With the summer blockbuster and festival season in near full swing, now begins the hardest time to keep up with every new film getting released. Sure, the big marquee theatrical tentpoles will always bring people the cinema, but there are plenty of other, smaller offerings worth checking out. There are some I would love to write full pieces for. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough time to give everything their proper attention and analysis. So we’re left with a collection of quick reviews in hopes to give some of these films some shine! Let’s take a look at some films we’ve seen recently that we recommend! For the sake of time, I’ll skip over the who, what, when and where and just get right into the review. Let’s talk some movies!
“The Coffee Table” – Prime Video
Hands down the most disturbing and tense film you will see all year, “The Coffee Table” is a relentless barrage of unsettling atmosphere and horror done in the most simple fashion. It’s the kind of film that lures you in with a simple premise and quickly unleashes its horror and dares you to keep watching. The film grips you with is drastic turn of events, and if you’re willing to stomach it all never once relieves the tension. “The Coffee Table” begins with a bickering couple clearly worn down by their new baby trying to buy a coffee table. The husband wants it, the wife hates it, and the salesman humorously oversells it. In the end, they take the coffee table home as a little victory for the husband and the dismay of the wife. That’s the set up; a sort of black comedy family drama that really digs into the quirk of its characters and mundane family life. As for what comes next, my lips are sealed. “The Coffee Table” transforms itself into almost a completely different film, redefining atmospheric horror and dark comedy.
I cannot stress this enough: “The Coffee Table” is not for the faint of heart. You’ll know pretty quickly where this is a film you can stomach, and though it works best to go in blind I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t at least issue a major warning label. “The Coffee Table” dares you to sit with its nail biting tension and simple but unsettling premise. It is a film that I genuinely loved but honestly don’t know who I would recommend it to. I’ve seen a lot of things I wish I could unsee, and while “The Coffee Table” doesn’t rely on jump scares or overt gore, it has forever altered the definition of unnerve and unsightly movie going experiences. It’s best served going in completely cold and letting the film take you by utter surprise. The next time someone asks why I’m not married and why I don’t have children, I’m going to recommend “The Coffee Table” and ruin their lives forever.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“The Last Stop in Yuma County” – Select Theaters, VOD
I am such a sucker for small cast, single location setups and a good old fashioned crime thriller, and “Last Stop In Yuma County” has just about everything I love in small cinema in spades. A Tarantino-esque pressure cooker that uses its small town diner setting as the perfect tension builder that slowly but surely crescendos and erupts in the final act. Director Francis Galluppi may be a little too ambitious as the contained thriller begins to get away from him with every new iteration of carnage, but far more works than doesn’t thanks to a solid cast that all understand the assignment. “Last Stop” smartly increases its character count little by little, building a tension of unknown with every new wanderer that stumbles into the diner. Of course, none of them actually know they’ve just wandered into a hostage situation, and each unique character adds a new notch of heat to the boiling point.
There are definitely some plot threads that never quite feel like they belong, and it stretches a little bit too long as things begin to come to head hurdle towards its conclusion. But overall, “Last Stop in Yuma County” is a barnburner of a crime thriller that knows exactly what it is and pays homage to the kind of films that inspired it. This is a better version of “Bad Times at the El Royale,” where instead of trying to play copycat and deliver a student film version of their admired heroes, Galluppi has his own vision in his homage to them and executes that vision much better than others. That’s pretty impressive considering this is his feature film directorial debut, and “Last Stop in Yuma County” packs a ton of promise for what he can make with very little to work with outside of a strong cast and a run down diner in the desert. It’s not the best of its kind, but it is better than most and I highly recommend checking this one out.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“I Saw the TV Glow” – Select Theaters
I really don’t know what to say about “I Saw the TV Glow.” I’ve had over a week to digest it and I still can’t decide where I land on it. It’s either an auteur masterpiece, an overhyped disaster or I’m not nearly as good at understanding arthouse indie filmmaking as a once thought. Though the jury is still out, I can say I’ve never seen anything like “I Saw the TV Glow,” a visually arresting experience that simultaneously exists in the social and medium commentary it is exploring. I wasn’t completely over on “We’re All Going to World’s Fair,” and this is very much a continuation of those ideas born from the same filmmaker. However, I will say that all of those ideas and visceral imagery are vastly improved upon, making this follow up leaps and bounds better than her previous entry. There is a lot going on in “TV Glow,” and there are plenty of reads and layers that people will mine and discover from its content. Some of that will resonate deeply with people who’s experience is on full display, as it serves as a pretty direct allegory for transgender identity.
I am not equip to comment on that reading of the text, and would be out of line attempting to do so. I would encourage those interested in hearing a review of that aspect of the film to check out some trans or LGBTQ reviewers who can better articulate how “TV Glow” speaks to them in their own words. For my part, “I Saw the TV Glow” is a great examination of nostalgia culture and toxic fandom, the kind that goes beyond nasty comments on the internet and reveals a deeper sense of displacement in reality finding solace in fiction. And how those things can alter our lives as time passes us by, stagnating the past and presenting us with a choice: do we stay and hide in a time long gone or allow ourselves to move on and recognize things weren’t all we cracked them up to be? That’s the most surface level reading of “I Saw the TV Glow,” and truth be told this is the kind of film that requires a much deeper analysis.
There are simply too many themes and layers to extrapolate in a quick review. I can say that even though the jury is still out on where I really land, there is nothing other there like “I Saw the TV Glow.” If you really want unique, original cinema, then look no further than this. Also, this is the best I’ve ever seen Justice Smith, a performer I’ve never been entirely sure about until now. He is transcendent here, and shows he’s got the range to be an incredible performer. Despite being in quite a few major blockbusters like “Detective Pikachu” and “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” his nervy, quite, almost anti-social like demeanor never really fit well or stood out as a power player in an ensemble. Here, his energy is tailor made for this role and this kind of film, and Smith has won me over completely even if I’m not sure of the movie’s victory lap yet. I’m gonna recommend “I Saw the TV Glow,” and I reserve the right to change my rating and do a retrospective in the future.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“Babes” – In Theaters May 17th
I say it all the time, but not everything needs to be subversive or genre bending. We have genres for a reason, and we have tried and true frameworks that continue to stand the test of time. “Babes” is a classic raunchy comedy, the kind that never strays too far from formula but uses it to its full comedic advantage. It reminded me a lot of “Bros,” the kind of singular comedic voice in Illana Glazer drawing from her own experience to create a hilarious examination of motherhood. Like Billy Eichner, you really have to be dialed into Glazer’s sensibilities and voice for “Babes” to wholly win you over. However, I think the latter works a little less hard to win you over to their side, with Glazer tackling pregnancy and motherhood in detailed fashion, shying away from nothing and gathering a vast collection of perspectives that we typically don’t see or talk about, let alone laugh at it. it is far less affronting that “Bros,” with “Babes” being an easier entry point into this kind of comedic styling.
That’s largely because Glazer and her co-star Michelle Buteau are far more developed from the start and have explosive chemistry as best friends growing up through childbirth and family. “Babes” also leans into its basic comedic outline rather than constantly search for the meta joke in every moment, allowing the characters to just be funny and invite us to laugh with them. Like all good comedies, “Babes” also packs a ton of heart, and while it can sometimes be a little too sentimental for its own good and can be telegraphed pretty easily, it still proves plenty effective. “Babes” knows what it is and wears it comedy genre with pride, which allows it run freely through all the things it wants to explore and show us some things we never thought we’d see. It also allows Glazer to bring her story and comedic voice to life, making “Babes” a great comedy worth seeing. It is laugh out loud funny even if it is pretty by the numbers.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“The Contestant” – Hulu
I’m a little hypocritical here because I love cooking competition shows and the Food Network, and all of them (even if they seem relatively harmless) fall into the category of reality television. So while I’m compartmentalizing here a bit, after watching “The Contestant” I am now more assured than ever that all reality TV is exploitation and the entire industry should be burned to the ground. Nothing validates this statement more than “The Contestant,” with the absolute worst of the genre’s exploitative, manipulative and even torturous nature are on full display. It is a hard watch documentary not because it’s so explicit (which it is) but because of how nasty and unforgiving our unquenchable thirst for that kind of exploitation can be. And the candid nature with which the producers and torturers (yes, really) speak of their work demonstrates the worst of humanity in all of us.
Seriously, every single producer should be in prison for what they did to Nasubi in “The Contestant.” I don’t care about “consent.” He was manipulated and tortured and never, ever given the full scope of what he was participating in. The fact that he didn’t even know he was being filmed for an entire year until it was revealed on national fucking television to capture “the moment” is not celebratory. It disgusting and repulsive, and psychologically destructive in irreparable way. “The Contestant” is infuriating but also a must watch, the kind of behind the curtain documentary that needs to be experienced for us to start realizing how awful and harmful reality television actually is. Just talking about “The Contestant” boils my blood. While Nasubi rediscovered himself and eventually reclaimed his life, he is a man forever changed for the worst because an experience so awful even the CIA would reconsider using them as torture tactics.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Rapid Fire Quick Reviews: “Arcadian,” “Exhuma,” and “Humane” – Select Theaters and VOD
Quiet Nick Cage is my favorite Nick Cage, second only to Nick Cage going for broke and being the meme image of Nick Cage. “Arcadian” is a mediative post-apocalyptic creature feature that is pretty effective even if its operates well within these kinds of dramas. It’s kind of like “A Quiet Place” lite, but still works more than it doesn’t. For such a small budget, the creatures are rendered really well and are pretty terrifying all things considered. I also appreciate films that don’t get bogged down in how the world ended and just drop us right into the end of the world. “Arcadian” never feels the need to over explain everything, and just asks us to come along for the ride with a family trying to survive the night.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
“Exhuma” on the other hand, is the first South Korean horror miss for me in a while. One of the most successful horror films of the year (surpassing “Train to Busan” at the Korean box office) this was a film that came highly recommended and highly praised. It’s a can’t miss entry into can’t miss cinema, and I just couldn’t get into at all. I almost couldn’t finish the film, and it isn’t necessarily its slow pacing so much as it requires a vast knowledge of lore to fully engage its audience. That may have worked for some, but while the atmosphere and visuals are stunning, the final product of “Exhuma” just did not work for me at all.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
Lastly, there’s something in the water over there at the Cronenberg house, but whatever it is I hope they keep drinking it. “Humane” may be the least refined and poorly executed outing from the body horror household, ostensibly squandering a great premise by the end, but still rips with brisk pacing and a solid foundation that it attempts to build on. If this is what the youngest sibling has to offer for her first attempt, the count me all in on the Cronenbergs. “Humane” is just ok and definitely lets ambition get away from itself, but its fun enough to see through to the end.
3 out of 5 Stars
So there you have it, 8 smaller films we recommend to check out this month and/or this summer!
