Zoikes, April has been a busy month. Movies, school stuff, appointments, the usual things. A little cat named Brutus who climbs my leg when he’s ready to eat (No, he’s not mine. I just feed him sometimes when I’m at the crosswalk. He likes Sheba’s seafood cuts and Rachael Ray LoveBites, in case anyone’s wondering). Just wait, though, because May is going to be even busier because, if any of you saw my Big Boodle post you know we have blogathons galore this month. But I digress.
Anyway, as far as movies go, April wasn’t too shabby. Lots of variety and quite a bit of fun, with quite a generous application of the “un” prefix. Unhinged, undone, ungentlemanly, and unsung, to name a few pertinent adjectives. Here are my Top Five, although the last two are sort of tied. I say “sort of” because one is way more feel-good than the other so I like it better. All right, here we go (click on the images for the reviews)…
Abigail
A group of mercenaries kidnap a twelve-year old girl thinking they’ll collect a tidy sum from her rich and powerful father as a result. Problem is, Abigail, who seems sweet at first and loves to dance ballet, is also a vampire. The premise is good. There are quite a few funny lines and send-ups of vampire lore. There’s also a lot of gore and F-bombs fall like April showers. The third act is exceedingly messy in more ways than one and some of the characters seem to act dumber than they were in the first act. However, it’s not boring, so that’s good.
Civil War
The United States is at war with itself for some reason, and photojournalist Lee Smith and her press corps are on their way to Washington, D.C. to interview the President, provided they can get there before the opposing forces can move in and kill him. I’m pretty “meh” about this movie. It’s a lot of carnage and not much of a point, but if A24 is looking to expand beyond the quirky indie niche it’s been comfortably occupying, this isn’t a bad step forward. Kirsten Dunst plays a good war-weary journalist, although it’s hard to tell what’s got her so tired out beyond too much time on the road.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Oh golly, this movie was nuts, albeit highly enjoyable nuts. I like Henry Cavill and I liked the idea of a movie made about Operation Postmaster, which was a clandestine effort to take down the Germans’ U-boat campaign early in the Second World War. This was a game-changer for the Allies, especially after the United States entered the war, because before this mission took place, any trans-Atlantic traffic was vulnerable to attack.
Problem with Ministry is, any history is buried under an avalanche of anachronisms, a high body count and goofy schtick, as if the aim was to make an SNL skit instead of an historical epic, which it very likely was (Casablanca fans in particular might wince at one scene, but I’m not going to spoil anything.).
Late Night With the Devil
A talk show host, Jack Delroy, whose show is tanking in the ratings decides to go for broke on Halloween night by bringing in a psychic, a skeptic, and a girl who’s supposedly demon possessed, all to be broadcast on live TV. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t go well. Late Night With the Devil presents all of this as found footage of the broadcast, plus supposedly never-before-seen additional footage, and it’s set up like a documentary. It’s a pretty clever send-up of horror films and seventies culture, and while it’s got some scary, disturbing moments, it’s pretty fun.
The only place where Late Night messes up is when it lets us inside Delroy’s head in a rather nightmarish sequence towards the end. TV production had definitely improved in the seventies, but it wasn’t that good.
Unsung Hero
As good as Late Night With the Devil was, Unsung Hero was my favorite of the month by far because it tells the true story of the Smallbone family as they emigrated to Tennessee from Australia. One of the daughters, Rebecca, whose stage name is Rebecca St. James, is about my age and has been one of my favorite singers for years, as are two of her brothers, Luke and Joel, best known as For King & Country.
Apart from a few minor stumbles and a slightly wobbly execution, I can’t recommend this movie enough, as the Smallbones’ story is remarkable and encouraging, and the glue of it all is mother Helen, who encouraged her family to pray together, be brave, and stick together even when things seemed to be at their worst.
Another post is coming up on Saturday. Thanks for reading, all, and I hope to see you then…
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