Villains is the story of a couple of petty criminals who stumble into a nightmare when they meet a pair of real “villains.” It stars Bill Skarsgård and Maika Monroe as the young couple, with Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan and The Closer’s Kyra Sedgwick as their older counterparts. Unfortunately, a cast of competent actors couldn’t save the patchwork plot, plodding pace, and confusing characters.
When stickup artists Mickey and Jules (Skarsgard and Monroe) run out of gas after their latest heist, the couple breaks into the only nearby house looking for a new ride. They complicate their plans when they discover a young girl tied up in the house’s basement. When they confront the house’s owners, George and Gloria (Donovan and Sedgwick), the younger couple become prisoners themselves. Mickey and Jules must choose between their own safety and the safety of the girl.
Photo via IMDB
The story of Villains covers worn ground, especially in the wake of critically acclaimed Don’t Breathe. Another film where burglars break into a house only to get their comeuppance from the house’s frightening owner. Even with Villains’ liberal use of cliche to build the plot, the story becomes unclear and unfocused when it tries to build momentum. Don’t Breathe has Stephen Lang’s terrifying blind homeowner as an antagonist. George and Gloria, in contrast, are mostly just wacky, or perhaps eccentric. Sedgwick’s Gloria is so ambiguously “crazy” that she nearly stops being a character. Jeffrey Donovan fares better, bringing a true-killer edge to his persona that makes him fun to watch, but awkward writing hampers his performance.
The tone of villains is stilted. It tries for horror/comedy, or perhaps a “black comedy,” but it mostly toggles between the two without managing to build either. One scene near the middle drags, taking up 10 full minutes in a film with a runtime under 90 minutes. It feels less like a genre fusion and more like genre indecision.
The writing aside, the film is easy on the eyes. The sets are detailed and fun, the strange 1950’s vibe lending itself well to the specific aesthetic of the film’s “villains.” The use of color, whether in set design, lighting, or clothing, is also excellent, building tone throughout. I wish as much time and care had been spent on the writing.
Lenae Day (left) and Wendy McColm (right) in Birds Without Feathers.
Neil gets Jo to pose for her instagram in Birds Without Feathers.
Cinema reflects an idealized world. Films tend to project an ease of existence that ignores the awkward parts of life: the pauses, the tangents, the missed cues and forced repetitions. Cool characters don’t stumble. Even “awkward” characters never mumble unless they’re supposed to. Characters are perfectly crafted to travel from the beginning of the story to the end.
Birds Without Feathers, the directorial debut of actress Wendy McColm, chooses instead to look those awkward moments in the face. In this black comedy, characters wrestle with stilted attempts at conversation to agonizing moments of aborted self-reflection. The realism with which McColm and co-writer Lenae Day pull this off is uncanny, and makes for some good laughs.
The film centers around the mostly-disconnected stories of six isolated individuals searching for meaning. There is Sam (William Gabriel Grier), a wanna-be comedian with stage fright. He briefly dates Janet AKA Neil (Wendy McColm), who dreams of Instagram stardom. Neil meets and befriends Jo (Lenae Day), a desert-dwelling identity thief with more wigs than cigarettes, whose ex, Daniel, (Cooper Oznowicz) is a self-help motivational speaker with no social or communication skills. She also meets Tom (Alexander Stasko), a Russian man trying to become an American cowboy and meet his idol Jeff Goldblum. Sam, on the other hand, runs into Marty (Sara Estefanos) a self-victimizing nurse at a home for the elderly.
Tom meets the wrong Jeff Goldblum in Birds Without Feathers.
If that sounds confusing, it can be. Feathers wanders between these stories, with the “friendship” between Neil and Jo being the most significant crossover. When they do cross over, they rarely share the space. Instead, the story leans into one perspective or the other. There is one scene, between Neil and Tom, which does feel shared, but it is perhaps the strangest in the film. I won’t say which it is, but I think you’ll know it when you see it.
Birds Without Feathers is, for the most part, a fascinating exploration of the awkwardness of searching for identity in isolation. The sometimes-absurd and very personal stories give us the opportunity to laugh at our own most awkward moments and insecurities–if we’re brave enough–without falling into the tired trope of “Black Mirror” social media critique. The meandering plotlines occasionally leave you feeling lost but, for the most part, hold together Feathers’ bizarre yet fun plot. I will be interested to see where McColm goes next.
Birds Without Feathers will be playing at the Roxy Theater for the next week. Get tickets here.
Very few big titles are scheduled for release this August. There are maybe half the number of movies you’ll get most other months, and everyone’s already dropped their summer blockbusters. That’s no reason, though, to avoid the movies. Here are five movies to watch that can help us all get through the end of the summer and into the fall movie season.
Photo courtesy of IMDB.com
1. Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbes and Shaw (August 2nd)
I love the Fast & Furious series. I saw the first one in theaters with my dad in June 2001. For those out of the loop, The Fast and the Furious (2001) follows an undercover cop hunting street racers who are stealing DVD players. The series has ballooned since then. The 8th installment, “F8 of the Furious” follows those same street racers (and their friends) as they hunt down an international cyberterrorist who is trying to start a nuclear war.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw follows two former franchise antagonists (Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham) as they attempt to stop a villainous supersoldier played by Idris Elba.
Hobbs & Shaw will likely be in that same vein: grumpy anti-heroes who are really good at fighting and driving cars, but that’s okay. This isn’t going to be an oscar-winner, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s big personalities, action stars (everything Elba touches is gold), and a lot of cars improbably causing things to explode. What’s not to love?
I was skeptical, so I get it. Basing an actual movie on this episodic children’s show seems pretty ridiculous. It even has a villain who is stopped by firmly asking him to stop stealing. It even got parodied years ago as a fake gritty reboot trailer. But the REAL trailer shows exactly what I want to see in a movie like this: it looks fun. They aren’t trying to pack the film with big names, though it has several.
Dora follows the titular Dora (Isabela Moner) as she and her new high school friends hunt down her kidnapped parents and (as one may expect) search for a lost city of gold. It is based on the popular television show Dora the Explorer, a children’s show that shows a precocious child, her monkey friend Boots, and a bunch of talking, singing, objects in a series of adventures. The show also teaches basic words in Spanish.
James Bobin, director of the two most recent muppet movies and the cult hit show Flight of the Conchords, seems the perfect choice to lead this adventure. With the Muppets, Bobin delivered all-ages delights from a children’s show (though there’s more precedent with Muppets). Flight of the Conchords delivers its own kind of childlike whimsy, though more adult-oriented. It will be interesting to see how much of that dry kiwi humor makes it into Dora.
If you’re looking for something a little more serious than fast cars and jungle adventures, August 9th’s Brian Banks has you covered. Based on a true story, it follows former teen football star Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge) as he tries to rebuild the life a false crime accusation destroyed, while also seeking justice.
The trailer promises intense emotions and withering social commentary on our criminal justice system and life after prison. Everything about this movie is going to be controversial to someone. Why this is being directed by Tom Shadyac–the guy with Ace Ventura and Evan Almighty under his belt and seems to have taken a long directing break between 2007 and 2018–is beyond me. The writer, Doug Atchison, who has taken an equally long hiatus, also provokes questions.
It’s 6th grade Superbad. Seth Rogan is even producing it. If you liked Superbad (I did), this is a film for you. Like Rogan’s works, the cast is packed with big actors in small roles, and humor stemming from the disconnects between people of different ages (and likely genders). It’s also expected to be the most popular release of the month.
Incoming 6th graders Max, Thor, and Lucas (Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon, Keith L. Williams), get invited to their first middle school party at the end of their elementary school career. Nervous about girls and popularity, they set out on wacky hijinks in an effort to obtain both, while learning to grow up enough for the next challenge.
The writing team of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (also the director), have worked together on The Office, as well as films like Year One and Bad Teacher. This is Stupnitsky’s first directorial experience since some episodes of The Office in 2009.
Playmobil is the story of Marla (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman who must enter the magical world of Playmobil to save her brother (Gabriel Bateman) who has become trapped there. During their journey, they encounter colorful characters voiced by (seemingly) every actor who wasn’t already working on another project.
I have a rule about movies, and about conclusions. It’s called the “Lego Movie Rule.” I never say that a movie concept is destined to fail before I see the film and hear some reviews. If the name isn’t apparent, it stems from some very loud and negative opinions which I shared upon discovering that a movie about Legos was in the works. I, like many, was proven wrong and both Lego Movie and the Batman spinoff were delights.
That being said, I will express skepticism. All of two critics have put up reviews, and those reviews don’t look too good. Will this be an audience darling and critical failure? Have these critics jumped the gun? The director, Lino DiSalvo, is a long-time animator, and this is both his first directing credit and first writing credit. The writers have more credits, but hardly anything you might recognize. The cast is filled with big names, but that doesn’t indicate much more than the amount of funding invested. After all, actors need to get paid too.
A cloud of unease has surrounded social media for as long as it has existed. An AOL screenname could hide all kinds of nefarious characters. Anyone can look at your myspace. Pictures posted to Instagram could be used to disqualify you if you run for president (or is that one just me? My mother thought very highly of me when I was a teen.).
Social media paranoia came to a head in 2016 when news broke that a data collection firm called Cambridge Analytica may have used information gathered from Facebook to influence major election campaigns, including the 2016 US presidential election.
The Great Hack tells the story of the investigation into the UK-based company, following crucial figures and whistleblowers in real-time as the story unfolds. In a story equal parts unnervingly personal and deeply abstract, filmmakers Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim keep the story grounded in the personal and professional struggles of those who took part in the search for truth.
The film primarily followed the stories of David Carroll, a professor who was suing CA for the rights to his data; Carole Catswallldr, a journalist with The Guardian who was investigating CA; and Brittany Kaiser, a former CA executive turned whistleblower. The intertwining stories unraveled the mystery behind the military-contractors-turned-election-consultants and their roles in electing Donald Trump and the vote for Britain to leave the European Union.
The film is part of the Rooftop Films summer series. Rooftop Films airs independent films like The Great Hack on rooftops across New York and gives the audience a chance to hear from the filmmakers. Kaiser joined Amer and Noujaim in an interview/Q&A after the film. The three explained how the film had come together (a 5-year journey) and how the couple–Amer and Noujaim are married–had first reached out to Kaiser (personal introductions, facebook messages, and a last-minute flight to Thailand).
Kaiser spoke to the crowd about data rights and “psychographics,” or the use of data to predict behavior. She founded the Digital Asset Trade Association, which advocates for the expanded use of distributed ledger technology.
Rooftops Artistic Director in conversation with Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser and THE GREAT HACK’s directors Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim.
The Great Hack is a Netflix original which will be available for streaming July 24th. For more information on data and improving your DQ (Data Intelligence), Kaiser recommends visiting digitalasset.org and designgood.tech.
To purchase tickets for the next Rooftop Films showing or to become a member, check out their website here.
We’re living in a moment where the public’s politics and concerns for current, life-threatening issues are more polarized than ever. From differing perspectives on access to healthcare and the state of climate change to police brutality and immigration policy, it’s difficult for individuals to not get radicalized in their beliefs and start advocating their worries. And with this generation having greater access to resources, younger activists are emerging and Lamin Leroy Gibba’s “Cloud Zero” acknowledges the nuances of those activist relationships.
In the film, Cora (Victoria Tamez) is the new girl on the block when she joins a group of radicalized activists based in New York City. Although she hasn’t been involved in their organized operations long, Cora is eager to learn more about the politics of the group and pleads to be more involved despite showing no signs of being prepared to take on more responsibility. Tension amongst the varied relationships in the group form and their collective rage ends up working against each other. Reluctant to return back to a life of isolation, Cora is persistent in holding the group together even if she’s a source of their misfortunes.
Cora (Victoria Tamez) and Gus (Jordan E. Cooper) in Cloud Zero. Photo courtesy of Cloud Zero.
“I don’t want to be reduced to just a place,” says Cora when asked where she’s from by Gus (Jordan E. Cooper) early on in the film. This quote is the perfect setup for the tone of the film as the audience receives no background on how the collective formed, nor do we understand the politics and core activist mission. It serves as being symbolic of how the film doesn’t want to be reduced to a single narrative based on political ideology, but the complexities surrounding relationships and individual desire within radical activist circles.
Although it’s not much, the audience does receive hints of their politics throughout the film when images of war zones are depicted on screen, several of the characters allude to a power-abusive executive, and a photograph of a black woman surrounded by three white police officers is highlighted.
Above all, there’s a quality to this film that proves to be authentic and immerses the audience to engage with the plot and develop their own assumptions about the storyline. “Cloud Zero” was shot in the span of a few weeks during the winter with a little-to-nothing budget, being made in an authentic Guerilla filmmaking manner. Audiences would be shocked to learn this as the cinematography for this film was well-thought out, from meticulous dinner scene shots to an overhead shot of a field in Long Island.
Gibba, who is the writer, director, and stars as Edgar in the film, took his limited budget and turned it into a high-quality production ready for any big screen.
The film is entirely made up of actors of color – including Renée Harrison, Victoria Tamez, Avon Haughton, Jordan E. Cooper, Arlyne Read Rodriguez, and Lamin Leroy Gibba. Although there is no official release date announced yet, the film is currently under consideration at multiple major film festivals.
Jordan E. Cooper playing Gus in Cloud Zero. Photo courtesy of Cloud Zero
‘Sword of Trust’ keeps it light and heartfelt in a timely tale about YouTube conspiracy theorists.
Few plotlines seem more relevant in today’s world than an encounter with Southern revisionist conspiracy theorists on the internet. What is lovely about Lynn Sheldon’s Sword of Trust is that it treats the plot as mundane, choosing instead to focus on the hidden hearts of characters struggling to get by. A moment played for laughs can turn deep or deadly, and Marc Maron steals the show with a semi-autobiographical monologue delivered from the back of a shag-rugged moving van owned by confederate truthers. The improv-heavy style of the film sometimes drags the plot, but even the slow moments are good for a laugh.
When couple Mary (Michaela Collins) and Cynthia (Jillian Bell) arrive in Birmingham to collect an inheritance from Cynthia’s deceased grandfather, they discover that a late-in-life reverse mortgage has left them with only three things: an old civil war sword, documents of authentication, and a dementia-addled note which seems to say that the sword is proof that the Confederacy really won the Civil War. They try to sell the sword to local pawn shop owner Mel (Marc Maron), a cynical skeptic, who low-balls them. A quick google search by Mel’s otherwise-useless assistant Nathaniel (Jon Bass) reveals that there is a whole sub-culture of Civil War “Truthers” willing to pay big bucks for “prover” artifacts like the sword. Mary, Cynthia, Mel, and Nathaniel have to team up to convince their shady buyers that they are carrying the real thing.
Sword of Trust has an entertaining, if often straightforward, plot. On the surface, the sword could be traded out for any other McGuffin, with any other secret society out to get it. You have seen a thousand of these movies. What sets Sword of Trust apart is the sharp improv skills by the central cast and the heart with which they take to their characters. You can feel the tinge of desperation and world-weariness that creeps across the edge of every decision they make. It is that same feeling that keeps you waking up early for a dead-end job day after day. The money isn’t for following their dreams; it’s just to help them get by.
It is also remarkable how mundane the “ancient artifact shadow government internet conspiracy theory” plot feels, both in the film and in today’s day and age. Where these kinds of conspiracy films once would have centered the plot on high drama and thrilling tension, many internet-dwelling viewers may have the feeling that they have already seen these videos on YouTube. Maybe they have encountered one of these guys on Facebook, a friend of a friend. This story could happen to any average American. In this film, it happens to four of them. The outlandish is now a slice of life, whether we like it or not.
