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Reviews
Ultima Ratio (2023)
Jon Foo
I don't know why Jon Foo doesn't get more action roles. This movie is not a big Hollywood film clearly, but there is plenty of action to be had and the hand to hand scenes are just as good as the big budget films (except may the last one on the rooftop with the pen...that's just my humble opinion). I have loved Jon Foo action style since the ill fated "Rush Hour" tv show and I really enjoyed his Crackle original movie. I think he is a highly talented martial artist and I would love to see him in more roles. The right director and story he has amazing skill! This story may be predictable, but it still is a fun 90 ish minutes. The dialogue may lack, but again the action scenes are nice. The emotional aspects feel a bit forced, but aren't we here for the action anyway? Overall a solid 6 for me.
Black Site (2022)
Good action, bad plot
I am gonna drop some spoilers. Cuz it's like an itch that just never went away. Good action if you like it bloody. Jason Clarke always makes a good villain imho. He excels here leaving a high, especially vicious bloody body count behind. Jai Courtney is always fun to watch, though his character here is less charm and more meathead. Michelle Monaghan does a decent job as the team leader, but the thing I just can't get pass is why once they had access to the system, didn't they just lock out the access card? The whole premise of the movie is they are locked down in the secret labyrinth of a facility and once the bad guy gets one of the goods guy's badges he now has full access and they waste time and bodies trying to hunt him. I just couldn't get over that glaring little detail, because it kinda makes the characters who are all supposed to be elite special forces and intelligence agents seem, less then. The little plot twist they try to throw in about corrupt government agencies and traitors are standard fare. The hook at the end felt, unrealistic. If they sent this "Hatchet" character in and did what they did to the facility, would they leave anyone with a heartbeat to tell the tale? Not a complete loss, but I woulda liked to see a few things thought out. Maybe another ten minutes of storyline would have allowed some characters to shine a little more? Phoenix Raei's character for instance...feels like there wanted to be more there, but then there wasn't time for it.
The Guest (2014)
Departure from Downton for Dan Stevens
This movie was for me best summarized by a quote from Hamlet "One may smile, and smile, and be a villain". I think that about sums up Dan Stevens performance here. Pretty face and excellent manners, familial connection and he is through the door in the first five minutes. I have seen other reviewers comment and I agree, it's as if he was trying to prove he had something other then Downton in him and this is about as polar opposite a character as you can get. For me this was neither a great film nor a terrible one. I don't regret watching it, but I probably won't watch it again. I mostly watched it to see Dan Stevens. For most of the film the majority of the main casts portrayal of the characters is tepid at best. Oddly enough the character who is supposedly least emotive "David" ie Dan Stevens character, is the one you get the most from. I think that the plot was a little slow and it drops you in the middle and then hastily tries to explain itself near the end. It would have been interesting to learn more about "David's" origins. Plus the ending was such a horror movie troupe, I really literally about rolled my eyes. Still an interesting excursion for Dan Stevens from his Downton Abbey character universe. After seeing his acting there and here one can't help feeling that served with a better script and director he might make something really memorable in the antihero department.
The Silencing (2020)
Choices have consequences
I think the thing that made this movie so interesting for me was that it's story was different enough from other crime thrillers that I couldn't say, "ugh, I've seen this before". I am not 100% sure where in North America this is meant to have taken place, but it is a small town, lots of beautiful remote wilderness shots. The setting and filming of said locations was very beautiful and definitely added to the film quality. The film is set so that part of the area in question is under the jurisdiction of tribal police and the rest of the jurisdiction is under a sheriff dept. The story is mainly one about choices and their consequences as every choice we make in life has one, be that positive or negative. In this tale we seem to find the trail of bread crumbs working from present to past and back again, allows us to discover the mostly negative consequences of the choices that several of the main character's past coming back to roost. Spoilers follow ****** Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays the grieving father role quite well here. Ironic that the thing that coincided with his loss is the demon that he chooses as his daily companion. His particular demon is drink. The film makes it clear that the man relies on liquor the way the rest of us rely on water or air. The filmmakers seem to portray this to be a sort of form of self flagellation, after all when his daughter disappeared he was with her and he was more interested in his next drink then her. Enter Annabelle Wallis character. The shiny, young untried sheriff back from the big town of Chicago. Freshly minted degree. Eager to prove herself to her detractors, but she has another purpose driving her, her guilt over leaving behind her troubled younger brother, Brooks. We learn as the film proceeds that after their parents death, she went off to college and he went to foster care, through a few quick scenes setting up Brook's trauma and some newspaper clippings we gather a rather horrific case of abuse followed. Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Brooks character exceeding well. He may be a supporting roll, but for much of the film you don't know what to make of him. He is troubled and trouble, but how much? From his nail biting to knuckle cracking, to black eyed tight lipped silence, he certainly embued the character of the troubled post adolescent young man. I love Zahn McClarnon in this film. If Annabelle's character is fire, a little wild, guilt ridden, unpredictable and untried, he is the opposite. He is a rock, he has the experience and the character. He plays well the part of a man caught between two worlds. He is calm in the face of menace and rage. As all these charters collide, as their inner demons rage, I just found it very interesting to watch the tale play out. The moment by moment choices of each character. Many of them reacting in the moment. That momentary reaction, that split second choice one that could change the course of their lives forever. Made me think. I have watched this movie three separate times, just because I was invested in the process of that portrayal. In the end this story was less one of redemption and more one of resolution. I guess I found that kinda of interesting too. As humans we always crave the happy ending. We want everything tied up in a neat little bow, but here the writers don't so much give us that. In the end it's about choices and consequences and about how grief and guilt can twist and destroy you, if you let it. Or maybe I just watched this to many times and read too much between the lines?