No Time to Die

*Spoiler Alert.

Love's rewards having proven too enticing to ignore, James Bond (Daniel Craig) cultivates a continuous relationship, only to be surrounded one afternoon by the newfound henchpersons of a former rival, he doesn't understand how he's been discovered, and instinctively suspects betrayal.

He finds a new location el lobo solo off the grid, and settles into bitter retirement, trying to prosper through idyllic recreation, unable to placate his volatile will.

Meanwhile, a terrorist network steals a pernicious bioweapon which was developed by MI6, and uses inchoate Borg technology to specifically target individualized DNA.

But it even take things further and finds more widespread applications for the malevolence, intending to unleash it on the unsuspecting world, with genocidal morbid reckoning.

Bond lambastes M (Ralph Fiennes) (having returned) for having sponsored its dissimulated production, who naively thought it would save lives by making assassination more precise. 

To make things worse, the belovéd belle whom he left behind with regret and pain (Léa Seydoux as Madeleine), is sought after by the terrorist leader (Rami Malek as Lyutsifer Safin [who spared her life when she was a child {Coline Defaud}]), and Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) knows their secret.

Without much time with shocking immediacy Bond reflexively engages.

An international incident caught in the crossfires.

Along with his unknown offspring.

The dangers of manufacturing lethal weapons to make the world a safer place, are epically brought to bear on irresponsible bureaucrats lacking accountability. 

It seemed like things were progressing so peacefully for such a long time sustainéd equanimity, but a small fraction of the global population still preferred mutual animosity. 

Becoming more influential and less and less discreet resurgent jingoism renewed latent fears, and wiser ambitions to forge international consensus lost public ground to reckless profit. 

But their reckless ambition didn't only awaken narrow-minded prejudice and unrestrainéd self-absorption, but extremist elements seeking radical shifts to pursue alternative constructs were also empowered.

No Time to Die pits radical evolution against traditional desires to slowly change.

Both ambitions are in need of reclarification. 

Looking forward to checking out News Nation.

*First Bond film I haven't seen in theatres since 1989.

**Still hoping Daniel Craig stars in 7 Bond films to tie him with Roger Moore and Sean Connery, although it doesn't look like it's going to happen (if you count Never Say Never Again).

Season of the Witch

After willingly and directly embracing the vicious profits of an unrelenting crusade, knights Behman (Nicolas Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman) desert to find their way home. But representatives of the church are none to happy when they discover them passing through their land, and they quickly have them thrown in the dungeon. Freedom is offered with a price: transport a witch (Claire Foy) who has been blamed for a plague to a remote monastery where she will receive her trial. The knights begrudgingly accept, and, aided by a cast of individuals seeking virtue, or clemency, depart on their most treacherous and psychologically destabilizing journey yet.

Dominic Sena's Season of the Witch is an exercise in bipolarity. Many of Nicolas Cage's lines attempt to sound insightful and wise but come across as questionably delivered hokum. At the same time, he seems to be aware of this as does Sena and at times it seems as if Season of the Witch is subtly lampooning itself. But during other moments its seriousness is genuine which results in a cloying, frustrating affect (occasionally mitigated by Ron Perlman). Everyone within is frustrated however so this affect, albeit irritating, does correspond to the film's internal dynamics. At first, the opening scene seemed rushed and hasty, causing me to fear for the fate of the movie. But as it dragged on, its ridiculousness, qualified by a priest's undying commitment to his calling's principles, had a certain irresistible flair, insofar as it wasn't cut off willy nilly and was given time to grow. The next scene depicts a lacklustre religious figure mundanely yet confidently rallying his troops to combat a group of recalcitrant 'heathens.' The figure lacks the bold, energetic, lively characteristics I've come to identify with those filmically delivering a war cry, and the following scenes do nothing to generate greater sympathy. Hence, one priest is valiant in his fight against evil, another religious figure banal; religion is upheld as just and benevolent and then immediately depicted as rapacious. The dialogue throughout casts doubt on the church's legitimacy as it relates to the hunting of witches, yet witches exist within and logically should therefore be hunted. An over-the-top sensational battle between the forces of good and evil seems ready to be showcased during the conclusion yet instead we receive a brief, run-of-the-mill, laid back encounter which reminded me of Eddie Murphy's The Golden Child. Season of the Witch attempts to play to fans of low budget intelligent horror yet mixes in so many mainstream compromises that its diluted product, once again, occasionally remixed and spiced up by Ron Perlman, who should have been given the leading role, suffocates beneath the weight of its bewitching disorder.

I generally like films which play with conventions and offer a broad taste of ambiguous potential to a wide audience, but Season of the Witch's steady reliance on unimaginative proclamations, unless these proclamations are seen as Behman's unconscious absorption of his crusading leader's disproportionate dialogue, distorts its edge and sickly sentimentalizes its grit. Sena does a lot with his script and there's certainly much to discuss but it lacks the less disheartening developments found in a film like Christopher Smith's Black Death, and falls far short of its intellectually entertaining goals.

Black Death (Fantasia Fest 2010)

The year is 1348. A plague is ravaging England and it is unknown whether or not it has been cast by God or Satan. Religious theories abound and moral avengers seek out necromancers to curtail their moribund pursuits. Enter a young monk searching for divine revelation to guide him on the just path (Eddie Redmayne as Osmund). A sign is granted and he sets out on a journey to cleanse a village of heathens while trying to maintain a relationship with his beloved Averill (Kimberley Nixon). Ulric (Sean Bean) and his band of mercenaries are grateful for his guidance as they brazenly traverse the countryside acting in a Bishop's name.

Christopher Smith's Black Death is an intelligent gothic horror film which presents sober and realistically fantastical reflections concerning medieval subject matter from a wide variety of angles (Smith showed up and answered questions at the Fantasia Fest screening which was nice). Rigorously researched by screenwriter Dario Poloni and shot in Eastern Germany, Black Death demonstrates that the division between spiritual inspiration and quotidian realizations can be maddening to say the least, and as heroes come of age they can oddly cast their mettle in stone. Both sides of the spectrum are treated to an ambivalently therapeutic analysis while confidently presenting their positions, and beautiful witch Langiva (Carice van Houten) is tantalizing if not infuriating. Definitely an engaging representative of horror, Black Death subtly illustrates its motivations while directly enlivening their inspirations.

The Neighbor Zombie (Fantasia Fest 2010)

Was impressed by the 2009 South Korean horror flick The Neighbor Zombie. Presenting a series of 6 vignettes directed by Hong Young-Guen, Jang Youn-Jung, Oh Young-Doo, and Ryoo Hoon, loosely tied together by a traditional zombie narrative (a plague spreads, zombies attack, humans fight back), The Neighbor Zombie treads new ground (or at least zombie ground with which I'm unfamiliar) insofar as in the end the survivors discover a cure for the living dead and examine the politics surrounding reintegrating them into society. The ex-zombies have trouble finding work, making ends meet, and dealing with vengeful living relatives of their victims, and this quotidian dimension provides The Neighbor Zombie with an intellectual flair inasmuch as it piquantly showcases the troubling ubiquitous day-to-day realities governing the post-zombie holocaust (it's nice to see a zombie film that doesn't primarily present a hopeless situation wherein a ragtag bunch of would-be-heroes do their best to kick ass [I'm not saying that Zombieland wasn't exceptional]). There's also a troubled daughter who loves her zombie mom and keeps her locked up, feeding her blood and strangers because she simply can't say goodbye. Not to mention that the zombie virus isn't as immediate as it is in other zombie films and it can take weeks/months for the infected to transform completely, one young couple unyieldingly holding on to their relationship as the young adult male slowly mutates. Add a new drug which can make you 'zombie high,' a volatile conversation examining communal versus familial responsibility, 4 directors successfully committed to providing their own unique contribution to a mutually agreed upon uniform aesthetic (I'm assuming), and a bizarro kid who slices off his foot and eats it, and you've got a cerebral treat for your quasi-somnabulistic senses; just try and make sure you don't plan to go grocery shopping immediately afterwards.

Mulberry Street (Fantasia Fest 2007)

Mulberry Street is a really touching horror film. It’s one of the few horror flicks where I found myself genuinely caring for the characters and legitimately crushed when some of them bit it. Director Jim Mickle co-wrote the script with Nick Damici who also stars as Clutch, and the two manage to imbue the work with a romantic depth and gentle sensibility that one doesn't expect to find in a film about infected rats biting the citizens of Manhatten, turning them into blood sucking rat zombies. Mickle also tackles the process of gentrification within, deftly pointing out that reconstructing a neighbourhood has dire consequences for its impoverished residents. The rats come across like wealthy developers poisoning the region's humanity, turning friends against one another, leaving the poor with nothing to do but devour each other. A powerful horror flick with a poignant message, hang a right down Mulberry Street if you get the chance, and stay for a cup of delicately brewed scorching hot rat blood.