Tag: Aubrey Plaza

  • ‘Child’s Play’ is defective

    ‘Child’s Play’ is defective

    Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, and Chucky in Child’s Play

    “It stinks.” – Jay Sherman

    Wrong. This was the first thought that occurred to me when watching Child’s Play 2019 and it stayed the whole time. Nothing about it was right. Not in regards to the 1988 film, not in regards to modern reality and sensibilities, not even in regards to its own logic. 

    The latest in technological wonders is Buddi (Mark Hamill), a small robot who can talk, walk, play music, turn on the television, search the web, make video and sound recordings, and so on. It’s been really successful, with a new version due for release soon.

    So right off the bat we have a huge issue in that something like this in current year is not going to resemble a Good Guy doll in this slightest. This type of device would be designed to be futuristic and sleek, fitting right in with the smartphones and TVs it interfaces with. Ashley Too is how this kind of thing is supposed to look. The model this time is redesigned a bit too and it’s far from an upgrade. It’s just really awful looking and makes you long for the original.

    Department store clerk Karen (Aubrey Plaza) works where these things are frequently sold and are preparing to receive the newer models. When a customer returns an existing one for being defective – little do they know it actually had the failsafes removed by a disgruntled employee at the Vietnamese sweatshop where these things are made – she takes it home for her son (Gabriel Bateman). 

    Andy’s aged up to a teen here, another change not in any way for the better. It seems to be just so he can swear at and talk back to his mother. Also in the mix are mom’s abusive boyfriend (David Lewis) and troubles with bullying peers. It’s like they looked at the first act of the Rob Zombie Halloween and said “This, but edgeless and even more cliched.” 

    Now we start to get into Chucky’s motives and demeanor. As this version is a blank slate AI and not Charles Lee Ray, it should not have any personality or goals. But eventually, he somehow gets to behaving like classic Chucky. The laughing, taunting, one liners, all of it. This of course should not be the case in this new context, and is clearly only here out of obligation. Without being a serial killer by trade or needing a new body, what (mostly, since he does show a propensity for violence earlier on) makes him a murderer is watching Texas Chainsaw 2 with Andy and his friends. I wonder what his behavior would’ve turned to if they’d watched pornography instead.

    There’s such a mess of more contradictions and nonsensities. Everyone is aware from the start that Chucky can talk and move around on his own, but disbelieve Andy when he tells them that Chucky did this or that. One character should know all that has been happening, but apparently doesn’t when it’s convenient for the plot. The musical score with its young child toy sounds is not only incredibly intrusive, but does not fit seeing how the story is no longer about young children or toys.

    Not even the name makes sense here. The original Chucky doll is called that because that was his actual name as a human. This time it’s just randomly spurt out by him as a sign of malfunctioning when Andy tries to give him a different name that sounds nothing like it (as sly an in-joke though that was). Again, this is really only here because it has to be. 

    But worst of all, this gives the franchise a black eye when the original series is still going strong. New movies from Don Mancini and with Brad Dourif in tow have been trickling out the past couple years, and they have plans for more (a Syfy channel show in development at present). I can only hope that these official projects won’t now be derailed or that this film won’t be held against them by the public.

    The 2019 one had absolutely no business being a Child’s Play movie, or even being made at all. Toss this on the scrap heap.

  • Head North, East, South or West as needed to see ‘Ingrid Goes West’

    Head North, East, South or West as needed to see ‘Ingrid Goes West’

    Aubrey Plaza in ‘Ingrid Goes West’

    Today, when you look at social media, you see that the narrative can be overtaken by people just from Twitter and Instagram. I know when Ferguson was going down those first few nights, I was watching feeds on the ground on Twitter, not CNN – Ava DuVernay

    The best evidence of the importance and relevance of writer/director Matt Spicer’s feature film debut Ingrid Goes West was found in the sparsely populated auditorium where I watched it.  Without exception, when I walked in and sat down, every individual in the room was actively engaged with their cellphone.  While it is probable a few of them were playing Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga, or some other game, it is also probable a number of them were engaged in using social media.

    The film begins with “Ingrid Thorburn” (Aubrey Plaza – The End of Love) sitting in a car outside a wedding reception.  We watch her walk in against a backdrop of tweets from the bride about how wonderful her wedding and life are, complete with hashtags and emojis.  Ingrid walks up to the bride and lets loose with pepper-spray into the bride’s face.

    She returns after the requisite stint in a “treatment facility” to find that her late mother had left her over $60,000.  Ingrid uses the money to travel to Venice, CA, as she’s found someone new to be obsessed with on social media.  “Taylor Sloane” (Elizabeth Olsen – Liberal Arts) makes a good living as a social media personality.  She and her husband “Ezra O’Keefe” (Wyatt Russell – Folk Hero & Funny Guy) live in a nice house in Venice and also own a place out in Joshua Tree.  Ingrid uses Taylor’s social media presence to shop where she shops, eat where she eats, and eventually to take Taylor’s dog from the home.  In returning the missing mutt, she has a way to ingratiate herself with Taylor.  She borrows the truck owned by her landlord, “Dan Pinto” (O’Shea Jackson Jr. – Straight Outta Compton) to help Taylor tow a trailer out to the Joshua Tree property.

    Things are going very well in Ingrid’s plan to become Taylor’s real-life BFF until Taylor’s brother arrives unexpectedly.  “Nicky Sloane” (Billy Magnussen – The Big Short) is a recovering drug addict/alcoholic whose claims to be sober are quickly proven to be a façade.  But he has a canny instinct for seeing through people and he is able to discern what Ingrid is really up to.  As a result she and Dan concoct an ill-advised plan, although Dan doesn’t know the real reason Ingrid needs protection from Nicky.  Things go south quickly for Ingrid after this.

    Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza in ‘Ingrid Goes West’

    This is satire with an edge as sharp as a samurai’s katana.  While Ingrid’s existence after she has gone west is filled with falsehoods, the same can be said of the social media portrait Taylor paints of her life.  Calling it curated is generous at best.  Staged for maximum exposure is more accurate.  In fact, every character in this film is flawed to a degree, although Dan’s obsession with Batman might be seen as mildly endearing.

    Elizabeth Olsen and Wyatt Russell are well matched as the couple who maintains an aura of having “the best life” while struggling with their individual issues.  But this film belongs to Aubrey Plaza.  She hits every single peak and valley of Ingrid’s emotional roller-coaster ride both verbally and nonverbally.  Best performance I’ve seen so far this year.  O’Shea Jackson, Jr. does his best to steal scenes in his limited time and is a lot of fun to watch.

    Ingrid Goes West opened in Los Angeles and New York City in limited release on August 11, 2017 and will open everywhere else on August 25, 2017.

    [imdb id = tt5962210]

  • ‘The End of Love’ is the beginning of something special

    ‘The End of Love’ is the beginning of something special

    Mark Webber stars in the film he wrote and directed, 'The End of Love'
    Mark Webber stars in the film he wrote and directed, ‘The End of Love’

    “The end of our journey marks a new beginning for us” – commonly heard in one form or another in speeches by high school valedictorians.

    INTERVIEW: Mark Webber talks about making ‘The End of Love’

    Writer/director/producer Mark Webber also stars in his second feature film The End of Love with his real-life son Isaac and it is a winning combination.  The story of a man dealing with the sudden, tragic loss of the mother of his child has some parallels to Mark’s real-life story; but because the film’s story is so well-crafted, the line between the fiction of the movie and the reality he lived through cannot be determined.  Unless of course you know the specifics of what really happened.

    In the movie Webber is just “Mark” a single dad, struggling in the aftermath of the loss of the great love of his life.  His career as an actor is on the wane and he’s not sure how to re-ignite his prior success because he’s far too busy being a father to the adorable Isaac.  He’s able to land a coveted audition with Amanda Seyfried but had no child care available.  As a result, he blows the audition.

    Mark Webber's real-life son, Isaac, plays his son in 'The End of Love'
    Mark Webber’s real-life son, Isaac, plays his son in ‘The End of Love’

    He and Isaac share a home with two friends of his but he’s so far behind in paying rent he will probably never catch up without landing a major role.  So he fabricates the fact that he was just cast in a film with big-time director P.T. Anderson.  The problem is, his agent had just told him he was out of the running for the part.

    INTERVIEW: Shannyn Sossamon talks ‘The End of Love,’ comedy and her favorite film

    His good friend “Jason” (Jason Ritter, with whom Mark did a Neil LaBute Play in real-life) gives him some money to help bail him out, but yet another problem crops up to put Mark even further behind the eight-ball.  The positive is that he’s managed to meet a woman who seems interested in him.  “Lydia” (Shannyn Sossamon) is smart, attractive, and has her life together.  She invites Mark to bring Isaac to dinner, where he can play with her own daughter, but when the adults are alone and begin to kiss, things go awry.  Mark’s just not ready for this and tries to move too fast.

    Mark Webber writers, directs and produces 'The End of Love'
    Mark Webber writers, directs and produces ‘The End of Love’

    Trying desperately to feel hope and optimism, he decides to go to a party at a friend’s (Michael Cera) house.  He revels in being back in that environment but this also does not go well.  He’d promised the brand new babysitter he’d only be a few hours and what actually happens is just more evidence of how things are spiraling out of control for him.

    What makes The End of Love so good is that we don’t see ‘acting’ from Isaac, who manages to steal every second of every scene he is in.  Webber knew this would happen and made sure the cast was aware of it before filming began.  The reality of what Isaac is doing, with the fictional film being staged around Isaac’s normal life makes for a very pleasing visual narrative that communicates real emotion without any artificiality.  In spite of the fact Webber is doing just about everything involved in this movie except handling craft service and security, he gives a compelling performance as an actor.  Few actors who are helming their own movie can do this well, but add his name to the list of those who can.  Shannyn Sossamon delivers the good and the only knock on her role here is that there isn’t enough of it.

    But the real joy to watch is Isaac.  Especially since Webber found a way to integrate home video that is not big-screen quality into the film without making it a jarring transition back and forth.  Better still is that music is under-utilized rather than over-utilized, letting the story dictate the emotions the audience experiences.  I look forward to his next film with great anticipation.