Josh Bell
This week’s minor VOD releases feature Hollywood send-ups of wildly varying quality, plus Ukrainian animals, a Finnish cult leader, and the inexplicable durability of Edward Burns.
Finnegan’s Foursome (VOD June 19): Unlike some one-hit wonders of the 1990s indie-film boom, Edward Burns has never stopped making movies, even as his budgets and audiences have dwindled. Writer-director Burns’ 16th feature is affable to a fault, with an almost complete lack of narrative momentum. It starts with a hooky, mainstream-friendly concept: Finnegan brothers Freddy (Burns) and Teddy (Burns regular Brian d’Arcy James) decide to honor the memory of their late golf-pro father by playing the annual family golf tournament in his native Ireland, along with their adult children Frankie (Brian Muller) and Marie (Erica Hernandez). Burns steadfastly refuses to mine anything interesting from this scenario, as the family engage in mild bickering while playing interminable rounds of golf on gorgeous but blandly photographed courses. Their minor disagreements never lead to any insights or growth, and half of the dialogue is simple, repetitive exclamations about the quality of each drive or putt. The Finnegans press on no matter how mediocre their golf game gets, and Burns does the same with his filmmaking. Grade: C
Chapter 51 (VOD and select theaters June 23): Writer-director Tyler Shields spent several years shooting this mockumentary-style murder mystery on what press materials tout as “every available film format,” and yet it looks no better than any other basic DTV thriller. The constantly shifting film stocks and aspect ratios serve more as a distraction than an enhancement, the filmmaking equivalent of the “suicide” drink that kids make by pressing every button on a soda fountain. Shields further undermines his cinematic ambition by structuring Chapter 51 as a dry true-crime documentary, misguidedly casting himself as a former FBI agent investigating the murders of three actresses starring in a controversial movie. There’s no sense of what this movie was about, despite the various “clips” and conveniently captured behind-the-scenes footage, but characters describe it in absurdly overblown terms. Shields creates a world in which his characters are the greatest actors and filmmakers of all time, responsible for some of the greatest movies ever made, and the haphazard, dissatisfying mystery is as laughable and unconvincing as that artistic hyperbole. Grade: D+
Love Is the Monster (VOD June 23): Although the couples’ workshop that the protagonists attend in Finland is described as a “midsummer retreat,” director and co-writer Alex Noyer doesn’t appear to be copying Ari Aster. Instead, he sticks to a more straightforward horror template of cults, demons, and possession, as Ana (Madeline Zima) and Justin (Leonardo Nam) fall under the spell of clearly sinister guru Tiina (Milla Puolakanaho). Tiina worships an ancient entity known as Lembo, and she seems to have a poor business model for her workshops, since nearly all of her clients end up as sacrifices. The specific goals and logistics of Tiina’s rituals are a bit confusing, but Noyer conjures up some creepy images, including the glowing golden eyes that indicate Lembo’s takeover of someone’s soul and the menacing birds that fill the compound. The copious nudity emphasizes the characters’ vulnerability without coming across as titillating, and while Noyer never gets to the raw emotion of Midsommar, he still finds terror in the violent breakdown of people’s most intimate relationships. Grade: B-
Above the Line (VOD June 26): Although director and co-writer Jeffrey Scott Collins doesn’t shy away from taking potshots at some familiar showbiz targets in this Hollywood-set heist comedy, he has more to offer than just jokes about power-tripping producers and insecure actors. The movie’s non-linear structure is mostly effective, starting with the clandestine gathering of six industry hopefuls who’ve been summoned by a mysterious benefactor with instructions to steal the Oscars (er, “trophies”) of legendary producer Jack Woodrow (Gregg Henry). Via flashbacks, Collins gradually reveals each character’s personal connection to Woodrow, along with other details that fill in the motivations and mechanics of the heist itself. The performances are lively and engaging, keeping the main characters likable even through their periodic self-pity and greed. The Christmas Eve setting doesn’t add much to the story, but it provides some colorful background touches, and pays proper homage to obvious influence Shane Black. Collins isn’t as witty as his inspiration, but his movie has enough charm for that elusive studio greenlight. Grade: B
Animals in War (VOD and Film Movement+ June 26): This Ukrainian anthology of wartime stories involving animals could have just relied on manipulative scenes of cute creatures in peril, but it’s more sophisticated and honest than that, bringing together an uneven but often powerful collection of vignettes set during the current Russian invasion. Sean Penn lends his celebrity status to the first and easily worst segment, playing an American producer working remotely with a Ukrainian sound engineer to capture audio for a nature documentary. His reaction to the onset of the Russian attack is ridiculously overwrought, in contrast to the appealingly naturalistic performances that follow. Sometimes the animals are essentially the protagonists, as in a sweet tale about a pet rabbit finding its way after being separated from its owner. Sometimes they’re conduits for what the human characters cannot process, as in a heartbreaking character study of a grieving mother who fixates on an injured wolf cub. At best, they’re an accessible entry point for viewers to understand the ongoing struggles in a region under fire. Grade: B
