The Block Island Sound (2020)
Horrors and dark truths emerge (sorta) as an ominious force strikes on a remote island in Providence. There is a strange noise and weird events in this indie horror. A conspiracy nutter rants about parasites and weirdness. Harry deals with his mad dad as tons of dead fish wash up. Nobody ever asks what happened to the mad dad's dog.
There is restless. Harry's sister Audrey and her daughter Emily visit. The mad dad father vanishes. Audrey badmouths Harry and her dead parents. Harry takes polaroids. There are weird radio noises and one wonders if this is a mythos tale.
Harry scubas and something happens. His friends are there and sometimes they aren't. Harry makes a wall of crazy and coughs up worms. Or did the worm puking thing happen in a dream? Another bitchy sister shows up and she has weariness. Things cannot be explained, understood or accepted. The new sister is a lazy whiny bitch who ignores Harry having a breakdown. He's butish and bitter and accused of having delusional beliefs.
There is a sense of theatre. The sisters have a total commitment to indifference and carelessness. Relationships sour and there is emotional volatility. Things get melancholic and tragic. This was not utterly captivating but it is good. Harry engages in public fights and has mental torment.
This has love, guilt, grief, kitchen sink and squalid goings on. There was no gutsy vitality. People are ignoble and there is improper behaviour. Don't any of these people have jobs? This film is depressingly gloomy and events have a detrimental impact. There is ire and something calamitous is afoot. Something overwhelmingly malign and lamentable is afoot. There are grave threats and terrible events.
People lack compassion and have little interest in Harry. There is toxic debate and a stone cold absence of compassion. There is overwhelming dreariness.Who is they? What happened to the frog? There are attacks on Harry's credibility and furious reactions. A horrendous ordeal for Harry goes on. People are abhorrent. There are distress and suspicious goings on. There is a ferocity of assertions. Harry has a prison yard stare. There is weirdness and things are not imperishable. There is indifferent treatment of Harry. There are disreputable associates. Sadly the ending is sluggish, unenlightneing and sigh inducing.
Best Lines:
“He gets paranoid.”
“Some crazy guy living in the woods.”
“Searched the whole coast.”
“Glorified beach control.”
“Slave to her cat overlords.”
“We've been out of milk all week.”
“Everybody's got family problems.”
“Like crack to fish.”
“What's crack?”
“Don't want to see you go off the deep end again.”
“Bumped into some rocks?”
“Yokels and crazy people.”
“He's their vessel now.”
“Them.”
“See you at the next funeral.”
“Memory defecits.”
“Trained to deal with someone like him.”
~
Skate Kitchen (2018)
There is a lot of skate boarding. A lot. No thank you.
~
White Riot (2019)
An okay documentary about the 1976 protests against the National Front in the UK. The NF denigrated people. There is lots of vintage footage. Did rock music really have a profound impact and concerted effort against racism? There is no charged intensity. There is talk of unemployment and the IMF. Enoch Powell is seen in vintage footage ranting away.
It is noted how Bowie and Clapton had strange and oddly forgotten outbursts about race and fascism. There is no compelling reason to watch but this is an interesting view of a now forgotten event. Even Rod Stewart said racist crap. The NF sold papers outside of schools. There is talk of a fanzine the anti-NF lot put out. We see clips of racist 1970s tv shows.
There is talk of Heavy Manners. Adam Ant is looked down on. There is a lot of bad teeth and mispelled protest signs. The big concert ended up with no loos and 80,000 to 100,000 attending. A lot of the bands wore bum hugging trousers.
Best Lines:
“Culturally active on the left.”
“Kartoon Klowns.”
“Lyrics about unemployment and youth alienaiton.”
“Really hard.”
“God hero.”
“Physically seized and deported.”
“Ships of war.”
“Growing incredibly.”
“Making the right noises.”
“Kicking their way onto the headlines.”
“Usual scapegoats.”
“Heil and farewell.”
“Fear of one another.”
“Recruiting on the street.”
“Wants no future.”
“Trading on nothing but fear.”
“Moved next door, that's what he's done.”
“My school teacher's a fascist.”
“You don't learn nothing.”
“Loitering with intent.”
“Sus laws.”
“Being a clever bastard.”
“Dedicated followers of fascism.”
“Fascist nature.”
“Scruf with 1 f and Scruff with 2 f's.”
“Once hailed as peacemakers.”
“Our world was the underground.”
“Launching a youth section.”
“Very hostile.”
“British Movement.”
“You're not born to do that.”
“75p with Dole Card.”
“Borstal breakout.”
“Out to terrify you.”
“Cultural fight.”
“Defend the stage.”
“Militant entertainment.”
“Scottish Young Communists.”
“Made to feel powerless and useless.”
~
Capone (2020)
This is an unflinchingly horrible account of Al Capone's last diseased days. Prohibition and 11 years in jail are over so now he's out of jail and dying of syphilis. Josh Trank directs Tom Hardy is this. He was the world's most notorious gangster and now he's in Florida dying of the syphilis. Hardy is covered in make up and does a silly accent.
Capone cared about personal fame and glory not principles. Truth doesn't matter in this film in the slightest. There is no lofty ambtion or aspiration and this was not compelling. There is artistic and dramatic licence. Capone has an art collection but no lasting regret. This was not exuberantly performed. He has no lonesome realisation. This was not daunting and does not brilliantly encapsulate Capone.
There is no responsibility. Capone listens to the radio and people have odd demeanours. This was distinctly unimpressive. Capone can't recall his glory days or outdated strain of machismo. This was paltry and particularly brazen. There are disturbing personality changes, paranoia and anger. The malign effects of syphilis are shown.
There is a toxic culture and this was starkly negative and desultory. This was unenthusiastic. There is rabid hysteria and this was ludicrous, haphazard, cursory and absurd. There are unholy rows and no logical motivation. I've no idea what Hardy is saying in this film. Capone thinks alligators are watching him. There is no appeal or relevance. This was mortifying and barmy.
Capone once prioritised media attetnion. Now he's outcome blind and largely irrelevant. There are hallcinations and terminal decline and social endangerment and this was inane and inconsequential. There is talk of treasure and the reality of decline and dissipating energy is amde clear.
There is societal malaise and an uncertain future. There are toxic influences and the FBI and ill informed notions. Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon and Kyle McLachlan feature in this dreadful, dreaful, utterly appalling film.
Best Lines:
“King of the Chicago underworld.”
“Running around like your gangster friend in the swamp.”
“He has full blown dementia.”
“Capone lives like a king in Florida.”