This is a film that is either going to be a shocking slow burn thriller or a long shaggy dog story. I say that because this is a film that hinges on what we see at the end of the film. The ending is the film. What it is I can't say.
What I can say that the film is a sold ride. The filmmaking is on target, the plot construction is solid, the performances first rate.
Is it worth seeing? Yes, absolutely.
Long time readers of Unseen Films knows I’m a huge fan of Di Nunzio. His films like CLEAN UP DUTY and EXETER AT MIDNIGHT are small gems that explore the psyche of people on the edge. They are as good as filmmaking can get and they are the reason that Di Nunzio is one of my favorite directors of all time.
This brings me to SPIDERS IN THE WALLS his latest film.
As stand alone film SPIDERS is a good look at a man in crisis. It bounces through his waking and sleep states to give a portrait of a man uncertain of what to do. As a film divorced from Di Nunzio’s other work it’s a solid film.
Within the body of the directors other work it’s his least film. Considering that Di Nunzio is one of the best working today, it does mean its better than most other directors best films. For me the problem is that the brief 10+ minute run time isn’t enough time to give the characters time to breath. This is a film that moves through the story at speed and we never fully get a sense of everyone. I would have liked this to be a bit longer so we got a bit more sense of everyone.
My quibble with the work of a favorite director aside, any film from Christopher Di Nunzio needs to be celebrated and enjoyed and as such it’s recommended.
The film tells the story of a late night talk show host who seeks to curb his falling ratings with a spooky Halloween night show involving, skeptics, psychics and demons. The film is supposed to be a mix of behind the scenes footage and the actual broadcast.
I liked LATE NIGHT, but I’m not as crazy in love with it the way many of my fellow writers and horror fans are. Part of the problem is that I really didn’t find it scary. To me it’s more a create horror comedy then a chill packed film. Until the end when all hell breaks loose I didn’t think it really worked as chiller.
The problems come from a few places. The first is the film never quite nails the TV show feeling. I grew up on 1970’s talk shows, and any time there was a serious subject on them there were less jokes. Even shows where they would debunk a psychic or do something spooky, they would play it straight up to a point. There wouldn’t be as many attempts at humor here. I think part of the problem is that the directors never fully sell the idea that Night Owl was a real show, with it looking kind of anemic (not anything that would serious compete with the Tonight Show) and handling it jokey. The clips feel like clips and not something cut from a show. I never believed it was real for a second.
The other HUGE problem is the character of the skeptic. Big loud and obnoxious, he is actually the villain of the piece not the demon. Played as a bull in a China closet he is not anyone who would end up as a repeated guest on a TV show. He would turn off viewers. His efforts to debunk what was happening resemble nothing that any skeptic I ever saw do on TV. When someone like the Amazing Randi took on someone he duplicated the feat, not brow beat them. Nothing he does rings true, at least in terms of TV in 1977.
The final problem with the film is the film, which is supposed to be a kind of found footage story, breaks the rules all over the place. We see things that we never could have seen, from backstage conversations that would not have been filmed, to things that are happening inside characters, to images of the destruction that couldn’t have happened because the TV show camera men fled. This is a minor issue that only arises because the film states at the start that this is the broadcast as it happened with behind the scenes footage inserted. If it hadn’t said that it would have been fine.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the film, with the final explosion of carnage being really cool, but I didn’t find it scary.
Worth a look.
I wish this film didn’t play late in the festival because I would have loved to push the hell out of this film. Yes I know the film is on the DOC NYC platform, but I would have loved to gotten people to the post film Q&As.
This is a great film and a great subject showing how what many people consider an unconventional treatment can help the thousands of men and women who need it. It’s a beautiful film that explains just how the treatment can return the vets who feel like shells can be made to feel whole again.
Highly recommended
While this is a great look at the band, it didn’t make me like their music any more. Sure I appreciate some of it but much of it is still lost on me.
That said fans of the band are going to be thrilled and anyone curious about the band are urged to see it.
Moving look at the death penalty and how some times it's the wrong thing to do. By all accounts Ramirez is not the man he was and he is filled with remorse. His then current state leads on to believe that executing him was probably the wrong thing to do.
This film is going to make you ponder the place of the death penalty.
This is a sweet little short about a nice guy and the nice people around him.
Recommended
Lovely small gem of a film follows the kids and one girl in particular as they try to learn their parts and to not be afraid of playing in front of people. This is a joyous film that will make you want to go hang out with these kids.
Recommended.
This look at a group of men in a level five maximum security prison who make quilts five days a week for foster kids in the area is a delight. Much like back in the early 1970's when football great Rosie Grier was going on TV talk shows talking about sewing there is a slight disconnect with big mean guys doing needle crafts. At the same time it's clear that the quilting is changing all of the men for the better.
This is a great film showing us a great group of guys and proving that with the right programs prison can change people for the better
Recommended
The least HBO documentary in a decade or so is less about the surveillance of people than it is about Farrow digging out the story and always talking about how he's going to be transparent and get to the bottom of everything. Farrow is everywhere in this film either speaking over the images of other people or he's on screen taking a call or talking to someone. Despite what the title says this is all about Farrow.
I am so disappointed. I went into the film certain there had to be a mistake about the run time. There is so much to the subject, as can be seen by countless other similar films. However about half way into the film I kind of threw up my hands in disbelief, so much of this was so pointless because it was focused on Farrow this could have been a short.
What happened? Farrow is such a good journalist, but this film is so poor. It's a puff piece of the reporter not an expose on it's intended subject.
Easily the worst film (of 110 to date) playing at DOC NYC.
The film is a biography of pitcher Jim Abbott, who despite having only one hand played ten years in the majors for five teams and pitched a no hitter. Along the way he inspired thousands of people with similar problems to strive and achieve all sorts things like play major league sports. It is one of the most glorious films I've seen in 2024 and in an age
I have no words. This is a celebration of what one man who simply believes that a kind word can change the world can do. It's a film that will make you feel good, which is something we need in this age of hatred and division.
This is one of the best and one of my favorite films of 2024. Please see it because I want you to feel this good and see what kindness can do.
Funny for all the wrong reasons, the Republicans who opposed her look like fools and incredibly charming SEAT 31 is a lovely portrait of a woman who won't back down. Taking the Republican nonsense in stride she simply does what she can to serve the people who sent her to the legislature.
I find it hopeful that despite the Republican nonsense, Zephyr was re-elected.
Recommended
This plays less like a documentary then a formal narrative which messes with your head because the film doesn't play as a documentary. This plays more like an art house film. I'm not certain that's a good thing because the film's formal structure keeps us distant.
My one question with this film is how did they get the husband to agree to being filmed?
To be honest this didn't really work for me.
This is a good if slightly jumbled (and according to some historically inaccurate) telling of Bonhoeffer’s life. At times the film moves through time and space to give a portrait of the man who stood up when others refused to do so. It’s a beautifully made film with a wonderful sense of place and containing some great performances.
The problem is the film’s construction isn’t really what it should be. The shifting time frames some times require a moment or two of adjustment. Where and when are we? Why the shift? It’s not always immediately clear. Additionally The film is constructed as an object lesson about a Christian martyr. We are not so much watching the story of a man but a lesson about a holy man that over sells and alters things (Bonhoeffer gives a moving speech on top of the make shift gallows as the heavens part as if welcoming him into the hands of god in a scene that plays out in ways created by the filmmakers). It’s not bad but it keeps things from being truly moving.
Worth a look if you are so inclined, the film is a good introduction to a man who died fighting tyranny, something that some feel we may soon have to do here in America.
(ADDENDUM: The film has become a source of controversy with the film being used as a lightning rod for white nationalist groups. I find at interesting considering that Bonhoeffer was anti-nazi and the white national groups lean into nazi ideas. I don't know what the official stance of Angel Studios is on the whole matter, however when I raised the issue via some questionable things I found on the internet the PR firm promoting the films was horrified.)
SOUL OF THE DESERT
Portrait of Georgina a trans woman in Bolivia who has been fighting the government to be who she is. This is a look at a woman who is living on the fringes of Bolivian society. Because her identity still says she is a man is has fallen into a twilight world. The film is one part the story of Georgina‘s quest to be recognized as a woman and at the same time it is a quiet portrait of her life. This is a low key mediation on life as lived.
Recommended.
An intriguing look back at the Carter, Reagan and George Bush Sr years when the government actually seemed to care about rising temperatures. At the same time because the film relies entirely on TV news casts the view is skewed toward what we saw in the media. We don't see some of the end runs around the rules because it may not have been covered on the evening news. There is more to the story than we are seeing here.
This is a solid look at the work of a woman who died too soon. Using archival footage and current interviews with people who knew and were influenced by her we get a great sense of how her work changed the world.
Recommended.
While this is more or less a typical bio doc, the film shines brightly because of the woman at the center. Sure, the presentation is familiar but at the same time there was only on Liz Carpenter.
Recommended
SPACEWOMAN
Portrait of astronaut Eileen Collins who had a long and celebrated career flying to space and back in the space shuttle.
Wonderful portrait of a woman who broke down doors in the space program. She blazed a trail for other women to follow and did things that will make your jaw drop. What a great lady.
Recommended
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| DAVI KOPENAWA and ERYK ROCHA |
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| ROCHA, KOPENAWA and JULIANA SAKAE |
The short version of the film is that it is good. It’s not perfect, I have a lot of issues (see below) but when the film clicked, I was a sobbing with joy. But there are issues that kept it from being truly great.
Some of the problems come from the fact that the film doesn’t know if it’s a film musical or a stage musical or if it’s a real-world film or all on sets or what exactly it is. It feels like it is trying to be everything all at once and is nothing-only working in the moments when it decides what it wants to be.
The film begins in a real world Muchkinland that was shot outside. It’s a sequence that feels real world. The film then shifts into the movie world, where everything has more than a touch of Hollywood creation. The problem with this is that the various lands never seem to connect. Munchkin land feels different than unconnected to Shizz which feels unconnected to the Emerald City. Each of the worlds feels real unto themselves but not connected to each other. Each world feels like a separate part of Delos where Westworld takes place.
The musical numbers are wildly uneven. The staging runs from awful (the opening) to all time classic (Dancing Through Life). Some scenes such as Popular or What is This Feeling are fun. Some of the staging such as I’m Not That Girl or The Wizard and I, feel as though they didn’t know what to do so they just have Elphaba walk. They largely destroy Defying Gravity by having it sung, not in one show stopping whole, but in pieces with breaks between lines. I went from thinking they F-ing nailed it at the start as Elphaba climbed the stairs to staring in horror as the song paused for action and dialog and the much-heralded vocal acrobatics that end the song are left unconnected to anything (exactly like in the current Target commercial where Cynthia Erivo steps out to stop a guy from singing and just does the final notes)
The pacing of the film is off. By doubling the length of the first act the film’s forward momentum stalls. While the film still moves, the rhythms that come from Schwartz’s score, and which give the show a breakneck speed, are gone. We suddenly have time to think about the plot and huge holes begin to appear. You realize that the characters are not as well drawn as they should have been. I never realized the plot problems until the screening because on stage I never had to think, and the music made me feel what was missing. Now the film has to rely on what now seems to be an inadequate script. Words replace the emotion of the music. Relying on dialog is a mistake because there are details missing. The characters now feel like there are dead spots in their souls because in adding time to the story they added action but not character details.
The performances are mostly good. Ethan Slater as Bok and Marissa Bode as Nessarose are saddled with characters that were always under written. While that is still the case here, both of them make them infinitely better than they are in the show, even though they are still not given a great deal to do. Michelle Yeoh is fine as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum is creepy as hell as the Wizard (though the role seems to have been reduced from the play).
Ariana Grande is very good as Glinda. The trouble is she is essentially channeling Kristen Chenoweth. While she is absolutely fine, she never quite makes the role her own… though I blame the script because most of what is here is just what’s in the play and she isn't given any real meat, she is just a sweet airhead (I know she gets better in Act 2). In expanding the film they didn't give her any character bits and we are just left with her songs.
Cynthia Erivo is glorious as Elphaba. She is a revelation, and while you sense there should be more to her (thank you poor writing of the new material) she kicks it into orbit with her mere presence.
The real revelation though is Jonathan Slater as Fiyero. He is on another plane of existence than the rest of the cast and he makes the role truly his own (and I say that because until now Norbert Leo Butz in the original Broadway production was the owner of the role in my soul). This should make him a superstar because he is that good. His performance of Dancing Through Life is one of the best things I’ve ever seen on screen. He is the best thing in the film - and probably the best reason to see the film.
While I absolutely love chunks of this so much is off that I’m deeply disappointed. They somehow traded the real pure emotion of the show for spectacle. There are flashes when director John Chu understood what he should have done, but mostly he takes the easy unimaginative way out.
My bitching aside it is worth seeing.
Lastly, I do have to say that I am delighted that in age where the right wing Republican insanity has taken hold and given us a Wizard, er President who has fooled the people into believing he is things that he is most certainly not, WICKED, a film about taking on such a menace is going to be one of the big films of the year. More so since the film is very openly queer, a fact that the same right leaning fans will never openly acknowledge.
This is a great look at the life and time of a man who loved what he did. It's a wonderful film in that it transfers Bridgewater's enthusiasm to the viewer. What an absolute delight.
I can't wait to see it again.
This is a solid at what it’s like at ground zero for a those living with a terrible disease. I love that the film gives us a view of a community of women is hopeful. We really get a sense of there being people out there who can help them cope and get by. Too often we see similar stories but it’s always focused on one brave family fighting on.
My only complaint is that this could have been longer than an hour because I would have loved to have spent more time with these wonderful people.
Recommended.
