False Positive

Lucy (Ilanda Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) are a couple needed a little help conceiving a baby and get more help than they expected from Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan) in this straight to HULU release directed by John Lee (Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday). After trying several times with no luck, Lucy and Adrian visit his old professor from medical school, Dr. Hindle, who operates a very prestigious women’s click. After a little invitro help, Lucy becomes pregnant with twin boys and single girl having to make the decision to sacrifice either the boys or the girls that decision leads Lucy into a decent into paranoia surrounding the doctor and her husband, or is there more realism to her paranoia than others lead her to believe. Described by director, John Lee as a Psychological Satire and as many have pointed out parallels to Rosemary’s Baby, there is quite the suspense build up as we as an audience know just a little more than Lucy does causing the back and forth on is she crazy or not. The acting is on par for what you would expect for a film that is getting a straight from streaming release, I know they were pushing for a theatrical run though I think this lives just fine for the streaming medium, where it comes apart for me is towards the end it goes into some full on body horror gore to drive home the social commentary it is striving for. I did not trust doctors before this movie and watching this I will definiely be questioning with concern what is going on. ***

The World to Come

The setting, New York in 1856; The story is one of a forbidden romance between two women from different houses separated by the land and navigating around their husbands. Very early on, from hearing talk of this film, I wanted to see it for whatever reason. I missed the tiny theatrical run it had here, and just now seeing it was fully worth the weight. The story of a forbidden romance has been around since Shakespeare wrote about two star-crossed lovers; having the two lovers as females is not new either. We have already had Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Ammonite to name a couple of the more known ones. There is a simplisticness to it elevated with a poeticness that contrasts with the score, adding a subtle eerieness to balance things. It is not as sharp and crisp visually as, say, Portrait of a Lady on Fire though it delivers the feeling and emotional heft I wanted from Ammonite. Performances all around deliver from the cast, Casey Affleck you get your standard Casey Affleck, Christopher Abbott replaced Jesse Plemons, who dropped out of the movie, which I think worked to the advantage of the movie, Catherine Waterson we get to see her range and Vanessa Kirby after this and Pieces of a Woman is a name to keep on the radar. You enjoyed the others films I mentioned; you should check this one out. It a slow burn that, for me, was worth it in the end.

The Hitman's Bodyguard Films

 To get ready for the sequel, I went back and rewatched The Hitman's Bodyguard. I said it back when I saw it in theaters and will still say this movie had no right to be as good as it is; the story is basic and cliched ridden it is on the backs of Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson that the movie is carried through without becoming dull and sluggish. A rapid recap for those needing one before seeing the sequel and not wanting to rewatch the first, do not have the time, or just never cared to watch it. Reynolds is a highly rated bodyguard who loses his status when one of the people in his protective custody is killed by a sniper bullet. Gary Oldman is on trial for doing bad things, and Jackson is on his way to testify against Oldman when the convoy is blown up; Elodie Young was in charge of the transport and calls in Reynolds for help to get Jackson to the hearing on time. Thus the meat of the movie begins with Reynolds and Jackson playing opposites and having terrific on-screen chemistry together that elevates the scenes and the dialogue to entertaining levels. This is a prime example of a great popcorn flick; it is entertaining, you do not need to think too much, and when it is over, you feel like you just got off a fun carnival ride with a smile on your face. 

Flash forward from 2017 to 2021, and we get the follow-up film The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard. Did we need a sequel to the first one? No, we did not, and after seeing the sequel, it is a definite nope. Patrick Hughes returns to direct following the expected format of an action sequel, go bigger and louder. We are back with Ryan Reynold's; after the first movie's events, he has lost his bodyguard license and finds himself in therapy because of it. To try and put his mind at ease takes a vacation in Italy where things, of course, go wrong, and he finds himself with Salma Hayek, who needs his help to find her kidnapped husband, Samuel L. Jackson. Because someone decided to remember how Salma Hayek had those couple scenes in the last movie where she screamed a lot and stole those scenes, we need to make her a primary character and have her do that throughout the entire movie, most of the movie seems just a setup to determine if she can out Motherf***** Jackson and how many references to her boobs they can get away with. The plot, wow this was taken out of the '90s straight to DVD action flick, Antonio Banderas is a Greek who wants to destroy Europe by using a diamond-covered drill under the ocean to sever the data cables for the continent, during a demonstration in the movie this also causes electrical things to explode for some reason. It is the most convoluted and uninteresting plot with new characters that are just bland. The tone of the movie is all over the place, where the first movie was a simple story heightened by the performances, this one there is so much trying to go on, car chases and explosions constantly that it overpowers the actors who just do not seem to have that chemistry from the original which made it so bad but so good at the same time. This is a fully recommended pass for me, the first movie you love it or hate it; this one just has no reason to exist and is a waste of a talented cast that will also waste 99 minutes of your life.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

If you are not familiar with The Conjuring franchise, it revolves around Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively) who are based on real people and their case files that investigated the paranormal and possessions. This case revolves around a real case that occurred in 1981 when Arne Johnson (Played by Ruairi O’Connor) murders an individual and the Warrens are brought in to prove that he was under demonic possession during the murder. The movie starts prior earlier in the year when Arne’s little brother is the one possessed and the Warren’s trying to exorcise the demon out of the boy until Arne sacrifices himself to take the possession from his brother which will catch up with him shortly after. I have never been a fan of The Conjuring universe as they now call it, though the legal aspect to me sets the tone different to where I was a little more invested than just the jump-scared-filled paranormal encounters. Wilson and Farmiga as with the other films have wonderful chemistry and the scenes where they are together discussing the case are the ones that keep me connected to the movie, as much as I do no like this franchise, I could just watch these two walk around all day together bouncing stories off each other. Fans of the franchise might be thrown a little by the shake-up in formula having this one grounded as a legal thriller. I did find this one also incredibly predictable, partly because as the audience we know more than the Warren’s do and while I did not know all the details I had heard of “The Devil Made Me Do It” case growing up in the ’80s, I knew the outcome for the kid just not how the events to that judgment played out. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is one that I am okay with it coming out on HBO Max day and date as the theatrical release, I do not feel I missed anything by watching this in theaters and to me was the weaker of the recent Conjuring and its’ spin-offs. ***

Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar

 When I first saw the teaser and posters for Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar there was absolute zero interest in seeing the movie, I thought that looked like the stupidest worse thing ever. Well now I watched the movie and cannot believe it took me this long to finally rent it from Amazon Video. I absolutely loved how the director, brought the world to life and makes it apparent early on this is not in reality as we know it that this is a surreal world that Barb and Star live in. Also I felt that everyone in the cast and crew knew what movie they were making and committed to the concept. Will this movie be for everyone probably now, but I challenge someone to watch this and not at least crack a little smirk at a joke or gag at some point. Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristen Wiig) are two middle age women living the mid-west who live in their own little world that only the two of them get until the are laid off from their job and question what they are doing with themselves which leads them to go on a vacation to Vista Del Mar, Florida. This is the Florida that I wish I lived in, bright colors and when you walk into a hotel they burst into song and dance until the bubble is burst that it’s the wrong hotel your checking into. Yup, things don’t go 100% right for the two women when they arrive, that does not stop them from finding the good in things, these two are like little kids that go through a day living in their own world and finding the positive in every negative. Barb and Star also bump into Jamie Edgar Paget (Jamie Dornan) who is in town to plant a microchip that will guide killer mosquitos to the town and kill all the residents because his villainous boss whom he also loves, Sharon Gordon Fisherman also played by Kristen Wigg, was humiliated when she was younger and wants her revenge. Yup, it is absolutely bonkers story line and I cannot go to much into what happens without giving away too much. I listened to a podcast with director, Josh Greenbaum and said Kristen Wiig descried the movie to him as Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion  meets Airplane and he added in Top Secret and that is absolutely the best way to describe this movie. This was Josh Greenbaum's first feature directorial film and I cannot wait to see what else he can bring to the table, this feels like that spoof/campy film along the lines of The Naked Gun that we have seen tried to be done lately, but fall flat because the jokes and gags don’t land or its horribly edited, this to me is one of those films that the stars aligned right for every piece of the puzzle to fall into place perfectly. 

Now available where ever

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Mortal Kombat (2021)

 It has been a hot minute since I saw the original Mortal Kombat movie from 1995, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starred Christopher Lambert as Raiden and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawas as Shang Tsung among others. Let me just say that movie lived on in my head a lot different than it actually was, I decided to re-watch the original before seeing the new version and there is some stuff that holds up and a lot that does not hold up. We are not here to talk about that movie though we are here to talk about about the new adaptation of the video game franchise of the same name into a movie format, this time directed by first time director Simon McQuoid and starring Joe Taslim, Lewis Tan and Jessica McNamee to name a few of the faces I have seen else where that I did not know their names cast. The movie opens with a little back story of Sub-Zero and Scorpion, I have not played the games since like the 4th or 5th installment, but, even back then the rivalry between those two has always been a prominent center point. Then we learn that there is a tournament that takes place every so often between the Earth and Out World where who ever wins 10 out of 10 gets control of Earth, well 9 out of 10 wins has gone to the Out World which is ruled by Shang Tsung (Chin Han) who is cheating a bit by trying to find Earth’s champions for the final round of the tournament and kill them off before they can actually fight in the tournament. That is the basis of this movie is Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) is a god like character that sees what is occurring with Shang Tsung and decides to help Earth out a little bit and gather the fights then assist them discovering their powers. How do we know who is a fighter worthy of being in Mortal Kombat, super easy there are birthmarks in the shape of the Mortal Kombat dragon that get passed down through bloodlines or are won by defeating another fighter, that birthmark then give you superpowers that manifest when the time is right. See this is where I bring up two names Oren Uziel and Greg Russo, who are these people you may be wondering...or maybe not...either way, they are the writers behind this screenplay which I blame for half of what is wrong with this movie is the story just is so-so, you have Oren who has penned things like 22 Jump Street, The Cloverfield Paradox and an episode of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy television show, grant it not all masterpieces, but, at least has some experience in the screenplay realm. Then you have Greg who has written nothing before this, there is a story to be told though its surface deep and many times feels made up as they went along to make sure we get this person to this place to fight this person and then to make sure we have that thing the fans will know pop up there and there. The other half of the problems falls onto the shoulders of Simon McQuoid where it is very obvious his first directing job as there are some questionable choices of shot locations and what I can only think were choices forced by budgetary constraints that were not the right choices or lack of experience did not allow creativity within the confines of the budget. As I have said, I do not bring much knowledge of the video games to the table outside of knowing some of the characters, terminology and lines, I did recognize several nods to the source material there are sure more that I missed just because of not being aware they existed in the first place. To me it felt like they wanted this movie to reach a certain level and they just didn’t have that experience to get the movie up and over the hurdle to where they wanted it to go, of course you know they are trying to get a franchise going with it leave off for an obvious sequel, if Warner Bros brings together a more seasoned team for the sequel and they are able to tie up some issues with this one they could have an Aliens or T2 level sequel in their books. I almost feel like they should have expanded the franchise, maybe not to a cinematic universe level, but, do a couple smaller movies leading up the Mortal Kombat tournament name sake. That’s the way G.I. Joe with the new Snake Eyes movie coming out seems to be going focusing on one character, to me the opening sequence with Sub-Zero and Scorpion was the best part of the movie, do like a stand alone bout those two characters and then maybe one with Jaxx and Sonya then do another with a couple more then bring them all together to fight. The characters we don’t get much backstory on them or its brief and for me with a fighting movie I want to know who they are where they come from why am I rooting for them not to die. In the end those that are fans of the video games will find enough fan service to keep them entertained, those that are not will be left wanting more.

In theaters now

&

Streaming on HBOMax through May 23

Concrete Cowboy

 Caleb McLaughling, you will probably recognize him if you watch Stranger Things. He’s a teen living in Detroit that has the wrong friends, always in trouble and has just gotten expelled from school. His mother who has exhausted possibilities to get her son to wise up has decided to take him and leave him with his estranged father Idris Elba in Philadelphia. Caleb immediately realizes he’s in a different world and life style, also realizes his dad is a cowboy. That’s right a modern cowboy who has decided to keep a legacy of Philadelphia alive the best he can, with a bunch of friends they operate a make shift stable, along with reconnecting with his father there is also a reunion with an old friend played by Jharrel Jerome who was Kevin at age 16 in Moonlight this is a young adult that Elba warns is bad news and refuses to let his son live under his life if these two run together. Caleb begins to help in the stables and more than horses are being broken in now. Trouble comes though when his friend runs into trouble with the wrong crowd and the horses he has grown found of are being taken away to make way for modern development into the area. Caleb will have to chose what’s important to him and where his beliefs lie.

This is an absolutely amazing father and son story set in a sub culture and world that is fascinating, filled in with real people not actors who live this lifestyle. I received a screener for this, had no idea what it was about, just that it had Idris Elba and who does not love some Idris Elba. While it does largely revolve around Caleb and finding himself it’s about this subculture in Philadelphia that is slowly being eradicated to make way for mainstream culture. Concrete Cowboy has some great messages in a well made package, there are messages about family to ones about community. This is one that had me thinking about these people after the movie ended where are they now are they still there have they been further pushed out to make room for another condo complex.

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The Vault

Let me just start by saying I had no idea what this movie was other than what I was able to gather from the poster art.I have been playing catch up with Oscar nominees and wanted something other than those or Netflix movies, pulling up VUDU this was under the theater at home category, I check none of the theaters around me had this, figured it was not horribly expensive to rent ($6.99) took a chance on it. The most obvious grab from the poster is the title of the movie, a vault door, obviously we are looking at a heist film. It starts out in the ocean with a group diving to a shipwreck, was this the right movie? I exited and went back into the movie, yup it was the right movie. Turns out it was setting up what would be desirable enough to break into a vault for and that would be gold coins in a box that belong to Sir Francis Drake. The vault however is located beneath the Bank of Spain and has an elaborate security mechanism that will trap and kill anyone that tries to take anything out of the vault, that is where out main man Thom comes in aka Freddie Highmore, his character name is the only one I could remember the rest do not get much time given to developing their characters. Thom attends Cambridge and is an engineering wiz kid that is desirable to many different companies, but, decides to play bad boy for a change and take up the offer to go on this heist to figure out the vault security. The Vault is a beat for beat heist movie, it does try to shake things up a bit by letting more go wrong than typically does in a heist movie which created a bit of suspense tension. I just never felt that the stakes were that high to ever worry if they would be able to get their prize, I mean when one thing goes wrong the main man behind the heist is ready to just walk away until he sees one last opportunity, if it’s that important would you not give up that easy especially the effort already made. What is refreshing is seeing Freddie Highmore in a role that actually gives him the ability to flex his acting skills a little, this is his first R rated movie by the way, fun fact. For an evening in, there are certainly worse movies that I have taken a chance on renting from VUDU than this one. It’s a middle of the road movie, is it bad...no, is it good...not necessarily, is it entertaining under two hour...yes. 

Antebellum

 Finally getting around to watching this one, when I saw the trailers for this one I was expecting a horror movie akin to Get Out. While there are some similar aspects this one is much more in the psychological thriller after seeing it from beginning to end. The movie starts of with some sweeping views of a southern plantation akin to the likes of Gone with the Wind and things start going from pretty landscape to slave torture as we find Janelle Monáe trying to escape from a cotton plantation run by Jena Malone and confederate soldiers complete with a confederate flag in the center of things.  For the first part of this movie it seems as a heavy fisted look at treatment of slaves and then something happens we see Janelle Monáe in a present day out with some girl friends and we have a twist where a cell phone appears in the plantation. The movie shifts to a totally different terror finding this slavery is happening in this present time line no how plausible how it is occurring. Once the twist is done that’s when this movie got my attention and I started questioning how did I not see this coming, I even after the movie was over went back to the beginning for a little bit then realized everything we see from present to Antebellum version of her is there for a reason she is using every piece of knowledge in her head to figure out and survive her situation. There were several negative reviews that I read or heard about this and I would have to say there are a few points I agree with, for the most part though I would recommend this, yes the directors are trying to push a lot of concepts through do they all stick...no. It makes you think and question things which I think makes a good movie, how much wrong is going on in the world and we are oblivious to it. 

Horizon Line

 One of my favorite guilty pleasure type movies is those involving survival, swiping through options to watch something I had not seen before, I came across this title. Pilot suffers a heart attack, the pilot is Keith David and one of the passengers is Allison Williams if nothing else I figured it be a fun ride. I know in movies you have an expected level of reality suspension and disbelief, this one though asks you to accept a lot. The beginning feels rushed just to get Allison Williams and Alexander Dreymon onto the airplane in one of the more predictable scenarios. Once Keith David is gone things go straight to these two surviving through the most implausible scenarios. I can not hate on the movie too much as it did what I clicked on it to do which was entertain me, when I got to the end did I wish I picked something else, a little. 

Mulan (2020)

 I maybe a little late to the game with the live action remake of Mulan, I do not even know if you can call it a remake as it keeps very little in common with its animated counterpart, much less than the other live action adaptations that Disney has made. I was never a huge fan of the animated version it still stands as one of my lesser favorites of that period in Disney feature animation, the parts I do enjoy are the scenes with Mushu, "I'll Make a Man Out of You" segment and the few times we get to see Cri-kee. All those of course are not in this version that aims to take a more serious pass at the girl named Hua Mulan. Not being a supporter of movies of this scale skipping cinemas and going straight to VOD even in the time of COVID-19 I waited after hearing the remarks others have made about the movie and knowing that one day it will just come out on disc, which it did and I purchased it through the Disney Movie Club. Being a completionist I had to add it to my Disney collection regardless of it was good or bad, I got the 4K combo set which includes the 4K Disc, Blu-Ray and Digital Copy which I'll go into the disc contents at the end of this review. 

To me if Disney wanted to just make a more serious Mulan they easily could have, just changed the name a bit to take away the comparison and remake conversations surrounding this version. If another studio would have made this and gave it a new name it probably could have stood on its own as a Chinese action film, being Disney though even trying to look at it objectively as it's own entity no matter what their will always be that underlying comparison for viewers to the 1998 animation.