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The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
While Harryhausen's revisit to Sinbad doesn't have the novel punch of its predecessor, it's still a solidly entertaining fantasy epic
As Sinbad (John Phillip Law) and his crew cross the ocean, one of Sinbad's crew shoots a mysterious creature carrying a golden amulet. Against the wishes of his crew, Sinbad keeps the amulet and is visited by nightmares and visions including of a man in black and a woman with eye symbols on her hands. Landing in Marabia, Sinbad is set upon by Prince Koura (Tom Baker) who demands the amulet but Sinbad eludes Koura in the city and finds an alliance in the Grand Vizier (Douglas Wilmer) who is ruling as regent. The Vizier tells him that the amulet is one part of three with the Vizier possessing one third while the other's location is unknown and Koura seeks to posses all three to attain power and rule Marabia. Discovering a map, Sinbad embarks on a voyage with the Vizier, inexperienced merchant's son Haroun (Kurt Christian), and freed slave Margiana (Caroline Munro) racing against Koura and his own crew as Koura uses dark arts to pursue his goal.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is the second film made by Ray Harryhausen inspired by the character Sinbad from the Arabian Nights. Harryhausen and his producing partner Charles H. Schneer decided the time had come to do another Sinbad film as their 1958 film The 7th Voyage of Sinbad had been a big success and no one had mined the Arabian Nights recently. While the film didn't achieve the same level of critical reception as its predecessor, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad was nonetheless well-received and was a significant commercial success as well. While slightly lacking the novelty of The 7th Voyage, The Golden Voyage provides enough creative creatures and rousing atmosphere to make for a fun adventure yarn.
Stepping in for Kerwin Matthews, John Phillip Law plays a version of Sinbad who's presented as being more hardscrabble in comparison to the adopted prince Matthews portrayed in The 7th Voyage and makes the role his own to provide a different experience from the original. Law is supported by some good supporting performers such as Kurt Christian, Caroline Munro, and Dougls Wilmer, but standing above them is Prince Koura played by future Doctor Who actor Tom Baker. While like Torin Thatcher's Sokurah the role is an evil sorcerer fixated on a magical macguffin, Baker does a good job of channeling the obsession into the character's portrayal with the element of his spells draining him well realized with some solid aging make-up mixed with his performance. As with any Harryhausen movie, the primary selling point is his creatures and while they're more spaced out this time around, they still carry impact on their appearance. Harryhausen utilizes his craft quite effectively like having Koura interact with perched imps on his arm or organizing sword fights with a six armed Kali statue that are quite impressive even if it's not as good as the skeleton fights from either 7th Voyage or Jason and the Argonauts. The climax involving a centaur and a griffin wasn't quite the same level as the dragon and cyclops from seventh voyage (especially since the griffin feels very underutilized) but it's still fun regardless.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad sees Harryhausen and company returning to the magic and wonder of the Arabian Nights to mostly solid effect. While not quite the breath of fresh air its predecessor was in how it changed the game for fantasy films of this type, it's still a very solid entry in the genre with some good work from Harryhausen.
Free Birds (2013)
Playfully silly and hitting more often than it misses, Free Birds makes for decent light Thanksgiving viewing
Reggie (Owen Wilson), a turkey with abnormally high intelligence is ostracized by his kind as he's the only one aware they are raised for being eaten by humans. After being booted out of the flock by the other Turkeys, Reggie is saved from being eaten when the President's Daughter (Kaitlyn Maher) insists he be the one The President (Jimmy Hayward) pardon for Thanksgiving. Now living a life of luxury at Camp David, his respite is soon cut short with the arrival of Jake (Woody Harrelson), a wild Turkey who's a freedom fighter trying to get turkeys off the menu for Thanksgiving. Against Reggie's will the two steal a time machine and travel back to 1621, the year of the first Thanksgiving to work with a local flock of Turkeys to stop the feast from taking place as Myles Standish (Colm Meaney) relentlessly hunts the turkeys.
Free Birds is a 2013 animated comedy film that marked the debut of animation studio Reel FX who'd previous worked as a support studio providing visual effects and animation services for films such as Spy Kids 2 and Sony's Open Season films. The film was an attempt to produce event animated films on a frugal budget (estimated between $35-55 million) and cater to the appetites of audiences who'd made films like Despicable Me so successful. While a modest financial success earning $110 million worldwide, critical reception tended to skew predominantly negative. Free Birds doesn't high aspirations but it's mostly up front about it and as a joke machine I maintain you can do worse.
In terms of its story, Free Birds (mostly) treats itself as a joke with its time travel centric plot not given any actual thought to the "hows" and "whys" of time travel and really just using it as a mechanism to make the premise work, similar to how Bill & Ted approached the concept. In terms of its leads the movie has solid assets in Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson who have a good buddy dynamic and there's also some solid supporting humor from Amy Poehler as Reggie's love interest and George Takei as the time machine's AI pilot. As a comedic setup it's more than adequate for a movie like this and we do get some inspired moments particularly when multiple versions of Reggie come together in the third act, but the points where it tries to play for pathos aren't nearly as successful and it really feels like the movie should've committed to a more anarchic tone rather than try and play certain scenes legitimately because that's when the movie is at its best.
While Free Birds strives to be a Thanksgiving themed take on Bill & Ted, it feels only partially realized in terms of its potential and could've benefited from additional polish on the script. There are some very funny moments that genuinely work as well as a cast with good chemistry, but it also has trouble maintaining a consistent tone that works in its best interests.
Rebel Ridge (2024)
Aaron Pierre gives an excellent performance in Jeremy Saulnier's brutal and gritty action thriller which takes what's essentially a neo-western imbued with timely themes
Set in the town of Shelby Springs, Louisiana, former Marine Terry Richmond has come to the town with his life savings to post bail money for his cousin only to be stopped by the police. In the course of the stop Terry is searched and while allowed to leave with a warning for traffic violation, has his funds seized under Civil Asset Forfeiture. Terry attempts to get back the money with the help of court clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb) and attempts to deal directly with the Chief Shelby Springs PD, Sandy Burne (Don Johnson) prove fruitless as Burne uses his influence to retaliate against Terry's cousin and friends. As Terry pushes further and further against the corrupt police department, he works with Summer and uncovers a conspiracy deeply rooted within the town.
Rebel Ridge is the latest film from writer director Jeremy Saulnier who in the past few years has made a name for himself with his gritty minimalist thrillers that often posses a guerilla style in the filmmaking as seen with genre favorites like Blue Ruin and Green Room. Rebel Ridge marks Saulnier's second time working with Netflix following his previous colab with the streamer in 2018's Hold the Dark. Rebel Ridge has had a hard road to completion as like many productions it was delayed considerably by the Covid-19 Pandemic and suffered a massive upset part of the way through production when original star John Boyega left the film. Aaron Pierre eventually replaced Boyega and filming continued where it experienced a lengthy post-production process. In spite of its long hard road to release, I'm pleased to say that the film is a very strong genre piece and well worth the effort and time it took to make it.
At its core, Rebel Ridge is essentially a revisit of the classic Western formula of a stranger rolling into town and then through happenstance ends up squaring off against the corrupt establishment. The film touches upon timely issues like police militarization and cronyism as well as the Constitutional circumvention of things like Civil Asset Forfeiture and when you see Terry lose the money he's scrimped and saved for all his life taken before he can blink, it really makes you sympathize with him. Aaron Pierre is really good as Terry Richmond and despite the film losing the star power that would've come from Boyega's name, I do think it ended up working in the film's favor given how perfect the casting feels. Pierre is effortlessly watchable as Terry and possesses the relaxed masculine charisma that you look for in capable leading men not only handling the film's gritty action beats, but also the film's dramatic moments. AnnaSophia Robb is quite good as Terry's ally who's very much someone caught in a bad situation and wants to help Terry without risking the life she's managed to rebuild after she had her own issues with the law that have continued to haunt her. And last but not least we have Don Johnson who makes a great antagonist as he runs the town of Shelby Springs like his own personal fiefdom and projects and air of arrogance and cruelty that makes him a solid "boo/hiss" character you can't wait to see taken down a peg.
Sauliner's direction and writing shows that he hasn't lost that frugal guerilla style appeal even with a larger budget and cast. While Rebel Ridge is an action thriller, the action feels very gritty and impactful with lots of impact and tension conveyed in their build up and eventional release. The movie also has several scenes where it plays more towards the investigative route with interrogations, break-ins, and sleuthing and Saulinier keeps the tension simmering throughout the film's two hour runtime.
Rebel Ridge is a solid action thriller and definitely a springboard for its star Aaron Pierre to bigger things. Saulnier takes traditional genre trappings and inhabits them with good performances, characters, and action beats and provides a tense and exciting ride to the ending credits.
Murder Party (2007)
After Hours by way of an 80s slasher flick
Set on Halloween in New York City, Chris (Chris Sharp) is a lonely parking attendant who initially plans to spend the evening with his cat watching rented horror films. Chris finds a random engraved invitation stuck to his foot on the street to an event called a "murder party" complete with address. With nothing else to do, Chris fashions a makeshift costume out of some cardboard and goes to this party at an unused warehouse only to discover it's a trap by several deranged art students who plan to murder him in over the top ways to get grant money.
Murder Party is the debut feature film of writer director Jeremy Saulnier who along with friends and colleagues Chris Sharp and Macon Blair sought to produce a feature film independently after failing to acquire financing. Made with a guerilla style grit and dark as black humor, Murder Party shows some solid ingenuity and craft from its fledgling crew.
Playing like a mixture of After Hours if it were mixed with a Frank Henenlotter or William Lustig flick, the film features a nicely done performance by Chris Sharp as a hapless simpleton who's unassuming trip to a party turns into a frightening (and kind of annoying/pretentious) nightmare. The cast consisting of Sandy Barnett, Macon Blair, Paul Goldblatt and others do well portraying various caricatures of the New York art scene who are both psychotically unhinged as well as overly in love with how "deep" and "profound" their work is making it massively satisfying to see them get what's coming to them in grisly and over the top fashion.
Murder Party is a fun watch for the Halloween season with it's mixture of dark comedy and urban splatter sensibilities and is definitely welcome viewing.
Death Machine (1994)
Well-made violent schlock that is truth in advertising
In the near future, the Chaank Corporation is under fire for its creation of unethical weapons and involvement in war crimes. New Chief Executive Hayden Cale (Ely Pouget) has been brought in to fill the vacancy of the old executive and right the ship much to the ire of executives John Carpenter (William Hootkins) and Scott Ridley (Richard Brake). Hayden Cale in the course of her duties seeks to put an end to the development programs of weapons developer Jack Dante (Brad Dourif), a man as psychotic as he is brilliant and keeps himself from being terminated by holding leverage over the other executives. As Dante nurses a growing obsession with Cale, Chaank becomes the target of anti-war/anti-corporate saboteurs Raimi (John Sharian), Yutani (Martin McDougall), and Weyland (Andreas Wisneiwski) who intend to blow -up Chaank's mainframe. After circumstances see Carpenter, Cale, and the saboteurs collide at Chaank's headquarters, Dante unleashes his latest creation, a murderous robot called "Warbeast", after them.
Death Machine is the writing and directing debut of effects artist Stephen Norrington. Norrington had worked on a number of genre films since the 80s (including Aliens and Lifeforce) but had grown tired of effects work and wanted to try his hand at writing. As Norrington continued to dabble in effects work while trying to find financial backing, a producer on the film Split Second for which Norrington was providing the effects had taken an interest in one of his scripts as a possible sequel and also took note of another script Death Machine which was viewed as a commercial enough idea that producers brought on board Norrington as writer and director and secured international financing. While the film was given a relatively quiet direct-to-video release in the United States, it did become something of a springboard for Norrignton that lead to him directing Blade. Death Machine isn't any more or any less than it promises and depending on what you're looking for that might be enough.
At its core, Death Machine is what happens when you mix Die Hard, Robocop (or perhaps more fitting Robocop 2), and Alien together into a trashy genre exercise that doesn't have any loftier aspirations other than setting up kill scenes. While per the cyberpunk 101 playbook it follows the old standards of unethical corporations operating without regard to human life or impact on the world, it's mostly used as window dressing so we can justify the selling point of the killer robot. As per usual, Brad Dourif is delightfully slimy playing the unhinged Jack Dante who's basically what Charles Lee Ray would be like if he had technical expertise. Nobody delivers on crazy like Dourif and you can see why his character (as well as the film's violence) led to several different cuts of this movie. Most of the characterization doesn't go for too much depth save for maybe Ely Pouget's Hayden Cale, but they do what you expect in a movie like this and play it well. The real star of the movie is the titular "warbeast" or Death Machine and structured like if the Cain model from Robocop 2 were mixed with a T-rex it's certainly a memorable killer robot and is used for some fun setpieces. The setpieces are made all the more impressive by the fact the budget was only $3 million and Norrington certainly knows how to stretch it effectively.
Death Machine is the kind of movie where it's very much "what you see is what you get?" and if you're looking for something involving a killer robot on the loose and you've already watched Hardware, this will definitely fit the bill. It's pure bloody pulp, but enjoyable if you're into that sort of thing.
Split Second (1992)
Rutger Hauer, Neil Duncan, and Kim Cattrall give good performances in a stylishly directed if very silly sci-fi/monster mash-up with flimsy internal logic.
Set in the future of 2008 where global warming among other things has lead to London being partially flooded and in a state of near continuous night, police detective Stone (Rutger Hauer) is single mindledly hunting for the serial killer who killed his partner three years ago and has grown more unhinged since. With the department seeking to keep Stone under control, he's assigned a new partner in Dick Durkin (Alastair Duncan *credited as Neil Duncan) a comparatively more "by the book" detective specializing in serial murderers. As the two scour the darkest corners of a rotting London, the two soon find evidence that suggests this killer may be something other than human.
Split Second is a 1992 sci-fi action/horror film directed by Tony Maylam and Ian Sharp and written by Gary Scott Thompson. The film is notable for its tumultuous production where it was originally written as a more conventional buddy cop film with horror elements called Pentagram, until similarities with another movie called The First Power caused the producers to institute changes. Adding in more sci-fi elements to the script, the film was being re-written even while it was being produced with Hauer suggesting adding a psychic link between his character and the monster and the effects team led by Stephen Norrington had no idea what the monster would actually be until about three weeks before it was needed. Upon release the film wasn't treated kindly by critics and was mostly ignored at the box office (a fate attributed to the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles), but supposedly did better on the home video and cable market. Split Second is a very messy movie that struggles to make much sense, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't kind of enjoy it.
Taking Split Second at face value, the movie's essential what happens when you mix together, some Dirty Harry, some Blade Runner, and some Alien, and some satanic imagery and is primarily concerned with providing genre thrills than any kind of insight or commentary on its world. The movie even seems aware of this as the movie plays Hauer's archetypal "cop on the edge" tropes up to the nth degree to the point he's almost a parody of the character type. Despite the characterizations being very archetypal, the cast have really good chemistry with each other be it with Hauer and Duncan's initially abrasive "buddy" dynamic that softens overtime to the always welcome Kim Cattrall who, granted is playing a damsel in distress, but does get to play a part in the climax and looks good doing it (and some other things that aren't too unwelcome). In terms of plot if I were to broad-brush a description of what the movie is you'd probably think it sounded like a standard serial killer chase movie and while at its core it is it goes through some pretty strange directions and head scratching leaps on that journey. As stated, the movie went through a number of re-writes during production including changing the nature of who/what the villain would be, adding in the element of a connection between Stone and the villain, and even the climax was directed by Ian Sharp instead of Tony Maylam. I'm not sure I (or anyone else for that matter) can give you an adequate description of what the villain is as the movie seems like it has three or four explanations that don't make much sense, but it also moves at such a quick clip and a decent sense of humor that it overcomes a lot of its logical and production flaws to be a pretty entertaining ride.
Split Second objectively speaking is not a "good" movie, but it is certainly a fun one if you can forgive its many glaring logical and production issues. With a fun post-industrial/post-apocalyptic London and some committed performances and solid screen chemistry from Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, and Neil Duncan there's a lot of trashy B-movie fun to be had from here. And even with the confusing nature of the villain, the effects team still pulled off a visually good design.
Re-Animator (1985)
Stuart Gordon's splatter filled debut is a fun, gooey, and darkly comic homage to mad science/Frankenstein horror
At Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts, third year medical resident Daniel Cain (Bruce Abbott) is perusing his studies while also secretly dating Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton), the daughter of Dean Alan Halsey (Robert Sampson). The university sees the arrival of promising medical student Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs), who was formerly studying in Zurich, Switzerland under a colleague of his current professor Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale) whom he holds great contempt for. When Herbert West answers Daniel's notice about his ad for a roommate he pays up front and seemingly keeps to himself, but unnerving events start occurring not long thereafter including the revelation that West has created a serum with the potential of re-animating the dead.
Re-Animator directed by Stuart Gordon in his feature debut and co-written by Gordon along with William J. Norris and Dennis Paoli. The impetus for the film with Gordon expressing his desire to see a Frankenstein film in a break from what he thought was a glut of Dracula films which lead to him being recommended the short story Herbert West-Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft. Initially considered for a stage play or possible TV pilot (with 12 additional episodes also written) before being convinced that feature films were the only viable path for horror which led to him being introduced to producer Brian Yuzna. Gordon stated that he was inspired by the Hammer film Revenge of Frankenstein while writer Dennis Paoli stated the film's humor came about through re-writes during production as the concept was initially a straight horror film. Upon release, the film became a modest performer theatrically (making more of an impact in the cable and home video market) but received acclaim including from critics who had traditional not been fans of horror. Re-Animator features a fantastic mixture of goofiness and gore that like other 80s staples like Evil Dead and The Howling helps to make it a memorable viewing experience.
At the center of the film is Jeffrey Combs' performance as Herbert West and despite Combs taking the role purely for the work rather than liking the script, he gives a convincing and memorably deranged performance that's very much Anthony Perkins by way of Dr. Frankenstein. Bruce Abbott makes a solid foil to West as Daniel Cain and from how he's established when he loses a patient in the opening it makes you believe why he'd go along with West's experiments. Barbara Crampton does well in the role of Megan and shows commitment to a role that requires her to be "in the buff" on quite a few occasions (even if she's there more to be a sounding board against the horror elements), and David Gale makes a delightfully hateful antagonist who's both a lecherous pervert as well as an insidious academic thief.
As expected for a movie called Re-Animator, the movie gives us plenty of grotesque and energized sequences wherein West's revived monstrosities come back with unexpected and sometimes darkly comedic results. While there are certainly points that are horrific, there's also a playfulness to the uses of the re-animation serum that leads to some amusing aspects such as a character who begins something of a cheeky reference to The Brain that Wouldn't Die.
Re-Animator is a lot of fun and while it delivers on all the spatter and gore you'd expect from a movie like this, it also balances it out with a macabre sense of humor and some genuinely good performances.
Escape from L.A. (1996)
If Escape from New York is Evil Dead, Escape from L.A. is Evil Dead 2 where it rehashes the plot in a more comedic and exaggerated fashion
In the year 2013, the United States of America has now become a totalitarian theocracy overseen by the President for Life (Cliff Robertson). Anyone who doesn't adhere to the strict moral code of the administration is deported to the island of Los Angeles which after breaking off from the United States in 1997 from a catastrophic flood and earthquake is deemed to be no longer part of the United States and run by various gangs. When the President's daughter, Utopia (A. J. Langer), steals a black box for an experimental new weapon and flees to Los Angeles to Cuervo Jones (Georges Corraface), the leader of Shining Path a hostile faction made of disenfranchise third world nations who oppose America's leadership. With their grip on power threatened, the President gets recent deportee S. D. Bob "Snake" Plissken (Kurt Russell) and offers him full immunity in exchange for retrieving the black box and assassinating Utopia. Plissken initially refuses only to be told he's been infected with the Putoxin Virus that and unless he's given the antidote in 10 hours will suffer complete neurological shut down. Now racing against the clock, Plissken travels to the lawless land of Los Angeles to find the box and Utopia among its wild denizens.
Escape from L. A. is a 1996 sci-fi action film directed by John Carpenter and co-written by Carpenter alongside producer Debra Hill and star Kurt Russell. While Escape from New York had been a massive success in its day and influenced a number of sci-fi and action films, Carpenter had never seriously considered a sequel as he tended to take a dim view of follow-ups after the various sequels made to his own Halloween failed to live up to the critical and commercial success of the original. At the request of longtime friend and frequent collaborator Kurt Russell, the two got together on working on a sequel as Russell had long wanted to play the character again (having a fondness for it as it helped shed his lighthearted Disney image) and taking from his experience living in L. A. and contemporary events like the Northridge Earthquake and 1992 civil unrest, this would lay the foundation for what would become Escape from L. A.. Upon release critical reception was mixed with some like Roger Ebert appreciated the film's bend towards satire while others considered it a rehash of its predecessor. If you go in expecting a sequel like Terminator 2 that expands the concept you're going to be disappointed, but if you go in expecting something more akin to Evil Dead 2 or Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 that's probably the best way to view this movie.
While Escape from New York gritty environments and action beats are undeniably influential and important milestones in genre film history, Escape from New York is also one of those movies that people take more seriously than it actually is. While Carpenter did write the film as a straight action film he also had Nick Castle re-write his script to include more humor such as Ernest Borgnine's character of Cabbie, the exaggerations of 1970s New York, and of course the drag revue set to the darkly comic song "Everyone's Coming to New York". In a way, Escape from L. A. is sort of the opposite of Escape from New York where Escape from New York was a serious action film that had secondary layer of humor/satire, Escape from L. A. has the humor/satire on top of the surface and makes it well known that it's supposed to be a sillier exercise in comparison to the first film.
In terms of being a follow-up to Escape from New York, the film plays itself extremely close to the original (often using similar plotpoints/devices) while also doing a reasonably nice job of making L. A. feel different from this world's version of New York. Keeping itself more in line with the sillier tone, L. A. is very much an exaggeration of contemporary L. A. where it's painted as a land of counter cultural freedom from the oppressive theocratic mainland while also possessing the danger and unpredictability of a wild west town (a move that Carpenter admits to being intentional). Needless to say Russell's Plissken is no less good here than in Escape from New York still possessing that Clint Eastwood like anti-hero appeal and anti-establishment slant of the original. Much like how the President in the prior film took heavy influence from Nixon, the President this time around takes shots at Reagan and Bush making the world a parody of the "moral majority" movement. The movie also features some additional satire like Steve Buscemi's caricature of a sleazy agent, Bruce Campbell's deranged plastic surgeon known as the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills, and Peter Fonda's laid back "surfer dude" who's something of an analogue to Cabbie for the original, but there is one major misstep and it's in having a memorable antagonist from L. A.. Georges Corraface plays Cuervo Jones and after his underwhelming debut in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery he's still very much a stiff and lacks the charisma and menace Isaac Hayes brought as the Duke of New York and while Corraface is handsome and has a Che Guevara like look to him, you just don't buy him as this leader who holds sway over L. A..
Lastly, we come to a major sticking point for many people: the effects work. While upon revisit the effects in Escape from New York definitely show their age, they still look impressive even today and that's in no small part to the absolute dream team of production designer Joe Alves, effects artists Dennis and Robert Skotak, and even DP work by James Cameron who'd take similar visual energy to Terminator and Aliens. With Escape from L. A., the movie utilizes a lot of early 90s CGI for scenes that are way too ambitious for what it can pull off and as a result the movie doesn't look nearly as good as Escape from New York. Some of the matte work is still impressive and there's some good production design (such as a Disneyland knock-off used for the climax) but the effects work is definitely a point against the movie.
Escape from L. A. is the kind of movie that if you can forgive its shortcomings there's actually some pretty solid work on display. While it definitely plays up the satire and humor more in comparison to its grittier predecessor, it's still reasonably well acted (Corraface notwithstanding), there's some solid action beats, and an interesting funhouse mirror take on L. A.. The movie does lack a strong villain on par with the Duke and some of the effects work wasn't even considered good at the time it was made, but provided you're willing to accept an exaggeration on the first film in line with Evil Dead 2 or Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 it delivers.
Escape from New York (1981)
John Carpenter's influential action classic features tight direction, plentiful thrills, and an iconic performance from Kurt Russell
In the future of 1997, in an effort to combat its astronomical rise in crime the United States has sectioned off Manhattan as a maximum security prison where escape is prevented by walls, mines, and guards prepared to shoot on sight and once you come in you don't come out. When a terrorist organization hijacks Air Force One on its way to a summit, the roving gangs who control sections of the city kidnap the President (Donald Pleasence) from his escape pod threatening to kill him if any rescue is attempted by the police. Former soldier turned criminal S. D. "Snake" Plissken (Kurt Russell) is sentenced to New York for attempted robbery of the Treasury, however Police Commissioner Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) as a last resort offers Snake a deal where in exchange for the rescue of The President and a tape in his briefcase he'll be given a full pardon provided he returns within 24 hours so the President can reach the summit. Snake accepts the deal and shortly thereafter learns Hauk has placed explosive devices in his neck that will detonate. Racing against the clock, Snake navigates the savage streets of New York in search of the President.
Escape from New York is a 1981 sci-fi action film directed by John Carpenter who also co-wrote the film alongside Nick Castle. Inspired by the Watergate Scandal and the depiction of New York in Death Wish (a movie he philosophically disagreed with), Carpenter wrote the initial treatment in the 1970s but was unable to acquire studio backing as it was deemed "too violent, scary, and weird". After a string of successes by Carpenter such as Halloween and The Fog, Carpenter had enough established clout in order to get Escape from New York made. One of the more notable aspects was the against type casting of Kurt Russell who up to that point had mainly been known for light hearted Disney comedies. While AVCO Embassy who produced the film wanted a more traditional action hero like Charles Bronson or Chuck Norris in the role, Carpenter successfully fought for Russell. The film became a sizable hit earning $25 million against a $6 million budget and not only helped reintroduce Russell to the public, but also got Carpenter into larger scale studio films. Escape from New York remains an influential piece of sci-fi and action cinema that holds up quite nicely with strong characters, atmosphere, and a welcome sense of humor.
In terms of creating a tangible world, Escape from New York is one of the most well-realized works of its time where it presents a tangible feeling vision of a dead city left to rot and populated with denizens who've reverted to a tribal and savage nature. Featuring some great work by production designer Joe Alves, visual effects supervisors Robert and Dennis Skotak, and even some earlier DP work by James Cameron (with a sort of proto Terminator vibe in some shots) you can see why and how the atmosphere and look coined with Escape from New York inspired so many subsequent action/sci-fi films as well as various outright knock-offs. While some shots do show their age (especially in restored HD versions), the matte work and production design remains impressive even to this day.
But what good is a well-created world without memorable characters inhabiting it? Luckily we have some great ones including Russell's performance as Snake Plissken who is one of the most memorable modern anti-heroes of the decade and is comfortably inhabited by Russell. Snake is a cynical mercenary through and through whose only goal is staying alive everything else be damned. With the fascist police state on one side and the violent savagery of the New York prison which is very much "Might makes right/survival of the fittest", the film creates a world in which there's no hero or villain but a case of "bad versus worse" and Snake is the kind of character who will only kill you if you go out of your way to betray or make trouble with him and even then he's not completely without empathy and is really more anti-establishment/anti-authority. The film is filled with notable character actors who make even the smallest of roles memorable such as veteran actor Ernest Borgnine adding some welcome comic relief as Cabbie who's one of a few exaggerated "New Yorkisms" that Castle adds to provide humor to the dour world, Lee Van Cleef adds some strong presence and authority to Hauk, Donald Pleasence is fun playing a sniveling and slightly duplicitous President, Isaac Hayes makes a fun antagonist as The Duke of New York, and we also have strong performances from Season Hubley, Harry Dean Stanton, and Adrienne Barbeau.
Escape from New York is one of those movies that's crafted a legacy on multiple fronts not only by establishing Carpenter as a versatile genre director and re-introducing Russell as a serious actor, but also by establishing a unique grungy industrial look that would carry through multiple films of the decade (especially some of DP James Cameron's work). Not only is a it a solid genre film in its own right, but there's an elegance in the simplicity of its premise where it gets maximum effect streamlined efficiency.
The Deliverance (2024)
Lee Daniels walks a talented and committed cast through a routine supernatural slog made of leftovers from The Exorcist and Amityville Horror
Set in 2011 in Pennsylvania, Ebony Jackson (Andra Day) is an alcoholic single mother who is prone to anger and violence who struggles to care for her children Nate (Caleb McLaughlin), Shante (Demi Singleton), and Andre (Anthony B. Jenkins) while taking help from her cancer ridden mother Alberta (Glenn Close). As she deals with strained finances and a new house that is rife with problems, Andre begins exhibiting odd behaviors that defy rational explanation.
The Deliverance comes to us from director Lee Daniels and writers David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum and takes inspiration from the 2011 Ammons haunting case which became a widely publicized alleged haunting that attracted an inordinate amount of media attention and became something of an Amityville Horror for the new generation. The case attracted attention from both skeptics and paranormalists including Zak Bagans who bought the house and made the 2018 documentary Demon House and much like the Lutz family's experiences in Amityville, many have written off the events as a psychological phenomenon rather than a supernatural one. Credibility aside, there was certainly room to make a compelling story from this material, after all: The Conjuring series has been reasonably well-regarded despite the questions about Ed and Loraine Warren's work. Unfortunately while The Deliverance has a good cast and proven director in place that seem interesting, the actual execution is very standard reworking of tropes we've seen time and time again that have long since worn out their welcome.
If there's anything to be said for the film, it's definitely that Daniels has assembled a strong and committed cast who bring their A game to the material. Andra Day who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Billie Holliday in her last colab with Daniels is still very good here as she really sells it playing someone who's barely holding it together and wants to do right by her children but is unwilling or unable to actually follow through on it. Day creates a compellingly flawed character and for all the faults of the film, her performance isn't one of them. The three children played by Anthony B. Jenkins, Caleb McLaughlin and Demi Singleton also do well in their respective roles (even if they are playing very standard archetypes for a movie like this) and you get that sense of pain and sadness that comes from this situation. Glenn Close is also good as Alberta who helps Ebony while also nursing wounds between the two of them that led them to this point and you can see the two working well off each other.
While dramatically speaking The Deliverance seems like it has a rich setup, the actual execution of what it's supposed to be, a horror movie, is turgid and just not scary. Watching The Deliverance, you get the sense that Daniels really wasn't all that interested in making a horror movie as it's nearly 40 minutes or so before the tension ramps up and during that opening act it really feels like it's playing as more of a domestic drama than a horror film. Once Daniels gets into the horror elements his inexperience as a genre filmmaker really shows as he does have scenes of "shocking" material but with the way it's shot there's no surprise factor and with one major flashback sequence it takes what's supposed to be a horrifying revelation and makes it seem almost funny with how it's staged. If you've seen films like The Exorcist or The Amityville Horror this follows many of those same tropes like self mutilation, white eyed fugue states, and bizarre behavior, and while Daniels tries to up the shock factor with scenes like Andre defecating in class and then throwing the feces you just become aware that this material isn't working. The movie seems aware of the inevitable comparisons that'll be made to The Exorcist to the point it even name drops that film in its third act, and this does not do the movie any favors because the climax takes so many elements from that film that it doesn't matter they try to justify it by calling it a "Deliverance" it's still essentially the same result.
The Deliverance sees Daniels trying to step outside his usual dramatic comfort zone in favor of something in the genre space but it just does not work. As a horror film it's reliant on tropes that no longer have any surprise factor to them, and Daniels frames scenes that should be shocking with the punch and impact of a feather. I will say that at least unlike The Exorcist: Believer, I was never mad at The Deliverance but I also wasn't entertained either save for the acting of a "too good for this" cast.
Terminator Zero (2024)
Terminator Zero takes a lot of familiar parts from the legacied franchise but puts them to good effect.
Set in the year 1997 in Tokyo, Japan, Malcolm Lee (Andre Holland) is a widowed scientist plagued by nightmares of Judgment Day wherein the activation of computer system Skynet will trigger a robot uprising that will bring humanity to the brink of extinction. As Malcolm attempts to build an equivalent AI in the form of Kokoro (Rosario Dawson) in the hopes of convincing it to ally with humanity against Skynet, Malcolm's housekeeper Misaki (Sumalee Montano) watches over his children Kenta (Armani Jackson), Reika (Gideon Adlon), and Hiro (Carter Rockwood). From the future of 2022, a Terminator (Timothy Olyphant) comes back in time intent on eliminating Malcolm while a resistance fighter, Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno), follows not long thereafter intent on protecting the Lees and destroying Kokoro.
Terminator Zero is the latest installment in the Terminator franchise and the third entry overall made by Skydance following their attempts with Genisys and Dark Fate. After the financial failur of Dark Fate the series went into something of a hiatus (save for the various releases of the Terminator game Resistance) until in 2021 when it was announced Skydance had partnered with Japanese animation studio Production I. G. on an anime series. Written by Mattson Tomlin and directed by Masashi Kudo, the approach to the series treated all prior installments as canon which at the request of the Japanese production staff the series was given a Japanese setting and cultural identity which producers were happy to oblige at it allowed unique challenges such as Japan's more restrictive firearms access. Nicely animated and brimming with atmosphere and impactful action, Terminator Zero is a welcome entry to the franchise.
In terms of setup, Terminator Zero seemingly follows the tried and true formula to a "T" of "Protector from future protects innocent(s) from killer robot from the future" and while surprisingly the series doesn't drop as many lines and references as you might expect from a project like this (at least of the in your face variety) there is an undeniable remix of elements you'll remember from prior installments such as the police station siege from the very first movie or even the Cyberdyne Systems assault from the second. Intermixed with the standard chase elements are sequences with Malcolm discussing humanity with Kokoro as he tries to convince her to ally himself with humanity against Skynet and while it does initially start with very stock sci-fi tropes about "how has Earth benefited from mankind" or "Humanity is a cancer" that you often see with these kinds of discussions, the scenes do get better the further we go on and we get into themes with more profundity like seeking one's creator, the nature of finding divine purpose in existence, or how a creator projects their imperfections onto their creation which does tie back to themes found in Blade Runner, but they're welcome seasoning in the food for thought Terminator Zero provides.
In terms of characterization, I do have to admit that much of the cast are made of familiar types who you've seen in prior installments in this series. While Andre Holland is good as Malcolm, I'd be re-missed if I didn't mention his glaring similarities to a key character from Terminator 2 that I actually wondered if that would be the direction they headed (I'll neither confirm nor deny). The same can be said of Eiko who's sort of like a mixture of T2 Sarah Connor and Grace but unlike prior Terminator films they do subvert expectations by making Eiko a character who inhabits more of a moral grey zone so she almost functions as a secondary antagonist. While Timothy Olymphant doesn't get to say much as The Terminator, when he does speak it's very cold and authoratative and works well with the animation. This version of The Terminator is probably the scariest incarnation we've gotten since its first appearance back in 1984 and there are actually some very chilling scenes that almost play for a horror atmosphere. Malcolm's children are decent characters for the most part and while they aren't given the greatest of depth (I suspect they're priming them for future seasons) they work well encompassing various traits that become more key to the plot the more we learn about Kokoro. Last but not least we have Misaki who's sort of the series' take-off on 1984 Sarah Connor and they do some pretty interesting revelations with her character especially towards the end.
I can honestly say I liked Terminator Zero and it actually left me wanting more after it was done. While does feature a bit of remixing of prior elements from the series, it adds enough of a spin to them that I was genuinely curious to see where it would go and what it wanted to do next.
Longlegs (2024)
Osgood Perkin's serial killer thriller features rich atmosphere and great performances from Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, but ultimately goes to a very safe finish
Set in the early 90s, Special Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) of the FBI is assigned to the case of an elusive serial killer known only as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage) who is tied to a series of family murder-suicides that he's seemingly never been but is tied to them via some cryptic coded letters signed with his alias. Possessing a level of insight that borders on clairvoyance, Lee plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Longlegs that takes her into some dark places.
Longlegs is the latest film from writer director Osgood Perkins who's known for his work within the horror genre. Taking inspiration from various fictional as well as real-life killings, Longlegs made its rounds on the festival circuit acquiring some very enthusiastic buzz and lead to it being acquired by Neon for distribution. Using a primarily internet based marketing campaign inspired by the one used for The Blair Witch Project, Longlegs became a breakout hit earning $100 million worldwide against a budget of less than $10 million (with an additional $10 million in marketing). Longlegs was a movie which I was actively following as the marketing and premise intrigued me, and while it is well made, atmospheric and well acted, I did feel somewhat underwhelmed by the third act.
In terms of casting, Longlegs has some real assets especially in Maika Monroe's Lee Harker. While she's playing a familiar archetype of the agent chasing a killer who has great insights (a particular favorite of TV procedural of the past 20 years), Monroe adds that little something extra with her performance that reminded me a bit of Hugh Dancy's portrayal of Will Graham from TV's Hannibal if it were mixed with a little of Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling. As a proxy, she does well in reacting to the grim and macabre imagery on display while also carrying a dark edge that keeps the audience on their toes. The movie also features some great supporting performances from Blair Underwood and Alicia Witt as Lee's supervisor and mother respectively, and Cage whose appearance is hidden in the advertising is really well utilized as he creates a memorable and disturbing antagonist that only he on his best days could create.
Longlegs does a nice job of using its 90s era setting to its effect as the lack of modern technology and investigative techniques helps to create a greater feeling of isolation and makes the hunt for Longlegs that much more difficult. While Longlegs does have procedural elements to its story, it's ultimately a character piece and shows the impact of diving into the abyss. I really enjoyed Longlegs for its first two thirds, but by the last third I could feel the film going into a direction that I wasn't a fan of. While the direction Longlegs chooses to go isn't insulting or nonsensical as there is plenty of setup for it, it felt like a very safe direction that just underwhelmed in comparison to the build-up.
Longlegs is worth viewing especially for the film making and performances, but I think it's also a movie that's a victim of its own hype. While Longlegs is a very solid film with some great performances, the arc it takes especially in the last third feels like it goes from aspirations of greatness to settling for "okay". I really wish I liked Longlegs more than I did because it seemingly has all the pieces, but they just don't coalesce for me personally (your mileage may vary).
MaXXXine (2024)
MaXXXine sees a messy but entertaining conclusion to Ti West's X series.
Set in 1985, 6 years after surviving the massacre at the farm, adult film actress Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) has moved to Hollywood to continuing pursuing her career. As she prepares for her debut acting role in horror film The Puritan II, the city is terrorized by unknown serial killer the Night Stalker. Things are further complicated with the arrival of a sleazy private investigator, John Labat (Kevin Bacon), who claims to work for someone close to Maxine while she also deals with the murders of people around her and taunting messages implying they know about what happened at the farm six years ago.
MaXXXine is the third entry in Ti West's X series for which he returns as writer and director respectively. After the success of the first and second films, West had intended to follow-up with a sequel taking place after the events of X and following Maxine the sole survivor while taking inspiration from the 80s and the home video revolution's effect on the film industry. MaXXXine sees West continue on with the themes and ideas presented in X and Pearl, but a somewhat busy narrative leaves the film feeling less cohesive than its predecessors.
In terms of style, MaXXXine does well emulating the B-level crime films of the 80s taking clear inspiration from the likes of Vice Squad, Ms .45, and the Satanic Panic/Video Nasty scares of the time and Mia Goth's Maxine fits well within that role. Per the attitudes of the era, Maxine has adopted a cynical more hard edged approach to her quest for fame and has taken those skills that helped her survive the events of X and fostered them into a borderline killer instinct such as a scene where she confronts a would-be predator in the most painful way you can imagine. While stylistically MaXXXine captures the aesthetics of its sounds and visuals as the other films in the franchise have, the movie also feels like it has too many engines competing for attention. MaXXXine feels like West had more ideas and themes that he wanted to address and play with in the film than he had time for and because there are so many different characters and threads involved they often feel like they're competing for attention. The way the John Labat subplot resolves also felt like that regardless of how good Bacon is in the role, that character could've been done away with and made things simpler. I can also picture people being divided on the ending because while it does play with a planted payoff from the end of X, it also feels like West had trouble deciding on how to end the movie as it doesn't feel like the movie has really settled on what Maxine is after everything she's done.
MaXXXine is a stylish if frustrating third entry in the X series and while it has plenty of the themes, ideas, and style that made the prior entries so enjoyable it feels like it needed some more polish in order to effectively tie everything together. Still enjoyable, even if it doesn't meet the level of the prior entries.
Pearl (2022)
Ti West and Mia Goth revisit their villain from X in a unnerving technicolor nightmare
Set in 1918, Pearl (Mia Goth) is a farm girl dissatisfied with her life as he husband has left to fight in the war and is left to care for her invalid father (Matthew Sunderland) along with her overbearing and judgmental mother (Tandi Wright). As she struggles with isolation from her stern Germanic upbringing as well as the ongoing Spanish Flu, Pearl finds moments of respite at covert trips to the movie house watching the dancing exhibitions and dreaming of one day being there herself. Upon hearing from her sister-in-law, Mitsy (Emma Jenkins-Purro), that a dance troupe will be holding auditions, Pearl is determined to achieve her dreams and let nothing stand in her way.
Pearl is the prequel to the Ti West film X and features both West and star/co-writer Mia Goth returning using largely the same sets and crew from X. During their time with mandated Covid isolation protocols in New Zealand, West and Goth wrote what would become Pearl and submitted the idea to A24 who much to West's surprise greenlit the project. Taking a different approach while maintaining the themes presented in X, Pearl expands upon its already impressive predecessor by presenting an unnerving technicolor depiction of a psychological unraveling with a committed performance by Mia Goth.
Undeniably, this is Goth's movie through and through. Goth plays Pearl as a mixture of what feels like Dorothy Gale by way of Norman Bates as from the moment we see her seemingly innocent longing for "more" there's always a dark undercurrent that the facade will crack and release something dark from beneath its surface. Despite using the same sets as X, Pearl gives itself a unique visual identity and much like how X took visual cues from indie films of the 70s, Pearl takes visual cues from old Hollywood technicolor films which contrasts nicely with the darker edges that reveal themselves. The movie does a good job of expanding on Pearl's character not only by making her tragic, but also by making her lost in a very superficial world that has no basis in reality and carries a hefty dose of commentary on entertainment, sexuality, and the entanglement of the two.
Pearl is a solid continuation by Ti West of the themes and ideas from X and is arguably even better than its predecessor. Visually beautiful and psychologically unnerving with a great performance by Goth, Pearl is a real treat with a dark and disturbing technicolor nightmare.
The Killer (2024)
John Woo remakes arguably his greatest film in a glossed up remake that has some of his style but is very middle of the road
Set in Paris, Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel) is an assassin who takes on assignments in the Parisian criminal underworld from her handler Finn (Sam Worthington) operating on a strict code of honor and a bedrock rule that no civilians are to be harmed. During one of her assignments, an American singer named Jenn Clark (Diana Silvers) suffers a blow to the back of the head that renders her blind. Against orders from Finn and her client, Zee spares Jenn. Meanwhile, driven police inspector Sey (Omar Sy) investigates crime lord Gobert (Eric Cantona) and his ties with Saudi prince Bin Faheem (Said Taghmaoui) in a case involving a robbery of Bin Faheem's plane that puts him on a collision course with Zee and Jenn.
The Killer is the long in development remake of John Woo's 1989 Hong Kong film of the same name. Attempts at adapting the film date as far back as the early 90s where Woo's producer and former friend Tsui Hark sold the rights to Tri-Star Pictures and cut him out of the proceeds per a grudge he held towards Woo over A Better Tomorrow II's production. Walter Hill had briefly been attached to a version that would've featured Richard Gere and Denzel Washington as the leads but concerns apparently arose from Tri-Star executives that American audiences would interpret the relationship between the assassin and cop characters as "homoerotic" which lead to the decision to gender flip one of the roles. After extensive re-writes this project fizzled out and another attempt would be made in the mid-2000s by John H. Lee for a version which would be filmed in 3D. In 2015, John Woo himself became attached to direct the remake having taken a hiatus from Hollywood and the action genre to dabble in period epics like Red Cliff and The Crossing. On his decision to direct The Killer remake, Woo stated that his intention with this point in his career was to make movies in other countries as it gave him an opportunity to experience and work with new cultures and settings. The Killer doesn't escape the long shadow cast by its 1989 original, but it's perfectly serviceable even if it doesn't reach the pinnacle of Woo's work.
In terms of the kind of movie Woo's remake of The Killer is, Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy do well in the roles of Zee and Sey respectively as The Killer sees Woo playing the material in a slightly lighter fashion in comparison to the heroic bloodshed melodrama that had characterized Woo's work in A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. When watching The Killer 2024, it feels very much like a man out of time as many elements like Woo's usage of split screens, to the dialogue, to even some character types like Sam Worthington's Finn feel like they've stepped out of that early 90s school of action filmmaking as in comparsion to the recent wave of action films The Killer feels much more over-the-top and tongue in cheek in comparison to other films of its ilk such as the John Wick films which have cited Woo and the original The Killer as a creative influence. In terms of its plot the film is less of a character study and seems to sidestep any attempts at heavier themes as there's a considerable amount of time dedicated to tracing a missing shipment of heroin and many have pointed out (not without reason) that the film feels less like Woo capturing his glory days and more like he's making his own version of those mid-2000 Europacorp action thrillers that Luc Besson made.
The Killer doesn't come anywhere close to Woo's original classic, but it's not an embarrassment either as Woo still shows some passion in his filmmaking all these years later. Maybe I'm being kinder to this film than I should, but after seeing The Crow remake this weekend I just can't be that hard on this movie because it's still got Woo's style in it albeit with less intensity and guerilla grit than his early work.
Blink Twice (2024)
Zoe Kravitz directorial debut delivers an effective mixture of Get Out and Ready or Not with a well acted ensemble.
Cocktail waitresses Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) are working a Gala for disgraced tech mogul Slater King (Channing Tatum) dedicating the establishment of his new new profit foundation. Using money she's saved up, Frida obtains outfits for herself and Jess so they can attend the party in the guise of guests. Once there, Frida attracks the attention of Slater who introduces her and Jess to his entourage. Having recently purchased a secluded island retreat, Slater invites the two along with Sarah (Ardia Arjona), Camilla (Liz Caribel), and Heather (Trew Mullen) to accompany him and his entourage to the island for a seemingly dream vacation. As the group partakes in gourmet cuisine, luxurious spa treatments, and copious amounts of alcohol and recreational drugs, Jess and Frida soon feel that something is amiss.
Blink Twice is the directorial debut of actress Zoe Kravitz who also co-writes the film with E. T. Feigenbaum. Kravitz began writing the basis for what would become Blink Twice under it's much racier working title Pussy Island with the intention of making it her directorial with the film picked up by MGM and eventually given a more marquee friendly name with Blink Twice. With a fun mixture of social commentary and splattery genre thrills, Kravitz showcases a promising directorial career elevated by a charming and committed cast.
Naomi Ackie and Alia Shawkat are very likable as two down on their luck cocktail waitresses who are consistently only ever allowed to glimpse at the threshold of opulence and excessive wealth in which they work and when they manage to get their taste of actual luxury, it's almost like a Cinderella story that starts out fun at first only to become more confining and tense the longer it goes on as they notice how separated they are from the real world. Channing Tatum is very good as the charismatic tech mogul Slater King who's sort of an amalgam of various high profile business personalities and with Tatums conventional attractiveness it serves as a solid counterpoint to the tension and unease as to what's beneath the surface. The supporting cast is also excellent with Slater's entourage made up of a solid array of performers like Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Levon Hawke, and Haley Joel Osment whose initially pleasant demeanors slowly peel away to reveal what lies beneath. Trew Mullen, Liz Caribel, and Adria Arjona are also very good in their roles and provide a nice assortment of different character types with varied reactions to the eventual reveal. In terms of her directorial and writing prowess, Kravitz shows herself to efficiently pull off this kind of paranoid thriller which also incorporates a good use of its soundtrack. While the movie deals with very charged themes and subject matter, it still remembers to make them work in service of its story. In many ways it feels like a much more polished and fully realized version of what Don't Worry Darling tried to be until it met it's third act collapse which Blink Twice manages to avoid.
I really enjoyed Blink Twice. For a first time director Zoe Kravitz shows real promise and I look forward to seeing what she can do. Naomi Ackie makes a fantastic lead and is supported by a solid ensemble of performers and a mixture of cutting commentary and palpable tension make for an engaging experience. Definitely one to see in theaters.
The Crow (2024)
After a 20 year slog through development hell, The Crow reboot provides yet another underwhelming entry which is only marginally better than Wicked Prayer
After her friend, Zadie (Isabelle Wei), shares a video in which they appear with Vincent Roeg (Danny Huston) as he does incriminating actions, Shelly (FKA Twigs) attempts to flee to avoid Roeg's henchman and is arrested by the police for possession of drugs. Sentenced to a rehabilitation facility, there she meets a troubled young man named Eric (Bill Skarsgard) and the two form a romance and eventually escape together when Roeg's men find her. As the two's romance continues to build, tragedy eventually strikes with Roeg's henchman finally tracking them down and killing the two of them. In the afterlife, Eric loses Shelly to the abyss and finds himself in a strange area where a murder of crows and a mysterious man (Sami Boujaila) await him. Eric learns that he is dead and that Shelly is condemned to the underworld, but as the level of tragedy and their love was so great, a Crow can send him back to the mortal world to set things right and allow him to reclaim his and Shelly's mortal lives. Once back on Earth, Eric now possesses regenerative powers and tracks down Roeg and his henchman to exact his revenge.
The Crow is the reboot of the film series of the same name which began in 1994 with the cult classic Brandon Lee film (which was regrettably his final film as he died making it) which producer Edward R. Pressman attempted multiple times to turn into a franchise with mixed results (City of Angels in particular is a tragedy). After the critical derision of the fourth and then final Crow film Wicked Prayer, the series went into hibernation until about 2008 when it was announced a Crow reboot would be produced (possibly inspired by the success of Christopher Nolan's rebooted Batman films). What followed was a revolving door of directors, screenwriters, leading men, production companies (including untying the rights from the disgraced Weinstein brothers), and false starts that it wouldn't be until 2020 when meaningful movement would begin on the project. Needless to say, many fans were not enthused about the prospect about a redo of the 1994 original, not only because it still holds up but also because many feel the film is inseparable from Brandon Lee and the fact it's tied so heavily to the tragedy of his death. Producers of the film have dismissed these claims saying it's not a remake it's a "re-imagining" and they're "going back to the original comic" but marketing materials that accompanied its approaching release didn't do much to assuage these concerns. After a torturous long journey towards release, The Crow isn't an inferior copy of the '94 original and is instead of soulless remix of elements of all four Crow movies crudely stapled together and presented in a package that isn't totally incompetent unlike Wicked Prayer.
From the very first scene showing Eric's barely glimpsed over childhood it's pretty clear the direction is positioned to be as workman like as possible foregoing the stylish direction of the original and instead going "styleless". A major red flag is the extensive list of executive producers which is a telltale sign that this is most likely a movie made by committee and not the product of any unified creative vision. The Crow films have always been simple stories that added that extra something through their style mood and atmosphere (even in the butchered cut of City of Angels or the mediocre Salvation) but there's not really any kind of world created in the movie because everything is shot in such a flat and boring manner. The one good sequence is where Eric dons the Crow make-up set to the song Boadicea by Enya and it gives a glimpse at what might've been had there been a more unified vision unencumbered by executive mandates. Outside of that one sequence however, the mood and tone never feel right as Eric is often shown in lighting that's way too bright and there's no consistent attempt at replicating the gothic mood and atmosphere. The pacing is also pretty terrible as the filmmakers tried (and failed) to make Shelly a more fleshed out character by having over a half hour dedicated to setting up her and Eric's romance which isn't nearly as sexy or charming as the filmmakers seem to think it is and the two remain little more than constructs if that. To give you an idea of the terrible pacing it's about 30 or 40 minutes before Eric dies and another 40 before he puts on the make-up.
Aside from Bill Skarsgard's very unfortunate tattoos (which reek of executive mandates), Skarsgard at least has the right face and physical ability to play the Crow even if his performance is confused to the point his Swedish accent often slips out (I don't recall seeing him have this issue in It or Hemlock Grove for example). Danny Huston's Vincent Roeg is another retread of Huston being a default "rent-a-villain" and he's basically a less interesting version of Judah Earl whose supernatural abilities are a calculated attempt at franchise building (it makes it feel less The Crow and more bargain bin Faust or Spawn). But by far the biggest drag on the film is FKA Twigs who is absolutely abysmal as Shelly. You know people had issues with Saleka Shyamalan's performance in Trap (I personally didn't mind her) but I challenge those people to see FKA Twigs performance here and then look again. While FKA Twigs photographs nicely, her delivery is so limp and stiff that she never feels like anything coming from her mouth is genuine. Last but not least is the action which is not only lacking in any sort of style, but is sometimes tonally jarring including one sequence at an opera house that made my jaw drop with how ill-judged ironic and "comedic" elements were included. But the biggest insult comes at the anti-climax which I kid you not: is confined mostly to a mud puddle.
I almost feel the need to apologize to The Crow: Wicked Prayer because as bad as that film was, I still remember its stupidity and incompetence. The Crow 2024 is too competent to be interesting and its also too stupid and unambitious to do anything of note. I'm kind of reminded of that Hellboy reboot that Neil Marshall made in 2019 that also suffered executive interference, but even that film had an okay performance from David Harbour.
Dip huet seung hung (1989)
Woo's definitive work shows him at his most violent and stylish with a pair of charismatic leads
Ah Jong (Chow Yun-fat) is an assassin who lives by a strict moral code and tries to avoid harming innocents or bystanders. After accidently blinding a nightclub singer, Jennie (Sally Yeh), Ah Jong seeks to atone for harming her and what starts as merely looking after her turns into a romance as she remains unaware he's the cause of her blindness. Ah Jong arranges for one final contract of $1.5 million before leaving the life behind, but after killing his target he is betrayed by his friend Fung Sei (Chu Kong) and client Wong Hoi (Shing Fui-on). As Ah Jong attempts to get revenge on those who betrayed him, a driven and determined detective, Li Ying (Danny Lee), persues Ah Jong with ruthless obsession.
After the troubled production of A Better Tomorrow II, Tsui Hark attempted to have John Woo fired from the stuido as he believed he ruined the film but as management refused to do so Hark would instead stonewall many of Woo's projects including this one and it was only with the involvement of Chow Yun-fat and alternative financing that they managed to free the project from Hark's influence (though he would be credited as a producer in what would be the final credited work on a Woo film). Inspired by a mxiture of Scorcese crime drama's, Jean-Pierre Melville noirs, and Mad Magazine's Spy vs. Spy comics, The Killer was not an immediate success in its native Hong Kong but would explode in popularity internationally and would gain a significant cult following among fans of Hong Kong cinema including Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez and rap group the Wu-Tang Clan. The Killer sees John Woo solidifying many of the iconic tropes and concepts which he toyed with in the A Better Tomorrow films and also introduces his iconic motifs includes doves and standoffs. The Killer is stylish and high energy filmmaking and you can see why it's left such an impact on subsequent films in the genre.
Chow Yun-fat once again showcases his movie star charisma as he plays a good variation on the well-trodden "noble outlaw" trope. While Ah Jong is a killer, the movie establishes him as having a strict moral code and his dedication toward making things right with Sally Yeh's Jenny gives the movie a solid emotional core that plays to Woo's strength at incorporating just the right amount of heartstring plucking melodrama that made A Better Tomorrow such an experience. Complimenting Chow is Danny Lee's Detective Li who is very much a mirror image of Ah Jong where while he's a cop on the "right side" of the law, he's also shown to be somewhat of the dirty harry variety in believing it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. While the movie tackles many of Woo's favorite themes like honor, redemption, and sacrifice he also balances these themes with a healthy dose of humor such as an extended sequence where a standoff between Detective Li and Ah Jong at Jennie's apartment is hidden from her with a series of lies and verbal exchanges. The movie also gives us a truly hateful villain in Shing Fui-on and his character and performance is pitch perfect in creating a reprehensible monster you can't wait to see get taken down.
The Killer is Woo at the top of his game and firing on all cylinders. Built on a simple but passionate story and filled with explosive action and visually beautiful style, The Killer is an experience that leaves its mark long after the ending credits roll.
Ying hung boon sik II (1987)
A troubled production results in a very messy and chaotic film that is enjoyable in stretches
Still serving a prison sentence for killing Triad leader Shing, Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung) is determined to get his life in order but is approached in prison by chief inspector Wu (Lau Siu-Ming) about assisting in a sting operation against his mentor Lung Sei (Dean Shek) whom the police believe is using his shipping company as a point of Triad activity. Ho refuses the opportunity, unaware that his brother Kit is trying to infiltrate Lung's inner circle by winning the affections of Peggy, Lung's daughter. Upon learning of Kit's involvement, Ho changes his mind and agrees on the condition that Kit be removed from the operation as Kit's wife Jackie (Emily Chu) is expecting. While Ho learns from Lung that he's trying to go straight, his business is in the sights of aggressive Triad boss Wong (NG Man-tat) and during a conflict between Wong and Lung's associate Ko-Ying-pui (Kwan Shan), Lung is framed for Wong's murder necessitating him fleeing to New York in the United States.
A Better Tomorrow is the second film in the A Better Tomorrow series and sees a return from both director John Woo and producer Tsui Hark. As A Better Tomorrow had been a massive success and spurred many imitators and the genre of heroic bloodshed, a sequel made sense and Woo agreed to do it as he wanted to give his longtime friend Dean Shek a major role to help him with financial difficulties he was having at the time. While Woo and Hark had a strained relationship on the first film, their working relationship was even more contentious the second time around with Hark sparring with Woo from the writing to the editing stages and Woo's two hour and forty minute director's cut sparked the ire of the studio who demanded the film be recut to under two hours within a week. While the film was still reasonably successful (enough that a third installment would be made), the film's release would culminate in a schism between Woo and Hark wherein Hark would take Woo's A Better Tomorrow prequel idea that would become A Better Tomorrow III and boot him off the project and try to stonewall Woo's projects such as The Killer which was allowed to move forward thanks to Chow Yun-fat's clout and the positive relationship he had with Woo. Woo has largely disowned the released version of A Better Tomorrow II with the exception of the final climactic gun battle and while you can enjoy A Better Tomorrow II it's a very messy and disjointed film that shows its troubled production.
While I said A Better Tomorrow's story played very much to melodrama (but very engaging melodrama), A Better Tomorrow II's story goes into full on Soap Opera territory as due to the truncated runtime and multitude of plot threads involving balancing undercover/real life, mentor/mentee loyalty, and bringing Chow Yun-fat back by using the "estranged twin" setup (keep in mind Chow Yun-fat was MASSIVELY popular, so this was most likely something that had to be done to get the film made) the movie feels like you're watching the cliffnotes of an entire season's worth of Soap Opera storylines at 1.5x speed. The way in which Mark's identical twin brother Ken played by Chow Yun-fat is introduced is baffling because of how incredibly rushed it is and how silly the introduction is such as what can only be called his "rice monologue" where he confronts some abrasive mafioso types who insult his rice in another plotline that doesn't really tie into anything except it (somehow) leads to him taking care of a catatonic Lung following a failed assassination attempt. It is a baffling ordeal trying to trim down this crazy plot into something "digestible" and while there's logical and story stretches here that I'm not sure would've worked even in the director's cut, at least there'd be more coherence and clarity.
While the story is a baffling mess, A Better Tomorrow II at least can still deliver on the style and action that made the first film such an attractive package. Even with the plot contortions used to bring Chow Yun-fat back, he's still a charismatic presence who helps to bring some weight to the film and Dean Shek is very good as arguably the lead character (yeah, Ho and Kit are almost supporting players this time around). When we get to the action beats they're still delivered with the same flash and impact as they were the first time around even if like the story they go far more over the top and excessive with a body count some estimate to be in the triple digits. The movie crescendo's with an absolutely amazing gunfight at the end and you can see why Woo takes such pride in this sequence even if he doesn't like the film as a whole.
A Better Tomorrow II is a movie that is not a worthy follow-up to its predecessor, but it's one that can still be fun viewing provided you're willing to go along with it. It's a baffling mess that challenges the viewer to make sense of its convoluted and far fetched storyline with too many pieces vying for attention, but it's also stylish and delivers on explosive and kinetic action sequences.
Ying hung boon sik (1986)
John Woo comes into his own in this trend setting action film that establishes his creative identity
Set in Hong Kong, Sung Tse Ho (Ti Lung) is a high ranking member of the Triad and involved in high level counterfeiting transactions along with his friend and fellow Triad member Mark Lee (Chow Yun-fat). Meanwhile, Ho's brother Sung Tse Kit (Leslie Cheung) is a promising police cadet with a musically gifted girlfriend, Jackie (Emily Chu), both of whom are looking after their father (Tien Feng). After conversing with his father, Ho agrees his next exchange in Taiwan taking along a low level Triad member named Shing (Waise Lee). The deal goes wrong as someone has betrayed Ho and he surrenders himself to the police to buy time for Shing to escape while back in Hong Kong Ho's father is killed in a leverage kidnapping gone bad despite Kit and Jackie's attempts to stop it. Three years later, Ho leaves prison determined to leave his past behind him and build a respectable life while his brother harbors a grudge against him having since become a driven inspector whose career prospects are limited by his association with Ho. As Ho struggles to redeem himself his old life seems to refuse to let go.
A Better Tomorrow is a 1986 film directed and co-written by John Woo. While Woo had worked within the Hong Kong film industry since the 60s and directed since the 70s (on mostly forgotten kung-fu films and comedies), Woo had long aspired to direct a harder edged gangster film inspired by the works of French director Jean-Pierre Melville. Struggling with drinking and burnout but fortuitously friends with director turned producer Tsui Hark, Hark gave Woo the opening he needed to make a gangster film with his upstart production company Film Workshop. With an economical pitch and popular singer Leslie Cheung attached as one of the leads, the crew had the resources they needed to make Woo's film which managed to come together quite well in spite of clashes between Woo and Hark with Hark's self described "hands on" producing style a point of contention between the two. Made on a low budget and not much promotion, A Better Tomorrow at one point was the most successful film Hong Kong had ever produced and not only re-introduced John Woo as an action director, but also transitioned Chow Yun-Fat from a soap opera star to a viable lead and helped established a template for the heroic bloodshed genre of Hong Kong action films. While certainly rough around the edges and lacking some polish from Woo's later works, A Better Tomorrow is an effective showcase of Woo's trademark mixture of elegantly choreographed action and sweeping melodrama.
Playing with its themes of loyalty, friendship, brotherhood, and redemption which are worn very much on its sleeves, A Better Tomorrow keeps itself very simple as a story of two brothers who through circumstance end up on opposite sides of the law and on opposite sides of a tragic schism. While in lesser hands some of this material would come off as kind of hokey, Woo manages to balance some humor and irony amidst the more maudlin and tragic scenes that make the film's story fun and sweeping in the way a soap opera will enrapture you. While the film's story is kept pretty simple, the action in A Better Tomorrow is anything but as it showcases a large and varied selection of action sequences that find a multitude of ways to make gunfights interesting (including the appearance of Woo's noted duel-wielded handguns motif). There's an undeniably level of passion and kinectic energy Woo brings to his film and all these years later you can see why it's held in such regard by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez as well as the long lasting mark it left on action cinema.
A Better Tomorrow sees Woo finally find his footing after a decade of doing mostly "for hire" work and we see something that becomes uniquely and unmistakably his. With committed performances, a strong story that piles on the melodrama, and expertly choreographed action it's little wonder why the film became such a classic in spite of its limited resources and rough edges.
Vice Squad (1982)
A solid genre film whose depiction of the contemporary sleaze and ugliness of its subject matter arguably outshines its story
In Los Angeles, a woman known as Princess (Season Hubley) is a down on her luck single mother who turns to prostitution in order to support her young daughter Lisa (Nicole Volkoff) who's living with Princess' mom in San Diego. As Princess works the notorious Hollywood Boulevard while avoiding the LAPD's vice cops, Vice Detectives Walsh (Gary Swanson) and Edwards (Maurice Emanuel) investigate a recent assault at a motel of prostitute Ginger (Nina Blackwood) by sadistic and misogynistic pimp Ramrod (Wings Hauser) whom Ginger refuses to identify as the assailant before dying from her injuries. Driven to get Ramrod off the street, Walsh and Edwards bring in Princess who is a friend of Ginger's who force her to look at Ginger's brutalized corpse and threaten her with a drug bust that will lose custody of her daughter unless she helps with a sting to bring in Ramrod.
Vice Squad is a 1982 crime thriller directed by Gary Sherman. The film came about out of an initial desire by producers to make a television documentary about Hollywood's prostitution scene utilizing interviews with actual pimps, prostitutes, and vice cops but after running into logistical limits with television censorship regarding the subject matter it was ultimately decided to re-tool the project as a narrative feature film. The cast and crew went very in depth with real life sex workers and Vice Cops with the LAPD collaborating with the filmmakers on a making of documentary of the film and Season Hubley herself spent ten weeks with Hollywood prostitutes to research her role of Princess. While the film was a decent success given the lurid appeal of its subject matter in the marketing by Avco Embassy, rather surprisingly critical reception was more positive than you might think with some outlets like the New York Times noting the exploitation aspects, but also applauding the craft, acting, and even aspects of the writing for the film. Vice Squad is undeniably exploitation filmmaking, but it's also a lot smarter and with more to say than you might think from its marketing.
Season Hubley is very good in the role of Princess and while there's pretty standard stuff for a movie like this where she's "trying to make ends meet" for her daughter to position her as the good girl in a bad situation, she plays the role with a lot of charm, wit, and humor and gets some humanizing scenes with her fellow sex workers or some of her less objectionable Johns. However, stealing every scene he's in is Wings Hauser's portrayal of the film's antagonist Ramrod who portrays this air of fake swagger that when the situation calls for it will peel away to reveal his unhinged violent and sadistic streak that makes you root for his comeuppance. Gary Swanson and Maurice Emanuel are also good as the primary Vice Detectives Walsh and Edwards and while they're technically the "heroes" in this story the movie also shows them as being very manipulative and aggressive particularly when it comes to how they involve Princess making this less a story of good versus evil and more bad versus worse.
Much like the William Friedkin film Cruising, even though there is technically a plot here (though unlike Cruising's whodunnit Vice Squad's more a howcatchem), the true focus here is on the atmosphere and world portrayed in the film. While not necessarily as envelope pushing as Cruising was, Vice Squad really feels like a film where there's an unmistakable authenticity to what's being portrayed and how unclean the world presented feels that a viewing makes you feel like you need a shower afterwards (in the best possible way). Utilizing aspects from real-life anecdotes from actual sex workers some scenarios do strain credibility (one sequence involving a wedding dress and a coffin definitely left me with some questions) but it helps make the film an engaging experience.
Vice Squad is a solidly made exploitation film that has a lot more craft and cleverness in its writing and filmmaking than you'd initially believe. Featuring good performances across the board and dripping with a sleazy atmosphere, Vice Squad provides the thrills and the lurid details you expect from a movie like this and adds that little something extra to make itself stand out.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
A Quiet Place: Day One gives a unique perspective to its formula with some likable characters and considerably more heart than I was expecting
Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) is a young woman in hospice care dying from cancer who has become abrasive and disillusioned with the world. On an outing with other hospice patients to see a show in New York City, the city is soon besieged by creatures of unknown origin who hunt exclusively by sound and ravage the city. With prospects dim and already dying of a terminal illness, Sam decides to set out across the ravaged city with her cat Frodo in two to get Pizza from Patsy's in Harlem as a last act before resiging herself to her fate. Along the way she meets another survivor Eric (Joseph Quinn) who sticks with her despite her attempts to direct him elsewhere and the two form a connection during the day's events.
A Quiet Place: Day One is a spin-off/prequel to the sucessful A Quiet Place films which was greenlit based off an idea by series director John Krasinski off the success of A Quiet Place Part II. Initially intended to be written and directed by Jeff Nichols, Nichols withdrew from the project to work on another project at Paramount with Michael Sarnoski eventually coming aboard based on the success of his 2021 film Pig. While A Quiet Place: Day One doesn't re-invent the wheel when it comes to A Quiet Place's established tricks, it does put them to good use in its larger scale setting which maintains a human and very tender approach with its characters.
Lupita Nyong'o is very good as the lead as we're given a very interesting dynamic where Sam is very much someone who is resigned to their fate and we see how someone whose world is already ending reacts to a literal apocalypse. As the world crumbles around her and people flee for their lives towards their only hope of escape, Sam is very much going against the flow as seen in a memorable sequence where a large crowd of people quietly (or at least as quietly as possible) emerges from their hiding places to head towards evacuation and avoid the creatures. While Sam's abrasive nature initially make it hard to like her, the movie earns leeway in its portrayal as it's part of a richer arc for her character. While I liked the movie just fine in its opening act, where I started to really love it was at the second act with the introduction of Joseph Quinn's Eric who encounters Sam while in a state of shock and out of instinct sticks with her despite her intention to go on a suicide mission. Over the course of the day the story becomes a kind of low key love story with the two bonding over Sam's story and the joruney towards Patsy's and the third member of their group, a cat named Frodo, is one of best movie cats I've seen in a long time and has some really standout moments with the two.
A Quiet Place: Day One doesn't eclipse the novelty of the original, but I did like it a bit more than Part II and felt it gave a unique twist on the setup thanks in no small part to the likable dynamic between the two leads (three if you count the cat). Definitely well worth a viewing if you liked the first two.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Krasninski's sequel to the hit A Quiet Place revisits what worked and ups the ante even if it struggles to top the original
The surviving members of the Abbott family consisting of Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and her children Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe), and her newborn son leave behind the wreckage of their home in search of alternate shelter as they now possess a means of defense against the creatures thanks to Regan's hearing aid. The group eventually come across a compound belonging to one time family friend Emmett (Cillian Murphy) who has now become reclusive and distrustful since the loss of his family, but allows the Abbotts to stay as one of his traps injured Marcus. Marcus finds a radio frequency playing the song "Beyond the Sea" which Regan thinks could be a message to survivors about a sanctuary, but this idea is disuaded by Emmett who maintains that what people survived are no longer worth saving. In spite of protests from Marcus, Regan decides to embark on a journey to find the radio station and use it as a means to broadcast the weaponized frequency at the creatures. Reluctantly, at Evelyn's request, Emmett persues after Regan and becomes involved in her quest as the rest of the Abbotts hole up in Emmett's stronghold.
Following the sleeper success of A Quiet Place, Paramount was keen to move forward on a sequel while director John Krasinski and writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods had no interest in a sequel and were content leaving it a "one-off". After Paramount rejected ptiches from other prospective candidates, Krasinski had a change of heart and came up with a premise that would reframe Millicent Simmonds' Regan as the main character and continue on the theme of family from the first film. As with many productions, A Quiet Place Part II saw its release date shifted around from its original 2020 release window, but upon its release the following year broke records for a pandemic era release and continued with the goodwill critics and audiences had from the first film. A Quiet Place Part II is a solid sequel in its own right, even if it struggles to match its predecessor in terms of novelty.
Taking a page from the likes of The Last of Us and The Walking Dead, A Quiet Place Part II transplants the Abbott family into interesting new territory by opening up the world beyond their farm and surrounding wilderness we saw in the first movie. From a gripping opening sequence set on "Day 1" that brings back Krasinski's Lee Abbott for an extended cameo with some well choreographed destruction and attack sequences, A Quiet Place Part II feels like it's upping the ante from the first film by expanding the scale of what it can do. The cast all remain in top form from their performances in the first film, and the addition of Cillian Murphy's Emmett provides a fun new dynamic as he becomes a reluctant traveling partner with Regan while also undergoing an arc to have faith in humanity again. In terms of utilizing this premise of antagonistic human forces A Quiet Place doesn't really go as far with it as it could've and aside from one sequence before the third act it's not really used for as much as I would've liked. The third act also feels much sloppier in comparison to the very tight feel the first film managed to convey which comes down to how separate the events in the climax are from each other as well as retraversing some areas of Marcus' character.
A Quiet Place Part II revisits the world setup in the original to decent effect even if it does occasionally feel like it's stretching its premise. It's good company with its predecessor even if it doesn't necessarily match it.
A Quiet Place (2018)
John Krasinsiki's directorial effort proves an intensely good time.
A little over a year since a nigh invincible alien race that hunts exclusively by sound invaded the Earth and decimated much of humanity, the Abbott family consisting of Lee (Jon Krasinski) and the expectant Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and their two children Marcus (Noah Jupe) and their deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) have survived on their farm in upstate New York by minimizing sound in every facet of their daily existence. Following the death of their youngest son at the hands of one of the invaders, Regan carries survivors guilt which has driven a wedge between her and Lee. When a creature breaches the farm while Lee and Marcus go out to gather supplies a fight for survival begins for Evelyn as she also goes into labor.
A Quiet Place is a 2018 horror film directed by Jon Krasinski and co-written by Krasinski with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck who initiated the underlying idea. Initially considered as a possible Cloverfield film before Paramount brass had enough faith to release it as a standalone movie, the film made its way to John Krasinski who became a major champion of the project and would star in the film alongside his real life wife Emily Blunt. The film became a sizable hit earning positive reviews from critics and audiences as well as massive financial success earning $340 million against its $17 million budget. A Quiet Place creates an impressive and efficient minimalist piece of genre filmmaking with good establishment of character and suspense.
While the Abbott family are never actually named in the movie (outside of the closing credits), Krasinski does a good job of making them feel like fully formed characters whom you connect with even when you don't know their names. Krasinski and Blunt's chemistry very much comes through on screen and even and though they're limited mainly to pantomime, whispers, and usage of ASL, Krasinski still manages to get very emotional and expressive interactions through his characters and situations that's almost evocative of a silent film. Millicent Simmonds does very well in her sophmore effort as Regan and creates an emotive performance through facial expressions and her usage of ASL and conveys a sense of guilt and pain that weighs on her character. Noah Jupe is also very good as Marcus who's considerably more timid and fearful than Regan but does well portraying an arc where he overcomes these fears when the situation calls for it.
Building the movie very much around sound being a threat, Krasinski does a solid job of playing with the sound level sometimes by portraying the scenario from Regan's POV of stone silence or making even the smallest of sounds feel like a threat that gets your heart racing. The creatures a very well designed and nicely unnerving and they provide some great sequences such as the labor scene with Emily Blunt or one sequence involving a corn silo that is a sight to behold. As typical for any high concept thriller like this there are the occasional contrivances or questionable decisions, but the film moves at such a brisk and efficient pace that it doesn't allow you to think about them long and has a satisfying structure.
A Quiet Place is a fun genre film that shows some great performances from its central cast as well as filmmaking from Krasinski. While as with any high concept film there are occasional logical leaps, the film earns enough leeway in its effective scares and performances to overcome them.
Twisters (2024)
Twisters isn't a beat for beat remake of the 1996 predecessor and actually improves on certain aspects even if it isn't strictly speaking necessary
Five years after a tornado claimed her entire crew while testing a potential Tornado defusion system, Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) has left storm chasing behind and moved to New York to work for the National Weater Service. Katie is approached by Javi (Anthony Ramos), the only other surviving member of her team, who is now working for a private storm chasing group called StormPAR which is funded by real estate moguls who rely on Javi's research for business decisions. Javi invites Kate to return to Oklahoma to help gather data on a once in a generation wave of storms due to hit the state utilizing a revolutionary new scanning technology. After some hesitation, Kate decides to go. As Kate deals with unprocessed trauma from the incident that took her team, she routinely crosses paths with online personality Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his independent team of tornado chases known as the Tornado Wranglers. While initially writing Tyler off as an in over his head daredevil, Kate eventually finds another side to Tyler and questions whether StormPAR is helping.
Twisters is a standalone legacy sequel to the 1996 box office hit Twister which asidefrom the being the second highest grossing film that year, is also credited with reviving the disaster genre of films after it had largely been demort since the end of the 70s. Despite the film being a major success, a sequel hadn't been seriously considered other than an offhanded remark by Bill Paxton where he wanted to direct an R-Rated take on the material with more detailed carnage or an early incarnation involving Helen Hunt that ultimately went nowhere. Working off a pitch by Joseph Kosinski, Lee Isaac Chung was selected to direct a standalone sequel after showcasing a pitch where he intercut his own Oklahoma set film Minari with footage from Twister which ultimately made producers confident enough for him to helm the project. Twisters has been positively recieved by both critics and audiences, and Chung and his cast don't create something that cynically retreads the predecessor beat for beat, but it also plays itself rather disappointingly safe in some areas.
While the film does have a similar framing device with Kate Carter that mirrors Jo Harding's arc in the original film to a degree, the writers do a much better job of keeping a tonal consistency and not copying everything from the original such as making Kate more reluctant to go back to Tornado chasing as opposed to Jo who became more aggressive and impulsive in her pursuit. The movie also (wisely in my opinion) doesn't try to recapture the love triangle shenangans from the first film and while there is still a love story component between Daisy Edgar Jones and Geln Powell's characters, it has more nuance and less of the abrasive bickering that made the original 1996 Twister a bit of a chore to sit through at points. Both Jones and Powell are very likable in their respective roles as Kate and Tyler and they're given a lot more depth than the movie really needed to. The movie also does some interesting things with elements that really didn't work in the original like the whole "corporate sponsors" thing centered around Cary Elwes' character, but here they actually do have that and show why it's not necessarilly a good thing as it's shown to be a way for real estate brokers to use disasters as an excuse to make firesale acquisitions. The special effects are also very impressive and show some nice improvements from the already impressive work in the 1996 film.
The film however isn't perfect, much like something like Gravity from a decade ago, Twisters is the kind of film that loses some of its impact outside of the theater environment and really doesn't have much to entice revisiting the film. There's also the unavoidable "remakequel" aspects that come with a film like this as there are deliberate callbacks to specific sequences from the original (including the Drive-In sequence) but it's nowhere near the worst I've seen. And last we also have the movie's hesitence to use the word "climate change", this was the one thing that I really hoped the film would take advantage of and disappointingly Lee Isaac Chung chose not to because "he didn't want to make a message movie", but he included a subplot about unscrupulous real estate acquisitions preying on disaster victims so there's already a "message" here even if he wants to say otherwise. As stupid as The Day After Tomorrow was at least it addressed the issue (as silly and nonsensical as it was), with Twister the fact they had the means and opportunity to make a smart take on the material and opted not too in order to placate to the "can't we keep politics out of movies" crowd is a missed opportunity especially since Climate Change and enviromental impacts aren't political issues since they effect everybody (regardless of whether you choose to believe it or not).
Twisters is the kind of movie that had I seen it on the big screen opening day I might've been kinder to it. It is an improvement from the original as I wasn't annoyed by the characters and was actually invested in the love story, but it also plays it so safe and standard in some areas that it feels like a missed opportunity. Decent enough, but wait for streaming.