Apostle

Movie Name: Apostle
Year of Release: 2018
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Dan Stevens, Michael Sheen, Mark Lewis Jones, Paul Higgins, Lucy Boynton, Bill Milner, Kristine Froseth, Elen Rhys, Sharon Morgan, Ioan Hefin
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:

Writer/Director Gareth Evans made a name for himself with the well received "The Raid", which had a sequel, and has garnered a cult following since its release in 2011. "Apostle", which Netflix has released, is one of his most recent endeavors. The film, which takes place at the beginning of the 20th century, follows the story of Thomas Richardson, who travels to a remote Welsh island, inhabited by a small community, to rescue his sister Jennifer. She has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Pretending to be a recent convert, Thomas soon encounters the leader of the cult, Malcolm. Malcolm started the cult with two other convicts, Frank and Quinn, and they all claim that the barren island has in fact become hospitable and fertile through blood sacrifices. As Thomas comes to realize that there is indeed a supernatural element maintaining the island alive, the cult also degenerates as internal struggles for power cause battles and casualties to start piling. Thomas has to figure out a way to save his sister and whomever else wants to escape the cult and keep a semblance of their faith and humanity.

"Apostle" benefits from keeping the community where the action takes place quite minimal in scale and also leveraging the cult/pagan aspect of the narrative in a manner that is simultaneously visceral and never overly artificial. As we follow the events taking place in the island, from the particular perspective of Thomas, someone who has lost his faith for that matter, we also realize how instilling fear in others functions as a powerful means to keep them in control. It's a film that manages to depict quite succinctly and effectively the cult that exists in that small island, the monstrous actions people can commit in order to preserve what they seem to think is the status quo and their own sense of importance. While much attention is indeed devoted to the context building and the situation in which the main characters find themselves in, who they actually are and their motivations, are fairly shallow and underdeveloped. This ends up being the less satisfactory aspect of the film, since for the most part, these characters have little to no dimension. The cast manages nonetheless to make this a compelling view, including Dan Stevens, the always fantastic Michael Sheen, Lucy Boynton and Mark Lewis Jones. The cinematography from Matt Flannery is solid, as is the score from Aria Prayogi and Fajar Yuskemal. While not tremendously memorable, it is worth watching. 

Date Night

Movie Name: Date Night
Year of Release: 2010
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common, William Fichtner, Ray Liotta, Leighton Meester, J.B. Smoove, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Bill Burr, Nick Kroll, Olivia Munn, Gal Gadot, Jon Bernthal, Ari Graynor, Lauren Weedman
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

Following his work on "Night at the Museum" franchise, producer/director Shawn Levy tackled a script from Josh Klausner, well known for his long working relationship with the Farrelly brothers. The film follows the misadventures of a married couple, comprised of Phil and Claire Foster. Phil is a tax lawyer, and Claire is a realtor, and they both lead quite busy lives, which are also further intensified with the fact they have two children to take care of. Following the news that their best friends are separating, they decide to spice their romantic life, and on their date night they decide to go to Manhattan. The trendy restaurant they're aiming for, is sadly completely booked, but hot on the heels of their improvisational stance, they decide to pretend be someone else, someone who has indeed booked a table beforehand. While they're eating they're approached by two men, who assumes they are indeed the Tripplehorns, and ask them for a compromising flash drive. When Phil and Claire explain what they did, the two men don't believe them, and under threat, Phil lies and tells them the flash drive is in a boathouse, in Central Park. What follows is a night of sleuthing and figuring out how they can get out of the situation alive. 

The premise behind "Date Night" is one that has been used quite often: suburban couple or hapless every day person, gets mistaken for a spy, and have/has to thwart a colossal conspiracy. Alfred Hitchcock had his take on this premise with "The Man Who Knew too Much", and since then many other films have tackled similar topics, including the Coen brothers with "Burn After Reading" for instance. While this premise is always ripe for a series of equivocal situations and fish out of water premises, in this case, the director fails to take advantage of the great cast he has to work with. For the most part, the film is very illustrative and also reductive, in the sense that Phil and Claire are barely defined as characters. There isn't much of an understanding of who they actually are, beyond their jobs and their tasks. The supporting characters also appear and disappear without much emphasis on the narrative or for that matter exhibit much personality (and being shirtless doesn't count for personality). For all the over the top action and comedy that the premise of this film suggests, there simply isn't much substance (or laughs for that matter) to it. What is indeed left, is the ability provided by Steve Carell and Tina Fey to bring these characters to life, and take advantage of their palpable chemistry. In their defense, do they manage to convey and portray a couple who has been together for a while, who while loving each other, are simply overwhelmed by life itself. Their presence renders the film barely watchable. The cinematography from the always great Dean Semler is solid, but aside from that, this is a forgettable endeavor. 

Antlers

Movie Name: Antlers
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan, Sawyer Jones, Cody Davis, Ken Kramer, Jesse Downs
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review:

Writer/Director Scott Cooper is back, following his well received "Hostiles", which premiered in 2017 and featured great performances from Christian Bale, Timothee Chalamet and Rosamund Pike. His new feature, is his first foray into supernatural/horror territory, and comes with the seal of production from the celebrated Guillermo Del Toro. The narrative takes place in Oregon, and focuses on the life of young Lucas Weaver, a 12 year old who is having his fair share of challenges in life. His mom has passed away, and he has had to deal with a father who has drug addiction issues, not to mention he also has to protect his younger brother, Aiden. Following a vicious attack his father and a friend suffer in an abandoned mine (where they were crafting meth), Lucas's life becomes even more stressful. He has to keep an eye on his father and brother, who are changing into something that he does not fully understand. All these events start having an effect on his behavior, which draws the attention of Julia Meadows, his teacher. She has recently returned to her hometown to live with her brother Paul, following the death of their father. And they both carry with them, a heavy burden of a abusive household. As Lucas's father condition worsens, and people investigate further, things start getting out of hand, with a series of unexplained deaths occurring. 

Scott Cooper has managed to craft a very interesting directorial career, one where he has focused on characters that while charismatic and strong willed, have strayed from their potential, and are vying to get a shot at redemption, or at least, a somewhat normal life. That seems to be the case with Julia, who sees in Lucas an opportunity to save a child going through abuse, the type of rescue she longed for when she herself was growing up, and that sadly never came. The film also manages to pepper its narrative with the challenges of small communities, and how systemic poverty forces people into certain cycles of self destruction. One of the most interesting aspects of this film, is how Scott Cooper manages to define the community, and the environment itself in which these characters exist. It's gloom, dark and seemingly without hope, something that is exacerbated as the more fantastical elements of the narrative start making themselves more visible. The director smartly manages to use darkness to convey the sense of menace and latent violence that is threatening the small community, keeping the fantastical creature in the shadows (and the creature definitely has some influences from Guillermo Del Toro's universe and aesthetic). The mythological/monstrous part of the film, never topples its narrative, becoming very much part of the progression of the narrative, even if does have its more brutal moments. It's a film that has limitations when it comes to the definition of some characters, particularly Paul as played by Jesse Plemons, but Plemons, alongside the wonderful Keri Russell, Jeremy T. Thomas and Graham Greene in a somewhat smaller role, manage to bring these characters to life, quite convincingly and efficiently. The production team on this film is impeccable, including the beautiful cinematography from Florian Hoffmeister, the score from Javier Navarrete and editing by Dylan Tichenor. Worth watching. 

Dune

Movie Name: Dune
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Chen Chang, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Charlotte Rampling, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, David Dastmalchian, Babs Olusanmokun, Benjamin Clementine, Souad Faress, Golda Rosheuvel
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
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Synopsis and Review:

Following the wonderful "Blade Runner 2049", director Denis Villeneuve is back with another sci-fi feature, this time around, a new adaptation of the Frank Herbert masterpiece "Dune", which David Lynch tackled in 1984. The film, aptly subtitled "Part One", clearly indicates this isn't the full adaptation of the novel. The narrative introduces us to Arrakis, commonly known as Dune, where a rare spice is mined, one which allows for space travel. That concession of mining has been granted to the House Harkonnen for decades, which has made them wealthy beyond belief. They're also a virulent and cruel tribe, which has resulted in them trying to wipe out the Fremen, the original people of the planet Arrakis, who have tried to liberate their planet since the mining explorations began. The emperor, who oversees the ruling of the system, decides to grant the mining to a different house, the Atreides, who are lead by Duke Leto, who is surrounded by his partner Lady Jessica, mother to his son Paul, and a series of expert soldiers, including Gurney and Duncan Idaho. While Leto suspects of the emperor's intentions, they soon find themselves exploring the planet. Paul, who has dreamed of Arakis, and of its native tribe, has a dormant potential that the Fremen have long claimed for, a savior who will lead them out of oppression. As the Atreides settle in, they soon find themselves engulfed in a trap, which will take every resource they can, particularly from Paul and his mother, to defy a potentially mortal outcome.

While David Lynch's take on Frank Herbert's novel has long been a topic of many articles and conversations, particularly how the film was taken away from him, and edited differently than he had envisioned, there's still much to love about that feature. Denis Villeneuve and his co-writers, Eric Roth and John Spaihts, tackled the adaptation somewhat differently, essentially giving the narrative enough space for its main players to be firstly introduced, and for the relationships between those players to be sufficiently mapped out (save for the Emperor, who made its appearance early on in the David Lynch version, but not in this one). This film takes its time in establishing Paul's pivotal role in what will be the liberation of the planet, but does so while ingratiating him within the mysticism of the Bene Gesserit tribe, simultaneously showcasing his evolution of chosen progenitor, to someone with a higher purpose. It's a film that impeccably defines these universes, politics and rivalries, setting a series of plots in motion, all through the eyes of its young lead, someone who clearly has the heart, and the potential to be so much more for what lies ahead. This context setting and definition, may prevent the film at times of devoting more time to other characters and subplots, therefore giving them more dimension to their actual motivations, but it's nonetheless an impressively crafted film. The sprawling and superlatively talented cast does an impeccable work of bringing these characters to life, including Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Rampling and Josh Brolin. Javier Bardem, Zendaya, have little to do on this first episode, but will be interesting to see their journey on the second chapter. The production team on the film is peerless, including the beautiful cinematography from Greig Fraser, score from Hans Zimmer, production design from Patrice Vermette and costumes by Bob Morgan and Jacqueline West. A wonderfully crafted film, from a distinctive and very talented director.

The Guilty

Movie Name: The Guilty
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano, Christina Vidal, Adrian Martinez, Christiana Montoya, David Castaneda, Eli Goree, Becky Wu
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
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Synopsis and Review:

Prolific director Antoine Fuqua has reunited with Jake Gyllenhaal once more, after their well received "Southpaw", which came out in 2015. This time around, "The Guilty" is a remake of the Danish film with the title "Den Skyldige", from director Gustav Moller. The film follows the story of Joe Baylor, a police officer from the LAPD, who is currently under investigation, but also working a night shift at a 911 call center, at least until his investigation clears off. During his shift, he answers a call from a distressed woman by the name of Emily. She reveals that she has been abducted, and informs him that she is being taken in a white van. Joe provides the information to the California Highway Patrol, but they can't do much without a license plate number. Joe in the meantime calls Emily's home phone, and chats with her six year old daughter Abby. She tells him that her mom left the house with her dad Henry, and that she's by herself with her baby brother Oliver. As Joe tries to help Abby and also Emily, he reaches out to his friends on the force, only to realize that not all is what it seems. 

"The Guilty" was shot in 11 days, which speaks for the tightness of the narrative and the fact that it is all centered around Jake Gyllenhaal's character, in a single location. The film which takes place around the call center, and is always focused on Joe Baylor's interactions on the phone with all sorts of characters, definitely brings to mind similar exercises of the genre, such as Oliver Stone's "Talk Radio", or even Steven Knight's "Locke". However, and unlike the examples mentioned, Antoine Fuqua never truly manages to bring the plight and sense of urgency of the narrative to life (for the most part, the film is fairly illustrative and generic, lacking some distinct stylistic perspective). By the time we meet Joe Baylor, he already seems high strung, edgy and ready to snap, yet very little is ever provided in terms of who he is, or what has prompted his situation. Even as the narrative unfolds and the progressive disclosure occurs, Baylor is still very much a stereotypical character, without much dimension to himself. Jake Gyllenhaal who is always a solid and charismatic performer, has slowly transitioned to these roles, where he's somewhat of a damaged individual, seeking redemption, or completely amoral, trying to vanquish all in a deranged world. He was far more interesting and compelling in both Dan Gilroy's "Velvet Buzzsaw" and "Nightcrawler" than he is here. For all his good intentions, and for the range of emotions he puts on display, this films feels surprisingly shallow, in the sense that is never truly a B-movie with an edgy concept, nor a psychological study into a character who is seemingly falling to pieces. It's watchable, but mostly forgettable. 

Casino Royale

Movie Name: Casino Royale
Year of Release: 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, Simon Abkarian, Jesper Christensen, Claudio Santamaria, Isaach De Bankole, Malcolm Sinclair, Richard Sammel
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

Following the previous James Bond adventure, which featured Pierce Brosnan, alongside Halle Berry under the direction of Lee Tamahori, the producing and creative team behind the franchise, found another leading actor, and went back to director Martin Campbell. Campbell, who also directed "Goldeneye" in 1995, the first 007 under the tutelage of Pierce Brosnan, was coming off "The Legend of Zorro", the sequel to his highly successful "The Mask of Zorro", both featuring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones. "Casino Royale" goes back to Ian Fleming's novel with the same title, and introduces James Bond/007 as a recent agent who has been given license to kill. He is on the trail of a man by the name of Le Chiffre, a banker to world's terrorists. When Bond thwarts a terrorist attack, he puts Le Chiffre in a dire situation with his clients. He has to resort to a high stakes poker game in Montenegro, one that Bond is allowed to participate, under the watchful eye of a British Treasury agent, a woman by the name of Vesper Lynd. As the game unfolds, and the stakes go higher, the relationship between Bond and Lynd grows closer, though not all is as it seems. 

"Casino Royale" is the third adaptation of the novel by Ian Fleming, with the previously most well known one being the comedy led by David Niven, with the film itself being directed by a serious of filmmakers, including John Huston and Ken Hughes. Martin Campbell strips back much of the artificial stance from Lee Tamahori's "Die Another Day", which was borderline a kitsch adventure much alike the Roger Moore films of the series. Instead we have a film that is definitely more akin to the Bourne Identity film series, with a central character that feels more realistic (as much as that is possible with Bond), while still emphasizing elaborate action set pieces. As entertaining as some of the set pieces are, it's still a film anchored in a well known formula, with an array of characters that are fairly shallow, including Bond himself, but also the supporting cast, including Vesper, M, Felix, and the main villain, Le Chiffre, who sadly never has that much to do. Where this film does manage to detour from the known formula, is towards its third act, but even then it never gives much insight into the characters themselves, being far more circumstantial and setting up the narrative for a next episode. It's a fairly entertaining film, with a solid supporting cast, including Judi Dench, Eva Green, Jeffrey Wright, Mads Mikkelsen, with Daniel Craig opting for a central performance that is somewhat rigid. The cinematography from Phil Meheux is solid, as is the score from the always great David Arnold. While not the most memorable film of the series, it's nonetheless an entertaining chapter in the franchise.

Waterworld

Movie Name: Waterworld
Year of Release: 1995
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino, Michael Jeter, Jack Kehler, Gerard Murphy, Sab Shimono, Leonardo Cimino, Zakes Mokae, Robert A. Silverman, Robert Joy, Jack Black, Kim Coates, John Fleck
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

One of the big budget films to come out in 1995 was Kevin Reynolds's "Waterworld", the other being of course, Renny Harlin's "Cutthroat Island". Whereas the first one actually made out fairly well, the second one has gone down in the annals of the industry, as a massive failure. Rivers of ink at the time were written on the shooting of "Waterworld", which included some expensive natural disasters, not to mention the disputes between Kevin Reynolds and actor/producer Kevin Costner. The film takes place in the future, where the polar ice-caps have melted, forcing the populations to re-adjust to how they live, and even changing the evolution of the human kind itself. The surviving pockets of humanity live scattered throughout the oceans, in artificially constructed atolls, whereas some others have become itinerant voyagers. One of those voyagers is known as Mariner, an amphibian, who travels in his catamaran, from atoll to atoll, trading items he needs, while keeping himself away from any other human contact. When he visits a particular atoll, he comes into contact with a group who wants him to provide a very specific service, something he passes on, while he also gets to know Enola, a young child who seemingly has the map to dry land tattooed on her back. When the atoll is attacked by a series of pirates under the command of the dangerous Deacon, Mariner escapes, taking with him Enola and Helen, her guardian. Deacon also wants that map, and will stop at nothing to get it.

At the time of its premiere, much was discussed about the enormity of the budget that had been spent in order to bring this film to life. Kevin Reynolds, the director, previously responsible for "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and also "Rapa Nui", manages to successfully bring to life this post-apocalyptic world, which in a way has quite a few similarities with George Miller's "Mad Max", only this time around on water. It's essentially a B-movie with a big budget, however it's deft and concise narrative falters when it comes to characters definition and motivation. For all of Dennis Hopper's villainy, his Deacon has very little to do, the same of which can be said for Jeanne Tripplehorn's Helen, or even Kevin Costner's Mariner. Though all these characters are nothing but sketches, the film does manage to keep its momentum, and Kevin Reynolds does build a compelling world, one where water is everywhere, and people's dreams of finding dry land seem very much like a distant utopia. It's a film with moments of humor, one that doesn't take itself very seriously, and where the adventure is almost puerile, yet not less enticing. Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Michael Jeter, Tina Majorino all create satisfying characters, whereas Dennis Hopper is on overacting mode. The cinematography from Dean Semler is fantastic, as is the production design from Dennis Gassner and score from James Newton Howard. While not a masterpiece by any means, it's nonetheless a film worth watching.

No Time to Die

Movie Name: No Time to Die
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Starring: Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Lashana Lynch, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Billy Magnussen, Christoph Waltz, David Dencik, Dali Benssalah, Lisa-Dorah Sonnet, Coline Defaud
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:

Writer/Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is the latest director to tackle the James Bond franchise, following his celebrated "Beasts of No Nation" and the mini-series "Maniac", both of which he released with streaming platform, Netflix. This episode of the series, is also the last one featuring actor Daniel Craig as James Bond. It picks up right after the events from "Spectre", where Blofeld is imprisoned, and James and Madeleine are trying to have a life outside of his secret service work. However those ties are hard to shake, since Madeleine herself has secrets she's never disclosed, the same way Bond has a difficult time letting go of the death of Vesper Lynd. When they're targeted in Italy, Bond suspects Madeleine is associated with the whole thing, and they both go their separate ways. However Bond is lassoed back once more, this time around courtesy of his friend Felix Leiter, who wants him to capture a doctor who is in possession of a biological weapon that can be devastating. Turns out Bond is not the only on the trail of this doctor, with his previous team, and in particular a new 007 also pursuing that same doctor. Turns out that biological weapon was crafted with the consent of his old boss, M, but has been usurped by someone with far more sinister intentions, someone connected to Madeleine's past. Bond has to race against time and uncover who this menacing individual is, before his whole world collapses.

What has always been interesting about the James Bond saga, is the fact that it never takes itself very seriously. Its central hero is indeed someone with a license to kill, but is also someone who is able to crack a joke, on top of being lethal with all sorts of weaponry and knowing everything about the financial and arts worlds. As the years have passed, this series has veered into campy and over the top, but with Daniel Craig, the series definitely approached a more Jason Bourne type of edginess and some would say, "quasi-realistic" approach to its different narratives. Of all the films Daniel Craig has fronted, Sam Mendes's "Skyfall" is quite possibly the best one, since it convincingly weaves a tapestry of betrayal within the Organization Bond comes from, while also humanizing him and some of his team mates. Not to mention, it features one of the most charismatic and pained villains of the entire saga, Silva, as impeccably played by Javier Bardem. "No Time to Die" fails to capture both the compelling drama which sustained "Skyfall" but also its riveting energy. Cary Joji Fukunaga's attempts to further humanize the agent, giving him somewhat of a blissful domestic/romantic life, but Madeleine always remains somewhat of an unresolved character, whereas the villainous presence played by Rami Malek, fails to elicit either real danger, or an actual compelling motivation for him to do what he's doing. It's ultimately a chapter that closes the arc around this particular approach to the character, one that is populated with some solid action set pieces, but where once again the story fails to deliver as efficiently as some of the previous chapters. The cast is a mixed bag, with Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris and Jeffrey Wright, all being top notch, whereas Rami Malek is miscast, and Daniel Craig seems to be portraying a much more relaxed version of the agent he was in the other films. Highlights should go to Linus Sandgren's stunning cinematography and Hans Zimmer's score. It's entertaining feature, but not a memorable one.

Mama

Movie Name: Mama
Year of Release: 2013
Director: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, Daniel Kash, Javier Botet, Jane Moffat, Morgan McGarry, David Fox
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

Writer/Director Andy Muschietti and his sister, producer Barbara Muschietti, made a name for themselves initially with the short "Mama", which they then expanded to this feature, which turned out to be their feature debut. With the collaboration of Guillermo Del Toro as executive producer, the film premiered in 2013 to substantial commercial success, propelling their career to new heights, which eventually led them to the Stephen King adaptation of "It". "Mama" follows the story of two young sisters who find themselves in a precarious situation. Their father has a breakdown, following a particularly brutal financial collapse, and kidnaps them from their mother's house. While on the run they experience a car accident in the mountains. They manage to escape unarmed, and discover what seems to be an abandoned cabin in the woods. Their father is taken by some entity, who in turn begins feeding them. 5 years pass, and the girls have grown in the woods. They're finally discovered by a group of explorers hired by their uncle, who lives with Annabel, a rock musician. As their uncle eventually gets legal guardianship, and the girls move to his house, strange occurrences begin happening, something that the therapist assigned to them tries to solve and understand. When Lucas, their uncle, suffers a rather serious accident, Annabel has to become the caregiver to the girls, something that she never wanted to do. The girls however have another entity caring for them, who has plans of her own.

"Mama" has an interesting premise, where children who are left to their own devices, are protected by an entity who has an agenda of her own. For a while the ambiguity if that entity is an actual projection of the children's subconscious or is it instead a sinister ghost, keeps the story rather interesting. However as the narrative unfolds, and the entity's true nature reveals itself, there's a vague influence of Hideo Nakata's "Ringu" which was remade by Gore Verbinski's into "The Ring", in the sense that there's a tragic occurrence in the past that has triggered all these events taking place in the present. While the plot is unfolding, with the typical scares from a ghost story, the most interesting part of the narrative itself, is the fact that the lead matriarchal character, is very against type. Jessica Chastain tries to bring some dimension to this mother figure character, making her an emo rock musician, who has little patience with children and even less to the whole domestic aspect of a relationship. Though the reasons for her resistance to children are never truly clarified or expanded upon, it gels with how she and the children progressively bond. Sadly this part of the story is not as emphasized as it should, and the third act revolves around the understanding of what's taking place and explaining the supernatural aspect of the narrative. Overall the film has a lot of promise, even taking some cues from Guillermo Del Toro's "The Devil's Backbone", but ends up shortchanging character development for the obligatory scary/ghost sequences. Aside from Jessica Chastain's Annabel character, none of the supporting characters have much dimension to themselves. The cinematography from Antonio Riestra is impeccable, as is the score from Fernando Velazquez. While not a bad film, it's not necessarily a very memorable one, though this director has gone on to do some interesting films in the meantime. 

Midnight Mass

TV Show Name: Midnight Mass
Year of Release: 2021
Created by: Mike Flanagan

Director: Mike Flanagan

Stars: Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, Henry Thomas, Hamish Linklater, Annabeth Gish, Kristin Lehman, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Igby Rigney, Annarah Cymone, Alex Essoe, Matt Biedel, Michael Trucco, Louis Oliver, Robert Longstreet, Ebony Booth, John C. MacDonald

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
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Synopsis:

Writer/Producer/Director Mike Flanagan continues his ongoing relationship with NetFlix, this time around with another mini-series, originally created by him. The mini-series starts by introducing us to Riley Flynn, who following a drunken accident is sentenced to prison due to the fatality that was incurred as a direct result of that accident. Upon his release, he returns to his family, hoping to pick up the pieces and restart his life. His family lives in a small island, Crockett Island, where most of its inhabitants are very religious and frequent mass regularly. While some of the families in the island have been there for quite some time, some of its most recent inhabitants are people who grew up there, left to pursue some adventures, and are now back to somewhat resume their lives and recover from whatever they experienced. A new priest also appears, by the name of Father Paul, indicating the previous reverend is taking a rest, following a much desired trip to the Holly Land. As Father Paul starts interacting with the congregation and providing his sermons, life in the small community starts changing, subtly at first, and dramatically as time progresses. And this is something that affects everyone in the community. Riley who is going to AA, and has his sessions with Father Paul, notices some incongruences and outspoken lies. What lies beneath Father Paul's actions reveal something far more sinister than what anyone could have anticipated.

The talented Mike Flanagan has been keeping himself quite busy, with a rapid succession of projects, which have included the well received "Gerald's Game", "The Haunting of Hill House", "Doctor Sleep", with "The Haunting of Bly Manor" being the first of his projects to somewhat fail to get universal praise (in all fairness, "Doctor Sleep" while fairly well received, wasn't unanimously appreciated). "Midnight Mass", while not an exact stumble, isn't as well accomplished as his previous projects. And a lot of the issues are tied to the momentum of the storyline, and also how for the most part the characters background and exposition is uneven, and at times feels like a bombardment of information. The mini-series starts with a strong premise, adding value to its momentum the fact that the narrative takes place in this smallish island, where everyone knows everyone. There are faint traces of Stephen King's influence in the way the community is described (particularly some ties with "The Mist"), but as Father Paul makes his appearance and the religious aspect of the community becomes visible, it's also pummeled into the audience, in a somewhat of a repetitive aspect. The whole aspect of the island being a shelter for people who ventured out an were battered by the world, is never truly fully explored, since the focus always returns to the religious belief and what Father Paul is trying to do. These two parallel threads eventually merge, but for some time the show gives the impression of going in different paths. As the big revelation occurs and violence escalates, the show loses some of its impact, since the massive cult like aspect of the narrative is never fully explored. Ultimately this is a show that has a lot of ideas, and could have gone in a variety of directions, but where it went is somewhat unsatisfying and a bit contrived. The cast is uniformly solid, with Hamish Linklater, Annabeth Gish, Henry Thomas, Matt Biedel and Samantha Sloyan all creating vivid performances. The cinematography from Michael Fimognari is solid, as is the score from The Newton Brothers. Here's hoping Mike Flanagan's next project allows him to focus on a more tightly woven narrative. 

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Movie Name: Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Andy Serkis
Starring: Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Jack Bandeira, Little Simz
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:

Actor/director Andy Serkis, is the latest creative to tackle another Marvel property, this time around the sequel to the unexpected success that was "Venom", originally directed by Ruben Fleischer. The sequel focuses its attention on Eddie Brock and his co-existence with the symbiotic Venom, and how they try to navigate their relationship, in an Odd Couple kind of way. Eddie is faced with an interesting assignment which comes in the shape of Cletus Kasady, a serial killer recently apprehended, who wants to tell his side of the story to a reporter, namely Brock himself. Brock and Venom manage to discover where Kasady has hidden all the bodies of his victims, and soon Kasady finds himself on death row. Upon visiting Kasady for a last time, before his scheduled execution, there's a physical altercation between them both, which results in Kasady biting Brock, and getting a taste of the alien creature living within. This actually results in the  creation of something new, a new entity, which takes over Kasady and names itself Carnage. They soon escape prison, and go rescue Kasady's imprisoned lover, Frances, also known as Shriek, due to her special mutant powers. It's up to Eddie and Venom to not only save themselves, but also prevent the city of San Francisco of being obliterated.

What has now become somewhat apparent about the "Venom" films, besides the obvious quality of its cast, and production values, is how lightweight and borderline paper thin its storylines actually are. For all her reputation and projects she has tackled, writer Kelly Marcel has failed to bring some actual dimension to the scripts of these films, choosing instead to infuse both of them with a series of clichés and rather rudimentary storylines. This film,  much like the previous chapter, is filled with digital effects that provide the sound and fury, but everything in this narrative is light as a feather, the same going for its characters, relationships and motivations. The film places some interesting characters in place, but avoids providing much information or background on them, making this narrative instead something very basic, almost child like in its context, motivations and momentum, but with enough violence to keep it interesting for adults. For all its noise it's a surprisingly shallow film, where a talented cast is completely wasted. Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, Naomie Harris and Tom Hardy are all somewhat playing it along, with only Stephen Graham actually bringing some actual gravitas and dimension to what is happening on screen. The cinematography from the wonderful Robert Richardson is fantastic, as is the score from the always solid Marco Beltrami. It's barely better than the previous chapter, and that is solely due to some of the humor that is tossed around. Hopefully the third chapter will have a different creative team, able to bring this character to life with some actual dimension. 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Movie Name: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Year of Release: 2021
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Meng'er Zhang, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Yeoh, Florian Munteanu, Andy Le, Fala Chen, Wah Yuen, Stephanie Hsu, Jodi Long, Kunal Dudheker
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:

Another Marvel films release, this time around coming from director Destin Daniel Cretton, who made a name for himself with the wonderful "Short Term 12". This time around the story focuses on a young man by the name of Shaun, who works in San Francisco, alongside his best friend Katy, as valet parkers for a luxury hotel. When they are attacked by a group of very skilled martial arts experts, Shaun successfully fights them off, and eventually reveals to Katy that his name is actually Shang-Chi. He also reveals that his father is and has been for centuries, the leader of a criminal organization, all thanks to these mystical Ten Rings, which give him enhanced powers and eternal life. They go to Macao to warn his sister that she's possibly also a target of their father's organization, but the person he finds is quite different than the one he originally left behind. They're all captured, and they soon face their father, who warns them of his intent. He wants to travel to the hidden location where their mother is originally from, and free her from a supposed lockdown, even though she has been dead for years. Shang-Chi, Katy and Xialing escape their father's grip and go in search of the magical village, in order to warn them of what and who is coming for them. 

Shang-Chi has always been an interesting character in the Marvel cannon, having made its debut in 1973, and since then has had a very colorful path and even crossovers with other characters from the Marvel Universe. This film version modernizes his adventures to the 21st century, and infuses the story with some colorful mysticism and cultural elements that make it all the more interesting and distinct. Watching the film I personally couldn't help think what someone such as Stephen Chow would have done with this property, but as it is, Destin Cretton follows a rather formulaic origin story, of introducing the background of the central character, and his journey of awakening, only this time around partnered with a female wisecrack best friend. The film keeps its momentum and rhythm going, though for the most part the supporting characters are once again barely defined, the same thing going for the villainous father figure, who isn't so villainous after all. While this heritage and cultural significance aspects could have been at the core of the story, they become more of a detail, and instead some dark (digitally created) entities emerge as the villains of the story, once again without much to speak of in terms of character existence or relevance for that matter. While these dark digital creatures once again make for a lackluster foe, the film for the most part manages to keep itself engaged and entertaining. The cast is serviceable, but highlights should go to Tony Leung and Michelle Leoh, both of whom bring a regal and tranquil aspect to their roles, whereas the always fantastic Ben Kingsley is a wonderful humorist force. The production team is impeccable, with great cinematography from Bill Pope, production design from Sue Chan and score from Joel P West. While formulaic, the film has enough humor and momentum to keep itself engaging.