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The Joneses 2009 ★★★½
Went in for a rewatch. It was pretty much what I remembered.
Stealth marketing, aka influencers before that was a thing. People using peer pressure to hock shit, taking advantage of the people who desperately want to belong with the in crowd. Even if it kills them.
The main quality is the cast. David Duchovny and Demi Moore share good chemistry, especially when they do (semi-)ironic banter. I like Duchovny and this movie reinforces my belief that he is an underrated actor.
Ben Wellington's Mick is not the deepest character, but Wellington does do a good job displaying the cynicism of the young salesman. Oh yeah, and Amber Heard is in this one, but she does not get anything real to do, except when she gets dumped by her rich boyfriend.
As a comedy, it worked for me. I got a few laughs from the back and forths between Duchovny and Moore and Jenn's sex scene where she hocks perfume is pretty funny too. Or the neighbour – a more ditsy version of Annette Benning's character in American Beauty – who desperately wants to sell stuff. It's funny to see how she gets overwhelmed by the professionals and in a way ends up riding their curtails, and even succeeding. Before she gets a very rude awakening.
Which brings us to Duchovny's Steve who then has a “solyent green is people” moment. In all fairness, I can see why they did this (probably to keep the audience from seeing it as “too dark”) and what it sets up. That said, there is a whiff of morality to it. Like we need to get the movie's lesson thrown in our face. That keeps the fourth star at bay.
Demi Moore and Kate's change of heart are perhaps a bit too Hollywood, but it does get pretty close to what reality would probably be like. Even if two important people quit and leave, it keeps rolling and the system keeps going. Even with the son saying he “does not have to lie anymore”.
She Knows 2020 ★★★
Only five minutes. No time for fucking about.
Straight to the point, good atmosphere and solid ending.
Good stuff.
Infinity Pool 2023 ★★★★
This was my first Brandon Cronenberg flick and that saying about the apple and the tree, well...
for those watching this on a tv or home cinema, computer,... There is nothing wrong with your device, the movie has indeed started. You just don't see a damn thing. Causing one patron to scream out during my viewing: “There's a cap on the projector”. And hilarity ensued.
We get a few minutes of ease before the weirdness kicks in. But when it does... Good lord. Between a ritual fed by a tomato sauce-ish goo, an oddly timed handjob by Mia Goth, a hold up scene with a hint of A clockwork orange, a drug fueled orgy,... It's not difficult to lose your grasp on relity. What's real? What's not? Who's real? Who's pretending?
A surreal experience that leaves you questioning reality when you leave the theater. And I am all here for it.
And fans can rest assured. The Cronenberg legacy is very much alive.
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