Bushwick (2017)

 

Lucy and her boyfriend Jose are exiting a subway in Bushwick, Brooklyn, when they see a man on fire running down into the station. Jose runs out onto the street to see what is going on, but is immediately killed by an explosion. 

Lucy seeks help but is chased by two aggressive men. They corner her in a basement apartment, but before they can follow through on their threats they are killed by Stupe, the former military medic who lives there.

Lucy and Stupe set out across Bushwick, trying to find a place of safety, but fighting continues to wrack the nieghbourhood.  Teams of men in black uniforms prowl the streets, killing or capturing anyone they meet, while residents are slowly starting to fight back with whatever weapons they have at hand.

Who are these attackers and what do they want?  Lucy and Stupe may not live to find out.

Bushwick is a grimy, low key, low budget action thriller with a surprisingly high-powered cast.  Brittany Snow and Dave Bautista play Lucy and Stupe respectively.  Both deliver good performances as unlikely allies in a thoroughly unexpected and out of control situation.  I liked that their characters they were depicted as much more frail than typical action movie protagonists: their injuries hurt and hinder them much more obviously than is usual in cinema. 

I also appreciated that the casting team seem to have made a conscious effort to depict the diverse ethnic make-up of the real Brooklyn.

The film's low budget does sometimes hinder it.  Some of the action scenes in particular are a little unconvincing at times, and not all the performances are up to the same standards as the leads. 

The plot is perhaps the biggest issue with the film, though.  When it finally gave the story behind the fighting, it did not feel convincing, given the real world political developments that have happened since its release.  I certainly suspect it was written with the expectation of a different result to the 2016 Presidential election in the US.

I also think the film ultimately misfires a bit with its conclusion.  Points for trying something genuinely unexpected, I guess, but it didn't work for me.

Everly (2014)

 

Content Warning: this film contains graphic torture and frequent references to sexual abuse.

Everly is a reluctant prostitute, trapped into sexual slavery and forced into working for the brutal, abusive criminal overlord, Taiko.  When Taiko learns that Everly has been talking to a police detective in an effort to bring down the operation and live a normal life with her daughter, he murders the cop and then dispatches his men to torture, rape and murder Everly.

Taiko has underestimated his target.  Although badly beaten, Everly manages to retrieve a gun she had hidden in her bathroom, and kills this initial group of attackers.

Taiko is far from finished with Everly, though.  He offers all the other prostitutes in the building a big reward for killing her, and also sends multiple additional waves of assassins to back them up.

This is clearly a film which had limited resources and has tried to use them as efficiently as possible.  Except for a handful of scenes, it takes place pretty much entirely within Everly's studio apartment, and the costume design has ensured that most of the enemies have their faces obscured, rendering it much easier to re-use the same smallish group of stunt people over and over.  

I think these methods do ultimately get stretched a bit too thin, but it's a brave effort to so physically constrain the story to maximise the budget available for other purposes.

So it's financially savvy, but is it any good?  Well ultimately, I think it falls a bit short of where it could have been, mostly because it overplays the gross-out factor about halfway through, and never really recovers from there.

About half an hour into Everly, I was having a good time.  After a rather rather rough opening scene, it had settled into a pleasingly over the top bit of action movie nonsense.  Salma Hayek's performance was anchoring the film well, and her dry, darkly comic interactions with 'Dead Man', an incapacitated but not quite deceased member of the first group of attackers gave the film a bit of humour.

And then the character called 'The Sadist' turns up, and the film takes an extended detour into Yikes-ville.  This is a deeply unpleasant bit of the film, without any of the (admittedly black) humour that comes before.  It brings the film's until then high octane momentum to a crashing and really quite gruesome halt.

I think a big part of the reason that the film struggles from this point, other than lingering nausea from that scene, is the remaining antagonists.    It's just more guys like before, plus Taiko himself. 

As a big bad, Taiko is too small a presence in the film, both in terms of how much we see him and in terms of being notably different from the enemies Everly has faced before.  He's just one more guy in a suit for her to kill, and while he's certainly a nasty piece of work, almost anyone would pale next to the awfulness of 'The Sadist'.

Sicario (2015)

 

In Chandler, Arizona, FBI Special Agent Kate Macer leads a raid on a Sonora Cartel safe house where her team discovers dozens of decaying corpses hidden in the walls.  

Following the raid, Kate is recommended for and joins a Joint Task Force overseen by CIA operative Matt Graver and the secretive Alejandro Gillick. Their mission is to flush out and apprehend Sonora lieutenant Manuel Díaz, currently operating hidden in the US.

After a violent gun battle during an extradition mission, Kate learns that task force's real objective is to disrupt Díaz's drug operations so he will lead them to his boss, drug lord Fausto Alarcón.  Not only this, but it soon becomes clear that any and all tactics and methods will be used to achieve this goal, including illegal ones.  Kate grows more and more uncomfortable with the situation, but what is there that she can do about it?

Sicario is well acted by a talented cast, beautifully shot, and has very well choreographed action scenes.

And it loathed it.  It joins High Plains Drifter on my list of films I actively resent having watched.  It's a thoroughly repellent movie that takes as its thesis "the only way to defeat evil is to ally yourself with greater evil".  

I'm sure that some might argue for some other interpretation, perhaps that it's trying to depict the way such methods harm the people who use them.  But that's simply not supported by the film's actual content.  Instead, every effort to follow the regulations is shown to be counter-productive, while Alejandro Gillick is a murderous, torture-using thug who is repeatedly shown to the most effective member of the team.  The script actively endorses the horrors he inflicts on his victims.

And let's be clear, those victims include Kate Macer.  She is repeatedly physically assaulted, endangered and gaslit by Gillick and Graver, the latter of whom eventually makes it clear that she was brought on board solely as their patsy.  This behaviour culminates in a direct threat to murder Kate and stage it as a suicide if she does not help them cover up their illegal activities.  Over the course of the movie they tear apart Kate's life, her career and her mental health; and then they ditch her and the movie ends.

I don't care how technically well made this film is; it's misanthropic, nihilistic, torture-endorsing garbage.

The Circle (2017)

 

Through her friend Annie, call centre intern Mae Holland secures a customer support position at The Circle, a tech and social media company. Mae is wildly excited about the opportunity to work at one of the most cutting edge, innovative and successful companies in the world.  Her good friend Mercer, being something of a technophobe, is less thrilled, but understands that the new role will allow Mae to financially assist her parents, who are struggling with mounting medical bills.

Mae rises quickly in The Circle, embracing the firm's concept of 'always on' social networking, with virtually every moment of her life available to strangers to watch in real time.  The Circle is a big advocate for this 'radical transparency' for everyone, including public figures, arguing that this will ensure open and honest communication and restore trust both in interpersonal relationships and in government.

You may already have concerns about how such a policy would actually work in practice, and about the motives of anyone who push drive for it, and you would be right on both fronts.  Mae quickly begins to learn the disadvantages of 'radical transparency', and also begins to wonder if The Circle is as altruistic as it appears.  The question is, will she act on her growing suspicions, or use them to leverage her own climb to the top?

This cinematic adaptation of the Dave Eggers novel of the same name is ... an okay film. It's competently acted by a solid cast, decently shot, and doesn't drag.  It just doesn't really excite. A key flaw is that the Mae's friendship with the mysterious Ty, who becomes her ally, is rather under developed. 'This is under developed' is a problem throughout the film, in fact, possibly due to compressing a 500 page novel to a 2 hour film.  For instance, Annie's character arc lurches through a couple of rapid, dramatic steps and then just kind of gets chopped off with a quick phone conversation between her and Mae.

The film also lacks subtlety.  The fact that The Circle's corporate culture is functionally that of a cult is obvious right from the start. It's very heavy-handed; there's no sense of insidiousness to it, it's just right in your face from the very first moment Mae joins the organisation.  Plus there's the fact that the whole 'agreeing to have your life be 24/7 online' premise seems a bit ridiculous, to me. We're told Mae gets privacy to go to the bathroom, but only for 3 minutes; after that the cameras automatically turn on.  I don't know about you, but I don't always get all my business done in 180 seconds.  Also, who wants every fart or burp they ever make to be shared with millions of people?

I think the smartest choice the film does is casting Tom Hanks as the CEO of The Circle.  Hanks's basic likeability and career of playing wholesome roles makes him a good choice for selling that people might be taken in by his altruistic act.  I also like that it takes a less nihilistic approach than the original novel apparently did; I'm not wholly convinced by the film's ending, but at least it's not both improbable and thoroughly miserable, like the book's seems to have been.

This is probably only worth seeing if you are a passionate fan of one or more of the (admittedly talented) cast.

The Family (2013)

 

Giovanni Manzoni used to be a senior figure in the US Mafia.  After falling out with Don Lucchese and becoming a target for assassination, however, Manzoni turned state's evidence in exchange for FBI witness protection for himself, his wife, and his two children.

Although Lucchese was sent to prison on the basis of Manzoni's testimony, he still has plenty of operatives and allies at large.  The Manzoni family has been forced to move several times to stay ahead of assassins, and their latest move sees them settling into a small town in Normandy, in the north of France.

Normandy is a lovely place, but the Manzonis - or the Blakes, as they are currently calling themselves - aren't exactly thrilled to be there.  They're also not the kind of people to blend in quietly, which goes some way to explaining why they have had to relocate several times already.  It's not too long before a local grocery store has exploded and the Manzoni kids are cementing themselves at the top of the delinquent food chain at the local high school.

It seems only a matter of time before they do something that alerts Don Lucchese to their location, once more.

The Family is a pretty entertaining black comedy directed and co-written by Luc Besson.  It is certainly helped a lot by its stellar cast: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones are all big stars for a reason, and deliver their usual solid work, while Dianna Agron and John D'Leo are good value as the younger Manzonis.

The fine performances and relatively breezy script make for an easy watch, provided you can accept the basic amorality of the primary characters.  There's definitely a vibe of 'violence is the best way to solve problems' though, which is something of a problematic factor, and - however much the Manzonis might genuinely care for each other - don't go into this expecting to see any kind of redemption arc.  They might be in witness protection now, but they all remain mobsters at heart.

On which subject, I did appreciate that the film is very explicit that the only reason the FBI cares if Gio Manzoni lives or dies is that his survival encourages other mobsters to turn state's evidence when their own backs are against the wall.

Really, my only significant complaint about the film is that I am not a fan of the arc for the Manzoni daughter.  While it can be argued that it accurately depicts the power imbalance between her and her older lover, it does so by taking away her agency and ignoring the fact that in every other part of the film she's just as tough as anyone else.  I'd have preferred to see some kind of comeuppance for the lover.

Overall though, a decent way to spend a couple of hours.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 1 (2022)

 

Thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, Middle-Earth was in a time of relative peace.  The fallen god Morgoth has been cast down by the might of Elves and Men.  His Orcs are scattered, and his great lieutenant, the dark lord Sauron, is missing, believed dead.

Believed dead by most, that is.  The young Elven commander Galadriel is one of the few who believes that the dark lord is still lurking, rebuilding his strength for a new conflict.  Galadriel's insistence on this point, in fact, drives a wedge between her and the other elves at exactly the time they need to be unified: the light that sustains their people is dwindling, and the days of the elves in Middle-Earth may be dwindling.

Meanwhile, in the bucolic lands of the Harfoot people, the lives of these small, secretive nomads is disrupted by the arrival of a stranger, a man who looks human but who fell from the sky like a star ...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power attracted considerable controversy when its first trailers appeared, as bigots frothed and ranted about the casting of non-white actors.  The usual pack of hateful clowns tried to review bomb the series as a result, and also harassed the actors online.  Neither the actors not the show deserved this, of course, but decency is not a factor in the behaviour of racists.

I do think The Rings of Power does have some issues, but none of these are the casting.  The actors are consistently good in their roles, because of course talent has no relation to skin melanin.

Instead, the show's biggest issue is its pacing.  The plot development in the earlier episodes is rather too deliberate and slow, while the intermittent ambitious action sequences feel like a not-very-successful attempt to inject more verve into the pacing.

Around episode four, however, the show's disparate threads begin to coalesce and the story picks up impetus.  It's helped greatly in this regard by Morfydd Clark's great performance as Galadriel, as she slowly begins her metamorphosis from brash, arrogant warrior to wise, far-seeing leader.  The deeper I got into this first season, the more and more engaged by The Rings of Power I became.  Which is honestly the reverse of my experience of Peter Jackson's films.

One thing the show gets right from the very first moment, however, is its production values.  It looks and sounds amazing throughout.  Having recently re-watched the Lord of the Rings movies, it's very evident how much film effects have improved over the two decades since they came out.  The Rings of Power consistently looks more convincing and more fully realised than the films.  The only exception to this is that it is a bit more lax with its use of forced perspective to make its dwarven characters look shorter than the elves with whom they interact.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is something of a slow burn, but once it gets going it works well.  Give it your time.

Memory (2022)

 

Alex Lewis is a contract killer living in Mexico.  He is suffering from early onset dementia, but a combination of medication and his own condition management techniques have so far allowed him to continue to work effectively.

Alex's latest job includes two assassinations.  The first is Ellis Van Camp, who has made a copy of information that the criminal cartels do not want revealed.  Alex completes this kill and collects the information ... but then discovers that his second target is a young girl.  He refuses the job, stating his conviction that kids are off-limits.

Of course, the cartel (a) has other assassins, and (b) very little patience for a hitman who doesn't perform his assigned hits.  Alex finds himself in a battle both with his former employers, and with the FBI, who have linked him to the killings.

Can one aging man with a debilitating disease really find some kind of positive outcome to this situation?

Memory is chapter I'm-not-sure-what of Liam Neeson's "Deadly Grandad" career arc.  And hey, more power to the guy: he's had a lot of success in the action drama.  This film, however, is not one of those successes.  This is not in any way Neeson's fault, mind you.  His performance is as solid as always, and - speaking as someone whose father suffered from the same condition - his depiction of early onset dementia felt authentic.

The film's problems are with the script.  First of all, it lacks a villain that's engaging.  Monica Bellucci would absolutely be up to the task if given the opportunity, but she is simply not on screen enough to do so, and the movie fails to prevent any other alternative. While the film is not short of bad guys to hate, it doesn't give any of them the depth or opportunity to really engage the audience, or put them in a situation where they can be overcome in a satisfying climax.

More generally, the film is drab and grim and a bit depressing. Its thesis appears to be that the wealthy have the resources to ensure that the law does not apply to them, so the only way to punish such people is with vigilante violence.  I understand the frustration of the feeling that the rich are immune to the consequences of their bad actions, but there are better approaches to addressing this than murder.

Killjoys, Season 5 (2019)

 

"The Lady" of the Hullen has managed to re-enter our world, and has used her ability to control human memories to seize control of every planet in the Quad.  Dutch, D'Avin, Jonny and almost all the rest of the Killjoys crew are now among her victims, believing themselves to be very different people and living other lives.

Fortunately, I did say almost all.  D'avin's son Jaq - the half-Hullen, half-human hybrid The Lady so desperately desires to control - is still free and on the run, as his his step-mother Delle Seyah.  And closer to home, Zeph has broken free of the Lady's conditioning and is trying to understand why her memories are so conflicted and confused.

But these are small glimmers of hope, and even if Zeph, Jaq and Delle Seyah can stay free and win more allies, The Lady doesn't keep all her (literal or metaphorical) eggs in one basket.  Thwarting just one of her plans won't be enough to save the Quad.

Overall, this final season of Killjoys continues the show's "odd-numbered seasons are the good ones" pattern.  Zeph in particular is awesome; the addition of Kelly McCormack's character as a series regular in season 3 was definitely a smart decision by the writing team.  She does a great job here as both "crazy" Zeph, struggling to cope with a world that makes no sense to her, and as something much closer to her normal self once the team remembers the truth.

Even the seemingly inevitable "the main characters go to space prison" and equally inevitable "the prison has a plot-critical fight club" sections of the season - seriously, these must be among the most over-used narrative elements out there - are executed much better than such things usually are. Credit for this I think goes to the writing team for making the prison's Warden a much more nuanced and interesting character than they usually are in such arcs.  Credit also to Rachael Ancheril for her performance in the role.  She has good chemistry with the main trio, which really helps their scenes together work well.

This is not to say that the season is flawless, though.  As a 'final boss' threat that has been built up for the entire run of the series, The Lady is honestly a  little bit underwhelming as a threat.  She makes a number of what at best could be described as 'sub-optimal' decisions.  There does seem to be an theme that being in a human host is affecting her, to explain this; her inexperience with the emotions of her human host are affecting her in ways she does not understand and struggles to control; but I still feel like she comes across a little underwhelming, overall.

I will give Alanna Bale a thumbs up for her performance in the role, though. She does a good job of conveying both The Lady's arrogance, and the emotional turmoil she is desperately (if not very effectively) trying to control.

Overall, this was a decent conclusion to the show.

Prey (2022)

 

In 1719 in the Great Plains, Naru, a young Comanche woman trained as a healer, dreams of becoming a great hunter like her brother, Taabe.  While tracking deer with her dog, Sarii, she witnesses bright lights in the sky which she interprets as the Thunderbird, a sign that she must prove herself, despite the resistance of her family and fellow tribe-members.

Of course, we know that those lights are actually a Predator spaceship, and the hunt that Naru and her brother are about to commence a far more dangerous hunt than they could ever imagine.

And that's without even factoring in the arrival of another, hitherto unknown threat: European fur traders who have no more compunctions about killing a couple of Comanche than they do about slaughtering herds of Buffalo ...

I consider the original Predator to be one of the great "must see" science fiction films, but the franchise has rather struggled since that first entry.  Other movies in or related to the franchise have attracted at best mixed reviews.

Prey finally reclaims the heights achieved by the original film.  It is an excellent new entry into the Predator franchise. It smartly sets out to capture the feel of the original while featuring enough of its own distinctive elements to set it apart, as well as action set-pieces that update the (by modern standards somewhat limited) fight choreography of the original.

The film is anchored by Amber Midthunder's excellent performance in the lead role of Naru.  She has great on-screen charisma and makes the most of all the opportunities the narrative gives her to shine.  And there are plenty of those opportunities.  The script-writers have recognised that the key to creating tension is to give us characters about whom we care, rather than simply empty spectacle.  They smartly ties the whole narrative tightly into Naru's personal journey.  Every fight thus carries immediate, identifiable and important stakes.

Prey also does a good job of handling the fact that it is the latest entry in a well known franchise.  It includes many small call-backs to the original, giving long time fans those 'I got it!' moments which evoke well-liked associations with the original, while keeping them incidental enough that first time viewers won't feel like they are missing anything, and also without devolving into an obvious pastiche of the original.

The film also looks great on every level.  It has solid special effects, varied and well-executed action choreography, and makes excellent the use of the Canadian wilderness.

Hunt this one down.