Hello again! Welcome back to week two of Friday Flix Fix, that thing where I talk about some films so you guys have a better idea of what to watch this weekend. Let’s get right to it!
The Good: Under the Skin
I’ve got to be honest, this one almost went completed off my radar. Debuting last August at the Telluride Film Festival, Under the Skin is a British adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel of the same name. Directed and written by Jonathan Glazer, a relatively big film-maker in the British indie scene, having come from making music videos in the 90’s (he directed Karma Police for Radiohead), this film is definitely a little bit off the beaten path. Taking place entirely in Scotland, the film tells the story of an alien taking the form of an attractive woman who travels the Scottish highlands in a van seducing men only to trap and preserve them in order to harvest their organs. It’s like an incredibly odd tongue-in-cheek mix of Species and Predator while also taking a trip through the editing room of Troma‘s headquarters. The oddest part though? Scarlett Johanson plays the lead as the female alien. I’m really surprised this is as obscured as it is, given the leading lady involved, but such is the way of an indie film coming out right at the cusp of blockbuster season. Definitely give this a watch if you can, at the very least it’ll make a funny piece of movie trivia for your next social gathering.
The Bad: About Last Night
Generic romantic comedy based on a play and a remake of a 1986 film of the same name. That’s three strikes already and I haven’t even started talking about what the film is about. About Last Night is your standard rom-com, landing around Valentine’s Day state-side before making it over here just a touch too late. The story is that of two couples who meet at a bar, end up giving a relationship a go and life happens and the relationship is put to the test. It’s absolutely nothing new or altogether interesting.
The cast does include some good comedic players, with stand-up comedian Kevin Hart and Scary Movie star Regina Hall having been praised for their on-screen chemistry, and Michael Ealy, whose credits include the Barbershop films. Throw in High Fidelity and Hot Tub Time Machine director/co-writer Steven Pink and you have a recipe for a potentially alright time. It’s just the film is so obviously generic, in a genre that is so rarely distinctive or ever anything more than a throwaway evening in, that it just doesn’t stack up when you have films from the likes of Wes Anderson and Terry Gilliam doing the rounds. This is one for the ‘Netflix on a slow afternoon’ list.
The Anto: Patrick
I’ve been uncharacteristically lackadaisical with the horror scene so far this year – I think I’ve seen maybe two I haven’t seen before since the start of the year? Shocking. Absolutely shocking. Anyway, I’m going to get things back on track with Australian horror film starring none other than Tywin Lannister himself Charles Dance, Patrick. This is a remake (god dam, so many of these things) of a 1978 film of the same name, which I will also be watching for a suitably nerdy double-bill, Patrick is a creepy tale of a comatose patient in a remote, private psychiatric hospital who has the power of telekinesis and the medical staff who must survive his murderous nature. There is, of course, a new nurse, played by Sharni Vinson (You’re Next), who is our main protagonist and a creepy older nurse played by Rachel Griffiths (Saving Mr. Banks) and it’s all very nice and macabre. What first attracted me to this film is the Hammer-esque, classic horror vibe it gives off. The big old building on the hill, the master with a dark secret, the old guard who protect that secret, the forgotten patients of a ‘hospital room’ cell – it ticks all the old-school boxes without feeling like a cheap cash-in, which is in itself somewhat impressive. I’m really looking forward to feeling on edge as someone is walking through the shadows and we hear something move in the distance and some pour soul gets absolutely destroyed in a murderous rampage. Ah, yes, entertainment. Plus, it provides me with some good Aussie horror to stave my hunger for The Babadook, which I am absolutely dying to see.
Some Scottish alien serial-killing, some romantic-comedy, and some old-school horror, yeah, I think that’s alright for this week. Do enjoy whatever it is you decide to watch folks, and I’ll talk to y’all next week, same Arcade time, same Arcade channel!
