Goldbeater

Going in Style is a relaxed comedy outing with a tremendous cast whose central three stars are clearly thoroughly enjoying their time on screen. The whole thing goes down a path which is probably quite predictable, however it is still really entertaining in spite of that and is quite funny too, so the time goes by very quickly. If you want to just relax it is a perfect movie.

A Bond fan could not expect anything better than this. This Bond movie is different and also very cool. I think that is all you need to know before you see it.

I had high hopes for Sion Sono’s new movie; after all, he is an experienced director with a distinctive signature. The actors who also willingly bought into his vision (besides the courageous Nicolas Cage and the popular Sofia Boutella, there is also the actor and director Nick Cassavetes, who returns here after a ten-year hiatus from acting) probably told themselves the same. However, Prisoners of the Ghostland is not a well-directed movie, and in fact, comes across as lacking any director or direction at all. Also, as much as I appreciate the elaborate sets, the imaginative costumes, and the use of practical effects, when I mentally strip this movie of all the exquisite visuals, all I am left with is a cheesy and in every way moronic screenplay that gives the actors very little material to work with. If this screenplay, with the same cast of leads, had been made by, say, Rob Zombie in a redneck backwater somewhere in New Mexico, I can imagine it might have worked better under his direction. However, it just does not work like this. The whole thing is just an exercise in shooting bizarre ideas into the air and waiting to see if any of them land on fertile ground, however, eighty-five percent of them do not land, and so all one gets is an incredibly sparse, insignificant almost, viewing experience.

Derek Kolstad opened his few years old screenplay for John Wick in Microsoft Word, went through it and replaced every instance of the name “John Wick'' with "Bob Odenkirk", chopped out/adjusted/adapted a few things here and there, and suddenly a new screenplay was born! I really cannot believe he did not put in some more effort! However, it is really stylishly shot, it draws you in visually, and the carnage and havoc wreaked by the trio of Bob Odenkirk, RZA, and especially the eighty-two-year-old Christopher Lloyd (!) is dynamic and just incredibly cool, however, the recycling of the screenplay itself was a real slap in the face and really undermined the entire experience.

I was at a loss for words regarding Cry Macho. Clint Eastwood definitely deserves our respect for the fact that even at such an advanced age (and during a global pandemic) he could stand in front of and behind the camera without losing any of his macho swagger. In addition, his performance feels very kind-hearted, and the movie has a lot of heart-warming moments. However, I need to call a spade a spade here and add that it is also a really poor production with an incredibly lackluster screenplay, extremely shallow dialogues, and zero plot gradation. It is only as the end credits roll that one realizes that what happened in the last few minutes was actually meant to be the moral catharsis of the entire drama. Sadly, no kudos really, and a disappointment from such a great movie-maker - well, hopefully, Eastwood will step up with his next movie.

Neill Blomkamp attempts to present the oft-repeated subject matter of demonic possession from a fairly original perspective and comes up with some interesting ideas in the process. However, there is not much consistency, and he does not follow through on those ideas. All the real horror and other interesting stuff either takes place off-screen, or it is done in a style where perhaps even Blomkamp himself, as a fanboy, could not possibly be satisfied with the result (the idea of a squad of militant exorcists is treated as a throwaway thing done within a matter of seconds in Demonic, whereas perhaps it deserves its own movie). So, all that is left to talk about are the characters - especially with the main female protagonist, from whom the camera practically did not leave for the entire movie, however even the relationship she has with her mother, and by extension, her friends, feels like they are even cut short, stilted and artificial, and I do not feel the audience would practically find it at all convincing. Considering the budget and that the shooting was carried out during a pandemic, some respect is in order, even though otherwise it feels half-hearted, and I simply cannot imagine anyone getting excited about it.

This is just another Americanized carbon copy overshadowed by the original 2018 Danish movie called The Guilty. There is no point watching it if you have already seen the original as this movie has nothing new to offer. The only enjoyable aspect was Jake Gyllenhaal's focused performance, even though he was really completely wasted in this.

It seems Wan intended on making an insane horror movie about a mysterious killer. However, in doing so, he then got bogged down in all the carefully well-thumbed techniques and methods he learned from various ghost stories, and so he ended up with an overcomplicated, unintentionally ridiculous, and in every way an over-the-top piece of horseshit, in which a lot of things just do not make any sense at all because they have been thrown in simply for effect. Even so, the central idea (albeit patched together from all sorts of things that have come before), is quite interesting and thought-provoking. However, it should have been developed in a more restrained manner, with a smaller budget, and more concentrated approach. Why does this movie need those ambitious digitally enhanced CGI landscapes, megalomaniacal set design, and a running time of nearly two hours? It does not need all that really. All it would have taken was that instead of going off in an undisciplined way, doing whatever the hell he wanted. Also, if I see that every scene in his next movie is just an exaggerated onslaught of flickering lights, light-bulbs suddenly burning out, grainy images on phones, and radio static noise (because it is all supposed to be spooky bug-a-boo), I am going to be finished with him as a director for good.

This is absolutely superb European movie making at its absolute best. Even though you know (or at least suspect) during the first few minutes how it is all going to end, you are still going to devour the plot and everything happening in the movie, which simply flashes by. Plus, with bated breath, you are going to watch the main female protagonist and her inevitable struggles. Quo Vadis, Aida? is a compelling movie about futility and the importance of not giving up, even when it often feels as though the whole world is conspiring against you. [KVIFF 2021]

What Price Hollywood? is a straightforward movie about the typical aspirations and ambitions along with the disillusionment concerning working your way to the top in Hollywood. Its narrative was slightly floundering, bouncing between tongue-in-cheek comedy in the first half of the movie and inadequately ponderous melodrama in the second half. Towards the end, its changing moods seemed very forced, trying too hard for my taste. [KVIFF 2021]