Havoc

Movie Name: Havoc
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, Forest Whitaker, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzman, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Richard Harrington, Narges Rashidi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

"Havoc" had a long road before hitting the streaming screens in 2025 (the film was shot in 2021, and has been in post production since). It marks the first feature for Gareth Evans' since "The Apostle", which premiered in 2018. The film follows the story of Patrick Walker, a corrupt homicide detective, who gets involved in a new case mercy of a heist gone wrong. Patrick gets summoned by Lawrence Beaumont, a mayoral candidate, who informs him that his son is in trouble, since he was involved in the heist that resulted in one police officer being seriously injured and in the hospital. To make matters more complicated, the heist which aimed to capture a bunch of cocaine, upon its delivery to Tsui, the chief of the local Triad, gets gunned down by a masked gang, with Lawrence's son Charlie, and his girlfriend Mia, barely escaping. As Tsui's mother arrives in town thirsty for revenge, Patrick alongside his rookie partner Ellie, is hunting for leads as to where Charlie may be. As it turns out, Patrick's own colleagues who are also corrupt, are hot on the trail of Charlie, the same going for the Triad, and they will stop at nothing to get their revenge. 

As I was watching this film I was getting flashbacks to very different films and styles, but nonetheless they immediately popped in my mind: Michael Davis' "Shoot' Em Up" and Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City". The reasons being the over the top violence & blood gushing of the former and also the stylized aspect of the whole city and even of the choreography behind the action scenes of the latter. For all of Gareth Evans' talent and vision, is somewhat perplexing he's going back to something he has already explored in the films that brought him attention ("The Raid"), but in a way that is more simplistic, and a lot less interesting, as this time around he has barely created any characters to bring this narrative to life. Patrick and his corrupt police buddies have very little exposition or explanation as to why they have decided to become corrupt, which in itself isn't problematic, if they're given something else to do other than go around shooting people. As is, the film lives in this frame of mind where shooting a ton of people means absolutely nothing, where consequences don't really exist, and apparently neither does gravity most of the times. The film doesn't have any pretensions of being a take on corruption or an indictment on organized crime, but its borderline cartoonish violence, with plenty of exploding gore, lacks any sense of humor, which Michael Davis was so smart to bring on "Shoot' Em Up". For all its simplification, "Shoot' Em Up" understood that over the top violence at some point becomes cartoonish, and only a highly motivated villainous character can ground or bring some ethos to what is happening on screen. "Havoc" sadly has no humor, and its villains (basically everyone) demonstrate very little personality. What's left? Tom Hardy continues to be a compelling performer, even if these days his choice of material is making a disservice to his career and to what was otherwise a series of interesting performances in acclaimed films (remember "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "The Revenant"). The supporting cast is top notch, but they have very little to do, particularly Forest Whitaker and Timothy Olyphant. The production team is solid, particularly Matt Flannery's cinematography and Aria Prayogi's score. It's an unnecessary film that can't really find a strong point of view to hold on to, and these days that's problematic, when so many films don't even see the light of day (meaning, if you have the means and the opportunity, make it count, since it may be your last opportunity to do so). 

The Dark Tower

Movie Name: The Dark Tower
Year of Release: 2017
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Dennis Haysbert, Jackie Earle Haley, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, Claudia Kim, Katheryn Winnick, Nicholas Pauling, Nicholas Hamilton, Jose Zuniga
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

The adaptation of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" book series was a long one, with many respected creative teams coming and going. Ron Howard, who stayed on as a producer in the project, was at some point going to direct, but the baton was passed on to Nikolaj Arcel, who achieved critical notoriety with the film "A Royal Affair". The film follows the story of Jake Chambers, a young boy living in New York with his mom and stepfather, who has visions of another reality/world, in which he witnesses a Man in Black destroying an immense Tower, while a Gunslinger opposes him. His family and his therapist dismisses the visions as nightmares related to the traumatic (and recent) death of his father. As it turns out, Jake's visions are illustrations of another reality, and a set of monsters from that domain crossover and pursue him. Jake manages to flee, and eventually finds his way to an abandoned house, where there's a portal to that world, a landscape that is named Mid-World. He soon encounters the Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, whom he saw in his visions. Roland is chasing the Man in Black, Walter Padick, who killed his father and other Gunslingers. Roland tells Jake that Walter has been abducting children with psychic powers for years, and using their abilities to destroy the Dark Tower. That tower is the only thing preventing monstrous beings from invading and destroying other realities. Roland takes Jake to a local village in order for his visions to be properly interpreted, but Walter soon realizes Jake is the key for destroying the Tower, and sends an arms of his acolytes to capture him and kill Roland. 

"The Dark Tower" is a series of books which has gathered a considerable following. It introduces a fantastical world, and a series of iconic characters that Stephen King has expanded across 8 novels, a novella and also a children's book. This project was originally going to be adapted as a TV show in order to properly represent the journey in which these characters go through, until it was decided upon creating a film that would be the first chapter followed by a subsequent TV show, however the critical and commercial failure of the film has hobbled that intent. The largest issues with the film lies with the fact that while explaining the parallel universe, and some of the "logic" that exists in the Mid-World, the whole justification for why characters do what they do, or even the logical aspects of why certain actions are occurring, they all lack substance or even reasoning (and logic?). For all his reptilian and darkly menacing actions, Walter Padick, the supreme villain of the narrative, has no demonstrable motivation for anything, other than just wanting to destroy or takeover other realities? It's unclear what the motivation for most of these characters actually are, while whatever is happening in Mid-World, it's presented/illustrated as a mix of retro and futuristic styles, at times alluding to some aspects of Frank Herbert's "Dune", and then shifting into this post-apocalyptic Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" type of communal villages. The film is all over the place, and while it tries to anchor itself on the relationship between Roland and Jake, both reeling from the loss of their fathers, not much is every volunteered on either one of their journeys, their motivations, or even who they essentially are (does Roland have a family beyond his father for instance, is Jake's "shining" limited to telepathy and what does that have to do with the Tower). There are so many questions that go unanswered, supporting characters who have very little to do, that the film ends up feeling like a stunted experience on something that just needed additional breathing room for actual storytelling to occur. The cast tries their best with what they have, and both Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are superb players, but even them can't quite elevate the material. The production team is solid, but highlights go to Tom Holkenborg's score and Trish Summerville's costume design. This was a missed opportunity to mine what could have been an introduction to an interesting universe. 

Companion

Movie Name: Companion
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Drew Hancock
Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillen, Rupert Friend, Jaboukie Young-White, Matt McCarthy, Marc Menchaca, Woody Fu
Genre: Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Writer/director Drew Hancock has had a lengthy career writing and directing TV series, music videos, and shorts, but "Companion" is his feature directorial debut. The film follows the story of Iris, whom we first encounter describing how she met her boyfriend Josh. She's apprehensive about an upcoming trip where they're going to be on a house by the lake with a group of Josh's friends. Upon arriving, everyone is very cordial, even if Kat disdains Iris, and states her type is competition for her. The following day while sunning herself by the lake, Iris is assaulted by Sergey, Kat's boyfriend and the owner of the house. She ends up killing him in self defense, and when she explains to everyone what has happened, Josh tells her to go to sleep, which turns her off. When Iris awakens, she's tied to a chair, and is informed by Josh that she is a companion robot, and that he is renting her from a company named Empathix. Josh established a link with her, and all her memories were automatically generated so that the bond between them is developed. Iris manages to break free, steals Josh's phone and runs away, checking the app on his phone that basically acts as a control panel for herself. She increases her intelligence level to 100% and tries to figure out a way to escape. In the meantime, the group of friends that stayed in the house has a discussion about their real intentions: Josh and Kat devised a plan so they could get rid of Sergey and get all 12 million he has stashed in the house. They got Eli and Patrick along, so they could be additional alibis. Josh got access to Iris core programming, and increased her aggression levels, so that she could kill Sergey. The group agrees to track and get Iris back, but not everything goes according to plan.

"Companion" starts very strongly, referencing certain aspects from Steven Spielberg's "AI", until it quickly descends into another version of Craig Zobel's "The Hunt", but with less irony and definitely with less of a point. Drew Hancock manages to create an interesting setup for the characters, for their interactions, and for why they're together. The hint of discomfort appears firstly with Kat's reaction to Iris, and the labeling of the latter as a sexbot. So much could have happened and the film could have gone in a very different direction, but instead the creative team behind it, decides to do more of a Agatha Christie inspired conspiracy, only in this particular scenario, the dunce/patsy for the plan turns out to have plans of their own, and progressively turns the tables on the offenders. There's a few critical aspects the films touches upon, namely gender, sexual and race dynamics, but it's done so inconsequently, that wherever the film was going and wherever it eventually lands, feels like a poorer version of Alex Garland's "Ex Machina". It also loses most of the subtlety that it had been building, and becomes more of a survival mode type of film, where the hero/heroine is hunted by the spineless and self-entitled "good guys" (the hunting of individuals for entertainment and then survival goes back to films such as John Woo's "Hard Target" for instance). The cast tries their best with the material, but the highlight is Sophie Thatcher, who really manages to show a range from blank slate to survival mode very credibly. She gets good support from Jack Quaid and Lukas Gage. The production team is solid, but not particularly inspired (the production design from Scott Kuzio is very representative of the "now," and not particularly futuristic or even representative of a distinctive style in any way). It's watchable, but also forgettable. 

Lucky Number Slevin

Movie Name: Lucky Number Slevin
Year of Release: 2006
Director: Paul McGuigan
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, Michael Rubenfeld, Peter Outerbridge, Kevin Chamberlin, Dorian Missick, Mykelti Williamson, Scott Gibson, Sam Jaeger, Danny Aiello, Corey Stoll, Oliver Davis
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

After breaking through with "The Acid House" and cementing his reputation with "Gangster Nº. 1", director Paul McGuigan started collaborating with actor Josh Hartnett, firstly with a remake of the French film "L'Apartement" which became "Wicker Park", immediately followed by "Lucky Number Slevin", all films that didn't entire work, either critically nor commercially, which followed by the underwhelming results of "Pusher", eventually landed this director on what has since been a string of directing gigs all for TV shows. The film follows the story of Slevin Kelevra, who is staying at his friend Nick Fisher's apartment in New York City. The apartment has a heavy foot traffic, starting with a neighbor by the name of Lindsey who wants to borrow some sugar, and who upon chatting with Slevin indicates Nick might be missing. Shortly after Lindsey leaves, Slevin is mistaken for Nick, and is taken by two henchmen who work for "The Boss". "The Boss" believing Slevin to be Nick, wants him to kill the son of his rival, The Rabi", in retaliation for the killing of his own son, whom he suspects was killed by "The Rabi". In the meantime more characters come into play, one a ruthless killer by the name of Goodkat, who is working for both crime lords, and who has tipped them on Nick's gambling debts, the other a Detective by the name of Brikowski, who is investigating the crime bosses. Brikowski believes there's a connection between The Boss, The Rabi, Goodkat and Slevin, but can't uncover what it is. Slevin and Goodkat kill The Rabi's son, and then kidnap him alongside The Boss. As it turns out, there's something in their past that does tie them together with Slevin and Goodkat, and Slevin in particular is intent on getting the closure he needs. 

Jason Smilovic's who wrote the script for this film, has since written for some TV shows, alongside for the film "War Dogs" from director Todd Phillips. "Lucky Number Slevin" has some parallels with the work from writer Elmore Leonard, screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, and even Quentin Tarantino, at least certain aspects of the criminal underworld, and the labyrinths it constructs around the central characters. However and unlike the work of those creators, and in the case of "Lucky Number Slevin" in particular, the script has a fundamental problem, which if it had been addressed would have made it and the film itself far more memorable: the characters are all underwritten. This is a film that, much like Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" for instance, creates a sequence of events on the premise that its lead hero has been mistaken for someone else. The film tiptoes around the initial question if Slevin is Nick, the person that is being sought after, or is he in fact someone else and is merely the wrong person in the wrong place. And while the film starts strongly with this ambiguity, and some nice exchanges of Slevin with Lindsey, it quickly becomes noticeable that the characters don't have any particularly enticing details about themselves that are revealed. Most of the exchanges around the characters are fast paced, reminiscent of Elmore Leonard's prose, but one never truly understands much about the crime lords, Goodkat, Lindsey, or even Slevin for that matter. The blankness that exists around these characters could have easily been addressed, but the script chooses to focus on the "gotcha" moment, of connecting the introductory chapter with everything that happens subsequently, and eventually tying it all together with the final chapter of the narrative. There are indeed some good moments in the film, namely the exchanges of Josh Hartnett with Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley, and even the chemistry he has with Lucy Liu, but all those characters sadly feel stunted and undernourished. By the time the big reveal comes along, the film has flattened out, never achieving the pulp-like quality of Quentin Tarantino's films, nor the elegance of the crime twist of Elmore Leonard. The cast is great, as is the technical team, particularly Peter Sova's cinematography. It's ultimately a film that promises more than it delivers, but it's still watchable. 

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Movie Name: A Million Ways to Die in the West
Year of Release: 2014
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Liam Neeson, Wes Studi, Christopher Hagen, Matt Clark, Evan Jones, Rex Linn, Aaron McPherson, Alex Borstein, Ralph Garman, John Aylward
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

After the unexpected commercial success of "Ted" in 2012, alongside the continued success of his shows "Family Guy" and "American Dad!", Seth MacFarlane returned to the big screen with another comedy, this time around focused on the old west, but still with his very own perspective and brand of humor. The narrative focuses on the story of Albert Stark, who is a sheep farmer in the town of Old Stump, in Arizona in 1882. Louise his girlfriend, decides to break up with him due to his lack of backbone, and eventually decides to move to San Francisco, as he firmly believes the frontier is far too dangerous and it's not a good locale for him. While Albert is mourning the death of his relationship, and Louise's quick attachment to Foy, a local merchant who has a business catering to people with mustaches, the infamous outlaw Clinch Leatherwood dispatches his wife Anna and one of his right-hand men, Lewis, to Old Stump. Arriving as siblings, Lewis quickly gets into trouble by killing the son of the preacher, whereas Anna takes a shine to Albert, and his snarky sense of humor. Foy and Albert have an encounter at the county fair, and out of spite, Albert challenges Foy to a duel, even though he doesn't have a gun and doesn't know how to shoot. Anna decides to teach/train him for a week, and during that time the two get closer. Prior to the date of the duel, there's a dance in town, and Anna spikes Foy's drink with a laxative, which drains him before the duel even takes place. However during that same day, Clinch arrives in town, furious to know his wife had kissed a local man whose identity he demands to know.

The success of "Ted" which generated a less successful sequel and more recently a TV series, opened the doors for Seth MacFarlane to further expand his brand of humor into narrative films. However the rough reviews and even poorer commercial showings for "A Million Ways to Die in the West" curbed his prolific output, that has remained steady, but solely for the small screen. The film has an interesting premise, in the sense that it brings his modern type of humor and irreverence to the Old West, however and unlike what Mel Brooks so smartly did with "Blazing Saddles", Seth MacFarlane doesn't know what to do with the genre and its problematic clichés (the treatment of Women, minorities, racial issues and so on), preferring instead to essentially bring his vision, his jokes and his insights, which are visible on all his TV shows, to this film. There is only a thinly veiled idea of characters in this film, and they all basically spew out jokes around sex, bodily fluids, and the gotcha comedy gag of the entire film, the concept that basically at that time living in the frontier was basically asking to be killed at any moment. Part of the problem is that the film never truly builds situations or develops much of a scenario around these characters: they basically exist to support Albert's conundrum (an intellectual funny man in the Old West), and his deluge of jokes on everything that is taking place. The film feels like the Seth MacFarlane show on the Old West with a fantastic cast of guest stars, all of whom feel underserved and underused. The film does manage to have a few good moments, most of which involve Sarah Silverman and Giovanni Ribisi's characters, but they too are nothing but a blip in a film that ultimately feels undernourished and underdeveloped. Special kudos go out to Charlize Theron and Amanda Seyfried, both of whom are excellent performers in their own right, who sadly don't have much to do in this feature (talk about not knowing how to write women's roles), but still bring an air of lightness and easiness whenever they're onscreen. The technical team is competent, particularly Stephen J. Lineweaver's production design and Cindy Evans' costumes. It's a mediocre vehicle for a talented comedian, who should have sat and developed this material for a while longer. 

Home Alone

Movie Name: Home Alone
Year of Release: 1990
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Roberts Blossom, Angela Goethals, Devin Ratray, Gerry Bamman, Hilary Wolf, John Candy, Larry Hankin, Michael C. Maronna, Kristin Minter, Diana Rein, Senta Moses, Kieran Culkin
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

One of the films that is now synonymous with the Christmas season is in fact Chris Columbus' "Home Alone". The film which premiered towards the end of 1990, turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the year (only behind Jerry Zucker's "Ghost"), and went on to generate a franchise of its own, that never reached the heights of popularity and success of the first film. The narrative focuses on a young boy by the name of Kevin McAllister. Being the youngest in a big family, Kevin has plenty of personality in order to deal with his older siblings, but this time around he has a fuller house, as his uncle's progeny is also staying with them, since they're all going to Paris to spend Christmas with another part of the family. When there's a mini-meltdown during dinner time, Kevin is banished to sleep in the converted attic. The following morning the entire house is awoken by the transportation service - they all slept in due to a storm and power outage. In the chaos of getting to the airport on time, everyone is accounted for, save for Kevin, who was still asleep in the attic. One of the neighbors' kid got mistakenly counted as him. During the flight, Kate, Kevin's mother, suddenly realizes something is wrong, and is crushed upon realizing they forgot the youngest at home all by himself. Kevin in the meantime initially thinks he made his entire family disappear, and decides to indulge in doing everything he always wanted to. However things take a darker turn, when he realizes that some less than reputable individuals are circling the houses in the neighborhood, which he gathers to be for looting. He has to devise a plan to prevent a plan from preventing the same from happening to his place, at least until his parents get back.

John Hughes' script for "Home Alone" was both economical and ingenious in its premise. Young boy with a resourceful mind puts two inept criminals through a wild ride. That premise summarizes what happens during the entire film. What he does however manage to bring as additional layers of interest, includes nuances to some of the lead characters, which makes them that much richer than say, a cartoon character that is being played by a human actor. The film aims to be somewhat of a universal tale of a kid who is always in trouble and deemed the black sheep of the family (a Bart Simpson of sorts), and put a spin on it, by showing he has a heart, is intelligent, capable, and not entirely defenseless. The film does have a limited dramatic arc, and for all the charisma and good humor Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern bring to their characters, theirs are still a rather comic book type of villainy and buffoonery. The film is limited in many aspects, particularly when it comes to its characters, but Chris Columbus does manage to illustrate some of the set pieces competently, even if the film does feel borderline generic. Much of its charm is derived from the cast, with Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Gerry Bamman, and Catherine O'Hara taking the lion share of compliments. They manage to bring these set-pieces to life, with vivacity, energy, and emotion, which makes their characters a bit more than just short-typed clichés. Chris Columbus, who had previously made a name for himself with the popular "Adventures in Babysitting" and would go on to have other successful features such as "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Nine Months", and "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" (to name but a few), didn't bring anything particularly memorable in terms of point of view, but John Hughes' script and the actors' work did ultimately atone for his performance in the director's chair. The production team is top notch, with highlights going to John Williams' score and Julio Macat's cinematography. It is watchable, and it does have its moments, and at times, that's enough. 

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Movie Name: Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Year of Release: 1990
Director: Joe Dante
Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Havilland Morris, Robert Prosky, Robert Picardo, Christopher Lee, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Gedde Watanabe, Keye Luke, Don Stanton, Dan Stanton, Tony Randall, Howie Mandel
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 9
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

The wonderfully talented Joe Dante had a great string of titles during the 1980s, including his classic "Gremlins", which he followed with the underrated "Explorers", followed by the high energy and extremely funny "Innerspace", closing that decade with the dark comedy "The 'Burbs". He began the 1990s with what has turned out to be one of his best features, and one of the most inventive film sequels ever produced. The narrative once again follows the story of Billy Peltzer, whom we now find living with Kate in New York City. Billy works as an illustrator/conceptual artist and Kate works as a guiding tour host for a state of the art tower building (where they both work), owned and conceived by a quirky billionaire by the name of Daniel Clamp. Gizmo, the mogwai finds himself in trouble, since Mr. Wing passes away, and his store is bought and demolished by Clamp's construction team. Gizmo is captured by scientists and is brought over to the tower to be studied. Thanks to his humming, Billy eventually realizes he's in the building and saves him. However Billy's ambitious manager Marla gets in the way, and Billy asks Kate to go get Gizmo while he's out. Gizmo accidentally gets sprayed with water and immediately spurts new mogwai creatures. The new ones lock Gizmo in the venting system, and go down to the food court in order to become gremlins. The new gremlins set off the fire sprinklers, which spawns the creation of a ton of new creatures, which start wreaking havoc across the building. Billy soon realizes what's happening, and alongside Kate, Daniel Clamp, and even his friend and neighbor from Kingston Falls (who is visiting him and Kate), Murray Futterman, set about deterring their plans before they escape the building and invade the city.

The original "Gremlins" written by Chris Columbus was a fantastical creature comedy and presented a darker yet playful homage to Christmas films (at some point Billy's mom is watching Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life", and the Gremlins spoof that during the narrative). The sequel written by Charles S. Haas, goes even further in its satire goals, by mocking the greed of the yuppies of the 80s, the exploitation and cruelty towards animals in the pursuit of science accolades, the numbness (and dumbness) of TV, and even mocks film critique in the process. Everything goes into the blender of this satire, which also pokes fun at itself, and at entertainment in general. The Gremlins creatures become a viciously critical and brutally honest view to the nonsense of the corporate World, the self importance of a view, while pursuing their own sense of fun and chaos. It's a film packed with such great reflection topics, but wrapped in a comedy vehicle that is inspired by Looney Tunes and the works from Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. The film even has time to politely nod to the classics of horror films with the presence of the towering Christopher Lee (portraying a cold scientist), but overall, Joe Dante puts the pedal to the metal with this film that never lets off, always winking at the audience, but also indicating that the Gremlins aren't really the biggest monsters that we have to fear: that is indeed reserved for humans, those who walk around us wearing very different suits. The characters are along for the ride, including the trio of Billy/Kate/Murray, whose ticks and trademarks from the first film are finely nodded to, and this time around they are joined by the eccentric millionaire, who turns out not to be a completely soulless monster. The film is a wonderful ride, with constant nods to other films, cameos, and a general sense of fun and humor (the femme fatale Gremlin who is a nod to Lauren Bacall, but also to Jessica Rabbit). The cast is uniformly solid, with Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, John Glover, Havilland Morris and Robert Prosky, all firmly establishing their characters. The production team is equally strong, with highlights going to Rick Baker's fantastic creature effects, John Hora's cinematography, and Jerry Goldsmith's score. There's never been a sequel quite like this before, nor since, but it's a testament to Joe Dante's talent that the film continues to feel as fresh and relevant as it did when it premiered in 1990. Worth watching.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Movie Name: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Year of Release: 2005
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Jimmy Smits, Anthony Daniels, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Bruce Spence, Silas Carson, Temuera Morrison
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

George Lucas was finally able to close the first three chapters of his Space Opera saga in 2005, following the successful, but somehow not entirely well received, episodes I (Phantom Menace) and II (Attack of the Clones). The film once again centers its narrative on Anakin Skywalker, whom we first encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi on a salvage mission of Chancellor Palpatine. While they do manage to save the Chancellor, Anakin cedes to his fury and violent tendencies, killing Count Dooku in the process. Anakin reunites with Padmé, who informs him of her pregnancy. While those are indeed happy news, Anakin stars having horrible nightmares of her death during childbirth. Hoping to manipulate Anakin further and create friction within the Jedi council, Palpatine appoints him to that council, as his personal representative. However, the other masters do not make him a Jedi Master, something that only further fuels his resentment. At the same time Palpatine tempts Anakin with the dark side of the Force, seducing him with the promises that it has the ability to save Padmé. Upon learning of Palpatine's knowledge of the dark side, Anakin communicates so to the council, who decide to confront and dethrone the Chancellor. Things however don't go according to their plans, and that starts a cascading series of events that leads Anakin on a dark path, one that eventually puts him at a confrontation path with his mentor, Obi-Wan. 

While the prior films of the series tried to illustrate the machinations of the empire, and how multiple cultures, and planets were all involved in these somewhat complex narrative threads, one thing that was always missing, was one of the main propelling components of these films, the journey pertaining to its main characters. How were their journeys shaped, what informed their decisions, and how those informed the narratives that eventually flowed into the original Star Wars films from the 1970s. George Lucas was finally able to bring together more of those journeys, on par with the usual visual artistry, to "Revenge of the Sith", where this group of characters is able to be more than just simple archetypes, and actually have a true dramatic arc to their existence, and have complex relationships between each other. While of course this isn't a Eugene O'Neill stage play, the film does venture into a complex web of relationships, and how morality can be easily dissuaded when the promise of something meaningful is flashed before someone's eyes. Even if losing that morality, also means losing a sense of integrity and ultimately, humanity, everything that makes them who they are. It's a film that could have gone even further in its illustration of thirst for power, of manipulation of information, and how easily persuaded individuals choose to be when it furthers their own ambitions, something that has been lurking in them but that they have always chosen to avoid (in a lot of ways, the path to fascism, to terror). As it is, the film simplifies to a great extent Anakin's journey to the dark side, but George Lucas manages to maintain his visual flair, and keep the action set pieces always entertaining. The cast goes along for the journey, with Ewan McGregor trying a bit too much to stick with what Alec Guinness had done with the character, while Natalie Portman sadly has very little to do with Padmé, who takes a much more supporting and simplified role in this chapter. Ian McDiarmid truly shines and makes Palpatine a reptilian politician, one who cajoles, manipulates, in the pursuit of his own agenda, while Hayden Christensen sadly fails to properly embody the moral dilemmas of everything his character is going through (it's almost a bit of a too stark transition from who he was to what he's becoming). The production team is phenomenal, with highlights going to David Tattersall's cinematography, John Williams' indelible score, Gavin Bocquet's production design, and Trisha Biggar's costume design. It's a finely crafted film, one that could have been even more ambitious in its scope, but a film that redeems the rather contrived prior episodes George Lucas tackled from this iconic franchise.

Kraven the Hunter

Movie Name: Kraven the Hunter
Year of Release: 2025
Director: J.C. Chandor
Starring: Aaron Taylor Johnson, Russell Crowe, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Ariana DeBose, Christopher Abbott, Levi Miller, Billy Barratt, Murat Seven, Yuri Kolokolnikov
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
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Synopsis and Review

J.C. Chandor who up until now has had a fantastic qualitative feature output, has hit a bit of snag with his first foray into the Marvel universe, with what has turned out to be one of the most disappointing films that Marvel has placed their label on. The film follows the tory of Sergei Kravinoff whom we first encounter as a teenager, protecting his younger half brother, following the death of his mother. His father takes the boys on a hunting trip, aiming to teach them about trapping animals, power and control, but ends up putting the boys in danger. Sergei in particularly is injured while protecting Dmitri. He is attacked by a lion and manages to survive because a young girl by the name of Calypso spots him, and gives him a special serum given to her by her late and mystical grandmother. Years later Sergei now goes by the name of Kraven and is a vigilante who tracks and hunts criminals. While in London celebrating his brother's birthday, he is unable to prevent him from being abducted. The man behind the kidnapping is Aleksei Sytsevich, who was known to Kraven's father years ago, but has since become a crime lord himself, and wants to push Nikolai out of the business. Kraven reaches out to Capypso, now a well known lawyer to help him with the Dmitri situation, and while they eventually trace his whereabouts, they also fall into a trap. While they manage to escape, Sytsevich has unleashed a dangerous contract killer on them who uses special skills to get to his victims. 

Sony's attempts at scalping the Spider-Man universe for more and more films based on supporting characters finally hit a stop following the critical and commercial derision this film suffered. Kraven, much like Morbius, Sandman, Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Mysterio, Electro, Black Cat, to name but a few, were all a series of villains always hellbent on destroying Spiderman. For some reason the creative teams at Sony have decided to create a series of films with these characters, portraying them as anguished and battered heroes, who by force of circumstances eventually face-off against Spiderman (including in that roster, Venom). The biggest problem with "Kraven the Hunter" is the fact that connections between characters and events are set in motion without much of a discernible narrative thread, the same going for the characters themselves, who magically transform from one thing to the next, without much of a realization for the tremendous gaps that exist in their lives (or what brought them to the current stage of where and who they are). As far as the characters themselves, they aren't given much to do, and the film ultimately feels as if though there's an entire chapter of it missing. Calypso, Aleksei, Nikolai, Dmitri, and even Kraven himself, are given so little in terms of a journey to go on, that everything in this film feels like a set up for a brief action sequence, that ultimately doesn't go anywhere (what is Kraven's ultimate goal, and for that matter, what is Calypso's or Dmitri's or any of the other characters). The cast while peppered with credible names, all get tarnished from this experience, starting with Russell Crowe, someone who has always been a thoughtful and powerful presence, but here is seemingly mocking his own persona, transforming himself into a poor version of what the late Oliver Reed used to make. The recently awarded Ariana DeBose is equally terrible, and really poses the question of how she just recently won an array of acting awards. The usually fantastic Alessandro Nivola doesn't fare much better, with the only untarnished presence being the subtle Christopher Abbott, who thankfully doesn't have much to do. The production team is impeccable, with highlights going to Ben Davis cinematography and Eve Stewart's production design. Maybe somewhere inside some well secluded Marvel vault there's a whole other chapter to this film that has not seen the light of day, but what indeed has is poorly conceived and is a miss-step for the talented J.C. Chandor.