Quick takes on Death on the Nile and other films

Here Before is, mostly, a very good low-key psychological thriller, that keeps the viewer guessing on what exactly is going on for a good portion of its running time (which is short at 83 minutes). The central character is Laura (Andrea Riseborough, who’s been in a few things, but whom I most remember as Tom Cruise’s companion in Oblivion). She and her husband and son are living in a semi-detached house when they get new neighbors. Laura is immediately drawn to the new family’s daughter, Megan. Megan seems to reciprocate those feelings, and a strange attachment develops between the two. Laura’s husband makes allusions to a daughter the couple lost a few years ago, and the viewer thinks maybe Laura sees something in Megan that reminds her of her dead daughter. But then Megan starts claiming memories of the daughter’s life, and Laura starts to think Megan is her lost daughter reincarnated. The end has a weird twist that knocks this film down a notch for me, and the burn is awfully slow anyway, so that may turn others off. But for most of the journey, I was digging it. ★★★

Red Rocket got a lot of attention in the indie film circuit, and while I’ve yet to see a film of director Sean Baker’s that I really loved, I wanted to give it a chance. The central figure is Mikey Davies, who returns to the rural town of Texas City after a decade-plus career in LA as a porn actor (going by the name of Mikey Saber, in reference to his huge… um… you get it). Broke and with no prospects, he finds himself on the couch of his wife (still married, though long separated). Lexi made the trip to LA with Mikey long ago, but her career flopped where his took off, and she’s been back in town for a long time now. Mikey is bumming around town when he falls for the girl working at the local donut shop. Unfortunately the girl, Raylee, is only 17 years old, but as Mikey and the filmmakers agree, that’s legal age. The two start a relationship, even as Mikey has been sleeping with his wife again, so she won’t kick him out. Mikey sees a potential porn star in Raylee, and starts grooming her to accompany him back to LA, to jumpstart his career again. Simon Rex is deserved of all the accolades he got as Mikey, he really is fantastic, but the movie is awfully off-putting for my tastes, and not the least of which is the predatory behavior of Mikey on Raylee. The ending is also very strange and silly, just sort of comes out of left field. Movie lovers will enjoy Rex’s performance, but in my book that’s really the only reason to watch. Not sure what all the hype was about as far as the film itself goes. ★★½

Second time in a couple weeks where I watched a movie with glowing reviews that was a big old dud in my book. Did we watch the same movie? C’mon C’mon stars Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny, a journalist working on a report about how kids feel about the future. It’s a busy job that takes him across the country, but into his chaotic life comes his nephew Jesse. Johnny’s sister is trying to help her estranged husband, who is having a mental breakdown, and she’s asked Johnny to watch Jesse for a bit. Johnny takes Jesse off to New York to “help” him in his job. I guess from there, the two are supposed to form a bond, Johnny (I’m sure) will learn how to stop and smell the flowers, but I’ll never know, because I gave up on this slog after about 40 minutes. I’m always a leery of films shown in black and white; sometimes it works, but it can equally as often just come off as pretentious, and this film very much felt like the latter. And the way the film is told, with tons of voiceover, where characters will continue conversations even as the scene changes, grated on me to no end. It was like watching one long commercial that never went anywhere. ½

Death on the Nile is a quasi-sequel to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, in that they are both based on Agatha Christie novels focused on super sleuth Hercule Poirot. This film carries over the same actor as Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), as well as the same writer, directer, and production team. As in the first film, the rest of the cast is filled out with all-stars, including Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, and Armie Hammer. In this escapade, a wealthy heiress named Linnet has just married Simon, after a short whirlwind affair. Simon’s ex-girlfriend, Jackie, Linnet’s former friend, is not over him, and Linnet’s former boy-toy, Windlesham, hasn’t moved on from her either. Both exes find themselves on a river cruise with the new happy couple, along with a host of others who all carry varying degrees of grudges against Linnet. So of course, she ends up dead. But Poirot is also on board, and he can sniff out the murderer. I have much the same feelings towards this film as I did Orient Express: there are highlights for sure, but for the most part, strong acting covers up a lot of holes in the writing. Some of the old-timey shtick is cute, but there’s also some eye-roll moments. All in all, a hair above average. ★★★

I just finished up watching the first season of Netflix’s The Witcher, so thought I’d jump into the animated prequel film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. This one follows the life of Witcher Vesemir, who apparently (since I haven’t seen it yet) plays a bit part in the second season of the show, as main character Geralt’s mentor. This film shows Vesemir as a kid who, with dreams of riches and glory, leaves his past life behind to initiate into training to become a Witcher. If you’ve not seen the show (or played the video games), Witchers are human mutants given special powers, and are tasked with destroying the very real monsters in the magical land. Told in two time periods, when Vesemir is a child trying to survive his training, and later as an adult when he is tasked to save a kingdom from a beast killing children in the area. I never used to watch any adult animated films or series, but have recently dipped my toes into a few, and movies like this make me glad for it. I really enjoyed the backstory of a Witcher’s life, what they go through, and more details about their powers, as well as more history of the wars between humans and elves. The world of the Witchers has lots of depth which, if played right, can yield stories for years to come in various shows and film. Me, being a fantasy world reader/watcher, really enjoyed it all. ★★★½

• TV series currently watching: The Witcher (season 1)
• Book currently reading: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan