Better Late Than Never on "Hereditary"

During October I try to catch up on scary movies that I have wanted to see, but just haven't gotten around to yet. I'm not usually a scary movie fan, but I will watch certain horror or horror adjacent movies. For instance, I loved "The Substance" when I saw it last year. "Black Swan" is great. I really like "The Babadook". What turns me off is gory movies. I can watch any movie I just mentioned time and again because they're not gory. But, put me in front of a movie like "Scream", I get squeamish. I think what I like in my horror movies is the psychological as opposed to the gory. One such movie that I have wanted to see but avoided because I heard how scary it was is "Hereditary".

I have heard so many people talk about how good of a movie "Hereditary" is. I've read it all. I, luckily, avoided spoilers and finally turned the movie on and sat down and watched it last week. "Hereditary" is as great as everyone said it was. The main push to see it at first was the fact that I wanted to see every major motion picture that Ari Aster has directed to this day. I saw "Midsommar" a few years ago and was intrigued yet grossed out by some of it. "Beau is Afraid" is such a wild ride and way too long. And I saw "Eddington" on opening weekend. I feel like 75 percent of that movie is awesome, and then it completely goes off the rails in the end. So all I had left was "Hereditary", his first directing gig. And it is his best work to date.

As much as I like about some of the stuff in his other works, "Hereditary" showed me that Aster can pull off an entire movie without going totally nuts. This movie is tense and creepy from start to finish. Aster does such a good job making the viewer sit in silence and be terrified at nothing. The way this whole story unfolds is near perfection. From the start at Toni Collette's mom's funeral, to the end where, spoiler alert, we learn about Collette's mom's past, this movie is great. I found myself glued to the screen. I did not want to miss a thing. I was looking for all kinds of easter eggs or signs of what was to come. I was also lucky enough to have the time to sit and watch the movie with no interruptions, which is the only way to see this movie. Collette is so goddamn good in this movie. I was flummoxed that she didn't get any awards consideration for her work. She plays a grieving wife and daughter so well. The tension that builds between her and her son is so scary and you can see it all bubbling over as the movie goes on. There is one scene in particular, at dinner, that is top notch acting from Colette. The way she gets her point across is perfection. And she is mean and leaves no stone unturned. I actually felt bad for her son at that moment. Yes, what he did was awful, but it was also a pure accident. But Collette will not let that slide one bit and she lets him know during this dinner. And while the son, who plays a pivotal role in this movie, and the husband, who has his own grief to deal with but isn't allowed, make no mistake, this is Collette's movie from start to finish. All throughout the beginning we also see Charlie, the young daughter, and she seems to be a little off. There is something strange brewing inside of her and the terror and creepiness all starts with her first appearance. She is also only in the first third of the movie, but she leaves an indelible mark on this movie. As we went on and on with this movie I got more and more scared of what was happening, but I did not want to stop watching. And this movie really goes for it in the final act. I mentioned to a friend of mine, the one who recommended the movie to me in the first place, that I had watched it during the day time when the sun was out. He mentioned that that was a very good idea. I don't know how the movie would have affected me had I seen it at night, but I don't have to think about that now. As the movie gets into that final act, Collette ramps up the craziness and she gets scarier and scarier. And she has a friend, Joan, who clearly has ulterior motives. She shows up randomly at opportune times to lead Collette on an odd mission of which she has no idea she is doing.

After seeing the movie I get why people have such high praise for it. It truly is a well done movie. Ari Aster came out of the gate and hit a dang home run. I have not seen a movie that has scared me this much since I first saw "The Shining". That's high praise. And what makes it fully worth the watch was how great of a movie it was and how incredible Toni Collette is in this role. I highly recommend this movie, but understand, it is very, very scary. Maybe don't watch it at night. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Mickey 17"

Last Friday my dad and I went to see "Mickey 17". I was going to write about it right after seeing it, a quick reaction, but I decided I wanted to sit on it and give the movie more thought. I wanted the weekend to sit with it. I'm glad I did.

Right off the bat, I really liked the movie. I'm a Bong Joon Ho fan. I love "Snowpiercer" and "Parasite". The love for those movies put me in a pretty good head space heading into "Mickey 17". What I enjoyed the most about "Mickey 17" was the humor. This is a funny movie. There's jokes and some of the things Robert Pattinson does as his version of each Mickey made me laugh out loud. Speaking of Pattinson, he is truly wonderful in the movie. He gets to do a ton and he nails it. With each new Mickey there are subtle changes and Pattinson brings all of them to life. The two main Mickey's, 17 and 18, are who we spend most of the time with and Pattinson plays both. Each Mickey is totally different and that is fully due to his performance. I thought he was amazing and he has become a better actor with each movie. He has upped his game, picks cool projects and I want to see what he is going to do next.

The other cast members are solid too. Naomi Ackie plays Nasha, Mickey's partner. She is badass and super cool. She knows this whole society they live in is nuts and she lets everyone know. She gives a great performance. Steven Yeun is Mickey's buddy, and he is an asshole. He is only out for himself. He will do anything to get ahead no matter who he has to screw over. Yeun is so reliable and so good as an actor and I am a fan. Mark Ruffalo is over the top in the best possible way. He is putting on a show as the villain and I grew to despise his character pretty quickly. I have to believe that was the point. He was so annoying and so stupid and Nasha lets him know it. Toni Collete plays his wife and she is equally despicable. She makes "sauces" and is always in her husband's ear. She is always telling him what to do in a way that will only benefit the two of them. And then we have the "creepers". These are the alien creatures that live on the planet they are travelling to in the movie, Nilfheim. They have a pretty great turn in the movie and it makes it all come together in the end.

Along with the acting, the story is great. This is clearly an allegory for how messed up the US is under this current "administration". Ho made his own version of it and set it in the near future. He kind of nailed it when it comes to what a trip on a spaceship away from a rotting Earth would feel like. It looked truly miserable. But Ho made it funny, made it work and made it a blast to watch. And I love the stuff he did with the "creepers".

This is a very good movie that I want more and more people to see. It is a fast two hour and seventeen minutes. And Pattinson is so good in his role. I highly recommend it. And go to a theater if you have the chance. The movie deserves to be seen on a big screen. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Better Late than Never on "Knives Out"

This past weekend was another quarantine date night for my wife and I, and while we very much enjoyed our local Greek takeout food we had, the movie was the highlight of the evening for me.

We chose to watch "Knives Out" after being told by pretty much everyone we knew to watch it. They were not wrong. This movie was great. It was nearly perfect on every single level. And even when I thought I had everything figured out, the movie would throw in a new twist that made it that much more fun. And my goodness was this cast stacked, and everyone involved did a tremendous job. The list of actors, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Riki Lindholme, Toni Collette, Ana de Armas, Christopher Plummer, Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Craig. That is a murderers row of actors, and they all played their parts great.

For those that may not know, "Knives Out" is a murder mystery. My wife and I likened it to a less goofy, more updated version of "Clue", another movie I adore. And while it isn't nearly as goofy, and cheesy in a good way, that "Clue" is, it still gave us those vibes. And while "Clue" is great, this movie was better. It was more fun, better acted, better directed and deserves all the accolades it got, of which I found out after watching the movie and reading trivia on IMDB.

In “Knives Out“, Christopher Plummer is the patriarch, and national best selling author of the family. He is the one that is "murdered", and we are taken on a great ride to find out what really happened. At the forefront of the investigation were Stanfield, his partner and Daniel Craig, who plays a PI. Stanfield was awesome, as he always is. He is one of the most reliable actors right now. His partner was also very goofy and funny. He was the comic relief. But it was Craig who stood head and shoulders above all the great names I listed before. He was a southern PI, and when he spoke with his accent I was taken aback at how spot on it was. He legit sounded like Foghorn Leghorn. It was that good. But the way he goes about finding out all the little details in the movie was spot on. He was just absolutely dynamite. I could not take my eyes off the screen when he was doing his thing. And that monologue at the end, where he breaks everything down, that was some the purest, and most exquisite acting I have seen in some time. It was phenomenal. Not to be outdone, Ana de Armas was almost as good as Craig. She plays the nurse, and she is heavily involved in all the beats of the movie. I am trying my best not to spoil anything people. That may be why this seems so blunt. But de Armas really put her stamp on this movie with her role. All those other names, they all gave spectacular performances. Collette, as a failed business lady mooching off her dad was out of her normal realm, but she nailed it. Don Johnson was scummy and sleazy, and by the end, I loathed his character, as I am sure they intended. Riki Lindholme was a stepford wife in the worst possible way, yet she nailed it. Michael Shannon wasn't as creepy as he is in most roles, but that dude can flat out perform. Chris Evans was swarmy and douchey and just when you think you can root for him, he does something that makes him the least likable person in a cast full of not so great people. And Jamie Lee Curtis was simply fantastic as the hard ass eldest daughter of Plummer. This is one of my favorite things that she has ever done. She was so good. As was Plummer. His little scenes int he movie were great, he is great and we should all know that because he is one of the greatest living actors.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. This ranks right up there with "Jo Jo Rabbit" as one of the best movies I have watched on quarantine. And it proves how awesome Rian Johnson is. Not only did he direct this, but he wrote it as well. This, for me, was on the same level as "Brick". I love "Knives Out", and I highly recommend that everyone check it out. It truly is a movie for anyone. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.