Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

I like to watch movies and share my thoughts on them. I have been writing reviews and distributing them since 2013.

Scream VI

Scream VI            3 stars

The sixth installment of the popular Scream series that debuted back in 1996 descends on us in what is referred to as the sequel to the requel. I haven’t seen all of them but I think I know all the rules that have to be followed. There is a series of murders committed by a costumed figure called Ghostface using a large knife that are based on the movie franchise “Stab”. Characters return from previous movies that are apt to become victims of stabbings to come. The potential victims are also potential suspects. Each entry in the series must be more spectacular than the previous one. And there must be numerous nods to other horror classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th. (Also, the murdering tasks are typically shared by more than one Ghostface.) Many of these rules are explained to us thanks to a monologue from Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) where she outlines the whole series to us. The surviving characters from the previous outing in California have all migrated to New York City (minus Sidney Prescott, sorry Neve Campbell) where Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega of Wednesday) is now attending Blackmore University. Older sister Sam (Melissa Barrera of In The Heights), who previously dispatched the Ghostface from last year, followed her here to protect here and shares an apartment with several other young adults. Sam and Tara just happen to be the daughters of Billy Loomis who was the original Ghostface back in the nineties. It doesn’t take long before the bodies start falling with the appearance of Ghostface along with his menacing phone calls. Also appearing is the infamous Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox making her sixth appearance) who is now a news reporter trying to get a story. And Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere of Bring It On: All or Nothing and Amanda Knox) shows up again only this time she is an FBI agent sent here from Atlanta to investigate the murders. Local police detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney of My Best Friend’s Wedding and The Family Stone) becomes involved in the case after his own daughter becomes one of the victims. Before the killer or killers are revealed there are plenty of tension filled moments featuring confrontations with the masked killer and harrowing escapes, plus plenty of blood from all the stab wounds. Amazingly, some of the victims manage to survive deep knife wounds to the abdomen that should be fatal, leaving them with possible openings to return. But after six entries in this franchise things have probably gotten a little repetitive so it may be time to put Ghostface to rest.

John Wick: Chapter 4

John Wick: Chapter 4      4 stars

I have missed out on the John Wick movies until I saw Chapter 4, the latest in this action franchise featuring Keanu Reeves as John Wick, the greatest hit man ever. I have heard all about his grudge against a crime syndicate that was responsible for killing his pet puppy, but I didn’t realize the true scope of what is apparently the greatest action movie franchise of the past decade. The story is rather straight forward: There is an international crime syndicate called The High Table that has determined that John Wick must die so under the direction of the Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) hundreds of the organization’s best killers are gathered to track down and kill Mr. Wick along with anyone who helps him. However, the crime families have a rigid set of rules that will allow Wick to gain his freedom from The High Table and guarantee his safety. If he can challenge the Marquis to a one on one duel as a member of one of the crime families and defeat him he will be allowed to go free. The only problem is that there is an army of killers and assassins that have the incentive to kill Wick thanks to the bounty on his head that continues to rise as he kills each with amazing efficiency. The main point of the John Wick movies is to portray the high level of violence and the subdued way that the man in the well-tailored black suit is able to engage and defeat his enemies. The action sequences are done with long takes and moving camerawork that captures both the battling subjects and what is happening in the background. I greatly prefer this method to the closeups with quick editing done by so many action movies. Obviously, this requires painstaking attention to detail and some well executed choreography. (After seeing this movie, I will never think the same when I see France’s Arc de Triomphe.) There are some other important and colorful characters returning from previous outings that include Donnie Yen as Caine, a blind assassin and Shamier Anderson as Mr. Nobody who happens to have a dog that aids in the killing and then there is Ian McShane as Winston, Wick’s friend from the New York Continental Hotel who previously shot Wick. We also must say goodbye to Lance Reddick as Charon, the hotel concierge in one of his final performances. Now that I have a taste of the movie I think I will have to go back and view some of the earlier outings of John Wick.

Human Flowers of Flesh

Human Flowers of Flesh                2 stars

German director Helena Wittmann’s new movie Human Flowers of Flesh has been described as an exercise in elusiveness, with a procession of predominantly maritime imagery (Clayton Dillard). The film is about a woman who lives on a yacht with her crew who sails from Marseilles to Algeria where she becomes fascinated with the French Foreign Legion and then decides to travel to the headquarters of the Legion. I know this from reading the Imdb description of the film as I was not able to discern it from watching the movie. There is very little dialogue in the film itself and what little there is consist of short snatches of conversation among the crew about myths, the work on the ship and the collecting of letters and samples of plant specimens. The woman whose name we rarely hear speaks even less, but does spend much time swimming in the sea. The film focuses mainly on some spectacular images of the sea and marine life. There are some extended shots of a snail crawling a short distance and a long shot of microscopic creatures moving about the screen. The writer/director may be saying something about life being adrift with so much time spent at sea, but I find that very hard to tell from watching the movie one time. I don’t object to a movie having very little plot, but I at least expect to learn something about the characters and what motivates them. We don’t get much of that here. I very much liked Wittmann’s earlier film, Adrift, about a couple on a wrecked yacht trying to survive. But Human Flowers of Flesh left me very confused.

John Wick

John Wick            4 stars

Having seen the latest sequel in The John Wick series, John Wick: Chapter 4, I had to go back and see the original entry from 2014. This simple story about a retired hitman in New York City from writer Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski introduces us to John Wick (Keanu Reeves who returned to the screen after a notable absence) who has just lost his loving wife, when some Russian gangsters notice his 1969 Ford Mustang. The gangsters, including Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), not realizing who John Wick is, decide to deprive him of the car and in the process they kill his pet beagle puppy in what is likely the most famous movie dog killing since Old Yeller. Naturally, Wick must avenge the theft and the killing of his beloved pet by putting on his perfectly fitting black suit and arming himself with a myriad of weapons and seek out Tarasov who is the son of Russian crime boss Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The elder Tarasov realizes what is at stake and alerts his army of henchmen placing a bounty on Wick’s head in order to protect the dimwitted Iosef. What follows can only be described as a bloodbath as Wick kills off each armed criminal coming after him whether it is in a crowded night club or on the city streets. We also get introduced to the Continental Hotel where Wick’s friend Winston (Ian McShane) is in charge. According to the strict code of the underworld, the hotel is a safe haven for hitmen where “business” must not be conducted under penalty of death. The level of violence while shocking does not quite compare to what is achieved in the later sequels but it is enjoyable for B action movie fans. I only wish I had checked this series sooner. John Wick is not somebody that you want to mess with!

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant                         4 stars

If you have seen any of Guy Ritchie’s earlier films you know that they are action packed and have a style all his own. His movie The Covenant that includes his name in the title certainly lives up to his standards. This time we follow the exploits of an army sergeant, John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and an Afghan interpreter, Ahmed (Dar Salim) as Kinley and his squad are tasked with hunting down IED factories somewhere in the wilderness of Afghanistan. It is 2018 so it is near the end of the war and Kinley is dedicated to this near impossible task with the threat of a Taliban attack at every turn. Ahmed is there because he is drawn to the job for the money and the promise of a visa to the US for him and his family. He also hates the Taliban for killing his son. As the pair face this challenge they learn to rely on one another despite the great cultural differences especially when they are being hunted by every available Taliban fighter in the area. The characters are not based on any particular men, but their story is symbolic of how the American military came to rely on the Afghan interpreters who were promised relocation to America and safety from the Taliban. The real meaning of the film’s title comes later when Kinley is sent back to the US with his family after being severely wounded, but feels the responsibility to get Ahmed and his family out of Afghanistan. He personally endures the frustration of dealing with government red tape and finally hires high priced mercenaries to help find Ahmed who has gone into hiding and get him to safety. The movie is thrilling as a war movie should be and full of harrowing scenes, and also shows the dedication of an American soldier and the loyalty to his fellow man. This is one that comes highly recommended.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed             4 ½ stars

The documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed by documentarian Laura Poitras tells two stories that are inextricably intertwined so must be told together. The maker of Snowden brings us inside the life and world of artist Nan Goldin and connects it to the struggle to hold the philanthropist Sackler family accountable for the opioid crisis that has plagued America for decades. Not having ever been addicted to drugs myself I have always found it confusing how something like this massive crisis could have happened. One should not go into viewing the movie expecting a complete analysis of what brought about this problem of drug addiction. The film is a deeply personal account describing the life of Nan Goldin from her upbringing including the death of her older sister, Barbara, her life in the art world in Boston and New York City in the seventies and eighties to her efforts in starting the activist organization Prescription Addiction Interdiction Now (PAIN) to fight the spread of opioids. Most of the movie consists of Goldin telling her own story through her photographs and slide shows from her artistic creations. She tells of her own struggles with drug addiction and dealing with abusive relationships as well as telling of the lives of some of the prominent artists of that time in New York City including Cookie Mueller, David Wojnarowicz and Vivienne Dick. Interspersed in her story are segments dealing with the PAIN protests against the Sackler family, the owners of the pharmaceutical company Purdue, who made billions in profits by selling OxyContin and other drugs and was largely responsible for the opioid epidemic that has led to the deaths of approximately half a million lives. The protests by PAIN are brought against the art galleries and museums that have accepted donations from the Sackler family that include the Met, the Guggenheim, Harvard University, the Louvre and numerous other universities. Goldin’s awareness of the Sackler family’s role in the widespread drug addiction started in 2017. The protests eventually led to the museums ceasing to accept Sackler money and the removal of the Sackler name from the institutions. The movie does not tell us the whole story of the opioid crisis which would include the roles of the medical establishment and the government in allowing this situation to exist for so long. Some background on the Sackler family is included, but the real focus is on Goldin’s life and her drive to do her part in stopping the crisis brought on by these drugs. This fascinating documentary received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary this year. I will say that I saw the film in a theater and it was followed up with audience discussion. Some of those present did not see the merits of the film and voiced puzzlement over why it would be shown.

The Starling Girl

The Starling Girl                4 stars

The Starling Girl, the first feature film from director Laurel Parmet appeared at this year’s Sundance and was just released in theaters. It concerns a young seventeen-year-old girl, Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen of Little Women and Sharp Objects) who is coming of age in a small rural town in Kentucky where she and her parents are part of a fundamentalist congregation. Jem is very devout in her faith, but is starting to realize her sexuality and the limits placed on her in this patriarchal society. She takes pride in the dance troupe she is in, but must heed the warnings from adults not to make it about her and to keep God first. One must be very careful in this setting as straying from the fold can result in requiring a confession in front of the congregation and being sent to a disciplinary camp for rehabilitation. Owen Taylor (Lewis Pullman), a handsome thirty-year-old youth pastor returns from an assignment in Puerto Rico with his wife, having a deep impact on Jem’s world. It is then that the story takes a darker turn with Jem pursuing a relationship with the pastor which he is all too willing to accommodate. The naïve Jem sees it as part of God’s plan to get them together while the audience knows what Owen is up to and that only disaster can result. To some extent the story is predictable, but it is made believable because of the acting ability of the young Eliza Scanlen. I don’t know anything about Laurel Parmet’s background but the film was useful in framing the Christian fundamentalist view of life and the outside world and of the effect on young people within the fundamentalist community.

Navalny

Navalny                5 stars

If you are going to see one documentary from 2022, Navalny by Daniel Roher must be the one to choose. Alexei Navalny is the Russian dissident who challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling out the brutal nature of the government and the lies he tells the people of Russia. The film follows Navalny and investigative journalist Christo Grozev starting from the attempted assassination of Navalny until he is arrested and put in prison upon his return to Russia. The film plays like a thriller as we see him suddenly fall ill on a flight to Moscow forcing the plane to land in Omsk to seek medical attention for him. There he is kept by the authorities, however his colleagues fearing the worst find a way to fly him to Berlin, Germany where it is determined he was poisoned, a sure sign that the Kremlin was involved. While in Berlin and on the path to recovery, Navalny and Grozev undertake an investigation using telephone records and flight records to find possible candidates for assassins with Kremlin ties. The rest is fascinating to watch as the truth is uncovered and the crime is broadcast around the world revealing the monstrous practices of Putin. All of this happened well before the invasion of Ukraine, thus we now know just how corrupt Putin is and what he thinks of the common people. The film also includes moments with Navalny’s family so we see what he is risking with his political moves. The film serves as an effective reminder of how bad things can be when living under an authoritative dictatorship. This is the film that won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards this year. If you are interested in documentaries that tell provocative stories as they happen, you should really see it.

Luca

Luca       3 ½ stars

Luca, the animated feature from Pixar/Disney and directed by Enrico Casarosa, takes the theme of The Little Mermaid and puts it on the Italian Riviera. Thus we get some Italian flavor including a seaside village, some homemade tagliatelle, and riding bicycles over cobblestone streets. We also see a friendship formed between two young boys, the younger one being Luca and the older one is Alberto. They have a secret though. They are both sea monsters who are masquerading as humans. It seems that these creatures who live in the sea are occasionally glimpsed by humans from the village but after they leave the sea and dry off they can transform into human form and have the ability to walk and speak normally. This experience creates the desire in Luca to learn all about his new surroundings including to ride a Vespa and to make friends with a local human girl, Giulia. Unfortunately, for our sea monster friends they are under constant threat of getting wet which can make them change back to monster form and be revealed to the humans. It has some other elements similar to other Pixar movies like a local bully and a climactic event like a bicycle race so is not particularly original, but should be very enjoyable for the younger audience. Luca is not Toy Story but is worth a look.

You Hurt My Feelings

You Hurt My Feelings     4 ½ stars

The new movie You Hurt My Feelings, written and directed by Nicole Holofcener first premiered at Sundance this past year and was one of those I heard good things about but didn’t get the chance to see. Now it is in theaters and thankfully can be seen and appreciated by movie fans. The previous Holofcener movies I have seen, Friends with Money, Please Give and Enough Said all have a special comedic style. They feature relationships between people that care for each other and have conversations where slight amusing cuts are made between them. They are not cute but also are not vicious; they are for the most part honest. In this movie Beth (Julia Louis Dreyfus), a writer and writing instructor is happily married to Don (Tobias Menzies), a therapist. Beth has written a memoir about her relationship with her father that was a success and is now working on a work of fiction but can’t get a publisher to accept it. Her sister, Sarah (Michaela Watkins) is an interior designer and is married to Mark (Arian Moayed), a stage actor. The couple discuss everyday things and go about their jobs until one day Beth and Sarah accidentally overhear Don telling Mark that he thinks Beth’s new book is awful but is afraid to tell her that and instead only gives her more encouragement. This causes great distress for Beth but she is afraid to say anything and is now worried that her marriage is all a lie. All of this is handled in comedic style with the combination of Holofcener and Dreyfus giving us plenty to laugh at. Dreyfus’s acting here is not at all like her angry character in Veep. She plays it more subdued and really brings out Beth’s insecurities toward everything. Holofcener and Dreyfus worked together previously on Enough Said and it’s great to see them collaborating again in a light comedy. I find Julia Louis Dreyfus to be one of the funniest actresses working today. This pair working together has given us a real gem of a comedy.