After feeling like giving up on movies with the lackluster start of the year, March explodes with an overload of films in a short period of time. I’d love to say I have the wherewithal or even the time to give every film their critical due diligence, but unfortunately things have just not played out that way. Nevertheless, I do want to give some thoughts on a few films I’ve seen recently, many of which are either currently in theaters or coming to theaters within the next week or so. Hopefully this will clear the review slate for the next wave of films flooding the theaters, and paves the way for an absolutely overstuffed April. Movies are back, baby! And we’ve got some reviews for you here!
“Road House” – Prime Video
I have a soft spot in my heart for the original “Road House.” It is a film that wholly embraces its b-movie quality, and fits right into the era of experimental action films of the 80s. The kind where you could take anyone: athlete, comedian, sitcom star, even the pretty boy from “Dirty Dancing” and somehow build an insane action film around them. It was a wild time that settles down into its own in the next decade, and begins to blend its genre roots to form the kind of action film we see today. This iteration of “Road House” has neither the vision nor the soul to exist in either realm. It is not thoroughly self aware enough to fully embody the 80s nostalgia of its roots, nor it it unique enough to stand out in the current age of action cinema. “Road House” attempts to do everything except the most important, which is answering the question as to why this film was made in the first place. I’ve never been one to side with the decisions of a billion dollar monopoly, but Amazon made the right choice bypassing theaters with this one. Sorry Doug Liman, but “Road House” is a middling streaming movie through and through.
Somehow even more nonsensical than the original, “Road House” stars Jake Gyllenhaal as titular Elwood Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter living on the street and scaring competitors in underground fights for money. The basic framework of the original is loosely baked into the plot here; Dalton is approached by Frankie (Jessica Williams) who needs a bouncer at her bar (yes, CALLED Road House….get it….WINK WINK) to help restore order and Dalton reluctantly agrees. Of course once he arrives in Glass Keys, Florida, a foul plot of real estate and drug running and larger than life villains is afoot, and Dalton must protect the Road House for, um, reasons. “Road House” also stars a hollow Daniel Melchior, perfect asshole Billy Magnussen, typecast latino cartel go to Joaquim de Almeida, and an absolutely unhinged Conor Mcgregor. Speaking of Mcgregor as the stand in for Jimmy Reno in the original, He is having the time of his life in his feature film debut. He’s wild and ripped from a completely different film than the one he’s in and loving every second of it. But he’s also an abysmal actor, even for the 80s athlete action star, and while he’s fun to watch he is hard to listen to with every single line delivery.
“Road House” is a soulless remake that strips itself of nearly all of what made the original so fun in exchange for a self serious, only sometimes tongue in cheek fisty cuffs brawler film. It meanders as a snails pace and is punctuated by the occassional action sequence that only mildly entertains. I wanted to have a blast with “Road House,” but the flashes of silly aren’t long enough or good enough to justify itself. Even with Gyllenhaal oozing with charisma and seemingly the only person outside of Mcgregor that realizes they’re in a “Road House” movie, too much hinges on him selling the whole bag that in the end you’re left with nothing but empty calories you won’t remember anything about as soon as the credits role.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
“Riddle of Fire” – Select Theaters
A very late catch up from TIFF, “Riddle of Fire” premiered at the Midnight Madness section of the festival, one of the last films to screen. A sort of fantasy adventure hybrid with a 70s aesthetic through 16mm film, the film is a throwback to the kind of child adventure stories of old like “The Goonies,” ordinary children with an imagination of an adventure and a vocabulary of adults. Our trio of heroes are rambunctious and fearless, embracing the strange world around them with all the gusto of “Peter Pan’s” Lost Boys with the same sort of naivety of their own troublesome situations. “Riddle of Fire” weaves is wholly unique language (things like “Woodsy bastard” and “damned speckled egg”) that demonstrate the fantastical yet grounded world Weston Razooli is trying to create. It’s very much a vibes film, one that feels tailored made for those who can tap into its wavelengths and somewhat alienating for those unable to dial in completely.
Written and directed by Razooli, “Riddle of Fire” follows three young kids; two brothers Hazel (Charlie Stover) and Jodie (Skyler Peters) and their friend Alice (Pheobe Ferro) in rural Wyoming who, armed with paintball guns, gummy worms and their trusty motorbikes, ride around the wilderness terrain getting into shenanigans. After brazenly breaking into a stock room to steal a new video game console, they arrive home to discover that the boys’ mother has password protected the television. As she is sick in bed, she agrees to give them the password but only after they return with a blueberry pie to make her feel better. The quest is set and the adventure begins, and the children run into a plethora of obstacles, including a coven of poachers and a young flower child fairy princess named Petal Hollyhock (Lorelei Olivia Mote). They must rely on their wits in the wilderness, procure the last ingredient to complete their task, and somehow escape the clutches of witches to return home safely.
There is so much to like about “Riddle of Fire,” and its uniqueness, inventiveness, and stellar child performances are all standouts that enhance the film’s overall charm. It’s a fun romp through the woods, a film that instantly causes you to smile and remember what it was like to actually go outside and touch grass. “Riddle of Fire” also captures the experience of the unsupervised, the kind of childhood where one child was entrusted with the well being of slightly younger children because parents had to work. It can be hard to remember those times if you didn’t live them, but for those of us that did “Riddle of Fire” hits home hard. It’s drawback is that operates at a snails pace, and also draws itself out a bit too long as it begins to get away from its own maze constructed fantasy. This is a 90-96 minute narrative overstretched to 153 movie, and begins to lose its alluring charm the longer it goes. These things make “Riddle of Fire” a film I appreciated more than I enjoyed fully, but also one I hope ushers in a new era of this kind of wondrous nostalgia.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
“The American Society of Magical Negroes “- Theaters Nationwide
Speaking of films that forget themselves, “The American Society of Magical Negroes” takes the cake for losing a great premise as quickly as possible. The idea of the magical negro to those that understand the trope is one that has long been untouched by satire and parody, so the idea of “Magical Negroes” framing its entire narrative around dissecting these dated (and racist) ideas is fascinating. And it is, for all of 15 minutes. The most interesting part of the film is forgotten almost immediately and traded out for conventional romcom tropes that amount to nearly nothing. It’s such a shame, because “Magical Negroes” has all the basis for being a genuinely unique, biting satire of a longstanding trope. And there are glimpses of it in that first 15 minutes, which stand out as some of the best and most interesting work. Unfortunately, the brief glimpses of taking stabs at films like “The Green Mile” and “The Legend of Baggar Vance” disappear into the same wind with which they appeared, making “The American Society of Magica Negroes” a droll, uninspiring affair.
Written and directed by Kobi Libii, the film stars Justice Smith as Aren, a young insecure black artist who can’t stop apologizing to white people at every turn. He is approached and quickly inducted into (you guessed it) The American Society of Magical Negroes, a clandestine group of wizards? magicians? (It’s never really clear) who work to make white people feel better so that black people are safer and protected. Aren gets his first assignment, only to start messing everything up by falling for a white girl who is supposed to be matched with his white tech bro assignment. Aren now must choose between making his white mark better or following his heart and finally taking a stand for himself. The film also stars David Allen Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, and Aisha Hinds.
There isn’t too much more to say about “American Society of Magical Negroes,” as it never bothers to answer any questions about its own world. Libii seems to be stuck between wanting to create a film that serves as a commentary on the magical negro trope but not really knowing what to say about it, thus regressing into a cliche ridden love story. It simply isn’t confident or well crafted enough to justify this change behind the faced of subversion, and whatever it wants to say about the black experience falls flat because there is nothing to care about (including Aren) by the time we get to the emotional weight in the third act. You just can’t introduce magic and then pretend it doesn’t exist for the rest of the film. You can’t introduce bold ideas about tropes and then proceed to make a completely different film that never once goes back to it. “Magical Negroes” is a film that just can’t find its voice despite feeling like it wants to scream into the void. It has nothing to say about its own world or ideas, and in the end “American Society of Magical Negroes” has nothing to say at all.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
