Beasts of the Southern Wild, Severance, The Humans, Castlevania: Nocturne S1

- Beasts of the Southern Wild [2012] - 88

Starting the year off with a fantasy drama, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a movie that’s been on my list for quite some time. While I certainly don’t think it’s perfect, it is absolutely moving and significantly larger than its 90-minute runtime. This is a movie about identity, community, perseverance, trauma, and legacy taken from the perspective of a group of people many would pass off as foolish, neglectful, or primitive. While there are certainly elements from all these camps present in the film, morality is based entirely on which side of the line you’re standing and Beasts of the Southern Wild does an immense job of using established biases against you to create a gray soup of conflict for the viewer. This was a great film to start the year with and one well worth your time.

- Severance [2007] - 50

Severance, on the other hand… is just “ok”. Not talking about the TV show here [it’s a goal of mine to get to that soon], this Severance is a horror/ comedy in the vein of What We Do in the Shadows… but without the same genius. Severance ticks all the right boxes when it wants to be funny, with genuine laughs, ridiculous moments, and great execution of gags, but falls short once those laughs need context or narrative to drive the plot forwards. As a set of SNL-style bits, Severance would have absolutely sung. As a 95-minute film though… it’s pretty empty and vapid with a plot that isn’t compelling, and characters you’re not interested or invested in. Again, if you want a mindless comedy to get some laughs out of, this will certainly do the trick. Just don’t expect to walk away from this with much to talk about.

- The Humans [2021] - 60

The Humans gets an “A” for effort but a “D-” for execution. Adapted from a one-act play, The Humans examines the complexity of family dynamics and the difficulties of looking past your own expectations and trajectories to see those of others. This is one of those films where, if you want any given set piece, line of dialogue, or slow zoom on a moldering wall to mean something… it will… for you… and then you can justify it with forty-five other elements of the film that “absolutely” back it up. As a 45-miunte short with half as many characters, this would have been a powerful experience. At 108-minutes, though… it was just entirely too drawn out and felt more insistent than authentic. Excellent performances from an all-star cast carry the film’s attempts at genuine and subtle drama, but the relentless boredom inspired by the sluggish pacing and reluctance to explore its more interesting conflicts leaves The Humans as something to appreciate, but not to watch.

- Castlevania: Nocturne S1 [2023] - 77

Coming two years after the conclusion of its initial series, Castlevania: Nocturne picks up 300-someodd years after the events of that run. With big shoes to fill, the deck is kind of stacked against this one, but it’s done alright for itself so far. It will be difficult [and so far impossible] for the show to create a more compelling force than Dracula, but S1 of the original series wasn’t great compared to the rest either, so it’s difficult to project or compare. As it stands, Nocturne certainly has the legs to propel itself forwards despite some shallow characters, entirely unnecessary plot lines, and comedically obvious plot holes/ hand waves as it continues to sport some of the sharpest animation in the business and most aggressive, adrenaline inducing action this side of John Wick. I’m a little anxious how this series unfolds moving forward, but S1 is certainly a strong enough start to keep me engaged… even if the last episode was clearly a cheap grab to get me to want more… which is absolutely DID.