Edgar Wright – People Talking

Quick Thoughts – October 2021 Round-Up: ‘Dune’ ‘The French Dispatch’ ‘Last Night in Soho’ ‘Antlers’

It’s been a long time since I talked about multiple contemporary movies at one time, but it feels good to be back to it; gives me a particular sense of normalcy that I haven’t felt in a while.

Honestly, I wasn’t even remotely interested in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune until I happened to see David Lynch’s Dune (which Lynch famously disowns) earlier this year (because God knows I’ll never read any of Frank Herbert’s novels, though I mean him no disrespect).

This makes it tough for me to both evaluate and recommend the Dune of 2021 (now confirmed as Part 1 of at least a duology, if not a trilogy).

I knew what was happening in the 2021 version because I knew what happened in 1984’s adaptation, but I’m not totally sure how an uninitiated general audience member would feel.

That said, one thing I can say with assurance is that Dune might just be Denis Villeneuve’s best-looking movie, which is really saying something after, you know, Blade Runner 2049, but it’s true.

Frankly, if all this movie is is a visual update on the 1984 adaptation with significantly more time to tell its story, that’s enough, especially in IMAX; however, as somebody who actually enjoys Lynch’s version, I wouldn’t call Villeneuve’s update leaps-and-bounds better, but it’s more than worthy.

I certainly haven’t heard many complaints from fans of the novels, for whatever that’s worth.

Rating: ★★★★☆

It’s Wes Anderson. What do you want?

Honestly, The French Dispatch might be his worst movie, but in the end I still liked it [just enough to revisit it again somewhere down the road].

Now, nothing about The French Dispatch is going to sway anyone who isn’t already a Wes Anderson fan. Compared to his last two live-action efforts in particular (Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel), it doesn’t even compare in charm and amusement, but his filmmaking style is still unique among his peers, which is worth seeing, and, as I would say of all his features, there is a heart to it, even if it’s noticeably slow to reveal itself this time.

If you do decide to see it, see it on the biggest screen you can, as centered as you can, because the aspect ratio and color change frequently, even if the camera itself is usually locked down.

As the saying goes, every frame is a painting, but some frames are more compelling than others.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

This is going to sound strange, because they are VERY different movies, but I’d compare Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho to Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, in that there are undeniable hallmarks of both directors’ styles in each film, but on the whole, they are far from the hypothetical versions of the movies that we would have gotten from them, say, fifteen years ago (in other words, they’re maturing).

Specifically to the style of Last Night in Soho though, I’d call it a cross between Wes Craven (e.g. Nightmare on Elm Street) and Dario Argento (e.g Suspiria).

However, I won’t say anything about the plot in particular (not that I usually do anyway), because one of my favorite things about the movie is how it just throws you in without explaining a whole lot.

In the end, it’s not my favorite from Edgar Wright, nor do I think it’s his best overall work (though it is a triumph in terms of the visual nitty-gritty: set design, costumes, etc.), but I appreciate his effort to evolve (and I think having a writing partner definitely helped this time), so I will both strongly recommend Last Night in Soho and be excited to see what he does next.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Antlers is being marketed with Guillermo Del Toro’s name (apparently he was a producer on it, as was multi-time Christopher Nolan collaborator, David S. Goyer), but I couldn’t care less.

I was always in on this movie for one name and one name only: Scott Cooper.

Not that he has a flawless filmography as a director (Black Mass in particular was more like Black Mess), but after Hostiles (one of the best Westerns of recent vintage) I was down for whatever came next, and, for the most part, I was not disappointed.

Based on the short story “The Quiet Boy” by Nick Antosca (who also worked on the screenplay), itself inspired by a particular piece of Native American folklore, Antlers feels like a slightly more contemporary version of a 1980s Stephen King adaptation (Silver Bullet, Christine, et al) with its small town, slow burn feel.

(I would also describe it as A24’s version of The Pit, but if that doesn’t sway you just forget I said it.)

My only real disappointment is, for one, the movie probably could have been trimmed down to a solid ninety minutes, but, more importantly, there’s some creature imagery that I wish would have been done 100% practically, or just straight up Hitchcockian (shadowed/obscured); the film still would have worked without the “money shots”.

Still, for where the horror genre is these days, Antlers is pretty solid.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

Movie Review – ‘Baby Driver’ – “A Rock & Roll Fable”

Written and Directed by Edgar Wright
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, CJ Jones, Flea, Lanny Joon, Sky Ferreira, Allison King, Big Boi, Killer Mike, Paul Williams, Sidney Sewell, Thurman Sewell, Jon Spencer, Walter Hill
Soundtrack: Steven Price

I love me some Edgar Wright.

From Spaced, to the Cornetto Trilogy, and even Scott Pilgrim (And have I mentioned I’m still disappointed that Marvel couldn’t work it out with him on Ant-Man? Although his fingerprints are still very much there), the man’s resume is impeccable.

Still, for some reason I couldn’t figure out, I was worried about Baby Driver (which apparently is also the title of a Simon & Garfunkel song; The More You Know).

Maybe the studio just didn’t know how to market it (I mean, this is Sony we’re talking about). Maybe he’d changed, or I’d changed, or we’d both changed. Maybe he was going in a new direction and I just wasn’t ready for it. For whatever reason, something inside me kept saying, “I don’t know about this one.”

Fortunately, my fears were quickly allayed, as I realized not long into the runtime that this film is the best thing he’s done in ten years.

As you’d expect from Edgar Wright, Baby Driver consists of layers upon layers upon layers (including the spirit of Atlanta), as it’s clearly influenced by Walter Hill’s The Driver (which influenced Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive), which itself was based on Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï (which influenced many films, including Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog).

However, as wonderful and influential as those two films are (I’d personally recommend both of them), and as much as there are echoes of all of his previous works throughout, Wright’s Baby is very much its own…baby: a symphony of cars, music, and that signature kinetic energy like we’ve never quite seen before.

Tone-wise, it’s by far the most serious film Edgar has ever done, and it’s got plenty of bite to back up the bark, but that doesn’t mean it’s not without a genuine sense of humor; I’d compare it to The Nice Guys in that regard (unfortunately, the trailers are playing up the humor way too much, making the movie look borderline farcical; it didn’t even occur to me that the movie was rated-R until the second or third F-bomb). This is both a major strength and a minor weakness, because the tonal shifts don’t always quite jibe, but, like I said, it’s a small flaw in a large masterpiece.

In terms of car action, I’m going to say this is the most visceral work I’ve seen since Mad Max: Fury Road (if you’ve got another legitimate nominee from the past two years, I’m all ears). Edgar Wright himself said 95% of the car stuff is for real, both inside and out, and it shows. There’s even one chase that might rival To Live and Die in L.A., which I never thought I’d ever say about any movie. Frankly, I’m not sure it’s even worth attempting to describe the breadth of the gratuitous vehicular action; you truly must see it for yourself.

Of course, all of this might be for naught if the story and the performances weren’t up to par (down to par?), but not to worry. I wouldn’t put every performance in the same basket, but the core of Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, and Lily James is rock solid, which is all that really matters; everybody else is free to be as much of a character (or caricature, depending on your perspective) as they want to be.

If I have any other criticisms besides the occasional odd tonal shift, it’s that the movie is sometimes just a bit too much, in that the camera is almost always moving (though at least they could afford a steadicam, unlike some people), and the soundtrack is sometimes a bit too noisy. Maybe I’m just becoming an old man, I don’t know, but I never felt like I was having sensory overload watching Fury Road, whereas Baby Driver had it creep in a few times.

All-in-all though, there’s not much to complain about. Some might say Baby Driver is style over substance, but sometimes the style is the substance (e.g. Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E.). I say it’s one of the best movies of the year, and I bet I’ll still be saying that come New Year’s Eve.

Whether you’re a die-hard Edgar Wright fanatic or a new fish, if you like gunfights, car chases, and proper action (and music), this film is for you. This was an idea that’d been brewing in his head for a long time, and we are fortunate to see it come to fruition.

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)

Quick Thoughts – Autumn Round-Up, Part 1

As usual, I’m horribly behind in my writing about what I’ve been seeing.

Let’s get right to it.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003)

I have a very special relationship with this movie.

When I was in high school, I went with a bunch of friends to see it, the only problem was that everybody was 17 except for my best friend and I who were still 16 (and the theater we went to was not one you could sneak into); so, we waited and waited until finally a nice South Asian couple came by and vouched for us so we could get in. It’s been more than 12 years and I’m still waiting to pay that favor forward, but kids today just don’t have the same taste.

Anyway, Kill Bill, like every Tarantino film, is a tribute to many movies of the past. This fact was a bit over my head as a 16-year-old, I have a bit more of an appreciation of it now, but that doesn’t really matter, because the movie is great on its own and still holds up today. The Monty Python-esque over-the-top violence, the witty dialogue, Sonny f’n Chiba, and the core story of a woman essentially back from the dead and out for revenge, it’s just cool. And, it’s got one of the best ending cliffhangers ever. What more can I say?

Rating: ★★★★½

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

For a very long time, I thought this was the best BTTF movie, probably because I was young and couldn’t yet fully appreciate the original (believe me, I learned to love it), plus, they actually go to the future!

Let’s get it straight right now. Back to the Future is one of the most perfect films ever made, and is the best of the trilogy. But, as sequels go, it’s hard to ask for more than what Part II gives us.

For one thing, it provided a comedic vision of the future date of October 21, 2015 (on which I got to see the movie theatrically, because awesome), which turned out to be somewhat prescient but mostly just hilarious. Secondly, there’s some serious movie magic involved with taking us back to certain events from the original while adding another layer on top of them. And, the movie isn’t afraid of some gravitas, as the alternate 1985 “Hell Valley” is stunningly bleak.

Add it all up, and you’ve got a tremendously fun and well-executed sequel (that still works just fine on its own).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Hot Fuzz (2007)

This is another movie I have a very special relationship with.

Back in the late Spring of 2007, my best good friend and I went to see Spider-Man 3 in IMAX on a Friday night. Needless to say, we hated it. In fact, had we not paid extra to see it on the giant screen, I think we’d have walked out. Come Saturday, we needed to cleanse our theatrical palate, and the perfect prescription was Hot Fuzz.

In addition to that fond memory, it was a part of my first ever experience at the Alamo Drafthouse [Yonkers], when I went to see the “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy” on the premier night of The World’s End.

I love this movie so much that I made my own trailer for it (which I’d show you, but, copyright laws).

A lethally hilarious combination of buddy cop action, Agatha Christie mystery, and the English countryside, Hot Fuzz is the second feature from creative duo Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg (along with Nick Frost and a cast of British greats). Like Shaun of the Dead before it, Hot Fuzz is not a parody, but rather a comedic love letter, embracing all the tropes that come with the movies it pays tribute to, in turn become a great example of the genre itself (I put it next to Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour as the three seminal Buddy Cop movies of the past 30 years); not to mention that you can watch any Edgar Wright movie 20 times and still not pick up on all the on-screen gags.

It’s fun, it’s bloody, and it’s over-the-top in all the right ways. Check it out if you’ve not already done so.

Rating: ★★★★½

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

I’ve only very recently been getting familiar with the film catalogue of one Mr. Brian De Palma, but I’ve come to one conclusion, and that is he is drawn to stories that start out very much grounded in reality, but by the end have gone almost completely off the rails. Carrie, Scarface, and Mission: Impossible all follow this pattern, and you better believe Phantom of the Paradise, which he wrote himself, does as well (arguably to the largest degree).

A musical at its core (songs by Paul Williams), Phantom pays homage to many classic stories, including Phantom of the Opera (duh), Faust, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, while mixing in 70s glam rock aesthetics and plenty of music business satire (which is horrifyingly brilliant).

The result is something of a wild and beautiful mess, but it’s an enjoyable enough ride that I’d recommend it to a lot of people. If nothing else, the twists and turns will keep you engaged.

Rating: ★★★½

After the screening, there was a Q&A with Gerrit Graham (on the right), who played “Beef” in Phantom, hosted by Michael Gingold of Fangoria magazine (on the left):