TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Thrillers

Showing posts with label Thrillers. Show all posts

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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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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Friday, December 27, 2024

Review: "NOSFERATU" 2024: You'll Either Be Impressed or Roll Your Eyes

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 61 of 2024 (No. 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nosferatu (2024)

Running time: 133 minutes (2 hours, 13 minutes)

MPA – R for bloody violent content, graphic nudity and some sexual content

DIRECTOR: Robert Eggers

WRITER: Robert Eggers (inspired by the film, Nosferatu, and the novel by Bram Stoker)

PRODUCERS: Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Robert Eggers, John Graham, and Jeff Robinov

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jarin Blaschke (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Louise Ford

COMPOSER: Robin Carolan

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgard, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, and Simon McBurney

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Nosferatu is entertaining – in places, but quite a bit of it is also over-the-top and overdone. Honestly, I'd be reluctant to recommend it to people who don't go to movie theaters too often because they could find better films upon which to spend their infrequent cinema visits

Nepo-baby thespian, Lily-Rose Depp, gives an excellent performance, emphasizing facial expressions and physical feats, but Bill Skarsgard as the Nosferatu, manages only to create a vampire that is as boring as he is scary and ugly

Also, if you remember Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula, you will find this film shockingly similar to it

Nosferatu is a 2024 American vampire horror film from writer-director Robert Eggers It is a remake of the 1922 German silent film, Nosferatu. Like that German film, the modern Nosferatu also takes inspiration from the 1897 novel Dracula, written by author Bram Stoker. The new Nosferatu focuses on a young woman and the terrifying vampire that is infatuated with her.

Nosferatu introduces Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp). Since she was a child, Ellen has had a connection to the spiritual and mystical realms. When she was a girl, she called out to a spirit, and that caused her to have a vision of a disfigured and corpse-like creature attack her. This in turns leads to Ellen having a violent seizure.

In 1838, Ellie is now an adult and is newly wed to a husband, the young estate agent, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult). The couple is living in Wisborg, Germany where Thomas works for “Knock & Associates.” His employer, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), offers Thomas a generous commission, but to get it, Thomas must embark on a six-day journey to the small country of Transylvania.

There, Thomas will meet the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard), who wants to buy property in Wisborg, which he plans to make his new home. However, there is a conspiracy behind this business venture between Knock and Orlok, and Ellen, who is once again besieged by dark, monster-filled dreams, is the prize. Now, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Defoe), a controversial scientist and expert on the occult and mysticism, may be the only one who can figure out what everyone else seems to ignore. And that is the fact that Orlok is a monstrous vampire – a Nosferatu!

First, some history: director F.W. Murnau's 1922 German silent film, Nosferatu, was an unauthorized film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula (1897). Stoker's heirs sued and the film was ordered destroyed, but several prints survived this purge. So the modern Nosferatu is both a remake of the 1922 film and an adaptation of Stoker's novel. I also find quite a bit of this new Nosferatu to be a literally and spiritually rehash of director Francis Ford Coppola's visionary, Oscar-winning film, Bram Stokers Dracula (1992).

Moving on: Lily-Rose Depp delivers a stunning performance as Ellen, one that is both emotionally charged and also physically impressive, thanks to the scenes in which she portrays having blood-curdling seizures, apparently without the help of computer-generated imagery. Depp makes by far the best out of director Robert Eggers' screenplay, which I find to be shallow and also imaginative only in the superficial way that directors borrow from other directors' films in a bid to seem clever before their sycophants and devotees.

That is exemplified by Bill Skarsgard's Count Orlok. He is both frightening and tedious. Skarsgard is buried under a mound of makeup and likely computer-rendering that makes him look like a homeless and destitute version of the infamous Russian mystic and political Svengali, Grigori Rasputin. The new Count Orlok is a scary mountain of monster-man, but he has no personality, And girl, he grunts his garbled dialogue real good. Ultimately, Skarsgard turn as Count Orlok is no better than one of actor Robert Englund's latter turns as “Freddy Krueger” in one of the many sequels to A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

Eggers really does not give the rest of his characters great dramatic material. Nicholas Hoult's Thomas Hutter is an embarrassing crybaby, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Friedrich Harding is a stubborn moron. Willem Defoe's Von Franz is smart and stupid in alternating waves that suggest that suggests he was created by some AI algorithm. Emma Corrin's Anna Harding (Friedrich's wife) seems very smart and capable, so the male writer's screenplay kills her off way too early.

Yeah, I have a lot of complaints about this new Nosferatu, mainly because it is one of those maddening films that has many brilliant elements that are beset by many tedious, hilarious, and ridiculous elements. This is not “style over substance,” but it is style strangling the shit out of substance. I heartily recommend Nosferatu to fans of vampire films and to adventurous movie lovers, but I would be reluctant to recommend it to people who are not as into movies as I am. Something like Nosferatu would make them roll their eyes.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, December 27, 2024

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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Review: Tyler Perry's "DIVORCE IN THE BLACK" is Shamelessly Shameless

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 60 of 2024 (No. 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Divorce in the Black (2024)

Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)

MPA – R for language, some sexual content and violence

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry

PRODUCERS: Will Areu, Tyler Perry, Angi Bones, Diane Ashford, and Meagan Good

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

EDITOR: Storm Evans

COMPOSER: Sheri Chung

DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Meagan Good, Cory Hardrict, Joseph Lee Anderson, Taylor Polidore, Shannon Wallace, Richard Lawson, Debbi Morgan, Mark Elliot Brewer, Rakeem Laws, Berry Williams, Jr., Jeffrey Creightney, and Ursula O. Robinson

Divorce in the Black is a 2024 drama and thriller from writer-director Tyler Perry. The film is an Amazon “Prime Original,” and it began streaming on the service July 11, 2024. Divorce in the Black follows a young woman who is left heartbroken after her husband abandons their marriage.

Divorce in the Black introduces 37-year-old Ava (Meagan Good). She is the daughter of a preacher, Clarence (Richard Lawson) and a demur church-going woman, Gene (Debbi Morgan). Ava married Dallas Bertrand (Cory Hardrict), one of five sons from a family of trifling Negroes who were raised (not reared) by their obnoxious mother, Linda (Ursula O. Robinson)

Ava and Dallas's marriage was troubled from the start and is troubled now. The recent troubles begin with the funeral of Dallas' 39-year-old brother, Cody Bertrand, who had just been released from prison when someone he attempted to mug shot him to death. Ava's preacher father, Clarence, officiates the funeral, and he believes that he cannot lie and act as if Cody had been a decent person. Clarence's words about Cody lead the Bertrands to commit a horribly disgusting act in order to put an end to the funeral service.

Shortly after the funeral, Ava and Dallas return to their home in Atlanta. Dallas is feeling resentful, mainly egged on by his remaining brothers and his mother. He tells Ava that he wants a divorce and that he has already taken care of everything. He says all she needs to do is sign the divorce papers. Ava is heartbroken and grief-stricken by this terrible turn of events. She returns to her parents home in rural Georgia. Eventually, she finds solace and friendship by reuniting with an old friend, Benji (Joseph Lee Anderson), which could turn romantic. Dallas, however, starts to feel cheated when he discovers that Ava and Benji are seeing each other, and he begins to grow increasingly violent. Now, Ava will have to make the toughest decisions of her life.

I thought that Mea Culpa, a “Netflix Original” film released in February (2024), was likely Tyler Perry's craziest non-Madea film to date, being even wackier than his 2013 film, Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. Now, I'm declaring that Divorce in the Black, released mere months after Mea Culpa, is Perry's craziest film. In many ways, Divorce in the Black is not a good film. After its jaw-dropping opening act, the film's narrative has a hard time finding its footing. It meanders, mostly focusing on Ava's grief over the sudden divorce announcement.

[Apparently, “divorce in the black” means a divorce in which you gain something or remain in the positive after the conclusion. “Divorce in the red” means to lose something or end up in the negative after it is all over.]

Divorce in the Black redeems itself with an entertainingly outrageous and outrageously entertaining last act. I wouldn't call Dallas' actions throughout the film over-the-top. They're quite believable, and, in fact, I've known or heard of men like him. What makes the ending of Divorce in the Black so satisfactory is Ava's change in attitude and Dallas' comeuppance. I can't remember the last time I so enjoyed an African-American male character suffering something similar to Dallas' fate. However, dear readers, you have to wade through a lot of mixed-bag storytelling and almost two hours of questionable runtime to get to the end's immense satisfaction.

I mainly watched Divorce in the Black because I wanted to do some Tyler Perry catch-up before I watched his latest “Netflix Original,” the historical drama, The Six Triple Eight. So I judge Divorce in the Black as mainly being fit for fans engaged in watching most of, if not all, of Perry's filmography.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

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Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Review: Netflix's "ATLAS" Has Too Many Ideas, Not Enough Booty

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 54 of 2024 (No. 1998) by Leroy Douresseaux

Atlas (2024)

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

MPA – PG-13 for strong sci-fi violence, action, bloody images and strong language

DIRECTOR: Brad Peyton

WRITERS: Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite

PRODUCERS: Greg Berlanti, Jeff Fierson, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Joby Harold, Brad Peyton, Sarah Schechter, Tory Tunnell, Benny Medina, and Jennifer Lopez

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

EDITOR: Bob Ducsay

COMPOSER: Andrew Lockington

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, Abraham Popoola, Lana Parrilla, Mark Strong, Briella Guiza, Adia Smith-Eriksson, and Gregory James Cohan (voice)

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Atlas is a Jennifer Lopez movie, but science fiction does not fit her

--The movie is average and filled with ridiculous ideas, but the action-violence of the last act is good enough to somewhat justify the time you spent watching this, dear readers

Atlas is a 2024 American action-thriller and science fiction film from director Brad Peyton. Atlas is a “Netflix Original” and debuted on the Netflix streaming service May 24, 2024. Atlas pits a counter-terrorism analyst against a rogue artificial intelligence (“A.I.” or “AI”) which believes that the only way to save the Earth and humanity is to destroy most of humanity.

Atlas opens on October 2, 2043. AI humanoid robots are at war with humanity, and they are led by the AI terrorist, Harlan (Simu Liu). By the end of the conflict, three million people are dead. This leads human military forces to create the International Coalition of Nations (ICN). After a string of ICN victories, Harlan and his AI robots are forced to flee into outer space.

Twenty-eight years later, renewed AI-led terrorist attacks force the ICN to begin searching for Harlan's whereabouts. The ICN has created a fleet of mecha known as “ARCs.” These are giant robotic suits of armor worn by humans who “sync” with the AI that operate the ARCs. The ICN seeks help from Atlas Maru Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez), a woman whose mother, Val Shepherd (Lana Parrilla), designed Harlan. Atlas has a deep distrust of all artificial intelligence. In a confrontation with Casca Vix (Andrew Popoola), one of Harlan's lieutenants, Atlas learns that Harlan has a base on GR-39, a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy.

The ICN sends a battalion of ARCs, the Fourth Rangers Battalion, which is led by the taciturn Colonel Elias Banks (Sterling K. Brown), on a mission to GR-39, aboard the space ship “ the Dhiib.” Atlas insists on accompanying the mission because she says no one knows Harlan better than her. The mission is to capture Harlan and to bring him back to Earth. However, what neither Atlas nor the ICN knows is just exactly what Harlan knows about the mission and about Atlas. Now, to save humanity, Atlas must rely on the thing that she hates most, an AI, one named “Smith” (Gregory James Cohan).

Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite's screenplay for Atlas is a hodge-podge of ideas that are similar to what audiences will find in such films as The Terminator (1984), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), I, Robot (2004), and Pacific Rim (2013). If properly developed, these ideas could have made a fine film instead of the mediocre film, which Atlas is.

The problem with Atlas is Jennifer Lopez. Atlas is a science fiction film, and it is also a Jennifer Lopez vehicle, although she is woefully miscast here. Science fiction is not her genre, and she really doesn't seem to have an understanding of what a character like Atlas Maru Shepherd could be. That may be the fault of director Brad Peyton, who specializes in mediocre to average sci-fi/fantasy genre films like 2018's Rampage. Lopez plays Atlas as petulant and as way too narrow minded to be some kind of expert on science and technological matters. Truthfully, Atlas would be grieving and guilt-ridden, which I think would make her introspective. Lopez plays Atlas as a brat who really needs the guidance of others, even the AI she hates so much.

Atlas is saved by the action-violence of its last act, and by the appearance of Harlan, played by actor Simu Liu. Best known for playing the title character in Disney/Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, here, Liu is deliciously cold-blooded and ruthless as Harlan, and I wish there were more of him in this film. But, alas, we get what we get. Atlas is average entertainment, and you, dear readers, can be entertained if you ignore its improbable scenario. If you are patient enough, Jennifer Lopez's fine, round posterior even makes a cameo, perfectly bound in a pair of tights. If Atlas has a “cherry on top,” it's that fine bee-hind.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

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Tuesday, November 12, 2024

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

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Sunday, November 3, 2024

Review: M. Night Shyamalan's "TRAP" Delights in Being Devilish

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 46 of 2024 (No. 1990) by Leroy Douresseaux

Trap (2024)

Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for some violent content and brief strong language

WRITER/DIRECTOR: M. Night Shyamalan

PRODUCERS: Marc Bienstock, Ashwin Rajan, and M. Night Shyamalan

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Noemi Preiswerk

COMPOSER: Herdis Stefansdottir

THRILLER/HORROR

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills, Jonathan Langdon, Mark Bacolcol, Marnie McPhail, Scott Mescudi, Russell “Russ” Vitale, Lochlan Miller, Steve Boyle, David D'Lancy Wilson, and M. Night Shyamalan

Trap is a 2024 psychological thriller and horror film from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan. The film focuses on a father who takes his teen daughter to a special pop concert and then realizes that he and his child have entered a dark and sinister trap.

Trap opens in Philadelphia. There, we meet firefighter Cooper Abbott (Josh Hartnett) . He is taking his teenage daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to a special afternoon concert performance by pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). Once inside the concert venue, Cooper notices an unusually high police presence on all levels of the building. Doing his own investigating, Cooper soon discovers that he and his daughter are at the center of a dark and sinister event. Who is “the Butcher” and why does law enforcement insist that he is one of the 3000 men attending the concert?

Despite the disaster that was M. Night Shyamalan's 2023 thriller, Knock at the Cabin, I immediately wanted to see Trap as soon as I heard about it sometime last year. I was sure the friend I dragged along with me to see Knock at the Cabin back in early February 2023 would also join me for Trap. Unfortunately, Trap did play at either of the two local theaters, so I just watched it on the “Max” streaming service.

By now, many people know all about Trap's twists and turns, and it is a very twisty, very strange, very weird, and very crazy movie. Still, I'm not doing the spoiler thing, but you, dear readers, would need detailed spoilers to keep up with all of this film's twists and contortions. It's as if writer-director M. Night Shyamalan drew straws to decide the fate of Trap's various subplots and plot twists. The result is a thriller zesty with the unexpected.

Speak of Mr. M: he makes his usual appearance as an actor in his own films, but his daughter, Saleka Night Shyamalan, an actual pop singer and recording artist, has a big role in Trap as the pop star, “Lady Raven.” Saleka's second studio album, Lady Raven, acts as the soundtrack album for Trap. Nepotism aside, Saleka's songs add a haunting layer to Herdis Stefansdottir's film score for Trap, and, believe me, Saleka is quite game when it comes to acting.

The film's primary wackiness comes from Josh Hartnett's performance as Cooper Abbott. Hartnett mixes paranoia with subtly when he is not being hilariously over the top and disturbingly calm. I can't say that other actors would not have been better at playing Cooper than Hartnett, but at least, Hartnett has his own method of bat-shit craziness.

Trap is disarmingly entertaining. I actually always thought that it would be a good and enjoyable film, but I'm shocked that I like it as much as I do. I can't believe that I consider its many nonsensical story elements to be quite endearing and even alluring, at times. The scenes that take place at the concert are excellent, but the film doesn't lose its cockamamie mojo when it moves the action to other venues. I am giving Trap a high rating because I can't think of a reason not to do so. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think that it is a hugely entertaining and attractively offbeat thriller film. I'm trapped in a closet... with Trap.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Sunday, November 3, 2024

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Thursday, October 31, 2024

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

★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

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Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Review: "TOMIE" is Weird as Sh*t - Happy Halloween

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 153 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tomie (1998)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan

Running time: 95 minutes

Not rated

DIRECTOR: Ataru Oikawa

WRITER: Ataru Oikawa (based upon the manga by Junji Ito)

PRODUCERS: Yasuhiko Azuma, Youichiro Onishi, and Shun Shimizu

CINEMATOGRAPHERS Akira Sakoh and Kazuhiro Suzuki

EDITOR: Ryûji Miyajima

COMPOSERS: Hiroshi Futami and Toshihiro Kimura

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Miho Kanno, Mami Nakamura, Yoriko Douguchi, Tomorowo Taguchi, Kouta Kusano, and Kenji Mizuhashi

Tomie is a 1998 Japanese horror film from director Ataru Oikawa. It is the first entry in the Tomie film series, which totals eleven films as of 2011. It is also based on the manga (Japanese comics), Tomie, which was published from 1987 to 2000 and was created by Junji Ito. Tomie the movie focuses on a traumatized young woman who is haunted by the name, “Tomie.”

Tsukiko Izumisawa (Mami Nakamura) is seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Hosono (Yoriko Douguchi), about her problem sleeping at night. She also has repressed memories of some trauma in her past. Detective Harada (Tomorowo Taguchi) believes it has something to do with the murder of her friend, Tomie (Miho). Trouble is that going back a century’s worth of records, Harada finds Tomie as the name of several victims of horribly violent crimes. Is this Tomie the same one involved with Tsukiko? And what about that guy with a severed human head in a plastic grocery bag?

Tomie was the first in a series of popular Japanese horror movies starring the mysterious Tomie and her machinations, and the film is based upon the Junji Ito comic (manga) of the same title. Tomie isn’t as intense as that most popular Japanese horror film, Ringu, but it’s fairly suspenseful in its own right. Actually, Tomie is more a suspense film than a horror or a thriller. Director/screenwriter Ataru Oikawa drenches his film in shadows and the atmosphere bleeds creepiness and weirdness. It’s an atmosphere that can have the viewer always hanging on for what’s going to happen next. What makes the film as effective as it ever gets is Oikawa’s use of a real world setting. He shot the film as it if were just a pedestrian TV drama. That banality coupled with the pulp madness that surrounds the Tomie character and the eventual revelation of what she is makes the film turn out to be something much better than it seemed a third of the way through its running time.

Tomie is not for every body, but Tomie is perfect for the horror flick fan on the prowl for something real different. The film also has a frankly bizarre musical score.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

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Thursday, September 5, 2024

Review "TERMINATOR: JUDGMENT DAY" is Still Landmark and Bloated

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 of 2024 (No. 1985) by Leroy Douresseaux

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Running time: 137 minutes (2 hours, 17 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR: James Cameron

WRITERS: James Cameron and William Wisher

PRODUCER: James Cameron

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Greenberg (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Mark Goldblatt, Conrad Buff, and Richard A. Harris

COMPOSER: Brad Fiedel

Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen, Joe Morton, S. Epatha Merkerson, Castulo Guerra, Danny Cooksey, Jenette Goldstein, Xander Berkeley, De Vaughn Nixon, and Michael Edwards

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 American science fiction film and action-drama from director James Cameron. Also known as “T2” and “T2: Judgment Day,”, it is a direct sequel to the film, The Terminator (1984), and is also the second entry in the Terminator film franchise. Judgment Day focuses on a cyborg that travels from the twenty-first century to protect a boy from a more advanced and powerful cyborg.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day opens in the year 2029. Earth has been ravaged by the war between the artificial intelligence, Skynet, and the human resistance. This war started on August 29, 1997, also known as “Judgment Day,” when Skynet launched the United States' entire nuclear arsenal, which started a global war. Afterwards, humanity emerged to find a devastated world, one filled with the machines – called “Terminators” – that were programmed to kill humans. Resistance leader, John Connor (Michael Edwards), has lead humanity to the brink of defeating Skynet and its human-killing machines.

Using time machine technology, Skynet sends an advanced prototype Terminator – a T-1000 – back in time to the year 1997 in order to kill 12-year-old John Connor (Edward Furlong). The T-1000 (Robert Patrick) is made of a “mimetic poly-alloy,” a liquid metal that allows the Terminator to shape-shift. To protect his younger self, the 2029 John Connor reprograms a model 101 Terminator and sends it back to 1997 to protect young John. The 101 looks just like the T-800 that traveled from the future to kill John's mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), back in the year 1984.

Can Sarah, John, and the model 101 Terminator come together to stop the T-1000, especially after they become fugitives from the law? Or is this new Terminator simply to advanced and wily to be stopped?

As I write this review, it is Tuesday, September 3, 2024. In Terminator mythopoeia (not “mythology” and not “lore”), August 29th is “Judgment Day” and fans of the franchise make note of it. This year, “Judgment Day” carries a little more relevance because of the arrival of the new Netflix animated series, “Terminator Zero.” I am planning on watching Episode 1 soon, but I felt that I needed to watch T2 again. It is the only Terminator film that I have not previously reviewed, and I had not watched it in its entirety in about thirty years, if my memory serves me well.

The Terminator, T2, and the 2003 film, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, form a trilogy of sorts. In many ways, each film seems like its own thing, with the second and third films officially being sequels. However, these sequels feel like a hybrid of sequel, remake, and re-imagining. They contradict the original in some ways and both try to grapple with or correct the franchise's time-traveling shenanigans.

T2 is now acknowledged as being among the greatest science fiction, action, and sequel films in movie history. It is certainly a landmark film in terms of special visual effects and in the use of CGI (computer-generated imagery). The transformation and metamorphosis of actor Robert Patrick into the liquid metal, shape-shifting Terminator still wows, impresses, scares, and stuns me over thirty-three years after originally seeing the film. Some of T2's action scenes and sequences, especially the 18-wheeler tractor unit plunge off the overpass and the motorcycle crash into the helicopter still stop my breath. The film's director, James Cameron, made one of the most awesome (if not the most awesome) action films of the 1980s in The Terminator with what amounts to a micro-budget for an action and science fiction movie. With a one-hundred million dollars at his disposal of T2, Cameron and his crew and creative cohorts unleashed the most spectacular action scenes that had been seen in American film to that point.

On the other hand, back when I first saw T2 in 1991, I found it to be bloated. It is easily twenty minutes too long. As a character drama trio, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, and Edward Furlong as John Connor seem more melodramatic than genuinely dramatic. Much of the family unit feels contrived. Schwarzenegger and Furlong have moments that seem poignant, but there are other moments that are made weaker but Furlong's acting inexperience. That Hamilton had reshaped the soft body she had in the original film into a sinewy, muscular, warrior woman for T2 was and still is impressive. Her performance in this film, however, is loud, even when it should be quieter and more subtle.

I once said that T2 was a two-and-half out of four stars film. I don't know if it is nostalgia, but I like the film more now. Some of it is still landmark and superb, and much of it is very well executed. Still, I think Terminator 2: Judgment Day needed to be tamed, both in terms of it runtime and in the scope of the story. In 1991, it was a hugely discussed and anticipated film. Terminator 2: Judgment Day holds a special place in the filmography of its director, James Cameron. If it were a better film, it would be at the top, where Avatar is now.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, September 5, 2024

NOTES:

1992 Academy Awards, USA: 4 wins: “Best Sound” (Tom Johnson,Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, and Lee Orloff), “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Gary Rydstrom and Gloria S. Borders), “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr., and Robert Skotak), and “Best Makeup” (Stan Winston and Jeff Dawn); 2 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Adam Greenberg) and “Best Film Editing” (Conrad Buff IV, Mark Goldblatt, and Richard A. Harris)

1992 BAFTA Awards; 2 wins: “Best Sound” (Lee Orloff, Tom Johnson. Gary Rydstrom, and Gary Summers) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Stan Winston, Dennis Muren, Gene Warren Jr., and Robert Skotak); 1 nomination: “Best Production Design” (Joseph C. Nemec III)

2023 National Film Preservation Board, USA: “National Film Registry”

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Sunday, September 1, 2024

Review: Netflix's "THE UNION" is Weak Spy Thriller Tea

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 40 of 2024 (No. 1984) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Union (2024)

Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)

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

DIRECTOR: Julian Farino

WRITERS: Joe Barton and David Guggenheim; from a story by David Guggenheim

PRODUCERS: Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, and Jeff G. Waxman

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Alan Stewart (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Pia Di Ciaula

COMPOSER: Rupert Gregson-Williams

ACTION/COMEDY/ROMANCE and SPY/THRILLER

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, J.K. Simmons, Mike Colter, Alice Lee, Jessica De Gouw, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jackie Earle Haley, Lucy Cork, Stephen Campbell Moore

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

If you are a fan of Mark Wahlberg and/or Halle Berry, you may want to watch this film

Although it does have some good moments and some good production values, “The Union,” comes across as a big-budget made-for-television spy movie or maybe even a straight-to-DVD spy movie

As a romantic comedy, Wahlberg and Berry have good screen chemistry, but the violence in “The Union” makes it hard to be a romantic-comedy

The film ultimately comes across as an average hodge-podge of genres that is only worth your time when you have time to waste

The Union is a 2024 American spy-thriller and action-romantic-comedy from director Julian Farino. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, the film is a “Netflix Original,” and began streaming on Netflix August 16, 2024. The Union focuses on a down-to earth construction worker who is thrust into the world of spies and secret agents by his high school sweetheart, who is a secret agent.

The Union introduces, “the Union,” a covert agency whose agents work behind the scenes as everyday blue collar workers such as road crews, construction workers, garbage collectors, and water and wastewater treatment operators, to name a few. The film opens in the Grand Hotel Castelletto in Trieste, Italy, where the Union prepares to bring in CIA turncoat, Derek Mitchell. However, the mission is botched, and only veteran agent, Roxanne Hall (Halle Berry), survives, but she has a plan.

Roxanne returns to her hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, where she recruits her high school sweetheart, Michael “Mike” McKenna (Mark Wahlberg), a construction worker, into the Union. Despite the protestations of her boss, Tom Brennan (J.K. Simmons), Roxanne convinces Mike to join the Union. Before long, Roxanne and Mike are on a mission, but once again, things go awry. Now, the former lovers have to straighten out this mess and recover some sensitive government intelligence that, if sold on the black market, will endanger the lives of every American spy and secret agent.

Comic book writer, artist, and publisher, Jimmy Palmiotti (DC Comics' Harley Quinn and Radical Publisher's Time Bomb), suggested via Twitter that the 2010 Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz film, Knight and Day, offers something similar to The Union, but is much better at it. I've been putting off seeing Knight and Day for 14 years, and after trudging through The Union, I think it's time I did the damn thing and saw it.

I like Mark Wahlberg, and Halle Berry is one of my favorite Hollywood people of all time. I really wanted to watch The Union because of them, and I found their screen chemistry sometimes sweet and charming. However, I found The Union to be a slog that took me over a week to watch, as I mostly viewed it in bits and pieces. Sometimes, I had to do something, and other times, I stopped simply because I was bored.

However, the film is not a total loss. It is at times, pleasingly pleasant, although had I watched it in an actual movie theater, I would have not found it pleasant at all. Still, there is about a third of a good action movie here. The Union is for serious fans of Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. That's all I can say. That's all I should say, lest I say worse, and this review comes back to haunt me.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, September 1, 2024

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Saturday, August 24, 2024

Review: "BLINK TWICE" is Incredible; 2024's Best Film, Thus Far...

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 of 2024 (No. 1983) by Leroy Douresseaux

Blink Twice (2024)

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

MPA – R for strong violent content, sexual assault, drug use and language throughout, and some sexual references.

DIRECTORS: Zöe Kravitz

WRITERS: Zöe Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum

PRODUCERS: Zöe Kravitz, Bruce Cohen, Garret Levitz, Tiffany Persons, and Channing Tatum

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Newport-Berra (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Kathryn J. Schubert

COMPOSER: Chanda Dancy

MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Alia Shawkat, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Liz Caribel, Levon Hawke, Trew Mullen, Geena Davis, and Kyle MacLachlan

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Blink Twice is a both an incredible psychological thriller and mesmerizing mystery thriller and is sort of a spiritual sibling of Jordan Peele's “Get Out”

Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum gives stellar performances that really sell this film's frequent weirdness

This is a stunning directorial debut on the part of Zöe Kravitz, and thus far, it is the best film released in 2024

Blink Twice is a 2024 psychological thriller and mystery film from director Zöe Kravitz. The film focuses on a cocktail waitress who accepts a tech billionaire's offer to vacation on his private island, after which, she begins to question her reality of the situation.

Blink Twice introduces Frida (Naomi Ackie), a cocktail waitress. She is working an exclusive event with her roommate and best friend and roommate, Jess (Alia Shawkat). The event's V.I.P. is billionaire tech mogul, Slater King (Channing Tatum), who recently stepped down as CEO of King Tech amid a public apology for some bad behavior on his part in the past. Frida and Slater quickly strike up a friendship, and he invites her and Jess to join him and his friends to holiday at his private island.

Arriving at the island, Slater's assistant, Stacy (Geena Davis), confiscates the everyone's phone. Also on the island for some fun are Slater's friends and business partners: Vic (Christian Slater), Cody (Simon Rex), Tom (Haley Joel Osment), and Lucas (Levon Hawke). In addition to Frida and Jess, there are three female guests: Sarah (Adria Arjona), Camilla (Liz Caribel), and Heather (Trew Mullen). The women are treated to lavish rooms, gift bags with perfume, gourmet meals, and a luxurious, carefree holiday experience.

But something is wrong. Frida has a hard time keeping track of time, and she begins to question her perception of reality. Also, there is a strange maid who is saying something to her that she can't quite make out. When one of the women disappears, Frida is forced to confront this luxurious holiday, the kind she always wanted... as troubling as this dream vacay has turned out to be.

After director Steven Soderbergh made his feature film debut with sex, lies, and videotape (1989), some may have wondered if his rousing success with it (winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes 1989 and earning a “Best Original Screenplay” nomination) was “beginner's luck” or perhaps, a fluke. For several years, the film did seem like a fluke, but by the time Soderbergh won a “Best Director” Oscar 12 years later, one could say that sex, lies, and videotape was not a fluke, but was a calling card.

I'd like to believe that Blink Twice will also be a calling card for its young first-time director Zoe Kravitz. Right now, it is the best new film to debut in 2024, and I wouldn't be surprised if I am calling it the “Best Picture of the Year 2024” deep into the 2024-25 movie awards season. Blink Twice is an astounding debut, a mystery thriller and psychological terror that recalls Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch. And no, I would not be embarrassed to reference Lynch's legendary Blue Velvet (1986), of which I am not a big fan, when discussing Blink Twice. I am also calling Blink Twice a spiritual sibling of Jordan Peele's Get Out (2017) and a distant relative of Alex Garland's Men (2022). Blink Twice even has a element similar to one found in the underrated horror thriller, You're Next (2011).

Kathryn J. Schubert's film editing for Blink Twice is superb, and I think that should be mentioned. Of course, I think Schubert has superb material with which to work. Kravitz has an eye for storytelling which finds pleasure in accepting that altered states of reality are a norm for many of us, especially when we obtain something we always wanted in a way that seems to be too good to be true. Dressing her film in Biblical themes, “Me Too” politics, gender dynamics, and sexual gamesmanship, Kravitz takes the screenplay she wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum and grapples with the modern battle of the sexes.

Behind the pulpy entertainment and popcorn horror thrills of this psychological thriller is a movie that does a deep dive into the modern psyche. Kravitz isn't afraid to examine the social hierarchies and assumed and presumed privileges. It is refreshing that Kravitz so boldly answers any questions her film asks with a resounding, “Because he can.”

Actress Naomi Ackie is the perfect choice to be this film's lead. Her face, with its wide mouth and big expressive eyes, is an artist's canvas. Whatever her director needs in terms of emotion and action, Ackie can deliver. Also, I must say that Channing Tatum shocks me in Blink Twice. I never thought that he was really a good actor. However, he gives Slater King so many layers that there are moments when I feel sympathy for him. Tatum makes King innocent, childish, childlike, and monstrous, and he can do all of that in the span of a minute.

Wow. I'm still stunned. I've wanted to see Blink Twice since it was first announced last year under the title, “Pussy Island,” but I never thought I'd get this nearly perfect film, a film so good that its flaws seem like artistic choices rather than mistakes. I heartily recommend this to movie fans looking for great films in a time when the various movie factories seem determined to only deliver entertainment that dare not make a statement lest “middle America” take offense. Blink Twice is both – tremendous cinematic art and delightfully good entertainment.

10 of 10

Saturday, August 24, 2024

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Friday, August 16, 2024

Review: "ALIEN: ROMULUS" is Proud to Be an "Alien" Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 of 2024 (No. 1981) by Leroy Douresseaux

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Running time: 119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)

MPA – R for bloody violent content and language

DIRECTOR: Fede Alvarez

WRITERS: Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues (based on characters created by by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett)

PRODUCERS: Walter Hill, Ridley Scott, and Michael Pruss

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Galo Olivares (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Jake Roberts

COMPOSER: Benjamin Wallfisch

SCI-FI/HORROR/THRILLER/ACTION

Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Reaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, and Robert Bobrocyzki

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Alien: Romulus is a solid science fiction movie that wholeheartedly embraces the horror movie roots of the Alien film franchise

Director Fede Alvarez and his creative cohorts deliberately make Romulus look and feel like a film from the early days of the Alien franchise, as the film is set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986)

Alien: Romulus is a bit over the top, especially at the end, but David Jonsson's performance as “Andy” keeps everything on point in this film that is for longtime fans and will certainly create new Alien fans

Alien: Romulus is a 2024 American science fiction, horror, and action film from director Fede Alvarez. It is the seventh entry in the Alien film series (and the ninth overall when including the Alien vs. Predator films). Alien: Romulus focuses on a group of young space colonists who come face to face with a terrifying life form while scavenging aboard a derelict space station.

Alien: Romulus introduces Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny), an orphaned young woman. She lives and works on the mining colony of “Jackson's Star.” She lives with a surrogate brother, Andy (David Jonsson), a malfunctioning android or “synthetic human” who was reprogrammed by Rain's late father to be her companion. After her work contract is unexpectedly extended, she realizes that her employers, the mega-corporation, Weyland-Yutani, realizes that she will be trapped on Jackson's Star at least another five years.

However, her ex-boyfriend, Tyler (Archie Reaux), has a plan. He has discovered that a derelict space station has drifted into orbit around Jackson's Star. Tyler believes that the station has cryonic stasis chambers (for suspended animation), which they could salvage. The cryogenic units would allow them to make the nine-year journey to the next nearest human colony, a remote planet named “Yvaga.”

Andy is essential for the mention because he can communicate with the space station's computer systems. Rain and Andy join Tyler and his crew: his sister, Kay (Isabela Merced); their cousin, Bjorn (Spike Fearn); and a pilot, Navarro (Aileen Wu). After boarding “the Corbelan,” a mining hauler, they head for the space station. What none of them realize is that waiting aboard the space station is a decades-old secret conspiracy and the most terrifying life form in the universe.

After watching Alien: Romulus last night, I realize it is shamelessly proud to be an Alien film, and that it gleefully embraces the good, the bad, and the ugly that is the franchise's wacky narrative. Although it is a standalone film, Romulus is set between the events depicted in Alien (1979) and its sequel, Aliens (1986), and directly references story elements from both films. Romulus also references story and elements from the franchise's prequel film, Prometheus (2012), and at least one of the original Alien sequels, Alien: Resurrection (1997).

I did not like Romulus director's Fede Alvarez's Hollywood calling card, Evil Dead, a 2013 “re-imagining” of Sam Raimi's beloved cult classic, The Evil Dead (1981). Alvarez's Evil Dead had none of the imagination of the original, and it was as if Alvarez was using his film to purge the Evil Dead franchise of its flavor. Here, Alvarez and his co-writer, Rodo Sayagues, immerse this new Alien film in the trappings of the franchise, and the result is a very good science fiction film that celebrates the horror that science, the future, and technology can unleash upon mankind. And Romulus is a gory, bloody, body-ripping scary movie.

What keeps Alien: Romulus from being great is that Alvarez offers too much of everything – too much peril and too, too many cliffhangers. At times, Romulus feels like sound and fury signifying overload. As he did in Evil Dead, Alvarez offers a group of characters who are nothing more than intended victims, and that goes even for the “final girl,” Rain.

However, the script does invest nuance and character in Andy, brilliant played by David Jonsson, a British actor. Jonsson steals Romulus by dabbling in multiple layers, making Andy frightening, sympathetic, and mesmerizing. Jonsson's turn as Andy reminds me of British actor Chukwudi Iwuji's turn as the “High Evolutionary” in Disney/Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Jonsson vastly elevates the character drama in Romulus, as the other actors do their best work with him, especially Cailee Spaeny as the ostensible lead, Rain.

Alien: Romulus is a welcome return of the Alien franchise's roots, as it firmly sets itself in the tone, style, and aesthetic of the franchise's earlier films. I heartily recommend Alien: Romulus to fans of the franchise and also to those who want to be fans.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, August 16, 2024

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