Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein and written by Mark Perez, Game Night is the story of a group of friends whose night of fun becomes trouble when it turns into a real-life mystery involving burglars as the line of reality and fiction starts to blur. The film is a dark comedy in which a simple night of games and fun involving a group of friends turn into a nightmare while they wonder if they’re still playing a game or if it’s real. Starring Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Kyle Chandler, Michael C. Hall, and Jesse Plemons. Game Night is a wild yet exhilarating film from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
A couple who holds a game night with their friends is invited by the man’s older brother about a mystery game where the lines of reality and fantasy start to blur with many wonder if there’s real criminals involved and all sorts of shit whether it’s really a game. That is the film’s premise as screenwriter Mark Perez play into this couple in Max and Annie Davis (Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, respectively) who love to play games and always compete with others yet they’re dealing with having to grow up as they both want a child. Yet, Max is stressed due to the fact that his older and more successful brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) is in town who always find a way to beat Max in any game. When Brooks decide to hold a game night in his home, Max and Annie bring their friends in Kevin and Michelle Sterling (Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury, respectively), Ryan Huddle (Billy Magnussen), and his date/co-worker Sarah Darcy (Sharon Horgan) for the game.
When Brooks reveals what the game is, the ideas of reality and fiction blur where everyone at first thinks they’re playing the game. Along the way, some personal issues would emerge for the players as they also become confused into what is real and what is fiction. Even to the point where Max learns that Brooks is involved with some criminal activities as it raises more questions about Max’s own issues with himself and questions into about wanting to be a father. All of the trouble and confusion forces Max and Annie to turn to their neighbor in the cop Gary (Jesse Plemons) whom they haven’t invited into the game nights due to his socially-awkward behavior and the fact that his wife had just left him. Gary’s involvement would only add more chaos as it relates to the blur of reality and fantasy.
The direction of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein does have elements of style in some scenes yet much of it is straightforward in terms of the visuals. Shot on location in Atlanta, the film does play into suburban world that Max, Annie, and their friends live in as opposed to the more upper-class home that Brooks live in along with the world of the city. While there are a few wide shots to establish the locations, much of the direction has Daley and Goldstein utilize medium shots and close-up whenever there’s scenes that focuses on a couple or the entire group as they’re put into the frame. Even as they maintain the humor through the confusion of reality and fiction as the characters play on as if it’s still a game only to intensify as the story progresses. One notable sequence inside the mansion of a supposed criminal involves this unique tracking shot that goes on for a minute in one take where the players are passing a Fabergé egg that they’re trying to steal for the game. Even as it would unveil something much bigger that Brooks is involved him where they all have to use their skills as players to help him. Overall, Daley and Goldstein create a thrilling yet whimsical comedy about a game night that becomes a wild adventure.
Cinematographer Barry Peterson does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of low-key lights for a scene at a bar along with the exteriors set at night. Editors Jamie Gross, Gregory Plotkin, and David Egan do terrific work with the editing with its usage of rhythmic cuts to play into the action and humor as well as capturing the chaos of the game. Production designer Michael Corenblith, plus set decorator Susan Benjamin and art director Hugh D.G. Moody, does fantastic work with the look of Brooks’ home in its interiors as well as some of the places the characters go to. Costume designer Debra McGuire does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with everyone wearing casual clothing.
Visual effects supervisor Patrick David does some fine work with the visual effects as it’s mainly set dressing for some big set pieces in the film that include its climax. Sound designer Cameron Frankley and sound editor Jon Michaels do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the humor as well as in some of the action scenes. The film’s music by Cliff Martinez is amazing for its electronic-based score that is mainly driven by 80s style synthesizers while music supervisors Manish Raval and Tom Wolfe provide a fun soundtrack that features music from Queen, Engelbert Humperdinck, Third Eye Blind, Drake, Duke Ellington, Hall & Oates, Billy Joel, April Wine, Hampton Hawes, and Dirty Streets.
The casting by Rich Delia and Tara Feldstein is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Camille Chen as a doctor that Max and Annie meet early in the film, Chelsea Perretti as a woman who runs a mystery game business, Zerrick Williams and Joshua Mikel as a couple of kidnappers, Malcolm Hughes as actor Denzel Washington, Jessica Lee as Gary’s ex-wife Debbie, and Jeffrey Wright in an un-credited cameo appearance as the FBI agent Ron Henderson. Other notable small roles include appearances from Danny Huston as a supposed crime boss named Donald Anderton and Michael C. Hall in a superb role as a mysterious figure who appears in the film’s climax. Kyle Chandler is fantastic as Max’s older brother Brooks as a man who seems to have it all and often upstages Max with his own competitiveness only to hide something much darker as it relates to the game that is being played. Jesse Plemons is incredible as Gary as Max and Annie’s neighbor who is a cop that feels left out of not being invited to game nights where he later tries to help them with a situation as it’s a low-key yet witty performance from Plemons.
Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury are excellent in their respective roles as Kevin and Michelle Sterling as a couple who are part of the game night as they deal with what is happening while dealing with issues of infidelity before they were married. Billy Magnussen and Sharon Horgan are brilliant in their respective roles as Ryan Huddle and Sarah Darcy as co-workers that are on a date though they don’t know much about each other with Ryan trying to win while Sarah is an outsider who doesn’t know anyone yet is the smartest person in the room. Finally, there’s Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams in amazing performances in their respective roles as Max and Annie Davis as a couple who are highly-competitive gamers who are coping with becoming more responsible while being lost in the game they’re playing with Bateman as sort of the straight man of the two while McAdams gets to be more lively as the two together are a joy to watch.
Game Night is a spectacular film from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a cool music score by Cliff Martinez, and a hilarious yet adventurous story. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to be out there while also being a lot of fun about a game that blur the ideas of reality and fiction. In the end, Game Night is a tremendous film from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
© thevoid99 2018
Directed by Francis Whately, David Bowie: The Last Five Years is the follow-up to the 2014 BBC documentary David Bowie: Five Years about the final five years in the life of one of music’s most creative and revered icons. Told through rare footage and audio clips of Bowie as well as new interviews from many of his collaborators including the musicians that worked with him in the final years of his life. The film follows the events that led to his seclusion and then his unexpected return with 2013’s The Next Day as well as the creation of his final album Blackstar and the play Lazarus. The result is an engrossing yet heartfelt film about the final years of one of the greatest people who lived on the face of the Earth.
On January 10, 2016 just two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album Blackstar, the world received news that David Bowie has died as it was followed by grief and tributes. It was news that shocked everyone as no one knew the man was ill yet it proved how mysterious he was as a person and as an artist who had often refused to be defined by any category. The film is about the final five years of his life broken down into these five years but also with reflections of his life during his time as a musical icon with a prologue that begins in 2003 during the tour to promote his twenty-third studio album Reality as he got rid of the personas that he was known for and was being himself in a jovial way. It was during the European leg of the world tour in 2004 where things went wrong as a show in Prague, Czech Republic had Bowie feeling ill during the performance as he was unable to finish the song as it was clear something wrong. Then on June 24, 2004, Bowie would play at the Hurricane Festival in Hamburg, Germany as he performed with some restrained power as it would be the last time he would play to large audience.
It was in that moment that Bowie suffered a mild heart attack as he would made sporadic public appearances in the next two years to do a few live performances and then he disappeared from the public eye for good only to make rare appearances at events. Then the film would shift into the final five years that led to the slow creation of his twenty-fourth album The Next Day which took two years to make where many of the musicians he had played with for years including producer Tony Visconti would make the album in secrecy with everyone signing non-disclosure agreement contracts. The musicians that include longtime collaborators like guitarist Earl Slick and pianist Mike Garson reveal the process of what Bowie wanted to do musically as Slick, guitarists Gerry Leonard and David Torn, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, drummers Zachary Alford and Sterling Campbell, and multi-instrumentalist Catherine Russell play a few of the songs on that album.
Francis Whately’s direction doesn’t just feature the interviews with those musicians that also include old collaborators Geoff MacCormack and Carlos Alomar but take a look through old and rare footage of Bowie in the past during his time of stardom. Especially as a few of the songs on The Next Day doesn’t just evoke elements of nostalgia but also his disdain towards fame and celebrity culture as well as his own view of life in the 21st Century told in the song Valentine’s Day. The years focused on 2014 and 2015 isn’t just about the creation of the song Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) with collaborators Maria Schneider and Donny McCaslin. It’s also in the making of the play Lazarus as actor Michael C. Hall, co-writer Edna Walsh, director Ivo Van Hove, and one of the producers talk about the making of the play as it was something Bowie wanted to do for a long time going back to his attempted play adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 that was rejected by Orwell’s estate.
Whatley and his editors would unveil rare footage of an unmade and unfinished film staging of Diamond Dogs that featured elements of his aborted 1984 play as it showed that long ambition of Bowie to stage a play. It would then be inter-cut with the making of his final album Blackstar with very few people including video director Johan Renck who knew that Bowie was dying. There is also a rare picture of Bowie in the rehearsal for Lazarus that is quite devastating as it shows how much his cancer was taking away from him yet he was still fighting. Whatley also would unveil the vocal outtakes of Bowie singing the songs from that album as it showed a man fighting to sing with every ounce of his body no matter how little time he had.
David Bowie: The Last Five Years is an incredible film from Francis Whately and BBC Films. It’s a documentary film that fans of Bowie will definitely want to see but it also offer something for those who don’t know much about Bowie or his music. Yet, it is portrait of a man who remained defiant to his dying day in making you think he’s this when he’s really indefinable. In the end, David Bowie: The Last Five Years is a remarkable film from Francis Whately.
Related: Cracked Actor - David Bowie: Five Years - David Bowie: Finding Fame
© thevoid99 2017
Based on the novel by Joe R. Lansdale, Cold in July is the story of a man who finds himself in trouble after killing a low-life criminal as that man’s father arrives for revenge. Directed by Jim Mickle and screenplay by Mickle and Nick Damici, the film is an exploration into the world of violence as a man who was trying to protect his family is forced to deal with his own actions as he is targeted for doing the right thing. Starring Michael C. Hall, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Wyatt Russell, Nick Damici, and Sam Shepard. Cold in July is an eerie yet mesmerizing film from Jim Mickle.
Set in 1989 East Texas, the film revolves a man who killed a burglar in his house only to realize that the man’s father has arrived into town seeking vengeance. Yet, it’s a film that plays into a man who was just trying to protect his family where he finds himself discovering some dark secrets as well as the identity of who he killed as it becomes clear that he and this man who has been going after him are part of something far more troubling. Especially as it concerns the world of a local mafia and other things prompting these two men to seek the help of a private investigator. It’s a film that does have elements of film noir but it is more about a simple family man who is just trying to protect his family while helping another man find out about the son he never knew.
The film’s screenplay is set into a world where morals are falling by the wayside into something that is filled with corruption and power. Even as Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) wonders if the man he killed is really named Freddy Russell as the sense of intrigue would emerge as he would also turn to Russell’s father Ben (Sam Shepard) to see if Richard really did kill Freddy or was it some other man. The mystery would prompt Ben to call in his old friend Jim Bob Luke (Don Johnson) who is a private investigator that has been trying to track down Freddy for Ben. It leads into some serious questions about what to do as well as a simple family man trying to bring his own sense of justice when he realizes that the people he’s supposed to trust to protect his own family have their own agendas.
Jim Mickle’s direction is truly gripping in terms of not just the way he creates an air of suspense but also in how he maintains a very dark and seedy mood into a world that looks simple but full of corruption and intrigue. Especially as Mickle maintains something that feels like a film that is shot in a small town in Texas though the film was actually shot in places in the state of New York. Still, Mickle does make the settings look and feel like it’s shot in East Texas in the late 1980s while creating some dazzling compositions to play into Richard’s sense of fear and paranoia where he would be in the background while the clock on his nightstand is in the foreground. The usage of medium and wide shots are also evident as it plays into the growing discord that is emerging in Richard’s family life as they have no idea how to cope with what happened to them early in the film as Mickle maintains some dramatic tension between Richard and his wife Ann (Vinessa Shaw).
The direction also has Mickle setting some moods for the film’s second half that includes Jim Bob’s introduction which is off the wall as he is this offbeat P.I. that seems to enjoy dressing up like a cowboy. Jim Bob is a man that seems to come from a world where things were simple and were doing what is right is important. Especially as Mickle makes the compositions more dream-like and more unsettling as the film progresses into its third act where it involves all sorts of seedy ventures that plays into a world that is terrifying. Its climax isn’t just bloody and violent but also has this sense of setting the world back into place. Overall, Mickle creates a very chilling yet enthralling film about a family man trying to gain some peace following a dark and violent encounter with a burglar.
Cinematographer Ryan Samul does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography as it is infused with style for many of the scenes at night with its approach to colored filters as well as textures for its approach to lighting for the scenes at night. Editors Jim Mickle and John Paul Horstmann do fantastic work with the editing with its approach to slow-motion cuts and other rhythmic cuts to play into its suspense. Production designer Russell Barnes, with set decorator Daniel R. Kersting and art director Annie Simeone, does excellent work with the look of Richard‘s home as well as his father‘s cabin as well as the home of Jim Bob.
Costume designer Elisabeth Vastola does nice work with the costumes as it plays into the look of the late 80s from the clothes that Ann wears to the wild clothes of Jim Bob. Sound editor Lewis Goldstein does amazing work with the sound from some of the smaller moments that play into the suspense to the more chaotic moments of violence including a chilling sequence on a rainy night. The film’s music by Jeff Grace is incredible for its very intoxicating score that is largely electronic with its brooding synthesizer-based music with elements of piano pieces to play into the drama and suspense while the music soundtrack by music supervisor Joe Rudge consists of largely country music of the past and the rock music of the 1980s including the band White Lion.
The casting by Sig De Miguel and Stephen Vincent is superb as it features some notable small performances from Larry Flaherty as a mailman Richard knows, Brogan Hall as Richard and Ann’s son Jordan, Rachel Zeiger-Haag as a co-worker of Richard, and Wyatt Russell as a mysterious criminal that is linked to these dark crimes that Jim Bob has been looking for. Nick Damici is terrific as the detective Ray Price who would help Richard early on to go after Ben only to hide things that would make Richard question things. Vinessa Shaw is superb as Richard’s wife Ann as a woman who is also scared over what is happening as she is also confused by Richard’s strange behavior as she is concerned with protecting her own son.
Don Johnson is brilliant as Jim Bob Luke as a private investigator who arrives for the film’s second half to uncover this mysterious world of crime in Texas as it relates to a local mafia while dealing with a world that is becoming more complicated. Sam Shepard is fantastic as Ben Russell as a man who initially goes after Richard for killing his son until he gets himself into trouble of his own as he wonders what is going on as he aids Richard into uncovering the truth about what his son might be involved in. Finally, there’s Michael C. Hall in an excellent performance as Richard Dane as a simple family man whose life unravels following a burglary in his home as he copes with fear as well as the darker aspects of those who are supposed to help him as Hall brings a restraint and an everyman quality that makes his performance so engaging to watch.
Cold in July is a phenomenal film from Jim Mickle that features tremendous performances from Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, and Don Johnson. The film isn’t just this dark and hypnotic noir-based film but also a film where a man whose simple act to protect his family has him coping with a world that is far more treacherous and unforgiving. In the end, Cold in July is a sensational film from Jim Mickle.
© thevoid99 2015
