TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Warner Bros

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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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Sunday, October 6, 2024

Review: Max's "'SALEM'S LOT" 2024 is Scary a Lot

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 44 of 2024 (No. 1988) by Leroy Douresseaux

'Salem's Lot (2024)

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

MPA – R for bloody violence and language

DIRECTOR: Gary Dauberman

WRITER: Gary Dauberman (based on the novel by Stephen King)

PRODUCERS: Michael Clear, Roy Lee, James Wan, and Mark Wolper

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

EDITOR: Luke Ciarrocchi

COMPOSERS: Nathan Barr and Lisbeth Scott

HORROR

Starring: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Jordan Preston Carter, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, John Benjamin Hickey, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Great Clark, Pilou Asbaek, and Alexander Ward

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

-- Although it lacks big names stars, “'Salem's Lot” 2024 has big scares, as writer-director Gary Dauberman spins a number of some blood-curdling and bone-chilling scenes that are beautifully shot by cinematographer Michael Burgess

-- The movie does lack the character depth of early television versions, it is fairly faithful in some ways to its source material, Stephen King's 1975 novel of the same name

-- I highly recommend the new “'Salem's Lot” to fans of vampire horror films

'Salem's Lot is a 2024 American vampire horror film from writer-director Gary Dauberman. The film is based on the 1975 novel, 'Salem's Lot, from author Stephen King. 'Salem's Lot the movie focuses on an author who returns to his childhood home in search of inspiration for his next novel and discovers that the town is being taken over by vampires.

'Salem's Lot introduces author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman). He has returned to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot, also known as “'Salem's Lot” or “The Lot,” seeking inspiration for his next novel. He meets and begins a relationship with Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh), a young woman studying to get her real estate license. Their relationship sets tongues a-wagging in the small town.

Also new to the town is the antiques business, “Barlow and Straker Fine Furnishings.” So far, only Richard Straker (Pilou Asbaek) has arrived, but Straker promises that his partner, Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward), will soon arrive. The problem is that Barlow is a vampire, and before long, he is preying on the Lot, and this town of 1710 starts to find that its living population is shrinking. Now, a teacher, Matthew Burke (Bill Camp); a boy who is a horror fan, Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter); a local physician, Dr. Cody (Alfre Woodard); and a broken down alcoholic priest, Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey), join Ben and Susan to form a rag tag team of heroes determined to stop Barlow. As their circle grows smaller, however, can they really take on a town full of vampires?

'Salems's Lot” was author Stephen King's second published novel (following his publishing debut, 1974's Carrie), and it is apparently his favorite of his works. The popular novel was first adapted as a two-part television miniseries that was originally broadcast by CBS in November 1979 (although I remember its length and release date differently). It was again adapted as a two-part television miniseries, broadcast by the TNT cable network in June 2004. I enjoyed both versions, but prefer the 1979 which turned out to be a influence on such vampire films as Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987).

I watched the new 'Salem's Lot film to the end of its credits, and the copyright date is listed as the year 2022. Yes, this new 'Salem's Lot has had at least two years of changing theatrical release dates. Outside of a film festival premiere, 'Salem's Lot the movie finally found a home on the streaming service Max (formerly HBO Max). Is 'Salem's Lot good enough to have received a full theatrical release? The answer is yes, but good movies aren't always box office hits. Besides Warner Bros., the movie studio behind 'Salem's Lot, very likely had no idea that the recent sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, would be such a blockbuster hit. It is a crap-shoot, and, in the case of 'Salem's Lot, is now a moot point.

'Salem's Lot's main problem may be that it has no big name actors starring in it, although the lead, Lewis Pullman as Ben Mears, had a supporting role in the 2022 mega-hit, Top Gun: Maverick. Pullman plays Ben Mears as cool-headed and steady-handed, which is an interesting take. And the rest of the cast of 'Salem's Lot is equally good. Alfre Woodard is always a top notch performer whose unique film presence and acting personality always gives a movie some “oomph.” Jordan Preston Carter is a surprising and scene-stealing little hero as Mark Petrie. John Benjamin Hickey and Bill Camp give strong character performances in their respective roles.

Still, I must reiterate that 'Salem's Lot 2024 is a really entertaining and thoroughly scary vampire horror movie. Sure, it lacks the emotional and character drama depth of the early adaptations of King's novel. I also take issue with the fact that even after the heroes learn what they need to fight vampires, they are often caught without them or trapped with too few of them.

However, Michael Burgess' lovely cinematography and Nathan Barr and Lisbeth Scott's eerie film music power-up writer-director Gary Dauberman's most bone-chilling moments and blood-curdling scenes. I don't want to fill this review with spoilers, but what would a 'Salem's Lot” TV or film be without a vampire boy at the window?...

Who knows how 'Salem's Lot would have performed in a crowded Halloween season theatrical release schedule? Still, both summer movie nights and October fright fests have a new visitor, a horror movie hungry to get to you, dear readers. And as always, 'Salem's Lot is thirsty for your blood.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, October 5, 2024

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Friday, September 6, 2024

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

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, September 6, 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, March 29, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE" is Entertaining, Imaginative and Extraneous

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 of 2024 (No. 1962) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

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

MPA – PG-13 for creature violence and action

DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard

WRITERS: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater; from a story by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Adam Wingard (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS: Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Josh Schaeffer

COMPOSERS: Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Ron Smyck, Chantelle Jamieson, Greg Hatton, and Kevin Copeland

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

-- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is as visually stunning as the two previous MonsterVerse series films, and the monster-fight action is awesome.

-- However, the story is not compelling, and the characters feel like props. Thus, Godzilla x Kong is really for fans of the series.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a 2024 monster movie and science fiction-fantasy adventure film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the fourth entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014). Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire brings the two ancient titans together in order to fight an ancient, prophesied threat to the surface world.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens some time after the defeat of Mechagodzilla (as seen in Godzilla vs. Kong). In the “Hollow Earth,” Kong is in the process of establishing his territory, which means defeating vicious predators. Monarch has planted a base in Hollow Earth, Monarch Outpost One, in order to monitor Kong. That outpost itself is monitored on the surface by a Monarch base in Barbados, which is where Kong expert and Monarch scientist, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), lives with her adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the last living member of Skull Island's indigenous tribe, the Iwi.

Jia is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language. She has begun experiencing dreams, flashbacks, and hallucinations that seem to be related to a signal emanating from somewhere in the Hollow Earth. Godzilla, who has been romping across Europe is also sensing that signal, and the King of the Monsters is absorbing energy in preparation for some unknown, coming battle.

Kong explores a sinkhole near his home and discovers an uncharted region hidden within the Hollow Earth. Exploring it, he finally encounters other giant apes like himself, including an adolescent giant ape. However, these giant apes are aggressive and apparently serve a mysterious alpha giant ape leader, and this leader controls something that not only endangers the Hollow Earth, but also the surface world. Only Kong and Godzilla can end this threat, but will the Earth's two greatest Titans join forces or just try to kill each other, again?

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games. It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd. The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise. It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

In preparation for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, I watched and reviewed the previous four films in MonsterVerse series. They are Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has a hard act to follow in the previous film, Godzilla vs. Kong, and while the new film is entertaining, it never really establishes the stakes of the conflicts it depicts. To me, the threat didn't really seem like it would lead to the end of the world. Godzilla x Kong is loud and proud, a true monster movie built on sensations, muscular CGI, and visually stunning visual special effects. Godzilla x Kong is big, bigger, BIG, and it probably should be seen on IMAX, but its story is no bigger than a mini-max.

Godzilla x Kong exists because Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment want it to exist as a product designed to make a lot of money now and to continue contributing to the MonsterVerse revenue stream for some time to come. It's not that I did not enjoy Godzilla vs. Kong. I laughed several times, and it did hold my attention. It is probably the least dark film in the series, but it is also the least important. Honestly, I think Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire director Adam Wingard made a much more compelling film with his 2011 feature, You're Next, which was made for .007 percent of Godzilla x Kong's budget. [You're Next's screenplay was written by Wingard's frequent collaborator, writer Simon Barrett, who is also a co-writer on Godzilla x Kong.]

Another strange thing about this film is that the characters all feel unnecessary. Kaylee Hottle's Jia is very important to Godzilla x Kong's narrative, but Jia often feels like a prop. Dan Stevens' Trapper is a generic character, played by Stevens with generic verve. I liked Brian Tyree Henry's Bernie Hayes in Godzilla vs. Kong, but here, he feels too frantic and forced. I get that Hayes is comic relief, but has become too much comic relief. Hayes is utterly wasted here – half chatterbox, half-on-the-edge-of-being-substantial.

I pushed Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire from my mind as soon as I got up from my seat in the theater. Still, fans of the MonsterVerse films will likely really enjoy it.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA VS. KONG" Rocks 'n' Roars

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 of 2024 (No. 1961) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

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

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of creature violence/destruction and brief language

DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard

WRITERS: Terry Rossio and Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields; from a story by Max Borenstein and Eric Pearson (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS: Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Josh Schaeffer

COMPOSER: Tom Holkenborg

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Bryan Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza Gonzalez, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kaylee Hottle, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Ronny Chieng, Demian Bichir, and Kyle Chandler

Godzilla vs. Kong is a 2021 monster movie and science fiction-fantasy adventure film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the fourth entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014). Godzilla vs. Kong finally brings about the long awaited confrontation between Godzilla and Kong.

Godzilla vs. Kong opens three years after the dragon-like extraterrestrial King Ghidorah awakened the monstrous “Titans” around the world before being defeated by Godzilla. On Skull Island, Monarch has imprisoned Kong within a game preserve that is covered by a giant dome where they monitor him. Skull Island has been taken over by the storm that previously kept it hidden from the world. Kong has befriended Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the island's last native human and the young adopted daughter of Kong expert, Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). Jia is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language.

Across the world, at Apex Cybernetics in Pensacola, Florida, CEO Walter Simmons (Demian Bichir) is up to something sinister, and that has drawn the attention of Godzilla, who reappears after three years and attacks the facility. That doesn't stop Simmons, who travels to Denham University of Theoretical Science in Philadelphia, in order to recruit former Monarch scientist, Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard), to lead a mission into the legendary “Hollow Earth,” which is Lind's area of expertise. But the mission needs Kong, and that's where Ilene and her daughter, Jia, come in.

Meanwhile, Bernie Hayes (Bryan Tyree Henry), an Apex Cybernetics employee and a Titan conspiracy podcast host, is investigating Apex's activities. Hayes finds a kindred spirit in Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), daughter of Monarch scientist, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), who is also suspicious of Apex. With her friend, Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison), in tow, Millie joins Bernie on an adventure that will take them halfway across the world to where Apex is hiding its most sinister secret, one that is tied to the mission into the Hollow Earth and its secrets.

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released March 29, 2023, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films: Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong (which is the subject of this review).

Godzilla vs. Kong is, thus far, the best of the “MonsterVerse” films. Each film is its own thing, although they are all monster movies. Godzilla 2014 is a science fiction mystery film. Kong: Skull Island is a lost world story, thoroughly wrapped in pseudo-science and weird fiction. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a VFX-slick, CGI-fuel-injected, modernized take on the original 1950s, Japanese Gojira/Godzilla films.

Godzilla vs. Kong is the monster movie as an old school science fiction-fantasy action-adventure film that has been all gussied up with CGI and dazzling, glowing, supernatural special effects. I could feel the science fiction mood through Tom Holkenborg's score which reminded me of Daft Punk's glorious score for Tron: Legacy (2010). Godzilla vs. Kong's “Hollow Earth” subplot is the film Fantastic Voyage (1966) wishes it could have been. Godzilla vs. Kong is wall-to-wall adventure. It is a sci-fi travelogue from one end of the Earth to the other, whether it is breathlessly racing from Florida to Hong Kong for a mecha showdown or plunging into a mind-bending journey inside the deepest reaches of the planet.

As for the confrontation between Godzilla and Kong: the first one in this film is an impossible battle that is a work of genius on the part of everyone involved. What is more shocking is that the second confrontation, which occurs in the film's last act, is even better and even more eye-popping.

Godzilla vs. Kong is the ultimate monster showdown spectacle. I was not able to turn away from it, and a day after seeing it, I'm still buzzing from it as I write this review. Godzilla vs. Kong is peak “MonsterVerse,” and I pity the films in the series that come after it.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

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Thursday, March 21, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS" Does Too Much

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 of 2024 (No. 1959) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Running time: 132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of monster action violence and destruction, and for some language

DIRECTOR: Michael Dougherty

WRITERS: Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields; from a story by Max Borenstein and Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS: Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lawrence Sher (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Bob Ducsay, Roger Barton, and Richard Pearson

COMPOSER: Bear McCreary

SCI-FI/ACTION/MILITARY

Starring: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Ziyi Zhang, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson, Jr., David Strathairn, Anthony Ramos, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow, CCH Pounder, and Joe Morton

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 monster movie and action film directed by Michael Dougherty. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the third entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014). Godzilla: King of the Monsters pits the monster-monitoring agency, Monarch, against a legendary monster, and the only hope for the world is the missing Godzilla.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens five years after the events depicted in Godzilla (2014). The world is now aware of the existence of giant monsters called “Titans.” Monarch is the U.S. government agency that monitors and studies the Titans (which it once called “MUTOs” or “massive unidentified terrestrial organisms). It has bases (bunkers) around the world where its scientists struggle to find a way in which humanity and the Titans can share the planet.

In a bunker located in the Rainforest of Xishuangbanna in China's Yunnan Province, Monarch scientist Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) has developed a device, called “ORCA,” that can emit frequencies that can attract Titans or alter their behavior. However, her research has attracted the attention of Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), a former British military officer turned eco-terrorist, who wants control of ORCA. He kidnaps Emma and her daughter, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown).

Monarch scientists, Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), approach Emma's estranged husband and Madison's father, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), to help track down Emma, Jonah, and ORCA. However, Jonah has already forced Emma to use ORCA to awaken the legendary “Monster Zero,” the three-headed dragon known as King Ghidorah. Now, Serizawa must convince the U.S. government and military that the only Titan capable of stopping Ghidorah is “Gojira,” a.k.a. “Godzilla.” But where is Godzilla? Also, where do newly awakened Titans, “Mothra” and “Rodan,” stand in this battle royale of monsters?

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March 2023, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films: Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters (which is the subject of this review), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the ultimate giant monster smack-down. With the wizardry of digital VFX and supernatural CGI, King of the Monsters is a monster mash infused with visual splendor. This movie is non-stop action, practically from the start. It is so much an action movie that if you could cut it, King of the Monsters would bleed fire and brimstone. To add the craziness, each new monster reveal is mind-blowing and even mind-bending...

...but after about 75 minutes, Godzilla: King of the Monsters wore me down. The writers and actors have fashioned a cast that has almost twenty characters with dramatic potential. The Russell family subplot about the loss the son, Andrew, is only used to sell dysfunctional family contrivances, which is a shame. The monster movie theatrics get bigger and bigger with each minute of this story, but the drama and story shrink with each minute until they are flimsy like wet toilet paper.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is as exciting as any other blockbuster. Few, if any, monster movies will ever be as epic as it is when it comes to big monster fights. Few monster movies will ever be as gorgeous as it is in terms of cinematography, special effects, production values, and visuals. This is “cinema of sensations” writ large and out of control, and that's a shame. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a monster of a movie, but I wish its human element was just as awesome.

[This film has one scene after the end credits.]

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, March 21, 2024

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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Review: "KONG: SKULL ISLAND" is a Monster Movie Paradise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 of 2024 (No. 1958) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

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

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language

DIRECTOR: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

WRITERS: Max Borenstein, Dan Gilroy, and Derek Connolly; from a story by John Gatins

PRODUCERS: Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull, and Alex Garcia

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Larry Fong (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Richard Pearson

COMPOSER: Henry Jackman

Academy Award nominee

ADVENTURE/HISTORICAL/HORROR and MILITARY/SCI-FI

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Eugene Cordero, Marc Evan Jackson, Terry Notary, and Richard Jenkins

Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 monster movie, sci-fi military, and period, adventure film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. It is a reboot of the King Kong film franchise and is also the second film in the “MonsterVerse” film series following 2014's Godzilla. Set at the end of the Vietnam war, Kong: Skull Island focuses on a group of military personnel and civilian scientists who must fight to escape an uncharted island full of giant monsters that includes the island's king, the mighty Kong.

Kong: Skull Island introduces Bill Randa (John Goodman), the head of the U.S. government organization, “Monarch.” It is 1973, and the U.S. is ending its mission in Vietnam. Randa fears his time is running out to launch a mission to a recently discovered island that has long been shrouded in mystery and legend, “Skull Island.”

He convinces a U.S. senator to fund an expedition to the island, and subsequently recruits a U.S. Army unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) to accompany him. Also on the mission are recent Monarch recruits, geologist Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) and biologist San Lin (Tian Jing). Randa also hires James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), a former British Special Air Service Captain, as a hunter-tracker for this expedition. Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), an “anti-war” photographer, forces her way onto the expedition.

The expedition begins with thirteen U.S. army helicopters penetrating the fearsome storms that surround Skull Island. Randa and Brooks told Packard that they wanted to map the island by dropping seismic explosives, and shortly after arriving on the island, Packard's men begin dropping the explosives, which does help to map the island. The explosions also draw the attention of a giant ape, which promptly attacks the helicopters. Soon, the expedition is divided into two groups of survivors. One is led by Packard who wants revenge against the giant ape, and the other by Conrad who wants to reach a rendezvous point where they will be rescued. The giant ape, however, is “Kong,” king of Skull Island, and he isn't the only deadly, giant monster on the island.

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games. It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd. The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise. It is also a reboot of the King Kong film franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films: 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island (which is the subject of this review), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but only recently made attempts to review them.

Kong: Skull Island is proudly both a monster movie and a King Kong movie. Like Peter Jackson's 2005 film, King Kong (Universal Pictures), Kong: Skull Island digs into its “lost world” pulp fiction and pre-Code horror movie roots. Kong is as King Kong as any other cinematic version of the character, and the result is an exhilarating film that is fun to watch even after repeated viewings. Most books about writing fiction and screenplays will emphasize that the characters should drive the narrative, but Kong: Skull Island's narrative is driven by its plot, by its other-worldly setting, and especially by its monstrous gods and god-like monsters.

There are quite a few interesting characters in the film. Samuel L. Jackson makes the most of his Lt. Col. Packard, who is driven crazy by his insane mission to kill Kong as a salve for his bitterness about the end of the American misadventure in Vietnam. John C. Reilly once again displays his tremendous character actor chops as the lost-in-time, U.S. Army Air Force Lt. Hank Marlow. Tom Hiddleston is a good heroic lead as James Conrad in a film in which the human hero is not the film's most important character. Brie Larson also shows off her acting skills by chopping out some space for his character, Mason Weaver.

However, the characters are just pawns in the film's plot, which involves surviving Skull Island's various monsters and advancing to the rendezvous point. The setting of Kong: Skull Island is a lost world Eden that is part tropical paradise and part jungle horror, an environment in which the most beautiful place is the most dangerous. The amazing things to see on this island are its deadly denizens, which includes gargantuan spiders, man-snatching carnivorous birds, and seemingly unstoppable lizards that are literally nothing more than perfectly designed death machines. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the practically mute human natives of Skull Island with their dazzling array of face and body painting and eclectic costumes.

At the center of Kong: Skull Island is the film's most important character and element, Kong, himself. He is a thing of beauty, the best special effect in a movie favored with enough impressive CGI to have earned itself an Oscar nomination for “Best Achievement in Visual Effects.” Kong's introduction into the story, a breathtaking display of fight choreography pitting him against a squadron of military helicopters, is as good as the best fight scenes audiences will find in the top superhero movies. Whatever glitches in the overall narrative and character development Kong: Skull Island has, Kong's introduction glosses over. Kong is made king again in Kong: Skull Island, and that is why it is a damn shame that there is not a Kong: Skull Island 2.

[This film has an extra scene at the end of the credits.]

A-

7 of 10

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, March 17, 2024

NOTES:

2018 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, and Michael Meinardus)

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Saturday, February 24, 2024

Review: "MEG 2: THE TRENCH" is Truly Megilicious

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 of 2024 (No. 1957) by Leroy Douresseaux

Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images, language and brief suggestive material

DIRECTOR: Ben Wheatley

WRITERS: Dean Georgaris and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber; from a screen story by Dean Georgaris and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (based on the novel by Steve Alten)

PRODUCERS: Belle Avery and Lorenzo di Bonaventura

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

EDITOR: Jonathan Amos

COMPOSER: Harry Gregson-Williams

SCI-FI/HORROR/ACTION

Starring: Jason Statham, Jing Wu, Cliff Curtis, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, Melissanthi Mahut, Whoopie Van Raam, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Felix Mayr, Ivy Tsui, and Sienna Guillory

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SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Meg 2: The Trench offers the same fun as the original film, The Meg (2018), but with all new monsters, villains, and action.

Jason Statham's Jonas Taylor does not dominate the new film as he did in the first, but Statham is still at his action-movie best.

I like Meg 2: The Trench enough that I want a third film... as soon as possible.

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Meg 2: The Trench is a 2023 science fiction, horror, and action film directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Jason Statham. The movie is a direct sequel to the 2018 film, The Meg. Meg 2: The Trench finds a research team fending off giant sharks and also the murderous criminals behind a malevolent mining operation in some of the greatest depths of “the Trench.”

Meg 2: The Trench opens several years after the events of the first film. Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham), the diver who specializes in deep sea search and rescue, has been involved in fighting environmental crimes on the ocean. He is also helping the underwater research facility, Mana One, in exploring a further deep part of the Mariana Trench where the Megalodon of the original film was discovered.

Following the death of Suyin Zhang (which is not show onscreen), Jonas has been raising her teenage daughter, now 14-year-old Meiying (Sophia Cai), alongside her uncle and Suyin's brother, Jiuming Zhang (Jing Wu). Jiuming has acquired his father's company, X-Pletandum Technologies, alongside wealthy financier, Hillary Driscoll (Sienna Guillory). Jiuming has also been studying an 80 ft (24 m) female Meg called Haiqi, who was discovered as a pup and trained by Jiuming, but who has been acting erratically of late.

Jonas returns to Mana One where he and the survivors of the first Meg disaster, Mac (Cliff Curtis), Mana One operations manager, and DJ (Page Kennedy), a Mana One engineer, join Jiuming's latest project. He wants to explore more of the Mariana Trench, unaware that here are more Megs and also now human danger with which to contend. Can Jonas save the day, again?

The first film, The Meg, is loosely based on Steve Alten's 1997 novel, Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. Meg 2: The Trench is based on Alten's 1999 novel, The Trench, one of six sequels to the original novel, with a seventh due in 2024 or 2025. I have enjoyed the two films so much that I am considering reading, at least, some of the novels.

I gave The Meg a grade of “C+,” but in the years since I first saw it, I have come to love it. It is one of my favorite films, and now I would give it a “B+.” Meg 2: The Trench starts off slowly, but the film really kicks into gear when the story returns to Mana One, the central setting of the first film. The Trench is not a retread, as most of the action set pieces are new. There are a few references to the first film, but the writers of the original film return to offer new jump-scares, new monsters, and an added number of awful humans.

Meg 2: The Trench gives Jason Statham's Jonas Taylor the chance to show off his martial art fighting skills, which he did not do in the first film. In fact, one of the other returning characters gets to kick some butt, and the sequel actually gives several characters their own set pieces so that they can shine.

Meg 2 isn't great cinema, but it is a great time at the movies. It is upgraded, campy monster movie fun that will have you swept up, dear readers, if you are willing to be swept up. I had a blast watching it, and I heartily recommend it to fans of the first film. Meg 2: The Trench makes me hope we get to see more Megs and more Trench in a third film.

B+

7 out of 10

★★★½ out of 4 stars

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Saturday, February 10, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA" 2014 is Still Awesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 of 2024 (No. 1951) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla (2014)

Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, three minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence

DIRECTOR: Gareth Edwards

WRITERS: Max Borenstein; from a story by Dave Callaham

PRODUCERS: Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Seamus McGarvey (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Bob Ducsay

COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat

SCI-FI/ACTION/MILITARY/THRILLER

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Carson Bolde, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, Richard T. Jones, and Victor Rasuk

Godzilla is a 2014 science fiction-monster film and military thriller directed by Gareth Edwards. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the movie was the first in the “MonsterVerse” film series, and it is a reboot of Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla film franchise. Godzilla 2014 focuses on the reappearance of monstrous creatures that have the power to destroy human civilization, but one of them may be humanity's only hope for survival.

Godzilla opens in 1999. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), two scientists from “Project Monarch,” are investigating the skeleton of a monstrous creature that was unearthed in the Philippines. Meanwhile, in Janjira, Japan, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), the supervisor at the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant, prepares for another day of work with his wife, Sandra Brody (Juliette Binoche). Something odd has been happening in and around the power plant, and before the day is over, the plant will collapse due to what seems to be an earthquake. It is an incident that will leave Joe Brody broken and haunted.

Fifteen years later, Lt. Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a U.S. Navy EOD officer (United States Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal). The son of Joe and Sandra, Ford has moved on with his life and is now on-leave in San Francisco with his wife, Elle Brody (Elizabeth Olsen), a nurse, and their son, Sam (Carson Bolde). However, Ford is forced to return to Japan when he learns that his father has been detained for trespassing in Janjira's quarantine zone (Q zone). Joe is determined to find the cause of the meltdown 15 years ago at the Janjira power plant. Ford thinks his father is crazy and does not believe anything he tells him.

However, what Ford is about to witness will introduce him to the world of the MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism). One such MUTO has the power to disrupt human civilization by emitting an intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and now, it's headed for the United States. Monarch's Dr. Serizawa believes that the only thing that can stop the MUTO is an ancient alpha predator he calls “Gojira.” But Gojira is also a MUTO...

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games. It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd. The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise. It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films: Godzilla (which is the subject of this review), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but I have not previously reviewed them.

I watched parts of Godzilla 2014 more times than I can remember over the last decade. It is a fascinating American “kaiju” film. “Kaiju” is a Japanese sub-genre of science fiction that features giants monsters, and the term can also be used to refer to the giant monsters themselves. Godzilla 2014 is very well directed by Englishmen, Gareth Edwards, who first came to notice because of his excellent 2010 film, Monsters, and later gained notoriety as the director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). Edwards is a natural when it comes to big monsters and big monster conspiracies and threats.

The film includes some good performances, although Bryan Cranston is the real standout with his intense, heartbreaking turn as Joe Brody. Elisabeth Olsen as Elle Brody is sidelined and wasted, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gamely plays Lt. Ford Brody as the film's ostensible lead, who is more dragged along by the film's action than leading it.

What makes this modern Godzilla film exceptional to me is the work of the technicians, artisans, and crew that don't always get credit for making a film work. Godzilla's camera work, the lighting, the film editing, the film score, the visual effects, the sound editing and mixing combine to create a film that is successful in what it conveys. What this film is pushing to us is a deep and abiding sense of mystery. It is in the shadows that hides the monsters and incredible battles. It is in the mood altering and heartbeat pacing score by the great Alexandre Desplat.

The mystery is in the sound and in the silence. It is in the flitting light and frequent flares and in the subtle film editing that hides itself while controlling the film's pace and mood. Godzilla's technical skill is the art of cinematic craftsmanship coming together, and that is best exemplified in the beautiful, breathtaking “Halo drop” sequence.

Godzilla's sense of mystery keeps the film from coming across like lowbrow, popcorn entertainment, which was the fate of director Roland Emmerich's 1998 film, Godzilla. Godzilla 2014's characters are in the dark almost as much as the audience is. By maintaining a sense of mystery, the film's narrative could convince me that humanity may be on the precipice of extinction, and it did. I highly recommend the MonsterVerse Godzilla, and I'll keep watching it.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, February 10, 2024

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Thursday, January 11, 2024

Review: "SALTBURN" is not Salty, nor Does it Burn

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 of 2024 (No. 1945) by Leroy Douresseaux

Saltburn (2023)

Running time: 131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)

MPA – R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout, some disturbing violent content, and drug use.

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Emerald Fennell

PRODUCERS: Emerald Fennell, Josey McNamara, and Margot Robbie

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Linus Sandgren (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Victoria Boydell

COMPOSER: Anthony Willis

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe, Alison Oliver, Sadie Soverall, Paul Rhys, and Carey Mulligan

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REVIEW SUMMARY:

-- The new film from the writer-director of Emerald Fennell has an intriguing premise and is actually intriguing for about its first hour.

-- Their are few good performances, particularly by Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, and Archie Madekwe. Sadly, the movie focuses on its least interesting character, Oliver Quick, played by one of the hottest dull actors around, Barry Keoghan.

-- Saltburn is mainly for adventurous movie fans. Viewers looking to be entertained may want to look for a movie that is less stiff.

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Saltburn is a 2023 psychological drama and black comedy from writer-director Emerald Fennell. The film follows a new student at Oxford University who is drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, which leads to a tragic summer at the classmate's family's sprawling estate.

Saltburn introduces Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a scholarship student at Oxford University. Oliver struggles to fit in due to his inexperience with upper-class manners and deportment. However, one of Oliver's fellow students does capture his imagination, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), an affluent and popular student. It turns out that Felix is empathetic to Oliver and his stories of his parents' substance abuse and mental health issues.

After Oliver becomes distraught when he learns of his father's sudden death, Felix comforts him. Later, Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family's sprawling estate, Saltburn. Oliver meets Felix's eccentric parents, his father, Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant), and his mother, Lady Elspeth Catton (Rosamund Pike). He also meets Felix's kooky and lewd sister, Venetia (Alison Oliver). Also staying at the state is fellow Oxford student and Felix's first cousin, Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe), who thinks very little of Oliver. As the summer wears on, however, these unlikable people become too self-absorbed to recognize the danger so very near to them.

I was a huge fan of Saltburn writer-director Emerald Fennell's 2020, Promising Young Woman, for which Fennell won a “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar. Promising Young Woman was a shocking, funny, vindictive, and righteous film, and which is much more than I can say about Saltburn, which looks like a sumptuous period drama. On the other hand, for all its good looks, Saltburn is sterile as a black comedy.

I can deal with a film that focuses on unlikable people, which Saltburn does. Still, I found Saltburn's lead actor, Barry Keoghan, and his character, Oliver Quick, dull and unimaginative. I don't get Keoghan's critical acclaim. He was pitiful and sad in The Banshees of Inisherin (2020), which earned him a “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar nomination. However, sad, silent waif characters bore me, and Keoghan's Oliver Quick is duller than his Dominic Kearney was in Banshees. Here, Keoghan's personality-free performance in this film does not convince me that Oliver is what the film's final act suggests he is. Honestly, what Fennell offers here is nothing more than a riff on novelist Patricia Highsmith's literary character, "Tom Ripley," if Ripley were played as a character that was stuffed and mounted. Also, I must admit to often mistaking Keoghan for another milky white boy actor, Ezra Miller (The Flash), who did the pale, waif thing really well until his... secrets came out.

I like Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton, a funny and charming character, and Elordi's boyish, white boy looks should give him at least a few years in Hollywood as a “hot thing.” The film's best performance is given by Archie Madekwe, the Black British actor who creates Saltburn's most intriguing character. As the “mixed-race” Farleigh Start, Madekwe is mysterious and sexy, and honestly, I wish Saltburn was about Farleigh's relationship with the Cattons and his life at Saltburn. I should also admit that I'm always crazy about Rosamund Pike, so I was in love with Lady Elspeth.

Ultimately, I can only recommend Saltburn to adventurous movie fans who are always on the lookout for films from interesting filmmakers, which Emerald Fennell certainly is. I simply wish that Saltburn burned a little more.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

You can stream the SALTBURN film here on AMAZON Prime Video.

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