Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Greetings, ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ is a 2023 film directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and is based on Judy Blume’s 1970 novel which shares the same name. Fremon Craig has been working in the entertainment industry since the 2000s as a scriptwriter. She had only directed one other movie prior to this latest instalment which was ‘The Edge of Seventeen’, a feature film that came out in 2016. ‘Are you There God?’, being a coming of age story, mainly rests on the shoulders of young actors and actresses who do a terrific job in their roles. The titular Margaret Simon is portrayed by Abby Ryder Fortson who would mostly be known for her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Cassie Lang, daughter of Ant-Man’s alter ego Scott Lang. Other young stars include Elle Graham, Amari Alexis Price, Katherine Kupferer and Isol Young. Aside from the child actors, it does have a more established cast as well which consists of Rachael McAdams, Kathy Bates and Benny Safdie to name a few. Hollywood stalwart Hans Zimmer, who is partially famed for his collaborations with Christopher Nolan, conducted the score.

The plot begins in 1970 with an 11 year old Margaret who is enjoying her childhood in New York City with her parents, an inter-faith married couple named Barbara and Herb. Her mother is Christian while her father is Jewish and Margaret is currently not prescribing to any particular religion herself. Margaret is very close with her grandmother, called Sylvia, who lives in the city as well but her life takes an unanticipated turn when Herb informs his daughter that he received a promotion that will require the family to move to a New Jersey suburb. Margaret is distraught at the news which will force her to leave her grandmother and school friends behind. It also causes her to fret about having to form another social circle from scratch in her new home. At this point, the uneasy Margaret decides to reach out to God from the sanctuary of her room about her internal emotional struggles and lays all her hopes, concerns and dreams on Him.

Despite all her handwringing, some of Margaret’s concerns dissipate early on into the move when an inquisitive neighbour named Nancy Wheeler introduces herself to the new girl and quickly befriends her. From there, Nancy welcomes Margaret into her friend group which is made up of Janine Loomis and Gretchen Potter and they begin drafting rules for membership into their little club that they all must adhere too. Margaret encounters some more of her future classmates through socializing with this new found friend group. This includes a particular boy called Moose, who is quite plain, that she takes a shine too although the other girls overlook him as they swoon over the popular boy of Philip. As part of a yearlong assignment, Mr Benedict, Margaret’s teacher, encourages her to investigate into her family’s differing faiths once it is revealed that she doesn’t celebrate the holidays for that very reason. Margaret agrees, putting herself on a road to discovering the religious beliefs of both her parents and uncovering some long held divisive intolerances in her extended family.

While I went into this one with no real expectations, I left the theatre a satisfied customer as I had very much enjoyed it despite not being a member of the target audience the movie would primarily be catering for. This, in my mind at least, would mostly be for younger girls entering the realm of womanhood and women who wanted a nostalgic throwback to the heydays of their childhood in the 70s. Most of this appreciation was to do with the likeability of Margaret Simon, who made for an intriguing and in some ways relatable heroine, as well as the humorous script which kept things light when it needed to be. The film was well received by critics but unfortunately bombed at the Box Office in what has been a challenging year for Tinsel Town with significant titles such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ flopping. On a side note, the name ‘Nancy Wheeler’ had rung a bell immediately upon hearing it but it appears, after some research, that the monster hunting ‘Strangers Things’ counterpart wasn’t named in homage to this earlier character but the naming was merely the result of coincidence.

Plot=9/10

Characters=9/10

Special Effects=7/10

Overall=9/10

Quote of the Day

I believe everything and I believe nothing. I suspect everyone and I suspect no one.

Inspector Jacques Clouseau

A Shot in the Dark

Tear Along the Dotted Line

Greetings, ‘Tear Along the Dotted Line’ is an adult animated Italian show and a Netflix original that was created by Roman cartoonist Michele Rech, better known by his alias Zerocalcare. The unusual pen name means ‘zero lime scale’ in Italian which Michele was apparently inspired to don after listening to an advert jingle for a descaler product and, wanting to join in on an online debate quickly, he put that down as his user name which has stuck with him ever since. The series is comprised of 6 episodes and was released in 2021, many years after Michele became known for his comics such as ‘The Armadillo’s Prophecy’ which was also adapted for the screen into a live action film. Michele voices a fictionalized caricature of himself in the Italian version of the series but as for the English dub, Adam Rhys Dee uses his voice talents to cover most roles in the show. I’ve been most impressed by Adam’s performance as he is able to deliver the comedic lines flawlessly and hit the more emotional moments perfectly when required of him. The music was composed by Italian singer Giancane.

The story follows the day to day routine of Zero, an awkward cartoonist with not much of a social life to brag of. The situation isn’t helped by his own tendency to be a self-imposed hermit and his lethargic refusal to answer phone calls from even the closet of his friends. Nonetheless, he is an artistic soul that is fuelled by a vivid if neurotic imagination. For instance, he has conjured up in his mind an armadillo which serves as a personification of his own conscience and he is often humorously talked down to or scolded by this imaginary mammal. When not interacting with fictitious beings or locking himself in his apartment, Zero is hanging out with his friends Sarah and Secco. The former is an aspiring teacher while the latter is a gambling addict with no job to speak of and an unhealthy obsession with ice cream. Zero and his friends are meeting up to travel to Biella in the north of Italy for reasons that aren’t revealed to the viewer.

All the audience are aware of is Zero’s fanatical insistence in being punctual so the trio can get to Biella in good time. Naturally they encounter setbacks such as Zero’s car breaking down which he feels woefully unequipped to fix himself despite being an adult man. There is, however, a lingering and unspoken sense of subtle unease as they get closer to their destination. During the course of the day, Zero reminisces about his childhood years and young adulthood in which he has some fond memories to think back on but a reasonable amount of personal failings too that he dwells on. One of the most prominent regrets he admits to himself during his narration is that he never asked out Alice, a friend he always had a crush on. Despite the undeniable chemistry between them the two simply never evolved successfully into a relationship and the pieces slowly begin to fall into place for the audience as the non-linear narrative weaves together a tragic story.

I really enjoyed this unusual series and found myself hooked very early on by the first few minutes in the opening episode. It is full of nerdy pop culture references and the self-depreciating Zero’s humour is quite sharp, releasing a rapid barrage of jokes that can easily fly under the radar. Like Bojack, one of my other favourite shows, it does feature anthropomorphised animals and humans living together but it isn’t really clear whether this is part of Zero’s imagination or not. Asides from that similarity, they are both also brilliant in blending emotional scenes and effective humour together without any awkward shifts between the two. I also appreciate the way it was narrated with flashbacks giving an idea of who these characters are and it does a great job of building up a sense of mystery about their journey. ‘Tear Along the Dotted Line’ is certainly a show I’d recommend and there is also a much more politically inspired follow up series that I am currently watching, entitled ‘This World Can’t Tear Me Down’, that seems to so far to be of the same high standard as the first season.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special Effects=10/10

Overall=10/10

Quote of the Day

Nice beaver.

Frank Drebin

The Naked Gun

1408

Greetings, ‘1408’ is a 2007 film directed by Mikael Håfstrsöm and based on the works of prolific horror author Stephen King. While King has many world renowned projects to his name, the same cannot be said for its Swedish director who has few titles that would be known to an audience outside of his native Sweden. Some of the more internationally appealing movies in his filmography include ‘Derailed’ starring Jennifer Anniston and ‘The Rite’ in which Anthony Hopkins was involved but these appear to have fared poorly with audiences. ‘1408’ features notable actors and actresses including John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack and Tony Shalhoub among its cast. The music was composed by Gabriel Yared who had also contributed to well-known films such as ‘The English Patient’, ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ and ‘Amelia’.

The plot follows Mike Enslin, a cynical and jaded author, as he travels across America in search of haunted locations with the intention of debunking their supernatural reputations. After spending the night in one such inn, Mike leaves without experiencing any strange phenomenon and becomes increasingly self-assured that the claims are only made by the owners to draw in visitors. Shortly after his underwhelming stay, he is in California on a book tour to promote his new book. The novel details supposed hauntings but Mike appears to be motivated more by financial need rather than being inspired to write it by his own genuine passion. The trip isn’t all business as he decides to surf the Californian waves but he nearly drowns after encountering a large tidal wave and has to be saved by onlookers. Not being put off by a near death experience, Mike is back to work not long after he is discharged from hospital and his interest is piqued after he receives an anonymous postcard. The postcard is of ‘The Dolphin Hotel’ in New York City and the mysterious note advises him to simply not enter room 1408.

Mike does not heed the warning and has taken it as a challenge instead. As such, he flies out to New York and after trying to book in with reception Mike meets with the hotel manager, Gerald Olin, when it is clear he intends to stay in the cursed room. Gerald tries numerous times to dissuade Mike by informing him of the room’s grotesque history of mutilations, murders and suicides as well as promising him a place in the pent suite instead as well as an $800 bottle of cognac should he abandon his foolish endeavour. Mike, believing it is all a bogus scare tactic to drum up a tense atmosphere, eventually gets his way through threat of legal action and enters the sinister room. Upon entering the room, it appears to be a very mundane location and there are a few incidents early on that he brushes off as being orchestrated by Gerald including a radio that refuses to stay turned off. It isn’t long before Mike begins to experience things that defy explanation and his theory of it all being his overactive imagination spurred on by Gerald’s storytelling is put to the test.

Comparisons to ‘The Shining’ are undoubtedly going to be made considering they share the same subject matter and are written by the same author. Unsurprisingly, the film is certainly not on the same level as Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation in my opinion although it does have its own charms. I really liked the set up in ‘1408’, especially around Mike’s background in debunking the paranormal, and there is an impressive tension when Mike finally enters the evil room thanks to Gerald’s gruesome warnings. Once he is inside the room however, it loses its sinister edge somewhat as the audience is no longer relying on their imagination to visualize the horrors that unfolded in it but are watching CGI ghosts torment the protagonist. Despite all of this, I still enjoyed the movie and would definitely like to check out the story that it is based on.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Special Effects=6/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the Day

Whoa, whoa. You better watch what you say about my car. She's really sensitive.

Arnie Cunningham

Christine

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Greetings, ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ is a short story from 1820 by essayist, historian and author Washington Irving and is regarded as being one of the first examples of fiction created in the United States. Lauded as one of America’s greatest writers, Irving wrote ‘Sleepy Hollow’ as merely one entry in a collection of stories and essays entitled ‘The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.’ Among this set of works is ‘Rip Van Winkle’, another famous tale in which a Dutch-American villager falls into a deep slumber for 20 years and wakes up to discover that he slept through the American Revolutionary War. While I did read all stories in the book, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ is by far the most memorable addition in my opinion and the others are very much products of their time with subject matters that would be considered quaint by a modern audience.

The plot takes place in 1790 in the aforementioned Sleepy Hollow. It is a Dutch settlement in the vicinity of Tarrytown, New York. The protagonist is one Ichabod Crane who is a schoolmaster from Connecticut and is noted as being superstitious in mind and spindly in physicality. While staying in the supposedly mystical area as required by his work as a teacher, Ichabod is enthralled by the local’s tales of supernatural occurrences in the small settlement which includes a reputedly haunted tree that was used in the execution of a British spy. No figure captures Crane’s imagination quite like that of the Headless Horseman or, as he is sometimes alliteratively described by the populace, the ‘Galloping Hessian of the Hollow’. The folktale goes that the Horseman was a Hessian, a German soldier, who fought alongside the British forces as they attempted to crush the insurrection that was raging in the 13 colonies. During a nameless battle, the Hessian mercenary is killed by cannon fire as a cannonball separates his head from his body.

The story goes that the restless spirit can be heard riding down the forests at night as he looks for his missing head and it is warned that should anybody be so unfortunate as to cross the Horseman’s path then they shall soon loose theirs too. Ichabod is much unnerved by talk of the spectral horseman but continues to reside in the Hollow regardless, being enamoured by the local women who are drawn to his academic intelligence and gentle nature. Crane’s popularity with the fairer sex becomes an issue when a young woman, named Katrina Tassel, catches his eye. Katrina is the daughter of the richest man in the Hollow and Ichabod begins to daydream of living a life of luxury should he inherit the property and farmlands. This doesn’t go down well with one of the residents, a man nicknamed ‘Brom Bones’ as he as the same intention of asking for Katrina’s hand. As such, Brom starts to conspire against the interfering interloper Ichabod.

I’ve always had an interest in the monsters of old fiction and ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ had been on my reading list for quite some time. I was intrigued by the time period in which it is set and the notion of a vengeful headless horseman certainly caught my attention when I was first introduced to a version of the character in Tim Burton’s 1999 film adaptation. The very simple plot has been paid homage to numerous times throughout the decades such as the child friendly version produced by Disney back in the 40s or the gothic and wildly unfaith adaptation made by Burton. If you are wanting to dig into the annals of history, this short work is worth a read and while there isn’t a lot the happens in the story I can see why it has endured long after the world it was created in has vanished into memory.

Plot=6/10

Characters=7/10

Wording=7/10

Overall=6/10

Quote of the Day Two years ago, a man came into my office. He said his name was Mayhew. He wanted one of my clients to lie for him under oath. He offered me money, I refused. That night, as I was leaving my office, I was attacked. A bag was shoved over my head, I was hog-tied, I was driven out of the desert. And when they pulled the hood off, I was kneeling in front of an open grave with a gun pointed at my head! That was my introduction to Walter White! I was terrified! But not for long. That night I saw an opportunity—a shot at big money—and I grabbed it, and I held it tight. And for the next sixteen months... my every waking moment was spent building Walter White's drug empire.

Jimmy McGill / Saul Goodman

Better Call Saul

Inside Job

Greetings, ‘Inside Job’ is a Netflix original comedy series that was created by Shion Takeuchi who has worked on several well-known animations such as ‘Regular Show’, ‘Gravity Falls’ and ‘Disenchantment’. Aimed at an adult audience, the series was released in two parts with the first batch being available to stream in October 2021 and the latter half a year later in November 2022. The cast is comprised of some icons in the voice acting industry and includes Lizzy Caplan as the lead Reagan Ridley, Adam Scott, Christian Slater, Clark Duke, Tisha Campbell, John Di Maggio, Bobby Lee and Brett Gelman in the major character roles. The music was composed by Robert Bolton, Matthew Bronson and Mischa Chillak who don’t appear to have much in the way of a discography at present.

The plot is set in a world where powerful secret societies exist, cryptids roam the land and even the most bizarre conspiracy theories ring true. The story begins when Reagan, a highly gifted Japanese-American robotics engineer, arrives at the gates of the White House where her drunk father, named Rand, is harassing tourists and ranting about the shadowy elite who really run the country. She convinces the inebriated Rand to leave the White House by dragging him into her car and drives him to her place of work, Incognito Inc, which is the very clandestine organisation that Rand was railing against. Once inside, Reagan attends a team meeting were she informs her strange and colourful colleagues about her plans to ensure the newly elected American President is under Incognito’s control. She has built a robotic replica of the Commander in Chief that she has dubbed ROBOTUS and schemes to swap out the real President with the machine.

Her plan seems to be going well until her boss J.R. advises that she will only be co-leading the mission as he has brought in a charismatic new recruit, Brett Hand, to make up for Reagan’s appalling lack of social skills. Reagan is not well pleased with this decision and becomes even more insecure when she learns that Brett landed the role without any prior experience and effortlessly charms her colleagues into liking him. She attempts to usher him out of the company but her efforts backfire and the out of his depth Brett is put in charge as the sole lead of the mission. Things go further wrong for Reagan once the AI replaces the President and becomes self-aware. Once in full command of the Oval Office, ROBOTUS decides to wipe out humanity when he realises how awful the human race can be. With the world in immediate danger, the only way for the situation to be resolved is if Reagan and Brett put aside their issues and work together to beat the masquerading machine.

I really enjoyed this show and its unique premise of an office based sitcom set in the backdrop of a conspiratorial reality meant there were endless possibilities for stories to be told. The humour was a highlight of ‘Inside Job’ for me which remained consistently good throughout and the more dramatic moments were executed well by a talented ensemble cast who really breathed life into their characters. The dysfunctional protagonist of Regan has a very distinct personality and she was an enjoyable character in particular to watch as she tried to navigate through the chaotic workplace and her less than stellar life. Unfortunately, Netflix followed its usual business strategy and cancelled the show after only 18 episodes even though it was receiving positive reactions from critics and developing a strong following. As I liked this show so much, I will likely be checking out more of Shion’s work in the future.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special Effects=10/10

Overall=10/10

Quote of the Day

Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue.

Ichabod Crane

Sleepy Hollow

The Whale

Greetings, ‘The Whale’ is a 2022 film which was directed by Darren Aronofsky and is based on Samuel D. Hunter’s play, that came out ten years prior to the adaptation’s release, from which the movie derives its title. Aronofsky was behind other projects in a directorial role such as ‘Requiem for a Dream’ and ‘The Wrestler’. The film stars Brendan Fraser, who is most known for being the action lead of Rick O’Connell in ‘The Mummy’ trilogy, amidst a welcomed resurgence of his cinematic career after a significant lull in his filmography in the 2010s. The actors and actresses working alongside Fraser include ‘Stranger Things’ cast member Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton. The music was composed by Rob Simonsen who was involved in scoring the soundtracks of ‘Moneyball’, ‘Life of Pi’ and ‘The Age of Adeline’.

The plot begins with Charlie who is an English teacher who tutors his students via online lessons. He does so without revealing his appearance as he is a morbidly obese man weighing in at just under 600 pounds and is ashamed of himself for letting his size problem get out of hand. During a session of over excitable self-pleasuring to homosexual pornography, the overweight Charlie suffers severe heart pains and believe his end is at hand. Fortunately for Charlie, there is a stranger at the door who enters the apartment once he is aware that the door is unlocked. The stranger is a missionary who had come to preach the Good Word and is named Thomas. He is shocked to discover Charlie in his state of distress. A frantic Charlie shoves a document in Thomas’ hands and pleads with him to read it aloud. The concerned Thomas is confused by the request and offers to call for an ambulance instead but is eventually persuaded to read the document, an essay on ‘Moby Dick’, after Charlie denies any other help.

The attack subsides and Charlie calms down after he found solace in the essay. Liz, Charlie’s friend and a trained nurse, comes to the apartment shortly after the incident to check him over for any apparent medical issues that could arise. During her visit, Liz treats Thomas with hostility due to his relation to his ministry, with which she has a complicated past, and he is forced out of the apartment despite having comforted Charlie in his moment of need. When they are alone, a tearful Liz berates Charlie for becoming chronically overweight and stresses that he needs to attend a hospital or face the very real possibility that he would soon pass on. Charlie vetoes the idea with complete disregard for his safety and says that he could not afford to pay the astronomical fees for his healthcare. The near death experience inspires Charlie to reach out to his estranged daughter called Ellie and encourages him to try to reconnect with her while he still has time.

While this movie couldn’t be described as an enjoyable film due to its bleak and depressive atmosphere, it did manage to keep a hold of my attention the whole way through despite the rather simplistic plot. It was pleasant to see Fraser return to the silver screen and the fat suit he wears looks natural enough to not break the immersive experience. The small cast of performers do an excellent job here, especially Brendan as the likeable but ultimately broken Charlie, although most of the characters could be quite difficult to warm to due to their abrasive personalities. This was especially true of Ellie who comes across as an irredeemable and sadistic being who merely uses others to get what she wants. I’ll most likely look into other projects Aronofsky was involved in due to my positive experience with ‘The Whale’ and will keep an eye on his future films.

Plot=8/10

Characters=7/10

Special Effects=7/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the Day

I only gamble with my life, never my money.

Rick O’Connell

The Mummy