TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Movie review

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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Review: "VENOM: THE LAST DANCE" Has a Death Wish

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 of 2025 (No. 2016) by Leroy Douresseaux

Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language

DIRECTOR: Kelly Marcel

WRITERS: Kelly Marcel; from a story by Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS: Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Matt Tolmach, Tom Hardy, Kelly Marcel, and Hutch Parker

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Fabian Wagner (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Mark Sanger

COMPOSER: Dan Deacon

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Hala Finley, Dash McCloud, Cristo Fernandez, Jared Abrahamson, Jack Brady, Reid Scott, and Andy Serkis

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Venom: The Last Dance is the least of the three films in this series in terms of quality.

The entire point of the movie seems to be to end the series as soon as possible, so it is strictly for fans of this series

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Venom: The Last Dance is a 2024 superhero fantasy-action film directed by Kelly Marcel. The film is based on the Marvel Comics super-villain/anti-hero characters, Eddie Brock/Venom. Several comic book writers, artists, and editors contributed in the development of this duo, and artist Todd McFarlane and writer David Michelinie are the creators of Venom. This is also the third entry in the Venom film series. In Venom: The Last Dance, Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run from both an alien monster and a mysterious military officer, and they may be forced to break up their symbiotic partnership.

Venom: The Last Dance opens on Klyntar, the home world of the symbiotes. Knull (Andy Serkis), the creator of the symbiotes, seeks a way to escape the prison made for him by his rebellious creations. To that end, he has discovered a key – some thing called a “Codex” – that will free him. What and where is the codex?

Well, it is on Earth, and the Codex exists because of the relationship between the symbiote, Venom, and his human host, the former investigative reporter, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy). They have just returned to Earth after their short stay in the multiverse (as seen in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home) and has landed in the Mexico of their own Earth. While there, Eddie and Venom learn that Eddie is being blamed for the death of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham).

Mulligan is not dead. He was infected by a symbiote (as seen in 2021's Venom: Let There Be Carnage). He has been imprisoned in an underground facility at “Area 55” (which is beneath “Area 51”), and is being held in captivity by the “Imperium Program.” There, Mulligan and his symbiote are under the watchful gazes of Imperium scientist, Dr. Teddy Paine (Juno Temple), and the Imperium's military commander, General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Eddie and Venom are headed for New York City in a bid to clear Eddie's name, unaware that General Strickland is hunting them. The duo, however, is soon made aware of an even more dangerous hunter. Knull has sent a creature known as a “Xenophage” to capture the Codex within Eddie and Venom. Now, a year into their symbiotic relationship, Eddie Brock and Venom may have to make a most devastating and heart-wrenching decision in order to save the Earth and at least one of their lives.

Venom: The Last Dance is the fifth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” line of films. It follows Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), and Madame Web (2024). The Last Dance arrived in movie theaters a little more than a month before the series' sixth film, Kraven the Hunter (2024). This film series stars characters and properties commonly associated with Marvel Comics' character, Spider-Man. Sadly, media reports indicate that Kraven the Hunter will be the last entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Anyway, just before the halfway mark in Venom: The Last Dance, the Venom symbiote enters a horse, and “venomizes” it, creating a “Venom horse.” The sequence featuring Venom as a horse, which becomes a wild ride across the desert with Eddie on its back, is probably the liveliest moment in this movie. Venom does not venomize any more animals the rest of the way, but strangely, the beginning of the film's end-credits is a montage of venomized animals, everything from insects and birds to mammals and amphibians. A Venom movie featuring the Venom symbiote venomizing countless different insects and animals?! – now, that would be a Venom movie I'd love and a lot of people would watch. Sadly, that is what we get in Venom: The Last Dance.

Yes, there are some genuine character moments – such as Eddie/Venom's relationship with the Moon family – but even that is overwhelmed by Venom: The Last Dance's need to end. Yes, this isn't so much a movie as it is an execution or suicide pact. Venom is a trilogy and Venom: The Last Dance must be the end of it: that's what this movie feels like – a race to the end.

I found myself unable to really enjoy this movie. I really didn't connect with the film's best action scenes, and there were a few really good ones. Also, I feel like the Knull subplot was woefully underutilized. There are some good moments here, and by the end of the film, I thought the good things had been downplayed in favor of this movie's fatalistic mood. Ultimately, I think Venom: The Last Dance is only for fans of the series who will want to see it through to the end.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars out of 4 stars

[This film has one mid-credits scene and one scene that occurs at the end of the credits.]

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Friday, February 14, 2025

Review: "CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD" Explodes with Intensity

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 of 2025 (No. 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some strong language

DIRECTOR: Julius Onah

WRITERS: Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson, and Julius Onah & Peter Glanz; from a story by Rob Edwards and Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS: Kevin Feige and Nate Moore

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Kramer Morgenthau (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Madeleine Gavin and Matthew Schmidt

COMPOSER: Laura Karpman

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/DRAMA and SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Xosha Roquemore, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, William Mark McCullough, and Takehiro Hira with Liv Tyler and Sebastian Stan

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Captain America: Brave New World is the subject of a social media smear campaign, but it is one of the best superheroes movies of the 2020s, and it is probably the best action movie of the decade

--The cast is dynamite. Not only does Anthony Mackie light up the screen as Sam Wilson/Captain America, but Harrison Ford also tears up the screen the way a Hollywood legend and icon should

--The supporting cast of Captain America: Brave New World is excellent, and the actors help make this film a rampaging good time at the movies

Captain America: Brave New World is a 2025 superhero and action film from Marvel Studios and directed by Julius Onah. The film focuses on the character, “Sam Wilson,” as the superhero, “Captain America.” Sam Wilson is a Marvel Comics character that was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan and that first appeared in Captain America #117 (cover dated: September 1969). Captain America is a Marvel Comics character that was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and that first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (December 1940).

This film is the fourth film in the Captain America film series and also the 35th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In Captain America: Brave New World, Captain America must discover the identity of the mastermind behind a plan to launch the United States into a global war over access to an amazing new metal alloy.

Captain America: Brave New World focuses on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who is still early in his tenure as the superhero, Captain America, replacing his friend, the original Captain America, Steve Rogers. Wilson was once the superhero, “The Falcon,” and now, that mantle belongs to his partner, U.S. Air Force First Lt. Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). Captain America and the Falcon begin the film on a mission in Oaxaca, Mexico where they take on the “Serpent Society” and its leader, Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), in a bid to intercept the sale of a canister of “Adamantium.”

Adamantium is the new metal alloy that was discovered on the “Celestial Island,” located in the Indian Ocean. Celestial Island is really the gigantic carcass of the “Celestial Tiamut,” whose emergence was stopped by the Eternals (as seen in the 2021 film, Eternals). The U.S., Japan, and India are vying to mine adamantium, and to that end, the three countries are working on a treaty that would create the infrastructure in which the three nations would share control of the island.

The current President of the United States, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), formerly known as General “Thunderbolt” Ross, asks Sam to be the face of the adamantium treaty as Captain America. President Ross also wants Sam to join him in a plan to reform the superhero group, “The Avengers.” However, the announcement of the treaty is interrupted by an assassination attempt. Now, Sam's friend and mentor, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), the Korean War veteran and once-imprisoned “super soldier,” is once again imprisoned because of the incident.

Despite a growing rift with President Ross, Sam decides to investigate the assassination attempt, and Joaquin joins him. Shadowing them is a former “Black Widow,” the Israeli Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), but even she can't stop Captain America and the Falcon from discovering the mystery of a man named Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). Can Sam Wilson stop a global war, and can Captain America really take on the creature known as the “Red Hulk.”

Captain America: Brave New World is the subject of an intense online and social media smear campaign. When you, dear readers, come across someone using the word, “woke,” to describe it, you should know that in the context of this film, “woke” is Confederate pig Latin for the name “Anthony Mackie.” People who complain that the story and/or the script are not good are against the film because of their grievances concerning an African-American actor, Antony Mackie, taking on the role of Captain America. With that said...

Captain America: Brave New World ties into some other Marvel Studios productions. Obviously, this film's “Celestial Island” subplot is related to events depicted in the 2021 film, Eternals. The Disney+/Marvel Studios series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021) is a prologue to Brave New World. Surprisingly, Brave New World acts as a sort of sequel to the second film in the MCU, 2008's The Incredible Hulk. There are also references to numerous other MCU films.

Captain America: Brave New World is a superb superhero movie and great action film. Director Julius Onah has helmed a film that is a rampaging good time at the movies, doing this in spite of delays and reshoots. He should take pride in making a Captain America film that is as good as or better than the previous three films in the series. The action is great, and the conspiracy at the heart of the story is intense and shockingly personal. The character drama is surprisingly potent and is both complex and complicated. Plus, the Captain America vs. Red Hulk battle in the film's last act fell on me like a tree; it is so intense that for a moment I wished I was wearing an adult diaper while watching it.

With Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony Mackie not only proves that he is a true Marvel leading man who can carry a MCU film, but he also proves that he is a Hollywood leading man. In subtle ways, his performance and speeches clearly define that which Mackie fights in the real world and Sam Wilson fights in his world. Watching Mackie chop up this movie with his dramatic chops, I realized that it was long overdue that he lead a Marvel film.

I must also admit that Harrison Ford brings down the thunder in his role as President Thaddeus Ross, a.k.a. “Thunderbolt” Ross. Ford dominates his scenes so much that only Mackie can really match him in Captain America: Brave New World. Seeing Ford here reminds me of what a find dramatic actor he is and how he has always been fun in action movies.

Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Xosha Roquemore also deliver solid turns in their respective supporting roles. They deserve to pop up in the MCU again, many more times. I guess it is obvious that I am still buzzing from seeing Captain America: Brave New World last night (Thursday, February 13th). I had not expected much from this film because I had listened to too much of the propaganda. I love being wrong in these instance. Captain America: Brave New World is going to be my favorite film of 2025 for awhile, dear readers, and I heartily recommend it to you.

9 of 10

A+

Friday, February 14, 2025

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Monday, February 3, 2025

Review: Christian Film, "PARALLEL - THE TRIAD," Keeps it Real

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 of 2025 (No. 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Parallel – The Triad (2024)

Running time: 86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)

MPA – no rated

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jason Aleman

PRODUCER: Jason Aleman

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mike Wilson

EDITOR: Jason Aleman

COMPOSER: Robin Hannibal

FAITH/SCI-FI/DRAMA

Starring: Chad Garrett, Lizzie Camp, Terry Weaver, Marley Aleman, Troy Garza, Sharen Andrea White, Liam Robert Noack, Josh Thigpen, Marcus Luttrell, V.R. Norbert Maduzia, Michael T. Adams, Kieth Noack, and Jason Aleman

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Parallel – The Triad is a faith-based film with some intriguing science fiction ideas about the war between good and evil

The film is far from perfect and is clunky at times, but its message and motivations seem genuine.

Parallel – The Triad is 2024 Christian science fiction film and faith-based drama from director Jason Aleman. The film follows a mechanic who joins three souls sent to Earth by God to fulfill His plan.

Parallel – The Triad introduces Cyrus Dooley (Chad Garrett), a hot-rod mechanic and automobile restoration expert. Cyrus has been grieving the loss of his father nearly a year earlier in an accident for which he blames himself. So lost in his grief is Cyrus that he does not notice that one of his employees, T.J. (Lizzie Camp), has fallen under the spell of Abimelech (Terry Weaver), a scheming businessman who becomes a servant of “the evil spirits that sway humans.”

God sends three souls: Briella (Marley Aleman), Urie (Troy Garza), and Sarie (Sharen Andrea White) to Earth from “the Parallel” on a mission to fulfill His plans. That means that they have to help Cyrus after more tragedy befalls him and he continues to lose his way in life. Can “The Triad” help Cyrus understand that he must “trust God's plan?”

I certainly do not belong to any of the target audiences for Parallel – The Triad, but I discovered the film's existence via social media. Although I have reviewed a few films that depict Jesus Christ, the only faith-based, Christian drama, or evangelical film that I have reviewed to date is 2014's Son of God, a really good movie which hails from Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's empire of Christian schmaltz, Lightworkers Media.

Something about Parallel – The Triad piqued my interest. Structurally, in terms of narrative and character, Parallel – The Triad has some major problems. I don't know if the dialogue is really as bad as it seems or if it is good and cast is simply not professional. The special effects are at least three decades behind current standards. The film's robotic villains, the “demon droids,” look like they were created for the original Mortal Kombat (1995) film.

However, Parallel – The Triad, for all its faults, seems genuine in what it has to say. This movie does not seem like corporate movie product meant to sell merchandise and ancillary products, as much as it sells tickets. Parallel – The Triad wants to spread the good news about God's plan and about trusting God's plan. The film does not shy away from portraying the high costs of the wages of sin and about how hard it is to get away from the “evil one” the more a person has invested in evil. I do find that the film's emphasis on technology, media, and “pharmacology” as spreaders of negative energy to be cringe-inducing, although there may be some truth to that notion.

I like “Cyrus Dooley” as the lead character; actor Chad Garrett really sells Cyrus' grief and guilt. Also, Lizzie Camp gives a tight performance as T.J., allowing her to have a nice character arc. These two characters steady the occasional rickety nature of the film's structure.

My criticisms aside, I found myself fascinated by Parallel – The Triad, and I think fans of faith-based films will find this movie's character drama to be every bit as intriguing as its sci-fi “Holy War” side. I'd like to see a sequel to Parallel – The Triad, hopefully one with a bigger VFX budget. If this concept had the CGI budget of even a small scale Hollywood film, it would rock the heavens... or the Parallel.

B-

5 of 10

★★½ out of 4 stars

Monday, February 3, 2025

"Parallel - The Triad" is available for rent or purchase at Amazon Prime Video. And yes, this blog does participate in Amazon's "affiliate advertising program," so I will get paid a small fee if you click on this link and actually rent it or purchase something from Amazon.

https://www.youtube.com/@ParallelFilmsStudio

https://bsky.app/profile/parallel-films.bsky.social

https://www.facebook.com/parallel.films.studio

https://x.com/ParallelTriad

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Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Review: "AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM" is Water-Logged Entertainment

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 of 2025 (No. 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some language

DIRECTOR: James Wan

WRITERS: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick; from a story by James Wan and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick & Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett (based on the character created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger and appearing in DC Comics)

PRODUCERS: James Wan, Rob Cowan, and Peter Safran

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess

EDITOR: Kirk M. Morri

COMPOSER: Rupert Gregson-Williams

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/SCI-FI and ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, Jani Zhao, Indya Moore, and Nicole Kidman with the voices of Martin Short, John Rhys-Davies, and Pilou Asbaek

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a 2023 superhero, action-adventure and science fiction-fantasy film from director James Wan. It is a direct sequel to the 2018 film, Aquaman, and it is also the 15th and final installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is based on the DC Comics character, Aquaman, that was created by artist Paul Norris and editor Mort Weisinger and first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover dated: November 1941). In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Black Manta forges a deal with a mysterious evil from Atlantis' past, forcing Aquaman to forge an alliance with his imprisoned brother in order to save Atlantis.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opens four years after Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) became King of Atlantis and married Mera (Amber Heard). They are now parents to a son, Arthur Jr. Aquaman splits his life between land and sea, strengthening his bond with his father, Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison), and getting wise advice about being a father from him. However, splitting time between his life on land and his life as the ruler of Atlantis has led to clashes with the High Council of the Seven Kingdoms.

Meanwhile, David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen) continues to seek revenge against Aquaman for the death of his father (as seen in Aquaman). With the help of marine biologist, Stephen Shin (Randall Park), Kane finds a mysterious artifact, “the Black Trident.” As soon Kane touches the trident, it possesses him and connects his mind to the mysterious Kordax, the undead king of the lost undersea kingdom of Necrus. Soon, Kane, at Kordax's command, is poisoning the surface world with an element known as “Orichalcum.”

Aquaman's mother, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the former queen of Atlantis, implores him to seek the help of his imprisoned brother, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), the deposed King of Atlantis in order to stop Kane. But can Aquaman trust Orm, who tried to kill him and whom he removed from the throne of Atlantis?

While watching the original film, Aquaman, I could not help but notice that many of its story points and plot elements were glaringly similar to those found in Marvel Studios' Black Panther, which debuted earlier in the same year, 2018, that Aquaman hit theaters. I also find Black Panther elements in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but none as pronounced as in the first film. I also believe that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is strongly influenced by the Star Wars “prequel” films, especially Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

That said, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is like the first film – a grand, old-fashioned, action-adventure fantasy film. The sequel is quite entertaining, but not as solidly entertaining as the first film.

The plot, narrative, and character drama in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom seem forced when they are not being over-the-top, and are lacking in genuine emotion and feeling when they not being forced and over-the-top. Director James Wan and his co-writers emphasize sound and fury. It is as if they believe that the more CGI, action scenes, explosions, subplots, and weird-looking things they throw on the screen the less likely that the audience will realize how ungainly this film is. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom isn't cinematic art; it's merely corporate entertainment product, and unlike the first time, Warner Bros. Pictures didn't as lucky with the sequel.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom treads water just not to be mediocre. I will admit that its production values and special visual effects all look quite good. Visually, the film is sumptuous even if the drama is rickety. And as I write this, I am just remembering that I like the film score, although I am sure that I have heard parts of it in another film.

Also, I admire that Jason Momoa throws himself into this film, doing his best to make it seem like the most fun he and the audience could ever have in a superhero movie. Unfortunately, it was the Aquaman movie before Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom that was really fun.

B-

5 of 10

★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

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Saturday, January 25, 2025

Review: Netflix's "BACK IN ACTION" Finds Fun in Spy Parents

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 of 2025 (No. 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Back in Action (2025)

Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some suggestive references and strong language, and brief teen partying

DIRECTOR: Seth Gordon

WRITERS: Seth Gordon and Brendan O'Brien

PRODUCERS: Beau Bauman, Peter Chernin, Seth Gordon, Sharla Sumpter-Bridgett, and Jenno Topping

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ken Sang (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Peter S. Elliot

COMPOSER: Christopher Lennertz

ACTION/COMEDY/SPY

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, McKenna Roberts, Rylan Jackson, Kyle Chandler, Glenn Close, Jamie Demetriou, Andrew Scott, Fola Evans-Akingbola, and Robert Besta

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Back in Action is no “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” but it is an entertaining action-comedy and spy movie.

Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz work well together, well enough to make me look forward to a sequel.

Back in Action is a 2025 American action-comedy and spy film from director Seth Gordon. The film is a “Netflix Original” and began streaming on Netflix, January 17, 2025. Back in Action focuses on a husband and wife who were once CIA spies and now find themselves pulled back into the espionage game after their secrets are exposed.

Back in Action introduces the Reynolds family: wife, Emily (Cameron Diaz); husband, Matt (Jamie Foxx); daughter, Alice (McKenna Roberts); and son, Leo (Rylan Jackson). They are living the quiet suburban life until Matt and Emily's old lives intrude. You see, Matt and Emily were once “QRN” – “quick reactionary nonofficial” covert operatives for the CIA. Fifteen years ago, they were involved in a mission to capture the “ICS key” from the Polish terrorist, Balthazar Gor (Robert Besta). The mission goes bad, and Matt and Emily decide to quit the spy business and start a family.

In the present, Gor's gang of Belarusian terrorists, “the Volka,” launch an attack on Matt and Emily, who pick up their kids from school and go on the run. They head to England where they will reunite with Emily's estranged mother, Ginny Curtis (Glenn Close), a former MI6 agency head. However, a current MI6 agent, Baron Andrews (Andrew Scott), is waiting for them. Also awaiting Matt and Emily are their past and the people who will do anything to get “the Key.”

Back in Action is the fourth “Netflix Original” in which Jamie Foxx has starred (as far as I can tell), following Project Power (2020), Day Shift (2022), and They Cloned Tyrone (2023). For some reason, I felt as if I had to see Day Shift before I watched Back in Action, which I did a few days earlier. Day Shift is not great, but it is entertaining.

I can say the same about Back in Action. It isn't in the same league as 2002's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which saw Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play husband and wife who each worked for rival assassination firm. If you took Mr. and Mrs. Smith and mixed it with Spy Kids (2001), you might get something close to Back in Action.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed Back in Action. As a domestic comedy, it is genuinely funny, and Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx play off each other quite well. As a spy movie, Back in Action offers a lot of slick, attention grabbing car chases, fight scenes, shoot-outs, and an extended plane crash that kept me glued to the screen. The family dynamic works pretty well, although I must admit that Glenn Close seems a bit odd as a spy who is the mother of another spy.

That's all I have to say. Back in Action is not great, but it is the kind of star-driven above-average event movie that Netflix regularly offers. Such movies are how they make us feel that our Netflix subscription is worth keeping active.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, January 25, 2025

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Monday, January 20, 2025

Review: Netflix's "DAY SHIFT" is More Action-Comedy Than Vampire Horror

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 of 2025 (No. 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Day Shift (2022)

Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)

MPA – R for strong violence and gore, and language

DIRECTOR: J. J. Perry

WRITERS: Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten; from a story by Tyler Tice

PRODUCERS: Shaun Redick, Yvette Yates Redick, Jason Spitz, and Chad Stahelski

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Toby Oliver (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Paul Harb

COMPOSER: Tyler Bates

ACTION/COMEDY/HORROR

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Meagan Good, Karla Souza, Steve Howey, Scott Adkins, Oliver Masucci, Eric Lange, Peter Stormare, Zion Broadnax, and Snoop Dogg

Day Shift is a 2022 American action-comedy and vampire horror film from director J. J. Perry. The film is a “Netflix Original” and began streaming on Netflix, August 12, 2022. The film focuses on a hard-working, blue-collar dad who uses his pool-cleaning service as a front for the true source of his income – hunting and killing vampires.

Day Shift introduces Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx). He is the blue-collar dad of Paige (Zion Broadnax), the daughter he shares with his ex-wife, Jocelyn Jablonski (Meagan Good). On the surface, Bud is a hardworking man who runs a pool-cleaning service, “Valley Pool Services,” in San Fernando Valley, California. Bud really hunts and kills vampires in the Valley under the guise of being a pool cleaner. Every time he kills a vampire, which is very difficult, Bud collects their fangs and sells them to a pawnbroker, Troy (Peter Stormare).

However, killing vampires isn't quite earning him the income he needs, so Bud decides to return to “the Union.” That would be the “Hunters Union,” from which he was expelled. He turns to his close friend, the very successful vampire hunter, John Dante Eliott a.k.a. “Big J” or “Big John,” for help. John is able to get Bud provisionally reinstated, but union boss, Ralph Seeger (Eric Lange), won't let Bud work the “Night Shift,” which yields the most profitable vampire kills.

Instead, Bud must work the “Day Shift,” which he was already doing on his own. In addition, Bud is forced to partner-up with Seth (Dave Franco), a young union supervisor. If that were not bad enough, Bud has been targeted for revenge by Audrey (Karla Souza), an ambitious vampire who plans to take over San Fernando Valley where she poses as a real estate agent.

I was familiar with the mixed reviews that Day Shift received, and I had been putting off watching it. However, I am about to watch the latest Jamie Foxx “Netflix Original” movie, Back in Action (2025), in which he costars with Cameron Diaz. Back in Action is the fourth “Netflix Original” in which Foxx has starred (as far as I can tell), following Project Power (2020), They Cloned Tyrone (2023), and Day Shift. For some reason, I feel as if I had to see Day Shift before I watch Back in Action. Go figure.

Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten are credited with the screenplay, but apparently Tice is the originator. Tice's creation is more action-comedy than it is vampire movie, but I do recognize elements that are borrowed or are at least are similar to that of numerous vampire films. As I watched Day Shift, I found that parts of it made me think of Blacula (1972), The Lost Boys (1987), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Daybreakers (2010), and Priest (2011), to name a few. Of course, no movie featuring vampires hunters and their prey could escape the shadow of the Blade film series, and this movie seems inspired by Blade (1998), Blade II (2002), and Blade: Trinity (2004). Also, Day Shift is obviously rubbing up against Men in Black (1997) and its sequels.

Day Shift's premise is indeed a garbage soup made out of a bunch of leftover ingredients, and the fact that it throws in so many ideas makes it almost seem original... almost. Still, as garbage soup films go, Day Shift is quite tasty. It is more action-comedy than vampire-horror, and director J. J. Perry (in his directorial debut) gets the most out of his film editor, Paul Harb. When Day Shift is moving because of extended, multi-player fight scenes or through its one extended car-truck-motorcycle chase, Day Shift pops the way action movie junkies want their action movies to pop.

The best thing a popcorn entertainment action movie can do is have a star as its hero or as its villain. Day Shift has the Oscar-winning actor, Jamie Foxx (Ray), as its star, and Foxx is the one who gives this film any credibility that hit has. Yes, Dave Franco does a nice turn as Seth, the reluctant sidekick, and any comedy that manages to snag Snoop Dogg is very lucky. However, Foxx willingly buys into this film's goofiness, and the professionalism of his performance keeps Day Shift from seeming like the vampire equivalent of one of those Sharknado movies.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Monday, January 20, 2025

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Saturday, January 18, 2025

Review: Very Scary "WOLF MAN" is Gleefully Gruesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 of 2025 (No. 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wolf Man (2025)

Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)

MPA – R for bloody violent content, grisly images and some language

DIRECTOR: Leigh Whannell

WRITERS: Leigh Whannell and Corbett Tuck

PRODUCERS: Jason Blue and Ryan Gosling

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stefan Duscio

EDITOR: Andy Canny

COMPOSER: Benjamin Wallfisch

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott, Matilda Firth, Sam Jaeger, Benedict Hardie, Zac Chandler, and Ben Prendergast

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Wolf Man is a scary, scary movie – a real scary movie that delivers the thrills, the chills, and some gruesome, gory moments.

It is one of the best werewolf movies in recent memory, without ever using the term “werewolf” in the movie, but it is the real deal in bark-at-the-moon, horror movie craziness.

Wolf Man is a 2025 American horror film from director Leigh Whannell. The film follows a father, a mother, and their daughter in their struggle to fend off a murderous creature, even as the father begins to rapidly transform into something monstrous.

Wolf Man opens in 1995 in the remote mountains of Oregon. A hiker has disappeared, and people in the isolated local community speculate that he may have fallen victim to a virus called “Hills Fever,” linked to the region's wildlife. However, the Indigenous people of the area call this ailment, “the Face of the Wolf.” During a deer hunt, survivalist Grady Lovell (Sam Jaeger), and his son, Blake (Zac Chandler), spot a mysterious creature lurking in the forest. They have a terrifying encounter with it.

Thirty years later, Blake Lovell (Christopher Abbot) lives in the big city with his wife, Charlotte Lovell (Julia Garner), and their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth). One day, Blake finally receives documents indicating that his long-missing father has been declared dead. Blake convinces Charlotte that they should travel to Grady's remote home and take possession of his belongings.

The trip starts off well enough for Blake, Charlotte, and Ginger, but an accident leads them into an encounter with a fast-moving and mysterious creature (Ben Prendergast), which scratches Blake's arm. The three are able to escape the attack and arrive at Grady's home, where they barricade themselves. Although the creature lurks outside, the house, which had long been fortified by the paranoid Grady, offers some security. However, the scratch on Blake's arm has turned bloody and infected, and now, he is changing... into something.

Once upon a time, Universal Pictures wanted to build a “shared universe” (like the Marvel Cinematic Universe) around the portion of its film library known under the brand name, “Universal Monsters,” by rebooting select films from that brand. The shared universe was known named “Dark Universe,” and the film that launched it was the heavily-criticized, box office disappointment, The Mummy (2017), and I am talking about the one with Tom Cruise.

After that disappointment, Universal decided to move away from a shared universe concept, but kept the idea of rebooting its Universal Monsters films. The new direction was launched with writer-director Leigh Whannell's 2020 hit horror film, The Invisible Man, a reboot of the 1933 film, The Invisible Man. Now, Whannell is back in the Universal reboot game with Wolf Man, which is apparently a re-imagining of Universal Picture's 1941, classic horror film, The Wolf Man.

If you are wondering, dear readers, if Leigh Whannell's new Wolf Man is scary, it is scary as f*ck. It is a true scary movie. It is a scary-ass movie. Now, I think that Whannell and his co-writer Corbett Tuck offer shallow characters and melodramatic interpersonal character tropes, but they fashion a wild, hairy-ass horror movie that is not ashamed of being a gruesome, gross, and gory werewolf movie that leaks bodily fluids all over the place. By the way, the terms, “werewolf” and “wolf man,” are never used in this film as far as I can tell.

Whannell's collaborators are on their “A” game with this film. Hair and make-up and visual effects slow grind Blake's grisly transformation and throw us a nasty curve ball on consumption. It seems as if Benjamin Wallfisch is trying to use his film music to make me choke on my own fear, and the film editing is a constant fear machine.

The cast is quite good at selling us that all of this is real. The characters might by shallow, but the actors go deep into their craft, deep enough to make me feel as if I was there waiting to be slashed and gored by a... “mysterious creature.”

I didn't see Whannell's The Invisible Man, but Wolf Man makes me want to see all his films. Whannell may be best known for creating the 2004 film, Saw, with director James Wan, that launched a two-decade old franchise. However, I'd like him to return to the macabre world he has created with this new film. Wolf Man is not perfect, but it is a perfectly scary movie. Some of you might need a barf bag or some “Depends” undergarments in order to make it through the grim terror that is Wolf Man.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, January 18, 2025

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Thursday, January 16, 2025

Review: John Carpenter's "VAMPIRES" is Still Fun (Happy B'day, John Carpenter)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998)

Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong violence, and gore, language, and sexuality

DIRECTOR: John Carpenter

WRITER: Don Jakoby (based upon the novel by John Steakley)

PRODUCER: Sandy King

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary B. Kibbe (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Edward A. Warschilka

COMPOSER: John Carpenter

HORROR/FANTASY and ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell, and Tim Guinee

Vampires (also known as John Carpenter's Vampires) is a 1998 American action, neo-Western, and vampire horror film from director John Carpenter. It was adapted from the 1990 horror novel, Vampire$, by author John Steakley. Vampires the movie focuses on an caustic vampire slayer who must track down the vampire master that ambushed and destroyed his team of slayers before the creature can find a relic that will allow it to walk in sunlight.

John Carpenter's Vampires introduces Jack Crow (James Woods), a vampire hunter for the Catholic Church. He leads his "Team Crow," a band of roughnecks and mercenary types who hunt and kill vampires. They destroy a nest of goons (vampires) in rural New Mexico, but Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), a 600-year old master vampire, ambushes and massacres Team Crow during their victory celebration at a small motel.

Only Crow and his assistant, Montoya (Daniel Baldwin), survive, but Crow ignores the Vatican’s demands that he reform his team. Crow, Montoya, and Father Adam Guiteau (Tim Guinee), a young priest, with tagalong Katrina (Sheryl Lee), a survivor of Valek’s attack, pursue the master vampire through the high deserts that ends in a confrontation to stop Valek from becoming unbeatable.

John Carpenter’s Vampires is a fun action horror flick that rises above being straight-to-video material in large measure because of James Woods hilarious and over-the-top performance as Jack Crow. Crow curses like a pack of sailors, and won’t even spare holy men his vulgar tirades. He beats priests and asks them inappropriate questions about their anatomies and lusts. Woods’ performance is the one thing that entertains even detractors of Vampires.

The film is gory and action-packed, but a little light on genuine scares. It has the charming qualities that make Carpenter’s film fun and unique – pulp storytelling, weird science, and the strange blend of real myth, lore, and culture spun from his fertile imagination. While the characters here, other than Crow, don’t match up to some of Carpenter’s memorable creations from his earlier films, they’re adequate. Vampires is a fun spin on the American pop culture version of vampires, and worth a viewing.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

March 19, 2005

EDITED: Sunday, January 5, 2025

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Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Review: "PRINCE OF DARKNESS" Still Scares the Green Liquid Outta Me (Celebrating John Carpenter)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness (1987)

Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR: John Carpenter

WRITER: Martin Quatermass (John Carpenter)

PRODUCER: Larry J. Franco

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary B. Kippe

EDITOR: Steve Mikovich

COMPOSERS: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

HORROR/SCI-FI

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Anne Marie Howard, Ann Yen, Dirk Blocker, Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, Peter Jason, Robert Grasmere, Thom Bray, and Alice Cooper

Prince of Darkness is a 1987 American supernatural horror film from writer-director John Carpenter. The film focuses on a Catholic priest, quantum physics university professor, and his graduate students as they investigate an ancient cylinder full of swirling liquid, which may be the embodiment of the “Prince of Darkness.”

Prince of Darkness introduces Father Loomis (Donald Pleasence), a high-ranking priest. He has come across a long-hidden secret, one kept even from the Vatican. A priestly order, “The Brotherhood of Sleep,” has possessed a canister that apparently contains the liquefied remains of the “Prince of Darkness.” When the last of the order dies, Loomis seeks out a prestigious professor of physics, Prof. Howard Birack (Victor Wong), to help him understand the discoveries he’s made at the Brotherhood’s church.

Birack enlists the aid of a group of fellow scientists and students to study ancient texts and to learn the truth about the thing that may hold the “Prince of Darkness.” However, whatever the liquid is, it is awakening, and it is beginning to possess some members of the investigation team, turning them into killer zombies. Worse still, Father Loomis, Birack, and the students discover that the Prince of Darkness intends to bring his even more evil father back from the dark side to our world.

Prince of Darkness is one of my favorite John Carpenter films. It is the second installment in what Carpenter calls his “Apocalypse Trilogy,” which began with his 1982 film, The Thing (1982), and concluded with his 1994 film, In the Mouth of Madness (1994). Prince of Darkness is quite scary and suspenseful, and Carpenter’s screenplay is filled with many wonderful and eccentric ideas about the nature of time, existence, and religion. Perhaps, the most frightening thing about the film is its atmosphere of the unknown. A lot of the ideas and philosophy within the film are half-explained or unexplained, but there’s just enough to make you curious and feel that your safety and that of the film’s characters are on the line if someone doesn’t solve the riddles behind the dark conspiracy. This is also one of the better examples of Carpenter’s ability to create a narrative flow that maintains a sense of dread or a sense of impending horror from start to finish.

The actors confine their performances to doing what’s necessary to serve a horror film, so there is some stiffness to the acting, as well as some occasionally unnecessary histrionics. Still, they are integral in making this one of the better end-of-world movies. Prince of Darkness also fits in well with that sub-genre in horror in which a small band of humans stand alone against forces bent on destroying or conquering the world – the last line of defense for a humanity that doesn’t know about the secret war to save it. Prince of Darkness, in that sense, works and is a truly underrated and excellent film, especially for fans who love a good mixture of horror and science fiction.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

EDITED: Wednesday, January 15, 2025

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Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Review: "STARMAN" Retains Its Charms (Celebrating John Carpenter)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 88 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Starman (1984)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR: John Carpenter

WRITERS: Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon

PRODUCER: Larry J. Franco

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Donald M. Morgan (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Marion Rothman

COMPOSER: Jack Nitzsche

Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Phalen, and Tony Edwards

Starman is a 1984 American science fiction drama and romantic film from director John Carpenter. The original screenplay was written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, with Dean Riesner committing re-writes for which he did not received a screen credit. Although the film was not a box office success, it inspired the short-lived “Starman” television series (ABC, 1986-87). Starman the movie focuses on a young Wisconsin widow; the alien who takes the form of her late husband; and their cross-country drive to help the alien make a rendezvous with the space ship that will take him home.

Starman begins with an alien being who finds his space probe shot down by the U.S. Air Force, causing the probe to crash land in Wisconsin. A pulsating, levitating blue orb, the alien enters the home of widow, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), where he jury-rigs or clones a body from the remains of Jenny’s late husband, Scott (Jeff Bridges). After much confusion and fear, Jenny helps the alien Scott travel to Arizona where he is to rendezvous with the mother ship in 3 days or die. Meanwhile, Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith), a SETI scientist who works for the government, and George Fox (Richard Jaeckel), a military officer, hotly pursue the peculiar pair of Scott and Jenny.

Jeff Bridges earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as an alien who crash lands on earth and assumes the form of young woman’s recently deceased husband. Starman is also in the fine tradition of road pictures that feature a mismatched couple learning about one another before discovering love. Bridges is superb as the awkward, not-quite-childlike alien visitor. He completely sells the idea that the alien is struggling to learn and to understand this world. Everything about him: the way he walks and stands, his speech pattern, the way he answers questions (or doesn’t), and the way he dresses is peculiar and calls attention to him. Having the alien Scott dress in red flannel shirt and wear a red cap makes him stand out in a film in which the photography emphasizes earth tones and the nights are murky.

Karen Allen is also good as the grieving widow; she reveals in her facial expressions the big lump of pain still in Jenny Hayden. Director John Carpenter does well to simply allow his leads to build their characters and nurture their screen chemistry so that by the end of the film, this otherworldly romance resonates.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, April 22, 2006

EDITED: Tuesday, January 14, 2025

NOTES:

1985 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Jeff Bridges)

1985 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama (Jeff Bridges) and “Best Original Score-Motion Picture” (Jack Nitzsche)

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Friday, January 10, 2025

Review: First "DEN OF THIEVES" Brought the Heat, Man

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 of 2025 (No. 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux

Den of Thieves (2018)

Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for violence, language and some sexuality/nudity

DIRECTOR: Christian Gudegast

WRITERS: Christian Gudegast; from a story by Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring

PRODUCERS: Gerard Butler, Mark Canton, Alan Siegel, and Tucker Tooley

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: David S. Cox, Joel Cox, and Nathan Godley

COMPOSER: Cliff Martinez

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackon, Jr., Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Maurice Compte, Brian Van Holt, Evan Jones, Mo McRae, Kaiwi Lyman, Dawn Olivieri, Cooper Andrews, Jermaine Rivers, and Eric Braedon

Den of Thieves is a 2018 American action thriller, crime drama, and heist film from writer-director Christian Gudegast. Den of Thieves focuses on the clash between an elite unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a very successful bank robbery crew.

Den of Thieves opens at night and informs the viewer that Los Angeles, California is the “bank robbery capital of the world.” In the city, there are 2400 bank robberies a year; 44 per week; 9 committed every day, which comes to about 1 every 48 minutes. That same night, Ray Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber) leads a team of fellow ex-MARSOC Marines (United States Marines Special Operations Command) to hijack an armored truck that stops at a donut shop. The ensuing shootout leaves several people dead, including one of Merrimen's crew.

Responding to the incident is Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Nick “Big Nick” O'Brien (Gerard Butler) and his “Major Crimes Unit” team. O'Brien and his team have Merrimen as their lead suspect in hijacking. O'Brien and his crew are a “clique” or what is known as a “deputy gang.” Acting like gang members, O'Brien and his crew kidnap Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.), an ex-marine who has been associated with Merrimen in the past, in order to coerce info on Wilson's alleged current association with Merrimen.

As his personal life falls apart, O'Brien gets more involved with Merrimen and his crew, even becoming more confrontational. When Merriment targets the Federal Reserve Bank – Los Angeles Branch for a seemingly impossible heist, O'Brien finds himself in a complicated game of cat and mouse. However, the reality of who is the cat and who are the mice is ever shifting.

I did not know that the Den of Thieves movie existed until I saw a commercial for its upcoming sequel, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025), about two weeks ago (as of this writing). I decided to watch the first film and found it on the “Max” streaming service. It was not long into watching the film that I realized how much it heavily resembles director Michael Mann's classic heist film, Heat (1995). One of the stars of Heat was the late actor, Tom Sizemore (1961-2023), and for some reason, Den of Thieves made me think of a short-lived television series in which Sizemore starred. That would be “Robbery Homicide Division” (CBS, September 2002 to April 2023), for which Mann was also an executive producer. [I really liked that show, by the way, and was sad when it was canceled.] However, “Robbery Homicide Division” focused on the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), rather than the L.A Sheriff's Department (LASD).

Den of Thieves is a very entertaining film, and will likely delight fans of Los Angeles-set crime films (although the film was actually mostly shot in and around Atlanta, Georgia). However, Den of Thieves' story and concept, which was created by writer-director Christian Gudegast and his now former partner, Paul Scheuring, would have been put to better use for a television series. Den of Thieves is filled with characters that have interesting back stories, but the film only shows us glimpses of that – mostly concerning Gerard Butler's Nick O'Brien.

For the most part, the Den of Thieves' character writing relies on types rather than on depicting fully developed characters. I can also say that the film's actors pretty much give one-note performances. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson's Enson Levoux has one great moment, one good moment, and mostly one-note moments the rest of the time. Evan Jones' striking facial features with the help of the Den of Thieves' hair and make-up team saves his one-note character, “Bosco.” By the end of the film, the viewer might realize that O'Shea Jackson, Jr.'s Donnie Wilson is a missed opportunity.

That said – I enjoyed the hell out of Den of Thieves, which makes me think that Hollywood never really maximized the rip-off potential of Michael Mann's Heat. Den of Thieves is engaging, and the big shoot-outs are a blast to watch. This film is alluring in what its potential offers – even in the times that it does not deliver on that potential. It is a good film made very good by its last act, which is full of twists and turns, surprises, and shocking reveals. I am not sure that I will see its sequel in a movie theater, but I will very likely re-watch Den of Thieves in the future.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, January 10, 2025

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Thursday, January 2, 2025

Review: Skadoosh! "KUNG FU PANDA 3" Finds Itself in the End

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 of 2025 (No. 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)

MPAA – PG for martial arts action and some mild rude humor

DIRECTORS: Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni

WRITERS: Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger

PRODUCER: Melissa Cobb

EDITOR: Clare Knight

COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

ANIMATION/MARTIAL ARTS/COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: (voices) Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, J.K. Simmons, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Kate Hudson, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, and Jackie Chan

Kung Fu Panda 3 is a computer-animated, martial arts and comic-fantasy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the third entry in the Kung Fu Panda film series. In Kung Fu Panda 3, Po must finally discover if he is really the legendary Dragon Warrior when faced with a threat to everything dear to him.

Kung Fu Panda 3 opens in the Spirit Realm. There, Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) fights General Kai (J.K. Simmons), his former friend, who has attacked him. Kai is a yak and spirit warrior who has defeated all the other deceased kung fu masters and has also stolen their vital energy or “chi” (here, personified at a flat jade stone). Kai steals Oogway's chi, but Oogway warns Kai that someone is destined to stop him. Kai returns to the Mortal Realm where he plans to destroy Oogway's legacy.

Meanwhile, in the Valley of Peace, Po (Jack Black), the giant panda, is living his best life as the legendary “Dragon Warrior.” Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) surprisingly announces that he is retiring from teaching and names Po as his successor. Although he does not believe that he can replace his master, Po finds that he is suddenly supposed to teach his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the legendary Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Monkey (Jackie Chan).

Another surprise comes with the arrival of Li Shan (Bryan Cranston), a giant panda who turns out to be Po's father, which upsets Mr. Ping (James Hong), the Chinese goose who is Po's adoptive father. The excitement is tempered by the fact that Kai has begun his assault, but Po and company learn that Kai can only be defeated by a true master of chi. Po and Ping follow Li to the secret panda village where Li claims he can teach Po to master Chi. Now, Po must learn who he really is? Is he truly the Dragon Warrior and does he know himself enough to reach the Dragon Warrior's legendary destiny?

Like Kung Fu Panda (2008) and Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Kung Fu Panda 3 does have some really nice fight scenes. I had avoided it until I realized that I really wanted to see Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024), which meant I had to see the third film first. The film has the requisite visual splendor of dazzling colors, impressive production design, and superb character animation, However, this third part in the series is more about growth and development and about the transformation and inner journey of a character that is also known as the “character arc.”

Kung Fu Panda 3 is about Po finding out who he is and also about him learning to embrace what he can do – his destiny. He is meant to be the Dragon Warrior, he simply needs to believe it and also to understand that he cannot do it alone. Along the way, Kung Fu Pa 3 embraces the idea of families – traditional and blended. This film also has plenty of playful new characters (Kate Hudson's Mei Mei, the ribbon dancing panda) and rascally young'uns characters that are meant to engage younger audience members.

Kung Fu Panda 3 does meander quite a bit during its first act and also during quite a bit of its second or middle act. However, the film embraces it story of characters discovering that they are more than they know and that they can have more than one role in the lives of the people they love. This film has a scary villain in J.K. Simmons' General Kai, but he is just a side piece in the arc of Po's struggle. Kung Fu Panda 3 is really about the most difficult and consequential part of Po's journey – the journey into himself. Skadoosh!

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, January 2, 2024

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Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Review: "THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT" Delivers Potent Drama and Powerful History

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 of 2025 (No. 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Six Triple Eight (2024)

Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for language including racial slurs, thematic material and some war violence

DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry

WRITER: Tyler Perry (based on the magazine article by Kevin Hymel)

PRODUCERS: Tyler Perry, Angi Bones, Nicole Avant, Carlota Espinosa, Keri Selig, and Tony L. Strickland

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Watson (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Maysie Hoy

COMPOSER: Aaron Zigman

DRAMA/HISTORICAL/WAR

Starring: Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Moriah Brown, Jeanté Godlock, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, Susan Sarandon, Oprah Winfrey, Gregg Sulkin, Donna Biscoe, and Baadja-Lyne Odums

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

The Six Triple Eight is one of the most beautiful and powerful films about World War II that has ever been made.

Its true story about a battalion of Black women soldiers who broke the logjam of mail that kept overseas American servicemen and their families back home from connecting will bring tears to your eyes

The Six Triple Eight is one of the year's best films, and Kerry Washington gives the heroic performance of her career.

The Six Triple Eight is a 2024 wartime drama and historical film from writer-director Tyler Perry. The film is based on the article, “WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion,” written by Kevin M. Hymel and published in the February 2019 issue of WWII History Magazine. The article details the contributions of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II.

The film is a Netflix Original,” and it began streaming on the service December 20, 2024, after a limited theatrical run that began December 6, 2024. The Six Triple Eight the movie focuses on battalion of Black women soldiers who go overseas and take on the forces that are keeping American service personnel and their families back home from simply exchanging mail.

The Six Triple Eight introduces high school students and longtime friends, Lena Derriecott (Ebony Obsidian), a Black girl, and Abram David (Gregg Sulkin), a Jewish White boy. They are reckoning with the difficulties of their budding romance in Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, a small town outside Philadelphia, in the year 1942. David is enlisting in the U.S. military in order to serve in World War II, and he wants to be a pilot. David wants Lena to wait for him to return from the war when he will propose marriage to her, and, in the meantime, he gives her a promise ring.

Meanwhile, in rural West Virginia, a mother waits everyday for news about her two sons who are serving overseas in the war. She never gets any mail from her sons, and she later discovers that this is a problem all over the country. It turns out that there is a terrible backlog of undelivered mail. The mother approaches First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Susan Sarandon), and she approaches her husband, President Franklin Roosevelt (Sam Waterston), and philanthropist and civil rights activist, Mary McLeod Bethune (Oprah Winfrey), to solve the overseas military mail problem.

Meanwhile, Lena has received terrible news, and it spurs her to join the Women's Army Corps (WAC). She travels to Georgia for basic training with the 6888th battalion – also known as “the Six Triple Eight” – where she meets her battalion commander, the indomitable Captain Chasity Addams (Kerry Washington). Despite being well trained, Capt. Adams and her battalion are never given any orders to serve from the War Department. Then, thanks to the efforts of the Roosevelts and Miss Bethune, the 6888th becomes “The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.”

Now, they must travel to Glasgow, Scotland where they have six months to sort through 17 million pieces of undelivered mail and packages. The must fight, however, a war on all fronts, fighting segregation and racism at home and abroad. Many White military commanders, officers, and soldiers do not believe they can sort through the backlog. Plus, some of these crackas will do everything to stop the Six Triple Eight from being successful.

If you, dear readers, wanted to watch World War II films based on on true events, you can find over eight decades of Hollywood films, including everything from recent films like Saving Private Ryan (1998), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), and Dunkirk (2017) to golden oldies like Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). However, the those films focus on White servicemen.

When it comes to the service of Black personnel during WWII, there is a virtual Hollywood wall of silence that has only rarely been broken by such films as the HBO television movie, The Tuskegee Airmen (1995); Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna (2008), and the George Lucas-financed Red Tails (2012). Director Budd Boetticher's Red Ball Express (1952) is about a racially integrated platoon, but the film's leads are White males.

Tyler Perry, a filmmaker whose TV and film work, has been reviled by both Black and White critics and detractors, breaks the wall of silence that exists in front of the story of African-American WWII personnel. He has done it with The Six Triple Eight, the first such film in over a decade.

The film is filled with star-making turns by a cast of young African-American actresses who could see this movie launch their careers. Ebony Obsidian as Lena Derriecott and Shanice Shantay as Johnnie Mae Burton are the most obvious, but though they shine, all the actors make the most of their roles in this film. I must say Dean Norris kills it as the Southern racist cracka-ass General Holt. However, Kerry Washington practically devours this film with her power-move turn as the wily, strong, survivor, Captain (later Major) Chasity Adams. In some ways, Adams is the co-lead with Derriecott, but there other times when the following point is clear. The real-life “Six Triple Eight” probably would have not survived without Adams, and The Six Triple Eight the film probably would not survive without Washington as Adams.

I like that Tyler Perry's direction captures the desperation of families on the home front and of the service personnel overseas who are not connecting because the mail isn't being delivered. Perry does not need to summon his usual melodramatic tropes to convey this to his audience, nor does he. Perry plainly states what his audience can clearly understand; the mail backlog is a desperate situation.

And what better way to portray how much the racist and segregated system was at work against the women of the 6888th than to detail how some thought it was more important to sabotage the women of this battalion than to actually let them do their jobs and get the mail through. Perry could have fallen back time and time again on depictions of verbal and physical racist violence, yet he didn't. The word, “nigger,” does not make many appearance in The Six Triple Eight. Perry merely had to show that in war we are sometimes our own worst enemy, and he showed the white devils who were against the “Six Triple Eight” in all their infamy.

The Six Triple Eight is Tyler Perry's best drama since 2010's For Colored Girls. Although there will likely be no Oscar nods for this film, The Six Triple Eight does not need them. It is more important that a Black filmmaker gets a chance or takes the opportunity to pierce the wall of silence about the honorable and heroic service of Black men and Black women during World War II. The Six Triple Eight is the soaring symphony that, at least for now, shatters that silence.

10 of 10

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

You can read Kevin M. Hymel's original article about the 6888th, "WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion," here.

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Monday, December 30, 2024

Review: Original "BLACK CHRISTMAS" is Still a Gift (In Memory of Olivia Hussey, 1951-2024)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 62 of 2024 (No. 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Black Christmas (1974)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada

Running time: 98 minutes

MPAA – R

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Bob Clark

WRITER: Roy Moore

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Reg Morris (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Stan Cole

COMPOSER: Carl Zittrer

HORROR

Starring: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Marian Waldman, Andrea Martin, James Edmond, Douglas McGrath, Art Hindle, Lynne Griffin, Michael Rapport, Martha Gibson, Leslie Carlson, and Dave Clement

Black Christmas is a 1974 Canadian slasher horror film from director Bob Clark and writer Roy Moore. One of the earliest films belonging to the horror sub-genre known as the “slasher” film, Black Christmas is the first in a series that includes two remakes. Set during a university Christmas break, Black Christmas focuses on a group of sorority girls who are being stalked and killed by a stranger in their house.

Black Christmas opens on the campus of an unknown university located in a Canadian town named “Bedford.” Located on 6 Belmont Street is the Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house where a Christmas party is being held. An unseen man climbs the exterior of the house and enters it through the attic.

During the party, the house phone rings and sorority sister Jess Bradford (Olivia Hussey) answers it only to discover that it is an obscene phone call. It is also from a person who has called before, a caller the sorority sisters have nicknamed “the Moaner.” Jess and the other sisters listen as the caller rants and screams in a series of strange voices that range from male and female and from adult to small child. The name “Billy” comes up a lot during this and subsequent calls from the Moaner. The calls end the same; he abruptly threatens to kill the Pi Kappa Sigma sisters and hangs up.

Soon after the first call, the stranger who broke into the house begins killing the sorority sisters one by one, with no one in the house aware that a killing spree has begun. Jess seems to be the focal point of the calls, and the police, led by Lt. Ken Fuller (John Saxon), believe that the caller is someone close Jess. But the killer is closer than anyone seems to realize.

As I write this review, Sunday evening, December 29, 2024, it is two days (Friday, December 27, 2024) after the passing of actress Olivia Hussey (1951 to 2024). Hussey may be best known for her breakthrough film role as “Juliet” in director Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film, Romeo and Juliet. However, many movie fans remember Hussey specifically for her starring role in Black Christmas.

Directed by Bob Clark (1939-2007), Black Christmas is a seminal film in the “slasher” sub-genre of horror films. It is apparently a direct inspiration for John Carpenter's 1978 film, Halloween, which kicks off what some consider the “Golden Age” of slash films (1978-1984). The film has been remade twice, Black Christmas (2006) and Black Christmas (2019). Strangely, Clark's other best known films are probably the raunchy, high school sex comedy, Porkys (1981) and the beloved Christmas perennial, A Christmas Story (1983).

Many have already written about the legacy of Black Christmas and about the individual performances and achievements that make up the film. For instance, I want to shout out Carl Zittrer's pitch-perfect, psycho-perfect film score, and Margot Kidder's (1948-2018) scene-stealing turn as Barbara “Barb” Coard.

For this review, however, I would like to talk about Olivia Hussey. There is a natural quality to her acting in general and to her performance here that makes this film seem more earthy than contrived and fantastic. Jess' struggles, both with the the Moaner's phone calls and with her increasingly frantic boyfriend, Peter Smythe (Keir Dullea), come together to enrich the character drama. Black Christmas is not just a film about a killer stalking girls, but it is also a tale that revolves around Jess and her external and internal struggles.

Here, Hussey is both vulnerable and endangered and calm and stalwart. Watching Hussey in this film, it becomes obvious that her performance as Jess Bradford is the template for the common horror character or trope known as the “final girl,” which is the last girl or woman who survives to fight the killer in a horror film. In Jess' final struggle, which takes her from the top of the sorority house to its very bottom, Hussey carries the film to victory. Hussey's Jess seems so genuine and real that I found it difficult to focus on Black Christmas' nonsensical and inconsistent elements.

I was sad to hear of Hussey's passing. I find her performance in Black Christmas to be unforgettable, and I think she makes the film unforgettable. I watch Black Christmas whenever I get a chance because I love watching Hussey in it. She makes me root for her Jess every step of the way. As important as Clark's direction, Moore's writing, and the other actors' performances are, Hussey is “the Star of Bethlehem” in Black Christmas.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Monday, December 30, 2024

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