Thursday 30 April 2020
The Hole in the Ground (2019)
A single mother living in the Irish countryside with her son begins to suspect he may not be her son at all, and fears his increasingly disturbing behavior is linked to a mysterious sinkhole in the forest behind their house.
Not quite original horror tale successfully creates some creepy moments and offers a good cast and excellent cinematography in Irish settings.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
Young hero Thomas embarks on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as "The Flare".
OK post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama aimed at a more adolescent audience has is mildly entertaining.
Wednesday 29 April 2020
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin in the woods.
Tongue-in-cheek horror flick cleverly ups the antes onto ever new meta-levels and is filled to the brim with genre allusions; fun for fans, but a bit over-the-top.
Maltin**1/2: "...script is aimed at the hearts of fanboys everywhere, adding at least two extra levels of surprises. Amusing and intelligent, but the cleverness works against the horror, the horror against the humor."
Monday 27 April 2020
Prospect (2018)
A man and his teenage daughter encounter nonstop danger while searching for valuable gems on an alien moon.
Very good low-budget sci-fi adventure makes the most out of its limited possibilities creating a palpable extraterrestrial world, but is just as much focused on character as on suspense; and
Sophie Thatcher is a force to be reckoned with.
Sunday 26 April 2020
True Grit (2010)
A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father's murderer.
Solid and tasteful remake of a John Wayne classic with a great central performance, but the movie doesn't add anything new or unique.
On rewatching: Entertaining and well-made, but not better than the original; perfect role for Jeff Bridges, though.
Maltin***: "Remake of the 1969 hit allows Bridges to put his own stamp on the role...The Coens' script calls on their love for language..., while cinematographer Roger Deakins fills the screen with beautiful imagery. Entertaining, to be sure, but being as unsentimental as it is, there isn't any emotional resonance when it's all over."
Morgan (2016)
A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.
Above-average, well cast sci-fi drama delivers some shocks with the android's irrational and violent behaviour; the twist ending, however, is is rather predictable.
Thursday 23 April 2020
Only the Brave (2017)
Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from a historic wildfire.
Good firefighter tragedy with a solid cast is more focused on the protagonists' personal lives, but also offers some exciting firefighting scenes.
Tuesday 21 April 2020
Hell or High Water (2016)
A divorced father and his ex-con older brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's ranch in West Texas.
Modern-day Western gives its cops-and-robbers story depth with excellent scenery photography, love for detail and strong characters and some social commentary.
On rewatching: good movie, fully worth the while.
Bad Samaritan (2018)
A pair of burglars stumble upon a woman being held captive in a home they intended to rob.
Well-made, if not too ambitious serial killer thriller creates some suspense despite a not very convincing plot.
Sunday 19 April 2020
Where Does a Body End? (2019)
The worldview of Michael Gira, through his life as a globetrotter and his four decades leading Swans, a group that he founded in the noisy and iconoclastic New York underground of the early '80s and that keeps reinventing itself today.
A sweeping view of Michael Gira and his band Swans' history (although it mysteriously skips the Angels of Light phase) does a good job depicting their music, philosophy and development over the decades, although it mainly appeals to those already familiar with the band.
Saturday 18 April 2020
Kehraus (1983)
Fork-lift truck driver Ferdinand Weitel is desperate: he earns just a few deutschmarks a month, and now an unsavoury insurance agent has talked him into signing over expensive contracts.
Arguably, Bavarian comedian Gerhard Polt's best movie is a spot-on social satire, although its humor may not communicate well to audiences outside the region.
Friday 17 April 2020
L'Homme de chevet (2009)
A beautiful, free-spirited woman who becomes bedridden following a terrible accident, and against her better judgement, she hires a drunk middle-aged former boxer to cook and care for her.
Watchable, a bit schmaltzy character drama strolls along its unusual tale and has its moments; mainly a showcase for Marceau and Lambert.
The Net (1995)
A computer programmer stumbles upon a conspiracy, putting her life and the lives of those around her in great danger.
Mediocre, silly and predictable thriller with no clue about what the internet is; Sandra Bullock alone carries the show.
Halliwell (no star): "A dully paranoid thriller that is a bad imitation of Hitchcock. Its plot is full of implausibilities and it is also computer illiterate, which doesn't help, though Sandra Bullock's performance does, even if it is not enough to save the film."
Maltin**1/2: "The techno-thriller as plodding Sandra Bullock vehicle...Anyone who's ever seen a real thriller will be ahead of this story at every turn."
Scarface (1983)
In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
Deliberately sleazy, but engrossing gangster saga (clearly an Oliver Stone script!) with no redeeming character in sight with screechingly over-the-top performances by Pacino and Pfeiffer, a gawdawful 80s soundtrack (which was already dated at the time of its release) and lots of explicit violence.
Halliwell (no star): "Absurdly brutalized remake, with detailed violence and a superabundance of foul language; the film seems to want to make a political statement."
Maltin*1/2: "...but this film wallows in excess and unpleasantness for nearly three hours, and offers no insights except that crime doesn't pay. At least the 1932 movie moved. Even so, this has become a pop-culture phenomenon, with Pacino's Montana an underdog hero!"
Wednesday 15 April 2020
Black Sea (2014)
In order to make good with his former employers, a submarine captain takes a job with a shadowy backer to search the depths of the Black Sea for a submarine rumored to be loaded with gold.
Well-made, if not particularly original submarine adventure with a capable cast does manage to create some suspense, but no surprises.
Tuesday 14 April 2020
Marriage Story (2019)
A marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Excellent and realistic separation drama analyzes the back and forth of a divorce and emphasizes how the legal procedure actually boosts and preys on the split; superb cast throughout, but Laura Dern is absolutely amazing.
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