"Blue Moon" - Review

Once adored, famous composer Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke. I kept writing "Larenz" at first, maybe I'm thinking about "Dead Presidents" too much) sits in a bar on the opening night of "Oklahoma!", composed by his old partner Richard Rodgers. He reminisces on the glory days, seethes about Rodgers' newfound success with a talentless hack Hammerstein, and esposes hagigraphic overtures to the muse and love of his life, Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley) to the bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), pianist Morty (Jonah Rees) and anyone else who will listen or merely be in the vacinity.

(Photo credit: IMDB)
Magnificent.
I watched this the same day as "The Running Man". That movie has a budget of $110,000,000 and left me feeling an empty nothingness I will forget about in 6 hours; this one cost £2,000,000 (which probably wouldn't cover that movie's catering budget) and was a witty, thoughtful, funny, pensive little tour-de-force showcase for one of the best to do it, and sticks in my memory days later.
Whilst something of a meme between my partner and myself, we forget that Ethan Hawke is actually really bloody good, and this is his most magnetic, compelling, hypnotic performance outside of the "Before" trilogy. It feels like a stage play, from author Robert Kaplow, and whilst verbose, is still fiercely intelligently written: Hart is eloquent and fun to be around (par for the course with an Ethan Hawke character), bouncing off of the simpler Eddie in a class play, but we see him push and pull against his own takes on art (so confidently thrown out early on out of earshot of their targets) when actually defending their success and appeal against Rodgers (a rather good Andrew Scott) or a clearly disinterested writer by the name of E.B White (Patrick Kennedy): it's not necessarily a case of all crown and no filling, however. The film has discussions about the accessibility of art, purity of art, the "real America" Versus an America which never exists (illustrated with his Hart sees his own works, from a quaint and already nostalgia-infused time, something he is oblivious to on the surface, but maybe simply avoiding); all with a subtle self-loathing and deflection and self-awareness. It's really a wonderful character for Hawke to sink his teeth into, especially when the creepier, more possessive and ambiguously obsessive sexual (maybe?) angle comes in with Elizabeth (an excellent Qualley), culminating in the 3rd act in a conversation between the two littered with history and subtext and different wants and needs. Unlike some lesser central works focusing on a single performance in the centre where every other part is in service of the central actor, this one has room for actors to breathe and explore: Andrew Scott's awkwardness at being cornered by an old friend clinging to the past; Patrick Kennedy trying to be polite and droll, matching him intellectually but finding him a tad odd or dull; and Qualley is fantastic in the last act, a much-welcome relief from that festering piece of shit "Honey, Don't!" (her accent slips through her and it's fun), and the writing features callbacks and long-term gags paying off later (Bobby Cannavale, always excellent and usually underused, gets one of the best).
The film is funny too, very funny in fact.
And not to underplay the directing: it's not flashy but doesn't have to be, it's a 2 location piece, and Linklater (oh yeah, of course Richard Linklater directed this) works wonderfully with his actors and keeps it from feeling staid or claustrophobic.
I loved this. I absolutely loved this.

"Black Phone 2" - Review

Four years after defeating serial killer "The Grabber" (Ethan Hawke), his only known survivor Finney (Mason Thames) is struggling to keep his life together, self-medicating with marijuana and engaging in reckless violence to avoid the trauma. His gifted younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) receives visions of horror at a youth camp, and needs to confront it. Finney accompanies her there, alongside their friend Ernesto (Miguel Mora), and the pair are forced to confront the past head on...

(Photo credit: Bloody Disgusting. Hell yeah, they're still going! Good job!)
I appreciate Scott Derrickson (writer and director of "Hellraiser: Inferno") and Todd in the Shadows patron C Robert Cargill as filmmakers, despite not being big on "auteur theory" as film is a collaborative medium, as the pair often make genuinely unusual and interesting movies when they work together, blending things and taking a few swings. We never needed a sequel to "The Black Phone", but it made all of the money, so here we are. This one kind of works, I like it. Rather than focusing on the very marketable, obvious spooky mask-sporting killer (an excellent Ethan Hawke), the sequel decided to turn its lense to that story's more interesting element of psychics, and make that a story about how we deal with trauma, how we dwell upon it and the lingering effects it has on the psyche and the community. They have fun with the psychic stuff, and some solid imagery throughout to compliment it (I appreciated the scratchy Super 8 films of the dreams and premonitions, looking like a snuff film and reminiscent of earlier work "Sinister" in many ways), which blends with the backdrop of snow and blizzards and the 1981 aesthetic to create a moody little piece. It's never truly terrifying (or "Sinister" if you will... I will not apologise) and the jump scares early on seem perfunctory and actually a tad annoying, but when doing its own thing (here a riff on "Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" with sprinklings of "Akira"! Fuck yes) and preferring to be thoughtful and interesting rather than spooky, it works. Its look at these characters and how they react to the news, spedning time in their heads.
The score is fucking phenomenal, worth the admission alone.
And it's lovely seeing Arianna Rivas in something non-"Working Man" this year, you go girl.
I like it. It's an unecessary film transformed into an intriguing one. It loses steam when Demian Bechir begins explaining the plan, but recovers at the end with ice-skate battles and psychic children detonating phoneboxes.

"The Black Phone" Review

The year is 1978, and a small community in Denver is living under a shadow. Children keep going missing, and others whisper of a figure known only as "The Grabber" spiriting them away to certain death. Finn (Mason Thames) is a bright and bullied boy, who fears this killer almost as much as he fears living with his abusive father (Jeremy Davies); and when he becomes the latest victim of "The Grabber", it falls to his sister Gwenn (Madeleine McGraw) to hunt for him, thanks to cryptic clues in her dreams. Finn must contend with The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), and whatever his plans for the boy may be, and all seems lost, until the phone in his cell starts ringing...

This movie was good.
Scott Derrickson has a good eye for horror, and makes them well. The central concept is strong, written as it is by Stephen King's clone, and unique. I love how the first 20/30 minutes of the movie are just Finn, Gwenn and their lives, as they live in the shadow of a great evil. It's excellent build up, and lays the foundations very well, establishing our characters, strengths and future plot points. When the plot kicks in, and The Grabber arrives, it's been worth the build up. The mask is trerrifying, and Hawke is always excellent. He seems to relish the part, and it is genuinely disconcerting to see him in this role. It's more concerning seeing him shirtless.
The film comes alive with him on screen, but wisely manages not to overuse him.
Thames and McGraw are excellent finds, and can carry the movie on their shoulders.
The film suffers from some of Derrickson's excesses, however, namely in the really awful jumpscares. He'll be using this concept incredibly well, weaving an interesting story, creating a brooding atmosphere, great editing (the use of Super 8 films as dreams is not only 100% a Scott Derrickson thing, but kind of inspired), when BOOM! There'll be an annoying loud orchestral score akin to somebody kicking a piano down the stairs of a violin shop, as if he thinks we're bored by this.
Thankfully these are not all over the place, like in a January horror movie, but they are frequent enough to get annoying.
The film has a good premise, oozes atmosphere, and doesn't have a lot of good things to say about the police (the ending shots are great), and its climax is very well-earned. James Ransone threatens to steal the show as a coke-fiend in a shirt made of numbers. I love him so much, he is a gift.

"The Northman" - Review

In the year 895, the warrior king Aruvandil War Raven (Ethan Hawke) returns from a successful raid, and raises his son Amleth to follow in his footsteps. But when Aruvandil's bastard brother Fjolnir (Claes Bang) slays Aruvandil and sezies Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) for himself; Aruvandil's son Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard) goes on the run and vows to avenge his death.

Gorgeous, brutal, violent, and created with a primal, feral ferocity: the film is at its best when embracing the psychedelic madness of classic Norse myths: a drug trip with Aruvandil, Amleth and his fool (Willem Dafoe), or the life tree beneath the Northern Lights. Director Robert Eggers has sought to simply recreate a Norse myth and absolutely nails it. His folk horror influences are on full display, recreating the "greatest hits" of Viking culture and not shying away from cruelty and brutality; and the themes of feral beasthood and animalistic fury weave themselves through this tale of revenge with clarity and frankness. There are frequently gorgeous shots belonging in a painting, and the production design is top tier stuff. This has been a labour of love for all involved: it rises above the slurry of product and profiteering shittiness of the movie industry, that even when personally not clicking with the film (I'm just not big on Viking stuff, personal preference) I adored that it was made, the technical craft on display, and how much of a visceral experience the film was. There's a purity to its film making.
Ethan Hawke, despite brief screentime, embraces the Shakespearean dialogue at the start, Sarsgard seems to have been chomping at the bit to play a Viking all his life and does so with a furious intensity; Anya Taylor Joy is always a delight; and Bjork steals the show in her single scene as an intoxicating witch threading Amleth into the tapestry of destiny.
Defintely not for everybody, this nevertheless needs to be watched by anybody who enjoys cinema, just for how original it is in the sea of artless swill.

"Shoplifters" Review - From the Vault

 "Shoplifters" is a wonderfully sweet and well observed little film I can highly recommend.

Sakura Ando has always been a brilliant actress ("Love Exposure" is far too long, but she blows everybody else out of the water in it, and "For Love's Sake" is great) and here is front and centre stage in a lovely movie about weird families, poverty and the search for connection and kindness. It's great.

...

...

THAT BEING SAID

I check out Wikipedia to see if I know the director for anything else, and his first English-language film was released last year. Who does it star?

ETHAN.

FUCKING.

HAWKE.

Never will i be rid of this man.