Dir - Justin Benson/Aaron Moorhead
Overall: MEH
Continuing in the trajectory and likely the same cinematic universe as two of their previous movies Resolution and The Endless, filmmaking team Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's Synchronic is unfortunately a bit of a misstep, not quite reaching what it is striving for. Themes of chance play somewhat heavily where the two best friends lament about how their lives could have went in various paths, if only different choices been made. On this note, it makes sense to hinge the story on the concept of a recreational drug that can literally send you back to random spots in time depending on where you physically are at the moment that it kicks in/wears off. While the performances are solid, there are a handful of fun set pieces, and the special effects are expertly used, there is also a bit of an issue that Benson's script seems pretty dodgy along the way. The characters are underwritten to various extents, which makes the downer ending fail to connect, plus the "ridiculous on paper" premise stands out more as a half-baked bit of flimsy sci-fi nonsense as opposed to something to truly slam home its series of unique, contemplative ideas.
Dir - Perry Blackshear
Overall: MEH
An interesting if ultimately just partially successful follow-up to his very solid debut They Look Like People, Perry Blackshear's The Siren, (The Rusalka), utilizes the same understated approach to what is another emotionally-driven character study. Evan Dumouchel, MacLeod Andrews, and Margaret Ying Drake all return, making up virtually the entire speaking cast who are each dealing with a severe, consuming sense of loss and loneliness. This particular brand of inner turmoil is at the core of the film and the actors are all exceptional, delivering only sparse dialog, (and in Dumouchel's case who plays a literal mute, no dialog at all), largely relying on subtle mannerisms to exhibit a desperate need for attachment. Blackshear still makes excellent use out of merely some creepy contact lenses, sound effects, a few filters, and intimate camerawork in place of special effects, but it is in the simplistic plotting that gives everything too stagnant of a feel. Provided by a voice over, we are given almost the entire premise within the first minute of the running time and while the cinematography is alluring to a point, everything simmers a bit too much with repetitive, interchangeable scenes where the same information is conveyed again and again. There are also a few predictable, awful jump scares that Blackshear could not resist in utilizing, which is a step down in its own right from the cliche-less They Look Like People by comparison.
Dir - Andy Muschietti
Overall: MEH
Whereas director Andy Muschietti's first It adaptation was simply a neutered, by-the-books, big glossy horror production like any other from a major studio, It Chapter Two finishes off wrapping up the source material with added tonal blunders in tow. Unmercifully bloated to nearly three-hours in length, it tells a mirror image story where once again the Loser Club, (now grown to adulthood), visit the same sets, go through the same motions, and each individually get scared by incredibly awful CGI cartoons where loud clangy noises punctuate each and every such scene. Bill Hader is a logical choice for the grown up version of Richie Tozier; a character that basically provided the chuckle relief all on his lonesome in the
first film. While Hader does a solid job as do the rest of the grown-up cast, unfortunately the comedic beats are much more abundant and forced, with ADRed quips and one utterly baffling pop music drop for about three seconds that legitimately seems like it was a last minute mistake that made the final cut. It is bad enough that Bill Skarsgård's head is attached to a giant, smashy crab monster, (a monster that is one of Stephen King's many cocaine-fueled ideas that made it into both this and the likewise botched 1990 miniseries), but when characters and set pieces are going for idiot-pleasing nyuck nyucks in the middle of what should be harrowing, supernatural, pants-shitting terror, things once again aggressively fall down the stairs into eyeball-rolling schlock. Though coming from such a bombastic and bloated novel in the first place that probably had no prayer of providing anything remotely creepy on the subtle end of the spectrum, why NOT go for broke and crank it all up to eleven?
No comments:
Post a Comment