Category: Thriller

Monkey Man

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★★Monkey Man

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: Dev Patel

Story by: Dev Patel

Screenplay Written by: Dev Patel and Paul Angunawela and John Collee

Produced by: Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas, Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler, Anjay Nagpal

Starring: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, Makarand Deshpande.

‘It’s time to remember who you are.’

With red font and the stance of a menacing man holding a knife, I was expecting blood in Dev Patel’s directional debut.  And Monkey Man did not disappoint.  There is just the right amount of bloody action here that builds throughout the film.

Also starring, this is a different style to Patel’s previous roles, notably, Lion (2016) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

As Monkey Man, he still has those soulful eyes, here to echo the tragedy of his childhood, losing his parents and home during a land grab, a reclaiming of his parents and fellow farmers’ land for spiritual purposes.  But really, for dodgy deeds by a conducted by a corrupt guru backing bent police and the soon to be elected Sovereign Party.

Here, those soulful eyes reflect fire while his hands drip with blood.

The film opens with the legend of Hanuman, told by Monkey Man’s mother (Adithi Kalkunte) when he was a child.

Hanuman was very hungry.

A spell was cast.

He saw a shiny mango up in the sky.

Hanuman flew to grab the mango only to discover it was the sun.

So the Gods punished him.  Took his power.

Then the film cuts to Monkey Man fighting in an underground fight club.  The men wear masks.  Monkey Man wears a gorilla mask, like he’s Hanuman without his power.

The crowd roars, stamping their feet.

The manager (Sharlto Copley) tells him, ‘They fucking hate you.’

But Monkey Man doesn’t care.

If he bleeds, he gets the blood bonus.

And he needs money so he can buy a gun.

And he needs a gun to take revenge.

To get revenge he must get access to those who slaughtered his family to steal their land.

And to get access he needs to get a job at, Kings; a restaurant and club for the rich and powerful where drinks, women and drugs are served without question.

The film is a study in colour, the club drenched in red light, the film set in Mumbai (but filmed in Indonesia); a city that lends a vibrant backdrop to the constant shifting and refocussed camera work.

What stood out was the handheld cam moments, following a dog through the streets, the theft of a purse followed through a dozen hands like a cleverly orchestrated ballet.

Then the flow stops, the soundtrack lifts (fantastic soundtrack!) for a moment, breath held, before the abrupt return to the action where the jolting camera makes the movement feel like desperation.

There’s a lot of thought put into each scene, with a definite beginning, middle and end to the storyline – for me the beginning and end amazing, the transition of Monkey Man in the middle gets lost.  Like a Rocky transformation that jars with the tone of the rest of the film because what comes at the beginning and end feels unique – the transformation felt like a loss of confidence, harking back to what has already been done before.  But I get the necessary transition before the… Revenge.

‘You need to destroy in order to grow, to create space in your life.’

And Monkey Man is definitely a revenge film with the added difference of the legend of Hanuman at the storyline’s foundation.

The Gods took his power and then Monkey Man took it back.

 

Dune: Part Two

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★1/2Dune: Part Two

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Based on the Novel by: Frank Herbert

Screenplay Written by: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts

Produced by: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Denis Villeneuve, Tanya Lapointe and Patrick McCormick

Executive Producers: Joshua Grode, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Richard P. Rubinstein and John Harrison.

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård and Javier Bardem.

‘Power over spice is power over all.’

This is the mantra of the Harkonnens and the basis of the political intrigue in the Dune series.

It’s now the year 10,091.

Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), the daughter of The Emperor (Christopher Walken) creates a voice memo, introducing Dune: Part Two, where the entire House of Atreides have been wiped out over-night. No warning, no survivors.  Except a few.

The Harkonnens now control the harvesting of spice with the ever-present influence of the Bene Gesserit.

The extent of the Bene Gesserits’ power becoming more apparent as the prophecy of the son, known by the Fremens as Lisan al Gaib, gains momentum.

It’s Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) they believe to be the Bene Gesserit’s son, the Mahdi of the Fremen whom they believe will lead them to paradise.

An ideal originally conjured by the Bene Gesserit and encouraged by Paul Atreides’ mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) as her pregnancy continues and her daughter grows in her belly.

Paul doesn’t fail in his fulfillment as he adapts to the desert and Fremen way of life with the help of Chani (Zendaya).

Even though he’s an outsider, Chani grows to love him – he’s different to the other outsiders.  He’s sincere.

My initial thought at the end of Dune: Part One of, I hope it doesn’t get cheesy, was unwarranted because despite the glimmers of light between Paul and Chani, this is a dark journey filled with moments like the sucking of water out of the dead and… Almost dead.

The Harkonnens’ are particularly brutal, the young nephew of The Baron (Stellan Skarsgård), Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), is known by the Bene Gesserit as psychotic but manageable.

It’s a fight for survival as the Fremans sabotage the spice harvesters with the help of Paul, each success building his reputation as the Lisan al Gaib, confirming Stilgar’s (Javier Bardem) faith.  Stilagar gives him his Freman name, Paul Muad’Dib.

The build of belief catches fire, fierce stories spread about Lisan al Gaib, ‘Our resources are limited.’  Paul explains.  ‘Fear is all we have.’

Nothing can live down south without faith.  And now, instead of friends, Paul has followers.

There’s A LOT to unpack here, but at its foundation, Dune: Part Two has a heavy layer of religion and how religion is used to gain power – the ultimate power: to control the harvest of spice.

Parts of the story were glossed over, like the return of Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin).  And it’s easy to get lost in the intricacies of the story and characters, but there is absolutely never a dull moment in this film (editor: Joe Walker).

This is a vastly entertaining journey, ‘you will see the beauty and the horror,’ all in the dance of shadows over rock, the disappearance of a mother’s face into shadow after seeing her son forever changed – there’s black and white film used to portray the stark and evil of the Harkonnens alongside the red desert and solar eclipse (director of photography: Greig Fraser), flying black suits and pit fighters with black horns like insidious devils (costume designer: Jacqueline West).

All to the beat of a thumper that blends the desert and call of the worms with the beat of intrigue and violence in the capital (composer: Hans Zimmer).

This is a brutally entertaining film that lives up to the hype and is absolutely worth seeing on the big screen.

Better than Part One which is a big call because Part One was brilliant (winning six Academy Awards) and I’m guessing everyone will walk out of the cinema asking, when’s the release of Part Three?

 

Force of Nature: The Dry 2

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★1/2

Rated: M

Directed by: Robert Connolly

Produced by: Eric Bana, Robert Connolly, Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea

Based on the novel by: Jane Harper

Screenplay by: Robert Connolly

Starring: Eric Bana, Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness.

‘How one decision, one small mistake, can change everything.’

Robert Connolly returns as director with another adaptation of a Jane Harper novel, Force of Nature.

Instead of the backdrop of The Dry, of drought and fire, Force of Nature is set in a forest with rain and the green of ferns and towering mountain ash, missing persons.  And serial killers.

Alice (Anna Torv) is a missing person under suspicious circumstances.

Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) is called from Alice’s phone but the line is bad.  Amongst the static and dropping signal all he can hear is, ‘they know.’

Called to the Giralang mountain ranges, a search has begun for Alice after she goes missing from an executive work retreat.

Also on the retreat are four other women including the CEO’s wife (Deborra-Lee Furness), all suspects, the story shown in flashbacks as each character is revealed as the mystery pieces Alice’s last moments so different threads slowly tie together as Aaron races to find Alice – missing 30 hours, exposed in the forest with a storm looming.

As Aaron searches for Alice, he’s forced to face his past as he searches for the missing woman, a person he feels responsible for, an informant he’s pushed too far.

His partner, Agent Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie) feels no guilt, following the appropriate protocols and procedures.  But Aaron knows if you push too hard, that’s when mistakes are made.  He also knows what happens when people go missing in the forest.

Filmed in the Dandenong Ranges, the mystery is deepened using the vast forest as a place where people get lost, where serial killers are known to lurk – the forest is a place where you feel like you’re being watched.  That you’re not alone.

It doesn’t take much for the paranoia to set in.

Force of Nature is a slow burn mystery with weight; the immersion into the puzzle gripping with the plot turning around blind corners so the audience doesn’t know what will happen next.

But for all the film’s promise, the suspense gets lost with each thread that becomes a dead end so that grip in the first half of the film begins to let go.

Force of Nature is well captured, the quiet, the rain, the mood set with some good reveals but the mystery gets lost in the forest of too many red herrings.

So although there’re good performances here, the story gets spread thin so instead of a big reveal there’s many little revelations that lacked punch.

Overall, a well captured, quality crime mystery that’s worth a watch.

 

Saltburn

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.3/5)

Rated: MA15+Saltburn

Directed by: Emerald Fennell

Written by: Emerald Fennell

Produced by: LuckyChap

Director of Photography: Linus Sandgren

Editor: Victoria Boydell

Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Gran, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan.

‘I loved him.  But was I in love with him?’

The chaos of the first day at college sees Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) wandering through the Oxford crowd with his tie and jacket – ‘Hey, cool jacket,’ says a fellow student.  Not in a good way.

Oliver’s a ‘Norman with no mates.’

He spies Felix (Jacob Elordi) through the crowd – happy, popular, beautiful.

Oliver watches him.  It’s creepy, but kinda sweet because he’s so polite about it.  The scholarship boy infatuated.

Felix feels sorry for him.

He invites Oliver to stay with his family at Saltburn for the summer:

‘If you get sick of us, you can leave.  Promise.’

There’s an immediate immersion into the story, irresistible and fun with a dark humour, where college professors care more about who your parents are then if you’ve read the recommended reading list – who reads the St Jame’s Bible the summer before starting college?

The storyline is reminiscent of a modern day, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) – the studious and brilliant boy trying to get ahead in life infatuated with the charming rich, seemingly unattainable.  The invitation to stay.  The inevitable dead bodies.

But Saltburn is also funny and visceral with vomit and spit and menstrual blood. Not off-putting, not sexy even.  It made the unreality of the setting feel more authentic.

Barry Keoghan as Oliver, is quite frankly, a revelation.

And there’s a perfect balance of characters – writer and director, Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman (2021)– directorial and screenplay debut) drawing everything into the camera so the film edges up to the right side of the absurd, keeping the story more mystery and erotic thriller rather than delving into fantasy because the fantasy is the setting and Oliver’s desire, with no holding back.

Oliver’s willingness to be All, to give all, is weirdly endearing while knowingly manipulative.  The audience’s perception twisted like the storyline.

Fennell uses reflections to see the shadow of self, of Oliver only realised later because the reflection of water and the face in a table surface also looks beautiful, disguising what lies underneath.

The use of shadows to add definition.  Those close shots of Oliver’s eyes looking into another – the damaged younger sister, Venetia Catton (Alison Oliver) and smug family friend, rich because of the Catton’s guilt, so basically part of the family, Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) – hypnotise with the wilfulness of Oli.

And seeing Carey Mulligan as ‘Poor Dear Pamela’ does not disappoint.

Can you tell I liked this movie?

Those dark humorous moments are pure gold, Rosamund Pike as Elspeth Catton (ex-model and mother who can’t stand ugliness), stating, ‘the police keep getting lost in the maze.’ You can imagine the hilarity of the moment because it shouldn’t be funny but it just is.

It’s also the pauses from the characters, the individual nuances in body language that delight, the idiocy of the classic English denial played so well by Richard E. Gran as the patriarch, Sir James Catton.

Each performance is outstanding, the character roles perfectly balanced.

Then the humour edges towards the callous changing the mood as the story turns so there’s another layer under the surface: there’s a fine line between dark humour and callousness like there’s a fine line between love and hate.

Saltburn is inviting, surprising, edgy and a pleasure, like a guilty indulgence, to watch on the big screen.

This is the second powerhouse film from Emerald Fennell and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what comes next.

 

Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★☆ (3.2/5)DRACULA VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: André Øvredal

Screenplay by: Bragi F. Schut, Stefan Ruzowitzky and Zak Olkewicz, based on “The Captain’s Log” from Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Produced by: Brad Fischer, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer

Executive Produced by: Matthew Hirsch

Starring: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian.

‘Evil is aboard.  Powerful evil.’

It’s 1897 when merchant ship, The Demeter is seen off the coast of Whitby, England.

The ship’s sails are torn, the hull blackened and like a ghost ship, there are no surviving passengers.

Based on the chapter, The Captain’s Log from the iconic literary novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), this is the tale of the vampire’s voyage from his homeland across the seas to England.

The setting of the film is aboard the ship, where the captain (Liam Cunningham) and his crew, including last minute addition, Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a doctor looking for passage home, find themselves trapped as the horror begins; first the animals are found slaughtered, then the crew of the ship.  And there’s no way to escape.

Director, André Øvredal (Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark (2019), Trollhunter (2010), and a recommendation to watch if you haven’t already, The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)) focusses on Dracula as the monster – his visage more bat than man, with glowing yellow eyes and needlepoint teeth.

There is no sympathy for the monster, from the outset, Dracula is cast as the ‘Devil’s Serpent,’ a killing machine – and when the animals are found ripped apart, the audience is set firmly against the undead as Dracula preys on the living who have no hope and no understanding of what they’re dealing with.

Until the crew discover Anna (Aisling Franciosi), a girl they first believe is a stowaway, but after blood transfusions from Clemens to save her, she becomes the crew’s only way of understanding the evil that is sailing with them.  She’s not the bad luck that has befallen the ship.  She’s a survivor.

There’re clever devices used to ramp-up the tension, firstly those on board trapped as they wait for the sun to set so the film plays out like a slasher formula as Dracula feeds, picking each member off, one by one.

The crew knock on wood to communicate from the bowels of the ship, so there’s this listening out to hear that knock, to hear if someone’s trapped and about to literally be eaten.

It’s dark, raining, the sea throws the ship back and forth and there’s a monster on board: It’s the perfect set-up for a horror movie.

And I really wanted to love this film.  I’m a fan of the Dracula genre, and horror-thrillers, and there’s a good cast here – Liam Cunningham as the captain (you’ll recognise as Davos Seaworth from Game of Thrones) has just the right amount of gravitas and scores well for humanity putting the audience firmly behind well, the humans.  And the soundtrack adds a foreboding atmosphere, building the tension so there’re some good scares (someone sitting behind me yelped on more than one occasion, which was good fun).

There’s something to be said for watching a scary movie in the cinema where the audience is collectively given a jump.

But because it has that slasher formula, the film starts to feel predictable.

 

Cairo Conspiracy

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★ Cario Conspiracy

Directed by: Tarik Saleh

Written by: Tarik Saleh

Produced by: Kristina Åberg and Fredrik Zander

Starring: Tawfeek Barhom, Fares Fares, Mohammad Bakri, Makram J. Khoury, Sherwan Haji, Mehdi Dehbi.

WINNER – BEST SCREENPLAY
Cannes Film Festival 2022

‘Don’t forget where you’re from.’

When Adam (Tawfeek Barhom) is granted a scholarship to study at the Al-Azhar in Cairo, he’s worried his father won’t approve.

But his father, a fisherman who is a strict disciplinarian, says not even a father can stand in the way of God’s will.

Al-Azhar is the centre of power in Sunni Islam, and it is here that Adam arrives to open his world to the teachings of the Qur’an.  Instead the fisherman’s son becomes the centre of a power struggle between the State and religious leaders when the Grand Imam passes away.

Director and writer Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident (2017)) states, ‘One of the Egyptian revolutions, the one that brought Field Marshal Sisi to power, was seen as a military coup, although it was actually supported by the people. Once he became President, Sisi, who has ruled Egypt for eight years, decided to confront the Al-Azhar institution directly. His first decision was to visit the University on the Prophet’s birthday. His speech said in essence: “Either you contribute to the problem or you contribute to the solution. We need to fight terrorism, which you have not done so far. There are even books in your institution that promote terrorism and this must stop.”’

What surprised Tarik Saleh as he was writing the script for, Conspiracy in Cairo is that what he had written started to happen in reality.

The conflict between state and religion is the driving narrative of the film when the State decides it will do anything in their power for the replacement of the Grand Imam to be on the side of the president.

Enter State Security Colonel Ibrahim (Fares Fares).

At the behest of his boss, Ibrahim uses the students as informants within the Al-Azhar, known as Angels, to pass back information to influence the decision making in favour of the State’s priorities.

Echoing the implied statement of President Sisi in real-life Egypt, “I am the new leader of Egypt, you had better fall in line”.

And the then Grand Imam, Sheikh el-Tayeb: “I am only the Grand Imam, my only privilege is to give recommendations from the Qur’an. You, Sissi, make the law and I do not interfere with that.” The President wanted the Qur’an to support his proposed laws. The Grand Imam replied that he could not because it is impossible to change the Qur’an.”

What we see in the film is how Adam, once recruited as an Angel, navigates the power struggle while staying hidden from those he’s informing on and also keeping alive by passing information to State Security that, as his predecessor and fellow student, Zizo (Mehdi Dehbi) found out – being a loose end is just as dangerous.

Weaved through-out the delicate yet deadly politics are the teachings of the Qur’an, where, ‘right is right, sin is sin.  God will guide you.’

It’s a quietly menacing film about ‘books that scare tyrants and kings,’ and scholars who quote the words of the Qur’an to find their way to a Truth.

This is a political intrigue set in the modern-day world of Islam in Egypt so the tone is unique as the familiar politics of State seek to control the power of religion, where Adam has to decide if the obstacles put in front of him come from God, or fate or man.

‘This life is but a game.’

It’s a struggle, finding that balance of power between, ‘Two Pharaoh’s in the land,’ because one false step detected by the people of Egypt could very likely lead to civil war.

Conspiracy in Cairo is an absorbing story (there’s a reason the film won Best Screenplay at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival), quietly told, from the cold but honest work of a fisherman working from a small boat on the sea, to panning to a flock of birds drifting between the spires of the Al-Azhar, to the weave of Brothers snaking their way to find and punish any against them.

Thought-provoking, intriguing with moments of beauty – this is a balanced film that gets you thinking.

 

John Wick: Chapter 4

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.3/5) John Wick: Chapter 4

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: Chad Stahelski

Written by: Shay Hatten and Michael Finch

Based on Characters Created by: Derek Kolstad

Produced by: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Chad Stahelski

Executive Producers: Keanu Reeves, Louise Rosner, David Leitch, Michael Paseornek

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown and Ian McShane, Marko Zaror, Natalia Tena.

‘Such is life,’ is the playful yet deadly theme in this forth chapter of John Wick, spoken by Winston (Ian McShane), New York manager in explanation of another sour turn of events surrounding the ever-increasing reward for the fulfilment of the Kill Contract for the unstoppable, John Wick (Keanu Reeves).

This time, the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) of The High Table has been granted the power to do anything necessary to bring John Wick down.

‘Why won’t you die!’

German assassin Killa (Scott Adkins) exclaims through his bloody, gold capped teeth.

Because fueled by his need for revenge, Wick continues to kill anyone in his way towards freedom.

There’re 14 action sequences in this forth chapter, which is four times more than any previous John Wick film.

I didn’t relish the idea of sitting through nothing but fight scenes but the film draws you into the story before the action kicks in.  And it’s this attention to the story as well as the mind-blowing action that sets the John Wick franchise apart.

I had massively high expectations after being blown away by John Wick 3, but returning Keanu Reeves in the lead role (he’s also an executive producer here) and director, Chad Stahelski, did not disappoint.

Producer Erica Lee notes, it’s, ‘the “bond and trust” between Reeves and Stahelski that has defined the John Wick franchise. “Chad has given so much to the films for the better part of a decade. Keanu loves the series so much – he’s in every script meeting and casting discussion and has come up with some amazing story ideas. Very few franchises have the consistency we’ve enjoyed with our core team.”

Chapter 4 opens in Jordan, with John riding horseback, riffle in hand, to Japan, Berlin and Paris, so there’s some interesting sets for those explosive action scenes here.  And the inventive fights just get more intense from knives, num-chuks, exploding bullets of fire, to cars in traffic used like dodgem cars, where the would-be assassins don’t dodge so much.  And neither does John.

Adding to the fight scenes is the additional body armour of the suits worn by John and The Table killers so weapons get added just to make an opening for a kill: thump with a num-chuk to expose a neck for the kill shot.

There are so many moments of cringe and ouch all the while grinning my face off.  Particularly the last quarter of the movie – the grin just got wider as the action got ridiculous.  In a good way.

The choreography is fast and brutal and smooth like a dance – the sheer number of stunt people in the credits understandable.  “Reeves also did precision driving training and horseback riding training, in addition to instruction in many other disciplines. “Over the course of these films, Wick can sign, speak Russian, and, in CHAPTER 4, speak a little Japanese. So, I’m always picking up different skills,” says Reeves.

There’s also a play of light with John’s reintroduction set with a backing of red light so even the cherry blossoms in the background took on a sinister aspect.  And that red light continues to follow Wick through-out the film, like an illustration of his unrelenting need for revenge.

In addition there’s thoughtful one-liners thrown in, strangely enough from the villain, the deadly Marquis, like: ‘A man’s ambition should never exceed his worth.’

Has to be said, Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis is genius casting and just one of the worthy additions to the story – The Tracker (Shamier Anderson) with his partner killer dog was a little obvious.  But then ended up being one of my favourite characters.  There’s also The Harbinger (Clancy Brown) that adds another layer to the story that is The High Table.

If you’re already a fan of the John Wick franchise, Chapter 4 is obviously a must-see and in my opinion, as good as the previous JW3: the detail, the humour, the dogs, the camera work, those shots from above a seriously successful device to show more of the action…  Action at its very best.

What a journey.

 

Don’t Worry Darling

Rated: MDon’t Worry Darling

Directed by: Olivia Wilde

Screenplay by: Katie Silberman

Story by: Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, Katie Silberman

Produced by: Olivia Wilde, Katie Silberman, Miri Yoon, Roy Lee

Starring: Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne and Nick Kroll.

‘We shouldn’t be here.’

Victory is a company that wants to change the world.

Together, all those living in their desert community, all the couples living in the community, are living their most perfect life.

It’s like taking a step back to the 1950s: neighbours come together and have drunken dinner parties; the whole setting is heavy cut crystal, the men in suits and skinny ties, the women in dresses and heels, the music is swing and jive.  It’s frothy and fun.

Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) can’t get enough of each other while best friend Bunny (Olivia Wilde) is jokes and smiles with her two cute kids.  It’s a dream life.  All in the community are thankful.  They revere the head of the company, their leader: Frank (Chris Pine) and are in awe of his wife, Shelley (Gemma Chan).

All is well.

Except for those weird flashbacks.

And Margaret (KiKi Layne) a friend and neighbour who’s become unwell: ‘We shouldn’t be here.’

Don’t ask what job all the husbands are driving to every morning – it’s for the company.  Top secret.

Discretion is the solution to chaos.

The tension builds gradually with hints that signal, all is not right at Victory.  The earth shakes.

While Alice cracking empty eggs becomes a metaphor.

She hums an unfamiliar tune.  Because if the song didn’t come from the records in their home or over the community radio – where did it come from?

The build of story is backed by the silence intertwined with sound off-kilter.  It’s an uneasy feeling, but has a subtle touch, handled by director, Olivia Wilde (who also stars as best friend, Bunny), while performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles drive the story.

There’s great chemistry between these two as husband and wife, while Harry pushes his luck with a somewhat British accent, he holds the character well to reveal layers.

The standout is Pugh as Alice, believable as she catches glimpses of what’s underneath the community of Victory.

And that’s all I’m giving away.

This is Olivia Wilde’s second feature as director, and while I was gripped by this film, this wasn’t as cohesive as her first feature, Booksmart (2019).

And there’s a glossing-over of backstory, particularly the community’s leader, Frank and wife Shelley.

But there’s good pacing here, building on that feeling of being trapped as the story slowly tightens its grip.

 

Fall

Rated: MFall

Directed by: Scott Mann

Written by: Scott Mann, Jonathan Frank

Produced by: Christian Mercuri, James Harris, Mark Lane, Scott Mann, David Haring

Cinematography: Miguel ‘MacGregor’ Olaso

Starring: Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mason Gooding.

‘No trespassing.  Danger of death.’

Let me start by saying, I’m scared of heights.

So from the opening scene of vertical views down onto rock-climbers hanging onto cliffs and leaping for another hold.  My heart was pumping from the get-go.

And it didn’t stop.

Fall is relentless in ratcheting up the tension, truly, edge-of-seat viewing.

But there’s cheese.

Adrenaline junkies, Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), hubby, Dan (Mason Gooding) and best buddy, Hunter (Virginia Gardner) push their limits together.

Seemingly unstoppable, until the worst happens, leaving Bec devastated.  And her dad (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) concerned she’ll never snap out of her deepening grief.

It’s when Bec looks like she can’t go on, best buddy, she’s-my-cherry-pie, Hunter has the cure: climbing an abandoned radio tower via a rusty ladder, 2000ft into the air.

Time to tame fear, ‘And kick it’s arse.’

Cue the strings in the soundtrack.  Cringe.

Up to this point, I wasn’t convinced I was going to get into this movie, I’d just be on edge because of that insane height, standing on a pancake platform, Bec and Hunter about to fall any second.

Then those rusty bolts started rattling.

The camera work here pushes that feeling of vertigo and the thought of falling is always there as the girls hang off the edge of the tower to take selfies.

There’s a lot from Hunter’s online persona, Danger D and #LifeOverDeath moments.

But this, ‘kick fear in the dick,’ mentality gradually won me over – you get the vibe though, a bit twee.

Then the shots widen, pushing the sky into the background of these crazy climbers as the bolts start to fall and I’m gripping the arms of the chair.

It just keeps pushing that tension to the point I was thankful for some of the cheesy drama of the story.

It’s not ALL tension; there’s some room to breathe.

But wow not much.

Be prepared for a bracing thrill and some unexpected moments in this intense survival film: worth seeing on the big screen.

 

Nope

Rated: MNope

Written, Produced and Directed by: Jordan Peele

Also Produced by: Ian Cooper p.g.a.

Executive Produced by: Robert Graf, Win Rosenfeld

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, Keith David.

‘What’s a bad miracle?’

Nope is the third movie Jordan Peele has directed (among many others he has written), and I had high expectations after enjoying, Get Out (2017) and Us (2019).

Peele has a certain off-kilter vision in his films that translates here, opening with a monkey on a TV set, covered in blood.

I didn’t know what I was walking into with, Nope, producer Ian Cooper explaining the intention to withhold from giving away too much away in the trailers.  All that was clear was the title, Nope, which I thought was perhaps a wry push too far but the humour here is spot on.

Cooper goes on to explain that Jordan was originally thinking of, ‘Little Green Men’ for the title, hinting at, “The idea of the quest for fame and fortune, and the quest for documenting existence of life beyond Earth,” Cooper says. “The double entendre of ‘Little Green Men’ was a way in which you could talk about dollar bills as well as talk about aliens and the unknown.”

As always with Jordan, the concept of, Nope is unique.

Inheriting the horse ranch from their father, Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David), OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) attempt to continue the legacy as horse wranglers for film and TV.

Living on a ranch, far out in the Sant Clarita Valley in Southern California, the sky is endless, the expanse filled with clouds and something otherworldly lurking within.

The film has a western feel with OJ selling horses to child star, come cowboy-themed fair owner, Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park (Steven Yeun), crossed with the family drama of the reserved, OJ and his larger-than-life sister, Emerald – the people person of the partnership – crossed with a sci-fi with an alien creature causing electrical black-outs before sucking up whatever happens to be looking up into its guts.

The horror aspect of the film the sound of screams from the sky when the power cuts out.

It’s not an in-your-face horror here, more an unsettled feeling built with the soundtrack but also with the strangeness of the film.

It’s a confusing beginning and continues with random threads brought into the storyline that don’t always make sense in the general narrative of the film.  There is some structure with chapters named after the horses featured in the film.  But otherwise the threads are left to spool with not all coming full circle, well, not quite.

The cinematographer character, Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott) brought to the ranch to help capture what’s lurking in the sky comments, ‘That’s the dream I never wake up from.’  It sounds cool.  But doesn’t quite have enough weight in the end to stand up straight.  Again, adding to the slight disconcerting tilt to the film.

The wonder I had about the humour being pushed too far with the title, Nope was however, unfounded.  Daniel Kaluuya as the steady and reserved horse wrangler gives the word ‘nope’ a weight that just tickles.  Again, Kaluuya is well-cast and obviously a favourite of Peele’s because he brings it every single time.

All the characters in, Nope are well-cast, Angel (Brandon Perea) the Fry’s Electronics IT expert adds another layer of humour as he misses his girlfriend while ingratiating himself into the plot of the film because he’s slowly losing the plot with his life and needs to be involved.

It’s an entertaining film.  A strange slightly off-kilter film where Jordan has juxtaposed sci-fi, (some) horror, family drama and western that comes together as something funny and unique.  I just couldn’t quite get on board with the why of it.  Still, a fun ride.

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