Movie Review

The Killer

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Markus Robinson

A David Fincher movie? Sign me up. With a Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score? And a protagonist with an ever-present nihilistic inner monologue? Ummm…is this my new favorite movie? It’s not, but it’s still very good.

Fincher brings to the big screen a story adapted from a popular French graphic novel, which follows the life of an unnamed assassin. And that’s it. A story so simple that it is impossible to spoil. Fincher gets this. He displays an understanding of the material and how the person at the center of it sees the world. His direction (with some masterful cinematography from Erik Messerschmidt) allows for audiences to feel the Killer’s isolation, the cold unforgiving world he exists in and the claustrophobic ever-present danger that closes in on this man during every moment of this movie. Fincher does what he does and does it to perfection.

Narrated by “The Killer” (Michael Fassbender), we follow this solitary assassin during a stakeout. With only his meticulous inner monologue to keep him occupied, he walks us through his outlook on life as a person who kills for money. Not quite holding a misanthropic/Travis Bickle vision of the world, the Killer’s monologue is a mix of forced disengagement, skepticism and nihilism with a tinge of curiosity. The details of said monologues are often couched in random facts, philosophical insights and anecdotes; historical and otherwise, depending on his actions in that very moment. Some of the Killer’s mantras include: “stick to the plan”, “anticipate, never improvise”, “trust no one” and “forbid empathy”. And everything seems to be going according to plan until he mistakenly misses a target, which propels him into an entire movie’s worth of battles with ruthless employers who now see him as a loose end.

Fassbender embodies this man of few spoken words, as someone who slips through this world constantly attempting to convince himself to do what it takes in order to succeed, all while maintaining a detachment from the violence he puts into the world with such ease that we develop a bond with this cold-blooded killer as he details how cold-blooded he is.

Final Thought: The vibe is a dreary, dimly lit and stylish revenge story with a ruthless protagonist. A tale built for the cinema, from a director who can do no wrong. Currently available on Netflix, I just wish I could’ve seen this in the theaters. The Killer is introspective John Wick. And yes, I now need a series of these films.

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Movie Review

Sound of Freedom

Posted on December 3, 2023December 3, 2023 by Markus Robinson

You know how the Fast & Furious movies are made for “bros who love
cars”? Like really really LOVE cars? This is that but for American
Christians who obsessively fantasize about becoming vigilantes, traveling to
South America and saving brown children from traffickers. For how distasteful I
believe the movie actually becomes, I must say that Sound of Freedom had one
hell of a marketing campaign.

Synopsis: Former American government agent becomes a
vigilante, traveling to South America on a quest to rescue children from
traffickers.

It’s PG-13 and thankfully doesn’t show anything “explicit”, but
what it does contain are countless protracted sequences displaying the lead up
to child harm, knowing that’s what their audiences came to see. These sequences
are filmed in an excessively lecherous manner that doesn’t progress the story
one bit (directed by Alejandro Monteverde). If you are familiar with the term
torture porn, then Sound of Freedom contains that, but in faith-based
form.

On a technical level it’s not the worst movie ever. Sure, there are heavy
white savior vibes. And sure, the characters are all made easily digestible,
but that simply stems from a lazy script from Monteverde and Rod Barr.

Final Thought: Jim Caviezel also gives a shockingly stiff
performance, which doesn’t help things one bit. That said, Monteverde is
talented enough to get audiences from point A to point B. I simply couldn’t get
past the lingering and leering of specific sequences. In conjunction with the
subject matter, these directorial choices felt exploitative. I understand that
the subject of child trafficking is heavy, but the way this is filmed is
definitely by design.

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Movie Review

Passages

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Markus Robinson

One of more beautifully shot films of the year (one of those where every frame could be a painting), filmmaker Ira Sachs builds a story centered around a narcissistic filmmaker named Tomas (Franz Rodowski) who is married to Martin (Ben Whishaw) before impulsively sleeping with and then falling in love with a woman named Agathe (Adéle Exarchopoulos).

With a premise like this, Passages could’ve quickly turned into a film focusing all of its attention on the idea of sexual fluidity in a less than charitable way. But early on Sachs establishes his story as entirely a character study of a narcissistic individual and those he chooses as his partners. While there are many well filmed sex scenes, nothing in this is sensationalized or in poor taste in a way one may suspect from the premise. Sachs does well to establish every moment of every sex sequence as solely an extension of Tomas’ larger manipulation. Furthermore, the world established contains only brief mentions of labels such as gay, straight, bisexual, husband, girlfriend, etc. The idea behind this (coupled with an absolutely enchanting performance from Rodowski) appears as a deliberate way of devaluing established ideas about what constitutes a relationship, as well as continuing to keep the focus not on the sex itself, but on seducing one into spending ninety-six minutes with a curiously destructive man-child protagonist.

The issue with constructing a movie in this manner with a character this unlikable as the focus, may unfortunately mean that some will find Tomas so intolerable that they may not make it through the full runtime. While others may simply find disappointment in a film that is lacking a level of exploitation the premise may have alluded to.

Final Thought: Sachs knows how to present his unpleasant protagonist in a way that while we may never outwardly sympathize with him and may downright detest his abusive tactics, it is difficult not to find Tomas fascinating to the point of attractive. This balance is the most interesting thing Passages has to offer.

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Movie Review

When Evil Lurks

Posted on November 24, 2023November 25, 2023 by Markus Robinson

This Argentinian horror written and directed by Demián Rugna has been touted by some as one of the best horror movies of 2023, for reasons I don’t fully understand.

When Evil Lurks tells the story of two brothers living in a remote village who find themselves having to stop the spread of a demon who has possessed a local man. The man has been infected by said demon for so long his body is distended and morphed into a bloated mass of boils and puss. It is discovered that the demon spreads like a virus if shot (or killed improperly?). As the story moves forward, we find that at times both humans and animals can become contaminated by merely coming in contact with an infected person or someone who has been around an infected person. For example, at one point a dog becomes possessed by simply sniffing the clothing of someone who came in contact with a possessed person. Yeah, the rules here are a little murky, and because of this the rules are explained and reestablished throughout the movie up until the very end. And even then, I feel like I needed more time with these people in order to fully understand the lore behind a form of possession which was new to me, but that so many of the townsfolk seem to have extensive knowledge on.

The hysterical delivery/nature of this movie is confusing as well, as this is not a comedy. I caught myself laughing at scenes that in retrospect I don’t believe are played for laughs. This has something to do with the smattering of telenovela-level acting within the film, but also, I can only imagine how much better this movie could’ve been as a dark comedy. Rugna’s decision to play this entire thing straight allows for many visuals (specifically the vomit and snot eruption sequences) to come off as confusing.

That said, I have to believe the primary draw of this film are the kills and the scares, because all of that stuff is quite good. The setups may not be the greatest, but the actual point of impact is consistently gasp-inducing. As a horror film, there are things to admire here. It’s the in-between moments that only serve as a distraction from the director getting to show off.

Final Thought: Watch this for the visuals, I guess. Again, there are many superbly designed horror sequences, with some wonderful use of practical effects. If you are into horror visuals specifically, Rugna is as talented and creative as they come. It’s simply difficult not to become increasingly disinterested in a plot that becomes more cumbersome over time. And paired with its tonal issues, When Evil Lurks is an overall disappointment due to how intriguing the setup was.

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Movie Review

The Nun II

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Markus Robinson

In a continuation of the first movie, the demon nun is back and she has so many more dark hallways and corners to emerge from.

Unsurprisingly The Nun II (directed by Michael Chaves) isn’t scary as much as it is repetitive. The bulk of this movie we spend watching characters stand still in dimly lit areas, patiently waiting as the Nun performs long-winded reveals and loud bangy “scares”.

There are a couple of cool kills and the final thirty minutes is thankfully a bit bonkers, including the appearance of a devil-goat-demon thing who runs super-fast (clearly the best thing in the film). And if you can get to that point, it will be enough to carry you to the finish line, as the story itself doesn’t matter at all. But what did I expect from one of the weakest spin-offs in the Conjuring cinematic universe?

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Movie Review

Thanksgiving

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Markus Robinson

Known more for his torture porn aesthetic than for making traditional slasher films, I went in fingers crossed that filmmaker Eli Roth (Hostel, The Green Inferno) would present a movie of the latter and not containing as much of the former. And honestly, Thanksgiving isn’t as gory as I expected. It’s also shockingly underwhelming and simply not as fun as it needed to be.

Synopsis: A year after a Black Friday trampling incident/riot, the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts is terrorized by someone in a pilgrim mask, seeking revenge.

It’s technically a feature length version of a fictitious trailer Roth created for the 2007 movie “Grindhouse”. So, hoping for something full of over-the-top B-movie slasher camp shouldn’t have been out of the question. But Roth is simply the wrong director to make this work in any kind of memorable way. Sure, there are over-the-top kills, but Thanksgiving never leans into this aspect as much as it could’ve. Instead putting more emphasis on a story that had potential, but ends up being your standard “killer comes to town, bumps off citizens one by one until the mask comes off and the killer is revealed” movie you could watch at home.

Side Note: I do enjoy Rick Hoffman (Suits, Hostel) as an actor. He just gets nothing to do here. And nobody else gives a performance worth talking about, so let’s get back to the review.

Another thing Roth is known for is his clunky dialogue. And his constant attempts at humor. I laughed once. Lazily, most of the humor centers around the use of New England accents, which is funny for all of ten minutes. The lack of funny moments could’ve been forgiven if the movie was at all scary, or fun or held a semblance of anything that would allow the impact of Thanksgiving to be remembered after the credits rolled.

Final Thought: I’m in no way a Roth fan (if you couldn’t tell), but I know he can deliver a better product than this. On the other hand, who cares. Let’s focus on the violence. Is this the violent gorefest the trailers promise? Again, it’s not as gory as I expected, but what Roth does well he does well here. That is, every sequence of practical effects works in the way they were intended. Most of the kill sequences elicit a visceral response. Every time someone’s head explodes on impact or someone’s intestines lie hanging from their stomach, it’s engaging in a way Roth clearly understands. Unfortunately, there isn’t nearly enough of that stuff to make up for the one-note comedy, dull characters and a script which I liken to an unseasoned Thanksgiving feast.

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Movie Review

The Exorcist: Believer

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Markus Robinson

Going in knowing it would be a near impossibility for this to come close to the greatness of the 1973 original, all I needed from The Exorcist: Believer was for it to be slightly better than the most middle-of-the-road possession movie. And writer/director David Gordon Green (Halloween, Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends) couldn’t even give me that.

Among other things, this is a poorly directed film with few highlights to speak of. The story is essentially, two little girls walk into the woods and come out possessed. The first half sees a very basic horror setup inexplicably fumbled, as things happen that are neither scary or engaging. The idea of creating actual tension and/or scares seems to baffle Green this time around, as he repeatedly chooses to substitute loud noises for any and all scary moments. I don’t honestly remember one legitimate scare amidst the nearly two-hour runtime.

My hope was once Ellen Burstyn (reprising her role from the original film) entered the story around the halfway mark, the film would find its footing. But instead, the back-half is even worse. A sloppy incoherent mess, culminating in an exorcism sequence which can only be described as a scattershot of ideas which somebody forgot to edit down into something coherent.

Final Thought: The Exorcist: Believer inexplicably reeks of inexperience. Fluctuating between a very sloppy and very unsure attempt at horror. Was Green intimidated and overwhelmed by this project? It certainly looks so. But I’d rather have seen an exorcism film with Green taking huge risks and failing hard, than end up with a product which comes across as poorly conceived, uneventful and boring.

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Movie Review

Totally Killer

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Markus Robinson

In 1987 a serial killer by the name of the “Sweet Sixteen Killer” murders three teenage girls in a small town. Thirty-five years later (in that same town) the killer is back, murdering the mother of Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka). Jamie then accidentally travels back to 1987 in an attempt to stop the killer.

Strongly implying that this is Scream meets Back to the Future makes the film sound better than it is. Sadly, Totally Killer is not well written enough to hit the high bar it’s set for itself.

It’s still a somewhat fun and passable horror/comedy, where some jokes work while others don’t. Directed by Nahnatchka Khan (Always Be My Maybe), the kills are well filmed and the story never drags. Khan also unsurprisingly and quite smartly leans heavily into the 1980’s visuals and pop culture references, which will certainly make this movie more entertaining for those who become instantly enchanted by anything 80’s related.

Final Thought: There are flashes of something a bit more elevated dispersed throughout, mostly in the idea of how time is dealt with in this particular world. But outside of that, this is an average and completely watchable October flick.

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Movie Review

A Million Miles Away

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Markus Robinson

The true story of José Hernandez (Michael Peña), a Mexican immigrant who grew up to become an engineer and eventually the first former migrant worker turned NASA astronaut.

Definitely full of heart and eager to showcase a specific Latino community/culture, director Alejandra Márquez Abella builds a world that feels warm and familiar. The vibe here is very much Latino biopic meets Disney live-action. If that sounds like your kind of movie, then A Million Miles Away will be a more than satisfying experience.

Before I get to my lone hangup, I do want to mention that there are things that I (as a Latino) really appreciate about this film. The fact that most of the familial dialogue is in Spanish, a soundtrack which perfectly drives home a particular nostalgic feel and the chemistry between actors Peña and Rosa Salazar (who plays Adela, the wife of Hernandez) all work to create a far better viewing experience than I’d initially anticipated. My only criticism of a film like this is that it is family friendly to a fault.

I dislike using “family friendly” as a pejorative. But when what we get is a story about a man who worked in the fields with his family, then worked in an office building where he was seemingly the only brown face, and then enters the space program against all odds, and the end result feels instantly watered down, the term “family friendly” in this instance will translate into an unnecessarily corny viewing experience for some. Every hardship Hernandez goes through is addressed with a PG rating in mind, and at times I felt like I was watching something more interested in driving home an inspirational message, rather than showcasing an authentic story. While I do appreciate that movies like these are made about important and often forgotten historical Latino figures, the subject matter here warranted more cinematic authenticity and grittiness.

Final Thought: There is a place for movies like these. A family movie night perhaps. It wouldn’t surprise me if a year from now A Million Miles Away was playing in elementary schools during Hispanic Heritage Month. Hell, I’m quite sure once my Mexican mother sees this movie, it will be her favorite film of the year. And there is nothing wrong with any of that. A movie made with good intentions, love for its characters and clearly engaging enough to disregard the telegraphed nature of the story beats, this is a film I’d feel good recommending. I simply want to praise this more than the film will allow.

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Movie Review

Past Lives

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Markus Robinson

Is there such a thing as a soulmate? Is there such a thing as fate? In writer/director Celine Song’s feature debut, she examines these notions when telling the story of two childhood sweethearts, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), who are separated when Nora’s family leaves South Korea. They lose touch but not their connection, as throughout the years they correspond via the internet, holding on to their unwavering attraction. It isn’t until over twenty years later that they mutually agree to meet when Hae Sung decides to travel to New York, where Nora now lives with her husband Arthur (John Magaro).

More than just your average love triangle drama, Song creates a quiet masterpiece, which through her characters, her direction and some stellar performances, tells the story of the passage of time as it pertains to the fate of two individuals. It’s not until the second half of the movie that these two see each other as adults, but during every moment Nora and Hae Sung share the screen, Song constructs a space where the world falls away and her characters are allowed to live the purity of their bond, albeit knowing that at any moment the real world will come crashing down upon them as time moves forward.

Told from the perspective of a first-generation immigrant living in America, the love Nora has for both men (her husband and her first love) in her adult life should also be seen as the symbolic struggle of someone with one foot in two cultures. This is a movie which explores the ever-present love for one’s home (the culture one grew up immersed in) and a new land that one wishes to plant their roots. The idea of having two names (one being an “American” name). The idea of having two lives, where two different languages are spoken. It’s all examined here through some of the most beautiful cinematography and direction I’ve seen all year, capturing Song’s grander themes regarding how devastating life can be, not solely through character dialogue, but glances and body language, and how her characters are framed on-screen at any given moment.

Final Thought: Holding true to its thematic concepts of the allure of forbidden love, the idea of fate and our cultural connection between the past and present, “Past Lives” is both visually and tonally brilliant enough to be considered a theatrical cousin to a movie like “In the Mood for Love”. And that’s arguably the best praise I can give it, so I think I’ll stop there.

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