'Trees Lounge'
A 1996 film written by, directed by and starring Steve Buscemi about an aimless out of work mechanic who spends all his time at a dead end bar that is the title of the movie. 'Trees Lounge' is one of those low budget American slice-of-life films that are a rare treat these days and features a ton of familiar faced non-stars mixed in with soon to be big names like Samuel L. Jackson.
Buscemi's character, Tommy, drifts around his dead end suburban Long Island town hopelessly looking for another mechanic's job and lamenting his current situation, which he salves by drinking. He eventually takes up driving his uncles ice cream truck after the old guy dies, but his future looks bleak.
Buscemi's movie is pretty dark, while not depressing, and has at its centre a humour and a heart that most people will recognise. However, Tommy's situation is not one that anyone would envy. His worsening alcoholism and unemployment is augmented by the fact that his girlfriend of 8 years, Teresa, recently left him for the boss who fired him and she may also be pregnant with his baby. But Tommy remains a relatively charming figure, even if he's destined to live out his years in self destruction.
'Trees Lounge' was a very personal film for Buscemi, who the main character is a reflection of. Before taking up acting full time, Buscemi was Tommy, and his life was on course for the same direction. So the film has an authenticity about burgeoning alcoholics that other stories may lack. This keeps things on an even keel and while there's an underlying bleakness, Tommy's tale never veers into the hysterical.
8/10
'Gerald's Game'
One of the more successful movie adaptations of a Stephen King novel, albeit a lesser title, 'Gerald's Game' takes place almost entirely in one room and in one woman's head. Echoing shades of the bed bound author in 'Misery', another successful adaptation from the "master of horror", the tale focuses on a middle aged couple who take a few days out in a remote cabin in the country to spice up their love life. Although, it's clear that it's Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) who is more interested in a particular kind of spice than his wife Jessie (Carla Gugino). Gerald's particular penchant is for a bit of light BDSM restraint, which ends up making Jessie very uncomfortable and during a bout of a few uttered home truths about her husband's newly discovered rape fantasies, Gerald suffers a heart attack leaving Jessie handcuffed to the bed and at the mercy of elements beyond her control.
Unfortunately, 'Gerald's Game' is not as entertaining as 'Misery' and comes off as trying to stuff too much into a story that may have been better off more streamlined. It bounces all over the place from childhood abuse trauma, to martial revelations, to grave robbing necrophiliacs, and while a person's mind may indeed wander in an aimless manner while having many hours to use, it doesn't necessarily make for a completely satisfying story.
But 'Gerald's Game' is no dud either and the two leads put in a pretty good and convincing performance, especially Gugino who goes from mousey, to wreck, to heroine while mostly lying on a king sized mattress. However, the film could have definitely used a few slices here and there even if it is well made.
6/10
'See How they Run'
A Wes Anderson movie that wasn't directed by Wes Anderson, 'See how they Run' seeks to channel that instantly recognisable Anderson touch and couple it with that distinctly British air that is abundant in numerous whodunit efforts, especially those of Agatha Christie who's, probably, the genre's most famous participant. Set during the first year of 'The Mousetrap', the longest running play in the history of theatre, the film tells the story of the murder of an obnoxious American movie director who is bumped off while in the middle of trying to secure the film rights to the play and the subsequent efforts to solve the case by a jaded Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell), and his overly enthusiastic assistant, Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan).
'See how they Run' is littered with references, homages, nods, and winks to the audience that will resonate best with people who are drawn to that type of homely British murder mystery. But knowledge of either the genre or the names associated with it are not necessary requirements for enjoyment, and someone who is blissfully ignorant of either will get something out of it. It's also helped immensely by two great performances by Rockwell and Ronan, the latter giving a subtly humorous turn that should put a smile on most people's faces.
If the movie has any drawbacks, though, it's the fact that the mystery itself is quite a lacklustre one and the last third of the film cannot compete with the first two. But over all, it's funny and well worth the time, even if it won't have you in a laughing fit.
7/10
'All Quiet on the Western Front'
The third movie adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's 1928 book is a strange affair. It alters large amounts of Remarque's story that it can hardly be considered the same thing, whilst managing to retain the sense of horror and futility that the central character experiences. So much so that most of the camaraderie that Paul Baumer (Felix Kammerer) also enjoys is eliminated and, thus, what we are left with in Netflix's version is a thoroughly drab, joyless, and at times terrifying view of trench warfare that characterised the Great War. In the book, though, Paul speaks about his friendship with Kat, Tjaden, Albert etc, so that when they fall we feel Paul's loss. Whereas, in the 2022 movie, we don't have any real understanding of his loss at all because we never get a sense of closeness that these men have. In fact we barely have any understanding of Paul Baumer, himself, and it makes for quite a standoffish viewing experience.
Plus, several key passages and characters are done away with for reasons that remain unclear, even if it's understandable in a film that already boasts a heavy run time. For example the character of Himmelstoss, the petty non-com who has a big impact on Baumer and his comrades, is nowhere to be seen and the teacher who urges Paul and his classmates to go to war, with a fervour that can only come from someone who has never seen combat, is reduced to a few lines of unimpressive dialogue. Paul's leave from the front is cut, which means we don't get to see his disillusionment with those left far behind the lines, including his mother. Important scenes like death of the aforementioned Kat are significantly altered, too, and Paul's last moments are rendered in a terribly unsatisfactory way in a completely unnecessary action scene that is strips all the poignancy out of the book's final paragraphs. However, the biggest change of all is the inclusion of a character that was never in the book, in the shape of Matthias Erzberger (Daniel Bruhl), a real life politician who was against the war and was one of the German delegates who signed the armistice in November 1918. Unfortunately, these scenes with Erzberger only serve to replace more important scenes from the book that really should have remained and they come off as a bit awkward.
But while the movie does have some curious omissions and changes, 'All Quiet on the Western Front' succeeds in its depiction of the horrifying nature of close combat. From the opening scene to the various "over the top" attacks that subsequently occur, no punches are pulled. There are no heroes here, either, and there are no One Man Army Hollywood cliches mowing down legions of "bad guys" with ease. These young men are terrified at what they have to do and they do it with a resigned desperation and almost automatic sense of hopeless duty in a war that lost all meaning for them long ago. In particular there is a failed attack on a French trench that ends with a French counter attack in which they use Saint Chamond tanks and flame throwers that is absolutely chilling.
Over all, despite its shortcomings, the film looks fantastic and the attention to detail is genuinely impressive. The acting is generally very good, with a particularly interesting performance by Albrecht Shcuch as Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinsky, the illiterate "old man" of the group whom Paul looks up to, and the direction is carried out in that very straightforward, no nonsense, German way. 'All Quiet on the Western Front' is very much a German war film in that it's a serious, tragic, and an honest depiction.
8/10
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Originally Posted by shootemindehead
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Still, the first two-thirds move at a slick pace and the 90s cheese is on the right side of the line with all its nudge-nudge wink-wink dialogue exchanges and flirtations. Nice use of San Francisco locations (you get hints of this being a much randier slice of Vertigo/Hitchcock at times, especially in the music). The is she/isn't she fake-outs are over-used in the finale, making it feel a bit silly, and you can't help but question what exactly happened throughout the movie and who precisely did what when, but you've gotta love the post-80s excesses and over-the-top gusto of everything.
). Just a simple life affirming drama...
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