Halloween Horrorfest: Slaughterhouse Rulez

I'm a sucker for horror comedies. Movies that blend the scares and the laughs can be a lot of fun to watch with characters cracking wise while dealing with terrifying situations. Since both genres can deal with the outrageous and absurd, they tend to blend well together. But sometimes, despite having all the requisite pieces, it just doesn't quite work as well as it should. Unfortunately, Slaughterhouse Rulez would be one of those examples. 

Don Wallace (played by Finn Cole) is transferring to the prestigious Slaughterhouse boarding school in Gloucestershire, England at the urging of his mum (played by Jo Hartley). Paired with the rebellious Willoughby Blake (played by Asa Butterfield), Don finds a school that follows a strict pecking order by house, of which has found himself on the lowest rung. Dominating over the students is Clegg (played by Tom Rhys Harries), the bullying school prefect that takes his styling and behavior cues from Draco Malfoy. It's not all bad for Don as he catches the eye of Clemsie (played by Hermoine Corfield). The school's headmaster, known as The Bat (played by Michael Sheen), informs the school that the woods are now off limits due to part of the school land being sold to a fracking company. Their house master is Meredith Houseman (played by Simon Pegg), a nebbish and ineffectual educator more focused on Cricket and bemoaning his girlfriend Audrey being overseas with Doctors Without Borders than his students. Things take a turn for the worse when the fracking creates a giant sinkhole that releases large subterranean monsters that begin to snack on the residents of the school, as well as some local protesters, led by a guy named Woody (played by Nick Frost). The social stature of the school is quickly discarded as the students find themselves in a fight for survival. 

The film was directed by Crispian Mills from a script he co-wrote with Henry Fitzherbert. The resulting film is a mixed bag. The first half of the film is very much a oddball teen comedy with the assorted students of the school, but keeping the focus primarily on Don and Willoughby. There is a wonderful sub-plot as the Willoughby's history with his previous roommate is revealed as well as what happened to him that allowed a space to open up for Don to enroll. The school is also populated with assorted other colorful characters but it gets bogged down in the same tired teen romance and teen bully cliches we have seen before. The film does pick up steam again once the monsters finally show up roughly 45 minutes into the film. Once it does the film moves from set piece to set piece with a brisk pace and a solid sense of humor that made the second half some reasonably breezy monster mayhem fun. I just wish the film had found a better pacing for the story and better mixed the raunchy teen comedy elements with the monster movie bits so it felt a bit more consistent throughout. 

One place where this movie does not slack is in the acting department. The cast is giving the film their all to try and make it work. Finn Cole is left with the straight guy role and manages it well, generally reacting to the insanity around him pretty much from the beginning when he lampshades the fact that the school is called "Slaughterhouse" and wonders why anyone would want to go there. Asa Butterfield has fun with his role as Willoughby and it's fun to see him play a more rebellious and mischievous character and step outside his usual type of role. Simon Pegg is clearly having fun playing his character, who is desperately missing his girlfriend Audrey and finding solace in Cricket while trying rather ineffectually to keep order in his house. Michael Sheen is clearly having a blast hamming it up as the school headmaster, making his grand entrance in flowing school robes like Snape on mescaline. He is an absolute hoot as he hams it up from beginning to end doing everything but literally gnawing on the scenery. Nick Frost pops up from time to time in the film as one of the protesters of the fracking operation on the school grounds, but also seems rather preoccupied with trying to sell the students he comes across drugs at the same time. 

Overall, Slaughterhouse Rulez is a definite mixed bag. When it worked, I enjoyed it for it's spirited energy and game cast. But when it didn't work, it was a bit of a slog to get through, especially getting to the monster mayhem in the second half. It has it's moments and the movie sure is trying hard. It's entertaining in fits and starts but as a whole it's disappointingly underwhelming, which is a shame because I was really looking forward to this one.         

Halloween Horrorfest: Child's Play (2019)

When I first heard they were doing a remake of Child's Play, my initial reaction was one of befuddlement and annoyance. The original series was still going strong with Cult of Chucky having just been released. It just seemed like a shameless cash grab with a familiar title. But, then a funny thing happened. They actually hired filmmakers who decided to try something new with the premise that resulted in a film that was actually pretty good? I certainly didn't see that coming. 

Struggling single mom Karen Barclay (played by Aubrey Plaza) is newly divorced and living with her young son, Andy (played by Gabriel Bateman) in an apartment they just moved into. In an attempt to help him socialize and cheer him up, she brings home a Buddi doll for him that was returned to the department store she works at. Buddi dolls are equipped with the latest in AI technology and can sync with other automated home technology. The Artificial Intelligence within the Buddi doll is state of the art and imprints on the owner, in this case Andy. However, this particular doll is defective and had the safety protocols turned off at the factory by a disgruntled employee. Without those this Buddi doll, named Chucky (voiced by Mark Hamill), has free reign to learn to emulate all sorts of actions, including stabbing and murder. As he bonds with Andy, he becomes more protective of him and anyone that threatens him or his family, such as Karen's douche bag new boyfriend, or threaten to replace Chucky as Andy's best friend fall within Chucky's cross hairs. Andy has few options to turn to for help, with his mom working and their neighbor Detective Mike Norris (played by Brian Tyree Henry) more likely to suspect him, he is going to have to take down the murderous doll himself.    

The film was directed by Lars Klevberg from a script by Taylor Burton Smith. They do a good job of taking the basic premise of the original film and fashioning a whole new movie from it. They kept the names of the three main characters, as well as the doll, and basically jettisoned everything else. Rather than a doll possessed with the spirit of a deceased serial killer, this doll is a malfunctioning toy equipped with state of the art technology. This is an intriguing direction to take the premise and adds a much needed freshness to the material as well. It also allows for a new take on Chucky himself, who starts out glitchy but innocent and only becomes dangerous through a warped sense of what he is supposed to do. The filmmakers also come up with some intensely original sequences as people come face to face with the new Chucky, who only becomes more lethal with his upgraded ability to interface with other household implements created by the same company that makes the Buddi Doll, with items such as drones or thermostats becoming lethal implements for him to exploit. Yet, the film also has a dark and wicked sense of humor at the same time and for the most part finds a nice balance between the horror and the humor. They also create a surprising amount of empathy towards Chucky, at least in the beginning, as Andy initially rejects Chucky due to his glitching and the fact that he feels too old for such a toy. There is an unexpected bit of tragedy as Chucky descends into his more homicidal ways because he starts out just wanting to help Andy, even if it's in a very twisted way. And to top it all off, we have a genuinely creepy score by Bear McCreary to up the creepy factor even further.  

With any Chucky movie, the focus is going to be on the doll and I have to say Mark Hamill does an impressive job making the role his own. This is a very different role from the one played by Brad Dourif in the original series. Hamill is able to really give this living doll some unexpected depth as I found myself empathizing with him in the beginning of the film as he is trying to be Andy's best friend. It's here that Hamill's talents as a voice actor really shine though as they are flawlessly matched with some impressive puppetry. They also give Chucky a programmed "Buddi Song" sung by Hamill that starts off sweet and innocent, but by the end of the movie when he sings it again it is genuinely creepy. Gabriel Bateman does well as an aged up Andy and therefore has a much more active role in the story as opposed to the original film where Andy was much younger. Much of the film revolves around Chucky and Andy as it falls to the kid to take down the homicidal toy when the parents and other adults don't believe him until it's too late. Aubrey Plaza does quite well as Andy's mom in a role that is much more serious than the roles she's known for currently and it's a great change of pace for her. She does a great job conveying Karen's stress and concerns as she tries to build a new life for herself and her son, even if she is not always making the best choices. Brian Tyree Henry steps into the role of Mike Norris quite well. I thought it was a nice touch to have him be a neighbor of Andy and Karen and already friends with both of them. 

While it doesn't quite replace the original Chucky or the large impact he made on the horror genre (certainly the killer doll sub-genre), there is a place for this new iteration too. Aside from the broadest strokes and a few characters, this iteration of Child's Play is a whole new beast. Some people have said they shouldn't have titled it Child's Play but gone with an original title instead. Then, of course, everyone would have been calling it a rip-off instead. So, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Instead, they went for it and created a remake that broke new ground and did something different, taking the premise in new and exciting directions. I can't help but appreciate that.       

IT Chapter Two

Stephen King's IT has always been one of my favorites of his many, many works, whether it's the epic novel, the 1990 mini-series, or now the two-part theatrical films. What was started in 2017 with the first half of the story resolves now with the member of the Losers Club coming back together 27 years later to once again confront the monster they thought they killed when they were kids. 

It's been 27 years since the Losers Club had last faced the monster known as IT and now it has resurfaced, as Mike Hanlon (played by Isaiah Mustafa) has discovered. He sets out to recruit his fellow club members to live up to the pact they made all those years ago: if it isn't dead, if it comes back, they return to finish the job. Scattered across the country, they all reunite in their childhood home town of Derry, Maine. Each one had carved out a life for themselves. Bill Denbrough (played by James McAvoy) is a bestselling author. Beverly Marsh (played by Jessica Chastain) is a famous fashion designer, Ben Hanscom (played by Jay Ryan) is an architect, Eddie Kaspbrak (played by Jay Ransone) works as a risk analyst for a major insurance company, and Richie Tozier (played by Bill Hader) is a famous stand up comedian. As they reunite, they all remark how much they had forgotten about their childhoods and how any memory of Derry at all had faded until Mike called each one of them. The only one that remembers everything is Mike, who never left and had devoted the past 27 years working at the Derry Library and preparing should the monster they fought as kids ever return. And it falls to Mike to get the rest of his friends up to speed and unite them all, setting the stage for the final showdown between them and the monster they know as Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgard). 

The film was directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman from the iconic novel by Stephen King. The two manage to craft a follow-up that is every bit as good as the first film, if not actually better. The film is by turns terrifying, hilarious, and at times heartbreaking. Muschietti and Dauberman do a fantastic job balancing the tone throughout the film as they craft their epic tale of horror. They also bring back the younger actors for some key flashbacks throughout the film that never feel extraneous and fill in some scenes we didn't get to see in the first film that only strengthens the bond we feel between the characters. That is the theme that runs the strongest throughout both of the films and brings the story home by the end and that is the power of friendship and their unified strength in standing up to the darkness of the world. The filmmakers hit this theme so perfectly that the movie perfectly hits those emotional highs. At the same time, they manage to craft some memorably scary moments in the film as well, especially with our intrepid heroes each having an encounter with Pennywise or his assorted other forms, with Beverly, Richie and Eddie's encounters sticking out, as well as a very tense sequence of Bill chasing after potential Pennywise victim in a carnival funhouse. The film also has a good amount of humor to break the tension and often in the most unexpected places.      

The cast assembled for this is phenomenal and there isn't a weak link between them. You really believe that these are the adult counterparts of each of the kids we saw in the first film. I have to start with Bill Hader. Now, I've been a fan of his since his days on SNL but he blew me away here. Richie Tozier has always been my favorite character, whether it's the novel, the 1990 mini-series or here and he absolutely nails the role, not only hitting every comedic beat but hitting emotional depths with the character's vulnerabilities that had me sobbing in the theater. Jay Ransone likewise impressed as Eddie, capturing his character's insecurities and fear perfectly. He also plays off Bill Hader's Richie perfectly and the special bond between the two characters shines through beautifully. Jessica Chastain also manages to capture an adult Beverly quite well. Isaiah Mustafa has the trickier role with Mike Hanlon having to deliver a large amount of exposition as he gets the other characters up to speed and prepared to face off against Pennywise, but he handles it effortlessly. James McAvoy more or less picks up when his character's youthful counterpart Jaeden Martell left off as he continues to cope with his survivor's guilt, something he tries to atone for when he realizes the re-awakened Pennywise has set his sights on a kid roughly the same age as Georgie that lives in his childhood home. Jay Ryan doesn't have as much to play with in his role as adult Ben Hanscom, but does the most with what he has since much of his arc has to do with his unrequited love for Beverly, who as kids was crushing on Bill instead. I also appreciated that when we are first introduced to adult Ben, we get a cameo from Brandon Crane, who played young Ben in the original mini-series in a fun little moment at the beginning of the film.

Overall, IT Chapter Two is a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to an epic tale of the power of friendship. By turns frightening, funny and emotional it captures the spirit of the original novel. Rather than be a simple monster movie or horror movie, much like the novel, it finds it's real strengths in it's characters and with them at the forefront injects the film with a surprising amount of heart and emotion behind the scares and shocks, which gives the film more depth that your average cinematic horror film and is all the better for it. Clocking in at an impressive 2 hours and 45 minutes, the film flew by for me as I got pulled into the continuing adventure of a group of friends I have loved for almost 30 years now, ever since I saw the original 1990 mini-series. I've always had a strong affinity for this story. Probably because growing up I was part of a group of friends that very well could've been the Minnesota chapter of the Losers Club. And I say that with the utmost affection.       

Ready or Not

There is something about Horror and Comedy that makes the two mesh so well together. Horror movies tend to rely on plot elements that under normal circumstances would be ridiculous, outrageous or absurd but with a difference in tone can be suspenseful and frightening instead. When mixed well, a horror comedy can move from scary to funny with ease. Ready or Not is one such movie, a suspenseful thrill ride that can also at times be very funny. 

Grace (played by Samara Weaving) is getting married to Alex Le Domas (Mark O'Brien), who is part of the La Domas family who own a huge gaming empire (or dominion as Alex says), at Alex's family's mansion. On their wedding night, the family has a very important tradition. The family has to gather at midnight to play a game. It doesn't matter if the new member wins or loses as long as they play. Grace agrees to go along with it and gathers along with Alex's parents, Tony and Becky (played by Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell), brother Daniel (played by Adam Brody) and his wife Charity (played by Elyse Levesque) along with the stern Aunt Helene (played by Nicky Guadagni). Grace is presented with a mysterious box with a blank card inserted inside. She would then press a button on the box and whatever game comes out printed on the card, is the game they play. Grace's card comes out saying Hide and Seek. Grace is given time to hide and the rest of the family has to find her in the mansion. What they don't tell her though is that if the box picks Hide and Seek, the family has to sacrifice Grace as part of a pact their Great-Great Grandfather allegedly made with the devil. If they don't, the legend states the rest of the family will die instead. Grace quickly realizes what is happening, kicking off a battle for survival between Grace and her new in-laws.  

The film was directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a script by Guy Busick and Ryan Murphy. The film may on it's surface seem like another gruesome horror movie, but it is also filled with all kinds of biting social commentary towards the upper class while engaging in some literal class warfare (although the film is still pretty gruesome but in a very over the top sort of way). The film does a solid job covering all of the possible plot holes, such as if Alex knew this possibly was going to happen, why didn't they just elope? Alex informs her the wedding had to be with his family, and had to be there at the family mansion, showing that on a certain level Alex believes the legend as well and was just hoping the card would come up with them all Clue or something instead. The house itself is quite the set piece, complete with security cameras, security locks, dumb waiters and secret passageways that all come into play throughout the film. The film is filled with dark humor as the family proves to be inept at trying to capture Grace, and as Grace proves to be a far more formidable opponent than they may have anticipated. The film also has it's knives sharpened for the one-percenter Le Domas family, who made apparently made a  deal with Satan generations ago for business success and have no problem carrying on that tradition that occasionally requires the sacrifice of a new family member if that means they get to continue to survive. 

This film has managed to gather a rather impressive cast, starting with Samara Weaving. Weaving is quickly creating a niche for herself in the horror genre after impressive turns in both The Babysitter and Mayhem and continues here. She really shows both Grace's fear and confusion at the outset, as well as her intelligence and strength as she overcomes her initial panic to pull herself together and try to find a way out of her situation. Adam Brody has plenty to play with as Alex's brother Daniel, who is having trouble dealing with his family's  bloody history and as a result has become an alcoholic due to his guilt. Brody plays the role well and is a natural fit for his character's deadpan snarkiness throughout the film. Yet, he really sells his character's inner turmoil as well. Andie MacDowell is great as the Matriarch of the Le Domas clan Becky, giving her role a certain iciness that shows the wear of decades of her family's sacrifices has brought. Henry Czerny infuses a good amount of humor to his role as patriarch Tony. When one of the character remarks they at least don't have to wear masks during the Hide and Seek game this time, he responds, "That was Dad's idea...it was the 80's," in an amusing nod to the slasher genre that often includes a masked killer. Mark O'Brien has a trickier role as Alex, who leads his new wife Grace into this nightmare while keeping her completely in the dark about what could come. He does manage to keep his character reasonably sympathetic and is deservedly chewed out by Grace once he does finally explain to her what is going on.

Ready or Not is a deft mix if humor and horror creating a fun ride of a film that while at times feels familiar, remained unpredictable for me (even if the trailer does ruin some of the best moments in the film) with plenty of crazy surprises. With a spirited lead performance from Samara Weaving and a talented supporting cast, this one is an easy recommendation for genre fans looking for something a little more offbeat as the blockbuster season winds down.   

Blinded by the Light

Among my list of movies I was looking forward to this summer was Blinded by the Light, a touching coming of age story of a teenage boy of Pakistani descent growing up in the turbulent 1987 Luton, England who finds solace and inspiration in the most unlikely of places...the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Javed Khan (played by Viveik Kalra) is trying to be a good son, but also finding his own desires at odds with his strict and no nonsense father, Malik (played by Kulvinder Ghir), who is continually pushing Javed to pursue business as a career despite Javed's clear talents as a writer. He does have his friend Matt (played by Dean Charles Chapman) from across the street to confide in. Things get even more difficult for Javed's family when his father is laid off from the local automotive plant and the family becomes reliant on his mother's work as a seamstress. But a chance encounter with another student at school, Roops (played by Aaron Phagura), changes everything when Roops loans him a couple Bruce Springsteen tapes. Initially hesitant as he can't imagine anything Bruce would sing about would be at all relevant to him, he eventually relents and is shocked to find just how deep he feels the music of The Boss. He takes it so to heart that be begins collecting Bruce Springsteen memorabilia and even begins to dress like him. But even more so, begins to pursue writing as a career in earnest with the encouragement of his Writing teacher Ms. Clay (played by Hayley Atwell) and his next door neighbor. He even gains the courage to ask out a girl he fancies from class, Eliza (played by Nell Williams), with some assistance from Matt's Dad (played by Rob Brydon) in a cute scene set to Springsteen's "Thunder Road." Yet, Javed still feels himself torn between his dreams and a sense of responsibility to his family in their moment of crisis. 

The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha, and she co-wrote it as well with Sarfraz Manzoor, whose memoir inspired the film. The film paints a portrait of Great Britain in turmoil. A massive recession his the populace hard leaving millions out of work. They also saw a strong rise in White Nationalism who many of their efforts were directed towards Pakistani immigrants like Javed and his family. The film depicts this with an earnest sincerity as we Javed and his family face this discrimination head on, whether it's Javed being spit on by one on his way home from school or him and his father witnessing racist kids urinating through a friend's letterbox. Malik's response to this is to keep his head down, not make noise whereas Javed is at first frightened and then angered as evidenced in an empowering scene where he and Roops stand up to a trio of skinheads while belting out Springsteen's "Badlands." Chadha and Manzoor balance the trials of Javed with his triumphs as he finds confidence with his writing quite well. The film, which is not quite a jukebox musical and yet kind of is at times, still wears it's heart on it's sleeve and the plot is a bit predictable at times. Honestly though, I didn't care because the story was so relatable to me. And then on top of that, it's all punctuated with some choice selections from Bruce Springsteen's discography. The film does a great job capturing the world of fandom and how obsessive it can seem when you have such a strong, positive reaction to something, in this case the music of Bruce Springsteen. Gurinder Chadha brings it to life on screen in such a fantastic way too as Javed listens to the music, the selected lyrics he responds to appear on screen as he's listening to them, visually showing the impact it's having on him in a creative and visceral way.  

Viveik Kalra was quite good as Javed and really captures his character's arc quite well, from the lonely and introverted boy at the beginning to the film who grows throughout the film to begin standing up for himself and go after what he wants. Kulvinder Ghir gives a lot of layers to his performance as Malik. Now, coming of age movies are littered with disapproving fathers that the main character needs to overcome and on the surface Malik is no different, but Ghir shows that everything he does and says comes from a place of real concern for his childrens' futures. Ghir is able to convey so much with just a look, you can tell he's terrified that being out of work and not being able to provide for his family means they could lose everything. He is also a traditional and proud man who feels absolutely humiliated at having lost his job after 18 years and having to rely on his wife's work to help make ends meet, as well as the part time jobs of his children and Malik does a fantastic job conveying this throughout his performance. I really liked Aaron Phagura as Roops. He does a great job portraying Roops' fan love for Bruce Springsteen, as well as being a much needed friend for Javed as the two bond over the music, especially since Matt is completely mystified at his friend's new obsession. I really liked Nell Williams as Eliza. Her character is a fun one with her style and independent spirit that informs her character's political activism that no doubt is just as much an inspiration to Javed as Springsteen's music. Williams imbues her with a spunky charm that I really enjoyed and responded to. Hayley Atwell takes a refreshingly grounded approach to her role as Javed's creative writing teacher, Ms. Clay. She encourages him to continue to pursue his writing, whether it be poems or essays as she pushes him to find his own voice and relates the talent she sees in his work. It's a wonderfully understated performance that made it more memorable to me as it reminded me of teachers who filled a similar role in my life. Rob Brydon may have only had a small role in this film, but he made the most of every scene he was in. I loved how he and Javed formed a bit of bond over their shared love of Bruce Springsteen as it was a little something Javed was missing with his own father. It also may just be because I've been a fan of his since his role of Uncle Bryn in the U.K TV series Gavin and Stacey.    

Blinded by the Light functions not just as a tribute to the music of Bruce Springsteen, but also the trials and tribulations of growing up and finding inspiration and solace in fandom, in this case Springsteen's music. It's a heartfelt and joyous film that also draws some rather stark parallels to our current political climate with once again seeing a rise in racism and hatred as well as a tumultuous Government, both here and in the U.K. Still, if I was able to relate to a British-Pakistani teen in 1987 Luton, so much so that I was moved to tears, perhaps there is hope for us all. That's certainly something this film has in abundance and is all the better for it. 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

I've long been a fan of Quentin Tarantino's films and various phases they have gone through over the many years from Pulp Fiction to Django Unchained to The Hateful Eight. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is easily his most mature and thoughtful film since Jackie Brown, anchored by two fantastically drawn characters making their way through a Hollywood in transition. 

In 1969 Hollywood, Rick Dalton (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is an actor facing a career downturn. He made a name for himself starring on a T.V western and making a number of Western and War movies. But now he is getting by on making guest appearances on T.V shows, often playing the heavy. The best offer he has gotten is from a Producer Marvin Schwarzs (played by Al Pacino) to star in a series of Spaghetti Westerns, something he is less than enthused about. He relies a lot on his best friend and stunt man Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt). The two share a close bond and Cliff often acts as Rick's personal assistant as well, going so far as running errands and even fixing his T.V antenna. Living next door to Rick is Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robie) and Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha), whom Rick clearly envies since Polanski is hot off directing the hit film Rosemary's Baby. During this, Cliff keeps crossing paths with a girl known as Pussycat (played by Margaret Qualley), who is a member of the Manson Family, who are currently squatting at the old Spahn Movie Ranch and led by Charlie Manson (played by Damon Herriman). It's only a matter of time before all the parties converge in unexpected ways. 

Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed this cinematic love letter to a bygone era of Hollywood. In 1969, outside influences were starting to impact the kinds of movies Hollywood was making. Films were becoming grittier and what kinds of films were able to made were growing. The Vietnam War was in full swing and all the differing attitudes towards it as well. During this period of transition, some actors were finding their opportunities drying up as the current iteration of the Western genre was becoming played out with audiences gravitating towards the more complex and violent Spaghetti Westerns. Tarantino and his amazing crew lovingly recreate the Hollywood of the era as they not only painstakingly recreate Los Angeles circa 1969, but also some of the shows Rick stars on throughout the film, including a spot on recreation of an episode of The FBI that originally starred a young Burt Reynolds among a few other fun surprises. He also has a number of actors of the era turning up throughout the story, with notable appearances by Steve McQueen (played by Damian Lewis) and Bruce Lee (played by Mike Moh). And then he has the Manson family slowly working their way into the story and anyone who knows their history of the time knows that the two storylines will eventually and violently converge. Yet, as anyone who has seen Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds might already suspect, things don't go quite the way you might expect it to. 

Leonardo DiCaprio is quite good as Rick Dalton as he digs into his character's insecurities and anxieties as he faces a faltering career and tries to figure out what to do next. DiCaprio has a great scene where Rick is in his trailer and he melts down over what he thought was a bad performance and then eventually pulls himself together, goes back out and knocks it out of the park. That scene has really stuck with me because as someone who has dealt with their fair share of anxiety and insecurity I really related to it. Brad Pitt's character Cliff is also experiencing a career downturn but, unlike Rick, he seems to be taking it in stride content to help out his buddy Rick day to day and retire each evening to his trailer located behind a drive in theater with his dog Brandy (herself practically another star of the movie) and just take things as they come. It's an interesting dichotomy between the two characters that I really enjoyed. Margot Robie has an interesting task in playing Sharon Tate and does a really great job in the role as well. She is very much a supporting character, but makes the most of each scene she is in, most notably an extended sequence when Tate is walking in downtown LA and decides to pop in to a matinee screening of a film she is in, The Wrecking Crew. Robie does such a great job showing Tate's initial insecurities slowly melt away to genuine elation at the audience around her and their enjoyment of her performance. It's completely non-verbal and fantastic. As an aside, I also appreciated that Quentin used actual footage from The Wrecking Crew with the real Sharon Tate in the footage in the scene as well. I also have to single out the performance by Damian Lewis as Steve McQueen. He's only in one scene, but he captures McQueen so well it's incredible to watch. Mike Moh is great in a similarly small appearance as Bruce Lee, although that has been a bit more controversial with his family stating the performance in the film doesn't match who Bruce Lee really was. To be fair, in the scene in question Cliff is antagonizing Bruce while they are both on the set of The Green Hornet and there is a scene later in the film where Bruce is teaching Sharon Tate some martial arts that seems to better match the real Bruce his family describes. It is also seen in flashback as Cliff reflects on the incident, so there is an unreliable narrator aspect to it as well. But, then again anyone who has seen the entire film can attest Quentin Tarantino isn't particularly interested in adhering strictly to historical fact anyway.   

There is a lot to really like about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It has a slow burn quality for much of the film as it focuses on it's characters as the film builds towards it's inevitable end. But as the film goes on, I really got to know these characters and came to genuinely care about them so that when they do converge with the Manson Family, the tension is palpable as I wondered how this was all going to play out. It's also a far more character driven film than the last few Tarantino films, which makes for a different film than some people might be expecting. The film moves at a deliberate pace as it works establishing these characters day to day lives, including an extended scene of Cliff making Kraft Macaroni & Cheese that is shot so throughly, it had more that a few viewers picking up a box or two on the way home from the movie after winding up craving it themselves. It's a film that takes it's time telling it's tale, clocking in at roughly 2 hours and 40 minutes, and honestly is all the better for it.    

Deep Blue Sea

Opening a mere few weeks after the aforementioned Lake Placid, along came Deep Blue Sea to give some new teeth to the beleaguered shark movie left largely adrift with the last notable film being Jaws: The Revenge 12 years earlier. Yet, here was a film that very much knows what it is and wears it's B-Movie roots proudly, while coyly hiding some rather memorable surprises among it's bloody shark mayhem. 

Dr. Susan McAlester (played by Saffron Burrows) has been working on cutting edge experiments to try and find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease in a very unlikely place: the brain fluid of Mako sharks. When one of her sharks gets loose from her isolated lab in the middle of the ocean and attacks a nearby sailboat, corporate investor Russell Franklin (played by Samuel L. Jackson) flies out to personally observe the facility and process to determine whether or not to continue with the project. The lab is running on a Skeleton crew for the weekend and aside from Susan we also have Shark wrangler Carter Blake (played by Thomas Jane), fellow scientists Janice Higgins (played by Jacqueline McKenzie) and Jim Whitlock (played by Stellan Skarsgard, technician Tom Scoggins (played by Michael Rappaport) and resident cook known as Preacher (played by LL Cool J). There are three Mako sharks at the facility and Russell is impressed and terrified at the large beasts. When a demonstration of the extraction of the brain fluid goes terribly wrong, Susan begrudingly admits she took a shortcut in her research to genetically engineer the sharks to be larger than usual, especially their brains, and as a side effect the sharks got smarter. Through some rather ingenious means, the sharks manage to start a chain of events that leads to the largely underwater facility to begin to flood, with the sharks infiltrating the facility and hunting down our intrepid human characters, who are desperately trying to escape the sinking and crumbling facility.

Renny Harlin directed the film from a script by Duncan Kennedy, Wayne Powers and Donna Powers. Harlin approached the film knowing that his audience was going to be very familiar with Jaws and realized there was no point trying to hold back showing the sharks and instead resolved to show them as much as possible. It helps that in the intervening 24 years, the effects had decidedly improved in terms of the animatronics for the three sharks. All three sharks are very convincing and work well in the film as they create convincing and unique thrills as they work their way through the flooded facility. He also employs CGI for them as well, with more mixed results (but given the B-movie roots of the film, I didn't mind). From a narrative standpoint, they also manage to create a few genuine shocks as they play with audience expectations, especially in terms of who will survive. I won't say more than that because even 20 years later this film contains one of the more legendary shock movie deaths this side of Psycho. The film has a few amusing nods to the Jaws films as well, starting with one of he sharks found chewing on a license plate...the same license plate Richard Dreyfuss pulls out of the Tiger Shark's stomach in Jaws. The whole film is then capped off with a genuinely great Trevor Rabin score that keeps the film moving at a breakneck pace as it moves from one crazy and intense moment to another.  

The film assembled quite a good cast for the film led by Samuel L. Jackson. This film is a bit of a departure for him playing a business executive Russell Franklin, although hints of a past tragedy with his character shows he may have some experience in survival situations. Still, Jackson does a great job in the role as the outsider of the group and actually shows some vulnerability as well at times. Thomas Jane really nails the big damn hero with a dark past role as Carter Blake, who got the job at the research station after being paroled from prison. Saffron Burrows really digs into her role as Dr. Susan McAlester and really shows her character's fierce determination with her research. It's only when disaster strikes and people start to die that she begins to see the horrible consequences of the short cuts she took in her research. I also have to call out LL Cool J who plays the facility's scripture quoting badass chef Preacher. He functions a bit as the comic relief but at the same time is such a cool character and LL Cool J makes the most of every scene he's in.

Deep Blue Sea is a movie that knows exactly what it is, a big goofy monster movie that has the primary function of being a big rollercoaster ride and the movie succeeds supremely at that. Does the plot stand up to a lot a scrutiny? No, of course not. But it knows how to play with audience expectations and has some damn good twists and turns to it along the way. It's also a lot of fun and when it comes to a monster movie you can't ask for much more than that.