Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: KUBRICK BY KUBRICK [Denver Film Festival 2020 – Virtual]

The idea of a perspective from a director comes down to the point at which one talks to him and what the precept is. Stanley Kubrick was largely known for his retreat from Hollywood which is not necessarily true. He just approached Hollywood the way he wanted to and he had the stature and the wield to do it. Now while this critic has spoken to many people over the years who worked with Kubrick including both Malcolm McDowell and Kubrick’s longtime assistant to the director Leon Vitali, each has their own impression of the man as do many others. There are no new interviews but rather interviews from the time period the films were made. More importantly the film uses the construct of interviews film critic Michael Ciment did with the director sometime after “Full Metal Jacket” but before “Eyes Wide Shut”. Granted we will never hear from his lips about the true nature of “Eyes Wide Shut” or others projects he was working on after that. Vitali spoke to me about “A.I.”, “Napoleon” and even “The Aryan Papers”. One of the interesting takeaways is Kubrick’s fascination in terms of sociology with the Nazi regime. “The Aryan Papers” might have addressed it but from what I can remember from the Vitali conversation it came down to Spielberg (who was a close phone confidante of Kubrick). Kubrick thought that “Schindler’s List” was a masterstroke and he didn’t want to move at that point over maybe not necessarily a similar ground but something similar. But returning to Ciment’s interviews, director Greg Monro uses them as a framing mechanism. And while the documentary just jumps from film to film depending on where the conversation went, it is still fascinating to hear Kubrick talk about war, human behavior and politics to a point. While it doesn’t go infinitely deep. it is limited to the material at hand. That said, Monro frames the story in a recreation of the Starchild residence at the end of “2001” as a perception of Kubrick’s mind. It is a methodical and basic construct but well formed in terms of the transition and basis of what Monro and, by extension, Kubrick is conveying. In addition, all of the film clips, especially ones from “Fear & Desire” to “Eyes Wide Shut” are included and The Kubrick Family (especially his wife Christiane) were consulted. The film doesn’t stray from any controversy but doesn’t hit it too dead on either. Either  way, any glimpse into the master done well is always welcome, especially one as specific as this.

A-

By Tim Wassberg

Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: SURVIVAL SKILLS [Denver Film Festival 2020 – Virtual]

The emergence  of 80s style instructional videos as a narrative structure has seemingly taken on an interesting renaissance with many festival entries lately. This can be attributed to the aspect of the high performance avant-garde nature of the original participants likely, in their space, unware. Many years later, we look at these infomercials as exactly what they are meant to be except with the guise of time. The people who made them believed completely in their possibility. What is genuinely sardonic but adds to the midnight/Betamax enjoyment of this type of film in “Survival Skills” is watching the subject per se (Jim [played by Vayu O’Donnell], an eager to please police officer in training) operating almost like a happy drone/clone slowly come to terms with decision and logic. The movie slyly underplays that what is expected in society is not often the expected outcome. By having Stacy Keach narrate and almost subvert the story (because of his past texture of Mike Hammer), the movie maintains balance and a sense of order while the lead character slowly unravels in certain ways. But the good guys don’t always win.

The video, as a construct, is supposedly to show how to be a good cop as well as recognize and pinpoint human behavior as it happens without getting emotionally involved. Watching Jim (who starts off as an automaton but starts to not follow his fourth wall breaking maestro) is an interesting progression especially when certain realities start to bleed over. The use of montage and the aspect of taped over videotape (with the requisite static) adds to the tone before the film eventually shows you that it is indeed modern (as if some of the behavioral aspects weren’t already a give away). Ultimately the two performance of Jim and Keach’s maestro overlap just enough to give a sense of cleverness. In a way, “Survival Skills” tries too had to show the exercise it is performing but sometimes that voyage is a necessary intention to understanding what the movie is trying to say….namely that a hero is so much in his own mind as the community whose supports he or she needs to succeed.

B-

By Tim Wassberg

Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: BECKY [Denver Film Festival 2020 – Virtual]

The aspect of female vigilante thrillers is based on stakes but also a texture of where the line of morality lies. As a perspective of that exercise, “Becky” is an interesting texture since it takes that away. It is not about gender. Becky just happens to be a girl…a teenage one at that…and despite the fact that the weekend is not going the way she planned, she is pissed. But she would have been angry even if invaders had not come to her father’s family weekend. Lulu Wilson embodies Becky with abandon, tenderness and nihilism but also a sardonic streak. The headgear can’t help but bring out a hark to the middle sister in “Bob’s Burgers”. In this way, it is almost like, despite the circumstances, he is also having hher own private adventure going on inside her head. Where the style at about a third through the film harkens to “Evil Dead” for a brief moment, it tends to pull back though the gore per se never does let up. It is over-the-top on purpose to offset almost the character drama that happens at other points. Where that oddly enough happens beyond the obviously harrowing aspect of Becky’s trauma is between the two lead criminals that intercede. The lead baddie is played by Kevin James, initially almost unrecognizable, and intentionally so. This role takes him to a whole new level, and a subversive one at that. The character is not likeable but James gives him a little bit of heart in an odd way, a logic that doesn’t make sense (but to his character it does). Granted the set-up into which this idea plays is more of a MacGuffin which doesn’t truly come to bear, the eventual texture that grounds the idea is trying to remind audience that Becky does exist in the real world. There are consequences to her actions and others, both to the outside but also to her own psyche.

B

By Tim Wassberg

Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE ATLANTIC CITY STORY [Denver Film Festival 2020 – Virtual]

The story of any city comes from the identity of its residents, past, present  and likely future, but it is a matter if the story resonates, is a reflection of the times or is simply an overwrought ode to the city in certain ways. Taking an angle from “Leaving Las Vegas”, through in a differing and more optimistic way. “The Atlantic City Story” here ushers more for Terrence  Malick than Mike Figgis. But that said Malick’s recent forays don’t capture the power of “Badlands” or even “The Thin Red Line.” “Knight Of Cups” or “To The Wonder” have certain moments of awe but are mostly disjointed. The reasoning is that slice of life has to do with a sense of perspective and not simply normal people or the fact that a shot looks good. The characters here, a slighted wife (Jessica Hecht) who is not ready to return to her husband and a young gambling addict (Mike Faist) who is both oblivious and aware of his shortcomings, don’t have the kind of romantic or doomed pairing that made “Before Sunrise” work. Those stories were meta in a way on the philosophy of life. The idea here is a bit more contrived and while the music is supposed to impact this, it seems more filler. Keying in more New York 20s music (harking back to its origins and “Boardwalk Empire”), although a bit of Gershwin comes in, would work more.

The director tries to highlight local haunts but without a sense of structure or reference. Slice of life requires a bit of intention with these places they are visiting, otherwise it is simply a travel-tick. The believability of the characters also strains credibility no matter what their hang ups but that might just be due to casting. The notion of a blind tryst and that attraction comes off empty. One scene that seems to paint possibility is the young gambler sitting in the rain looking into the ocean after he loses all his money. There was more that could have ben done. Ultimately the gambler himself who needs to walk the line between monster, scared child and romantic lead is simply too anachronistic to focus on while the older lady is gentle but mostly silent. A venture into a psychic tries to broach this exposition but seems like a plot ploy. A good comparison in use of location is when Darren  used Coney Island in” Requiem For A Dream”. It was brief but one got a sense of it right away without being mired in melodrama. Having spent time both in Coney Island and Atlantic City, there is a very specific identity to each place. “The Atlantic City Story” scratches the surface only. It has nothing to d with being in the casinos (although they shoot inside a little here). It is about the dream lost but also what lengths or strengths it takes to get it back.

C-

By Tim Wassberg

Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE ARBORS [Austin Film Festival 2020 – Virtual]

The essence of a creature feature always relays in the idea of the protagonist to its host. there has to be some symbiosis or at least an idea of why the struggle exists. The lead of Ethan Daunes (played by Drew Matthews) in  “The Arbors” is a locksmith trying to find the essence of what life is. He never says this out loud but seems to simply wander around in a dream state of what he could be. The film starts off this way and then shifts with a genre twist but it never quite gains much speed. While it has merit, it just shows more of his isolationism than an inner battle, however Kafkaesque it would like to be . Ethan is not really a character you can get behind because he is so meek whether it is in his job, with his brother’s family or a girl who likes him. They all want to get away from their small town lives but keep finding themselves bringing brought back to the bottom. The creature of sorts (like “Death Note”) is just a blackness that reflects Ethan’s inner self, whether it is real or not. The question becomes if it even exists but a trail of bodies seem to confirm this though some bodies seemed to conveniently disappear. Granted there are some moments of true 80s flashback cool such as when a group of scientists approaches a house . The set up works well evoking everything from “E.T,” to “Alien” within a 5-minute span. The issue is that this tension cannot be maintained. There is too many shots staring into space and characters talking about how they feel instead of showing. One specific relationship with a male friend who just “wants to help” doesn’t have the necessary logic to it and yet stands out as glaringly unbelievable since its angle is not clear. As the noose tightens, Ethan actually seems to become more aloof so even the inherent resolution of facing fear at the end of the film seems empty. While mystery can be maintained, the simple consequences of actions doesn’t connect a lot of the time especially when many characters simply disappear within the story rendering their intention or point to the plot effective in certain points but yet strangely moot. Ultimately Ethan is content to let the world continue around him though in reality it could all be in his mind…and that might be a very boring place.

D

By Tim Wassberg