Episode 635 - "In The Shadow Of The Moon" (2019)

Hi everyone!

We might be getting a few extra doses of Andrew Campbell this month, but you can always expect to find him here on Fridays with another Fantastic Fest feature. Today’s film is... well, I’m going to let Andrew tell you about it, because I haven’t actually seen it. And since I don’t know what else to recommend, I’m going to recommend a few recent reviews from Andrew, including “Jojo Rabbit” (Episode #631), “Parasite” (Episode #628), and “One Cut of the Dead” (Episode #625). Andrew enjoyed all three of those films a great deal. 

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from our friends at the Moviedrone Podcast. Every week, Steve and Marc tackle a new feature film, give each other homework films to watch, and extort their best fans to send them questions for review. There’s also the matter of Marc’s movie impressions, a sample of which you can hear on their guest review of the low-budget darling, “The Terrifier” (Episode #606), as part of Reign of Terror 2019. 

Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases.

Connect with us over social media to continue the conversation.

Here we go! 

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<< MOVIEDRONE PODCAST PROMO >>

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Hello film fans!

Andrew here. Back today with the second of four Netflix-produced films that played at this year’s Fantastic Fest, all of which hit the streaming service in the 30 days after the festival wrapped up in September. Each timeslot of the fest lets you choose from typically 4-5 films or events, and each film typically plays once during the first four days and gets an encore during the last four days. Excluding early morning press screenings, an attendee can see, at max, 37 films over the course of 8 days. Some people actually succeed in this, andthese people are absolute animals. That is a grueling pace which affords you just enough time to sleep 8 hours and hightail it back for the 11AM shows. If I’m not mistaken, the 2019 fest played exactly 80 first-run feature-length films along with 16 repertory screenings of older classics and oddities. Suffice it to say, you’ve got some real choices to make as an attendee.  

With Netflix showing up with multiple films, it feels a little like how the motion picture industry inched into the San Diego Comic-Con before eventually taking it over. (Can you even buy comic books there at this point?) When deciding whether or not to sit for these Netflix films you have to balance what may be your one chance to see the film on the big screen with a packed house with the fact that you can soon watch it at home and go seek out a more unique experience. With today’s film, I chose to wait. Well, that’s enough of that. Joseph, where do you want me to put this soapbox? 

Today’s movie is “In The Shadow Of The Moon”, a science-fiction mystery written by Gregory Weidman & Geoffrey Tock and directed by Jim Mickle. The film opens in 2024 as the camera pans down from the shattered window of a downtown skyscraper onto the aftermath of a riot before winding the clock back to 1988. After a couple of violent deaths one night, we meet Locke (Boyd Holbrook), a Philadelphia police officer who connects the dots between the cases. He is joined by his close partner Maddox (Bokeem Woodbine) and his skeptical brother-in-law Detective Holt (Michael C. Hall). A wild pursuit leads to the suspect having a premonition that soon comes true before the story flashes nine years into the future where the pattern of killings begins again.

This is a difficult film to discuss without spoiling the pivotal events, but essentially we follow Locke through the years as the killer appears to resurface and Locke’s obsession grows. I love time-travel stories, whether it involves an actual time machine or just flashing backward and forward to tell some large, overarching tale. “In The Shadow Of The Moon” injects time travel and the passage of time into a noir film in a way that’s unique and exciting... on paper. Some films are intentionally vague or told metaphorically. You don’t mind if you can’t completely follow the narrative if the journey itself is interesting. Here the clunky dialogue weighs down the film and some of the plot leaps unintentionally left me in the dark as the ambitious story unfolded. I was hoping for an elegantly simple story, but it’s just not packaged in a way that kept my interest. Having read some of the plot details after watching the film, too much was left unclear. 

The acting is uninspired across the board. Boyd Holbrook was decent in “The Predator” as part of an ensemble cast and plays well as the villainous cyborg leader Donald Pierce in “Logan”. However, as the primary protagonist on the first two seasons of Netflix’s “Narcos”, Holbrook is heavily overshadowed by both his DEA agent partner Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal) and Pablo Escobar (a perfectly cast Wagner Moura). 

Switching over to the supporting cast, Bokeem Woodbine absolutely stole the terrific second season of “Fargo” as the delightfully murderous Mike Milligan. The script for “In The Shadow Of The Moon” provides him little to work with and his character isn’t really given an arc; he’s just a plot device. 

I was delighted to see Michael C. Hall show up at in the Drafthouse lobby for the film’s premiere, but he feels entirely miscast here as a by-the-book detective. Certainly, that is somewhat ironic given that his most popular role saw him pursuing serial killers in “Dexter”, as well as portraying one himself. The cast just didn’t really seem invested in the film and so neither was I. 

What makes “In The Shadow Of The Moon” fantastic? Oh, I need to answer that? Um, geeze. While this film really didn’t connect with me, it’s not a total loss and still better than most of the oddball science fiction films you have to wade through on Netflix. It has an interesting twist near the end, but like the rest of the movie, it doesn’t really land the moment with much impact. This could have been a better film were it a bit shorter and a lot flashier.

“In The Shadow Of The Moon” (2019) is an ambitious time-bending story that suffers from a lack of clarity and overall excitement. Fans of low-budget time travel movies such as “Primer”, “Project Almanac”, or “Predestination” will enjoy this film. 

Rotten Tomatoes: 61%

Metacritic: 48

One Movie Punch: 6.0/10

“In The Shadow Of The Moon” (2019) is rated TV-MAand if you don’t know where to watch it by now, I can’t help you.

Come back next Friday and we’ll dip back into the Netflix well with “Fractured”. I have no idea what this film is about, but I do know it stars the actor James Cameron has hired to anchor a film franchise he is certain will gross $10B over the next decade. I’m talking A-list celebrity and star of four upcoming “Avatar” films, Sam Worthington. I’ll see you then.

Hi everyone!

We might be getting a few extra doses of Andrew Campbell this month, but you can always expect to find him here on Fridays with another Fantastic Fest feature. Today’s film is... well, I’m going to let Andrew tell you about it, because I haven’t actually seen it. And since I don’t know what else to recommend, I’m going to recommend a few recent reviews from Andrew, including “Jojo Rabbit” (Episode #631), “Parasite” (Episode #628), and “One Cut of the Dead” (Episode #625). Andrew enjoyed all three of those films a great deal. 

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from our friends at the Moviedrone Podcast. Every week, Steve and Marc tackle a new feature film, give each other homework films to watch, and extort their best fans to send them questions for review. There’s also the matter of Marc’s movie impressions, a sample of which you can hear on their guest review of the low-budget darling, “The Terrifier” (Episode #606), as part of Reign of Terror 2019. 

Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases.

Connect with us over social media to continue the conversation.

Here we go! 

///// 

>

/////

Hello film fans!

Andrew here. Back today with the second of four Netflix-produced films that played at this year’s Fantastic Fest, all of which hit the streaming service in the 30 days after the festival wrapped up in September. Each timeslot of the fest lets you choose from typically 4-5 films or events, and each film typically plays once during the first four days and gets an encore during the last four days. Excluding early morning press screenings, an attendee can see, at max, 37 films over the course of 8 days. Some people actually succeed in this, andthese people are absolute animals. That is a grueling pace which affords you just enough time to sleep 8 hours and hightail it back for the 11AM shows. If I’m not mistaken, the 2019 fest played exactly 80 first-run feature-length films along with 16 repertory screenings of older classics and oddities. Suffice it to say, you’ve got some real choices to make as an attendee.  

With Netflix showing up with multiple films, it feels a little like how the motion picture industry inched into the San Diego Comic-Con before eventually taking it over. (Can you even buy comic books there at this point?) When deciding whether or not to sit for these Netflix films you have to balance what may be your one chance to see the film on the big screen with a packed house with the fact that you can soon watch it at home and go seek out a more unique experience. With today’s film, I chose to wait. Well, that’s enough of that. Joseph, where do you want me to put this soapbox? 

Today’s movie is “In The Shadow Of The Moon”, a science-fiction mystery written by Gregory Weidman & Geoffrey Tock and directed by Jim Mickle. The film opens in 2024 as the camera pans down from the shattered window of a downtown skyscraper onto the aftermath of a riot before winding the clock back to 1988. After a couple of violent deaths one night, we meet Locke (Boyd Holbrook), a Philadelphia police officer who connects the dots between the cases. He is joined by his close partner Maddox (Bokeem Woodbine) and his skeptical brother-in-law Detective Holt (Michael C. Hall). A wild pursuit leads to the suspect having a premonition that soon comes true before the story flashes nine years into the future where the pattern of killings begins again.

This is a difficult film to discuss without spoiling the pivotal events, but essentially we follow Locke through the years as the killer appears to resurface and Locke’s obsession grows. I love time-travel stories, whether it involves an actual time machine or just flashing backward and forward to tell some large, overarching tale. “In The Shadow Of The Moon” injects time travel and the passage of time into a noir film in a way that’s unique and exciting... on paper. Some films are intentionally vague or told metaphorically. You don’t mind if you can’t completely follow the narrative if the journey itself is interesting. Here the clunky dialogue weighs down the film and some of the plot leaps unintentionally left me in the dark as the ambitious story unfolded. I was hoping for an elegantly simple story, but it’s just not packaged in a way that kept my interest. Having read some of the plot details after watching the film, too much was left unclear. 

The acting is uninspired across the board. Boyd Holbrook was decent in “The Predator” as part of an ensemble cast and plays well as the villainous cyborg leader Donald Pierce in “Logan”. However, as the primary protagonist on the first two seasons of Netflix’s “Narcos”, Holbrook is heavily overshadowed by both his DEA agent partner Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal) and Pablo Escobar (a perfectly cast Wagner Moura). 

Switching over to the supporting cast, Bokeem Woodbine absolutely stole the terrific second season of “Fargo” as the delightfully murderous Mike Milligan. The script for “In The Shadow Of The Moon” provides him little to work with and his character isn’t really given an arc; he’s just a plot device. 

I was delighted to see Michael C. Hall show up at in the Drafthouse lobby for the film’s premiere, but he feels entirely miscast here as a by-the-book detective. Certainly, that is somewhat ironic given that his most popular role saw him pursuing serial killers in “Dexter”, as well as portraying one himself. The cast just didn’t really seem invested in the film and so neither was I. 

What makes “In The Shadow Of The Moon” fantastic? Oh, I need to answer that? Um, geeze. While this film really didn’t connect with me, it’s not a total loss and still better than most of the oddball science fiction films you have to wade through on Netflix. It has an interesting twist near the end, but like the rest of the movie, it doesn’t really land the moment with much impact. This could have been a better film were it a bit shorter and a lot flashier.

“In The Shadow Of The Moon” (2019) is an ambitious time-bending story that suffers from a lack of clarity and overall excitement. Fans of low-budget time travel movies such as “Primer”, “Project Almanac”, or “Predestination” will enjoy this film. 

Rotten Tomatoes: 61%

Metacritic: 48

One Movie Punch: 6.0/10

“In The Shadow Of The Moon” (2019) is rated TV-MAand if you don’t know where to watch it by now, I can’t help you.

Come back next Friday and we’ll dip back into the Netflix well with “Fractured”. I have no idea what this film is about, but I do know it stars the actor James Cameron has hired to anchor a film franchise he is certain will gross $10B over the next decade. I’m talking A-list celebrity and star of four upcoming “Avatar” films, Sam Worthington. I’ll see you then.