Kinds of Kindness: Any fears of Yorgos Lanthimos selling out have been squashed with his latest Kinds of Kindness. This three-part anthology film is arguably the bleakest, strangest project the Greek auteur has made since he made the jump over to English language cinema with The Lobster, which may even have been by design considering his recent career trajectory. While it's not his finest work by any stretch, it's a treat to see him tap back into his surrealist/absurdist pitch black comedy roots with a stable of stars (Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamadou Athie, Joe Alwyn, Hunter Schafer-although she's only limited to one very memorable sequence early on in the final chapter) that are eager to play around in such a depraved world and there are several bits in this thing that feature knockout punchlines that had me cackling in the theater. Many viewers are going to be disgusted and/or confused by the content of this film to the point where they probably won't even bother finishing it, but some sickos out there going to have a blast with it and that's who Kinds of Kindness is really for.
Grade: B
A Quiet Place: Day One: Further building out the world of A Quiet Place continues to prove to be richly rewarding excercise. Michael Sarnoski's (Pig) prequel Day One takes viewers back to wait for it... the first day of the alien invasion in New York City. While it effectively handles its obligatory prequel business by showing off the disorienting chaos of the initial attack with some of the biggest, most harrowing setpieces of the series and providing some answers to unanswered questions from the previews (how the survivors figured out the aliens were only alerted by sound and can't swim or hear through the sound of running water in the natural world, what the government did as a response, the establishment of the island community that got introduced in Part II), it's really an intimate story about two strangers (Lupita Ny'ongo, Joseph Quinn) who grow to establish an unlikely bond as they attempt to escape the city at its core.
Pairing a contained human story with gripping monster action interludes that feature incredible sound design and clever use of lighting isn't a departure at all for this series, it's just that the focus on the center of the apocalypse has been elevated with Sarnoski at the helm. Heightening the human portion of the series formula could've backfired if Sarnoski hadn't cast the perfect pairing to play the protagonists. Ny'ongo and Quinn are magnificent together as their easy connection that grows stronger with each scene really sells the trust that builds between these characters who have no one else to turn to during this sudden apocalypse. The progression of their relationship culminates in a powerful third act that shows how the power of human connection and simple pleasures can provide a beacon of light even in the darkest times. While I'm unsure of how longer this streak of finding inspired spins on humans vs. powerful blind aliens can last, I'll be delighted to keep returning to this universe until that unfortunate day comes.
Grade: B+
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is this summer's answer to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: A game veteran actor (Eddie Murphy) returns to the franchise that played a huge role in making him a star in a film that looks and feels like the classic installments, but since everybody is a few steps slower than they used to be, fails to hit with the same impact. The only real victories to be had here is that Murphy effortlessly slips back into the role of the relentless rebel cop Axel Foley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt proves to be a great hardass foil for Murphy as his latest partner in the Beverly Hills police force and Netflix put some actual effort into the production value here with its big, largely practical action sequences and cinematography that matched, if not exceeded the quality of the median recent studio blockbusters. Other than that, it's really nothing more than a serviceable 80's nostalgia piece for the people that didn't want Beverly Hills Cop III to be the last time Axel Foley raised hell on screen.
Grade: B-
MaXXXine: The (presumably) last stop on Ti West's era-hopping slasher franchise is none other than the 80's. At the start of MaXXXine, we catch up with X's sole survivor Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) in Los Angeles in 1985 as she seeks to make the jump from porn to mainstream films by auditioning for a key role in the upcoming horror sequel The Puritan II. Minx crushes the audition and ultimately gets the part, but her adulation is short-lived as the arrival of a sleazy private investigator (Kevin Bacon) who has incriminating information about her past and continued reign of terror by the serial killer known as the Night Stalker threaten to derail her opportunity to finally become the star she's always wanted to be.
What has and will continue to make MaXXXine the most divisive entry in the franchise is how exactly West elected the spirit of 80's horror cinema to manifest here. To put it as succinctly as possible, MaXXXine is pure, unapologetic slasher camp. The color pallet is exaggerated, every actor here (particularly Bacon, Bobby Cannavale as a dickhead homicide detective and Giancarlo Esposito as Maxine's motormouthed agent) is chewing the fuck out of the scenery and the reveal of who is after Maxine kicks off a schlocky final act that will likely be what ultimately shapes each viewer's feelings towards the film. Personally, I would've liked to see West go even further into B-movie territory-particularly with the gore and plot twists, but what he delivers here is a fun, well-crafted film that honors the films of the period its set in while also deftly introducing a new yet complementary flavor to this scrappy little trilogy.
Grade: B
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