Imogen Poots – People Talking

Movie Review – ‘The Art of Self-Defense’ – Laughs and Jokes and Kicks and Chokes

Written and Directed by Riley Stearns
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Alessandro Nivola, Steve Terada, David Zellner
Soundtrack: Heather McIntosh

I haven’t written anything for a while (or much at all this year), let alone a review of a hot new film, and there are reasons for that. Vacation, sickness, holiday weekends, heatwaves, etc., but honestly, the biggest reason of all is that it’s been a pretty down year for movies, and I just haven’t been moved to give many films a hearty recommendation (or vice versa for something terrible); but, at last, something has come along to rustle me out of my slumber, and that is Riley Stearns’ The Art of Self-Defense.

Quite frankly, this is one of the best movies of the year (along with Apollo 11, which you should really watch if you haven’t yet).

The Art of Self-Defense is a dark comedy in the vein of Yorgos Lanthimos (though not as harsh) and Wes Anderson (though not as esoteric), but more crowd-pleasing than I expected (at least from the audience reactions I’ve been privy to), though I don’t want to pigeon-hole writer/director Riley Stearns too much as there is a unique voice here. The tone is dark enough to give the stakes serious enough weight, but comedic enough to allow for a lot of good chuckles and even a few laugh out loud moments, which is all I ever really ask of anything labeled a comedy.

Story-wise, the plot is simple enough: Jesse Eisenberg portrays a young accountant named Casey who is mugged one night, and based on this trauma decides to take up Karate under the wing of Sensei (played by
Alessandro Nivola). There are obviously twists and turns from there, but the execution and the performances from the leads are what really sells it, especially Nivola, who apparently came on board last minute, though you’d never know it from seeing the film.

In addition, I absolutely loved the production design in this movie. The world-building that comes out of it is on par with Dragged Across Concrete and Sorry to Bother You, and I’ll even throw Pete’s Dragon in there as both have an unspoken period element to the setting (Art of Self-Defense placing itself somewhere in the Nineties from what I can gather). For those of us who lived before the ubiquity of cell phones, it’s a real journey to the past.

And yes, there’s some deliciously incisive commentary on the nature of masculinity, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention it, but it all feels naturally apart of the story (not unlike Nightcrawler), rather than the film taking timeout to beat you over the head with a message. Kudos.

So, yes, go see The Art of Self-Defense. I don’t know what the budget was (I’m going to guess minimal), but it’s a small movie that punches far above its weight class to deliver a surprising amount of hits. It’s a bit dark, a bit twisted, but more than humorous enough to still feel good about it in the end.

Keep going for it, Mr. Stearns. I’ve got my eye on you.

Rating: ★★★★☆

P.S.
I didn’t really expect anybody to get the reference; it’s a recent Mark Knopfler song.

Movie Review – ‘POPSTAR: Never Stop Never Stopping’ – Like A Boss

Directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone
Written by Andy Samberg & Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Tim Meadows, Bill Hader, Imogen Poots, Sarah Silverman, Maya Rudolph, Will Arnett, Chris Redd, Ithamar Enriquez
Soundtrack: The Lonely Island

Whether you’re familiar with them by name or not, you probably know The Lonely Island. From “Lazy Sunday” to “I’m on a Boat” to their first feature film, ‘Hot Rod‘ (which, like many classic comedy films, was under-appreciated at the time of its release), the trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone has left an indelible impact on comedy and pop culture at large.

With ‘POPSTAR’, The Lonely Island brings their own twist to the mockumentary sub-genre, no doubt inspired by the recent wave of tour docs from the likes of Katy Perry, One Direction, and, especially, Justin Bieber. You could say ‘POPSTAR’ is the ‘Spinal Tap‘ of the 21st Century, although I don’t think the boys ever intended on the same level of verisimilitude as Rob Reiner and Christopher Guest, as there are moments where their absurditst tendencies shine through, similar to ‘Hot Rod’.

Unlike ‘Hot Rod’, however, ‘POPSTAR’ is no PG-13 affair. On the contrary, the movie does everything in its power to earn that R rating, from language to various sorts of nudity, including [possibly] Judd Apatow’s penis; and yet, somehow it doesn’t feel quite as dirty as the average raunch-com (Apatow-produced or otherwise), perhaps because the movie is genuinely funny. And I do mean really funny.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, my standard for comedies is whether or not they make me laugh, and, in that regard, ‘POPSTAR’ succeeds. There are great comedic performances everywhere, obviously from Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone, and other SNL alums like Tim Meadows and Bill Hader, but also from Sarah Silverman, who I normally find to be grating, and especially from Will Arnett, who has a recurring cameo as a Harvey Levin knock-off.

If I have one particular criticism, it’s that the many celebrity cameos, largely done in interview format, could have been played a little more deadpan to give that aspect of the movie more believability, but I understand that most of these people aren’t trained actors, so it’s somewhat forgivable.

Even if you don’t think you’re hip enough to understand everything ‘POPSTAR’ is satirizing, it’s still hilarious on many levels. and there are so many wonderful surprises that I can’t help but recommend it. Go see it if you’re up for a good laugh (although not before you go see ‘The Nice Guys‘, jerkwad).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Twofer Movie Review: ‘Green Room’ and ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ – Dark & Stormy

So, we’ve got two movies this weekend, one not quite yet going wide and the other going full spread; both look like they could use a little boost.

Green Room

Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Mark Webber, Imogen Poots, Taylor Tunes, Macon Blair, Eric Edelstein, David W. Thompson, and Sir Patrick Stewart
Soundtrack: Brooke Blair and Will Blair

I know this movie’s really good because I already want to go see it again.

Let it be said that writer/directer Jeremy Saulnier likes what he knows and knows what he likes, namely hardcore punk, grisly violence, and ratcheting up tension.

This was true in his sophomore effort, ‘Blue Ruin‘, and it’s even more true for ‘Green Room’.

Everybody knows that horror is not exactly my bailiwick, but ‘Green Room’ is my kind of serious bloody thriller: no stupid jump-scares, no dumb CGI monsters, and no torture porn. It’s just a simple story about a punk band in the wrong place at the wrong time. As much as I enjoy big movies with big struggles (gotta save the earth, again), I also enjoy movies where small things become dramatic elements (like in ‘A Most Wanted Man‘, I never knew how important someone merely signing a piece of paper could feel). ‘Green Room’ revels in the small details. There are no waves of nameless, faceless drones; everything is personal.

Now, it’s not like we haven’t seen this kind of movie before (‘Assault on Precinct 13‘ comes to mind), but what makes ‘Green Room’ unique is the cultural setting (hardcore punk scene), and the performances, namely of one Sir Patrick Stewart as a neo-Nazi club owner. He has such presence in general whenever he appears on screen, but in this case he’s that villain you love to hate. I think he truly relished the role and it shines through in every frame he appears.

Order of the British Empire aside, I’d be remiss if I didn’t praise the efforts of our band of survivors, Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, and Imogen Poots. I’m not saying there’s anything Oscar-worthy happening here, but they all put in solid performances as, punk aesthetics aside, otherwise ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.

Ultimately, I like ‘Green Room’ because it’s a movie that punches above its weight class. It’s small and not too flashy, but it delivers big. Whether you’re into more slasher type horror or traditional Hitchcockian thrillers, or if you just like hardcore punk, you should definitely see it, although I bet it’ll make you think twice about stepping foot in a skinhead club ever again.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin, based on characters created by Evan Daugherty
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Rob Brydon, Sam Hazeldine, Sam Claflin, Ralph Ineson
Soundtrack: James Newton Howard

I’m not sure what’s up with all these fairy tale movies and TV shows the past few years, other than the usual trope of Hollywood selling literally anything people recognize (including but not limited to board games), but at least ‘Snow White and The Huntsman‘ tried to interject some original ideas. The biggest problem with that film, despite how great it looked (way better looking than that ridiculous ‘Hobbit’ trilogy), was it was pretty much just dark and brooding the entire time.

In comparison to its predecessor, ‘Winter’s War’ (which is both a prequel and a sequel; for good measure, I suppose) is bloodier, sexier, and, most importantly, has more humor. Most of the laughs come from the natural comedic chemistry of Rob Brydon and Nick Frost, but plenty of other characters have moments as well. This is not to say that ‘Winter’s War’ is a comedy, but it’s nice to have a chuckle once and a while to ease the tension (even Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ Trilogy had moments of levity for the audience). After all, this is by and large a general audience movie, not some kind of horror film.

Now, I’m not going to put ‘Winter’s War’ in the must-see category, but if you just feel like going to the movies sometime in the next month, it’s an acceptable choice, and even if you haven’t seen the prior film, I’m sure you’ll follow along just fine. It’s got a good cast, fairly state-of-the-art visuals, and provides enough entertainment to take a flyer on. Plus, it’s a rare sequel that trumps the first movie.

(I mean, seriously; when are Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, and Jessica Chastain ever going to be in the same movie again?)

Rating: ★★★½