My Friend Dahmer

 Year: 2017

Director:  Marc Meyers

Screenplay:  Marc Meyers, based on the graphic novel My Friend Dahmer by John "Derf" Backderf

Starring:  Ross Lynch, Anne Heche, Alex Wolff, Dallas Roberts, Tommy Nelson, Vincent Kartheiser

Running Time:  107 minutes

Genre:  Drama

1970s Ohio:  High school student Jeffrey Dahmer (Lynch) is a strange young man, with an unhealthy interest in dissecting animals.  Jeffrey and his younger brother David (Liam Koeth) have a difficult family life with their mentally ill mother (Heche) and a father (Roberts) who tries but fails to connect to Jeffrey.  Jeffrey's acting out at school soon draws the attention of a group of students, including aspiring artist John "Derf" Backderf (Wolff) who befriend him and persuade him to participate in a variety of pranks.  However as time goes on, Jeffrey begins to go down a far darker path.

Jeffrey Dahmer is one of the most notorious serial killers in American history who murdered at least 17 boys and young men before his arrest in 1991.  My Friend Dahmer is an unconventional true crime film, because it doesn't concern itself with any of his crimes.  It's based on an acclaimed 2012 graphic novel by cartoonist John "Derf' Backderf about his teenage friendship with Jeffrey Dahmer, and the bulk of the film concentrates on their senior year at high school in 1978.  The film is almost like a low-key domestic drama, about a troubled teenager, it really depends a lot on the audience's familiarity with Dahmer and his crimes for it's full effect.  The film has some very good performances, particularly from Ross Lynch, who gives a creepy performance as the dead eyed Dahmer.  The film humanises a monster, showing his troubled life and portraying him as a weird, unhappy teenager.  The film mentions the fact that Derf and his gang are arguably exploiting Dahmer by really using him for their entertainment, they use the term "doing a Dahmer" for his attention-seeking pranks such as impersonating a local interior designer with cerebral palsy, suddenly making loud noises, and sneaking into yearbook photos, among other things.  This is an effective, and chilling look at what makes a monster, that manages to feel empathetic and not exploitative.

       Ross Lynch as Jeffrey Dahmer in My Friend Dahmer

Wings of Desire

Year:  1987

Director:  Wim Wenders

Screenplay:  Wim Wenders, Peter Handke, Richard Reitinger

Starring:  Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk

Running Time:  127 minutes

Genre:  Fantasy

West Berlin:  Two angels, Damiel (Ganz) and Cassiel (Sander), watch over the affairs of humans.  The immortal angels are able to hear the thoughts of humans, however they are physically unable to intervene, or even interact with the physical world, and remain invisible to humans, although some can sense their presence.  Suffering from existential angst over his immortal existence set apart from the physical plane, Daniel falls in love with trapeze artist Marion (Dommartin) and decides to renounce his angelic existence for a mortal, human life.

In the years since it's release this philosophical romantic fantasy has become seen as one of the classics of world cinema.  While the film is long, slow, and arguably pretentious, it is intriguing, often funny and ultimately becomes profoundly moving.  The film is visually impressive, most of it is in sepia tinged black-and-white, with sequences in colour, and brief flashes of vintage newsreel footage.  The locations in Berlin range from the more familiar tourist areas such as the Victory Column where the angels frequently gather at the top to observe human life, to more run-down and industrial areas of the city, as well as the Berlin Wall. We also follow the stories of various characters that the angels observe, including an elderly poet, a suicidal young man, and American actor Peter Falk (playing himself) who is filming a war movie in Berlin.  The film has some fantastic performances from Bruno Ganz and Solveig Dommartin in particular, and a warm, funny performance from Peter Falk.  The film also gives a glimpse of life in West Berlin in the years immediately before reunification, including a look at the underground rock clubs with a cameo from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.  It is really more a film about a city than about angels.  It is interesting how little traditionally angelic imagery is used, the angels have wings that appear occasionally, but usually appear as normal humans in long overcoats, and there are no references to Heaven or God.  The angels with their ability to pass over the city and hear thoughts provide an insight into the city and the people who live there.  Ultimately it becomes a celebration of the small, transient joys and pains of life, and the beauty of existence.  The film was followed by a sequel Faraway, So Close! (1993) and was remade in 1997 as City of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan.  

Bruno Ganz in Wings of Desire

Rope

 Year:  1948

Director:  Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay:  Hume Cronyn, based on the stage play Rope by Patrick Hamilton

Starring:  James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Joan Chandler, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Douglas Dick, Edith Evanson

Running Time:  80 minutes

Genre:  Thriller

New York City:  Two students, Brandon (Dall) and Philip (Granger), murder their friend David (Dick Hogan) for no other reason than the thrill of it.  After hiding the body in a large antique chest, they throw a party to which they invite David's family and friends, as well as their former teacher (Stewart).

Based on a 1928 stage play by Patrick Hamilton, which was itself loosely based on the notorious 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case, this is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most experimental films.  Aside from the opening credit sequence, the entire film is set within the confines of Brandon and Philip's palatial New York apartment, and it is filmed to appear as if it is almost one continuous take.  The camera moves are impressive, although due to the fact that the cameras of the time could only hold a maximum of ten minutes worth of film, the camera frequently has to move close into the backs of people's jackets or furniture in order to hide the edit when the film had to be replaced.  This was the first of three films that James Stewart made for Hitchcock and he was critical of the film, commenting that the "really important thing being rehearsed here is the camera, not the actors," and stating much later that "it was worth trying... But it really didn't work."  Hitchcock himself dismissed the continuous take technique as "a stunt."  The film's main set of the apartment's living room is impressive, with a large window looking out over a steadily darkening New York City skyline, all of which was achieved in the studio.  While the film isn't entirely successful, it is an entertaining thriller.  The suspense comes not from David's fate, or the identity of the murderers, the film opens with the murder and the hiding of the body, but on when and how the "perfect murder" will unravel.  The film was very controversial on it's original release, possibly because of the strong homosexual subtext, the fact that Brandon and Philip are in a relationship is made pretty much as blatant as it could be in a mainstream movie in 1948.  For the most part the film manages to be more than just an innovative experiment, with sharp dialogue, strong performances, and the steadily building tension.  However, there are points where the technique overrides the content and your left admiring the camera work, rather than being involved in the story.

What a swell party: Farley Granger, James Stewart and John Dall in Rope

Prey

 Year:  2022

Director:  Dan Trachtenberg

Screenplay:  Patrick Aison, from a story by Patrick Aison and Dan Trachtenberg, based on characters by Jim Thomas and John Thomas

Starring:  Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, Stormee Kipp, Julian Black Antelope, Dane DiLiegro

Running Time:  100 minutes

Genre:  Science-fiction, action

The Great Plains of North America, 1719:  Naru (Midthunder) is a young Comanche woman, who is a hugely skilled healer and tracker, and dreams of becoming a great hunter like her brother, Tabbe (Beavers).  However, after seeing strange signs, and coming across strangely mutilated corpses of animals, Naru becomes convinced that there is something else out there, that is even more dangerous than the vicious cougars and bears, and the brutal fur trappers.  Soon the hunter becomes the hunted as Naru has to face a completely new type of Predator.

This is the fifth film in the Predator franchise, not counting the two Alien vs. Predator films which mix Predator with the Alien franchise.  The Predators are a race of aliens who come to Earth to hunt humans for sport.  This is a well made film, mixing panoramic visual beauty (in fact it is a real pity that the film debuted on streaming rather than in the cinema because it would look spectacular on the big screen).  Amber Midthunder is great in the lead as the calm but ferocious Naru, who uses her intelligence and skills, rather than just a strength against her opponents, and also turns the fact that she is almost always underestimated to her advantage.  The Predator itself is different to the ones previously seen on screen.  As in the other films, it has a cloaking device to make itself more or less invisible, and uses heat vision to track down it's prey, unlike previous versions, however, it's mask is made of bone, rather than metal, and it doesn't use an energy gun, using instead it's strength and bladed weapons.  As with previous Predators; it has it's own code of honour, not attacking those who it doesn't deem to be a threat.  The film takes it's time building up the characters and the world of the story, a world if kill or be killed, emphasised by repeated scenes of animals hunting and killing other animals.  It also takes it's time in building up Naru's world, exploring the customs and practices of the tribe.  The film is well made by Dan Trachtenberg, who previously made 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016).  While there are references to other films in the series, they don't feel forced, and there is no need to see any of the others to watch this.  it is a completely stand alone film.   While it doesn't feel very original, aside from the setting and largely indigenous cast, the story structure feels very similar to the first film, particularly towards the end, it is probably the best film in the series.

 Amber Midthunder in Prey

The Master

 Year:  2012

Director:  Paul Thomas Anderson

Screenplay:  Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring:  Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Running Time:  137 minutes

Genre:  Drama

Freddie Quell (Phoenix), a troubled, heavy drinking World War Two veteran, finds it difficult to adjust to postwar American society.  His drinking, coupled with his violent, erratic behaviour, causes him to be fired from several jobs, as he drifts across the States.  In San Francisco, Freddie meets Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman) the founder and leader of a movement known as "The Cause", which claims to help people using a confrontational technique called "Processing".  Freddie becomes fascinated by The Cause and the charismatic Dodd, and soon becomes a devoted follower.

This complex and often bleak drama, inspired by the early years of Scientology, is a powerful and sometimes disturbing piece of work.  Joaquin Phoenix gives one of his best performances as the violent alcoholic Freddie Quell.  The lecherous, mercurial Quell is often a deeply unlikeable character, but Phoenix gives us a glimpse of the humanity at his core.  Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfectly cast the charming, garrulous Dodd.  With Hoffman you can see how someone might fall for Dodd's line.  Dodd and Quell form a kind of father-son relationship, with Dodd frequently talking to him as if he's a small child, despite the fact that Hoffman was only seven years older than Phoenix.  There are moments, however, when Dodd's genial facade slips in brief explosions of rage.  Amy Adams plays Dodd's wife, Peggy, a quiet woman, who is a true believer in Dodd and The Cause, who is a mixture of charm, calm rage and steely determination.  There are also appearances from Laura Dean, Jesse Plemons and Rami Malek.  The film is far more than just a drama about a cult, it deals with America in the late 1940s early 1950s, the need to belong and the deep human will to believe in something.   Most of all it's about the strange connection between two men who are polar opposites and yet have a strange attachment.  Even when Freddie's bad behaviour alienates almost everyone around him, Dodd still insists in bringing him back into the fold.  The film's principal weakness is that it is quite meandering, it's one of those films where the story seems to have reached a conclusion, but there is still more to come.  However, this is a small criticism, since this is a truly great film.

Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rami Malek in The Master
  

5x2

Year:  2004

Director:  François Ozon

Screenplay:  François Ozon and Emmanuèle Bernheim

Starring:  Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Stéphane Freiss

Running Time:  90 minutes

Genre:  Drama

Over the course of five episodes, the film tells the story of a married couple in reverse.  It opens with Marion (Tedeschi) and Gilles (Freiss) in a lawyer's office finalising their divorce, and then moves back to  tense dinner with Gilles' brother (Antoine Chappey) and his partner (Marc Ruchmann),   the birth of Marion and Gilles' son, their wedding and concluding with their meeting in an idyllic Spanish seaside resort.  

This French film, the title of which is Five Times Two in English, is a dark drama which uses a reverse chronology to chart the gradual disintegration of a marriage.  Going from the acrimonious divorce, and a shocking scene where Gilles sexually assaults Marion, to their initial holiday romance.  With the benefit of hindsight we can see how things go wrong, and where the cracks form in the relationship.    The reverse structure had been used in a couple of other films that came out in the early 2000s, most notably the thriller Memento (2000) and the controversial Irréversible (2002), but Ozon's stated inspiration was the 1986 Australian TV movie Two Friends, directed by Jane Campion, that depicted the end of a friendship in reverse.  Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss are perfectly cast as the couple.  Ozone directs with style and the script is clever and witty.  There is s lot to admire in the film, however I would proceed with caution, it's very bleak.  For one thing this is arguably one of the least romantic films ever made.  Every couple in the film is miserable and/or doomed.  It's not a film for Date Night.  If you are single however, this might make you feel a bit better about it.

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss in 5x2

The Great Outdoors

 Year:  1988

Director:  Howard Deutch

Screenplay:  John Hughes

Starring:  Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening

Running Time:  90 minutes

Genre:  Comedy

Chicago resident Chester "Chet" Ripley (Candy), his wife Connie (Faracy) and their two sons are spending their summer at a bucolic lake resort.  However, their holiday takes a turn for the worse when Connie's sister Kate Craig (Bening) arrives uninvited with her obnoxious investment broker husband Roman (Aykroyd) and their twin daughters.  Soon a peaceful lakeside vacation turns into a catalogue of misadventures and disasters.

This is a moderately funny family comedy.  John Candy plays the gentle Chicagoan who just wants a peaceful holiday for some family bonding and Dan Aykroyd is well-cast as his annoying yuppie brother in law.  Stephanie Faracy and Annette Bening, in her film debut, really don't have much to do as the supportive wives and mothers.  Scripted by John Hughes, who became something of a celebrity in the 1980s, with scripts including National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Pretty in Pink (1986) and Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), as well as writing and directing The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) and the John Candy starring Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987).  The film feels like a watered-down Vacation film with the same episodic structure moving from comic set-piece to comic set-piece, before a heart-warming conclusion.  None of the cast has anything to stretch themselves, and there are moments where the film looks surprisingly cheap, like a scene where they are fishing at dawn and the lake is very clearly a stage set.  However there are some very funny and memorable scenes, such as Candy's disastrous trip on water skis, and a scene where Roman persuades Chet to take the "Old 96" challenge in a local restaurant and eat a 96 pound steak.  From Candy's reaction when the crazed-looking chef in a blood stained apron sets down the huge slab of meat in front of him and his mute pleading and suffering as he is forced to finish this mass of food, is a wonderful piece of silent comic acting.  By the way, there is a restaurant in California that does serve an "Old 96" in tribute to this movie.  It's recommended for between four to six people.  One of the funniest things in the film are the racoons that periodically try and get inside the tourist's rubbish bins, and talk in their own chittering language, which is subtitled.  The romantic sub-plot between Chet's teenage son Buck (Chris Young) and local girl Cammie (Lucy Deakins) is done well and is actually quite moving, but there is not enough of it for it not to feel like it was just shoe-horned in at the last minute.  Director Howard Deutch, who previously worked with Hughes on Pretty in Pink, does a serviceable job.  It's not a great film, but it is  enjoyable enough, and there are enough laughs to make it an entertaining diversion.

John Candy and Dan Aykroyd in The Great Outdoors
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