INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS — SHOCKTOBER!

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By far the best version in the franchise, Philip Kaufman’s venerable revamping of Don Siegel’s 1956 black-and-white sci-fi horror classic delved deeper into nitty-gritty details of a pod-induced mass transformation of humans into emotionless doppelgangers.

In so doing, Kaufman gave his movie the visual lift it needed to instill palpable dread and fear in an audience that didn’t know what hit them.   

The filmmakers use a recurring image system of spider-web similes, which act as a unifying filter of discord. San Francisco has been turned upside-down over night. Everything is different. Garbage collectors are busy on every street collecting the grey fuzzy waste from swapped-out bodies.

Donald Sutherland plays San Francisco health inspector Matthew Bennell with a cozy sense of paternal confidence that makes him seem immune to anything that could possibly usurp his empathetic soul. Civilization’s sudden loss of compassion to a population of cold conspiratorial aliens, incapable of something as simple as laughter, proves a terrifying idea when played out to its logical extreme.

Casting Donald Sutherland in the lead role proved to be a coup for Kaufman. Strains of Sutherland’s iconic performance in Nicholas Roeg’s deeply disturbing psychological thriller “Don’t Look Now” (1973) carried over into "Body Snatchers."

Thematically, the film’s allegory regarding viral-groupthink has plenty of wiggle-room for interpretation because it is so profoundly vague yet universal. It’s easy to imagine authority figures such as police and politicians inhabited by aliens, because they so frequently express an utter disregard for the value of human life in favor of corporate profits for the one-percent.

A significant genre-imposed rule of the movie is that its characters can’t fall sleep lest they succumb to possession. Doing so enables one of the recently arrived pods-from-space to produce an exact physical replica that will come to life after sucking the subject’s body dry of its meat, bones, and brains.

Matthew Bennell’s health department co-worker Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) notices a change in her husband. She alerts Matthew to her concerns just as it seems society has begun to flip. A man in a business suit inexplicably sprints through traffic.

Kaufman sets his audience’s teeth on edge with an inventive soundscape, involving things like heartbeats. Sounds move between the film’s Dolby Stereo format, making the audience feel as if the action is taking place around them.

Kaufman’s remake gets cameo endorsements from Don Siegel, and from Kevin McCarthy, the lead actor from the original "Body Snatchers" movie. Siegel plays a pod-changed cab driver taking Matthew and Elizabeth for a little ride. Kevin McCarthy’s character is the same as in Segel’s movie except that he seems even more desperate now.

Philip Kaufman's “Body Snatchers” is famous for a couple of offbeat scenes that you hardly believe when you’re seeing them.

Not Rated. 80 mins.

 

THE SURFER — CANNES 2024

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The Nicolas Cage cottage industry of Cinema rolls on.

Halefuckinluya.

Cinema audiences can take deep satisfaction in knowing that Nicolas Cage is still around to carry a torch for their American entertainment dollar.

It means a lot.

And why hasn't Nicolas Cage ever been in a Quentin Tarantino movie?

Just sayin'. Anyway.

As a middle-aged dad returning to purchase his Australian childhood beach home, Cage's surfer suffers every indignation and humiliation imaginable at the hands of a cult of beach rats.

"Bay Boys" they call themselves.

If only Lux Interior of The Cramps were along to tell these masculinity-chasing fools, "You ain't no Punk you punk."

If only.

Cage's surfer dad has his ass publicly handed to him in front of his teenaged son. Not a good look.

Relative newcomer Thomas Martin's script masks most of its plot holes with an incisive sense of tribal/cult mentality. Think "Lord of the Flies."

Social media gets a proper smack in a cell-phone incident that will make you squirm in your chair.

The script guilds the lily too much in regard to beach rat cult leader Scally (Julian McMahon), who Cage's character grew up around.

For a movie that takes place entirely in the location of an ocean front parking lot, "The Surfer" packs a significant punch.

Ignoring plot holes is half of the fun. Nicolas Cage never gives less than 100% in his performances. Here, Cage takes one for the metaphorical group of men who get indoctrinated into cults, either by love-bombing or in this case, brutal physical and mental abuse.

"The Surfer" is a gnarly social satire that gives food for thought about any man's quest for peace and civility.

One takeaway from "The Surfer" is if you find yourself in a situation where you are being embarrassed, humiliated, or abused in any way, hit the exit quick and escape.

Rated R. 100 mins.

THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

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"The Bad And The Beautiful" is a great title for this fascinating self-reflexive triptych melodrama about the inner-workings of Hollywood's early '50s Studio era of success.

It's telling that the picture won seven Oscars back in 1953.

Vincente Minelli's direction is breathtaking.

Kirk Douglas plays Johnathan Shields, a big time Hollywood studio exec with an eye for talent, and all the charm in the world to attract those who fit the bill.

Jonathan is also an inveterate backstabber. In order for Jonathan to succeed it is imperative that those closest too him, fail.

We follow three of Jonathan's victims through flashback chapters that accumulate toward a rich character study of each one. The fraught relationship with their mutual frenemy is a tie that binds.

There's the former business partner (Barry Sullivan), the rags-to-riches starlet (Lana Turner), and a hometown novelist turned L.A. screenwriter (Dick Powell).

Lana Turner is out of this world as Georgia Lorrison, an upcoming star contender in debt to Jonathan's underhanded guidance.

Talk about sexy, Gloria Grahame brings sexy forward and back.

"There's always good and bad in everything," couldn't be truer than in this stylish, almost post-modern, look at narcissism in the days when men were men, boys were boys, and women were classy and able. 

Tragedy strikes in the cruelest of ways before Jonathan finally loses control of his manipulative powers.

Never drop your guard around those with an ounce of power. You have to be ready before the punch arrives.

Not Rated. 118 mins.

THE PENGUIN LESSONS

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Based on Tom Michell's 2016 memoir about his time spent teaching English during a coup in Argentina in 1976, "The Penguin Lessons" is a stellar politically-minded comedy, packed with subtle and not-so-subtle humor, historic political perspective, and Steve Coogan's infectious wit.

And, there's a penguin. I know what you're thinking, another shaggy dog story. Not so fast.

"The Penguin Lessons" is all about metaphors. As such, our penguin guide gifts us with the power of identifying underlying meanings in pretty much everything that the movie has to offer.

Facing up to social responsibility is on the list for Steve Coogan's instinctively truth-telling rendition of Tom Michell. Lying takes too much effort. It's easier for Tom to rip off the band-aid when touchy questions arise.

Throw in a dramatic tearjerker aspect, and you've got some sublime entertainment.

Björn Gustafsson is excellent as Tom's taller-but-less-confident co-worker.

Serious and funny in equal parts, the well-paced narrative gravitates toward deeper truths than you realize until you are stuck in its deep water. 

However potentially treacherous the dramatic terrain of working with children and/or animals, Steve Coogan dances through the tricky narrative like the experienced dancer he proves to be in one of the movie's pivotal sequences.

It's always value-added when there's dance involved. This sequence shines.

Here is a family movie built to stand the test of time. "The Penguin Lessons" will be a safe bet when you see it available to watch on an airplane.

Steve Coogan's comic genius seems to always find its level. This thematically rich material perfectly matches Coogan's advanced skill-set.

Hilarious. I couldn't possibly count how many times I laughed or cried during this masterful picture.

Director Peter Cattaneo ("The Full Monty") captures every microscopic nuance of comedy, tragedy, satire, romance, and mystery in this wonderful movie. 

Impressive.

Rated PG-13. 110 mins.