in his unique brand of satire mixed with sincerity, and star Emma Stone, reliably hilarious and exceptionally versatile, are the perfect pair to bring this story to the screen.


FRAGMENTS
- Supporting players Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott starred in the psychological thriller Sanctuary which was also released in 2023

- Considering the all-around excellence of Poor Things and 2018's The Favourite, here's hoping there will be more Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone comedies to come


MCU CONNECTIONS

- Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn in Spider-Man: No Way Home)
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