Blink Twice is a psychological thriller about Frida(Naomi Ackie) and her friend Jess(Alia Shawkat) who meet tech bro billionaire Slater(Channing Tatum) while they are catering his annual gala and go with him and a group of others to his private island.
Visually sharp and occasionally audacious the colors, the cutting, the framing work in perfect tandem with the soundtrack and the incredibly effective sound mix. The production design is bursting with ideas and courage. From this standpoint the film is an absolute success and feels more unique and cinematic than almost anything else released so far this year. The story unfortunately doesn't meet its artistic ambition, it feels more like a protracted situation rather than a narrative, if not derivative exactly more like a pastiche of influences that doesn't quite come together. As a result some of the themes get muddled, its unclear what the message is other than sexual assault (and more broadly subjugation) is bad. But power, wealth, autonomy, authenticity, avarice these are kind of brought up but not really refined.
The cast is full of talent but unfortunately none of the characters feel particularly three dimensional and their motivations and interiority remain frustratingly distant. Ackie imparticular is a wonderful actor but she, at least in the beginning, seems to be solely motivated by a greed and consumerist envy that is really off putting. That may be only what we see on the surface but the script doesn't allow us(or her for that matter) to go any deeper. All that being said it is just kinda great to see Christian Slater, Geena Davis, Haley Joel Osment, Adria Arjona, and Shawkat on screen in this bizarre situation.
A promising debut from director/co-writer Zoë Kravitz, not perfect but bold and worth a watch.
Currently in theaters.
Rent It.
Daughters is a documentary that follows four young girls and their incarcerated fathers as they prepare for a Father/Daughter dance as part of a unique program at a DC prison. Through casual interviews, fly-on-the-wall footage, and clips from home movies humanity, hope, and struggle are explored.
The cinematography is at once lyric and incredibly evocative, there's a sense of weaving together artistic imagery with incredibly vulnerable and true emotion. The visuals work in concert with the subtle but potent score to kind of mainline the complicated and beautiful themes. Its extremely potent, at times transcendental. Reminiscent in feel, if not in concept or execution, to Netflix's 2021 best-of-the-year doc Procession in that it has it all- honesty, pathos, hope, compassion- and manages not to be brutal or depressing but modestly uplifting even celebratory, not at the cost of the realities or the socio-political messaging but in spotlighting the absolute beauty and endurance of the human spirit, in the inspiring and inevitable way we as humans connect and move forward despite unavoidable hardship. That struggle and challenge, accepted and faced and moved through, is how we grow and become.
A passionate and poignant must see, a denunciation of fear.
Currently streaming on Netflix.
Don't Miss It.
Alien: Romulus is a scifi/horror movie, the latest in the Alien franchise. Between the events of Alien and Aliens a group of young miners go to salvage an abandoned ship. What is on the ship is more dangerous than they anticipated!
The young cast flounders to cut out any kind of believable or 3D character. There's talent there but they are not seasoned enough to really make much of the rote, exposition heavy script. The sole exception is David Jonsson as the android Andy, who is the only one who(ironically) conveys realistic emotion and who's journey actually has some traction and interest. There's a legacy appearance from Alien via CGI that is an astonishing misjudgment. All-in-all just not great casting or directing of the performances and the actors are mostly just indistinguishably adrift.
It looks incredible. The sets, the practical effects, the creature design. Its all really good and transportive and leans more heavily into horror/body horror than previous installments. There's little philosophizing like there was in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant which is too its credit. But all the effort and skill ultimately can't overcome how poor the script is and how confused the performances are. The outline, the idea, for the movie isn't bad but what the characters say and do is so bafflingly dumb and devoid of any kind of inner logic its all rendered relatively meaningless.
Transparent attempt to hook Gen Z into the Alien franchise mostly misfires. Massive potential hamstrung by unnecessary plotting.
Currently in theaters.
Stream It.
Jackpot! is an action/comedy set in near future LA about aspiring actor Katie(Awkwafina) who accidently enters the state's death-lottery then befriends aspiring lottery-winner-bodyguard Noel(John Cena). Katie needs to survive to the end of the day to receive her winnings and she and Noel weather various attacks and surprises along the way.
Awkwafina is her usual charismatic self and she's got great chemistry with Cena, the two utilize their natural star wattage and comedy chops to make it a fun ride, though their talents occasionally exceed the scripts. Simu Liu as the heavy kind of flounders, not enough to derail anything but enough to be noticeable. He's a fine actor but, particularly here, doesn't have the comedic ability to keep up or really get on the same wavelength. The supporting cast has some great character actors- Ayden Mayeri, Adam Ray, Becky Ann Baker and Seann William Scott, Dolly de Leon who show up briefly in the prologue. All of them build out the world nicely, if, just by nature of the story they are all a little too cruel.
Shot competently if not particularly uniquely the action sequences, of which there are several, are all fun and energetic and stand alone on top of the jokes that punctuate them. And most of them appear to be practical which is always refreshing and almost always better than CGI equivalents. At a little under two hours the pacing lags at points but not overly so. The costumes and the soundtrack both work well to elevate what the film is trying to do and overall its got a slick professional(ie well funded) look.
Which kind of begs the question why it was released direct to streaming. This is the kind of mid-range comedy that doesn't really get released in theaters anymore, as such there is demand. Its the same problem as Awkwafina's 2023 flick Quiz Lady. Give this an opportunity to make some money. This may not be an incredible movie but its fun and people would pay to see it and it would offer needed variety. Ah well.
Fun action, funny, as advertised. If in need of a tighten-up all around.
Currently streaming on Prime.
Rent It.
Trap is a thriller about the attempted capture of serial killer 'The Butcher', Cooper(Josh Hartnett), at the concert of a famous pop star Lady Raven(Saleka Shyamalan) which Cooper brings his daughter Riley(Ariel Donoghue) to.
Hartnett in his first lead role in awhile gives a deliciously evil and complicated performance, balancing humor, heart, and threat with a sophistication that is quite frankly above the rest of the movies abilities or concerns. He's having fun, you can tell, but he also roots the character with realism, imbues him with genuine emotion(however perverted) really investigating what this guy would be like rather than a 2D killer. Shyamalan is OK but doesn't have the presence the role requires nor is she really able to match Hartnett's commitment. Donoghue is servicable but there's no scene where she has to really contend with any of the underlying truths of what's going on so she doesn't have much with which to stretch. Alison Pill and Hayley Mills are both inspired pieces of casting but neither is given enough to do.
The look and feel of the production is a bit uneven. The first hour plays almost exclusively like a concert film seemingly only to attempt to further writer/director M. Night's daughter's musical career. She's not untalented as a musician but all her songs and various dance numbers that are featured are distracting given the movie is not about her and Hartnett is clearly the more interesting character and performance. The second half of the movie is when it really starts going, there's more movement not only in the locations but in the story. The pacing is uneven as is the tone, it veers from straight-thriller to camp in an odd ADD kind of way, some of which is really effective. But overall you are left with a feeling of unfulfilled potential.
M. Night, like many auteurs of his generation, should no longer write his own scripts. He is still a craftsman, he still has a great eye for talent and knows how to put together a good looking movie but his screenwriting ability has fallen off. Where this movie fails is in the sporadically stilted dialogue and lack of narrative focus.
An excellent Hartnett elevates a wobbly script. Not a great movie but a mostly fun one.
Currently in theaters.
Rent It.
