The Nun II

Movie Name: The Nun II
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Michael Chaves
Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, Katelyn Rose Downey, Suzanne Bertish, Bonnie Aarons, Leontine d'Oncieu, Anouk Darwin Homewood, Peter Hudson, Tamar Baruch, Natalia Safran, Maxime Elias-Menet, Pascal Aubert, Alexandra Gentil, Viviana Moin
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review

Director Michael Chaves continues his dalliances in "The Conjuring" universe, following his previous directorial features, "The Curse of La Llorona" and "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It". This chapter focuses once again on the story of Sister Irene. Following the traumatic events of the first film, Sister Irene has gone back to a convent, only to be informed that the demon she thought she had vanquished, is still loose and making a killing throughout Europe. Through one of her visions, she realizes the demon has taken seize of her friend and savior Maurice. It has been sending him throughout different parts of Europe with the intent of capturing something that Irene  must uncover. While initially reluctant to tackle such a challenge, she decides to do so, this time around without Father Burke, as she's been informed he's passed away. Without anyone's approval, she does get the support of the rebellious Sister Debra, herself questioning her faith and even her place in the world. Maurice in the meantime, and without realizing it, has been guided by the demon and is currently working in an all-girls school in Aix-en-Provence, France. He has stricken a friendship with Schoolteacher Kate and her daughter Sophie, but the demon has its intentions set on retrieving something from that location, and violence and eerie things start occurring, with Sophie in particular witnessing some of them. Sister Irene and Sister Debra through their research realize what the intent of the demon is, and quickly realize they need to be at that school to help all its residents and expunge that creature from existence.

The most obvious thing to "The Nun II" is the level of polish that clearly has taken place when compared with the prior installment. Where Corin Hardy's film was somewhat generic in style and storytelling, Michael Chaves takes a somewhat different approach, creating an ominous environment that is aptly represented through the cinematography, production design, and even visual effects. The film which was shot in France, manages to have this claustrophobic aspect as Sister Irene goes about uncovering the purpose of the entity throughout the streets of Paris. Much like the other films in the series, there's a sleuthing aspect to it, with the Sisters in this case trying to uncover the purpose and intent of the entity. What continues to fail in the Nun series is the attention to who these characters actually are, including the lead Sister Irene, whom we briefly get a sense for where she comes from and some of the family trauma she lives with (and that impacts her investigation itself), although that description is all too brief. These characters are broadly described and thinly characterized, which makes that much more difficult to empathize with: they're fodder for whatever happens. The film has its strongest points in how Michael Chaves brings his point of view to the narrative, creating something gothic and menacing, though the film could have benefited a bit more of the influences from Guillermo Del Toro with his "El Espinazo del Diablo", by suggesting more and relying less on gruesomeness. The cast is competent, led by the talented Taissa Farmiga, who has good support from Storm Reid, Jonas Bloquet, Anna Popplewell and Katelyn Rose Downey. The production team is solidly comprised of Tristan Nyby's cinematography, Marco Beltrami's score, Stéphane Cressend's production design and Agnes Beziers' costumes. It's a fairly watchable film, even if not the most memorable one in the series.  

Pearl

Movie Name: Pearl
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Ti West
Starring: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro, Alistair Sewell, Lauren Stewart
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Production on "Pearl" commenced immediately after writer/director Ti West finished production on "X", for which "Pearl" is a prequel of. The narrative focuses on the story of Pearl, who in 1918 during the influenza pandemic lives with her German immigrant parents on a farm in Texas. Pearl's husband Howard has been deployed to serve in World War I. Pearl has some challenges in her life in addition to the absence of her husband: her father is deeply ill and paralyzed, while her mother is suffocating, critical and forces her to work constantly on the farm and assisting with her father's care. She aspires to become a chorus girl, as inspired by all the films she sees. Pearl becomes excited with the prospect of a new life when her sister in law tells her about an audition that is being held in town for a traveling troupe. After a huge fight with her mother, which results in her mother suffering bad burns, Pearl flees to the movie theater where she ends up having sex with the projectionist. When he further refuses to provide more attention or emotional support, Pearl kills him and pushes him and his car to the pond. Pearl is firmly intent on pursuing her plans, and as things don't go according to plan, the darker and more violent her actions become.

Writer/director Ti West who made a name for himself with "The House of the Devil" and "The Innkeepers" before embarking on a lengthy series of directorial jobs for well known TV shows including "Wayward Pines", "The Exorcist" and more recently "Them", has tilted direction back into features with the "X" trilogy, of which "Pearl" is the well received second installment. One of the most interesting aspects about "Pearl" is the fact that the central character is given time to slowly reveal herself to the audience (and also to the other characters in the film). Though the character itself feels a bit roughly illustrated and somewhat like a composite of other serial killers (just enough of some characteristics to elicit understanding and assimilation), it's nonetheless engagingly brought to life thanks to Mia Goth's performance, who towers over the film by composing the character with a mix of naiveté, obsession, resentment and ferocious intent. Ti West smartly manages to let the events unfold, allowing for the bubbling under the surface violence from Pearl to manifest itself in waves that become that much more frequent as she also progressively loses whatever inhibitions she has towards killing and death in general. And while the death scenes are indeed gruesome, the film never feels overtly or gratuitously in the torture porn genre. It's as if Ti West observed what Terrence Malick did with "Badlands" and "Days of Heaven", alongside Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon", and added a layer of horror to it, with a seemingly unexpected serial killer. Mia Goth is of course fantastic, particularly her monologue sequence with her sister in law, and the ending, but the rest of the cast provides good support, in particular Tandi Wright and Emma Jenkins-Purro. The production team is solid, including Eliot Rockett's cinematography, Tom Hammock's production design and Tyler Bates & Tim Williams' score. Worth watching, even if it is indeed a bit rough when it comes to character definition. 

El Conde

Movie Name: El Conde
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Pablo Larrain
Starring: Jaime Vadell, Paula Luchsinger, Alfredo Castro, Gloria Munchmeyer, Stella Gonet, Catalina Guerra, Amparo Noguera, Antonia Zegers, Marcial Tagle, Diego Muñoz, Clemente Rodriguez, Marcelo Alonso, Jaime McManus
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

"El Conde" the newest feature from writer/producer/director Pablo Larrain premiered at the Venice Film Festival of 2023 where it won the award for best screenplay. It follows a string of critically well received features from the director, which includes the high prominent and Academy Awards nominated "Jackie", which featured Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy and "Spencer", which featured Kristen Stewart as Diana Spencer. This time around Larrain tackles the script alongside Guillermo Calderon, his usual collaborator with whom he also wrote "Neruda" and "El Club". Their narrative this time around focuses on Claude Pinoche, who is soon revealed to be a vampire. He witnesses the French Revolution and the execution of queen Marie Antoinette. He fakes his death and flees Europe, eventually finding himself in Chile, where he joins the army under the name of Augusto Pinochet. He overthrows the government of Salvador Allende in 1973 and becomes the de facto dictator of the country, always demanding to be addressed as "The Count". After he leaves office, authorities begin investigating him for his crimes, both humanitarian and financial. He fakes his death and retires to a remote farm with his wife Lucia and his butler Fyodor, whom he turned to a vampire as well. Fyodor in the meantime goes on a gruesome killing spree, using the Count's military uniform. The Pinochet offspring, fearful for the worst, and afraid of losing their inheritance, hire a nun by the name of Carmen, to exorcise and kill their father. However as Carmen goes on her investigation, things take a different turn, which bring into the scene none other than Margaret Thatcher. 

"El Conde" truly is a unique take on the history of Chile, by one of its most celebrated storytellers and film makers. It offers a distinct point of view on the Pinochet character who horrifically marked the history of the country, and who to this day, continues to leave profound marks in terms of the horrors that he inflicted and the wounds that have been left behind. Larrain and Calderon smartly weave this story of this horrific dictator as a Vampire, who after three centuries of destruction has lost the lust and shimmer for life. They create this generational dynamic, where the offspring of this individual, even knowing the monstrosity of what he did and devastation of what he has inflicted on others, still want to benefit from all the financial wealth he has amassed. The director smartly builds these family interactions as very matter of factly greed driven conversations, without ever depicting the family members as ogres or caricatures of monsters. They are petty, they are solely driven by self interest, and in that lies the dark comedy that comes from the film itself. Greed and money surpass the value of life and of the pain their father inflicted on the whole country. Carmen, who is a vessel of virtue in the middle of all that moral corruption, of all those soulless individuals, does bring to the count a glimmer of life, of someone who is unlike anyone else in his life. And while she does fall under his charm and personality, she soon is sacrificed, and in the process so is the sense that humanity's ability for compassion, honesty and for valuing human life, they all fall prey to money and power. The fact that Margaret Thatcher appears in the third act, is another delicious bite to another controversial figure. It's an extremely intelligent film, featuring a solid cast, with highlights going to Jaime Vadell, Alfredo Castro and Paula Luchsinger, with a stunning cinematography from Edward Lachman and art direction by Tatiana Maulen. A solid film worth watching. 

Friday the 13th

Movie Name: Friday the 13th
Year of Release: 2009
Director: Marcus Nispel
Starring: Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Aaron Yoo, Derek Mears, Jonathan Sadowski, Julianna Guill, Ben Feldman, Arlen Escarpeta, Ryan Hansen, Willa Ford, Nick Mennel, America Olivo, Kyle Davis, Richard Burgi
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 1
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Director Marcus Nispel has a lengthy career as a music video director (much like Jonas Akerlund), and made his transition to direct feature films with the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", which he followed with "Pathfinder", the latter being met with better reviews than his debut. This remake of Sean S. Cunningham's cult classic "Friday the 13th", was produced by Michael Bay, whose fingerprints can be witnessed a bit throughout the entire film. The film focuses on the character of Clay Miller, who is seeking his sister Whitney who has seemingly disappeared in the Crystal Lake area. Clay crosses paths with Trent, alongside his girlfriend Jenna and an array of their friends, as they're staying at Trent's Summer cabin on the shore of Crystal Lake. And while Clay and Trent don't hit it off, Jenna and Clay do, with her helping him out in his search for his sister. In the meantime Jason starts his killing spree, killing each of Trent and Jenna's friends. While Clay and Jenna try to warn them as to what is happening, they minimize what's happening until the corpses start appearing. Eventually police appears, but Jason also swiftly kills the officer, forcing Clay and Jenna to escape to the old Crystal Lake campgrounds, where they uncover Whitney in an underground area where Jason has been keeping her. It's up to them to figure out a way to escape.

Sadly and unlike Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street", the mythology of Jason and of the "Friday the 13th" film series has always been a rather limited one. Jason has gone through an array of refined background storylines, in order to somewhat justify the fact that he is a somewhat supernatural entity who just wants to kill people who appear in the Summer Camp where he originally died. There's been a variety of sequels to the original 1980 feature, and coincidentally this remake has the most substantial budget of al those prior features. Sadly, and as is characteristic of any Michael Bay produced or directed feature, it's slim in terms of character substance, and in this case of even character motivation. There simply isn't much to say about a film that doesn't bother itself to minimally showcase characters with motivations that go beyond screaming or running or dying a particularly bloody death (though as a Michael Bay trademark, there is plenty of objectification of women throughout the film). The film essentially tries to bring the premise of the 1980 film to the 21st. century, but forgets humor, characters, and even a remotely fresh take on this killer who is apparently unstoppable (it's a fresh coat of paint on a old house, without looking at the foundations). The cast is rather generic, the same going for the production team. It's an unnecessary remake for a series that has never truly featured a remarkable film in all the ones that have been released thus far. 

Final Destination

Movie Name: Final Destination
Year of Release: 2000
Director: James Wong
Starring: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke, Daniel Roebuck, Amanda Detmer, Tony Todd, Roger Guenveur Smith, Brendan Fehr, Forbes Angus, Lisa Marie Caruk, Christine Chatelain, Barbara Tyson, Robert Wisden
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"Final Destination" from director James Wong marked a first endeavor for many of its team members: for Mr. Wong it was his feature directorial debut, the same going for Jeffrey Reddick who wrote the original story and has since gone on to write other features such as Jeremy Haft's "Tamara" and Phillip Guzman's "Dead Awake". The narrative focuses on the story of Alex Browning who is going to Paris with his high school class. While embarking Alex feels some unease, which is heightened after he sits down on his seat. He has a vision that the plane will explode mid-air killing everyone. He panics and starts announcing his fears, which prompts a fight with one of his classroom colleagues. This behavior results in him and a few others to be escorted out of the plane and prohibited from flying for the time being (including his teacher Valerie, Tod his best friend, Carter his nemesis, alongside Carter's girlfriend Terry, the one who arrived late Billy, and Clear Rivers, who believed Alex's statements and opted to get out). A few minutes later, as the plane takes to the airs, it explodes killing everyone on board, just as Alex's dream had predicted. Everyone is interrogated by the FBI, and Alex in particular is regarded as highly suspicious. A month or so later, a memorial service for the victims is held, and weird accidents start occurring, and claiming the survivor's lives. Firstly, Tod accidentally hangs in his shower. Terry is next on list and suffers another freak accident. They realize the survivors are being killed in the order that their death should have occurred if they had stayed on the plane. Alex tries to explain his theory to his remaining fellow survivors, and hopefully help them escape their fate. However that is not as simple as it seems.

"Final Destination" started a fairly successful franchise, which has produced 5 additional sequels (Chapter 6 is in production and should come out in 2024). The premise has remained somewhat constant throughout the entire series: someone has a prediction of impending doom, manages to avoid it (for themselves and a few others), only for a dark and sinister fate to stalk him/her and all the other survivors and claim their death. It's a rather interesting premise that could potentiate really interesting discussions or some action set pieces, which never seems to be the case. James Wong in this inaugural feature of the franchise establishes much of what the sequels emulate. The character who has the vision is an every day person, who gets that "Vision" and then spends the rest of the narrative trying to save the others who benefited from that same vision (and being many times hated or suspiciously looked at for doing so). The characters themselves are always threadbare in terms of understanding who they are or what their ambitions amount to (in all likelihood, their ambitions are mostly to stay alive during the duration of the feature). What this typically results in is a rather gruesome series of deaths for these characters, all of which reinforce this sense of a supernatural motion that is inescapable, but these set pieces don't really add much to character perspective or narrative development itself. While there's a "Twilight Zone" fingerprint to this premise, sadly the characters are never quite as compelling, since these films eventually chase a disaster porn perspective, more so than why pursuing why these occurrences are happening, or what ties all these characters together. The actors in this feature aren't particularly memorable, the same going for the production values, which are somewhat generic. This doesn't really rise to the level of other horror franchises, even if it has indeed maintained a regular output throughout the years. 

The Meg 2: The Trench

Movie Name: Meg 2: The Trench
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Jason Statham, Jing Wu, Shuya Sophia Cai, Cliff Curtis, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, Melissanthi Mahut, Whoopie Van Raam, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Sienna Guillory, Felix Mayr, Robin Hill, Tao Guo, Stewart Alexander
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Celebrated British writer/director Ben Wheatley once again has confounded audiences, as he has decided to tackle a big budget monster/action film, unlike any of the previous material he adapted or written before ("Sightseers" being one of his most well known features, alongside "A Field in England", "High-Rise" and "Free Fire"). Much like Jon Turteltaub's "The Meg", this feature is an adaptation of a novel by Steve Alten. The narrative once again focuses on Jonas Taylor, who has this time around and since the events of the first film, been involved in fighting environmental crimes, while also continuing to help Mana One in exploring the Mariana Trench where the original Megalodon was found. He has also raising his teenage daughter Meiying, with the help of her her uncle Jiuming, who has also acquired his father's company (alongside a financier by the name of Hillary Driscoll). Jonas and Jiuming go on a submersible exploration to the Trench, but are attacked and have to find a way to escape. They also uncover an illegal mining operation financed by Hillary Driscoll who wants to farm rare earth minerals. Hillary sends Montes, who has a beef with Jonas, to get rid of them. As they manage to miraculously escape, all these different agendas and treasons become apparent, and while Jonas and his team manage to flee unharmed, what is unleashed from the Trench threatens to kill and destroy everything in the area. 

If the previous installment of this franchise was indeed wafer thin in terms of character development, this one doesn't necessarily accomplish much in terms of moving that needle further. The characters are still for the most part forgettable and bluntly described. Their motivations are very cartoonish (the villainous business person who wants to mine rare minerals for billions, the only thing missing being Dr. Evil's laughter), and the henchmen who have a grudge towards the heroic and stoic central hero (grudges are hard to convincingly carry through in films these days, unless it's a film from Takashi Shimizu himself). However this film, much like the first one, has a director who knows this is essentially a big budget B-movie, and one who has smartly peppered the narrative with insightful influences from masterful films which includes John McTiernan's "Die Hard" married with Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" with sprinkles of James Cameron's "The Abyss" and even some Spielberg's "Jurassic Park": essentially, monster film married with high stakes escape thriller. And though the characters and situations themselves are neither finely observed or surprisingly fresh, they're also not so rudely established they prevent the narrative and film from moving forward and remaining watchable. The film benefits from nicely choreographed action sequences, alongside some impressive visual effects. The cast is serviceable even if not very memorable, but the production team is a solid one, including the beautiful cinematography from Haris Zambarloukos (who usually works with actor/writer/producer/director Kenneth Branagh), score from Harry Gregson-Williams, and production design from Chris Lowe (who has an impressive background in Art Direction, including Tim Burton's "Dumbo" and Sam Mendes' "Skyfall"). It is a middling affair, and doesn't necessarily add much to Ben Wheatley's unique career, but it's a watchable feature. 

Scream V

Movie Name: Scream
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Mikey Madison, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Sonia Ammar, Marley Shelton, Dylan Minnette, Skeet Ulrich, Kyle Gallner, Chester Tam, Heather Matarazzo, Reggie Conquest, Brooke Barnhill
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

After the unexpected success of their feature "Ready or Not" (which featured Samara Weaving and Andie MacDowell), the directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett got tasked with bringing this new iteration of the franchise to the screen. The script comes courtesy of the underrated James Vanderbilt (who wrote the script for David Fincher's superb "Zodiac", but also the scripts for Marc Webb's take on "Spider Man") and also Guy Busick who worked with the directors previously on "Ready or Not". The narrative takes place twenty-five years after the original killings in Woodsboro. Tara Carpenter, herself a high school student, is home alone when she's attacked by Ghostface, which she barely survives. Her oldest sister Sam, who lives in Modesto, is informed of what happened by one of Tara's friends, and decides to come visit Tara alongside her boyfriend. Sam has an encounter with Ghostface in the hospital when she's visiting Tara. She tells Tara the reason she left town is due to uncovering the truth of who her father actually was, Billy Loomis, one of the original killers. Sam and her boyfriend visit Dewey who has since divorced Gale and is no longer working for the police. They ask for his help which he reluctantly agrees to. The high schoolers friends of Tara, alongside Sam, her boyfriend and Dewey figure out the logic behind Ghostface's approach, and what's the plan for tying this new generation with the original targets of the killing spree. However this understanding doesn't prevent Ghostface from attacking again, this time around killing Dewey. His death brings Sidney back to town, but Ghostface remains undaunted, and as Sam, Tara and Richie attempt to leave town, the last surprises may still be left to be uncovered.

With the passing of Wes Craven, the torch of the "Scream" franchise went to a different creative team, with this film in particular losing a bit of the humor, filmic references, and high school context that have been a staple for the series. This new version of "Scream" ties its DNA to the characters of the original series, but at this point just barely, while weaving a plot that once again places an array of disposable characters at the mercy of a brutal killer who stops at nothing to achieve its goals. While Sidney, Gale and Dewey still bring the depth and gravitas to the series, their presence is now largely supporting to this array of new characters who are once again somewhat truncated in terms of personality and motivation, though some of them are seemingly impervious to the worst punishment you can inflict upon them. The film lacks some of the mix of dark humor and violence Wes Craven was so good at staging, with this particular chapter falling more under a slasher type of feature, more so than any of the previous chapters who referenced that precise type of film genre. It's a film that doesn't necessarily add much to the mythology of the series, and by pushing its central characters to the background, it also removes much of the emotional connection the series actually had with its audience. The cast tries their best at keeping the momentum going, with Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette continuing to bring a layer of maturity and weariness to their characters, while the newest generation sadly does not have quite as much to work with. The production team is solid, in particular Brett Jutkiewicz's cinematography. It's a watchable, though minor installment in the series. 

Scream IV

Movie Name: Scream 4
Year of Release: 2011
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Neve Campbell, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Alison Brie, Marley Shelton, Mary McDonnell, Nico Tortorella, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Gordon Michaels, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Britt Robertson, Shenae Grimes, Lucy Hale, Aimee Teegarden, Marielle Jaffe, John Lepard
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

In what turned out to be his swan song before his sad passing, director Wes Craven went back to one of the series that also showcased his wonderful talent (the other being of course "The Nightmare on Elm Street" series). The narrative picks up after the events of the third chapter. 15 years have passed since the original murders in Woodsboro, and Sidney returns to the city to promote her self-help book with her publicist. During the same time period, two high school students are killed. Sidney's cousin who also lives in town, is dealing with boyfriend issues, and getting threatening phone calls also from Ghostface. Dewey Riley, now the sheriff of the town who is married to Gale Weathers, is investigating the case, as is Gale who has been on a funk. One of Jill's friends is killed, something she witnesses alongside her friend Kirby. Ghostface quickly comes to attack them, as well as Sidney who is in the same house. Upon the return of the police Ghostface manages to quickly escape, but the deaths don't stop. The high school kids theorize that the killings will continue and escalate further, some of them occurring during a party, which one of them is organizing. Gale learning of this decides to crash the party, only to find out Ghostface has anticipated some of her moves. That party soon gets cancelled, and as Jill and Kirby and a few others go back to their homes, Ghostface is trailing them and continuing the killing spree. It's up to Sidney to figure out the solution and stop that figure.

The "Scream" series always privileged the whole meta aspect of its narrative, by placing the characters in this lethal game of cat and mouse with a brutal killer, where the rules of horror films essentially dictate what is happening in the narrative itself. Kevin Williamson the screenwriter who wrote the original film and continued with those duties throughout the sequels, does the same once again with this film. This time around he brings the concept of the undetermined killer(s) to a younger generation, with Sidney's presence still looming as the original victim to all the events, the character who ties it all together. Wes Craven smartly continues to build a quasi claustrophobic environment in this small town, where everyone seemingly knows everyone, which makes the process of uncovering the killer that much more difficult (even if the high schoolers are following and unpacking the rules of the horror film itself). It's a smart, violent and funny film, one where its downfall ends up being the relative slimness of its characters, including the new group of teenagers who are barely defined beyond typical stereotypes. However Wes Craven smartly keeps the flow of the narrative going, always featuring set pieces that are always exciting, even if at first glance they seem rather predictable. The cast is uniformly good, with the underrated Neve Campbell leading the group with solid support from Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Hayden Panettiere, and Alison Brie (who has a small but memorable role). It's a worthy addition to the series and another entertaining feature from the late Wes Craven. 

The Strays

Movie Name: The Strays
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Nathaniel Martello-White
Starring: Ashley Madekwe, Bukky Bakray, Jorden Myrie, Samuel Paul Small, Maria Almeida, Justin Salinger, Lucy Liemann, Tom Andrews, Rob Jarvis, Michael Warburton
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

"The Strays" is the feature directorial debut of Nathaniel Martello-White, following a substantial acting career and a few shorts that he has since also written and directed. The narrative focuses on Neve, a biracial woman who lives in an affluent British neighborhood. She is married to Ian, a white man, and has two teenage children, Sebastian and Mary. She works at her kids' school as a deputy headmistress, and is planning a fundraising gala to be hosted at her place. Her children in the meantime have made friends with two black teens who appeared out of nowhere, Carl and Dione. Carl gets a job as a janitor at the school, and helps Sebastian with his basketball and getting rid of bullies, whereas Dione takes a job as an assistant in Ian's office and is soon fiends with Mary, even braiding her hair. Both Carl and Dione eventually appear at the fundraiser, addressing Neve as their mother, shocking all the attendees, including of course her family who has no idea of what's going on. After the debacle of the fundraising event, Neve explains to Ian, Sebastian and Mary who Carl and Dione are and why she kept that part of her life hidden. She also goes to meet Carl and Dione, and gives them money to help them get back on their feet while they're in London. However this seemingly new chapter in everyone's life doesn't go as smoothly as expected.

There's something lurking underneath the premise of "The Strays" that is actually quite interesting. A bit of a lingering influence of Michael Haneke's "Funny Games", that never truly materializes, since both Carl and Dione's goals are never quite transparent. Are they looking for retribution or acknowledgement or to terrorize the life of the mother who abandoned them? All these disturbing motivations are hinted at, but in the finished product the goal for these characters is never clearly presented. The same goes for the characters who inhabit this narrative: they're for the most part very secluded in the clichés crafted for them, never going beyond the roles of the average husband, the kids who never stray or do something wrong, and even the disruptors not being given much at all to do. The most conflicting character, Neve, played with nuance by Ashley Madekwe, is the one who holds the key to unlocking the narrative, however her motivations and attitudes are never truly shattering discoveries. She doesn't want to deal with conflict, and therefore she leaves, which seems to be a pattern of hers. It's a film that is at the brink of something, with the writer/director managing to create a ponderous and unease momentum as the narrative unfolds, however the third act doesn't really come together, and neither do any of these characters. The cast tries their best to bring these characters to life, and Ashley Madekwe has good support from Jorden Myrie (who is the revelation of the feature) and Bukky Bakray. The production team is competent, but this is a film that could have gone even further with the questions it poses and the characters that it presents. As a result it feels a bit undercooked, and quite forgettable. 

This Is the End

Movie Name: This Is the End
Year of Release: 2013
Director: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Mindy Kaling, David Krumholtz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Rihanna, Martin Starr, Paul Rudd, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Seth Rogen and his creative partner Evan Goldberg's feature directorial debut is a doomsday comedy, one that pokes fun at celebrities and even at Rogen and his friends themselves. The narrative focuses on Jay Baruchel who is in LA to spend time with Seth Rogen. After getting high and doing a bunch of random things around Rogen's house, the latter manages to convince Jay to go to James Franco's party, even if Jay isn't that comfortable with that crowd. Jay manages to convince Seth not to leave him by himself at the party. Soon an earthquake strikes and everyone goes outside to check on what's happening. A bunch of actors and performers get killed, and they soon realize the rapture is upon them. Seth, Jay, James, Jonah Hill and Craig Robinson all get back in the house, and decide to ration whatever food and drinks they have left. However Danny McBride who crashed the party and fell asleep in one of Franco's bathrooms soon destroys their finely arranged set up. As they try to get through the end of the world and figure out how to get away from the hell that LA has turned out to be, all matters of occurrences come their way, including Jonah Hill getting possessed.  They soon realize only by performing a selfless act can they redeem themselves and ascend to heaven. 

"This Is the End" is a surprisingly ingenious and at times quite funny comedy from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Everyone on the film is essentially playing caricatures of themselves, in a quasi-meta type of way, which allows for all of them to poke fun at their own personas, but only so far, since they're all playing with clichés of what actors are perceived to be and behave like (particularly the very successful ones). This ingenuity however is not as acerbic as it can be, since the script does go for some slapstick and the gross-out laugh, failing to actually probe deeper into the narcissism and rampant self-serving aspect that exists to a certain extent in that particular artistic community. Either way, the film smartly references other iconic films such as William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" but in a comedic way, and gives some of these actors an opportunity to create new types of caricatures (Jonah Hill's being of course the most obvious one, followed by the potent cameo of Emma Watson). It's a film that for all its limitations in terms of characters and set up, is nonetheless pretty funny, since it also juggles with people's perceptions of these actors and their image. And while its message is somewhat basic, the journey getting there is nonetheless entertaining and at times quite funny (Jonah Hill's possession is a highlight). The cast is uniformly solid, with highlights going to Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Danny McBride who in particular manages to create someone truly exasperating and unpleasant. The production team is solid, including Henry Jackman's score, Brandon Trost's cinematography and Chris Spellman's production design. Worth watching. 

Neighbors

Movie Name: Neighbors
Year of Release: 2014
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Effron, Dave Franco, Lisa Kudrow, Ike Barinholtz, Brian Huskey, Carla Gallo, Halston Sage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Roberts, Jerrod Carmichael, Ali Cobrin
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review

Following the well received "The Five Year Engagement", director Nicholas Stoller tackled what became his first collaboration with actor/producer Seth Rogen. The film focuses its narrative on Mac Radner and his wife Kelly, who have recently become new parents with the arrival of their daughter Stella. Much to their surprise the house next to theirs sells to a fraternity by the name of Delta Psi Beta, who is well known for their outrageous parties. The leaders of that fraternity, Teddy Sanders and Pete Regazolli, aspire to join the hallmark of the most infamous parties the fraternity has previously organized. Fearing the worst, Mac and Kelly try to build a relationship with the fraternity, particularly their leaders, who figure out it's best if they invite them for a party. Teddy asks the couple that in case they feel troubled by any of their parties, to simply call him first instead of resorting to the police. That soon turns out to be the case, as one of the parties taking place keeps Stella awake, and Mac after attempting to reach out multiple times eventually resorts to calling the police. This opens up the hostilities between the neighbors, something that quickly starts escalating.

"Neighbors" is an interesting film in the sense that has two very distinct layers coming across as the narrative is unfolding. On one hand there's the slightly risqué tone, almost a node to Bob Clark's "Porky's", where the somewhat archetype of college parties as a means to have sex comes across very heavily, while on the other hand, there's the slightly more interesting part of the narrative with the couple who is in their 30s, has a child and is fearing that their youth is gone, including their ability to be spontaneous and even be sexy towards each other. While Mac and Kelly's relationship is effectively rendered, even if the characters themselves are somewhat stunted in their outlines, the fraternity residents are given very little dimension at all, functioning mostly as clichéd antagonists, as opposed to fully rounded characters who have some depth or even motivation beyond just having parties. Part of the problem with this narrative is also the fact that whatever humor there is, comes primarily from Mac and Kelly's reaction to this disruption in their habitat. Nothing that the fraternity and their residents do or for that matter are, is in reality funny at all. Whereas Fred Wolf's "The House Bunny" had the concept of bringing someone oblivious to reality to a sorority and generating the humor from that inadequacy, in this particular case the fraternity itself comes across as reckless, privileged and cruel (and once again, not funny). The film is salvaged due to Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne's (who is phenomenal in everything she does) performances: they have an undeniable chemistry, and they both manage to bring silliness, complicity and warmth to their characters, in their interactions, but also in how they relate to others. They have good support from the somewhat underrated Dave Franco, Ike Barinholtz and Lisa Kudrow. The production team is effective but not particularly memorable. It's a somewhat unbalanced film, worth watching for Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen's undeniable charisma.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Movie Name: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Year of Release: 2023
Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Daisy Head, Chloe Coleman, Rege-Jean Page, Will Irvine, Nicholas Blane, Bryan Larkin, Spencer Wilding, Kyle Hixon, Georgia Landers
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

The writing/producing and directing duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have made a name for themselves since they wrote Seth Gordon's "Horrible Bosses", and have since then tackled interesting projects such as Jon Watts' "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and even this year's maligned "The Flash" which was directed by Andy Muschietti. Their prior directorial effort was the well received "Game Night", featuring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams. "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" is based on the game of the same name, and focuses its narrative on bard Edgin Darvis, who lives with his wife and young daughter in the Forgotten Realms. Edgin's life suffers a dramatic turnaround, which includes the death of his wife, resulting in him having to figure out a different way to make a living, which eventually finds him resorting to theft, with a series of accomplices which includes Holga, Simon the sorcerer, Forge who is a con artist, and Forge's acquaintance Sofina. While trying to steal a "Tablet of Reawakening" (which will enable him to resurrect his late wife), he and Holga are captured. After two years of imprisonment, they escape to Neverwinter, only to find out Forge has in the meantime become the Lord of the domain, and has in fact been the one responsible for Kira, Edgin's daughter. Turns out Forge who thinks he's in charge of the situation, has been a bit of a puppet for Sofina who is in reality a villainous Red Wizard. It's up to Edgin and his friends to retrieve the Tablet and stop Sofina and her master from creating another army of the undead. 

"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" manages to be an unpretentious action/adventure film that though filled with character sketches, it's nonetheless smart enough to give all these character just enough charm to make them compelling and a bit more than offensive clichés. It's a film that reminds at times the better work of Richard Donner (circa "Ladyhawke" for instance), but with a more substantial comedic tone (the obese dragon is a good example). The directors smartly walk a fine line between not taking the premise very seriously, but also not making the film fall into the trappings of self mockery. It's a breezy action film, which at some point brought to mind what Michael Curtiz for instance did with the original "Robin Hood" (with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland), in the sense that it's colorful, the characters are briefly explained and given some substance, and the chemistry between all of them makes the narrative that much more palatable and engaging. The film also benefits from a solid cast, in particular the trifecta of Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant. The production team is equally solid, with highlights going to Barry Peterson's cinematography, Lorne Balfe's score, Ray Chan's production design and Amanda Monk's costume design. Worth watching. 

The One

Movie Name: The One
Year of Release: 2001
Director: James Wong
Starring: Jet Li, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham, James Morrison, Dylan Bruno, Richard Steinmetz, Steve Rankin, Tucker Smallwood, Harriet Sansom Harris, Dean Norris, Darin Morgan, Rom Zimmerman, Joel Stoffer
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

"The One" was a vehicle to further cement Jet Li's ascension in the North American market, which started with his supporting turn in Richard Donner's "Lethal Weapon 4", which was quickly followed by lead roles in "Romeo Must Die" and "Kiss of the Dragon". The narrative of the film focuses on Gabe Law a deputy sheriff in LA, who is married to the lovely T.K.. Hot on his trail is another version of himself by the name of Yulaw, who was once an agent part of MVA who police cross-dimensional travel. Yulaw has been killing all different versions of himself across different universes, and absorbing their energy to himself, all with the intent of becoming "The One". His goal is to do the same with Gabe. Agents Roedecker and Funsch are pursuing him and their goal is to both stop Yulaw and also save Gabe from that fate. Gabe in the meantime has also noticed he has been gaining increased strength and speed. Funsch eventually explains to Gabe what is happening, though they're both unable to save T.K. from Yulaw's killing spree. As Gabe and Funsch eventually fight Yulaw, they're sucked in by a wormhole which drops them at the MVA headquarters. 

Coincidentally enough, James Wong's "The One" tackled the topic of Multi-verse well before Marvel came along and planted that narrative device across most of their films. Wong who started his feature  directorial career with "Final Destination", but had an already well established screenwriting career beforehand, has plenty of interesting items to work with in this film (namely this notion of a multiverse police department who keeps an eye on what's taking place across multiple universes). However and while the concept of multiverse allows for interesting permutations with the same characters, this film in particular falls somewhat short since we never get much of an understanding of who Gabe or Yulaw actually are. And while the suggestion of "The One" is supposedly enticing, that narrative mechanism or ploy is never fully explored or explained. This film did have the potential to be an enticing B-movie, one where the characters are briefly explained and where their motives are swiftly rendered, but sadly the director chooses to focus more on action and fighting scenes, which as well staged as they are, don't necessarily add color or detail to what is happening, at least not in the same way some of Jackie Chan's films have been able to do (such as "Police Story" for instance). In the end we're left with some stilted dialogue options, and plenty of action scenes which do illustrate Jet Li's acrobatic skills and very little beyond that. The always underrated Carla Gugino and Delroy Lindo manage to salvage whatever there is from their scenes, while the production design team (headed by David L. Snyder) is underwhelming, with some of the choices bringing to mind some of the Farscape sets. It's watchable and instantly forgettable. 

Prom Night

Movie Name: Prom Night
Year of Release: 2008
Director: Nelson McCormick
Starring: Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Idris Elba, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis, Collins Pennie, Kelly Blatz, James Ransone, Brianne Davis, Kellan Lutz, Mary Mara, Ming-Na Wen, Johnathon Schaech, Linden Ashby, Jana Kramer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Rachel Specter, Valeri Ross
Genre: Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 1
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Director Nelson McCormick has largely made a career for himself directing a variety of reputable TV shows, which has included "The Man in the High Castle", "Homeland", "The Good Wife", "Southland", and going back even further, "Nip/Tuck" and "ER". And for all his prolific career on TV, this remake of "Prom Night" was his second feature directorial outing. The film follows the narrative of Donna Keppel who is a high school senior currently living with her uncle and aunt following a traumatic occurrence in her life, specifically one where her father, brother and mother were all killed by a stalker she had, her former biology teacher. As Donna prepares for her senior prom, the local detective learns that the killer escaped from the mental hospital where he was being held captive, and in all likelihood is coming for Donna once again. Donna and her boyfriend Bobby, alongside their close friends all head for a hotel where the prom celebration is taking place, only for the killer to start attacking each one of them all with the goal of getting to Donna. The police uncovers the killings, and orders the hotel to be evacuated and Donna and Bobby to be sent home with a series of police patrols escorting them. However the killer is hot on their trail.

The original "Prom Night" came out in 1980 (directed by Paul Lynch) and featured Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen in the central roles. It wasn't the most riveting of titles from the time period, and definitely isn't one of the most memorable features in Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen's respectable careers. This update however fails to do much with the original source material, failing to provide much substance as to who these characters actually are. Donna who is incarnated in this version by Brittany Snow, is somewhat objectified as a lovely young woman, though the audience hardly ever understands what makes the killer so drawn to her ( or for that matter why should we care). The supporting characters suffer a similar contrived experience, ranging from Donna's friends to the police officers who are responsible for her safeguarding. All this array of characters has hardly any motivation or for that matter, existence, beyond being fodder for that persistent killer. Even the killer himself, it's never truly uncovered the reason for his obsession for that young woman. It's a film that fails to not only provide much dimension to any character, but one that also isn't very subtle in the way it stages the killer's attacks and his methods to get to his target. This does not come across as a slick B-movie, instead it's a poorly realized TV slasher film with very little entertainment value, save for Idris Elba who as always manages to do something with the paltry elements he is given and the always reliable James Ransone who also has very little to do here. The production team is somewhat generic and unmemorable. It's a missed opportunity and a lackluster feature. 

Tenet

Movie Name: Tenet
Year of Release: 2020
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Clemence Poesy, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Martin Donovan, Himesh Patel, Anthony Molinari, Laurie Shepherd
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review

After the critical and commercial success of "Dunkirk", writer/producer/director Christopher Nolan decided to tackle a deconstructed take on time travel, married with some of the familiar layers he usually peppers his stories with. The film premiered at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic, and didn't get much tracking, particularly when compared to his previous endeavors, which also precipitated his abandon of the long term relationship he had with Warner Brothers. The film focuses on a character we only know by the Protagonist, who gets involved with an underground organization, with the intent to prevent a notorious arms dealer by the name of Andrei Sator to get access to various critical ingredients which will enable him to have nuclear capabilities. While doing this, he gets acquainted with Andrei's wife Kat, who is in a precarious situation when it comes to her personal relationship with Andrei. He also forges a partnership with the resourceful Neil, who always knows a bit more than he leads on. The Protagonist soon realizes that Andrei is always a step ahead, because he has access to futuristic technology which enables him to walk through different timelines and control the outcome of everything. That in itself turns out to be an additional layer of danger he and his team have to learn to overcome so they can avoid the collapse of the entire planet. 

I've long been a big fan of Christopher Nolan, since he always manages to find a fine balance between the cerebral aspect of the stories he's trying to tell, with the human layer which surrounds them, since he has understood all along that without characters, without a human heart at the core of these pseudo-intellectual reflections, there's nothing to vie for. "Tenet" is a big stumble for the director, one where the love for the mechanism of the story is all there, but the marriage with the human element, and the characters themselves for that matter, simply isn't properly addressed or solved for. One of the biggest puzzling effects for instance, is the relationship that is established between Andrei (played by the stupendous Kenneth Branagh) and his wife Kat. It essentially plays itself out like a mediocre action B-movie of the 80s (it reminded me of the plot machinations of some of the Cannon films), never truly expanding much on who these characters or what their goals are, aside from destroying everything (a) and saving a child (b). Truth be told "Inception" failed to elevate much of the familiar relationship of Leonardo Di Caprio's character with Marion Cotillard's, but his guilt propelled him, and instilled a drive in him to keep the game going. Here the director seemingly focused solely on the aspect of the time displacement mechanism, and forgot to wrap actual characters around all this. What ends up happening is a cold observation of what are seemingly very important exchanges between these characters, all of which feels stilted and unimaginative. Where "Inception" constantly felt like time was running out (or stretching itself out), this one relies so much on exposition, and what the mechanism does, that at some point the characters themselves are trying to figure out what all this means (and maybe that was one of the goals of the film itself). To top it all off, the visual effects that populate the narrative end up feeling lackluster and frankly cheap, which is something surprising for a film with this type of budget (and I'm going to say that unlike Doug Liman's "Edge of Tomorrow", this one is not going to age well in that regard). What is left at the end of this interminable saga? Mostly the presence of Kenneth Branagh, who even with an underwritten and cliché ridden role is still a joy to behold, the same going for Robert Pattinson who plays a good supporting character, a bit of a cypher but somewhat of a generic one as well. The cinematography from the wonderful Hoyte van Hoytema is fantastic, as is the score from Ludwig Goransson. It's not a very realized vision from this director, and feels like at some point someone should have said: "we need to talk about this". Too bad no one ever did.