Quick takes on Undine and other films

The Unthinkable, out of Sweden, starts out with a lot of promise. After a (rather lengthy) introduction to our characters, the action picks up in present day when things start going haywire around the country. First, a few bridges are blown up, and there are rumors that it is an attack from a terrorist organization. With misinformation flying though, no one knows what is really going on. The next day, phones and the energy grid start acting up too. Cars are banging into each other, birds are falling dead out of the sky, and in the midst of it all, our main character is having a love affair with an old flame, while his conspiracy theory father thinks the country is being attacked by the Russians. Sounds great right? Unfortunately the film devolves into a bad made-for-tv drama, albeit one with a decent budget, where the subplot overshadows what’s really going on, and the promise of the start of the film fails to realize. Poor acting, and the cinematography seems to get worse as the movie goes along, until it even starts to look like a cheap soap. Or maybe it was from the beginning, and I just didn’t realize it? ★

Annette is a very odd film, and it isn’t going to be for everyone. I’m a musical junky, and it isn’t even for me apparently! It’s a sung-through rock opera, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as Henry and Ann. Henry is a foul-mouthed, offensive stand-up comic, and Ann is a respected opera singer. This unlikely duo are dating, and early in the film, announce that they are having a baby. Unfortunately their storybook relationship hits a roadblock. Six women come forward to accuse Henry of abuse in past relationships, and those accusations derail his career, even while Ann’s skyrockets. To maybe rekindle the fire in their relationship, the two go on a yacht trip, but events take a morbid turn, ending in Ann’s death. As it turns out, their young child Annette (portrayed by a Pinocchio-like mannequin…) has an amazing voice of her own, and Henry takes her on the road, to great acclaim. But will he ever be free of Ann’s ghost? Often silly, at times grotesque, and always weird, this is just a very strange film. As I said, I love a good musical, but to make a good one, you need catchy tunes that stick in your head. While the acting is good here (I’m a big Driver fan), the songs are just not up to snuff. The tunes lack good choruses to sing along to, and there were only like 2 or 3 that I even found enjoyable. And not to nit-pick, but while the movie is sung-through, a lot of it is just dialogue put to music. Much different than, say, Rent or Jesus Christ Superstar. Kudos for doing something outside the box though. ★★

OK… I put Till Death on my watchlist because the premise sounded interesting. When it came time to watch, I saw that it starred Megan Fox, and almost didn’t bother. Quite possibly one of the worst actresses to ever grace film. But I bit the bullet and watched it anyway, and you know what? It wasn’t awful. Megan plays a woman named Emma, who’s been cheating on her ultra-wealthy husband. Emma is surprised with a weekend away at their lakehouse in the middle of winter, but awakens the first morning handcuffed to her husband, who proceeds to kill himself in front of her with a handgun. Before his planned suicide, he had set up his cheating girl with little way to help herself out of this mess. Dragging around her dead husband, Emma has to try to find a way out of the isolated area, and it doesn’t help when some criminals come along with intent to kill. Yes, it sounds terrible. But if you check your expectations at the door, there are some fun parts. It’s entirely cliche, and has every thriller film trope in the book (including seeing the token black character die pretty early on, and he was one of the only decent actors!), but I didn’t hate it. It’s 88 minutes of silly, unbelievable action, and there are far worse examples of this kind of film out there. ★★½

Undine is the latest from German director Christian Petzold, and carries over the same two stars from his previous film, Transit. Paula Beer (who I always like) plays Undine, a mysterious woman, and a character that will leave you wondering what is going on, unless you read the Rotten Tomatoes blurb (which I recommend, it doesn’t spoil it). The film opens with her getting dumped by her current boyfriend, and her final response to him being that, if he goes through with the breakup, she’ll have to kill him. Jealous, jilted lover, or something more? Soon after though, Undine meets Christoph (Franz Rogowski), and for both, it is love at first sight. Things go well at first, but Undine seems inexplicably worried whenever something goes wrong around her, like a figurine falling and breaking. She obviously sees some kind of portent in these otherwise innocuous events. The mystery deepens when Christoph, who is an underwater welder/repairer, finds Undine’s name written under a bridge, and she seems at ease deep underwater, even without a suit. The film lives up to its fantasy setting at the end, and while it won’t answer all of your questions, the performances and sense of both love and trepidation definitely hit their marks. A bit out there, and I really dug it. ★★★½

Vivo is a cute, animated film from Sony Pictures. Lin-Manuel Miranda stars as the title character, a kinkajou who is a street performer in Cuba with his owner, Andrés. Andrés receives news that his long-ago love, Marta (Gloria Estefan), is giving a final performance in Miami before retirement. He never told her that he loved her before she left for the USA to further her career all those years ago, and wants to go sing her a song to tell her how he felt. Unfortunately he dies in his sleep before he can make the trip. Vivo decides to take it upon himself to do accomplish the task. He smuggles himself to the Florida Keys in the luggage of Andrés niece, Rosa (Zoe Saldana), who had come to Cuba with her mother for the funeral. Once across the sea, Rosa and Vivo team up to get to the concert so that Marta can learn of Andrés’ message of love. Of course there are obstacles and escapades along the way. Colorful, bright, and gorgeous, the animation is spot on and fun to watch, and the songs are catchy. I think this film is more geared towards the younger crowd than a true “all family” experience, but I did enjoy it overall, even if it did start to drag a bit in the middle, with some filler to extend the story a bit. ★★★

• TV series currently watching: Sweet Tooth (season 1)
• Book currently reading: Into the Forest by Mark Danielewski