Plot

A lonely mortician searches for love and belonging, but as grief and desire collide, her need for connection takes a disturbingly intimate turn.

What I Liked

• A strong, consistent mood/atmosphere

• Joanne Mitchell shows confidence in her directorial debut, even if it didn’t work for me

• Rebecca Calder’s performance

What I didn’t like

• The film lacks a clear, smooth narrative flow, which made the structure feel too disjointed

• Pacing is inconsistent, and shifts noticeably from scene to scene

• Supporting cast don’t always feel unified

My Thoughts on Broken Bird

Joanne Mitchell’s approach to structure and control

Broken Bird is the feature directorial debut for Joanne Mitchell, and I always like watching films from a first time director to see the style they bring, and here, you have to say she doesn’t really direct or build in a straight line, which clearly shows in how scenes are put together as they feel more like separate units placed next to each other rather than steps in a clearly shaped progression.

Each scene tends to start without much setup, and once it finds its tone it just runs with that until it naturally stops, so there isn’t much effort made to smooth the gap between one moment and the next.

Because of that, the film does have a feeling of it’s moving in sections rather than flow, and you don’t really get a strong sense of one scene pushing into the next, more that the film shifts location or focus and carries on from there, which gives it an uneven shape, but it;s also not in a way that feels accidental, more like it’s simply comfortable working in pieces rather than in a continuous arc.

You also have pacing that changes depending on what each scene is doing, as sometimes the film slows right down, and in others, especially ones that are more direct or functional, things move faster, and information comes in more quickly.

What that all means is the film never really locks into one tempo, but it adjusts constantly depending on the scene itself.

I would say it’s confident and bold, but whether that style will be for you or not though is another matter.

A constant moody feel

There’s a consistent strong mood running through Broken Bird that thankfully doesn’t really shift, because even when the pacing or scene focus changes, it stays fairly muted, slightly tense in the background, and fairly observational without feeling too detached from everything, and that is what actually ends up linking a lot of the scenes together.

The scenes might be differing in structure, length, or energy, but they do at least still feel like they belong in the same emotional space because of the mood, so even when the film moves somewhere new, it leans on that shared mood to hold its shape, and just hopes that’s enough, and I would say for me, it didn’t really work.

Rebecca Calder carries the centre of it all

Rebecca Calder also ends up doing more of the holding together in Broken Bird than the film ever really signals on the surface, and while it’s not a performance that pushes itself forward or tries to define scenes, but it does gradually becomes clear that she’s the thing everything else keeps returning to.

She manages to stay in a fairly controlled emotional space throughout, not shifting much even when the film around her changes tone or energy, and in a different film that might feel limiting, but here it does end up giving her a kind of reliability the rest of the film doesn’t really have.

The supporting cast each also bring their own way of approaching scenes, and some of them play things very close in, while others are a bit more open, which don’t help some scenes land well in a unified tone, so that just ended up making them feel more like individual performances sharing space rather than shaping any sort of collective dynamic.

Unfortunately, that also just added to the uneven style I felt throughout while watching it.

Final Verdict

I found it quite a frustrating film to watch, as while it does have a good mood and atmosphere, it’s also quite a messy film that didn’t quite do it for me, but I admire the confidence at least.

Trailer

Film Credits

Directed by Joanne Mitchell

Sreenplay by Joanne Mitchell, Dominic Brunt and Tracey Sheals

Based on the 2018 short film, Sybil by Joanne Mitchell

Cast includes - Rebecca Calder, Jay Taylor, James Fleet and Sacharissa Claxton

Runtime - 99 minutes.

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Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

The Leaching - July 7th (Digital)

After waking up on her father's isolated forest property with amnesia, Vivian must use her limited memory to piece together the nightmarish truth, all the while being tormented by the undead, a giant leech monster, and her "father."

You’re Dead to Me - July 7th (Digital)

The Film focuses on a group of high school seniors grappling with the reality of moving away to college. As if senior year couldn't be stressful enough, there is also a serial killer on the loose.

Black Box - July 7th (Digital)

Vero Airlines Flight 298 from New Orleans to Seattle becomes the center of a chilling supernatural mystery.

Evil Dead Burn - July 10th (Theaters)

After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws. As one by one they transform into deadites, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life - survive even in death.

Moana (Live-Action) - July 10th (Theaters)

Prompted by a summons from the ocean, Moana departs her home island of Motunui for the first time and travels past its barrier reef. Accompanied by the demigod Maui, she undertakes a voyage aimed at recovering the well-being of her community.

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass - July 10th (Theaters)

When her fiancé uses their "celebrity pass" agreement, Midwest bride Gail Daughtry travels to Hollywood seeking revenge by pursuing her own celebrity encounter.

Night Nurse - July 10th (Limited Theaters)

As a series of perverse scam calls unsettles an idyllic retirement community, a starry-eyed nurse becomes entangled with her mysterious patient.

Gangland - July 10th (Limited Theaters)

A weathered tribal cop and his new trainee must find a ruthless fugitive, whose return to their rural Indigenous reservation has exposed its darkest secrets and could ignite a violent gang war.

The Isolate Thief - July 10th (Limited Theaters/Digital)

A young woman struggles to conceal the gold she stole from violent outlaws who have seized control of her remote outpost, outwitting them amid a deadly winter where survival becomes a game of cunning and betrayal.

Reading Lolita in Tehran - July 10th (Limited Theaters)

A professor in revolutionary Iran secretly gathers her most dedicated students to read forbidden classics of Western literature.

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Which is exactly why it is so interesting as a genre, so here are some folk horror films I would recommend watching if you have not already to get you started.

The Wicker Man

The original, not the Nicolas Cage remake, bless his soul.

Anyway, I don’t really know how many more ways there are to say this is the starting point for folk horror, and is one of my favorite movies full stop.

The thing that always gets me when watching this is just how relaxed everything feels for so long, almost like you’re watching a different kind of film entirely, one where everyone is just slightly too comfortable with each other in a way that doesn’t quite add up if you think about it for too long.

And then it slowly becomes clear that the film doesn’t really change tone at all, it’s just been showing you exactly what it intended to the whole time, and you’ve been adjusting to it without noticing.

And the ending? Classic.

The Witch

A film where the isolation the characters feel should hit you hard, because it gives you no real sense that the family is connected to anything outside of itself in any meaningful way, and you feel that completely, or as said, should feel that completely.

It also doesn’t really give you anything modern to hold onto, which I know sounds obvious, but it does make a difference in practice, because you’re not being guided toward a familiar way of interpreting what’s happening, if you know what I mean!

Midsommar

With Midsommar, you feel like no-one has any place to hide, with the daylight setting that doesn’t make anything feel like a relief, because while you would expect brightness to make everything clearer or safer, it actually ends up doing the opposite.

And underneath all of that, the grief story isn’t really separate from the rest of it either, it just sort of sits there and slowly starts blending into everything else.

Incredibly unsettling to watch.

Kill List

You think this is a fairly straightforward crime story when you start watching it, or at least something in that space, but it then gradually shifts into something else without ever really stopping to tell you that it’s doing it.

By the time you notice the shift properly, you’re already too far into the earlier version of the film for it to feel like a clean transition, and your expectations are never given a moment to reset before the ritualistic madness of the second half.

Witchfinder General

A film that is all about people using authority and fear as a justification for what they’re doing, and it’s also probably one of the most direct films on the list in terms of discomfort, because there isn’t really any layer you can step back into to soften it.

Part of the British “Unholy Trinity” alongside The Wicker Man and The Blood on Satan’s Claw, which I haven’t included here, but is well worth a watch as well.

A Field in England

Even though this mostly takes place in one location, it never also really feels contained in the way you’d expect, because the longer it goes on, the less stable everything becomes, including how you’re supposed to be interpreting what’s happening in front of you, which ends up feeling like a breakdown in how those events are being experienced.

Director Ben Wheatley managed to pull off a brilliant cinematic here, using a simple field and turning it into a claustrophobic, inescapable trap.

Apostle

There’s a constant sense in this one that the island and the community on it are being held together by something that isn’t particularly stable, and the more time you spend with it, the more that sense of strain starts to show through everything else that’s going on.

It never fully tips over though, but you’re always fully aware that it could, which is where all the tension comes from.

Anchoress

This is a film that feels like it’s been half-forgotten in plain sight, not because it’s obscure but more because it sits slightly outside the way people usually talk about the genre, and the interesting thing is how much of it is about people choosing confinement as much as it is about anything being forced on them.

It just lets belief, ritual, and other people’s certainty do most of the damage.

I suspect this one won’t be for a lot of people, but it is a very interesting watch.

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Plot

Detective Enola Holmes heads to Malta, where her aspirations merge in her most complex and dangerous case yet.

Good Points

• Millie Bobby Brown is still excellent as Enola

• Malta provides a beautiful backdrop

• The humour lands more often than not, with a few genuinely funny moments

• The pacing is steady, so the film rarely drags

• The film continues to celebrate Enola’s intelligence and independence

Bad Points

• The mystery is fairly predictable

• Henry Cavill has far too little screen time

• The story follows a very familiar formul

• Some scenes don’t really have much impact at all

My Thoughts on Enola Holmes 3

A familiar return that doesn’t quite recapture the magic

Can a series really keep solving mysteries forever before it starts solving the same one over and over again?

That’s the question I asked myself after watching Enola Holmes 3 (OK, I didn’t really, but just for the sake of this review…) The first film had that fresh, energetic charm that made it stand out from the endless list of detective stories, and the second one also kept enough of that spark alive to make me want another adventure.

This third outing, though, while perfectly watchable, feels like it has run its course.

Millie Bobby Brown is still the heart

One thing this franchise has definitely always understood is that Enola works because she’s interesting - she’s smart without acting like she’s the smartest person in every room, she’s stubborn without becoming annoying, and she’s confident enough without turning her into someone that is impossible to like.

Brown has found a certain rhythm with the character that really feels effortless now, and she makes Enola funny without ever having to try too hard, and this one featured a few more very solid moments where I laughed simply because of her.

The moments where she talks directly to the audience are still here too, and I know people are split on them, but I’ve always kind of enjoyed that, as they help give the films a bit of their own personality, even if a couple of times where it felt like the film leaned on them because it wasn’t quite sure how else to explain something.

Brown still makes it work though, and that’s been the story of these films from the beginning, where she manages to cover up a lot of the weaker writing simply because she has such a likeable screen presence.

The mystery is a bit meh

For a detective film, the mystery is obviously the most important part, and this is where Enola Holmes 3 loses some points.

While I wasn’t bored, it still all unfolds in a fairly straightforward way, and you will no doubt find yourself connecting the dots easily enough, which is never ideal for something that’s supposed to keep you guessing.

There are plenty of clues as usual, plenty of running around, and plenty of people acting suspiciously, but none of it has you gagging to know what happens next like a good detective film should.

The cast are still fun enough

One thing I also did miss was seeing more of the relationships that made the earlier films enjoyable.

Henry Cavill’s version of Sherlock has always bounced nicely off Enola, and I wish there had been more of that, in fact, a lot more, as we don’t really get much of it at all, while Louis Partridge continues to be charming enough, although his character still has the personality of warm wallpaper - nice wallpaper, admittedly, but wallpaper all the same.

Himesh Patel also gets more to do this time, and I enjoyed seeing his version of Watson become a bigger part of things, as he’s easy to like without trying to steal every scene.

Helena Bonham Carter pops back in as well, and even when she’s only around briefly, she brings some welcome energy.

It looks great, even if it sometimes looks very... Netflix

The production side of things is solid enough.

Malta is a gorgeous location, and the film makes full use of it when it is on screen, where the scenery gives everything a brighter, more adventurous feeling, and there are plenty of shots that genuinely made me wish more streaming films were shown in cinemas.

At the same time, there are moments where it is hard to shake that polished streaming look, and if you’ve watched enough Netflix originals, you’ll probably know exactly what I mean.

Everything is clean, colourful and expensive looking, but occasionally it almost looks too perfect, it’s hard to explain without sounding like I’m complaining about something that isn’t really a problem, but there is a certain visual style that many Netflix films seem to share.

But I am not sure if yet again that is a me problem.

The humor works better than the drama

One thing these films have consistently done well is balancing mystery with comedy, and while the jokes aren’t flying every thirty seconds or anything, there’s enough light-hearted banter to stop everything becoming too serious.

The emotional side isn’t quite as successful, however.

Whenever the film slows down to focus on the more serious conversations, those scenes didn’t have quite enough weight behind them, where they just came and went without leaving much of an impression.

Thankfully the film doesn’t stay still for too long before moving on to the next clue or action sequence.

The biggest problem is that it’s running out of new ideas

My biggest issue wasn’t actually with this film by itself.

It’s with the series.

By the third film, I really wanted something that really shook things up, but you get something that mostly sticks to the same formula that’s worked before, and while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to a winning formula, but eventually you start recognising the pattern.

It still has the charm, humor, and the sense of adventure, but the surprise not so much.

Instead, the whole experience reminds you of ordering your favourite takeaway, as you know it’s going to taste nice, you will enjoy eating it, but halfway through you realise you’ve ordered exactly the same thing for the tenth time this year.

Still good, just not very exciting anymore.

Final Verdict

Enola Holmes 3 is a decent watch thanks to Millie Bobby Brown, who continues to carry this series with ease, and I had a good enough time, but I do wish the mystery had been sharper and the story had taken a few more risks - it’s a decent sequel and watchable enough though, even if it is too safe for my liking for a 3rd installment.

Film Credits

Directed by Philip Barantini

Screenplay by Jack Thorne

Based on The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer

Cast includes - Millie Bobby Brown, Louis Partridge, Himesh Patel, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter and Susan Wokoma

Cinematography by Matthew Lewis

Edited by Tommy Boulding

Music by Aaron May and David Ridley

Running time - 108 minutes

Trailer

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Plot

Joe and Angela's marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places.

What I Liked

• The cast really carries it, especially Norton and Cruz

• Seth Rogen’s whole energy fits perfectly

• The humour isn’t forced

• It never really drags

• No one is clearly “right” or “wrong” the whole time, which keeps it interesting

What I Didn’t Like

• It hints at deeper ideas but doesn’t really push into them properly

• A couple of performances (mainly Rogen at times) feel like familiar mode

• It plays it a bit safe with what it could’ve explored emotionally

My Thoughts on The Invite

It basically kicks off in awkward mode and never really leaves it

The Invite is all about conversations, where it starts with people just talking and doesn’t stop, with people sitting in rooms making everything slightly worse for themselves, and I have to say, I have been in those type of rooms before.

Most of the humour comes from that kind of social misstep stuff - someone says something a bit off, nobody shuts it down - then suddenly it’s too late and everyone’s stuck in it, where you will probably end up laughing more at the reactions than the actual lines.

A pretty simple film, but one that works well if you’re into that kind of awkward humor.

Seth Rogen being Seth Rogen in a situation that clearly annoys him

Seth Rogen is basically doing his usual thing here, and while he has done that before (plenty of times), here it does actually work, as he’s got that permanently fed-up energy that fits the character really well.

Half the time he doesn’t even really need dialogue, just the look on his face does the job, with moments where he just sits there like he’s trying to decide if it’s worth even responding, which is all he really needs to do to be fair, as you understand exactly why simple because we have all no doubt been in that position.

Olivia Wilde is solid too, she plays it a bit more controlled, with nothing ever feeling overdone, which helps, because this kind of film could have easily tipped into people shouting all the time, but the script never allows that to happen thankfully.

Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz are probably the most interesting to watch however, as they just feel very comfortable with everything in a way everyone else doesn’t, like they’ve already decided how things are going to go and everyone else is catching up.

Nothing overly showy, just very easy to watch.

Conversations that start normal and end in people wishing they’d stayed quiet

For this type of film to work, the script obviously has to be strong, and it is for the most part, featuring constant interruptions, misunderstandings, and people taking things the wrong way and then trying to fix it by talking even more, that kind of thing.

It really does feel like the sort of conversations you’ve probably seen or been stuck in yourself too, with a nice rhythm to it, because it also doesn’t feel like it’s constantly trying to land jokes, as a lot of the humour comes from stuff like someone realising a bit too late that they’ve said the wrong thing.

It does keep hinting at deeper ideas about relationships and honesty, but it doesn’t really go all the way with any of it, which is fine, but it just left me thinking it could’ve pushed a bit more instead of playing it safe all the time with those ideas.

One location, same room

Most of it just stays in one space with people talking, which sounds like it could get boring but it doesn’t really, and the pacing is steady enough, with scenes moving on before they get stale, with a fairly a decent sense of timing overall.

It also doesn’t try to over-style things, as it just lets the actors do their thing instead of cutting around or overcomplicating it., which was probably the right call here anyway.

You will also notice that no one here is clearly the “good” or “bad” person, because everyone has moments where they make sense and then moments where they don’t at all, and you will end up agreeing and disagreeing with all the cast at some point, which keeps it more interesting than if if tried to have you pick sides.

There’s also a lot of people digging their own holes instead of stopping while they’re ahead, which is where the film is funniest, just watching situations get worse because nobody knows when to shut up.

Who doesn’t know people like that?

Final Verdict

I found it a solid watch - funny in that awkward, uncomfortable way, and carried by strong performances and dialogue - simply people talking themselves into trouble for most of the runtime.

Trailer

Film Credits

Directed by Olivia Wilde

Screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones

Based on The People Upstairs by Cesc Gay

Cast includes - Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton

Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra

Edited by Yorgos Mavropsaridis and Anthony Boys

Music by Devonté Hynes

Running time - 107 minutes

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Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

Obsession - June 30th (VOD)

After breaking the mysterious "One Wish Willow" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.

Pitfall - June 30th (VOD)

After a young man gets separated from his friends while in the woods, he falls into a 10-foot deep pit of spikes, impaling him through the leg, and leaving him trapped. He quickly learns that his fall was not an accident.

Jacked - June 30th (VOD)

In the Summer of 1987, after a perfect day at the lake, two small-town teenagers are stuck with a broken-down car and in a fight for their lives when they cross paths with a violent stalker.

Slashercise - July 1st (Bloodstream)

Follows a masked killer known only as Meathead as he stalks the fitness clubs of Los Angeles, turning workout sessions into blood-soaked nightmares. As the city's top trainers are picked off one by one, a group of determined fitness fanatics must fight back before they become the next bodies on the mat.

Minions & Monsters - July 1st - (Theaters)

Follows the Minions in 1920s Hollywood as they search for frightening creatures for their monster movie, partner with a green creature, and must save the planet after unleashing monsters.

Enola Holmes 3 - July 1st - (Netflix)

Detective Enola Holmes heads to Malta, where her aspirations merge in her most complex and dangerous case yet.

Young Washington - July 3rd (Theaters)

A young George Washington faces war, betrayal, and impossible choices that will forge a leader.

Man of War - July 3rd (Digital)

When an aid worker vanishes in the first hours of war in Ukraine, a former Navy SEAL and CIA operative crosses into the shattered country to bring her home-facing mercenaries, shifting battle lines, and ghosts he thought he left behind.

Living the Land - July 3rd (Digital)

In 1991 rural China, as villagers migrate to cities for better opportunities, 10-year-old Chuang remains in his hometown. The third child of his family navigates life during a time of sweeping national changes.

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Plot

A wounded American soldier is trapped behind German lines during the Battle of the Bulge.

Good Points

• A few strong scenes that work well on their own

• Scott Eastwood

• A cold, bleak visual style that reinforces the atmosphere

• Steady pacing

Bad Points

• Repetitive structure that settles into a predictable cycle

• Not much narrative or emotional progression

• Momentum stays fairly flat

• Dialogue feels overly written

• Occasional over-explanation instead of trusting the audience

My Thoughts on Lucky Strike

A simple war film that knows its lane

Lucky Strike is certainly one of those films that makes its intentions clear pretty quickly, and then just sticks to them without second-guessing itself, where this war film is all locked onto one soldier, one situation, and one very controlled tone.

I did like the fact that it doesn’t clutter itself with side stories at first or try to constantly make it big for bigs sake, so by keeping everything so narrow, it all felt very focused and very easy to follow.

And while that narrow focus does works well for a bit, it does also make you notice that we don’t have much else going on underneath to focus on either, so while it’s a steady enough film, it doesn’t really grow into anything.

I do like simplicity sometimes in film, but it also means the said film will have its limitations, and here it does start to become a bit repetitive, as the film settles into this predictable cycle of movement, so when nothing really surprises the structure, you kind of know where it is going all the time.

But, I also wouldn’t call it completely boring either, as there are still some individual scenes that work, and when the film stops trying to overthink things and situations, it works decently enough to keep you semi interested.

The main issue though is while those moments work in isolation, they don’t actually build on each other in a way that changes any of the momentum, so they just sit side by side, hovering at the same level most of the time.

Watchable, but also meh.

Scott Eastwood

Scott Eastwood is basically left to hold this together for long stretches on his own, but I thought he was solid enough with what he was given, with a kind of exhausted focus that actually fits the tone and stripped-down style of the film.

When it works, it’s because he’s not trying to sell emotion in a big way, he’s just reacting and surviving, but there are also moments where you certainly feel the limits of what he’s given.

The character itself doesn’t really change much across the film, and the writing doesn’t really push him into different emotional spaces, so the performance just starts to feel like it’s circling the same ground over and over.

Colin Hanks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor also show up in smaller sections, and they’re fine, but they also feel more like framing devices.

The visuals stay consistent, maybe a bit too consistent

Visually, the film commits hard to a cold, drained look, sticking with it from start to finish, and I do think that consistency does again help the tone, where the camera also usually stays close enough to keep things clear enough.

We also get a few moments where the framing feels a little bit more deliberate, like the film briefly wants to step up its visual game, but doesn’t get quite manage to do what it wants to do, so once you’ve seen what it’s doing, you’ve basically seen all of it.

It’s not bad, just very fixed in place.

Dialogue that sometimes breaks the flow

The writing and dialogue itself is where I felt the most inconsistency, with some of it being perfectly serviceable, where it moves things along and keeps the story understandable, but the dialogue at times also sounds a bit too written, like it hasn’t fully settled into how people would actually talk in that situation.

It’s not constant, but it’s very noticeable when it happens, especially because the rest of the film is trying to stay so stable, so even slightly unnatural lines stand out more than they should.

But I did stay engaged throughout the film, and as said, I wasn’t too bored, but it worked more on a scene-by-scene basis rather than feeling like everything was building toward something bigger.

Final Verdict

I don’t think Lucky Strike is trying to be more than what it is, and I kind of respect that, with moments where the simplicity works fine, but it also doesn’t do much beyond the surface level.

I didn’t really hate it at any point, but I just didn’t come away with much either.

Trailer

Film Credits

Directed by Rod Davis Lurie

Written by Mark Frydman and Rod Davis Lurie

Cast Includes - Scott Eastwood, Colin Hanks, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Taylor John Smith

Cinematography by Lorenzo Senatore

Edited by Christal Khatib

Music by Larry Groupé

Running time - 102 minutes

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Plot

Following his father’s death, Naim and his mother Arlene relocate to an isolated town in regional Victoria, Australia, and while she finds comfort in the town’s deeply religious community, Naim struggles to accept its extreme beliefs and practices, with his only refuge being Ryan, a local teenager with whom he begins a secret romance in an abandoned warehouse.

Good Points

• The atmosphere is strong

• The way the film shows social pressure is effective

• Performances are good with no-one overplaying anything.

• It works best when it focuses on behaviour

• The films strengths are all in the quieter scenes

Bad points

• A bit of repetition in places

• The more traditional horror scenes are a bit meh

• At times it slows down a bit too much, and the balance between slow tension and actual payoff isn’t always consistent enough

My Thoughts on Leviticus

All about the control and conversations

Leviticus’s tension and atmosphere is where this film shines and excels, and it all comes from people simply existing around each other under unspoken rules, where everyone already knows what’s acceptable and what isn’t.

It has that kind of shared understanding which ends up feeling more restrictive than anything physical happening on screen, where the film is giving you this constant sense that behaviour is being monitored, even when you might think not much is going on, but there’s always something that seems to feel off.

And it’s not about any cryptic dialogue either, as it’s a fairly simple film, but it’s all about people who stop just short of honesty, and that stopping point is what becomes its own kind of pressure, and nothing has to escalate for it to feel tense, it all just sits there, unresolved.

That is the tension.

The relationships

The interactions between the main characters, Naim and Ryan, don’t really follow clean emotional patterns, and that’s also probably why it comes across so well, with moments of closeness between them that don’t last, moments of confusion that aren’t explained, and stretches where people just don’t know how to respond to each other at all.

It avoids the usual film habit of smoothing everything into clear emotional steps, and if the filn had done that, I am not so sure it would have worked half as well, if at all, as the awkwardness here exists without the need to try and fix it or frame it as something meaningful.

There’s also no real effort to over-explain the motivations, so you just end up picking things up from how people behave around each other, which keeps it from feeling overly written or controlled.

The horror works better when it stays implied

The horror here works so much better when it doesn’t lean into traditional horror structure, because the idea that personal thoughts or private reactions aren’t fully contained has more impact than anything physical happening on the screen, because it turns everyday situations into something slightly off without needing to change the surface too much.

Once it shifts into the more familiar horror scenes, it loses a bit of that edge, and while the scares themselves are OK, but they don’t really carry the same weight as the quieter material, where it’s the difference between tension that builds naturally and moments that are inserted, simply because the genre expects them.

It repeats itself a bit, but the mood holds it together

It does also have moments where it circles the same emotional ground more than once, especially around the pressure people feel and how they respond to it, but it doesn’t always push those ideas forward in a new direction, so a few sections do feel like they’re revisiting familiar territory.

But the overall tone still keeps it steady enough overall, as the atmosphere doesn’t really drop thankfully, and the way people interact continues to carry most of the baggage even when the story slows down, so by the time it all winds down, it’s that consistency which is what you will remember, about how long it can keep you in that uneasy headspace without breaking it.

Final Verdict

I liked it, and felt the less is more focus worked well here, especially with the atmosphere and tension, although more traditional horror fans might not think so.

Trailer

Film Credits

Directed and written by Adrian Chiarella

Cast includes - Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Jeremy Blewitt and Mia Wasikowska

Cinematography by - Tyson Perkins

Edited by Nick Fenton

Music by Jed Kurzel

Running time - 88 minutes

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Plenty more out there in the horror sub genres too, this is just a few selections, as I believe if someone says that don’t like horror films, they just haven’t found the right sub genre.

Horror doesn’t just = lots of jump scare attempts, so here are some films I would recommend that don’t rely on jump scares, because you know, dread can work in a number of ways, and horror can be done in a number of ways too.

Gatekeeping = bad, but anyway, here are a couple of other horror articles to check out after, too.

The Others

Nicole Kidman in a big old mansion with two kids who can’t touch sunlight, where you just watch them try to live while weird stuff happens around them, and most of the film is simply spent watching this family stick to a strict routine, and trying to keep everything under control while living in a house that seems determined to make that impossible.

It’s better than I have just made it sound though.

Get Out

Daniel Kaluuya meets girlfriend’s family, and it all seems normal, but slowly you realize everything is wrong, and Jordan Peele uses the setup to say a lot about race, but he never forgets to make the film entertaining either.

It's smart, funny, uncomfortable in all the right ways, and one of those films that becomes even better once you start thinking about everything it was really saying underneath the surface.

Rosemary’s Baby

Mia Farrow is pregnant, and the neighbors are weird, and it’s a film where nothing flashy happens, just a slow, unsettling watch where everything feels wrong, and while some people will find it boring, for me t’s simply pyschological horror done perfectly, so just be warned, it’s slow, but it’s also a classic for a reason.

The Cabin in the Woods

College kids in a cabin where verything seems normal, before it’s not, with tropes galore getting flipped - it’s part horror, part satire, and it keeps you guessing while also making you laugh at what it’s doing.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Two sisters, with one being a tad unhinged, and the tension is insane.

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford actually hated each other in real life, and you feel that hate in some scenes too - no monsters needed here – just people.

You’re Next

A family reunion happens but masked intruders show up – it’s a calm, almost ordinary-looking film that slowly turns unsettling, relying on strong mood and soft-spoken horror - also funny in a dark way, and the characters aren’t idiots either, and I’d say it is also fairly clever horror, which is rare.

It Follows

Girl sleeps with someone, and something starts following her - simple, and uncomplicated built on a basic idea that keeps growing in discomfort the longer you watch with a constant sense of being watched and never really safe.

Unknown = scary.

The Wicker Man

You could add any folk horror film really, as not many are use tradintional horror aspects, as that’s not what folk horror is about, but since The Wicker Man is a favorite of mine, about a police officer who travels to a remote island to investigate a missing girl.

It’s slow, creepy, controlled, and uncomfortable in a way that builds rather than explodes, where the horror somes from realising how far outside the normal world the main character has ended up without ever noticing the exact moment it happened.

It also has one of the best endings ever.

Deadstream

Deadstream is a horror-comedy, and is severely underrated in my view, where it balances the horror and comedy better than most, and while it does have a couple of jump scares, it’s nothing major, so I’m including it.

It starts off funny in a cringe way, then slowly turns into funny panic, and does the haunted house gimmick incredibly well, where the mix of humour and horror works so well simply because neither side fully disappears like in some other films of the same nature.

Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

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Plot

Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.

Good Points

• Timothée Chalamet delivers an outstanding performance

• It keeps your attention from start to finish with its momentum

• Dark humour is used brilliantly

• Odessa A’Zion

• Feels thoughtful rather than preachy

• The ending is satisfying enough while still leaving room for reflection.

Bad Points

• The pacing can drag in parts

• A few subplots don’t feel as important as the film seems to think they are.

• It’s exhausting

My Thoughts on Marty Supreme

It’s an exhausting film

I am sure most have watched Marty Supreme already, but in case you haven’t watched it yet, just be warned, don’t put it on for an easy watch, because within the first stretch you will realize it’s a film that demans attention, and you you won’t be getting away with any distractions here.

It has this constant energy to it all that by the end, you might feel genuinely a bit tired, because I know I did, as it’s a film that never seems interested in giving anyone, including those watching, a break.

So be warned.

Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

Timothée Chalamet is ridiculously good

I have heard various mixed opinions about his performance, but I am firmly on the side of he is fantastic, where he brings so much energy he brings to the role, and while p[lenty of actors can play either ambitious, angry or charming roles, here he makes them exist at the same time.

You will laugh, you will be annoyed, and you will root for him, and while I had moments where I thought I was done with him as a character, ten minutes later I was right back on his side.

That’s not easy to pull off, especially when the character spends so much time making terrible decisions, but Chalamet keeps him pretty relatable though in some ways, despite him certainly not really being admirable or noble.

I thought he nailed the role.

The film is funny

I really did not expect to laugh as much as I did either, as watching somebody repeatedly make life harder for themselves is apparently funnier than most comedies, where the film finds a lot of laughs in desperation, bad judgement, and sheer stubbornness.

Several scenes had me laughing while simultaneously wondering why anyone would willingly put themselves through that situation, and the best part is that the comedy never turns the film into a joke, it just makes everything even more entertaining, so whenever things get tense, the humour sneaks in and makes that tension even stronger.

It’s a very difficult balance and the film handles it brilliantly.

Odessa A’Zion

Pretty much all of the cast is strong across the board it has to be said, but I want to mention Odessa A’Zion in particular, as she stands out among them all, where she gradually became one of the most important parts of the film, with a lot of layers to her performance as well, where a simple expression tells you more than a page of dialogue ever could.

Like Timothée, she also nailed it.

Work hard enough and you’re a hero - Want something badly enough and you’re inspirational.

Marty Supreme also doesn’t actually automatically celebrate ambition, which is important, because while lot of films treat determination like it’s some magical quality that excuses everything else, life, as we all know, isn’t always that simple, and this film understands that.

It simply asks a very straightforward question:

What happens when somebody becomes so focused on getting what they want that everything else starts becoming secondary?

The answers aren’t always we want to see, but the film never stops you from enjoying the ride, but it also never lets you completely ignore the consequences of what you’re watching.

The Ending Worked

The film doesnt spend time explaining itself with its ending, and nor did it stop everything to deliver a giant speech about what we’re supposed to think.

It simply presented its ideas and les you sit with them on your own thoughts, and the final section left me with mixed emotions in the best possible way.

There’s satisfaction there, there’s frustration there, and there’s even a little sadness felt tucked away underneath it all, but it’s certainly found a place in my brain afterwards, so that’s always a good sign.

Pacing

I have also read a lot of negativity about the pacing, and while the film is exhausting, for me the pacing seems to actually resemble a ping-pong match - fast without much time to breathe and look away.

I liked it that way, but I will admit it could also have easily trimmed its runtime without losing the overall effectiveness of the film.

Final Verdict

I’m a big fan of the film personally, and I was locked in from start to finish, and it’s a film i’d watch again at some point, although I might need another lie down afterwards as well.

Trailer

Directed by Josh Safdie

Written by Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Cast includes - Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara and Fran Drescher

Cinematography by Darius Khondji

Edited by Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Music by Daniel Lopatin[2]

Running time - 150 minutes

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Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

Hungry - June 23rd (Digital)

After becoming lost in the Louisiana swamplands, a group of holidaymakers must fight for their lives against a rampaging hippo on the loose.

In The Hand Of Dante - June 24th (Netflix)

A handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri's poem "The Divine Comedy" makes its way from a priest to a mob boss in New York City, where it is taken by Nick Tosches after he's asked to verify its authenticity.

Supergirl - June 26th (Theaters)

Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice when an unexpected adversary strikes too close to home.

Jackass: Best And Last - June 26th (Theaters)

Follows the Jackass crew as they perform their final series of dangerous stunts and pranks, marking the end of the franchise.

Couture - June 26th (Theaters)

An American filmmaker arrives in Paris for Fashion Week on a life-and-death journey, facing challenges and self-discovery.

Blood Lines - June 26th (Limited Theaters)

An estranged Métis mother and daughter struggle to overcome their differences but their world comes crashing down when an alluring woman enters their lives.

Lucky Strike - June 26th (Limited Theaters)

A wounded American soldier is trapped behind German lines during the Battle of the Bulge.

The Invite - June 26th (Limited Theaters)

Joe and Angela's marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places.

Little Brother - June 26th (Netflix)

A famous real estate agent's life is disrupted when his eccentric little brother unexpectedly reappears.

The Get Out - June 26th (Limited Theaters/Digital)

A nightclub owner is on the verge of leaving his dangerous past behind for retirement. After masked gunmen rob him and he finds himself squeezed by ruthless cartels, a mysterious newcomer arrives with an interest in buying the business.

Above the Line - June 26th (Digital)

Six fledgling Hollywood hopefuls get the opportunity of a lifetime to burglarize a producer that screwed them over and steal his Best Picture awards.

Camp - June 26th (Limited Theaters)

A story of impossible redemption, modern witchcraft, and duels that repeat themselves like cursed cycles.

Strung - June 26th (Peacock)

A talented violinist whose new job tutoring for an elite family turns into a battle for safety and sanity when she realizes her past links to the family's patriarch. And it's a Fight for her sanity and survival.

Romeria - June 26th (Limited Theaters)

With her mother's diary in hand, Marina's search for official documents for university leads her to her biological family on the Atlantic coast. What starts as an administrative quest reveals long-buried family secrets.

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Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

Dumb and Dumber

I know the jokes.

I know what’s coming.

And yet, I still always laugh, without fail.

It’s the sheer stupidity of this movie that never seems to feel old, which is why it is my goto when I need to switch my brain off and laugh at something a bit (very) ridiculous.

Airplane!

This movie moved at a speed most comedies didn’t dare to attempt, with so many jokes flying past (pun intended) that if even one doesn’t land, another one arrives about three seconds later, and it still feels fresh and better than most comedies releasing today, even decades later.

This Is Spinal Tap

One of the funniest movies ever made, period, and what makes it so funny is just how seriously everyone is playing it, because nobody here is trying to be funny, they’re just commited to the nonsense the script has given them, although I do annoy those around me when I rewatch it, because I end up quoting it for days.

School of Rock

I’ll be honest, I am not a fan of Jack Black, as I find him a bit annoying, but thankfully that doesn’t stop me liking this one, as this film is just genuinely joyful with some lovely scenes scattered throughout, and you can really feel how much fun everyone involved is having, and that energy transfers straight to the audience.

Paddington 2

At this point I don’t even fight the praise anymore, because it’s just lovely film, where the entire film is built around kindness and optimism without ever feeling cheesy, and it pulls that off when most movies would probably fail miserably.

Chef

This is one of the most relaxing movies I’ve ever watched - good food, good music, good vibes, and what I love most about it is that it refuses to manufacture unnecessary drama, as it isn’t here to shock you or devastate you, it’s just a movie about creativity, family, passion, and enjoying life.

Do we need more?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

A film with a very specific kind of energy, and that energy is of somebody deciding absolutely nothing is going to ruin their day, so whenever life feels stressful, Ferris Bueller feels like a reminder that maybe it’s okay to stop taking everything quite so seriously.

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Plot

A young woman joins a charming con man on the run, leaving a trail of crime and passion as they hustle through the Southeast in search of her estranged mother.

Good Points

• Samara Weaving is again brilliant

• Kyle Gallner brings a tense vibe

• Establishes its tone quickly and clearly

• It’s easy to follow the whole time, no confusion or overcomplication

• Good Dialogue

Bad Points

• The story is predictable, you can kind of see where it’s going early

• The film leans quite heavily on the leads carrying everything

• Lacks a memorable standout sequence

• Not much about it really stays with you after

  Daily Movie Thoughts

  Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

My Thoughts on Carolina Caroline

Oh Samara Weaving…

Samara Weaving is just really easy to watch here, but then again, she always is, because she never actually feel like she’s pushing anything or trying to make moments bigger than they are, which makers her very easy to watch and enjoy in pretty much anything she does.

Even a scene that is pretty standard stuff, she has this ability to keep it interesting just by how she responds, and she does it in an incredibly natural and quiet way where she can also shift mood without it feeling like a switch, which also makes it easy for her to have chemistry with pretty much anyone.

I’m a fan.

Kyle Gallner has a slightly uneasy vibe

Kyle Gallner on the other hands does this thing where he always feels like there’s a bit more going on under the surface than he’s actually showing, and his performance is more about his vibe rather than what he says or does.

It’s just small stuff too, like how he doesn’t ever seem to fully match the energy of the moment, which is just enough to make you feel like you’re not really getting the full picture from him straight away.

That helps the film a lot because otherwise a lot of his scenes would just feel a bit plain, but with him, there’s always a slight tension sitting there even if nothing much is happening.

The contrast with the lovely Samara Weaving works really well here as well, as while she feels immediate and present, he feels more held back, and that difference kind of gives their scenes more shape than the writing does on its own.

And while the film is pretty much all about Samara and Kyle, the supporting cast are decent enough too, with Kyra Sedgwick showing up and adding a bit more edge to scenes when she’s there.

Jon Gries is also present, fitting in without standing out that much, but he does make scenes feel a bit more complete when he does show up.

Neither of them are trying to steal focus or anything, but they stop the film from completely feeling like it’s only relying on two people the entire time.

The story is familiar and doesn’t really try to hide it

The plot is not going to surprise you, and you will probably figure out where it’s heading pretty early, but the film doesn’t really pretend it cares about that either.

The story is more of a steady path you follow rather than something full of twists or surprises, with parts where it all feels like it’s just moving between character moments without really building anything bigger, so while it isn’t anything exciting in a story sense, it all stays pretty consistent.

The film works in pieces, not as a whole

There are some individual moments that definitely work, especially in the character exchanges, but they don’t always add up to something bigger or more impactful, so it often feels like you’re watching a collection of decent scenes rather than a tightly built story.

That does make the film slightly uneven in terms of engagement, but you stay with it because the performances are solid even though the overall structure doesn’t really elevate moments into something more.

Nothing is really bad about the film, but not much is overly good either.

But it’s all about that chemistry between Samara and Kyle

This is really what it comes down to with the film, because if the two leads didn’t work together, I don’t think this film would hold up at all, because when they’re not together, the film feels pretty average, but when they are together, it suddenly becomes a lot more watchable.

At one point I realised I wasn’t really following the plot anymore and was just watching how they were both reacting to each other in conversation, and that’s basically the film telling you what actually matters here.

It is one of those films that goes down smoothly while you’re watching it, but doesn’t really leave much behind once it’s finished, all pretty simple stuff with nothing confusing or messy about it, which does make it very easy to sit through.

Final Verdict

Carolina Caroline certainly isn’t anything special in terms of story or structure, as it’s pretty standard and doesn’t really try to be anything more than that, but I can’t say I disliked watching it, mainly because the two leads make it a lot more interesting than it probably should be, with everything else just kind of there around them.

And if you like Samara Weaving, you can also check out my Ready or Not, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, and Over Your Dead Body reviews.

Trailer

Directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier

Written by William Thomas Dean IV

Cast Includes - Samara Weaving, Kyle Gallner, Jon Gries and Kyra Sedgwick

Cinematography by Jean-Philippe Bernier

Edited by Justin Krohn

Music by Chris Bear

Running time - 106 minutes

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Plot

A life-affirming, genre-bending story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.

Good Points

• Tom Hiddleston gives a really warm performance as Chuck

• Mark Hamill, Mia Sara, and Chiwetel Ejiofor all do solid work as well

• Some emotional scenes that actually land, with moments of simple, quiet joy that feel very human and unforced

• Occasional bits of humour that break up the heavier tone nicely

• Direction feels thoughtful and clearly intentional in what it’s trying to do

• Some really nice reflections on time, memory, and how life just sort of happens

Bad Points

• Some emotional beats feel like they’re being pushed a bit too hard

• Not enough time actually spent with adult Chuck

• Tonal shifts don’t always land smoothly

• If you’re not on its wavelength, it will feel a bit too abstract and distant

Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

My Thoughts on The Life of Chuck

The best scenes feel like memories you didn’t live through but recognise anyway

The highway dance scene is the clearest example of what this film does really well when it clicks, where it feels like joy and sadness are happening at the same time, without the need to really explain anything that is going on

Some of the younger Chuck scenes also worked in the same way, especially the dancing scene, like he’s trying to escape something bigger than himself, like a kid fully committed to something even if nobody else understands why it matters, with everything feeling reflective rather than immediate

An that is probably the best way I can describe this film, because it doesn’t really land like a traditional emotional drama, as it’s more of a reflective piece, something that settles after the fact rather than during it, and I couldn’t stop thinking about certain scenes afterwards, and that highway sequence especially just kept replaying in my head for no obvious reason.

Tom Hiddleston carries quiet the emotion

Hiddleston is good here, but in a very understated way, as while he doesn’t get a huge amount of screen time compared to what you’d expect from a film named after his character, but when he’s on screen, he brings some real restrained calmness, like someone who isn’t trying to be remembered, which fits the tone of the film, even if I wish we had more time with him overall.

Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mia Sara also do a lot of heavy lifting at times, with a warmth to their performances, so even when the structure is jumping around in time and perspective, theystill felt like people who had history outside of the script, while the child actors potraying Chuck bring that slightly dreamlike naturalism that runs through the rest of the film, with the film quietly suggesting that those versions of Chuck are closer to something more honest and unfiltered before life layers meaning and structure over it.

Which, when you think about it, it’s incredibly relatable.

The reverse storytelling structure takes time to settle into

The film’s backwards unfolding does take a while before it starts to feel as intuitive as the film is intending to be, and in the early stages it did feel slightly disorienting, but once it starts to click though, you begin to realise how much of what you’re seeing is shaped by what you don’t yet know, where you’re constantly reconstructing the story rather than just experiencing it as it unfolds.

Rather than a single arc, it’s scattered moments that only gain meaning when they’re placed next to each other, sometimes years apart and sometimes without any obvious connection at all, which certainly gives the film a fragmented quality, but it also makes it feel closer to how memory actually works, where meaning isn’t something presented directly, but something assembled slowly in your mind after the fact.

It wants to be profound, but sometimes forgets to earn it

The film features some moments where it clearly wanted to land a big emotional statement about life, memory, meaning, all of that, but not every one of those moments felt fully supported by what came before it though.

It attempts to reach for depth quite often, and sometimes it grabs it and grabs it hard, but on other times it just misses slightly, which did create this weird push-pull feeling while watching it.

But I think that’s why it stuck with me more intellectually than emotionally in some places, because as mentioned above, I was thinking about it, but not always feeling it in the moment.

The pacing is also a tad uneven, and I don’t think that’s accidental either, as the reverse structure naturally creates this strange kind of rhythm, but it does mean the film takes a while to find momentum, and even then it doesn’t always sustain it, with some stretches where it feels like it’s just circling ideas.

But even so, there’s still enough happening visually to keep you watching, and thinking, so it never completely loses its grip, but it just doesn’t always tighten it either.

Final Verdict

I liked The Life of Chuck overall, as when it worked, it was thoughtful and occasionally really beautiful, so I would say it is worth watching if you’re fine with patient, slower, reflective storytelling and don’t mind a film that’s more interested in meaning than momentum.

Trailer

Directed by Mike Flanagan

Screenplay by Mike Flanagan

Based on “The Life of Chuck” by Stephen King

Cast Includes - Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay and Mark Hamill

Cinematography by Eben Bolter

Edited by Mike Flanagan

Music by The Newton Brothers

Running time - 111 minutes

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Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

40 Dates and 40 Nights - June 16th (Limited Theaters)

A struggling romantic accepts her aunt’s wager: go on 40 dates in 40 nights to find true love. If she fails, her aunt will cover her rent and student debt. But the journey proves more challenging than expected.

The Death of Robin Hood - June 19th (Theaters)

Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation.

Toy Story 5 - June 19th (Theaters)

Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they're introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.

Girls Like Girls - June 19th (Theaters)

Coley, 17, from rural Oregon, navigates intimacy after her mother's passing. Meeting Sonya sparks new feelings, but self-doubt hinders their connection.

Leviticus - June 19th (Limited Theaters)

Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most - each other.

Voicemails For Isabelle - June 19th (Netflix)

Jill leaves voice messages to her deceased sister telling her about her chaotic life in San Francisco. Unwittingly, a mysterious Austin real estate agent begins to receive their confessions.

Finnegan’s Foursome - June 19th (Digital)

Two rival brothers and their adult children travel to Ireland to scatter their father's ashes, turning clashing egos and comic mishaps into an unexpected week of family bonding.

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I still stand by that, but I do always find it interesting how 2 people can watch the same film and come out with such different thoughts, and I suppose it depends what you end up feeling with regards to the movie - do the flaws bother you more than the emotion you felt, as one example.

Different strokes for different folks of course, even if we do live in a world of the internet with hyperbole on overdrive on both sides of the coin, where everything seems to have to be either brilliant or how you want your money back as it was so ‘trash’.

Damn Social media.

Plot

If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?

Good points

• Emily Blunt consistently lifts every scene she’s in

• A few chase and action sequences are well staged and clearly shot

• Technical craft is solid overall

Bad points

• It all becomes a bit repetitive

• Big ideas are introduced but rarely developed

• The ending doesn’t fully deliver

• Overall pacing becomes draining

My Thoughts on Disclosure Day

Emily Blunt shines yet again

Emily Blunt is one of the best actresses around in my humble opinion, and here, she is holding this thing together just by her sheer consistency, as while the film needs to lean on her reactions to give some actual weight to situations that don’t always feel fully formed, she also still manages to make them feel believable.

We get plenty of scenes where I did not think the writing landed very well, either because the setup is rushed or because the moment hasn’t been earned yet, but Blunt manages to end up bridging that gap a little, and that becomes even more clear whenever she’s not on the screen.

The film doesn’t completely fall apart or anything of course, but it does lose some focus when she is not on screen, where the energy drops, the scenes feel much more mechanical, and it becomes plainly obvious how much of the emotional weight is being carried by her.

Emily Blunt - I salute you.

Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

Constant movement that starts to feel like avoidance

The structure of this film is being built almost entirely around forward motion, which should be a good thing, but the problem I had was that it never really develops that into anything meaningful, because it just always ends up repeating the same cycle, just played out across different locations without much change in how it actually feels.

While at first it does give this impression of momentum happening, like everything is building toward a bigger shift, but when that shift never actually really arrives, the film decides to settle into a rhythm that becomes easy to predict, with every tense situation followed by an escape that resets the board so it can simply happen again somewhere else.

The action itself is very cleanly handled though, no arguments with that, but I did want it to evolve more, so what became frustrating for me was how little the film was willing to vary its intensity, because nothing ever feels like it is rising above anything else, just a steady stream of situations that never fully escalates into something more structured.

Ideas that are introduced and then immediately dropped

There are clear attempts here to deal with bigger ideas, as you would expect with Spielberg, but they also suffer the same fate as what I said above, where they are again handled in a way that keeps pulling away before anything can develop.

The film keeps circling around themes such as belief, reaction to the unknown, and how systems respond when they’re pushed into unfamiliar territory, but it never stays with any of that long enough for it to become meaningful or for you to care, and that all happens often enough that those ideas stop feeling like part of the structure and start feeling like surface level suggestions that never get explored properly.

Technical craft that stays controlled but distant

The technical side is consistently handled well, and is a strong part of the film, where everything is clear, readable, and carefully put together - the camera work knows where to go, the editing keeps things easy to follow, and the action is staged with precision.

But even when the scenes are technically well constructed, they didn’t always connect in a way that felt emotionally engaging as I assume it was trying to do, so while there’s competence across the board, very little felt like it’s pushing beyond that.

The sound and music follow the same pattern, as while they support what’s happening, they don’t really shape it in a noticeable way - nothing is distracting or poorly done, and again, it is one of the stronger aspects of the film, but nothing really ever pushed the scenes into something stronger either.

There are some individual moments where everything does line up properly and briefly work better than usual, but they don’t accumulate into something that defines the film overall.

It stays consistent, just not particularly memorable.

An ending that does not feel worthwhile

By the time we get to the final stretch and the big ol payoff, there’s clearly an attempt to bring everything together into something more meaningful, where the structure suggests a payoff that’s meant to connect the earlier movement and ideas into a satisfying conclusion.

It gets to that point, but it doesn’t really feel it lands in the way it seems to be aiming for - it plays out, resolves itself, and then ends, without the sense that the earlier repetition or half developed ideas have fully paid off.

While nothing feels broken in the ending, it just didn’t connect with enough force with me to make the journey feel worthwhile in hindsight.

Spielberg’s touch without the usual spark

I think we have a version of this film that should’ve had that classic Spielberg rhythm where spectacle and emotion actually feed each other, where even the quieter moments feel like they matter because the characters feel properly held in place, and that’s what makes this one a bit strange, because the craft is still there on a technical level, but the personality that usually ties everything together doesn’t really settle in.

You can see Spielberg reaching for familiar ideas, especially around wonder and human reaction to the unknown, but it never quite gets that looseness he’s usually so good at when the material is working, and it feels like it’s being kept slightly at arm’s length.

Instead of feeling like a filmmaker fully leaning into his comfort zone, Disclosure Day comes across more like someone ticking off familiar shapes without ever fully committing to them.

Final Verdict

Disclosure Day certainly isn’t a film I would tell anyone not to go and watch, as I don’t think it’s bad, but I do feel it is let down by the script in a big way, and while it has moments that work in isolation, nothing ever really develops beyond the surface level, so it just felt like too many ideas being thrown at the wall.

I actually think this would have been better as a TV series, but it will depend how you view it, and maybe I am being too cynical, but I wanted it to hit me better than it did.

Trailer

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Screenplay by David Koepp

Story by Steven Spielberg

Cast includes - Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson and Colman Domingo

Cinematography by Janusz Kamiński

Edited by Sarah Broshar

Music by John Williams

Running time - 145 minutes

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Plot

A father fights fiercely against ruthless kidnappers to save his abducted daughter.

Good Points

• Relentless, well-paced action from start to finish

• Great choreography

• Strong cast with personality

• Every major fight has its own style and identity

• Inventive use of the environments

• The final act

Bad Points

• Characters are thinly sketched outside of their combat roles

• Emotional stakes are serviceable rather than memorable

My Thoughts on The Furious

A cast full of people who know what they’re doing

If you’ve spent some time watching Asian action films, there’s a good chance you’ll recognise at least a few faces here, because the movie has gathered performers from different countries and different martial arts backgrounds, where nobody feels wasted either.

Xie Miao is the lead, and is brilliant, and even when he isn’t even fighting, he just brings so much personality to the table as well without ever needing to just rely on endless dialogue, as his physical presence alone also does a lot of the work.

Equally, Joe Taslim is great here too.

This man has been intimidating people on screen for years and yet still finds new ways to make throwing another human being across a room look effortless and great, and every time he enters a fight scene, there’s a sense that somebody is about to have a very bad day.

Spoiler - They usually do.

Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

The fight scenes are the main event

Let’s be honest, nobody is wanting to watch an action movie like The Furious because they’re hoping for some deep philosophical conversations, because the action is the selling point here, and thankfully, it absolutely delivers in that department.

What will also stand out to people who have watched a lot of actions movies was how clearly everything is filmed, as you can actually see what’s happening, and while I know that sounds like a low bar, but modern action cinema keeps proving that it isn’t.

Here, the camera actually stays back long enough for the performers to show what they can do, and that’s exactly how it should be, so you can appreciate the movement, the timing, the reactions, and all the little details that make a fight scene work.

It’s refreshing.

Action films can also sometimes get a bit repetitive and dull I sometimes find, where they peak early and then simply just start repeating themselves, where you get the same exchanges, the same choreography, the same rhythm over and over again, but that never really happens here.

Each fight seems to have its own tone and style, where one fight might focus on speed, while another might be built around brutal close-range combat, and the next will turn everyday objects into weapons.

You will end up smiling a lot at the creativity on hand being shown here, and you will also end up wincing too at how every throw/punch actually looks painful, where every hit feels like it matters.

It’s the kind of action that makes you appreciate the amount of work involved.

The final showdown

By the time the movie reaches its climax, I was wondering how it planned to top everything that came before, and I was dreading the climax being a disappointment, but it wasn’t, as it tops what came before by just throwing absolutely everything at the screen - the finale is long, inventive, and incredibly satisfying.

It was also impressive in the sense of how many different fighters were involved and how easy it remained to follow, as I always knew who was fighting who, I always knew where everyone was, and I always understood what’s happening.

Now, that sounds basic, but it is something films get horribly wrong in action films all too often, but The Furious builds into one huge payoff that rewards everything the movie had been setting up, with plenty of gasps and “oh damn”thrown in as well, which is usually a good sign, right?

What I think really separates The Furious from a lot of action films though is the bold commitment it shows, as nobody here is doing the minimum, and everybody seems determined to create something memorable, and that effort shows in every major sequence.

It simply focuses on delivering great action, and it turns out that’s a pretty effective strategy.

Final Verdict

Please go and watch The Furious - it’s fast, inventive and packed with great performers - one of the best actons films I have seen in a long time!

Trailer

Directed by Kenji Tanigaki

Screenplay by Mak Tin-shu, Lei Zhilong, Shum Kwan-sin and Frank Hui

Cast Includes - Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Jeeja Yanin, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga and Yayan Ruhian

Cinematography by Meteor Cheung

Edited by Chris Tonick

Music by Elliot Leung, Olivia Xiaolin and Flying Lotus

Running time - 113 minutes

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Now, none of these films are lost masterpieces of course, and none of them are going to suddenly replace the biggest classics of the decade, but they are movies that I’ve enjoyed over the years and found myself recommending far more often than their reputation would suggest, even if some of them also did get some award nominations.

Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

Night of the Comet (1984)

This is one of those movies that immediately puts me in a good mood, as everything about it screams 1980s, but it also never feels trapped by the decade it came from either, featuring with a funny, self-aware attitude that makes it very easy to enjoy, and every time I revisit it, I’m reminded how much charm can make up for a limited budget.

The Last Dragon (1985)

The Last Dragon is simply pure joy, and it’s impossible for me to watch it without smiling at least a few times, as the whole thing seems to operate on its own wavelength, packed with so much personality, feeling like the kind of movie that could only have been made in the good ol’ 1980s.

Class of 1984 (1982)

Don’t expect a fairly standard thriller with this one, as it’s much darker and meaner than you might be prepared for, and while a lot of movies from this era have become softened by nostalgia, this one still has that rough around the edges charm, which is a huge part of its appeal.

The Brother from Another Planet (1984)

Probably the most unique film on this list, and the more movies I watch, the more I appreciate filmmakers who are willing to tell stories in unusual ways, and I also just love how strange it is, where it’s the scenes and moments you will remember, rather than the plot points, which is usually a sign a movie has done something right.

My Science Project (1985)

This movie feels like somebody emptied an entire notebook of ideas onto the screen, but without much idea about how to actually translate it to the screen, but that’s also what makes it fun, as it’s bursting with imagination in a way that a lot of modern studio films aren’t.

And even if some of it barely makes sense at times, it’s a movie that’s certainly swinging for the fences, and one that’s not terrified of taking risks, with an energy to it that I find incredibly likable.

Summer School (1987)

One of my favorite comfort-watch comedies from the decade, and it’s the kind of movie I’ll randomly put on and end up finishing even if I only meant to watch a few minutes.

The humor isn’t trying to reinvent comedy, and the characters aren’t especially deep, but it works, so maybe that’s why I think it deserves more love, even if comedy is obviously incredibly subjective.

Deadly Friend (1986)

Deadly Friend is a very strange movie, which is probably the main reason I remember it so well, and when people talk about Wes Craven, this is rarely the first title that comes up, which is understandable considering some of the films attached to his name, but I still think this one gets dismissed a little too easily, and it’s a film that has tons of personality, and personality goes a long way with me.

Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)

Many action films in the 80’s got buried under the sheer number of them being released during the decade, as the 1980s were packed with larger-than-life action stars and massive blockbusters, with a lot of solid films ended up getting lost in the shuffle, so whenever I revisit this one, I’m reminded how much I simply enjoy straightforward action movies that don’t overcomplicate things - it’s confident, entertaining, and never wastes your time.

Little Monsters (1989)

When I was younger, this one actually felt like a fun fantasy film, but when I watched it again as an adult, I realized how weird, dark, and unsettling it actually is, as it has this very specific imagination behind it that you don’t see much anymore, where the movie feels completely committed to its own bizarre world, and I respect that.

Running on Empty (1988)

Out of everything on this list, this might be the one I most strongly feel deserves a larger audience, as there’s something refreshingly honest about it, where it never feels like it’s trying to manipulate your emotions, it simply lets the story and performances do the work, and the older I get, the more I also seem to appreciate films that want to trust their audiences.

Cutter’s Way (1981)

This movie has a solid enough reputation among film fans, but I still think it deserves a bigger audience, and it’s a film where everything about it feels slightly unpredictable, even when nothing dramatic is happening, there’s still a serious quiet tension underneath the surface that keeps pulling you forward, and I love movies that feel a little dangerous, ones that don’t give the audience exactly what they might be expecting, and Cutter’s Way has that quality in abundance.

Chopping Mall (1986)

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who loves Chopping Mall for sensible reasons, because people love it for how utterly ridiculous it is - the title is ridiculous, the premise is ridiculous, and half the fun comes from how enthusiastically it embraces its own absurdity.

This is exactly the kind of movie I put on when I want to have fun, as it’s endlessly entertaining, and completely aware of what kind of experience it’s delivering.

Sometimes that’s all I need.

So those are my picks - some have become cult favorites, some are genuinely overlooked, and some probably have more fans than I realize.

What are some underrated movies from the 80’s you would recommend?

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Plot

In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg face an impossible choice - launch the most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.

Good Points

• Andrew Scott gives a very controlled performance

• Kerry Condon shines in the smaller moments

• Tense despite the fact you already know how history plays out

• Smart restraint

• Pretty consistent tone that sticks to its approach, most of the time.

Bad Points

• Brendan Fraser’s performance feels out of sync

• Some conversations repeat similar arguments

• Emotional beats are often understated

My Thoughts on Pressure

A Different angle on a familiar war setting

World War II stories usually land in one of two camps - either full battlefield scenes or neatly packaged hero moments with swelling music doing half the emotional work - Pressure though sits somewhere else entirely, as the film has little interest in showing the usual stuff, because here, everything hangs on decisions being made in rooms where people are arguing, second guessing, and trying to not to look like they’re guessing.

This could have all ended up very very dull, and we do get stretches where it really is just people talking under pressure, literally and otherwise, but there’s a strange momentum to it that keeps pulling you in and keeps you interested, because the film just commits fully to its own confidence that these conversations matter more than anything else going on in the world outside.

And annoyingly, it kind of proves itself right.

Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott quietly takes over the film without obviously trying to, with a steady performance that makes everyone else around him look like they’re slightly overdoing it, where he seems unbothered by the idea of big acting moments.

He stays controlled, almost frustratingly calm at times, but it’s that restraint that actually ends up doing more work than expected, even when the situation on screen is anything but calm, with a kind of slow pressure building in his performance that never explodes, just tightens bit by bit until you realize how much weight he’s carrying without saying it outright.

It also makes other performances stand out in sharper contrast, sometimes unfairly so, but that’s part of the experience here whether it was intended or not.

Brendan Fraser

While Brendan Fraser’s performance certainly doesn’t fail here, it also doesn’t sit comfortably alongside everyone else either, because he pushes everything up a level, sometimes several, where every decision feels urgent in a way that occasionally tips past the tone the rest of the film is working with, which creates this odd imbalance at times.

Scenes end up feeling slightly split, like two different acting styles are competing for attention in the same space, and while Fraser commits fully, no question about that, the approach doesn’t always land cleanly against the quieter performances surrounding him.

It’s certainly not disastrous, just a bit inconsistent in a way with the rhythm the film was trying to build.

Stress as entertainment

As mentioned above, this could have been boring, but there’s a strange thing the film pulls off where watching people disagree for long periods doesn’t become boring, it should, by normal rules of cinema survival, yet it doesn’t.

A lot of the scenes are built around conflicting opinions, delays, and people insisting they’re right with increasing confidence the less certain things become, which creates this low level tension that just keeps ticking along, and what really helped is that the film never really pauses to explain things for the audience’s benefit, as it assumes you’ll keep up, or at least get the general idea from context and tone.

That gives the conversations a slightly sharper edge, like you’ve walked into a room where everyone already disagrees and nobody wants to slow down and catch you up, and there’s also something mildly entertaining about how often people speak with total certainty while clearly operating on limited information - it’s not played for comedy, but there’s an irony sitting underneath it all.

There’s certainly a real confidence in the writing, even when the presentation feels a bit boxed in., but, every now and then, I did also find myself wishing the film would step outside those rooms a bit more just to break the pattern.

Kerry Condon and the smaller moments

Kerry Condon’s scenes ended up staying with me more than any I think, as what she brings to Pressure is a kind of clarity that cuts through the constant back and forth, and in a film full of competing voices, she feels like one of the few people actually reacting to the situation in a normal way.

Those moments matter too, because they reset the tone slightly, and without them, the film might have leaned too far into constant debate and lost any sense of reality, so she manages to keep it from drifting too far into pure discussion for the sake of discussion.

The final stretch without the big payoff energy

When everything builds toward its final stretch, the film resists the obvious temptation to turn into something louder or more dramatic, as there’s no sudden switch into spectacle, and no attempt to suddenly become a different kind of movie.

Part of me did respect that, but another part of me felt the restraint a bit too strongly, like the film was determined not to give me the kind of payoff modern storytelling usually trains you to expect, but what it does instead is stay consistent with its own approach, which is fair enough, even if it leaves the ending feeling more like a continuation of what came before rather than a distinct shift - it’s a quiet choice though, maybe too quiet depending on what you’re hoping for.

Final Verdict

Pressure ends up being one of those films that holds your attention in ways you don’t fully expect, even when you can see its limitations clearly, and I would say it is worth watching, just not for the reasons most war films usually are.

Trailer

Directed by Anthony Maras

Screenplay by David Haig and Anthony Maras

Based on Pressure by David Haig

Cast includes - Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina and Damian Lewis

Cinematography by Jamie D. Ramsay

Edited by Anthony Maras

Music by Volker Bertelmann

Running time - 100 minutes

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Daily Movie Thoughts

Some daily movie thoughts from a middle aged man who has watched way too many movies, and continues to do so.

The Invite - June 10th (Theaters)

Joe and Angela’s marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places.

Disclosure Day - June June 12th (Theaters)

If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?

The Furious - June 13th (Theaters)

Wang Wei, a humble tradesman who embarks on a violent rampage to rescue his abducted daughter after receiving no help from corrupt police.

Kraken - June 12th (Limited Theaters/Digital)

A marine biologist is doing research on a fish farm when she encounters several strange occurrences. Along with the brutal deaths of two teenagers, all signs point to the deep fjord; can there be more to the depths than the eye can see?

Stop! That! Train! - June 12th (Limited Theaters)

Two train stewardess BFFs switch from a dull railway to the luxurious Glamazonian Express. During a massive storm, they must work with snooty first-class crew and President Gagwell to prevent disaster in LA.

This Tempting Madness - June 12th (Limited Theaters/Digital)

After emerging from a coma with serious injuries and memory gaps, a woman’s husband is jailed. As she works to reconstruct her past, she begins to doubt herself and what is real.

Badland Rising - June 12th (Digital)

An ordinary bloke embarks on a 19-hour drive home, unaware of being pursued by two unhinged criminals. Once he discovers their motive, his journey turns into a brutal fight for survival.

Broken Land - June 12th (Digital)

A fearful, isolated rancher accidentally shoots a young migrant as she crosses his land. He reluctantly allows her to hide on his ranch and recuperate while being investigated by his son, an agent for the US Border Patrol.

O Horizon - June 12th (Limited Theaters)

Abby, a brilliant young neuroscientist, encounters a new technology that reconnects her with her recently deceased father.

And in case you have missed the last few weeks of new movie releases…

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