Tag: Meredith Hagner

Palm Springs

STREAMING REVIEW:

Hulu;
Comedy;
Rated ‘R’ for sexual content, language throughout, drug use and some violence.
Stars Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, Peter Gallagher, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin.

The idea of reliving the same day repeatedly has become a reliable trope of movies and TV shows looking for a fun way to subject their characters to some existential angst.

Movies such as 1993’s Groundhog Day play the premise for laughs. A sci-fi version of the time loop might put more emphasis on the causes of the phenomenon and how the characters can escape it, such as with 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow or the 1992 “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “Cause and Effect” (which aired nearly a year before Groundhog Day hit theaters). Still other uses can be for horror (the “Happy Death Day” franchise), or to solve a mystery (as in the TV show “Day Break”).

The often hiliarious, sometimes poignant Palm Springs, the latest effort from the Lonely Island comedy team, steers somewhat in between the comedy and sci-fi approaches to great effect.

Andy Samberg stars as Nyles, who continuously wakes up the day of Nov. 9 to attend a wedding in the California desert oasis town of Palm Springs with his girlfriend, the maid of honor. As he discovers she’s cheating on him, he feels completely unfettered to pursue whatever crazy hook-ups he can, knowing the day will reset. Eventually he fixates on Sarah (Cristin Milioti), the sister of the bride, and they run off into the desert to make out. When Nyles is attacked, however, he inadvertently leads her into a mysterious glowing cave that ends up trapping her in the time loop as well, much to her chagrin.

Nyles lays out the rules for her: If she returns to the cave, or dies, or falls asleep, the day resets. Having no desire to relive her sister’s wedding over and over again, she begrudgingly begins hanging out with Nyles since he’s pretty much the only person who can comprehend what she’s going through.

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The movie breaks from previous iterations of the premise by leaning hard into the romantic comedy angle of the story as it touches on the idea of how multiple people experiencing the time loop together would adapt to the situation. For the most part, it means having wacky adventures for self-amusement and to alleviate boredom. There’s also some fun playing around with alternate timelines, and the slightest hint, though the concept goes largely unexplored, of the idea of an underground culture of people who are all caught in the time loop (J.K. Simmons pops up from time to time as yet another person trapped in the loop, and finding his own ways of dealing with it).

Sarah’s problem, though, is that no matter how much happiness she finds with Nyles, her day always begins with a reminder of a mistake for which, thanks to the time loop, she can never atone. Thus sets up one of the key philosophical conflicts of the film, as Nyles tries to remind her that while their consequences have no actions upon anyone else, the two of them will remember, and that can weigh heavily on the soul. Of course, that just makes her more determined to find some way to escape the loop.

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While Nyles is a pretty typical character for Samberg, who plays him as a hedonistic loafer bemused by his circumstances, the key casting is Milioti, who deftly handles the comedic and intellectual pathos required for Sarah’s story arc in a way that’s hard to imagine many actresses being able to pull off. While many remember Milioti as the eponymous “mother” in the final season of “How I Met Your Mother,” her role here is more akin to her turn in the Emmy-winning “USS Callister” episode of Netflix’s “Black Mirror” as the crew member least willing to accept her place in the simulation as she rallies those trapped with her to find a way out of it.

Her efforts in Palm Springs will likely result in the film an eminently watchable comedy on its own, once fans have had a chance to loop through it a few times themselves on Hulu.

Brightburn

BLU-RAY REVIEW:

Sony Pictures;
Horror;
Box Office $17.3 million;
$30.99 DVD, $34.99 Blu-ray, $38.99 UHD BD;
Rated ‘R’ for horror violence/bloody images, and language.
Stars Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner, Emmie Hunter, Gregory Alan Williams, Annie Humphrey.

The common description of Brightburn paints the film as something of a dark superhero tale, a speculation about what would have happened had Superman turned out to be evil.

Such a summary is a bit of an oversimplification, both in terms of what the movie is trying to achieve and in the implication of what Superman is.

For the most part, though, the film is an effective thriller with a killer hook — what if Superman was the slasher in his own horror film?

The superpowered alien central to Brightburn is not Superman, of course, but a close enough stand-in given the circumstances involved. A childless couple wishes for a baby only to have one fall out of the sky in a spaceship. They adopt the child and raise him as their own, only for him to discover that he possesses wondrous powers.

After living a relatively normal childhood, Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) quickly develops the powers of super strength, flight, superspeed and heat vision. Unlike Superman, he can also emit EM pulses to interfere with electronics.

Brandon’s alien nature has begun to assert itself, and his instincts tell him he was sent to Earth to take it over.

So he slowly embarks on his campaign of terror, first tormenting a young classmate he has a crush on. As the locals begin to shun him for his oddness, he grows more willing to kill in order to conceal his true nature. Even his adoptive father (David Denman) begins to distrust him, though his mother (Elizabeth Banks) refuses to give up on him.

The key difference with Superman, of course, is that Clark Kent was never driven by a preordained alien instinct for dominance. He was simply raised as a child with superpowers, and developed the moral lessons imparted upon him by his adoptive parents into his desire to pursue truth, justice and the American way.

But that’s neither here nor there as far as Brightburn is concerned. Produced by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and written by his brother and cousin, the film relishes its chance to demonstrate how terrifying the prospect of a superpowered child can be once he realizes he is subject to no mortal constraints. Brightburn is creepy, disturbing appropriately gory in the best traditions of practical horror effects (with a modern assist from CGI).

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The idea at the heart of Brandon’s sudden turn toward bloodlust gives rise to the five-minute “Nature vs. Nurture” featurette included with the Blu-ray, which explores the film’s family dynamic and suggests the film is something of a parable for parenting a difficult child.

The sentiment is echoed by director David Yarovesky in a short “social vignette” and the film’s commentary track, in which he recalls his own troubled upbringing and calls the film a tribute of sorts to his mother for putting up with him.

Yarovesky shares the commentary with his wife, Autumn, who serves as the costume designer, and cinematographer Michael Dallatorre. Their lighthearted and often crude discussion comes across like a group of friends making fun of each other and reminiscing on their shared experiences in relating the story of the making of the film. There are some pretty good insights offered for fans interested in knowing more about the film, as well as a fair share of poop jokes.

The five-minute “Hero-Horror!” featurette takes a look at how the film puts a dark twist on the telling of the usual superhero origin story. It’s mostly a standard-issue behind-the-scenes video of the cast and filmmakers discussing the movie, but it doesn’t go much deeper into really analyzing the influences on the film from among the greater pantheon of superhero mythology.

Rounding out the Blu-ray are the aforementioned social vignettes. Labled “Quick Burns Social Vignettes,” they consist of three videos running a total of two–and-a-half minutes. One video features Elizabeth Banks plugging the movie’s virtues, another offers James Gunn singing the praises of director Yarovesky, and the third is the interview with Yarovesky in which he discusses how his background influenced his vision for the film.

Lionsgate Releasing ‘The Oath’ Digitally Dec. 28, on Disc Jan. 8

Lionsgate will release the dark comedy The Oath through digital retailers Dec. 28 and on DVD Jan. 8.

The film was written and directed by Ike Barinholtz, who also stars alongside Tiffany Haddish, Nora Dunn, Jon Barinholtz, Meredith Hagner, Carrie Brownstein, Billy Magnussen and John Cho.

The story involves a high-strung man named Chris (Barinholtz) and his more levelheaded wife, Kai (Haddish), learning that citizens are being asked to sign a loyalty oath. Their refusal to sign — along with the arrival of two government agents (Cho and Magnussen) — sends an already tense holiday dinner completely off the rails.

Extras include deleted scenes, a “Fake News or Facts” featurette, a “Turkey Day Trauma” featurette, a photo gallery and the theatrical trailer.