Action Point
Dir. Tim Kirkby
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Since the inception of the MTV show Jackass in the early 2000s, Johnny Knoxville and his team of "stuntmen" have come under fire for encouraging dangerous behavior. I always felt, as a fan of the show and films, that the Jackass crew never promoted their own behavior, they simply put themselves on display like human crash test dummies. However, at this point, as the guys get older, these reckless stunts have started to lose their charm. Action Point seems like a desperate attempt by an aging Knoxville to hold onto his youth - which in this case comes in the form of excessive, 80's-style binge-drinking and point blank shots to the groin.
What plot there is follows D.C. (Knoxville), the kooky owner of an under-maintained, out-of-control amusement park where the rides are designed without safety in mind. Jeopardizing the future of Action Point is a large mega-park whose lawyers are attempting to shut it down. All the while, D.C.'s estranged daughter Boogie (Eleanor Worthington Cox) comes to town, and D.C. needs to learn to balance his work life with being a father. Everything about the story feels half-assed and like an excuse to stage various visions of violence. The "mega-park" plot is predictable and the father-daughter story only shows us Knoxville's failed attempts at dramatic "acting."
The story of Action Point is loosely based on the real-life Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey, notorious for being the most dangerous theme park in America. Six people have died as a result of the rides there, whether it was from an alpine slide car that jumped the track or a man whose kayak tipped, and, his foot touching an electric wire underwater, was instantly electrocuted. While Action Park has a fascinating history, Knoxville and Co. simply use it as an excuse to stage painful - and painfully unfunny - set pieces that result in characters hurting themselves for our entertainment. Considering the tragic nature of these deaths, the care-free revelry with which this film frames the dangerous park feels borderline offensive.
The only thing that worked for me in this film was the production design. I did think it was an impressive feat to have built this "theme park" out in the middle of South Africa, and I appreciate that when you watch a film like this, you know that what you're watching is absolutely authentic and not staged or faked. When Knoxville flies off a track and face-plants into the ground, it's genuinely disconcerting if he's OK or not - which any other action film cannot boast. But the reasons for which this continued bodily punishment seem to continue is growing thinner and thinner, and I think Knoxville really needs to throw in the towel and focus solely on pranks from now on.
Final Verdict:
SKIP IT
Upgrade
Dir. Leigh Whannell
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Leigh Whannell, writer of the first three (and best) films in the Saw franchise, directed this low-budget action film that was somewhat unceremoniously dumped into theaters this week. Having seen nothing other than the poster for this movie going in, I had no idea what I was in store for - but I may have ended up stumbling into my favorite action film of 2018! Upgrade is like Robocop meets Death Wish meets 2001, a bloody tale of revenge from a pissed-off cyborg, and I absolutely loved it!
Set in the near-future, the story follows Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green, looking like Tom Hardy's twin brother), a stay-at-home mechanic who doesn't trust modern technology. As Grey and his wife are returning home one night, the A.I. car they're traveling in malfunctions and crashes. Four cloaked men arrive at the scene and shoot Grey's wife and leave him paralyzed. Now wheelchair-bound and struggling to live his life, Grey is visited by a client of his, Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson), who offers him an artificially-intelligent implant called STEM that will take over his paralyzed body, allowing him to walk and gain superhuman strength. He accepts, but despite Eron's warnings that this tech needs to be hush-hush, Grey can't help but go on a revenge spree, tracking down his wife's attackers and offering retributive justice.
The world-building in this film rivals that of the best episodes of Black Mirror - living in that space of "I could totally imagine that happening!" The way Whannell integrates technology into the action sequences are inventive, and terrifying to consider they might actually come to exist. There's a sort of Jekyll and Hyde dynamic that forms between Grey and STEM that is equal parts hilarious, a kind of fun wish-fulfillment, and also a scary vision of the future of bio-enhancements. Marshall-Green is amazing in the role, conveying his character's fluctuating sense of identity perfectly.
The acting, the hyper-violent fights (no surprise coming from the mind behind Saw), the fascinating ideas about technology - Upgrade is just pure badassery. I loved this one, and it comes highly recommended!
Final Verdict:
SEE IT!
First Reformed
Dir. Paul Schrader
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From the writer of the seminal classic Taxi Driver, with First Reformed Paul Schrader takes a similar look at America 40 years later. Instead of a taxi driver disgusted with the state of urban decay in New York, here we have a priest, Reverend Toller (Ethan Hawke), whose faith seems tested after meeting with a mentally unstable environmentalist and his pregnant wife (Amanda Seyfried). During the meeting, the man rants about how his wife should not have the baby because it would be irresponsible to bring a life into the world we're currently living in, filled with war and global warming. Toller's beliefs don't seem to fit in this society of extremism, and the film is pretty much his existential journey - complete with narrated journal entries - wondering what place a Man of God can have in contemporary society.
First Reformed is a beautifully-shot, deeply philosophical film that certainly won't be for everybody. On a first watch, it pretty much completely bummed me out to a point where I couldn't say I enjoyed watching it, even though I recognize its merits as a well-made film. The cinematography is wonderful throughout, perfectly conveying Toller's sense of mental imprisonment. Shot in a smaller, "box-like" frame, with long, static shots and expertly-arranged compositions, it's one of the best-looking movies I've seen this year. Its message is provocative for sure, but I was not a fan of where the movie ended up going.
Final Verdict:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
Filmworker
Dir. Tony Zierra
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NOTE: I saw this movie followed by a Q&A with director Tony Zierra and producer Elizabeth Yoffe at the Landmark Cinema in Cambridge, MA.
Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time. The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, 2001, Dr. Strangelove - nearly all of his works remain beloved classics. But as talented a visionary as Kubrick was, if you stay for the end credits you'll realize that filmmaking is a group effort. Filmworker tells the story of Leon Vitali, who was Kubrick's extremely devoted right-hand man since 1975. Vitali, for the pure love of Kubrick, abandoned a promising career as an actor to learn the craft of filmmaking, and this documentary goes to show how important this man was to bringing Kubrick's vision to life.
It was fascinating to learn a lot of new background knowledge about films I've loved for years - for instance, Vitali was instrumental in casting the twins in The Shining, was well as helping Danny Lloyd behind the scenes. He tirelessly exhausted himself to serve the "master," to the detriment of his own family life, and even after Kubrick's death he still "works" for him by being the main force behind all the restorations and home video releases.
If you're a Kubrick fan or interested in film history that happened "below the line," Filmworker is well worth a watch!
Final Verdict:
SEE IT!
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