What I’m watching: a female buddy comedy and a superhero horror movieDate: 6/4/2019 What I’m watching: a female buddy comedy and a superhero horror movie
In theaters: Brightburn
My first reaction to this new movie is how its producers managed not to get sued by DC Comics – part of the corporate entity that owns Warner Bros.
The reason for my reaction is simple: this is the Superman origin story only with the twist being that instead of becoming a superhero, the young man in question is a super villain.
Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) is turning 12 and he’s had a pretty normal existence living in a small farming community in Kansas. His parents Tori and Kyle (played by Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) found him as an infant in the wreckage of a space vehicle that crashed onto their property.
If there is a flaw in this narrative, it’s the idea that in the 21st Century someone wouldn’t question the idea of adopting an alien child. I guess you just have to roll with it.
Something is happening though with Brandon, as he is hearing communication from the spacecraft and the central message is “Take the World.”
The result is a story that centers around two main elements: the parents attempting to cope with the growing reality of their situation and the horrific nature of Brandon’s actions.
Banks’ character is really the focus of much of the film. It’s clear she would do anything for her son and as she realizes what is happening, it’s tearing her apart.
Dunn plays Brandon well and is able to both convey a quiet innocent pre-teen and a murderous monster with efficiency.
This is not a film for the squeamish, as its R rating is earned through some tremendously gory sequences. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Superman went crazy, this film gives you a little peek.
David Yarovesky directed the film in an efficient, fast-moving way. There is not excess here. Every scene and every moment is used to build up to the final third of the film.
What was also interesting to me was the fact that director and writer James Gunn was a producer on the film and in the thank you section of the film is a shout-out to Marvel Comics. Gunn is the man responsible for the two “Guardians of the Galaxy” films as well as a truly messed up film about a would-be superhero called “Super.”
So was this film a little jab at DC Comics from a Marvel guy? Considering that Gunn is working on a new DC film based on “The Suicide Squad,” I don’t know.
“Brightburn” is a well-made premise-driven film with a solid performance by Elizabeth Banks. Superman fans may take offense, though.
On Netflix: Wine Country
Amy Poehler is a great comedy performer who is stretching with this film as both an actor and as a director. The result is the kind of movie the Hollywood establishment doesn’t care much about: a female buddy film whose characters are middle-aged.
Although exceptions can always be found, generally the studios are really not interested in appealing to an older demographic.
This film is not unlike “Bridesmaids,” although with an older cast and less gross-out humor.
The film is concerned with a group of friends who gathered for a weekend in the Napa Valley of California to celebrate one of their group’s 50th birthday. During the course of the weekend there are revelations both humorous and dramatic.
The film has a cast of six principals (Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, May Rudolph, Emily Spivey and Paula Pell) with Tina Fey in a supporting role. It is essentially an unofficial “Saturday Night Live” movie, as all of these women either performed on or wrote for the series.
The film is genuinely clever at times and the emphasis gets pretty evenly divided between the lead characters. There is a sequence about an art show at which the artist is obsessed with images of actress Fran Drescher that is very funny.
A fun comedy, “Wine Country” is well worth your time.
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