ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

You are here: Home / Online

Online

Strange But True: Life, Death and Nothing in Between

by Leave a Comment

When Phillip (Nick Robinson) receives a visit from Melissa (Margaret Qualley), the former girlfriend of his late-brother Ronnie, old wounds are re-opened when she claims that his brother is also the father of her unborn child. Since Ronnie’s death was over five years ago, Phillip and his mother, Charlene (Amy Ryan) are rightly enfuriated and hurt by the seemingly ridiculous scenario. Even so, Melissa’s earnestness causes Phillip to begin to question the truth of her claim and sets out on a quest to unravel the truth about her child and, potentially, spiritual realities as well.

Directed by Rowan Athale (The Revolt), Strange But True has a stellar cast and high concept that unfortunately never really settles on what type of film it wants to be. Despite featuring such incredible talents as Blythe Danner, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan and more, the film simply doesn’t come together. Opening with an engaging premise that the unborn child may be that of the long-deceased Ronnie, the film sets itself up as an exploration humanity’s relationship with the unknown. However, as the film progresses, Strange gradually moves away from its more complex themes and settles in as yet another generic thriller. 

Without question, the strongest aspect of the film is its interest in grappling with the nature of belief. Guilt-ridden by the death of her lost love, Melissa’s decision to approach Charlene about the child’s potential parentage seems reckless and even unkind. Nevertheless, her claims have a ripple affect within the family, especially within Phillip’s heart. A skeptic himself, the potential of supernatural birth seems absurd to Phillip yet her steadfast belief causes him to question his own understanding of the universe. As he steps out on a journey to understand the spiritual realm, Phillip recognizes that his own personal blinders may be keeping him from understanding something more. In moments such as these, Strange seems to be opening the door for deeper conversations about the space between life and death.

Nevertheless, without offering spoilers, the film is quick to shut the doors on these potentially powerful conversations, opting for the more standard approach that the ‘truth brings pain’. In doing so, Strange tries to balance two conflicting arguments. On the one hand, the film points out that holding belief is an acceptable way of life that can provide hope. However, it also argues that hope in the beyond often serves as a way to merely distract us from the horrors of reality. As a result, Strange attempts to walk the line between hope and horror but struggles to maintain its stability in the process.

Without question, the most frustrating aspect of Strange But True is that it simply feels like a wasted opportunity. Filled with a quality cast of Oscar notables and young talent, Strange has the potential to be something truly special. However, with a meandering script that settles for less, Strange misses the mark and leaves its audience with answers that leave them in the dark.

Strange But True is available on VOD now.

The Grown-Up World of the Not-so-Teen Titans

by Leave a Comment

This is not Teen Titans Go! or Young Justice, and certainly not Superfriends. This is the DC Universe if it mashed up the origin stories of the Titans were thrown into the world of Watchmen or Kickass, a world where the actual evil that created Raven or Robin or Beast Boy was played out in darker hues than the saccharine explanations offered up in animated versions. This is the new DC, a brand new issue of the DC family that proposes big questions for first and second generation superheroes alongside explosive action and theater-worthy special effects.

Before they’re an official team, the Titans are introduced slowly over several episodes, first with Rachel Roth AKA Raven (Teagan Croft) finding out that she’s more powerful than she knows and that a mysterious organization wants her, alive or dead. Her story collides with Dick Grayson AKA Robin (Brenton Thwaites), ex-sidekick to Batman-turned-Detroit police officer, and Kory Anders AKA Starfire (Anna Diop), a powerful being with serious amnesia. Pursued by the mysterious organization’s “Nuclear Family,” the three of them run into Hawk and Dove (Minka Kelly and Alan Ritchson) and Jason Todd AKA New Robin (Curran Walters), who Dick has a troubled past with, before they “rescue” Gar from the Doom Patrol, headed by Niles Caulder (Bruno Bichir). [The visual representation of the Negative Man, Elasti-Woman, and, especially, Robotman, are spectacular, putting even the likes of Gotham or Smallville to shame. No wonder, Doom Patrol already been ordered for its own spinoff season.]

There are several threads throughout the episodes that raise questions about what it means to be heroic and, on a broader scale, to determine one’s way in the world. Rachel wants to know her mother, and to understand her powers, but her origins are a blend of the innocent (her mother) and the evil (her father, Trigon). Dick wants to figure out how far a hero can go in pursuit of justice before he/she becomes a villain, and who he is apart from being Batman’s sidekick. Kory wants to know who she is and Gar wants to know … what beer tastes like. While the additional DC characters add some flavor (especially interesting are Jason Todd and Donna Troy/Wonder Girl (Conor Leslie)), the majority of development is about Rachel’s search for her mother and Dick’s search for his post-Robin career meaning.

Bombastically, even profanely, these young heroes punch, kick, stab, and throttle opponents, with the violence of a more mature show. Fans of superheroes who also dig Game of Thrones will find the balance of the pre-existing legends created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, nurtured by George Perez and Marv Wolfman, and picked up by Scott Lobdell, mixed with F-bombs and blood spatter. [Hmm, maybe this is the material Zack Snyder has been looking for!] This is the world that minds like Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti could create without the issues tied to MPAA or television ratings, unafraid to tackle tough issues like child abuse, violence, and spiritual warfare.

The beauty of the show, beyond the acting, plot, cinematography, and action (isn’t that enough?) is that violence is discussed in superhero ways unlike anything we’ve seen (with the exception of Netflix’s The Punisher or Daredevil.) Here, our heroes see a cost for what they’re choosing to do with their powers, the friction internally they feel when they put on masks. Having already chosen to use their powers for the collective good, it becomes less about “if” and more about “how,” providing more nuanced discussions than a teenage Spider-Man. They find themselves asking questions like, “Am I doing the right thing? How much force is justifiable? What is the best use of my gifts and talents?”

In a strange, Teen Titans-esque way, the show becomes a buddy road trip of sorts, where the characters must figure out who they are and how they fit, and how they might become a team. The acting complements the plot in a way that makes us care for these characters as they grow and learn to be family, even while we’re stunned by Starfire’s fire or Dick’s fighting or Raven’s… horrific spirit powers. But instead of silly campiness, this show actually tackles the real world evil of people’s greed and power-mongering, and shows us that the world will be alright because this world has … Titans.

In the Blu-ray combo pack includes all eleven episodes of the first season of DC Universe’s series plus thirteen featurettes. There’s a look at the journey of “Raven and Robin: Dark Rebirth,” the origin story of Hawk and Dove, the background of Starfire, Beast Boy, and Donna Troy, and a look at the Doom Patrol. Geoff Johns discusses Robin in “The New Robin,” while Johns and Greg Walker look at their adaptation of the comic stories to the small screen in “From Page to Screen.” And there’s an interesting view of the final episode in “Team Titan.”

Doom Patrol: Putting the Anti in Anti-Hero

by Leave a Comment

Warner Bros.’ Doom Patrol serves up strange, mangled delights that put the “anti” in anti-hero. The group was teased out of Titans, a clearly adult take on a group that’s no longer teen-affiliated, and just enough of their banter was shown to make me re-up for some more viewing.Where can you see an angry teenager with sixty-four completely different personalities, a half-robot, half-human cyborg with anger issues, a Tin Man-like former NASCAR driver with a sailor’s mouth, a woman who can’t control when she expands or shrinks, and a man who is haunted by an extraterrestrial power deep dive “down” into a donkey to save their not-so-beloved leader from the legacy of the Nazis? Why, the DC Universe of course!

“Are you the best people for the job? Hell, no! But we’re all he’s got.” — Cyborg

Niles Caulder AKA The Chief (Timothy Dalton) has “rescued” a collection of oddities, freaks, like Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Elasti-Woman (April Bowby), Crazy Jane (Diane Guerroro), and Negative Man (Matt Bomer), as well as Cyborg (Joivan Wade). They hang out together in Doom Mansion, kept alive but not really living, tortured souls isolated from the world. But when his archenemy Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk) causes Caulder to vanish, the not-a-team rolls into action at Cyborg’s assistance, unsure of what to do and unready to be heroic.

While Watchmen comes to mind for the violence and profanity, or the weirdness of The Umbrella Academy, Doom Patrol does super powers in a way that defies comparison. It helps that this is a hilarious show, one full of DC-inflected self-references and side barbs, of ridiculous mishaps (remember the donkey?) and witty banter. It’s narrated by the villain, nostalgically shot, and constantly poking our expectations for how heroes could and should behave. It’s developed by Supernatural, Being Human, and Frequency creator Jeremy Carver, and it’s clear that there’s a mashup of genres that defy categorization.

But don’t believe for a minute that this is simply silly or throwaway entertainment. There’s something deeper hinted at in the back stories of several of the characters, mentioned in flashbacks and in passing that builds what these characters are and can be because each of the Doom Patrol’s “gifts” actually feels like a curse, somehow tied to the issues that they experienced before receiving their powers. Robotman was a pleasure-seeking Neanderthal who now can’t feel anything physically; Elasti-Woman was an appearance-based actress who now can’t hold it all together; Negative Man was a married father engaged in a homosexual affair who now can’t get close to anyone. But can they all find “space” together? Can they create something new and powerful beyond their disparate individualism?

Several episodes into the show, I can’t wait to see what happens next. There is something universally dynamic about battling Nazis – think Captain America or Indiana Jones – mashing up the old and the new in a creative blend of awesome. The show just keeps ratcheting up what it’s meta-story will be, beyond individual episodes that entertain and amaze, drawing the audience into the an emotional desire to find resolution. I still doubt that we’ll see anything cut and dry here because what would be the fun in that? But there is sure to be an emotional payoff. Maybe in the end, we’ll see that our gifts aren’t what we choose, but we’re still responsible for using them wisely.

Pretty Bad Actress: Hollywood Gone Mad

by Leave a Comment

Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Nick Scown, Pretty Bad Actress tells the story of Gloria Green (Heather McComb), a former child star who is struggling to move past her childhood fame. When she is kidnapped by a stalker (John Hensley) and trapped with Donnie, an obsessed fan (Stephanie Hodes), Gloria’s only hope is her loyal assistant, Cheryl (Jillian Bell) who races against the clock to find her employer before it’s too late.

Based on the real-life plight of actress Theresa Saldana, Actress has also clearly been inspired by such classic Hollywood satires as Swimming with Sharks and The Player. Rather than emphasizing the potential thriller elements of the kidnapping, Scown is far more interested in exploring our cultural obsession with fame. Despite Gloria’s disappearance, agent Al (cast stand-out Danny Woodburn) is far more concerned with whether or not he can spin the story to their advantage. Although she’s one of the more authentic characters within the film, Donnie emulates Gloria’s tv persona to the point of obsession. As the film unfolds, the distance between ego and empathy continues to widen, revealing the emptiness that lies in the middle. In fact, within the film, only Cheryl recognizes the value of her employer as a person, rather than a celebrity.

Of course, the centerpiece of the film though remains Gloria. Even though she is desperate to separate herself from her early career, she finds herself constantly haunted by her own past successes. However, once she finds herself trapped with Donnie, her biggest fan, she is finally forced to confront her past. Ironically, this allows for her kidnapping to become therapeutic as she slowly realizes that her past does not need to be a burden to her future. It’s these conversations between Gloria and Donnie that serve as the emotional backbone of the piece and provide a much-needed grounding to the characters. In these moments, Gloria begins to see that even the worst moments of her career have provided some light to others in ways she had forgotten. By pulling herself back, she is able to see that she’s more than one character… but also that she owes that character a lot.

In the end, Pretty Bad Actress offers a light-hearted tone with some satirical bite. Director Scown has an interesting premise and creates characters who are interesting enough to mostly hold our attention. In a satirical look at the dark side of fame, it’s always refreshing to come face to face with hope.

 

For audio of our interview with director Nick Scown, click here.

Pretty Bad Actress is available on VOD today.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Blu-ray: Heroic Pain Tolerance?

by 2 Comments

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Krysten Ritter filming "Jessica Jones" on March 10, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Steve Sands/GC Images)

Daredevil was epic.

That is, the Netflix one, not the star-crossed Ben Affleck/Jennifer Garner one. [Editor’s note: it’s better than people think, but still.]

When Marvel announced that it’s second series on Netflix would focus on little-known female superhero Jessica Jones, I wondered if they had been drinking their own Kool-aid. Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise hit, and Paul Rudd didn’t shrink expectations as Ant-Man. But what were they going to do with a woman who was most famous for being Luke Cage’s girlfriend? And seriously, Kristen Ritter? A dramedy maybe, but a brawn-flexing She-Hulk without the green?

I was skeptical.

But by the end of the first episode, I was wildly impressed, majorly engaged, and … scared out of my mind.

While Daredevil focused on the external problems that Matt Murdock experiences as a lawyer by day and a masked–and blind–vigilante by night, Jessica Jones finds Ritter’s heroine struggling internally, mentally and emotionally. While the backstory unfolds over thirteen episodes, it’s sufficient to say that Jones has been raped in every way by Kilgrave (David Tennant, Doctor Who), whose powers of mind control are like nothing I’ve ever seen in television.

Having escaped Kilgrave’s control temporarily, Jones seeks help (begrudgingly) from her childhood best friend, Trish Walker (Rachel Taylor), whose mother exhibited a different sort of mind control as a child. She also falls into a relationship with Cage (Mike Colter), who has his own relationship to Kilgrave’s mind control – and also possesses a unique set of physical abilities. She’s begrudging of a lot – like human companionship, common courtesy, and social niceties – but she also cares for the addict down the hall (Eka Darville), even if she can’t be troubled to fix the broken window in her Alias Detective Agency office/apartment. She is however gainfully employed by Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Ann Moss, deliciously cutthroat) to investigate various cases that require Jones’ skills and subtlety.

jessicajoneskilgrave

Then, the effect of Kilgrave rises up at the end of the pilot when an innocent girl aptly named Hope (Erin Moriarty) is forced to commit an inexplicable crime. Like Drive or A History of Violence (or the opening episode of The Following), the violence of Jessica Jones is so shocking and sudden that it is periodically breathtaking. It’s the psychosis of Kilgrave that links all of the separate acts together, bringing a series of unrelated events together under one heading – his obsession with getting Jones back.

While the show is ripe with violence, there’s little actual physical violence between Kilgrave and Jones. Instead, the focus is left via the camera on Ritter’s face, on the way that she wrestles with the emotional and mental scars left by Kilgrave’s violation. This is the reality of internal manipulation, as the show depicts a violence that goes beyond the physical scarring of abuse. While mental and emotional abuse may not leave signs of their trauma, Jessica Jones shows how dangerous the actual impact can be on the life and soul of the victim. Instead of externally showing the struggle for Jones (which is still exampled throughout the series by the people Kilgrave hurts to get to her), the camera puts an emphasis on Ritter’s ability to display a core, internal pain.

jessicajonescage

Jessica Jones is unique, not just because it has a female heroine (frankly, both Supergirl and Agent Carter were already there) but because it takes a superhero motif and uses it to highlight the silent battle of those in recovery from traumatic mental or emotional abuse. Instead of painting it easily one way or another, it shows that Jones’ outlets like alcohol and sex ease the pain temporarily, but don’t end the problem; at the same time, positive influences like Walker and Cage help, but Jones must make decisions on her own that will lead to closure.

One of the most striking things to me about the series was the ongoing dialogue between Jones and Kilgrave. Kilgrave’s obsession has caused Jones much pain by the time the series winds down; in fact, you might say that she’s lost everything except for her physical life. But in a pivotal scene, Jones lashes out verbally that he has caused all of this (which is true in one regard), but Kilgrave pushes back that Jones chose how she would respond.

Well, isn’t that the kicker?

While we are often beaten by life, emotionally, physically, or mentally, by things outside of our control. But how we respond is the choice we make – what we do with our pain is our way of asserting who we are and what we’re made of. For Jessica Jones, the debate is over whether or not she is a (super)hero or merely a pawn. For her own desires to be in control, to maintain her own identity and individuality, she realizes that she can’t achieve that by hiding who or what she is, or hiding what has been done to her. To achieve success, to regain her life, Jones will be forced to embrace her pain, her community, and her responsibility – it’s a well-told superhero motif, but this time, the experience of growth is more than skin deep.