Theory Thursday: Adam Sandler is Doing Some of His Career-Best Work Right Now (2015-Present)

Scene from Hubie Halloween

Welcome to a sporadic column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Review: "Uncut Gems" Bets Big with Exciting Results

Scene from Uncut Gems

It's safe to say that Howard "Bling" Ratner (Adam Sandler) hasn't done anything with his life. It may not seem that way because he is one of the most respected jewelry salesmen in New York, managing to have a personal connection to NBA star Kevin Garnett. He is capable of making a profit with simple negotiation tactics and high-risk betting. One would assume that Howard is a very lucky man, but over the course of co-directors, Josh and Benny Safdie's neurotic masterpiece Uncut Gems, his life begins to unwind as one bad deal leads to a downward spiral of choices that puts him further in debt with mobsters that want him dead. Still, with no actual skill except negotiation, how does he stand any chance of making it out alive? It's the type of radical survival skills that makes Sandler's performance so electric, serving as one of his best. For a man who doesn't have much to show for himself that he personally earned, it's a story of desperation that shows the problem with the American dream when all you want is to get rich.

The First "Uncut Gems" Trailer Finds Adam Sandler Stealing Our Hearts in Exciting New Ways

Scene from Uncut Gems

In 2017, co-directors Josh and Benny Safdie made a splash with the visceral and manic Good Time: a film that helped Robert Pattinson be taken more seriously. Many are hoping that their follow-up, Uncut Gems, will do the same for Adam Sandler. The comedian has had a reputation for lowbrow films that leave a notorious aura around him. In recent years, he has made more of a concerted effort to take dramatic turns such as The Meyerowitz Stories that prove he's capable of so much more. Given the reviews out of recent film festivals, Sandler is looking at one of his best roles yet. The real question is that with a New Academy where nominees are more unpredictable than ever, can almost 30 years of wacky comedies continue to hold back Sandler from an Oscar nomination? If the trailer for Uncut Gems has anything to say about it we may be looking at one of the most enlightening turning points of his career yet.

A24 A-to-Z: #54. "Good Time" (2017)

Scene from Good Time

In case you didn't know, A24 is one of the great purveyors of modern cinema. Since 2013, the studio has found a way to innovate independent cinema by turning each release into an event. As a result, A24 A-to-Z will be an ongoing series that looks at every release from the studio by analyzing its production history, release, criticisms, and any awards attention that it might've received. Join me on a quest to explore the modern heroes of cinema by exploring every hit and miss that comes with that magnificent logo. They may not all be great, but they more than make A24 what it is and what it will hopefully continue to be for ears to come.

Review: "Good Time" is a Powerful and Unnerving Journey Into Moral Chaos

Robert Pattinson

The opening scene of directors Benny and Josh Safdie is a quiet one. With a close-up of mentally challenged man Nick (Benny Safdie), he is being seen by a therapist who is trying to get him to open up. Nick is at first reluctant, but soon learns to shed a tear. As breakthrough is made, a force comes running through the door. It's his brother Connie (Robert Pattinson), who doesn't believe in therapy and believes that Nick is wasting his time. Connie believes that he knows what is right, and that scene transitions into the swirling chaos that is Good Time: a title made ironic in that no character actually has a happy ending. What it does however show is a brilliant character study of how one man's arrogance can find itself clashing with his love in damaging ways over the course of one night, ruining lives when he set out to make his better. It's a powerful film, and one that should officially erase any astigmatism that you have about Pattinson's work in the Twilight franchise. Those who see it won't forget it, as it intensely attacks the soul with contradictory themes and even more stimulating visuals. It may not be the flashiest film of 2017, but it can't help being one of the most intense.