Feature Underground

After the sudden death of the pope, Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) is chosen to MC the coming conclave, which proves more difficult than he could have ever imagined. He tries to juggle the ticker tape of gossip, scandal, and revelations, all while dealing with his own wavering faith.

00:00 Intro

1:12 Power Vacuums

5:28 Intricacies of Individuals

6:39 The Divine Dramedy

7:52 Over-Direction

9:02 Performances & Screenplay

11:12 Closing Thoughts

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#conclave #film #oscars2024

And here's my review of The Apprentice, the mildly controversial film about Donald Trump and Roy Cohn, directed by Ali Abbasi and starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.

Ben Braddocking it up in the wolves den of '70s New York--and the wolves den within the wolves den, which is the upper crust of '70s New York filled with ruthless plutocrats and libertines--the timid Donald Trump doesn't know where he fits in. He's got money, but he doesn't know what to do with it. Women will go out with him, but they lose interest half-way through the date. That is, until he meets Roy Cohn, who takes Trump under his dark, featherless wing (imagine something from Gustave Dore).

Hunter discusses how the movie succumbs to its baser instincts in the third act, Jeremy Strong's capital-P portrayal of Cohn, and the mixing of art and politics.

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0:00 Intro

1:25 Losing the Baggage

3:06 Literal Truth at the Movies

5:10 Trump & Cohn

9:11 Inorganic Third Act

12:15 Mixing of Art and Politics

14:36 Closing Thoughts

#film #theapprentice #moviereview

The film reconvenes with Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) as he McMurphys it up at Arkham Asylum, waiting for his murder trial to begin. At Arkham, he goes gaga for Harleen Quinn (Lady Gaga), who's something of a murderer groupie. With her at his side, the defeated Fleck starts to get his mojo back.

Hunter discusses the risk Todd Philips takes by dismantling the Joker character and his first movie, its noncommittal romance, and how it falls short as a musical.

0:00 Intro

1:15 Thoughts on the First Movie

4:20 Deconstructing the Joker

10:14 Noncommittal Romance

12:34 Musically Uninclined

14:42 Closing Thoughts

18:12 Show and Tell

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#film #joker #moviereviews

And here's my review of Megalopolis, the first film in over a decade from legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola.

The film is a bedtime story of heroes, villains, and fantastical worlds from Grandpa Coppola. Its hero is Cesar (Adam Driver), the imperfect artist who gives people cars when all they ask for is faster horses. Its mayor is Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who represents structure, order, and preserving proven quantities. Clodio (Shia LeBeouf) is the Caligula or Nero character, a parasite of chaos waiting for when the society is weak to take over. Then you have Crassus and Wow (Jon Voight and Aubrey Plaza), who are greed and lust, lizard brain impulses that trade grand progress for temporary pleasures. All of these are the foils of Cesar, Coppola's proxy and hope for the future.

Hunter discusses the movie's many ideas (of which there are, perhaps, too many), it being Coppola's most personal movie yet, and where it may fall in the pantheon of great films.

The film follows the titular Super-Bums, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), as they get into all sorts of shenanigans after angering the temporal bureaucrats at TVA (a metaphor for the corporate entities that run these franchises).

Hunter discusses the freedom of the R rating, why it's okay to have fun at a movie that's not a generational artwork, and how the movie's target audience is different from the recent MCU lineup.

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In this special episode of Feature Underground, Hunter discusses why he doesn't give any credence to Oscar nominations or wins.

How did he go from anticipating the Oscars every year to no longer watching? If he were charge, how would the Oscars look? Why is March such a dead month for interesting movies that Hunter must talk about the Oscars?

#oscars #oscars2024 #academyawards

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Dune: Part Two is latest film from acclaimed director, Denis Villeneuve, and the second film in a planned trilogy. It also happens to be the latest subject of Feature Underground.

The film follows Paul, intergalactic royalty and all-around chosen one, as he stirs the pot in an ever-deepening conspiracy even he doesn't know the depths of. The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista,

Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, and Charlotte Rampling. Holy smokes.

Hunter discusses his thoughts on the first movie and the many, very important ways this sequel improves upon Dune: Part One.

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Drive-Away Dolls is the first movie to be solely directed by Ethan Coen and the subject of this Feature Underground review from Hunter Lanier.

The film follows two young women (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) on their long, strange trip to Tallahassee. Sex, violence, and a guy named Curlie who doesn't like to be called Curlie--that's a movie ticket with value.

Hunter discusses where the movie falls in the Coen Brothers' pantheon, what it tells us about Ethan's influence on the duo, and the movie's appreciation of faces.

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The Zone of Interest, the latest from director, Jonathan Glazer, is the subject of this Feature Underground review from Hunter Lanier.

The film is set in idyllic neighborhood of white picket fences and trimmed hedges, which is situated directly next door to Auschwitz. Living here are the concentration camp's officers and their families. As the residents of this neighborhood go about their daily routines, unspeakable--and, in this case, unfilmable--horrors occur in the background.

Hunter discusses how Glazer tailors his style to his subject, the film's exceptional use of suggestion, and sees how many times he can say "banality of evil."

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American Fiction, the first film from Cord Jefferson, is the subject of this FU review from Hunter Lanier.

Jeffrey Wright plays Monk, a novelist who's unsuccessful because his books aren't marketable enough. Frustrated with the culture trying to pigeonhole him as a "black author," Monk decides to lean into what they want him to be--purely for his own amusement--and his career explodes.

Hunter discusses the movie's light satirical touch—nibbles rather than bites—the true butt of its jokes, its lack of a visual identity, and how it shares common ancestry with Dream Scenario.

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