Movie Review Past Lives

Past Lives (2023) 

Directed by Celine Song 

Written by Celine Song 

Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro 

Release Date June 30th, 2023 

Published July 3rd, 2023 

The opening scene of Past Lives catches you immediately off-guard. Our main characters are in a bar together but we are not with them. We are watching them from across the bar as we listen to characters we will never meet, talking about our main characters. These strangers speculate about who our main characters are, whose the husband, who is the lover or ex-lover, are they family members? What is their dynamic? It's the kind of conversation many of use nosy people have had about strangers in public for years. It might break with formal film construction to begin the movie from a perspective other than that of your main character but this breaking of formality is rather brilliant once you come to understand the story being told in Past Lives. 

Past Lives is the kind of movies that spark your imagination in unique ways. It leads you to conversations about it and its many, many ideas about life, love, relationships, friendships, and the dynamics of the heart and mind. It invites you to consider the role you play in the lives of others and how any meaningful interaction you've had with another person has changed you in some way, for good or for ill. It's about how the impressions you make on others matter in ways we most often overlook. It's about a gentle, thoughtful exploration of these ideas via three wonderfully complicated and warm characters. 

24 years ago in South Korea, Nora (Greta Lee) became friends with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). They may have had more than friendly feelings for each other, but they were too young for that kind of thing. They did go on what their mother's called a 'date' but, again, too young for them to actually know what that means. In school they competed and encouraged each other. When Hae Sung finally beat Nora on a test, she cried and he offered her comfort, in the sort of rudimentary way a teenage boy might offer comfort. Their friendship is rather lovely until Nora bluntly informs her class that her family is moving to America, and she fails to prepare her best friend for this bombshell. 

He's clearly hurt by this and the two part ways almost silently, their last word being a simple and blunt 'Bye.' It takes a decade, but they do eventually reconnect. While chatting with her mother, Nora decides to search for her childhood friend on Facebook. She finds that he's been searching for her as well. This leads to a brief flirtation via Skype, hey it was a decade ago, okay? The relationship gets emotional and involved and discussions are had about seeing each other but life gets in the way. He can't travel to America because of his work, and she can't visit Korea because she's earned a chance to travel to a prestigious writer's commune. She suggests they take a break and he agrees. 

Read my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Classic Movie Review Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (1984)

Directed by Steven Spielberg 

Written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz 

Starring Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri 

Release Date May 23rd, 1984 

Published July 3rd, 2023 

Controversial opinion alert: I think Temple of Doom is the best Indiana Jones movie. Before you click away in disgust, allow me to make my case. I don't expect to convince you to agree with me. I understand this is a personal preference thing, my opinion is not more important than yours. But I want the chance to talk about the unending pleasures I find in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. From the opening scene to the final moments of Indiana Jones triumphing over evil, Temple of Doom is the most fun Indiana Jones adventure of them all. 

The opening set piece of Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom is incredible. It opens with a terrific musical number by Kate Capshaw, a lavish, gaudy, opening number that really sets the tone for who she is in this story, a classic screwball heroine. Our hero, Indiana Jones, is here to meet with gangsters with whom he has made a deal. Indy has secured a relic they want and in exchange, Indy is supposed to get a rare and quite large diamond. Naturally, betrayal is afoot, Indy gets poisoned and the bad guys withhold the antidote as a way of getting Indy to give back his treasure. 

The scene devolves into screwball chaos from there as the gangsters start shooting, Indy starts punching, he's chasing the vial full of cure, Willie (Capshaw), is chasing the diamond, and they both must run to get away from the many, many bullets being fired. This leads to one of my favorite action moments ever as Indy cuts loose a giant steel gong hanging from the ceiling of the nightclub. It lands and rolls off the stage and as it does, Indy hides behind it, using it as a shield from the tommy gun being endlessly fired in his direction. When Willie grabs the cure, Indy grabs her, and they both go flying through a window. 

The scene leads to a comic set piece with the two falling through numerous awnings before landing perfectly as Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) shows up with the getaway car. A chase scene ensues until Indy makes it to a plane only to reveal a terrific gag that yes, doesn't entirely make sense, but is still quite funny in presentation, especially Indy's comic grin as he thinks he's showed up the gangsters only to reveal to us the trouble he's just bought for himself. Spielberg's direction is pitch perfect, the adventure here feels like a direct lift from an Errol Flynn adventure from the 30s or 40s, and the screwball comedies of that era get wonderful homage as well. 

Much like Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark thrives on Spielberg and George Lucas's love of action serial movies from the era of Saturday afternoon matinees, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom ages up for homage to Errol Flynn crossed with a classic screwball comedy with just the right touch of Hope and Crosby travel picture. All of it elevated to a level of originality by Spielberg at the height of his cinematic powers. Spielberg's talent for tone and invention is on best display in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom as he deftly crosses comic touches with scares involving hearts being ripped out of bodies and child slaves living under the whip of a dangerous cult. 

Read my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Classic Movie Review Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 

Directed by Steven Spielberg 

Written by Lawrence Kasden 

Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys Davies, Denholm Elliott 

Release Date July 12th 1981 

Published July 2nd 1981 

It's the spirit of Indiana Jones that gets me every time I watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. The sense of wonder and excitement that Steven Spielberg brings to his direction, the choices he makes in staging acting, and the way he and Harrison Ford clearly know the vibe they are going for, it's glorious to watch. I may not have grown up on the kind of serialized adventures that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg did, but watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, I feel like I was there with them, when they were little boys, delighting in adventures that they would watch over and over again at the movie theaters of their youth. 

It's a spirit of adventure as much as it is an actual adventure that you enjoy when you watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's old school movie magic, a sense of wonder that permeates the screen. In trying to recreate their youth, Spielberg and Lucas invited us along, welcomed us like fellow kids into their exuberant childhood obsessions, they invited us to play with them. It's invitation to be a little kid again and watch as a charismatic hero takes center stage to perform daring stunts because it needs to be done, it' the right and just thing. 

The simple pleasures of Raiders of the Lost Ark are amplified but the wonderful intention of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's intended to thrill you in a way that Spielberg and Lucas understand the thrill of their own childhoods. It's the purest expression of childlike wonder and nostalgia, rendered fresh and new via remarkable artistry, effects, and a movie star that feels perfectly at home amid the wonder and excitement. Harrison Ford is different from Spielberg and Lucas in a way that carries the spirit of Indiana Jones but also stands aside from it. 

Where Spielberg and Lucas are in earnest admiration of this kind of adventure, Ford's performance doesn't hold the same kind of preciousness. He's living the adventure, he's living Indiana Jones as if the character existed wholly within a real world. This is an essential part of his appeal. Had he attempted to deliver the same kind of enthusiasm and wonder that Lucas and Spielberg were bringing to the creation of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the whole thing could tip into a childish parody. Ford is very much the adult in the room, grounding the action from the perspective of someone taking all of this very seriously. 

That's because, for Indiana Jones, this is all very serious For him, it's an adventure but it is a genuinely life or death adventure. For him, there must be a sense of gravity, a sense of weight, he's providing the stakes of this story. He doesn't have time to indulge in the wonder or step back and think about being in the midst of an incredible adventure, this is life or death, and Ford brings that sense of gravity to Indiana Jones in a wonderfully tricky fashion. He must balance being the embodiment of a wondrous adventure and communicate the grave circumstances that he faces in this story all at once. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny (2023) 

Directed by James Mangold 

Written by Jez Butterworth, John Henry Butterworth, David Koepp, James Mangold 

Starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook 

Release Date June 30th, 2023 

Published June 29th, 2023 

The thing that bugs me about our microwaved nostalgia culture is how often I fall for that nostalgia. Take my reaction to The Flash. I did like that movie, I stand by my positive review, problematic star aside, but the reality is that my judgment was clouded by nostalgia for my childhood. Seeing Michael Keaton in the Batsuit again, playing the role that was so important to my childhood, made me very emotional. Was I emotional because the presentation was artful and meaningful? Sort of, but I can't deny how much nostalgia for my own childhood colored that reaction. 

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is that moment in The Flash as an entire movie and the effect didn't last nearly as long. In the first few minutes, the legendary John Williams score played and my breath caught for a moment as I was transported back in time to being a very little kid seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time. I was transported back to the even more significant impact, for me, of seeing Temple of Doom in a movie theater with my mother. That John Williams score is an emotional trigger for me and for millions of other Gen-X movie nerds. 

Then a ragged and grumpy Harrison Ford came on screen and the adventure began and my mind began trying to rationalize what I was seeing. Instead of actually enjoying the action of Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, most of my mental energy was dedicated to convincing myself that I was enjoying this rehash of greatest hits from an aging action star and a character well past his relevance. Even as I was falling in love with Phoebe Waller Bridge, who joins the franchises as Dr. Jones' heretofore unknown Goddaughter, Helena, I could not escape the mental gymnastics I was having to perform to will myself to enjoy something familiar and formerly beloved. 

Is Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny bad? No, not really. The film is directed by James Mangold who is a perfectly solid, professional director. Jez and John Henry Butterworth are solid screenwriters with a solid track record and David Koepp, co-credited on this screenplay, is among the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood. The pieces are there to make a perfectly satisfying action movie. So why don't I like this movie? Why am I having to convince myself that this is good? It starts with a half-baked and convoluted plot that lacks the energy and invention of the first two Indiana Jones movies. 

Aside from Phoebe Waller Bridge, Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny appears tired and lurching toward adventure as opposed to the excitement and vigor of its youthful beginnings 42 years ago. The original adventures weren't bullet proof in terms of plotting but they made up for plot holes with energy, excitement and adventure. Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny however, feels obligatory and that feeling works reveal more about the poorly thought out, too many cooks in the kitchen, plot holes. Three screenwriters and director James Mangold have clearly cobbled together pieces into the whole of Dial of Destiny and the patchwork is all too clear. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media

Horror in the 90s Soultaker

Soultaker (1990) 

Directed by Michael Rissi 

Written by Vivian Schilling 

Starring Vivian Schilling, Joe Estevez, Robert Z'Dar, Gregg Thomsen

Release Date October 26th, 1990 

Box Office $43,000 

When I went looking for Soultaker in order to watch it for this project, it wasn't available. I couldn't find it for rent or purchase in terms of streaming services. I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was having trouble finding it and they surprised me with a DVD copy. That sounds fortuitous right? That sounds like good luck for me doesn't it? The DVD I was given by my friend was not an official DVD of Soultaker. Rather, it was an official dub of an episode of the comedy series, Mystery Science Theater 3000. 

I was not aware of the full reputation of Soultaker when I decided to include it in Horror in the 90s. When I made the list, I saw the title Soultaker and that it was in the horror genre. I wanted to see what a movie called Soultaker was like. Had I known that its reputation was that of one of the worst horror movies ever made, I would have thought twice about including it in this book. What possible lessors or ideas could be gleaned from watching a truly terrible horror movie? 

There are certainly plenty of bad horror movies that I have watched for this book, without knowing for sure ahead of time that they were terrible. Thus, having already been told how bad Soultaker was, I had a choice to make as to whether or not it was worth seeing. That choice was complicated also by the fact that I cannot watch it in its original form. The only access to Soultaker currently is this Mystery Science Theater 3000 riffed version. 

Find my full length review at Horror.Media

Classic Movie Review One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Directed by Milos Forman

Written by Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman 

Starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Danny Devito, Christopher Lloyd 

Release Date November 19th, 1975 

This week’s classic, (August 13th, 2017) on the I Hate Critics Movie Review podcast was One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Milos Forman’s remarkable Best Picture winning triumph. It’s been years since I had sat down to watch this remarkable film and I was surprised at just how powerful the film remains. The story of patients in a mental ward whose lives are upended when they meet Jack Nicholson’s firebrand, criminally insane, R.P McMurphy, is truly unlike any film of its era.

R.P McMurphy is a dangerous man, a volatile personality. McMurphy’s reputation as a stirrer of the proverbial pot seems ill-suited from the very beginning for Nurse Ratched’s (Louise Fletcher) orderly, scheduled, and heavily medicated psych ward. In fact, on McMurphy’s very first day we get signs of things to come as he mugs his way about stirring up his fellow patients with his antics. It seems certain from our perspective in the audience that McMurphy is going to be trouble, the only question is how much trouble.

In a typical movie, the story would be McMurphy’s antics but director Milos Forman establishes throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest that as entertaining as McMurphy is in the performance of the glorious Jack Nicholson, at the height of his charismatic powers, this isn’t a typical movie. We may delight at times in McMurphy’s antics, his escape attempts, his pot stirring, et cetera, but the movie is only here to observe a day to day progression of McMurphy, the patients around him and the staff of the hospital.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Horror in the 90s Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead (1990) 

Directed by Tom Savini 

Written by John A. Russo, George A. Romero 

Starring Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, McKee Anderson, Tom Towles 

Release Date October 19th, 1990 

Box Office Gross $5.8 million 

The 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead is one of the greatest horror movies ever made. There was really no need for a remake. Any movie that tried to recapture the iconic qualities of the original was always doomed to failure. Naturally, the motivation to remake the George A. Romero classic was a shyster producer looking for a popular title that they could ring some cast out of. Enter Menaham Golan, half of the schlockmeister team of Golan and Globus, famous for awful sequels from Chuck Norris to Superman. It's doubtful that Golan ever even saw Romero's 1968 classic. All he wanted was the title and concept. 

That Golan hired special effects master Tom Savini to direct the remake makes sense, Golan figured he could save on salaries for both director and special effects by hiring one guy. I know that sounds cynical, but that is the exact type of corner cutting that Golan made his fortune on in the 1980s. Night of the Living Dead was Savini's first effort as a director and thus he could be brought in cheap with the added bonus of providing special effects and makeup prowess to the proceedings. 

The remake of Night of the Living Dead stars Patricia Tallman as Barbara. As she visits the grave or her late mother, along with her brother Johnny (Bill Mosely), Barbara is accosted by a strange lumbering man carrying the stench of death and a fearsome emptiness behind his. In the ensuing scuffle, Johnny is killed and Barbara goes on the run as another strange, lumbering, being emerges and reveals himself to having been recently autopsied. 

Running away, a hysterical Barbara arrives at a farm house looking for shelter. Unfortunately, what she finds inside are more of the undead lumbering and lurching after her. Barbara is rescued by the arrival of Ben (Tony Todd), who has, at the very least, learned that taking these beings out with a head shot is the only way to stop them from trying to eat their victim. Together, Ben and Barbara dispatch a pair of the monstrous undead before finding out they aren't the only ones alive in this farm house. 

Find my full length review at Horror.Media