Review #1,449: 'Bird Box' (2018)

Perhaps it's because the dystopian survival horror has been done to death of late, or maybe it's because John Krasinski's vastly superior and similarly themed A Quiet Place is still fresh in the mind, but there's something strangely hollow about Netflix's latest smash-hit and water-cooler conversation starter. Bird Box became the inspiration for a series of dangerous YouTube stunts that resulted in the social media platform issuing a warning to anyone thinking about taking part in the 'Bird Box Challenge', but sadly, given the film's potential, this is perhaps all it will be remembered for in the years to come. All the pieces are in place for a tense 90 minutes, but Oscar-winning director Susanne Bier's film plays out over a mostly dull 2-and-a-bit hours, with little more than two memorable set-pieces and a strong central performance from Sandra Bullock to hold it all together.

Like an uneasy blend A Quiet Place and The Happening, the planet has been overrun by a mysterious force that causes people to go insane and commit suicide. While the family of Krasinski's memorable horror were forbidden to make any sounds, the players in Bird Box aren't permitted to see. Just one glance at the unknown creatures stalking the streets will cause their eyes to turn a murky purple and instantly seek a way of ending their own life, and when we first meet Malorie (Bullock), she is about to embark on a dangerous journey down river with two children in the hope of locating a sanctuary they heard about over a walkie-talkie. Flash back five years, and the pregnant Malorie witnesses the collapse of society first-hand, as a routine car ride back from the hospital turns into a mindless bloodbath. She escapes into the home of shouty misanthrope Douglas (John Malkovich), and is forced to hole up with a bunch of genre archetypes (played by Trevante Rhodes, Jacki Weaver, Rosa Salazar, BD Wong and Lil Rel Howery, amongst others).

With the doors locked and the windows covered up, it seems like Malorie and her new friends have it made. But for reasons never entirely explained, the creatures don't drive everybody to suicide. If you're crazy, you are instead driven to expose those lucky enough to be hiding out to the mysterious force. It might be an attempt to keep things cryptic, or it may be sheer laziness, but the rules of the game remain frustratingly unexplained. These creatures - who we never see - sometimes announce their presence with a gust of wind, and sometimes not. One person infected will immediately jump out of a window, but another will take minutes to turn, allowing them time to say something meaningful before they croak. The monsters clearly possess the power to move objects, so why don't they at least try to enter homes? We are left to fit the pieces together ourselves, but very little adds up. The likes of Night of the Living Dead and Assault on Precinct 13 sustained a bristly atmosphere by making us care about the characters, but reliable actors like Rhodes and Malkovich are never allowed to be anything more than 'love interest' or 'annoying right-wing nut'. It isn't all bad - one set-piece involving a short car ride to get supplies with only a SatNav computer screen to guide them is wrought with tension - but in the wake of A Quiet Place, which understood the mechanics behind what makes an effective survival horror, Bird Box feels like a missed opportunity.


Directed by: Susanne Bier
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson, Jacki Weaver, Rosa Salazar, BD Wong, Tom Hollander
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,311: 'The Disaster Artist' (2017)

It was a man named Michael Rousselet of online film group 5-Second Films who first clocked onto the rich vein of unintentional humour found in Tommy Wiseau's 2003 crap-fest The Room. He brought along friends, who had a great time throwing plastic cutlery at the screen in homage to the weird decorating choices found in the background of some of the film's interior scenes, and generally marvelling at just how any self-respecting film-maker could release such an utter shambles and compare it to the work of Tennessee Williams. It soon caught on, and The Room evolved into a cult phenomenon, playing for years and attracting a vocal celebrity fanbase that included the likes of Patton Oswalt, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill and Kristen Bell.

Once Greg Sestero, co-star of The Room and somewhat reluctant best friend of Wiseau, released a tell-all book called The Disaster Artist, it seemed inevitable that it would someday find itself adapted for the big screen. And who better than super-fan and Wiseau-obsessive James Franco to carry out the task and don the thick black locks and questionable fashion sense of the man who still remains an enigma to this day. The Disaster Artist starts by detailing how Sestero first met Wiseau in acting class, with the latter impressing the young pretty-boy actor with his fearless, if abominable, displays of his acting prowess. Played by Dave Franco in the film, Sestero soon packs up and moves to Los Angeles to live with Wiseau, whose bottomless pockets are one of the remaining unexplained mysteries circling the clearly Eastern European weirdo. But as one producer tells them, they only have a million-in-one chance of becoming a success even if they had the talents of Marlon Brando, which they do not.

This spurs Wiseau into writing his very own movie, a melodrama called The Room which tells the story of a handsome all-American hero named Johnny, who'll naturally be played by Wiseau. Being the innovator he thinks he is, Wiseau wastes a fortune by going against industry standards of renting and purchases two cameras: one 35 mm and the other HD Digital, which he'll use simultaneously to shoot the movie. His bizarre spending habits don't stop there. He also builds a set of an outside alley when an actual alley sits just outside the studio, and Wiseau also goes to the expense of installing a toilet only he is allowed to use. Yet this is least of the crew's worries. As Wiseau's ego and paranoia spin out of control, he finds himself at loggerheads with everyone around him, including his best friend Greg. He also forgets his lines, fires members of staff on a whim, and remains the only one blissfully ignorant at the steaming cinematic turd he is creating. In his mind, nobody understands or respects his vision.

The moral of The Disaster Artist could be interpreted as not everybody should follow their dreams, despite what most people will tell you. But James Franco, directing himself as Wiseau directing himself, clearly adores The Room and is completely caught up with the weird charisma of Tommy Wiseau. At its heart, The Disaster Artist is a sweet rags-to-riches story that celebrates how greatness - and The Room is great - can emerge from the strangest of places and the unlikeliest of people. If it had been any other year, the older Franco would have been a shoe-in for a Best Actor nod, but recent allegations have seen the Academy distance themselves from the prolific film-maker. Of course, he doesn't look anything like Wiseau but, with the help of prosthetics, a tar-dunked wig and some good-old fashioned thesping, Franco becomes Wiseau before our very eyes, refusing to spill over into pantomime territory. It will make you laugh, cringe and possibly even cry, which is crazy given the subject matter. They could have taken the easy route and turned the story into pure parody, but Franco, along with writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, have helped sculpt The Disaster Artist into a celebration of eccentricity, stubbornness and the unexpected places magic is found at the movies.


Directed by: James Franco
Starring: Dave Franco, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #695: 'Silver Linings Playbook' (2012)

This is the kind of film that the Academy love and regularly shower with awards come Oscar season. Silver Linings Playbook is a story of love triumphing over mental illness that sees excellent performances across the board, but, as is the norm with these types of films, the 'serious' subject matter glosses over the cracks in the story's believability, and the happy ending rather waters down the seriousness of bipolar disorder, resulting in a somewhat insulting message that love can somehow cure mental illness. But David O. Russell, the former indie pioneer who's now a regular Oscar-botherer, is a good director, and with it's many flaws aside, Silver Linings is a funny, quite moving picture.

After being released early from a mental institution, Pat (Bradley Cooper), a man brimming with anger and who has bipolar disorder, tries to win back the wife that has taken a restraining order out on him. He has a new positive outlook on life, but is still quick to anger, throwing a book through a window because he doesn't like the ending. His parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro) try to support him but find it difficult to cope. He meets the equally unstable Tiffany (the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence), and the two make a deal. She will get a letter to his wife as long as he becomes her dance partner in an upcoming contest.

Russell's back catalogue shows his unique eye for comedy. I Heart Huckabees (2004) was a bizarre existential comedy full of oddball characters that really worked, and Three Kings (1999), his breakthrough, managed to squeeze many laughs out of a war-torn setting. Silver Linings Playbook is more comedy than drama, but the laughs are few and far between. De Niro is the real comic relief in the movie, but his OCD, Philadelphia Eagles-obsessed father isn't believable. In fact, the whole family setting asks a lot of the audience. For a film so seemingly grounded in reality (it takes the washed-out, shaky camera approach), the supporting characters just aren't real.

It works best when its two leads are together. The movie really depends on the chemistry between Pat and Tiffany, and they do sparkle in their scenes. It's rare that a movie makes me want characters to get together, but in the moments when they dance, you can feel the connection, and you want Pat to forget his estranged wife and open his eyes to what's in front of him. Cooper brings a likeability to a occasionally despicable character, but Lawrence steals the film. Tiffany is a force of nature, damaged by the death of her husband and now finds herself labelled a slut after many a one-night stand. With Lawrence at the helm, it's impossible not to fall in love with her.

The rom-com clichés are followed very much to the T, with eccentric minor characters that somehow all end up in the same place at the end, the will-they-or-won't-they climax, but it does them well. It also avoids any real upsets in Pat and Tiffany's journey, instead opting for a much more light-hearted, easy-going approach. But, like Pat says, isn't their enough fucking misery in the world already? Maybe he's right, but I feel the movie took an easy path opposed to a more serious study of the effects of mental illness.


Directed by: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie