Thursday, March 14, 2024

Love Lies Bleeding review

LOVE LIES BLEEDING: 

ROSE GLASS DELIVERS A DAMN IMPRESSIVE SOPHOMORE DIRECTORIAL EFFORT! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4


A24

Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian in Love Lies Bleeding

 

            What happens when a gym manager and a bodybuilder form a relationship and the gym manager’s father is part of a crime family? Probably something like Love Lies Bleeding, the second directorial effort from Rose Glass (Saint Maud). 

            I’ve not seen Glass’ previous film, Saint Maud but after seeing this I might have to check it out because holy cow! I was already intrigued when I saw the trailer but this surpassed my expectations and delivered a thoroughly entertaining and unapologetically ambitious experience that most mainstream feature films would steer away from. 

            The film is set in 1989 and follows reclusive gym manager, Lou (Kristen Stewart-The Twilight SagaOn the RoadSpencer) who falls for an ambitious bodybuilder named Jackie (Katy O’Brian-Z NationAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) who’s heading through town to Las Vegas so she can pursue her dream of competing in a bodybuilding competition. But their love soon ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family headed by her father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris-Apollo 13A History of ViolenceTop Gun: Maverick). 

            The film also stars Jena Malone (Donnie DarkoInto the WildRebel Moon) as Lou’s sister Beth, Anna Baryshnikov (Wiener-DogManchester by the SeaDickinson) as Daisy, and Dave Franco (21 Jump StreetNeighbors 1 and 2The Disaster Artist) as Beth’s husband J.J.. 

            Overall, Love Lies Bleeding isn’t a movie for everyone (The ending in particular will be divisive amongst moviegoers), but those looking for something outside of what Hollywood keeps pumping out will be greeted by a blood-soaked, darkly comical, and at times surreal romance tale unlike any other. What really makes this film work are the performances by Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian, both do outstanding jobs in their roles. 

            Sure, I joked about Kristen Stewart’s dry and wooden performance from the Twilight films, but when she’s good she is really good with this being no exception. Stewart is brilliant as this cynical, reclusive gym manager and effectively delivers some genuinely funny and often snarky lines of dialogue, has believable romantic chemistry with O’Brian, and even a few badass moments. 

            Katy O’Brian is the biggest standout of the film; I haven’t seen much of her work but she absolutely knocks it out of the park as Jackie the bodybuilder. She isn’t just your typical “Strong Woman” archetype because despite her tough exterior and personality, she is an extremely flawed and thoroughly fascinating character over the course of the film where she goes to extreme lengths to achieve her goals whether it’s injecting herself with a bunch of steroids or resorting to murder when an obstacle gets in her way, she is 100% convincing in every scene she’s in…she also puts every film version of The Incredible Hulk to shame (If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about). 

            Ed Harris also gives a great performance as Lou’s father and crime boss and it’s probably the most terrifying Ed Harris performance I’ve seen in a while. Every scene he’s in has this threatening and intimidating presence and to make things even crazier, he has hair! AAAHHH! (Anyway, excellent antagonist performance from Harris as usual). 

            The film also gets pretty grisly and violent though I wouldn’t call it a constant gore-fest, but the moments that it does have are pretty grotesque and shocking. Specifically, when it shows a dead body of someone who was murdered, it actually got an audible reaction out of me when it was shown in the theater. 

            Despite being mostly grounded in reality; the movie also isn’t afraid to go to surreal and absurd territories at times. This is where that likely polarizing ending comes in which I won’t give away here, but it certainly got a lot of reactions out of the audience I was with and will certainly be talked about afterwards. 

            The weird ending doesn’t ruin the movie as I was still entertained when it happened, but it is something to take note of while watching it. It’s another example of A24 subverting audiences’ expectations when they buy a ticket to their films and I have nothing but the highest level of respect for them whenever they do that. 

            I very much enjoyed Love Lies Bleeding and is currently just below Dune: Part Two (Which is so far my #1 pick at the time of this review) in my best films of the year list. It’s an effective blend of ultra-violence, romance, dark humor, and moments of surrealism led by the outstanding performances by Stewart and O’Brian and stellar direction from Rose Glass, you won’t want to miss this crazy trip. 

Friday, March 8, 2024

Kung Fu Panda 4 review

KUNG FU PANDA 4: 

PO RETURNS IN SOLID FOURTH ENTRY! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4


UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

Zhen, Master Shifu, Po, The Chameleon, and Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda 4

 

            Jack Black (School of RockTenacious D in The Pick of DestinyTropic Thunder) returns as the voice of pudgy, lovable doofus panda turned Dragon Warrior Po in Kung Fu Panda 4, the fourth installment of the Kung Fu Panda film series and the latest animated feature from DreamWorks Animation. The Kung Fu Panda movies are a prime example of films that are far better than they had any right to be with the first film released in 2008 not only being a hilarious animated comedy with Jack Black as a cartoon panda but also a movie that explored bold ideas and thought-provoking themes, taught important lessons for both kids and adults, and had surprisingly brilliant storytelling. 

            The 2011 sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2 I’ll go on record and say is one of the best animated sequels ever made and among the likes of Toy Story 2Shrek 2How to Train Your Dragon 2Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It expands upon the story set up by the first film even further, introduces an extremely imposing and threatening antagonist in the form of Lord Shen voiced brilliantly by Gary Oldman, and goes into Po’s backstory with some of the most heartbreaking drama you’ll ever see in an animated feature. 

            While the third film from 2016, Kung Fu Panda 3 doesn’t quite have the same rewatch value as its predecessors, it’s still an amazing movie with Po finding his real dad and going back to his panda roots while also learning how to become something even greater than the Dragon Warrior. It’s one of the best animated trilogies of the 2000s-2010s…but then they made a fourth one. 

            I constantly had to remind myself this was even coming out because I wasn’t really clamoring for a continuation after Kung Fu Panda 3 ended, not to mention I only saw the trailer for this once in theaters and it was before Migration. Aside from seeing some posters and standees in movie theater lobbies as well as a few social media posts about it, I almost forgot we were getting Kung Fu Panda 4 nor was I really thinking about it much. 

            Well, after much cautious optimism and as someone who absolutely adores the Kung Fu Panda movies, I can gladly say that Kung Fu Panda 4 is…a good movie! Yeah, just a good movie no more, no less. 

            The film follows Po being called by destiny to seek out a successor to take on the role as the Dragon Warrior and he in turn can become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. However, a new threat comes in the form of a shape-shifting, sorceress Chameleon (voiced by Viola Davis-The HelpDC Extended UniverseThe Woman King) who sets her eyes on Po’s Staff of Wisdom which could give her the power to re-summon all of Po’s previous foes from the spirit realm. 

            With the help of Master Shifu (voiced once again by Dustin Hoffman-Kramer VS KramerRain ManMeet the Fockers/Little Fockers), Po’s adoptive and biological dads Mr. Ping (voiced again by James Hong-Blade RunnerMulanEverything Everywhere All at Once) and Li Shan (voiced again by Bryan Cranston-Breaking BadArgoGodzilla (2014)), and a crafty, quick-witted street thief fox named Zhen (voiced by Awkwafina-Crazy Rich AsiansThe FarewellJumanji: The Next Level), Po will make a stand to protect the Valley of Peace from the Chameleon’s wrath and learn that some heroes are found in the most unexpected places. 

            The film also features the voices of Ian McShane (CoralinePirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesJohn Wick franchise) reprising his role as Tai Lung, Ke Huy Quan (Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomThe GooniesEverything Everywhere All at Once) as Han, Lori Tan Chinn (South Pacific (2001), Turning RedJoy Ride) as Granny Boar, Ronny Chieng (Godzilla VS KongShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsM3GAN) as Captain Fish, and YouTuber MrBeast (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant MayhemUnder the BoardwalkMigration) as Panda Pig. 

            Overall, Kung Fu Panda 4 may be the weakest entry of the series and lack the emotional weight and many of the key characters from earlier installments, but it’s still a well-made movie with dazzling animation, inventive and quick action, and it makes up for much of its flaws with plenty of heart. It doesn’t aim to teach new lessons or take the series in new directions and instead just gives a 90-minute comfort viewing that goes everywhere you’d expect a movie like this would go and I should stress that’s not exactly a bad thing. 

            It’s sort of like the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie where the storyline is very predictable but the charm of the characters is what keeps it together. I would have preferred a fourth Kung Fu Panda movie that took the series to new places but a simply entertaining one with lovable characters is good enough for me. 

            This one does still expand on Po’s character arc with him coming to terms with finding a new Dragon Warrior and transcending to a higher position. There is no replacement for Po’s interactions with the Furious Five, but the dynamic between him and Zhen is very entertaining from their comedic banter to the slower, more heartfelt moments, both Black and Awkwafina do admirable jobs selling both aspects of their characters. 

            Viola Davis is also having a ball as the evil Chameleon and while she may not be one of the most complex villains in the Kung Fu Panda series, she is one of the funniest with her going over-the-top and Davis being able to unleash her crazy side. Plus, her character leads to some inventive action scenes involving her shapeshifting into other characters during fights. 

            Like its predecessors, the martial-arts action is a lot of fun and very stylized with an animated Jackie Chan or even comic book feel to them in terms of lighting, shadows, and visual effects. Probably the best action scene in the movie is this chase in a city that eventually leads into a China shop with all the characters moving as slowly as possible to prevent breaking anything. 

            While I didn’t find it quite as funny as the earlier films, I laughed a fair amount of times in the movie. Some of my favorites being these visual gags involving characters’ inner-thoughts throughout the film, seemingly adorable rabbits turned bloodthirsty monsters obsessed with violence, and a teetering tough guy pub on the sea. 

            Kung Fu Panda 4 is a slight letdown but I say it’s still a decent entry in the series with just enough visual dazzle, creative action, and heart to keep it afloat. It’s sure to entertain kids and longtime fans of the franchise, like me. Not quite Skadoosh, but Ska…Good…Enough…sh…yeah, that’s what I’m going with. Shut up!