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Review by Sean Boelman
Tyson Brown and Shelby Duclos appear in First Date by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Manuel Crosby.
Often, a good director can make a lot out of a mediocre script, but also there are times in which uneven direction can weigh down solid writing. Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp’s feature debut First Date is a charming film, but its inconsistent visual style holds it back from reaching greater heights.
The film follows a teenage boy whose first date with his crush goes awry when he buys a sketchy old sedan from a creep and finds himself being chased by drug dealers, the cops, and a woman with a vendetta against him. The story is definitely very hyperactive, but that energy is part of what makes it work so well. That said, the tone of the film is a bit inconsistent, and that prevents it from having its maximum impact. Much of the film is a lighthearted coming-of-age tale cum action-comedy, but then there are some more somber flashes that imply it wants to be a thriller with more serious stakes, and Crosby and Knapp fail to find a satisfying balance between the two. Although the protagonist is a charming hero, a lot of the other characters are written very shallowly. His love interest is given a minimal backstory, and it’s frustrating to see such a potentially interesting role become so reductive. And both of the main antagonists are stock characters in the worst sense of the word. 
Samantha Laurenti, Jake Howard, Ryan Quinn Adams, Angela Barber and Dave Reimer appear in First Date by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Manuel Crosby.
However, at a certain point, it becomes clear that there are too many characters in play. Some of most entertaining characters in the film are secondary or tertiary antagonists that don’t do much in terms of pushing the plot along, but pop up in comedic ways. What makes it so frustrating is that these characters are far more interesting than the main cast.
The ensemble is charming enough, their performances paying homage to the hammy B-movies to which this film obviously owes so much inspiration. Newcomer Tyson Brown is definitely the standout, having a very charming screen presence about him that is ultimately the driving force in the film. Crosby and Knapp’s style in shooting the film also could have been a lot steadier. There is a clear retro influence to a lot of it, but the film is fundamentally set in the modern day. In fact, the only thing that is really consistent about the film is its indecisiveness, as it seems to be trying to do everything without doing any one thing particularly well. First Date is mostly enjoyable for what it is, but the issue comes in with the fact that it seemingly can’t decide what that should be. It’s likely that the mostly strong script is what got this into Sundance, because otherwise, it’s rather unexceptional. First Date is screening at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival which runs virtually from January 28-February 3, 2021. Rating: 3/5
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Review by Sean Boelman
Studio Ghibli is known for their intimate and gorgeous hand-drawn animated films, and while their first 3D computer animated movie doesn’t live up to that standard, it’s still significantly more inspired than a majority of animated fare. Enjoyable but rushed, Earwig and the Witch is a lot better than expected, but not as good as it could have been.
Based on the English novel by Diana Wynne Jones, the film tells the story of an orphan who is adopted by a witch and gets drawn into an unexpected world of magic. Even though it is filled with whimsy, the movie isn’t quite able to capture the same feeling of wonder that defines some of the best Ghibli classics. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the film is that it is almost entirely missing a third act. We get the setup in the first twenty minutes and the conflict for the next hour, but it then just ends without giving much in the way of resolution. Perhaps it is setting up for sequels, but these loose ends are agonizing. Since the movie is so short (a mere eighty-two minutes), it also doesn’t have a whole lot of time to explore its themes with much depth. The message about being oneself is nice, but it doesn’t really come into play until about halfway through. As a result, this feels a lot more shallow than a majority of the studio’s other films. 
The character development in the movie is a bit weak, but there are definitely some aspects that work really well. The Mandrake is an interesting character that has a lot of potential to be further explored in future installments, but a lot of the other supporting players are really generic and archetypal.
That said, the film does an excellent job of building its world, and that is what makes it tick. When the movie starts to really invest in the musical portion of the story, it becomes really charming, getting elevated from a somewhat standard fantasy fable into the more magical tale that it should have been in the first place. This film has gotten a lot of heat from Ghibli fans because of its visual style departing so widely from the traditional form, but the animation doesn’t look bad. There are a few moments that feel a bit cheesy, but for the most part, it works surprisingly well. That said, the best part of the movie is undeniably the soundtrack, which features some truly catchy songs. Earwig and the Witch isn’t the next great Ghibli movie, but it’s passable entertainment and still mostly well-made. Hopefully this is them working out some of the kinks with the new style so that their next 3D animated movie is more effective. Earwig and the Witch hits theaters on February 3 and HBO Max on February 5. Rating: 3.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
A scene from GLITCH IN THE MATRIX, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Audiences are likely used to documentaries depicting reality, but filmmaker Rodney Ascher’s newest film A Glitch in the Matrix stands out by questioning reality. Sure to leave most viewers with a broken brain, this is unlikely to win any new converts for simulation theory, but is one of the more entertaining exercises in speculation nevertheless.
In the movie, Ascher offers an exploration of simulation theory and explores the evidence for and against the idea that we are living in a simulation. A lot of people are going to dismiss the film right off the bat if they think of it as ridiculous conspiracy theory, but there is still value in observing how and why these people think as they do. Perhaps the biggest issue with Ascher’s movie is that it sets its aim too wide. On one hand, a significant majority of the film is composed of testimonials from people who have experiences that seemingly “confirm” simulation theory, but Ascher also wants to offer a comprehensive history of the theory, and it is too much to fit in a single feature-length movie. Even though the film does feel overstuffed, it has a frenetic energy to it that is pretty entertaining. Ascher’s movie is heavily dependent on oral storytelling, and so it has an almost rehearsed feel to it at times, but he is able to pull a really compelling narrative out of all of these people’s experiences. 
A scene from GLITCH IN THE MATRIX, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
There is something interesting about the way with which Ascher approaches his subjects. One would expect a documentary to take a strong stance on their stories, either presenting them as prophets or crackpots, but the film presents them in a much more nuanced way. It is intriguing to see how earnest the interviewees are.
On the other hand, the movie offers some interesting ideas regarding the evolution of simulation theory. In a way, the documentary serves an alternate function as an exploration of how media influences society. This is really only prevalent in a few of the segments, specifically the ones dealing with the Wachowski Sisters’ film The Matrix, but these are the most interesting parts of the documentary. Ascher’s style, as can be expected if one has seen any of his prior documentaries, is a bit all over the place, but therein lies a lot of its charm. Instead of regular talking head interviews, the interviews are animated with virtual avatars. The impact of this ultimately isn’t very strong, but it’s a cool gimmick nevertheless. A Glitch in the Matrix takes a concept that probably shouldn’t have made for a good documentary and turns it into something enjoyable thanks to Rodney Ascher’s inspired directing. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but those who are willing to read between the lines will be intrigued. A Glitch in the Matrix hits VOD on February 5. Rating: 3.5/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Cecilia Milocco appears in Knocking by Frida Kempff, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Hannes Krantz.
Film festivals are known for discovering some of the craziest and most bizarre midnight movies out there, but the Swedish thriller Knocking is on the more normal end of the spectrum. A competent and atmospheric yet mostly straightforward psychological thriller, this isn’t the type of movie that will start the lingering conversation it needed to succeed.
The film follows a woman who leaves a psychiatric ward only to begin to break down again when she starts to hear a mysterious knocking sound in her apartment. A lot of the tension in the movie comes from the mystery of not knowing whether or not what the character is experiencing is real, but other films have done this more effectively (all the way back to Rear Window). Even though the movie is a mere seventy-eight minutes long, it will struggle to keep some viewers’ attention. There are definitely some great moments that allow the audience to dial into the protagonist’s paranoia, but at a certain point, it starts to feel repetitive as opposed to the slow descent into insanity that it is supposed to be. Based on a novel by Johan Theorin, Emma Broström’s script has the potential of being a really interesting commentary on mental health, but it ultimately doesn’t go anywhere. That isn’t to say the film feels empty — it is obvious what it wants to be saying — but there is a nagging feeling that it could have been more. 
Cecilia Milocco appears in Knocking by Frida Kempff, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Ida Zimmerman.
The character development in the movie is one of its weaker areas. Although the protagonist is compelling and it is easy to get behind her struggle, the supporting players are all stock characters. Although this has something to do with the world being built in the characters’ mind, it doesn’t help when it comes to the generic feel.
Cecilia Milocco’s lead performance is definitely quite strong. Since the film is mostly her reacting to different stimuli in the environment, she’s really the force driving the whole thing, and she does an excellent job of bringing a believable quality to the character. Even when the movie is moving a bit slower, she is able to sell the suspense. Of course, it is on a technical level that the film is most impressive. The cinematography is consistently good and features a few shots that are beautifully disturbing. However, it is the sound design that is (predictably) the star of the show, heightening the tension in a way that is brilliant if not altogether subtle. Knocking may not be the most spectacular thriller you’ll see this year, but it is effective nevertheless. Although it isn’t what one would typically expect in a festival midnight movie, that isn’t inherently a bad thing. Knocking is screening at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival which runs virtually from January 28-February 3, 2021. Rating: 3/5
Review by Sean Boelman
Shahab Hosseini as ‘Babak Naderi’ in Kourosh Ahari’s THE NIGHT. Courtesy of IFC Midnight. An IFC Midnight Release.
Kourosh Ahari’s horror-thriller The Night is a historic film because of the context of its release, but one is left to wish that something more exceptional would have been the first U.S. production to receive a release in Iran in nearly half a century. A competent but dull chiller, one can’t help but feel like this should have been more.
The movie follows a couple who must confront their secrets when they are trapped in a hotel by a supernatural force and their night seems to never end. There are so many horror films set in a creepy hotel, and the script by Ahari and co-writer Milad Jarmooz doesn’t do much to set it apart from the slew of other movies in the genre. Perhaps the biggest issue with the film is that it takes the idea of slow burn to the extreme. Clocking in at an hour and forty five minutes, the movie fails to justify its length with a premise that can only provide so many spooky situations, and by the time it reaches the third act, it is already milked past its worth. The themes of the film are also very direct in a way that isn’t particularly satisfying. It takes about thirty minutes for the movie to get moving and the actual horror movie stuff to start happening, but once it does, it immediately becomes clear that this is little more than a morality tale. 
Niousha Jafarian as ‘Neda Naderi’ in Kourosh Ahari’s THE NIGHT. Courtesy of IFC Midnight. An IFC Midnight Release.
Ahari is definitely a competent filmmaker, building suspense effectively even if the script is mostly stagnant. The most impressive thing about the execution is the way in which Ahari uses the setting of the hotel to create a feeling of claustrophobia, which is essential for the horror elements of the script to work.
That said, the character development in the movie is less effective, and this is what causes it to falter as a drama and thriller. It’s clear that the audience is supposed to be invested in this marriage, but there isn’t enough put into exploring the dynamic that exists between the two of them. Shahab Hosseini and Niousha Jafarian both give solid performances but they are definitely limited by the script. It’s clear that both are very talented actors and that, had the dramatic portions of the script been emphasized, they would have made for a great duo. In his supporting role, George Maguire gives an enjoyably sinister turn. The Night has a few strong elements, but for the most part, it suffers from an overwhelming feeling of “been there, done that”. It’s worth watching for its important cultural context, even if it is otherwise forgettable. The Night is now available on VOD. Rating: 2.5/5 |