“Velvet Buzzsaw” Movie Review

    Sometimes it can be hard to decide what to watch before bed, especially if you want to watch something you haven’t seen before.  Fortunately, Netflix makes life a little easier in that regards.  Unfortunately for me, Netflix usually doesn’t have the highest quality of films.  That being said, I remembered Netflix ‘released’ a film earlier this year that looked interesting and I just had to remember the name.  After a few minutes and some exploring, I happened to find the film I was looking for, “Velvet Buzzsaw”.  With a name like that, it had to be interesting, right?

    The film follows art critic Morf Vanderwalt as he rekindles a relationship with Josephina.  Josephina works for an art gallery owned by Rhodora Haze before she is terminated for being late after discovering the dead body of her neighbor Vetril Dease.  As it turns out, Dease had an apartment full of his paintings he asked to be destroyed after his death.  Josephina steals the paintings and when the art community sees them, they go crazy for them.  Morf agrees to write a book about Dease to gather the art more attention in exchange for a few pieces.  Strange happenings begin to happen to people associated with the art and it turns out there may be something supernatural to the paintings.

    Let me start by saying I am torn by how I feel about this film.  The film is interesting and does sort of pull you in but, for the most part, the characters are unlikeable and I wasn’t invested in their fates (though the actors really do a fabulous job despite not playing emotionally accessible characters).  I know the movie is a bit of a satire of the art community and how pretentious artists and critics can be, but it is hard to relate to the characters as a result.

    The cast was solid and they were all convincing in their roles, perhaps too convincing at times.  Jake Gyllenhaal delivered a great performance and his character was the most likable in the film.  Gyllenhaal gave a delightfully unhinged performance he hasn’t given since “Donnie Darko”.  It was also nice to see Rene Russo deliver a solid performance in a lead role.  Russo is a talented actress and this film proves she is still an awards worthy performer.  My only complaint is that the great John Malkovich was severely underused in this movie.

    Writer and director Dan Gilroy developed this film years ago while working on Tim Burton’s “Superman Lives” (which you can actually see him do an interview on that subject in the movie “The Death of Superman Lives”).  I enjoyed the film’s successful transition from a look into the current art scene into a supernatural suspense thriller.  In some respects, this film very much reminds me of “Eyes of Laura Mars” in both subject matter (art) and genre (horror/thriller).  I wonder if Gilroy was a fan of that film or if it just happens to be a coincidence.

    “Velvet Buzzsaw” is an interesting experience and a film I recommend watching around Halloween.  The film is a step up for Netflix in my opinion.  While I wish the film’s characters were more likable, the film is fascinating enough on it’s own to make for an enjoyable viewing experience.

Grade: B-

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” Movie Review

    Growing up, my favorite Marvel comic book character was (and still remains) our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.  From the comics to the animated series and then the Sam Raimi movies, Spider-Man has always been one of the most relatable characters ever to grace printed comics and the silver screen.  Naturally, I was excited to see “Spider-Man: Far From Home” when it was released last week.

    The movie takes place after “Avengers: Endgame” and deals with how Peter Parker is trying to find his place after coming back to life post snap (aka the blip).  Peter Parker feels lost without his mentor Tony Stark and just wants to live a more normal life.  Peter Parker wants to tell MJ how he feels about her during a school trip to Europe but finds his normal life disturbed by Nick Fury who wants Peter to join Quentin Beck aka Mysterio in a new Avengers team to fight creatures from another dimension.  In what shouldn’t be a spoiler to anyone who has read Spider-Man comics, Mysterio isn’t all he seems.

    I really enjoyed this film and the film felt like a nice little epilogue following the universe altering events of “Avengers: Endgame”.  The smaller stakes felt more personal to the character and set the stage for the next arc in the character’s story.  As far as the film as a whole, it definitely like a step up from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” which I also enjoyed but felt a little underwhelmed by.  While “Spider-Man: Homecoming” felt like it tried to be a John Hughes movie more than a superhero movie, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” manages to balance the action and comedy more evenly.  The comedy also works a lot better in this film and I laughed out loud at more than a few parts.

    The cast was excellent with Tom Holland proving to be a delight once again as the awkward friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.  Zendaya has great chemistry with Holland as his potential love interest MJ.  Samuel L. Jackson once again proves to be one of the most underrated cast members of the MCU.  Lastly, Jake Gyllenhaal was one of the best parts of the film as Mysterio.  I give credit to Gyllenhaal and the writers for turning a second rate character like Mysterio into one of the best villains of the MCU to date.  Jon Watts returns to direct this sequel and really steps up his game with this film.

    In a lot of ways, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” plays out more of a sequel to “Iron Man” than it does to “Spider-Man: Homecoming”.  A lot of the call backs and references relate to “Iron Man” more than they do to “Spider-Man”.  Tying the villain closer to Tony Stark also creates an interesting dynamic for Peter Parker that typically isn’t the same as in the comics between the hero and the villain.  While I adore Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, they all tend to have some direct ties to Peter Parker himself which can be repetitive.  Spider-Man’s villains are usually either his teachers or ex lovers or friends.  Using Mysterio as a villain also provided a chance for the filmmakers to showcase a lot of his ‘powers’ with a visual flair not often seen in the MCU.  The action scenes reminded me a lot of those ones showcased in “Spider-Man: The Animated Series” and that is a very good thing since they series remains fantastic.

    I do have a few slight gripes about the film even though I understand the creative decisions for these choices.  While I understand the emotional focus Iron Man’s death had on Peter, wouldn’t the rest of the world morn the apparent deaths of Captain America, Black Widow, and Vision just as much?  I mean Captain America was ‘the first avenger’.  Surely his ‘death’ would be at least on par with Iron Man’s death.  I also wish they had set up Norman Osborne or at least Oscorp in the film.

    While I still consider the Sam Raimi “Spider-Man” films some of the best superhero movies, this is easiest the best “Spider-Man” movie made in some time.  You also need to stay during the two after credit scenes.  There is so much to unpack with the after credit scenes that you will be talking about them until the next Spider-Man film.

Grade: B+