She Said (2022) - Movie Review

No other event in recent memory has shaken the film industry as hard as the Harvey Weinstein scandal. It’s the kind of mass shift in public consciousness that warrants treating history in pre- and post- terms. And as someone who has made it their life’s passion to look at and examine the products of the film industry, it’s quite the thing to try and squeeze into my pre-established auteurist way of looking at films. Between feature films, short films, and television shows, Weinstein has his name attached to over 300 products; that’s a lot of influence. And in that time, he’s worked closely with a number of filmmakers I hold in quite high regard like Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez. Hell, my favourite film of all time is a Weinstein Company production… and also stars Rose McGowan. As with any industry that makes products for mass consumption, you can never unlearn how the sausage is made.

When looking at a film that dramatises the efforts of the journalists who first broke the story of Weinstein’s nightmare shitlord behaviour (and that’s me toning it down), naturally, stuff like this comes to mind… but it’s also something that’s part of this film’s production as well. She Said is a product of Plan B, a film studio co-founded by Brad Pitt. Pitt himself was told about Gwyneth Paltrow’s mistreatment by Harvey back in the ‘90s, and he apparently confronted the man directly… only to continue working with him for a conspicuous amount of time after that. That Paltrow herself is part of this film’s story, mentioned several times as one of the women who came forward, only makes this even more uncomfortable to contemplate. Even when creating art meant to point the finger at abusers, Hollywood continues to let them benefit from it.

Not that I’m going to hold that against this film as I do my usual thematic musings on it, though. Pitt’s involvement may muddy the waters as far as this film’s righteous cause, but I don’t see the good that would come out of disregarding the work of everyone else who created this film, just because of his involvement in it. In much the same way that disregarding the work of those who worked on films that Weinstein produced does little as a sweeping movement. Ignoring the efforts of women because of the actions of one douchebag, considering the story being told here, doesn’t feel right. I can understand it if the douchebag in question is the director or the lead actor (and I freely admit that I’ve dodged quite a few releases this year on that basis), but with how varied the role of producer can be as far as contact with the people working on the film directly, I’m not as direct with that.

I’m just putting this all out there because, out of respect for the work being highlighted in holding the bastards accountable, this felt like something worth keeping in context. Especially since what has been put together here is really damn good. (Yes, after all that waffle, I promise that we are actually going to discuss the movie now)

The Assistant (2020) - Movie Review

Films like this have the capacity to sneak up on you if you’re not careful. Ostensibly, nothing really happens in it, at least by the metric most films are measured by. It covers a single work shift of Jane, an assistant at a film studio. Over the course of its 80-minute-and-change running time, we see her do menial office work like getting coffees and fixing the printer, and there’s no substantial character change that takes place; this isn’t the kind of movie that ends with a big rousing moment for our heroine when she decides to pursue a better career or hooks up with her dream guy or anything like that. But within that framing, and anchored by Julia Garner’s performance as Jane, this film is fucking terrifying.

Bombshell (2020) - Movie Review

The latest predominantly-comedic director trying his hand at more politically-minded cinema, Meet The Parents and Austin Powers director Jay Roach has teamed up with The Big Short co-writer Charles Randolph to dramatize the sexual abuse allegations levelled against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, in particular those from newscasters Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson.

I’ll admit, after sitting through efforts like Money Monster and Vice, I’m kind of worried that this is gonna be another instance where I end up agreeing with the production on principle, but leave it thinking that the film assumes that that agreement is all it needs to engage, since it doesn’t do so in any other form. However, I am pleased to report that this is not the case. If anything, it shows Roach managing to outdo Chris McKay at his own game.

Day Of The Dead: Bloodline (2018) - Movie Review

 

Spend long enough on a creative endeavour and before too long, it will start to reflect aspects of the one who created it. And oh boy, is that no truer than it is when dealing with the legendary zombie flicks of George A. Romero, who have themselves become cinematic zombies. Or rather straight-to-DVD zombies as, through a combination of head-scratching rights issues and just general money-grubbing idiocy, there have been a lot of unnecessary additions to that canon. Day Of The Dead serves as one of the more egregious examples, between the 2008 remake to the unofficial prequel to the original Contagium, both of which exist for little more than blindsiding the uninitiated. Surprisingly, though, the same cannot be said about this film… not entirely, at least.

All The Money In The World (2018) - Movie Review

 

The plot: John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer), grandson of billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), has been kidnapped. His captors are demanding a ransom of $17 million, a price that J. Paul Getty isn’t willing to pay. He sends former CIA operative and now deal broker Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) to assist Getty III’s mother Gail (Michelle Williams) in the situation. However, as tensions grow between the parties involved, it seems that it will take more than money to pay this price.