Bob Odenkirk comes across as someone’s comically world-weary uncle. He’s as likely an action-film hero as Bill Murray.
And that’s largely the appeal of such blood-splattered Odenkirk vehicles as the “Nobody” flicks and, now, “Normal” (R, 91 minutes, in theaters). He plays a regular guy, just trying to mind his own business, who gets caught up in ridiculous plots that require him to do serious damage to bad people.
“Normal,” directed by Ben Wheatley (“Meg 2: The Trench”), is set in the snowy burg of Normal, Minnesota. Odenkirk’s Ulysses Richardson has been hired as the interim sheriff, replacing the town’s recent top lawman, who was found frozen to death outside his home, apparently after drinking too much.
Bob Odenkirk plays a lawman in a strange town in “Normal.” (Magnolia Pictures)
Normal seems like a quaint, quirky town like the Alaskan village in the TV series “Northern Exposure” – even if the walls of its local restaurant are lined with loaded rifles. In an ongoing letter to his estranged wife which serves as narration, Ulysses describes Normal as “good people, small problems.”
Then a bank robbery occurs, and Ulysses learns that Normal is anything but normal. That’s when the carnage begins.
The violence is so extreme, with bodies literally exploding, that it’s funny (at least, until it isn’t). And that’s the point. Despite the mayhem, “Normal” – which also stars Henry Winkler, as the mayor, and Lena Headey, as the local bartender – is mostly a comedy, a satire on how greed has taken over our country. The brutality is just for emphasis.
Maintaining his understated persona throughout the insanity, Odenkirk, who also co-wrote the script, makes this a fairly entertaining time-killer. *** (out of four)
New ‘Mummy’ heavy on ‘Ew!’ factor
“Lee Cronin’s the Mummy” – not to be confused with “Lee Cronin’s Citizen Kane” – starts with a mystery.
Who is Lee Cronin?
Not to be mean, but, unlike, say, Federico Fellini, an internationally acclaimed auteur by the time he slapped his moniker on some of his films (“Fellini’s Casanova,” for instance), Cronin doesn’t seem to have earned this name-on-the-title recognition. The Irish filmmaker’s feature-film output includes the horror flicks “The Hole in the Ground,” which I haven’t seen, and “Evil Dead Rise,” which I did see and didn’t like.
(Who am I to complain, though? I put my name on any column I write and will continue to do so. Is it for branding purposes? You bet. Ego? Sure. I get it, Lee. Besides, the tactic worked: Look how much I’m writing about you.
We now return to our regularly scheduled movie column …)
Cronin’s “Mummy” (R, 134 minutes, in theaters) varies considerably from other “Mummy” movies, whether starring Boris Karloff or Brendan Fraser. While the story still originates in Egypt and features those familiar body wrappings, it mostly resembles “The Exorcist” – with somebody’s young daughter possessed by a demonic spirit and locked up in a bedroom.
After opening with the reawakening of an entombed mummy, the film cuts to a family — Charlie (Jack Reynor of “Sing Street” and “Midsommar”), an American TV journalist; Larissa (Laia Costa), his pregnant wife; and their young kids, Sebastian and Katie – living in Cairo. One day, the woman who reawakened the mummy uses candy and the promise of a magic trick to kidnap Katie. “The Magician” (Hayat Kamille) and Katie disappear without a trace.
Eight years pass. Still no Katie. Charlie, Larissa, Sebastian and their third child, Maude, are living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There’s a plane crash, Katie is discovered in a mummified state, and she’s still alive.
She comes home. And that’s when things turn really ugly. Soon scarred and feral Katie is playing Renfield by gleefully gobbling up a scorpion, attacking visiting (and obviously ill-fated) Granny (Carmen Santiago) and projectile vomiting. There is a lot of puking in this movie.
It’s disturbing, all right, but more repulsive than scary.
There are some clever bits – especially one involving the Morse Code – but, overall, this “Mummy” never comes alive. **
‘The Drama’: Haven’t got time for the pain
Is it worth sitting through a movie that’s thought-provoking but annoying?
That’s the big question posed by “The Drama” (R, 105 minutes, in theaters), an alleged black comedy with an arguably sadomasochistic appeal.
Robert Pattinson and Zendaya star in “The Drama.” (A24)
After all, like the recent “Beau Is Afraid” and other acclaimed films of its type, “The Drama,” written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli (“Dream Scenario”), depicts people in a hellish situation that keeps getting worse. As their anguish increases, so does ours (assuming we’re not watching their travails with complete detachment). It’s painful for all concerned.
Obviously, some films are worth whatever anxiety they create for the moviegoer. But, despite its strong cast, despite the compelling questions it asks, “The Drama” doesn’t provide nearly enough to justify how irritating it is. It trivializes its ideas with shallow, obnoxious characters making bad decisions.
Zendaya plays Emma, and Robert Pattinson plays Charlie. Emma and Charlie are about to get married. They go out to dinner with their friends Rachel (Alana Haim) and Mike (Mamoudou Athie), long-held secrets are revealed, and suddenly the wedding plans are imperiled.
And from there it gets worse … and worse … and worse. And we get to squirm.
Zendaya and Pattinson are such appealing actors, and they’re willing to take chances with the characters they take on. But here their work is lost in the noise. Haim fares better. As the film’s most unlikable character, she dominates every scene she’s in as the judgmental, mean-spirited Rachel.
We are left to consider several questions. How well do we – can we – know each other? How much does the past – including past sins – define us? Can people change? What qualifies as a deal-breaker in a relationship?
“The Drama” touches on all of this. If only it had more respect for its characters, and its audience. **½
Tim Miller, Movie Critic
Tim Miller is co-president of the Boston Society of Film Critics and a Tomatometer-approved critic. He teaches film and journalism at Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable. You can contact Tim at [email protected]. Or you can ignore him completely.
