Review: "HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN" Raises All Kinds of Hell, Boy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 of 2025 (No. 2018) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)

Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, and language

DIRECTOR:  Brian Taylor

WRITERS:  Brian Taylor, Christopher Golden, and Mike Mignola (based upon the Dark Horse comic book series created by Mike Mignola)

PRODUCERS:  Jeffrey Greenstein, Sam Schulte, Robert Van Norden, Yariv Lerner, Mike Richardson, Les Weldon, and Jonathan Yunger

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ivan Vatsov (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Ryan Denmark

COMPOSER:  Sven Faulconer

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/HORROR

Starring:  Jack Kesy, Jefferson White, Adeline Rudolph, Leah McNamara, Joseph Marcell, Martin Bassindale, Hannah Margetson, Bogdan Haralambov, Carola Columbo, Anton Trendafilov, Michael Flemming, and Suzanne Bertish

Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a 2024 superhero, horror, and dark fantasy film from director Brian Taylor.  The film is based on the Hellboy character and comic books created by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics.  The film is also the second reboot of the Hellboy film franchise.  In Hellboy: The Crooked Man, Hellboy and a first-time field agent unexpectedly find themselves in a mountain community dominated by witchcraft and ruled over by a local demon.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man opens in 1959.  We meet Hellboy (Jack Kesy) and Special Agent Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph), both of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD).  The two are transporting a supernatural toxic spider by train when something goes awry, and they suddenly find themselves stranded in the Appalachian Mountains.  They wander until they come to a backwoods community that is filled with superstition and with the belief in witches.

They meet a former local, Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), himself a witch, who has home to atone for his sins and to settle a hateful debt he owes.  Witches and witchcraft, however, are not the only things that haunt this isolated mountain community.  The devil is about in the form of Mister Onselm (Martin Bassindale), also known as “The Crooked Man.”  He has come to collect a debt, and Hellboy, Song and Ferrell are the resistance.  Soon, the mountain church of the blind Reverend Watts (Joseph Marcell) will be the scene of an epic battle of good versus evil.

I am not a big fan of Guillermo del Toro's 2004 film, Hellboy, the first film in the series.  It has great production values, and it is a gorgeous movie filled with fantastical visual elements.  On the other hand, the story is executed in a clunky and awkward fashion, and the characters are not particularly interesting.  However, del Toro's follow-up to that film, the Oscar-nominated Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), is one of my all-time favorite films, and I consider it to be one of the best-ever films adapted from a comic book.  Director Neil Marshall's 2019 film, Hellboy, was supposed to reboot the Hellboy film franchise.  It was a box office bomb, with its worldwide box office failing to recoup even the film's production costs, but Hellboy 2019 is far superior to Hellboy 2004.  It is closer to Hellboy II, in terms of quality, and almost seems like a reworking of the plot of the 2008 film.

All that said, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is another try at rebooting or restarting the series.  I remember reading press and promotion for The Crooked Man stating that it was the closest of the four films in terms of being faithful to the comic book.  I get that being faithful to the comic book is important to comic book people, especially the comic book creators and fans, but in the larger world of the film business, that is irrelevant.  What the people behind Hellboy: The Crooked Man should have been doing is telling the world that The Crooked Man is one helluva movie...

...Because it is.  Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a mutha f**kin' good movie.  I enjoyed the hell outta it, so much so that I might owe The Crooked Man of the film a debt.  I am not trying to say that it is perfect, because it is not.  Hellboy: The Crooked Man starts off slow, dry, awkward, and forced, and its first act seems like a collection of contrivances.

Then, the movie loses it mind and goes bonkers, and Hellboy: The Crooked Man flips the script so fast that I didn't know what hit me.  The Crooked Man's director, Brian Taylor, is known for his work with fellow writer-director Mark Neveldine, and the duo specializes in directing nutty and bonkers film like Crank (2006) and the 2011 comic book movie, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.  The duo also wrote the kooky horror-Western film hybrid, Jonah Hex (2010).

Going solo on The Crooked Man, Taylor busts out a film that takes the gruesome dead of the 1982 film, Creepshow, and mixes them with hoary hell hounds of director Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981).  The result is the most horrifying film in the Hellboy franchise, a film with enough bone-rattling folk horror to convince many viewers that it is a legit horror flick.

I find that David Harbour, who played Hellboy in the 2019 film, didn't stray far in his performance from what Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy star, Ron Perlman, did with the character.  The Crooked Man's Hellboy actor, Jack Kesy, is more like Jeff Bridges' “Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski” (from The Big Lebowski) than he is like the dark-fantasy action hero of the previous Hellboy films.  It is not that Kesy is better or worse, for the matter; it is just that he takes a different path to bringing the character to life.

There are other good performances in this film.  Jefferson White makes a mark as Tom Ferrell, but there are times when both White and his character, Ferrell, seem to get lost in the hell-raising of this film.  Adeline Rudolph, however, does not get lost as Bobbie Jo Song, and Rudolph's robust performance makes Song not so much a supporting character as she is a co-lead.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention Joseph Marcell as Reverend Watts because he is a scene-stealer in the role.  I was shocked to learn that Marcell played “Geoffrey Butler,” the butler on the former NBC sitcom, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-96).

Hellboy: The Crooked Man lacks the superhero fantasy, blockbuster bombast of its predecessors, but it is a truly unique superhero movie convincingly cos-playing a scary movie.  I don't want to give away too many of its chilling, goose flesh-raising frights.  The film did receive mixed reviews, but here, I won't send a mixed message.  Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a damn good movie, and I would be damned if I said otherwise.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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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.]

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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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

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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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

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3" Finds Jim Carrey Going Super-Sonic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 59 of 2024 (No. 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

Running time:  109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)

MPA – PG for action, some violence, rude humor, thematic elements and mild language.

DIRECTOR:  Jeff Fowler

WRITERS:  Pat Casey & Josh Miller and John Whittington; based on a story by Pat Casey & Josh Miller (based on the Sega video game)

PRODUCERS:  Toby Ascher, Neal H. Moritz, Toru Nakahara, and Hitoshi Okuno

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Brandon Trost (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Al LeVine

COMPOSER: Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL)

FANTASY/FAMILY and ACTION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY

Starring:  Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Lee Majdoub, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne, and Tom Butler; (voices) Ben Schwartz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, and Keanu Reeves

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Jim Carrey makes “Sonic and the Hedgehog 3” the best film of the series by making it his personal showcase.  He gives this film dramatic and comedic depth that I was not expecting; he gifts it the best of him.

This is still a Sonic the Hedgehog film, and once again voice actor Ben Schwartz brings Sonic to life in a way that makes him feel like a real-life character instead of being nothing more than one more special effect.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is dynamic and engaging in a way that makes it a family film which can impress adults as much as it entertains the kids.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 2024 action-adventure, fantasy and comedy film from director Jeff Fowler.  The film is based on the Sega Corporation's video game series and media franchise which began with the 1991 “Sega Genesis” game, Sonic the Hedgehog.  The film is also the third entry in Sonic the Hedgehog film series.  Sonic the Hedgehog 3 finds Sonic and his family taking on two powerful new adversaries, including one with a shocking connection to an old enemy.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 finds Sonic the Hedgehog (voice of Ben Schwartz) celebrating the anniversary of his arrival on Earth with his adopted parents, Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter).  Also celebrating are the two newest members of the family, Knuckles the Echidna (voice of Idris Elba) and Miles “Tails” Prower (voice of Colleen O'Shaughnessey).  Together, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails form “Team Sonic.”

However, while Sonic and family are celebrating, they don't know that trouble is brewing.  In Tokyo Bay is a secret prison run by the “Guardian Units of Nations” (G.U.N.), the military of Earth's government.  For decades, they have been holding an alien prisoner.  He is Shadow the Hedgehog (voice of Keanu Reeves), an anthropomorphic hedgehog like Sonic.

Now, Shadow has joined forces with the man who freed him, a mysterious scientist who has been stealing tech from Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey), Sonic's enemy.  That forces Robotnik to unite with “Team Sonic” in order to stop Shadow and his mysterious benefactor's mission of revenge against the Earth and mankind.  But can Sonic and his family really trust Robotnik?

Back in 2022, I saw Sonic the Hedgehog 2 because my niece asked to me to take her to the theater to see it.  A few days ago, I saw the first film, Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), for the first time (via Prime Video).  It got me in the mood for the new film, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, because, once again, my niece wanted me to take her to the theater to see it.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the best of the series mainly because Jim Carrey, in a dual role, gives one of his best performances in recent years.  In the first two films, Carrey relied on his familiar over-the-top shtick and shenanigans.  In this new film, Carrey unleashes the breath and length of his talent as a performer and actor.  In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Carrey is peak 1990s Carrey, and if this were not a Sonic the Hedgehog movie, he would be getting movie awards season notice for his performance in this film.  And this film is all the better for what Carrey does.

Once again, voice performer Colleen O'Shaughnessey makes Tails seem like both an innocent kid and a veteran tech expert.  In the second film, Idris Elba used his voice acting skills to make Knuckles a tough guy, but here, he gets a chance to brings some gravitas to the character.  As usual, Ben Schwartz brings Sonic to life as a fully developed film character and makes Sonic's doubts and dilemmas seem genuine.  Schwartz delivers exuberance and drama in his voice performance as Sonic.

Director Jeff Fowler shows that he can play in the big leagues of giant, event action films after directing the bouncy and pleasant first two films.  Fowler and his cohorts take the Sonic film franchise from a special effects fun fest to an action-adventure movie with more on the line than eye-popping visual effects (VFX), although there is plenty of that.

So after saying all that, it is obvious that I like Sonic the Hedgehog 3.  It is not perfect, and this film is obviously not for certain audiences.  It's not really for me, but still, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 manages to surprise and entertain me.  And my niece was crazy about it.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "FRIDAY THE 13TH: The Final Chapter" Now Seems Quaint

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 of 2024 (No. 2000) by Leroy Douresseaux

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Running time:  91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR:  Joseph Zito

WRITERS:  Barney Cohen; from a story by Bruce Hidemi Sakow (based on characters created by Victor Miller and Ron Kurz & Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson)

PRODUCER: Frank Mancuso, Jr.

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  João Fernandez (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Joel Goodman with Daniel Loewenthal

COMPOSER:  Harry Manfredini

HORROR

Starring:  Erich Anderson, Judie Aronson, Peter Barton, Kimberly Beck, Corey Feldman, Joan Freeman, Crispin Glover, Lawrence Monoson, Alan Hayes, Barbara Howard, Camilla More, Carey More, Bruce Mahler, Lisa Freeman, Bonnie Hellman and Frankie Hill with Ted White

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is a 1984 slasher horror film directed by Joseph Zito.  It is a direct sequel to the 1982 film, Friday the 13th Part III, and is the fourth movie in the Friday the 13th movie franchise.  The Final Chapter finds Jason Voorhees revived after being declared dead and then, returning to Crystal Lake where he stalks a group of friends renting a nearby house.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter opens in the aftermath of the massacre at “Higgins Haven,” the old home near Crystal Lake (as seen in Friday the 13th Part III).  The police clean up the scene, picking up the bodies of ten victims.  They were all killed by Jason Voorhees (Ted White), the killer of Crystal Lake.  This time, however, Jason has also been pronounced dead, and his body is picked up and sent to the Wessex County Medical Center Morgue (apparently somewhere in southern New Jersey).  Somehow, Jason spontaneously revives and kills a morgue attendant and a nurse on his way out the door and back to Crystal Lake.

Meanwhile, a group of six teenage friends:  Paul (Alan Hayes), Sam (Judie Aronson), Doug (Peter Barton), Sara (Barbara Howard), Ted (Lawrence Monoson), and Jimmy (Crispin Glover), have arrived at the house in the countryside near Crystal Lake that they are renting.  Right across from that house is another home where Mrs. Jarvis (Joan Freeman) lives with her two children:  her teen teenage daughter, Trish Jarvis (Kimberly Beck) and her twelve-year-old son, Tommy (Corey Feldman), along with their dog, Gordon.  The visiting group of teens also meets and befriends a pair of twin sisters, Tina (Camilla More) and Terri (Carey More).

Later, Trish and Tommy meet Rob Dier (Erich Anderson), a strapping young man who claims that he is visiting the area to hunt bear, but who is really hunting Jason for killing his sister, Sandra Dier.  What they don't know is that Jason is already hunting them all.

[NOTE: Rob's sister, Sandra, and her boyfriend, Jeff, were killed together by Jason in  Friday the 13th Part II.]

The first few minutes of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter are a sequence of highlights from the first three films:  Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part II (1981), and Friday the 13th Part III.  The third film was originally going to be the end of the series, just as this fourth film was going to conclude the series, so the beginning of this fourth film summarizes for the audience what has been going on at and around Crystal Lake.  Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter was the first film in the series that I saw, and is one of only two in the series that I have actually watched in a movie theater (the other being 1989's Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan).

So forty years later, what do I think of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter?  I remember that I kinda liked it the first time I saw it, although I was shocked by the number of people Jason killed – thirteen by my count, although fourteen is possible.  Originally, I was surprised by how fast the narrative had Jason dispatching his victims, and forty years later, I still think that.

Like the third film, I think The Final Chapter actually presents several good characters.  In fact, the six teens, the Jarvis family members, and Rob Dier all have personalities and potential that would make for decent character drama or melodrama, as it may be.  In the end, however, they are merely meat for this franchise's beast, Jason Voorhees.  Also, I think Corey Feldman's Tommy is the only character that really gets a chance at a showcase of character and emotion.

In the final analysis, The Final Chapter is better than most of the films in the series that followed it, but it isn't as good or as classic as the films that preceded.  If you want to know which is my favorite, dear readers, it is the second film, although I think the original is still the series' best film.  Still, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is a nice way to make a tetralogy out of a trilogy.

5 of 10

B-

★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, December 12, 2024

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Review: Disney's "MOANA 2" Sails Towards New Horizons

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 55 of 2024 (No. 1999) by Leroy Douresseaux

Moana 2 (2024)

Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40)

MPA – PG for action/peril

DIRECTORS:  David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller

WRITERS:  Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller;  Jared Bush & Dana Ledoux Miller and Bek Smith

PRODUCERS:  Christina Chen and Yvette Merino

EDITORS:  Michael Louis Hill and Jeremy Milton

ORIGINAL SONGS:  Opetaia Foa'il, Mark Mancina, Abigail Barlow, and Emily Bear

COMPOSER:  Mark Mancina

ANIMATION/FANTASY/MUSICAL and FAMILY/DRAMA

Starring:  (voices) Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Amhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Gerald Ramsey, and Alan Tudyk

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

Moana 2 is not as inspired as the original film, but this sequel charts its own path towards adventure

The title character, Moana, is still a hero who takes her friends and the audience on the greatest of adventures, and that is more than enough reason for fans of the original film to come back for more in Moana 2

Moana 2 is a 2024 American computer-animated, fantasy-adventure, and musical film directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller.  It is produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios – the 63rd full-length animated feature film produced by that studio, and it is a Walt Disney Pictures release.  The film is a direct sequel to the 2016 animated feature, Moana.  Moana 2 finds Moana and Maui on a journey to find a lost island that could reunite the people of the ocean.

Moana 2 opens three years after the adventures Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) had with the demigod, Maui (Dwayne Johnson), and the island goddess of Te Fiti (as seen in Moana).  Moana is now officially her people's “wayfinder.”  She has spent the time since then exploring the islands near her home island of Motunui in the hope that she will find other people connected to the ocean.

During a celebration, Moana has a vision of her wayfinding ancestor, Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey).  He reveals why none of those peoples are connected anymore.  A long time ago, the malicious storm god, Nalo, wanted power over the mortals.  To gain that power, Nalo sunk a legendary island called “Motufetu,” the island which connected all islands and the people of the sea, down to the depths of the ocean.  Tautai also warns Moana that the people of Motunui will go extinct in the future if Moana cannot find a way to raise Motufetu.

Moana assembles a wayfinding crew of people from Motunui:  the clever craftswoman, Loto (Rose Matafeo); the tribal historian and Maui fanboy, Moni (Haulalai Chung); and a grumpy elderly farmer, Keke (David Fane), alongside her pet pig, Pua, and pet rooster, Heihei.  They set off in a boat designed and built by Loto, to follow the path of a meteor that Tautai says will blaze a trail across the ocean towards Motufetu.  But first, Moana and her crew must find Maui, who just so happens is being held prisoner by the forces aligned against Moana's quest.

I wrote this in my recent review of the first film, Moana:  I always struggle with writing reviews of modern Disney computer-animated feature films.  The animation is always superb.  The character design is consistently imaginative and inventive, and the character animation – regardless of whether the characters are human, animals, creatures of fantasy, or machines – is flawless.  The production design, art direction, set decoration, and graphic design are so good that just about every Disney animated movie gets its own art book – deservedly so.

Well, I don't have to struggle with my review of Moana 2 because it looks just as good as the first film.  While the tattoos on Maui's body are still good, they don't get as much screen time as they did in the original film, so they can't steal the show.  Instead, Moana has a little sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert Tsuda), who does that in several scenes set on Motunui.

Moana 2 is very entertaining, but it is not quite as good as the original film.  Because we know many of the characters, especially Moana and Maui, there is not the same joy of discovery.  The call to adventure is not as complicated in Moana 2 as it was the first time.  It is pretty straightforward here: find Motufetu.  And the big showdown in Moana 2 is not quite the showdown the first film offered.  Moana 2 simply lacks the inspiration of Moana.

That said, Moana 2 offers stunning imagery that overrides the moments when the story drags or goes adrift, and the film moves towards new horizons for the franchise.  Moana, once again superbly given voice by actress Auli'i Cravalho, and Maui, once again made cool by Dwayne Johnson's voice performance, are still great characters.  And they go on the best adventures.

Moana 2 is the kind of big, colorful, soaring animated adventure that we expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios.  It is not perfect, but it is the kind of film that keeps me loving the world's longest-running animation studio.  Fans of Moana and of Disney Animation will not want to miss Moana 2.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, December 7, 2024

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Review: "GLADIATOR II" Happily Chases the Ghosts of the Original

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 of 2024 (No. 1996) by Leroy Douresseaux

Gladiator II (2024)

Running time:  148 minutes (2 hours, 28 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence

DIRECTOR:  Ridley Scott

WRITERS:  David Scarpa; from a story by Peter Craig and David Scarpa (based on the characters created by David Franzoni)

PRODUCERS:  David Franzoni, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss, and Ridley Scott

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John Mathieson (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Sam Restivo and Claire Simpson

COMPOSER:  Harry Gregson-Williams

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Derek Jacobi,Yuval Gonen, Rory McCann, Matt Lucas, Alexander Karim, and Peter Mensah with Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington

SUMMARY OF THIS REVIEW:

“Gladiator II” is slavishly devoted to its predecessor, 2000's “Best Picture” Oscar-winner, “Gladiator,” sometimes to its detriment.

The new film's lead, Paul Mescal, carries this film with help from Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Alexander Karim, and with a delightfully nutty turn by Denzel Washington.

Ultimately, “Gladiator II” does stand on its own because of big action set pieces, heart-stopping gladiator combat, and a crazy final duel.

Gladiator II is a 2024 drama and historical film from director Ridley Scott.  It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning “Best Picture of the Year” (2000), Gladiator.  Gladiator II focuses on a soldier-turned-slave who must look to his past if he is going to return the glory of Rome to its people as his late grandfather once wished.

Gladiator opens sixteen years after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.  Rome is ruled by the corrupt twin brothers, Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), and the corruption is so terrible that the city of Rome seems near collapse.

Meanwhile,  General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) lead's the Roman navy in an invasion of the North African province of Numidia.  Acacius is unaware that Numidia is the home of Marcus Aurelius' grandson, Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal), who now goes by the name “Hanno.”  During the battle, Acacius orders the killing of Hanno's wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), and Hanno is taken prisoner.

Hanno is sold to Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a stablemaster who owns and trains gladiators, and Hanno proves to be a talented gladiator.  In him, Macrinus sees an opportunity to position himself next to power in Rome, so he offers Hanno a path to revenge against Acacius.  However, Acacius' wife is Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and she is starting to believe that she recognizes this alluring stranger who calls himself Hanno.

In anticipation of seeing Gladiator II, I decided to watch the original film, Gladiator (2000) in its entirety for the first time since I first saw it in a movie theater with some friends back in May of 2000.  I have to be honest, Gladiator II is not nearly the film that Gladiator is, and that's okay.

Gladiator II is a very good film on its own.  The “battle for Numidia,” which is in the film's first act, is as exciting and as gory as I expected it to be.  The gladiatorial events in the new film are quite nice, although admittedly not as nice as the original's.

As the lead in Gladiator II, Paul Mescal as Hanno/Lucius is not as powerful as Russell Crowe was as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator.  Crowe stood astride that film, using his dominating screen presence to carry Gladiator's straightforward, sword-and-sandals, revenge tale to box office and Oscar glory.  Gladiator II does not give Mescal a straightforward, sword-and-sandals tale of revenge.  The Rome of this new film is a hot mess of corruption, led by two homicidal narcissists.  The Roman emperors of this film, Geta and Caracalla, are not as lusciously evil as Joaquin Phoenix's Emperor Commodus in the original film.  They are simply petty, murderous, vain, egotistical tyrants.  Thus, Hanno/Lucius' revenge story is overshadowed by the hot mess that is Geta/Caracalla's Rome, which is complicated by the shifting schemes of Denzel Washington's Macrinus.

Still, Mescal manages to make Hanno/Lucius the center of Gladiator II, even as director Ridley Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa chase the ghosts of the original film.  Mescal brings balance to Hanno/Lucius rage with thoughtfulness and humility that truly makes the character not so much the lone hero, as he is one-of-the-people and a man of the people who can start Rome on a path to redemption.

Gladiator II is also helped by the fact that Denzel Washington, as Macrinus, delivers a dominating performance that makes his supporting character a co-lead.  Paul Mescal may be a rising star, but Denzel Washington is the kind of established movie star and Hollywood icon whose presence is fuels a film's theatrical push.

Gladiator II won't get out of Gladiator's shadow, but its wild battle scenes and crazy gladiatorial spectacles combined with some key performances should allow the new film to casts its own shadow.  Besides, if you have seen Gladiator, dear readers, you know that you are itching to see Gladiator II.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Monday, November 25, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "DUNE: PART TWO: Rocks the Heavens

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 48 of 2024 (No. 1992) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Running time:  166 minutes (2 hours, 46 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some suggestive material and brief strong language

DIRECTOR:  Denis Villeneuve

WRITERS:  Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (based on the novel by Frank Herbert)

PRODUCERS:  Denis Villeneuve, Cale Boyter, Mary Parent, Patrick McCormick, and Tanya Lapointe

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Greg Fraser (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Joe Walker

COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

SCI-FI/DRAMA and ACTION/WAR/THRILLER

Starring:  Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Charlotte Rampling, Babs Olusanmokun, and Alison Halstead

Dune: Part Two is a 2024 epic science fiction and drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve.  It is the second part of the two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel, Dune, written by author Frank Herbert.  The first part is entitled Dune (or Dune: Part One) and was released in 2021.  Dune: Part Two focuses on a vengeful young nobleman who unites the desert people of the planet Arrakis behind his war against the noble house that betrayed and murdered his father.

Dune: Part Two opens in the wake of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) and House Harkonnen's destruction of Duke Leto Atreides and the House Atreides.  Now, the Baron's nephew, Lord Rabban (Dave Bautista), has control over the desert planet, Arrakis, and over the production of the most valuable substance in the universe, which is known as “Spice.”  A highly-addictive drug, Spice extends human vitality and life and is absolutely necessary for space travel.  Spice is only found on Arrakis.

Meanwhile, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the son of Leto, and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), who is pregnant, have joined the “Sietch Tabr,” a band of Fremen, the natives of Arrakis.  While some of the Fremen consider Paul and Jessica to be spies, the Sietch Tabr leader, Stilgar (Javier Bardem), believes that they are the prophesied mother and son from the “Outer World” who will bring prosperity to Arrakis.

Jessica belongs to the Bene Gesserit, a powerful sisterhood who wield advance mental and physical abilities.  The Bene Gesserit have a prophecy concerning a “superbeing,” called the  “Kwisatz Haderach,” and Paul may be this superbeing because of the machinations of his mother.  Stilgar believes that Paul is the prophesied Fremen messiah, the “Lisan al-Gaig.”  This belief spread once Paul takes the name Paul Muad'dib Usul.

However, Chani (Zendaya), a young and rebellious Fremen warrior (“Fedaykin”), believes that the messianic prophecies are nothing more than a fabrication meant to manipulate the Fremen.  However, as “the Battle for Arrakis” begins, Chani finds herself having strong feelings for Paul and follows him into battle against the Harkonnen, for better or worse. 

Dune and Dune: Part Two combine to form the third screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel.  The others were writer-director David Lynch's 1984 film, Dune, and writer-director John Harrison's 2000 television miniseries, also entitled “Dune.”  Also, there is a French/U.S. documentary film, entitled Jodorowskys Dune, that chronicles director Alejandro Jodorowsky's doomed attempt to adapt the novel into film in the 1970s.

Because HBO is preparing to release its Dune television series, “Dune: Prophecy,” I decided to finally see Dune: Part Two.  A horrible illness forced me to miss the film's theatrical release earlier this year.  Having finally seen it, I wish I had watched it in a movie theater, although IMAX is not an option for me.  Dune: Part Two should be seen on a screen in a movie theater.  It is one of the most epic science fiction films that I have ever experienced.  The production values, cinematography, film editing, production design, art direction and sets, hair and make-up, and costumes are separately some of the best seen in science fiction cinema thus far in the twenty-first century.  Director Denis Villeneuve is more than well-served by these collaborators.

He is also well-served by his co-writers, as the screenplay captures the religious and spiritual dogma and messianic madness that drives much of Dune's narrative.  As impressive as this film is from a storytelling point of view, the Fremen's faith is freaking scary and dominates the film.  That's why I think Hans Zimmer's film score sounds like it belongs in a horror movie.  Quite a bit of Zimmer's musical score is like the spiritual cousin of composer Henry Manfredini's “ch ch ch ah ah ah” sound effect for the 1980 film, Friday the 13th.

There are a number of great performances here.  Austin Butler, who surprised in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis (2022), does killer work in Dune: Part Two as Baron Harkonnen's psychotic nephew, na-Baron Fedy-Rautha.  Dune's make-up artists serve him well as Butler fashions a character that is as impish and devilish as he is relentlessly homicidal.

But the stars are really Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.  As Paul, Chalamet depicts both the manipulation and machinations of a rise to power and also the evolution and revelation of a religious cult leader.  As Chani, Zendaya is the spiritual heart of this film.  She is the center of calm and reason in the super-storm of madness that envelopes Arrakis.  It is not hard to see why both actors are some of the most popular young stars in world cinema.  For all Denis Villeneuve cinematic skills and tricks, a movie this grand needs that traditional tower of power, the movie star.  Dune: Part Two has two shooting stars.

10 of 10

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Entertaining "MaXXXine" is No Pearl

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 47 of 2024 (No. 1991) by Leroy Douresseaux

MaXXXine (2024)

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

MPA – R for strong violence, gore, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug use

WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Ti West

PRODUCERS:  Mia Goth, Jacob Jaffke, Harrison Kreiss, Kevin Turen, and Ti West

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Eliot Rockett (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Ti West

COMPOSERS:  Tyler Bates

HORROR

Starring:  Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavole, Moses Sumney, Chloe Farnworth, Lily Collins, Halsey, Ned Vaughn, Simon Prast, and Giancarlo Esposito

MaXXXine is a 2024 horror drama from writer-director Ti West.  The film is the third entry in the X film series and is a direct sequel to X (2022).  MaXXXine focuses on an adult film star and aspiring mainstream actress who finally gets her big break, while a mysterious killer leaves a trail of bodies that threatens to reveal her troubled past.

MaXXXine is set in Los Angeles in the year 1985.  The city is in the middle of the hysteria concering “the Night Stalker” murders, but 32-year-old, porno actress, Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) really doesn't have time to pay attention.  She is making an attempt to transition from pornographic films and into mainstream movies.  Her big break comes via an audition for the horror movie sequel, “The Puritan II.”  Because she impresses the film's director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), Maxine lands the role of the film's villain, “Veronica.”

However, the horrifying events that occurred on a farm estate in rural Texas six years earlier (as seen in X) threaten to expose Maxine's troubled past.  People connected to her are starting to be brutally murdered, and two homicide detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department, Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (Bobby Cannavale), are tailing her.  Then, there is the sleazy private detective, John Labat (Kevin Bacon), who pops up – often with threats.  Can Maxine protect her big break, and what is she willing to do to protect it?

In the 2022 film, X, Mia Goth played both the potential victim, Maxine Mink, and also Pearl, one half of the elderly homicidal couple.  In X's prequel, Pearl (2022), Goth reprises the role of Pearl, as the films delves into the title character's early life and hardships.  Now, Goth is Maxine again in X's direct sequel, MaXXXine.

In Pearl, the film focuses on a young woman who is mentally troubled and socially outcast and who lashes out in violence after one too many betrayals.  In MaXXXine, I found myself waiting to see Maxine Mink lash out to protect what she has and is about to half.  There are those moments in MaXXXine, such as Maxine's brutal take down of a stalker.  Otherwise, MaXXXine seems like an attempt to tame Maxine Mink of her potential for ultra-violence.

The film's plot and narrative progress are uneven, and the narrative seems like an audiovisual and conceptual pastiche of events and culture related to L.A., circa 1985.  For instance, from 1984 to 1985, serial killer Richard Ramirez terrorized the Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area regions, assaulting, humiliating, and killing some of his victims, and he became known as the “Night Stalker.”  Ti West's screenplay offers tantalizing references to the killings, but the “Night Stalker” is merely a red herring in the film's narrative.

That pretty much summarizes the film.  There are tantalizing characters, subplots, and settings (many of them seeming sinister even in the middle of the day), but MaXXXine never really lets loose.  The Triple-X in the title suggests that the film is triple-strong or at least among the nastiest things around, but MaXXXine is more hard-R than X.  Even the references to Satanic murders and rituals end up like weak tea.

That's a shame because the movie starts off forcefully, and there are a lot of good ideas.  But … for a movie partially set in the world of adult entertainment, including pornographic films, peep shows, and coke-fueled sex parties, MaXXXine self-censors.  Not much is really exposed, and there is a bloody last act that is at once impressive and then, lame.  That's a shame, but MaXXXine really doesn't take it to the max... but man, it really could have.

6 of 10

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

Monday, November 4, 2024

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Review: "HALLOWEEN ENDS" Because It Ran Out of Gas

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 45 of 2024 (No. 1989) by Leroy Douresseaux

Halloween Ends (2022)

Running time:  111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)

MPA – R for bloody horror violence and gore, language throughout and some sexual references

DIRECTOR:  David Gordon Green

WRITERS:  David Gordon Green & Danny McBride and Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier (based on the characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill)

PRODUCERS:  Malek Akkad, Bill Block, and Jason Blum

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

EDITOR:  Tim Alverson

COMPOSERS:  Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, and Daniel Davies

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring:  Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Jesse C. Boyd, Michael Barbieri, Destiny Moné, Joey Harris, Marteen, Joanne Barron, Rick Moose, Michele Dawson, Keraun Harris,Kyle Richards, Michael O'Leary, Jaxon Goldenberg, Candice Rose,Jack William Marshall, and Omar Dorsey

Halloween Ends is a 2022 slasher-horror film from director David Gordon Green.  It is the thirteenth installment in the Halloween film franchise.  It is also the third film in a trilogy of sequels to the original 1978 Halloween, the first of that trilogy being 2018's Halloween.  Halloween Ends finds Laurie Strode wondering if the troubled young man that her granddaughter is dating carries the evil she saw in her decades long nemesis, Michael Myers.

Halloween Ends opens in Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night, 2019.  Twenty-one-year-old Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) is babysitting a bratty 11-year-old boy.  The night ends tragically, and Corey becomes a pariah in Haddonfield.

Three years later, it is 2022.  Haddonfield is still reeling from the aftermath of the killing spree launched by the notorious Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) in 2018 (as seen in 2018's Halloween and 2021's Halloween Kills).  Michael has vanished, and his main victim, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), is writing a memoir and living with her granddaughter, Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak).  Corey is working at his stepfather, Roger's (Rick Moose) salvage yard.

A bullying incident brings Corey into contact with Laurie, so Corey meets Allyson, who is immediately taken with him.  It seems as if the pariah Corey and the traumatized Allyson have found the perfect mate in each another.  However, Corey has a strange and unexpected encounter that might lead to the creation of a new serial killer.

One could argue that Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) is a soft reboot of the first two films in the franchise – Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981).  Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) was a reboot of the franchise in that it ignored franchise entries four through six.  Rob Zombie's 2007 film, Halloween, was an ever harder reboot.  Halloween 2018 was not so much a reboot as it was a true sequel to the original story.  Halloween Kills (2021) was basically an attempt to insert a course correction of Halloween II that would sit between the original Halloween and 2018 Halloween, while kicking 1981's Halloween II partially to the curb.

Halloween Ends is spiritually related to Rob Zombie's 2007 film, at least a little.  Zombie's film asks the question what creates a monster like Michael Myers.  Halloween Ends depicts how a town's toxic legacy and history and its shitty townsfolk can come together to create the kind of monster and inhuman killer that will stalk the town's streets and kill the townsfolk.

Halloween Ends flirts with brilliance, but director David Gordon Green and his co-writers turn the second half of the film into a tedious display of ultra-violence.  The film has a lot to say about scapegoating, pariahs, grief, trauma, post-traumatic stress, victim-blaming, and mercilessness, to name a few.  In the end, however, Halloween Ends has to be a Halloween movie and bodies need to be dismembered, smashed, crushed, shot, and violently penetrated.

I really enjoyed this movie for a time; then, I was ready for it to... end.  The performances are good, but no one performance really stands out to me, although (sexy) Will Patton as Deputy Frank Hawkins certainly tries, as he usually does in all his film and television performances.  Whatever future this franchise has, it is time to move on to something really new.  Halloween Ends is a good, but not great way to end the murder spree that began with the original film.

6 of 10

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

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Review: "HALLOWEEN III: Season of the Witch" is More Strange Than Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 155 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Running time:  98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR:  Tommy Lee Wallace

WRITER:  Tommy Lee Wallace

PRODUCERS:  John Carpenter and Debra Hill

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Dean Cundey (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Millie Moore

COMPOSERS:  John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

HORROR/SCI-FI/FANTASY

Starring:  Tom Atkins, Stacy Nelkin, Dan O’Herlihy, Michael Currie, Ralph Strait, Jadeen Barbor, and Brad Schacter

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 American horror and science fiction-fantasy film from director Tommy Lee Wallace.  It is the third installment in the Halloween film series and the only one not to feature the franchise's star antagonist, Michael Myers.  British science fiction author, Nigel Kneale, and series co-creator, John Carpenter, joined director Tommy Lee Wallace in contributing to the writing of this film.  Season of the Witch focuses on a doctor who uncovers a plot use children and a particular brand of Halloween masks to resurrect an ancient ritual.

When her father is murdered in his hospital bed, Ellie Grimbridge (Stacy Nelkin) begins to suspect the involvement of a powerful novelty company with whom her father, Harry (Al Berry), had a relationship.  She convinces an over-stressed physician Dr. Daniel “Dan” Challis (Tom Atkins) to accompany her to the headquarters of the company, Silver Shamrock, where they meet the company’s creepy owner Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy).

Silver Shamrock’s big sales push occurs at Halloween, and everywhere the two go, they encounter omnipresent television ads for the company’s three Halloween masks.  As Halloween gets closer, the world around Dan and Ellie becomes more perilous and stranger, and they delve deeper into Silver Shamrock’s evil plans for the holiday.

After wrapping up the story he began in the 1978 film, Halloween, in the sequel, Halloween II (1981), John Carpenter had different plans.  He intended Halloween III: Season of the Witch to be the first in an annual series of Halloween movies that each told a different Halloween related story.  Each film would, of course, have the “Halloween” brand name, but this film failed at the box office and killed that plan.  Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film editor of the original Halloween and for Carpenter's 1980 film, The Fog, Season of the Witch is average horror film with the potential to be something really great.  It is gross-filled genre fare having equal doses of horror, mystery, and science fiction.

It is difficult to point out concretely just where it all went wrong.  The mystery element is great, while the science fiction element is far fetched and more fantasy than science.  The sci-fi/fantasy element fails because of a lack of proper execution and because the magical elements are flat and unconvincing.  The horrific aspects are strong, and the dénouement is bracing and unsettling.  Somewhere along the line, however, it all falls apart, and the movie can leave the viewer as unsatisfied as it will leave him curious about what happens in the story after the movie fades to black.

Still, I’d watch it again.  There’s something in it, warts and all, that intrigues me, and I wish the filmmakers had taken the time to get whatever it is right.

4 of 10

C

★★ out of 4 stars

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE" is Morbidly Wonderful and Wonderfully Morbid

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 42 of 2024 (No. 1986) by Leroy Douresseaux

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use.

DIRECTOR:  Tim Burton

WRITERS:  Alfred Gough & Miles Millar; from a story by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith (based on characters created by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson)

PRODUCERS:  Tim Burton, Dede Gardner, Tommy Harper, Jeremy Kleiner, and Marc Toberoff

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Haris Zambarloukos (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Jay Prychidny

COMPOSER:  Danny Elfman

COMEDY/FANTASY/HORROR

Starring:  Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Nick Kellington, Santiago Cabrera, Burn Gorman, Sami Slimane, Amy Nuttall, and Danny DeVito

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is that rare sequel that is as weird and as wonderful as its weird and wonderful predecessor

Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara are so good at reprising their original roles that it is hard to believe that it has been 36 years since they first played them

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is director Tim Burton's most crowd-pleasing film since 1999's “Sleepy Hollow” 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a 2024 American dark fantasy and comic-horror film from director Tim Burton.  It is a direct sequel to Burton's 1988 film, Beetlejuice.  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice finds three generations gathering after a family tragedy only to discover that the latest generation's actions have lead to a new encounter with the Afterlife and also has drawn the attentions of a certain bio-exorcist.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opens over three decades after the events depicted in Beetlejuice.  Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is now a “psychic mediator” who hosts a supernaturally themed talk show, “Ghost House,” produced by her current boyfriend, Rory (Justin Theroux).  Lydia is estranged from her daughter, Astrid Deetz (Jenna Ortega), who is resentful that Lydia had a falling out with Astrid's father, Richard (Santiago Cabrera), who died during an expedition to the Amazon.

Lydia is stressed of late because she has been seeing visions of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), the “bio-exorcist” from the Afterlife who tried to force her to marry him over thirty years ago.  Meanwhile, in the Afterlife, Betelgeuse (pronounced “Beetlejuice”) is having his own relationship problems as he has learned that his former wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci), a soul-sucking witch, has been revived and is hunting him in order to avenge the wrong she believes he did to her.

Back in the world of the living, Lydia's stepmother, Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara), informs her that her husband, Lydia's father, Charles Deetz, has died.  Lydia, Astrid, and Delia return to Winter River (the setting of the original film) for Charles' funeral.  The three women suddenly find their worlds turned upside down when the Afterlife intrudes and Betelgeuse plots to turn this series of unfortunate events in his favor.

Because of the decades long wait for this sequel, I wondered about the quality of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.  After seeing it, I am pleased and happy to say that I enjoyed it as much as I have any film I've seen this year (2024).  I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice during a Thursday night preview showing, and there were several children present.  The children were restless and acted up a bit, especially early on.  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is not a children's film, or it is, at least, not as child-friendly as the first film.  Beetlejuice had a darkly humorous and macabre sensibility that was similar to the work of the late Charles Addams (1912-1988), the cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine who was best known for his recurring characters that became known as “The Addams Family.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a darker film with a morbid rather than a macabre sensibility.  The specter of death – especially sudden, violent, accidental death – hangs over this film.  Yet it all seems like ghoulish fun and games, thanks in part to director Tim Burton's creative cohorts.  The costume design, production design, film editing, cinematography, lighting, visual effects (practical and CGI), and musical score (by frequent Burton collaborator, Danny Elfman), recall the creative and intense inventiveness of the original film  They make Beetlejuice Beetlejuice more grand theater than “Grand Guignol.”  Still, I don't think elementary school age children, in general, will really enjoy this new film.

I'd call Beetlejuice Beetlejuice perfect except I do take exception with the film's writing.  Although the overall plot is very interesting, the screenplay has some extraneous threads and inessential characters.  I won't mention them just in case they end up being spoilers.

I will say that Tim Burton is fortunate to have the trio of Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara carrying the load for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.  When I first saw Beetlejuice, I didn’t care for Michael Keaton’s performance as Betelgeuse.  I thought his manic energy seemed forced and phony and that the late Robin Williams, who was really coming into his own as a movie star at the time, would have been a better choice.  Sixteen years later (2004), I watched Beetlejuice again, and that time I thought Keaton was perfect.  Go figure!  How wrong I was.  With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Keaton proves that no one can be the “ghostest with the mostest” like him.

As Lydia Deetz, Winona Ryder truly evolves the character in interesting and genuinely human ways.  Ryder could easily pull off a third film if one were to be made in the next decade (hopefully earlier).  Given chance, Catherine O'Hara always proves that she is a giant among comedic actors, and does so again.  What she offered in the original film, she offers in comedic droves here.

I had a thoroughly great time at the movies last night, and even the restless kids could not ruin the very funny “Soul Train” references.  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is that rare sequel that matches the original film in many ways and surpasses it in others.  As a movie fan, I feel blessed to have it.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, September 6, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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