Will Ashton
Overrated: “Halloween” (2018)
It’s not that “Halloween” (2018) is a bad film, per se. It’s well-produced, competently made, filled with nice moments of dread and levity in equal measure and it features a great performance from Jamie Lee Curtis, returning to the character that will likely go down as her most iconic. But there’s something about David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” (2018) — side note: I hate that this title is so damn generic; give it a subtitle like “The Return to Haddonfield” (or something!) or just call the movie “Haddonfield!” — that makes me go “… Oh, that’s it?” Maybe it’s that it’s ultimately just a slightly better version of “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later,” except that this time, it’s 40 years later instead of 20? Maybe it’s the underwhelming portrayal of trauma, where the movie telegraphs everything it’s trying to say while never really exploring Laurie’s plight with depth or nuance? Maybe it was the marketing that kept teasing a sense of finality to this reboot and/or sequel, when it’s ultimately just, you know, a slightly better-than-usual “Halloween” sequel? Maybe it’s the film’s uneven tone, which can’t coast well between its sincere attempts at horror and it’s ill-advised — and awkwardly jammed — attempts at sophomoric humor? At any rate, “Halloween” (2018) is fine. It does its job. It’s certainly not the worst “Halloween” film by any stretch of the cultural imagination. But you can’t help but feel that the build-up to this movie promised something a little richer, something a little more satisfying and exceptionally made. Especially with John Carpenter’s new score (which is fantastic, for what it’s worth). As it stands, there are some things that simply won’t die, and Michael Myers and his long-winded franchise are one of them. But for those wishing it’d be worthy of the 1978 original, the simple low-rent horror classic that inspired countless films to come, our hopes were dashed. Or, I should say, slashed.
Underrated: “Destination Wedding”
Sometimes, I’m a tough man to please. I scoff when others rave, and I sing praises where other people mock or scorn. Everyone is wired differently, and I certainly know that’s the case for me. But I didn’t expect to see such a strong dismissive reaction to “Destination Wedding,” an enjoyably acidic, gleefully disdainful anti-romantic comedy featuring delightfully prickly chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. Featuring sharp dialogue, gorgeous locales, a fine wit and two dynamite central performances, it can sometimes feel more like a play brought to the screen than a well-realized film (even though, as far as I know, it’s an original screenplay made for the big screen). But when you have Reeves and Ryder shooting verbal firecrackers at one another for 90 minutes, with wonderfully jabbed writing from writer/director Victor Levin, while being surrounded by beautiful scenery and two stars who know how to work with each other from decades of camaraderie, you essentially have what I like to dub “Before Sunrise/Sunset” with assholes. What more do you need to see this movie? Clearly more than that, based on the lukewarm-at-best reviews. Ah well. Sometimes I’m the outlier and I like something that isn’t universally praised. Though, I gotta admit, I didn’t expect this one to be that.
Rodrigo Perez
Underrated: “Destroyer”
OK, I should say something and participate, despite disavowing this entire feature. Well, Karyn Kusama’s “Destroyer” starring Nicole Kidman would be my pick, not that anyone’s really seen it yet, it doesn’t arrive in theaters until December 25. That said, it already screened during the fall film festival circuit at Telluride and the Toronto Film Festival, and the response felt polite, but muted. But Kusama puts on a supremely confident, sprawling and muscular L.A. crime drama very much in the key of Michael Mann, Kidman turns in another excellent performance, Sebastian Stan, who I’m not sure how I feel about outside of Bucky, is terrific. There are some odd choices: Kidman’s aged make-up is never quite convincing or at least takes time to get used to and some of the wigs and period piece aesthetics aren’t 100% there, and the plot is a little threadbare. But it is, thanks to Kidman’s performance and Kusama’s direction, emotionally bruising, visceral in its well-staged action scenes, and a sharp examination of trauma, its effects and the long-simmering vengeance and reclamation from a female perspective worth watching. Give a huge shout out to “Leave No Trace,” “Wildlife,” and “The Rider” too, though both made our Best Films of 2018 list, but are still, in the scope of things, underseen.
Overrated
This list. Have great happy holidays if we don’t hear from you until 2019, but we encourage you to take this time to weed through and explore our extensive coverage 2018 year-end coverage, there are dozens of features. Thanks for reading and apologies if reading this feature made you throw your computer out the window.
