Netflix And Chill: Vengeance (2022)

I heard some good things about Vengeance when it came and went a couple of years ago, because it isn't really the kind of film destined to rule the box office for weeks and months, or even days, but I never made it a priority in my overstuffed viewing schedule. I wasn't sure if it would be a film I could actually enjoy, and I don't consider myself a very big fan of writer-director-star B. J. Novak. Thank goodness streaming services often offer you too many options to bamboozle you into making an unexpected choice, which was the case here. I ended up liking this film. A lot.

Novak plays a New York City writer, Ben Manalowitz, who is living so deep in the surreal silliness of modern "culture" that he cannot step back and see himself for the walking parody that he's become. Not that others would notice either, because everyone in the same bubble is busy being ironic and using their phone screens to swipe their way through love, life, and constant content. Things change for Ben, however, when he is invited to the funeral of a young woman, Abilene, by family members who believe that the two were in a serious relationship (although they were just hooking up). That funeral is in West Texas. Abilene's brother, Ty (Boyd Holbrook), believes that her death was a murder, and believes that everything ties to some of the major criminal names in the area, which gives Ben a chance to overcome the creative block he has been experiencing recently. He sees a family in mourning, he sees people seeking connections and explanations where there may not be any, and he sees an opportunity to create a gripping and successful podcast.

I can see people being irritated by the first act of Vengeance. It is exactly what you expect it to be, and the main character is as annoying to spend time with as you may also expect. Things change quite quickly though, and this becomes clear when the plot truly starts to play out. Novak is surprisingly honest, to a degree, with the people around him, and he explains some of his podcast idea and his need to record conversations and get details that will fill in a full story for listeners. Some take fully to the idea, others view it with suspicion while figuring out a way to make the most of the situation. Novak is smart enough to aim at a number of targets, but he's also smart enough to hit a lot of them. The fact that he does it in a way that keeps everything based in a recognisable reality, after the opening exaggerated observations on modern life, makes it all easier to appreciate. It becomes smart while discarding that initial smugness, becomes sweet without ever being maudlin, and allows the lead character a shot at redemption without needing to turn him into an anointed hero.

While the direction is pretty unspectacular, Novak helps the movie immensely by writing such a great script. He then further helps it all by casting a great mix of actors who all feel well-suited to their roles. Holbrook continues to build an impressive filmography, even if he gradually becomes a less important figure here as the plot unfolds, and the always wonderful Lio Tipton portrays Abilene in the fleeting flashbacks that show us snippets of her life. J. Smith-Cameron is Abilene's mother, and she imbues her character with a grace and comforting presence that ensures she is never the butt of any jokes, while  Isabella Amara, Dove Cameron, and Eli Bickel are very good as the other siblings figuring out how to navigate around the Abilene-shaped void in their lives. Issa Rae is superb as the podcast producer, Eloise, giving Ben notes on how to best shape his story, and Ashton Kutcher feels like a very good fit for his character, Quentin Sellers, a record producer who seems to over-use poetry in a way that might be distracting from whatever soundbites Ben is trying to get from him.

This could have easily been stuffed with the laziest observations and character development, but Novak tries hard to pull a number of threads together into a satisfyingly thick narrative rope. He doesn't entirely succeed, there are one or two scenes that feel out of place because of wanting to underline the reversal of Ben's mindset as he learns more about this Texan town and the people he is growing to like, but he does a lot more than others might have done with similar material. Maybe I'll just have to start looking more closely at projects he has been involved with over the years.

8/10

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Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023)

The last Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford in the starring role (apparently) and the first Indiana Jones movie to be directed by someone other than Steven Spielberg (it's James Mangold at the helm for this adventure), Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny comes along with the advantage of simply having to be better than Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. I just wanted it to be on the same level as that film, another that I seemed to enjoy more than many other people.

This is a fun time at the cinema, thank goodness, and any tentative fears I may have had were assuaged within the barnstorming, extended, action sequence that opens the film. There has been a theme in recent years in these franchise instalments, something I have no doubt mentioned before, an idea that, in a world that looks to have passed them by and rendered them obsolete, it is the older “dinosaurs” (although that has been literal, as well as metaphorical) with the strength and ability to save us from some new threats. While this film gives us quite a bit of that, and a number of jokes about the age of our central character, it is also a loving send-off to someone who has been part of the pop culture, and part of our lives for over four decades. It reassures him, and audiences, that having time away from adventuring doesn’t mean life stops. It just means that you can realise how much you can help people in other ways. The fact that this messaging is couched in a script that still doles out a good share of very enjoyable dialogue, entertaining action scenes, and nods for the fans to smile at makes it a perfect conclusion to what has been, in my view, an amazingly consistent blockbuster series.

I suppose I should summarize the plot. After that opening sequence, featuring a de-aged Harrison Ford that sometimes looks like the best de-aging I have ever seen, and sometimes looks like a character was photoshopped in from one of the first couple of Uncharted videogame cut-scenes, we get to the main storyline. Dr. Jones is retiring. He is alone, and tired. Visited by his god-daughter (Wombat, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge), he ends up dragged into an adventure to find both parts of a fabled device created by Archimedes (it has a different name onscreen, but it’s the titular dial of destiny). This leads to a number of chases as our heroes try to evade the henchmen of a very determined Nazi villain (Dr. Voller, played by Mads Mikkelsen), who we saw being beaten by Indians Jones in part of the opening set-piece.

With no offence intended to him, director James Mangold does a decent job here, and has experience of directing a “hero walking into the sunset movie” with Logan, but I couldn’t help wondering just how well Spielberg might have treated this material. Perhaps due to the age of the star, or perhaps due to the complexity of the stunts, most of the big action beats are slightly over-edited, and there are not enough grin-inducing/fist in the air moments. No truly iconic hero shots, sadly, although some moments come close to giving off that indefinable aura of pure cinema magic (Wombat and Indiana looking around a tomb being the best, in terms of that shot composition and lighting combo). Mangold also helped write the script though, alongside David Koepp, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth (I though Waller-Bridge had also been asked to polish some dialogue, but I could be misremembering), and this is where the film excels. Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny is a perfect example of how to blend together a lot of fun and some serious themes (Nazism, obviously, but also regret and gradually losing a sense of purpose, as well as a few other key emotional touchstones). This is the Indiana Jones we have all known and loved for the lifetime of the character, but everyone is very much aware that he’s not immortal, or indeed infallible. His legacy will endure though, both onscreen and off.

Ford is great in the role, which seems like the most redundant thing to say. He has always been perfectly cast as Indiana, and he seems to enjoy embracing the chance to show the true age of the character, particularly when he gives a touching performance in one brief scene that stands head and shoulders above almost any other acting he has delivered in the past decade. Waller-Bridge is a decent foil, an antagonistic equal to our hero, although the character feels like it has been slightly reshaped to make her as essentially Waller-Bridge-ian as can be. And young Ethann Isidore plays Teddy, a boy with excellent pickpocket skills who makes our central pair into an even more plucky and resourceful trio. Mikkelsen is the kind of baddie you want, in line with other greats who have been before him. He’s cold, full of self-belief, and intelligent enough to think one step ahead of the heroes until he eventually realises that he actually hasn’t thought things through as thoroughly as he should have. Boyd Holbrook is a gun-happy henchman, and very good he is too, and Olivier Richters is a man-mountain also doing what he can to help Mikkelsen achieve his main objective. There are small roles for Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas, both doing work that makes you wish they were involved in the adventure for longer, and a couple of people that fans of the series will be delighted to see onscreen, even if only for a minute or two (you may already know who joins in with the fun, but I am not spoiling any potential surprises here).

For those maybe a bit tired and jaded of vapid blockbuster entertainment seemingly designed just to connect other blockbusters together into a money-making blockchain, effectively, then Indiana Jones is here to rescue you. The film reminds us of how much fun a finely-tuned summer movie should be, and it also comes along at just the right time to say “it’s always okay to punch a Nazi”. Fare thee well, Doctor Jones. You may not have always (ever?) kept the spoils of your adventures, but you were festooned in fortune and glory.

8/10

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The Cursed AKA Eight For Silver (2021)

The main thing that you may have heard about The Cursed already is that most people preferred the other title for it, Eight For Silver. I actually don’t mind either title, both are equally vague until you see what the film is about. And the film has bigger problems than the title and marketing.

I don’t want to spoil anything about this, you can find details elsewhere if you want to know more, but The Cursed is an attempt to do something a bit more interesting and fresh with a horror archetype. You have a central family in peril, you have a newcomer to town who is armed with guns and vital knowledge, and you have characters on a journey of discovery and growth on the way to a standard final confrontation between forces of good and evil (sort of).

Written and directed by Sean Ellis, who has a small and eclectic filmography I would recommend checking out (I will keep recommending The Broken as something well worth your time), The Cursed is a handsome film that gains some goodwill for the approach it takes to the material. Everything is played straight, there are no sly winks to viewers or attempts to slip some modernity into the period setting, and it generally keeps viewers one step ahead of the main characters. Trying to make this a mystery just wouldn’t have worked, although the film is bookended by a cinematic puzzle and solution (which is, sadly, a big mid-step, considering how it feels anti-climactic).

The cast are all perfectly fine, I suppose, but they are saddled with having to play characters who aren’t really developed enough to make them memorable. I know to mention Boyd Holbrook here (the newcomer to town) because I know Boyd Holbrook, the same goes for both Kelly Reilly and Alistair Petrie. Everyone else, whether adult or child (and it is children who are the main targets of the unfolding horror), feels almost completely interchangeable. They are all potential victims, although some are related to the central adults and some are not.

While Ellis does well with the presentation of his ideas, and while he deserves praise for doing something that nicely blends traditional elements with one or two unique details, The Cursed ends up ultimately failing to be as good as it could be. It just needs a little bit more in the mix, whether that is a little bit more bloodshed, a little bit more work on the character development, or a little bit more complexity to the plot, giving viewers more to care and think about during the quieter moments.

I am sure that some people will like this much more than I did, and I remain happy that Ellis is still helming movies that aren’t as easily pigeon-holed as many, but this won’t be something I rush to revisit. I don’t regret watching it. I just wish the script had been given at least one more pass, and maybe the casting could have been a bit better.

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: In The Shadow Of The Moon (2019)

Taking place mainly in 1988, 1997, 2006, and 2015, In The Shadow Of The Moon is a sci-fi thriller that will hold no surprises to anyone who can pick up on the obvious seeded clues. It will also hold no surprises to anyone who has seen the trailer. Or, because I am going to go into some more detail, anyone who reads this review. So, if you haven't seen it, proceed with caution. The film is not good, but you're more than welcome to watch it before reading the rest of this review.

Boyd Holbrook is a cop named Locke, working with his partner, Maddox (Bokeem Woodbine), when they end up investigating a number of mysterious deaths. The person responsible, Rya (Cleopatra Coleman), is chased down and ends up losing an argument with a speeding subway train. Meanwhile, Locke's wife is giving birth to their first child, but that isn't going to end too well either. Nine years pass, the killer reappears, and Locke starts to become obsessed with figuring out just what the hell is going on.

Directed by the usually-dependable Jim Mickle, In The Shadow Of The Moon proves that he shouldn't spend too much time away from his old co-creator, Nick Damici. Because the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this is a terrible film, easily the worst thing that Mickle has done so far. It's not necessarily the direction that is the biggest problem, but the fact that he couldn't get better performances from his cast, or figure out small ways to improve the script, undermine his ability to help something with a concept that requires a bit more attention to detail.

Gregory Weidman and Geoffrey Tock are the men responsible for the script. Their background seems to be in TV, and it looks as if this is their first feature, which explains a number of the failings. The characters are a bunch of tropes mashed together (seriously, they just have Wookbine saying "shhheeeeeit" more than the jokingly stereotypical black character in Not Another Teen Movie), they don't feel connected to any wider world out there, and the main premise has at least one plot hole you could drive a huge truck through. Time travel is always perilous territory, which means people usually have to decide whether to approach it seriously or just hope viewers go along with everything as they deliver fun. Weidman and Tock choose a worse path, trying to be serious while hoping that nobody notices the massive error in their plotting that undoes the entire film before your eyes while you should be enjoying the final scenes.

The extra disappointment of Woodbine's character being so poorly written is that he still gives the best performance out of the lead roles. It's hard to tell, beneath the weight of the weak script, but he does. Holbrook just isn't strong enough to carry the film, so it's hard to care about how things turn out as the movie begins to focus more and more on his character, Coleman is used best when just fleeing from cops, as opposed to the moments in which she has to explain things that don't make sense, Michael C. Hall is solid, but sadly underused, and Rudi Dharmalingam is hampered by playing a character who is shoehorned in because . . . nope, I've got nothing. I know what he ends up contributing to the plot, I just have no idea why they decided to plan it that way.

The first half is a decent little genre film, and it's a great shame that there wasn't a way to somehow keep all of the action based in 1988 while the leads figured things out (btw I am SURE that could have been done, but that's why I just maintain this blog while others write the movie scripts), but it's sad and frustrating to watch everything unravel in the second half, leading to a manipulative finale that is unearned, and ultimately dishonest (no matter what the sleight of hand tries to make you think).

4/10

The Predator (2018)

With Shane Black directing, and working from a script he co-wrote with Fred Dekker, it's fair to say that expectations for The Predator were high, higher than the expectations that fans had for any other instalment in the series. And then came the reshoots and the controversy, and those expectations started to dip. And now some people are claiming that this film has turned out to be their biggest cinematic disappointment of this year. I'm not sure what they were expecting but I got a Predator movie, so am happy enough.

Boyd Holbrook is a soldier, and he's also the person who first comes into contact with our hunting alien beastie. He even manages to get the better of it. This leads to him being interrogated and then loaded on a bus with other problem military personnel (including Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, and Thomas Jane). Meanwhile, the predator is being examined by a team, overseen by Sterling K. Brown. Olivia Munn plays a scientist type called in to help, Jacob Tremblay is a child who unlocks some predator-tech that he gets his hands on, and there are a number of fun set-pieces throughout that feature people being targeted by those familiar three red dots.

Okay, it feels a little tamer than some other Predator movies, in terms of bloodshed and savagery of the violence on display. And there are some ideas mixed in that I can understand people being put off by, although I didn't mind them (they're fun and never really slow down the momentum of the plotting). There's also a bit more comedy running throughout the movie than some might have expected (although when did Shane Black last write or direct a movie that didn't have a strong vein of humour?). But, despite those differences, this is still a Predator movie.

The cast all do a decent job, although some aren't well served by the script. Having Tremblay play a boy with Asperger Syndrome feeds well into the plot, although it also feels lazy to have his character be one of those all-too-common magical and supertalented Autistic individuals that crop up occasionally as convenient plot points in Hollywood movies. The bigger mis-step is having Thomas Jane play a soldier who suffers from Tourette's syndrome (and Jane suffers because of that). Holbrook is a solid lead, Munn holds her own alongside the guys, Brown is a lot of fun as the man heading up the team already well-informed about the alien species they finally have available to inspect more closely, and Rhodes, Key, Alfie Allen, and Augusto Aguilera fill out the rest of the core group.

Where the film suffers is in the actual direction, and the editing. While the script may not be as sharp as I would like, it's passable in terms of fun dialogue and exposition. But the weak execution of the material shows a surprising lack of focus, and maybe even a lack of heart, from Black. Individual scenes are fun but rarely come together to form something that flows organically from beginning to end. What's worse, none of the death scenes have any impact, even if some of the characters are more likable than others. There's never a feeling that there are real stakes at play here. The whole thing is a romp, but it at least has a consistency of tone throughout (whether or not you like that tone is a different matter altogether - I did).

If this was one of 100 other movies with the same failings then I could have easily disliked it more, and I am very surprised at some of the mistakes made by Black here, but it's a Predator movie, and it still does enough to keep fans of our favourite dreadlocked hunter alien happy. Hell, I was grinning when I heard someone tell others to "get to the chopper", so maybe that tells you all you need to know about how easy it is to please me sometimes.

7/10

It can eventually be hunted down here.

Noir November: A Walk Among The Tombstones (2014)

Liam Neeson is a hard man in this movie. That's no surprise, of course, considering that he's been a hard man in, oh, about 95% of his cinematic output over the past decade. So I'll go into a bit more detail. Liam Neeson is a hard man by the name of Matt Scudder, an ex-cop who spends a lot of time at AA meetings. He doesn't seem too internet-savvy, he still uses payphones, and he's clearly an old-fashioned kinda guy, in many ways. But when he's asked to help out with quite a serious problem it soon becomes obvious that he can get results. Enlisting the help of young TJ (Brian "Astro" Bradley), Scudder finds himself embroiled in the kind of hard-boiled adventure that Sam Spade would relish. There are missing dames, a selection of bad guys who are good and bad guys who are really bad, and body parts turning up where they really shouldn't.

Based on a novel by Lawrence Block, A Walk Among The Tombstones has been brought to the screen by writer-director Scott Frank, and a fine job he's made of it. There's some great dialogue peppered throughout the script, the twists and turns are satisfying enough, and things start to get increasingly grim in the second half, in terms of the situation that Scudder is trying to resolve and also his own backstory being revealed.

Neeson can do this role in his sleep, but he never does. Scudder is not exactly like other characters that he's recently played, despite the self-assured nature and ability to handle himself. He has something eating away at him, and that has led to his major motivation (also revealed in the second half of the film). Bradley is very good as the smart-mouthed TJ, a young lad who wants to get into the world of detective work. Dan Stevens and Boyd Holbrook both do well, playing the two men who get Neeson's character involved in the murderous plot, with the former a drug dealer and the latter a struggling addict. David Harbour and Adam David Thompson also do well in pivotal roles.

You could make the point that, despite the many differences, this FEELS like every other Neeson movie from the past few years (there's often even a bit of Good Cop/Bad Cop in his roles), yet it's hard to knock the guy for sticking with roles that have really been paying off for him. There are even a few nice surprises here, mainly thanks to the moral ambiguity of the main characters and one or two good, standard shocks. Others, however, may not see it that way, understandably.

I say give this a go, especially if you're a fan of Neeson's screen persona of badassness. You may not love it, but you just might end up liking it a lot more than you expected to. As happened to me.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Tombstones-Blu-ray-DIGITAL-UltraViolet/dp/B00NQE6X3A/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1413790600&sr=1-1&keywords=a+walk+among+the+tombstones