Coherence (2014)

On the same night that a comet is passing overhead, a group of friends gather for a dinner party. The news had warned that odd things may occur and they do: e.g. cell phone screens shatter and the power is lost. But what doesn't make as much sense is the way the group behaves. The first thing that happens is that two of the men decide to head for the only house they can see that appears to have lights. Upon their return it becomes clear to everyone that something's not right. So... people keep leaving the house.

This is a super-interesting idea: basically the multi-verse opens up under the meteor and several realities diverge from a single point, meaning that if you leave your own reality, you might not get back at all. I mean, that's pretty trippy. The problems here were manifold, however. 1) The camerawork, which I'm pretty sure was "cell phone work." 2) The dialogue and its delivery. My guess is that there was an outline and motivations provided, but the dialogue itself was improvised. Rather than feeling spontaneous, it felt awkward. 3) The ending. The coherence theory we were taught during the film was that, once the "event" is over (in this case the meteor is no longer near), all realities would cohere. But the very last scene doesn't play by the rules.

I admire the premise, but not the execution.

C

The Best Offer (2014)

Respected European appraiser and auctioneer is asked to provide a valuation for the antiques and artwork filling a villa left to a young woman after the death of her parents. She stands him up for the appraisal, which both enrages and intrigues him. It seems that no one has seen her in years as she suffers not only from agoraphobia, but from being viewed at all. As the pair slowly gain each other's trust, it becomes clear that there's more at stake than just an auction gig.

This reminded me strongly of The Spanish Prisoner, which is a high compliment. Kept me wondering what was going to happen next.

B+

Incredibles 2 (2018)

Absolutely improves on the first one -- Jack Jack alone is worth the ticket price. Just great fun.

B+

The Son of Joseph (2017)

Teen Vincent longs to know who his father is, but his mother has always refused to divulge the information. When Vincent finds a returned letter that his mother wrote to his father while pregnant, he determines to meet the man. Though his biological father is a disappointment, Vincent almost literally stumbles upon a preferable surrogate.

Despite itself, this moved me. I say "despite" because there was a studied detachment in the acting. Vincent and his mother were precise in movement (but mostly stillness) and speech. It was as though they were in play on a stage too small to allow for normal gesturing. It took quite a while to get used to the stiffness, but the story won me over.

B

Wind River (2017)

A young Native American woman is found dead of exposure in the brutal Wyoming mountains. The FBI is called in to investigate, but since the girl was a reservation resident, only a single, inexperienced, agent is dispatched.

This is a deep, well-acted story that's very much specific to its wild and lonely setting. Renner turns in a lovely performance as a wildlife agent determined to do what he can to give the family peace. 

B+

Audrie & Daisy (2016)

Truly devastating documentary focusing on the stories of two teens. Though they both suffered sexual assault, it was the aftermath  -- the social media shaming and bullying and support for their attackers  -- that had the more traumatic and lasting effects.

We all know about the bullies in the classroom and the need to protect children from the cruelty of their peers and the equal need to educate them not to BE those bullies. But this movie clearly demonstrates that adults can be every bit as ugly, most egregiously the sheriff of Nodaway County at the time: Darren White. He had the audacity to say -- on camera -- that "girls are just as culpable as boys in this world" and that these attacks did not rise to the level of "rape" in reference to the assaults on a 13-year-old child whose attacker admitted she told him "no" and on a 14-year-old girl who was unable to move. When the interviewer reminded him that, in these particular cases, boys were the ones who'd committed the crimes, he replied "DID they?" with a smirk. That man is the father of at least two daughters.

Visit safebae.org (Daisy is a co-founder) to learn about how you can help raise awareness of sexual assault in schools and to find out about Title IX rights.

B+

Hereditary (2018)

A mother of two is fragile after the loss of her own mother to a long illness. Her teenage son is typical, but her younger daughter is definitely on the spectrum. There's some residual guilt over the fraught relationship she had with her mom and also some fear, which doesn't seem altogether misplaced, as her mother was heavy into spiritualism.

When I read that this movie is "extremely" scary (EW) and "profoundly terrifying" (pajiba), I was IN. It'd been so long since I'd had a really good fright! As the title cards were rolling, I gripped Gary's arm in anticipation -- I felt like I was in line for a rollercoaster: no idea what was going to happen but I was excited and scared in a good way.

Sigh. It's just another supernatural, culty-type deal where one spouse is patiently annoyed with the other one and doesn't really believe there's danger even when it's clear that there is. At one point, after finding a seriously decomposed headless corpse in the attic, the husband said something like this to his wife "you're the one who dug up your mother's grave, aren't you?" That this utterance was not immediately followed by him getting himself and his kid the fuck outta dodge was just insane. I'm tired of stories that depend on unbelievably ridiculous behavior to keep the subjects in the path of danger. Wake up & get out.

C

Upgrade (2018)

In the near future, a man is crippled and a woman dies in what appears to be a mugging after a car accident. While recovering from his attempted suicide after becoming depressed, the man's offered the chance to try a new implant that can harness his brain's power to regain autonomy. Because he wants to find and take vengeance on those responsible for his wife's death, he goes for it.

And it is awesome. It's violent, for sure, but it's handled in such a way that it's more hilariously heightened than it is upsetting. We watch in awe at what this upgrade allows him to do as he is also in awe of what he's watching his own limbs accomplish. The physicality was incredible and just so fun.

And what a truly original yet satisfying ending, too.

A-

The Levelling (2017)

Young woman returns to the family farm in the wake of her brother’s suicide. As she tries to figure out what happened, she also struggles to manage her difficult relationship with her father.

This is a moody little story and I wanted to like it -- I think I almost did like it -- but I always get a bad taste in my mouth when the story turns into “even when parents are terrible, it's the child's job to respect and forgive them.” I’m of the mind that if a parent sucks, you owe them nothing. 

B-