gabriel_sanchez Reviews

Infested (2023)

Good creature horror experience overall

[7/10 · 4 June 2024]

In Infested, we follow Kaleb, an young adult trying to carry on after the loss of his mother while being the big brother to his sister Manon. Kaleb tries to live in automatic, sharing his care for others, and his love for animals, exotic animals. While buying a present for someone he loves, he can't avoid buying a wild spider, the act that brings chaos to the building that he lives in.

We start the movie with some men hunting down an animal that turns out to be some highly aggressive spiders. From their aggressiveness, we get a feeling for what we are up to, though, now that I think about this scene, it's funny that these hunters could get the spiders just fine while, in the apartment building, the spiders went supreme mode; and I guess this sets the mentality you need to have to watch this movie: it's a horror story, creature horror, and you might have to swallow some holes here and there.

In true monster in the house story type, Kaleb brings the monster into the building, and soon he, his sister, and his friends need to pay the price for his sin. Once the spider is lose, the remaining of the movie is the main group of characters trying to escape the building, while dealing with their inner demons and some Police BS.

The acting is quite amazing, especially near the end, when they are in that "all is lost" moment. I was quite touched by their performance.

You get your fair share of suspense and horror, cinematography playing a key role in delivering these treats. Infested might be a B-movie by today's standards, but the work feels professional, Class A at least. For example, the CGI is for the spiders give them credibility enough that we immerse ourselves into this universe.

In true monster in the house, the climax is their final plan to save themselves, after resolving their inner conflicts. The ending is a abrupt, quite a few things keep open for interpretation, but the emotional punch is there to some extent.

In 2024, Infested is a refreshening take into the horror stream. With so many possession movies out there, every other film apparently a spin-off of Ed and Lorraine, I liked to see a different horror approach. Creature horror might not be mainstream nowadays, but horror fans might feel Infested is a good use of their 1 hour and 46 minutes.

Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

Oldie and rustie

[3/10 · 1 June 2024]

I jumped into the Thir13en Ghosts wagon with high expectations, after all, this movie was the first horror movie I ever watched. Go forward 23 years, and maybe I had too much hope for this movie.

In 13 Ghosts, grieving father Arthur Kriticos inherits the fortune of his never-present uncle Cyrus, a famous and wealthy collector, which, among various intricate items, also has the habit of collecting tortured souls. Fighting financial collapse, the invitation to a wealthy heritage is promising, but soon turns out to endanger his life and the life of his kids, which is all Arthur has left.

I praised the movie to my family as being a great movie, so we went to watch it with high hopes, but, as the movie progressed, I noticed my bias, this movie being the door-opener to the horror genre in my life. 13 Ghosts feels a bit outdated, the cast is weird, the plot is flawed, and the choice of comic relief is just not there.

In 2024, 13 Ghosts feels like a B movie, even though the budget runs to an estimated 42M dollahs. The pacing is too frantic and all over the place, and there is not much depth to any lore mentioned in the story. I guess we had simpler lifes back then.

The cast choice is a bit out of tune as well with this movie. Let's start with Tony Shalhoub, the eternal Monk, and the only actor that saves this movie. Yes, it would be yet 6 more years until we'd frame Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, and, in this movie, Shalhoub is superb as a broken and angered father, but the story does not explore his traits as an intelligent Math teacher; we see glimpses of this, but not enough.

Then we have Matthew Lillard, which, the following year, would become Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, but, funny enough, seems like he is already Shaggy in 13 Ghosts. Unsure what were Steve Beck's guidance, or if Matthew was already recording Shaggy for the aforementioned movie, but Matthew acts like everything is a joke, which is a throw-off to the tone of the movie.

Not far behind is Shannon Elizabeth, like a women Shaggy, which is just there to add cost-value to Arthur's character. Same with his kid by Alec Roberts. And Rah Digga, which plays Maggie, the major comedic relief before Shaggy.

Then there is Embeth Davidtz playing Kalina, a character that has so little runtime that ends up just being a pawn, with such a diminished role as opposed to the overall plot.

And Cyrus by F. Murray Abraham: okay, but far too tyrannical. His arc is the weirdest.

Which brings me to the other problem: the plot. The story is about a mourning father that might have hit the lottery, only to be thrown into a house full of deadly ghosts. Now, the only thing Arthur cares about is saving his family and getting outta dodge. As the movie progresses, you get some shallow lore about the ghosts, and the ultimate intentions behind collecting ghosts. And a major plot twist at the end that has no apparent explanation other than shock factor and a "gotcha" moment.

Comedic relief is everywhere, a repeating trend of horror movies from the 2000s that are old and stupid. 99% of people wouldn't have room for jokes in a dire situation, especially dealing with life threatening events of the supernatural.

And the abrupt ending basically closes the deal with this movie.

A classic? Unfortunately, no. 13 Ghosts is a cult movie, but it's flawed to its core. A weak plot and arcs, weird comedic relief, questionable casting, and overall aging sets 13 Ghosts as a not recommendable to everyday watchers; die-hard cult classics and horror hounds might accept rewatching this funny piece of cinema history.

The Game (1997)

Solid thriller from start to finish

[9/10 · 1 June 2024]

Somehow, I missed this thriller entry back then; almost 30 years later, I gave it a try, and the experience was good - for the most part.

In The Game, Nicholas Van Orton, a wealthy and solitary banker, accepts entering a game after invitation by his brother. Quickly, he realizes that maybe the game is not that safe when a series of event seem to throw is life out of balance.

Nicholas, by Michael Douglas, is detestful. He is smurk, a shmuck that thinks he is on top of everyone. To his demise, The Game is set to shake him to his core - and as the movie progresses, maybe even destroy him.

The Game casts some great names: Michael, Deborah Kara unger, Sean Penn in his early days, James Rebhorn on his late days, and, in general, they do a good job. I feel acting in those days were mostly acceptable to great.

The pacing of this movie is good. I didn't feel bored at any time, and the thrill is there to keep us going, the ultimate drive being the question of what is the real purpose of this game.

The final revelation, though, generates mixed feelings. On one aspect, it brings Nicholas's arc to full closure, yes. On the other side, I myself would also enjoy a darker spin. Regardless, the enging is satisfactory.

Overall, The Game is recommendable to thriller fans. It might not be perfect, but it's entertaining as a thriller should be.

The Intruders (I) (2015)

Meh intrusion to the horror genre

[4/10 · 28 May 2024]

Most of the time, I think Brazilian translation messes up the title of the movie - for The Intruders, a free translation of the BR title is House of Fear, which is okay -, but, this time, I think "The Intruders" is really out of tune with what this movie's story really is. Add to the mix that the story is meh, and you get this 4/10 (meh) stars movie.

The Intruders (2015) follows Rose, a teenager suffering from the loss of her mom, that moved with her dad to a new place, trying to start over. In true "monster in the house" fashion, the new house hides some secrets, and soon Rose starts to doubt her reality and safety.

Miranda Cosgrove as Rose does an okay job in the acting department. Though cringe, she is somewhat convincing as a brat.

But the real problem is with the Rose character. For a main character, she is missing likeability. Yes, yes, one could argue that Rose is dealing with trauma and all, but wouldn't it bemore interesting if Rose was fragile and eventually grew to become stronger? In the story, however, Rose is quite strong already, and a nagging bi**** that does nothing more than complain all the time and shut off people from her life. We grow to dislike her, and that's never a good sign.

The plot is concerned with two main arcs: is Rose going dellusional, and what happened to Rachel Winacott. The first arc is really minor and is not explored in-depth. The second arc ends up being a complete disaster, having more holes than a Swiss cheese. When the final revelation sets in, the main villain is so laughable that we just don't care anymore, we just want to get to the end quickly. Luckly, The Intruders (2015) is only 92-min long.

The cinematography department is professional enough, but the PG-13 decision is lame, and, for that, in the end, we get our fair share of "light killing", if we can even call it that. Sigh...

Overall, if you are looking for a movie to watch with your kids, and your kids happen to like some horror stuff, this is the movie to watch. It has some jumpscares, it has some suspense, it has teens.

Now, recommendable? Not really.

Elevator Game (2023)

Meh teen horror

[5/10 · 28 May 2024]

The simple plot revolves around Ryan, a seemingly socially awkard, yet model shapped, teenager looking for his sister. She disappeared after attempting the Elevator Game, a ritual that invokes The Woman from the 5th Floor that might torn you to shreds if you mess up the ritual. To find his sister, he volunteers as a assistant to a group of other teens that are trying to make some bucks as urban legends debunkers, running a show online.

The characters are what you expect from a teen movie these days: stereotypical versions of Gen X around-20-year-olds. You have the awkward, trying-to-fit-in, supermodel-looking, teen, then the independent, I-take-BS-from-no-one teen; the geek, naive teen; the geek, naughty, teen; and the bad-boy-with-emotions-as-deep-as-a-puddle teen. Unsurprisingly, their arcs come and go, and quickly we are left with the only characters that matter to the story.

In true teen movie, we get the PG-13 version, that though has gore, it also has some jumpscares here and there and a few fake-tension scenes. However, kudos to the Samantha Halas and her contortionism. After The Grudge, that's what I expect from ghosts: they creepy walk.

Ryan has the emotions of Edward Cullen, and sure looks like the damn vampire. His sister's disappearance prompts him forward, but not forward enough that he does not have some time to crack some jokes here and there; in fact, seems like teens these days are always cracking jokes at the weirdest of times. Again, in true teen movie fashion, you get comedic relief at the wrong moments.

To wrap this story up, the ending is just over the top for the sake of being over the top, a dumb cliché of bad horror movies. The rules of the Elevator Game are not clear at all, and you will feel cheated.

All in all, dismissible. Elevator Game (2023) might be alright, but it is a shallow story that comes and goes, living no marks. The best way to watch this movie is to watch it with your 12-to-15-years-old kids and that's about it.

The Vanishing (1993)

Might have worked in 1993, but feels old

[4/10 · 28 May 2024]

The Vanishing (1993) is Hollywood's shameless adaptation of the homonymous Dutch version, which, then, is also an adaptation of a novel by Tim Krabbé called The Golden Egg or, in Americas, The Vanishing. Quick disclaimer: I didn't read the novel, nor watched the Dutch version.

Though The Vanishing (1993) might have the Super Cinema Machina touch, it feels old and clunky. The cinematography is simply not there, with a weird pacing that feels like disjointed scenes blended together in Microsoft's Movie Maker.

The plot is about a writer named Jeff Harriman that lost his girlfriend some 3 years ago. He is trying to move on, but not only the not-knowing haunts him, life seems to be throwing at him some curveballs. Unaware to Jeff, but the kidnapper is watching his every moves.

This story tries to explore certain themes, but exploration seems shallow due to the weird cinematography. Quilty is clearly a light theme at play, due to an argument between characters Jeff and Diane before her disappearance. Other themes include being stuck to the past, not moving on, and, of course, the mind of a psycho.

Jeff (Bauer) by awesomely young Kiefer Sutherland is a joke. Kiefe tries, but the acting is a bit off. I never seemed to care enough for Jeff, and I think this is because the pacing of the story is too frantic, there is not enough time to create emotions.

Then we have Jeff Bridges as Barney Cousins. Jeff displays superior performance, impersonating a character that we might call a 90s Chigurh.

Overall, The Vanishing (1993) might be okay for boomers, but I feel that, in 2024, it is just not recommendable. The movie feels outdated and shallow, too fast and without depth. I heard that the Dutch version is better, but 1988... I'm not sure...

Crisis (I) (2021)

Acceptable drama thriller

[7/10 · 25 May 2024]

In an icy landscape, someone is trying to get to city. The bitter cold is numbing, but the person carries on. A chase breaks in, Border Patrol starting pursuit to the person, who eventually gets caught. He was a mule trying to cross the Canadian/US border with pills: opioids. This opening scene is not flashy, but it's an important connection later on.

Crisis is a movie about the impact of opioids on America. The misleading slogan, "every life has a price", has nothing to do with this movie's theme, which is really about prescription drug abuse and a seemingly a direct critic to FDA.

As a drama thriller, Crisis is solid enough. It packs a good emotional hit, delivering in its arc, and the thrill is there, soft, but noticeable.

The plot follows three main characters: Tyrone, Jake, and Claire.

Tyrone has the drama arc. He is a researcher and scholar from a university that runs business with a multi-million(billion?)-dollar drug company, to which he shows service by testing their drugs for how addictive it might be. His latest research, however, might show him more than he wants, spiraling his life into chaos.

Jake is an undercover cop trying to pin down a drug lord from Canada. Straightforward stuff.

And Claire is a former addict to opioids. When her son is late to get home, evidence creates suspicion that he might be involved with drug trafficking.

As the story progresses, two of the arcs connect, while one is really a side-arc that becomes a major critique against FDA. This side-arc works and delivers; the other two work out alright in the end, though nothing really stands out.

The same can be said for the cinematography. Crisis is a regular movie trying to tell a story, that's about it.

The cast roster is a mix-bag. Gary Oldman is great on his arc, though, not a surprise. Evangeline Lilly also delivers. Armie is alright as a serious cop, one trait that might fit his career moving forward. Then we have actress Michelle Rodrigues doing what she did in Fast and Furious, and Luke Evans, which is just there.

But the Raspberry Award goes to Guy Nadon, probably not his fault, but it is what it is. His character Mother is a joke, such a weird interpretation of a drug overlord. I would expect someone that runs a drug cartel to be a serious person, someone that might strike normality, but has that little hint of danger in his eyes.

The ending to the arcs is also a mix-bag. One arc ends commendably, while the other two deliver open ends that work enough to get the pass ticket.

Overall, Crisis is definitely watchable, and somewhat recommendable - recommendable if someone mentions the movie and you go like: "yeah, the movie is cool if you like drama thrillers." I can't recommend it, though, as a top-tier choice.

When Evil Lurks (2023)

Solid horror story

[8/10 · 20 May 2024]

Cuando Acecha La Maldad shows how a good story usually follows an interesting character through an interesting situation. Interesting might come in different forms, like someone with a past, or plot points that pack a punch, the secret is to deliver without fear, and Cuando Acecha La Maldad delivers.

In Cuando Acecha La Maldad, we follow Pedro and Jimi in a semi-dystopian world, trying to just live their mundane, sort of bad-vibes life, when incident strikes: someone is infested. Infestation is a terrible thing in this world, and Pedro specifically feels it's time to get outta dodge. Some bad decisions later, and the consequences of their acts put the life of everyone in danger.

Pedro is a recluse with somewhat of a dark past. He has just got out of prison and seems to want to disappear into his solitude. He shows glimpses of not taking good decisions, which poses a problem later. His development in the story is a bit lacking, but the highlight of Cuando Acecha La Maldad is his cinematography.

The other recurring character is Pedro's brother, Jimi. Jimi might have had a better role in early development, but it got diminished to secondary, or even tertiary. Events might lead us to think that he will have a climax, but his story is flat. Overall, Jimi supports Pedro on his path to resolution.

Cuando Acecha La Maldad adds a fresh spin into the demoniac-possession story with a concept that, although I'm not sure it's new, is definitely interesting. The idea of mixing possession with characteristics of disease infestation is renewing to the genre, and this movie executes this premise in a solid way.

We get some minor facts about the setting in Cuando Acecha La Maldad. The world seems to be living in a post-apocalyptic period where "God is dead" or has abandoned everything. Demons roam free, but with certain rules: they can infest people, and later influence the world around them if they are not dispatched by skilled hands. Cuando Acecha La Maldad tells us that "demons are common mostly in big cities," which is why Pedro and Jimi live in a lone village by the countryside, hiding from them, a direct criticism to the contrast between the simplicity of the countryside when compared to cities.

Now, what Cuando Acecha La Maldad delivers is in the cinematography department. The opening scene shows a great display of how to hook the audience, a long shot, no-cuts scene that puts us right into the mood: this is going to be a serious movie. And serious it is! Cuando Acecha La Maldad does not BS around, and you better be ready for some heavy sh**. This is a movie about evil, and evil has terrible outcomes.

True to its tone, Cuando Acecha La Maldad ends up with a punch to our stomach. The movie delivers some extent of closure, but the costs are high.

Overall, Cuando Acecha La Maldad is a movie for horror fans, a solid story that doesn't try to please, but rather to remain true to its core. You might find yourself a little darker after you end this movie, but it's for the best. Cuando Acecha La Maldad delivers, and you better be ready for grim stuff.

The Treatment (2014)

Solid mystery thriller, hidden gem

[8/10 · 30 April 2024]

I find it inevitable to say that De Behandeling, a.k.a. The Treatment, is an interesting screen adaptation from Mo Hayder's homonymous novel. A somewhat loose adaptation, and definitely a standalone, De Behandeling stands out as a solid mystery thriller.

A disclaimer here: I haven't read the novel. Yet.

In this movie's story, we start with a gruesome crime scene that sets the mood of this movie. That's before we get some hints of the past from our protag, Nick Cafmeyer, a police investigator that lost his brother due to an unsolved kidnapping during his childhood. Now he is not only haunted by the past, like also tormented by a dude that keeps sending him creepy letters with info about his brother.

The opening crime scene also involves a kidnapping, so we are not surprised when Nick takes the investigation serious and personally.

Because this is a Belgian movie, and unfortunately I know little about that cinema venue, I can't comment much about the actors other than the fact that they all deliver solid performances. Their acting is believable, and everyone is taking their role with seriousness.

As expected from a crime mystery, the story evolves into an investigation to find out who is the kidnapper. The movie does a good job revealing information piece by piece, while maintaining the identity of the perpetrator hidden.

The story has strong themes about dealing with an unsolved case that spams years, the trauma behind it, as well as weaker themes, most of them related to sexuality. De Behandeling is not a movie for kids.

The cinematography is good, less because of style, but more because of the scenery and seriousness of the elements on screen. When you figure out what the kidnapper is doing, things get a gruesome turn.

The climax is perhaps a bit disappointing, below the expectation bar that the story set because the kidnapper is one son of a gun. We want to see him suffer. The climax does not diminish the closure of the story, but it would have been better if we would see some darker consequences to that psycho; I feel he didn't get the retribution for his sins.

Overall, De Behandeling stands out as a solid standalone mystery thriller. Don't watch is expecting a good adaptation from Mo Hayder's novel, that's not what the movie wants to be. Writers and the Director took a good story by Mo and adapted it as a standalone piece. If you watch De Behandeling as that, you get what you want.

The Departed (2006)

Good crime thriller that delivers a huge blow

[9/10 · 29 April 2024]

The Departed (from 2006) is ironically Martin Scorsese's only personal Oscar win; ironically because we all know Mr. Scorsese's work, right? I mean, we are talking about the Director that, by when this movie came out, drove Tavi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Aviator (2004). And, yet, The Departed is the only work to this point, 2024, that got him an Oscar.

Now, is The Departed such a masterpiece? I assume you are reading this review to figure this out, so let's dig deeper.

The story of The Departed follows two rats on different sides of the rat spectrum trying to identify each other. Rat number 1 is Colin Sullivan (by Matt Damon), an investigator of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), while rat #2 is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), a gangster working for an Irish gang under Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).

Colin Sullivan is the protagonist here, yup, you heard me right. I'm sorry, fans of DiCaprio, but the story starts on Colin's perspective and ends on Colin's perspective, so, at a technical storytelling point of view, Colin is the protagonist, the one with most to lose. He not only starts low in life, but he also sees Frank Costello, the one that SIU wants to arrest, as a caring father.

Now, that being said, the story does not explore Colin in greater detail. In fact, I feel like Colin's motives are shaded by the simpler fact that he is just trying to find the rat on his mob family, but we do get glimpses of his inner demons, which might make us wonder if Colin is really enjoying his undercover life. A shame, though, that the story leaves some questions dangling in the air.

Some flat-Earthists might say that Billy Costigan is the real protagonist here, a blatant statement. Well, think of this: Billy has pretty much nothing to lose anymore, so what's there for him other than just follow the flow? I guess the misconception that Billy is the real protag here is that he gets a lot of screentime; hell, I could bet that he gets even more screentime than Matt? - I wonder if someone made the Math.

Billy Costigan is trying to escape his past, but past seems unavoidable when he accepts the offer to go undercover to get some evidences to frame Frank Costello. He is trying to do the right thing, but that gets blurry when your job is to pretend that you are a criminal.

DiCaprio is the show-stealer in this movie, a great performance. He sets Billy as this one good man that just can't avoid the mud that his family seems to be in, and you see this every time DiCaprio is on scene. Billy is on the verge of insanity, and DiCaprio portraits that right.

Supporting characters are great overall. Jack Nicholson is Frank Costello, an Irish mobster that's pretty much a comedian, not sure why.

Then we have Mark Wahlberg as Sargent Dignan, a truly missed opportunity here, indeed. Dignan is such an underused character that it's a shame.

Captain Queenan might fall into the same category because we don't know his connections with his team undercover to the point where we understand how emotionally attached he is.

Plotwise, you get your fair share of a crime thriller. We follow both Colin and Billy while they climb their ranks, keep their identities, and try to identify each other. Colin struggling to get ahead of the investigation; Billy trying not to get too dirty, too deep. One thinks he's got everything under control, while the other is going rock bottom. To shake it up, add a love interest, of course. Although the runtime is lengthy, you want more, you want to get to the bottom of this.

Not sure if a vision of Scorsese, but we get some good symbolisms throughout the movie too, some that have deep connections to events, others that are just lingering. Rats are a heavy theme here, the idea of ratting out someone, and even the poor animal itself. There are hints of being impotent, while others seem to not be that impotent.

And then there's this one lecture about headshots. Awesome foreshadowing.

Overall, The Departed is a solid crime thriller that pleases. I'm not sure if it is Scorsese's best work, but this movie is definitely a great piece. I recommend this movie for people that like thrillers and crime dramas.

Marshland (2014)

Entertaining thriller has some minor flaws but it's solid

[8/10 · 24 April 2024]

La Isla Mínima (Marshland, in the English version,) is a solid Spanish crime mystery that came out as a pleasant surprise out of some digging, I did for good investigation flicks. It's not a perfect film, but it stands out as thrilling.

I can't get over the fact that, in Brazil, the translated title is something like "Old Sins, Long Shadows". For real! What were the translators thinking?

Anyway, the story of Marshland follows detectives Pedro Suáres and Juan Robles in their investigation of the disappearance of two teen girls. In good drama fashion, we are in for some heavy stuff in this movie.

Pedro Suáres is a quite new investigator reassigned to work on this case on a remote little town with his fairly new partner Juan. Pedro is hot-tempered, but he has a good heart, and also a pretty big mouth, that's what got him into this unpleasant assignment.

Juan is a mix of a nice guy with a shadowy past. This fact adds to the drama of the story while Pedro suspects Juan might not be as nice as it seems.

One downside of this movie's story is that the elements of the investigation are a bit absent. Sometimes, Juan gets info offscreen, which feels disjointed to the overall plot.

Also, some symbolism with Juan and birds is one that I didn't get it. Beat me.

Also, one situation with Juan at the bathroom just comes and goes. Seems like it would become something that could affect the story, but, in the end, it's dismissible, you could take out that scene and the story would remain unaffected.

Aside from these downsides, La Isla Mínima is solid on the crime and drama aspects. Slow-driven, the story progresses towards the climax at, you guessed it, La Isla Mínima, the marshland, not before we figure out what is going on.

The final revelation is uneventful, but the solid aspect is the whole drama behind it. Missed potential, at its best.

Overall, La Isla Mínima pleases by its heavy drama elements and solid thriller progression. It's flawed, but the story is good enough to entertain during its runtime.

The Beekeeper (2024)

Your average action-packed action flick

[4/10 · 22 April 2024]

In the honey-filled sea of action movies, Beekeeper just adds raw volume to the waxy mass without superb features. By reusing the old skin of "retired assassin", Beekeeper feels like a beatdown John Wick meets The Mechanic, and the mix is quite weird.

By the trailer, we get the premise of a former special agent from an unclassified org trying to live the rest of his quiet life until someone dearly to him gets whooped by a scam, resulting in their demise. Now, our protagonist wants revenge, he will do whatever it takes to fix the bee-hive system, whatever that means. It's funny that the trailer sells that our protag is going to purge the system from corruption, while Beekeeper is really just about classic revenge.

The story of the Beekeeper follows Adam Clay, an ironically real beekeeper that is trying to live a quiet live in the countryside. His name should be a hint to his character development, but we need to remember that The Beekeeper is an action-driven movie, so forget about emotional characters, deep stories, no, The Beekeeper is about fight scenes and shootouts.

So, Adam is living his cool quiet life when our *inciting incident* strikes, an incident that the trailer reveals. Now our good guy Adam wants his revenge served steaming hot.

Jason Statham is no newcomer when it comes to action movies. By this point, we all know what is all about, and The Beekeeper explores Jason's to its max corkiness potential. We get our fair share of jokes and one-liners, and, to me, they are just meh.

Then there is the supporting character, Agent Verona Parker - the name can't be coincidence, right? Verona is such personifies a cool-wannabe-cranky cop. Have Beekeeper been a serious movie, I'd expect Verona to be on the verge of going full rogue, but because this is action-packed, and the focus is on Statham, Verona gets the disposable character trophy.

Again, The Beekeeper is all about the action sequences, so let me get to those. Fairly soon into the movie, we see Adam showing up his moves, to the audience's delight. The moves are your average fighting bulls***, a choreographed dance that wouldn't work in real life, but looks cool on TV. If you are in for that, you get your fair share, but must I warn you: this is not some John Wick-level dance, this is more a Jet Lee type of dance.

As far as the story goes, Adam is really just cruising from place to place, beating people up and, on set timestamps that relate to plot points, getting some key info. The Beekeeper program is really backstory, and the only use of it is to add fake drama and one side-character that literally just comes and goes.

Then there is the final revelation that escalates to plain absurdity. By this point, you already dismissed this movie as serious, and the final revelation is the last nail into the seriousness coffin.

On the tech aspects, Beekeeper ranges from average to low-budget. The choreography and camera movie are what you'd expect from a movie that is so high-voltage as Beekeeper, everything happened lightning fast, but the CGI was a bit cheap. The soundtrack is generic at best.

Beekeeper at least closes the plot arc, but it leaves it all open for a possible sequel, which is alright. Hopefully we don't get a trilogy out of this.

Overall, Beekeeper delivers on its simplistic premise, and for fans of mindless action, it's a quite alright movie. Look elsewhere if you want drama and intricate plot.

The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

Does not live up to Fincher's predecessor

[5/10 · 15 April 2024]

The Girl in the Spider Web (GSW) comes as an uninvited guest some 7 years after the David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, adding confusion to the storyline. A real shame considering Fede Alvarez's work in Don't Breathe (2016) and Evil Dead (2013).

GSW uses David Lagercrantz's homonymous work as source material, of which I know little about as I haven't read the books yet.

In this entry, Lisbeth Salander has to steal a might computerized weapon, highly visioned by a number of Orgs and criminals, while also dealing with her past that seems to want to hunt her to death, quite literally. If you have come from the Hollywood-targeted The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), you will see familiar names, but no familiar faces - no recurring actors whatsoever.

I assume casting had to work on a budget, and hiring Daniel Craig was off; I wonder why they couldn't bring in Rooney Mara, because she did a way better Lisbeth than Claire Foy. Claire Foy is alright, but she lacks the heart and soul that Rooney put while playing Lisbeth's role.

Speaking of Daniel Craig, GSW's version of Mikael Blomkvist is too funny to go unnoticed. Actor Sverrir Gudnason gets his share of spotlight as a supporting character for Lisbeth, and I feel he was given the wrong directions. It feels Sverrir is trying to be seductive on all his shots, and that's f** annoying. It is funny to compare both Fincher's and Alvarez's Mikael with the Mikael from the Sweden version, which is far more mundane - perhaps too mundane.

GSW has a simplistic plot line, a line that is solid, but unexceptional. Remember that I haven't read the books, so I'm dismissing any comparisons. The fact is that this plot falls under good generic, it has all alright elements we expect, but compared to what we've saw on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the plot is far inferior. I feel the main reason is because the former had elements of a thriller, while GSW is more of a crime-action movie with a few stunts and predictable plot twists.

Tech elements are absent of commentary, I feel, at least for an amateur like myself. There are some slick shots, some humorous wannabe moments; the scenery is alright, but nothing spectacular. The soundtrack is a-okay. You can go brain-dead watching GSW and you would be fine.

And I feel this sums up the experience of watching GSW: brain dead. Do you know when you want to watch something light, shallow, not much thought process to expend, just watch beginning to end, go "yeah", and wrap up? That's GSW.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Good crime thriller

[8/10 · 9 April 2024]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the second adaptation of the original trilogy work by Stieg Larssen, sadly a posthumous work. Confused? Allow me to explain. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this adaptation from 2011, is the second major adaptation from Larssen's book. The first one was Män som hatar kvinnor (2009), directed by Niels Arden Oplev and starring Noomi Rapace. We can think of this version in 2011 as the high-budget version.

The premise is what you'd expect from good crime thrillers. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist accepts chasing down the true events that led to the disappearance and eventual rule-of-death of Harriet Vagner, from the mighty corporate Vagner Family, businessmen that pretty much hate each other in every way possible. To assist him, Mikael ends up getting help of a mentally unstable and lightly disturbed hacker women called Lisbeth.

This movie's story starts off with a great prologue, like in the book. Quickly, we are brought to terms with what this movie is all about, an interesting crime investigation is about to unfold.

Right after the intriguing prologue, we meet one of our protagonists, Mikael Blomkvist, which Daniel Craig interprets. As of 2011, Daniel Craig had already been James Bond twice and was probably ending filming or waiting post-production of Skyfall; Daniel was already the Bond face, and that is a hard stamp to remove out of his play. Mikael has that Bond-y vibe which might work, but, because I didn't read the book yet, I can't say if he really depicts Mikael Blomkvist as Mr. Larssen envisioned.

Regardless, Daniel Craig is a competent actor, and Mikael is likeable enough for us to care.

Soon enough, the story introduces its second protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, who Rooney Mara plays. I don't have recollection of knowing Rooney from other major work, but Rooney does the job in this movie. She is definitely putting her heart into the character, and this dedication pays off. Lisbeth stands at that terrible line where her life is so messed up that we want to see her succeed, and Rooney's acting touch was top-notch. Lisbeth as a character herself has a good development throughout the story.

As the story progresses, we get the good trends from the crime genre. The investigation unfolds in clever ways with everyone being a possible suspect. The good cast of supporting characters adds no room for easy speculation, where you can predict the culprit because of a highly known actor. No, in this movie, all actors are high-grade, and you should suspect everyone.

Focusing strongly in this movie without comparing it to the book, we see that the story focuses heavily on harsh themes. Misogyny seems to be the central theme, displayed even by Mikael's implicit actions. Some scenes are quite graphic and hard to watch.

Other themes involve family secrets in general, again seen not only in the Vagner family but also in Mikael, and abuse, physical and emotional, this theme stronger on Lisbeth and the crimes in place.

Christianity is also a smaller theme, though the movie does not explore it in depth.

David Fincher directs this movie. Known for Seven, Zodiac, Gone Girl, and recently The Killer, David is not a newbie when it comes to driving a crime thriller, adapted from books or not.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is slow-driven, the story focusing on the investigation that unfolds. The sense of danger is imminent, the feeling that things are about to go awry. The editing work is overall okay for the movie's genre; the same is true for the soundtrack.

The scenery is the beautiful landscape of Sweden during winter. Everything is covered in snow, the extreme cold a topic on most characters' mouth, a good connection to the overall cold-hearted motivates behind the antagonist.

150 minutes later, you get to an ending that adds closure to this story and room for other stories. The ending is satisfying enough if we consider the closed arcs.

All in all, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a recommendable crime thriller with good story development and progression, characters, and plot arc. The story is entertaining for its long 150 minutes of length, and the conclusion adds to the desire of wanting to watch the sequel, The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018).

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Good crime thriller delivering solid story with minor flaws overall

[9/10 · 7 April 2024]

When 4-year-old Amanda goes missing from a low-to-mid class neighborhood of Boston, Amanda's aunt Beatrice hires private detectives Patrick and Angie, who see themselves on a web of lies and deceit. Gone Baby Gone explores the violent world of drug addiction, trafficking, and the toll these acts take on a family.

According to IMDb, Gone Baby Gone is the first full-featured length movie that Ben Affleck directed, and I have to say he's done an okay job overall. Not perfect, but a solid start for his first big project. Of course, he had a good starting point: the source material comes from a homonymous novel by Dennis Lehane, one of the screenwriters of this movie.

A disclaimer at this point: I haven't read the book. Yet.

Gone Baby Gone follows private detectives and couple Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, detectives specialized on finding people mostly for billing firms. Their motivation for accepting Beatrice's request is a bit shady, but their ultimate drive is to find Amanda safe and sound.

Patrick is a great character overall, a mix of a weak exterior with a brave attitude. Everyone dismisses him for looking young and naïve, but he is one strong lead, he takes no BS from anyone, and he is willing to die for this case.

His development in the story is good enough, I'd say. He does not go under serious transformation, but his moral dilemma is strong enough to overcome his flat arc. I believe Patrick proves that you don't need characters that change from A to B on every story; you need someone that delivers a solid likeability leading to buy-in from the audience. We believe Patrick's motives, and his likeability is enough that we care for him 'till his last act.

Angie, on the other hand, has a minor role in this story. She is Patrick's love interest, but she is aside in this story. When she shows strong motivations towards solving this case, I felt that the story failed showing a bit more of Angie's development. Not a big miss, but it's there.

The movie starts off with a monologue, which some die-hard movie-addicts might see as a cardinal sin. Being to the point: it is a sin mainly because it's just exposition. Patrick is the main character, but he is not really struggling with his emotions throughout the movie - at least through most of the movie. So, when we hear him talking to us, it feels like that, like he is just telling us information.

Monologue is clearly a director's choice, and I feel like most of these movie's flaws are Direction flaws. Considering Gone Baby Gone is Ben Affleck's debut as a Director, I think it's forgivable, but these flaws exist. For example, another flaw is that the editing is a bit off, for some reason. Gone Baby Gone is from the late 2000s, but I felt like I was in a 1997's movie, 10 years prior to this movie's release.

Now, take this not for granted, the story is good, with twists that keeps the momentum. I felt not cheated once, and the overall story progression is satisfactory, the plot intrinsically planned out to deliver the climax and outcome, both unexpected and full of moral conflict.

And, to wrap up a good story, an ending that pays off. Good arc overall.

On technical levels, Gone Baby Gone is simplistic, but that's good enough for what it is. The R rating is a good choice, considering the themes at hand.

Speaking of themes, you should see themes like the sense of duty, right and wrong, toll that drugs take on family, family overall, and also what justice really means. Strong themes, but no strong preachiness to what they mean, just hints for you to figure them all out on your own.

Gone Baby Gone is a good crime thriller with solid performance by the actors involved. The story is good and involving, and the ending adds closure to what we see. When the movie ended, I was debating with my wife the ending's implications - a good and fun discussion about what we've just watched. Hopefully, you will have room for that level of discussion too, meaning you've watched something that tickles your brain.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

Generic main story drops with weird character choice

[4/10 · 7 April 2024]

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (TCM, 2022) tries to reboot the franchise, but flops due to lack of character development and overall innovation. The story is generic and flat, just an excuse to reuse Leatherface on yet another gore fest.

TCM lives by the premise of reuniting two recurring character: Leatherface and Sally, the latter the survivor of the original TCM movie. However, the reunion is really a background to the story, the climax if you will, as the main story is really about some out-of-this-world youngsters.

The story follows Lila, a survivor of a traumatic event huddling along with the group Dante, his wife Ruth, and Lila's sister Melody. Dante and Melody are famous on the internet, and all of them are really activists for a Utopian world. Apparently, they want to explore the ghost-town Harlow to start the creation of a surreal city without the violence of this world.

Everyone in Harlow's surroundings seem to be giving our main group the "you are not welcome" treatment of Texas. We have the first thematic contrast in place here: the Old Way versus the new Teenager Way. This treatment also exposes the trait of characters Lila and Melody, the young, traumatized sister and the bossy, "I take s- from no one" sister.

Probably a good spot to do a little bit of character digging.

Lila, our main character, has everything a main character needs. She doubts herself, she has a traumatic past, she is in a conflict with her real self and what she exposes to her sister. Lila is portrayed by Elsie Fisher, whom I don't have any recollection of any major picture involvement.

Lila's main problem, though, is that the story dismisses Lila for most of its runtime, focusing strongly on Melody, not for the right reasons. Melody is the incarnation of what the Director and the writers see as the youth of this generation. She takes no feedback home, she says what she wants, she has all she wants too apparently, she lives off internet money, she preaches all the good preach that really dismisses reality. Actress Sarah Yarkin did a good job making us hate Melody. She could have been a strong lead, but unfortunately, that's the spotlight of her sister. Not that the story itself cares, as Melody is in most of the movie's length being chased by Leatherface.

That's because Dante and Melody ignite the fire that culminates in the inciting incident. And of course, the inciting incident is what drives temperamental Leatherface to its ultimate insanity.

A bit more about characters.

Richter is one supporting character that could have had a better buy-in from this overall mess of a story, but he falls flat. A shame, though, as actor Moe Dunfold is a solid actor.

Richter is one of those "old style Texans", grumpy but true at heart. He takes no BS, but he is willing to take a bullet for someone he cares about. Unfortunately, he is no more than a pawn in the story.

The same goes for Sally, a huge let-down. Olwen Fouéré gives life to Sally, she is an actress with an okay curriculum, and, although her screentime feels strong, Sally has no real background that potentializes our caring for her. We see Sally's strong implication as someone that just can't let go, but the story doesn't really explore this theme in Sally, which creates a sense of someone that's just mentally ill. One scene with Sally and Leatherface, where Sally had clear advantage, is just infuriating - unforgiveable.

A quick rundown of other meh characters. We have Dante by Jacob Latimore, an actor also known for his participation in Maze Runner. Dante is part of our iconic group of idealistic teens, but his character development seems to take a wrong turn when his intentions appear to be a bit sketchy. Then we have Ruth, Dante's wife, a totally dismissible character.

And even Leatherface himself is just a mindless serial killer, although he is quite smart in this movie.

As the story progresses, we see thematic elements that feel so out of tune with this movie's premise. Themes present mostly target posing this generation's youth as ridicule, which I feel is just too preachy for no particular reason, the movie's premise is not even about the youngsters. You see themes like youth's disconnect with real world and the "teenagers these days" vibe.

Other themes involve dealing with traumatic events and gun activism, all of these themes not really thoroughly explored.

One gore-fest scene in a bus is just plain funny for all the wrong reasons.

TCM is not all bad, though. The cinematography for the tension-filled scenes in the Orphanage house is good, and the same goes for all character introductions, which sets the tone for what each of them really are.

Then you have funny scenes like Leatherface in the sunflower field. That standup with the skin mask was just laughable.

Considering the budget seems to be estimated at $ 20M, I wonder where the money went to. Clearly not the scenery, unless they built Harlow from ground-up as a fictional ghost town.

Director David Blue Garcia, also known for Tejano and Blood fast, and which apparently won an Emmy for whatever, tries to add some sprinkle from the past to the movie, with scenes like Leatherface putting on some makeup, and the infamous chainsaw dance. These sprinkles fall like corn on sh--.

A reboot-wannabe for the franchise, TCM (2022) is just another gore-fest by infamous Leatherface. This story brings no innovative element to the franchise, borrowing the "survivor confrontation" premise from other franchises like Halloween and Scream, and really doing a poor job presentation. Horror geeks might see some value watching another TCM movie, but overall movie-appreciators should find no joy in this story.

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Good slow drama about uncertainty during a crisis

[8/10 · 2 April 2024]

Leave The World Behind (LWB) plays with a thought-provoking idea by throwing two families, one that knows nothing, one that might know too much, into an apocalyptic scenario in a weird place: a vacation house.

In LWB, we follow the happy family Amanda, Clay, Archie, and Rose on a vacation trip to recharge their batteries; to recharge Amanda's batteries, in fact, as she seems to be the one that needs this time-off the most. Things take a weird turn at this vacation house when a father and a daughter, G. H. and Ruth, claim they are the owners of the house and, well, apparently there's a major blackout taking place in the US.

Sounds familiar? This story starts quite similar to The Cabin At The End Of The World, by Paul Tremblay, but the gist is that we get to know the truth slightly faster than in Mr. Tremblay's story.

LWB keeps us going by throwing weird curveballs, maintaining our curiosity towards what is going on. The movie is split into 5 Acts, each of them throwing us into the next one with questions and a few answers.

The cast of LWB are no newbies, and the acting pays off. Julia Roberts plays Amanda, the loving mother with a problem against people; Ethan Hawke plays Clay, the loving father with a problem of being too passive; sons Archie and Rose, by Charlie and Farrah, are the perfect brother and sister; G. H. by Mahershala is top-notch; and Ruth by Myha'la is also good as a grown, mature teenager. Everyone does a good job in their roles.

LWB has a slow pace that builds tension. It's not a movie for everyone. There's no action, fright scenes, fight scenes; LWB is about a build up to a finale that should reveal what is going on in the world, and the relationship between the Amanda and Clay's family and G. H. and Ruth.

There is also some symbolism with animals that I didn't get it; the movie does not explain it that well either.

One funny fact about Rose is her teen naiveness. One scene in particular had me laughing, a good laugh, because I totally see my daughter doing the same thing.

What might drive people off is the ending. The ending, although adding closure to most questions, leaves some of them open - maybe a hint to a sequel? Who knows!

LWB is not a transcendent movie, but with the amount of generic trash that we see getting put into the big screens lately, LWB adds a fresh take into a provoking theme. It's an entertaining slow-paced drama about an end-of-world scenario in an unusual situation.

Worth the watch.

Leatherface (2017)

Weak predecessor to a cult-driven franchise

[2/10 · 1 April 2024]

Leatherface, from 2017, lives up to its simplistic premise, building up from the success of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre's franchise: the backstory to the infamous Leatherface.

In this movie, we start with some quick background to Jedediah Sawyer's miserable childhood, the youngest children to a horrible family of sadistic farmers. The opening scene sets the stage for Leatherface's arc: an incomprehensible human being traumatized by his childhood. The second part of the opening sets the obvious ending too.

Now we meet the secondary character, the love interest Lizzy. Lizzy is a new nurse at a mental institution where the Jedediah is locked in. We watch the cliché "newcomer gets bullied by old-timers and then saved by the seemingly nice person that's not part of this mess." And the second cliché: facility has room for some shady methods.

Then we get to a point where I think the movie is delusional: Verna, Jedediah's mother, wants to see her son, which she has not seen since he was taken away, apparently. I wonder if that had happened at some point, but, well, plot convenience, the same convenience that sets this story forward - yes, up until this point, we are still in the setup.

After a plot point that sets us to Act 2, we are now following a group, and we start wondering: who is Jedediah in this mess? Believe it or not, this is the main arc of the story's Second Act.

Act 2 also brings the question of what are they actually planning overall? The master plan is just plain stupid, and the explanation "yeah, but they are mentally ill" does not cut it.

This arc ends with the midpoint's plot twist, a clever-wannabe twist that dismisses everything that we've been watching so far. Acts 3 and 4 spiral into fast-paced disjointed scenes that culminate into the boring climax.

And the ending seals this movie with its mediocre rating.

The characters are the generic plank you'd expect out of this mess of a movie.

Jackson is the nice guy fighting his ill condition with a good heart. He seems to be the reasonable person. Solid performance by Sam Strike here.

Lizzy is the naïve nurse that wants to save everybody. She is dismissible.

Bud is a huge kid with some disturbing angriness within. He is slow in all senses but seems to have a good heart too.

Then there are Clarice and Ike, the psychopaths. They are like Bonnie and Clyde.

Apart from Sam Strike, everyone else's acting performance are meh.

Well, there's not really much more to say for Leatherface (2017). Nothing else stands out in this movie, other than a list of bad decisions that would be too boring to add to this review.

Bottom line, Leatherface tries to leverage the weird cult success of Texas Chainsaw Massacre but it fails. The main reason is because the story itself is just trying to be clever, a "gotcha", "who is Jedediah?", for no reason. As a predecessor to everything Leatherface became, this story adds no real background to it.

When we get to the ending, we feel Leatherface's motives are not really strong; he is just a pawn in this whole mess. But with a lack of a recurring character to latch itself onto, Leatherface (2017) was doomed from the start.

The Angel (2018)

Slow-paced melo spy thriller throws a spin into Ashraf's involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1973

[6/10 · 22 March 2024]

The Angel tries really hard to spin a good-willed image of Ashraf Marwan, but story seems to tell otherwise. A quick search on the Egyptian's name reveals a different take on Mr. Marwan's intentions, and although The Angel is an entertaining piece, I wonder what was Ariel Vromen's intentions here.

In The Angel, we follow Ashraf Marwan, a diplomat under Sadat's regimen in Egypt that becomes a double agent to prevent a war between Israel and Egypt during the 1973 Arab - Israeli crisis. A spy-thriller, this movie has what the genre has to offer.

We start early in Ashraf's life, painting a background of who he really is his inner conflicts. Is all we see there accurate? I don't really know. The fact is that all this character development is not relevant; as the story progresses, it dismisses these conflicts for the outer conflicts: the increasing tension between Egypt and Israel.

Ashraf is a loving father and seemingly a naïve, almost weak-looking person that can easily be deceived or pressured. Small research reveals another side of the coin: an Ashraf that had high-level skills, engaged in weapon trafficking, built a wealthy empire. Maybe that's the problem in historical-related stories: accuracy? Regardless, in The Angel portraits Ashraf as a good person trying to protect both countries by avoiding a war, which seems farther from the truth: historical data and events lead to a different belief.

As far as the plot goes, you get your average spy thriller. As a matter of fact, this movie might feel a bit slow.

The plot twist at the end is a bit clever, though, not really a new spin as Soviet tactics used to play in the same fashion.

Overall, The Angel is entertaining enough, but watch is with a grain of salt with regards to its historical accuracy.

Hellhole (2022)

Develops itself okay but falls a bit flat

[5/10 · 20 March 2024]

Hellhole, original title: Ostatnia wieczerza, which seems to translate to "last supper", is a horror mystery with strong scenery, okay overall story, but lack of a satisfying ending to this mix. An average entry to the genre.

In Hellhole, Poland, 1987, the carrier of the prophecy's mark, now an investigator, willingly enters a monastery set as sanatorium to investigate the disappearance of young women in the region only to find out more than what he expected.

We start the movie with a scene that illustrates a prophecy, seemingly not a good one, though. Shoot forward some 30 years, not accurate, and we see Marek in a desolated countryside landscape, about to join a monastery as a priest. The grim scenery of the lands around the monastery and the place itself is enough to raise all suspicions; at this point, we also suspect something wrong is happening.

The creepiness of the monastery and its clergy is suffocating, and aren't in a horror story after all? In fact, one of Hellhole's stronger elements is its scenery. The reality that people lived in those conditions is amazing.

But scenery alone does not save a story. Hellhole's plot does not evolve to a satisfying conclusion.

Marek, the main character, starts strong, determined and, yet, naïve. However, his development is weak, always one step behind. Piotr Zurawski does an okay acting job, overall.

Nonetheless, the show-stealer is Sebastian Stankiewicz as Monk Piotr. His transformation in the story is great. Prior Andrzej by Olaf Lubaszenko also leads with good outcomes. But we aren't here only for their stories, right? Marek, the lead, lacks a satisfying arc.

Up until the climax, the story is predictable, if we consider the themes in place. With the genre in mind, a horror-driven mystery, Hellhole would have definitely gotten the "okay" trophy. The downfall starts at the climax and the story's resolution, which culminates in a weak conclusion to the story.

Bartosz Kowalski is the director driving this project, and the co-writer of this story. Kowalski is known for movies like Playground (2016) and A Dream in the Making (2012), having a record as a director since 2006; not a newbie. I'm not acquainted with his work, so I haven't really seen his mark, but, overall, I guess his lack of a proper conclusion might be his failure alone.

Hellhole does not add any novelty to the horror genre, ending up like any generic B-movie. If you are a fan of unavoidability themes and strong satanic themes, Hellhole might please, but those seeking for a strong story and character development will not appreciate this movie.

Only God Forgives (2013)

Artistic try-hard movie does not save the bland and weak story

[3/10 · 13 March 2024]

"What have I just watched?" That's what crossed my mind when I finished Only God Forgives. Dear God, please, forgive me for spending 90 minutes on this movie!

Only God Forgives is a weird neon-noir drama about a problematic character half trying to avenge the death of his brother. Half trying because Julian, the full-of-problems main character, is not really doing anything throughout the movie other than live in this glowy melancholy.

The movie starts out with Julian and Billy, his brother, watching a Muay Thai fight. Some stuff seems to get passed around, all sorts of shady nuances in place. After the fight, they both discuss their future in this whole mess of underground fighting and Billy remarks: "time to meet the Devil." Well, good luck figuring out that one; the movie doesn't really go that route.

Billy goes into the night to pursue his lust for little girls. Yup, Billy is scum, and we are happy when he dies. Then Julian, who is tripping balls whatever reason, finds out his brother died and sets for revenge, only to find out the reason is brother died, then he stops being vengeful.

Did you notice that I didn't mention that Julian is a drug dealer? Well, that's because this fact is irrelevant; the story doesn't really elaborate on this fact. What matters is that Julian seems to have some strong childhood traumas, he keeps hinting at that by looking at his hands all the time and having a weird craving for stuffing his hand into "humid and warm" places - yup, your thought is correct.

All this craziness is happening in between scenes where Chang is singing at a karaoke to his mannequin-like crew.

Julian is a weak main character, likely a problem created by the writer and director of this mess, Nicolas Winding Refn, best known for The Neon Demon, which has a very similar cover picture, Valhalla Rising, and, well, who would have thought... Drive! So, you see, he is not a newbie. I guess he was heavily amazed by all the cinematography and hidden message he was trying to convey, but these things flopped.

Back to Julian.

Julian does nothing in the story. He is a pawn, perhaps his major flaw, but he starts and then ends as a pawn, lacking any development. All the thematic messaging makes it so Julian seems so manga-like, a persona as thin as a piece of paper.

Perhaps the better character here is Chang, the could-have-been-protagonist antagonist. Only God Forgives does not explore Chang as much, but he is definitely a character that could have had a chance of being the main focus. Of course, Vithaya Pansringarm was not a strong name for a lead character than Ryan Gosling, which is a shame.

Now, the major selling point, likely to the director, is this movie's cinematography, which I called neon-noir. In fact, Only God Forgives tries hard to look like a serious thematic movie by using camera work and stylish lighting and setting. Had this movie had a better plot, the cinematography would be a nice touch. In reality, though, all the dream-like imagery we watch just adds confusion and delusion.

Overall, Only God Forgives tries hard to be a transcendent film, too hard. Its lack of character development, better plot narrative, and overall eerie tone only adds to an enduring 90 minutes of a shallow story.

Premonition (I) (2007)

Fine for the most part but weak ending

[4/10 · 13 March 2024]

What if you woke up to find that your partner is alive, after receiving the news the day before that he or she had died in a car accident? In Premonition, this is the premise of the story. But there's one important factor: As Linda wakes up, she alternates between her husband being alive and being dead.

Premonition brings the intriguing story of Linda Hanson, a stay-at-home mom in a shaken marriage who receives the sad news that her husband Jim has died in a car acci-dent. As we might expect, Linda goes into an inconsolable mourning. However, when she wakes up the next day, Jim is alive, as if nothing happened.

This incident already makes us intrigued enough to wonder what the hell is going on. From this point on, we are paying attention to all the details; And the fact is, every-thing is strange.

The scene that reveals a fake inciting incident - because the real incident in the story is Jim turning up alive the next day - is somewhat unbelievable. I find it hard to believe that the custom procedure for a fatal car accident is to notify the widower and leave her hanging on the door, give her a card and say "call me if you need anything," get outta-dodge. In a real-life scenario, I imagine that the widower would have to recognize the body, sign documents, and start a whole bureaucratic process.

However, Linda has room to suffer in the solitude of her home. And she suffers.

The cast includes Sandra Bullock in the role of the main character Linda Hanson and Julian McMahon in the role of Jim Hanson. I don't have strong connections with these actors, and overall, they perform their duties with acceptable and unquestionable quality. They are a-alright professionals. Supporting characters include Claire by Amber Valletta and Dr. Roth by Peter Stormare; again, they all play their characters without ma-jor flaws in general.

The director is Mennan Yapo who does not have a list of acclaimed productions. The writer is Bill Kelly, who falls into the same limbo. And I think this might be what sets Premonition as below bar.

In cinematic terms, Premonition is a film from the end of the first decade of the third millennium and we can notice this in the film. The TV even tries to improve the pic-ture, but the DVD quality is remarkable. The scenes are also very much in the early 2010s style, including the soundtrack as well.

Premonition is interesting for the most part, but the ending falls short. When we understand Linda's moral choice, the fundamental question she must answer is intriguing, however, Linda does not undergo a memorable transformation in the film and so opts for the kinder, more affable path. However, the unfolding of the climax and the denouement are almost a slap in the face. It feels like we spent 1 hour and a half to end with a "is that it? Is that it?! I can't believe it..." But believe me.

Premonition works until its denouement, where perhaps an exaggerated care in keeping Linda acceptable by the standards of the time spoils the film as a whole.

Nobody (I) (2021)

A-okay, but nothing special. Nobody will remember this movie a few years from now

[6/10 · 6 March 2024]

Nobody is an action-packed movie about a guy running from his dark past, struggling with the urge to kill again. It's a premise that we've seen already - person trying to outrun past demons -, and Nobody really does not add any spice to the mix: it's a generic flick, albeit entertaining enough as a time-passer.

In this movie, we follow Hutch Mansell, a seemingly ordinary middle-ager with a shaken-up marriage trying to be the good husband and father. He lives his life as a routine, rinse and repeat; idleness taking a toll on his will.

However, when robbers put his family at risk, Hutch's suppressed feelings rise. Now he needs to find a way to avoid going back to what he does best.

The plot, though, is as generic as it gets. Although the setup might hint at something possibly elaborate, right before the inciting incident, the story dismisses the main events thus far and throws in a curveball: by chance, he gets into a fight and pisses off a Russian mobster. Now Nobody is simplistic: Russian mobster wants payback, but Hutch is no ordinary man.

Nobody started up good, the starting scene gave a hint at things to tome, and the setup portion of the story had a good edit of scenes to demonstrate mental fatigue and boring routine. When the story picks up in action, Nobody evolves into a regular action movie.

Is all this so far a bad thing though? Not really. Nobody is entertaining enough as a braindead action flick. If you are not looking for something that will make your mind boil, Nobody does the job alright.

These plot-driven, action-packed movies try to drive the story by its events, dismissing character development, and Nobody is no different. Although Hutch is likeable to some extent, his inner demons and transformation are not the focus of Nobody's story. Nobody hints at Hutches past through dialogue, but doesn't elaborate on the matter.

Other characters are generic action movie personas. Hutch's family is his dad and brother, which are just as badass as him. Hutch's wife, Becca, maintains the subplot of a loving wife that is in doubt of her feelings towards Hutch, but there's hope. Hutch has two kids, the cute little girl and the always-bored-and-angry teenager son. You see?

Overall, Nobody does not add new into the old, it's a generic flick on top of a generic premise. Although the acting is high-class, and the action is as expected, Nobody gets no better than the average entries on the action-genre catalog.

Insomnia (2002)

Alright murder mystery, but nothing special

[6/10 · 26 February 2024]

Insomnia has a simple premise with basic elements of a mystery thriller: who is Kay Connell's killer. To spice up the plot, the murder takes place in an Alaskan town where, at a time of the year, precisely the period of history, of course, the sun does not set.

📋 Need a quick executive summary? Here it is: as much as Insomnia doesn't sin in any primary element of a good story, perhaps its fundamental problem is the main character Will Dormer facing his antagonist, Walter Finch.

The plot of this story focuses on the elements of the investigation in a beautiful Alaskan town called Nightmute, where, at one time of the year, the sun does not set - the "white nights". We follow the unfolding of the investigation as the main character, Detective Will Dormer, goes into a spiral of daydreams for not being able to sleep.

However, the themes of Insomnia are based on the moral dilemma that Will faces due to the fact that American Internal Affairs Department is investigating him for misconduct, putting in check his reputation, career, and work, which can culminate in several cases being reopened, criminals returning to the streets, and his own dubious conduct in the face of the incident in the story that sets the plot in motion. The incident itself is the basis of Insomnia's moral problem and the investigation of the murder becomes the external factor.

Al Pacino's performance is the traditional one, but who steals the show here is Robin Williams as Walter Finch, one of the suspects in the crime. Al maintains his run-of-the-mill tough-as-gangster side, but Robin delivers a compelling character through well-constructed dialogue.

I think my only problem is how silly Will is made by the antagonist. At no point, including in the climax, does Will take control of the situation, suffering from the antagonist's manipulation and also from his decadence in the face of insomnia. Even when it looks like Will will take the reins, the antagonist sweeps him off. Not even the character of Ellie Burr gets the spotlight; Maybe she could be the companion that gets the protagonist back on track. However, Will is one of those solo heroes and this ends up being his ruin. By the time the movie ends, we're fed up.

The cinematic elements are a mix of very good and weird. The cinematography is great when it depicts the natural beauty of Alaska. On the other hand, the effects that demonstrate Will's increasing hallucinations are not so good. However, in general, the film has a good rhythm.

The director of this film is Christopher Nolan and we can see his touch on the film. With an estimated budget of $46 million and a super cast, considering the year of release Insomnia isn't an overproduction, but it works; It doesn't stand out for any transcendent factor, in the end being just an acceptable mystery.

Every Secret Thing (2014)

Heavy drama-driven crime mystery delivers good emotional story

[7/10 · 25 February 2024]

Captivating and heavily emotional, Every Secret Thing delivers a powerful drama story about acceptance, parenthood relationship, and the possible effects of segregation and bullying, although the movie might fail a bit on exploring these themes in depth. Engaging enough, Every Secret Thing is recommendable if you like police drama.

After the disappearance of infant Brittany Lyttle, in-charge detective Nancy suspects of two young-adult women that just got out of jail after a seven-year sentence for killing an infant.

Every Secret Thing is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Laura Lippman. I haven't read the book yet, but I'd believe that the book does have more in-depth details than the movie. Its premise is simple: a crime mystery.

The plot centers on the investigation by Nancy and her partner Kevin. Soon into the movie, they start suspecting Alice and Ronnie. Seven years ago, Nancy's contributions led to the prison of Alice and Ronnie for the murder of another infant that looks just like Bryttany.

I like that most adaptation from novels deliver strong characters, and Every Secret Thing is no different. Kudos especially to Danielly Macdonald as Alice Manning, a troubled 18-year-old that grew as an outcast, doubting herself to its core, mainly for her appearance. Alice delivers some compelling dialogue throughout the movie, depicting what years of neglect might do to someone.

Every Secret Thing is not without its flaws, though. With 93 minutes of length, this is not a long movie, but the short runtime might have taken a toll at some character development. The story does not explore Detective Nancy's inner and outer conflicts, like her troubled relationship; or Ronnie's inner conflict on dealing with her past. Their arc ends are a either absent or abrupt.

I found nothing outstanding about the cinematography or the soundtrack. Generic, at best.

The same statement is valid for the directing. Every Secret Thing is a straightforward movie that does not try to reinvent the wheel; it tries to deliver a compelling crime mystery with strong thematic topics.

Overall, I recommend Every Secret Thing if you are a fan of crime mysteries and heavy dramas. Every Secret Thing might not throw hard curveballs, but the story is good enough to keep us engaged and, at the end, pack a punch of emotion.