A Walk Among the Tombstones
Dir. Scott Frank
Liam Neeson's career is the reverse of every other big movie star: He starts out starring in mostly serious dramas like Schindler's List and Michael Collins, then as he gets ripe with age, cements himself as an action hero in films like Taken and Unknown. A Walk Among the Tombstones, based on a crime novel by Lawrence Block, continues Neeson's line of tough guy flicks in a neo-noir about a private detective hired to find out what happened to a man's wife, murdered despite her husband paying the ransom. An ex-alcoholic turned clean, Neeson eventually decides to take the case, enlisting the help of a random homeless kid he meets in the library. Yeah, I don't understand it myself, but the kid (played by "Astro" Bradley, a young rapper from the first season of The X-Factor) did a pretty good job bouncing off Neeson, filling him in on all the "street lingo" he needs to know; if only the script was better, it could've been a K and J-type relationship a la Men in Black, but it just ends up feeling pointless. The character solely exists for us to care about him.
Rating: C
Frank
Dir. Lenny Abrahamson
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Frank is a peculiar fellow. An all around musical genius, Frank (Michael Fassbender) leads his little-known avant guarde rock band with the all-American sound and rambling poeticism of Jim Morrison. Oh yeah, and you don't actually get to see Frank, because he wears a giant paper mache head at all times. Yes, even while showering. The line between genius and complete psycho is blurred when it comes to this enigma of a man, but that doesn't stop a young wannabe singer/songwriter, Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), from joining Frank's band on a "mystical" journey to a remote cabin to record a new album (after their previous keyboardist went insane, of course).
Right off the bat you know it's a quirky movie just by the virtue of having Michael Fassbender, Magneto himself, one of the hottest actors working today, concealing one of the most prominent tools an actor can use: his face. I won't spoil whether or not the mask ever comes off, but I like the idea of having this kooky character played by someone relatively "famous," and not solely using him for a repetitive, easy gag (though this film doesn't lack those, such as whenever Frank vocalizes his change of facial expression to make people feel more "comfortable"), but use him as a demystification of the musical "genius." Frank, along with most of his band members, may or may not have serious mental issues, and the movie doesn't shy away from the dark side of creativity. The film has a very strange tone that hovers between quirky charm and morose satire, which doesn't sound like it would be a 'peanut butter and jelly' combination, but Abrahamson somehow pulled it off.
Rating: B-
The One I Love
Dir. Charlie McDowell
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Charlie McDowell (son of Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen) makes his directorial debut with The One I Love, a relationship drama shrouded in secrecy. For whatever reason, all of the marketing material is covering up exactly what the plot is for the film, but I do think audiences will benefit from going in blind (don't worry, I won't really spoil anything). But the basic idea is that a couple in a somewhat rocky relationship (played by Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss) is told by their therapist (Ted Danson) to go on a retreat to this sunny guest house in the country. The two make the journey, but find certain secrets in the house that challenge their relationship in strange ways.
It's nearly impossible to talk about this movie without spoilers, but all in all I really enjoyed this film. The "hush-hush" dilemma the characters face was completely captivating to me, and unraveled like a really good episode of The Twilight Zone. Both Moss and Duplass felt totally authentic in their roles, likely due to the improvisational nature of the script (which was more of a 50-page outline), and react realistically to strange occurrences. Although there are a number of plot holes, and the film doesn't spell everything out for you, I found this film to be a fascinating, unique construction of the wants and needs of what women and men want in a relationship, and whether or not to embrace your partner's flaws or try to attain their "perfect" version. The ending of the film, I felt, was pretty interesting and up for interpretation, and though this movie is filled with ambiguities, the human element is never lost. A weird little movie worth watching!
Rating: B+
Life After Beth
Dir. Jeff Baena
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So apparently zom-rom-com is it's own genre now. After Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and Warm Bodies, you'd think the conceit of zombie comedies would be completely dead, but you'd be dead wrong. Life After Beth, which premiered at Sundance, basically takes the set-up of a pretty serious drama and puts a zombie in the middle of it, turning it funny all of a sudden! Beth (Aubrey Plaza) dies while taking a hike after she gets bitten by a snake. Her death takes its toll on her grieving parents (John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon) and boyfriend, Zack (Dane DeHaan), but one day, she just comes back home like nothing ever happened. Confused, upset, relieved, etc, Zack starts getting involved with her again, and of course, she slowly but surely starts craving human flesh...and comedy ensues.
While the central idea behind his movie sounds fit for a terribly cheesy straight-to-dvd crapfest, the performers elevate the material into something totally watchable. DeHaan strangely shows more acting chops here than I think I've ever seen from him, with a semi-complicated role where he has to be confused and upset, but still be able to balance his emotions with the dark humor at play. Beth, played by Parks and Rec's Aubrey Plaza, was another inspired choice for the lead; typically known for her droll couldn't-care-less attitude, she also shows a surprising range, playing both a nymphetic young woman when she first comes back, and going all-out crazy when she starts to "turn." And Reilly, who's infamous for straddling the line between comedies and drama, was a great choice to play Beth's dad, again having to be a supportive, grieving figure in the middle of this ridiculous premise.
All in all, not a bad movie, but ultimately pretty slight. Some of the jokes land better than others, and most of my enjoyment of the film came from how the genre conventions played out. The film uses the zombie myth as a metaphor for breaking up with someone you love, and changes many aspects of the "Romero" rules to fit into that idea, but never in such a way that made it completely blasphemous to zombie lore (unlike Warm Bodies, which made it possible to "un-zombie" someone). Comedy fans and curious zombie genre aficionados should give it a whirl, there's a lot of actors I love in this doing solid work, so I give it a satisfactory severed thumbs up.
Rating: B
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