Round-up 25: Mr. Ari Aster Did It Again with EDDINGTON!

Back to work this week. I was feeling a bit nervous about it at first, just the initial drive in after a little vacation always feels sorta weird. Once I got into the usual groove of my workflow, though, I quickly settled into my routine. Felt good to be back working. Personal and professional responsibility are important for a young man. Keeps the blood flowing. Preseason football has also got me feeling better. I was excited to watch a couple of games last weekend and this weekend too. Really looking forward to those cool fall Sundays with the sun shining and a trio of pigskin games to tie up the day. Anyways.

            As I was writing last week’s round-up, I was doing some studying for my new project I’ve been working on. I’d seen David Fincher’s The Killer (2023) once before, a couple of years back, when it had first come out. It follows a source graphic novel of the same name; a trained assassin has a mission go wrong, and as a consequence, his bosses come after his girl, and she’s almost killed. What follows is a simple, clean-cut revenge tale as the assassin, played by the ever stoic Michael Fassbender, goes on a quiet rampage throughout the world to kill all those who are responsible. The film was advertised as a high-stakes thriller, and this is where my biggest complaints come to fruition. This is not an action-thriller, but rather, a slow-burning crime drama with lots and lots of voice-over. This being said, I do very much enjoy the vibes that are along for the ride, as it is a very pretty film to watch, but just not nearly as exciting or impactful as it clearly thinks it is. Cleverly written monologues keep it from completely falling apart, but a pretty lackluster ending, too.

            I also gave another quick rewatch to Gregg Araki’s Totally F***ed Up (1993), for research purposes. I was amazed this go around at how tasteful the approach to characterization of its leading roles is. The only thing holding this film back is the clear lack of budget, but at the same time, this is what makes me appreciate the effort that much more. The clever use of stock media and simple imagery not only helps pad the runtime to a feature-length, but also doesn’t waste energy, rather amplifying the message of each particular vignette. Already talked at length about these films, so I’ll leave it at that. But I do predict a more comprehensive dissection at some point in the future.

            Director Zach Cregger has his new horror film out, Weapons (2025), which is high on the watchlist, so I thought I’d go back and rewatch his 2022 horror flick, Barbarian. I remember watching it when it first came out and not being super enamored with it or anything, just thinking it was “okay”. However, upon a rewatch, I was very pleasantly surprised by how fun this story was. It jumps all over the place, but remains consistent thematically and doesn’t breach an hour fifty. The story is simple: a young woman comes to Detroit for a job interview and finds herself in an Airbnb on the wrong side of town. Things start to look especially concerning, however, when someone is already waiting for her at the house. Discoveries around the basement of the house lead the protagonists into a battle against evil that I won’t get into here, to avoid spoilers. What really stood out to me this viewing was the creativity in the storytelling and arrangement of the story beats. So many horror films these days fall into the trap of the usual plot templates, but Cregger clearly was aware of this trap and did everything in his power to avoid it. This was more than enough to get me over the more graphic elements that inevitably come along for the ride as well (weak stomach ass).

            A24 has had some sloppy efforts the last few years, and Death of a Unicorn (2025) starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega is no exception. I went into this knowing I was likely going to rip it to shreds, but still tempered expectations with the possibility of some redeeming qualities. The story follows father and daughter as they go to a weekend retreat with the big man’s uber-rich pharmaceutical bosses. On the way in, they accidentally kill a unicorn and try to cover it up, only for the rich family to catch a whiff and see dollar signs. The only redeeming quality about this film was the less than handful of laugh-out-loud comedy bits interspersed throughout. Other than that, this was, well, pretty sloppy big-budget filmmaking. It was obvious to me by the end of the film that they were relying on the star power to drive it all home, and as a result, what we get is a big stinking pile of mid. The story tries to be too many things all at once: a comedy, a political satire, a horror film, but doesn’t really commit to any of them. Overall, a disappointment.

            Speaking of disappointments, I also watched the new Marvel film that everyone was raving about earlier this year, Thunderbolts* (2025). Oh boy, where do I begin with this one? On a similar theme of trying to be many things all at once, and refusing to commit to a single idea of thematic approach, this one attempts to be a commentary on mental health, relationships, but also politics and the military-industrial complex. I don’t think it’s uncommon knowledge that Marvel actively participates in the propaganda surrounding our military and, therefore, is an advocate and, moreover, a cog in the military-industrial complex. This fact alone negates any “message” this movie thought it was making on the matter. Other than that, we get Florence Pugh delivering a terrible Russian accent, David Harbor being a goofball for the ever-gross Marvel comic relief, and a bunch of equally annoying side characters that all share the same damn personality. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus? Why?

            Slop aside… I did finally get around to Ari Aster’s new joint, Eddington (2025), and wow, did I absolutely adore every frame of this one. Ari has proven consistently polarizing with his last film, and now this one continues the trend, but in a much tighter direction, if you ask me. I was a fan of Beau is Afraid (2023), but I’ll be one of the first to admit that it’s all over the place and doesn’t really follow a concrete form. In Eddington, Mr. Aster takes the thrilling components of his horror efforts and reshapes them into a contemporary Western black comedy. A wild departure thematically from his other work, but it utilizes a lot of the tropes that he’s become famous for. The story surrounds the small town of Eddington, New Mexico, where a liberal mayor and a conservative sheriff go toe-to-toe over the political strife of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joaquin Phoenix brings to the table another insane performance as the Republican-leaning cop whose politics get the better of him as he gets triggered by the masks and social distancing rules. On the other side of the coin, you have Pedro Pascal as the liberal mayor running for re-election, whose douchey personality works perfectly for the character arc he undergoes. The tension between the two sides of the town progresses in a manner similar to Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (1989), but in this venture, politics is the center of the table instead of race. This being said, there are a number of really clever race jokes made throughout this that are done tastefully, but still test the audience’s sense of humor. The film culminates in the most absurd explosion of tempers, but not before delivering a strongly built world of the town and its surrounding characters and issues. It uses the majority of its runtime getting us acquainted with the characters, their beliefs, and how they interact with one another as the tension bubbles over. This is the kind of commentary our world needs right now, and the way that the audience is so split on its reaction to this shows how impactful and searing the satire actually is. I also really appreciated how Ari swung at both sides, leaving no one safe. Made it feel all the more fun and well-spirited. This is a certified masterpiece that I feel pretty confident will only age better and better as we continue to separate ourselves from the pandemic and the associated craziness. Great cast, great direction, great social and political themes. Mr. Ari Aster, you did it again.

            I actually watched quite a number of other films this past week, too! I encourage you to sign up for Letterboxd if you haven’t already to keep in touch. I think that site is one of the best things to come out of the film bro landscape. Community is really important, and I’ve found great comfort in interacting with other passionate film lovers through the site. That’s why I do this. Because I really love movies, and I hope to connect with more like-minded individuals. With that being said, I got some more writing to do. Go watch a good movie, and I’ll update next week.