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Reviews
Crawlspace (2022)
Crawlspace
Although I couldn't find many full reviews for this film, it was broadcast on television and I recognised the lead actor from E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial, that was a good enough reason for me to watch it. Basically, in Cedar Ridge, Oregon, Tim Witner (Colin Decker) has embezzled money from his wood-cutting business and hides it in the crawlspace of his cabin in the woods. Meanwhile, Robert "Bobby" Mitchell (Henry Thomas) is a friendly plumber, married to Carrie (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and they have a baby together. Bobby is being taken advantage of by people who hire him but don't pay him what he is owed, and he and Carrie have mounting debts to pay. Heading to his next job, Bobby has a short conversation with his friends, Deputy Jordan "Jordy" Pacer (Jennifer Robertson) and Sheriff Barry Higgon (Joe Costa). On the way, Bobby's truck breaks down and he walks to the property, revealed as Tim's cabin. Bobby enters the crawlspace and listens to music with earphones whilst he does his job, fixing some piping. Meanwhile, the police have found the body of Vladimir Popov (Andrei Kovski), an associate of Tim's who hid the money in the crawlspace. FBI agent Helen Masur (Catherine Lough Haggquist) is investigating the embezzlement and talks to Carrie who works as his bookkeeper. Back at the cabin, criminals Sterling (Bradley Stryker) and Dooley (C. Ernst Harth) arrive looking for Tim; Bobby is still in the crawlspace below but cannot hear anything. Tim soon returns and is confronted by the crooks who demand their money. Eventually, Bobby removes his earphones and hears fighting above him, he sees Sterling through the vent and sees Tim murdered by gunshot. Bobby tries to sneak out, and while doing so discovers the bag of money hidden. Before he can escape, Sterling and Dooley catch him. He is shot in the shoulder with a crossbow and re-enters the crawlspace in panic to hide. Dooley tries to grab him, but Bobby slits his hand with a Stanley knife before bolting the door so they cannot get in. Sterling talks to Bobby through the floor, telling him they will not leave until he gives them the money they are looking for. Bobby cuts away his clothing to look at his wound, removes the crossbow from his shoulder, and uses a blowtorch to heat metal and cauterise the wound. Jordy joins Masur to question Jeff (Charles Jarman), who works for Tim, who insists that Tim is considered a good man. Sterling tries to reason with Bobby, who is trying to listen to their movements. After Sterling tries shooting him, Bobby responds by drilling through the floorboards, which penetrates Sterling's foot. Bobby then angers the criminals further, burning one of the bundles of cash, threatening to burn it all if they cannot negotiate so he can leave. Carrie meanwhile initially finds no financial discrepancies until she digs deeper and confirms Masur's suspicions, finding unusually high payments to unknown sources. Masur wants to talk to Another of Tim's associates, Gerald Simmons (Fletcher Donovan), who tries running away but is caught and interrogated by the sheriff. Bobby tries to make a deal with Sterling and Dooley, to leave some of the money if they give him time to leave. But Sterling refuses and texts his associate "Jay Jay" to come and help. After finding a shotgun on the wall, Dooley and Sterling start pumping gas from a container outside to lure Bobby out. When Bobby finds a pump to breathe through, Sterling instead ignites some shrubbery and causes an explosion, which Bobby covers himself from. Assuming the plumber is dead, Dooley enters the crawlspace to find the money bag. Dooley and Bobby get into an aggressive fight, but Bobby overpowers him, strangling Dooley until he passes out and ties him up. While Sterling waits outside and gets agitated, Bobby uses his tools to create an improvised weapon with some metal pipes, a shotgun bullet, and the crossbow he pulled out. Carrie joins Jordy as they drive to the cabin to investigate. Jordy walks up to the house, initially pointing a gun at Sterling, but then lowers it, revealing she is part of the plot to steal the money. Carrie notices this in the police car and secretly uses the radio to call the sheriff. Jordy returns to the car, grabbing Carrie as a hostage to lure Bobby out. Sterling wants his cut of the money, but Jordy refuses to split it, so he shoots her in the back with her gun. Sterling calls out to Bobby to come out, threatening to shoot his wife. Eventually, Bobby stumbles out, carrying the bag he has soaked in paint thinner and the blowtorch. Bobby threatens to burn all the money unless Carrie is let go. When his blowtorch runs out, he throws the money bag, distracting Sterling, and Bobby fires the crossbow into his neck, killing him. Dooley is found and taken to hospital, while Jordy is taken into custody. Sometime later, a recovering Bobby is shocked to find an envelope saying "Here's to the good guys" containing thousands of dollars in the mailbox. The sheriff watches, seeing Bobby and Carrie are delighted. Also starring Justin Lacey as a Cop. Thomas is alright as a working-class underdog caught in the middle, while Stryker and Harth are reasonable villains, it is fair to say this is similar to Panic Room, criminals wanting money they can't get to because it is with the hero, but it has some tense and one or two surprising moments, a worthwhile enough survival crime thriller. Okay!
End of a Gun (2016)
End of a Gun
I don't have a lot of faith when it comes to the star of Hard to Kill and Under Siege (his only good films), maybe there is a small part of me that hopes he has other good films in his CV, but I doubted this would be one of them. Basically, in Paris, France, a thuggish man, Ronnie Martin (Andrei Ciopec), threatens beautiful British stripper, Lisa Durant (singer Jade Ewen), at night in a car park. Michael Decker (Steven Seagal), a security guard, arrives and tells the man to leave the woman alone, and when he refuses, Decker punches him several times. Ronnie pulls out a gun and shoots at them until Decker kills him. The following day, Decker, a former DEA agent, is questioned by his police detective friend Jean (Ovidiu Niculescu). Decker's gun is taken, and Jean eventually tells him about the man he killed. Lisa later meets Decker again in a street café; she wants Ronnie's car containing money in the trunk. She confirms it is $2 million in cash and she offers 10% of it. The money is the property of drug dealer Mr. Vargas in Houston, Texas. Vargas's enforcer Gage (Florin Piersic Jr.) kidnaps criminal Trevor (Jacob Grodnik), who is beaten by Gage's men for stealing the money. Gage receives a call that Ronnie is dead, and the money is in his car. Gage's informant Chauvin (Claudiu Bleont) gives Gage information about the vehicle, a Black 2013 Jaguar XF, in a guarded car lot. Meanwhile, Chauvin tells Gage about Decker. Lisa and Decker go to a hotel to wait until dark; they have sex as she previously offered it to him, and he agrees to help her. Lisa asks to go with him to get the car, but he refuses to put her in danger. Decker sneaks into the parking lot, breaks the lock, and knocks a guard unconscious; he takes the money from the bin bags in the trunk. While Decker returns to the hotel, Gage and his associate Luc (Jonathan Rosenthal) find the car. They find the trunk has been emptied and are confident Lisa has it, and that Decker is helping her. Gage and Chauvin talk to another guard, and they make their way to Decker's hotel. Gage and Luc meet with assassin Pee Wee (Alexandre Nguyen) about getting Decker. At the hotel, Gage threatens Lisa and demands the money. Decker arrives, killing Pee Wee, but the other criminals get away and kidnap Lisa. At an abandoned warehouse, Gage calls Vargas who orders that Decker is killed. Gage talks with Lisa who says that Decker is driving to Key West. Jean meets Decker, who mentions him saving his life by taking a bullet. Lisa leaves Decker a message, and he speaks to Gage, threatening him if she is not let go. Jean joins Decker, giving him his gun back and two identical black bags, one with the money, and one with an explosive device. Jean climbs to the balcony of the warehouse with a sniper's rifle. Decker gets the bag containing some money for Gage; he threatens him with the second bag to let Lisa go. Soon, Jean shoots at the criminals, and a firefight breaks out. One of the criminals unzips the bag containing the bomb and it explodes. Another criminal turns on Gage, throwing a knife into his chest; Decker and the criminal have a knife fight and Decker kills him. Decker confronts Gage, telling him to drop the money bag; and eventually, Decker shoots him dead. Decker collects the rest of the money and finds Jean who was shot. Before they can leave, Lisa points a gun at Decker, demanding the money, but Jen kills her before she can shoot him. Decker and Jean drive away together; Decker shares the money with him. Also starring Troy Miller as Plumber, George Remes as the Sergeant, and Radu Andrei Micu as the Hotel Manager. Even with orange-tinted sunglasses and a goatee beard, Seagal is uncool and unconvincing as the antihero, Ewen (who represented Great Britain at Eurovision and went on to become one of the Sugababes) is sexy but equally awkward as the British femme fatale, and Piersic Jr. Is hardly threatening as the foreign-accented villain. It is a predictable plot about hidden money, a former cop who helps the beautiful woman to get it, and the bad guy wanting it back; it has pointless repeated sequences, a lousy cliched script, unnecessary camera angles looking at women's figures (except for Ewen of course), and even the final gun battle is dull, I just found it a tiresome action thriller. Pretty poor!
Go (1999)
Go
Me and my family moved into our house, 3 Primrose Terrace, on 23 July 1999, to celebrate this anniversary I wanted to watch a movie 25 years old; I chose this film which underperformed at the box office but has since become an acclaimed cult classic, directed by Doug Liman (Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Edge of Tomorrow). Basically, set on Christmas Eve, it sees three intertwined stories, 24 hours in the lives of three workers at a Los Angeles supermarket. "Ronna" - Ronna Martin (Sarah Polley) is working overtime at the supermarket to avoid eviction. She is approached by actors Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr) to buy ecstasy, which they hoped to get from her co-worker Simon Baines (Desmond Askew). After work, Ronna meets with Simon's dealer, Todd Gaines (Timothy Olyphant), for the pills. Unable to pay the full amount for the drugs, she leaves her friend Claire Montgomery (Katie Holmes) with Todd as collateral. After being invited to a party by Adam and Zack, she accompanies them to a house but grows suspicious of their colleague Burke (William Fichtner) who presses her for the ecstasy. She flushes the drugs down the toilet and leaves, and with Manny (Nathan Bexton) they steal over-the-counter pills to replace them. Manny swallowed two of the ecstasy tablets, unaware of their strength. Ronna gives the fake pills to Todd. She, Claire, and Manny then go to a rave where she sells the rest of the fake pills as ecstasy. Todd realises the pills are fake and looks for Ronna. She flees but Todd confronts her with a gun in the parking lot when. Todd prepares to shoot her, but she is hit by a car that speeds away; she lies motionless in a ditch and Todd walks away. "Simon" - the story restarts at the supermarket and Simon is going on a trip to Las Vegas with Tiny (Breckin Meyer), Marcus (Taye Diggs), and Singh (James Duval). Simon crashes a wedding and has sex with two of the bridesmaids before they accidentally set their hotel room on fire. Marcus is mistaken for a valet, allowing him and Simon to steal a Ferrari outside the hotel, and Simon finds a gun. The two go to a strip club where the bouncer, Victor Jr. (Jimmy Shubert), warns them about touching the strippers. But Simon gets excited and gropes stripper Holly (Stripshow's Tane McClure), enraging Victor Jr. Who starts a fight with them. But Simon pulls out the gun he found, warning him to stay back, accidentally shooting the bouncer in the arm. Simon and Marcus flee to the hotel, waking Tiny and Singh and insisting they must leave. A car chase ensues and the four barely escape the bouncer and his father, Victor Sr. (J. E. Freeman). But Victor Sr. Traces Todd's address from his credit card, which Simon had borrowed. "Adam & Zack" - gay soap opera actors are in a relationship and are apprehended for drug possession. They have been coerced into working for Burke, a police detective, to arrest their dealer. Adam is fitted with a wire as they go to the supermarket looking for Simon. Ronna is there and they make a deal; Zack secretly warns her, and she flushes the drugs. After the unsuccessful bust, Burke invites Adam and Zack to Christmas dinner, observing Burke and his wife, Irene (Jane Krakowski), acting strangely. Over dinner, Burke and Irene pitch a multi-level marketing company to Adam and Zack. Discussing their mutual infidelities, Adam and Zack realise they both cheated with the same person, Jimmy (Shann Christen). They go to the rave to confront Jimmy. After leaving the rave, they accidentally hit Ronna with their car, after she falls in the ditch, they panic seeing Todd with a gun and drive away. Zack tries to reassure Adam, seeing that the man with the gun would have killed Ronna. But then Adam is horrified, realising he has been wearing the wire, and they fear their actions have been recorded. The two return to the scene to retrieve Ronna's body and are shocked to discover she is still alive. They carry her, placing her onto a car bonnet, setting off the alarm, and they observe from a distance as partygoers call an ambulance. The following morning, Claire goes to a restaurant to meet with Ronna and Manny, but Todd arrives instead. The two end up going to Todd's apartment building and kissing before the two Victors arrive. They wait for Simon to arrive and there is an ensuing scuffle. Claire breaks up the argument, insisting she will not witness a murder. Simon agrees to be shot in the arm by Victor Jr. And Claire leaves. Meanwhile, Ronna wakes up in the hospital and returns to work with a limp. She and Claire return to the rave venue, realising they left Manny, finding him pale and shaking in the alley. The three go to Ronna's car where Ronna muses that she can pay her rent and Manny asks what their plans are for the New Year. Also starring Robert Peters as Switterman, Suzanne Krull as Stringy Haired Woman, Nikki Fritz as Noelle, and Melissa McCarthy as Sandra. Holmes, Polley (who has since become an Oscar winning screenwriter), British actor Askew, Mohr, Olyphant, and Meyer all give terrific performances as the young adults, the story from three perspectives every so often crossing paths is clever (like a Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction or Jackie Brown), and the excessive amount of partying, drinking, drug taking, some sex and moments of violence keep the pace up, I can see why this has gained a cult status, a great crime comedy drama. Very good!
Fly Me to the Moon (2024)
Fly Me to the Moon
The trailer for this movie looked like cheerful fun, I was interested in its subject, knowing a bit about the historical scepticism, and the stars of it were appealing as well, so I was looking forward to it, directed by Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon). Basically, set in the 1960s, Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson, also producing) is a marketing specialist who will do whatever it takes to get a deal, including faking a pregnancy in front of businessmen. She is approached by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) who wants her talent to help with the agency's public image. After this meeting, Kelly meets Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) in a diner, and they find themselves attracted to each other. The following day, Kelly is taken on a tour of NASA, and she is surprised to be reunited with Cole, who happens to be the launch director for the upcoming Apollo 11 mission. Cole gets increasingly annoyed with Kelly as she intrudes during the important preparations. Cole is sceptical and slightly superstitious about anything that could cause bad luck, including a stray black cat that continually appears in the testing and equipment hangars. Kelly plans to gain more interest from the public about the first manned landing on the Moon. Launch crew member Henry Smalls (Ray Romano) is confused when he sees an actor playing him on television, and Kelly explains that the public would not accept the real people. She then capitalises, approaching various companies and brands to promote their products and gain funding. She also approaches politicians for further funding, using her talent for reading people, mimicry of accents and powers of persuasion to gain their interest. The big aim is for the astronauts, Neil Armstrong (Nick Dillenburg), Buzz Aldrin (Colin Woodell) and Michael Collins (Christian Zuber), to film the mission to be broadcast live on television. Cole is concerned about the weight and other issues, but Berkus confirms that the President of the United States has approved this. Despite their differences of opinion and squabbling, Kelly and Cole share moments and their feelings for each other grow. But things change when Berkus informs Kelly that NASA has approved a "backup" mission; there are risks of things going wrong and the intention is to film the Moon landing. She is tasked with finding an unheard-of director who will agree to this secret scheme, and she chooses her theatre director friend Lance Vespertine (Jim Rash) who is ambitious but incompetent. Rehearsals for this fake landing do not go smoothly and Kelly and her crew must do everything possible to keep it a secret from the real NASA staff, including Cole. It comes to the official day, 16 July 1969, Apollo 11 launches successfully and the entire world watches the historic mission begin. Cole eventually discovers the hoax that Kelly intends to broadcast and accuses her of not having faith in the mission. She has a change of heart and confronts Berkus that they should broadcast the real Moon, but he gives her an ultimatum and insists that the intended fake will be seen on television. Kelly makes amends with Cole who agrees to help her, and the others convince Berkus of the fake being on television, whilst the real Moon landing will be broadcast to everyone else watching. Days later, after a successful landing, Neil Armstrong walks on the Moon. On Earth, Kelly is nervous as the actor playing him simultaneously takes his steps onto the fake lunar surface. The real Armstrong speaks the immortal words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" which pleases Berkus. But the filming crew are horrified when they see the black cat is in the studio and they try to catch it before it can walk onto the set. The cat does appear on camera and there is confusion as to which broadcast is on television. Cole is cheering when it is confirmed that the real footage is being shown. Berkus is also relieved and delighted that the Moon landing has been successful. Following the astronauts' successful return to Earth days later, Berkus tells Kelly to shred any evidence of the hoax. Cole talks with Kelly, who reveals her true identity, she is a con artist named Winnie. He accepts this and they share a kiss inside the hangar where the fake Moon set is being dismantled. Also starring Anna Garcia as Ruby Martin, Donald Elise Watkins as Stu Bryce, Noah Robbins as Don Harper, Christian Clemenson as Press Agent Walter, Gene Jones as Senator Hopp, Joe Chrest as Senator Vanning, Stephanie Kurtzuba as Jolene Vanning, Colin Jost as Senator Cook, and Peter Jacobson as Chuck Meadows. Johansson is beautiful and likeable as the advertising agent with big ideas, Tatum is alright as the good-looking NASA specialist she clashes with, they have some chemistry together in moments, and there is good support from Harrelson as the shady government spook, Romano as an expert in mission control, and Rash as the camp filmmaker. There have been crazed sceptics throughout the years who have insisted that the Moon landings were faked (including the religious fanatic caught on the camera getting punched in the face by Buzz Aldrin), the plot cleverly uses this conspiracy for several jokes, and it satirises commercialism as well, the love story between the leads is underdeveloped, but the period detail, a witty script and the breezy feel of it make it enjoyable, a charming romantic comedy drama. Good!
1408 (2007)
1408
I had known about this film based on the book by Stephen King for a long time, mainly because of its two leading stars, I knew nothing about the plot, and I was looking forward to being surprised, directed by Mikael Håfström (Derailed, The Rite, Escape Plan). Basically, Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a cynical and sceptical author of books about the supernatural, but he has no belief in ghosts or the paranormal. While promoting his latest book in Hermosa Beach, California, he receives an anonymous postcard presumably from The Dolphin Hotel on Lexington Avenue in New York City which says, "Don't enter 1408." Seeing this as a challenge, Mike travels to The Dolphin and asks to stay in room 1408. The hotel manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), tries to convince him not to. He explains to Mike that in the last 95 years, no one has lasted more than an hour inside the room. There have been 56 unexplained deaths, including 7 jumpers, 4 overdoses, 5 hangings, 3 mutilations, 2 stranglings, a heart attack, a stroke, and a drowning. Olin repeatedly tries to dissuade and even bribe Mike, but Mike's insistence and threat of legal action against the hotel force them to reluctantly accept. Opening the door with a traditional lock and key, Mike enters room 1408 and is confused by its boring appearance and absence of anything supernatural or dangerous. He describes what he sees on his mini-cassette recorder when the clock radio suddenly starts playing "We've Only Just Begun". By the Carpenters. Moments later, the radio digital clock displays a countdown starting from 60:00. The heat in the room becomes unbearable and Mike calls room service to have the thermostat repaired but the engineer (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) refuses to enter and simply instructs him what to do before quickly walking away. Shortly after, Mike starts seeing ghosts of victims who have died in the room. It is when he is frightened and gets a cut on his hand that he realises there really is something sinister. He finally decides that he wants to leave and tells room service that he wants to leave, but they refuse to help him. In another attempt to leave the room, he tries to get the attention of a man in the apartment opposite his room, but the man in the window is a transformed reflection of himself and his movements. Soon, his state of sanity is further tested when he has flashbacks of his daughter Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony) who died from a debilitating disease, along with his terminally ill father (Len Cariou). Mike cannot get a signal on his mobile phone and cannot use the landline. But he is relieved when he gets an internet connection and uses his laptop to contact his estranged wife Lily (Deep Impact's Mary McCormack) to ask for help. The increasing heat activates the sprinkler system, short-circuiting the laptop and cutting the connection. Mike tries to climb out of the window and walk across the narrow ledge to reach the woman with a baby in the room next door. But he is horrified that his window is the only one visible on the building, and he rushes back to avoid falling before the window slams shut. Soon, the heat decreases, and the temperature drops to subzero conditions. Mike turns the laptop on again and manages to speak online to Lily again, but a doppelgänger in a video chat window encourages her to come to the hotel room herself. Mike is terrified when the room starts violently shaking, causing him to crash into a picture of a ship in a storm. This becomes reality when the room floods with water and he almost drowns. Then he finds himself reliving a surfing accident he had before he entered the hotel. Mike wakes in the hospital and is reunited with Lily; he assumes his experience in 1408 was just a nightmare. Lily encourages him to write a book about the room. He intends to send the manuscript to his publisher, Sam Farrell (Tony Shalhoub). But when he goes to the post office, he recognises members of a construction crew as Dolphin Hotel staff, who start destroying the walls. Sure enough, he is revealed to still be trapped inside 1408. Katie's ghost appears and confronts him, and he cries holding her in his arms until she disappears. The countdown on the clock ends, the room restores itself and the clock radio resets to 60:00. The telephone rings and a female voice (Jules de Jongh) asks Mike why he has not been killed yet and she informs him that he can relive the past hour over and over again or use the "express checkout system". A hangman's noose appears but he refuses to kill himself. Mike improvises a Molotov cocktail and sets the room on fire. He lies on the bed and laughs as the room is engulfed in flames. Lily arrives as the hotel is evacuated and Mike is rescued by fire crews. Olin in his office praises Mike for his actions. Having survived, Mike reconciles with Lily, despite her being sceptical about his experience. She gives him a box of the things recovered from 1408, including the damaged mini-cassette recorder. Mike tampers with the recorder, making it work again. Mike briefly Suddenly, Mike and Lily both hear Katie's voice coming from it, confirming Mike's account. Also starring Kim Thomson as Desk Clerk, Drew Powell as Assistant Hotel Manager, Paul Birchard as Mr. Innkeeper, Margot Leicester as Mrs. Innkeeper, Benny Urquidez as Claw Hammer Maniac, Chris Carey as Fireman, Kevin Dobson as Priest, William Armstrong as Clay the Lawyer, Johann Urb as Surfer Dude, Andrew Lee Potts as Mailbox Guy, and Emily Harvey as Secretary. Cusack is dependable as the writer trying to disprove a haunted hotel room, and Jackson is good in his short time as the hotel manager trying to stop him from entering. It is an interesting premise, an evil room with a history of bizarre deaths that causes people to hallucinate, go crazy and most likely commit suicide; its use of visuals and sound certainly plays with your mind and gives you the shivers, a simple but effective psychological horror. Good!
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
I might have heard about this film when it was mentioned on a review show, I found out it had success at the Sundance Film Festival, and it was highly rated by critics, so I was hoping it would be as good as the praise suggested. Basically, in Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco, young Jimmie Fails (as himself, also writing) spends his time wandering around town with his best friend Montgomery "Mont" Allen (Jonathan Majors). Mont lives with his grandfather (Danny Glover) who is blind and they often spend evenings with Jimmie. Jimmie and Mont often take the bus and their skateboards to a Victorian house in the city's Fillmore District where Jimmie grew up. Jimmie believes it was built by his grandfather in 1946, and it is currently occupied by an older white couple, Mary (Maximilienne Ewalt) and Terry (Michael O'Brien). Jimmie often comments to Mont that the owners don't take care of the house. Despite the couple telling him to leave, Jimmie does his best to maintain it himself. One day, Jimmie and Mont visit the house to find Mary crying on her husband's shoulder and movers taking the couple's possessions. They learn from a mover that the woman's mother died and that she and her sister are fighting for the house. Jimmie and Mont visit estate agent Clayton Newsom (Finn Wittrock) to inquire about the home. He suggests it may stay empty for years until the inheritance is settled. Jimmie and Mont use this opportunity to visit the now-vacant house and explore it. Deciding to take up residence there, they visit Jimmie's aunt Wanda (Tichina Arnold), who gives them the furniture she and the family had when they lived there. Wanda's husband Ricky (Daewon Song) helps them take everything back to the house and they move in. One night, Mont invites Jimmie's childhood friend Kofi (Jamal Trulove) to the house, and they enjoy a night of relaxation. However, the following day, Kofi says hurtful things to Jimmie about his father. Later, Jimmie and Mont learn from Kofi's friends that Kofi has been killed by a man after fighting with him. Soon after, returning to the house, they find that their possessions have been thrown out onto the sidewalk and see a For Sale sign posted by Newsom. Feeling betrayed, Jimmie retaliates by taking all the furniture back inside. He then visits the bank intending to purchase the house but without success. Mont, however, goes back to Newsom, who reveals that the house wasn't built by Jimmie's grandfather. Newsom has the deed proving that the house was actually built in the 1850s. Mont writes a play about the aftermath of Kofi's death, and Jimmie advertises it will be performed in the house. On the day of the performance, Jimmie's estranged father James Sr. (Rob Morgan) appears. During the performance, Mont shows social media posts about Kofi's death and asks people in the crowd to recount their opinions of Kofi, including Jimmie. Mont then tells Jimmie the truth that his grandfather did not build the house. Jimmie storms out in anger, followed by the rest of the audience. Jimmie reflects with Wanda, and she reassures him that he can leave San Francisco. Jimmie reunites with Mont at the dock, admitting that he always knew his grandfather hadn't built the house. He watches TV with Mont and Grandpa Allen before going to bed. Mont wakes up and finds Jimmie gone, with a note thanking Mont for being his best friend. Mont is left alone, and while he continues various activities that he and Jimmie always did together, they no longer bring him the same joy alone. He stands alone on the dock, staring into the distance. Jimmie is far away, rowing in the water outside the Golden Gate Bridge. Also starring Mike Epps as Bobby, Thora Birch as Becca, and Tonya Glanz as Nina. Fails and Majors give equally terrific performances as the childhood friends, it is a quirky story with humour and human emotion, racism and political issues come up a little, the score by Emile Mosseri is beautiful, and the sights of San Francisco are nice, it is a worthwhile drama. Very good!
Twisters (2024)
Twisters
Twister is fondly remembered as a hit disaster movie of the 1990s, I was surprised when there was going to be a follow-up twenty-eight years later, but Bill Paxton sadly died and Helen Hunt was not returning, this was a standalone sequel, directed by Lee Isaac Chung (Minari). Basically, in Oklahoma, Kate Carter (Normal People's Daisy Edgar-Jones), her friends Javi (In the Heights' Anthony Ramos), Addy (Kiernan Shipka), Praveen (Nik Dodani), and her boyfriend Jeb (Pixie's Daryl McCormack) are storm chasers. Alongside a "Dorothy V" weather radar, the team hope to reduce the intensity of tornadoes using barrels of sodium polyacrylate solution and to secure funding for further research. However, the crew is caught in the middle of an increasing tornado. Addy, Praveen, and Jeb are killed being pulled away, while Kate and Javi survive. Five years later, Kate works in an office for a weather forecasting company in New York City. She is reunited with Javi, who works for a mobile tornado radar company Storm Par. He offers Kate a one-week position with his team to test a new tornado scanning system. She initially declines but accepts after Javi sends her news reports about a tornado destroying a town. They join his team, including Javi's business partner Scott (Pearl's David Corenswet), in Oklahoma during storm season. Popular YouTube storm chaser Tyler Owens (Top Gun: Maverick's Glen Powell), known as the "Tornado Wrangler", also arrives with his crew looking to capitalise on a predicted tornado outbreak. Tyler's team consists of scientists and meteorologists Boone (Brandon Perea), Dani (Love Lies Bleeding's Katy O'Brian), Dexter (Tunde Adebimpe), and Lily (Hellboy's Sasha Lane), as well as English journalist Ben (Downton Abbey's Harry Hadden-Paton). Chasing a storm, Kate suffers a panic attack, rendering her unable to help Javi, and she drives away. The team successfully set up two scanning systems for the next tornado, which momentarily splits into two, but strong winds blow out the third scanner. Kate and Javi barely escape and drive to the nearby tornado-ravaged town of Crystal Springs to help the citizens, along with Tyler's crew. Kate is surprised to learn Tyler's crew use merchandise profits to aid tornado victims, while investor Marshall Riggs (David Born) profits by purchasing tornado-damaged land. Tyler invites Kate to a nearby rodeo in Stillwater, where they begin bonding. A large tornado hits and they take shelter in an empty motel pool. In the aftermath, Kate and Javi argue about Riggs' intentions, causing Javi to blame Kate for their colleagues' deaths. Distraught, Kate returns to her home on a farm in Sapulpa, Oklahoma to visit her mother, Cathy (Maura Tierney). Kate initially declines Tyler's offer to continue their experiments having found her previous research but eventually changes her mind. After failing to dissipate a passing tornado, Kate hypothesises using silver iodide instead. The team tracks another tornado developing near El Reno; it catches fire after striking an oil refinery before intensifying. Javi attempts to head to El Reno to help the people but Scott pressures him to continue their mission for Riggs. Javi abandons Scott by the road and quits Kate, Tyler, and their team evacuate the townsfolk into shelters and basements, while others shelter in a local cinema. The tornado rips the cinema open, nearly pulling Lily and Tyler out, but the released solution takes effect, weakening the tornado. The team rescues Kate and celebrates the dissipating tornado. Sometime later, Javi drops Kate off at Will Rogers World Airport. Before Kate can board the plane and Tyler is being pestered by an Airport Traffic Police officer (Paul Scheer), they run to each other and embrace. A closing montage shows that Kate, Javi, and Tyler have gone into business together, and Ben's story focuses on Kate instead of Tyler. Also starring Stephen Oyoung as Mike, and James Paxton (Bill's son) as Cody. The performances of Edgar-Jones, Powell, and Ramos are fine, I didn't see the point of Tierney being in it, but the performances and characters are hardly worth concentrating on anyway. To be honest, it is exactly the same as the original, only with younger stars, the ferocious cyclones ripping through the houses and farm buildings are done well by the special effects team (you see a chicken flying instead of a cow), but there is no substance and no character development (the romantic element is underdeveloped and unconvincing), it is just another average disaster action adventure. Worth watching!
Blood Simple (1984)
Blood Simple
This independent film was the directorial debut of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen (Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men), and the debut of its lead actress, I was most looking forward to seeing it. Basically, in Texas, housewife Abby (Frances McDormand) is driving with bartender Ray (The Fly's John Getz) on a rainy night discussing her terrible marriage to Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), Ray's boss. After admitting they are attracted to each other, they stop at a motel and have sex. They are unaware that Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), a private detective, has photographed them and takes the pictures to Marty. A mysterious caller informs the couple they are being watched, so goes home and grabs some belongings, including a gun Marty gave her. Despite Abby warning him to stay away from the bar, Ray goes there to demand his wages from Marty. Angry and humiliated, Marty mockingly tells Ray that Abby will betray him the same way she did to him. After Marty failed to try and kidnap Abby from Ray's home, a newly humiliated Marty meets again with Visser, offering him $10,000 to kill Abby and Ray. Visser is reluctant at first but agrees and tells Marty to go to Corpus Christi on a "fishing trip" to establish an alibi. Visser breaks into Ray's home, steals Abby's gun, and then calls Marty to tell him the job is done. When Marty returns, Visser meets him at the bar to collect his payment, showing Marty photos of the murdered couple as evidence. When Marty opens the safe to get the money for Visser, he surreptitiously places one of the murder photos inside. After Marty gives him the photos and the money, Visser shoots him with Abby's gun, drops the gun and takes the money. As Visser leaves, he carelessly leaves his cigarette lighter at the bar. It is revealed that Visser faked photos of the couple sleeping to look as if he shot them. Ray, deciding to confront Marty about his wages again, returns to the bar and finds him dead, accidentally discharging Abby's gun after stepping on it. Assuming Abby had murdered Marty, Ray puts the gun in Marty's coat pocket and the body in the backseat of his car. While driving, he is shocked when Marty wakes up barely conscious. Ray drives into a field and starts burying Marty in a shallow grave. Marty finds the gun in his pocket and points it at Ray, but the chambers are all empty. Ray takes the gun back and finishes burying Marty alive as he screams in terror. A distraught Ray goes to Abby's new apartment and tries to explain that he has sorted everything. Abby is oblivious to Marty's shooting and unnerved by the blood on Ray's clothes, they get into an argument. Visser calls the apartment and Abby picks up but does not speak. She tells Ray that it was Marty calling, and horrified, he leaves the gun on a table before leaving. Later, he is confronted by fellow bartender Meurice (Samm-Art Williams), who tells him about a phone message Marty left regarding money stolen from the safe (Marty's cover story for Visser's $10,000 payment). While burning the faked photos, Visser realises that Marty took one and that he has misplaced his lighter. Knowing these can incriminate him, he returns to the bar and tries to break into the safe but is thwarted by the arrival of Abby. She thinks the safe was damaged by Ray and starts to realise Marty might be dead. Later, she has a nightmare of Marty's dead body waking and warning her that Ray will kill her. She goes to confront a confused Ray who confesses that he found Ray shot and was still alive when he buried him. While Abby tells Meurice about her suspicions, Ray goes to the bar and discovers the photos after opening the safe. Believing Abby is in danger, he realises someone is following him on the way to her apartment. When Abby arrives, discovers Ray sitting in the dark and she turns the lights on. Visser is on a rooftop across the street with a rifle, he shoots and kills Ray. Abby smashes the lightbulb with her shoes and hides in the bathroom. Entering the apartment, Visser searches Ray for the lighter (this was overlooked by everyone) and goes into the bathroom. Abby climbs out the bathroom window into the next apartment before Visser enters. When he reaches around to open the window she stabs him with Ray's knife, pinning his hand to the sill. As she backs away in shock, Visser fires his gun repeatedly into the wall, then punches through it to remove the knife. Returning to her apartment, Abby picks up her gun and shoots Visser through the bathroom door. Abby walks in to find Visser lying mortally wounded on the floor, he laughs and taunts her before she delivers a final gunshot to kill him. Also starring Deborah Neumann as Debra, Raquel Gavia as Landlady, Van Brooks as Man from Lubbock, Señor Marco as Mr. Garcia, William Creamer as Old Cracker, Holly Hunter as the voice of Helene Trend, and Barry Sonnenfeld (cinematographer, who became a director) as the voice of Marty vomiting. McDormand as the young woman caught in the middle is terrific, Hedaya as the jealous vengeful husband is good, Walsh as the vicious hired killer is fantastic, and Getz as the wife's lover is okay. The Coen brothers have come a long way since this movie; the murder plot has some tense moments, especially towards the end, there are violent scenes that keep the pace going, and it is constantly moody and atmospheric, a most worthwhile crime thriller. It was number 98 on 100 Years, 100 Thrills. Very good!
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
The Little Shop of Horrors
I had heard about the original black-and-white movie which was later turned into a stage musical and was adapted into the Rick Moranis movie, so it made sense to watch it after the death of producer and director Roger Corman (The Wasp Woman, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death). Basically, Gravis Mushnick (Mel Welles) gets little business at his rundown flower shop, and he loses a customer, dentist Dr. Phoebus Farb (John Herman Shaner), following a fouled floral arrangement. Hoping to change his mind, Mushnick's employee Seymour Krelborn (Jonathan Haze) talks to Dr. Farb about a plant he has grown from seeds he got from a "Japanese gardener over on Central Avenue." Seymour names the plant "Audrey Jr.", which delights Seymour's co-worker Audrey Fulguard (Gremlins' Jackie Joseph). Mushnick is unimpressed when he is shown the plant. Seymour suggests that Audrey Jr.'s uniqueness might attract customers to see it, and Mushnick gives him one week to revive the plant. The usual plant food does not give it nourishment, but when Seymour accidentally pricks his finger, he discovers that the plant craves blood. Seymour feeds Audrey Jr. His blood and the plant begins to grow. Customers looking to create a floral float for an upcoming event see Audrey Jr. Come in and are impressed, and regular customer Fouch (Dick Miller) helps to spread the word. Soon, the shop's revenues increase with customers wanting to see the plant and buying several other flowers. The plant develops the ability to speak and demands that Seymour feed it. Now anaemic, Seymour walks along a railway; he throws a rock in frustration, inadvertently knocking out a drunken man (Jack Griffin) who falls on the track and is run over by a train. Ridden with guilt, he initially tries to hide the body but is nearly caught many times, but then he takes the body, mutilates it and feeds the parts to Audrey Jr. Meanwhile, Mushnick returns to the shop and secretly observes Seymour feeding the plant. Mushnick considers telling the police but hesitates the following day after seeing the queue of customers coming into the shop. Mushnick confronts Seymour about Audrey Jr.'s eating habits without explicitly revealing what he knows about the plant. Seymour grows increasingly distressed as he realises that Mushnick knows the truth. Suffering from a toothache, Seymour is sent by Mushnick to Dr. Farb. The dentist wants to kill him and get even for his ruined flowers. Defending himself, Seymour kills Farb. Seymour tries to leave but is forced to pretend to be the dentist for a masochistic dental patient, Wilbur Force (Jack Nicholson), who enjoys being tortured and wants to experience the pain of having teeth pulled out. Returning to the flower shop, Seymour feeds Farb's body to Audrey Jr. Soon, the police are investigating the disappearances of the drunk man and the dentist, with Sergeant Joe Fink (Wally Campo) and his assistant Officer Frank Stoolie (Jack Warford) on the case. Audrey Jr. Grows several feet tall and is budding, and a representative of the Society of Silent Flower Observers of Southern California announces that Seymour will receive a trophy. Seymour is happy when Audrey agrees to go on a date with him. Meanwhile, Mushnick stays at the shop to see that Audrey Jr. Does not hurt anybody else. While tending to his shop, Mushnick finds himself at the mercy of a robber who has observed the huge crowds and wants to take the money. Mushnick tricks the robber into thinking that the money is hidden inside Audrey Jr. The plant eats the robber after Mushnick influences him into its jaws. Seymour is forced to damage his relationship with Audrey to keep her from discovering Audrey Jr.'s nature. He confronts the plant, planning to no longer do its bidding. The plant then hypnotises Seymour, commanding him to bring it more food. In his trance, Seymour wanders the streets at night and knocks out a prostitute, Leonora Clyde (Meri Welles), and takes her to Audrey Jr. With no clues as to the recent disappearances, Fink and Stoolie attend the celebration at the shop during which Seymour is to be presented with the trophy. As the attendees watch, four of the plant's buds open. Inside each flower is the face of Audrey Jr.'s victims. Fink and Stoolie realise that Seymour is the murderer, and he flees from the shop. He manages to evade the many officers pursuing him and goes back to the empty shop. He blames Audrey Jr. For ruining his life, and it only responds by demanding to be fed. Seymour grabs a kitchen knife and climbs into Audrey Jr.'s jaws intending to kill it. Later that evening, Audrey Jr. Begins to wither and die. The following day, Mushnick and Audrey see Seymour's face inside a new bud. Also starring Myrtle Vail as Winifred Krelborn, and Leola Wendorff as Mrs. Shiva. Haze is alright as the unlucky shop employee, Welles is interesting as the dodgy florist, Joseph is odd but not bad, Shaner could have been on a little more as the nasty dentist, and young Nicholson makes an impression in his first screen role. It is a knowingly daft low-budget movie, a carnivorous plant that grows eating people is funny, the 1986 remake is much better, but this is a cheesy mildly enjoyable horror comedy. Worth watching!
Longlegs (2024)
Longlegs
Film critic Mark Kermode gave this film a good review, I was most interested in it because, apart from Con Air, I don't know many movies with its action star playing bad guys, I was up for that written and directed by Osgood Perkins, son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins. Basically, in 1970s Oregon, a little girl with a Polaroid camera is in the snow when she is approached by an erratic, pale long-haired man (Nicolas Cage) with facial deformities caused by cosmetic surgery. He calls himself "Longlegs" because of his imposing height and wishes her a happy birthday before suddenly leaning in at her. In the 1990s, newly recruited FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) displays inexplicable intuition in the field, such as predicting a nearby home houses a murderer. Through testing, she is theorised to have clairvoyant qualities. After this, she is assigned to a case that has spanned decades, a series of brutal murder-suicides involving families throughout the state of Oregon. In each incident, the father murdered his wife and children before taking his own life, leaving each crime scene with letters containing cryptic, Satanic coding, and signed "Longlegs." There is no forensic evidence of any home invasion or anybody outside, and none of the victims fit the handwriting of the letters. Lee quickly connects similarities between the families: all murders involve nine-year-old daughters born on the 14th of the month, and all have occurred within six days before or after the girls' birthdays. When written out on a linear calendar, the dates of the murders form an occult symbol of an inverted triangle, with one date missing to complete the shape. Lee and her supervisor, Carter (Blair Underwood), follow a clue and unearth a doll buried beneath one of the previous crime scenes, inside its head they find a strange metal orb. Lee experiences violent psychic flashes with the doll, and the examiner assisting admits he thought he heard things while near the doll. Carter is sceptical about her abilities, but Lee theorises that each family received a similar doll from Longlegs, and the orbs inside them create a sort of evil energy that can possess and influence their actions. Carter grows concerned that Lee and her mother Ruth (Alicia Witt) are connected to Longlegs. Lee goes to visit her mother, who denies any memory of Lee's 9th birthday but subtly directs Lee to look through her childhood belongings. Upstairs, Lee goes to her childhood bedroom and finds a chest containing Polaroids. Among them is a picture of the pale-faced man; she was the girl in the 1970s introduction. Knowing that she was visited by Longlegs as a child, she gives the photo to the FBI, allowing them to track and arrest the suspect. Longlegs is interrogated by Lee, who believes he may have an accomplice. Longlegs tells her that he serves "the man downstairs." He tells Lee to question her mother's involvement in his crimes, proclaiming "Hail Satan" before repeatedly slamming his face and jaw into the metal table, eventually killing himself. Driving back home with a superior to apprehend Ruth, Lee sees her mother murdering her superior with a shotgun. Ruth then shoots the head off of a doll resembling a young Lee, causing Lee to lose consciousness. In a narrated flashback, it is revealed that Ruth has been Longlegs' accomplice since Lee was a child. Longlegs returned in the 1970s, and Ruth was given an ultimatum: allow Lee to be murdered as part of a ritual or he would spare her if Ruth did his bidding. She complied, leaving Lee to be the missing birthday on the triangle. Longlegs was living in the Harker house basement, creating dolls he would infuse with his Satanic magic. Ruth was posing as a nun from the church delivering the dolls as gifts to the families. Lee's doll has been guiding her with the Satanic influence of Longlegs since childhood. Waking in the basement, Lee answers the phone to hear a demonic voice proclaim, "You're late for Ruby's party." She realises Agent Carter's daughter, Ruby (Ava Kelders), has her ninth birthday and that Ruby's parents' deaths would complete Longlegs' triangle. Lee races to intervene, but she finds that Ruth has already delivered the doll to the family, who are all already possessed. After Carter murders his wife, Lee shoots and kills Carter to protect Ruby. Ruth clutches a dagger, forcing Lee to shoot and kill her mother. Lee tries to shoot the doll's head, but her gun is out of bullets. Ruby is traumatised and Lee stares at the doll in horror of Longlegs' victory. Also starring Michelle Choi-Lee as Agent Browning, Dakota Daulby as Agent Horatio Fisk, Kiernan Shipka as Longlegs survivor Carrie Anne Camera, Jason William Day as Father Camera, Lisa Chandler as Mother Camera, Peter Bryant as Senior FBI Agent, and Lauren Acala as Young Lee Harker. Monroe is interesting as the semi-psychic young officer with a connection to the killer, and Cage is almost unrecognisable, one of his most bonkers mad performances as the psychopath randomly screaming and singing and just being an overall nutter. The story itself is a standard murder mystery with hints of The Silence of the Lambs, Satanic stuff going on and a sort of Manson Family style of killings, there are some tense moments and moments of gore, and the twist ending works well enough, so it is a worthwhile horror thriller. Good!
Kazaam (1996)
Kazaam
I first heard about this film when it was mentioned in Scary Movie, I knew it had the basketball star playing a genie but that was all, I watched it out of curiosity, directed by Paul Michael Glaser (The Running Man). Basically, it opens with an abandoned building being demolished by a wrecking ball, causing a magic lamp inside to fall onto a boombox. There is a magical spirit trapped inside which decides to reside in the boombox. Meanwhile, fourteen-year-old Maxwell 'Max' Conner (Francis Capra) is a schoolboy being bullied. They chase after him and he hides in the abandoned building, accidentally bumping into the boombox and releasing the spirit inside. Max meets Kazaam (Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal), a 5,000-year-old genie who offers to grant him three wishes. Although he tries to demonstrate his powers, Max refuses to make a wish. Max lives with his single mother Alice (Ally Walker) in a small apartment; he is unhappy when she reveals that she intends to marry a fireman named Travis O'Neil (John Costelloe). Max confronts his mother about hiding the truth about his real father's whereabouts. Determined to find his father, Max encounters Kazaam again, who pesters him into making a wish. Max eventually meets his biological father, Nick Matteo (James Acheson), a musical talent agent involved in unauthorised music. Nick is taken aback to meet his son but introduces him to his agency employees which makes Max happy. Max goes to his hideout where Kazaam is waiting for him, and they have a bike race, during which Kazaam's powers are finally returning. Kazaam persuades Max to make his first wish; he asks for it to rain junk food, and moments later, hundreds of burgers, chips, pizzas, candy bars and sweets fall from the sky. Max realises that until he uses his last two wishes, he has control over Kazaam. They visit Max's father again and attend a show where Kazaam's genie abilities are noticed by sleazy nightclub owner Malik (Marshall Manesh). Kazaam makes an impression at the venue with his rapping skills. Kazaam stays at Max's home, introducing himself to Alice as his tutor. Max confides in Kazaam about his strained relationship with his father, and Kazaam shares a rap about his genie origins. Max tries to wish his parents to rekindle their love, but Kazaam cannot grant this wish because he is not a djinn. He cannot influence emotions, harm anybody or revive anybody. Later, Max witnesses his father being attacked by Malik and his hitmen over a stolen master tape. Believing his bullies have something to do with this, and desperate to help his dad, Max wants Kazaam to help him. Kazaam is hesitant because of his newfound success as a rapper. Max uses his second wish for a replacement tape, causing a rift between him and Kazaam. Max's father confronts him about the stolen tape, leading to their separation. That night, Max is kidnapped by Malik, who takes control of Kazaam's boombox. Max's father has also been kidnapped by his men. Malik forces Kazaam to do what he wants, but Kazaam breaks free and defeats Malik and his men. Kazaam transforms Malik into a basketball and dunks him into a garbage disposal. However, Kazaam finds Max unconscious and regrets not being able to grant Max's wish for a second chance with his father. In his grief, Kazaam becomes a djinn, inadvertently granting him power to bring his young friend back to life. After saving him, Kazaam carries Max out of the burning building, where Travis rescues them. After being rescued, Max's father expresses his desire to rebuild their relationship before leaving with the authorities. Kazaam, now a djinn, walks away with his girlfriend Asia Moon (Fawn Reed) who wants him to get a job. Max watches Kazaam walk away with a smile. Also starring Mother Love as Mrs. Duke, Wade Robson as Elito, Jake Glaser as Jake, Napoleon Dynamite's Efren Ramirez as Carlos, Steven Barr as Sam, and Salt-N-Pepa's Deidra "Spinderella" Roper as herself. The acting in this, apart from Capra I suppose, is naff, especially Shaq who tries to be hip and cool speaking in rhymes, but all he can do is smile a lot and move his eyebrows. It's a typical kids' movie with a young boy and a genie, the bullying stuff is predictable and irritating, the long-lost dad subplot is uninteresting, the genie becoming a rap star is silly and confusing, and the villain is unconvincing. The scene of the sky raining fast food and candy is memorable enough, but I doubt children watching be entertained either, an unfunny, lame and annoying family fantasy comedy. Pretty poor!
MaXXXine (2024)
MaXXXine
X was a good throwback to the grungy 70s scary movies, prequel Pearl was a terrific homage to early cinema and a great scary movie, and this third film was the conclusion, from returning writer, producer, and director Ti West. Basically, set in 1985, Los Angeles, during the time of the (real life) Night Stalker murders, Maxine Minx (Charley Rowan McCain), the lone survivor of the Texas killings, has decided to leave her career in pornography for a serious Hollywood career. She successfully auditions for the lead in a new horror film, The Puritan II, despite the producers being aware of her adult film work. After sharing the news with her friend Leon (Moses Sumney), owner of a video rental store, and her colleague, fellow adult actress Amber James (Chloe Farnworth), she is invited by Amber to a party in the Hollywood Hills, but she turns it down. Maxine goes to work at her second job, a live peep show, where a mysterious figure wearing a leather jacket and gloves watches with anger. Fellow adult entertainer Tabby Martin (singer Halsey) also invites her to the party that Amber mentioned, but Maxine declines again. Walking down an alleyway, Maxine is threatened with a knife by a Buster Keaton lookalike (Zachary Mooren), but she defends herself with a gun. She forces him to strip naked, get on his knees, and orally suck the end of the gun before he is made to lie down and she squashes his testicles with her heels until they burst out! Later, Maxine is stunned when the unknown figure leaves a police evidence VHS tape containing the porn film that she and her dead friends made at Pearl's farm six years ago. She asks a confused Leon to find out where it came from. Meanwhile, Amber and Tabby are found dead in the Hollywood Hills, and their naked bodies have been branded with Satanic symbols. The unknown figure leaves Maxine a message inviting her to a restaurant. There, she meets private investigator John Labat (Kevin Bacon) who informs her that his employer wants her to meet him, or her previous crimes will be exposed. She is given a specific address on Starlight Drive to meet later that night. LAPD detectives Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Torres (Bobby Cannavale) question Maxine about Tabby and Amber, but she refuses to answer them. She later sees Labat following her and attacks him, warning him to stay away from her. Ignoring Labat's demands, Maxine reads the script for The Puritan II, while Leon is murdered in his video store. The next day, the detectives try to goad Maxine into cooperating with them, but she remains steadfast. Maxine talks to her agent, Teddy Knight (Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito), who agrees to help her and tells her he could not find anything on Labat. On the set of The Puritan II, Maxine has a conversation while being driven around the Universal Studios backlot by the film's director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), who has a reputation for being intimidating. Maxine also meets the star of the original film, English actress Molly Bennett (Lily Collins, Phil's daughter), who mentions the party in the Hollywood Hills. Soon after, Labat, angered by Maxine attacking him the day before, chases her across the Universal Studios lot. She reaches the Psycho Bates Motel set and hides in the house before Labat is caught and escorted away by a security guard (Larry Fessenden). Later that night, Maxine tricks Labat into following her, he is ambushed and knocked unconscious. When he wakes, Labat finds himself trapped in his car with Maxine, Knight, and Maxine's friend Shepard Turei (Uli Latukefu) watching him as he is killed being crushed by a junkyard compressor. Maxine visits the address Labat gave her, which leads her to a house in the Hollywood Hills. She is then confronted by her estranged father, televangelist Ernest Miller (Simon Prast), revealing himself as the murderer, and Molly's dismembered body appears. Miller has several fundamentalist followers in his ministry, and he has been filming the murders to create a snuff film. He wants to expose Hollywood for what he sees it as with its sinful and corrupting nature. Thinking he can still "save" his daughter, Miller's followers tie Maxine to a tree for an impromptu exorcism, which is being filmed. Torres and Williams interrupt the ceremony and cause a shootout, killing Miller's cohorts and injuring Miller, and Maxine pulls out a penknife to free herself. The detectives are mortally wounded while pursuing Miller and Maxine follows armed with a shotgun. Maxine eventually confronts her father at the Hollywood sign but is interrupted by a police helicopter. Maxine envisions herself as a celebrity attending the premiere of The Puritan II being praised for her actions by the press. In this vision, she reveals Bender will be directing a biographical film about her. Returning to reality, she shoots her father. A month later, Maxine continues her work on The Puritan II, hoping her success will never end. It ends with a head cast of Maxine's decapitated head for the horror film and a view of Hollywood Mountain with the name "MAXXXINE" replacing the Hollywood sign. Also starring Sophie Thatcher as an FX Artist, Ned Vaughn as the news anchor, and Toby Huss as a coroner. Goth gives a sensational performance as the up-and-coming actress being stalked, Bacon stands out and is having a ball being the sleazy slimeball private eye, and Debicki is interesting as the fierce movie director. As with the other two films, the period detail and costumes are splendid, including a soundtrack of 80s hits ("Gimme All Your Lovin'" by ZZ Top, "Self Control" by Laura Branigan, "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood", and "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes), and the gruesome gore is shocking and laughable in equal measure, especially the squeamish ball-breaking scene, I will admit the conclusion was a bit all over the place, but overall it is most watchable slasher horror. Very good!
Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Kinds of Kindness
This film was already in the can and had success at the Cannes Film Festival, it had its official theatrical release a few months after the acclaim received for Poor Things, I was looking forward to more weirdness on screen from writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Favourite). Basically, the film consists of three distinct but loosely connected stories (all the characters dream, that's the only connection I could see). "The Death of R. M. F" - Robert Fletcher (Jesse Plemons), follows every order that is given to him by his controlling boss and lover, Raymond (Willem Dafoe). Raymond controls every aspect of Robert's life, including his relationship with his wife Sarah, their sex life, and their chances to have children. Raymond does not want Sarah to conceive a child; Robert is forced to give her birth control drugs, dismissing her failures as miscarriages. One day, Raymond orders Robert to kill a man known only by his initials, R. M. F. (Yorgos Stefanakos), crashing his car at a particular intersection and the man has willingly agreed to be killed. Robert fails on his first attempt and later confesses his strong unwillingness to do it, but Raymond sternly insists it must be done. After his refusal, Robert's life falls apart and Sarah goes missing. Robert has a dream about approaching Raymond to beg him for another chance. Robert is desperate and repentant to Raymond, begging for another chance, only to be rebuffed. Wanting to gain Raymond's respect again, Robert meets Rita (Emma Stone), but he finds out her life is also being controlled by Raymond. Rita was also tasked with crashing into and killing R. M. F. Later, Rita goes to hospital in critical condition. In a last effort to gain Raymond's respect, Robert steals a nurse's clothes and kidnaps R. M. F., who is in the same hospital. He dumps his unconscious body in a parking lot and repeatedly runs him over with a car, eventually killing him. Robert goes to Raymond's mansion, and he, Raymond, and Raymond's live-in lover Vivian (Margaret Qualley) embrace on the couch. "R. M. F. Is Flying" - Police officer Daniel (Jesse Plemons) is mourning the disappearance of his wife Liz (Emma Stone), a marine biologist who went missing at sea. One night, having dinner with his partner and his friend Neil (Mamoudou Athie) and Neil's wife Martha (Margaret Qualley), Daniel requests to watch a video Liz is in. Daniel gets emotional and they agree to put the video on, which turns out to be a sex tape. It is a wife-swapping orgy of the four of them together, and they do not seem uncomfortable while watching it. During the evening, Daniel is shocked when he receives news that Liz has been found and rescued in a helicopter piloted by R. M. F. Liz miraculously returns to Daniel but he finds many things about her are strange and unlike how she was before. Liz's behaviour is odd, she has new interests, and she cannot fit into her shoes. Daniel becomes suspicious that she is not his real wife. His growing obsession and paranoia cause him to exhibit erratic behaviour. During a traffic stop, he shoots a passenger (Joe Alwyn) in the hand and then drinks his blood, leading to him being suspended from the police. Liz recounts to her father George (Willem Dafoe) a dream she had while lost at sea, where dogs were the dominant species and kept humans like Liz as pets. Trapped at home with Liz and still unconvinced she is his real wife Daniel begins starving himself. For some time, Daniel had been receiving strange phone calls from an unknown caller, in which they remained silent, and he questions if it is the real Liz. One night, Daniel orders his wife to harm herself, telling her he wants to eat her finger. Following his orders, Liz severs her finger and serves it to Daniel; he does not actually eat it, feeding it to the cat. After ordering her to do so, she ultimately cuts out her own liver, intending to cook and serve it, but she dies from heavy blood loss. Immediately afterwards, another Liz shows up at Daniel's door, and they happily embrace. During the credits of this story, footage of dogs living like humans is shown. "R. M. F. Eats a Sandwich" - Emily (Emma Stone) and Andrew (Jesse Plemons) are two cult members who are looking for a woman with the ability to reanimate the dead. They bring a candidate named Anna (Hunter Schafer) to the morgue, but she is unsuccessful in her test. Emily regularly visits her estranged husband, Joseph (Joe Alwyn), and their daughter (Merah Benoit) in secret. Later at headquarters, cult leader Omi (Willem Dafoe) gives Emily and Andrew information on another possible candidate, but the woman is already dead. Emily believes that she dreamed about the woman they are looking for. While Emily and Andrew are eating at a restaurant, a woman named Rebecca (Margaret Qualley), who resembles the woman Emily dreamed about, approaches them. Knowing who they are, she suggests that her twin sister, Ruth (Margaret Qualley), could be the perfect candidate. Andrew brushes this off, saying that a candidate's twin must be dead, to meet the requirements. While visiting her old home, Emily runs into Joseph and their daughter as she is leaving, and Joseph invites Emily to return sometime. She does, only for Joseph to drug her drinks and rape her while she is unconscious. Emily is examined by cult member Aka (The Whale's Hong Chau), who licks her body, and she is found to be "contaminated". After being kicked out of the cult, she plans to return and meet with Ruth who called earlier to say she can meet the requirements. Rebecca kills herself by diving into an empty swimming pool during Emily's visit. After visiting Ruth's veterinarian practice and seeing her healing of a dog, Emily knocks her out and brings her to the morgue. When Ruth wakes, Emily orders her to bring R. M. F.'s corpse back to life. Miraculously, Ruth succeeds in reanimating his body, and Emily celebrates, dancing energetically to "Brand New B****" by Cobrah outside her car. Later, Emily crashes her car on the way to the cult's headquarters, killing Ruth. In a mid-credits scene, the revived R. M. F. Eats a sandwich and spills ketchup on his shirt. Also starring Margaret Qualley as Vivian, Hong Chau as Sarah / Sharon, Joe Alwyn as Collectibles Appraiser Mamoudou Athie as Will / Morgue Nurse, and Krystal Alayne Chambers as Susan. Stone, Plemons, Dafoe, Qualley, Chau, Alwyn and Athie in multiple roles all do a great job being eccentric, and Lanthimos does bring his unique unusual style which is good. The first story with a man and his predetermined life is alright, the second story of the dead wife returning is the most interesting, and the third with a cult and bodies raised from the dead is the least effective but not bad. There are shocking and funny moments of sex and violence that get your attention, and it is visually splendid but it's not quite as clever or memorable as I was hoping, but it's a worthwhile enough absurdist black comedy. Good!
Kynodontas (2009)
Dogtooth
Greek director Yorgos Lantimos (The Lobster, The Favourite, Poor Things) is becoming one of my new favourite filmmakers, I had not seen any of the films in his own language, so I was glad I found this, his third feature which gained awards won awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Basically, a couple lives in a fenced-in compound with their adult son and two adult daughters. The children have been raised with deceptive methods, isolated from the outside world. The parents have told their offspring they will be ready to leave the family home once they lose a dogtooth, and that one can only leave safely by car. The children entertain themselves with endurance games, such as keeping a finger in hot water. They believe they have a brother on the other side of the fence who gives them supplies and throws stones. The parents reward them with stickers for good behaviour and punish bad behaviour with violence. The Father (Christos Stergioglou) works at a factory and pays security guard, Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou), to come to the house and have sex with the Son (Christos Passalis). Christina is frustrated that the son refuses to give her cunnilingus, so she trades her headband with the Older Daughter (Angeliki Papoulia) in exchange for oral sex from her. The Younger Daughter (Mary Tsoni) wants the headband, so the older daughter tells her to lick her shoulder to earn it. Later, the younger daughter volunteers to lick the elder again. The elder has nothing to offer in exchange, but the younger does not mind and experiments by licking other body parts. The father visits a dog training facility where his dog is being held. The trainer (Alexander Voulgaris) refuses to return his dog because it has not finished its training. One day, a stray cat enters the family's garden; the son panics and kills it with a pair of pruning shears. The father lies, telling the children that cats are deadly creatures. Deciding to take advantage of the incident, the father shreds his clothes, covers himself in fake blood, and tells his children that their unseen brother was killed by a cat. He teaches them to get on all fours and bark loudly like dogs to fend off cats. The family later hold a memorial service for the brother. Christina offers hair gel and wants oral sex from the elder daughter. The daughter rejects it and instead wants rental videocassettes of Hollywood movies she has seen in Christina's bag. The daughter secretly watches the films and recreates scenes and quotes their dialogue. The father discovers the tapes, and punishes her, telling her to sellotape one to his hand and beating her with it on the head. He later goes to Christina's flat and hits her with her VCR, cursing her future children to be corrupted by "bad influences". The father and Mother (Michele Valley) decide that, with Christina no longer visiting, the son will choose one of his sisters as a new sexual partner. The sisters are forced to strip naked; the son fondles them with his eyes closed, and he chooses the elder. They have sex together, during which they are both uncomfortable. After this, she recites threatening dialogue from a Hollywood film to him. The mother and father celebrate their wedding anniversary and the children perform a dance routine. The younger daughter stops to rest, but the elder continues. The parents are disturbed when she performs the choreography from the movie Flashdance (1983). That night, the elder daughter deliberately knocks out one of her dogteeth with a dumbbell and hides in the boot of her father's car. The father discovers her tooth fragments and the family search for her when she is missing. The next day, the father is unaware she is hiding in his car while he goes to work. It ends with the car unattended by the father, but it is unclear if the daughter leaves the vehicle or is waiting. Also starring Sissi Petropoulou as the Secretary. It is an interesting story where the dysfunctional grown-up siblings are raised indoors by the oddball parents with misinformation, maintaining their innocence, ignorance, and fear. It is naturally strange, but that's what we've come to expect from Lanthimos, it could have been based on the Fritzl case, but this was revealed in the news later, it is a well-written script with disturbing moments, including unerotic sex and shocking violence, a provocative and interesting psychological drama. Very good!
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Elmer Gantry
I only found out about this film when it was broadcast on television, the fact that the leading actor won the Oscar (against Jack Lemmon in The Apartment) was a big reason for me to watch it, directed by Golden Globe nominated Richard Brooks (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, In Cold Blood). Basically, Elmer Gantry (Oscar and Golden Globe winning, and BAFTA nominated Burt Lancaster) is a charming, hard-drinking, fast-talking travelling salesman who tries to make money by pitching with biblical passages and passion. In his travels, he comes across the traveling roadshow of evangelist Sister Sharon Falconer (BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Jean Simmons) and is immediately attracted to her. Thinking he can become part of the troupe and make easy money, Elmer sweet talks Sharon's naïve assistant Sister Rachel (Patti Page) into disclosing information about Sharon. Elmer cons his way into her good graces and joins the troupe preaching "Christ in commerce" and how he is a saved salesman. Elmer and Sharon develop a "good cop/bad cop" routine, telling the mostly Christian audience members that they will burn in Hell for their sins and Sharon promising salvation if they repent. Because of Elmer's fire and brimstone sermons, the group comes to the attention of the church council in Zenith, Winnemac. Sharon's manager William "Bill" L. Morgan (Dean Jagger) is not confident she is ready to preach outside of the smaller venues, but Elmer convinces her to go to Zenith. They meet with the church leaders, with many of them wary of turning religion into a spectacle as Elmer does, but he convinces them that the churches must earn money to stay open and increase their membership. Elmer creates colourful revival meetings to win over prospective members. Travelling with Sharon is Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and reporter Jim Lefferts (Arthur Kennedy) who is torn between his disgust for religious preaching for money and his admiration for Elmer's charm and cunning. As Elmer brings Sharon's group to larger venues, Lefferts writes several articles labelling the revival a sham. His article reveals that neither Sharon nor Elmer has any credentials. Sharon eventually tells Elmer that her real name is Katie Jones, and that she does not want to admit her humble beginnings publicly. Sharon falls in love with Elmer, they become lovers and she loses her virginity to him. The success of the Falconer-Gantry team comes to the attention of Lulu Bains (Oscar winning, and Golden Globe nominated Shirley Jones), a prostitute who had a youthful affair with Elmer, who left her, and her standing in her minister father's eyes ruined. Acting as a moralist, Elmer unwittingly invades the brothel where Lulu works but sends the prostitutes out of town when he sees Lulu. When he meets Lulu privately after she phones him, Lulu wants revenge against Elmer. Lulu cannot help but still have feelings for Elmer; she later confronts him, and they embrace. Lulu has paid a photographer to capture their embrace, but Elmer's love for Sharon prevents him from going any further with Lulu. Elmer is framed by Lulu out of jealousy for his love for Sharon. Lulu blackmails him, and Sharon is told to pay $25,000 in exchange for the negatives of the incriminating pictures. Sharon brings the money, but Lulu refuses to accept it, and the pictures are then printed on the front page of local newspapers. Lulu first offered Lefferts the exclusive story of Emer's sexual indiscretion, but he refused, dismissing the pictures as merely Elmer being as human as anyone else. Following the publication of the incriminating photos in another newspaper, an angry mob ransacks the tent revival, and Lulu sees Elmer publicly humiliated. The mob curses Elmer and throws eggs at him, and Lulu leaves feeling upset seeing this. She returns to the brothel, which has gone downhill; her pimp wants the $25,000, and he beats her when she tells him she did not take it. Elmer comes to rescue Lulu, disposing of the pimp and he apologises to her, and she admits that she framed him. Elmer returns to Sharon and a large crowd attend a sermon following Elmer's publicised apology. Sharon declines Elmer's request to abandon her sermons, insisting that they were brought together by God to do His work. During a sermon, a man throws away a cigarette which ignites a straw bale; the audience is distracted by Sharon appearing to cure a follower of deafness. The fire spreads and erupts suddenly, and everyone panics as they rush to flee the venue. Elmer struggles through the crowd, pushed by the crowd onto the ground and pushed over the dock into the sea. Sharon makes no effort to get out, and Elmer is too late to save her; she simply remains in the tabernacle (a large tent for the congregation) as the flames engulf it and she dies. The next day, Elmer is saddened by Sharon's death, with many followers showing their support. Elmer tries to appear in peaceful spirits as he clutches a Bible and makes a short speech to the crowd, a smile remains on his face as he strides away. Also starring Edward Andrews as George F. Babbitt, John McIntire as Reverend John Pengilly, Hugh Marlowe as Reverend Philip Garrison, Joe Maross as Pete, Everett Glass as Reverend Brown, Philip Ober as Reverend Planck, Barry Kelley as Police Captain Holt, and Wendell Holmes as Reverend Ulrich. Lancaster gives a great award-worthy performance as the conman vacuum cleaner salesman who turns preacher uttering constant religious gibberish, Simmons is equally terrific as the true religious figure who believes in everything almighty, and Jones is alright in the supporting role. I personally have no interest in religion at all, and I did find the film length of almost three hours a bit testing, but I enjoyed the lead character schmoozing saintly talk to make a few bucks, and the relationship between him and the sincere woman is nice, it has an interesting tone and a good script, so it is certainly a worthwhile drama. It won the Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for Richard Brooks, and it was nominated for Best Picture, and Best Original Score for André Previn, it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Film from any Source, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama. Very good!
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
A Quiet Place: Day One
The first film was brilliant, and the second film, which opens with a flashback to how it all started in Millbrook, New York, was very good, I was looking forward to this third instalment, a prequel spin-off with new characters. Basically, Samira (Lupita Nyong'o) has terminal cancer and lives at a hospice outside New York City with her cat, Frodo. Her care worker, Reuben (Old's Alex Wolff), convinces a reluctant Sam to join a group of patients on an outing to a marionette show in Manhattan. Sam wants to return to her apartment in Harlem and get a slice of pizza at her favourite place, Patsy's Pizzeria and argues with Reuben when he dismisses this. As the group boards the bus back to the hospice, they notice meteor-like objects across the sky and crash into the city. Shortly after waking up covered in dust, Sam sees hostile extra-terrestrial creatures attacking people. In the ensuing chaos, Sam is knocked unconscious. Sam wakes again inside the theatre with Frodo and other survivors, including Henri (Djimon Hounsou). The survivors are all quiet because they realise that the aliens have an acute sense of hearing, and that they must avoid making any noise. Military helicopters fly over the city making announcements warning civilians to stay silent and hide until rescues can be made. Bridges leading out of the city are bombed to prevent the creatures from leaving the island. One of the survivors (Elijah Ungvary) panics, trying to calm him down to keep him quiet, Henri accidentally kills him in the process. Later that night, the national power grid cuts out, causing a backup generator to nosily activate. Sam watches Reuben turn it off, but the noise attracts a creature, and he is killed. A distraught Sam takes Frodo and leaves for Harlem. The military announces they are preparing to evacuate civilians by boat from South Street Seaport, because the creatures are unable to swim. Groups of people start leaving buildings towards the evacuation point. Eventually, the increasing volume of movement amongst the crowd creates noise that alerts the creatures. The people panic as the creatures attack them and cause a stampede. Sam flees in the opposite direction and is separated from Frodo. An English law student named Eric (Joseph Quinn) encounters Frodo and follows him back to Sam. She tries to convince him to go to the evacuation point, but Eric is shell-shocked and follows Sam back to her apartment instead. They narrowly avoid a creature making their way to Harlem and realise that they can talk quietly whilst it is raining heavily. Sam needs medication for her pain, and Eric learns she is an acclaimed and published poet. Feeling fearful and exhausted, they scream together when thunder strikes outside. The following morning, Eric gets Sam's medication from a nearby pharmacy. Sam tells him that she watched her late father play jazz at a club as a child, and often got pizza from Patsy's afterward. Sam wants to have what may be the last slice of pizza at the restaurant before she dies from her illness. She is devastated when they find Patsy's has been destroyed in the chaos. They go to the club her father played in for a rest. While Sam rests, Eric finds another restaurant and brings her a pizza. He also cheers her up with a magic card trick and they silently pretend to perform onstage together. Later, Eric and Sam see the two boats nearby, filled with passengers preparing to leave, with creatures congregating nearby. Sam gives Frodo to Eric while she distracts the creatures by smashing car windows. Eric runs and jumps off the pier into the water and is pulled up into a boat by Henri. Eric then finds a note in his jacket from Sam, telling him to take care of Frodo and thanking him for reminding her to live. Sometime later, Sam walks on an empty street listening to "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone on an iPod. Accepting her imminent fate, Sam smiles as she unplugs the earphones and lets the music blare out. A creature appears behind her as the screen cuts to black, presumably killing her offscreen. Also starring Alfie Todd as Max, Alexander John as Priest, Eliane Umuhire as Zena, and Ronnie Le Drew as Marvin Monroe. Nyong'o gives a splendid expressive central performance, Quinn is likeable as the Brit tagging along with her, Hounsou and Wolff are good support, and the cat companion is adorable. The premise remains the same, characters being extra quiet to avoid detection from the deadly monsters, the sound design is just about as effective as before, the gimmick has perhaps worn a little, it is not as scary or tense as previously, but is a worthwhile apocalyptic horror. Good!
The Bikeriders (2023)
The Bikeriders
The trailer for this film looked appealing, from the three lead stars to the theme and plot, it is a fictional story inspired by a photobook by Danny Lyon, it first premiered at film festivals a year ago and I was looking forward to it, written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud, Midnight Special, Loving). Basically, set in 1965, strong-willed Kathy Bauer (Killing Eve's Jodie Comer) meets Benny Cross (Elvis's Austin Butler), the reckless new member of the Chicago-based Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals. Kathy and Benny are married just five weeks later. Photography student Danny Lyon (Challengers' Mike Faist) travels with and interviews the Vandals. The club's founding member, truck driver and family man Johnny Davis (Tom Hardy), was inspired to create the club after watching the movie The Wild One with Marlon Brando on television. Club members include the level-headed lieutenant Brucie (Damon Herriman), the gear-head Cal (The Predator's Boyd Holbrook), the unstable Zipco (Michael Shannon), and the long-time bug-eating member Cockroach (Emory Cohen). Another member, Big Jack (Happy Anderson), suggests they should open a new chapter of the Vandals in Milwaukee. Johnny refuses and Big Jack challenges him; they engage in a fistfight which Johnny wins. He re-establishes his authority and grants permission to expand the club. New chapters begin to form across the Midwest. In 1969, Benny is attacked by two men in a bar for wearing his club jacket. He almost loses his foot when one severs his leg with a shovel and his face is cut during the altercation. Johnny forces the bar owner to name the men who attacked Benny, and later, the Vandals burn down the bar. While Benny is recovering from surgery, Johnny pressures him to return to the club. But Kathy objects because he is not fully healed, and doctors have warned him not to put pressure on his foot. Johnny offers Benny leadership of the club when he steps down, but Benny rejects it. A twenty-year-old delinquent called "The Kid" (Babyteeth's Toby Wallace) wants to join the Vandals along with his own motorcycle club. Johnny initially dismisses them but tests the Kid by allowing only him to join. The Kid expresses willingness to abandon his friends, and Johnny rejects his place in the club. The Kid attacks Johnny with a knife, who beats him and warns him not to come back. In 1973, Lyon interviews Kathy about what happened to the Vandals. She explains that Johnny was devastated after the death of Brucie, and the club grew increasingly violent after drug-addicted Vietnam War veterans joined the ranks. At a party, Cockroach drunkenly expresses a desire to leave the club to become a motorcycle police officer; he is beaten by new members who disagree with his thoughts. Benny confronts Cockroach's attackers, and Kathy is nearly raped, but she is narrowly rescued by Johnny. Furious that Benny was not there to protect her, Kathy demands Benny quit the Vandals. Instead, he leaves her for several days. To allow Cockroach to leave the club safely, Johnny takes Benny to stage a break-in at his house, and Cockroach is shot non-fatally in the leg. Troubled by the increasing violence of the club, Benny again rejects Johnny's offer of leadership, quits the club and leaves Chicago for places unknown. The Kid, now a member of the Vandals Milwaukee chapter, challenges Johnny to a knife fight for leadership. On the night of the fight, the Kid instead shoots and kills Johnny. Kathy explains to Lyon that the Kid took over the Vandals, and they became a large criminal gang involved in drug trafficking and murder. The older members of the group went different ways, some were forced to fall in line, some left to obtain legitimate jobs, and some died. Benny learned of Johnny's death, returned home, and had a breakdown. He and Kathy relocated to Florida where Benny works as a mechanic and has stopped riding motorcycles. Kathy tells Lyon they are happy, and Benny does not miss the biker lifestyle. Outside, Benny hears motorcycles nearby and wistfully smiles at her. Also starring The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny, Beau Knapp as Wahoo, Love's Karl Glusman as Corky, Paul Sparks as Gary Rogue Leader, and Will Oldham as Bartender. Comer narrates and holds the story together as the wife of a gang member, Butler tries to be like James Dean and gives a magnetic cool performance, Hardy doing a Marlon Brando impression is gruff and charismatic, and there is good support from Shannon, Reedus, Herriman and others. Based on photographer Lyon's experiences of a real motorcycle club between 1965 and 1973, it is a simple enough story of bikers meeting in bars and on the road, drinking a lot and occasionally having brawls, and later entering a violent underworld of thievery, fights, arson, and killings, the period detail is well done, the atmosphere is moody, and the bike riding sequences are fun, it is a stylish and interesting crime drama. Good!
Hard to Kill (1990)
Hard to Kill
Besides Under Siege and one of two other titles, the career of the leading martial arts movie star has been full of below-average and utterly rubbish films, this was his second film, rated average, I was hoping for perhaps another good enough film. Basically, in 1983, Los Angeles police internal affairs detective Mason Storm (Steven Seagal) investigates a mob meeting that takes place by a pier. He captures a shadowy figure on camera who assures the mob they can rely on his political support. Mason is spotted but escapes. Mason informs his partner, Detective Carl Becker (Lou Beatty Jr.), and his friend Lieutenant Kevin O'Malley (Frederick Coffin), that he has evidence of corruption. But Mason is unaware of corruption within the force and that he is being monitored. Mason hides the videotape in his house. Mason is upstairs with his wife Felicia (Bonnie Burroughs) making love, when a hit squad composed of corrupt policemen break in, including Detective Jack Axel (Charles Boswell) and Detective Max Quentero (Branscombe Richmond). The attackers proceed to murder Mason's wife and shoot him, but Mason's young son, Sonny (Geoffrey Bara), escapes out of a window. Mason is framed by the corrupt policemen, making it look like a murder-suicide. At the same time, assassins kill Mason's partner Becker. Later at the hospital, Mason is initially pronounced dead but he is revealed to be alive and in a coma. Lieutenant O'Malley tells the medics to keep Mason's status a secret, hiding his identity under a "John Doe", to prevent the assassins from finishing the job. Seven years later, nurse Andrea "Andy" Stewart (Kelly LeBrock), who has been caring for him, is amazed when Mason wakes from his coma. Mason tells her that he is a cop and to inform his superiors, so she calls the police, but the call is intercepted by corrupt officers. Aware that Mason is alive, Axel is sent to kill him and the nurses who have talked to him. Mason realises he is in danger, but his muscles are weak, and he can barely move. Remaining on his stretcher, Mason manages to get to an elevator, and Andy sees her co-workers killed, she helps Mason escape. Andy takes Mason to a friend's house to give him time to recuperate. Mason uses his knowledge of acupuncture, moxibustion and other meditation techniques to recover his strength. While training in martial arts, Mason hears a television commercial for Senator Vernon Trent (William Sadler) and recognises his voice from the mob meeting at the pier. Mason contacts O'Malley, who supplies him with weapons and tells him that Sonny (Zachary Rosencrantz) is still alive. O'Malley adopted Sonny and sent him to a private school to keep him out of danger. He arranges to meet O'Malley and his now-teenage son at a train station. After O'Malley leaves, Senator Trent's men find the house and try to kill Andy and Mason but they both manage to escape. To get back the videotape, Mason and Andy pose as real estate agents to enter his old house, and he recovers the tape from behind a concealed wall. O'Malley and Sonny arrive at the train station but are confronted by some of the Senator's men. Sonny flees with the tape, but O'Malley is killed. When Mason arrives, he sees Sonny running away from Quentero and Detective Nolan (James DiStefano). Mason catches up with the men and subdues Nolan by breaking his leg and throwing him in a trash bin. He then beats up Quentero, recognising him as one of the men who assaulted his home in 1983. Mason proceeds to kill Quentero, snapping his neck. Mason has a brief and somewhat awkward reunion with his son, before going after Senator Trent. Mason sneaks into the Senator's mansion and eliminates many of his men one by one. In the billiard room, Mason fights with Axel and avenges his wife, killing him by jamming a broken pool cue into his neck. Next, Mason targets the corrupt Captain Dan Hulland (Andrew Bloch), taunting him and stalking him at his home. He corners the captain near the fireplace before strangling him with a necktie and breaking his neck, killing him. Mason finally confronts Senator Trent and holds him at gunpoint when the police storm the mansion. However, they reveal that they know that Mason was set up, having seen the videotape footage already. Trent is arrested, and Mason is reunited with Andy and his son. As they walk away, the footage is shown on the television news, showing Trent coming out of the shadows. Also starring Dean Norris as Detective Sergeant Goodhart, Tony Perez as Detective #1, Steve Jones as E. R. Doctor, Ernie Lively (Blake's father) as Commander, and Julia Stormson as Girl in Hot Tub. Seagal is alright as the cop waking from a coma wanting revenge against his attackers, LeBrock is likeable enough as the beautiful woman helping him, Sadler is an okay villain, and O'Malley does fine as an ally. It is a simple enough story of a vigilante cop story fighting back against the bad cops and criminals who left him for dead and killed his wife, the training montage is predictable, but there are some exciting enough chases, gun battles and fistfights, it is one of the better films from Seagal, a fair action thriller. Worth watching!
The Railway Station Man (1992)
The Railway Station Man
I was shocked and saddened by the death of Donald Sutherland at the age of 88; M*A*S*H, Klute, Don't Look Now, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Outbreak, and The Hunger Games are among his most memorable films I've seen, and I was looking forward to paying my respects and watching this, one of the lesser-known movies he made. Basically, on Christmas 1981, in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, schoolteacher Daniel "Dan", husband of Helen Cuffe (Julie Christie) is shot by the Irish Republican Army in mistake for another man. Ten years later, in 1991, Helen sold her house in Derry and moved with her grown-up son Jack (Frank McCusker). They live in a small town in Country Donegal, Republic of Ireland where Helen hopes to become a painter. One day, Helen goes to the abandoned Knappogue Road train station building. There, she meets American stranger Roger Hawthorne (Donald Sutherland) who, despite it not being an active station, is working on the building's restoration. Roger lost his left hand from shrapnel in the Vietnam War and has a hook for a hand. Later, Roger goes to the local pub and meets Jack; they watch High Noon on the television, and Roger invites Jack to the station building. At home, Helen listens to "All I Have to Do Is Dream" on vinyl; she and Jack argue about socialists. The following day, Jack meets Damian Sweeney (John Lynch), who is helping Roger with the restoration. Jack mentions that he is aware Damian is in the "movement"; Damian talks about wanting to build a boat. Manus Dempsey (Mark Tandy) has told Jack to ask Damian for a secure place, perhaps the large empty goods shed, but he refuses. Jack is angered returning home to find Helen throwing things out for a jumble sale. But he calms down when Mary Heron (Ingrid Craigie) from the jumble sale arrives to collect stuff. Helen joins Mary at the jumble sale in the local hall, where Father Quinlan (Niall Cusack) buys one of Helen's unsigned paintings. Roger comes to the sale and asks about a gramophone she is selling. Roger overhears the ladies talking about him; he buys the gramophone and plays "Tallahassee Lassie" by Freddy Cannon, and Helen and Roger dance to it. Roger drives Helen to the rocks for a walk and they get splashed by sea water. Roger returns Helen's paintings after leaving them in his car and wants to buy them for £100. Roger suggests Helen put together a portfolio of her artwork to take to Dublin. Helen is painting on the beach, and Damian is watching her from above the cliff. He watches her strip and she swims naked in the sea. Swimming back to the shore, Damian hands her clothing, and then strips to go swimming naked himself. After getting dressed, Helen recognises Damian for giving Jack a bloody nose. Damian has fixed the signal box at the station, but there are no tracks and will be no trains. Roger has framed and hanged Helen's artwork at the station building. Roger's mother was killed in a car accident, but her father only told him six months after her death. Helen creates a portfolio, and Roger shows her the signal box. Roger has had stations in England, Scotland, Canada, the United States, and Ireland. Helen paints a portrait of Damian naked in the sea, which Roger is happy to see. After going for drinks to celebrate, he is drunk and walks home. Roger passes Jack driving with Manus, who wants to see the station. The next morning, Manus and Jack talk about using the goods shed. Manus looks at Helen's paintings and sketches of the man naked on the beach. Manus meets Roger, who says they are preparing the roadbed for track, and cleaning up the platform. Manus enters the empty goods shed and wants it for an "operation". Damian visits Helen and recognises himself in the paintings. Damian assures Helen that Jack is nothing like Manus, who may use guns and explosives. Helen later visits Roger at his home with food and they eat together. Helen and Roger dance together to "Mood Indigo" playing on the gramophone before they share a kiss and have clothed sex on the drinks cabinet. They wake up in bed together and she leaves. Helen wants to concentrate on painting and tells Roger waiting in his car to go away. Later, Helen invites Roger for dinner at her cottage. Jack is driving with Manus, and they are followed by a lorry. Jack goes home and catches Roger giving Helen oral sex Roger leaves but Jack rushes to stop him, returning with him to the station building. There, Manus and his men are unloading boxes of explosives from the lorry. Driving at high speed, Roger crashes into the boxes, with Jack close behind him, causing an explosion and killing them. The two wrecked cars remain outside the abandoned station building. Helen narrates that four people died, two young men in the lorry, Roger and Jack. Helen continues painting her emotions. Also starring Maire Hastings as Mrs. Sweeney, Peadar Lamb as Mr. Hasson, Ann Callanan as Policewoman, Gary Walker as Policeman, and Johnny O'Doherty Craig as Young Jack Cuffe. Sutherland gives a subdued charming performance as the loner obsessed with restoring an unused train station, and Christie is great as the lonely Irish widow and aspiring artist; Sutherland and Christie reuniting twenty years after Don't Look Now is a nice thing to see. It is a most simplistic story, a love story between two lost souls on the coast of Ireland, the son getting involved with a violent political group is only mildly interesting as well, it is fair to say that only a few memorable things happen, including the explosive conclusion, but it is a gentle worthwhile romantic drama. Good!
Weekend at Bernie's (1989)
Weekend at Bernie's
I had heard the title of this film a few times in the past, I knew it involved a dead body, and I understand it was something of a big hit in the 80s, so I'm glad when I finally got to watching it, directed by Ted Kotcheff (Wake in Fright, Fun with Dick and Jane, Rambo: First Blood). Basically, at an insurance company in New York City, Larry Wilson (Mannequin's Andrew McCarthy) and Richard Parker (Jonathan Silverman) are two low-level financial employees. While looking at finance reports, Richard discovers a series of payments made for the same death. He and Larry take their findings to the CEO, the wealthy and self-indulgent Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser), who praises them for discovering the insurance fraud; he invites them for the Labor Day weekend to his beach house in The Hamptons. Larry and Richard are unaware that Bernie is behind the fraud. Bernie has a nervous meeting with his mob partner Vito (Louis Giambalvo), asking him to have the two killed to cover up the discovery. After Bernie leaves, Vito orders Bernie to be killed instead, for his incompetence, and for sleeping with his girlfriend Tina (Catherine Parks). Before leaving the office, Richard encounters beautiful summer intern Gwen Saunders (Catherine Mary Stewart), but he is too nervous to ask her on a date. Bernie arrives at the island before Larry and Richard and discusses the murders with hitman Paulie (Don Calfa), unaware that their phone conversation is being recorded on his answering machine. Paulie arrives and kills Bernie with a lethal heroin injection, then stages it as self-inflicted. Larry and Richard arrive on the island and explore Bernie's beach house, and eventually find him dead on the couch, with a frozen smirk and his eyes open under his sunglasses. Before they can call the authorities, guests arrive for the usual weekend party. The pair are amazed when many guests are too busy partying to notice Barnie is dead, talking to his lifeless body with passing comments. Scared that they may implicated in Bernie's death and wanting to enjoy the luxurious house for the weekend, Larry suggests to Richard maintaining the illusion that Bernie is still alive, which Richard finds absurd. Richard changes his mind when Gwen arrives at the beach house, and he makes an effort to flirt with her. After the party, a drunken Tina arrives at the house and demands to see Bernie. They have put his body in his bed, and they cannot prevent her from going upstairs. Later, Tina comes back down and has made love with Bernie's corpse (unknowing necrophilia). One of Vito's mobsters sees Bernie and mistakenly believes that the assassination failed; he notifies Vito who sends Paulie back to kill him. The next morning, Richard is outraged to find Larry furthering the illusion by tying strings to Bernie's limbs to manipulate his movements, like a puppet. Richard decides it is time to call the police, instead, he activates the phone message previously left on Bernie's machine, with Bernie's voice detailing his plot to kill the pair. Unaware of how Bernie died, they mistakenly believe they are still the targets for an assassination, as Bernie had said not to kill them while he was in the area. Wanting to leave the island, they attempt to leave the island, driving in Bernie's car and his speedboat, but these attempts are thwarted, as they repeatedly misplace and recover Bernie's body. They are forced to return to the beach house, where Paulie makes numerous other assassination attempts, but he is confused when Bernie appears to be still "alive". Gwen, who has been trying to talk to Bernie, sees Larry and Richard with the body. She is shocked to discover the truth and almost screams in horror, but a crazed Paulie arrives and fires a gun at them. He shoots repeatedly into Bernie's corpse before turning his attention to Larry, Richard, and Gwen. Chasing after the trio, Paulie corners Larry, who subdues him. The police arrive and arrest Paulie, taking him away in a straitjacket as he continues to insist Bernie is still alive. As Bernie's body is loaded into an ambulance, Gwen invites Richard to stay with her family for the week, while Larry decides to go home to give them space. However, the stretcher rolls away, and Bernie's body falls off, landing on the beach right behind the trio. They run away in terror, and a bratty little boy (Jason Woliner), who was earlier burying his body in the sand, returns to do it again. Also starring Eloise DeJoria as Tawny, Greg Salata as Marty, Vito's Assistant, Ted Kotcheff as Jack Parker, Richard's Dad, and Margaret Hall as Bernie's Secretary, and look out for Skeet Ulrich as an Extra. If I was going to compare it, it is along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry. It is a one-joke scenario two idiotic aspiring accountants put in increasingly daft circumstances over a weekend with a corpse they must lug around to continue their fun and get out of trouble. McCarthy and Silverman do keep things moving, but Kiser does steal the show as the stiff being thrown and dragged around. There is enough slapstick to maintain the silliness, there is only so much stretching it can do (and it is ridiculous that a rubbish sequel followed four years later) but it is reasonable fun, not a bad black comedy. Worth watching!
Sweet Charity (1969)
Sweet Charity
I hadn't necessarily heard about this movie before it was on television, it is based on the Broadway stage musical, which is based on Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria; when I found out it had famous songs I recognise, I was most interested in watching it, the directorial debut of Bob Fosse (Cabaret, All That Jazz). Basically, in New York City, Charity Hope Valentine (Golden Globe nominated Shirley MacLaine) works as a taxi dancer at The Fandango Ballroom, a sleazily erotic setting, along with her friends, Nickie (Chita Rivera) and Helene (Paula Kelly). She hopes to find love, but is naturally clumsy, and has bad luck with men. This is seen when she is walking with her married boyfriend Charlie (Dante DiPaolo) who accidentally pushes her off Gapstow Bridge in Central Park and steals her life savings of $427. There is a performance of "Big Spender" (most famously performed by Shirley Bassey) at the ballroom. Charity shares her disappointment and hopes with Nickie and Helene several times. Somewhat later, Charity encounters famous movie star Vittorio Vitale (Ricardo Montalban), moments after he has broken up with his girlfriend Ursula (Barbara Bouchet). Charity goes to a nightclub, where the guests perform the "Rich Man's Frug," and later has dinner with Vittorio at his apartment. When Vittorio leaves the room for a moment, Charity plays with his folding too hat and celebrates what might be some good fortune, singing "If They Could See Me Now". However, moments later, Ursula comes back to Vittorio, and Charity is forced to hide in the closet for the entire night while Vittorio and Ursula make love and sleep together. Charity returns to the Fandango and tells Nickie and Helene about her night with Vittorio, they do not believe it and are happy for her, but disappointed by how it turned out for her. Nickie and Helene commiserate on the building's rooftop and sing "There's Got to Be Something Better Than This". Charity decides to find a more respectable and rewarding way to make a living and goes to an employment agency to find a job. However, she is forced to admit that she has no higher education or qualifications. The interviewer Nicholsby (Alan Hewitt) assumes she is making a joke, and she decides to go along with this, realising she won't be taken seriously, and she leaves. Charity enters the elevator to leave the building, but it breaks down between floors, and the man she is standing next to has a panic attack. Oscar Lindquist (John McMartin) is an insurance actuary who suffers from severe claustrophobia; he passes out, Charity holds him and is smitten with him, singing "It's a Nice Face". They are eventually able to leave the elevator, Oscar follows Charity onto the street and finally asks her to go on a date with him. The two have several dates over time, including dinner at various restaurants, and a walk over the same bridge she pushed over previously. Oscar suggests they do something different, and they visit an alternative church presided over by a preacher named Big Daddy (Sammy Davis Jr.) and "worshiping" with the song "The Rhythm of Life" (famously featured in a Guinness advert). Charity cannot tell Oscar what she does for a job and lets him believe she works in a bank. Oscar proposes marriage and when she finally tells him what she does he professes to be broadminded. Excited to be engaged, Charity's hopes are lifted again, and she celebrates in the huge production number "I'm a Brass Band". Oscar meets Charity's friends at the Fandango when they throw a party for her, singing "I Love to Cry at Weddings". However, at the marriage license bureau, Oscar has a change of heart, telling her he has tried to accept her past. But he cannot help but think about all the men she has slept with for money; he is unable to marry her. After walking away from each other, Charity is devastated and breaks down, leaning against the wall and crying. That night, Charity returns to the bridge in Central Park and may be considering throwing herself off it. The following morning, she is still sitting on the steps of the bridge when a passing group of young hippies singing about love and peace hand her a flower. Charity smiles with her spirits lifted and walks away singing "Where Am I Going?", hoping for a positive future. Also starring Stubby Kaye as Herman, Suzanne Charny as the Lead Dancer, "Mickey" singer Toni Basil as a Dancer, Chelsea Brown as a Dancer, Planet of the Apes' Jeff Burton as a Policeman, and Harold and Maude's Bud Cort as a Flower Child. MacLaine gives a vibrant performance as the showgirl dreaming of a fairytale romance, Montalban is charming during his time, McMartin is likeable as the man who may change her fortune, Davis Jr. Is memorable as the religious leader, and there is good support from Rivera and Kelly. There is no denying that the show tunes, choreography, and costumes are sublime and entertaining, I agree it has a brash nature at times and is not as sophisticated as it could be, but it is a worthwhile musical comedy-drama. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, and Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) for Cy Coleman. Good!
La haine (1995)
La Haine
This French film has been in the IMDb Top 250 Movies several times, it was rated well and sounded interesting, and it received acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, so I was glad when I finally got to watch it, written and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz (Gothika, Babylon A. D.). Basically, it opens with a montage of news footage of numerous urban riots in the poverty-stricken neighbourhood in the French suburbs. In the aftermath, local man Abdel Ichaha (Abdel Ahmed Ghili) is severely injured and is in intensive care while in police custody. The riots escalate, leading to a siege of the local police station, and a police officer's gun is taken. The story follows the lives of three friends of Abdel, all young men from immigrant families, over 24 hours. Vinz (Vincent Cassel) is a young Jewish man with an aggressive temperament who wants revenge for Abdel's condition. He has a hatred for all police officers and looks in the mirror imitating Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. Hubert (Hubert Koundé) is a black boxer and small-time drug dealer wanting to escape the suburbs and make a better life for himself. However, his boxing gymnasium was destroyed in the riots. Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui) is a young North African Muslim who acts as a mediator between Vinz and Hubert. The three friends have a directionless daily routine and are often being watched by the police. After a gathering on a rooftop which is broken up by the police, Vinz reveals that he found the gun, a .44 Magnum revolver, that was lost during the riot. He plans to use it to kill a police officer if Abdel dies. While Hubert disapproves, Vinz secretly takes the gun with him. They visit Abdel in the hospital but are refused entry by the police. Saïd is arrested when they become aggressive refusing to leave, but he is later released with the assistance of a familiar police officer. Vinz and Hubert have a disagreement about their perspectives on policing and violence, leading them to part ways temporarily. Saïd joins Vinz, while Hubert briefly returns home. They reunite at another gathering, but it quickly descends into chaos when Abdel's brother tries to murder a police officer as an act of revenge. This triggers a confrontation with the police, and the group narrowly escapes after Vinz almost shoots a riot officer. They board a train to Paris, where they have several dangerous confrontations with both friendly and hostile Parisians. In a public toilet, they encounter a survivor of the Gulag (forced labour camps in the Soviet Union) who tells them a story about a man who froze to death after refusing to relieve himself in public near their transport train and failing to get back onto the train in time. The trio is perplexed by the meaning of the story. Later, they visit frequent cocaine user Astérix (François Levantal) who owes Saïd money. This visit leads to a violent confrontation, as Astérix appears to force Vinz to play Russian roulette, although the gun chambers are secretly unloaded. They encounter sadistic police officers wearing civilian clothing who arrest Saïd and Hubert while Vinz manages to escape. The police officers verbally and physically abuse the duo before they are imprisoned overnight, causing the three friends to miss the last train from Saint-Lazare station and they are forced to sleep on the streets. The trio are kicked out of an art gallery and fail to steal a car, and they shelter in a shopping mall. They hear on the television news that Abdel has died. They head to a rooftop, where they insult skinheads and policemen. However, the same group of skinheads attack Saïd and Hubert. Vinz intervenes, holding one of the skinheads at gunpoint. Vinz initially plans to kill him, but he hesitates and lets the skinhead go, prompted by Hubert who challenges Vinz's gangster act and reveals his true nature. In the early morning, the trio returns home, and Vinz gives the gun to Hubert. Vinz and Saïd encounter an officer in civilian clothing who Vinz had previously insulted while on a rooftop with his friends. The officer grabs Vinz, threatening him and holding a loaded gun to his head. Hubert rushes to help, but the officer accidentally fires, killing Vinz. A tense standoff ensues between Hubert and the officer, as Saïd closes his eyes. A single gunshot is heard offscreen, but it is not revealed who fired or if anybody was shot. This climactic standoff has Hubert's voiceover, including the recurring phrase "so far so good", and the film portrays French society's descent from hostility into senseless violence, emphasizing that despite appearances, all is not well, and the future remains uncertain. Also starring Edouard Montoute as Darty, Solo as Santo, Marc Duret as Inspector 'Notre Dame', Héloïse Rauth as Sarah, Rywka Wajsbrot as Vinz's grandmother, Tadek Lokcinski as Man in the Lavatory, Choukri Gabteni as Saïd's brother Nordine, Nabil Ben Mhamed as Sam, Félicité Wouassi as Hubert's mother, Fatou Thioune as Hubert's sister, and Mathieu Kassovitz as a Skinhead. Cassel went on to become a bigger star because of his terrific performance, his co-stars Ghili and Koundé also do great performances, it has a good script that is hard-hitting and sometimes amusing, the use of black-and-white colour is arty, and it has fantastic cinematography and camerawork (the mirror reflection scene and bird's eye view above the buildings), a most interesting crime drama. Very good!
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Inside Out 2
The original Disney/Pixar film was a clever story incorporating human emotions as characters, receiving praise from critics, and winning the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar, I'm glad I watched it again to get more context for this sequel. Basically, two years after moving to San Francisco, Riley (Kensington Tallman) has become a teenager and is to start attending high school. Her five key personified emotions, Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Tony Hale), Disgust (Liza Lapira), and Anger (Lewis Black), in Headquarters, Riley's conscious mind, continue to influence Riley's actions and memories via a control console. Since Riley turned thirteen, the emotions have created a new section of Riley's mind called "Sense of Self", housing memories and feelings that form Riley's core personality. Joy wants to fill the Sense of Self with only positive memories, and she has created a mechanism to launch many negative memories into the back of Riley's mind. Riley and her best friends Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (Grace Lu) are invited to an ice hockey camp weekend where Riley hopes to qualify for the Firehawks, her school's team. The night before the camp, the button reading "Puberty" flashes red, a construction wrecking ball crashes into Headquarters, and a group of mind workers start tearing it down to upgrade the emotion console. The emotions discover that when they control the new console, they cause Riley to overreact wildly to their inputs. Soon, the emotions are joined by four new emotions arriving at Headquarters: Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Richard Jewell's Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Though initially friendly, the new and old emotions clash over their approaches. Joy thinks Riley should focus on having fun at the camp, but Anxiety wants her to be successful at ice hockey and make new friends, especially since Bree and Grace will be going to a different high school. Joy inadvertently causes Riley and the other campers to be punished by the camp's strict director, Coach Roberts (Yvette Nicole Brown). Feeling that Riley needs to fit in with the older players, Anxiety changes her personality, dumping the Sense of Self into the back of Riley's mind. The old emotions are then "bottled up", and thrown into a memory vault. Anxiety and the new emotions then use negative memories to create a new, corrupted Sense of Self and encourage Riley to make friends with popular hockey player Valentina / Val (Lilimar), causing her friendship with Bree and Grace to become strained. The old emotions escape the vault and split up to try and find their way back to Headquarters. Sadness uses a recall tube to return to Headquarters while the others go to the back of Riley's mind to retrieve her old Sense of Self. Sadness is unable to prevent Anxiety influencing Riley to sneak into Coach Roberts' office to read her notebook. Riley is upset to discover that Coach doesn't consider her ready to become part of the team, and Anxiety determines to take further control over Riley. The old emotions make it to the back of Riley's mind and retrieve Riley's Sense of Self from a mountain made up of the bad memories deposited by Joy's mechanism. The emotions find the stream of consciousness and ride it to return to Headquarters. However, after causing an avalanche of bad memories, they spill into Riley's Sense of Self, corrupting it further. Their journey is further lengthened by the "Sar Chasm", whenever Riley makes a sarcastic comment. The old emotions manage to get to the section of Riley's mind where her dreams are created, and they try to get a message to Anxiety that she is causing a negative effect, but she refuses to listen. Anxiety is shocked to discover that, despite her intentions, the newly cultivated Sense of Self has caused the feeling of self-doubt for Riley, leading to Anxiety frantically controlling Riley during a crucial hockey game. This results in Riley hogging the puck, missing many shots, and accidentally hurting Grace, getting her sent to the penalty box. Anxiety is horrified she swarms the control console with a frenzied whirlwind, causing Riley to become overwhelmed and suffer a panic attack. The old emotions finally return to Headquarters, and Joy convinces Anxiety that she doesn't need to make Riley change herself to have a better future. Anxiety relents and the original Sense of Self is reinstalled, but Riley's attack persists. Anxiety is repentant, reiterating that she can't determine who Riley is. Joy realises the same thing and removes the first Sense of Self again. This allows a new, complex, and varying Sense to form from all of Riley's positive and negative memories. Together, the emotions embrace this Sense and stabilize it, finally allowing Riley to calm down. Riley is now in full control of her emotions, she reconciles with Bree and Grace and she calls for Joy to take command and finishes the game smiling. Sometime later, Riley attends high school and becomes friends with Val and the other Firehawks while staying true to herself and maintaining her friendship with Bree and Grace. At lunch, she and the team wait for a message from the Coach with the list of new Firehawks recruits. Now living in peace, the first and second generations of emotions work together to protect Riley's forever-changing Sense of Self. Riley checks her phone to see if her name is on the list (it is not revealed onscreen) and she smiles at herself in the mirror. Also starring Diane Lane as Riley's Mom, Kyle MacLachlan as Riley's Dad, Ron Funches as Bloofy, James Austin Johnson as Pouchy, Yong Yea as Lance Slashblade, Steve Purcell as Riley's Deep Dark Secret, Dave Goelz as Mind Cop Frank, Kirk R. Thatcher as the Foreman, Frank Oz as Mind Cop Dave, Paula Pell as Mom's Anger, June Squibb as Nostalgia, Pete Doctor as Dad's Anger, John Ratzenberger as Fritz, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea as Jake, and Sam Thompson as Security Man Sam. The cast of returning voices, and the new additions, all make for good characters, the colourful animation is terrific, and the story is interesting, with stuff that will appeal to both the younger and older viewers. The plot involving the teenage experience is just as complicated if not more so than before, but that is the point, there is lots of fun and humour throughout as well, it is a clever, creative, and enjoyable computer-animated fantasy adventure comedy-drama. Very good!
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (2024)
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2
The original film released a year ago is one of the stupidest ideas for a British movie ever conceived, it won many deserved awards at the Razzies, and unfortunately, it is the beginning of The Twisted Childhood Universe franchise, so more rubbish is to follow, including this sequel no-one asked for. Basically, having survived the killings in the Hundred Acre Wood, Christopher Robin (Scott Chambers) flees and returns to his childhood town of Ashdown to seek help. Many of the corpses of the victims are recovered from the woods, but Christopher is believed to be responsible. The incident is dubbed the "Hundred Acre Massacre", and a film adaptation based on the murders is released (the first film within the film), damaging Christopher's reputation in Ashdown. Christopher becomes an outcast, and he has nightmares about his former friend Winnie-the-Pooh (Ryan Oliva) who killed several people. Christopher starts seeing hypnotherapist Mary Darling (Teresa Banham) to deal with the nightmares, along with his childhood trauma: the memory of his twin brother Billy who was kidnapped and never seen again. Meanwhile, in the Hundred Acre Wood, Pooh and Piglet (Eddy MacKenzie) are forced to hide along with Tigger (Lewis Santer) and Owl (Marcus Massey) as there are people who believe in Christopher's story. Three university students come to the woods in a recreational vehicle to investigate for themselves, and the creatures slaughter them. Following this, Owl suggests to Pooh that they attack Ashdown rather than wait for more people to come to the woods. A group of hunters ambush the creatures; Piglet is killed to avenge the students' death, and Pooh kills them in retaliation and reconsiders Owl's suggestion. However, one of the hunters survives the ordeal and returns to Ashdown. Due to the negative backlash in town, Christopher loses his job at the local hospital and returns to undergo further hypnotherapy with Mary. The surviving hunter arrives at the hospital for treatment and Christopher suspects he was attacked by Pooh, which is confirmed when he asks the hunter what happened. Christopher also meets hospital janitor Cavendish (Simon Callow), who used to work for scientist Dr. Arthur Gallup (Eddy MacKenzie), who forced him to kidnap children around Ashdown for experiments with animal genes. Many children did not survive the experiments and were buried in the Hundred Acre Wood. The bodies of the children came back as half-animal, half-human hybrids with an enhanced healing factor. Christopher confronts Cavendish, who admits that Billy was among the kidnapped children, he was resurrected as Pooh; Cavendish commits suicide filled with guilt. Christopher learns that the creatures are preparing an attack, he tries to warn the entire town, but people are sceptical and ridicule him. That night, Pooh, Tigger, and Owl embark on a killing spree throughout Ashdown, slaughtering several residents, including Mary and Christopher's best friend Finn (Flynn Matthews). Christopher's parents Alan (Alec Newman) and Daphne (Nicola Wright) are personally killed by Pooh, who kidnaps his younger sister Bunny (Thea Evans). The creatures next attack Christopher's new girlfriend Lexy (Tallulah Evans) who survives and escapes. The creatures move on to a rave party in a warehouse and slaughter all the partygoers. Christopher kills Tigger and learns that Bunny was kidnapped. He returns to the Hundred Acre Wood to confront and fight Pooh, but he is subdued easily. When Christopher calls Pooh by his real name, Billy, he tries to remember his childhood. But Pooh is still angry about Christopher abandoning the creatures and blames him for Eeyore's death years ago. Christopher is forced to kill Pooh with an axe before he reunites with Lexy and Bunny. Christopher is cleared of all wrongdoing when CCTV footage of the creatures' crimes in Ashdown is passed to the police, and he is released. It is revealed that Owl survived and has recovered the bodies of Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet and wants to revive them and get revenge on Christopher once and for all with the help of some old friends. Also starring Peter DeSouza-Feighoney as Young Winnie-the-Pooh, and Flynn Gray as Freddie. It is fair to say that with a slightly bigger budget, the special effects makeup has improved somewhat, and I may have enjoyed one or two of the grisly deaths, but everything else, the script, the dialogue, and the performances (how did they get Simon Callow?!?) are still dull and pointless, a stupid independent slasher horror comedy. Pretty poor!
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
The original film is great, the second film is not great, and the third film made years later was fine, it was sort of surprising that there would be a fourth film, I didn't have any confidence it would be any improvement or anything we haven't already seen. Basically, in Miami, Florida, Detective partners Mike Lowrey (Will Smith, also producing) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence, also producing) are speeding to Mike's wedding, when they stop at a store and thwart an attempted robbery. After Mike marries his physical therapist, Christine (Melanie Liburd), during the celebrations, Marcus suffers a mild heart attack and goes into a coma. During his comatose, Marcus has a vision of the late Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) who tells him it is not his time. When Marcus wakes up, he believes he cannot die, and he is told to avoid fatty and sugary foods. Soon after, there are new reports that Captain Howard was corrupt being tied to drug cartels. Mike and Marcus are determined to prove that the captain has been posthumously framed and was innocent. The detectives are helped by Captain Rita Secada (Paola Núñez), and Rita's new district attorney boyfriend, Adam Lockwood (Ioan Gruffudd), who is running to become mayor. Meanwhile, a group of conspirators, led by a mysterious man, James McGrath (Eric Dane), try to access Captain Howard's computer, inadvertently sending a pre-recorded video to Mike and Marcus. In the video, Howard warns them of corruption within the department. Howard reveals he gave information to their former hacker colleague Fletcher (John Salley) because Howard felt he was more responsible than Marcus and Mike. The partners go to Fletcher's club to retrieve "files", however, a squad of assassins attack and kill Fletcher. Having escaped the assassins, the pair realise that what they are looking for is a QR code hidden in wall art. This unlocks a second more detailed video from Captain Howard who tells them that Mike's son, Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio), has the answers they are looking for. Armando is incarcerated for Howard's murder, a hit ordered by his late mother, Isabel. Armando claims that Howard was not corrupt, but knew who was, and Captain Howard was killed for getting closer to bringing down the organisation. Having captured the leader in CCTV footage from the club, they want Armando to help identify the person responsible. As Mike and Marcus transport Armando to Miami, McGrath is aboard, killing the pilot and guards, and escaping before the helicopter crashes. The trio survive the crash, but Mike and Marcus are suspected of Fletcher's murder and have become wanted fugitives. Captain Howard's daughter, U. S. Marshal Judy Howard (Rhea Seehorn) believes the duo are part of the corruption and have joined forces with Armando, whom she has sworn vengeance on for killing her father. When McGrath puts out a bounty, the three are hunted by both law enforcement and criminal gangs. With the help of AMMO team members Dorn (Alexander Ludwig) and Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens), who believe in their innocence, Mike and Marcus go through several documents and photographs of criminals for Armando to identify the man they are looking for. Eventually, Armando positively identifies former Army Ranger turned DEA officer McGrath, and they uncover the truth behind the murder and setup. McGrath was captured and tortured until he gave up his associates; he has been working with them ever since. To force them out of hiding, Christine and Callie (Quinn Hemphill), Judy's daughter, are kidnapped by McGrath's mercenaries. McGrath sends his men to kidnap Marcus's family, but his son-in-law, Reggie (Dennis Greene), who is a skilled Marine, is warned of their approach. Mike and Marcus watch the house security CCTV as Reggie kills them all. The group determines there must be an insider working for McGrath, and they warn Rita when they realise it is Lockwood. Exposed, Lockwood attacks Rita and tries to flee, but she, Dorn, and Kelly apprehend him. They interrogate Lockwood about the corruption and McGrath's plans, of which he has little knowledge, and Rita is upset about their relationship being untrue. Using Lockwood as bait, the team makes their way to his hideout, a former alligator-themed amusement park, where the hostages are being hauled. Soon, the two sides engage in a fierce gunfight, while Lockwood tries to escape in the plane, only to crash and be mauled to death by an alligator. Mike finds and confronts McGrath, who holds both Christine and Marcus hostage at gunpoint. McGrath forces Mike to pick either Christine or Marcus to die. Mike, alluding to Marcus's newfound belief that he "cannot die", shoots Marcus in his bulletproof vest. This causes McGrath to let go of Christine and Marcus and he is killed. Amidst the chaos, Judy finds Armando and prepares to kill him, but Callie insists that he saved her life. Begrudgingly, Judy shows mercy to Armando for his good deed and allows him to escape. Mike and Marcus, along with the late Captain Howard are cleared of all charges. Later, the detectives celebrate by cooking food on a public grill with Reggie, who has finally earned the respect of both Mike and Marcus. Also starring Tasha Smith (replacing Thera Randle) as Theresa, Tiffany Haddish as Tabitha, DJ Khaled as Manny the Butcher, Jenna Kanell as Nicole, McGrath's hacker, and Michael Bay (director of the first two films) as the Porche driver. The buddy cop bickering and foul language banter between Smith and Lawrence is fine, Scipio is good, Gruffudd does a reasonable job as a dodgy politician, and Dane is okay as the villain. There was one moment I found hilarious when Lawrence tries to catch a Skittle in his mouth (spitting out the blackcurrant one) and then swigs the spilling sugary red drink while "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Baby" by Barry White is playing. The story of corruption in the FBI and clearing the name of the dead friend is interesting, I found Lawrence's character talking philosophically daft, and the script is full of cliches and predictable dialogue but several exciting fast-paced chases, explosions, and guns blazing more than make up for these niggles, it is an alright crime action comedy. Worth watching!