The Neon Demon

First Hit:  Odd, visually striking, with great electronic music but the direct story was way too twisted.

However, there are depths in this story that are poignant and were interesting. Directly, Jesse (Elle Fanning), is a young girl without parents who comes to LA seeking to be a model. As she states: “I can’t dance, sing, or have any skills, all I have is my looks.” At 16 she’s young, she’s beautiful and everyone who meets her is taken by her presence, innocence, inner strength and beauty.

She quickly rises up in the LA fashion modeling scene, and the other models are jealous. There is a lot of gossipy discussion among the other girls about what work they have had done on their bodies to make themselves look better: Nose jobs, breast augmentation, eye lifts, body augmentations and lots of other things so that they can be the “it” girl and continue to work.

Jesse is naturally beautiful and mesmerizes every clothing designer and photographer she meets. She has become the "it girl". Her innocence and surety of her beauty is profound.

The depth of the film comes with what people will do to be seen as beautiful and how much physical beauty matters. I’m not sure I liked the way it was presented as I was bored at times but it also had a power of drawing me into the main character.

Fanning was very good as the young mid-western girl wanting to live her dream of being a model. Her ethereal beauty and strength were evident and why she was chosen for this part - she was perfect for it. Karl Glusman as Dean a photographer and friend of Jesse was OK, but didn’t bring out a strong dynamic. Jena Malone was very interesting as Jesse’s friend and make-up artist. Her twists are edgy. Bella Heathcote as Gigi the model who will do anything surgically to be the “it” model. Abby Lee was interestingly strong as another model who has some odd eating habits (at the end of the film). Keanu Reeves as the intense somewhat twisted motel manager was a nice turn. Nicolas Winding Refn wrote and directed this oddly twisted film.

Overall:  This film was more odd and interesting than engaging.

10 Cloverfield Lane

First Hit:  I went from engage, to disappointment and disbelief, and finally to satisfied.

This film generated a range of feelings within me; from great story with belief and possibility all the way to disbelief while bordering on “give me a break”. In the end it does redeem itself.

The story begins with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) packing up and leaving her apartment and life with Ben (voice of Bradley Cooper). Driving to an unknown location she gets into a car accident.

She wakes up chained to a bed with Howard (John Goodman) as her captor. He tells her that there has been an apocalypse in the world outside and he’s saved her by bringing her into his underground bunker.

Howard introduces her to Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) who, as she finds out, has chosen to be in the bunker. She hears cars and other noises above her, so she tries to escape only to find someone suffering outside the bunker.

At this point there are a lot of stories floating around in my head about where this film is heading. Then about 15 - 20 minutes before the end, I went into disbelief and disappointment about where the story has taken us, but at the end, I realized that I liked and believed the point of the story and how we got there.

Winstead is very strong as the everyday person finding her strength and being willing to move past her previous fears. Goodman is equally strong as someone who is definitely on his own agenda and belief system which may be true and skewed view. Gallagher Jr. was very good as the other person in the bunker. Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken wrote this story that almost fell off the rails. Dan Trachtenberg did a great job creating an intense environment in a closed space. The set was really good.

Overall:  This film was on the edge of falling over a cliff, but, in the end, stays upright.

Horns

First Hit:  A rather unrealistic and lousy film.

This film did try to take itself seriously, however how could it? A guy growing horns out of his head? Sure. It tries to make a villain out of Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) because his girlfriend, Merrin Williams (Juno Temple) is killed near their secret treehouse. It was their hiding spot.

Previously to being found there she was last seen with him in a restaurant fighting. Telling you what they fight about would give too much away but needless to say that they have spent their life (since grade school) together and they were in love. Because Merrin is so loved and Ig vilified, he ends up growing horns which express the town’s hatred.

Radcliffe was OK in a role that really stretches the imagination but not in a way that I would recommend. Temple is devine and is the best thing in the film. Keith Bunin wrote a mostly ridiculous script and director Alexandre Aja tried to make sense of the story.

Overall:  This film was poorly conceived and barely executed better.

The Last Days on Mars

First Hit: This was a painfully poor film in all ways.

The film begins with people outside on a landscape that is supposed to be Mars but it could have been California, Utah, and Arizona or somewhere in the Middle East where the landscape is void of vegetation and it is both rocky and sandy.

The set up was extremely poor and when they finally tried to frame the story with shots from above the surface of the planet, it was too late. The premise that this group was on Mars was null and void from the very beginning. Briefly the rest of the story is that the group on the planet is just about ready to leave the surface and head back to earth, when at the last minute, they think they find some sort of life. In a snap decision two of the crew goes out and get sucked up by the organisms which make them zombies. They come for the rest of the crew.

Liev Schreiber as Vincent tried to make his character thoughtful and intense but it didn’t work. Romola Garai played Rebecca who was the one thoughtful character. Elias Koteas, Olivia Williams, Johnny Harris, Goran Kostic, Tom Cullen, and Yusra Warsama were all part of the crew that suffered both the script and direction of this poorly conceived film. Sydney J. Bounds and Clive Dawson wrote this lame script. Ruairi Robinson directed this and he’s got a long way to go to figure out how to tell a story worth telling.

Overall:  Nothing about it made sense and there is no way this should have found a screen.

The Incredible Shrinking Man

First Hit:  I saw why this film made me a fan of films. It opened a wonderful door to amazing story-telling.

In 1957 I saw this film. It was the first film I saw and as a young boy I was thoroughly moved. Last week I was able to see this film again and believe me – it holds up extremely well.

With all the modern technology of today to make things bigger and smaller I was worried that I would get caught up in the “how does it look” syndrome when comparing it to today’s technological abilities. This baby holds up well.

Yes there are scenes that are not as seamless as what could be done today, but overall it is well done. However, the real delight is that this story is told in a tight 81 minutes, covers all the bases, and ends with a philosophical statement and view that is spot on wonderful.

In brief, Scott Carey (Grant Williams) is enveloped for a few minutes in a cloud that may be radiation. When this film was made the cold war was in full swing and radioactivity from a nuclear bomb was ever present. What happens is that he begins shrinking slowly after a couple of weeks. He continues to shrink until he gets a temporary fix for a month or so.

But then he starts shrinking again until he is towered over by a matchbox. How he deals with this change, what he discovers about himself (at the very end) makes up this wonderful story. The special effects are very good and hold up extremely well.

Williams is extraordinary sublime and does an amazing job of having the audience believe he is truly shrinking and how it feels to be an outcast. Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay from his novel and it totally works. Jack Arnold directed this film with intelligence and his command of special effects and how to use them well is amazing.

Overall:  This film solidified how a good film can stay with someone for many years. This one lasted 56 years and re-established that a great film can affect its audience for years to come.