Category Archives: Thriller

No Other Choice

No Other Choice               3 stars

Man-su is the kind of man who has it all.  A good paying job, a beautiful wife, a house in the suburbs and two children.  He is a successful middle manager in a Korean paper company and a past Pulp Man of the Year.  But suddenly an American company has bought out the company and that can only mean job cuts. Man-su finds himself out of a job and after a year of searching still has not landed a new one forcing spending cuts at home. What can a man do except kill the competition for what openings there are in his industry? This is the premise of Park Chan-wook’s comedy drama No Other Choice.  It seems I don’t see things the same as most of the critics as I didn’t appreciate the change in style going from serious drama to slapstick comedy.  There was too much of a change in tone that bothered me.  Man-su (played by Lee Byung hun of Squid Games) takes out fake job ads for a paper company to find the best candidates so he can find them and murder them.  Then he will be the most qualified man remaining.  The problem is that Man-su is really bad at killing, often getting mixed up in the victim’s lives. Then he bumbles his way through each situation. The movie is a long way from being plausible, but apparently that is what Park has in mind.  I wasn’t buying it, which ultimately made the movie less interesting for me. It doesn’t get my vote for Best Foreign Film Academy Award.

The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse                 4 stars

The Lighthouse is a very dark moody horror film that follows the interactions of two lightkeepers who must work together on an isolated island somewhere in New England in the 1890’s.  This film is by the horror movie master, Robert Eggers who made The Witch a couple of years ago.  This movie may not have quite the supernatural elements that that excellent horror movie did, but certainly scores on its hopeless mood using black and white filming, a smaller screen and some very mournful music and sound effects.  The two actors portraying the lightkeepers give us amazing performances.  Willem Dafoe is the aging experienced man who gives the orders, instructing the younger worker, Robert Pattinson in some of the worst back breaking, miserable work you can imagine.  Both give us haunting and masterful performances.  If there were an Oscar for the best curses uttered by an actor, Dafoe would win easily.  The story centers on the conversations and interactions between the two men as they alternate from hating each other to showing genuine concern for one another.  But ultimately the movie is about a slow descent into madness with a few fantasy elements thrown in.  It is up to the viewer to interpret what these fantasy scenes are about.  And since it is a horror movie there are some very unsettling scenes involving human bodily functions and sexual images.  This film is definitely a downer about humans in a deteriorating situation, but does it in a most impressive manner.  It is not a movie for everyone.

It Was Just an Accident

It Was Just an Accident                  4 stars

It Was Just an Accident, by the noted Iranian filmmaker, Jafar Panahi is a revenge movie but is deeper than that as it questions the cost of revenge. I have never seen any of Panahi’s other films, but I understand that he has many productions to his name and is well regarded. A minor accident at the beginning of the film sets in motion a series of events that will have a lasting effect on the lives of several persons that were held captive in a notorious prison run by the oppressive Iranian government. Vahid is a mechanic who one day hears the sounds of a customer in his shop who is being served by his partner. He thinks he recognizes the customer’s limp as the prison guard who tormented him using “enhanced interrogations” while he was being held in prison years earlier. The man is Rashid, a man with a family, who walks with a limp because he has an artificial limb. Vahid schemes to find Rashid’s home, follow him and kidnap him, then sets about trying to bury him alive in the desert. But Vahid’s problem is he can’t be absolutely sure he has the right man since he was always kept blindfolded while in prison. So, he sets out to find other people who were also held prisoner and tortured by the same guard, bringing them all together to identify Rachid and confront their own past nightmares. They have heated arguments about the situation discussing whether to let him go or execute him. Things get even more complicated for them when they find out that Rachid has a wife who is in desperate need of medical aid and they must help her and the couple’s daughter. They find that given the chance for revenge, the cost to their being and sanity may not be worth any satisfaction they may receive. The ending is very powerful and not what I expected. Jafar Panahi was himself held prisoner by the authoritarian regime and was prohibited from making more films, but he hasn’t let that stop him. You can understand why the Iranian government doesn’t want him to express his views. He made this movie without the knowledge of the government using amateur actors and what could be termed as low production techniques, filming it all in Iran. Nevertheless, he has produced a powerful film, one that achieved critical success and won awards at the Cannes Film Festival last year. I was lucky enough to find it in the theater where I saw the full effect of the drama. Don’t be surprised to see it mentioned in the Academy Award nominations in a few weeks. It happens to be the official Academy Award foreign film submission from France.

The Good Liar

The Good Liar                    3 ½ stars

The Good Liar brings together two senior Hollywood legends in Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren for an intricate con game as McKellen’s Roy, an experienced con man seeks to gain the trust of elderly widow Betty (Mirren) and deprive her of her millions in life savings.  We get a steady building story for a while as we learn of Roy’s background as a con man and see how he convinces Betty that he is everything she is looking for after they meet with the help of an online dating service for mature people.  All is not perfect as Betty’s grandson Stephen (Russell Tovey from Years and Years) gets suspicious and looks into Roy’s background.  The viewer gets a good dose of Roy’s character as certain scenes make it clear that he has little regard for the suffering of others.  Things take a turn when flashbacks reveal some of Roy’s true story dating back to the 1940’s.  After this point things start to get a little unbelievable when the characters make decisions that you wouldn’t expect them to.  The movie does have a twist as all good con movies should, but it’s not unexpected as the promotions for the movie have already hinted at it.  This movie gets an A for the acting talents of its stars and C for the story.  It’s best to see this one if you haven’t already seen the previews.
 

Knives Out

Knives Out                          4 ½ stars

One of the best movies of this year has to be Knives Out, the traditional murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie.  Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) has been hired to solve the murder of crime mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) who has been found in his estate with his throat cut.  There is no shortage of suspects as his entire dysfunctional family seem to have enough motive to do him in.  there is plenty of changes in direction and red herrings as are required in a good mystery.  One such event happens at the reading of the will which points to one particular suspect of great interest.  It is then up to the great Blanc to sift through all of the clues and mis-directions to come up with the real explanation for Harley’s demise.  The movie is filled with stars including Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Ana de Armas, Toni Collette and Frank Oz.  This is a very enjoyable film that will keep your interest throughout.

Monsters and Men

Monsters and Men          4 stars

Monsters and Men is one of a string of recent movies addressing police brutality against unarmed black men.  This one takes an approach similar to Crash where separate independent lives intersect around a common event, here the killing of a young black man at the hands of a white police officer.  Each of the three young men have their own way of dealing with the tragedy.  Manny, a hustler has just started a new job in security when he happens to be at the scene of the shooting capturing it all on video.  Now he must decide whether to release the video and subject himself to retaliation or keep quiet and be complicit in the crime.  Black police officer Dennis knows what the offending police officer is like and must decide how to respond to the ensuing investigation.  And young star athlete, Zyrick has to decide if he should participate in the resistance against the police which may jeopardize his chances at becoming a pro athlete.  These are situations that have been portrayed in many crime dramas, but it feels like a fresh approach here.  The director/writer, Reinaldo Marcus Green is completely new to the industry.  I hope we see more from him.  This film received much praise at Sundance two years ago as it took on this very hot topic.  I missed it back then but am glad I finally had the chance to see it. 

Wendy

Wendy  5 Suns 

Wendy is a reimagining of the J. M. Barrie Peter Pan story this time in a modern setting and told through the eyes of Wendy.  Wendy and her brothers are raised by their working class mother who works in a diner.  One day the three children sneak onto a passing train where they meet a strange headstrong boy named Peter.  He brings them to his island hideaway where he and the other children have their own world free of grownups.  Peter seems to have his own magic that originates from the island’s volcano and a mysterious sea creature.  But soon trouble finds them in the form of several older adults who gain control of an old ship and then try to capture the children,  leaving it up to Peter and Wendy to come to the rescue.  The imagery of the island environment is breathtaking and the performances of the children are impressive.  The director,  Benh Zeitlin previously made Beasts of the Southern Wild.  He was present for Q & A and spoke of the challenges of working on the island with an active volcano as well as what it was like working with children of ages 6 to 9. He said the key to succeeding with children was to make sure it was a fun experience for them.  Children are not in it for the money or the fame. Wendy is currently in the theaters so be sure to see it and you can bring some kids with you. 

Promising Young Woman

Promising Young Woman   4 Suns

Promising Young Woman is about a young woman,  Cassie (Carey Mulligan) who seems unambitious working as a coffee barista and living with her parents.  She is a drop out from medical school,  but now she spends her nights going to clubs where she plays out a scheme against any men who would seek to take advantage of women who are no longer in control of their senses.  It turns out that her best friend was a victim of such a circumstance and died as a result,  so this is Cassie’s way of seeking revenge against predatory men.  Along the way she learns new information about those involved in her friend’s case,  and the stakes of her vendetta reach a higher level.  The story is a fascinating one that brings some surprising twists along the way and I must say I did not see where it was going.  Carey Mulligan,  one of my favorite young actresses gives a superb performance.  I first saw her in An Education back in 2009 when she was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award.  I also thought the choice of songs used in the story telling was especially effective. If you are a frequent viewer of tv sitcoms, you will probably recognize several of the supporting cast. 

Lost Girls

Lost Girls  4 1/2 Suns 

Lost Girls is a true crime drama based on a novel by the same name.  Murder stories seem to be a theme this year as this is the third film I’ve seen involving the murder of a young woman.  When her adult daughter goes missing Mari Gilbert (Amy Ryan) must take matters into her own hands because of a lack of action on the part of the local police.  She traces her movements and last contacts of her daughter to an exclusive Long Island neighborhood where the neighbors seem to all protect one another.  Her daughter’s actions indicate that she was a prostitute getting clients online. The stakes increase dramatically when the police discover an area near this neighborhood is being used as a dumping ground for bodies of prostitutes which becomes the case of the Long Island Killer.  The police continue to mishandle the case causing endless frustration for Mari, her two younger daughters and families of the other dead girls in the case. They appear to be less interested in a case involving dead and missing prostitutes than they would with more important victims. It is only through the constant efforts of Mari to get answers that any real progress is made in the case.  I found it to be a powerful police drama because of a good script and a strong performance by Ryan as the girl’s determined mother. There are also fine performances from Thomasin McKenzie as Mari’s second daughter and Gabriel Byrne as the police commissioner. Sadly,  the real Mari Gilbert died shortly after production on the movie started and did not get to see the result.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery          4 ½ stars

Rian Johnson’s third installment of his iconic Knives Out murder mystery series, Wake Up Dead Man is out, and one thing is certain. He has hit a winning formula by casting Daniel Craig as the southern gentleman crime solver who is a master at working through some of the most convoluted murders this side of Sherlock Holmes. Johnson’s two previous films of the series, Knives Out and Glass Onion, were set in a mansion and a billionaire’s island retreat. This time around he gives up the usual extravagant location and cast of detestable rich people for a gothic church and a small flock of loyal church goers. The mystery to be solved is just as complicated and full of possible suspects as those earlier outings and with some misdirection’s. We start by meeting Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor who we remember from Challengers), a young priest who just assaulted a church deacon. His superiors must find a new parish for him so send him to Chimney Rock, New York, the location of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. There he meets Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin), who he is to serve under. Wicks is not your normal priest. He is a real firebrand and has a style of preaching that is all about anger toward the world, something that poor Father Jud doesn’t find very comforting as he is more about serving the world. (He also goes to extreme lengths in confessing his masturbation habits to Father Jud.) Wicks tends to turn newcomers away from the church, leaving him with only a handful of dedicated worshippers. Without going into details about all the characters and giving much away, I’ll say that we have an all-star lineup of a cast that includes Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Thomas Hayden Church and Jeffrey Wright. The story requires us to have a little background information that includes Wicks’ grandfather who served the church as priest and died at the altar many years ago, Wicks’ mother who was a harlot and Glenn Close’s character, Martha Delacroix, who has served the church for sixty years. It is after Wicks suddenly falls dead during the Good Friday service, and the police are stumped by the crime that sleuth Benoit Blanc is brought in to solve the murder. At this point I will not give away any spoilers and will just say there are plenty of clues the viewer learns of along with Blanc. It is not so much about identifying the murderer as about the how it was accomplished and the motive that really keeps things interesting. Of course, much of the entertainment value comes from the performance that Daniel Craig puts on with his dramatic way of speaking making him the modern-day Sherlock Holmes. I hope we don’t see the end of this series for a long time to come. It’s a really fun ride.