JackCowart34

One-sentence summary: A squad of soldiers becomes trapped after being ambushed by Iraqi insurgents.

Watching Warfare was an experience I won't soon forget. It offers a brutal, absolutely unglamorized depiction of armed conflict, with no agenda other than to memorialize the group of soldiers who endured this tragic event. The directing duo of Garland and Mendoza artfully captures the carnage depicted by the dedicated cast led by Will Poulter. The production design, while simple, is expertly crafted and noticeably contributed to the authenticity of the film. Over the past decade, A24 has transformed itself into one of the premier studios, and consistently releases high quality original stories helmed by skilled filmmakers. Although the subject matter and intense violence may make Warfare a difficult watch at times, I can confidently say that it is a required viewing for nearly everyone.

One-sentence summary: An affluent woman hires a private investigator to look into the mysterious death of her husband's twin brother.

Killer Heat is a textbook film noir, but rather than taking place in a dreary, rainy city that we typically associate with the genre, this story is set on the beautiful, sunny Greek island of Crete. The location provided the film with an air of freshness and helped establish the easygoing tone, which I would consider one of the movie's more enjoyable attributes. The two leads turned in quality work, but the writing too often fell back on tired tropes and generic misleads. I was likewise unenthused about the supporting cast, as they added nothing of merit to their respective characters. While there are some positives to latch onto here, I think it's fair to say that this Prime original does little to differentiate itself from the sea of other straight-to-streaming films out there currently.

One-sentence summary: A family takes a vacation to a Swedish island to attend an annual play put on by the locals.

With the horror genre being more prolific today than ever before, I'm here to report that there are better viewing options out there than Get Away. Although the movie made me laugh occasionally, mostly out of sheer absurdity, the lack of clarity and cohesion within the story made the film a frustrating watch. Maisie Ayres helped ease the frustration with her fun performance, and the film had ambition to spare; however, ambition without execution is a fruitless endeavor. A majority of my issues centered around the third-act twist, which was more concerned with tricking me than maintaining any semblance of narrative continuity. I went into this movie completely blind (didn't see any trailers, reviews, etc.), so I can't say that it failed to live up to expectations, because I had none. But I did leave the theater feeling generally unsatisfied.