Dr. Sleep - Quickie film review

Saw the latest adaptation of Stephen King's work last night. Apparently this movie is not doing well in terms of ticket sales. This is kind of surprising. I really enjoyed the film. It's a worthy successor to the Stanley Kubrick film, and presumably the book version (I haven't read any of his books)
"The Shining." Given that is a monumental task to undertake, it ended up quite well.

While Dr. Sleep definitely ties into the source material (again, presumably) and the larger mythos of this world, this film is definitely it's own thing. The acting, plot, tone, and everything in between are executed impeccably. I also really like how this film utilized the inevitable nostalgia trip of the famous Overlook Hotel from the original film.

Much like the use of the plot device of this location, the characters actions and motivations are all mostly very intentional. Even if some things don't make sense in this film (like going back to the Overlook Hotel) the characters bring it into question. The protagonists make sensible decisions for the most part, and the antagonists are extremely well developed and interesting.

Ewin McGreggor's older version of Danny Torrance is a character that goes through a ton of growth and development in the film. He's extremely troubled, but goes through a very organic process to get better and be a better individual.

Kyliegh Curran plays a young woman with extremely powerful shine powers. Her character is really compelling. The lack of development of her and her family is a bit of a weak point in the movie. I get the impression a lot of that was cut from the film for the sake of run time. It's a pretty long movie.

Rebecca Ferguson's Rose the Hat is a really compelling villain. You really get a feel for the reasons she and her group do some really horrible things to young people for the sake of avoiding death.

The general themes of this movie revolve around people's relationship with mortality and how we cope with fear and trauma. There's an argument to be made for whether this film qualifies as a horror film or a psychological thriller. What makes this movie scary is how it deals with real life pain. Much like the original, much emphasis is put on alcoholism being a bigger monster than any ghost or super natural event. Like his father, Danny really struggles with addiction. Where this differs from the original is the outcome of that struggle. I would argue it's much more positive in the end than the original movie. The film treats it's subjects with a bit more humanity and tenderness without loosing any edge. In that way, this makes for a satisfying conclusion. This movie shows the other side of the coin of recovering from alcoholism and fear.

Seeing some of the super natural characters from the original return is pretty satisfying. While I'm not a big horror film buff, this is a movie I'll definitely return to later on in my life.

JoJo Rabbit vs. Joker - Review

When I was studying in art college, I got in to a debate with an art history professor I had in a class called "Digital Art and Culture." When an individual from the fashion department was presenting a report on an artwork titled "Project Aphrodite". The professor was incensed by her  choice to present something that made light of such a serious subject as sex work or sex trafficking. To sum it up he said he didn't think art should be "fun" when dealing with such a concept. I was the only student to raise my hand as say "why?" Needless to say I am pretty sure that dropped my grade from a B to a C. I was happy to challenge his inane pretentious posturing all day.

Last night I saw JoJo Rabbit. Without getting into spoiler territory, I would go as far as to describe this as such: Imagine Wes Anderson made a movie satirizing the Hitler Youth and the last days of the Third Reich.

The Wes Anderson influence clearly shows, but I don't want to speak in a reductive tone to Taika Waititi's vision. It was clearly his idea and his movie. His sharp wit and dark sense of humor really permeate throughout the film. He clearly saw Terantino's "Inglorious Basterds" and saw that you can add levity to a movie that covers a really dark and serious period in history. The humor in the film is utilized as a sharp weapon against hateful ideology. The other weapons in this film's arsenal are love and compassion. All these things don't make light of ignorance and bigotry for any kind of trivial means. No, the goal here is to show how misguided and fatal going through the world with a bigoted mindset really can be.

When I was in my late teens and twenties, my mother was married to a Jewish man who made a really signifiant impact on my life. His son and I were friends as far back as childhood. I haven't seen them in quite a while. I can't imagine how they would react to this movie. Save for the fact that director Watiti is Jewish, I don't think it would be fair to assume how comfortable (or not comfortable) any Jewish person would feel watching this movie. Some of the dialog is shockingly racist. However, how would you honestly get through a movie like this sugar coating the horrible attitudes that resulted in this period of history. There's one scene involving a book reading by a gestapo agent that just makes you want to take a shower after the film is over.

That being said, this movie has some of the most well-fleshed out and human characters you will ever see in a film. Scarlett Johansson's character Rosie is the emotional core of this film. Like a lot of people in this movie, she puts on a subtle front to keep anyone from noticing she's harboring a young Jewish refugee in her home. She is a really wonderful mother with a great sense of humility. She constantly seeks to break down the walls her son JoJo has built with his social indoctrination.  She teaches young JoJo about the strength of empathy and love. In the current ultra right wing social climate that exists today, this film is a reminder that we are all better off learning to seek love before hate.

Contrast this with a film I saw a few weeks back. A lot of people loved Todd Phillips "Joker." I'm still not one of those people. Don't get me wrong I appreciate the effort that went into the script, the acting, the sets, the costumes, etc. Aside from some obvious ideas lifted from much more notable films, this is really the best possible outcome that could have come from a Joker origin story. The plot is solid, and Joaquin Phoenix delivers a solid performance. The cinematography is also really lush and moody.

My issues with the movie lie in the films soul (or honestly, a lack of one). The film demands empathy from the viewer, but then turns around and alienates those viewers. It's incredibly esoteric and nihilistic in tone. I'm well aware that that may be the point. The Joker is a dark and twisted character, but this movie could have killed to be at least a little lighter in tone in parts. This movie basically asserts that people are garbage, and that any faith put in them is pointless and futile. The run time of this film gets really depressing and overbearingly grim. This movie felt like it had too many motivations to juggle, and that lead to pure insanity. Again given the subject that was probably what they were going for in the end.

The problem to me is that this really negates any valid points the movie could (and does attempt) to make about class warfare and addressing the needs of the mentally ill. The whole movie is presented in a way that feels cruel and dark somewhat for the sake of purely being "edgy." Empathy is just wasted on most people in this film. It all feels kind of pointless by the time you've reached the movie's conclusion.

JoJo Rabbit on the other hand seems to say that some people can change and become empathetic individuals with the right guidance. and this is a movie that features a victim of the holocaust being constantly berated by most people she comes across. While this young girl hiding in the child's attic definitely doesn't worry about showing her strength, she makes very different choices about the movie's main character. Elsa Korr doesn't go on a murder spree like the Joker, despite arguably experiencing way more horrific circumstances. The end of JoJo Rabbit really seems to say that the choices you ultimately make in the face of painful situations are your choices to make, and that you can always change your outlook in a more positive directions. Joker's ultimate message seems to be "everything is messed up  and there's no point in putting your faith in people.

Both directors clearly had their own convictions and vision in mind. Both films seem to cover different points in history. To me it's a question of which message left me feeling like I could be a better person by absorbing the films lesson.