Quickie Reviews #14

The Path: Season One

When I first saw the trailer for The Path, I was incredibly excited. Not only was it a topical subject, with the Meyerist “cult-like” movement taking center stage, but it starred Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan, two of the best tv actors out there right now. With that in mind, I’d be lying if I said that season one wasn’t a bit disappointing. It’s still an interesting, worthwhile show, but its slow burn didn’t pay off and I was left feeling like the finale really should have been the tenth episode in a thirteen episode season.

Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan are great, however. It was weird to see Aaron Paul play a character with a sixteen year old son, but eventually you get used to it. The chemistry between Paul and Monaghan is definitely palpable, and I felt like I was living their marriage struggles right along with them. For some context, the basic plot of the show is that Aaron Paul’s character Eddie begins having doubts about the true nature of their religious movement, while his wife, played by Monaghan, remains one of the most devout followers. Eddie’s doubt comes from visions which he can’t fully trust, but the audience is also privy to the shady actions of Cal, the movement’s new leader. So we get to see that everything is definitely not on the up-and-up.

It’s a very compelling story, and I wanted to see the resolution, but unfortunately the season ends a few episodes too soon. We’re left with what’s less of a cliffhanger and more of a “wait, that’s it?” moment. It all ends up being very unsatisfying. The show can move too slowly at times, too, which was frustrating. I also have to raise a complaint about Monaghan’s character. Part of it might be because her husband Eddie is our main character, but she falls into the Skyler White trap. She’s a nagging, hypocritical wife that constantly judges what her husband does while taking no responsibility for her own horrible actions, instead forgiving herself because she thinks her husband deserves it. I’m really getting sick of those types of female characters; they feel unoriginal and honestly kind of sexist. Still, this is one of the better shows to come out of Hulu’s new tv division, and it’s worth a watch. Hopefully season two doesn’t stretch things too thin, and wraps up the season one story quickly before moving onto something else.

7.9/10

Kingsman: The Secret Service

I went into this movie with absolutely zero knowledge of the comic, which is rare for comic book movies these days. This definitely isn’t a superhero tale, though you could argue that the characters exhibit superhero-like abilities at times. Overall, I found this movie to be highly unique in its sense of humor, which was a great pairing with the action. However, it does try to get you to care about the characters at certain times, which fights the overall tone and left me a bit confused.

First of all, the action is incredibly over the top and fun. It’s downright stupid the things that these people are able to do, and I mean that as a compliment. This definitely feels like a Matthew Vaughn movie, and for those that don’t recognize the name, he directed Kick-Ass. If you’ve seen that film, you kind of know what to expect from this one. The humor can be hit or miss. I mostly enjoyed it, while my wife was ready to turn it off after the first thirty minutes. Still, this is my review and not hers, and I laughed more times than I had expected. Still, not everything hits, and there’s some blue humor in particular that I thought stretched the line a bit too thin.

The characters also confused me at times. We’re meant to care about the relationship between our main character and another female agent, but I could barely remember her name while watching the movie, and we were given absolutely zero backstory on her. With so little character development, I’m not sure how we’re supposed to feel invested. Special shout out goes to Colin Firth, who absolutely takes this movie to another level. In another life, he would have been an excellent James Bond. On the other side of the coin, Samuel L Jackson is distracting in the worst of ways as the movie’s villain. He’s known for his crazy characters, but he was just too much in this movie, and that’s saying something. The lisp that he created was the absolute worst. Overall, this was a surprisingly fun movie with some great action, but some of the writing and performances dragged it down a bit. But if you like dumb action movies, this is one worth seeing.

7.6/10

Creep

I hate horror movies. They make me feel like a wuss and I don’t like it. I’m also sick of the “jump scare” type movies that overtake theatres every fall. Create a world, build some tension, and really make an atmosphere of dread. Those are the successful elements of horror to me, not just having something pop out from around a corner every ten minutes. Creep falls somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. It makes fun of jump scares a few times, but it still utilizes them as a tactic, so the commentary isn’t very successful. The tension that it builds at times is much better, and most of the credit there goes to a fantastic performance by Mark Duplass. He’s interesting, unsettling, quirky, and kind of sad in a way. It’s a great character, and really the only reason to watch this movie.

The movie is short at only 80 minutes, but that serves to its benefit. The story here is very thin, and is told through a “found footage” aesthetic where the camera is a kind of character on its own. Basically, Mark Duplass’ character hires a videographer to record a day in his life, as he’s just found out that he’s dying. The video will serve as a way for him to be remembered by his unborn child, thus justifying why everything is being recorded. Obviously, this is a horror movie, so things are not as they seem, and right away there’s a sense that something isn’t quite right about Duplass’ character. The movie was written and directed by the same guy, who also plays the videographer. The direction and writing are fine, but man is he a terrible actor. It really takes you out of the movie to see and hear his wooden performance. I’m not saying this would have been an amazing movie if he had cast someone else, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt. Creep has an interesting antagonist, but that’s about all it has to offer.

6.0/10