New Release! Upgrade (2018) [Spoiler-Free First Section]

Spoiler-Free Section. Read Away!!

Director: Leigh Wannell

Really glad I got a chance to see this one in the theater before it quietly vanished into the world of on-demand and at-home rentals. This was a fun, ripping sci-fi action yarn that actually had one or two nice little tricks up its sleeve.

Written and directed by Australian director Leigh Wannell, best known for horror films such as Saw and Insidious, Upgrade is a fairly striking departure. Taking place in a not-too-distant future where technology has become a part of underground bio-enhancements and weaponization, we follow Grey Trace, a self-professed "low tech" man who prefers rebuilding his 20th-century muscle cars with his bare hands, rather than rely on the conveniences of the hyper-smart technology found all around him. When a serious of unfortunate events finds Grey in possession of a cutting-edge tech implant called STEM, his entire existence starts being flung back and forth between his own mission of revenge and a larger, more mysterious conspiracy at work. As the dangers around Grey increase exponentially, the STEM implant continues to reveal shocking abilities that both thrill and terrify its owner, Grey.

My viewing experience of this movie was of the variety which are my favorite - knowing very little about a film, thus having almost no expectations, and being wonderfully entertained. No, it's not a mind-blowing, heady sci-fi classic on the Blade Runner scale, or even more modern greats like Ex Machina. Still, it taps into our culture's concerns about artificial intelligence and whips it into a movie that is plenty of fun for much of its length. And when the fun takes a dark "cautionary tale" turn, it gets even better.

The aesthetic of the movie goes for something akin to a slightly grittier, more cosmopolitan version of something in a sci-fi flick like the outstanding Looper from a few years ago - mostly familiar settings and technology, jazzed up in urban areas by dazzling incorporation of near-futuristic architecture and decoration. But just as much of the real action takes place in neighborhoods, bars, and rundown apartment complexes that would be right at home in the late-20th and early-21st centuries (Upgrade seems to take place sometime in the mid-21st century). It all lends a welcome verisimilitude to a genre that often goes overboard with hyper-polished facades and CGI.

One of the few truly tranquil moments in the film. After this
early basking in the open air and sun, things get dark and
gritty in a hurry.

The action itself is often thrilling, entertaining, and highly kinetic. Utilizing a few different camera techniques, blessedly avoiding slow-motion, and calling for some really frenetic fight choreography, the movie taps into the "John Wick" type of action that I prefer to either the aforementioned slow-motion or the Paul Greengrass "shaky cam" style. Instead, director Wannell makes sure that we can see exactly what's going on, in real-time, presented at a riveting pace. There are a few pretty graphic deaths, but I never felt that it approached grotesque levels of gore - something which I don't particularly care for.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable movie that will have me checking to see what Leigh Wannell does in the future. While his preceding horror movies didn't grab me in any particular way, I'll be looking to see if he does anything as good as Upgrade in the action or sci-fi genres in the years to come.

Additional Thoughts After Another Viewing (July, 2020)

Just watched this one again, and it's still great. The efficiency of this film is amazing. It so quickly establishing everything it needs to, and it goes through several very distinct passages, without ever feeling terribly rushed. I'll continue going back and watching this one every few years.

Spoiler Section! You've Been Warned!!!

Just a few things on the details in the movie.

The "twist" of having Eron be behind Grey's paralysis and his wife's death was easy to see coming from a mile away. What I didn't see coming was that it was actually STEM behind it all. While this plotline has a bit of trouble holding up under very close scrutiny (how exactly did it coerce its own creator into doing its bidding over and over, etc.?), it manages to hold up just well enough not to scuttle the whole thing.

And STEM ultimately winning was a very dark twist that I really did not expect. The general tone for the movie up until the final ten or so minutes had been a tad more playful. Yes, the assault on Grey and his wife was pretty brutal, and the pain of his struggle with quadriplegia was palpable; but once he acquires STEM, the movie felt much more like a rousing 1980s action/revenge flick. It had ass-kicking, a bit of suspense, and even some decent one-liners and gags here and there. But when STEM has fully taken over and relegated Grey's consciousness to a distant corner of his mind and uses Grey's now-usurped body to walk away from everything, it was eerily reminiscent of the unsettling ending of Ex Machina. And I thought that all of this elevated Upgrade beyond being a simple popcorn flick. 

New Release! First Reformed (2018) [Spoiler-Free Review]

No Spoilers! Read Away!!

Director: Paul Schrader

An intense, disturbing gaze into a very troubled soul, but one that is mesmerizing much of the time.

First Reformed was written and directed by Paul Schrader, best known for writing Taxi Driver and co-writing Raging Bull. With his latest film, Schrader calls upon a primary theme of that earlier film - that of a deeply troubled and mentally fractured man whose anger at the world around him drives him into psychological crisis that may become a serious threat to those around him.

The story focuses on Reverend Toller (Ethan Hawke), a former military chaplain who is now the pastor of a tiny parish in upstate New York. Although his congregation consists of only a handful of people, the church building itself is of historical significance, being one of the oldest churches in the First Reformed denomination of Christianity. Due to its miniscule congregation, however, the church has recently been bought out by a nearby megachurch. One day, Reverend Toller is asked by a young parishioner, Mary (Amanda Seyfried), to speak to her husband. Her husband, Michael, is an ex-con and militant environmentalist whose rage at polluting energy companies seems on the verge of boiling over into violent action. Toller attempts to calm Michael, but the passionate young man seems to open up still-unhealed wounds within the Reverend, who himself is grappling with his own losses and guilt. As the tale unfolds, Toller grows angrier and more desperate for answers as to what is happening around him, and whether he should do something about it. And the nature of what that "something" is grows into its own frightening question.

This movie is often powerfully magnetic, with its very relevant themes of environmental destruction and humankind's blame and responsibility for its lasting effects. It is also a thought-provoking look at how a haunted person can latch onto very legitimate causes and use them to rationalize extremely frightening and even violent behavior. Some aspects of this movie feel oversimplified, such as the bombastic and bullying energy company CEO Edward Balq or the snarky Islamophibic teen at a discussion group. But most of the really important characters and interactions are highly nuanced and defy simple analysis. The despair-stricken Michael is obviously on the brink of a psychotic break, but much of his reasoning is sound. The megachurch pastor (Cedric "The Entertainer" Kyles) exhibits some of the unsavory characteristics of celebrity ministers, but he also lays out some sound observations and advice for the tormented Toller. The protagonist himself, Toller, is the most complicated of them all - being a man desperate to do the right thing, but a man who is steadily degenerating in several ways, raising questions with few easy answers.

The ending of the movie has stuck with me quite a lot, even a solid week after seeing the film. My initial reactions were those of bafflement and a bit of disappointment. After some time to ruminate on it, though, I realize that it is open to a bit of interpretation, and one of my own interpretations in much more satisfying than what is literally depicted on the screen.

Among the many pale and austere settings depicted in the film,
Rev. Toller's lined, anguished face reflects a soul attempting
to break out of a malaise of despair.

This movie has drawn many comparisons to Schrader's 1976 masterpiece, Taxi Driver, with good reason. Reverend Toller is a version of Travis Bickle, although one who is different in several important ways. Still, the most important traits of being tortured and desperate are obvious in both men, and Schrader's telling of their stories is as gripping as it is disturbing.

The visuals of the film are notable, shot in cold, often pale settings of winter in upstate New York. Done with slow precision, we get exteriors and interiors that often have a rather chilly, blank feeling, at times reflective and other times in contrast to the state of Reverend Toller's troubled soul. There is often something hypnotic about the slow pans and the stationary camera as it offers us tense conversations between Toller and others. It all creates a coherent look and tone to the entire movie, much to the film's benefit.

As with most movies of such dark subject matter, this isn't one that I will likely watch again any time soon. But it was enthralling to see it, and I suspect it will long stand as a great movie among those dealing with environmentalism and questions about religious and spiritual duty. 

New Release! Solo (2018) [Spoiler-Free Review]

Spoiler-Free! Read on without Fear!!

Director: Ron Howard

Maybe it helped that I was going in with very modest expectations, in the wake of the lukewarm reception among critics and fans, but I enjoyed this movie a bit more than I had anticipated. It's not the best Star Wars movie, but I found it to be a solid, entertaining popcorn movie that uses its mythological resources efficiently.

The movie takes place roughly a dozen years before Star Wars: A New Hope Episode IV (a.k.a Episode IV, a.k.a "The original Star Wars movie"), offering us the main backstory of Han Solo, the infamous smuggler-turned-rebel as portrayed by Harrison Ford in the original trilogy. Picking up with a Han approximately 20 years old or so, played by Alden Ehrenreich, we follow his escape from his home planet of Corelia, where he and his girlfriend Qi-ra (Emilia Clarke) had grown up in oppressed poverty. Though Han nearly manages to get Qi'ra out with him, she is held back, leaving him no choice but to enlist in the army to escape capture at the hands of an ever-growing Empire. After three years as an infantryman, Han manages to latch onto a group of thieves led by Beckett (Woody Harrelson), and he begins to find his true calling as someone who operates well outside the law.

I was impressed by how well this movie hit its marks, without leaning too heavily on "Easter eggs" for fans or being overly familiar. The movie does a nice job telling some of the most well-known aspects of the legendary rogue - how he meets Chewbacca, how he gets the Millenium Falcon - but it doesn't try to explain all of it, as I suspect weaker writers would have done. I was fully expecting explanations for everything we associate with the original trilogy Han, right down to the signature white shirt and black vest. Fortunately, the father/son writing team of Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan showed effective discretion in this area. Sure, it's a bit silly that many of the things we associate with Han all occur in Han's life within such a short span. But this didn't bother me much. I felt that enough new characters were introduced and that the plot hummed along well enough to be enjoyable.

Paul Bettany was a clear strength in the film. The character
Dryden Vos and Bettany's portrayal were intense in a way
that I found highly enjoyable.

The acting was perfectly fine. Sure, it's a bit odd seeing Woody Harrelson in a Star Wars movie, but he was cast well as the cynical, gun-slinging thief Beckett. Donald Glover, who simply can't seem to miss these days, is nearly perfect as a young Lando Calrissian, and even smaller parts played by Thandie Newton and Emilia Clarke are handled well. Probably the most pleasant surprise for me was the performance of Paul Bettany as ganglord Dryden Vos. Surprising not because I didn't expect Bettany to be good, but simply because I didn't know he was in the movie. He plays a frighteningly intense, intelligent, and murderous adversary who, despite not being a classic "Sith" villain, is rather intimidating.

Solo is a film that, while not doing anything exceptionally well, does nearly everything pretty well, and doesn't have any major missteps. Though it's not as wildly entertaining as The Force Awakens, or as novel as Rogue One, it's more cohesive and consistent than The Last Jedi. It's one I'll gladly watch again in time, even if it's never going to be among the very best Star Wars movies.