Movie Review: 'Hereditary' doesn't scare up a strong enough story

Toni Collette stars as a hysterical mother in the supernatural thriller "Hereditary". Courtesy of A24 

Hereditary (2018, directed by Ari Aster. USA, English, Color, 127 minutes) A good thriller can be compared to a puzzle. You start with the border, establishing the basic framework of what you will be working with and starting to get all of the pieces in place for what will make up the whole picture. Little by little, pieces of information come together and you start getting caught up in the mystery of how everything works in tandem. Sometimes you get a little frustrated when you don't understand why pieces aren't working together, but you keep powering through to the end. When finally you get that last piece into place you feel fulfilled that you accomplished the task and you know why and how the pieces fit together like they did. A small hint here and a big hint there make the infinite number of pieces of jagged edges meld in the most beautiful way that you wonder how you didn't figure it out more effortlessly the first time.

But what if the final product seems less than what was anticipated as the process was ongoing? As if you didn't realize the artwork you were watching bloom in front of you just wasn't worth the time. 

That's how I felt about "Hereditary," a new film that has more genre identifiers attached to it (supernatural, horror, psychological thriller) than it does a good story to merit any one of these adjectives. This tale about a family trying to understand the supernatural ways that are controlling them is plucked from the plots of "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Others" and other truly horrifying films. "Hereditary" was not scary in the psychological way that keeps horrific ideas impaled in our minds for days, nor was it jump-scare city like in last year's adaptation of "It": It simmers slowly to an end that is quite lampoon-ish and doesn't work from the 90 minutes that preceded it. (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Nothing is explained on why some kind of lineage of witchcraft exists or it's needed importance to this family and this story. It's just there to make the film whole.

A great thriller can really build up the suspense for a period of time and then let out the steam with an ending that either answers the questions that it poses, or leaves it open-ended to keep you guessing and intrigued further (à la Michael Haneke's masterful 2005 film Caché). "Hereditary" doesn't answer its own questions or leave anything out in the open to consider further. However, and this is a big plus, there are moments in this film that breathe new life to the horror genre - if that's what this is to be classified as - that will leave you a little unsettled and astounded.

Anchoring this methodical exercise of the unknown is Toni Collette, whose performance as an emotionally-wrecked mother dealing with tragedy after tragedy is nothing short of ravishing tour de force. Collette is the absolute highlight of the film, taking the reigns for such a complex character as she plays the entire spectrum of acting from silent somber, to campy, to rage, to paranoid hysteria. She is the life blood of the film and she carries it with intense fascination as we slowly realize the goofy plot that eventually comes to fruition. Her performance is one of, if not the best she has given in her decades-long career.

"Hereditary" is a film that has great technical skill that unfolds ever-so-slowly to an ending that wasn't worth the meticulous care brought to it. Ultimately, this puzzle was enjoyable to put together even if there were a few too many leftover pieces that writer/director Ari Aster didn't want to throw away.

Rating: C+

Movie Review: 'Solo' doesn't fly well in his own film

Lucasfilm/Walt Disney

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, directed by Ron Howard. USA, English, Color, 135 minutes) When you thought the Star Wars franchise was heading up from a forgetful opening trilogy that set up the backstory to the landmark space opera, "Solo" brings it right back down to the level of the first three episodes we wish we could forget. 

Because "Star Wars" is so well known studios can make any film they want that is based on the original trilogy so long as the Star Wars tag is attached to it. It's a full-proof way to make money without guaranteeing that the quality will be there. The problem with that is there is no mystery left to anything; we are force fed explanations behind characters and stories that sometimes aren't warranted just so the studio can make a few bucks. Han Solo was such a cool, rogue character in the fight against the empire that I never really cared to know his origins, and why do you need to? He's a standalone icon in cinema who should have been left on his own and not used for a cheap plot that was ruffled together for this film. 

Movie Review: 'RBG' offers a softer, less "notorious" side of noted SCOTUS justice

Family time between Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her granddaughter in a scene from 'RBG.' 

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

RBG (2018, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen. USA, English, Color, 97 minutes) I had only seen Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once in person. It was during a session of the Supreme Court in May 2017 and I was gitty sitting from the press box anticipating her entrance from the black curtains all of the justices appear from to take their seats for the day's events. I eventually saw her from her seat a good 50 feet away. She wouldn't have known me from a can of paint, but knowing I was in her presence was just as exciting as fans who get to see her speak during official visits to universities and other institutions. 

United States Supreme Court justices are not thought of as celebrities. Hell, not even a majority of people even remember that the Supreme Court is part of the judicial branch of the federal government, or even know some of its basic functions in rendering decisions. I'm sure the Supreme Court comes off to many as an institution that appears to work like the wizard behind the curtain, an unknown identity whose main job is to divide the country on topics like abortion, naming a president and ruling on same-sex marriage. Obviously, the scope of their work goes beyond these socially volatile areas, but how many know that?

And then comes along Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 85-year-old Brooklynite who has been given "notorious" distinction, a nod to the rapper Notorious BIG, for her legal persona that demands social justice for all and who is not afraid to admit that drinking a little too much wine has caused her to fall asleep during the president's State of the Union addresses. She hasn't missed a day on the bench through two different bouts of cancer and the passing of her husband. Her candid reflections of those events prove she's the OG of the court. Ginsburg's the focus of many fan-based books, websites, clothing merchandise, tattoos and as a wild interpretation of being a party animal by Kate McKinnon on "Saturday Night Live." An official documentary on her life seemed inevitable.

Bruno Mars sweeps the 60th Annual Grammy Awards

Getty Images

Bruno Mars was the biggest winner at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards hosted this year at Madison Square Garden in New York City winning in all six categories he contended.
He swept the general field categories with "24K Magic" winning album of the year, "That's What I like" taking song of the year with his album's title track claiming record of the year. He won three awards at the premiere ceremony before the main telecast- best R&B album for "24K Magic" and R&B performance and R&B song for "That's What I Like."

"24K Magic" also won the best engineered album, non-classical award (but Mars was not a credited engineer on the album).

Another big winner was Kendrick Lamar claiming five out of seven of his races. He won three prizes at the premiere ceremony  for rap song, rap performance and music video, all for "HUMBLE." His collaboration with Rihanna, "LOYALTY." won best rap/sung performance and his "DAMN." won best rap album on the main telecast.

Country star Chris Stapleton swept the country categories by taking album ("From a Room: Volume 1"), song ("Broken Halos") and solo performance ("Either Way"). Little Big Town collected the country genre's only other award for duo/group performance.

Other notable multiple winners include Ed Sheeran who picked up Grammys in the only two categories he was nominated: pop solo performance ("Shape of You") and pop vocal album ("Divide"). Double winners were seen at the premiere ceremony across the many genre fields including CeCe Winans in the gospel field, Jason Isbell in the american roots categories, Jennifer Hidgon in classical and Justin Hurwitz in visual media.

Jay-Z led with eight nominations this year, but was shutout completely

Album Of The Year
Awaken, My Love! — Childish Gambino

4:44 — JAY-Z

DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar

Melodrama — Lorde

24K Magic — Bruno Mars

Record Of The Year

“Redbone” — Childish Gambino

“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber

“The Story Of O.J.” — JAY-Z

“HUMBLE.” — Kendrick Lamar

“24K Magic” — Bruno Mars

Song Of The Year
“Despacito” — Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)

“4:44” — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)

“Issues” — Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)

“1-800-273-8255” — Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)

“That’s What I Like” — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Best New Artist

Alessia Cara

Khalid

Lil Uzi Vert

Julia Michaels

SZA

My fearless 2017 Oscar Nomination Predictions

Expect "The Shape of Water" to claim the most Oscar nominations.

Nomination will be announced on Jan. 23; These are just guesses.

Best Picture
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
Get Out
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Director
Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"
Luca Guadagnino, "Call Me By Your Name"
Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"
Jordan Peele, "Get Out"

Best Actor
Timothee Chalamet "Call Me By Your Name"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Phantom Thread"
James Franco, "The Disaster Artist"
Daniel Kaluuya, "Get Out"
Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, "Molly's Game"
Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"
Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Ouside Ebbing, Missouri"
Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"
Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"

Movie Review: A 'Happy End' to Haneke's Latest? Yes.

Sony Pictures Classics

Happy End (2017, directed by Michael Haneke. France/Germany/Austria, French/English with subtitles, Color, 107 minutes) Michael Haneke's newest film opens and closes with moments recorded on a character's cell phone. I felt this was appropriate considering society's dependence on the device, especially in movie theaters where people are on them until the film starts, and they whip them out when the end credits roll. It's a subtle note Haneke makes about society in "Happy End", the auteur's first film in five years that takes a step back to his earlier works of observing people and cultures without a clear narrative. It was definitely a "happy end"-ing.

True to Haneke form, the film revolves around the Laurent family with an all-star cast who play the characters of construction firm owner Anne (Isabelle Huppert), her brother Thomas (Mathieu Kassovtiz) and their father Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) as the fractured leads of an emotionally broke family. The film is a quilt of slightly loose pieces, both structurally and emotionally, that form together a coherent story about their troubles to realize lethal realities and the changing social climate around them. Anne is dealing with a construction site accident, and her equally unstable son, while her father tries to fight off dementia with several failed suicide attempts. Meanwhile, Thomas deals with multiple lovers and his emotionally distant teenage daughter who knows everything about his salacious encounters. 

Haneke has (had) a way of forming loose parts into a coherent narrative. That has been seen with his own "71 Fragments" and "Code Unknown"; "Happy End" is no different. Intricately weaved into a lot of static shots and long takes, sometimes both, is a story about really naive characters who don't realize the realities around them. The smartest characters are Georges and his granddaughter, Eve, who are both fascinated by death that they connect on a level of empathy that no one else has yet to realize because of all of the distractions around them. The dichotomy between the oldest and youngest characters who seem to realize the most around them is a revelation. No one else understands life more than these two. There is a scene late in the movie where they express their unhappiness with others. An over 70-year age difference and yet these two people have the most true relationship than anyone else in the film. 

"Happy End" focuses on our obsession with the things we can control versus the things we have no control, yet are responsible for. Why? Because it's convenient of course. That's what Haneke has usually focused on, and "Happy End" harbors that energy into a more subtle picture about current political/social norms. Going into a Haneke picture you should expect a very bland, stark level of audience integration. His films are made for audiences to observe the characters' actions and to make interpretations about things we see. "Happy End" lacks a true emotional connection to some in its plot points, even though they're acted at the highest caliber, but it drives home the ideas that people can actually be so oblivious to the real problems that surround them. "Happy End" is a welcome return to the Haneke who could reflect upon us the realest reactions to the social problems around us. He uses the bourgeois setting to show how detached all people can be to the events that truly matter.

Rating: B+

'The Florida Project', 'Three Billboards' among 2017's best films

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri/Fox Searchlight

And another year comes to a close. Inner turmoil about the state of the country and the values and norms we have long held have been thrown into chaos by a never stopping whirling dervish we call America. It was a strong year that had us more engaged - maybe too much? - as a society and more stubbornly steadfast. A more defined understanding of what we want our world to be was never made more clear until 2017 and it appeared on silver screens, and computer screens, all over the world.

The first movie to hold up a mirror to make us reflect on who we are was February's "Get Out", that awesome horror comedy film from first-time director Jordan Peele who created a crazy original story about racism in America. It opened the floodgates for a lot of films to tackle pertinent issues, and it wasn't confined to documentaries- just look at Steven Spielberg's star-studded "The Post" as a big F-you to the Trump Administration and Fatih Akin's overbearingly trite hate crime film "In The Fade".

Movie Review: 'Ex Libris' proves libraries are the greatest community centers on earth

Zipporah

Ex Libris- The New York Public Library (2017, directed by Frederick Wiseman. U.S.A., English, Color, 197 minutes) "Ex Libris- The New York Public Library" is one of, if not the most important films in years. This over three-hour examination of the largest library system in the country reinforces the crucial role that a library serves to a community. With approximately 90 branches serving millions in the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island from all walks of life we see that people rely on their local library for all sorts of things. It's a safe haven from the outside troubles; it's a learning center for children; it's a job resource center for the unemployed; it's a building that records all levels of history; it's one of the great cultural institutions that costs next to nothing for the public to use. Libraries are the greatest things in the world and "Ex Libris" reminds us of that.

Movie Reviews: 'The Shape of Water' and 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' are exciting, lovable films

Lucasfilm

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017, directed by Rian Johnson. U.S.A., English, Color, 152 minutes) Grab your lightsaber and favorite droid because you'll be in for a good time with the latest "Star Wars" movie. After dishing out a lot of fan service in "The Force Awakens", the seventh episode in the "Star Wars" franchise, "The Last Jedi" really opens up its potential with a methodical film that gives us deeper characters and emotions than its lighter predecessor. Now that audiences have been reacquainted with old friends and have welcomed new ones, we can get into the meat of this new trilogy. The First Order continues to drive out the Resistance as Rey tries to lure Luke Sykwalker to help with the cause and Finn and Poe try to keep ahead of the Order's trailing forces.

Movie Review: Important message outshines 'The Post'

20th Century Fox

The Post (2017, directed by Steven Spielberg. U.S.A., English, Color, 115 minutes) As a journalist I'm automatically bias toward films about my profession. I get wrapped up in watching the whole process of sourcing, interviewing, uncovering great secrets, the emotional attachment to the story; I love it all and "The Post" doesn't disappoint on that front.

Released at the most appropriate time when the press is constantly being discredited and attacked, "The Post" is a throwback to one of the defining journalism cases of the 20th century: The publication of the highly classified Pentagon Papers. Unfortunately, "The Post" uses that watershed moment as nothing more than a platform for the filmmakers' own political message. This story deserved more than what Steven Spielberg rushed to get made.

Movie Review: 'Call Me By Your Name' is the ultimate love fantasy

Sony Pictures Classics

Call Me By Your Name (2017, directed by Luca Guadagnino. Italy/France, in English/Italian/French, Color, 132 minutes) "Call Me By Your Name" is the ultimate gay fantasy escapist film. It has a lush, sweeping romance playing out between two handsome guys against a gorgeous, foreign locale. Lazy summer days in Northern Italy where the sun kisses your face on leisurely bike rides with your crush seems like perfection, and a hyper-realized ideal that will have the gays (and anyone else, really) swooning. It is so stylized and precise that it makes you wish we could experience love in such a way. What could be better than beautiful people falling in love in a beautiful space? Not much. 

But does a beautiful setting make up for another run-of-the-mill love story?  No.

Movie Review: The 'Quest' for a better life starts with family

The Rainey family featured in "Quest": Daughter Patricia 'PJ' and her parents Christine'a 'Ma Quest' and Christopher.

First Run Features

Quest (2017, directed by Jonathan Olshefski. U.S.A., English, Color, 105 minutes) Living in the Philadelphia suburbs all of my life (save college) I've always had an idea of what neighborhoods in the city to avoid due to violence and safety concerns. My views have been shaped by what has been reported on the news, of course. But as I started my career in journalism here in the suburbs you go into neighborhoods you may not be familiar with and you see the potential there, a relic of what its former self used to be and should be again. "Quest" gave me that hope for North Philadelphia.

Movie Review: 'Three Billboards' is an aggressively funny, harsh look at society

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017, directed by Martin McDonagh. U.S.A., U.K. English, Color, 115 minutes) We cringe to think justice has not been served when a crime is committed against ourselves or loved ones and no one pays for it. It's no secret that the legal system can move at a glacial pace, with rigidity and luck to ensure that the perpetrator is rightfully convicted. Sometimes the cops can be lucky and find their suspect in a quick amount of time. Sometimes it can takes weeks, months, years, or even never. We don't like feeling wronged having someone get away with a crime.

This is the outline for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", a universal tale about society's expectations for the police to do something when it seems like they're not trying at all. "Three Billboards" balances that drive between social justice and police capabilities with dangerously sharp quips that tackle the process and the emotional turmoils of dealing with it all. There's a stark humanism here that has you rooting for the civilians as much as the police in equal amounts of laughs and heartbreak. Needless to say, it's one of the most satisfying movie-going experiences of the year.

No, you 'Get Out!' Horror film on racism is gravely comedic

Universal Pictures

Imagine being a young black man whisked away to a hyper rich, affluent country suburb where your girlfriend's well-off white family resides. Her parents fully embrace you and boast about their admiration of America's first black president, Barack Obama, as if they're conforming to the politically correct social register of appeasing any black guest that walks through their door with  such an obvious plea that they are accepting of a black man courting their white daughter. Unfortunately, the Stepford persona of the family and their house staff, friends and other family members wears off in a situation that is so grim and fantastical you could never believe it was true if it weren't being told on the silver screen.

That is "Get Out" in a nutshell.

It is the incredibly relevant and popular story for the directorial debut of comic Jordan Peele who also penned the extremely creepy and  funny film that tackles the current social climate of racism. It was recently announced that "Get Out" was classified into the comedy/musical genre field for the 75th Golden Globe Awards in 2018 and drew criticism for deeming a satirically serious - an oxymoron? - film about race relations as being anything but dramatic. Some viewed it as white privilege laughing at racism. Given that the persons who award the Golden Globes are foreign journalists, I doubt many are of the Aryan brethren.

Movie Review: 'Lady Bird' and 'Last Flag Flying' soar high

A24

"Last Flag Flying" and "Lady Bird" are two movies set in the few years proceeding 9/11 and how the social landscapes mold their varied and complicated characters. It's as much about these characters going through their own journeys as it is how we dealt with the greatest act of terrorism ever committed on our shores. Both films are pretty subtle about using that tragic event as a plot point instead opting to delve into the societal impact it had on our behaviors. These films are at times laugh out loud funny and equally heartbreaking. 

Lady Bird (2017, directed by Greta Gerwig. U.S.A., English, Color, 93 minutes) "Lady Bird" in its most basic form is a teenage coming-of-age film. It's a familiar subgenre, but some in the category are more interesting than others. This film, the directorial debut of Greta Gerwig, combines the whipper-snapper appeal of "Juno" and "Ghost World" with just the slightest dash of "Napoleon Dynamite" to round it out. Saoirse Ronan is the titular character who is smarter beyond her years and yet just basic enough for her posh Sacramento Catholic School upbringing in 2002. She clashes with her opinionated mother (Laurie Metcalf) and is adored by her father (Tracy Letts) as she navigates her young life with confidence, with friends, some lovers and a wicked sense of humor.

26th Philadelphia Film Festival, Day 11: Final films, final thoughts

The lines for the Ritz East move behind the theater to keep patrons out of the rain before catching their last flicks.

(Read about Day 9 here)

It almost saddens me to write about the last day of the festival because it is over so quickly. At the start I look at the schedule and think about all of the possible scheduling scenarios to make up and how to fit the the features all in. There never seems to be enough time in the 11 days to get to everything you want to. In the blink of an eye its over and you wonder how you did it.

Granted, I only managed a measly 21 movies - 22 if I didn't walk out of "Under the Tree" - while others can easily do over 40 of the approximately 110 features on the schedule. I usually see around that many every year anyway, so I'm happy.

26th Philadelphia Film Festival, Day 9: Festival winners and good picks

(Read about days 6 and 7 here)

The "closing night" of the festival is supposed to be the ending shebang on the ninth day. The one thing that always baffles me is why closing night festivities occur with two days left in the festival. It's not the last day of the festival so why market it as such? Maybe it's more fun to make the most of a Friday night instead of a Sunday night? At least they get the opening night right by putting it on the first day.

Anyway, winners were announced by the "jury" — the composition of which is never made public so I don't know who is selecting these winners — on "closing night" with documentaries cleaning up nicely. "Bobbi Jene" picked up the documentary feature prize with "At the Drive-In" winning the Pinkenson Award for local features and "Jane" claiming the student choice award.

26th Philadelphia Film Festival, Days 6 and 7: Nice surprises, some bumps

(See my coverage of days 3 and 4 here)

I opted out of seeing anything on Monday (day 5) because I was just too darn tired after the weekend. Ten movies in three days may not be as much as others have seen in such a short period of time, but for me that was more than enough. You would be surprised how tiring it can be to go back-to-back-to-back watching movies all day for a few days in a row.

Come Tuesday and it was a rainy, gloomy morning. I was a little deterred by the thought of standing in the rain waiting outside theaters for screenings to start. Luckily, the sun started to peek out around 11 o'clock and stayed out for the rest of the day, score! With good weather embracing me I set out to the festival. But first I had to stop at the AC Moore in Center City and pick up some yarn to get me through 15 movies through Sunday. I picked me up five balls of Sugar 'N' Cream yarn and head out to the Ritz Five for "At the Drive-In".

Movie Review: 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' is unsettling, addicting

A24

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Ireland/U.K., English, Color, 121 minutes) Leading "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" are Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman as the well-off married doctors who live in a pristine house with two beautiful kids. The family's stringent aura is broken by a teenager named Martin (played by Barry Keoghan), a young man who wants revenge after his dad died on Farrell's watch a few years prior. Who's to blame for the death? It's not clear. No matter, Martin will start to manipulate and taunt the family until they're on the verge of killing each other.

In an about-face from his raucously dark "The Lobster", Yorgos Lanthimos delves deeply into our own ethical and moral standards with this unsettling psychodrama. It's a stray from the warped settings of "Dogtooth" and "The Lobster" with a more precise, normal sense of place... and that makes this movie that much scarier. Nothing is scarier than realizing evil lurks in a place that could be our own community.

26th Philadelphia Film Festival, Days 3 and 4: Animals and art.

The third day of the festival — my second since I didn't attend opening night — was only a hair better than day two. My screenings for both days were equally awful. That's not to say that everything shown that day was bad, I just didn't choose correctly.

My day started off with this year's Golden Bear winner "On Body and Soul," a Hungarian film about two slaughterhouse workers who find a connection because of the synchronous dreams they share. Both young, baby-faced Maria and the older Endre dream that they are deer in a snow-covered forest and have the exact same dream each night. The two socially-awkward individuals become simple acquaintances over their nighttime visuals and we delve slowly into their eccentricities and personalities in this delicate feature.