Category Archives: Thriller

Cocaine Bear

Cocaine Bear      3 ½ stars

The title of the hit horror “Cocaine Bear” tells just about everything you can imagine about this movie. “Inspired by true events”, in 1985 the body of a drug dealer with a failed parachute Is discovered in Tennessee, accompanied by a duffle bag of cocaine. Somewhere in a forest in Georgia the rest of the plane load of cocaine was dumped leading to a trio of the dead man’s drug dealer colleagues going in search of the missing drugs. Unfortunately, for them and the rest of the characters in this comical and bloody situation, a 500 pound bear has discovered the drugs first, getting stoned out of its mind after eating at least one brick of cocaine. What follows for the next hour and a half are some of the most hilarious encounters between said bear and the humans unlucky enough to cross paths with the ravenous animal. Besides the drug dealers (including the late Ray Liotta) there are the two teenage kids, Dee Dee and Henry, Dee Dee’s mom (Keri Russell), the local park ranger (Margo Martindale) who has gotten a raw deal on recent mishaps in the park, her activist friend, Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a trio of teenage boys who get their kicks out of attacking park visitors and a local cop (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) who aims to get to the bottom of the bizarre happenings in his jurisdiction. All find their way to the woods where the insane bear is hunting its prey. Although it is a comedy, Cocaine Bear deserves its R rating since there is no shortage of blood and gore as one person after another meets their fate at the claws and teeth of the angry bear that includes some missing limbs and at least one disembowelment. There also may be some valuable lessons to be learned when confronted by a bear in the woods, though I wouldn’t be real sure about that. The movie is directed by longtime actor and occasional director Elizabeth Banks known mainly as Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games movie series and is much in the tradition of recent horror comedy movies Werewolves Within and Shadow in the Clouds.

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.

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.

No Time to Die

No Time to Die                  4 stars

I finally took in the most recent James Bond film, No Time to Die from 2021 and was not disappointed. It’s hard to believe that it has been 15 years and five films since Daniel Craig took on the role of MI6’s most daring and successful secret agent, 007. This is Craig’s last outing as Bond and it is very emotional as well. There are all the usual attributes of a James Bond film, the international locations, the over the top action scenes, the villains scheming to dominate the world, Bond’s high tech gadgets and of course the fem fatales. This time around Bond has officially retired from service to MI6 and is living in Jamaica with Dr. Madeline Swann (a returning and stunning Lea Seydoux), but his friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright also returning) of the CIA shows up telling Bond there is a new threat endangering the world and his help is sorely needed. It seems a Russian scientist (David Dencik) has access to a technology of a tiny nanobot virus capable of killing people based on their DNA structure and that can spread throughout the world. Somehow MI6’s M (Ralph Fiennes) plays a role in this, but the plan has gone wrong with the weapon of choice falling into some very dangerous hands. Also returning are Q (Ben Wishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris). There are other notable characters played by actors bringing the franchise into the 2020’s: new MI6 agent Nomi (Lashana Lynch) who is very resourceful and a scrappy fighter, a suspicious CIA agent (Billy Magnussen of Bridge of Spies and Velvet Buzzsaw) and a newcomer agent, Paloma (a very sexy Ana de Armas of Knives Out and Blonde) who puts up a good fight when needed. For the bad guys there is the captured head of Spectre, Ernt Stavro Blofeld, a name that goes back to the Bond movies of the seventies. This time he is played by Christoph Waltz (of Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained fame) to great dramatic effect. But the real villain this time is a man named Lyutsifer Safin (a very menacing Rami Malek), who plays a notorious role in Dr. Swann’s past. The director, Cary Joji Fukunaga, new to Bond films has put this all together, but it is Craig who makes it more than just another action movie and brings some emotional depth to a character who has plenty to lose but must carry on to save the world one more time. Even though this is Daniel Craig’s last time out as 007, we are assured that James Bond will return.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One  4 ½ stars

Returning to the screen in true summer blockbuster form is the seventh Mission Impossible installment in Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One. The awkward sounding name teams up Tom Cruise in his iconic role of Ethan Hunt, leader of the IMF team with director Christopher McQuarrie, who directed earlier MI films and last year’s big hit Top Gun: Maverick. The action thriller features no less than a car chase through a European city (featuring a miniature Fiat), a desert gun battle, a thrilling cat and mouse hunt through an airport with a possible explosive, daring hand to hand combat amid the canals of Venice, all capped off with a thrilling confrontation on the orient Express through the Austrian Alps. As usual, these action scenes feature Cruise doing most of his own stunts which includes jumping off a mountain peak on a motorcycle with a parachute. This time around Hunt has accepted a mission with his IMF team to stop The Entity, a digital sentient AI being that threatens to control the world. I hope this is very far-fetched. The key to stopping it is a literal key, the possessor of which could control the entity if they can get the key to the right place. This is all that is needed to set up the usual action sequences vital to a successful Mission Impossible film. Despite the name of the film, it really does stand on its own as a complete film. We are promised a Part Two coming next year which is rumored to be Cruise’s final entry of the franchise. Returning as part of Hunt’s IMF team are Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg) and Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) who Hunt considers as family and perhaps his weakness. Villainous figures from the past appear including Gabriel (Esai Morales) and the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) who vie for control of the Entity. One new character deserving attention is a pickpocket appearing at a very inopportune time in the form of Grace (Hayley Atwell) who is “persuaded” to join the IMF team when there is no other choice. The CIA suits who would like to control Hunt are portrayed by Henry Czerny as Kittridge, head of the CIA and Shea Whigham as Briggs, a government agent who seems to follow Hunt’s every movie. Rounding out the villains is Paris (Pom Klementieff) who is mostly silent but very well versed in car chases and hand to hand combat. (You may have seen her as Mantis in the Marvel movies.) The movie strikes the right balance between action sequences and cooled down scenes allowing the audience to catch its breath so that you don’t notice the two-and-three-quarter hour running time of the film. The AI themed plot of the movie is appropriate to our current times and one hopes it isn’t predictive of what is to become. Now I will be looking with anticipation to 2024’s release of Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part Two!

Talk to Me

Talk to Me                          4 stars

Talk to Me from Australian newcomers Danny and Michael Philippou answers the question of what would a group of suburban teenagers do if they found a cursed mummified hand. If you said they would take turns using it to conjure dead spirits at a party while filming it with their iPhones you would be correct. This film which debuted at Sundance is easily the most intriguing horror movie I have seen so far this year. Teenager Mia (Sophie Wilde) who has recently lost her mother goes with her best friend, Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and Jade’s little brother Riley (Joe Bird) to a party of friends where the main event is to take turns grasping said cursed hand while strapped into a chair and saying the words “Talk to Me”. At this point the person sees a decaying human body staring back at them. If they can keep their composure they then say the words “I Let You In”, at which point a dead human spirit enters their body causing them to utter some threatening phrases and perhaps thrash about in strange contortions. But care must be taken to make sure the period of possession does not exceed 90 seconds. Sounds like a load of fun, doesn’t it? Mia takes a special interest in the activity when she believes this is a mechanism for her to communicate with her dead mother who died under mysterious circumstances, but something goes wrong resulting in severe injuries to the very young Riley. Naturally things take a dark turn as the teenagers try to find out the story behind the detached hand and Mia pursues ways to contact her dead mother. But there is a question as to whether it is her mother or something more sinister. Are you hooked yet? The movie does an effective job of showing us Mia’s grief (thanks to Miss Wilde) and includes some real mind grabbing special effects. I can also promise you a satisfying ending if you stick it out. The movie premiered at Sundance earlier this year. I saw it in an empty theater and now think it would have been a real blast to have seen it at Sundance with a fun full-size crowd. Look for it in theaters.

Cat Person

Cat Person          3 stars

The movie Cat Person begins with a quote by Margaret Atwood: “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” In one scene early in the movie 20-year-old college student, Margot (Emilia Jones of CODA and Fairyland) has a vision of a dog standing over the decapitated body of a fellow dormitory resident. These are early signs that things will not work out well for the movie’s characters. The movie is notable for being based on a New Yorker short story that created a sensation and for one of the most cringeworthy sex scenes ever to appear in cinema. Not having read the short story I can’t comment on it, and I won’t go into the history of the making of Cat Person. (But it did show at Sundance this year.) I can say the movie adaptation is a commentary on the perils of misinterpreted signals between men and women as well the dangers of basing a new relationship primarily on text messaging. The aforementioned sex scene takes place midway through the movie where it is clear that Margot is not into the first date awkward sex with Robert (Nicholas Braun of Succession), the 33-year-old man she met on her job at the local movie theater concession stand that shows revival films and monster movies. The scene is painful to watch as Margot has a conversation with her out of body self in a debate about whether to put a stop to it or just see it through out of pity to the insecure Robert. Prior to the scene we see how conflicted Margot is toward Robert as she alternately pictures Robert at a job, or in therapy sessions with a psychiatrist, but also as a serial killer who might try to murder her! We also see examples of women’s needs to please men such as a musical scene where Margot and her mom (Hope Davis) perform a dance routine to “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” for her stepdad. Fortunately for Margot she has a college roommate in Taylor (Geraldine Viswanathan) who provides the voice of reason telling her how she should handle her situation. Unfortunately I thought, is how the film eventually wanders into all out stalker movie mode in the stunning conclusion. I would have preferred that it stuck with the theme of differing expectations of men vs. women in a new relationship and stayed away from the more horror aspects. On the positive side, as we saw in the movie CODA (for which she received numerous awards), Emilia Jones looks like a major acting talent with a long future. Doctor Who fans can find her in a role on the show in Season seven. The film’s director, Susanna Fogel is also noted as having directed the 2019 hilarious female comedy, Booksmart. See Cat Person if you can tolerate the uncomfortable sex scene and some hateful text messaging.

Anatomy of a Fall

Anatomy of a Fall              5 stars

Last summer when I was in France, I saw many ads for Justine Triet’s movie Anatomy of a Fall (or Anatomie d’une Chute as the French say) so I was naturally very curious about it. The movie was shown at Cannes and won the Palme d’Or award, so it deserves some attention. The movie starts with Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), a famous writer being interviewed by a student in a secluded chalet in the French Alps. After a few minutes the interview is interrupted by loud music being played that Sandra explains is from her husband who needs the music when he is writing. When it becomes impossible to carry on a conversation the interviewer leaves and we are left with a feeling that something is not quite right in this home. Shortly after, the couple’s sight impaired son, 11-year-old Daniel, returns from a walk in the woods to find the body of his father, Samuel outside the home, where it is apparent that he suffered a fatal fall from the attic window. The police start an investigation and Sandra obtains the help of a defense attorney in Vincent Renzi (Swann Arlaud) who gets Sandra’s version of what happened that day. Sandra is soon indicted for murder and we have a courtroom drama on our hands. While the movie is a murder mystery/thriller, it is also an analysis of a good marriage that has been falling apart for years. In this respect it is like Marriage Story, only as a possible murder. During the trial we learn that Samuel blamed himself for the accident that took Daniel’s sight at 4 years old, and that Sandra had one or more affairs during their once happy marriage. The couple moved to Samuel’s French hometown so he could better focus on his work, leaving London where Sandra was happy. Being a native German, she struggles in the new setting as she is less than fluent in French. More facts are revealed in the trial leading to more doubt about her story, until it is revealed there is a recording Samuel made of a fight they had the day before the accident that is played in real time in court, showing just how damaged their marriage was as they both resent the accusations launched by the other. The scene is played as a flash back and is the only scene we see Samuel speaking. The writing of the scene and the superb acting by Hüller will have you wondering is Sandra sincere or is this all an act. Hüller can also be seen in two earlier excellent movies, Requiem and Tony Erdmann. Anatomy of a Fall is mainly in French with English subtitles, but most of Hüller’s dialogue is in English. The movie is currently playing in theaters.