The film plays into two young environmentalists who are both radicalized by the movement as they turn to a former marine in creating a bomb to blow up a dam near a river in Oregon. Yet, it is the aftermath of the event that would trouble them as it play into the fallacies of not just the radicalism but also revelations about what happened. The film’s screenplay by Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond essentially has a two-act structure where the first half is about the planning and the event that lead to blowing up this dam while its second half is about the troubling aftermath. Yet, the script does explore these two young people who feel like the world is in trouble and believe that this act in blowing up a dam will be good for the environmental cause as they turn this former marine who also has a record as he knows what to do. While the character of Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard) doesn’t entirely agree with their views, he does believe that both Josh (Jesse Eisenberg) and Dena (Dakota Fanning) have a point about the ways of the world which is why he helps them.
It’s the film’s second half that really play into this aftermath where something did go wrong as it relates to what happened and the fact that someone was at the dam when it blew up. Harmon tells both Josh and Dena that they should keep their mouths shut and not contact each other or say anything. Yet, things do go wrong with Dena becoming uneasy and Josh convinced Dena is going to say something. It adds to this struggle as well as the fact that Josh’s own livelihood is at risk since he works and live at a farm while Dena works at a spa. The narrative focuses more on Josh’s paranoia and Dena’s growing guilt as it relates to the second half of the film.
Reichardt’s direction is entrancing for much of the imagery that she creates as well as this air of realism that occurs into the world of radicalism. Shot on location at southern Oregon with the actual dam in the Galesville Reservoir at the Klamath Mountains, the film does play into a world that is bit disconnected from the world of the cities where Josh works in this farm that is bit of a community of its own with Dena working at a spa yet is someone that supposedly comes from a rich family. Much of Reichardt’s compositions are straightforward as it play into the planning of the first half of the film with its usage of medium shots and close-up to play into the characters interacting or dealing with some kind of crisis. There are some wide shots to establish some of the locations yet Reichardt prefers to focus on the characters as she play into the preparedness of their plan and how they try to isolate themselves and not look suspicious. The scene of planting the bomb is also tense in the three trying not to be seen as there’s a wide shot of a car stopping near the dam.
Also serving as the film’s editor, Reichardt doesn’t aim for style but does maintain a slow rhythm to play up the suspense without making it noticeable in order to get a reaction from a characters. Notably in its second half where it’s all about the drama and the aftermath of this bombing where something bad did happen as much of the film focuses on Josh who also believes that some of his fellow farmers might know what he has done. Reichardt’s compositions add to the sense of paranoia but also chooses to create scenes where audiences can get an idea of what is happening but not show anything. Notably in its climax that is followed by an aftermath that plays into uncertainty for a key character in the film but also a decision that forces that person to start a new life or continue to move without any direction. Overall, Reichardt crafts a mesmerizing and eerie film about two radical environmentalists and a former marine bombing a dam and then deal with its troubling aftermath.
Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key yet natural lighting, usage of available light for the scenes at night, and other lighting schemes to maintain air of realism into the look of the film. Production designer Elliott Hostetter, with set decorator Virginia Yount and art director Almitra Corey, does excellent work with the look of the boat that Dena and Josh bought as well as the house Josh lives in and the spa that Dena works at. Costume designer Vicki Farrell is terrific for the casual look of the characters that include winter hats, flannel, and jeans to play into the world they live in.
Sound editor Julia Shirar and sound designer Kent Sparling do amazing work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as how the characters sound from afar as well as some of the sparse aspects of the sound on a certain location. The film’s music by Jeff Grace is wonderful for its mixture of ambient, folk, and country that play into its suspense and its setting while music supervisors Lyle Hysen and Chris Swanson provide a soundtrack that features a mixture of folk, country, ambient, and indie rock from A Place to Bury Strangers, Coliseum, Sun Rai, and Bear in Heaven.
The casting by Mark Bennett and Laura Rosenthal is superb as it feature some notable small roles from James LeGros as a feed farm factory clerk, Kai Lennox as a hiking camper that annoys Harmon, Dena, and Josh, Katherine Waterston and Barry Del Sherman as the farm owners that Josh works for, Logan Miller as a young farmer who often says dumb things, and Alia Shawkat as a farmer named Surprise that Josh is friends with. The trio of Peter Sarsgaard, Dakota Fanning, and Jesse Eisenberg are incredible in their respective roles as Harmon, Dena, and Josh as they all maintain a low-key and reserved performances in their respective roles. Sarsgaard adds a weariness and gravitas to his role as a man that knows what to do but is also someone who is aware of the stakes. Fanning’s performance has this air of urgency as someone who is determined to do this mission but starts to unravel following the aftermath as she becomes consumed with guilt. Eisenberg’s performance is one of restraint as someone that is determined to do the deed but becomes paranoid following its aftermath as well as being unsure of what to do as he too is consumed with guilt.
Night Moves is a phenomenal film from Kelly Reichardt featuring great performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, and Peter Sarsgaard. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, gorgeous visuals, and its restrained yet eerie tone, the film is a compelling look into a couple of young people who team with a former military officer in creating an act of radical terrorism only to deal with the troubling aftermath and the realities of their ideals. In the end, Night Moves is a sensational film from Kelly Reichardt.
Kelly Reichardt Films: River of Grass - Old Joy - Wendy & Lucy - Meek's Cutoff - Certain Women - First Cow – Showing Up - The Auteurs #72: Kelly Reichardt
© thevoid99 2021
Based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon is the story of a closeted high schooler who is trying to find the identity of a classmate who has fallen in love with him while trying to come out to his family and friends and deal with someone threatening to reveal his secret. Directed by Greg Berlanti and screenplay by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, the film is an exploration of a young man trying to discover himself during a time in his life as he questions what those close to him would think about him being possibly gay. Starring Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Logan Miller, Tony Hale, Josh Duhamel, and Jennifer Garner. Love, Simon is a heartwarming and riveting film from Greg Berlanti.
A high school senior who seems to have it all finds himself confused about his identity after reading a post about a classmate who is struggling to come out of the closet prompting him to find out that person’s identity as well as wonder when to come out to friends and family. It’s a film about a young man trying to discover more about himself as well as falling for another young man who has chosen to remain anonymous as they both cope with idea of coming out. The film’s screenplay by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger follows the young life of Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) who is just a typical kid that has friends and a nice family but is dealing with the fact that he might be gay through this blog post where a classmate is struggling to come out. For Simon, he tries to figure out that person’s identity yet another classmate in Martin (Logan Miller) accidentally reads one of Simon’s emails and blackmails him so that he can get a chance to go out with one of Simon’s friends in Abby (Alexandra Shipp) whom Simon had met just six months ago.
The script also play into the anxieties of Simon wanting to tell family and friends as the first person he comes out to is Abby who agrees to keep it a secret but has no clue about Martin’s presence. Adding to the chaos is the search for the identity of this classmate known as Blue as Simon would have a few suspicions but he would eventually keep himself away from his friends unintentionally adding to the emotional turmoil he would endure.
Greg Berlanti’s direction is straightforward in terms of its visuals while also playing with the ideas expected in romantic films as well as teen comedies. Shot and set on various locations in and near Atlanta, Berlanti doesn’t try to aim for anything stylish in the visuals or create any sequences that are big to showcase the life of a teenager struggling to come out. While there’s some wide shots that Berlanti uses including for a fantasy musical sequence of Simon imagining having already being out and in college where the whole world is gay. Much of Berlanti’s compositions rely on close-ups and medium shots as well as using some real locations such as a Waffle House for a scene involving Simon, Abby, and Martin as well as a waiter who might be Blue. Even as he would use blue filters to play into the idea of who Blue is as whenever he’s typing things on his laptop. Berlanti also knows how to create that moment of drama as it relates to Simon having to come out and its aftermath where there are some revelations from the people who knew him but also from others who knew him from afar. Yet, Berlanti does instill some heart as it relates to Simon’s discovery about himself without trying to play too much into the typical elements expected in LGBT films and romantic comedies. Overall, Berlanti crafts a riveting and heartfelt film about a high school senior coping with his identity and the mystery of the person who is also struggling to come out.
Cinematographer John Guleserian does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward in its lighting and emphasis on natural colors for the daytime exterior scenes along with its usage of bluish filters for the idea of who Blue might be. Editor Harry Jierjian does nice work with the editing as it is largely straightforward including some rhythmic cuts for some key dramatic moments in the film. Production designer Aaron Osborne and set decorator Tasha Clarkson do fantastic work with the interiors of Simon’s family home as well as the school and a few places the characters go to.
Costume designer Eric Daman does terrific work with the Halloween costumes some of the characters wear including the clothes worn for a high school musical performance of Cabaret. Sound editor Donald Sylvester does superb work with the film’s sound in maintaining the raucous atmosphere of high school and in some of the parties as well as quieter scenes in some of the film’s dramatic moments. The film’s music by Rob Simonsen is wonderful for its synthesizer-driven music that harkens to the style of the 1980s as well as contemporary music while music supervisor Season Kent create a soundtrack that consists a mixture of modern pop/electro-pop music as well as older music from the Kinks, Warrant, Jackson 5, Whitney Houston, Bobby Pickett, Brenton Woods, and Violent Femmes.
The casting by Denise Chaiman, Tara Feldstein, and Chase Paris is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Nye Reynolds and Bryson Pitts in their respective roles as the 5 and 10-year old versions of Simon, Skye Mowbray as the younger version of Simon’s younger sister Nora, Natasha Rothwell as the drama teacher Ms. Albright, Clark Moore as the openly-gay student Ethan, Miles Heizer as a drama student whom Simon might think is Blue, Joey Pollari as a Waffle House waiter whom Simon also thinks could be Blue, and Keiyan Lonsdale as the school jock Abraham “Bram” Greenfeld whom Simon befriends as he would think Bram’s real identity is Blue. Tony Hale is terrific as Simon’s vice Principal Mr. Worth as a man who is liked by many for not being too strict yet expresses concern for Simon including a scene where Simon and Ethan are mocked as he lectures the students who mock them showing that he means business. Talitha Bateman is fantastic as Simon’s younger sister Nora who aspires to be a cook as she becomes concerned for her brother as well as knowing more about him than he already knows.
Logan Miller is superb as Martin Addison as a student who blackmails Simon in the hopes of hooking up with Abby where even though he’s a well-meaning person despite holding on to Simon’s secret. Alexandra Shipp and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. are excellent in their respective roles in Abby and Nick as a couple of Simon’s friends who are dealing with the chaos of high school as the former is among the first to learn about Simon’s secret. Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel are brilliant in their respective roles as Emily and Jack Spier as Simon and Nora’s parents who notice odd things about Simon while they also cope with the news of his secret with both of them coping with the news. Katherine Langford is amazing as Leah Burke as Simon’s longtime childhood friend who is trying to understand what Simon is dealing with while carrying a secret of her own as it would impact their friendship as well as so much more. Finally, there’s Nick Robinson in a remarkable performance as Simon Spier as a high school senior troubled by his growing sexual identity as he also tries to figure out the identity of a person named Blue as it’s calm and touching performance from Robinson who manages to capture the excitement and fear of coming out.
Love, Simon is a marvelous film from Greg Berlanti that features an incredible leading performance from Nick Robinson. Along with its supporting cast, study of homosexuality and coming out, and its exploration of young love. It’s a film that manages to be engaging as well as be daring at times to showcase the struggles of a young man trying to come out. In the end, Love, Simon is a splendid film from Greg Berlanti.
© thevoid99 2019
Directed by Christopher B. Landon and screenplay by Landon, Carrie Evans, and Emi Mochizuki from a story by Evans, Mochizuki, and Lona Williams, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is the story about a trio of high school Scout kids who find themselves dealing with zombies as they try to save their small town. The film is a horror-comedy in which what happens when zombies find themselves having to deal with three Scout kids who are prepared for any kind of situation. Starring Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Halston Sage, Sarah Dumont, and David Koechner. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is a thrilling and hilarious film from Christopher B. Landon.
The film follows three high school sophomores who are trying to get new recruits to join the Scouts as two of them think about leaving to pursue other interests as they later deal with zombies forcing them to use their skills as Scouts to save their small town. That is pretty much what the film is about as it is set in the span of an entire day where three teenage boys try to get ready for another ceremony as two of them want to go to a senior party as well as do all of the things more mature high school kids are doing. Yet, something happened nearby which has unleashed a horde of zombies ruining the night for these three kids as they’re aided by a cocktail waitress named Denise (Sarah Dumont) who works at a strip club.
The film’s screenplay does reveal how this zombie apocalypse happened and how it would infect a small town where three teenage Scouts have to be the ones to save them with the help of this cocktail waitress. Along the way, there’s some growing pains among the three boys with Ben Goudy (Tye Sheridan) as the conscience of sorts as he’s in love with his best friend’s older sister while Carter Grant (Logan Miller) is eager to party and ditch the more camp-loving Augie Foster (Joey Morgan).
Christopher B. Landon’s direction is definitely stylish from the opening sequence in which a janitor (Blake Anderson) checks out an experiment where everything goes wrong and lead to the mayhem that would ensue. Shot in various locations around Los Angeles, the film does play into this small town feel where not very much is happening and people know each other. Landon does use some wide shots to establish some of the locations yet keeps the compositions simple in terms of coverage while infusing it with elements of style in its approach to comedy and horror. While some of it is over-stylized as well as featuring characters that are thinly-written, Landon is able to make up for some of the film’s shortcomings by just emphasizing on its humor and entertainment factor. Even in the climax which is filled with lots of gore but in all good fun and not take itself too seriously. Overall, Landon crafts a wild and exciting film about a trio of Scouts killing zombies with a cocktail waitress to save their small town and get some poontang along the way.
Cinematographer Brandon Trost does excellent work with the cinematography as many of the daytime scenes are straightforward with some stylish lighting for the strip club scene. Editor Jim Page does nice work with the editing as it stylized despite emphasizing too much on fast-cuts and montages though they do serve their purpose. Production designer Nathan Amondson, with art directors William Budge and Nick Ralbovsky plus set decorator Beauchamp Fontaine, does fantastic work with the look of the strip club as well as the party for the film’s climax. Costume designer Marylou Lim does terrific work with the costumes from the look of the Scout uniforms as well as the somewhat-skimpy clothing of Denise as well as the bloodied clothes that the zombies have.
Special makeups effect supervisor Tony Gardner does brilliant work with the look of the zombies from the way they look including the attention to detail in their body parts. Visual effects supervisor Ryan Tudhope does terrific work with the visual effects as it play into the look of the gore as well as a few moments in the action scenes. Sound designer Peter Brown does superb work with the sound in the way the zombies would sound as well as capturing some of the natural environment in the different locations. The film’s music by Matthew Margeson is wonderful for its mixture of orchestral bombast with hip-hop and electronic music while the soundtrack also play into elements of hip-hop, pop, country, electronic dance music, and rock.
The casting by Courtney Bright, Nicole Daniels, and Joseph Middleton is pretty good as it feature some notable small roles from Dillon Francis as a DJ zombie, porn star Missy Martinez as a police woman zombie with big tits, Elle Evans as a zombie stripper, Blake Anderson as the janitor who would cause the zombie epidemic, Drew Droege as a drunk man Carter tries to use to get him to buy beer, Patrick Schwarzenegger as a douchebag senior Carter’s sister is dating, Niki Koss as a senior Carter wants to sleep with, and Cloris Leachman in a hilarious performance as an old lady neighbor of Carter who hates his guts and later becomes a zombie. Halston Sage is wonderful as Kendall who is Carter’s older sister and Ben’s crush as someone that is very nice as she becomes concerned about Carter when he doesn’t show up for the party. David Koechner is superb as Scout Leader Rogers as a man who is trying to keep the Scout thing alive while wearing a bad toupee and has a love for Dolly Parton.
Sarah Dumont is fantastic as Denise as a woman in her 20s who works at a strip club as a cocktail waitress who befriends Ben as well as help the boys deal with zombies as someone who proves to be more than just being an attractive woman. Joey Morgan is terrific as Augie Foster as a Scout who loves being a Scout as he has accepted his identity while upset that his friends want to ditch him for some party as he would discover his mentor has become a zombie. Logan Miller is excellent as Carter Grant as a Scout who is the most willing to leave in favor of being with the in-crowd as he hopes to party and get laid as he’s also the film’s comic relief. Finally, there’s Tye Sheridan in a brilliant performance as Ben Goudy as a 16-year old high school sophomore who is also a skilled Scout as he ponders about leaving as well as deal with growing pains prompting him to step up and be a good person as well save the town that he cares about.
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is a stellar film from Christopher B. Landon. Featuring a superb cast, an entertaining premise, and a fine mix of comedy and horror, it’s a film that doesn’t take itself seriously while being just a simple zombie comedy. In the end, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is a terrific film from Christopher B. Landon.
Christopher B. Landon Films: (Burning Palms) - (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) - Happy Death Day - (Happy Death Day 2U)
© thevoid99 2017
