Levi on Film

  “Skinamarink,” 2023, directed by Kyle Edward Ball ★★★★ ½ It’s no surprise that “Skinamarink” director Kyle Edward Ball got his start on the internet. On his YouTube channel, Bitesized Nightmares, Ball visualizes viewer-submitted bad dreams in under ten minutes with minimal dialogue, practical effects, and a hazy, retro aesthetic that seamlessly conceals his low budget. Not unlike Jane Shoenbrun’s 2021 film “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” , Ball understands how to get under the audience’s skin in a way only comparable to the fear experienced exploring the depths of the internet late at night. “Skinamarink” expounds on these methods and ideas greatly in Ball’s feature film debut, elongating the structure he honed making online shorts to 100 minutes. At first this length can feel excessive, with uneventful and purely static moments overstaying their welcome. But as the terror starts to mount, the intentionally patient atmosphere feels worthwhile. Ball sometimes undermines the ...

  “Bones and All,” 2022, directed by Luca Guadagnino ★★★★ ½ Director Luca Guadagnino is no stranger to the nauseating and obscene; his 2018 remake of the classic horror film “Suspiria” prompted mass walkouts at its initial screening at the Venice Film Festival, and even his famous coming of age romance “Call Me by Your Name” has its fair share of indelicacies. His latest, the equally tender and horrifying “Bones and All” is, like his others, a slow, uncomfortable burn, but is well-worth the patience necessary to endure it. Reserved performances, a resonant, lyrical score, and some excellent 35mm cinematography help “Bones and All” burgeon into an emotional and indelible piece of art. The plot of the film revolves around two teenagers in the 1980s: Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee ( Timothée Chalamet), both supernaturally cursed with an unexplainable need to consume human flesh. On the run from police, other “eaters”, and their pasts, the story sees the romantic pair explore all part...

"Blonde," 2022, directed by Andrew Dominik ★★ ☆ ☆ ☆ A month on from “Blonde”’s streaming release on Netflix, it’s difficult to begin the film with no expectations. Some have slammed Andrew Dominik’s nearly three-hour adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novelization of Marilyn Monroe’s life as needless torture porn that insults the real Monroe, while its defenders have characterized it as a horrifying, poignant social commentary on iconography and sexual violence akin to David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me”. While there are some central ideas in “Blonde” that do feel successfully empathic and sensitively plaintive, far more of it comes across as dated, obtuse, and ethically disordered. Even with some arguably revolutionary technical work from cinematographer Chayse Irvin and a beautifully disturbing score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, “Blonde” is anything but culturally enduring or coherent. The film mostly features events from Monroe’s real life, and it hones its focus...

  "Barbarian," 2022, directed by Zach Cregger ★★★ ½ ☆ Somewhere in between the ugliest, most inane bargain-bin horror movies and the largest studio titles like the latest “Scream” and “Halloween” reboots, there is a sweet spot. Usually, these "sweet spot" movies land a budget between one and six million dollars, and often, but not always, push the limits of gore and spectacle, assembling a the type of flick that gets put on late at night at a high school slumber party or, sometimes, if horror fans are lucky, a cult classic that warrants annual screenings. Admittedly, Barbarian, the new, highly original and compact feature from "Whitest Kids U'Know" comic Zach Cregger, doesn't quite earn that cult classic status, but it's an incredibly fun and gleefully gruesome theatrical experience. What is almost certainly Cregger's strongest element at his disposal is that of surprise. The plot first takes shape as an eerie vacation rental mix-up; protag...

"Elvis," 2022, directed by Baz Luhrmann ★★★☆ ☆ When it came to a crafting a biopic to depict the glitzy, raunchy life of the iconic Elvis Presley, “Moulin Rouge”  director Baz Luhrmann was probably the only man for the job. His bedazzled, melodramatic style fits the rocker’s life in a way that few other directors’ do, and such a unique, surreal approach to biographical storytelling feels like a breath of fresh air compared to other recent releases in the genre like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman”. This isn’t to say Luhrmann’s “Elvis” is great or even all that compelling; it has its fair share of missteps and eye-roll-worthy dialogue, but it’s nothing if not visually entrancing and entertaining.  Austin Butler takes on the persona of Presley believably and with incredible grace, but much of the music legend’s story is told through the lens of infamous manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Hanks puts on a ridiculous Dutch accent, and wears an even less believable fat suit...

“RRR,” 2022, directed by S.S. Rajamouli ★★★★ ½ Indian cinema rarely makes its way to the United States. When movies from India do land in theaters here, they’re usually more pensive art house films unfamiliar to general audiences even in their country of origin. The movies popular in India and South Asia are often written off by American moviegoers as overlong, grossly unsubtle musicals under the often misunderstood banner of “Bollywood,” leaving the biggest blockbusters from India largely isolated from North America. “RRR,” India’s most expensive movie ever made, is one of the first to begin breaking through that barrier. It’s not necessarily subverting American expectations; it’s three hours long, punctuated by several bombastic dance numbers and excessively theatric; but all of those elements work in its favor. Not only is “RRR” unmistakably the biggest movie in India, it’s also popped up in over 100 theaters across the United States, and a Hindi version is available on North Americ...

“ Turning Red,” 2022, directed by Domee Shi ★★★★☆ Pixar has, for many years, been known for their ability to tell relatively complex stories in condensed, kid-friendly ways. As time has gone on, they’ve pushed further into more complex ideas; 2020’s “Soul” was easily the studio’s most thematically bulky film to date, facing questions of mortality and purpose head-on. As these movies have gotten more philosophical and ambitious, though, they’ve also stumbled. “Inside Out” was a respectable attempt at visualizing human emotions, but was limited by the simplicity of its own mechanics. “Onward,” “Luca” and “The Good Dinosaur” were big swings as well, but were duds both at the box office and with critics. After one too many “Toy Story” sequels and two too many “Cars” sequels, it’s begun to feel like maybe Pixar has lost their way. “Turning Red,” though, feels like a fresh new outlook on the tried and true formula. Directed by Domee Shi in her feature directorial debut, this latest release t...