REVIEW: ‘Knock at the Cabin’ creates some suspense amid issues

Cabins are often relaxing places to stay at, unless it’s a cabin in a movie. In that case, it’s almost always an extremely dangerous place to be.

“Knock at the Cabin,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is another movie that shows a lovely vacation to a secluded, rustic location turning into a nightmare scenario. The movie follows the married couple Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge), as well as their daughter Wen (Kristen Cui).

During a stay at their rented cabin, the family is approached by a group of four individuals, led by Leonard (Dave Bautista). At first, it seems like a home invasion, but the family soon learn that the four are there to warn them about an impending apocalypse. According to the four, disaster is around the corner, and the only way to stop it is one of the family members being sacrificed.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Knock at the Cabin’ creates some suspense amid issues”

REVIEW: Pedestrian ‘To Leslie’ has great performance to lean on

Debates over Oscar campaigning aside, there’s no doubt Andrea Riseborough gave an award-caliber performance.

She stars as Leslie in the film, which picks up six years after the character won nearly $200,000 through the lottery. In the present day, Leslie’s bank account has run dry, with her having gone through the money she won.

She finds herself at the movie’s start not only homeless, but also an alcoholic. After briefly staying at her son’s apartment, she finds herself at a motel where the owners decide to take a chance and give her a job. There, she has a chance to restart her life, but it’s not made easy because of her addiction and past mistakes.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Pedestrian ‘To Leslie’ has great performance to lean on”

REVIEW: Brilliant work by Bill Nighy makes ‘Living’ worth watching

Bill Nighy can sure make someone laugh, as seen in films such as “Love Actually” and “Hot Fuzz.” As this film shows, he can also make someone cry.

Nighy stars as Rodney Williams in “Living,” an older man who heads the public works department in London. Williams has fallen into a fairly standard routine, riding the same train to his office and often looking over the same project requests day-by-day.

Early on in the film, Williams visits his doctor and learns of a terminal illness that, at most, gives him six months to live. Looking to make the most out of his life with the time he has left on this Earth, he seeks advice from some younger people and decides to make an impact in at least one way at his place of work.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Brilliant work by Bill Nighy makes ‘Living’ worth watching”

REVIEW: Melancholy drama ‘Causeway’ features strong leads

After a decade of mostly appearing in action blockbusters and major releases, Jennifer Lawrence returns to the smaller film space with the intimate drama “Causeway.”

The film, directed by Lila Neugebauer, who’s making her feature film debut, follows Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence), a member of the  U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers. The film picks up with Lynsey recovering after suffering a head injury caused by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Needing time to recover, she returns to her hometown, New Orleans, and stays with her mother Gloria (Linda Emond), even though the two have a strained relationship. While she’s there, she meets an auto-mechanic, James (Brian Tyree Henry), who is dealing with trauma of their own. Both individuals, who are a bit lost in life, are able to form a friendship from there.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Melancholy drama ‘Causeway’ features strong leads”

REVIEW: Poorly portrayed mental illness sinks ‘The Son’

Florian Zeller’s 2020 film “The Father” was a stellar exploration of a person going through a difficult health crisis and the impact it has on their family.

His follow-up, “The Son,” has a similar premise, but it’s not nearly as good.

Hugh Jackman stars as Peter in the film, a businessman who’s considering entering the world of politics as a consultant. Around the same time, his wife Beth (Vanessa Kirby) has given birth to their new son.

The movie picks up with Peter getting contacted by his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern), who explains that their teenage son Nicholas (Zen McGrath) has been skipping school and seems troubled lately. Hoping to give Nick a better environment and a new school to try, Peter takes his son in, but even then, the teen has struggles.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Poorly portrayed mental illness sinks ‘The Son’”

REVIEW: ‘Plane’ has plenty of suspense and action on board

Since 2017’s bomb “Geostorm,” Gerard Butler has rebounded with solid action pictures such as “Angel Has Fallen” in 2019 and “Greenland” in 2020. He’s added another enjoyable one to the list with “Plane.”

Butler plays Brodie Torrance, the pilot of the titular plane, who’s tasked with flying over the Pacific Ocean on New Year’s Eve. Two factors make it more than just a routine flight, though. One is some nasty weather and the other is a convicted criminal (Mike Colter) who’s on board to be extradited.

As the plane goes through bad weather, a lightning bolt hits the aircraft, knocking out its electronics and forcing Brodie to make a rough landing on a remote island. It turns out the island is controlled by a militant group and they take many people from the plane hostage. The only two left to rescue them are Brodie and the criminal, Louis, both of whom have military training.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Plane’ has plenty of suspense and action on board”

REVIEW: ‘Triangle of Sadness’ succeeds on strong satire, despite plot issues

One would have always guessed a movie set on a ship with “triangle” in the title would take place in the Bermuda Triangle, but here we are.

“Triangle of Sadness” instead takes place in less paranormal, but still dangerous waters. The film centers on a successful couple, the model Carl (Harris Dickinson) and influencer Yaya (Charibi Dean) who are invited aboard a luxurious superyacht.

They’re joined by many other wealthy individuals who are there to enjoy all of the fancy amenities, as well as the ship’s many staff members. Most of the staff seems fairly dedicated to their job, except the heavy-drinking captain (Woody Harrelson). This ends up becoming a bit of an issue when the yacht runs into heavy seas with big waves.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Triangle of Sadness’ succeeds on strong satire, despite plot issues”

REVIEW: Manic energy in ‘M3gan’ makes it a fun watch

Another addition to my never ending list of reasons why I fear a robot uprising.

The titular doll in “M3gan” is basically an android built by Gemma (Allison Williams), a robotics engineer working at a toy company that releases advanced products. While she’s at work on her latest project, her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident.

Gemma’s niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), survived the crash and is now living with Gemma, but the girl has become depressed and reclusive. In trying to help Cady, Gemma activates M3gan to be a doll and friend to the girl. However, M3gan was still in the testing phase, and the artificial intelligence in the doll has the potential to be dangerous.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Manic energy in ‘M3gan’ makes it a fun watch”

REVIEW: ‘A Man Called Otto’ is moving, but clichéd

This film is an adaptation of a book written by a Swedish author in 2012. I have to imagine he watched 2008’s “Gran Torino” and 2009’s “Up” before putting pen to paper.

Tom Hanks stars as Otto, a man who recently became a widower and lives day-to-day thinking there’s not much left for him in the world. Otto is rather grouchy and quite particular in his old age. For example, he doesn’t want anyone driving on the private road in front of his home.

He begins to loosen up, though, when he’s approached by a young, friendly couple and their two daughters. The matriarch of the family, Marisol (Mariana Treviño), especially forms a bond with Otto, helping him to find more in life again, which leads him to start helping others around the neighborhood.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘A Man Called Otto’ is moving, but clichéd”

Ten Worst Movies of 2022

So, we’ve wrapped up the year 2022, but not all of 2022 business.

As part of the process to say goodbye to 2022, I’m sharing the films that received the lowest ratings in the past 12 months. As usual, while most years have plenty of good movies, there are those that go in the opposite direction.

Here’s the ranking for 2022.

Continue reading “Ten Worst Movies of 2022”