Tag: Thriller

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ is an exhausting follow-up

What does this film have in common with its predecessor and 2013’s “The Purge?” Read on to find out!

After directing 2002’s “28 Days Later” and sitting out of its 2007 sequel, Danny Boyle has returned to helm the third movie in the series, “28 Years Later.” As the name implies, this takes place nearly three decades after the rage virus spread throughout the British Isles. Fortunately for the rest of the world, it has been contained to the islands.

Communities still exist on those islands, though, with enclosed towns on smaller islands loosely connected to the mainland. Only a few venture onto the mainland to scout and scavenge, such as Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). On his most recent trip, he brings his son, Spike (Alfie Williams), who’s come of age to participate.

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REVIEW: Strong emotional core, vampiric thrills power ‘Sinners’

What if “From Dusk Till Dawn” took place in the Great Depression?

That’s sort of what we have here in this new vampire thriller from writer and director Ryan Coogler. A period piece, “Sinners” is set in 1932 and takes place in the Mississippi Delta region. The movie stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles, playing twin brothers Elijah and Elias Moore.

After making money as part of Al Capone’s Chicago mafia, they’ve returned to their roots to open a Juke Joint. The duo bring in family and friends to help run the venue and it turns out to be a success. In fact it’s such a success that it attracts a group of vampires.

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REVIEW: Premise of ‘Drop’ is too far off the deep end to fully work

Sometimes, a movie just breaks a person’s suspension of disbelief limit.

The latest film to do so is from Christopher Landon, known for helming “Happy Death Day” and its sequel. His new film, “Drop,” is a thriller, and centers on Violet (Meghann Fahy), a widowed single mother about to go on a date with a promising match from an app.

Violet arrives at the restaurant they decided on, a fancy eatery in a Chicago skyscraper, and, after some waiting, meets her match, Henry (Brandon Sklenar). The night seems to be going OK until Violet’s phone starts getting digital drops with messages saying her son will be harmed if she doesn’t kill her date, who’s knows about a government secret.

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REVIEW: ‘A Working Man’ is entirely mundane

Bring back the bees, please.

Director David Ayer and actor Jason Statham team up again for “A Working Man” after partnering for last year’s film “The Beekeeper.” Unlike last time where he was a retired special ops guy-turned beekeeper, Statham now plays a former commando-turned construction worker.

Statham’s character, Levon, works for a kind family and is trying to rebuild his own situation after the death of his wife. However, his everyday life is disrupted when the daughter of his employer is kidnapped by traffickers. With the police doing little, he uses his skills to rescue her from the gangsters responsible.

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REVIEW: Soderbergh’s ‘Black Bag’ is a satisfactory spy flick

Talk about a power couple.

In the latest film from director Steven Soderbergh, Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett play a married couple who both work in British Intelligence as elite spies. At the outset of the film, Fassbender’s character George is informed that a secret piece of tech has been leaked and one of the suspects behind it is his wife, Kathryn.

George accepts the mission to investigate where the leak is coming from, committing to including his wife in his search, though he is skeptical. The film follows as he plays a careful game of keeping Kathryn close while also looking into her own spy work which has been labeled as classified or “black bagged.”

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REVIEW: Mishandled tone makes ‘Heart Eyes’ a disappointment

The mask worn by the villain in this slasher is certainly great. The rest of the movie? Not quite so much.

The antagonist in this film shares the name of the movie itself. Heart Eyes is a serial killer who has been on a rampage the last few years, killing several couples on Valentine’s Day. The film picks up again on Valentine’s Day in the present, centering on a Seattle-based marketing professional named Ally (Olivia Holt).

Because of trouble at work and her single status, she’s not too excited for the holiday. Things only get more complicated when she meets Jay (Mason Gooding), a new colleague she has chemistry with, but sees as a work rival. Unfortunately, the two are mistaken as a couple by Heart Eyes and now have to go on the run from the killer.

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REVIEW: ‘Emilia Perez’ is an awful, misguided Netflix entry

Wow, we got two crime drama musicals in 2024, and the one with the comic book clown was better.

Zoe Saldaña stars in “Emilia Perez” as Rita, a lawyer working for a defense attorney firm who’s unsatisfied with her career. After a recent major case, she gets a call from Juan Del Monte, the head of a cartel who is seeking her assistance. The kingpin is seeking to transition and wants gender-affirming care, before starting a new life and faking her death.

The path to becoming who she wants to be, Emilia Perez (Karla Sofia Gascon), is one Rita decides to help manage and plot in return for a big payout. But even once everything is set up, the future remains complicated for the two characters. Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Emilia Perez’ is an awful, misguided Netflix entry”

REVIEW: ‘The Substance’ shocks, thrills and satirizes

French women are on a roll with body horror films lately with Julia Ducournau helming “Titane” in 2021 and CoralIe Fargeat crafting this flick in 2024.

The newer picture, “The Substance,” centers on actress and aerobics instructor Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore). Once a major player in the Hollywood scene, Sparkle’s career has faded a bit over the years and things get worse when she finds out her time as host of a morning aerobics show is coming to an end.

Through a series of events, though, she comes in possession of a serum that claims to create a younger, more beautiful version of the person she is. She ends up taking it and it works, creating another version of herself to live through (Margaret Qualley). However, as time goes on, the needed balance between her two selves begins to deteriorate.

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REVIEW: Gothically gorgeous ‘Nosferatu’ is good, not quite great

The last month of 2024 brought us a new tale with the classic vampire Dracu… oh, excuse me. A new tale with the classic vampire Count Orlok.

More than 100 years after the release of the legendary German horror film, a new “Nosferatu” is in cinemas. Like the original from 1922, this remake centers on the married couple Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) Hutter. The movie picks up with Thomas, a real estate agent, being sent to Transylvania for a sale.

There, Thomas meets Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgard), a nobleman (and secret vampire) who’s seeking a relocation to the German city where the Hutters reside. His reason for wanting to do so is a sort of mental connection the vampire has with Ellen.

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REVIEW: ‘Heretic’ has moderate suspense, though Grant shines

Hugh Grant has entered a villain phase with this and “Dungeons and Dragons,” and I’m all here for it.

In this film, Grant portrays Mr. Reed, a man who appears like a fine fellow at the movie’s outset. Early on, he’s visited by Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), and welcomes them into his home to discuss their religion.

To make them feel at ease, he expresses interest in their religion and claims his wife is in the back baking a pie for them to enjoy. However, it soon becomes clear that everything is a ruse, as Mr. Reed traps the two women in his home and is prepared to test their faith in dark ways.

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