Love, Simon (***1/2)

There's something perfectly astounding about how ordinary a movie like LOVE, SIMON feels. 13 years ago, Hollywood released "Brokeback Mountain" which was remembered as the gay cowboy movie with an endless array of jokes and gags at the novelty of it all. Here in 2018, look what Hollywood has made - the first gay rom-com from a major motion picture studio, and I'm thrilled to announce that it's merely an adequate movie. At one time, gay-themed movies were such a novelty that they were bolstered to awards status and critical praise (look no further than Moonlight two years ago). Now, here's a perfectly charming film that draws no attention to its gay hero, it simply documents a funny and modern meet-cute the way movies have done for 100 years. About time Hollywood caught up.

"Simon" is based on a young adult novel by Becky Albertalli about the toils of high school life in some elite Georgia-based suburbia. We meet the hero, Simon (Nick Robinson) and his notably WASPy family (his parents are no less than Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel). Simon explains in an opening monologue that his life is something we might all recognize, and I laughed as we see the affluent life he leads. His house is ripped from the pages of Better Homes and Gardens, and his high school has a welcoming diversity not seen since High School Musical. The setting is all but ideal, save for the fact that Simon harbors a closely-held secret: that he is gay.

The movie essentially follows two threads: Simon's conversations with an online blogger named "Blue" (another closeted student who allegedly goes to Simon's school), and those same email threads being seen by another student, Martin (Logan Miller) and his attempts to blackmail Simon in order to get a date with one of his friends. The bulk of the film documents Simon's chats (online he goes by the pen name Jacques) with Blue, and his slow realization that perhaps he would be more comfortable coming out as gay and exploring a life he had previously hidden away to everyone in his life.

I liked the movie a lot for what it sought to accomplish. Robinson is perfectly charming as Simon, a quiet and timid young man on the verge of discovering himself. His friend circle is a bedrock of support, and yet Simon reminds the audiences that he is fearful of admitting himself to be gay, especially to his family. Why? It's said in the film's first minutes that his parents are as progressive as they come, and they regularly engage in family discussions that cover very candid topics (as well as weekly family viewings of "The Bachelor"). We can only justify Simon's actions by learning that only one other student is gay in his high school, a particularly fierce black student with long hair and feminine features. Yes, he is bullied, but unlike other stories, this kid is not the victim. Students throw around the word "fag" here and there, but in 2018, it's somewhat refreshing to see the gay boy taking no notice.

There are many scenes that may have viewers well up with understanding, and just as many that will encourage laughter as a way to stifle the tears (the drama teacher in particular, Natasha Rothwell, has nothing but scene-stealing moments). It feels at times that the film attempts a more broad humor not suited for the film, particularly with the vice-principal character played by Tony Hale. His is a character with a pension for awkward dialogue and an openness in discussing his own romantic life. Coupled against Simon and his more grounded dramatic story, the film indeed has many hiccups of silliness that I didn't find particularly funny (or fitting).

And in the end, as you might expect in the classic vein of romantic high school comedies, Simon meets Blue in a finale set around some unnamed amusement park. That Blue turns out to be a young, attractive, fit, and compatible lover despite the two never meeting is besides the point. I imagined Simon finally meeting his online companion only to discover Blue to be an obese lesbian with shaved temples and a knack for poetry... This isn't one of those films - it's one where everything is wrapped up with a pretty bow and the audience has a final moment to cheer and feel invigorated. I anticipate a second viewing of "Love, Simon" only to once again see the normalization of a topic that Hollywood has long kept on the back burner. This isn't a film that necessarily merits any "best of the year" conversations over next year's awards season, but knowing that more diverse topics aren't necessarily taboo anymore is a great comfort, indeed.

Annihilation (****1/2)

This was a movie that very nearly slipped by me. With critical acclaim but a dwindling box office, rumors are that this was a flick almost destined for Netflix. What a shame that so few people managed to see this one, what I think is the best movie of the year so far. It's a science-fiction/horror mashup that works so well in moments of quiet, and leaves you reeling in sequences of ambiguity.

This is the follow up film by director Alex Garland (who wrote/directed the Oscar-winner Ex Machina) that tells a story of exploration and the unknown. The story begins with Lena (Natalie Portman) reuniting with her husband (Oscar Isaac) who has been missing for almost a year. Thought to be dead while deployed with the Army, Lena soon discovers he was sent to explore a top-secret discovery along some eastern coastal town. A meteor, which crashed to earth some years ago, has left behind a wake of energy (called "the Shimmer") that is miles wide and leaves no survivors. The military has quarantined the area, but as the Shimmer grows and expands, the need to explore it is increasingly urgent.

Lena is briefed by a Dr Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a psychologist who will lead the first non-military expedition to explore and document the phenomenon. They are joined by a couple other scientists (all women), all capable and with enough smarts to come out intact on the other side (so they think). Where the other women seem to go on this suicide mission since they have nothing left to live for, Lena goes in seeking answers to her husband's health, who has returned as the sole survivor and with critical injuries and a foggy memory.

I had assumed this would be an 'alien' movie along the lines of Arrival and portray a strong woman who comes to solve a mystery via brilliant means. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this film takes more risks, enters more heady content, and crafts a story that is as much about the horrific moments as it is about this unknown entity. I am reminded of John Carpenter's "The Thing," Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin," and maybe to an extent Ridley Scott's "Alien." This is a story that wowed me on a technical aspect alone - the score is haunting and eerie (save for a couple misplaced guitar solos here and there) and the visuals are truly awe-inspiring. The Shimmer is ultimately believed to scramble all organic DNA so that species and flora become intertwined. We see flowering plants shaped like human figures, deer with branches for horns, and in the film's most suspenseful setpiece - a bear with a human skeleton's face and cry.

I can find very little to fault this movie for. There is a bookend that rarely works in which the film intercuts with Portman being interviewed after the mission (this dissolves all tension as to whether or not she will survive... Spoiler: we learn in the film's first shot that she does). There is a peculiar performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh that is so clearly "acting" and yet upon further thought I came to realize that this is specific choice by Leigh as to how her character views this situation... Listen to her speak, and maybe you can figure out why she is so dismissive. Portman delivers strong work as a hardened woman who is part soldier-part professor. Major praise also to Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and Tuva Novotny who round out the crew of explorers. Each woman is smart, assured, and unlike most females in horror films - they are always thinking!

I know some might consider me wrong for classifying this as a horror film, but I can see no other way to explain it. It's a blood-and-guts adventure that is as scary as anything I have seen in years. It culminates in a climax set in a lighthouse that is both mystifying and intellectually-rewarding. If you have made it this far in the film, it does not fail to further reward observant audience members. Alex Garland has potentially outdone himself after "Ex Machina," and I cannot wait to see what comes next from this trailblazer of modern cinema. It was only after the credits rolled that I realized the film stars no white men, has only female leads, and the only male characters are minorities. Wow. For Hollywood to be so passionate about proper film roles for women, look no further than "Annihilation." It's a cookie-cutter example of all that Hollywood should be, and how ironic that such a film was glanced over altogether. This is what movie-making is all about.