SYNOPSIS: In “O’Dessa,” a post-apocalyptic musical now streaming on Disney+, “Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink plays the title character, a dirt farmer who follows in her father’s footsteps as a “Rambler,” a musician whose music has the power to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” When he died he left her a “mighty guitar” and a mission. When the guitar is stolen O’Dessa travels to the dangerous world of Satylite City where the power of her music is tested.
CAST: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, and Regina Hall. Directed by Geremy Jasper.
REVIEW “O’Dessa” builds a cyberpunk world for its characters to inhabit that feels, like the rest of the movie, like a new story built on the foundations of films like “Mad Max” and “The Hunger Games.”
During its 106-minute runtime “O’Dessa” wears its influences on its colorful sleeve.
Everything from “Phantom of the Paradise” to “Repo! The Genetic Opera” garners a nod, but what writer/director Geremy Jasper’s vision lacks in originality, it makes up for in enthusiasm. This dystopian mash-up is vibrant, often extravagant and may even get your toe lightly tapping along with the folk-rock songs.
Trouble is, while the songs are plentiful, they don’t leave much of an impression, let alone have the power to change the world and bring humanity together.
Visually, Jasper evokes 19809s music videos, with wild splashes of colour and costumes that would make Grace Jones envious but, ultimately, while it may entertain the eye, it won’t engage the brain.
Even a pair of pretty good villains, Regina Hall as wicked Neon Dion and Murray Bartlett (“White Lotus’s” pooping resort manager) as the evil empresario Plutonovich, O’Dessa feels music video stretched to feature length.
Writer/director Jasper’s vision of the future may not be as original, or as engaging, as it could be to really sell the movie’s premise, but there is a sincerity to the idea that music and the arts have the power to change the world.
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to do a high five! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the thrills of “Black Bag,” the speculative “Can I Get A Witness?” and the psychological satire of “Opus.”
I joined CP24 Breakfast to have a look at new movies coming to theatres, including the spy drama “Black Bag” and the psychedelic psychodrama “Opus” and the Crave comedy “The Trades.”
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres including the thrills of “Black Bag,” the speculative “Can I Get A Witness?,” the psychological satire of “Opus,” the action of “Novocaine” and the aniimated antics of “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Opus,” a new psychological satire starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich and now playing in theatres, a rookie journalist gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she’s invited to a junket, with a group of experienced reporters and influencers, to visit the remote compound of a legendary pop star, known as “The Wizard of Wiggle,” to listen to his first music in thirty years. Once there, however, she discovers there’s more to the weekend than music.
CAST: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Young Mazino, Stephanie Suganami and Tatanka Means. Directed by Mark Anthony Green.
REVIEW: “Opus” has a lot on its mind. Writer/director Mark Anthony Green attempts a satire of celebrity culture and the press’s complicity in spreading ideology, personal and political, but as well intentioned as the film may be, Green hits many wrong notes.
To really sell the story of a reclusive pop star, one able to make people worldwide bend to his will, you need an iconic, alluring actor and songs that feel like they could have lit up the charts and the imaginations of millions of people. In John Malkovich you have the star power and the off-kilter charisma to make the pop star Alfred Moretti really pop on screen. From his laconic, vaguely menacing dialogue delivery to his ornate Michel Jackson-esque costumes, he blends Jim Jones and Marc Bolan to create an image of a celebrity as a borderline fascist figure.
It’s a shame then that the music, a key part of the character’s legacy, falls flat. Written by the legendary songwriter/producer/performer Nile Rodgers and The-Dream, the songs have a dreamy house music vibe, but in no way live up to the hype the movie gives them in its first twenty minutes or so.
It’s one of the things that makes “Opus” feel half baked.
A mix of dark comedy, horror and coming-of-age story, it lightly touches on each, culminating in its final moments (NO SPOILERS HERRE) with a talky reveal of Alfred Moretti’s grand plan. Again, no spoilers here, but within the film’s final few moments is a chilling look at celebrity culture and the press’s response to it. It’s a fascinating coda but feels like it could have done without all the window dressing that came before.
“The Bear’s” Ayo Edebiri, as the neophyte journalist, is the “final girl,” the audience proxy and we experience the bizarre goings on through her perspective. Skeptical of Moretti and his motives, she is the only rational person on-screen, and while her performance is grounded, it’s not enough to keep this indulgent and scattershot satire on track.
SYNOPSIS: In “O’Dessa,” a post-apocalyptic musical now streaming on Disney+, “Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink plays the title character, a dirt farmer who follows in her father’s footsteps as a “Rambler,” a musician whose music has the power to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” When he died he left her a “mighty guitar” and a mission. When the guitar is stolen O’Dessa travels to the dangerous world of Satylite City where the power of her music is tested.
