Get Away

Movie Name: Get Away
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Steffen Haars
Starring: Nick Frost, Aisling Bea, Sebastian Croft, Maisie Ayres, Ville Virtanen, Eero Milonoff, Anitta Suikkari, Jouko Ahola, Verneri Lilja, Kari Kinnari
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review

"Get Away" is in reality the second collaboration of writer/actor Nick Frost and director Steffen Haars to be released in 2024 (the other one was the poorly received "Krazy House", which co-starred Alicia Silverstone). "Get Away" follows the narrative of the Smith family, who are in Sweden for a much needed vacation according to them. They have booked an Air BNB located on a small island, so they can witness a local holiday known as "Karantan" (translates to Quarantine). Prior to boarding the ferry to the island, they stop to get some food, and are quickly informed by the owner that they should avoid the island and the celebration altogether. Undeterred, the 4 continue to the island, and are greeted with a considerable degree of animosity by the locals. They're eventually saved by the host of their Air BNB, who takes them to their lodgings. The family isn't dissuaded from staying and in the days prior to the holiday/staging of the historical mark, go about enjoying the placid and serene surroundings of the island. While doing so, they're also being observed and recorded in the house they're renting. The day of the "Karantan", things start taking a dark turn, as their host decides to drug them, expecting to take the family on a different type of ride, only for the tables to quickly be turned on him and on the village itself.

"Get Away" is Nick Frost's first sole writing credit, and much like the best work he is well known for, such as Edgar Wright's trilogy of "Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz", and "The World's End", is a dark comedy, always with a wink and a nudge. The film that it immediately brings to mind in terms of a similar concept and approach is of course Ben Wheatley's "Sightseers", where an apparently affable and lovely couple who while on vacation, go on a killing spree whenever something or someone rubs them the wrong way (one could even go further back in terms of references, and include the dark comedy "Man Bites Dog" from directors Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, and Benoit Poelvoorde). The most interesting aspect of "Get Away" is how Steffen Haars manages to quickly illustrate the complicity in the Smith family, and the opposing distaste that the tight Swedish community has towards them. While none of these characters have much dimension beyond that of a cartoon, the situations themselves evolve as a bit of a satire on modern traveling families who want to predate on local habits for their own entertainment, even if their presence is not welcomed or warranted. As mayhem ensues in the third arc of the film, the facade of everyone finally drops, and while the lunacy is rampant, one can't help but smile at the cartoonish violence that is taking place. The lead actors are all solid, with Nick Frost in particular fitting nicely into this patriarchal type of role he has leaning into more recently. The production team is solid, including Joris Kerbosch's cinematography and Pirjo Rossi's production design. It's watchable, even if not entirely memorable. 

The Amateur

Movie Name: The Amateur
Year of Release: 2025
Director: James Hawes
Starring: Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne, Caitriona Balfe, Holt McCallany, Rachel Brosnahan, Julianne Nicholson, Danny Sapani, Jon Bernthal, Tiffany Gray, Adrian Martinez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Marthe Keller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review

James Hawes has a long directorial career, one shaped mostly by TV shows and TV movies, with "The Amateur" being his feature sophomore directorial effort, following his debut with the well received "One Life" with Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter. "The Amateur" follows the narrative of Charlie Heller, a CIA cryptographer, who is married to Sarah and leads a rather serene existence. Sarah goes to London on a work trip and while there is shot and killed during a terrorist attack. Charlie is devastated and has a difficult time overcoming the situation, and presses his bosses to do something about it. He decides to do his own investigation of what happened, and courtesy of his technological abilities, he is able to uncover the originators of the attack. He shares this information with leadership who still do nothing to bring those parties to justice. Charlie eventually uncovers that there's been some off the cuff activities being commandeered by his boss, and he leverages that knowledge, blackmailing them into letting him go into the field and seek revenge on what happened to his wife. He goes through a brief training period with Hendo, who explains to Charlie his considerable limitations in being a field agent, but that doesn't deter him in the least. He manages to evade everyone and goes off to Europe where he stars pursuing the terrorists involved in the incident, with his boss, and the new CIA lead also looking into what is happening.

"The Amateur" is in a lot of ways the polar opposite of Robert Ludlum and what Paul Greengrass created with "The Bourne Identity" film series (and the character Jason Bourne for that matter). One would be tempted to think with that angle that "The Amateur" would be a more grounded character driven, almost similar to John Le Carré, type of film. Sadly it isn't, and it's ultimately a film that has a rather banal tone to it, taking giant leaps of believability (which one can tolerate), and where characters pop in and out without much relevance or context. Charlie and Sarah never get much background on who they are, we get some Hallmark vignettes of what their relationship was like. The only character we get a sense of color and dimension to is Caitriona Balfe's Inquiline, who provides a brief but relevant explanation of who she is, why she does what she does, and her reasonings for eventually helping Charlie. It's a film where the director does try to emulate the aesthetic of Paul Greengrass' "Bourne" films, but it lacks the conviction, sense of urgency or danger, and ultimately fails in conveying what is really at risk (also it's difficult to understand how long are these events going for, is it days/weeks/months?). Also, and just peppering the ridiculousness of the third arc of the film, the rather Shakespearean exchange between Rami Malek's Charlie and Michael Stuhlbarg's Horst, just keeps on going, and is completely nonsensical. The cast is a bit all over the place, with Caitriona Balfe, Laurence Fishburne, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, and Danny Sapani getting off this experience with their reputations unscathed, however Rami Malek (who won a series of awards a few years back lip-syncing to Freddie Mercury), demonstrates just how limited his range is, while it's puzzling as to why Rachel Brosnahan took such a thankless part on this film. The production team is solid, particularly Martin Ruhe's cinematography. It's a mediocre endeavor and a film everyone will quickly forget. 

Drop

Movie Name: Drop
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Christopher Landon
Starring: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Sarah McCormack, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks, Travis Nelson, Ben Pelletier
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Writer/director Christopher Landon who has had a significant career in the thriller/paranormal genre is back, this time around directing a feature he did not write (his career took off after his participation in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise). The narrative focuses on the story of Violet, a single mom, who after a traumatic experience with her ex-spouse, now lives very comfortably in the Chicago area, working as a therapist specialized in abuse situations. She decides to go on a date with a man she's been interacting with from the dating apps, and asks her sister to babysit her young son Toby. She arrives at the restaurant a bit early, and her date is also running a bit behind, so she decides to wait by the bar. There she meets another man who mistakenly believes her to be his blind date. They part after a few niceties, and her actual date arrives soon after. While at the table she acknowledges some drop messages that have been coming to her phone, and the tone of those messages escalates, when she realizes the person has cloned her phone, and knows everything she's doing in the restaurant. The person on the phone demands she kills her date (by poisoning him), otherwise there's someone on standby by her home to kill her child and sister. Checking on the security camera, Violet realizes that is indeed the case. As she navigates the interactions with her very patient and kind date, Violet questions herself, if she's willing to do so, and how she can successfully get out of that predicament.

"Drop" interestingly reminded me of Anatole Litvak's "Sorry, Wrong Number", with the late, great Barbara Stanwyck, whose character was bedridden and heard of a murder plot over the phone and spends the film trying to thwart it. "Drop" isn't nearly as interesting, nor nearly as compelling as that film, but it tries to be economical in its narrative strategy, placing an abused and traumatized victim as the target of some nefarious people trying to do more wrongful things. And while the nugget of the storyline is indeed interesting and compelling, there's a whole credibility to the situation that takes implausibility to a whole different level. For starters, and that's enough to kill the entire premise of this film, there isn't a single male individual, of whatever sexual orientation he may be, who would tolerate even a third of the actions and behaviors Violet throws at him. A widower who spends all her time on the phone, checking messages from her son (or so she says), goes off to the bathroom and other places for considerable amounts of time, all of this while her date sits placidly waiting. As much as Mr. Landon illustrates the lethal aspect of the messages that are coming, the overall claustrophobic environment of not knowing where to turn and what to do, never truly comes across very explicitly. And Violet, while trying to stay cool and fresh so her date doesn't suspect anything, never seems truly frazzled or disconcerted by what is happening. It's a threadbare plot that doesn't really give much dimension to these characters, nor to the situation in which it drops them into. It lacks believability in what it sets out to illustrate, and that it's ultimately why it's not a very successful endeavor. The cast tries their best with the material they have, and while Meghann Fahy doesn't do much with her character (fairly generic), at least her interactions with Brandon Sklenar don't feel entirely rigid. The production is solid, with highlights going to Marc Spicer's cinematography, Susie Cullen's production design, and Bear McCreary's score. It's another miss for Blumhouse studios.

Elyas

Movie Name:  Elyas
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Florent-Emilio Siri
Starring: Roschdy Zem, Laetitia Eido, Jeanne Michel, Dimitri Storoge, Sherwan Haji, Eric Savin, Nabil Elouahabi, Toussaint Martinetti, Frederic Maranber, Aguibou Ba, Leonid Glushchenko, Sieme Miladi, Olivia Bonamy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
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Synopsis and Review

Director Florent-Emilio Siri is well known for his work directing music videos, but also for having directed the Bruce Willis led, "Hostage" which came out in 2005."Elyas" is his most recent feature directorial endeavor since his last effort released in 2015, "French Cuisine". The film focuses its attention on Elyas, a former Special Forces soldier dealing with some trauma from his experiences in Afghanistan, who gets a new job courtesy of a referral as a security guard for a wealthy/affluent family. While not exactly something he was looking forward to tackling, he agrees to it, since they pay is solid and the job itself seems rather low risk. He is tasked with protecting a young girl by the name of Nour and her mom Amina. While initially cold and distant, Nour slowly ingratiates herself with him, and a bond of friendship is built around Elyas and the young girl. However their placid existence is thrown into disarray when the castle is invaded, with a highly skilled team of mercenaries trying to kidnap Nour. Elyas' security team is all killed, and it eventually falls down to him to successfully prevent Amina and Nour from being taken.

"Elyas" covers ground that many other films have already done so in the past. The most obvious reference is of course Tony Scott's "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, which this film appears to attempt to remake, just moving the action to a different continent and reframing some of the context of the narrative. The film also bears influences from Paul Greengrass' "The Bourne Identity" films, in the way the action set pieces are orchestrated and shot. The film is in essence another take on the action films Luc Besson's Europa Corp has been producing, with directors such as Olivier Megaton, Louis Leterrier, Xavier Gens, Pierre Morel, and more recently George Huang. Slick and polished B-movies, not that different in spirit from the genre pictures that the late Charles Bronson was doing with director Michael Winner. "Elyas" doesn't provide much in terms of character development for any of the characters, and much of the rapport that is shaped between the lead characters feels very much like a cliché already captured in other films, but it illustrates the connection between them until the action set pieces begin. The action is adequately captured, without the frantic sense of urgency and authenticity as Paul Greengrass has been able to do in his "The Bourne Identity" films, but it's effective and gives the film the jolt of energy that it needs. The film and its creative team, don't take the material or themselves very seriously: they know they're crafting a B-movie made of car chases and fight scenes, and that's essentially what they deliver. There are some hints of character development with Elyas references to his past, but they're altogether brief. The cast is led by the talented Roschy Zem, who creates Elyas as a credible, stoic and unstoppable individual, while the supporting players do a fairly competent job with the limited material they have. The production team is equally competent. It's a watchable and unmemorable feature. 

They Came Together

Movie Name: They Came Together
Year of Release: 2014
Director: David Wain
Starring: Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Cobie Smulders, Bill Hader, Ellie Kemper, Michael Ian Black, Jason Mantzoukas, Christopher Meloni, Melanie Lynskey, Teyonah Parris, Ed Helms, Ken Marino, Jack McBrayer, Kenan Thompson, Michaela Watkins, Randall Park, Noureen DeWulf, Lynn Cohen, Michael Murphy, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Michael Shannon
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

The creative team of David Wain/Michael Showalter/Ken Marino/Paul Rudd, reunited with "They Came Together" shortly after the release of "Wanderlust", which was a middle of the road endeavor for all parties involved. "They Came Together" is a satire/spoof on all the tropes of romantic comedies, recycling elements from all sorts of films in particular the Nora Ephron ones such as "You've Got Mail" and even "Sleepless in Seattle". The narrative focuses on the couple comprised of Joel and Molly, who are having a casual dinner with their friends Kyle and Karen. During dinner they start reminiscing about how they got together and how their path to happiness came about. Molly originally owned an independent candy store that was slowly being pushed out of business by a bigger one, who was Joel's employer. Molly had gone through a divorce, while Joel had a girlfriend who was cheating on him with a rival coworker. They end up being set up by friends unknowingly, and although they initially dislike each other, they eventually warm up to each other and start bonding over mutual likes. They experience some additional fumbles, but seem to resume their relationship, meeting Molly's parents in the meantime. While that event initially takes place without much controversy, Joel is later horrified to notice Molly's parents are white supremacists. They once again argue, and break up, resulting in them falling into other relationships. Joel goes back to his cheating ex, while Molly starts something with a banker who simply tries too hard. Molly gets proposed by her new partner, but Joel can't stop thinking of her.

Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler have a long standing career of collaborating with David Wain. They worked together on "Wet Hot American Summer" which came out in 2001, and since then Paul Rudd in particular has been in "The Ten", "Role Models", "Wanderlust", and "They Came Together". There's a level of comfortability between all involved in the film, since they've all been collaborating with each other for quite some time, a troupe of sorts, similar to what Christopher Guest has done with his series of mockumentaries and his collaborators (Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Bob Balaban, Jane Lynch, to name but a few). Paul Rudd of course is part of David Wain's troupe but also of Judd Apatow's troupe ("40 Year Old Virgin", "Knocked Up", "This is 40"). While this camaraderie is wonderful and generates an easy rapport between the characters on screen, "They Came Together" while funny in many parts, it also never truly seems to land or generate that riotous moment. Part of the challenge of this satire, is that unlike what ZAZ did with "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun", the tone on "They Came Together" is self-aware of the elements of the romantic comedy they're mocking/spoofing. What was always so brilliant about ZAZ was how over the top their films were, and how deeply committed to that satire they actually were. "They Came Together" touches on so many funny bits and clichés of the romantic comedy genre, but is somewhat tame and perhaps just too tasteful to really shred it to pieces, something that "Airplane" for instance never feared (the more serious or referential something seems to be, the easier in principle it should be to tear it down). As it stands, the film is a good showcase for the talents of Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and all the supporting cast that is comprised of a plethora of very talented comedians. The production team is competent but not particularly memorable, which in the end is how this film can be summed up: it's funny, but not particularly memorable. 

Sinners

Movie Name: Sinners
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Ryan Cogler 
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Yao, Li Jun Li, Omar Benson Miller, Sam Malone, Dave Maldonado, Lola Kirke, Peter Dreimanis, Saul Williams, Nathaniel Arcand
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review

After back to back Marvel produced features, writer/director Ryan Cogler is back to his own original material, with far better results than the somewhat formulaic comic book fare that he has tackled to considerable audience results. This time around the narrative focuses on the story of twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore, who in 1932 return to Mississipi after years spent in Chicago working for organized crime (and a stint in the World War as well). They decide to buy a sawmill from a racist landowner in order to start a juke joint. One of the artists they've recruited is their cousin Sammie, a young man who is the son of a local pastor, who states that blues music opens the gateways to a supernatural world. The brothers recruit a variety of people to their team, including local Chinese shopkeepers Grace and Bo Chow, field worker Cornbread as a bouncer, Smoke's partner Annie as a cook, and Delta Slim, the local music legend, as a pianist. The opening night shows a lot of promise, and Mary, Stack's ex-girlfriend shows up as well, even though their shared history is a lengthy one. Sammie, Delta Slim, and Pearline, the latter one a married singer whom Sammie is infatuated with, perform to great success, however Sammie's musical abilities manages to attract Remmick, and Irish-immigrant who is also a vampire. He's turned a few locals into vampires as well, and they all show up at the joint wanting to come in. When the brothers and their team suspect something unseemly with Remmick and his acolytes, they deny them entrance, but as Mary investigates further, things start taking a much darker turn during the evening.

There's a fluidity and a sense of pleasure in "Sinners" that is the biggest takeaway from the film. Or at least it was so for me. Ryan Cogler doesn't necessarily bring too much dimension to any of these characters - he mostly gives telegraphic and essential information about who they are, and their entwined relationships, which enables his talented cast to bring them to life. The film is indeed a polished and deftly executed genre picture, but through the perspective of someone with a firmly established point of view, that is informed by his ancestry, and by the race history in North America. It's a film that is able to bring to the surface so much of Black culture, history, the joy of creation and music, but also mix it with a supernatural potboiler where vampires are musically seduced, but lethal and vicious nonetheless. The film does have a fluidity to it (there are no lulls), though there are aspects that could have benefited from some additional development, such as the twins relationships with the women they're bonded with, but as the film evolves there are echoes of John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13" in the sense of the imminent invasion of the space by a larger group of foes, and there's even some pulp-like nods to Quentin Tarantino's scripted "From Dusk Till Dawn". The most striking aspect about this film is the fact that it manages to balance nods to Africanism, Blues/Music, Religion, Racism, and a supernatural twist, without ever feeling forced. The cast is uniformly solid, with highlights going to Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, and Jack O'Connell. The production team is also impeccable, including Autumn Durald Arkapaw's cinematography, Ludwig Goransson's score, Ruth E. Carter's costumes, and Hannah Beachler's production design. An overall deftly crafted and entertaining film worth watching. 

Final Destination 5

Movie Name: Final Destination 5
Year of Release: 2011
Director: Steven Quale
Starring: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Arlen Escarpeta , Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, P.J. Byrne, David Koechner, Courtney B. Vance, Brent Stait, Tony Todd
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

After the disappointing "The Final Destination" (or "Final Destination 4" from director David R. Ellis), the fifth installment of the series gave the creative reigns to the team of director Steven Quale and screenwriter Eric Heisserer, who has since written the films "Bird Box" for director Susanne Bier and the multiple award nominated "Arrival" for director Denis Villeneuve. The narrative this time around focuses on a young professional in sales by the name of Sam Lawton who is about to go on a company retreat with his colleagues. Sam has been contemplating a change of career and has the opportunity to go to Paris and work for a well know restaurant, something he has always dreamt of. The morning before embarking on the bus to go on the retreat, his co-worker and also girlfriend, Molly, breaks up with him, devastating him. During the trip he has a premonition that the bridge they're crossing collapses, and most of his co-workers and himself die in that premonition. Sam wakes up, manages to stop the bus, and get some of his closest friends and co-workers out of the bus, before the bridge collapses, taking the remainder of their team, and many other cars and people in them to the bottom of the sea. The police who starts investigating the case suspects foul play, and that Sam is somehow involved in it all. Soon after the dramatic accident, each one of the survivors start dying due to extreme and unusual occurrences, starting with Candice, the intern and girlfriend of Peter, who is crushed to witness her death. And the deaths don't stop with Candice, all of them start getting picked by the order in which they would have died, had they stayed on the bus.

Steven Quale started his career as a second-unit director for James Cameron's "Titanic" and has since then also worked in that same capacity for his other well known directorial endeavor, "Avatar". Mr. Quale's directorial debut was actually the documentary he co-directed with James Cameron, "Aliens of the Deep", though "Final Destination 5" is in reality his scripted feature directorial debut. Working within the parameters of the series and with a solid script from Eric Heisserer, who actually goes in slightly different directions than the other features of the series. "Final Destination 5" is a worthy continuation to the work James Wong did with "Final Destination" and "Final Destination 3", both of which leaned a bit more heavily into the supernatural aspect of the series, and not solely on the gratuitous aspect of the gore afflicted death scenes. This film gives the characters something more substantial to do and react to, providing some extra context into the relationships between the co-workers, and even giving some additional (even if limited) information on Sam and Molly's relationship. The film still illustrates the gruesome accidents, as it has become a staple of the series, but it smartly takes its time in setting up the scenarios. It also benefits from actors who are more subtle about their performances, creating characters that feel more authentic than the ones that paraded around on the prior chapter of the franchise (even if most of the characters on this chapter aren't the most layered ones of the whole series of films). The production team is competent even if unremarkable, but overall this film is an average addition to the series. 

The Old Guard 2

Movie Name: The Old Guard 2
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Victoria Mahoney
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo, Henry Golding, Uma Thurman, Kamil Nozynski
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Five years after the release of the first film, "The Old Guard" is back, with a new director in charge of what seems to have been a troubled production. The narrative picks right after the events of the first feature. Andy, now a mortal, is still leading her team of immortals, this time around with the addition of Copley as their logistics team member. Joe in the meantime has been keeping tabs and regular contact with Booker, who was exiled from the group due to his treasonous behavior from the prior film. His partner Nicky is disappointed in his behavior, but the group agrees to reconnect with Booker. He lets them know that Quynh, Andy's former companion and partner who all believed to be lost at sea, has been saved and retrieved. She has been brought back by the first immortal, a woman going by the name of Discord, who sets Quynh on a path of retribution and revenge against Andy, but who has agenda of her own. 

Victoria Mahoney has a considerable directorial career on her resume, the large majority of it focused on Television/Streaming shows. And much like the shows she's worked on, the imprint that is left on this film is equally generic and without much of a point of view. What the original film set in motion, namely a group of immortals who work together, and have been changing humanity throughout the years, is largely set aside to focus on a pseudo revenge tale, one that doesn't make much sense, and that as the story continues to develop, gains less and less traction and believability. The script hailing from Greg Rucka (who wrote the original graphic novel) and Sarah L. Walker (who has mostly written TV Shows and TV movies), gives no additional information on any of these characters, not to mention providing very little in terms of background on the new characters who are added, including Tuah and Discord. For a film that was apparently shot in 2022, and has been lingering in this post production limbo since then, it's surprisingly meager how little this film adds to the mythology that the original film tried to establish. It's a film that feels rushed, lacking development in the relationships between the core group, stealing much of what made this group of characters so interesting to begin with, namely their different relationships, including the romantic couple of the team, who this time around is downplayed to what seems a buddy partnership. Everything the first film set in motion, even if it did so in a contrived and limited manner, was further sanded down, leaving all these characters without much of an arc, without much of a presence, and without much of anything to make them memorable (including edge or humor). The cast tries their best with the material they have, and the film is watchable largely because of the luminous Charlize Theron, who is as always a striking presence, but even she can't save this generic drivel. Uma Thurman, Matthias Schoenaerts and Chiwetel Ejiofor as good as they are, also have very little to do. The production team is sadly equally less than impressively. Barry Ackroyd, a formidable veteran cinematographer (he works with Paul Greengrass quite frequently, and lensed Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker"), lights this film in such a way, that there's no specific tonality in the film, everything is so brightly lit that it renders the film as something cheap. The production design, the costume design, is equally unimpressive, which is saying something for a film that is supposed to cover such a wide timeline. This is a head-scratcher, considering all the talent involved. A barely watchable head-scratcher. 

My Mom Jayne

Movie Name: My Mom Jayne
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Mariska Hargitay
Starring: Jayne Mansfield, Mariska Hargitay, Mickey Hargitay, Nelson Sardelli, Tony Cimber
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
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Synopsis and Review

"My Mom Jayne" is a documentary, as the title indicates, tracing who actress Jayne Mansfield was, from the perspective of her daughter, actress and film-maker, Mariska Hargitay. The documentary has a heartfelt premise: Mariska was only 3 years old when her mother died as a result of a car crash (where Mariska and two of her siblings were also on board), something that has become an event of its own (popping up for instance on David Cronenberg's seminal work "Crash"). What starts as an investigation of Mariska into who the person behind the larger than life actress her mother was, uncovering more details about her mother in the process, thanks to numerous interviews she performs, including with her siblings, the film also starts peeling away at who she actually is, her own roots, her relationship with her father Mickey Hargitay, stepmother, and some discussions that never happened about her own ancestry. It's a thoughtful documentary, one that shies away from salacious topics, nor does it investigate the star factory of Hollywood of the 1950s, but one that chooses to investigate who Jayne Mansfield "the mother" actually was, and subsequently how Mariska Hargitay herself came about, and her position in the family and all the ties her mother created. There's quite a bit of vulnerability and self-exposure from Ms. Hargitay in this documentary, which is always a rather tricky option to tackle in a documentary, which by default, should always be as objective as possible. There's a risk of losing a bit of self-awareness, and presenting oneself in a particular way, and there are indeed certain parts of the documentary where the author itself becomes too much of the center of a narrative that started being about someone else, but it's nonetheless a touching document and homage to a figure, to family, and to ultimately a testament to the fact that everyone is fallible, filled with limitations, and even some regrets, no matter how glamorous or publicized someone's life may be. It's worth watching. 

Heart Eyes

Movie Name: Heart Eyes
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Josh Ruben
Starring: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa, Michaela Watkins, Yoson An, James Gaylyn, Bronwyn Bradley
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

While "Heart Eyes" is a Screen Gems release, I genuinely thought this film was a Netflix release, trying to emulate the "Fear Street" series. The narrative follows the story of Ally McCabe, a copywriter/marketeer, whose latest creation/campaign for a Jewelry client almost gets her fired by her volatile and energetic boss Crystal. Crystal introduces everyone to Jay Simmons, a bold and award winning creative who is coming in to inject some creativity into the campaigns the teams have been pushing out. Ally fears even more for her job, but upon meeting Jay realizes he's the man she bumped into earlier on at a coffee shop. He invites her for a work dinner, so they can also get better acquainted as they're about to start working together, and Jay is in town for a very brief time span. After a tense conversation during dinner, and as they both leave the restaurant, Ally crosses paths with her recent ex-boyfriend, in tow with his new partner. Not wanting to be a sore loser, she quickly locks lips with Jay, makes up a quick lie, not realizing that a serial killer who goes by the name of Heart Eyes is checking what is happening. As Ally and Jay patch their relationship up, and go to her apartment, they are attacked by the killer, who starts leaving a list of bodies on the trail to get to the couple. 

This is the type of film that is truly a head scratcher, not because of being particularly ingenious or creative, or even particularly gore-filled, but more so about the question that forces us all to ask ourselves: why was this even made. This is a film that literally adds nothing to the slasher genre that's been around for quite some time, it picks up influences from Wes Craven's "Scream" series, from Geoffrey Wright's "Cherry Falls", and a series of others, but essentially brings nothing new to the genre. Where Ti West for instance has approached the genre in a rather unique way, with his trilogy of "X", "Pearl", and "Maxxxine", Josh Ruben who previously directed "Death to 2021" and "Werewolves Within", doesn't really do much beyond illustrating the gore that is involved in most killings in this film. There are glances of humor in the narrative, but it's a film that doesn't really know what to do with its characters, nor with the killer, who when uncovered at the end, is presented with the flimsiest justification as to why that killing spree has been occurring. This attempt at marrying a Young Adult type of series, quasi Hallmark style, with slasher, ultimately doesn't congeal, it feels forced, and it's inhabited by characters that are caricatures without much to say (or do), including the perpetual humorous best friend, and the shrill and eccentric older boss character. The cast is sadly also uninspired, without anyone truly making much of a mark. The production team is solid, with highlights going to Stephen Murphy's cinematography, and Rob Bavin's production design. It's forgettably mediocre. 

The Final Destination

Movie Name: The Final Destination
Year of Release: 2009
Director: David R. Ellis
Starring: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Haley Webb, Nick Zano, Mykelti Williamson, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella, Lara Grice
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

After the successful "Final Destination 3", the series went back to director David R. Ellis, who had previously helmed the second chapter, to bring this follow up to life. The premise for this installment is similar to the mechanism that rules this series. This time around the central character is a college student by the name of Nick O'Bannon, who is at an auto race with his girlfriend Lori and a couple of their friends, Hunt and Janet. Nick experiences a premonition of a dramatic crash which will set off a series of fatal accidents, which will result in the death of them all, and many others at the site. He panics, and after an ensuing fight with a few other spectators, they're all escorted out of the area, upon which the accident does occur, with massive casualties occurring. The next few days the survivors of the occurrence start dying due to unexpected accidents. Nick is convinced that Death is claiming the survivors in the exact order in which they would have died, had they stayed at the auto race site. He and Lori go about trying to warn the remainder of the survivors, in the hopes they can prevent the worst from happening.

As much as David R. Ellis is adept at telling a story with minimum fuss, this film is the worst in the series, primarily due to a script that has no humor, and very little suspense, and characters that are even more poorly defined than any of the others that came before in the series. It's somewhat perplexing how the film looks and feels as a cheap direct to video release, something that David R. Ellis in his career always managed to successfully avoid with all his features ("Cellular" and "Snakes on a Plane" for instance both had a polished and slick look to them). Aside from the look and feel, the characters in this chapter are literally cardboard cut-outs of what a "persona" should look or behave like, having no demonstrable human traits aside from the ability to talk and move, yet avoiding anything more substantial as giving the audience a glimpse into who they are or if they have a sense of humor. The cast, with the exception of Mykelti Williamson, sadly doesn't help either. All of these actors are truly wooden and uniformly unwatchable, which further sinks this film. The gruesomeness of all the killings can't hide the fact that this film has little to offer, and that everyone involved was just phoning it in, waiting for the big bucks to come in. The production team is uninspired, which is essentially a perfect summary for this film: uninspired and almost unwatchable (and it gets a 2 mostly because of Mr. Williamson and the late Mr. Ellis). 

28 Years Later

Movie Name: 28 Years Later
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Christopher Fullford, Edvin Ryding, Chi Lewis-Parry, Sandy Batchelor
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
View the Trailer

Synopsis and Review

In the last decade director Danny Boyle hasn't been the most prolific when it comes to releasing feature films, having only directed "Steve Jobs", "Trainspotting 2", and "Yesterday", with the latter one not being particularly well received. "28 Years Later" marks a return to a universe he started in 2002 with "28 Days Later", which was also the introductory card for actor Cillian Murphy, who is one of the executive producers of this film. The narrative takes place nearly thirty years after the events of the original film. The rage virus has been eradicated from Europe, and is now confined to the British Islands, who are being quarantined from the rest of the world. One of the surviving communities has set up a series of rules which has enabled them to survive without the virus. Spike, a 12 year old boy goes with his father on a rite of passage, back to the main Island, in order to hunt. During their journey they encounter a few infected, with some being a substantially different kind of infected, a group Spike's father brands as Alpha: they are stronger and more intelligent than the others. While they manage to escape, and return to their community, Spike learns some valuable lessons, about the infected and also about himself. While his father has issues dealing with Isla's ailment (Spike's mother), and is already cavorting with other people in the group, Spike learns that there's a surviving Doctor (by the name of Kelson) in the main island, who can potentially help his mother with her disease, that no one really knows what it is. Pushing past his father, and creating a distracting incident to obscure his intentions, Spike takes off with his mom towards the main Island, seeking Kelson and a possible salvation for her. 

This chapter of this series is not so much a sequel, but more a reinvention and expansion of what the original film set in motion. What was so uniquely arresting from the first film, aside from the premise of the rage virus spreading rapidly and creating hordes of zombie-like creatures, was the fact that it was grounded on the point of view of a survivor who had not witnessed the demise of society, someone who had to relearn how to live in a completely different world. In this chapter, we witness this reality through the perspective of a young boy who has known nothing but this world where the virus robs people of their lives, but more so, robs the people on the islands of what it means to live in a civilized society. If the first film was about developing a plan to stay alive, this one is more about maintaining life as it is, avoiding the perils of the virus. The film has a tone that is very different than the prior chapters of the series, reminding at times of Robin Hardy's "The Wicker Man", in the sense that it takes the characters, and us with them, across this very British scenery that is both bucolic, but also dangerous and potentially lethal. The film's chapters are very clearly divided, but where the film takes a considerable leap is with it's last two chapters. This occurs courtesy of a more satisfying emotional dynamic between the characters, and the introduction of Dr. Kelson, who also brings a slightly different perspective of living in this new reality. The last two chapters of the film allow for both Spike and Isla to become more than just clichés, and bring Kelson who is a catalyst that jolts the narrative, and even adds a bit of mysticism to the existence in which they are now. Sadly not much time is spent with Kelson, but the last sections of the film are a much needed jolt that reenergizes what was otherwise a rather commonplace beginning to the narrative and to the film itself. Gone is the frantic handheld tone that "28 Days Later" galvanized, replaced with a different take and reflection on living in a new society, one that persists with the heritage of the past, at times almost suffocated by it. The cast tries their best with this material, even if character development wasn't necessarily the main concern for Alex Garland. Ralph Fiennes and Alfie Williams are the most memorable performances and characters in the film. Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography is beautiful, as is the score from Young Fathers. It's not a sequel that many may be expecting, but maybe it's the sequel that is needed, particularly for the times we're currently living. 

Black Bag

Movie Name: Black Bag
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Steven Soderbergh 
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke, Marisa Abela, Regé-Jean Page, Pierce Brosnan, Gustaf Skarsgard, Orli Shuka, Daniel Dow, Kae Alexander
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

After releasing "Presence" in 2024, editor, cinematographer, producer, director (and occasion writer), Steven Soderbergh continues his creative collaboration with David Koepp, subtly crafting one of the most interesting and solid thrillers of recent times. The narrative focuses on a married couple, comprised of George and Kathryn, both of whom work for British Intelligence. George has been recently given the task to investigate the leak of a software with the code name of Severus. His wife is listed as a potential suspect of doing so. George invites the other suspects to a dinner at his house, and during the meal the ambience gets progressively heated, particularly as the guests start exposing some of their personal agendas and feelings. When George's boss dies of a suspect heart attack, he starts to investigate what his wife is up to, though he always states that his marriage and Kathryn's well being is his top priority. As Kathryn goes on an overnight trip to Zurich, George pressures Clarissa (one of the suspects and also one of the dinner guests), to use an available satellite to uncover whom is she meeting with. As the relationships between all these professionals become clearer, so does the leak surrounding Severus, and why Kathryn and George were pitted against each other, something that turns out to be an error for the mastermind of the whole scenario. 

"Black Bag" is another great example of how Steven Soderbergh keeps delivering intelligent and economically constructed films that are so well oiled and so smoothly executed, that they almost seem effortless. "Black Bag" which plays out like a sophisticated thriller relying on character exchanges, more so than big action sequences, doesn't necessarily give much backdrop or sustenance to most of the characters, however the creative team does provide just enough context to all of them, which allows us to best understand who they are,  how are they interacting with each other and what kind of relationships are tied between them all. George and Kathryn, who both exude a cool and methodical demeanor, are the antithesis of what Doug Liman's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" was all about: they treasure their relationship, but they're also very aware of the situation in which they been placed in. The film slowly and smartly uncovers the conspiracy, as George navigates with detail and perseverance, the breadcrumbs of data that were left behind (and that the conspirator didn't expect to be quite so obvious). It's a smartly executed film, benefiting from a wonderful cast, with highlights going to the elegant Cate Blanchett, the versatile Michael Fassbender, both of whom get great support from the wonderful Naomie Harris, Tom Burke, and Marisa Abela, all of which also excel. The production team is impeccable, even if Steven Soderbergh's cinematography on this feature is a bit distracting (the tint is too warm and almost too blurry in the night scenes). It's a very entertaining film from a great film maker (and the trailer does a poor showcase of just how good this film is). 

Final Destination 3

Movie Name: Final Destination 3
Year of Release: 2006
Director: James Wong
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, Alexz Johnson, Sam Easton, Jesse Moss, Gina Holden, Texas Battle, Chelan Simmons, Crystal Lowe, Amanda Crew, Maggie Ma, Tony Todd
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"Final Destination 3" marked the comeback of director James Wong to the series he originated (and was also up until now the last installment he participated in). The narrative for this chapter focuses on high school senior Wendy Christensen. She and her boyfriend Jason are out with her close friends Kevin and Carrie, celebrating grad night. Wendy is taking snapshots of everyone, but things take a darker turn when it's time to go on the roller coaster and she has a premonition that the ride is going to experience technical issues and people will die, including herself. Sobbing and visibly distressed, she gets pulled out of the roller coaster, alongside Kevin who was near her to safeguard her safety (since Jason wanted to go in front). A few others get off the ride as Wendy and Kevin do, and while they're trying to calm Wendy the ride goes off and the disaster she had predicted ends up occurring. Riddled with guilt, Wendy avoids everyone, until Kevin lets her know this type of event has happened before. Wendy doesn't want to pay attention to his words, until Ashley and Ashlyn suffer a bizarre accident in a tanning salon and die as a result. Both Wendy and Kevin start going through the list of survivors, trying to save them from freak occurrences, trying to prevent them from dying and themselves from eventually meeting the same fate.

Whereas David R. Ellis gave his first installment of the series a noticeable B-movie vibe, James Wong really played to the more supernatural aspect the series has cultivated throughout its episodes. He was able to create more of an ominous environment in this episode, probably more so than any other one that has followed. While the mechanics of these films are fairly similar, with the two protagonists always trying to warn the survivors of what's coming to them, and witnessing fairly brutal deaths as a result, James Wong in this episode gives these characters some extra backdrop, with Wendy in particular feeling a bit more expanded upon than your typical central heroine (more so than A.J. Cook in the prior installment for instance). The fact that James Wong builds the narrative as a sleuthing type of feature, with two unprepared heroes at its core, also gives the film a certain level of unpredictability, even if the formula does put all these characters through pretty horrifying demise scenarios. The film benefits from a solidly assembled cast, led by the talented Mary Elizabeth Winstead, then starting her career, with good support from Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, and Amanda Crew. The production team is also solid, with highlights going to the work of cinematographer Robert McLachlan, Shirley Walker's score, and Mark Freeborn's production design. Of the first five installments of the series, it's possibly the most refined one, even if it does fall prey to the formula at its core. Still watchable and entertaining. 

Final Destination 2

Movie Name: Final Destination 2
Year of Release: 2003
Director: David R. Ellis
Starring: A.J. Cook, Ali Larter, Michael Landes, Keegan Connor Tracy, Lynda Boyd, Jonathan Cherry, Justina Machado, Terrence Carson, Sarah Carter, David Paetkau, James Kirk, Tony Todd
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"Final Destination 2" premiered not long after the release of the first installment from James Wong, which turned out to be a surprise hit. The narrative on this second chapter picks up a year after the events of the first film. This time around the focal character is Kimberly Corman, a college student who is on her way to Daytona Beach with a group of friends for Spring Break. While driving along the highway she has a premonition of a massive pile-up, one that causes multiple deaths, including her own. Frightened by the premonition, she stops her vehicle, and prevents others behind her from getting on the main highway. A police officer by the name of Thomas Burke comes in her direction to find out what is causing all the commotion, and as Kimberly explains what she saw, the massive crash takes place right in front of all them. All the survivors are relieved to have escaped the dramatic situation, but in the ensuing days, eerie accidents start occurring and start claiming each of the survivors. That is, until Kimberly and Thomas discover something similar happened in the past and try to thwart the nefarious events from occurring. And they go back to Clear Rivers, the only remaining survivor from a similar event, to understand how she's managed to stay alive.

David R. Ellis started his career as a stunt performer and eventually evolved to stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director. He also ventured into directing feature films, with "Final Destination 2" being his sophomore directorial endeavor. Much like the films of the series, and the formula they abide to, David R. Ellis is able to capture the menacing aspect of the situations that eventually lead to dramatic and chilling death situations. The best aspect of this film is how the director understands this is a B-movie for all intended purposes, and moves the narrative in an economical and efficient manner. However this efficiency does make these characters all feel very cardboard in terms of understanding who they are: the college student who is kind, but has a premonition and a traumatic event in her past, the kind police officer who comes to her aid, whereas everyone else on the surviving group, are just a collection of characters defined by a particular characteristic/cliché (the pothead, the self-involved one, the mother with the teenager, the young professional, and so on). While no one watches these films for character development, they could benefit from making these individuals more realistic, as opposed to puppets that fall prey to something sinister that is happening. The cast is solid, and they do make this episode one of the most compelling in the series, particularly with A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, Terrence Carson, all bringing as much veracity as possible to the characters they're playing. The production team is solid, though not particularly remarkable. It's a watchable feature, even if rather unremarkable. 

Fear Street: Prom Queen

Movie Name: Fear Street: Prom Queen
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Matt Palmer
Starring: India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Katherine Waterston, Lili Taylor, Chris Klein, Ariana Greenblatt, David Iacono, Darrin Baker, Ella Rubin, Rebecca Ablack, Ilan O'Driscoll, Ryan Rosery, Damian Romeo, Dakota Taylor, Luke Kimball
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Following the successful three first films from the "Fear Street" series, originally authored by R.L. Stine, and adapted to film by Leigh Janiak (and her co-writers), Netflix has released another installment, with a few more apparently in the pipeline for development and production. The narrative which takes place in 1988, follows a series of high school seniors who are about to celebrate their prom. The main character is Lori Granger, who is a bit of an outcast, due to rumors about her mother murdering her own father. The popular girls, aptly titled the "Wolfpack", consisting of Tiffany Falconer, Melissa Mckendrick, Debbie Winters, and Linda Harper, are all vying for the crown and title of Prom Queen. Things start taking a dark turn when Christy Renault, one of the seniors who is also a pot dealer, is stabbed and killed by a mysterious assassin. The following evening as the prom celebration begins, and as Lori stars to feel more confident in her chances, Tiffany tries to sabotage her, while the pile of corpses star increasing, as the killer is in the premises, and is killing the students vying for the crown.

Co-writer and director Matt Palmer's prior directorial endeavor, "Calibre", gave him enough creed to tackle this episode of "Fear Street", however and unlike the prior films of the series, this one has very meager results, and to add insult to injury, it also feels amateurishly developed, and strangely underdeveloped. The creative team took cues from well known slasher films of the 80s such as Paul Lynch's "Prom Night" and even George Mihalka's "My Bloody Valentine", to name but a few, however and unlike these films, this episode of "Fear Street" seems to believe that relying on the grotesqueness of the death scenes, and their considerable gore, it provides for entertainment and for character establishment (as it turns out, it doesn't). The film attempts to be a cross between "Heathers" and "Halloween", however it never manages to retain the spirit of either one, since all the girls are strangely even more inert and lack any dimension when compared to what any of the characters of those films even minimally was able to establish. Sadly for this creative team, they failed to realize that giving some of these characters a different hairstyle, or a certain costume, doesn't render them more interesting or make them more compelling. It's a film that doesn't have any pretension, but one that could capitalize on having at least a sense of crescendo and momentum (they could have taken a cue and a few hints from Brian De Palma's classic "Carrie"). As is, the more established supporting actors such as the wonderful Lili Taylor and the fantastic Katherine Waterston, feel underused, whereas in the case of Chris Klein, if you blink, you'll literally forget he was in this film. The material is there to make a good homage to the slasher genre, in this case, it just needed a stronger point of view, and a deeper conviction from the creative team. It's ultimately a gore filled and rather humorless take on a genre that feels somewhat forgotten by all. 

Captain America: Brave New World

Movie Name: Captain America: Brave New World
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Julius Onah
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Xosha Roquemore, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, William Mark Mc Cullough, Takehiro Hira, Harsh Nayyar, Rick Espaillat, Sebastian Stan

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Director Julius Onah, who prior to joining the Marvel Studios ranks of hired directors, was fairing well with his independent features, particularly the recent "Luce", sadly doesn't seem to find his footing in this universe. The narrative focuses on the establishing of the new Captain America, who is trying to shape a relationship with the newly elected President of the United States, Thaddeus Ross. Ross had had his issues with the Avengers, including imprisoning Sam Wilson during the heated arguments that occurred about who should govern the actions of the Avengers. Captain America has a new partner, Joaquin Torres, who is taking the duties of the Falcon. Sam is however uncertain about getting Torres involved, as the both of them don't actually possess super powers. During an important communication from the President, there's a murder attempt on his life, from one of Wilson's closest friends. When he's eventually caught, he has no recollection of what just took place. Wilson and Torres start investigating, while the President continues his mission of trying to build diplomatic bridges with other countries, whose leaders are suspicious of his actions, following his track record of destruction and vindictive behaviors when he was pursuing the Hulk. Wilson and Torres uncover their friend was brainwashed, and that others also have been targeted using the same trigger to "activate" them. They eventually uncover the origin of the coup hailing from a hidden site in West Virginia, and the culprit behind all the events taking place, someone who is close to Ross, and who may have been tampering with Ross' life all this time.

These days badmouthing a film from Marvel, feels like an easy shot. However, the quality output has been visibly diminishing, and this new "Captain America: Brave New World" is a good example of a certain creative rut that the studio has found themselves in. At this point, the films themselves feel exactly like a formula, one that renders each output indistinguishable from each other. Not that long ago, Scott Derrickson's "Doctor Strange" brought a unique visual style to the catalogue, even if narratively and character-wise, the film itself didn't stray very far off from the formula. However it had style, a point of view, that made it stand out and feel fresh and unique. "Captain America: Brave New World" once again piggy backs on events and storylines that have been developed on Disney+'s streaming platform (where the Falcon, the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye and a bunch of others had their own shows), and builds upon that context, which many viewers may not be that familiar with. Context aside, the narrative tries very hard to replicate the success of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", which was smartly inspired by the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s (namely Alan J. Pakula's "Parallax View" and Sydney Pollack's "3 Days of the Condor"), however this one neither has the intelligence, nor the nuance to set up a scenario as successfully as "The Winter Soldier" did. Character development is also sidetracked, with most exchanges being superficial ones, indicating very little as to who exactly these characters are, and most of them are supporting ones who are now brought forth from the background in which they always were. Sadly visually this film doesn't really work at all either, it's tremendously flat, with not a semblance of a stylistic choice, from the production design to the cinematography, all of which is shocking, considering the budget this film had. The formidable Harrison Ford can't really save this mess, even if he does try his best to do so. It's a forgettable endeavor, one of those films that you've already forgotten by the time you leave the theater. 

Love Hurts

Movie Name: Love Hurts
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Jonathan Eusebio
Starring: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Daniel Wu, Cam Gigandet, Marshawn Lynch, André Eriksen, Rhys Darby, Sean Astin, Drew Scott, Stephanie Sy, Adam Hurtig, Liam Stewart-Kanigan
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"Love Hurts" is the feature directorial debut of Jonathan Eusebio, who up until now has been a second unit director for films such as David Leitch's "Deadpool 2" and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's "Kate". The film follows the story of Marvin Gable, a well liked and successful realtor in the Milwaukee area. His boss and mentor Cliff, awards him a plaque celebrating his success and achievements. However, Marvin isn't all he's presented himself to be, he's in reality a retired assassin, who used to work for a crime lord, who also happens to be his brother. Marvin walked away from that lifestyle when he decided to help Rose, a lawyer who had been accused of stealing from his brother. Out of his love for her, he lets her escape, and then he himself decided to start a new fresh life. However Rose comes back, as she uncovers she was set up, and her life has been in shambles since she had to go underground. Marvin's brother in the meantime sends a series of killers in his direction, as he suspects Marvin may know the whereabouts of Rose. 

"Love Hurts" could be considered a puzzling feature, were it not for its paltry results. Puzzling because it features two recent multiple award winner performers, both in starring roles, working with material that is clearly beneath what they're capable of doing, in this case Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose (the latter one in particular, has done nothing but mediocre features since her award winning part in "West Side Story" directed by Steven Spielberg). There really isn't much to say about this feature, since it's another one that tries to fit the mold of Chad Stahelski's "John Wick" cross-bred with Michael Davis "Shoot 'Em Up", in a genre that I like to call "Relentless Revenge". The problem with these clones, which includes "Kate", Navot Papushado's "Gunpowder Milkshake", Drew Pearce's "Hotel Artemis", Tanya Wexler's "Jolt", Gareth Evan's "Havoc", and the list goes on, is the fact that they have no discernible point of view. They cannibalize on what other filmmakers have done, and better, and try to make a similar concoction, without realizing if they have the right ingredients to deliver the same type of quality. Invariably the problems don't lie with the quality of the performers, Ke Huy Quan for instance is wonderfully committed as always, and he is always compelling to watch (not so much for Ariana DeBose, who at this time should rethink her taste in material), but in the case of "Love Hurts", the screen story is unoriginal, and its attempts at being "ironic" and "off kilter", feel crudely developed and out of place in the film. It tries to be a lot of things, to deconstruct the genre, to put a "Pulp Fiction" spin on it, but it lacks conviction, insight, and sense of humor. Another detrimental aspect to this film is the low budget, which some filmmakers manage to cleverly hide, but that in this case is always painfully obvious. The production team is uninspired, including a washed out cinematography from Bridger Nielson, and a generic score from Dominic Lewis. It's a bad film, featuring the lovely Ke Huy Quan. Hopefully he has better vehicles ahead of him.