Editor’s Note: For Freeline Media movie critic Mike Fried is here to satisfy all your streaming needs! Mike has the scoop on what’s new in streaming films, and which ones to watch — or avoid! Read on!
By MIKE FRIED
NO OTHER CHOICE (HULU)
**** 1/2
Man-Su has worked at a paper company for 25 years, previously won an award as Pulp Man of the Year and lives in his childhood home with his wife and two children. When the company is sold, Man-Su is unceremoniously laid off. Thirteen months later, Man-Su hasn’t found another job in the paper industry and his family has been forced to cut back on expenses. On a job interview with a paper company, Man-Su nearly kills the condescending plant manager, then realizes that the best way to get the job is to eliminate the competition. So he puts a fake newspaper advertisement to identify his main competitors and eliminate them.
Never did I ever think I would write the words Park Chan-Wook and Donald Westlake in one sentence but here we are. This movie is based on Westlake’s terrific novel The Ax, which I read many years ago and which still resonates.
As an indictment of corporate manipulation, what Park has done is to retain the deviousness of the novel while giving it a much-needed dose of comedy. I give credit to Park for delving into comedy, a genre he hasn’t tackled before — and nailing it. But perhaps it is the nature of his prior films like The Vengeance Trilogy that makes him most suited to adapt the novel. Because while this is a black comedy, it is also a thriller which is right in his wheelhouse.
And just as Oldboy would not have been considered one of the greatest films ever made without the wonderful performance of Choi Min-Sik, this movie might have failed without the magnificent wrongly Oscar-shunned performance by Lee Byung-Hun, whose hapless Man-Su is perhaps his best, most nuanced yet comedic performance. And what makes it so great is that he usually plays more severe, serious characters. I’d be absolutely remiss in not mentioning Son Ye-Jin, who turns in a marvelous performance as Man-Su’s wife, who only wants good things.
And the terrific thing about this film is that it succeeds even though it’s not a new story. On the low end, it has similarities to the 1990 film A Shock to the System with Michael Caine. But it also seems like a direct descendant of Robert Hamer’s classic film, Kind Hearts and Coronets.
The movie features a playful score by Jo Yeong-wook, great cinematography (especially the”bomb shot” sequence) and editing; but ultimately it is Park’s direction of this comedy that enlivens this film. Westlake’s novel is much darker than this film and the script by Park and three others is a testament to how good the film is. Despite this being a violent film, it never loses sight of Man-Su’s humanity, whereas in A Shock to the System and Kind Hearts and Coronets, the main character is unredeemable. Man-Su hates what he has to do.
This was originally envisioned to be an English language version with a script by co-writer Don McKellar but it progressed to a Korean film and I’m glad for that. I had a fear that an English language version would be predictable and feature well known actors shoehorned into roles they did not fit. As a Korean film, it soars.
Westlake’s novel was first adapted by Costa-Gavras in 2005 and this film is dedicated to him as well as being co-produced by his wife, who produced the 2005 film, and his son. All due respect to Costa-Gavras, but this movie far exceeds that original adaptation.
If I had to critique this film, my only complaint would be that it was a bit overlong and that it could have been trimmed. But what do I know? I sit here writing about films, not making them.
However, this film being totally ignored by the Motion Picture Academy is absolutely insane. Perhaps it was the comic tone but that shouldn’t disqualify it.
It’s a head scratcher.
WATCH IT!
DOLLY (AMC +/ SHUDDER)
***
Macy and her boyfriend Chase travel into a remote wooded mountain area for a hike, where Chase intends to propose. He goes off trail and finds a large woman in a porcelain mask who injures him and then captures Macy, who wakes up in a crib in a nursery in a secluded house, dressed in baby clothes. And she finds that there is another captive there who urges her to play the game. Dolly, the woman in the porcelain mask, intends on raising Macy as her own.
This movie definitely scores points on creepiness. There’s certainly enough gore in the movie to keep horror fans entertained. Filming the movie on 16mm certainly helped as the graininess of the cinematography enhances the creepiness, along with all the dolls. Who among us hasn’t been freaked out by dozens of dolls all set up together? One or two maybe — but dozens?!?!?
Still, it’s mostly a good film that is lesser than the sum of its parts. The fact that the film is chaptered might work for Quentin Tarantino, but here it only serves to detract from the fluidity of the film’s narrative.
Fabianne Therese is a terrific scream queen in this film. I honestly don’t remember her in anything else but she goes toe to toe with wrestler Max the Impaler who plays Dolly. Ethan Suplee is on hand as the fellow captive and Seann William Scott has a hell of a lot of fun playing a guy with half a face.
The best thing this movie has going for it is its short runtime. At 77 minutes without credits, the movie really doesn’t give you a chance to be bored.
There’s an unnecessary but funny post credit scene so fast forward to that.
WATCH IT IF YOU ARE A HORROR FAN!
Otherwise, skip it.
APEX (NETFLIX)
****
Five months after she loses her husband and mountain climbing partner Tommy during a storm, Sasha decides to kayak the rivers of New South Wales in Australia. A young man, Ben, who initially appears helpful, shows his true colors and makes her trip terrifying. He steals her provisions and while serving her breakfast he tells her what he did. He restocks some of her provisions and he gives her until the current song finishes playing as an head start. And then the race is on, Sasha in her kayak and Ben with his crossbow. Now it’s the most dangerous game and Ben has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Lookit, this is not going to win awards; but Netflix’s goal is to get people streaming and this one will pull them in. It’s a solidly built action thriller and even if it’s nothing special, it’s built-in 88 minute running time (sans credits) and constant action is a definite plus.
Charlie Theron and Taron Egerton have absolutely been better in other things but they are game for this film, which features action set piece after action set piece as the hunter tracks the hunted. Theron shows off impressive physicality (even if you know that it’s aided by CGI-erased safety cables). Theron, for her part, learned to rock climb for the movie and the effort shows. (See Fun Fact Below!)
And Egerton wows as skinhead bad guy Ben who really enjoys taunting Sasha. Egerton, when he says, “This is a ritual,” is absolutely chilling. And he gets more chilling as the movie precedes as the film goes from pure action to psychological thriller.
Baltasar Kormákur for his part is a steady hand at directing action films and this movie proves to be no exception. He is aided by excellent editing by Sigurdur Eythorsson and gorgeous cinematography by Lawrence Sher that really highlights the beauty of New South Wales’ Blue Mountains.
Ultimately, there are no surprises and that may be one of the downsides to the film, but there’s no doubt that the final sequence has Charlize going full Atomic Blonde.
WATCH IT!
Michael Fried has no formal training in movies, except having watched over 26,000+ movies — if not more — in his 60-plus years on this planet, starting with Goldfinger as his first cinema experience. He knows what he likes and he knows what he doesn’t like, and it’s quite often different from the conventional wisdom. He knows that the best franchise is Godzilla and he loves action movies and comedies. He has not been nominated for any awards except some boring insurance awards which has no applicability to movies (with the possible exceptions of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and John Cassavettes’ Big Trouble). He is part of a team that won the 1980 SUNY Albany Trivia content by correctly guessing the question, “Who played the president of Klopstockia in Million Dollar Legs?” So he has that going for him, which is nice.
Contact Mike at moviemike3@yahoo.com and mike.fried@yahoo.com.
