On the Radar… (December Edition)

The last month of 2023! Time to enjoy holiday cheer, YouTuber implosions, and get prepared for the worst and most exhausting election year of our lifetimes.

We also have the last slate of this year’s feature films coming out, many of which are among the most anticipated of the entire year, and surprisingly, I’m not just talking about me! While superhero movies and franchise detritus have suffered a truly annus horribiles, it seems like audiences are once again rediscovering their interest in ambitious, creative cinema. Let’s take a look at them…

POOR THINGS – In Theaters December 8

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Starring Emma Stone, with Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe

What is it about? The movie is abou-hang on, sorry, I think I’m reading the wrong synopsis, let me just…

oh…

… oh, okay, so this is indeed about a deceased woman resurrected by a mad scientist who has her brain replaced with that of her unborn child? Okay. Well, that’s certainly a story.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Speaking of ambitious, creative cinema… wow. Right? Definitely never thought I’d encounter something so bizarre produced into a movie distributed by a major studio, populated by well-known actors, directed by a prolific Academy Award-nominated director. But if literally anyone was going to direct a movie like this, why wouldn’t it be the man who brought us such deliriously abrasive movies as The Favourite, The Lobster, and Dogtooth? I never would have expected, way back during my college years, that the man who exploded onto international cinema with such a disturbing, dark exploration of psychological abuse and nature vs. nurture would go on to helm sizable movies with A-list casts.

So I’m obviously 100% stoked to see this, right? Well… more accurate to say I’m maybe 80-85% stoked. Of course I’m not going to miss a movie marketing itself in as aggressively an off-kilter presentation as this:

All of the “heightened” elements Lanthimos has become (in)famous for are on full display in just those eighty seconds. Nearly everything I see up there is right in line with what I love about his auteurist signatures. No Method-y ostentatious realism or desaturated color palettes here. No sir! But it does feel like something is… “off,” and not in a good way, about some of the wide establishing shots of that trailer. Deliberate garish artifice is one thing, settings that look like A.I.-generated screensaver landscapes is another. Especially since other visual elements – like the strange hybrid creatures and lush costumes from Sandy Powell Holly Waddington – look unqualifiedly fantastic. Which results in an overall aesthetic that does not fully cohere at first glance. Which might be the point? Not sure.

In addition, the adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s novel fell on Tony McNamara. Who, yes, co-wrote The Favourite with Deborah Davis. But he also wrote the screenplay for Cruella with Dana Fox. Which, I must remind you all once again and will keep reminding you every time the movie comes up, actually went with the “dalmatians killed her parents” origin story that we all made fun of as a no-way-they’d-actually-do-that when it was first announced. Look. Look at this:

Then again, maybe I need to chillax? At Telluride, Joey was bowled over by what he called an audaciously empowering, raunchy, often hilarious fable with Emma Stone cementing herself as one of our finest Millennial movie stars on her way towards a very possible second Academy Award for Best Lead Actress.

The jury at the 80^th Venice Film Festival, headed up by Damien Chazelle, also clearly loved this movie since it was awarded their coveted Golden Lion. Granted, I have not always been hot on their recent winners, but more often than not, they have made some spot-on choices, lately.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST – In Theaters December 15

Directed by Jonathan Glazer

Starring Christian Friedel, with Sandra Hüller and Sascha Maaz

What is it about? The commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp and his wife strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the site of systematic mass genocide.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Too long. It’s been too long since Jonathan Glazer’s last feature-length film, the science fiction masterpiece Under the Skin. It seems that those reviews heralding him as “the heir to [Stanley] Kubrick” may have been onto more than just his directorial sensibilities. Much like the late auteur in the latter half of his career, Glazer also seems to be taking his time between features, making a living through his commercials and shorts before settling on another “big” project nearly a full decade later.

This one is a Holocaust drama, and I know, I know, we’ve already seen so many of those. What could Glazer possibly add to our cinematic library of the most infamous historical atrocity of the 20^th century that hasn’t already been said by Steven Spielberg, László Nemes, and the Fugitive Child Rapist? Even more troubling to me at first glance was the source material. Full disclosure: I have not read it, nor do I think I have any possible interest in reading a novel about a love triangle between a Nazi officer, the Auschwitz camp commandant, and his Nazi wife. That just sounds terrible. Like, Springtime for Hitler terrible. If Martin Amis was aiming for something different than what I am gleaning from the synopsis, I… okay, I still won’t read the novel, but I will sincerely apologize to the late author, who passed away earlier this year.

Then the movie made its festival debut, and… I should have known better. Just like a story about an alien who disguises itself as a beautiful woman to vampirically suck the life out of men and a story about a woman believing that her late husband has returned to her in the body of a ten-year-old boy, Glazer of course decided to take this premise in a more lacerating direction than at first glance. With reportedly terrifying results; Joey was deeply unsettled by the psychological lingering effects of this movie after seeing it for himself at Telluride. Early reviews seemed to agree with Joey, and the Cannes Film Festival Jury did as well, awarding it the Grand Prix. The movie that beat it for the top prize, Anatomy of a Fall, shares an interesting similarity with it: they both feature Sandra Hüller, who has been enjoying quite a year and deservedly so.

I’m very curious to see how this lands with general audiences. I remember people hating Under the Skin and Birth when they were first released, and something widely reported to be both formally and conceptually disturbing will be something that will almost certainly cause a lot of polarizing feelings among a wider swath of moviegoers.

AMERICAN FICTION – In Limited Release December 15, Expanding Wide December 22

Directed by Cord Jefferson

Starring Jeffrey Wright, with Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown

What is it about? A frustrated novelist, fed up with a book publishing industry that pushes tired and offensive tropes about black people, publishes an outrageously racist novel under a pen name and is shocked when its success propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he disdains.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Much like my anticipation for Rustin being motivated in large part by my fanboyish enthusiasm for Colman Domingo in general, or the main reason I’m enjoying the sight of Cillian Murphy inching up the Best Lead Actor prediction board, Jeffrey Wright is the main reason I am looking forward to this movie. He is one of those prolific, humble, seldom-the-star-but-always-delivers kind of actors in any role he’s in. Because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Hollywood, and online cinephiles, in general, don’t think very highly of these actors despite being such consistently compelling performers filling in critical supporting roles, Wright has never been nominated for an Academy Award despite his prolific work for over a quarter-century. His breakout role in Basquiat was in too small a movie to get the mainstream’s attention just yet, his hilarious performance in Shaft was passed over thanks to genre bias, George Clooney got all the plaudits for Syriana, he was handed a plumb role that was speculated would be an Oscar-magnet in The Goldfinch… and then it came out and everyone who bothered seeing the movie hated it (though reportedly, his performance was fine), and despite being so moving in The French Dispatch, was also mostly ignored because Wes Anderson movies are never recognized for their acting. Ever.

But this time is different. This time he’s taking on a rare starring role in a comedy that seems like a modern literary spin on The Producers, playing a frustrated African-American author deciding to throw caution to the wind and ghostwrite a stereotypical “hood lit” book, only to be shocked at the level of success it later receives in an industry dominated by white biases. Seems like an abrasive comedy that will piss way too many white people off to hit big with awards bodies… is what I assumed when I first heard about the project, and boy was I dead-wrong. It won the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award, which, hopefully none of you have forgotten, is the mainstream film festival award. If you look back on past winners of this prize over the last fifteen years, only one of them, the Lebanese dramedy Where Do We Go Now?, didn’t go on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Joey’s review is forthcoming, but when he saw it, he had very positive things to say.

So, at a minimum, this debut feature from Cord Jefferson is very likely to be widely embraced by the Hollywood mainstream. As long as Jeffrey Wright is along for the hosannas, I’m all for it!

REBEL MOON: PART ONE – A CHILD OF FIRE – In Limited Release December 15, On Netflix December 22

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring Sofia Boutella, with Djimon Hounsou and Charlie Hunnam

What is it about? A young woman seeks out warriors from other planets to fight the tyrannical armies terrorizing her peaceful colony.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Even before the trailer for Zack Snyder’s upcoming space opera hit the internet, when it was just early production stills and a bare-bones synopsis we had to go on, pretty much everyone had the same thought when they got a glimpse of what kind of movie this would be: “Hey, this looks a lot like Star Wars.” And you what? It does. AND THAT’S FINE. There is nothing wrong with putting out a movie that is a lot like Star Wars but isn’t exactly Star Wars! You know what Star Wars was back in 1977? A lot like Flash Gordon but wasn’t exactly Flash Gordon!

Most people are at least vaguely aware of the lore about Zack Snyder originally pitching this project as a Star Wars spinoff that was eventually rejected and, not unlike what George Lucas did after he failed to secure the rights to Flash Gordon, rewrote his concept (along with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten) as an original, standalone film not connected at all to A Galaxy Far, Far Away. In an interview with /Film, Deborah Snyder, Zack’s wife and producer, remarked that she never wanted Rebel Moon to be part of the Star Wars canon. She worried – correctly, I believe – that being tied to a franchise managed by Disney would be aesthetically suffocating and he would be reduced to merely being Kathleen Kennedy’s cat’s paw in maintaining brand awareness instead of making the kind of movie he wanted to make. After everything that happened in the aftermath of being entrusted to kick off a shared superhero cinematic universe that Warner Bros. could hold up against Marvel and… not quite getting there, I certainly don’t blame them for shying away from adapting major intellectual properties. I make fun of a lot of his filmmaking impulses and absolutely despised his take on Superman, but this grandiose space opera taking place in a floridly-conceived but simplistic universe full of Manichean representations of Good and Evil, with grand poses and massively scaled scenes of destruction and mythological callbacks, looks perfectly aligned to his specific strengths.

I would love for this to completely overtake Star Wars and become the new Big Sci-Fi Fantasy Franchise for Gen Z. I wish it was getting a wide release, honestly. This should be marketed and distributed as an Event. Young people should not be forced to engage with the entertainment icons of their parents. Actually, scratch that, for some of these franchises, we’re talking about their grandparents. Good lord, I am getting old…

THE IRON CLAW – In Theaters December 22

Directed by Sean Durkin

Starring Zac Efron, with Lily James and Jeremy Allen White

What is it about? The truly depressing story of the enormously successful and influential Von Eric family, and the tragic fates that befell all but one of patriarch Fritz’s sons.

How am I feelin’ about this one? Content Warning: This is such a bleak tale… go ahead and skip it if you are not really in a headspace to read about self-harm, infant death, and familial abuse.

For those of you who aren’t aware of the Von Erich family, they are an infamous professional wrestling dynasty headed by a domineering Nazi-themed “heel” named Fritz. He had six sons. Five of them followed in their father’s footsteps to become wrestlers, only they all took on “babyface” personas due to their handsome looks and ringside charisma with the fans. They became hugely popular icons of the sport. But only one of them, Kevin, is still alive today. As for Kevin’s poor brothers…

• Jack died in an electrocution/drowning accident at the age of 6,
• David died under mysterious circumstances in a Tokyo hotel room at the age of 25,
• Kerry committed suicide via .44 caliber gunshot to his heart at the age of 33,
• Mike committed suicide via an overdose of sleeping pills at the age of 23,
• Chris committed suicide via gunshot to his head at the age of 21.

Six sons. Only one of whom outlived their father. Three of them died by their own hand. Look, I am not a parent, myself. I try to avoid giving opinions on things I have no personal experience in. But if you father six children and half of them kill themselves, you are either the unluckiest parent in the world or you’re a bad parent. From everything I’ve read about Fritz Von Erich (played in this film by Mindhunter’s Holt McCallany, a possible Best Supporting Actor contender)… he was not an inherently unlucky man. If it weren’t for The Zone of Interest, I would feel very confident in declaring this as destined to be the most depressing movie of the month and possibly even the entire year.

Bringing this tragedy to the big screen is Sean Durkin, whose The Nest I have not seen and debut feature Martha Marcy May Marlene I didn’t much care for. That doesn’t mean The Iron Claw won’t be any good; it’s just my personal history with his filmography. The casting looks pretty solid: you have Zac Efron, who I really wish never agreed to play Ted Bundy, playing the one surviving brother Kevin. Jeremy Allen White, whose starring role in The Bear has been widely acclaimed in a career that has been simmering for a while, is Kerry, the one who arguably suffered the most and the longest before tragically ending his life. Harris Dickinson from Triangle of Sadness and The King’s Man is David. Relative newcomer Stanley Simons plays Mike. Playing the role of little brother Chris is… um, this is odd, let me scroll through the casting list… he’s… hang on, he’s played by no one? His existence was completely written out of the movie?!

I’m… not sure how I feel about this, to be honest. Apparently, the decision was made to “tighten” the narrative and ensure the runtime wouldn’t get too long. Which, I guess, I understand. Filmmakers should be allowed to alter the specifics of real-life events – such as rearranging events, condensing spans of time, and creating composite characters – for dramatic purposes. But then again, his suicide was shortly after Mike’s but before Kerry’s, which is going to be a pretty serious omission from what the family was going through at around the period of time this movie is depicting for the family. It’s an especially odd choice to make since Lance Von Erich, whose real name is William Vaughan and wasn’t actually related to the Von Erichs except through kayfabe, is in this movie and played by pro wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

It’s just… if I were Kevin, that decision would make me feel uncomfortable regardless of how one personally sets the bounds of artistic license. Then again, any movie about my family in the first place would make me feel uncomfortable, even one that Joey unqualifiedly praised in the podcast last month and on social media as a touching, timely drama about good men’s bodies and souls being destroyed by toxic masculinity (and maybe capitalism?).

THE COLOR PURPLE – In Theaters December 25

Directed by Blitz Bazawule

Starring Fantasia Barrino, with Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks

What is it about? Adapted from the Broadway musical, which was itself adapted from Alice Walker’s novel, chronicling the life-long struggles of an African-American woman living in the south during the early 1900s.

How am I feelin’ about this one? First of all, to Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment: thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for not giving this project to the same tiny handful of mediocre directors you constantly fall back on to direct your big-budget movie musicals. Hope for this big-screen adaptation of The Color Purple stage musical would have been in short supply if this was being directed by Rob Marshall or Tom Hooper or Adam Shankman.

I am not too familiar with the work of Blitz Bazawule – he seems to be a highly accomplished Ghanaian music producer and visual artist whose companion feature film Black Is King collaboration with Beyoncé almost certainly paved the way for this offer to direct a high-profile guaranteed Oscar contender – but the bar is so low right now for competent movie musical filmmaking, that if he just stages decent setpieces and cuts the dancing comprehensibly, he will automatically surpass men who’ve been directing multiple tedious musical dreck movies for many more years than him.

Rather interestingly, this is the only upcoming movie musical I am aware of that isn’t weirdly coy about being a movie musical in its trailer. Unlike the marketing for Wonka (which I’m not previewing here because I… just don’t care) and Mean Girls, Warner Bros. wants to let you know that there are big musical song-and-dance numbers. They are not shy about what genre this occupies and what the paying audience will expect to see. There are probably some mercenary reasons for this; the original Broadway show was a massive hit, and I would imagine it’s difficult to obfuscate that a movie starring the winner of American Idol’s third season is a musical, so hiding the genre of this particular film would almost certainly alienate its potentially most reliable potential paying audience. True story: I actually saw Fantasia Barrino perform live in a production of After Midnight, and she was quite good. Very energetic and commanding stage presence.

Joey talked about The Color Purple on the podcast about two weeks ago after seeing it and thought it was… fine. He was not really into the musical numbers, found the pacing uneven, and expressed frustration at how a lot of the narrative issues from the 1985 film were not changed or improved on to any significant degree. But he was also careful to note that fans of the musical will likely be pleased with how their favorite setpieces were recreated and singled out Peacemaker’s Danielle Brooks as delivering the standout performance of the ensemble.

FERRARI – In Theaters December 25

Directed by Michael Mann

Starring Adam Driver, with Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley

What is it about? In the summer of 1957, with his company on the verge of bankruptcy and his marriage on the verge of collapse, ex-Formula 1 racer Enzo Ferrari wagers his reputation on the treacherous 1,000-mile Mille Miglia race.

How am I feelin’ about this one? So I see Adam Driver has returned to Doing A Voice. And hey, if directors like Michael Mann want him to Do A Voice, who am I to complain?

Kidding aside, I’m actually looking forward to this. I’m not really much of a motorsports fan and I generally agree with Joey that our culture is suffering from an oversupply of biopics about rich male moguls doing something rash but cool to maintain that wealth and portraying that as some sort of moral triumph. Potentially incendiary confession coming: I also am not really “sold” on Driver as an actor. He sort of occupies this weird space in my mind where he’s never less than adequate, but I nearly always imagine someone who could have played whatever part I’m seeing him performing it better than he does.

But Mann still knows how to make rock-solid movies. Especially about men with self-destructive drives. Especially especially about consummate professionals. And hey, this biopic is doing that thing I really like when it just focuses on a key moment in a historical figure’s life instead of trying to depict The Story Of Their Life. Or, in this case, two: from what I can gather, Ferrari follows the parallel narrative threads of Enzo Ferrari’s struggle to keep his marriage from falling apart, and his fateful decision to compete in the famous Italian endurance race during the last year it was allowed to be held for… reasons I won’t spoil if you aren’t familiar with the story. But there’s a reason why the Mille Miglia has only been conducted as an informal exhibition race between vintage cars after 1957.

That first plot thread, by the way, is where a lot of the Oscar buzz is converging on. Specifically because Penélope Cruz has been almost unanimously singled out as the MVP of the entire ensemble. Joey being one of them, describing her performance in his review of the film as adding “depth to a character that’s had so much taken from her,” resulting in what he declared “easily one of her strongest performances to date.” He cautioned to not get our hopes up for the rest of the movie besides her and an apparently harrowing climactic sequence reaching those highs, but also recommended it as a solid racing thriller that should end this year on a good note.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to prepare for a very special day tomorrow…