Army of One (2020)

 

After a drug bust goes wrong, resulting in the death of a fellow officer, detective Dillon Baker is struggling with both the guilt, and with the lingering pain of the injury he himself sustained.  As part of his efforts to recover and recuperate, he heads out on a camping trip with his wife, Brenner.

The locals don't seem the friendliest, which maybe makes it a bit unwise for Dillon and Brenner to take shelter in an empty home during a storm.  And even more unwise for them to go poking around as much as they do.  The couple stumble across a secret cache of weapons.  The locals react to this intrusion with lethal force.

And here the movie pulls its 'surprise', though frankly all the marketing already did that.  You see, Brenner Baker isn't just a cop's wife.  She is also a former special forces soldier.  While the crime/militia/religious cult/whatever it is the locals are succeeded in killing Dillon, they only wounded her.  She clambers out of the ditch where they dumped her and begins a one woman quest for vengeance.

Army of One is a pretty standard 'revenge rampage' movie.  These sort of things rest heavily on the person playing the revenge-seeker, and in that regard it does alright.  Ellen Hollman (of Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned) is a convincing presence as Brenner.

Unfortunately, not all the news is so good.  The supporting cast is somewhat uneven, and the script is not terribly good.  It relies quite heavily on the 'everyone in town is in the pocket of the local gang' trope, and the ending misfires.  I can see that they were trying to do something a bit different than the classic 'final hand to hand showdown with the big bad', and I can see why that wouldn't have worked with the specific setup they have created.  But I don't think that what they chose to do instead actually works.

Content warning: the film contains gender-based physical and verbal abuse, unwanted groping, and a lot of references to sexual assault.

Blindspot, Season 1 (2015)

When a large bag is found abandoned in Times Square, authorities clear the area and send in the bomb disposal experts.  What they find inside is not an explosive device, however: it's a naked woman, suffering amnesia and covered from head to foot in hundreds of complex tattoos.

One of the tattoos specifically name FBI Agent Kurt Weller, and he is called in to lead the team who will investigate the case of this "Jane Doe".  That's an investigation which rapidly expands in scope when they realise that "Jane's" tattoos are hints and clues to existing cases and unknown crimes.  Especially crimes of corruption and malpractice.

Of course, as Weller, Jane and company start to uncover all kinds of secrets under all kinds of rocks, the people who put those secrets under those rocks are going to start taking notice ... and taking action.

And then there's the fact that when you begin a show with a high concept hook like 'amnesiac with mystery-solving tattoos', there are certain things that you really have to nail, if you want to keep your audience happy: Who is Jane?  Who put all these tattoos on her?  And why did they do it?

Nailing these questions isn't just about having good answers, it's also about revealing those answers in a satisfying way and at a satisfying pace.  Oh, and you have to do that while also delivering an engaging mystery of the week.

So how does Blindspot do?  Well, it's a mixed bag, to be honest.  On the plus side, I think it paces the progress of its core mystery pretty well, and it has a several engaging secondary characters.  On the negative?  It reveals its secrets at a well-planned rate, they're frankly rather silly answers.  Also, far too much of the show relies on the main characters - who are supposed to be trained FBI agents - doing dumb things.  These factors, plus what felt to me like a very forced and unconvincing romance arc between Weller and Jane, mean that I am unlikely to check out any further Blindspots.

Happiest Season (2020)

 

Abby Holland has good reasons to not like Christmas. But when her partner Harper invites her to spend the holidays with Harper's family, she sucks it up and agrees to go. After all, this the perfect opportunity to not only to introduce herself to Harper's parents, but also to propose to Harper on Christmas morning.

There's one major flaw in Abby's plan, though she doesn't learn that until they're halfway to the Caldwell home.  Harper, you see, hasn't actually told her family that she's gay.  Harper asks Abby to pretend to be her straight roommate for the holiday, a request to which Abby very reluctantly agrees.

It rapidly emerges that the Caldwell family aren't exactly fully functional on the best of days, and with the pressures of not just the holiday season hut also Papa Caldwell's political campaign in full effect, this are definitely not the best of days.  Add Harper and Abby's little secret to the mix and shenanigans, as you might imagine, ensue.

Happiest Season is a fun little holiday rom-com.  It's not really breaking any especially new ground with its themes or its story, but it executes well.  A familiar story, well told, can still be very enjoyable and this is one of those cases.  The solid cast definitely help in that regard; the oft-maligned Kristen Stewart, in particular, is very good as the beleaguered and uncomfortable Abby.

A heart-warming little Xmas Pudding.

Killjoys, Season 3 (2017)

 

Dutch, D'Avin and Johnny have discovered an alien conspiracy to infiltrate and assimilate the human civilisation of "The Quad".  The Hullen, as these aliens call themselves, essentially possess human hosts and control them.  This physically transforms the host, making them able to recover from almost any injury.

How do you fight an enemy that could be anyone and is almost unkillable?  With difficulty!  But Dutch and her team are determined to try.

Complicating the situation even further is that Aneela, a senior Hullen commander, is the spitting image of Dutch.  How can this be possible and what does it mean not just for Dutch personally, but for the fate of the whole Quad?

I wasn't a huge fan of season 2 of Killjoys, as it seemed to be trying to do far too much, too fast, but for my money this third season gets back on track quite nicely.  The Hullen are decently creepy antagonists and are smart enough at using their advantages that they feel dangerous, but they also have a few flaws that may be weaknesses for the good guys to exploit.  It's all quite well judged.

This season also introduces a new main cast member who is quite a good foil for the existing trio, and creates some new dynamics.  This is a good idea for freshening things up.

Not everything is sunshine and roses, of course.  There is still a tendency to rush things when it comes to the main plot.  Or at least, to advance the main plot in a manner that makes it seem rushed.  There's actually enough time in the season to do everything, but the pacing is uneven: in some episodes the main plot doesn't move much, and then in others it makes large jumps and introduces significant new setting elements.  A little more prior planning and foreshadowing would definitely be of help.

Still, overall this season is a fun bit of SF action.

Kate (2021)

 

Kate is an assassin; an expert sniper who eliminates targets specified for her by her handler and surrogate father figure, Varrick. You see Kate was orphaned as a child, and Varrick raised her. It was a bit of an unusual childhood though, involving extensive training in weapons and combat. Hence her career.

Kate's about done with the business, though.  Her most recent job involved assassinating man right in front of his teenage daughter.  To please Varrick, she agrees to do one final mission; then she intends to retire.

It seems though that someone has plans to retire Kate in a rather more permanent way than she intended.  Kate learns she has been poisoned when a wave of dizziness causes her to miss the target of her final job.  The poison is lethal, and she has only 24 hours to live.  Just enough time to find the person responsible - most likely her target, she figures - and settle accounts.

Like Anna and Ava, Kate is a movie about a lethally skilled woman navigating a web of intrigue and violence while trying to work out who her friends and enemies really are.  I'm a bit tired of so many of these films seeming to think that a mononym is enough of a title when you have a female lead.  It doesn't have with guys anywhere near as often.  John Wick at least got a surname, you know?  I know there are exceptions like Peppermint, Atomic Blonde and Gunpowder Milkshake - but the pattern is still there and I'd like to see it stop.

Lazy titling aside, Kate is probably the best of the crop of 'lethal lady' movies that I've recently seen.  The action sequences are well-constructed, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is very good in the title role, and the script is solid.  Not especially innovative or surprising, but solid.

Check this out if you'd like a more grounded female-led action movie than some of the others names above.

Clickbait (2021)

 

After fighting with her brother Nick at a family dinner, Pia Brewer storms off for a night on the town, during the course of which she accidentally drops her phone in the toilet, rendering it non-functional until she is able to dry it. She still hasn't done this yet when, during the next day, a patient at her workplace shows her a video of Nick visibly beaten and holding up a card that says "I abuse women." He then holds up a different card that says "At 5 million views I die."

Neither Pia, nor Nick's wife Sophie, believe the allegations from the video.  They contact the police and a race begins to try and find where Nick is before the video's view counter - which grows with improbable speed - reaches its grim target.  In the course of the investigation, however, all kinds of secrets are going to come out.  Could one of them include that Nick was not the man they believed him to be?

Clickbait is a well-made and well-acted mystery-drama.  Each of the eight episodes is told from the perspective of a different character with a different viewpoint of (and interest in) the case.  This allows new information to be revealed in a variety of ways, or old information to be presented from a new angle.  It's a clever device that helps sustain the mystery and - with one notable exception - to do so in a way that feels natural.

That one notable exception is why I can't whole-heartedly recommend the show, despite its many positive aspects.  It's a particularly egregious and manipulative bit of writing aimed at deceiving the audience about the truth, and it irks me when works of fiction deliberately lie to the audience.  It's not a clever mystery if it only stays mysterious because you didn't give the reader/viewer the correct facts to solve it.  Clickbait had the misfortune that I saw it shortly after I read The Wife and the Widow, which is a mystery that gives the reader everything they need to piece the story together, but ingeniously makes it easy for said reader to miss the hints.  In comparing the two, it's hard not to see Clickbait's narrative manipulation as a cheap trick.

Still, other than that one sour note, this is a very well orchestrated mystery show.  If that's your sort of thing, check it out.

Bonnie & Clyde (2013)

 

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were an American criminal couple who travelled the central United States with their gang during the Great Depression.  They were known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural funeral homes. Their exploits, during which they are believed to have killed at least nine police officers and four civilians, garnered considerable attention from the press between 1931 and 1934.  They were ultimately gunned down by a police ambush.

The most famous cinematic adaptation of Bonnie & Clyde's story is the 1967 film with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  This 2013 miniseries is not likely to threaten its status.  It has a capable cast and it is relatively engaging, but it plays very fast and loose with the historical facts, up to and including hints that Clyde had precognitive visions of his own death.  I could forgive that if I felt the fabrications and hints of psychic powers actually enhanced the story, but - with one exception - I'm not sure they do.  

In my opinion, the script also struggles with pacing.  While there's enough content in Clyde and Bonnie's story to fill the roughly 3 hour run-time, the opening hour or so here is a bit lethargic in its progress.  The opening scene has good impact, but then things shift into low gear and stay there for a while.  I get the need to take a breath after the "bam!" start, but I think that it takes rather too long to get moving again.

On the plus side, the production values are good, and as mentioned the cast are all solid.  If you have an interest in the Bonnie and Clyde story, and go in aware of how fast and loose this plays with the facts, you may well enjoy it.

Spartacus: War of the Damned, Season 3 (2013)

 

The man known as Spartacus has led his army of freed slaves to several victories over the Roman forces sent to destroy them, but success brings its own risks. The Roman Republic (there's no emperor, yet) is a stubborn and implacable foe with vast resources, and with the colder months drawing in, Spartacus's growing force cannot continue to live off the land.

The former gladiator thus turns his attention to seizing a city: somewhere with the resources to sustain his people over the winter, and the stout walls to protect them from Roman armies.  Perhaps a port city, so they can buy resources from overseas ... or even escape Italy entirely.

Of course, there are plenty of challenges to his plans.  Not all of Spartacus's allies agree with his plans and methods, and disunity in the face of the Republic may well get them all killed.  And the Romans, of course, are not going to sit idle.  In the form of Marcus Crassus, they have finally appointed a capable general to the task of destroying the slave rebellion.  And Crassus, in turn, as secured the aid of ambitious young officer named Julius Caesar ...

War of the Damned is a fine ending to the blood-and-nudity-fest that has been this version of the Spartacus story.  The violence and sex remain very much a major component of the show, mind you: I feel like we have seen half of New Zealand naked by this point.  But if you can cope with that, and with all the swearing, there's a solid story being told under all the sleazy excess.  Hissable villains, flawed 'heroes', triumph and tragedy: they're all here.

Suicide Squad (2016)

 

In a world plagued by super-powered villains, it seems reckless to rely just rely on there always being a superhero on hand to stop them.  Maybe the heroes will be busy, or just not feel like it, or maybe they'll become villains.  Or maybe they'll get killed, like Superman just did.  (Spoiler: he gets better in a later movie)

That's the kind of scenario that keeps people awake at night, but Amanda Waller has a plan to help us all sleep safely: take some of those very same super-villains and use them to stop their fellow bad guys.  Her chosen agents will get time off their sentences in return, and they're completely expendable to her, since they are bad guys, after all.  Of course, these are not the most trustworthy folk, so as an insurance policy, she's also going to stick explosive devices in their skulls.  If they lose their heads and get out of line, they'll ... well, lose their heads.  Cant fail, right?

Well of course it can.  In a world with super-powers there are any number of ways this little plan can go sideways.  So it is perhaps not entirely a surprise that the very first mission Waller's "Suicide Squad" is going to have to take on is stopping the last supervillain she tried to blackmail into doing her bidding.

Which would be fine, if Waller seems to have learned anything at all from that experience - there's no evidence she has - or if the resulting mission was in any way interesting or exciting or engaging.  Alas, Suicide Squad is a movie without any tension about its outcome.  It's painfully obvious from the start which characters are there to make the team's name actually true, and which are going to survive and maybe even realise that 'doing good' is not a wholly unrewarding experience.

Now, that kind of obviousness to the ending could possibly be forgiven if the ride to get there is fun, and we often go into movies with just that expectation: no-one really believes Batman will buy it in a Batman movie, after all.  Alas, this film fails to make the journey particularly interesting.  The vast majority of it is spent fighting faceless minion monsters that the team pretty much just shoots a lot, and at the end of the day, the script can't even be bothered to establish what the villain is trying to do.  She's just a magic bad guy doing bad guy magic for magical bad guy magical reasons.

Frankly, given the somnambulistic scripting, this is more Sleepwalking Squad than Suicide Squad.  Very mediocre.