Quick takes on 5 films

Get Out is a pretty great movie. On the surface it is a fairly simple horror film with an almost absurd premise, but deeper in it is a biting look at how many Americans continue to look at race, despite most of ours ideas of how far we’ve come. Interracial couple Chris and Rose go to meet her parents for the weekend. Chris is worried what they’ll think, but Rose assures him they are not racist and all will be ok. When they arrive, the parents do seem to be very good with the situation, but Chris gets bad vibes immediately. The “help” (groundskeeper and maid) are black and act very weird, almost robotic but with a tense, aggressive feel. Obviously things are not ok, but I’ll let you watch to get the story. This movie opened my eyes too. I saw the white family doing things that I can see in myself and friends of mine, and when it was pointed out as racist in the movie, it was a sharp slap to my senses. Seems I have a long way to go as well.

Before I Fall is a new take on Groundhog Day, but with teenagers instead of adults, and no Bill Murray humor. I’m not often into teenage dramas, but I enjoyed this one. Zoey Deutch is great as Sam, a senior in high school. She is one of the popular ones, and a real bitch to the uncool kids. After a hectic Valentine’s Day at school, which really shows the lines between popular and unpopular at school, and the subsequent party at a friend’s house, Sam and her friends are in a car accident on the way home. Sam wakes up reliving that day over and over again, and finally seeks to be a better person for herself and to those around her. Though you can see the ending coming a mile away, it is still a worthy journey, with tremendous acting in the lead role.

20th Century Women is a coming-of-age art film. And if you didn’t know that, it beats you over the head with that fact every 15 minutes, with slow, singing background music, and black and white stills showing the time period (1979). The movie is about a 15 year old boy (Jamie, played by Lucas Jade Zumann) being raised by his single mom (Annette Bening). Other women influencing him include a 20-something boarding at their house (Greta Gerwing), and his major crush, a somewhat loose girl 2 years older who is his best friend (Elle Fanning), much to Jamie’s chagrin, as he is still a virgin. His mom is a forward thinking woman for her generation, but not prepared for the changing society and feminism pushed by Gerwig’s character. Not a bad film. Bening is incredible, and this is the first time I’ve seen Gerwig play a more demanding role that what she normally does. However, like many other independent films, it constantly tries to remind the viewer how deep it wants to be, when in reality, it is the actors’ strong performances that make this movie.

Elle is a French film starring renowned actress Isabelle Huppert, for which she won a César Award last year (the French equivalent of an Oscar, for which Huppert was also nominated here in the states). She plays Michele, a somewhat cold, detached woman, living alone after her husband has left her for a younger woman. She runs a successful video game company and is very standoffish with her employees, with just a single close friend. The movie begins with her being attacked and raped in her own house, and the film unfolds with Michele continually being harassed by her unknown attacker, via phone messages and continual break-ins to her home. Michele is a brave woman, not letting it deter her, but we find near the end that she is pretty messed up herself, perhaps related to her psychopathic father. Very strong acting from Huppert, and some decent twists (though the most obvious one is readily apparent early in the film). A great movie for foreign film lovers. Poking around online, it looks like this movie was originally intended to be an American film with English-speaking actors, but the violent nature (the film shows rapes after all) caused American A-listers to stay away. I think Huppert ended up being perfect for the role.

The Lego Batman Movie is a followup the wildly successful Lego film a couple years ago, though this one is set entirely inside the Lego world without an “outside” human presence. It sounds more cutesy than it is, and there are actually plenty of laughs for adults as well as kids. Many of the best jokes are probably way over young kids heads, such as cultural references and lots of gags about past batman (and other) films. There are puns galore, and who doesn’t enjoy a good pun? The story involves a lonely Batman who is forced to realize it is important to have friends (and even enemies) in your life for it to have meaning. Well written and well voice-acted, this one is a lot of fun.