Wolf Man (2025)

Leigh Whannell follows up his commercially successful (if creatively bankrupt) The Invisible Man by remaking another classic horror movie for a 21st century audience. Once again, it has to do with toxic men attacking poor defenseless women. This time, one of them just happens to be a loving father.

It essentially tells a small, simple story about a family hunted by a werewolf. Where it succeeds is by slowly building up a dark, brooding atmosphere. Where it falters is by not doing anything different than we've seen before. The original still stands on its own. This one feels sadder, not more scary.

2½ shivers out of 5

The Invisible Man (2020)

A battered women has to deal with her abusive ex-boyfriend who returns to harass her after discovering the secrets of invisibility. You'd think there would be a lot more creative uses for invisibility than torturing your ex, but okay.

Horror movies have always traditionally touched on cultural issues and reflected the times they were made in, but it tends to only be successful when done in a subversive way, not by preaching its agenda to the audience. This film was made at the height of #MeToo and has its sights aimed at abusive high-powered men, which is not immediately the first thing you would expect from this story. I suppose it's a new angle on it, but I hate when a movie gets bogged down by its politics. Almost as if we're supposed to pat ourselves on the back afterwards for agreeing that violence towards women is a bad thing.

2 inexplicable technologies out of 5

The Damned (2024)

Atmospheric horror works best when you've had enough rest beforehand and when you actually give a shit about what's happening on screen. Only one of those things is my fault. On an Arctic fishing outpost in the 19th century, a small crew has run low on resources and resorted to eating their own bait. They discover a boat trapped in the ice, but due to the high risk and their poor starving conditions, decide not to intervene and let the crew sink instead. And they appear to be haunted by this decision. It's a bit of a snoozefest that doesn't really feel like it was worth the effort of staying awake through it.

1½ draugr out of 5

The End (2024)

It seems like at the end of every year, there is a prestige movie concerning the end of the world, whether it's Don't Look Up, White Noise, or Leave the World Behind. The End is a musical about a wealthy family who has survived for two decades in a lavish underground bunker, where they spend their days running emergency preparedness drills, writing memoirs, admiring art and baking cakes, when one day they find another survivor has breached their walls. Michael Shannon sings (!) while Tilda Swinton wears another terrible wig to distinguish it from her other quirky roles. Musicals have an otherworldly quality where you have to suspend your disbelief, so it fits the strangeness of the material well, even though I was already tiring of it long before its excessive two-and-a-half hour mark. There are lots of interesting places this film could have gone, but somehow it manages to sidestep most of them. It just feels like another tremendous waste of potential and it's such a shame. 

2 inopportune farts out of 5

Lynch/Oz (2022)

"There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about The Wizard of Oz."

-David Lynch, 2001

A collection of video essays from filmmakers and critics that examines the influence and impact of Victor Fleming's 1939 film throughout American culture. It analyzes Lynch's seemingly single-minded obsession in his career, creating a throughline between all his work. Besides the obvious Wild at Heart connection or the clear connotations in Mulholland Drive, I didn't think too much of this at first, but now I'm entirely convinced it has subconsciously permeated a lot of his narrative. He is literally the man behind the curtains.

Some of these are reaches to be sure, which I think dilutes its messaging, but it's fun to go back through his work searching for a common thread. To borrow from another work, it takes you down a deep rabbit hole of an influential singular vision. Contains spoilers for several of his films, so be forewarned.

3 places like home out of 5

David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)

A fly-on-the-wall documentary capturing a candid portrait of Lynch's lesser-known home life, interspersed with hundreds of previously unseen images of his art accompanied by commentary from Lynch himself, providing musings and recollections from his childhood and early career, pre-Eraserhead as well as post-Inland Empire. As with a lot of his work, at times it feels disparate and randomly cobbled together, like fragments from a dream, but it offers a fascinating insight into the artistic process of a true original icon, and you come away with a better sense of the man at the end of it. Captured over four years, this doc was put together by the same team who made Lynch (One).

3½ portraits ensconced in smoke out of 5

The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)

An anthology of six shorts from early in Lynch's career (1966-1996), including student films and other commissioned projects, accompanied by introductions from the director. While I can't say I liked any of these personally, there's no denying the singular vision present in these works. There is no way David Lynch was not going to become who he was. Some of these are so dense and inscrutable, all you can do is sit back and watch in stunned silence. The "best" of these, The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988), is a slapstick film featuring veterans Harry Dean Stanton and Jack Nance. All of them defy convention.

3 "what the hell?" out of 5

R.I.P. David Lynch (1946-2025)

Remembering David Keith Lynch

(January 20, 1946 - January 15, 2025)

We here at the Nut are enormous fans of the artist and auteur known as David Lynch. I'd like to honor him by putting together a little tribute of all his works.

You will be missed, sir. Have a slice of cherry pie or a cup of damn fine coffee in his memory.

FILMOGRAPHY:

Eraserhead (1977)

The Elephant Man (1980)

Dune (1984)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Wild at Heart (1990)

Industrial Symphony No. 1 (1990) - concert film

Twin Peaks: Season 1 (1990)

Twin Peaks: Season 2 (1990-91)

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

On the Air (1992) - TV sitcom

Hotel Room (1993) - anthology drama

Lost Highway (1997)

The Straight Story (1999)

Mulholland Dr. (1999) - unaired pilot

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Inland Empire (2006)

More Things That Happened (2007)

Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

DISCOGRAPHY:

Lux Vivens (with Jocelyn Montgomery) (1998)

BlueBob (with John Neff) (2001)

The Air is on Fire (with Dean Hurley) (2007)

Polish Night Music (with Marek Zebrowski) (2007)

Crazy Clown Time (2011)

This Train (with Chrystabell) (2011)

The Big Dream (2013)

Somewhere in the Nowhere (with Chrystabell) (2016)

Thought Gang (with Angelo Badalamenti) (2018)

Cellophane Memories (with Chrystabell) (2024) - listening party + Q&A

DOCUMENTARIES:

The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)

Lynch (One) (2007)

David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)

Lynch/Oz (2022)

Other titles on In a Nutshell

Selected discography on Nut Suite

Complete works on the Internet Archive

Check out Lynch's final on-screen role as John Ford in The Fabelmans (2022).

.llac niatruc eht ta uoy eeS

The Last Showgirl (2024)

The last showgirl revue in Vegas is about to close and a seasoned performer working since the '80s is forced to confront retirement from the only job she loves and still feels qualified to do. Pamela Anderson (making her comeback at 57 and still looking glamorous) heads this sparse indie drama shot on 16mm about a dancer coming to terms with an uncertain future in a rapidly evolving world, all the while attempting to make amends with her estranged daughter. 

It's a good film, but there's something odd about it that stands out in your mind. It's more about the naturalistic performances at the center of it than anything plot-related. There are layers to the sadness, and Pamela shines in a sublime star-turning role.

3 Razzle Dazzles out of 5

Better Man (2024)

Robbie Williams narrates his life story, with the twist that he sees himself as a godless ape. It really shouldn't work, and yet, it's kind of a brilliant play that separates it from the tired musical biopic genre. The gimmick helps to sell the over the top life he's lived, and you honestly forget all about it once you're invested. It's also helpful that his story plays out like a real life Trainspotting. Clinically depressed and drug-addicted, we see his meteoric rise and fall as the "bad boy" of Take That into a floundering solo career. Is it self-serving? You bet. But there's a refreshing candidness and self-loathing behind all the glamour on screen which makes it richly compelling and deeply authentic. 

This is one of the best of 2024, in my opinion.

4 My Ways out of 5

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

14 years after they last graced our screens, the cheese-loving inventor and his cheesed-off dog return in a follow-up (of sorts) to The Wrong Trousers, featuring the villainous Feathers McGraw. This time, Wallace's latest invention is Norbot, a garden gnome variety smart robot, whose modern conveniences threaten to outwit Gromit's usefulness. The stopmotion animation looks sheen and smoother than ever, as it tells a story warning about the dangers of AI gone bad. I do think this would have worked better as a half-hour short, but it's a very quick-paced 75 minutes, and it's kind of a miracle to see this series revived again after all this time. It's charming pip pip wholesome fun for all.

Ben Whitehead takes over as Wallace after the passing of Peter Sallis in 2017.

3½ recharges out of 5

Note: The company that supplied the modelling clay for all of Aardman's productions shut down in 2023, so Aardman purchased up all their supply in order to cover this film. Looks like they've have to find a new source for their further adventures, but Nick Park promises W&G will be back in some form.

2024: A Year in Review

Following in cuckoo's tradition of annual year-end lists (although delivered in a more timely manner) and submitted for your approval: here is my wrap-up of 2024 [liable to change in the upcoming weeks; keep an eye on this post].

Top 10 (in no particular order):

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: In terms of nostalgic entertainment value, this gave me the best bang for my buck. Comfort food for the weathered soul.
Deadpool & Wolverine: Pure joy at the cinema. Rewards 20+ years of watching Fox superhero films. Ryan Reynolds has completely won me over at this point.
Joker: Folie à Deux: We get what we fuckin' deserve. It's a winner in my book, even if audiences prefer the cookie-cutter shit instead. 
Anora: Anti-mainstream and nonconformist "romance" for the ages.
Nosferatu: An unsettling mood piece that feels unmoored from time.
A Real Pain: The real pain was the friends we made along the way.
Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023; released in 2024): Loneliness and pain; repeat.
Strange Darling: Go into it knowing nothing for best results.
The Substance: Body horror is alive and well in 2024.
I Saw the TV Glow: Apparently a metaphor for the trans experience, it works on a completely different level for those of us trapped in the past by nostalgia. (Currently my favorite film of 2024.)

Honorable mentions (unlike cuckoo, I will not limit myself to just 10!):

Perfect Days: Simplicity at its best.
Flow: The best animation to come out of 2024.
Better Man: Robbie Williams is an ape man; a unique take on the biopic genre.
A Different Man: A deeply strange film that still rubs me the wrong way, which seems like a triumph on its own.
Kinds of Kindness: WTF for WTF's sake!
Hundreds of Beavers: Technically produced in 2022, it wasn't widely released until this year. It's too fucking weird to discount.
Sasquatch Sunset: A funny and surreal journey.
Ghostlight: A grieving man finds an outlet for pain.
The Room Next Door: Two friends come to terms with loss.
Hard Truths: Life Sucks: The Movie
I'm Still Here: A family torn apart by politics.
The Brutalist: An immigrant struggles with the American dream.
Civil War: Hits a bit too close to home.
Nickel Boys: POV: Racism
Sing Sing: Convicts put on a play for their own sanity.
A Complete Unknown: Bob Dylan is an asshole. There, I said it.
Wicked: God damn it.
Hit Man: Better than it has any right to be.
Touch: Simple and sweet.
Here: High concept schmaltz.
Thelma: Grandma strikes back!
Tuesday: A modern-day fable.
Orion and the Dark: Inside Out as scripted by Charlie Kaufman.
Robot Dreams: A unique, traditionally animated silent film.
The Wild Robot: AI finds harmony with nature.
IF: A cute family film with its heart in the right place.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: The return of old friends.
Memoir of a Snail: Deeply affecting and hard to shake.
Stopmotion: A tribute to a dying art form.
MaXXXine: An homage to giallo set in the '80s.
Smile 2: The rare sequel that is as good as the original.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: The best we're gonna get at this point.
Heretic: Hugh Grant is in a league of his own.
Oddity: Hard to define.
Longlegs: See above.
In a Violent Nature: A slasher from the killer's POV.
Late Night with the Devil: A host's descent into madness.
Cuckoo: We miss you, buddy.

And last but definitely least, the cream of the crap:

Bad Boys: Ride or Die: No review at this time.
Borderlands: Soulless, corporate consumerism.
The Exorcism: A metaphor for sum or another.
Megalopolis: I feel bad for shitting on auteurism, but I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Not Another Church Movie: Not even worth nutting.
Red One: A big red shiny no.
Sam and Colby: The Legends of the Paranormal: The worst "movie" I've ever had the displeasure to sit through at the theater.
Tarot: It's even worse on reflection.
Transformers One: A brain-numbing, watered-down children's film that was apparently well-regarded by fans. (Sorry.)
Werewolves: A piece of shit if there ever was one.

Note: I will be reducing my Nut activities in 2025 to focus more on my first passion: fapping. But worry not; I will continue to post as long as there is still blood left flowing through these veins (also applies to fap).

-bud