Good Morning, World

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When I review things perhaps you have noticed that I very much tend to talk more about the film's broad themes and emotional beats and how they affected me and not wade too deep into specifics with regards to performances and such. If a movie worked on me all the way I think it should just be assumed that I liked those things and they worked in concert with the film working on me. And so it was when I reviewed The Lodge, the new horror film out today in theaters from the directors of Goodnight Mommy -- I mentioned the fact that the Dad in the movie is played by Richard Armitage and the Step-Mom-To-Be is played (magnificently) by Riley Keough. But that was that on that front.

So consider this morning's little gratuitous post a nod in Richard's (now sort of out of the closet) direction -- I seen ya, Richard! Truth be told he's not in the movie a lot -- his absence is the juice that drives the engine that drives the car off the cliff -- but he's there and he brings the just right notes of distrust to Daddy, that Dad's being a little thoughtless, a little irresponsible, that Richard is thinking with his Richard and not the facts in front of him, but als, importantly, that he's not truly a villain either. The Lodge smudges up our ideas about "villains" real well -- most specifically the idea of "The Evil Stepmother" but it does make time and some room for us to see that Dad's not a total dick. Anyway see The Lodge is my point, and I'll share a couple more gifs of Richard here in the series called Berlin Station after the leap...