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Reviews
Road House (2024)
A new type of Dalton
I'm a huge fan of the original Roadhouse, an over the top cotton candy classic film. I'm not sure it needed a remake. But, Gyllenhaal is game, as always, as the central figure, Elwood Dalton. He's an ex mma fighter with a dark past. He finds his way to the town of Glass Key, a small seaside town with too many unsavory characters looking for a good time and a fistfight. Just like the original film, it all plays out like a modern day western. The local baddie is trying to take over the town and a lone drifter comes along to stand up to the bully and all his baddies in tow.
Unfortunately, there isn't much character development. For a movie with a 2 hour run time, it moves surprisingly fast. This is both good and bad. The original Roadhouse benefit from a great cast of peripheral performances. From Kelly Lynch to Sam Elliott to Ben Gazara. That movie managed to squeeze every bit of backstory without complicated the issue. This Roadhouse feels much too light for its own good. Gyllenhaal has to carry the weight of this movie, and he does the job. But, you come away wishing he had more to work with. The fights sequences are filmed well, albeit with a bit of CGI assistance. However, there are some set piece action scenes that feel out of place. And, there will be much talk about Connor MacGregor's film debut. Suffice to say it's equal parts scene stealing and scenery chewing bafoonery.
The original Roadhouse filled a gap. It was entertainingly violent and trashy without leaving a bad taste in your mouth. It's the type of film you watch anytime you're scrolling late night for some to pass the time. It's comfort junk food at its finest. This new film leaves a taste in your mouth that's hard to identify. It's junk food that feels more like junk. Good, but not quite satisfying.
Gojira -1.0 (2023)
Masterpiece!
Nothing will prepare you for how spectacularly awesome this version of Godzilla is. Dare I say it even bests the original 1954 version, which I thought could never be done. Forget all those regrettable storylines of hollow earth or Godzilla as the great protector of Mother Earth. Godzilla Minus One is less a movie about giant Kaiju wreaking havoc on civilization- although we do get that, too- and more a serious (deadly serious) tale of the human toll of war. Unlike previous Godzilla films, there isn't the direct link between the birth of the atomic age and the birth of Godzilla. Instead, Minus One very effectively takes a more human approach.
Ryunosuke Kamiki' Koichi is the lens we are forced to see the horrors of the aftermath of the war. Returning to his village to far less than a hero's welcome, Koichi is faced with trying to rebuild his life after loss of his parents. Soon, his burden is set upon by the arrival of Hamabe Minami' Noriko and the baby she has been left to care for. This is a bleak film. And, Koichi and Noriko painstakingly try to eke out an existence among the rubble. The performances of Kamiki and Minami are near Oscar worthy. But, in all honesty, there isn't a single bad performance in this film.
There is not a lot of Godzilla in this film. American audiences will probably expect more giant lizard for their ticket price, but in this case the film is better for it. When we do see Godzilla, he is all menace. He is hell bent on destruction, and ravages the city reminiscent of the first film. However, because this takes place in a post war landscape, the devastation carries more weight. The emotional tug is something unlike any previous Godzilla movie.
There really isn't much not to love about this movie. The cinematography is excellent. The performances are exceptional. The effects make most Hollywood big-budget films of recent memory seem laughable. And, there is enough classic Godzilla moments to remind you why you bought a ticket in the first place.
Bravo Toho Studios and Takashi Yamazaki! Bravo!
Docteur Jekyll et les femmes (1981)
Visually stunning!
A friend gifted me a subscription to the Criterion Collection, and I was able to watch the full unedited version of this film. What an unexpected treat! Udo Keir plays the infamous Dr Jekyll. The plot revolves around a series of brutal rapes/murders that takes place at his mansion where various guests have been assembled to celebrate his engagement to the lovely Miss Fanny Isbourne(Marino Pierro ). Without going into much more detail on the plot, what this film does for Stevenson's novel is to add a level of eroticism and violence that might have been over the top if it had not been so visually captivating. Intentional or not, viewing the film feels more like watching a dream sequence- albeit a quite demented one. There are several instances where the director forces the viewer to watch the action through a narrowly framed window, giving the experience a voyeuristic feel. While not heavy on substance, it does suffer for it. The whole thing works because it provides so many scenes that remain with the viewer long after the credits.
Signs (2002)
Classically Understated
Based on a series of events involving an impending alien invasion, Signs is much more than a typical sci fi thriller. Mel Gibson plays Morgan Hess, a former reverend, struggling to raise two small children after the sudden and tragic death of his wife. Jauquin Phoenix is his younger brother Merrill, desperately trying to help his the get over their loss and keep the family from unraveling. It's a tense time made all the more chaotic when a crop circle mysteriously appears in the cornfield. Soon, it becomes clear the earth is being visited when crop circles begin appearing all over the world.
The movie never evolves into a grand us vs them invasion movie. Instead, Shamylan sets the movie in a small Midwest town. Events unravel before the audience and the characters in the film, through tv clips, allowing everyone's fears to fester slowly. It's a movie more about faith, anxiety, and the threat of the unknown than it is about aliens. Shamylan effectively incorporates humor into the story without sacrificing the overall tone of dread. What the viewers are rewarded with is a quiet, emotional film with jarringly unsettling moments. It's well acted, well written, and never tries too hard to wow the audience. It's the type of film that Hollywood rarely makes these days.
No Time to Die (2021)
What a mess!
If this is the send off for Daniel Craig, what a sad mess. The first 30 mins are spent paying tribute to classic Bond cliches. Then there's the introduction of the new 007, which the movie fails to decide if it's played for tension or laughs. Not surprisingly, it fails at both. The rest of the movie is surprisingly bland, save for a brief appearance by Ana D'armis. The villain is weak and underdeveloped, the other baddies lack any menace, and the plot is perfectly incoherent and uninspired.
There is a lot of gun play, generically choreographed like a bad 80's movie and some characters meet their end without any emotional tug. It's just a big hot mess if a film that feels like Craig was really ready to move on.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Put this to bed.
Gareth Edwad's reimagining of Godzilla was inspiring, if not flawed. Truly, fans of the Godzilla franchise were happy to see a movie grounded in reality, but not afraid to deliver the goods when it came to monster movie madness. Unfortunately, the franchise has steered its way more toward video game fantasy than anything resembling Edward's origin story.
GvK spends a lot of time explaining things that never make any sense just to stage elaborate fights between a lizard and an ape. There is some nonsense about hollow earth. Apparently, Kong has grown too big for Skull Island and needs to be moved to his "forever" home. The movie makes no attempt to explain how or why Kong ended up on Skull Island if his ancestral home is in the middle of the earth. Also, he's learned sign language from a little girl. And, not just a few basic words, but a fairly extensive vocabulary for a giant monkey in the wild. It's a testament to his powers of observation that he can even see her tiny hands, let alone attach any meaning to her gestures. But, whatever.
Godzilla, in the meantime, is raging on everyone and everything. There's something in the script that suggests his anger has been triggered by some unknown force. But, whatever. He's a giant lizard that breathes fire, so who are we to judge.
Mechagodzilla also makes an appearance. His brain is powered by a human interface or something, but not really. He's hardwired to be an apex predator because the Monster Zero head from the last movie...blah, blah, blah. But, whatever.
And, we finally get to see hollow earth. It's surprisingly easy to get to. You just have to wear an Adidas inspired track suit and bring a barf bag. There is also where Kong finds his "forever" axe and turns into Thorin Oakenshield.
There are a bunch of humans running around saying stupid things and doing stupider things. That any of the actors could deliver a single line of script without giggling or barfing into their own mouths says a lot. All the actors in this film should fire their agents straight away. Except for that Skarsgard dude. This is exactly what we should expect from him.
In the end, the monsters fight, the people talk. It's all very spectacularly boring.
This is a movie was made by people whose idea of fun is perching in a chair that smells of stale taco meat and pizza farts playing video games and swilling copious amounts of energy drinks all day. It's also made for people who sit in a chair all day playing video games and chugging copious amounts of energy drinks, reeking of stale taco meat and pizza farts.
But, whatever.
Hud (1963)
Paul Newman's finest film.
A stand out among the many great Paul Newman films, Hud has a brilliant cast, great acting, and is one of my all time favorites. I think it gets overlooked because of Giant and Cool Hand Luke(another great Newman film). But, it really is more of a character study and let's Newman show his acting chops as the titular anti-hero. Every moment of this film is worth savoring.
Newman plays the title charcter, Hud. A hard partying, woman chaser in a small Texas town. He's a true cowboy, albeit one one that can't wait to sell of the ranch and shed the shackles of small town life. He butts head with his no nonsense father Homer- brilliantly played by Melvin Douglas- while keeping a seductive banter with the housekeeper- a very sultry Patricia Neal. The sparks began to fly when Hud clashes with Homer over his burgeoning relationship with his young nephew, Lon. The song simmering tensions between father and son soon boil over. Neither father nor son is shy about letting his feelings be known. They scorch earth blaming each other over a past tragedy and neither man gives an inch. Newman and Douglas both give Oscar worthy performances, as does Neal. And, although Newman would have to wait a couple of decades before he finally gets that trophy, his performance in this film is masterful. He's equal parts devilish charmer and brooding menace. And, it's both captivating and heartbreaking to watch.
Haywire (2011)
Slick and convincing
I really liked this movie. The story is very straightforward. Carano plays a hired operative who gets double crossed and has to find out how and why. Simple. It reminds me of Soderbergh's Oceans 11 in that it is well paced, well shot, and not over the top. Other reviewers compared it to Salt and the Bourne series. That's a huge misrepresentation. Those movies are over the top yawn fests. This movie has better dialogue, a better soundtrack, and a great supporting cast, including Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, and Evan Macgregor. Carano holds her own and fits the part perfectly. Yes, she kicks a lot of ass, but she doesn't seem invincible. More determined, like Liam Neeson from the first Taken film. At a brisk 1:30 hours this film never overstays its welcome. It never tries to do too much - no giant explosions or lengthy car chases, and no overindulgent quick-edits. Soderbergh keeps it simple and that's the beauty of this movie.
Fast & Furious 7 (2015)
Worst of the franchise
I awarded this film 3 stars mostly out of respect to Paul Walker. Unfortunately, he's not in the film enough to elevate it over its cliché-riddled, cartoonish, incoherent final cut. Clearly, the franchise has run out of any credible plot lines. What is left is tired. Vin Diesel mumbling through his lines, espousing all things family has gotten old. Michelle Rodriguez is still suffering from memory loss, although it doesn't really add anything to the film other than to make it more frustrating. And, Dwayne Johnson takes muscle bound buffoonery to eleven. Nothing about this move makes any sense. Things happen for the sole purpose of setting up an action sequence. It's starts from the beginning, where Jason Statham shows up as the brother of the previous films baddie, Shaw. How convenient! Also, how lazy. Inserting Statham into the equation is a micro chasm of all that is wrong with this movie. Everything feels manipulated and artificial. Introducing the character of Hobbs in Fast Five was great. The chase that ensued was fun to watch, kept the movie going at a good pace, and kept all the characters involved. But, bringing The Rock back for the 6th film took the franchise where it was never meant to go. Somehow, a team of gear heads planning military style ops and having large scale shootouts is just plain silly. It's also not fun to watch. Everyone looks too old. Everyone seems like they're trying too hard to get their lines out. Ultimately, Fast and Furious 6 showed how far away from the original concept this franchise had come. Watching F&F 7 felt like watching an old episode of Scooby Do. I kept waiting for someone to come along and pull the mask off of Jason Statham to reveal the REAL bad guy. Who knows, maybe Scooby will show up in the next movie.