Three weeks of September have proven to be better than 3
months of multiple summer releases combined.
In aiming my focus towards forthcoming projects and
prioritizing high profile releases, there are going to inevitably be some
flicks that slip through the cracks. When that happens, the only way to give
them their due is to blitz straight through them.
Southside with You
A fictional account of the President’s first date with his
future wife that somehow manages to be more grounded, warm and human than just
about any other romance movie I’ve seen of the last few years, comedic,
dramatic or otherwise.
“Southside with You” would be impressive alone as a lean,
dynamic, charming depiction of a first date that happens to make for a strong
directorial debut and an excellent addition to the resumes of its cast. Its
ability to astoundingly humanize its larger than life figure through the lens
of their humble beginnings and illustrate the tangible impact of sociopolitical
perceptions without ever grinding to a halt to be preachy takes it one step
beyond even that.
Stripped of its subtexts and study of just how popular Barack
Obama has managed to become as the President of the people, it’s still a
stupendously written and acted back and forth between characters that all feel
very real and just about the sweetest date movie in theaters right now
8 Assertive Thumbs Over the Index Finger out of 10
Blair Witch
Although “The Blair Witch Project” is acclaimed for
pioneering certain subtle camera and atmospheric techniques meant to reinforce
senses of paranoia and claustrophobia, the film’s true claim to fame was never
its actual story but rather the lightning in a bottle marketing that turned the
events of the film into an urban legend and its impact into a phenomenon that
was more interesting than what was actually depicted in the movie itself.
For this reason alone, it always struck me as an odd
decision to expand upon the movie’s mythology given that its actual story and
characters were always the weakest part of the endeavor but paying praise where
it is due, “Blair Witch” is a far better sequel than it has any business being.
Following the younger brother of Heather from the first film
in his quest to search the woods in an effort to find solace in the loss of his
sibling, the movie kicks off with a genuinely moving establishment of its protagonist’s
motivation and a clever subversion of horror movie stupidity that garners
almost immediate sympathy from the characters, if not genuine likability.
It all builds to a sensational final 20 minutes that may be
the most legitimately tense and scary sequence that I’ve seen from a horror
movie in recent history.
Unfortunately the biggest pitfall of “Blair Witch” is that
in between all of that clever goodness, there’s an hour of awkwardly meandering
material that can’t decide whether or not it wants to remake the first film,
embrace the supernatural implications of it to create a psychological mind game
with its characters and viewers, or be an outright creature feature.
While I’m personally inclined to say that the good outweighs
the bad, there’s just no denying that what payoff there is only comes to those
willing to be very patient with it. Just like with the original, your mileage
may vary on whether or not it’s worth it.
5 Immortal Camera Batteries out of 10
Snowden
Controversy, ethical ambiguity, and political charge surround
the life of Edward Snowden regarding the morally grey topic of his espionage
with legitimate arguments available for both sides.
While an entire film can be made on the debate regarding
America’s usage of information access by disregarding privacy disregarding
Snowden’s involvement entirely, Oliver Stone seems to be aware that indulging
in this conversation for feature length through such a small lens would be a
dissatisfying study of a topic that even a well balanced documentary would
barely be able to scratch the surface of.
What he elects to do instead tell a tightly character
focused narrative on a man that becomes disillusioned with blind patriotism
once he sees how much harm is done in using it as a justification for treating
people like pawns on a chess board. His life unravels, his loved ones get hurt,
his health deteriorates, and all of this occurs from merely living with this knowledge
before actually doing anything with it.
Stone has always been an excellent craftsman of these kind
of stories and while his own political views can bubble to the surface in a
sequence or so that could have been more powerful were it illustrated rather
than lectured, his skill set serves him well.
"Snowden" offers a powerful and humanizing portrayal of a
complicated man without putting him on a purely heroic pedestal, asks us to question the dissonance of valuing
security over freedom, and is loaded with excellent performances from top to
bottom even if it could have used 5 to 10 minutes of trimming.
Hell, it’s a movie where Nic Cage plays a character with
life and wit without going over the top. The film already has some merit based
on that alone.
8 “NSA, please don’t DOX me for this” claims out of 10
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