By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week was one to clean up on several films I’d been hearing good things about but haven’t yet had the chance to get to.
165. Grand Theft Hamlet
The Pandemic hit us all in different ways. For many of us, computer games were a way to escape, perhaps the only way. For a group of British stage actors, though, they found a way to blend their real and virtual worlds in a surprising way- they decided to set a full performance of Hamlet in the world of Grand Theft Auto. Watching auditions, staging, and the simple necessity of fighting off those who would wreck the performance through a lil virtual ultraviolence is hilarious, with little dashes of unexpected poignancy to boot. Two Beers.
166. Moana 2
This isn’t a bad film, exactly, but by the standards set by the original, it’s clear this is a different, and, to be nice, perhaps somewhat less accomplished team in charge. The TV series origins of a lot of the footage isn’t awfully apparent, but the “that’s definitely not Lin-Manuel Miranda” nature of the songs really is. Don’t expect too much and enjoy it for what it is, which is a pretty expensive-looking South Sea-set adventure with a kooky sense of humor. Three Beers.
167. Black Dog
I’ve been trying to track down this Chinese film since Cannes last year. It stars Taiwanese heartthrob Eddie Peng as a nearly mute-by-choice ex-con who returns to his rural hometown on the outskirts of the Gobi Desert after a 10 year stint for manslaughter. This sand-swept, decrepit town is overrun by stray dogs, and he goes from picking up under the table work catching them to forming a bond with their incredibly skinny leader, the titular black dog. This film is one with its own slow rhythms that you just need to flow along with, but if you do you’ll find much to reward you in life in this off-kilter place and the off-kilter film about it. Two Beers.
168. Lost Ladies
Most folks were disappointed that India submitted this instead of All We Imagine as Light for the Oscars, but I understand it. Yes, this story of a couple of traditionally veiled brides who are accidentally swapped getting off a long train ride is a bit more broad and a bit more Bollywood-style mainstream than that indie darling, but that’s part of its power. An unabashedly feminist film humorously skewering the rural, political, and police state patriarchy so much of the nation does very seriously suffer under is its own kind of brave and progressive statement, and making it go down so smoothly a big part of its achievement. Two Beers.
169. The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer
This Hulu true crime series examines the Fox Hollow murders from Hamilton County, Indiana, in which Herb Baumeister, supposedly on his own, murdered up to 17 men and scattered their remains in the woods behind his house. Since 10,000 bone fragments have been discovered and only 5 of the victims have been positively identified, the bodycount may be much higher, but the reason you likely have never heard of this serial killer is twofold- he killed himself during the investigation, so there was no trial, and many or all of his victims were gay men who came to his rural mansion in search for love and found a monster. Some intrepid police officers continue the investigation despite the apathy of this deeply conservative county, determined to at least find the families of these victims. Two Beers.
170. Seire
This Korean horror film from a few years back is predicated on the traditional belief that a newborn baby is susceptible to unnatural forces for the first three weeks after its birth, so you should keep strangers from visiting and avoid things like, oh, going to the funeral of your long-time girlfriend who you broke up with a year ago and clearly, thanks to math, not long before you met your current wife. There’s some effectively creepy concepts and visuals at play here, although it plays out a little too slowly to really sink its claws in the way it’d like to. Three Beers.
171. Muse
This short film currently available on Mubi sees Pawel Pawlikowski (Ida) back in gorgeous black and white mode, this time melding together a virtuosic pianist and the possibly imagined Eurochic muse that is inspiring and whirling to his frenzied music. It’s short and sweet, but damn stylish. Two Beers.
