[NoHo Arts District, CA] – In this week’s movie and TV review blog, Mike Peros reviews The Bride! and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.
I know it’s Oscars season, or at least, post-Oscars season, and there are some pretty prestigious films that have plenty to say, often in the longest amount of time possible, but occasionally, one is just in the mood for pure entertainment. As is with the case with two recent releases, The Bride! and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. Both, especially The Bride!, have a little more on their minds than pure entertainment, but can also be enjoyed for their sheer entertainment value.
The Bride!
I don’t know why Maggie Glyllenhaal’s The Bride! has been given the cold shoulder by movie audiences—it could be due to the timing of coming out so soon after Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein; whatever the reason, despite—or maybe because of its tonal shifts and multiple homages—horror, crime, and musical—it was quite a lot of fun. The setting is Chicago in the gangland Thirties, and Christian Bale, both likable and soulful, is Frank, as in Frankenstein’s creation. He has been moping around for over a century—well, I’m sure doing more than moping—and now he is ready for companionship—a gal pal…a girl friend—heck, the guy needs a mate for all that…a mate does. The fact is that Frank’s outlook on love is rooted in movie musicals, with the director’s brother Jake Glyllenhal as a Fred Astaire stand-in, has shaped his romantic yearnings and provided a rather idealistic outlook. And so he comes to see Annette Bening’s Dr. Euphonious, who has been experimenting with reanimation. At the same time, Academy Award winner Jessie Buckley is Ida, who is possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley, which leads her to call out her gangland boss’ nefarious activities, which results in a quick trip to the graveyard. Luckily for Frank and Euphonious—maybe not Ida—this gives Euphonious the chance to revive her. And luckily for us, Ida has got a rebellious mind of her own, which leads Frank and Ida on all sorts of adventures.
Of course, these adventures are Bonnie and Clyde-esque, as they involve flight, robbery, and a bit of carnality. They are also pursued by two police detectives, played by Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz. No points for guessing who is the more competent, and who has the history with Ida’s character. There is plenty of humor and bloodletting, excellent performances by the two leads—I’ve rarely found Bale as sympathetic as he is here. There are fairly effective nods to women’s empowerment and the “Me Too’ movement, but the main thrust is action, horror, humor, and even a bit of music, courtesy of Frank’s obsession with movie musicals—Ida is more the realist, and Frank’s discovery that art isn’t necessarily life has a great payoff.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
I liked Ready or Not, made a few years back and wasn’t really expecting a sequel, though I should have, considering how often good ideas get recycled, to lesser effect. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, and directed by Matt Bennelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The movie takes up directly after the events of the first film, which had Samara Weaving’s resourceful bride subjected to a deadly game of hide and seek by her husband’s family. As we all know—or you do know—the family and estate blow up, leaving Weaving very injured and brought to the hospital. She’s visited by Kathryn Newton, as her estranged sister, and unfortunately, they both are kidnapped by, you guessed it, relatives, as they are needed to “play the game” again, this time even more high stakes with ultimate power the goal.
As in the first film, there is the family lawyer, smoothly played by Elijah Wood, and plenty of hunters, including quarrelsome twin siblings played by Sarah Michele Gellar of “Buffy” fame and Shawn Hatosy, Nester Carbonell, Kevin Durans, and Olivia Cheng as the heads of different families, and Maia Jae as one seriously pissed-off ex-fiance. In between the hunts, the kills—some quite imaginative and humorous, and bloody, all at once—what holds the interest is the dynamic between the two sisters. Their edgy bond is persuasively portrayed by both Weaving and Newton, and helps the film reach a deeper emotional level than the first one. There’s a satisfying payoff here, too.
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