Time to shift gears.
After taking a rewarding deep dive into indie films courtesy of the just-finished Woods Hole Film Festival, it’s time to catch up on the cineplex scene:
“Together” (R, 102 minutes). When a movie is described as “body horror,” odds are it’s going to be repulsive. Sure enough, “Together” has its gross-out moments (the worst, involving swallowing hair, had me gagging … and I wasn’t the one swallowing!).
That said, this new chiller starring real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie, is scary and smart. While last year’s body-horror hit “The Substance” dealt with sexism and ageism, “Together,” as its title implies, takes a disturbing look into romantic commitment and codependency.
Longtime partners Tim (Franco) and Millie (Brie) leave the big city for a rural area where Millie has landed a teaching job. Tim, a struggling musician, has second thoughts about leaving his friends and music contacts. Given the way he freezes when Millie proposes to him at a party, he’s apparently having second thoughts about their relationship, too. Another clue: the way he keeps making excuses to avoid getting intimate with Millie.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco star in smart, scary “Together.” (Neon)
Still, the couple makes the move to a remote house in the woods. The two go for a nature hike, get lost, fall into a cave, and drink the water they find there. Big mistake.
Things, as expected, take a horrific turn, with writer-director Michael Shanks effectively cranking up the intensity.
Meanwhile, we’re left to consider the nature of relationships. The Spice Girls – one of Millie’s old favorites – are heard on the soundtrack singing “2 Become 1,” the title a familiar concept considered an ideal for couples deeply in love. But is that really such a good thing, or does a balance have to be struck with partners sharing their lives while maintaining their individuality? As one character says in “Together”: “When I die, I don’t want someone else’s life flashing before my eyes.”
There are no easy answers to the questions “Together” poses, and, even at the end, it’s hard to know how to react. The movie continues to haunt the moviegoer – not with its scary images (ahem, gag), but with its challenging concepts. ***½ (out of four)
“The Naked Gun” (PG-13, 85 minutes). Comedy is, uh, funny. As in tricky.
Where do you draw the line between what’s so-dumb-it’s-funny and what’s just dumb? How can someone find the Three Stooges, “Caddyshack” and Austin Powers funny but the “Airplane!” “Police Academy” and “Naked Gun” spoofs as essentially sources of pain? (That someone, of course, being me.) They’re all goofy comedies in their way, so what separates one from another?
Like anything, I guess, it’s a matter of taste. All I know is I’ve met many people who think the first “Airplane!” comedy is one of the all-time greats, and, no judgments here, I suspect those people also will love the new “Naked Gun,” with its variation of punny Dad jokes and silly sight gags that sometimes push the PG-13 envelope.
The latest “Naked Gun” – the fourth in the cop-comedy series and first since 1994 – replaces the late Leslie Nielsen, who played Detective Sgt. Frank Drebin, with Liam Neeson, as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.
Frank Jr. gets involved in a murder case involving a stolen P.L.O.T. device (ouch) and the participation of Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), the victim’s attractive sister. When Beth walks into his office, Frank says, “Take a chair,” and she replies that she already has one (double ouch). It’s that kind of comedy.
OK, I did like the gag in which Frank misreads a manslaughter charge as “man’s laughter.” To each their own. **
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (PG-13, 115 minutes). Marvel Comics’ The Fantastic Four have not been so fantastic in their previous three trips to the big screen. (That doesn’t include the earlier, unreleased Roger Corman version, which I haven’t seen.)
Finally, director Matt Shakman (the miniseries “WandaVision”), four screenwriters and a new cast deliver the right combination of sci-fi drama, action, humor and likable characters to create a worthy vehicle for the superhero quartet.
The new cast:
Pedro Pascal, as the leader, Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, a scientist who can stretch his body to extremes beyond Gumby’s dreams.
Vanessa Kirby, as Reed’s wife, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, who can create force fields and turn invisible.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, as Reed’s best friend, Ben Grimm/the Thing, a former astronaut whose body is now covered with heavy rock, giving him a hulklike physique and super strength.
Joseph Quinn, as Sue’s younger brother, Johnny Thunder/the Human Torch, who can turn to flame and fly.
Set in 1964, the film opens with Sue informing Reed that she’s pregnant. Later, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) – who, as her name suggests, is a silver creature on what looks like a surfboard – arrives to announce that the giant Galactus will soon arrive to literally devour Earth (OK, here it’s Earth-828).
The Fantastic Four vow to change Galactus’ dining arrangements, but he makes a demand – and it’s a big ask, to say the least. Our heroes need to find another answer to save the planet.
Though, typical of most superhero movies, so much of “First Steps” is on a humongous scale, the little touches are the highlights, whether it’s bachelor Johnny humorously admitting he’s attracted to the Silver Surfer (“I finally meet somebody interesting …”), Ben shyly connecting with a schoolteacher (the charismatic Natasha Lyonne, who hopefully will have more screen time in a sequel), or the good-natured banter between Ben and Johnny.
This is definitely a comeback for the Marvel team, with more no doubt to come. ***
“Superman” (PG-13, 129 minutes). For a Man of Steel, the new Superman sure gets his butt kicked a lot.
This might sound sadistic, but … it’s kind of nice to see. Whether it’s D.C. Comics’ Superman or Marvel’s Thor, some superheroes are just too super. They’re so powerful that they should beat their opponents every time. Where’s the challenge?
Maybe that’s why writer-director James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) emphasizes the title character’s vulnerability in his entertaining reboot, which stars David Corenswet, as Superman/reporter Clark Kent, and Rachel Brosnahan, as Clark’s newspaper colleague and girlfriend Lois Lane.
The native of the planet Krypton not only gets physically pounded by a super-henchman (“metahuman”) controlled by his arch nemesis, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), he gets pounded in another sense by the press, politicians and the public, thanks to a smear campaign orchestrated by evil genius Luthor.
In telling this story, Gunn injects a lot of political commentary into the mix.
Superman’s critics say he’s not to be trusted because he’s an alien, and, though in this case he’s from another planet, he’s clearly a symbol for the immigrants at the heart of debate in our country these days.
Luthor tries to dehumanize him: “Super … man. … He’s not a man. He’s an it.”
But Superman, brought up by adoptive human parents and raised as his human alter ego, Clark Kent, emphasizes his humanity: “I’m as human as anyone. I love, I get scared. I wake up every morning and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength.”
Meanwhile, the masked, thuglike underlings doing Luthor’s bidding certainly bear a strong resemblance to the anonymous real-life ICE agents scooping people off the street. And, in a twist that might upset more than just the MAGA crowd, Luthor is engaged in a conspiracy to help a U.S. ally country (here called Boravia) ruthlessly invade a neighboring country (here called Jarhanpur) for his personal gain – clearly a reference to you know who and the Gaza situation.
“Superman” can, though, simply be enjoyed at face value. Brosnahan makes an especially good Lois Lane, a thoughtful reporter who challenges Superman in an interview with uncomfortable questions, and Nathan Fillion gives a terrific comic performance as an overbearing, egotistical Green Lantern, one of three (later four) superheroes coming to Superman’s aid as the Justice Gang.
Hoult, of course, has the unenviable task of playing Lex Luthor. After Gene Hackman’s comic tour de force as the villain in Richard Donner’s 1978 “Superman,” all other versions have paled in comparison. The same holds true here. ***
“Bad Shabbos” (not rated, 84 minutes). “The Trouble With Harry” meets “La Cage Aux Folles”/”The Birdcage” in director Daniel Robbins’ lightweight sitcom of a movie.
Engaged couple David (Jon Bass), who’s Jewish, and Meg (Meghan Leathers), who was brought up Catholic, arrive at the Upper West Side apartment of David’s parents (Kyra Sedgwick, David Paymer) for a Shabbat dinner.
In addition to David’s sister (Milana Vayntrub) and brother (Theo Taplitz), and the sister’s boyfriend (Ashley Zukerman), Meg’s parents (John Bedford Lloyd, Catherine Curtin) are coming, making a special trip from Wisconsin to join the gathering. It’s the first time the couple’s parents are meeting, so the pressure’s on for everything to go smoothly.
Before Meg’s parents arrive, though, someone drops dead. That, as one might imagine, causes some panic, especially since the survivors are intent on keeping the death a secret.
The scramble is on, and it all could be written off as mildly amusing, contrived comedy, until Cliff “Method Man” Smith comes to the rescue as the doorman Jordan. Jordan likes David’s family, and when he realizes something’s going on (he’s not sure exactly what at first), he insists on taking control of the situation. Jordan also – thanks to Method Man’s dynamic performance – takes over the movie, injecting a life that was mostly missing earlier.
That’s not to say the rest of the cast isn’t fine. Comedian-actress Vayntrub is especially good as the somewhat sardonic sister. But Method Man walks away with the movie. ***
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” (R, 111 minutes). Yes, it’s a typical slasher movie in a lot of ways – and a sequel to boot.
But when a mysterious slasher harpoons some guy, and the victim responds with “What the fuck, Bro?” you know the film has something going for it.
With the same title as the 1997 original (which was followed by 1998’s amusingly named “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”), “I Know What You Did Last Summer” has essentially the same set-up, with a group of young friends terrorized by a killer who knows they did something wrong. You know, last summer.
This time, the friends are twentysomethings Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Danica (Madelyn Cline), Milo (Jonah Hauer-King), Teddy (Tyriq Withers) and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon). They cause an accident, scoot before they can be implicated, and pay a heavy price by a hook-wielding psycho in a fisherman’s slicker. (No, it’s not Gorton’s Fisherman of frozen fish stick fame, but it sure would be cool if it were.)
Adding to the fun are original characters Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.), and they’re not around just for cheap cameos, but actually play key roles in the story, which is nice.
Director and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson tosses in plenty of red herrings and suspects to keep us guessing, and enough horror action to keep us on edge. But the dialogue is what makes this film an unexpected surprise.
Another favorite line comes when the friends are getting worked up over what’s going on, and one, fed up, finally says, “Enough with this Scooby-Doo bullshit!”
I love that. ***
** Click here for Tim Miller’s previous movie columns for Cape Cod Wave **
Please like Cape Cod Wave on Facebook.
Cape Cod Wave Magazine covers the character & culture of Cape Cod. Please see our Longform stories.
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 follow him onTwitter @TimMillerCritic. Or you can ignore him completely.
