by Jason Osiason

TRIANGLE OF SADNESS: Ruben Ostlund’s follow-up to his Palme D’ Or winning film The Square may not be the most profound societal class satires, but I had such a spectacular typing watching it. It’s a delicious ridicule on relationships and privilege through the lens of this harsh auteur’s voice. The film’s protagonists are a male model, played by Harris Dickinson, and a model/social influencer named Yaya, played by Charlbi Dean Kriek. What starts as a biting commentary on the power dynamics of a blossoming relationship soon changes course once the pair are gifted a free trip on a luxury yacht at the expense of social media advertising. The film then provokes and pokes fun at the rich, giving an excellent case study on the lower classes getting a taste of power first-hand. While the third act rings deliberately long, there is so much joy in this movie. This includes many skilling-directed set pieces, including one elaborate sinking ship-wreck featuring incoming seawater and bodily fluids. It also features one incredible performance by breakout Dolly De Leon as a maid character appearing in the third act that is the only character with the smarts and wits to survive and quite literally steals the entire movie. [B+]

THE INSPECTION: The newest A24, primed to be the next Moonlight, is anything but. It’s certainly a well-made film that hits familiar beats based on the real-life story of writer/director Elegance Bratton. Although Jeremy Pope’s performance is splendid as a closeted gay man looking to escape the projects of New York and make something of himself, also traumatized by issues with his emotionally abusive mother, played Gabrielle Union. She has never been better on screen. Bokeem Woodbine also stands out as the tough-as-nails and homophobic drill sergeant, and you wish he had written a slightly better part about it. The film takes obvious inspiration from Full Metal Jacket and Moonlight but is enough of a personal picture to elevate. This is a movie that necessarily stands the test of time but shows promise at what comes next for its director. [B-]

BIOSPHERE: This is a post-apocalyptic dramedy set in one location with an evolutionary twist after the end of the world leaves us in a biosphere shelter with humanity solely relying on the President of the United States and his Dr. Fauci-like worker and friend, played Sterling K Brown. These two men must adapt to a lonely new world in the enclosed confines of an artificial biosphere that plays with an inventive social commentary on gender, sexuality, and a mid-film twist that’s too good to spoil. The twist will immediately knock the viewer back with its initial reveal. Still, as it cleverly unfolds, it becomes a fascinating dynamic between the two characters that push both boundaries on their friendship and the future of humanity! It’s funny, insightful, and surprising every step of the way. Sometimes it feels like a film that would play even better on stage, but the cinematic execution makes a great watch, and I could see this having excellent streaming success. The first-time director Mel Eslyn paired with star Mark Duplass has a beautiful ear for dialogue and features stupendous performances from both Duplass and Brown. [B]

HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE: Destined to be one of the most extensive breakouts of the fall festival circuit and was also recently acquired by Neon, this great second film from Daniel Goldhaber (who also directed 2018’s Cam). Think of the intensity of the Dead Freight episode of Breaking Bad as if Andrea Arnold directed it. The movie’s description is quite literally the film’s title, but with a unique storytelling structure that teases why each character banded together yet leaves many surprises in store. It features an inspired cast of uniformly excellent characters, especially Marcus Scribner from Blackish fame, who plays against type as a young activist. This is one of the most exciting and unique independent projects I have seen in years and is a must-watch that will gain both acclaim and a fanbase for years to come. [A-]

THE FABELMANS: Steven Spielberg’s life story on screen is an open-hearted familial tribute that delivers the goods as promised. The first half is about Steven Spielberg growing up in an authentic Jewish household and all about what inspired him to be a filmmaker—making these home movies that influenced many of his classics while also featuring an earnest tribute to his late mother, who was manic depressive and unhappy in her seemingly loving marriage. The film’s best section is Sammy Fabelman growing up in a Wonder years type setting when he transfers to a new high school in Saratoga, California, where he faces bullying and antisemitism for the first time and also begins a romance outside of his Jewish faith with his ultra-religious schoolyard crush played by Chloe East that provides some of the film’s most intense and trustingly funny scenes. Judd Hirsch’s eight-and-a-half-minute performance as Spielberg’s elderly old country-Jewish uncle that had a monumental impact on him was a wonder. It is hands down one of the most outstanding Jewish performances committed to screen. Gabriel LaBelle also lights up the screen as a composite of a young Steven Spielberg sharing his unusual sense of wonder and awe, and what shaped the man and world-renowned we all know well today. [B+]

THE WHALE: This heart-wrenching and poignant film is set around a college professor named Charlie, played by an extraordinary Brendan Fraser, and how he is eating himself to death after the death of his gay lover, who Charlie cheated with and abandoned his family for causing tremendous hurt on his family and daughter’s blossoming adolescence. The film portrays its main characters’ flaws for what they are. It recognizes there is a limited spectrum of forgiveness for the emotional wounds Charlie crushed his family with and how it restricted Charlie from being the type of father he originally aspired to be. Brendan Fraser’s performance is mesmerizing, unrecognizable, and unforgettable in the title role. While it can sometimes be stagey to a fault, it’s incredibly well-shot in its limited setting inside Charlie’s house, which is also his prison. By the time the movie ended, my heart was as broken as Charlie’s. Darren Aronofsky is genuinely the ultimate actors’ director. It’s a pure acting masterclass for everyone, including masterful work by Sadie Sink as Charlie’s estranged daughter and, most notably, Hong Chau, who injects so much humanity and depth into her supporting part as Charlie’s helper, but let’s leave the mystery of who she is precisely for when you see the movie yourself. [B+]

THE MENU: It’s muddled and on the nose, masquerading as a prestige-adult film with great ideals and messages regarding socioeconomic class and food culture. It also has a tonal identity crisis where it can’t function as the horror, thriller, or playful food culture satire it attempts lazily realizes. Worst of all, it unravels with this high-concept yet contrived screenplay void of any tension or suspense. It ultimately struggles at all delivery points and is made under a visually uninspired aesthetic. Such a fun concept needed to be far more thrilling and funny. Finally, we are left with a poor example of a film satirizing class and privilege, featuring strangers finding themselves trapped somewhere dangerous together at the dinner table. Ralph Fiennes has given this villainous performance time and time again, but Anna Taylor Joy is probably the only saving grace of this highly overcooked and hammy misfire. The one saving grace this movie had made me appreciate Triangle of Sadness much more.[D]