READY OR NOT: 3 ½ STARS
鈥淩eady or Not鈥� puts a darkly humorous spin on a childhood game but it isn鈥檛 the first horror film to use hide n鈥� seek as a plot device. The inventively titled short film 鈥淗ide & Shriek鈥� sees a masked killer ruining the fun while 鈥淓melie鈥� features an evil babysitter who keeps the kids busy with a dangerous version of the game. The new film is a bloody satire with sly commentary about the lengths the 1 per cent will go to in order to keep their cash.
Upon marrying Alex (Mark O'Brien), Grace (Samara Weaving) becomes the newest member of the wealthy but weird Le Domas family. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 belong in this family,鈥� says drunk brother-in-law Daniel (Adam Brody). 鈥淚 mean that as a complement.鈥�
Her new in-laws, including disdainful father-in-law Tony (Henry Czerny), angry mother-in-law Becky (Andie MacDowell), coke-head sister-in-law sister Emilie (Melanie Scrofano) and her husband Fitch Bradley (Kristian Bruun), all heirs to a board game fortune, tell her the marriage won鈥檛 be complete until she partakes in a family ritual, a randomly selected midnight game. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just something we do when someone new joins the family,鈥� explains Alex.
The last time this tradition was carried out it took the form of a game of Old Maid. Unfortunately for Grace this time around the family chooses hide n鈥� seek. 鈥淵ou pulled up a bad card,鈥� says Alex. 鈥淭he truth is, if they don鈥檛 kill you something very bad will happen.鈥�
What begins as a lark turns lethal when Grace realizes that to 鈥榳in鈥� she must first learn to navigate the Le Domas鈥� rambling old mansion, complete with trap doors and secret passageways. 鈥淲hen you marry into this family you have to play the game or you die. I know it sounds crazy but it鈥檚 true.鈥�
鈥淩eady or Not鈥� is a well-executed lo-fi thriller with an unusual premise and lots of creepy characters straight out of a game of 鈥淐lue.鈥� For the most part, Weaving plays it straight, even as she uses her wedding dress as a tourniquet, while the Le Domas family amps up the antics with broad performances driven by the belief that something terrible will happen if they don鈥檛 find Grace by first light. They鈥檙e a motley bunch, pseudo-aristocrats with an interest in the occult who don鈥檛 appear to have much in common except for the bond of family and a desire to stay alive. As old-money members of the 1 per cent they believe they are above the law, able to indulge in their game (even if they鈥檙e not very good at it) because of some old family legend. In other words, as Daniel says, 鈥淚t鈥檚 true what they say: 'the rich really are different.'鈥�
The surprisingly nasty third act gives 鈥淩eady or Not鈥� the feel of a future cult classic, a crowd-pleaser with some laughs and a giddily gory climax.
ANGEL HAS FALLEN: 2 STARS
If action movies are the heavy-metal of the film world then 鈥淎ngel Has Fallen,鈥� starring Gerard Butler in his third turn as Secret Service Agent Mike Banning, is the Ywengie Malsteen of the genre. It鈥檚 too loud, too frenetic with too many notes.
After years on the job, Banning is starting to feel the wear and tear of protecting the president. Concussions have left him with migraines and insomnia. Getting knocked around by bad guys has left him with painful compressed discs, and his doctor is not hopeful. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a disaster waiting to happen.鈥�
Things aren鈥檛 much better at work. According to President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), the White House is 鈥渓eakier than a submarine with a screen door,鈥� with top level info somehow making its way into the hands of nosy reporters. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who to trust anymore,鈥� says Trumbull. Of course, he trusts Banning, so much so he chooses him to head the massive security team accompanying him on a fishing trip. Out on the water it鈥檚 chilly, but idyllic until hundreds of drones swoop in, wiping out the entire POTUS security detail except for Banning.
Later, in the hospital, Banning is grilled by an FBI agent. 鈥淭he president is in a coma and your whole team is dead. Tell me how that happened.鈥�
Trouble is, he doesn鈥檛 remember and the FBI, who have discovered his DNA on launch controls, encrypted folders and $10 million in an offshore bank, look at him as the sole suspect. 鈥淧resident Trumbull鈥檚 top guardian angel has fallen tonight,鈥� screams a news report.
Banning has saved cities, rescued presidents but can he save himself? Cue the explosions and a rather memorable cameo from Nick Nolte as, what else, a grizzled old man.
鈥淎ngel Has Fallen鈥� plays its hand at every turn, telegraphing the obvious, making sure the audience, who likely aren鈥檛 paying attention to the dialogue in anticipation of more explosions, get every detail. That means no suspense, just loud noises. Lots of them. Former stuntman-turned-director Ric Roman Waugh loves to blow things up, filling the screen with flames and your ears with booms. It鈥檚 the stuff of action movies, but when coupled with dialogue that sounds like it was run through the Cliché-O-Matic鈥�"I鈥檓 not going to stop until I prove you really did this!鈥濃�攖he action is more of a distraction from the story than a compliment to it.
The film has under currents of social commentary. A bad guy bets on 鈥渕aking America strong again鈥� and Danny Houston鈥檚 character, a war dog named Wade Jennings, ushers in a conversation on private soldiers, but neither are explored in any depth.
鈥淎ngel Has Fallen鈥� has its pleasures. Nolte is a gas and fans of pyrotechnics will be satisfied but it feels more like a direct to steaming actioner than a big screen experience.
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON: 3 ½ STARS
Set in the American South, the new Shia LeBeouf film, 鈥淭he Peanut Butter Falcon,鈥� is an odd couple flick that plays like an updated 鈥淎dventures of Huckleberry Finn.鈥�
Zack Gottsagen, a first actor with Down syndrome, plays Zac, a 22 year old abandoned by his family, now living at a nursing home for the elderly. 鈥淭he state has to put you somewhere and this happens to be that place,鈥� he鈥檚 told.
When he isn鈥檛 socializing with volunteer Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) and the older residents, he spends his time watching old VHS tapes of his hero, 鈥淭he Saltwater Redneck鈥� (Thomas Haden Church) with dreams of attending Saltwater鈥檚 Florida wrestling school.
Eventually he makes a break for it, with the help of his roommate, a retired engineer named Carl (Bruce Dern), who sends him on his way dressed only in his underwear, with no money.
Zak sprints away, rushing toward his dream of becoming a pro-wrestler. Tired and looking for a place to sleep, he hides under a tarp on a boat owned by Tyler (LaBeouf), a tidewater fisherman who has fallen on hard times. On the lam from the law and a very angry crab-trapper (John Hawkes), Tyler first tries to rid himself of his stowaway but soon grows fond of him, taking him on an adventure that reunites him with Eleanor and brings him closer to fulfilling his dream.
鈥淭he Peanut Butter Falcon鈥� (that鈥檚 the name of Zac鈥檚 wrestling alter-ego) is a gentle film, ripe with human connection. LeBeouf鈥檚 Taylor takes a minute to warm to Zac but turns into an older brother character whose empathy is rivalled only by Johnson鈥檚 Eleanor. The three leads become a family, equals in life, never condescending to Zac or allowing his disability to be an issue. He鈥檚 simply a guy with a dream and the courage to follow it. It鈥檚 an uplifting movie without a bit of cynicism that (as the title might suggest) isn鈥檛 afraid to be sweetly silly at times.
FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES: 4 STARS
Somewhere in the world, right now, people are enjoying 鈥淔iddler on the Roof.鈥� In fact, as a new documentary on the making of the classic musical tells us, the show has been performed somewhere on earth every day since its 1964 Broadway debut. But why is it so popular? 鈥淔iddler: Miracle of Miracles鈥� aims to contextualize why the story of dairyman Tevye and his daughters in 1905 Imperial Russia resonates with audiences.
Director Max Lewkowicz spoke with 60 of the main players in 鈥淔iddler on the Roof鈥檚鈥� creation, including lyricist Sheldon Harnick, producer Hal Prince and original cast member Austin Pendleton. Those interviews form the backbone of the early part of the film. We learn how Harnick and writer Joseph Stein collaborated with composer Jerry Bock to adapt Sholem Aleichem鈥檚 story 鈥淭evye and his Daughters鈥� for the stage. How when 鈥淲est Side Story鈥� choreographer Jerome Robbins came on board he introduced themes that echoed the civil rights movement in America.
It is that examination of tradition and the essence of change that deepened the show. It remained a Jewish story, a history about Eastern Europe, but now had a universal appeal to audiences. Even today the story of tradition and displacement, of uncertainties and hazards is both timeless and timely.
It鈥檚 interesting that the original production, led by the bigger-than-life Zero Mostel, was not a critical hit. But audiences loved it and interviews with fans Stephen Sondheim, Itzhak Perlman and 鈥淗amilton's鈥� Lin-Manuel Miranda suggest why.
Lewkowicz also details the making of the Norman Jewison film, productions of the show ranging from an African-American high school production to stagings from all around the world, hammering home the widespread appeal of the story.
Then, of course, there is the music. Lewkowicz showcases multiple versions of hits like 鈥淭radition,鈥� 鈥淢atchmaker,鈥� 鈥淚f I Were A Rich Man鈥� and 鈥淪unrise, Sunset,鈥� with one talking head suggesting, I think rightly, that after you hear the songs more than once they stay in your head forever.
鈥淔iddler: Miracle of Miracles鈥� is a detailed history of a beloved show, with plenty of behind-the-curtain revelations鈥攍ike the backstage war between Mostel and Robbins, who irked his star by testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee鈥攂ut this isn鈥檛 just a Broadway origin story, it鈥檚 a testament to the enduring power of art to speak to specific situations while illuminating broader issues.
