The Exorcist (1973)

“I’ve always preferred a generic approach to film criticism; I ask myself how good a movie is of its type. “The Exorcist” is one of the best movies of its type ever made”. Roger Ebert, December 26th 1973

In 1973, The Exorcist debuted to almost unbelievable acclaim. Not only was it the recipient of the Academy Awards for Adapted Screenplay & Sound Design, but it premiered with the ninth highest adjusted lifetime gross takings – twelve million more viewers than the much more accessible The Empire Strikes Back seven years later. It also landed the moniker “scariest movie ever” due to audiences experiencing nausea or fainting, while some went as far as to claim that this film was responsible for their miscarriage or ongoing psychosis. In a time when horror wasn’t new (we’d had Rosemary’s Baby, Psycho, Nosferatu and many more – including 1920’s The Cabinet of Dr Caligari) – what was different about The Exorcist?

The difference was that William Friedkin was Friedkin nasty. 

Let me just date this review real quick by saying that today’s current Twitter storm is about Christopher Nolan and chairs, but Nolan has nothing on Friedkin. During filming he required the cast to work in freezers to produce practical effects, regularly shot guns on set to elevate tension and irreparably damaged Linda Blair’s back by overexertion during the seizure scenes. Adding to the film’s shock factor and critical acclaim, The Exorcist nailed the notoriety trifecta when lawsuits became involved – stunt doubles claiming credit for scenes that Friedkin wanted Linda Blair to claim responsibility for in the name of believability.

However, Friedkin only played accomplice to the real storymaker, William Blatty – the man responsible for demanding the crucifix scene come to fruition in filmmaking. While I’m not going to go into details about this scene or how it makes me feel, suffice it to say that many alternate universes exist without this scene ever being created and I am certain they are a much happier place.

The first major blockbuster in horror movie history, this film has exerted a powerful influence on the development of the genre. The film stole US newspaper headlines away from the ongoing Watergate scandal, and as one critic wrote, “established… disgust as mass entertainment for a large audience”.

Despite the brutal atmosphere and behind the scenes drama, there is one thing this film does correctly and that is the portrayal of a mother concerned for her daughter. While the film’s opening makes it obvious that magical and mythical beings are at play here, much of this film can be seen as a medical mystery, underlining the the concern for both characters, it really is in part a story about the pain and hopelessness that parents feel when their children are sick and they cannot help.

Whether that makes the payoff justified or not, there’s no denying that Friedkin has achieved his vision, and disconcerted audiences everywhere. To this day I can think of a single movie more unsettling than The Exorcist, and art is pain – however little I would like to imagine the part that manipulation and extortion of a young child played in creating this art.

Far From Home is the Perfect Live-Action Spider-Man

Twenty-three entries into the Marvel Cinematic Universe later, and we finally have a Spider-Man film that best targets it’s teen audience.

Spider-Man Far From Home is the second Sony/Marvel crossover and Tom Holland Spider-Man film, this time taking place five years since the Snap (colloquially known in-film as “The Blip”). As Tony Stark’s prodigy, Peter Parker (Holland) is the logical choice for Head Avenger, but conflicted by teenage priorities and grief for his mentor, Parker questions his ability to lead the super-team. When a new powerful character arrives, Peter does his best to pass on the mantle to him – to catastrophic consequences.

When Spider-Man Into The Spiderverse was released last year, I distinctly remember thinking we could never replicate that energy in a live-action Spider-Man movie. But I was wrong. With a combination of campy teen humour and, dare I say it, Spiderverse’s visual influence, Tom Holland’s second Spider-Man outing might be my favourite* yet.

Far From Home begins with the most original opener we’ve seen in ten years, setting the humour for the film immediately. It also gives a quick run-down, conversationally recapping the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame succinctly and cheerfully. If you wondered whether there’d be spoilers in FFH – you’d be correct. If anything, this film is inextricably linked to Endgame addressing not only the events, but the implications of certain… departures.

And regarding those departures, it’s a more solemn Holland!Peter than we’re used to, and while I’d have liked a closer examination of the anxiety (no spoilers, but in particular an elaboration on a scene where Peter almost seems agoraphobic and overwhelmed), especially as with a recent Thor development, Marvel seems to skate over what could be considerable, relevant discussions, Holland’s portrayal of grief was deeper than I expected. 

But this is essentially a comedy film as much as a superhero one. Less on the nose than Ragnarok and not quite Guardians of the Galaxy, a lot of the humour stems from Peter’s classmates, a much better ensemble than any other** Spider-Man outing we’ve seen, and having grown up with exposure to the comics, it was refreshing to see a light-hearted teen comedy Peter. The supporting cast’s performances were wonderful too – while I’ve been partial to an Angourie Rice performance since Jasper Jones in 2017, it’s really Jacob Batalon and Tony Revolori who stole the show. While Zendaya also brought a layer of sardonic humour to the film, I’m still not totally on-board, however that’s more likely Marvel’s thinly spread “strong-female-character” attempts.

Visually, as I mentioned, it almost seems like Far From Home was influenced by Spider-Verse’s creativity. While they avoided the onomatopoeia present in the animated film, this was the most comic-book-y aesthetic Marvel film I think we’ve ever seen and it’s obvious that Marvel/Sony are attempting to up their game. This was also the least fight-heavy scene we’ve seen in recent years (or perhaps the scenes were seamless enough that even I could deal with them), allowing for more exposition and less gratuitous violence throughout the movie. 

Finally, this was one of a few movies this year where I actually noticed the score. You all know I’m not a music person, but I actually felt the swell and ebb of the underlying sounds here and I’m not surprised to find out that we have Michael Giacchino to thank (i.e. the composer behind Inside Out, Bad Times at the El Royale and just about every blockbuster from Jurassic World to Rogue One). Far From Home was an incredibly solemn movie in parts and the music did a good job at pointing that out (can you tell I’m not a sound girl).

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by Spider-Man far from home. It doesn’t take much to invest me in a Marvel movie, I’m totally a basic bitch that way, but this one seemed special. It was fun, it was light, but it didn’t betray the significance of Endgame and Phase 4’s parting. I actively went out of my way to check in with friends who had decided they were done with the MCU after Avengers and even a few of them begrudgingly said this was a good one. Definitely worth checking out if you’re still on the fence.

Spider-Man Far From Home is in UK, US & Australian cinemas now.

* Excluding Spider-verse obviously.
** AGAIN, excluding Spider-verse. In fact, you can just assume I mean live-action Spidey at any point here.

IMAGINE THE CREDITS ROLLING HERE

Ooh, a bonus.
If you’d like to see a spoiler filled chat about Spider-Man Far From Home, you can check it out on my channel here.

 

Uncle Tom’s Rabbit Proof Fence

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is on the list of 1001 Books to Read before You Die, and The Rabbit Proof Fence is one of the 1001 Movies. This blog has never been about reviewing a text, but more about a discussion into the emotion they inspire. That’s what this is.

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In the past few years of blogging, in particular the more recent 2015/2016 effort towards completing the 1001 lists, I’ve accepted few reasons to write seriously about what I’ve been experiencing. As my natural preference is towards positive or comedic creations, I tend to figure that life gives you enough lemons as it is, why delve further into the things that make you upset? No one wants to read a post on a lifestyle blog about racism, segregation or the Stolen Generation – they want to see photos of beaches and pancakes, while reading about the time I watched Fantasia with the audio out of sync.

I’m also not often a social warrior – if you want to make me cry about human failures, show me the photo of a koala sitting in a logged field, or remind me that I may get to see the Great Barrier Reef, but I will never see the Great Barrier Reef as it was in its prime. Human struggles don’t often rate on my emotional scale, and it isn’t because I’m not a genuinely kind or feeling person, and it’s not because I don’t feel for, or cry for human misfortune, it’s just because if I’m completely honest, I like to imagine Earth as it would be without us. We’re kind of the worst.

There’s only one memory I have of a serious post in relation to #the1001project, and it’s from last year when I watched Within Our Gates, the 1920s Oscar Micheaux film about slavery and racism in America. I remember at the time thinking “wow, the context of my watching this is so poignant! There are so many horrible things happening lately”, with tasering and shooting of innocent people, and several mass murders, I was upset and I’ll always remember ending that post with:

“It’s not change that we need to be afraid of, though I know there’s a lot of that going around at the moment – we need to be terrified of the ways in which we are still the same.”

I want to write poetically, or eloquently, about how I feel when I see films like Rabbit Proof Fence and read novels like Uncle Tom’s Cabin but more often than not, the reactions are more emotional and forceful. Admittedly I’m not reading as many tales as I was last year, but the aftershocks still exist, and there are still videos of police stopping noticeably shaken African American ladies, convincing them they’ve broken a law and then saying “nahhh it’s a joke! I wanna give you an ice-cream”.  I can’t decide which I hate more, that this lady had the fear of law enforcement ingrained in her, or that the police played on that insecurity to pull a blatant stunt. As ever, the phrase “Check Your Privilege” really needs to be reiterated, and yet again:

Change isn’t the enemy – be concerned about the ways we’re still the same.

Kimmy Schmidt is “Strong as Hell”

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Season 1
Available on DVD or Netflix online library.

A while ago at a party I was playing “Who Would Play Me in a TV Series: The I Just Met You Edition” with some new acquaintances as a sort of get to know you exercise. Now I have always fancied myself a less caricatured, less Hollywood Jessica Day [Zooey Deschanel in New Girl] with my bangs and my limitless optimistic enthusiasm so when “John Krasinski” – it was that kind of crowd – made the call that I was “clearly an Ellie Kemper”, “I was like, ‘really’?”.

I mean sure, as “The Other Kelly” in The Office, she flies her adorkable flag with Andy, but while I had always seen myself as more of the Nice Girl with a bit of weird, not to mention being exceeeedingly brunette in all understandings of the word, Ellie Kemper always struck me as playing the slightly unstable, definitely fiery-in-the-good-way, but crazy, ginger lady characters.

That was until I caught up and fell in love with The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

From creators who between them have credits on 30 Rock, Friends, Mean Girls and of course, Saturday Night Live – Tina Fey and Robert Carlock – comes a show whose basis is so dark, we’ve burst right through the other side where everything is technicolour and we have to laugh because if we think too much about what happened, it’s really super creepy.

Kimmy Schmidt is one of the “Indiana Mole Women”, a group of ladies kidnapped by the leader of a doomsday cult and held in an underground bunker for fifteen years where, yes, “weird sex stuff happened”. Determined to escape the stigma of victimisation, and equipped with only her unbreakable enthusiasm, a ninth grade education, her Baby-Sitters Club Murder Mystery  and her $13,000 Mole Woman Fund, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt follows her adjustment to adventures in the real world.

And it’s Fey/Carlock exactly as we know and love. From a theme song created by Songify the News‘ Gregory Brothers, a tribute to songified viral videos, to challenging the media on their manipulation of “victims” for ratings and press, S01E01 Kimmy Goes Outside! sets Kimmy up as a hard-hitting reference-comedy piece exactly as we would expect from the alumni of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock.

Enter Ellie Kemper as Kimmy

After a history of cameos as the naive, quirky girl (The Office, Bridesmaids), the psycho redhead (The Mindy Project) and comedy roles in internet shorts and late night television, Ellie Kemper has finally landed a lead role and it’s great to see that it’s one with a little bit of depth: an underlying horror story.

What doesn’t kill us, can only make us stronger, and in the case of Kimmy, her experiences in an apocalypse cult, sex dungeon has only worked to make her Unbreakable. Through the use of positive reinforcement techniques and pure willpower, Kimmy remains upbeat and positive despite dealing with her demons realistically and in a not entirely sane, way. We still don’t know why Kimmy is afraid of velcro.

Protect me? From what? The worst thing that will ever happen to me happened in my own front yard. Life beats you up, Titus. You can either curl up in a ball and die, like we thought Cyndee did that time, or you can stand up and say “we’re different. We’re the strong ones and you can’t break us!”

In the end, Jess Day is a lot like Kimmy Schmidt, in an albeit more realistic and relatable way, both are optimistic, enthusiastic and a little bit naive, but while New Girl is a show about friends and quirky adventures, Kimmy Schmidt is a show about accepting the worst and being your best anyway. And friends and quirky adventures.