Novocaine is a fun film for a single watch through, with a unique premise that sets it apart from the usual action comedy genre. Nathan Caine is an assistant bank manager who leads a pretty dreary life, with no real friends (the only person he talks to is an online buddy while playing video games) and a real fear of hurting himself. But the fear isn’t because he fears pain, it’s because he is unaware of it. He literally cannot feel pain, to the point that he may cut himself badly, but be unaware of the injury until he bleeds out. He doesn’t even eat hard foods, for fear of accidentally biting his own tongue off. Into this dull life enters Sherry, a new, pretty coworker at the bank. The two hit it off one night, but Nathan’s life goes sideways the next day, when the bank is robbed and the crooks take Sherry as a hostage to help them escape cleanly. Nathan, a regular guy, can now put his “superpowers” to use as he chases down the bad guys to get back his “girlfriend,” with no fear of any pain he may endure along the way. The movie gets over-the-top gruesome as Nathan is willing to put his body through harm in order to take out a bad guy, but the blood flows in a humorous way throughout. Ultimately what makes the movie work is Jack Quaid as Nathan, as his aw-shucks style of acting wins over the audience. The movie is funny but probably not one I’d return to for a second viewing, but good for a fun (and different) date night. ★★★
When I’m Ready is a super low budget film but one that I enjoyed a whole lot more than expected (maybe partly because I’m a sucker for apocalyptic movies). It follows new couple Rose and Michael as they drive cross country to visit Rose’s grandmother. The world is dealing with the news that the end is near, with a humanity-crushing asteroid on a collision course with the planet in about a week. Rose, who was mostly raised by her grandmother but who hasn’t seen her in over a year, wants to say her goodbyes to the one other person who meant a lot to her growing up. Rose and Michael were schoolmates but not a couple until recently, she being a popular kid and he being anything but. Michael is the only person carrying a cell phone (while services are still working; stuff is starting to break down pretty quickly) and he is monitoring the news for anything new, but is also sheltering Rose to an extent. She is used to things just sort of going her way, and keeps asking if there’s a chance that whatever plan the government is working on will work; he keeps measuring her, but knows there is no hope. Along their trip, they see the best and worst humanity has to offer. Some people are obviously meeting the end of the world with nothing but anger and a desire to hurt others, while some, like Rose and Michael, are making the most of it. Two recognizable faces in the film include Lauren Cohan (Maggie from Walking Dead) and longtime actor Dermot Mulroney, who play different people the couple come across on their drive. Apart from those two, the acting leaves something to be desired, but the story is one of making peace with others and yourself, and resonated with me. ★★★★
I can’t help but wonder what everyone was smoking when they were praising The Room Next Door. I love everyone involved in this film, from director Pedro Almodóvar to co-leads Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, but what a self-indulgent turd this movie turned out to be. The women play Ingrid and Martha, best-of-friends once upon a time, but it has been awhile since they regularly spoke. Martha is now dying of cancer, and when Ingrid hears the news, she reaches out and the two reconnect. In some flashbacks, we learn a bit about the two women’s lives, including why Martha has been alienated from other family, leaving her alone in this terrible moment of her life. With no one else to turn to, she asks Ingrid to help her end her life, so that she no longer has to go through the pain and anguish of a slow death. Ingrid reluctantly accepts, and the two head to a remote cabin to do the deed. That’s as far as I got, because I simply couldn’t stomach another awkward scene. It was a weird experience watching this movie, because it features two lauded actresses who are usually quite good, and from a director I usually enjoy, but I could not connect with this one at all. The acting comes off as contrived and (almost) phony at times, like people pretending to like each and just being fake. Even their actions don’t feel natural. Really weird stuff. Maybe I can chalk it up to the fact that it is Almodóvar’s first English language film, because some of his Spanish films are absolutely moving and unforgettable. They can’t all be winners! ★
The Brutalist received lots of hype but ultimately not as many awards as its writer/director Brady Corbet wanted (or expected, as he comes off as a bit pretentious; he certainly loves to remind everyone how great his movie is). It follows a man named László (Adrien Brody) who comes to America as a Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor in 1947. He finds a place to live with his cousin, Attila, who has Americanized (dropping his accent, and marrying a Catholic), but Attila’s wife makes it clear that László is not welcome. The one piece of good news László does receive is that his wife is still alive in Hungary; he suspected she did not survive the Holocaust, but she has been writing to Attila. In Hungary, László was a successful and esteemed architect, but in America, he is nothing, and after a business deal Attila had with a wealthy patron, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), goes bad, László is out on the streets. 3 years later, he has become addicted to heroin and is shoveling coal when Harrison finds him. Turns out Harrison’s new library, designed by László, has become the talk of the town, and Harrison wants to hire him to build a mammoth community center in remembrance of Harrison’s recently deceased mother. Despite misgivings, László accepts, hoping to earn enough money to bring his wife to America. Many more years will pass before that happens, and László’s trials and tribulations are not over. In fact, they are never over. Brody won the Oscar for best actor for the film, and he is indeed great, as is Pearce as the devilish Harrison, but I’m not convinced The Brutalist is a great movie. It is buoyed by excellent acting, but has some amateurish “gotcha” scenes, several too many in fact, which only seem present to drive a point home (again and again), that the immigrant’s life is hard, and László is there just to be used and abused by the privileged. I didn’t mind the 3+ hour runtime, but a long movie does not an epic make. It’s the kind of movie that is a critic’s darling, but not one that really moved me. ★★★
My Dead Friend Zoe, on the other hand, is emotionally resonant, even if the acting as a whole isn’t on par with the above picture. It stars Star Trek Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green as Merit, who, at the beginning of the film, is attending court mandated group therapy sessions after she nearly got a coworker killed in an accident. Merit is dealing with PTST from her time in the army serving in Afghanistan, but thus far has refused to talk about it. Her constant companion is Zoe (Natalie Morales), but as you can tell from the title of the film, Zoe is only in her imagination. Zoe is funny, always with a quip on hand to poke at Merit or her family, but comedy is not what Merit needs right now—she needs to find a way to make peace with Zoe’s death. As if Merit doesn’t have enough on her plate, her grandfather Dale (Ed Harris) has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and Merit’s mom wants to put him in a home for his safety. She has asked Merit to go to their lake house where Dale has been living alone to break the news to him and prepare him to sell the house, but dropping that news will not be easy on Merit, and the headstrong Dale, who also served in the Army and who was Merit’s idol growing up, isn’t ready to be told he can’t do something. The first half of the film has plenty of laughs from Zoe, but as the truth behind her death is revealed in the end, the film turns very emotional, and hits you hard. Harris is perfect as the cantankerous old man. ★★★★½
- TV series recently watched: The Wheel of Time (season 3), The Handmaid’s Tale (season 6), The Wonder Years (seasons 5-6), The Last of Us (season 2)
- Book currently reading: Hunters of Dune by Herbert & Anderson
Jons Movie Takes 