I saw Heretic

Heretic, an A24 movie written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (of 65 fame), is a Hansel and Gretel variant that carries elements of Midsommar, Saw and Barbarian, in this case with two naïve, Mormon missionaries visiting a home, occupied by a friendly, "pie-baking" gent, who claims he's willing to hear their heartfelt spiel. The only thing is, the gent isn't really much of a gent, but more of a fiend and a specious, questioning one, at that. 

The erudite Hugh Grant plays that fiend, named Mr. Reed, with the girls played by Sophie (Yellowjackets/The Boogeyman) Thatcher, as Sister Barnes, and Chloe (The Wolf of Snow Hollow) East, as Sister Paxton. (For the sake of inserting a diverting character, Tofer Grace portrays a church elder who seeks the girls after they fail to return home. Is he a savior or mere MacGuffin? Ah, you'll just have to watch and see.) 

The crafty ol' Mr. Reed (who often behaves like a kinetic, Roderick Usher) puts the youngsters through theological debate and later, calculated, daunting tests within his home (in a cat-and-mouse sort of deal), with its stages shifting like the panels of a Lament Configuration. (With each shift, an new perplexity comes.) The girls must rely on their wits to survive, but because of their dispositions, faith also intervenes. Such isn't enough to make Heretic a Dracula, Omen or Exorcist, but in its own unassuming way, it traces the same grain.

Chung Chung-hoon's photography bolsters the story's creepiness, sweeping the setup from dark-and-cozy to downright harrowing (rather in line with James Whale's wry but sinister, The Old Dark House). Chris Bacon's score works well, too, building the suspense step by step and then letting it burn like crazy when things fly off the deep end. (The Hollies' "The Air That I Breathe," Radio Head's "Creep" and Lana del Ray's "Get Free" also stand as allegorical allusions to the thematic plot.) 

Though it has many fine attributes, Heretic is, above all, an ominous allegory for facing everyday life, for through Hugh Grant's charming persona, we may recognize people we know or have encountered, who tend to smile and nod for personal gain, but find the means to stick the ol' metaphoric knife in our backs when we're not looking. Heretic tells us, in this respect, to watch out for those smiling faces that sometimes (if not a good deal of the time) tell lies, as they search for personal strength or more so, personal truth. Otherwise, Heretic can be take at eerie, face value: a true-blue, terror tale and pleasing, post-Halloween submission that'll keep the autumnal chill going long after its gone. 

I saw U.N.C.L.E. (Reborn)...

In the mid-sixties there was no spy phenomenon as big as "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", except of course, James Bond and let's not forget "The Avengers" (John Steed/Emma Peel, that is). "U.N.C.L.E.", however, went through the roof during its early phases, making Robert Vaughn and David McCallum household names, as well as their characters, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin pop-cultural icons. Incidentally, though the series was developed by the innovative Sam Rolfe, it was conceptually influenced by Bond's daddy, Ian Fleming.

U.N.C.L.E., which stands for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement,  took a stand against the chaotic command of T.H.R.U.S.H.: Tech Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity (how's that for a mouthful?). U.N.C.L.E. was a combined agency effort: though Solo was American bred, Kuryakin was KGB connected. Kuryakin was still faithful to Solo, who like Bond, was every inch the suave, lady's man. Their boss (i.e., their version of "M"), was Alexander Waverly, portrayed by renown character-actor Leo G. Carroll: the series' sentimental, supporting lead. 

"U.N.C.L.E." spawned several films (episodes shown theatrically in color during a time when black-and-white television was the norm, with added, sensual footage not seen on the home screen). The films were profitable worldwide, and though "Return of the Man from Uncle" premiered as a high-profile movie-of-the-week in '83, it's odd that a theatrical relaunch of the franchise has taken this long. 

Nevertheless, the "U.N.C.L.E" revival has surfaced: big-budgeted and directed by hipster Guy Ritchie, who co-scripted with Lionel Wigram. It stars Henry Cavill as Solo and Armie Hammer as Kuryakin: yep, Superman and the Lone Ranger together at last (well, sorta). Affable Hugh Grant portrays Waverly, with Jared Harris on hand as C.I.A. agent Sanders, who  keeps us properly cautious in the good ol' fashioned Cold War way. 

Joining the boys is the lovely, mechanically inclined East German, Gaby Teller (Alicia "Ex Machina" Vikander). She's not in the least timid about throwing herself into the action and remains a constant sight-for-sore-eyes: for all intents and purposes, this story's "Girl From U.N.C.L.E.".

The sinister lead is the cool Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki), who's as fiendish as she is statuesque: a veritable Satan cloaked. Her sadistic motivation is pure T.H.R.U.SH., with a desire to tear down the world via nuclear destruction (and with an connection to Teller's physicist dad, no less). In this regard, she's much like any aspiring terrorist (only lots prettier) and to Solo, far more treacherous than even the most skilled KGB agent could be. After all, Kuryakin is on his side (albeit reluctantly), and together our heroes face a series of outlandish obstacles to defeat their foe.

The circumstances churn lots of comical bickering and sincere camaraderie, making this U.N.C.L.E. more of a buddy movie than a typical, spy/espionage flick. Then again, the principles were always tight-nit on the series, and considering the third season's shameless levity, the film's shenanigans may not be so out of place. 

In other ways, Ritchie's version mirrors his revisionist Sherlock Holmes adventures: a sea-sawing of high-flying danger and unabashed superheroics. Thank goodness the flow never feels awkward, perhaps because its underlying unevenness is charged by movie-serial thrills, quick wit and exotic visuals. Let's face it: for this sort of adventure, that's essentially all one needs.

Also to the remake's benefit, it's an unapologetic nostalgic piece, with a Daniel Pemberton throwback score, which often invokes Ennio Morricone, constantly accompanied by cool cars and colorful clothing. The overall package is an indisputable gift to older fans, but hopefully the film will inspire youngsters to seek out the original, so they might see what all the hub-bub was (and still is) about. Indeed, what was old is new again, and in either case, it's all good fun.