Film

MALIGNANT

After exploding onto the comic book blockbuster and action extravaganza scene with his hit films Aqua Man and Furious 7, director James Wan heads back to his genre film roots (Insidious, The Conjuring, Saw) with a new horror flick. While his return to form allows him to flex his more demented sensibilities, Malignant doesn’t live up to its promise. The film is filled with the deft jump-scares and gross-out body horror and thrills you expect from Wan. But in his giddy sense of fun, perhaps he allows his mind to run too amok, as the film feels deliberately corny despite Wan building the story around some fairly heavy, serious topics. The film’s prologue lays its true nature on the table in an intense sequence set at a mental hospital back in the 1990s. As the lights start to flicker, a voice emerges through the speakers. A patient named Gabriel is on the loose, and orderlies are brutally slain. We then transition to the present day and into the life of a pregnant woman, Madison (Annabelle Wallis), who is struggling with a history of miscarriages as well as an abusive husband. When she locks herself in the bathroom to hide from him, an intruder appears, killing the husband and attacking her. Waking up in the hospital with her devoted little sister, Sydney (Maddie Hasson), there to comfort her, Madison learns she lost the baby in the ordeal and explains why having a baby means so much to her: she herself is adopted and desperately wants to feel a familial blood connection she has never known.

Two detectives arrive on the scene, one of which takes a liking to the younger sister, who looks so much like a budget Florence Pugh I seriously had to do a double-take. During the investigation, Madison has these visions, nightmares where it’s as though she is watching other murders happen and seeing the culprit, who calls himself Gabriel (and channels an emo-scene kid with long hair and a full-length coat), continuing his killing spree. His weapon? A saber he crafts from a trophy. Madison decides to take her intel to the police, who then figure out that all these new victims connect back to her.

Something is up, so Madison and Sydney turn to their mother for insight. And in a series of scenes from home videos, we learn that Madison, who doesn’t remember anything before she was adopted at the age of 8, had a very possessive and evil imaginary friend named … you guessed it, Gabriel. This sets the film on a path for its nutso thirdact key change, as the action and carnage truly go next level, scoring points for bonkers bravado. We’re talking a veritable barrage of grisly murders and choreographed kills. Yet, the big reveal, which is not nearly as astounding as it thinks it is, is further hampered by shades of sheer offensiveness. Malignant has the vibe of both a film that was devised as a weekend lark between friends and a long-gestating passion project. It is not nearly as well thought out as some of its more technical skills and execution would suggest, and the dialogue and cast feel cheap. Ultimately though, it does work as a silly, bloody romp, minus the mildly intriguing melodramatic thriller of the first half. The performances are knowing, if not the strongest, and there is plenty of gruesome gore to go around if that’s what you’re into. A lot of the experience is probably also lost if you choose to watch it at home on HBO Max instead of the theater, which I recommend if only for the camaraderie of the audience as the film unabashedly goes for broke. But even with its craft, outrageousness, and lively entertainment, Malignant is more of a benign experience than anything else.

SHANG-CHI

Shang-Chi is a standalone epic that aspires to be more than just another film in Marvel’s master plan of what comes after The Infinity Saga. It is not only rollicking fun but also gives us compelling drama built upon a tragic romance and a painful family history. Introducing us to a new world and character, we meet Shaun (Simu Liu), an aimless valet at a swanky San Francisco hotel who works with his bestie Katy (Awkwafina), and when they’re not parking cars, you’ll likely find them doing karaoke, coming home late, and avoiding their potential. But then one day when they’re riding the bus, a team of hitmen come for a pendant Shaun’s mother gave him and, in a virtuoso sequence, he shows off talents that go way beyond parallel parking. Turns out Shaun is actually Shang-Chi, who fled from his father (played by Hong Kong legend Tony Leung) and came to San Francisco a decade ago after a childhood spent training to become an assassin. There is a great deal of backstory that also involves his mother’s roots in the mythical village of Ta Lo, but it is all rewarding. Director Destin Daniel Cretton comes from the world of indie drama (Short Term 12, Just Mercy), and it shows in both how he establishes the lore and how he grounds the film in meaningful relationships between characters.

Mon March 16- $5 martinis, $5 domestic beer pitcher, $10 craft beer pitcher. HAPPY HOUR DRINK SPECIALS

Tues - 4-8pm: The Pocket 9pm-1am: Kung Fu RodeoTues-Thurs 2pm-2am • Fri-Sun noon-2am FROM OPEN-6PM Hours Monday 2pm-9pm

Wed - Get it in the can night - $1 domestic, $3 craft- w/DJ JR Monday Sept 20th - Jukebox Thurs -$2 off all drinks and $2 Labatt drafts w/DJ Ricky T Fri March 20 - Buckets of Beer starting at $8 (2-8pm) Tues Sept 21 - Open Mic Comedy from 8-9:30 then 10pm-2am Electric Open Mic Wed Sept 22nd- DJ Ricky T $2 domestic drafts & $3 craft drafts from 9pm-close.

Happy Hour: The Chris Michels Band Then: The Isaac Ryder Band Thurs Sept 23rd -Skin & Marshall Sat March 21 - The Isaac Ryder Band (No Covers)Fri Sept 24th - Happy Hour: Ted Allen & Sunday March 22 KARAOKE (10pm-2am) the Underprivileged then: Electric Red Sat Sept 25th- Electric Red Sun Sept 26th - Karaoke

941-1930 downtown TC check us out at unionstreetstationtc.net

TUES TRIVIA 7-9PM NFL TICKET EVERY SUNDAY 14 TVS - WITH SOUND ON! TO-GO ORDERS AVAILABLE 231-252-4157

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Tuesday - $1 enchiladas Thursday - $5 fried veggies (cauliflower or mushrooms) Friday - $5 hot pretzels w/ beer cheese

PATIO ENTERTAINMENT (6:30-9:30)

Thurs Sept 23 - Thirsty Thursday Blues Featuring the GTOs Fri Sept 24th - Stonehengz Sat Sept 25th - 1000 Watt Trio 221 E State St. downtown TC

THURSDAY

Trivia nite • 7-9pm FRIDAY FISH FRY All you can eat perch THURSDAY Trivia nite • 7-9pm THURSDAY Trivia nite • 7-9pm GREAT TO SEE ALL OF YOU AGAIN! FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS FOR ALL FRIDAY FISH FRY All you can eat perch FRIDAY FISH FRY All you can eat perch Sporting Events! FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS 231-941-2276 121 S. Union St. • TC. FOR ALL Sporting Events! FOR ALL Sporting Events! www.dillingerspubtc.com 231-941-2276231-941-2276 121 S. Union St. • TC. 121 S. Union St. • TC. www.dillingerspubtc.com www.dillingerspubtc.com

HAPPY HOUR: Daily 4-7 Friday 4-9 HAPPY HOUR: HAPPY HOUR: Sunday All Day Daily 4-7 Daily 4-7

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september 28th - downtown kalkaska

Schedule 11 am: food trucks at railroad square 2 pm | 4pm | 6pm: clark the juggler 2-6 pm: farmers’ market 2-6 pm: live entertainment with darrel boger 5-6:30 pm: community drum circle by dede alder - plus plus: vendors, face painting, tarot readings, and sales hosted by local businesses.