What to watch: ‘Don’t Die’ harpoons our social media addiction
The world is an angry, messy and place in the trio of worthy films we’re reviewing this week.
Here’s our roundup.
“Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die”: Gore Verbinski’s mad, mad, mad epic is angry, angry, angry. And with good reason. The apocalyptic dramedy shoots its poison-tipped arrows at two of the most deserving targets in America right now: our addiction to social media and our willingness to let AI assume command of our lives. Both trends get eviscerated, trashed and stomped on (this is by no means a subtle film) in cathartic ways. A stylized and energetic filmmaker, Verbinski (“The Ring,” the first three “Pirates of Caribbean” movies) and screenwriter Matthew Robinson shovel out the satire and social/political commentary more effectively and with more finesse than 2021’s messy “Don’t Look Up” with Leonardo Di Caprio and Jennifer Lawrence. Daly City veteran and “White Lotus” guest star Sam Rockwell leans into his crazy side as a nameless shaggy doomsday soothsayer who has his finger on a detonator and is claiming that the end is nigh due to AI. He storms into a Los Angeles diner and it’s shortly after that when things get really weird as a small group attempt to put the kibosh on AI from taking over the world. Using a framework a la “Weapons” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia” (and even more so Netflix’s “Black Mirror”) the film tells three stories about their wranglings with tech. One involves a substitute school teacher (Michael Pena, in one of his best performance in years) and teacher/girlfriend Janet (Zazi Beetz) as they fend off a herd of student phone addicts; another is about a grief-stricken mother (Juno Temple) who resorts to AI to resurrect her dead son, who was killed in a school shooting; and another concerning a princess-for-hire (Haley Lu Richardson) who is allergic to all social media. Each story is intriguing, weird and angry and each adds layers to the film’s themes. Some will criticize it for being heavy-handed, but I say let it rip. This is a movie with something important to say and wants to awaken us all to a reality and possible future it realizes with the same vigor and comical outrage as David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest.” Sock it to ‘em, Verbinski and Robinson. Your ire and outrage proves to be entertaining and hopefully not so prescient. Oh, and there is a Godzilla-sized cat unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; opens Feb. 13 in theaters.
“Cold Storage”: Anyone who wants to author a how-to manual about making a great “B” movie should be sure to consult with “Cold Storage” director Jonny Campbell and screenwriter David Koepp. The genre crossover specialists own a winning formula, mixing irreverence with gruesome goings-on and offering tips of the hat to classics such as Jack Finney’s oft-referenced “The Body Snatchers.” Other ingredients, of course, can spice things up, especially a well-seasoned supporting cast. And it is there that “Cold Storage” particularly excels. Acting heavyweights Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville and Vanessa Redgrave add gravitas, skill and style along with a willingness to cut loose. They also work well with an appealing younger cast of Joe Keery (“Stranger Things”) and Georgina Campbell (“Barbarian”), the two leads. The “cold storage” in the title references an isolated Kentucky storage center where a green, gooey virus that decades ago got hurled into space on SkyLab and then came back and is now stowed underground. The fast-spreading virus turns everything around it into zombie-like critters who, on occasion, blow their tops and spew green upchuck into the mouths of the unsuspecting. Keery’s loquacious doormat of a storage employee falls for his coworker (Campbell) who is not only super smart but resourceful. Neeson and Manville land some of the funniest lines as Pentagon investigators who got introduced to the virus when it landed. “Cold Storage” is well aware it needs to be ridiculous, gory and fast-paced. It’s all that and more with Redgrave further classing it up as a grief stricken storage center customer caught in the fray. Pure escapist fun from first frame to last. Details: 3 stars, opens Feb. 13 in theaters.
“State of Fear”: It’s not too often that a movie can render you absolutely breathless. The unnerving, one-take 10-minute action sequence that opens this gritty import from Brazil worked every nerve in my body. It’s an incredible and gripping start that the rest of the film can’t match, even though there are more one-shot action sequences to be found in this thriller, a spinoff of “The Brotherhood” series. While you don’t have to watch the two seasons that precede this film, it would help. The impressive stand-alone movie still works for the uninitiated and will appeal to fans of Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and other gritty crime thrillers. A tense São Paulo erupts into violent chaos when the Brotherhood, a criminal gang that’s been squaring off with corrupt cops, goes on the offensive and transforms the city into a war zone. Also caught in the maelstrom is the independent-minded 18-year-old daughter (Camilla Damião) of the founder (Seu Jorge) of The Brotherhood. She gets kidnapped and it’s up to her aunt (Naruna Costa) — who is the lawyer for The Brotherhood — to try to save her. With its bracing cinematography, lean-and-mean screenplay and airtight direction by Pedro Morelli, this is an unsparing, uncompromising road race on some mean, blood-soaked streets where no one comes out a winner. Details: 3 stars; now available on Netflix.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.