Smash Cut

Tag: Lil Rey Howery

  • ‘Bird Box’ review — Netflix’s uneven but entertaining post-apocalyptic thriller

    ‘Bird Box’ review — Netflix’s uneven but entertaining post-apocalyptic thriller

    Bird Box doesn’t bring anything new to the post-apocalyptic thriller genre despite a strong third act and solid performances.

    Bird Box certainly has the pedigree of a great movie behind it. The Netflix-produced movie is directed by the Emmy-winning director of The Night Manager Susanne Bier—she pulled off an upset against The People v. O.J. Simpson—written by the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Arrival Eric Heisserer, and based off Josh Malerman’s novel of the same name, which is one of the best novels of the decade. 

    However, all the talent doesn’t necessarily translate onto the screen. Bird Box tells the story of the end of the world that is eerily similar to A Quiet Place, which premiered earlier this year. A phenomenon of people killing themselves after seeing some mysterious creatures is spreading across the globe. Unlike A Quiet Place, Bird Box—to its detriment—shows us the end of the world. 

    Reluctant expecting mother Malorie (Sandra Bullock) is taken to a prenatal checkup at a hospital by her plucky and excited sister Jessica (Sarah Paulson). As the sister’s make their way to the hospital, news about an odd phenomenon happening in Europe and Asia dominate the TV and radio. Something is making people commit suicide in droves and it just arrived on Malorie and Jessica’s doorstep.

    There’s a fantastic action sequence in the underrated World War Z where Brad Pitt and his family must escape Philadelphia while a wave of newly zombified corpses floods the streets. Bird Box goes for the same effect here to less successful results. Bier does a great job of adding tension to set pieces, however, some of the choices she makes take away from that tension.

    Sandra Bullock and Sarah Paulson in Bird Box. Courtesy of Netflix.

    As they’re trying to escape the chaos unfolding, Jessica sees whatever creature is causing the phenomenon and crashes the car. Malorie is able to escape to a nearby house with the help of Iraq war vet Tom (Moonlight‘s Trevante Rhodes) where she finds a group of people trying to process what just happened.

    In the house, we find conspiracy theorist grocery store employee Charlie (Lil Rey Howery of Get Out fame), an older woman named Sheryl (Jacki Weaver), and the bothersome alcoholic Douglas (John Malkovich). Those character descriptions I gave are all we ever know about these and the other characters in the house including some that we know even less about—Greg (B.D. Wong), Felix (Colson Baker aka Machine Gun Kelly), Lucy (Rosa Salazar).

    The group falls into a routine with Tom taking a leadership role and Douglas continuing to antagonize the group. Eventually, a soft-spoken pregnant young woman named Olympia (Danielle Macdonald—a standout) comes to the door in one of the more memorable sequences in the film. Her character is one of the few that is given some depth and often drives emotion into the story. 

    The house is fortified by covering the windows with newspapers and no one goes outside without a blindfold. Desperate for food, the group leaves the safety of the house in a completely blacked out car to venture to a grocery store. As they make their way, the sounds of the crumbled society echo around them—the issue here is that Bier shows us what is happening outside the car leaving little intrigue.

    For the first two-thirds of the film, the screenplay often falls into cliches of the apocalypse genre—, particularly in the often messy dialogue. What made the novel and A Quiet Place is the scarcity of details and genre. Bird Box, on the other hand, goes too far into the weeds to explain characters and the situation they’re in. Yet somehow, we come away knowing less than we did before.

    Bird Box
    Trevante Rhodes and Sandra Bullock in Bird Box. Courtesy of Netflix.

    However, parts of the movie do work. Sprinkled throughout the film are flashforwards to a time further into the crisis in scenes that feel like they’re pulled from A Quiet Place. Malorie along with two young children named simply Girl (Vivien Lyra Blair) and Boy (Julian Edwards) take a boat down a river to some mythic sanctuary where they hope to be safe from the creatures. 

    Here, Bier and Heisserer take a simplistic approach. There’s little to see and little dialogue. These scenes are easily the best and most tense, so when the film completely reverts to these flashforwards for the third act it takes off. There’s something heightened and terrifying about not being able to see and Bird Box translates that feeling onto the screen as Malorie and kids encounter dangers down the river. If anything, the third act redeems the movie as a whole.

    The premise of Bird Box is so promising and its source material is some of the best horror fiction ever written. However, it often feels like both Bier and Heisserer don’t trust the audience enough to deliver a stripped-down story. Maybe that’s because Netflix was looking for a mainstream blockbuster type, which they certainly got—this movie is going to be a crowdpleaser, most likely. 

    The third act is where thematically the film comes together as Malorie struggles with motherhood in the face of a hopeless world. Bullock is solid as always in these scenes, but Rhodes is the steady hand here that elevates the material and delivers the thesis of the movie. It makes me wish this is what Bird Box was the entire time, but that would just be A Quiet Place wouldn’t it?

    Bird Box will be available to stream on Netflix on December 25th. You can get the book here.

    Karl’s rating:

  • ‘Get Out’ review — Social issues meet horror with Jordan Peele’s debut

    ‘Get Out’ review — Social issues meet horror with Jordan Peele’s debut

    Get Out is easily one of the most original horror movies — or just movie for that matter — in years by one of the most exciting filmmakers of our generation.

    Take the setup Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the world of Stepford Wives, and the exploration of the black experience in I Am Not Your Negro and you have a movie that is certainly not as successful as Jordan Peele’s near-perfect directorial debut, Get Out. While the movie has elements of others that came before it, the horror-thriller is completely unique in the way it carries them out. It mixes old-fashioned scares and genuinely hilarious comedy with a specific perspective that makes it one of the most original movies in years.

    The cold opening of the movie, which features a young black man (LaKeith Stanfield) walking alone down a deserted suburban street, shows off Peele’s aptitude for thriller directing. His uninterrupted shot down the shady street is joined by some truly hilarious comedic timing and a creeping sense of dread that culminates to a worthy opening jolt. And while the scene certainly makes you laugh, it also sets the unsettling atmosphere that never truly lifts from the film — save for a hilarious ten or so minutes where we follow Lil Rey Howrey‘s Rod.

    Get Out sets up very much like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) getting ready to meet his girlfriend Rose’s (Allison Williams) parents for the first time. “Do they know I’m black?” Chris asks Rose just before they leave, to which she jokingly responds, “Mom and Dad, my black boyfriend will be coming up this weekend. I just don’t want you to be shocked that he’s a black man.” She has a point and he takes it. However, it seems that his worries were justified when they finally meet her parents Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy Armitage (Catherine Keener).

    This is where Get Out gets really interesting, but not in the way you think. Peele perfectly replicates this seemingly post-racial America that so many people think exists. However, comments like “I would have voted for Obama a third time if I could have” and “Do you play golf? I know Tiger!” suggest otherwise. Up until about a third of the way through the movie, the main focus of the film is the increasing tension in the house due to Rose’s parents’ odd behavior around Chris.

    Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener in Get Out

    Peele is incredibly patient and doesn’t tip his hand until the last minute possible. Until then, he imbues us with some genuinely chilling moments including an incredible sequence involving Missy hypnotizing Chris using a tea cup. It literally sent chills down my spine. There aren’t any other bit horror set pieces, but the tension in the movie is almost unbearable at some points, as is the yearning for answers.

    Unlike Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation, there’s almost no question that something is amiss in this household, whether it be with Rose’s family or the Georgina (Betty Gabriel) and Walter (Marcus Gabriel), the family’s staff.Although Peele doesn’t blow his big reveal until late into the movie, that doesn’t stop him from dropping hints along the way. In fact, the attention to detail is remarkable. Even details outside of the plot make a huge impression.

    Although Peele doesn’t blow his big reveal until late into the movie, that doesn’t stop him from dropping hints along the way. In fact, the attention to detail is remarkable. Even details outside of the plot make a huge impression. Early in the movie as Chris and Rose are driving up to the house, they hit a deer. Chris goes into the woods when he hears the animal crying. And as he’s looking at it, there’s a look of familiarity and sympathy. This is because Chris knows what it’s like to be the prey.

    That theme continues throughout the movie. Another detail is in the costuming. When the entire neighborhood goes to the Armitage’s house for an annual party, there is a small detail separating Chris from everyone else. While he wears blue, everyone else wears some form of red. It’s that attention to even the smallest facets of the film — the set, small lines of dialogue, clothing, cereal — that make it such a fun puzzle for the audience to solve. It begs to be watched over and over to dissect it.

    However, there’s one piece of the film that is almost as pivotal to its success as any other: the humor. Obviously, with Jordan Peele directing a script that he wrote you expect it to be funny. And it is. Every joke lands squarely every time. What’s more impressive, though, is that he earns those laughs. Don’t be fooled. This is not a horror comedy. The first goal of those movies is to make you laugh. The comedy comes from the natural awkwardness of the situation. It comes from the characters — Lil Rey Howrey is particularly strong. Most importantly, it comes from the fact that these interactions, as exaggerated as they may be, are unfortunately true.

    Get Out is easily one of the most original horror movies — or just movie for that matter — in years. It perfectly homages classic horror movies while feeling contemporary in its themes. However, it’s also one of the most entertaining movie experiences I’ve ever had. Both times I watched it, the crowd was laughing, screaming, and cheering the entire time. That’s rare to get an entire group of different people eating out of the palm of your hand or the clink of your teacup.

    Get Out is available on Amazon!

    Karl’s rating: