I became aware of Max Winkler with Flower, a highly underrated gem from 2018. His latest is technically a better film but not quite as enjoyable. What i mean by that is i loved Flower, but this shows his growth as a filmmaker. Great acting from all three leads, great boxing choreography, a riveting story. Best boxing film since Creed 2.
Parallel started off great. This was a cool flick about a mirror and the multiverse. I've always been fascinated with the concept of multiverses plus i had a story i once wrote about mirrors bringing alternate realities. The second act got a little screwy but i didn't hate it, i waited to see how it played out. The third act got even messier, and so messy that it could not be cleaned. I only became aware of this film the other day but knew i needed to see it. I haven't seen a film i loved so much for thirty minutes morph into a film that was so fucking bad. I will give the ending props for a pretty innovative and radical kill however. Plus the film ends on a down note so i will give it props there.
Archenemy, the new superhero flick from Adam Egypt Mortimer, is a welcome addition to the non superhero superhero genre. His first film, Some Kind of Hate, was mean spirited and not very memorable. His second, Daniel Isn't Real, was a vast improvement. This here falls in the middle, definitely better than the first but not as good as the second. It's a superhero film about a homeless man that no one believes is a superhero let aloe outer space. The villain is a drug dealer, so it brought up thoughts of Super, Project Power and plenty of others, so some tropes sure, but the cast all meshes well and the "cut scenes" with comic art are pretty damn sweet. The film overall though feels a bit rushed and contrived, it is far from a bad film though and i welcome a flick like this over the tired blockbusters. It honestly feels like a film that should have been released by Amazon or Hulu but i think it will find it's audience through Dollar Tree. It sounds weird but this feels like a flick that will be talked about in hunt videos within the next two years.
I don't know what the fuck i just watched, Black Bear starts off feeling quite dream like, Aubrey Plaza is pool side, heads on in, then we cut to her arriving at the same place. I thought something felt off but it wasn't until the second half that it made sense. THAT made sense, the rest of the film, not so much. A film within a film where the film we saw is not the film at all and the film we see is the filming of a film that runs parallel to the film we saw in the first half. Maybe? Whatevs, it had good acting and showed how hectic a film set can be, made me miss it.
Fatman is the best thing Mel Gibson has done since Payback. This is also the best Christmas flick of the year. Mel Gibson as Santa, Walton Goggins hunting him? That is all you need to know. This is very B movie of the 70s, not in a cheesy way but in content, the premise, the action scenes/violence, but unlike alot of post Grindhouse films, this feels authentic. Think of the Cannon Films actions films of the 80s, it is badass.
Deathcember, like most horror anthologies, is a mixed bag. Some are good, some are bad, some themselves are mixed. None are perfect, none are boring, some are ambitious, others are by the numbers. Atleast this has Christmas cheer to keep it moving, even though the 2 hour and 22 minute run time is a bit much, which includes 20 minutes of trailers(with two stingers). Regardless there is plenty of boobs and blood to keep you happy. Ho ho horror!
The Call, the new 2020 South Korean Netflix film, since it is a popular name, is one of the more effective supernatural films of the year. Oozes atmosphere, and has a fresh and original take. Solid acting, a creepy score and an overall sinister premise make this one of the best to come from Korea this year.
