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Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre

Posted in Action, Comedy, Thriller with tags on March 23, 2023 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Director Guy Ritchie is known for energetic ensemble pieces overflowing with audacious repartee. Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is another frivolous spy caper full of convoluted developments. However, it’s still an engaging escapade that offers hijinks and fun. Sometimes that’s all you need.

This amusing adventure delivers the goods. A mission coordinator (Cary Elwes) for MI6 hires Special agent Orson Fortune (Jason Statham). His mission: Retrieve a stolen doomsday device before billionaire arms dealer Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant), can sell it to the highest bidder. Orson’s operatives include Sarah Fidel (Aubrey Plaza) and J.J. Davies (Bugzy Malone). Simmonds plans to host a charity event in Cannes. The team recruits Simmonds’ favorite movie star, Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett), to infiltrate the event.

Guy Ritchie has a facility for these mid-budget thrillers that mix comedy and action. He knows how to craft pure but undemanding entertainment. Recent examples include the Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Gentlemen, and Wrath of Man. Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is a worthy addition to his filmography. This sprightly romp is immensely watchable.

Despite all this, the movie was a flop at the box office. Initially scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. on January 21, 2022, the picture was delayed several times until March 3, 2023. Producers were allegedly worried that the baddies were of Ukrainian nationality. Regardless, the lack of marketing for the film didn’t help. I’ll concede this thriller isn’t particularly innovative, and that unwieldy title is terrible. However, the flick coasts along on wit and charm in under two hours. It’s well worth checking out.

Currently available to rent on digital platforms like Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, and more.

03-09-23

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Cocaine Bear

Posted in Comedy, Horror, Thriller with tags on February 25, 2023 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 3 out of 5.

In 1985 a 175-pound (79-kilogram) American black bear overdosed on cocaine. It all began when a drug lord named Andrew C. Thornton II was trafficking narcotics from Colombia into the United States. He dropped a load of 40 plastic containers of cocaine over Georgia’s Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The cargo was too heavy for his light twin-engine plane. Thornton also evacuated and died soon after when his parachute failed to open. On December 23, authorities in Georgia discovered the body of a black bear that had eaten the stimulant. The total amount consumed was 75 pounds (34 kilograms), valued at 2 million dollars. Those are the facts, and this is his story.

Ok, so the film has taken some liberties. The animal did not kill anyone and died immediately after ingesting the drug. However, that would not make an exciting movie. This is a silly comedy mixed with severe gore. The screenwriters have fabricated a tale out of whole cloth. The bear goes on a rampage and ends up killing many people in gruesome ways. That’s it. The chronicle is half-baked.

Cocaine Bear is the chronicle of a beast that goes on a coke-fueled frenzy. She — yes, the mammal is female — has a craving for more of that addictive white powder. The bear will mercilessly kill any human in her sights. The narrative is inherently a comedy first, so you are invited to laugh, with horror being a close second. In that capacity, it unapologetically offers vivid grindhouse violence — a severed leg here, a decapitated head there. One poor soul is subject to a literal stomach churning where his intestines are ripped out of his abdomen. The simple idea is mined continuously to the point of exhaustion. I longed for a twist, plot development, or anything that might break up the monotony. The picture is a mere 95 minutes and still feels too long.

What “bear-ly” saves this B movie is a colorful cast. The starry ensemble includes Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) as a drug kingpin named Syd in one of his last performances. His underlings are his grief-stricken son, played by Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), and O’Shea Jackson Jr (Straight Outta Compton) as Syd’s second-in-command. Keri Russell (TV’s Felicity) is a nurse and the mom of a young girl portrayed by Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project). Christian Convery (TV’s Sweet Tooth) is memorable as her little friend. Margo Martindale (August: Osage County) is a park ranger who applies perfume to incur the affection of a wildlife inspector, played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson (TV’s Modern Family). Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Da 5 Bloods) is the policeman assigned to the case. Other actors depict teen ruffians, hikers, law enforcement, and ambulance workers. They all contribute.

Cocaine Bear is this generation’s Snakes on a Plane. It’s a passable time-filler — amusing in the moment and forgettable the next day. If the title is enough to make you chuckle, then see it. If not, steer clear. The saga will be “un-bear-able.”

02-23-23

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Knock at the Cabin

Posted in Horror, Mystery, Thriller with tags on February 3, 2023 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Knock at the Cabin is director M. Night Shyamalan’s take on the home invasion thriller. But given the filmmaker’s modus operandi, you know this isn’t going to be a straightforward horror movie. Rest assured an existential conundrum will arise to imbue the account with perceived weight.

Thankfully the story is efficient and gets started right away. A little girl (Kristen Cui) is vacationing at a remote cabin in the woods with her two thirty-something dads, Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge). 7-year-old Wen is alone when approached in the forest by a large man covered in tattoos named Leonard (Dave Bautista). He’s a soft-spoken guy who articulates in hushed tones. Dave Bautista is a hulking 6′ 4″ professional ex-wrestler. Still, he is believable as the second-grade teacher he professes to be, exhibiting a nuance and calm that makes his gently fanatical character seem even more frightening and unhinged. His sensitive performance is the MVP of this picture,

The situation will grow more horrifying. At first, Leonard seems friendly as he and Wen make small talk. However, when three additional people, two women (Nikki Amuka-Bird & Abby Quinn) and another man (Rupert Grint), emerge from the forest with homemade weapons, Wen’s ease turns to fear. She runs back to the cabin to notify her dads. They shut the windows and bolt the doors, but the visitors break in. A struggle ensues, and Eric gets a concussion. The intruders tie Andrew and Eric up. They inform the family they’re not there to cause them harm but to deliver a dire message.

What follows is a “What would you do?” scenario. The ethical parable could’ve been a succinct Twilight Zone episode. Nevertheless., M. Night Shyamalan, along with co-writers Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, manage to adapt Paul G. Tremblay’s novel The Cabin at the End of the World into a 100-minute cinematic feature. Although they’ve changed the source material by removing a fatal development and rendering the ending less ambiguous. The cinematography by Jarin Blaschke (The Lighthouse) and Lowell A. Meyer (Greener Grass) is filled with conspicuous Dutch angles and closeups that emphasize the intensity of their predicament. The ominous score by Icelandic composer Herdís Stefánsdóttir (The Hate U Give) further complements that feeling of dread. It looks and sounds terrific.

Knock at the Cabin could’ve been worse, and by that, I mean even longer. Brevity is an asset, and as such, the saga doesn’t have time to be dull. The movie’s best scenes are flashbacks. A visit with the parents, adopting daughter Wen, and a conversation in a bar are more compelling than what transpires in the cabin. The details flesh out Eric and Andrew’s life together and highlight challenges in their life. They’ve experienced intolerance in the past. Is their current plight just another — albeit more extreme — example?

This apocalyptic tale could have been better. There’s not much to chew on besides a vague pseudo-spiritual narrative that fails to explicitly mention God or religion. However, that is the realm we’re playing in, no matter how hard these screenwriters try to skirt the issue. 18th-century revivalist preacher Jonathan Edwards spoke of a vengeful creator. Conversely, anyone possessing even a shred of faith that God is inherently loving will find this pessimistic take at odds with those views. It’s a pretty intense R-rated film. Murder is more than a threat. That young Wen is a witness to violent deeds makes them a lot more unsettling than if they had occurred without her present. Meanwhile, M. Night Shyamalan still finds humor in the depravity by inserting himself in yet another Hitchcock-style cameo. I laughed at his incongruous presence, although it felt inappropriate given the seriousness of everything else.

02-02-23

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M3GAN

Posted in Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller with tags on January 9, 2023 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 2 out of 5.

The killer doll story has been a subset of horror for decades. Early instances of the well-worn trope can be found in Dead of Night (1945) and TV’s The Twilight Zone (1959). The 1970s reintroduced the concept with Trilogy of Terror (1975), Magic (1978), and Tourist Trap (1979), but it popped up the most during the 1980s in films like The Pit (1981), Poltergeist (1982), Ghoulies (1985), Dolls (1986), Child’s Play (1988) and Puppet Master (1989). Recent additions include Annabelle (2014), The Boy (2016), and Sabrina (2018). It’s time to add yet another entry to the fold. Meet M3GAN (pronounced MEGAN), an innovative life-sized action figure who can walk and talk…and dance, but I wouldn’t expect a meaningful discourse. Her existence adds nothing to the conversation.

M3GAN is a downright lazy interpretation of a basic idea. Gemma (Allison Williams) is a roboticist at Funki, a technological toy company. M3GAN (played by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis) is short for Model 3 Generative Android. Wide-eyed and girly, the doll is suitably creepy and the production design’s best asset. Gemma is working on this artificial intelligence (AI) robot for children at home. The toy is still in the prototype stage. Gemma’s 8-year-old niece Cady (Violet McGraw), is currently staying with her. Cady is struggling to come to terms with the death of her parents. M3GAN appears to be a good surrogate for her grief. Gemma is pleased by this as she can spend less time being a parent. Kudos to Allison Williams for portraying a cold personality that is, unfortunately, more realistic than people would care to admit. Gemma’s co-worker (Jen Van Epps) and Cady’s therapist (Amy Usherwood) are concerned with M3GAN’s growing presence in Cady’s life. We, the audience, were worried the second we saw the strangely lifelike doll because (ahem) we have seen movies before.

Horror films work when they can shock or scare us. M3GAN fails in this regard. We’ve had at least 80 years of the cinematic trope, so it’s astonishing to see a picture in 2023 do so little with the formula. M3GAN has been programmed to protect Cady emotionally and physically. Her AI grows more advanced as she bonds with Cady until — surprise! — the doll becomes sentient. The toy exhibits hostility whenever she spies a danger to her human companion. Naturally, this progresses into her killing the people and animals she deems a threat. The plot shuffles down a predictable path. As a result, there’s no tension or suspense other than waiting for the current scene to end so we can see the next obvious development.

M3GAN is spooky but lacks scares. However, that isn’t the raison d’être of this PG-13-rated fluff. It’s trying to be funny, but having a robot use words like “bitch” when she gets angry is just scraping the bottom of the barrel for wit. M3GAN inexplicably swaying to a pop song in the trailer inspired a TikTok trend. The marketing team wisely capitalized on this situation and hired a troupe of eight dancers dressed like M3GAN to move in a choreographed routine at the premiere and other random events. This makes the much shorter 10-second blink-and-you-miss-it dance in the actual film seem even more like a missed opportunity.

M3GAN isn’t campy enough. This is surprising because screenwriter Akela Cooper wrote Malignant, which had a zany sensibility you couldn’t predict. See the infinitely superior Bride of Chucky for an example of true outrageousness. The fourth installment in the Child’s Play franchise took doll-on-doll relations to the next level. Now that’s camp! And while we’re at it, the concept of an electronic device designed to entertain and mentor children isn’t even outlandish anymore. Count how many tots at the mall have their eyes glued to an iPad and not their parents. I know, 20 years ago, it would’ve been a TV at home. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Speaking of the status quo, the first month of the year has traditionally been the dumping ground for Hollywood studios. M3GAN is indeed a movie released by Universal Pictures on January 6th.

01-05-23

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Emily the Criminal

Posted in Crime, Drama, Thriller with tags on January 6, 2023 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Emily Benetto is facing a mountain of crippling debt from student loans. She also has a felony conviction, preventing her from getting a regular job. The details are sketchy. We hear it’s from an assault. She mentions she fought a lot with an ex-boyfriend. That ambiguity helps us side with her. Longtime best friend Liz (Megalyn Echikunwoke) pledges to get Emily an interview at a prestigious ad agency, but those promises keep going unfulfilled. Emily falls more easily into a credit card scam where she poses as a “dummy shopper.” We’re introduced to a nefarious Los Angeles underworld that includes a mentor named Youcef Haddad (Theo Rossi).

As the title suggests, Emily the Criminal is a character study — at least initially — about a crook. Not one that is born and raised but recently brought about by her plight. She is a scrappy young woman, defined by her current situation. Emily’s ability to adapt is impressive. As her circumstances become ever more dangerous, she meets them head-on. The situations continue to escalate, but so does she. She refuses to be a victim. Despite her less-than-savory behavior, she isn’t a figure that incurs our hatred. Although she doesn’t incur respect, either.

Aubrey Plaza (Safety Not Guaranteed, Ingrid Goes West) is fascinating as the main protagonist. The individual occupies this gray area where we know her actions are wrong on an intellectual level, but we want her to succeed from an emotional standpoint. To inspire that nuance of feeling is rare. The actress continues to make an impression. When this drama became available on Netflix on December 7, it promptly entered the Top 10. At the same time, she was portraying Harper Spiller, a straitlaced lawyer in a marriage fraught with tension, in the vacation drama The White Lotus on HBO Max.

Emily the Criminal is also a competent thriller. Any discussion of the most promising directorial debuts of 2022 would include John Patton Ford. He has fashioned a compelling tale. In detailing her journey, Emily will meet a cadre of various individuals. It will get intense. Her self-defense weapons expand from pepper spray to a taser to a box cutter. The last of which is considerably more lethal. There is a dubious lack of guns, however. Some of the interactions could have gone much worse. Take a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief before enjoying this view of LA. Aubrey Plaza keeps us enrapt. The actress maintains a blank stare, a face inexplicably conveying both fear and indifference to everything around her. That keeps us a bit detached, too, but we still feel compassion. Ford’s screenplay pleads for understanding. This is an unvarnished portrait of humanity. It may not be inspiring, but it is real.

01-04-23

Emily the Criminal is on Netflix (since December 7). It originally premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 24 and was released to theaters on August 12.

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The Menu

Posted in Comedy, Horror, Thriller with tags on November 25, 2022 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

“Eat the rich.” The expression is a rallying cry against capitalism and class inequality. It’s commonly attributed to Jean Jacques Rousseau, a political philosopher and leading figure in the late 18th century during the French Revolution. However, the idiom has been invoked many times since. The words are never uttered here, but that ethos is all over this movie and is especially apropos, given the account is all about eating. Not literally “people,” as the phrase somewhat humorously implies, but gourmet fare. However, this narrative does not celebrate fine dining. Obsessive foodies, celebrity chefs, and tasting menus will be roasted to the death..and it isn’t pretty.

The Menu is a dark and nasty satire on the art of fine dining. Hawthorn is the name of an elegant restaurant in the Pacific Northwest run by Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). It’s likely a mash-up of many haute cuisine destinations. Director Mark Mylo — best known for his directorial work on TV shows Succession and Shameless — is working from a clever screenplay by Will Tracy and Seth Reichs (The Onion). A visit to Cornelius, a prestigious destination for seafood in Norway, inspired this production. Living in Nothern California, my mind went to The French Laundry, which charged $850 per person at the height of the COVID pandemic. There’s also a more direct geographic comparison of La Isla, the isolated private island in Patagonia of chef Francis Mallman visited by affluent gastro-tourists. There’s no cell coverage or Wi-Fi there either.

Guests travel by boat to a remote island to dine at an exclusive venue where the chef has prepared a lavish multi-course culinary journey with a sinister agenda. That’s the plot in a nutshell. This is a world where the top 1% spend hundreds (even thousands) of dollars on an epicurean experience. The “Breadless Bread Plate” merely features dollops of oil and emulsions on a plate. “The Island” course is a rock with a raw diver scallop carefully adorned with pickled seaweeds and algae using tweezers. These chefs have reduced their craft to an intellectual exercise by taking the joy out of eating. The final insult? The diner is still hungry after their meal of minimalism is all over.

Then there are the 12 chic and shallow elites who have each paid $1250 a head. The guest list includes Nicholas Hoult as Tyler, an obsequious foodie who has watched every episode of Chef’s Table. He worships Julian Slowik. His date is Margot, portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy. She is different, a cynic, unimpressed with all the highfalutin nonsense. “You’re the customer,” she chides a sycophantic Tyler. “You’re paying him to serve you.” Reed Birney and Judith Light play a wealthy couple whose marital problems are exposed during the service. Janet McTeer is a pompous delight as a powerful food critic. John Leguizamo is a name-dropping has-been actor.

Ultimately, this is a hilarious food film with stylish horror influences. It’s like Saw blended with Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The script mines a smug contempt for establishments that flaunt their farm-to-table practices like a badge of honor. Yet, one should approach the tongue-in-cheek tone with a grain of salt. Despite the semi-serious horror milieu, the atmosphere’s evolving sense of silliness must be embraced to fully enjoy these shenanigans. Airplane! represents the airline industry about as closely as The Menu embodies a high-end restaurant. Time and again, these idiotic victims do not behave like normal people. There are numerous examples, but any patron that would happily pull out their wallet to pay for the experience they get here would have to be either suicidal or certifiably insane. A healthy suspension of disbelief is required. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this far-fetched parody.

11-22-22

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The Wonder

Posted in Drama, Mystery, Thriller with tags on November 21, 2022 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Anna O’Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy) is an 11-year-old girl in rural Ireland who has allegedly been fasting for four months. She appears perfectly healthy and contends that she survives on “manna from heaven.” The devout townspeople hail it as a miracle, but skepticism arises. Local authorities call upon Elizabeth “Lib” Wright (Florence Pugh). She is an English nurse tasked to simply observe the child to test the veracity of these claims. As a woman of science, she is skeptical. Meanwhile, the all-male town council, which includes the town doctor (Toby Jones) and a priest (Ciarán Hinds), believes in divine intervention. Their disdain for Lib and her opinion is increasingly evident.

I don’t know who the audience is for this film. Believers who want to see a drama that affirms religion and faith will be disappointed because it’s not uplifting. However, it also fails as an exposé on how the desires of a little girl, her parents, and the Catholic Church intertwine. The developments are so deliberate and gradual that it tests the viewer’s patience. The more we learn, the less interesting the narrative becomes. The austerity of the surroundings effectively creates a sinister atmosphere. I’ll concede that. It’s a depressing mood piece but not much else.

The Wonder is a slow, methodical characterization of two people. Director Sebastián Lelio (Gloria, A Fantastic Woman) has achieved critical success with his cinematic portraits of women. Lib, the nurse, is an empathetic person. Anna persists as an enigma. Her behavior will give someone pause. Is she the real deal? The two personalities compel the viewer to keep watching to find out. However, the lethargic pace is plodding, and the resolution is unremarkable. The screenplay is based on the 2016 book of the same name by Emma Donoghue. The author also penned the novel Room, which she adapted into the Oscar-winning movie starring Brie Larson. I “wonder” if Donoghue considers her previous adaptation to be vastly superior…because I do.

11-16-22

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Halloween Ends

Posted in Horror, Thriller with tags on October 16, 2022 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 2 out of 5.

It all comes down to this. The film that started things back in 1978 is a classic celebrated by critics and audiences alike. There have been so many movies with various timelines in this series. Most are pretty disposable, but any franchise with crowds still demanding entries 44 years later incurs a certain level of respect. Call me crazy, but I think Universal Pictures should’ve dubbed the latest picture what it really is: Halloween the 13th — a winking nod to another well-known horror anthology.

Halloween Ends is technically part three of a modern trilogy following 2018’s Halloween and 2021’s Halloween Kills. This has also been sold as the climactic chapter (note the title) of the entire franchise. That’s a lot of pressure to deliver. Unfortunately, Halloween Ends fails to satisfy either as a follow-up that honors what came before or as a new standalone story.

We expect certain things from a sequel. This entry has very little interest in involving the characters we know. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a minor presence in the narrative, and we don’t see the main villain Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney), for a full third of the chronicle. He takes a backseat to the action once he does. Director David Gordon Green has a different focus. The script he co-wrote with Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier, and Danny McBride, introduces an entirely new and rather bland fellow named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). He’s a teen who accidentally kills a boy (Jaxon Goldenberg) while babysitting in an admittedly promising prologue. Side note: The child was misbehaving. He got his just deserts. Corey is cleared of manslaughter charges but becomes the town pariah. Corey is a sensitive kid, and the local bullies mercilessly harass him. He snaps. Michael Myers understands Corey’s torment and takes him under his wing — like a protégé.

Halloween Ends takes some big swings but ends up striking out. Introducing a brand new outcast as the star is a risk that doesn’t pay off. Corey subsequently gains the affection of Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). Their romantic entanglement is a major component of this saga. Allyson has been through a lot. Corey is clearly damaged and throwing up all sorts of red flags, so her pursuit of him makes absolutely no sense. Fans who came to see scream queen Jaime Lee Curtis and her nemesis Michael Myers share the screen together will have to wait until the final 20 minutes of this two-hour production. It is predictably violent and ridiculously bloody, so enthusiasts who feast on gore should enjoy that segment at least.

The screenplay attempts to make a grand statement about “the inevitability of evil that exists in the world.” Michael Myers is more than a character here. He’s a symbol. The ongoing weight of Laurie’s guilt and despair is poured into writing a memoir. “Evil doesn’t die. It only changes shape,” she opines. Her introspective voiceover narration is like Chicken Soup for the Soul. These wispy ruminations inject unwarranted and misplaced importance into a slasher flick. The plot of Halloween (1978) could be summed up in three words: “Man kills teens.” It was that simple. It’s not hard, people. I just want to be frightened, and I wasn’t. My pulse didn’t even quicken.

This “final” installment is a sorry excuse to revive a tired franchise that did not merit twelve additions to the original (so far). It may be called Halloween Ends, but I have no doubt some screenwriter will creatively resurrect Michael Myers in another sequel using his DNA or invoking his supernatural spirit. I don’t look forward to that. However, I will end on a positive. Halloween Ends is an honest title because it does indeed genuinely and truly have a definitive end.

10-14-22

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Don’t Worry Darling

Posted in Drama, Mystery, Thriller with tags on September 26, 2022 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Even before Don’t Worry Darling was theatrically released on September 23, it was subjected to an onslaught of negative publicity. The tabloid shenanigans concerning certain key people were the fodder for rampant gossip. I’m being vague because this is Fast Film Reviews, not The Hollywood Reporter. I only bring it up because I’d bet the farm that the drama behind the scenes is 100x more interesting than the finished product.

The company town of Victory, California, is a traditional community in the 1950s. Husbands go to work while women stay home, do household chores, and socialize. Alice and Jack are a young attractive married couple in love. However, Alice begins to detect cracks in their seemingly idyllic existence. Bunny (director Olivia Wilde) is Alice’s best friend.

So let’s start with the good: The ensemble features an outstanding performance from Florence Pugh, looking radiant in Brigitte Bardot-style tresses. She is another UK actress (like Saoirse Ronan or Millie Bobby Brown) that is more convincing as an American woman than many of her peers. She did it perfectly in Midsommar, and now she’s done it again in another psychological thriller. Also worthy of mention is actor Chris Pine. He’s scary good as the enigmatic Frank — the founder of the “Victory Project.” A job to which the men all report every morning. Their departure in cars en masse is a spectacle. The details of their employment are shrouded in mystery.

I was captivated by the aesthetics. The production design is visually striking as it recreates this picturesque vision of suburban life in America. The cinematography is impressive too. Director of photography Matthew Libatique often partners with filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. Libatique’s effort draws upon his iconic visuals in Requiem for a Dream. Remember the repeated montage involving extreme close-ups of heroin as it cooks, boils, and enters the body? Well, substitute those sequences for bacon, eggs, and sliced toast as Alice makes breakfast every morning.

Ok, so now the bad? The script presents an unimaginative tale that is wholly derivative. Any deep dive into what happens here won’t withstand scrutiny. Why does Jack dance like a puppet for the men? What’s up with the hallucinations that feature choreography à la Busby Berkeley? Why do Bunny’s loyalties suddenly shift on a dime? Why does Frank’s wife (Gemma Chan) do what she does at the climax? Why do the aggressive (and unsexy) sex scenes never progress beyond third base? These are just a few of the questions I had. At least consulting the internet for answers made me feel I wasn’t alone. However, it didn’t resolve my confusion.

It feels like the screenwriters simply watched The Stepford Wives, drank a bottle of whiskey, and then wrote this movie. Ok, so it’s not *exactly* the same thing. (They threw in a little of The Matrix) Yet it’s so similar that the estate of author Ira Levin — who penned the 1972 novel — might be entitled to a cut of the profits. Katie Silberman gets credit for the screenplay based on a story by Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, and Silberman. The best scene in the film is a dialogue at a dinner party that includes Alice and Frank while the guests look on. Sadly even the promise of that conversation doesn’t coalesce into anything meaningful. The plot didn’t offer surprises. The “twist” ending is a disappointment, although my predictive abilities remain acute. So no, this flick isn’t worth your time, but don’t worry, darling reader! I saw this, so you don’t have to.

09-22-22

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Barbarian 

Posted in Horror, Thriller with tags on September 15, 2022 by Mark Hobin

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The element of surprise is crucial in horror. It’s all about creating a potent shock. Jump scares are an easy way to accomplish this. Even though the ploy is pervasive, it’s a cheap way to earn tension. More creative is when a film manages to surprise with a plot that upends the viewer’s expectations. Barbarian is that movie.

Tess is a documentary researcher who books an Airbnb at 467 Barbary Street in a derelict area of Detroit. The address is mentioned enough times to become a trivia question if this production stands the test of time. I’m optimistic that it will. Tess will be attending a job interview in the morning. She arrives late at night and is disturbed to find someone already staying at the property. The awkward man is memorably portrayed by Bill Skarsgård. The fact that he was Pennywise the Dancing Clown in 2017’s It will only fuel your misgivings. The mix-up is seemingly due to a booking error. She ultimately decides to stay the night, given the lack of other options.

The greatest horror films are built around a compelling lead, and Barbarian has one of the best. Tess is a smart cookie — in the beginning anyway. She takes a picture of Keith’s ID, keeps the bedroom door locked, and refuses to drink the tea he prepared out of her sight. Her later decisions will grow less and less defensible. Keith is an awkward man, but her reservations about him are somewhat calmed when he expresses love for a little-seen documentary on which she worked. They bond over a bottle of wine that he opens in her presence. She becomes relaxed. Think you know where this is going? You’re not even close.

The strength of Barbarian is in the intricate story that mutates and changes. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what happens. The tale will involve an underground passage beneath the home. Filmmaker Wes Craven would be proud. Tess’s bewildering decision to descend into a dark and foreboding basement is a foolish choice that makes no sense coming from a previously intelligent woman. However, this is a genre flick. Stupid decisions must be made to generate scares. A dreadful discovery arises. I must admit that scene is one of the scariest reveals I can recall in recent memory. The anxiety is aided by director of photography Zach Kuperstein whose expert use of lighting and camera angles throughout the film heightens the suspense. Then without warning, the account abruptly flips into a tonally different saga about a cocky actor named AJ Gilbride. Baby-faced Justin Long is playing wildly against type.

Barbarian is a twisty chronicle that manages to weave the decline of Detroit, how ineffective police allow rampant crime to flourish in impoverished areas, and the #MeToo social movement. These disparate elements are creatively united by director Zach Cregger who also wrote the screenplay. Cregger assumes you’ve seen enough horror classics (Psycho, Friday the 13th, Misery) to make easy assumptions that he can overthrow. I do take exception when the “big bad” is such a physically overwhelming entity that it removes all hope that it can be overcome. It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Despite the milieu, it’s highly amusing when AJ is initially excited to discover the additional basement of the home he owns. He chooses to measure the extra square footage without even considering the extreme danger in which he has willingly placed himself.

A talented ensemble aids director Zach Cregger, but Georgina Campbell is the MVP. The actress immediately joins the ranks of those classic scream queens that blend warmth with tenacity. Fellow actresses Janet Leigh, Linda Blair, and Jaime Lee Curtis are part of an elite club. I hesitate to make bold pronouncements that don’t stand the test of time, but her spirited and captivating performance is really that good. The success of Barbarian rests on her impressive achievement.

09-13-22

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