Movie Reviews: Flatliners, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Flatliners(2017)
directed by Niels Arden Oplev

Flatliners is a remake of the 1990 film of the same name that starred such Hollywood luminaries as Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon among others. The story is a familiar one. People cross boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. Initially the people who broke the rules seem to be doing well. In fact they are doing better than ok. They have abilities and knowledge that can't be explained. But there's no such thing as a free lunch. The transgressors start to have problems. Big problems. There are things that we aren't meant to know. Hopefully the smarter or more moral of the protagonists can find the key to making things right before everyone has to pay with their lives or sanity. 

There aren't too many surprises when a story adheres to this theme.  What counts is the style, not the details. Flatliners starts out with style and creepiness but almost immediately falls back on the same generic jump cuts and did or didn't I see that spookiness that make up the majority of horror/thriller movies today. This movie was almost the definition of bland. A medical student is fascinated with the idea of what lies beyond the limit of death. There is still some brain activity beyond the point of what we call death. What's going on in the brain for those few seconds?

People who have been resuscitated often  have common stories of white lights or tunnels. So this medical student decides that she wants to see for herself what's occurring. With the help of her so smart they're dumb friends, she flatlines. For a short period of time she's clinically dead before being brought back. 

Now I get nervous when trained skilled professionals with decades of experience perform medical procedures on me. Would I trust a peer who is years away from receiving his or her medical license and ability to revive me?  No. Not at all. I wouldn't trust most of my peers to follow the directions I gave them to the nearest pizza parlor. But without that there's no movie is there? When this student returns to life, she can play the piano again. She has increased intelligence and memory. Jealous, most of her friends follow suit, all except one. Well the odd man out turned out to be the smart man, as all of these people start having visions. They have more and more difficulty distinguishing between reality and their visions. Maybe when they crossed the boundary between life and death something else came back with them. Maybe. Or maybe not. This movie stars Ellen Page, Nina Dobrev, Diego Luna, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons, Wendy Raquel Robinson, and of course Kiefer Sutherland. The special effects were good. Nina Dobrev is easy on the eyes. But there is almost nothing special about this movie. Even Debussy's Clair De Lune, used to such impressive effect in Ocean's Eleven, shows up here with virtually no emotional impact. Of course as always YMMV.  But if you're interested in movies about breaking medical rules and stretching the boundaries between life and death I think that Re-Animator was a much better film. 
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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
directed by Edgar Wright

This older work is a film based on a comic book that wasn't finished when the movie first came out. The film was not a financial success in the theater. The running time was a little too long for the material. This movie wasn't going to appeal to the mainstream audience who wasn't familiar with the comic. Nevertheless this film is something I enjoy watching. Although Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was based on a comic book apparently the comic book was also in part modeled after a video game. The film has in-universe references to all sorts of video games, including Street Fighter. There are all sorts of inside jokes, gags, and asides. This is an over the top comedy that usually makes me laugh out loud throughout the film's running time. Visually Wright uses the same sort of the special effect sight gags that he would later use in movies like Baby Driver. When people fight, big block letters like "THUD" and "WOMP" appear on the movie screen. This movie feels exactly like a comic book and video game. I mean that as a compliment. There's a heightened sense of fun, unreality, and silliness in this film. If you're just looking for something that's going to make you laugh with some side messages about the power of love and self-respect then this might be worth your time.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a Toronto slacker in his early twenties and bassist for the alternative garage rock band Sex Bob-Omb. The other group members are the  perpetually agitated guitarist/lead singer Stephen Stills (Mark Webber), percussionist, roadie and fill-in bassist Young Neil (Johnny Simmons) and depressed deadpan snarker drummer Kim (Alison Pill) Although Scott looks and sounds like he desperately needs testosterone injections, in one of the film's running gags, looks can be very deceiving. Scott, as his former girlfriend Kim reminds him, is something of a wolf in sheep's clothing. He's got a bit of a body count with the ladies. Having recently been dumped by Envy (Brie Larson) and not liking the feeling one bit, Scott has taken up with Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) a high school student who is FAR more into Scott than he is into her. Knives shows up at band rehearsals. Knives wants to hang out with Scott all the time.  Knives plays video games with Scott. Knives wants to introduce Scott to her parents. Knives thinks that Scott is the most magnificent man she's ever met. Of course she hasn't met many men. Scott's band members, sister Stacey (Anna Kendrick) and gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin) all think that Scott's wrong for dating someone so young and innocent. 

Scott hasn't done anything with Knives yet, in part because she is so young and innocent, but also because he's having dreams of a different beautiful woman. Sometimes these dreams intrude on his waking hours. At a friend's party Scott actually runs into this woman. Her name is Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). She's American. She's a delivery woman for Amazon. Scott's in LOVE. It's the real thing. Scott orders something he doesn't need from Amazon just so he can see Ramona again. Nerd or not, Scott knows what to do when he sees a woman he likes. In short time Scott has convinced the wary and world weary Ramona to go out with him. They have an encounter. It's unclear as to whether that should be considered a date. Scott gets Ramona's number. It is definitely a date when Scott invites Ramona to the Toronto Battle of the Bands. If Sex Bob-Omb wins they'll get a record contract. Scott is convinced that everything is looking up for him. 

Unfortunately Scott forgot that Knives was also invited to the Battle of the Bands. Stacey can't wait to drop the dime on her brother. Knives and Ramona are already looking at each other suspiciously. But before all that can happen Scott is attacked by Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha). Matthew is Ramona's first evil ex. Matthew dated Ramona back in seventh grade. Before Scott can date Ramona he must defeat each of her seven evil exes. The League of Evil Exes has formed with the specific purpose of stopping Scott from finding happiness with Ramona. Matthew explained all of this in an email which Scott neglected to read. Battle is joined. Scott defeats Matthew along with Matthew's fireballs and demonic Bollywood style dancers. Matthew explodes in a shower of coins. Scott gets points. But as Ramona later explains to Scott there are six other evil exes out there, all looking to take Scott down. Scott will have to win all of those battles if he wants Ramona. Scott also must man up and explain things to Knives. Wallace, who is Scott's conscience, demands that Scott do the right thing by Knives. 

This film is an exhilarating display of technique mixed with a sweet and hectic love story. The violence is literally cartoonish. There's no blood or guts. The movie's weakness is that almost everything is shown from Scott's point of view. There's not any explanation as to why Ramona is willing to go out with a whiny customer or how someone like Scott with the muscle tone of overcooked spaghetti can go toe to toe with bigger stronger people. The only way this makes sense is if the movie itself is a video game and the viewer is playing Scott. This is not really a film that requires deep thinking. Other actors/actresses include Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman.
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